Caesar Cipher: I'm glad you love it so far :) Bill's one of my favorite characters in the show, so I like exploring his character a lot. You'll be seeing more of Bill's past in the upcoming chapters!

Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Bill's POV

"Who would know about secret codes?"

I wave my hand to stir the wind in Gravity Falls. Pine Tree turns around, clutching the laptop close to him. I choose right now to slide my eye into the moon and summon my body from all angles. My body solidifies in one bright flash as everything turns black and white. "I think I know a guy!" I offer, my voice echoing.

Boy, I love dramatic entrances!

"Well, well, well," I say, "you're awfully persistent, Pine Tree. Hats off to you!" I make the world tilt as I tip my hat to the boy. When I set my hat back on my head, he lands on his butt on the roof. Ha!

"You again!" he shouts and points at me.

"Did you miss me?" I make a "cutesy" face, as Shooting Star would call it. "Admit it, you missed me!"

"Hardly! You worked for Gideon, you tried to destroy our uncle's mind!"

"It was just a job, kid," I tell him, floating upside down behind him. "No hard feelings." But it really hurts that he only sees me as a monster. I turn right side up and continue, "I've been keeping an eye on you, since then, and I must say I'm impressed." I clap my hands together and create a screaming head to give him. 'Kay, I admit, the twins didn't particularly care for this trick much either in the Kingdom.

Anyway, I've had my laugh. Snapping the head away, I say, "The point is I like you." I nudge him closer. "How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small...favor, in return?" Unfortunately, Pine Tree refuses. "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here for you, ready to make a deal." A hilarious thought pops into my head, and I say, "Hey, you wanna see an impression of you in about three seconds? AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

I step out of his mind and watch him freak out. Hahaha, I just love that!

"Psst!"

I whirl around. That supposedly came from behind me, but I don't see anything. Eh, probably just my imagi-

"Bill!"

Huh? I search all around the shack - the attic, the kitchen, the porch - but there's no one here. I land on the ground in front of the side window, wondering what -

"About time you got down here."

I turn around to see someone staring at me. "You can see me?" I ask.

The human girl nods, tugging on her black cardigan to smooth it out. "I need to talk to you," she says.

"About what, kid?" I pull out my cane and swing it around.

She narrows her eye that's not covered by pink-highlighted, brown bangs. "I'm not a kid," she says, crossing her arms. "I'm much older than I seem."

"Sure you are," I say. Surely, she can't be much older than Wendy.

Her green eye glows, and she yanks her hand down. I grunt as I'm pulled down by my bow tie. When she brings her fist in, I'm dragged closer to her. "I'm not human, Bill Cipher," she tells me, "even though I take on that appearance."

I can't help but look her over. She might be small, and her pink dress and black gloves, cardigan, and boots make her seem girly and dainty, but she glares at me with such intensity that she could hit me with a thousand knives if she'd simply thought it.

"Now," she says calmly, releasing me, "are we going to talk?"

Fixing my tie, I try to play this all off nonchalantly. "Sure, but be quick. I have something important to do."

"If it's about the royal twins, I have something important to do with them, too."

I stare at her, then blink and glare at her. "Did the King and Queen send you?"

"Of course not." She holds her hand up in defense. "I've never even met them."

I think about the swirling lights I saw on the world map earlier this week. Is this girl the cause of the lights? It occurs to me now that I don't even know her name. "Who are you?" I demand.

Her uncovered eye widens. I don't think she expected me to ask her that. "Pardon me?"

"You heard me. You know my name, so it's only fair I know yours."

"Um..." She glances at the shack behind me, the golf cart several yards away, the forest around us, anywhere but at me.

"Nice try, miss," I tell her, turning and floating away. "Next time, don't bother me unless-"

"What was your favor?"

I stop and glance back at her. "What?"

"What was your favor?" she asks again. "Does it involve the Prince and Princess? Will they be hurt?"

"Don't get your bow in a bunch." I fly back over to her. "They'll be fine."

She gives me a skeptical look. "But what about the Ten Symbol prophecy?"

I don't know how she knows about that - only I and the snotty Highnesses know that - but I tell her, "Those two are part of the prophecy. They'll be fine."

"Fine? Are you insane? They could die!"

"Hey!" I throw my hands out to create a circle of blue fire around her waist, binding her arms to her side. She gasps and freezes. My body turns red and my eye black as I seethe, "Don't talk about their deaths with me! I was there when they passed away, I will not see it happen again!" The fire dissipates with a clap of my hands, and the energy blast knocks the girl unconscious. Though she said she's not human, it still affects her like one.

If she could see me easily while I was in the mindscape, then she could warn Pine Tree and Shooting Star about me. My plans will work more easily if the twins just did that favor I wanted - if this girl's gonna meddle, then I'm gonna have to go to Plan B. But first, I gotta get rid of her. I scoop her up and drop her off in the forest near where the mailbox used to be. I turn to leave her - but glance back one last time at her. That shade of pink in her dress, that bow in her hair...they remind me of someone I once knew.

I blink back the memories and return to the shack, where Dipper heads inside the shack. I ignore the other kids in the yard and fly up to the attic window. A message on the laptop flashes that the data will erase in 5 minutes if the kid can't figure out the password. Looks like it's as great a time as any to make an entrance.

"Well, well, well," I say, the world fading to gray. Hands behind my back, I hover over to the center of the room. "Someone's looking desperate." I know I'm starting to feel desperate.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone," Pine Tree huffs.

"I can help you, kid, you just need to hear out my demands." I pull out my yellow cane and lean on it.

With a quick glance at the computer, the boy says, "What kind of crazy thing do you want anyway? To eat my soul? To rip out my teeth? Are you gonna replace my eyes with baby heads, or something?"

"Eesh, kid! Relax!" Boy, these kids come up with the craziest ideas. "All I want is a puppet!" I may not have to go to Plan B.

Dipper narrows his eyes. "What are you playing at?"

"Everyone loves puppets," I say. "And it looks to me like you've got a surplus." The kid's still not sure. I fly over to him and show several memories of events from earlier on this summer. "Besides, what's your sister done for you lately? How many times have you sacrificed for her, huh? And when has she ever returned the favor?" The seconds tick down: 13, 12, 11, 10 -

"Just one puppet? Fine!" Pine Tree and I shake hands. "So, which puppet are you gonna pick?"

"Hmm, let's see." I make a big show of it. "Eeny, meeny, miny...you."

I yank the kid's soul out of his body and slip into the vessel. My limbs feel like lead as I merge with the fleshy vessel. I hear Pine Tree cry out, "This can't be happening! What did you do to my body?"

Slowly rising to my feet, I feel a smirk spread across my face. "Sorry, kid, but you're my puppet now!" I cackle as I throw the laptop onto the floor and step on it. Now, all I have to do is destroy the journal, show up at the palace as Dipper, and convince the King and Queen to tell me all those precious secrets they've got.