A/N: I swear this will be the last chapter of this story before the fight. I swear. Remember when I said that this story wouldn't top 20 chapters? Good old times. Anyway, read, enjoy, and review. Thank

The rugged Dipper had to admit it. His younger counterpart was progressing much quicker than he had anticipated. He noticed that this time, it was much harder to take down, but he still managed to do so.

"You're improving. Greatly." he said to our Dipper. "There's still some work to be done, but in just a few sessions, you're giving me difficulty. You might actually stand a chance against Cipher."

"Thanks." said our Dipper, rubbing the new bump on his head. "I'll keep that in mind."

After a few more attempts and seeing more marginal improvements, the rugged Dipper stopped the training session early.

"Why? I'm just getting into the groove of things." said our Dipper, still clutching his training staff in anticipation.

"Sit down." commanded the rugged Dipper, pointing to the ground, while he took a seat for himself.

Dipper did as he was told.

The rugged Dipper was seated across from our Dipper. For a moment they both stared at each other, as if in a staring contest.

The older Dipper made the first move. He gestured to his arms, which were still bandaged, but thin red lines started protruding from them.

"Do you know what these are?" he asked.

"Uh, your arms?" responded our Dipper.

"Try again." said the rugged Dipper, not amused.

"I'm assuming those are scars."

"They are a constant reminder of the day it all went wrong." explained the rugged Dipper. "When we were all framed, driven to the ground literally, treated as terrorists."

"That really sucks." said our Dipper, not sure how to respond.

"Gideon called the shots, and now that I think of it, Bill probably had most of the influence over him." continued the rugged Dipper. "That day I remember so well." he kept droning on.

"What?"

"Great uncle Ford's portal was twisted by Gideon's words, and it was perceived as a bomb that would have destroyed the entire town. I don't know how, but on that day he broke out of prison and took over the town just like that." continued the rugged Dipper. "He declared everyone from the Shack as terrorists. Criminals that should be punished by execution. The riot troopers took Grunkle Stan to the main circle. We tried to rescue him, and in the process we looked just like the terrorists that Gideon called us out as. We tried to blow up the town hall, it didn't go as planned, and I ended up getting all these horrible scars."

"Jeez, man. I didn't know." said our Dipper, but the rugged Dipper wasn't done with the story.

"I remember it so well. I remember laying on the ground, clinging onto consciousness, unable to help my Grunkle Stan as the riot troopers executed him. Mercilessly. Without hesitation or regard for human life. That's how Gideon's regime started. With bullets going through my great uncle's skull. The next thing I know I'm back at the portal room being told that I almost died from blood loss. That's the day they took everything from me." said the rugged Dipper. "The reason I'm telling you this is because there's a lot more at risk here. You see, that day, I was really stupid. I didn't have any plan, any training, any weapons, or any idea what I was doing. I lost my Grunkle Stan that day, and ever since I've trained tirelessly every day to make sure that I don't lose any more of my loved ones. Not because of my headstrong mistakes."

"For you, this is the same battle that I lost that day." he continued. "You remind me of myself before everything went to the shitter. This is a battle you have to win. Luckily for you, you have a chance this time. You have training. That's why I'm so hard on you. I wish I was you, kid. That's why I'm deciding that it's about time for you to start looking at weapons, kid."

Our Dipper could only nod. What else was there to say after hearing a story like that?

He had to admit it though. He was looking forward to working with weapons now. He felt like he was ready for it with all the training he had done this past week (relatively speaking).

Our Dipper got up first and reached his hand out to the rugged Dipper.

"I won't let you down then." he said as he helped the rugged Dipper up.

"I sure hope you're right, kid." replied the rugged Dipper. "Let's get to work."

. . . .

As Dipper observed and studied each weapon, he analyzed every possible angle of each one, to determine if the weapon fits for him. He looked at the wall, filled to the brim with dangerous looking weapons.

The rugged Dipper had taught him, in a surprisingly short amount of time, on what to look for in customization of weapons. The exact same way he had observed Dipper the first day of training. Our Dipper now tried hundreds of combinations for customization, trying to find the perfect base of the weapon.

"What do these weapons do?" asked our Dipper while he was trying out combinations for his base.

"They're the same as great uncle Ford's quantum destabilizer, but a smaller version." said the rugged Dipper. "They may be smaller, but they should still pack quite the punch on a psychic being like Bill."

"I think I got it." said our Dipper as he stepped back from his customized creation. The rugged Dipper walked up to check his counterpart's work.

"Remember, model 6 of the miniature quantum destabilizer might be a little too heavy for your stance." commented the rugged Dipper. "To more meet your style, try model 2."

Dipper never considered the weight of the destabilizer, so he took the advice from his teacher and picked up the second model. It felt like that model was literally made for him.

This was an excellent base to begin with.

Now there were the accessories to it. The customization. The optimization.

Dipper looked at the different attachments available. Silencers, straps, ammo, the works. The scene would make a Call of Duty lover wet his/her pants in excitement.

He picked up some of the new attachments, and considered each part's weight. He analyzed each individual attachment and assessed on how it affects the balance, the weight, and mobility of the miniature destabilizer.

He also considered Bill Cipher's tactics during his fights against him. What specific attachments will open up Bill's weaknesses and optimize his own strengths?

This is the process that Dipper had repeated through his mind every time he considered a new combination for his weapon. Every single combination. The process repeated hundreds of times. Dipper had gotten so used to it, it was like clockwork.

After trying hundreds upon hundreds of combinations, Dipper had found weapons that most suited his style. Strapped to his back was the Model 2 miniature destabilizer, with the flashbang and grappling attachments, as well as an ammo belt slung around his shoulder. With the help of the rugged Dipper, he made sure the belt and each accessory kept his balance optimal.

He looked like a soldier about to go to war, and in a way, he was.

Strapped to the right side of his hip was a tactical knife to be used for close combat. He was to meet with Gleeful later for enchanting the blade to weaken Bill's spiritual aura. Strapped to his left hip was an even smaller, pistol-like version of the destabilizer that was strapped to his back. However, considering every possible combination, and the distribution of weight, that little pistol would only be given one round of ammo. One shot.

The rugged Dipper looked at our Dipper, inspecting him. He rubbed his messy beard and nodded.

"I think you're ready." he said. "I've trained you everything I know, and you've excelled at a remarkable speed. After you finish training with the others, I think you're ready to face him."

Our Dipper nodded. He knew that he could face Bill now, but he knew better. He was lacking in the other fields. He just needed a little more time.

. . . .

"Nice toys you got there." said Super Dipper, eyeing up the new weapons strapped to Dipper's body.

"Thanks." said our Dipper proudly.

"Your older friend here supplied me with hundreds of rounds of ammo for your weapons strapped to you." started Super Dipper as he wheeled in that amount of ammunition. "You've passed every test that I've thrown at you, both figuratively and literally."

Our Dipper remembered when the Super Dipper had literally thrown refrigerator-sized boulders and other random objects at him for him to dodge.

"What will my test be this time?" asked our Dipper, excited to begin another session.

"In your last session we'll be doing target practice, and when you're done with target practice we'll put it all together." said Super Dipper.

"That sounds simple enough." said our Dipper.

"It will start off simple." assured Super Dipper. "Like every test I did with you, it'll start off simple and we'll progressively get more and more difficult."

"Well, naturally." responded our Dipper.

The Super Dipper grabbed three ceramic discs from the same crate as the ammo crate. "Hit these with your gun."

Our Dipper grabbed and primed the destabilizer. He nodded, indicating that he was ready.

In a swift flick, the Super Dipper launched each disc at a varying distance and height. Our Dipper immediately cocked and aimed his destabilizer. With the scope attachment, it was easier for Dipper to aim for the miniature clay projectiles.

He pulled the trigger and blasted the first projectile into millions of pieces, obliterating it. Dipper admired his marksmanship, but only for a moment, as he had two more clay discs to shoot down.

He aimed for the second one, a little further than the first, and started shooting. He missed after the first few shots, but eventually shot down the second disc.

He focused, knowing I only had a fraction of a second to shoot down the last disc. He looked through its scope, aimed it down, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Nothing happened. Our Dipper pulled the trigger again and again. Click click.

The ceramic disk shattered as it hit the ground in the distance.

"What the hell?" our Dipper started, looking at the destabilizer. Then it hit him.

He ran out of ammo.

Super Dipper and the rugged Dipper walked up to our Dipper.

"Rule number one of weapons." started the rugged Dipper as he held his own destabilizer. He took out the ammo clip and showed it to our Dipper. "Always know how much ammo is the capacity. Always."

"That can be the difference between life and death during your battle." said Super Dipper. "But that's okay. That's why we have these training sessions."

"Now, let's try again." said the rugged Dipper. "I know a lot of these shots will probably be too far compared to your coming battle, but you can never be too precise."

Our Dipper nodded and reloaded his gun.

. . . .

"You know what, Pines, I'm impressed. Really, I am." said Gleeful in an almost admirably mocking voice. He observes as our Dipper sat still in meditation.

"Fecerunt manu in uva." said our Dipper.

"Good. Pronunciation should be more articulate, but there's improvement." said Gleeful. "That incantation will help with your stamina."

Dipper nodded. He still hated Gleeful's guts, but he had to admit that he was learning many things that will probably be incredibly helpful in the coming battle.

After a few more incantations, Gleeful displayed the closest thing to satisfaction that our Dipper had ever seen in his time of training. Gleeful halted the training and asked for Dipper's small knife.

Our Dipper handed it over, although reluctantly. Even though he had been training with Gleeful for a while, he still could not muster enough trust in him.

"Thanks." said Gleeful chillingly.

Suddenly Gleeful's eyes turned a ghastly green as he swiped for Dipper's chest. Our Dipper dodged the attack just in time.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" said our Dipper as Gleeful kept trying, but failing, at making a cut.

"What does it look like, Pines?" said Gleeful with no emotion in his voice.

"Put the knife down, Gleeful." said Dipper with a serious tone.

"Right. As if I'd listen to you." said Gleeful. His eyes glowed blue as he lifted himself in the air.

Oh boy. Dipper thought.

Without a moment to hesitate, Dipper kept dodging the blue-flamed attacks that danced around him.

"Ingenti squilla." said our Dipper. A bright blue shield appeared in front of his casting hand and easily deflected the oncoming attack.

Dipper pulled out his mini destabilizer and made sure it was loaded. He jumped, rolled around on the ground skillfully, aimed at Gleeful's head and shot the destabilizer. The casing of the shot ringed on the ground as it fell out of the gun.

Gleeful was prepared for that maneuver, so he repelled that attack easily as well.

Dipper wasn't counting on that to be the attack that lands though. He quietly swung his left hand out and whispered "Corrumpebant malum."

A small streak of purple danced around and hit Gleeful's leg while he was deflecting the quantum destabilizer's shots.

"Uhn!" moaned Gleeful as he tried to recover, but for him it was already too late.

Our Dipper jumped up, grabbed his ankles, and pulled him down. Then, our Dipper used centripetal force to throw Gleeful onto the ground. He held the quantum pistol inches from Gleeful's face, the barrel aimed between Gleeful's eyes.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a hole in your head." said our Dipper.

"Sum dolor sit expugnavit, an stultus." muttered Gleeful. A powerful ball of energy protruded from Gleeful's chest and struck Dipper in his chest. This sent our Dipper flying a few feet backward, stunned.

Gleeful got up and brushed the dust off his baby blue coat. "Prepare for the unprepared, Pines."

"Stupefy hoc excors." whispered Dipper, still on the ground, stunned by Gleeful's attack. A wisp of purple flew around, wrapping around Gleeful's arm. Gleeful would not break from the spell.

"Nng." exhaled Gleeful.

Our Dipper finally got back up from the ground, and was already in pursuit of Gleeful. The stunned Gleeful desperately grabbed the dagger that was Dipper's.

Our Dipper walked up to Gleeful. He easily dodged Gleeful's attacks, and grabbed Gleeful's wrist. He strengthened his hold on Gleeful's wrist causing him to lose his grip on the dagger. Before it could fall to the ground, our Dipper grabbed the knife by the hilt, and held it up to Gleeful's throat.

"Any more stupid games?" asked Dipper. "Or are you going to enchant this fucking knife?"

"Poke that in my throat and I will definitely not enchant that blade." remarked Gleeful.

Dipper took his knife off of his counterpart's throat.

"Are you going to enchant this now?"

"I will, since you asked so nicely." hissed Gleeful.

Gleeful swiped the dagger from Dipper and, by using telekinesis he raised the dagger up and swallowed it in a bright blue aura.

Gleeful levitated in the air with the dagger and chanted some deep incantations. Our Dipper noticed that the incantations didn't appear to be in any language that's familiar to him. It wasn't Latin, English, or even Russian (Dipper had been using DuoLingo just out of curiosity. He is not a communist.)

The blue aura focused into the dagger until the dagger consumed the strange blue power until there was no more glow.

Gleeful floated back onto the bare floor and handed the dagger to Dipper.

"Stab me and I will literally take you into Hell with me." he said to Dipper.

"Don't give me any reason to," said Dipper, "and I won't."

"Fair enough, Pines. Fair enough."

. . . .

Dipper walked up to the Time Baby. He had done this every day since he started training: a daily recap of mental training to make sure that he was sharp mentally.

He sat down, his legs crossed in front of the infant behemoth, ready to start yet another session.

The Time Baby sat still, as he was in meditation.

"Dipper Pines," started the Time Baby, "you are finished with your training. After this session, you will be ready for your final showdown."

Our Dipper nodded. He knew he had all the tools to succeed, but despite all this preparation, he still felt...unprepared.

But he had to be, right?

An uneasiness started forming in Dipper's stomach, similar to that of going into a test he didn't study for. It made him lightheaded.

"Something troubles you." said the Time Baby, his eyes still closed.

"Oh, you know, just the realization that the fate of the entire universe is in my hands." said Dipper.

"Multiverse." corrected Time Baby. "but given your condition as an adolescent, I find it understandable for your mental state."

"Glad you can understand." said Dipper with a little sarcasm in his voice, but Time Baby ignored him.

"Put your doubt to rest." he boomed. "All four of us have trained you to the best of our abilities, and you've learned and done more. If anyone in the multiverse is ready for this, it's you."

Dipper bowed his head. "What if I'm not strong enough? What if I need help?"

Time Baby nodded, and summoned Gleeful.

"We will both teach you one last spell. One to bring you to a highly dangerous place, that I mentioned before. The Omega Matrix. There the other staple Dippers will assist you in defeating Bill once and for all. But, the Omega Matrix is a very dangerous place. You must only use it as a last resort, and you may only bring ONE person with you into the Matrix." said the Time Baby.

"So just kill him on your world so I don't have to see your face ever again." sneered Gleeful.

"That would be fine by me." said our Dipper, glaring at Gleeful.

"If you two are done bickering, let's teach the boy the spell before you two end up killing each other." interjected the Time Baby.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that to happen." mocked Gleeful.

"You're, uh...stupid." said Dipper back. He couldn't think of a better insult for him.

Time Baby rolled his eyes. "Shut up, both of you, and listen to my directions…."

. . . .

A/N: Oh yeah. It's all coming together. It's what you've all been waiting for for waaay too long. Hope it doesn't disappoint. Review and stuff.