Disclaimer: I do not own GF
Finally! A normal length chapter!
~~0~~0~~0~~
Dipper moaned as another poke was aimed at his forehead, jabbing him right in the middle of the 'bowl' of his birthmark.
"Mabel." He groaned, voice slightly muffled by his pillow. "Go away."
Mabel giggled at that, a high noise that rang easily in his ears. "C'mon, sleepy head! Time to wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"
"No." Dipper said again, curing up into a tighter ball.
Mabel rolled her eyes and grabbed the edge of his blanket, yanking it off in one easy tug.
Dipper muttered angrily and curled up in a tighter ball, much colder now without the cover.
"Dipper, let's go!" His sister continued to urge him, now poking him in the cheek.
"No. Let me lay here forever."
Mabel chuckled at his melodramatics. "You're being much more stubborn than usual, but let's go, bro! Time for a full day of fun with your sister!" She stuck her tongue out at him, flicking it around playfully as she did so. "Hey, I wonder if I could lick my nose!" She suddenly exclaimed.
Dipper blew some of his hair out of his eyes, staring up at her with dull and groggy eyes. "You can't, Mabel. That's impossible."
"Maybe for you it is, but not for me!"
"Oh yeah? If you can lick your nose...then, then I'll get up. Deal?"
Mabel shot him a goofy grin. "Deal!" She chirped, then went right on back to trying to lick her nose.
Dipper watched with a superior smirk already playing on his features. Mabel couldn't actually lick her nose it was impossible! And besides that, they were twins! If he couldn't than certainly she couldn't as we-
"Haha!" Mabel somehow slurred out of her mouth.
Dipper stared up at his sister is disbelief. Sure enough, her pink tongue was- barely- touching her nasal septum.
Her tongue flicked back into her mouth as her eyes met his, shining in her victory.
"See, Dipping-sauce? Told you I could do it! Now get out of bed and let's gooooo!"
Dipper groaned and slapped a hand over his face. "Really? That's no fair." He complained, yet started to sit up anyways. Swinging his feet off the edge of his bed, Dipper shivered as the cold of the wood seeped through his socks. He stood up carefully, popping his back in the process and once again, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to get the crust that had settled there out.
Mabel grabbed his other hand and yanked him forward to the door. "You're so slow!" She laughed.
"Mabel! I'm not even dressed yet!" He complained, unable to break her grip on his arm.
"So? We're about to eat and you need to take a shower anyways!"
"My hygiene is perfectly fine. And unlike some people, I don't spill food all over myself anyways."
Mabel shook her head in mock pity. "Oh, Dipper. It's not healthy to lie to yourself."
"I'm not lying to myself!" Dipper spluttered as Mabel started pulling him down the stairs a bit to fast, causing him to stumble and trip every other step.
"Mabel! Slow down a little!"
"You sure are complaining a lot today!" She shot back at him with a teasing grin.
Dipper frowned at her, but couldn't stop the brightness that lit up his eyes.
The two twins finally made it all the way downstairs without Dipper getting hurt in any way, much to his joy. Mabel didn't let go of the hold she had on his wrist even after she led the two of them into the kitchen.
Both sat at their spots at the table, already grabbing the too-sugary cereal available to them. Dipper was able to grab the milk first, much to Mabel's dismay, and happily splashed it into his cereal, filling the bowl until the pieces almost spilled over the edge, with the spoon inside.
Dipper passed the milk over to Mabel.
Like her brother, she poured the milk in until the pieces were almost falling out. However, her spoon was still sitting on the table, promising a splash of sugar-filled milk when the girl would start eating her breakfast.
As the twins started to chow down, Stan walked into the room, in his classic boxers and wife beater, scratching his back lazily with one hand while the other gripped a mug of coffee.
"Oh good. You two have got yourself food." He grunted in acknowledgment.
Mabel gave him a beaming smile with chunks of food caught in her braces.
Dipper recoiled in disgust. "Ew, Mabel! Shut your mouth!"
Stan was unfazed; he simply laughed at Dipper's reaction.
"Gods, kid! Your voice still cracks!"
"What? No it doesn't!" Dipper protested as he swallowed down another bite.
"Yes it does, bro-bro." Mabel replied after she gulped down her own bite, licking the caught bits of food out.
Dipper scowled at the two and scooped up another mouthful of cereal and shoved it into his mouth, chewing loudly. "Both of you are jerks." He complained.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." Mabel teased.
"You of all people should not be telling me that!" Dipper shot back, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
Mabel laughed.
Stan refilled his mug, muttering something about how new coffee makers cost too much. "Mabel have you taken you're medicine yet?" He grumbled, trying to keep his worry and care out of his voice and failing.
"Not yet! But I will in a minute." The girl chimed, grabbing the small bottle on the counter and shaking it around.
"Good. Make sure you do that. Gas is too expensive to be driving back and forth to the hospital." And with that being said, Stan turned and went down the hallway to his room, most likely to start getting ready for the day.
Mabel rolled her eyes as he left. Popping the bottle open with little trouble, she extracted a single, gray pill.
"Ugh, why do these things have to be the size of Antarctica?" She complained, balancing the capsul in the middle of her hand, staring down at the minuscule runes printed all around that glowed a gentle green.
Dipper snorted. "I'm pretty sure Antarctica is a little bit bigger than that pill."
Mabel made a face at him. Standing up, she went and fetched herself a glass of water. Opening her mouth, she balanced the capsule on her tongue, already wincing from the little flavor she tasted, and quickly brought her cup to her lips, greedily drinking down the water, washing the pill away.
She smacked her lips loudly after she was done. "Well, that was unpleasant!"
Dipper chuckled and rolled his eyes. Grabbing his and Mabel's now empty cereal bowls, he went and dumped them into the sink to wash later.
Only Grunkle Stan wouldn't invest in a dishwasher.
"Well, bro-bro. Are you ready for a day of fun on this wonderful Saturday?" Mabel asked, grabbing the brim of his hat and shoving it down over his face, making him stare at the ground.
"Mabel!" Dipper replied, trying to shake her heavy hand off, only to see something out of the corner of his eye, sitting right next to the trash can.
A rumpled up piece of paper.
Normally, Dipper wouldn't care less. But this paper was obviously a receipt. Pushing Mabel off him, the brunet bent down and picked it up.
Dipper blinked as he recalled Stan having to go back out and get Mabel's pills for her to take last night. He had took the bottle out of the bag, and tossed it and the receipt away.
By the looks of it, the little slip of paper didn't quite make the trash.
"What'cha got there, Dip Dop?" Mabel asked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity as he straightened back up.
"It's the receipt from you-" Dipper's voice faded away as he unfurled the slip of paper, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. His entire mouth fell open as he stared at the price listed.
"What's the- oh." Mabel squeaked, paling. "T-That's a lot of zeros."
"Why- Why are your pills so...so expensive?"
Mabel shrugged and leaned back against the table, eyes downcast.
Dipper read the number over again. Shouldn't health insurance cover this or something?
Wait, did they even have health insurance?
With Stan, you could never be too sure.
Dipper blinked. The doctor did say it was new, it would only go to reason that the price might be...high.
"Mabel, how many pills do you get per bottle?" Dipper asked suddenly.
"Thirty."
Dipper blanched. Only thirty? And she'd have to take three a day?
They would have to pay this ridiculous amount of money every ten days?
Dipper blinked as he heard a sniff behind him. Whipping around, his face fell when he saw a few tears bubbling in Mabel's eyes.
She had figured out the math as well.
"Dipper...is Grunkle Stan even going to be able to afford this?" She asked, shaking slightly.
The young brunet couldn't reply. He didn't need to, after all.
They both knew the answer.
"Oh gods, I'm sorry! I- It's my fault! If only I didn't have this stupid al-"
Dipper tackled her in a hug, slapping a hand over her mouth as he did so to quiet her.
"Don't you dare say that! It's not your fault at all so don't you go and feel guilty about any of this!"
Mabel sniffed again, but nodded and wiped her eyes off. She sunk into one of the kitchen chairs, wrapping her arms around herself. "So, what's the plan to get out of this one, Dipping-sauce?" She tried to joke, her smile watery.
Dipper settled down into another chair as well, holding his head in his hands. "I have no clue. But, well, I don't really know how much Stan has or anything, but I'm sure we...we can't pay for this in the long run."
Mabel nodded slowly. "What can we do then? Is there anything to be done at all?"
Dipper bit his lip as he cast his mind for a solution. Half-thoughts and ideas easily came forth, though none possible or sensible in any way.
Well, that is, none but one, however.
Dipper's eyes flickered over to Mabel, heart and mind torn in half.
That- would work. It was possible. And, to him, sensible.
But was it feasible to Mabel?
And what would he have to give up? This- this was big.
Dipper shook those thoughts away.
"Mabel...I-I have an idea. And...I think it's our only option." Dipper started carefully, unable to keep his anxiousness out of his tone.
Mabel looked over to him. "What?"
Dipper sighed through his nose. "Bill could help."
"What?! No, that's a bad idea! Bad idea, bad idea! Wouldn't you have to make another deal? And- and he'd have to do some weird evil godly magic on me...!"
"Mabel! First off, Bill is not evil. A little mean, but not evil. Secondly, do we have any other options? Are there any other ways you can think of that are foolproof?"
"You call your idea foolproof?"
Dipper rolled his eyes. "Can you think of anything else?"
Mabel sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. "No." She finally admitted. "No I can't."
Dipper sighed and stood up. "Well then, I'll go get my journal and we can go."
"Right now?" Mabel asked, slightly surprised as she hopped out of her chair as well.
"No time like the present. Plus, we might as well get it over with as soon as we can."
Mabel nodded and followed Dipper up the stairs, pacing a little as he dug his notebook out of his mattress and grabbed a pen from his desk.
"Ready?"
Mabel sighed and rolled his shoulders, ignoring her twisting gut.
"As I'll ever be."
~~0~~0~~0~~
Mabel bit her lip as she stared at the daunting tree line. Next to her, Dipper gave her a small smile, squeezing her hand softly with his.
Her stomach was rolling now more than ever. She knew she probably shouldn't be so nervous, after all, Dipper was friends with this guy and has been seeing him for over a month now.
She'd be fine. Bill wasn't evil.
Apparently.
And besides, what sort of villain has the name Bill?
Squaring her shoulders, Mabel let herself be pulled along into the forest.
While Dipper kept his eyes straight, ready to pick out the gold and black dressed god, Mabel's own orbs roved and wandered all about, taking in the scenery around her.
Light filtered through the trees, making it darker than what it really was and plunging random bits of the area around them into darkness. Undergrowth brushed by her legs, causing her to want to stop and scratch. She felt dirt and other gross things linger too long on her skin. Sounds echoed all around her; from the trees above shivering in the wind to the snuffling animals. Mabel couldn't tell where the sounds were coming from, nor how far they were away, causing her to be on edge.
Mabel glanced behind herself as the feeling of being watched overcame her.
How could her brother not just stand being out her for hours at a time, but actually enjoy it?
It was beyond her.
Finally, Dipper slowed them down to a stop and he let go of her hand.
The feeling of being watched built up all around her and suddenly, Mabel didn't feel safe whatsoever. Well, she didn't feel safe before really, but now danger pulsed all around her, all encompassing and unstoppable.
Before she could ask Dipper if they could leave, before she could even open her mouth to spew words that made sense, a flash of gold radiated before them and with it, a person stepped out.
Mabel wasn't so sure what to think of the...man? Before her. He was feminine, yet masculine at the same time, something she didn't think was possible. He was surprisingly tall, easily towering over both her and Dipper. The god wore very formal clothing- something she didn't expect whatsoever. She was preparing herself for togas, not golden vests and floating top hats!
His one gold eye was intense as it stared at the two of them. Burning with what emotion exactly she didn't know.
Bill summoned a black cane out of nowhere and leaned on it pleasantly before grinning at them with the most disturbing and creepy smile Mabel had ever seen in her short life. She could point out every sharp tooth in that face-splitting smile, one that was way too wide to be normal...
Or natural, in any case.
"Heya Pine Tree. See you've brought..." His voice trailed off as he eyed her favorite pink sweater briefly. "...Shooting Star with you!" He finished easily.
His voice was higher than Mabel expected too. Much, much higher.
She bit back a laugh.
"Uh, yeah, hi Bill." Dipper said lamely, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
Before anyone could say anything else, Bill stepped in front of Mabel, staring down at her with that grin, and extended his hand towards her. "Hello, Shooting Star! Name's Bill Cipher, nice to meet ya!"
Mabel took his hand in a weak handshake, barely touching it before breaking it off.
This guy...was weird. And not in a good sense either.
Mabel didn't like touching him, that's for sure.
"Nice to meet you too." She said afterwords, making sure to direct her eyes at his freckles instead of that strange golden orb.
Bill stepped back from her, wrapping an arm around Dipper's shoulder's easily, an act that raised her eyebrows.
Dipper didn't even flinch when the god did that.
Like he was used to it or something.
She didn't say anything, however. Best not to get on the bad side of a powerful god who had your brother in his grasp.
"So! What brings you out to my forest today?" Bill continued to ask her. Though his voice was polite, with his entire being oozing charm, Mabel couldn't help but feel adrenaline start to pump through her. There was an...edge to Bill.
Something...off.
Majorly.
"Actually, we came out here for...for a deal." Dipper answered for her, pulling away from Bill to stand by her side, retaking her hand in his own once more.
Bill's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, an edge of possessiveness inside the one visible, taking in the scene with a flicker of a frown on his face.
The twins didn't notice the change and the look was gone as soon as it came.
"I see! Well, what can I do for a pair of twins such as yourself?" He continued on cheerfully, kicking his feet up in the air to float.
Mabel quirked an eyebrow by the impressive feat of magic, but said nothing on it.
Dipper acted as if it was a normal occurrence.
For all Mabel knew, it could be.
Dipper and Mabel turned to look at one another, reassuring the other and reinforcing the decision they were about to make.
Dipper was the one to speak up. "I want you to take away Mabel's blood magic allergy." He said.
Bill glanced over to the girl in question, mildly curious. "Blood magic allergy, huh? Very well, shouldn't be too difficult to do. What will you offer me in return, though?"
Dipper turned back to Mabel and slight panic ran through both of their veins. What could they offer? What could a god trapped in a forest possibly want?
"Uh, well, we didn't quite get that far." Mabel said after a while, her nerves palpable.
Bill flipped in midair and landed back onto his feet before swaggering up to the two of them.
"Well, it's a good thing I've got an idea then!"
With a snap of his fingers, Mabel suddenly collapsed in a small heap, falling gracefully into the scratchy grass underfoot.
"Mabel!" Dipper cried out in alarm, dropping to his sister's side.
"Don't worry, Pine Tree! She's just asleep. Thought it might be easier on you to be able to discuss the, ah, finer points of this deal without her interrupting. After all, you're the one that's going to be making it, are you not?"
Dipper stood back up, staring up at Bill's honest expression. A gentle smile played on his lips, and Dipper found his anger at the god melt away as his heart started to speed up slightly.
He sighed. "You're right. So what do I have to give?"
Bill crouched down onto his haunches so he could face the shorter boy easier. "I actually had a small idea that would be pretty fair. I can take her allergy away, but it would take quite a bit of power. I'm not a god of health, after all. It'll be a little difficult for me."
Dipper bit his nails. "So what do you want? I don't have anything to give."
Bill chuckled internally as he let his eye roam over the child before him. You have much more to give than what you think, Pine Tree. He thought.
Bill clasped his hands onto Dipper's shoulders, pulling the brunet closer. "I have one offer that could be considered equal. As I said, this will take a fair bit of power, so energy gained from the payment must be used to heal Shooting Star."
"I know how deals work. Can you get to the point?"
Bill rolled his eyes. "Fine. Make me your god."
Dipper felt as if his cheeks were lit on fire.
"W-What?" He spluttered, unable to look at the god's face.
Somehow, his heart pumped even faster in his chest.
"Let me into your mind, Dipper. Let me have you, and I will cure your sister's deadly allergy."
Dipper flinched at the use of his name.
"Of course-" The god said quickly, covering himself. "This won't really change anything between us. It's more of a formal thing, really."
"Really?"
"Really." Bill lied.
Dipper stared up at Bill. Give himself to Bill? How could he just-
But, then again, Bill was one of his best friends. He wouldn't actually hurt him or try and control him.
Right?
"You can't hurt me or control me. Not ever." Dipper quickly bit out.
Bill rolled his eyes. "Of course not! We're friends, are we not?"
Dipper winced at the alien stab of pain through his heart.
He was really acting odd today, wasn't he?
"Y-yeah." Dipper said. He glanced down at his sleeping sister's face once more.
Bill wasn't going to do anything to him.
And Mabel would be cured. She'd never have to worry about this again for the rest of her life.
Plus, they won't go bankrupt trying to pay for the medication she needed.
It was a simple deal, but it would fix so much.
Bill held his hand out to Dipper, a slight smile playing on his face. "Do we have a deal?"
Dipper glanced down at the gloved hand already consumed in azure flames.
He grasped it with his own.
"Deal."
Dipper squeaked as he was tugged in for a tight hug, Bill's hand still in his, buried against the god's chest.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Dipper. Sweet dreams."
~~0~~0~~0~~
He wasn't so sure where he was.
Everything was one way one moment, then completely different the next.
He didn't know if this difference was a good thing or not.
Maybe it wasn't either or. A certain voice ringed inside him, taking him easily. It was a memory, that much he knew, whether one long forgotten or recent and wondered of, he did not know.
"Your concept of good and evil is an illusion, kid."
He knew that voice from somewhere. A voice smooth as honey, yet sharp as a knife. A voice that had echoed throughout the ages long before, grasping at Mans' hearts and minds and souls. A voice that commanded itself to be heard, to transcend past time and space, to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was a sound one could find themselves lost in quite easily. A 'just a quick detour' turned into an epic, yet tragic tale in which everyone loses.
It reverberated inside him, taking hold of his own heart and mind and soul. However, it did not cut, it did not grasp. It did not strangle nor did it claw. It petted him, soft and comforting. True whispers of sweet nothing's and everything's resounded in him, pulling him down into a comfortable darkness he could get lost inside, one that did not hurt or hinder him in the slightest.
He didn't know how long he stayed in the comforting darkness. He wasn't aware of time even existing after all. Time was a fickle thing, created by Man to keep the fantasy of semblance and civilization together. It was what bound people to the Earth, to their materialistic and worthless life, it's a name given to the natural rotation of the Earth around an apathetic sun, who ran it's own course around a stoic galaxy, who moved through an uncaring and violent universe which had little regard of what sort of creations it had in itself. Why would it care in the first place, after all? The universe had no soul to speak of, neither a mind nor a heart. It was a mover and shaker of all things, the epitome of pure chaos and beauty, and for that reason only, it had no use for conscious thought or feeling. It did what it did because it must do what it does. And that was all.
He was lost in his own thoughts once again, yet whether they belonged to him or not couldn't be determined. He'd like to think they did, but then again, perhaps not. After all, what were thoughts beyond simple electrical pulses in the brain, directing nonsensical sounds that somehow made meaning into images one could replay.
Well then, if memories and thoughts were images one could experience, then he must have neither. The darkness still stretched beyond him, inky and black. Blacker than anything ever before and anything afterword. It was the sort of nothingness one could see when peering between the cracks of the universe, a void where nothing could survive.
He figured he was in that void right now.
Where else could he be, after all?
He continued to float.
His mind nearly fell blank. There was nothing left for him to ponder, him to do.
No. Now he waited.
Waited for what? He didn't really know. He was waiting, however.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
He wondered how long it would take.
Then wondered how he could wait for something if time didn't exist in the first place.
He was a paradox, it seemed.
Well, life itself was a paradox. Filled with so many ups and downs and all arounds, leading nowhere but inevitability.
The thought was oddly comforting.
But how could he have thoughts if everything around him was void?
He wanted to ponder more, but something was filling him, wrapping up and around him, a certain familiar warmth that was safety and comfort and golden.
He was golden.
The blackness dispersed in an explosion of blue sparks.
He wasn't so sure what he was witnessing now. Wrapped in warmth like this...it would be so easy to drop off. To fade away.
He wanted to fade away.
Luckily the turbulence of lost memories that swirled around him didn't bother in the slightest.
He didn't care much for the Trojan War that flickered by, filled with blood and death.
Nor did he care about the construction of the pyramids, though the gold and jewels were a plus.
The reel of memories his but not his pass by ever faster, filled with bright minds, terrible nightmares, and even more horribly insanity.
Though, he had to admit the Dark Ages were an interesting time. Too bad it apparently ended.
Pretty soon, he felt his back- since when did he have a body?- Arch up, chest bare against the flames that had once given his not-memories life, singe them away. They turned to him next, consuming and abusing him as a dark orange seal burned in front of him, electricity crackling around the fire, forcing it to obey.
Some sort of chanting rang in his ears, deep and heavy. However, it was so far away. He could tell that the voices weren't speaking in what he knew, but another language, lost and only used for a single purpose now in this world...
Dipper screamed as golden light consumed him.
Then, he woke up.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Bill's lips curled in a smirk as the flames of their deal wrapped around him.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Dipper. Sweet dreams." He whispered to the boy, feeling him drop off into whatever dreams young thirteen-year-old boys had.
Bill carefully shifted himself so he was sitting down on the ground, legs crossed. Carefully, he moved Pine Tree so he was cradled in his lap, head against his shoulder.
"Now, let's get to work, shall we?" He said to no one in particular, grinning like the madman he was.
Bill glanced over Shooting Star. Grunting, he placed a hand over her sternum, feeling her body move and tick beneath it's flesh casing. With a twitch of his fingers, bounded by the deal, he started the process to remove her allergies, cobalt flames jumping to life as they sparked over her skin, burning the sickness away with a small amount of struggle.
His half of the deal completed, Bill turned to the twin propped up in his lap, sleeping like a babe.
"You really are an interesting human, aren't you Pine Tree." Bill whispered, trailing his fingers over a warm and squishy cheek.
The god scowled suddenly, eye flashing red. "Why are you so damn important to me? Why do I care? I've lived for thousands of years, slaughtered millions. I've built up empires just to see them crumble. And not once, once have I cared for a- a human of all things. What makes you special?"
Pine Tree, of course, didn't answer.
Bill breathed in deeply, then started chuckling. It was a low sound, a ballad of madness.
"But it hardly matters now. You're mine. All mine. And no one can take you from me now." He growled.
The blond forced himself to relax, letting his eyes fall shut. Raising his right hand, he laid it flat against the boy's forehead, covering up his entire birthmark.
Of course, being sealed into this form so long ago made it impossible for him to access his Mindscape, or anyone's Mindscape directly, for that matter. He could no longer walk in dreams, do his work and cause nightmares. Trapped outside the realm of all possibility and imagination.
However, seals could not overpower a godly deal, a contract forged in his fire and words. Pine Tree gave himself to him. Of course, the child was thinking in the context of the mind, and not anything else and as such, didn't exactly tell Bill what he could and couldn't claim.
Only that he couldn't hurt or control him.
Pine Tree was a bit smarter than what he gave him credit for, but not smart enough.
"Oh, Pine Tree." He murmured as he felt the little power he had slip past the seals. "You should have banned your body and your soul."
And then he shifted into the boy's mind.
Bill squirmed as he felt the loss of sense. The smell of the forest, the feel of Pine Tree laying on him, the crunchy grass below, the slight wind...all gone. Bill could feel his entire being condense, breaking free of flesh shackles and the mortal plane, finally breaking through that damn wall of seals into his true form.
His single eye blinked.
Bill stretched his arms out in front of him. If he had a mouth, he'd be grinning.
Thin black appendages were before him, four perfect fingers on each hand, tipped with minuscule claws that most couldn't see. His- not body, but energy flexed around him, twisting and turning.
"Oh̸,͡ ͜i͝t is ͝G͢OÒD to̡ b̢e b̡ack͞!"̧ He laughed, loving that little ring to his voice. He forgot it did that!
Bill watched as the whiteness around him slowly started to morph into some semblance of a dream. Colors of all kinds swirled around each other in the air, curling and dancing to an unknown beat.
"Ǫh͠, T̛HA̛T ̷w̛on'̛t͠ do͢.̕"͡ With a snap of his fingers, Bill gently pushed Pine Tree's consciousness down into a far corner of his own mind, away from everything that was happening. Bill let his energy stretch out a little- just enough to keep the child calm and sedated through what was about to happen.
The colors faded away around him, leaving nothing but the whiteness once more.
Bill cracked his fingers together, eye quirking in excitement. "̧Le͞t̕'s͜ ́g̛e͟t s̸tart͏ed͢, ͞s̵halĺ we͝?"͜
The triangle crossed his legs against, just as they were in his body. Holding his arms out either side of him, he bent his elbows upwards, stretching out his palms so they stared at the nonexistent sky.
Though Bill's single eye closed, his sight didn't go away, only changed.
Flames sprung to life in his hands, thick and powerful, more powerful than ever before.
He had forgotten how good it felt being in the Mindscape. How powerful it made him.
He hadn't got the chance to truly recharge in...well, last time he had been banished rather quickly, unfortunately.
So, not counting then, he daresay it was, oh, if you carry the two...
Nearly a thousand years!
Bill cackled. Oh, this was just too great!
The god mentally shook himself, trying to get himself back on track. He had a deal to fulfill, after all.
Bill say many things at once, then. Though his eye was still closed, he could see blue runes start to swirl all around him, burning themselves into the boy's mind, made painless by Bill's instruction.
After all, he couldn't harm Pine Tree, though not that he especially wanted to right now.
Around the same time the runes started to meld themselves into place, Pine Tree's memories played out like a movie for the god. Some clearer than others, as it was wrought to be. He watched in amusement.
That is, all until one thing came forth, one thing that sent his mind a blaze and that broke his concentration.
Pines.
Dipper Pines.
PINES
Bill was completely shaken out of his work.
Anger sparked through the god. If he had had blood, it would be boiling.
The boy he had such...weird and unexplainable feelings towards was part of the clan that had locked him away in the forest! Locked him away in his body!
Oh, Bill was angry and all he wanted to do in that moment was rage.
And he was going to too. After all, he didn't exactly know how to take this onslaught of information, so he reacted in the only way he could.
Rage.
Yet, even though flames licked the boy's body, even though he yanked away his energy from the child's consciousness, leaving it prey towards his own past thoughts, even after all that...
Bill couldn't harm him.
And it wasn't just the deal that stopped him.
He would never admit that to himself, however.
Bill allowed his wrath to slowly fall, blend back in with the white surroundings.
Though he didn't need to, Bill took a metaphorical breath.
He needed to get back on track. He needed to think.
Because even though he hated the Pines' Clan, and even though he swore revenge and death upone their entire family about thirty years ago, he couldn't hate Pine Tree.
Nor could he hate the plethora of options suddenly available to him.
Bill hurriedly finished the claim, cementing a link between him and the boy, one he would be able to use as long as he was in the forest.
Of course, it was useless considering he could already sense the boy's presence in the forest, but it was the principle of the matter.
And besides, once he got out, it would be more useful than ever.
And now, he did have a way out.
Bill had a little Pine Tree, bound to him body, mind, and soul, who actually cared and trusted him.
Oh yes, things couldn't get much better.
Bill let the ecstasy of the moment and realization wash over him, letting his energy twist and bend around. He let his power stretch out to the far recesses of Pine Tree's mind, wrapping him up in a brief golden blanket of warmth and excitement.
And with that, Bill shifted out of Dipper's mind.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Remember how I said a crossroads of sorts was coming up?
Well, here it is! Crossroads of Destiny! (yes, that was a reference)
How many of you expected any of this to happen? I'm curious.
And it looks like Dipper is going through his existential crisis.
Anyways, from here on out, there's going to be a lot of changes. We've got minor foreshadowing to the major overarching plot of this entire trilogy (Finally! Only took 16 chapters!) And from here on out, the pacing is really going to pick up, so hold on tight! After all, we got 11 more chapters to go ;)
TheJokerMan95- Ehehe, thank you!
random name- Hm, hm, there is going to be some minor dark!Dipper...and that's not even a spoiler!
LuminousMoonRay- Hehe, told you it was coming! As for the seeing magic thing- no. The miasma is like oxygen or any other gas- you can't see it, but it's there and you can see the effects it causes :3
The Keeper of Worlds- Maybe...but then again, maybe not!
JackieLanternXOXO- I know I already replied to you, but thanks for being such a constant reviewer! ^.^
Wildtail of Wind- And then this chapter came, throwing out even more questions! I hope you liked this chapter!
SmuttyFanGirlWriter-WhyTheHell- Haha, nope! Can't kill off the Mabes! Glad you're liking it so far, thanks for reviewing!
Guest- Eh, I go over each chapter, but things do slip through. That, and autocorrect can be a bitch at times (but I still need it...) As for the mocha eyes thing...I really don't see how it's cliched at all. I very rarely see the word 'mocha' used, it usually just 'brown' but ah well. I'll try and mix up some more synonyms in there in the future. Glad your'e liking it anyways, however!
I hope you guys enjoyed this really really important chapter!
And, as always, thanks for reading!