In the middle of the comforting hug, Dipper suddenly felt something troubling him. "Wait, how come...? I'm feeling an extra arm touching me...?"

As he kept his eyes closed, he hears Bill's voice half-tauntingly saying... "Just open your eyes to find out!"

He slowly opens his eyes, kinda worried, and looks a little above his head. He sees a sight he wished he would never see again, ever... "Bill..."

Bill is floating with his triangular form, touching Dipper's shoulder. His presence takes so much of the boy's attention that he no longer thinks about the question he was wondering seconds ago.

"Been a while since you've been able to admire my true form, eh, Pinetree? You love to see it, don't you?" He's teasing the kid, who, despite the genuine moments from before, still isn't very comfortable about it.

Mabel insists in reassuring him. "It's all good, Bro bro..."

And right after that, he hears... "Yeah, don't worry... Everything's fine!" He turns his head, and the one who just said that turns out to be... Samuel himself, not being under Bill's control anymore.

He stares at his friends eyes, they are back to normal. To say that Dipper is shocked would be a massive understatement. "S-Samuel? But how? How are you... here...? As yourself...?"

Sammy just smiles in a genuine expression that Dipper hasn't seen on that face in a while. "Don't worry, my friend..."

Dipper still feels forced to say from his panic. "... You're... You're not... suddenly gonna turn around... and show that you're Bill... right? RIGHT?"

Bill is a bit annoyed by the stupidity of the question and floats downwards, next to Samuel's face. "I'm floating right here, Pinetree! It's obviously Fuzzball himself!"

The brown-haired boy stares that the floating demon in disbelief. "How did you... bring Sammy back?"

The triangle being gives a straightforward answer. "He never completely left. He was somehow in there the entire time!"

Dipper can't believe it. "But... But you said... That he was gone forever... That you replaced him..."

Bill acts smug and sarcastic about this. "Oh I did, uh? Did I lie? Oh, silly me..." He cackles after that.

Dipper is shocked and annoyed, but Samuel grabs his shoulders. "The deal was that I'd become a vessel for him. But that didn't mean erasing me. I was there, I just... let him do as he pleases for a little while"

This kindness and feeling of reassurance... is something he hasn't felt in a long while, and he speaks with a lot of relief. "You were, always, in there...?"

Samuel feels guilty. "Yes, and... Mason, buddy, I'm sorry I had to injure your body to get Bill out..."

Mabel is quick to reassure him from her own experience. "I had to do it once too, so it's probably okay."

Samuel is confused about this, but Dipper can't help but smile as he witnesses his friend being himself again. "I accept your apology, and he explained it to me... He forced you as a trick, so I understand... So you made that deal in order to heal me."

"Yes, but also... As I accepted, I had him promise that he wouldn't endanger you and your sister..."

Dipper gets positive emotions flowing through his body. "You made that deal... mainly for our sake...?"

Samuel nods. "Sacrificing most of my will was worth it to ensure that he wouldn't get you in danger... I care about you guys wellbeing that much!" After a pause, he adds "I really wanted you safe..." Suddenly, he blushes. "Also, this was one heck of a way for you to find out about... that..." He looks away, losing his smile a bit.

Bill shrugs. "Sorry kid, blame the girl for being too emotive and selling the secret." Mabel stares at him annoyingly, causing him to answer. "Hey, you started it by getting freaked out over me knowing, you know? Not my fault, Shooting star!" Mabel can't deny he has a point, but still.

Dipper acts understanding to his friend. "Why... Why didn't you tell me that?"

Sammy is very emotive about it. "I wanted to wait... and see how genuine these feelings could become... because... because I'm really scared..." He doesn't even dare to make eye contact.

And as Dipper is confused and worried, his sister continues the explanation to ease Sammy's mind. "He was worried that should things not work out, it could ruin our friendship. Not just between the two of us, but... Between you boys as well... He was scared that it'd make our relationship uncomfortable."

"Oh, so that's what you were thinking..." Dipper looks at his friend and speaks very honestly. "No matter what happens, we won't let that affect our friendship, okay? If you end up dating Mabel, and even if it ends up not working... We'll work through it. I don't want to lose your friendship either..."

Samuel feels a lot better from hearing that, and the two boys give themselves a hug of comfort.

Bill breaks the silence from the scene with a fairly sarcastic and mocking "Aww, ain't that cute...?", just to see Pinetree's reaction

And as he expected, Dipper looks at him annoyed before looking at his friend again. "If you don't mind, I think Mabel and I need some more explanations..."

Mabel indeed finds it odd that Bill has just been... floating there, without doing anything bad except some mockery. "Yeah, we'd like to know what's been going on between you two."

And Sammy adds. "I understand, and I think... you owe me some explanations too..."

The three kids sit in the bedroom, while Bill just keeps floating silently, crossing his legs and putting his hands under his back with a relaxed stare.

Samuel asks a straightforward question. "So, this guy seems to have personal history with you two... How...?"

His friends look ashamed for a bit. "As it turns out, we did hide some things that happened during our vacation from you...", implies Dipper.

"Or a lot of things...", adds Mabel.

Trying their best to not do a story that's too long, the twins let their best friend know about most of the crazy stuff that happened during their summer vacation, switching sides to narrate, sometimes arguing about minor details, but they try to explain as much as they can without being too long. Then they get to the point of the question and let him know about their encounters with Bill and what happened with him. All the while, Samuel is entirely speechless. If he didn't meet Bill himself with some first hand experience about how he is, he could think his friends are taking him for a giant fool.

His only answer once they're done is... "It all sounds like it comes out of some stupidly bad cartoon..."

Mabel is quick to answer, fully agreeing on that. "I know, right?".

"So, you understand why we didn't tell you anything, at first. Right...?" Dipper is uncertain.

"Don't worry, I understand." Samuel wants to be as reassuring as he can.

All the while, Bill just floats there in silence, watching his fingers and waiting for things to move along. He couldn't help but feel annoyed about being reminded of the failure of weirdmageddon, but he does his best not to show it.

Dipper is quick to ask, staring at Bill for a few seconds. "So now we know how you met him, as well as how and why you made that deal together. But there's something I don't get... Bill is being... odd since then..."

Mabel adds. "Yeah, I mean, he's showcased regrets, affection, apologies, maybe even some cuteness. It's so unlike a monster like him."

"HEY!", yells Bill to remind them of his presence.

Samuel answers. "Well, you know how our deal went. Since then, we're more or less chained together by magic. He can't go too far away from me anymore now that he can use my body as a vessel."

Dipper ponders after hearing the information. "But would that explain...? Just a couple weeks ago, he would've tried to harm us or scare us away just for being in the same room as him."

Bill then moves forward at blinding speed with a threatening voice. "Oh, since you asked so nicely!" He snaps his fingers and makes a dozen bowling balls appear above the twins, causing them to scream and hug each other while waiting for the impact.

After quivering for a few seconds, they open their eyes curiously, realizing they weren't hurt. The dangerous items just vanished into thin air as they were about to make contact with their bodies.

"Wait, what happened...?", asks a relieved Dipper.

Samuel answers. "It's the deal I made with him. I told you, he can't use his magic to physically harm you anymore!"

Dipper yells at Bill. "WHY DID YOU SCARE US LIKE THAT?".
Mabel is still quivering. "That was terrible..."

Bill acts like he doesn't care. "It was funnier to demonstrate than just reminding you, y'know?"

Dipper looks at Samuel, annoyed. "And you let him do that?".

To that, Sammy answers, apologetically. "I knew what the outcome was going to be, so I thought I wouldn't stop him."

Bill then approaches Dipper's face. "It doesn't mean I can no longer mess with you! I can still do that..." He rubs his head violently. "Whoops, your hair are an even bigger mess now!" He then pinches his cheeks. "See, I can still annoy you, Pinetree!"

Dipper actually... giggles a bit, but hides it as being frustrated and pushes the demon's hands away. "Bill, stop it, you stupid goofball!"

Bill takes offense. "Hey Pinetree, don't be rude!" He approaches the boy, puts his arm around his shoulders and then adds... "... The word you're looking for is gooftriangle!"

The brown-haired boy actually lets out an honest laugh. "That would be more appropriate, yeah!"

Mabel can't believe what she sees. Her brother and the triangular demon himself, genuinely laughing together while making a physical contact. She wishes she could take a picture of that. But then, she suddenly smiles even more as she realizes. "So that means... He might pull pranks, but he won't be able to harm anymore! Bro-bro, this is amazing news!"

Dipper is confused. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Of course! Don't you realize what it means?" She says with conviction. "Bill is no longer a bad guy!"

Bill is unhappy about that statement. "How dare you say such a foolish thing?" He acts grumpy instead of furious, crossing his arms. "I'm still evil, maybe it's just that..." He turns around before adding. "...I got nothing left to lose...?" He appears like he was mumbling to himself there, but he was still heard.

The twins look at each other in complete confusion.

"What... What did you mean with this last part...?", asks Mabel, genuinely concerned.

Bill is furious about having been heard and doesn't want to make himself look even more miserable. "I won't answer!"

"Bill, please be nice...", says Samuel.

"Why would I be nice to them, Fuzzball? Why would I be honest? It's not like they'll want to believe me!"

The human boy then says something... very interesting. "If it makes it easier for you... Use me..."

Bill opens his eye in disbelief, Sammy is serious. So they shake hands and fuse. Seeing the yellow eyes and slit pupils on Samuel again makes Dipper defensive, but Mabel grabs his hand and says. "It's okay... he agreed to that and we know it's temporary..."

Samuel's body sits closer to them, wanting to talk. And Mabel repeats her question in an encouraging, compassionate way. "What did you mean when you said... you got nothing to lose...?"

Bill starts to talk, the human breath he uses is very shaky. "Do you have any idea what it feels like... To be very close from achieving your lifetime's dream...? To finally have access to your version of paradise...? Only to have it taken away from you...? Do you know what it's like to be an all-knowing powerful demon... and be outdone by a bunch of humans?" As he speaks, he feels more and more human feelings, and it feels like he could break down crying at any moment as he gets more and more frustrated with each word. "Do you know how it feels to get a new home for you and your friends, only for it to be undone and be separated from those friends forever...?"

The twins look at themselves, feeling confused, worried, surprised... A lot of things together. And Dipper asks. "Your friends, you mean... Those creatures you sent to the town when the rift was opened? They weren't minions?"

Bill starts crying through Samuel's body as he's reminded of the Henchmaniacs. "Of course not! They were my friends! And now I lost contact with them forever..."

Mabel touches Samuel's body with a lot of sorrow in her voice. "I'm sorry that happened, Bill..."

Despite his feelings about Bill, Dipper cannot completely disagrees. Losing your closest friends isn't something he'd wish to his worst enemy.

Bill reacts with sarcasm. "Yeah right, you're sorry... Next thing you'll say is that you feel bad for ending Weirdmageddon..."

Mabel admits... "Well, maybe..." Knowing her brother would disagree, she immediately adds... "I mean, I don't agree with terrorizing people, turning them into statues, causing destruction, but... if all you needed was a new home for you and your friends... maybe there would've been a way for things to work out differently..."

Her brother is obviously conflicted about all of this, but he can't deny that his sister is making some good points.

Bill asks, very interested. "So if I was to recreate Weirdmageddon... Would you let me do?"

This felt like a threat, and Mabel doesn't hesitate. "Of course not!"

"Yeah, figures..." Bill groans through Samuel. "So much for understanding, am I right...?"

Mabel continues, speaking more seriously than she usually does. "You might have had some noble desires for you and your friends, but it doesn't give you the right to invade a dimension and cause misery for everyone there, just for the sake of your amusement! Would you like it if, out of nowhere, your home was destroyed forever?"

Bill feels yet another new feeling in the human body. It's a feeling of pain that he takes no fun in. Mabel's question was like a needle in his heart. "No, I wouldn't... I know what it's like..." The girl gasps as he continues. "I did lose my home dimension, my family and my friends there. And I don't have any way to go back to this life..."

Bill does hide a lot of details here. But even still, his grief is a very deeply hidden sincere emotion he doesn't showcase. Hearing this, Mabel tries to reach Samuel's hand for comfort.

Seeing all this, Dipper feels forced to remind her. "Mabel, don't forget... he tried to get us eliminated if it meant world domination success for him!"

"Yeah, about that..." he says through Samuel's body, not daring to look at them. "I got... something to confess... Something difficult..."

Dipper raises his eyebrow in disbelief, fearing a bit, but he stays silent to let him continue.

"It's true I caused you a giant scare, chasing you, swearing I'd have you destroyed. But, here's the thing... It was all a giant act to begin with..."

Dipper gets angry about being reminded, and even more hearing that. "So you toyed with our lives... FOR FUN?"

Samuel cries harder and Mabel looks at her brother. "Please let him talk... I think... there's something else to that..."

Bill speaks through Samuel's body, having very troubled breath every few words, and trying his best to hold back tears. "I wanted Sixer... to help me... I needed his help... to expand Weirdmageddon... And this stubborn fool wouldn't accept... no matter what I tried... Kindness, menace... and even..." He has a lot of trouble saying the following. "... even... torture... nothing worked... So I thought my only chance left... was to threaten you two... I never truly meant to do what I said... It was all a ruse in hope that Fordsy would give up to protect you and help me... And if he did... I would've let you go..."

Dipper is still very doubtful... However, Bill might be a giant trickster and manipulator, in a human body, there is no way he could fake these feelings. So, much to his surprise, he states. "I believe you..."

Mabel definitely did not expect to hear her brother say that either, and Bill ends up leaving Samuel's body, as he's done enough explaining. So the kid gets control of his body back while Bill just floats looking away, out of shame for what just happened.

Sammy's first reaction is to wipe the tears. He doesn't completely know what happened, but based on his teary eyes and his friends reactions... there were some very heavy topics being talked about. So he asks. "You guys are okay? He didn't mess with you, right?"

His friends are reassuring. "No, it's fine... we are just... very surprised of what he said.", answers Mabel. She also thinks. "And what my brother said..."

Dipper starts speaking again. "I would like to ask something more, Bill... What is...?"

His question gets cut short when his friend Sammy looks at the time. "Oh shoot, I should really hurry home now! Sorry, guys!"

They don't mind that their friend has to go, but Dipper finds it unfortunate as he had a very important question. Still, he's very happy to see that Bill didn't outright get rid of his best friend, and the three kids hug goodbye.

"Come, Bill...", says Sammy. Bill doesn't answer or says any sort of goodbye to the twins. He just vanishes into a shadow following his vessel.

Once she's alone with him, Mabel brings up the topic for the final time of the day, as she can't get over what her brother said. "You said... you believed and understood him? I never thought..."

Dipper nods and doesn't really want to talk about it. "I'm mostly glad our friend isn't gone. But maybe Bill is... different..."

Author notes: Huge things have been set in this chapter, and it's gonna start an arc that will last for pretty much the rest of it. I hope you're looking forward to that.

Also, sorry to anyone who might've been expecting that, but I have no plans to make Mabel/Samuel a thing. I needed a knowledge that Bill could use to scare her and I thought this was the best option. So as far as the story will be concerned, they're purely gonna remain as "closest friends".

As always, thanks for reading.