Card Tricks

Three of Diamonds

Mabel was talking animatedly with Wendy as they walked into the diner for a late breakfast. The diner was nearly packed, but thankfully there was a seat in the far back booth. Dipper quickly took the window seat while Mabel slid in next to him, though her full attention was on Wendy who took the other side, stretching her legs out across the plush seat. The moment they ordered their drinks, Mabel had already launched back into gaining Wendy's attention as she talked about their drive back to Gravity Falls. She apparently thought that Wendy needed to know in detail how at one of the restaurants they stopped at, the waitress accidently dumped hot tea in Dipper's lap. Thus explaining why he ordered coffee instead of tea because of his irrational fear of Lazy Susan doing the same. He didn't think it was so irrational with how many times it's nearly happened before.

Like them, Wendy also decided to spend her summer back in town with family. She still had a few semesters left of college, but she tried to keep her summers free still. Last year she wasn't lucky enough in doing so and ended up only being able to come down for a week. And only half of that week was spent with them.

The moment their drinks and plates were set down, Dipper wrapped his hands around the warm cup and took a deep drink of the bitter liquid. He only grimaced slightly.

"So how was the magic show last night?" Wendy asked before digging into her breakfast platter.

Dipper grumbled something rude while Mabel was quick to answer her. "It was amazing!" she gasped. "The magician. One word. Hot."

Rolling his eyes, Dipper focused on his breakfast as Mabel described last night's events to Wendy. Just the thought of Bill left a sour taste in his mouth, though that could be from the coffee. What the hell was with that demon last night? Why did he have a body? What was he planning? He'd think that Bill would have stopped with his plans by now or at least wait until Mabel and he were gone. That's what he would do. If he and Mabel weren't around to stop him, why not do it then? There were so many questions and no answers that seemed to fit.

"Dude, you're getting the crinkles."

Dipper's head shot up to see Wendy giving him an amused, but mildly worried look. "What?" he mumbled.

Wendy tapped the space between her eyebrows. "Crinkles. You get them every time you're over thinking something and you're definitely over thinking something," she answered.

"I'm not doing that," Dipper retorted as he shoveled his food into his mouth. He nearly spat it out the cold eggs went over his tongue.

At his look of disgust, Wendy chuckled. "You've been sitting silently for nearly ten minutes, Dipper. Classic sign of over thinking."

Forcing the food down his throat, he sat his fork down and sighed. He was over thinking. It was a surprise he even fell asleep last night.

"What's on your mind, dude?" Wendy asked, sipping at her drink.

"He's probably still thinking about Bill," Mabel commented before Dipper could answer.

"Dorito's on your mind?" Wendy teased.

Dipper flashed them both an obscene jester the moment no one was looking their way. The girls laughed as he glared at them. "I'm guessing Mabel told you all about last night, then," he grumbled. They had a discussion before meeting up with Wendy on if they should tell her or not, but they never got to a decision. It looked like his sister decided for them.

"Yep," Wendy said as she leaned back in her seat and started counting off on her fingers. "Told me everything from making Waddles appear, you being called up on stage, me on your card thing-"

"Wait it wasn't like that!" Dipper interrupted her, his face flaming red. This was one of the things he wanted omitted from Wendy knowing.

Wendy grinned, waving him off. "I know that, plus Mabel already cleared that up."

Dipper shot his twin a thankful smile. "Good, I don't want any misunderstandings."

"She also told me exactly who was on the card," her grin turned wolfish and Dipper shoved Mabel nearly out of the seat, who laughed as she clung to the table.

He crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. "I didn't know it was him! Okay?" he groaned. "I thought William was hot," he stated, begrudgingly. "Nothing more."

"Yeah, sure, broseph," Mabel snorted.

"I hate you," he grumbled as he stared out the window.

"What I still can't believe," Wendy started, gaining Mabel's attention before she could start a fight. "Is how you got saved by Grenda. Did she really carry you out of there?"

Did Mabel really tell her everything? "Yes, she carried me out," he groaned as he pressed himself against the window. "And she didn't save me."

"It would have been better bridal style, but it was nice seeing Dipper tossed over her shoulder," Mabel commented as if it were something normal to say. "Pretty sure her boyfriend will be super jealous if he found out, but it was for the greater good."

"She wouldn't have done it if you didn't send her after me…" God this was embarrassing.

"If I didn't send her, you would have stayed back there with Bill for I don't know how long!" his sister exclaimed.

"Wait, you were back there with Bill?!" Wendy gasped as she sat back up with her complete focus on Dipper.

Dipper bit back a curse, instead he nodded. "Yeah…"

"Grenda saved him from the darkness that is Bill Cipher without even a scratch on her," Mabel started, dramatically as she wiggled her fingers. "Carrying him as if he was a sack of po-ta-toes. The Mighty Grenda."

Wendy snorted, but turned her attention back on Dipper. "So what happened before your knight in shining armor saved you?"

"I decided to come back to Gravity Falls, which I'm seeing was a horrible mistake," Dipper deadpanned before snickering as Wendy tried horribly to hold back her laughter.

"Stop being a smart ass," she laughed.

Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back outside the diner. "Nothing really happened," he answered, not exactly lying. "He just kept asking the same question and…" he trailed off as a body of gold moved pass the window.

"Dipper?"

His eyes followed the golden form to see a pair of black clad legs and a top hat. He knew exactly who that was. Without thinking, he shot up out of his seat and jumped over his sister and into the lane. His hands, shaking with adrenaline, took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table. "Sorry, I…I got to go," he murmured before he dashed out of the diner.

Sprinting down the sidewalk in the same direction he saw Bill go, he searched for any sign of the demon. He looked into every building and between them until he caught sight of Bill turning out of the end of the alleyway. Nearly tripping over the trash littered ground, he raced to catch up with him. He skidded to a halt outside of the alley, letting his eyes dart over the people until he spotted a yellow form THREE blocks away.

"How did he even…" Grumbling in frustration, Dipper ran in that direction. He slipped through the town's people easily enough and was closing the gap when Bill turned down another street. His feet nearly tripped over themselves as he rounded the corner and ran smack dab into someone. The pair of them went crashing to the ground.

The concrete bit into his hands as he braced himself. Dipper groaned while he pushed himself off of the other as he looked at his now raw hand. "I'm sorry," he apologized just before seeing the familiar gold jacket. "Bill!"

The figure moaned in pain. "I'm not 'Bill'," a very not Bill voice came from the person.

"Wait, what?" He grabbed the person's shoulder and rolled them over to see a familiar face. "Seriously?" he sighed.

"Whaaaat?" Toby Determined whined as he fixed his glasses.

"Why…why are you dressed like the magician?" Dipper asked, astounded to see the older man in such a lavished suit and, no way. He looked down at the pants to see wood poking out of the bottom. Were those stilts?

"It's a hobby," the reporter dragged out. What kind of hobby?

Dipper shook his head and stood up. He couldn't believe he was so stupid! "Yeah, sorry," he apologized again and helped the man up. Mabel was going to laugh her ass off when he tells her. If he tells her. He's not telling her. "Have you seen the magician anywhere?" he sighed as he asked. He doubted the man knew, but he didn't have much to lose after chasing the wrong guy.

"If you're looking for William the Magnificent, he's just down the street," Toby commented as he pointed behind Dipper.

Following the finger, Dipper looked behind him to see Bill leaning against a walk. The demon gave them a small wave before turning around and walking off. Not even mentioning the weird name for the demon, he gave his thanks and started chasing after Bill again. This time he actually felt he was catching up, even with the quick turns the demon took, that was until he saw Bill slip into the back of some building.

He strode up to the rust colored door and slid it open, wincing at the metal grated against itself. Dim lights lit what looked like a storage room that was filled with stacked up boxes with random things spilling out of them. Dolls, books, toys, you name it. It looked a lot like the back of the stage. Taking a step back, Dipper looked down the street to see it was the back of the bookshop.

"Glad to see that you've finally shown up, Pine Tree."

Dipper's head shot back around to face a brightly grinning Bill just a few feet away. His golden jacket was draped over a short stack of boxes. The demon wore a gold, brick patterned vest under his overcoat that hugged to his thin form. "Cipher," he spoke with a glare as his eyes darted up to meet Bill's.

Bill gave a mock of a shiver as he floated back away from the other. "Oh, I just love it when you call me that." His grin widened as he looked over Dipper. His blue eye trailing up Dipper's form before locking eyes with him. "Why don't you come inside?"

Shrugging off the involuntary shiver, Dipper leaned against the opening of the door. "There's no way that I would let myself get trapped in a building with you." He knew from experience that going into a room with this demon meant being trapped until Mabel kicked down the door.

"Can't blame a demon for trying." The other shrugged as he sat on top of a stack of boxes. "Oh, Pine Tree, it's been too long."

"What do you want?" Dipper sighed. He wasn't in the mood to hear Bill ramble.

"Me? Want something?" Bill asked coyly as he played with the cane in his hands.

"Obviously," Dipper started. "There must be something. There always is."

"True, true," the demon conceded. "Well, I have been wanting to see you," Bill answered smoothly, grinning as color drew to Dipper's cheeks. "Though, I had to wait an awfully long time for you to get out of that human institution," he complained.

Dipper mouthed 'institution' as he tried to figure out what Bill was meaning. "You mean high school?"

Bill waved him off. "I know what I said."

Shaking his head, Dipper continued to question the demon. "Why are you even here? What was with that magic show? And why the body?" The questions spilled out of his mouth before he had a chance to stop himself.

"Oh, you like it?" Bill asked as he kicked his legs out, admiring the view. "I like it too. It looks a lot better than when I got it. It wasn't the freshest, if you get my meaning."

Nausea hit him at the thought of Bill taking over a rotten corpse.

"Which brings me to what I want." Bill jumped down from the boxes, not even making a sound as he landed. The grin had left his face as he stared at Dipper. "I need your help."