HUGE THANKS TO 3DPhantom for allowing me to use her fan fiction in this one! Everyone check Road To Redemption out! It's a great take on the AXOLOTL redemption theory!

Title is a quote from Finn O'Leary from Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Zombies in the map MobOfTheDead

Thank you so much DragonRyd3r for the suggestion! This chapter is dedicated to you!

Few flashbacks in this chapter, haha, just a heads up.

Thursday, October 18th 2012

Ever since the... Blair... incident, Dipper has been hounded by said cat. She wouldn't leave him alone for the first week. Pushing up in his face in bed. Jumping him randomly around the house.

She even bit his thigh! Mom laughed when it happened and said, "Oh don't worry, they're just love bites."

'WHAT?! What kind of cat bites a boy's thigh as a show of affection!? I'll have you know that I've been...scarred on the thigh, in fact it's still there, but I've never gotten a love bite there!'

Anyway, that was the 6th of October. Now, it's Thursday, October 18th and yesterday, our school decided to drop a bomb on us.

Only, I wish that's what they had done.

Pro: We're going on a field trip to THE Alcatraz Prison.

Con: We're going on a field trip. Which means being in a big, slow bus, full of rowdy children.

I excused myself almost immediately during the assembly yesterday, already feeling sick to my stomach.

Soon after I entered the bathroom, Mabel came in, worry etched on her features. Which I figured. "I'm fine," I tell her, leaning over the sink while cupping my hands to get some water. Realizing what I was doing, I shake my hand of the water that built up and squirted some soap on.

'Better to wash my hand first and then drink out of them...' I lather them and clean both thoroughly, then go back to what I was going to do in the first place.

"Well... We'll just have to be extra prepared! Don't worry, Macie, we'll all be together and we'll have your medicine." I give my sister a smile.

'She always knew what to say'

Suddenly, my body convulses, interrupting my long period of spacing out, surprised by the hand that propped itself on my left shoulder. "Couldn't help but notice you lookin' a little pale there, Ring..." It's Bill... 'Er, Aiden is what we're supposed to call him when we're in public.'

"Yeah," I brush his hand away, "I know," I deadpan.

Ever since we found Bill, he's been weaseling his way into our life. Something about stupid human emotions making him feel things he hasn't felt before.

~~1 Week Earlier~~

The twins didn't trust him, obviously, and, I didn't really either. But since he was here, I had to give him some chance. I've read the good redemption stories on Bill. The AXOLOTL's poem from Dipper and Mabel and the Curse Of The Time Pirates' Treasure? It went like this:

'Sixty degrees that come in threes.
Watches from within birch trees.
Saw his own dimension burn.
Misses home and can't return.
Says he's happy. He's a liar.
Blame the arson for the fire.
If he wants to shirk the blame,
He'll have to invoke my name.
One way to absolve his crime.
A different form, a different time.' 

And that really got me thinking.

I let the twins and him look at the wiki for the book. The wiki had said:

'This suggests that when, before being erased from reality in the series finale, Bill gives a message that when reversed says "A-X-O-L-O-T-L! My time has come to burn! I invoke the ancient power that I may return!," he is actually invoking the Axolotl for redemption for his crime, and that there is one way to get absolved: he has to take "a different form" in "a different time." This would mean that Bill could return someday in the future, but it's unknown if this will ever occur.'

Bill actually said this happened, and I believed him. Why should I not? I met the AXOLOTL and look what happened! I may have not gotten redemption, but I got another chance at my new life. I believe this is what Alex Hirsch had in mind for Bill.

"It may or may not even be canon," I had said to them, "but this is what I believe and, in this world, it seems pretty canon to me."

"Well what the heck?" Bill whined, "So I was destined to be embarrassed by ol' AXOLOTL here and he gave me this form at this time!? I don't need redemption..." he pouted and looked away.

"I think you do..." I pull out my phone and hand it to the demon child. "Here, read this and lemme know what you think. Your human emotions should help out in all of this and while I know this isn't you you, I believe you will be able to learn something with it."

"Whaizit?" Bill inspects my phone.

"It's a fan fiction called, 'Road To Redemption', written by '3DPhantom'. It's written really well on the AXOLOTL redemption theory."

"Wait Bill gets to read a Gravity Falls fan fiction and we don't!?" Dipper pouted the same way Bill did, looking cute while he was at it.

"Haha, Pine Tree! I'm gonna get to read about all of you guys before you-ooo!" I laughed at his taunting where Dipper just flushed in anger.

"Bill." He stopped and looked at me. "This is serious and I need you to really think about this, kay?"

"Fine," he mumbled, fumbling with my phone a bit more before getting the hang of it.

~~Present~~

"Soooo, why so green, then?" The way he voiced the question makes me even more sick.

I hold my hand up to stop him from saying anything else, "Aiden, please, just- where are the twins?"

"Erm.." he looks left and right with uncertainty, "not sure, should be here soon, though."

"Wow, I thought you were all knowing?" I tease, loving the way his cheeks redden.

"Shut up, Ring!" He buries his nose into his phone.

"How's the story?" I had to help the boy get the story on his phone so he wouldn't be using mine all the time. But that alone was infuriating because my cell is different than anyone else's in this world. So I had to copy the whole story and put it in the notes of his so he can even begin to read.

"Weird. Are you sure this is how me and the Pines would all act?"

"The Pines and I, Bill," I correct, gaining a groan and eye roll, "and no, it's called fan fiction for a reason. It's a fan's interpretation of what they want to happen to certain characters."

"No kidding is it fiction..." he scoffs, though his eyes don't leave his screen, "Fordsie here is a jerk!"

"That's just the way the writer wrote him. But how do you think of yourself so far?"

Bill ponders this for a moment. "Well...I hate to admit it, though, they wrote me pretty well, even if I am an eight year old child! The AXOLOTL theory is almost spot on and the emotions I'm feeling in this story is really close to what I'm feeling since I got a second chance."

"That's good!" I smile, 'Things seem to be turning up!' "But what are your intentions here and now?" My face turns grim and I ask this seriously.

Glaring, though not at me, Bill looks down to the dirt on the ground, shuffling it around with the heels of his weird looking shoes. "I-I dunno... I wanted revenge...knowledge from you...but...but I don't know what I want anymore." I can see the sincerity in his eyes as he continues, "It hurts right here," he puts a hand on his heart, "whenever I see one of you guys distressed. Sometimes, I want to kill you all but then I feel...guilt .. immensely and I throw the idea out the window. I get mad but when I'm with you three, I get this happy feeling."

"That's called being human, Bill." I don't care that I don't use his stage name. "What you're feeling? Is normal human emotions. Your redemption doesn't just give you a new body to start over with with the same mentality that you had before. It gives you a second chance to live a life you were never given before. You're free to do what you want, where you want to go and who you want to have in your life."

We go silent for a while, and, right when Bill's about to speak, Mabel jumps him. "Heyo!!" She hangs off his shoulders with a big grin. "Sorry we took we so long! Dippy- Hey, Bill? Are you okay?" Mabel's mood instantly darkens when she gets a good look at the 7th grader.

His eyes are misty, looking on the verge of tears.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he assures the twins, swiping at his face.

The two look to me for an honest answer they know they'll get.

"Yeah. We're good." I nod. 'I don't want them to know what Bill said. I feel like this is something personal between us since we were both given a second chance.'

I see that I've done the right thing by the way Bill looks; relieved, happy, and most importantly, thankful.

"Well, everything's ready to go and the teachers are just about done situating the buses and whatnot." Dipper jabs a thumb behind him to show the teachers all talking together with multiple other older people. 'Bus drivers? I'll assume...'

"All seventh graders! Bus seventeen! Board now!" an adult calls out.

"That's my cue," Bills forces a smile for the twins, though I can see he is thinking deeply about things. "See ya' guys at the prison!"

"Byebye!" Mabel waves gleefully, but when his figure disappears in the bus, she frowns and looks in my eyes. "Macie, what was that all about?"

"Nothing, just...having a heart to heart before you guys showed up. No big deal." My smile wavers when the two don't look convinced, but, thankfully, they drop it.

"Well, anyway, we got all your backup stuff and I'll be keeping them in my bag." Dipper slings his bag over his shoulder and puts multiple pills, a granola bar, and a water bottle inside.

"Cool, thanks, guys. Like, a lot. I don't know what I'd do without you." I give them a big squeeze, earning a giggle and chuckle from the appropriate twin.

"Alright, alright, let's get onto our bus, yeah?" Mabel and I agree with our brother and board bus sixteen, en route to Alcatraz.

Time to sit back and enjoy this fifty minute ride.

~~Time Skip brought to you by: "I believe in an eye for an eye!" -Albert 'Weasel' Arlington -Black Ops 2 Zombies

I love how most of our teachers leave us with the island tour guides. Some stayed but most went off to the pier since technically they didn't need to be here if the mandatory adults were.

Since multiple classes were here at once, there were multiple guides who took each grade to a different part of the building.

'Do you ever get dreams with the AXOLOTL?' I read a text from Aiden on my phone. 'I should really change his name to Bill...'

I quickly type my reply before anyone can catch me. 'Erm...no, not that I can remember...why?'

'Just wondering. I had one last night. That blasted creature spoke to me.'

'What'd it say?'

'Never mind.'

'Well that was weird...' I can't dwell on the fact that Bill's being kind of secretive on account of getting my phone taken away.

"You guys notice any change in Bill's behavior lately?" I ask the twins, who were walking next to me as the tour guide takes us into the dilapidated building.

"No," Mabel answers with a hop in her skip, then stops. "Wait, why?"

Putting his hand to his chin, Dipper scratches it. "Not that I can really tell..."

"Maybe it's just me...but Bill's been acting weird since earlier today."

"Oh, earlier today? Yeah, he was kinda out of character if you know what I mean!" The three of us can't help but giggle at Mabel's inside joke.

"Okay, look at this text he sent me." I show them my messages. "Weird, right?"

"Yeah, definitely weird..."

"Okay can we all stop saying weird?" Mabel asks with a laugh.

My brother and I share a glance before nodding.

"No cell phones permitted. Hand them over." All three of us jump in surprise by the sudden deep voice of the principal, holding his hand out as he waits for me to hand over my cell.

The principal, while he's still the same one Bill tricked us with, changed his view of us but kept his name and the mascot as the same. 'Something tells me Bill had more influence than we thought over that guy...'

"Erm..." I clutch the item to my chest. Seeing that the man won't let up, I sigh and place it in his large palm. He smiles and walks back to the front of the class.

When we finally enter the prison, I'm excited to see what I know of it.

'I've only seen Alcatraz in the game Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 Zombies where, in the map called Mob Of The Dead, Alcatraz is the location of all the zombie hordes and whatnot... So I'm excited to see what's the same in here and the game!'

"Whoaaaa!" Mabel awes, doing what I was gonna do.

Instantaneously, as we walk down a hall, I get nostalgic vibes. "It looks just like the game!"

"Wait, you played a game with this place in it?" I turn around.

"Dipper..I played in this very prison while fighting off hordes among hordes of zombies!"

"Whoa! Awesome!" The boy's voice cracks and echoes in the empty halls, making several children laugh and said boy to shrink with pink dusting his cheeks.

"Lighten up!" I slap his back. He gets jerked forward from the sheer strength that I didn't know I used.

"Carrying on..." our guide says, regarding the children who have stopped from their laughter.

~~Time Skip brought to you by: How do I write out a tour of Alcatraz? I'm just gonna skip to the end XD~~

"Ugh..." I feel sick as we ride the boat back to mainland. "How long til' we get back?" I ask, drawling out in a whine.

"'Bout," Dipper pauses, "six minutes."

I groan again.

~~Time Skip brought to you by: The long ride back!~~

My phone keeps buzzing and Dipper keeps telling me to look at it. And I would, yeah, if I didn't get sick the last time I looked down. Mabel made sure to give me a Dramamine and I'm still nauseous.

"It's probably Bill. He can wait." I shove my phone in my bag so I can ignore it easier.

"Hey uh...Mace?" I turn to look at my brother, who's sitting to the right of me and in the middle of me and Mabel. Good thing these seats fit three! I give him my attention, so he continues, "Why don't you tell me about that game you played. The one with the zombies?"

"Okay, um..." 'Where do I start?' "So you start off the game in wave one. Very few zombies break in and you can one hit kill them with a knife. You got the starter pistol, M one nine eleven. Very weak but will do for the first few rounds. By that time you're probably at round four or five, so I suggest getting a new gun off the wall or from the mystery box..."

As I keep ranting, I didn't even notice we were dropped back off at school. Smirking, Dipper stops me and tells me to, "Come on!"

'Sly...very sly but...thank you!'

~~Time Jump~~

"Ahhhh!" I flop onto my bed, satisfied by the instant comfort after having such a long day. Giggling, Mabel follows suit on her own bed. 'Oh wait...' I forgot to check my phone.

'This place is weird.'

'Ring, didja know they did some evil stuff here?!'

'Wait, you're here, too, of course you know...'

I smile and roll my eyes at Bill Cipher's ignorance.

'Are you not responding because I didn't tell you?'

'Oh come on, Ring. If it's worth anything, I appreciated what you said earlier.'

'Seriously?! I practiced saying that in my head for an hour now and still no response!?'

"Heheh.."

'Fine, I'll tell you what that darned animal told me.'

My eyebrows widen as I did not expect him to come clean so fast.

He texts back. 'Huh...'

~~Bill's POV~~

My phone finally dings after waiting what seems like forever! 'Stupid meatbags taking way too long to text back...' I stumble out of the fan fiction Ring told me to read and go to my messages.

'Bill. I think what the AXOLOTL was trying to tell you is to take its advice and don't gamble what you can't afford to lose.'

I don't go to sleep as I stay awake and think about everything that's happened so far.

WOO! MYSTERY! Also, BILL'S POV! WOO!

Check out 3DPhantom's story, Road To Redemption! Also, if by some chance you, 3DPhantom, are reading this... HAI! I love your story and take on the Axolotl redemption theory!