Heartless, right?

Chapter Thirteen

Ford watches Dipper carefully. The last two days have been difficult to gauge the boy's behavior with the twins spending their days in town. Tonight proves to be even more difficult. With Mabel leaving tomorrow, the Mystery Shack is almost three times as full.

"I told you this last party was gonna be the best." Stan yells beside him.

"If that's what you want to call this." Ford reponds in boredom. "How does Dipper seem to be doing?"

"I don't know." Stan shrugs sadly. "The kid never talks about how he's feeling or what he's thinking. Unless he's planning to commit a crime and needs advice, there's no telling what's going on inside that head."

Ford continues to keep an eye on the boy nevertheless. It's obvious something is bothering him, but he can't just pull him away from the party.

A flash of yellow outside catches the man's eye. He quietly makes his way out the back door and looks to the woods, searching for a sign that what he saw was real. Nothing, of course, but he steps closer to the trees anyway.

Once he's far enough from the Mystery Shack, he calls out, "Bill, I swear to God if you're out there-"

"What if I am, Sixer? Gonna erase me again?" The demon's voice teases. Out of the shadows comes a tall blonde man. The only thing setting him off from any other human is his eyes. Irises matching the blue of his fire and slitted pupils.

"How did you come back?"

"You make it sound like it should've been impossible." The chaos god crosses his arms.

"Because it should have."

"Let's just say that Ax owed me a favor."

"The Axolotl? How?"

"Too many questions, Fordsy." The nick name sounds forced, unlike the many times before that the demon had said it. "My turn. How would you like to seal a rift?"

Ford narrows his eyes, "What rift?"

"A rift from Phaelox."

At the dimension's name, Ford freezes. He had spent ten years in that hellish place, done heinous things to ensure his survival, the last thing he wants is anything to do with that place.

"Why is there a rift from Phaelox here?"

"Turns out your nephew is pretty popular. But I don't feel like sharing his soul."

"The Phaeloxians are after Dipper?"

"Yep."

Ford pauses in irritation, "Wait, why do you care? Why are you asking for my help?"

Bill rolls his eyes and groans. "You have the glue. You want to protect the kid. I want to be the one to kill the kid. I also don't want to share this dimension with those bastards."

"Then take care of it yourself, Bill. I'm done with your mind games." Ford yells.

The older Pines twin turns angrily and storms back towards the Shack.

Bill stops him, "They came asking for my help. Seems the prophecy you found all those years ago is coming back to bite you."

The man turns back towards the demon, petrified. "I don't believe you. The Phaeloxians would never ask for your assistance."

"They would if they believed I could help them travel an unfamilair world to kill a dimension destroyer."

AN: Alright, we are back on track! Life has been so weird lately, but I love updating for you ❤️