Author's Notes: Next part is up! Just in case you guys aren't following the route cause of the events in this chapter and the one before are because Mina stole a page of Bill's spell book back in chapter 30! Which you may not remember since I take forever to update this story. Anyway if there is any confusion, or you just want a refresher go back and read Chapter 30. With that said I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!
(Back with Bill)
Everything was fine…for about five seconds and then Bill sees another version of himself as he races through the hallway on top of his father's throne while wearing one of Mable's sweaters and Pine Tree's hat! The chair itself is being pulled like a sled on the back of a cute little goat.
Wait, that was his mother's goat, Lil Chauncey, he was a childhood pet, what was it doing in his school, and what was with the second him? Before he can ask they are both zooming out of sight. Bill tries to follow only to get distracted as a locker opens to his left, it's Shooting Star's locker and inside of it hangs the sweater he just saw his doppelganger wearing.
"Okay, now even I think this is weird." Bill said as he pulled out the sweater and puts it on. "And I don't mean the good kind."
He looks at Dipper's locker and shrugs. "Might as well go with it." He opens it too and isn't surprised to see the small hat with a pine tree. "Yeah, this isn't creepy at all." He says putting the hat on. He wants to leave it, the hat and the sweater, but they make him safe. It was silly he knows it, but for some reason roaming the pages of his family history made him feel vulnerable. He wished his friends wear here, they always made him feel brave; so sure of himself.
"Axle?" Bill called as he entered the cafeteria. "Ax?" He makes his way to the back kitchen where he sees hamburgers on a conveyor belt. "Oh, burger time." He runs up and picks up hamburger. "Don't mind if I do." He bites into the burger, surprised he can actually taste it. "Mmm. Memory burger." He stops as he hears a bleating sound."Lil Chauncey?"
The goat in question appears running on the conveyor belt which has carried him from the kitchen and towards the open oven.
"Oh NO!" Bill runs after his mother's best friend and manages to save him just in time, picking him up off the conveyor belt and back on the ground safely. "You for a goat, you are not that heavy." He says. He takes a look at the animal more closely. "I'm pretty sure you died on the battlefield, mister!"
Lil Chauncey bleets in response as if that is a good enough answer. Oh yeah totally logical!
Bill starts to get a sickening feeling in his gut as they leave the cafeteria together. He had the Sweater, the hat and now the goat. Was he becoming that other Bill he saw earlier, and if so; What did it all mean?
Suddenly Lil Chauncey bites the hill of Bill's shoe and since the prince was walking the act causing him to face plant into the floor. "Lil Chauncey!"
The little pig goat pulls off the dress shoe and skips away happily.
"Hey that's MINE!" Bill gets up and races after him. "Hey! Lil Chauncey." He chases the goat into Principal Wong's office. He finds the goat in an instant sitting at the desk. "YOU!Gimme back my shoe!" he grabs it "And get down! Sitting like a person. My father would be furious if he caught you sitting in his ch—" He gasped. He now had the sweater, the hat, the goat and now the chair. "Great, this is just great, everything's coming together." He muttered to the goat.
He pressed the loudspeaker button on the Desk "Axolotl, I could definitely use your help. I can't even find my family history because I'm stuck in the School!" The words school echos around the halls and he sighs. "Any ideas?" Bill asked the goat.
Lil Chauncey jumps out of the throne and goes over to the office window. Bill follows and sees Cipher Castle on the school football field. "Well that doesn't belong there." He says to Lil Chauncey. "I thought memories would stay in the pages they belong, but this is a jumbled mess. No wonder he wanted us to stay together." He picks up a fishing-pole and puts a half eaten burger on the lurer before setting up reins up to Lil Chauncey and King Butterfly's chair. Using the burger, Bill sways Chauncey to pull him forward. "Move out, Lil Chauncey! Hyaaah!" He declares, just knowing Axolotl must be at the castle. They race through the hallway, past the corridor from before and…."Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!"
The two halt and back up to see another version of himself as he enter the school. "Okay this is trippy." Bill says. "Who are you?" He asked the other him.
"Bill Cipher" The past Bill says.
"Nuh-uh, you're not." Bill argues. "I'm Bill Cipher!"
"Hey did you find the thing that was missing?" Past Bill asked.
"Not exactly…" Bill answered deciding this version of him was just the book recording the events of his life…which were currently happening within the book? Man this thing was weird. "I found Shooting Star's sweater, Pine Tree's hat, and then dad's chair, and…" He lifts up Lil Chauncey, gruntin "...Lil Chauncey here, but these things belong in the book they're not missing. Albeit they seem to be jumbled up, but still…Say I kind of already get it, but just to be sure I got to ask. Why are there two of us here?"
"Didn't Axle tell you?" Past Bill asked. "If you're inside too long, all your new memories become your old memories until eventually your current timeline is overwritten by the future versions of yourself, like me!"
"Wait... so, you're gonna replace me?" Bill stammered.
Past Bill laughs "Yeah! But don't worry. You'll never know the difference. And neither will anyone else!"
"I gotta go!" Bill flicks the reins and Lil Chauncey takes off again down the hall bringing Bill and the chair along for the ride. "Stay out of my timeline." He yells back at his past self. "please?"
"Okay!" Past Bill says before running into the other, other Bill.
Bill watches both of them. "So now they are both Past me, but before the first one was Future me…." He shakes his head. "Now I know why father says never to time travel, this is a headache." Finally they burst outside and onto the football field where they waste no time reaching the castle.
Suddenly more past Bills come bursting on the scene trying to catch up. Just knowing it would all be over if he allowed them to catch up. Bill urges Lil Chauncey into the castle as the gates open. Once inside he locks the gate close just seconds before the horde of Bills overrun him.
"Got to find Axle." Bill says as they run through the halls a door opens and he enters. " This is the Grandma Room. Oh, I haven't been in here since I was a little baby." He sighs fondly.
Lil Chauncey eats the burger on the end of the fishing pole, and Bill falls over. "Are you nuts?!" He pulls the hamburger out of Chauncey's mouth and tosses it away "There's no eating in the Grandma Room! You'll get crumbs everywhere!"
There's a loud thud and clanking, and the ceiling skylight opens. Bill walks up to the wall to see…"Oh, no-no-no. We got burger juice on the wall rug, Chauncey." When he removes the burger a gust of wind blows up from under him as pedestals rise up out of the floor, including one under his feet. He jumps off the pedestal, and it lights up. Bill walks over to it and sees there's writing. " Kai, Storm King of Illusions…wait Great Great Great Grandfather?" He looks up at the curtain which he realizes now is actually a tapestry and sees the demon in question. Looking more Septarian than humanoid, the lizard-like creature towers over him. Bill squints back down at the pedestal and reads "Trickster of darkness who clouds our judgment, usher in an era of slavery and enlightenment."
Bill looks down the row of pedestals beside him and blinks. "Chauncey I think this is it! I think we found my family history!"
(Back with Dipper)
He never thought shopping could be this traumatizing. "Remember how I said I loath shopping" He asked the girls as they ran through the store looking for a gift. "Well now thanks to this i'm going to need therapy!"
"See something you like, Dipper?" Janna asked.
"Please say yes!" Mabel cried.
"NO!" Dipper echoed her cries with one of his own.
The cursed gift card in question zooms after them, continuing its count down."Nine minutes until expiration."
"What about gourmet hair gel?" Mabel throws the bottle at Dipper.
"Nope!" Dipper catches it and throws it at the card.
"8.5 minutes until expiration." It chimed dodging.
"Who designed this card⁈" He cried as it starts shooting lasers at them. The group runs faster, even though the shots don't come close to hitting them.
"Why do you have to be so picky?" Janna yelled
"I'm not picky. I'm just... highly selective." He screeches to a halt as he sees it! A large sign that says "Your Secrets are Safe with Me." There before him is a wallet on display "The ultimate in privacy. It's even my favorite color. And a thumbprint privacy setting" He laughs maniacally "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." He opens the case.
"It's yours!" Mabel jumps for glee.
"Get it Dip get it!" Janna shouts
Dipper strains to pull the wallet out "It's stuck."
"Sorry sir. That's a display model." The card appears beside him, making him jump. "Five minutes until expiration."
The tree teens take off screaming again.
"We gotta get the Quest Buy sloth employee to help us." Mabel screams.
"Fat chance." Janna retorts but they make their way to the worker's lounge were two sloths are enjoying what appears to be break time. they pound on the window outside, but the door wont budge.
"Stand back." Dipper warns. The girls opey and with a wordless spell the door flies off it's hinges and bangs into the far wall. "I need One of your privacy wallets!" He says grabbing a sloth by the collar.
"Wow, Dipper's kid of hot when he's about to die." Janna realizes.
"Janna focus." Mabel reasoned.
"Uh, well, I am on my break." The sloth began but stopped as Dipper gives an almost animal like growl. "But, sure, let me check." Dipper drops him and the sloth begins his search.
"Can you see if there is one in plum?" Mabel says as Dipper tries to get a hold of himself. "He likes Plum."
"Sorry, looks like we're out of stock." The sloth says as he finishes his search.
Dipper gulps. "No…"
The card appears. "One minute to expiration"
"This is all my fault." Janna cries, surprising them by embracing Dipper. "I shouldn't have used you as an excuse to come back!"
"30 Seconds to expiration…"
Dipper hugs her back. "No I know a lot of this wouldn't have happened if I was easier to shop for."
"15 Seconds to expiration…"
"Oh no you don't!" Dipper stands between the card and her brother. She would protect him and Janna.
"10 Seconds to expiration…9…8" The card sparks electricity as it turns into a energy based phantom. "Preparing to honor expiration."
Mabel braces herself to strike just as a portal appears out of nowhere, the teen lookup, expecting Bill ony to see….
"Not another one." Dipper groaned as a Septarian on a purple cape approaches him.
the Septarian tackles the card figure and throws it aside before advancing on the teens.
Human of Earth, my name is Rasticore Chaosus Disastervaine." Rasticore introduces himself to his prey. "Mr. Hugo sent me…"
"Seriously?" Dipper snaps standing up. "In case you haven't noticed we're about to die!"
"What are you anyway?" Janna asked.
"I am the Muliverse's most feared Bounty hunter." Rasticore answers, lifting his chain saw.
"Of course you are." Dipper moaned.
Rasticore moves into claim his prize "Prepare to …" He screeches as he is electrocuted by the gift card before incinerating to dust.
"Invalid entry. Expiration imminent." The card says as it approaches once more.
Hold it. We do have one more privacy wallet in stock." The worker holds up the box.
Everyone froze and look at him.
"Only, sorry. We don't have it in plum. Just, we have it in, um, Prussian blue."
Dipper runs over and snatches it up so fast he's like a blur. "Oh, it's perfect. Prussian blue is my favorite color. Even more than plum."
"Sheesh." The worker pouts "So dramatic."
The card turns back to normal, somewhat satisfied. "Good doing business with you sir. Contract obligation fulfilled." It turns back to normal and falls to the ground.
"It's nor coming back…right?" Mabel asked the worker hopefully.
The sloth shrugs.
"Burn it in fire!" The Three shout as they move into make sure the job is truly finished.
(Back with Bill)
He looked at the room in wonder, there were so many and how would he know if something was missing?" He guessed he'd just have to go down the line And hope for the best. With that thought in mind he moved over to the next one.
" Ivy the Girl King- "Weak magic haunts the King of constant Lust- And we're moving right along!" Bill skips right over his Great Great grandmother and continues. "Hades the Territory striker- Genocides and Anger that knew no bounds Mutiny and Death was all he found." Bill looked up at the tapestry. "Serves you right." He said before moving on to the next.
"Seth Destroyer of Worlds- Known as the 'One Who Could Not Be Broken', met his destruction with words unspoken…See even this stupid thing says he was destroyed!" Bill kicked the pedestal and yelped, before looking up at his grandfather. "What secrets are you hiding!?" He whispered.
Chauncey bleats and Bill reluctantly moves on over to the next. This one is different from the ones before it. Mostly because the Tapestry shows no demon, but a Maiden with long brown hair and big matching doe brown eyes. She's wearing a long flowing black dress and Bill recognizes her in an instant. "Hey she's in the picture on my wall!" He looks over at Chauncey. "I didn't know she was family, I thought she was some random panting. He looks at Seth and then back at her. "Well I guess we know why we look more human now." He added before reading her pedestal. "Alana Maiden of Darkness- Though beautiful she is far from fair, Oh so cunning, sweet as honey, good doers beware!" Bill looked back up at her with a look of utter astonishment. "And I have had you on my wall for ten years!" Seriously? "Well no wonder you ended up with Seth." Still as interesting as it was to finally have an answer regarding the picture and the woman in it. It was surprising that she was on a pedestal at all, unless…she had a chapter in the book!
It wasn't unheard of for Queens to have a chapter in the book. After all Ivy was a woman, but being born in a time where Queens didn't rule alone the royal family decided to pretend she was a boy for many decades. This however was different, Alana was not born into the family, but married into it. Bill wasn't aware that none-royals of his family had chapters. Was this already a loss cause? The partners of his other past relatives were not here! Were they supposed to be? How would he tell?
Deciding there was only one thing left to do he moved onto the next pedestal. He instantly recognizes that it's his father's "Hannibal the Classy- With the class of a gentleman and new allies, peace was sought. Rebellion and mutiny, your kingdom was bought." Bill flinched. "Ouch." He looks back at Seth. "Look I know he betrayed you but seriously, harsh!"
He moves to the last pedestal only to see that it's chipped, and broken in some areas with only a few words that can be made out. He looks up at the tapestry in hopes for an answer but it's ripped! "This is it!This must represent the page that is missing!" He looks back at his father. No this can't be right, he comes after his father, but the missing page wasn't in his chapter!
Was it Tad? No, that didn't make sense. Tad never owned the spell book or had any magic to contribute to it's pages. Who else could it be? He looks back and Alana 's pedestal catches his eye. Of course! Why didn't he think of it before? He and his father were not the only ones in their household who knew magic.
"Mother?" Bill looks up at the tapestry. "What do I do?" He asked. "How do I fix this? Think…Bill…think." If his mother had a pedestal then that meant she had a chapter, which meant she had to make at least one spell. "Think…Bill…think…What spells did your mother make…think!" The answer comes to him in an instant. There is only one time in history he remembered his mother making a spell…
The Great Demon War!
He knows what's taken, and he knows how to fix it. He places his hands on the pedestal and wilds his magic into it. He was a dream demon, he made the imagination a reality, nothing was impossible for him. He willed the pedestal to mend, and watched the wall as the tapestry glowed as golden threads weaved it back together.
It's his mother in Arctic Maiden battle armor, her blue sword stabbed in the ground at her feet as she keeled on her knees before her fallen army.
Tears clouded his eyes as he looked down and tried to read the mended pedestal before him. "Luisa the Undaunted- The Queen of Ice will long be haunted by her former self Luisa the Undaunted."
His mother's spell was taken, the spell that created her Arctic Maiden, and somehow Bill just knew who was responsible. "Mina!" He growled as a spinning wheel to his right begins to spin.
He turns his eyes, black as midnight at a sound, only to see Axolotl. The spinning Wheel is spinning thread by itself and sews Axolotl and Bill Glossaryck into an incomplete tapestry. Bill's Tapestry! Suddenly the Axolotl moves, peeling himself away from the Tapestry "Do you have any idea how difficult that was?"
"YOU!" Bill hissed as he swats at the deceiving lizard.
"Okay Sorry. Moody." the magical guide huffs.
"Don't you dare turn this on me!" Bill hissed. "YOu lied, How could you possibly not know!" He pointed at his mother's place in the lineup.
Axolotl sighs. "You're right, I knew."
"Then why send me on a wild goose chase!" Bill screamed.
"Now hear me out." Axolotl reasoned. "You never bother learning from which is fine…"
"I swear if you did all this just to teach me a lesson." Bill advances, ready to strike.
"Like it or not I am your guide." Axolotl says. "I am supposed to guide you to the truth, even truths that certain powerful figures may want to keep secret."
Bill stops…looking back at Seth's tapestry. "This is about Toffee and why he wants Dipper, you know!" He points an accusing finger at the salamander. "You've known all along. Tell me now!"
"I'm afraid I can not, I took an oath of silence, we all did, It is unbreakable. I can not utter a word. But the answer is here." He assures him. "You just have to look hard enough."
"And what about Mina?" Bill asked. "I mean I fixed the book, but she still has the original page."
"We must find her and destroy it before it is used. That spell is one of the most powerful in the book. In the wrong hands it could cause devastation far worse than Seth ever did." Axolotl answered.
"Okay." Bill nods "I get why you had to do it this way even if I don't completely understand."
"You will." Axolotl assured him. "Now we need to get out of here before…"
"Before the other mes find away in?" Bill asked.
"You…saw yourself…." Axolotl asked shakenly.
"Uh-huh…" Bill confirmed.
"All right. That's not good. We gotta get out of here. Step into my eyeball. I…" Bill gives him a look. "Y-Yes, that's what I said. Come on. Hop in."
Bill runs to Axolotl just as twelve other Bills come storming in the room. They run after him, like a wave slowly over taking him. He's not going to make it! He jumps towards Axolotl who has grown in size. He grabs Bill and jams him into his eyeball!
Moments later he pops out of the Axolotl's eye.
"Eww, pupil juice." Bill moans.
A portal appears beside him and Dipper appear with Janna and Mabel in tow. "How'd it go?"
Bill looks up at him. "We've got a lot to talk about." He revealed sitting up
"Yes we do." Dipper agreed. "Want to take a shower first?" He asked, gesturing to the eye goo that's dripping from all over his body.
"No, this can't wait." Bill says, looking around as the others sit down with him. Axolotl is gone, no surprise there if he was sworn to secrecy he wouldn't want to be here now when they're trying to figure thugs out.
"Shoot." Dipper said.
And with the go ahead Bill began to share his story.
-To Be Continued