I Promise! (A Gravity Falls FanFic)

Chapter 6 - The Statue

Mabel slowly woke up, she felt so much better than she had felt yesterday. She was snuggly in bed, her cover was covering her up to her shoulders and there was a new pillow on her bed. "Awww Dipper..." She said, blushing to herself. She really didn't deserve him. Mabel sat up and looked over to Dipper's bed, it was empty. Maybe he was up already? Mabel slipped out of bed and made her way downstairs. It must've been rather late as she could hear the sound of visitors and Soos giving tours. She walked into the living room, the only person there appeared to be Stan who looked at her the moment she entered the room. "Good afternoon sleepy head." He said as she entered the room. "Good morning Grunkle Stan" she replied with a smile. After a moment she asked a question. "Grunkle Stan, do you know where Dipper is?"
"Oh yeah, he went out with my brother, don't know where though."
"Oh... ok," Mabel said, she was obviously disappointed. She had been expecting this to happen, Dipper spending all of his time with Ford, but she had hoped that she'd at least have had a week with him before it started to happen! Mabel tried to shake the thoughts, realising how selfish she was being, it was Dipper's life, and he could do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted. Still...
"Look kiddo, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Stan asked. "You haven't been yourself lately, what's wrong?"

"So, Bill? What do you think? Could he come back?" Dipper and Ford were walking through the trees in the forest travelling further and further away from the shack, Dipper looked up at his Grunkle expectantly, waiting for an answer.
"Dipper," Ford said with a sigh. "I thought about this a lot last night, and I've decided to tell you the truth. You may not like what you hear, but it's what I honestly think about the whole situation."
"Thank you, Grunkle Ford!" Dipper said with a smile. "I know I can handle it, no matter what it is!"
"Well..." Ford said after a moments pause. "We defeated Bill by trapping him inside Stanley's mind and then..." Ford faltered, the memory of what he did to his brother that day still didn't sit well with him. "...a-and then we erased Stanley's Mind."
"Yeah..." Dipper replied gently, hearing Ford's pain in his voice.
"Well, the plan was seamless and should have worked perfectly," Ford added but his voice suggested that he had more to say.
"Buuut?" Dipper asked.
"But it didn't. Slowly but surely, Stanley recovered his memories and his mind and now, he's back to his grumpy old self."
"Wait! You don't mean..." Dipper exclaimed, starting to understand what Ford was getting at.
"Yes Dipper, I'm afraid I do. If Stanley managed to recover his memories, then it's possible that Bill may still be alive. It could take him years to recover any sort of consciousness or form but I can't say for sure. All I know is that there's a possibility he survived, and as long as there's a possibility, no one I care about is safe. Therefore, I must do everything I can to protect those I love!"

They travelled the rest of the way in almost complete silence, both of them deep in thought for most of the time. After a short while Dipper Broke the silence. "We're here!" He announced, picking up the pace a little as he headed towards the layer of trees between them and the clearing.  A few moments later, the two of them emerged into the clearing, the statue stood exactly where it was yesterday, still covered in vegetation. "That's it!" Dipper announced, pointing towards the clump of ivy and weeds. Without a word, Stanford approached the statue, lifting the plants so that he could get a better look at it. After a quick glance, Ford let go of the plants, allowing them to flop back to their original positions. He then took off his bag and rummaged around in it for a second before pulling out a machete. He then used the blade to remove most of the hanging vegetation from the statue to that they could examine it properly.
"I must say, the craftsmanship is flawless, truly impressive," Ford stated as he examined the stone sculpture. "What's worrying is who would be deranged enough to carve something like this, and why?" Dipper walked around the statue, this was the first time he could see the entire thing. Ford's comment was absolutely correct, there wasn't a single blemish or mistake anywhere on the statue, save for the moss that clung to its stone surface.
"So, what do you think Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asked, desperate to get his Grunkle's opinion on the whole affair.
"If I had to take a guess, I'd say someone created it as some representation of Bill so that they could worship him, though I can't say for sure."
"Who would want to worship Bill?" Dipper asked in disbelief.
"The world is a strange place, Dipper," Ford replied. He rummaged around in his bag again pulling out numerous tools and devices. "Let's have a closer look," He said more to himself than to Dipper.