"Hey, old-timer!"

"What do you want?"

"I found an old guy nearby giving away a piano for free."

"Stanley suddenly looked interested (not because of the fact that they would finally get that piano Bill had been complaining about not having, but because they were getting something for free). "Why's he giving it away for free though?"

"He's on the last legs of his life, so he can't really play it anymore," Bill answered, glancing down at his phone, which he'd received after swindling quite a few unsuspecting customers to the mystery shack (to which Lee proclaimed how proud he was of his so-called 'pupil' and reluctantly agreed to getting him a basic cell phone after weeks of complaint from Bill).

"Dipper says the guy's only asking that a song be played on it before he parts with it. So that'll be easy."

"Neeeeeeeeeeeeeerd!" Mabel called from the stairs.

"Kid, do you even know what you're going to play?" Stanley asked, leaning over the table to see Bill's phone. Bill shrugged. "Figure the mood'll help me know what song to play. Otherwise I'll just play something from Vera Lynn." He went back to his phone, which he'd been glued to the second he got it. He found it somewhat annoying that everything was in all caps in text.

Pinetree: IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU. ALL THE GUY SAID WAS THAT HE WANTED A SONG PLAYED FOR HIM. SOMETHING ABOUT BEING OLD AND DYING.

Bell: ANY SONG?

Pinetree: YEAH. JUST DON'T OFFEND THE GUY, BREAK HIS EARDRUMS, OR KILL HIM WITH YOUR TERRIBLE CHOICE IN MUSIC BEFORE HE GETS THE CHANCE TO GO NATURALLY.

Bell: WOW. RUDE. I KNOW HOW TO PICK A SONG.

Pinetree: I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE TRYING TO TRAUMATIZE GREAT UNCLE FORD ALL OVER AGAIN WHENEVER YOU SING AROUND HIM. YOU'RE NOT SUBTLE. HE'S, LUCKILY, JUST OBLIVIOUS.

Bell: I WOULD NEVER.

Pinetree: -_-

Bell: JUST MAKE SURE RED PICKS ME UP.

Pinetree: OKAY. BY THE WAY...

Pinetree: WHY IS IT THAT YOU TEXT IN ALL CAPS?

Bell: I THINK IN ALL CAPS BUDDY. NOW GO GET RED, LITTLE ERRAND BOY.

Bill locked his phone and started digging into his mushy pancakes before saying good-by to Stanley and sitting out front in wait of Dipper and Wendy. He wore a light blue dress with polka dots and white flats (Mabel had helped pick out clothes with him at a clothing store a while back) and had his black and blue hair tied into a matching blue ribbon that Mabel had found with all her arts and crafts stuff.

After only a few minutes of waiting, he was greeted by Wendy honking the horn of a new (but mostly old) car that she'd gotten almost immediately after she'd gotten her license. He popped into the front of the car next to Dipper, who was in the middle seat. Wendy's truck had only six seats, but she was moving stuff for a couple of people she knew so the back and the bed of the truck were full. Usually whenever they were out with their friends, they would open the back window and a some of them would sit in the bed of the truck.

"Hey, Bell," Wendy greeted. "So this guy you're going to see, he's like, super old. And he's going to die soon. I guess he got some sort of disease or something. He's a really nice old man, so don't do anything stupid. He just wants you to play a nice song for him. He really likes music. He used to be the music teacher at Gravity Falls Elementary, so yeah. He was still working there when I was in kindergarten, which is how I know him. So do you have a song ready yet?"

"Nope." Wendy took her eyes off of the road to stare at Bill as if he'd lost his mind (which he had, if anybody cared to notice). "Keep your eyes on the road, woman!" Bill yelled as Wendy swerved just in time to avoid an incoming car. "Dude, you're going to fail so bad."

"I figured that I'd know what song I should play whenever I meet him. And if that doesn't work, I'll just play something from Vera Lynn."

"What is with your obsession with Vera Lynn?" Dipper asked.

Bill shrugged. "I like her flesh face."

"It's just her face. And don't ever say that again. Especially about some 100-something year old lady."

"The only thing between our love is an ocean and a restraining order."

"Do you have an off-switch or something?"

"Nope. You gotta deal with me all summer." Dipper groaned in frustration.

"Dudes, we're almost there," Wendy said, turning onto a street with plenty on small houses before pulling up to a house that looked like it'd been through a hurricane. It was busted up and the paint was almost completely gone. The door hung open on it's hinges and a shredded flag hung outside the house.

"Well, if I die in there, it'll be for a good cause."

"A piano?"

"Yes." Bill opened the door and hopped out of the car. "I'll text you when I need to be picked up. So see you then!" He slammed the door, making sure it clicked securely and Wendy drove off. Bill turned around and stared at the looming old house for a moment before walking up the sidewalk and pushing the creaky door open slightly and walking in.

"Anybody home?" He called out into the desolate house.

"Yes, sirree. Just come on into the living room. Just up to the left, young-un," A scraggly old man said in a soft, worn voice. Bill did as told and saw a room painted light blue, with similarly colored furniture, aside from the dark brown couch the old man sat on with a tank of oxygen attached to him and the dark wooden piano pushed up against one wall with a white oval fabric on it and a lit candle on top of that. "Well, hello there young lady. To what do I have the pleasure of a visit? Don't mind the mess. It's been a long time since I've had guests." The room was stark clean aside from a thin layer of dust covering everything.

"Um, someone told me that you were going to give away your piano. And um, I play and don't have one, so yeah..." Bill said uncertainly. Now that he was here he wasn't very certain how to go about this.

"Oh, yes. If you want it though, I'm going to have to ask you to play a song for me. It can be any song. It's just that that piano is one of my most prized possessions and since I can't play any longer, I've been wanting to hear someone else play it for me one last time."

Bill nodded, staring at the piano instead of the man. "Sounds like a strange offer. A piano for a measly song." The man smiled at his remark. "Better make it a good song then, uh, what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't. It's Bell."

"Well, Bell, you're welcome to play any song you want." Bill nodded and shuffled to the piano before taking a seat on the piano bench. "You sure there's not a particular song you want me to play?"

"No. Just play something nice."

He slid open the fall board and played a short C scale before taking a deep breath and playing the song he'd finally chosen. He played at a steady pace and at a low volume. Slowly he started singing along, practically whispering the lyrics.

"Wake up, say good morning to that sleepy person lying next to you. If there's no one there, then there's no one there, but at least the war is over."

The music slowly started to shift, playing the same pattern with different keys now with.

"It's us, yes, we're back again. Here to see you through 'til the day's end. And if the night comes and the night will come. Well at least the war is over. Lift your head and look out the window. Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go."

Bill's voice got a little sweeter and more confident as he went headfirst into the chorus. He smiled as he sung, looking out a small window at the beautiful wilderness outside.

"Listen, the birds sing. Listen, the bells ring. All the living are dead and the dead are all living. The war is over and we are beginning."

He played a few extra notes while he transitioned at times, making the song seem a little more interesting to the ear.

"Gridlock on the parkway now. The television man is here to show you how. The channel fades to snow. It's off to work you go. But at least the war is over. She's gone, she left before you woke. As you ate last night, neither of you spoke. Dishes, TV, bed, the dark was filled with dread. But at least the war is over."

He sung as he started to slowly starting to crescendo as he played.

"Lift your head and look out the window. Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go. Listen, the birds sing. Listen, the bells ring. All the living are dead and the dead are all living. The war is over and we are beginning."

He played a small scale into the next verse before continuing to play with much more confidence than he'd felt at the beginning of his performance.

"We won or we think we did. When you went away you were just a kid. And if you lost it all and you lost it. Well, we'll still be there when your war is over. Lift your head and look out the window. Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go. Listen, the birds sing. Listen, the bells ring. All the living are dead and the dead are all living. The war is over, we are beginning. Here it comes, here comes the first day. Here it comes, here comes the first day. It starts up in our bedroom after the war. It starts up in our bedroom after the war, after the war. After the war, after the war, after the war, after the war, after the war, after the war."

As he finished singing, he seemed to notice where he was again and smiled sheepishly. "If it wasn't adequate, I can play another-" He turned to see the man with a smile on his face and seemingly sleeping. He stood and walked over to the man and shook his shoulder slightly, causing his head to droop and hang to the side. He checked the man's pulse and saw that there was none. He stumbled back a bit in shock. He didn't know how long he stood there staring at the dead man's gentle smile before he finally got enough sense in his head to call a hospital for the old man and Wendy to pick him up.

Soon enough the ambulance was there, just as it started drizzling. Bill looked up to the sky, pulling his hair out of the bow and letting it flow down to his waist. Shortly after, Wendy pulled up with Dipper in the truck next to her still. He quickly clambered into the truck and stared solemnly out the window.

"What happened?"

"I think I befriended a dead man."