Bill watched events unfold in the dimensions in front of him. Hundreds of thousands of millions playing out in almost identical ways. He watched the red bubbles float around him and suppressed a groan as hundreds flickered out of his view, to other Bills that may exist.
He knew who he was waiting for... or rather, who he was waiting Ford. Stanford Filbrick Pines, a near-constant in every dimension, was going to summon him any moment. Any second Sixer... Whenever that brainy head of yours decided to sleep...
He counted the seconds and dimensions slipping by, and wanted to sigh in frustration at how long it was taking.
Then it happened. A dimension blinked green in front of him, and Bill had to keep from laughing out loud and didn't stop himself from immediately plunging his hands into the orb. In the next moment he felt his body get sucked into the mind of 63'\'s resident super genius.
Ford's mind was just as Bill knew it would be. A lovely pale blue, equations floating everywhere, along with clocks, teacups, bags of coffee... decorative mugs... flowers... Wait. Flowers? Surely this Ford had been studying some sort of anomalous flower recently. Because Bill Cipher knew Fords, and one of their personality traits was definitely not liking flowers.
"Whoa... Where am I?" a voice called out, even and calculated. Strange... in all the scenarios that Bill had gone through Ford hadn't spoken till Bill revealed himself. What was doubly strange was that Ford's voice wasn't as deep as it should be. Interesting...
Then it flashed in front of him. Three decades of memories filled Bill's mind. Memories of Mackeral (ugh that guy was annoying) playing with Ford... who was wearing a dress? And had long hair? And was a girl! WHAT THE AXOLOTL!
"Whoa. Who are you?" She had long curly brown hair, blue eyes hidden behind dark purple glasses, a brown sweater and trenchcoat over loose-fitting jeans on her thin frame... that was most certainly a woman's. This Stanford Pines (doubtingly named that) was a... the... what...
Chill out Bill. Play it cool. You're just in a universe where Sixer has a double X chromosome... that's fine... In fact, that makes it easier. Emotions and stuff.
GirlFord didn't register any time passing from when she asked her question until Bill answered it. Bill swept his hat off and bowed low to her, slipping perfectly into the role he had been planning on playing for centuries, "I am, in simple terms, your muse. I normally go by 'His excellency', but you can call me..." He blinked deeply at her and she raised her eyebrows in a questioning way, "Bill."
"My muse?" she asked, rubbing her hands together nervously. "Oh... Uh... That's... Sweet." She flashed him a smile, then said, "Well, since I know who you are mister Excellency Bill I suppose I should let you know who I am." She held out a hand (a handshake? This early? GirlFord was the best!), and said, "My name is Dr. Pines, Ph.D. twelve, but you may call me Stella."
Stan looked up into the portal, staring at the place he'd watched for thirty years. But this time it was different. Instead of that longing void inside of the triangle and himself he was met with a bright light. And in the middle of the swirl, a dark blob appeared near the bottom. No, not a blob, a body, a person. A very specific person, a person that he had been longing to see for thirty years.
Another person had been longing to meet the one stepping through the portal. Stan's young nephew, who was rubbing his head and looking into the portal as well. Dipper blinked, then asked in his prepubescent voice, "Who... Who is that?"
Finding his throat dry for a number of reasons Stan found it almost hard to answer Dipper. "The Author of the Journals," he said, hardly daring to believe that it was finally happening. "My sister."
Stella stepped entirely into view. Her thin frame more full than the last time Stan had seen her and her clothes even darker. Her face was covered with a black mask that Stan found himself staring at as she moved forward and bent down to the ground, her pale hand trailing out and picking up the Journal from off of the dusty ground. She straightened, opening her black trenchcoat (what was it with Stella and trenchcoats?) and sliding the book inside of one of the pockets. Stan just had the time to see a bright colored feather and a can of what appeared to be hairspray before his sister let her coat fall limp around her frame.
Her six-fingered hands flew up to her face and took her mask and goggles off, revealing a face that was structurally similar to Stan's, although her chin was thinner and her nose was much smaller than her brother's. What really shocked Stan was her hair, which was short and close to her face, shorter than a pixie cut. Stan didn't bring it up though, almost everything else being way more important right then.
What he really wanted to address was her blank, even angry, expression. Stan threw his arms open, stepping forward past his niece and nephew and coming up to his sister. "Finally! After all these long years of waiting!" he said, smiling at Stella, who still simply stared at him. "You're actually here!" Another step. "Sist-"
A fist ended his word with a punch.
It was surprising that Stan's dentures weren't popping out of his mouth Stella had punched him so hard. His head was jerked to the side and his face felt like half of it had caught on fire. He let out a guttural shout then yelled, "Ow! What the heck was that for?!"
"Are you CRAZY?!" Stella shouted back, lifting her hands up like she was holding two invisible balls. "Do you have any clue how incredibly risky this was? I wrote it in ink Stan! In ink!" Stan rolled his eyes, which was rather difficult with the pain building up in his head. "Of course I do. How could I not when you practically wrote it on every page?"
Stella stammered at him, then looked like she wanted to smack him, which thankfully she didn't do. "Then why the... how... Stanley Pines you are the most... Urgh!" She threw her hands up in the air, then said, "I give up! I tried to understand you, but noooo... You just have to be this way!"
Stan blinked at her, then said, "Well... Uh... Can I at least get a 'thanks' for saving you?" At his question Stella looked like she had been the one who'd been punched. "A thank you?" She asked, sounding scandalized, a fire in her eyes growing, "Thank you!? Are you insane!"
"I'm insane?" Stan asked, feeling his anger and blood pressure rising. "Really you're going down the whole 'insane route? Why you little-" Stella glared at him, then said, "Finish that sentence and pay the price." Stan chose to not listen to his sister and instead swung his fist at her.
In a flash Stella sidestepped him, the sudden movement causing Stan to jerk forward and nearly lose his balance. He spun around and swung again, but this time his fist was brought around in a full sister, offsetting him further and his sister used his force against him, bringing him to the ground.
Before Stella could do any significant damage to him another voice called out, "Hey! Yeah, sorry, Mabel here... Uh..." Stan and Stella both looked up and saw their niece, standing next to her brother and Soos. "Can you tell me... What the heck is going on here!?" Stella's grip on Stan's wrist subsided, and her knee, which had been placed on his bent back, was taken off and her foot was back on the ground.
"Children? What? Why are they here Stan?" Stella asked, readjusting her glasses as Stan got back to his feet. Stan resisted the urge to groan and explained, "They're your family Princess, Shermie's grandkids." His sister's eyes widened exponentially and Stella breathed, "I have a niece...and nephew... Shermie got married!" She grew a goofy grin, and Stan found it hard to believe that she was the woman who just a few seconds before was ready to break his arm.
Stella stepped forwards and knelt down in front of Mabel. She extended a hand out to her and Mabel shook it accordingly. "Greetings!" Stella said, shaking Mabel's hand firmly and then dropping it. "Do kids still say greetings? I never really understood those kinds of humans... and I haven't been here for a while... Decades even." Mabel smiled at her and decided to ignore her sentence.
"Wow, that six-fingered handshake was the finger-friendliest handshake I've ever had!" Mabel exclaimed causing her aunt to laugh, "I like you." She said, pointing at her young niece, "I think we'll get along just-"
"I- I- I don't believe it!" Dipper exclaimed, gaining the attention of his aunt. "You're the Author of the Journals!" Stella straightened and turned to look at the young boy, who jittered excitedly. "You read my Journals?" she asked, and Dipper nodded profusely. "I didn't just read them, I've lived them!" He said, stepping forward a bit and nearly tripping on his own feet. "And you're a woman... I thought... You're a lady... My aunt..."
A look of profound awkwardness crossed Stella's face. "Uh... Yes I am..." She folded her arms over her chest and asked, "Is there something wrong with that?" Her nephew shook his head. "Oh no- no- Of course not! I just thought... how you wrote... it was so much like... I thought you were a man..." He blushed deeply as his aunt stared at him darkly, then her stern face broke into a smile and she threw back her head and laughed.
"Ha! I did it! Take that!" Stella said punching the air. "After all that talk of 'no one listens to women in science' and 'you'll go no where if you try working a man's job Stella' and 'go find a rich husband to take care of you'! And someone thought my work was done by a guy! Man I am so happy you think that kid!" She beamed at Dipper, who stammered an apology out before getting scooped up in an awkward hug by his aunt.
"Now," Stella said, releasing Dipper and sobering. "What's your name?"
Dipper looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. "I'm Dopper- Dipper! Dipper Pines." He figited nervously, rubbing his hands on his pant legs to get the sweat off of his palms. Stella smiled down at him and said, "Well, it's an honor to meet you Dipper. On a scale of one to ten how would you rate my work?" Dipper gasped, his face turning red. He stammered out several incoherent words, then he said with a squeak, "Eleven- No! Twelve!"
His aunt threw her head back and laughed, the sound echoing through the vast basement. "Perfect. Can you give me a good review when I publish them?" Dipper nodded, staring at her as she turned to face her brother and niece.
"Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way," she said, stepping towards Stan and crossing her arms again. "I have a couple of questions. First of all, Stanley, does anyone know about this place? Like, anyone at all?" At first Stan shook his head, then blinked as something seemed to dawn upon him. "Oh..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh... Does the entire US government count as someone?"
For a small second Stella thought he was joking, then the weight of what her brother had said settled in.
"YOU LET THE WHAT FIND OUT ABOUT THIS PLACE?" she shouted, startling Dipper and Mabel out of their dazed stupor. The two of them shrank towards each other and away from Stella, Dipper's eyes still somewhat glazed over. Stan winced, then said, "Uh... The US govern-"
Stella reached up and held her head in her hands. "Stanley, I literally can't even formulate the proper response..." she said quietly as she shook her head. Stan chuckled nervously then said, "Maybe... forgiveness?"
His sister glared up at him. "Forgiveness Stan? Really? Don't forget how much I've already forgiven you for." Stan rolled his eyes then said, "Yeah right. Like what?" At this point Dipper and Mabel were watching the two of them silently, but Stella didn't seem to care or notice them anymore. It seemed that everything that had just happened was forgotten. "Well, pushing me through the portal comes to mind," Stella said, lifting a finger, which was closely followed by a second. "Then there was the whole 'disregarding my clear instructions', that happened. Then there was my perpetual motion machine, and getting me kicked out-"
Two simultaneous exclamations followed her last sentence, Stan's "That wasn't my fault!" and Mabel's "You were kicked out?!" Stella looked at both of them and chose to answer the younger of her relatives' question. "Yes I was. My father... well... he..." She rubbed her hands together, then said in a low voice, "He had high standards, and believed that women are the inferior sex. As a woman myself he believed that all I was good for was getting married off and producing grandchildren."
She placed her hands on her hips and said, "Instead I produced... Uh... Well... Whatever this monstrosity is." She waved a hand towards the portal and added, "So yeah, I think I proved my point. But that's unimportant right now, right now we need to stay down here and think of a plan!"
The four other occupants of the room watched as she turned her back to them and pulled out her Journal. Mabel and Dipper shared one look then Mabel said, "Well, uh... looks like we're going to be stuck down here for a while... Who wants to explain their entire mysterious backstory?!"
Stella sat on the couch in the living room, her six-fingered hands hidden in the folds of her skirt.
She was in trouble. Why was she in trouble? Stan had been doing it too! Why was Stella the only one being punished? Why?
Because Stan was a boy.
Because Stan was the son.
Because dad loved Stan and not Stella.
She closed her eyes. How bad could her punishment be? She'd only been breaking curfew, so it shouldn't be too bad. He'd probably just ground her, and then she'd still have her books, or he could revoke her library privilege and then she could just send Stan to get what she wanted. Maybe...
She froze when her father entered the room, his face hard and angry. Sitting up straighter she pressed her lips tightly together, as to not speak when she wasn't spoken to. Filbrick watched her, tense and unmoving, like a fortress she could never surpass. In her mind she heard a tiny voice say This isn't right; you shouldn't be afraid of your own father like this but she ignored it.
"Stella." his voice finally said, and she responded, "Yes dad?" Her father breathed out angrily, then snapped, "What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous it is out there?!"
Stella froze, she had never truly considered her own town dangerous. Choosing instead to lie than admit fault she boldy said, "Yes." When Filbrick was about to say something else she added quickly, "But I had Stan with me, I never left his sight. I was fine."
"Stanley isn't responsible for your wellbeing, I am." her father said, moving to stand directly in front of her, his arms crossed and eyes barely visible from under his sunglasses. "And until you-"
"As if you've done a good job at that," Stella mumbled, then gasped when her father's sentence stopped. She looked up at him and stammered, "I... I mean... Sorry sir." Her father shook his head. "Look girl,"
"I have a name."
"You might think you're so much better than me," Fibrick said, not paying his daughter's sentence any mind. "But in this house you're not. You are to obey my rules and my orders, do you understand?" A small part of Stella, the 'Stan part' as she liked to call it, screamed at her to do nothing but defy, defy and deflect, but the rest of her, the 'Stella part' wilted like a flower, dragging the Stan part down as well.
"Yes dad." she said, hanging her head in shame. Filbrick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Honestly, you're enough of a burden even without breaking the rules."
Stella froze at her father's statement. A burden? Was that what she was? "What?" she asked, and her father glared at her. "A burden. You're a burden, a money waster. All you ever do is flit around talking about things that no one cares about. If you were a boy that would be a whole other story, but no one pays a woman for junk like that." He hissed the word 'woman' and Stella shrunk back.
No one pays a woman scientist.
All she was good for was getting married off and having children.
She was worthless... and her dad was right.
"Now get out of my sight." Filbrick snapped, "You're grounded until further notice." Nodding sadly Stella stood up, her pride completely crushed. All she was good for was doing what her dad said, and then her husband. She was worthless.
No one pays a smart woman.
"I did it!"
Three months, two dozen sleepless nights, six paychecks, and four meltdowns had all led up to this moment. The moment that Stella could say that her perpetual motion machine worked. It was going, and if everything went well would still go even until the end of time. A perpetual motion machine. Her (current) magnum opus.
Stan looked up at her, his football book finally being shut for the first time since they'd both entered the science hall. "Sweet!" He said, putting the book down next to his own science project, "What is it?"
Under any other circumstance, Stella would have groaned but she was too elated to pay her brother much mind. Choosing instead to forget about the hundreds of times she'd told Stan about her project she puffed out her chest and said with an air of superiority, "The world's very first working perpetual motion machine! Made by yours truly." She smiled at her brother, who smiled right on back. "Neato." Stan said, watching the two arms circle the base, "And... does it do anything besides... go?"
"Not yet," Stella said, looking over at her accomplishment, "But soon everyone will be using it! The very first one, made by me! A teenage girl!" A silly smile played on her face, then she said, "Dad'll think it's great. Maybe he'll even... Nevermind." Stan sighed, then slung an arm around her shoulders. "Come on Ellie, I may not pay attention to that junk," his sister winced at that word "But college people will. You'll be rich and famous and be able to buy a yacht! A yacht Stella! And then we can sail around the world! You and me! Pines twins for life! Because of your permetunal moister gizmo!"
Stella rolled her eyes at her brother's statement, but a goofy smile played on her lips. "Perpetual motion machine Stanley." She corrected, shrugging out of his embrace. Stan scoffed. "That's why you're the genius Sis."
"Can you explain what THIS was doing next to my Broken Project?!" Stella shook with anger and sadness, shame and fury. Stan blinked at a crummy bag of toffee peanuts, which was completely empty. He was blinking like he was stupid! Like he didn't know what he had done! Urg! What was wrong with her twin?!
Stan seemed to comprehend the simple question his twin had asked. "Oh... Uh... Look, I mighta been horsing around..." Unbelievable. Stan was coming up with an excuse. Stella threw the bag on the ground and shouted, "This wasn't an accident Stan! You did this! You sabotaged my entire future... I get it! You're possessive of me! Just tell me why you have to be such a pri-"
"Stella."
Her father's voice cut through the internal static in her mind. Stella blinked at her father, whose hand was resting on Stan's shoulder. Her eyes, filled with anger and fear, were reflected back at her on his glasses and she had to steel her resolve to say, "Stanley sabotaged my perpetual motion machine dad. And has been a major jerk about it!"
In two swift movements, Stella's father cut around the couch and backhanded Stella in the face. His daughter let out a small shout, reaching a hand up and covering the area that had just been attacked. She looked back at her father, who fumed at her.
"Don't you ever talk about your brother like that you knucklehead!" He roared, and Stella gasped, a small cry escaping her mouth. Stan let out his own shout but did little more as Filbrick glared at his daughter from behind his sunglasses. Stella looked back at her father and said in a hushed voice, "Dad... I'm sorry..."
"What happened to your project?" Filbrick snapped, not seeming to hear her apology. This situation was getting worse by the minute.
"Your daughter could be a future millionaire Mr. Pines."
"I'm impressed. At least she might be good for something after all."
"A perpetual motion machine has one job. To not stop. I don't think you're West Coast Tech material."
In a flash, Stella heard the memories of phrases repeat in her mind. Shakily she answered, "It- It broke... and it was..." Filbrick raised his hand again and Stella flinched. "Don't you try to blame your brother for this!" Filbrick snapped and Stella nodded. Stan reached a hand out and started, "Dad... Actually..." He stopped when his father glared back at him and snapped, "Don't even start Stan. Go to your room."
The sound of her brother shuffling off muffled their mother's footsteps. "What's going on? Stella?" Caryn rubbed her eyes with one hand while Sherman cried in another. Filbrick looked back at her and snapped, "I'm getting rid of this nuisance once and for all."
With that Stella felt a rough hand grab her shirt's collar, and let out a yelp as her father gently shoved her mother out of his way. He dragged her to the door of the gift shop, stopping at the coatroom and grabbing a bag she didn't recognize.
The next thing Stella knew she was being shoved to the side of the road. She landed with a thud and stared up at the light coming from the door, darkened by her father's body standing in the door. "Dad!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet. "Dad please!"
"I've said it once, I've said it a million times! No one pays a woman scientist! Your machine didn't fail, you were rejected for being a girl! And then you tried to blame your brother!" Her father snapped, pointing a finger right at her. Stella found her breath catch in her throat, and she said quietly, "Daddy?"
But there was no 'daddy'. There was only her hard and stern father. An already packed duffle bag was thrown into her arms, at least he'd had the decency to give her more clothes, and she stared at him in silence. She looked up, and saw her brother pressing his hands against the window of their room. "Stanley! Tell him what happened! Tell him he's being crazy! Stanley!" Tears started collecting in her eyes, and she watched in silence as Stan simply opened the window for a moment.
At that moment the door of her house, the only home she'd ever known, slammed shut in her face. A second later the dull clatter of metal hitting the sidewalk sounded, and Stella almost didn't hear it.
On the ground, sparkling in the lamplight, was Stan's keys, along with a note reading You'll need the Stanlimobile. Give it back soon!
"What about you?" Dipper asked, looking over at Stan, who shuffled nervously next to his sister. The kids looked up at the two older Pines, shared looks of intrigue and sorrow on their faces. Stan rubbed the back of his neck, "Well... Uh... I didn't see Stella again, not for a long time." His eyes met his sister's and he said, "Well, I got a job at a repair shop, made a good deal of money, for a teenager that is, and did my best to settle down..." He smacked his lips together, rubbed his hands against each other and said, "That went about as well as you'd expect."
Stella raised an eyebrow at him, and asked in a completely serious voice, "She dumped you?" Stan nodded and added, "Yup, after that I saved up enough money and got myself out of Glass Shard, had had enough of that place for two lifetimes." He chuckled awkwardly and waved a hand towards Stella.
"Me?" his sister asked, and she grew pale when he nodded. "Oh, uh, I went to Backupsmore." She bit her lip as Stan laughed. "You went to where?" He asked, a chuckle escaping him. "Hold on, I don't know a lot about colleges, but even I know that's a bad one. Why'd you go there of all places?"
Stella sighed, then said with a tired voice, "Because they were the only college to take someone without a Highschool diploma." At that Stan instantly silenced himself. Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other, then Stella added, "It wasn't all bad. I got a job at a... cafe was it? Something like that, I eventually was able to save up enough to actually buy myself a little apartment about twenty minutes away from campus. That was where I met my best friend too..."
A small smile slid onto her face, but it quickly disappeared. "Of course, I haven't seen him in thirty years. And a lot of things can happen. He's actually the one I called to help me build my portal... But I'm getting ahead of myself."
"McGucket?" Mabel asked innocently, and her eyes widened as her aunt flinched. "Yes, my old college buddy, Fiddleford McGucket. He and his wife and son came to Gravity Falls when I asked him to help me with this project." She waved a hand at the portal, and the two younger members of her family nodded. "I'm guessing you two know him."
Dipper and Mabel shared a look and winced as well. "Oh, uh, yeah, we know him. He uh... Well... Did you know he made a memory ray?" At that question Stella stiffened and her eyes widened. "Wait, but... We destroyed that!" She exclaimed, blinking at the two children. Dipper chuckled nervously, then reached into his backpack to pull the ray out. Stella froze, then accepted the weapon from her young nephew. "That's... This... This is perfect!"
The remaining occupants of the room sent confused expressions over at her and Stella groaned. "Seriously? Can't any of you see it? This is a memory ray! It will work on literally everyone in this dimension besides me! Come on!" She pointed the gun at Stan and hissed, "Stan, I swear, if you don't see what I'm seeing I'm going to erase Carla from your brain."
Stan's eyes widened to match his sisters. "Wait, you're not... Wait... The government agents!?" Stella flashed him a smile and said, "Yes, the government agents. It's simple really, I'll just erase 'Pines' from their minds, and they won't know what they're doing here. It'll be perfect!" She grinned at her nephew, then said, "Now cover your ears until I get back!"
With that she dashed out of the room, Stan, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos all watching her go. Stan blinked, then said, "Well... she's lost her mind."
Stella had in fact, not lost her mind.
Her brother on the other hand...
It was fine, she'd lost Stan before, twice in fact. Stella was well aware of the fact that in her life she was meant to be alone. Well, well aware wasn't the best way to put it, but she was used to being alone by now.
That was... Until she met her nephew.
Dipper was a bundle of nerdy energy. Upon meeting him Stella knew that she had found a kindred spirit.
Not that she spent time with the kid. Oh no, he was much too like her teenage self for that. Honestly, it was like the Axolotl himself had decided that Stella wasn't quite nerdy enough to balance out the Pines family and decided to make her a mini-me. Mason 'Dipper' Pines was a sweaty, preteen, nerdy, awkward, dork, who resembled a masculine Stella perfectly.
And if she crushed his spirits with her depressing backstory she'd be exactly like her father.
It wasn't often she thought of her father, but now she was. She had never really been a parental figure in anyone's life, and knew that if she ever was she'd be much more like her dad than her mom. Stan was the 'mom' twin. And if Stella ever did quarter of the stuff her dad did... what with all the emotional turmoil and the kicking her out, then let Bill get ahold of her before she got too far into it!
But it was hard to keep herself away from the kid when he literally dropped himself into her life. She was perfectly content with staying down in the basement... alone... with nothing but her experiments and portal to keep her company... but if Dipper wanted to play with fire (hopefully not literally) then he definitely had his aunt behind him with an extinguisher.
Unless she was the flamethrower.
Which apparently she was.
Stella stared at Bill, her eyes scanning every part of his being. Months of meetings had led her here, on the verge of something, she could feel it. Bill seemed to feel the weight of her eyes, his form turning towards her and glowing slightly brighter. Stella didn't know why there was blood now rushing to her cheeks, it was only Bill after all.
"What is it Sixer?" Bill asked, blinking deeply at her. His lashes were so long, his voice so... interesting. The otherworldly echo resonated through her. "Oh... It's nothing." she lied, and nearly flinched when Bill laughed. "Yeah right. What's got you so nervous?" He floated closer to her, oh so close. Stella shook her head, then said, "Well... Uh... There is this one thing."
Don't think about Bill being so close to you... Don't think about Bill being so close to you...
"My Unified Theory of Weirdness... That's all I have left to finish in my study of this town." She admitted, her blue eyes meeting Bill's singular one. It felt like he was a magnet, pulling her towards him. She could just reach a hand out and touch him... maybe even hold his...
Bill laughed her out of her musings, "That's it? Well, have a seat." With a wave of his hand a chair appeared next to Stella, which she sat down on instantly. Bill floated down in front of her face, holding out a blue teacup to her. Stella took the cup and watched as Bill waved a hand in front of her. Instantly hundreds of blue lines drew themselves in front of them.
No, not just lines, blueprints. Bill was showing her blueprints for... a massive portal.
"The answer to your question," Bill said, conjuring his own chair and sitting down, "Isn't on this planet, or the next. It is, in fact, in a whole other galaxy, no, dimension." Stella felt her breath catch in her throat. "Dimension... Wait... Does that mean... the Multiverse theory..."
"Is no theory?" Bill finished for her, taking a sip of his tea. "Yes." He moved his cup away from him and seemed to smile at her. "Yup, it's a fact. Not a proven fact in this dimension... at least... not yet." Stella simply stared at him, her own teacup completely forgotten. "Wait, so this otherworldly muse... or, other-dimensional-ly muse... is real? You're really from another dimension?" Bill nodded at her, and a small smile crept upon her face. "That is so amazing... And you're suggesting... building a portal?" Stella waved a hand at the portal blueprints.
Bill nodded at her again and Stella felt like fainting, even though she was deep in sleep. "Oh my... This is... Oh, Bill! Thank you!" Stella jerked forward, grabbing Bill's hands in hers. "Thank you so much!" She smiled at him, for once not feeling awkward at how close they were. "Bill... You are the most amazing muse I have ever met... or had... or heard of..." She stammered then blinked as Bill chuckled. "Of course IQ."
"Are you mental?!"
After her nerves had calmed down from her most recent near-death experience, Stella finally had the time to ruminate on her twin's insanity. Of course, when she decided to confront him it was the next morning, when Stan was in the kitchen, in his underwear, reading the newspaper. He looked up at her, already dressed in her tan jacket and v-neck sweater, and took a sip of his coffee before replying, "Not as much as you."
"You nearly got me killed yesterday." Stella spat, sitting down across the table from him, and glaring at a second mug sitting next to Stan's. "You nearly got Dipper killed. I've dealt with guys like Probibilitor, he was going to eat our brains! I don't have an extra set of those by the way." Stan rolled his eyes, taking another swig of coffee. "Yeah, but hey, you're talking to the guy who went down the bottomless pit with that kid. You were fine, I saved you two, like I always do."
Stella glared at him, then shouted, "You let Dipper near the bottomless pit!? Are you out of your mind?!" Stan looked up at her, then said, "No. No I'm not. Funny hearing stuff like that come from you, Miss 'Your math is no match for my gun'. I thought you loved math!" Stan grinned at his sister's frustrated face, then sighed, letting his jaw slack. "Alright, maybe I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you... But you're not entirely in the right either." This earned him an eyeroll, then his twin snapped, "Of course. Trust me Stanley, I've made mistakes. Pretty big ones at that."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before Stella added, "And I'm working hard to make up for those. It just drives me crazy when you don't seem to care that you slipped up. I know that I beat myself up whenever I mess up, and you seem to write it all off... What's with that?" Stan shrugged. "Maybe I know that it was just a simple mistake, and that anyone can do it. You seem to think the world is ending if you say mitochondrial instead of mitochondria."
Stella was left staring at him, then she held a hand up to her face and asked, "Wait. What?! How does that make sense! Stanley, I'm not talking about mistakes like in school, I'm talking about life-altering flaws!" She waved a hand towards her brother then snapped, "For instance, you shoved me through the portal, first thing you say to me after that is 'How about a thank you'. And before that, when we were teenagers, when I confronted you about breaking my project, you just wrote it off. Said that at least I could sail around the world with you. How is that 'just admitting they're simple mistakes? You got me kicked out of my house, then you kick me out of my dimension?!"
Stan stared at her silently as she shook her head, then she stood up violently and snapped, "I'm not letting you kick me out of my family as well. Don't get those kids in trouble or trust me, you'll know why they call me the 'Cipher-Slayer'."
She spun around and started storming out of the room, then turned around right as she reached the door and said, "Well, they call me 'The six-fingered-potential' most of the time. Or, 'Hey-the-human-Bill's-after'. But I heard that title for people like me a few times, so I like to use it. Call me for dinner! At least we both recognize your ability to cook."
After Bill and the kids had all disappeared Stan noticed his sister finally stop trying to beat her way out of their prison. He looked over at her, and watched as Stella crumpled to the floor. She pulled her knees up and tucked them under her chin, wrapping her arms around them and rocking back and forth. "The kids..." she said out loud, "He's going to kill the kids... He's gonna kill the kids... and it's all my fault."
"Yeah." Stan said, sitting down next to her and slinging an arm around her shoulders. "It might be your fault, but not all of it ya know? It's mine too..."
"If I could just shut up for two seconds!" Stella shouted, waving an arm out in front of her then leaning her head against Stan's shoulder. "Then it'd be fine. But nooo... I just have to open it up again. It's always my mouth getting me in trouble. First I insult the king of the clown dimension to his face, and I yell at you for breaking my project... then I make a deal with Bill..."
Stan's eyes landed heavily upon her, and she sighed. "Does this count as a hug or something?" she asked, reaching into her coat and pulling out a small silver canteen. Stan chuckled, the heavy aura around him not lifting in the slightest. "Nah, more of a 'good job we're gonna die let's have some physical comfort' sorta thing." he admitted, and Stella laughed before taking a swig. "Nice," she mumbled, handing Stan the canteen, which he accepted with his free hand.
The two of them sighed. "Well, I have an idea... It's gonna doom the universe but the kids... I can hope that he'll let the kids go..." Stan jerked his head over to look at his sister, whose eyes were resting on his face. "Wait, what?!" he asked, blinking hard at her. Stella sighed, then said, "I have something Bill wants. A formula that lets him out of Gravity Falls... I'll tell him that I'll give it to him if he promises not to hurt Dipper and Mabel..."
Stan shook his head. "What?! That's suicide!" Stella nodded, then sniffed. "I know Stanley... I know... But..." If Stan didn't know his tough-as-nails sister he'd say that she had tears in her eyes. "But Dipper and Mabel are worth more than I am... If I can save even one..." She looked up into his eyes, and sure enough, there were tears inside of hers. "Stanley..."
"No." He snapped, taking his arm off of her and standing up. "No! I spent thirty years getting you back..." Stella joined him, breathing hard and saying, "I know Stan! But I've spent thirty years trying to stop him! One way or another we're going to lose! There's just no way we're going to win this time." She looked down at the ground and said in a quiet voice, "I'm so sorry Stanley... Th- Thank you. For everything. This summer's been great."
Stan would have smiled at that sentence at any other time, but instead he just brushed her off. "Listen Sixer, I dunno what happened to you here, but we gotta think of a new plan. You are not giving that jerk any information! None, ya hear me?!" At his gruff words Stella shrank back, her resolve thinning. "I know Stan... But there's not another way."
"What if he went into my mind instead?"
"Bill! You lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?" The mindscape seemed to be going against Stella that time, which was strange, because every other time it seemed like it was trying its best to get her as close to Bill as possible. But not this time. Bill spun around at her words and he was smiling. That smile. Stella didn't know how she knew Bill was smiling, but she always did.
Bill laughed at her words. "Ha! Looks like the brainiac finally got smart. Let's just say when our portal opens your dimension is finally going to know how to party!" Stella stared at him, and then at a glowing rift behind him, silhouettes of unearthly creatures giggling and snapping their teeth showing from inside of it. She gulped then said, "No! I won't let you! I'll shut it down!"
Rolling his eye at her (man that hurt so much) Bill laughed again. "Woah Sixer, give it a rest. You can be the prom queen if you let me into your dimension!" Stella shook her head at him. "No. Never. I'd rather die."
"Then I guess you've sealed your fate."
The moment she killed Bill Cipher was supposed to be a happy one. She was supposed to be filled with joy and pride. Instead all she felt was hallowness.
Because with Bill was Stanley. When Bill was killed Stan was as well.
Well this was just great.
She had somehow ended up about a dozen feet away from her brother, who really wasn't her brother anymore, and she was outpaced by both Dipper and Mabel, who dsahed up to Stan. Stella barely heard the words exiting their mouths, but she knew what they meant.
They didn't know that Stan was gone.
"He's... He's gone Mabel." Stella choked out, stepping past her niece and kneeling in front of her brother. "Stan's gone. He saved the whole world. This dimension... He saved me." She reached a hand out to Stan, who blinked unknowingly at her. "He's a hero. He's my hero." She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you Stan... Thank you so much."
Stan didn't respond.
"And then she cried for like a week!"
Stella buried her face in her hands. "I did not." she said, muffled by an inch of her flesh. Stan chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah you did," he flashed her a smile, one that was returned by a stubborn grimace. "Well, you cried for the first couple of hours." Stella glared at him, and dropped her hands down to her lap. There was a small smile playing in her eyes, and she swallowed before answering, "True. I will hand that to you Stanley."
"So... That still... Chaos demon boyfriend?" Sherman stared at his two older siblings, both of whom laughed. His sister reburied her face and mumbled, "Thank God Mabel's not here..." Stan threw his head back, a loud bark coming from his mouth. "Demon boyfriend! Ha! That's right up your alley isn't it Sixer?" Stella poked an eye out and said in a low voice, "The moment we're alone Knucklehead I'm going to tear your face off."
"Good thing you make horrible promises!" Stan said, dropping his arm from off of her shoulders finally. "Anywho, so I'm like, an international hero now. Pretty cool right?"
Sherman, who hadn't even known he had a sister until an hour or so ago, adjusted his glasses and nodded. "That's pretty cool." He said, then said, "Also... What the heck?!"
What the heck indeed.
Hi guys! It's... um... been a while... Over a month! Please don't hurt me!
Well... So... Some interesting things have been happening with me. I've had this idea in my head for awhile now, and finally got it finished. I've been over on AO3 recently with a different fic that you can check out. It's called If only we could forget and that's been taking up my non-schoolwork time. Go check it out or let me know if you'd like me to post it here or something.
Anywho. You might recognize Stella from a previous chapter. Chapter 43 "Once a confusing Pines twin". I tweaked some things with her lore and this was the end product. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for your patience!
-BrilliantLight