zerotohiro | Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

So, uh, sorry about that.

[ Guess who's back, Hiro? ]

[...several minutes go by before Dipper gets a text back.]

WHAT THE HELL MAN.

[And now there's a phone call.]

Do you have any idea how freaked out I was? Do you know what I had to put up with with Mabel while you were gone? I do not want to make bug superheroes!

[And finally:]

...I was really worried you weren't going to come back. [Hence the initial freakout.] Are you okay?

[ Forgive him a moment. He knows this is serious and he's honestly touched that his friend was worried about him, but he has to stifle a laugh at the mention of "bug superheroes".

Yep, sounds like Hiro had been putting up with Mabel indeed. ]

Sorry. You know I wouldn't have left if I had any say in the matter. But I'm glad you and my sister got to bond while I was gone. [ A little cheeky, but then his tone sobers. ]

All things considered? Yeah, I'm okay.

She's really not that bad. Figured it was better to hang out together than spend our time wondering when you'd grace us with your presence again. [He sounds a little agitated, but it's mostly an act. There's probably be a friendly arm-punch if Dipper was in front of him.]

But you know, prefacing that with "all things considered" really makes me want to ask a ton of questions. [A pause.] You up for hanging out for a bit? [He has to see him for himself, really.]

Hey, I got around to it, didn't I? Besides, I was a little busy back home. [ Fighting back against the apocalypse, and all. Which brings him to... ]

...Yeah, I've got a lot to tell. Your place or mine? Or somewhere else?

[All the more reason he needs to see Dipper in person.]

I'm already home, so just come over. Tadashi's at work anyway. See you in a few?

I'll be there. No disappearing acts this time.

[ Hope...fully.

But Dipper's words prove true, and a little while after his last message, he's at Hiro's door, knocking sharply. ]

[YOU BETTER NOT, DIPPER PINES.

But he doesn't text back because he's pacing around his apartment to burn off extra energy, waiting for Dipper to arrive and when he hears the knock on the door Dipper can probably hear him inside bolting across the apartment and practically ripping the door off the hinges.

Shut up and take his hug, Dipper. This time it's a full one (thank you, Cerealia, for amping up his affections toward people) and he's trying not to accidentally knock Dipper over in response.]

You still suck. Have I mentioned that? [It's not with any real sort of malice. He's just trying to make this less awkward. Dipper can't leave ever again, bottom line.]

[ Hey, at least he doesn't resist the hug - though no promises that Dipper won't rib him a little about it later. But the thing is, Dipper has missed his best friend, too. Or, maybe that's not quite the way to put it. Maybe it's more that he realizes what his disappearance put the people he cares about through. They've both been through it a lot, especially lately - and there was more to talk about regarding that - but for now, he's content simply to offer that reassurance of actually, physically being there. ]

Hey, at least I don't suck enough to not come back. That's got to count for something, right?

[ Sure, there's cheek to his words, but it's gentle. ]

Maybe if you tilt your head and squint a little. [He can deal with cheek. He can deal with all kinds of teasing because it means Dipper is here. That's the important part and he breaks the hug not long after even though he's basically wrestling Dipper into the apartment.]

Definitely lends itself to the "three days" theory. Now we just gotta figure out why. [But later. That can come later and Hiro's already flopping on the couch and waiting for Dipper to follow.] You know where stuff is if you want anything. You already saw Yu and Mabel right?

[ He's wrestled in pretty easily, grinning like a dork as he makes his way inside. It's strangely nostalgic, even if it hasn't really been that long since he's been here. To him, it feels like it has been, at least. ]

Yeah. Pretty weird, right? [ But they can hash out theories later. Dipper drops onto the couch next to Hiro, more than anything just ready to talk. ]

I stopped by the apartment before I came here. I'm surprised Mabel let me out of her sight, actually. I think she's just glad we're from the same point in time now.

[He's cool with that. He's cool with just talking and it's fairly obvious that he's missed his partner in crime for the days he's been gone. He can't help but give Dipper a questioning look then.]

Just how far ahead of you was she anyway? I didn't think it was that big of a difference.

I guess it was only about a month or so, but, uh...it was...kind of a crazy month.

[ Had it even been that long? He's honestly not sure. Everything that had happened since Ford came out of the portal had happened so fast. Including the end of the world. ]

Did she tell you anything about what happened to us at the end of the summer?

Not exactly, but I didn't really think to ask either. It just felt kinda weird, you know? [Dipper's his best friend. He wasn't sure if that'd be kosher to know about said-best friend's future when he hadn't even lived through it himself.] Mabel and I haven't really talked about Gravity Falls much.

[ Yeah, that probably would've been...weird. Especially considering Mabel hadn't told Dipper much about what happened before he disappeared, either. ]

There...might be a reason for that. She didn't even talk to me about the future much. She, uh, definitely neglected to mention the impending apocalypse, at least.

[ Wow, way to bury the lead there, Dip. ]

…the what now. [UH. Hiro's pausing, staring at Dipper for a brief moment as he processes what he's just heard and getting stuck somewhere on the word "apocalypse."] Why wouldn't anybody mention the apocalypse?

[ Dipper can't help a wry grin at the question. Okay, maybe he teased it in that way a little bit on purpose. ]

I don't know. I guess it's not great to hear the end of the world is in your future. But the good thing is, we kind of reversed it?

[Yeah he'll. Just bury his head in his hands and scrub them over his face, so his words are a little muffled when he speaks again.]

You already know my next question, dude. How did you guys reverse the apocalypse? Aren't apocalypses supposed to be irreversible?

[A pause.] This has something to do with what your uncle did, doesn't it. With the interdimensional portal.

You would think so, huh? Not when the Pines family is on the case, though.

[ Nope, not just "Pines twins". Stan and Ford had just as much to do with cancelling the apocalypse as he and Mabel did. ]

Yeah, it does. Have I told you anything about Bill Cipher before?

[ He knows he's mentioned it to some people here, but he's honestly not sure if Bill has ever come up in conversation with Hiro before. ]

[Pines family. It doesn't take a genius to understand what Dipper's implying, but there's something else to take care of first. He settles mostly for looking mildly alarmed but he'll take the bait anyway.]

There's a first time for everything. Who's Bill?

A dream demon. We were dealing with him all summer. He helped this kid, Gideon, try to steal the deed to Mystery Shack out of my uncle's mind and kiiiiiind of possessed me to try and steal my uncle's journal. [ BUT THAT IS A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME. It's still a little embarrassing how Bill was able to trick him, even if they had defeated him in the end. ] We didn't realize what a threat he was until Ford came out of the portal, though. Activating the portal created an interdimensional rift in space-time, and while Ford was able to contain it, Bill wanted it so he could break free from his dimension into ours.

Sounds like an actual mastermind. [And a real nightmare to be honest.] Considering Ford was in a whole other dimension that doesn't surprise me that a rift was created. Does that mean that Bill was from an entirely other dimension too? What was wrong with his that he wanted to come into ours?

Yeah. From the Nightmare Realm. [ No really, a literal nightmare, Hiro. ] Bill basically wanted to be in our world to throw a party. The Nightmare Realm isn't on a physical plane so he couldn't directly affect our world unless he was able to enter it directly. That's why anytime he wanted to get something done, he had to possess someone. But with the rift, he could actually bridge the gap between our world and his and...well, you get the idea.

[ His tone dampens a bit. ] That might sound harmless enough, but Bill's idea of a party was sort of...detrimental to all of humanity. He started the Weirdmageddon.

[ 6/20, text ]

[ 6/20, text ] 1/3

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