(During Not What He Seems)

"Mabel, what if he's lying? This thing could destroy the universe! Listen to your head!" Dipper stared at her, pleasing with his eyes.

Stan called, "Look into my eyes, Mabel! You really think I'm a bad guy?"

"He's lying! Shut it down NOW!" Dipper cried, desperately.

"Mabel, please!"

In the background, the computer counted down, "Ten. Nine."

Mabel looked away and lowered her hand to the button, then looked at Stan "Grunkle Stan..."

"Six. Five." droned the computer in monotone.

The brunette lifted her hand. "I trust you." She let go of the stand, and floated up.

Dipper stared in disbelief, "MABEL, ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE'RE ALL GONNA-"

"One."

Dipper, Stan, Soos and Mabel all disappeared in an explosion of yellow tinged light as each of them screamed.

Dipper grabbed his head, and cried "NOOO-!"

"AAA-!" hollered Stan, reaching for nothing.

Soos closed his eyes, and shrieked "AAH-!"

"AAA-!" yelled Mabel, almost crying.

A flash of blinding light engulfed all of Gravity Falls. Then, everything came down to earth. The portal, a mess of tangled wires and metal, glowed bright blue. A figure emerged from the portal. The blue light faded behind him. He walked forward, placed a six-fingered hand on the cover of the first journal, then picked it up and placed it into the inside pocket of a long, dark coat.

Mabel weakly asked, "What...? Who is that?"

"The author of the journals..." Stan started, staring.

The figure pulled off his goggles, revealing his face. He looked nearly identical to Stan.

Stan finished, "...my brother."

From the wreckage, a form emerged. Dipped, beaten badly, scraped and bruised all over. His hair covered his eyes, as he stumbled forth, and grunted as he fell on the ground.

"Dipper!" yelled Mabel, running to him.

He managed a weak, raspy laugh. "Guess again, Shooting Star!" his eyes opened fully, and revealed horrible yellow, and long, catlike pupils.

Her blood ran cold, as she took a step back.

The figure, Stanford Pines, pulled out a gun, and aimed it at the boy. "Cipher," he muttered.

"Wait, Poindexter, that's our great nephew!" Stan called, running in front of the gun.

Bipper grinned. "Yeah, that's right! This poor meat sack decided to strike a deal with lil ol' me! Looks like you shouldn't have pressed that button, huh, Shooting Star?"

Mabel stared at him in fear and guilt.

"Doesn't change anything..." Stanford muttered, pushing his brother out of the way, flipping a switch, and taking the shot.

It wasn't a bullet that came out of the gun, but more like a violet laser blast, that went right to Dipper's birthmark. The brunet immediately slumped to the ground in a heap.

"Oh my God," Stan muttered, staring at his great nephew.

Soos gasped, and rushed to his side. "Dude..."

The other Grunkle sighed. "He's not dead. But Bill will be back here any moment. Stanley, help me carry him." He swung the gun over her shoulder, and went to pick up Dipper.

The boy faded out of consciousness, then, and was left swimming in broken dreams.

Dipper woke in a cylindrical chamber, small and claustrophobic, and cold. It was metal, and glass, and he was restrained to a tilted, almost vertical table. He was locked in by his forehead, neck, upper arms, forearms, chest, upper legs, lower legs, and feet. Overall, thirteen restraints kept him in place.

"Grunkle Stan?" he asked, but was not answered. He could only see parts of a lab, dimly lit. He cleared his throat, and raised his voice. "GRUNKLE STAN!"

A face was seen, oh so similar to Stan's, but different. No hat, different glasses, different haircut... The facial structure and nose was nearly identical, though. "Curious..." he muttered.

Dipper frowned. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to cock his head but failing to.

The man ignored him, writing in Journal 3. Dipper's eyes widened when he saw the book. "Hey, that's mine..." he muttered.

"Dipper Pines, right? Your additions to the journal are phenomenal, there's no doubt about that..." the man said, finally looking him in the eye, addressing him directly. He took a step closer. "But your dealings with Bill are unwritten."

Dipper's eyes widened. It all came back to him. Bill returning to his body in the flash of light, the words he had said... It was different, this time, though. He wasn't knocked out of his body, like he was last time. No, he stayed inside. "You know Bill?" Dipper asked, cautiously.

"I'm the one asking questions here, Dipper." the man gently reminded him.

Dipper shook his head. "Well, I'm not answering anything until you at least tell me your name!

The man seemed to smirk at this. "Well, if my brother is right, you're my great nephew. Therefore, I'm your Great Uncle Ford." There was a pleasant light in the man's eyes, a twinkle of affection.

The brunet struggled a little. "Why am I locked up?" he asked, softly, tugging at the restraints with no luck.

"Bill Cipher must be contained. You made a deal with him, and let him into your body." The man had gone back to the book, seemingly losing interest in Dipper.

"Well, I didn't mean to! He tricked me... And it was a while back, anyway, I don't understand why he's coming back just now!" Dipper frowned. The portal. It had to be, that flash of yellow light...

"As kind as you look, Dipper, appearances deceive. Bill Cipher can take over your body at any moment. Nothing short of a metal plate or thought encryption will stop him." Ford was staring right at him, making the boy feel very weak in his knees.

The brunet wanted to scratch his nose, it itched. But he couldn't. "So I'll do one of those," he muttered.

Ford shook his head grimly. "No."

"But you just said-"

"Look at this mirror, Dipper," Ford interrupted, holding up a simple mirror. Dipper stared at the face he saw there. The eyes...

He shook his head. "No," he muttered.

"Yes. Bill's in your body, right now. Putting a metal plate in your head would trap him there, and encrypting your thoughts would be a pointless exercise. We must wait for him to leave." Ford crossed his arms, and let out a sigh.

The brunet boy's tongue went dry. "Can I... Can I see my sister?" he asked softly, shaking. The restraints were starting to really hurt now.

Ford's look said it all, but he spoke anyway. "I'm sorry, Dipper. Until we get Bill out of your system... It's too dangerous. We don't know what he might do.

The boy felt like he might cry.