Nighttime arrived. At the Pines' bedroom, Mabel is already sleeping with a lot of peacefulness in her mind, after finding out that Samuel still has free will, and that Bill won't do anything horrible anymore. But Dipper remains awake... while he does feel some relief... he can't help but find the entire situation incredibly weird.
"It's not like it could be another trick, can it...?" He takes some time to think about it. "Samuel would never allow it to be one... and him not harming us is something Bill HAS to do as his share of the deal..." He starts relaxing, but just before falling asleep, he thinks... "I'd better be careful, but maybe... maybe tomorrow will be bright..."
Meanwhile, in Samuel's bedroom, the boy is sleeping very deeply. After all, through the host in control of his body, today was a very eventful day of showcasing emotions, so that was definitely expected that his body would need to recover.
Bill just floats around, managing to not glow too much to not disturb. In a way, he dislikes the night. Most humans are using it to recover their strenght, but a being of pure energy has no need to replenish it... So he just stays there being bored. "Ugh, humans are annoying with their snoring...", he complains to himself.
He approaches his vessel, trying to find a way to stop it. He tries to touch his hair to wake him up. "Hey Fuzzball..." He talks too quietly for that and instead, it has the effect of causing an asleep Sammy to grab his hand in his sleep. Bill starts yelling. "HEY, LEMM..." he stops himself for now. Yelling him awake would be a bad idea and a good way to make him angry, while he could get away lying after using a gentler method. So he just stays there on the bed and groans, his right arm being stuck in that position.
"There must be something I can do about this..." He starts thinking and realizes... in a way, he's being treated like a plush right now. So he uses his telekinesis magic to grab a piece of the bedsheet, and very carefully makes an exchange in his grasp. He floats away quickly and sees the human didn't wake up. "That was close..." He's still as annoyed as before, however, which makes him feel frustrated. "This is boring, I need some fun!" Saying this, he turns into an ominous shadow, entering Samuel's mindscape.
Bill travels inside Samuel's mind. The place consists of a recreation of his home being set very close to important places of his life. The yellow demon is used to travelling through minds and he starts exploring the doors. He approaches a door in particular... "I have a feeling this one is recent..."
He opens the door and finds the scenery to be a mostly empty street on late May from earlier this year. He sees from above the twins with a lot of bags, waiting in a bus stop that's completely empty except for the two of them. The bus finally arrives.
Dipper speaks with some uncertainty. "Well, here goes..." But as the kids were about to board...
"MABEL! DIPPER!" The two turn around to see where the voice comes from. Samuel has been riding his bike and is visibly exhausted.
"Sammy? What are you doing here?", asks a surprised Dipper.
The boy quickly gets off the bike and removes his helmet. He appears very emotional. "Your parents just told me... You guys are leaving...? for the ENTIRE SUMMER?"
Mabel nods. "Yeah, it's a bit sudden for us too, but what can we do?"
Her friend acts frustrated. "And you didn't tell me goodbye, or even warn me...?"
Dipper is embarassed. "Well, as she just said, it was awfully sudden... I'm sorry."
The bus driver, while not being a jerk about it, is forced to remind the passengers. "Kids, you have to enter or we'll be too off-schedule."
Samuel realizes this and says. "Oh, sorry Sir, my fault... I promise it'll take just a minute!" He hugs his friends, saying softly. "I'll be fine... Promise me to have fun... and I'll be happy!"
After a short warm hug, the two kids enter the bus, and Samuel waves cheerfully at them as it departs, holding a big smile. "Have a great summer, guys!" His waves are being returned, and then, as the bus is out of view... his smile breaks slowly, and he starts sobbing for a little bit before he's able to move on... "I... I'll be fine..."
Bill stares at the entire memory from above, feeling conflicted. "That's weird... Usually, human misery like this always get an amusement out of me... Yet I feel empty right now..."
He leaves the memory thinking... "It seems he really cares about these two... I wonder..." He goes to explore beyond and finds himself in what looks like a school, but not the one he's visited while possessing him. It seems like a different one, and he finds a memory door larger than most, posing as a school gate and being brightly lit.
"It looks like he values this memory a lot. Let's see..."
As he pushes the door, he finds himself in a kindergarten playground, with kids all over the place. "Ugh, too many people around..." Bill thinks to himself, adding "Looks like I need a disguise..." He morphs into a blonde kid with bangs covering his right eye. He's wearing a black shirt with a triangle on it. "Okay, that should do...", and he starts walking around. Then, near a door from which some kids go by to go to recess, he hears...
"Hey, curly boy, move out of the way!", says an ordering kid voice.
Bill approaches the scene and thinks. "Is that kid...?"
He recognizes a 4 years old Samuel getting pushed around by some other kid. To which his only response is a shy and unassuming "Sorry..." before he moves on without arguing.
He gets a "You better be." as an answer when the kid leaves.
Bill thinks. "Wow, he's a little too nice for his own good... You could walk all over him and he still wouldn't fight back. Um..."
Before he's able to be lost in thoughts, he follows little Samuel from a distance, seeing him sitting alone with nothing to do. But it doesn't last, because his attention is then taken by some sound.
He starts moving until he finds an unpleasant sight... A brown-haired boy is breaking down in tears in front of another kid, while a girl the same age is trying her best to comfort him.
Bill follows and thinks to himself... "Is that Pinetree and Shooting star? What's going on?"
The young Samuel has reached the two as they were talking to another kid. He asks the boy "What's wrong?"
The kid in front of them is mocking little Mason Pines. "Nothing, it's just that this guy can't handle the fact that he looks weird! He won't accept being told that!"
As Mason keeps crying, Samuel gets curious. "He... looks weird? I don't know what you mean, but it's not nice to say this kind of things! You should leave him alone instead of acting like a big meanie!"
The kid gets threatening to Sammy. "Don't tell me what I have to do, okay?"
The boy feels quite nervous, he never did fend for himself before, but seeing this kid's tears gives him the courage to speak up. "I know it's not my job to do that, but I can call a teacher to tell what you've done, and you'd get punished for making a classmate cry." With some fear in his stomach, he concludes. "Do you want that or will you leave him alone?"
The kid groans and walks away, as Samuel's first instinct is to check on the boy.
4 years old Mabel is relieved. "Oh wow, thank you! I was too worried to tell him such a thing... You're brave!"
Samuel is bothered by the compliment. "Aww, don't exaggerate, I'm not that courageous..." He looks at the boy. "Are you okay?"
Mason puts his head up, looking very emotional. He nods, trying his best to stop crying. "Uh... um... yeah..."
Samuel gets frustrated. "What even was this guy's deal anyway...?"
The brown-haired boy looks rather sad again. "I'll show you... I was born with... this..." He raises his front hair while looking away in shame, expecting a bad reaction.
Samuel is taken aback as he sees the mark. "Wow, that's, well... unusual." Mason knew this would cause this reaction, and he looks away, expecting more negativity to come. But what he hears isn't what he expected. "It's not gross, or ugly!"
"U-uh...?" Mason looks up at the other kid's face.
"It might be difficult to bear at times, but there's nothing wrong with having something special or odd about yourself. And... in a way, it's kinda pretty. My dad made me observe the stars not too long ago, and it reminds me of a set of stars that he has shown me. I think he said that it's called... Big Dipper." Something just hits him. "Oh, I know! How about... I call you Dipper?"
The kid isn't convinced. "Um... wouldn't that be... mocking me...? Because... several kids mock my birthmark and call me stuff like that..."
Samuel is cheerful about it as he explains his logic. "In fact, not. If we use it as a friendship and affectionate nickname, it will no longer work as an insult or mockery!"
Mabel cheers. "Oh wow, this is an amazing idea! If we call you Dipper, it'll help you grow a new confidence about it! What do you think?"
The kid is confused, but the enthusiasm doesn't really allow him to decline. "Well... we can give it a try... I suppose..." He has a faint smile.
"Awesome! Glad to meet you, Dipper!" He extends his arm towards the other kid.
"Um... it'll take some getting used to, I guess..." He giggles nervously. "My actual name's Mason, but yeah, glad to meet you too!" They do a friendly handshake.
Mabel outright can't resist hugging the new friend. "Thanks for what you did for us! I'm his twin sister, Mabel Pines!"
Samuel can't help but crack a small joke. "Your last name's Pines? I couldn't possibly think you two were born in a forest!"
Mason "Dipper" then giggles. "You're funny, um..." He realizes they never caught their new friend's name.
"My name is Samuel Wilkins, but you can call me Sammy if you want! So... Are we best friends now...?" He gives a hopeful smile.
"Of course!" Mabel claims excitedly.
"Yeah, we're friends, now!" Mason smiles honestly.
Samuel's face lights up even more. "Oh, awesome! I... I never managed to make friends before... I'm always too shy, or unable to stand up for myself..."
Mabel looks surprised. "What? But just now, you did something that's the opposite of that..."
Mason confirms. "You were so brave, and confident..."
The girl adds. "I wanted to help my brother feel better, but I couldn't speak up to that kid the way you did... In fact, I never managed to do something like that..."
So their new friend admits. "Well... maybe... I had a good reason to...?" He grows a little shier as he gives his theory. "I didn't like seeing a nice kid like you crying because of someone, I think..."
"Oh..." Mason, or the newly nicknamed Dipper, is really surprised. "Well, we also struggle standing up to ourselves... I... I'm thankful that you thought I was worthy of your courage..." He grabs his friend's hand, this time being the one to cheer up the other boy with a smile.
Samuel gasps. "Oh, so... you two are just like me, then..." He takes some time to think and then a little thought comes to his mind. "How about we make ourselves a promise?"
Mason gets curious. "A promise? Of what kind?"
He answers. "We'll be best friends forever, and... even if our future at school won't always be bright when it comes to interacting with others... We will always be there to bring joy to each other and negate the bad feelings as much as we can." He extends his arm with a closed fist, but grows a little shy as he awaits an answer. "... What... do you say...?"
Mabel immediately touches his fist. "I'll be glad to! Best friends forever, right, Mas... Dipper?" She uses the nickname with an encouraging smile.
The brown-haired boy thinks for a couple of seconds and gives a subdued smile. "Yeah... best friends forever!" He joins the other two.
All this time, the blonde kid that's Bill's disguise was staring silently in disbelief. "He wanted to be a ray of sunshine even at that age, uh...? And do the best for the sake of those two... Even back then... Some people are way too weird to comprehend..."
Bill advances the time in the memory, and he ends up finding the three kids together in the art classroom, using paint. The young Samuel gets an idea and tries to paint the constellation on his forearm. "Look, Dipper, there's nothing to be ashamed of! We're linked now!" This makes Mason laugh.
Bill then declares. "I've seen enough!" and exits the memory.
He finds himself in the mindscape again, thinking "Well, this was interesting... Wonder if I can find anything else of value..."
After some exploring, he ends up finding a door leading to a memory of when the three kids were 8 years old. The scene takes place in the living room of Samuel's home, and the three kids return from the Halloween evening. Samuel is dressed up in a vampire attire, Mason has a detective outfit and Mabel has a dinosaur outfit.
Bill, staying hidden, groans a bit. "Oh, MORE wholesome stuff... Although I must say, Fuzzball looks good in black. It always looks classy!" He adjusts his bowtie as he says that.
The three kids are staring at all the candies they got with a lot of happiness in their faces, as they start sharing.
Eight years old Samuel claims after the sharing is done. "So, I suppose this is it... I could've sworn we had more than that for each..."
Mabel claims. "Well, that's okay, really. I had fun tonight with you guys, and the candies are nice, but the amount isn't the most important thing"
Her brother then says. "Good, so you'll let me pick some of yours?"
"What, no!"
Samuel laughs at this.
Bill stays hidden. "Well, I can affect stuff in the mindscape without consequences for him, so..." out of nowhere... He snaps his fingers to make even more candies appear on the table, while the kids are very happy without questioning. He turns around, justifying to himself. "Triple the candies, triple the cavities!" As he prepares to leave the memory, however, he starts getting worried about something. "Shoot, where did I put my...?"
His questioning is interrupted by younger Samuel's voice. "Ooh, what's that? I've never seen a candy like this. Is it like a licorice candy cane?"
Bill turns around and freaks out "MY CANE!" He reveals as himself to the three kids as himself, acting angry. "THIS IS MINE! GIVE IT BACK!"
8 years old Dipper freaks out. "IT'S A GHOST!"
Mabel is impressed, but she lets the holiday spirit get the best of her. "Nah, it's probably just an elaborate costume, or some projection of some kind. Very convincing!"
Bill ignores the two and stares at Samuel directly. "What you have here is mine, Fuz..." He realizes the nickname wouldn't work in this memory, so he corrects himself. "Vampire-dressed boy... Give it back! ... please..."
Sammy looks in disbelief, not being sure what he sees. He then looks at what he holds. "Oh, that piece of candy was yours?"
Bill reacts without thinking for a bit... "IT'S NOT... well... it's complicated, but I really need it back, so please hand it and I'll leave you alone with your candies."
The kid is confused, but still goes. "Oh, well... okay. Here."
He gives the cane back and Bill holds it very tight. He oddly mutters to it, softly "I thought I lost you...". He then goes back to his senses and tries to say something he's not used to say to the kid. "Um... th... thank you...?"
Samuel nods as Bill exits the memory in disbelief.
As he closes the door, he yells to himself. "What the heck was that? I could've terrorized them and instead I asked... nicely... what a disgrace!"
Suddenly, a very specific sentence from hours ago runs back into his thought process.
"Bill is no longer a bad guy!"
An idea reaches him. "I know what will cheer me up..." He goes back to exploring and tries to find a very recent memory... One that would come from the previous week. So he seeks and ends up finding a door that's barely lit. A dark memory. "Exactly what I was looking for..."
Bill opens the door and finds a recent scene taking place at the Pines bedroom. Samuel is alone facing Dipper, except... it's not his friend in command. Bill floats admiring the memory.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want?" The kid is terrified.
"I know you had that nightmare... Because I caused it! I caused that school incident, as well as your stomach ache! I want you GONE!" Dipper laughs evilly.
[Advancing to later, Samuel's panic is building]
"But maybe you still need... A little more motivation...". He then takes off the friendship bracelet of Dipper and rips the bracelet completely with a sadistic smile, and Samuel feels his heart broken to pieces.
[Advancing to later, Bill revealed himself and Samuel realizes what is done]
"No... Dipper..." He grabs his body with a lot of sorrow. "It can't be..."
"Relax, kid, I can fix that for you..." [...] "How about... we make a deal...?"
Bill stares with... very odd feelings. He was definitely enjoying all the acts and words to trick others in the memory, but looking back... He doesn't feel as satisfied. He feels little to no joy about witnessing this behavior. So he closes the door.
Bill feels some sorrow. And the sentence hits him even harder than before and echoes in his mind, making him angry.
"Bill is no longer a bad guy!" "No longer a bad guy!" "No longer... a bad guy..."
But he convinces himself. "This is ridiculous! Of course I still have a huge pleasure in causing fear, pain and misery! I'll prove it right now!" He floats away quickly, finding the oldest memory yet.
Samuel is only 1 year old, left alone in his baby bed for a nap. And Bill enters the memory, looking at him with a lot of anger. "All I have to do is snap my fingers... and I'll have traumatized that boy with nightmares for an entire lifetime!" So he gets ready, but... he stands in that position for a little bit, his thoughts getting in the way and preventing him from actually snapping.
He hesitates so much that the baby Sammy wakes up and goes to drag Bill in his bed. He mutters stuff that sounds like: "Friend? I like you...", he says with a lot of cheerfulness in his voice, cuddling him like a toy.
Bill is furious and wants to yell to be left alone. So he goes back to preparing to snap his fingers, and ends up doing it... but instead of doing anything terrible... he used his magic to cause a lullaby to magically play so baby Sammy would fall asleep and he could escape, instead of causing harm. This works, and he floats away quickly.
He closes the memory door, standing there panicked for a few seconds before letting a gigantic scream of frustration as he exits Samuel's mind.
In the bedroom, signs of the sunrise are showing, and the alarm clock is about to ring as it shows 6:57am. Bill floats silently with a very frustrated and defeated stare. He thinks about his Weirdmageddon failure, his signs of weakness towards the twins, the way he wasn't able to do anything cruel in the mindscape... and he concludes, souding absolutely broken, more and more with each word.
"Well then, I'm afraid it's official... Shooting star was right... I'm not worthy of being called a demon... I... can no longer... enjoy evil..."
A couple minutes later, the alarm clock rings and Samuel wakes up painfully, unaware of what happened. Just before, Bill entirely vanished from the room, following his vessel around without making himself seen or heard. For now, he doesn't want anyone to see him like this.
Author notes: Well I had a good excuse to make some backstory be told in a natural way, so why not use that opportunity on top of developing a character even more?
I'd say this is one of the story beats that was the most interesting to make, so I hope it was an interesting one to read as well.