By the time Gremloblin made it to the rest of shack, the tourists retreated in a fit of terrified screams. As for the Cipher brothers, they hid themselves in the hallway, dragging an unconscious Wendy along with them.

"What do we do?" Will asked, staring at the monster as it sniffed around the counter. "I can't see Dipper or Mabel anywhere."

"Hold on for a second," Bill told him, pulling out the third journal. "OK, it says here that if the Gremloblin looks directly into your eyes, you'll see your worse nightmare."

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm already living in a nightmare," The blue haired boy remarked. "Is there anything else?"

Bill examined the pages carefully. "When fighting a Gremloblin, use water..."

"Got it!" Will yelled, running out of the hiding spot.

Bill turned the page. "But only as a last resort, as water makes it much much scarier!" He read, before yelling. "WILL, DON'T!"

But by then, Will already splashed a cup of water on the monster. As result, the Gremloblin hissed, before spikes sprouted from it's back.

Seriously, who writes sentences like that!?, Bill thought.

Will uttered a gasp, when the Gremloblin grabbed him with it's huge hand. Bill rushed forward, on the same time when the monster lifted Will up to it's face.

"Will, don't look into it's evil eyes!" Bill yelled.

"What?" Will called back, too terrified to hear the warning. By the time he remembered, he was already looking into a pair of demonic glowing eyes.

Bill yelled in dismay, when Will stilled, and his eyes glowed a pale colour. But, just when all seemed lost, the blond heard a familiar voice at the entrance.

"Hey, ugly!"

The Gremloblin perked his ears, and turned, only to look directly into a large mirror. The ones holding the mirror, were the Pine twins.

"It's time you faced your nightmare!" Mabel yelled, as the monster stared at his reflection.

The creature trembled on the spot. "I've become my father..." It growled. It then cried in agony, releasing Will, before retreating out of the shack.

The Pine twins leaped aside, as the Gremloblin escaped, smashing a huge hole in the wall. After it left, Bill shook his brother's shoulders.

"Will, are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Will sighed, in return. "Mostly."

Bill helped him to his feet, while Mabel and Dipper did the same with Wendy, whom had finally regained consciousness. The redhead stumbled dizzyingly, before finally regaining her composure.

"Sorry about that, guys," She told the brothers.

Bill sighed. "It's fine. But, we need to work twice as hard now."

"Are you kidding me?" Dipper remarked. "You know how many creepy catcalls I got in the past hour? I'm taking a break."

"Me too," Mabel agreed. "After all that, I really need one."

The two were about to leave, but Bill blocked their path. "You can't take a break!"

"And why not?" Mabel asked.

Bill hesitated, then glanced at Will. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "Because, I...I need you guys," Bill said, softly.

The three Guardians stared at him, and the blond continued. "I'm sorry for giving you a hard time, and I really do appreciate your help. So, can you help me...please?"

Dipper smiled softly. "Of course," He said. "But, I'm not wearing this wolf outfit."

"Are you sure?" Bill smiled. "Because, your looks are kinda a reliable moneymaker--"

"I am burning it as soon as this is done."

"Nooooo, my hard work!" Mabel complained.

"I guess the world is yet to understand your confusing fashion sense, Mabel," Wendy said. "C'mon, let's clean this place up."

Mabel nodded reluctantly, and helped the redhead out. Dipper did the same, leaving the Cipher twins to look at each other.

"I'm sorry, for being a dictator," Bill said, sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, for keeping things behind your back," Will responded.

Even though it was a short apology on both parts, both were more than genuine about it. With nothing else to say, they mimicked their friends, and helped fix the shack.

❇❇❇

Despite the building being a total wreck, they managed to score a few customers. Bill even considered Mabel's glitter canon idea, which was a huge hit, and resulted in a few of them attempting to wash the sparkles out of their hair. By the time all the customers left, the group gathered together to count their profits.

"OK, minus the money to repair the shack, we're left with..." Bill deflated, when he saw inside the jar. "One dollar."

"Aw, man," Will said.

"Yep, bad for you two, but good for me."

The group turned, seeing Stan Pines standing by the entrance. Bill frowned at the jar in his hands.

"I guess, you win," Bill sighed.

Bill's eyes widened, when a warm hand ruffled his hair. He looked up, seeing Stan smiling gently at him.

"You tried your best," The old man said. "I observed you from afar, and I can say I'm impressed. You two are courageous, even for a couple of mortals."

"Thanks, I guess," Bill replied, awkwardly.

"And don't worry, I'm not gonna live here," Stan reassured. "I'll be opening shop on weekends, and I hope to see my employees bright eyed and bushy tailed. And on the plus side, you'll be seeing more of my ugly mug."

"What a joy," Bill groaned.

"I guess, I have to quit my job at the diner," Will said. "What a shame..."

Bill glared at him. "Stop lying, you couldn't be anymore relieved to stop working at that dump."

"Yeah..."

Suddenly, Mabel grinned widely. "Grunkle Stan, didn't you say that Bill has to do some kind of special dance?"

Bill's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah, I remember," Stan grinned back.

"Oh shoot," Bill said.

❇❇❇

A video camera was focused on Bill, who was in a sparkly jumpsuit.

Bill rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not gonna--"

"Do it!" Mabel called off screen.

Bill sighed, then started singing. "I'm Bill, and I was wrong. I singing the Bill Wrong Song! I shouldn't have taken that chance, now here's my remorseful dance..."

"Do the kick!" Mabel commanded, then Bill did some kicks. "Jazzier!"

"If I dance anymore, I might figuratively implode," Bill warned.

"Alright," Mabel sighed, putting down the camera.

"Finally," Bill said. "This jumpsuit is uncomfortable."

"Now, you know how that wolf outfit felt," Dipper remarked, wearing his regular uniform.

Mabel shrugged. "Well, it was mostly made out of real wolf hair."

"WHAT?"

Before Dipper could scold her, Mabel retreated back into the shack. "If anyone needs me, I'm gonna order pizza!"

"Oh, I can go for some pizza," Wendy agreed, following her inside with Will in tow.

"As long as someone else is paying!" Stan added, returning inside as while.

With Dipper and Bill left alone, Bill remembered their earlier conversation that was cut short.

"Pine Tree, before I was extremely ridiculed, you were about to say something about Red Pine's curse?"

Dipper swallowed softly, as though his throat turned dry. "The curse is impossible to break...unless the Demon who casted it is destroyed.

Bill's eyes widened in disbelief. "But, that's impossible! Kill can't die."

"But, he can," Dipper told him, seriously. "When you attacked him with that axe, he was the closest to death than he ever was, same goes for the time Will scarred him with that Dreamcatcher. The only ones who can spill his blood, are the ones that inhabit the blood of his kin."

"So, only his siblings can kill him?" Bill demanded. "And, you only decided to tell me this now!?"

"Because I knew you would do the stupid thing, and try to fight Kill on your own," Dipper snapped. "You are still a mortal, and don't you ever forget that."

Bill grinded his teeth together, refusing to admit that Dipper was right. Another question dawned on him.

"Does the same go for Jill?"

"Jill, Kill, and Will's past life could only be killed by a fellow Cipher," Dipper replied. "Your past life was a little different, and could only be killed by a Guardian's weapon. And Tad--"

"Who's Tad?"

"He's your eldest brother," He explained, a distant look in his eyes. "It's impossible to leave a scratch on him, let alone kill him."

"Where is he now?"

"He disappeared right after your death," Dipper said. "For that, I'm glad for, he's not someone I want as my enemy..."

Bill nodded, taking this in. For a moment, he wondered if he'll be able to actually dispose of Jill and Kill the next time he saw them. He really wanted to, but Dipper was correct, as long as he was in this feeble mortal body, he couldn't protect anyone. The thought made him angry... and slightly depressed.

"Thanks for the talk, Pine Tree," Bill said, heading towards the shack. "Let's make sure those weirdos didn't order anything gross. Like Hawaiian."

"Hey, Hawaiian pizza is great!"

"It is, if you don't have any taste buds."

Dipper nudged him playfully, and the two entered the shack, greeted by their friends at the other end.

❇❇❇

A few centuries ago...

Stan stared, fear rippling across his body like ice water penetrating his veins. All he could see was smoke, all he could hear were screams of adults and children alike. The place he once called home, was now a hellscape consumed by death and despair.

"Ford, I'm sorry..." He wept to himself. "I thought they were good...I thought it was right to--"

"Stan!"

Stan stiffened, when a hand clasped his shoulder. He turned around, seeing a familiar face. The eldest Cipher, Tad.

"Stan, listen to me," Tad told him.

The Guardian couldn't think, too consumed with rage towards any Demon he saw. With a yell of fury, he grabbed Tad by the throat, and pinned him against a cracked pillar. Tad's flesh sizzled under Stan's nearly flaming palm.

"How could you!?" Stan cried. "I trusted you!"

Tad looked at him calmly, unconcerned by the flaming hand grasped around his neck. "It wasn't me you trusted," He said, seriously. "Now, listen to me."

Stan felt like ending him right there, but he decided to hear what the purple eyed monster had to say.

"Take me to Bill," Tad said, slowly. "So, I can kill him."

Stan's eyes widened. "What--"

"It has to be me to kill him, alright!" The Demon snapped. "Either that, or I'll wait for him to be reborn...and then, I'll murder his new form right on the spot."

Stan could only stare at the rather sadistic man before him, but his attention was then drawn away. There was a rage filled scream in the distance, followed by a sound of a sword being stabbed into stone.

Stan recognized that yell. It was Dipper.

Stan woke up.

He looked around, sweat dripped down his brow. He recognized his bedroom, and eventually relaxed.

With that, he laid back down on his mattress. Stan stared at the ceiling, feeling rather unwell.

It's only a memory.

Even though he tried to reassure himself, there was no doubting...that moment will forever haunt him.