Another sleep, and with it, another dream. Dipper sprinted for his life yet again, tracing a jagged, curving path through his imaginary forest. Today's zombie infestation was massive, a trailing swarm of shambling, blind monsters charged straight through the forest, completely ignoring the trees that they were phasing through with an ever-increasing speed.
It was that same speed that made Dipper realize that he was running more slowly than before. His legs were sinking into the mud beneath him and the air had turn to liquid. He craned his neck to see behind him, sure that the monsters would be upon him at any moment. Only eyes peered back. The zombies were already nose-deep in the mud, staring back at him and moaning to the best of their ability. As Dipper watched, they sank the down further, slipping into new graves. Dipper's ankles were doing the opposite, the mud and goo slipping off of them and reforming into firm ground. His socks were pristine.
A faint yellow glow in front of him alerted him to something new. His first thought was that another zombie had somehow escaped its muddy fate and was coming up to get him, but when his head snapped forwards he saw nothing at all.
A tap on his shoulder had his head turning back the way it came, then around the other way as the tap came yet again, this time on the opposite shoulder. As he turned around again the yellow became blinding and a small black blur darted forwards to flick his nose. Dipper let out a loud shout.
"Bill!"
"Hey there! Looked to me like you were in trouble, so I dropped in! What's all this mess now? Still shaken up by that whole zombie mess you made?"
"How-how do you know about that? You weren't even there!"
"Of course I was! You just couldn't see me!." Bill lowered himself, materialising his cane and planting it into the mud. He leaned forward. "No one can see me in the Mindscape. Or hear me, feel me, or care about me whatsoever. Gets pretty lonely, to be honest."
"Who cares? You deserve it after what you did to Stan."
"I had to do that. Gideon made a deal with me and it was my only chance to make it out of the Mindscape. I actually showed up here to apologize to you for putting you through all that trouble! I'm sorry."
"But-"
Bill continued, ignoring Dipper's objections. "In fact, I feel so bad about causing you trouble that I'm going to offer you a deal."
"No!"
"Hear me out first, willya? This could really help you out." Bill paused to push a nearby zombie skull further into the sludge."From the looks of it, you need it."
He turned around again, looking Dipper directly in the eyes. "How about this. I'll keep out your nightmares and make sure you get a good night's sleep from now on, and in exchange, all you have to do is let me chat with you in your head! You get the rest that bright little noggin of yours needs, and I finally talk to someone while stuck in the Mindscape! How does that sound?"
"Why would you want to talk to me? Isn't there anyone else in the Mindscape?"
"Not anyone worth talking to! It's mostly just imaginary friends and wraiths out here, and none of them are particularly great conversationalists. Besides, I like you better!"
"Yeah, right."
"Come on, don't let your pathetic self-esteem get in the way. Do you really think you're less fun than a barely-sentient thoughtform? You really scream and everything!" Dipper narrowed his eyes and Bill switched tactics. "Look, if I didn't want to help you, why would I be doing it right now? Without me these zombies would be tearing out your innards. This is probably the first restful sleep you've had in what, three days?"
"How do you know that?"
"Mindscape, remember? I can see the bags under your eyes a dimensional plane away! More proof that you need my help. Now come on kiddo, give my hand a shake. It's a nice, simple, low-stakes deal that'll help us both a lot."
Dipper pulled into himself, crossing his arms and glaring at the ground. "I still don't trust you."
"I realize that I haven't exactly made a good first impression, but that was when I was working under Gideon. I had to follow his orders, and that guy's a creep. If I'm in a deal like this, with a guy like you, things'll be different. I've seen you in action and you don't seem like a creep at all! Sure you're still young, but you're still the bravest, most brilliant person in this little backwoods town."
Dipper's eyebrows arched upwards. "Really?"
"Of course! Admittedly it's low praise, considering the average IQ of the population is about the same as the wildlife, but even in a town full of non-idiots you'd rise above the rest. I feel...like I can trust you, Dipper. You been nothing short of trustworthy in the past. I know it seems risky, but just this once, trust me back."
Bill's hand extended outwards, blue flames curling gently off of the tips of his fingers. It rolled up his wrist and wavered gently there, waiting for an answer.
Slowly, quietly, Dipper began to unfold his arms. His hand reached up, pausing right as the light began to tinge his hand blue. With a slight intake of breath, he closed the distance, placing his hand in Bill's.
"You won't regret this."