Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Alex Hirsch owns Gravity Falls, not me. Violence and blood ensue throughout this chapter.

Dipper dragged his eyes away from Bill Cipher, upon the realization that he didn't know where his great-uncle and friend were. He pushed himself up, onto his knees, twisting his head around, before seeing Grunkle Stan to his left. He seemed to be rousing himself up, blinking groggily, blood dripping down his face. He appeared momentarily alarmed, rubbing the liquid from his chin, and staring at his tarnished hand. His eyes finally focused on his grand-nephew and his face morphed into concern. He suspiciously eyed the now human Bill Cipher, before fully facing the 13-year-old. "Dipper, you hurt?"

"I-I don't know..." He mumbled, using his own t-shirt to wipe the blood off his face.

"Perhaps I used up too much blood from the pair of you...Though it may of also been from the change of existence you occupy at the moment," Bill studied his nails for a second, before he gazed about the endless white expanse surrounding him. "No matter though, since it seems like you both are alright."

"Gideon?" Stan brought himself onto shaky legs, slightly dizzy from the lose of blood, heading over to the unconscious freckled boy. He didn't awaken though, as the elder man crouched down beside him, patting at his cheek. He finally twisted his head around, scowling at the dream demon. His voice came out low and accusing. "What's wrong with him, Cipher?"

If the dream demon was surprised by Stan knowledge of who he was, despite his change in appearance, he gave no indication. "His mind isn't quite as strong as your's and Pine Tree's, so his he has to adjust to the change, in order for him to be opened to the dreamscape."

Though he didn't appear reassured, he didn't question further. Dipper observed Bill, as he waved a hand at the Pines, the blood vanishing from them. He frowned, wondering the meaning behind the outfit. He had always assumed if the triangle became a human, he would be gravitated towards tuxes or at least a classy type of style. The only familiar piece he wore, was his to phat. "What are you wearing?"

"My armor. Dream demons are naturally clad in a protective shield, to prepare themselves for a number of...situations. It's not made of real material though. It's more along the lines of a illusion, that represents my powers. I could change my appearance, though I prefer to be ready for when Jill makes herself known."

"Seems over-dramatic if you ask me..." The elder Pines mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, yes, heartwarming as usual, Cresent. I'll make you be thankful for me one of these days, grumpypants."

"What the hell did you just call m-?" He nearly rose, appearing furious by the new nickname.

"What is this place?" Dipper interrupted, preventing a fight to break out in the worse moment.

"The dreamscape, before it's affected by an individual's presence. When prev-" Bill cut himself off, a dark sword appearing out of thin air his hands, and whirled around.

The sword clashed with white one, a hissing echoing around them, lights flashing blindingly for a moment in their eyes. When the lights cleared slightly, Jill Rephic was revealed to be in front of him, clad in a glimmering armor, a glowing bluish hue. Her pure white cape fluttered behind her, with sparkling stars swaying around. Her hair floated behind her, length spread out in the same manner as the room, lips spread into a gentle smile. "Hello, Bill."

"O-Oh..." Gideon gasped beside Stan, eyes wide from the spot he was laid out on, apparently awake. If the elder man wasn't so startled at the clashing of the swords and the ringing echo in his ears, he would of comforted the now frightened 11-year-old. The background began to be filled in, as though someone was beginning to paint across a canvas. A forest gradually began to appear, trees spread out in vastness, though they weren't reminiscent of the ones Dipper had in his mind. His had been pine trees, reminding him of the forest in Gravity Falls, filled with thickening morning fog. The trees surrounding them though...He wasn't confident of what type they were, they appeared thickened though, snow gently falling upon the mounds already created. A frigid air was felt, the breath of the the trio's mouth being visible.

"Hello, Jill...appropriate, that you would chose this scenery." Bill replied, before the pair dropped their swords from one another, holding beside themselves.

"Well, it is where it all began, my darling," Her eyes darted to the trio, lingering for an inappropriate amount of time on Gideon, who now was sat up, staring with horror at her. As her smile expanded, a cold sweat began, despite the weather. "It's been far too long, Giddy."

"You don't talk to him!" Stan growled, covering the child from view from her.

Jill sneered momentarily, face becoming gruesome and unnatural, before the expression dropped a split second later. It was as though it had never occurred in the first place, though Stan knew better. Though the soft expression had regained, her voice came out disgusted, as though she regarded a thriving insect. "What a shame, that you are still in existence."

"Where are they?" Bill silenced Stan, with a slice of his hand, before he could utter a word in reply.

"Who, darling? You'll have to be a bit more specific." She fluttered her eyelashes.

"Playing coy, is hardly becoming of you. You know precisely who I'm talking about."

"Oh, I suppose you mean Shooting Star and Fingers. They are unharmed, obviously, though it won't be long before they arrive to the entrance of the Nightmare Realm. They won't be nearby, fairly soon, dear."

"You've broken several different rules, especially with the intervention of another's wheel."

"Father's silly rules? The same ones, that prevented me from rising to my rightful place? Why, I don't see any reason to actually follow them. Besides, you've already broken quite a few of your own."

He narrowed his eye. "Only to fix your own."

"And, that makes all the difference? Tell me, did it make the difference, when we were together?" The suggestive words, had Stan feeling nauseated at the aspect of two different dream demons being involved in such a way.

"This isn't about that and you know that. This is about fixing my wheel, the one you had no right to intrude on. I've waited 863 years for this movement and you decided to take it upon yourself to mess around!" His composure seemed to leave him and for the first time the elder Pines witnessed him seeming flustered with speaking to her.

"I waited 1,045 years patiently and I received nothing!" She hissed, lifting her sword over her head, before bringing it down on Bill.

He lifted his own sword, protecting his face for the collision, sparks hissing around their faces. "You know exactly why you received nothing!"

She jerked her sword away, twirling in a circle, and went to slash her weapon across his chest. He twirled, much as she did, out of the way from the weapon. A beat later, he was jabbing the sword at her leg, causing her to scream angrily at the painful contact. He twisted his head around, bellowing at the trio. "Find the cabin! The entrance to other dreamscapes, will be in the center of this one!"

Dipper was on his feet in an instant, while Stan assisted Gideon in standing. The 13-year-old glanced frantically over his shoulder at his is great-uncle and friend. He belting across the landscape, knowing that they would hot on his trail, in search of the center of the dreamscape with him. Jill kicked Bill in chest with her heeled shoe, while he stared after the trio, causing him to stumble back, and fall over. His single eye widened, as she lifted the blade once more over her head, before flinging it across the landscape, and at Dipper. The sword barely missed him, stabbing into a tree, centimeters in front of him. His shirt silenced open, a horrified gasp leaving his lips. "DIPPER!"

Stan had screamed his name, dashing through the snow to his grand-nephew. The sword vibrated violently, before flying back in Jill's grip, as Bill hoped to his feet, stabbing at her leg once more. She elbowed him in the sternum, with her free arm, roaring of her voice echoing through the trees. He bent over with a gasp, before she elbowed him once more, this time on the top of his head. Bill was brought to his knees, winded, the sword nearly dropping from his grasp. The elder Pines grabbed his grand-nephew's shoulder from behind, whirling him around, the find his revealing chest to be unharmed. He breathed out a sigh of relief, before pushing him forward. "We need to get out of the clearing, now!"

Gideon had caught up to them, heaving with breaths, before the trio sprinted out of the clearing. It seemed as though the battle would follow them though, as Jill flew through the air, colliding with several trees, causing several to timber over, propelling snow everywhere. Gideon and Dipper felt the snow shift insanely beneath them, the pair stumbling, as their footing was lost, down a slope. Jill stood from the snow, heaving, eyes bright with anger. She stabbed her weapon at Bill, as he appeared in front of her, impaling him straight through his stomach. Stan stared in shock at the scene, a golden liquid oozing from Bill's body. He ripped the handle from her hold, before tearing it out of his own stomach. Now wielding two swords, he went to slice her head off, but she kicked him in the face, golden blood spraying across the snow. Stan couldn't think of anything to say, expect two words. "Holy shit..."

He snapped his self out of his surprise and sprinted down a slanted slope, to the reach the children. When he arrived to them, they were assisting one another to stand, while he quickly glanced over his shoulder at the fight. He could barely view the details of their battle, but the glow of their bodies glinted in his direction. He turned back, finding them patting snow off of themselves. "I don't know how the hell he expects us to find anything here, but we need to hurry up, kids!"

Gideon breathing came out shaken, staring with shock at the fight. His voice came out hesitant and meek. "I-I'm s-scared..."

Stan reached out for his shoulder, rubbing a thumb into his flesh. "Hey, everything is gonna be fine, ok?"

"G-Grunkle Stan, I-I..." Dipper's broke off into a series of heavy breaths, beginning to edge towards a hyperventilation.

Stan reached out to touch the 13-year-old's cheek, staring him the eyes. "You're fine, we're fine. Everything is gonna be alright, just like I told Gideon. I won't anything happen to either of you."

"Well, that's not a promise you can keep!" Dipper snarled at him, face abruptly altering itself. He was startled for a beat, before Stan realized he wasn't dealing with the same grand-nephew he usually did.

"I know, Jason, but I'm gonna try my best." He confidently answered.

Jason scowl melted, an action he had never witnessed before. Though there was not a smile, it seemed as though he had been appeased by the answer. He closed his eyes, tilting his head, as though listening. Finally, he opened them, and pointed to the left. "The center's there. We're heading in the right direction and probably find it soon."

"How do you know that?"

"The same way Dipper does; he can hear echoes, explaining what is needed to be explained. We don't have time for this though. If we don't hurry, Rephic will have another chance to nearly impale my body," He raised his voice, as a roaring reaching their ears. They all turned, to see the body of Bill Cipher being hurtled roughly in their direction. They all dropped to the snow, the body gliding over them, and crashing tremendously into a tree. The dream demon pulled himself from the half dismantled tree, his sword missing, and seeming dazed. Jason was the first to stand, as Jill Rephic flew in their direction as well, tightly grasping her own weapon. He scrambled to grab the black sword from the snow a few feet in front of him, lifting it in front of his body. His hands trembled, clearly apprehensive at defending himself with the weapon, and it became apparent Dipper had returned. "NO!"

As Jill slashed her sword at Dipper's, Bill came up from behind. The younger Pine's body was now pressed up against his chest, causing him to flinch at the contact. If the physical support hadn't been there, he was sure the power of the female dream demon would of overwhelmed him. His anxiety flared at the thought, aware his mind wouldn't have survive what happened, if it wasn't for Bill. He was frozen in place, fear overwhelming him, as Jill was within and inch from his own face. She beamed at him, voice coming out teasing. "Hello, little Pine Tree. You're quite a brave one, aren't you? Just as Bill had been."

"Jill, he isn't anything I was and you know that." He felt the gloved hands push his own down to the bottom of the hilt, before they slid off, the ownership of the weapon returned to the dream demon.

"Hmm, perhaps you're right...Shooting Star is more as you were, now that I think about it," She pushed onto his blade, Bill's own sword nearly pressed backwards on to Dipper's frightened face, cradled around Bill's arms. That didn't mean he felt safe though, Dipper thought this was the worst position to be in the moment, especially when he knew these swords to cause more damage than normal ones. She noticed this, a type of insane glee spread across her face. "I wonder what would happen, if this blade were to touch a human."

"...Pine Tree, it's time for you to leave." He whispered, voice on edge.

Dipper slipped out from the arms around him, touching down to the snow beneath him. He crawled underneath Bill's legs, towards the others, who had just started to rose themselves from the ground. He sprinted towards them, grasping Gideon's hand, and started to run for his life. Stan followed, them beginning to sprint ahead of them by a foot, as trees flew by them. In the distance, a cabin appeared, causing them to push themselves to sprint faster. The cabin, appeared ancient, though most it was too buried in snow, to properly see how much it was. They rushed onto the porch, Stan grasping the handle of the front door. He frowned, tugging at it. "Piece of shit won't budge open!"

" WE HIDE WHAT WE FEAR MOST, CRESCENT!" A voice rang out from the forest, Jill emerged, her wounds oozing a hue of her own armor. Her eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint evident in them. She was willing to murder them where they stand, in order to keep Mabel and Stanley for herself. "Beyond that door, is fear! You thought this was only my dreamscape? This is our dreamscape! Bill and I have our own, due to the connection we possess!"

"Shut up!" Bill snarled, as he appeared from behind her. His shoulders heaved, as golden blood poured down the left half of his face.

"C-Connection?" Dipper stuttered out, as Stan began to repetitively smash his shoulder against the door, in order to open it.

"Oh, Bill never enlightened you of our connection, my dear? Oh, Bill, I would of thought you would be more forthcoming towards him, the connection that binds us, despite our deaths. Our connection, Pine Tree? Our connection is that Bill Cipher was my father!" Jill screamed out, as Stan splintered open the door, the hinges coming undone. As the door fell apart, the inside of the building was seen for the entire world. A deformed sight was beheld, Stan's eyes huge, as he realized they were the same exact creatures he fought off with his brother in the pocket dimension. They were what had given the claw injuries to Stanley, slashing violently to the skin.

As Gideon released a scream of horror at the sight. Bill spun in a circle, throwing the sword across the distance, narrowly missing Stan's head, and stabbing into the creature's side. It dropped, blackish blood gurgling from it's mouth, and began to convulse. It died before the trio's eyes, Dipper feeling as though he were about to release the contents of his stomach. Jill lashed out her blade at him, stabbing him in the heart. He froze, grasping at the hilt she held, tears of fury welling up in her eyes. She leaned in closer to him, her lips bared back as she spoke. "Father, will see what a beautiful change I have produced and grant me my own wheel!"

The blade was wrenched out, blood flung onto her own face. Bill cringed, obviously pained by the action, though he didn't appear to close to death. He was definitely weakened though and Stan realized this was their chance. He ushered the frozen Gideon and hyperventilating Dipper into the cabin, glancing around for their entrance. At first, he though the cabin didn't have one, until he focused on a symbol spattered across the wall, created by the blackish blood of the now dead creature behind them. He didn't quite understand how the symbol was created, yet he approached it anyways. He poked at it, his fingers returning as a sticky substance. He frowned in disgust. He was surprised at the sudden movement beside him. Dipper had dropped to the ground, bringing his knees up to his chest, and covered his hands over his ears. He wasn't hyperventilating, but Stan knew that he was in a type of panic attack, one that caused him to be overwhelmed with fear. Gideon was on the verge of tears, his arms wrapped around himself, twisting his head around to witness the battle outside. He needed to remove them from the situation immediately, for their mental sake. He was beginning to feel dazed himself, as though he wasn't quite there in the dreamscape, but watching from afar. "Ok, so how this work?"

The sword that been previously in the creature's body, floated by itself from it, levitating in the air. He gaped at him, suddenly noticing it was heading in his direction. It hovered before him and Gideon was momentarily distracted at the sight, the tears no longer on the edge of falling. Stan cautiously reached out, taking hold of the hilt, and scratching the back of his head with his free arm. "What the hell do I do with this?"

The blade trembled in his hands, tugging him forward, towards the symbol. "Alright, alright, I get it! I don't really know why you wanna be touching it, but I'm guessing it's gonna lead us to other dreamscapes?"

There was an explosion of wood behind him, causing him to flinch violently at the sudden noise. Dust and snow blew into the air. He whirled around, discovering Bill Cipher to be laid out across the remains of a wooden table, breathing raggedly. Jill emerged from the doorway, tossing her weapon back and forth, between each hand. A slash on her cheek, bleed viciously, appearing distorted from her grinning face. Stan cursed, tapping to sword against the symbol, though nothing occurred. "God dammit, do something!"

Yet, everything remained the same, and for once he found himself looking desperately to Bill. He was motionless, his single eyes closed, chest heaving up and down. Gideon backed away as Jill approached, nearly tripping over Dipper. He realized this wouldn't end well. She was much more powerful than him, so using the sword would hardly put any type of resistance against her. He lifted the blade though, standing in front of his grand-nephew and adopted ward, in a last ditch effort to protect them. She paused in front of them, the weapon now in her left hand, a smirk present on her face. "It seems as though I don't have to burdened with such a presence any longer, for which I'm grateful."

His eyes widened, as she lifted her blade, it glowing a bluish hue, as power was poured into it. He didn't stand a chance, so he closed his eyes, glad he didn't have to hear his loved ones dying, for he would be the first. There was silence surrounding him, when a voice echoing throughout his mind, though it wasn't quite one. It was a mixture of a feeling and words compelling him to do what he did next. His eyes snapped out and he whirled around. He raised the black sword above his head and stabbed the symbol with as much strength as he could muster. Within the split second he had done so, darkness swallowed him whole, and he lost consciousness. The last noise he heard with the roar of his enemy, shattering his ear drums.

~!-?-!~

His hand burned, as though flames licked at his flesh. Flesh? He didn't have flesh, he didn't have flesh, he didn't have flesh. He didn't have a body. Who...Who was he? Who was he? Who was he? WHO WAS HE? Was he even a he? Was he even a person? His hand burned, his heart burned. Flames licked at his heart, burning him viciously. There's never ending darkness, the opposite of the never ending white he had seen before. ? When did he...see...white...? His hand burned, his heart burned...he sensed...more burning? Not from himself though, it felt as though flames were outside himself. He felt the burning, yearning for him to draw near. His other half. The burning led him to his other half. Other half? Who was his other half? Did he even have one? He moved, without moving himself, his mind seemed to do so. He glided, the wind howling through him, faster, and faster. The burning seemed to subside, ebbing away, as though an ocean had washed over his senses. His hand, his heart, and the outside no longer burned.

"Stanford?"

Stan opened his eyes.

End Chapter 42

Yes, I'm already back and I know it's only been three days (a miracle it seems!). I honestly was excited to write out this chapter though and I have roughly two weeks before I started school, so I thought I should do this while I have the time. And, I did decide to split the finale into two parts. I also apologize if the fight scenes were confusing to read. I really did try my best. I believe that's all that's necessary to explain for the moment, so now for the notes for the chapter. Obviously Bill can change himself into a human, just as Jill has exhibited in previous chapters. The dreamscape they occupied was a mixture of Jill's and Bill's due to their connection they shared as humans. It was meant to be from their memories, when they lived in a cabin in the forest. The aging is off due to a specific reason, which is similar to the Doctor's age from Doctor Who. Dream demons have the capability to travel through time. Jill has simply traveled more than Bill has. Each dream demon is granted a "wheel of destiny", though Jill has never been granted one. Usually they've are told they have a wheel, which will begin to move in a certain year. Bill's year was 2012, which is when this story is set in, as the first episode was in that year. I view the swords as an extension of their powers, put into the form of a sword. They are more powerful than a normal one and can actually kill a human with a simple touch. As always favorites, followers, and reviews are appreciated!