Little Dipper

Let's Talk

Bill lingered in the hallway, not wanting to come out just yet. He saw the chair turn towards him and quickly backed up into the shadows. Okay, so he would rather fight Kryptos in a tight space than be anywhere within five feet of that bed. He clutched his coat tighter around his body, trying to calm his breathing, but the appearance of glowing blue eyes at the end of the hallway sent him into a panic again.

'Great job, Keyhole. Way to fuck me over mentally and then throw me into the lion's den. I bet this was rigged.' He thought bitterly, backing up all the way to the door. He tried the doorknob again, but it wouldn't budge.

"No need to run, Cipher. Where would you go, anyway? The exit's on the other side." Kryptos said, chuckling a bit as he stepped closer and closer to Bill in the hallway. "Come on out, Billy."

Bill cringed against the door. "No, I think I'll wait here for Stan and Ford, thanks."

Kryptos chuckled and then it turned into a full laugh. "Oh, you don't have a choice. Hey, Keyhole? Little boost?"

"What?" Bill looked around and then yelped as the door behind him suddenly bounced him off it and right into Kryptos' arms. "Guah! Get off!" He pushed away from him, but Kryptos just pulled him close again.

"Oh, relax. Anyways, they'll be occupied for a little while. Why don't we...talk? There's so much I've been wanting to say that I didn't want to say in front of Tad, after all." He grabbed Bill's arm before he could pull away and practically waltzed him out of the hallway.

"Get off me!" Bill pulled away from him, stumbling backwards and into the chair Kryptos had just left.

Kryptos walked over and slammed his hands on the arms of the chair, pinning Bill's hands down on it. "That's not very respectful to a Square, now is it? Then again, you've NEVER been one for respect. A failure on your parents' part." He scowled.

"What's gotten into you? You never cared about Class levels before." Bill frowned, cringing back into the chair from him.

"I cared. I just wasn't vocal about it. I did the smart thing and stayed out of trouble by staying in my lane and acting nice. Go figure, it was YOU that got me into something that would RUIN me." Kryptos gripped Bill's wrists tightly. "I should have never gone to your shop to get you that day. Were you planning from the start to use us and run away? Must've been great fun, tricking us all into thinking you actually cared about the Cause! Did you ever even SEE the Sphere?!"

"Time Cops got me before I could..." Bill said glancing to the side.

"Yeah, well while you were making new friends, those of us you left behind were executed or imprisoned and tortured! Our titles, our jobs, were taken from us! Not that you cared, did you? And when you noticed I was acting a little bit unhinged from my experience in prison, you tried to throw me out!" He pulled Bill from the chair and swung him to the side, making him crash into the table.

Bill winced and then moved to the other side of the table as Kryptos approached him again. "Well, you were freaking me out! And, frankly, you were annoying!"

"Oh, you should hear what some of your 'new friends' were saying about you. Even Pyronica had a few choice words about your attitude. And how nice that after our night together, you stopped being such a cocky little shit!" Kryptos threw the table to the side, stalking towards Bill.

"Stay back!" Bill backed away from him, trying to conjure up fire. Go fucking figure, Keyhole had cut off his powers.

"You needed to be put in your place, and that's exactly what I did to you. Know your Class, Triangle. You rant, rave, throw tantrums and make assumptions – all of them WRONG. You know, I bet Liam wouldn't have even wanted you to do what you did." Kryptos backed Bill into the bed and pinned Bill's hands down on the mattress behind him with one hand. "You just assumed he wanted that."

"Let go." Bill struggled in his hold.

"You know, they say that assuming so much makes you an ass? Maybe that's why you have such a nice one." He moved his free hand around to grip Bill's butt, his lips brushing against Bill's ear and making him shiver despite wanting to get away from all this. Curse his sensitive ears! "Maybe once I put you in your place again, you'll forget this silly notion about staying with the slaves. Then again, maybe that's truly where you belong? Triangles are only a step above the slaves, after all."

"Let go!" Bill tried slamming his head into his, but Kryptos moved his head out of the way just in time.

"Why don't you try begging me for forgiveness? Or maybe thank me for all I put up with from you?" Kryptos moved his hand up, trailing his fingers up Bill's body, and gripped his chin tightly. "Let's start with a show of appreciation, hm?" He pressed his lips against his.

"Erif!" Bill heard Dipper yell as fire filled the room. Kryptos hissed and moved away from the fire, releasing Bill's hands finally. Bill quickly got off the bed and ran to Ford's open arms, clinging to him.

"Keyhole! Little help?" Kryptos called out.

"Man, I've been hearing that all day today." Keyhole said, appearing by the toppled table. He snapped his fingers and the fire disappeared. "Nice trick, kid."

"Thanks!" Dipper beamed.

"Are we going to have to fight you?" Stan asked.

"No. I don't do physical fights. You've already done your fighting with me." Keyhole shrugged.

"Great." Stan turned his gaze on Kryptos. "'Cause I'm gonna focus everything on pounding you!"

"Dipper, Mabel, please keep Bill safe." Ford put his gun away and cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to make him pay for what he's done."

"No..." Bill stepped forward. "...This is still part of it, isn't it? You arranged for me specifically to meet Kryptos here. Didn't you?"

"Wait, what? It was rigged?" Stan looked at Keyhole.

"How can you hope to beat Pyronica if you're being dragged down by your nightmares? I don't know what Pyronica was planning when she threw him in, seeing as she doesn't know what your issues are." Keyhole shrugged. "But, that's why I ensured Bill would meet Kryptos, yes."

"Wait, what? I thought it was the main plan for him to come to me." Kryptos frowned.

"Maybe?" Keyhole shrugged, grinning.

"...It's hard to be mad at you when you look cute like that." Kryptos sighed.

"Anyways, you guys can have it out now." Keyhole walked over and sat in the armchair to watch.

"Can I have my powers back?" Bill asked.

"Mm...no. Beat him without your powers." Keyhole sat back and conjured up popcorn. "Kids, want some?"

Dipper and Mabel moved away from the bed area and then Stan, Ford, and Bill lunged at Kryptos. Bill alone, Kryptos could take, but two furious humans AND Bill was really above his level. Especially since Keyhole had removed his powers as well.

This is because he was talking to him about Bill before Bill had exposed himself, wasn't it? Heh, exposed. If only. He had such a nice—FIST! OW! PAIN!

"Ngh!" Krytos stumbled back, holding his face.

"Wow, they're really wailing on him." Mabel commented, holding Dipper close. Dipper was watching Keyhole, trying to figure out what his deal was.

"Are you a bad guy or not?" Dipper asked.

"Well, now there's a question for the bank." Keyhole chuckled. "I used to be good, but bad guys turned me bad, and so I'm bad. And until I find what was stolen from me, I will remain bad."

"Stolen from you?" Mabel asked.

"My most precious one." Keyhole sighed wistfully. "I'm still searching."

"Agh!" Kryptos slammed into the wall and gasped when Ford pulled out a knife on him. "Seriously?! A knife?! I don't have any of my powers!"

"Should've thought of that before you tried to hurt Bill again." Ford growled. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you to--"

"Hey, uh, you know that wizard kid you left behind? Pacifier's being pretty mean to him. Maybe wanna head out there?" Keyhole spoke up.

"Gideon!" Bill turned towards the door and ran for it. "Wait...what about my powers?"

"They'll return when you leave. I don't have any power over you once you leave here, unless you screwed up and got stuck with eternal nightmares." Keyhole shrugged.

Bill opened the door and then looked at Kryptos. "...This isn't over, you..." He glanced at Dipper and then walked over to pick him up. "Sicko." He finished, wiping at his mouth. Ugh, he was going to have to get some mouthwash. Even then, he'd probably have a brand-new nightmare thanks to this encounter. Thank the Cosmos it didn't go too far.

He started to head for the door when he heard the sound of breaking wood and then something being hit with a sharp gasp of pain. Surprised he looked over to see Stan had broken a table leg off and knocked Kryptos out cold with it.

"You broke my table." Keyhole commented.

"You put me through Jorge." Stan retorted, slinging Kryptos over his shoulder.

"That's fair." Keyhole shrugged.

"Everyone ready to go?" Ford asked.

"Yep!" Mabel ran over with Dipper, Dipper clinging to Bill's waist protectively.

"See you in the real world." Keyhole gave a two-fingered salute and then faded away as the door changed into a portal to the outside world.