Reality Is Stranger Than Fiction

Brother (Matt Corby)

You followed Wendy through the forest, stepping over tree roots and avoiding particularly tall grass as she leads the group to the statue of Bill that lies deep within its depths.

You squeeze Ford's hand as he laces his fingers with yours to keep himself grounded. Mabel and Dipper are running ahead with Candy and Grenda, taking in the forest around them with wide smiles. Soos and Stan are creating idle chatter and keeping up with the Mystery Shack. No one was paying attention to the two scientists at the back of the group. So you pulled Ford a bit closer and swayed your hands back and forth.

"It'll be okay," you say out loud, trying to convince both him and yourself.

"Hopefully," he mumbles, fidgeting his thumb against your hand.

It takes a good thirty minutes to reach the statue, but when you finally do, you can't help but grimace. It's slowly being overtaken by moss and plants, overgrown and worn with the weather. It's not a perfect statue, and part of you relaxes. If Bill was back yet, he would've fixed the statue first.

"Well, here it is," Wendy announces, gesturing to the weather-worn statue of your most persistent nightmare.

"This is what you guys were afraid of? A triangle? Look at it, its eyes so big I wouldn't even have to aim to land a punch," Stan laughs, flicking the eye of the statue.

"Stanely, I'm truly glad you don't remember Weirdmagedon," Ford says, keeping his tone even as he stares at the statue.

"Bet I was badass. Bet I kicked butt," Stan jokes, putting his hands on his hips. You resist the urge to inform him otherwise, remembering how he was so ready to cower in the shack and leave his brother a frozen statue.

"Bill was no joke, Stanley. Even if he's gone for now, that doesn't mean we don't know if he can hear us while we stand around here," Ford warns everyone, pulling you just a tad bit closer to himself.

"Good one, Grunkle Ford! Bill's gone, he can't hurt us," Dipper chuckles, glancing at the two of you with a nervous expression, "... right?"

"Unfortunately, as much as I wish that was the case, based on the evidence we've found on our travels, I have reason to believe that Bill is trying to return. That he isn't gone."

"Which means a few things for us. The first being that no one is allowed to go about town alone, you must always have at least one person with you. That means you too, Gideon and Pacifica. The next being as much as we'd like to give you kids a typical summer, we will need your assistance to help figure out how to stop Bill before he returns. The third being to trust each other. If we can't trust each other, we're never going to win this," you elaborate, setting up the ground rules to make sure that no one will get hurt.

"Understood, science-dudes. The Mystery Shack will always be open if you kids feel unsafe going home," Soos offers.

"Sleepovers!" Mabel cheers, her grin reappearing on his face.

"Totally, dude," Soos chuckles, giving her a high-five.

"A typical summer suggests that we'd had one last year," Dipper points out, side-eyeing the statue.

"That is true... we should probably get going. I don't particularly feel that dwelling here for long is a good idea," Ford suggests.

"To the Mystery Shack!" Mabel declares, navigating her way back to the trail that Wendy had gone down.

"I'm gonna take these four home," Wendy informs you, gesturing to the four kids beside the Pines twins.

"Understood. Keep a watch and stay safe," you remind her.