Disclaimer: I do not own GF

~~0~~0~~0~~

Dipper mindlessly scratched the back of his neck as he strode out behind the Mystery Shack, yawning a bit as he did so. Shoving both hands into his pockets, he felt the forgotten deer teeth necklace. Though the brunet was still a little disgusted and weirded out by the gift, he couldn't help but run his fingers over it back and forth, feeling every individual tooth, marveling how the bone could feel scratched up by wear and tear yet still so smooth.

Cheeks still rosy and eyes still bright, Dipper turned the corner of the Shack, ready to slip inside easily as he always did, grab a small snack and a can of his favorite Pitt Cola, and go finish his homework up in his room.

However, the sight of Wendy pacing back and forth in front of the lawn, practically tearing out her hair with Robbie standing near, watching her with worried eyes while biting his nails brought Dipper to a stop.

What was going on?

"Um, guys? What are you doing?" Dipper called out uneasily, a sick feeling composing deep within his gut.

As soon as the teenagers heard them, they froze in what they were doing, craning their heads to stare at him with impossibly wide eyes.

"Dipper?" Wendy called out in disbelief, eyes raking over him. An odd expression was on her face, one Dipper couldn't quite place.

"Uh, yeah? What's going on Wen-"

Dipper's breath and sentence were knocked out of him as Wendy turned and sprinted across the lawn, tackling him in a huge hug.

"Dipper you idiot!" The redhead snapped as she tightened her grip. Being so close to the brunet, she could smell the forest on him. It was a musty scent she had smelled before coming from the thirteen-year-old, but she had never noticed or realized what it was until now.

Dipper felt himself freeze, mind working overtime. No, they hadn't. Had they? But-But he had been so careful and...and...

"Wen-" Dipper tried to start again, only to be shaken roughly by the older teen.

"You-You idiot! Why would you go out into the forest purposely!? You know how dangerous it is? And what if you had died!? None of us would know! And Mabel would be all alone-! You...you..." Wendy's voice finally died off. She still had so much she wanted to say, wanted to scream. She wanted to hit Dipper, shake him until he sees stars, try to beat some form of sense back into the boy. Yet, at the same time, all she wanted to do was hang on to him so he could be safe and never run off like that again.

No. Nononononononono! Dipper thought rapidly, paralyzed.

They had seen him.

They had seen him.

Wendy and Robbie knew. They knew.

Oh gods. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.

Dipper didn't know what to think, what to feel. His stomach ached with illness brought upon his secret being found out, of all the nerves and anxiousness one could possibly hold. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to cry. He wanted to lay down, to run back to Bill, to do something to get out of this situation. Anything, really, but he couldn't. He couldn't move, he could hardly think. His heart slammed against his ribs, trying to break him apart, spill him out.

Wendy eventually stumbled away from him, eyes red and nose dribbling with a little snot. Even farther back, Robbie watched on, wanting to leave this mess and not get involved, yet not wanting to leave Wendy alone in this.

"I-I don't-" Dipper somehow stuttered out. How could he even begin to possibly explain? Where would he even begin? How could he even share his adventures for anyone else to possibly understand? Dipper was tongue-tied, lost within himself and his lies. Stuck.

He shivered all over in the heat of approaching summer, cold radiating from his horror inside.

He felt Wendy grab his arm and guide him back into the Shack, not gentle but not rough either.

"Robbie, go see if you can see Stan somewhere in the forest." Wendy called out to the dark-haired teen.

"What? I'm not going in there!" He protested, startled by her hard tone of voice.

"I didn't say to go in. I said keep an eye out for Stan!"

"Wait, wait!" Dipper gasped, stumbling slightly as she lead him through the shop. "S-Stan knows?"

Wendy wheeled around, eyes caught between worry and a glare. "Of course we told Stan! And he ran off into the forest looking for you!"

Somehow, he felt even more sick than before. Stan knew. He would know that he had lied that first time and continued to lie afterwords. He knew.

But what was even worse was that he had ran off into the forest.

Bill's words rang in his ears.

"Thought I sensed something weird is all."

That- That had to have been Stan. Was Bill going to go after him? What if Stan got hurt?! There were a lot of terrible and dangerous creatures in there and his Grunkle wasn't exactly young-!

Dipper felt tears rush to his ducts and the boy had to hold back a sob. If anything happened to Stan, anything at all...

It would be his fault. He was the one who took the journal. He was the one who made the deal.

This...This was all his fault.

Wendy eventually lead him to a kitchen chair, which she forcefully sat him down in. Giving him one last torn glare, she whipped around and got him a glass of water, setting it down right in front.

"Here. Drink. Robbie, you can go home now." She ordered the darker teen, who was currently hanging in the corner, unsure of what to do.

"A-Are you sure? I-I could stay-"

"Just go. I've got this. If you see Mister Pines, tell him Dipper's back and safe.

For now. Dipper thought.

Robbie nodded and, giving the brunet one last unsure look, turned and left.

It was best he stayed out of this mess. He wasn't part of this. He didn't even like Dipper Pines.

As soon as the other teen left, Wendy sat down next to him in her own chair, running her fingers through her hair. Where to even start? How could she even start?

"You lied to me." She couldn't help but murmur. And he had. Sweet, innocent if not awkward Dipper Pines had lied to her. He had lied to everyone, but...she was included in that.

It broke her heart. Bitterness welled up, as well as hurt and the feeling of betrayal. He had lied to her. Friends don't lie to one another! They didn't hide things and they...they...

Wendy hung her head in her hands, huffing a shaky sigh.

Next to her, Dipper wrung his hands together, worrying the bottom of his lip as well, tracing the grooves in the wooden table with his eyes. He had lied.

But what other choice did he have?

But that hardly mattered. He had lied to everyone, and now he was caught.

He shook all over and his vision constantly swam in and out of focus. He knew he was on the edge of some sort of panic attack, he could feel it. He was sure his heart was going to tear from his veins,n't break his ribs and squirm out, pushing at his flesh until in gave under the pressure, and burst right out of his chest. His stomach coiled on itself, trying to melt and tear at the same time. It wriggled up and down his torso, choking and sputtering with sickness that had no cure, constantly battling and getting worse with every passing second and thought of a thought.

More tears bubbled in his eyes, slowly spilling over and dripping onto the wood where they stayed, small beads of salty clear bubbles that reflected light and image. He stared at where they fell, wanting to wipe them away but not having the strength to.

So he sat. And shook. And worried. And panicked. He was a bundle of nerves and negativity and boiling emotions.

Dipper sighed out another shaky breath and glanced up at Wendy, who had by now put her head in her hands, staring at the cabinets blankly, staring but not seeing.

Just like him.

Dipper didn't know how to respond to her statement. Didn't know how he could fix this, if there was a way to fix this at all in the first place. How could he apologize for lying like this? How could he possibly fix any of this? He couldn't go back in time, he couldn't find the proper words to use.

How could he get Wendy to understand any of this whatsoever?

Dipper knew the answer. Knew it like he knew he had a hat on his head. He couldn't. Plain and simple.

Wendy wouldn't understand. She grew up on old legends and myths and fear. She had never seen the woods for herself, never met Bill and seen how wonderful he was.

And she never will. She couldn't even begin to hope to understand why he did this and why it was important.

A new emotion filled him the longer he thought; Anger. Anger at her inability to understand, angry that she wouldn't even try.

Angry that he couldn't explain it for her to understand.

Angry at himself for being caught in the first place.

Dipper jumped at the sound of the front door slamming.

~~0~~0~~0~~

Stan tried his best to walk fast enough to get to the Shack in record time, but not draw any attention to himself.

Lucky for him, running through the forest at break neck speed left him tired and weary, making this not too bad of a problem. Even so, every time he saw someone, he tried his best to relax his features and smother the clear worry and fear, replacing it with his normally irritated look.

Biting the inside of his cheek some, the older man finally turned onto a dirt road. From here, it would only take about ten more minutes to get back to the Shack and-

"Oof! Sorry about that...Mister Pines!"

Though Stan didn't stumble at the collision he just had, he did rub his now sore shoulder, wincing at the fresh wave of pain.

Ugh. Everything hurt.

"Sorry, can't talk gotta-"

"I've been meaning to talk to you, Mister Pines, about Dipper." The woman who crashed into him quickly bit out, turning and blocking his way. Despite the slight aggression in her movements, she had a gentle smile on her face and a light twinkle in her silver eyes.

"...What about Dipper? And who are you?" Stan carefully ventured, fear pulsating in his heart. If anyone else knew about the stupid kid going into the forest illegally, he'd be in a lot of trouble.

And so would Dipper.

"Madam Feylie, one of Dipper's teachers, Mister Pines." She held out her hand. "We've met before."

Stan didn't take it, causing her to awkwardly drop it back to her side. "I don't remember." He replied gruffly.

She cocked her head to the side in confusion, though never lost the serene look. She knew he was lying. He had to be.

She was the only elf in Gravity Falls, after all.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that but I wanted to...well, ask you something about your ward."

"I'm kinda busy at the moment..." Stan replied quickly, trying to side-step the woman. However, Madam Feylie easily stepped back in his way, leaving no room for escape.

"It'll only take a second. I've wanted to ask Dipper this in class, but didn't want to embarrass him."

Stan hissed through his nose. "Fine! What?" He snapped.

Madam Feylie continued to watch, no signs of offense found. "Could you ask him to take more...frequent showers? He's constantly smelling like outside and though no one has mentioned it to him yet, I do think it will happen soon and I'm sure it will embarrass him."

Stan snapped back to attention at her words.

Though he already knew where the kid always ran off to during the day, on top of rarely bathing himself, it was a whole different story to have someone else reiterate the fact that he failed in keeping the kid away from the forest.

"Sure, I'll pass on the message. Now, could you get out of my way, I'm in a hurry!"

Madam Feylie stepped to the side, allowing him to pass. "Very well. Goodbye, Mister Pines! It was great meeting you again!"

Stan snorted and pretty soon, put the elven teacher out of mind as he turned onto the dirt road that would pass by the Shack, running straight into another person.

"Oh for the love of...move!" The older man snapped.

"Wait! Mister Pines! Dipper's back at the Shack now!" The teen who had ran into him cried out.

Stan briefly whipped around to look at the kid- Bobbie? Eh, his name didn't matter.

Seeing that he had Stan's attention, Robbie quickly continued. "Wendy's with him." He said before turning around and continuing on.

Stan grunted and turned back to the Shack, picking up his pace once more. Relief burned in his heart, drowning out his anger, guilt, and self-loathing.

The idiot was okay.

Good.

~~0~~0~~0~~

As soon as the door slammed shut, the screaming commenced.

"HEY-OH! I'M HOME!" Mabel called out as she thumped inside, feet heavy against the creak floorboards.

Both Wendy and Dipper jumped at the noise, not expecting anything of the sort at all.

Wendy tensed. She had completely forgotten about the second twin. How was Mabel going to take the news of Dipper going into the forest? How was she going to handle the fact that her own twin brother lied to her?

Wendy felt sympathy fill her, along with more anger towards Dipper.

Everything was complicated and just falling apart. How could she...she even stand this? In that moment, she once again wanted to knock Dipper upside the head and chew him out a bit more.

She refrained herself, however.

Mabel skipped into the kitchen, thick makeup all over her face from a day with Grenda and Candy. A wide smile was playing on her pink painted lips, eyes sparkling.

"Hey guys, what's-" Mabel's voice trailed off at both of their expressions.

Wendy looked torn between anger and hurt.

Dipper looked fearful and guilty.

She may not be as smart as her brother intellectually, but if there was one thing Mabel prided herself in, it was her ability to read and understand other people.

Dipper didn't have to tell her what happened. Neither did Wendy. Just by looking at the two, the brunette had a good idea what just went down.

Her stomach dropped, and dread settled into her heart.

Mabel let her bright smile slide off her face as she took the other seat next to Dipper, right across from Wendy.

She didn't have to ask, but she did anyways.

"What's...What's going on, you guys?" She ventured carefully, injecting false cheerfulness into her tone.

Neither teen looked at her, nor believed her false demeanor.

Mabel gulped and glanced at her brother.

Seconds ticked by.

"You were caught, weren't you?" Mabel finally whispered, breaking the uneasy and oppressive silence.

Wendy flashed her head up, staring at the female half of the duo in shook. She knew?

Dipper flinched and- ever so slowly- nodded his head.

Mabel's eyes fell downcast and she opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by the sound of the door slamming once again.

All three flinched.

"Dipper! You in here?!" Stan yelled, tromping inside.

"We're in here, Mister Pines!" Wendy called back quickly, eyeing the matching dread on both the twins' faces.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew closer and sooner rather than later, Stan appeared in the doorway, covered in leaves and pine needles, clothes torn wide open, with drying beads of blood still faintly visible. His grayed hair was a mess and his cheeks were still flush with all the activity he just did. His wide, brown eyes scanned over the three sitting at the table and an unreadable expression came over them. Flexing his fingers, he slipped his brass knuckles back into his pocket.

"Go home, Wendy. I'll take care of this." He finally said, voice tight and leaving no room for argument.

Shooting the twins one last look of both hurt and betrayal, the redhead stood up. Nodding lightly to Stan, she hurried on out, still shaking and worried for what was going to happen.

As soon as the door in the other room opened and slammed shut for a third time, Stan rounded on the twins, who were sunk as low as possible in their seats, staring at the table with wide eyes.

Dipper clearly had tear tracts while Mabel started sniffling some.

Groaning, Stan sunk into the chair across from Dipper, folding his fingers under his chin and fixing the boy with a sharp glare.

"You lied to me." He stated.

Both twins' flinched.

Good. Stan thought. It had been aimed at both of them.

He decided to round on Dipper first, as he was the one who stole the journal in the first place.

"You lied to me about going into the woods and on top of that, continued lying to me, as well as consciously put yourself in known danger over and over again."

Dipper sunk even lower in his chair and he shivered violently.

Stan turned on Mabel next.

"You let your brother get put in danger and did nothing to stop it. You may not have lied to me, but you certainly didn't tell me what was going on."

Mabel bit her lip and wrung her hands together.

"On top of that" Stan hissed, trying to mask his worry and relief that they were alright. "You actually made a deal with a god. One that you knew was dangerous and could easily kill you!"

"You don't know anything!" Dipper suddenly snapped.

Stan reeled back in surprise at the hard tone of voice and even Mabel jumped, staring at her brother with shocked eyes.

Dipper flinched a bit and wilted slightly under the matching stares of astonishment.

"What?!" Stan finally ground out, along with low, sarcastic laughter. "I know nothing? You idiot."

Dipper curled his lip. "Don't call me an idiot! And yeah, you don't know anything! Bill would never hurt me and you can't judge someone you've never met!"

Stan growled lowly, sneering a little. "I have met Bill and you have no clue who or what you're dealing with! Cipher's using you!"

Dipper shook his head vehemently.

Mabel whipped her head around to stare at the older man. "You've met Bill too?" She asked.

Stan groaned, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with exhaustion.

Hearing Mabel's question, Dipper focused his gaze back on his Grunkle.

What?

Stan's shoulders sagged. He knew he would have to tell them eventually. It was an important story, passed down Pines to Pines for generations, but they were thirteen. Barely even teenagers.

Hell, he himself hadn't learned about Cipher until he was twenty.

But at this point, there wasn't any other choice. Both had met the god and by the sounds of it, Dipper had even befriended the creature.

The thought sent chills down his spine, along with an age-old memory he would rather forget.

Not again. He couldn't help but think.

Not again.

"I've never met him, but I know him and how he's like." Stan sighed, half-lying.

"What? But- I mean- what about-?" Both Mabel and Dipper started, talking over one another.

Stan quickly shushed the two with a look. "Listen, I was going to wait till you two were older to tell you this, but it looks like I got no other choice."

"Tell us what?" Mabel asked.

Dipper frowned.

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's- a long story. A very long story. I don't even know where to start really."

"Start at the beginning, then!" Mabel chirped, still trying her best to be bouncy and upbeat.

It feel a bit flat, however.

Stan lowered his hand and looked between the two. From Mabel's false happiness to Dipper's steady look of lingering dread and uncertainty.

"Fine. Look, a long time ago, about...I don't know seven hundred years or so ago-"

"Wait, is this the story about how Bill got trapped in the forest?"

Stan stopped himself from startling at the question. How close was his nephew and Cipher anyways?

"I thought he's been in there for a thousand?" Dipper continued on, not noticing his Grunkle's barely hidden look of distress.

Stan snorted, however. "Of course it hasn't been that long!"

"Well, a thousand does sound cooler, though." Mabel butted in.

Stan shook his head. "Okay, okay, whatever! Anyways, a really long time ago, Cipher used to be free. He's an ancient god, one of the first to appear on the world and back then, was pretty much all-powerful. However, that wasn't enough for him. He may have been one- if not the- most powerful gods, as well as thousands of worshipers, but he was bored. So, he did the one thing every all-encompassing and all-powerful being does when bored."

"What's that?" Mabel asked.

"He wanted to end the world. Armageddon. The Apocalypse. Whatever you want to call it."

Dipper froze. No. No, it couldn't be. Sure, Bill was a jerk at times and sure, he did do some pretty mean pranks, but end the world? Like fire and brimstone? Death and destruction?

The book he read so long ago came back to him.

End...Ally...Stra-

End.

As in the Apocalypse.

Ally. As in friend.

And Stra...

Strange.

Tad Strange.

Everything was clicking into place, but Dipper could hardly believe it. Bill was a jerk but he was also protective. He cared about him. He always hugged him and kept him safe. Brought him to new places, introduced him to new people like the Multi-bear and Afytha.

He...he...wasn't evil.

Right?

And...and besides. That had been nearly a thousand years ago. People change. People do things that later on, they regret.

This was...well, on a much bigger scale but was no different. Right?

"Anyways." Stan started up again. "He and another ancient god, name something like Todd Strange or whatever, tried to end the world. There was a big war between the gods. Not all of them wanted to see the world end and pretty soon, a fight broke out."

"Really? And this isn't in our history books?" Dipper suddenly interjected.

Stan shrugged. "It was going on over here, Dipper. America didn't exist seven hundred years ago."

The brunet frowned, but fell silent.

"Anyways, despite all the opposition, Cipher was nearing victory. If he were successful, he and his allies would win, hands down. However, there was one variable he didn't expect. One thing that stopped him."

Mabel and Dipper were both holding their breaths, enraptured by the story.

"Humans. Ancient shamans to be exact. They saw the war going on and through the god's opposing Cipher, learned of his plans. So, despite every warning and every possibility, they decided to work and try and to stop him."

Stan took a breath and peered at the twins. Seeing no interruption coming, he continued.

"They made a special seal, as well as a number of other spells. They couldn't hope to Kill Cipher or Strange, but they could slow them down. So, they trapped Cipher in this forest, cutting him off from moving about anymore. For Strange, they put a curse on him so he would slowly die if he went near or in Cipher's jail. By separating the two, they won a small victory. With limited communication, their plans slowed down."

Dipper blinked as even more pieces were put into place. That was why Bill couldn't leave the forest! And why Tad was getting injured over literally nothing!

"Despite their victory, it wasn't quite enough. The two had other gods on their side, however with both of the instigators out of the way, they were taken down and stripped of their powers."

"Wait, they died?" Mabel gasped.

Stan gave her a one arm shrug. "Some did. Others in a coma, and others actually changed sides at the last minute. Either way, Cipher's army was gone. But it wasn't enough."

"What? But they already had him imprisoned and away from his b- I mean, friend!" Dipper cried out.

Stan gave him an odd look. "Yeah, well they didn't want to take any chances, so they locked the two out of their true forms and thus, their powers. And from there, left 'em alone."

"That's it? That was...anticlimactic." Mabel noted, a bit proud for knowing such a complex word.

Stan shrugged again.

"Wait, what does that have to do with us then?" Dipper asked. "Why is it so important for us to know?"

Stan rolled his eyes. "Though it was obvious, kid! The only way that seal can be broken is if someone related to the castor by blood broke it."

Dipper's eyes widened, along with Mabel's.

It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"You...You mean..." Mabel started.

"We're related to the original caster?" Dipper finished.

Stan nodded. "Well, there were six of them, but the main castor and the person who made that spell was a Pines. Well, back then he wasn't called a Pines, but the point is is that you're related to the guy by blood."

Dipper felt as if his whole world had been turned upside down.

Bill's words from so long ago came back to him, haunted with realization.

Was...Was Bill just using him? This entire time to get out? Was that all Dipper was to him, a chance to break free and try to end the world again?

Dipper shook his head violently.

What about all those hugs? And...And more recently, k-kisses? The teasing, the joking, the adventuring and exploration? Had...Had that all been for nothing?

Dipper felt a fresh wave of tears press against the back of his eyes as his heart tore itself into little pieces.

Was...was everything they did together...worthless?

Dipper wrapped his arms around himself tightly. He didn't want to listen anymore. He wanted to run out and demand answers from the god himself, he wanted to scream and cry and carry on, he wanted to lay down and sleep for a hundred years because right now, he was just so exhausted.

Stan and Mabel looked over to Dipper, his eyes wide and face forlorn.

"You okay, Dip?" Mabel asked softly.

Dipper shook his head violently, but still said nothing for a few more beats.

"...I'm fine." He croaked out.

Stan frowned and forced his anger down.

What had that god done to his nephew?

What was Dipper's relationship with Cipher? Lee had never been this-

Stan didn't let the thought continue.

"Anyways, the point is is that the Pines family makes sure Cipher stay's in the forest where he belongs. Someone watches over the god every generation or so and is passed down to make sure he stays in there. System worked great until colonists and stuff came, building Gravity Falls here and making it their home. That's when things got difficult. Especially when people started recording and writing things down. It was best Cipher stayed a secret so stupid kids-" Stan fixed Dipper with a glare. "Didn't try and go and find him and make terrible decisions. So, to fix this, our family has been carefully trying to wipe any information that comes up about Cipher away. Of course, no one can stop silly rumors and legends, but that actually helped in keeping people away."

"So that's way everything at the library was marked out!" Mabel interrupted suddenly.

Stan cocked an eyebrow. "When did you- ugh, never mind. Yeah, that's why you can't find Cipher in the library here."

Dipper shook his head. "Hiding stuff like that from people doesn't do any good! They have a right to know Bill's out there! Besides, I didn't know and I was still curious-!" Dipper suddenly snapped.

"That's because you're a special breed of idiot! Which reminds me to get back on topic! You're not supposed to go into the forest. I've told both of you that a million times and not only did you ignore that, but you lied to me who knows how much, and made a deal with him!"

"Yeah! To cure me!" Mabel suddenly butted in. "We didn't have a choice!"

Stan bit down on the eruption of more self-loathing. That was his fault and he knew that. Trying his best to keep his emotions in check, Stan continued on. "I could've figured something out! You could've came to me to talk about it! But that's not important right now."

Stan's voice fell, getting darker and lower as he leaned towards the two. "What was the deal? Who made it and what did you promise?"

Mabel glanced at Dipper worriedly. Unable to meet his Grunkle's intense stare, Dipper's own eyes fell to the table. Stan didn't know about the first deal and though Dipper didn't want to keep lying to the older man, he knew it was best not to bring it up. After all, if he was this mad over one deal, Dipper didn't want to imagine his face when he told him he made two deals.

"...I-I promised to visit him. Sometimes." He eventually said, voice surprisingly steady.

It may not be the complete truth, but it wasn't a total lie either.

Stan's eyebrow's disappeared into his mop of gray hair. "...That's it? Not breaking him free?"

Dipper fixed the older man with a glare. "Yeah, nothing about breaking him free."

Stan snorted. "Don't think you can make him your friend or something, kid. Cipher just wants you to like him so he can use you. He doesn't care. He's a pretender. A manipulator."

Dipper scowled.

"Anyways, it hardly matters now because you're never going back."

Mabel startled at Stan's tone.

Dipper's mouth flopped like a fish. "Never? But Grunkle Stan, that was a deal-"

"So what? Deals aren't some sort of cosmic certainty, kid. Cipher's trapped in the forest. As long as you don't go back, he can't kill you or whatever for breaking it. It's up to gods. Plural. To keep a deal and get back at those who break said deals." Stan shook his head.

Dipper was truly an idiot at times.

It kinda broke his heart, especially with the situation at hand.

The brunet across from the older man gulped and let his eyes fall back down to the table.

Months ago, he would've jumped at the thought of not having to worry about punishment. But now...

He wanted answers. Answers only Bill could give him.

"Anyways, I'm done with this. I'm done with you-" He sent Dipper another harsh glare. "And I'm done with you." He sent Mabel a matching glare, though one not as venomous as the one he gave Dipper.

"Really? That's all?" Dipper muttered as a challenge, not paying attention to what he was saying.

Stan snapped his eyes back over to Dipper. "That's all. Unless you have something else you wanted to say."

"Nope." Dipper replied.

Neither Stan nor Dipper noticed the other's crossed fingers under the table.

"Good because you're both grounded. You're not to leave the house without me or another trusting adult and you must ask to go anywhere with anyone. Both of you can only watch one hour of television a day, and that includes books for you as well, Dipper. Both of you are expected to do more chores and I expect at least two more hours of work in the shop. Now go to your rooms."

Both twins nervously glanced at one another before slowly getting back up and heading up the stairs.

"Um, Grunkle Stan? How long it this going to last?" Mabel asked softly.

He grunted his reply. "Until I think the two of you are smart enough to not make bad decisions."

The two twins glanced at one another. Both were unsure what they were supposed to even be feeling at that moment. The day had been so full of worry, fear, dread, and tears to the point of pure emotional and mental exhaustion.

Neither had anymore feeling to give. Silently, the twins trailed after one another to their shared room, trapped in their own thoughts.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Stan laid his head on the table and sighed again. He was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted to the point he never wanted to wake up again.

The past had happened again, despite all his best efforts, he failed in protecting the twins.

He ignored the wetness that traced down his cheek.

Damn allergies.

~~0~~0~~0~~

Hooray for exposition!

Well...this was an intense, messy disaster, wasn't it? Only a few chapters left and I can hardly wait!

How many of you were close in your theories of what was going to happen? I'm curious.

On another note, I'm going to start tracking #LBOUaT for this entire trilogy. (yes, this is a trilogy) So if you do any art or mentions of this fic on tumblr, be sure to tag it that!

Back to 27 chapters because this was originally split into two, but I melded it into one, as I thought would happen.

JackieLanternXOXO- Still rooting for Bill now? :3

Bambi4ever- Hehe, things are happening~

Just-Gold- Well, here's your answer. Literally!

MindfulThoughtlessness- Haha, thank you! I'm not very good with suspense but I'm glad I got it right for once! Tad's cane is pretty awesome. Glad I came up with it ;) not much foreshadowing here. Well, some I guess. But it was mostly revelations. Yay for info dumps!

The Raccoon- Hehe, not quite, but pretty close!

yaoifangirl1232- Bill is using him...but that doesn't mean he doesn't care for him as well!

WHOO- Haha, that's a hilarious idea! Plus, don't waste your letters! We still have about 5 chapters left!

familiar fan- I agree with you on that. Don't worry, interesting and non-cliche things are gonna be happening. Trust me ;)

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this messy chapter!

And, as always, thanks for reading!