The Third Journal

Pages 217+218

DIPPER'S JOURNAL

The Rift

I was dismantling the portal for good and salvaging what parts I could for future experiments when I made a horrifying discovery. Although I thought the dimensional gateway was permanently closed, I found at my feet a small tear between worlds, sparking and hovering a foot above the ground. In a panic, I scooped it up in a mason jar like it was a mosquito, and was able to create a temporary containment unit. It is just as I feared: apparently, Mabel's reckless use of the machine overtaxed it and ripped a tear in the dimensional fabric- the same way an overheated oven might burn a hole in kitchen linoleum. I had to contain it!

Rift- A glittering window into the chaos I thought I'd escaped forever. If you hold it up to your ear, it sounds like mocking laughter.

Containment dome- A house for the Rift. Admittedly, I was inspired by the snow globes in Mabel's gift shop. (I must keep this away from Bella, considering how many snow gloves I saw her break in an hour.)

Base- I could really use Candy's help in stabilizing this. I wonder what's happened to her after all these years? When I asked, everyone abruptly changed the subject.

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The path before me is clear. The world is safe from Bill Cipher as long as the rift remains contained. But I fear my device will not be strong enough to hold these cosmic forces at bay forever. I must remain vigilant and stand watch, lest trouble arise again. And if I've learned anything from a life of misfortune, it's that this is a burden I must shoulder alone.

When I tried to share my burdens with Candy, it destroyed our relationship and took its toll on her mental health.

When I tried to share my burdens with my sister, she knocked me into the portal, separating me from my home for 30 years.

And after all those years in exile, living across multiple dimensions, there are precious few beings that I feel comfortable calling a "friend." What are the odds that in this one dimension, I can find someone who understands me or what I've been through?

No. The life before me is one of constant solitary vigilance against the unimaginable insanity that is Bill Cipher. I brought him into this dimension, and I'll take him out. If it's the last thing I do.