Chapter Ten
Dipper closed the car door behind him, running up the front steps and knocking on the large ornate door leading into Northwest Manor, which had been bought back from McGucket very cheaply when he up and decided it was too confusing to find his way around in. The crazy old man instead lived in a much smaller, but plenty nice house by the lake. It was near his son, whom he had finally reconnected with after thirty years, so he was certainly content with it.
Dipper shifted from foot to foot anxiously, opening and closing his hands. Bill walked from the car behind him, slower and much less concerned. "Kid, calm down. Maybe your sister's just overreacting. She does that sometimes, you know," he said in a bored tone, stopping in front of the door, which still had yet to be opened. Dipper frowned, clenching his jaw. Bill rolled his eyes with a groan, reaching out a hand and pressing a button that jutted out from the stone siding. "Ringing the doorbell is probably a pretty smart idea, stupid," he pointed out, pocketing his hands.
After what felt like an eternity to Dipper and a blink of an eye to Bill, the door was opened by one of the many butlers that worked in the Northwest mansion. "Do come i-" he'd started. But Dipper had already pushed past him, darting for Pacifica's room. Bill sighed, following after him. He pinched the bridge of his nose, watching the brunette disappear down one of the long corridors. He strode along behind Dipper, turning down the corner he'd seen him go. The only problem was as soon as he did, he noted that Dipper was gone. Annoyed that the brunette had left him so quickly, he made his way about the place with wary eyes that skimmed the lying walls of the place. "Hanging pictures of every single thing you tell the town you've done," Bill grumbled under his breath, glancing around.
A smirk crawled onto his features. "They're just asking to get caught, aren't they?" He chuckled to himself, turning down another hall. Dipper was still out of sight, and if there was any place in Gravity Falls Bill didn't know how to navigate quite that well, it was Northwest Manor. All the hallways looked the same, and he was sure he'd seen that painting at least a couple of times in his search. This reeked of the supernatural, he knew. But he feigned cluelessness, turning yet again. And when he did, he was met with exactly what he'd expected to see. Same hallway, same paintings, same vase on the same fucking table. He rolled back his shoulders, stepping carefully and coldly about the place. He had a hunch that he knew who was doing this.
Someone clicked their tongue behind him. "Bill Cipher, glad to see you're still alive and well," the voice of the dream demon behind him purred teasingly.
Bill laughed, turning to face her. "As I always am," he remarked with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Anything in particular you want from me today?"
The demon hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Feeling generous, are we? Alright, I'll make this quick." The black smoke-like aura rising at her feet and dissipating at her sides curled and puffed about, making her look more ominous than Bill seemed to be treating her. She stepped towards him, and he felt a chill unintentionally crawl up his spine. Her presence felt like ice, as if just being near her made the temperature of his very blood begin to sink lower. "You're becoming a real nuisance to me, Cipher. And I'm here to very politely ask that you stop."
Bill raised his brow, curious vermilion eyes searching her nonexistent expression. "Oh, are you now?" he questioned cautiously, a hand against his jaw. "What's in it for me?" He pulled his lips into a thin frown, skeptical but interested.
The shadow placed a hand on her hip, blank eyes narrowed contemptuously. "Is it not obvious? You get to see this world crumble in demonic hands. Your goal from the beginning will finally come to fruition." She stepped towards him. "Madness. Absolute chaos. I mean, that's what you'd wanted, right?" She stared at him, silent, expectant. A few moments passed. He began to laugh, voice bouncing off the walls. "Are you mocking me?!" the silhouette cried furiously, her body seeming to grow colder, if that was even possible.
Bill shook his head, voice dying down finally. "Oh, wouldn't dream of it," he hissed, expression predatory. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Don't underestimate me because of the form I'm in now, got it? I'm well aware that there's no room for me in a world like that anymore, which is fine by me. I don't want a place in whatever it is you're trying to create." The blonde grinned deviously, flashing his unusually sharp teeth at her. "Not unless it's the throne." He leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Besides, I'm starting to grow a bit fond of this place. Boring, but it suits human needs to a tee. I hate to say it, but I probably wouldn't be able to function very well in the Nightmare Realm anymore." He shrugged the shoulder that wasn't pressed up against the wall.
The demon watched him, growing angrier and angrier each second he spoke. And being the arrogant man he was, Bill just had to drive her to the edge. "But it's just as well. At least this dimension isn't on its way to ruin," he went on with an icy expression, voice losing its boisterous pitch and lowering into a more serious tone.
Growling, the demon stomped towards him, leaving midnight black flames wherever she stepped. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him downwards so they were eye to eye. "Maybe not, but you certainly are," she snarled, hands shaking with utmost rage. And then a smile grew across her face. "I mean, where else do you think your powers are feeding into?" Bill was silent, stone faced. She just laughed at him, sensing the fear rising beneath the surface of his skin like a balloon. She placed a razor sharp, obsidian claw on his chest. "And you know what I'm going to do with them once they're all mine?" Bill didn't respond, dread weighing in his stomach.
"I'm going to tear down everything you're trying to keep safe. I'm going to burn down the town with everyone in it. Oh, but I'll keep all the people on that precious wheel of yours alive a little bit longer. And you wanna know what I'm going to do to them? I'm going to rip them all apart, limb by limb, one at a time." She tightened her grip on his shirt, her frozen claws beginning to make his chest feel like it was encased in ice. "Ohhh, and Dipper. I'll make sure to treat him special. He'll be the last to go. I want to see the look on his face as I toss all of his loved ones' broken bodies on the ground and set them ablaze. With your flames, no less. I wonder if he'll beg for his life.." She paused, easing her grip on Bill. "Or for the sweet release of death instead."
And that was just about as much of that as Bill could possibly stand to listen to.
He lunged at her, eyes aglow and hands swifter in movement than he'd thought possible in his current form. He knocked her down, shoving her into the ground by her shoulders and narrowing his contemptuous eyes at her. "How about this instead?" he ground out, tempted to use what remained of his abilities to send her right back where she belonged. "You don't lay a finger on this dimension, because I know exactly what would need to be done to the Nightmare Realm to knock it out of existence. I know exactly what buttons to press, exactly what strings to pull, because that is my domain." He pressed a hand to her icy throat. "Not yours. And that goes for Pine Tree, too. If you try to get from him whatever it is you want, then I will end you. I'll personally make sure you know not to fuck with what belongs solely to me. I'll turn off the lights in those eyes of yours, and I'll laugh as I watch them flicker out."
He let go, having just enough sense to know when to stop pushing a demon. Especially one that had the means and desire to see him seizing on the floor. He inhaled, long and shaky, spinning on his heels to leave her where she was. She stood as well, exuding amusement towards him, which pissed Bill off to no end. "I'll keep that in mind, Cipher," she drawled, voice like thorns that dug deep into his pride. Both of them knew his threat was as good as empty. Bill was sorely aware of how weak he'd grown in the last month he'd resided in his current dimension. Regardless, he wasn't going to let some bitch take what was his. He'd fight her tooth and claw if it really came down to it. He stomped away, fuming. And when he turned the corner, he was greeted with new surroundings.
Mabel sat against a wall with her knees drawn close to her body and her head down. She had clearly been crying. And Dipper stood beside her, knocking lightly against one of the lavishly decorated wooden doors. "Pacifica, please open up," he asked morosely, desperation in his eyes. Bill huffed, stepping towards the door.
"Let me talk to her," he grumbled, pressing a hand to the knob.
From inside he could hear Pacifica groan. "Who said I wanted to talk to you?"
Bill raised his brow, more or less expressionless. "Who asked?" He turned the doorknob, finding it was locked. As if he'd expected anything else. "Look, I'm not in the mood, and I'd really like to speed this up, Blondie. I don't wanna waste my time picking the lock, so if you'd just save me the hassle that'd be great."
There was a long period of silence before a sigh could be heard from inside. Pacifica unlocked the door and opened it, glaring at Bill. "Get in," she hissed, turning away from him. Bill did as he was told, gesturing for the twins - who looked like they were just itching to follow him - to stay where they were. He closed the door behind him, pocketing his hands. Pacifica sat down on her bed, looking up at him in annoyance. "What do you want?" She had quite obviously been crying as well.
Bill hummed, ignoring her moodiness. "Who's the guy?" he asked, examining the very pink walls of her bedroom. Pacifica muttered something under her breath and Bill pinched the bridge of his nose. "What?" he asked impatiently, tapping his foot.
"I said I don't know," she snapped in response, crossing her arms.
Bill frowned, furrowing his brow. "You don't know? Isn't marriage supposed to be some stupid symbol of two souls bonded forever blah blah blah gross lovey dovey whatever?"
Pacifica glared at him. "Yeah," she said with a simper. "What's got you acting so pleasant anyway, sunshine?" she went on, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Bill shrugged. "Probably the same reason you're so cheerful today, minus the demon that's not crawling around in your head," he huffed, the exasperation thick in his voice. She didn't even look surprised at his mentioning something crazy and supernatural getting in between him and Dipper. She'd expected it, to be honest. "A whole lot of something getting in the way of claiming what belongs to me. And let's be real here. The problem isn't your weird arranged marriage or whatever the hell you humans call it. It's the fact that you didn't jump on your opportunity with Mabel sooner and now you have no choice but to accept it." He lowered his voice just in case the others outside had decided to listen in.
Pacifica's eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed. "What makes you say that?" she asked, glancing away from him for a moment before forcing her eyes to meet his again.
Bill chuckled, shrugging. "Maybe I can't see dreams anymore without meeting certain conditions, but I can and definitely did hear all that drunken cooing about how cute Shooting Star is up in that skull of yours," he explained. "I don't see why you don't just say something to her and get yourself out of this."
Pacifica shook her head. "I'd love to, but it's official. My parents are forcing me to marry some guy to fully regain our lost fortune and I can't just say no...I've never been able to just say no..." She brought her knees up to her body, burying her head behind them. "Besides, Mabel likes guys. Not girls."
Bill snorted. "You're telling me. Ever seen one of her dreams?" He whistled, an amused smirk on his face. Pacifica just groaned, arms tightening around her knees. He sighed. "Okay, Blondie. I'm gonna level with ya. I have zero familiarity with human affection, but I know for a fact that Shooting Star has a whole lot of it for you." She perked up slightly, tilting her head up just enough for him to see her eyes over her knees. "And seriously, fuck marrying someone if you don't want to. You're a grown ass woman. They don't have any real control over you unless you hand it to them. And you have plenty of money, clearly. So don't even bother letting them pawn you off like that."
Pacifica opened her mouth to respond, but seemed at a loss for words. Her legs fell back down to the floor and her expression was unreadable. After a few moments, she jumped up, wrapping her arms around Bill's torso and just about knocking him over. "You promise she likes me back?" Pacifica questioned, looking up at him with worry.
Grumbling, Bill pressed his hands against her shoulders and held her away from him. "I'm a lot of things, but a liar isn't one of them," he said simply, letting his arms fall back to his sides. "I'm also not a hugger. You wanna hug someone, you've got two bleeding hearts biting their fingernails outside the door."
Pacifica giggled, nodding. She wasn't stupid. She could practically feel the fake radiating off of him. She was pretty keen at picking that up from people, as she'd held up that facade so much as a kid that it was always easy to tell when others did the same. "You're just hiding a big sweetheart behind all that cynicism, aren't you?" she teased, stepping towards her door. He pocketed his hands, muttering angrily to himself about that comment. She smiled. "Thanks, Bill." She opened the door to see Dipper and Mabel both sitting in the hallway, looking impatient and anxious.
"Yeah, whatever," Bill huffed, stepping out and letting the twins swarm Pacifica with worry. Mabel practically dive bombed the poor girl, shoving her nose into Pacifica's neck and sobbing loudly. Dipper just asked questions frantically, as he always did when something big happened, offering solutions and reassurance that everything would be fine whenever necessary. Pacifica laughed politely, rubbing Mabel's back soothingly and telling Dipper to calm down because she was going to deal with it on her own. Bill just watched, leaning back against the wall on the opposite end of the hallway.
He really didn't understand any of this. Not the hugging or crying or strange sense of devotion the trio had towards one another. It made no sense to him, yet he still found the feeling oddly alluring. As a demon, he felt nothing but what was allowed of him. The usual, sinful emotions. But with the addition of the fabricated soul he'd placed within the human body he now occupied, every other emotion seemed to come alive as well. Pleasant ones and some not so pleasant as well. Though he was unsure whether he really liked any of them, as they did nothing but puzzle him. Especially the ones he felt towards Dipper. Greed, possibly. But it seemed too guilty, too stormy in his chest to be something so selfish. And while lust was a part of it, he highly doubted the unusual thudding in his chest came solely from that.
Perhaps it was the very devotion he found so baffling between Pacifica and the Pines.
Pacifica ran a hand through Mabel's hair, soothing her sobbing and smiling fondly at her. Bill raised his brow, eyes darting between them all. At least, until he heard Dipper's voice call for him. He shook his head. "What?" the blonde asked dumbly, bringing himself back to reality.
Dipper rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers. "I asked how you somehow managed this," he said, a hand on Mabel's shoulder. She sniffed, using her sleeve to wipe her nose.
Bill glanced at Pacifica. then back towards Dipper. "I just did what I always do," the demon said with a shrug, stepping towards them. "I tell it like it is, kid. That's all."
Dipper smiled at him, and he wasn't sure why, but it made the blonde's chest tighten painfully. "Well, whatever you said, it worked. So.. Thank you," Dipper replied surprisingly sincerely, despite his still simmering anger towards what the demon had done earlier. "That was... Weirdly nice of you." He chuckled, turning back towards Pacifica. "But you're sure everything is going to be fine?"
Pacifica nodded. "Yeah. I think I can handle it," she said, rubbing her arm and glancing at Bill for the shortest moment. "Now go." She pressed her hands to Dipper's shoulders, shoving him the other way.
Dipper blinked, backing up some. "What? Why?" He looked puzzled.
Bill sighed, rubbing one of his temples in annoyance. "Kid, she's clearly telling us to get the hell out so she can talk to your sister," he explained, grabbing the brunette by his arm. "Best of luck to ya, or whatever." He started dragging Dipper - who only then seemed to understand - away.
Pacifica giggled, waving at them before turning towards Mabel and asking that she have a word with her. Mabel of course still looked oblivious, but nodded anyway, wiping the remainder of her tears off her face. Bill muttered under his breath, still unfamiliar with the layout of this stupid mansion to navigate it efficiently. Dipper raised his brow, taking the lead. "Someone's moody today. You were pretty happy with yourself for earlier like... ten minutes ago. What happened?" he asked, leading Bill towards the door, which Pacifica's butler opened up for them without a word.
"We've got some new developments to talk about, kid," the demon hissed out, stepping towards Dipper's car. "It's not just your head she's invading anymore. And if she's getting into mine so easily, then that means just about anyone in this town is equally as susceptible to her tricks."
Dipper froze, looking up from the keys he'd been fiddling with. "Mabel," was all he could think to say, voice urgent and eyes full of terror.
"Or Blondie, or Sixer, or anyone else you care about. Hell, I might even be a viable target." Bill opened his door, eyes low and gaze disdainful.
Dipper sat in the driver's seat, his head in his hands. Bill sat in his own beside him, staring straight ahead. Silence crawled between them for a long while. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Dipper slammed his fist down on the wheel, teeth grit and trying really hard not to scream. "Did you know about any of this before you asked me to become human?!" he yelled, failing at any attempt not to be loud.
Bill just eyed him quietly, examining the brunette's shaking hands and the place where his knuckles were red from hitting the wooden steering wheel. "I had no access to information from the Nightmare Realm after I was kicked out. Showing my face there again would've gotten me killed about as quickly as I could snap my fingers." He reached out, taking Dipper's wrist into his hand and looking at the split skin where blood had begun to spill out. He wiped it away with his thumb, but it was soon replaced by more. Dipper was trembling. Violently. It was rather worrisome, actually. Bill looked up to meet his eyes. "Kid. You alright?"
Dipper shook his head, pulling his hand away. "Open the glove box," he ordered, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek and struggling to keep his breathing level. Mabel. Stan. Ford. He closed his eyes tightly, though it did him little good. He could see the flames rising in his head, hear the symphony of agonized wailing, and all of it left him a quivering mess. Bill knew this. He could hear it all and see it all as well, echoing in his own mind like bells against his sanity, or lack thereof. He did as he was told, opening the glove box. "Th-there's a bottle of pills in there. Hand it to me," Dipper said, chest heaving. Bill dug around, pulling out an orange bottle and reading the label.
"Anxiety? Since when?" he asked, watching Dipper warily as the brunette snatched it from his hand.
Dipper twisted it open, digging his fingers into the bottle, which seemed about half empty. He pulled two little white pills from inside, shoving them into his mouth. "Picked it up when I was twelve," he hissed, grabbing a nearly empty water bottle and pulling the lid off. He chugged down the last of it, drowning the pills as he swallowed them.
Bill grit his teeth. "Ouch, kid. Geez..." He rubbed the back of his neck, taking the pill bottle from the brunette's still shaking hand and closing it. "Had to be twelve, huh?" The demon pressed his palm to Dipper's shoulder, leaning over to watch him as his episode slowly passed. "You okay now?"
Dipper gave a slight nod, opening his eyes again, only to be met with Bill's closed ones as the blonde kissed him. "What was that for?" he asked quietly as Bill pulled himself away.
The demon hummed. "I've heard that's comforting," he said, running his fingers through Dipper's bangs. He'd really never fully comprehend what it was about the brunette he liked so much or why he did the things he did around him. Hell, he didn't really get why he did anything anymore. Ten years ago he would've cringed in disgust at his current actions, his current form.
Dipper gave the slightest appreciative smile as Bill put the pill bottle back in the glove box. "Thanks, but... Don't kiss me," he said in a teasing tone.
Bill raised his brow. "And why not?"
Dipper scoffed, looking down at his hand, which wasn't bleeding quite so much anymore. "Not after what you did earlier," he said with a smirk, looking back up at Bill. But before he could say anything more, the blonde had already caught his lips in another kiss, hands cupping either side of Dipper's face.
When he pulled away, Dipper laughed, pushing on the other's chest. "It was just a joke," he said with a slight blush, grinning.
"This is not a joking matter, Pine Tree," Bill replied, although he couldn't help the smile that tugged at his own lips.
Dipper started the car, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say, stupid." He tried not to think about his panic attack earlier. He tried not to think about the demon in his head. He just needed one moment. One good moment. "Hey, maybe I'll actually start teaching you to drive tomorrow."
Bill's eyes lit up with excitement. "Seriously?" He grinned jubilantly.
"Yeah," Dipper said with a chuckle. Bill looked so happy to hear that, and Dipper found it adorable. "You are such a child."
Bill huffed. "Dating children is frowned upon, Pine Tree," he responded, crossing his arms.
Dipper was quiet for a moment.
"Shut up."