Return to Weirdmageddon
Bill/Dipper/Norah/Jerome/Vox
Is this story canon? ...I'll leave that up to you to decide. May impact the end of the official storyline depending on your decision~
When Bill Cipher opened his eyes, the first thing he could see was a brightly lit sky blinding him.
His instinct was to curse at the sun for burning his irises yet again, but he quickly realized the sun was not the one at fault for this. Once his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, it was clear to see the light that shone down upon him was caused by a blanket of fire covering every inch of the sky.
Bill closed his eyes and hummed. The sun was lucky today for not having to face the dream demon's wrath.
After a moment, it suddenly dawned on Bill that fire covering the sky wasn't a normal occurrence to have in this dimension. His eyes quickly shot back open once more, getting a better look this time at what exactly he was dealing with.
At first he thought what he was seeing was the ceiling of the house on fire— but he wasn't inside a building. Feeling the grass between his fingers and noticing the skyscraper trees that swayed above him confirmed that he was indeed outside and that was the sky above him set ablaze with raging fire that moved like water. This confused the dream demon greatly as he slowly began to sit up from his lying position.
Bill couldn't remember what had happened to bring him to this point. He wasn't even sure where he was as nothing looked familiar to him. The last thing he remembered was going out to the town's park to meet up with Thing 1, 2, and 3. Jerome had been rambling on about how he was certain the kid who sat next to him in his math class was a vampire while Norah was explaining every reason why that couldn't be possible. Vox was adding their two-cents to the conversation as well only they were using ASL to do so, making points to both sides of the conversation as they didn't want to choose one of their friends being right over the other.
The dream demon was the exact opposite from Vox as he was listening to the conversation just to see if the information Jerome was giving were actual signs that his classmate was, in fact, a vampire. He was not afraid to tell either human off as being right or wrong, wanting someone to come out as the victor once the debate was over. Competitions just made things more interesting, in Bill's opinion.
This only lasted for so long, however, as he eventually got distracted from the conversation when his eyes landed on Norah's opened backpack.
It would be rude of him to snoop around and would probably upset Norah greatly for having looked through her personal belongings. ...But Bill was like a cat and when his curiosity got the better of him, he couldn't stop himself.
He reached his hand into the bag when he knew the others weren't looking—
—and then he woke up to the sky on fire.
Bill held his head, feeling a headache coming on as he tried to process this. Was he missing something? Reaching into Norah's bag couldn't have been the last thing that happened before he ended up here, right?
Bill stood up slowly, brushing the dirt and leaves off of him before spinning around in a full circle. The longer he looked and the more aware he became, he realized the scenery almost seemed... familiar to him.
He had been here before.
Bill knew for a fact he had been here before.
The trees, the sky— yes! He had seen this all before. But where? That was the question racking his brain.
He assumed if he kept walking, the answers would eventually come to him. So Bill trudged through the forest lit up by orange and red hues of light. It was alarming, to say the least, giving him this sense of urgency that chaos and danger was amiss. It didn't help that the forest was void of all sound, either. He expected to see a bird fly above his head or a squirrel scurry up a tree after walking for a while, but there was no woodland creature in sight. It made Bill start to wonder if he was the only one here— wherever "here" was.
"And I know a riddle. Why did the old man do this?"
Bill froze like a statue, his breath hitching in his throat. He recognized those words. He recognized that voice. It was a voice he had not heard in so long.
Cautiously, he lifted his hand up to his own throat, rubbing it gently as he began to walk towards the source of the voice in a much more hurried manner.
"Because I needed a new backscratcher!"
Laughter filled the silence as Bill took off in a sprint. Once he saw a clearing before him, he quickly ducked behind a tree for coverage as he looked around and spotted exactly what he expected to see.
A dream demon, triangular in shape with his signature bowtie and hat to complete the look.
Bill was looking upon himself, the version in which was once all powerful and all knowing.
Is this a memory? Did I fall asleep? Bill thought to himself as he clutched the bark of the tree. He watched the other Bill lift up the golden statue of a man he despised with every fiber of his being, using it to begin scratching his back in a mocking way. A way to show dominance. A way to prove who was the one in control.
Bill felt a bit lightheaded watching this scene play out. Sure, it had felt great in the moment to live this out but knowing what soon came afterwards soured the entire memory of Weirdmageddon as a whole. He didn't want to look back and relive this. He would much rather see his home planet burn all over again than witness his death for a second time. Bill went to turn around, to try and figure out a way to wake himself up, only to be stopped by the sound of a familiar voice speaking up.
"That's enough!"
Bill tensed, slowly glancing back at the clearing.
"Hand over my uncle!"
That boy...
Holding that journal...
"Or else!"
"Pinetree?" Bill whispered, his eyes widening in shock.
It had been awhile since the last time he saw him. He looked so... small. Had he always been that small? And that crack in his voice— How old had he been? Twelve, right? Only a year younger than Jerome, Norah, and Vox.
"Now isn't. This. INTERESTING?"
Interesting indeed, Bill thought to himself, beginning to fidget with the bowtie around his neck.
"My old puppet is back for an encore! You think you can stop me?!" the other Bill exclaimed in a taunting voice. "Go ahead, Pinetree! Show me what you've got!"
" I...uh... I... uh..." the boy began to stutter, flipping through his journal.
Bill frowned, watching as he helplessly tried to find a solution to put this fiend in his place. He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if either of his three musketeers had been in Dipper's place instead. As the child flipped through the pages in search of an answer, he couldn't help but be reminded of Norah when she would try to prove either Jerome or himself wrong in an argument. The way he began to stutter and found himself unable to speak sounded too much like Vox when dealing with Karens who entered the General Store just to pick on the way they looked or acted.
"I UM I— Do it, kid! Do some brilliant thing that takes me down right now! What'd ya got, Pinetree? Everyone's waiting! DO IT!"
The boy was so scared, and yet he stood his ground in the face of danger. He planned to do whatever it took to try and take this demon down, even going as far as to try and land a punch on the guy only to fail miserably.
Bill watched the boy fall to the ground in pain. He had to rub his eyes quickly because for a split second he could have sworn he saw under the hat the human wore was ginger hair with a single purple streak in his bangs.
"Camera? What are you—" Bill stuttered out, only to find the brunet hair suddenly returned when he opened his eyes again.
"That's right. Don't be a hero, kid. This is what happens to heroes in my world." The other Bill began to burn the journals to ashes, but the Bill stuck in a meatsack suit hardly paid attention to anything going on now.
He wasn't imagining things, was he? He could have sworn that it was Jerome laying on the ground just a second ago. But looking now, clearly he could see Dipper there with a look of pure horror crossing his face. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Why would his mind have tricked him into seeing something as horrifying as his friend attempting to go against a dream demon on his own?
A dream demon... that was him. This was him, but at the same time it wasn't. Not anymore.
If Jerome had been there in Dipper's place, though, back then... Bill doubted his past self would have been so kind as to let him live. Twelve or thirteen, brunet or ginger, Pinetree or Camera— it wouldn't have mattered. If he was getting in his way from achieving his goal... Bill would not have hesitated to kill him where he stood.
Bill's whole body shook at that realization, moving to press his body up against the tree so he wouldn't fall over.
"That's not Jerome... That's not Jerome..." Bill repeatedly muttered under his breath, reassuring him that this was only a memory and Jerome had not been there that day. Jerome was not in trouble. Bill would never hurt Jerome.
"8 Ball, Teeth, you've earned a treat. Have the kid for a snack."
Bill's head quickly shot up. What did he say? Eat the kid?
Bill watched his past self drive off in a car with the rest of the Henchmaniacs before glancing over at the kid in question.
Pinetree. That's Pinetree.
"So, you wanna eat him or something?"
Pinetree doesn't have ginger hair.
"Oh, definitely! Let's eat him!"
Is that ginger? No, it's brunet, right?
The boy screamed and darted off into the forest too fast for Bill to confirm what color his hair had been.
"Camera... Jerome!"
Bill took off in a sprint after 8 Ball, Teeth, and the boy. He didn't know why he had, knowing that this must be a memory which means he had no way of affecting it, but knowing that didn't stop him from chasing the three through the trees in an attempt to catch up. If there was even the slightest chance that the boy Bill saw really was the ginger-haired supernatural fanatic, he couldn't stand back and allow him to be eaten by his own Henchmaniacs. He couldn't let that boy get hurt.
Bill's heart raced as he continued to chase the three down. He managed to move swiftly through the trees, dodging every branch, rock, and root that could threaten to slow his pace down. There was no time to waste. Even taking a second to catch his breath could risk helping these demons succeed in their mission. Memory or not, he refused to let either of the two he once considered to be his allies in the past lay a hand on that human. Admittedly, he knew this behavior was odd. Choosing a human over his own kind— what was Bill thinking? He shook off the question for now, deciding he would revisit it at a more convenient time.
Seeing Teeth right in front of him pushed Bill to run faster, not daring to let this opportunity slip by.
With his adrenaline running on high, Bill launched himself at the creature only the tooth fairy could love and tackled him into the dirt.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's the big idea?!"
Pinning the Henchmaniac to the ground, Bill looked around and found a branch on the ground that wasn't too far from his grasp. It was a long, thick branch that Bill imagined would cause a lot of damage if one were to wield it.
Without a second thought, Bill picked it up and brought it down to slam it against the creature beneath him. The force of the strike was strong enough to knock one of his teeth loose. The demon screamed in pain, his little arms and legs kicking and flailing while the tooth rolled onto the forest floor with a trail of blood following it.
"Know your place." Bill growled, his voice deepening with pure malice behind his words as he slammed the branch down upon Teeth once more with full force. "You are beneath me. You have no power or authority here, so if you would like to leave here alive I suggest you flee and leave the boy alone. Do I make myself clear? Choose to stay and I will beat you senselessly to the point your corpse is unrecognizable to those closest to you to identify."
Teeth whimpered and whined, shaking like a leaf. There was no way he could have recognized Bill in that meatsack of a body, but that voice... that confidence... that wrathful power which engulfed this man.
For a moment, the Henchmaniac swore he saw his eyes flash a golden glow.
"8 BALL!" Teeth screeched in panic.
Bill released the demon, watching as he ran off towards his partner in crime. The same direction the human child had gone in.
Taking the thick branch in hand, Bill followed along with the weapon of choice being swung around menacingly. It wasn't long before Teeth and Bill spotted the other Henchmaniac who was currently staring up at a tree where the mortal boy was hidden within the branches.
Jerome... Bill let out a low, deep growl. He looked down at Teeth with a glare that dared the small creature to make one wrong move here. No matter what his relationship had been with the Henchmaniacs before, the dream demon was not afraid to kill every last one of them to protect his friend.
Teeth's teeth chattered together as he sprinted towards 8 Ball and grasped one of his long, dangly hands to get his attention. "We gotta go!"
"Go? But we still haven't eaten." 8 Ball said as he tilted his head in confusion "...Why are you bleeding?"
"Don't worry about it, the tooth will regenerate. But we need to leave now or we're both going to die!"
"...I'm still hungry though."
"WE'LL GET FOOD ELSEWHERE! NOW COME ON!"
What happened to Teeth in the few minutes where they had been separated, 8 Ball would never know. He had never seen his comrade so scared in his life to the point of falling to silence over the events that took place, but trusting that there was a good reason for the fear convinced the demon to give up the hunt. He followed Teeth away from the tree, never once spotting the strange man hiding within the foliage with a large branch as they headed back to the Fearamid to report failure to their master. Being afraid of death was not a reasonable excuse to give, however, so the two would work together on coming up with a story that explained how the boy got away from them. Hopefully the boss would accept this story for if he didn't then 8 Ball would make a meal out of Teeth for making them disobey direct orders.
Once they were out of sight, Bill emerged from his hiding place and dropped the branch. He quickly sprinted towards the tree where he knew the boy was still hiding and began to climb up with an urgency to make sure the human child was alive and unharmed. Bill would never forgive himself if he allowed any pain to come to any of his three friends.
Bill grasped the branch the boy was sitting on, pulling himself up to get a good look at the child. It was hard to see much when his face was buried in his legs which he hugged tightly to his chest as he curled up against the bark of the tree. He looked so small... so vulnerable. It reminded him too much of the time he found Vox curled up in the backroom of the General Store, feeling ugly in their own skin all because a man with no style tried to judge their outfit.
On the topic of Vox's fashion style— Bill had never once seen them wear a hat of any kind. They did once wear a headband that had a yellow bow on it, but that wasn't a hat.
This kid before him had a hat, though. A blue and white cap. It seemed so familiar...
Bill reached out and touched the kid's arm, alerting the human that someone else was there and that he needed to look up. What the dream demon saw— No... Who the dream demon saw when the child lifted his head was not someone Bill was expecting to see ever again after their last encounter so long ago.
But here he was before him once more, against all odds.
It wasn't Jerome. It wasn't Vox. It wasn't Norah.
...Pinetree?
Bill immediately pulled his hand back, his eyes widening and breath quickening at an alarming pace. Dipper Pines was sitting before him. How could he have mistaken that brat for one of his best friends?! The kid who broke deals, refused to play his games, and ended up helping in bringing about his demise—
A scream.
Bill blinked, broken out of his thoughts when he heard this... this child scream in fear. The child who was so clever and brave in the face of danger (like Jerome) was curled up in a ball sobbing uncontrollably while staring up at the demon with bloodshot eyes and a quivering lip (like Vox).
He had seen this position before. Not only when Vox had hidden themselves away but every time Bill, himself, has had a panic attack due to experiencing bad memories in his sleep or being touched without consent. He knew that fear all too well and knew it was not pleasant to feel at any given point. The way his chest would squeeze so tight that he thought his lungs would never be able to expand and take another breath again or how his throat would fall so dry leaving him unable to call out for help. Thankfully every time he has found himself in a panic attack so far, someone was always there to help guide him out of it. Whether that someone was Brik, Jerome, Vox, Norah, Adrianna, or his Candle, there was always someone there to take his hand and guide him through it.
Dipper had no one.
The kid was sitting there, sobbing and gasping for air with no one there to help him through it.
Why did the sight cause Bill's heart to clench? It wasn't like Dipper was one of his three friends, he made that very clear just now, but still: seeing him in such a shaken up state after being chased down by his very own Henchmaniacs hurt Bill.
Bill readjusted himself slowly, watching as Dipper gasped and moved even closer to the tree. He didn't seem to like any movement made by the stranger who refused to leave him alone.
"It's okay. It's okay, kid," Bill said slowly, and for once he was thankful he had the skin puppet's voice box rather than his own. "Let's... work on getting you to control your breathing before you end up fainting and falling out of this tree, alright? Hey— Hey, no, let's not look down. Look at me. Focus on me. We're gonna play a game of copycat and you're gonna copy everything I do, alright? ...You don't need to say anything if you can't right now, but can you nod or shake your head for me so I know you understand?"
Dipper tightened his arms around his legs, his shoulders continuing to shake but he managed to give the stranger a small nod.
"Good. Great. Okay, now start copying what I do."
Bill took a dramatic deep breath in, needing the kid to see him inhale and hold it for a couple of seconds before exhaling slowly but just as exaggeratedly to get the point across. He continued doing this repeatedly, knowing he looked foolish as he did but he refused to stop until he saw the kid copy his actions. Soon enough, Dipper did exactly that. It started slowly, but eventually he was able to get his breathing to slow down enough where he no longer needed to look at Bill for guidance. His shoulders slumped a bit and his grip on his legs loosened enough to where he no longer looked so small and constricted.
To find that he actually managed to calm the human down surprised Bill greatly. He had never been the one on the other side of a panic attack before and had no way of knowing what would work to help the kid out. He knew the five senses game worked for himself the best, but he thought he would try the breathing game first since the Pines boy really did look like he was about to faint if he did not stop to take a proper breath.
"There we go... There we go, you got it," Bill smiled, his own panic settling down now seeing Dipper doing better in his corner.
Dipper hiccuped, lifting an arm up to wipe the remaining tears from his face.
Bill had no idea what to do from here. It slowly sunk in now that he was currently sitting across from his arch nemesis. He just helped his killer calm down from a panic attack.
...Who does that?!
Did he really just forget everything that had happened to him in those past few moments?! Pinetree was one of the few who rebelled against him, ruined everything, and caused him to die. He wouldn't be stuck in this meatsack body if it wasn't for him! None of this would have happened if it wasn't for him and his family!
Bill's fists clenched as his anger began to boil deep within his soul. Pinetree didn't deserve his help. If anything, Pinetree deserves to feel what he felt back within Grunkle Stan's mind when it began to go up in flames until there was nothing left behind.
They were very far up this tree... Pinetree wasn't too far from his grasp. If Bill were to reach out, he could easily push him off and—
"It's all m—... my fault..."
"...What?" Bill mumbled, escaping his thoughts to stare down at the kid.
"My G—... My Great Uncle Ford was... He was taken by Bill and it's all my... it's all my fault! It's my fault! I couldn't stop Bill! I don't know where my sister is or Grunkle Stan, and he— Bill destroyed the journals which means I have nothing! I am nothing without those journals! There's nothing I can do to fix this mess and it's— it's all my fault!"
Without his knowledge, he claims to have nothing... (just like Norah).
Dipper... he was all three of his friends wrapped up in one body. How had he never realized just how similar he was to the others before now?
Maybe because he hadn't known those three before Weirdmageddon. He hadn't known... anybody in Mercy. He hadn't gotten the chance to meet Brik, Cynthia, Adrianna, Ollie, Cla— well... maybe if he had known Claire then he would have been even more tempted to take over this planet. ...But he hadn't known Y/n. Would things have been different if he had met them sooner? Would Weirdmageddon have ever been a thing to take place?
...How disappointed would his friends be in him if they learned he had caused this whole mess? What would Jerome, Vox, and Norah think of him if they heard his thoughts just now about throwing this kid off a tree?
Bill gripped the branch he sat on tightly, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself before he could allow the darkness to consume him.
I'm not like that anymore... I'm not.
"Kid, it's not your fault. Don't put all the blame on yourself because none of you, especially you, could have been prepared for this massacre. This all happened out of the blue, and these creatures aren't like anything the citizens of this town have dealt with before. Everyone is scared, and it's okay to be scared, but what's important is that you keep pushing forward. Your family members and friends are still out there! You can find them and can make things right again. I mean— you're that Pines kid, right? One of them, at least. You and your family have been doing crazy stuff all summer! Journal or not, you and your family seem to be unstoppable no matter what problems get thrown at you."
Bill smiled, reaching out and giving a gentle squeeze to Dipper's shoulder. "You got this, kid. Don't lose that spark just yet. Those demons will not take over this town so long as we stay strong."
The kid stared up at him with wide eyes. There it was. That look of hope had returned, a familiar sight he recalled seeing in all three of his friends as well as the three Walls children he had grown so fond of recently.
"You really think so?"
"I know it, kid. Trust me. I know it."
"I don't think I've ever seen you in town before... What's your name?"
The dream demon hesitated, wondering what kind of convincing name he could give. Then he remembered that this kid went by the name "Dipper". He'd be the least judgemental human when it came to names.
"Goldilocks. At least, that's what my dad calls me. Goldie works too, though."
"Goldie... Alright. Thanks, Goldie."
~
After Bill was able to calm Dipper down enough to where he could convince him to get down from the tree, the two of them went their separate ways. Bill wasn't sure whether he was stuck permanently back in time when Weirdmageddon took place or if he would eventually return to the present day. Knowing now that all of this wasn't just a memory and it was really happening all over again, there was someone he needed to pay a visit to. Maybe, just maybe, he could set things right.
It took some time, but eventually Bill managed to wrangle one of the giant eye-bats and catch a ride on its back. He rode this creature all the way up to the Fearamid that looked over the town.
It was so weird seeing it again. Bill reached up, gripping his bowtie and squeezing it gently.
Once the flying eyeball made its way into the palace, it flew it's frozen townsperson over to the throne where the rest had already gone. Deciding he would not be part of that, Bill jumped off his free transport and took off running down the halls. He had no trouble avoiding his Henchmaniacs considering they were too busy partying to notice and insignificant meatsack like him breaking and entering.
As he traversed the labyrinth, Bill miraculously stumbled upon the room he had been searching for.
It was a cozy room with a couch, self-portrait of himself, and a golden statue that he dubbed in the past to be his backscratcher.
"Hello, Sixer," Bill muttered, walking towards the golden man with his arms crossed behind his back.
"It's been a while. I mean, not for you. For you, it's probably been a couple of hours. For me, though, it's—... if I'm being honest, I don't really know how long it's been." Bill began to circle the statue, taking in the sight of it. "If I had my powers... I'd probably unfreeze you just to get a reaction and see what you thought of my new look. I can't imagine what you'd say when you found out I had an official human body to call my own. Well, I guess I'm still just playing puppeteer because the truth of the matter is someone did own this body before me. I'm just not sure who that someone is— was? ...I wonder if you would have figured it out by now. You're smart. Not as smart as me, but then again... you knew how to take down the barrier and I didn't. You managed to trick me and I didn't catch it, leading me to my—"
"Woah woah woah! HEY! Who are you?!"
Bill froze, recognizing the voice screaming into the back of his head. He could feel the heat of this being's anger burning into his back, causing every little hair on his body to stand up straight. He let out an amused hum before slowly turning around with the most cocky smirk the man could possibly display.
"You, but better since I have been upgraded to two eyes and you're still stuck with one. Spoiler alert: don't get too attached to that one, either. Won't be long before you're forced to regenerate it again."
The large, crimson red triangle stared down at the mortal with a mix of anger and confusion emitting off his form before slowly he began to shrink to normal size with his color reverting back to its golden glow.
"...You're me?"
"I am."
"Whose body is this?"
"Mine. Ours."
"Now why would I ever stoop so low to use my infinite power to turn my glorious body into a disgusting fleshbag? What's wrong with the form we have?!"
"Nothing, and if I could return to my original body, I would in a heartbeat. But we can't. I can't. This form you hold now has been destroyed in my time." Bill sighed, running a hand through his hair while the other still held his bowtie. "I've had to make due with my resources in order to survive."
The other Bill, his past self, floated there with his singular eye narrowing. "Destroyed? What does that even mean? If you really were me, then there is no way we could have been stopped!"
"Why not? Sure, we have infinite power, but these creatures are smarter than they look. One miscalculation is all it takes."
"I don't make miscalculations."
"You will." Bill paused, looking down at his hands. "In time, you're going to get yourself a big head and let your own ego drive you to your death all because you couldn't be patient and think things through. You die... and in turn, you become me. We get trapped in a body that's not our own with no powers to help us get by. You become powerless. For now, this world fears you, but once you take on this form the roles will be switched. Your senses are overstimulated and you don't know what you're doing because you come to realize now that you're alone and scared. The Henchmaniacs that you thought were your friends only used and abused you to get what they wanted. So much changes in such a short amount of time that you feel like death might have been a better option.
"But then these humans enter your life. A boy who is fascinated by the unknown, a girl with more intelligence than any other kid her age, and a child with an optimistic perspective on life that makes you feel hopeful again. You meet this family that is so uniquely different and they welcome you into their home, completely trusting you and unafraid. They feed you, play with you, and cuddle with you on a couch while watching television. You get to experience fear, joy, sadness, comfort—... you experience warmth.
"Candle, that's the nickname we gave them. From the moment we met them, they always provided us with a sense of warmth and protection. They gave us a home, a bed, food, and clothes. They shared their experiences with us and swore to look after us no matter what. We've had a bumpy journey, but we've stuck together and supported one another. They make you realize what it means to care for another with so much emotion it builds in your chest with a tightening pain and you just don't know what to do with it. It's awful, and yet at the same time it's the best feeling we will ever feel. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Bill looked up at the floating triangle, and it pained him to know he may never have that form ever again.
...right?
He was being given this opportunity to go back to this point in his life right before everything changed for him. Maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe... Maybe he could fix things.
"I know you can't see things the way I see them now because you have yet to know what I have experienced, but everything you're doing here is wrong and needs to be stopped."
"Put a stop to Weirdmageddon? But I've only just begun!"
"And continuing this path will lead to our death! It doesn't work!" Bill yelled as he stretched his arms out, looking around the room. "We came here to find a new home! That was always the goal, wasn't it?! We have always been reaching towards the goal of finding a new home where we can be ourselves without judgment. That's why we left the Flat Dimension in the first place! But then we ran into Pyronica, Teeth, 8 Ball, and the rest. Our relationship with the Henchmaniacs is not a healthy one. They tried to kill us and we did our best to prove that we could be of use and get them a new dimension before theirs crumbled, but what happens once we conquer this place?! You really think they will let us live? Once they realize they have no more use for us, that's it! We're done!
"But if we stop the invasion now, if we actually talked to the fleshbags, then maybe we can have a chance. This is your chance to make real friends, a real family, and be happy. This can be home for us! I know it works because I have that now where I am at! But we can do without the trauma of experiencing death and pain, right? If you just end things now, maybe talk to the Pines family, you can get one step ahead of the game."
Bill clenched his fists, staring up at his former self with hope in his eyes. He knew it would be hard to convince the other dream demon, but if he just got the chance to experience what he has these past couple of weeks then he'd understand the importance of all of this. If Bill just kept pushing, then maybe he could stop reliving the memory of his death over and over each time he went to sleep—
"No."
Bill froze, his heart clenching in his chest.
"No...? ...What do you mean 'no'?!"
"Did I somehow get dumber when I got softer?" The triangle floated right up to the man's face, shoving his cane against his neck. "I'm not canceling the invasion just so you can get some brainwashed 'happily ever after' crap. What I want is to take over this dimension, and the only way I can claim it is by showing these pathetic insects who's really in charge. I'm not here to just settle for mediocre, I'm here to come out with getting what I deserve!"
"All you're going to get is a painful, agonizing death going down this path!"
"Only if I go down the same path you did, but thanks to you, I have now been given a warning on what not to do. Once I've avoided making the same mistakes you did, your timeline will cease to exist and I'll rule a long life with nobody getting in my way! I refuse to turn out as weak and pathetic as you have, tarnishing our name across the multiverse."
"I am not weak!" Bill growled, offended that his past self would say such a thing.
Before he could say anymore, however, he found a powerful aura surrounding his body. Suddenly, he was lifted into the air against his will and slammed harshly into a nearby wall. It felt like he was choking even with there being nothing around his neck.
"Is that so? From my side, it seems to me you've lost your touch~ If it were up to me, I'd make sure this version of myself never sees the light of day. So, be a good demon and tell me how I can avoid this from ever happening."
Avoid this? Bill thought, squirming in an attempt to escape his hold. Of course he wanted to avoid death, but not like this. Not to simply go back to his old ways. There was a chance at a better life for himself, to experience real happiness, and if his past does this then all hope of that life would be lost.
Jerome, Norah, and Vox would be lost.
Brik and the Walls Family would be lost.
His Candle would be lost.
His Candle... His Candle... would be... lost.
"...No."
At that moment, something changed. It was so brief of a change that not even Bill had noticed, but for a split second, the triangle could have swore he saw the puppet boy's eyes begin to glow. An excruciating amount of pain flowed through the floating triangle's body, causing him to release his future self and stumble backwards while clutching his head tightly.
"What is this?! What are you doing to me?!"
Bill gasped for air, rubbing his throat as he looked at his past self in confusion. What had he done? He hadn't done anything. He didn't have any powers or abilities to do anything... right?
A demonic screech erupted from his former self, causing him to cover his own ears to keep himself from becoming deaf. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on; he didn't remember this happening in the past where he collapsed and just started screaming out in pain. The Pines Family had yet to arrive to reclaim their great uncle and kill him in the worst way imaginable, so what would be causing his past self this much pain?
All of a sudden it stopped. The agonizing screaming stopped and the golden triangle floated there with a dazed look in his eye.
"What.... What's going on? Where am I? My head... How much have I had to drink?"
Wait... had he...?
Before he could say anything, there was a bright flash that blinded him.
~
"Bill!"
Bill's eyes shot wide open, looking around panicked.
He was back. He was back at the park, sitting at a picnic table surrounded by his three friends. He was back like he had never left. Weirdmageddon was gone once more like it was meant to be.
"Bill! Are you alright?!" Jerome screamed.
"Yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just disappeared! Out of thin air! One moment you were here, and then the next— poof!"
"What?" Bill muttered, glancing at the other two hoping one of them would pipe up to explain further, but neither of them did. They were sitting absolutely speechless, staring at the dream demon like they just saw a ghost. "...How long was I gone?"
"About ten seconds. You disappeared and then instantly reappeared. Do you have teleportation abilities? Where did you go?!"
Bill frowned, lowering his head as he fidgeted with his bowtie. "The better question is when did I go. ...I don't know how it's even possible, but I went back to a moment in my past that I've been trying to forget about for the longest time and was forced to relive it all over again. I don't know how I could have been gone for only ten seconds when I was there for what seemed like hours."
"So it did work, in a sense."
Bill's frown deepened as he looked up to stare into the eyes of the child who had dared to speak up. "What's that supposed to mean, Raindrop?"
Norah, the human in question, readjusted her glasses and cleared her throat before responding, "You said that you wanted to know who possessed the body you're inhabiting before you claimed it as yours. I figured since I have been failing you in being able to take down the barrier fast enough, maybe I could help you with something else. So I came up with the idea that since no one in the present day remembers this face, maybe someone in the past would. I've been working on this time machine idea for a while now, before you came along for my own personal reasons, and finally got around to tinkering with it again. But now... it's broken."
Norah gestured towards the table; only now did Bill notice the strange, large, broken device that sat in the middle of the picnic table with her empty bag laying down beside it. So that's what was in the bag. He must have touched it and accidentally activated it. Whoops.
"I failed you again, I'm sorry. I thought it would have worked."
She didn't fail him, Bill thought. This mini genius did something incredible and it still technically worked in the end right before it broke. It might not have taken him where he wanted to go, but it took him back to a time he needed to revisit. He had no idea how much he had changed during his time in this town living the life of a human. Bill saw things differently now; he saw humans, Weirdmageddon, and even Pinetree through a new pair of eyes. It was all so strange to him, he wasn't sure how to make sense of the whole situation.
You're soft now, a voice whispered in the back of his head.
Soft? Bill wasn't soft. Maybe he let down some walls to actually start trusting people again, but he wasn't soft. He had friends now and he was finally happy with where he was at. Was that such a bad thing?
You're weak now.
Weak? Sure, Bill didn't have his powers anymore but that didn't make him weak. Being touched starved doesn't make him weak, or the fact he doesn't trust most physical touches. He was strong in the sense that he could admit to these things and work with his Candle to help him through.
You're failing your mission.
What mission? To take over this dimension with a new and improved Weirdmageddon once he was finally free from this town? Sure he had some minor setbacks, but that was still his goal at the end of the day! ...Right?
Is it?
Wasn't it?
...
There was a tapping sound, snapping Bill out of his thoughts and causing him to look up.
[Are you okay?] Vox signed, showing concern for the dream demon through their facial expression.
[I'm fine.] Bill signs back, his shoulders relaxing a bit.
[Is touch okay?]
[...Yes.]
Vox moved over to Bill, wrapping their arms around his torso and burying their face in his chest. Bill returned the hug as those nasty thoughts from before seemed to vanish.
"You didn't fail me, Raindrop," Bill finally says once he's calmed down enough and can give her a small smile. "I think it's awesome you made a device like that to begin with, and it did end up working! If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me for breaking it."
Norah grinned, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, I wasn't really liking the design of it anyhow and was planning on remaking it into something more... portable. That thing was heavy to carry around."
Bill chuckled as he turned to look at the strange box with wires and buttons sticking out from all sides. It really wasn't a pretty sight to gaze upon. So Norah needed something that was both small and decent to look at without drawing much attention towards it. Bill was certain he could find a solution to that problem.
"How about making a time machine in the form of a measuring tape?"
"...A what?"
Should this be canon to the main plot?
Yes
No