Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

*Click click click*

The sound of heels filled the cold, white, void-like hallway; a metal door creaked open with the grace of a tortured animal. A round, pulsating ball of energy floated in, with an unattached pair of red pumps beneath it. She moved to the center of the room and hovered over the seat of a steel chair.

“Hello, Bill. How are you doing today?” she said with little emotion.

Bill slumped into his seat and turned, revealing a crack of blue on his face that wasn’t there a few days before.

“You have a new line,”
the light observed.
“You’re getting worse.”

“Thanks for noticing. Still winning awards for warmth and empathy?”

“Our current means of healing seem ineffective. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy isn’t helping you, is it?”

“Nice observation skills,” Bill remarked.

“It’s been three years since you were sent here. You’ve made no effort to improve.”

“Three years? I guess time flies when you're stuck in an interdimensional prison for the rest of eternity.”

The energy sighed as if this interaction had happened before (and it probably did).

“The Axolotl called twice last month,”
the orb said.
“It wants to speak to you about reincarnation. About second chances—”

“NOPE!”
Bill shouted.

“Cipher—”

“I don’t want to hear about that glorified goldfish and its dumb ‘fRieNdsHIp iS MaGIc’ mentality!”

His blue cracks flared violently, pulsating as if they had a heartbeat. Bill winced, his body tensing.

The orb was quiet. The silence was immeasurable; the slight humming of the A.C. became deafening. Bill’s shallow breath looked like smoke in the cold.

“We’re trying something different. Exposure therapy. You will confront your issues.” the energy said with little pity.

“Issues?” Bill asked with frustration.

“We will have you face your traumas, mistakes, and pain–face to face.”

Life drained from Bill’s face, leaving him looking dead inside. He quickly snapped out of his silent panic.

“So am I going to yell into the void or—?” he remarked with fake sincerity.

“Due to time and space constraints, we’ll simulate the relevant moments… and I was advised not to proceed without your input. So: pick one. Your parents, the Axolotl, the Oracle, or Gravity Falls.”

He snapped upright, smile gone, eye twitching.

“…Excuse me?”

“Pick one,” she replied.

“You really think you can make me do this? I have power—”

“Not here. You have nothing in the Theraprism. You have nothing.”

Bill’s eyes widened as if he hadn't accepted or realized his weaknesses before.

“If you're not happy, your other option is… well… remember the individual who was reincarnated as a butterfly?”

All sound drained from the room.
The silence wasn’t empty. It seemed… waiting… full.

“…Gravity Falls,” Bill murmurs, with dread and a hint of anger.

“Delightful. We will reconnect after your first exposure session, and we'll see if future sessions are necessary. The T.T.R.U. (Time Travel Rehabilitation Unit) will assist you on your travels.”

Bill looked empty as he was still processing the information he had received.

“I know that these steps seem impossible, but this is your chance, Bill.”

“You don't know anything,” Bill whispered with poorly disguised fear… the kind of fear that even monsters are afraid to live with.

Chapter Text

“Time is strange. Time moves while you are standing. You don't move through time, time moves past you. This is very difficult for entities to understand; especially the immortal ones. You have been here for a long while but the world has moved on without you. You have been forgotten, lost to time. But we at the Time Travelers Rehabilitation Unit will help you re-adjust to normal life so you can heal from your mistakes and trauma. Please listen to your designated team of professionals as they will assist you with your travels. Remember: we are always there; we are always watching… thank you for watching this T.T.R.U P.S.A!”

*Vvrmp*

The hologram condensed into a small square and disappeared. a small remote in the hand of a gender neutral humanoid entity in a white and teal futuristic suit.

 “Thank you for your patience Mr. Cipher. We are your T.T.R.U task force. We are going to help you get down to earth,” they said with joy in their voice

“I'm Soren! This is kore and hetre. And we will asi-”

“Yeah, yeah I heard it the first time. You're gonna ship me to that blue gumball and I'm going to have to make friendship bracelets or roast marshmallows or some shit, right?” Bill asked while masking his frustration poorly.

“Well, that's…close.” Hetre replied.

“We will send you to earth and you are going to complete a few tasks while you're there. These tasks are going to give you many opportunities to reconnect with the people of your past! But, unfortunately due to the Prisoners Security and Privacy Act, which was passed a few millennia ago by Time Baby, we have to make sure you're completing those tasks without stalking you.”

“We're giving you a Behaviour. Affliction. Neurological. Device!” Kore interjected

Bill stared blankly at the trio with little emotion; maybe an ounce of confusion. He was most likely just acting perplexed to anger the happy-go-lucky group in front of him.

“Kore means a B.A.N.D, Mr. Cipher.” Soren reiterated with patience and unnecessary understanding.

“It will send you bi-weekly reports of your progression and, because we need to make sure there's incentive to improve, we…” Soren paused as if contemplating the consequence of telling the glowing triangle in front of them.

“We will tell you when you get to earth.” They mustered

Soren turned to hetre with a knowing look; glancing between him and kore. Hetre walked up to a small steel table next to the spot where the hologram originally was and reached for a small white bracelet; a blue light pulsating around it as it hummed with energy. He handed the B.A.N.D. to kore and she gently held Bill's hand up to her as she slid it onto his arm.

*Verrrrmp*

The bracelet contracted and snapped in place; fitting snuggly around Bill wrist. Just tight enough to not be removed but not too tight to hurt him.

“How does it feel?” Soren asked.

“Fine.” Bill responded while yanking his hand away from kore and turning his head.

There was a moment of silence. Bill, somehow, always managed to silence a whole room by merely existing.

Hetre clapped his hands, breaking the tension.

“On that note, we have a telepad you can use to get down to earth. We will move your things to your new room!” He announced cheerfully.

“New room?” Bill asked with genuine confusion this time.

“Oh, yes, right! You'll be staying with the Pines. Did I not tell you that?” Hetre replied with an unknowing smile.

“NO!?!? YOU SEEMED TO FORGET THAT PART!” Bill shouted with actual, unmasked, terror.

“Our sincerest apologies Mr.Cipher. We are hitting max capacity at our nearest T.T.R.U re-homing and rehabilitation facilities and the theraprism is too. So, under our very watchful eyes we will have you stay with the people you are rekindling your relationships with. Without warning…we haven't told them yet!” Kore said cheerfully and ignorantly. 

“I'm sorry, how is that a good idea?”

“It's not!” Kore responded with a wide grin plastered on her fake pale face.

“Huh…the writer's getting sloppy-” 

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Well space waits for no one and neither do we! Let's go, Cipher!” Soren announced while ushering Bill out of the room into a smaller room.

Bill took a quick glance around. It looked like the same endless white void like all the other rooms previous, but this one was smaller and had three, small, grey, telepads; all lined up perfectly. Hetre and Soren led Bill to the telepad in the middle and each stood on one side of Bill and a bright blue flash of electric energy cracked and they were gone.