Misguided Adventures and Magical Attachments (Completed)

Chapter 9

He knew he was dreaming as soon as he found himself somewhere other than his bed. Dipper looked around him, the cozy interiors of the Mystery Shack living room surrounding the boy. It looked nearly identical to the real deal apart from the warped hallway to the side of him, front door gone and the staircase replaced by a couch. He breathed in a ragged breath, still somber from crying, and called out for a certain dream demon he knew would appear, "Bill? You . . . You there?" For a second, Dipper stood stiffly, having a hard time keeping his nerves intact. He really hoped Bill had been somewhere far away while he was thinking, because having a guy with a full ego believing that he was secretly worshipping him would be terrible. And also . . . Dipper didn't want him to get any ideas. Especially ones dealing with throwing the boy away or making him feel any worse than he already was. Taking a seat in Grunkle Stan's empty chair, the brown-headed tween tried again, "B-bill? You can . . . show up now." He became suddenly restless, anxious that Bill actually did think he was no fun and decided to quit hanging out with him. It would have made the old Dipper Pines glad. No longer. "Bill?"

"Heh. I'm back now, Pine Tree!" Bill appeared once again in his usual form. No more human, just as he had promised. "You should be glad to know that the annoying brat, Gideon, is having wonderful nightmares!" The demon cheered. It seemed he still held a grudge against Gideon for breaking the deal.

"That's . . . great. Serves him right," Dipper commented truthfully, feeling some of his timidness disappear. It was a huge relief seeing the demon floating in front of him, done with his business and ready for whatever fun he had in store for the night. Confidence somewhat renewed, Dipper tried not to dwell on his earlier thoughts, instead smiling at the classy triangle. Bill was, indeed, very classy. It was strange that the twelve year-old never cared much about it before. Now it stuck out with a near heart-wrenching obviousness. "I'm happy that you showed up. I was . . . getting a little worried you wouldn't."

"Why wouldn't I? I couldn't just ditch my favorite human. After all, we made a deal. And by demon law, I can't break them . . ." Bill shrugged. "Anyway, what fun do I get to have tonight?" he asked excited.

Favorite? Dipper seemed to be caught on that, touched and surprised and disbelieving at the same time. I'm his . . . favorite? He felt himself heat up from warmth and pride and quickly submerged it. Bill probably doesn't actually mean it. He'd want to be on my good side. But . . . I want to believe it. I'd like to. The tween blinked, trying to focus. "Oh, uh, I guess I didn't plan this out so well, did I?" Dipper grinned sheepishly, standing from his seat to look around at the mostly enclosed space. This is my dream, so I should be able to do what I want with it. Like . . . He focused hard, staring at the wall where the door should be. It suddenly erupted with glowing runes and a strange noise sounded loudly before dying away, the wall crumbling into dust, leaving a gaping hole. "Wanna explore my dream?" he offered with a shrug. "We can see what I can come up with along the way, if you'd like."

"Sure. Sounds adventurous and entertaining!" Bill said and floated down closer to follow the boy. "You lead the way."

Dipper smiled at him before walking forward, clearing his mind. As the hole got closer, the boy felt a tug of curiosity, wondering what wonderful and weird lands laid beyond the illusional Mystery Shack. Once outside, he was pleasantly surprised to find that they were not in the typical location, the trees and small town of Gravity Falls gone. In its place was a world of scientific fascination, with towering skyscrapers made of untold substances and smaller buildings in strange shapes, some decorated with magical-looking gizmos and glowing, symbolic lights. Even the grass was different, short, gleaming and always moving, like a three-dimensional electric mat of sorts. The pavement was actually made of an extensive collection of gemstones, some of which Dipper had never seen before and were probably not even real.