Dipper stared at the yellow, three-pointed construct of nightmares. "What?" Dipper asked him. The eye of Bill Cipher squeezed its lower lid upwards, indicating an unseen smile. Dipper scowled, "What do you mean 'leave and never return'?"
Cipher, amused, repeated, "I mean I want you, and shooting star, out of this town once and for all time, never to return," Bill elaborated, keeping his hand rigidly stretched out. "You pack your silly earthly belongings, put them in a larger box of cases, or whatever, and use your weak, noodle legs, to walk, run, or flail out of town. Forever."
"You never said why," Dipper told him.
Bill chuckled. "I don't need to."
"Then no deal," Dipper told Bill.
"Fine, fine," Bill rolled his eye and let his hand fall to his side, the cane spinning in his other hand. "It's just a matter of what's better in the long run, you see."
"How so?"
"Well, I've got my plans at eternal life and all time and energy to dominate, and you've got your pitiful one-hundred-year reign of life to waste away, and it's best if we don't interfere with other of our plans for the future, huh? I'd personally like to see us get past our little attempts at actually destroying one another."
"Liar," Dipper snarled, "You've always loved the idea of killing me-"
"And Shooting star!" Bill added. "But killing and destroying are different things, aren't they?" Bill shrugged, and hovered a few inches closer, Dipper's reflection in Bill's maddening eye, "Besides, you being destroyed isn't a lie."
That was a comment that got to Dipper. He felt the hairs on his neck stand up. "Y-yes it is," Dipper replied shakily.
"Ohhh, look at you, all unnerved at the idea that I could actually be honest."
"I know your penchant for being honest," Dipper gulped, "And it tends to be when you like what the truth already is."
"Ha!" Bill roared with laughter, "You know me better than I expected a three dimensional corporeal spit of decaying thought to be able to. That's 'human', by the way," Bill added with a blink to Dipper. "Humans are spit to me."
"You're just lying-"
"Fine, fine, here," Bill spin his cane around quickly, causing the black line to blur, "Look into the future for yourself, kid."
Dipper squinted at the demon, but allowed himself a moment to wonder. It was enough to risk letting himself be deceived by Bill. Worst came to worst, it would be a trick. Unless Dipper made a pact with Bill, nothing permanent could be done to him. That would tide his fears over for the time.
He leaned closer. Dipper saw the cane's whirl of blackness begin to create color and shapes. Then, the shadows faded and showed a clear day. Swashing away from Gravity Falls like oil, the darkness left Dipper staring at a view of the horizon by the cliffs. It was... odd. Something seemed off about the town. There were more smoke trails than there should have been. The trees seemed lifted in some areas. What had happened? How far in the future was he being shown?
Then came a blast of light. Dipper would have thought the sun was rising, and its unflinching rays hitting his eyes, but the day was clear already above him.
He saw it in the distance; a tower of light shining above town in the distance, somewhere in the woods. He wanted to peer closer, see where it was basing itself.
Then the beam collapsed and fizzled out of existence. Replacing it with a blast of sound so loud the trees bent away from the source, a huge pure white explosion began to push itself outward. It devoured everything it touched- trees, buildings, cars, buses- everything.
Dipper stared in horror as the town he was currently staying in was blow away by the source of light; erased from existence like shredding a paper in the wind.
He screamed and turned just as the blast met his face. The bright white was too much for him to peer into.
"Ah, there, see?" the uncomforting and uncaring voice of a two-dimensional demon spoke, "All gone. Whoosh. Like it never existed."
"How? Why!?" Dipper demanded, turning back and approaching the being.
"Why should I tell you?" Bill asked, resting the end of his cane atop his hat.
Dipper, now the one realizing he had things to gain, thought hard to provide an answer. "Because... maybe, uh," Dipper looked about the cosmos.
"Don't even try lying to me, Pine tree," Bill chuckled, "You're just trying to do that stupid noble thing and save lives or whatever. Well guess what? It wont matter what you do," Bill said, getting inches from his face again, "This will happen."
"Y-yeah?" Dipper asked. When Bill made no sound, Dipper squinted at him again, his mind coming to a realization, "You have something to do with that. I know you do!"
Bill blew a raspberry in the air. "How is that? I can't even issue standard deals anymore, let alone force mortals to do what I want them to. What makes you think I can do anything in the dimensional locker, aside from good 'ol second grunkle?"
Dipper stared into the eye. He hated to say it, Bill seemed to be truthful there. Dipper and Mabel had the chance to lock away the demon of corrupted dreams, and the burning future he wanted, into a space between spaces. To their knowledge, it would be something of a miracle to get him out, at least without the portal; it would have to come from their side. Not only that, as Dipper thought, Bill wasn't a good loser. He would have already tried coming for Dipper and Mabel if he was out. Three years maybe not sound like much when Bill talked about time, but his concept of time passing was already warped.
"Look, kid," Bill sighed and zoomed away, "I can see that horribly limited mind of yours trying to come to a decision. Why don't we both take our time, huh?"
"What?" Dipper asked.
"I'll give you a few hours to stew on the idea, and I'll just sit here, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for you to come to your senses of unreality. Then, when you finally see I'm Red's best hope at not being a cannibalistic rabid monster, although that sounds adorable," Bill added with a long sigh, "You'll beg me for that deal."
Dipper then felt the ground beneath him give way. Before he could reach out and grab something, he was falling again into the starry darkness around him. Above, as he screamed, he heard, "And a reminder – she'll look like this–"
A version of Wendy dived down from the whole in the platform. White eyes, wild, tangled hair, and a hateful, ravenous glare all descended onto Dipper. As he closed his eyes, he yelled, and–
"Dipper!"
With a yell and flail about, Dipper found himself awake.
He was on the floor. His eyes darted around him. It wasn't just the voice of Wendy that told him he wasn't alone. Four faces turned down and stared at him with a mixture of worry and apprehension. Mabel leaned over the arm of the couch, directly above Dipper, and Wendy extended a hand to him. Stan stood nearby Mabel, with Soos at his flank. Soos looked worriedly at Dipper.
"Bro, that was something intense you were dreaming about," Mabel said to Dipper.
"Yeah, it was," Dipper mumbled as he let himself be pulled upright, taking Wendy's hand.
"Well," Stan chuckled, "I'm sure it wasn't anything too horrible! Not like the Cipher came back or anything!" Dipper turned and stared at Stan, not betraying any trust by keeping his face darkened. "...Oh," Stan's posture fell, "You talked to the parasite."
"Bill Cipher?" Soos asked.
Dipper nodded. Mabel puffed her cheeks as she furrowed her brow. "But why?" she asked. "He's been a locked-up loser for three years."
Dipper began explaining the whole conversation. Everything from the possibility that Bill Cipher had been sneaking out of his prison to speak to others, and of his deal to have Dipper and his sister leave town, and finally, of his impending words on the doom of the town. Seeing as how Wendy was listening, Dipper avoided most of the topic: Bill's offer to help Wendy. The four watched with baited breath, but Dipper swore Stan looked the worst. His face had gone a faint green, and he looked away from Dipper as he spoke.
"Well, I wanted lunch soon," Stan grumbled, "But for the sake of keeping tiles in the bathroom clean, I'll pass on food."
"So, he's still coming back," Mabel grumbled and fell back on the couch.
"Not necessarily," Dipper argued, "He said something about how he couldn't make a full deal or something. I don't think he's at his fullest strength yet."
Soos, frazzled and anxious, looked to Dipper as he said, "But dude, if he's able to keep doing that, it means he could be getting stronger."
Dipper frowned. "Could be... yeah," Dipper worriedly agreed, "I just... how do we know?"
Wendy turned to Stan. "Well, is the town in any actual danger?" Wendy asked to her boss directly. The three others turned and stared at Stan. He glanced to the four, and began to chew on his finger. "Stan?" Wendy asked after a paused moment.
"Grunkle Stan?" Mabel asked, "Do you know something else?"
"What?" Dipper quickly demanded, "What else is there? If Bill's right-"
"Look, look," Stan shrugged and looked around them, perhaps checking for eavesdroppers, "I didn't want to say anything. But, uh, you remember that night where Arline got all huffy with me?"
"The night before Summerween?" Mabel asked.
"Yeah, that one," Stan nodded, "Well... I, uh... had a dream."
Wendy sighed. "Lucky," Wendy said wistfully.
"Anyway," Stan glared at Wendy, who grew red in the face and scratched her neck as she looked away, "The dream showed me the future of town. It... it looked really rough. Town was in ruins- monsters running around, plants and animals fighting themselves and people, civilization collapsing-"
"That has Bill written all over it," Dipper growled, "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
"Because, according to the dream, I should have already prevented that future!" Stan declared.
"Huh?" Mabel cocked her head to the side.
Stan seemed like the perfect cocktail of trepidation and anxiety. "Look, it was a premonition by a ghost of the future," Stan bluntly said, causing the four listeners to blink in confusion. "It was warning me what the future would look like if I didn't change my ways around Summerween or something. I don't know, but I did! So, the future that I saw shouldn't happen!" Stan glanced around, and peered over their heads, "Where's Yuki?" He pushed past Dipper and Wendy and rushed out of the room.
"Well, I haven't seen him that spooked in a long time," Soos stated aloud, "Heck, not even when the poltergeist was in the building was he that spooked."
"So," Dipper scratched his chin, "Stan's also seen the future. Great. Cipher could have been telling the truth," Dipper sighed. "That's not what I wanted to discover."
"Why?" Mabel asked.
"Because that means... that means I need to actually consider his–"
"No way," Mabel cut him off. Dipper sighed and Mabel began to rant. "Are you kidding, Dipper?! Do you remember what happened last time?! He totally took advantage of you and made you his personal-"
"I know, I know," Dipper groaned, "You're not the only person with experience involving possessions."
Wendy cut between the twins quickly, sensing something building there. "Guys, wait," she said, and then asked Dipper, "You still didn't say what he was offering for you two to leave town." As she awaited his response, Dipper looked to her and gulped. It seemed to be enough for Wendy. She stood a bit taller, more at the ready. "Oh... me."
"Cipher came to me and said he could cure you," Dipper explained as Mabel grumbled behind him, flopping her arms against the couch.
"Dude," Wendy shook her head and pursed her lip, "I told you that it's not something you need to do! I can't be cured!" she yelled, her voice strained and worn.
Soos, visibly uncomfortable with the three's chatter, cleared his throat. "Ah, I'm just going to go help Stan with... whatever he's doing," Soos said, verbally excusing himself from the room. To Dipper's fear, Mabel slowly stood off the couch and backed away, out of the room. She didn't seem to go far at least; Dipper was certain he could see her shadow against the wall just outside the room, listening in.
He focused back on the woman before him, clearly upset. "I'm sorry Wendy, I was going to tell you that I'm still working on it," Dipper began but Wendy sighed.
"No, no, sorry dude," she held out her arm and shook her head, "I... I shouldn't have gotten huffy about it."
"It's okay. I should have told you," Dipper shrugged, timidly smiling to her.
Wendy grinned and looked to the floor around him. "You've really been going at it though," she mentioned, bending down to lift a pile of papers. She scanned them as a smile crept over her lips. "Man, I wish Robbie had sent me any evidence of his 'so called research'," Wendy admitted.
"I wish he sent me the research," Dipper sighed, "I could cross-analyze them to find a result quicker."
"I don't know if you can," Wendy reminded Dipper.
"And that's why.. I'm thinking about Bill's offer," Dipper told her.
With a voice like a growl, Wendy said, "Dipper," while shaking her head.
"I know! Just what Mabel said, yeah," Dipper sighed. He shuffled his feet and, in the process, kicked open his journal. "Then again... there is still..."
"Huh?" Wendy asked as Dipper bent down and picked up journal number three. When Dipper stared into his last open pages, on cures, Wendy waved a hand before his eyes. "Dude. You're drifting on me here."
"Sorry," Dipper turned to her, "in town, there's this guy. A traveling Djinn."
"A genie?!" Wendy gasped.
"A... yeah," Dipper blinked and nodded, "how did you-"
"My favorite movie as a kid was about a genie and a lamp," Wendy shrugged, "I sorta nerded out on them, and found out their called djinns."
Impressed with her apparent studious past, Dipper grinned. "Right," he mumbled, avoiding saying anything too embarrassing. "Anyway, he's trading things for panaceas- literal cure alls."
Wendy froze. "Wait... wait..." she said twice, looking deep into Dipper's eyes, "You mean... that whole 'ultimate medicine' rumor is true? What happened with Yuki wasn't you and Mabel finding some super-mushroom, or something?"
"It cured Yuki, didn't it?" Dipper told her. Wendy began to breathe quickly, pacing around. Dipper, now worried for her, followed her tracks. "Wait, wait, Wendy-"
She spoke her thoughts aloud. "I could actually... feel again. Eat again," she said aloud, and looked back to Dipper, "I could know what it means to be warm!"
"Y-yes," Dipper nodded, and the weight in his stomach tightened and grew heavier. Just in concept of the medicine had Wendy enthralled and beyond excited. She wanted the cure now, so evidently and clearly. Dipper had hesitated in trading the journal for the ultimate cure for her, and felt that pain from before stab his gut like a dull knife.
She had spun at some point, and watched his face. "Dipper?" Wendy asked, spotting the downtrodden look he wore.
"Sorry," he said honestly.
"What?"
"I... in order to get one of these things, you have to trade, not buy."
"Okay," Wendy shrugged, "What does he like? Stuffed animals?"
"No, he wants the things you value most," Dipper explained, and held out his journal, "And I value this journal more than any other book, game, computer- you name it. So, I-"
"Uh, dude," Wendy rolled her eyes, "You're not going to get it for me."
"I... what?" Dipper asked timidly.
"Dude, this is my curse. It's my trade."
"But the journal could get me one instantly, and I-"
"Dipper, look," Wendy smiled and put a hand to his mouth, "I'm glad you're thinking about me here. Really, dude, I am. You're always fussing over me, and it's really sweet. But you're not just going to go toss the most awesome book in the world for this. For all we know, somewhere in that book is the answer anyway."
Dipper looked down, his eyes feeling heavy. "I'm not so sure about that anymore," he quietly admitted.
Wendy, having not heard his last comment, looked around. "Besides, I need to think of something that he'd want from me," Wendy admitted, and left the room. "Thanks dude!" she waved once behind her before leaving Dipper alone in the living room, his heart the weight of lead.
From behind him, the footsteps of an equally weighed body came stepping in. Next to him a single finger gently poked his arm. "Bro?" Mabel asked.
"She's not angry at me," Dipper sighed, and fell back against the couch with a resounding squeak of springs.
"Guess she's more excited about the idea that it'll actually work. Still though," Mabel sat next to him, using the arm on the couch as her seat, "Why don't you do it?"
"Because this journal is still useful! She said so herself!" Dipper snapped back, keeping his voice lowered. Mabel frowned, pursing her lips. Dipper glared at his sister, and indicated at her with the journal. "How about you, huh? Why don't you go trade with him?"
"I would, dummy," Mabel crossed her arms together and glared, "But you tell me – what do I actually care about? Hm?"
She didn't need to answer, and Dipper didn't need a reply. It was People, animals, and fun. Things Mabel never owned, only shared with experience, were her greatest treasure. Neither were things that she could trade, nor would she if she had the chance. The closest thing Dipper considered arguing for was her summer journal upstairs, filled with pictures she had been taking all summer.
Mabel added, "And Grunkle Stan can't trade anything," Mabel continued, "He'd just give away money! And Mister Cardinal didn't want any money."
"Or he'd give away one of the other two journals," Dipper told Mabel, "Which then the same issue comes into play."
Perhaps gaining traction against Dipper in this debate, Mabel asked, "And Wendy? What does she have to give away?"
Dipper opened his mouth and stared. To that question, he had no answer. For all he knew, Wendy's current belongings were her bike, a spare set of clothing, her pay-as-you-go phone, and her side pack. Nothing there seemed immediately worthy of trade.
Dipper gritted his teeth and looked into his hands. The Journal sat there, a large bound book in his hands of knowledge and wisdom. Secrets, weird facts, and survival tips all danced like ghostly visions in his mind. Yet... three years in his possession, Dipper did acknowledge its abilities were waning.
It told him less and less of new monsters. It had nothing on dragons, or wraiths for that matter. Also, it made no mention of the mysterious Guardsmen of the woods, nor that strange stone, or the four golems the twins had encountered. Sure, Dipper never had fully memorized the other two books, that would have taken more time than he had been allowed, thus far. After all, his current personal project, his own journal, was the beginnings of that very monumental journey. When he had skimmed through them, it was a collection of notes that went from collaborations in journal three to outdated notes. In the end, number three was the most up-to-date and most informed, and if that was the case, it's uses were becoming limited.
With a strange quiver in his lip, Dipper gripped at the leather bindings. It wasn't just the information it gave him. It was the blood, sweat, and mind of a man lost forever. If this left Dipper, the collection Stanford Pines left behind would forever be incomplete.
In the end, Dipper saw himself in that golden reflection. He was fifteen now. Maybe he could make do without the journals for now on.
Dipper stiffed his lip. "I'm heading out" Dipper declared, pushing past his sister with a decision clear in his mind. "Where's Wendy?" Dipper asked to Mabel as he walked by.
"She left," Mabel told him.
"Huh?"
"As soon as she left you here, she was out the door like," Mabel made her best race-car drive by noise.
"Dang it!" Dipper shouted and ran out of the room.
"Bro?" Mabel called, her creaking footsteps along the floor in hot pursuit.
"You're right about one thing," Dipper warranted his sister, "She can't give anything away – that's not right," Dipper explained as he stepped through the gift shop, passing Stan and Soos with a collective group of tourists, "I'd rather give up something than have her lose even more."
Mabel stalled as Dipper bounded off the front steps of the porch and onto the ground, pushing ahead towards his car. "You got this, dude?" she called as he opened the door to his car. He only needed to look back to her once, his eyes full of the same angry confidence his tone carried, and Mabel knew he would be fine. "I'll be waiting here. Go prove Bill wrong!" She called with a cheery wave.
Engine one, gears in reverse and the gas pedal pushed, Dipper turned himself out of the dirt and gravel path and onto the main road. He still hadn't spotted Wendy, but he doubted he would be seeing her until he got to the trailer of the djinn. Wendy could take her own trails in the woods, and Dipper only had the streets.
True to his word, he didn't see her as he raced into the parking lot. In his haste to park, he nearly hit a small family. "Sorry!" he waved through his window as he finally slid to a stop and pulled himself out of his seat and to his feet. Closing the door and checking around, he spotted a large, unfocused, group of leaving townsfolk.
Lazy Suzan strolled away from the trailer. "Trading my secret recipe was a great idea," Lazy Suzan told herself as Dipper marched by.
After the weaving through retreating guests, Dipper leapt up the small stairs and passed inside without announcing himself. "Mister William," Dipper called. With a jump and gasp, the man turned from a large pile of strange and ordinary looking objects.
"Eyy, Wizkid!" William Cardinal smiled and side-stepped over to the table, "Up top!" he cried, holding out a hand to high five. Dipper, despite knowing what he had come for, couldn't help himself, and did so. "Yeah, man!" Cardinal cheered, and took a quick breath. He noted, "You've come back! You had a good thinkin'?"
"Yeah," Dipper nodded, "I needed some thought to that deal we wanted to make."
"Oh, trust me; most important things in life need a good moment to think," William nodded and grinned, "Like the best foods in the world; you really oughta to let the decision digest."
"Well, also," Dipper started as he began to remove the journal from his vest, "I, uh, you haven't traded with a girl with long red hair, have you?"
William Cardinal cocked an eyebrow and chuckled. "I've met a family of red-heads, but all men. I think I-" The man, who looked as if he was about to think, suddenly looked like he remembered something awful.
Taken aback at this sudden, dark look on the djinn's face, Dipper quickly asked, "What is it?"
William pulled Dipper from the entrance. He flicked his head towards the entrance. "Oh man, here we go again," he grunted. "Dipper, stay back my boy," William told him. As Dipper side-stepped with Williams push, a knock came from the paneling next to the door. William Cardinal yelled in a deep, booming voice, "Go away, man! I already told you that I don't want anything to do with you! Skedaddle! You'll never take me alive!"
Dipper looked from the door to the djinn. "Who are you talking to?" Dipper asked.
A voice fluttered in from the curtained door. "Whoa dude, you've got the wrong person," and Wendy emerged through the curtains. Dipper smiled despite himself. Then, Dipper gasped as William cried out loud and ran to the other side of the table.
With a feral scream, William Cardinal roared, "Another one!" he roared as Wendy poked her head through the fabric. From under the table, William Cardinal lifted up a large, double-barreled shotgun and aimed it at her.
"Whoa!" Dipper rushed forward, and lowered the gun, "What gives!?"
Cardinal hollered, "Kiddo, let go! You stand between a man and the forces of darkness itself!" William told him, trying to get a clear bead on Wendy, weaving and bobbing around Dipper's agile defense. William Cardinal, unable to get a clear shot, roared, "Go back to the shadows!"
Wendy remained at the curtain, shocked at the aggressive response. "Uh, I can come back later?" she suggested.
"She's not evil!" Dipper told him with a shout, "She's been cursed! That's all!"
"Oh, right, Cardinal chuckled, "And I'm just your friendly neighborhood medicine man!"
Getting tired of blocking the shot, Dipper shouted, "I know she's a wraith!"
This caught Cardinals eye. He froze in place, and asked, "Wait, you know her?" William allowed Dipper to tear away the weapon before he dropped it under the table, "You know of them? Spookems, and things that go bump in the night, but real and nasty?"
Wendy, a little soured by his descriptions, added, "She has a name."
Dipper, snorting to himself, told the Djinn, "This is my friend, Wendy."
"Wendy?" William turned and glanced at her. She looked back, ever the vision of a person doing their best to stay chill. Cardinal frowned, his lips being chewed upon. He came to a decision, and said, "Look, I know I was calling you a Wizkid. You're a smart cookie. But you do know what that means? What is a wraith" the Djinn asked Dipper worriedly, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.
"More or less," Dipper nodded. He then added, "She's perfectly in control of herself."
The confidence in which Dipper told him seemed to alleviate the djinn. "Well, then as long as you continue to act like the beautiful, young lady you appear as, you may enter," William told Wendy with a nervous look to Dipper. "You know a wraith?" he asked as Dipper watched his friend come in, "No wonder you and your little posse locked on me not being human. Caught me red-handed," he added in an exaggeratedly tired voice.
As Wendy entered, grinning at the compliment, Dipper explained. "I knew her before she became one," Dipper told him, smiling at Wendy the entire time. "We're..." Dipper blinked and wandered just what to call the two of them now. Friends, obviously. Best friends? Yeah, he could say that.
Was there another title he could use he wasn't able to remember?
"Well, have a seat, Wendy," William told the redhead, "I'll help you with whatever I can after I deal with Dipper first," William grinned shakily to Wendy, who shrugged.
Wendy shrugged. "I figured dude. Take your time."
"So, Wizkid Dipper, "William looked back to the teen, rubbing his hands together, "What decision did you come to?"
Dipper sighed and held the journal in his hands. Gritting his teeth at first, Dipper nodded and said, "I'll trade my grand-uncles third journal of the Mysteries of Gravity Falls for-"
Wendy shot up. "Dipper, no dude!" Wendy cried. William jumped and stepped away, staring at her. Wendy snapped, "That's like, your big prized thing!"
"Yeah, it is," Dipper told her, "And that's why I'm trading it."
"It's not worth it," Wendy repeated.
"Yes, it is."
Wendy, looking like she was out of ammunition for this debate, meagerly began, "I am not-"
"Wendy," Dipper simply said. His tone was firm, but gentle. He didn't need words to tell her how much he disagreed with what she would have said. She was worth it.
With only the sliver of resistance in her look to him, Wendy sat back down shaking her head. "You shouldn't have to-"
"But I will," Dipper cut her off. He turned back and extended the journal to William. "Sir, here's my deal." William nodded. He reached over and took the journal from Dipper. The moment that Dipper felt the journal leave his hands, he felt a small, hard object in his hands. He looked down, and small pearl of blue and shimmering gold had appeared.
"Delivery!" Cardinal told Dipper, "One small, cellular regenerating, disease and plague removing, tumorous growth expunging, toxin and poison deleting pill, at your service!" he beamed. "There you are, my friend, "William told Dipper. He turned away, preparing to place Grunkle Fords third journal somewhere amidst a library of his own. "Now, where do I put more paranoid ravings?" Cardinal asked.
Dipper sighed and looked from the journal to the pill. This was it now. He had that cure that they needed. Wendy would finally be able to rest and eat and sleep. Dipper faced her and held open his hand.
"This is it," he told her, "The cure."
Wendy said nothing. She looked ill, almost like she was scared to do or think anything. Shakily, she stood up. With her steps creaking against the floor, she walked over. Standing, they faced one another, as they had many times before. Another crossroads of life awaited them.
Dipper gulped, "I... when this is over, we should go to Greasy's and just eat everything on the menu."
Wendy smiled, her lip giving a momentary tremble. "That sounds… freakin' awesome, dude. Just bring some anti-heartburn, yeah?"
Taking her hand in his hand, Dipper lowered the pearl-like pill into her hand. She seemed to feel the weight in her palm, and then she gasped, a tear falling down her cheek. Three years of living a life of pain and agony was about to end. Dipper wanted the cheer. They had it. Wendy then raised her hand near her face.
From the bookshelf, William Cardinal shouted, "What are you doing!?" and he rushed over and snatched the pearl from her hand.
"Hey!" the two roared at Cardinal, who held the pill in his hands, hiding it from them.
"What gives, dude!?" Wendy roared.
"Yeah!" Dipper shouted, "We have a deal, Cardinal!"
Cardinal looked to his own cure-all, and then to Wendy. His eyes bled a thousand words, clearly all tangled into questions. He looked to Dipper, and suddenly those words all fell away. Something clicked inside behind the man's eyes. With a sad look to the two of them, William Cardinal shook his head, and held aloft the pill in his hand. It levitated an inch into the air, and then faded from existence with a small pop. As the two before him gasped, William turned and lifted the journal with his hands.
Dipper felt anger boiling in his chest again. Was Cardinal going to keep the journal? His heartrate slowed as the djinn's arms folded out to Dipper, lowering the Journal before him. Reeling with what had just happened, Dipper demanded, "You're going back on my deal!?"
Drearily, Cardinal said, "Oh, Wizkid, I'm sorry. I wish I had known."
"Known what?" Dipper asked, hesitant to take back the journal if he knew it meant not getting Wendy happy again.
"That the Panacea was for her," Cardinal shook his head.
Wendy almost looked as incensed as Dipper. "Why are you going back on Dipper's deal!?" Wendy roared, stepping into his face, "What is your problem, dude?"
"This isn't right," Dipper grumbled.
William Cardinal looked into Dipper's eyes, his own shimmering. "Kiddo, I want to help you, I really do. I feel what is going on, in there. In that brain and your heart. Just like Miss Northwest," Cardinal told him.
Wendy looked between them. Dipper, despite his face flashing with heat, grumbled, "Then why won't you give us the deal?"
Cardinal gritted his teeth, pained by whatever truth he believed in. He looked from Dipper to Wendy. With a cautious step, he approached her. After a careful study of her physical form, he put a hand on her shoulder. "What you have, Wendy," Cardinal began to explain, and Wendy quickly tried shrugging off his hand. Dissapointed with her reluctance, he said "That curse? It's not something I can cure."
"What?!" the two gasped.
"Djinn are created only so powerful, " Cardinal explained, "Most of our wishes have some limitation. Sure; I might seem all-powerful to you, but all Djinn have three things they can't do."
"And helping me is one of them!?" Wendy asked, her throat tightening.
William Cardinal sighed and shook his head more. "No, no, no, that's not it at all, kiddo" he said, his voice wracked with guilt, "I promise you, if I could-" he walked away, and flumped into his seat. Massaging his face, he looked to the teenagers before him. With a distance voice, he explained, "Djinn have the three no-nos. One: we cannot make two fall in love. Not usually an issue these days, but it's out there for the social contract," he added. When the two frowned, he continued, "Two: we cannot kill. Again, most people these days are creative enough, they don't need my help, and I'm not into bloodshed anyway. Finally, we cannot raise the dead back to the living, in any sense."
Dipper's mind reeled. "But Wendy is technically alive!" Dipper told him, "She's moving! Animated! She can think and want and do anything she wants!"
William Cardinals face scrunched up as he, in a high-pitched voice said, "Yeeaaah, but she is a wraith," William told him, and in his normal tone expanded, "Cursed to an unliving life. She is more life-like now, but... No, Dipper," William stared to Wendy and then to him, "She is among the dead. I can sense them before I even see them, and I tell you – she is a dead."
Dipper felt the hope slipping away, like find sand through his fingers. "But," he pleaded, a dizziness infecting his mind, "Your cure–"
"Cure's people from diseases and ailments," William repeated, "But nothing I make can revive the dead."
"No," Dipper cried out, and sat down in the nearest chair, clutching his face. He couldn't take that; he had gotten so close!
Wendy, nearby, looked like she might say something awful. She stared at the djinn with a mixture of disdain and reproach that caused the hairy man to wilt. A moment of silence later, the Djinn looked to Wendy, and then back to Dipper.
Cardinal, his voice quiet and soft, asked, "How… did you happen?" to Wendy.
In a dead voice, Wendy asked, "Why?"
Cardinal looked like he would do anything to just give the poor girl a hug. Remembering her prior reaction to his hand, he stayed still. "Well, I was but a wee lad when someone came up with the magic for this," he explained, "I know magic these days aren't as plentiful as it used to be, so I can't imagine you accidentally wraith'd yourself. How did it happen?"
Dipper scowled, pulling his red eyes out from his hands. "What are you getting at?"
Cardinal said, "I really want to help you guys. You want this over?" he asked Wendy, who nodded. He looked to Dipper, "And you want to help?" Dipper just frowned, the answer clear. "Right, message received, command," William Cardinal muttered, "What I'm getting at is maybe I can give you the right pointer."
"Really?" she asked with venom, "Want to get my hopes up any more so you can smash those too?"
"No!" Cardinal desperately assured her, standing up. "Look, kid, I know I was rough to you in the beginning, but I've had my share of tough calls with the less-than-alive," he explained, "Wizkid here," he nudged his head in Dipper's direction, "Has all the heart in the world when it comes to helping you. For that kind of kindness, I am the worlds biggest sucker." He leaned on the table, looking to Wendy. "How did it happen?"
From hopelessness came curiosity. Dipper and Wendy exchanged a single look. Dipper knew he didn't look as tired as Wendy must feel, but he was done with trying to believe he could solve anything. So, to her look, he shrugged.
Wendy simply said, "A friend used a book that had old magic in it."
"Did he?" Cardinal said, scratching his beard. "An old book nearby." He smirked, and snapped his fingers. "I got it!" William Cardinal declared. The two stood upright, and Cardinal told Dipper. "Okay, Wizkid, consider this a big favor coming from me, alright? I'm going to dust off this old wish-maker's magic, just for a moment."
"W-What?" Dipper stammered.
"One wish," the Djinn told him. "I'm going to help you and Wendy here end this curse."
Dipper frowned. "But you said you can't-"
"Cure her? Nope!" Cardinal shook his head, but continued to grin, "But I can get that book for you!"
If nothing else would get her excited, that would; Wendy rushed to the table, leaning on it. "You can do that?" she asked.
"I sure can," he told them, and turned to Dipper, "You just need to wish it-" Dipper visibly recoiled, and Cardinal noticed. "What's up? I promise you, no deposit required on your first transaction! Heh, that's a joke. No money."
Dipper felt the sting of the past. He heard the mad cackling of an enraged two-dimensional being in his head. He saw the memory of his body crushing an ancient lap-top. He remembered what such deals had, in the past, gotten him. Shaking himself free for a moment, he looked over to William Cardinal. The man held off from his wish powers. Everything this man had done, thus far, seemed tame in comparison to Bill Cipher. Maybe, just once, Dipper was going to trust him.
"Okay," Dipper said, "I wish for the book used to turn Wendy into a wraith."
William Cardinal grinned, and spun about. His skin, once of a natural human tone, started to shine blue. He clapped his hands, and cried out, "One creepy pre-dark age European tome coming right up!" he said. He held his hands aloft. A gathering energy whirled there, blues and golds and pinks gathering as he committed to a bout of magical power.
Then, a crackle of bright-white lightning shot out from the gathering orb. William Cardinal was thrown back, slamming into one of his displays of trades made. As Wendy gasped, Dipper rushed to William Cardinals side.
"Ohh, that was rough" William Cardinal looked between them, a little singed, "Talk about the world's worst do-not-disturb sign."
"What happened?" Dipper demanded. He looked around for the tomb that Cardinal had described, and the closest thing he saw was the third journal. Dipper restated, "Mister Cardinal?"
The djinn, starting to look more and more like a human again, let out a long, heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Wizkid. I'm a little out of practice," he told Dipper, and looked to Wendy, "Someone checked out that book and put a pretty nasty spell over it, just in case someone tried just what I tried. I don't have the same oomph I used to."
Wendy's lips trembled. Dipper shook his head. Anger rushed into his stomach, and he snapped, "Warlock!" he shook William Cardinal's shoulders, "Was it him? A human spellcaster?"
Cardinal nodded. "That kind of spell belonged to someone with quite the magic practice. Definitely someone with quite the power."
"B-But," Dipper cried out, "We can wish for the knowledge of the spell, then! How about-"
Cardinal stood up finally, and as he did, he grimly told Dipper, "That entire tome is off-limits. Anyone who tries magic to get, move, or interact with that nasty little grimoire is in for a shock. Literally. I'm… really sorry, Dipper," Cardinal told him, "If I started practicing wish-making again, maybe I could weasel my way around the magic. But, as it stands-"
Wendy clearly had enough. She whipped around, he long hair blazing behind her as she marched out the curtains and down the stairs. Dipper, with a moment of anger blazing inside his heart, turned to him, and ripped his journal out of his hands, and marched away.
"Dipper," William called.
Furious, upset, and feeling more lost than he had in weeks, Dipper looked back. Cardinal was at the curtained entrance, looking out to him.
"I can tell you where it was," Cardinal told him. "It was underground. Felt deeper than a basement. If you go looking for this bad-dude, good luck. Wendy too. Only one other person found a way to survive that kind of curse."
Without another word to William Cardinal, Dipper marched away from the trailer. He found himself alone by the stage. He heard her first, and then he saw her. Wendy was rushing to her bike, near the parking lot.
"Wendy!" he called.
A pause in her steps, she turned slowly, seeming to refuse to look at him. As he approached though, he caught her arm gently in his hand, and she looked to him. She was crying more than Dipper thought Wendy was capable of. Tears streamed freely down her face, but her eyes were blank, along with her face.
"I just almost remember what food tasted like back there," she told him, "What it felt like... not being hungry."
Her voice was so empty. It felt more hollow than anything Dipper had heard from the most jaded of people he had ever met in his life. It crushed him. They had felt so close, so completely, utterly close to the end of this terrible fate, that it felt like the pain of failure stung more than the existence of the curse itself. Dipper watched Wendy; she was so broken, those usually strong, green eyes wavering in their power over her fate.
He felt anger. Once again, the Warlock stood in between his happiness and the happiness of others. He couldn't accept that as a reality. There was not a single fiber in his being that would allow someone as perfect as Wendy to be so crushed and lost. If the interference of the Warlock hadn't angered it, that made him furious. It made his blood pump and his brain crackle with an energy he hadn't felt in a long time.
True rebellion against fate.
"No," Dipper said, and marched towards his car, "We're not out yet," Dipper told her.
"Huh?" she asked, spinning to keep up with him. He got in his car with speed, and then Wendy paused. "Wait dude, you're not talking about-"
"I'm going to negotiate the terms of the deal," he told her and closed the door.
Driving away from a stunned and fearful Wendy, left standing in the parking lot, Dipper wasted no time getting back to the Manor. He had to prepare the ritual. More importantly, he had to be uninterrupted when doing so. He could already hear the protests the others would have for doing this. He couldn't let this chance slip his fingers. Therefore, he wouldn't tell anyone else what he was going to do.
"C'mon, c'mon," he told the wheel of his car, turning up the gravel path to the building in the woods. There would be a threshold at some point; he could feel a point of no return creeping on him.
As the sun started to hit the afternoon light, Dipper arrived. The car wasn't even turned off when he stopped at the Mystery Manor. Put in park and left there to wait for his return, Dipper rushed inside, passing Soos and Mabel, who both called him over. Their words were water against the windshield of his mind, not remotely mattering as long as they didn't totally block his passage.
He turned for the stairs, hearing a more concerned call behind him. It belonged to Mabel, and that boded bad for his plan. She was more intuitive than anyone with his silent plans, and the fact she kept calling him made him worry. He would need to be quick. Otherwise, she could ruin his chance to speak with him one last time.
Dipper made it to their room, and locked the door behind him. Mabel's voice was right behind him as he began to gather the candles and small box of matches in a cabinet.
The door was pounded on loudly as he set the candles up, reciting the incantation under his breath. He wasn't going to be summon Bill, but sending himself to him. He didn't want any chances in missing his opportunity.
The voices by the door grew louder. There were others outside now. More had come to stop Dipper it seemed, but he knew what he was doing.
He sat down, surrounded by seven candles, quickly reciting the same passage again and again.
"Triangulum, entangulum. Vene foris dominus mentium. Vene foris videntis omnium. Egassem sdrawkcab. egassem sdrawkcab. Egassem sdrawkcab. Egassem sdrawkcab. Egassem sdrawkcab."
It was not as powerful now. Dipper knew that Cipher wasn't in his reality, or connected to it by the nightmare reality. He was gone, distant. Still, with the practice from Arline's training, Dipper began to let his mind fall away, freeing itself from the conscious while still perfectly awake. He had to do it again.
Pounding on the door grew even louder. Dipper focused harder, muttering the incantation again.
Then he felt it happen.
He fell through himself, and into then starry abyss.
Just as before, Dipper fell through stars and galaxies, whole universes, and came to a small platform. Awaiting him while resting on a sun chair was Bill. The dream-demon seemed to be sipping into a straw that pointed just under his eye.
"Ah! Didn't hear you come in! So, you did come back!" Bill said, snapping his finger to vanish away the drink of water and chair. He floated up and leaned on his cane as he looked to Dipper. "So, how'd it go with the djinn? Oh, was it that he tried to help you and then got swatted back by some punk human? Hah! Classic!"
Dipper rolled his eyes so hard. "You knew?" Dipper asked. Just for once it would be nice to get the drop of Cipher.
Bill laughed, "Kid, just because I get locked into an non-dimensional prison that is essentially torture to any creature, living or otherwise," Bill added with a leer to Dipper, "Doesn't mean I stop hearing things. I see lots of things, Dipper. Lots. Of. Things."
Dipper scowled. "Y-you knew I'd try curing Wendy!"
"Yup!"
"And you knew it wouldn't work!" Dipper shouted.
"Also yup!"
"You- you-"
"Ohhh, c'mon Pine Tree! Hit me with your best!" Cipher egged him on, "I love the chaos of a good shouting match! Wanna bet one a winner? Oh! OH! I know! The one who doesn't have lungs!" Bill told Dipper.
Dipper shouted and clutched his hands tightly. There wasn't anything more infuriating than Bill when he knew more about something than you, effectively making him the most annoying thing Dipper had ever met. There was little to reason with him, and worse was when he knew it all.
"So, Pine tree," Bill continued, hovering closer, "Let's cut to the juicy part. You're back, and what's more, you're considering the deal. Good. Let's make it happen," Bill said, and extended his arm.
Dipper looked to the hand. That same hand had screwed him over on multiple occasion. Dipper looked up to the eye. He wouldn't allow his desperation to play him into a bad situation.
"Wendy," Dipper stated.
"Yes, red," Bill added.
"When you cure her, she'll... go back to normal?" Dipper clarified.
"Yeah, yeah, right back to eighteen years old, as she should be, the little tyke, "Bill confirmed.
Dipper continued. "She won't die the instant because of malnourishment and lack of sleep, will she?" he asked. Bill's hand slightly lowered, but Dipper grinned at the sign. "Ah. No deal then-"
Bill shook himself around. "Okay, okay, she'll be all fine – won't die the instant she's back to standard health," Bill added. "None of those dumb human things."
"Yeah? What about bursts of hormone? Developmental chemicals?" Dipper added. Bill gasps, and lowered his hand entirely. Dipper sneered. "I thought so. Bone malformations due to skeletal developments, sudden cysts due to cellular growth, brain-"
"Alright!" Bill roared, clapping his hands next to his top hat angrily, "Yes! Yes! Fine! She will be exactly the way she should be, if she never had the curse at all!"
Dipper paused, his lips pursed. "Healthy as she should be? Healthy as she could be."
Bill groaned. "Oh c'mon-"
"Or no deal," Dipper told Bill.
Bill grumbled and spun around. "You!" Bill pointed to Dipper, "You've been making deals with others, haven't you? What kind of nefarious training have you undergone to become such a shred negotiator?"
"It's part of dealing with you," Dipper told him.
Bill scoffed. "Whatever. FINE!" he roared, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Wendy Dumbface Corduroy will be perfectly healthy and restored to the age she should be. Deal!?" Bill whipped out the hand again.
Dipper looked to it as he had before. That hand which had tore out his soul and spirit from his body and possessed it for him, the hand which had nearly caused the end of the world, the hand that could snap it's fingers and cause the sweetest dream to become the worst nightmare...
That hand was the same kind that could revive Wendy to the way she should be.
Dipper moved forward. It was worth it. He would lave town with Mabel, as part of the deal, and warm everyone to leave as soon as they could. Wendy would be allowed to live her life again...
And he would probably never see her again. He could never go back to Gravity Falls, nor his sister. He was signing for her too.
As his hand stretched out, Dipper spotted something. The blue fire associated with the sealing of a deal wasn't present. Dipper stared at the demon hand, and then to Bill.
"Do we have a deal?" Bill repeated.
Dipper scowled and then slapped the hand away.
Bill stared. "W-what?" Bill asked.
"I don't know what you're playing at, Bill," Dipper told him, "But I can smell something's up. You've got something planned. And you... you want me out of the way for it!" Dipper shouted at him, "So forget it! Deal's off!" Bill began to shake and tremble, his golden temperament shivering into crimson. "And you know what?! Same for any deal in the future!"
"What!?" Bill roared, his form shattering like glass. It reformed around him, and started glowing red like it was burning hot.
Dipper declared proudly, "I'll never accept a deal from you again in my life. You can just leave me and my sister alone, forever," he told Bill with fury.
"PINE TREE!" Bill raged, floating above Dipper now. "YOU... YOU!"
Just as quickly the fury and anger began, it vanished. Bill returned to normal size and color and zoomed up into Dipper's face.
"This isn't over, kid," Bill told him, "You think that 'oh, I tricked good 'ol mister Cipher' means that you've beaten me? Kid, I warned you what will happen in the future. Things have been set in motion, and now what I showed you will happen."
"The future can change," Dipper told Cipher.
"The future is change, idiot," Bill snapped at Dipper, "Just ask Adam."
"Who?" Dipper asked.
Bill didn't seem to care to answer. "So don't go thinking that you can avoid the punishment you've brought to yourself by ignoring my offer. This isn't over, Pine Tree," Bill said, and floated upwards, a large circle appearing above him. Dipper gasped- unlike last time, there were fewer strange icons laid into it's sides. Only an axe with a broken handle, two hands with thick wrappings on them, and a skull with a single eye remained. The spaces once filled with other icons had vanished.
Bill told him, floating high above him, "Remember kid, Reality is a-"
"Dipper!"
Dipper opened his eyes as the door was kicked down. Wendy stepped in first, delivering the kick that snapped open the locked door. Rushing inside first, past the redhead, was Mabel. Before Dipper could say a thing, she ran over, grasped him by the collar of his vest, and lifted him up. She glared into his eyes, staring deeply.
Dipper blinked and sighed. "He's not here," Dipper told her.
Mabel's face was red and sweaty. She was heaving heavily. "You- you dumb, stupid, idiot!" Mabel told him, settling him down to the floor on his feet, "What could have happened if it hadn't gone to plan? You could have been a walking puppet again!"
"I know," Dipper shrugged.
At the door, Stan walked by, and checked the status of the door. After quickly assessing the kids past the doorframe, he said, "Hm. Well, that's another chore for Soos and Yuki," and he walked by Wendy.
Mabel cried out, tears in her eyes, "What were you thinking?!" Still holding onto his collar, she begged Dipper for an answer, "You could have... you could have..."
It wasn't the first time someone nearby Dipper started tearing up that afternoon. Dipper fought back a quaking chin, and he swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," Dipper hoarsely said. He put his hands on Mabel's shoulders, "I did it because the Djinn's pill can't–"
"I know," Mabel nodded, her head fallen and looking to the floor, "Wendy told me. It's stupid," Mabel looked back up, shaking her head. She leaned closer, and put her forehead on Dipper's chest. Quietly and with a constrained voice, Mabel said, "I could have lost you again."
Dipper nodded, unable to say much else to such fear.
Wendy stepped in. "You... didn't make a deal with it, did you?" she asked.
Dipper stared to her, his eyes shimmering with emotion. What could he say to her? In the end, he chose the truth. He merely shook his head. Wendy nodded and leaned against the door, her tired eyes even more evident. How many times would Dipper try to offer her release from that burden and fail? He hated himself for that, for always acting like he could be the hero, and never succeeding.
"I'll be outside," Dipper said suddenly, excusing himself from the two.
Down the stairs and away from the shop, Dipper stepped from the others. Wendy and Mabel left behind, Dipper turned to the left and down the hallway that led to the side entrance.
At the steps, Dipper sat, feeling the weight of his promise crashing down on him as much as his attempts had.
Two deals, and neither completed. Wendy was still cursed, and Dipper still had a promise to complete. With the light of the falling sun, Dipper wondered what to do next. There was a familiar weight inside his vest. Dipper lifted out the third journal, and once again saw himself in that golden six-fingered hand. Was it really worth keeping now? He stared at what it was, what it meant to him. So much, and yet only as a grim reminder to what he had lost.
The door opened behind him, and out stepped Wendy. Before he could speak, she sat next to him and sighed.
"Wendy?" Dipper asked quietly.
"It's okay dude," She admitted with her own nod, "In the end, you just saved yourself a bunch of punches. I probably would have smacked you a bunch had you made any deal with Cipher."
Dipper snorted. He looked to the falling sun. Something about it felt… more than just the coming of the end of the day. He put the journal down. He said, perhaps more to himself than Wendy, "I'm starting to wonder if Ford knew everything, like I used to think," Dipper said.
Wendy whistled. "Now if that isn't a low point for Dipper Pines," she chuckled.
"Tell me about it," Dipper agreed. "I always thought this had the answer. If this didn't, the other two would. This summer, I keep finding myself making up things on the fly, and they keep working. Until now," he said, and gave her a deeply troubled look. "Wendy, I'm sorry."
He always came to expect Wendy as the coolest cucumber in the garden. At that moment, she did not disappoint. "It's okay dude," she told him, half-grinning.
"I just really want to help you."
"I know, man," she scolded him, and playfully shoved his shoulder, "But you're going and being an ass about it!" Dipper gasped, smiling at both the insult and shove. She pointed at him, "Look, I want your help, okay? You're, like, the smartest person I know."
Dipper pointed out, "Yuki?"
She narrowed her eyes and smirked, "Sure, just ask him how to use a bus."
"Touché," Dipper rewarded her.
Wendy reached out and pulled Dipper into a one-armed hug. "I do want you to help, but this is my responsibility. You can't be burning up over something that isn't even supposed to be your problem to begin with. So, dude," she asked him, giving him space enough to look in her face. Dipper was, of course, very red in the cheeks, "promise me that you're not going to be a reckless doofus anymore."
He laughed. "Okay," Dipper nodded, "No more Dipper the Doofus." He and Wendy, as they had many times before, gave their zipper-lip salute.
Wendy told him, "We'll figure this out somehow," nudging his arm with her elbow, "We're great at improvising new things."
Feeling all the pain of the days failure fading away, Dipper looked to her, really taking her in. There was a very real desire of holding her chin or jaw gently, just to pull her close. She seemed so close, so in his reach. Then again, he had just been hugged after a ton of stress. Dipper tamed the urge and looked away. Even with all that he had failed to accomplish, she had faith in him.
As long as she did, Dipper was certain he could do anything.
One update a little early, one a little late. Eesh. That's the life for ya!
And there you have it! Bill's return over and gone before we knew it. Wonder what he's up to. Something seemed off about him, didn't it? Hmm... who knows.
And alas, the Wendy curse still goes on. Try as we might, we're still looking for that cure. But maybe Dipper will find it. But to be frank, next episode, he'll be finding out some other things. Some... bad, and sad, things. So get ready- the big hunt for the warlock is about to begin.
And for those of you who didn't get who William Cardinal is supposed to represent, take a guess at what Disney Movie as a Genie in it. Now, find the actor who played it. :p Ya sillies.
Also- I'm off next week! Sorry guys, I'm heading to a place with no internet, so that's not really a thing I can help. :p BUT! But... to make up for it, next MONDAY I will have the chapter poster around midday. So remember- not update next sunday, but instead monday.
Seey- (EZB is swallowed into Quicksand.)
Quicksand: Burp.
The address was 412 Gopher Road.
Upon the old Gleeful warehouse on the cliff just outside of town, a lone figure crept to the doors leading within. The figure, wearing meager, borrowed clothes from the Mystery Manor, pushed open the door leading within.
"Hello?"
His voice echoed loud and clear within the building. Yuki opened the front door to the seemingly abandoned warehouse. Lights were dim, and the orange glow of the setting sun cast its rays into the building. It wasn't a particularly massive building, but it was laden with many discarded boxes, crates, and other materials long since abandoned.
He pressed inside, his eyes skimming the boxes around him. The materials had old, dusty labels of a child with pudgy cheeks, saying strange things like 'Widdle' and winking a lot. Yuki even spotted a doll on the floor ahead of him, out of place from the rubbish around him. He winced as he approached the doll, and leaned down to it.
"What is this?" Yuki muttered to himself as he lifted the doll with tall, white hair to his face. It looked like it had some sort of string on its back. Yuki, perplexed, pulled at it.
The doll said, in a western drawl, "Howdy!" then it cackled sinisterly, "Hahahahahaa!"
Yuki, morbidly terrified of the object, gently laid it down. "Mental note regarding human toys - most are stunningly creepy," Yuki told himself.
"Uki-Dohth," a voice called to him.
Yuki whipped his head to a corner of the building and stood up. The voice had come from the darkness around him. His eyes squinted as he looked around.
"Who is there?" Yuki cried out, "Identify yourself!"
From the corner, he saw the outline of someone. A figure approached, walking through the shadows. Yuki stared and gasped. They wore a hooded jacket, which they were lowing, perhaps to better speak to Yuki.
"Finally. I'm glad you saw the ad," the Warlock, Graupner Kinley, said with a grin as he stepped into the light. "I think we have a lot to talk about. I have... a deal to make with you."
(Vigenere)
Kv ewmawj xhq tuvek ax uvelulb, ks wtafy le tsv siez drtoep. Okvr ttw ozkhf hrlvs rjrd xhq zrci tag eimgtl wf onao, kv whmdo iitgjq; minswdege uf wfa.