The next day, Dipper and Ford made their way back to the UFO. The last time they were here, Ford talked about how he'd gotten used to the idea of extraterrestrial beings, but that hadn't happened to Dipper yet. Star and Bill had come from a different dimension, but this spaceship had come from within their own universe. Dipper had never believed they were alone in the universe, but to have concrete proof made the theoretical fact.
Although, as Ford mentioned, this spacecraft was millions of years old and no one ever came looking for it. Dipper remembered reading about a theory that talked about how the universe used to be full of life but all of the other civilizations collapsed long before the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and no we were the only ones left. It was a chilling thought, but one that was never completely out of Dipper's head.
The entrance to the UFO was still uncovered and Dipper followed Ford down the ladder. He still didn't know what Ford's plan was and it was starting to worry him. Usually, his great-uncle would talk non-stop about whatever was around them, but he was silent now and there seemed to be weight resting on his shoulders.
Dipper knew that the solution that Ford had come up with yesterday was not a happy one and he hoped that it would never have to be used. It was a last resort.
They walked down one of the long corridors. They tried their best to keep their feet dry, but the opening had let rainwater in and there were giant puddles that couldn't be avoided.
Dipper hated having wet socks. He couldn't exactly explain why, but it was also one of those sentiments that he didn't feel the need to explain. Everyone hated wet socks. It was one of the few things he felt that every human could agree on.
"Here, take this," Ford handed him what looked like a gun but with a bunch of electronics where the barrel should've been. "I rigged them up last night and they should fire an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to temporarily disable the security bots."
Dipper had managed to show no fear the last time he encountered the spherical killing machines, but he was glad that Ford had brought protection just in case. Ford getting captured and almost being sent to an alien prison billions of lightyears away was not one of the memories he liked to think about. Besides, Dipper wasn't sure that Ford could survive another impact like when the pod was defeated. Even though Stan's mind was as sharp as ever, his body was beginning to show its age.
They wandered around for another half-hour in silence before Dipper couldn't stand it anymore. He was filled to the brim with a morbid curiosity. What was in this spaceship that could split the two worlds apart? And why couldn't the mewman world be saved in the process?
He hated the thought that the mewmans and monsters would probably not survive, but Earth came first in his mind. Besides, what they were doing would only be a last resort. Something that would only be used if every other option failed.
Dipper was just about to ask Ford what the plan was when Ford opened a door. He gave a little grunt of satisfaction.
"I don't understand," Dipper said. They were in some kind of storage room, and there were about twenty of the security spheres in standby mode. They hadn't been activated, thankfully, but just seeing them brought back bad memories of Ford almost being taken out of their solar system and Dipper's near-death experiences.
"We can't separate the worlds," Uncle Ford walked towards the nearest sphere, "that technology no longer exists. The only thing that we can do is get rid of the mewmans. If we use the EMP guns on these things, we can reprogram them to search for mewman genetics instead of adrenaline."
Dipper's eyes widened. Ford wanted to create drones that would systematically murder every single mewman on the planet. He didn't know what he'd expected when Ford told him of his plans, but this certainly wasn't it. It'd never seriously occurred to him that saving the Earth would mean the death of mewmans.
Of course it'd mean the death of the mewmans, Dipper thought to himself, how could the removal of a species not kill them? They couldn't just magically teleport them all to Mars.
For some reason, the word "kill" had never entered Dipper's head until now. It was like his mind had chosen to overlook the most plausible solution out of fear that it would be picked.
Well, it seemed that Ford picked it and Dipper wasn't sure how to feel. If this was the smartest man on Earth, why did it feel like they were making the wrong decision?
"I can tell you don't understand," Ford took a seat on the ground and Dipper followed suit. He didn't think he could stand Ford's plan – literally and figuratively.
"Humans are impulsive creatures and they don't like things they don't understand. Things will only continue to get worse and the only way to get this planet back on track is to eliminate the unknown. If we don't do this soon, then humanity will become irreversibly damaged. Crops will die. Supply chains will crumble. It will be the end of our very way of life. I don't like this any more than you do Dipper, and I wish that we could save everyone, but I can't think of any other way. The portal in the basement was a long shot, even before you considered that all the notes on how to fix it were in the journals burned by Bill. The portal relied on magic to function.
"I wish that I could've done this without involving you in it to spare you the guilt, but I'm getting old. I need someone to help me. Face it, Dipper. We both know that humans and mewmans cannot coexist on this planet. There are simply not enough resources to sustain us both, not to mention the societal headaches. This may be our only option."
"But… but this is xenocide!" Dipper launched to his feet and started to pace back and forth, "We'd be committing irredeemable crimes. Countless deaths would be on our hands. Blood that could never be washed away. We would be monsters!
"How would I be able to look Mabel in the eyes if I did this?" Dipper looked at his great uncle, "Would you be able to stand in front of her and tell her what you're planning."
Ford pinched his nose.
"Imagine that there are five people tied to some tracks and you can see a train coming. You can switch the train over to a different path, but in doing so the train would only run over two different people. This is the dilemma we face. Either we intervene and neutralize the mewmans, or we stand by and watch as everyone dies.
"I love Mabel– she's family after all – but this is bigger than us. I cannot allow for the extinction of my species. If permanently damaging my relationship with those I love is the price I pay for doing what is necessary, then that is what I will do." Ford stared at Dipper, "The question is what will you do? How much are you willing to sacrifice?"
Without waiting for an answer, Ford sent an electromagnetic pulse to the nearest security sphere and began to take it apart.
Almost as if his body began to move against his will, Dipper found himself behind Ford; learning what he was doing. Then, when he felt he understood the process, Dipper sent an EMP blast to the next robot and began.
It's only to be used as a last resort, he repeated in his head, I'm sorry Mabel.
By nightfall, they had created twenty killing machines that would target and kill every mewman on planet Earth.
It's only to be used as a last resort.
"History will compare us to Hitler or Stalin," Dipper said once they were finished. He wiped the sweat off his brow.
"That's not true. No one will be tortured or experimented on. Everyone will be neutralized as quickly and painlessly as possible. Stalin and Hitler killed with prejudice; we are doing so out of necessity. If you are searching for a historical figure, then we are more like Oppenheimer. Creating a necessary evil to save lives. The future will not look at us favorably, but at least there will be a future."
"It's only to be used as a last resort," Dipper said aloud this time. Ford nodded his head.
"I do not see another option, but for once I hope that I'm wrong. Sending these robots out into the world would haunt me for the rest of my life – but if that is a weight I must bear then so be it."
(Line Break)
Marco was going insane. He had to be. First, the nightmares and constant feeling of deja-vu while going through Gravity Falls, even though he'd never been out of California before. Maybe he'd watched a cartoon or movie filmed there, but he didn't think that was it. And now entire chunks of his day were missing. He'd originally thought he'd passed out somewhere and slept, but then one of the monsters from the basement called him out for being rude to them earlier. An event that he had absolutely no memory of. In fact, he didn't even remember going to the basement. It felt like his brain was unravelling. Remembering things he didn't do and disremembering things that did.
It didn't make any sense.
He wanted to bring things up with Star, but every time he talked to her, she seemed distracted by something else. There were more and more mewmans showing up at the mystery shack every day. Soos had built a decent stockpile, but soon there would be more mouths to feed than there was food. And when people got hungry, they got cranky.
Marco decided he needed to get some fresh air. Putting on his red hoodie, he went for a walk around the forest.
His mind wandered to that strange dream he had about a week ago with a yellow triangle. They'd made some sort of deal… but that had only been a dream, right? With the realm of magic gone, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Although, The flash drive with Star's speech was crushed after he woke up, but that must've been because of all the stress he had. There was no way the dream was anything more than a dream, especially with the realm of magic gone.
Still, there were days where he felt like he'd worked out all night. His arms would be so sore that he couldn't lift them without groaning. Something was happening to him and he was terrified.
Marco opened his eyes and found himself in a part of the forest that was very different than where he'd been a few seconds ago. And how when did the sun get so low?
There was a statue half-buried in the ground in front of him and Marco's jaw dropped. It was a concrete triangle with a slitted eye and a top hat. His hand was reaching out like it was ready to shake on a deal.
Just like in his dreams.
Marco curled up into a ball and started to rock back and forth. How was this here? It was weathered and cracking and covered in moss. It looked like it had been there for thousands of years. This thing had gotten into his dreams and stolen his memories and now it'd brought him here.
Why?
"Because I Care About You," A voice echoed. The concrete hand burst into flames and Bill appeared, "I Need You To Know That I Exist And To Trust Me."
Marco stared at the glowing pyramid. If all of his adventures had taught him anything, it was that glowing triangles were not to be trusted. As if sensing his thoughts, Bill put both his hands up in a sign of surrender.
"Look, Kid. We Want The Same Thing."
"I thought you were just a dream!"
Marco opened his eyes and ran. He didn't know which direction the Mystery Shack was in, but anywhere was better than here. The moon was well into the sky and Marco was still hopelessly lost in the woods when he came across a cave in the cliffside. It was starting to get chilly outside so Marco went in.
Marco turned on his flashlight and there was a broken oil lamp on the floor, but that wasn't what he first noticed. What he first noticed was the writing on the walls. He didn't know what tribes were native to this region, but the writing was definitely indigenous. It was mostly scribbles, but on the far wall was a giant mural of Bill surrounded by a circle full of mysterious symbols.
Marco slapped himself to make sure that he was awake – that this wasn't a dream. Whoever this Bill person/monster/thing was, he was much more real than Marco had originally thought he was. And much older.
This was something that Star had to know about. Despite the awkwardness he felt around her now, this just felt like too big of a problem to handle himself.
Well, there was nothing he could do now but wait. Marco didn't dare sleep to pass the time. That was the land of Bill. Instead he slapped himself, hit his head on the walls of the cave, or shined his flashlight in his eyes. Pain kept his mind awake. He didn't want to see Bill again until he had some kind of plan.
Oh god, how was he going to tell Star that he'd been keeping secrets from her? They were supposed to be honest with each other – especially because they were dating. How would he explain that he didn't think the secrets were real until now? It felt like telling her that would just confuse her.
He knew that he needed to come clean and ultimately decided that it would be better not to plan it out. The more he thought about his conversation with Star, the more he wanted to tweak the truth in order to make himself look better or to downplay what was happening, and what was happening definitely should not be downplayed. Marco was scared – more scared than he'd ever been in his life.
When the sun rose over the trees and Marco could see his hands held in front of him, he left the cave. He still wasn't sure which direction the Mystery Shack was, but he eventually wandered into a familiar section of the woods and was able to set his eyes on the shabby cabin. He walked up to the front door right as it opened.
"Hey Marc – you look awful," Star said, "are you okay? It looks like you didn't get any sleep at all last night."
Marco's heart warmed at Star's caring nature, but he had to tell her everything before his brain convinced him not to.
"I didn't sleep last night and in fact I've had a lot of trouble sleeping – but that's not why I wanted to talk to you." Marco took a deep breath.
"When we were escaping Butterfly Castle, I left you to go looking for Alfonso and Ferguson. I'd brought them into danger and I couldn't just leave them there. Well, I found them but we were separated by a hole in the floor so they threw me the flash drive that contained your speech. I somehow found the secret exit you'd taken and I was going to tell you about the flash drive but then it felt like you were keeping secrets from me. Sure it was petty, but I felt the need to keep a secret from you."
"You've had my speech this whole time?" Star's eyes grew wide.
"Well… I broke the flash drive – but it was an accident I promise! I had this dream and I woke up with it crushed in my fist and ever since then things have been weird and I found this statue and –"
"You broke it?!" The look on Star's face broke Marco's heart, "I'd hoped that Alfonso and Ferguson had managed to escape and had been broadcasting it, but you had it this whole time – and then you destroyed one of our best chances at fixing the bonds between humans and mewmans? How could you do that? How could you do that to me?"
"I didn't mean to – but listen there is more going on," Marco tried to get to the part about the glowing yellow triangle, but Star had had enough.
"I don't care. If you want to keep secrets then keep them," She wiped the tears from her eyes, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check up on my friends."
Marco could only stare as she walked into the woods.
He'd needed her help and she'd refused him. She hadn't even allowed him to explain!
Marco just wanted things to back to the way things used to be. When he and Star were best friends and would tell each other everything and go on adventures and love each other. He'd seen his future in Star – and now she couldn't even stand to look at him. This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Star was supposed to be his. They were supposed to be happy.
Maybe he should help Bill. Using the portal to tear the two worlds apart would ease the weight off of Star's shoulders and make his destruction of the flash drive irrelevant.
It wasn't that he trusted the glowing demon, because he didn't. But it looked like they wanted the same thing. As long as Marco didn't lose sight of the end goal. He wanted Star to be happy.
From behind a door in Marco's mind, Bill smiled. Everything was going to plan.
AN: Hello!
It's been a while since I've posted a chapter for this story, but I just got super busy with things in real life. I took on more college classes than ever while managing multiple jobs and other responsibilities. I don't think there was a single day since the summer where I didn't have multiple things to work on until December 21st… but enough about that. Did y'all enjoy the chapter? It's past midnight where I live so that means that this is basically an early Christmas present (if you celebrate) to everyone who reads this story! I think things are really starting to come together, but I'm struggling to convey how complex the decisions the characters face are. I don't want the characters to have black-and-white answers for black-and-white questions. They're swimming through a sea of grays.
Even though there's a bit more story to tell, I'm so excited to finish this story! I had to figure out the ending before anything else and every chapter brings me one step closer to showing y'all what I have planned for all the characters.
Hope y'all have an amazing week!