"It's time for the next step." Then, a flash of harsh white light.
Everything ached. Every inch of his body, his hands, his feets, his ears… Wait, ears? Bill opened his eye, having to blink at the brightness of the world around him. It was abundantly clear that this wasn't his cell, there were too many colors and gosh, thenoises.
The first attempt to sit up failed miserably. He couldn't remember the other meatsuits he'd inhabited being this difficult. Then again, it had been so long since he'd been in one. Finally pushing himself up, Bill looked down at himself. This body…it felt so strange, like the casing of his mind had been split and the contents spilled into it. He touched the ashen skin of his forearm, noting how the nerves under it carried the sensation.
"Weird." He murmured and became very alarmed at the sensation. He had a mouth, with lips and teeth and a tongue. "No…"
Hands flew over his face and to the hair attached to his head. This was a human body. He glanced around, violently aware that these trees looked familiar.
There, sitting to his right, was the stone reliquary of his once triangular form. It was cracked, the outreached arm covered in moss and stains, and a faded tag of a muffin was on the side.
Gravity Falls.
Bill skittered away from the statute, aware of every sensation of this human form. The sound of papers pulled his attention. A large envelope that had not been there before sat in his lap.
He picked it up, peeking at the contents. Inside were therapy documents, letters of authorization, human identification documents, and a sealed envelope labeled with a name that made his new human heart race and his palms Pines.
Bill tried to tear it all to pieces. But all his hands managed to do was wrinkle the paper. He leaned back, leaning on his own grave as he tried to catch his breath. The next step. Reconciliation.
"Shit," He breathed out, finally getting up to his feet.
The walk was long enough to get accustomed to his limbs and their relationship to gravity. He wasn't sure how he knew the way, but his new feet carried him through the woods until he came to the familiar clearing.
The Mystery Shack looked exactly as it had before Weirdmageddon, the S in Shack laying on the roof, clueless tourists milling about. How long had it been in this dimension? With hands shaking, he walked toward the entrance to the shack. The chatter from the people milling about blended together into white noise as he reached for the door. There were hardly any people in the gift shop as he entered.
A woman Bill didn't recognize stood behind the counter, a name tag on her chest proclaiming her name as Melody. She looked over, smiling cheerfully.
"Welcome to the Mystery Shack! Our next tour starts in 15 minutes." There was no indication of recognition or fear from her. But then, Bill knew he looked the part of a tourist, save for the faded yellow jumpsuit he wore.
"Right, is…uh, are the Pineses here?" He asked awkwardly, clutching the envelope to his chest. It felt oddly comforting.
"Oh, well, the Shack is under new management. Did you need something-?"
Bill shifted, feeling a little disgusted by the wave of relief that washed over him. Why the hell did he feel like that? Sure, the Pines family ripped his plans and physical being asunder… oh, who was he kidding. He was fucking terrified of having to face them.
Right now, he just needed to stick with his therapy plan.
"I, um, was looking for a job, actually. Are you hiring?"
"Oh! Well, we are looking for a handyman right now. Let me get the owner." She grabbed a walkie from under the desk, paging someone. As she talked to the static, Bill glanced around. There were a few new additions in here, like the crude statue of Stanley Pines and various updated fixtures. He glanced at the jar of glass eyes on the counter.
It was the first glimpse of his new human form he had ever seen. His skin was a consistent dusty golden color, save for a scar that stretched across the foreign features and over the empty eye socket on his right side. His face was rounder than he expected, with a bit of sparse facial hair on his chin and upper lip.
His study of the warped reflection was abruptly stopped as a familiar voice followed the sound of heavy footsteps. Bill looked up and felt his blood run cold. It was a feeling he instantly despised as he watched the man walk over. The suit and fez had caught him off guard, but he quickly recovered when he realized the body shape wasn't the same. This wasn't Stanley Pines.
"Hey dude, I'm Soos, the new Mr. Mystery! Hear yer lookin' for a job?"
"...y-yeah." His mind was racing, would this one recognize him? Would he attack him?
Soos blinked, looking the man before him over. The guy looked petrified, lost. His voice was eerily familiar but the thought was pushed aside.
"Can you change a light bulb?" The question made Bill twitch, swallowing down the sarcastic reply that lingered on the tip of his tongue.
In reality, he didn't really know. He'd never had human fingers before, nor had he ever changed a bulb before.
"Uh… yes?"
"You're hired, dude. You have a place to stay?"
"Oh, er... No, I don't."
"No sweat, we got an extra room here!" Soos smiled, his buck teeth overshadowing the rest. Bill blinked, glancing at Melody who seemed just as surprised. It only lasted a moment before an arm was wrapped around his shoulders and Bill was dragged through the 'Staff Only' door and into the bowels of the house.
Soos opened the door to a room that felt frozen in time. The large sofa was worn, the room slightly dusty, the carpet was missing though.
"You can sleep here! The couch folds out into a bed, but it's pretty comfy as is. I'll get you the uniform."
Bill's head was spinning. This was happening incredibly fast. He had barely been here 30 minutes and he was given a job and a bed. He sat heavily on the sofa, the envelope still clutched against his chest.
"Oh, dude, you okay?"
He looked up at Soos, gathering his thoughts. This…this could be okay. He just had to keep his cool. But the questions still nagged at his mind.
"...why are you doing this?"
Bill never anticipated this gerbil-esque human was capable of making such a serious expression. And there was a quality to it that felt so terrifying and foreign to him.
"I only got where I am because a great man gave me a chance. You look like you just needed a lucky break, dawg. I didn't know anything about being a handyman when I first got the job, either. I think it'll be good for you." The genuine amount of sunshine in that smile made a part of Bill want to throw up. Instead, he offered back a small nod.
"I'll stay here to get you settled. Should be plenty of time before our summer season kicks off."
"...thanks, Soos." The man waved, shutting the door behind him as he left Bill alone. He finally set down the envelope, his arms feeling achy from holding them so tensely. A glance around and he spotted his reflection in a skinny full length mirror sporting a thin layer of dust.
Bill ran a hair through the hair that now gren from his scalp. It looked like his style was pulled out of the 80s, a mullet with a bizarre peekaboo dye job of yellow on top and black underneath. It wasn't a bad look, he decided, though he wished there was enough to cover up the obvious droop of his right eyelid. Maybe he could get a glass eye? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. The woman, Melody, peeked in with a gentle smile.
"Hey, I brought you a change of clothes. I can show you where the bathroom is too, if you'd like to shower." There was an underlying tone. A kindness deeper than the retail front she'd been masking with earlier.
"Oh, uh…okay." He got up, following her. Bill knew where the bathroom was, though it had been decades since he inhabited a body that stood in it. He stayed silent though, accepting the clean clothing and listening to Melody explain the little quirks of using the plumbing. Once she left him alone, he noticed a few stickers on the bathroom mirror. The bright happy colors, the cheesy lines. These had been placed by Mabel Pines, no doubt.
He reached out and touched one, tracing the edge of it and feeling the warping of the vinyl. Bill could vividly remember the prison he had made for Mabel Pines, how difficult but fun it had been to construct. That kid had so much imagination. She honestly could have fit right in with his gang.
"...let it go, Bill. This is another chance." He murmured. Time to take it.