Come on in,
We Haven't slept for weeks,
Drink some of this,
It'll put color in your cheeks

-Color in your Cheeks by The Mountain Goats

Feeling the rush of caffeine and sugar through her veins and arteries, Mabel made the final decision to see about Pacifica with her own eyes and lend her own help. She knew that later tonight she would be attending the Gala at the Northwest Manor, but some early recon couldn't hurt, well, couldn't hurt as long as she wasn't caught.

Dipper was probably still asleep, seeing it was only 8 in the morning, but Pacifica was a morning person, so she would be awake and ready to go when Mabel got to her house. And since Dipper was still asleep, taking his car wouldn't be a problem and wouldn't have to be negotiated. She snuck out the back way, avoiding the gift shop the old geezers would be first to go to besides the kitchen in the morning. She grabbed Dippers spare key from her purse, he had given it to her only after having her sign a formal document and paperwork, and was on her way.

Mabel guess-timated about where on the side of the manor that Dipper normally hid his car when she got there, and covered it with some brush.

Fortunately, long, long ago, she wasn't silly enough to choose a hat over a weapon, so instead of having to climb the wall by hand, up went her grappling hook and down it went grabbing on to the otherside. She scaled the wall and was up and over in time at all. On the top of the wall however, a bit of Paz's window was visible, and she could see Paz in her room pacing.

Rather than risking broken glass, Mabel went up the side of the house by hand and sat on the window sill once reaching the top. She gave a light knock and Pacifica turned, paler in the face than Mabel had ever seen her.

Pacifica rushed over to let Mabel in, Put a finger over her lips to shush the inevitable hello Mabel was likely to give loudly and began to press Mabel to the floor and direct her to under her bed.

"Paz, this is super weird, like way super weird…" was all she was able to whisper out before Pacifica shushed her again and crawled out from under the bed. Mabel could hear footsteps coming through the vibrations on the floor. One, Two, no, Four individuals were coming down the hallway. She could see Pacifica's heeled feet through the sheets that hung over the bottom of the bed, and she saw a piece of paper being dropped by said feet and kicked under the bed.

Mabel opened up the scrap of paper, which turned out to be a full letter and read it in her head.

"Mabel,

I knew either your brother or you would come today before the Gala to do some recon, so I prepared letters, one for each of you, so as to elaborate some points without incriminating myself in front of my parents. I'm sorry you have to be under the bed, it's just the only place without any bugging devices.

My parents know they're in trouble, and they know they have a mole that's been sending out there illegal handiwork online for the masses to see. What they suspected at first was that it was the more favored butlers, so all the staff is new, because the old staff was either fired or "taking a long vacation". In this I have lost my allies in my own home and cannot reach the outside world more than my parents will allow me. They are now considering me to be the mole however, and though these suspicions are right, I cannot have them know for sure and take action on it until tonight's event.

The code to the security room is scratched into the wall beneath my bed, you must read it and memorize it, and it will prove helpful. Also, on the underside of the bed itself, between the mattress and the metal that hold the bed is a letter for Dipper, please do not read it and please only give it to him if something happens to me. If this all goes swimmingly, I will ask it to be returned at the end of tonight.

My parents are sinking in a ship of their own lies into a sea of their own created torture and I will gladly push them to their doom. The last few months have been unbearable. The only moments of happiness I had were when I would get calls from you and Dip that my parents would allow me to answer. So to the end they must go, for I'm not a Pavlov experiment and I will control my own fate.

Also, at some point I fell in love with Dipper and I swear to god Mabel if I hear you squeal about this you will be punished. I got to kiss him even, under the stars and without any worries. It scares me how much I like him. I will talk to you about this after tonight and we will have a sleepover while my prisons spend the night in the county jail. Tell him this for me if anything goes wrong, because he needs to know that I really, truly do love him and have for a while. The stupid dork took my first kisses too, not that I mind but, that it's a testament to how I feel.

Mabel, you have been kinder to me than any before. You live like sunshine and I love you as my dearest sister, and will remember you always… I'm getting too sentimental. You mean a lot to me. Don't screw up tonight. We will be as rich as kings and those who deserve nothing, shall rot.

Meet me with Dipper after you've gotten into the security tower and can locate the safe, there will be two decoys. The real safe will have the most green around it, whether it be plants or paint color or velvet.

I will be watched tonight but make sure you look for my hand gestures; I will be sending messages through Morse.

Do not trust the weight staff and avoid all with blue ties.

With the best of intentions, and love and sincerity,

Your "Paz"."

Mabel finished reading the letter, pink in the face at being called her sister and the fact that she really loved Dipper. Mabel was determined however, she grabbed the letter Pacifica described as being under the mattress and stuck it into her purse. She pulled a pen out and wrote the code to the security onto her own letter's paper, and evened her breathing. The marching footsteps that had gone down the hall were now turning and coming towards Pacifica's door.

In a risk mood, Mabel ran out from under Pacifica's bed and jumped out the window. Her grappling hook had been in hand and she caught the wall before plummeting to her doom.

Pacifica rushed over to the window to ensure that her friend wasn't dead and when she saw it as such, closed the window. As she clicked it shut, there was a knock at the door. Pacifica sighed.

Mabel rushed over the wall and was driving at speed away from the manor. She wasn't seen, but she made sure she wasn't followed before returning to the shack. Rather than being greeted with two grumpy old men like she expected, she met ambulances racing out of the woodland area and only her Grandpa on the steps.

She ran out of the car. They never called for outside help; something has to be horribly wrong for them to call for medical personnel.

"Gramps! Gramps! What's wrong!? Who's hurt!?" She hoped he would say it was just a customer, but feared it would be otherwise. Where was Dipper? Where was Grunkle?

"Mabel, did you go through the gift shop this morning when you snuck out?" This was all her grandpa said to her. His voice was even, but it was soft and it was obvious he was in pain.

"No, I went through the back? What does that have to do with anything? Why? Are you punishing me for sneaking out instead of telling me who's hurt?!" Mabel, though generally understanding and rarely angry, was almost screaming at the senior in her passionate disposition.

"Mabel, Stan and I found Dipper lying asleep on the floor of the gift shop this morning. We tried to wake him up. But after hours of trying, screaming, water, we slapped him, stuck the goat on him, everything. He wouldn't come too."

She was silent now.

Bill Cipher was screaming at the present moment though. Pine tree never knew when to give up, and with so many weaknesses, he was just so easy to exploit.

"My goodness Pine Tree! I always saw the signs between you and Llama but I hoped that this reality wouldn't be the one with THAT ending! What a shame! But hey, I only have to show you her dead once and you'll be screaming into the night for months! Check it out!"

Suddenly the grey dreamscape that was surrounding Dipper turned red and blonde bodies were hung everywhere, in piles on the floor, blood seeming to pour from the celling that didn't exist. There was a scratching noise from behind him, then a crying noise to his left. It all sounded and looked like Pacifica to every extensive detail.

Dipper immediately wished it away, though her face was imprinted in his mind. He was thankful that in the dreamscape he still had some amount of control.

Instead Dipper focused on setting up defenses away from Bill. The triangle was hunting him down, wasting his time and never really getting to the point of his arguments.

"Bill, tell me why you're doing this! Tell me now!" Dipper screamed out into the back to grey world.

A copy of Pacifica's head rolled next to Dipper's right foot, blood pooling around it once it rested in a spot in front of him. Dipper quickly dismissed it in his mind and it was gone. He needed to find a door out of this place soon.

A week or so ago, Dipper was able to enchant his watch to keep the real world time on it no matter what plane of existence he landed in. By doing this he was able to tell that Bill was just trying to waste his time now, considering he took him to this place at around 1 and it was now around 9 in the morning. Meetings with the daemon were normally concise and to the point, this was not a meeting.

"I might do just that Pines, for a deal! Bwahaha I know how you hate those! You and the Book! Always so untrusting of me, come on; take my word for it kiddo! What's the worst that could happen!?"

Dipper had had enough, beyond enough, he was angrier than he'd ever been in his life, which was saying something. Dipper was counting off curse after curse and setting up enchantments on everything he could. It helped to solidify the battle ground. Next, he did what he had only practiced, and casted the invisibility spell on himself.

It felt like having his skin ripped off but seeing the demon's eye open and suddenly get very angry was all the while worth it he supposed.

"Now Pine Tree, this is no time for tricks. Why don't we just sit down and have a nice conversation. WHO TAUGHT YOU THIS? I never allowed author boy to get this far, how have you learned this?!" Bill was tense and screamed most of this at Dipper. Dipper was pleased with this though, now having a sort of relief from the triangle and being able to catch his breathe.

The grey room that had been filled with grotesque horrors one after another was now changed into that of a business office. There was a large desk in the center of the room, it was made of a dark wood and burned into the top of it was the image of Bill and some latin, which if Dipper was closer, he would be able to read. Two large leather chairs were on either side of the large desk, though the one had yellow lining its edges. Bill went and sat in the chair and seemed to clear his throat.

"Pine Tree, I'd like to propose and exchange. Not a deal. An exchange."

Dipper didn't move.

"Pine tree. You will come out. This will affect both Shooting Star and your beloved Llama. And if you don't stop acting like the scared little boy you are, I will leave you here and you will never return. And those two, and many more would suffer because of this." Bill seemed like he wanted to sound level in tone, but the dark promises behind his statements led Dipper to a decision.

He canceled his invisibility spell and walked to sit in the chair across from the daemon.

"Bill. You've been wasting my time. You don't give free information, so as much as I'd love to know who's made a deal with you to keep me here, I will not ask or demand terms for. Instead, I want to leave."

"Wow you've wizened up on me huh kiddo? Okay then. I need you here for another hour so as to keep my deal and still get my favor from… But I will let you go ASAP pines. In exchange I'm going to ask you do something tonight. When you're in the Northwest manor, which you will be, I need you to open a kitchen window. That's it."

"… A kitchen window. That's all I have to comply with? Put it in writing."

"See Pines, I won't be hands on for anything in this so writing doesn't play a part. I won't even shake on this! This is you doing for me because I'm doing for you! Like old fishing buddies! Only there's a lot less dead animals in our wake!"

"Bill please don't be so gross, like we would ever be friends. I want some explanation though, why the sudden 'exchange', why not just lock me into a deal?"

"Because if I made it a deal, you'd never accept my terms. That and you were supposed to be part of the craziness that went on in that house, the fact that I'm keeping you here right now is putting dents in the plan. I'm even going to have to talk to that sister of yours just to make sure things run smoothly."

"So you know our plans to take down the Northwest's, I thought they were your allies? Did they cut out of a deal or something?"

"Very clever little tree, yes you could say it was something like that…But now ive got to be gone! I'll make sure a door appears out of here in thirty minutes for you to escape. Once you do, a suit will be waiting for you in the real world. Check the left pocket. And remember! The universe is a lie! Bury your gold! Never trust the cute! BYE!"

And then Bill seemed to flash out of the existence and Dipper knew he would be rushing to Mabel. If only they really did have a twin speak or telepathy. Though Dipper wasn't entirely sure what would happen once the two conversed.

Dipper was really unsure how everything was going to play out tonight. He had thought it was just some teenagers going against abusive parents now, knowing that Bill was going to try and assist them in some way, he wasn't entirely sure that this didn't have a bigger meaning for the future. Higher powers than he knew must be in the working if Bill is going to bother to band everyone together.

Dipper had sort of figured in his mind that it was the Northwest's that were behind him being kept here because of two things Bill had said. He said they crossed him in a deal and that he wanted the, essentially, taking off the charts. Because he was here when Bill said that he was never supposed to be and that a deal was being perjured made Dipper think maybe the two were connected.

Dipper imagined up some Pitt cola to drink and a couple chips to snack on. The rest of today would probably suck, even if he only had to open a kitchen window for Bill. He had already figured that out though. He would open it, and they close it right back. Sure it was dangerous to make this move with Bill already so pissed but the deal was never to keep it open. He should have said it if he wanted it. Plus Dipper was thinking that it was just to keep him out of the way for a little bit of time.

Soon enough a door appeared, it looked like a hospital door.

And apparently it had been because Dipper woke up in the hospital, Mabel sitting next to the bed he was in and a suit hanging in the corner of the room. Mabel had a sour look on her face, but upon seeing Dipper wake up, she smiled gratefully.

"Dip Dop! You're up!"

"Hey Mabes. Did Bill stop by here then?"

"Yeah the ever annoying equilateral was here. Said something about you opening a kitchen window, me keeping it open and in exchange you would wake up and we wouldn't be killed tonight. No deals apparently but he gave his word.

"…it must be crazy serious stuff if he thinks we could die without him. I knew from Pacifica that big things would be happening but I never thought Bill would back us."

"You heard from Paz?" Bill was too much for Dipper to think about any more, and if Mabel spoke to pacifica then they would know more about what they had to do.

"Yeah I did. I have a letter from her that you can't read unless something goes sideways and I got a letter of information. She's done some recon so we have the passcode to the security and maybe the vault I don't remember which she said it would work for."

"Are we look out then? How is she going to tell us what to do if she's under watch by her parents all evening?"

"She's going to use Morse. I figure what'll be best is if we have one field operative and one person in the security room. I've got those old spy earbuds so we could talk and hear one another."

"Field operative? We really will be spies, wow, but okay that makes sense. One gets the message and the other acts it out. Do you want to flip a coin, or do you want to do rock-paper-scissors like normal?"

"Nah Dippingsauce, you're going into battle to save your princess. I'll be your magical guidance fairy from afar."

"Princess is fitting from her, but I'm pretty sure I'm the troll of the fantasy realm. And really, a fairy?"

"You look too much like Mr. Tumnus for that to be true. And yeah! I'll be really good at it like you know, HEY LISTEN! And all that jazz!"

"That's a really weird comparison, but whatever; yeah I'll go around the ball room… Did Paz say anything else?"

"Not much more, just that she loved you and such…" She trailed off this statement to smile and grin at the very red brother of hers.

"Yeah I knew saying that would put color in your cheeks you dork!" She was so happy with the turn in their relationship, though she knew it would happen after Pacifica explained her crush on Dipper to her a summer or two ago. What cutie pies.

Dipper decided that was enough and crawled out of the hospital bed. He didn't rip out his IV but made sure to remove it with care; Mabel was behind him and offered him a blue band aid to put in the little hole in his arm. He did so and made his way over to the suit, checking the left coat pocket he pulled out a sheet of paper.

It was a photograph of him and Pacifica as twelve year olds smashing mud into her parent's carpet. It was scary that Bill would have this, even though he was all seeing. It had been such an important moment for the two so long ago. On the backside was the following message.

"Only it won't be mud this time."

And Dipper knew with one last look at Mabel, who had seen the image and its message over his shoulder that tonight would be war.

AN: Hey Guys! I'm not really done with this story but I've used up the stanza I was drawing inspiration from. Therefore I might be changing songs, not that you will particularly care, but just to keep you in the know!

I hope you guys are enjoying the story, I'm really living for reviews, so please send me something I could maybe revise or maybe some ideas you might have for the story! Sorry it's taken me so long to update!

Also, I suck at writing Mabel and writing Bill, I know I do, so please send me some suggestions as to how I could maybe fix them up!
One battle on its way soon!