Sincerely Yours, Bill Cipher

Like Nothing We've Seen

I've filled Yule in on all he's missed on our way back to the Mystery Shack.
"Wow, man," he breathes out after I finish. "That's pretty rough. I'm sorry about your family and everything."
I shrug. "Don't be. Sure, I'm confused, and frustrated, and just out of sorts right now, but I'm okay. Really. I mean, it was my first and only pulse yet, and I do wonder what I'll experience next, if that last pulse revealed so much about me and made me think."
"Thinking can be tough, can't it," Yule agrees. "It's a good thing we can get our mind off things tonight. Any ideas for the group date?"
I cross my arms in indignation and grin. "Yule, it's quite hard figuring out activities that a phantom can take part in."
"C'mon, it can't be that hard-"
We stop in our tracks at the sight of a teenage boy with blue hair running toward us, anguish across his face. "Thank goodness you're here!" he exclaims, gasping. He reaches us panting, and rests his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.
     "Hey," I ask, concerned, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong? Who are you?"
     He looks up at me with eyes shining with dismay. "I'm- never mind. We'll go over this again later." His eyes spark with fear. "It's your friends. Mabel and Dipper. They're sick. Really sick. It's like... not natural. It's a pulse. A really bad one!"
     "A pulse? How would you..." The severity of the situation dawns on me. "Look at me," I command him urgently. "How sick?"
     He looks at me, grimacing. His lip trembles. "It almost looks like they're going to die."
     Blind with panic, I push past him, Yule at my heels. "What?" I hear Yule saying to no one in particular. "No way. Can pulses be that bad?"
     Suddenly, a switch goes off in my head. I know that boy. That's Sebastian Redd. I feel guilt course through me. He just experienced one of those amnesia pulses again. Yule's expression changes too as he remembers.
     "Yeah. Yeah, they're getting worse. Remember Seb's past few age fluctuation pulses?" I ask, swallowing back fear as I run. "Wait. Sorry. You weren't here. Well, they've been getting more painful for him each time. I'm afraid that after only a few more times experiencing that pulse, it will kill him. And other people experiencing pulses are in that kind of danger as well."
"Shoot," Yule mumbles urgently. "That's bad. That's really bad. I hope they're okay."
"Yeah," I agree, my head pounding. "Me too."
We arrive home and throw open the door, Seb right behind us. Stanley is pacing the floor, and the toddlers are playing on the floor, but apart from that, the room is ominously empty.
"Stan?" I ask, the agonized question in my voice apparent.
He turns, and I see his eyes are wild with worry. "They're upstairs." He flinches. "But you'd better not go up there right now. It could be catching."
"Catching?" Yule asks, his voice breaking with fear.
"Who's with them? Is there a doctor? Are their parents aware?" I ask Stan question upon question. They just keep pouring out. I have to be up there with them.
"A doctor can't help!" Stan snaps, his voice catching. "This is one of your paranormal pulses. It's not a normal fever. Normal remedies aren't working. It's like nothing we've seen. If it keeps getting worse, we may have to call their parents, but explaining all this... Ford's with them now. Soos is working in the gift shop, and his wife and daughter are with him." He sighs.
"Are the twins doing poorly?" I ask, grinding my teeth. "Seb said they're doing horribly."
Stan grimaces. "Horribly might even be an understatement, I'm afraid."
     I race up toward the stairs, but feel a chill surround me as I see Yule trying to hold me back. "Bill, please don't," he tells me with pleading eyes. "If it's that serious, we can't have anyone else catching it."
     "Ford's up there too," I insist.
     Yule heaves a sigh and looks down. "There's no stopping you, is there?"
     I shake my head. "Not a chance."
     So we go upstairs together. Mabel and Dipper are back in the attic again. They need it now more than the children do. The door creaks as I push it open.
     I find Dipper and Mabel huddled together shivering on one of the twin beds. Seb was right. They look absolutely awful. Their faces are unnaturally flushed. Literally. Instead of paleness or redness, the twins faces have taken on a purple color, almost as if they've drunken one of Donovan's vials. Mabel's chest labors with each shaky inhale. Dipper's form is hunched, like he feels sick to his stomach. Both are gasping for breath, their clammy hands clasped.
"Oh my stars..." I breathe out. Ford looks up at my arrival. "They were fine this morning... they were... fine."
Ford shrugs, but his expression is solemn. "These pulses come and go in a snap."
Dipper moans, clutching his midsection, and Mabel whimpers, the heel of her palm pressed against her head. I've done this to them...
     Dipper suddenly cries out in pain, and Mabel forgets her own for the moment. She wraps her arms around him and hugs him to her chest tightly as he trembles.
     "They're right," I murmur softly in horror. "This isn't just a fever. Fevers don't cause people this sort of pain. Oh galaxies, what have I done? How do I stop this?"
     Mabel's gaze drifts upward towards me, her eyes glazed in agony. Her chin rests on top of her twin's head as she holds him. "Bill," she whispers simply.
     I go to them. What else can I do? It may be catching, but it just as likely may not be. If I'm with them, I may at least have a better idea on how to end these pulses.
     On how to save their lives.