(I'm SOOO sorry for taking so long, readers! ;n; I'm really glad I continued to gain more of you in spite of my absence, life just hit pretty hard the past months and I haven't found the muse to finish the next chapter until now. I also wanted to make sure it was long enough to have been worth the wait, and it actually probably isn't. Dx I'm finding it more and more difficult to write these a sufficient length. xD Check out my DeviantART for more stuff from me(Swiftilysquirrel), I'm more active on there! But let's end this long explanation and bring the story along! (sorry for the cliffhanger as well, that's insult to injury, lol.))

Bill looked up at Stan, blinking with dismay. "Don't you play stupid, demon. I asked you a question: what are you doing with his body?" Stan growled, glowering at Bill.

The real Dipper groaned with irritation. "I'm so stupid!" He facepalmed. "Of course Stan's going to figure it out! How could I be so stupid?" He continued to watch the scene, which was growing in intrigue because it rang clear that the weakness of the human body was affecting Bill's methods. Normally, Bill would relish in any frustration his enemy faced and not really care to deny or hide anything, but Bill had been trying to hide the fact he had stolen Dipper's body, which was quite out of character for him. He was wondering if Bill was going to keep up the charade, lie, or start acting like himself again.

"Ha, and here I thought I had you fooled," Bill's voice had a slight rasp to it, but seemed more like him. "I give you less credit than I should, huh, Pines?" Bill had apparently decided to go back to his usual character, not hiding it.

"That doesn't answer my question," The uncle growled, growing increasingly irritated with Bill.

"Well, it's easy as this, uncle. The kid didn't like being in this weak mortal body, so he made a deal so he didn't have to deal with it. In exchange, I can destroy the journals and keep him from learning more than he needs to." Bill's voice was back to being in its usual extremely narcissistic tone. He wanted nothing more than to destroy the journals to crush the hopes and dreams of young Dipper, after all, the kid wasn't truly a danger to his agenda, right? There was no possible way this kid could prevent him from taking over the world.

"He wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for that!" Stan growled, unphased by Bill's tone of voice. He did not know much about this guy, but what he did know, he did not like, and he was not prepared to trust such a monster with his nephew's body. He felt bad for having the kids here; the town and its weirdness were putting them in danger. He only wanted to help his family, not put them at risk.

"Ahh, but he was," Bill laughed just a little. "And now he's stuck in a plain of nonexistence."

The observing Dipper winced slightly, feeling the guilt on his shoulders. His selfishness was putting his family and friends in danger. He needed to figure out a way to get Bill out while also defeating him. After all, he didn't want Bill to be able to hurt Stan and Mabel. Still, he figured Bill would be willing to leave the body any time at this point, considering giving him back the weak body would be hurting Dipper's pride and honesty and free Bill from the weak vessel. "Ugh! I'm so stupid, how could I do this!?" Dipper exclaimed in exasperation, growing more frustrated with himself.

-

Mabel kicked her feet impatiently while sitting on the store counter. Wendy was tending the store, but there wasn't really any work to do due to the rain, so she was reading a magazine. "Hey, Mabel?" She inquired, raising her head from the papers.

"Huh? Oh, what is it, Wendy?" Mabel snapped out of her thoughts and lowered her legs, turning towards Wendy.

"I was just wondering, shouldn't you be resting?"

"I won't be able to rest until I feel like Dipper's safe… besides, I feel a lot better right now."

"Alright, then… if you're sure…."

Mabel looked out the window into the overcast skies. Her twin instincts were telling her there was something else up. Dipper wasn't himself, sick or otherwise. There was just something too off about him. It could have been his illness… but she doubted it. To him, she was never 'Shooting star', that was strictly a Bill thing… a Bill thing….

"Wendy..." Mabel began, not turning her head to look at Wendy.

"Yeah, Mabel?" Wendy inquired, lowering her magazine again.

"Bill took over Dip again." Mabel got down from the desk, still staring at the same spot in the sky.

"Wait, what?" Wendy was very confused. She also stood up, looking to Mabel for an explanation.

"Bill the evil triangle demon took over my brother's body!" Mabel snapped out of her trance-like state and snapped at Wendy, who flinched slightly at Mabel's sudden change in tone. "Sorry, Wendy, but I have to find something to save my brother. Help me search his nerd stuff for something that can help?"

"Yeah, sure. As long as you don't try anything that could make you sicker again." Wendy was still a little on alarm, but her cool attitude made her chill more easily than someone else.

Mabel had no idea how she was going to stop Bill again, considering Dipper's body was probably already plenty exhausted, so the same trick would probably not work. Still, she had to keep thinking and proactively trying to find a solution while she still had the feeling there was still a chance of victory. On the bright side, technically Bill was suffering, not Dipper, but how did Bill get Dipper's body in the first place anyway?

The two searched through the objects collected from various adventures, including looking through the journal. Mabel also took the time to explain to Wendy what Bill Cipher was all about. How he was a dream demon who was originally summoned using a spell in the journal because Gideon wanted him to help in taking the Mystery Shack, how manipulative and cunning the demon was, and how they defeated him in the past. She even drew Wendy a picture of him with yellow crayon including his bowtie and tophat in a black crayon and an angry eye.

"I would give him mean pointy teeth and more puffy stickers, but he doesn't have a mouth and I don't have many stickers that match a meanie like him." Mabel puffed out her cheeks, handing the drawing to Wendy. Wendy gave a little laugh and patted Mabel on the shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm sure it depicts him perfectly, Mabel." She assured the younger girl. Wendy put the drawing on the ground beside her and put her arm on Mabel's shoulder. "It's a lot for me to take in, learning about this guy and all, but I think I have an idea of what to do." She put her hand on Mabel's forehead to check her temperature. "How are ya feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better, but what's your plan?" Mabel asked, looking up at her.

"You'll see once we get to the hospital. I just need to make sure what I'm thinking about this demon is correct before we try it, alright? Let's go." Wendy hastily lead Mabel to put a couple sweaters on, then they headed outside to the last remaining vehicle around the shack and headed into town toward the hospital.