SpongeBob went to his house and tucked the silver trident away. He felt exhausted like he had gone a few weeks without a good night's sleep. So he took off his two regular day clothes and changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, set his alarm, and turned off the light in the bedroom. He climbed into bed with a soft yawn.

"Good night, Gary," SpongeBob chirped.

SpongeBob drifted off into sleep and started dreaming.

He dreamed of a place that seemed to be a patchwork of places Spongebob had seen in his life; all laid out beneath him like a blanket of his life. He saw his house, the Krusty Krab, Jelly Fish Fields, his friend's homes, and Shell City. But what perplexed him was the border of this odd sight was visibly frayed, as if the very fabric of his reality was unstable and damaged.

SpongeBob flew over to this edge for a closer look, but then he spotted Bill. He seemed to have been waiting for SpongeBob. Except, Bill wasn't just a triangle anymore. He had a tall black top hat and a spiffy black bowtie on a brick-like body. He also had black limbs.

SpongeBob greeted him cheerfully, "Hey, Bill!"

Bill replied, "Hiya, pal!"

SpongeBob noted, "You look different."

Bill said, "Why, thank you for noticing."

Bill turned away from SpongeBob to the frayed seams of their world.

Bill said, "I couldn't help but notice that the fabric of your reality is being unraveled bud."

SpongeBob replied, "I noticed that too; I bet it's because Bubbles is trying to rewrite my past."

Bill turned back to SpongeBob and said, "Hey, If you want me to, I can help you fix it."

SpongeBob reassured, "Oh, there's no need for that; I could probably fix it on my own if I needed to."

Bill said, "Prove it."

SpongeBob summoned a thread and needle and floated down to the frayed seems. He used his sewing needle to stitch back together the frayed seams.

Bill watched in detached amusement.

When SpongeBob finished, he came back up to Bill.

SpongeBob said, "Tada! All fixed!"

Bill scoffed, "That's not going to stay fixed for long."

SpongeBob asked, "Then what are you going to do to make it more permanent?"

Bill replied, "Oh, you'll just have to wait and see. But first, I have a small favor I'd like to ask of you."

SpongeBob asked, "What sort of favor?"

Bill answered, "Your friend Sandy is pretty smart; she made herself a nice weak portal. I ask that you give her the schematics to a more powerful portal so I can come over and fix your dimension!"

SpongeBob asked, "Why can't I just give you the power to cross into any realm you wish?"

Bill was caught off guard, "Wait, you can do that?"

SpongeBob replied, "Oh, sure!"

SpongeBob summoned a bottle of bubble soap.

"Close your eyes," SpongeBob instructed.

Bill was a bit on guard but obeyed. SpongeBob blew a small blanket of sudsy bubbles onto Bill; his entire body was covered. The instant they all popped, Bill felt blessed with a new power.

"You can open your eyes now," Spongebob said.

Bill listened, and he opened his eyes again.

SpongeBob then asked, "Where did you even come from?"

Bill answered truthfully, "Oh, I'm from the Nightmare Realm, where I rule as King."

SpongeBob said, "Huh, neat!"

Bill was surprised and asked, "Doesn't that freak you out?

SpongeBob retorted, "Why should it?"

Bill couldn't answer without making himself look very bad.

Spongebob asked, "Do people assume you're evil because of your title?"

Bill answered, "Uhh, yeah! I hate it when they do that."

SpongeBob asked, "Do you know who Confucius is?"

Bill gave it some thought, allowing the question to pass through his mind's prism before he spoke.

Bill answered, "Of course I know him; he's me!"

Bill was caught off guard by this answer. It was the correct answer, but it needed to make more sense to him. He was telling the truth, but it felt like it had been eons since this specific truth came from him. For the first time in his life, Bill felt confused.

Bill quietly remarked, "This is a new feeling."

SpongeBob gasped in fear, "Doesn't that make you evil?"

Bill said, "My siblings just don't understand what it's like to be me."

Bill couldn't believe the words that just left him. He felt like these answers were from a long-buried past, but simultaneously, he felt powerless to hide them again.

SpongeBob asked, "What is it like to be you?"

Bill admitted, "As much as I like the Nightmare Realm and what it's become, it's not my home. I think my home is still somewhere else out there somewhere. I can't belong there or anywhere. I'm a living enigma."

Bill had to resist slapping himself for admitting something so personal.

SpongeBob offered, "Maybe you make yourself a place to call home. I can give you a blank dimension where you can build your own home. That way, you don't have to keep looking for one."

Bill asked, "And what are you getting out of this?"

SpongeBob thought momentarily before cheerfully replying, "The satisfaction of making my friend happy."

Bill was surprised at this reply.

SpongeBob then gave Bill a blank piece of paper with a wink.

Bill took it with annoyance and said, "Thank you."

SpongeBob smiled and said, "Of course, Friend."

Bill then took the page, and to his amazement, it wasn't just a piece of paper. It was a paper-sized hole in space and time peeking into a dimension perfect for Bill to mold how he liked.

Then, the sound of SpongeBob's alarm blasted through the dream.

SpongeBob said, "Bye, Bill, I hope I'll see you again soon!"

Bill waved goodbye as the dream faded away.

SpongeBob slowly awakened to turn off his alarm. He yawned and stretched out.