Chapter Text
Bill was tired.
He realized that he has been tired for years, and with his current punishment he’s been sent back to endure, maybe it was finally time to rest. He just needed to tie up some final loose ends before he’d completely retire.
The demon placed a firm thumb on his inner wrist, pressing into the pinetree sigil. Two more jobs, he thought, and this time he’ll do it alone. He knew that taking the human on these jobs was a bad idea, but it was easier to be closer together. If they got too far apart, the deal could weaken.
Bill could weaken and was pathetic. Pinetree was right and he knew it.
A gaseous planet slowly encroached in from the west, as he pushed past wide eyed children and starved adults packed in an atrium.
“Refugees trying to flee their home from impending destruction, better make this quick,” he muttered as another lifeform nearly collided with him in their rush to the loading dock.
He was able to find the one he’d been looking for within minutes.
“Idala,” he spoke.
A monster with horns and excess eyes started at the sound and turned to look at him.
“Bill! Oh, thank the angels!”
She threw herself into his arms, gathering no warmth from the embrace.
“Ok! Ok, hot stuff! I was just coming by to get my ring back.”
The monster stood back.
“Here, Cipher.”
She reached into her hair, fishing out a gold band.
“So, are you gonna get me outta here or what?”
Bill looked at the ring and snapped his fingers with a smile.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Toots”.
Idala pressed her lips to the demon's mouth, letting the tack of her lips linger before she vanished in a spritz of blue flames.
Bill stumbled back by the energy drainage. He needed to get back to Pinetree to strengthen up. He swiped the disquieting taste off his lips.
“Just one more stop and you’ll be done. Get a grip, Cipher.”
Bill snapped his fingers and was put into a warped dimension full of mechanical waste. His vision distorted at the depletion of his power, but he willed himself to press on. Among the clutter, there was a decadent warehouse built of glass.
Bill could barely float to it without grunting in exhaustion, but as he saw his targets, he straightened up his back. He nary had it in him, but he would never let anyone know that he allowed a human to be his source of power.
He snapped his fingers, shattering the glass doors, rewarding a room full of goons to turn to him.
“Well, well, fellas! It’s nice to see you all again, but I'm afraid I have this ballroom reserved.”
The goons, a handful of ghouls and goblins, rushed wildly at him, weapons appearing in their hands.
Bill dropped his smile and heaved a breath. Fine, he thought, and mustered up what little magic he had left to set them all on fire at once. Screams filled the glass room and the warehouse began to crack under the heat of the flames. Bill grabbed one monster by the neck, unable to lift him due to his weakened body.
“Where is Rhys?"
The beast shuddered in his hand at the bellowing of his voice.
“Up the stairs…” he choked, ”The far left balcony!”
Bill smiled wide at the confession and lit the monster ablaze in his hold, drinking in the piercing cries that rattled his ears.
“Sellouts.”
Bill walked up the stairs, extinguishing his fires with the lowering of his hand. The monsters scattering the floor ceased their cries and felt along their own bodies, relieved to find they were, deceptively, unharmed.
Bill scoffed, knowing this cruel but clever dreamscape loophole may affect his deal with the Pines brother and staggered down the hall, taking heavy breaths, his weight desperate to clutch the walls.
“Fuck,” he breathed.
Rhys was not going to give up his bracelet easily and the demon could barely walk down a hall in his given state. He continued his pursuit, overlooking the obvious herrings his body shouted out to him, and went into a small drawing room.
He sighed as he saw a large red goblin, larger than the others downstairs, resting his arms over the balcony.
“When I heard the screaming, I knew you were here Cipher, but it’s shocking, you look so much weaker than I thought.”
Rhys’ words were bluntly stated when he turned to look at the blonde. His chipped, crooked smile wide.
“I just came for my bracelet Rhys. I’m in no mood to kill an old friend today, so just fork it over and I’ll be out of your lack of hair.”
Bill presented himself with a firm stance, though Rhys could see right through the facade and let out a wet laugh, causing Bill to physically contort his neck.
“Oh, Cipher, you have lost your touch, huh? I know you have no power to hurt me. The goblin gestured to the sigil on the demon's arm and Bill instinctually put it behind himself, scowling.
“You’re still on the Axolotls' leash, I see.”
Bill rolled his eyes, “Can we wrap this up, Windbag?”
“Well, how about this, I’ll give you back your little bracelet,” The goblin widened his stance and lowered himself, balling his hands into fists, “If you pry it from my cold dead wrist.”
Bill stepped back, irritation filling him to the brim.
“No sweat,” He piped.
He had to think quickly. His magic was nearing total depletion and he had no energy, nor the strength to take on Rhys, but of course, the goblin swung anyway. Bill jumped out of the way barely in time, but it wasn’t even a second before another fist thrashed, striking the blonde on his stomach. The demon fell straight to the glass beneath his form and cursed the prison of the body he was stuck in.
There was nothing hilarious about the pain he felt, but he couldn't control his hysterical laughter. He looked at the goblin stomping towards him.
“Stand up, imp.”
Bill wobbled, either from laughter or exhaustion, as he tried to push himself off the glass floor.
“Here, I’ll help you.” Rhys then grabbed Bill by his golden strands, throwing him to the rail of the balcony, shattering the walls around him. Laughter reverberated the building as all the monsters watched through the transparent partitions.
“Look, boys! It’s the mighty Bill Cipher, who has fallen before me.”
Rhys threw a thin, braided leather rope near Bill's still body, too enraged to speak a word, but too afflicted to move.
“You used to be a god among us common monsters. Now look at you. Pitiful and weak, just like your new body.”
Rhys placed his portly hand up to the veranda above, pressing into it until glass rained into Bill's body.
“Give your human pet my regards!”
All Bill could feel was true, mind destroying agony. He screamed out cold, while blood seeped from his tailored suit. He nearly gave in to the internal chill of blood loss, but strained to grab the bracelet off the ground, the fire in his eyes flickering out.
“You'll get yours" Bill said through gritted teeth.
Dipper sat on the floor, a large scroll laid out in front of him with various strategies of how to lure Bill into traps. The leather book was open to a page on limitations of the mindscape. The brunette muttered to himself, working out a plan.
“I got it!” he exclaimed, lifting his pencil to the air in triumph.
In a sudden flash, Bill’s limp body dropped on top of the mapped out plans, glass scattering around the room. His face was on the floor and Dipper was in a state of complete terror, frozen at the sight before him.
“Holy shit,” he said through shallow breaths.
Bill wasn’t moving and Dipper didn’t know if he was dead or not. Glass was sticking out of him in a grotesque display of punctures. Dipper felt his stomach drop to hell at the scene before him, his heart racing as if he had ran miles without rest.
“Bill?” he questioned.
His voice small in the room. The sun shone through the window in beautiful radiance and Dipper slowly stood up, shaken. What happened to him? How could this have happened to him, anyway? Dipper thought Bill was nearly invincible with all his terrible powers, but then he remembered that because of the deal, he couldn’t defend himself if he were in danger. Dipper stumbled back, unable to think clearly.
So what if Bill couldn't fight back? So what if he was hurt and dying on the floor in front of him? That’s what he wanted anyway, so just leave the demon for dead. After all he had done to him and his family. After all he has done to every dimension he entered, this is what he deserved. It’s not like he would save Dipper if the roles were reversed, anyway. But the thing is, he did. Bill saved him when he was attacked in the forest. But, this was Bill. He couldn’t be trusted.
Dipper wrestled with himself, pacing back and forth as the demon laid still. Time was ticking and if he was alive he would need medical attention immediately. No, Dipper though. He should not have even been considering this. All it took to cut through Dipper’s thoughts was for Bill to let out a whimper of pain, weakly reaching his hand to grasp Dipper, but he was too far away.
“P-pine Tree-ee”.
Bill’s voice was worn, but Dipper heard it all too clearly. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work.
Dipper wasn’t a doctor by any means and he wouldn't even know where to begin with demon anatomy, but Bill’s wounds didn’t seem bad enough to require more than basic household medical care. When he had finished picking out all the shards of glass and cleaning the cuts with supplies he frantically scoured several bathrooms to find, he removed Bill’s clothes.
Dipper could now see the demon’s body up close. His hands rubbed the antiseptic all over him gently, careful not to have his hand press to his skin. Bill was warm and his skin was speckled with flecks of gold. Dipper felt an urge in him to trace his finger along the pinetree sigil on his wrist, but retracted his hand.
Being this close to Bill, tending to his wounds, it was all so tender. Like this is a natural progression of what Dipper would do for him, but he knew that healing the demon who prayed for the total chaotic destruction of humanity was less than a smart idea to say the least. But Dipper felt it in himself to do something. Maybe he truly did feel bad for the demon, getting hurt so badly. Maybe he just wanted to do what his sister would do. God, he missed her.
When Dipper finished wrapping bandages over the demon’s body, he remembered the story Bill told him about his past. He remembered the remorseful look in the demon's face, and how it contorted when he spoke about his family. Mabel would sympathize, and he knew that if she were here, she would have a clearer idea of what the right thing to do would be.
There were grumbles and shifting in the bed and Dipper turned to look at the demon who now had his eyes open.
“Gee, Pinetree, some hell of a bedside manner huh.”
His voice sounded weak but Dipper rolled his eyes despite it.
“How did this happen to you, Bill?”
“Straight to the point, kid? Can’t a guy wake up a bit first.”
Dipper placed a glass of clean water on the bedside table and picked up his journal to begin writing.
“What happened?” Bill only sighed.
“I got my shit rocked, kid. What else is there to say?”
“Right, but why. What happened?”
Dipper jotted down notes as the demon spoke, staying silent and letting him speak. He couldn’t help but feel guilt when he explained how he was attacked.
“Look, Pinetree, in all honesty, I’m essentially powerless. Our deal to keep me in the realm, mixed with my eternal punishment means that I can't do much, let alone startup Weirdmageddon: Act 2. I’ve buried too many bridges and I have nothing to show for it.”
“What do you mean by eternal punishment?”
Dipper was now sitting on the edge of the bed, enthralled in Bill’s story.
“There is a being more powerful than me. An asshole, but an old friend. The Axolotl.”
“Axolotl? Like the fish thing?”
“More like the most powerful entity in the universe thing. He punished me by looking like this,” he gestured to his human body, “He said that I would have to resemble the beings that I tortured the most. As if that wasn’t enough, he embedded me in your mind and dreams after he collected me from the brink of nonexistence.”
“What!? Why would I be punished like that?”
“Relax kid, it was either you or Sixer and I think we both know that there was no way in hell he would forgive me after all the shit I did to him.”
“So, when you said that my obsession brought you back-”
“I wasn’t lying entirely. I just didn’t want you,” he paused, “I didn’t want anyone to know that I could be controlled. That I-” He halted his speech, voice cracking, “That I’m afraid of dying.” The words were curt and dismissive.
“But there’s no point anymore. I have nothing left, so now I'm just waiting for my human existence to die so I can start over.”
Dipper had many questions, like he always did, but Bill looked so deflated, he didn’t even want to interrogate.
“I can hear your thoughts, Pinetree. But, here. I will answer one question.”
Bill materialized four items into the room. The four items Bill retrieved from his jobs.
“I needed to retrieve these items back before I could completely ‘retire.’
The leather book written by his brother, a statue of a triangular demon resembling the one of bill, a gold ring, and tri-colored leather bracelet.
“They belonged to my family.”
Dipper gawked at the items, piecing the puzzle together.
“Why did you give them away in the first place then?”
Bill let out a dry laugh, but not with his usual childish sound.
“Because, these all remind me too much of what I had done. I couldn't think about how it felt. I didn't want to feel anything.”
The air smelled sweet, and Dipper let in a deep breath.
“So, people were willing to die for some old family heirlooms?”
“My dimension is older than your feeble mind could comprehend, and,” he paused, his voice sullen, “It doesn't exist anymore. Anything made in that dimension is worth a fortune. A symbol of complete wealth and status. No matter though. They’re back where they belong, to whom they belong and, that’s how it’s going to stay.”
Dipper took a deep breath, patting the back of his head, then standing.
“So you only care about the monetary value?”
Bill looked off into the room, features softening in thought. The demon shrugged.
“If I am to die as a human, I may as well keep my family close.”
“Get some rest man, I’ll come back in a little bit.”
Dipper slipped out the room before Bill could respond. The brunette pressed his back to the cold wall of the corridor. How could he have been so kind to the dream demon. He knew himself, at least he hoped he did. Hands came to twist in his hair and he released a deep sigh.
Did Bill really mean what he said about retiring? What does that even mean for a being like him? There was no way he could trust him right?
“Ugh”
It was all so confusing. Dipper slid to the floor, pulling firm on his brown curls. At least the deal he made was enough to weaken him but at what cost. He now has this down and out chaos causer under his jurisdiction and he really seemed to be somewhat harmless for good. As long as Dipper lives, Bill will hold no harmful power.
“Unless he kills me.”
Dipper laughed dryly at probable possibility. Despite his better judgement the human came to a decision. The moment he just had with the demon was far too tender. More than he ever thought the demon could be capable of. It almost felt nicely intimate and despite what he wanted to feel, he craved for it to have lasted longer. to feel his warmth again. It was almost intoxicating, and maybe that's why he thought that if he couldn't have his sister by his side, then he would have to honor her in his action as well stay true to himself.
There’s no way he’ll continue to be obsessed. He’s going to heal from all of the shit that Bill had put him through and if Bill was really in a human form as punishment, then he would teach Bill humanity as he is sure his sister would.
Maybe the demon was still capable of it.