"Well... since everyone is in a good mood, I wanted to ask you two somethings," Ford spoke up, after it was quiet for a moment.
He sighed, "What is it about?"
"Well... the questions are mainly about the Nightmare Realm, and... also about where Will was before you brought him here," Ford admitted.
Will frowned, "Okay... I won't mind answering questions about... my time with the Gleeful's..."
"... and I suppose that I'll have to tell you stuff about the Nightmare Realm eventually..." He admitted.
Will looked down, "It might bring up bad memories, though... but I'll do it anyway. They can't hurt me anymore."
"Alright... well... how many beings are there?" Ford asked.
He frowned, "A lot."
"Could you give me an estimated number?" Ford asked.
He sighed, "Around a billion."
"That's... a lot..." Ford sighed.
He nodded, "It is."
"... Why is it falling apart?" Ford asked.
He grimaced, "Because there's no rules... among other things. So... it's growing unstable, and... eventually... it'll disappear... along with the only beings that I can actually call my friends and things that understand me... besides Will, Anyway."
"... how would it effect the kids?" Ford frowned.
He snickered, "Probably not a lot..."
"What about you?" Ford asked.
He frowned, "What do you mean?"
"How would it effect you? It... disappearing?" Ford asked.
He looked down, "I... don't know. I guess I'd be upset... but I don't really know."
"I can imagine you being furious and upset at the same time, and trying to strike up a deal with The Axolotl to bring it back... not like there's anything you could give it in return..." Will frowned.
He sighed, "I suppose that... would make sense as to what I would do... but I don't know."
"You know... everything disappears and dies eventually... that's just another part of life," Ford spoke up.
He glared up at Ford, "That doesn't make me feel any better, Stanford."
"Anyway... IS Maya a half-breed?" Mabel asked.
He sighed, "There's only one way to find out."
"Please don't tell me you're going to cut her," Ford frowned.
He smiled, "No. Mabel, go get one of your sewing pens."
"Oh. Okay..." Mabel frowned, getting a sewing needle, before coming back and giving it to him.
He poked it against Maya's little left thumb, and growled.
"What? What's wrong?" Will asked.
He glared up at him, before showing him the red blood that was coming out of her wound, before sighing, "Filthy mortal child... I don't want her."
"That's mean!" Mabel frowned.
Will sighed, "It may be mean to you, but... it's normal for us."
"Why?" Dipper asked.
Will bit his lip, "... that doesn't matter to you. That's a bit personal for both of us. Gold, I'll take her to the river."
"What do you mean, you'll 'take her to the river'?! Are you going to drown her?! She's just a baby! What'd she do that's so bad?!" Mabel frowned.
He sighed, looking down at Maya, "She's not going to be drowned. We're not killers. She'll just go down the river until someone finds her and takes her."
"How do you know she won't go to a bad home?" Mabel and Dipper asked.
Will smiled, "We'll cast a spell so that only a good hearted person can take her out of the river."
"Good hearted? It's not like... the unicorn's scam, right?" Mabel asked.
He sighed, "No, not at all. It's just scanning their past for any bad deeds."
"Oh. So... who, out of everyone we know, including us, would be able to pick her up from the river?" Dipper asked.
Will frowned, "I can't think of anyone."
"Ice might be able to, but... that's the only one I can think of that hasn't done anything bad," He admitted.
Dipper frowned, "Can't we just give her to Wendy and tell her that we found this baby in the forest and that we can't take care of her, so we want her to?"
"Sure... that might work. If you really want to try that, go for it."
Dipper sighed, looking down at the basket, which had Maya wrapped in a pink blanket with a letter in it. He knocked on the door, and waited for Wendy to open it.
Wendy smiled at him, opening the door, "Hey, Dipper! What are you doing here?"
"I... Uh... found this baby in the forest... I was wondering if you could take care of her," Dipper frowned, looking down at the small bundle in the basket.
Wendy nodded, "Sure, man! I mean, I've always kinda wanted a kid, so... I'll take care of her, no problem! You can come see her from time to time if you want!"
"I... might as well. Just... text me if something weird happens involving her. I could look into it," Dipper sighed, breathing in and out, trying to calm himself.
Wendy laughed, "Always looking for the weird stuff, aren't you, man?"
"Yeah, I am..." Dipper admitted, sighing, before giving her the basket, "Anyway... here you go. I... guess I should go now."
Wendy shook her head, "Nonsense, man! You should come inside for a bit! It's been a while since I've seen you!"
"It's been a few days, Wendy," Dipper mumbled.
Wendy smiled, "Yet, I want you to tell me what you and Mabel have been up to since then. I mean, what's up with that Will guy? Is he really Bill's little brother?"
"Fine... I'll come inside and tell you." Dipper sighed, walking inside the log cabin, "Well? What do you want to ask about them?"
Wendy sighed, "Why did he not mind Bill calling me ice? I don't understand."
"Well... Bill actually has a few nicknames... Goldie, which is reserved for me... and then Gold and Billy, which are solely for Will... although I've noticed that he only calls him Billy when he's unsure of something or scared. It's kinda cute, really," Dipper smiled.
Wendy laughed, "It does sound cute. The kid seemed nervous, though... do you know why?"
"Not completely. It's a touchy subject for him, but... long story short, he was in a world that was a reverse of ours, and... he was punished often in it," Dipper frowned.
Wendy frowned, "That doesn't sound good. So... trauma?"
"Lots of it, it seems." Dipper admitted, "The kid was completely terrified of me, Mabel, and Ford when Goldie brought him into the shack. Of course, he was completely okay with Goldie."
Wendy shrugged, "Well, he's the kid's older brother, so that would make sense."
"It took a while for him to get used to us, but... he's doing much better now. He seems to, unfortunately, be falling back onto his old habits," Dipper sighed.
Wendy sighed, "So... he's getting more nervous?"
"Yeah," Dipper admitted.
Wendy frowned, "That doesn't sound too good."
"So... can I go now?" Dipper asked.
Wendy nodded, looking down at Maya, who was sleeping, "Of course. Don't worry... I'll take good care of her."
"Thank you, Wendy."
Dipper walked back to the shack. He was extremely surprised to see Petunia and Blaze sitting on the porch. Blaze perked his head up at the sudden noise, before he purred upon seeing him. Dipper looked at the foxxen, noticing a blue sweater on him, with a closed blue eye on it. Dipper could only guess that Mabel had made the sweater to show that the foxxen was her boyfriend's. She could have also made it so that the foxxen wouldn't be cold, even though winter won't start until December, which was 6 months away. Mabel is so weird sometimes... but he didn't judge her.
It was going to be their 23rd birthday soon, and as he realized this, he remembered his parents. Shoot. They'd definitely want to see them, as they hadn't seen them in 9 years, and... that meant... explaining a lot to them... including their boyfriends...
Dipper sighed, going inside, before shouting up the stairs, "MABEL, HAVE YOU HEARD FROM MOM AND DAD RECENTLY?!"
"NO!" He heard her yell back, "WHY?!"
Dipper frowned while going up the stairs, before opening the door and noticing that Mabel was painting Bill's nails, "Because it's going to be our 23rd birthday and we haven't seen them in 9 years, and... Bill... what are you doing?"
"Getting my nails painted? What else?" He asked, "Besides, I'm sure we can handle your parents for one day."
Dipper sighed, "Yeah, well... we never fully told them what happened that first summer."
"I figured you wouldn't have," He laughed.
Will giggled, "It'll be fine, Dipper! You both have nothing to worry about! Well... regarding me, anyway... you DO know what this means... right Gold?"
"No... what does it mean?" He asked.
Will sighed, "It means... presents wise, anyway... no animal parts... no teeth of any kind, ESPECIALLY deer teeth... no rib cage pillows... and no teeth necklaces."
"What about shark teeth necklaces?" He asked, frowning.
Dipper sighed, "Shark teeth necklaces are... actually okay. Other than that, no."
"Rib cage pillows?" Mabel repeated, confused.
Will covered his face with his hands, "Don't even ask... you don't want to know. You REALLY don't want to know..."
"So... do you know what you're going to do?" He asked.
Will sighed, "It's not that far away. It's like, a week away. I'm sure I can think of something."
"Yeah... and I REALLY don't want to go into town to get them something," He grumbled, pulling Will away from the twins, into a different room.
Will smiled, "Then make them something. That's what I'm doing."
"What are you making?" He asked.
Will sighed, "I'm making Mabel a dress, and for Dipper... a notebook."
"A notebook? Seriously Will? You can do better than that!" He smiled.
Will grinned, "Well... I'm actually getting Mabel two things, and Dipper two things."
"What a surprise... I am too. What you getting them?" He asked.
Will bit his lip, "A special notebook and a new hat for Dipper, and a sparkly dress and... an engagement ring for Mabel."
"Wow. That's kinda cool. Alright... well, I'm getting Mabel a special sketchbook and a sparkly stuffed animal... and for Dipper... an advanced technology laptop and... an engagement ring," He grinned.
Will sighed, "Well... I guess we should both work hard to impress their parents if we're both proposing."
"Certainly. Besides, I know what meeting the parents mean. I'm not an idiot, Blue," He snickered.
Will laughed, "I would hope not."
"I know... I'm sorry..." He sighed, looking down.
Will frowned, "You're sorry for what?"
"Everything," He admitted.
Will sighed, "I know we never talked about it, but... I don't blame you for destroying our home... our real home... It was kind of sad... but I don't exactly remember it either..."
"I know... I'm sorry..."
The day came for Dipper and Mabel's parents, Sammy and Janie, to arrive in Gravity Falls. It was the kids' 23rd birthday, the reason of their trip there in the first place. They stopped their dark green Kia Soul in front of the Mystery Shack. Sammy was the first one to get out of the car, before he went to the back of the car to get their luggage for their stay over night. It had taken them a while to get there, as Piedmont, California was far away from the small, sleepy, not-at-all-weird, town of Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Janie stared up at the Mystery Shack, before they walked onto the porch. Everything seemed silent, as the wind blew through the air. Stanley Pines opened the door, greeting them. They were let inside, only to be hugged by the Mystery twins. Stan was wearing a traditional black tux, while Ford had preferred to wear his normal clothes... a red sweater and a long brown coat. Dipper was wearing a red tux, with a blue undershirt, not letting go of his normal choices of color for his clothes. Mabel, on the other hand, was wearing a light pink dress with a white unicorn with rainbow hair on it, and in rainbow sparkles under the unicorn, it read: "Unicorns Rule!". The two older adults could have sworn that they had seen the unicorn on the dress run.
"It's good to see you kids!" Sammy smiled, ruffling Mabel's hair.
Mabel pouted, "Dad! I'm not a little kid! I'm 23!"
"Exactly!" Dipper agreed.
Janie sighed, "Well... you both mentioned that you had both found boyfriends? Can we meet them?"
"Sure. BLUEY! GOLDIE!" Mabel and Dipper screamed up the stairs, using their nicknames for their respective boyfriends.
He came down the stairs first, wearing his black top hat, black bow tie, and a gold tux with a tailcoat that, if you looked closely, had small, shimmering, bricks at the bottom of it. Will followed after him, wearing a silver top hat and a light blue tux, which, unlike his older brother's, didn't have a tailcoat.
He smiled at Dipper, taking his hand, and giving him a kiss on it, "Hello, love."
"Hi, Goldie," Dipper looked down, his face now a red mess.
Will smiled at Mabel, giving her a kiss on the cheek, before he smiled at her, "Hello, Miss Mabel."
"Hi, Will," Mabel smiled back at him.
The two boys looked over at the twins' parents, smiling and holding their hand. Will was nervous about talking to them, and he noticed this, before he bowed at them. The twins' parents were a bit confused about this gesture.
He smiled, introducing both of them, "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Pines. I'm Bill, and this is Will. He's... a bit shy when meeting new people. I hope that won't be a problem."
"No, it won't be. As you probably know, Dipper's kinda shy about meeting new people too, so... we understand," Janie smiled.
Sammy sighed, "Anyway... how long have you known each other?"
"About ten years, I believe," He smiled.
Dipper nodded, "Yeah, ten years."
"We've known each other for nine! Right, Will?!" Mabel asked, grinning.
Will smiled, "Yeah, we've known each other for nine years..."
"Nine to ten years is a long time to be dating..." Janie spoke up.
Dipper and Will both blushed. Mabel giggled.
He, however, just shook his head, "Well, you have to make sure, you know? I mean, you'll be with them for the rest of your life, so it's better to wait longer so that you'll both not only be ready for, and comfortable about, it, but also so that you'll know enough about the person that you're sure you'll want to make that jump with that person. So, surely you can understand the long amount of time, as it's a big decision... maybe the second biggest, as the first is the decision of having kids."
"That's a very logical way of thinking, Bill. You might as well be good enough for Dipper." Sammy smiled, "I approve."
"Of course, I approve as well, since that IS a very important decision, and you made a very good persuasive point, and argument, about it," Janie agreed, smiling.
Dipper smiled at him, "Well, it does make a lot of sense. Thanks, Mom and Dad."
"You're welcome, son," Sammy smiled.
Mabel frowned, "What about Will? How are you going to test him?"
"We're not necessarily going to test him... we just have a few questions," Janie admitted.
Will looked up at them nervously, "What are these questions?"
"There's only one... Mabel, are you happy with him? Are you going to be okay that, once you make the inevitable jump, that you'll be happy with him for the rest of your life, no matter what happens?" Sammy asked.
Mabel nodded, "Yes, Dad. I'm happy. I definitely will be happy with him forever."
"Then, we approve," Janie smiled.
Ford smiled, "That is very good, Janie."
"... and where have you been for the past 40 or so years?!" Sammy scowled, looking at Ford.
Ford sighed, "It's... a long story."
"Well... can you explain?" Sammy asked, annoyed.
Ford frowned, "Well... I went to this town, and... mayhaveaccidentlysummonedademonandtheyhelpedme,butitturnedoutthattheywereusingmeandIcalledStanleyandhepushedmeintoaportaltoadifferentdimensionthatImayhavebeenstuckinfor30years,andIcamebackduringyourkidstrip,andwewentthroughh***andbackduringthelastweekofthatsummerwhenwehadtofacethesamedemon,whomayormaynotbeyourson'sboyfriend... andthenthesamedemonbroughttheirlittlebrotherhereayearlater,andtheyvebothbeenstayinghereforthepast9years,andyourdaughtermaybedatingtheirlittlebrother,butyoudon'thavetoworry... he'sharmless... atleast,Mabel'sboyfriendis. I'mnotsureaboutBill. That's the basis of it."
"So... you're the spawn of the devil, then?" The two parents glared at the two boys.
Will frowned, looking down. He scowled, "Not completely."
"Uncle Ford... give me a knife," Sammy growled, not taking his eyes away from the two brothers.
Will sniffed, starting to cry, "N-no! Please don't hurt me! Please don't kill me! Please! I... I didn't do anything wrong, Master! Please!"
"!pu dleihS" He shouted.
The two boys were covered by a yellow forcefield. Sammy ran at both of them, pounding on the forcefield.
"You can't get us from inside here, mortal," He scowled.
That only angered the twins' father even more. He knocked on the forcefield, trying to break it. Nothing happened.
He grinned, ".noos emit yna su fo yna gnitruh ton er'uoY"
"Billy..." Will frowned.
He sighed, "I know he's worrying you, Will... it's alright. He can't get us from here."
"How dare you?! How dare you two come to this place, and sweep our children off their feet?!" Sammy scowled, "Is that why they like you so much?! Have you been manipulating them?!"
Will scowled, "LEAVE US ALONE!"
"Will..." He mumbled.
Will glared at him, before going through the force field, "Leave us alone. We would NEVER manipulate them into loving us. You know what? I've spent 28 years listening to humans who had enslaved me and broke me. So... I have a bad outlook on humans like you. I was a nervous and scared wreck when my older brother saved me. The twins helped me. So, if you like it or not, they're not leaving us."
"I... I'm sorry... I didn't know..." Sammy backed away, dropping the knife, "I just wanted to protect my children."
Will sighed, "I understand... and I'm sorry for my anger."
"So... are we good now?" Dipper spoke up.
Janie looked at the two boys, "I don't know."
"... I think so," Sammy sighed.
Mabel grinned, "Anyway... can we open presents now?!"
"I don't see why not," Ford spoke up, looking over at the two boys, before leading them all to a table with a lot of present on it.
Mabel gasped, picking up a giant, sparkly, rainbow, unicorn stuffed animal with a pink bow around its neck, "THIS IS AMAZING!"
Everyone else giggled at her amazement.
She grinned, running up to Will, "Thanks, Will!"
"Nope. It's not from me," He grinned, dogging her hug.
She frowned, "It's not from you? But..."
"Nope. Sorry, Princess," He snickered.
She looked at everyone else, before realizing who actually got it for her, and then she proceeded to run up with him and he dogged her hug, "Oh, come on! Will didn't get it for me, so it must have been you! Let me hug you!"
"Nope. I don't like hugs," He grinned.
She frowned, "Let me hug you!"
"No," He grumbled.
She grinned, looking over at Will, who just smiled back, before she tried to hug him again, and he was pushed up against her.
He pouted, "You're not fun, Blue."
"You're not upset my girlfriend, Gold," Will sighed, grinning.
Dipper sighed, before walking towards the table and noticing a particular notebook. He stared at it's gold cover with the blue pine tree on it, and smiled at the blank pages. He noticed a black light pen that was on it, picked it up, and shined it on the first page. He read it.
"Dear Dipper,
Inside this book is a lot of secrets and information that we know. I'm keeping it safe with you, because I'm sure you're mature enough to keep these secrets and information safe from others. You're probably going to think it's dumb, but this information could be quite useful. Besides, I know you like secrets and mysteries and I thought you'd like this. Just... don't tell my brother. He'd probably kill me if I leaked any of our knowledge out anywhere, in any form. So... just be careful about when and where you read it. He might get suspicious. So... I've put a spell on it, that's strong enough for him to not watch you while your reading this. So... with that in mind, you can ask me any question you have, as long as nobody else is nearby. Besides, this may or may not have our alphabet and language inside, so... you should keep it safe. You can share it with Ford, but nobody else. I hope you'll enjoy this present, and happy birthday. - Blue."
Dipper smiled, closing the book and putting the black light pen in his pocket, before turning around and walking towards Mabel, "Your turn again, sis."
"Yay!" Mabel grinned, running up to the table, and picking up a present that was a pink box. She unwrapped it, and gasped when she saw it was a book on sewing. She grinned, running up to her parents, "Thanks, Mom and Dad!"
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Sammy smiled, hugging her.
Dipper sighed, going up to the table, noticing a hat that was covering a box. He took both, examining the hat that had a Pine tree inside a triangle on it. He then looked at the box, and opened in, surprised by the laptop inside. He sat down and opened the laptop, now being distracted.
Mabel giggled, running up to the table, noticing a grappling hook. She grinned, picking it up, "Grappling hook!"
"Yes, it's a grappling hook. You're welcome," Ford smiled.
She grinned, sitting down next to Dipper, "Your turn, Dipper!"
"Alright, Alright! Just... let me open this txt. document first," Dipper grumbled, still on the computer.
She sighed, "Fine. Who's it from, anyway?"
"I'm sure the txt. document will tell me," Dipper sighed, opening it.
They both frowned, looking at the bunch of text that was in code.
"Are you kidding me?!" Dipper shouted.
Mabel giggled, "Well... it's code. What kind of code? Do you know?"
"Uh... I think it's... Cesar Cipher, but I'm not sure... wait..." Dipper stopped.
Mabel grinned, "What? You know who gave it to you?"
"Yes, actually... but there will be time to thank them later. For now, I get another present," Dipper sighed, turning the laptop off, before walking towards the table.
He stared at the blue book, with a Pine tree on it, and a number one. He gasped, picking it up, and then walking over to his new laptop, "Thank you, Ford."
"You're welcome, my boy," Ford smiled.
Mabel giggled, looking at the dress that was folded on the table. She picked it up, noticing how it sparkled in every color. She grinned, "This is amazing!"
"I take that you like it?" Will asked.
Mabel nodded, "Yes, it's amazing! Thanks, Will!"
"You're welcome, Princess," Will smiled.
Dipper glared at them, "No romance, please. It's making me sick."
"Yeah, it's making me sick too," He grumbled, glaring at Will.
Will glared at him, "That's not what you'll say in a few seconds."
"True," He sighed.
The two twins looked at each other, before noticing the absence of any more presents, "What are you talking about?"
"... well..." Will sighed.
What's Dipper's middle name?
Mabel jumped, looking over at him, "Why-"
Don't say it out loud. Just... think it.
Mabel frowned, 'That doesn't help.'
I know, it doesn't. Still. What's Dipper's middle name?
Mabel sighed, 'Alex.'
Thanks.
He grinned, looking over at Will, "Do you want to do this now, or later... or else where?"
"Else where," Will smiled.
The two twins looked at each other, confused.
Mabel.
'Yes?'
...
'What's wrong, Will?'
... nothing... just... ugh... I can't... say the words... just... look over at our brothers...
'... Okay...'
Mabel stared at the two boys, who were hugging. She noticed something on Dipper's finger. She gasped, and looked over at Will, who was holding a ring like it out, smiling shyly. She grinned, "Of course."
Janie cooed and awed at the moment, while Ford only smiled, and Sammy just shook his head, still not fully convinced that everything was fine.
Sammy and Janie were allowed to stay for the night, as Dipper and Mabel knew it was going to take many hours to get back to Piedmont.
Mostly everyone was asleep. Dipper was laying on his bed, reading through the notebook that he was just given. He looked up to see a small blue triangle on his bed. He jumped, before scooting towards the wall, "What are you doing here, Goldie? Why are you upset?"
"I'm not Gold, Dipper." Will sighed, "I know... you're not used to seeing me like this, but I'm doing it willingly this time... I just want to talk."
Dipper smiled, "About the information in this notebook? Trying to see if I have any questions?"
"That's exactly it," Will giggled.
Dipper sighed, "Alright, then. Well... let's see... why are you still here? I mean, the Gleeful's are gone, you're safe, so... why are you still hanging around? In fact, why are you both still here? Don't you have other stuff to do?"
"Because I want to. Because I'm bored... at the moment, anyway... I don't know. Not at the moment. I mean, there's the townspeople, but... there's not much stuff for us to do," Will sighed.
Dipper frowned, "... is it hard?"
"What do you mean?" Will asked.
Dipper sighed, "Being... well, being immortal... having to watch everything you love fade away and die... because eventually... that's what's going to happen to me and Mabel, and... are you both okay with that? Anything we do now won't matter later, right? Nobody will remember us? So... why do we do things? Why do we live?"
"... It's... hard. Really hard... watching people leave and die... watching people fight, go to war, and be mean in general... it can be overwhelming. I'm not, but... I'm sure Gold is... even though I have thought of a solution to it, but... I'm not sure Gold will agree with it. Besides... you'll have to agree with it too. It depends. Trust me, there will be plenty of people who will remember you. Because you have to," Will sighed.
Dipper looked down, "How does it depend?"
"Well... it depends on what it is that you're doing. For example... stopping what happened nine years ago, at the end of your summer. If you hadn't done anything about it, I'm sure that a lot of things would have been destroyed and... I would probably still be in Reverse Falls..." Will looked down.
Dipper sighed, "... That would have been horrible."
"I'll agree with that. I want nothing to do with that universe anymore... Paz and Gideon are dead there, and... that's not a worth while place to even be in..." Will sighed.
Dipper smiled, "It's kind of interesting, you know... how things have turned out so far..."
"I know. I... do have a question for you, though..." Will looked up at him.
Dipper looked at him, "What is it?"
"... What would you do if you were immortal?" Will asked.
Dipper sighed, leaning against his bed, "I don't know. Try to learn everything, I guess. I love learning and mysteries and the such. Hey, maybe I could end world hunger... but... that's wishful thinking. Why are you asking?"
"... that has to do with the solution to the future problems we'll probably have. The solution would be to make you both immortal."