The next month slowly unearthed a subtle but recognizable routine. Rain rode the bus to Fantasy Landing twice a week to buy groceries, often accompanied by one or two of the others, plus a reluctant Bill. He rode by the group's coattails and refused to go to the store unless Rain promised to let him ride in the cart. When the cart was full, she often asked him to get out and walk, and he did, though sluggishly in order to blow Rain's fuse.
Efforts to do so proved meaningless; Bill could seldom let a couple sparks fly when hounding her on being a bore, anyways (she often countered this by asking if he wanted to go to the hardware store to look at paint chips).
After a few trips, Flug Slys decided to join them in their shopping adventures. Bill found Flug to be of irritating character; he was disinterested in the demon's inquisitive and witty remarks and had grown immune to Bill's usual venom. The scientist had little to say about his previous employer, and Bill would dare say Flug was stuck up.
The very light conversation the two had shared together thus far reminded Bill of a game of golf he had once played with a professor, one who kept relating golf to a puzzle. The demon had long grown tired of both the professor in question and of Dr. Flug and decided that he might as well take a more curious approach.
"So how smart are you really?" Bill asked one evening.
"I have multiple PhDs," Flug had answered.
"Why were you working for Black Hat and not NASA or something?"
"Mostly out of loyalty, but government work has more restrictions in terms of materials and where you get them."
"Why'd you run away?"
"I was tired of being in his shadow and crushed beneath his thumb."
"Are you a psychopath or anything like that?"
"I wouldn't consider myself to be, but it is possible."
Bill gave up shortly after. If he could find no weak spots in Flug's armor, he might as well try and find another way around the back. He had bigger problems to deal with, problems that Rain tended to view with small giggles.
The problem in question was that humans could, and would, catch whatever was in the air around them, whether it be chicken pox or the common cold. Bill's already fragile body had never come face to face with illness, nor had Bill in any other situations. The week he woke up with a headache, a snotty nose, and a queasy stomach, he convinced himself that he was dying and proceeded to try and drown himself in the bathtub, mostly out of sheer spite towards both the world and the Axolotl.
The only thing that stopped him from going unconscious while he was trying to breath in water without gagging was the Hatbox Ghost. Hattie was an entity that Bill had known to be present in the house but never directly acknowledged. The spectre's appearance often varied based on mood; catch him on a good day and he looked close to human but catch him in a bad mood and he looked ragged. That day he looked pained but not terrible. Bill thought he could've been in a better state.
"Are you trying to kill yourself?!" Hatbox had practically screeched, fetching a towel from the wall. Bill had snatched it prematurely and scoffed.
"Don't intend to," he said. "Just don't like being sick." In some sort of second sense, he placed the towel on his head and let the cotton soak up the water in his hair. Hatbox left Bill to his own devices semi-regrettably, and the demon raked a hand across his scalp, taking pleasure in his hair's softness.
It was then that Rain suggested he take a bath.
"A bath?" Bill had echoed. He had already started participating in what humans called personal hygiene. He washed his hands after a bathroom break and changed his clothes when he felt itchy and uncomfortable, but this, if anything, was beyond him. It sounded nice, though, when Rain explained it, especially because one of the bathtubs in the house was a jacuzzi.
"Besides," Rain shrugged, "it might help you feel better with that cold. Loosen up a bit, you know? Just don't waste up all the hot water. I wanna shower later."
She had been right, Bill admitted, because after he dried himself and got redressed, he felt like a new person. He hadn't truly realized how irritating it felt to have all that dirt build-up in his pores until he had gotten rid of it. He resolved to go take a nap, as to starve off whatever remaining sickness was left in his body.
It was then that he had another nightmare.
A creature of shadow had chased his ragged body through an inescapable labyrinth, getting closer with each passing second. Finally, when it got close enough that he could've reached back and touched it, arms made of darkness surrounded and suffocated him. He woke up in a cold sweat, feeling perhaps sicker than he had before his bath.
He spent the rest of the day moaning and groaning on the couch, trying to get someone's attention. Rain felt a little sorry for him, mostly because she knew how new to illness he was. She searched the cabinet for cold medicine but found that the house had none.
"I'll be right back," she assured Bill. "I'm gonna go buy some cold medicine."
"'Snot like I need help from you," he grumbled, "but make it quick. I'm getting chills."
She left the house and walked to the bus stop. She had never had the time to get her driver's license, as she was always out fighting monsters and halting evil in its tracks. Even then, people had just assumed she had a license and never questioned her. Still, Rain knew better than to try her luck with PYFF. They probably knew she had never taken a driver's test, and she had never been fond of breaking rules, either.
When the bus arrived a little later than usual with no one on it, she knew something was a bit off. Still, she paid the fare and hopped into a seat, and quickly noticed, contrary to her first impression, that she was not alone. A young teenage boy sat a couple seats down, fidgeting with the metal fasteners on his overalls. He eyed Rain curiously then stared tentatively out the window at the passing cars.
The bus started to move, lurching up the street in a painfully slow manner. It did not pause at its usual stops, nor did it seem to obey any traffic lights, but since Rain could not see where exactly they were, she didn't care. There was still a small aching in her stomach though, her gut telling her something wasn't quite right about the current transportation arrangements.
Her gut feeling was confirmed when the boy Rain had noticed earlier stood up decisively. They were nowhere near a stop yet, it seemed, because there had been no announcement. The bus lurched ominously, hitting a bump in the road, and the ambience of the air around her seemed to buzz and echo with a strange, unearthly tension.
The boy turned toward her and stared her right in the face, and this time, her heart lurched instead of the bus. Rain stood up slowly, her hands shaking.
"What's going on?" she asked, her eyes flitting towards the windows.
To her surprise, the windows had gone dark. The only thing illuminating the bus' interior now was the soft light of the LEDs above them. Her eyes went wide with fear and shock, and before she could react, an invisible force smacked her against the wall. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
A malignant aura emanated from the boy, his face devoid of emotion. His hands were clenched, and he seemed to be concentrated on a spot behind Rain's head. His sandy hair seemed to flutter as if a breeze were passing through, but the air was unbearably humid. His left eye was a deep brown, but his right eye was permanently closed, two scars slashed across.
"Who are you?!" Rain demanded, her voice shaking. White noise echoed across the air, across her mind, as if her shadow were trying to talk. However, something about it told Rain that this was not her shadow.
This was the boy.
Kit Harper, he spoke, and he raised his hand. Rain was flung back into the wall again, and she crashed into a seat. She got up slowly, not used to fighting anymore. She fumbled around in her jacket for something to counter his attacks with.
She grasped the handle of her dagger, the one she used to fight with. Her breath hitched; she was past fighting, but now it seemed she had no choice. She pulled it out of her jacket pocket decisively.
"Okay, then, 'Kit Harper,'" she started, "do you really wanna fight me?" She laughed nervously. "I mean...I'm a veteran hero. I've got skill."
I assure you, I do not want to fight you.
"Then why...why are you fighting me?"
Ordered, he said. Gravity suddenly reversed, and both Kit and Rain were propelled towards the ceiling. Rain reoriented herself and got onto her feet.
"By who?" she asked. Kit grinned slightly, seemingly happy that she asked the question.
The most feared man in the multiverse.
"Well, call me a blind man, but Rain went out for nothing," Hatbox groaned. "I found some cold medicine."
"Ugh, finally," Bill sighed. "I was beginning to think I'd be sick forever."
"In case you don't know anything about medicine," Hatbox chuckled, "it doesn't cure you. You'll still be sick, yes—"
"What?!" Bill clutched the blanket that surrounded him. "Then what good will it do?!"
"It helps with the symptoms," Hatbox sighed. "You'll feel more energized and less snot-nosed." He took off the cap of the medicine bottle and poured some of the purple liquid into a small measuring cup. "Drink up."
Bill reluctantly took the cup and downed the whole thing in one gulp, then immediately started to cough. "What is this stuff?! It tastes terrible!"
"Medicine isn't supposed to taste good," Hatbox laughed. "It's supposed to taste like medicine. Now suck it up."
Bill gagged a little at the aftertaste, but otherwise stopped complaining. He had turned to a dead TV channel, and he rested his head on his hand as he watched.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hatbox suddenly freeze up. He turned his head the spirit's way. The ghost looked off into the distance for a few seconds but pulled himself back to the present.
"You okay?" Bill said with only a hint of sincerity. Hatbox turned to the demon, a worried look on his face.
"I felt something," he breathed. "I think...I think Rain's in trouble."
"She can handle herself," Bill scoffed.
"I sure hope so," Hatbox replied. "I'm gonna go find her."
He ran out the door, down the street, towards the bus stop, and was halfway there when he saw what was wrong. There was a blue-green wisp, sitting at the stop, that looked vaguely like a bus. It was slightly translucent, and he could see two people hopping around inside one of the cars.
He could clearly see Rain's bleached hair bouncing off the walls as she did, though he could see that she was losing energy fast. Another figure stood very still on the other side, both hands raised in defense, and Hatbox assumed he was using telekinesis.
Hatbox had learned some magic from old books around the mansion's archives, spells that dispelled illusions, created shields, defensive things. He raised his hand and willed the illusion before him to break apart.
The wisp separated almost immediately, and Rain fell to the ground with a teenage boy. The boy got up from the ground quickly, though he looked like he had been cut several times. He ran towards Rain, an enraged look in his eye. Hatbox quickly raised his hand and trapped him in an energy field.
The boy banged his fists against the energy field as hard as he could, and Hatbox thought he heard a strange noise. It sounded almost like speech, but—
Let me out, let me oUT, LET ME OUT—
The screaming quickly turned into a high-pitched wail of white noise that began to give Hatbox a headache. Rain held her head, trying to block out the screeching. Hatbox focused hard on the noise, snapped his fingers, and all was silent.
The boy looked perplexed, and he continued banging on the energy field, concentrated on communicating with Hatbox and Rain.
"He uses telepathy, I would think," Rain breathed, getting up shakily. She stumbled a bit and fell back down, and only then did Hatbox realize how bruised up she was. She had a few minor cuts on her face, too, but it seemed she had run out of energy.
"Who is that?" Hatbox asked worriedly. "What'd he do to you?"
"His name's Kit Harper, apparently," Rain huffed. "Can use telekinesis. He was just throwing me around that bus while I tried to fight back."
"We need to get you back to the house."
"What about him?" she gestured towards Kit, who was still struggling to escape.
"Eh, I'm sure Black Hat will pick him up later," Hatbox grumbled. "Come on, let's get out of here before something else happens."
Click. Click. Click.
Bill groaned irritably. It seemed as though the satellite had decided to start working properly. Every channel they had came in crystal clear; not one channel was dead.
Hatbox had been right; Bill's sinuses had cleared up quite a bit, and if he hadn't known any better, he would've thought he was no longer sick. He would've been pleased, had the past few minutes been any fun. He sighed, rested his head against the couch's arm, and proceeded flipping channels.
The door burst open, making Bill nearly drop the remote. Hatbox walked in, supporting a limping, bruised Rain. Bill's eyes went wide, anger building up in him, yet he didn't know where that anger came from.
"What happened?" Bill asked, but Rain did not answer. Hatbox helped her up the stairs and to her room, leaving Bill to ponder what was going on. The ghost came back down the stairs almost directly afterwards, a look of relief on his face.
"She's alright," he said. "No broken bones or anything. She's just tired and bruised; I think a nap will do her some good."
"How'd she get all bruised up like that?" Bill asked. "I thought she…"
"Was strong enough to take on anything?" Hatbox finished. The demon nodded. "Bill, she's a human being. She's still as delicate as everyone else." He sighed. "There was a boy named...Kit Harper, she said."
Bill recognized the name. "That's...he's a long-time follower of Black Hat," he realized. "Hatbox, you don't think Black Hat is after us, do you?"
"I doubt it," Hatbox chuckled. "That kid was probably just waiting for a hero to catch. I don't think he was looking for anyone specific, cause Rain still got him a couple times. Any employee of the man in black is going to go in knowing their enemy, and if they don't, they're just looking to find a victim."
"How do you know?"
"I study things in my spare time," the spectre replied. "It gets quite boring around the mansion when nobody's there to visit."
Bill sighed. "I'm...gonna go outside," he said.
"Outside?"
"Yeah."
He stood up, put on some shoes, and opened the door. He slammed it behind him, taking pleasure in the noise. It sounded so angry, a perfect replication of his emotions. He sat down on the sidewalk, taking in the sights and stewing in annoyance. How this "Kit Harper" could attack Rain and get away with it was unimaginable to him.
There, on the other side of the street, stood Ima. She had been walking for a while now, taking deep breaths as she did. The past few days had been strange, so she was trying her best to remain calm. If she did, it would go away, the black on her fingertips. They had turned slowly to claws again, and she stuffed them in her pockets when she noticed Bill, the boy who took a liking to slamming doors.
She stopped to look at the demon, knowing that something was troubling him.
Bill's eyes flitted over to Ima, his annoyance only growing. He growled slightly, rolling his eyes. "What are you looking at?" he demanded.
Ima shook a little. "Nothing, nothing," she said. "It's just that…" She bent down a little, in a way that a normal human couldn't. "You're the elf eared kid from a few weeks ago, right? The one slamming the door behind Rain?"
Bill scoffed. "Yeah, I guess, what of it?"
"You look...down. Bill Cipher, yes?" Ima scooted closer to him, just staring at him. Something about her seemed off. Her hands were out of her pockets, claws and all, and the air around her was cold. "A friend was hurt, and you feel as if it shouldn't have happened. I can tell."
"Friend?!" Bill laughed angrily. "As if! And I'm not 'down,' just bored." He looked off into the distance again, trying to piece together the puzzle he was creating in his head.
"Hmm. If that's what you believe," said Ima. "Oh, wait, forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ima." She held out a hand to him, not entirely knowing that her fingers had worn down to claws. Despite the cold air and Bill's attitude, she seemed positive.
Bill looked at her hand hesitantly before shaking it. "Nice to meet you, I guess." He pressed his hands to his face in frustration. "So, what exactly do you want?"
She put her hand to her cheek, before noticing the bits of skin falling off of her fingers. Once she did, she put her hand behind her back. "I was just walking, until I saw and recognized you. And once I did, I thought I'd see what's wrong, since I thought you would need it…" She started to whisper, clearly slightly confused.
Bill scoffed again, this time with a smile. "Alright, then," he chuckled, but there was something malevolent in his gaze. "Well, let me make this clear to you, Ima." He spat her name like it was a disease. "I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help, and I especially don't need help from Ra—"
He stopped himself, looking shocked at the words that just came out of his mouth.
"From Rain?" Ima finished. She stared at him with a neutral expression, the air around her growing darker. "Then why did you sign up for PYFF? Isn't it a place where people seek help?" She started to walk away but put a claw on Bill's shoulder. "Please don't try to pretend. It only makes everything worse. Take it from me."
"I…"
Ima chuckled. "But okay. If you think angry and mean is a perfect facade, then go ahead!" She leaned closer to him. "But you should stick to that and watch your back." Those last words were filled with concern, annoyance, and malice. "You can't let your guard down once you make a reputation for yourself. After all, there's someone who wants your head!" She walked away, chuckling afterwards. Something about those last sentences were different.
Bill stared after her, those last few words vibrating in his head. Someone who wants your head… Who in the world had she been talking about?
"What exactly do you mean by that?" he asked as she walked away.
Ima stopped and turned around. "Well, let's just say that someone very powerful has a bounty on your—and Rain's—head."
Bill's eyes went wide at those words. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. He only watched Ima walk off, knowing immediately who she was talking about.
Kit Harper was no coincidence. Black Hat was after him. He knew he only had so much time before the man in black's forces came crashing to the Earth in retaliation against the heroes.
But why now?
Bill's head jerked up. He knew why Black Hat was doing this. A mixture of spite, revenge, and finally having an excuse to follow through on his plans. Dr. Flug Slys was now living with them, and he had only joined PYFF some time ago.
I was tired of being in his shadow and crushed beneath his thumb.
It was only a matter of time.
Darkness.
The wind swept against his face as the void around him grew ever closer. His hair gently caressed the sides of his face, and his body felt warm and light. With a gasp, his eyes fluttered open, though it made no difference; he could see nothing.
He cursed to himself. He had fallen asleep on the couch again, even after he had tried so desperately not to. Humans needed to sleep, he knew that, but he had become fearful of what the night would bring. He tried to claw himself out of unconsciousness, clutched onto the fabric of his mind and tried to pull himself up, but it was no use.
He heard something, deep in the darkness; a low growl, hungry, waiting. He could see something, a tiny flicker of light, far below his feet. Before he could move, however, it disappeared. He huffed, swimming downwards through space to follow it.
Before him seemed to be a large, black labyrinth with no ceiling, and on the far end, he could see the glint of light again. The light was slowly fading, becoming nothing the longer it was something. Bill touched the ground lightly, and it was then that he realized his feet were bare. He could feel the cold concrete surface beneath his toes, the chill seeping into his skin.
There was a voice from far away, a dark, monstrous voice, but it seemed to hold a sense of good and righteousness. Bill couldn't tell what it was saying; he felt as though he were wearing ear plugs. Still, he felt drawn to it, so he started to walk towards it.
"Turn back."
He whipped around to find a creature around his height. It closely resembled Ima, though the screen held no eye. Instead, it showed only static, forever set to a dead channel. Her arms were scarred and bloody, though the rest of her body seemed to hold a human shape.
"Turn back," she urged him. "Turn back now, while you still have a chance."
"Why?" Bill asked, though his voice sounded muffled and unrecognizable.
Ima seemed to think for a few seconds, before her screen lit up in an array of unearthly colors, colors Bill had only ever seen with his demon eye.
"You can't let your guard down once you make a reputation for yourself," she said, a perfect replication of Bill's memory. "After all, there's someone who wants your head!"
She seemed to glitch out of existence, her words bouncing around in Bill's head like a pinball. He pressed his fingers to his temples, a migraine threatening to tear through his mind. Luckily, it faded as soon as it came, and he looked forward towards the path ahead.
"Screw her," he muttered.
He continued on, his movements slow and painful, as if he were dragging himself through water. He pulled ahead, the light he was focused on slowly dimming. He hoped he could reach it before it faded completely.
He didn't quite know how he got there, but there he was, facing the dying light with finality and decisiveness. He reached forward with his left hand, but as soon as he touched the light, it disappeared completely. He reeled back in shock, whispers filling his mind as his nerves buzzed with panic.
"Hello there, Cipher."
It was a low and ominous voice, a slimy, evil tint behind the cockney accent. Bill turned slowly to meet its owner. He faced the light of a shimmering monocle and the unearthly green glow of the man's sharp teeth. Black Hat's smile was unbearably familiar as he placed a hand on Bill's shoulder.
"It is unfortunate that we should meet like this," the man chuckled, "with you following the heroes' lead as if you were one of them."
"I'm not following their lead," Bill countered, his voice shaking. "I'm...using them. Biding my time. My powers are weak now, but—"
"Oh, save me the excuses," Black Hat snarled. "They've won you over, haven't they?" He examined the gloved nails on his free hand. "Such a shame… That pathetic human vessel has turned you soft, just like she has."
"She…?"
Behind Black Hat stood an uncanny resemblance of Rain, her eyes without pupils, her gentle smile looking sinister. She looked as if she were in a silent movie. Her hands were behind her back, an innocent look on her face.
"Bill?" she said, her voice sweet and soft, as if she didn't notice Black Hat at all. The man in black snapped his fingers, and a deafening slice cut the air like paper. Rain's eyes went wide as a slash of blood made its way across her chest, her features turning pale and unearthly. She fell to the ground with a thud, and Black Hat started to cackle.
"Don't you see, Bill?" he growled. "Immortal creatures like us don't need the help of such pathetic specimen. Those heroes are weak and childish, running around their little cage like hamsters. They think they can stop a power much larger than themselves."
"R-Rain…"
Bill's hands shot up to his mouth, his mind racing with panic. Her name had tumbled out without any thought, and it seemed Black Hat could sense this.
"Oh, come now, don't tell me you actually care for her," he snarled. "I'd come to think you resented her presence." The man sighed, and Bill could've sworn he heard a hint of twisted disappointment. "I thought you had potential, long ago. You destroyed without thought and killed without mercy. You and I were not so different back then."
"I don't...I don't care for anyone!" Bill insisted. "I'm still the same demon I was before. Nothing's changed." Despite the statement, some part of him knew Black Hat was right.
Black Hat smiled menacingly, his teeth glinting in unseen light, almost as if they gave off light all on their own. His form began to twist and churn until he became nothing but a black wisp, but then it began to piece itself back together. Bill's own form stared back at him, wearing much more formal clothing, his eyes filled with malice and destruction.
"Don't you remember what you used to be?" his double snarled. "We used to make such a good team." A twisted smile formed on his cheeks. "You know, Bill Cipher and his need for destruction."
"I never changed," Bill pleaded, his voice nearly a whisper. "Never. I'm not…I'm not a hero."
"No, you aren't," his double sighed. "But you most certainly aren't a villain."
In one quick motion, his doppleganger's jaw unhinged, revealing rows of neon green teeth. Darkness dripped from his lips, the air urgent and rushed as Bill struggled to squirm away—
He woke up in a cold sweat, tears running down his face as the echoes of his dream faded from his vision. Goosebumps littered his skin, sweat covering his brow. He was in his room, sitting upright in his bed.
It was just a dream…
No matter how much he told himself this, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had just conversed with the real Black Hat. He shivered at the prospect of it and elected to stay up the rest of the night.