Chapter 11: A Brother's Sacrifice

Down in the basement, Velma read Ford's notes about how to prepare the formula.

"Let's see, you need some type of mold and—fairy dust?" she read.

"Yes, I got those. There's just one ingredient I'm forgetting," he responded. He held his head for a moment. "Damn it!" he shouted suddenly. Velma looked over at him with concerned eyes. At that moment, Mabel and Dipper ran into the study.

"How's it going with making the formula?" Dipper asked.

Ford grunted. "Not well. I can't remember everything. I'm wondering if he made a copy of all the journals. It's sounds like the type of thing he'd do without realizing the risk involved. What I'm looking for was originally in the first journal."

An idea came to Dipper. "Hey, uh, Grunkle Ford, last year, we eventually did let Grunkle Stan know about the third journal. This is before we realized he had the first journal. He took it and had it for that evening and then returned it to us. He said it bored him and that's why he gave it back."

Ford put his head down in thought, and then something came to him.

"He made a copy of it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure about that. I mean, he would have told us, right?" Dipper responded.

"If he did, where would he have them?" Mabel asked.

"Does he have a safe somewhere?" Velma asked.

The eyes of the three family members lit up.

"Yes, he does!" Dipper cried out.

"So, how did you come to the conclusion that Gunkle Stan made a copy of the journal?" Mabel asked Ford.

He was silent as the four of them got into the elevator.

"It's hard to explain. The idea just suddenly came to me," Ford explained. The elevator rose to the first floor. "Well, doesn't it happen for you two?" he asked his grandniece and nephew. "You can feel each other's thoughts?" Mabel and Dipper turned to each other in bewilderment.

"Are you talking about twin telepathy?" Velma asked.

Ford nodded. "Yes, exactly." The elevator opened into the small passageway. Ford led the way towards the back of the vending machine.

"I don't know about telepathy, but Mabel and my allergies act up at the same time," Dipper noted. At that moment, both twins sneezed.

"So, you're saying that Grunkle Stan is communicating to you with twin telepathy?" Mabel asked.

"Maybe," Ford answered as he used his remote control to open the vending machine.

Everyone ran upstairs towards Stan's office.

"Do you kids know the combination?" Ford asked them.

"Uh, no. Like Grunkle Stan would give us the combination," Dipper said bitterly.

"Never mind, I'll just break into it."

The three ran into the office, while Velma waited outside. The rest of the gang joined her.

"What's going on?" Fred asked.

"Apparently, they're breaking into Mr. Pine's safe," she said.

"What?" Daphne asked in shock.

Suddenly the three ran out. "Get down on the ground!" Ford yelled as he shut the office door. Everyone listened. In the next moment, there was an explosion from inside the office.

Ford went back inside the office.

"Holy crap! Where did he get all these guns?" he yelled. The other walked into the office to see the safe's door blown off its hinges and various papers scattered everywhere. Ford knelt down pulling out different types of firearms; two pistols, three nine millimeters, a magnum and an assault rifle with a night scope. "He better not have used my name?" Ford grumbled.

"If he did, these guns are yours," Mabel pointed out.

"Used your name?" Fred asked.

Ford rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Not important right now."

Ford continued looking through the safe, but didn't find any copies of the journal. "Nope. Nothing here," he said. He put his fingers over his eyelids.

"Maybe they're on the copier," Mabel said as she went to check the old machine. After looking for a moment, she turned to her uncle with disdain.

"No, sorry."

Ford breathed in deeply, before punching the side of the safe. "Damn it! Come on Stanley, help me out!"

"I know. If he did make a copy of the journal, it would be up in his room—or Soos' room now," Dipper said.

As everyone exited the office, they saw Soos talking to his grandma in the hallway.

"It's okay, Grandma. Everything is fine, just go back to bed," he said kindly. After she went into her room, Soos turned towards everyone, narrowing his eyes.

"Dudes! Seriously? I don't know what that explosion was, but come on! My grandma is ninety years old! Can you not scare her to death?"

"Sorry Soos," Ford apologized. "I needed to get into Stan's safe."

"We're thinking Grunkle Stan might have made a copy of the journals," Dipper told Soos.

Soos blinked a couple times. "A copy of the journal?" He began walking upstairs. Everyone followed him into his room. He walked over to a picture of Stan. He never took it down. Pushing the frame ajar, he revealed a hidden compartment inside the wall.

"Hey, I remember finding that hidden compartment. I never found a copy of the journal in here, though," Dipper said. "I don't think they're in there—"

"Found it," Soos said pulling out a stack of pages with Ford's writing and drawings of various creatures.

Dipper slapped his forehead. "Really, that son of a bitch couldn't have told us? After losing the originals last year!" Dipper cried out. "Why didn't he tell us?!"

"Dipper!" Ford chastised. "Calm down!" He took the pages from Soos. "Oh, this is journal one," he said. He thumbed through the pages. "Here are all the ingredients. The last thing we need is unicorn eye-lashes."

"No! Not unicorns!" Mabel yelled. The Mystery Inc. gang turned to her in surprise.

"Don't worry, Mabel," her uncle said. "Remember when you girls came back from your quest, you brought me hair and eye-lashes and even a treasure—oh wait, Stanley took that."

"So, you have everything you need?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I'll get the formula done and then we'll go on from there."

Down on the third floor of the basement Ford finished mixing the ingredients. The formula came out as a powder, which he put into a vial. After stuffing the container into his jacket, he moved towards the elevator. It was then he heard his brother's voice again.

Stop him Stanford. Take that son of a bitch out, even if you have to kill me.

Ford stopped in mid-step. He leaned against the wall, covering his eyes, as they filled with tears.

Upstairs in the shop, everyone waited for Ford to come out from the vending machine passage. Shaggy leaned against the counter, looking down at Scooby. He felt like his best pal was gone forever.

"Like, if we defeat that demon, then will Scooby talk again?"

Fred let out a long sigh. "I have no idea. This whole thing is way out of my grasp in logic."

The front of the vending machine swung open and Ford walked out. Dipper turned to his great uncle, noting the redness in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Ford gave his nephew a solemn look as to say, 'no, but I need to take care of this.'

"Did you make the formula or whatever?" Dipper asked further. Ford nodded and walked through the door leading outside.

"Okay, he's scaring me," Mabel whispered to her brother.

Outside Fred walked to his van and opened the driver's side. He turned to the others.

"So, there's the front seat and the back is all open," Fred explained. Ford looked in the back

"Seriously? You don't have a back seat? How are we supposed to ride safely in this thing?"

"Don't worry, sir," Shaggy began. "Me and Scooby are always safe back here."

"You mean, Scooby and me and this doesn't look safe," Ford argued.

"God! It's fine Uncle Ford!" Dipper yelled. "Just get in!" Everyone stared at him, especially Ford who raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. We don't have time to argue!" he said hastily as he climbed into the back of the van. He put the bag with the pistols and ammo next to him. Dipper and Mabel followed. Then Soos got in with Shaggy and Scooby. They sat on the floor, behind the front seat.

"So, this is what the back of a hippie van is like," Soos said.

Fred, Daphne and Velma got into the front.

The van took off down the road.

"Where are we going exactly?" Fred asked.

Ford sighed. "I'm hoping he left some trail, possibly some sort of path of destruction.

"You mean, like that?" Velma asked, pointing at some fallen trees.

"Yeah, that will work," he said. "Can you stop?"

Fred pulled over to the side and parked. Ford went out the back. He checked over the area. It wasn't just a few fallen trees, there was a long trail of fallen trees, broken limbs and burnt foliage. Ford turned back towards the van. Fred rolled down the window as he walked over.

"I'm going on foot. Just keep going down to the next road and make a left," Ford instructed.

"Wait!" Dipper yelled. He ran out the back. He looked gravely at his uncle. "I'm going with you."

"Me too!" Mabel yelled as she joined them. Ford looked earnestly at the kids. "You two need to stay with the others in the van.

"What?" Dipper cried out. "Are you kidding me?"

Ford's eyes hardened. "Do I look like I'm kidding?" Dipper back up, surprised by his uncle's outburst. Ford softened his gaze. "Trust me okay?"

"Well, then take this," Mabel said handing her uncle a walkie-talkie. He took it from her.

"Okay, now go back to the van." Ford walked further into the woods.

Mabel and Dipper re-entered the back of the van.

"What is your uncle doing?" Daphne asked.

"We're not sure," Dipper responded.

"Well, I'm going to that road he talked about," Fred said as he put the van in gear.

Ford followed the burnt trial knowing he'd eventually run into his possessed twin. Another several feet, Ford saw wild fires in the distance. He stopped, turned his heels and bolted the opposite direction. He held the walkie-talkie. "Dipper! You guys need to stay out of the woods. There's a fire!"

The walkie-talkie cracked, but no one responded. Suddenly, someone ran into Ford, knocking him to the ground. He looked up to see a strange skeleton monster with one eye. He cried out, and then rolled to his feet. Drawing the magnum from its holster, he aimed and fired at the creature. The bullet pierced through its skull and it dropped to the ground. Ford's breathing steadied. He stared down at it, and then stomped on its head, it's skull cracked beneath his boot.

Fred found the road where he was told to turn. He made the left and continued down a ways. Trees were on either side of them now; it didn't take long until the forest fires were visible. Fred slammed his foot on the breaks, bring the Mystery Machine to a halt.

"Looks like we can't get through this way," he said.

"But, Grunkle Ford is out there!" Mabel shouted.

"He chose to go out there by himself," Dipper said bitterly.

Mabel pulled out the walkie-talkie. "Hey, Grunkle Ford?" The device cracked a little as she heard a voice respond.

"Where are you guys?" Ford's voice came over the speaker.

"We're on the road you told us about, but there's a fire up ahead," Dipper said.

"I know. Get out of there!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "No duh!" he whispered.

"I'll turn around," Fred said. Dipper handed the walkie-talkie back to Mabel.

"Are you upset with Grunkle Ford?" she asked.

Dipper put his fingers on his eyelids. "I don't know. Sort of—" He looked at Mabel's whose warm brown eyes returned a look of concern. Dipper sighed.

"He wouldn't let us go with him. When he came out of the basement, I just felt there was something really wrong with him. I just feel like he's hiding something."

"I'm sure he just wants us to be safe," Mabel said.

Dipper pounded his fist into the floor of the van. "Safe? Mabel, you and I are almost fourteen. We've faced countless monsters and for God sake, we survived Weirdmageddon! Our great uncle knows this, but suddenly he's acting like we're too weak to help him!" Mabel turned away. She looked down at the walkie-talkie as if waiting for her Grunkle to say something, but it remained silent.

"Fred drove the Mystery Machine out of the woods and turned back onto the road he was previously on. As he looked out of the windshield, he saw someone standing in the road.

"Is that Ford over there?" Daphne asked. The headlights caught the figure as it approached. Fred slowed down and stopped the vehicle as the figure walked up to the window. Fred rolled down the window. "Mr. Pines?" he asked. Then, the figure looked up. The light caught its face. It wasn't Ford. Fred gasped at the ugly brownish-green color skin and bloodshot eyes; it's clothing torn. The figure groaned and held out its arms.

"Yikes!" Fred shouted as he rolled up the window. His foot hit the gas pedal and the van took off.

"L-like w-what was that?" Shaggy stammered.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it was a zombie."

"What?" Everyone else cried out.

"Well, good thing we got a bunch of guns," Dipper said picking up one of the pistols from the bag his uncle threw in there earlier.

"G-guns?" Shaggy asked hesitantly.

"Whoa! Hold on, we can't just start shooting and asking questions later," Fred said.

"See the problem is that this creature looks like one of the monsters we've unmasked," Velma explained. "We need to make sure that isn't the case again."

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "Why would someone be in a zombie costume out here in the middle of the night?" he asked.

"Good question," Daphne responded. "That's why we call it a mystery."

Dipper groaned, sinking his head into his hands.

"That's a weird looking zombie though," Mabel said. "We've faced zombies before. They had this greenish glow around them and their flesh hung off their bones."

"Ew! That sounds awful!" Daphne said.

"Yeah, but our Grunkle Stan took care of them. He swung his baseball bat into their heads, then he started punching them!" Mabel said proudly.

"How about you call your uncle on that walkie-talkie, Mabel," Velma suggested. "We'll meet him when he comes out of the woods."

"B-but what if he runs into the zombie?" Shaggy asked nervously. Dipper and Mabel turned to each other with a smirk.

"Well then, I hope it isn't someone in a mask, because he'll probably kill it," Dipper responded.

Soon, Fred spotted something up ahead. As the lights of the Mystery Machine set on the figure, Fred hit the breaks. Everyone looked out at the creature with wide shoulders, wearing torn clothing, its skin had a green tint with a mess of brown hair on top of its head. It moaned as it held out its hands.

"Another zombie?" Dipper asked.

"No. I can't believe it!" Velma cried out.

"Who it that?" Mabel asked.

"It looks like the Creeper," Velma answered.

"The what?" Dipper asked.

"It's one of the monsters we unmasked," Fred answered.

Dipper did a palm strike to the face. "Again?"

"Hey, how about we just go up to him and try to take the mask off? Then you'll know for sure," Mabel suggested.

"Oh yeah, sure, go right ahead," Daphne said jokingly.

Suddenly, the monster picked up the front of the van. Everyone inside cried out. Fred hit the gas, but the van didn't move. The tires just spun in place.

"Like, this is really too much," Shaggy moaned.

Suddenly, they heard a gunshot. The Creeper let go of the Mystery Machine and grabbed its arm. It ran off into the woods. Another figure came out onto the road.

"Now, who's coming? The eyes of Dipper and Mabel brightened as they saw the figure in trench coat holding the gun. They opened the back of the van and Ford jumped inside.

"Are you okay?" Mabel asked him.

"I'm fine," Ford answered. "But I don't know where these monsters are coming from."

"So, t-they're real monsters?" Shaggy asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," he answered.

"What are we doing now?" Dipper asked.

Ford held his head, "I—

"Is there another road that leads into the forest?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, just go further down this way," Dipper said pointing straight ahead.

As they entered the forest, there was no sign of the fire, which was odd.

"So, do we have a plan?" Mabel asked her uncle. "I mean, how are we stopping Bill?"

"Uh, well—" Ford began. "Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it."

"What? Why are you being so secretive right now?" Dipper asked, annoyed.

"I'm not!" he returned hastily. "I'm just telling you that I'll handle everything, okay?"

"No, it's not okay!" Dipper returned just as crudely. "You told me after I found out about the deal you and Bill made, you weren't going to keep any more secrets!"

Ford stared at his nephew with hardened eyes. "Okay, fine." He took out a page of the journal from the inside pocket of his coat. He let out a sigh. "I'm going to offer my mind to Bill. He'll no doubt leave Stanley's mind go into mine." The entire van went silent. Dipper, Mabel and even Soos stared at Ford as if he was completely insane.

"What?" Mabel questioned.

"Why?" Dipper asked his eyes welled up with tears. "I don't understand. What are you saying?"

"What do you mean, you're going to offer your mind?" Daphne asked, a little horrified.

"He means, he's going to make a deal with Bill so he'll go inside my uncle's mind," Dipper explained.

"Last year, Stanley and I tricked Bill into going into his mind, instead of mine. Bill wanted to get out of Gravity Falls and make Weirdmageddon happen around the entire world. There was a barrier keeping him from leaving the town and I learned the equation to break the barrier. However, I wouldn't give it to him. Then, he threatened to hurt Dipper and Mabel. Stanley and I switched places; he never knew until after he went into Stan's mind. Then, I erased his mind, which was supposed to erase Bill too."

"It sounds like Bill wasn't totally erased," Fred concluded.

"Well, yeah, you know that now."
"But, Grunkle Ford, you can't let Bill into your mind. Won't he take over the world?" Mabel asked.

Ford looked genuinely at his niece and nephew. "Not if we destroy him while he's in there." He handed the journal page to Dipper. "This incantation will destroy the mind. You just read it while he's in there, okay?" Dipper stared with expressionless eyes as he took the piece of paper. He read it.

"Uh, it looks like we needs some ingredients to perform this spell," Dipper said as he sniffed back his tears.

"Right, I got everything. I just need the blood of a being pure of heart."

"Is there even such a thing?" Mabel asked.

"There are beings of pure heart, but—," Ford paused and then turned to look at Scooby. "— they're usually not people."

"Like, why are you looking at Scooby?" Shaggy asked shakily.

"Sorry, Scooby, but you're it. And now that you've been reduced to your most simplest form, you definitely can play the part." Ford laughed lightly. "In a way, Bill helped us out."

"Wait! You can't just take Scooby's blood," Daphne wailed.

"It will just be a tiny bit," Ford assured her.

Dipper looked down at the spell. "I still don't like this," he said gravely.

"I know," Ford answered.

He took the vial out of his jacket and turned to Scooby. His eyes went to Shaggy.

"You should probably do this. He trusts you the most."

"L-like, d-do what?"

Ford took out a finger prick.

"You just push this into Scooby's paw and then I'll put some blood into the vial.

Shaggy looked at the small device, and then fainted. Ford rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Let me do it," Velma said.

Velma climbed over the front seat and sat down next to Scooby. Ford handed her the instrument.

"Sorry, Scooby. Just hold still okay?" She pricked Scooby's paw. He whined a little, but that was it. Then she took his paw and put it over the vial. "Okay, it's done," she said.

"Thank you," Ford told her.

"Uh, we have another problem," Fred said.

Up ahead, a tall figure stood in the middle of the road. As the van approached the figure, the headlights illuminated a pale face.

"Jeepers! It's the zombie again!" Daphne yelled.

"He's blocking the road," Fred said. "I'm not sure what I should do."

"What do you mean you're not sure what to do?" Ford interjected. "You're in a two ton van, run him down!" Everyone's stunned eyes fell onto Ford.

"What? Are you crazy?" Fred cried out. Ford's only response was to return Fred's question with a cold glare. Fred turned towards the road.

"I wonder if this old van will take the abuse," he said quietly.

"Fred, you're not really going to just hit someone, are you?"

"Well Daphne, it is a zombie. He's already dead."

"Wait, are we now saying this is a real zombie?" she asked further.

"I don't know, but the way I see it, I have two choices, hit the zombie and risk damage to the van and hitting a person inside a costume or not hitting the zombie and dealing with the angry old man in the back carrying a bunch of firearms." Fred pushed the gas pedal all the way down, causing the van to pick up speed.

"Whoa! Like Fred, hold on!" Shaggy yelled. Suddenly, the van hit the zombie head on, causing the creature to fly over the hood and to the side of the road, rolling several times.

"Ten points!" Soos yelled.

He, Dipper and Mabel cheered slapping high fives. Mabel moved up to the front seat holding her hand up. "Come on, you know you want to." Fred, Daphne and Velma gave patronizing slaps.

For a few minutes, it looked like it would be a clear path. Then, someone else stepped out into the road. He raised his hands, causing the pavement to crack. When the van hit these cracks, it veered out of control. Everyone in the back of the van cried out as they were thrown hard into right wall.

"Ow!" Ford rubbed his head. "See, this is what I was talking about when I said riding back here wasn't safe!" Another crack appeared in the pavement, sending the Mystery Machine into a 360 spin right into two large tree trunks. The riders groaned, as they lay motionless for a moment. Fred lifted his head from the driver's side window to see Stan walking towards them. Of course he knew right away that it wasn't really Stan.

"Ford!" he yelled. Ford groaned as he sat up. He looked through the cracked windshield to see his twin strolling towards them with a huge menacing grin. He took the vial from his coat, which thankfully didn't break.

"This is it," he said. "Dipper, I'm counting on you. After Bill enters my mind, blow the powder into my face, my senses will take it in. Then, start reading that incantation, got it?"

Dipper's mouth stayed partly open as he stared at his uncle with wide eyes. He still tried to comprehend the fact that he would have a hand in killing his great uncle, the one he had been searching for last summer, the one he clicked instantly with and the one who showed him the way into the world of the supernatural. Before Dipper could respond, Ford hugged him. "You can do this." He then hugged Mabel, who was frozen in her grief.

"This isn't fair," she whispered.

"I know," he responded. Before he left, he looked at Soos and the members of Mystery Inc. "Soos, you're a great guy and you're smarter than you let on. Remember the shack is yours now. Don't let Stan tell you how to run things. And as for the rest of you kids, thanks for your help. Especially you Scooby-Doo. I hope you understand me. You should get your voice back after Bill is gone. I don't know why you're different than other dogs, but it's a gift." He left the van.

"Wait! Great Uncle Ford!" Dipper tried to yell, but he lost his voice as it was taken over by tears. He gripped his face in the deepest grief he ever felt. "Goddamn it!" he screamed as loud as he could. He rushed out of the van following his uncle.

Ford approached his possessed twin who just stared back with a wide grin of malice. He stood there, staring straight into the yellow eyes of his enemy.

"Fordsy! You came all the way here, to watch me be reborn," he heard Bill's voice. "How did your mystery solving friends like the revisit from their favorite mysteries? I learned all about them after I absorbed the energy from their dog."

Ford just stared at him. "What? Nothing?" Bill asked.

"I want to offer you a deal," Ford said finally. He saw Stan's eyebrow rise. "You leave my brother's mind—and come into mine." Stan's eyes squint to almost slits.

"Wait a minute. Why?" he asked. "This sounds like another trick."

"No tricks this time. See," Ford held up his hands. "Six fingers, count them." He held his hand out. "But there's a condition. After you enter my mind, you can't hurt anyone in my family, (that includes Mabel and Dipper's parents), or any friends I've ever made. You also can't send anyone to hurt them. You leave them all alone."

"Wait, I don't need to enter your mind now," Bill said. "I just need to find my body and be reborn."

"Yeah, but you'll be stuck in Gravity Falls like you were last time."

"Oh right, the shield thing. Well, I did leave while in Stan's mind."

"Yeah, so what? You're back here now. You just made one big circle," Ford said with a short laugh.

"Okay, let's say I enter your mind, get that equation and then I can leave this backwater town. What else are you going to do for me?"

Ford breathed in and slowly let the air out as he sighed. "Anything you want." The demon's eyes brightened.

"Okay, you have a deal," he held out his hand. Suddenly, Stan's eyes closed tightly.

Ford! What the hell are you doing? He suddenly heard his brother's voice. You idiot! I told you to kill me if you have to! I don't care! Just shoot me in the goddamn head!

Ford went to take his brother's hand, but suddenly it was pulled away.

"No!" Stan actually spoke with his mouth. Ford's eyes widened.

"Stanley?"

"You bastard demon! You're not going to use my brother as you puppet, you asshole!"

"Stanley!" Ford shouted louder. Suddenly, Stan's eyes opened, showing the yellow irises.

"Man, your brother is stronger than I thought," Bill said. He held out his hand and Ford took it. The most delighted, high pitch cackle erupt from Bill as his spirit form came out of Stan and went right to Ford. He fell backwards onto the ground, lying unconscious.

Author's Note: First, I want to thank everyone who is reading this story and all the comments and everything. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story. I had the suggestion given to me earlier on to put the monsters from Scooby Doo in the story. Let me know any others you want added.

Again, thanks for your support.