They treaded through the forest, jumping over upturned roots and ducking beneath fallen trees as they made their way back to Gravity Falls. It was dark and none of them knew the exact way. They simply followed the shrieks and screams and the red and purple glow from what must have been fire. Dipper held onto his sister's hand for most of their trek through the woods. They only let go some time before exiting the brush. Ford trailed a few steps behind them. Whenever Dipper glanced back he could see the man was utterly lost in his thoughts. Sorrow filled his eyes but it steadily made place for something else – anger. The teen only hoped it wouldn't make his uncle reckless.
The sight that befell them as they returned to Gravity Falls was horrifying. Nearly every house was burning. The fires were red and purple meaning some had been conjured by Tad himself whereas some others had accidentally started on their own – likely caused by panicked citizens. People ran through the streets like chickens without heads and flailed their arms. Dipper noticed some burnt and burning bodies lying on the sidewalks and front lawns. Tad was nowhere within immediate sight but if they ran in the opposite direction of the people of Gravity Falls they would surely find him.
Before attacking Tad, they needed a plan. They also needed to find Stan and perhaps make sure their friends were somewhere safe. Dipper and Mabel looked back at Ford. The man was always the one to lead them and, though he was in no emotional condition to do so, they didn't know what else to do. At the end of the day, they were still kids. They were sixteen bordering on seventeen and Ford was thirty something – debatably almost seventy but that was a matter of perspective. It took a moment for Ford to realise all eyes were on him. He seemed taken aback and troubled by said fact but he steeled himself. Dipper was admittedly impressed.
"We…" Ford started and his voice was hoarse and weak, "We need to find Stan. I'm not losing someone else I care about tonight."
"Do we even know where he is?" Mabel asked.
"He's probably at Tad's." Dipper said. "He had to make a choice: bring us to the ritual sight or move Grunkle Stan and Mayor Cutebiker."
"Even if he isn't there, we can still get my car back." Ford added. "Let's go."
They began running again, weaving past the panicked and terrified civilians running in every which direction. A few of them had jumped into cars and had run them into fire hydrants or telephone poles. The further they ventured into Gravity Falls, the more dead they found. It was terrible. The images would stay with Dipper forever. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the various corpses lying about. A man had hung himself in his bathroom and was swaying gently by the window.
The sight of the person that committed suicide inspired urgency within Dipper. He ran faster, easily passing his great uncle and sister. They couldn't just save Grunkle Stan, they had to save the rest of Gravity Falls before everyone died from one way or another. They needed to be quick. Dipper pumped his legs beneath him, propelling him forward at a speed he never thought he was capable of reaching. A certain pride welled inside of him but it was soon pushed aside. Tad was trying to rule the world. He could pride himself over his physical prowess later.
"Dipper—!" Ford yelled and he barely grabbed his shirt in time to pull him back before a red car zoomed by, inches away from actually hitting Dipper.
His heart thumped heavily in his chest and it took him a moment for him to digest he had literally come so close to dying. The red car in question stopped a few meters away, the driver having slammed the breaks and left skid marks on the road. He then backed his vehicle, weary to not hit the three. He then rolled down a window and stuck his head out.
"Where the hell have you been!?" Stan snapped at them, "Get in!"
They ran towards the hunk of junk and jumped into the back seats. Stan wasted no time in slamming the gas pedal. They narrowly avoided being crushed by a flaming bit of debris Tad had likely tossed away in the midst of exercising his anarchy. Dipper sat back against the uncomfortable seating and let out a heavy sigh. He felt somewhat relaxed knowing that, at the very least, his great uncle was safe.
"What the hell happened!?" Stan asked as he drove, they seemed to be heading for the Mystery Shack.
Ford opened his mouth to give an answer but only a small, choked sound left him. Dipper glanced in his direction and saw tears well in his eyes again. The wound was still too fresh. He wasn't able to give an answer. Dipper wasn't sure he could voice what had happened either.
"Bill…he's…" was all he said and Stan understood.
His gaze became somber and he looked at his brother through the rear-view mirror with both concern and regret. "Damn. Sorry." He said and squeezed the steering wheel in his hands, "We'll get the bastard back."
"So what do we do now?" Mabel asked.
"We go back to the Shack and establish a plan." Ford said, shoving his sorrow aside for the moment.
"Hang on," Dipper insisted, "We can't just leave all these people. They'll die."
"There's nothing we can do for them." Ford said.
"Isn't there a spell strong enough to protect an area against Tad?" Dipper asked desperately, "Something more powerful than a ward? Anything?"
Ford remained quiet as he thought. His eyes fell down to his clenched hands which were resting on his lap. "I…yes. There's something." He said. "But I can only cast it over the Mystery Shack. Gravity Falls is too big."
"How are we going to get the people to come to the Shack?" Mabel asked. "We can't bring them by car."
"Let me out." Dipper said. "I'll tell them."
"Dipper, no!" Mabel cried, "It's too dangerous."
"There's no other way—!"
"Actually, there is." Ford said quietly.
Dipper stared at the man curiously. For a moment, he did nothing. He sat up straight and breathed deeply. Then his eyes fell closed and when they opened again, they were glowing yellow. He stayed as such for a beat. The yellow eventually faded and his eyes were back to normal.
"There."
"What did you do?" Dipper asked.
"I used magic to send a telepathic message to anyone willing to listen." Ford answered, "I told them to come to the Mystery Shack for protection and salvation."
"Isn't there a limit to wielding magic?" Mabel asked worriedly.
"Don't worry." Ford assured, "I'm not anywhere close to it."
They drove back to the Shack in no time, passing crowds of people making their way to the same place. Once they got out of the car, Ford got to work. He walked around the Shack and began chanting a spell. His hands were quickly engulfed with yellow flames and Dipper concluded it likely happened every time he wielded magic because it was a physical manifestation of it. He saw Ford erect a yellow dome around the Shack which soon faded to transparency – like it had never happened nor existed. Dipper noted how the grass around his uncle hadn't died like the last time he had used magic. Once he finished, he approached the man.
"What did you do?"
"I made a new ward." Ford said, "This one is different, it's stronger."
"How come?" Dipper asked.
"I used my life energy to make it." He said and ignored Dipper's worried look, "The magic is purer, harder to break through. I don't know how long it can hold against Tad's new power but this is all I can do."
"The limit…" Dipper started.
"Don't worry about me, Dipper." Ford interrupted softly.
Black helicopters suddenly passed overhead. Dipper recognized them instantly. He had seen them before. The US government had taken more time to respond than he thought they would. They had finally sent that small department from the military entrusted with dealing with the paranormal. He thought that after the fiasco of four years ago they would have kept Gravity Falls under tighter surveillance. Then again, they might have taken more time to prepare for the threat. Regardless, they wouldn't stand a chance against Tad but they would buy them time to come up with a solution. It was comforting all the same.
"I can't help it." Dipper said, "I don't want you to wind up dead too."
Ford smirked and a bitter smile appeared on his face. "I'm already dead."
They waited outside as people flocked to the Shack like Ford had telepathically told them to and helped them inside. It didn't take long before the establishment was swamped.