The Witch in the Woods (Bill Cipher x reader)

Chapter 8

    You dream peacefully but waking up is proving to be more of a challenge. You feel like you are being crushed by all the blankets and stuffed animals that were piled on you last night. You press your eyelids together tightly then slowly open them, blinking once or twice to wake up. Mabel and Dipper are asleep and it looks like it’s still really early since the sun hasn’t come out yet. 
    You shimmy your way out of the deadly pile of softness then stand up, smoothing back your hair a bit so it doesn’t stick straight up as it usually does when you just wake up. You stretch your arms above your head and glance at the two still asleep. Dipper is wrapped up in his blankets, almost seeming to be tangled in them. Mabel is surrounded by even more stuffed animals and a Waddles though she does look rather peaceful.
    You make your way downstairs for some breakfast, trying to smooth out your clothes so you look less like a wreck. There is glitter all over you along with the remains of some late night Mabel juice. You also have to switch your shirt since it was inside out though there is permanent damage to your pants which now have stickers and patches of random colors everywhere, courtesy of Mabel. You aren’t bothered by it though.
    Once you make it to the kitchen, you see Ford who seems to have been up for at least half an hour or so given his almost empty coffee cup and plate. He’s wearing his brown trench coat this time. You greet him with a smile then go to get your own cup of (M/D). “Morning Ford.” You sit down opposite of him at the table. He appears to come out of a stupor and looks at you. “Oh, morning (Y/N). Up early as usual.” You take a sip of your drink and nod.
    “So, I was thinking of what you said yesterday, with your potions being destroyed.” You perk up slightly and look at him with a curious look in your eye. “There is something I’ve been studying that I want to show you. If you want to, that is.” He stands up and puts both his cup and plate in the sink then looks to you with a certain gleam in his eye. You’ve never looked into Ford’s experiments before, other than at a surface level of what they do. You aren’t really a ‘tech’ person.
    “Well, what is it?” You set down your cup with a small clank onto the table, at least just a little suspicious of what exactly Ford wants you to see. “You’ll just have to find out. Meet me outside.” He smiles at you subtly then leaves the kitchen, leaving you alone. He doesn’t usually act so mysterious and it’s leaving you thinking that something is up. You huff slightly and close your eyes, gulping down the last of your drink in five minutes then setting the cup in the sink. Normally, you probably wouldn’t follow along but under the circumstances, you suppose you don’t really have a choice.
    You step outside where Ford is fiddling with a small machine in his hands. There is a dial at the bottom and a screen at the top, along with a little switch on the side. That is about all you can decipher. “Where are we going?” You walk up to him while asking this, looking at the device a little longer. It’s rather bulky but nothing you understand. He looks up at you and tucks the device into his trenchcoat. “Not too far, just to the city limit.”
    Ford doesn’t offer any sort of explanation while you two make your way further away from town and the Mystery Shack. He makes small talk which you indulge in to fill the silence. He hasn’t been inventing as much as he used to so he can spend more time with his family, but he still has a strong passion for it and the supernatural. You are still, of course, doctoring any and all creatures that come your way. Ford even asks about what kind of creatures you’ve seen lately.
    Once you make it to the city limits, there isn’t much to see. Ford takes you to an area where the road doesn’t go so there isn’t any hint of civilization except some stray trash that probably was blown in. It’s mostly grass and a few sparse trees; you can’t even see town from here. You look to Ford, your curiosity peaked now as to why you are here. Your best guess is to test the device you had seen earlier.
    And true to your own thoughts, Ford does indeed take out the device but he also reveals a jar with a little fairy inside. You are momentarily horrified but choke it down for now, instead opting to yell at him later. However, it seems your face must have gone a little pale because Ford notices and quickly twists off the lid. The fairy very slowly gets herself out of the jar and you hold out your palm which she gladly lands onto.
    “Sorry about that, I caught her while I was out. I need her for an experiment.” You give Ford a slight glare with narrowed eyes, softening once looking down at the fairy. She’s only about five inches tall and a strike goes through your heart once you realize something; this is the fairy who’s wing you replaced. You can still see your handiwork on her wing, an almost invisible line of stitching going through the lower half of her wing. No wonder he was able to catch her, she must not be used to how her new wing feels. “What kind of experiment exactly?” Your voice comes out with a slight hiss.
    “Nothing harmful, I assure you.” He flips on the device and the screen brightens to life, showing several numbers and visuals you can’t make any sense of. It seems he understands it perfectly though because he starts walking forward, eyes trained on the screen. You watch with a raised brow glancing down at the fairy, who gives you the same confused look, then look back to Ford. He suddenly stops and fiddles with the dial then gestures for you to come closer. You hold the fairy close to your chest and do so.
    “Right here. I need her to fly through here.” He points to a random spot in the air and again you and the fairy look at each other. You shrug and hold your hand out. “Well, go ahead. I’ll be right here.” She nods and starts to fly slowly towards where Ford points. You watch carefully, slightly on guard in case anything goes wrong. She continues forward for a few feet then turns around, wondering what she is supposed to do. “Ford, what are we testing?”
    “Just watch. Fly back now, but a bit more this way.” He takes a step to the right so the fairy follows him then starts flying back. However, your breath hitches suddenly when the fairy is suddenly stopped by the weirdness barrier, but from the outside. Your eyes widen. “Ford, what did you do?” The fairy continues to press against the barrier but it behaves like it does normally and refuses to let her in.
    “I didn’t do anything, specifically speaking. You see, this area right here..” He points to the air he had gestured to before. “There is a break in the barrier. A rip, if you will. I am not yet sure of what has caused it but it’s there.” The fairy flies through the newly discovered rip just fine, waving her tiny hand through it in silent wonder. “A break? You mean, any creatures in Gravity Falls can just...leave?” 
    Saying this, you are specifically thinking about Bill. The only reason he was stopped during Weirdmaggedon was because of the Weirdness barrier, of which only Ford can remove since he knows the formula. If Bill knows about this...What’s to stop him from getting his power back then trying to take over the world again? Stopping him would be near impossible, if not actually impossible.
    Fading back into reality, you realize Ford has been talking about the logistics and analytical terms that comes with a rip in the barrier. You come back just in time for him to reach the end. “Essentially what I’m saying is while any creatures can indeed leave, there is also nothing stopping new creatures from coming in which I believe might be the reason your potions were destroyed.” Your heart drops to your stomach. You didn’t think about that.
    “So you think a new creature has already shown up?” He nods and tucks the device back into his trench coat while the little fairy flies off back towards the forest. “I think so, yes. I don’t have any real proof of it yet but I’m working on a theory. Our main issue is this rip. If it isn’t fixed then it will continue to get bigger until the weirdness barrier won’t even matter anymore.”
    “What can I do exactly?” He gestures for you to follow him and you do so, seeing that you are heading back in the direction of the Mystery Shack. “Well, I think you could possibly help me seal the rip with your knowledge of the mystical.” You hum slightly. He has a point. “We can combine our knowledge so I can make something that seals it and you can make some sort of tech that applies it. This could work but I’m not sure what I could make. I’ll have to do some experiments with magical plants.”
    You both make it back to the Mystery Shack around 10 minutes before Mabel and Dipper both wake up, though Dipper looks much less cheery than his sister. You don’t stick around for much longer though, only around to chat for about half an hour before you leave with a certain air of urgency. Mabel is sad to see you leave but you promise to come back soon.
    On your way back home, you internally argue with yourself. ‘Does Bill have to know about the rip? It’s not any of his business really. But he does deserve to know, doesn’t he? It would be his big ticket out of Gravity Falls. The real question is what would he try to do when he is out. He seems so much kinder than before. He’s helped around the house and hasn’t tried to double cross me...yet. It could all be an act. What do I do if I tell him and then he spreads Weirdmaggedon everywhere? That would be my fault. What does it matter?! The rip is so tiny anyway, he probably won't be able to fit his foot through it.’
    Your thoughts run around in circles all the way back home, running your mind ragged. You gently open the door and take a deep breath, letting it out with a long sigh. “Bill, I’m back.” You hear his feet thumping across the ground from the back of the house before he shows up in front of you. You notice him hiding his hand behind his back. "(Y/N)! Welcome home, my most wonderful and helpful human.” You raise a brow then your eyes narrow. “Bill, what did you do?”
    “Absolutely nothing! What could possibly make you think that? I’m just trying to show my appreciation for my favorite meatsack.” You step forward and he takes a step back. You take a step diagonally to see if you can slip around him to see what he is hiding in his hand but he quickly spins around to block you. You cross your arms while he gives you a smile laced with nervousness. You try one more time to get around him but once again he dodges you, grinning a bit now seeing that you are having difficulty getting to him. You playfully glare at him and he sticks his tongue out at you. You take a step back then suddenly tackle him. He hits the ground with a grunt.
    You stay on top of him while grabbing for his arm which he continues to hide behind his back. “Bill, let me see!” You have no idea what he is trying to hide, but if he is trying to hide it then it’s something you want to see. He shows you his other hand and turns it palm up. “There, see? I have nothing!” Fed up with his attitude, you speak again. “Show me both your hands, now.” Intending it as an order, Bill is forced to do so but he puts the back of his hand up instead.
    You flip over both his hands to see his palm and immediately wince once you see a large piece of glass piercing through it, blood starting to slowly stain his skin. Your annoyed attitude with Bill immediately softens and you get him up off the floor, sitting him down on the couch. You go over to your remedies table, silently glad that it wasn’t destroyed along with your potions. “I don’t know why you think it’s a good idea to hide an injury from me. You realize what happens to human bodies if that glass stays inside of you? You’ll get an infection which will make you feel worse than you already do now and if you did get one, I wouldn’t be able to help you.” He stays silent.
    You sigh and go back over to him with two different creams, one that has a sickly green color and another that is white with flecks of gold. Setting his palm on your lap, you smear some of the white cream around the injury, making sure to not accidentally nudge the glass. After waiting a few minutes, it completely numbs the area and you are free to remove the glass. You do so, with a fair amount of apprehension from Bill, then proceed to dress the wound with the other cream and some bandages.
    Ignoring the entire procedure for the most part, Bill looks at you with a cautiousness in his eyes. "Did anything interesting happen while visiting Shooting Star and Pinetree?" You pause for only a moment as you put the medical supplies back where they usually go. "....No. Nothing interesting at all."