Gravity Rises (S1)

NW: Part Nine

Stanford Pines sat at his dining table, rubbing his temples with hard fingers. Night had fallen, and he was still no closer to figuring out this burglary.

If the thief had only stolen money, he might not be so worried. He could shut down the shop for a few days, maybe put up some nasty traps that were left over from his adventuring days. But the thief seemed to have only taken the money as an afterthought.

First, they'd stolen his axolotl.

He didn't understand why on earth someone would want to steal his axolotl. Criminy, he didn't even know what he wanted with the creature. It just seemed fascinating. It kept him company while he worked, swimming around with its happy little face. On top of that, it was incredible that he found one here at all, since axolotls weren't indigenous to the Oregon biome.

Then again, neither were fairies, gnomes, or monsters.

A knock at the door startled Ford out of his thoughts. He moaned softly as he stood, his old bones creaking. Even if he wanted to have adventures like he did as a young man, he'd probably hurt himself in this aged body. Grumbling, he made his way to the door and pulled it open.

"Hello there, Stanford," said Pacifica Pleasure, flashing him a dazzling, youthful smile. "How is your evening?"

Stanford stared down at her. "What are you doing here?"

The girl's over-exaggerated smile turned to an over-exaggerated frown. "Now, at least I pretended to be polite."

"What?" Ford said. Something about this was seriously wrong.

A strange purple glow filled the room; with a start, Ford realized it was coming from the pendant on Pacifica's collar. Yet. . . it also seemed to be surrounding him.

He then discovered that he couldn't move.

Pacifica's smile returned. In a sickly sweet voice, she said, "You're coming with me, Stanford."

A sense of dread filled Ford's body.

"Do try to struggle," Pacifica continued. "It will be very entertaining to watch."

~~~~~

Dipper was no longer in the memory forest. He and Wendy stood on a large stone slab that appeared to be suspended in space. The stars around them were probably beautiful, but Dipper didn't have an eye for them. After all, half of what he could see was filled by a giant, demonic triangle.

Bill was huge. He loomed over his victims, and a low, multi-layered laugh cut through the air.

"What are your worst nightmares?" he asked Dipper and Wendy. "Can't have a party without those."

A small part of Dipper hoped Bill wouldn't figure it out if he just kept quiet. The rest of him knew that was a vain hope.

"Ah, I see." Bill turned his slitted pupil on Wendy, and the whites of his eye turned to a spotlight. She flinched.

Bill snapped his gargantuan fingers.

In smalls puffs of blue smoke, five figures appeared around Wendy. Dipper instantly picked out Robbie, meaning the other four had to be the rest of his squad. They looked so real; yet as they circled Wendy, their movements were slightly jerky. Small tendrils of mist trailed behind them.

"Guys?" Wendy asked carefully. They advanced on her, and she shrank back a little.

"We can see through your façade," one of them said, a girl with dark skin.

"You're pathetic," said another.

"You're fake and unoriginal," added a third.

Dipper had to do something! "Wendy," he called, "they're not real! It's okay!"