Author's Notes: And here we are three months later with an update! Seriously how does this keep happening. LOL Promise I will get better at this anyway I hope you all are having an amazing Holiday and ask that you please enjoy.
(Somewhere in the Void…)
To be reduced to this!
Hugo, the former headmaster of St. Hugo's Reform School for Wayward Youths did his best not to dwell on the past, but it was difficult. He had once been the most respected in the business. Parents across every known dimension trusted their children into his care.
Now thanks to some brat, from some dimension he couldn't even place let alone find! He had been exposed for what he really was, a thief! Once the children had enough partying they went back to their parents and told them everything. Which wouldn't have been too bad by itself. Teenager's lie all the time, he could have easily swept everything under the rug. Or that had been the hope until he found out that the Prince of the Nightmare Realm had been one of the miscreants that caused the uprising!
There was no way anyone would believe him over the future king of the most powerful Realm. Now he was on the run, hiding in some trash heap called the: Better Than Nothing an old run down apartment complex on the outskirts of the Void. He lost everything, his fortune, his school, his respect and notoriety, and it was all HIS fault!
Yes he knew who was to blame and he would find him! Which brought him to the present moment. Hugo couldn't help but feel giddy as his servant Gemini walked into the room. "Did you find it?" He asked.
"Took some time, Master." Gemini rasped, his hands were full with beakers and other strange items. "But I managed to acquire all that you need." He assures him as he sets up a beaker on a burner and begins to pour in several ingredients.
Hugo picks up a book that had been resting on the table beside his chair. The name "Black Metallurgy and Ores of the Multiverse" was written on the cover, and within its pages held the key to his success; and it all started with one small experiment. Said experiment was rather simple, instead of searching the countless realms across the multiverse for a single individual this method would show him exactly what Realm the boy resided from.
He pulls out a bobby pin, one he had discovered on the floor when the boy's friends helped him escape Hugo's machine. He drops it into the beaker and watches as the liquid inside reacts to its presence turning the water green! He opens the book to check the results:
Red
Origins: the great Andromeda Dimension
Blue
Origins: the Dowager Dimension
Orange
Origins: the Galafamor Dimension
Green
Origins: the Earth Dimension
"This is it!" Hugo exclaimed. "He is from Earth."
A knock can be heard at the door and Hugo looks to Gemini expectantly. "Did you manage to get the picture?"
"Took some digging through the surveillance." Gemini says looking nervous. "Wasn't able to snatch up a lot of the tapes in our flight.
"It doesn't have to be perfect, just as long as he is in it." Hugo snapped. "Now give it here and answer the door, we can not keep him waiting!"
Gemini hands over a picture before going to answer the door. As he does he can't help but gasp at the sight. "A Septarian!" He whimpered.
"Gemini this is Rasticore, He was once a powerful soldier of Seth's army." Hugo introduced their guest as the Septairian; Rasticore let himself in. "He is now an inter-dimensional bounty hunter for hire."
"Mr. Hugo." Rasticore dips his head respectfully as Gemini gets a hold of himself long enough to close the door and scurry back to his master's side. "I heard of your predicament."
"Who hasn't?" Hugo whines. "It's not even my fault, I age far faster than a normal being my age."
"Really?" Rasticore asked.
"Birth defect." Gemini whispered.
"Point is, without those kids' youth I would have withered and died ages ago." Hugo went one.
"Seriously?" Rasticore looks confused. "You don't look that old."
It was true, Hugo still retained what little youth he had stolen from the boy. Now he looks to be in his early twenties." "That's because of him, this boy." He places the picture down on a table for Rasticore to see. It shows a boy in a smart blue suit with his hair swept back addressing a crowd of teens, a teacup raised over his head. He's in midshout and appears to be about to fling the cup across the room. "This is your target." Hugo tells him. "You can kill whoever he is with, but this one you must bring to me alive. If just a small amount of him has me looking this good…Imagine all of him! I could be young forever!"
"Indeed, do you have a means of tracking the boy?" Rasticore asked.
Hugo fishes the bobby pin out of the beaker and throws it to Rasticore.
The Septarian catches it and puts it in front of the scanner on his hand held tracking device. It beeps several times before locking on a location. "Location acquired." Rasticore said; then attempted to start up a massive chainsaw. It takes several times for which Hugo and Gemini watch patiently. "Give me a break!" He hisses. "Stupid…thing."
"Do you need…" Hugo goes to get up.
The gesture surprises Gemini and he wonders how his master knows this beast.
"I'm working on it." Rasticore gives the cord one final yank.
The chainsaw finally starts, and Rasticore creates a portal by which he exits.
"Oh Master, I cannot wait to recapture the boy. Once you have eternal youth we can start anew perhaps a less shady venture that acquires us some food." Gemini exclaimed. "It has been a long time since I last ate." His stomach grumbles in response.
"Indeed." Hugo gets up and walks to the kitchen where he reaches into a jar and takes out a handful of cash. "Here. Take this. The last of our savings."
"Oh Master, thank you!" Gemini is genuinely surprised. "You're most generous, finally, some little food for my mouth."
"It's not for food you git." Hugo batted his hands away. "It's for my skin, I need my lotion, the one that makes my skin look like porcelain Clairol's number 112. And bring back a receipt!"
Gemini nods as he takes the cash and runs to fill the order.
(Back with Bill…)
Now that is blackmail material." Bill teased
The girls giggled as they searched through Dipper's wallet.
Janna who had swiped it in the first place had just pulled out a card for "Amie's Ballet Shoe Emporium. Our discounts are on point." "Why does he have this?"
"Oh he got me some for Christmas." Mabel said pointing to her feet which were in a pair of ballet shoes. "Honestly they are really comfortable to wear around the house." She admitted. "Hep Dip why do you still have this?"
Dipper walks into the tv room holding a plate of nachos. "Because discounts on new pairs." He said as if it was obvious. "That one won't last forever, besides what are you guys doing looking through my wallet anyway?"
"It was my idea." Bill said mischieviously.
"Seriously?" Dipper asked. "Can't a guy get any privacy?"
"Hey, what about this?" Janna asked, suddenly getting very serious. She holds up a weird looking card that's all shaky.
"Hey, that's A Quest Buy gift card." Bill says.
"I know!" Janna says. "I got it for Dipper for helping me with my science fair project last month!" She sounds hurt. "I can't believe you haven't used it yet. I got this to repay you for saving my grade and more importantly my skin because you know my parents would have killed me! If you don't use it, it'll expire."
"Look, Janna, it's not that I don't appreciate it, okay?" Dipper tries to reason with her. "It's just that the last time I went to Quest Buy, I almost got killed."
"Pine Tree! You can't just write off a store like Quest Buy because of one bad experience." Bill said.
"Yeah you can." Dipper says.
"I paid money for this Pines." Janna argued. "None refundable." She said pointing to the words on the card, "and, it expires tonight."
Dipper sighs. "Fine we get in and get out, Bill you coming?"
"Yeah sure-" He stops mid sentence as a book, more importantly his spell book floats down the stairs and zooms before him.
"Axolotl?" Bill looks troubled.
"Kid, we've got a problem." The guide said,
"Can it wait?" Bill asked. "I'm about to go to Quest Buy?"
"I'm afraid it is a matter of great importance!" Axolotl said.
"Then maybe we should all stay and-" Dipper began.
"Nope!" Janna grabs Dipper by the collar, pulls out some dimensional scissors (Hey, those were Bill's! How did she get those?) and cuts out a portal. "You coming Mabes?"
"Yeah, don't worry Bill, we'll get you something!" Mabel assures him before disappearing into the portal which closes behind him.
"Seriously?" Bill groaned. "What is so important that It can't wait."
"it's the spell book." Axolotl said gravely as he opened it.
"What about it?" Bill snapped.
"A page…is missing!" Axolotl exclaimed.
Bill's face grew white and for obvious reasons, this book wasn't just a spell book it was his family's history! A member of the royal family of every generation has been entrusted with its care. Each of them documenting their life and the new spells they had created, and someone has just ripped out a page! "How is this possible? How could someone rip out a page without you knowing?"
"I chose to sleep in the book." Axolotl reasons, "But it is not a part of me, we are two separate things, there are pages in here that not even I have read. And that is the problem, I have no idea what was here!" He points to the area of the book, where the tear is so perfect you can't even tell something is missing, except the pages are numbered on the bottom and page 2,584 is obviously missing!
"Father is going to kill me!" Bill exclaimed!
"Not if we find out what is missing and put it back." Axolotl insisted.
"You mean you don't want to tell him?" Bill asked.
"Are you mad?" Axolotl asked. "I have a reputation to uphold, this can get out, me the all knowing Axolotl sleeping on the job?"
"So you can make mistakes." Bill couldn't help but feel smug.
"Yes, yes, no one is perfect." Axolotl says. "Now help me fix it!"
"How?" Bill asked. "We don't know what is missing, or who took it!"
"The only way to find out is to go to the side." Axolotl said.
"Say what now?" Bill asked.
"This is a magic spell book filled with memories of your lineage said memories come to life in these pages. Literally it's like stepping into a portal back in time."
"Oh so when you sleep in the book you're actually sleeping in a world that is made up of the past account of my family?" Bill asked.
"Precisely, and I need you to come in here and help me look." Axolotl explains.
"And if I don't?" Bill asked.
"Then I squeal and tell your father it was all your fault." Axolotl said completely deadpan.
"Wow Ax this is like a totally new side of you, I like him." Bill said with a smirk.
"Please don't give me one of your nicknames, it's Axolotl and in case you forgot we are on a time crunch, if the observer who is doing your evaluation finds out we lost a page of the spell book we are screwed."
"Fine, I the Future Chaos King of the Nightmare Realm do decree that you put me in my spell book so that we may-"
"Okay!"
Bill yelps as Axolotl shrinks him down to the size of a pea. "Hey warn a guy will you?"
"Look Bill you need to listen, like really listen." Axolotl exclaims. "This is an extension of your family's memories, as well as your own."
"Okay." Bill said.
"We must find the one thing that is missing!" Axolotl explains.
"How can we find it if it is missing?" Bill asked.
"Because it will be missing from your family history." Axolotl decreed. "You did pay attention to your father's past lessons….right?"
"Uhhhhh…." Bill smiles uncertainly.
"Right!" Axolotl exclaimed.
"Yeah not gonna lie, we're screwed." Bill said.
"Let's just get this over with, just remember it's important that you pay attention to only me." Axolotl explained.
"Got it once we're in the book, pay attention to only you."
"No Bill, we are already inside." Axolotl argued.
But we're still in my room." Bill said.
"No, we're in the memory of your room, inside the book." Axolotl said.
"But I didn't write about this moment."
"It's a magic book kid, It writes itself. How else do you think your spells get in here?" axolotl explains.
"Wait, my spells are in here?" Bill asked.
"William Cipher focus!" Axolotl said.
"Right focus." Bill said.
"Bill, Kids!" Fords shouts as he steps into the living room. He freezes looking around. "Bill?"
"Uh... I'm kind of in the middle of something with Axle" Bill says, trying out a new nickname.
"No! No, Bill, that is not Ford, that is the book writing what is happening around us. Only listen to the sound of my voice. Otherwise, we will be separated."
Bill watches as Stan enters the TV room.
"Any sign of them?" He asked.
"No, I can't believe they ran off again, this is getting out of control Stanley." Ford snapped.
"Hey I'm right here!" Bill yelled. "Only Pine Tree and Shooting Star left."
"Doesn't Bill understand how much danger he's in?" Ford asked.
"I'm not in danger, I am right here with-" He turns to see Axolotl is gone!
He runs forward trying to find him when suddenly he's at Gravity Falls High.
"What? School?" He groans and starts walking away from school. "No, I need to find Axolotl Okay, I'm not going to school... in my memory…" He yelped as he somehow bumps into school doors "Oof! What?"
Bill looks behind him and sees a reflection of herself standing in front of the school" He sighs. "Right, right, right, right. This is one of those mind things. Wherever you go, there's school. School. School. School. School. School. School." He turns over and over again as he speaks, seeing the School's front entrance in front of him every time.
Finally he realizes what's going on; the book's magic must have a mind of its own, one that was unpredictable to someone who had never roamed its pages. Which was probably why Axolotl wanted them to stay together.
The school doors open by themselves and he shrugs. "Fine, I guess I'm going to school." He says, deciding to own his fate; unaware of the chaos that was about to ensue.
(Back with Dipper)
He couldn't believe he was back in this place.
"You know this store is why I have grown to hate shopping.' Dipper admitted.
"Dip you've always hated shopping." Mable reminds him.
"Well thanks to this place I know loathe it. You hear that Janna I loathe it, with a passion."
"I know." Janna said with her usual creepy smile. "That is why I picked it."
"No you picked it because it's your favorite store in the Multiverse!" Dipper argued.
"Tomayto, tomahto" Janna shrugged.
"Guys, let's just get the perfect gift and be done with it." Mabel said. "You know before the grunkles notice we are missing."
"Maybe if they'd stop keeping secrets we wouldn't be missing." Dipper grumbled.
"Dip!" Mabel said.
"No Mabel, just no! Some crazy psycho is out there-still! Worse he wants to use me to bring back Seth, the most powerful demon the Multiverse has ever seen and Grunkle Ford didn't even look surprised. Not to mention that he failed to mention that Seth was Septairian, a creature that can not die. I'm sorry Mabel, but Ford has lost my blind trust." Dipper snapped.
"Whoa." Janna said. "You're really upset about this."
"Of course I am, He's keeping me in the dark, and worse it could happen again, and I don't even know why it is happening!"
"Sorry, it's just you're always so calm about it." Janna said. "So, put together."
"I have to be." Dipper whispered. "You know how Bill gets; he keeps thinking this is all his fault, That he brought this on our family."
"You don't think so?" Mabel asked.
"Mabes that Toffee guy has never once paid Bill any mind. He had his cane, his power in arms reach and all he did was-"
Focus on you…" Mabel finished. "Yeah that felt weird to me too."
"It's not just that, he said something at the castle." Dipper admitted.
"What?" Janna asked.
"He called Bill an Impostor. He said he could show me what I was really capable of…then he called me a disappointment." Dipper revealed.
"Dipper you sound like you actually believe him." Mabel said. "Like you've been considering his words."
"Maybe I have," Dipper admitted. "At least he seems to be willing to share."
"Yeah, but at what price?" Mabel yelled. "Look I know it sucks; but they're keeping secrets from all of us, not just you Dip. And secrets or not; they're still family and you never chose a stranger over family."
"I never said I would." Dipper said. "I was just being honest, I've been thinking a lot about it."
Mabel takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay, that's fair, I guess I would obsess over it too, I'm sorry Dip."
"No, it's fine I should have been open from the beginning, maybe if I was honest I wouldn't be obsessing over it now." Dipper admitted.
"Then maybe you should tell Bill." Janna says. "If anyone knows what this Toffee guy meant it has to be him or at least someone in his family."
Dipper looks unsure. "I don't want to make him feel worse."
"But by keeping him in the dark, you're doing the say thing Ford is doing to you. The thing that you hate." Janna reasoned.
Dipper sighed. "I hate it when you're right."
"I know, Now pick a gift already." Janna says. "I want to go look in the Murder section!"
Dipper can't help but laugh as they start looking through the shelves.
"Look. There's a Skullaroid camera." Janna held up a camera. "Says it can take pictures specifically of ghosts!"
" Uh, I don't think so." Dipper said. "I've officially gotten over my obsession with ghost thanks to the whole Northwest Incident a few years ago."
"Wait what happened?" Janna asked.
"It was before you moved here." Mabel explained. "Some ghost was haunting the Northwest Manor and Pacifica's parents paid Dipper and Ford a lot of money to get rid of it."
"And?" Janna looks to Dipper for more clarification.
"It was a vengeful ghost who turned us all to wood all because the Northwest were jerks who wouldn't share their spoils with riff-raff." Dipper explained.
"Ghost are jerks, got it." Janna said. "Ooh, how about some spooky haunted garden gnomes?" She holds one up for them to see.
"NO! Anything but that!" Mable said, shaking.
"Right kidnapped by gnomes." Janna tossed the gnome back on the shelf.
"Ugh, look at all this stuff. This is exactly why I do not like shopping. I can never make up my mind." Dipper exclaimed.
"Whoa. Easy there, Mr. Picky Pants. Luckily, we got until midnight." Mabel assures him. only to jump as her cat watches meows. "Ooh, that's getting a little too close for comfort."
"We need to hurry." Janna urged "If you don't find something soon, the card will expire and go to waste. You how I feel about waste Dipper."
"And you know it's hard for me to shop. Plus, I'm just not that into Quest Buy gear." Dipper yelled.
"They literally have everything in the universe here. There has to be something you want."
"Fine since you are going to rush me, I'll just buy something random now and exchange it later." Dipper says.
"Okay that should work." Janna shrugged.
Dipper pics up the Ghost camera and gasps as the gift card comes flying out of his pocket.
"What the hu?"
The card fires a laser at Dipper's hand, and he yelps as he drops the camera. "What the heck⁈
The Card begins to fall to the ground, but Mabel catches it, and reads the back. "Uh Dip we may have a problem."
"You don't say?" Dipper asked.
"Yeah says it's a a "friends to the end" gift card." Mabel reads the words out loud. "You have to truly, deeply want the item you spend it on, or else it won't work."
"Janna, why would you want to get me something like this?" Dipper asked.
"Because I wanted a reason to come back and the gift Cards were like right there so I grabbed you, and I gave it to you because I know your heart bleeds easily." Janna said deadpan.
"Remind me why we are friends again?" Dipper asked.
"Because I'm Wendy's BFF, and if you want a shot with her you need to impress me." Janna reminded him.
"Fair enough, look I can't decide under this pressure." Dipper admitted. "Maybe we can get an extension on the card."
"Worth a try." Janna said with a shrug.
"Works for me." Mabel agreed.
Which led the group to the customer Service area moments later Where several sloths were lounging around.
"Man, I forgot about these guys." Dipper sighed. " Excuse me, I have a question." He declared.
"Not my department." One sloth says.
"But your customer service." Mabel points up at the sign.
"Oh, yeah. We really need to ditch that sign." The sloth says as the friends give him a look. "Fine. How can I help you?"
"Is there any way we can extend the expiration date on this card?" Dipper asked as he gave him the gift card.
The sloth nods and scans it. "Shouldn't be a problem- wait, no- This is a "friends to the end" gift card. It's not only impervious to change, but when it expires, so do you." The guy said as he shoved it back into Dipper's hand as if it was some kind of ticking bomb.
"What?!" Dipper exclaimed.
"You mean like we die?" Mabel asked.
" Well, Everyone's gotta die some time." The sloth said as if this is no big deal. This just guarantees that you'll die sooner. It's all here in the contract your friend signed. If you don't use it by midnight, zap, ha ha. Both of you get blasted into oblivion."
"You signed a contract!?" Dipper shouted at Janna.
"I didn't know it was a death warrant." Janna said. "Cut me some slack, beside we were in a hurry so I didn't have time to read the fine print.
"You should always read the fine print! Even Mabel knows that!" Dipper froze. "No offense Mabes."
"Oh no I'm with you on this one! Janna look at this contract!" She points to the contract which is floating in the air besides them. It is dark purple with bat-like wings and a single red eye. "That just screams; bad idea!"
"Really?" Janna asked. "I thought it looked pretty cool."
"Please!" Dipper grabs the sloth by the collar. "There's gotta be something we can do."
"Nope. Sorry, dude. Um, dudes." The sloth shrugs. "But don't worry you still got a while…"
He's interrupted mid-sentence as the gift card floats up once more before loudly charging up with electricity, turning into a large humanoid figure."Activating expiration mode." The Card said. "Commencing countdown to your expiration date. You have ten minutes."
"Never mind, you're screwed." The sloth said.
"Choose your gift." The card demanded "Your life depends on it."
Dipper gulped, they were more than screwed; in less than ten minutes they would be dead!
-To Be Continued