Phantom Falls

9: Masters' Pet

The above artwork does not belong to me.

The shifter glided low over the trees, anger knotting its stomach. It hated the halfa; it hated him almost as much as it hated the author. Almost as much as it hated Dipper.

Capturing the halfa had been a mission set by the ones who'd freed the shifter from cryofreeze. But now the assignment was a quest for revenge. The halfa had humiliated the shifter, hurt its sensitive eyes. Worst of all, he had tried to freeze it, just as Dipper had.

It hissed as it thought about Daniel. If only its masters hadn't ordered it to keep him alive . . .

Morphing into a raven, the shifter swooped down into a rocky clearing and approached a cave that dropped into nothingness. It presented its true form: a slimy, milk-white beast with slender legs and mismatched arms. Its large pink eyes were red around the edges from the ecto blast.

It crawled to the edge of the cave. Hello, bug, a familiar voice murmured in its mind. Sleep now . . .

The shifter allowed itself to lose consciousness. Instantly, it began to dream.

The creature was in the rocky clearing, just as it was in real life. Fully aware that the whole scene was taking place in its own head, it looked around. The sky was dark, but nothing else had changed.

The world went black and white as Bill Cipher appeared. "Hey, Little Squishy!" he cackled. "How's it going?"

It hated being called that, but the shifter knew better than to talk back to Bill. Did you capture Daniel? the other presence asked. The shifter shivered at the mental contact.

"I apologize, masters. I did not realize that he could freeze things at will. And the Pines interfered. They-"

"Blah, blah, blah!" Bill interrupted. "That's no excuse, Squishy."

We need Daniel here if the plan is to work, the presence reminded him.

Hesitantly it asked, "With all due respect, masters, why can't Bill just possess him and lead him here?"

Bill laughed. "I already thought of that, silly Little Squishy. For me to possess someone, they have to invite me in. But you may be on to something."

If the bug cannot catch him, then perhaps the element of surprise will, the other voice suggested. We can possess someone close to him.

The triangle finished the thought. "And I know exactly who!"

The Pines twins won't fall for it again, the voice warned.

Cackling maniacally, Bill began to disappear in a flash of light. "I wasn't talking about them, silly!"

When the shifter woke, it morphed into a mouse and scurried off. Both of its masters were downright insane, but it knew it had picked the winning side. Their plan was crazy, and the shifter was sure it didn't even know the whole thing.

It only wished that it knew what the mysterious presence inhabiting the cave was. Why did the voice's owner hide down there? The situation made no sense to the creature. Yet it prepared for its new mission anyway.

After all, what was more important than its survival?