Chapter Two

Warning/**SPOILER**:

Near the end of this chapter is a scene involving an animal attack. If this is something that could cause you some distress. Also after the animal attack there is an animal death.

His own groan jarred Dipper to full consciousness and he lay for a moment trying to recall just when it was he had gone to bed. The attic was veiled in darkness save the moonlight streaming through the single triangle shaped window above his desk. As his eyes adjusted his memory flashed images of stale grey and blue fire and he swung himself violently upward.

His eyes bulged with anxiety and he felt tremors shaking his limbs. He fumbled out of bed, the balls of his feet pushing against the attic floor as he scurried in front of an antique full-length mirror. Stretching his eyelids apart with his fingers relief washed over him like a cool wave when his own chocolate brown orbs stared out from his reflection.

However, just as relief had settled, the image of his irises flashed gold, his pupils slimming momentarily verticle and he shrunk away from the reflective glass. He had hoped that it had merely been a horrible nightmare. A dark fantasy that was plaguing him in a reminder of past demons long defeated, but the dark chuckling within his own head crushed his hopes.

Recalling his deal with the despicable creature, Dipper's thoughts immediately went to that of his uncle. When he had encountered him post-handshake, while the memory was somewhat fuzzy, his great-uncle Stan had seemed as if he were once again himself and himself alone. Despite his less than ideal situation, Dipper felt reassured that Bill had actually followed through on his side of the bargain.

"Didn't I tell you, kid?" He jumped, startled by the nasal tones of the dream demon echoing in his head.

"Bill?" He looked around his bedroom, turning and searching for an outward show of his presence. "Where are you?" His question was answered as his eyes fell upon the mirror once more. Well, one of his eyes, as the left was glowing that citrine color. He was in his head.

"Give the boy a prize!" His response dripped enthusiastically. Dipper scratched at his left thigh and stepped closer to his reflection to examine his face. Everything else was as it should be and he realized that he wasn't wearing his signature brown flaphat over his curls. Moving back towards his bed he pulled his bedside table lamp's string and the room was shrouded in a warm glow. Where was his hat? Had he left it down in the gift shop?

He turned to his desk and saw the garment sitting on a raised corner on the back of his chair. Knowing his Grunkle Stan must have placed it there for him after he had passed out, he smiled. He knew how Dipper felt about that hat, a trade from his first crush in Gravity Falls, Wendy. His joyful grin faded as his hand that had reached out for his favorite head covering fell short of just grabbing it. His fingers refusing to close around it, to take it in his grasp. What?

"Not so fast, Pine Tree," Bill drawled. Was he keeping Dipper from putting on his hat? His legs forced him in a comical march, sticking straight out with each step before he was once again in front of that damn mirror, staring at his heterochromatic eyes. A hand lifted to his forehead, sliding upward to mow back his bangs and expose the succession of freckles hidden there. "Nice spots you got there. How long have you had 'em?"

Dipper's stomach flipped at the blatant display of control Bill had over his body. What followed after was a stream of mental berating on the obvious. Of course, Bill could control him, he had been controlling his Grunkle Stan after all. And he had agreed to take Stan's place, becoming Bill's new meat puppet.

"What's it to you?" Dipper snarled still scratching at his left thigh through his denim shorts with his one controlled hand. "And can't you just dig around in my head and find out?" Some all-knowing powerful demon Bill was turning out to be.

"While I could dig it out of your decorated skull," Bill teased. "There are other far more entertaining ways I can make you talk." The threat hung heavy in his words. Dipper was just starting to consider it when the section of his leg his nails had been digging at flared as if a heated prong were being pressed against his skin.

"What the fuck? What the fuck!" Dipper exclaimed, backside thumping to the floor and pulling his left shorts leg upward. He hissed as the rough fabric grazed the sensitive skin. Bad move! He fumbled with his pants and forced them to bunch around his knees. He blinked at the edge of a black shape peaking from beneath his boxers. He lifted the lose, and thankfully much softer fabric up and exposed a solid black triangle three inches in size staining the surface of the taut muscle. A double pointed oval of his pale skin took up the middle of the space and a black vertical line was at its nerves flared in pain, a blue glow emanating from it.

"What the fuck!" Dipper cried out again, and Bill laughed. "You branded me?"

"Your welcome!" He taunted the boy gleefully. "So about your starry face," The mark flared once more and Dipper hissed a string of swears before replying.

"All my life! All my life! Now stop! Stop!" The burning subsided to a dull thrum that seemed to match a humming of consideration from his invisible conversation partner. "Why is it important?" He panted, pulling his shorts back up gingerly as he stood.

"Who said it was important? I just have a curious nature."

"You-" Dipper was about to tell him off but stopped himself as his thigh pulsed in remembrance. He'd rather avoid that particular sensation for the moment. "Not a lot of people know about it. My parents gave me the nickname over a decade ago." It had been their attempt at turning a negative into a positive.

His birthmark had triggered years of teasing and scalding remarks from his peers as he grew up. And while his father's gift of hats was helpful, he had to give credit to his mom. She bestowed the nickname like an alter ego. And Dipper had taken it and ran. As 'Dipper Pines' he felt he was capable of far more.

Now that Dipper had answered one of Bill's questions, a barrage of his own flooded his mind. The most troubling one being, could he find a way out of this mess?

"The big dipper." Bill's voice cut through the drifting stream, considering it with an almost hungry tone. "Fascinating."

Dipper sighed in relief as his body was finally allowed to carry himself back to his hat, shove it on his head and sit on the edge of his mattress. He pulled out his cell from his pocket and looked at the time. 3:33AM. He snorted at the demonic horror movie cliche. But now his mind had trailed back to the vague terms of their agreement, specifically Bill's side.

"So, what are you-" How does one even ask that question? What do you need my body for? How can I get you out of my head today? There didn't seem to be a right way, so he finished his thought, "Going to use me for, anyway."

"Whatever I want." Bill's quick response caused Dipper's eyes to bulge. "And however long I want." Oh, he was so royally fucked. "Maybe you missed it, Pine Tree, and pay attention because I'm going to spell it out for you." His head turned itself toward that damned mirror across the room, both eyes now demonstrating Bill's control. His own mouth moved, bringing to life the sound of the demon's voice that until now had only been an echo within his mind. "I own you."

Dipper slapped hands, one over the other, on his mouth and shuttered while Cipher cackled within his thoughts. The message was loud and clear. Any movement he made by his own will, it was a gift. Bill could maneuver and control his every action if he wanted to. He could make him do or say whatever he wanted, in Dipper's voice or his own. Dipper let his hands fall to his lap, wincing at accidental contact to the painful claim beneath denim.

All Bill had said before Dipper had willingly shaken his hand, was that Dipper would be taking his uncle's place. What that had exactly entailed hadn't been revealed. And it wasn't as if they had the time to explain it. A perk that had tipped things in Bill's favor. Dipper's body belonged to Bill, but his mind was still his own.

"Oh, that's good." Bill hummed, clearly pleased by his reaction. "You know, I like you, kid." Dipper wasn't thrown off by the sudden admission having heard it once before long ago. "There is a way you could help us both out."

Dipper narrowed his eyes, suspicious of his intentions. His lips pressed together as he gazed across the room in an act of confrontation. At least one of his eyes had returned to normal. Dare he ask? Bill didn't wait for him to.

"It'll get me out of your hairy skullcap." He sang the last word like a song, taunting. Dipper only glared at his reflection, focusing on that one glowing eye. "Admit it, you're interested." Bill urged. It wasn't a lie, Dipper was indeed interested, but once again he had consequences to consider. And now he had time to think about it, to ask questions.

"Would you still have control over my body?" Dipper asked slowly.

"Oh absolutely!" Bill grinned. "There's no going back on that, Pine Tree. That was the deal. Your meat sack is my vessel." Dipper scoffed, his interest was fading until Bill continued to explain. "But I know how much you appreciate your personal space."

"Personal space?" Dipper repeated, his curiosity once again peaked. So while Bill could still control him, it wouldn't be from within Dipper's head. Instead, it would be from the outside. He liked the idea of an increase in privacy. Currently, Bill was forced to watch his every move, there was no way Dipper could sneak behind his back and find a way out. Yes, personal space would be ideal to try and find a way to break free and destroy the demon, permanently.

"If you're up for the task." Bill hinted. This was going to be something that Dipper wasn't going to like. Of course, something as valuable as space away from his new puppet master would have a hefty price. Time to calculate its worth.

"What kind of task?" That golden eye in his reflection seemed to twinkle. Dipper's throat clenched.

"Just a small, and willingly performed sacrifice! Emphasis on the willing, of course"

"Fuck no!"

Dipper would have to find another way to get Bill out of his head. Maybe if he could ask his great-uncle Ford if there was a way he could suppress the demon. And then knock him out of Dipper's mind. The flaw in that was Bill would never give him the chance. "I'm not killing anyone." He turned away from the glass, his eyes trailing to his messy desk riddled with notes he hadn't been able to look at for months. A small ache twinged in his chest.

"Baby steps, Pine Tree." Bill was clearly pleased with where the boy's mind had traveled. Dipper's stomach twisted at the suggestion of future possibilities. "You eat meat, don't you? A little rabbit stew for some additional privacy? Not a bad trade in my opinion."

Glancing toward the mirror he looked at himself, that glowing eye hiding in his current position. He let the demon's words sink in. It would be no different than hunting for survival. With more space between him and Bill, there was a far better chance of him finding his own loophole. To escape.

"It's your's to consider, kid. I can't force you to. Well clearly I could but it would defeat the purpose."

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked, fully facing his reflection again.

"The power is in the intent. You have to intend to make me the offering. It's not exactly your own intent if I'm the force behind the knife." It made sense.

"Emphasis on the willing." The young man repeated. His head nodded once, courtesy of Bill. So his uncle probably hadn't gone out on any killing sprees. As far as he knew anyway. Grunkle Stan seemed to have forgotten that he had held the tyrannical triangle in his head for over five years. "My uncle didn't uh-" Could he even ask? Would Bill tell him the truth in the first place?

"Nah kid," Bill didn't want to admit to just how powerless he had been in the confines of that prison of a mind. Keeping Fez-Head unaware had been the best course of action, though long and tedious. It was better than having to fight through Stan trying to suppress him. And loathe he was to admit that the man could've held out for a while. Long enough for his brother to do away with him.

Hiding, suggesting and manipulating, oh had it worked out in his favor. He had snagged Pine Tree, and the power boost had been a welcome side-effect. Now all he needed was to push him in the right direction.

"He didn't know he had the pleasure of my company. And anytime I took the reigns was simply blacked out from his memory." A little truth sprinkled here and there would help.

Dipper regarded his options quietly. He knew what he would get out of it, but what of Bill Cipher? The young man analyzed Bill's position and how he had gotten to where they were currently.

Bill needed to gain power in order to get to this point. He had done that through petty bartering through the business of the Mystery Shack. In making a much more significant deal, Bill now had more significant power. If Dipper made a sacrifice in Bill's name it would give Bill the power to have more freedom. And who knows what else?

Bill knew that Pine Tree was putting the puzzle together. The kid was smart but wasting his talents. Dipper didn't have any other option. Yes, the sacrifice would give Bill more of his energy back, but he knew the kid wanted to fight for his freedom. A way to once again rid the world of Bill, and make it stick. If the demon you're trying to get rid of is watching your every move then you don't stand a chance.

"Fine." Before Dipper even finished saying the word his body was moving towards the door. "Hey! Hey, wait?!"

"No time like the present, Pine Tree!" Bill echoed in his head cheerily. He sounded giddy as if he were a child heading to the fair for the first time.

"It's almost four in the morning!"

"Time is an illusion!"

"I thought I had to do this on my own!" Dipper exclaimed, panicking as his feet lead him down the hall. This wasn't right, it didn't feel right. He'd never killed an animal before! Maybe he accidentally crushed an occasional bug or spider but, he never approached a living thing with the intent to kill. He hadn't been that cruel since the multi-bear! Now his head searched frantically for anything that would make his body stop moving. He tried to grab the wall as he rounded the corner but his fingers simply brushed the edge and started to trail a line against the rest of the hall. Bill hummed through Dipper's voice a joyous song, jaunty even.

"Think of it like a field trip! A biology excursion! You're broadening your horizons!" Bill persisted his points within his head, still humming through Dipper's vocals. The more Bill insisted, the more Dipper felt like he had made a mistake. He was reaching for the handle to open the door to the porch, his face was burning.

"I said I'd do it just not now!"

"Dipper?" His fingers stopped just short of the knob when Ford's voice reached his ears. "What are you doing up so late?" Dipper huffed for a moment, wondering if his great-uncle even knew what time it was with how little he ventured from his research cave.

"I'm not up late I'm up early." The young man countered smartly as he turned to face him. Technically it was true as he had slept through most of the night. The elder gave an indigenized sigh.

"Very well, what are you doing up so early?" Ford asked and Dipper couldn't help the resentment coiling within. What was with the interrogation? He felt the elder had in him a lack of trust that his Grunkle Stan had shown him his first summer there.

"As long as I'm not in your way then what should it matter?" He responded coldly.

"It matters if you're going to put yourself at risk. I'm responsible for your well being."

"Oh push off! Go back to your lab. I'm going for a walk." Dipper turned and grasped the handle he had been so unwilling to before. His legs stretching in long, running strides carrying him out into the pine forest.

As the distance between him and the shack grew, his pace slowed. He bent down and picked up a random stick, dragging it along the dirt as he persisted deeper into the woods.

"Damn, Pine Tree. That was rough."

"Pssht. He's been like that ever since I came back." Even before he said it Dipper knew it wasn't entirely true. His Grunkle Ford had been so thrilled when he first came back to Gravity Falls. However, every time Dipper tried to communicate his own theories he had been missing some piece of the puzzle that Ford hadn't thought to explain. This made Dipper look foolish as well as annoyed the elder. It was a constant pattern in their communication that left them both frustrated. Dipper had grown more depressed and his great-uncle Ford became more distant.

"He doesn't appreciate your potential, kid." Dipper laughed aloud at Bill's comment.

"Yeah, sure." His words were sullen and dry. "I have a multitude of uses. Filing, stenographer, steward, and let's not forget, the ultimate fall guy!" He swung the stick at a stalky pine trunk as he passed. The inch and a half thick branch splintered a couple inches shy of his grip. Dipper growled and tossed the rest of the scrap behind him.

Bill hadn't noticed before but Dipper was stronger than he looked. Any muscle on the boy was mostly hidden under his baggy attire and was easy to miss. Bill thought back to the scene in the attic when the boy had discovered Bill's anchor to him. His thighs were decently thick and meaty. He is quite the hiker, Bill noted to himself as even in the dark Dipper walked in confidence of roots and stones, knowing the path he strode on from frequency.

"Honestly, Pine Tree," Bill was planning on taking advantage of this violent inner rage. "Did you see his face back there?" The demon conjured up a mental recall, though a tad more dramatic than reality. He pushed the image to the front of Dipper's mind and the brunette's fists clenched. Pity. Ford was pitying him, humoring him. Bill could barely contain his glee at the flare of anger within the kid's head. "That's not a face you deserve after all the things you've seen."

Dipper knew Bill's game but his emotions were already a battle for him. Bill was adding fuel to an already frenzied inferno. For months Dipper had been struggling with his relationship with him and his once idolized great-uncle. He had given up a potential future for a past promise that the elder had failed to make good on. Ford was supposed to teach and guide him but, what now? And after putting his trust in Ford's abilities it hurt that the bridge did not run both ways.

Dipper could feel the embarrassing stinging behind his eyes swelling. He wondered if it were even possible for him to fall any lower. His vision now obscured with salt water he stopped and dropped to his knees in the midst of the roughly carved path. When did his life get so fucked up? When he dropped out of college despite his high grades? When his Grunkle Ford had given up on him?

"Hey, Pine Tree?" Bill cooed tentatively. Dipper ignored him. He was tired of the demon's comments and refused to acknowledge that Bill was even there to see him so vulnerable. He was breaking down. There was nowhere for him to go. "Kid." The voice strived casually as if he were only half interested in expressing his thoughts.

"Not now." Dipper sniped. He just wanted it all to stop. He wanted to stop feeling like such a failure, a fool whose only worth was to that of a desperate and weakened being of energy. He looked up at the sky that had slowly started to lighten. It said he had been skulking around the dark for almost two hours.

"You might want to consider-" Bill's offhanded persistence was cut short.

"Just drop it, Cipher!" The damn triangle couldn't give him a moment of peace!

"Suit yourself," Bill responded with a mental shrug.

Dipper was about to celebrate his small victory when he heard a rush of pattering behind him. He turned his waist to face the noise just in time for a snout of sharp teeth to wrap around the top of his left shoulder. Fear coursed through him as he fell backward into the browned needles, leaves, and dirt. He pushed his arms out in an attempt to free his body from the clamping grey mass of fur. In doing so he felt the fangs push deeper, ripping into his flesh making him cry out in agony. He jammed his knee upward into the animal's belly but it didn't hit as hard as he had hoped, the angle had been too awkward.

"I tried to tell you, Pine Tree." Bill was cackling, amused at the primal encounter. The lone wolf had been following the young man for the last 20 minutes. After Dipper had fallen to his knees the stray beast regarded the opportunity for a meal and had begun to prowl closer. It was in those last few moments before the pounce that Bill had tried to bring the situation to the kid's attention.

Dipper growled, adrenaline kicking in as he pulled back his right hand into a fist. He brought it forward, smashing it with all his strength into the animal's skull. He didn't know those canines could sink any deeper but the pressure from the punch connecting caused his flesh to wrap further around the intruding bone. But, Dipper had successfully disorientated the wolf and rolled to the right, bringing his knee up to push into its abdomen.

Rushing warm crimson splurged forth as his shoulder was freed. The animal squirmed beneath the weight and Dipper pushed down harder causing a squeaking yelp. The young man reached toward the thrashing head of the beast and that jaw once again managed to snap down on his body. Greedily it claimed his right hand between his index finger and thumb and Dipper was forced to let his arm go limp. He didn't want a struggle for the appendage to cause damage he couldn't recover from.

He thrust another punch, this time against its thrashing neck, and again he was free. Before it had time to recover, Dipper folded his arms in front of himself and thrust them against the wolf's neck. He used all his weight to push his forearms into the beast causing its head to still and choking sounds from its mouth. Dipper pushed harder, moving his other leg to stretch against the ground beside the creature, his toes spread in his shoe as he pushed against the ground at an angle that tilted the side of his hip into the air. The being beneath him stopped moving and after a few extra moments of stillness, Dipper threw himself off the animal. His wounded hand pressing against his shoulder trying to stop the bleeding. He gazed down at the wolf and watched its side heave in shallow breaths. It was still alive. And then came the slow clap.

"Oh wow. Wow! What a show!" Bill exclaimed in increasing singular applause. "That was fantastic! I truly am impressed!" The clapping came to a halt and Dipper's body moved closer to his attacker of its own volition. "You know, you might as well finish the job, Pine Tree." His leg moved and hovered over the wolf's neck, ready to stamp down.

Dipper was starting to feel dizzy, his stomach woozy. Is that all he had to do? Bring his foot down upon this lonely creature that had just been looking for some breakfast?

"This is as far as I can take you, kid." Bill's voice rang through his fading head. "You might want to make it quick and not just for this poor bastard. I don't have enough power to heal wounds like yours. Not yet at least." The last comment was joyful and Dipper sighed. He couldn't refuse to do it at this point. God damn it! Would he ever not be cornered into making choices?

The wolf's neck made a disgustingly loud and sudden crack against the heel of his shoe. A small whimper echoed against the pines as the first rays of light from the sun spilled over the horizon. Dipper felt a pleasant warmth from the mark on his thigh spread down and up his body. His shoulder and hand began to sting, sparking to life under familiar blue fire. He watched in awe as bits of his flesh reached out and joined together. Blood that had been flowing outward began to stream back as if time was rewinding. The haziness that had been building began to fade away like a bad memory.

Oh, that definitely felt weird.

Dipper backed away into a nearby tree and watched as a blaze of sapphire drew an equilateral triangle line by line into the corpse of the beast. The smell of burning flesh teased his nose and Dipper brought his newly healed hand to cover it as the inferno engulfed its fuel greedily. What had he done?

Note:

Once again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.

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