Everything had happened so fast. One moment, Dipper was enjoying Wendy's company and they were laughing as they talked about everything and nothing. A beautiful night in the midst of serial murders was beginning, they had planned to go to the festival. And yet, the next moment, Wendy's family had been murdered and Bill had been wounded to the point where he struggled to stand. By all means, the demon should have never have been there and the thought made Dipper all the more miserable. Had he just answered his phone, Bill wouldn't have wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dipper drove them back to the Mystery Shack using Wendy's truck. The latter had fallen into a catatonic state and had to be forced to move around. It pained Dipper to see her in such a shape. He wished there was something he could do. Bill, on the other hand, was weak but still managed to move around on his own fairly well. He stumbled a bit, dragging his limbs. He honestly just looked exhausted and Dipper hoped it was simply that. He didn't quite understand why the demon hadn't died but chose not to question it. Maybe being a demon rendered him invulnerable to the weapon's effects.

He helped Wendy out of the truck and guided her into the Shack all the while keeping an eye on Bill. The demon was mostly fine, only tripping once he had to climb the porch's stairs but Dipper had been close enough to catch him before he fell. He managed to bring them both into the living room, leaving them on the sofa to gather the others. In the next few moments, they were all assembled in one area and Dipper was recounting the horrific events. He balled his hands into fists to keep from shaking too much.

The teen related the events beginning from when they arrived to the Corduroy house. He mentioned Bill's arrival but neglected to say anything concerning the whispers they had heard moments before the scream. That part didn't seem important. Dipper then described the suffocating darkness and the murderer. He described it to the best of his ability but Ford seemed to have no idea if it was a person or a creature. He just seemed perplexed and worried for Bill whom he hovered near. His great uncle clearly wanted to touch him, to check him for wounds or signs of something, anything, being wrong, but hesitated for fear of involuntarily hurting him. Bill had to be the one to take his hand to instigate any physical contact between them.

Dipper continued the story by briefly going over Manly Dan's death and minding Wendy the whole time. She displayed no reaction; like she hadn't even heard him. Given her state, it was likely the case. Then he described the white substance the murderer pulled out with its scythe and how it stuffed it into a box. He concluded the whole with the fight that had taken place between Bill and the murderer. There was a pregnant pause filled with tension as Ford, Stan, and Mabel absorbed the information. There were likely a lot of questions floating through their minds. Dipper still didn't understand why the murderer had attacked Bill and left he and Wendy alone – especially Wendy seeing as it had killed the rest of her family.

"It was a Grim Reaper." Bill finally said, breaking the silence. He squeezed Ford's hand a bit.

"A Grim Reaper?" Stan repeated, "Did we ever consider that?"

"No." Ford answered.

"Grim Reapers are impassive, neutral." The demon explained, "Or, rather, they're supposed to be. All they do is reap the souls that need help crossing over to the afterlife dimensions upon death. They never kill nor involve themselves in the happenings of the world. That's why I didn't mention it before. This one's behaviour makes absolutely no sense."

That explained why Bill seemed both confused and scared when he first beheld the murderer.

"What can you tell us about Grim Reapers?" Ford asked.

"Not much." Bill admitted, "I never took the time to learn anything about them because they were never a threat to me. All I know is that not every dimension has a Grim Reaper and those who do only ever have one. They also aren't supposed to deviate from their only purpose which is to guide souls of the deceased beings of a given universe into the proper afterlife dimension."

"Can we kill it?" Mabel asked a bit too quickly.

"No." Bill answered, "They're immortal."

"Why didn't you die?" Dipper asked.

Bill gave him a sour smile, "It can't kill me because I'm a demon." He said, "I have no soul for it to take."

"But it took something from you." Dipper insisted, "I know it did, I saw it."

"It…it took my magic." Bill answered bitterly.

"What!? Why!?" Mabel snapped, likely upset that she had lost her magic teacher.

"Because I upset the balance." Bill shrugged, "Whatever that means."

Dipper mulled over the Grim Reaper's words. It must have been alluding to something but he couldn't think of what for the life of him. It wasn't like Bill had gone on an insane killing spree. The one responsible for all the murders beginning back in January in DC was the Grim Reaper itself. Was it trying to push the blame onto Bill?

"How are we supposed to stop death from killing?" Stan asked.

"You can't." Bill said.

"So the murders continue?" Mabel demanded, unsatisfied with the answer.

"There isn't anything we can do, Shooting Star." Bill maintained.

"There has to be." Mabel said. "I'm not going to accept that we have to let it keep hurting people."

"As much as I would love to give up early on something like this," Stan started, "I can't. Not this time. I'm with Mabel. Bill just said he didn't know much about Grim Reapers which means that there might still be a chance to stop this thing."

"I can research online." Ford acknowledged, "However, odds are, if there is anything out there that can help us stop the Grim Reaper, it's going to be information undocumented on the internet."

"We still have to try." Mabel declared.

"And we will." Ford assured, "What I'm perplexed about at the moment is why the Grim Reaper is doing this. Why is it killing these specific people?"

"To maintain the balance." Dipper muttered mostly to himself.

What did that mean? It had to mean something. The Grim Reaper couldn't have just said that for no particular reason.

"The balance of life and death." Ford concluded and, suddenly, Dipper understood.

It was so obvious.

How hadn't he picked up on it sooner?

"A year ago." Dipper said, "When Tad massacred Gravity Falls…"

The balance Bill had disrupted hadn't been done by murdering people but rather by resurrecting them. And yet, there was still something Dipper didn't quite understand…

"But…but why did mass resurrection disrupt the balance?" Dipper asked. "Shouldn't mass murder be at fault?"

Bill mulled over their conclusion pensively. "Oh," he finally mumbled, "That actually makes sense…"

"How?" Mabel frowned.

"I'm not from this dimension." Bill reminded, "I'm from elsewhere. Tad, however, was from here. The balance was his to disrupt – or not disrupt; his actions didn't count as a disturbance. He was allowed to do what he wanted, this was his home. It isn't mine. I'm an outsider. I'm a demon."

"That's stupid." Mabel concluded.

"Maybe, but that's the way it is." Bill shrugged, "Grim Reapers aren't moral creatures."

"So what now?" Stan asked and his eyes fell upon Wendy.

She was still unresponsive.

Ford considered their options. "Sooner or later, Powers is going to find out and come knocking." He mused, "We need to decide whether we're going to call him or wait for him to come find us. It would be more suspicious for us to say nothing, so I reckon we should reach out."

"Then we need to establish our stories." Stan nodded.

"We play dumb and say we saw nothing." Ford declared and looked at Dipper and Bill, "You two will simply say when you got there, everything had already happened."

"What about Wendy?" Dipper asked.

"Don't worry." Ford said. He walked to Wendy and his hand began glowing with his golden magic. He pressed it against her forehead and her eyes fluttered shut briefly. When they opened, her green orbs watered and she began crying again. She slumped forward and pressed her forehead against Ford's chest. They all let her cry, averting their gazes out of respect. "Wendy…" Ford eventually continued, "We're going to call Agent Powers to tell him about what happened. You don't have to speak with him right away."

She nodded and clutched at his shirt tighter.

"We would also like for you to stay with us." He added, "We've got an extra room ready." She gave another nod and Ford smiled. He gestured Mabel over to guide her to her room. When they left, he declared with a heavy sigh: "Now, we call Agent Powers."

Dipper sighed and watched as his great uncle fetched the phone. The ensuing confrontation wasn't going to be pleasant in the slightest.