The Return of Bill Cipher (billdip)

Chapter 4

Dipper backed away. He tried to yell, but nothing came out. He turned to run, the other grabbing his shoulder and pulling him to the ground.

"Yikes, sorry kid. That was kinda rough." Bill said, reaching out to help Dipper up with Stan's strong arm. Naturally Dipper didn't take his hand, trying to scurry away. "Look kid, I'm not trying to hurt you or your family. I just need to have a little talk with your Grunkle Fordsy that's all." He retracted his arm and sat down on the grassy roadside, legs crossed. Dipper was still on the ground in the middle of the road. He didn't believe Bill was without ill intent, but it would be stupid to try to fight him. Even with as tired as Stan was he likely could still overpower him. Running was his best bet. Scampering to his feet, Dipper took after his sister who was messing around with a stick in the mud on the other side of the road. He grabbed her hand and started to run. 

"Hehe, running isn't gonna do you much, Pinetree. You'll just get lost. and lookey here!" Dipper stopped sharply, still holding onto a confused Mabel's wrist. He looked behind him only to see Bill waving the twins' cellphones up in the air. "Can't be letting you call Sixer and warn him! It's a surprise!" Dipper let out an exasperated sigh and began to walk back towards his Grunkle.

"Dipper? What on Earth is going on here? Why did Stan call you Pinetree? And why were we running? And why does he have our phones? And-" Mabel's questions stopped as soon as she got close enough to see the eyes of whom she thought were her grunkles. She let out a scream of terror.

"Heya, Shooting Star, long time no see!"

Mabel charged toward Stan and punched him in the face. Dipper pulled her off of him, knowing she wasn't helping the situation.

"What do you want with us, Bill? Why are you here?" He yelled at the demon, holding onto Mabel's sweater to try and stop her from attacking the himagain.

"You'll see, Pinetree." He responded, leaning onto his back. Bill felt the old mans bones pop and cringed at the unpleasant sensation. Dipper felt a chill in his spine. Just then, Ford pulled up with the car.

"Stan, kids. Get in the car quick, a storm is coming." He said, peeking his head out the window. "The charger is broken and it's gonna take time to fix it." The two kids glanced in shock at Ford, then back to Bill laying flat on his back staring up at the sky, too lost in his thoughts to notice the car. He couldn't help but remember the interdimensional tear that opened up right there. They started to feel little droplets of rain. No one moved.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Ford said, getting out of the car. It didn't take long before he saw Stan's eyes. He gasped, loud enough to pull Bill out of his thoughts.

"Heya, Sixer! How's it hanging?"

"Why are you here, Cipher?" Ford demanded.

"I just needed a little favor from you, Fordsy."

The six-fingered old man turned to the twins. "Get in the car."

"But-"

"Now!" The two siblings quickly made their way to the car. They didn't dare argue against their uncle. The rain began coming down harder, as Ford returned his focus to Bill.

"It's not gonna happen. Get out of Stan's body."

"Ha! You think I WANT to be in this rusty ol' thing? Because I don't. You should know that." Bill stood up to face the other. "Come on, Six Fingers. I've changed. Hear me out."

Ford looked into Bill's yellow eyes. He knew better than to trust him, but there wasn't much he could do other than hear him out. He needed Stan back.

Ford had known about Bill being trapped in Stan's mind for a long time. It was just after Stan fully regained his memory that he came to him needing help. He said he could hear Bill's voice in his head, threatening revenge on him and his family. Ford recounted his time as "partners" with the demon. He would go in and out of his head while he was asleep. With this in mind, he agreed to help padlock Stan up while he slept, so if the demon took control he couldn't do any damage. They decided not to tell anyone else, not even their niece and nephew. They didn't want them to get hurt. Bill's threatening whispers stopped after a week or two, but the two brothers weren't willing to risk anything. Almost every night for ten years, Stan slept in chains.

It was fairly recently when the padlock broke. Dipper and Mabel were the breadwinners of the family and the only ones with a penny to their name, so the Grunkles had no way of getting their hands on a new one. Ford agreed to try and scrounge up a few bucks to buy a new one or find an alternative, but until then Stan couldn't let himself fall asleep. That was probably four days ago, and the moment that Bill had been waiting for. The whispers came back.

"Go to sleep, Stan."

"I've changed."

"I'm not gonna hurt you."

The rain poured faster and harder, the drops so big and coming down with so much force it almost hurt. The two were only standing a few feet away from each other but they could hardly see each other. Ford sighed.

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The car was quiet. The faint sound of the radio played and the rain still beating on the windshield and roof, but the tension seemed to vacuum the noise. The young twins sat petrified, staring at the demon in the passenger seat who was fiddling with his thumbs.

Well, not HIS thumbs.

Ford's eyes were dead set on the road. He was hunched forward in the driver's seat, squinting to try and get a better look at the road. It was morning, the sun was likely up by now, but the clouds were so dark and the rain was so dense you wouldn't be able to tell. 

The twins flung the door open and jumped out of the car almost before it came to a stop. They let out a sigh as they felt the tension lift. Something about the demons presence was just, unnerving, and added onto that they still feared him. He tried to cause the end of the world and almost murdered them after all. They were right to fear him. The two hurried into the Shack as Ford pulled Stan out of the car, dragging him by the back off his shirt. Bill didn't try to fight back against Ford's roughness, he just let it happen. He was shoved onto the couch in the living room, fumbling onto his back. He looked up to see the family staring down at him.

"Alright, no more games, Cipher." Ford said. "Why are you here?"