Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I was writing Ford and God it made me sad. I love their relationship, I think it's really cute how much they respect each other.
Disclaimer: I don't own Disney because if I did I would make Princess Unattainabelle an official Disney princess. He deserves it.
"But- but why?" Mabel cried pulling harshly at her hair as she glared at Bill. Tears were welling up threatening to spill over. "Why do you want my brother? You're not allowed to have him I'm not going to let you."
"Wow. For a shooting star you are not the brightest thing in the sky, are you Shooting Star?" Bill laughed loudly, sitting up straighter in the chair.
"Bill please don't..." Dipper muttered as he grabbed Mabel, stopping her from stepping towards the demon. She had had no qualms with teasing Bill even in the Weirdmageddon and he didn't want her getting hurt now after he had sacrificed his life for her. "Mabel please you've got to listen to me, I know you're upset but you have to understand what's going on here. Wendy, do you know where Stan is? I think he should be here to listen to this." And although Dipper didn't say it out loud it was clear that he wanted to see his Grunkle for what might be the last time.
"He isn't here dude, he and Soos went to go see Ford in hospital, they left just before you got here and I don't know when they'll be back. Sorry man… maybe some other time."
"Hah! That's funny Red, since when did you have a say in what my Pine Tree did?"
"Dipper isn't yours! He's my brother and he has to stay with me!" Mabel screamed in the demons face balling her fists.
"Come over here, kid." Bill smirked as he beckoned the boy.
"Bill, please, I need to at least comfort her. You-" Dipper pleaded wriggling in his tight grip.
"I said, come here!" Bill shrieked as he held out his hand waiting for the boy to take it.
Dipper stood and walked towards Bill giving an apologetic smile to Mabel as he stepped past her. It was safer for her if he did what he was told especially since Bill could decide at any time that he wanted revenge on them more than he wanted his obedience. He took Bill's hand as if to shake his hand. He knew what would happen next. The man pulled him closer until he was sitting in the demon's lap. Bill's arms snaked around his waist forcing him to stay.
"Dipper, you promised me that you would stay with me." Mabel looked up at him but Dipper couldn't even look her in the eyes.
"I'm sorry Mabel but I have to do this. I need to protect you and Stan and Ford. I need to protect everyone I love," he looked at Wendy sadly.
"That's why heroes in my world end up dead… or turned to gold. Pine Tree is simply paying the price for his heroism."
"Bill, is Wendy allowed to call Stan and tell him that I'm here? I want to see him before we go," Dipper asked looking up at the blonde haired man.
"I don't see why not since you asked so nicely," Bill smiled, ruffling the boy's hair.
"Wendy could you…?" Dipper began.
"Already on it dude," Wendy winked as she walked out of the room pulling out her phone. She wasn't smiling.
"Dipper, why aren't you staying? I don't want you to go. This is worse than you leaving me for Ford but you're leaving me for him," Mabel whined, pointing a finger at the dream demon.
"You really don't get it, do you, Shooting Star?" Bill shook his head pulling Dipper closer to him. "He's doing this for you and you don't even thank him. Geez kid I thought I taught you a listen last time Dipper was my puppet."
"Bill can I get down, please?" Dipper growled noticing the tears falling down his sister's face. "You're making this worse than it has to be."
"Yeah, yeah whatever kid. I'm helping you, the more detached you become the better it will be later. But go ahead, be with her. Don't blame me for the pain you feel later." Bill let go and Dipper stumbled to hug his sister again.
"Please don't leave me." Mabel grabbed onto his shirt in a death grip, not wanting to let her only brother and best friend go. They had spent their whole live together and although that wasn't that long overall she never expected him to be taken away from him so soon. She didn't want to become like Ford and Stan had been when Ford first came through the portal. They had been dysfunctional and rude and even down right cruel to one another. She knew that that had been because they had never been able to explain themselves to one another and that they were ripped apart so soon after being brought together again. But their reaction to one another had scared her.
"I'm sorry Mabel. I have no chose." Dipper whispered, not doing anything to stop her from stretching his shirt. She had never been very good at her emotions and would let them go out of control in situations like these. Not that there had been many situations like this in the past. In any case he felt the same as she did.
"But you promised," she cried, pulling roughly on his shirt.
"I know and I'm so sorry." He pulling her into another hug and stroked her hair comfortingly as she cried into his neck. Her face felt feverish on his skin. He hoped that she wouldn't get herself ill from all this stress and worry…and sorrow. It was agonising to feel like he couldn't do anything to stop the way she felt.
They didn't break their hold on each other for another five minutes and wouldn't have broken it at all if it wasn't for Wendy who came in holding the phone; she held it out for dipper to take and whispered to him that it was Ford. He was awake and he wanted to talk to his Part time apprentice for what might be the last time. No one knew what the future held. Dipper took the phone and held it to his ear in a death grip.
"Hey Ford, how are you doing?"
"Are you really asking how I am doing young man?" He asked incredulously. "Get those thoughts out of your head right now! How could you possibly be thinking of me when you made that stupid deal? How could you give your life up for mine? Dipper you are far more important than I ever was. I was not worth your life." Dipper could hear angry yelling in the background and he would have laughed at the fact that Stan was being so adamant that his brother's life meant less than anyone else's. But in that moment Dipper felt like crying yet again for the second two in less than twenty-four hours and he hated it. His throat ached painfully as he replied.
"I-I'm so sorry Ford I didn't mean to b-but I couldn't see any other w-way! I don't want you to be angry with m-me. I'm so s-sorry…" Dipper trailed off. He felt comforting arms around him and looked down to see Mabel clutching onto. It was her turn to hug him until he stopped crying.
"Dipper, no! That is not what I meant at all I just don't want you throwing your life away for mine. I am sorry if I sounded angry I am just scared for you Bill could do anything to you now that he has you in his clutches. He is driven by revenge and won't stop until he gets it. I don't want you to suffer for the mistakes I made as a young and witless man." Ford confessed kindly. Dipper could hear someone in the background shouting loudly; you got that right Sixer! "Shut up Stanley, I'll give you back the telephone when I am done. Don't be rude." Yes mum, came the reply.
"I didn't want you to die Great-uncle Ford. I guess I really am a stupid hero."
"Yes Dipper you are a hero but that doesn't make you stupid, why would you even think that?" Ford wanted so badly to reach through the small piece of modern technology and wrap the boy in a hug.
"Because that's what Bill says," Dipper sniffed sadly.
"Don't you ever listen to a word that demon says! He is a liar and a cheat and he will do or say anything to make you doubt yourself."
"Hey! I can hear what your spouting IQ! Don't make me come back to that hospital and stab your other leg because I will," Bill yelled over Dipper's shoulder into the receiver.
"Bill, you said you won't hurt anyone that I love, so please don't threaten my family with false threats." Dipper whispered harshly, holding a hand over the receiver so that Ford would hear him.
"Don't you dare hurt Dipper, you monster or I swear I will find you! There would not be a dimension you could hind in, we will find you and make you pay."
"Oooh! I'm shaking in my boots Sixer." Bill glared at Dipper and held out his hand waiting for the phone to be handed to him. It was clear he didn't want Dipper to be talking to his Grunkles any longer. "I hope you don't get offended or anything IQ but I must admit Dipper is a far better puppet then you ever were," Bill laughed.
"Why you little-"
"I'm sorry Great-uncle Ford but I have to go I hope I can see Stan before I have to leave. Come quickly Stan. Goodbye Ford. I hope one day I get to see you again."
"Don't make it sound like you're going to die boy. I will see you again so for now I will leave you with a 'see you later' and nothing more, okay?"
"Okay," Dipper mumbled rubbing his red eyes before another wave of tears fell.
The phone went dead in his hand. He dropped it a crumpled into a ball beside it. Despite his effort the tears came any way. He felt like terrible for crying like a baby in front of Wendy. It didn't really matter anyway. He was never going to see her again.
He felt arms wrap around him lifting him off the ground in one swift movement.
"I think its best if we go pack some of his things now," came a voice from above. He heard a shuffling noise of someone else standing up. "Alone."
He felt himself being carried up the flight of rickety stairs and across the landing to the room that he had shared with Mabel. He was placed back on his feet to face the room with its large triangular window and two beds. The one on the left was well made with books and pens littering the covers and the one on the right was messy and covered in lots of stuffed animals and a sleeping pig.
"Hey kid, is the pig on your list of friends?" Bill asked stepping towards the sleeping animal like a predator hunting it's pray, a ball of fire forming in his hand.
"No Bill! You can't kill my sister's pig she would be the one to hunt you down through dimensions if you did that." Dipper grabbed his arm to try and stop the flame.
"Too bad," he shrugged, turning away from Waddles. "So what do you want to take with you? You can take anything you want but you have to show it to me first." Bill explained waving a hand over the boy's side of the room.
Dipper picked up his journal, centred in the pine tree was a inky black one. He flicked through it quickly, seeing how little he had written in it. He guessed that if he was going to find a positive thing about staying with Bill was that he would fill he book up in no time. He turned and held out the book for the demon to take in silence. He didn't have anything to say.
"Hah! Should have known that you would have your own little nerd journal. You're so much like him it almost scares me. It really does," Bill laugh yet again wiping an imaginary tear of mirth from his eye.
"Can I take it?" Dipper asked sheepishly.
Bill flicked through the pages of the book, taking care not to miss any pages. He didn't want to find any spells or curses that could be used against him in it. There were pages on Unicorns, the Blind Eye, infinite dice, few of the things he had found on his own in Piedmont and Bill Cipher himself which explain how bad he was and that he could cause the end of the world. Bill laughed at the sick irony as a twinge of something went through him that he couldn't describe. After he had looked through the pages he nodded and gave the book back.
"I don't see why not."
Dipper muttered a thanks before running off to collect pens and extra pages to put in a bag. After he had done that he set about looking through his clothes. He grabbed a few red and orange shirts and well and as some green and some blue along with his favourite vent. He also packed a few pairs of shorts and a pair of long pants.
After an hour of packing, it took that long because Bill wanted to see everything, Dipper zipped up the bag and stood looking around the room for what might be the last time. He walked over to Waddles and grabbed his in a big hug. He knew he was just a pig but Dipper would miss all the memories that came with him.
"Before we go back down stairs I wanted to talk to you about all of this." He waved his hand around the room and at Dipper himself. The demon looked unsure of how to put what he was going to say.
"Yeah?" he sounded overly hopeful as he stepped towards the well-dressed man.
"This won't be the least time you will be seeing them. I will bring you back here every so often. That is so you can see your sister before she goes home. So don't get too depressed because people who are depressed are no fun," Bill pouted. Dipper could see that there was some other reason but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He was never very good at reading faces like his sister.
"And after that?" Dipper asked, hugging his journal tightly to his chest.
"We'll see, wont we. You've been very good today so if you keep it up I might let you see them once a year maybe."
Dipper stood there silently from a few more minutes working the information over in his head, trying to make sense of any of it. It didn't make any sense. No matter how you looked at it.
"I'm waiting for an answer kid. A 'thank you' at the very least."
"Why did you pick me? Why do you want me? Why does everything you say make no senses?" Dipper huffed. He felt like he was on the verge of hysteria. It was too hot in the attic; he was becoming sweaty and red faced with frustration at the idea that he couldn't solve this mystery alone. That he had to be told what was going on. "I don't understand so you'll have to explain it to me. If you wanted revenge you could have killed all of us. You were back and no one knew making it the perfect time to strike. Why do you want to keep one of us? Why did you make that deal with me if you want to kill all of us? It-it just makes no sense to me!"
Bill pulled Dipper into what could have been a hug but was in no way comforting to the boy.
"Hah! I like you kid, you come up with some good sadistic plans but you see that would be far too easy. It would be painless and that's no fun. I want to torture you and your little family. And the better any to do that is to split you apart. I mean, did you see the look on Shooting Star's face?! Hilarious!" Bill whispered into his ear even though they were the only two people in the room.
"Why me though? It could have been anyone else."
"Oh Pine Tree I thought you were the selfless one. It sounds like you would prefer it if wasn't you in this position."
"No it's not that I promise it's just that… I'm the lamest one out of everyone in the Cipher Wheel and I thought you would want someone who you liked. Like Ford or something."
"What gave you the idea that I didn't like you or that I liked Six Fingers. I was just using him to get what I wanted. We weren't friends. And you're not lame kid; in fact you're the least lamest meat sack I know," Bill laughed at the boy patting him of the back twice. He noticed the boy in his arms cringe away from his touch. For Dipper it painful reminder of a sibling hug. "Pat… pat."