Chapter Text
Stanford's Pines P.O.V.
I woke up with a jolt, sweating cold as I heard a loud alarm blaring in my room, red lights flashing in my eyes.
Bill.
I had placed those alarms near his statue shortly after his death.
At first, I was anxious at the thought of the alarm ever going off, but after four years, I thought it was impossible.
I got out of bed, turned off the alarm, got ready physically, and ran into the forest on a cold winter morning.
I tried to leave without making any noise because I didn’t want to involve Stanley in case it was a false alarm.
All I know is that I ran as fast as I could until my legs hurt and my face froze as I ran against the icy breeze.
When I saw the statue’s location after months—I visited it seasonally out of caution—I almost froze at the sight of it being gone.
I felt something stuck in my throat along with my breath fading more and more.
I gripped the weapon I had brought tightly and started walking around the area, looking for any sign of Bill.
I immediately stopped when I found a naked man lying on the ground in an almost fatal state of hypothermia.
He had beautiful blond hair with black streaks; pale skin reddened by the cold; an almost angelic face with long feminine lashes and pale lips.
I let out a long breath I didn’t know I was holding when I saw his chest rise and fall, showing he was still breathing.
I quickly took off my coat and covered him with it as I knelt beside him to examine his condition.
I pulled a small flashlight from my pocket and pointed it at one of his eyes while opening it to test for reflexes, but what I saw made me fall backward.
The stranger had golden eyes like a cat's—very similar to a certain demon’s.
I spent a few minutes just pondering the possibilities, but I realized I didn’t have much time.
He was nearly dead, and I needed to do something.
Reluctantly, I approached and held him in my arms as I ran back to the cabin, losing all my breath in the process.
My thoughts were in conflict, and I tried to reason through all the possibilities of what the hell was happening.
Is he possessed by Bill?
Did Bill manage to return?
Is he Bill?
I tried to push those thoughts away because, at the moment, my only priority was making sure the stranger stayed alive.
I brought him to my room and laid the unknown man in my bed, covering him with every blanket in the cabin.
Then, I sat in a chair, watching him from a distance while wondering what to do next.
I had done thousands of tests on Bill’s statue to know if it was even possible for him to return, but I never thought it would actually happen after so many years.
Why didn’t he return sooner?
This can’t be him, but there’s no other explanation for those eyes.
I never thought I’d see him in human form...
Maybe I should tell one of my relatives, but I’m afraid of involving them again in another near-destruction of the entire universe because of me.
I sigh, still watching the sleeping stranger.
He didn’t look like anyone from Gravity Falls and was still naked.
He has features similar to Bill... This can't just be in my head.
Bill Cipher's P.O.V.
I woke up feeling comfortably warm, lying on something soft that only made me sleepier—but as soon as I opened my eyes, my peace disappeared at the sight of Six Fingers pointing a gun at my forehead.
"Calm down, Sixer. You know how hard it is to hurt me with something like that," I said dismissively, trying to crawl out from under the many layers of blankets, but strangely found it difficult.
"Wait... my tie... my top hat—" I fell silent, searching for the accessories as I sat up—"Am I naked?!"
"Don’t be cynical! Tell me, how did you get this body?!" he demanded harshly while I was still confused.
I raised my hands, seeing five fingers made of flesh and bone—
"No... No... No! NO!!!"
I stumbled out of bed and stopped in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at my face.
I ran my hands over it in panic, feeling the softness of my skin beneath my fingers.
I was starting to hyperventilate from how nervous I was.
"No... No... He couldn’t have done this. This can’t be... Is this another punishment?!"
I looked at my trembling hand and tried to use my pyrokinesis—but it didn’t work.
I dropped to my knees, trying to think of a solution to this horrible situation.
I hugged my fragile body and finally noticed I was wearing Ford’s overcoat.
"This isn’t what you think," I said nervously, knowing he still had the gun pointed at my head.
"It never is with you," he replied coldly.
I slowly stood up from the floor and staggered back to the bed, feeling my spirit shattered.
What do I do now?
I’m trapped in a human body and without my powers.
Is this a punishment from Axolotl? This is so unfair!
I looked at Ford, who still had a disgusted expression that made my heart ache.
"What will you do to me?" I asked, thinking of the infinite ways he could kill me.
Ford stayed silent and seemed on the defensive as he tried to think of a response.
"I have a few ideas... Don’t think I’ll let you walk around like this."
I looked at him curiously.
"You’re absolutely right. I need to return your coat first," I said mischievously, unbuttoning the coat and revealing more and more of my skin as he looked away.
"It’s better if you keep it for now. In fact, I’ll get you some more clothes," he said, putting the gun away and heading to the closet—but not before a lovely little threat—"Don’t even think about trying anything."
I just nodded innocently as I watched him pick out some clothes from his wardrobe—none of them my style.
"Ew, these clothes would make me look like Steve Jobs!" I looked at them in disgust.
Then I got up, went over to his wardrobe, and pushed him aside while searching for something more my taste.
"Honestly, Bill—" before he could finish, I heard the bedroom door open and Stanley’s voice talking to his brother.
"Hey, Ford—oh, I didn’t know you had company." His tone was both embarrassed and proud.
I was about to say something, but Ford stood in front of me and covered my mouth with his hand, smiling awkwardly at his brother.
"It’s not what you’re thinking, Stanley..."
"I didn’t know you liked blondes. You actually have better taste than I imagined. I’ll leave you two alone for a few hours and go buy some beers. Have fun." I heard the door close and his muffled laughter.
I pushed Ford’s hand off my mouth and asked, confused, "What was that?"
"He obviously didn’t recognize you," he said, slightly embarrassed and annoyed.
I turned around to look at myself in the mirror and the view made me curious.
From the back, I looked quite feminine—shoulder-length messy golden hair, a slim waist, pale skin, and to make it worse, wearing only Ford’s coat which barely covered my thighs.
"Haha, as if you’d ever land a woman like this," I joked, and he rolled his eyes.
I finished picking the least hideous clothes from his wardrobe and began dressing while he looked the other way.
"Hurry up, we have experiments to do."
"Hey! I’m not your lab rat," I complained as I adjusted my new bowtie.
"In that case, I could just throw you back into the snow and let you die of hypothermia," he threatened.
"You wouldn’t dare," I said playfully, and he gave me a serious look.
"Want to find out?"
We stared at each other in silence and, reluctantly, I let him run some tests on me.
We started with blood tests, strength tests, and one to measure my magical level.
"This is strange..."
I looked at him curiously.
"I know, power scanners always glitch with high numbers. It’s normal," I shrugged.
"That’s not it... On the contrary, your magic level is zero. Like any ordinary person," he said, intrigued, and I started to panic. "Curiously, even without your magic, you still have more strength and likely other physical attributes above any human."
"I have no magic?! THAT @#-&°£¥€×!" I started cursing in my ancient language, hoping Axolotl himself could hear.
"Calm down. Explain to me—what’s going on?" he asked, unsettled, sitting next to me. His expression seemed to show a hidden bit of concern.
"Well, I assume you remember my book, right? I created it while I was trapped in the Teraprism. I think you’ve heard of it," I said, looking away, embarrassed.
"That place in the mind-zone? I heard they let you reincarnate in some specific forms. That explains why you came back as a human," he replied logically, and I felt my eyes burn.
"I don’t want to be human, I want my powers and my beautiful body of pure light," I explained, looking at him with tears in my eyes, and his expression softened.
"I can’t promise anything, but I’ll help you improve your situation... Maybe it’s not so bad. You have a new chance to start over," he tried to reassure me and wiped the tears from my face.
But as soon as Ford realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away, embarrassed.
"Maybe you’re right... But I have no idea what to do now. Without my powers, I’m just a well of charisma and not-so-divine beauty," I said melodramatically, then realized—"I think I’m not even a god anymore!"
"Listen, we’ll figure out a way to understand how your powers might come back, okay?" I nodded, feeling my heart race because of how understanding he was. "But if I’m going to help you, I want something in return."
"Uh~ a deal?" I smiled, and he nodded with a tired expression.
"Bill, you need to promise you’ll be completely honest with me, and no trying to take over the universe or planet Earth."
"B-but—"
"Bill," he said seriously, "promise."
I swallowed hard as I considered the request, then, with few options, I agreed and extended my hand to seal the deal.
Anyway, without my powers, I can only lie.
I just need to do what he wants and he’ll suspect nothing.
"I promise." He shook my hand—but this time, without any magic surrounding our deal.
Only... trust?
Let’s see where this goes.