ARGH... I'm sorry, guys! I was kind of tied up yesterday, so I wasn't able to get anything done until tonight. Plus school has started up again, and they're already laying the work down pretty hard (not to mention the musical we're putting on in a month and no one is ready for).

But you guys don't care about my life, you're here for Chapter 7, so Chapter 7 you shall have. I hope you enjoy.

~ Three

Speaking had never been Bill Cipher's strongest suit.

He was a demon of the mind who existed on a different plane than nearly everything else. Why would he need to be an eloquent speaker? He rarely connected with mortals, usually watching from a distance. Besides, you don't need to converse when you know what everyone else is thinking every single second of their lives.

So when Bill had approached Pine Tree, it hadn't come as a shock that he had stumbled over every word... But it still made him feel... Embarrassed? Was that the word?

Bill Cipher, master of the mind, one of the most powerful beings ever to exist in all the universe... Felt embarrassment, and over something as simple and humiliating as this?

Bill knew he couldn't allow himself to feel this way- about anything on Earth, especially Pine Tree. The world was going to come to an end one day, one day very soon. His Pine Tree would be ripped away from him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Even if there was, would he do it? Would he strip away all of his hard work and everything he'd strived to achieve for the life of one mortal boy? Especially when he knew that said mortal was only mortal and therefore would only last so long anyway?

Bill often enjoyed peering into alternate realities, dimensions, and timelines. He enjoyed watching Pine Tree and Shooting Star possess opposite personalities, with the male twin being the fun-loving one and the female twin being the serious one. He also had quite a bit of fun with Gideon Gleeful and the bratty Northwest child in the Pines twins' places.

There were so many possibilities, so much to explore... And yet, Bill decided to remain in this universe, where the end of the world would come to pass within the next generation.

Perhaps it was because this version of Earth was full of fun little puppets whose strings Bill could pluck at whenever he chose with the greatest of ease. All these mindless, powerless weaklings for him to play with, to manipulate, to use to make the boredom go away.

But there was more to this now than pulling strings. There was something that demons rarely experienced, and rarely wanted to.

Bill could see why these mortal flaws were avoided by all the other superior beings in this universe and others- they twist and bend you, distorting what seems right and wrong. Sentiment was a poison, a chemical defect, and it was one that was always being fought by immortals.

It made sense. It was unwise to become too attached to anything that remained in the mortal plane. It would all end one day, no matter what.

Bill had told them to buy gold. Gold was something he'd always loved, and it would never lose its value, even when society would collapse and the world would tear in two.

But this golden light in the sea of humanity's darkness was something the dream demon both loved and detested with a burning passion. He had fallen in love with a mortal child, and worse, the child had fallen in love with him.

If only Pine Tree knew of the nightmares that Bill would soon bring to life... Maybe that would change something.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

Bill decided to visit the home of his beloved mortal later that day, just to see what the kid was up to. He was just doing his normal Pine Tree thing- cleaning off attractions in the Mystery Shack gallery, occasionally being selected to be an attraction himself, daydreaming, doodling, deciphering.

The demon frowned as he watched the boy go about his day. He steadily grew more and more concerned. How could he possibly unravel the fabric of this reality and blur the lines between what was real and what was not if this child was standing in his way?

Of course, it wasn't quite how he had expected it to happen. Up until recently, Pine Tree was a threat, yes, but not on this level. He was just a human getting close enough to figuring out enough answers to put the pieces together... And maybe even defeat the demon.

This was a different kind of obstacle entirely, something far more difficult to remove.

With each minute Bill spent watching Pine Tree from the shadows of the mindscape, with each moment spent tap-dancing in his thoughts, he felt his adoration of the boy grow more intense. He was just so... Unique, so special. He opened his eyes and mind to the mysteries, conspiracies, and possibilities that life contained.

This sort of personality was rare among humans, but could be found. Bill was always impressed with these people when he started keeping an eye on them.

But you can never have someone get too smart, can you? Otherwise they begin to connect everything and see the bigger picture, and the little games must stop there.

It always made Bill a bit sad when such magnificent minds were put to waste, but there was never any real attachment. It was just a slightly more interesting plaything of the demon's that had broken.

So it was more than this fascination with a superior thinker that drew Bill to Pine Tree. The kid was kind, understanding, compassionate, selfless, brave... The list stretched on.

There were so many things that were likable about Pine Tree. It made it hard for Bill not to like him as a result.

He was one shining light in an empty world, and it made Bill long for him, no matter how much he told himself not to be subdued.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

They were sitting in a meadow this time. The grass was soft, and was dotted with vivid wildflowers that were reaching for a scarlet sun that rested on the edge of the horizon.

Neither one said anything. They were comfortable lost in this silence, with nothing but the quiet sound of the wind in their ears.

Neither one looked at the other. The dream that Bill had built around them was quite marvelous, and Dipper was trying to take it all in, down to the very last insignificant detail. Bill was staring at his shoes, twirling a blade of grass around his finger.

Finally, Dipper snapped them out of the silence.

"This is some dream you made. It's... Actually really impressive."

"The mindscape is my canvas, ready for painting. I am the master of it, and it's not hard to control."

"So, why did you come tonight?" Dipper slid over a little bit so he was closer to Bill. Despite the vacant and slightly distraught expression on his face, the demon was as handsome as ever.

"You know I can hear your thoughts, right?"

"I never forget that, Bill. But it doesn't matter anyway."

The dream demon bit his lip. The kid was being so open all of a sudden. It didn't make any sense to Bill.

Well, not that it was hard to sense what was going through his head before... But now the boy was offering himself up to the demon, unafraid.

Every little thing made it that much harder for Bill to stop loving him.

"Listen, Pine Tree..." Bill took hold of Dipper's hand, still refusing to even glance at him. "This world won't last forever. Big things are coming, and there's nothing either of us can do to stop them... So I don't know what to do."

Dipper smiled and leaned his head against Bill's shoulder, closing his eyes.

"You don't have to know yet. You don't have to see everything, all the time."

"Yes, I do! That's the point, kid! I know everything there is to know about this universe and all its parallels. I see every moment in the future. I know that this world is coming to an end, and soon. Don't you get it? I have the power to see it, but not the power to alter it. There's nothing I can do to change the course of history. I've seen it play out. I know how the story ends."

Dipper was silent. Bill reached across with his free hand and removed the younger's hat, running his fingers through his soft hair.

"And I can't save you, Piney. I can't save any of you."

As always, please let me know what you think of this chapter!

This time, I'm not going to promise anything other than a general idea of when I should be able to upload. It should be at some point within the next week.

You guys are the best. Your comments always make my day, and it's really gratifying to know that there are people out there who are invested in my work and are always eagerly awaiting more. That's a great opportunity for me as a writer, so a big THANK YOU to everyone!

~ Three