For the next few days, Pacifica would make her way to the forest with Gideon and Bill to try to uncover the secrets of her journal. Every morning, she would give Gideon a call, informing him exactly where he needs to meet her so they do not waste any time. While he does not like the idea of running back and forth between his work and helping Pacifica, Gideon puts up little resistance. He goes along with her plans, hearing the excitement and gratitude in Pacifica's voice as she tells him her theories and thoughts in great detail. It is good to see that she is becoming more optimistic, seemingly happier with her life. However Gideon can't help but worry, especially that it seems like wherever Pacifica goes, Bill is right beside her.
Even when he doesn't show himself though the mindscape, as he calls it, Gideon can see his triangular shadow almost always right next hers. It is very clear that the demon is very fond of her, being very open around her and teasing her as a close friend would. Though whether or not she knew it herself, Pacifica also seems very close to him, becoming less snappish and cold towards his playful banter and actions. Again, Gideon is happy to see Pacifica open herself more to the world...but to have it be a demon who helps bring it out...
As the days went on, he notices that Bill tries to settle the tension between them by attempting to become 'friends,' visiting him sometimes after a show or at his house. He can't tell if it is genuine or not, as most attempts usually end with Gideon being freaked out or Bill acting...Bill.
There are few words that can describes the demon's actions, his memory and thought process so bizarre that Gideon has a hard time understanding it. At times, he acts like a cat trying to chase a laser pointer, wanting to learn more about this world and its people. At other times, he lists off random facts and events, none of it making the tiniest of sense. Pacifica was not kidding when she had said Bill has many problems, his unstable mindset indicating that he has suffered a lot. Slowly, Gideon begins to feel sorry for him, however it is not at the point where he lets his guard down.
Bill is still a demon, and nothing can change that fact.
In present time, Gideon is now lying in bed, in a deep sleep as he rests for Pioneer Day. While he does not take a big part in the town holiday, he does know it will be very exhausting and he will need all his energy to enjoy it. He is dreaming about his magic show routine, where he is thinking about maybe hiring an assistant to start learning bigger and better magic tricks; when suddenly, the dream comes to a monochromic halt. Gideon stops where he is on strange, his imaginary assistant and audience gone. He lets out a sigh, knowing that Bill will be coming at any second.
"Three...two..."
"Hey there, short stack!"
On cue, the demon randomly appears in front of him, twirling his cane and looking around the dream.
"Is this really all you think about, night and day?" Bill asks bluntly. "Really kid, there is more to life than your little magic shows."
Gideon rolls his eyes.
"I have to come up with new material every few days in order to keep business up," he explains. "This town is small, so I have to do what I can to keep the same people entertained constantly."
He sits at edge of the stage, feeling that even in a dream his feet hurt from being on them continuously. He can feel his muscles relaxing, taking the time to have his mind settle, ready to listen to whatever Bill wants. It takes a moment for Bill to make a reply, as he is studying Gideon very carefully.
"...For a family that struggles to make money, you guys don't act like it at all. No begging or asking for money..."
He flies down to Gideon's level, standing on the ground with little to no movement. Gideon lets out a soft sigh.
"With my dad being a used car salesman and my shows' small ticket sales and donations, we make enough to keep our house and all. Though sometimes we barely make it, depending on Dad's sales. Half the time, the money I make is what saves us, since my mom can't work because of her fragile health."
He gives a small smile.
"It is hard work, but I enjoy it. It makes me happy knowing that I am helping my family. And that's what matters."
There is a long silence, Bill being unusually quiet and submissive. While it partly touches him that he is taking the time to listen, Gideon is slightly concerned by the silence. He wonders what Bill is thinking, and knowing that the demon can read his own mind, made his uneasiness grow.
"...I really wish you'd stop being so cautious around me, kid."
Avoiding eye contact, Bill plays with his cane by spinning it with one finger.
"What do I have to say or do to make you start trusting me?" he asks, sounding partly hurt. "There are many differences between my kind and yours, but we can both still feel the same emotions. I can feel emotional pain and loneliness. Betrayal, rejection, and all that jazz..."
...Betrayal?
There is a bitter tone to his voice as he says it, like a long partial pain that has not quite fully healed. This raises a few questions, though Gideon is quick to push those thoughts back before Bill has time to read them.
There is a small pause.
"...I'm not gonna lie and say that this is easy for me to accept," Gideon finally says. "But I...don't mean to hurt your feelings."
He avoids eye contact.
"...Just give me some time, okay?"
"Okay!"
Like his mood did a one eighty, Bill leaps and gives Gideon over-the-top blonde-white hair a large huge. Gideon can't help but laugh slightly, surprisingly not alarmed by the sudden action, as the demon dorito sits on top of his head with barely any weight to him.
"So, now that is settled," Bill says cheerfully. "I should probably tell ya why I came here in the first place..."
He pauses, taking a moment to recall his original purpose. Gideon rolls his eyes, not surprised in the slightest that he has forgotten.
"...Does it has something to do with Pacifica? Or Pioneer Day, since that's today?"
Bill's eye widens.
"Oh yeah! Paz and that Old Timey Day thing!"
He looks down at Gideon.
"What I was going to ask ya, kid, was that you make sure and help support Paz while she 'helps' her parents. There is only so much I can do in the waking world for her, so I'm counting on you help her out, all right?"
"Uh..."
It takes Gideon a few seconds to reply.
"...Well, I would, but Pacifica doesn't want her parents to know about our friendship. I mean, she's told me herself and I don't wanna do anything that can possibly damage-"
"Well considering that I live with her, I can safely say that I know she will be happy for your support."
The dorito flies off his head to face him eye to eye.
"I'm not saying you have to be right beside her the whole time. Just spend by every once and while to make sure she is fine. Now that isn't too hard, is it?"
"N-no, I'm not saying it's hard, it's just..."
He stops himself. From the look in his eye, Gideon can tell that Bill will continue to argue with him till he agrees. And even with that, he knows that Pacifica will be feeling anxious to be around her parents all day and be in the spotlight with little to no breaks. Perhaps Bill is right and that paying Pacifica a short visit when he got the chance may help her confidence. Bill's gaze brightens up.
"See? I told ya it would be a good idea!"
He levitates higher up and prepares to make his leave.
"Well, see you later kid. Gotta talk to Paz before she begins her long day. See ya~"
In a blink of an eye, he is gone, Gideon slowly waking up from his dream, feeling the sunlight coming in from his bedroom window.
As Pioneer Day finally begins, Gideon and his family are in the midst of a large crowd. They are gathered at the front of a large wooden stage, waiting to hear the opening speech of the holiday. The speech is to welcome everyone for coming and to give a brief history of the town. It will be spoken by the Northwest family, being the family who founded the town. Gideon knows that this will be Pacifica's first time to do something like this, and he wishes her the best of luck.
"Can you see all right, Gideon?" Mrs. Gleeful asks her son. "We can see if we can get a better view for you."
Gideon shakes his head.
"I'm fine, Mama. I can see just fine."
He can see through the cracks between the people in the crowd, having a good enough view to see the podium. Soon enough, the Northwests come up to the stage, and just like all the other local residents, are dressed in 1860s fashion. Mr. Northwest gently pushes Pacifica up to the podium, who shakily approaches it. Her face is painted with nervousness and fear, her breathing heavy as it can be heard from the microphone. Seeing that she is struggling, Gideon makes an attempt to go through the crowd and get closer to the front.
"G-good morning, people of Gravity Falls," Pacifica stutters. "I w-welcome you to our town's annual P-pioneer Day, where we celebrate the founding of our great t-town and how far we have come in its h-history."
She introduces herself as the great, great granddaughter of the town founder, Nathaniel Northwest, and talks about the town's history and how the Northwests have played a large part in it. She struggles greatly, her eyes shifting from one object to the next and she repeats herself a couple of times. Gideon watches as he fights through the crowd, hoping that Pacifica's parents will come in to help her. But they do not, Mr. Northwest standing stoically while Mrs. Northwest just nods in agreement with her daughter.
Eventually, Gideon is able to get to the front of the crowd, hoping to make eye contact with Pacifica. He does not whisper or say anything, not wanting to take the chance of distracting her, but hoping that she will get a glimpse of him. Once she gets near the end of her speech, her eyes suddenly grow wide and she loses her words. Gideon watches her closely, as does the rest of the crowd, wondering what she is seeing that could distract her. But then realizes her gaze is moving. Eventually, her line of sight comes to where Gideon is standing, where the two of them make eye contact.
Now that he has her attention, he gives her a reassuring smile, indicating that she is doing a good job and can do this. Pacifica blinks, her tense figure relaxing slightly. She gives a small smile, and while keeping her eyes on Gideon, finishes off the speech.
"I hope you enjoy yourself to the fullest and remember to keep your pride in your town. May Gravity Falls live long and prosper."
"Long and prosper!"
The crowd cheers the last two words, where everyone starts to disband and enjoy the multiple Pioneer Day festivities. Before he goes, Gideon gives Pacifica a thumbs up, where they both go to reunite with their parents.
"That was so sweet of you to go up there for Pacifica," Mrs. Gleeful says as Gideon walks up to her and her husband. "I hope she was able to see you were there and sense your support."
"What a brave girl she is," Mr. Gleeful adds. "You can tell how terrified she was up there. I'm impressed she was able to keep it together that well."
His eyes grow dark, watching the Northwest family walk off the stage.
"I can't believe anyone would force their daughter to do something like that. That man Preston..."
He begins to mumble, probably words that Gideon should not hear.
"Honey..."
Mrs. Gleeful puts her hand on his shoulder, in hopes to calm him down. She turns her gaze to her son.
"Gideon, why don't you go ahead and enjoy yourself. And tell Pacifica, if you see her, that we are very proud of her."
Gideon nods.
"I will, Mama. And Pacifica will be grateful for it."
"Good," she replies with a smile. "If you need me or your father, we will be at the antique store. Have fun!"
Going their separate ways, Gideon makes his way towards the stage in hopes of catching Pacifica. Bill was right, she really, really does need the support. He hopes that she will be okay with him coming up to her in front of her parents, expecting any kind of reaction from them.
"Hey! Hey you, little guy!"
Coming out of nowhere, Gideon feels a large force collide with him. He falls on his side, a large body on top of him as he can feel the mud on the ground soak into his light blue jacket.
"Yay, I caught you!"
Gideon's eyes widen, realizing that a twelve year old girl is on top of him. She has a large smile on her face, laughing to herself like she has run into a long lost friend.
"Hey there, cutie," the girl continues to say in between giggles. "Can you help me and my brother out? We are trying to find something very important and we need some help!"
"Uhhhh..."
Gideon stares at her, terrified. He does not know what scares him more, the fact that he is tackled by a stranger or that she has strange, red colored stains on her braces and teeth.
"Well...? Can you help us?"
She leans in closer to him, staring deeply into his brown eyes while waiting for a reply.
"Mabel, cut that out! You're going to get yourself kicked out if you keep doing that."
At the sound of a deep, cracking voice, the girl sits up and turns her attention towards the back.
"Okay Bro-Bro!"
She quickly gets up, running towards the side of a boy of her almost exact image. Gideon sits up, still in shock as he stares blankly at the obvious twins. The male twin sighs.
"Mabel, you need to be more careful in your actions," he criticizes. "You only just got out of therapy, I don't need you to go back again and ruin our summer here!"
The girl, Mabel, sways from side to side.
"Sorry Dipper~" Her reply is in a sing-song tone of voice. "But with the way he was walking, I was afraid we wouldn't be able to catch him~"
"You could have just asked him to stop."
"Yeah, but~"
Putting her attention back onto Gideon, Mabel approaches him and gives a large, toothy smile.
"So, can you help us, little guy?"
There is a long pause, Gideon unable to do anything but stare at the sweater she is wearing. While her brother has normal clothes and a blue and white cap on, his sister has this overly large sweater on with a giant skull at its center. It has bright red streaks in the mostly black fabric, like snakes coming in and out of the skull. It is distracting, and disturbing, to say the least, Gideon forcing himself to making eye contact with her.
"S-sure," he finally answers, his voice cracking. "A-are you two new here?"
He stands up, trying to get the mud off his clothes. Mabel nods her head enthusiastically.
"Yep! Well sorta... We're here visiting our grunkle for the summer and-"
"Mabel! He doesn't need to know that!"
Cutting his sister off, Dipper joins them and lets out a heavy sigh.
"Look," he explains awkwardly, "just tell us where the library is and we will leave. That is all we need."
Gideon blinks, surprised by the coldness in his voice. These kids...they have some serious issues. But these twins, who he has never seen before...
Is it possible that they are the twins that Pacifica had warned him about?
"...The library is this way," Gideon replies finally, pointing towards the road on the right. "It is a big white building on the right side of the street. You can't miss it. If you need any more help finding it...just feel free to find me again."
While his heart pounded in his chest, he forces himself to smile and offer his hand.
"My name is Gideon Gleeful. It is...nice to meet you!"
Dipper narrows his eyes, but before he can say anything, Mabel shoves him out of the way and takes a hold of Gideon's hand. Her grip is very tight, making him flinch.
"And we're Mabel and Dipper Pines! Nice to meet you too!"
She gives a firm shake and then let's go.
"Hope to see you around, little guy!"
Grabbing her brother's arm, Mabel drags him towards the direction of the library. She is screaming and acting obnoxious, while Dipper tries to calm her down. Gideon watches them go, his face turning as white as his hair.
He...he can't believe what he has just seen, he can't believe that the Pines Twins actually...
He has to go find Pacifica and fast.