Reality Is Stranger Than Fiction

Kids In The Dark (NateWantsToBattle)

"Shit is right Stanley! Oh, this is bad... this is very bad," you mumble, pacing back and forth as far as the chains would allow you.

"Well when you put it that way, we really are. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" you ask, turning on your heel to face him.

"That this - this is what Bill is like."

"Because... when we told you about everything else, you remembered it. I wanted to... we wanted to make sure that you weren't caught up in this. You don't deserve this, Stanley - especially not after what you just told me. You're my friend... even if you are an idiot."

"... you better not be trying to mess with me."

"I'm not. I promise. Now when Bill gets back, you can't tell him anything. He has Mabel and he will use that against both of us. He will try and get in your mind - tell you that he has Ford or Dipper or that he'll harm Mabel - but you have to ignore him. If he has Ford, we're all fucked. Remember that."

"Don't worry, doll, lying and cheating is the only thing I'm good at in this world."

"Good - wrong, but good. Bill's better. He's you... but a hundred times worse."

Stan merely grins widely, a familiar comical smirk on his face. Quickly wiped away by a familiar triangle appearing at his shoulder.

"So how's the party going up here? Did the two of you finally stop yelling at each other? It was getting so boring." Bill's head spins as he stretches out the word boring.

"Yeah, (Y/N), where's Sixer? Is he off cowering behind his books again?!" Stan instantly rebounds. Had it not been a twitch of his eyebrow, you'd almost wanted to believe he was actually mad.

"I don't know, Ford! Why don't you tell me since you're so keen on controlling his life?!"

"You two have to be the most FRUSTRATING PEOPLE I'VE EVER DEALT WITH!! You can't even do your jobs! If you two hurried up and TOLD ME where to find Sixer, you could join us downstairs. An invitation to a party that never ends, with a host that never dies!"

You nearly flinch at the words. It wasn't the first time you'd heard them. Ford's mumbles in his sleep late at night, flash from the past when you'd wake him on the ship. You never pressed him on them, but now you wish you'd had. Facing Bill was one thing, facing torture and punishment with the threat of another one of his parties was another.

"GO TO HELL, CIPHER!" you spit at his face, barely enough saliva to do so.

He wipes it off his edge, his singular eye squishing down to display his anger.

"Let's see how you feel about that after this!"

A simple snap of his fingers is all it takes to bring you down to your knees, your body writhing in pain as electricity shoots across your limbs. Stan manages to stay still, unwavering in his resolve in Bill's presence. You grit your teeth together, bearing the spark that runs through your veins. You wouldn't give him the satisfaction to hear you.

"I'll leave you two to think over if you want to tell me where Sixer is. Don't worry, time is meaningless, a concept lost. We have an eternity to party, and an eternity to wait."

You feel your skin ripple with gold, electricity shooting up through your limbs, coursing through your body unhindered by the gold. It stripes across your veins, eating away at you as you find yourself frozen once again.

<hr>

When you finally come too again, he's gone. You're back in the room, Stan pacing back and forth. A gasp leaves your lips as you find yourself unfrozen once more. Stan extends his hand to you, pulling you up to your feet. He pulls you up, a firm grip on your hand.