Red Herring: Part 2
Dipper, Mabel, Derrick, and Ryland followed closely behind Wendy as she led them through the crowded house. Music blared from the speakers as several young adults danced, conversed, or generally went crazy, plenty while holding red party cups. Looking around, the three could notice various situations such as two guys slap-boxing on the staircase, a girl attempting to climb up onto the living room chandelier, and another guy breakdancing on top of a closed casket as his peers cheered him on.
"So this is what college parties are like?" Mabel remarked as she looked around in awe. "Wow! Smells like a fire hazard."
"I'm pretty sure that's because someone is smoking something," Derrick claimed as he picked up the same scent and looked around to see if he could identify where it came from.
"I'm already uncomfortable," Dipper simply stated as he carefully slipped past crowded areas for the sake of his personal space.
"Welcome to the college experience," Wendy smiled. "The social one, that is."
CRASH!
At that moment, a man crashed through the ceiling from the floor above, landing almost directly behind the group. Such an occurrence somehow didn't attract the attention of the entire party, but it was noticed by those right next to it. The man himself didn't seem too terribly injured, as he immediately jumped back up to his feet and sprinted back up toward the stairway with glee.
"Huh. For once, I'm glad I'm not that social," Dipper admitted.
"Don't worry, it might seem pretty hardcore the first time or so, but you tend to get used to the scene after a while," Wendy reassured.
Suddenly, a swaying man stumbled up to Mabel with a red cup in his hand. "Hey there, good lookin'. Name's Mitch," he said to her with a slurred speech. "My parents have money. How's about you and I go super fast in one of their sports cars together?"
"That doesn't sound very safe, don't you think?" Mabel obliviously replied.
Dipper discretely nudged her in the arm. "Seriously? You do realize this guy is hitting on you, right?"
"Oh, I thought he was just really irresponsible," she whispered back.
"Well, I mean, he's probably that too," Dipper added.
Mabel turned back to Mitch awkwardly. "Uh...no thanks! I kind of have a boyfriend...like...right here…"
She gestured over to Ryland right beside her, who didn't seem to have much reaction other than a simple, friendly hand wave. "Sup."
Mitch stared at Ryland for a moment as the gears in his brain struggled to turn. He then carelessly turned back on to Mabel. "Boyfriends are overrated, don't ya think?"
"Mitch, she's not interested. Go away," Wendy quickly spoke up in an upfront tone.
"You got it," Mitch quickly accepted with a shrug. He stepped away from Mabel before glancing over at Wendy and approaching her instead. "Hey there, good lookin'."
"Yeah, yeah, keep it moving, buddy," Wendy dismissed with an eye-roll as she pushed him away, watching as he stumbled off into the crowd.
Mabel looked on at Mitch uncomfortably as he stumbled off. "Well, that was pretty upfront."
"As I said, you kind of get used to it," Wendy restated. "Sometimes you'll get guys trying to make moves, regardless of whether you're single or not. It's stupid, but it is what it is."
"Hey there, good lookin'."
WHAM!
Right behind Wendy, Mitch had been punched in the face by another female at the party, which sent him flying back and smashing the side of his face against a wall as he slid down to his knees.
"I can't feel my legs," he said motionlessly.
"On the other hand, reacting like that is kind of extra," Wendy continued. "At least as far as cases like him go. Sure, some of these guys can be jerks, but a lot of them are also kind of having at it at the drinks, like our buddy Mitch here."
"Those poor, intoxicated souls," Mabel pitied with the shake of her head.
"Luckily, you got a thing with Ryland, so I guess the most you can do to avoid these guys is to just make it clear that you're taken," Wendy suggested. "Probably won't avoid all of them, but it might help if you get asked out."
Mabel pondered the idea as she looked over at Ryland. "Make it clear that I'm taken...got it!"
Soon after, a sober-looking man walked up to Mabel as he glanced around the floor anxiously. "Hey, you wouldn't have happened to see a pair of car keys somewhere around here, would you? I think I might've lost mine."
Mabel looked up at the man for a few seconds before glancing back at Ryland and suddenly pulling him into an unexpected kiss, much to the man's surprise and the visible disgust of her brother and Derrick. After a moment, Mabel pulled away as she looked back up at the man. "Sorry, I have a boyfriend!" she said before pulling Ryland back in again.
The man continued to look at the two in utter confusion before awkwardly backing away. "Alright then…guess I'm checking upstairs…"
As he walked away from the group, she pulled away from Ryland again, leaving him in a state of daze. "Haha! It actually worked!"
"Yeah, it did. Now I'm blind," Derrick remarked.
"And you said that Mitch guy was upfront," Dipper said as he tried to erase the image of his sister's impromptu make-out session from his mind.
While the boys were disgusted, Wendy let out an amused chuckle at Mabel's extreme forwardness. "Well, you just use that to your advantage now and you'll be fine."
"Will do!" Mabel nodded as grabbed Ryland's hand and started pulling him along through the crowd. "Come on, Ryland! I need your flirt-repellant kisses to back me up while I raid the snacks."
Ryland was still stunned from the unexpected kisses and essentially let himself get pulled along. It took a moment for him to come back to what was happening, to which he cleared his throat and actually started to physically follow behind her.
"Yeah, sure thing," he accepted casually without any resistance.
"Welp, I guess they have their night on lock," Wendy chuckled before she turned over to Dipper. "What about you, man? You trying to score yourself? Lots of college girls around."
Dipper's eyes lit up at the question before he promptly found himself awkwardly fumbling for an answer. "Uh…well…"
Wendy then cut him off with a laugh as she playfully punched him in the arm. "I'm kidding, man! Take it from me- I've been to dozens of parties like this and I can say that you're probably too good for most people here anyway."
Dipper smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Haha...well, it was never really a priority, to begin with."
"So he says," Wendy said with an eyebrow raise.
"No, seriously!" Dipper assured. "I'm only really here tonight because I wanted to hang out with you some more before you leave. I don't want to get caught up in distractions or anything that deters that."
"Well, that's really sweet, man," she said with a grateful smile. "I'm happy to hang with you guys one last time before tomorrow. Though, for my own sake on the road tomorrow, I'm not planning on doing anything crazy as you see here. So if it's more your speed, you can just chill with me and the others on the couch in the back. Nothing but casual banter."
"What more is needed?" Dipper asked, relieved to know that he wasn't going to have to force himself to dance or get into any wilder party shenanigans. Some casual conversation with friends on a couch sounded like the best-case scenario for him.
"Well, you guys can go on ahead. I gotta use the bathroom, so I'll join you in a minute," Wendy told the two before walking off in another direction in the party.
Derrick glanced over at Dipper curiously. "So what's your plan? Are you still trying for Wendy or nah?"
"No, man!" Dipper asserted with a shove. "What have I told you? That's completely behind me now!"
"Is it now?" Derrick questioned as he crossed his arms skeptically.
"Yes!" Dipper gave a frustrated nod. "Look man, I already had Mabel bugging me about it the other day. Trust me, I can assure you that I have one-hundred-percent moved on."
Derrick looked at him silently for a moment. "Hmm. This is actually the first time I believe you about that."
"Probably because I really mean it this time," Dipper claimed.
"Nah, because your nose didn't wrinkle when you said that."
Dipper raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
"You wrinkle your nose when you lie about stuff that embarrasses you," Derrick replied with a smirk.
"No, I don-" Dipper began to argue before glancing down at his nose himself, noticing that he actually did scrunch it up as he spoke back. This was a whole new revelation to him. "Oh, wow...Mabel's never told me that."
"I'm sure she always knew too but probably used it to her own advantage," he assumed. "Like I did before I told you."
"Yeah, okay, I get it."
As the two proceeded to start walking through the crowded house again, Derrick took note of their circumstances. "So, first big college party as high school seniors and we're about to spend it sitting on a couch. Exciting times."
"You know, you can still do your own thing if you want to. No one's forcing you to stick with me the whole time," Dipper reminded him.
"Oh yeah! Sure thing!" Derrick nodded sarcastically. "I'll just go hang out with my other good friend...err...Mitch."
He gestured over to the side, prompting Dipper to pause in his tracks and look over at Mitch, who still stood on his knees, face planted against the wall in the exact same position as he was in after when he got punched.
"Seriously, I can't move. Someone help," he called out again.
"Fair point," Dipper said as he kept walking with Derrick again past the kitchen. "Alright, well, just keep that stuff about me having a crush on Wendy on the low. I don't want that turning into another big thing like it used to be."
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Derrick promised while also chuckling at the thought as he followed behind.
Unbeknownst to the two, Robbie stood in the kitchen just as they passed by. Stunned by what he had just overheard, he dropped the drink that he held in his hand. Quickly, he poked his head from the kitchen and watched from behind as Dipper and Derrick continued walking through the crowd to get to where Wendy's friends were.
His shocked face soon turned into a plotting grin as he stared down Dipper from behind with spiteful intention.
"Oh man…"
He then made his way toward the stairs, racing up and down the hallway to his bedroom, which was the only room that he appeared to have kept off-limits from the rest of the party. Shutting the door behind him, he walked up to his bed and searched underneath it with his hands.
"That freakin' kid really comes into my house acting all high and mighty, but he really hasn't changed a bit after all these years," he ranted to himself. At the same time, he pulled out a wide box from underneath his bed and placed it on top of his sheets with a wide grin. "Well, we'll see how he likes being humiliated in front of his friends."
Suddenly a male college student and his girlfriend opened the door behind Robbie, peering inside. "Oh sorry, man. Are you using this room right now?"
"Get out!" Robbie directly demanded as he peeked over his shoulder.
"Alright! Yeesh. No wonder you're using this room alone," the man said as he and his girlfriend slowly backed out of the room, leaving Robbie with alone in the dark with a look of annoyance.
"Check it out, Ryland! College people snacks!" Mabel said as the two approached the snack table.
Ryland took a moment to examine the snacks on the table. For the most part, it appeared to be various different types of chips and dip, with nothing too out of the ordinary for any other party.
"So...just normal people snacks?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean if you want to be boring about it..." Mabel replied as she glanced over the table. She gasped. "Look! Chocolate chip cookies!"
Running over to the end of the table, she spotted a tray of baked chocolate chip cookies. Not that it was an abnormal snack in any form, but she found it slightly surprising to find such a food item at a party with the level of intensity that it did. Picking one up from the tray, she glanced beside her to see a guy who was eating one of the cookies himself.
"Glad to see you party people haven't outgrown the good stuff!" she told him as she gave him a nudge in the arm.
"I know right!" the guy nodded. "One bite in and I'm already hallucinating!"
Just as Mabel was about to take a bite out of the cookie, she stopped herself and looked at the guy questionably. "Wait, whaaa?"
"You know. The hallucinations," the guy repeated. He then looked over at his hand and suddenly dropped his cookie in panic. "AH! AHHH! MY HAND HAS A BEARD! AHHHHHHHHHH!"
The guy then bolted off in fear as he flailed his arm around in the air, even slamming it against the wall several times as if he was making an attempt to beat up his own hand. Mabel and Ryland stared at him distantly with somewhat staggered expressions. Not too long after, another man walked up to the cookie tray and smiled.
"Aw, sweet! Someone brought the cookies!" he said cheerfully as he grabbed one and took a bite before walking off.
Realizing the cookies themselves held a sort of abnormal effect, Mabel glanced down at the one she held in her hand with a conflicted look. "I mean...it's still chocolate chip, right?"
"Hmm..." Ryland said as he visibly pondered it.
Mabel then looked over to the side and noticed Thompson moping with a drink in hand as he walked by. However, she wasn't quick to pick up on his apathetic expression and waved her arms at him as he passed.
"Hey, Thompson! Want a cookie?" Mabel offered the one she already held.
Thompson stared at the cookie intently for a moment before sighing. "I'm not in the mood."
"Not in the mood for cookies?" she questioned with a shocked look. "Now I know something's up. What's wrong?"
Rather than verbally answering, Thompson looked to the side sadly. Glancing over in the same direction, Mabel could see him distantly looking at Wendy as she passed through the crowd.
"Oh...this is about Wendy, right?" Mabel asked, to which Thompson simply nodded. "Aw, don't worry, buddy. We're all going to miss her too."
"I mean, yeah, but it's more than just missing her!" Thompson claimed. "Don't you remember?"
It took a moment for the memories of her last encounter with Thompson to come rushing back through her mind. "Oh, yeah! You have a huge crush on her, right?"
"A hopeless one," he said as he slumped forward sadly.
"Wait, have you already told her how you felt?" she asked.
"I mean, no," he admitted, "I've tried, but...it never goes well."
"What're you waiting for then? You need to tell her before she leaves!" Mabel suggested.
"I can't!" he claimed as he shook his head repeatedly. "I already told you before: after everything that's led up to this day, it's just not right. She's been through so much and I can't drop such a confession like that on the day before she leaves. Plus, I'm Thompson. Punch-puking, sponge-licking, popcorn butter-drinking Thompson. I can change all I want now, but the things I used to do just to try to keep the group together...that's all I'll ever be known for. And why would Wendy want to go out with someone like that?"
Taking in his words, Mabel proceeded to walk up to Thompson and place her hands on his shoulders assuringly. "Because you're Thompson. Kind, loving, and caring Thompson. Sure, you have your embarrassing past of dares and such, but you've always had a heart. And if I see that, Wendy has surely seen it too. Because that heart is easier to see than any of the ridiculous things you've ever done in the past."
"It is?!" he asked fearfully as he pulled his shirt collar down and looked at his chest.
"Listen to me, Thompson!" Mabel said, grabbing his face attentively with her hands. "You have what it takes to be with Wendy! If you have a chance to tell her how you feel, then that chance is tonight! And you don't want to miss it! Do you understand?"
"B-but...what if she doesn't feel the same?" Thompson asked fearfully.
"But what if she does?" Mabel asked back. "You'll never know if you don't tell her!"
Thompson thought her words over for a moment before slowly regaining confidence. "Yeah...yeah, you're right! If I never try, I'll never know! Just like in that one Hotpause song!"
Mabel gasped excitedly. "I love that song!"
"Eh, it's kind of cheesy," Ryland differed.
Mabel shot him a look. "Yeah, like provolone cheese?"
Ryland looked on at her for a few seconds. "Alright, we're figuring out our differences here. This is good. This is healthy."
"Anyway, Thompson, do you know what you need to do?" she asked, turning back to him.
"I do now. Thanks, Mabel," he nodded with a smile as he stood up confidently. "This is it. Tonight's the night that Thaliard Thompson tells Wendy Corduroy that he has feelings for her!"
"That's right!" Mabel shouted as he took off in the other direction to meet up with the others. "Just...make sure you don't refer to yourself in third person like that…"
Ryland then gave an odd look. "Wait, did he say his first name is Thaliard?"
In the back of Robbie's house was a separate living room area with a couch and a bunch of other chairs next to a coffee table in the center, which was entirely taken over by Wendy and the rest of her friend group. It was the least populated room of the entire party, with only a few other college kids hanging out in the corners of the room having their own conversations.
Meanwhile, Wendy, Lee, Nate, and Tambry simply exchanged various stories throwing back to some of the gang's memories together. Dipper and Derrick sat to the side and simply listened in on the stories for the most part, which was more of interest to Dipper than Derrick.
"And remember when his pants fell down in front of the entire cheerleading squad?" Lee reminisced.
"Ah, man! I cringe just thinking about it!" Nate said with a hearty chuckle.
"I still have video of the entire thing," Tambry said as she gestured toward her phone. "But even I'm too scared to go back to it."
"Well, you definitely have a good reason," Wendy said through her laughter. "Not Bradley's finest moment. Imagine having to live that down as captain of the football team."
"Anyway, Homecoming is overrated, but that night was amazing," Lee concluded.
"It was great, but what happened at senior prom was so much better," Wendy mentioned.
"What happened at prom?" Dipper asked curiously.
"Wendy went to prom without a date, but we all still went together as a group," Nate began to explain. "But there was this one annoying guy who liked her and wouldn't take a hint that she didn't want to go out with him."
"He set up a firework rig at the hotel to blow up and spell out my name for a last-minute promposal," Wendy continued as an amused grin began to form on her face.
"But when he tried to launch it, it malfunctioned and shot at the building, setting off a bunch of small fires that required everyone inside to evacuate," Nate said as he broke out laughing along with Wendy and Lee.
As Lee laughed, he passed his phone over to Dipper, showing him a picture. It was a selfie taken by Lee in front of the hotel, which had firefighters putting out the small fires on the outside of the building. Behind him was Wendy, Nate, Robbie, Tambry, and Thompson, all dressed up for the occasion, smiling for the picture.
"Woah, that's crazy!" Dipper said as he looked at the photo. "No one got hurt, right?"
"Nah, everyone was just fine," Lee nodded.
"But hey, they always said prom was gonna be a night to remember," Wendy claimed. "There's definitely no forgetting that."
While Derrick was somewhat entertained by the stories being told, his attention kept on getting shifted over to his surroundings. Looking right beside him on the seat next to him, he noticed Tambry staring at her phone as per usual. However, having never known her before that moment, he never picked up on this being a usual trait of hers.
"Do you ever look up from your phone?" he asked her directly.
Tambry glanced up at him for about three seconds before looking back down at her phone and continuing to type, all without saying a word. Derrick looked at her for a moment, oddly finding himself somewhat impressed by the response.
"Touché," he nodded in her direction.
"By the way, where's Thompson at?" Dipper asked as he looked around the room, realizing his lack of presence. "Is he even here?"
"Yeah, he got here like half an hour ago," Wendy claimed. "Weird though, I haven't seen him since then. He kind of just showed up and then disappeared in the crowds."
"Gotta be honest- Thompson's been acting real weird again as of late," Lee claimed to the others. "Like, he reminds me of how he used to be before he fixed himself up. Like he's having a relapse."
"Yeah. Old Thompson definitely brings back memories though," Nate began as several memories of Thompson began racing through his mind. "Remember the time in middle school when he stripped naked and ran around the block asking for pie?"
Lee burst out laughing at the memory. "Oh yeah! He even got arrested for indecent exposure!"
"God, don't remind me," Wendy chuckled as she cringed in her seat.
"Ah...that Thompson, man," Nate said as he laid back in his seat. "Love the guy, sometimes I wonder if he's even human."
Remembering how Thompson's past behavior was a result of wanting to keep the group together, Dipper couldn't find himself laughing the same way the others did. He knew he used to contribute to bullying Thompson when he was a kid, but he knew now that Thompson was a guy who didn't deserve such treatment.
"Well, what's important now is that he's changed and cleaned up, right?" Dipper asked, trying to shed a more positive light on Thompson.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have a laugh at what he used to be," Lee replied, evoking a frown from Dipper.
"Right, though I gotta say, he didn't look all that cleaned up last time I saw him. It's like he's been hitting up the snack cabinet much more than normal," Nate added.
"Speaking of whom…" Lee said as he looked up ahead of him.
Everyone's eyes looked up as they saw Thompson approaching the group, trying to look as suave as he could be. "Hey guys," he greeted, clearing his throat as he then turned to Wendy. "Hey Wendy."
"Oh, hey, Thompson," Wendy greeted back. "We were just talking about you."
Thompson's smoothness immediately crumbled at this revelation as he suddenly became self-conscious. "Wait...y-you were?"
"Something, something...running around asking for pie," Tambry mentioned without even looking up from her phone.
Lee and Nate snickered, which only added to Thompson's ever-decreasing self-esteem at the given moment. He couldn't do anything but simply stand frozen as his face reddened from embarrassment.
"Guys, c'mon, lay off," Wendy said disapprovingly to the three. "Anyway, where were you, man? You kind of just vanished after you got here."
"Oh, yeah...I was at the snack table…" Thompson replied as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Nate chuckled as he glanced over at Lee. "You see? I told you."
"Nate!" Wendy barked with warning.
Thompson tried to ignore the mockery and set his focus back to what he set out to accomplish. He nervously gulped as his eyes set back on Wendy. "Actually, Wendy, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…"
Wendy shrugged. "Alright. Shoot."
"I…uh…well...you see...the thing is…"
Thompson continued to stutter on his words, which was only met by a confused stare from Wendy. The others simply watched as he struggled to say anything. With the feeling of constant judgment, embarrassment, and fear of rejection clouding over him, he found himself simply going silent as he glanced around at everyone looking back at him.
"Wow, Thompson," Robbie's voice suddenly entered as he approached from behind. "That was great. Real great. Everyone give him a hand for his powerful words."
Lee and Nate clapped their hands as prompted, whereas Dipper, Wendy, and even Tambry rolled their eyes at Robbie.
Dejected and internally crushed, Thompson gave out a depressed sigh as he simply walked over to an open seat beside Dipper. "I'll just sit down now."
"Smart idea," Robbie remarked as he took over his spot.
Glancing down, Wendy noticed a box that Robbie had tucked underneath his arm. "What do you got there, Robbie?"
Robbie smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Wendy! I was actually shifting through my room looking for something that all of us could do...ya know, for fun. And I stumbled across this old game I think all of us could play."
Stepping forward, he proceeded to place the box down on the coffee table for everyone to see. On top, the box's cover read the title Fatal Flaw in a very sinister-looking font with a generally dark aesthetic for the background. Underneath the title, a prominent skull with hollow eyes was pictured on the cover art.
"'Fatal Flaw'? Never heard of it," Dipper claimed. "And Mabel and I used to play a lot of board games together growing up."
"It's probably some abridged version of Hint or Battlechutes & Ladderships," Derrick jeered.
"Wrong. It's a completely original game," Robbie said as he narrowed his eyes at the two.
"How do you play?" Nate asked as he looked at the box curiously.
"It's all about telling secrets," Robbie explained, which already made Dipper skeptical. "We take turns getting pinned against one another and we get to ask questions."
"So it's an abridged version of Truth or Dare. Got it," Derrick mocked once again.
"Kid, I'm gonna throw you off of my balcony if you keep it up with the smartass comments," Robbie said as he threw an angry glare in Derrick's direction.
"And I guarantee that'll be much more entertaining for everyone than whatever the hell this is," Derrick claimed as he gestured toward the game.
Derrick's words prompted some snickering from the rest of the group, but only furthered Robbie's irritation as he clenched his fists angrily.
"Robbie, what's your deal here?" Wendy asked, breaking the tension. "Why do you want to play a board game all of a sudden?"
"For fun. Like I said."
"A board game though?" Lee asked, somewhat weirded out.
Robbie sighed. "Look, this is no ordinary board game, okay? Got it from a special dealer. Apparently this game got outlawed not too long after it was released. Something about it being 'too dangerous to play.'"
Wendy raised an eyebrow. "A board game? Too dangerous? I don't buy it."
"That's because you haven't seen how it works," Robbie said as he took the cover off of the box.
Inside the box was the game, which had a metal handle on each end of the board. In the center of the board, there was the skull from the box art. However, the eyes seemed to be hollow in the board itself. On the side of the board, there was a set of various buttons. As Robbie pulled the board out from the box, he pressed one of the buttons.
"As opposed to normal truth or dare, this game comes with its own built-in lie detector," Robbie explained as he pulled the metal handles upward. "Each person grabs one of these handles and if someone answers a question with a lie, it'll give them a shock. And the shocks grow more intense with each further lie."
This revelation prompted some eyebrows to raise with growing interest.
"Woah…" Lee said in slight awe.
"That's hardcore," Nate agreed.
While the others grew slightly interested, Thompson scoffed. "Lie detector...yeah right. As if it actually works."
"Oh, really? Well, Pie Guy, would you like to test it out for us?" Robbie asked, gesturing over to one of the handles.
Thompson narrowed his eyes at Robbie, who gave him a daring look in return. Fed up with Robbie, he wanted nothing more than to discredit him after all he's done. "Yeah, actually, I do! Hand it over!"
"As you wish," Robbie said as he slammed the game down right in front of Thompson, who promptly wrapped his fist around one of the handles. "So Thompson...simple question- what did you have for breakfast this morning?"
He smirked. "Easy. A good caesar salad."
ZAP!
"AAAGGGH!" Thompson screamed in pain as he felt a good surge go through his arm.
Robbie then turned back to the others. "I believe we have a liar here."
Thompson started panting from the shock. "Okay, fine! It was a garden salad!"
ZAP!
"AAAAGGGGGGH! ALRIGHT, A HEALTHY FRUIT SMOOTHIE!"
ZAP!
"AAAAAAGGGGGGHH! SOME PLAIN OATMEAL!"
ZAP!
"AAAAGGGGGGGGGHHH! ALRIGHT!" Thompson shouted finally as he panted and sweated exhaustedly from all of the shocks. "I HAD...LEFTOVER...CHOCOLATE CAKE! WITH CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM, HOT FUDGE, AND SPRINKLES!"
Ding!
"The truth has been spoken," a dark, quiet, and creepily hollow voice spoke from the board.
Thompson's eyes bulged as he looked on at the game with terrified eyes. "W-What the…?"
"Would ya look at that? So much for that healthy morning diet you were going on to us about," Robbie snickered as he shook his head before turning back toward the others. "Anyway, as you can see, it's legit. So...we gonna play or what?"
"Hell yeah!" Nate shouted enthusiastically.
"Looks fun!" Lee nodded.
"Pass," Tambry said, not even daring to look up at him or the game.
"As expected," Robbie said with an eye-roll. "What about you Wendy?"
"Considering I'm supposed to be leaving town tomorrow, I think I'll be going risk-free tonight," Wendy stated as she sat back in her seat comfortably.
"Fair enough," Robbie settled with before turning back to Dipper, Derrick, and Thompson. "But let's see what excuse these guys come up with."
"Yeah, here's my excuse: this sounds and looks like a terrible idea," Dipper said bluntly, not daring to cover up how dangerous he thought the game looked.
"Yeah, those shocks were no joke," Thompson said as he rubbed his arm. "I don't think this is safe, guys."
"Ever notice how most of the things we do together aren't safe?" Robbie asked. "The whole point is that it isn't safe. Remember how I said the game was outlawed? That was because the creators of the game themselves were found dead next to a table of the game. And get this- the cause of death was never figured out."
"So you want us all to risk dying for entertainment?" Dipper asked, sickened by the idea.
"The only way anyone here is risking death is by not telling the truth," Robbie reminded him. "If we're all honest here, then none of us have anything to worry about, right? You guys saw what happened to Thompson. You want the same to happen to you? Or do you all have secrets worth that much trouble?"
Derrick looked on at Robbie skeptically. "And what exactly are you trying to find out?"
"Nothing!" Robbie innocently replied. "What have I been telling you guys all this time? It's just for fun."
Dipper stared at the game reluctantly for a moment. Admittedly, he felt Robbie had a few points. A part of him truly considered that there might not be anything to worry about as long as he just stuck to give truthful answers. Yet, nothing compelled his heart away from the feeling that playing would be a huge mistake.
"I still have a bad feeling about this," he admitted, folding his arms uncomfortably.
"When do you ever not have a bad feeling about something?" Robbie asked with an amused chuckle. "Seriously, after four years, you'd think this kid would've finally grown a spine!"
To add to his pressure, Dipper caught Nate and Lee snickering at Robbie's jabs. He knew that he didn't like to give in to peer pressure, as it typically led to the worst possible circumstances whenever he did. And he really wanted to resist Robbie's mockery. He knew he had nothing to prove. Especially after their frequent conflict during his last summer in Gravity Falls, and that was mostly over Wendy. While he still didn't like the guy, he was, at the very least, willing to put it in the past as just petty, youthful drama, but it was already apparent that Robbie had hardly changed over the past four years.
And so with that, he still had his own grievances too and wanted nothing more than to wipe the smile off Robbie's face. If it took playing the game to be able to do so, then so be it.
"Fine," Dipper said assertively. "I'll play."
Thompson and Derrick looked over at Dipper in slight surprise by his decision. On the other hand, Robbie glanced at him and grinned. "Let's get started then, shall we?"
He pressed a button on the board with a play label. Everyone then looked on at the board with mixed feelings of anticipation, wonder, and anxiousness as the little lights on the edges of the board lit up.
Likewise, two blue lights lit up in the hollow eyes of the skull in the center of the board. It was at that moment when Dipper started to mentally question whether he had made a wise decision.
"Welcome to Fatal Flaw," the creepy, hollow voice spoke again from the board, which was presumably supposed to be coming from the board. "The game where the truth will set you free, and the lies will seal your final fate."
Back at the Mystery Shack, everything had already been closed up for the night. In the living room, Stan and Ford were casually watching television in peace. By the front door, Soos was sweeping the floor. Looking up to the side, he saw Melody coming down the stairs with her purse.
"Where are you going, babe?" Soos asked.
"Ugh, yeah, my aunt sent me a package, but as I just found out, she addressed it to Gopher House instead of Gopher Road," Melody replied in a somewhat irritated tone. "So now I have to go over to Gopher House and pick it up."
"Gopher House? You mean that's actually a place?" Soos asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I know, right? I looked it up, and as it turns out, there's actually a P.O. Box dedicated to a nearby gopher sanctuary in the woods," Melody explained. "And by P.O. Box, I mean mail is delivered directly into their burrows. And so, I guess I'm going to have to fish out my stuff directly from one of them and hope I can get away with my arm."
"Yikes. You want me to come with?" Soos offered.
"I should be fine. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to fight gophers and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last time either," she claimed before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back."
"Alright," Soos said with a smile as he watched her leave out the front door. He then looked behind into the living room where the Stan twins were, walking up to the doorway to check on them. "Hey, Stan bros, anything I can do for you two?"
Ford looked up at him with an assuring smile. "No, I think we're quite alright, Soos."
"Just checking," he nodded before looking over to Stan. "You too, Mr. Pines?"
Stan looked up at Soos with a confused expression as he scratched his head. "Uh...yeah, I guess so...fat stranger."
"Heheh! Good one, Mr. Pines!" Soos chuckled without question as he walked over to the stairway. "Well, I'll be upstairs if either of you need me."
"Thank you, Soos," Ford called out to him.
As Soos went upstairs, the two brothers continued to set their eyes on the TV, which was playing an episode of Duck-tective. As the two ducks on the screen quacked, the screen put up the usual subtitles to understand what they were conversing about.
"What do you say, brother?" quacked Duck-tective's goatee-sporting twin brother. "Will you give me another chance and join me?"
Duck-tective pondered the question for a moment. "You think we'll find bread crumbs? And mates?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter, brother," Duck-tective's twin replied with an annoyed expression.
"Haha! Stupid duck!" Ford chuckled. Looking over to the side, he noticed Stan wasn't reacting to the current scene. "What's wrong, Stanley? I thought you loved this part."
Stan looked at him carelessly. "I don't even know what's happening. Why are these two ducks having a normal conversation about traveling the world? Is that not what ducks do anyway? They can fly, can't they? And why does one of them have a detective hat?"
"Are you kidding? This is the series finale of the original Duck-tective!" Ford reminded him. "This is the part where Duck-tective and his twin brother, Inves-duck-ator, make up and decide to travel the world together. Last time we saw this, you were a weeping mess."
"Was I?" Stan wondered as he made a visible attempt to recall such circumstance. "Huh, I wouldn't have imagined. Watching this now, it doesn't look much more than an ordinary kids show to me."
"An ordinary…?"
Ford stopped himself as he quickly realized what was happening. He tensed up a bit, but made sure not to make any sudden actions or pay Stan any suspicious expressions. Remaining composed within his seat, he slowly turned his head back toward the television screen as he mentally prepared his next move.
"Yeah, I guess you're right…" he replied calmly.
After a good few seconds, Ford casually got up from his seat and began making his way out the living room.
"Where are you going?"
Ford froze. He carefully turned his head back to Stan and smiled.
"Oh, nowhere!" he assured. "Just need to take a quick restroom break is all."
Stan stared at him silently for a good moment, to which Ford could feel his heart rate increase as he persisted.
"Okay! Don't be long," he told him with a hearty chuckle before turning back to the screen casually. "Show's nearly over."
Ford nodded. "Of course. I'll be back in just a moment."
Without making any particularly suspicious movements, he continued making his way out of the living room and up the stairs. Walking down the hall main, he took a turn straight into the bathroom.
"Good thing I hid a spare knockout gun in here," he whispered to himself as he walked over to the wall behind the toilet, which was directly opposite of the door. "Makes the bathroom excuse all the more useful."
Having had the Shack built and engineered for his needs, Ford wasn't short of hidden cabinets and areas to secretly store weapons and other gear. That included a simple knockout ray gun that he kept exclusively in the back wall of the bathroom, conveniently located within arms reach of the toilet.
He placed his hand and pushed against a specific spot on the wall where there was a hidden button that blended with the wall itself. It triggered a slot right beside the button to open up, revealing a small hidden cabinet. As Ford looked inside, however, he quickly found that the cabinet was completely empty.
Ford scratched his head as he looked at the cabinet with confusion. "What the-?"
"LOOKING FOR THIS, SIX-FINGERS?"
Directly behind him stood Stan in the flesh, but Bill in the mind. With glowing yellow eyes and a wide, sinister grin, he aimed the knockout gun at Ford from behind at the bathroom doorway.
Ford stood frozen in place, not daring to turn around, for he already knew what was happening. Eyes glancing to the side at the towel rack, he made the quick decision to swipe the towel as he made a swift turn.
PEW!
Just as Bill shot the ray gun, Ford held the towel up in front of his head, blocking the shot from hitting him. Holding the towel up in front of him, he half-blindly charged Bill, slamming him against a wall in the hallway and knocking the knockout ray gun out of his hands. Despite this, he only managed to keep Bill pinned for a split second before Bill grabbed a picture of Soos from the wall and smashed it on top of Ford's head violently.
Ford loosened up in response to the instant pain, allowing Bill the opportunity to kick him hard in the gut, forcing him off. As Ford fell to his knees, Bill quickly raced for the ray gun, scooping it off the ground. Although breathing heavily in Stan's tired and aged body, he still worked up his demented smile as he aimed the gun back up at Ford, who already looked and felt weakened by their brief exchange.
"HAHA! WHAT'S THE MATTER, SIXER?" Bill taunted. "THOUGHT I WOULDN'T FIND OUT WHERE YA KEPT YOUR TOYS, HUH? NOT WITH ALL THAT TIME YOU KEPT ME HERE AT HOME?"
Ford narrowed his eyes as he clenched his teeth angrily at Bill. Too long has he grown tired of his antics and too far have they come in their weapon building process. To Ford, the time for banter had been long over.
Slowly, he rose back to his feet, not making any sudden moves forward that would prompt Bill to fire a knockout ray. He could sense him readying the trigger. As he stood up, he began taking one slow step at a time down the hallway toward Bill, who looked more than ready for him.
"C'MON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"
Ford swiftly swiped another picture from the wall, which he would use to deflect further shots from Bill as he charged at him yet again. Bill slowly backed up to the top of the stairway, to which Ford lept forward and tackled him; grabbing his brother's body by the waist as they went tumbling down the stairs.
As they rolled to the bottom, the knockout ray gun flew out of Bill's hands once again, sliding across the wooden floor. Bill and Ford looked up at the weapon as they laid on the ground. Exchanging a quick glance at one another, the two immediately started scrambling to get to it first.
Amidst their struggle, Bill elbowed Ford in the face right before making an attempt to stand. He was quickly pulled back down, however, as Ford grabbed him by the leg, sending him plummeting face-first to the ground. As he had the chance, Ford jumped up to his feet and ran over to the ray gun, snatching it off the ground as he ran into the living room to gain some distance before aiming the gun back at Bill.
"NOT SO FAST!" Bill shouted as he quickly caught up, grabbing onto Ford's arm and pushing it upward just as he fired
PEW!
At that moment, Abuelita popped out of the kitchen and walked over to the living room entrance by the stairway.
"Señor Pines?" she questioned curiously right before being blasted in the face by Ford's misfire. Drowsily, she began to sway backward. "Aye, yai, yai…"
"Oh no!" Ford shouted guiltily as he watched her drop to the floor unconscious.
"WOW! THAT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST TIME YOUR SHOT ACTUALLY HIT SUCCESSFULLY!" Bill said with an amused chuckle.
The two continued to struggle as they fought over the knockout gun. Ford had the best grip on it, but Bill had the strength in Stan's body to effectively fight back against his attempts to aim the gun.
To weaken Ford further, Bill began to continuously knee-kick him in the gut. It proved to be somewhat effective, as Ford's pained groans and flinches caused him to lose a bit of grip of the weapon with every kick. He still tried to remain as strong as he could despite how painful it got. Regardless, it was Bill who was slowly coming out on top in their fight.
"YOU'RE LOSING YOUR TOUCH, STANFORD!" Bill taunted as he began to aim the gun little by little in Ford's direction. "GETTING OLD ISN'T DOING YOU SO WELL, IS IT?"
Ford had no intention of giving up, but he was truly struggling at that point. The ray gun was only a few inches off from being pointed directly at his head. Sweat balms formed on his face as he tried to push himself beyond his limits, but Bill continued to prevail as he flaunted his ever-growing grin.
"What's going on down here?" a voice called back from behind.
Hearing their commotion above, Soos quickly ran down the stairs to see what was happening. As he reached the bottom, his eyes quickly laid upon his unconscious grandmother laid out amongst the ground.
"ABUELITA!" he screamed with a horrified gasp as he ran over to her side. "OH NO! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"SOOS!" Ford called out from the living room. "OVER HERE! HELP!"
Suddenly, Stan's glowing yellow eyes went normal as he turned toward Soos. "What?!" he shouted, his voice normal again as well. "No, don't help him, Soos! Help me! Ford's gone crazy!"
"Don't listen to him, Soos!" Ford shouted as he immediately caught on to Bill's idea.
"Mr. Pines fighting...Mr. Pines?!" Soos questioned as he anxiously stepped into the living room. "What the heck is going on here?!"
"Soos, this isn't Stan! Bill's taken control of him again!" Ford attempted to explain. "We need to subdue him!"
"No, Soos! He's got it all wrong!" Stan denied. "We just cleared Bill out of my head a second ago! But now he's spread over to Ford's mind! Now we gotta stop him before it's too late!"
"Shut up!" Ford shouted as he began to push Bill back in their struggle. "Soos, listen to me! Not him! Our situation has not changed! Stan is still sharing a mind with Bill! Don't let his words tell you otherwise!"
"No, that's what he wants you to think! If you let him beat me, you're letting Bill win!" Stan shouted back as he began to lose the edge he had on Ford.
Soos looked back and forth between the two hesitantly as he began to sweat nervously. "Gosh...and I thought the idea of picking between a real person and a clone would be tough. I...I really don't know who to believe right here, dudes!"
"It doesn't matter!" Ford declared as he began to force Bill back down to his knees. "It looks like Stan's aging body is finally starting to get to you now, Bill!"
"No!" Stan shouted as he began to visibly struggle. "Soos, please! Don't let him do this to me!"
Still reluctant and uncertain about anything, Soos began shaking. "I…I…"
"You know me, Soos!" Stan pleaded as he was pushed backward more and more. "I took you in! Gave you your job! Gave you your life! I always thought of you as a son to me!"
Soos' eyes widened. "A...son?"
"Yes, a son!" Stan nodded. "You've proven yourself to be the most capable man to take over the Mystery Shack. In all the years I've known you, I couldn't be prouder to see how far you've come! You're a son to me, Soos! You know that! You know me!"
Soos' eyes sparkled as he looked on at Stan and his words. Looking over at the TV, he noticed the Duck-tective series finale still playing.
Duck-tective had jumped up on the Constable's shoulder, taking off his detective hat and placing it on the Constable's head. With sparkling eyes of joy, the Constable looked on at Duck-tective gratefully.
"You...you really mean it, Duck-tective?" the Constable asked emotionally.
Duck-tective gave a nod as he quacked, "You're Duck-tective now, Constable. And don't mind the name. It's really a title in the end."
Soos stared at the screen in awe with his mouth agape. As he processed the scene, he began to remember exactly what he stood for. With clenched fists and determined eyes, he knew exactly what to do now.
"COME ON, SOOS! I NEED YOU! PLEASE!"
"Enough!" Ford shouted as he finally kicked Stan away, gaining the knockout ray gun entirely in his grasp. "You had your moment of fun, Bill, but it's over now!" He then aimed the weapon directly at Stan's head as he sat on the floor. "I look forward to formally killing you tomorrow!"
However, before he could shoot, Ford's arm was suddenly grabbed and held upward by Soos' large, beefy hand.
Ford's eyes lit up in confusion. "Soos?! What are you-?"
"Sorry, dude."
WHAM!
With no hesitation, Soos had promptly nailed Ford straight in the face with his other fist, sending him straight to the ground. The punch was hard enough to nearly knock him unconscious, as he laid on the floor half-awake.
Through his twitching eyelid and muffled hearing, he picked up on Soos running over to Stan's aid, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him to his feet.
"Are you alright, Mr. Pines?" Soos asked anxiously.
"I'm just fine, Soos!" Stan nodded with a wide smile. "That was great work!"
"Are you sure?" Soos asked as he glanced down at Ford somewhat guiltily. "I feel like maybe I hit him too hard…"
Stan shook his head as he picked up the ray gun from the ground beside Ford. "Nah. More like not hard enough. He's still awake. Here, lemme fix that!"
PEW!
"Alright! My turn!" Lee said excitedly as he spun a spinner on the coffee table. After a few seconds, the arrow slowed down until it stopped, pointing directly at Nate. "Alright, Nate. You ready?"
"I got nothing to hide, man. Hit me," Nate said confidently as he gripped the game's metal handle.
Lee then proceeded to pick out a card on the table. Reading it to himself, he let out a laugh. "Oh, man! This will be good. So Nate, what's your biggest fear?"
"Pfft...I have no fear. You think I'm scared of anything?"
ZAP!
"AHH!" Nate screamed as a shock ran up his arm.
"You're clearly scared of telling the truth," Wendy joked.
Nate sighed. "Alright, fine. Spiders are kinda freaky. Who isn't afraid of spiders, am I right?"
ZAP!
"AHHH! OW!"
"I was about to say. Didn't you use to have a pet tarantula as a kid?" Lee recalled.
Nate began to grow nervous. "Alright, fine! Snakes! I hate snakes! They're so weird, man! They're like...giant noodles that can kill you!"
ZAP!
"AAAAHHHHH! OKAY, FROGS! I'M TERRIFIED OF FROGS! I HATE FROGS!"
Ding!
"The truth has been spoken," the game said.
Lee snickered. "Frogs, man? Seriously?"
"What?! It's not that weird!" Nate claimed as his face reddened with embarrassment. "They're so slimy and gross, and...they have those...long tongues. They're disgusting!"
"Your lack of embrace for your fear is what's truly disgusting," the game suddenly replied.
There was a brief silence as everyone's head turned to the game board in slight suspense. Dipper appeared the most uneased of everyone.
"Okay, please tell me I'm not the only one who found that really creepy," Dipper asked the others.
"The game is supposed to be creepy," Robbie said before chuckling. "I'm guessing your greatest fear is of talking board games."
"Ah yes, well, it sure beats the fear of getting your pants shrunk in public," Dipper shot back at him. "Or maybe pigs..."
The comeback prompted Wendy to chuckle to herself, which brought further irritation to Robbie alongside the general reminder.
"Oh yeah. Real funny. Hilarious even," he said sarcastically with an eye-roll.
"Robbie, quit being a jerk for a minute, would you?" Wendy ordered him as she turned to him seriously.
"So, it's wrong when I try to poke fun at this kid, yet he and emo buddy get free passes at making fun of me?" Robbie questioned her.
"Friendly reminder: I'm not emo," Derrick defended.
"No, the problem is you keep taking every crack at you so seriously," Wendy told him.
"What else is new?" Tambry remarked despite her eyes not glancing away from her phone screen.
"So for once in your life, can you not be an asshole?" Wendy finished.
Robbie sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine. My bad, Wendy."
"Oh yeah, apologize to her, why don't you?" Tambry said with an irritated voice as she rolled her eyes.
"Don't start, Tambry," Robbie snapped back. "Anyway, I guess it's my turn."
He spun the spinner, looking on at it intently. Once it stopped, he looked up where it pointed, which was directly at Dipper.
"Well, what do you know?" he said with a grin.
"Oh, joy," Dipper said sarcastically.
From the side, Derrick nudged Dipper in the arm and whispered, "Whatever happens, you're better than this guy. Answer honestly. Save yourself the trouble."
"Trust me, I already got it," Dipper nodded.
"Alright, I guess I should pick a card then," Robbie said as he picked up the top card from the pile, only to drop it on the floor as he brought it close to him. "Whoops. Let me just pick that up."
As he kneeled down under the coffee table to grab the card, he sneakily pulled out another card that he hid in the sleeve of his hoodie. He smiled to himself as he rose back up.
"Alrighty. Now that I absolutely picked that card up, let's see what we have here," he said as he went to read the card. Letting out an exaggerated chuckle, he turned back to Dipper. "Oooh, this one's a doozy. I'm not sure you can take it."
"Go ahead," Dipper dared as he gripped the metal handle. "I'm an honest man. You have nothing on me."
"If you say so," Robbie said with a smirk. "The question is- do you have a crush on anyone at this table? And if so, who?"
Dipper's confident eyes quickly shot open widely at the question. Oh, you've got to be kidding me...
Wendy looked somewhat skeptical. "That's not actually a question, is it?"
"Oh yeah, it's totally a question," Robbie quickly replied. "Right here in my hand. And he's gotta answer it."
Everybody except Tambry looked over at Dipper, awaiting his answer. Dipper himself felt a sense of tense pressure that he didn't feel existed for any of the others who had to answer questions before. However, while the question seemed intimidating for a moment, he looked over at Wendy and quickly realized that it wasn't nearly as complicated a question as it would've been long ago.
Glaring over at Dipper amidst his silence, Robbie grinned. "So what's your answer, Dip? Do you have a crush on anyone here?"
Dipper looked up at him as his hand was firmly wrapped around the board's metal handle. "Uh...no."
Ding!
"The truth has been spoken."
Robbie's grin immediately faded at this answer. "Wait, what?"
"Phew," Dipper said with a sigh of relief as he sat back in his seat. The expressions of the rest of Wendy's friends quickly fell uninterested at the same time, whereas Wendy looked up at him in slight surprise.
"No way," Robbie refused to believe as he inspected the game board. "This thing must be messed up or something!"
"What are you talking about? I answered the question honestly," Dipper raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't have a crush on anybody here."
"Yeah, right! You clearly looked unsure before!" Robbie said as he pointed at him. "If you were really sure how you felt, it wouldn't have taken you so long to answer!"
"Robbie, chill out! It's just a game," Wendy said as she tried to get settle him down.
"Yeah, why does this matter to you so much?" Dipper asked.
"It doesn't! I'm just…" He stopped himself, letting out a sigh as he simply backed up into his seat, tossing his card to the side. "Whatever, man. This game is stupid anyway."
"Gee, triggered much, Valentino?" Lee jabbed at Robbie's attitude.
"Yeah, yeah, piss off, Lee," Robbie rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms carelessly.
"Robbie!" Wendy snapped at him, growing upset by his attitude once again.
"What? What do you want from me?!" Robbie snapped back.
"Dude, what's your problem?" Nate chimed in, coming to Lee's defense.
"Finally, some real entertainment," Derrick said as he kicked back, crossing his legs as he watched the group prepare to break out into an argument.
As tensions started building up amongst everyone else, the card Robbie had thrown fell on the ground next to Thompson. He nearly paid it no attention until he managed to catch something in his quick glance down at it. He then proceeded to pick it up to look at it more closely.
"Hold on a second...why was the question Robbie asked Dipper written in marker?" Thompson asked skeptically.
Dipper raised an eyebrow as he looked over Thompson's shoulders. "Wait, what?"
Robbie's eyes widened nervously. "I...uh...I don't know what you're talking about."
"This card IS written in marker," Dipper verified. "Robbie, did you write this question for me?!"
"Of course not!" he denied. "I just picked a card and read it! I wasn't paying attention to what it was written with."
"I have an idea! Why don't you say that while holding the metal handle?" Derrick suggested.
Robbie glanced back between Derrick and the handle silently. "Alright, fine! I wrote it. So what?"
Dipper started to grow angry. "So what? What's your deal, man?! Why do my feelings concern you so much?"
"Yeah, Robbie," Lee agreed. Why are you so interested in knowing who Dipper likes?"
"Kinda creepy, dude," Nate nodded.
"I'm not interested!" Robbie stated defensively. "I'm just…"
"Just what? Trying to embarrass me in front of everyone?" Dipper accused.
"Are you really that freakin' stubborn, Robbie?" Wendy asked, growing quite fed up herself. "Ugh! What are you? A child?"
"And he wonders why I give him as much crap as I do," Tambry jumped in. "But nope. I'm the problem in this relationship. It's always me!"
Robbie narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh, look at you! Trying to make this about our relationship yet again! When will you give it a break?"
"You wanna give it a break?!" Tambry asked aggressively as she shot up from her seat. "Just tell me! I'm ready when you are!"
"Hot damn, I'm loving every second of this," Derrick said giddily in his seat as he spectated the entire dispute. "Anybody here got a bag of popcorn?"
"Look, guys! Everyone here needs to calm down!" Thompson claimed as he stood up in attempt to control the situation. "This is getting out of hand!"
"Oh, can it, Thompson!" Robbie shouted dismissively.
"You see?" Tambry asked the others as she gestured toward Robbie. "This is exactly what I've been talking about for months! He's always so angry, loud-mouthed, and never cares about anybody but himself! He used to be a decent boyfriend, but now he would rather sit in his room all day drawing anime girls than doing anything together! This relationship means nothing to him anymore! So why not end it already?!"
"That's bull! Of course this relationship means something to me!" Robbie assured.
Unconvinced, Tambry grabbed the board game and slammed it down in front of him, with the metal handle in arms reach. "Hold this, then say that to me again."
"It doesn't work like that!" Robbie claimed. "It's in game mode now, so you have to ask me a question from a card."
"Such as a card that you wrote on?" Wendy brought back up.
"Oh, sure. I'll give you a card, alright," Tambry said as she snagged a card from the deck, pulling out a nearby pen and writing on the back of it. "Since writing on cards is acceptable, then here's the perfect question- are you in a relationship? If so, what does it mean to you?"
Robbie sighed as she held onto the metal handle. "Yes, and it means everything,"
ZAP!
Without screaming, Robbie felt a painful shock go through his arm. Looking up at Tambry, he saw her narrow her eyes even more at him.
"Almost everything!" Robbie corrected.
ZAP!
Robbie held his scream yet again as a more intense shock flowed through him. "A good amount!"
ZAP!
"OKAY! That's enough of that!" Robbie shouted as he let go of the handle, throwing himself back in his seat as he gripped his arm defensively.
"Oh, no! You're not getting out of this so easily!" Tambry said as she pushed the game even closer to him.
"Look, you know what? You guys were right. This game was a dumb idea," Robbie said with a nervous smile. "We should move on and do something else."
"What do you have to hide?" Tambry asked skeptically.
"Nothing! I just don't wanna get shocked!" he claimed.
"Then ANSWER THE QUESTION!" she demanded.
"I'm not obligated to!"
Growing uncomfortable with the amount of aggression going on, Dipper tried to step in. "Hey, maybe all of us should take a second to calm down and-"
"For Christ's sake, man! Answer her!" Lee exclaimed at Robbie, cutting Dipper off.
"Get on with it!" Nate urged as well.
"Just answer, Robbie!" Wendy jumped in.
"The continued reluctance of players to be honest is among the greatest of flaws."
Everyone suddenly went silent as eyes shifted down toward the board game. It didn't move or change in any way, but its hollow voice was loud enough to go above the rest of those screaming at Robbie.
"Ha! Even the game is calling him out!" Derrick laughed as he glanced between the board game and Robbie.
Despite how amusing Derrick found the situation, Dipper suddenly grew greatly unnerved by the game's apparent ability to read their situation. "Seriously, does no one else find this disturbing?"
"The preference to be dishonest is only a plague amongst oneself," the game continued. "The true feelings and fears that one buries deep inside cannot be hidden forever. For there is no flaw more fatal than that of a liar-"
Robbie suddenly pressed a button on the side of the game board, prompting the skull's glowing eyes in the center to soon turn off. The rest of the game's lights soon turned off as well.
"There! It's off," Robbie declared. "Problem solved."
"...and you, Robbie Valentino, will soon see that."
As the game spoke even further, all eyes darted toward the board before slowly looking up at Robbie. Everybody then glanced at one another in horror.
Robbie looked up in slight confusion. "Wait, what?"
At that moment, the game board blasted Robbie in the face with what looked like a sort of blue electric bolt. The blast in itself was violent enough to send him flying backward out of his seat and slamming against a wall. Everybody else screamed in horror as even some of the other nearby college kids began to look up at the growing commotion.
As Robbie slid down from the wall to the floor, everybody ran over to him.
"Robbie!" Tambry shouted worriedly as she kneeled down to his side.
"Robbie, are you okay?!" Lee asked as he stood over him.
Still seemingly unconscious, Tambry placed her hands on his arm and began shaking him in an attempt to wake him. "Robbie, are you okay?"
Wendy waved her hand in front of his face. "Robbie, man, are you good?"
"Yes…I see it now," he said.
Instantly, everyone was able to tell that it wasn't his voice. It took only a few seconds for Dipper to make the connection in his head that it was actually the same voice that came from the board game itself.
Robbie then proceeded to move, getting up from the floor. As he opened his eyes, everybody gasped in fear as the white of his eyes had now glowed a bright blue that overpowered any other light within the room.
With a menacing grin, he looked on at the group of teens. "Now, I see the truth!"
"Think that'll secure him well enough, dude?"
"It should. Oh, look! He's waking up!"
Ford's eyes slowly started to open as he came to. As he blinked his eyes groggily, he was barely able to make out the blurred silhouettes of Stan and Soos as they stood in front of him.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't our old friend, Bill Cipher!" said the voice of Stan. "Once again in the flesh of my nerd of a brother!"
Still coming to, Ford blinked his eyes rapidly as he attempted to look around and identify his surroundings. "What the…? Where…?"
"Oh, where are we, you're wondering?" Stan finished for him. "Why, we're in the lab! Or the very place we'll be destroying you once and for all later tonight!"
Ford made an attempt to move, only to quickly realize that he couldn't. Looking down, he realized that he was strapped to a seat with his hands and legs locked within metal cuffs. Additionally, screws were embedded through his coat and into the back of the seat, trapping him even further. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he was in the same seat he had planned on locking Stan in when it became time for removing Bill.
"Nice try, but you're not going anywhere," Stan gloated. "You're tied to that seat real good. Isn't that right, Soos?"
Soos nodded as he held out a power drill in his hands. "It took a lot of extra screws, but it worked out."
"Soos, what the hell?!" Ford barked at him. "I was right about to stop him! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"
Soos glanced back and forth between Ford and Stan. "Uh...saving Mr. Pines from an evil demon triangle who's trying to take over the entire dimension?"
Ford's eyes widened in shock. "What?! No! I'm not Bill! He's Bill! And that's not Stan!"
"Save yourself the poor convincing attempts, wise guy," Stan spoke dismissively. "You're not fooling anyone anymore. Soos knows the truth and he's helping me on the final home stretch."
Soos looked at Stan with a surprised smile. "I...I am?"
"You sure are!" Stan nodded as he patted Soos on the back. "You've helped me for this long, haven't you?"
"Soos, it's all a trick!" Ford attempted to reach out to him. "Don't listen to him! Look at me! Look at my eyes! They're normal!"
"Like that means anything," Stan said with the roll of his eyes. "I already explained to him how you've learned to change your eyes to look like you aren't possessing him. Your eyes don't prove a thing." He began to lead Soos over to the doorway. "Anyway, come on, Soos. Let's go put an end to this nonsense."
"Soos, I'm telling you! That is not Stan. That's Bill! And I'm Ford!" Ford cried out to him desperately. "Just think about it for one second! You're making a mistake!"
Soos was growing somewhat uncomfortable as his feelings of uncertainty began to return. "I...I...uh…"
"Soos? What are you waiting for?" Stan raised his eyebrow at him. "We have a triangle to kill. Just you and me."
Soos gave him a nod as he continued walking out. "Yes, sir, Mr. Pines."
"Soos?! SOOS!" Ford called out for one last time. His desperate eyes then went angry as he glared over at Stan. "I know you think you've won already...but trust me, you will not get away with this."
Stan looked back at him with nothing more than a sinister grin. "See you soon, Stanford."
He proceeded to walk out of the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Ford on his own. Through the glass shield, Ford could see Bill walk alongside Soos over to the elevator. As the elevator doors shut, Ford continuously tried to free himself from his seat, jerking his entire body back and forth within the chair. However, it quickly proved to be of no use as the chair stood completely in place without the slightest of movements.
"GAAAHH!" he screamed as he clenched his fists angrily. "DAMN YOU, BILL!"
Oh wow. It's been a while, huh? Even I didn't think I'd be touching this fic again, but alas, here we are. If anyone who kept up with this fic is still out there, how are y'all doing?
Anyway, given the current state of the world and all, I finally found time to look back at this thing and decided that I've had my break and that I feel good enough to come back to this fic with a fresh mind. Also, we're too close to the season finale, and so even if I don't manage to complete the full planned story I had in mind for this fic, I want to finish telling at least one of my story arcs. Where we go after that, we'll see, but for now, I'm just focused on getting things back in order.
So anyway, the last thing I want is to return and put you guys on another cliffhanger, so I've decided not to post anything including this chapter until I have the rest of this episode finished. And so by the time you read this, the final part of this episode should already be up and ready to go. I'll have another, more explanatory author's note for that one, but I just wanted to briefly clear the air about my disappearance here real fast since it has been a while.
So yeah, feel free to leave your individual review for this chapter, but as I said, the final part should be out so I'd reserve any story questions until after reading that because that may already have some of the answers you may be looking for.
But yeah, good to be back!
-Absolute Rift