Chapter One
The Dream
I am jolted awake by the sudden, harsh beeping of my alarm. I slept like a rock last night. All that traveling really exhausted me. Then it came back to me that it's my first day of school at my new school. I don't know how I'll adjust to going to a public school instead of a private school, but it's the only one in this tiny, pitiful excuse for a town.
Mom and Dad just had to move here. They have been going on and on about their new boss, like he is the father of the modern age. He can't be that great or I would have heard of him on the news or something. They didn't care to ask me though. They didn't stop to think how their child would feel about leaving the city she was starting to call home to the middle of nowhere.
I slump clumsily out of bed and drag my sleepy, grumpy self to the bathroom. After making myself resemble a human again, I threw on my favorite hoodie. The good thing about going to a public school is that I can wear my hoodie all day. But that's about all the praise I'll give it. I thunk my feet down the stairs, announcing the arrival of the moody teenage daughter.
Halfway down the stairs, I smell sweet, sweet dreams in food form. Dad is cooking my favorite breakfast, blueberry pancakes. At least my parents know how to get on my good side.
Mom and Dad at least have the decency to give me a ride to school instead of making me take the bus. But all my hopes of decency were dashed when I see the school. That tiny brick thing is the school I have to go to for an entire year? I pout even harder and slid out of the car like raw egg on a plate. I am hit with the penetrating stares before I take just three steps. Mom and Dad are gone before I know it and I am stuck in this swarm of acne and cool glares. I find myself staring at a boy and a girl. They have the same brown eyes, brown hair, and everything. They are practically identical, but one is a little quieter and more awkward, and the other is bubbly and obnoxious. The girl gives me a crazy, wide-eyed grin and an enthusiastic wave. I am about to wave back when I run straight into one of the upperclassmen. He is a mess of pimples topped by a mop of shaggy black hair. "Watch it, shrimp!" he exclaims in an offended tone.
"S-sorry, I didn't see you there," I stutter uneloquently. I mentally give myself a slap over the head for such a lame first-impression I'm giving. Everyone must see me as the awkward, uncool newbie. How am I going to fit in?
Then, another upperclassmen, strides over and punches the first one in the shoulder. "Chill, Robbie," then to me, "What's up, Shrimp? What's your name?"
"Maude, what's yours," I ask a little less awkwardly.
"Heh," Robbie interrupts with a snort, "Maude sounds like an old lady name."
That illicits another punch from the other upperclassmen, "The name's Wendy, nice to meet you Maude. Hang in there." With that she winks and pulls Robbie away. Then I notice how everyone is moving towards the building. The boy and girl I noticed earlier are gone. I hastily dig my phone out of my hoodie's front pocket and discover that I have a mere four minutes, four minutes to swim through the cramped hallways, find my locker, and find my first class. "What a first day," I mumble.
At lunch, I wander around with my little metal lunchbox and find the boy and girl sitting with a few others I recognize from various classes. The girl immediately perks up and beckons me over with that overly enthusiastic grin. Her grin radiates so much cheerfulness that I take a break from my permanent pout to sincerely smile a little. "Hello stranger my name is Mabel this is Dipper Grenda and Candy come sit here!" she says all in one breath.
"Hi, Mabel, Dipper, Grenda, and Candy, my name is Maude," I say in a quiet voice, and tentatively sit down.
"So Maude, where do you come from?" Mabel asks as she rests her head on her hands and stares attentively into my soul.
"Um, well, my parents move around a lot, but last time we stayed in Minneapolis for a while," I answered as I took a careful bite of my pb&j.
"Nice, nice. So why did you guys move to Gravity Falls?" Mabel asks with a mouth full of chocolate pudding.
"My parents got a job working for some tech hotshot, someone named F- Foddle- Fid- Fiddleford, I think." As soon as the name passed my lips, they all halted their eating to exchange glances. Before I could read into the looks, they all resumed as if nothing transpired.
The rest of lunch passed without me making a fool of myself, and the rest of the day passed easily too. The feeling that things were looking up went away when I saw a text from Mom that said, "Ur father and I r going 2 b working l8 tonight so ur going to have 2 take the bus. There r microwavable dinners in the freezer."
I enjoyed the bus as much as I thought I would, meaning I hated it. It smelled like rotten eggs and moldy pizza. In fact, I found a slice under the very back seat of the bus. I burst through the front door of what is supposed to be home and make a beeline to the kitchen. After I fix myself a snack, I plop my tired self onto the couch. I'm glad one thing has been with us through all these cities and towns. I sigh, my head buzzing from a busy day. I turn to my old go-to when things are rough: the outdoors. Whether it's the concrete jungle, or a pine tree jungle, I find solace in solitude in the great, big world.
I pop my earbuds in and wander. And wander. And wander. I lose my worries in the music and the repetition of footstep after footstep. Soon (or maybe not soon, who knows) I look up from the ground directly in front of me to find myself in a sea of unfamiliar pine trees lit by the setting sun. Unfazed, I whip out my phone for my map app. No signal. Now I am fazed. I wandered into the depths of a strange forest alone, with no freaking signal. Good job me. I turn 180 degrees relative to where I was facing when I was walking, and I fast-walk, whipping my head around anxiously. My steps become quicker, so does my heartbeat. The longer I try to wander my way back, the more panicked I feel. I feel my eyes sting and stop to breathe. I am not crying. I am not lost, just... temporarily misplaced. I let out a long sigh, and slump against a weird statue. Before I could begin to question why a statue is it the middle of a forest, heavy eyelids and stress-driven fatigue gets the best of me, and I am sucked into slumber.
It is a dream like any other, a mishmash of random thoughts and memories. But this is broken by an unfamiliar figure. Floating in a cloud of dark magic, there is a majestic, hulking yellow pyramid with one massive eye. "Beautiful isn't he?" a small voice says. I feel a vague presence in the back of my skull, and a fuzzy image of a tiny green triangle with a cute little eye and a top hat comes forth into existence.
"Hey little guy, what's your name?" I ask the little thing.
"I am a small part of what used to be Bill Cipher. I am a Bitty Bill of sorts," says Bitty Bill.
I giggle, "Whatever you say little guy." I stare up at the massive figure that shadows my dream self.
The little triangle lets out a longing sigh. "It still is only a small fraction of my true form. You small, three dimensional mortals can only comprehend so much." Then Bitty Bill lets out what sounds like an effort at an evil cackle, but ends up being an adorable, baby giggle. "Ha! It is funny how dumb you are!"
I step back a bit and hesitate.
"Wait wait wait! It's okay, kid, don't be afraid. I am your friend. See, I could give you anything you want." The tiny green triangle hops onto my shoulder and waves his tiny black hand in front of us. Suddenly the dream transforms into a vision of heaven. I saw... me, but perfect. The new me has no acne, no scars, no excess weight, no flyaways, or any other human imperfections. I am a goddess. But then I see something that makes my heart melt into a pitiful puddle: my parents, smiling at me. Paying attention to me. The throne disappears and I see a home-cooked meal on the dinner table back at our first house, the one I wish we never moved from. It's even worse when I see every cat, dog, hamster, and fish that I ever loved and lost brought back to life. They greet me with loving eyes, so full of life.
My cheeks feel warm. I turn away and wipe my eyes. I turn back and try to face my formerly buried dreams, but I can't. I bury my sobbing face in my hoodie sleeves. "There, there, little one," Bitty Bill coos. "I will make this happen for you."
I unbury my face and turn to look at Bitty Bill, sitting on my shoulder and swinging his feet like a child. "How?"
"What can I say, I am a god," he brags. He hops on my nose and looks deep into my left eye. "Well, I was a god, but a few jealous humans tried to kill me." He closed his eye and shook his head... or the triangular equivalent. "I left behind this part of myself that was tied to my physical form, my connect to your world. They tried to kill the other part of me, but, with the help of an old friend, I was able to preserve myself."
I sniffle and wipe my leaky face. "You are making no sense Bitty Bill," I admit as I slump to the ground.
"Fine. Let me rephrase it so you can understand. Bitty Bill is a little part of Bill Cipher. Bitty Bill needs your help to save the rest of Bill, so Bill can be whole again. If Bill is whole, Bill Cipher can grant you any wish your little mind can think up," Bitty Bill says slowly, in a condescending tone.
I regain my bearings and stomp my foot for emphasis, "I may be a lowly mortal, but it looks to me that I am the one in a position of power here. So I am going to need to see some more respect!"
"Arrogant little thing aren't you!" Bitty Bill exclaims with his little black hands on his lower two angles. He floats off of my nose but still looks me in the eye. "I suppose you're right, kid. I do need you. But I am not naturally inclined to lower myself to below inferiors beings' levels, so excuse me if I'm having a hard time dealing with it." Bitty Bill lowers his top angle and massages the corners of his eye.
I start to feel sympathy for him, even though I am having a hard time understanding. He is in a place that is probably very unusual for him. He is broken and misunderstood. My heart puddle aches with sympathy. "Okay, I'll help you. But first, tell me about where you come from," I ask, the curiosity getting the best of me.
"I'll do you one better, I'll show it to you for real if you help me regain my strength," he says as he tips his floating top hat.
"Wow, so uh.. how do we start?" I ask as I look at him uneasily.
"Well, for starters, we have to make this official. I need you to let me use you as my anchor, seeing as my current one is rather confining and, well, immobile," he says with a wave of the hand. "I also need you to help me regain full strength, that means all my powers, restored." He paused, "And in return, I will give you whatever you wish for. Deal?" he asked, holding out one of his hands. The hand is now flickering with blue flames.
"Um, will that hurt me?" I ask cautiously.
"It is not meant to hurt, kid, just to seal the deal," Bitty Bill answered smoothly.
My mind flashes back to the vision of happiness. "Okay, it's a deal," I said as I stick my right-hand pinky out to his tiny hand.
A burning sensation snakes up my pinky and centers at the palm of my hand. The burning intensifies and I panic.