The troubles had started small, more like the innocuous pranks of a child than real sabotage.

Many times over the last few days, the agents came to Dryer, complaining of missing personal effects. Lunchboxes, shoes, cellphones even. Blauer had railed against them for losing sensitive material. His mood had not improved when every light on the premise had flickered and died last evening, leaving them unable to conduct the first of their planned scan of the area.

Dryer had requested for a generator to be sent this morning. Still, the moment they had finished installing the damned thing, they realized that something had cut the cables. No, not cut. Chewed.

What kind of animal had teeth strong enough to do such a thing?

Save for that bit of information, Dryer had no evidence to work with. No footprint, no blurry phone picture, not even a single hair. To say that Blauer was infuriated would be putting it mildly.

"It's those kids, I know it!" Blauer raved at Dryer while their team continued to investigate the premises, stumbling around in the dim lights of their cellphones. "Those little brats! They want to make us look like fools!"

They're doing a good job of it, Dryer thought as she saw the spittle flying out of Blauer's mouth.

"Let's just grab one of them. We know who they are, where they live—"

"No," Dryer cut him off, raising her voice enough that the other agents sent them concerned looks. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "If you lay a hand on these children, the only thing that will happen is you leaving this town with a warning in your file." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "The only reason we're here is because our predecessors had an appalling disregard for paperwork. I'm not going to let my people skirt the law in order to get results."

Blauer's face turned even redder. "So, you'd rather have a bunch of small town hicks run circles around you and cheerfully committing crimes under your nose?"

"Why did you choose this job, Blauer?" Dryer asked him instead. "I chose it because I want to uphold the law to protect people. I'm not here to be a bully. I'll do my job the right way or I won't do it at all."

She didn't say, of course, that once upon a time there had been a girl who'd been eager to study all the strange, unexplained phenomena of the world. There had been a girl who'd believed she would one day find Bigfoot or visit the Bermuda triangle or crack the secret of Area 51. Dryer crossed her arms, taking in a deep breath to swat those unnecessary thoughts away. That girl had been taught early that her beloved mysteries were nothing but childhood fancies.

Blauer snorted. "So I'm supposed to just believe that?"

"I don't care what you believe. Either you follow instructions or you're off this investigation. End of discussion."

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as he glowered at her, a muscle jumping at the corner of his mouth. Dryer stood her ground, face kept carefully neutral. It wasn't the first time she'd had to deal with someone like him. It seemed to her as if her line of work tended to attract the wrong sort of person, sometimes.

"Fine," Blauer said. His mouth formed a smirk, though his eyes were not smiling. "We'll do it your way. Let's see how long the higher-ups will be willing to throw money our way." With another snort, he turned away, heading toward his car.

Dryer remained silent. The rest of her team was staring at her, some frowning, others looking unsure.

"Alright, everyone," she told them. "Let's wrap up, and continue tomorrow. We won't find anything while it's so dark out."

As she spoke, she glanced at the surrounding forest. Was it just her imagination or had she seen something rustling in the undergrowth?

She mulled over that possibility, before making for her car as well. They would simply have to widen their search area tomorrow, then.

Ford stared with his mouth hanging open, still trying to find his voice. Around him, the starry sky stretched into infinity, in a way that made him dizzy. Pink clouds floated past, as if caught in a breeze he could not feel on his skin. He had met many bizarre critters in his time, but something in the innocent smile of that creature struck him numb. Still, he could not tear his gaze away. Those great black eyes filled him with fear and awe in equal measure.

I am the Axolotl! The childlike voice repeated in his head. His greeting sounded exactly the same as before—the same inflection, the same energy, the same hint of curiosity. Nice to meet you, Stanford Pines!

Ford steadied his breath, trying to fight the dread building up in his chest. "Your tongue really does stick out," was all he managed to get out. "My niece would find that charming."

She did, the Axolotl replied.

"What?!" Ford exclaimed. "Did… did you meet her?! How—when?!"

Never, the creature said. She never met me.

"Oh." Ford felt a little foolish. He cleared his throat, before saying, "Are you… God?" He tried to picture how his mother would have reacted to the possibility that God was a giant salamander with pink frilly gills.

Axolotl's laughter rumbled in the air. No.

"Are you a god?"

Am I? Axolotl didn't seem sure. Maybe. Some of your species thought so. They lived south of your continent.

"South of my… wait, do you mean…"

The answer was as obvious as the nose on Ford's face. The being facing him was Xolotl, brother of the great Feathered Serpent so prevalent in Mesoamerican mythologies.

Xolotl, god of monsters and twins.

For a moment, Ford could say nothing while the implications of that realization sank in. "You're… I thought you were a god of knowledge, but you're… you're a god of death."

Yes? Axolotl seemed nonplussed. Didn't I tell you about it?

"N-No," Ford said, still a bit taken aback. "You didn't."

Oh, well! I'm a god of death! The creature gave a pause, wiggling a little. Now, you know!

Ford took a deep breath to still his heart. He had to focus or they would be getting nowhere. "So you're the one they call the Lord of Twilight. Jheselbraum was one of your priestesses."

She spoke to me often. She doesn't speak to me now.

Ford's spirits sank. "I thought you might have known what happened to her. It's one of the reasons why I came to you, actually."

The beady eyes blinked slowly. She will speak to me soon.

"She's alive?"

In your current time frame, I believe so. Maybe.

"…maybe?!"

The great pink creature swirled around him, in a way that made Ford's coat whip in the air. I don't perceive time the way you do.

Ford let out a noise of irritation. "I've got no time for mind games and riddles! My brother's been taken by these Dawn Cult lunatics! I've got to save him!"

That you do, Stanford Pines.

"I know you can help me," said Ford. "You have knowledge of the future. Jheselbraum knew who would be the one to defeat Bill Cipher ten years before it happened. It's because you told her, isn't it?"

I told her sixty years ago. When Bill Cipher's essence shattered and spread into the multiverse.

This time, Ford could not stop himself from gaping. "What? What on earth are you talking about? Stan killed Bill last summer!"

I don't perceive time the way you do, Axolotl said, with the exact tone of voice and inflection as before.

Ford met the creature's gaze again, and his heart skipped a beat. The Axolotl's eyes were not completely black, as he had first thought; instead they were filled with countless little lights swirling in a never-ending void.

Those were not eyes, Ford realized. Those were galaxies.

Finally, the Axolotl spoke again. This time, his voice seemed to resonate in the very marrow of Ford's bones.

Once upon a time, there was one Stanford Pines. Once upon a time, there were several Bill Ciphers.

"Several?" Ford muttered. "But there's only one Bill Cipher!"

Once upon, there was a child called Stan Pines.

Next to Ford, a cloud of pink mist condensed, forming the almost solid outline of a lady holding a bundle in her arms. It was Ford's mother, cooing at a crying baby. The infant made fists with his tiny hands as he wailed. Ford's breath hitched when he noticed the number of digits on each hand.

Little Stan Pines had six fingers on each hand.

"That's not Stanley," said Ford. "It's a version of me, isn't it?"

Axolotl did not acknowledge Ford's interruption. Stan Pines was a brilliant, but lonely child. He made a name for himself as an engineer, working for the government. He brought his family the fortune they had hoped for.

Another image hung in the air. A different version of Ford, smiling awkwardly while posing for a portrait with his parents and elder brother Sherman.

Stan Pines did not trust easily. He'd grown up in a world that thrived on rules, a world that pushed aside those who were different, deeming them to be undesirable.

One day, someone came to him in dreams.

A sort of halo was forming around the other Ford's head. A triangular halo, burning so bright that all the other colours seemed to dim in comparison.

His Muse told him they could remake the world anew, so there would be no more rules. So the freaks could have a place in it, too.

"Oh," Ford said, feeling a chill down his spine.

He was the first Stanford Pines to get tricked by Bill Cipher. Unlike you, he failed to protect his dimension from the Nightmare Realm.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ford asked. He stifled a curse when the phantasmal versions of him and his family dissipated into pink mist.

Again, Axolotl ignored his question. Once upon a time, there was a child whose name has been lost to the ages.

Ford startled as a tiny, miserable-looking triangle appeared next to him. His single eye was bigger than Ford remembered, and filled with a lonely sort of resignation.

The child shared his name with several others across the multiverse.

Several other triangular beings formed out of condensing pink mist. Some were bigger than the triangle next to Ford, while others came in different shapes or colours. Still, he could all recognize them as the monster who had made his existence a living hell for over thirty years.

Once upon a time, there was a world that thrived on rules, a world that pushed aside those who were different, deeming them to be undesirable.

Ford's eyes went from his six-fingered hands to the small triangle. Rage burned within him. Was the Axolotl seriously trying to make him feel sorry for Bill Cipher of all people?

The child hated it.

The small triangle was looking upward, his single eye aflame with loathing. He reached for something Ford could not see, the rest of his brethren watching him almost greedily.

The child thought he would make his world better by breaking it. He could remake it anew, so there would be no more rules. So the freaks could have a place in it, too.

There was a loud crack, and the peaceful, cloud-filled horizon split apart. Ford reeled back, painfully reminded of the rift that had ripped apart the sky of Gravity Falls.

No one knows how he did it, but the child reached across the multiverse. He took within himself every version of him that had ever lived, fusing past, present and future within the confines of his being.

The countless triangles floating around Axolotl's dimension flared with a white light. They surged toward the version of Bill floating next to Ford, filling him with energy, making him glow brighter than a star.

Where there had been many Bill Ciphers, there was now just one, his presence stretched across the multiverse.

The triangle shone with all the colours of the rainbow, growing bigger and bigger, before settling on a familiar—and sickening, to Ford's eyes—shade of yellow. The child who would become Bill Cipher took great care to adjust his new top hat and bow tie. It was absurd, but Ford was reminded of the way a kid would put on their parent's clothes to play pretend.

The child used his newfound powers to remake his universe as he saw fit. He set out to create a world where no one would push him aside, a world where no one would refuse him anything.

A world where no one grew up, where no one grew old. Where time was dead and meaning had no meaning.

There was a sudden burst of warmth, and Ford raised his arm over his face to shield him from the heat. Blue fire burned everywhere in his vision, and screams filled his ears.

Instead, he created the Nightmare Realm.

And suddenly, Ford was floating amidst a terrifyingly familiar place. A swirling vortex of eye-searing colours surrounded him, assaulting all of his senses. The malevolent aura of the place pressed down his chest, making it hard to breathe. Stars bled and died while the stench of burning bodies filled Ford's nose, and he fought to keep himself from vomiting.

Amidst this celebration of the grotesque, Bill Cipher sat triumphantly on a throne of living, screaming flesh, great eye fixed on Ford like a red sun.

Before Ford could scream, these illusions dissipated. Soon, he was surrounded by pink clouds again, thousands of stars shimmering in the distance.

"So that's what happened. He told me he'd destroyed his world, but…" Ford wiped the sweat from his brow, hands trembling. "But Bill's dead. It just doesn't matter anymore. Why are you showing me this?"

The Axolotl bore down on him, dark eyes inscrutable. Then, he spoke.

Blue fire burns everything in its path
Reminder of destruction brought in wrath

To death, he calls to escape retribution
Instead, he founds forced redemption

Turn back the clock, change the scenery
What was one breaks and becomes many

A newborn child cries, and he's never known
Why he is weighed by a burden not his own

Destined to pay for another's crime
In another world, another time.

It took Ford several precious seconds to grasp the meaning in Axolotl's words. When he finally understood, however, he exploded.

"You've… you've let Bill Cipher be reincarnated?" Ford shouted. "How… how could you?! Do you have any inkling of the hell I've been through because of him?! And…" Ford's blood ran cold as the full horror of Axolotl's actions dawned on him. "And as long as he lives, my family is in terrible danger!"

Is that so? Axolotl asked.

"As if he, of all people, deserved to be redeemed! You've doomed us just to—" Cold terror rose within him, replacing the flames of anger, and Ford suddenly stopped. "Wait… what was it that you said about Bill's new form?"

There was no answer from the creature.

"Why did you show me the original Stanford's life?" Ford asked, almost in a whisper. "That's… there's no… there's no link between…" He could not finish his sentence. The horror of the stray thought that had struck him seemed too great to be put into words.

Axolotl stayed silent. Then, very softly, he repeated, Another world, another time.

"The original Stanford didn't have a Stanley," Ford realized, feeling feverish. "There wasn't a second baby… oh, oh, god, no… NO!"

Once upon a time, there was one Bill Cipher. Once upon a time, there were several Stanley Pineses.

"NO!" Ford shouted. "That's impossible, that can't be true! You're lying!"

Axolotl seemed surprised by Ford's outburst. I thought you looked lonely. I wanted to give you a friend.

"What… what kind of sick joke is this?!" Ford tried to move away from the creature, but his body wouldn't budge. "There's no link between Stan and Bill, none!"

How strange, Axolotl said. I thought you loved your brother.

Ford grabbed his face, body shaking with uncontrollable shudders. The Axolotl remained silent, watching Ford's breakdown with unfathomable black eyes.

Sixty years' worth of memories flashed through Ford's mind. Spending days at the beach, working with him on a common dream. Cowering in the school courtyard while he fought what should have been Ford's battles. Spending time in their makeshift hideout, taking comfort in his words, hearing, you're not a freak, you're better than them, you're my best friend.

Realizing that he had come running even after ten years spent apart, saying, we'll face this together, we'll work it out, we'll be a team again. Seeing him standing on shaky feet on that fateful day, offering his soul to the devil in a hopeless attempt to right Ford's wrongs.

All of it, every second of sixty years' worth of love and devotion, it was nothing but a farce. The man in Ford's memories was not Stan, it had never been. It was Bill wearing a human skin, Bill again, Bill always.

Ford held his face with his hands, incapable of stopping the nausea surging through him. He had finally started to believe he could escape his Muse's clutches, he had thought he could move on and learn to laugh and smile and trust again.

Now Ford knew better.

Each of Stan's grins, each of his gruff hugs, each of their shared high sixes. His dumb jokes, his stupid stories, his childish love for adventure. The way he was so protective of the people he loved, the way his eyes lit up whenever he caught sight of Dipper and Mabel, the way he comforted Ford after every nightmare.

It was all just a con, all of it.

Ford would never be free.

How strange, the Axolotl's voice said. Again, he sounded exactly the same as before, as if he'd rewound time just to say those words. I thought you loved your brother.

Ford clutched at his chest, fighting an urge to retch. "I do… he's my best friend…" He turned furious, reddened eyes toward the creature. "W-What did I do to deserve this? And D-Dipper and Mabel! They love him so much! How dare you do that to them?!"

Doesn't he love you too? Axolotl seemed deep in thought. At least, that's how it seems to me.

"Bill can't love!" A peal of crazed laughter escaped Ford's mouth. "He doesn't even know the meaning of the word!"

I thought we were talking about your brother?

"You… you don't get it, do you? You said it yourself. Stan is Bill." Just saying it out loud nearly made Ford throw the content of his stomach all over his boots.

They're not the same person, Axolotl said, nonplussed. Just as you are not the same man as all of the other Stanford Pineses drawing breath in the multiverse. They've not lived the same life, after all.

Tears burned at Ford's eyes. "Does he… does he have any memories? Of that time? Of when he was Bill?"

Do you have the memories of all of the other Stanford Pineses drawing breath in the multiverse? Why would you? You've not lived the same life, after all.

"I… I don't… I'm not…" The words seemed to catch in Ford's throat. "It can't have all been fake, can it? All these years, everything he did for us…"

Why would it be fake? Axolotl seemed genuinely childlike in his confusion.

Ford loudly exhaled, feeling like he'd aged ten years in the span of a few minutes. "I don't know… I don't know anything."

All that time he had taken pride in his intelligence, in the knowledge he'd accumulated over sixty years' worth of living… was it just another delusion to add to a growing pile of lies?

"I don't know a damn thing, and the children are counting on me!" Ford shouted, voice hoarse. "Their lives are in my hands, and yet…"

You can stay here, Axolotl offered. This dimension exists out of time, out of space. You can stay here as long as you want. Until you're ready.

"Until I'm ready…"

Where a tired old man had once stood, there was now a small boy with six fingers on each hand. His brown eyes were wide, fearful, behind his glasses. "Okay," Stanford Pines said, in the shaky voice of a child seeking reassurance. "I'll stay here until I figure it out."

I'll keep watch until you come to your answer.

The boy held his knees to himself as he floated in the pink mist. He said nothing else.