Chapter Text
The floor shakes harder as Bill’s steps get closer, and the triangle in his giant form stands in front of both brothers, with their niece and nephew in his hand.
"All right, Ford, time's up!"
He raises his hand to show them the twins trying to escape from his grasp. Stan's eyes first land on Mabel, who is trying to get out of his grip, and then on Dipper, who is also trying to escape.
"I've got the kids!"
Stan and Ford are speechless with terror on their faces. Ford knows Bill, and he's sure Bill will not hesitate to hurt them or worse, if it means he'll get what he wants. Why does Ford knows? Because he experienced this firsthand.
"I think I'm gonna kill on of 'em now, just for the heck of it."
There it was, just as Ford had feared. Dipper was punching his finger when he heard the counting-out rhyme a second time in that sickening voice. When he turned around, he was illuminated by a red light, and two symbols were flashing in Bill's eye.
"Eeny-meeny-miny-YOU!"
Shooting star appeared like the last symbol in his eye. It wasn't coincidence, he was sick of her all the time damaging his eye. Bill raised his free hand, ready to snap his fingers, ready to kill Dipper's sister without further thought, but Ford intervened.
"Wait!"
Bill's fingers touched, but nothing happened, because he heard a strident voice. He looked at Ford with his wide-open eye, and his hand in the air ready to snap his fingers as he was interrupted in the act of killing shooting star.
"I surrender."
"Good choice."
Bill unclenched his fist and let the twins simply fall to the ground.
It was a high fall, and neither of the twins landed safely. Mabel hit the ground first, falling on her side and Dipper fell down after her, straight up like a pancake.
He shrank as the two brothers started arguing again. What an amusing sight for Bill, he laughed so much that he was clutching his bricks at those two. It probably was Pines twins thing, everytime they were so close to winning they just got to fight.
"Oh, even when you are about to die, you Pines twins just can't get along."
He snapped his fingers, and the cage that held the two brothers quickly disappeared into the floor, and a lot of dust came up from the ground. God, did he ever sweep the floor? But immediately something else emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around Stan, knocking him to his knees.
"My only condition is that you let my brother and the kids go."
Bill looked at Stan, and Axolotl, witnessing all this, shook their head when Bill again failed to notice that Stan has six fingers in his hurry to get that equation, or to get inside of Sixer's mind after so long. Honestly, both would be true.
"Fine."
"No, Grunkle Ford, don't trust him!"
Dipper yelled out with the same horrified look on his face as his sister had, and tried to stand up from the fall. However, his body was still weakened by it.
Ford made his way towards Bill.
"it's a deal!"
Bill held out his hand, and a blue flame shot out, swirling around his hand. Ford shook hands with him. At first, the warm blue flame began to swirl around his hand, but a moment later when the deal was sealed, the strangely beautiful blue flame turned cold and the next thing Ford saw was Bill's body turning to stone and then Bill flying out of it.
Bill laughs, and everything turns gray, but Ford doesn't pay attention to that, instead he only saw the one-eyed Demon flying towards him.
"Oh, I'm here. I'm finally here."
Bill looks around and sees a door in front of him surrounded in endless white void.
"Look at this place a perfect, calm, orderly void. Gotta hand it to you, Ford, you really know how to clear your-"
Bill pulls the door handle and sees Stan playing with paddle ball, Stan clicks his tongue and wink at bill.
"What?!"
"Ha ha, Do a pretty good impression of my brother, don't I? Switch clothes and no one can tell us apart."
Bill, who has just entered the mind of the wrong twin, can't believe he fell for such a cheap trick.
"welcome to my mind. Surprised you didn't recognized it."
"What?! The deal's off!"
As he says that, the door shut with force and blue flames begin to engulf the entire room
"What the-no, no, no, no!"
Bill knew what was happening.
"Oh yeah. You're goin' down, Bill. You're gettin' erased. Memory gun. Pretty clever, huh?"
The flames grew larger and closer.
"You idiot! Don't you realize you're destroying your own mind too?"
Everything started becoming blurry, the armchair, floor, pictures, walls. Everything.
"Eh. It's not like I was using this place for much anyway."
Bill couldn't believe how much that idiot didn't care.
"Let me out of here! Let me-"
He tried using his powers but just pathetic flame came out.
"Why isn't this working?!"
"Hey look at me. Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon!"
Bill turned around to see Stan standing in front of him.
"You're a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake. You messed with my family."
The blue flames were getting closer to both of them, and even though it didn't touch him it already burned his angles.
"You're making a mistake. I'll give you anything, money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own galaxy! Please! No!"
Stan has seen a lot of things and even though the effects of the memory gun he knew that he had never seen anything terrifying than what was unfolding before him.
"What's happening to me?!"
Bill's forms were changing to which Stan watched with clenched fists as Bill began to speak gibberish.
"Nruter yam i taht rewop tneicna eht ekovni i nrub ot emoc sah emit ym L-T-O-L-O-X-A!"
Bill yelled out his name, only to be met with punch in the eye, because Stan remebered that's what Mabel always did, she aimed for the eye.
Bill shattered into pieces.
The very first thing Bill felt was his shattered body coming back together, millions of pieces falling back into places. However, not every piece of you can be saved, sometimes some pieces will burn and dissapear and you just have to fill that hole.
Four cracks converged in place where his eye was forming, two going up from his lower side and another two cracks running from his right side, splitting him into three pieces that were held together only by Axolotl's will. As his eye was back in place, his eyelid snapped open, and he stared at the stars. He was mesmerized by the view, that was familiar to him so much that it caused first memory to be returned to him.
Because Bill was experiencing the feeling humans tend to have in the morning when they wake up and don't remember single thing from their lifes for few seconds. Bill experienced that peacefull moment, but not for long. Just when his eye properly focused on the stars, they disappeared and reappeared so much brighter than before as all the memories flooded back into his mind.
Happy ones, sad ones—it didnt matter. In none of them he had won, that what mattered to him. All of the memories were just the same copy of each other with just slight changes, therefore he figured it would have been better if he stopped counting. So he did.
However, he could still feel the flames in the open cracks, the burning pain of the fire he now knew like the back of his hat. How many times did he had gone through this time loop that he can vividly remember the pain that no longer hurts him? How many times had his body shattered into milion pieces, to the point where he remembers which piece comes first and which last to reconnect his body back together? How many times was it that he could draw where every star behind Axolotl was? He wanted to ask the God infront of him, whom he called his friend, but no, he would rather not know that.
He stopped to avoid knowing how many times he lost his Sixer, to try and fotget the insufferable pain of being erased numerous times, how many times he had stood infront of Axolotl, only to be send back into the stupid time loop and forget everything.
He just couldn't believe he had lost again. it was perfect, he could swear that this plan would've work if the Pines family wouldn't be everytime so eager to sacrifice one for the other. He just couldn't understand them, would he sacrifice himself for someone else? The answear should be no, and it was no, right? Why would he sacrifice for anyone? No one was more important than he was. Or is there someone more important to Bill than himself?
Why does every time loop he lives through end the same? Where is he making the mistake that it always ends the same? He thinks about Stanley and his sacrifice for his family, his love for them. Is that the reason? Love? He heard that love can make you do crazy things, because he alone did crazy things for Sixer, but was his love for him the same as Pines’ for each other? In that moment, he knew where he was making the mistake, he underestimated their love for each other and forgot that human love is greater than the care for oneself.
Bill realized he is doomed to repeat his mistakes. So he thought, how is he supposed to change his path when he won't have access to his previous memories? How does the schmuck expect him to change with no idea of this poorly made deal? There was no way for him to achieve his hard-earned and well-deserved victory.
Bill looked up at Axolotl's face, but this time he didnt hurry to start the conversation, and Axolotl of course took notice of that. How could they not? The once full of energy Bill now quiet as the universe itself surrounding them.
So the god took the initiative and spoke up, their gentle voice echoing throughout the endless space.
"Ready to give this another chance?"
They tried to sound as soothing as they could, because they know that something had changed inside Bill's mind. Did he understood finally? Axolotl could look what was happening there, however they decided to give him his own space to think.
So they just gently smiled and waited if Bill will start to act like he usually does after the time loop ends. If Bill starts to persuade them into thinking he will defeat the Pines, that he alone won't fall for their fancy tricks again, how he will accomplish the never ending party, or all the different way he will get out of Sixer the equation. Every other time he talked after the time loop ended, Axolotl was afraid that how Bill’s voice was so loud it might break a hole in this space, and some poor soul from different dimension will hear his terrifying strategies.
But how time passed and Bill didn't say a word, but instead was looking through them on the stars. Axolotl knew all about his past, they knew what stars mean to Bill, and that sometimes they calmed him, or did the exact opposite, depending on what mood Bill was currently in.
"Bill?" They said bit louder to snap him out of thoughts.
He turned his attention to Axolotl.
"I know, I know. It's time for another grandious loop" He rolled his eye, but took on his usual attitude.
"Just sit back and watch me becasuse im about to show you how i will win. This will be my last time loop and our deal will come to an end, because of how great I am. And also smart—smarter than those humans, don't forget about that, big guy."
Axolotl kept their smile and noded along, and in moments like these, they sometimes thinks about how Bill is a great actor. How well he can hide how he really feels, how he can change just to manipulate others, how he can put up with this act, or is it an act? Does he know what he feels? Does he let it through, or does he push it away, as far away from him as he can?
Axolotl stopped listening to him a while ago. The reason was that they had gotten lost in thoughts about Bill, and Bill wouldn't have even notice if he hadn't asked Axolotl to restart this cruel game. All he got in response was a nod. He closed his eye and ran his fingers over it, like over the bridge of a nose. He snapped his finers few times, just to catch their attention.
"You know it's nice to talk about my plans with someone, but most of the time they at least listen."
"My apologies, what were you saying?"
On the day Bill Cipher died,
He used the trick he’d never tried.
Shattered, broken, not yet dead,
Cipher left the con man’s head.
A desperate plea, some panicked prayers
To meet the frilly guy upstairs.
In a tank outside of space,
The opposites met face-to-face.
Just one shot to live again,
He pled his case to his old friend.
“Look, from one God to another,
Who cares I tried to kill those brothers?
They’re all ants, it’s all a game,
Let’s press restart and try again.
I’m too cool and fun to die,
Just give this angle one more tri.”
The Ax sighed in a knowing way,
He expected this was what Bill’d say.
"You won't pass this test unless you change,
Up to that time this cycle is your cage.
You have to learn to care,
If not for me then for them.
Without knowledge of this repetitive loop,
With no memory of your past doom.
You shall prove my old friend,
You'll have more to lose than just your plan."
Bill could not believe his luck,
This salamander was a schmuck!
Easier than he ever though it,
The Guppy bought it!
This loop will be his prime,
This time their dimension will be mine!
Bill shook the Ax's hand with glee,
This time the Pines' won't beat me!
Bill closes his eye as he knows the drill by now, as Axolotl begins wipping his memories, leaving only those untouched by the time loop. As Bill's memories are drawn out of his mind, they look like stardust, creating this beautiful scenery infront of Axolotl's eyes. They are carefull not to touch the newly forming stars, as that could interfere with one of the memories, because all the stars around them are Bill's memories.
When they made this deal in a tank outside of space, this whole place was dark and empty, only over time and each time loops this place actually got less dark becuase Bill's memories, in form of stars, brighten up this place. And because Bill failed so many times, now they have this hypnotizing view.
They were gentle with stripping memories away from him. Axolotl tried to make it as painless as possible, but Bill still felt some pain. Not that he minded this type of pain—or at least when they asked him once if he minds, he said that he enjoyed it. However, they knew even he have to get sick of it after some time.
As they were taking away his memories, the stars grew dimmer and didn’t shine as brightly.
Another change they noticed in Bill while they were taking away his memories was that he didn't struggled that much this time. Other times he tried to stop them, or tried using his powers to hurt them, but this time it seemed like he wanted to forget about the whole charade. Axolotl smiled to themself and noted this small detail, and for the first time in a long time, they felt like Bill could make a progress.