Disclaimer: I do not own GF
Shortest chapter yet, but I knew it was going to be. Next chapter might run a day or two late because by the looks of it, it's going to be long. So just know if it does happen to run late, it's because I'm still writing it.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Madam Feylie breathed heavily through her nose, trying to calm down her nerves.
Dipper smelled like the forest. The highly dangerous and deadly forest only three people in town were even allowed to go on, one of those people being her.
But Dipper was a smart kid. He wouldn't actually go someplace dangerous on purpose, would he?
Madam Feylie gnawed on one of her fingernails absentmindedly as she sat at her desk, muscles locked up and tense.
Dipper wouldn't go and purposely do something so foolish in which he could get hurt, right?
Right?
Turning, she opened up one of the drawers in her desk and quickly shifted through student's names, stopping once she reached a Pines'. Pulling the folder out for Dipper, she leafed through the papers inside. Finding the paper with his guardian's phone number on it, she laid it out before her and grabbed the nearby phone. Putting it up to her ear, she used her other hand to rotate the dial around.
It took about three tries with her trying to decipher the chicken scratch on the paper and deal with her shaking hands but eventually, the call went through.
Madam Feylie waited with bated breath as it rang, gripping the plastic tightly and ignoring the awkwardness of the shape pressed against her ear. She much preferred hand mirrors for this sort of job, but unfortunately the school district stuck with phones instead.
The elven teacher let out a hiss as she hung the phone up. No one had answered.
Then again, if someone did, what could she even say? That Dipper smelled like outside? Talking about what others smelled like- especially students- wasn't exactly considered socially acceptable.
Drumming her fingers on her desk. Madam Feylie glanced out the window, watching the green clouds swirl.
Someone was practicing very unstable and unsafe magic.
It made her stomach flip flop.
First, the sky starts turning green. Next, she finds out one of her student's goes into the forest.
She wanted to think the two were connected in a way, somehow working in tandem with something else going on but Madam Feylie couldn't be sure. She didn't really have concrete evidence for either theory. Just a whiff of a smell and what she remembered from learning about the miasma and how it affected weather patterns.
The only way the two would be connected is if Dipper went out into the forest and practiced dark magic. Pushing the fact that Dipper was much too sweet and innocent to be mixed up in something so dark, there was no evidence for any magic of that sort. No burns, no cuts, and no deformation or change in personality or attitude-
Well, no. That's not quite right. His grades had been dropping the past few months, but that could be caused by a number of things, not all magical.
No, there was no evidence for anything, really.
But that didn't mean she didn't have her suspicions. Or worries.
Madam Feylie slipped the phone number back into Dipper's folder and shut it back in the drawer.
She'd get to the bottom of this.
Eventually.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Dipper gripped the edge of the sink tightly, trying his best to calm the nerves in his stomach.
He was really going to do this.
He was really going to ditch school.
Ever since yesterday uncertainty rolled in his stomach, twisting itself into cruel knots in a bid to stop him.
He had been ready for someone to somehow know of his plan. Someone to speak up and stop him.
But nothing had happened.
Stan had picked him and Mabel up, taken them back to the Shack, and put them to work just like he said he would.
Wendy hadn't talked to him for once, manning the cash register and reading a magazine, ignoring his existence all together.
She was still mad. Dipper couldn't really blame her.
Soos had been a little nicer, having just been informed of the situation and what happened, not having to live through it. However, despite the small, watery smiles and soft greeting and goodbye, Dipper hadn't gotten much from his older friend.
Like Wendy, Soos had been upset over the fact that he had lied.
And once again, Dipper couldn't blame him.
Of course, besides the obvious tenseness in the air, no one said anything.
Mabel still wasn't talking to him and he had no idea on how to approach her. They were in a stalemate, waiting for something to break this silence, waiting for the magic words that would fix all of this would simply come into existence and just fix everything.
Unfortunately, there was no spell that could just grant someone the ability to say what needed to be said and so far, Dipper couldn't think of anything that could really fix this.
And considering Mabel's silence, she hasn't been too successful either.
The thought made his heart choke itself, tying his veins around and around in a makeshift noose to hang a neck that doesn't exist.
Dipper wanted to fix things. He really, really did! But...how? He was never a people person. He didn't know how to properly apologize for all of this...
Especially since he wasn't all that sorry.
The thought should've scared him more than it did.
Dipper sighed and washed his hands simply to give himself something to do. Grabbing a few paper towels, he sidled up to the nearby floor-length mirror to take a quick glance at himself, tossing the crumpled paper towel towards the trash can and missing.
Dipper glanced down at his appearance, making sure his hat was pulled low over his birthmark, newly washed hair sticking out from under his cap. Frowning a little at the messy curls, Dipper gave himself one last glance, taking in his slightly paled features and widened brown eyes before walking over to the trash and properly disposing of his paper towel.
Dipper grabbed his backpack up off the floor and swung it onto his shoulders.
It was now or never, really. He had to get back before lunch ended.
Slipping out of the bathroom door, the brunet glanced nervously down the empty hallway before taking off at a quickened pace, debating on whether or not to run and get out faster with a higher chance of getting caught, or going slower and also having a good chance of getting caught.
Dipper walked a bit faster.
There was a reason the fast walk was invented, after all.
Turning down a few hallways that were more likely to stay empty, Dipper worked to get to the edge of the school and find a door out.
Turning back down a side hall, he walked by a few closed doors before turning back into another hallway. Seeing a pair of double doors straight ahead, unguarded with no one watching him, Dipper took the chance and slammed his hands against it, pushing it open with the force of his movement and easily stumbling outside.
Dipper gasped, not even realizing he had been holding his breath.
He blinked in disbelief. That had been easy.
Too easy.
Not even giving a glance backward, the brunet broke out into a dead sprint, legs pumping and feet slamming against concrete as he ran across the parking lot over to the woods beyond.
Glancing at the nearby construction of a tall, metal fence, only a few runes lightly traced over the surface in sharpie, Dipper side stepped the work and dived right into the trees, panting from both exertion and a little fear mixed with excitement and disbelief.
He had done it. He actually left during school hours and hadn't been caught.
No wonder teachers complain about students who skip. It was almost too easy.
At the thought of that again, Dipper whipped around and dived behind a tree, glaring out at the little he could see of the building behind all the foliage.
Nope. No teachers running, no panicking, and no cops.
Everything was quiet and clear.
Despite all that, he couldn't help but still feel a bit paranoid. He better hurry up and make this quick. Just needed to inform Bill about the situation and get some answers out of him. No problem.
Dipper gulped.
Anger issues.
Bill wouldn't hurt him. He'd be fine!
Turning his back to civilization, he wandered through the forest, use to underbrush tickling his skin and the crunch of grass beneath his sneakers.
Once Dipper decided he was far enough away from the school, he leaned against a tree, mentally preparing himself for what was going to happen.
Bill wouldn't hurt him. He cared.
He cared.
"Bill? Are you there?" He called out, waiting for that flash of gold.
And Bill didn't disappoint.
A few seconds passed by before the god emerged from behind a tree, vest gold as ever with a white undershirt, golden eye sparking, and hair as black and gold as ever
Dipper still couldn't tell what the god's original hair color had been. If he had one in the first place, at all.
"Pine Tree!" Bill chirped playfully, loping towards him and wrapping his arms around the brunet's shoulders to yank him into a hug.
Dipper slowly returned it, hands hovering a little.
"Hey, Bill." Dipper greeted himself, voice unsure.
The god visibly frowned at his lethargic tone, staring down at him. "Pine Tree? You okay?" He asked, pulling the boy tighter against him.
Dipper shook his head and squirmed away from the touch, backing up so he had at least two feet of space between himself and the god.
Bill's eye narrowed and his frown deepened.
"N-No, Bill. Not really." Dipper stuttered a bit, wrapping his arms around himself as he did so.
Bill took a step forward.
Dipper took a step back.
"Pine Tree?" Bill asked again, head cocked to the side in confusion.
Dipper bit his lip and felt tears bubble to the surface. Oh, he couldn't do this! Bill would be angry and...and-! Oh, he didn't think he-
"You-You're trapped in here because you tried to destroy the world. And- and my family was the one who did so."
Dipper's eyes widened and a few tears overflowed onto his cheeks. His heart beat angrily in his chest, trying to tear itself apart by the feel of it as his gut curled in on itself, like it was trying to eat itself without success.
"What that the only reason you...I...we...anything?! Do you even care?" Dipper finally shouted out, grabbing the ends of his hair sticking out of his cap and stumbling back a little, his backpack colliding with the tree behind him.
Bill's eyes darkened and his frown morphed into a scowl. His shoulders visibly tensed and the god looked like he was ready to pounce, to rip and tear and kill.
Dipper tried his best to not cower, forcing himself to hold steady against the tree behind him.
Bill continued to glare as he strode forward, steps even and smooth. His golden hair slowly became duller as flecks of red appeared in his eye. Towering above the younger boy, he slammed one of his hands against the tree, right above the brunet, causing him to duck down and, against his will, cower. Bill situated himself so the teen couldn't get away, trapping him in with legs and a dominate presence alone.
"̛F͡ir̵s͢t̕ of͘ al͟l-"͡
Dipper winced at the echoing quality of his voice and fell down onto the ground, screwing his eyes shut.
"͏-̡I d̛i̢d͝n̡'t̸ ev҉en ̧ḱno͠w̴ ̴you wer͟e͢ a ̡de̶sce͢n͜d͞ànt̛ ùn͠t̶il͜ oųr̴ l͟as͟t- l͡ơok ͠a̡t̸ mę ̴when I'm ̕t͠a̴lki͠ng ͠t̕o y͘o̕u Pi̛n̡e̢ ̵T̡re̛e͝."͝ ̀
Dipper slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the pure red eye staring down at him, barely able to hold back a squeak of fear.
"-deal.̴"̶̸ He continued on, like he never interrupted himself. "S̵e̷c͜o͟ndly҉, ͞i͘f I ̛di̴dn'̶t̷ ̨c̢ar̡ȩ ̶about ҉y̵o͜u͘,̛ ͜I̧ ẃóuld'̷v̀e ki̧l̷l̛e̡d ͡you͞ f̨or͘ e̵v͘e̶n̛ t̡aki̴ng ̶a̛ ̵t̴on̸e ̶lik҉e͢ t͞h̴at ͡w̕i͝t̸h̴ ̛m̶e."̵
Bill's eye narrowed and he let his hand go, dropping to his haunches to get closer to eye-level. The god repositioned both hands so they were either side of the boy, trapping him once more.
"̴Las͟t͟ly̨, ͡ẃh̀ȩre̶ ̷di͢ḑ you ͜fi̶n͢d ou̶t a̕b̕out ̡t̵hat?"̵
Dipper winced. Unable to look away from the god, more tears bubbled over and he couldn't help but sniff a little.
Though Bill's position didn't waver, the crimson in his eye did recede slightly, though didn't fully go away. The god waited patiently for his answer, literally having all the time in the world.
"M-My Great-Uncle Stan." He murmured softly. "He-He told me the story on how you...and Tad...and..." Dipper fell quiet. He didn't have to continue. There was no need to.
Bill sighed. Stan? As in Glasses's brother?
It made sense but the fact that story even got brought out made his blood boil.
The god bit down on his anger. He didn't want to do something that he'd regret.
Like hurting Pine Tree.
Like killing his only way out of the forest.
"So it's true, isn't it? You tried to d-destroy the world."
Bill squared his shoulders and looked straight at his sapling, right into those fearful eyes. Normally, he liked his Pine Tree's fear. Liked seeing him squirm. But paired with sadness and hurt with a haunting look of betrayal?
No. Bill didn't like that expression one bit.
"Yes." The echoing reverberations left Bill's voice. "Yes, that was my plan a long time ago."
Dipper perked up slightly at the use of past tense. "It's not anymore?"
Bill slowly shook his head. "No, Pine Tree. It isn't. Getting trapped in here...well, it kinda...opened my eyes so to speak. New perspective and all that. Besides, if I did destroy the world, everything would get really boring! No people to mess with!"
Dipper wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and couldn't help but giggle a bit at Bill's antics. Was it probably wrong on some moral level? Yeah. Probably. But at that moment, Dipper didn't really care.
Seeing the barest of smiles on his sapling's face, Bill let a wide grin break across his own face. Past anger flushed away in the returning brightness in Dipper's eyes, the god let himself fall to the side to curl next to the boy.
"I was young and stupid, Pine Tree." Bill continued on. "And so was Tad. Do I regret it? A little I guess. But it happened and there's no way to change that."
Dipper nodded slowly. He had been right.
Bill would never hurt him.
And he had changed. He wasn't like what Grunkle Stan said.
Grunkle Stan was wrong.
And he was right.
The two let silence reign for a while, content to simply sit next to one another. Though this silence had been ruling Dipper's life the past day or so, the brunet couldn't help but love the one he was in now. There was no tenseness, no hurt.
And more importantly, there was the sense that he was right.
Dipper still couldn't quite get over that.
"Hey Bill?" Dipper asked after a while, his head leaning against the tree behind him.
Bill stopped playing with his hand, the smooth circles he was rubbing over his knuckles coming to a stop.
"Hmm?" Bill hummed, moving his fingers to knead the palm a bit.
Shivers ran down Dipper's spine. That felt amazing. Like a massage for his hand.
"Do...you want out of the forest, right?"
Bill perked up immediately at that, eyeing his sapling with slight surprise. "Of course." He answered, already knowing where this was going.
Dipper bit his lip. Was he really going to do this? Would he really-
Looking up at Bill's already excited face, Dipper already knew what his answer would be. Bill did do something bad and wrong a long time ago. But that was then and this is now. Bill didn't want that anymore and after seven hundred years of boredom and, even if he wouldn't admit it, loneliness, it was high time for the god to have a second chance at life outside. Well, out of the forest.
They were already outside, technically.
"Then...would it be- er, I mean, could I break you fr-"
"Yes! Of course, Pine Tree!" Bill interrupted him with a cheer before pouncing on him.
The boy and the god rolled a little in the short grass. Dipper watched as his whole world turned into a mess of green, blue, yellow, and gold. He and Bill continued rolling for a bit and Dipper couldn't help but let out small shrieks of laughter as Bill peppered his face with small pecks; first tracing the out line of his forehead once his hat came flying off before moving down over his eyelids, all over his cheeks, and a couple on his nose and chin before finding the sides of his mouth and kissing lightly there as well.
The two eventually rolled to a stop, with Bill splayed out on his back in the grass while Dipper was laid out across the god's torso, face flushed from the act and attention he just received.
Dipper laughed as Bill nuzzled into the top of his head and Dipper couldn't help but do his own cuddling into the god's chest.
Bill sat up slowly. "So, Pine Tree. Are you going to break me out now or-"
Dipper shook his head. "No, not right now. Um, I don't have much time I-"
Dipper blanched. He had forgotten to tell Bill about getting caught. Forgot to tell him about being unable to come for a while.
Dipper quickly scrambled backwards away from the god, making sure to grab his fallen hat in the process and stick it back on his head.
Bill watched as fear spark in his Pine Tree's brown eyes again and quickly twisted around to see of the boy had seen anything behind him.
Nope. Nothing there. Bill cast his sense out, picking apart the area surrounding them to see if there was anyone who could be a threat of any kind.
Nothing. He and his sapling were alone. As it should be.
"Pine Tree?"
Dipper let out a small breath. "I-I forgot to tell you something." He admitted quietly, preparing himself for the worst yet still hoping for the best.
Bill cocked his head to the side and waited for his sapling to explain himself.
Dipper worried his bottom lip. He had to tell the god eventually and the sooner he got it over with, the better.
"I...Grunkle Stan knows. Everyone knows. About our deal." He said slowly.
Bill stared at him blankly, as if waiting to continue. The joy the two had between them drained out fast, leaving Dipper shivering and tense. This wasn't good. Not by a long shot.
Finding out Bill's past actions was one thing. But something that would directly come in the way of their deal and...well, relationship?
"I won't be able to come to the forest all that often. They're watching me and...and I might not be able to get away."
Bill finally did something.
The god's eyes darkened into a fiery crimson while the gold in his hair darkened to match- a blood red color that reminded Dipper of Hell itself. Bill's hands turned to fists and blue fire started to spark all around, catching the trees and setting them ablaze.
Dipper curled in on himself, trying to make himself smaller in hopes that Bill wouldn't target him next.
He hoped he was right for a second...or was it third? Time again today.
Bill won't hurt me. Bill won't hurt me. Dipper chanted in his mind.
"̢̛͝P҉̢͞i̵̶͞n͏é̸̷͝ ̸̵̧̢T̡͜͠͞͝r̨̡͡ę̶̸̀͘e͏̡͝.̴̸"̷̸̵͢͜ ̀͢ Bill finally uttered, his voice almost to distorted to make out.
Dipper glanced up and flinched, letting out a small scream at how close the god was to him. At some point, Bill had climbed back up to his feet and summoned his cane. The god towered above him like before, bent slightly at the waist, head blocking out the little sun seen behind the green clouds that swirled above.
"I'll b-break you out next t-time I see you I promise! I'll c-come back Sunday! Promise! I'll s-sneak out when no o-one's looking and b-break you o-out!" Dipper shouted out, stuttering as he did so.
Bill's rage lessened slightly in the form of him pulling back some, fires around them dying out a little.
"̵͏͠F̕҉i̧̛͜͝n̶͟͠e͘҉.̨̧̀͝͠"̨̢͠͝҉ Bill growled. Literally growled.
Dipper didn't need any more initiative than that. He could tell Bill was barely restraining himself from lashing out at everything.
He sprinted back to the school.
Though Dipper was frightened of Bill in that state- he'd never seen him so angry- he couldn't get angry himself at the god. After all, besides him, who else did Bill have? Tad couldn't visit- he'd start dying.
Bill only had him.
Dipper ignored the warmth that spread in his heart at the thought. Now was not the time to start blushing and acting like a lovesick idiot.
So he ran. Past the trees, past the underbrush, through the treeline, past the construction of a fence, across the parking lot all the way back into school, backpack slamming against him the entire time, lungs heaving out breathless huffs.
Once he was back inside the building, Dipper dived into the nearest bathroom, washing himself up to get rid of his red face and sweat.
~~0~~0~~0~~
As soon as Pine Tree left the forest, Bill whipped around and blipped to the deepest and farthest part of the woods, back near where that dreadful seal was.
It was there- far away where no human could see him- where Bill let his rage out.
He scorched acres of woodland, frying animals and creatures to ashes. Literally nothing but ashes. He screamed and cursed in every language he knew, which was to say, quite a lot. He stomped and spit and burned more, shooting ethereal blue fire high in the sky in a bid to leave a mark on the firmament itself.
It was impossible to burn the sky, of course, but Bill did succeed in parting and destroying some of the green clouds above.
Panting from the exertion of his powers, Bill slowly winded down, his anger fed in the destruction he raged. Around him, trees were nothing more than twisted carcasses of their former selves, blackened and crumbling. The soil underfoot fared no better, it too was charred beyond repair. No grass or flowers would ever be able to grow again.
The stench of burning flesh rose up beyond everything else. Blood had bubbled away and skin broiled. Brains melted and bones cracked. Everything living had turned to either scorched and thin barely recognizable corpses or pure ash itself.
Nothing could stand in the wake of Bill Cipher's legendary anger. Nothing. At. All.
Not even a human boy he inexplicably and irrationally cared so much about.
Bill collapsed onto the ground, finally spent. Slowly, his hair melted back into gold and the crimson in his eye faded away.
Through his rage, Bill felt the smallest sparks of joy and excitement.
He was going to be freed. The god didn't doubt his sapling's sincerity.
He would be free. And he and his Pine Tree could be together.
Forever.
He'd make sure of it.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Ah~ How many of you expected for Bill to act like this? Anger, possessiveness and fluff all in one chapter. Wonderful.
Just to let you guys know, if you can't read what Bill is saying, you can either send me a PM and I'll translate for you, or you can simply go onto AO3, copy the text, then search 'Zalgo text generator' in google, paste it, and uncheck all the boxes and you'll get the text. I personally can still read it, but if you can't that's what you can do.
In other news, has anyone seen the new promo?! Like, agh! So excited! And Grunkle4Grandpa theory has been proven to be true! This changes EVERYTHING.
It actually seriously does 'cause now I have to- oh, that might be kinda spoilery. Oh well.
BlueStar29- And here's some more!
MindfulThoughtlessness- Hehe, no worries! This isn't about 2 stupid teens who fall into lust with one another! And thank you very much! I always have trouble with getting the characters to feel emotional, mainly because I'm not so sure how to word it.
yaoifangirl1232- Haha, same! Only child right here as well that has similar traits to both Dipper and Mabel! Anyways, I think this chapter answered your question for you!
acekanigirl- Haha, thank you! Looks like you were (kinda) right about one thing, which is really cool! Congrats! As for your other theories...only time will tell ;)
WOO- I like how everyone assumes that Bill is just going to go off and slaughter everyone... not saying that won't happen and not saying it will, however.
Myterious Rose- Oh, Dipper. He really needs better hygiene, doesn't he?
meow meoww- Oh gosh, thank you!
JackieLanternXOXO- Oh, I'm sorry. Everything will turn out the way it turns out...don't want to give away the ending! And Dipper did run in this too, so there you go!
The Raccoon- ;)
random name- Hehe, it's fine! It's supposed to be emotional. *hands tissue* don't cry, you'll need those tears for later~
Wildtail of Wind- Not so sure how the top hat will work...maybe flick it off with your ears? I don't know...And yes, it can and will be done! Lots of pretty much everything is coming up so be prepared. And don't forget about the sequel afterwords, of course!
familiar fan- Aw, thank you! I'm glad you're liking it. Next four (now three) will be exciting!
Guest- Oh, thank you so much! Hehe, if I put anymore in, this will become even more pedophilia than it already is...I can honestly say I'm surprised for not getting hate because of that so far.
Just-Gold- Hope this chapter was up to your expectations!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this emotional chapter!
And as always, thanks for reading!