Human?!?!

Chapter Twelve

(Dipper's POV)

Grunkle Stan woke me up early so we could all talk about Bill. I wasn't very sure on what he meant by that; there were too many topics to cover, but I followed him without question. A very groggy Mabel and Ford were waiting for us in the living room. It was already eight in the morning, but it was summer and no one should be up this early during summer. Bill wasn't here at the moment so my great uncles thought it would be the right time to tell us something. It must be important because I could tell Ford was anxious to begin the family meeting.

"I just want to tell you that I'm sure you will do fine, but I wanted to talk to both of you before you left. I wish I could go, but a deal's a deal." Ford started a speech he had probably planned last night.

"Could you get to the point?" Stan asked impatiently. Both of them seemed on edge this morning.

"Alright, alright. I want you to keep a very close eye on Bill while you're away. I'm sure you have noticed this, but Bill has been acting weird and that is never a good thing. He's always got some hidden plan up his sleeve, so be very careful. Tell me if he does anything out of character."

"You noticed too?" Mabel sounded surprised through her tired state.

"Of course we noticed. We have been keeping track of Bill since we caught him." Stan answered.

"Just be very careful, and don't hesitate to call us if anything happens." Ford said. Mabel and I both nodded in understanding. Our family meeting was quickly interrupted with a new presence in the living room.

"Ready to go?" Bill appeared just as Ford finished talking. Was he able to hear what we were saying? Or was he gone just long enough to have no idea that we were talking about? I had a feeling it was probably the first option. Bill always seemed to hear everything that concerned him.

"I still need to get dressed." Everyone turned to me and noticed for the first time that I wasn't dressed yet. I didn't get time to change when Stan had gotten me up.

"Well could you hurry up because I have a bad feeling about one of the crystals." Bill looked like a raccoon. Is he sleeping? It is Bill, so I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't been.

"What do you mean?" Ford and Stan asked in unison and with the same level of concerned. It was quite funny to see them like that; it was like seeing double.

"I think someone has gotten a hold of one of the crystals. The energy keeps moving around." Bill explained; too tired to be as unnerved by the idea as us or maybe he just didn't care as much. Ford started bombarding Bill with questions, and I took the opportunity to run upstairs and change. When I got back everyone looked more on edge than before. This day just keeps getting better.

"Change of plans; you three are going to be gone for a few days to find whoever it is that took the crystal and retrieve the power from them." Ford informed me.

"A few days? Is it really going to take us that long?" Mabel asked.

"Unless you just want to kidnap the person and hold them down as I take the power from them, then yes." Bill answered her question. That was not an option.

"Then how are we going to convince them to do this?" I went through it and that was only because it would be better that way, and I really didn't want to end up becoming someone I am not. Though for someone who isn't as informed in this kind of thing as I am, they might find the new power too much to pass up.

"It's what I do best, Pine Tree." Bill gave me a smug smile.

"We aren't going to let you handle this alone. Wait," I turned towards Ford. "does this mean that Bill is going to have the power from three crystals?" He's already more powerful than I expected him to be after two crystals. What is three going to be like? Let alone twenty. I don't even want to think of what would happen then.