"Dipper!" Mabel's voice came from just inside the shack, alerting him that he likely had only seconds before he was bombarded with a hug. "What took you so long?"

As he predicted, she latched onto him and didn't let go for a solid minute. "There was a small holdup at home," he told her, gently prying her arms from his midsection. "Just some last minute things that needed to get cleared up."

"Dad called," she finally said awkwardly, averting her gaze. "He yelled a lot at Grunkle Stan…I heard what really happened."

"I'm fine," he said automatically, knowing that if he didn't assert it then, that she would fuss over him the whole night. "I saw it coming from a mile away."

"Hey Mabel!" William called out cheerfully, thankfully changing the topic for the both of them. "Did you already do all of the unpacking?"

She shook her head, a small smile crossing over her lips. "Our boxes just got put into our room and the rest of my furniture is in the storage room. Grandpa helped."

"Thanks," Dipper murmured. "Paz here yet?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "yup! Sorry, but we started Attic Stuff Golf without you."

"Dipper!" A new voice joined the mix as Pacifica Northwest ran outside to meet them, a golf club in tow. "It's great to see you again!" She threw her arms around him and he returned the action for a brief moment before pulling away and letting go.

"It's great to see you too," he replied honestly. "How'd your parents take the news?"

She rolled her eyes, "as well as can be expected from them. They just dismissed it as usual…but that doesn't matter. In a few months Mabel and I are going to Los Angeles and they won't be able to have any say in it!" She looked around and finally noticed William. "Hey Will," she called out, giving him a small wave. He raised a hand in greeting, but didn't say anything.

"Hey guys," Dipper yawned, rubbing his eyes, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'll call it a night." The sudden change in state startled him, but he shrugged it off. Maybe getting up as early as he did and getting to the shack so late had a bigger effect on him than he had thought.

Or maybe it's Bill, a small voice in his mind whispered to him mockingly. Calling you to the mindscape.

He thought about the possibility of Bill meddling with his brain, and shook his head slightly. Can't be. I'd feel his presence around…the world would be grey, and he would have revealed himself by now. I'm just tired.

He mumbled a short goodnight to the others, relieved when Mabel told him that she'd be there in a few minutes to talk to him. He gave her a nod in acknowledgement and retreated into the house.

"Hey Dipper," Stanley greeted, coming over to the lanky teen and giving him a hug. "It's great to see you again."

"I saw you yesterday," he chuckled, hugging his grandfather back. "But it's good to see you too. The drive wore me out, so I'm gonna go to bed early. Where's Grunkle Stan?"

"Working downstairs," Stanley replied right away. "He said that you're welcome to join him if you're feeling up to it."

"I'll skip for now," he murmured, heading up the stairs. "Tell him I said hi. And goodnight."

He headed up the stairs, suddenly grateful for the relief that sleep would bring. It had been a long day, and it would allow him to recharge and get a handle on the fact that he wasn't leaving the Shack at the summer.

Boxes were scattered all over his and Mabel's shared room, and the Attic Stuff Golf course was still set up. He grabbed his nightshirt from inside his bag and tugged it on, then stripped out of his jeans and flopped down onto his bed. He was so tired and sleep sounded like an equivalent to heaven at this point.

Stay awake, he reminded himself, sitting up and wrapping a dark, thin blue blanket around himself. Mabel might have been cool with a lot, but he was positive that she was still squeamish about him sleeping in his underwear. Just for another minute.

Mabel didn't disappoint and it wasn't a few seconds more before he heard her light footsteps coming down the hall.

"I'm here Bro Bro," she called, knocking on the door. "So you had better be decent!"

"It's safe to enter," he called back wearily. She did so tentatively, and he was relieved that she was being so attentive about his state of sleepiness.

"What did you want to tell me earlier?" she prompted gently, sitting across from him on her own bed. "About Will?"

He rubbed at his eyes again, sleep still threatening to take over. "He's weird," he murmured, laying back. "I think it's Bill."

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Mabel replied uneasily after a moment. "Dipper, he can't be Bill. That isosceles monster is trapped here, so there's no way that he could have gotten to Piedmont."

"He could have possessed someone," he ground out, closing his eyes lightly. "Maybe possessed bodies are his way out."

"There's that possibility," his twin mused thoughtfully, and he was reminded once more of how sweet she was, that she listened to him without judging. "But I found the error in that one too Dip-Dip – he's staying and working here. Stanley has a Cipher-radar practically built into his brain, and he'd know for sure if it was him."

"I know," he groused sleepily. "His name…too much of a fucking coincidence Mabel….Will? Bill. And have you seen that guy's clothes? Black and gold. The only thing missing is the top hat."

"And the cane," she reminded him gently. "You can't forget that dumb gold cane of his."

"I don't like him," he finally admitted. "He…" Dipper sighed as he realized that even though Mabel knew about his…conflict, he didn't want her quite knowing how badly William affected him.

"Today's been rough," he muttered after a long pause of silence. "And dad-" his voice cracked slightly on the word, and god, how he hated it – "didn't help at all."

"I'm sorry," Mabel's voice was suddenly too quiet and he knew that she was on the verge of tears. "I should have been there."

"He didn't want you there," he hissed out. She inhaled sharply, and he immediately felt guilty for upsetting her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, sitting up. "That was-"

A second passed and then she was sitting on his lap, hugging him tightly and crying. "You're right," she sobbed, nails digging into his back slightly. "Dipper, he shouldn't have…attacked you like that, all alone. A-and saying that it was wrong for you to be gay…"

It was the second time the subject had ever been brought up between them and for her to mention it so openly…it was bad. He closed his eyes and finally allowed himself to cry too, because his father's words had done this to them.

It seemed like several minutes before either of them calmed down enough to speak again, but even then, they didn't. Dipper shifted under his sister's weight because it was slightly uncomfortable, and finally he just gave up and laid back, taking her with him.

"I'm so sorry Mabes," he whispered softly into her hair, stroking it gently. "I didn't want this to break you…"

"I didn't want it to break you either though," she breathed back, shifting and rolling off of him. "Sorry," she apologized, her face turning pink in embarrassment. "That was kinda awkward."

He chuckled quietly, because of course she would be the one to break the gloomy mood with a statement like that. "It's fine," he replied hoarsely. "The comfort was kind of nice…we haven't done something like that since we were kids."

"Dipper…" she hesitated for a moment before continuing. "…What are you going to do? About dad and everything? Grunkle and Grandpa are okay with your…preferences and they accept it, but what about everything else?"

"I need to talk to them about that actually," he admitted. "I…I told dad that I'm not going to college. I think I want to stay here, Mabel."

"I'm not stopping you," she voiced softly, though he knew it also served as a reprimand. "But be careful Dipper. I know what this town does to you…the mystery consumes you every summer and it feels like you're slipping. I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. Promise." He held out his pinky, and she linked her own with his. "I'll be more careful. Besides – I have all the time in the world to work on the mysteries of this town. Stanley said a few weeks ago that if I can dedicate myself and work out the few kinks here and there, he'll even let me professionally publish the journals."

"Dipper, that's great!" his twin whispered, a spark of enthusiasm finally lighting in her eyes again. "It'll show mom and dad that you were telling the truth the whole time!"

"Or they'll think I'm crazier," he sighed. "But I'm invested in this at all costs, for better or worse. Grunkle Stan said that in about a year, he and Stanley might go into retirement and let me have the shack permanently. Maybe with the publication of the journals, I can take people on real mystery tours!"

"No camera crews," Mabel asserted fiercely, an odd determination in her eyes. "And I want you to ask every creature's permission before including them in."

"You've never been so caring about them before," he remarked, slightly startled.

"They might be hidden for a reason Dip-Dip," she replied. "I don't want them to feel like they're some sort of zoo creatures…I want them to feel right at home. It means no golf cart either!"

He laughed lightly. "You know, if fashion doesn't work out for you, I think I'd like you to be my co-manager."

"Not gonna happen," she teased, sitting up and stretching. "We need new beds Dippingsauce, this is getting way too uncomfortable!"

"Next week," he muttered. "Once our final paychecks get deposited into our bank accounts. Then….then we can drive out to Portland and get the biggest, comfiest beds you can possibly come up with."

"On second thought, that might not be a good idea," she mused. "You might be promoted in a year, and this room is too tiny for bigger beds. Maybe just some better mattresses that don't feel like pins and needles."

"That's an even better idea," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

There was a light pressure as Mabel kissed his forehead gently, and another as she scrambled off the bed in a less-than-graceful fashion. "Good night Bro Bro," she whispered as she exited.

Dipper awoke with a startled gasp to the sound of a crash and automatically noticed that the world around him was in varying shades of black and white. He was in the Mindscape.

"Bill!" he called out, scrambling to his feet. He took another look around and noticed that he was outside of the Mystery Shack. "Where the fuck are you?!"

"My, such harsh words Pine Tree! And to think, I made sure to be the first one to give you a proper homecoming!" Dipper looked around frantically, unable to find the source of the voice. All of a sudden he felt a pressure and was forcefully pushed back, landing with a small grunt of pain.

Not a millisecond passed before Bill Cipher was hovering above him with a look that was a mix between his usual amusement and an anger that Dipper could feel in every bone. The demon pressed his cane harder into his chest, and he was pretty sure that a rib had just cracked from the pressure.

"You should apologize for such rude behavior!" Bill was the slightest shade of pink, a warning of what was to come if he didn't hurry and comply.

"Sorry," Dipper spat out, not meaning it in the slightest. "Now tell me, what the hell do you want?"

"Tsk tsk Piney!" The cane dug deeper into his skin and he gasped from the pain it caused. "You just never learn!"

"Please!" he rasped, tears rolling down his cheeks. "S-stop!"

"That's more like it," Cipher purred, bringing a foot down to rest heavily on his throat, cutting off most of his air supply. The pressure of the cane eased up slightly, but the demon's foot more than made up for the loss. "Now, be a good Pine Tree and beg for mercy."

He twisted his face into a snarl and was ready to make a snappy retort when his body suddenly spasmed and he coughed up blood, peppering the grey ground with bright flecks of scarlet.

"Time's running out," Bill snarked triumphantly, his eye becoming a clock. "Unless you want to die in the next couple of minutes, I suggest you get started."

"P-please-" he whimpered softly, the corners of his vision turning white. "R-release me."

"Not good enough," Cipher taunted and he would have screamed in frustration if he were able.

"W-what more do you want from me?" he cried out, knowing fully that the question was loaded.

If the floating triangle above him had a mouth, Dipper swore up and down that he would've grinned if he could. Bill reached out a flaming blue hand toward him. "You really want to make a deal? I'm flattered, I really am – after all, it's our first day reunited and you already want to sell me your soul!"

"Piss off," Dipper ground out, more flecks of scarlet peppering onto the ground.

"Your situation's not looking too good. Tick tock, tick tock."

"I'm not giving you my soul!"

"How about this then," Bill's foot lifted from his throat and he gratefully inhaled, then immediately coughed out more blood. "You see Pine Tree, my lovely little cane here actually did crack one of your precious little ribs, and it punctured your lung. So here - I'll fix up your nice little internal bleeding thing we got going here and take my cane off of your chest out of the goodness of my little heart." Dipper made a small noise of disbelief over that, but the demon ignored it and pressed on. "I'll even toss in a wonderful little answer to any question you ask for free!"

"W-what do you get out of this?" he whispered, his voice growing weaker. He coughed again.

"In return-" Bill paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "I get to mark any part of your body that I want."

"Why?" The question slipped out before he had a chance to think straight and the dream demon cackled and forcefully grabbed his hand. Blue fire wrapped around his wrist and shot up his arm, and an unearthly shriek ripped from his throat.

It was a solid minute or two before the burning sensation and the blue flames faded. Bill did as he promised and removed the cane from his chest. With a snap of his fingers, Dipper could breathe normally again.

"I'll take that as your question," Bill chirped cheerfully, twirling his cane around while Dipper rubbed at his throat and breathed deeply. "You see Piney, I'm not the only creature here in Gravity Falls that's taken an interest in you – no more questions!" he snapped as Dipper opened his mouth curiously.

Dipper nodded meekly, and Bill continued. "I might be an omnipotent being with eternal energy and no weaknesses, but it's a tough business that I run around here, and the competition is fierce because we're all limited to this town. Therefore, I feel the need to mark you as my property before any of the others get the chance to."

"W-where are you going to mark me?"

The question prompted another cackle from the demon. "It's hilarious how stupid you are! The mark's already there – check your neck when you wake up!" Bill blinked his eye slowly at him, and he knew that it was a wink. "A fun fact about your mark – I can use it to communicate with you wherever you are, whenever I want to! In a way, it binds our minds!"

"Wait!" Naturally, he panicked. "Y-you're not going to possess me or anything, right?!"

Bill scoffed, "so stupid. I said I would communicate with you, not take over!"

"Bind our minds," Dipper corrected angrily. "That sounds like possession to me!"

"It's not, so calm down." Bill's eye narrowed, the pink returning. "I believe that I've allotted you way more questions than we agreed to, Pine Tree."

A moment passed in silence, then he was back to normal. "Either way," the demon stressed, forcing the happiness back into his voice. "Welcome to the rest of your life Piney!"

"You're an ass," he growled. "And I hate you."

Bill sighed dramatically, "I really didn't want to do this to you on your first night back Pine Tree, but you asked for it."

And suddenly, he was falling into an endless black void, where desperate shrieks of his name echoed all around him. A flash, and he could see animal heads mounted onto a wall, chanting what sounded like a curse in an ancient language, blood flowing from their mouths.

It was dark again, and then another flash. Mabel's body, horrendously mutilated beyond repair. A sickening crunch, and her head lifted to face him. She stared at him with bloody sockets where her eyes used to be, then she spoke. "You're a hopeless cause," she hissed, blood pouring from her mouth. "A freak! Look at you, attracted to men of all things. You make me sick."

Darkness again, and he was alone. Finally, he landed in some sort of body of liquid that was too thick to be water. A flash, illuminating the sea of blood around him, islands of the bodies of faces he knew and loved floating around. He screamed shrilly, and didn't stop until his body grew weak and he went under.

"Dipper!" Mabel's voice screamed, intermingling with his own. His eyes shot open and he flailed in the dark in an attempt to escape the blankets that were ensnaring him. His skin burned and his heart beat rapidly in his chest.

He looked up and noticed that it wasn't just Mabel there, it was Stanley and their Grunkle, and god, no. William stood in the doorway with them, looking just as worried as the others.

"Bill," he stuttered, hyperventilating. "H-he's back."

"I sense him near," Stanley muttered tersely. He knelt down on the floor beside Dipper's bed, allowing William to take a few steps forward in his place. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"H-he-" Dipper blanched then, and Grunkle Stan grabbed the nearest trash can and held it out to him wordlessly. "He-he m-marked me. M-my neck. It burns."

Stanley took his head gently in his hands and turned it slowly, so as not to freak him out. "Flashlight," he ordered gruffly. Within a moment, he had one provided by William. The three of them gasped, filling Dipper's heart with dread. Was it that bad?

Certainly not good Piney, Bill's smug voice resounded in his head. I tried to tell you that I didn't want to do this the hard way. Maybe next time, you'll know better. He blanched again from hearing the voice, and dark red peppered the inside of the trash can.

Mabel gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"No…" he breathed out, his eyes wide with horror. "N-no! He fi-fixed it! I swear he did!"

Side effect. Just because your body isn't bleeding anymore, doesn't mean there isn't any residual blood with nowhere to go.

"He?" Grunkle Stan questioned lowly, his tone borderline homicidal.

"B-Bill…" Dipper whispered, almost afraid to voice the demon's name. "I…was going to die. He forced me to let him mark me, in exchange for being allowed to live."

"What does it look like?" he finally asked meekly after nobody said anything for a minute. "The mark?"

"Triangle," Mabel supplied, her voice barely above a murmur from shock. "It looks just like him. It's in the center of his summoning circle."

Grunkle Stan looked back at William, his expression unchanging. "Downstairs," he told the blond shortly. "Now."

William nodded and quickly complied, Grunkle Stan following him. Dipper opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted before he could get a word in by a small white pill being shoved into his mouth.

"Swallow," Stanley commanded, forcing his mouth shut. He obediently did so as best as he could.

"What was that?" he asked the second his grandfather's hand released.

"Sleeping pill. It'll keep you from dreaming, and will therefore keep you out of the mindscape."

"What was that about?" Mabel questioned, gesturing to the doorway that Grunkle Stan and William had disappeared through.

"Cipher is a….topic of interest to William," Stanley said hesitantly. "He's studied a lot of runes and stuff and dabbles in the art of magic, so he might be able to tell us something about that tattoo on your neck."

"Can it be removed?" he asked in small voice, his fingers moving up to lightly trace the skin. A burning sensation filled him, but was quickly replaced with…pleasure? He gasped, quickly putting his hand back down.

"Likely not, if your deal is what caused it," Stanley replied gravely. "There is another idea though."

"What is it?" he demanded eagerly, almost getting up to stand.

"You could mark your body up some more and get a tattoo of protection, like what Stanford has. It'll get you some weird looks from people if you put it in a viewable area, but that might be your kind of thing. Especially if you plan on running this dump eventually – it'll give the tourists more appeal."

"No more tattoos," he said flatly. "I'll be happy enough to get the one off my neck, thank you very much."

"It's something to consider," Stanley told him gently, laying a hand on his hair and ruffling it. "Now, go to sleep. You won't see him anymore."

He left, and Dipper laid back down, coughing more blood onto his blanket. He rolled over to look at the time and saw that it was nearing two in the morning.

"Are you really okay, Dipper?" Mabel asked, sitting gently on the bed beside him. She glanced back at the door. "Grunkle Stan seemed mad, even when he was looking at William. You could be right."

"No," he breathed out shakily. "I was so wrong, Mabel. It's just a coincidence, it has to be. There's no possible way in hell that it's Cipher. William's too good to be."

"Okay," she whispered softly. "Let's go back to bed Bro Bro."

He shut his eyes wearily, the sleeping pill beginning to take its effect on him. "Good…night, Mabel."

The sun was shining into his room cheerfully when he awoke next, and it was only too easy to forget about the dream last night and his encounter with Cipher. Mabel was already gone, probably to catch up with Pacifica at the golf course.

Then suddenly his neck burned and he cried out, arching his back in pain. They kept me from seeing you, Bill's voice echoed angrily in his mind. Never take that pill again Pine Tree.

"You…can't stop me." He ground out, placing his palm flat against the tattoo in an effort to cease the pain. It worsened significantly and a small shriek ripped from his lips as his vision went momentarily dark. More shocking still was the ribbons of pleasure interweaving with the pain, creating a whole new sensation.

"Wh-what did you do to me?" he gasped out, forcing his hand away from his skin. The pleasure disappeared, leaving only the pain to burn against his skin.

Be an obedient Pine Tree today, Bill threatened lowly. I will see you tonight, and you will be cordial, or else you're going to get way worse than a nightmare or burning tattoo.

"Please," he begged, tears leaking from his eyes. "M-make it stop."

He sighed in relief as Bill granted his wish, then he flopped back onto his bed and promptly curled himself into a ball, crying silently. How pathetic he was, to cry over something that didn't exist.

But I do, Pine Tree, Cipher whispered into his mind. In both body and spirit. Soon, you'll give in to me.

"Dipper!" William's voice called out from right outside the doorway. "I'm coming in here, okay?"

"How convenient for you," he ground out. "Tonight, I'm going to find out your plan. And there's nothing-"

The door opened then and William came in, more underdressed than Dipper had ever seen him be in the daytime. Instead of the usual black slacks and dress shirt, he was wearing a pair of simple black shorts and a yellow tee with a black question mark on it.

"Are you okay? Any more nightmares last night?"

"How'd you-"

"Kid, I know what waking up from a nightmare looks like. You had terror written all over your face. How's that tattoo of yours feeling?"

"It was burning a minute ago," Dipper admitted, sitting up. "Cipher can do that at will it seems like, whenever he thinks I deserve punishment."

"There's an interesting take on things," William hummed thoughtfully. "Can I touch it? Do you mind?"

"Yes," he said immediately, without thinking. "I do mind. C-Cipher does too. He doesn't like the contact on it."

William held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay. Sheesh, you're a tough crowd kid."

"Why are you calling me that?" he asked, annoyed. "That sounds like something Cipher would call me."

"I thought it was cute," William defended. "Sorry. I won't do it anymore."

"There's nothing cute about being called a kid," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's demeaning and offensive."

"You're right," William soothed. "I'll just call you Dipper, then. Or would you prefer your real name?"

"Dipper's fine," he murmured. "Have you found anything out about the tattoo?"

The blonde shook his head, "nothing that you probably don't already know, and certainly not any way to remove it. Unless you can make another deal with him, which I don't advise doing, you're stuck with him inside of your little noggin until he decides he's bored with it."

"….I never told anyone about him being inside my head," Dipper said quietly, distrust settling over his features. "How did you know about that?"

"I spend all my free time studying him," William pointed out. "There's not a whole lot of moves that he would make that I'm not familiar with."

"I bet you're very familiar with him," Dipper muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Dipper, I'm not the enemy here," William said gently. There was a gentle pressure as he sat down next to him. "You realize that, right?"

Before he could get a word in, the blonde's fingers lightly traced over the marking on his neck, studying it. Instead of pain like there had been whenever he'd touched it, there was only pleasure with William's tender caress. It enveloped him in a warmth that he could feel down to his toes and elicited a small noise of content from his throat.

The blonde chuckled, "does it tickle or something?"

Dipper shook his head quickly, coming to his senses and leaning away from William's touch. "It just…didn't burn that time," he said quickly, blushing. "Maybe Cipher's resting right now or something."

"Maybe," the blonde mused, standing. "Either way, you should really get dressed. Stanford let me have the day off so we could hang out, and I'm not about to spend it cooped up indoors."