Pacifica was afraid.
Words escaped her grasp, still holding onto the belief that this was all just a dream, no matter how lucid or real it seemed. The demon before her was a geometrically perfect being, a triangle with the air of a crass, upper-class gentleman, complete with a perfectly black hat and a cane to carry in its small hands.
The creature, or Bill, as he named himself, did not appear to be put off by the girl's slack-jawed response. Floating down to face level with her, it peered over at her with its lone eye. "WHAT'S WRONG, YELLOW? CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE?" Snapping its fingers, a black cat emerged forth from a black puddle that seeped out of the floor tiles, the feline baring its fangs at Pacifica and exposing a thick, human-like tongue with a hiss.
Pacifica's mouth felt dry and dusty, the socialite attempting to protest only for guttural sounds to jumble out of her mouth. She had no tongue. The onset of raw terror on her face brought out a cloying, false laugh from Bill. "HAHAHA, WELCOME TO THE DREAMSCAPE, KID! IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, EVEN IF THE CIRCUMSTANCES COULD BE BETTER!" Snapping its fingers twice, the cat vanished back into the ground, and with it, the girl's tongue was returned to its rightful place. "THERE'S NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF, AS YOU WILL FIND THAT I AM AN EXCELLENT HOST!"
Clicking her tongue to make sure it was there, Pacifica leered at monocular construct, trying her best not to freak out and stay calm. Each word that came out had little to no reassurance in them, showing a rare meekness from Pacifica. "Excuse me, Mister… Cipher, if that even is your real name, I don't appreciate being toyed around with, so I suggest you watch it or else… or else I'll…" Her voice trailed off, the girl shrinking away from the demon out of embarrassment.
"OR ELSE YOU WILL WHAT? YOU'LL WRITE ME A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER?" Bill mocked before pulling in close to the girl, hovering a mere arm's length away from her. "TRUST ME, THAT KIND OF TALK WILL GET YOU NOWHERE IN LIFE, KID. JUST ASK THE GUYS DOWN IN MONTE RIO WHEN THEY GET TOGETHER EVERY YEAR!"
Biting into her lower lip, Pacifica found her patience wearing thin, having to juggle between recovering from her earlier fear and a babbling triangle that's spewing nonsense at her."Fine, FINE! Just… shut up and tell me who you actually are and what you are doing here!" She stamped her foot down and glowered at Bill. "Please."
Bill laughed and veered back, twirling its cane. "IF YOU INSIST! YOU SEE, YELLOW, I'M JUST A HUMBLE GRANTER OF WISHES, A BROKER OF BARGAINS!" Pointing back to her frozen parents with the top of its walking stick, it rambled on. "YOU BLACKED OUT AND WOKE UP IN THE DREAMSCAPE FROM THE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA THAT YOUR CARETAKERS INFLICTED ON YOU! AND WHEN YOU WERE BUSY RANTING AND RAVING, I COULDN'T HELP BUT OVERHEAR THE COMMOTION AND I DECIDED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF." Bill took off its cap, twisting its lone eye into a faux smile before placing it back. "YOU SEE, I CAN HELP MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE, PROVIDED YOU CAN DO ME A FAVOR!"
Pacifica's features lightened up upon learning of Bill's motivations, but she kept her distance. "Right, like you can actually make my parents miraculously stop hating me or even help fix my friends' device, creep." Tossing her hair back snobbishly, she waved it off. "I'm not stupid, you know. I've read enough books and seen enough movies to know not to trust anyone or anything that can grant a wish. I mean, this is all a dream, isn't it?"
The triangle narrowed its lone eye and put on a serious, condescending tone. "LISTEN, I'M NOT ONE FOR DOING MONKEY'S PAWS, CATCH-22S, OR WHATEVER IT IS YOUR FLESHY, BIGENDERED SPECIES LIKES TO CALL IT." Floating past Pacifica and stopping next to her stuck parents, it jabbed the bottom of its cane against her father's stomach. "YOU MAY NOT TRUST ME, BUT YOUR PARENTS CERTAINLY DO, KID! AND I AM REAL AS IT COMES."
She recoiled, failing to understand why her parents would want anything to do with this thing. "And just what are you playing at?"
Snickering, Bill soared upwards and came to a rest on top of her father's head. "LET'S SAY THEY WERE LOOKING FOR A WAY TO KEEP YOU IN LINE, YELLOW." Pressing the end of its cane against Priscilla's immobile skull, the dream demon jabbered on. "I VISITED YOUR BIOLOGICAL PRIMOGENITOR IN HER SLEEP JUST A LITTLE UNDER AN HOUR AGO. FUNNY, ALL SHE WANTED WAS A WAY TO KEEP YOU IN THE FOLD!" Its eye never left Pacifica's visage, leering down at her from its perch while the girl could only avoid the creature's gaze."SO I OFFERED HER A NICE TIDBIT INFORMATION THAT MIGHT JUMPSTART THEM IN EXCHANGE FOR HITCHING A LITTLE RIDE IN THE MEANTIME. THE LADY HERE ALSO ASKED ME TO STRIP AWAY THEIR FEARS SO THEY COULD CONFRONT YOU AS HONESTLY AS THEY COULD!" Bill clicked its nonexistent tongue."AND SO I DID."
Pacifica's jaw quivered in disgust, balling up her fists from the futility of the situation. She tried her best to not let a tear escape, holding in her watering eyes. "Does that mean… Does that mean that they really do hate me?" She felt like crying and curling up into herself, but there was something Bill said about all of this that said otherwise, something that kept her feet firmly on the floor and stalwart.
"BEATS ME, KID! I'M A MESSENGER, NOT A THERAPIST!" it answered with a laugh. "I MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN CARRIED AWAY AND OVERSTEPPED SOME BOUNDARIES, BUT THAT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR ME. SO THERE'S A SILVER LINING IN THERE! SOMEWHERE."
She turned her back away from the demon and the scowling faces of her parents. "Can you please just… leave me alone, then?" Her voice quivered slightly, still defiant. "I don't even know what you want from me, creep!"
Launching itself off from her father's head, the creature hovered around Pacifica and came to a stop, face-to-face. "LOOK, KID. I HEARD YOUR PLEAS EARLIER AND YOU WANTED A WISH! OF COURSE, YOU COULD SIMPLY ASK TO BE FREE OF MY PRESENCE, BUT THAT WON'T SAVE YOU FROM THE HARSH REALITY OF YOUR EXISTENCE UNDERNEATH A PAIR OF PARENTAL FIGURES WITH NO INHIBITIONS FOR ABUSE!"
Bill's words made her take pause.
Pacifica knew that she was in a dream, but she never considered the aftermath of waking up. What if her parents were still enraged, or as Bill hinted as, being uninhibited? It made her simmer at the thought that her parents, no matter how strict or prude they might have been, were turned vicious by this. Then again, was it not by their own hand that they asked for their current condition? All of this was just conjecture explained to her by some stupid triangle thing-
"STUPID TRIANGLE THING OR NOT, YOU'RE IN THE DREAMSCAPE, KID!" Bill interrupted gleefully, almost pressing its eye against Pacifica's head. "SO, WHAT WILL IT BE? FAFF ABOUT UNTIL THE COWS COME HOME, OR ARE YOU GOING TO TRY AND FIX THINGS?"
The girl recoiled and backed away, pursing her lips. "Stop calling me kid, my name is Pacifica Northwest of the Northwest family, and I demand to be treated as such!" Throwing her hand out at the geometrical construct, she poked him right in the center of its body. "And stay out of my head, jerk!"
"WHATEVER YOU SAY, PACIFIC OCEAN!" Surprisingly, Bill backed away and gave some space to the girl. "I'LL GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO! BUT REMEMBER, IF YOU WANT YOUR PARENTS TO RETURN TO NORMAL AND GET THAT DEVICE OF YOURS FIXED FOR THE PINE TREES, THEN YOU'LL HAVE NO BETTER CHANCE THAN NOW!"
She visibly blanched, taking a step back to catch her breath before addressing him. "And just how did you know about the Prog-… Progno… argh, Prognosticator Apparatus!?" Becoming visibly flustered, she slammed her feet on the ground in anger.
Bill smiled. Or at least, she thought it did, judging by the way its eye curled up. "THINK OF IT THIS WAY, PACIFIC OCEAN. I KNOW AND SEE EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN THE DREAMSCAPE AND INTO THE LIVING WORLD. YOU MAY NOT KNOW IT, BUT EACH TIME MY FORM IS ETCHED INTO YOUR REALITY, IT'S ANOTHER EYE AND EAR INTO THE WORLD I CAN SEE AND HEAR." It leaned on its cane languidly, examining a hand. "EYE OF PROVIDENCE, LOOK IT UP!"
Tucking in her chin and folding her arms, she sighed. "Fine, so what if you know about all this. Just what do you expect in return if I, hypothetically, made the deal?" Her voice grew cold and distant, each word being carefully chosen. "I honestly can't expect you to be doing this entirely out of your free will."
Bill hummed, closing its eye as it twirled the cane around from hand to hand. "I LIKE YOUR STYLE, PACIFIC OCEAN! YOU GOT ENOUGH MOXY TO MAKE IT BIG ONE DAY." Straightening up, it opened its eye and fixed the bowtie laying upon its center. "WHAT I WANT IS A VERY, VERY SIMPLE FAVOR, SO LET ME SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU AS SIMPLY AS I CAN." Standing its cane, Bill landed on the floor an arm's length away from her. "YOUR BOY FRIEND HAS SOMETHING I NEED THAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME."
Pacifica grimaced and stammered, trying her best to correct Bill's implication in lieu of the favor. "Well, uh, me and Dipper aren't, well, exactly… He's, well, not my boyfriend." She blushed, annoyed at herself that those feelings were cropping up at a time like this.
A silence followed. The demon peered at the girl with its lone eye, not sure if she was clueless or just stupid. "HERE, LET ME SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU." It lifted up a hand, a blue flame emerging from a fingertip as it drew out a crude image of Dipper. "AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, HE IS WHAT YOU HUMANS WOULD REFER TO AS A BOY." Following this, it drew up a shoddy version of Pacifica that seemed to be made up of more triangles than any other shapes, all in an instant. The two drawings were holding hands, or at least, they were overlapping. "AND THAT YOU ARE FRIENDS. HENCE, THE CONJUGATION BOY AND FRIEND. HE IS A BOY, AND YOU ARE A FRIEND." Clapping its hands, the drawings vanished. "I KNOW YOU HUMANS CAN BE DAFT, BUT MUST I SPELL EVERYTHING OUT FOR YOUR UNENLIGHTENED SPECIES?"
Pacifica breathed an inward sigh of relief. The creature wasn't actually insinuating the two were an item, it was just an odd turn of phrase. Rubbing her head, she closed her eyes and shuddered. "I understand, but…" she took pause, looking back up at the unwavering eye hovering above. "But why exactly are you after Dipper?"
"BECAUSE YOUR FRIEND MADE A DEAL WITH ME, PACIFIC OCEAN, AND HE BROKE IT." Bill's voice was strained and coarse, removed from any and all joviality. "WE HAD A BARGAIN, HE GOT HIS END OF THE DEAL AND I DID NOT. YOU SEE, WHEN WE MADE THE PACT, I WANTED TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT JOURNAL OF HIS IN EXCHANGE FOR FIXING SOME GADGET OF HIS." It pulled up uncomfortably close to Pacifica, its lone eye scowling right through her very soul. "SOUNDS FAMILIAR, DOESN'T IT?"
The girl's heart sank. It felt like she was tossed into another hole she couldn't climb out of, she wasn't even safe inside her own mind. It was clear she had little say in the matter and that it all hinged on Bill's word alone. She knew that the almost nigh-omniscient being was her only way out of this mess, as much as she wanted to keep Dipper out of it. Otherwise, her parents might never turn back to normal and that everything would be worse than it was before. She was doing this to save her own hide, as selfish as it was after everything she has been through.
Pacifica lifted her gaze and stared back at Bill."It does." She took a step forward and jabbed a finger against its bowtie, adamant. "But how exactly do I know you're not going to pull a fast one on me?"
Bill removed its cap and bowed, placing the hat on the top of its cane. "THE THING ABOUT MY EXISTENCE IS THAT I NEED TO, FOR LACK OF A BETTER PHRASE IN YOUR POOR EXCUSE OF A SPOKEN LANGUAGE, CATCH A RIDE IN ORDER TO GET ANYTHING DONE. I'VE BEEN BURNED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE AND THUS, I NEED TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS!" Upon seeing Pacifica's face scrunch up into a disdainful scowl, it quickly backtracked. "NO, I'M NOT GOING TO POSSESS YOU. TRUST ME, I COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT WITH YOUR FRIEND AND HONESTLY, IT'S OLD HAT ANYHOW! SO, TO INCENTIVIZE YOU, I'M GOING TO RETURN YOUR PARENTS TO NORMAL AS THE FIRST HALF OF MY DEAL." With a clap of hands, a blue flame covered Pacifica's frozen parents before fading away, nothing having changed outside of their expressions, which look to have fallen asleep.
With some restraint, the girl circled around her parents, never once taking an eye off of the mischievous demon mimicking her every move. "And what about the other half?" she asked, her suspicions growing by the second.
"EASY." Bill came to a stop and flicked the shaft of the cane, tossing the hat back onto the top of its pointed head. "I'LL BE THE GUIDE IN YOUR MIND, ANOTHER VOICE OF THE NIGHT! ONCE YOU HAVE RETRIEVED PINE TREE'S JOURNAL, I'LL TAKE IT FROM THERE." Even with the gravitas of the situation bearing down on Pacifica, it doesn't seemed to have dampened Bill's mood any. "AFTER WHICH, EVERYTHING WILL RETURN TO NORMAL AND I'LL JUST BE ANOTHER MEMORY IN YOUR VAPID, SHORT-LIVED DREAMSCAPE. PROMISE!"
She fumed on the inside, thinking over its spiteful words and trying to see if there was a catch or some pitfall waiting for her. If Bill was who it said it was, then there shouldn't be any reason to question otherwise, but there was no arguing that he had orchestrated these series of events somehow. "I feel like I haven't gotten much to say in all this," she spoke plainly, looking down at her feet as passion took over. "I thought this was just going to be another boring night of being grounded, only for my friends to show up, bring me up, and then only to be flung back down again because of you!" She pushed past her parents and stomped towards Bill, who remained levitating in place, amused. "You think I'm stupid, don't you? Someone who was kept in line by a bell and by shame, unable to think for herself since she's just some link in the chain?!"
"MAYBE-"
Pacifica pulled on the bowtie, yanking Bill down to her level as she glared with unbent ferocity. "I know you set this up on purpose, that you think I'm some pawn in some sick game of chess of yours! I don't know what it is you exactly want with Dipper or what your beef with him is, but if you so much as harm a hair on him or Mabel, I will personally EVISCERATE you!"
As she let go, Bill could only look at her with a blank expression. The demon has seen this attitude before, but it was no consequence to Bill. They all ended up bowing to its will in the end. It made it more fun that way. "TOUGH TALK FOR A TYKE, BUT I LIKE YOUR STYLE!" Laughing, it lowered itself and stood on the ground, facing her. "SO, WE HAVE A DEAL?" It rubbed its hands together, the right hand glowing with a blue, spectral flame as the creature stretched it out for a shake of hands.
The girl didn't even bother to look at Bill's hand. It was inevitable that it would come to this point, because as much as she kicked, screamed, or fought, there was no escaping this. Keeping her elbow firmly planted at her side, she shook its hand. "Deal."
"YOU WON'T REGRET IT, KID!" Bill echoed as blue wisps of flame bound the pact. But as soon as she opened her mouth to reply, a blinding flash of white light consumed her vision, the dream world fading into the void in an instant.
Pacifica suddenly snapped awake as she looked around her with fright, clutching onto the hem of her shirt for support. She was on the floor, alert and in full control of herself. Her parents were on the floor, piled on top of one another and thankfully, snoozing peacefully. Scrambling herself against the wall, she caught her breath and pinched her cheek to make sure she was awake, a sharp, pointed pain allaying her fears.
Swiftly straightening out her blonde hair, she pushed herself up the wall to a stand, taking a cautious step forward to make sure everything was in working condition. The pitter-patter of rushing footsteps growing closer made her heart jump and mind race, but as soon as Dipper and Mabel rounded the corner, relief washed over her.
"What happened here?!" Mabel exclaimed as she ran over to Pacifica, who quickly shushed her with a raised hand.
Dipper followed right behind his sister's trail as he kept his voice to a worried murmur. "We heard a commotion over here and we thought you were in… trouble?" Both of the twins looked at her unconscious parents on the floor, taken aback.
Pacifica didn't reply at first, a grin forming on her lips, followed by a bout of laughter. It felt like she was going crazy, but she managed to compose herself again as she addressed the bemused faces gawking at her. "My parents were arguing, so I went to check it out and then they… fell asleep." She shrugged, stepping over her father and pointing down the stairs. "I forgot to tell you guys, but they're, uh, narcoleptics. So let's try and get to the kitchen before they wake up, okay?"
She looked over their faces once more, still feeling queasy to her stomach. Mabel seemed to have bought the excuse, but Dipper did not look convinced in the slightest. "If ya say so!" Mabel responded in earnest, looking over at Dipper for his approval.
"Sure, I guess?" He knew she was lying. Pacifica never mentioned this to him before and she was acting odd, perturbed even. As he looked into the girl's eyes, there was a sudden chill that shook him to the core of his soul, a feeling he only felt once before. It made his blood curdle and the hairs on his neck stand up on end, the boy grabbing onto the railing looking over the foyer for support.
It couldn't be.
Pacifica looked at him with a quizzical look, trying to put on the right smile for him. "You okay, Dipper?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He straightened his back and went down the stairs first, keeping his eyes firmly ahead. "Just… a little hungry, that's all."
Mabel huffed and quickly hooked the both of them by the elbows, dragging them down the stairs with gusto. "C'mon, enough standing around, yeesh! We're all hungry and I don't want to be standing around and getting in trouble with Mister and Miss Stuffypants, so let's get a move on already!"
As Pacifica looked over Mabel's head and towards Dipper, the boy veered away from her gaze and looked off to the side. She sighed and wondered what got into him, even as Mabel began listing out various snack recipes and party platter ideas that fell on deaf ears. It felt almost as if everything that happened to her was just a dream, just some awful hallucination that never happened. Yes, maybe it was all just a dream!
"IT CERTAINLY WAS ONE HECK OF A DREAM, KID!" A voice echoed through Pacifica's mind, chilling her to the bone.
Oh no.
