Darker Perspective

Chapter 20

Fire raged beneath him, destroying the last of the town. Dipper watched for a few moments before stepping inside the great pyramid floating beside him. He gave his stag a quick pat before closing the door, breathing in deeply.

It was the first time he had actually been inside the pyramid, and he could safely say he wasn't disappointed. The smooth, obsidian walls stretched upwards, glinting in the half light. It was plain, not filled with useless clutter, and Dipper liked it.

His shoes tapped rhythmically as he began to walk, inspecting the area as he went. Doors opened around him, letting him take a quick look at each one. Every room was completely different, as if it was taken from another world. It fascinated Dipper, and he reminded himself to take a proper look at them all once he reported back to Bill.

Speaking of the yellow demon, his cackles were slowly growing louder as he moved further down the halls; all Dipper needed to do was follow them.

Pushing open a large door, Dipper was greeted with the brightest room he had seen so far; bright walls, flashing lights and a great stone throne in the centre.

And then there were the demons, laughing with drinks in their hands or pointing down at the humans with joy. Dipper entered the room, letting himself relax.

"Well well well well well! Look who it is!" Bill was suddenly behind him but, now used to these sudden appearances, Dipper turned casually, smiling.

"It was done in a few seconds. You were right." He told the demon. "He is an idiot."

"Knew it! Everything is falling into place! Just as I planned!" Bill laughed. The other demons laughed with him, and Dipper was giggling himself.

"Look! I've got something to show you!" Bill said once he could compose himself. He pointed his cane to the further side of the room, where the stone throne was standing.

Dipper walked over to it slowly, tilting his head. Closer now, he could see the twisted bodies and fear-struck faces all pieced together, making up the throne itself. Dipper crouched, tracing a finger over one of the faces. It was familiar, but he found that he couldn't remember her name at all. He looked over at the others next to her, and it was almost the same case –  only one he could identify as Sheriff Blubs, one of the members of the local law enforcement. He frowned, mildly concerned at this.

"Why can't I remember some of these names?" He asked Bill, who was hovering beside him.

"That's a bit more complicated." Bill began. "When you learn magic at a skill level like this, you tend to forget parts about your past life to make up for it! Don't worry! It's just the useless human memories!" The triangle explained. Dipper nodded, standing upright.

"That's fair." The teen looked up at the throne again. "Are these all the townspeople?"

"Almost!" Bill replied eagerly. "There's a few left, who are probably trying to plot my defeat or something. But I'll have the whole collection eventually."

"Speaking of plotting your defeat..." Pyronica said from the other side of the room, peering through one of the windows. "Humans are flying towards us, fast."

"Right on time!" Bill floated on top of his throne, relaxing. "Let them come!"

The demons stood out of the way as the humans smashed through the window. Dipper recognised a lot of them, like Mabel, Stan, Soos, Wendy, Pacifica and surprisingly, Gideon. The others he couldn't remember names too well, but their faces were definitely familiar.

Dipper watched from beside the throne in amusement as the scrambled to their feet, holding makeshift weapons. Well, at least the effort was there.

"Leave Stan and Mabel to me." Dipper muttered to the demon. "You can have fun with the rest."