My Name is Bill Cipher

You Know The Answer

A nagging thought has entered my mind, and I can't get it out of my head. Whatever did happen to that memory canister from the memory gun? Mabel has told me that she destroyed the gun, but did she break the canister as well. She broke the gun after Stanley's memories were recovered. But perhaps... could this really be the answer we've been puzzling over? Could my presence have escaped from the canister itself? I need to see for myself. I need to ask someone about this. However, everyone else is still asleep. The sun is not even up. But I'm much too awake to go back to sleep. I'm just going to have to wait.
I wait on the couch early in the morning until the first early riser enters the living room, a cup of hot coffee in his hands. He yawns, his footsteps getting louder as he blearily approaches the room where I sit. "Ah, Sixer!" I exclaim as he enters. He jumps, nearly spilling his drink.
"Oh, Cipher, I didn't see you there," Stanford tells me. "What are you doing awake so early? Usually I'm the first one awake for hours. Actually, here's a secret: This coffee is the only thing keeping me awake." He gestures to his mug. Drops of coffee are dribbling down the side.
"I have a question that I'm not exactly sure you know the answer to," I tell him. I'm not actually sure that anyone knows the answer to my question. I fold my hands and twiddle my thumbs, wondering who possibly could give a better explanation than I was about to give on how my soul escaped the destruction of the memory gun.
Stanford sits on a chair near the couch. "Fire away," he says, taking a sip of coffee.
"The memory gun you used to erase your brother's mind... and me..." Sixer's gaze darkens, but he nods, following. "I know it was destroyed, but what happened to the canister?"
Stanford nearly spits out his drink. "You think that's how your soul was let out?"
"Yes!" I exclaim. "If the gun was broken, the canister could've been easily cracked. But I want to make sure. Do you know where it is?" I ask.
"I don't," Ford admits. "I haven't seen it since the day of Dipper and Mabel's thirteenth birthday party. It may have been disposed of. I'm sure none of us remembered the canister and the consequences that could follow losing it. It's a good theory, but will it really be relevant to anything whether we confirm it or not?"
"I guess not..." I sigh. I hate to admit it, but Ford is right. I really thought I was onto something, but in the end, confirmed or not, this theory is not going to save my life. I'm not sure if anything I say will at this point, but I have to keep trying.
     "Stanford, I... I'm going to sound like a coward, but at this point, there's no other way to say this. I don't care how inconvenient it could be for all of you, but there has to be a better way to- well- oh, I don't know! You just can't follow through with the zodiac! Do you actually have any idea what it would do to me?!" Before I became human, I'd only been scared once before in my entire life. That was when I was trapped in Stanley's mind, my life about to end. That's exactly how I feel now. I'm trapped in this body, in this world, there's no way out. No matter what I say, no matter what I offer, I'm going to die at the hands of my enemies. And there's nothing I can do to stop it.
     "No." Irritation flecks Stanford's voice. "But you know there's no other option. I know you would rather keep yourself safe than all of us, but that's not how things work in our family. You must understand that, even if you are destroyed in the process, this is the safest option for the majority." I do understand what he's saying, but I don't want to say so. He could be the one to get me out of this mess.
     "I could promise to never cause chaos or harm anything or anyone again, with or without the consent of my conscience being?" It's a weak shot, but I guess it can't hurt to try.
     "But that would be a lie. Whether or whether you don't have control over your actions." Well, that's Stanford for you, shooting down everything I think of... even though he is right.
     "Yeah..." I sigh, feeling defeated.
     "I'll tell you what:" My ears perk up. Is Fordsy actually offering me... a deal? This is just what I need! "If you can get just one member of the zodiac to agree with your case, or at least most of it, and if they have a better idea of what we should do instead and a way to carry it out, I'll give this more thought. I could use some time to run some tests before we carry out the whole thing. If there is no one, we're going to carry through with our original plan. Does that sound like a deal to you?" He sticks out his right hand for me to shake.
     "Definitely," I reply, shaking his six-fingered hand for the first time in a long while.
I think I know just the right person to help me out.