When they reached the top of the ladder, Dipper had to squint from the colorful daylight and let his eyes adjust. He smiled, glancing around the forest, half-expecting to see magical glass shards scattered about or something of the sort. The rift was still contained, everything quite the same as they left it. Ford wasn't in the direct vicinity. He glanced back at Bill. "How long will this take, do you think?"
The older male shrugged, guessing, "Not much longer than an hour or so. Ford wouldn't lie this time. Not with everything he cares about at stake."
"He won't," Dipper confirmed, striding towards the cliffs. He peered at the shapes moving at its bottom, where the earth jutted out somewhere within the shroud of trees. "Hey. That could be them."
"That better be," said the blond, taking a stance next to him. They would do this together. Side-by-side they would enjoy the barrier coming down.
I . . . Oh! There he is! Dipper remarked, catching sight of his great uncle along with a few of the demons. Should we stay hidden?
Bill nodded in response, pulling the other behind a clump of bushes.
Dipper crouched down as well, intently scrutinizing the others. Paci-fire was with them. The teen's stomach churned uncomfortably. He had to bite his lip to avoid thinking about how much pain he'd been in not a moment before.
Bill hugged Dipper closer to his body, feeling his disturbance through their connection. Shh. It's over. I've got you.
He rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, cheeks warm. Love you, Bill. Dipper stared out through the bush, watching Ford examine the cliffside.
Leaning comfortingly against the teen, Bill flushed, insides fluttering with happiness. I love you too.
"Hey, do you smell something sweet?" Kryptos piped, looking at Teeth. "I wouldn't know because I don't have a nose."
"I can't smell either, but my sweet tooth senses something highly sugary." Teeth turned towards the trees to their left side, opposite the cliff.
The one-armed monstrosity rolled over in skeptical speculation, having eavesdropped. "Do you think it will . . . uh, well . . . How do I word this properly?"
"Get in your eye?" The rhombus suggested with a guffaw.
"Actually, I was going to say 'in my mouth', but, you know, that works too."
"They're basically the same thing," Teeth responded plainly.
Kryptos gave a cheerful spin. "Let's ditch these losers and find out!"
"Me too!" Paci-fire joined in, pumping his unholy baby fists. "I need to break something and gnaw its remains for no apparent reason at all!"
"Hey, hey, hey," the head responded indignantly. "I'm the one who gets to put it in my mouth."
Bill? They're talking about us, aren't they? Dipper gave an awkward, terrified grin.
The former triangle watched in indecisive interest. Well . . . wanna try some magic? You can turn us invisible if we need to be.
Teeth and Keyhole neared the bush.
I have the feeling that their senses are keener than that, Dipper replied, inching away. But uh . . . we should probably find a different spot before they find us.
Stealthily, Bill took Dipper's arm and teleported him behind a set of trees further to the side. It was far enough that the approaching demons wouldn't see them immediately.
"Where'd the sweet go?" Kryptos complained, appearing exactly where Bill and Dipper were standing a second before.
Teeth didn't look happy. "I dunno. But it's somewhere around here."
"He's trying to escape!" a demon in the distance roared. Chaos erupted near the barrier, just outside of visual range.
The gathering stiffened, whipping around to forfeit the game of hide-and-seek.
"No!" the armed head screeched, rolling away. "I'll put him in my mouth!"
Paci-fire followed suit without a farewell.
"Forget it!" Kryptos said, other members in tow.
Once they left, Dipper gasped, standing quickly. "H-he wouldn't!"
Bill's eye widened. "Was not expecting that. And after all we went through!"
"You're kidding, right?" Dipper breathed, panic mounting within him. "Ford wouldn't do that! He knows that taking the barrier down is all that's left to do."
"Let's see for ourselves." Bill grabbed his hand, flying up regardless if the demons saw them or not. Some panic drifted in their connection, but he wanted to stay calm.
Ford was, indeed, evading capture, and he dive-bombed across an invisible boundary, rolling in the dirt, then began sprinting farther from them, a fatigued limp to his step. The demons pounded against the barrier in a raging storm. Their screams could pick at anyone's sanity.
"We . . . oh, dang it," Dipper hissed, shaking his head and holding frustrated tears at bay. He's really leaving . . .
Bill quickly placed Dipper down on the ground in front of the barrier. "Go after him. For me. You're the only one who can, love. I'll wait here. It's okay."
"Bill," Dipper choked, glancing back for Ford, who was already out of range. He felt the pressure settling on him. There were so many things that could go wrong. His Weirdmageddon magic could prevent him from leaving. The demons could overwhelm Bill. Or his friends and Mabel. Their connection could be broken by slipping past the barrier. Or he could simply, completely, utterly fail to retrieve his fleeing great uncle. But he had to do it, didn't he? It was the only risk left to take when he didn't know the formula himself. Gripping the former triangle in a tight, brief, emotionally-wrecking embrace, the prince gave his boyfriend a final kiss of luck and devotion. "I love you. Please, keep everyone safe. Stay safe."
The blond nodded at that. "Alright. You stay safe too. I love you, Dipper," Bill told him, returning the embrace and then letting him go, waving. "I'll see you soon; I promise."
"I'll come back!" he said, waving as well and taking off towards the final stretch of land before he passed through the barrier. His heart did somersaults in his chest when he felt something where there should have been nothing. Everything tingled for a split second, an exhaustive shock causing him to stumble and double over as he ran, head throbbing unnaturally. Terror consumed him. The teen made an effort to stand straight, keep going. When he did, the sensation melted away. He was functioning normally, alive, and he could sense a static where his connection with Bill was accessed. Dipper didn't have time to find out what that meant. He glanced over his shoulder to give his lover a thumbs-up and a small smile, putting on another burst of speed.
Bill continued to wave, feeling their connection shudder from his own side. His chest clenched. All he could do now was wait and keep his fingers crossed.
But for now there was a bigger problem. The other demons had surrounded him once again, each glaring at him hatefully.
"You let the humans go?" Eight-ball yelled, inching closer to Bill. "Why? Now we'll never get out of here!"
"I'll tear all these fleshies apart for it!" Paci-fire threatened, red orbs leering. "Starting with you."
Bill searched his mind for something to do. The best he could come up with was flee. His human body didn't contain enough Weirdmageddon magic to control them all. And Dipper did tell him to go see Mabel. "See ya!" Bill noped out quickly and teleported to the Shack, determined to protect his boyfriend's family.
Unexpectedly, it was Dipper who met Bill first when he appeared, the boy's eyebrows lifting curiously, a sly smile spreading across his pale features. "Hey there, hottie. Someone's looking sharp as ever," he flirted, leaning easily against the porch railing. Oh. Paper clone Dipper. Fun.
It at least brought a smile to Bill's face, but it pained him to realize that even after five minutes he missed his Dipper. He chuckled softly. "Hey, Paper. How are you and Cipher?"
"How are you and Classic?" he said instead, a hinting twist to his words, grin bright. "We're pretty much the same couple. But if you must inquire . . ." He broke into pleased laughter, pitch lowering. "Things were getting a bit . . . interesting before Mabel came and dragged him off. If you know what I mean."
Bill laughed, cheeks flushing a nice red. He respectfully forced himself not to think too much about the implications. "Yes. I see. Sounds like fun!" He gave Paper a wink and stepped inside. "Hello?"
"You're here!" Mabel cheered instantly, launching out from behind the couch in a shower of glitter, pulling Cipher with her by his arm. Apparently, she was trying to bedazzle him. And the room. It was very vibrant. "Where's bro-bro?"
Bill rubbed the back of his neck, eye fixed upon the ground for a moment. "A lot happened. Dipper uh . . . he went after Ford outside the town. I couldn't go with him so I'm here; hi." He presented his best smile.
"Huh," she breathed, releasing the paper clone. "Not so snappy, was it? You look tousled. What happened?"
"Short story: He came this close," Bill visualized in gesture, leaving barely any space between his thumb and forefinger, "to d-dying . . ." His voice wavered, but he pressed on. "Fortunately, I was able to save him."
"What?" the brunette exclaimed, releasing another cloud of glitter. "Sorry, sorry. Let me rephrase that." She paused. "What!"
Bill sighed, knowing she must be more worried. He probably shouldn't have started out with her twin almost dying. "Well, my demons basically led a coup against me to kidnap Ford. Dipper was the only reason they didn't succeed in the end." He stamped down a rising bought of frustration. "They won't listen to me anymore. Ford happened to leave, too, which adds to the problem."
"I can't believe it!" she said, whipping to face Cipher before he could slip away. "We have to do something about this!"
The clone Dipper poked his head into the Shack. "Are you done yet?"
"NO! GET BACK OUT THERE, DIP-NOT!" Mabel commanded and shielded the other copy from view with the couch again, eyes widening after a heartbeat. "Wait, actually! We might need your help!"
Paper Dipper blinked, peering speculatively at the girl, then at Bill. "Er, okay?"
"Are we gathering an army to fight the other demons or . . .?" Bill wasn't entirely sure what was going on, only that the paper Dipper made his chest hurt each time he saw him. I-I know this won't work, but I love you . . . The blond pushed for their connection, even if it was too far out of range and across the barrier.
The odds were kind. Off in the lands beyond Gravity Falls, panting and tired, the teen sensed a greeting warmth in the back of his mind. He smiled slightly. The trees began to part as he trudged onwards, puffing out a labored breath. Static returned to his and Bill's connection, partially worrying, but he knew somehow that it hadn't been severed by the distance or the barrier. I have no idea what you really said, but I love you too, Bill. His brown, curly bangs flopped with his steps, bringing him closer to his great uncle. He saw the signs that the man had passed through. He was convinced that he would catch up soon.
Although the expected static was his only reaping, the warmth of love managed to seep through. Bill allowed a genuine smile on his face, knowing that even outside the barrier, his boyfriend loved him dearly.
"Not exactly, but we have to try!" Mabel continued, waving her arms as she spoke. "Paper Dips, you need to tell everyone that we aren't on mega-party-preparation-patrol anymore, but we are gonna go on a mission!"
"First, can I have Cipher back?" he prodded, trying to look over the couch, only to have the male of question blocked from sight.
"Nope! That would ruin the surprise! But you can see him after you do your job, alright? And tell Soos that he can bring anything he wants. It'll save a lot of time."
Cipher whined, disappointed that he wasn't going to get to go with Dipper. He didn't dare say anything else because Mabel would probably yell at him.
"Aw . . . I'll get done quick, Cipher!" the retreating boy sympathized, blowing a kiss that wasn't seen by its target. "That kiss was for you! Love ya'!"
Cipher grinned, waving and winking to his partner anyway. "Hurry up so we can have our . . . fun." He laughed.
Bill watched them and turned to Mabel. "What should I do?"
"Stay right there and tell me anything I'll need to know because I know basically nothing about how your crazy superpowers even work," she offered.
"Basically, my magic is stored in the other dimension. The rift transfers weirdness. I can pull on it and use it because of that," he told her. "A normal human mind couldn't comprehend the complexities. Magic itself exists on Earth, but it's traceless unless you know how to tap into it. It's not nearly as powerful as what's in the Nightmare Realm, however; that's why Weirdmageddon is so unstable on its own."
She put Cipher into a seat since his lover left the room, addressing his sequined suit and bow-tie and listening simultaneously. "So why does the barrier even exist?" The female looked through her case of decorative elements that Bill gave her earlier, pulling out the rainbow, shifting yarn. "Yeah, this works . . ."
"I have a feeling it's because Gravity Falls is the only place weirdness is accepted, as a result of a gap in the system. But that's a guess. Of course, Ford researched this; I didn't," Bill muttered. It was probably part of the growing list of things he didn't actually know.
Cipher huffed, but didn't mind too much, actually rather liking her sense of style.
Mabel began lacing the magical yarn into a design, making speedy progress. It was easy to knit into paper. As long as one didn't tear it. If Cipher wanted to change his outfit later on, they could print him a new one. Or she could mend it with papier-mâché and craft paste. "Let me get this straight. Where is Grunkle Ford?" she replied. "You said the demons kidnapped him? Did you save him? Is he in some random place out of town?"
"Yeah, and then he . . ." Bill growled lowly, obviously irritated with the older man's actions, then continued, "ran off. Abandoned ship. I . . . don't know exactly where."
Cipher allowed Mabel to finish her job, mostly just desperately waiting for his Dipper.
Mabel put the yarn back into the box, her gaze returning to Bill. She kneaded her lip, something on her mind. "We'll . . . figure out a way to make this work right. He wouldn't abandon us."
"Dipper went to talk to him. I hope he's doing okay," Bill told her, fear evident in his voice.
"Have faith," she smiled softly, eyes darting to the hall, where a cacophony of footsteps, music, and voices could be heard approaching.
Paper Dipper popped into the room first, immediately launching himself into Cipher's arms. "You're beautiful!" he cheered, the others walking in.
Cipher held onto his paper lover, grinning from ear to ear. "You're even more adorable than I remember," he joked.
The copy laughed, kissing along the young man's jaw. "Good thing I'm here to remind you."
Soos was carrying a beatbox, grinning at the brunette. He was decked with confetti. "You said we had a mission, dawg?"
Wendy came in behind Soos, giving Bill a minor glare, but focused on Mabel. "Dude, what's the plan, Mabel?"
She just made an adoring face at the real dream demon, obviously enjoying the pairing a lot more. "Anyways . . ."
"Get on with it, Birthday Girl," Pacifica said, a gleaming bow adorning her blonde hair. "And I'd like to know why William's here for help after what happened."
"That's exactly it!" she exclaimed, watching as everyone quieted. "Bill came here because Dipper was in trouble. Even if we've had our disagreements, we share in our love for Dipper! He knows as much as we do that we would throw aside bad times to help a bro out. Not to mention, Grunkle Ford could be in danger, too! Right, Pacifica? Grunkle Stan? Robbie?"
"For the record, Mabel," her rich friend stated, "love might be too strong of a word to use."
Paper Dipper stuck out his tongue, smirking. "What? So you know what love means?"
"None of your business," she retorted, blushingly averting her gaze.
Cipher chuckled, entertained while he leaned into the other male. "Heck yeah, we know what love is."
The two only made the real Bill feel lonely, missing his cute Pine Tree. His heart panged, and he forced himself to relax. Dipper would be back soon. He knew it. He had to believe it.
Stan was scowling. "My brother is the dumbest genius alive. How did you expect me to react to hearing he could be in a bad situation with my grandnephew? Monsters involved or not, we get them back."
"We can't just . . . Go out there," Robbie persisted.
"Maybe you can't," Candy piped, crossing her arms and offering Bill a huge smile. "I think it is lovely that Dipper's boyfriend wants to be a hero. Quite adorable, actually."
Mabel grinned. "Thank you, Candy, for making that clear."
The said blond flushed, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. And to think these used to be the people that outright hated him.
Even Stan seemed more relaxed around Bill, as well as McGucket, who came waddling up to stand with the group of people.
"Okay, now that that's settled, we have no time to lose! Grunkle Ford and Dipper are out there somewhere and we have to make sure they get back to home base!" she told them, glancing meaningfully at Stan. "Some of us definitely have to stay behind and wait to see if they can arrive on their own. But the rest of us should go and try to find them before something bad happens! Team one can take the golf cart — me, Wendy, Grunkle Stan, and . . . uh . . . you!" She pointed to an eavesdropping Jeff the Gnome.
"Me? Oh, no, I-I can't . . ." he reasoned, scooting in reverse. "I have to . . . watch the stragglers! Yup. That's my j-job."
"Fine," Mabel huffed. "Pacifica?"
"I guess so."
"Awesome! Team two! Paper boys, Candy, Grenda, I want you four to make sure the party stays going for when we get back! Also, brace yourselves for impending combat!"
"Alright with me," the Dipper clone said, happily nuzzling into Cipher.
"Team three will be McGucket, Robbie, Soos, and anyone else in the Mystery Shack that wants to volunteer! You guys need to search on foot for any signs of danger or clues as to where they are and report back to the head! That would be you, Bill. No one knows what we're up against better than you do."
Stan nodded proudly at Mabel, stepping towards his grandniece as Wendy ran off to get the golf cart.
Cipher grinned, keeping his arms around Paper Dipper and not letting go.
"Hehehe! Just let me get me banjo and I'll be as good as a coyote playing the kazoo!" McGucket cackled.
"Alright. I understand, Shooting Star!" Bill said.
"Hey," Robbie complained, hands on his hips. "Why does she get to stay here if I have to go out? And your birthday or not, you can't tell me what to do, kid."
"Oh yeah?" Mabel countered, bearing her full set of braces in a challenging grin. "Well, I know Candy and Grenda are the best partying gals I've ever met, apart from Pacifica, so of course I'd make them stay. But since this is my house, sorta, and my rules, sorta, then you've gotta do your part to my say-so or else you're gonna have to go party in your own place!"
He cringed slightly, making a face. "You wouldn't."
"You're right!" she beamed, leading him off. "That's because you're going to be amazing, Robbie, and help us find my brother and grunkle. And your hair looks fabulous today! Did you do that yourself?"
Robbie smiled hesitantly, picking up his pace. "Thanks. Actually, I did. You like it?"
"It really works! Keep it up," she answered gleefully, leaving him with his group and stepping over to Bill. "That's how you get things done Mabel-style."
Bill rolled his eye good-naturedly. "You never change. Though I can give you credit for getting Angsty Teenager to go along with it," he told her, looking at the gathering.
"That's the spirit!" she praised, hopping excitedly. "More surprise means more fun! And this party is going to be super-duper after they get here! Don't you fret."
Bill laughed at her usual self. "Of course! I don't doubt your party skills, Shooting Star!"
Someone outside screamed.
Mabel flinched, whipping into action. "Who the what now?"
The front door flung open again, letting in Soos, who had gone out first to scout for his team. His eyes were wild, the beat-box deposited somewhere unspecified, probably halfway in a lucky bush. "Dudes! Something weird is happening!"
Mabel scrunched up her nose, glancing at Bill in mystified awe. "Already? That was quick," she said, making a run to see what was going on. She stopped in her tracks once Soos and the others parted for her. "Yeesh."
Bill followed Mabel, his eye widening in shock. Bill couldn't have cheered louder. "He did it! Dipper did it! Oh, Mason Pines, I love you so much." He couldn't believe what he was seeing, his excitement peaking.
They were all watching the barrier. Now it was visible, cracking like the breaking dome it was, about to shatter completely. And it did, a spiderweb of thousands of tiny glass shards showering the world, only to disappear long before touching the ground. Its collapse was glorious, and with it came a ripping blare that shook the earth. Bill's body fizzled with all the enticing extra energy this gave him.
His grin was splitting. He still couldn't believe it.
Weirdmageddon was global.
