hello! sorry about the a/n's on this fic, but thank you for checking this out! i worked on this a lot longer than i expected, but i couldn't have done it without my friend, who read over several parts and helped me with ideas. check out her tumblr blog: -daily-obsessions-
be sure to read the notes on the end, please.
thank you, and i hope you like it!
I am bound by locks and chains. I am beneath them, and always will be. I can't see everything they can see. I can't do everything they can do. How long have I been here? How long have I been locked in these chains? They have me trapped here, in a black and white mind, and I want freedom. I want their power.
I want to be colorful and free.
• • •
An uncle once told his nephew the ending of the story being told – and just like that the legend was as spoiled as old milk.
A tattletale once spilled with truths as spoiled as the milk, and the liar became friendless.
There were powerful liars that lived off of "lies" and "truths" and not knowing which was which, hoping to trick you into giving them more power.
Now, tell the truth, William.
• • •
Deep in the forest, he found a wooden house. It was small yet friendly, with weather vanes on the roof and red curtains in the windows. The stairs to the porch creaked under his feet. He knocked on the door.
"Hello? Who's there?" An old woman with silver hair and large eyeglasses opened the door. She looked down at him. "Oh dear, are you okay?" The woman gasped. "What on earth happened?"
He looked down at his blood-soaked hands, and then to his arms, which were decorated with fresh triangular engravings. He felt his face – sticky everywhere, stained hair, large grin.
"What's your name?"
He slowly turned his head upwards to look at the elderly woman, stilted smile on his face and eyes widened and bloodshot.
"William."
She led him into her house. "Okay, William, let's clean you up. Do you have any family?"
William could still feel it in his hands, in his body, in his mind. "Not anymore."
• • •
He closed his eyes. This was not the usual darkness he was greeted with when he normally closed his eyes. This was different; an entirely different reality that was separate to him and only him.
It was filled with faded colors and static-y visions. Nothing was really in focus but nothing was really out of focus. It was all just there.
William, though his eyes were closed, felt he was able to walk around in this plane of thought. He saw doors, each labeled with a sign.
F̶a̶m̶i̶l̶y̶.̶ ̶D̶e̶m̶o̶n̶s̶. TRAITORS.
F̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶.̶ TATTLETALES.
J̶o̶k̶e̶s̶.̶ TRICKS.
T̶r̶u̶t̶h̶s̶.̶ LIES.
William continued to stroll about until he discovered a door labeled Memories. Curious, he pulled open the door.
All down the corridor were open doors and scrambled audio. He peered down the nearest door and saw himself sitting with his eyes closed, head resting on his palm. A bit further down he saw a knife behind his back as he spoke to an aged man.
Somewhere up ahead blood splattered from one of the open doors.
William heard screaming coming from a door to his left, but there was nothing to be seen through that door.
The door felt a bit heaver when William opened it again to leave.
• • •
Everything is on fire, he realized. William stood in a clearing in the forest, the trees around him burning with brilliant orange flames. The flames didn't touch him.
William walked closer to the fire and felt it on his fingers. He didn't feel heat, just the tickling flickers on his hand. He put his other hand in the flames and scooped fire into his palms. Still, he didn't feel anything as his skin burnt and blackened. His laughter filled the silence of the forest.
"Whoa, hey, kid!" A man called from outside the forest. The fire in William's hand extinguished as the man ran up to him.
"What the devil are you doing? C'mon kid, let's get you out of here!" William allowed the man to pick him up and carry him out of the burning forest.
The man set him down. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
The man heaved a sigh. "What's your name?"
William paused. He gazed down at his blackened hands and stared at the triangular scars on his arms. "My name is Will."
"Okay, Will, let's get you into town. What in the world were you doing in a burning forest?"
Will stood there silently, then finally confessed, "I don't know."
It was mostly true, or so he thought. He simply wasn't paying attention. If he had somehow managed to get everything on fire, he must not have noticed.
The man shook his head. "Let me take you to the doctor," he mumbled, reaching to grab Will's hand. However, as soon as he touched the boy's fingers, he felt a searing pain that caused his fingers to throb upon contact.
"Ah! Ouch!" He yelled, stopping and jerking his hand away. He cradled his burnt fingers in his other hand. "Why is your hand so hot?"
Will stared down at his hands silently for a moment, and suddenly they burst into flames as orange as the setting sun.
"What the–?" The man screamed and stumbled away. "Witchcraft! Sorcery!" He attempted to glare at William as he backed away from him. "T-They'll have you killed! Burned a-at the stake!"
Will burst into laughter, causing the poor man to fall over in surprise.
"If I can make fire come from my hands, do you really think burning me is going to kill me?"
"I … uh, I-I…."
Will took a step closer to him. "How about…." He paused and grinned down at the man maliciously. "I burn you?"
"N-No, no that's not – no, I–"
"Why not?" Will questioned. He tilted his head, expecting an answer from the man.
"Uh…." The man stumbled over his own words as he tried to form an answer. "Because – I don't – you–"
Will awaited a clear response, and just shrugged and smiled when he didn't receive one. "Well, since you can't give me any reason to back down…." He placed the palm of his hand on the man's face.
The man shrieked and writhed under Will's hand. His insides burned and melted until only the shell remained, which drooped like hot wax.
Will plucked the top hat off of his head.
• • •
This time he didn't close his eyes. Before, he was trying to return to the forest, trapped in a crowd of people with nowhere to go and nothing to breathe in but dead human skin. Now, he stood in the hazy dimensions of his mind. Everything seemed a bit clearer as he looked around, and the colors were slightly brighter.
This time when he opened the memories door, it was a struggle to pull open, and the doors inside were nearly closed. He quite literally tossed the idea of forcing them open over his shoulder and left the hallway.
To the right of the memories door was a corridor labeled deals. The door swung open with ease.
The hallway was already filled with open doors alight with fiery handshakes and betrayal. Laughter and yells mingled together from the open memories as they all merged into one sound.
Will smirked as he relived the moments inside of his head. He turned around and left the hallway, not even bothering to close the door.
He studied his mindscape once more. It appeared similar to forest in which he prevailed in, but everything moved around in an ephemeral sense, changing and adapting to new thoughts and memories that entered his mind.
He found a path that resembled the one he was travelling on not too long ago when he was fleeing the town. Why did he enter his mind during that again? Oh, yes, because of the citizens who were making their way into town. Will watched his thoughts fly around the clouded sky like birds, chirping his thoughts down at him as he passed by.
Will hoped that the crowd of people was gone as he stepped back into reality.
Thankfully, everyone had found their way into the community … except for one girl.
She lay on the patchy grass floor, passed out from exhaustion. Will walked over to her and kneeled down, picking through her bag and taking what interested him.
When he was done, he directed his attention towards the girl. He studied her face and noticed movement on her eyelids. He leaned closer, his curiosity increasing. On her eyelids was what looked to be like some sort of projection. It was black and white and far too small for Will to see clearly.
He placed his ebony hand gently over her eyes and closed his own.
He could see her dreams.
Oh, this is going to be fun.
• • •
He scratched at his face and his eyes and his arms. The triangles etched into his skin were glowing and burning like lightning had kissed his body, and his eyes felt as if they were melting from his face. It was like he could see everything at once; the other side of the world, the neighboring universe, dying animals in alleyways, an ill man going to the doctor a town over, the Andromeda galaxy, rivers of the future, a list of every person that will die the next day, everything. It was all flashing before his eyes in an instant.
Will screeched and dug his fingernails into his eye sockets. Even after he tore out both of his eyeballs, he could still see it. Blood oozed down his face and met with the corners of his mouth.
Will screamed again and carefully felt every inch of his face. Blood dripped into his mouth.
He stopped screaming and took a deep breath, though he found his lungs didn't need the air anyways. Still, he huffed and puffed until he broke out into insane laughter. Even with his eyes ripped out, he could still see.
He focused his energy into regenerating one of his eyes. Both would be too much for now. After a few hours had passed, his left eye had completely grown back. Bill covered his empty eye socket with his hand, and when he removed it an eye patch took its place.
• • •
"What do you think you're doing?" Will hissed at a man he had pinned against a tree.
The young man gulped. "I-I, uh, I heard that there was s-something in the forest, and everybody in town is afraid of, uh, of it. I thought I-I'd check it out for m-myself…."
Will glared at the man.
"Uh, I have no means to be rude, sir, but what happened to your eye?" He asked nervously.
"Gouged out." Will replied harshly.
"Oh…." He gulped. He looked around nervously for a few seconds as Will stared him down. "D-Do you know what the thing in the forest is?" The man stuttered out.
Will let go of the man and stood less than three feet away from him. "I do."
"What is it?"
"Not so fast," Will started, "I wouldn't go jumping into the fire that quickly. How about we talk for a little bit?" A grin appeared on his face.
"Uhh…." The man's eyes darted around as he pulled at his sleeve. "I don't think–"
"Of course you can!" Will exclaimed. "What's the name?"
"Um, Michael."
Will grinned. "Nice to meet you, Um Michael!" He cackled. "Just kidding, Mike."
"What's your name, then?" Michael asked.
Will paused. He carefully outlined his eye patch and repositioned his top hat. "The name's Bill."
"Nice to meet you, Bill," he replied. He hesitantly held out his hand, but Bill just observed it curiously, seemingly more interested in the glove on his hand rather than greeting him back. Michael shifted his weight from foot to foot and pulled his hand away.
Bill studied Michael's clothing. He wore gray pinstripe trousers, and a casual white collared shirt underneath a dark cutaway coat. However, Bill's eyes locked on the bow tie around Michael's neck.
"Ooh, what's this?" He stepped closer to Michael and pulled at the bow tie. He brought his face close to inspect the garment.
A small yelp escaped Michael's throat. He tilted his head back and away from Bill's and carefully pushed him away. "It's a bow tie."
Bill pulled away from Michael's face but still played with the tie. "A bow tie…." He repeated, testing the word on his tongue. He looked back up at Michael. "I like it. Where can I get one?" He asked enthusiastically.
"Uh, I'm sure there's a place in town…."
Bill hummed in disapproval and finally pulled away from Michael's collar. "That won't do."
"What?" Michael questioned. "What type of bow tie do you want?"
"Yours." Bill replied without missing a beat. He smiled so wide that his eyes were almost squinted shut. "Will you give it to me?"
Michael gasped, taken aback. "This is my bow tie, sir. It was given to me by my father, I wouldn't–"
"I'm sorry," Bill interrupted, "I must not have phrased that correctly. Give me your bow tie." He pushed Michael's shoulder back against the tree and got close to his face, visible eye turning a bright shade of red. He bared his teeth and pulled his free arm back, ready to strike if the action were necessary.
"Uh … b-but…." Michael sputtered, eyes wide. He struggled to escape from Bill's grasp, but his grip only grew tighter.
Bill opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. Instead, he calmly asked, "Do you still want to know about what everyone's afraid of inside this forest?"
Michael shivered. "Well, uh, m-maybe not…."
"Oh, stop begging, I'll tell you!" Bill exclaimed, pulling at the end of Michael's bow tie so it came undone. He quickly let go of Michael's shoulder and grabbed both ends of the bow tie and crossed the ends. Before Michael could say anything else, Bill heated the bow tie with his hands and suddenly pulled, sending it straight through Michael's neck like a blade, separating his head from his body.
Bill pulled the bow tie from what was left of Michael's blood-soaked collar and wiped it off, proceeding to tie it around his own shirt collar. "It's me."
• • •
There was energy everywhere. Everywhere Bill looked he could see energy radiating off of every living and nonliving thing in the universe: energy, dark energy, dead energy, living energy, bright energy. Each form was different in color and consistency and power.
He plucked a flower from the ground and held the stem between his finger and thumb. Colorful energy danced off of its purple petals. Bill smirked as he felt the energy seep into his hand and through his body. The flower faded of its colors and drooped in Bill's fingers.
That was just one small flower. Bill stood in front of a large meadow.
.
Most of the forest's colorful energy was gone, leaving it dull and dead. Strange things emerged from the wood; the dark energy had a habit of lurking about and possessing other beings.
Bill could not only see the wolf, but also feel the wolf, from at least a mile away. When the swift, dark-eyed creature finally neared Bill, he knelt down to greet it.
"Hello, little guy," he said to the ferocious beast. "You've got lots of darkness swarming around you, don't you?" He held his hand out for the wolf to sniff.
Instead of sniffing, however, the wolf went straight for a bite and chomped Bill's hand right off.
"Ack!" He yelled, springing up and off the ground. Upon Bill's command, the wolf exploded into confetti of blood, fur, and bones.
The dark energy from the wolf swarmed around in the air, searching for a new form to take.
"I'll take that," Bill said as he summoned the energy towards him. It formed at the end of his bleeding arm and took the shape of his hand. It hardened back into reality, and Bill flexed his new identical burnt fingers. "That's the third limb I've lost in the past month."
He settled his feet back onto the ground and observed the gut-splattered area around him. "Tch, what a mess."
• • •
"Are you sure about this?" A girl asked the rest of her friends as they stood at the edge of the forest, each armed with a lantern.
"Of course, Lucy! There's nothing wrong with this forest, just you see. Just a little spooky lookin', that's all."
"All those stories mean nothin'," another one commented.
"Still, David, even if there's nothing evil, there's still bound to be critters that crawl around at night." Lucy defended.
"Alright, fine," David hollered, stopping their whole group. "How about you wait out here, alone, while the rest of us go in?"
"Uh, n-no thanks…."
"I didn't think so." He continued on walking.
The group of teens ventured further into the forest silently. The moonlight was hidden behind thick rainclouds, leaving the woods pitch black aside from the luminous light of the lanterns.
They didn't know what they expected to find in the eerie forest, but they crept through anyways, hoping to at least catch a peek on what everyone they knew was terrified of.
One of them suddenly stopped. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what, Peter?" Lucy asked.
Run.
"Ah!" Peter yelled. He stumbled backwards and swung his lantern around himself.
"What is it?" Someone else pushed.
Peter paused and stood still, waiting for another whisper, but nothing came.
"Nothing, just … thought I heard someone for a second there."
"Okay, well, let's keep going, I guess."
A couple of minutes later, a loud swoosh noise came from in front of the group.
Everyone froze.
"What was that?" Someone asked, voice shaking.
A lightning strike flashed with a clap and everyone screamed at the sight in front of them.
An army of beaten bloodied corpses hung in the air amongst the trees. The kids each screamed out for their mother or father, or the names of their siblings and loved ones. Each kid saw a vision of the dead bodies of the people they held closest to them.
One of the teens pulled the others out of their shock. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"
"M-My sister! Ellie, I saw my sister!" A boy cried to the girl that pulled them all away.
"It couldn't have been, Jack," Ellie returned, "let's just get out of here!"
Qrzkhuh wr uxq, qrzkhuh wr uxq, qrzkhuh wr uxq, qrzkhuh wr uxq.
"What was that?" David screamed.
QR RQH LV DOORZHG LQ WKH IRUHVW.
"What type of demonic language is this?" Another cried.
"Who cares? Just run!"
"Where's the path? It's gone!" Peter wheezed.
They all stumbled to a stop and frantically looked around, but the path was nowhere in sight.
Suddenly, one of the kids let out an ear-shattering shriek.
David was on his knees, screaming as his skin peeled away from his body. At first, it was just flakes of skin, but soon enough large chunks of his skin were being ripped from his body, revealing the red muscle underneath.
His friends watched in horror as the same sequence happened to his muscles. His muscles were peeling away violently, making a gruesome tearing noise as it did so. David's hoarse screaming slowly died out.
One of the boys covered his mouth as a yelp escaped his throat. Tears streamed down his face, just as some of the others had also started doing.
David's skeleton underneath was beginning to show. Anything other than bone evaporated into thin air like steam, including his eyes and internal organs. After only a few seconds, the only thing left of David was his skeleton and a few bits of skin and muscle that didn't evaporate away with everything else.
Everyone shrieked, shielding their eyes or looking away from what used to be their friend. However, they were distracted once again by a loud splat sound that came from a tree trunk next to David's skeleton.
"What was that?" Jack asked hesitantly, slowly glancing at his friends after wiping his face off with his shirt.
"It sounded like it came from over here…." Ellie replied, gripping her lantern tight as she passed by the skeleton of her friend. She held the light up to the tree trunk.
Written in big, bloody leaders read, "YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO LUCY."
Everyone went stone cold and turned towards Lucy.
Lucy fanned herself. "I, uh, did I…?" Her quiet words faded away as her eyes rolled back and her knees collapsed under her. Peter quickly scooped her up before she hit the ground.
Thunder rolled around in the sky as rain started to fall, quickly picking up speed.
"Let's … let's get out of here…." Ellie said, starting to walk away from everyone else.
"What? Where are you going? We don't know the way out!"
"Yeah, Ellie, and we don't even know who or what did that to David!"
Ellie huffed, wiping a tear from her face. "Well that's why I say we should keep moving! What if it comes back to get one of us?"
Another flash of lightning struck, bringing their attention to a figure in a clearing to their left.
There stood Bill Cipher, psychotic grin on his face.
• • •
He stood in the forest of his mind. He meandered through a maze of trees, entering a landscape of old, dead wood. The further that he ventured into the forest, the less spirited and vivid it became. Unlike the other minds he's entered, Bill's mindscape was filled with vibrant colors, while the memories faded into black and white. Everyone else's was the exact opposite.
Bill knew that there were hidden doors the farther he strayed from the center of his thoughts. He knew that there were doors that he didn't even know existed. He found a door underneath a pile of leaves, a door embedded in tree bark, a door on the inside of a hollowed log, and then … something surrounded by a wall of tall pine trees.
Bill concentrated on creating a pathway through the trees. Two of the pines floated off of the ground and shredded into wooden panels, which placed themselves on the ground all the way to Bill. Bill advanced along the steps to the center of the shrine.
Bill stood in front of a door labeled emotions.
"Oh, anything but this," he grumbled, annoyed that he had come this far for something so pointless.
"I feel nothing," he growled to himself, staring down the door.
Upon those words, the door swung open and everything inside hit him like a brick; the gush of wind sent him falling backwards onto his rear.
A tear spilled from his eye. Bill clenched his fists.
"I feel nothing!" he yelled. His words sent the door slamming shut. He summoned locks and chains to wrap around the door. Bill stood up with his teeth bared and shoulders back, eyes narrowed at the door he dared to burn. Thoughts, feelings, and memories that he never wanted to experience now consumed every particle of his body.
Why am I like this? He heard his own voice whisper around him. Who made me like this?
The realization dawned upon him. Everybody comes from somewhere.
Bill screamed. He could feel everything around him shake. Hall after hall, doors were slammed shut and locked closed at the sound of Bill's anguished screams.
"I hate you, you traitors!" He yelled. His being grew larger with every step he took, stomping over the trees of his mindscape.
"You demons!"
Bill plucked the door labeled traitors from the ground.
"You did this to me! LOOK AT ME!"
Bill's hands exploded into hot, orange flames, burning the door and everything inside of it. He heaved in deep breaths and shrank back to his normal size.
Not anymore.
• • •
He saw the Big Bang. Actually, he saw multiple Big Bangs, as if he was looking through a temporal kaleidoscope. Each one had different colors, each one had different forms of life, and each one had different stars….
Somehow … this happened to me….
He looked down at his blackened hands, adjusted his bow tie, and repositioned his top hat. Luminous blue flames lit from his hands.
Bill narrowed his eye. This time, I'm ready.
He was at the beginning.
• • •
Edwin Abbott Abbott had a decent idea.
thanks for reading! please let me know what you think of it, it really means a lot to me.
also, be sure to check out the playlist for this fic on 8tracks - △ E C H O