Chapter Text
"I can help ya, kid. You just need to hear out my demands!" This was bad.
"What crazy thing do you want, anyway?" Very bad.
"So what puppet are you gonna pick, anyway?" This was worse.
“Hmm, let's see. Eeny, meeny, miney... YOU"
"What?!" And now it was 'could not get any worse' bad.
The moment they shook hands Dipper had felt a pull. Painful but not; a sort of gut wrenching feeling that couldn't be attributed to anything physical. It wasn't till he saw his own body that he realized why. A half second pause between "What?!" and "This can't be happening!" was all he needed for it to click.
"Sorry kid but you're my puppet now!" Giving a laugh Bill grabbed the laptop and threw it to the ground. The screen cracked and a few keys flew off before his foot fell on the laptop. Sparks crackled out of the broken casing as it crumpled, crushing the laptop and leaving it permanently damaged beyond repair.
Dipper felt something inside of him sink. The past week he'd stayed up late, barely getting any sleep at all. All the cans of Pitt Cola he’d consumed, all the hours he’d spent on the roof. Pacing in circles, reading all manner of books at all hours of the day, writing new passwords to try and all of that while helping Mabel with her puppet show, he hadn’t let himself sleep. They hadn’t even figured out the pyrotechnics.
"Oh my gosh, this can't be happening. This can't be happening!" Maybe if he repeated it more he'd wake up.
Nightmare.
This was a nightmare.
Had to be a nightmare.
This wasn't real. This can’t be real.
Dipper’s breathing started to speed up, short breaths escaping him as his new form mimicked panic.
Bill blinked his new eyes one at a time before he stumbled over to the mirror, "Man, it has been so long since I've inhabited a body!" Bill gave his new body a few slaps on the face, leaving red marks on both sides. “Woo! Woo! Pain is hilarious!”
"I don't understand! Why are you doing this?!" Dipper floated closer to Bill, wobbly and uncoordinated in his new form. Bill turned around to stare at Dipper. "I thought we had a dea-"
"Hey-Dipper-I-borrowed-your-journal-to-use-as-a-prop-in-the-show," Oh no. Mabel had cut him off, calling to him up the stairs.
"I-hope-you-don't-mind" Mabel! No!
"I'm-gonna-go-before-you-process-this-sentence-okay-bye,” her voice getting higher pitched as she ran out of air. Footsteps sounded as she ran off to the car, not waiting for what she thought would be a protest coming from her brother.
Bill grinned and started to call back. "Sure!" Nonono.
"Sounds great, sister!" NO! Mabel. If he hurt Mabel-
Dipper bolted towards Bill. If Bill got to her- If he hurt her… if he hurt her in his body…
Dipper started to float through what was supposed to be his body. Instead of his arms phasing through Bill he stopped. His form contorted. He started to stretch and squeeze into what was his body. His limbs matched up with Bill’s; their fingers and arms moving in the same patterns, trying to come together.
Bill froze.
Dipper froze.
They were both there. Same body. Two different entities occupying the same fleshy prison. They could both hear the heartbeat. Both feel the blood going through their veins. Both feel the air escaping their lungs. It lasted for a moment before Dipper was forced out and to the opposite end of the room. Head over heels he tumbled through the air, nearly hitting the opposite wall before managing to stop himself.
Bill hunched over panting. He clutched at his sides, nails digging into his ribs. The skin broke underneath the shirt and small dark spots started to form on the shirt. A small chuckle escaped him between breaths as he grinned and composed himself.
"Wow! Good try, kid.” Bill straitened with too much force, having to take a step back to keep himself from falling.
“That was close! How about a prize?" He snapped his fingers.
Bill started to rise.
So did the room.
Dipper looked below him. The room wasn’t rising. He was sinking. Lower and lower, his body got closer to the ground. "No!" He couldn’t stop. His feet touched the floor and a light shock hit him. As they started to phase through the floor the feeling of electricity traveled up his body. He started to flail his arms, tried to claw his way back up through the air as the floor reached his ankles.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Dipper yelled out as his movements started to become more desperate. His legs were already halfway through the floor. He ignored the jolt that hit his knees. Bill walked in front of him and watched as Dipper's gestures became more erratic. The grin was still stretched across his face.
"You're a lot stronger than you look." Bill leaned over, resting his hand on Dipper’s head and forcing his sinking to speed up. The shock became more powerful now, painful as it traveled up his body. How was Bill even making contact? Why wasn't the arm going through Dipper like everything else? How was any of this possible?
"Which isn't saying much. Have you seen these arms?" Dipper pushed Bill's hand away and looked around for something to grab on to. Something. Anything to help him up and stop him from sinking.
Sinking.
Still sinking.
Still falling.
Why couldn't he get up? What had Bill done? Why couldn't he float? How far would he sink? This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening!
"I'll admit, Pinetree. That shouldn't have happened. You’re too smart for your own good, you know. Good thing I got here when I did!" One eye blinked before the other followed suit and Bill leaned in closer.
"Good thing..." Putting his weight on his hand Bill shoved the rest of Dipper's head through the floor. The last image he saw was his own face between his own fingers.
Dark. It was dark. All he could see was dark. Not black, not gray. Everything was a blank, dark nothing. Dipper froze, his limbs going stiff. Dipper could hear his ragged breath, mind still going through the motions like he still had a body. Like he was still alive.
He couldn’t tell if he was moving. Had he stopped? Was he still sinking? Light slowly filled his vision as he finished phasing through the floor. Finally he stopped sinking; floating a few feet above what he assumed was a floor.
He was disoriented, the light burn of electricity still going through him as it faded. Dipper gave a hurried glance to his surroundings as his eyes adjusted to the light.
Bill called after him "I've got big plans, Pinetree..."
Dipper looked around. An old, musky arm chair surrounded by wax drippings, a yellowed fake dinosaur skull coffee table, and an empty aquarium surrounded him. He was in the living room. Rushing through the walls he made it into the kitchen where the voice came from. Nobody was there.
"And I don't need you getting in my way."
Dipper took stock of the kitchen. An empty can of Pitt Cola on the floor in a puddle of spilled soda. Nearby, some silverware lay underneath an open drawer. Was that... blood? His blood?! His eyes widened.
What was-can't think about that. Not now. Have to find Bill. He had to save Mabel. He rushed to the hallway near the bathroom. Bill was humming, practically skipping while his arm dripped with blood, drops lightly splattering the walls as he swung his arms. He didn't notice the boy approaching him from behind. He was too busy approaching somebody else.
"Hey, Red!"
Dipper spotted her the moment Bill spoke. “Wendy, that’s not me!” He started to wave his arms, trying to get her attention. He had to tell her. Wendy would know what to do. She could help.
Wendy looked up from the props she was carrying. “Oh, hey Dipper!”
“Wendy! You have to listen-“
“What you do you have there, toots?” Oh no.
“Just some props.”
Dipper stopped behind Bill and tried to think through the panic. How had he stopped Bill before? It felt like he had taken control of his body. He needed to remember! How did it happen? What did he specifically do? Think! Think, Dipper, think!
"Whoa, is that blood?" Wendy asked and started to approach Bill. He had to think! She bent down to set the props aside and Bill continued to skip towards her, eyes starting to glow. How couldn’t she see that?!
Dipper focused on Bill, tried to replicate everything from before. Placing his arms in front of him Dipper dived towards Bill. He entered his body just as Wendy looked back up from setting down the props.
There was static. Loud, painful white static. It filled his ears, filled his vision. His arms and limbs writhing, everything hurt. That gut wrenching feeling was back but this time it was physical. So was the feeling of claws on his mind and a tugging at his chest.
"Whoa, whoa! WHOA, HEY KID!" Bill went flying from the body, head over heels. Forced from his host Bill flipped himself around. A red glow started from his center and spread through his body while his eye narrowed. "Not cool, Pinetree..."
Dipper lurched forward, taking a sudden deep breath. He glanced to his hands, clenching and unclenching them. “It worked! I did-“He jumped, turning himself around. The smile that had grown on his face earlier disappeared as he looked between Wendy and Bill.
"Not."
No. Nonono. He had to get away. Bill won’t hurt them. He wouldn’t let Bill hurt them.
"I'm sorry, Wendy! Tell Mabel that-" Dipper started running out the door.
"Dipper, wait!" Wendy reached out for him before flinching away. A bright light started to envelop the area. Shadows started shrinking before disappearing completely. Wendy could make out Dipper’s form before it was lost in the red glow that swallowed everything. In the back of her mind she felt something. Like a pinprick.
“COOL!"
"Tell her I'm sorry!" Dipper called back and made for the woods as everything went white.