"Well, explain yourself," Will demanded, nodding to the scattered papers.

Bill looked like a deer in headlights, his gaze darted from the papers to his brother. Wendy immediately sensed tension, and suspected it was time to leave.

"Wow, I think I hear Mabel starting up the confetti canons. I better be there, to put out any fires," She said, before leaving.

The brothers were alone, and the silence was unbearable. Finally, Bill said. "Will, it's not what it looks like."

Will glared. "Are you sure? Because it looks like you're keeping secrets again."

"I can't tell you everything, okay?" Bill snapped.

"But, we promised we wouldn't hide things from each other."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you," The blond remarked. "You were just snooping around my stuff, and planning to call those government agents, behind my back!"

"Alright, you have a point," Will admitted. "But, I only wanted to see what they know."

"Did it ever occurred to you, that if they find out what we are, they could cut us open?" Bill spat.

"As far as they're concerned, we're normal kids."

Bill laughed bitterly. "Normal? We're not normal kids, Will, we have to be cautious of who we trust. If you want to pretend to be normal, then go join the party and forget any of this happen. And tell those damn agents to mind their own business."

Will narrowed his eyes. "First, tell me what those blueprints are for."

"I'll tell you later."

"No, you're telling me now," The blue haired boy declared. "You always do this! You keep things hidden and hesitate to tell anyone."

"Will, I'm not going to repeat myself..."

"Please, Bill," Will pleaded. "I'm really worried about you."

"Stop worrying, then!" Bill snapped. "You keep badgering me to express my feelings and such. For once, wait for me to tell you my emotions, instead of forcing me!"

Will's expression softened, and he frowned. "Bill, I didn't mean to seem pushy, I'm just--"

"Enough," The blond said, firmly. "When I say I'll tell you later, then you leave it at that. Now, go enjoy the rest of the party or whatever."

Dejected, Will made his way towards the exit. He gave Bill a brief glance, seeing that the blond was busy picking up the pages. The blue haired boy frowned, then darted his eyes towards one corner. There, he saw Journal #3 peeking out from Bill's backpack. Making sure Bill wasn't looking, Will snatched the journal out, before leaving the room.

❇❇❇

Meanwhile, the party outside was bursting with energy. People were chatting and laughing, and already lining up for a turn at singing karaoke. Mabel was supervising everything with a smile on her face.

She settled beside her brother by the snack table. "Everything's going great! And, it's almost our turn on stage," She said, excitingly.

Dipper wasn't as enthusiastic as his twin. In fact, he had a rather depressed look on his face. Mabel regarded him in worry.

"Dipping Sauce, what's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing," Dipper responded, dismissively.

"Are you sure? Because it looks like something is troubling you."

Dipper sighed. "Mabel, I feel like I'm repeating the past."

"Be specific, what part of the past are you repeating?"

"It's a little personal," He said, bashfully.

Mabel gave him a tired look. "You want to ask Bill out, don't you?"

Dipper stared at her, but then nodded slowly.

"You're not that good at hiding your crush," Mabel teased. "I knew you developed feelings for Bill back then, and I know you still have feelings for him now. I kept quiet for your sake, but this time, I'm telling you that the best course of action is to confess."

"Yes, but--"

"Nope, enough of that," She remarked. "You always over think things with that big stupid brain of yours. You thought you could forget about your feelings for Bill, by dating his jerk of a brother. Spoiler alert: that didn't work at all, since Kill was a trashy boyfriend who treated you like an object."

"I made a mistake choosing him, I know," Dipper admitted. "I just thought it was simpler than confessing to Bill, since Kill was so similar to him. But now I know, I don't want some perverted raspberry replica, I just want Bill."

"So, what are you gonna do about it?" Mabel questioned.

"I have no idea," Dipper sighed.

Mabel patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You'll figure it out, bro-bro. But for now, warm up those vocal cords of yours, because we're gonna amaze everyone with our ability to sing random lyrics off a screen."

"I'm starting to feel a deep regret towards this whole karaoke thing."

"Are you sure it's not the feeling of fun?" Mabel grinned.

"Nope, pretty sure it's painstaking regret."

"If you say so," His sister pouted.

While the two Guardians proceeded to rejoin the party, a short distance away from the shack, Will stood with Wendy. They waited in silence, cold wind pricked at them.

Wendy regarded Will in concern. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I don't know anymore," Will sighed. "But, I need to know about this..."

He opened Journal #3, until it was at the page where the blueprint was presented. "Bill had copies of this under his mattress, and I don't even know what it is."

Wendy squinted at the page, face lit with confusion. Then, she turned to the boy with uncertainty. "You think those agents will know anything about this?"

"I hope they do," Will said. "I have a feeling Bill is messing with forces he can't handle, and he's going to get himself hurt."

"Doesn't he get himself hurt on a weekly basis?" Wendy noted. "Sometimes intentionally?"

"Yeah, but I feel something like this could get him killed," The blue haired boy said, worryingly. "I just know it."

The redhead made a thoughtful look. "Do you want me to stand by you, once those agents arrive?"

"It's alright, I can do this on my own," Will said, determinedly. "You go have fun."

Wendy looked reluctant at the thought of leaving him alone, but then hesitantly turned on her heels and walked back to the shack.

"Be safe, okay?" She told him, before distancing herself from him.

Will was now standing on his own, gazing in front of him, and trying to ignore the cold. He began to recall earlier, and that had him thinking.

Was it true, that Will overstepped Bill's boundaries at times? But, he only wanted to see if his brother was alright! Will didn't mean to seem pushy. Still, he could've acknowledge the fact that despite Bill having the more extroverted personality, he was the one with the most suppressed emotions. But yet again, Bill had the tendency to wait too long when telling people how he really felt, and Will doubt the blond would have a full explanation for those blueprints. Will didn't like it, but he had to find out was going on, even if it meant doing it behind Bill's back.

He frowned.

It was becoming noticeable, that as the summer went on, the two were becoming more independent. Will wondered how long it would take before they would drift away from each other.

He shook his head, hoping to push away any intruding thoughts. After a while, a sleek black car pulled up before him, and two men stepped out. Agents Powers and Trigger.

Will stood his ground, as the agents approached him, serious expressions on their faces.

"So, you have something to show us?" Powers asked.

Will nodded, then handed him the journal. "I know I sound crazy, but I think something big is happening, and it has everything to do with that book."

Powers flipped through the pages, his brow furrowed. "Kid, I'd love to believe you, but this just looks like more junk from that gift shop of yours," He said, showing a page from the book. "I mean, look at this, Lepricorn? I can't be the only one who thinks that's not funny."

"I can confirm," Trigger said, seriously. "Not funny."

"It's all real, I swear!" Will insisted. "You should send it to the lab...am I saying that right?"

Powers shook his head, and handed the journal back to Will. "We don't have time for your overactive imagination, we have paperwork to do."

"Boring paperwork," Trigger declared.

They started to walk away, and Will panicked. No, no, no, he was so close! He couldn't give up now.

"Wait! I'll prove that everything in this book is real!" Will exclaimed, then flipped furiously through the journal, before stopping at a random incantation. In retrospect, he should've known better, than to say it out loud.

"Um, um, Corpus Levitus, uh, Diablo Dominus, MONDO VICIUM!"

It was like time froze. The wind immediately stopped, and all that was left was an eerie silence. Will looked around in confusion, but then cried out in alarm, when the earth began to rumble. Soon, a crack emitting green light appeared in the ground, and then a shriveled hand crawled out. Connected to the hand, was a living corpse, that stared at the shocked people before it.

"There you have it," Will laughed, nervously. "A real life zombie. Do you believe me now?"

"Mother of all that is holy," Powers breathed, as the zombie crawled towards them.

"What do we do!?" Trigger screamed.

"It's okay, it's just one zombie," Will reassured. "I've faced way bigger threats than this."

Just then, the zombie launched towards him. Will didn't have time to react, and stared as it prepared to attack, only for it's head to be bashed in by a rock. It was Agent Powers who held the rock, and he breathed in relief.

"Good thing it was just the one," Powers said.

The ground rumbled again.

Will gulped. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

Around them, the earth formed large cracks, and the dead began crawling out. They surrounded the three, filling the air with a rotten stench, and glowering at them with glowing empty eye sockets.

"Uh, you guys can help, right?" Will asked the agents.

"Kid, we've been chasing the paranormal for years, but not like this!" Powers yelled back.

"Get down!" Triggers cried, tackling his partner to the ground, dodging an attack from a zombie.

The two men were about to stand up, but then all sudden, the living corpses grasped onto them. Will stared in horror, as they were dragged into the cracks in the earth, screaming.

Immediately, Will ran towards the shack, which was a bad idea, as it encouraged the zombies to follow him in pursuit. Will realized he would be putting everyone in the party in danger.

What have I done?

❇❇❇

"Finally, we're up next!" Mabel exclaimed, as a person climbed off the stage after finishing their karaoke solo.

"Wait, I might need more Kool-Aid if I wanna survive through this," Dipper insisted, about to head towards the drink table.

"No time!" Mabel shot back, grabbing his arm. "Now, where are Bill and Will?"

Dipper frowned. "To be honest, I haven't seen them all night."

The female brunette groaned. "Don't tell me, they're avoiding their own party."

On cue, Bill stepped out of the shack. The blond had a rather annoyed expression on his face. He noticed the Pine twins, and approached them.

"Have any of you seen Will?" He demanded.

"No," Dipper said.

"What's wrong, Bill?" Mabel asked, noticing the blond's sour expression.

"He called those government agents behind my back," Bill growled. "Even worse, he took Journal #3 with him."

Dipper's eyes widened. "That's not good, there's precious information in there. We have to find Will--"

He was interrupted, as a deep rumbling appeared out of nowhere. The guests paused their merry ways, and their faces morphed into ones of terror.

"An earthquake!" One person yelled.

Immediately, there was a panicked frenzy, as everyone hurried to the exit. Mabel stared in dismay.

"No, wait!" She shouted, as the crowd left. "We didn't get to sing karaoke yet..."

Soon, only the three were left, until one more person appeared. It was Will, running towards them, not far behind, were a wave of zombies. Bill gaped, then glared at his brother, once Will paused before him.

"Will, what was the one thing we swore not to do this summer?"

"Raise the dead," Will said, gingerly.

"And what did you do?"

"Raise the dead..." Will repeated, shamefully.

Mabel and Dipper watched, as the corpses neared.

"We need to get to higher ground!" Dipper said, before huddling everyone closer to him.

With that, Dipper summoned his magic, and transported them away from the surging zombie horde.