The Demonic Pirate

Chapter 20

P. O. V. Bill

When nighttime fell, I immediately laid on my bed and slipped into the dreamscape. I called out for Ella's conscious which answered, but there was a strangeness about it almost as if something were in there manipulating her mind, but that was impossible I was the only one who could do that. I cautiously touched her mind's shield and immediately it relaxed at my touch, but something underneath hardened making it near impossible to get through, and I chanted under my breath as I pushed against it. Again and again, I pushed on the strange shield around her mind till finally with a loud pop! It turned to dust, and I was sent tumbling through the air slamming to a stop on a hard surface which was unusual for the mindscape. As I looked around, I realized her mind was on high alert, which could only mean one thing; the subconscious was under attack. I quickly ran toward the subconscious area, but long before I was there, I felt a strong force pushing against me. When I spoke my name, however, the force relaxed just enough to let me through, and I ran through ignoring all the various signs of danger such as the darkening sky and the fierce wind that tore at my clothes. As I rushed to the subconscious when I arrived, I saw a scene that could only have come from my nightmares. Black skeleton horses with skeleton riders were advancing upon a desert the edge of which held the subconscious, but the moment any of the skeletons stepped into the sand they were swallowed up by the bottomless sand and the skeletons were being attacked from behind as well by another army of white soldiers on pure white horses. The soldiers were pushing the skeletons into the sand, but there were far more skeletons then soldiers. I knew the soldiers wouldn't last long without help, so I dove into the fight, killing skeletons left and right then throwing the bodies into the sand where they dissolved into blackness. When I had reached the soldiers, the leader approached me, and he was on a horse. He held his hand out to me, which I took as he pulled me onto the horse, then galloped to the back of the line. where he stopped and said in a voice that sounded as if it came from the depths of hell "Dismount." Which I did without hesitation as he remained on the horse, and he said: "What is your business here, Cipher?"
I said, "I'm glad you know who I am. I'm finding more and more that her subconscious is forgetting me."
"I am commander Jason," he said, "and I would never forget you. You saved the mind you have protected the body, and now in our time of need, you have risked the safety of your mind to help us win a battle that was not your own. We all owe you a great deal of debt. Now, why have you come?"
I said, "I need to find the dream."
The commander suddenly got solemn as he said, "That part of the mind has been taken already. We tried as hard as we could to stop him, but then he began attacking the subconscious, and we were called to protect for as I'm sure you know once the subconscious gets taken the entire brain is lost."
I nodded my understanding as I said: "I still need to get there."
he nodded saying, "I cannot lead you there myself for the war is still being fought, and I am needed here, but Cipher." He paused and looked directly at me as he finished, "We're losing. Her resolve is failing. The pain combined with the nightmares is becoming too much for this mind. She's breaking."
I said, "Then I must act quickly. Just point me in the right direction."
He pointed to his left, and I started that way, but he grabbed my arm and said, "You must be careful master Cipher. Her dreams are dark and dangerous. I would advise you not to go in the front way but go through the memories to the back of her mind." I nodded as he released my arm and I dashed toward the memories passing through the force that had initially tried to keep me out but now pushed me out faster than I could've hoped to run and it flung me away from the subconscious and into the memories where I landed with an oof! Before quickly getting to my feet and running toward the dreams. Before I could get there; however, a memory caught my attention, it was extremely recent. It was of Ford shocking her and asking questions then he shocked her until she passed out. Before I could tear my gaze away from the memories, another one was in its place of a guard in Tad's dungeon asking the same question over and over then whipping her when she didn't answer. Then another this time of Ford shocking her again and another of her old master pouring acid. the memories continued until I felt overwhelmed with all the suffering she had been through till I yelled, "Enough!"
Pushing the memories back into their places but I had attracted Ford's attention, and with the full power of the mind he said: "Well, well, Cipher what a surprise I thought the unicorn hair would keep you out, but it seems I have to look to bigger things!" Then he laughed evilly as I yelled at him my voice sounding small and powerless in comparison to his "Don't you see what your becoming!" the laughing stopped as I realized I had his full attention on me and I continued "Your becoming the one thing you hate! Me! This is exactly the kind of thing I would do to break someone, and you know it!"
He cut me off with a roar like thunder "I'm nothing like you Cipher! I would never torture my kind!"
"But you are right now!" I cut him off with a yell needing to end this conversation and get to the dream before things became even worse "You know as well as I do that the only ones allowed in the mindscape are demons!"
I felt the mood of the cloud above me change from angry to smug in a split second as he laughed and said, "Ha! Do you think I'm a demon?! Not a chance I'm no demon I've only created a machine that allows me to imitate the powers of other demons!"
I smirked as I said, "Excellent."Then using my powers, I chanted and pushed him back out of the memories and out of the dream section as I said: "I Bill Cipher hereby declare you Stanford Pines an enemy of this mind, and I hereby banish you from this mind on penalty of death by brainwash!"
Then I focused as much power as I possibly could into one big ball of energy which I shot at Ford. Knowing that if I missed it would kill Ella but fortunately, I didn't miss. I struck Ford right in the center of his cloud, and he dissolved with a scream that seemed to last an eternity. Making me cover my ears as I quickly ran toward the dream, and as I did, I noticed color begin to return to her mind. Something was off though it still seemed muted as though the fear was still there, I ignored it though running full speed toward her dreams.
When I arrived at her dream, I gained easy access when I spoke my name. I then transported into a forest. I heard quiet crying coming from within the forest. I ran toward the sound, hoping it was Ella. I was relieved when I saw Ella curled into a ball at the base of a tree crying. The relief quickly turned to worry, though, as I sensed fear around her. In an attempt to comfort her, I grabbed her wrist, trying to make her see me, but she screamed and tried to push me away, but I held tight as I said, "Ella! It's m. It'ss me! Relax. Relax, I'm here. I'm here."
She relaxed as she recognized my voice then immediately jumped into my arms, and I held her as she cried softly. I continued to hold her long after she stopped crying, knowing that she needed it, and she whispered, "You have no idea how grateful I am that you're here. Thank you!"
I petted her hair in a comforting way and said, "Anytime you need me, I'll be there. Come on now let's get to a more pleasant place, eh?"
She nodded as I picked her up, shifting the dream to a more pleasant one. On the deck of the ship and I set her down on the floor as she smiled standing at the edge of the deck and breathing in the salty ocean air. I stood next to her, and even though I had a million questions for her, I remained silent as I felt the mood of her brain slowly relax. when I had judged that enough time had passed for her to calm down, I said: "So what were you trying to say earlier and why'd I have to leave so suddenly?"
She sighed saying, "The reason you had to leave suddenly was that the old man has figured out a way to mimic your powers he can get in my mind. But only as far as the immediate area, he can't get to my memories or anything beyond."
It suddenly clicked in my head as I said, "Ah! That explains why it was so hard to get in here!"
She nodded and said, "He's strongest when I'm asleep he manipulates my dreams into nightmares it's been going on for three days now, and it's working. I'm breaking I can feel it." I looked at her with concern as she continued, "but that was before you came. The minute I saw you were still alive, my determination hardened, and I had a purpose again; I knew I needed to keep the secrets safe, I couldn't let him get to me. Every time I see you, it strengthens my resolve, and I become more and more determined."
I suddenly remembered how I had to take a different path, and I felt like she should know, so I said "I need to tell you something, Ell, a." she looked at me questioningly as I continued "I had to find another path into your dream through your mind. So I had to go through some of your memories. I've seen what happened to you since Tad caught you and I want you to know I'm sorry. It should have been me. I should've gone after Pinetree, not you. Then none of this would have ever happened. I'm... I'm sorry, Ella."
By the end of it, I was crying, and as I cried, I felt her put her arm comfortingly around me. I stiffened at her touch, not expecting her to try and comfort me before I relaxed into her. Allowing her to hold me even long after I had stopped crying at which point she said, "Don't think that way. I chose to go after Pinetree, and what I've been through is not your fault at all."
I looked at her finally understanding and said, "you're right; it's not my fault. It's Tad's; he's the one who messed with you in the first place. It's his fault the old man came after you." she said nothing to that as I straightened up to my full highs standing over her at least a foot as she let go of me and I smiled saying with confidence "That's not the reason I'm here though. I have a couple of questions for you, do you think you can answer them?"
She shrugged, saying, "Sure. Fire away."
so it began as I said, "Do you know where you are?"
"No."
I cursed then asked the next question "Can you described the old man to me?"
"How about I show you instead?" And she conjured up an image of the old man in her dream. When I saw the old man, I gasped as I recognized the very same man who had hunted me for the past half-century and I whispered "Ford."
the image disappeared as she said, "Who is he, Bill?"
I hesitated not wanting to tell her that part of my history the delicate part in every demons life where they go through the phase of wanting only to kill but eventually I realized that she had gone through the same thing and I said "He's a dangerous enemy of mine. We met a while back when I was still going through my moods you know?" she nodded as I continued "He caught me in a bad mood, and I killed his brother. it was an accident the shot was supposed to hit Ford, but his brother jumped in front of it. At least I can say it was a quick death." I looked at her sadly trying but failing to bury the image of Ford's brother burning into smoke as I said: "He still holds a grudge against me and anyone who associates themselves with me."
she said, "That explains the question he keeps asking me."
my head snapped up at that as I realized the memory was real, he was trying to get information from her, and I said, "What question?"
she said, "He wants me to tell him how to kill you."
I cursed then said, "Whatever you do, you can't let him have that information."
She said, "Don't worry, I won't. Though I have to admit it's getting harder to resist."
Then I shook my head to clear it as I said, "Next question. Do you know where Pinetree is?"
"He's in the house somewhere, but I don't know where." Then before I could say anything else the dream world shook causing us both to fall over and when the shaking had stopped, she said: "What was that?"
I cursed as I realized someone was trying to wake her up and I said "That was movement in your body something's happening to you outside the dreamscape." the dream shook again as I yelled, "They're trying to wake you up we don't have much more time." Then I took her hands saying with utmost sincerity "I will find you and I will bring you back I promise. Just hold on a little longer."
I was beginning to fade, but she hugged me and whispered: "Hurry, please."
Before I felt myself fade completely. I woke up in my captains quarters and immediately walked up to the top deck, and when I saw Pyronica at the wheel, she looked at me questioningly as I said: "I think it's time we paid a little visit to an old friend."
And she smiled grimly...