Once more, the loud BEEEP of the laptop rang out across the living room. Dipper yawned, laying back across the couch. Mabel had imposed a strict "no laptop after 10" rule, so Dipper was trying to find a place to keep working. Soos' break room had been his first pick, but Stan had found him out pretty quick, or more accurately had burst into the room, swinging a bat and yelling about "the robot uprising." Now he was working in the living room, but he still had to be careful, always listening for Stan's footsteps. It wasn't ideal.

The roof. his exhausted mind suddenly threw up, causing him to slap his forehead and groan. Why didn't I think of that before? He could go right now, he should go right now, but even just sitting up was a monumental effort. Jeez, how late is it? He squinted at the clock, but couldn't make it out in the darkness. He yawned again. No! Stay focused! He pulled the laptop closer to him, thinking.

He'd made a habit of occasionally dedicating some time to joke passwords in between real attempts. It was the only way to stay sane amidst the groans of frustration and BEEEP's that his life had become, and right now it might help him stay awake. He blinked in the light of the screen, trying to come up with some funny words, but nothing came to him. Uhhhhh….I think I'll try….names. Yeah, people I know. He began typing.

SOOSRAMI

BEEEP

Dipper spent more time than was probably necessary trying to decide if he was going to carry the rest of the name over to the next attempt.

REZWENDY

BEEEP

Yknow, this is more boring than I thought it'd be.

CORDUROY

BEEEP

His eyes were already starting to glaze over.

STANFORD

He shut the laptop, fiercely shaking his head. He really didn't want to fall asleep down here. Been there, woke up with cat whiskers on his face for that. He picked up the laptop and stood with a yawn. He started toward the gift shop, but suddenly froze. Something was fundamentally wrong with the world, but he couldn't put his finger on what. For a long moment he stood there, eyes darting back and forth in the darkness, straining his overworked brain, until it finally hit him like a train.

The laptop didn't beep.

Suddenly wide awake, he sank to the floor and yanked it open. The familiar password screen greeted him. No, it couldn't be. Hands shaking with anticipation, Dipper typed it out one more time.

STANFORD

The laptop flashed green. PASSWORD ACCEPTED

"Mabel!" Something was violently shaking her. She rolled over, mumbling at whatever it was to stop, but it kept going. "Mabel, wake up you gotta see this!" Mabel groaned and rolled back over to face her disturber. Her brother's stupid face loomed over her. "What is it, Dipper?" she asked groggily.

"I cracked the laptop!"

Mabel already had her eyes closed again. "That's great Dip, let's talk about it tomorrow."

"What? No, Mabel, weren't you listening? I got the password!"

The words finally sunk in and Mabel's eyes shot open. "Wait, really?" She was up on her feet in a flash, grinning. "That means you can help me with my sock opera more!"

Dipper looked at her like she was an alien, a very familiar look. "What?" He shook his head. "Look, Mabel, I need to talk to you about the password."

It suddenly became obvious to Mabel that something was wrong with Dipper. He wasn't excited. Mabel had no doubts that she was the more energetic twin, but her brother's dumb mysteries were one of the few areas where he could match her. With how much he'd been working on this, he should be positively bouncing, no matter how late it was. Instead, he was subdued and serious. "What is it, Dipper?" Mabel asked.

"I figured out what the password is," Dipper said, moving over to sink onto his bed, "but it's super weird."

"Why? Is it POOPFACE?" Mabel asked, jumping onto the bed next to him, "I know you said the Author wouldn't do that, but that's why you never meet your heroes, Bro."

Dipper merely shook his head, another worrying sign, then opened the laptop. "I was just putting in the names of people we know. Y'know, for a joke. But, well…" He typed out STANFORD while Mabel watched.

"Whoa," Mabel said as the laptop flashed green, "Yeah, that is pretty weird."

Dipper glanced sidelong at her. "You don't…think it's our Stanford, do you?"

"Whaaaat?" Mabel said, leaning back with the drawn-out syllable, "No way! Grunkle Stan is nowhere near that smart!"

"I know, that's what I thought too," Dipper said, "but what if it is? Like, Stan is the only person I can think of who would use his own name as a password. Even just saying it out loud, it sounds like an old person thing, right?"

"Yeah, but the journals are pretty old, too," Mabel pointed out, "I think it's pretty out there. I mean, Stanford isn't that weird of a name."

"I guess so," They sat there, thinking.

"Well, I do know one thing," Mabel declared, hopping off Dipper's bed, "It's that whatever the answer is, we're not gonna figure it out on no sleep."

"I'm not sure I can sleep," Dipper said.

"Dipper," Mabel said, admonishment sneaking into her tone as she crawled into bed, "Even with your normal brain, you can't figure this out in one night. You're definitely not doing it with a brain that's all pooped out."

"I know, I know." Dipper says, laying down. "I'll try."

"That's the spirit. Goodnight Dipper."

"'Night, Mabel," He laid there, staring at the ceiling, possibilities swirling in his head. Despite that, it was still only a few minutes before he drifted away.

Dipper woke with a start, looking around the bedroom. It appeared to be normal, but for the second time that night, he could feel that there was something wrong. Mabel wasn't there, but a quick glance at the window showed it was still nighttime. As he looked at the window, though, a bright light suddenly shined through, creating a white, triangular patch on the ground. An ominous, familiar laughter echoed from it, as legs, arms, and a hat grew from the patch of light. The arms pulled themselves off the ground first, straining against the ground as the rest stood up. The room drained of color, and the white light consolidated to yellow, except for a single eye that swiveled around to look at Dipper.

"Hey there, Pine Tree!" Bill Cipher said, dusting himself off. "Yeesh, do you ever clean this floor? Ah ha ha!"

"What do you want, Bill?" Dipper said, guard up.

"Oh, nothing much," Bill said as he casually floated off the ground, "Just wanted to let you know how much you've ruined my plans." On the word "ruined", Bill suddenly grew huge and red, growling it with a deep voice before immediately shrinking and falling back to his cheerful tone.

"Plans? What plans?" Dipper asked.

"Well, y'see Pine Tree, I need your help for something. A little," Bill's eye flashed a few images that Dipper couldn't make out, "project I've been working on. And the password to that laptop was gonna be my bargaining chip."

"Well tough luck, Bill, because I wouldn't help you for anything! You tried to destroy my uncle's mind!"

Bill appeared right behind Dipper, "It was just a job, kid, no hard feelings! Besides, I am impressed you figured it out."

"Really?"

"Of course! Not just anyone could have lucked into the right answer like that!" Bill snapped his fingers and Dipper was suddenly wearing a graduation cap. "Real West Coast Tech material right here!" Bill cackled as Dipper furiously ripped it off. "But seriously, kid, congrats! Speaking of your uncle though," Bill was suddenly in Dippers face, eye lighting up with an image of Stan, "that password sure raises some questions, doesn't it? Is it a coincidence? Can you really trust him?"

"Of course I can!" Dipper snapped.

"You sure about that, Pine Tree?" The image in Bill's eye started changing. Stan, backed against the totem pole, lying about putting Waddles outside. Stan, battered in the attic, telling the kids he'd been lying to them about the supernatural. Stan, promising Dipper he wasn't keeping anymore secrets, but Bill showed him a new perspective, that behind his back Stan had crossed his fingers.

It was enough to shake Dipper's (already fragile) faith, but even so he managed to stammer out, "I-I-…We'll figure it out, alright!"

Just as suddenly as he'd come in close, Bill backed off. "Whatever you say, kid." He tipped his hat. "But if you ever want to know for sure, give me a call! We'll make a date out of it! Ah ha ha ha!"

Dipper jolted awake, the laughter of the demon still echoing through his mind. He looked around nervously. Sunlight streamed into the room, and he made a point to not look at the triangular patch of it on the floor. Mabel was nowhere to be found, obviously already left to work on her puppet show. Dipper rubbed his eyes. He still felt tired, and he guessed his late night visit hadn't helped him in that department. He hesitated for a moment, eyes shooting to the door. He should tell Mabel about Bill, he knew he should, but after the encounter his curiosity burned harder than ever. He pulled the laptop toward him and typed in STANFORD once more.

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