A/N: Hi, guys! thanks for the love you're giving this story! it means a lot to me! also, I meant to say this earlier, but at the end of this, I'll have an index of the chapters. So for those of you who have those absolute favorite parts, you can easily look and search the chapters there. Since, at the moment, this site doesn't include titles with the chapter dropdown thingy. At least, not on mobile. So, yeah. Without further ado, read on!

A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Fifty-Three: Directions to the Showdown

It had only been close to two hours since the vicious storm let up, so business was somewhat slow. Sadie had somewhat gotten over the whole hat thing, but it still made her sick to her stomach. And seeing the news the day afterwards and, more shockingly, being in the middle of it all, made her even worse. She leaned forward on the counter, pursing her lips and then sighing, staring out the door. She wondered how Steven was doing. The very fact that he was around that.. that monster, unsupervised, strongly unnerved her. And the fact that school was still canceled, considering the circumstances, didn't even brighten her mood.

Lars was lounging around too, only looking much more comfortable than Sadie was. He seemed morose, however, but it was hard to pinpoint why. No, it couldn't be that he cared about Steven, of course. He sighed, shaking his head to the beat just a little. The blonde sighed, and glanced at him. Usually she enjoyed this job. But now she was too worried about everything. Especially Steven, and those students who had gotten hurt by Bill's malicious deeds. She pursed her lips, and spoke, "Lars... whatcha thinking about?"

He shrugged, "Lots of things." He then checked his watch. "Hey, there's only five minutes left, think we should ditch? you could come to my house," he smiled a little.

Sadie smiled a bit too, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, "Well... it wouldn't be quite so bad... five minutes..."

She was unsure, however. She felt like she'd miss out on something if she headed out so early. It was strange.

"Come on," he tried softly, "we could play a game we sometimes play, or watch a movie..."

The smile still didn't reach her eyes, and she soon nodded, giving in, "Well, alright then..."

But before they could even move, they started hearing voices, one seeming very confused. Sadie raised an eyebrow, the smile fading.
"...I think it's coming from right outside..." he sounded and looked disappointed.

And indeed it was. Peridot was standing outside, looking at this strange building. More accurately, the donut on top. She murmured, "It looks so simple..."

She was obviously expecting something more. Ford sighed, not really feeling up to it to laugh, staring at it too, "Well, there's the place. I think. He never said a name..."

But it did seem to be the final building in this town.

"Is everyone else missing the huge sign that says 'Big Donut'?" asked Stan, looking at Ford seemingly irritably.

"I see it, alright," the man frowned. His stomach growled louder than every other time, and he groaned, placing a hand on his tummy. Peridot noticed, and before either of them could say anything more, she pushed open the door to the restaurant. The girl behind the counter widened her eyes at the tall Gem. The only Gem she saw that tall was Pearl. And she looked strange too, what with those limb enhancers and triangular hair. The alien scanned the place, eyebrow raised and lips pursed.

Stan walked up to the counter, greeting them, "Hey, kiddos..." and then glanced at the menu sign, "hmm, donuts...? Poindexter, what do you want?" as if he was the one with the money.

Lars was ultimately confused by the appearance of these twins who didn't have the same kind of art style as everyone else, and this green weirdo. Sadie was too busy being highly confused and amazed to respond. Ford followed and then looked up at the menu as well, squinting slightly. He liked chocolate donuts. But he was looking forward to an actual meal. It'd have to do though. They couldn't waste any more time, after all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the appropriate cash that he could give to Stan, "I'd like two chocolate donuts."

Peridot hummed and seconded his motion, crossing her arms in a sort of posture only familiar to Stan and the rest of his relatives, obviously something she'd picked up from Ford, "I'd like to try a chocolate donut too."

The blonde spared a quick glance at Lars, seeming to forget, within a split second, that the man and Gem had ordered.

"Yep, three chocolate donuts," Stan repeated, before pausing for just a second. He raised his eyebrows as he then asked, "You two wouldn't happen to know a fella named Bill Cipher, would you?"

Lars immediately looked up at that name, surprised, "What about 'im?"

Sadie snapped out of her trance just then. Her mouth almost dropped, and her eyes widened seemingly impossibly. She then narrowed them, "Yeah.. what about him..?"

Ford twitched a bit. He knew they knew something, just by that. He looked at Stan, and then looked back at the two teenagers, "He's a golden triangular demon. And he's dangerous, incredibly."

The blonde bit her lip and started trembling. Oh, she was so right about him, and he was a demon too... that explained a lot. She started worrying about Steven even more now. She walked over to the see-through refrigerator filled with all kinds of donuts and started searching for their order, silently. Peridot watched her, a little concerned.

"A demon? I knew it!" Lars looked very upset, slamming his fists down onto the counter. He then sighed and muttered, "Well, Steven had it coming to him.." and started to pack a little bag with three donuts.

"Do you know where he is?" asked Stan, looking at the teens carefully.

Ford caught the name. Steven? he wanted to ask, but didn't yet. Sadie then looked down, and then back at Lars. She saw he was taking care of it, surprisingly, and thus walked back to the counter, still looking down. She was still trembling, and then sighed, trying to get herself together. These two men were obviously here to deal with the problem. And hopefully Steven wasn't dead or anything. So she revealed the location, "He's... he should be at the large Temple near the end of the beach. If you keep going the way you probably came, you'll reach it. You can't miss it at all."

Ford hummed and nodded, with gratitude and acknowledgement, giving the money to his brother just then. Peridot looked over at a table, and went to sit. She made sure to be extremely careful though, lest she break the chair.

Stan handed the girl the money, "Keep the change, and thank you." Lars then handed the man the bag of donuts.

"Uh, you're welcome," she smiled, taking the money. But it again didn't reach her eyes.

Ford was about to sit down as well, but decided to ask his question, looking straight at Lars, "You said something about a Steven..."

The green Gem took to observing the conversation, her head tilted a little bit. Steven? Stan passed a donut to Ford, who took the donut and began chewing on it, and then walked over and passed one to Peridot, sitting down and starting to eat his own donut. The green Gem grabbed the donut as well, and tilted her head at it. She was a bit unsure how to do this. Lars listened intently, waiting for him to finish whilst looking like he didn't care. Or trying to, more likely. Ford's eyebrow was raised, and he was still looking at Lars, "Is this Steven a friend of yours?"

Sadie frowned a little, staring at Lars too. The man was trying to talk to him, interrogate him. He seemed only focused on him, so the girl didn't answer.

Lars shook his head, "He's no friend of mine..."

The man nodded, but it was clear he didn't exactly believe it. He hummed, "Okay then," and then looked at Sadie, "thanks for your help and the donuts."

"Uh, you're welcome," she smiled nervously and nodded. Her stomach was tied up in knots, and she felt she couldn't say anything more or protest against what Lars had said. This wasn't good. She then made to put the money away.

Ford then headed to where Peridot and Stan were seated and sighed, sitting down himself, putting the case in his lap. He then continued eating his donut, while the green Gem continued to try and figure this out. She was turning it all kinds of ways, "This is an intriguing item... and this is what you call a 'donut'?"

"Yep. Just take a bite of it," Stan said dully.

She nodded, and proceeded to "take a bite out of it". She, by the starry look in her eyes, obviously wasn't disappointed in the least. The ex-conman glanced at the donut with mild disgust after a few more bites, and then looked at his brother. "Poindexter, after we get rid of Bill for good, how about we go out and get a real meal, in celebration?" asked the old man, with an excited smile.

Ford smiled back, but it was weak, "That would be great, Stanley. I'd absolutely love to get something other than donuts. Not exactly filling."

Sadie couldn't even protest. She was listening in too. As long as they
got rid of Bill, they could complain all they wanted. But they had probably come a long way too. So she was beginning to understand.
And then it finally dawned on Lars. His entire posture lifted and his eyes widened with joy as he stared at the twins, and grinned, "Wait, you guys are getting rid of Bill? that's awesome!"

Stan smiled a little, too much in his mouth to speak. Ford nodded and swallowed, smiling a little too, "Yes. We are. For good this time. Glad you think that's 'awesome'. He's been a large threat for years, and it'd be nice to be rid of him once and for all."

Peridot kept eating, at a slightly rapid pace. But she made sure to savor it all. Sadie stayed quiet, still listening.

"So this demon guy is a big threat..." the young man mused, and then his grin widened as he asked, "hey, how about I lead you guys to Steven's house?"

The offer, though, wasn't out of the kindness of his heart, mostly. It was just so he could get out of having to close up shop. However...

"No," the old guy immediately declined, the smile dropping off his face, "it's much too dangerous."

Sadie quickly, yet silently, agreed. She'd seen and almost experienced what the demon could do, even at his state then. Who knows how powerful he could be now? and, as much as Lars could be a jerk, he didn't deserve it. Ford hummed, taking another bite from his donut. There goes that name again. He hoped this Steven was away from his house.

...Was this Temple Sadie mentioned his home?

Peridot finished eating, and smiled. She wanted to say it was incredibly good, but didn't want to interrupt.

"We deal with dangerous stuff all the time. It's Beach City. And I'm not afraid of some weird demon!" Lars proclaimed, furrowing his brow.

"Then you don't quite understand just how dangerous he really is..." he mumbled, and then looked Lars dead in the eyes. He spoke again, with a steel fire in his voice, "Whatever you faced, whatever you dealt with, is nothing like the monster of which we speak. Trust me. He's leagues above them."

"You really should listen to him, Lars," the blonde finally chimed in, sounding and looking really afraid. The look this guy was giving off sent chills down her spine, along with what he was saying. The first and last monster she encountered had given her a scar and she managed to fight it off, despite it being invisible, by the skin of her teeth. But Bill Cipher was a much different beast.

"I met him before," the teenager quickly scoffed and dismissed the warnings from them both. "He's just a huge jerk, nothing more. Did I mention how he shocked me?" Lars asked, narrowing his eyes now and leaning forward more.

Stan then decided to speak up, shooting and fixating a stony look onto the youngster, "Bill Cipher turned almost everyone in Gravity Falls into a statue and made a throne of living human agony out of them. He almost killed my grand niece, and just about destroyed the world, and would have, if it weren't for my brother's quick wits."

Lars's smugly confident yet annoyed expression quickly dropped into a frightened, shocked one. Sadie's eyes went wide even further. So that's what he was capable of... she shuddered, and then she started trembling again. Peridot looked at her, highly concerned. Ford nodded, brow furrowing, "Do you get it now, Lars? he's a menace far beyond your comprehension and your experiences."

And then he thought about what the teen had said. Bill had only shocked Lars? another piece of evidence that fit the theory that he returned depowered. Along with the fact that the whole entire town was alright. He inhaled, and then exhaled, finishing off his donut, finally. It would stave off the hunger for a while, but he certainly needed more than this. Lars was freaking out at the moment, kinda, and he stammered a bit, before he finally managed, "Wow... he didn't seem capable of all that..."

Stan finished his donut, cut through the conversation, "Come on, Sixer, we should go. No time to waste..." and got up and then opened the door.

Ford nodded, and got up, case in hand once more. Peridot did too, and spared the two teenagers a worried, empathetic frown before she left. The old man ran a hand through his hair, and finally came to terms with it. He voiced it, "Because he came back near powerless. And because he's a master smooth-talker." He then made like he was tipping a hat, "Have a good afternoon, you two. And stay here."

And then he started to leave. Sadie was shocked into silence, eyes still wide. Lars was also silent. Stan exited after his brother, and the door closed behind them. The two teens were left staring, much like the time they had met Stevonnie. But this time, it wasn't out of a stunned awe, or of admiration. But of complete shock and dread. And all thoughts of locking up shop and leaving to spend the rest of the day together relaxing were completely shattered.

Stan pondered over the entire conversation back there, and then spoke up, softly, "He must still be pretty weak then. Do you think an ordinary weapon could kill him, if we needed to resort to that?"

Ford shook his head, "Weak or not, he's still an interdimensional entity. I don't think normal weapons will do... but it's worth a shot."

Peridot sighed, and looked in the direction of the ship. Did she have to go back? the strange fisherman was there, and he could watch over their things. But if she did, she would be safe in case Jasper and Lapis decided to show up... but then, in that case, what would become of Ford and Stan? it was relatively a tough choice.

Stan soon chuckled, "Worth a shot, eh?" and pulled out one of Ford's fancy space guns, smiling.

His brother chuckled a bit too, just now taking note of his unintentional pun, and pulled out his own, twirling it with skill. Peridot watched them, and frowned, having finally made up her mind for the most part, "So, uh.. I'm just gonna go back to the boat. I liked those donuts by the way. Good luck."

And she started walking away, though it was highly reluctant.

"Stay safe, sweetie," Stan frowned soon enough though. It wasn't like she'd be well-protected there. It wasn't like she could even defend herself, as far as they had seen. She might even drive off with their boat... he became mildly suspicious now. But it wasn't like they could trust anyone out here anyways.

She looked back, smiled a little, and nodded, before she continued down the boardwalk. Ford frowned too, and waved, watching her vanish into the town. He was suspicious too. But this was what the plan was. Someone had to watch over the boat, after all. But still... he soon shrugged, and sighed, "Well, are we ready?"

Though this question was pretty much rhetorical. They had to be ready. Stan nodded, "Let's go," and started running towards the area the teens had pointed out.

Ford nodded too, and then followed him, soon rushing into the beach and then traversing across it. Soon, Bill would be no more, and everyone spanning across multiple universes and dimensions would be safe. And, again, they could all finally relax...

A/N: And there it is! coming up fast, is it not? hehe.
Anyways, Ace had Stan and Lars, and I had Sadie, Peridot and Ford. X3
I hope you enjoyed it, and as usual, please leave a review! Ace and I enjoy them. :3