Thank you to the lovely Evil-Ekat, as always, for being my beta-reader, trust me without her this chapter wouldn't be nearly as amazing as it is now.

Thank you to, Girl Supersonicboy, The Keeper of Worlds , StoicHyena, Queen of the Batterbos , Masking What Remains, bellsandchimes, MabelPinesRules, and two Guests for your reviews! Your motivation will always keep me going.

Chapter 21: Nightmares

Stanford shook Dipper awake, motioning with his finger for Dipper to be quiet. With a questioning brow, Stan gestured to the door. Dipper followed him out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Stan didn't say anything, quietly leading Dipper through the maze of hallways that all looked the same. Stan turned to Dipper, a finger on his lips and motioning for Dipper to be quiet as he opened the door, revealing the contents.

Mabel was curled up on her side, cuddling with Bill lying against her. The two looked quite sound lying there together, their breathing even. Dipper almost let out a cry, but Stan covered his mouth, and placed his hand on Dipper's shoulder to prevent the boy from moving forward. With a quiet click the door shut once more, and Stan dragged Dipper downstairs, in front of the vending machine.

"Grunkle Stan! We have to do something, she doesn't know what she's getting into." Dipper looked up at Stan, eyes pleading. The older man ran a hand over his face, before looking down at Dipper.

"I never wanted to show this to you, kid. You can't tell Mabel, she's in too deep with this deal. I wish she had told us sooner, but beggars can't be choosers." He let out a hollow laugh before turning, inputting a code into the vending machine.

The machine opened with a hiss, revealing a stairway down, and an elevator at the bottom. Stan led the way down, an awe-struck Dipper staring in surprise at what was there. They entered the elevator, and Stan hit the button for the third floor, taking them down.

"Grunkle Stan, what is this place?" Dipper asked, watching as they went lower. The older man sighed again. Anger began to well up in Dipper, coming up with his shock and other emotions.

"A place I hoped to forget about. Bill's not a nice demon, no matter what she says. He must be brainwashing her or something." The doors dinged and they went out, into a room full of machines and computers. "A long time ago, I had a twin too. His name was Stanley." He held up his hand as he saw Dipper open his mouth to ask questions.

"We came to this town and started learning everything about it, just like you. We met Bill too. He was nice back then to us. Then we started building that." He gestured through the window at the half finished complication of machinery. "Bill helped us. It was a portal, between here and the Dreamscape that would allow safe passage."

Stan's voice was cracking as he looked through the mirror. Dipper watched his reflection, at his great uncle wiping away tears from the memories under his glasses. All he could feel was shock and anger. How could Stan keep this from him? After everything of this town, fighting zombies together and facing off demons, the man was just telling him now?

"Then, it was up and running, and Bill pushed Stanley though, and the whole thing collapsed under itself. I tried to rebuild it, but it's been thirty years, I'd given up hope."

Dipper moved forward, placing his hand on Stan's back, offering him comfort, despite his anger. The old man accepted it for a moment, before he brushed off Dipper's hand. Dipper took the chance, seeing the bottom of the totem pole that stood in the yard, computers with complicated math, and everything covered in a thick layer of dust.

"How could you keep this from us? How do I know this isn't all some big trick, to get your brother back? How can I trust you? After everything, Stan, I would have thought you trusted me more." Dipper rounded on Stan, seeing the older Pines staring at the computer screen. He wouldn't look at Dipper.

"We need to rebuild it. There's no loophole in Mabel's deal, but for once the demon forgot about something. She has to marry him, but he never said for how long." Stan straightened his back, turning to stare at Dipper. "She is going to defend him and her decision for all she's worth. Mabel's smart too, so play along. Make sure you still argue a little, but don't stop her from seeing him, no matter what you see him put her through. Do you understand Dipper?" Stan's voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.

Dipper was silent, not agreeing, or disagreeing. Stan sighed, clapping a hand to Dipper's shoulder. Stan could feel the anger rolling off Dipper as the young man shook off his hand.

"It's gonna be hard, kid, I'll tell you that. You're going to see things you won't like, no doubt you've already seen some of it. You're not going to get Mabel back without trusting me though. Better plane your trust in me than the demon upstairs with Mabel.

Dipper cringed a little, thinking of her tears and her story of Gideon. Looking away, he nodded, knowing what Stan was talking about. He loathed to admit it though.

"She can't help herself, and she's just like you, stubborn. Mabel thinks she has a handle on this whole thing, that she can handle it by herself. The fact of the matter is she can't. Bill's going to take her to the Dreamscape and torture her until she breaks. She's so into this that Bill could do something horrible, and she would still defend him. He probably already has." Stanford muttered the last part, running a hand through his hair. Dipper was nodding.

"She was talking to me, and apparently Gideon came and visited her. That's why her cheek is all bruised and stuff. Anyways, he came and tried to take her away. She said Bill came and saved her, then she started talking about how he has two different personalities, called Bill and Will. Bill's the nice one, and Will's the mean one. Apparently, it's Bill who's nice, and treats her good and everything. Will's the one who did the cuts on her wrist, and say that she's his, and that Will killed Gideon." He confessed all to Stanford what his twin had told him. Stanford grew paler with every word, his face completely white by the end.

"Bill killed Gideon?" He took a deep breathe, a little color returning to his cheeks. "Did the world a favor, I guess. When the police come, don't be shocked when she lies to them again. We can't have her running off and into that demon's arms. Dipper, we have to help her, she can't help herself."

They turned together, looking at the huddled mess of metal and broken parts. Dipper was sure he knew what was going to happen, but turned to Stan anyways.

"Are we going to save her?" Stan gave a sharp nod, not looking at Dipper.

"We're going to try our best."

Mabel was walking through the woods outside the Mystery Shack, wandering farther and deeper into their depths. They were getting darker and darker with each step she took, but Mabel couldn't turn back. The monster's heavy breathing followed her step for step, always there, a few paces behind her.

She refused to turn and see what it was. Her imagination ran wild with images of Gremloblins and Bigfoot following close behind her. She picked up her pace a little, hearing the monster pick up it's pace as well, harsh footsteps breaking the silence.

Mabel could hardly keep her breathing even anymore, it came out in harsh pants as she broke out into a jog. Fear gripped her heart. Her side twitched as a cramp came, and she clutched at it tightly, trying to ease it so she could breathe easier. It didn't help, and Mabel bent at the waist to move faster, free hand reaching out to grab at the rough bark of the trees.

The bark bit at her hands, and she swore she could hear the monster behind her laughing at her. It picked up the pace and Mabel screamed, crashing through the trees haphazardly, feeling them whip at her face. Tears formed in her eyes from the pain and fear, and Mabel crashed through another tree, her bare foot catching on a root. Her hands reached out, scrambling for purchase as the monster appeared, letting out a strangled sound that Mabel realized after a second was a laugh.

A cold hand pressed itself against her back, pinning her to the dirt. Mabel let out a whine, closing her eyes tightly and pressed her forehead against the soil. She knew that touch, only one creature had a touch as cold as ice.

"Why are you running from me, Shooting Star?" She didn't remember Will's voice being as rough as it was right then. "It's our wedding night, aren't you happy to see me?"

He grabbed her arm, hauling her to her feet and throwing her back against the ground, her back against the dirt this time instead. Mabel looked up, but couldn't see anything except a feral smile on his face.

Will pounced, and Mabel screamed.

Mabel woke up with a scream on her lips muffled by her blanket. The lingering warmth on the mattress the only sign that Bill had been there at all. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and rose from the bed, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. It smelled like Bill, and she didn't want to lose that just yet. She brushed her teeth before heading downstairs, quite happy to be a burrito and spend the rest of the day like that.

"Grunkle Stan, where did you get all this from? Seriously, this is a lot." Dipper's voice carried through the door, and Mabel could just barely hear Stan shushing the smaller man. Mabel pressed her hands against the door, peeking in.

Dipper was searching through boxes of product, looking around at everything Stan had bought for the tourist trap. Stan was stocking the shelves, but turned to look at her as she came in. His face softened, and he walked over to her.

"How you doing there, Mabel?" He asked, still giving her the look like she was made of glass. She despised that look, but at least she understood why he was giving it to her. She had messed up badly in their eyes. Didn't they understand she was just trying to help?

"I'm fine. Can I help?" She walked a bit more into the kitchen, her bare feet making no sound on the tile. Dipper smiled at her, looking relieved she actually wanted to help.

"'Course. Want to count or put things away?" Stan asked. Mabel moved over next to him, helping him put things on the shelves.

"Anything's good with me, as long as I'm here." Mabel announced, wondering how Stan managed to order so many custom made bobbleheads of himself.

The old man smiled at her, helping her reach the high shelves, and Dipper picked up the large box he had been looking in, relieved Mabel hadn't seen what was really in it. He made sure Stan had Mabel distracted before he moved the box full of spare parts and wires out of the room, and placed it next to the vending machine to be brought down later.