Dipper watched as Bill approached the glowing arch. Bill looked in awe.

"It's beautiful." he remarked, turning to Joan.

Joan gazed up at its rippling glow, her eyes wide in horror.

Dipper glanced at Bill who was removing something from his pocket. Dipper strained his eyes to see what it was. It appeared a small gold rock of sorts.

"Bill, what is this?" Joan inquired, her voice trembling.

"Something powerful!" Bill exclaimed, holding the rock up to the light. "This arch could hold all the secrets of the universe!"

The rock began to glow, and Dipper saw Bill's trademark grin spread across his face. The soft glow from the arch suddenly turned harsh, and the gentle ripples turned into violent, tugging waves.

Joan gasped and leaped to the doorframe as the ground began to shake and pebbles and rocks went flying into the portal.

Bill stood in front of the portal as it began to swirl faster and faster. There were several flashes, and the gold rock began to float away from his grasp.

Bill leaped up and grabbed it, but even he began to slide towards the portal. He looked frightened as the strong force tugged him across the floor.

"Joan!" he called. "Help me!"

Joan peeked around the corner. She had an oddly conflicted look on her face.

Bill let go of the rock and it began to glow. It glowed brighter and brighter until it burst, spraying shards all over and slicing the right side of Bill's face.

Bill yelped and fell onto his knees, his hands covering his eyes.

"Joan, please!" he cried out.

Dipper's jaw dropped as Joan merely shook her head.

"I'm sorry Bill." she said coldly. "But I can't."

Bill looked up, his right eye was swollen shut, but there were tears welling up in his good eye.

"What?" he whispered.

"I'm sorry." She said one more time, and she turned and ran back down the dark corridor.

"Joan no!" he shouted after her, and then his voice lowered to a whimper. "Please no...I love you."

But Joan didn't look back.

Bill sat, looking devestated as the force continued to pull him backwards. He scrambled frantically before it became to strong and he was almost instantaneously sucked into the vortex.

The moment he went through the arch collapsed, and all that was left of the portal was a smoking pile of rubble. As Dipper watched, a golden glow started from underneath, and a soft, triangular shape floated up and into the air.

It hovered in the middle of the room, as if it were almost unsure of itself before opening its one eye, legs, arms, and top hat. Bill blinked and examined his new form.

As he floated he began to look angry, turning red and blowing flames out of his hands. The ground began to tremble, and fire kicked the walls of the chamber.

Outside, Joan trudged to the sand, not even looking back at the pyramids behind her. She gazed down at a locket, which held a picture of her and a man who looked very similar to Mrs. Northwest...

Dipper jolted awake, gasping for breath. He leaped out of bed and reached for the journal. The rock that Bill had used. It held some sort of power that Dipper hadn't seen. Perhaps it would help in subduing Stanley, or even bringing Bill back.

Mabel sat, eating breakfast. She stared suspiciously at Gideon, who was shoving a waffle down his throat. Only the most notorious of people could eat waffles that quickly, and Mabel didn't trust him one bit. Stan sat next to the irritating boy reading the newspaper.

Mabel shoveled another scoop of cereal into her mouth, and heard the pounding of Dipper's feet as he came racing down the stairs. She turned her head just in time to see him come skidding to a halt.

"Hey bro-bro! Over sleep much?" she greeted cheekily, but Dipper took her wrist and drug her upstairs.

"No time!" he panted, leading Mabel into the attic and shoving the journal in her face. "Look!"

She gazed at the pages, her brow furrowed.

The page featured some sort of rock with an eye carved on it.

"Gold Stone." she read to herself. "Key to the universe..."