Chapter 43

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

Before Stan had opened his eyes, the sound of waves reached his ears. They gushed and roared along the shore, his now open eyes observing the familiar sight. Seagulls screeched from above, swooping down to fetch fish from the ocean. The sun glistened upon the waves and blinded him from the cloudless sky. The water reached his shoes, though he couldn't feel it, and he knew it to be the warm liquid that used to be felt in his childhood. The beach. His childhood beach. Glass Shard Beach was laid out before him. He turned around, coming face-to-face with his twin brother. He appeared to be made of glass, though he contained swirling water inside his body, beating against his insides as the shore behind Stan did. "Lee?"

He expected Stanley to be grateful for his presence, yet he appeared panicked instead. "What are you doing here?!"

The elder man scowled in reply, momentarily forgetting the relief he had felt a moment before. He rolled his eyes. "To save your ass."

"What? No, you ca-!"

"Grunkle Stan?!" His brother was interrupted by the cry of his grand-niece, sprinting across the sand to him. The water inside her translucent form sloshed violently, as though a storm had begun. When she collided into him, he cringed, imagining her body shattering into pieces. Of course, that didn't occur though, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

"It's good to see you, kid," Stan wrapped his arms back around her, squeezing her shoulders tenderly, feeling a lump in his throat. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." Mabel replied back, her voice sounding muffled against him.

The pair released one another and he observed his brother's eyes swiveling around. He seemed as though he was cautious of his surroundings, fearful of what would occur next. He stepped forward, reaching to him, before engulfing him in an embrace. He breathed in, smelling the familiar scents of Stanley. Though he couldn't feel the arms wrapping back around him, he could sense warmth inside him. Tears welled in his eyes. "I thought I lost you, again."

"Stanford...I..." His brother pulled away, frowning. "Did you come here by yourself?"

Stan's heart immediately dropped and he whirled around. He realized he didn't know where the children where, nor the sword he had held. He stepped away, observing the shoreline, before squinting his eyes. He approached the water, beginning to trudge into the waves, ignoring the calls of his relatives. When the water reached his hips, he grasped onto the handle of a sword, barely sticking out of the ocean. He tugged at it a few times, before tearing into out of the sand. He stumbled back a few feet, then he lifted it to his face. It appeared normal, the flames that had licked him earlier not to be seen. He headed back to the shore, observing the flabbergasted expression on Stanley's face. "Wha-?"

"Is that a sword?!" Mabel's face lite up at the sight of the weapon.

"Yeah, it's uh, Cipher's." Stan explained, still feeling weird about the entirety of the situation.

"Bill's?" Stanley appeared more confused than before.

"Yeah, that's not important though. I don't know where Dipper and Gideon went off to though."

"You brought them with you?!" His twin exclaimed, appearing furious. "How could you be so irresponsible!?"

"Irresponsible?! What the he-" Stan cut off his furious beginnings, as he finally spotted a familiar body far down the shoreline. He sprinted away automatically, the sword swinging beside him, sand flying as his shoes pounded against the ground. "DIPPER!"

The 13-year-old was dragging himself from the ocean, the waves soaking him thoroughly. His hands scrambled through the sand, attempting to find purchase. When Stan arrived, he dropped the sword to the ground, pulling his grand-nephew roughly from the waves, and roughly shaking his shoulders. Dipper appeared dazed and bewildered, his own hands clinging to the front of Stan's button-up. "Kid, kid, are you ok?!"

"...y-yeah...stop...stop shaking m-me, pl...please..." He mumbled and Stan immediately complied. "Where...are w-we?"

"Uh, Glass Shard Beach...it was next to where me and Stanley lived. It's...I think we're in my dreamscape though?"

"It was Mabel's and my own, but it seems as though we're inside your's now, Stanford." Stanley appeared behind the pair, observing the row of buildings on the opposite side of the dreamscape.

"This...Grunkle Stan's looked different though," Mabel interrupted, appearing confused at her surroundings. "it was the Mystery Shack before...and there wasn't any color."

"Odd...perhaps this..." Stanley trailed off, deep in thought.

Stan felt there were more important questions to ask though. "How come we don't look like you and Mabel?"

His twin snapped out of his thoughts and explained the situation. "Your souls aren't here, like how our's are. Are your minds here?"

"Yeah."

"Your mind can't be affected by the dreamscape, as a soul can be. More importantly though, where is Gideon?" There seemed to be no answer for this, as they realized nothing else was along the shoreline. "Right, well, why exactly do you have a sword that belongs to Bill Cipher?"

"I had to use it to get here, though it's a kinda fuzzy on how exactly I did after stabbing a wall in a forest. I don't really know how long it's gonna take for Rephic to show up though."

"She was here with u-" Stanley cut himself off, frowning. "Does anyone else here that?"

The four of them turned to the ocean, finding the water to be miles further away than before, rising into a massive wave in the distance. There was a brief pause, before Stan picked up Dipper, turned, and began to run towards the row of buildings. Mabel and Stanley immediately followed suite, running from the tsunami. The roaring increased, masking the screaming they were all releasing, as the tidal wave began it's descent. They scrambled over the hump of sand, onto the sidewalk, running uphill, as they went into the town. Stan paused, whirling around, as he realized he left behind the sword. A hand spun him around, Stanley attempting to yell at him. He shook his head, continuing his run, as Dipper tried to scream something at his face. There was a massive crashing noise behind them, shaking the entire dreamscape. They pushed themselves to the top of the hill, turning around to watch the waves. The entire lower half of the town was flooded, houses crumbling, and drifting away. "Holy shit...it's...rising..."

"It's the Nightmare Realm," Stanley breathed out, backing away from the water edging over the hill they were at. Stan set down Dipper, feeling his stomach twist into knots, wondering where Gideon was. He prayed to whoever listened that the 11-year-old hadn't been down there. His brother turned away, shaking his head. "We need to go further away."

"What about Gideon?" Mabel's eyebrows furrowed, the ocean inside of her beginning to churn with anxiousness.

"We'll find him, Mabel. I promise." Stan assured her, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"What if he's...?"

"I'm sure he's fine, sweetheart. The dreamscape is a strange place, which suggests he might of not been done on the beach in the first place. Chances are he's hiding away, somewhere in town. It's only a matter of locating him." Stanley comforted her, knowing she needed to be reassured. He only hoped they could locate the freckled boy, before the female dream demon returned.

She seemed to become less anxious though, the ocean inside her becoming calm and serene, as she nodded to these words. "I wish we knew where he was though."

"Mabel..." Dipper was frowning, biting his lip.

"Dip-Dop?"

"You don't...?"

"What?"

"Don't you see anything? I just heard..."

"Did you hear Gideon?"

"Ye...no...no, it wasn't him, it was...is that Bill's sword?" Dipper stared beyond the rest of his family, to a row of houses in the distance. When the other Pines whirled around to the direction he suggested, revealing the weapon to be stabbed into the road's asphalt, a couple of feet away. The golden hilt glistened underneath the summer sun, causing it to appear to have a glow surrounding the sword.

"Wait, b-but I left...h-how in the...what the hell?" Stan spluttered out, squinting at it.

His twin narrowed his eyes. "If you ask me, this seems to be...off."

Mabel's gasp startled the other three, her eyes glazing over, as she placed her hands over her mouth. "GRAB THE SWORD!"

"Mabel, this could be a tra-" Stanley began, perturbed by her sudden reaction, yet he never finished his sentence, as another sword was stabbed at Stan from behind. His twin released a yelp of agony, the blade embedding into the back of his left shoulder, blood immediately oozing out of the wound. There was an ear-shattering screech that echoed throughout the dreamscape, the background becoming a static, as though they were watching the wrong channel of a television station. After a few moments, the background returned to the town of Glass Shard Beach. "Stanford!"

He had barely released his name, when his brother fell to his knees. Jill Rephic heaved furiously behind him, face twisted into the darkest expression he had yet to view, feeling a shudder of fright strike him. She lifted her sword high into the air, intending on bringing it down into his head, causing a lasting brain damage. The mind. His brother's mind was here and a blow such as that, could possibly cause immediate death. He couldn't move though, horrified at what was about to occur. When he realized his grand-niece was in-between the pair, arms spread wide to protect Stan, his heart stopped. The sword remained in the air though, Jill's face melting into a kind expression. "Pumpkin, would you perhaps move aside?"

"No." Mabel defiantly answered, not an ounce of fear to be seen, her horror of the dream demon faded away finally. When Jill didn't receive the answer she desired though, she swatted her aside, with the invisible force of the flick of her hand. Mabel lurched sideways, gliding through the air, before dropping down onto the ground. Her body laid out, immobile, was what finally sent a surge of action into him. When he whirled around, intending on sprinting to the sword, he was surprised to come face-to-face with it instead. Had it been that close before? Stanley knew he didn't have enough time to linger on the thought, considering the situation, and ripped it violently from the asphalt. He whirled back around, his brother on his hands and knees, revealed to him. He dry heaved, the background flickering in and out of existence. Jill hadn't returned to present the finishing blow though, instead studying him, as he held Bill's sword.

"Hand, you're the first one I chose to be mine. You wouldn't possibly consider betraying me, as Shooting Star has?"

"I never was and never will be your's!" He snarled, lifting the sword in front of his own body.

"Oh, but you are, darling, and always will be," She answered, not bothering to lift up her own, as he approached her. "And, no one, whenever that is Bill Cipher, or even Father, will halt me from keeping what belongs to myself."

"Unfortunately, that's where you're wrong, Jill," The voice grasped both of their attention, as Bill stepped in-between the the pair, facing towards his daughter. "I have been informed, of your attempts to disrupt the other wheels, and those destined to them. While the others hadn't been allowed to interfere, Father gave me explicit instructions to end your disruptions."

"Your past actions had made it that I no longer can believe any relayed information from Father. This wouldn't be the first time you have lied, in order to receive what you desire. It's how you made me believe you cared for me, despite what seemed to be the contrary, in our human lives."

Bill's face hardened, eye darkening. "I was foolish, to believe my love your you then, could change your mind, Jill. I truly did care for you, but that was ruined, when you left."

"I only left, because you murdered our mother!" She snarled back, baring her razor sharp teeth.

The display didn't seem to disturb the male dream demon in the least, as he face further softened. "She needed it."

"She needed you to strangle her, until the blood vessels in her eyes popped, and she bled out from her eyes, ears, and mouth? I watched every moment of it and when you had finished her, you...do you remember what you had said? Do you? You told me, that I wouldn't have to 'suffer at her hands anymore'. She had never struck me, once in my life! No once had she laid a hand on me. She had been gentle and loving and you...you lied to her. You pretending you cared about her and in the end you murdered in her cold blood!"

Stanford was becoming increasingly confused and sickened at the words being exchanged. He had made the connection by this point, that they had been parent and child, yet he couldn't quite grasp the meaning. "I did what had to be done."

Jill continued on, as though she hadn't heard, a smile stretched across her lips. "Only...Only, I understood what you felt, when I first had taken a life, though not in the manner you had. The first time, when I sliced open her throat, oh, I received such a sense of accomplishment at the action. When she gurgled out her thankfulness, I felt such righteous completion. I finally understood, what you had meant, about Father. I helped these...poor souls, move on! And, I only understood Father, once I completed the action, and my eyes were blown wide open!"

"Then, you shouldn't hold any grudges against me, if you understand."

"Oh, but I have to. I did all of what Father told me to do, yet he chose you. You lived with regret, while I lived with passion,YET HE CHOSE YOU INSTEAD!" Her hair flared, bursting into a a fury of golden fire, as she screamed the final words.

"You needed balance, Jill, but instead you only went head first into the darkness! You were supposed to have a balance between both sides, yet you only chose one in the end! This was explained to you, the moment you were reborn, yet you ignored this! And, now you've gone too far, and you have to be punished!" Bill bellowed back, losing his cool, and exploding at his daughter.

"I was perfect and he chose you instead. I'll make him proud though, when I gather together my own wheel. Hand, he made realize I could do this! Darling, you opened my eyes to what had to be done, so I could make Father proud!" She directed the end of her sentence to Stanley, smiling tenderly at him, nearly grateful. The sword in his hands trembled, realizing before she voiced it aloud the truth. "And, I love you for that."

He dropped the sword, backing away, eyes wide. Jill Rephic was obsessed with him, because she was in love with him. A dream demon, who had attempted to murder his family members multiple times, was in love with him. His throat felt dry, stomach empty, sickened at the truth. The next words Bill Cipher spoke, startled him further. "You've broken another rule then...just as I had..."

Her sword rose into the air, before whirling around, flinging her weapon at Stan. His brother didn't even look up, as the blade throttled towards him, the finishing blow. Bill though, he was across the dreamscape within a second, blocking the blade, as it stabbed into his left thigh, leg buckling underneath him, crumbling to the ground. Stan flinched, glancing over at the fallen dream demon, before beginning to painfully crawl away. Jill Rephic removed the sword from him, as he began to his attempts to stand. She shoved him back down, before stabbing him in the chest. She tore it out once more, before proceeding to stab over and over and over, again, with the only sight that Stanley could view from where he stood, was golden blood soaking his body. He snapped himself out of it, sprinting over to his struggling twin. "Stanford!"

A hand grabbed at the back of his collar, dragging him backwards. He was whirled back around, despite his struggles, before Jill grasped his jaw with one hand. As she did so, he cringed, disgust overwhelming his senses. "You're not leaving, EVER AGAIN!" His eyes drifted to behind her, noticing movement. At first he thought it was Bill, but he realized it was Dipper and Gideon (Where did the freckled boy appear from?). The pair sprinted between each of the houses, edging closer to them. When they reached Bill's sword, Dipper picked it up, before they hid behind another house. He refocused his eyes back onto the female dream demon, who frowned at him. "Darling, what are you staring at?"

"N-Nothing..."

She twisted her head around, eyes narrowing as she observed the buildings behind her. Her lips twisted into a smirk, releasing a singing voice. "Pine Tree...Giddy...come out, come out, where ever you are!" The moment she finished speaking, Gideon appeared. His legs trembled, as he approached her, appearing frightened by his actions. Stanley knew he was meant to be a distraction, despite his fear. Stanley knew the 11-year-old had been abused his entire life, yet he was now brave enough to face one of his biggest fears in his life. "You're such a good child, Giddy...Now, where's Pine Tree?"

Stanley bit her hand, causing her to momentarily release his jaw. A moment was able that was needed, as he ducked down, somersaulting underneath her spread legs, to escape from her. He doubted it had pained her, but it served as a distraction to reach his brother. He squatted next to his brother, pressing a hand against his bleeding shoulder, frowning as he realized it was actually water. Sea water. His blood had become sea water, just as his transparent form had sea water inside. This wouldn't physically harm his brother, but he hypothesized that this injury could be to the equivalent of brain damage. "Stanford, are you alright?"

His brother didn't answer, eyes shut, and violently quivering. He glanced up, observing Jill Rephic, as she glared hatefully along the street of buildings, attempting to locate Dipper. Gideon was no longer anywhere to be seen, possibly back into hiding. Her eyes glowed furiously, clearly agitated by all of them at the moment. He noticed Dipper peer out from a a building to the right, unnoticeable by the female dream demon. He couldn't let the 13-year-old be seen, before he could through with the plan he obviously wanted to do. "JILL!"

Her head snapped to his direction, eyes narrowed dangerously. When Bill shot up from the ground though, Jill's sword in his hand, Stanley yelped in surprise. She whirled back around, only to be stabbed in her left eye, straight through her skull. As she howled furiously, Bill kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall backwards onto her back. As sword began to shift at the impact, Stanley glanced away, sickened. "BILL, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL END YOU, I'LL END YOU AND BECOM-!"

The rant morphed into senseless screams of aggravation. Stanley glanced back up, revealing Bill to be holding her down with one foot, as Dipper, and Mabel approached (When had she regained consciousness?). Gideon hesitantly lingered in the background, biting his bottom lip nervously. His eyes though, they defiantly stared into her flaming ones. The brunet held the sword in his trembling hands, before handing the hilt to his twin sister. He appeared anxious, breathing heavily, eyes blown wide. Bill stared at her, whispering, though Stanley could hear every word. "Don't worry, Shooting Star, you wouldn't kill anyone. This will simply remove us from the dreamscape...and the approaching Nightmare Realm."

"I know, Gideon already told us." Mabel answered, before lifting her weapon, and stabbing her in the other eye.

~!-?-!~

Returning back to Reality, wasn't as dramatic as arriving in the Nightmare Realm. In a literal blink of an eye, they had returned in their bodies. Dipper didn't quite understand how they had arrived in the basement, until he noticed the portal was on, though not violently swirling as it had been the first time an opening occurred. When he suddenly realized the saturation of the room had been lost, he knew that the dream demons were still here. He had barely adjusted to his settings, when Jill exploded. "IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU TWO FOR MY WHEEL, THEN NO ONE CAN!"

The portal began screeching, causing all of them to clap hands over their ears. When gravitation was lost, they all released their ears, and scrambled to grasp anything. Stanley clung to a metal pipe beside the door of the room, while Gideon clung frantically to his leg. The moment they did so, gravitation began to suck inwards, into the portal. Mabel was pulled towards to portal first, before she grasped onto a cable dangling from the walls, hair wildly flying backwards. Both Dipper and Stan reached for anything, missing each item they had a chance to hold purchase to. The others screamed, the pair were reaching closer to the mouth of the portal. The screams were lost though. Stan held onto lever with the shutdown button. Dipper's hands completely missed the lever, but Stan snatched his hand, before guiding the limb to the lever as well. They both desperately held on, as the portal attempted to suck them completely inside, like a blackhole. The female star, leered at them, eager for them to disappear. "YOU'LL NO LONGER CURSE MY PRESENCE, AGAIN!"

The portal didn't seem to affect her, as she remained floating in the air. Dipper knew they were doomed, especially since Bill couldn't be seen anywhere. He felt tears well in his eyes, the droplets floating away, into the mouth of the portal. Stan's hand covered his, his dark eyes catching his own, comforting him without a word. Dipper's eyes caught movement though, as he realized Bill had appeared behind his daughter, hands on fire. The star whirled around to the triangle, as her own lite up. "YOU WON'T CEASE ME FROM WHAT I MUST DO, BILL!"

She went to fling the fireballs at him, yet he was able to do so first. As the bluish hue flames licked at her, she was flung back, her sense of gravity lost. Bill didn't say a word, as she flew up, eye laced with a type of inhumane charm to it. Her hands scrambled around, for purchase, apparently her powers to resist the portal lost. Her boa flew towards the mouth, whipping around wildly, before it disappeared. Dipper didn't know where the portal led to at the moment, but he knew whatever went inside would never return to this dimension. Her screams echoed loudly, as her form slammed into Stan. The elder man's hold released, eyes widened, as the star clung to his leg. "I NEVER GOT MINE. SO, I MADE MY OWN. WHY AREN'T YOU PROUD OF ME, FATHER?! WHY?!"

As he entered the mouth, his lower half disappearing into the portal, with Jill continuing to cling onto his limp from the other side, he grasped on the edges. Bill Cipher had vanished without a trace, truly abandoning them this time. It seemed as though Dipper's trust wasn't completely accurate, for he needed to the dream demon most, he had left. He began to violently sob, squeezing his eyes shut. The roar drowned at the noises of the rest of his family screaming at Stan and his own sobs. As though someone had sensed he wanted to be heard though, the roaring vanished. Stan stared into his eyes, speaking in a normal tone. "Dipper, stop crying already."

"B-But, you're going to get t-tired eventually and l-let go!" He sobbed, voice hoarse from his cries.

"I know that kid, which is why I rather go sooner rather than later...Look, I need to tell you where my will is."

"No! You don't need to, because you're going to get out of here somehow!"

Stan rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not. It's inside the reclining chair's cushion. Just unzip it and you'll find it in there. I would appreciate it if you could do most of what I put in there."

"P-Please, I d-don't...I w-won't d-do..." He trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Tell Gideon I'm glad I got to know him. Like, really know him. He doesn't really know it, but he's a good kid...so is Soos. Tell Soos I've always been proud of him."

"No, you can! You can tell them both that!" The brunet could barely see his great-uncle, as his tears blurred the colors of the portal into him.

"Tell Wendy, that even though she's a lazy pain in my ass, that if she actually puts in the effort, she can do anything, alright?"

"N-No!" He blubbered helplessly.

"Didn't I just tell you to stop crying? Oh, yeah, you're sister...tell her that she...she has a good heart...though she can be kinda scary when she's angry. That doesn't really matter though. Tell Mabel I love her and she should always be herself, no matter what anyone else says," He seemed a bit choked up at those words, eyebrows furrowing. The tears didn't start welling until he spoke of his brother though. "Tell Lee that...I'm glad he was always there for me...that if we could do everything all over again, I would try to do better for him...he didn't need to lose all those years. He deserves so much more than what I gave him, but tell him he gave me the best years of my life. Tell him, I love him to pieces and that that's never gonna change."

"I can't..please, just...Grunkle Stan, please, y-you can tell them y-yourself, when we get o-out of here." He begged his great-uncle, who simply smiled him, a tinge of sadness present in it.

"You know I'm not going to make it out of this one...you're gonna to have to press the button to close the portal, Dipper."

"I c-can't though..." He shut his eyes, shaking his head.

"Kid, open you eyes...hey, just open them," He opened his eyes. "Kid, you can do it."

Dipper gasped, the familiar words haunting him. The future had always been there, warning him with certain phrases, yet he didn't notice any of them. He breathed wetly, as he choked out another sob, his great-uncle continuing to speak. "Dipper, you're braver than you think. Just because you have that anxiety thing going on, that doesn't mean you're a coward or a wimp. You're strong, stronger than when I first met you, and I'm glad that you are. Stanley and Mabel are gonna need you to be strong, so they can continue on. They're gonna need you to be strong, so that they can become the same. Kid, when you and your sister came here, well, you changed me...I...I didn't get any love back for so long, that I felt as though...it was all pointless, but...you two came into my life, and changed me...I'm...I'm glad your ma made that phone call to me. I'll really glad about that. I love you, Dipper."

The 13-year-old smiled back at him hesitantly, lips wobbling. "I love you, too, Grunkle Stan."

The elder man smiled began brighter at the words, tears finally rolling down his cheeks. Dipper raised a hand for the button, the tears now dried, attempting to cease his crying as Stan had asked him to do. It seemed as though the elder Pines couldn't do the the same though, as the trails on his aged cheeks revealed he couldn't. He wasn't sobbing though, nor had he ceased his smiling. Dipper hesitated though, hand over the button. He was about to lose one of the people he loved most. "Dipper, Dipper it's ok. Let go. Just, let go. Just let go of me and do it, kid."

Dipper closed his eyes, finally pressed the button, closing the portal, and lost his great-uncle forever.

End Chapter 43

I want to thank all of you for staying with me throughout this entire story. To be honest, I never thought this would actually be supported as much as it has been for over the course of a year. Gravity Falls is an important aspect to my life at the moment, for personal reasons, and I'm saddened to know that by next week it will all be over. There is actually one more chapter left, the epilogue, before this is officially over. I'm thinking of leaving behind trivia in the author's note for the final chapter, but for now I'm going to give you all the translations of the ciphers I left in several of the chapters (those random numbers on the page breaks).

Prologue: Nineteen Seventy Five
Chapter 1: Fear is Here
Chapter 2: I am Stanley
Chapter 3: Not Broken
Chapter 4: Twins Run in Pairs
Chapter 5: Destroy the Evil (Gideon's Latin chanting)
Chapter 6: There is Another Demon
Chapter 7: Silence is Loud
Chapter 8: Jill Rephic
Chapter 9: Not All Evil is Supernatural
Chapter 12: Gideon Feels Emotion
Chapter 13: Evil is a Frame of Mind
Chapter 14: Never Doublecross Demons
Chapter 15: She is Back
Chapter 16: Does Anyone Read These?
Chapter 18: Pacifica is Next
Chapter 19: Why am I Still Writing These?
Chapter 21: Fiddleford Remembers
Chapter 25: Does Anyone Read These? (Without out even realizing it, I wrote this twice, whoops)
Chapter 26: I'm Running Out of Things to Say
Chapter 29: The End is Near (I obviously didn't edit these after I realized the end of the story was NOT near)
Chapter 33: This Story is Almost Done (Same story as above)
Chapter 38: The Nightmare Realm
Chapter 41: One of the Elder Pines Will Not Survive

As always reviews, favorites, and followers are appreciated!