Just something I thought about when I was watching the preview to the episode "Weirdmageddon". This will be my version of how the story goes just after the end of "Dipper and Mabel Vs. the Future".

Disclaimer: Gravity Falls is not mine, the show belongs to Alex Hirsch. Otherwise there would have been a Christmas in July episode.

"Oh no," Dipper said wide-eyed in panic. He just realized that if Bill had tricked Mabel into giving him the rift, then that means he could have easily- "Mabel!"

Dipper rushes off to the forest in the direction he saw her go from the attic window earlier.

"Dipper," Ford tried to call out but the boy didn't listen. He groans and runs after him. "Dipper, wait!"

Adrenaline and fear was pumping unnaturally high within the young Pines' bloodstream. He has to find his sister. He had to find her before it was too late, if it wasn't already too late.

Dipper shook the thought out of his head. He couldn't think like that. Not at this moment. He had to keep holding onto hope that his sister is okay. He couldn't bear to live a life, apocalyptic or not, without his sister. Not matter what he thought about staying in Gravity Falls and training under Ford as his apprentice, to him Mabel was worth more than his own life.

Down a long path way, Bill was hovering over Mabel's motionless body with a thoughtful expression.

"HMM," the dream demon hummed in thought, "WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO WITH YOU." He said in a sing-song tone.

The triangle with the top hat suddenly had an idea and snapped his fingers, "OH, I KNOW!" he said like it was the most brilliant idea in the world. Bill makes what sounded like a whistling noise and down came a horned demon with blueish-black wings that contrasted with the rest of its light tanned, skinny frame.

"DO," said Bill, "AS YOU WISH. A PAWN THAT'S ALREADY DONE ITS JOB IS OF NO USE."

The demon bowed appreciatively and Bill was gone in a flash to assist the torment the rest of the screaming villagers in town. The demon trudges over to Mabel like its feet weighed a ton but the sadistic glee written all over its ugly face showed no trouble from that. It was trying to figure out what it wanted to do. It could sense how pure the child was and knew it would have so much fun with the human. First, it wanted to scare the flawless flesh.

Holding up a clawed hand it dug the pointy nail into Mabel's cheek and started dragging it down slowly. The blood oozed out easily in a thick red line.

It only got to the middle of her neck before heard a cry and a, "Stay away from my sister!"

The demon made a confused noise before looking where the voice came from only to be met with a kick in the face and knocked back from the force of Dipper's foot.

Dipper panted heavily from his run. He looks down at Mabel, most notably the bloody slash on her face. Dipper falls to his knees and holds her in his arms, lightly touching the watery blood that kept oozing out.

He averts his eyes up for a moment when he felt Ford zoom past him and Mabel and towards the demon that had hurt Mabel.

The demon tries to lunge itself at Ford but the scientist had easily subdued it. Ford took out a pocket knife, "Keep your filthy claws off my niece you dirty incubus!" and jams it into the demon's tanned neck. Demon blood spurts out of the wound as it lets out a deep, deep, throaty shriek.

Dipper gasps and quickly looks away at the violent action when he saw blood spurt out of the creature's neck. Looking down at Mabel's own blood coated cheek wasn't any better but at least he wasn't watching Ford taking action of murder. Demon or not, the man he looks up to attacking something out of pure rage is too scary him to even glance at. He's only twelve after all. Kids at this age aren't supposed to be in situations like this.

"Dipper!" The Pine's head shoots up when he hears his Grunkle Stan shouting to him.

Stan kneels down next to the twins, worried for his niece and nephew's safety. Another cry from the demon causes him to look up and see Ford fighting it off with holy water he took out of his trench coat. Stan squints when he thought that knife Ford was using to flick the holy water at the demon looked familiar.

"Wait a minute," he says checking his pockets, "when did he take my pocket knife?!"

Dipper didn't dare to look in either of his uncle's direction. His focus was solely on Mabel's health. Nervousness settled when he couldn't feel or hear his twin breathing. Dipper checked Mabel's pulse…but what he found had turned his own blood into ice.

Nothing. There wasn't a pulse to be felt. Mabel's heart wasn't beating and there was no breathing from her lungs.

"I had my pocket knife with me the entire-" Stan stops when he sees the shocked expression on Dipper's face. "What is it?"

Tears fell simultaneously from both of Dipper's glassy brown eyes, "She…she's…" he couldn't speak anymore. All of his emotions just poured out of him into loud sobs, hugging his lifeless twin closer to his person.

Dipper hadn't needed to continue for Stan to know what he meant, especially the bawling that followed shortly. Stan's heart felt like it was breaking in two. He holds on the girl's hand as the water works began. He joined his nephew in their grieving hugging him close with one arm to provide him some form of comfort.

Ford stabbed the demon multiple times in the chest until there was a clear opening of the black heart within and pours a small percentage of holy water into it. The demon screamed Bloody Mary as it writhed in pain and agony from the untainted liquid purifying and spreading on his insides, literally killing it inside-out.

Ford gets off of the disgusting creature with detest evident on his features watching as it died right in front of his eyes. The Author felt no regret for it. Mabel doesn't deserve a death at the hands of that thing. Mabel didn't deserve death at all. Someone like her deserves to live a long happy life. Only problem is unless they could fight off Bill's demon army she won't be able to live for long.

Sighing, Ford stuffs his hand in the pocket that held the flying saucer key ring pulls it out and grips it tightly for comfort.

The scientist felt pity and anxiety when he heard Dipper cry loudly. Turning around, he sees his brother and nephew hunched over Mabel's body that was in Dipper's arms who was in a one armed hug by Stanley.

Ford's heart had dropped into his stomach. 'No,' he thought miserably to himself. He slowly made his way over to the other males Pines in his family, a family that was now one member short.

Stanford drops to his knees just beside the mourning ones and takes a hold of Mabel's hand that wasn't held by his brother.

The warm droplets of water fell from his eyes as he clenches the key ring in his left hand to the point where the tissue was starting to break in his palm. He remembers the day Mabel had given it to him.

Flashback Initiated

It was the day after Ford had come out of the portal and help drive away the government agents from the shack. Mabel was very appreciative about Ford protecting them and decided to present him a small but useful gift.

Ford blinked, a little caught off guard at the present Mabel dangled in front of his face.

"I saw you had some compartments with locks on them when we were in the basement," she explains, "so I thought, 'Hey, he's gonna need a ring to keep those keys on for his research. And why not one that totally fits with it.' They were mine but you can have them. I can just take another one from the gift shop." Mabel holds up her hand to the side of her face and whispers, "Just don't tell Grunkle Stan I didn't pay for it."

Ford chuckles. He takes the UFO keyring from Mabel's hand. "Thank you very much Mabel," Ford smiles warmly at her, "that's very considerate of you, thank you."

"Awe, don't mention," Mabel says and hugs her uncle around the waist.

Ford stiffens before letting loose of his war front and hugs his niece back with love he hadn't felt in over thirty years.

Flashback Terminated

Ford sniffles and hiccups at the memory, his fist closing tighter on the keyring; the only evidence of their existing bond. He wished he had spent more time with her. She was a good person, and he wished that he wasn't such a meathead to get too involved with his work without savoring the moments he had with his family, even when he knew the end was near.

Suddenly, a foot had collided with his jaw, unhinging it as it sent him back a few feet. A shocked Ford puts his jaw bone back into place before looking up into Stan's murderous and sorrowful eyes.

"This is all your fault!" Stan yells, shocking Ford to a certain degree.

"My fault," Ford's voice was small at first before it got louder with anger, "you think...this is my fault? You're the one who caused this!"

"Oh yeah," Stan said mockingly, "I'm the one who caused the apocalypse. Well guess what, I'm not the one who caused Dipper to break Mabel's heart sending her to her doom!"

Dipper held on tighter to Mabel when the verbal fight broke out. His heart pounded with so many negative emotions running throughout his being and his mind. He was frightened, angry and depressed. His uneven breathing was proof of his unraveling sanity that threatened to break with every second that passed by. The pressure on his young mind from his great uncles' bickering wasn't doing any wonders for it either.

Mabel was right, he thought. They had turned stupid like they promised they wouldn't a month ago. They had become just like their uncles but at a much faster pace. And now Mabel was gone. His twin sister was never going to come back because the time she needed him, her best friend, the most to support her already fragile mental state he only made things worse by considering the thought of leaving her behind. Why did he even think about it?

"Stop!" Dipper yells at his uncles with tears running down his face. "Stop it you two! You're twins, you're twin brothers! Why are you fighting? Stop fighting!"

"YES, WHY ARE YOU TWO FIGHTING?" Bill's voice said from out of nowhere, then the dream demon appears before them tsk-ing at the older set of twins. "YOU'RE UPSETTING LITTLE PINE TREE OVER HERE."

"What do you want Bill," Ford demands, "you already got the Rift and sent the beings from your Nightmare Realm upon the world. What more do you want from us!?" Ford was angry about losing Mabel and he wasn't going to let Bill take away Stanley or Dipper.

"OH NOTHING," Bill said nonchalantly, "JUST THOUGHT THAT SINCE YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE THAT YOU MIGHT AS WELL KNOW THE TRUTH."

"Wh-w-what t-truth?" Dipper tried his best to glare at the demon through his blurry vision.

"What are you talking about," Stan gave Bill a death glare to make up for Dipper's weak one.

"THAT IT WAS ALL ME," Bill said.

Ford pinches the bridge of his nose, "Yes, we got that, we're not blind."

"NO, I MEANT EVERYTHING," Bill put much emphasis on 'everything', "FROM YOUR LIFE LONG OBSESSION FOR THE PARANORMAL TO THAT DREAM YOUR BROTHER HAD OF TWO BRIGHTLY COLORED MEN A COUPLE MONTHS BACK."

"News flash," Stan was starting to get irritated with the demon, "Mabel was responsible for that, not you."

Dipper had to raise an eyebrow at that one. How could Stan have known that? Dipper was the only one who actually interacted with Stan in his mindscape but that was just a memory. He wasn't even the real Stan, was he?

Ford was trying to figure out what Bill had meant about his passion for the paranormal. The reason why he took interest in anomalies is because of his six-fingered hands. What could Bill mean that he was the cause of it?

Ford looks down at his hands and concentrated on putting the puzzle pieces together. It took him a moment for it to click and his eyes widened in horror.

"THAT'S RIIIIIIGHT," Bill glances down at Ford wickedly, "I'M THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU THE EXTRA FINGER TO BOOST YOUR FAVOR OF ALL THINGS STRANGE. FACE IT STANFORD, YOU WERE NEVER IN CONTROL OF YOUR OWN LIFE, I WAS. THIS WHOLE TIME YOU WERE MY PAWN FROM BIRTH TO PRESENT! NOW, ISN'T THAT JUST DANDY?"

The scientist's world came crashing down. Just stared down at the extra fingers on both of this hands, now looking at them in a light he'd never dream of seeing them in. He felt so used, his heart, his very being, felt completely empty and void like his life had never meant anything.

But if he was never in control of paths he took throughout his life...did that mean...

"YES IT DOES, POINDEXTER," Bill lowers closer to the ground in front of Ford, Stanley instinctively stood in front of his brother for any needed protection, "I WAS THE ONE WHO BROKE YOUR STUPID SCIENCE PROJECT."

Shock had quickly turned to rage when Stanley started yelling, "Why you son of a-" Bill had pulled out an air-horn to censor out Stan's swear, "you'll (HONK!)-ng pay for this! I (HONG!)-ng swear you-" Bill kept his finger pressed on button until the end of the sentence.

"OH, I THINK YOU'VE SWORE ENOUGH," Bill laughs, he tosses the horn backwards disappearing before it landed in some random spot. "NOW THAT THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG AND HAS PLAYED WITH HIS SCRATCHING POST, I BETTER GET GOING. YOU KNOW, HUMANS TO TERRORIZE, A WORLD TO CONQUER..."

"Wait," Stan calls out to the demon and Bill just looks at him expectantly, "bring Mabel's soul back," he swallows thickly, "in exchange for mine."

"Grunkle Stan," Dipper calls out desperately.

"Stan, are you out of your-" Ford had tried to reach for his brother but Bill had put up a force field in the small space between the twins. He gasps. Bill was considering the offer. "Stanley, please don't do this!" he pounded on the force field, "Bill's a liar! He'll kill you without holding his end of the bargain. Please don't make the deal! We already lost Mabel I don't want to lose you too!"

Stan stops dead in his tracks. Ford thought that Stan had changed his mind when he turns around and walks back to him. But what little hope he had with him died at the sight of his brother's expression. It was one that said, "I'm doing this, with or without your consent."

Ford shook his head with much sorrow written on his face. It took most of Ford's will power to keep in his sobs. His face showed everything he was feeling at the moment and the main was fear and sadness.

Stan placed his hand right where Ford's was on the orange, transparent wall tilting his hand slightly so it looked like his five fingers were in between Ford's six's. Stanley looked into his brother's eyes with very much meaning and love he held for him, "It was all for you. It's always been for you, and it will always be for you." His hand slowly slipped away from the other hand and then Stan strode back over to Bill.

"Stanley, no!"

"Grunkle Stan, please don't go!" Ford and Dipper's attempts to reach Stan had minimum affect on the situation as the conman was about to seal his fate, literally.

Bill looks down at the human. If the triangle demon had a face he would be smirking right now. Stanford is going to break for sure with what he's about to do next.

"WELL FEZ," started the demonic triangle, "READY TO FACE YOUR TIMELY DEMISE?" Bill holds his blue flamed hand out to Stan who just stared at it for a moment.

"When you bring her back," he says, "leave her there. No plot twists, no tricks. Just take my life for Mabel's. She stays alive until Dipper dies."

"YES, YES," Bill said getting impatient, "NOW DO WE HAVE A DEAL OR NOT?"

Stan nods slowly, moving his hand towards Bill's only hesitating for a second when he heard the desperate plea within Ford's voice when his twin called for him. His hand was engulfed in blue flames and half-cringed at how hot it felt and the sting it left on his skin.

"GOOD CHOICE FEZ," Bill praises, "AT LEAST, TO ME IT IS."

"Huh," Stan says before the flame from Bill's hand began inching up his arm and spreads to the rest of his body. A screamed ripped from his throat as he felt a burning sensation within every fiber of his being covering his entire body like a blanket of fiery torment. However, instead of burning his flesh it made him feel extremely weak. It got under his skin, feeling it tug out his spirit. The blue fire was singing his soul right out of his body, yet his suit remained untainted. Stanley falls to the ground writhing and squirming in agony. Gripping at the grass in an attempt to find something to hold on to as he endured the pain for the sake of his family.

Ford was forced to watch the scene, aghast that his brother's soul was going to burn out. He pounded harder on the force field but to no avail. More tears ran down his face as he screamed for his brother. He fell to the ground, wanting to look away from his dying twin but somehow couldn't. Ford leans against the force field and does manage to close his eyes even for just a couple of seconds. He could feel the metaphorical hands on his heart twisting and splitting it open painfully at having to listen to Stan's cries and shouts from the fire eating away at him, creating a weight of despair that filled his entire body making it feel like it was made out of lead. His own cries were kept inside his throat, choking him from the immense tightness. Stanford didn't look when he heard Mabel's voice calling out for him and Stan.

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel screamed and tried to pry herself out of Dipper's grip but her twin refuses to let her go.

"No, Mabel," Dipper's voice cracked, "there-there's nothing we can do."

"There has to be," Mabel wiggled and almost succeeded had Dipper not landed on top of her. He hugged her to keep her restrained but also to hold her as close as he could to keep his sanity in check, to remind himself that his sister was still alive and not dead like their uncle was. "There's gotta be a wa-a-ay." Mabel started to bawl with her face in the dirt. Letting his head fall on Mabel's back, Dipper cried with her. It was hopeless.

Ford didn't respond much not even when the force field was gone. The scientist's body had been limp and fell to the ground as iF he were the one to have been killed by Bill. Bill just hovered over Ford with a mocked concern. "AWWWE, IS SOMEBODY ALL BROKEN UP INSIDE?"

No response.

"WELL, I'VE HAD MY PLEASURE FILL. WALLOW IN PITY MY PAWNS!" and with that the dream demon was gone. "I SHALL RETURN!"

Ford shakily stood on all fours. Everything was heavy. The older twin of the elder generation didn't know how much effort he used to slowly crawl towards Stan's motionless body, but he found it a miracle that he even had enough energy to do so. Ford slid his arms underneath Stan's back and pulls him close as he leans against the trunk of a tree with the empty vessel laying in his lap. One arm held his brother's shoulders while his right hand cupped one of Stan's cheeks, salt water droplets fell on his dead twin's face and neck.

The frighteningly calm expression on Stanley's face was the outcome that he's been trying to prevent all these years. All that time he's endured through so much torment, seen so much horror and has done things that would break a normal person within the first five minutes of his thirty years. Yet, the one thing that kept him sane while on the other side of the portal, despite the spite he had felt towards him, is the knowledge that his brother was safe and sound in Gravity Falls. Thinking about Stan, whether the thought be good or bad, gave him extra needed boosts of energy and will power to survive each day in the many dimensions he's been to.

Ford hung his head in shame and sorrow. His main objective was to make sure that Stanley stayed at a safe distance from the paranormal and out of harm's way (one of the reasons why Ford entrusted Dipper with information about the Rift). He's been fighting for Stan for most of his life. Now he lays dead in Ford's arms with zero chance of ever waking up. He's failed to protect his twin and there was nothing he could do about it.