Over the Falls

Chapter 23

BILL

The dreamscape is under my rule, and my rule alone... Wirt has no place there.

Bill's eyes fluttered with misunderstanding. "You...You've never been in the dreamscape, I would have seen you there. I would've been the one to permit you in!"

Wirt hesitated. "I'm in tune with something. Whatever it is, it isn't reality, and it must be in some way connected to the dreamscape. And it's the only thing I have to offer, so it's worth a shot."

Bill shook his head in disbelief. MY dreamscape...

Then again, Bill had never encountered a creature like Wirt before. Half boy, half something else entirely. The Beast, the true one, ate souls. Bill was used to demons that controlled the body and the mind, and ones that could very well make you go insane, but never one that ate souls. Perhaps Wirt had a link unlike his own, but even that thought made Bill uncomfortable.

Wirt noticed the uneasiness in Bill's eyes. "Bill..." he said, low and stern.

Wirt reached out his hand and grabbed Bill's.

Bill inhaled sharply and looked at the contact they made. He felt like his heart was rising out of his chest and into his throat. Comfort was a funny thing.

"What're you waiting for, then?" Bill asked, but the words that escaped him were broken and scared.

WIRT

Wirt waited a second more, staring at the demon's eyes and following them to their clasped hands. He should let go. He had only grabbed Bill's hand to reassure him. The demon had looked distant. But Bill's hand was warm. God, it was so warm. And Wirt was always cold. He was cold inside, too. Everything was constantly freezing over.

Let go...

Bill pulled his hand away, slowly, exhaling while he did so. "Let's go," he said, looking up at Wirt.

The frost crept back into Wirt's hand and up into his arm. He would have snarled if he weren't still half boy. 

Don't be a fool.

"Try not to bite me when I do this," Wirt said to Bill, walking closer but keeping a tense composure. His voice was tight.

Bill half smirked, but the fear was still in his eyes, and he was watching Wirt's every move. "No promises."

Wirt grabbed the demon by the shoulders. He could feel how bony Dipper's body was becoming, his shoulders came to too much of a point. Then the overwhelming sense of magic began to flow through Wirt. His eyes exploded into their neon colors. It was harder to see this way, nothing was concrete. He found Bill's eyes, which began to turn yellow as soon as they met Wirt's. With this magic came the feeling of floating, of knowing his feet were on the ground yet not understanding how they were able to be so still. Bill's eyes widened.

Wirt had done this once before with Beatrice. Beatrice had still believed in him then, she had snuck out of the house every night to find Wirt in the forest and help him however she could. Wirt appreciated her company, and they grew much closer, but Wirt knew deep down Beatrice was not able to help in the way that he needed her to. Beatrice had no magic.

He had tried to give her some. He could feel the magic in his body, could feel it flooding his arms and fingers and mind, and he was confident he could share it. Beatrice was willing to try. He had looked into her eyes and pushed his magic through her. But it didn't connect. The magic flooded around her and she screamed. She saw what it was like to be inside Wirt's mind, but it was more than she could handle. She screamed and screamed...

Wirt's eyes filled with tears at the thought of Beatrice's cries, but the tears did not alter the magic. Bill's body fell to the ground, and Wirt could feel him in the dreamscape they were now both connected to. He couldn't see him, but he was there.