Author's Note: This story takes place after the events of Sock Opera and before Not What He Seems. I hope you enjoy what has been written so far.
A weak light flickered in the darkness, it's source a small oil lamp, only barely keeping the flame alight. It's glow only washed over a small area around it on the floor, with shadows gathering in the corners the flame's warmth couldn't reach. Next to the lamp was a young chestnut-haired boy, poring over a tattered old book. Said boy had neglected to change into pajamas that night, as he had every night, wearing the usual navy blue jacket, orange t-shirt, and shorts. Laying down, he kicked his shoes off. He flipped a page of the book casually, and, leaning in closer to the writing on the weathered paper, muttered to himself;
"Parallel universes...?"
A bump came from above him, the sound coming from the attic. His sister, Mabel, had invited her friends Candy and Grenda over for a sleepover. Not wkanting to stay upstairs with them, and not being too quick to sleep outside like he had done before (a wolf had gnawed on his leg last time,) he resided downstairs on the living room floor, not minding the scratchy feeling of the crusty carpet on his elbows. The boy could faintly hear his Grunkle Stan snoring from all the way up the stairs. Because of the rather large racket, he wasn't getting any sleep. So, like many times before, he read over the Journal he had found in the woods.
As the night grew older, and the wall clock's hand slowly crept toward three a.m., he had moved closer to the lamp to soak up some of it's warmth in the cold darkness. The page of the book he was reading currently covered the topic of parallel universes.
While looking it over, one particular thing caught his eye;
"A parallel universe has few points in which it can be entered, but when access to said parallel is gained, it is considered that the alternate version of yourself is replaced by the home universe you."
So, the boy thought, if you enter the other universe, you replace yourself? That's odd. Normally he did not consider venturing out to explore some of the creatures and such in the book, but the thought of travelling to a place like his own, but also unlike it was interesting.
"So how do you gain access to it?" he said aloud to himself, figuring that no one would be around to hear him. With his sister having fun with her friends upstairs and his Grunkle asleep, he had the freedom to talk to himself all through the night.
"Although there is a possibility that said universe can be entered, I have found no point of entry yet." He read aloud, silently cursing whoever had written the book, "How is that supposed to help me!" He exclaimed, scrunching his face up in annoyance.
Almost at once, the lantern that he had been laying so close to had been extinguished, and darkness consumed the room like a hungry dog. This sudden development startled the boy, and he cried out loud, sounding like a screaming girl. He had always hated the way he screamed, and wished it was that of a deeper tone. But that thought hadn't entered his mind this time.
Without the lantern by his side, he couldn't see anything. The boy then realized how stupid he had been to rely on the lantern for light instead of your standard lamp. But, he had chosen the lantern anyway for the sole reason that it added to the atmosphere. Instinct told him to flick on a lightswitch, but that was on the far wall. The shadows were too thick, and he didn't get up to pick his way toward the switch in fear of tripping and hurting himself.
As sudden as the lantern's light had been snuffed out, a voice echoed from behind the boy, slicing through the shadows and causing a chill to shoot up his spine;
"So, you want to enter a parallel universe? Looking to cause trouble, Pine Tree?"
Without even a second of thought, the image of the voice's owner popped into the boy's head, "Bill!" He exclaimed before he could stop himself. The boy almost leapt up from the floor and whipped around to face the intruder.
Before him the being appeared, the energy radiating off of his triangular body lighting the room only a short distance. As always, Bill Cipher wore his signature inky black bow tie and top hat. And who could forget his horrific single eye, which seemed like it could catch every single movement in a second. That eye had seen every corner of the universe, and frankly the thought of it terrified the boy.
"Well well well, Dipper Pines! It's been so long, hasn't it!"
Dipper shrunk a bit in his skin, taking a step back, "I thought I got rid of you!" he yelled, making an attempt to sound tough, but ultimately failing.
"Oh, you can never rid of me once i've been summoned! I thought you knew that? Oh, of course, I forgot that despite being a bookworm, you're still not that bright." Bill narrowed his single eye mockingly.
Even though he ignored that stab at his ego, deep down it still hurt a bit. But Dipper knew that the dream demon was just trying to wear him down so that he could play puppet again. "Why are you here, Bill? I'm not looking to make any more deals with you, I've learned my lesson."
"Well, I was in the area, watching you all like I always am, and heard you had taken an interest in parallel universes. I happen to know a certain way to, let's say, gain access..." Bill casually crossed his legs as if reclining in the air. Dipper wouldn't lie to himself this time, his interest had been sparked.
"What? You know how to enter the parallel universe?" Dipper squinted and balled his fists, trying to hold in his excitement. The idea that Bill Cipher, the very demon that had wanted to hurt him, would be tricking him, almost vanished as fast as it had materialized.
Bill's eye widened. He held out his hand, the palm of it igniting with a cerulean fire, "You're excited now, are you? Who am I to deny you, of all people, entry? You love getting into trouble, don't you?"
Bill's words ridn't even register in Dipper's brain. Dipper didn't give any second thoughts toward the action before he went through with it. Grabbing the demon's hand, he shook it vigorously.
In that exact moment he realized his mistake.
Maybe Bill had an influence over his mind. Or maybe it was the sheer amount of excitement that had built up in Dipper's body. But there wasn't any backing out now.
The light disappeared at once, and it felt like Dipper was being sucked into a black hole. Pain began to flourish in his head, spreading throughout his whole body like poison. His muscles were riddled with agony. It was as if every bone in his body was breaking at once, and his blood was on fire.
And then he felt nothing.
Author's Note: I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of this story. If you'd like to leave a review on how I can improve, please do!