Chapter 3
" Let's talk business, Kids," Amelia began as she placed her hands on her desk, leaning over it. " My resources have found the entrance to the dimension in question. I need you to go into that dimension with me and destroy the remaining wheel members from the inside out. Kill if you must."
"Yes, Mother," the pink and blue triangles retorted from their chairs.
" Good," Amelia uttered, smirking. " Now, let's go."
Back at the middle school, Dipper was taking a pop quiz for a reading class. He heard somebody call his name and looked up. His peers had their eyes glued to their quizzes and the teacher was sitting at his desk, reading A Tale of Two Cities. Dipper shrugged then looked back down at his paper. He heard somebody call his name once more and looked around, again. The teacher glanced up at him.
" Please, keep your eyes on your own paper," he uttered.
Dipper looked back down, but the voice kept calling his name. The boy finished the quiz and turned it in. An hour later, it was lunch time. Dipper sat down at the table with Leonard, ate lunch, and went to the bathroom to mourn in private until it was time for the next class. He repeated this every day for several weeks. His parents arguing got more frequent, causing more grief in the Pines' home.
" You know what," the mother spat, balling her hands into fists. " You know what? I'm going to my mother's and I'm taking our son with me."
" Dipper is staying here," the father yelled, pointing at the living room floor. " No way am I letting him stay in that trailer. He'd have no privacy. Our son is an adolescent now and will need me to help guide him to manhood."
The boy was in his room, tossing and turning as his parents screamed at each other. They did this every day, from early in the morning until late in the evening, but none of them would act on their words. He knew they did not mean them. They were still grieving, like he was. The shouting got louder and Dipper covered his ears with his pillow. Dipper pulled out his phone and began texting his friends from Gravity Falls. None of them texted back, since it was too late at night. Soon, the house fell silent and Dipper managed to fall asleep. He started dreaming about being in the school library. There, he saw a purple, floating triangle dressed as a librarian. She looked over at him.
" Well, well, well," Amelia announced as she approached Dipper. " If it isn't Dipper Pines. I'm Amelia Cipher. I can't help but see your situation with your family."
" Yeah, what's it to ya," Dipper raised an eyebrow then widened his eyes. " Wait. Cipher? You wouldn't happen to be related to Bill Cipher, would you?"
"I'm his widow," Amelia retorted as she picked a book off of the shelf and flipped through the pages. " I always knew he was a cold hearted nutcase, but I still loved him."
" I'm sorry," Dipper sounded like he was asking a question, glanced down at his feet then looked back up at Amelia, pointing a finger at her. " Hold on. You're still a Cipher, ergo, I can't trust you. Why am I even talking to you?"
" Listen, Kid," Amelia started, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. " Just like you, I lost somebody near and dear to me and it still hurts like a wooden stake being stabbed into a vampire's heart. So are those words you just said. Not all the Ciphers are bad, you know. Look. I can help you. I can help bring your sister back for you. Repay you for stopping my awful husband and his gang."
Dipper glared at her then pulled out a picture of him and Mabel. He glanced back up at the purple dream demon. She had tears in her eye, upset he did not trust her.
" I still don't know," Dipper uttered, putting the picture away. " After all, you married Bill. They say that misery loves company, which seems to be your case. Why should I expect you to be any different?"
He pulled away from her then turned away, folding his arms. Amelia tapped her chin, seething.
" You want a good reason," Amelia snarled, causing the boy to turn back to her. " Fine. I'll give you a good reason."
She transformed, revealing scars all over her body. Dipper gasped, widening his eyes.
" Bill did this to me from the day we first got together," Amelia stated, hiding her scars. " He would've eventually killed me and my children, if it weren't for you and your group. So, do you want your sister or not?"
" No deal," Dipper retorted, shaking his head. " I still don't trust you. As much as I want my sister back, I just can't do it. I made that mistake of wanting something so bad that I made a deal with your husband. He possessed me and nearly killed me."
" Suit yourself, but I'll be back," she disappeared, causing Dipper to wake up.
" Huh," Dipper uttered then glanced around his room.
He climbed out of his bed then went on with his usual morning routine. The house stayed quiet the entire time, much to his relief. He opened the front door and headed off to school. Soon, it was lunch time, again. Dipper and Leonard were talking, while eating what looked like green slop.
" Hey, why don't you come live with me," Leonard offered, grinning. " My parents have a spare bedroom."
" That's really kind of you, but I would rather just be there for my parents," Dipper replied.
" Dipper, you come home to arguing parents every day, you're having nightmares, and those bags under your eyes are getting bigger," Leonard stated, gesturing to his friend's face at that last part. " I personally think you need to get out of that house for a while."
" Nah," Dipper rejected. " I'd rather be in my own bed and in my own room, where nobody can see or hear me."
" Okay," Leonard chirped.
Dipper finished eating then went into the bathroom until his next class. Back up in Oregon, Wendy was feeling tired and hopeless for no reason. She walked into a locker door a couple of times, was late to almost every class, and slept through half the day. A few times, she cried over dropping her pencil on the floor. The school sent her home for the rest of the day, after complaints from multiple teachers. Her father came and picked her up in his work truck. Wendy curled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs.
" Wendy, this isn't like you," Manly Dan started as he pulled out of the high school's parking lot and into traffic " Want to tell me what's wrong?"
" That's just it, Dad," Wendy sobbed from the passenger seat, looking down at her muck covered boots. " I don't know what's wrong with me."
" Is it your mother," Manly Dad asked and Wendy shook her head. " Is it a boy?"
" No," Wendy retorted, voice cracking.
" Friends," Manly Dad shrugged, Wendy shook her head again, and he grinned. " I think it's just mother nature getting the best of you."
" Dad," Wendy shouted as she gawked at him, blushing. " It's not that. This has been slowly happening to me for the past few weeks."
" I think your mother went through something similar," Manly Dan uttered, frowning. " She went through it after the birth of your youngest brother, though. That's when things started going downhill."
" Dad, can we not talk about this, please," Wendy sniffled as she looked back down at her boots.
" Alright," Manly Dan retorted and continued driving until they made it home.
Meanwhile, at Gravity Falls Middle School, it was lunch time for the 8th graders. Pacifica and her fake friends were standing in line, waiting. The fake redhead was texting on her phone, the African girl was reading a fashion magazine, and Pacifica was talking.
" Ugh, middle school is so lame," Pacifica complained. " Algebra? When am I going to use that? When am I going to use any of this stuff they teach us? Also, why do all the teachers here give so much dang homework? And what's the deal with the TAPP program? I already know how to tap. I know how to tap dance. Why do we even have that here?"
" Yeah, we should be learning about things that matter, like fashion," the fake redhead retorted as she put her phone away. " And anything that has to do with beauty salons and spas. Also, how to get a rich guy to like you."
" That, and which fad diets will squeak you into a size 2," the African girl uttered as she looked up from her magazine. " Speaking of: Pacifica, did you gain some weight over the summer?"
" About two pounds at the most," Pacifica answered then placed a hand on her cheek, slightly turning her head. " Why? Is it that noticeable? I can still fit into a size 2, so it shouldn't be."
" What have you been eating at those peasants' houses," the redhead asked, putting her hands on her hips.
" Stuff that actually taste good," Pacifica uttered, also putting her hands on her hips. " And those peasants are my friends."
" Whatever," the African girl scoffed, rolled her eyes, and pointed at Pacifica's waist. " If you don't watch your figure, you'll eventually end up as big as Grenda."
The two girls snickered. Pacifica blushed and frowned. She turned that expression into a glare, clenching her teeth and balling her hands into fists.
" I'll have you know that Grenda is muscular," Pacifica shouted, causing fellow students to stare at them. " She can lift boulders and break them with her skull. Also, she is a lot nicer to me than you two will ever be. So, is Candy."
" Geez, no need to get all defensive," the redhead stated. " Listen. If you keep going this route, you'll be just as unpopular as they are. Your reputation will be ruined, forever. So, stop eating like a pig, ditch the poor people, and stop acting so uncool."
" Okay," Pacifica uttered. " I'm going to stop eating rich people food, ditch you poor people, and stop acting as uncool as you. Later."
Pacifica walked off and into a nearby bathroom. She grabbed her stomach, sighing. The blonde was debating on just eating a salad today.
"I'm worried about Wendy," Tambry uttered as she and Robbie walked home from after-school detention. " This isn't like her. She hasn't answered her phone all day."
" I wouldn't worry about it," Robbie said. " She obviously wants to be left alone. Did you see her face? The last time I saw that face, she dumped me. She'll be fine."
" Robbie, she has been like this for a while," Tambry stated as she looked into his eyes, signs of worry on her face. " I think something's up. We should check on her."
" Alright," Robbie gave in then smiled as he looked into her eyes. " For you, Babe. Now, let's go check on our friend."
The two headed over to Wendy's place. When they got there, Manly Dan turned them away. Wendy did not want to speak to or see anybody. Robbie dropped Tambry off at her home and started heading toward his home. Suddenly, somebody called his name. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, asking who was there. The voice called his name, again. It sounded so familiar to him. He followed it.
Back in California, things just kept getting worse for the Pines. Mrs. Pines hopped into her car and drove off to her mother's place, while Mr. Pines sat in the living room, watching TV. Dipper arrived home from school and approached his father.
" Hey, Dad," Dipper greeted then looked around the house, raising an eyebrow. " Where's Mom?"
" She's staying at her mother's for a little while," the dad retorted as he looked at his son.
" What," Dipper yelped, widening his eyes. " You're not getting divorced, are you?"
" Heavens no," the dad chuckled then quieted down. " We decided we needed time to cool down. Losing your sister was the hardest thing we have ever gone through and we are having a hard time dealing with it."
" I noticed," Dipper uttered then sat down next to him. " It's been almost two months and I'm still having a hard time, myself, especially with Halloween around the corner."
" Yeah, Leonard told me all about that," his dad stated, patting the boy on the back. " He says you cry in the bathroom at lunch every day. Look. It's a Friday night. Why don't we have a father/son movie night with pizza and ice cream?"
" Sounds great, Dad," Dipper grinned, glancing up at him.
They sat on the couch and ate pizza and ice cream, while watching movies until they fell asleep.
