As the two traveling companions ventured deeper into the cavern, the sound of running water became the sound of rushing water, and the walls began to glisten with moisture. Stalactites and stalagmites jabbed from the ceiling and floor, dripping with water. Dipper, exhilarated by the discovery of the cave, was keeping a running journal entry, stopping and stooping over to draw every bug and rock, and standing on tiptoe to capture his discovery of every bat on paper. Bill rolled his eye.

"We'd be there by now, Pine Tree, if you'd get a move on," the demon called back to his partner.

"Shhh," was the only response he received, as the young author leaned over to draw a glowing salamander. Finishing his quick sketch, the boy trotted over to Bill and walked beside him. "Okay. All done."

"Yeah, until the next moon puddle or leaf butterfly we come across," Bill muttered.

"Wait...leaf butterflies?"

"Yeah, with the little leaves for wings and their woven twig bodies and...wait." Bill paused. "That's not the point! I need you paying attention here. I'm kind of running on a tight schedule. We need to get to the Dreamscape, and soon."

"Schedule?"

"Don't worry about it. Just gotta get you in there. You won't believe the kind of stuff you'll find."

"But why are you on a tight schedule?"

"It doesn't matter!" Bill cried, exasperated. "Just stop asking questions and writing stuff down. We have one chance to do this, so we have to do it right, which means that we have to reach the center of the mountain by midnight, which means we have to hurry up. So no more drawing."

"But-"

"No buts. You'll have plenty of time to draw later."

"Fine." Dipper slapped his journal shut as the two came to a fork in the path. Bill quickly chose the left tunnel; it wasn't long after they turned that the path began to slope dramatically downwards. It wasn't dark, however. Every step Dipper took strengthened the pale purple glow that was emanating from the depths of the cavern. "What's that?" he asked, turning to the triangle floating next to him. Bill blinked.

"You'll see soon enough," Bill said, a smirk in his voice. Dipper shrugged and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. The stalactites were hanging lower now, the points brushing Dipper's hat at times, but they were no longer of the yellowish sodium color that they had been nearer to the entrance of the cave. They had become a pristine white, and were becoming clearer and more gem-like as the two traveled deeper and deeper.

It wasn't long after this discovery that the air began to thin.

"Bill?"

"Yeah, Pine Tree?"

Dipper frowned. "First off, stop calling me that."

"Calling you what?"

"Pine Tree. It's annoying and disrespectful and weird. We're partners. I call you Bill. You call me Dipper."

"Okay, Pine Tree. Now what was your question?"

"Dipper."

"Okay, Dipper, what was your question?"

"How much deeper are we going?" Dipper asked. "It's getting difficult to breathe-"

The words had barely come out of his mouth when a gust of cool, fresh air hit him. He looked around; they had entered onto a ledge in a gigantic cavern.

"We're here," Bill said shortly. "Now come along. We haven't got much time." With these few words, he floated away, motioning for Dipper to follow him down what appeared to be a spiral staircase hewn from the walls of the cavern. Dipper, however, hadn't moved since setting foot on the ledge. He was too busy scribbling in his notebook, writing and drawing all about the sensory overload that the cavern was host to.

The floor of the cavern was at least twenty feet down from the ledge on which he stood, but he could see it clearly due to the glowing of a large crystalline structure in its center. The faint purple light it cast off illuminated the water that filled the bottom of the cavern, and the small, flower-carpeted island from which the structure originated. From there it stretched up past the ledge and toward the ceiling, its points reaching up to meet with the crystal-encrusted hole through which the fresh night air was filtering. Small waterfalls burst from the cavern walls (which were also studded with small purple and blue crystals) and tumbled down into the basin at the bottom with a raucous crashing sound.

"Shut your jaw, Pi – uh, Dipper. Stop gaping. We're going now. The full moon is tonight, and we have to reach the bottom of that crystal before it's at it's height."

Dipper quickly complied; however, his gaze was still flicking between the cavern and his paper as he attempted to document it. "Sorry, I just never knew that this place was here...and it's been under our noses this whole time..."

"A lot of times you can't find something unless it's shown to you. A lot of things are hidden for a reason."

"But it's just so...I don't know. Who made this?"

"Nature. Or our forefathers. Not sure. I just found it."

"How?"

"Curiosity, Pine- Dipper."

"Pine Dipper?"

Bill ignored his companion's wrinkled nose. "I'm a lot like you. You know, you don't figure out the secrets of the universe by sitting and doing nothing."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that only with a bit of snooping can you find what you're looking for. You remember, don't you? Your uncle's room, his papers? Without all that, you wouldn't be here, and-"

"Don't bring him into this," Dipper growled, slamming the journal shut. "Just don't."

"Remember, he's the reason for this. The reason you're doing this, right? For revenge?"

"Yes, I...I guess, I just-"

"Stop!" Dipper ran into Bill as he halted abruptly. "We're here. Just in time." They had reached the bottom of the cavern. Bill floated across the glowing water to the crystal island. "Come on."

"You should know by now that I don't float," Dipper said, crossing his arms.

"Swim."

"My stuff will get wet."

"Just-I-ugh." Bill rolled his eye and floated back across the water. "Climb on my back."

"What?"

"I'll float you across. Just do it."

Hesitantly, Dipper clambered onto the demon's back. Bill wobbled a bit, but didn't succumb to gravity. They floated haphazardly over the water, Dipper hanging on to Bill for dear life and squeezing his eyes shut.

"You can get off now," Bill grumbled. Dipper opened his eyes to see that they had safely crossed the water. Grinning sheepishly, he dismounted and walked over to examine the crystal structure. It was comprised of two main crystals, the ones reaching up to the ceiling, but several others of varying sizes jutted out around the base. When Dipper walked a circle around it, the luminescent blue and pink spots within it danced around, never staying in the same place. He ran his hand over its surface. It was cool to the touch, and rough with the faint grooves formed by foreign characters that had been carved into it.

"Are these the-"

"They're on your little portal, if that's what you're wondering. And no, they haven't always been there. Your uncle added them to the portal after his brother...unfortunately...vanished. Terrible accident."

"How did he find them?"

"Why do you ask so many questions?" Bill cried, throwing his hands up.

"Because you know the secrets of the universe," Dipper replied.

A pause. "Point made," Bill sighed. "Your uncle had written the characters in his journal after we had a little run-in. Ya know. Just to be safe and...stuff."

Dipper figured that asking what "stuff" meant was not going to get him anywhere, so he kept his mouth closed. Suddenly, a flash of light lit up the entire cavern. When Dipper's eyes adjusted, he saw that every crystal in the cavern, including the large one, was illuminated.

"Quickly! Touch the crystal! The moon is in optimum position!" Bill cried.

"I'm already touching the-"

Dipper didn't get to finish; a split second later, the world faded to white.