Hey, readers! Thanks for your continued support of this story. Writing isn't easy, what with the semester in school wrapping up and three research papers due in school on Tuesday... But I promise I'll try to update at least one more time this week.

Now, I know I said this chapter would be longer than the last, and it is... By a couple hundred words. So I promise that I'll make Chapter 4 at least 2000 words.

Also, I've been having some issues with editing and just this website in general recently, so excuse any mistakes I may have made while typing.

Thanks!

~ Three

Mabel knew something was off about her brother. And it wasn't just the fact that he had gotten so little sleep in the past few weeks. There was a sort of built-in sense that she had- she knew when something was going on with Dipper, and this was one of those times when her sibling-radar had been ringing off the hook.

Unfortunately, it was a lot harder to guess at the specific details than it was to guess at the general problem.

Dipper hadn't taken much interest in anything recently. That had started right after the puppet show. Even when he was getting a normal amount of sleep (for him, at least), he would always be sort of vacant and not present, like his mind was somewhere else.

And maybe it was. Mabel couldn't tell.

It wasn't until almost a month after the puppet show that she started to get an idea of what was going on in Dipper's head. It was so obvious! She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before.

He was obsessed with someone... And she knew just the girl who could fix his problems and crack this case wide open.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

Dipper had been becoming increasingly worried about Mabel. She couldn't know. He couldn't let her find out that he was being visited by the very demon who had ruined everything for her, the demon who had possessed her brother and tricked all of them.

How could he? The situation was spiraling out of control, and there was no way she would understand any of it.

The boy had been obsessed with Bill since the show, and had even had thoughts of the demon at the back of his mind after he met him the first time. He always returned and connected to Bill and his possible motivations when he got into thinking about the journals, and the bigger picture.

And it seemed that the demon just wouldn't give him a rest. Almost every night, he would return to the boy's dreams and wreak havoc.

But he would stay silent. Nobody could know, not even the people closest to him, no matter how much he thought they would be able to help.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

Bill smirked at Dipper as he stood in front of him, twirling his cane around in the air. He seemed to be enjoying all this, as if it were some sort of sick, twisted game that he had dragged the boy into.

"No, please... Don't... Stop...!" Dipper's voice came out as a barely audible whisper, and Bill's smile grew to a wide grin. He leaned over the younger boy, who shut his eyes and cringed as he felt the other's penetrating gaze boring a hole straight through him. His mind was an open book, and they both knew it.

"What, can't handle even a teensy little nightmare? Ah, my fragile little Pine Tree, how will you ever survive in this world?" He beamed down at Dipper, extending a gloved hand and letting it rest on the top of his head. The younger grimaced as the demon ran his fingers through his hair, but did nothing to prevent it.

Tears flowed freely from Dipper's eyes. He couldn't get Mabel's terrified expression out of his head.

"Alright, Piney, get up. The fun's not over yet. We've got more to do tonight!"

When he received no response, Bill kneeled down and examined Dipper's face. He noticed the crying, and felt a very slight pang of guilt at what he had done.

Guilt? HIM? Something really was special about this puny human flesh bag.

The dream demon wiped a tear away from the younger boy's face with the back of his hand, his touch soft and caring and nothing like what it had been like before.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Dipper glared up at him with a look of pure poison in his glistening eyes.

"Yes, Bill, I am perfectly fine after watching you torture my sister and burn everything I've ever loved to ashes. I'm glad you're concerned."

Any regret Bill had felt had vanished at this little comment from the boy. The corner of his mouth jerked up in a slight smile, and he got to his feet, grabbing Dipper's forearm and dragging him up with him.

"You're so adorable, Pine Tree. Until tomorrow, my dear!"

The smug smile remained on his face as he lifted the boy off the ground so they were eye-to-eye, their foreheads almost touching. Bill tilted his head to the side and let his lips brush against the other's, ever so slightly, before vanishing into thin air.

Dipper shot upright in bed, screaming at an incredibly high pitch. He desperately gasped for air, practically hyperventilating.

The loud stomps quickly getting closer to the attic signaled the approach of his twin sister. Mabel burst into the room and sprinted to his bedside.

"Are you okay, Dip? What happened? Did you have another nightmare?"

"Uh, I... Yeah. Just another nightmare. You know, normal stuff. Don't worry about it."

She looked mildly upset, but chose to dismiss this and ran back down the stairs, presumably to get her mind off things with some Mabel Juice or something equally sparkly and life-shortening.

Dipper slowly climbed out of his bed and stretched. His breathing had slowed, but he was still shaking and sweating from anxiety.

He staggered over to the dresser and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked terrible. He had become extremely pale and weak... But the dark circles under his eyes had started to grow lighter.

He had slept all night again. That was the third time that week.

Something had changed.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

"You should really try remembering a bit harder, my little Pine Tree. I gave you a hint, and I know you noticed it. You're smarter than this. I could've chosen any random meat sack to watch over, but I chose you. You know why? Because you're intelligent. You aren't as ignorant as the rest of your race. So you should have picked up on it."

Bill was pinning Dipper to the ground, similarly to what he had done the first time. He kept the younger boy's legs against the forest floor with his own, and held his arms apart.

"C'mon, Piney. What it is? What's my motivation? I did tell you, but did you listen...?" The demon cooed in a haunting, melodic tone, a smile playing across his face but vanishing quickly.

Dipper, once again, didn't retaliate. Bill didn't seem to be in as good of a mood as he had been in the past, where everything was funny and amusing, all the time. Now he seemed dead serious, and there was something about the edge to his voice that made Dipper's skin crawl, so the boy didn't dare fight back.

"You... You have big plans coming, and you don't need me getting in your way... You said so yourself."

Bill's cold, humorless expression was suddenly overtaken by one that Dipper didn't exactly like. He seemed completely overwhelmed with ecstasy.

"Hahahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA! Boy, you sure are an idiot, kid! No wonder you haven't been able to figure out anything important. And to think I actually considered you a threat..."

The demon was grinning broadly, his one eye bearing nothing but malice.

"I'll let you figure it out. You do so love to solve your mysteries!"

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

Dipper clutched his chest as it heaved in and out. His body shook and ached with every pounding step he took. He wasn't quite sure how long he had been running, or where exactly he was, but it felt like an eternity spent in a white void.

He was running from... Something. Something vague and distant, that he couldn't find the words to describe. It didn't take a physical form.

It was weird how dreams worked that way.

Suddenly, the emptiness of the world around Dipper melted away into a soft, golden light that enveloped him completely. It felt warm and... Oddly pleasant.

Then he was back at the Mystery Shack. It was business as usual, with the buses pulling up in the front lot and Stan shouting about "wonders never before seen by human eyes."

The whole thing immediately set alarms off inside Dipper's head. It was all too normal.

This was a trap.

Nevertheless, Dipper found himself drawn towards the Shack by a strange force, almost as if he wasn't in full control over his body anymore.

He shuddered, remembering the last time he had lost control.

He was pulled through the gift shop and up into the attic, where he was practically thrown down onto his bed. Journal 3 was laid in front of him, surrounded by a glowing aura that pulsated and flickered.

The pages of the journal flipped back and forth rapidly, like someone was trying to find something specific.

Eventually, it stopped on a page that Dipper had never seen before. Drawn on it in black ink was Bill in his regular form, surrounded by a circle containing ten symbols.

Confused, Dipper picked the book up off the bed and held it closer to him. What did this mean?

A bright flash of light temporarily blinded Dipper, making him look away. When he returned his gaze to the journal, he saw a tiny blue flame ignite in the middle of each symbol on the circle. One by one, the flames seared holes in the symbols until they had been burned right through the paper, leaving smoldering gaps in a ring around the image of Bill.

Dipper swallowed nervously. This did not bode well.

Well, I hope that wasn't TOO terrible... Feedback always appreciated. Chapter 4 should be out by Thursday.

~ Three