Dipper felt like he was about to explode. All he could see was an obnoxious orange color, and the only thing he could hear was a horrible screeching that was coming from all around him. And though he couldn't feel his physical body, he already knew he was somehow in pain, and was becoming concerned about how Balthazar was treating it.
He had found out rather quickly that he had simply been possessed, and the nightmare thing the demon was pulling only lasted for what Dipper believed was a day or two. Time really wasn't something he was sure about while in the weird limbo.
Which concerned him even more. Did Balthazar know that he needed to eat, sleep, or breathe? Well, he hadn't died yet, so obviously he at least knew about breathing.
A loud crashing sound shattered the orange walls around him and the screeching stopped, only to have a loud growl replace it.
"How dare you try to resist me!" Balthazar snarled as he appeared in front of Dipper. The demon had changed from his fake Bill appearance into a humanoid figure with two sets of arms that were both held out at his sides, fists balled in anger like a child throwing a fit. His skin was a dark orange, nearly turning red in anger as he stomped closer to Dipper.
As his surroundings melted and black walls formed, Dipper's mind forcefully snapped to what had happened however long ago, when he had fought Bill.
Mabel.
At first when he saw Bill slash her open, he felt more rage than he thought he was even able to, but after a moment of screaming and fighting as hard as he could, he realized something didn't feel right. Something in him just knew that Mabel wasn't actually hurt.
Though that was a good thing, -a fantastic thing- it unfortunately made him stop pulling in magic, and he didn't have the drive to fight Balthazar as hard. And the demon pushed back hard the second Dipper let up.
"No matter," Balthazar continued, though Dipper hadn't been listening to what he had said before. "I can use you. I need to gather more humans than just the pathetic minds of those school children. Your body is a magnificent conduit for my magic, I should have no problem creating a barrier around a large town."
"I won't let you hurt or terrorize people!" Dipper tried to do something, anything, to make the demon flinch, but he found that he was barely even able to move.
The demon scoffed and flicked a wrist at Dipper, sending him into one of the black walls. "There will be no more of your outbursts." He put his lower hands on his hips and his higher ones in his black hair, ruffling the mess of curls until it turned straight and blond. His body began to morph shape and color as well, and soon he looked like Bill but with the extra set of arms still on his ribs.
Dipper sneered at him and tried to move off of the wall. "Don't go making yourself look like him! That's only going to make me more upset." And that was true. Dipper was still having mixed emotions about what he had seen and heard from Bill. Was he really putting on a show like Dipper thought he was, or was he really trying to turn on everyone? His gut told him it was the latter, but his mind worried that it was the former.
"Oh?" He purred as he stepped closer. "You didn't seem to mind it at first. When I was kissing you. I thought you liked Bill," he teased.
"Who I do and do not like is none of your business." He squirmed a bit as one of the demon's hand raked through his hair.
"Please, I am inside of your head. I can see how much you enjoy Cipher's bouts of affection. It's sad, really, seeing as he doesn't really mean them."
Dipper yanked his head away so that the demon's hand was no longer on him. "I-I've already accepted that he might not feel the same. I'll get over it," he said sternly.
The demon didn't look very convinced. His hands fell back to his sides and he shrugged, an odd gesture on a being with four arms. "We'll see how well you take it when he truly does desert you. If the fool somehow manages to defeat me, he'll just go back to how he was before. What makes you think that he would even stay for you? Honestly it'd be best to just help me beat him into a pulp."
Though Dipper did kind of want to punch Bill for hurting Mabel, even if it had just been a show, he shook his head and glared daggers at the fake Bill. "I wouldn't ever help you. So what if I do care about Bill? That doesn't change the fact that I still want to stop you." He spat at Balthazar and tried to kick off the wall to swipe at him. Still no luck with that.
He laughed and nonchalantly wiped the spit from his face. "You humans and secreting your liquids. It's disgusting, really."
Dipper shifted a little uncomfortably and chewed on his bottom lip. "Which reminds me… You have been taking care of my body, right? Like it's not dehydrated, starving, gross, or anything like that? How long has it even been anyway?"
"Only two days. And of course I've at least done the bare minimum. I need this body, I can't have it dying on me." He turned around and hummed for a moment, his form changing back to it's vibrant orange color. "I think I know what my next move is going to be. I hope the few marks that you have will keep your body from wearing out, because I'm about to have some fun. We need to do something about your attitude as well."
It was Mabel's turn to pace back and forth in Bill's living room. Bill had been doing it for a while before her, and when he went to his room without a word, she took his place and used her alone time to think.
Dipper was still conscious enough to fight back, so it was possible that she would be able to get through to him. Hopefully, if whatever Bill had planned failed again, she could use that.
"You're chewing on your hair. Is that something humans do? If so I refuse to do it just to fit in."
Mabel perked up and looked at where the voice had come from, seeing that Clyde had plopped down on the couch at some point. His eyes were wide and he was watching her intently. It reminded her of a kitten about to pounce on something.
She spat out her hair and shook her head. "It's just me. Well, I'm sure other people do it too, but I know I do it when I'm nervous."
He shifted to lean back and took a second to get comfortable before speaking again. "Why would you be nervous? From what I know, you Pines don't back down. It's funny, really, how badly you beat Cipher. Upsetting that you can't destroy him for good, but still. It must be terrible though, not to be able to change back to that form he was so fond of."
"Can't change back? I saw him go all demon-y in the Mindscape, why can't he just change back to his triangle form?" She sat down next to him, surprised to see that he inched away a bit.
"Well you essentially 'locked' that form, seeing as you basically scattered him into a million tiny pieces. That changes a demon too much for them to ever go back to how they were before." He leaned away from Mabel but reached out to touch her red sweater. "I would like another one of these. You gave me one and I sleep in it. I want one for the day time."
Choosing not to respond, Mabel just sat in thought over what Clyde had said. Couldn't change back? Bill really did seem to love that triangle thing he had going. He must miss his hat and bow tie…
"Hello?" Clyde sang. "You're almost as bad as your brother. One time I tried talking to him at school and I don't think he heard a single word I said."
Mabel snorted. "No one is as bad as Dipper is at spacing out. I do it sometimes, but I can at least tell when people are talking to me."
He gave an eye roll and fell onto his back, sprawled out on the couch in an uncomfortable looking position. "Sure, sure." He yawned and loudly smacked his lips a few times. "But anyway, why are you even nervous? Cipher will eventually come up with something that works to save Pine Tree."
She shrugged and let her arms go limp in her lap. "I don't know, I just am. I know we'll figure it out, we always do, but I still worry about him."
Clyde scoffed and craned his neck to look at her from his odd position. "You humans and your feelings. You let them affect you too often."
Mabel would have sat and gave him the "feelings" lecture, but had become too lost in thought again to give him even a small node.
It was important to think through all the things that might go wrong, and Mabel wasn't about to go into that again without being fully prepared. Because that time, they were coming out with Dipper. She would make sure of it.
The new plan was fool-proof. Replicate Weirdmaggedon in Dipper's Mindscape, get him to freak out the panic way, rather than the anger way, then when Balthazar was weak, rip them apart. And if ol' Baltzy was still in a solid enough piece, well, Bill would take a little extra time to scatter the rest of his energy in such a way that left the other demon in pain for a while.
Star and Sixer went off and made their own plans, only to have them all converge and make a decent plan A, a plan B, and a more desperate plan C. Hopefully they wouldn't have to resort to having Ford actually try to ritualistically pull Baltzy from Dipper, but the small amount of damage it could cause would be worth it, if i can down to it.
He groaned and shut his eyes again. That was the third time had lost focus, and he needed to find his Pine Tree again.
His Pine Tree? Huh, he hadn't even noticed when he had started to put claim on the kid like that. It was fine with him, but it was just a strange feeling to want him there that badly. The cuddling, the teasing, the kisses…
Bill felt a mental tug and a smile tugged at his lips. He just had to follow the memories and the link that they had made between their personal Mindscapes. It was easier when he was thinking purely about Pine Tree, rather than the moment in general.
The school dance, when his body compelled him to pull the kid into a kiss, all he could really focus on was how red the kid got, and how much his cheeks puffed up in anger when he let go of him. It was adorable.
Then there was one of the times they were cuddling, and he had to shut the kid up and put him to sleep. Again, a kiss seemed to be what his body thought was the best option, so he planted one on the kid. That time he just turned pink and made a cute noise, which Bill was determined to make him do again.
Another pull on his mind made Bill's eyes shoot open and he smiled.
"Got you. I'm coming, Pine Tree."
Everyone was in place. They were all already antsy since they had to wait until Balthazar let Dipper's body sleep again, and Bill was worried they would get trigger happy.
All they had to do was act out the beginning of Bill's brief take over, and get Dipper to see it. No brainer.
Clyde shifted into a form that was more like a creature Bill would have created, IQ agreed to be fake frozen into gold again, and Star agreed to sit in a fake prison bubble. Only that one she would be able to pop with just her finger, should she need to get out and help fight.
Balthazar was well aware that at least Bill was in Dipper's head again, and he was seeking him out to fight, which was what they were hoping for.
Bill began his little act as soon as Dipper's form, trying his best to ignore the orange ooze slowly seeping from his eyes and ears.
"That the best you got, Sixer? And here I thought you would put up a fight!" The words came all too naturally to Bill, and he rattled them off perfectly. He sounded like his old self.
"I know your weakness Bill! You're not invincible!" Ford, on the other hand, didn't sound as convincing. Sure he sounded angry, but it could use more… desperation. It was alright, though. Enough to set the kid off.
"Oh, but I am! You lost all your stupid, little trinkets and books! Nothing else can help you!"
The two went off in their tangents, arguing back and forth while Bill kept an eye on Balthazar, who was frozen in place, watching the scene.
The final touch to it all, was for Bill to make a loud sound, one that would surely jump start the kids anxiety.
With the snap of his fingers, a horrible loud boom sounded all around them, and Bill made it look like Sixer had been reverted back to his golden statue form.
After a moment, it clicked in Bill's head that it probably wasn't working. What had he done in there to make Pine Tree not fight back? Hell, from what it looked like, Dipper wasn't reacting to it at all.
"You think I don't have him bound and gagged after that last incident?" Balthazar laughed. "It was a pain, but anything snaps if you press down on it hard enough."
The fake landscape melted away, and everything feel silent.
Everyone stared intently at Dipper's possessed form while he looked at his nails, as if he were uninterested in the situation.
"What did you do to him?" Star growled as she gracefully landed next to Bill from her popped bubble.
"Obviously nothing to kill him, but he isn't exactly very present at the moment. He's buried pretty far in here," he said as he tapped his head. "No use trying to pull him out. Might make him a vegetable, actually." His gaze met Bill's and he smiled widely. Too widely for Dipper's cute face. "I know you Cipher, you're predictable. If you want this kid back, you're going to have to use something other than brute force from one of your temper tantrums."
Bill balled his hands into fists and resisted the urge to lash out, since it would only prove his point. He did tend to throw fits.
"Do you need one of us to distract him while you change and go all demon on him? I know he said that you can't do the pulling apart thing, but like, maybe you can weaken him until Ford does his banishing thing he brought as back up?" Star did her best to whisper as discretely to Bill as possible, but it was obvious that she was talking to him.
"That's what we're going to have to do." Bill made a quick motion to the others, letting them know that plan C needed to be set into motion. It wasn't what he wanted, but he knew it was needed.
Star and Clyde both bolted at Balthazar, running him off just far enough away to keep him in a small fight while Bill pooled his magic and Ford readied the banishing ritual.
"I know that thing is short, but it's complex, and you studied it all of two days," Bill fussed as he closed his eyes to focus.
"Just do your part and I'll do mine, Cipher. I won't let Dipper go this time," he snapped.
Bill just scoffed and left it alone. He needed to focus.
As Sixer set up, Bill could hear the other beginning to struggle with keeping Balthazar at bay. Something had disrupted the power balance, and Bill knew he had to hurry to help them.
Luckily, before Star or Clyde got injured, and just before IQ finished setting himself up, Bill was able to switch into the form in which his magic flowed more freely.
Just as he and Stan readied to attack, the world around them shifted again, turning into a what looked like a large cardboard box. People began popping up around them one by one, and eventually the large room was packed with faces that Bill recognized as citizens of the city they were currently in.
"What did you do!" Bill shouted as he brought himself above all of the confused mass of humans.
"This body is a wonderful conduit for magic! I was able to set up a fantastically large bubble to trap all of these minds in here!" He raised his hands above his head and brought them down quickly. A shower of spiders and snakes fell from above everyone, and mess panic promptly ensued. "Why do you think it took so long for this body to fall asleep? I've been nice and busy!"
Bill lunged forward at him, snarling. "You're going to kill him! Whether he's good at magic or not, he only has so many marks stopping it from wearing his body out!"
Balthazar moved out of the way casually and laughed. "It'll be fine! I worked this out perfectly! Face it Cipher, I outwitted you! You let your feelings for this meatsack fog your head, and now you've lost! I've thought of everything!"
The others had long been lost in the panicking people, Bill sure that Ford's set up had been ruined. It would be next to impossible to clear a space for it again, and Bill knew his own magic was running too low to change much anyway.
"No! I can still pull you out without hurting him!" Out of anger he swiped at him again, barely catching the front of his shirt.
"Careful! You wouldn't wanna rip him apart! Do that and he really will be lost for ever!"
Bill snarled at him and forced a pool of magic to his hands, his blue fire bursting out around him. "We may not have thought of everything, but don't think I won't still win! I'm getting my Pine Tree back!"
The two fought for what Bill was sure to have been almost an hour. Balthazar was gaining energy from the hundreds of nightmares going on beneath them, and Bill was tiring out.
He wasn't sure where the others were, and he realized that everything he threw at Balthazar seemed to be too predictable. He needed a new idea, and fast, or he really was going to lose Dipper.
"He's not even fighting back anymore! And it looks like you're about to give up too! I win Cipher!" Balthazar laughed maniacally, his awful smile twisting Dipper's face.
The screaming, the loss of control, the lack of power- it was driving Bill crazy. He just wanted to be at home, lying in bed with Dipper, giving into the warm and fuzzies his human body felt whenever they were with each other. He wondered if Dipper was feeling the same way. There was no way he was happy buried in his own head.
An idea struck Bill and he figured, fuck it. He didn't have any other ideas, might as well try it.
With the last bit of his magic, Bill made his bright, blue flames surround the two of them and he gently reached forward, grabbing Dipper's face.
"What are you doing!?" Balthazar squirmed a bit, but Bill kept hold of him as he pulled Dipper's face to his and kissed him as softly as he was able to.
Everything seemed to freeze and Bill hummed at the familiarness of the lips on his. Even if they weren't in the physical realm, and even if Dipper wasn't fully there, he was going to enjoy it. And he figured, if Pine Tree wasn't responding to the bad, maybe he'd respond to the good.
That is, if the kid thought the kisses were good, which he was almost certain then that he did.
Bill felt the disturbance in Balthazar's magic and took the time to dig his claws as deep as he could into Dipper to pull the other demon out. If the kiss had brought Dipper out enough, then ripping them apart wouldn't hurt him.
The ripping sound began to drown out the screams and he could feel the mental tug from Dipper and pulled harder, willing the kid to push himself away from Balthazar.
As the orange mess ripped from Pine Tree, Bill loosened his grip and tested to see if he actually was fighting the other demon. He was happy to feel that Dipper was in fact forcing the demon out, but knew he couldn't keep up his half of the puling for long. His magic was draining fast, and he only had a small amount left.
"Pine Tree, if you can hear me, you have to push harder!" Bill shouted over the sound of his fire that was still somehow swirling around them wildly. "C'mon, kid! Fight!"
Dipper groaned and Bill felt the two separate completely. With his last bit of strength, Bill used both hands to tear the blob of orange in two, his claws shredding it as much as he could before he was suddenly falling, Pine Tree already out cold in his arms.
They hit the ground soundlessly, and Bill realized that everything had gone quiet. The people were gone, the spiders and snakes had cleared away, and for a moment Bill thought he and Dipper were the only ones left in his Mindscape.
"Oh my god! Are you guys okay? Is Dipper, Dipper?" Mabel came bounding over to them, pulling Bill up so that she could see Dipper.
"He's in a bit of a state of shock right now. Balthazar is gone, but he's going to need me to go get his body as soon as possible. I have no idea where it is, and he may need help reconnecting himself." Bill gritted his teeth as he sat up, making sure the dream version of Dipper was cradled safely. "Which makes us a little shit outa luck, because I have no magic right now."
"I have enough for you to go get him," Clyde chimed. "You can use it if it means getting me done with all of this."
Bill glared at him. "Where the Hell were you? All of you."
"After the chaos broke out I went to find Mabel, seeing as it's my job to protect her. She was nearly being trampled by some people." Ford crossed his arms and looked expectantly at Clyde. "Where were you?"
"...I don't like spiders, alright? I freaked out."
Mabel broke out in a fit of laughter. "You, a big, bad demon, scared of spiders? And I'm sorry Bill, I kind of lost my cool about it too."
Clyde threw his hands up and scoffed. "Excuse me! Do you not notice how… creepy they are!? I wanted no part of that." He crossed his arms in a huff.
"Oh gosh," Mabel giggled. "Well, thanks for helping us with what you did do. Whatever that was."
"I did stuff! You even gave me a sweater to prove it. I want another one, still."
"You're going to have to stay a while after this then, I can't just make them overnight. Okay, well, yes I can, but…"
Their bickering over the sweaters faded out to Bill as Ford kneeled down to look Dipper over.
"You can fix this?" He asked as he ran his six-fingered hand over Dipper's birthmark. "He's not going to be like this forever?"
Bill shrugged. "I can try. The sooner I find him, the better. So we need to get going."
He and Ford shared a stare for a moment, silently telling each other that they understood. There was no more need to worry about Bill, and Ford could let it go. They both just wanted Dipper to be safe.
"Find my nephew and bring him home, Cipher." He held out his hand and waited for Bill to take it.
"Can do, Sixer," he said as he grabbed it and shook. "You've been a good sport in my game."
Ford chuckled. "I've only done what I can. Hurt my family and I'll break the game in half."
Both laughed for a moment, grabbing the attention of Mabel and Clyde.
"So, let's do this magic transfer thing, then have you go find Dippin' Dots!" Mabel put both hands on her hips and smiled widely. "Team Save DipDop won't rest until he is home safe, surrounded by his nerd books!"
"On the nose, Star! No stopping 'till this kid's kickin'!" Bill gently placed Dipper down and stood up, trying his best to ignore how much his whole being ached. "You've all been great! But let's close this curtain!"
Striking a lame pose with Mabel, Bill smiled and couldn't help but notice the warm feeling in his chest. He had his Pine Tree, he had Star, Clyde wasn't completely intolerable, and Sixer pretty much gave him the go ahead to stay.
Everything was looking good, and it was time to go give Dipper that physical kiss he had been missing so badly. And time to ask him how he felt, which, from the way he had kissed back, Bill was sure he would be hearing exactly what he wanted to.
AN: Next chapter wraps everything up for this fic :3 And because I'm so horrible at schedules, I'll only make you wait a few days rather than a whole week for it :) Thanks for reading, comments and kudos always appreciated. See you at the end :3 3