By the time Dipper Pines had gotten ready for the day ahead of him, wearing a red plaid shirt over a dark colored tee advertising some science convention from sophomore year, the sound of voices was in full swing downstairs. The brunet didn't need to listen in very closely to know the topic of conversation... he figured that his Gruncles were probably filling Soos in on everything that had been discussed. Dipper sighed as he attempted to fix his hair in the mirror, pouting slightly. After struggling with the unruly locks for another few minutes, he groaned and gave up. He'd just wear a hat.

The Pines twin left the bathroom and returned to his room, trying to remember where he'd put his hat after the day out on the lake.

"There you are," he chuckled when he found the old cap in the corner of the room. At first, when Wendy had given it back to him, he'd been a little upset. Before too long, though, he'd had to agree with her; the hat was kind of his thing. He brushed the remnants of dirt from the cap before pulling it onto his head. When he checked his reflection in the mirror, a small smile lit up his lips. It was funny to think that the last time he'd worn this hat seeing the pine tree had caused his heart to ache. Now, it warmed his chest and set butterflies loose in his stomach...

Not wanting to waste any more time, Dipper ran from his room, taking the steps two at a time and speeding into the kitchen.

"Ah, Dipper, there you are," Ford acknowledged his arrival as the teen grabbed some slightly stale bread from the pantry and put it in the toaster.

"Good morning Great Uncle Ford, Gruncle Stan," the brunet greeted as he retrieved some jelly of an unknown flavor from the fridge; the label had come off at some point. He opened it up and sniffed it carefully. After a moment, he shrugged, deeming it safe to eat.

"Good morning, kiddo," Stan grunted from where he downed a cup of something that Dipper felt wasn't coffee.

As Dipper removed his toast from the toaster and laid it on a paper towel, he inquired, "Where's Soos?"

"He's getting the shop set up," Ford replied as Dipper spread the jelly messily on his toast.

"What for?" the teen wondered before taking a bite out of his breakfast. He pondered the taste of the jelly for a moment... It was somewhat of a cross between grape and blackberry...

"Well, Soos has offered to monitor the shop for us while we scout out the areas around town, see if we can find anywhere that looks like it might be where they're keeping Mabel," Stan explained. Dipper nodded solemnly as he munched on his toast.

"Right, okay... that sounds like a good idea," he agreed. "I think Bill said something before about having an idea of where the demons might be based..."

"But where they are based and where they're keeping Shooting Star aren't necessarily the same place."

The sound of Bill's voice caught the brunet off guard and he almost choked on his toast as he whipped around to face the blond. He was wearing an outfit similar to yesterday's, what with the white collared shirt and jeans, but this time he wore a thin yellow sweater vest over it, complete with a black bowtie to finish the look. His hair was in its usual style, brushed casually to the side and shimmering gold in the morning light. The dream demon smiled apologetically at the shocked faces before him.

"Ah, sorry, I should have announced myself... Question Mark let me in through the gift shop," he explained, moving to stand beside Dipper, draping his arm casually over his shoulders. Ford huffed, rolling his eyes slightly.

"For Pete's sake, will you stop with those stupid nicknames?" he grumbled as he picked up his coffee cup, drinking the hot black-brown liquid as bitter as his current mood. Bill chuckled, shaking his head.

"Sorry to whoever Pete is, but I'm afraid that's gonna be a 'no can do,' Sixer," he declined, "sorry ol' buddy, ol' pal." As he spoke, Bill was discreetly tracing his fingertips along Dipper's collarbone. The movement was so infinitesimal that no one noticed but Dipper, who jabbed the dream demon lightly in the gut with his elbow, which only served to make the chaos god chuckle. Ford, who assumed the assault was due to the dream demon's words, just huffed a small laugh, shaking his head.

"This is going to be a long day," he grumbled. Stanley laughed at him as he took a final swig of his drink and got to his feet.

"Then we should probably get it started," he suggested as he put his cup in the sink. "Grab some snacks and drinks, kiddies, it's road trip time!" the old man declared, his eyes slightly unfocused as he lumbered out of the room, a little unsure of his footing at times. Dipper pursed his lips as his Gruncle left, making eye-contact with Ford, who had the same expression of concern on his face.

"We all cope in different ways," was the only explanation or consolation he offered. "Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm the one driving," he added on as he got to his feet and left to prepare for the day ahead. Dipper let out a yawn and Bill tapped him under his chin, smiling softly at the surprised look on the teen's face.

"Oh, wait," he paused, wetting the fingertip of his thumb with his tongue then using it to wipe off the jelly that was beginning to crust on the corner of Dipper's mouth. The brunet's ears burned slightly, but he didn't object to or complain about the action. "There we go! All clean," he teased, tugging on the bill of the Pine Tree hat so that it came down over Dipper's eyes.

The teen laughed with a mock-indignant, "Hey!" as he fixed his hat. He smiled up at the blond, but his grin faltered slightly when he noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes. He was going to comment when suddenly Bill stepped away from him with an impish grin and sparkling eyes.

"Come on, Dip Dot, you heard the old man! Shall we grab snacks?" Before Dipper could even respond, Bill was opening cupboards, trying to find some suitable food to take on the road. The Mystery Twin let out a sigh, shaking his head in slight amusement before helping the chaos god out.

Once snacks and drinks had been gathered, the original Pines twins, Dipper, and Bill all climbed into Stan's car and prepared to set off.

"Alright gang," Ford addressed the group as everyone was buckling up. Dipper and Bill had a short argument with their eyes which Bill promptly lost, pouting as he put on his seatbelt, muttering something about safety being against his moral code. Dipper rolled his eyes and bumped him with his arm, smiling softly, which caused Bill to smile in turn. "Remember, we're on the lookout for abandoned buildings, warehouses, entrances to underground storage, bunkers, anything of the sort," Ford instructed.

"Aye aye, captain," Bill announced dutifully. The old scientist shot him a look in the rearview mirror that had Bill turning away in amusement.

As the car rumbled along the winding roads of Gravity Falls and even areas outside of the town, the group found that there were too many possible options, making almost none of them seem viable. Still, they trodded along, the original Pines twins speaking in low voices in the front, Dipper and his demon whispering back and forth in the back.

"Do you think maybe they are keeping her in the same place they're based?" Dipper wondered softly, his fingers intertwined with Bill's as they leaned against each other in the rather small back seat. The chaos god hummed, reaching into the chip bag in his lap with his free hand.

"No, I highly doubt that... They want us to know where they are based because that's where they want the whole thing to go down. What they don't want is us finding your sister. If I had to guess," the dream demon held one of the triangular-shaped chips up to Dipper's mouth, "they'll keep her hidden until the day everything goes down." His cheeks reddening ever so slightly, Dipper ate the chip offered to him, glad that his Gruncles seemed too preoccupied to notice. 

"Yeah," he agreed as he chewed, "I suppose that makes sense." They were silent for a moment, shoulders pressed together as they looked out the window. Dipper started absentmindedly tracing Bill's knuckles with his finger; the slow, rhythmic circles almost therapeutic to them both. When Dipper turned his head to face Bill again, he found the dream demon already looking at him, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Bill's cheeks gained a pink hue at being caught and he broke eye-contact for a moment. Dipper smiled softly but didn't comment, simply continuing on to voice his thoughts.

"If that's the case," he reasoned, "then they would have to be keeping her somewhere nearby, right?" Bill pursed his lips, considering the possibility. He opened his mouth to respond just as something seemed to catch his eye. There was a flash of confusion in his gaze, then realization and panic.

"Look out!" he cried, lunging forward and grabbing Ford's arms from behind the chair, causing the wheel to jerk to the side. The car careened towards the side of the road, tires screeching.

"Bill, what the He-" Ford was cut off by the loud thudding crash of a tree falling into the road, branches snapping, trunk groaning, as it slammed into the ground right where the car would have been had Bill not jerked the wheel. The dream demon relinquished control of the wheel, sitting back quickly and pressing his arm over Dipper, bracing him against the seat to keep him from lurching too much. Ford slammed on the brakes, working furiously to correct the wheel and keep them from crashing into anything as the car skid to a halt off the side of the road.

"Holy shit..." Stanely huffed once the car had stopped. Stunned and shaking ever so slightly with shock, Dipper turned to thank the chaos god. However, Bill had already unbuckled and was getting out of the car. The brunet unbuckled as well, sitting forward to check on his Gruncles.

"Are you guys okay?" he inquired. The two old men nodded.

"A little shaken up, but alright," Ford reported. Satisfied, Dipper got out of the car, careful not to trip over the torn up grass and shrapnel from the tree. After a quick scan of the scene, he located Bill, who was crouched by the base of the tree. The brunet jogged over to him, placing a hand on the dream demon's shoulder to announce his presence.

"What's wrong?" he wondered softly. Bill shook his head, sitting back on his heels, a pout of confusion on his lips.

"It doesn't make any sense," he revealed. "This tree, it... it's perfectly healthy, the ground's not wet, there're no signs of any animals that could have weakened it... and as far as I'm aware, trees in this dimension don't just decide to uproot themselves and crush unsuspecting vehicles without cause."

"No, not usually," Dipper concurred. "Then why..." the brunet trailed off, his eyes having caught something at a passing glance. His stomach sank, chest growing cold.

"Pine Tree?" Bill called over his shoulder, wondering why the teen had suddenly stopped speaking. When there was no response, he turned to look at him, standing up worriedly at the look in the other's eyes. "Dipper, what's wrong? What is it?" The Mystery Twin walked forward numbly to where he'd seen it, the dark red rose. He crouched down, picking it up with a cold feeling in his chest.

Every rose has its thorns... 

"Pine Tree, that rose..." Bill's voice was low, his face dark. Dipper winced slightly, hating the implications the flower held. "Give it to me," Bill instructed, adding on with a strained tone, "please." The brunet stood, handing the rose to the chaos god. Bill barely had time to look it over before the flower was engulfed in pink flames, petals blackening and wilting before crumbling to ash in his hands. Bill's eyes flashed with intense emotion that Dipper was too scared to decipher. The dream demon clenched his fist around the ashes, jaw stiff, veins in his neck protruding.

"Bill..." Dipper spoke softly, resisting the urge to take a step back from the anger rolling off of the demon in waves. Meanwhile, the older Pines had managed to get the car back onto the road and decided to come over and see what had been found.

"Is everything alright over here?" Ford wondered, brow furrowed at the expression on Bill's face. He subconsciously stepped closer to his great-nephew, unable to help the mistrust that rose inside him.

"We need to get back to the Mystery Shack. Now," Bill announced. Stan and Ford exchanged a suspicious look.

"Don't tell me the all-powerful Bill Cipher is getting scared off by a tree falling in a forest," Ford antagonized with a frown. The dream demon's knuckles were turning white from clenching the ash in his hand, and he turned to address the scientist with a forcefully calm expression.

"Stanford, so help me," he hissed through clenched teeth, "I'm trying really hard right now..." Stanley put a hand on Ford's shoulder for a moment, then the two of them nodded and returned to the car.

"Bill," Dipper began as the car engine started up, "we can't go back yet. We still haven't found out where they're keeping Mabel!" The dream demon closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

"Dipper, love, please... just trust me. Get in the car," he instructed softly. The brunet shook his head, face screwing up with desperation.

"But we can't! I'm not leaving until we've found my sister!" he declared.

"We'll find her, Dipper, I promised you, didn't I?"

"I don't care what you promised me, Cipher, I want my sister back!" Dipper spat. Bill's eyes opened with a fearsome light burning within them.

"Mason Pines, get in the fucking car. Right now. Or I promise you I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to the Shack myself! We'll get you your sister back, just not right now!" he snarled. Dipper's indignation and anger flared up in a maelstrom within him, but as soon as it came, it vanished and he was left with a cold feeling in his chest.

"Right," he spoke icily, "'cause you've kept all your other promises up to this point..." Bill winced, his anger fading. He reached out to the teen, wanting to apologize, but Dipper stepped away from him, shaking his head as he turned and walked to the car. Bill groaned miserably at himself, opening his hand and looking at the ash staining his palm. He wiped it away irritably, turning from the tree and walking to the car with his head low. He wanted to explain himself, apologize for his words and anger. He wanted to reach over to the brunet sitting next to him in the back seat and hug him, wanted to kiss away the pain from his words... But Dipper was sitting as close to the window as possible, staring out of the glass with a clenched jaw, refusing to look at the dream demon. So Bill simply sat there, watching his hands in his lap as Ford lead the hasty retreat to the Mystery Shack.

Way to go, Cipher... he thought to himself miserably. You've managed to fuck everything up again...

WDRI QL YAUQBM QN NOJDPMO NOI OQMOL ABG NOI WDTL

A/N: I actually wrote this right after I posted the last chapter, but to avoid going months without updates, I've decided to write a few chapters when I have time, then post them spaced out. That way it's more consistent than me posting three chapters at once, then not posting again for months XD

In any case, let me know what you think of the chapter! I know not a lot happened, but... still XD Gotta get some stuff set up as we approach the last stretch of the series! I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll howl to you later!