This chapter is pretty much just exposition, but you should find it interesting.

That tree boy almost killed Orange Head! That was not supposed to happen!

Orange head wasn't supposed to seduce the Star girl! That wasn't part of the plan!

How dare Tree Boy attack Orange Head? He went against our plan. They both went against our plan.

Orange head wasn't supposed to get involved with Tree's sister.

Yes, this is a dilemma. Orange head almost died, however…

You have a good idea. You could use this situation to your advantage.

Orange may have gone against our plan, but we can use this.

This is perfect. I will have him get even closer to Star and Yellow.

And then, you will have him attack.

No, we need him to gather information for us.

He will be very helpful, that I am sure of.

Brendan grinned at Mabel, his face only slightly twisted in pain now. She was tracing the lines on the palm of his right hand with her index finger. His left arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling. His mom had personally stitched him up. Luckily, it didn't look like there was any permanent damage; he'd heal.

The hospital was strangely quiet, as if the world could feel the tension between the two.

She hadn't yet asked the question that was burning in her mind. Where had that orange fire come from?

Many miles away, in the basement of the Mystery Shack, Dipper was strapped down to a metal table, strong Velcro around his ankles, wrists, elbows, and down his legs and chest. He was unconscious, with an IV pumping extra strength tranquilizers into his blood. Ford was monitoring a device that was hooked up to his brain. He was franticly looking for something.

Stan was several stories above making hot chocolate for Bill. He had gone silent the ride home, holding himself and shivering. Stan placed a steaming mug in front of the blond and sat down across from him. The clock in the hall struck midnight.

"Are you okay kid?" Stan asked gently. Comforting wasn't really in his nature, but he couldn't leave him like this. Bill shook his head no and gingerly wrapped his fingers around the mug, but didn't lift it yet.

"Dipper isn't normally like this. Something just went screwy in his head. Sixer will find it and fix it, don't worry," Stan lied.

"It was terrifying. I realize he was trying to protect me, but Brendan didn't seem like a bad guy," Bill looked up at Stan with those mismatched eyes full of such a mix of emotions Stan didn't know what the right thing to say was.

"Well…" Stan scratched the back of his head nervously. "I think Dipper told you how you used to be a demon right?" Bill nodded.

"Well. Ford thinks a different demon was controlling Dipper. He didn't act on his own. He was being influenced by a demon."

"That is only a half truth," Ford said appearing in the door way to the living room. He sat down next to his brother, taking the coffee Stan hadn't yet touched and gulping it down.

"Bill, a while ago, you placed a piece of your demon self inside Dipper. You weren't yourself at the time however, after the incident, that small piece went dormant. I kept a close eye on it, and it looked like it would stay that way forever. But it didn't; it was activated somehow. I think it happened the same time you went into a coma. I think a demon named Ben Crypto did it. I've done a lot of hunting for information on him. The one thing that is agreed upon is that he is completely and utterly insane."

Bill let all that information sink in. He had very little context, Dipper had only told him so much about is past, skipping over anything that might upset him. He realized he'd done this to Dipper, and suddenly, he didn't want to get his memories back. At that moment, he felt like running away, going far away and never coming back.

The three sat in silence for a while. It was Ford who finally broke the silence.

"I'm going to check on Dipper. Stan," he placed a six fingered hand on his brother's shoulder. "Will you call Mabel and make sure that Calico boy is alright?"

"Sure," Stan said as Ford handed him his cell phone.

Bill was thinking, mumbling something to himself.

"Wait Ford," he said, a realization coming into his mind. Ford stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I just realized something."

"And what is that?"

"B.C."

"What about it?"

"B.C. They are my initials. But they are Ben Crypto's initials too. They are also Brendan's initials."

Ford's eyes grew wide, wide with fear. He snatched his phone back from his brother and called his great niece. He held his breath as the phone rang once, twice, a third time.

"Hello?" Mabel asked sleepily.

"Mabel, are you okay?" Ford asked urgently.

"Of course," she said yawning. "I fell asleep at the hospital. Brendan's fine, but I want to stay with him tonight, just to be sure." Ford took a deep breath before replying.

"Okay sweetie," he said, forcing calm into his voice. "Good night." Mabel mumbled something that sounded like 'night,' before hanging up.

"It's just a coincidence I'm sure." Ford didn't really sound sure. "Go to sleep you two. I'll let you know if anything happens with Dipper.

Reluctantly, Bill went to bed, but he couldn't really sleep without Dipper. He tried cuddling his seahorse that Dipper said he had won in a claw machine, but it wasn't Dipper. Thinking about it, Bill realized Dipper wasn't really Dipper anymore, and he wasn't really Bill anymore. They were both shells of what they once were. Both fragments of a shattered past.

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