Let Me Be Your Eyes

Chapter 11-Recovered But Wrong

Chapter 11-Recovered But Wrong

Dipper falls limp in the chair, all the suction cups popping off his skin of their own volition while the teen lolls forward. Stan instinctively catches him, leaning the teen back in his seat. Stanford, abandoning the computer, is at Dipper's side instantly. "He has a pulse," Ford mutters after checking, "though it is slow. His breathing, while heavy, is steady and he shows no signs of physical trauma."

"Looks kinda like Dipper just passed out," Stanley speculates. "Like he overloaded and crashed."

Ford shoots his twin a weird look. "What?" The conman defends indignantly. "I'm surrounded by enough of your sciencey crap all the time; it shouldn't be that surprising I picked some of the lingo up."

"Nothing," dismisses the scientist, a faint smirk lingering on his face. Shaking his head, Ford turns serious once more. "We need to get Dipper to a safe place and then figure out what caused this reaction."

Stanley frowns before asking, "Isn't the lab safe enough? Not to mention, all your machines and junk are down here."

"Ah, in theory, yes. The problem is Dipper's resilience and ability to undergo examinations." The six-fingered man taps the back of the chair rhythmically while he thinks. "This is a delicate situation and we have no clue what may or may not harm or even break Dipper. If there's no reason to keep the boy down here, it-"

"Would be best to sleep in his own bed, yadda yadda yadda," Stan interrupts, waving off his twin. "That all makes sense. My question is; What place could be safer than your own lab, Sixer? This place is basically a fort, what with all your dangerous machines and defense systems and all." With his challenge, Stan crosses his arms and pops a questioning eyebrow.

"We have proof that someone has messed around in his head, but the extent is still unknown. While my lab may be safe from an outside attack, if something were to happen and Dipper snap or something... well, as you said, there are a lot of dangerous things in here."

Stan grimaces. "'Kay, so the lab is a no-go, but will the attic be any safer?"

"Yes. When I first began delving into the more dangerous creatures as demons and such, I warded the attic in case we needed a safe room. Those wards should still be there. Because of how clean the job on Dipper's mind seems to be, we can safely assume that we're not dealing with an ordinary person. That means the wards should offer him some protection, even if whoever did it comes back for him."

"Dipper won't stay in the attic all day," Stan quips. "Not to mention this all is gonna freak Mabel out."

Suddenly, Stanford grimaces, softly groaning. "Ah, Mabel is not going to be very pleased. I did promise to keep her brother safe..."

Stan loops an arm under Dipper's, Ford mirroring him, and says, "For now, we can just tell her that Dipper was tired and that the best thing for him is to rest. It's dark outside anyway."

Ford grunts, mildly surprised at his twin's tact. The two brothers carry Dipper through the lab and onto the lift where the six-fingered scientist selects the first floor. "I'll have to look into Dipper's mental space further. Tomorrow, I'll try using one of the spells I collected to get a better idea of what's been changed in Dipper's head."

"And what can I do?"

"For the time being, I need you to stock up on our supplies and manmade defenses. I'll give Mabel and Bill a list of items to collect to set up more wards around the house and for individuals," answers Ford. The elevator grinds roughly to halt, the door sliding open with a rusty screech. Stan and Ford shuffle out while being careful not to catch Dipper's dangling feet on the edge.