Gravity Rises (S2)

BB: Part Three

Gideon crept down the rickety wooden staircase, his fingers rubbing his amulet as it cast a blue glow around the room. Each stair creaked as Gideon put his weight on it. His heart pounded. What if he got caught?

He stepped down another stair.

There was a cracking sound, and the wooden step gave way. Gideon's feet suddenly dangled over nothing.

He had time only for a thrill of panic to rush through his body before his amulet went out and he plunged into the darkness.

He tried not to scream, but it was impossible. His mind raced in terror as he fell and fell — no matter what he did, his amulet refused to activate and stop his fall.

"What a predicament you're in, Lone Wolf!"

A yellow glow sprang to life next to him, and Gideon's eyes jumped to it, hungry for the light.

And then he figured it out.

"Cipher," he said. "This is a dream."

Bill Cipher tipped his hat to Gideon. "So how are you going to get out of this?"

Gideon glared at him. They both knew that Gideon could easily become aware in his dreams, but that he never was good at controlling them.

"You can't hurt me, Cipher," Gideon said. "I don't feel pain in my dreams. So just stop this fall."

"Or," Bill replied, "we can talk while you fall forever." He folded his stick-thin legs underneath him as he fell alongside Gideon.

"What do you want, Bill?" Gideon folded his arms. If he was going to fall forever, fine. Unless Bill thought it would be funny to abruptly end the fall at any moment, which wasn't unlikely.

"I have a business opportunity for you."

"No thanks."

"You haven't even heard what it is yet."

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Cipher," Gideon growled. "You're behind Pacifica's disappearance, aren't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

Gideon just gave him a look.

"My proposition has your best interests in mind," Bill said. "It involves the Journals."

Gideon would be lying if he said this didn't catch his attention. But he also noticed how Bill avoided the topic of Pacifica. "You wouldn't be visiting me in the first place if you didn't want to use me to reach your goals." He knew how this worked.

"I'm fairly certain our goals line up at this point," Bill replied. "You want the Journals. I want anyone but the Pines to have the Journals. Guess who has the Journals?"

Gideon's eyes widened. "They have the first one? I knew it!"

"Not quite yet," Bill said. "But they're looking for it. And if they find it, they'll come after you for yours. But I know how you can force them out of the game."

Gideon hated that he was interested. He hated that Bill knew he was interested. "I'm not promising anything," he said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Excellent," Bill said.

With a sudden crash, Gideon landed on a concrete floor.

He got to his feet immediately. No pain, no shaky legs. Bill didn't truly have power over him, even if he was the one controlling the dream.