Dipper didn't know what to expect. He didn't know what death would feel like, though he supposed he wasn't truly dead. The portal ripped apart the time space continuum and by that logic their universe had been destroyed. They weren't existing anymore. They simply weren't. So where did that leave them? What then? He didn't feel like anything had changed. He still felt like he had a whole physical body. How strange it was to cease to exist. At most, he had expected everything to just stop but there he was in a white empty space. Existing.

However, the white surrounding him suddenly began to fade to darkness. It terrified him. He didn't understand what was going on. Perhaps he was in the midst of losing his existence? His sense of being? His senses in general? But no. As he soon learned, the contrary was occurring. It was surreal to see shapes steadily take form as the blinding whiteness dissipated and it was even harder to grasp that he wasn't dead. Dipper raised his hand to his face and hardly believed it was truly there; that he was still whole. Slowly, he lowered it and beheld his surroundings.

The blast had utterly destroyed Ford's hidden lab. Everything was trashed the portal machine hung crooked. There was a low humming of machines which was likely the product of the white glow in the circular opening. Through some sort of miracle, the portal hadn't destroyed the universe – not this time, anyway. It took him a moment to make out the silhouette of a man standing in front of the glowing portal.

"Bill—" Dipper rasped weakly. The demon didn't budge. The blast had really done a number on him. He felt sore all over and his left shoulder felt dislocated but the pain was bearable.

He pushed himself onto his knees and immediately felt dizzy and nauseous. The latter feeling quickly intensified and soon he was doubling over, puking his guts out. It was disgusting but Dipper felt better. He made a bigger effort to move away from the mess he had made and stumbled to his feet. Debris littered the path to Bill. He stared at all of it emptily until he remembered Stan and Mabel, though as soon as they crossed his mind, groans caught his attention. The two were slowly finding their feet and that was enough for him to know that they were okay.

With a heavy sigh, Dipper began trudging towards Bill and Ford. The two were the only things that hadn't been toppled over by the shock wave emitted by the portal. The teen reckoned it must have been because of the demon's magic, though it was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. The portal hadn't destroyed the universe like he had been so sure it would and so a nerve wracking question remained to be answered.

"Bill—" He tried again, closer than he had been before. His voice was still too weak to attract the blonde's attention.

"We're not dead…" Mabel muttered from somewhere behind Dipper. She sounded rough but she would probably be fine.

"Bill!" Dipper cried out, just a few short steps away. He had been louder than before and was sure he was heard this time. But Bill didn't react. The demon's eyes were still glued on the white glow and his hand was still grasping Ford's tightly. "Bill…" he repeated, just behind the demon, "Did…did it work?"

Bill didn't answer. He didn't even acknowledge Dipper's presence. The teen thus glanced down and noticed that Ford was still encased in the blue magic and looked just as dead as before. His heart gave a painful throb. Had it not work? After all the risks, the lying, and the fighting; had it really not worked? Suddenly, the glow at the center of the machine's circle faltered and quickly began dimming.

"No, no, no!" Bill panicked. He released Ford's hand and ran to the other side of the table, facing the machine without any obstacle. "No, we need more power!"

"We…we don't have anymore." Stan said and Dipper glanced back in time to see his great uncle move to his side. "Did it not work…?"

"W-we need more power!" Bill shouted manically. He glanced around agitatedly for a solution to their problem.

"There's not—"

But Stan was interrupted when Bill suddenly flung magic at the machine. The steady beam of energy stopped the white glow from fading any further, but just barely.

"Damn it, come on!" Bill roared.

Despite all his efforts, the glow began receding again. The demon's desperation increased and he doubled the energy he was using which was already tremendous. The fading stopped but Dipper felt it was only a matter of time before it continued shrinking until it disappeared completely. What that inevitably meant had Stan falling to his knees. Dipper had never seen someone so broken before. The old man's features displayed how incredulous and shattered he was by their apparent failure. Not even science was powerful enough to break into the Void and he had killed millions by creating a blackout spanning over the entirety of a continent. All for nothing.

But Bill wasn't giving up. He continued pumping the portal with energy, vainly hoping that the door to the Void would be successful and that Ford would be able to return. It was heart breaking to behold.

"Bill…" Dipper tried, "Stop it."

Bill ignored him.

"It's over." Mabel chimed, having arrived on her brother's right side. "Just stop it."

"No! It'll work!" He yelled, "We just need more power!"

He increased the magic he was pumping into the large machine and the glow began to grow. For a brief second, Dipper believed his tactic might actually work but then there was a clang like something in the portal had given out. No sooner than the sound had been heard did the white glow abruptly vanish and the machine collapse on itself. Bill narrowly avoided being crushed by the falling metal.

"Bill!" Mabel called out worriedly.

When the dust caused by the fallen bits cleared, they found Bill standing with his back facing them, shoulders between his head. His hands were squeezed into trembling fists and his quiet sobs could be heard now that the whirring had stopped. The demon fell to his knees in utter defeat and he sobbed. Dipper wanted to go to him but he didn't know if he could – not after he had undoubtedly killed so many people that had depended on the electricity he had just robbed them of for survival. Mabel, however, being of a kinder and more generous heart, could. She ran around the table and gathered him in her arms and Bill just collapsed. He clung to her desperately and cried his heart out. The sight was so heart breaking Dipper began to cry himself.

"I really…" Stan choked out, "I really thought…that it would work…"

"Honestly," Dipper muttered as he rubbed his tears away, "At the last seconds, I really hoped it would too if the universe didn't implode."

"Well, the universe's intact." Stan smiled sadly as tears began leaking from his eyes, "But my brother's still gone."

And the man thus abandoned himself to his long repressed grief. He covered his eyes to try to hide his tears but soon gave up. What was the point? Seeing him so weak and upset had Dipper coming undone himself. He got to his knees and wrapped an arm around his great uncle's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Dipper…" he wept, "I'm so, so sorry…"

"Hey…" he said between sobs, "I-I forgive you…okay? I'm sorry too…"

"What are you sorry for?" Stan asked, "I'm the one who was ready to destroy the universe to attempt something so stupid…"

"It wasn't stupid, you had legitimate reasons!" Dipper defended, "Just because I was against you doesn't mean I don't understand why you did it…"

"I could have killed you and your sister." Stan said.

"But you didn't." Dipper replied and forced a smile. "Either way, I forgive you."

Stan remained baffled for a beat, but then he pulled Dipper into a bone crushing hug and cried some more. Dipper clung to the old man and buried his face in his shoulder. "You're too good to me. I don't deserve this." Stan muttered.

"Well, you're getting it anyway." Dipper stated.

And for hours they stayed in the rubble of Ford's lab crying together. When they calmed down enough, the twins guided the two men out of the lab. Dipper noticed the magic glow encasing his great uncle's body dissipate as Bill was lead towards the elevator which, thankfully, still worked. The ride up was long and quiet. They now suffered real grief as any and all hopes to get Ford back were truly cast aside. He really was gone forever and there really was nothing to be done about it anymore.

Mabel sat Bill down on the living room couch and quickly fetched him a cup of tea. She had been so fast Dipper was sure she had used her magic to speed things up. Then she wrapped a blanket around the demon's shoulders and sat next to him. He stared into his steaming mug quietly as silent tears continued to run down his face. Dipper wondered if he was even aware that he was still crying.

The teen moved to help his uncle seat himself on his usual chair when Stan stopped him. "I want to go to my room." He said gruffly. Dipper wasn't sure it was a good idea but complied anyway. The old man probably just wanted to go to sleep. Thus, he helped him to his intended destination and, as predicted, he laid down on his bed and pulled the covers to his chin. Dipper left him, quietly shutting the door. He only took a few steps before he heard Stan break down again. It took everything in his power to leave and return to the living room. Stan wanted to be alone and he would respect his wish no matter how much he didn't want to.

Dipper walked back into the living room and took a seat next to Bill. The three of them sat in silence for a very long time. The brunet glanced at the clock above the TV. It marked one in the morning.

"You must really hate me, hun, Pine Tree…" Bill muttered softly. Dipper looked at his face to see him smiling an empty smile. His eyes were overflowing with grief and torment. "Don't worry about the people who died tonight…" he continued after a moment, "I'll bring them all back tomorrow. No one will remember."

Dipper nodded.

"I don't…I don't hate you." Dipper eventually said, "I don't even think I'm mad at you…maybe I'm disappointed. I'm also a little scared." And his fingers ghosted to his throat. He would never forget the wild look in the blonde's eyes when he grabbed him so harshly.

Bill reacted ever so subtly to the confession. "That's understandable. I don't blame you. Either of you." He said and looked at Mabel.

"I'm not scared of you." She informed but he didn't seem to believe her. "And I don't blame you either." There was a pause and her gaze shifted to Dipper, "I lied to you," she told him, "When I said I wouldn't do what they were doing to bring you back from a place like the Void; I was lying."

Dipper smirked lightly. "I figured as much." He said, "I'm glad you decided to side with me. I didn't feel so alone this time around."

Then there was silence. Heavy, suffocating silence. Dipper leaned against the sofa and tilted his head towards the ceiling. Maybe he was done with the supernatural. After this latest episode, despite how magical and fun it had all been to him before, he wanted nothing to do with it anymore. He almost wanted to pretend none of it existed. Perhaps it would be easier to pretend Bill never happened and Ford simply never was too.

"What happens now?" Mabel asked.

"I don't know." Dipper admitted. They certainly had a lot to think about.

"Well, whatever comes next," Mabel said and looked at Bill, "Please don't leave us. Not again."

"I don't know if I can be here." Bill muttered, "In this house…it's plagued with so many memories of him...and it hurts just thinking about it…"

"It'll hurt for a long time." Mabel told him, "But then it'll get bearable. Eventually, you'll be back to your normal self and this pain will just be a distant memory."

"What if…I don't want it to be?" Bill asked honestly as he gripped his cup tightly, "What if I don't want the pain to leave?"

"You've got to let it go." She said sadly.

"I don't want to forget him." Bill confessed.

"Letting go doesn't mean forgetting." Dipper said, "Neither does moving on."

Bill lowered his head and hunched over slightly as he began to cry again. Mabel hugged him from the side and Dipper watched them. He could never imagine the type of anguish Bill felt. He had loved Ford so damn much and here he was, powerless to keep him by his side. He would be alone for all of eternity now. Regardless, he reached over and wrapped his arms around both Bill and Mabel as a sign of comfort.

"It gets better, I promise."