Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Alex Hirsch owns Gravity Falls, not me.

Gideon Charles Gleeful goggled at the Mystery Shack before him, realizing how much different it appeared to be to him now. When he had been influenced by Jill Rephic he felt much more powerful and everything around him was dwarfed compared to him. Now, it seemed everything and everyone towered over his own stature. It seemed as though the Shack had been added to that alternative view now. At the moment, he was attempting not to flinch away from the case worker's hand on his shoulder. He shifted away from her hand, and he felt it skim over the back of his backpack, before dropping down. "Everything will be fine, doll."

He cringed, before threaded his hand through his side-combed hair, finding it strange that was much shorter now, and less work to form compared to a bob. "...o-ok..."

She guided him to the front door, avoiding direct physical contact with his body, and knocked twice upon it. He tucked in the hem of his white button-up, pulling down his royal blue cardigan over it. He was dressed warmly for the weather being around 90 degrees at the moment, but it didn't affect him all that much. As long as he didn't ever wear a suit ever, again, he felt fine being slightly warm. He gulped as the door swung inwards, revealing an awkward appearing Stan in his Mr. Mystery costume. "Mr. Pines? I've been informed you and Gideon are already acquainted?"

"Yeah, Miss Cox, you could say that." Stan uncharacteristically and politely responded, eyebrows raising as he saw how the 10-year-old had a makeover.

"Mrs.," She corrected. Slacks and cardigans were not a summer choice, but Gideon figured since Stan wore a suit, then he had no reason to justify his choice of fashion...Or did he? He began to sweat from nerves at the thought, missing what the case worker was speaking about. "And your house as been deemed as safe for a child?"

"Yeah, it should be right there in those files of your's." Stan's less polite side crept out a bit, yet she seemed to not take notice.

"And all the paperwork has been filled out?"

"Yeah, you probably have it on you right now."He answered, obviously becoming slightly annoyed.

"Alright, I'll return in 15 days, to see how's he settling in," She told him, before turning to Gideon and squatting down. "Now, I know you're nervous, but everything will be alright, doll."

Gideon shrugged, avoiding eye contact with Mrs. Cox. She reached out to pat his shoulder, but decided against it when he flinched at her extended hand. She stood, waving as she went, before speeding off in her silver SUV. The freckled boy hoped that she wouldn't linger in his mind much longer or the word 'doll' will continue to make him squirm. Stan shifted uncomfortably and stepped inside, waving to the door. "Just, uh, come inside."

The 10-year-old stepped in, legs quaking as he followed the man up the stairs. "You'll be in the attic, with Dipper."

"O-Ok."

They entered the attic, discovering Dipper flipping through the journal Pacifica had returned to him yesterday. He glanced up and smiled a bit at Gideon. "Hi."

"H-Hi."

"I'll let you to it then." Stan awkwardly told him, leaving the pair in the attic.

"Your bed is right there," Dipper told him, pointing to the opposite side of the room. A rugged, yet clean, pair of forest green blankets were laid there, along with a white pillow. He plopped down on it, feeling quite out of place, before unzipping his backpack. Dipper closed the journal and made his way over to the opposite side of the room. "You can use the top self of that drawer for your stuff. Is, uh, that all you have in there?"

Gideon nodded shyly, removing the matching set of royal blue pajamas out, setting them inside the drawer. He studied the drawer below, finding it cracked open and parts of clothes spilling out, obviously overfilled. He placed his hair comb inside as well and a few pairs of black socks. He removed a battered copy "Where the Red Fern Grows" and rubbed a thumb across the cover. It had been a novel his mother had gotten before he was even born and had read to him when before she had begun to become unstable. Gideon delicately sent in there, before cramming in a can of hairspray, and staring at the bottom of his backpack. He glanced up at Dipper, who was back to reading the journal once more, and removed the American Flag pin. It had been a gift from his father, the first year Gideon had become famous, and he didn't have the heart to throw it away. He gulped and threw it into the drawer, before slamming it shut.

"Your, um, sweater is nice." Dipper commented, not even glancing up from his journal, though Gideon could tell he was feeling awkward about the whole living in the same room together situation. He was clearing making an attempt at small-talk at the moment and he couldn't blame him for that.

"T-Thank y-you..."

It was at that moment that a cry echoed throughout the building. "GIDDDDD-EI-ONNNNNN!"

The distant sound of Mabel's voice caused both of the boys to cringe and a moment later, the door was flung open, the hyperactive brunette launching herself at her friend. He nearly lost his balance as the taller one almost knocked him over and tensed when he realized she was hugging him. "M-Mabel!"

She leaned back, giggling into his face. His fear of being so close to another must of shown on his face, for her giggling ceased, and her smiled dropped. She released him and stepped back. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that."

He felt guilty that he did that to her and let his eyes fall to the floor. There was an awkward silence, that Dipper surprisingly broke. "D-Do you want to see the room Mabel's going to be in, Gideon?"

He glanced up at the twins, discovering Mabel's ear-to-ear grin had returned. "You're gonna love it! It belonged to one of the coolest people I've ever met! Isn't that right, Dipping Sauce?"

She nudged her brother, painfully, in the ribs. "Ow! That hurt!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby! Come on, Gideon!" She reached out for him, taking his sleeve, avoiding direct contact with him. The freckled child felt alright with the way she had gripped him and found it odd that she knew how to grab him without scaring him now. Mabel tugged him from the room and he followed her, with Dipper in the rear. Mabel barreled down the stairs, causing Gideon to nearly lose balance. He glanced over his shoulder, at Dipper, finding to him to be standing at the top of the staircase. He caught a glimpse of something akin to fear on the 13-year-old's face, but he was around the corner before he could wonder what was wrong with Dipper. They soon entered a hallway, full of doors, and his legs ceased movement. Mabel frowned at him, hand still connected to his sleeve. "Gideon?"

His eyes roved about the hall and he released a whimper. "C-Can w-we l-leave?"

"What? What's wrong?"

Someone was watching them. "F-Feels w-wrong."

"What does?" There was a shudder of wet, hot breath drooled down his neck and he yelped. He lunged forward, desperately clinging to Mabel's arm for protection, with an iron grip. "Gideon? Please, I won't know what's wrong unless you tell me."

"J-Just t-take m-me t-to t-the ro-roo-roooo-rooo-" Gideon stuttered out, unable to finished the sentence.

Mabel frowned and observed the area around her, tensing as she the fainest outline of something looming behind Gideon. She grasped his arm gently, ignoring the rapid beating of her own heart. "We're almost there."

"D-Dipper?"

Mabel paused. "Oh. Oh, no, where is he?"

"S-Stairs."

A stricken look crossed her face. "Stairs? He stopped when we went down the stai-?" The brunette tensed, realizing that the outline seemed to be directly behind her friend. She gulped and delicately placed the palms of her hands on his shoulders. He trembled beneath her and she knew that in some way of form he could sense it. "Gideon, on the count of three, we're going to walk away, like it isn't even there."

"B-But, D-D-Dipp-Dippp-"

"He's fine. He's not coming. He's stuck at the stairs. Grunkle Stan will probably find him, so he's going to be ok. Do you understand?"

"S-Stuck?"

"Don't worry, ok? Everything is going to be ok. It can't touch you, because it's not in this dimension. Everything is fine."

Gideon gazed into her chocolate eyes and found himself nodding, trusting her assertions. "O-Ok."

"1..." A pant.

"2..." A wet feeling on the back of his neck.

"3!" He took a deep breath and stepped forward, Mabel behind him, the palms of her hands continuing to rest upon his shoulders.

"Keep going." She encouraged him and he marveled at the courage of one Mabel Pines, wondering why he couldn't be as brave as her. "It's the door at the end."

The hairs on the back of his stood on end, as though they were being stalked by it. He didn't know what it was, but he knew Mabel was correct in her statement that it was from another dimension, not quite there, but enough to be felt. Did she feel it? Did she feel those shivers and sensations? There was something she had to notice, in order to know it was there, but his mouth couldn't form words, so, he let her guide him to the last door. She reached over his shoulder, opening the door, before nudging him inside. Mabel closed the door, without even turning around, and it finally occurred to him. "Y-You c-could s-see i-it."

The brunette studied him. "You could feel it."

Neither confirmed these accusations, but neither needed to, as there connection clicked into place, and there hands were now joined. They were only part of a trio though, and Dipper would have to complete them. Their hands dropped from one another within moments. Then, the door opened. Neither of them were startled though, as they knew who it was. "I-I could hear it."

"Well, well, well, it seems the three of you finally realized your connection." Bill Cipher crooned, appearing in the room before the trio.

"Y-Your wheel; we're o-on it." Dipper replied, knowing he was correct as the dream demon's laugh echoed throughout the unsaturated room.

Gideon was afraid of everyone at the moment, everyone, but Bill Cipher. He knew what he could do and he knew how to prepare himself if anything does go wrong. Humans, humans had become completely unpredictable to them though and he found it difficult to trust most of them any longer. After all, wouldn't a human saved him and his mother from his father? Gideon could predict what was to be said next, without even stuttering. "We're your favorites."

"Yesss, it seems as though you've all noticed that I've told you all that," The twins looked to one another, with surprise, then to Gideon. "You three are my favorites, because you are the most powerful on my wheel."

Mabel didn't seem to be as convinced as the others though. "What do you mean by that? You keep telling us about your wheel, but what does that mean? And what do you mean by most powerful?"

Bill laughed. "Oh boy, Shooting Star, you need to loosen up, stop all the unbelieving questions. You don't want to be a downer your whole life! Trust me."

Mabel clenched her jaw. "I...I'm not a downer, I just want to know."

"Oh, fine, fine," A projection of a wheel appeared behind him, symbols surrounding his body. He pointed to his left. "A shooting star."

"Ok? And what does that mean?" Dipper asked, seeing his sister's skeptical side to this all.

"That Shooting Star is on my wheel," He pointed to the bottom, right hand corner. "A pine tree."

"Dipper?" Mabel questioned, finding the wheel becoming a bit clearer, and finding this whole situation a bit less skeptical.

"Yes, and finally, Jill." Bill continued, pointing to the space next to Dipper's.

Gideon paled, recalling the folded up cape he had left behind at his house, the one with Jill on it. "M-Me."

The dream demon gave a slow clap. "Congrats, kiddos, you did it. And every wheel has the three strongest and you three just so happen to be them."

"Wait, but what the others?" Mabel questioned.

"Oh, come now, I thought you were smarter than that, Shooting Star."

While Mabel appeared nearly infuriated at the triangle, she kept it under control. Dipper was thoughtful about her question though. He eyed the other symbol and found one to be quite familiar. He gasped aloud. "The question mark! You called Soos that when we were in Grunkle Stan's head!"

"Bingo! See? Pine Tree is smart enough for this!"

Dipper blushed at the unexpected compliment, but then frowned, realizing his twin had also been insulted. Mabel seemed to puff up a bit at that statement and then smiled. "Ok, fine. I'll play your game."

The dream demon snapped his fingers, causing three podiums with buzzers to appear before the trio, and a microphone in his left hand. Another snap, caused a flashy game show sign labelled "Cipher's Wheel" to appear above his head, lights flashing a assortment of colors. Mabel slammed her buzzer, causing it to release a hi-pitched noise. "The heart is Robbie and the glasses are Grunkle Stan!"

A noise of rejection exploded within the room. "Oh, I am sooooo sorry, you're only half-way there; the heart is correct, but try again when it comes to your uncle!"

"T-The m-moon." Another buzzer went off when Gideon answered, receiving startled looks at the fact he had spoken from all, but the dream demon.

"Oh, it seems we have a new contestant chimed in! And our new contestant is correctttttt!"

"Well, then the glasses have to be Grandpa Stanley!" Mabel cried, bashing her buzzer.

"Unfortunately, no, that is not correct either!"

There was an awkward silence, before a dawning look appeared on her face, and she pressed the button. "Grandpa Stanley has six fingers!"

"Yes, that makes him the hand! And it seems that Shooting Star is currently in the lead! Now, here comes the trickier ones, the glasses, the ice, and the llama!" Once more, there was an awkward silence, before Bill sighed aloud. "You each can have one hint, per symbol! The first hint, involving the llama; they are seen as symbols known to have the ability to carry burdens!"

After a moment, Dipper had a grave look on his face as he pressed the buzzer. "It's Pacifica; she's been able to put up with the burden of her family's name."

Mabel appeared stricken at this reminder and by the fact that she wouldn't be in Gravity Falls much longer. "Youuuu are correct Pine Tree! Next hint, involving the ice! Being seen as coldhearted in the face of danger, they will melt w-"

The brunette shook her head from thoughts of her blonde friend and smashed her buzzer, knowing that she had the answer. "WENDY!"

"You are correcttttt! Now, this last one is all or nothing! This meatsack has been involved with the beginning of my wheel's movement, though they likely aren't aware of it!" There seemed to be no answer for this one though, even with a hint, and Bill Cipher shook his head in disappointment. "You've all seen him before and have been involved with him in some way."

"I...I don't know." Mabel answered, the excitement visibly drained from the trio.

"Well then, it seems as though our little game show will be put on pause until we get an answer," He informed them, snapping his fingers, to make the podiums, microphone, and game show sign to vanish into thin air. "In the mean time, I will leave you three with this; A 1, B, C 3."

And, he was gone.

~!-?-!~

Barricading the door wouldn't defend himself from them, Stanley just knew it. He had heard them in the hallway who knew how long ago and now they were on the staircase leading up to the attic. Once they reached the landing, all they would have to do would be stride across it, and be at the door. He glared down at his father's war shotgun and threw it across the room, suddenly realizing it wouldn't protect him. "Goddammit!"

There was a tense silence, before the door was bashed into, causing the frame to shudder behind his back. Stanley jolted, releasing a gasp of shock, and stumbled away from the door. There was another bash, causing the frame to shudder once more, and he backed into the table by the window. Another bash, causing splinters to appear along the frame. Another and another. His hands clenched onto the table behind him and the door was partly cracked in half. A shiver ran down his spine, as a gnarled, distorted hand reached in, flickering in and out of existence. Stanley Pines clenched his eyes shut and whispered. "I'm sorry, Stanford..."

The handle was twisted open from the inside by the hand, causing the door to swing open.

Chapter 20 End

So, back is chapter 14, I had made Bill Cipher call Stanley "Glasses", which I had honestly not intended to write. He is supposed to be "Hand" and I have now corrected that mistake. Another mistake for that chapter, was that for the list of missing characters on Bill's wheel, before his wheel was changed by Jill Rephic, had one missing. That character is "Red" and Bill said they were dead. Now that I've fixed these mistakes, the plot will make more sense. We will soon get to the whole "Glasses" character, but I'm fairly certain you readers can already take a shot in the dark about who they are. And, as always, reviews, favorites, and follows are appreciated!