Zigzag Logic (Bill Cipher X Reader)

Begin the Climb

You still could not wrap your head around that fact. You? Have something to do with a prophecy? How could that even possibly happen? You were just about as unimportant as a pebble. You didn't really have friends, your mother hadn't talked to you in a long time due to you cutting off all contact after the breakup, and the only person in Zigzag who knew you existed was Tom, the grocer who would sometimes pull you into conversation if he saw you were a bit stressed while buying food. Yet everyone else in the car driving down to Zigzag was convinced.

Unlike Bill, you all still needed to breathe. So everyone was going to get climbing gear and air tanks and that sort of thing. It would be a long climb up the mountain and all of you were inexperienced, the exception being Ford. Ford listed off exactly what you all needed- Stan being stressed on how expensive this all was. You were barely able to think straight, leading to many slip-ups at the mountain gear store where Ford would find ski grease in the cart instead of cans of food.

"Sorry... sorry..." you said wistfully, your mind someplace else.

"Pay more attention, (Y/N)," Ford said calmly, and walked off to put the ski grease back where it belonged.

You were paying attention, though, just not where you should have been. You were busy watching possibility after possibility whizz by in your head as you tried to think what would happen if something went wrong. What would happen if the mountain erupted before you all were out of the store? Zigzag being close to Timberline, the closest human-controlled place to the mountain's tip, would you all be vaporized instantly like the victims of Pompeii? What about if you were all climbing the mountain and it erupted? Avalanches suffocating everyone as you all tumbled in a mix of snow and boulders, crushing and pummeling everyone. Lava pouring out of the crater in large, super heated sheets of death. Glaciers shattering.

What would even happen if you all managed to make it there anyway? What would Bill do? Burn everyone to a crisp with that blue fire sprouting out of his hand- a rose of death? Maybe. Capture you, destroy the Pines family? Probably. Would you even be able to convince him not to destroy the world? Even the hawk said it would happen eventually. When you were dead. Which would mean everyone else would be dead too, if you were supposed to live for a really long time. How could you stop Bill then? What would be the point of stopping him now?

You felt small, minuscule, really. You were just delaying the inevitable, if you were even successful in doing that. What use could you really be? The prophecy literally stated a "great demon would destroy the circle and seal the world's fate with a goose feather dipped in blood."

Suddenly, you had an epiphany. A goose feather dipped in blood. Why exactly was it dipped in blood? If you really were part of this prophecy, how could you be dipped in blood? Metaphorically or literally? Never in your life had you ever killed someone, the mere thought of killing another human being terrified you to no end. And while you had dealt with blood before- the thought of your first meeting with Bill flashed through your mind- you weren't morbidly obsessed with it. What could it honestly mean?

And what was the part of the prophecy that spoke about the white stag? What did that even say? You would have to look it up while you drove up to Timberline.

***

Surprisingly, though, you couldn't find anything. Through the whole forty-five minute journey while Ford drove up the mountain, there was not a single mention on the internet about a white stag that pertained to the legend.

As you were getting out of the car, you suddenly remembered the journal; Journal Zero as you were beginning to call it. You pulled it out of the glove box and shoved it into the inside pocket of your coat, glad that you were finally able to change out of your pajamas into more appropriate clothing for the weather and for climbing. The book was large and bulky, strangely, it didn't bother you at all.

"Are we all ready?" Ford asked, adjusting his glasses.

Everyone nodded, and Ford began to lead the climb.

However, you were all quickly stopped at the entrance to a trail leading to the climbing path. The park ranger looked at you all with a snobby expression. He scoffed, "And what do you all think you're doing here?"

Stan seemed about to retort with some colorful choice words, so you intervened. Stepping in front of Stan, you held up your pointer finger with as much a confident expression as you could manage. "We were simply going to climb the mountain, as it is our right to do so. I live here so I know you can't charge us for some sort of fee. Plus we all have the proper equipment," you replied with an assertive smirk. You knew how to deal with pretentious, rich-kid park rangers.

"Are you thick? All climbing toward the top of the mountain has been temporarily postponed due to the recent earthquakes. Mount Hood hasn't had any of those since the last eruption and we hadn't even colonized Oregon at that point. We aren't taking any risks. This isn't California, lady," the park ranger spat.

"I resent that last comment," Dipper remarked.

You searched for another reason to argue with the park ranger, but you just couldn't think of any logical explanation. Would "We need to get up there because a flying demon triangle is going to make the mountain erupt and release other worldly horrors because I wouldn't date him!" make any sense? To any sane person you would sound crazy.

The park ranger looked at you, his smirk beginning to fade into that of a "you're an idiot" expression as the silence continued on. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "Listen, lady, I don't have time for this right now," he sneered. "I have to patrol the rest of these trail entrances for suckers like you thinking you can climb the mountain while everyone else is getting off of it."

Ford stepped in the way, gently moving you to the side and toward Dipper. "We have special permission to be up here. We're with a volcanic research team, and my brother and I-" Ford pointed to Stan "- are here to show these rookies how to use the volcanic activity equipment," he said calmly.

The park ranger raised an eyebrow. "Well, she didn't quite put that forward," he said with a high and mighty tone as he pointed his gaze toward you.

"Yeah, she's got a bit of an... influential... boyfriend who is kind of an ass. She's gotten more cocky with him around," Ford responded with so much self-confidence even you were beginning to become convinced.

"Well, if you've got this 'special permission,' wheres the identification to confirm it?" the park ranger scorned.

Ford pulled out a thin, leather wallet only meant for holding identification cards. The park ranger stared at it for a moment, mouth agape, and then found it worthy enough evidence.

"I... guess I can let you guys pass..." he grumbled. He looked at you. "Be glad he was here or I'd've had you dragged away by police..."

The park ranger left, grumbling to himself. You looked at Ford. "How did you have the exact identification card for something so specific?" you asked.

Ford looked back at you and grinned. He held up the wallet containing nothing but a simple blank piece of paper. Stan snorted, "Was he that dumb?"

"Oh no, no. He wasn't dumb. Well, not in the intelligence sense," Ford said. "It's called 'psychic paper.' A guy I met on my dimensional travels gave it to me. He said he had plenty more where that came from and just handed it to me. 'For whenever you need to show some identification,' he said and then disappeared with his blue telephone box. It took me a while to actually figure out what it did, though."

"He disappeared in a telephone box?" Mabel asked. "Like one of your teleporting doors?"

Ford smiled again, "Well, it was more of a spaceship that was bigger on the inside."