"It's not fair. My boys are destined for greatness, and Filbrick doesn't even bother! They're his sons, for crying out loud!"
Mariline Hecors, now Mariline "Ma" Pines. Pathological liar, now using that skill as a phone psychic. Married to Filbrick Pines, mother of twins Stanley and Stanford. Not very creative names, but he didn't pick his business partners for their naming skills. Oh, no, he picked them for… other things.
Like whether they were gullible enough to communicate with a demon.
"It really is a shame, Goldie. I mean, I just can't believe the nerve of some people. How could he do that the you and your boys? The scandal!" That's it, flatter them. Show them how much you 'care,' and it all goes easier. The dream demon leaned forward, propping himself up on one elbow, if you could even call it that. "You know, I can predict the future."
Ma scoffed. "Yeah, right, so can I."
"Really! Those boys-oh, man, you wouldn't believe what they end up doing. The one-Ford, right? Genius scientist, builds something that changes the course of human history!"
Ma rolled her eyes, trying in vain to hide her interest. "What about Stanley?"
"Why, little 'Lee ends up a hero! Amazing fighter, saving lives, helping people-I mean, he ends up building up a fortune, then using his money to help his brother with his work!"
The woman on the other side of the table grinned. "Ha! See, I knew it! He won't listen, seems to think just 'cause we have twins he can only half pay attention to each of them, but now? Oh, if only he knew what we know!"
Bill Cipher, as he was known to the mortals, looked around with his one eye, as if he expected someone to be spying on them in the mindscape-he didn't, of course, but he wanted to build up suspense. "Y'know, Goldie, if you want, I can talk to ol' Bifocals, try to knock some sense into him for 'ya."
"You can?! But I thought you could only talk to me through my dreams."
"That may be, but you're not the only one I can talk to. I'll pop into his head tomorrow night, see if I can get it into his thick skull."
Ma held out her hand for a shake, and the demon accepted it. "Thanks a busload, Bill. Need any help?"
"Nah, just let me handle this, and I promise, your boys'll get everything they deserve!"
He really was lucky Ma was so desperate. She'd gone searching, looking for a charm, a hex, something to convince her husband to help take care of the boys. She's never really believed in the supernatural, but she didn't care at this point. She just wanted help.
And, in a way, she got it.
He hadn't explained exactly how Stanford would change the world, nor whether it'd be a positive thing or not. He hadn't explained that Stanley's efforts to save his brother might cause the end of the world. He hadn't bothered pointing out the difference between what they deserved and what they wanted.
No, she didn't need to know that.
And she didn't need to know what happened the night after their little 'chat.' How he showed up in Filbrick's mind, a drab, dark place, and offered to make him rich if he just did the demon a favor.
Let him borrow his body for a little while.
"You lied to me! Give me my body back, you-"
"Easy, Bifocals! Y'know, a 'little while' for a demon may seem like a lot longer to you meatbags. Months, years, who knows?! I'll tell you when I'm done."
(He gave him his body back, alright- sometime after wandering off, never to be seen again, in a seeming despair after one son's death and the other turning away from a promising career to become a con man. After all, it was hard to balance his current work and maintaining a human identity!)
And she didn't need to know who really broke Stanford's project. She didn't need to know why, exactly, 'Filbrick' wanted Stanley out of the house. Not out of anger, but because it would be so much harder to manipulate Sixer if he had his brother with him.
No, she was just pleased to see Filbrick finally take an interest in his sons' lives.
She didn't need to know it wasn't really him.
A/N: I'm sorry, but I saw a post on Tumblr and the idea wouldn't leave me alone.