They met in the living room and the twins were the last ones to arrive. Coffee had been made. Their mugs were placed on the coffee table just in front of the sofa on which Ford and Bill sat. The two sat with little to no space between them. They looked terrible. Ford's eyes were red from lack of sleep and he had large, black bags beneath them. Bill still trembled and lacked colour in his face. His stare was mostly vacant and fixed on the black liquid in the cup he held. Stan sat next to the two on the sofa chair. He rocked himself gently, taking large gulps of his coffee so as to stay awake. He seemed like the most exhausted of them all probably due to his old age.

Dipper and Mabel took their mugs and were surprised to see the right amount of sugar and cream had been added to it. There was no need for them to return to the kitchen and sweeten the otherwise bitter beverage, so they sat on the ground because there was nowhere else for them to sit. They drank at least half of their drinks before Ford decided to speak and address the concern weighing on everyone.

"We're safe in this house." Ford repeated, "He can't get to us here because he doesn't have the power to break through the ward. That much was obvious through the way he decided to torment Bill."

Mabel glanced at Dipper. He didn't look back but he understood what his sister was silently asking him. She wanted to know if he was going to tell everyone of the nightmare he had had. Dipper wasn't sure himself. The one noteworthy thing about the nightmare the Warlock had given him was how he remembered everything single detail. When he looked at Mabel, he remembered the way she was slumped over, tied to a wooden pole, and how blood trickled down the side of her head. When he looked at Bill, flashes of the cloaked man slitting his throat with an obsidian dagger played in his mind. His blood looked so black in the moonlight…

It was terrible. He wished he couldn't remember.

"How did he know where Bill was?" Stan asked.

Ford sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he thought. "It's been an entire day since the party." He remarked, "People likely talked about it. I know a lot of people – mostly women but there were some men as well – couldn't keep their eyes off Bill. The Warlock probably heard of him through that."

"No…" Bill said, shaking his head, and his voice was unnaturally quiet. He took a moment before continuing, "He…he showed me memories of the two of us dancing…of me standing with Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Red, and the rest of them."

"Couldn't he have just taken those from your memory?" Mabel asked.

"He's not a dream demon…" Bill said, raising his empty gaze to her, "He doesn't have access to the memories of others…"

"If he was there…how did he get in?" Dipper asked, looking at Ford who seemed very frustrated.

"I checked the ward countless times last night." He said, "It wasn't broken or even remotely damaged. It was perfectly fine."

"We checked the salt line at the entrance," Dipper remembered, "That was also intact."

"So how did he get in?" Mabel frowned.

Ford opened his mouth, wanting to provide an answer, but nothing came. The honest truth was he didn't know. He shut his mouth, sighing in defeat as he looked away. He felt like a failure, that much was obvious from the expression he bore.

"One thing's for sure," Ford said after a moment, "No matter how he did it the first time, he can't do it again. If he could, Bill wouldn't be with us right now and we would likely be dead."

"What do we do?" Stan asked.

"We've lost the element of surprise." Ford said, "He knows we're looking to defeat him and that we have Bill. We've got to root him out but that's going to be difficult considering what felt like the entire town came to the party. Whatever we do, we've got to make sure we do it perfectly. The Warlock's counting on us to screw up."

Bill flinched at that and Dipper saw fear pool into his eyes. He was likely remembering his encounter with the Warlock the previous night.

"Hey…" Dipper said slowly, "I…I had a nightmare last night, after Bill woke us all up. I don't think it was natural."

"Why do you think that?" Ford asked sceptically.

"Because I remember everything." Dipper said, "No matter how scary a nightmare is or how good a dream is, you can never quite remember everything but I do."

"What did you see?" Stan asked.

Dipper glimpsed nervously at Bill. The last thing he wanted to do was to spook the ex-demon further. "Well…" he began with a shaky breath, "First I was in front of the Mystery Shack. Then a guy in a black cloak appeared and the next thing I knew, I was tied to a wooden stake." Dipper paused when he saw horror fill the blonde's eyes, like he recognized what was being said, "And then…" he continued hesitantly, "I saw you and Mabel tied to poles next to me…you were both knocked out. Mabel was bleeding." She clenched her fists together upon hearing that, "The man was doing things at an alter. There was a stone bowl. The moon was full. Th—"

"Then he took an obsidian knife." Bill continued for him, hands trembling so hard coffee threatened to spill from the mug he was clutching, "I was tied to two columns. He came to me, I screamed, he slit my throat and collected my blood in his bowl." He side glanced at Ford, "The Warlock showed me the same thing."

"Did anyone else fall asleep last night?" Ford asked, looking at Mabel and Stan.

The two shook their heads.

"It's safe to assume the man in both of your dreams was the Warlock." Ford concluded. "Is there anything either of you can provide about his appearance?"

Dipper and Bill exchanged looks. Neither could think of anything to say. He was wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body. But then Dipper remembered how he raised the obsidian knife to the sky. How his sleeve fell.

"He's Caucasian." Dipper said, "His sleeve fell back and I saw his skin."

"That's a good first step." Ford said.

"Okay, it rules out all the Black, Asian, Latino, and Native people from Gravity Falls." Stan conceded, "But the population is still mostly white."

"Baby steps." Ford said. "We do what we can with the limited knowledge we have. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

The answer to that was no. The Warlock had kept his face blurred in Dipper's dream and he was sure the same could be said about Bill's.

"The full moon..." Mabel muttered, "He wants to do the ritual under a full moon. You taught us it was a common practice."

"When's the next full moon?" Stan asked.

Mabel was already on it. She pulled out her phone and accessed the internet. "In less than two weeks from now." She said, "There's another one in August around the end of the month."

"If he plans on you two being there," Ford said, addressing the twins, "Then it's safe to say he's going to try his luck before you're forced to return home for the school year."

"So we know the man's Caucasian," Dipper recapped, "And that he wants to perform the rite on a full moon. How is that going to help us?"

"Do you remember the equipment he had set on the alter?" Ford asked.

"There was a stone bowl…" Dipper remembered.

"We need details." Ford said.

"Enochian words were carved into it." Bill said, "I couldn't read it – not that anyone can – but it was definitely Enochian. The obsidian knife also had words in the same language engraved in it."

"Anything else?"

"I mean, there were herbs and powdered things," Dipper said, "But I don't know what any of them were."

"This is good," Ford said and jumped to his feet with a light bounce in his step, "I think I can identify the Warlock now." Before anyone could ask how, he began to explain, "The tools he has are ancient historical relics. Something he would likely have had to purchase abroad. He would also have had to declare his possessions upon returning to the United States of America and present a permit stating he has the right to keep his things. That means, somewhere in the State's database, is the record of a citizen of Gravity Falls with the right to own antediluvian cult artifacts."

"And you can hack into it?" Dipper asked, feeling his heart skip a beat with excitement.

"Yes I can." Ford confirmed, "It's going to take me a bit of time considering my hacking skills are a bit rusty but I'm sure I can do it. Give me three days."

"But what if he bought the things online?" Mabel asked.

"That's highly doubtful." Ford said, "As a magic wielder, he would want to make sure the objects he intended to use were legitimate. That means looking them over in person and making sure they're utterly flawless."

"And how do you know he didn't just buy them in the United States?" Stan asked.

"It's a possibility, admittedly," Ford conceded, "But not many Warlocks have travelled to the United States. These people typically stem from Northern Europe and continue their controversial life style in secrecy. If he wanted to make sure the tools he needed were authentic, I imagine he would have returned to his people's homeland. Regardless, we can't just attack whoever comes up. We have to make sure they're the Warlock, but first: hacking."

He left almost as soon as he had finished speaking. Bill looked like he wanted to tail after him but ultimately didn't. He slunk back into the sofa and stared at the mug he grasped in his shaking hands.