A/n: I do not claim the art. Now, story :)
○(Y/n)'s P.O.V.○
"Don't you just love the taste of fear?"
I gazed at him in astonishment and relief. It was just Nightmare. He was okay!
Mabel shouted and threw a pillow at him. "WHO IS THIS OCTOPUS MAN?"
Dipper put a hand over her mouth to hush her and held her hands with his other so she couldn't throw another pillow.
Ink didn't say anything, and Blueberry was making weird breathing sounds. I got up and went to Nightmare, who was still standing there and staring and Dipper and Mabel.
Then he saw me, but he didn't smile. His eye flickered violet for one second but I didn't know why? Nevermind that, I hugged him tightly, almost crying.
"What happened? I got really worried," I told him. He didn't say anything, and he didn't hug me back.
I half expected him to but I also expected him not to because HE'S NOT a hugger. But still...
Something was very off about him.
I pulled away, slightly frowning. "Nightmare...? What's wrong?"
He shrugged. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just myself again, that's all."
Just himself...?
Yeah, hate to break it to you but he seems completely different, said Chara.
Yeah, it has something to do with why he went missing, I bet...Batfang squeaked quietly.
Batfang, I haven't heard from you for a bit. Is everything okay?
Batfang didn't reply.
I felt a bit alarmed and confused. What was wrong with Batfang? Does he have trauma of Gravity Falls or something similar?
And Nightmare... I back away a little bit. Maybe something spooked Nightmare? No, he never gets spooked, unless he has a secret fear of trees or villages or...
A memory suddenly stabbed into my brain.
People were throwing rocks at a purple-clad skeleton, who stood in front of a tree on the outskirts of a dark village.
He was crying.
It seemed heartbreaking...
It also seemed familiar. It was like the picture Dipper showed me from the violet book.
Then I blinked back into reality, with everyone staring at me.
There was a long silence, and then Blueberry was suddenly shouting. At first I thought it was just him being him, but there was something off about it.
Then he said, "Guys, Nightmare changed again, and I saw a weird guy in the forest!!"
Dipper and Mabel exchanged worried glances. "What did this 'weird guy' look like?" Dipper asked.
Mabel nodded. "Yeah. Did he happen to be freakishly stylish and yellow and triangular?"
Blueberry stood up from behind the chair. For the first time, I saw that he was trembling from fear and his blue eye-lights were tiny and shaking.
"Y-yes!" he cried, clutching his head. Then he swiveled around and pointed at Nightmare, who was still standing menacingly at the door. "And he's evil! He made A DEAL! HE'S GOING TO--"
Ink held up his hand. "Swap. That's enough. Calm down, take big slow breaths. We're going to be fine and Nightmare is fine," he said. Then his voice got lower and slightly dark. "Do you understand me?"
Blueberry immediately shut his mouth, looking defeated. I've never seen him look so blue. He'd always been smiling and happy and offering everyone tacos (which were kinda bad but he didn't need to know that), and now something was SERIOUSLY OFF ABOUT HIM.
Also, did he seriously refer to him as Swap? Usually he called him as Blue or Blueberry...
Dipper stared at Ink with wide eyes. Then he looked at Mabel, Blueberry, me, and finally, Nightmare, where his gaze stuck like glue and his eyes narrowed. It looked like he was thinking of possibilities and outcomes, like there were ten different versions of himself running around in his head and arguing.
Yes, I paid a lot attention to the show...which is still super weird visiting an AU BASED OFF THE SHOW.
Dipper then sighed, whispered something to Mabel, who then started to run around the house in a strange panic.
Dipper managed to grab her hand when she came around the couch again and calmed her down. She sat down again, panting but nevertheless calmer.
Dipper fidgeted with his thumbs and looked at Ink and I, sweat rolling from his forehead. "So. We happen to know that guy. Bill seems to have appeared to...your friend over there, and made a deal with him, but..." he trailed off, then cleared his throat. "The thing is that wouldn't been possible if somebody didn't already make a deal with him. That means somebody before nightmare tentacle guy made a deal with the evil triangle."
"But how?" I ask. Ink didn't say anything. "Can you tell us more about him?" I add slowly.
Dipper looked more nervous than ever. "I can if you really want me to. And I'll do it because it will save the world again."
"And the multiverse," added Nightmare.
"Don't trust Nightmare!!" Blueberry blurted, earning a really weird, harsh glare from Ink.
Why does he get upset whenever Blueberry says something mysterious and kinda weird?
He's trying to tell us something that Ink doesn't want us to know.
Dipper cleared his throat again, trying to get our attention. Mabel didn't say anything, which was unusual for her.
"Bill is supposed to be trapped in stone forever, while his soul is stuck in a far off mindscape in it's own universe. Actually, he was supposed to be completely forgotten, but somebody brought him up again," he professed, holding up his chin with two fingers. "Somebody must have gotten journal number 1, or all three journals. And summoned him. Or broke the statue of him...."
He told us the story of how Bill first appeared, a side story about his other Grunkle (Great Uncle), which connected to the main story. He told us how he almost broke the world and wreaked havoc and weirdness. He told us how he was defeated "once and for all."
At the end of it all, Batfang suddenly climbed onto my shoulder. He whispered, "he's talking about both the original and the Sans."
Why are you whispering it to me? Why not just think it to me? And also, I just realized, how are you able to talk to Chara??
U-um. Well, she's a ghost, for starters. I can speak to ghosts...and demons. And also, I just wanted to talk to you normally.
Okay...um, I have a question for you.
...Okay.
You mentioned earlier that the writer of the Book of Soulmates was your previous master. Which means that BILL SANS was your master. Is that why you've been distant ever since we've talked about him?
Again, Batfang didn't reply. Typical mysterious rats who also talk and possess magical powers.
"(Y/n)?" said Dipper.
I blinked.
Dipper smiled nervously. "Did you hear what I asked?"
I shook my head. Dipper sighed.
"Ink told me you have a book called Soulmates. And you have a pet rat. Is this true?"
My eyes narrowed and I glanced at Ink, who was slightly grinning. He looked strangely happy.
I looked back to Dipper, who was still waiting for a reply.
"Yes, I do," I said. Dipper's eyes widened, and his voice got super serious.
"(Y/n)," he said. "The rat is a spy. The book is a lie."
What is he saying? The book wasn't a lie. That didn't make sense. Why would it be a lie, and most importantly, how the cheescakes did Ink know I had the book?
"(Y/n), I can explain," Batfang squeaked. My hair bristled and my hands sparked with tiny flames in shock.
"What do you mean, 'explain'? That isn't true, you aren't a spy!"
"(Y/n)...." Batfang whispered, but he trailed off and disappeared into my bag.
Ink suddenly stood up.
"It's time we've gone now, darling," he said. I stared at him.
"No, tell me what this means first!"
He grinned and shook his head.
I looked at Nightmare, who was staring at me. Ink reached for my hand, and Nightmare glared at him.
Ink ignored him and took my hand, was about to snap his fingers into a portal, but Nightmare got to it first.
He grabbed my wrist, grinning.
"We're going back home and Ink isn't taking you again."
Then we swirled away, and we were back at the castle.
Something about the Castle, however, was very different.
Nightmare most of all.