A/N: Uh... Hi-and-Bye fandom.
It wasn't that Dipper didn't like the weirdness of his Grunkle's town in Oregon.
No. It wasn't that.
It was that the... creatures always left in imprint. More on himself than Mabel, apparently, as she only made jokes about the absurd beings (was it just a front? Oh he wasn't going to ask.)
It was only after the fifth dream of rainbow-barfing gnomes and possibly human-eating three-headed bears that he comfronted Grunkle Stan about it. Of course, he left out the gnomes in favor of the more dangerous creatures.
Stan had grown quiet, he stood up, and with the most seriousness Dipper had ever seen, started rummaging through the amount of stuff he had.
"Grunkle Stan? What are you...?" He asked, before the man turned with a locked box and a look in his eye.
"Dipper, this is not going to be a joke, please listen to me," he said gently, reaching into his jacket pocket for a small set of keys and hovering them near the box. "How bad are the dreams?"
The young boy bit his lip, images of the lake monster opening his mouth-oh so wide-before darkness flashed behind his eyelids. "Bad," he whispered hoarsely.
Stan gave Dipper a small smile before unlocking the box. Dipper peered to look at the content.
It was a small charm (necklace of bracelet, he wasn't sure) that held a golden triangle with an eye on it.
Dipper backed up. "Grunkle Stan, you know I... I'm having second thoughts..."
Stan growled and flicked the charm, rolling his eyes. "I promise it's not the Illuminati insignia. I'm not that dumb."
Dipper reached out to further inspect the charm, but Stan grabbed his wrist. "Mason," He said sternly, and Dipper winced, he was that serious, "the number one rule around here with artifacts, don't just touch them."
"R-right, okay, so what is that?" Dipper asked nervously.
Stan rubbed his forehead. "It's a baku."
"Uhh..."
A heavily sigh escaped Stan's lips. "It's a dream spirit that eats nightmares. Japanese and Chinese myths."
"Oh," Dipper said, eyes lighting up. "So I can have it?"
Stan hesitated. "Look, kid, baku aren't all happy and heroic. If you do something they don't like, they'll eat your hopes and dreams as well. And before you ask, it differs from baku to baku. Most will eat them if they feel you are too greedy of their service, or if they're not satisfied. Don't just feed them PG-scary dreams, understand?"
Dipper was pale but nodded firmly. Stan softened. "Baku aren't demonic creatures, they'll probably warn you, or at least try to help beforehand. But they can get offended easily, so be nice and they will be nice back."
"Okay. What's the baku's name?" Dipper asked as Stan handed him the charm. It was a little warm, and made him calm.
"Cypher. And if anything starts acting up, bring the charm back here pronto."
"I promise."
He started right away—sort of eager just to meet this creature and possibly ask them to not eat his hopes and dreams. That would be nice.
Stan told him that there were three ways to summon a baku. Before sleeping, during the nightmare, and when you wake up. Dipper chose to try the second.
It was some monster, with its mouth opened like and insect and beady eyes. Dipper hasn't ever encountered this before, but it's a good combination of many different monsters.
He nearly screams as it chases him, he's stuck, stuck in molasses, in glue and this creature will tear him to—
Dipper breathes, and thinks out loudly. Baku, come eat my dream, he chants thrice, than adds on a little please in case the baku likes manners.
The reaction is instantaneous. The creature—and the world around it—dissolves into nothingness, until it's just a greyscale of nothing. Dipper turns, and finds his baku waiting.
It's the same shape of the charm. Triangle with an eye, but arms and legs and bow tie and hat. He inches closer.
"Howdy there kiddo! That was a mighty fine nightmare you had," the baku says in a fake western accent, tipping the hat, "I like you. What's your name?"
"Dipper Pines," he responds, happy his tongue isn't lead.
The baku grins. "I'm Bill Cypher, but mostly called Cypher. And don't worry about the old guy. I'll try not to bite."
Dipper wants to smile, but feels uneasy. "Um, so uh, what's your rule for crossing the line?"
Cypher smiles. "Right of the bat huh? I'm mostly with both. Petty dreams are terrible, but I suppose they're a good snack. I don't really like being a thing for people to use. We're partners. You get no bad dreams, I get food. Win-win. I don't like being a object or pet," a scowl (is that a scowl?) crossed Bill's face. "But I'm not a fan of hopes and dreams. Taste terrible. See, making people go crazy is more interesting." Dipper cut Bill off before the triangle continues.
"Okay, okay I get it," Dipper shivers gently. "Not creepy at all."
Bill frowns (Dipper thinks that's a frown) "aww, sorry for scaring you, is it the triangle? It's always the triangle, humans are so weird they find anything that doesn't look like them scary!" The baku quickly changes shape, suddenly a tall man with a tailcoat stands, eyepatch on. "Is this better? I've learned quickly not to do the bear-dragon form. Nobody likes that." His(?) face scrunches up.
Dipper stammers. "Uh- n-no the triangle is okay. That's okay too, I don't mind very much."
Bill beams happily. "Finally, someone with common sense! People need to stop getting scared, but then I'd go hungry, so if they keep getting scared it's pathetic but I get food. Catch-22 I guess," he sighed, before clasping his hands together, extending one to Dipper immediately afterward. "So, kiddo, guess I'm eating your dreams now."
Dipper calmed himself. "Uhh. Yeah, thanks mister," he said, and Bill's face scrunched up.
"We'll work on that. But for now, wait handshakes are still a thing, right? Oh, did no one teach you how to handshake?!" Bill's eye widened.
A flush bloomed on Dipper's cheeks. "Uh, no, I know how to handshake." He tentatively reaches out his hand to the triangle. They shake, and Bill smiles.
"Now, as much as I'd love to have a second course, it's time for you to wake up Dipper."