Dipper's eyes shot open, not feeling the least bit tired. He lay in his bed for a moment, checking to his left for Mabel. He saw that the bed was vacant of her and Waddles. He assumed that she might have had to go to the bathroom, or might have needed a drink. Waddles might have woken up when she did and could have waddled off with her. He realized that the room was in scales of grey, and came to the conclusion that he was dreaming. He slid himself out of bed and looked around, taking in his dreamscape.
"wEll, wELL, weLL. iF IT IsN'T PiNE TRee!"An all too familiar chilling voice echoed around him.
Dipper's expression soured, recognizing the voice in an instant. "What do you want now, Bill?" He snapped at the unseen demon.
"yoU kNOw, aNOtHEr mEAT sUiT WouLdn't HuRT. buT I knoW yOu wOuLDN't sTrIKE tHaT deAL WITh ME aGaiN!"The demon laughed, still unseen.
"How about you face me? It's rude to not look at someone when they're speaking," Dipper growled.
Bill appeared beside him, surprising the boy out of his skin as he draped an arm over the human's shoulders. "I sEe thAt You'VE STaRted LookiNg fOR THE sEal Of SOLOMOn. NEVEr COulD stanD the GUY. STILL cheERing fOR saKHr. WELL, suPrISInG enoUGH, YOu WERE prEtTy CLosE tO IT eARliER!"He lengthened his arm, turned it around and jabbed Dipper in the shoulder. "shame YOU cAn'T JUMp tHAt far, piNE tRee!"
"Wait, how do you know about the Seal of Solomon and why are you so interested in me getting it?" Dipper questioned, confused.
Bill gave him a sidelong glance, his single large eye flat as it expressed faint irritation. "kID, yOU SeEm To Have fORgOTtEn THAt i kNOW evErythINg."He brought himself around facing Dipper and retracted his arm. He summoned his cane, leaning against it in the air, expression lightening. "aNd ThAT'S BeSIdes tHE pOINT. tHE pOInt IS, Is tHat I cAN Help yOU, piNE trEE."
A thought had occurred to him at this moment, quick as a flash. "Actually, now that you're here, I have a question."
"oOh, PiNE TreE hAs a qUeSTion!"Bill exclaimed, feigning excitement. "wEll You MigHt geT an aNSWeR."
"You claim to know everything, right?"
"tHAT's bEcAusE I do, pIne tREe. Get oN wItH It."Bill brushed the statement away, rolling his singular eye.
"I'm getting there!" Dipper snapped. "...Well since you know everything, then you would know the whereabouts of the Journal. So why didn't you go straight to where it was and destroy it when you stole my body?"
Bill stared at Dipper, silent, frozen where he floated. Dipper couldn't tell, but it seemed that the demon was getting taller and taller. His eye stayed, unblinking. Dipper wasn't sure if Bill was getting bigger, or if he was feeling smaller as he stared into the demon's pupil. Dipper couldn't say how long this went on, but he finally found his voice. He deciding to return to the topic of the ring and never touch this subject ever again. "How can you help me?" Dipper asked in a squeaky voice, feeling the intense urge to run.
Bill returned to his "normal" state, if that state was possible by him, and floated back a bit. "i GIvE yOu ThE abiLIy tO RetrIEve yOUr ring ANd you gIve me a SuBJEct."He responded, acting like Dipper hadn't asked anything else aside from the ring and his offer.
"Wait, subject? What do you mean by subject, and are you doing?"
"YOu KnOw, a TEst sUBJeCT! I'M tRyiNG a FEW things OUt. And DoN'T WOrRy, i wON'T PErfoRM a bodY swAp, so YOU CaN stop wOrryING About tHat."
Dipper's expression showed his momentary shock. He had forgotten that Bill could read minds. He made a quick recovery. "What exactly are you going to do, Bill?" He bit out, regaining himself.
Bill let his cane disappear, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "gEez kId, cOOL your JeTS. it's JUsT SOME SiMpLE TrAnSfoRmaTioNs! NO NEED to Get YOUr BrAncHEs in A kNOT."Bill laughed at the swelling anger in the boy.
"The answer is still no, Bill. Now get out of my head." Dipper glowered, arms crossed as he puffed up his chest in indignation.
"alL righT, pine Tree. i've HAD My fUN foR tHe nIgHT."The demon floated up, turning around. He snapped, a gaping hole appearing ahead of him. Floating to it, he turned back to Dipper. "oH, AnD ONe MoRe tHING. trY to scReaM As LoUD as You cAn."The demon cackled and snapped his fingers.