The Third Journal

Pages 227+228

DIPPER'S JOURNAL

THE REFUGEES

Huddled around a strange glittering purple fire, these bandaged, war-torn creatures beckoned me near and told me their tale.

Apparently, they were asteroid miners whose ship was sucked into a dimensional wormhole, and they found themselves lost here like me. (When things in the multiverse go missing, they usually end up here.) When I mentioned Bill, they shrieked and covered their ears like I had said something obscene.

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Their leader, a hairy, snaggletoothed mix between a guinea pig and a pirate, explained that my old "Muse" is actually one of the most feared beings in the entire multiverse. Bill took over the Nightmare Realm as a hideout for him and his cronies, but because this place is lawless, without any consistent physics or rules, it is eventually fated to self-destruct. This is why Bill seeks a new, more stable dimension to take over and a foolish mind willing to let him in. A foolish mind like mine.

I explained to them my history with Bill and my desire to destroy him for what he's done.

Although they were skeptical, the creatures took pity on me and offered help. They gave me one of their dimensional translators and some rations.

DIMENSIONAL TRANSLATOR

MODEL K127X

I asked them the odds of ever making my way home, and they said they were slim. So a plan began to form in my mind. I would travel from dimension to dimension, learning what I could about Bill- his weaknesses, his secrets. I'd gain my strength, bide my time, and once I was ready, I would return to the Nightmare Realm and destroy him once and for all. I might never seen home again, but at least I could save the multiverse from his wrath, and wreak vengeance for the life he stole from me.

The creatures cheered me on, shouting, "Praise the Axoloxl!" (I have no idea what that means), and waved goodbye as I left their asteroid and swam to the nearest wormhole, casting my fate to the wind to discover what new worlds awaited me.