Dipper sighed, kicking an absent stone as he read the map to the Fluvius Cantatis from Ford's journal, helping Stan, Mabel, Wendy, and Soos find their way to it. The boy had attempted to once again get his point across to Stan, but it hadn't worked.
"Grunkle Stan, for the millionth time, the river is-"
"Cursed, yada yada yada, I've heard it all before, kid." The grey-haired nan kneeled down to face his nephew, putting a hand to his shoulder. "Listen, if you keep spitting all this nonsense, I'll be taking that journal and giving my brother a talk. He can't keep putting all this paranormal shi-stuff into your head."
Dipper groaned, putting a hand to his head. "But it's not just-just stuff, Grunkle Stan! Ask Ford! He'll tell you!"
Stan rolled his eyes. "As if. Stanford could care less." The man stood up, placing his fez on his head. "And don't you think about going down there." Stan thought for a moment. "Go tell your sister to pack a bag. We'll be heading out to that river as soon as Wendy and Soos get here."
The preteen stood in silence as Stan walked by him, out into the gift shop. Groaning, Dipper pushed open the door, following his great-uncle. "I'm just trying to warn you guys! Ever since I-uh, fell in, I've been feeling weird," Dipper explained, catching his uncle's attention.
Stan stared for a moment, but then sighed, setting the box filled with water bottles down on the counter which held the cash register. "Alright, kid. I don't want to hear one more word about whatever stupid thing you read in my brother's dumb journal!" Stan threatened, getting angry, more at Ford than the boy in front of him. "Now go
style="font-size: 16pt;"do what I said and get your sister!"
Dipper balled his fists, walking back through the door and storming up the stairs. Why would no one listen?
So here he was, legs aching with every step, leading his family and friends to a cursed river that could potentially harm them terribly. Well, it was their faults if it did. The only person who had listened to him at all had been Mabel, who had only took it all too lightly and turned the whole thing into a big joke.
The five of them walked for what seemed like hours, until they finally came up upon the very same clearing Dipper had been at a day earlier, the one with the crystal clear river running through it.
Mabel gasped with glee, her eyes lighting up. "Wow! It's beautiful!" The girl gushed, running towards it. She was right, it truly was. The area around the Fluvius was a glittering blue, with unnaturally perfect toadstools and daisies surrounding it's riverbank. The trees around it seemed to touch the sky, with leaves that looked almost purple. The Fluvius Cantatis had a small waterfall on it's right side, and crystal clear water was trickling down from it, filtering into the main area of he pool. The water had a strange blue aura to it, which was only accompanied by the strange lavender glow from the purple stones at the bottom.
Dipper cringed as he watched his sister reach into the water-the cursed water- and grab a purple stone. After coming here the day before, planning to only take samples to bring back to Ford, and falling in, he hadn't planned on coming back. What if being near the water only amplified the curse? What if Bill came back? All the questions were more than he'd wanted to have.
"Dipper, dude, you okay?" The boy unfroze from his trance as he heard a familiar teenage voice from behind him. Wendy.
The preteen sighed. "Yeah, I guess," Dipper huffed, sitting on a rotting log, watching Stan disperse water bottles to Mabel and Soos, who were eager to begin their task. "I juts have a really bad headache and my legs hurt a lot and I'm really itchy," the boy explained, scratching at a spot on his arm.
Wendy furrowed her brows, putting a hand to Dipper's forehead. "Dude, you're really hot."
Dipper blushed, knowing what the girl meant but thinking of it as another way. "I-uh-Maybe it's just sweat?" He stammered, feeling awkward.
"Nah, Dip, this is like, abnormally hot," Wendy explained, concerned for the boy in front of her. "Do you think you're getting the flu?"
Dipper sighed. If that was all this was then he would be relieved. "I don't know," he mumbled, staring out at the river. "I haven't really been feeling very well, so probably."
The redhead beside him smiled slightly. "Do ya' wanna tell Stan? I'm sure he'd let you go back to the Shack."
Dipper chuckled awkwardly. "I dunno about that," he muttered. Stan was pretty serious about this whole water bottle thing, and if he let the boy go home it would be nearly a miracle.
"Wendy, stop sitting around and get to work! You too kid!" Stan yelled at the two of them, taking a swig of a water bottle Soos had recently filled.
Wendy sighed, patting Dipper on the back. "Good luck Dipper." She got up, walking towards Stanley. The old man handed her a water bottle, and she sat down beside Mabel, filling it up.
Stan walked over to Dipper, who was still sitting on the log. He had a gruff look on his face, which didn't mean good things for the boy. "Corduroy told me you've got a fever," Stan mentioned, slapping his hand to Dipper's forehead. His eyes widened. "Geez, kid! No wonder you can't shut up about magic and curses! With a temperature like this you're probably half-delirious!"
"Grunkle Stan-"
"No buts. I don't wanna do this, but go home. Sit in your bed. Get some rest. Whatever. I don't care. Just get out of here, I don't want this water contaminated."
Dipper stood up, grabbing his backpack-and the journal. Perfect. He could take the time to study the river and possibly even ask Great-Uncle Ford about it. He looked at the river. Wendy was facing his way and winked at him. Dipper winked back, mouthing the word 'thanks.' The teenager grinned back, going back to her work as she watched Dipper make his way back to the Shack.
"And don't get used to it, kid! We'll be back here in the morning! Get prepared to work!"
Dipper sat in the living room, once again reading over Ford's passage about the Fluvius. This time he held the blacklight over it, but it held no other secrets. The page simply ended with a phrase that read: 'multiple forest creatures I am on good terms with warned me about this river, so I decided to leave it alone.'
The boy sighed, grabbing the remote and switching the television on for background noise. One of Stan's weird old black and white movies flashed on. Dipper changed it to the 'Used To Be About History Channel,' so he wouldn't have to hear the annoying voices of probably dead people.
Dipper stared at the illustration of the river. Was it even the same one? Was he just being paranoid like always? The boy bit his lip, contemplating on telling his great-uncle about all this. Maybe Ford could create an antidote to combat whatever the curse was before it took its hold? The brunet closed the third journal, prepared to converse with Ford about it.
Dipper walked slowly into the gift shop, wincing at the straining pains in his legs. These couldn't be something as simple as growing pains. These certainly had to be part of the curse right? Quickly, Dipper punched the code into the vending machine. He watched with apprehension as the door swung open, kicking up a considerable amount of dust. Should he do this? Would Great-Uncle Ford be angry with him for going to the river in the first place? They were all thoughts to consider. He didn't want Stanford to be angry with him, and he sure wouldn't tell his uncle about Stan's selling of the mystical water.
Dipper stepped into the elevator. Oh well. All he was worrying about was the curse that would soon impact him. And that was all that mattered right now.
Bill Cipher had asked everyone he knew who specialized in curses about the Fluvius, and absolutely none of them had even heard of the damned thing before. He ended up imprisoning every last one of them and planned to torture them daily. He figured that would squeeze the answer out of them.
So here the grand demon himself was, sitting on his throne and staring hopelessly at his image in a handheld mirror. All because of Pine Tree everything would be robbed of him. His powers, his Nightmare Realm, his triangular form... everything. And without his powers, Bill was a nub with a psychopathic, sadistic personality. The demon sighed, poofing the mirror away and creating a flame. He stared mindlessly at the magnificent cyan colour.
Bill shot out of his seat, yelling in rage, becoming blood red and his cyan flame transforming to a bright orange, engulfing the demon. "PINE TREE!" He screamed angrily, using magic to throw all of his room's possessions onto a wall on the back side of the room. Bill hovered silently as he heard the crashes of the items hitting the wall as his body slowly faded back to yellow.
Then the door opened, and Pyronica appeared. The pink demon appeared concerned. "Boss? Ya' ok?" She asked, looking at the triangle.
Cipher sighed, lowering himself back to his throne. "JUST DANDY, PYRA OL' PAL," he muttered, getting annoyed as he watched his minion walk in, sitting on the green velvet couch in front of Bill's throne.
"Listen, Bill Cipher, we all know this Fluvius Canatis thing is getting to your head." She shifted positions, crossing her legs. "How can ya' be sure it's gonna turn you into a...y'know, bag o' flesh?"
Bill chuckled at that. He admired the fact that the pink demon was using his slang. He sighed, again remembering his perils. "Man into monster, monster into man, just makes sense." The demon huffed. "Besides, I've seen it happen before myself. Then again of course I see everything."
Pyronica cackled wildly at Bill's joke, while the triangle sat in silence. That joke had reminded him of yet another power he would be losing. He sat there uncomfortably while his pink minion continued to laugh. Bill rolled his eyes. "CUT IT OUT, PINK," the demon hardened, silencing Pyronica.
She quickly stopped chortling, her flames shrinking as she quieted. Pyronica put her hands on her hips, pursing her lips. "Well, Cipher, you ruined my fun." The pink demon chuckled. "I'm fine boss."
"I WON'T EVEN HAVE CONTACT WITH YOU WHILE THE FLUVIUS HAS ME," Bill groaned, thinking of a factor he hadn't realized yet.
Pyronica chuckled. "Why don't I just ask one of the others to poof into your dreams? You weren't the only dream demon around here, y'know?"
But Bill was certainly the most powerful. Other dream demons could only stay in the mindscape for mere hours, while Bill could inhabit it for weeks, months even. "THOSE IDIOTS DON'T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DO THAT."
The pink demon frowned. "How about me?"
Bill got off of his throne, hovering in mid-air. "OK PYRA HERE'S THE DEAL. FIRST OFF, I DON'T WANT ANYONE SPYING ON ME DURING MY LITTLE MEATSACK ADVENTURES. ONE, BECAUSE THAT'S MY JOB, AND TWO, YOU MIGHT SEE SOME THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO," the demon sat beside his colleague, crossing his legs to mimic her. "IF YOU SEE ANYONE DOING ANYTHING INVOLVING ME, I WANT YOU TO SEND THEM DOWNSTAIRS. DOESN'T MATTER WHO THEY ARE OR WHEREVER THE HELL THEY CAME FROM."
Pyra nodded, looking at the triangle. "Alright boss." She looked at the door. "Speakin' of torture, what's takin' so long downstairs?"
Bill winced as he felt a strange tug in the lower half of his body. The transformation could be taking place very soon. Getting the imbeciles in the 'basement' to cooperate could be a task, but if it could at least postpone his fleshy fate he would be
style="font-style: italic; font-size: 16pt;"less angry. Possibly. "I'LL CHECK ON IT. YOU DELIVER THAT, UH, MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY."
Bill watched as Pyronica sat up and strutted towards the door, opening it and closing it with a slam. The demon floated upwards, eye widening and arms flailing as his hover faltered, throwing him towards the ground. Bill's fists clenched. The transformation could be taking place in the next couple of hours and his stupid henchmaniacs still hadn't tortured the answers out of those ignorant beings who dared to not give Bill Cipher, being of pure energy what he wanted.
Oh, he would get what he desired.
He just had to do it himself.
The old elevator made its way to the lab, creaking noises echoing out. Dipper bit his lip anxiously, preparing to be scolded by Stanford once he reached the bottom floor. He put journal 3 under his shoulder, watching as the elevator neared Ford's lab, the very last floor of the house. Once it stopped, the boy watched as the elevator doors opened. Ford was standing in the middle of the lab, a welcoming smile on his face.
"Dipper! I thought it was you coming down here, my boy."
Dipper nodded awkwardly, stepping out of the elevator and flipping journal three to his desired page. "Uh, yeah. Actually, Great Uncle Ford, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
The scientist in front of him took on a more serious demeanour, adjusting his tan trench coat slightly. "Yes? And what would that be?"
Quickly, Dipper flipped the book around in order to show his uncle the page about the Fluvius. "This river," Dipper explained. "I, uh, visited it a few days ago and may have accidentally fell into it," the boy explained, blushing slightly, embarrassed.
Stanford furrowed his brows, inspecting this page. "Hmm," he mumbled, in thought. "I never did get the chance to study this river in detail, Dipper." He bit his lip. "Has anything concerning happened since you fell into it?"
Dipper bit his lip, contemplating on telling the man right in front of him. He decided that it would be better in the long run to tell Stanford about his leg pains. "Well, for like, the past day or so my legs and head have been killing me. Also, according to Wendy I have a fever."
Ford put a hand to Dipper's forehead. "Yes, yes-you are indeed quite warm." He shifted slightly. "Have you ever experienced an illness that had these sort of symptoms before?" The man asked, kneeling in front of the boy.
"I dunno, the flu, maybe," Dipper explained, feeling drowsy. "But this doesn't really feel like it."
Ford put a hand on Dipper's shoulder, as he looked to be very dizzy. "What does it feel like then?" The scientist inquired.
Dipper blinked twice, registering his uncle's question. "Uh, it sort of feels like my whole body is having a migraine," the boy remarked.
Ford furrowed his brows, eying his nephew. "Stay down here tonight. If anything happens I will be awake to see and document it, all right Dipper?"
