Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

So just sit right there and you listen to me. Join me and we'll both get ahead kid.

Shake my hand and then, we'll both have it all.

What say you little pal have we got a deal?

you'd best think fast.

I'll have your back
Count me in when confidence is all you lack
Price is simple

deCIPHER – Madame Macabre

The silence of the Gravity Falls forest is broken by the rapid footsteps of a boy no older than 12, maybe 13. The small boy can’t contain his excitement; his brown eyes shine, his whole body vibrates, and adrenaline rushes through him now that the danger has finally passed. Behind him, an older man with gray hair and eyes the same color as the boy's, laughs at his enthusiasm. He removes the white and blue cap, with a pine tree on the front, from the boy's head and ruffles his brown hair with his six-fingered hand.

The boy looks at him and smiles widely. The older man can't help but give him a sweet smile and gently hugs him. Both wince as their wounds sting, but they don’t give it much importance.

“Go ahead, Dipper,” the older man says, releasing him and placing the cap back on his head.

Dipper looks at him confused and frowns.

“Uncle Ford?”

“Go, I know you're eager to tell Mabel. Besides, I'm not young enough to keep up with you anymore. So go ahead,” he encourages him, patting his shoulder.

Dipper jumps and runs toward the Mystery Shack. His uncle was fantastic! 

He quickly crosses the forest and bursts into the shop. He shouts “Hi Soos, hi Uncle Stan” as he passes by them and heads up the stairs to the attic. 

Dipper rushes into his room, drops his backpack to the side, and with a huge smile on his face and bright eyes, he approaches Mabel's bed. The wounds and bruises are insignificant compared to the excitement that explodes throughout his body and courses through him.

“Mabel!” he shouts, despite being so close to his twin. “I just had the best day of my life! UFOs exist, and there’s one under the town. And I saved Uncle Ford’s life and… and…” he takes a breath. Talking so fast had emptied his lungs.

In the brief silence that follows, he notices Mabel’s muteness and lack of response to his words. Confused, he looks at his sister, and the euphoria slowly fades, leaving a strange unease in his chest.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asks, concerned.

“Tell me it's not true, Dipper,” Mabel whispers. She gets up, her eyes brimming with tears. She lifts the walkie-talkie, its red light blinking accusingly. Dipper gasps and stares wide-eyed at the device, then looks at his own walkie-talkie sticking out of his backpack, and finally back at her.  “Tell me it's a joke.”

Mabel sobs and throws the walkie-talkie. 

“Ford’s apprentice? Seriously?” Mabel’s hurt expression makes Dipper’s heart clench.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking about it and… and it’s a huge opportunity for me,” he says somewhat awkwardly, approaching her, trying to figure out how to comfort her.

“Well, it’s a horrible opportunity for me!” Mabel gets up, moving away from her brother. “I had the worst day of my life. When we turn 13, summer will end, and I’ll have to leave everything behind.” She kneels near the photo album and flips through it distractedly. “You’re the only person I was counting on, and now… now you’re leaving me too?”

Dipper swallows and avoids crying. Guilt twists his stomach and squeezes his heart. But his desire to stay with Uncle Ford is stronger than the love he has for his twin. He gently squeezes his hands.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking…” he repeats. “I won’t be gone forever, Mabel, okay? I’ll visit you often and… and we’ll chat.” He speaks almost desperately as he searches for a solution that works for both of them. “It’ll work.”

“I don’t want it to work,” Mabel whispers tearfully. “I wish summer would last forever.”

Dipper twists his fingers and kneels next to Mabel. He places a conciliatory hand on her shoulder.

“But it doesn’t, Mabel,” he sighs softly. “Things won’t stay frozen as they are; it’s part of growing up.” She turns and looks at him with sadness, tears leaving long trails on her round cheeks. “Things change, summer ends,” he whispers.

Mabel bites her lips, angry. Angry with Dipper, with Ford, with Stan, with Candy, with Grenda, with her parents, with everyone and with the ending summer. She stands up and runs out, determined to make her brother stay with her.

“Mabel, wait! I didn’t mean…” Dipper gets up and runs after her, holding onto the doorway and watching Mabel run. “Mabel, come back!”

Dipper feels his world crumbling. He knew accepting wasn’t a good idea. He knew accepting Uncle Ford's proposal wasn’t a good idea. He looks at his hands, blurred by his tears. He clenches them and lifts his head with determination.

No.

He wouldn’t give up his dream just because of Mabel. He had given up too much that summer because of his sister; because of her silly sentimentality and her desire for her big sister to be happy, but no more. He had saved his uncle’s life just an hour ago, maybe less, fought extraterrestrial robotic guards, and managed to control his fear in record time, as his uncle said. He could face his sister. She wouldn’t make any more decisions for him.

He nods to himself and rushes down the stairs, two at a time. He runs through the living room and opens his mouth, ready to call for Mabel.

“Uncle Ford!” Mabel’s voice makes him stop. He frowns and slows his pace. Cautiously, he approaches the kitchen and peeks in. He sees Uncle Ford sitting at the table, calmly cleaning the wounds on his face, ignoring a tearful and upset Mabel standing in front of him.

“Uncle Ford,” the girl calls again, and this time the older man looks at her.

“What can I do for you, niece?” the older man asks calmly, setting aside the antiseptic-soaked cotton and giving his full attention to the adorable girl.

“Uncle, you can’t let Dipper stay here with you,” she says seriously.

Ford blinks in confusion. He thought the girl would be happy for her twin because he was doing what he wanted.

“I don’t see why I should do that. He agreed to be my apprentice,” after much arguing he thinks to himself. He shakes his head and frowns. “It’s time you two separated, Mabel. Twelve years stuck together at the hip hasn’t done you much good. Your brother doesn’t see the world as you do.”

Dipper, silently hiding, watches Mabel's lips tremble and her hands clench. He swallows, recognizing the body posture of an impending Mabel Pines tantrum. He knows his sister too well, could recognize her stance even in the dark or with his eyes closed, as if he could feel the fury radiating from his twin's small body.

“But Uncle Ford!” she protests, hiccuping. “You can’t do that! Mom and Dad won’t let Dipper drop out of school.”

“Hey, I have 12 PhDs; I can teach him everything he needs,” Ford says seriously.

Mabel bites her lips and lowers her gaze, wiping her nose with her sweater sleeve. Her shoulders shake, and soft sobs escape her lips. Ford looks at her nervously. Awkwardly, he kneels in front of her and pats her head.

“Don’t cry, girl; you’ll be able to visit him, or he’ll go to see you. The world won’t end just because your brother wants to stay in Gravity Falls.”

Mabel lifts her gaze slightly, her eyes red from crying, her cheeks flushed.

“I don’t… I don’t want… I don’t want…” her hiccups interrupt her words, so Ford urges her to take several breaths. “I don’t want the same thing that happened to you and Uncle Stan to happen to us.”

Ford opens his mouth, surprised. His eyes water slightly, but no tears fall. His heart, however, tightens, and an old wound begins to bleed again in his chest. Just then, another man enters the kitchen, identical to Ford but with grayer hair and a sterner look.

“What’s going on? What did you do to my niece, Ford?” he asks automatically, an instant surge of irritation shooting through his body. Without thinking, he pulls Mabel from Ford’s awkward attempt at comforting her and holds her close.

“I… well, it’s just that…” the six-fingered man struggles to explain. He looks at Mabel and then at his twin.

“He wants Dipper to be his apprentice,” Mabel says, sobbing harder. “He wants Dipper to stay with him. He wants me to be left alone.”

“Hey, that’s not…”

“Stanford, what did I tell you about involving my nephews in this town’s madness? I don’t care what you do but leave Dipper out of it. We had a deal.”

Dipper gasps and covers his mouth. A deal? What kind of deal?

“Stanley, I don’t have much time left; I could die at any moment, and I need an apprentice. Someone smart and capable. Dipper is the best for the job, he…”

“Nothing, Stanford. You go and tell Dipper to forget about it right now. You said it yourself, you could die at any moment, and so could he.”

Dipper bites his fist and closes his eyes tightly. He takes a deep breath, trying not to break down into sobs. He breathes again and enters the kitchen.

"I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and I want to stay with Uncle Ford," he says, his voice somewhat broken by suppressed tears.

"Dipper, you don't know what you're getting into," Stan protests.

"Don't I, Uncle Stan? I've spent the entire summer involved in this. I fought gnomes, a multi-bear, Manotaurs, zombies, ghosts, a time traveler, and a shapeshifter. Not to mention, I defeated the most powerful being not once but twice." He takes a long breath when he runs out of air, and both Ford and Stan look at him surprised. "I know exactly what kind of trouble I'm getting into, Uncle Stan, and I want to stay with Uncle Ford."

Stanford looks at the boy and then at his brother. He clenches his hands and closes his eyes. Mabel's sob convinces him.

"I'm sorry, Dipper, but they're right."

Dipper gasps and looks at his uncle in surprise. No, this couldn't be; it had to be a dream or a very bad joke. After convincing him to stay, would his uncle make him leave with Mabel?

His body reacts accordingly to the overload of contradictory thoughts in his mind. Without realizing it, he turns around and starts to run away. He ignores his family's shouts—can he even call them that?

He runs into the forest, as far away as possible. His body protests from the strain, but he ignores it. He ignores the branches that hit his face and arms, the wounds from fighting the extraterrestrial robotic guards that reopen. He ignores the physical pain that numbs his muscles.

He only focuses on the pain exploding in his chest, tearing at his heart. He focuses on the feeling of betrayal, of not being understood. Why do they listen to Mabel but not to him? Do his thoughts and feelings not matter? Is he that unimportant to the family?

He trips over a fallen log and hits his head as he falls. His vision is tinged with white spots, and he stays there, lying in the almost-autumn grass. He makes a small effort to turn over. He carefully sits up and leans against the log that caused his fall. He hugs his legs and rests his injured head on his knees. The sob he had been holding back finally escapes, and the knot in his throat grows heavier.

The events replay in his head like a movie. They torture him, making him feel even more useless. Random memories from his summer add to the torment. He sobs harder and bites his lips.

In his mind, the image of Mabel being demanding with him, deciding for him, guiding him, guiding everyone, comes to the forefront. The words he said to Uncle Stan resurface with more intensity.

The pain gripping him is displaced by a sudden surge of fury. He jumps up, clenches his fists, and trembles with rage. The knot in his throat is still there, the tears still shine in his eyes, but that doesn't stop the anger. He approaches the nearest tree and lands a punch on the bark.

The wood digs into his fist, his knuckles burn, and his entire arm shakes from the impact. But he pushes the sensation aside and punches with his other fist. He growls and punches again, his knuckles bleeding, the pain increasing, but so does the anger, and it only drives him to keep punching.

And keep punching, and punching.

"Hey, Pine Tree, you know that could be a relative of yours?" Bill's voice startles him, and he turns around, falling to the ground from the sudden movement. "I see you're happy to see me," Dipper is sure that if the demon had a face, he'd be smiling right now. Bill makes his cane appear and twirls it in one hand before holding it with both.

"What do you want, Bill?" Dipper asks, straightening up and trying to appear brave.

Bill laughs and floats toward him.

"I was just passing by, Pine Tree, and I found it intriguing. Why are you mistreating what could be your family?"

"Go bother someone else, Bill," Dipper hugs his legs again and hides his face behind his arms.

Bill watches him intently for a few seconds, his eye showing his satisfaction.

"Here, don't be so down," he says, snapping his fingers. Dipper lifts his head slightly and sees an unsuspecting rabbit being lifted by an invisible force. Its head turns one way and its body another until the small neck snaps and the two parts are separated.

The body falls heavily to the ground, its legs twitching in small contractions, the blood staining the white fur. The head is thrown into his hands, and by reflex, he holds it. He grimaces but doesn't let go of the rabbit's head. Instead, he cradles it in his hands, caring little about getting blood on himself, and absentmindedly strokes between the severed head's ears.

Bill watches the action with interest.

"So tell me, Pine Tree, what's tormenting you besides me?"

Dipper looks at him, distrust shining like a beacon in his eyes. He presses his lips together and bites his tongue.

"Is it because of Shooting Star? What did the Alpha Twin do to you now?"

Dipper presses his lips together harder, but this time out of annoyance, not refusal to speak. Bill chuckles to himself. Taking advantage of Dipper Pines in this state was turning out to be quite fun.

Dipper finally sighs, Bill would keep bothering him until he talked anyway, so why not get it over with quickly and be alone again?

"The thing is… I want to stay with Uncle Ford to solve the mysteries of Gravity Falls," he whispers.

"Ah, so Sixer chose an apprentice," Bill laughs and floats around Dipper. "But I don't think that's what's making you sad, Pine Tree."

"It's Mabel, she doesn't want me to stay."

"That's normal, controlling other people's lives is fun," he comments as if he were simply talking about the weather.

"She told Uncle Ford she didn't want us to end up like them."

"Because she depends on you too much. She's useless without you, and you're nothing more than a stain on the family without her," Bill closes his eye and smiles internally.

"Uncle Stan supported her…"

"Always telling you what to do, aren't you tired of that, Pine Tree?"

Dipper clenches his fists and looks down, holding back tears.

"I want to stay with Uncle Ford."

"But your sister controls your life. Look at that, and I was supposed to be the manipulator here. I didn't know I'd been outdone."

Dipper remains silent. Bill was right. He hadn't noticed it before, but it seems like Uncle Stan's manipulative and deceitful ways had rubbed off on her, or maybe she simply inherited them. The family tree isn't the best, he thinks.

"But I can make sure you stay with Sixer," Bill says nonchalantly, opening his eye and looking at him closely, waiting for his reaction. Dipper looks up at him, stunned.

"I propose a deal, Pine Tree."

Dipper looks at the triangle, grimacing. If the deal involved taking over his body like last time, he'd say no without hesitation. However, curiosity and the desire to stay with Uncle Ford are stronger. He bites his lips and thinks quickly, weighing the pros and cons. If he's smarter this time, he won't end up being tricked.

"I'm listening"

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Dipper returns to the cabin when the moon is at its highest point in the sky. He walks with his head down, not looking at anything, his mind a tangled mess of random thoughts. He climbs the small steps and opens the door like an automaton.

A body crashes into his, and the thin arms he immediately recognizes as his sister's wrap around his neck.

“Dipper! We were worried about you, where were you?” she asks rapidly. Dipper avoids grimacing as he notices fresh paint smeared all over him.

“I’m tired, Mabel, we’ll talk tomorrow,” he says, passing by her. She looks at him, confused, and follows him.

Dipper climbs the stairs, ignoring Mabel, who, after five seconds of heavy silence, starts rambling about Waddles eating who knows what glitter and paper, and how she had to fight dramatically to keep him from eating the invitations for her birthday.

Her birthday.

Dipper sighs, feeling much older than 12, almost 13 years old. When did he get so old? At least, that’s how his body feels—heavy, aged. He used to want to be older so Wendy would like him and to be noticed by his parents; now he realizes that maybe the latter wasn’t due to his age but possibly to his older sister, older by just five minutes.

He sighs again and enters the room. The smell of paint makes him stop and look up. He opens his mouth, unsure whether to scream, gasp, or cry. His body trembles with a new fury. Mabel, behind him, gulps and runs back down the stairs.

Dipper looks around the room. By some fortune, his bed is still intact, but all his clothes are on the floor, stained with glitter and paint. He turns and runs downstairs.

“Mabel Ariel Pines!” he shouts as he reaches the bottom and stomps into the living room. He presses his lips together and clenches his hands, causing the dried blood on his knuckles to start flowing again.

Mabel looks at him from behind the sofa where Stan is watching TV. His uncle grunts and glares at him; he doesn’t miss the way she shrinks, but he lets them argue and refocuses on the television.

“Mabel, what were you thinking? My clothes are not a canvas!”

“But Dipper…”

“No buts, Mabel!”

“Hey, kids, calm down. Dipper, what’s going on?” Stan looks at him, resigned to missing his show.

“Mabel ruined all my clothes with paint,” the boy says angrily.

“I just wanted to make the invitations for our birthday even better. Grenda called me and said the invitation she received was canceled, and Candy managed to escape from camp, so the party is happening,” Mabel says rapidly, looking at Stan with teary eyes, hugging him.

“Dipper, I don’t see what the fuss is about.”

Dipper clenches his fists tighter. He didn’t see the problem? Had his uncle gone mad?

“I don’t have any clothes, Uncle Stan! And it’s Mabel’s fault!” He throws his arms up in exasperation, his hands trembling with barely contained fury. How could so much anger and rage fit in a body like his? He doesn’t understand it, but it seems to grow and grow every moment.

“I just wanted our party to be the best!” Mabel hugs her uncle tighter, crying. For a moment, Dipper’s heart aches, and guilt stabs his chest. “It’s our first birthday away from home, and the last day of our time here. I want it to be amazing. I… I… I was looking for something in your suitcase, and the clothes fell out, and… Waddles was covered in paint and ended up walking all over them, and…”

“You were going through my stuff?” The issue of the clothes takes a back seat for Dipper. “Mabel!” His indignation shows on his face.

“Calm down, kid,” his uncle intervenes, massaging his temples. “Here’s the deal, I’ll buy you new clothes tomorrow, but you’ll have to work at the cabin again as the wolf boy.”

Dipper clenches his jaw and reluctantly nods.

“Although, on second thought,” Stan looks up and stares into the distance, “never mind, buying new clothes would be too expensive. We’ll send them to the laundry, and let’s save the wolf boy act for another day. Now go have dinner and then straight to bed.”

“Yes, Uncle Stan,” he mutters through gritted teeth and drags his feet to the kitchen.

Upon entering, he finds Ford sitting at the table with a cup of tea in his hands. The man looks at him and smiles softly. Dipper looks at him, his eyes harden, and he continues walking to the fridge. He rummages inside and pulls out a soda can and a couple of sandwiches that were obviously saved for him.

He places the plate on the table and sits down. He opens the can, takes a short sip, and then bites into one of the sandwiches.

“So, where were you?” Ford asks, scratching his neck and clearing his throat, somewhat awkwardly.

Dipper shrugs and continues eating. He doesn’t even want to ask why his uncle decided it was better to leave him out, why he left him alone because of Mabel’s wishes.

“Dipper, listen…”

“No, Uncle Ford,” he interrupts, setting the can aside. “You yourself told me to separate from Mabel, that… that it was better to stay with you, to think about my future. And now you’re telling me this. I don’t get it.”

“I promised Stan I wouldn’t put either of you in danger. Having you as my apprentice is doing just that.”

“But, Uncle…”

“Besides,” he cuts him off and looks at him, setting his cup aside and sighing heavily, “I realized that maybe you’re not ready for this yet, that you’re not… as mature as I thought.”

Dipper feels his eyes start to well up, but he doesn’t let any tears fall. He presses his lips together and slowly stands up, the little appetite he had vanishing, leaving his stomach with an intangible emptiness.

“Good night, Uncle Ford,” he says through clenched teeth. He turns and leaves the kitchen. He ignores Stan and Mabel, even Soos, who is still in the house. He slowly climbs the stairs, reluctantly. He enters the room and falls onto his bed, covering himself up to his head and closing his eyes.

The exhaustion he didn’t realize had been accumulating all day now weighs heavily on his body, and he falls asleep immediately.

Dipper wakes up in the middle of the night, sweaty, his eyes gritty from lack of sleep. His whole body aches, and in that moment when his mind decides whether to wake up or drift off again, he notices the numbness and the real damage done to his body during the day, and that his stomach seems to want to start a civil war inside him. Carefully, he sits up in bed and runs a hand through his sweaty hair. He rubs his eyes to try to shake off the uncomfortable sensation and looks ahead, at Mabel’s bed.

His sister sleeps peacefully, in her own world, oblivious to the storm raging inside Dipper just by seeing her. He grimaces and gets out of bed. He fumbles around on the bedside table, grabs his notebook and a pen, and thinks for a second about taking the box of thinker’s pens, but decides against it; that would wake Mabel, and the last thing he wants right now is to talk to her.

Carefully, he leaves the room and goes downstairs, trying not to step on the boards that are in severe disrepair or the ones that he knows will inevitably creak. He sighs when he reaches the bottom and with the same caution, steps outside. He sits on the porch and looks at the stars. Instinctively, his eyes find the Big Dipper, and he sighs.

His head fills up again with the ideas, memories, and thoughts from the afternoon. In his mind, he goes over Bill’s deal. But sitting there, in the cool night breeze, with a short rest and without the overwhelming influence of anger, he wonders if it’s a good idea.

Uncle Ford had told him not to trust Bill, that he would use a thousand and one tricks to play with his mind. But Uncle Ford was also the one who told him he wasn’t as mature as he thought, that he wasn’t going to be his apprentice. The same one who set aside his opinion to side with Mabel.

He clenches his hands, opens the notebook to a random page, and starts doodling. Bill was right. The deal wasn’t that bad; both of them would win, both would get something they wanted.

He yawns without realizing it, scribbles on the pages; at some point, he chews on the pen’s tip while resting his head on his knees.

Should he accept Bill? Keep him out of his mind? Betray Uncle Ford’s trust? Everyone’s trust?

But Uncle Ford betrayed me first, everyone betrayed me first, he tells himself. He snorts in frustration and yawns again. He places his notebook on the porch floor and rests his head on it. He closes his eyes for a few seconds and sighs… maybe tomorrow, he tells himself as sleep claims him once again, with a clear head, he can think.

Dipper is jolted awake by something wet and rough. He groans and pushes Waddles away, unconsciously knowing it's Mabel's pig. His twin sister's giggle and the sound of a camera shutter confirm it. He opens his eyes and quickly closes them again as the bright sunlight hits them. He blinks slowly, adjusting, and looks up. Mabel's face and Waddles come into view, and a look of total disgust takes over his lips.

"It's time for breakfast, Dipper. What are you doing out here?" his sister asks, seemingly unaware of his irritation, which he's partly grateful for; he doesn't want to think about giving an explanation.

"Enjoying the fresh air," he replies sarcastically, standing up. He grabs his notebook and heads toward the cabin, followed by Mabel. The smell of waffles and coffee makes his stomach tighten and growl, reminding him that he hasn't had a decent meal since the small snack he and Uncle Ford had in the forest.

He walks straight to the kitchen, ignoring Mabel's chatter, only thinking about eating something and then locking himself in the attic or going to the forest to think.

"Good morning, kids," Uncle Stan greets them as he serves breakfast. "How did you sleep?"

"Great!" Mabel says, sitting down and starting to eat, telling Uncle Stan about a strange dream involving unicorns, flowers, and her dream boys.

Dipper, on the other hand, sits silently, eating with little enthusiasm despite his hunger. He watches Uncle Stan laugh at Mabel's silliness, ruffle her hair, be so kind, so sweet...

He bangs his fork against the plate and aggressively cuts into the top waffle. He clenches his fingers and takes a deep breath. He was so angry for no reason.

"By the way, Dipper," Uncle Stan says, looking at him with some intrigue, Dipper masking his anger with curiosity. "We're not sending your clothes to the laundromat. There's too much, and it'll be too expensive. You need to wash it yourself."

His fork, which was mid-air, falls heavily onto the plate, but the noise is muffled by the waffles in the middle. He takes a breath, struggling not to make a face. By all the gods, why was he so angry? This was normal with Uncle Stan. It must be those puberty hormones.

"But you said we would send it to the laundromat," he mutters through gritted teeth. "And anyway, it was Mabel's fault. Why doesn't she wash it?"

"Because it's your clothes, Dipper," his uncle responds simply.

"But it was Mabel's fault!" he stands up, banging the table. He can't remember ever being this angry or raising his voice at any adult, not even Stan when he was angry with him.

"Fine, you can choose not to wash it and go without clothes, and work without clothes," Stan says, seemingly unbothered but clearly surprised by his nephew's behavior.

"You're a...," the word gets stuck in his throat, but Stan sees the intent in his eyes. He can guess what Dipper wants to say by the way his brown eyes shine. It's the same look Ford has when they argue; it's the same way his father looked at him when he bothered to take off his glasses.

There was no doubt that Dipper was a Pines from head to toe, at least from that side of the family.

Without a word, Dipper pushes the chair back, turns around, and leaves the kitchen, heading for the stairs. He takes the steps two at a time and enters the bedroom. His clothes, something he hadn't noticed in the early morning when he went outside, were piled neatly at the foot of his bed.

Well, that makes things easier, he thinks. He crouches down and carefully picks them up, making sure nothing falls. With the same care, he leaves the room and heads down the stairs. He ignores Mabel, who tries to get his attention, and walks down the hallway to the room they usually use for laundry.

He had used it before, so it was nothing new to him. Except he'd never had to do it while feeling so irritated. He opens the washing machine door somewhat roughly and looks for the detergent. When he finds the box, he plugs in the machine, which shakes violently and sparks fly.

"What the...," smoke starts to rise from the connection, and Dipper quickly and carefully unplugs it before things escalate. He watches the smoke rise and curses. "Uncle Stan! The washing machine broke!" he yells, peeking down the hallway.

"Go wash your clothes outside!" his uncle replies. Dipper curses under his breath again and pulls the clothes out of the washing machine. Luckily, he hadn't wet them yet, something he's silently thankful for. He grabs the detergent and walks down the hallway again.

"Need help, Dip?" his sister asks, standing near the back door.

"No, thanks. I can do it myself," he says with a forced tone as he opens the door, balancing the clothes.

He doesn't notice Mabel's sad look or the shrug of her shoulders. He walks out, muttering under his breath about his uncle and the conspiring washing machine. He walks down the dirt path toward the forest, not paying attention to where he's going, knowing the way by heart.

He only stops when he hears the sound of the river. He drops the clothes on the shore, takes off his shoes and socks, and sits down next to the pile of clothes, dipping his feet into the cold but pleasant water. He sighs and closes his eyes. The breeze plays with his hair, and little by little, he feels his body relax.

"Well, look who we have here," Bill's voice breaks the little calm he had achieved. He groans and opens his eyes, shooting a murderous look at the demon. "A Pine who decided to plant himself," Bill laughs before Dipper can respond. "Lighten up, kid. What? Did they kick you out of the cabin already?"

"What do you want now, Bill?"

"Looks like you've got a lot to do. Need a hand?" Bill asks, purposely ignoring the boy's question and floating over to the pile of clothes. "This screams Shooting Star all over. Do you just let her touch your stuff like that? No wonder you're her doormat."

Dipper rolls his eyes, irritated, and decides to ignore him. He gently moves his feet in the river, ignoring his growling stomach. Bill, for a second, feels annoyed by the boy's attitude. He was trying to be nice, and the brat responded like that. Rude, just like his uncles!

He shifts his eye to the clothes and narrows it a bit.

"Need help with that, kid?" Bill doesn't wait for Dipper to pay attention to him. He snaps his fingers, and the clothes disappear. Dipper seems to react to this and looks at Bill angrily, but before he can say anything, his clothes fall into his lap, perfectly folded and completely clean, even smelling like bubblegum, though not unpleasantly. "There, one less problem," Bill says, dusting his hands with pride.

"What the heck did you do?" Dipper finally reacts, inspecting his clothes for something, anything, maybe some kind of spell—absurd, he knows, as he wouldn't be able to see or feel any spell—or joke or whatever. He can expect anything from Bill.

"Washed them. Isn't it obvious?" Bill rolls his eye and taps the boy's head with his cane. "I think you humans say something that sounds like 'thank you.'"

"What? I'm not going to thank you," the boy grumbles and carefully sets his clothes aside, making sure not to dirty them again.

"You're welcome, Pine Tree. Now, why the puppet-stomped face?"

Dipper ignores the comment and looks at the river. Bill starts to turn red, being ignored again by the brat is an insult he doesn't intend to leave unpunished. He raises his cane to smack the distracted boy's head, but the sound of the boy's stomach stops him just in time. He sees Dipper blush, and the sound repeats, as if a beast were trying to claw its way out from inside him.

Bill sighs, lowers the cane, and snaps his fingers again; a plate with a piece of fresh, raw, bloody meat falls into Dipper's lap, making him jump. The boy grimaces at the metallic smell of the blood and looks at the triangle.

"What is this?"

"Food, what else?"

"Food? This is raw meat," but despite the apparent disgust, Dipper doesn't push the plate away like he wants to or toss it aside. He just looks at Bill with confusion and some annoyance.

"What an astute observation, Pine Tree. At least something about you works, and that's your eyes," the triangle says sarcastically, tapping Dipper's forehead lightly with one of his fingers. "And so what if it's raw? It's still food, and you seem to have a famished monster living inside you."

"Food or not," Dipper sets the plate down beside him, stands up, and brushes off his pants, carefully avoiding dirtying his clothes or dropping dirt onto the plate of meat. "Did you think that maybe... I don't know, eating in the Mental Plane is useless?"

"What makes you think we're in the Mental Plane?"

Dipper looks at him in surprise, stammering something unintelligible, his eyes wide. Bill was... in the real plane?

"But... how?" Dipper shakes his head, sighs, and clenches his hands, now very aware of Bill's power. When did that happen?

"Not something you want to know, kid. Now eat, before it gets cold."

"Where did you get this anyway?" He shakes his head. "I'm not eating that raw. You probably poisoned it. Are you trying to kill me?" He narrows his eyes, accepting the change in conversation only because at that moment, he doesn't want to think about the fact that Bill is much more powerful than he thought.

"Kid, if I wanted to kill you, your lungs would have stopped receiving oxygen a long time ago," he says simply, but Dipper chokes. Well, the demon has a point.

"Anyway," for his sanity, he changes the subject, "I'm not eating that raw," he walks around, looking for some branches.

"What?! You don't know how much protein you're missing, kid!" Bill follows him, not missing the way the boy chooses the branches, not too dry and not too damp.

"You know what proteins are?" Dipper looks at him incredulously.

"I know a lot of things, Pine Tree. For example, in three seconds, you'll fall and scrape your right knee again."

"What? That's absur...," sure enough, Dipper trips and falls, but not because of a rock or tripping over his feet, more likely because of Bill, who at that moment is laughing his head off at Dipper.

The boy gets up, growls under his breath, and picks up the dry branches. He decides not to pay attention to Bill and focuses on preparing the meat.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Ignoring Bill wasn't an easy task. Without realizing it while eating, he fell into his web and began talking to him. He couldn't believe he had laughed at Bill Cipher's twisted jokes. The strangest thing was that he actually found them funny.

He sighs, making sure not to drop the clothes. Unbeknownst to him, the day and afternoon passed by amid jokes, insults, and laughter. The demon had his charm, and Dipper was surprised by how late it had gotten.

Time flies by when you spend it with good company Bill had said smugly, and the mere memory makes him roll his eyes.

He won’t say it out loud, but being with Bill had been relaxing and fun, albeit strange. He arrives at the cabin, sighs, carefully opens the door, and enters. He walks towards the stairs, mentally reviewing what happened, and reflexively glances out of the corner of his eye.

He stops halfway up the stairs, hesitates on a step, and turns his face towards the living room. His eyes widen in surprise upon seeing Mabel sitting on Uncle Stan’s lap, with several laundry bags. He leaves his own clothes on the step and steps down.

“Did you guys go to the laundromat?” he asks, crossing his arms.

“Hi, Dipper,” Mabel smiles at him. “You took a long time. Yes, we went to the laundromat to wash my clothes.”

Dipper looks at Stan.

“Wasn’t it too expensive?” he raises an eyebrow, the small monster of anger stirring in his stomach and all the good humor he had accumulated during his strange conversation with Bill dissipating as the anger grows.

“Mabel’s was less than yours and wasn’t covered in paint,” Stan shrugs without taking his eyes off the TV, takes a sip of his soda, and sighs.

“Oh, of course, it wasn’t all covered in paint. She’s not dumb enough to make that mistake, but she is dumb enough to ruin mine,” he says without even thinking. He doesn’t realize what he has actually said until he feels a sharp hit on his head.

He looks up and is surprised to see Uncle Stan looking at him seriously, fists clenched.

“Go to your room and go to sleep, no dinner,” his uncle orders. Dipper tightens his lips, turns, and heads back up the stairs. He grabs his clothes before going up, stomping heavily.

He enters the room with difficulty, goes straight to his bed, and leaves the clothes there to immediately store them in a safe place. Far from Mabel. When he finishes, he sighs and collapses onto the bed.

Only then, when he is about to close his eyes, does he notice Mabel’s sleepover gear. He pales when he hears the door downstairs open and Candy and Grenda’s shouts.

He sits up abruptly, staring at the door as if watching his executioner, waiting for death. The footsteps and girls’ chatter seem to snap him out of his momentary shock. He gets up, grabs a blanket, a pillow, and mosquito repellent.

By the time Mabel and her friends come in, he is already prepared to spend the night outdoors. The farther away from the three and their attempts to ‘‘doll him up’’, the better.

“Where are you going, Dip Dip?” Mabel looks at him confused, Dipper could even say hurt. She must still be upset about what he said earlier, something he doesn’t plan to apologize for.

“I’m giving you privacy,” he says, dripping sarcasm even in the smile he gives them.

He gathers his things, ensures he doesn’t need anything else, and makes his way through them.

“He’s acting weird,” he hears Mabel say to her friends; once he’s outside, he rolls his eyes and closes the door.

“He’s probably sad about having to leave, and since he doesn’t know how to express it, he gets angry,” Candy reasons, her voice muffled by the door but understandable to Dipper.

“Do you think so?” As he walks slowly to the stairs, he can imagine Mabel’s sad expression, and guilt appears in his chest for a few seconds.

“Of course, he’s a boy, you know how they are,” Grenda’s voice resonates loudly, and despite being in the middle of the stairs, it’s not hard to understand her.

He finishes going down, crosses the small hallway to the door. He ignores Stan’s look and Ford’s call. Once outside, he drops the pillow on the porch, spreads out the blanket, arranges it, and lies down.

He closes his eyes, sighs, and slowly falls asleep.

He wakes up dazed by a loud noise. Laughter and music echo through the house, pounding on his head. He sits up annoyed and rubs his eyes. He yawns while getting up, rubs his eyes a little more, shuffles to the door; with another yawn, he holds the knob and turns it.

After several attempts and feeling more awake, he notices that the door won’t budge. He tries again with the same result; he bangs on it as hard as he can. Stan’s flashes in his mind as he knocks again.

“Uncle Stan!” he shouts as loudly as he can, trying to be heard over the music. “Open up! I need the bathroom!”

The door opens abruptly, making him sigh in relief. He tries to pass by his uncle’s body, but he is stopped. Dipper looks up, confused.

“Kid, you wanted to sleep outside, and that’s where you’ll stay until morning,” Stan says sternly.

“But I need to use the bathroom,” he protests in a low growl. What more could go wrong? First, he was woken up by Mabel’s stupid music, then his uncle locked him out, and now he can’t use the bathroom!

“The forest won’t mind if you do your business in it,” his uncle says, closing the door in his face without further ado.

Dipper bangs on the door again.

“At least tell Mabel to turn down the music!” he yells.

He waits a few seconds to see if his uncle heard him, but instead of the music lowering, it gets louder.

How hadn’t his sister gone deaf from the noise? And how did his uncles tolerate it?

Irritated and uncomfortable, he gathers his blanket and pillow, then heads down the stairs and as far from the cabin as possible to find some peace and sleep.

As he walks into the woods, with the music drilling into his ears and his overly full bladder burning, a childish and utterly foolish idea pops into his mind. He looks at the cabin, specifically the posts near the tent area. Technically, that’s part of the forest, and as his uncle said, the forest wouldn’t care if he did his “business” there.

He shakes the idea from his head; it’s stupid and childish. As much as Stan deserves it, he won’t stoop so low as to perform such a ridiculous act. No, he’s better than that.

He leaves his things by a tree for a moment and searches for a good spot.

Once satisfied, he sighs in relief and returns for his things. He gathers them carefully. Maybe he should head to the river, he tells himself. There, he could wash his hands and perhaps sleep in peace. Determined, he looks around, trying to find his way but struggles to see clearly. When did he venture so deep into the forest that he ended up in the densest part?

Apparently, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the music had become a distant murmur, no longer so annoying. The boy smiles in relief; he could go to the river early before returning to the cabin. He nods to himself and arranges his things to lie down and sleep.

He closes his eyes once settled at the base of a tree. The silence and calm of the forest relax him; he begins to drift off to sleep.

The sound of a breaking branch makes him sit up, alert. He feels his heart pounding against his ribs and looks around for the source of the noise. He had relaxed so much that, for a moment, he forgot how dangerous the forest can be, especially the one in Gravity Falls.

A low growl to his right startles him. He turns in that direction and almost sighs in ridiculous relief.

“Oh, it’s you,” he whispers to the wolf he fought before. He still has the bite mark, almost invisible.

But despite the recognition, Dipper doesn’t feel entirely relieved. The wolf’s glowing golden eyes and sharp, saliva-covered fangs put him on high alert. The previous time, at the cabin, the wolf was alone, but now Dipper is in the forest, and after so many documentaries – which made Mabel sleep and kept him awake – he knows that it’s unlikely for a wolf to be alone in its natural habitat.

A howl to his left and a growl in front of him confirm this.

Had he unknowingly entered the pack’s territory? That is undoubtedly very bad for his physical health.

He slowly gets up; the strong growls and slow advance of the wolves almost make him run. But he knows that if he did, he wouldn’t have any chance of outrunning or losing them. He would only end up more lost in the forest or provoke them further and be devoured.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a branch that might serve as defense, he just needs to reach it. He steps back slowly, careful not to bump into the tree or trip over its raised roots; when he is close enough, one of the wolves lunges at him.

With a shout, he falls to the ground, grabs the branch, and holds it between the fierce jaws and himself. The wolf growls, bites, and scratches the branch, trying to reach the boy’s tender neck; Dipper couldn’t say if its actions are because he entered its territory or out of hunger. It’s not something he cares to know right now.

With effort, he manages to sit up and kicks the wolf’s chest to make it back away, enough to get up and defend himself in a better condition. He barely succeeds and quickly gets to his feet, the branch in front of him, ready to run.

This time, two wolves attack him; only then does Dipper notice there are more than three, and only then does he realize that with a branch as a weapon, he couldn’t defend himself. He closes his eyes and raises the branch higher, thinking he’s going to die, he’s going to die in the middle of the forest with no one to care he’s there.

He waits to feel the claws and fangs tearing him apart, but nothing happens. A mournful howl, followed by others seconds later, makes him open his eyes. Floating a few steps away, a monstrously large, red, and furious Bill Cipher holds one of the attacking wolves with the curved part of his staff; the other lies on the ground, whimpering, with no trace of the rest.

“B... Bill?” he asks. The fear of his potential death at the hands – or claws – of the wolves doesn’t compare at all to the sheer terror of seeing Bill in that state.

The triangle drops the canine, which escapes as best it can, followed by the other.

“May I ask’’ Bill says in a low voice as he turns, ‘‘ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, PINE TREE?” he shouts with a guttural voice full of echoes, raising his arms and causing the boy to shiver.

“Bi... Bill,” he stammers, “What...?”

“I have more important things to do than always saving you!” Bill shouts again, ignoring him, but now in his original size and color, turning around him. “I thought you were clever enough not to put your neck in danger.”

Dipper opens his mouth in surprise. Was Bill concerned about him? He shakes his head, impossible!

“Well, try not to get into trouble again, kid, I’m busy!”

And just as he appeared, he leaves, without warning.

Dipper’s legs tremble, and he sits down. Bill Cipher had just saved his life without asking for anything in return.

Maybe he’s not so bad, he thinks for a few seconds, laughs nervously, and dismisses such a ridiculous idea. Demons aren’t good, and Bill Cipher less than none, of that he is fully certain.

He sighs tiredly, crawls to his blanket, and curls up against his pillow, exhausted. It had been a long day, and the double scare had worn him out. It’s time for a well-deserved rest, he thinks before falling deeply asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

You know you've always been different

You don't have to sit and play good boy

Tear this world all apart

Time draws short you've gotta make up your mind
I don't offer these things every day
Little tree how big that you could grow up
If you'll just say the word and you'll let me stay

  deCipher – Madame Macabre

He looks at the sky lazily, the orange and purple hues of dawn making him smile softly. His first genuine smile in days. He sighs, rests his head on his knees, and hugs his legs tightly. He’s very tired.

Sleeping these days had become an impossible mission. Mabel, with her sleepovers, had forced him to sleep outside; loud music prevented him from getting a wink of sleep for nights, and since the incident with the wolves, going into the forest didn't present a pleasant picture for him, at least not at night.

He wonders why everything has to be so bad at the moment. Why had the cabin suddenly become like a minefield where every step he took resulted in something embarrassing, annoying, or heavy, or he got scolded?

Especially by Stan, who seemed to have decided to take out his frustrations on him. If it wasn’t a scolding for inefficiency at work, it was punishing him by making him go to bed without dinner over trivialities—or because of Mabel. He grimaces thinking about his work these days. All day with tourists or inventing “attractions,” like the Toothless Chupacabra.

He exhales somewhat irritated and wonders why Uncle Stan couldn’t understand that he could easily come up with a real attraction. Maybe not something as creepy as the creature he brought when Mabel was in charge, but something that seemed more logical and real than his uncle’s nonsense.

He rests his head on his knees as the sun's rays touch the tip of the totem in front of the cabin. The work might not have been so heavy if Wendy, with whom he had to work during the week, hadn’t been texting who knows who. He didn’t expect something like that to bother him, but it did—not because he still had feelings for her, but because he had to do practically everything alone.

He looks up and sees a group of fairies fluttering around him before flying off into the forest, laughing. This suddenly makes him think of Uncle Ford and his strange behavior during the week. The man had completely pulled him out of his research, spending all day in the basement or leaving very late at night and returning at dawn, sometimes injured, other times with black bags.

He shudders at the thought, not wanting to imagine that perhaps his uncle was doing something wrong, though deep down he doesn’t care much; he had pushed it aside, so he would turn his face and pretend not to notice.

He yawns and frowns at the sun rays on his face; the week had been endless for him, and the next day would be his and Mabel’s birthday. He grimaces and feels his stomach churn.

Mabel had dragged him around the few shops in Gravity Falls for the last two days, even to the neighboring town, just to try on clothes for the birthday party. He hadn’t bought anything, but she had several new dresses to wear, as if she didn’t know that by the end of the day she would be wearing a sweater instead of one of the—surprisingly expensive—outfits.

Shopping might not have been so bad if, when they got home, Mabel hadn’t started “cooking” desserts and party food and making him taste them. Even the day before, he had gotten sick from her “cake”—if that abomination that resulted in the end could even be called a cake—of wheat with jam filling and covered in orange candy. Looking at it now, the cake could have been excellent if the filling hadn’t been mixed with glitter, the dough hadn’t been burned, and the orange candy hadn’t been bitter. How bad it had turned and the lack of sleep had put him in a bad mood and on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

He sighs heavily and watches the sky gradually turn blue and fill with clouds. He watches them for a while as his eyes begin to close, so tired, physically and mentally. He had only had a moment of peace when he was with Bill, who hadn’t shown up even in his dreams since the wolf incident.

He wonders if the demon had given up on the deal, but with a yawn, he dismisses the thought. If there’s one thing Bill Cipher is, it’s persistent and annoying until he achieves his goal. However, Dipper can’t come up with an excuse to justify his mysterious absence.

And it’s not that he misses him, not at all, but when he was with him a few days ago, he felt understood. The demon has a twisted sense of humor, and much of what he said the last time they met didn’t make sense to him, especially that he didn’t ask for anything in return for saving him from the wolves, but it was fun and refreshing to be with him.

With a new yawn, already half-asleep, he wonders once more if he should accept the deal. It wasn’t a bad idea after all; Bill seems to be the only existing being who understands him and seems to value him.

Maybe, he thinks on the edge of falling completely asleep, maybe…

‘‘Dipper!’’ Mabel’s voice startles him, and he straightens up, somewhat scared.

‘‘Mabel! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?’’ He looks at her still dazed and frowns when he hears her laugh.

‘‘Uncle Stan is looking for you’’ without adding more, she disappears through the trapdoor.

Dipper grumbles and gets up; his brief moment of peace is over. Time to go back to dealing with nonsense.

He goes down the trapdoor stairs, walks to the part of the house, and from there to the kitchen; Mabel and, strangely, Uncle Ford are already sitting; there’s no sign of Uncle Stan, which surprises him a bit. The man always made breakfast and always did it early, so everyone could do their work.

Dipper approaches the table and pulls out a chair to sit just as Stan enters the kitchen. Ford looks at his brother and tenses. The way his lips curl and the gleam in his twin’s eyes put him on alert; he might have been away from Stan for over 40 years, but he knows him like the back of his hand, and the older twin’s expression denotes danger. Without saying a word, he stands up and leaves. Mabel, noticing the tension around Stan and his posture, makes the smart decision to follow her other uncle.

The younger Pines looks up, somewhat confused by his sister’s and uncle’s tactical retreat, and soon realizes the danger hanging over his shoulders.

‘‘Kid’’ he jumps when his uncle’s large hand comes down harder than necessary on his shoulder, ‘‘go to the cabin. I left the new wolf boy suit there.’’

‘‘But…’’

‘‘No buts. We need extra help, go change now.’’

‘‘And why isn’t Mabel working too?’’ he says angrily. Mabel is also free. He opens his mouth to add more but the strong grip of Uncle Stan makes him shut it.

‘‘Go and do what I told you’’ he says curtly.

‘‘Can I at least have breakfast first?’’ he asks through gritted teeth. His uncle huffs and lets him go. Dipper gets up, goes to the fridge, and takes out a can of soda with a piece of pie from a few days ago. He closes the door with more force than necessary and leaves the kitchen.

Stan sighs and rubs his face, exhausted. He’s had a rough night and has only just managed to return to the cabin. He sits down and sighs. He didn’t want to be so harsh with the kid, but his mood and the younger one's attitude were not a good combination. He looks at the chair where the kid had been and shakes his head. It wasn’t the time to get like this; he needed to change and calm down to greet the tourists.

As he walks to change, Dipper devours the piece of pie in quick bites and drinks the soda. He sighs and rubs his eyes, leaving the plate and can on a table near the store door. He takes off his cap and runs a hand through his tangled hair. He’s so sleepy and his body feels heavy, but he has to obey grudgingly.

He goes through the door and reaches the counter where the restored suit—he doesn’t even want to imagine how—sticks out as if mocking him. He takes it and looks at it for long seconds, the urge to destroy the awful suit coursing through him. The force he applies to his fingers is the first step to doing so.

‘‘Hey Dipper, how’s it going?’’ Wendy’s voice makes him jump and forget his murderous thoughts. He hides the suit and gives the redhead a forced smile.

‘‘Hey Wendy, hi, good, good, and you?’’

‘‘Good, thanks. Hey, where’s Mabel? I want to introduce both of you to someone special’’ the girl smiles widely and her eyes sparkle. Dipper’s stomach twists at the thought that, not long ago, his eyes sparkled the same way when thinking about Wendy.

‘‘Uh, I don’t know where she went, but she’ll be around later. I need to… work.’’

‘‘Sure, buddy’’ the girl messes with his hair and goes behind the counter.

Dipper sighs, goes to Uncle Stan’s office, and changes. How he hates having to do that.

Dipper returns to the store scratching his arms. He doesn’t know what Uncle Stan did, but that suit itches even more than the first one he wore. He sighs, exhausted. He didn’t expect to work so much, but his uncle had him dancing and doing other nonsense until 2 p.m.—with a small break to eat, thank goodness—and he’s really tired.

‘‘Hey Dipper’’ the boy looks up at the sound of the door and Wendy’s call, smiles a little, but the small gesture fades when a boy about his age, maybe a little taller, with curly black hair and dressed like the cool kids from his school stands next to Wendy.

‘‘Hi’’ he frowns at the look the boy gives him, who, noticing this, forces a fake smile.

‘‘Hey man, ¿qué tal?'' [1][2]

The greeting makes Dipper tense up. “Man?” He avoids grunting and looks at Wendy, whose eyes are glued to the boy next to her; a shiver runs down his spine as if it were a bad omen.

‘‘Who is he, Wendy? A cousin?’’ he manages to keep a curious and innocent tone, hiding his annoyance underneath.

‘‘No’’ Wendy looks at him and smiles like a lovesick fool, like Mabel when she’s infatuated, ‘‘and well, since Mabel isn’t around, I’ll tell you. Dipper, this is Marcos, my boyfriend; Marcos, this is Dipper.’’

Dipper’s face falls apart. Was Wendy joking? That boy, the same age as him?

‘‘Really?’’ He forces a smile. ‘‘Congratulations.’’

‘‘Thanks, man’’ Marcos pats him on the back and laughs. ‘‘What’s up with your clothes, hombre[3]?’’

Dipper steps away brusquely from the boy, looks at Wendy, and tries to smile.

‘‘I’ll go change. Mabel should be around putting the finishing touches to the party’’ he doesn’t wait for a response, doesn’t really want one from the girl, and especially doesn’t want to see the boy, embodiment of the irony in his life.

He heads into the house with heavy footsteps and climbs the stairs to his room. He enters, throws the fake ears into a corner, and takes off his pants, sighing with relief; he walks straight to his bed and looks for his suitcase underneath it. As he kneels and looks around, his body tenses. His suitcase isn’t there, not in any corner or at the back.

Mabel’s giggle makes him sit up suddenly, almost hitting his head against the edge of the bed.

‘‘Where are my things, Mabel?’’

‘‘I don’t know’’ his sister bats her eyelashes innocently, ‘‘but if you want to change…’’ the girl lifts up a fluffy lamb suit, so white it looked new.

‘‘What…?’’

‘‘Since we’re leaving tomorrow, I thought you could do the Lamby-Lamby Dance as a farewell.’’

‘‘Are you crazy? I’m not doing that again!’’ He jumps to his feet. ‘‘Give me my clothes.’’

‘‘I won’t give them to you until you do the dance’’ the girl smiles, approaches her brother, and puts an arm around his shoulders. ‘‘Come on, Bro-Bro, it won’t take you a minute, do it for me.’’

Dipper looks at Mabel angrily; her smile is the only thing keeping him from giving in to her will; he breaks free from the side hug and crosses his arms.

‘‘Mabel, I’ve been wearing that stinky, uncomfortable suit from dawn until now. I’m tired, I haven’t slept, please, give me my clothes and leave me alone.’’

The girl looks at him, surprised, clutching the lamb suit in her hands and lowering her gaze.

‘‘Why are you like this with me?’’ she asks in a whisper, her shoulders trembling, a clear sign of her silent sobs. ‘‘Please, Dipper, if you do it, I promise there won’t be another sleepover tonight.’’

Dipper uncrosses his arms and looks at her suspiciously.

‘‘Promise?’’

‘‘Yes’’ the brunette nods and looks at him with teary eyes; Dipper sighs and takes the suit.

‘‘Alright, but just this once’’ he puts on the suit and sighs, blushing. ‘‘Let’s go.’’

Mabel smiles, throws herself into his arms, and hugs him tightly; she takes his hand and pulls him out of the room, running down the stairs and dragging him to the store area. Dipper’s blush deepens as all the tourists gathered there turn to look at him with curiosity. Mabel makes him stand in the center of the room and grabs a megaphone.

‘‘Hello, tourists, I hope you’ve had a great day. To bid you farewell and hoping you come back soon, my brother will perform a dance.’’

Dipper takes a deep breath, forces a smile, and starts his dance.

The tourists smile fondly, the kids laugh quietly, Wendy looks at the boy with embarrassment, and Marcos next to her bursts into a loud laugh.

Dipper finishes, bows, and ignores the applause. He looks around, searching for Mabel; he spots her near the register with Soos, approaches them but freezes when he sees a laptop connected to a camera. His body moves without him noticing and he reaches Mabel, turns the laptop around, and pales.

Mabel had just sent a virtual invitation with a video of his dance. “Don’t miss our great party!” reads the bright red letters, painstakingly made with a computer program.

Anger floods his being; he slams his hand on the table where the register is, almost hitting the laptop; the murmuring of the tourists silences at the abrupt gesture, and Mabel’s smile disappears.

‘‘How could you, Mabel?’’ he asks through gritted teeth, barely controlling himself. ‘‘Do you like humiliating me? I’m tired, Mabel, you’re a selfish little girl that everyone caters to.’’

‘‘Dipper…’’

‘‘Don’t say anything, Soos!’’ he turns to his “friend”. ‘‘All of you… you’re despicable. I’m tired of all of you, of Uncle Stan, of Uncle Ford, and especially of you, Mabel!’’

He turns on his heel and runs away aimlessly, his eyes blinded by tears and anger; without noticing, his feet carry him into the forest, he looks up trying to see the sky, but as he runs, the trees close in tighter.

‘‘BILL!’’ he shouts with all his might and stops, looking around desperately, as if he would find the demon behind some rock or tree. ‘‘Damn it, Bill! I know you’re here, stupid demon, you said you always had an eye on us. Show yourself!’’

Dipper walks in circles, kicking the ground, clenching his hands tightly before opening them in an attempt to control his rage.

‘‘Pine Tree, don’t you think it’s a bit early for tea?’’ Bill’s voice makes him stop and turn around. A few steps away, Bill conjures up a clock and narrows his eye. ‘‘Well, it’s always possible to move it up’’ he snaps, and a chair made of fire appears behind Dipper and lifts him, another one appears behind Bill, and he sits down.

Confused, but still angry, Dipper watches the demon conjure up a table, a couple of cups, and a teapot; elegantly, the triangle pours tea into both cups and floats one towards Dipper, takes his own, and seems to smile as he looks him straight in the eyes.

‘‘What can I do for you, little lamb?’’ the mocking tone of his voice further exasperates Dipper.

‘‘Cut the nonsense, Cipher, you know why I called you’’ Dipper ignores the cup, which annoys Bill a bit, but he lets it slide.

He snaps his fingers, and Dipper falls to the ground as the chair disappears.

‘‘So, have you had enough time to think?’’

‘‘Yes’’ he nods and looks at the demon with determination. ‘‘You know my condition and… I have a few ideas to add.’’

The demon’s triangular body starts to redden with the boy’s insolence. Was he implying that his plan wasn’t good? Before exploding in anger, Bill manages to calm himself, thinking coolly. When he had presented himself to Stanford, so many years ago, he hadn’t lied completely when he said he only chose outstanding humans. In a way, he used these privileged humans differently than any other he could have used as a link to the real world; and Dipper is no exception.

But unlike Stanford, Dipper’s younger mind was easy to mold to his liking and difficult to control at the same time. He’ll never tell the boy, but that’s why he had chosen him over anyone else, and because of his proximity to the journals. Maybe listening to the boy’s idea, and not just dismissing it, will make Dipper trust him more; he smiles to himself, making a quick change to his plans.

‘‘Alright, Pine Tree’’ he extends his hand, enveloped in blue flames. ‘‘You know the deal, you just have to say the word.’’

Dipper looks at the flame for a few seconds, not with doubt or distrust, but with apprehension, and mentally tracing how to undo the deal in case Bill broke it or failed to meet his condition. He looks up at the demon and tightens his hand.

‘‘I accept.’’

[1] Spanish: What’s up?

[2] Originally the character says this in english, u know, as a good Spanglish speaker, so I mix things up a bit.

[3] Spanish: Man

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Nothing will prepare you for
The chaos I will bring upon you
You can try to run and hide
But you can't escape the
Things that I'll do

I'm the spirit of chaos, the image of evil
I'm gonna turn your world around
Game over

Spirit of Chaos – Aviator

Dipper slowly opens his eyes and stretches in bed like a cat, sighing as he hears his joints crack, letting himself fall back into bed and yawning; he hadn’t slept this well in days, he might even say he’d been doing it wrong for twelve years. Thirteen, he corrects himself mentally and gently closes his eyes, not knowing when he arrived at the cabin or when he ended up in his bed, but he supposes he should thank Bill for it.

‹‹You're wasting time, Pine Tree,›› Bill’s voice echoes in his head. Dipper sits up in bed and runs a hand through his hair. He’s not very sure of his plan now; it could fail, his uncle might catch him red-handed, he might not find the first and second journals.

‹‹Come on, Pine Tree, it was your idea. Are you going to back out after everything they’ve done to you?›› With Bill’s words, a flood of images from his summer rushes through his mind, the memories emphasizing the recent days, being denied the chance to stay in Gravity Falls, the lack of sleep, the humiliations, sleeping outside, having to dance like the wolf boy, and above all, the video his sister made of him dancing the stupid Lamby-Lamby dance.

The latter sparks a burst of anger in his chest, and the determination makes him stand up, careful not to wake Mabel, he leaves the room, descends the stairs with all the delicacy he can muster to avoid the creaking of the floorboards; he tiptoes through the living room, stopping for a few seconds in front of the TV when he sees a photo of them, of him, Mabel, and Uncle Stan; it was the first one they took when they arrived, the anger growing tinged with sadness, he lowers the photo and heads toward the shop. There, a bit more relaxed, less tense, he heads to the candy machine and presses the buttons to open the secret door and go down the stairs.

He observes the shop windows before closing the candy machine; the sun is starting to rise, which means he doesn’t have much time to complete his mission; he descends the stairs to Stanford’s office. He opens the door slowly, slips inside, and looks around.

He looks with surprise at Ford, not expecting the older man to be there so early, but he lets it slide, finding the second journal is more important now; he carefully walks through the office, paying attention to everything to avoid tripping or making noise while searching for the journal. He sees it resting on a desk under a pile of papers, sighs in relief, and takes it.

‹‹Alright, now for the last journal.›› He looks around and then at Ford, cursing softly when he sees the first journal open on his chest, held down by his hand, curses again, and approaches, touches the journal but lets it go when Ford grunts and turns around.

"We can get it later," he whispers to himself, clutches the second journal, and retraces his steps, only one left, and the perfect moment to execute Bill’s plan.

He runs up the stairs and just as quickly goes to his room for the third journal, stops outside, looks down the hall towards Stan’s room, and then looks at his own; Mabel doesn’t seem to have woken up yet, and neither has his uncle; he enters the room, goes to the bed, and with some effort lifts the mattress, carefully placing the second journal with the third between the wooden slats; he drops the mattress back down and crouches, pulls out his backpack and opens it, the Dimensional Rift is still there, where he had placed it when his uncle gave it to him.

He internally thanks the man for not remembering he still has it, closes his backpack, and slowly pushes it back to where he got it from, stretches a bit, and sighs; he feels the back of his head tingle as if being watched, the impulse to look at himself makes him rise and walk to the mirror Mabel had put back next to his bed. ‹‹You can’t attend our big day like this,›› Bill’s voice echoes in his head.

"What are you talking about?" he whispers, looking at himself and frowning, seeing nothing wrong with him.

‹‹You need to dress like what you are from now on.››

"And that would be…?"

‹‹I don’t think I need to remind you.››

‘‘What’s your idea?"

‹‹Let’s go shopping.››

"Bill, I don’t have money."

‹‹Who said anything about money? Do you forget I’m a demon? Besides, I’ve always wanted to go shopping, and now I have the body for it.››

He sighs, grabs his cap, and leaves. He doesn’t think to leave a note; he doesn’t believe anyone will care if he’s gone or not.

Dipper looks at himself in the mirror and frowns, in his reflection he can see Bill floating behind him, a projection of the demon in his own mind; the smug gesture with which the demon holds his staff and the almost smile in his eye only make his frown deeper. He turns sideways and looks at the black coat, turns and it billows around him; a shiver runs through him, it reminds him a lot of the father’s costume he wore at Mabel’s Opera, the joyful look in Bill’s eye makes him shake his head.

"No," he takes off the coat and places it carefully on the hanger.

‹‹Come on, Pine Tree, you’ve tried on about five suits, they all fit perfectly, you’re the only one who denies it,›› Bill doesn’t seem annoyed, more amused than anything.

"None of them make me feel comfortable."

As he changes, he feels Bill meditating, through the mirror he sees him walking around, almost as if he’s watching him do it in his mind. ‹‹I saw a suit that will look perfect on you,›› he says, taking control of his body to make him leave the dressing room, places the suit somewhere, and wanders around the store.

It had been a surprise to find a good store in Gravity Falls, at first, he was only going to rent the suit, but Bill insisted he should dress like what he is from that day on, so resigned, he had entered and let Bill pick the suits, each one more flamboyant than the last, more elegant, and more similar to the father’s costume.

Not that he minds wearing such a suit, he thinks distractedly, but the memory of his injured arm and the terror of not recovering his body makes him disdain them, though it’s ironic since his body is again at the demon’s disposal.

‹‹Perfect,›› Dipper picks out a suit under Bill’s influence and goes back to the dressing room.

He changes quickly, looking at the clothes from time to time, to his surprise the shirt of immaculate white is soft as silk, though he knows it isn’t – he had glimpsed the label – clumsily puts on the lime green vest with black edges, sighs as he adjusts a bow tie suspiciously similar to Bill’s, and looks at himself.

‹‹I knew it, it’s excellent›› Bill’s voice fills his mind, ‹‹it fits you perfectly, you look very good, Pine Tree, considering is you››

Dipper blushes and runs his hands over the vest, looking at himself from various angles, a small smile appears on his lips, he actually looks quite good and feels quite comfortable.

"I like it," he nods, "we’ll take it."

Bill simply nods and closes his eye, for a moment Dipper feels his mind "empty," just for him, but he doesn’t worry, he knows Bill is probably just reviewing his plan while he puts on his clothes.

He leaves the dressing room and looks at the clothes.

"How will we pay for this?"

‹‹Who said anything about paying?›› Bill’s presence returns to his mind, Dipper looks in surprise as the clothes disappear, ‹‹come on, everyone will be distracted, and we can go get the missing journal.››

Still dazed, Dipper nods, gives a slightly embarrassed smile to the store owner, hoping he didn’t notice he had a suit in his arms, and leaves.

Dipper looks at the balloons decorating the entrance path, the table for the food already set with a white tablecloth full of glitter and streamers, everywhere he looks there are a bunch of streamers and glitter, decorations and more decorations; all pink, purple, and childish, as if it was only Mabel’s birthday. But he doesn’t care, he ignores all the shiny mess as he climbs the stairs to the door; upon entering, the view is no better than outside, everyone is walking around, Mabel shouting orders from the stairs with Waddles sitting beside her. No one pays him any attention, they don’t even seem to notice he’s there, that he arrived or even left, which is better, he won’t have to explain himself.

He continues to the kitchen to find something to eat, maybe he could make a sandwich, the thought reminds him that lately, he has been living on sandwiches and soda, surprised he’s not weak from lack of protein.

‹‹You see why I insisted you eat what I offered,›› Bill says mockingly, ‹‹you’re in one piece thanks to me, Pine Tree,›› the demon’s boastful tone makes him laugh. He goes to the fridge and opens it, to his surprise, he finds a piece of meat pie with a small tag hanging from the plate, with his name written on it.

He sits down to eat. Before taking a bite, he stares at the piece of pie, analyzing if it was made by Mabel; if it was, he should put it aside. Fortunately, from what he can see, it was made by Stan and not by Mabel, so he proceeds to eat calmly.

When he finishes, he sighs contentedly and stretches in his chair, resting his head on the back of his seat and staring at the ceiling. He doesn’t want to stand up and go help; he doesn’t care about anything anymore, but he has to pretend a little longer, just a couple more hours, he tells himself, closing his eyes.

‘‘Dipper, I wanted to talk to you’’ Ford’s voice makes him open his eyes and sit up straight.

‶Hi, Uncle Ford″ he smiles feignedly, sets the plate aside, and rests his elbows on the table. ‶What did you want to talk about, Uncle?″

‶About what happened yesterday″ Stanford sits down in front of the boy, who tenses up and frowns. ‶Why did you speak to your sister like that?″

Dipper looks away and rolls his eyes. Why does his uncle suddenly care? He’s been ignoring them for a whole week, doesn’t seem really interested in helping with the party, so what are his motives for intervening on Mabel’s behalf?

‶Uncle Stan asked you to talk to me, didn’t he?″ He looks at him again and raises an eyebrow.

Stanford shifts in his seat and sighs.

‶Dipper, I know you’re upset with Mabel; she shouldn’t have done that, but your reaction was over the top.″

The younger boy’s hands clench tightly, but his face doesn’t show his anger. He tries to stay calm, though his uncle’s attitude really frustrates him.

‶Come with me″ Stanford stands up, and Dipper follows immediately, somewhat confused.

Ford guides him to the gift shop, mysteriously empty, and from there to the candy machine; once inside, they take the elevator, and Ford presses the number two button. The elevator descends slowly and leaves them on the second level, in Ford’s lab.

The younger boy looks at his uncle, surprised. Had he noticed the absence of the second journal? He doubts it very much; from how he found the journal, his uncle must have left it carelessly there a long time ago and might not even remember doing it.

‶Dipper, I want you to stay here for a while and think about how it’s best to apologize to your sister″ behind the kind tone is an implicit order.

The brunette doesn’t say anything, just looks at his uncle with apparent disbelief. The man seems to want to say something more but just turns around and leaves, closing the door. Dipper waits to hear the elevator go up and searches for the first journal.

He smiles broadly upon finding it. His uncle had made things much easier.

Dipper leaves the candy machine half an hour later, maybe a full hour; he really didn’t keep track of the time he spent in his uncle’s lab pretending to think a bit about his actions when, in reality, what he had done was reorganize the whole plan with Bill.

When he turns around, he is startled to almost bump into Stan. The old man raises an eyebrow and frowns, looking at him with disapproval.

‶What are you doing, kid? Go change; the party is about to start″ he grabs him by the shoulders and pushes him out of the shop. ‶You have fifteen minutes to do it, Dipper; hurry!″

The boy doesn’t think twice and runs to his room. Before entering, he makes sure Mabel isn’t there, smiles at the solitude and stillness, enters, locks the door, and goes to his bed.

The clothes are there, so he hurriedly changes.

Once he’s done, he walks to the mirror to finish getting ready, carefully adjusting the bowtie and the vest, looking at himself several times, and running his fingers through his hair until he achieves a somewhat decent hairstyle, so as not to take away the elegance of the suit.

‹‹Something’s missing›› murmurs Bill. Dipper looks at himself in confusion; a pair of black gloves appear in front of him and float to his hands. He takes them and puts them on; they feel comfortable and reach his wrists, made of a resistant and soft material. He opens and closes his hand, admiring the flexibility of the gloves; he has never worn a pair that wasn’t for protecting against the cold, and these feel quite pleasant.

‶All set″ they say simultaneously.

Dipper leaves the room and goes down the stairs, crossing the hallway with a brisk step, his back straight, and a fake excited smile; he can hear the music outside, Soos is probably the DJ. He stops in front of the door and takes a deep breath, feeling Mabel standing next to him, glances at her, and blinks.

His sister is dressed in one of the outfits they bought in the neighboring town of Gravity Falls. He didn’t expect her to wear it, but he doesn’t look at her much because the bright pink and orange are a bit hard on his eyes.

‶You look great, Dip-Dip″ she says softly, surprised by her brother’s outfit. He just nods, and both open the door to step outside.

The yard is full of people: Wendy and her boyfriend, her siblings, her father, Grenda and her Austrian boyfriend, Candy, Linda Susan, Soos’s grandmother, a bunch of people whose names he doesn’t know, and, to his surprise, Pacifica.

‶Did you invite Pacifica Northwest?″ he asks incredulously, looking at Mabel.

His sister shrugs and walks over to the blonde, smiling. Dipper sighs and heads to the table to find something to eat and avoid interacting with absolutely anyone.

He leans against the table and picks at his plate absentmindedly. For a while, people laugh, dance, and distract themselves. Some approach him one by one to congratulate him as well. To avoid raising suspicions, Dipper smiles and allows himself to be hugged, thanks warmly, and expresses several times his regret about having to leave the town.

Bored with everyone approaching him, he decides to imitate Mabel and stroll around the party. Maybe he could have a bit of fun and dance, even if he’s not very good at it. Some people make pleasant comments about his attire, which makes him smile with pride, feeling quite comfortable in his own skin for the first time in a long time.

More energized, he greets Candy and invites her to dance to pass the time. The blushing girl accepts, and together they head to what seems to be the dance floor. Soos sees them and smiles, so he plays a slightly slower song, which forces Dipper to get closer to Candy than he would really like.

‶You look very handsome, Dipper″ the girl whispers, blushing from head to toe.

He smiles with fake gratitude and looks at her.

‶You too, Candy″ he lies and guides her to the rhythm of the music with some clumsiness, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

She had sworn not to fall for him after their failed date, but she would be lying if she said that Mabel’s twin is not a good prospect, at least for her; she can’t believe what Mabel has told her about him. She can’t fathom why girls don’t seem to pay him any attention and why other boys pick on him.

Candy wants to say something, Dipper notices, but the music stops abruptly, and everyone turns to look at the table where Soos is set up as DJ. From there, Mabel beams widely and takes a microphone.

‶Hello, everyone! Thanks for coming to our party. Please come to the main table because we’re going to cut the cake!″ her sister says excitedly, puts down the microphone, and runs down.

Dipper releases Candy, relieved, and heads toward the table. Amid the crowd, he seems to spot Gideon’s white hair, but it seems impossible; the kid was still in jail, right?

‹‹It wasn’t your imagination›› whispers Bill, making him turn his face. Indeed, there was Gideon, dressed as discreetly as possible and as close to the table as he could be. Dipper feels a bit of pity for him; he must have come there to see his sister.

Mabel climbs onto a stool and takes a knife, but before she cuts the cake, an idea seems to blossom in her mind as a huge smile spreads across her lips. She leaves the knife in place and runs to Soos, whispers something in his ear, and returns to the cake.

Soon after, Soos unfolds a white screen and quickly sets up a projector.

‶Before we eat the cake″ he says happily, pointing to the screen.

It begins to play the video of Dipper’s dance from the previous day. The star of the embarrassing show watches the screen with a blank face, Wendy looks at him worriedly, his uncles cover their faces and prepare to stop the screams.

When the video ends, the guests look at the boy, who simply turns to his sister and smiles broadly in an act of "maturity" in the eyes of Wendy, Soos, and his uncles. Mabel even looks at him in surprise, as she expected a similar reaction of the day before.

‶That was very sweet, Mabel″ he says softly, putting on a sheepish expression. ‶And I, well, here with our guests present, wanted to apologize...″

An "awww" is heard among the female audience. Dipper is sure everyone knows about his outburst the previous day, so they are eagerly awaiting his words.

‶Oww, thanks, Dipper″ Mabel says with tears in her eyes and grabs the knife again.

‶Apologize to the poor cake that isn’t to blame for anything″ the brunette comments casually.

‶What…?″ Mabel looks at him confused when the sound of a small explosion reaches her ears. Before she realizes it, the cake is smeared all over her face and dress, some parts on the floor, and others on the nearest guests.

Dipper bursts into a loud, chilling laugh, and everyone looks at him in shock as he doubles over, one hand on his stomach, tears in his eyes.

After a minute, maybe less, Dipper’s laughter slowly subsides. He takes several breaths, straightens up, wipes the tears from his eyes, and looks at everyone with a chilling smile, stepping back a few steps until he is in the center of the abandoned dance floor.

‶I also have a show for you, you’ll love it″ he makes an exaggerated gesture, pulls his gloves off, and stretches them as if showing that he has nothing inside. He adjusts them and smiles even more.

He puts his hand into his vest, pats his chest a little, and pulls out the first journal as if by magic, spinning it on his finger. He places his free hand behind his back and slides it into the right pocket, pulls it out seemingly disappointed, and puts it into the left pocket. After a few seconds, when he pulls it out again, the second journal is in his hand. He takes a bow as if someone had applauded, puts the journals together, and passes a hand behind his ear, pulling out the third journal from behind it. He almost laughs at his sister’s and the others' disbelief. If only they knew that the “magic trick” is thanks to Bill’s power.

Dipper gathers the three journals and makes them disappear, only to reappear in his hands, presenting them in order from 1 to 3. For many, the importance of the three books in his hands is unknown, but those who do know about their existence gasp and look at Ford.

Seeing the three journals in Dipper’s hands, Stanford seems to snap out of his trance. He doesn’t know when the boy took the first two, but recovering them takes priority.

‶Dipper, the joke is over; give me back the journals″ Ford takes a few steps toward him, annoyed. The boy must have taken them as retaliation for his words and actions over the past week. How immature can he be? But of course, he’s only 13; what did he expect?

‶Oh, Uncle Ford″ the ironic tone makes Ford stop, ‶there’s still the grand finale.″

Bill, in Dipper’s mind, blinks in surprise. Grand finale? The original plan was just to show Ford that the journals were in his possession. Despite his desire to destroy them, he knew the boy wouldn’t trust him if he did so. Dipper is more intelligent and paranoid than he imagined, so he only has to resign himself to having them and hiding them, or whatever the boy decides to do with them.

‶Bill″ with a flick of his wrist, the Dimensional Rift appears in his hand. Ford’s eyes widen, and he steps forward, extending his hand as if he could grab the Rift.

Dipper lets the sphere fall; the cracked crystal breaks into small pieces scattered on the grass, the black-violet plasma with stars spills onto the grass and seems to dry up slowly.

Bill takes this moment to project himself in front of the present people from Dipper’s mind, his laugh fills the place, eerie and evil.

‶Bill!″ Ford shouts, stepping back several paces.

‶Bill, I need some of your power″ Dipper’s words surprise both Bill and Ford. The demon nods imperceptibly and lets a large part of his power flow. Blue fire accumulates around Dipper and seems to explode into a small burst of energy. His pupils elongate, and a huge smile splits his lips.

With a snap of his fingers, the journals rise into the sky, while a beam of energy shoots from the remaining plasma, colliding with the orange sky of the sunset that no one had noticed had begun.

‶Dipper! What are you…?″

Dipper looks at him. The sinister look on the young face makes his stomach churn. He thought Dipper was stronger, that he was exempt from falling into Bill’s temptations; with another snap of the boy’s fingers, the first journal ignites until it is consumed, then the second, and finally the third.

Bill looks at him, surprised, for a few seconds. ''How interesting,'' he thinks at that moment. Then pride fills him, and he bursts into a loud laugh. He had made an excellent choice in taking Dipper not only as his human but also as his right-hand man. If he had planned for Dipper to destroy the journals, it wouldn’t have turned out as well, and Stanford and Mabel’s panicked faces are just a bonus. ''You’re better than I thought.''

Ford feels his legs go weak and collapses to his knees on the ground, his eyes wide as he looks at the ashes and then at Bill and Dipper.

—The idea of burning the journals is mine, Uncle Ford —Dipper says, giving him a cold look.

Stanford doesn’t believe it. It can’t be that the mystery-loving kid he knew is the same one who destroyed all his research, his life; no, it must be Bill’s doing, who controls him, who has brainwashed him.

A new flash of fire makes him look up. Bill’s single eye shines in blue, like his flames but in a different way. Before fading away, Dipper’s white eyes turn golden, his body starts to levitate, flames in his hands, and an eerie, guttural, demonic laugh emerges from the base of his throat.

The sky tears across the area where the rift’s energy struck, forming a cross in the sky. A strong gust of wind sweeps through the town, carrying leaves and papers. Those not present at the party watch in shock from where they are. Dipper’s laughter seems to echo everywhere.

His golden, slit-pupiled eyes drop down to Stanford, and an even larger, sharper, more dangerous, predatory smile stretches across his lips.

‶You lost, Sixer.″

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

I had a master plan,
Now I rule the world,

They looked into my eyes,
And I became invincible.

No one can stop me,
For only I am in control,

Don't Mess With Me – Temposhark

‶Dipper Pines!″ Mabel’s angry voice cuts through the furious roar of the wind and occasional thunder. She has finally come out of her stupor, along with the other guests who nervously move about, unsure of what to do, fearful of drawing attention to themselves. ‶Stop joking around, you’re ruining my birthday party!″

Bill, in Dipper’s body, looks at her as if she were a mere cockroach about to be squashed under his shoe. He raises a hand, and Ford reacts quickly, reaching into his coat and cursing—he had left all his weapons in the lab.

‶Bill!″ Ford calls to both of them, ‶you won’t accomplish anything. I know how to destroy you.″ The only response he gets to his words is a loud, mocking laugh that makes him swallow but he doesn’t intend to back down. ‶How dare you deceive Dipper? What did you offer him to fall into your trap? To be your right-hand man?″

Dipper looks at him and doubles over, still laughing as he holds his stomach.

‶Speak, you damned demon!″

‶Oh, Sixer, you’re so naive to think such things″ Bill’s tone, mocking and sarcastic, as if speaking to a child he considers hopelessly stupid but still feels pity for, makes Ford’s blood boil. ‶That’s just an added bonus. The terms of our deal are not something you need to concern yourself with, let alone understand… none of you really.″

‶Bill?″ Stanley tightens his grip on Mabel’s shoulders protectively, finally coming out of his stupor. ‶What’s going on, Ford? Why is Dipper…?″

‶I’ll tell you what’s happening, Mr. Mystery″ a dangerous smile curves his lips, his golden eyes seem to shine with malevolence. ‶I’m your new master!″ a memory flashes in Bill’s mind and spreads throughout Dipper’s body, ‶I am Bipper… Cipher″ his voice sounds more like Dipper’s and for a brief fraction of a second, Bill is surprised by this, as Dipper declares himself Cipher, dropping his last name, which felt to Bill like the boy was completely surrendering; the sensation is thrilling. ‶The supreme ruler of this dimension, and of his world!″

He snaps his fingers, and Ford, Stan, Mabel, Wendy, Soos, Pacifica, Robie, and Gideon fall unconscious. Their bodies rise, surrounded by light until they form a bubble of different colors and symbols for each, rapidly ascending to the sky and disappearing in the act.

The other guests are overwhelmed by terror and flee in panic. Bipper, laughing like a maniac, floats toward the town, rubbing his hands together and looking around with malicious delight.

‶I can’t believe it″ Bill admits aloud, stopping in the middle of the forest, while Dipper watches him with curiosity. ‶I can’t believe this is finally happening, I can’t believe you helped me.″

Dipper gives him an amused smile and, through their shared eyes, observes the torn sky, the sinister and wild coloration of the rift.

‹‹I didn’t expect to end up in this situation either›› Dipper confesses, his eyes falling towards the triangular figure and he sighs with feigned exasperation. ‹‹But I must admit your plans aren’t so bad after all›› He looks at the town and then at the sky once more, from his position he can see the eight bubbles fiercely secured by chains.

‹‹Let’s see what happens next›› he smiles amusedly, and Bill returns the smile with a playful wink.

‶I knew you would be a great ally″ he looks proudly at Dipper’s astral body and extends a hand toward him. ‶Shall we call some friends to join the party? What do you say?″

Dipper shifts his gaze from the town to Bill, surprised that the demon is literally asking for permission; however, the gleam in Bill’s one eye makes him correctly think that it doesn’t matter if he said yes or no, the demon would do it anyway, but the fact that he’s given the choice makes his chest feel warm and confirms that he made the right decision.

‹‹Go ahead, call them, you’re dying to do it.›› An idea strikes his mind and spreads throughout the mental plane. He knows Bill is aware of the direction of his thoughts before he voices them, but he says it anyway. ‹‹Also, I’m curious to meet them. Will you let me study them?››

‶Of course, just be careful with the ones that bite″ Bill snaps his fingers, and the rift seems to stir, as if a veil was pulled aside, ‶it would be quite unpleasant to have to kill one of my friends.″

Dipper blinks in surprise but doesn’t get a chance to say anything as several creatures of various shapes start emerging from the rift in the sky, each more bizarre than the last.

‶Eight Ball, Kryptos, the being whose name must never be spoken″ Bill points them out and laughs, ‶what the heck, is Zanthar, Teeth, Lock, Hectorgon, Amorphous Figure, Pyronica, Pacifier″ Dipper looks at each one, trying to decipher who each name belongs to. He looks up, somewhat dazed, and his eyes meet several bat-eyes, ‶and lastly, these guys.″

The demons look around, somewhat lost and curious.

‶The city is ours, guys!″ Bipper shouts, calling their attention, ‶let’s start the party! Let’s show this dimension how to really party!″

The demons look at him, stunned and somewhat wary, the tallest of them all, with a feminine appearance and a single eye, dares to approach with a frown.

‶Bill? Is that you?″

‶Bill? You look like… a human″ murmurs the one Dipper easily recognizes as Eight Ball, the demon scratches its head, ‶you… a human summoned us?″

Bipper rolls his eyes and snorts in annoyance.

‶Yes, I’m Bill. Do you care to know why I’m in this human body or shall we start the party?″

The demons stir and wide smiles appear on the faces of those who have them, they cheer and jump, starting to run toward the town, shouting “Party! Party! Yay! Party!”

Bipper lets them go and snaps his fingers to appear in the town square. The people walking around seem unconcerned by the sky’s hue or the rift. Bipper tilts his head and extends his arms to both sides of his body, blue flames envelop him and rise to the sky like fireworks, capturing everyone’s attention. The people watch him in fascination, and when the noise and flames end, everyone applauds and laughs.

‶Bravo! What a great magician!″ they shout, joyfully amazed by the performance.

‶Magician?″ a slow and chilling smile reveals his semi-pointed teeth. ‶Oh no, I’m not a magician″ a dark laugh erupts from the base of his throat. ‶I am… your master″ he says in a dark voice, and with a snap of his fingers, most of the passersby are instantly turned to stone.

The few who are spared look incredulously at the boy, their eyes wide open. Only the arrival of the monsters provokes the first scream of panic and they start running desperately, drawing the attention of the townspeople who had not seen Bipper’s light show.

He lets out a loud laugh, the bat-eyes hover above them, turning them to stone while awaiting new orders.

‶This place needs new décor″ Bipper raises his arms and from the center of the earth emerges a huge pyramid-shaped castle divided into three sections. His friends whistle in admiration at the place. ‶And bubbles of Pure Madness!″ thousands of colored bubbles appear out of nowhere and float around, as if waiting for a simple gesture to start sowing chaos.

‶Let’s see″ he says once the castle is in place in the sky, illuminated by the rift. His eyes rest on some faces and he reverses their stone state. The poor wretches wriggle and scream trying to flee, but are stopped by a bat-eye. ‶Hmm, they would make good chess pieces″ he nods to himself and with a snap of his fingers, makes them straighten up and begin to transform into stone.

Bipper descends to the ground and walks among the pathetic humans, de-transforming them and deciding what they would be: coat racks, lamps, statues to decorate the entrance, and more chess pieces. He stops in front of the Northwest couple, quickly deciding that the woman might be food for some of the demons, but Mr. Northwest…

He reverts him and watches him closely.

‶What should I do with you, Northwest?″ he questions with a suggestive voice, as if really giving him the opportunity to choose his fate. The man looks around with some indifference, adjusts his suit, and turns his gaze back to the “boy” with some caution.

‶Well, I could make a good hunting trophy″ the man smiles proudly. ‶I mean, with my poise and reputation, I will be either a great statue or a beautiful hunting trophy″ he looks around, wrinkling his nose in disgust, ‶I mean, you can’t make me the same as the others.″

‶Hmm, well, I actually thought you’d look good as a lamp″ he says thoughtfully, ‶but the truth is you wouldn’t be suitable for that. I have the perfect thing for you″ he turns him back into stone and pushes him. Before he falls, a bat-eye catches him and makes him float.

‶You’ll serve to hold the castle door″ he says, even though he knows the cold stone cannot hear him.

He looks at the remaining group of humans and, satisfied with his work, snaps his fingers to return them to normal, smiles at his friends, and floats back into the air.

‶This party has just begun and never stops″ he announces in a deep, cavernous voice, causing the stunned, recently restored humans to shudder, ‶meaning has no meaning, and I reign Supreme. Welcome one and all to Weirdmageddon!″

He bursts into laughter, and his friends follow suit, rushing to wreak havoc everywhere. The lucky ones who were not turned to solid stone flee in terror, seeking places to hide. Bipper snaps his fingers, and the bat-eyes carry their new furniture and pieces floating toward the castle.

‶Have fun″ he smiles widely and snaps his fingers again to appear in the center of the pyramid.

Bipper eagerly supervises the placement of each petrified human in their respective spots. With a snap of his fingers, he makes a huge chessboard appear in one of the castle's rooms and instructs them to arrange the pieces accordingly.

Within his mind, Dipper flutters around Bill, inundating him with questions about his demon friends. His brown eyes shine with excitement, reminiscent of the impish excitement Ford had when he was first tricked; however, the fact that Dipper is more focused on his friends than on him annoys Bill, making it hard for him to concentrate on the surprise he wants to prepare.

All the power and knowledge of the universe he can offer is just a request away from the boy, and he prefers to waste time asking about his friends. Bill makes a somewhat irritated grimace and closes his eyes, massaging his temples.

‶Dipper″ he interrupts softly. The boy looks at him and raises an eyebrow, waiting for his next words. ‶Are you satisfied with this? It’s only just begun.″

Dipper looks at him, confused. ‹‹What are you talking about?›› he questions, but before the demon can say anything, a loud explosion echoes throughout the place.

‶What the hell?″ Bipper looks angrily toward the hallway and walks with heavy steps to the main hall, where the working demons stare in shock at the destroyed door and a squadron of more than forty armed men around a huge baby.

Bipper rolls his eyes.

‶Time Baby″ he growls, although internally Bill thinks the arrival is timely.

‶Bill Cipher″ says one of the officers stepping forward. ‶You are in violation of the rules of SpaceTime, and you did so by possessing a human body″ he adds with some displeasure.

‶If your rip in this dimension continues, it could destroy the very fabric of existence″ says the Time Baby with a deep, unnatural voice for the body it possesses. ‶Surrender and release the human, or face my tantrum.″

At the mention of the ''fabric of existence'', Dipper's attention seems to spike, and his large corporeal eyes shift to Bill. ‹‹Fabric of existence? What is that? Is it something really important?›› he quickly asks, more questions swirling in his head and ready to be fired in rapid succession while waiting for an answer. Bill squints his eye slightly irritated, ignoring the Time Officers’ speech and the tantrum that the Time Baby is starting to throw.

The annoyance he felt moments ago about Dipper seeming more interested in his friends than in him returns with a vengeance now, amplified by the Time Baby’s whimpering demanding his attention.

‶I don’t have time for this!″ he shouts, a flash of humor appearing in his eyes as he makes a brusque gesture with his hand, sending a burst of flames toward the Time Baby and his squad, completely erasing them. ‶Ha! Do you get it? ‹Time›″

He brings a hand to his head and laughs, Dipper first looks in surprise at the place where the Time Baby had been and then at Bill. ‹‹Wow›› is all he manages to murmur before joining in the demon’s laughter.

When it ends and he straightens up, his body wobbles and blinks, cursing under his breath while leaning against a pillar, trying to ensure that none of the present demons see him.

‶Time to rest″ he tells Dipper and moves away from the place towards some upside-down stairs to begin climbing them.

‹‹Rest? You’re a demon, Bill. I don’t think you need to rest.››

‶I don’t, but you do″ he says calmly, now relaxed after releasing his anger.

‹‹You control my body, I don’t understand…››

‶You’re still a human, Dipper, and the truth is, you’re quite weak″ he arrives at an exquisitely decorated room, walls papered in a rich burgundy color, a fur rug in the center of the room, a lit fireplace warming the place. ‶Welcome to the Penthouse.″

Bipper extends his arms, and Dipper from his mind views everything with curiosity. His body moves towards a sofa and lets himself fall, settling in. The brunette jumps when a pair of eyes open and a tongue sticks out of the sofa.

‶It’s made of living human skin″ Bill informs before Dipper can ask any questions. ‶Now rest, you need it.″

Dipper huffs but settles in, taking control of his body, sighing suddenly exhausted. Maybe Bill was right…

‹‹I’m always right, Pine Tree›› Bill points out with amusement. Dipper laughs softly and closes his eyes, gradually falling asleep.

Dipper opens his eyes and stretches, feeling his body numb, sore, but at the same time refreshed. He blinks several times and frowns when his eyes focus and he sees a triangular ceiling. It takes him a few seconds to recognize the place, the memories of the last few hours flooding his mind, a shiver runs down his spine at a sudden remnant of the power display Bill had performed.

Bill!

‹‹I’m here, Pine Tree›› the demon’s voice echoes throughout his head, startling him ‹‹I have a surprise for you.›› Dipper blinks and, curious, closes his eyes again. With some effort, he manages to withdraw his consciousness to the Mental Plane.

‹‹Bill?›› The boy walks through the Mental Plane, which begins to change. The floor seems to turn to wood, and long red and blue wallpapered walls appear around him. As he walks, more things appear, several sofas, a circular rug with a triangle and an eye in the center, a small tea table, and two long, huge bookshelves filled with books. Dipper stops when he sees Bill sitting at a desk, with two more desks beside him, new notebooks and sheets on all three, and a long set of pens.

‹‹What is all this?›› he questions, surprised.

‹‹t’s a study, of course›› Bill rolls his eye as if it were the most obvious thing ‹‹You asked to study my friends, you can’t do that in mid-air.››

‹‹You made me a study?›› The surprise in Dipper’s voice does not overshadow the joy flooding his eyes.

‹‹Don’t get too excited, kid›› Bill turns toward the bookshelves ‹‹You have plenty to keep yourself entertained. When you have questions, you can ask me, but only when I’m not busy, okay?››

Dipper nods several times standing in front of one of the bookshelves, his eyes scanning all the titles, unable to decide which one to take first; Bill, behind him, might have been smiling in satisfaction if he had a mouth. Instead, he turns to take possession of the boy’s body.

With him entertained, he can focus on directing his new empire.

Stanford Pines opens his eyes and sits up abruptly, which turns out to be a bad idea as everything starts spinning immediately. He places a hand on his head and remains very still until the dizziness passes, but his head still throbs with pain. He looks around, dazed. Where was he? The last thing he remembers is Dipper and Mabel’s birthday party, the cake exploding and...

Bill Cipher!

He jumps up and discovers that he was lying in a bed, but doesn’t pay much attention to it given his foggy memories. He remembers Dipper being possessed by Bill, unleashing Weirdmageddon, and then… then…

‶Hey Pointdexter, you okay?″ Stanley’s voice interrupts his train of thought.

He looks up and opens his mouth in surprise. The man standing in the doorway a few steps away looks nothing like his brother Stanley; that is, he looks physically like Stanley, but the beachwear and relaxed expression were far from what he had seen of his brother in the couple of months they had lived together after being rescued from the portal.

‶Stan, what…?″

‶If you don’t hurry, we’ll be late for the Awards. They’re finally going to give you the recognition you deserve, little bro″ Stan smiles widely and then turns around and leaves.

Ford looks around. The room that seemed obviously his was filled with diplomas and awards for his scientific work, for his research, for his contributions to the community; there was even one from NASA.

Ford sits on the bed, dizzy again, one hand covering his eyes and the other hanging by his knee. What the hell had Bill Cipher done to him?

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Stanford, sitting on the roof of his "house," watches what seems to be the sunset, but it’s merely the surface of what appears to be a capsule that keeps him trapped. He must admit that Bill was very cautious and meticulous with his fantasy world, but it didn’t fool him. He shakes his head; it had been about three days, or so he believed, since he woke up, and those three days were almost exactly the same.

For him, perhaps the most terrifying aspect of that world is his supposed brother, Stanley. He was compliant and relaxed, docile; to Ford, it felt like someone had performed some strange lobotomy on his real brother. The more time he spends with his twin, the more he feels guilty for having wished in his youth that his brother wasn't so idiotic or that he hadn’t been so impulsive as to ruin his entry into his dream university.

He sighs, almost irritated, climbs down from the roof through a small hatch, and then goes down to his room. He couldn’t wait any longer; he has to get out, save his family, and stop Bill along with the Weirdmageddon. He rummages through the nightstand where he had stored the device he built to escape, while his mind is focused on each step of his plan; if something went wrong, he would be lost, and the chance to save humanity would perish with him.

He grips the weapon tightly and hides it under his coat; he must hurry before "Stanley" and his wife Carla arrive and prevent him from leaving. He leaves the house, walks to the sidewalk, and gets on the motorcycle that, according to this world's "Stanley," belongs to him. He starts it, accelerates as much as he can, driving towards the horizon, towards the edge of the town. It doesn’t take him long to get there; before, he hadn’t dared to go to that place, but he couldn’t waste more time. He gets as close as he can and looks out; through the stretched reddish material, he can see some land, which could mean that if his plan works, he wouldn’t fall from the sky.

He steps back a few paces, drawing the weapon from his back, and aims at the edge. He takes a long breath before firing; the beam hits the reddish surface, which seems to ripple before solidifying and cracking. Cautiously, Ford approaches, stepping on the surface, which breaks like glass. He smiles to himself and jumps through the hole, large enough for him to fit.

Fortunately, the plateau on which his prison was extended was just a few meters below, so he falls without much difficulty. He looks up when the sound of falling chains echoes around him. To his surprise, thick chains that envelop the dome, or rather bubble now that he sees it better, in which he was trapped, break and disappear before falling along with him, but the bubble remains in place.

He smiles triumphantly and collapses to the ground, looking around. Gravity Falls is in chaos; a huge pyramid floats in the center of the town, where Bill is likely to be. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and sighs, closing his eyes.

"Soon I'll rescue them," he thinks, exhausted. He just needs to regain some energy before heading to the shack to see if he can find something that will help.

The small and select group of demons closest to Bill watches him from a corner as he paces around the enormous chessboard that is slowly taking shape. They see him levitate one petrified human after another, moving them from one spot to another. The tallest among them narrows her eyes suspiciously; Bill was still Bill, but as the "days" passed, "Bipper" seemed to grow stronger and stronger. He had even stopped sleeping, and the food he consumed was so little that it could hardly be considered food.

Something was happening with that body, all because of Bill’s power, but none of them liked the idea of being commanded by a human. It didn’t matter that Bill was inside; it made no sense to them that he preferred that body over his own.

"Pyronica," Kryptos calls, tugging on her cloak, causing the demon to growl in annoyance as she glares at him with her single eye. "Are you going…?"

"Yes, yes, I’m going," she replies, irritated, and walks away from them, adjusting her clothes. She takes a few steps, and almost immediately, the others are at her heels; idiots, if they were going to get close, they shouldn’t have sent her.

Her eye goes back to the human body, her brow furrowing. Stupid human who had taken Bill’s attention away. Such a weak and insignificant creature—what had he done to make Bill cling so tightly? She doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know. She just wants the demon to abandon that body, for things to return to their course, and if possible, to be the first to tear apart the small and slender body of "Bipper" limb by limb.

"Hm, Bill?" she calls, stopping in front of the board.

Bill stops his internal conversation with Dipper, and they both look up at the pink-colored demon. Dipper recognizes her as Pyronica and frowns slightly, curious. Neither she nor any of the others had approached them in the short time that had, theoretically speaking, passed since they took Gravity Falls.

"Yes, Pyronica?" Bipper turns fully towards her, the black coat of his new suit swirling around him, giving him a dangerous and elegant air. His voice, still childish but imbued with the demonic tones of Bill's voice, makes her shiver for a few seconds.

"We were wondering," a pinch from one of the demons makes her kick backward, "When do you plan to get rid of that... body?" she mutters through gritted teeth. Her desire to tear the pale skin pulses more and more under her own skin, causing a slight burning sensation in her fingers. She swears to herself that as soon as she gets the chance, she will devour the boy.

Bipper, for his part, raises an eyebrow, not too surprised by the demon’s audacity, sent there by her companions. Dipper places his hundredth feather in the journal in front of him and slowly closes it. Worry begins to weave through his chest, and Bill sighs wearily.

‹‹We have a deal, Pine Tree›› he reminds him softly, and immediately the boy relaxes, the verbal confirmation of such a fact comforting him. So, he ignores the situation unfolding outside his Mental Plane and reopens the journal to continue his notes.

"I was thinking," Bipper stops, hands behind his back, looking at them with feigned sweetness, a wicked smile on his lips. Pyronica barely avoids sighing at the sight of Bill’s arrogant gesture, and the demons behind her shiver, "that it’s time to move on to phase two, World Domination."

The small group gasps, their eyes widening with excitement. The smile on Bipper’s lips widens as he sees his goal accomplished.

"Go get ready. You need to regain energy. I want you all at full strength when I give the order to take over the world."

"Yes, sir!" they all say in unison, turning around and running off to who knows where in the mansion.

‹‹Very clever, Bill›› Dipper murmurs without looking up from his journal. ‹‹How long will it take them to come and ask the same thing?››

"Let’s hope much longer. My business is not their concern," he mutters coldly. Dipper chuckles softly, nodding in agreement with him.

Ford leans against the totem pole of the shack, takes a deep breath, and runs a hand over his forehead, trying to calm his heart. Getting home had been more difficult than he initially thought; bat-like eyes patrolled the entire area, and many horrendous creatures, which could only be Bill’s friends, were destroying the town's houses, playing with the few people still left and digging up who knows what from the cemetery.

He shudders. Whatever Bill is planning can’t be good. In reality, nothing that comes from the triangular demon is good. With one last breath and the certainty that there are no "patrollers" around, he quickly crosses the path separating him from the house, climbs the steps, and enters the shack, closing the door with a bit more force than necessary.

He sighs in relief, but as he turns around, he finds himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun that grazes his nose.

"What the hell...?" He looks up and finds the surprised gaze of his twin. "Stanley?"

"Pointdexter?" Stan lowers the gun, and to Ford's surprise, hugs him tightly, patting his back before pulling away. "Are you real? I don’t know what that damn demon did to my head, but I’m glad you’re real."

Ford looks at his brother for a long time without saying anything. Deep in his mind, he wonders what the heck Stan saw in his bubble to be so euphoric with him. The older twin shifts uncomfortably under the long scrutiny of his brother and clears his throat.

"I’m glad to see you too," Ford declares and gives his twin a small smile before showing a serious expression, "but there’s no time to waste. We need to go rescue the others."

"Others?" Stanley frowns, confused.

"Bill must have captured more people." Ford walks past his brother, heading towards the living room, with the older twin immediately following, holding his shotgun. "Knowing him as well as I do, it’s very likely that he did."

‶I'm not going to ask how you ''know'' that maniac so well,″ Stan ignores the annoyed grunt Ford gives him for interrupting. ‶So, who do we need to save?″

‶I'm not entirely sure,″ Ford crosses the living room with quick and careful steps until he reaches the shop area, where he enters a code into the candy machine, ‶but Mabel and Dipper are our top priority.″ Both of their gazes darken, determination on their faces; they’ll do whatever it takes to save their nephews. ‶Unfortunately, Bill destroyed the journals, so we need to come up with a solid plan.″

Stan follows him to the elevator; he suddenly remembers something and scratches his neck, uncomfortable, unsure of how his brother will take the news.

‶About the journals,″ Ford looks at him over his shoulder, ‶while I was rebuilding the portal, I made copies of all three books. They're in my room.″

Ford pauses mid-opening the elevator and turns slightly, Stanley watches, expecting to be yelled at for doing such a thing, but he hadn’t survived all those years by sheer luck.

‶Why didn’t you mention this before?″ Ford stops any retort from his brother and changes direction, heading back to the shop. ‶Let's get the journals; we have to save our nephews.″

They both walk down the hallway towards the stairs. Stan opens his mouth to say something when a sudden, shrill noise fills the cabin; both men blink in surprise. The noise came from below, most likely from Ford’s lab, and just as suddenly as it appeared, it stops.

‶You get the journals; I’ll investigate,″ the younger one informs, not waiting for a response as he retraces his steps to the shop, enters behind the candy machine, and immediately heads down to his lab in the elevator.

Once inside, he approaches one of the computers that are still functioning, which he had programmed to turn on if it detected anything out of the ordinary. However, in his opinion, it hadn’t worked very well, as it never detected Bill. He wonders, as he enters the code and checks what triggered the alarm, when Bill possessed his nephew? When did Dipper let himself be deceived by the demon? And most importantly, why?

He watches the words and codes scroll across the greenish screen and frowns, concerned. A diagram of Gravity Falls appears on the screen, with red dots marked around the town, followed by a large, colorful, triangular point drawn in the center of the town.

He counts six red dots, five surrounding one in the center; he moves his fingers over the keyboard, and the coordinates of the red points appear on one side of the screen. There's no doubt, Mabel must be in one of those ''points.''

A new alarm goes off on his computer, and a new report is displayed on the screen, which Ford reads carefully while modifying the memory-erasing gun. When he finishes reading the report, a smile spreads across his lips, he stores the gun, and turns off the computer; he takes the elevator back up and patiently waits until it brings him back to the shop. He exits and pushes the candy machine aside.

‶Stanley! We're leaving,″ he calls out loudly as he approaches a window to look outside.

‶Where to?″ Stan enters the shop, carrying three binders, his shotgun, and a baseball bat. Ford raises an eyebrow, and the elder just shrugs.

‶To rescue Mabel and the others.″

‶Do you know where our niece is?″ Stan hands the binders to Ford and firmly grips the bat.

‶Yes, and I know how to save her.″

The demons glance at each other, some uncomfortable and slightly annoyed, while others simply play with human bones, indifferent to the discomfort of Bill's main ''friends.'' Pacifier taps his foot on the ground, arms crossed, a face of infinite hatred on his expression. He looks at his peers and snorts.

‶Why the hell are we here?″ he suddenly asks, his irritated gaze fixed on his peers.

‶Resting,″ says a demon, rolling his eyes.

‶Not here, idiot. I mean this little town,″ his eyes land on the nearest wall of the room. ‶We’re demons; we can do whatever we want, and instead, we're here ‹resting›''

‶Bipper ordered it,″ Hectorgon points out.

‶Well, I suggest we ignore his orders,″ Pacifier uncrosses his arms and walks to the center of the small circle that was forming around him as he spoke.

‶Are you crazy?″ The demon with a padlock for a face looks at him as if he were some human pretending to be a monster. ‶Did you hear what he did to the Time Baby? Imagine what he would do to us if we disobey him!″

More than one shudders, the few who were present nod in agreement with the greenish being's words.

‶But in a human body, I don't think he has all his powers,″ Kryptos interjects, joining Pacifier. ‶We could attack him now that he’s weak and rule the world ourselves.″

The words fall like a heavy anvil, bringing silence with them. Everyone stares at him, unsure of what to say, then they all explode at once, talking and shouting things that, to Kryptos, made no sense.

‶We can't do that!″ Pyronica's voice cuts through the buzzing of the others. She glares at the two troublemakers. ‶You all know perfectly well what Bill does to traitors. Let's follow his orders; after all, he brought us here.″

‶Exactly, Bill just wants to have fun, and so do we. What does anything else matter?″ 8-Ball looks from one demon to another, scratching his head when they all blink in surprise at the coherence of his words.

‶He's just a human!″ Pacifier raises his hands. ‶A simple, filthy human is giving us orders! How can you be so happy and comfortable with this situation?″

Some look at each other, muttering under their breath. In some ways, Pacifier is right. Since they arrived, Bill hadn’t presented himself in his original form even once, always wandering around in that human body, always distracted.

‶If he hears you, he’ll kill you,″ Pyronica tries to silence him, annoyed, looking over her shoulder as if their leader would materialize out of thin air behind them.

‶I don't care! We're demons; we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. Bill is not our master. He’s just a simple human. If he really had the power you all say he has, he wouldn’t need that awful body.″

More than one demon nods in agreement.

‶I bet I could have defeated the Time Baby if I had had the chance,″ he boasts, raising his head with pride. The murmurs spread around in agreement. Anyone could have defeated the Time Baby; he was just a baby!

Others, however, shake their heads in shock, taking a few steps back. Pacifier had lost his mind, that’s for sure. It’s impossible for him to think such a thing. Bill, now Bipper, they remind themselves grimly, was quite powerful, the Master of Space, Matter, and Time. Challenging him is simply suicide in their eyes.

‶What do we do?″ Teeth bites down hard, grinding his teeth.

‶Well, rest, that’s what Bill said,″ Hectorgon replies, sitting down.

‶And why rest?″ Kryptos looks at them. ‶Isn’t he trying to take over the entire world? It seems to me that he’s too distracted with that body of his.″

‶Yeah, in fact, I bet he's exploring how sensitive it is,″ Amorphous Shape jokes, earning a look of contempt from Pyronica.

‶Don’t say such nonsense. Bill wouldn't do that,″ her skin turns a deep purple, and those around her take a few steps back in case the flames covering her get out of control.

‶We need to attack Bipper while we still can,″ Pacifier says, his eyes blazing, his mind spinning with the perfect plan, searching for the right moment.

‶Bipper will kill you if he finds out,″ Hectorgon says, sitting down.

‶I don't give a damn what ''Bipper'' says. I’m tired of taking orders from that human,″ Pacifier snorts, crossing his arms again.

He wants to add something, but Bipper’s voice makes them all tense up. They immediately look at the door, almost expecting to see him standing there, furious after hearing their insubordination plans. Luckily for them, the human isn’t there, but his voice is heard again, close enough to make them sweat with nerves.

‶You bunch of idiots! You’ve rested long enough. Get your asses here, NOW!″ They all swallow, even Pacifier takes a step back, almost seeing Bill’s triangular, red figure floating in front of him.

‶We have to go; Bill is calling us,″ a demon says, wiping his hands.

‶Since when are we his lapdogs?″ Kryptos grumbles, not at all happy about having to obey.

‶We’re not his lapdogs; we’re his friends,″ Zanthar protests, speaking up for the first time in the discussion. Kryptos and Pacifier laugh bitterly.

‶Are you really that stupid to believe Bill considers us his friends?″ Pacifier says with a grim expression.

Everyone looks at each other again and shakes their heads. They'd better hurry, or they might be the next ones to suffer the explosion of power that the Time Baby went through, which wiped him off the face of the Earth and the universe.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Stan groans as he hits the hard ground, with Waddles and Mabel on his hip. He looks up and glares at his brother, who had landed almost like a cat, nearly standing, seemingly unbothered by the difference in height between Mabel's bubble and the ground.

Freeing Mabel had been the most difficult and traumatic thing he'd ever done. As he wipes his suit, Ford and he exchange glances, and the same thought crosses their minds: they silently vow never to speak of what happened in that bubble, for the sake of their remaining sanity and the sanity of anyone else. With a sigh, he hugs his niece tightly, determined not to let her out of his sight until they get home. They walk toward the cabin, taking care not to be seen—even though there wasn’t a single bat-eye flying around—while Mabel’s voice is only half-heard by them.

Stan’s mind disconnects from everything except walking, wrapped in many thoughts and none at all. He glances sideways at the sky, where Mabel's bubble still hangs, feeling the perhaps exaggerated sensation that they spent at least a week rescuing her. The other five bubbles had only required a shot from Ford’s weapon, or rather, his modified version, to crack the surface and break the illusion of those trapped. But had he known his niece’s would be so difficult, he would have asked for a break and some food—he’s starving, and all he wants now is to sleep for a long time. But he knows his brother won’t let him; saving the world comes first.

They arrive relatively quickly, or so it seems to Stanley when he finally snaps out of his thoughts. The cabin looks exactly as they left it, which is a great relief. According to Ford, it was due to the Unicorn Voodoo he and Dipper performed that had kept Bill’s anomalies away.

Dipper.

Stan’s eyes travel to Mabel as they climb onto the cabin’s porch. The girl hadn’t asked about her brother, and the older Pines wonders if she was angry with him for ruining the birthday party. He’s quite sure it was all Bill’s doing; Dipper is a good kid, not as stupid and naive as his brother.

“Did you hear that?” Ford’s voice makes him look at the door. He tightens his grip on the baseball bat and sees Mabel pulling out her grappling hook from her sweater, which makes him smile in amusement. “On the count of three, one... two…”

Before Ford can say anything else, Stan steps forward and kicks the door open, letting out a battle cry, only to be met with a similar shout and the sight of the old crazy McGucket surrounded by a large number of people and forest creatures, making him step back in surprise.

“Fiddleford?” Ford lowers his weapon in shock.

“Ford? Ford!” The old man steps forward and pats Ford’s back vigorously in recognition. “You’re alive!”

“Oh, old friend, I’m so sorry…”

“There’s no time for that,” the old man interrupts, shaking his head. “We have to hurry; Bill won’t be held off for long.”

“Held off? What are you talking about? What’s going…?”

“Uncle Ford,” Mabel’s voice interrupts his attempt at interrogation. He looks down at the girl, who’s looking at him tearfully but determined. “Where’s Dipper?”

The Pines twins exchange a glance, hearts heavy and doubt growing in their eyes, before turning back to the expectant girl.

“There’s no trace of him, Mabel,” Ford says gently. “We believe Bill is still using his body.”

“Using it? Why using it?” Mabel looks at them, her stomach twisting with nerves, her mind filling with a thousand and one thoughts about what Bill could be doing to her brother’s body.

“Possibly to stay in this plane.”

“And if he’s as powerful as you say, why doesn’t he make his own body?” Wendy interjects, entering the conversation.

“I don’t know, but if he remains in Dipper’s body, he is partially, if not completely, vulnerable,” Ford reasons, pacing back and forth.

“Like in the sock puppet theater,” Mabel suddenly says, looking at him. “Uh, Dipper had been awake for days, and it was easy to defeat Bill and make him leave Dipper’s body,” she explains, a small smile forming on her lips. “That’s when we beat him with tickles.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” Ford nods several times under the attentive gazes of the others present. “Dipper is human, so he has physiological needs like everyone else. Bill is completely vulnerable to that,” he looks at everyone with determination. “Alright, ladies, gentlemen, and... creatures, I know the situation is very difficult for all of us, but we must take advantage of this opportunity and stop Bill.”

“Is there a way to stop him?” Wendy asks, surprised.

“There is,” Ford replies. “As long as he’s in Dipper’s body, there’s a chance to stop him.”

“And save Dipper,” Mabel adds.

“And save Dipper before Bill’s power consumes him,” he looks at everyone again with seriousness. “Are you with me?”

The group looks at each other, then at McGucket, before turning back to Ford once more. After some hesitation, they nod, earning a calculating smile from him.

“Alright, here’s the plan.”

Bipper watches as his ''friends'' gather around the platform where he stands. Some of them shudder at the sight of the pile of skulls that would soon become a throne. It had been Dipper’s idea, and of course, Bill had loved it. Every king needs a throne, those were his words, and it was almost ready—just a few hundred more skulls were needed.

When all the demons fall silent and watch him, Bipper smiles, uncrosses his arms, and with a snap, conjures a small pillar of blue flames that slowly takes the shape of the entire planet.

“The time has come,” he says firmly, raising his arms as a sort of door opens above his head on the wall behind him, “to bring our party to the whole world, and then, the universe.”

Excitement sweeps through the demons, making them forget the argument they were having just minutes ago in anticipation of more fun. The flames that form the planet seem to melt and fall to the ground, extinguishing. Bipper watches them closely, calculating, and smiles enigmatically.

“Go sow terror, my friends,” he concludes conciliatory.

With a jubilant cry, all the demons take flight and exit through the door. Finally, they would do something more than just stare at each other or destroy what little was left of the town—there weren’t even enough humans left to entertain them properly. Now they had the opportunity to torment an entire planet, and if Bipper kept his word, and they were sure he would, soon that universe would be theirs, just like their own.

At the front, Pyronica suddenly seems to collide with something invisible. The others try to stop but end up crashing into the pink demon, gasping and all falling to the ground. Where they collided, colorful ripples form, spreading around the entire town, covering it, limiting what’s inside and cutting them off from the outside.

“What the hell…?” Bipper turns and frowns at the ripples of color as he rises and exits through the door.

His eyes fall on the demons writhing on the ground as if they’d been electrocuted, then rise again. Faintly, he can see something like a transparent sheet covering them, forming a dome. He looks around, and the same structure is present at every corner.

He approaches the nearest part, reaches out a hand, and touches the surface.

A violent and sudden electric current surges through him from head to toe, concentrating in his mind and fracturing Dipper’s Mental Escape. The boy collapses on the floor of his study, gasping. A strong, unbearable pain shoots through the back of his head, at the top of his neck. His vision blurs, and an involuntary scream escapes his throat. He feels as if his mind is being torn apart and half-sees Bill being forcefully expelled from it.

With difficulty, he regains control of his body, which wobbles in the air and falls to the ground without the strength to stabilize itself. Fortunately, he lands on Zanthar, who groans, still in pain. He looks up and squints his eyes, seeing Bill materialized above them, staring at his translucent hands before he feels the demon re-enter his mind.

Dipper presses his hands to his temples, trying to ease the painful throbbing. He feels his mind fragmented, barely seeing his study, which looks like it had been shaken by an earthquake, with books scattered on the floor and the ink he’d been using to write spilled on the journal he was working on while Bill gathered his friends. Great, now he’d have to redo the page.

‹‹Worry about that later,›› Bill mutters, leaning against the desk, his eye furrowed and his yellow form turning red.

“To the castle, now,” Dipper orders, closing his eyes.

‹‹What the hell happened, Bill?›› Dipper asks, barely aware that his body is being held by a pair of enormous hands. His spiritual self materializes in front of Bill with arms crossed, deeply hating the cursed pain that shakes his entire spine, etched on his face.

‹‹Do I look like I know, Pine Tree?›› Bill glares at him.

‹‹You’re supposed to know everything.›› Dipper walks over to him, browsing through the books in a very futile attempt to forget the pain. Through his body’s half-open eyes, he sees himself being left on the sofa made of living human skin in the penthouse, and once alone, he lets himself fall into that sleep-like state that used to envelop him when he sat down for tea with Bill.

‹‹Give me a minute, kid.›› Bill sits at the desk and massages the triangular edges of his face. ‹‹Whatever that was, it absorbed a lot of my energy; I need to return to my dimension.››

Dipper looks at him, surprised, leaving the books on the desk.

‹‹For how long?›› he asks, somewhat worried. If the pain in his body is any indication of what that electric shock caused, he doesn’t want to imagine what Bill must be feeling.

‹‹As long as it takes. Should I tell you that you’re in charge?›› Bill floats and, with the little strength he has left, invokes his portal. He needs to figure out what the hell happened and resolve it quickly.

‹‹Obviously, no.›› Bill nods and disappears through his portal. Dipper sighs, looking at his study, now all in ruins, with the floor raised and large cracks in the walls. It looked like it had been hit by a wrecking ball, and that angers him more than the residual pain. He curses quietly at the mess, observes the scattered books, and an idea crosses his mind, momentarily easing his anger and causing a smile to slide across his lips.

He doesn’t have to wait for Bill; he’ll fix the problem himself.

Stanley wakes up abruptly to a loud beeping sound, most likely from Ford’s lab. He turns on the sofa and rubs his eyes with one arm, groaning, with neither the strength nor the will to get up from his comfortable spot. When the noise becomes too annoying to ignore, he opens his eyes and sits up, frowning.

“Stanford! Turn off that damn thing; you’re going to get us found out!” he yells with all his might, and seconds later, the noise ceases. He sighs and flops back onto the sofa, ready to sleep a bit longer, but Mabel’s hand on his shoulder prevents him. He avoids grumbling and tries to smile at his niece. “What’s up, sweetheart?”

“Uncle Ford wants us to meet in the attic,” she says before turning and leaving.

With some difficulty, Stanley gets up from the sofa, looks longingly at his recently vacated resting place, and walks toward the stairs. His brother better have a good reason for making him get up, or he’ll hit him hard. He trudges up the stairs, nearly dragging his feet, and reaches the attic, yawning. He observes the others sitting on the floor but sees no sign of Ford. He leans against the wall and rubs his eyes.

They hadn’t slept much since rescuing Mabel, and his body was crying out to get back on the sofa, but he’s already in the attic, and it seemed pretty important. Stanford enters, interrupting his thoughts, and walks straight to the center, turning to face everyone with seriousness.

“Something unexpected and of vital importance has just occurred.”

“Did Bill decide to go back to the hole he came from?” Stan jabs, and Ford ignores him, crossing his arms behind his back.

“The chaos Bill caused, and was planning to bring to everyone, was interrupted by the town itself,” he says, trying to simplify the matter as best as possible. Everyone looks at him, blinking. “It’s time to attack.”

“Attack? Are you crazy? The plan isn’t even perfected!” Stan protests, raising his arms.

“Bill must be weakened; it’s the time to strike,” Ford looks at him seriously. “We can’t miss this opportunity; it might not happen again.”

“How can you be so sure, Stanford?” Gideon questions, squinting his eyes. “Didn’t you forget that the town is being watched by those… things?” he adds with distaste. Pacifica, Wendy, Soos, and Robie, sitting near him, nod in agreement.

“It’s in our best interest to attack now; it could be the only chance to end the Weirdmageddon.”

“And to save Dipper,” Mabel says, looking out the window at the pyramid-like castle floating almost mockingly over the town. “Count me in, Uncle.”

“And me,” says Fiddleford. The others nod, some with more doubts than others.

“How do you plan to get into the castle?” Stan steps away from the wall and approaches them.

Mabel grins widely, standing up. She pulls out her flying grappling hook from under her sweater and shoots it at the ceiling, hooking onto one of the beams almost instantly, just like the first day.

“With several of these,” she says excitedly. “We can shoot ropes and climb them; no one will have to see us.”

“I’d rather die, or better yet, live through this Weirdmageddon than do that, kid,” he says, furrowing his brow further. Mabel looks at him and lowers her gaze, letting go of her hook.

“Uncle, do it for Dipper,” she says with a somewhat broken voice, raising her eyes and looking at him through her hair, on the verge of tears. “Do it for me,” she adds. Stan’s heart aches, and he can only sigh and mess up his hair.

“Alright, when do we leave?”

“We depart in half an hour,” Ford informs, looking at everyone seriously. “Be ready by then.”

Sighs and groans fill the room as all the injured demons try to find a comfortable position on the floor so their healing process won’t be as traumatic as it had been for more than one of them. But the anger that fills them and the sense of betrayal reach higher levels than the pain they’re experiencing, of which they are almost completely unaware. The situation took them by surprise and caught them off guard, something they feel is a blow to their pride. However, all the anger that starts to accumulate within them is focused on one single being.

Bill Cipher had lied to them, or at least that’s how some of them feel; he had used them as puppets, and now his triangular face was nowhere to be seen.

“I told you something like this would happen,” growls Kryptos, massaging his temples. “That damned triangle tricked us.”

The demons stop complaining and look at him.

“I don’t think Bill tricked us,” says Pyronica, not very sure of her words. “He also seemed surprised by what happened.”

“Oh, you think so? Isn’t he supposed to know everything?” Pacifier jabs. “Damn it! My fucking horn hurts!”

“Calm down, we’re all equally hurt,” complains one of the demons, frowning. “Bill is probably just as hurt and weak,” he mutters more to himself than to the other demons.

Kryptos and Pacifier look up with identical looks of complicity and a faint smile on their lips.

“True,” Kryptos nods. “He’s probably weakened; together we could defeat him.”

The others stir, the room fills with conflicted but doubtful murmurs, looking from Kryptos to Pacifier and then at each other.

“Remember, this is Bill’s fault,” Pacifier points out. “We didn’t ask to come here; we don’t have to be his lackeys. We’re demons too, and quite powerful!”

The demons nod among murmurs.

“Do you want to keep being Bill’s toy?” Kryptos questions, “Or worse, the human’s?”

“No!” identical shouts echo through the room due to the indignation at the mere idea.

“Then follow us! Let’s attack now while he can’t defend himself against all of us!”

Shouts and pounding on the floor in jubilation seem to reinvigorate them. Putting their pain behind, they get up and head towards the penthouse, determined to end everything at that moment.

Unaware of the commotion, Dipper, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, analyzes in his Mental Plane—now fully restored—the books that once belonged to his uncle, questioning over and over why that dome prevented them from leaving. To his pleasant surprise, while thinking about how he shouldn’t have burned the journals, three exact replicas materialized on his desk, created by his mind. His gaze shifts to them, and he wonders if the appearance was due to his good memory or Bill’s power that seeps into his study.

Another thought strikes his mind, distracting him from his analysis. Could it be that…?

He furrows his brow thoughtfully; it had happened faster than he imagined, and he promises himself to question Bill as soon as he appears. He nods to himself, takes the first journal, and opens it to search for something useful, but a loud noise distracts him. He growls under his breath, leaves the journal on his desk, and becomes aware of his body.

“What the hell do you want?” he asks, opening his eyes and looking at the demons.

They stare at him in surprise. Where was Bill? Dipper raises an eyebrow and stamps his foot.

“You’re wasting my time,” he mutters, uncomfortable with the look they all share.

“Where is Bill?” Pyronica asks, squinting one eye.

“None of your business. If you’ve come to bother me, I recommend you leave; I don’t have time for nonsense.” With a huff, he turns his back on them and walks to the sofa, resumes the position he had before being interrupted, closes his eyes, and transports himself back to his study, ignoring the demons completely. He sits in front of his desk and takes the journal, determined to analyze it and not be distracted again.

The demons watch as the body closes its eyes and appears to fall asleep, or so they assume. They look at each other and smile; it would be much easier than they thought. If the human is alone and defenseless, destroying him would be a piece of cake. Maybe even Bill would go back to being the same demon they consider their friend.

With a silent gesture, they all join their hands to concentrate the little energy they had recovered. Once ready, they fire at Dipper’s body, filling the room with light, smoke, and the smell of burnt flesh. They scream with joy and laugh, they did it! They killed the human!

They pat each other’s backs, laughing heartily, ready to leave the crime scene and think of an excuse to avoid being killed by Bill once he returns, because they have no doubt he will be angry. When the smoke clears and the light fades, one of the demons, behind the others who are celebrating, looks on in horror as the human’s body is still in the same place, without a single scratch.

Dipper opens his eyes, and they back away. The slit pupils and angry glare of the boy make them shiver.

“B… Bill?” one asks with a trembling voice, and the others turn, identical expressions of horror spreading across their faces.

“No,” Dipper says with a dry voice, raising one hand. “For now, I’m just Dipper.” A blue fireball forms in his hand and shoots out at them, expanding in the air and burning them all, causing them to scream in terror.

When the fire dies down, Dipper watches them fall to the ground, kneeling and groaning. He grimaces and clicks his tongue, scrunching his nose at how pathetic the scene is, and these were supposed to be powerful and terrifying demons.

“Get out of my sight,” he says with seriousness.

As best as they can, the demons get up and leave in a rush, complaining about their burns. Dipper waits until he no longer hears them and closes his eyes again, taking a deep breath. He hopes not to be disturbed again, as this time he would destroy them completely. Nothing will stop him from finding out what prevented them from leaving.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Don't try to put me down

You and your little friends
Won't stop me

Spirit Of Chaos – Aviator

Ford rolls his eyes at Stan's muttered complaints as he climbs the rope above him; getting there was easier than they had planned, the town was unusually quiet, and there were no signs of any bat-eyes patrolling.

"I’d rather die than do this," Stan mutters, stopping halfway, breathing through his teeth as he looks down and then at the other two ropes extended next to the one he is climbing. "Or better yet, live in this... Weirdmageddon? Doesn’t seem that bad."

"Uncle Stan," the adult looks at his niece on the adjacent rope who also stopped, Mabel's eyes shining with tears as she looks at him sadly, "We’re doing this for Dipper. Please, we’re almost there."

The other young people climbing the rope mumble their agreement, annoyed at having to stop since being stretched out who knows how many meters above the ground is not fun at all.

"Alright," Stan resumes his climb, "For Dipper, that spoiled kid will work twice as hard at the store for this."

Mabel laughs and continues as well, while Stanford rolls his eyes at how childish his brother can be. He takes a quick look inside his trench coat to make sure he has everything needed to defeat Bill and follows Stan.

When they reach the edge of the entrance, they all sit and lean tiredly against the edges, taking deep breaths and, driven by curiosity, observe what remains of Gravity Falls; the sight is not pleasant and churns their stomachs, tightening their hearts, especially for those who were born and raised in the town.

Not a single building is standing, all reduced to rubble, though some are more stable than others. There isn’t a single human in sight, and the tear in the sky casts a grim light on the place, giving it an almost infernal air to what was once a peaceful town. Ford feels guilty because, in part, it was his fault; he is somewhat responsible for not having created the portal in the first place...

"We must continue," Stan says, cutting through the depressive line of his thoughts, "We can’t waste time. We’re here to rescue Dipper and kick that demon's triangular ass."

The kids laugh, standing up, ready to face whatever comes. Ford gets up, dusts off his trench coat, and looks at the enormous triangular entrance with a partially constructed door, wondering vaguely what happened; he doesn’t dwell on the thought and follows the others.

Once inside, Ford examines the place carefully and cautiously. They seem to be in a vast party hall, reminiscent of ancient medieval castles. His eyes fall on a platform at the end of the "hall," and his body shudders at the sight of a pile of skulls there. What the heck is Bill doing?

"Dad!" The Northwest girl's gasp distracts him. He sees her running to a stone statue of Mr. Northwest and can only feel pity for the girl who clings to her petrified father’s legs, sobbing quietly.

"Pacifica," Mabel murmurs as she strokes the blonde's hair, "We’ll find a way to..."

"Down!" Stan orders, pulling the taller kids down behind one of the pillars. Mabel, confused, pulls Gideon and Pacifica after the statue of Mr. Northwest. Ford blinks and hides behind the nearest pillar, and peeks out.

He hears voices, causing him to glance at his brother and the kids.

"I can’t believe Bill is so powerful," one of the demons grumbles.

"I told you! I told you not to challenge Bill!" A female voice complains. "Everything hurts, and it’s your fault, Pacifier!"

Before entering the hall, one of the demons stops, causing the others to do the same. They look at him with varying degrees of distaste, but soon their expressions change as they feel what the first had sensed: humans. They silently glance at each other, wondering what humans are doing there and how they managed to climb up, but this question is soon set aside when a sinister smile appears on Pacifier's lips. If the humans were there to face Bill, maybe they could get rid of the human and Bill wouldn’t blame them, or better yet, defeat Bill and then they would only need to get rid of the humans.

He looks at her companions, who nod with identical smiles and continue on their way, emitting growls and pained groans.

Ford sees what he assumes are Bill's minions entering the hall. He frowns as he hears them complaining, leaning on each other and almost dragging themselves on the floor, visibly injured and in poor condition. What had happened?

"It’s also Kryptos’ fault!" Pacifier protests, continuing the argument.

"We didn’t win anything, but we’re still intact," Kryptos says, "Unlike that poor human."

"Poor, I don’t think he’ll last much longer," Pacifier continues, "He’s a human! And the way Bill has him," he adds with false sympathy.

His words make the humans tense and look at each other.

"Yes, I feel a bit sorry," says Pyronica, "In such a deplorable state."

"Bill will surely need a new toy soon," says another demon, laughing and then gasping, holding his sore side, "But it was to be expected. What human can withstand all of Bill’s power? Even we demons don’t come out unscathed."

They cross the hall, and their voices fade away. Once out of sight of the humans, they smile at each other. If they managed to get rid of Bill, their lives would be totally and completely resolved, and this universe would be theirs without having to follow anyone's orders.

Ford waits a few minutes to ensure none of the demons come back for any reason before signaling the others and emerging from their small refuge. His mind reels with their words. What did they mean by "the human wouldn’t last"? Were they talking about Dipper? Had they arrived too late to rescue his nephew? Stan looks at him, confused, and looks in the direction the demons went. His brother shrugs, not very sure how to respond. Could Dipper be dead? It’s not something that either Stan or Mabel wants to hear at that moment, so he sighs and points them towards the path the demons had come with the hope that this is the right direction to find Dipper and Bill. If what the demons said is true, they need to hurry.

The others take a deep breath and cautiously follow Ford, more than one shuddering at the sight of the piled-up skulls.

"Is that a throne? It looks like a throne," Wendy comments with a slight tone of disgust. "How can Dipper be a part of this?"

"Dipper isn’t part of anything!" Mabel’s shrill voice rises more than necessary and echoes in the silent place. "Bill tricked my brother! Dipper would never be a part of this!"

"Mabel, lower your voice," Gideon requests at her side, nervously looking over his shoulder as if one of those horrible monsters might appear out of nowhere.

"Mabel is right," Ford agrees, "Bill is a deceitful demon and certainly Dipper fell into his trap. Now, Mabel, be quiet or we’ll be discovered and won’t be able to rescue Dipper."

The girl pouts and crosses her arms, turning her gaze away angrily and holding back her tears as much as she can. It wasn’t her intention to raise her voice like that, but it really bothers her to think that her brother had done all this. Dipper, in her eyes, is too naive and good to really be on Bill’s side. She nods to herself and takes a deep breath. Uncle Ford is right; Bill is to blame for everything.

Ford enters the corridor where the demons came and stops, looking around in amazement. The place is filled with a tangle of stairs in all shapes and forms. He looks from one to another and frowns. Which one would lead them to Bill?

"Being Bill," Stan stands beside him and observes the stairs closely, "I suggest we take that one," he points to some that are upside down and seem to lead downward.

"Stan, I don’t think..."

"Would you be so kind as to trust me for once in your life?" Stan gives him a stern look and walks toward the stairs, thinking about how to climb them. Ford watches him and shakes his head. Maybe his brother is right, he tells himself before following him.

They stare at the steps for long seconds. Could they climb it?

"Uh, we’re wasting time," Mabel approaches them, circles around, and jumps to grab the first step.

"I don’t think you should do that," Gideon looks at her worriedly, "You might fall."

"Nonsense," Mabel manages to get on the first step and reaches up to grab the second. "It’s a matter of being careful, skill, and..."

Her words cut off when she fully gets up and falls heavily to the ground. Gideon and Wendy run to help her, while Robie and Pacifica let out a giggle.

"You’re an idiot. You should have listened to Gideon," the blonde says, earning an angry look from the brunette.

"This is Dipper’s fault," she mutters under her breath. "Why couldn’t he be a normal brother? A little genius maybe, but normal."

Everyone blinks in surprise at her words, even Stan opens his mouth to contradict the girl but decides to stay silent and shake his head. Mabel wished Dipper was normal, and she herself was being irrational by blaming someone who isn’t there to defend themselves.

"Mabel, I don’t think..." Ford raises his hand, about to say something to make the girl see reason when she looks at him.

"It’s also your fault, Uncle Ford," her words leave everyone stunned. "If you hadn't put those stupid ideas in Dipper's head, this wouldn't have happened," she clenches her fists and purses her lips, "We'd be very happy in California."

Ford looks at Mabel in shock, his heart aching as sadness overwhelms him. He hadn’t expected the sweet, peculiar girl he met when he crossed the portal to act this way. He frowns, and his sadness turns into anger.

"No, little girl," he says firmly. "This is also your fault. We wouldn’t be going through this if you hadn’t thrown a tantrum." Mabel opens her mouth, ready to protest. "You have to accept that your brother is going to grow up without you. You won’t always be joined at the hip."

The girl tightens her fists and flushes with rage. None of this was her fault, and her uncle had no right to blame her for his actions.

"I wish I had pressed that button!" she yells at the top of her lungs, her cheeks flushed with anger, "so you would have never shown up."

Ford is left speechless, and the silence that settles over them is so heavy that they can almost feel it like a blanket covering them. Mabel breathes heavily, her lips trembling, but she doesn’t say anything more or retract her statement. She has no intention of doing so.

"Alright," Stan's voice breaks the tension, "I think we should calm down. Mabel, don't talk to your uncle like that."

"But Uncle Stan!" Mabel glares at the older man with indignation. "He’s the reason for our problems. He and that Dipper is a fool."

"Show some respect, young lady," Ford interrupts, "I’m also your uncle, even if you don’t like it."

"Hey, I’d rather not interrupt this lovely family chat," Robie's voice, dripping with sarcasm, makes everyone look at him. "Why don’t we use these things since we have them?" he continues, lifting the grappling gun, aiming at the highest step, and shooting. The hook latches onto the step, and with another button press, Robie is lifted as the rope retracts.

The others look at each other for a few seconds before imitating him and carefully climbing the stairs. Robie is the first to reach a kind of corridor filled with doors of various colors and textures.

"Man, what is this?" Soos's voice startles him, and he looks at the man with a scowl.

"Do I look like a fortune teller?"

"Hey, take it easy," Soos raises his hands and adjusts his cap, muttering something about hormone-driven, rude teenagers.

"Where do we go now?" Pacifica wipes her hands in disgust, looking at the doors.

"What if we split up?" Wendy looks around. "We could cover more ground if we split up."

"I don’t think it’s a good idea," Ford shakes his head and stretches. "Maybe if we keep going straight down the corridor..."

Mabel walks past them to the first door, opens it, and then closes it before moving to the second and the next. The others blink and follow her, opening doors on the other side and closing them instantly. Most of the "rooms" are empty, literally just blank spaces like a canvas ready to be painted, while others contain such strange and frightening things that they struggle not to run away.

Mabel opens a door and is surprised to see a completely dark room. She steps inside, and flamboyant lights turn on out of nowhere, revealing a long, twisted staircase resembling a spiral staircase.

"More stairs!" she exclaims, drawing the others' attention. "They must lead to Bill."

Gideon is the first to approach her.

"Mabel, I don’t think this is a good idea..."

But the girl ignores him, jumping onto the first step and running up the others as they start moving. Gideon immediately follows, worried, and then the others do as well. The railing surrounding the stairs slides down, becoming something very much like a snake, so they hold onto each other to avoid falling due to the shaking of the steps. As Mabel nears the top, the step in front of her becomes completely smooth, causing her to slip and fall backward, taking everyone else with her. Amidst groans and curses from the hard fall, they help each other up.

"Guys, I think it's this way," Soos’s voice makes them blink and look toward the corridor. Wasn’t the man with them before?

Wendy is the first to exit and looks at Soos, somewhat annoyed that he strayed from the group.

"Why do you say that?"

"‹Do Not Disturb›" Soos reads aloud from a sign hanging on the door, getting everyone’s attention. "‹I’m serious, idiots. If you disturb me again, I’ll destroy you.›"

They look at each other, surprised by the sign and somewhat confused. Was it a message from Bill? For his minions?

Mabel clicks her tongue, frustrated and angry from her two falls down the stairs. She steps forward and places her hand on the door handle.

"We're wasting time. If Dipper is here, we need to rescue him."

"And if he’s not?" Pacifica raises an eyebrow.

"We’ll keep looking." Without waiting for any more excuses, Mabel opens the door and enters the mysterious room, followed by the others.

They look around, surprised, and a shiver runs down their spines. The place is eerily elegant, lit only by a huge fireplace made of a material similar to bronze, or at least that’s the effect the flames give it. Hanging above it is a huge portrait of Bill as the "king" of the world.

They advance, observing their surroundings: a grand piano in one corner, a giant clock with horns and fangs, a rug with Bill’s face, and several pieces of furniture that seem to have been stitched together multiple times but still fit the atmosphere. In a normal situation, it could be someone’s office who is rich and powerful, with very good taste.

Mabel looks around, searching for her brother, and her hopes of finding him seem to deflate until the metallic sound of chains and a bright blue glow catch her attention. She searches with her eyes for the exact spot from where the glow is coming and gasps in surprise when she finds Dipper in a corner, curled up and chained to a couch. She knows it's her brother Dipper because he’s wearing his clothes and not a suit like the one from the birthday.

"Dipper?" she calls softly as she approaches. The chains rattle again, and her brother moves his head.

"Mabel?" his voice sounds hoarse, and her heart aches. She doesn’t want to imagine the horrors her brother has endured in recent days. "Mabel, is that you?"

"Yes, Dipper, it’s me. Our uncles and friends, even Pacifica and Gideon!" The latter earns her a fiery glance from both, a look she ignores. "We came to save you."

Dipper squirms and lets out a sob.

"Mabel! Uncles! Please help me," his sobbing grows louder, and everyone’s hearts tighten. Poor boy. "Bill forced me... I... I..." His hiccups cut off his words.

"Calm down, Bro-Bro," Mabel moves closer and kneels beside him, stroking his back. "We’ll get you out of here and defeat Bill."

"Bill took advantage of you because your will was too weak," Ford says with a tone of scolding but also concern, seeing his nephew’s small body trembling and sighing. "Calm down, we’re here to save you," he says, searching among his things for something to open the chains.

The boy’s sobs become quieter and more painful, making Mabel’s stomach churn. Her little, foolish younger brother. She bites her lip and strokes his chestnut hair, unsure how to comfort him.

"You were right, Mabel," he hiccups and wipes his face, cleaning his tears. "You’re always right, and you too, Uncle Ford."

The older man says nothing and kneels beside him with a tool similar to pliers, trying to cut the chains. Dipper hisses and shrinks in pain making Ford wince, but he keeps trying to cut the chains. He curses Bill under his breath. To his eyes, Dipper looks somewhat tired and malnourished. It’s not something he can say for sure, as he can’t see his face, but he assumes it because a human body can’t withstand the demon’s level of power. He still has slight aftereffects, and Dipper hasn’t been through as much time. He tries again to cut the chains, and when he fails, he curses Bill once more. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself while vowing to make the demon pay for what he did to his gullible nephew.

Bill won’t go unpunished; that’s what he will ensure.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

Don't resist me
You're not strong enough

To break me down
I'm the king from here on out

Spirit Of Chaos – Aviator

‶Dipper″ Pacifica’s worried voice surprises Mabel and startles the others who were absorbed in watching Ford trying to free Dipper, ‶are you okay?″

The small sobs stop, and the room falls into silence. Dipper lifts his face, and those closest to him step back, gasping as they see his eyes, golden with slit pupils like a cat’s, the smile he gives them making their blood freeze in terror.

‶Marvelous″ he says, standing up, snapping his fingers, and before anyone realizes, everyone falls to the floor of the main hall.

They immediately get up, looking around, disoriented by the slowly disipating smoke that envelops them. When everything finally clears, they search for Dipper, or was it Bill trying to trick them?

The laughter filling the place makes them look up. Seated on the pile of skulls, which Wendy had pointed out as a throne, they see Dipper, or at least his body, dressed in a black suit with golden details. Dipper stands up, watching them with cynicism, adjusting his vest over his white shirt and buttoning his tailcoat as he descends the stairs, fleetingly thinking that the remaining power of Bill in his body must be enough for what he has to do, until the demon returns.

‶Mabel! Uncle Ford! Please help me!″ He stops in the middle of the stairs, his face filled with pain and desperation, and his eyes well up with tears. ‶Bill is…″ his words are interrupted by a new burst of laughter.

‶Dipper!″ Mabel shouts, looking at him with tearful eyes, ‶I know you’re in there, brother, why are you doing this?″

Dipper looks at them from his position with indifferent eyes, no trace of the apparent joy from moments ago in his gaze, as a slow, sarcastic smile slides across his lips.

‶It’s amazing when you have the gift of freedom to make decisions, don’t you think Mabel?″ he says with a soft, silky voice, almost conciliatory. ‶It’s… fascinating to decide for myself and not have to worry about hurting someone else’s feelings.″

The others look at him in silent surprise, unable to utter a word.

‶And Uncle Stan″ he looks at the man this time, ‶you don’t need to worry much about me. I really appreciate that you’re all here, but at least here I can have the food I need and want, much better than with you″ his smile widens, becoming somewhat mocking, ‶if I can even consider yours food.″

He leans forward slightly, tilting his head and resting his hand under his chin, almost thoughtful, his golden eyes shining a little more.

‶Wendy, dear little Wendy, what can I say about your actions? Crushing the hopes of a poor 12-year-old but giving another one of the same age a chance″ he shakes his head, clicking his tongue with apparent disapproval. ‶Isn’t that what they call double standards, dear?″

Stan is the first to react and shake off the boy’s sharp and bitter words. Whether controlled by Bill or not, he suddenly feels guilty for his attitude towards the boy in the past week, but it’s not the time to think about it. With a grunt, he pulls the weapon from Ford’s coat, the one that, according to his brother, would eliminate Bill. If his brother won’t do anything, he will take care of it, so without thinking, he activates it, aims at his nephew, and fires. Dipper moves aside and smiles, dodging the bluish ray from the weapon, any trace of sadness and heaviness from his family’s actions completely absent from his face.

‶That was close″ he says mockingly.

Ford grabs the weapon from Stan, coming out of his stupor, and fires himself, getting the same result as his twin.

‶Could it be that bad aim runs in the family?″

‶Hold still!″ the man yells, exasperated, aiming and firing again.

‶Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to use a weapon?″ His laughter frustrates Mabel, who, tearful and without much thought, runs up the stairs and throws herself at him, causing both to tumble down them.

‶Give me back my brother, you stupid demon! Dipper would never do these things!″ Mabel hits Dipper with all her might; he simply laughs, letting her do it, with no intention of stopping her.

‶Hilarious, pain is hilarious″ he murmurs, laughing louder, making the girl stop and look at him for a few seconds before she stands up and walks away. It was definitely Bill and not her brother; she wouldn’t be fooled this time. She had to end this and get Dipper back.

‶I’ll correct your mistakes″ she says, running towards Ford and taking the weapon from his hands. She aims at Dipper, who is still laughing on the ground, and without hesitation, fires, but nothing happens.

She furrows her brow and looks at the weapon, but it’s turned on and working, so she doesn’t understand what the heck has happened, or what hasn’t. Dipper stands up, wiping his clothes and the blood running from his lip, looking at them with amusement.

‶Give me that, Mabel″ Wendy snatches the weapon from the girl, nerves on edge and fatigue guiding her actions, along with the guilt that the boy’s words caused her. She aims at Dipper and fires, but he moves aside, dodging the ray.

‶And you call yourself the best hunter?″ He looks at her with false pity, mocking her for not achieving anything. Wendy clenches her hands and aims again, but Ford’s hand prevents her from doing anything.

‶If we increase the power, he won’t be able to dodge it″ says Ford, taking the weapon from the redhead’s hands. Mabel looks at Ford and furrows her brow.

‶Increase the power? Are you sure it will work?″

‶Of course″ he nods, turning a knob and aiming at Dipper, ‶but Dipper might die; his body won’t withstand it.″

Mabel pales and looks at her brother. She doesn’t care if he made a mistake; he is still her brother. She sees Ford press the trigger and screams in terror, pushing him, causing the shot to veer off course and hit the pile of skulls, scattering them all over the place.

‶Are you kidding me?! I just built that throne!″ A voice echoes through the place, making the humans freeze, ‶I even included a cup holder.″

‶You can make a better one″ says Dipper, smiling widely and much more cheerfully than before, confusing the others present.

They see a man walking towards them, with short golden-blonde hair and a lock covering one of his eyes, the other golden and slitted like Dipper’s, looking at them with disgust; dressed in black and gold, and to top it all off, a top hat floating above his head.

‶Our guests are so rude″ he comments, standing next to Dipper and, with some cheek, putting an arm around the younger’s waist, pulling him to his side, ‶they don’t respect other people’s property, and now we have to clean up this mess. Chop, chop, hands on deck, what are you waiting for?″

He looks at them and laughs, showing a perfect set of white teeth and some protruding, very sharp fangs, his apparent anger fading away.

‶I know, I know, ‹Oh, that wasn’t Bill! But this handsome and newly arrived gentleman in golden armor›” he bursts into laughter, ‶I bet that’s what you were thinking.″

He looks at Dipper appreciatively and makes a hat with a golden trim appear, placing it on his head, satisfied.

‶No one is going to clean? What do you say, Pine Tree?″ The boy looks at him and raises an eyebrow. ‶By the way, I made a great effort to have you dress decently, and you end up wearing your old and unpleasant clothes.″

‶Have you been watching me?″

‶Did you expect less?″ He smiles, amused.

‶Well, I was just having fun, and anyway, I look much better than you and your pseudo-elegance″ he mocks, pointing at him, though he has to admit he doesn’t look half bad.

The humans continue their conversation, completely bewildered and annoyed by being ignored.

‶By the way″ Dipper continues, irritating the humans, ‶why did it take you so long?″

‶Oh Pine Tree, I had to deal with a pending and somewhat more important matter than our guests″ he snaps his fingers, causing the humans to jump as the sound of metal hitting the ground echoes throughout the place.

Dipper looks not too surprised at Bill’s friends turned into metal statues, identical looks of horror on their faces as a sign that they were caught off guard before being transformed.

‶Do you like it? I have something much worse planned for them, but I wanted to show you, a gift in compensation for their audacity″ he makes a cane appear in his free hand and uses it to lift Dipper’s face, squeezing his waist a bit more and leaning in, almost as if to kiss the brunette. Even their breaths collide, and Bill struggles not to smile smugly as the little pine shudders. ‶It’s tea time″ he murmurs.

He pulls away almost as abruptly as he approached, snaps his fingers, and a floating blue tea table appears along with two armchairs; Dipper hides his astonishment behind a smile and sits down, watching as a cup of tea is served in front of him. Bill sits in the other armchair, draping one leg over the armrest and letting the other hang off the edge. They both take a sip of tea and look at the humans.

‶Would you like some? The transdimensional tea has an exquisite flavor″ he says before taking another sip.

Ford, who has been gripping the weapon with force and fury since the near kiss between the demon and his nephew, looks at them annoyed and raises the weapon, firing a shot that shatters Bill’s cup into pieces, and the liquid spills onto his suit. The demon looks at him, his whole body and hair turning a brilliant red.

‶Insolent human! How dare you disrespect my kindness like this?″

‶Enough! This ends here″ Stanford increases the weapon’s power to the maximum with trembling hands, trying not to back down from Bill’s fury.

He aims at Bill, or who he assumes is Bill, who is turning redder and redder from being ignored, but before he fires, he thinks for a few seconds and aims at Dipper. There is a possibility that the demon is projecting the figure from his mind just to confuse them.

‶Return to your dimension, demon″ he says and fires.

Bill growls, a cavernous and demonic sound that travels up everyone’s spine before placing himself in front of Dipper just before the ray reaches him, the shot seeming to hit him and a white light blinds everyone, enveloping them completely.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

The rays of the sun filter through the triangular window of the room, gently caressing the place as if enjoying waking up the people resting there slowly; a bluebird perches on the frame and chirps while flapping its wings. The call of an eagle and another pair of birds finally bring the sleepers into consciousness, added to the smell of a delicious breakfast of course.

Mabel is the first to sit up, sleepily rubbing her eyes. Her disheveled hair falls around her made-up face, smeared with candy and popcorn. She blinks several times and looks around. She stretches and yawns as she gets up, shaking her head and smiling contentedly at seeing her friends still asleep. Her smile turns mischievous as she stealthily approaches her trunk, rummaging inside until she pulls out a party horn and a confetti gun.

Holding both items in her hands, she approaches the door, opens it carefully, puts the horn to her mouth, and blows forcefully while firing the confetti gun at her friends, who wake up startled by the loud noise. Laughing, she drops the gun and runs away as Candy and Grenda react and get up to chase her, laughing more than being annoyed by the sudden wake-up.

Downstairs, Mabel runs to the kitchen where her uncles are already having breakfast. Stan shakes his head and ruffles her hair, pointing to a seat while serving a prominent plate of waffles and fruit, reminding her to finish packing her suitcase. He serves a similar plate to each of her friends.

The three of them eat quickly, talking and discussing plans for the day. They promise Mabel they will help her pack and take her for one last tour of the town. It is at this moment that the brunette remembers she hasn’t bought any souvenirs of her vacation, so once she finishes eating, she rushes upstairs to get ready and go out.

Convincing Uncle Stan to leave scamming innocent tourists for later and take them to town wasn’t too difficult. With a pair of puppy eyes from Mabel and her friends’ pleas, he was sufficiently annoyed to agree; of course, he won’t admit out loud that he prefers to spend his last hours with his favorite niece rather than getting rich—he has a reputation to maintain.

He drops them off in the town center, reluctantly gives the girl some extra money, and warns her that if she’s not there by dusk, she’ll have to walk back to the cabin—a warning Mabel doesn’t fully hear as she runs off with her friends to do their shopping.

Mabel looks around as if seeing the town for the first time, like her first day. She takes a deep breath, thinking that everything has finally returned to normal; the town had been strange the last few days…

‶Hey Mabel!″ Wendy’s voice diverts her thoughts. She smiles at the redhead and greets her friends behind her before turning her attention back to Mabel. ‶How are you, friend?″

‶Very well, we had an amazing sleepover.″

‶That’s good″ Wendy’s smile fades into a worried frown, ‶and how are you holding up? You know, after he…″

Tears fill Mabel’s eyes. She clears her throat, shaking her head in an attempt to stop them. However, sadness embraces her, and her throat tightens, making her take a moment to respond.

‶I’m fine″ she says, trying to smile but only managing a grimace.

‶Oh, I’m sorry, friend″ Wendy strokes her hair, trying to comfort her. ‶No one imagined it, you seemed so close all summer…″

‶Yes, apparently, we weren’t as close as we thought, were we?″

‶Well, you’ll get over it, you’ll see. Just give time a chance to work″ Wendy looks at her seriously and warmly, holding back her own tears and the look of pity she wants to give the brunette. ‶You’re strong, you’ll get through this, and your family will always support you.″

‶Yes, Uncle Ford cared a lot about him, and Uncle Stan did too. I know they support me″ she nods with a smile. ‶Well, I need to buy souvenirs for my parents. I’ll see you tomorrow before I leave, okay?″

‶Of course, friend, see you later″ they both wave goodbye, and Mabel takes a breath, feeling on the verge of tears. But before she collapses, she feels her friends hugging her tightly in support.

Few knew what had happened that summer between them, and even though only those few supported her, she couldn’t avoid feeling sad sometimes, especially when the memories danced in her mind.

‶Let’s go shopping″ Candy smiles at her, hugging her tightly, and she nods. She takes a deep breath, wiping her face, determined not to let it ruin her day.

She needs to get everything she wants to take and not think about sad things.

The shopping went great, but they ended up buying things in a hurry because they decided to stop for ice cream before anything else. Between the ice cream and discussing how they would keep in touch, checking out clothing stores, and other trivial matters, the hours flew by. True to his word, just before sunset, Uncle Stan was waiting for her at the agreed-upon spot.

Exhausted and promising to sort everything out the next morning before catching the bus, Mabel sits on her bed. She takes a photo frame where there is a picture of her with a brown-haired boy hugging each other affectionately.

She closes her eyes, caressing the photo and sighs. Everyone who knew her story had asked her how she was doing all day, and it only stirred her heart. The worst part was when Pacifica Northwest had the nerve to confront her about what happened; that was the only thing that tarnished her last day in Gravity Falls.

She lies back on the bed, hugging the photo frame to her chest, allowing a few more tears to fall as a way to say goodbye and cut the invisible string that bound her to the pain in her heart.

She turns off the light and covers herself up to her head, sobbing silently.

She is awakened by Stan’s voice yelling at her to get up and get dressed. She shifts in bed, determined to ignore him until he mentions it’s 10:30 in the morning. She gets up abruptly and almost falls out of bed. Her bus leaves at 11:30, and if she’s not at the stop by then, she won’t get back to California until next week, which would anger her parents.

She gathers her clothes, runs to the bathroom, takes a quick shower, and returns to her room to put something on her feet. She pulls her suitcases out from under the bed, starts throwing her things in haphazardly, searches for the gift bags, and manages to pack them before closing them, though not without some difficulty.

She takes a couple of deep breaths before grabbing the suitcase handles and running out of the room. She struggles down the stairs, leaves her things by the door, and quickly heads to the kitchen to get something to eat and let Uncle Stan know she’s ready.

Both old men look at her in surprise, not expecting her to actually hurry. Stan hands her a couple of sandwiches, urging her to walk quickly to the car so he can take her to the bus stop, followed by Ford, who carries her luggage. They get in the car, load everything up, and speed off, with Stan driving and Ford scolding him for exceeding the town's speed limit, which his twin dismisses, ignoring him.

They arrive on time, much to Mabel’s relief, who rushes to buy her ticket while her uncles unload her suitcases. When she returns, she finds Soos, Grenda, Candy, and Wendy standing with her uncles, holding a huge farewell sign. She smiles warmly at them and hugs everyone tightly, grateful for the gesture.

While waiting for the bus, Mabel takes the opportunity to talk a little more with her friends, confirm phone numbers, and promise each other a thousand times that they would call or message, that they wouldn’t forget each other.

When she hears the sound of a horn, Mabel thinks the bus has arrived too soon, that summer has ended too quickly. She sighs and, with one last farewell, grabs her suitcases and walks towards the buss.

‶Mabel!″ The girl freezes when she hears her name spoken by a voice she didn’t expect to hear again for a long time. She drops her suitcases and turns around, astonished, as a brown-haired boy of her age runs towards her, holding his cap on his head.

‶What are you…?″

‶I’m sorry, Mabel″ he says as he reaches her and hugs her tightly. His friends and family watch the scene, stunned. ‶I’m sorry for ending things so abruptly. I… was angry because you were leaving and wouldn’t stay here with me… and I just…″

The girl smiles, her eyes filled with tears, and all the sadness from her recent days vanishes in an instant. She returns the hug with all the strength she can muster.

‶It’s okay, I’m not angry, Daniel″ she pulls away and smiles happily. ‶You know, everyone was asking about you, they even said I looked like I was mourning!″ She laughs and then looks at him with all the intensity and seriousness she can muster. ‶What are you doing here?″

‶Did you think you were leaving without me, Mabs?″ he asks, smiling at the astonishment on Mabel’s face.

‶What? No! You must… you must stay here, it’s your home″ she says alarmed, not wanting to drag Daniel away from the place where he grew up. The boy smiles, takes off his cap, and puts it on the girl’s head.

‶It’s okay, I was joking″ he puts his hands in his pockets and steps back a few steps, a bit unsure. ‶Promise to always write to me?″

‶Of course, Daniel. Promise never to forget me?″

‶I promise″ the boy smiles and helps her with her suitcases. He hugs her one last time and sighs.

‶I’ll be back next summer″ the girl assures from the steps of the bus. She waves her hand and finishes boarding to find her seat.

‶I’ll be waiting for you!″ Daniel shouts as the bus starts to move. She rises in her seat and waves goodbye to everyone.

When she loses sight of them, she settles in and smiles broadly, happy that everything went well, that she would see her parents soon, and that she would start her life as a teenager calmly. She looks up at the blue sky, resting her head against the window glass, and thinks that maybe, looking at the clouds and pine trees, next summer will be even better than this one.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Heroes always get remembered

But you know legends never die

Welcome to my world of fun

Panic! At The Disco–Emperor's New Clothes

Footsteps echo down the long hallway, signaling that he has company, but his eyes remain fixed on the object that steals part of his attention; five small and perfect bubbles, like soap bubbles, float around him, each showing a different scene. A gloved hand rests on his shoulder and a strong arm wraps around his waist in a slightly affectionate manner.

‶Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts, Pine Tree″ his companion says in his ear with a mocking tone.

He smiles with irony, raises his hand, wrapped in a white glove that contrast with the black sleeve of his suit, and carefully takes one of the bubbles, which solidifies at his touch. They both look inside and see a brunette girl arriving at a beautiful two-story house and being greeted by her parents.

‶Obviously not, Bill″ he says mockingly, releasing the object which returns to its place and shape, ‶I was just admiring the perfection of my work.″

His eyes shift to another bubble where he sees a well-dressed older man welcoming a group of people to a cabin full of strange and obviously fake items, but which effectively mesmerized the fools who visited, and in the cabin's gift shop, he sees another man identical to the first; in another bubble, he sees the same men arguing while dragging a trunk across a dock towards a small boat. The last two bubbles do not interest him enough to examine them further.

He leans against the chest behind him, closes his eyes, and his mind returns to the moment when those bubbles were created; he opens his eyes slightly to look at them again, thinking for a moment that he was too benevolent, but he really didn’t, and still doesn’t, have the will to hurt them as much as they hurt him. He could have let Bill kill them of course, and the demon was about to do so when the smoke and light caused by the explosion faded.

The demon’s rage at that moment was such that if not for his intercession, nothing of what he once considered his family would remain; he glances sideways at Bill, still unsure if such a fit was due to him or the audacity of the humans, maybe both, maybe that and the residual annoyance from his friends' betrayal. Thinking about the other demons makes him move away from Bill and turn to face him.

‶So, what did you do with the traitors?″ a small smile slips onto his lips involuntarily. He could have taken care of them, but their actions were an offense to the demon in front of him, and he was more than happy to let him handle it.

‶Oh, that’s fun″ holding his waist, he guides him out of the room into the main hall, the orange light of the eternal sunset bathing the hallway filled with triangular windows.

A huge and terrifying smile spreads across Bill’s lips as they walk through the hallway. Curious about this, Dipper looks through one of the windows and almost immediately a smile identical to the demon’s crosses his lips. Among the rubble, he can see three humans, a tall, slender woman with flaming fuchsia hair, and two somewhat chubby and short men; none of them look very happy, and they are humans he has not seen before.

A second glance as they pass another window allows him to see them better and he almost bursts out laughing upon recognizing Pyronica, Pacifier, and Kryptos, working among the rubble, possibly searching for any survivors if there were any left.

‶The others?″ he questions, turning his attention to the blonde.

In response, a deck of cards is placed in his hands, the counterpart is a bright blue that, when moved, mimics his flames; as he turns them and spreads them through his hands, Dipper lets out a chuckle. All and every one of the demons who attacked him, except for the three forced to be humans, are trapped in the cards, free to move but not to leave. Curiously, he takes the 8-Ball card and spins it between his fingers, watching with cruel fascination as the demon crashes against the edges to end up at the bottom dizzy when he finishes.

‶Do you know how to play?″ Bill takes one of his arms to intertwin it with his own as they enter the grand hall.

‶I prefer something more... exciting, but yes, I know how to play.″

The demons in the hall step back to allow their leaders access to the imposing and terrifying skull throne built on the small platform. They watch them ascend with fascination and suspicion; it is hard for them to admit that the right hand of their “boss” knew how to get things done and had issued orders left and right as if he were Bill himself. They are disgusted to obey someone with a human skin and body, but the humanized demons who were forced to remain outside the pyramid were a sufficient example to ensure no one dared attack him again.

Unsurprised, they see Bill settle into the throne and almost immediately pull the small one onto his lap, who doesn’t seem at all disturbed by the affectionate show of possession; because it may pass unnoticed by the boy, but to them, it is more than obvious the silent message Bill conveys every time he performs such an act in front of them: the human is his, and anyone who touches him is dead meat.

One of Bill’s hands rests on the younger’s hip, gently stroking it while the other travels to his hair to playfully comb it; for Dipper, these actions would be strange if he wasn’t already accustomed to the fact that Bill is not at all a normal demon. However, his actions at this moment make him more nervous than previous times when he has done something similar, so he tries to distract himself by playing with the cards in his hands.

‶Did you see anything interesting in the bubbles, Pine Tree?″ Bill asks, leaning a bit towards him.

‶Actually″ Dipper looks up and is surprised by the proximity of the blonde, swallows, and his cheeks flush slightly as his mind and body become very aware of Bill’s light touches, ‶I… I…″ he stutters, unable to concentrate properly, distracted by the hypnotic eyes of the demon getting closer and closer to him.

Bill smiles at the shiver running through his pine and the unconscious way he rises towards him; a sigh escapes the younger’s lips and his eyelids droop slightly. He must admit he’s a bit surprised by the brunette’s reception, but that only makes his smile grow wider and he leans back slightly; almost with a protesting gasp Dipper rises a bit more, places a hand on his shoulder, and tilts his face, their lips brushing slightly. Amused, Bill stops him by gently tightening his grip on Dipper’s hip.

‶So, Pine Tree″ he says, moving far enough away for Dipper to focus on his words but still remain distracted enough not to really think about them, ‶when are we moving them to my prisons?″

‶We won’t″ —Dipper blinks, straightening up, shaking his head, and clearing his mind, but he doesn’t feel annoyed by Bill’s actions, not even by the response of his own body, ‶they’ll stay in the bubbles I created, thanks to you, I should add.″

‶Wait, what?″ With a certain satisfaction, Dipper watches the shock and disbelief build on Bill’s face, ‶what do you mean they’ll stay there? Are you planning for us to play cat and mouse every time they escape?!″ He stops his diatribe and a playful expression overtakes his incredulous one. ‶Although, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.″

‶No Bill, that won’t happen″ Dipper adjusts to look at him better, almost amused by the explosion he can already see coming. ‶They will never be able to escape.″

The first thing to turn red is his hair, which seems to flame around his face, gradually turning red, then his eyes become sharper as a sign of his anger.

‶What?!″ he bellows, slamming his fist against the throne’s armrest. ‶Are you implying that your bubbles are better than my prisons?!″

‶I’m not implying it, Bill, I’m stating it″ he declares confidently, not breaking eye contact with Bill for a second, in clear defiance.

The demon takes several breaths, grits his teeth, and returns to normal, looking back at the brunette with severity when he manages to fully control himself.

‶Oh, really? And how are your bubbles supposed to be better than mine?″ he says, the words laden with sarcasm. ‶I gave them their dream world! Stan traveling the world with Ford, Wendy and her friends living their teenage years, Soos met his father.″

‶Precisely for that reason″ he replies calmly. ‶That’s the difference between your bubbles and mine. Yours were their dreams, their fantasies, mine are an illusion.″

He raises a hand before Bill can protest or say anything.

‶I know them better than you and I know exactly what they wanted, what they really desired, and I gave it to them in a much more realistic way″ he looks at Bill with full confidence in his words. ‶They will live and grow, they will never notice. Must importantly, they will never wake up from that illusion.″

Understanding gradually makes its way through Bill’s stubborn mind, he looks at Dipper with surprise and admiration, but disguises it with a thoughtful gesture.

‶Eternity will be too short for you, little Pine Tree″ he says, closing the topic.

‶Oh, is that a compliment?″ Dipper asks, amused, and in response, he gets a smile from Bill, who stands up, lowering him from his lap and taking his arm.

‶I have something for you.″

Raising an eyebrow, Dipper allows himself to be guided by the blonde to wherever he was going, certainly curious about what Bill has to show him, so much that he can even overlook the change of topic. The elder leads them to a somewhat secluded and solitary room, close to the chessboard room, decorated with human statues.

‶Actually″ Bill murmurs, ‶I have several things for you.″

He takes Dipper's hands and places them together with palms up. Dipper is about to ask when he sees a colorful bubble float from an adjacent room toward them. It flutters over their heads and then bursts on its own, dropping something into their hands. With curiosity, Dipper looks down and is surprised to see the rabbit head Bill gave him the day everything started.

‶You left it behind. It’s impolite not to keep the gifts that are so kindly offered to you, especially if they’re mine″ Bill says in a scolding tone but with a fierce, proud smile and a stern look, as if challenging him to reject it. But Dipper simply smiles, knowing he won’t refuse it this time any more than he did before. ‶On second thought, just keep my gifts. You have my permission to forget the others″ he adds, and Dipper laughs.

‶It’s better than the screaming head″ the boy points out and strokes the fur of the head. To his surprise, and despite the time it has been dead, the fur feels very soft under his fingers and doesn’t reek; he assumes Bill did something to prevent that.

An idea shines in his mind, and with a broad smile, he approaches one of the windows. He peers out and looks for the three humanized idiots. When he finds them, his smile widens.

‶Pyronica, Pacifier, Kryptos!″ He calls out loudly, amplified slightly but knowing the demons can hear him perfectly, ‶bring me a wooden box, NOW! If you’re not here in five minutes, I’ll roast your pathetic butts″ he finishes and watches with amusement as they make an annoyed gesture and run off to fulfill his request.

He’ll have fun watching them find a way to deliver the box since they aren’t allowed to set foot inside the pyramid castle.

‶While they arrive″ he says, turning to Bill while still stroking the poor animal’s head, ‶could you?″

Bill snaps his fingers, and a colorful bubble wraps around the rabbit’s head and floats near Dipper. The young man smiles gently and nods.

‶You said you had several things for me. What other surprise do you have?″ After saying this, the young man feels a bit embarrassed by his anxiety, but he can’t help it. Bill isn’t one for giving gifts, so the older man’s actions simultaneously excite and alert him.

The demon simply gives him a smile and snaps his fingers. Immediately, a door Dipper hadn’t seen before opens, and a deep growl emerges from the room, approaching them. Dipper watches with curiosity, and a slow smile spreads across his lips as the growl weakens while whatever is making it gets closer, turning into a faint whistle when it comes out.

He opens his eyes in surprise, and his smile freezes midway when a puppy runs to his feet, jumping around him and emitting whistles meant to be threatening with a playful expression on its face.

‶Is this what I think it is…?″

‶Indeed.″

‶Bill, how…? How the heck did you get an Akk dog pup?″ He asks, looking at him in disbelief.

‶Aren’t you going to give it a name?″ The blonde replies, smiling slightly.

Dipper looks back at the creature, which watches him with its enormous, lidless dark eyes, tilting its huge, somewhat flat head that ends in a sort of crown reminiscent of a triceratops. He crouches down and strokes the creature’s back, enjoying the sensation of the scales under his fingers. The puppy whistles happily at the attention, wags its long tail, flexes its strong legs, opens its mouth, and lets out its long, black, drooling tongue to lick Dipper’s face, who closes his eyes, not very surprised by the action and only slightly disgusted by the habit of being pestered by Waddles; when the puppy finishes showing its joy, Dipper examines the small, sharp teeth that, when it grows up, will be sharp and terrifying.

‶I think″ Dipper murmurs, smiling, and picks up the puppy, which resumes licking his entire face, ‶I’ll name it Lucifer.″

Bill bursts out laughing, earning a raised eyebrow from Dipper.

‶Did you expect something else?″ He asks, lowering the pup, which runs around his legs and then around Bill, receiving a playful kick from the blonde, which only excites Lucifer more and makes it playfully nibble at the edge of Bill’s pants.

‶Hey, that’s not food″ he growls, giving him a threatening look.

The Akk pup hisses, both annoyed and scared, runs back to the room from which it came, and the door closes immediately with a squeaking sound that echoes in the room where they are. Dipper looks at Bill, somewhat puzzled, but doesn’t comment, as the demon has his ways and he has his own.

‶When Lucifer is an adult″ Bill smiles a bit as he says the name, ‶he will do what those idiots didn’t do: destroy anyone who dares to challenge my sovereignty.″

Dipper sighs and closes his eyes, shaking his head to himself. Bill is partly right. Silently, he congratulates himself for having kept his family out of the demon’s hands because, despite everything, he still considers them family, even if just a little. He clenches his hands and can’t help but recall the blinding light that enveloped them and the last time he saw his uncles and sister physically.

Humans stick together, their eyes closed, waiting for the blinding light to fade to see the outcome, confident of their victory. Ford is the first to open his eyes and almost sighs with relief as the smoke begins to dissipate, but the relief turns into cold terror upon seeing a completely reddened, human Bill, without a single scratch on his body and with the most terrifying look he had ever seen, while Dipper stands behind him, observing them in way Ford can’t figure out.

Bill lets out a guttural growl, raises his hand, and it seems to start glowing, at least for the humans. Dipper tenses at the gesture, aware of what will happen, and places a hand on the blonde’s arm. Bill looks at him, his whole being slowly returning to its original color, only his darkened eyes as proof of his anger.

‶No″ Dipper whispers, so softly that if Bill weren’t a demon, he wouldn’t have heard it.

Both seem to have a conversation just by looking into each other’s eyes, a moment Ford takes to start thinking. His weapon hadn’t worked, so shooting again would be totally and utterly useless. He only had one option left. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, hoping it works and saves, at least, his niece and brother; he opens his eyes and looks at Dipper. He didn’t want to be saved, it’s more than obvious that he was never in real danger. It’s hard to accept, but the evidence was more than conclusive, Dipper had been with Bill all the time, he doesn’t want to imagine for how long; however, he tells himself that this isn’t the time to think about that.

‶Bill, I propose a deal″ he says firmly, looking at the demon, who returns his gaze, his eyes slowly returning to their bright golden hue.

‶Uncle Ford! Have you lost your mind?″ Mabel yells at him, looking at him in surprise.

‶Quiet, Mabel. I know what I’m doing″ Ford looks at her, then at his brother before turning his attention back to Bill, stepping forward with determination.

‶And what could you offer me in exchange for sparing their pathetic existences, Sixer?″ Bill questions, crossing his arms. Dipper, behind him, watches his uncle and the others with suspicion.

‶The algorithm to break the barrier that holds you″ Ford says firmly.

‶Have you gone crazy, Stanford? Are you going to give him a way to get out of here and continue his madness?!″ Stanley yells, approaching and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, shaking him forcefully.

‶Hmmm″ Bill’s murmur interrupts anything Ford was going to say to his brother. Both watch the demon, who seems to be thinking, his eyes lighting up slightly as if seeing beyond the situation unfolding around him. ‶Very well, Sixer″ one of his hands is enveloped in his characteristic blue flames, and his eyes return to normal, ‶we have a...″

Dipper places a hand on his shoulder, preventing the demon from shortening the distance between them and the humans. The blonde raises an inquisitive eyebrow, receiving a smile from the boy.

‶That won’t be necessary″ Dipper comments, looking at his uncle as he steps in front of Bill, ‶I’ve already solved it″ his uncle’s stunned expression makes his smile widen, and his eyes shine with pride and arrogance. He turns slightly to look at Bill, whose eyes gleams with surprise and interest, emotions that only Dipper notices. ‶What? Did you think I’d just sit around waiting for you?″

‶But… How…? How did you…?″ Ford stammers, unable to get out of his stupor.

‶It was very simple″ Dipper shrugs with amusement, turning his attention back to his uncle, ‶not a big mystery when you have free time and the right information″ he adds, walking closer to them.

He extends his arms to his sides, and his hands are enveloped in blue flames, his brown-golden eyes shining intensely. The ceiling above them seems to disappear, revealing the multicolored barrier that traps them inside the town limits. The humans look at Dipper with surprise, and Bill, behind him, watches him attentively, waiting for the brunette to finish what he started.

Dipper’s lips move, whispering words that no one understands. His voice rises along with his hands, which shine more and more, his eyes looking at them yet not really focusing on anything, turning completely golden.

‶Ulhuude vlkw ndhue rw uhzrs hkw hp hylj″ his voice no longer sounds like his, rough and deep like the demons’. His hands rise, pointing to the sky, ‶Vhfuri gor hkw hnryql Owrorad!″

The fire in his hands expands, rising and then dissolving, while the dome covering them starts to glow. Various symbols that Bill quickly recognizes appear on its surface, first bright blue, then red, and finally deep black. A cold breeze appears out of nowhere, violently like a tornado, hitting everyone present as the black symbols shine. Dipper’s body seems to be lifted by the wind; a noise similar to breaking glass makes everyone look at the sky once again, gasping as they watch the dome break and fall into pieces that vanish before entering the pyramid castle.

The barrier had been destroyed, and with each tiny piece, the humans’ hopes of stopping the Weirdmageddon fade. Ford lowers his gaze, feeling defeated, his heart gripped by fear of what’s to come. Everyone will die, at the hands of Bill… or Dipper.

The last piece of the barrier disappears, and the wind stops as suddenly as it appeared. Dipper’s eyes return to their brown-golden hue. He looks at them with a wide smile, and the laugh that Bill lets out behind him seems to seal their fate. The boy shortens the distance towards them further, his smile sending chills down their spines.

‶Don’t worry, uncles″ he says softly, almost as if trying to comfort them. ‶It won’t be as bad as you think.″

Ford and the others instinctively step back, but Mabel remains where she is, looking at her brother unsure of what to feel about the whole situation. Could Dipper really be capable of killing them? Of hurting her?

‶Dipper…″ she whispers when her twin is just a few steps away from her, her eyes welled up with tears and a lump in her throat.

‶Hey Mabs″ Dipper smiles at her, and for a moment, the brunette can see a small glimpse of the Dipper she knew, the sweet and socially awkward boy she had great adventures with that summer, ‶no hard feelings, okay?″ he hugs her and pats her back, under Bill’s watchful gaze and the others’ surprised looks. ‶If you ever wake up, you’ll thank me.″

‶Dipper, what…?″

Mabel’s words are lost in the air as Dipper steps away from her, snapping his fingers. Eight bubbles take the place of each of them; the brunette takes them and cradles them against his chest, walking towards another room without paying attention to the demon, focused on what each person would see inside the bubble.

‶Hey, Pine Tree! Come back to life″ Bill’s voice pulls Dipper from his thoughts, looking at him somewhat startled. ‶You think too much.″

Dipper’s surprise grows when Bill wipes a lone tear from his cheek that he hadn’t noticed was there.

‶I, um…″

‶I know you’re moved by my beauty, Pine Tree, but why don’t you check your pocket?″ Bill interrupts his words.

Frowning in confusion, Dipper puts his hands into both pockets. On the left side, his fingers graze a smooth, cold surface that wasn’t there before. Carefully, he holds what appears to be a box, takes it out, and holds it with both hands to examine it better. He opens his mouth in surprise and tries not to drop the box, made of glass with golden edges, as his hands start to tremble. Inside is a fresh, wet with blood, still-beating heart. He looks at Bill for an explanation, unable to utter a word.

‶This biological body doesn’t need its natural functions, for obvious reasons″ Bill says, observing him seriously, ‶I got rid of everything else, but this is important. I only trust you to protect it.″

Dipper senses that there’s something more behind the heart in his hands that the demon isn’t telling him, but he says nothing. His eyes well up, and his heart pounds against his ribs with force. He gently hugs the box against his chest and looks at Bill with eyes shining with various emotions, all too tangled for the blonde to interpret at once.

Taking a deep breath, Dipper puts the box back in his pocket, approaches Bill with a determined look, tears evaporating almost instantly.

‶Pine Tree?″ Bill raises an eyebrow.

The boy doesn’t respond, raising a hand and gripping the lapel of Bill’s suit tightly, pulling him down and pressing their lips together before Bill can protest about the treatment Dipper is giving to his suit. He moves his lips clumsily, his cheeks turning a crimson red, but he doesn’t care.

Bill blinks in surprise at his Pine Tree’s actions but then smiles and wraps his arms around the younger’s waist, drawing him closer and responding to the kiss gently to give the boy confidence, a fair move considering he started the contact. When Dipper attempts to pull away, Bill tightens his embrace, taking control of the situation.

Their lips move together with a mastery that makes the younger boy’s neurons dissolve and his head spin. Almost laughing, Bill nibbles slowly on the boy’s tender lips, delighting in the shiver that runs through him from head to toe. With the tip of his tongue, he soothes the nibbles, slowly pulling away from Dipper.

‶Bill″ the brunette whispers, looking at him without really seeing and barely able to stand.

Bill simply smiles, holding his hips tightly against his body and guiding him to another room.

‶Come on, Pine Tree, the first phase of our plan has been successfully completed. It’s time to move on to the second phase.″

Dipper nods, still dazed but slowly recovering. Bill opens another door and gestures for him to go ahead.

‶After you, Pine Tree″ Bill smiles gallantly, earning another blush from the younger boy who quickly enters the room. Bill lets out a laugh and enters as well. ‶I knew I could count on you, Pine Tree, don’t you think?″ he says to himself with a sinister smile. ‶This is going to get interesting″ he murmurs, entering completely and the door closes behind him.

Chapter Text

Extra

—What the hell…? —Bipper turns around and frowns at the rippling colors as they rise and exit through the door. 

His eyes fall on the demons writhing on the ground as if they had been electrocuted, then look up again, vaguely seeing something like a transparent sheet covering them, forming a dome. He looks around and sees the same structure at every corner; he approaches the nearest one, extends a hand, and touches the surface. 

As soon as he touches the barrier, he feels an electric current coursing through his body, concentrating in his mind and fracturing Dipper's Mental Escape, making the pain much more physical for the demon than he has ever felt in his existence. Something bad has happened, but he has no explanation for the foreign feeling of suffocation that drains his energy, abruptly ejecting him from the mind of the brunette, who falls inevitably due to the absence of the demon's powers. Bill observes himself, ignoring the terrible pain throughout his triangular form as much as possible, knowing he must recover as quickly as possible and knows exactly where. 

He must return to his own universe without a doubt, being a being of chaos, Gravity Falls’ chaos is not enough to sustain him now, and from Bipper’s body he hadn’t be able to extract the essence of what caused said chaos, plus all his energy was concentrated on the deal he had made with Dipper. He grunts in annoyance and lowers his gaze until he meets Dipper’s eyes, who watches him from Zanthar’s back. 

With a huge effort that requires almost all the energy he has left, he returns to Dipper’s body, where he could recover enough to go back to his own dimension; he feels Dipper moving on his own, massaging his temples, and his consciousness takes a quick glance at the destroyed study. Waves of annoyance shake him, and he growls. 

‹‹Worry about that later›› he mutters, leaning against the desk, his furrowed eye and yellow form turning red. 

‹‹What the hell happened, Bill?›› Dipper’s spiritual self materializes in front of Bill with his arms crossed and a deep hatred towards the damn pain shaking his whole spine. 

‹‹Do I look like I know, Pine Tree?›› Bill responds, annoyed, composing himself as best as he can; his pain combined with Dipper’s doesn’t seem to be helping at all. 

‹‹You’re supposed to know everything.›› Dipper walks towards him, running his fingers along the books in a futile attempt to forget the pain. 

‹‹Give me a minute, kid.›› The demon sits at the desk and massages the triangular edges of his face. ‹‹Whatever that was, it absorbed a lot of my energy. I need to return to my dimension.›› The others must be as hurt as he is, but being inferior beings, they don’t need the same amount of chaos that he does; fucking leeches, he thinks, their inferiority and Bill’s own power are the reason they could still maintain their physical form in the place. 

‹‹For how long?››

‹‹As long as necessary. Should I tell you that you’re in charge?›› Bill floats and with the little strength he has left, he summons his portal, needing to find out what the hell happened and resolve it quickly. 

‹‹Obviously, no.››

He nods at the brunette’s words and disappears through his portal; almost immediately he feels an improvement, letting himself be carried by the energy of his universe, lacking any silly dimension or physical laws like in the human universe. Ah, silly creatures, he thinks to himself, laughing at some beings created by the place’s innate chaos. Humans couldn’t comprehend the beauty and freedom chaos offers; if they did, they would beg on their knees for him to take their world. Idiotic pieces of flesh, except for a few, like his Pine Tree, who are smart enough to see it, but he feels sorry for others like Ford who rejected what he offered. 

He stops amidst everything and nothing to snap his fingers, and immediately a huge oval mirror with a darkened metal frame, with a triangle and an eye at the top, appears in front of him. He looks at himself for a few seconds, satisfied to see that his physical form was almost restored and stable. 

“You look awful, friend,” his reflection comments, sitting in the air and crossing its legs while laughing. 

“Show some respect, I’m you,” Bill reminds it, frowning his eye. 

“Wishful thinking!” His reflection bursts into laughter. “Between the two of us, I’m the most handsome.” 

“Yeah? Want a fight?” Without waiting for a response, Bill reaches into the mirror, pulling out his reflection; both get into fighting positions and are about to start hitting each other when they sense the presence of something else. 

“I was hoping your party would last a bit longer, but I see you’re still a brat,” a raspy, heavy voice fills the place. Its words are slow like the dripping of rotten water, sending a shiver through both Bills that they manage to conceal. 

They observe the figure, a completely deformed black blob of an old, very old, amorphous demon; they’ve never cared about such a pathetic being, in their opinion, and they’re not too interested in wasting time with It. They would actually prefer to continue their fight as it’s a much more interesting way to pass the time in their dimension than listening to the rantings of such a despicable being. 

“Ha! Besides being weak, mute? What a pity,” the shadow, if you can call it that, approaches them, surrounding them, leaving behind a trail of fetid, clumpy black goo dripping into nothingness and everything. The Bills are about to respond when the shadow raises something that seems to be a hand. “Before you interrupt me, I have a slight idea of what happened to you.” 

“And what could you know that interests me?” asks one Bill, crossing his arms, while the other hits him, making him growl. “Alright, alright, that interests us.” 

The other demon lets out a laugh that is frankly much worse than Its own voice. The shadow shakes with the spasms of laughter, and more of the gooey mass falls off it. On what seems to be the figure’s face, two lines extend, revealing a long row of yellowed, pointed teeth in a smile that disturbs them. They don’t understand what’s so funny and are starting to be annoyed by the feeling of not knowing anything. They don’t like it at all. 

“Wisdom comes with age, like the humans say,” they try to hide their surprise at Its words, but the old demon still perceives it. “You haven’t… you weren’t the first, and you certainly won’t be the last to be interested in that human world.” 

“World,” It continues after a few seconds of silence, “where chaos disguised as order reigns; so attractive to us.” 

The demon retracts again until It is in front of them, and with a snap of Its fingers, both Bills merge again; Bill would like to be annoyed, but he seems to see a nostalgic expression on the shadow’s “face,” and although he won’t admit it aloud, he’s intrigued by what it has to say. 

“I once was in the position you’re in, I had a human, we merged into one body, and my power increased incredibly,” the once evil smile transforms into a nostalgic grimace. “But my human died, his body started to rot very slowly due to my power, before I knew it,” It points to Itself with a hint of disdain. 

“What happened to you is only the beginning; if your human’s soul is lost, if you stay in his body any longer, your power, which by the way is meager, will be useless.” 

“Alright, old man, I’m enduring your pathetic story, but I’m not going to let you insult me,” Bill reddens, growing in size, but this only elicits another horrendous laugh from the being. 

“My intention isn’t to insult you, too much,” the demon laughs. “No, I want to give you a gift. I’ll grant you all my power.” 

“Nothing is free,” Bill says, returning to his original size, looking at It suspiciously. “What do you want in exchange?” 

The demon remains still for a few seconds, as if closing Its eyes, before letting out a tired sigh. The black mass seems to shrink for a moment before returning to Its original size, and two glowing points appear on its apparent face. 

“I want to reunite with my human; I’ve been looking for someone worthy to give me my death for millennia,” the demon smiles with something akin to kindness, something impossible for a being of Its kind. “And if you follow my advice, you’ll have better luck than I did in your conquest and in preserving your human.” 

Bill resists for a few seconds against the idea of listening further, however, he’s aware that this is the most powerful demon in his entire dimension, even more so than him, simply due to the length of Its existence. That a demon would want its death is also something that surprises him, as he doesn’t know of any who consciously seek it, but with all the power the demon has at Its disposal, such a simple thing doesn’t seem like a problem. 

“Alright,” Bill extends his hand, which ignites in blue flames. “I accept your deal.” 

The demon smiles, extending Its own hand just before Its amorphous body expands, wrapping around Bill, engulfing him. Instinctively, the demon struggles, letting his flames envelop him, but he can’t do anything; the older demon clings to him as if wanting to strangle him, and when Bill is about to use his last resort to get rid of It, he feels it. He can feel the power dripping like black threads from the shadow as It whispers words he initially cannot understand. He remains still, allowing the demon to do whatever It’s doing, and gradually the mass’s grip starts to loosen as Bill feels more and more powerful. 

Finally, the demon lets go, reduced to nothing more than a pile of dust that can barely breath. 

“You must create a body that fits the universe that will be yours,” It says with the last of Its strength, “return his body to your human, and your heart will be the key to your power,” It whispers before vanishing, scattering into nothingness and everything, carried by an nonexistent breeze. 

Bill collapses to his knees, floating, still agitated by the sting of power throughout his body. He looks at his hands, concentrating on following the instructions given and whispered in his ear, trying to ignore the demon’s last words, for since when did demons have hearts?

Bill had heard the whole conversation and was having a hard time containing his prideful smile at Dipper’s game. He was about to intervene when he heard about Ford’s weapon, but just as he entered the room, Mabel had pushed the man, diverting the shot whose ray hit his precious throne. His throne, Dipper’s idea, and which had cost them so much to acquire the materials for, is insignificant compared to the relief that overwhelms him, but is perfectly hidden, by knowing that Dipper wasn’t hurt by that weapon. 

“Are you kidding me?! I just built that throne!” he shouts, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. “I even included a cup holder.” 

“You can make a better one,” Dipper suggests, smiling widely at him with a joy that surprises those present and Bill himself; but his surprise turns into arrogance upon noticing the appreciative look the brunette gives his new appearance. He walks over to him, looking at his guests with disgust. 

“Our guests are so rude,” he comments, stopping next to the brunette, then wrapping an arm around his waist drawing him to his side while smiling shamelessly at the humans. “They don’t respect other people’s property, and now we have to clean up this mess. Chop, chop, hands on deck, what are you waiting for?” 

The still stupefied looks of the humans make him laugh. Oh, everything had become much more fun.