Welcome back to this story guys! I feel like I owe you guys a HUGE apology after not uploading this story for a few months. I know how annoying that can be. But I'm back now, but my uploading schedule is all over the place right now so I must apologise for that too.

On the bright side did you know that turkeys can actually blush? There's your fun fact of the day!


Mabel's state had only gotten worse. That incident with the sudden bloodstain and the deaf gunshot had been the click.

Now Mabel was in Dipper's bed, frustrated that it barely smelt of him anymore now that she spent most of her time entangled in his duvet. It smelt of her nightmares now, and Waddles. Ford's laboratory also became unbearable without Dipper explaining what everything all while coming up with a few of his own theories.

Mabel had gotten to the point of even wearing one of Dipper's red t-shirts.

Her mouth was moving, though most of her words were silent even though an occasional mumble could be heard. Her mind usually wandered, but now she couldn't think of anything else but of that day when she set Bill Cipher free.

Her eye twitched when she heard a knock at the door. She felt no need to answer, so she just quietly whispered a ramble before she huddled her knees together closer.

"Uh kid? Are you sure you're alright?" Stan's grumbling voice made Mabel raise her eyes to his face as he let himself into the room.

"Of course I'm alright," Mabel answered. Even she realised how different her voice was now. It had gotten deeper and lost some of its cracking-like quirk.

Stan shook his head, not buying any of what Mabel tried to sell. "I'm not asking about your physical health for hell's sake. Speak to me, maybe you can get some of that weight off your shoulders?"

Mabel almost hissed at him. "I don't think that will help Dipper."

Stan sighed, for a moment looking twice his age. "Sweetie, he said that he was making his way home, and that he's alive and well and-" Stan noticed the glint shining in Mabel's eyes, and he was downright horrified. "I swear Mabel if you're thinking about suicide I can tell you now that you're no good to your brother dead."

"I was never any good to him alive either," replied the girl. That was all she said.

Stn fell silent in shock, and for a moment the room was so quiet you could hear a feather drop onto the carpet.

"You still have your connection though," Stan tried, losing some of his hope when Mabel exposed her throat to look at the ceiling. "Did you have any dreams telling you where your brother might be?"

Mabel answered instantly. "My connection is dead. The dreams are gone and I can't feel his feelings anymore. I think he got sick of feeling me being scared- since he has his own things to be scared about."

"You're looking too much into it," Stan tried to reason. "If you ask me, that connection has been bad for you. It's driven you insane Mabel, for hell's sake. You're not yourself anymore."

Mabel only sighed, hoping Stan would take the screaming hints and leave.

But Stan didn't. He ignored it, or didn't notice, or both. Either way, he kept talking. "Dipper said he was coming back. He told you so through the telephone. If he finds you like this, or worse, what will he think?"

For the first time Mabel looked Stan in the face. "Why should he think of me in any good way? He gives, and I take- I'm a parasite, that's all."

"Mabel you're not a parasite-"

"Yes I am," Mabel snapped. "I wouldn't be surprised if me and Dipper turned out like you and Great Uncle Ford."

Another cold chill went down Stan's spine. The worst part was that Mabel wasn't completely wrong. He had seen first hand how Mabel had thrown Dipper aside for some random guy when he not only needed her, but also helped her with the puppet show. She was after all the main reason that caused Dipper to get hurt by Bill the first time.

Such is fate that she was the only reason why he fell prey to the demon the second time.

Stan hesitated, lost for things to say. What could he say to lift Mabel's spirit?

He wasn't great at comforting other people, not to mention such broken people. What could possibly Mabel feel after the loss of a sibling? Stan didn't know what that felt like... Hold on, yes, he did know what losing a twin sibling.

"Whatever you have or haven't done Mabel, Dipper still loves you," Stan said. He placed a gentle hand on Mabel's quivering shoulder.

Mabel opened her mouth to object, but Stan didn't even let her start. "Don't you dare say that he doesn't. If he didn't love you, he would've called."

His niece hugged him. She was still so small compared to him. "You promise Dipper will be back?"

Stan sighed. "I'm sure he will be."


After the storm the clouds had parted, the sun began to shine against a clear blue sky. Beams of light seeped through the morning canopy, every single spiderweb shining silver with dew, the air so fresh to breathe in.

This was the morning the trio set out to continue their journey, after a week and a bit of recovery. Now with nothing in their way- no sickness, no hunger, no enemies- they travelled somewhat faster.

Primrose had left the two boys alone to hunt, this time trusting them enough to trek themselves at least some of the way. Before, silence would hang between them when the boys were alone, but now it was scared away by chatter.

"Seriously? Shooting Star likes that stuff?" Bill was asking, raising a confused eyebrow. He was looking down slightly at Dipper beside him, since he was still at least a head taller.

Dipper nodded his head. "I know, right? That's not how werewolves and vampires work for heck's sake. Vampires don't sparkle!"

"You know that vampires use their sexiness to lure and kill women?"

"Ford wrote about that in his journals, though he wrote 'charm'."

Bill gave Dipper an impressed nod. "You still know those journals by heart even though I've burned them all?"

"You can read minds, possess people and invade dreams, but you can't erase people's memories." Dipper's mouth curled into a proud smile, showing off his slightly squint teeth. "You've revealed a lot about yourself, don't pretend you're surprised."

Bill only laughed. "I guess we're both even then."

They travelled along the uneven terrain, sometimes jogging downhill or leaping over gorges, eventually coming to a fallen tree, making a clean bridge across the overflowing creek. The water was so crystal clear that they could see the tiny fish swimming around, as well as right down to the bottom. They took a break to drink, before Dipper lead the way across the trunk.

Or he would've, if something didn't tap him- ever so gently- on the right shoulder. It was enough to unbalance him and send him crashing into the cold water.

Dipper emerged, shaking the droplets of sparkling water from his hair, only to hear that annoying laughter.

"Asshole," he spat at Bill, though he found it hard to hold a genuine grudge. Bill didn't seem to care either way, overreacting as if his little practical joke was the funniest thing in the world. "Great," Dipper mumbled to himself sarcastically as he stood to his feet. The water only reached up to his waist, and though movement was slow, it was still possible. So Dipper violently jerked himself back, and the chain sprung to life. It wasn't much, but the little movement was enough to topple over the standing demon-boy. He angled his face away when the splash came, now the one laughing.


"Oh stop complaining, the sun will dry you soon enough."

The two came out of the trees into a clearing of heather and grass, the opposite line of trees was well over the horizon. And there were deer close by, a whole herd of them, feeding on the long plants without paying any attention to the newcomers. Dipper glanced in Bill's direction, wondering what he would do. It was common knowledge that Bill didn't get along well with humankind, Dipper being the exception, but what about animals? (Again Primrose was an exception).

"What are you looking at me for?" Bill noticed Dipper's glare.

Dipper shrugged. "Just wondering what you'll do now that there are things bigger than us here."

Bill gave Dipper a stupid look. "What do want me to do with them? Eat them?"

"I can't tell if you're joking or not," replied Dipper, giving Bill a shit-eating grin whilst avoiding the swipe. Bill's angry noise almost resembled the terrified whinnies of the deer that spotted them, just as a massive shadow fell over the clearing. The deer dashed into the safety of the trees, a wind picking up that blew Dipper's hat right off his head.

The roar of arrival was familiar, as were the beat of wings. The massive bat-like figure blotted out the sun like a massive lunar eclipse as it descended out of the sky. A normal human being would scream and run, for this sight would've been pretty terrifying, though Dipper and Bill did not.

"There you are you oversized snake," Bill greeted her in his usual fashion as the dragoness landed with a thud. The sunlight made her look bejewelled, more so than usual. Her fangs stretched into a smile, from which dangled two large pieces of meat, already cooked- or rather slightly burnt- by dragonfire.

The boys thanked the dragon for the meal and they were swiftly on their way again.

"How much longer is it to the train station?" Dipper asked once he'd finished his portion. The sun above kept climbing up the sky, though nowhere near its highest point yet.

For an answer Primrose held up four talons, a quiet purr vibrating in her throat.

"Four weeks?"

But Primrose was shaking her head, signalling for a lower number. Dipper glanced at Bill shortly. "Four days?" Primrose shook her head again. "Four hours?" And Primrose nodded her head.

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Bill took a few steps away before looking over his shoulder back at them. "It's only a four-hour trek, and all things considered it's nothing to what we've done over." His encouraging smile was almost as bright as the sun itself. "Come on."

Dipper picked up his pace to walk beside by him again, a gust of wind whooshed past them, once again pulling Dipper's hat off his head. As he reached to pick it up, he could hear Bill whoop and cheer at the dragon who soared so high her wings seemed to brush the very sun itself. He cheered too, for even a kid who had many encounters with the supernatural a flying dragon was quite a sight. The dragon would fly above them like a guardian angel, so far up she looked like a glimmering kestrel. Her shadow fell over the two boys, so from a bird's eye view it truly looked like the boys themselves were sharing a pair of wings.

Almost instinctively Dipper began to pick up his pace, and the little prick from the chain made Bill follow. "What the heck are you doing?" he asked quickly, caught of guard by the prod as if he were a horse receiving a reminder from a whip.

"Come on then, we can out-run her," Dipper said cheerfully, going from speed-walking to a slow jog. "Unless you're too slow to catch up."

"Alright, you asked for it."

Bill was no way as fast as Dipper was, but soon they left the wings of shadow behind- that began to chase them.


The sun was well past its highest point when the forest ended. The trio watched from the cover of the plants, silent and still.

The place Primrose had lead them to resembled a long-forgotten town from a fairytale, yet it was absolutely buzzing with life. The train station was built of granite, dark and red and still holding up, the roof covered in neat rows of slate. A huge analogue clock was hung over the open doorway inside, its thin iron hands pointing out the time of precisely thirty three minutes past one o'clock. The building was smaller than most, and behind it could be seen the rooftops of the townhouses. A huge black train stood idly at once side. There were people on the single platform, and not just one or two- Dipper counted them himself- there were as much as fifty-one people waiting on that platform. And all that was separating them from him was the double set of railway tracks.

It was weird seeing normal human beings again, and Dipper had to fight the urge to let out a 'woah' of awe, reminding himself that humans were not supernatural beings and that he was one himself in fact. But it's been so long...

"Is this it?" Bill pointed to the station, and Primrose nodded her head in agreement. She eyed the humans suspiciously, which was completely understandable all things considered. Dipper didn't blame her.

And then something caught his eye. This time it was worth gasping.

There were men being marched out of the forest not too far from where they were hidden, and the people on the platform looked up from whatever they were doing to gawp at the scene.

Some of the men were wearing the well-known black uniforms that the government agents had worn- those eagle-symbols were all too familiar to Dipper at this point, and they were armed. Heavily.

And the others, Dipper recognised fairly quickly. Those men in the dungeons...

"Look at that!" Dipper elbowed Bill in the ribs and pointed. "It's them! It's those-"

"Creepy bastards," Bill hissed under his breath, and Primrose only growled.

The said 'creepy bastards' were unarmed like the government guys, hands placed on their heads as they marched across the tracks and into the black train that was standing stationary on the line furthest from the hidden three.

And when they were all inside the black train, it sped off into the distance, never to be seen again.

"They're gone?" Dipper whispered, hardly able to believe it. "They're really gone?" He couldn't help but punch the air with his fist in glee. "Ha! Ha! Yes! Comeuppance!"

"I seriously hope those guys get lifetime in prison, or the death-sentence," Bill snapped, still agitated way more than he should be. "I hope they all rot in hell."

During normal circumstances Dipper would've told him to calm down, but now he totally agreed with him.

And the people on the platform? They just lowered their heads again with whatever they were doing, not even questioning it. They seemed exactly opposite of what 'normal' people were.

Then it hit Dipper.

"Ohhh man, we don't have any money!" he exclaimed suddenly. "How will we get on the train with no money? If we can't pay for tickets then we can't board the train and we can't get to Gravity Falls and-"

The soft dragon purr cut across him, and Dipper instantly shut up. Primrose had pushed past Bill to stand at Dipper's side. How exactly she was managing to stay hidden was a mystery. Her wing pointed to the far left, where the black train used to stand. Now behind it was visible the slightly less intimidating cargo-train, the red paint peeling off the wooden traincars, where workers were busy loading up cardboard boxes and the like.

"That's our ride?" Bill moaned. "Ugh, I was seriously hoping we'd get first-class seats, and I'd get to actually try your stereotypically British tea and biscuits and-"

"Man shut the hell up," Dipper barked at him. "At least we won't have to pay for the ride and we won't get kicked off."

Bill groaned.

"So when does that train leave?" Dipper turned to Primrose, ignoring Bill. The dragoness tilted her head- the signal to follow her. It was one of the many signals that basically became words, and naturally Bill and Dipper followed her without question. Just like they had ever since they met her.

They walked just behind the edge of the trees, along the tracks and along the cargo train. Right up to the last car, where the cargo was already loaded and all the workers were at the front of the train. Primrose was first to slither out of the cover of the forest. Bill followed next, yet Dipper was slightly hesitant. They'd spent all this time in this forest and now it was time to leave? Now it was clear why it was so nostalgic and familiar, and suddenly Dipper didn't want to leave.

"Hey, Pine Tree! Aren't you coming?"

"I'm coming," Dipper called back, and with a deep breath took his first step out of that forest.

Stepping on the smooth ground of the tracks was somehow unfamiliar, and Dipper tried very hard not to cringe. He almost bounced about the ground to make his way to his two companions. Primrose was already on her hind legs, using all her dragon-y strength to force open the sliding door of the traincar. Inside were boxes stacked upon boxes, with not much room but enough for the three of them nonetheless.

"Great! Now we have our ride back to Gravity!" Bill cheered, complaints about not getting first-class apparently forgotten. He jumped effortlessly up onto the car and sat down cross-legged and expectant. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hop on!"

Dipper sighed, glancing back over his shoulder to look at the forest again. Would he ever see it again? His former mother nudged him forward with her snout, giving him a reassuring nod.

It felt like leaving something significant behind, and Dipper had to actually focus to clamber onto the wagon. And again sitting on the wooden floor was strange and alien- smoother than the uneven earth and cold rocks. He ran his hand over the wood- how long has it been?

"Move over, make some room for the dragon." Bill's voice snapped Dipper from his musings. The two boys moved to the side in unison, however the dragoness didn't hop on to join them. Instead, she hung her head.

"Primrose?" Dipper said.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Bill asked at the same time.

Primrose's whole body rose and fell with a massive dragon-y sigh, then shook her head, her eye to the ground.

Dipper's heart dropped. "What!? Why not!?"

In reply Primrose lifted her head and gestured back the forest.

This forest was Primrose's home, as much as Gravity Falls was home was to Dipper and Bill, perhaps even more. And Primrose only said she'd show them the way to the train which would take them back to their home- she never said she'd come with them.

She undoubtedly had friends, family, other dragons to go back to. She couldn't be the only dragon in that forest, even though they never saw any other dragons during their journey- dragons were elusive creatures after all.

Before the boys could object, Primrose sat down and began to talk in her indecipherable babble, her paws flailing in bad sign-language, however it was the first time that the two understood without any incorrect guesses.

The train will go unstoppable for many hours, and you will pass many landscapes, though where you will need to get off the train is at the pine forest. The train will not stop, so you will need to jump. You will arrive early tomorrow morning, so make sure you don't sleep past your home. Take care of yourselves.

She reached up to her neck, and winced as she pulled out two identical scales, glimmering like precious gemstones in the sun. She gave one to Dipper, and one to Bill, who looked at her speechless as they pocketed her gift.

"We have something to give you too," Bill said quietly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the necklace he had nicked from the dungeons. The demonite crystal sparkled nicely, melded with the golden chain it was held in. Bill raised the necklace above her head, and hung it around her neck. The crystal settled over her chest, still glimmering, and Primrose purred. She admired it, tilting it up with a gleaming a black talon. Her purring only got louder as she reached to Bill, pressing her nose to his cheek. He patted her head in turn.

"I'll miss you, you oversized snake," he said to her, an odd, sad tone to his voice.

They retreated from each other, and Primrose turned her head towards Dipper.

There was a shard of ice in Dipper's heart as she approached him, yet he bowed his head forward. Primrose reached to him, and the red diamond touched to the Big Dipper constellation, a surge of warmth sparking between the two marks like static shock. Yet Dipper pressed his head closer to her.

"You'll visit us in Gravity Falls, won't you?" he stammered, trying his best not to cry. He could only stare into her deep, green eyes. Sometimes Dipper thought that the whole forest could be fitted in just Primrose's eyes alone. Primrose purred sadly in agreement. "And you'll take us back here, even for a short visit?" Once again Primrose agreed.

Dipper hiccupped and wrapped his arms around her neck, pressing his face to her warm snakeskin chest. Primrose pressed the bottom of her chin to his shoulder blade, returning the hug in her own animal way.

"I love you mama." He didn't know which one of him had said it; Dipper or Vesper, but he could feel the warm tears running down his face.

Primrose backed away reluctantly only when the trainwheels screeched as the train began to move. The two boys leaned out of the open doorway, waving her goodbye. Faster and faster away from the station, and Primrose ran after the train, crowing like a rooster. She managed to keep up a few seconds before the train got too fast for her, where she got smaller in the distance before diving back into the plants, out of their sight.

Before Bill could look back to him, Dipper rubbed his tears away and pretended that he wasn't crying. He comforted himself that she would visit, and that she would take him back here again.

"Well," huffed Bill. He sat back, then laid down on the floor of the car and exhaled. "We're finally going back. After god knows how long we're going back to Gravity Falls." He raised his head to look at Dipper, who had leaned again one of the cardboard boxes. "I'll miss this place."

Dipper didn't think he'd agree with Bill as much as he did at that moment.

"Do you think it's a good idea to return to Gravity Falls?" asked Bill suddenly.

Dipper blinked in confusion. "We need to go back to Gravity Falls! I have a family that's waiting for me y'know. Mabel's been worried about me an awful lot- I know that because I can feel it. I need to go back to them- they're waiting for me."

Bill raised his eyebrow, but sighed again. "Let's rephrase that- do you think it's a good idea for me to return to Gravity Falls?"

Dipper thought about that for a moment. "Well... not really," he replied truthfully. "If the whole town knows you've taken on a human form, then you're pretty much screwed. I know Great Uncle Ford and Grunkle Stan will kill you on the spot if you so much walk into their line of sight and-" The hurt on Bill's face made him stop rambling. He shook his hands as well as his head. "Forget I ever said that. I'm sure everything will be alright."

"I highly doubt that." Bill snapped, and yawned. "I'm lost, and I can never go home. I don't have a home anymore. Trust me, I would've like to stay here if it weren't for this stupid chain keeping us together." He sighed heavily. "At least I have experience on surviving in the wild now."

Bill yawned again, his tongue curled inward like a lizard's and he propped his hands behind his head. "It's as your human saying goes- 'all good this must come to an end'. I guess that means my life too. I guess I've lived long enough."

Dipper blew a raspberry at him. "Get a grip man," he snapped back. "There's more to life than world domination, y'know. Have you ever had an entire cinema cheer for a scene in a movie? Or been to an indie music festival? Or eaten popcorn with ketchup? Yes, before you ask, Mabel made that combination, but it's actually really good as long as the popcorn's salty and not sweet and-" He noticed the amused glare Bill gave him. "You haven't really tried anything this world has to offer, have you?"

"I've ridden on a dragon's back," he replied casually. "But perhaps you're right. I'm sure there's more things to try other than you just mentioned."

Suddenly a familiar voice tore through the quiet, so loud that it drowned out the chugging of the train. It tore the boys up to their feet, scrambling to the open door to get the best view first.

There, on the tallest tree, was entangled the silhouette of a massive dragon, a black shape against the crawling sun. Even though Dipper had to hold his hand above his eyes as to see without the intense light in his eyes, he still knew who this was.

And once again something long-forgotten began to hum in the back of Dipper's mind, the familiarity growing stronger with every note that was sung. Primrose kept singing, louder with every inhuman sound; wolf howls, dolphin calls, whale shrieks. Yet this time it contained that little tinge of humanity.

Dragonsong... It was beautiful.

And yet it faded gradually away the further the train went, and soon the shadow of the singing dragon disappeared over the horizon, and her song became a whisper in the wind, boding the boys farewell.