Pacifica yawned into her hand as she walked into Greasy's Diner for her morning-shift. It was way too early to get up during the summer in her book, but she had to make the money for that scooter somehow. She passed Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, who were trying to see if the sheriff could break his record of eating pancakes at a speed of 96 miles per hour. Pacifica groaned when she saw Mr. Poolcheck in her section of the diner. She first moved into the kitchen to clock in. She saw Lazy Susan wiping some dishes while waiting for some food to finish cooking and smiled. "Hey, Susan."

"G'morning, Pacifica." Lazy Susan said as she continued to work, not uncommon while on the clock. "You forgot to sweep and wipe last night. I had to scramble to do it in time this morning."

Pacifica winced as she punched in her I.D. and password numbers and clocked into the register. "Ugh, I'm sorry. I just forgot. I'll make it up to you. Why don't I see if I can get Dip-Dip to fix the spin-y pie-trolley in the diner?"

"That'd be great!" Lazy Susan said and held out a hand for Pacifica. "It's a deal, little ma'am!"

Pacifica yawned into her fist and sleepily shook her hand, but as she did so, something clicked in her brain and she withdrew her hand. She looked at Susan's one opened eye and screamed to find it yellow. "No, no, NO! Wait, I didn't!"

Lazy Susan laughed in a voice that was not her own and cackled, "Too late, Llama! You're a tough customer, but you're lazier than old S over here! Then again, what else would you expect from a spoiled Northwest!" And Lazy Susan slumped over and fell on the floor. When she did, Pacifica could feel a breeze go by her and she knew that the curse Bill used or whatever was gone.

Lazy Susan, the real Lazy Susan, opened her functioning eye and moaned, "Uh, why does my mouth taste like nightmares all over again?"

"Susan," Pacifica got her attention as she held her stand up. "I did something… I… I gotta go!" She shakingly clocked out and ran out of the diner, ignoring Lazy Susan's calls.

Pacifica let her blonde hair down from her mandatory ponytail for work and dug around her purse for her comfortable purple-polo. While running in the woods, taking a shortcut, she changed from her work-shirt into her polo, leaving on her white shorts and work shoes, which was fine by Pacifica. She ran and ran as fast as she could as her mind spun like a pie trolley. Who was left now? Just Soos and Wendy? Should Pacifica had gone to them first? No, she had to tell Dipper and Mabel's uncle, Dr. Pines; he would know what to do.

Pacifica didn't stop running until she got to the dirt parking lot outside of the tourist trap. After heaving air into her lungs with her hands on her knees for a minute, Pacifica hurried to the house and went around to the porch, but she found all four Pines already there; she was oblivious to their depressed looks and attitude when she approached.

"Guys! Something terrible just happened!" Pacifica yelled and had everyone's attention. "Bill possessed Lazy Susan and I shook hands with him!"

"What?!" They all gasped, and then Dipper added, "Bill can still possess people?! How is that even possible?!"

"He didn't fly out of her body or anything, but her eye was Bill's and she sounded like him after I shook his hand." Pacifica added in case it might help figure this whole thing out. "What do we do?"

"I… I don't know." Dipper turned to the eldest on the property and asked, "What do we go, Grunkle Ford?"

The old scientist held his cleft chin and said, "If Hephzibah's theory is correct, that means Bill only has to make a deal with Soos and Wendy and then he can use us to create a new rift in space-time between our dimension and the Nightmare Realm. If he does that, he'll return to full power and his true physical form. We'll have a Weirdmageddon II on our hands. Soos and Wendy are both very clever…"

"More like Wendy's clever." Stan sneered with a sly smile like a fox.

Ford took the time to roll his eyes before continuing. "We can't quarantine them forever, but we can prepare them for the worst. Every minute we delay the end of the world is a blessed minute."

"Pretty much just buy some time, got it." Stan growled. "Well, I'll play Mr. Mystery today and make those two knuckleheads scrub the toilets or something to keep them away from any potentially possessed customers."

"I suppose that's a start." Ford admitted. "The bunker is ready for use. Hephzibah talking to King Ahllen also made me realize that we might want to get the mayor on our side."

"Tyler?" Dipper asked. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Didn't he pass the Never Mind All That Act before summer was over?"

"He only passed that act to keep outsiders like government agents from finding out about our little apocalypse. I'm sure he will be more willing to work with the police force to plan an emergency evacuation plan."

"Evacuation?" Mabel asked.

"That does make sense." Dipper said. "If the Magnetism is still working than Bill can't leave Gravity Falls, even if Weirdmageddon II does happen. If we want to prevent everyone from being turned to stone, we need a way to get everyone out of here as quickly and safely as possible."

"But if everyone leaves, who will help us?" Pacifica asked. "Remember, everyone last time helped us! The bear with all those heads, some gnomes, Several Times, Sheriff Blubs…"

"Maybe we can compose a list of people willing to stay behind to help fight." Ford thought out-loud. "I'll go and discuss it with Mayor Tyler."

"I'm gonna put on some pants." Stan gruffed and walked back into the house to put on his suit for work.

"And I guess we can wait here and tell Soos and Wendy to be on the lookout." Dipper said and sat on the porch-step. "Though they probably are already stressed enough about this."

Ford went into the house to pull some things together and then go meet the young mayor and Mabel and Pacifica sat on either side of Dipper.

"Don't worry, bro-bro." Mabel said and patted his back. "We'll figure this out! We beat Bill before, and we'll do it again!"

Dipper smiled proudly. "I know we will!"

"Yeah!" Pacifica joined in.

Mabel's eye caught something sparkling on the dirt road and she stood to get a better look. Grinning, she then ran up to it and picked up a penny. "Sweet! Find a penny, pick it, then all day you'll have good luck!"

A big figure stood over Mabel. Dipper ran and yelled, but the twins were both hit over the head and knocked out, and Pacifica's mouth was covered before she could scream and she was knocked out, too.

Wendy walked up to work and Soos drove in his pick-up truck around the same time, a typical work-day for them. The minute they saw Stan in his suit they knew what to do and got to work, meaning Wendy sat at the register and read a magazine while Soos was free to let his imagination run free on some new attraction-ideas he had. Stan, however, snatched up the magazine and Soos' glue-gun and ignored their matching "hey!"s.

"Not so fast, you two are gonna work together to unclog the outhouse and then scrub it until it's cleaner than my vocabulary." Stan ordered. "And then after that you're gonna re-glitter the Mystery Shack sign, and don't forget that stupid S this time!"

"What?!" Wendy demanded. "It's supposed to be a hundred degrees today!"

"Than wear extra sunblock!"

"Mr. Pines, I had the sign repainted back in April, remember?" Soos asked.

"So? With all this superstition and meetings and Weirdmageddon II stuff flying around things around here have been slipping!" Stan said. "Don't forget how important this old girl is! So quit your complaining and get to work before I make you both exhibits!"

Not wanting to be the next pre-teen-wolf-boy, Wendy groaned and Soos sighed as they both went to take care of the outhouse first. By the time the first tour group came in and Stan led them through inside the house, Ford left for town to talk to Mayor Tyler. Soos and Wendy were in the outhouse all morning and emerged filthy and sickened, but at least the chore was done. After being hosed off by Stan, they climbed up to the roof and got to work on making the sign glittery.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Pines, but I can't ask people to do that."

Ford pinched the bridge of his nose and worked hard to keep his temper under control. "Mayor Tyler, this would not be mandatory, but voluntary. We are very fortunate to have many brave souls living in our humble town. Don't you think many would want to stay and fight if worst comes to worst?"

"Of course, but as mayor if worst comes to worst I'm gonna tell 'em to get… get on outta 'ere." Tyler said and removed his cap long enough to run a hand through his short light-brown hair. "I failed to keep everybody safe last time, I won't make the same mistake again. I gotta keep y'all safe, n' I believe the best way t'do all that is to evacuate. Besides, wasn't it your idea, Dr. Pines?"

"Yes, it was," Ford agreed. "But I proposed it alongside the idea of a choice to stay and fight if desired. Besides, you've met the people of Gravity Falls. Don't you think some would revolt against evacuation and try to stay to help?"

Mayor Tyler opened his mouth to argue, then realized Ford had a point and put his cap back on with determination in his eyes. He would much rather have people stay behind under his watch than behind his back. "Fair point. Alright, I'll set up a plan with Blubs and Durland to help the townsfolk evacuate safely, and I'll also set up a place in city hall for people to volunteer to stay and fight. We'll also need several safety-zones in the city in case some can't manage to leave..."

"You're more than welcome to use the Shack."

"... and of course limits on who can stay and fight, like a person has to be of age and in perfect health, yada, yada, yada."

Ford paused at the mention of an age-limit. His mind went to the kids, his kids. He could still vividly remember seeing Dipper and Mabel in Bill's fist. "I think I'm gonna kill one of them now, just for the heck of it!" He could not allow that to happen again.

Ford nodded and held out his hand to the mayor as he stood. "Thank you, sir. I'll meet with my brother and Fiddleford McGucket to help plan safety-zones and an evacuation plan if you would like."

"I'll go ahead and have Blubs and Durland plan the evacuation routes, but any help from y'all would be very appreciated." Tyler said with a smile and shook Ford's six-fingered hand.

McGucket was leaving to go to the store, enjoying a walk in the woods. His son was at work, and so after the store the old man contemplated visiting the lake was resting on a rubber-ring again. He was whistling between his missing teeth when his eye caught something. He wandered from his desired path and saw the statue of Bill Cipher.

McGucket sighed to himself. That triangle feller had hurt his friends a lot lately. He wished he could be of better help. Maybe he should talk to his old colleague and think of a plan.

But then a shadow loomed over him and everything went black.

Robbie put the strap of his guitar over his shoulder, leaving the house for band practice.

"Remember, Robbie, dinner is at five tonight!" His mother called.

"Fine, whatever." He yelled and left the small porch. He didn't have his hands over the bars of his bike when everything went black.

Gideon hadn't meant to fall asleep. He hadn't been sleeping well, lying in bed awake, and he had just finished vacuuming the living room and sat on the couch to rest. He had been doing quite a bit of chores lately to try to be more of a normal kid and be better towards his mother. Now he woke up in a cold sweat, having just experienced a nasty nightmare, and he sighed to himself.

Bill was right; Gideon was never going to change. Nothing could change what he had already done. He was a mouth-breathing fool. He was a lost cause. He had made a deal he couldn't back away from, and if he didn't obey something worse would happen. Maybe his old gang or his parents would get it. With weight-down shoulders and all hope gone, he got down from the couch, quietly walked out of the house and into the woods, and headed to do what Bill wanted him to do.

Stan was reading the newspaper on the porch, sitting in the rocking chair in his suit, on a break from giving tours. Ford joined him and sat on the couch. "I met with Tyler. He and the GFPD are going to work on a plan to evacuate the people of Gravity Falls if Weirdmageddon II ever takes place."

"Good." Stan grunted from behind his newspaper.

Ford smiled, reminded of breakfasts with their father as children and also pleasantly reminded that Stan was a much better man than Filbrick ever was. His smile dropped and he said slowly, "If… if that does happen… we need to think of a safe way to send the kids home."

"What?!" Stan put his paper down and scowled. "Are you nuts?! The kids'll never go for that, Poindexter! Last time I tried sending 'em away they were chased by a twenty-foot-tall robot and fell off the Floating Cliff! Then some government agents tried to take 'em away and they weaseled their way outta that one, too! I've learned that sending the kids away never really works out."

"But we have to try, Stanley!" Ford snapped. "We almost lost them last time Bill was in full-power! Honestly, do you want that to happen?!" He pressed his lips together. The paranoid scientist instantly regretted that accusation. "I'm… I'm sorry. I know you…"

"Look if you wanna try to sardine the kids on a bus outta here when Weirdmageddon happens again, go ahead n' try," Stan growled and stood. "But I'm telling you that won't do anything but put them in even more danger and break the zodiac. We need 'em, Ford."

"I know." He sighed and held his forehead. "Which is why I need them to stay safe."

Stan punched his shoulder lightly. "They'll be fine; they're Pines for Moses' sake."

Ford looked up to smile at his brother, but his face fell and he stood up quickly, "Stan, look out!" But Stan was knocked out before Ford could finish yelling and soon he was engulfed in black, too.

"Hey, Wendy dude, has Mr. Pines been acting weird to you?"

Wendy leaned on her long paint-roller to pause her work, Soos' question a great excuse to do that. "You mean, weirder than normal? Yeah, sorta."

"I think he's worried about the whole Bill-Weirdmageddon-part-two deal-eo." Soos said and rolled his hand as he stopped painting and talked to his good friend.

"Honestly," Wendy let out a long sigh and looked much more stressed. "I'm kinda freaking out, too! My dad isn't exactly helping. He's super paranoid and hardly lets me leave the house and now he's got my bros worried, too. Last time I talk to him about anything."

"Hey, don't worry, dude." Soos sand and patted her shoulder. "I'm sure your dad and your brothers will cool down soon, and I bet soon Mr. Pines will, too. Hey, we should do something fun tonight! We should watch a movie with the Pines family! We'll have snacks and sodas and use Mabel's mouth-ramps, she can even invite Candy and Grenda!"

Wendy gave him a very Wendy-confident-smile and said, "Yeah, sounds cool! We'll see if Mr. Pines isn't too much of a stick in the mud to go for it."

"Oh, you know if we get Dipper and Mabel in on it he'll go for it." Soos joked and then peered down to the ground from the roof. "Speaking of, have you seen the dudes?"

"Who, Dip-Dip and May-May?" Wendy asked and it slowly dawned on her that she had been at the Mystery Shack for half a day and hasn't seen either of them. "Actually, no. Weird, they usually at least say hi. Maybe they're out hunting some monster or whatever."

"Maybe." Soos said slowly. "I'll go ask Mr. Pines where they're at." The handyman said as he climbed down the latter, seeing the little dudes way more important than seeing if his boss was up for a movie night.

Which each location Soos checked, he became more and more nervous. There were no tours occurring among the exhibits, Mr. Pines wasn't in his office or in his armchair, and when Soos finally decided to check the basement neither he nor Dr. Pines were there. It wasn't unusual for Mr. Pines to leave while his employees were working, but he always gave them a quick shout to let them know he was leaving and to give more instructions. Wendy was behind the register when Soos came from behind the vending machine.

"I couldn't find any Pines anywhere." Soos said and his eyes widened. "Wendy, you don't think Bill did something to them, do you?"

"No way." Wendy answered firmly. "They're way too tough and smart to be taken or anything like that."

"Maybe," Soos said slowly, unsure if he could believe that. "Let's just hope we find them soon and that they're all okay."

Wendy sighed and walked towards the door. "If they're okay they won't be when I'm done with them."

Soos smiled timidly and followed his favorite employee out of the Mystery Shack and towards the woods.

Ford's whole body ached, primarily his shoulder. The ache pulled him from his slumber and he quickly realized the reason why his body ached was because he was lying in an uncomfortable position. Ford tried to move in a more comfortable position, but then it hit them that his ankles were tied together, as well as his hands behind his back. Ford opened his eyes and a chill ran down his spine to see black chains binding his limbs. His mind was rapidly remembering what happened and he began to take in his surroundings.

As the one in the zodiac with the most sleeping problems, Ford was the first to wake up. To his left was his twin brother and to his right was the Valentino boy. Ford was lying on his front and he quickly noticed that Fiddleford, the Northwest girl, Dipper, and Mabel were all unconscious and bound by chains in the middle of the woods. Ford craned his neck to look behind him and he saw the statue of Bill's true form, a little red bird was on the outstretched hand of the statue.

Adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins, Ford turned on his side and used his conjoined legs to kick Stan awake. "Stanley! Stanley, wake up!" He hissed.

Stan groaned and then quickly sat up, his legs and arms also chained. He rapidly noticed what was going on and said, "Wh-what the heck happened?"

"We were attacked." Ford reminded him. "We have to assume it's Bill. The Gleeful boy, Wendy, and Soos aren't here yet, so he must be out there to capture them."

"What's the point of capturing us if we need to make a deal with him to create a rift, or whatever?" Stan growled.

"Remember, only Soos and Wendy have yet to make a deal with him. He must be losing his patience and has decided to trick them into making a deal, completing the zodiac."

"And he's probably got that little troll by now." Stan guessed. "So how do we get outta here, Brainiac?"

"Here," Ford sat up and turned his back on his brother. "My watch has a laser that can cut through metal. Have your back to mine and I can cut you loose and then you can do the same for me."

"Good thinking." Stan turned and scooted to Ford, their backs nearly touching, and Ford could barely touched the little button on the side of his watch. He had to be very careful not to burn either of them, but from what little they could see the laser was hitting Stan's chains right by his wrist and slowly cutting the metal. "Geez, can't this go any faster?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Bill used the strongest metal in existence." Ford answered. "Quite possibly one never before seen on this Earth."

Stan rolled his eyes, but then they landed on Dipper, who was restless and starting to wake up. "Dipper! Dipper, get up!"

The boy suddenly jerked awake at the sound of his uncle's voice and he quickly realized what was happening. "No, no, no! This can't be happening!"

"It won't if you stay calm, my boy." Ford said in a soothing, authoritative voice. "Wake up your sister. Doesn't her headbanned have a knife in it?"

"You're right!" Dipper gasped and he looked at Mabel's black headbanned, a gift from Hephzie in the forge. "Mabel! Come on, pull it together! Mabel! Several Timez is here to sing for you again!"

"Really?!" The girl shriek and sat up quickly on her knees, half of her hair over her eyes. She waved her head back and then gasped, "Holy Moses, Bill seriously thought he could pull a fast one over us?!"

"That's what we thought, too, sweetie." Stan called. He craned his neck to see his chain and he saw that a third was cut.

"Quickly, Mabel, let Dipper borrow your headbanned and cut your chain so you can cut his." Ford instructed.

Mabel bowed her head so low her nose almost touched the grass beneath them. Dipper turned his back to his sister and somehow managed to crane his hand enough to grab Mabel's black headbanned. He flicked it straight like a slap-bracelet and a knife popped out from one end. Much like how the elder Pines twins were back-to-back to free each other, Mabel and Dipper were back-to-back so Dipper could cut Mabel free.

"Hephzie said that can cut anything from Platinum to Iron to Gold or Silver." Dipper said. "That knife is made out of diamonds, Chromium, and Titanium, but mostly diamonds."

"Wow, no wonder it's so shiny!" Mabel admired.

"Speaking of which, maybe when this is all over we should hit that cave again…"

"Don't you dare, Stanley." Ford scolded. "That forge is for weapon-making only."

"I know, I know, calm down, Sixer. I won't touch your girlfriend's weird office."

"Shaddup." Robbie moaned and turned in his sleep. "M'tryin' t'sleep."

"Robbie!" Mabel shrieked, followed by the three Pines men shushing her. "Robbie! Wake up! This isn't a sleepover!" She then hissed.

Robbie slowly came around and blinked his eyes to adjust to the sunlight, which was coming and going due to rolling clouds. "Wh-what the… what's going on?!"

Pacifica was also waking up. "I swear who ever knocked me out is getting sued."

"Ow!" McGucket complained. "My back! Who… oh, Lord have mercy! What in tarnation…"

"Everyone, calm down." Ford said calmly and then lowered his voice. "Stanley and Mabel will be free in no time and then can help us all get out of here safely. We'll be fine as long as the zodiac stays broken."

"But how long do we have until Bill comes back or Soos, Wendy, or Gideon get here?" Dipper asked as he cut vigorously on his sister's chain.

"Not long at all, Pinetree."

Dipper jumped and dropped Mabel's diamond-knife. He managed to quickly pocket it before it could be taken away. Ford accidentally released on his watch and the laser stopped. Emerging from the woods was Bill in his human body, the exact same one Hephzie gave up her right leg for, except now he seemed better-fed, but he was still relatively skinny and bony, almost like the corners of his triangle transmuted into bony elbows and knees. He wore a golden Egyptian-like outfit, completed with sandals and wraps on his arms. He smiled with those devilish yellow eyes and wide mouth at the sight before them.

"Well, well, well, isn't this lovely?" Bill said as he approached the incomplete circle of prisoners. "Gotta hand it to you mortals, you're pretty stubborn, but you should know by now that I have a way of getting what I want."

"Oh yeah?" Mabel snarled. "Well… you should know by now that we have a way of kicking your butt!"

"Yeah!" Dipper said, backing his sister up.

Bill coldly rose a clenching hand, as if strangling something, and suddenly the teenagers were struggling to breathe, their necks tightening.

"No!" Stan yelled and tried to get up, but a force kept him down on the dirt, lying on his chest.

"Aw, don't worry, I won't kill them." Bill said and crouched to look Stan in the eye. His lips curled upwards in a crooked smile. "Yet."

"I've beaten you once before, I'll do it again!" Stan threatened, his body trembling to launch at his enemy, but he was still held down.

"Funny, I thought your brother beat me when he shot you." Bill chuckled, making the atmosphere feel ten degrees colder. "Doesn't matter. We only need two more pieces for our puzzle."

Ford's eyes widened. "Two?" He craned his neck to see Gideon Gleeful standing on the outskirts of the clearing, his head down and his eyes closed. Ford, thinking he was possessed or unconscious, yelled, "Gleeful! Snap out of it! Run!"

But Gideon looked up and opened his eyes, and Ford had never before been so terrified to see eyes that weren't glowing yellow. The boy slowly walked up to the circle on his own accord and sat cross-legged next to Mabel.

Mabel's eyes darkened at someone she considered a friend this summer. "You… you…" She croaked, made a move to launch herself at Gideon, but she was also held down.

"Face it, Shooting Star." Bill cackled, amused by the emotional conflict. "Your wittle makeover buddy has been working for me this whole time."

"You're lying!" Mabel yelled.

"Come on, sweetie, did you really think he would voluntarily step down from a position of power?" Bill laughed. "When the new rift is created he will have a special place in my new world, a place much better than entertaining some chubby, glitter-loving, selfish brat."

Mabel's eyes widened as she was hurt, but she managed to turn her gave away from the boy that betrayed her and her family.

"What's even better, through him I heard all of your whiny complaints!" Bill continued to laugh evilly. "'I feel like no one understands me.'" He mocked. "'No one at school likes me.' 'I wish I could stay in Gravity Falls forever, I feel at home here.' 'No one ever wants me to stick around too long.'"

Ford's teeth clenched so hard he nearly broke a tooth. Bill might be able to get away with a lot of things, but hurting he and Stanley's pumpkin was not one of them. Ford also made a move, but he and everyone else, excluding Gideon, were held down by some sort of force controlled by Bill.

"Now, if Red and Question Mark would just stop playing behind those bushes, we could get this party started." Bill said and snapped his fingers. The bushes were Soos and Wendy were crouched behind caught fire and were burned to ashes in no time.

"Phft! Whaaat? This isn't the taco joint I was telling you about." Wendy said with an unconvincing smile. "I think we made a wrong turn, Soos, let's go back."

"Not so fast." Bill lifted his hand and Wendy and Soos were floating and holding their necks.

"Ha! Nice try, Cipher!" Ford said with a brave grin, seeing a sliver of hope. "They haven't made a deal with you! You can't use them! Equivalent exchange, remember?"

Bill's eyes glinted maliciously, excited for the potentially devastating future. "Oh, I know that, Six Fingers. But as you very well know, I can be very persuasive." His voice deepened for a moment and his eyes turned red. "You see, you're right, Sixer, I'll give you that much; I can't make you join the zodiac unless you've made a deal, but I can do much more than just force someone to sit in a certain spot. For example," Bill snapped his fingers, dropping Wendy and Soos, and the rose a hand, making a dagger made out of stone rise from the ground and press itself against Stan's neck, Bill holding his head up by grabbing his gray hair.

"NO!" Soos moved forward with Wendy behind him, but the dagger pressed tighter against their employer's neck, creating a small cut.

"Ah, ah, ah." Bill taunted. "One more step and the old man gets it. Or, you could spare him and sit down like good kids."

"HA!" Wendy pointed at the devil in human flesh and grinned victoriously at him. "You can't scare us! You can't kill anyone of us! Do what you want!"

"Wendy," Soos hissed, his body shaking ever so slightly as an idea came to mind.

"Good point, Red," Bill said calmly, but his eyes darkened in tones of red and his grip on Stan tightened. "But you'd be surprised what you can live through."

"Don't listen to him!" Stan growled. "I've taken on much worse before!" The dagger cut a little deeper into his throat, silencing him.

"NO! STANLEY!" Ford screamed, hyperventilating and thrashing in the dirt.

"No, don't hurt him!" Soos cried.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Bill taunted. "Can't handle losing another padre? How about I make the decision a little easier?" He offered, dropping the dagger and letting it disappear and letting go of Stan. He snapped his fingers again, and an electric blue light creeped up on Dipper, Mabel, Ford, and Stan's chains.

Ford recognized it before it touched his flesh and his eyes widened at the kids; he would rather die than have them go through what he went through in the pyramid, but it looked like Ford was powerless to stop it. "NO! NO, PLEASE!"

Mabel and Dipper screamed and Ford and Stan gritted their teeth to try to keep it at bay. The kids quickly silenced their screams to try to be brave, but nothing could hide the overwhelming pain they were in. Pacifica screamed in misery and McGucket yelled. Robbie was silent with fear, and Gideon could do nothing but look away.

"Okay, okay, enough!" Wendy yelled and the electricity stopped. "We'll… we'll do it."

"No!" Mabel cried.

"It's okay, dudette." Soos said with a shaking voice, but it was still soothing and soft, like a fuzzy blanket on a winter's night. "It'll work out, you'll see."

"Yeah, yeah." Bill said with a roll of his eyes. "Just move it before I give 'em another five-hundred volts."

The daughter of a lumberjack and the newest Mr. Mystery dragged their feet to their placed in the circle, Wendy having one knee up while Soos was cross-legged. Wendy glanced over at Dipper and gave him an apologetic smile. Soos couldn't look at Stan, ashamed of being weak. Stan caught this and muttered, "Hey, Soos, it's okay. Don't even worry about it."

Bill cackled loudly, making the trees shake and the whole woods ring. "Aw man! You should all see your faces!" He laughed and walked between Stan and Soos for the center of the circle. "You humans never made any sense to me; you're really just too stupid and mindless to understand! You throw away your lives for NOTHING!" He laughed, holding his ribs.

"Really, it was kinda cute watching you struggle, but NEVER forget!" Bill's eyes were suddenly red again and the rolling clouds covered the sun in darkness. "I am Bill Cipher! The Demon of the Nightmare Realm and the Master of the Mind!" He roared in a deep, heavy voice that trembled the forest. "If you thought for one moment that it was over, or that you stood a chance against me, you thought WRONG!"

Bill clapped his hands together, got on one knee, and touched the ground with his palms. Blue flames rose from the dirt and burned the zodiac into the ground, symbols and lines and picture of Bill and all. The ten gasped in horror as Bill stood over the picture of his eye and raised his hands in the air.

"Enim si dlrow siht! Nruter yam I taht os rewop tneicna eht nopu llac I! Emoc sah emit eht L-T-O-L-O-X-A!" Bill's voice echoed. Stan was getting a vague deja vu feeling from when he and the demon were being destroyed in his own mind.

When the last of Bill's syllables rang through the air, the chains disappeared, but everyone, including Gideon, were still forced to lay on their stomachs over their symbols. Struggling to fight it, they all reached for their neighbor's hands and held them. They all began to glow once again, but instead of a soothing light-blue, it was a disturbing dark-red.

"Yes!" Bill cackled as the picture of the triangle's eye began to glow, too. "YES! It's happening!"

Suddenly, a bright beam of light and energy erupted from the eye, hiding Bill and causing him to scream, and making a hole in the clouds. The humans watched with horror as a black hand came out from the beam, followed by golden bricks forming a pyramid.

Bill emerged in the same form he came in when the first rift was broken and he flexed his hands and arms, then cackled as he held his triangle body and kicked his legs. "It worked! It really worked! Good riddance to that hideous meat-sack! Now, let Weirdmageddon II BEGIN!"

The beam disappeared from the zodiac, and right where the beam of light made a break in the clouds, just like last time, a rift in space-time ripped sickenly in the sky.