Author's Notes: Thanks for reading and please review.
(Back with Dipper…)
He had never ran home so fast in his life.
Dipper raced across the street towards the shack, not even bothering to look for passing cars. An SUV screeches to a halt just inches from hitting him.
"Watch where you're going!" A crazy cat lady by the name of Violet Henderson yelled. She was a thin and elderly woman, wearing a light brown blouse, dark brown, and high-torso pants, her white and grey-streaked hair was gathered in a bun as usual. "And people wonder why I only associate with cats." She remarked before going on her way.
Dipper could care less about road safety at the moment. There was a demon at his school; he had to tell his Great Uncle Ford right away! He forces himself to run faster and doesn't slow down even as his lungs begin to burn. Finally, he sees the shack, and he wastes no time as he crosses the street. Had he taken the time to catch his breath he would have felt it.
The danger he was running from was now right where he was going. But he notices nothing as he runs through the yard and bursts into the front door!
"Uncle Ford!" He shouts tearing through the living room and towards the vending machine.
"In here!" His uncle's voice stops him from inside the kitchen.
'That's strange.' He thought, 'Usually he's in his study.' He shrugs it off and runs in. "Uncle Ford! -" he stops as he notices their guest.
Bill grins widely, eager to see the boy's reaction.
"Dipper!" Mabel exclaims. "This is Bill, he's going to be staying with us."
Dipper blinks once, then twice. Did he hear her right, did Mabel just say a demon was staying with them? No, he had to of been mistaken. He looks to his uncles hopefully, but the look of dread on their faces told him everything. He was half tempted to run and he would have if Ford hadn't spoke up right then.
"Dipper please…" Ford said. "Sit and let me explain."
Dipper walked over to the table and sat down, his eyes never leaving Bill.
"Bill here is the Prince of the Nightmare Realm and heir to the throne." Ford said wasting no time explain. "He is here to learn how to control his powers."
"But why send him here?" Dipper cut in not caring in the least bit that he sounded rude. Dipper had always loved a good mystery, and enjoyed the paranormal studies, but for some reason, demons just rubbed him the wrong way.
"Bill's parents are old friends of ours." Stan explained.
"Your friends with demons!" Mabel and Dipper exclaimed together.
"Friends is a strong word." Ford answered. "We're more like acquaintances."
Bill rolled his eyes.
"The point is we agreed to help, and that's what we are going to do." Ford concluded.
"Why?" Dipper shot out another question so fast it was as if lightning had struck. Bill smiled; the kid seemed to have no problem with questioning authority.
Ford, however, knew that wasn't the case. Dipper was an inquisitive boy who couldn't help but ask questions, and not knowing always led him to search for the answers on his own. Which usually led to both twins getting into trouble, since Mabel was rarely without her brother.
"About 14 years ago there was a War between Demons." Ford explained.
"The great Demon War?" Dipper cut in. Ford had taught them about it when discussing their family history. "How do we owe them for that? Stan nearly got killed, and a family friend did actually die!"
"My father didn't have to help." Bill reasoned. "Seth was after Earth Realm when the war started. He could have easily done nothing; he was already next in line for the throne. Still, even he realized how destructive my grandfather was and decided to stop him."
Ford grit his teeth but nodded. "Yes, we were fortunate of that." He added eying the boy before him. He wondered if his parents had told him the truth about Seth, and why he wanted Earth Realm to begin with.
Stan was thinking this too and gave his brother a knowing nod.
Ford nodded back; they'd be calling the Cipher's later that night in private. "Regardless, Bill will be learning magic with us, and Dipper since you show promise in your spellcasting, I would like you to assist in his studies."
"Goody just what I need two emotional teens to babysit." Axolotl mused.
"But-" Dipper began.
"Think of it as a challenge." Ford advised.
"I'd rather wrestle with a three headed dog." Dipper admitted.
Bill smiled evilly and waved his cane.
Ford sees the movement too late. "Bill no!"
Too late! A litter of three headed puppies appeared.
"Awe I love puppies!" Mabel screamed,
"Puppies!" Bill yelled. "I wanted it to be ten feet tall!" He gestured to his cane. "This thing has got to be broken."
"No. you need practice." Ford countered. "Magic is harder to do in our realm. Now make them disappear."
Bill waves his cane, and the puppies started shooting lasers from their eyes.
Ford sighed. "Axolotl if you would."
Axolotl laughed. "They amuse me."
"I like them too." Mabel agreed hugging one.
"And now we have puppies." Dipper groaned.
"Hey, don't look at me." Bill said picking one up and staring at it angrily. "You were supposed to be one big monster dog, how is cute and fluffy going to give me the respect I deserve?"
The puppy answers by shooting a laser in his eye.
Dipper laughed. "Okay, I will admit, they're pretty cool."
"Oh, so now they're cool." Bill hissed eyes red. "Noted."
"Guess we need dog food now hu?" Mabel asked.
"How? We're poor!" Stan yelled throwing another gold spoon behind him.
"You could sell all those gold utensils." Bill said.
Stan's eyes lit up as he turned to gaze upon the stack of spoons and forks on the wooden floor. All this time he was trying to get the gold coins so he didn't even notice the fortune that was right under his nose. "We're rich!" He exclaimed as he got up and scooped up the golden silverware. "To Vegas!" He screamed racing out the door.
"Stan no!" Ford yelled after him. "It's fool's gold, it's not real!"
Bill erupted into a fit of laughter.
Ford resisted the urge to strangle the child. "Kids show Bill where he will be staying." He instructed grabbing his coat. "I have to go stop Stan before he ends up in jail…AGAIN!"
"Uh where is he staying?" Dipper asked.
"Yeah there is no spare room" Mabel noted.
"With Dipper of course." Ford said as if it was obvious.
And it was. "Of course," Dipper sighed.
"Dipper please do this for me." Ford begged as he went for the door.
"Fine come on Bill." Dipper said.
"I don't carry luggage." Bill prompted, gesturing to his bags. "It's beneath me."
Dipper looked to Ford, but his uncle was already gone. "Fine!" he growled as he began to lug the bags up the stairs, Bill and Mabel followed close behind him.
"Here we are." Mabel said as she opened the attic door.
"An attic?" Bill wined. "He expects us both to share this?"
"Dipper and I did when we were younger." Mabel informed him. "So, it is doable, we can't share now for reasons."
Bill frowned, thinking for a moment then his eyes fell on the space just outside of the attic. There wasn't enough space for a room, but there was enough room to add a few additions. "Okay I think I know a way to make everyone happy." He said waving his cane.
Bill's spell added a guest room adjacent to Dipper's; one that resembled his room in the castle. "There now that's better."
"Oh, so you can manage to do this?" Axolotl pointed out.
Meanwhile both Dipper and Mabel are amazed by his efforts.
"Whoa… I wish I had a room like this." Dipper admitted.
"Really?" Bill asked.
"Yeah compared to you and Mabel my place is a dump." Dipper said.
Bill smiled. "Okay." He waved his cane again towards Dipper's open door, unfortunately, his spell didn't have the desired effect this time around. Instead of transforming Dipper's room to be bigger, it created a black hole in the middle of the room, which started sucking up everything in it.
It took all three of them to get the door closed to prevent anything else from getting sucked in too.
"Seriously how does that help?" Dipper shouted.
"I was trying to help." Bill said. "Honest!" He looked down at the cane confused. "It worked before."
"I can't take this anymore! If you are moving in, I am moving out!" Dipper said.
"Dip we can help you put everything back." Mabel reasoned.
"No, I'm moving into the Bunker!" He snapped before he jumped out of a nearby window.
"Shooting Star… I really messed up, didn't I?" Bill asked. It wasn't that he cared about Dipper's feelings per say, but he still wanted this to work out. After all it was either this or Saint Hugo's! He shivered at the thought.
"Don't worry it wasn't your fault," Mabel replied. "Dipper is just being a Drama King!" She shouted out the window after her retreating brother.
"I am not!" Dipper stopped yelling back. "We didn't ask for him to be here! His parents just dumped him on us! Well I refused to be a part of this!"
Bill winced, that stung a little.
"I am so sorry." Mabel said noticing his distress.
"No, he's right." Bill admitted.
"Let's go after him." Mabel decided.
Bill sighed but followed her lead.
"I'm surprised." Axolotl said as they went. "You actually care about his feelings."
"Look I don't have many options here." Bill reasoned. "Like it or not I'm stuck here on Earth, I have to make this work."
"Finally, a rational decision." Axolotl praised. "Maybe there is hope for you yet."
Bill rolled his eyes as they caught up to Dipper at a nearby convenience store, it looked old and run down.
"Hey, Dip-dot," Mabel said.
"How'd you know I'd be here?" Dipper asked.
"It's a no brainer." Mabel laughed then she sighed. "Ford locked the bunker down after the shape shifting incident, remember?"
"Yeah I thought about that after I yelled it." Dipper admitted.
Look Bill and I- "Mabel began
Dipper suddenly tensed as he felt something… NO someone coming!
Bill felt it too and turned just as a portal to another dimension opened and an army of monsters stepped out, and they did not look friendly. Their leader, a very short demon with black hair and purple squared marks laid upon his pale cheeks; smiles.
"William at last, I've found you!" he said.
"Tad." Bill rolled his eyes. "Seriously how many times are you going to embarrass yourself?" He mocked.
"Bill who is this?" Mabel asked.
"My Uncle." Bill answered, cane at the ready. "He's been trying to steal my power and take the throne since before I could crawl."
"Yes." Tad agreed. "And now thanks to these humans I can kill you and have your power." He mused. "All I need is that cane!"
Bill stopped. "Wait, how do you know that?"
Tad chuckled in response. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Yes." Bill snapped, annoyed. "That's why I asked!"
"Well, Buff Frog…" Tad paused." Hey! I don't have to tell you anything! GET THEM!" He ordered.
At his command, his army attacked; right away Bill moves to counterattack, but the twins beat him to it. Dipper jumped into the middle of the fight and attacked a monster with three eyes with a jab followed by a roundhouse kick.
Mabel dodged a blow from a giant lobster beast before delivering a front kick in its groin.
"Wait, you can fight?" Bill asked, stunned as the lobster fell over.
"It's called Boxing!" Dipper replied, and then attacked a different monster with a few punches.
"Our family hunts and studies monsters for a living." Mabel reminded him. "Of course, we can fight."
Bill smiled as a deer-horned monster comes at him he swiftly gives him a kick in the stomach.
"You said they were unguarded!" Tad told Buff Frog, who shrugged.
Bill turned and cast a spell; a shot of blue energy hit a giraffe monster through a parked car.
Dipper then opened the door, causing the giraffe's head to shoot out and knock out three other monsters.
As the fight continued, it was becoming clear to Tad that he had underestimated the children; worst of all Bill, Dipper, and Mabel could see it as plain as day.
Bill blasted Buff Frog with another blast of blue energy, this one shaped like a blue Fist Punch. The monster flies into a streetlight.
"You're embarrassing me! Get up!" Tad yelled at him.
Buff Frog then ripped the streetlight from its base and began using it as a club.
Bill then used a different spell on him, "Jellybean Hallucination Mist!" He shouted.
Buff Frog started spacing out, obviously affected by the spell. Jellybeans began to fall around him, as his vision blurred. "This is really freaking me out." He admitted.
"Seriously now you can use magic!" Dipper yelled. "What about my room?"
Bill shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just making stuff up."
Meanwhile, Mabel ended up getting double teamed by two of the monsters. "Seriously guys?" She asked as she fended off one of them with another kick. "Now is not the time to argue!" She lectured as she punched the other one.
Seeing that she had a point, the boys abandoned their fight and regrouped with Mabel. The three stood back-to-back ready to finish off what was left of Tad's army.
Bill, however, was the one to deliver the final blow. "Uh vines of agony!" he shouted waving his cane.
Suddenly vines shout up out of the ground and wrapped around his enemies, digging their large dagger like thorns into them.
"Vines of agony?" Dipper asked. "Seriously where do you come up with this stuff?"
"My mind is a very disturbed and twisted place." Bill answered smugly.
"And you're proud of that?" Mabel asked.
"Of course, he is." Dipper cut in. Seconds later the vines disappeared leaving what was left of Tad's Army groaning in agony on the ground before them.
"...You still want some of this?" Bill taunted his uncle.
Tad obviously realizing he has lost kicks the dirt. "No." he admitted before turning to open a portal which he opened with his dimensional scissors, and then addressed his minions, "You see, you morons! This is what happens when you don't work out! Your muscles are like putty! Come on, back in the portal! Back in the portal!"
His monsters, clearly in pain, went through one by one; the last one through was Buff Frog, who was still hallucinating.
"See? You even retreat like losers!" Tad shouted.
"He's not going to fight?" Mabel asked confused.
"No. because he's a weak coward." Bill taunted.
Tad growled as he turned halfway through the portal to address them. "I'll get you next ti-" The portal closed around his neck, choking him, before he pulled himself out and through the portal.
For a moment there is silence, and then…
"Oh my god! That was amazing! I was amazing! You were amazing!" Dipper exclaimed. "We were amazing!"
"Yeah, I guess we were," Mabel said.
"Wait I thought you guys said you were taught to fight monsters." Bill said.
"We were." Mabel answered. "But Stan and Ford handle all the dangerous stuff."
"Yeah we usually have to find our own adventures." Dipper added. "Which are few and far apart."
"Sounds boring." Bill admitted as they started back home.
"It is." Mabel sighed.
"Hey, are there going to be monsters attacking us all the time?" Dipper asked hopefully.
"Yeah, probably," Bill answered. "Trust me kid, there is never a dull moment when I'm around."
Dipper smiled, maybe having Bill around wouldn't be so bad after all.
-To Be Continued