There exists a place outside of time, outside of reality; a place that sits in between the vastness of endless dimensions. Only perceivable to those who exist outside normal bounds and restrictions, it's best visualized a few seconds ago when you weren't thinking about it at all. As if you were swimming in the blank static between radio stations; any normal mind would be driven mad near instantaneously.
However, Bill Cipher was no normal mind. To Bill Cipher, it made for the perfect place to play poker.
The triangular inter-dimensional demon spent a lot of his time bored. His defeat at the hands of the Pines Family didn't kill him per se, but it definitely destroyed his one gateway into their physical plane. With his physical body destroyed, Bill was forced out of the third dimension, and by that point decided it would just be easier to abandon ship.
Crossing dimensions was tedious, and he found the constant refrigerator hum of the in-between place relaxing. And so, he found himself spending most of his time alone in the silent, swirling nothingness.
With that said, he occasionally entertained guests.
"Check," the demon said absentmindedly, almost forgetting to knock on the wood table he was sitting at. The in-between could be anything to those with the power to manipulate it, and right now it was a dimly lit room with warn eggshell white walls and creaky wooden floorboards. It had been Monokuma's turn to choose the setting for their poker game, and there was nothing that Monokuma loved more than making people uncomfortable.
"You must be really slipping, Bill~," Monokuma said in a singsong voice, "You never skip a turn!"
"I'm just thinking," Bill responded, his lively voice noticeably missing.
"A wandering mind runs the risk of being forever lost," the soft, wispy voice of the table's largest player filled the air. W.D. Gaster's constantly shifting and tar-like form reached high into the air and stretched to the corner of the room. He didn't have much control over his body as it was barely holding itself together. His unchanging face sat inside of the mass like a mask sinking into ink. Multiple skeleton-like hands hovered around him, constantly moving and signing out meanings lost to those at the table. Words never passed his lips, instead just filling the air around him.
"Motherfucker, stop talking in fortune cookie wisdom," Rick Sanchez groaned from his spot next to Gaster, "Scientist to scientist, man, it's pretentious and annoying."
"Don't be so hard on him, Mr. Sanchez," Monika, the final oddball at the table, said to the cantankerous scientist. The girl looked the most out of place among her peers. Between a floating, yellow triangle with a top hat, a black and white robot bear, an undulating mass of black goop with a face, and an old man with blueish grey hair and a small amount of bile dribbling onto his chin? The young girl in the school uniform stood out like a sore thumb.
"Okay, sure, I'll just let this dipshit wax poetic about nothing while I'm taken for everything I have," Rick ranted as he reached into his lab coat and pulled out a flask, "my time would've been better spent with my grandson, and I REALLY don't like spending time with my grandson."
Monika, the current dealer, shook her head and placed a card in the middle of the table, "There's the River; 9 of Diamonds. Let's see your hands."
Monokuma and Rick dropped their cards. Gaster had folded early into the round.
"You," Rick interrupted himself with a burp, "y-you bitched don't have anything on this," he said pridefully, laying down his two cards. The 6 of Clubs and 3 of Diamonds. "That's three of a kind."
Monokuma didn't hesitate to begin cackling as he tossed his card out onto the table; 6 of Spades and 5 of Hearts.
"FULL HOUSE!" Monokuma laughed, causing Rick to groan and drop his head into his hands.
Monokuma, still laughing, lept onto the table and waddled to the middle, ready to take his winnings in the form of large gold coins, stacks of both the United States dollar and Japanese yen, a small pile of gold teeth (courtesy of Bill), and other assorted goods.
The bear was stopped by Monika, who quietly put her hand up, "Wait a moment, please. Mr. Cipher still needs to reveal his hand.
Monokuma simply huffed, but still turned to the triangle, who was still lost in thought.
"Mr. Cipher," Monika said again, a little louder this time.
Bill doesn't say anything, looking up from the table at his expectant peers, "Your cards," Monika repeats, never once blinking or turning away.
Bill wordlessly flips his card for the others to see.
7 of Diamonds and 8 of Diamonds.
"That's a straight flush. Mr. Cipher wins." Monika announced, happy to take the wind out of Monokuma's sails.
The bear growled, his face growing red and stomping his foot like a child, "That's ridiculous! I had this one in the bag!" Monokuma complained.
"I had thought that at the beginning of the hand as well," Gaster quietly admitted, "I suppose Bill has been working on his poker face."
"That's not a poker face," Rick pointed out, taking a swig from his flask, "he just isn't paying attention."
"Is everything okay, Mr. Cipher?" Monika asked, quizzically quirking her head to the side, "You've seemed distracted every round today."
"That's because I have been, kid," Bill admitted, tapping a restless finger on the tabletop, "I've been really unsure about our little setup."
"Very, very, interesting, Bill," Gaster's oily voice pooled out into the room, "I didn't expect you to be the type to be unsure."
"That's because I'm not," Bill fired back, his body briefly flashing red as a warning to Gaster to watch his words, "I'm just unsure about how we've been spinning our wheels with this stupid game."
Monokuma gasped, "Stupid!? Poker is extremely intellectually stimulating. It takes both the mental aspect of math and card counting with the social thrill of bluffing. What's not to love!?" the scandalized bear interrogated, mere inches from Bill's face.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, yin-yang, I love poker," Bill proclaimed, gently nudging Monokuma away from his face, "I'm just tired of that being the only thing that we do. We started meeting together here to alleviate boredom, right? Well, now I'm bored playing the same game over and over." Bill complained.
Monika sighed, putting down the cards she had been shuffling, "Okay, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."
"Whatever it is, it's gotta be better than losing in poker," Rick mumbled, feebly kicking at one of the table legs.
"What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking a competition," Bill said, the familiar malevolent glee finally returning to his voice.
"It better not be anything super physical," Rick warned, "I already spend enough time running around."
"Not a competition with us," Bill clarified, "a competition with contestants of our choosing."
"Ohohohoho~" Monokuma giggled, covering his mouth with his hands, "I think I like the sound of that!"
"Where did you intend on obtaining these contestants?" Gaster asked.
"Open your eyes, Wing Dings! We're sitting in-between endless, ever-expanding universes! We can pull any sucker from wherever the heck that we want!" Bill said, getting more excited the more he explained his idea.
Monokuma clicked his tongue, "Weeeellll~ I do have a history of kidnapping people against their wills and forcing them to compete in dangerous games for the sake of my own amusement. So, you know that I'm in!"
The bear loved nothing more than torturing people through cruel elimination games, but Bill was thinking of something a little more nuanced.
"Nothing like what you usually do," Bill waved dismissively, "I'm talking more along the lines of reality TV. Sky's the limit in terms of what we can do!" he explained.
Monika tapped a finger against her chin in thought, "I understand that you're bored, Mr. Cipher, but why reality TV?"
"Why not reality TV?" Bill parroted back, "It hits all the beats we love. I love playing game," he pointed to Monokuma, "you love making people miserable," then to Gaster, "you love studying how people act under pressure," then to Monika, "you love watching people form relationships and work through drama," and finally to Rick, "and you love passively watching things fall to pieces."
"I do love doing that," Rick shrugged, taking another swing from his flask. Monika and Gaster eyed each other, the only two not yet fully on board with Bill's new project.
"I even already have the perfect host in mind," Bill pitched, focusing in on the two undecided parties. Monokuma was all but vibrating at the prospect of spreading despair across different dimensions, and Rick was already picturing elaborate challenges in his head, although he would never admit it.
Monika sighed, "Okay. I think it could be fun. Gaster?" she turned to the black mass sitting next to her.
The face in the void bobbed up and down, "Yes. I think it would be very interesting to watch," the face moved to look at Bill, "I hope you have already been thinking of a cast?"
Bill's eye squinted as he suppressed the urge to cheer, "Oh, you have no idea."
The demon floated upward and away from the table, "But before any of that happens, we need our host!"
"It's not gonna be one of us, is it? I was promised I would watch, NOT participate," Rick complained.
Bill cracked his knuckles, "No, no, not one of us," Bill clarified, "it's someone who's done it before."
Bill snapped his fingers and the dingy poker room filled with a blinding white light. A triangle-shaped hole tore itself open in the air; a portal, with the ethereal light pouring out of it.
Without any hesitation, Bill reached into the portal and pulled a man through it. The man in question screamed the entire time as he was dropped onto the floor. The portal shut, sealing the human in the space between dimensions; outside of time.
The four others were quick to stand (or in Gaster's case, slightly make yourself taller) to try and get a good look at their new guest.
The very afraid man looked to be older, roughly middle-aged. His hair was black and sat around his shoulders. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath it. He had on a pair of khakis and sneakers.
He was terrified; his mouth unable to close, but also unable to scream.
Bill extended his hand to him.
"Chris McLean! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance! Name's Bill Cipher and these are my…friends." Bill introduced himself, hesitating to use the word friend for his fellow poker players.
He turned back to the table, "Guys, this is Chris McLean. In his dimension, he is a very prolific reality TV host. Aren't you, Chris?"
The man, Chris McLean, slowly stood up on shaky legs, his eyes darting from face to face. He still hadn't said a word.
Bill chortled at the man's terror, "Come on, kid, no need to be shy! You're among like-minded individuals who love what you love!"
He poked the host in the chest before pushing him towards the poker table.
"I…uh," Chris hesitated, constantly looking over his shoulder in case something pounced on him, "I'm not sure what you're talking about, triangle dude."
"Total Drama," Bill said plainly, "you're the host? Done way too many seasons? It's all you're known for?" he said, trying to jog the scared man's memory.
"No, yeah, I-I know that," Chris said frantically, "but like…where am I? One second I'm in my house and then I'm here in a shack with…WHAT IS THAT?" he suddenly shouted, pointing to Gaster.
Gaster chuckled darkly, "I have that effect on most people. I take no offense to your fear."
Monika reached over the table to put a hand on Chris' arm, "Please take a deep breath, Mr. McLean. Nobody here is going to hurt you."
"We're not?" both Monokuma and Rick asked at the same time.
"No, we're not," Monika chastised, she moved around the table so as to be closer to Chris, "You're no longer in your world, Mr. McLean. You're in a place outside of that. Outside of all worlds."
"That…doesn't make ANY sense!" Chris proclaimed, not processing the new information well.
"Nothing makes sense when put under a microscope," Rick snarker, looking to Bill, "Why the Hell wouldn't you pick someone a little more savvy to the existence of other dimensions? Instead, you decide to give Jeff Probst here a heart attack."
"I chose Chris because he's recognizable," Bill said, "people from all around know him and can pick him out of a crowd. In most dimensions where he exists as he does in front of us, he's hosting some kind of reality show. It's fairly constant, actually."
"Wait, I am?" Chris asked, snapping out of his terrified state for a brief moment.
Bill wrapped an arm around the Canadian, "Oh, yeah. More often than not you're famous for one thing or the other. Real camera hog, you are, Chrissy." he said, his unctuous tone making Monika's skin crawl.
"Why does it matter if the man's recognizable?" Gaster questioned, "This isn't going to be broadcasted."
"Oh, did I not mention that part?" Bill said slyly, moving away from Chris, "We'll be going live with this baby! Broadcasting across thousands of dimensions! Universe on top of universe will see our creation!" He proudly proclaimed.
"How would you even go about that?" Monika asked, not believing a word that came from the triangle.
Rick burped to get the girl's attention, "It's actually not that difficult. If one dimension can get cable from other dimensions, then the same technology can definitely be turned around so that multiple dimensions get one show."
"We'll make a spectacle of it!" Monokuma laughed, "I'm liking this idea more and more!"
"You'll be the face of a show that'll be shown to billions, McLean," Bill said to the host, "a nearly infinite amount of people will turn on their TVs, their phones, their holo boxes, their film reels, whatever the heck they use, and they'll see you. Your face; not a different version of you. You, McLean. There won't be a single creature on the known plain of existence that hasn't at least heard of you." Bill whispered to Chris, not unlike the devil on the shoulder of a man who has never once listened to the angel on the other. The yellow demon moved back and extended his hand. Chris jumped back as the hand burst into blue flames.
"We got a deal?"
Chris had never gone through such a variety of emotions in such a short period of time. He had gone from overwhelming horror to complete bewilderment. Now, he felt a warm and much more familiar feeling rise in him.
Chris McLean was vain, and Chris McLean was greedy. More so than he was kind, compassionate, and reasonable. He was an opportunist. You never make it big if you don't know how to walk over others. He promised himself a long time ago that he would never turn down a good deal when he heard one.
And Bill Cipher could give one Hell of a pitch.
"Okay, dude," Chris said shakily but accepting Bill's hand nonetheless, "I'll be your host."
Chris had expected his hand to hurt as he gripped Bill's burning hand. Instead, it felt warm, like he had stuck his hand into a mitten.
"That's great," Bill said, "now we just need to get you suited up."
The warm feeling in Chris' hand moved up his arm and started to flood his chest. It moved throughout his body as he could feel his clothes shift slightly on his body.
The warm feeling reached his head and was met with a stinging feeling in the back of his head.
After only a moment the stinging dissipated and the warmness left him. Bill dropped his hand and put his hands on his hips; admiring his work.
"There we go," he stated proudly, "now you're looking like a proper host!"
Chris looked down at himself to see his clothes had been altered. His blue shirt was now yellow; the same shade as Bill. His white undershirt was now black, and instead of beige khakis, he was now wearing black slacks. His sneakers had been replaced with a shiny pair of dress shoes.
"Those bad boys won't get dirty, by the way," Bill said, noticing Chris gawking at his feet.
Suddenly, Bill's eye went wide, "Oop! Almost forgot the most important part!" Bill snapped his fingers again and in a flash Chris found half of his vision going dark.
"Gah! You blinded me!" he screamed, clutching at his face.
Bill sighed, reaching out and lifting up the eyepatch he had materialized. Chris was both shocked and relieved to see that both of his eyes were still functional.
"You're not a smart one, are you, McLean?" Bill jokingly asked, "I like that in a meat bag. Always easy to predict."
Chris looked down at his hand as new thoughts swirled around in his head, "What…did you do to me, dude?"
"Nothing too crazy!" Bill laughed, "Just gave you a new wardrobe and some new abilities."
"A…abilities?" Chris dumbly repeated.
"I'll explain this in the simplest way I can," Bill said slowly, enunciating every word, "this place we're in, the "In-Between Place"? It takes years to learn how to properly manipulate it, and you've gotta be pretty powerful. If you're gonna host, you're gonna need to know how to do that, and I don't have the time, nor the patience, to train you. So, I basically hardwired every last detail about this place and how to manipulate it directly into your frontal lobe. Warning: that knowledge is nearly boundless and permanent! Congrats!" the triangle explained.
"This is…," Chris was on the verge of hyperventilating as new knowledge that he was never meant to know continued to flood his brain, "you're throwing a lot of stuff at me really quickly, dude."
"Hey, hey, hey, I know it's a lot," Bill hushed the host, wrapping a comforting arm around his neck, "but this is information you're gonna need if you're gonna host this shindig."
That didn't make much sense to any of the people in the room with experience in the In-Between place, but to a guy like Chris McLean who was on the verge of completely losing his sanity, it was helping a lot of things come together.
Bill patted Chris on the shoulder and floated back over to the poker table, "Go ahead, kid. Try and use your newfound power." Bill ordered.
"Careful with that, he might hurt himself," Rick commented, getting a laugh from Monokuma.
"I'm, like, not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do."
"Just shut your eyes and envision what exactly it is you want out of this space," Bill said cryptically, "it's like flexing a muscle. It's hard at first but you'll be a pro in no time."
Chris did as he said and closed his eyes. He tried to imagine what Bill told him to, however vague his words were. He was still mostly in the dark on how any of this worked or even who his captors were, but he knew that he wanted the show Bill described. He would have walked across hot coals if it meant he got to host another average season of Total Drama, so looking the gift horse in the mouth wasn't really an option.
He was having a hard time imagining anything concrete, so he decided to try and let his subconscious do the heavy lifting. He tried speaking to the In-Between place directly.
"Give me what I don't even know I want. The thing that'll make this the perfect season of television. For everyone."
It was like a thin wave of water passed over him, causing him to stumble. He shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. Gone were the creaky floorboards, replaced with dry grass and dirt. Gone, too, was the dim confines of the poker room, in its place was a bright blue sky with a noon sun beating down on them.
"Oh, it's a throwback!" Bill proclaimed, taking in his surroundings.
Indeed it was. Chris looked out at the murky waters and rickety dock. He looked behind him at the familiar shabby cabins his contestants had become so well-acquainted with.
"Camp Wawanakwa," Chris said to himself as all the memories flooded back. Somehow, he knew in his heart, that it was the same island he had been missing. It wasn't covered in toxic waste and it wasn't made up of whirring machinery.
It was like he'd been transported back to 2007; as if not a day had passed.
"I must say, this is quite quaint," Gaster said, reminding Chris that his captors were still there.
"I was expecting something a lot more vicious," Monokuma admitted with a shrug, "but there's always time for it to get crazier~"
"It's a bit Plain Jane for my taste," Rick grimaced, "everyone does the fucking…island thing. You want people to actually watch this, yeah?"
"This is pretty impressive for someone who only just learned how to manipulate the In-Between Place," Monika frowned, looking to Bill, "You must've given him quite the master class, Mr. Cipher."
"You bet I did, dollface!" the triangle taunted before turning his attention to Rick and Monokuma, "and sure, it's not the most hair-raising of setting, but I'm sure Chris will keep things interesting. Won't you, Chrissy?"
Chris, fearing Bill's tone, quickly nodded his head, "Of course, dude! Not a problem! I'll make sure that these contestants never know what to expect."
Bill's eye flashed with realization, "OH! I almost forgot."
He removed his top hat and smacked the top, causing a rolled-up piece of paper to fall out. He handed it to Chris.
"On this paper is a list of names and coordinates; these are your contestants. The coordinates are where their dimension is currently located. To retrieve the contestants, just imagine you're reaching out and grabbing someone while thinking about the coordinates, and you'll do just that. Also, on the back is the prize they get if they win. Make sure you remember that."
Chris placed the rolled-up paper in his shirt pocket. Bill took one more glance at his surrounding before clapping his hands together.
"Alright! I think that's everything!" he turned to his poker buddies, "I think we're about ready to get this show on the road!"
"Finally," Rick moaned, placing his flask back in his coat pocket, "I was just about ready to bail on this whole thing."
Monika rolled her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips, "Your patience is always something to strive for, Mr. Sanchez." she quipped.
Rick ignored the schoolgirl's comment, instead reaching into his coat and pulling out his portal gun. With one click a swirling green portal the size of Rick himself opened in midair.
"Train's-" Rick burped again, "leaving. Get on," he said before walking through the portal.
Monika waved over to the host, "You're going to do great, Mr. McLean! Don't get discouraged!" the girl said before following after Rick into the portal.
"Or do! That could be fun too!" Monokuma added maliciously, giggling all the way after them.
That only left Gaster and Bill. The former royal scientist, without the tight confines of the poker room, has sprawled out in every direction like water spilling from a glass. It was only now that Chris realized how truly big he was.
"This will certainly be an interesting way to pass the time," Gaster said. Chris could hear the smile in his voice, and it sent shivers up Chris' spine that, despite being out in the open, the voice still sounded like it was in his head.
Without another word, Gaster slinked into the portal. Leaving Bill and Chris alone.
"Where are you guys going exactly?" Chris asked, "I thought you guys were going to help me."
"Oh, no, you're the one running this baby, Chris! Think of us like," Bill tapped his chin (or where his chin would be) for a moment before snapping his finger, "like benefactors! Or producers! We set you up with everything you need, and then you run it and make sure everything doesn't fall apart. You're gonna do great!"
Bill began floating off to the portal but was stopped by Chris grabbing his arm.
"Wait! One last thing?" Bill stopped, but he didn't turn around, "How will the broadcast start? Like, when will I know when it begin?"
Bill turned around to face the host, yanking away his arm in the process, "Oh, that's easy! All you have to do is face any direction you think is best and start talking as if there's a camera in front of you. We've got eyes set up all over this place; I put them in place the moment you conjured it!"
Bill floated to the portal but stopped just short of entering. He turned back.
"And one more thing, McLean,"
He tipped his hat, a mirthful look in his single eye.
"We'll be watching you. Always watching~"
Bill dipped back into the portal, causing it to instantly close, leaving Chris alone on his recreation of Camp Wawanakwa.
Chris sighed, finally letting his body relax a little. It felt weird to admit but he was impressed with his work. The camp felt real; it was real. He could feel the breeze on his face, and the sound of seagulls by the beach filled his ears.
It was exactly how he remembered it.
He was still terrified, but it was different now. It was terror mixed with elation, like how your adrenaline spikes when you almost crash your car. It was a chance to be eternal. To leave a mark not just on his world, but the worlds surrounding him. Did it matter where the opportunity came from? Not to Chris McLean.
"Okay," Chris said with a finality that he wasn't used to. He reached back into his shirt pocket for the rolled-up paper.
"It's show time."
Okay, so this is weird. I was not expecting this project to even be started, let alone get the first chapter out. I've been thinking about doing an idea like this for a long time, but this is the first time it's ever come together like this. This entire episode is just set up, so apologies to anyone who wanted to see the cast as they were reading. To make up for it I'll list the cast below (in no particular order) so you, as a reader, have an idea of what you'll be getting into.
1.) Coraline (Coraline)
2.) Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time)
3.) Tetra (Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
4.) Mr. Krabs (SpongeBob SquarePants)
5.) Cassie Cage (Mortal Kombat)
6.) The Scout (Team Fortress 2)
7.) Ernesto de la Cruz (Coco)
8.) Velma Dinkley (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated)
9.) Johnny Bravo (Johnny Bravo)
10.) Luigi (Super Mario)
11.) Top Cat (Jellystone!)
12.) Moxxie (Helluva Boss)
13.) Knuckles the Echidna (Sonic)
14.) Frylock (Aqua Team Hunger Force)
15.) Bessie Higgenbottom (The Mighty B!)
16.) Shego (Kim Possible)
17.) Tigress (Kung Fu Panda)
18.) Bender (Futurama)
19.) XJ9 (My Life as a Teenage Robot)
20.) Subject Delta (BioShock)
21.) Gruntilda (Banjo-Kazooie)
22.) Sam (Sam & Max)
Also, in different, but still exciting news: I opened a Ko-Fi account! So, now if you like my work and want to support me, you can tip me a coffee! I don't want anyone to feel pressured into donating anything, however, so only do so if you're comfortable doing something like that. doesn't like links for some reason, so I'll link it in the reviews of this chapter. I'll also probably link it on my profile page at some point.
Thanks for reading and you can expect more from me (hopefully) soon.
Until next time, guys!