A/N: Ack, holy crap, it's been almost a month (again) and I am SO SORRY! believe me, I had most of this written shortly after I posted the next chapter, but then I couldn't think of how to continue it. I had a part of it in my head but I had to get to that part first, and getting there was hard. Except it came to me today! so.. yeh, sorry it took so long lol
Time to reply to some guests and people I couldn't reply to over PMs. :3
Milkshake and Cookies: Glad you finally have an account, but I'm sad that I couldn't respond to you in PMs. I understand your reasons though.
Ohhhhhh, okay! well, we'll see where this takes us then. Thanks for your clarification!
Glad that chapter was one of your faves too! yeah, he is very heartbreaking to watch. (Nice nickname for him btw). Yeah.. part of this was Mabel's fault actually, not letting Luz follow. But it had to happen. Technically it's my fault too, ahah.
Hehe, thank you so much! glad you liked the style! and ooo, really? now I gotta reread and see what's so unique. :3
Yeah, McGucket would be the perfect example, and yah probably the perfect person to help King out too, but I suppose there's a difference in, say, reincarnating and forgetting what you used to be and simply using a memory gun to wipe out the memories of what you did in your present life too much. We'll have to see. Well, McGucket never really delved into that because King never asked. But if he does, King may or may not listen. I don't even know yet lol; I'm just a conduit for these characters.
Cliche, but good lol - things may not turn out like that though. I'll find a way though. :3 Because, let's not forget, these are just Bill's memories. Not Bill himself. As far as this story goes, Bill is absolutely gone, and reincarnated as King.
Thank you, you too! and yay a cookie!~ *noms cookie*
Anonymous: Haha, yeah! angst yes. It's yet another key to writing. Gotta have a balance. And I hope I'm striking said balance. And yah, glad you liked McGucket's inclusion! thank you and your wait is no more!
Lily hamer: It was very sad, wasn't it? man. And thank you for your hype and happiness! it makes my day! hopefully this update made your day too!
Beer: Maybe, maybe not. :3
And that's that! onto the next chapter!
Another Form, Another Time
Chapter Nine: Mixed Identity
King continued to walk, soon reaching the area of the Mystery Shack. He stopped to stare, and grasped his head again, shutting his eyes.
"No no no… that wasn't right.. I.." emotion slowly seeped back into his tone. "I.. she's been nothing but a friend to me…"
He twitched. "But no one else has. And I have no friends. No use for them."
The demon king grunted, not believing what just came out of his mouth. "But what about Eda?! she's taken me in when no one else would!"
He opened his eyes again, shaking. "But has she ever taken me seriously..?"
Memories, even his own, were fighting against each other, fragmenting his brain. An agonized scream tore from his throat, and he fell to his knees. "Has anyone ever taken me seriously?" he asked himself, voice hoarse.
His throat hurt, but he kept talking. "The Pines have. They fear me. And rightly so." He jabbed a claw towards himself. "I threatened to conquer, and almost pulled it off. Were it not for them, I'd still have my crown."
And with that same claw, he slapped himself and pulled at his fur. "But Luz gave me a crown! it's not perfect but it suffices! but am I an idiot for thinking that! I have bent the whole world to my will, enough to have the pyramids and currency built after me! but I don't care about that! yes I do!"
Another scream, "WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!" and he collapsed, the world fading and slipping away into black.
Dipper soon rushed out of the Mystery Shack, having been ushered by Stan to investigate, and soon saw King just lying there, unconscious. Biting his lip, he approached. Mabel. Mabel implied he wasn't the same. So if his sister believed, then he'd believe too.
The boy poked the little demon, looking concerned. But he didn't wake up. Dipper frowned, even more concerned. He shook the little guy's shoulder. "King, wake up.."
Still no response.
So he did the only thing he knew how. He'd take him into the shack and wait.
Hoisting him up with one hand, Dipper turned and proceeded along the path, holding King like a baby. The boy entered and practically ran through the museum, missing McGucket's and Soos's confused expressions, and into the living room.
Stanley stopped the teen before he could make it to the stairs, raising an eyebrow. "So what was that shouting outside?" he hoped his brother didn't hear it, because it sounded suspiciously like someone they all used to know. And then his gaze fell to King. "Was it him?"
Dipper nodded. "I found him passed out. I'm not sure what happened but I'll keep an eye on him."
Stanley smiled grimly and ruffled his great nephew's hair, much to Dipper's mixed chagrin. "Attaboy."
He stepped aside soon enough, and Dipper rushed upstairs. Stanley Pines returned to his comfy chair, his smile having fallen into a grim frown as soon as the boy left his sight.
The fourteen-year-old lay the little demon onto the guest bed, and then dragged a chair beside it. He sat down.
And waited.
His eyes scrutinized King, almost as if King was the experiment. But there was some worry too.
Maybe he should cover the demon. Surely he was cold. So he moved to bring the covers across when King's paw snapped up and grabbed Dipper's outstretched arm.
"Ah!" his cry was strangled, as he didn't want either of his Grunkles to hear, and tried to get the little guy to let go. King slowly lifted his head, and opened his eyes, which filled with glee the moment he spotted the young man.
"Pinetree!" the nickname escaped the demon's mouth with a gleeful relief, which gave Dipper whiplash. For one, he was terrified now, more trauma unlocked. But on the other hand, why was he so happy to see him?
"You've gotta help me!" the glee somewhat faded into fear, those pink eyes now worried.
There was some silence, as Dipper was still working through the motions of trauma and massive confusion. Eventually, his mouth started working again. "Say what now?"
"Please!" King used his other claw to grasp his head. "Help me!"
The boy blinked, mouth open slightly with complete shock. He needed his help? Well.. he expelled air from between his lips. "Okay, I'll bite. But first, let go of me."
King furrowed his brow a little, confused. Until he felt weight in his other claw. Soon, he let go, and Dipper was allowed to pull back his hopefully uninjured arm. "Sorry!"
Dipper nodded. "So, uh, how can I help you?" he felt some bad vibes, as he usually did when faced with King, but for Mabel he'd push them aside. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it.
King bit his lip, looking down. He clutched at the covers, and soon started to explain, "These.. these memories…" he took a breath. "They're driving me absolutely insane.."
Dipper stared with concern. King looked up at him.
"Who am I, Pinetree..?" the boy's insides froze. "Who am I, Dipper..?"
The young man gulped silently. Oh. He wasn't quite that equipped to handle this sort of thing. But he'd sure as hell try. Great Uncle Ford was a last resort.
If only Mabel were here. She'd handle this better.
Tugging at his collar, he smiled as comfortingly as he could, as sure as he could. "Well, like you'd said before, you're King. I, uh, don't know that much about you, but you must be pretty great to be friends with Luz and my sister."
"Luz…" the demon looked down again. He pawed at his chest. The reminder that he'd pushed Luz away and torn off his sweater was still there, still fresh. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he furiously wiped them away. "It's not fair.."
The boy just listened, his smile wiped out and replaced with a worried neutrality.
"I didn't ask to be reincarnated from an evil demon, Dipper.." King started shaking. "I don't know what's going on and I hate it, Pinetree.." he clutched his claws deeper into the bedsheets, shutting his eyes. "I don't know how to make it stop.."
Okay, he was definitely not equipped to handle this. Dipper looked around, trying to stall. "Sorry you're dealing with that, King, but maybe we should wait for my sister and your friend. They'll probably know what to do." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Why not just take me to Sixer?"
Dipper nearly yipped at the name and suggestion, but stayed his trembling mouth. Instead he replied, "Because Great Uncle Ford has enough on his plate, trying to get you two home. I don't wanna interrupt that."
"Oh.." the little creature shifted slightly, unthreading his claws from the bed and then hugging himself.
"Yeah, so.. let's just wait for Mabel and Luz, okay? we can play a game while we wait too," and Dipper was already heading for the games, keeping an eye on King out of his peripheral vision.
A sigh. "Okay."
A/N: And the chapter is finally out! hope you enjoyed! now I'm going to go and post this on AO3 as well! read and review, by the way, but you already knew that! ciao!