Reality is an Illusion, The Universe is a Hologram!

Bill floated alone through the Mystery Shack, invisible to all.   Things hadn’t always been like this, there was a time not so long ago he was not only visible to the world…but he had friends.

~30 years earlier~

“Bill are you sure this will work?” Fiddleford asked as they were putting up the finishing touches to an inter-dimensional portal.  With it, they could travel to different dimensions and learn so much about the other realities.  It was something the boys were so eager to finish, though Bill had been a bit apprehensive.  He wouldn’t say why, but this was how he’d met Ford all those years ago in that other timeline..

“Of course I’m sure. Stan, move it about three inches to the riiiight, and stop!  Perfect!!” Bill said as he floated up and used a little of his magic to weld the last piece into place. “Let’s fire this baby up!  Ready Sixer?”

Stanford gave him a thumbs up and pushed the lever forward, causing the portal to spark to life and gravity started to get a little weird.  “Woah, hang on.” Bill said as he stabilized the gravity. “Don’t think you guys wanna float around when there is exploring to be done” He said with a laugh.

Within moments the four of them, Bill, Fiddleford, and the twins Stanley and Stanford, stood in front of the portal, a little apprehensive to take the first step. “Okay, let’s go through this one more time.  How exactly do we get back?  Will there be a portal on the other side?” Fiddleford asked as he looked up to Bill.  “There won’t be a portal on the other side, but you’ll have me.  I can open a portal back at any time, we’ve been over this a hundred times Four-Eyes.” Bill said as he rolled his eye. “Now c’mon, let’s go!”

Together they stepped through the portal and found themselves in a lush forest with all sorts of strange noises chirping and gurgling. Suddenly a small bright blue dinosaur scurried out from the bushes, pausing to hiss at the strangers before running off again. “Bill…you sure this isn’t a time machine?  That was a dinosaur!” Stanford said as he quickly drew the small thing in his new book.

“Nah, this place doesn’t feel right for it to be time travel.  Maybe in this dimension the dinosaurs never died out.” Bill said as he floated up higher.  “Oh check this out!  There is a herd of big guys over that way!” Bill said excitedly. “C’mon!! This will be great for that book of yours Sixer!”

Stanley chuckled watching the nerdy ones go off to document the dinosaurs. “Heh, poindexters….wonder if I can wrestle a T-Rex.” He said as he wandered off to find one.  It couldn’t be that hard right?

Stanford sat on a rock and took down notes quickly as Bill flew between the Dinosaurs, attempting to talk to them and getting frustrated when they ignored him.  There was so much they were learning just by being next to these ancient creatures.  Seeing how gentle they were with their young, it almost made Stanford a bit jealous.  Him and his brother had a very rocky relationship with their dad ever since they were little, even more so after they’d found Bill.

His thoughts were quickly dismissed as Bill shrank in size and sat on Stanford’s head. “These guys are about as dumb as that rock you are sitting on.” The small demon said dejectedly.  

Suddenly not so far away there was an angry loud roar and the sound of something big moving very fast. “PORTAL PORTAL!!!” Stanley yelped as he came running into view. “BILL PORTAL NOW!!!!!!”

“What did you do?!” Stanford asked as he saw a very angry looking T-Rex chasing after his brother…his brother who was holding a very large egg like a football. “Put the egg down and she’ll stop chasing you!”

Stanford rushed forward and took the egg while Bill worked on connecting the portal again. Big teeth, big teeth Bill thought as he kept trying to connect. C’mon, c’mon work…big pointy teeth..focus Bill.

The blue glow of the portal fizzled into view and he quickly ushered his friends inside and slipped in as well.  Once back in the bunker, Bill turned around to see the T-Rex still chasing them through and on instinct blasted the portal to protect himself and his friends.  The Portal could be rebuilt, they’d just have to ask Stanford where the journals were.

Bill was suddenly knocked flat onto his stomach as something punched him in the back. “Owww….what was that for? I just saved you guys!”  He said looking up to see two very angry guys.   Wait…two, where was Sixer? “My brother wasn’t through the portal yet you jerk! Bring him back now!”

“But, but he was right behind me!” Bill said looking around in a panic, surely they were joking..right? “I-I can try.” He said as he looked towards the portal, the now very busted up portal.  He held his hands up high and focused, but the portal was closed for good.

“I-I’m sorry…But if we can-” Bill said before he was cut off with another punch from Stan. “I trusted you!  We all trusted you! And now thanks to you my brother is gone! It’s your fault!!  Fiddleford, seal him.” Stan said as he walked off.  

Fiddleford nodded angrily and muttered the incantation to seal away Bill to the mindscape. Bill looked up at them in shock and fear. “Wait!! No, don’t do this!! We can still get him back!” His voice echoed as he vanished from their sight.

He leapt up at Fiddleford after the spell was completed, but he went right through him…like he was a ghost.  Doomed forever to be alone, alone with the guilt that if he had done better to protect Ford, they would all still be a happy family.  Doomed to watch as Fiddleford created a machine to erase his memories of everything that had happened once more.  Doomed to watch as Stanley faked his own death and took on the role of his brother, so that nobody would know the truth, just like last time.

Time passed, and Stan found the first journal, and set about trying to recreate the portal.  In hopes that maybe his brother could be found.  Bill stuck around the Mystery Shack, watching it slowly become the tourist trap it now was.  Sensing as the other signs of his zodiac were being born.

The demon had wondered on more than one occasion if perhaps there was a second him out there, the one from the proper timeline.  That was the whole reason he’d taught them that spell in the first place, to seal off the one he used to be, all acting tough and pretending to be something he’s not.  Pretending to be a murderous demon who destroyed his dimension, so that the bigger meaner creatures he’d called ‘friends’ wouldn’t eat him on the spot.  Sure he destroyed it but it had been an accident.  Twist the words, make it sound like he was all powerful, and soon even he believed it himself.

Bill had all but given up hope of returning to the world, till one fateful day. Two small twins came to the shack to live for the summer, not much older than Little Fish and Sixer had been when they had first met him.

Bill hadn’t had anybody to talk to in thirty years, so...the first couple times they’d interacted didn’t go any better than when he’d first met them, possibly even worse cause he maaaay have come off a bit intense.  Many things happened that summer that mirrored what happened that fateful summer he’d nearly died, but this time he got his body back without the rift.  This time he managed to help Stan fix the portal (After several more much deserved punches from the con-man).

“A X O L O T L MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN, I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN!!” Bill said hurriedly, the cold flames of the memory gun licking closer to his body.  The dream demon was scared for the first time in his life.  He had tried to reason with Stan, tried to bribe him.  But the old man wanted none of it.  He reached for the figure trapped in the mind with him and the last thing he saw was a fist before it all went dark…

Bill kept his eye closed as he floated, certain the spell hadn’t worked and this was it, he was dead.  It wasn’t fair, all he wanted was a party.  His home world was a boring place with boring creatures and boring lives.  Back home he would have been a craftsman, a lower class creature fated to create boring things.  Back home they didn’t allow fun, or creativity, or color, or even freedom!   That’s why he wanted to live in this wonderful human world.  

He’d found the human world shortly after he discovered he had unique powers, he could see into other worlds! Of course he kept his power hidden, if he’d been found out he would have been sentenced to death.  Such were the strict laws of his world.  Soon he found a crack in the barrier of his world to another world.  A small pocket dimension really, where other creatures like himself soon found their way in.  The dimension couldn’t contain their power for much longer, and that’s when he’d thought of that miraculous human world again.  Surely that free spirited world could handle a few creatures having a party?  But how was he to know all his plans would go up in smoke thanks to one man protecting his family?

A voice nearby broke his thoughts and Bill blinked confusedly, squinting up at the blue sky and sunlight. Sunlight?! He thought confusedly as he realized he was laying on a beach, the water having pushed him up onto it.  

“Dare ya to touch it!” “Eeeww no way, you touch it!” two childish voices said nearby, it had been their voices he’d heard. “What if it’s got rabies or something? It’s gotta be a monster, right bro?”

Bill saw a hand reaching towards him and the memory of Stan’s fist made him scramble back deeper into the water to hide behind a nearby rock.  Fearfully he peered around it to see two small twin boys. Twins, always the twins.. He thought to himself as he watched them carefully.  “Aww you scared it Stanley!” one of them pouted.

Bill looked closer at the one pouting and couldn’t help but notice…he had six fingers.”Sixer..” he mumbled in shock.  The spell had worked! Just…not how he’d thought.  It had saved him from destruction, but had sent him back in time as well.  He could destroy them here and now, but the thought quickly passed.  Why destroy them when he could learn from them, his own family cared little of him but their bond was strong enough to stop him once before.  And he already had what he wanted anyways, to be in this world!  He was finally free of his old world!!

“C’mon out, we won’t hurt ya.” Stanford said, wading into the water a little ways. “We wanna be your friend..” He added, holding out his hand.