Bud's heart hammered against his ribcage as he walked down the halls of Order headquarters. His purple robes swished against his ankles, and he tried to force himself to slow down, but he couldn't. If someone saw him down here, he didn't know if he could give a plausible excuse for being here outside of an official meeting. And if anyone found out what he was planning to do. . . If he was caught. . .

He quickened his step.

There was no other alternative. The last forty-eight hours had been so terrible, he just couldn't stand it any longer. And he was starting to suspect who might have told Pacifica about the Order.

If he begged him to take it away. . . if he begged him to stop her madness. . .

Bud took a firelit lantern from the hallway, ducked into an empty room, and closed the door swiftly behind him. Once he looked around to make sure he was alone, he let out a sigh of relief and then got to work.

He found ten candles, matches, and a piece of chalk stashed away in a cabinet drawer. Beneath them lay a faded piece of parchment, which gave the instructions of the ritual. Bud pulled a picture from his robes, a photo and him and Pacifica smiling up from the frame, and set it on the floor in the middle of the room.

Then he started drawing.

Ten minutes later, a wobbly but recognizable Cipher Wheel circled the picture frame in its center. Bud placed the candles outside the Wheel so that they completed their own circle, and carefully lit them, making sure not to catch his robes in the flame. Once all the candles were lit, Bud picked up the parchment with trembling fingers and began to read the incantation.

His voice was hesitant at first, and he stumbled over the words. As he got farther into the spell, however, he got stronger and more confident.

And then the spell was taking over, and he was down on his knees, yelling the same phrase over and over again without telling his mouth to move. He shouted the words at the top of his voice, and then it stopped, and his vision filled with white.

When his eyes cleared, the candles were out, the world was in grey, and a glowing yellow triangle floated above him.

"Bud Pleasure!" Bill Cipher said, his multi-layered voice echoing dully in the small room. "I was wondering if you'd work up the courage to summon me."

Since Bud was already on his knees anyway, he bowed to the demon, his forehead touching the floor. "L-L-Lord Cipher," he stammered. "I c-come to you in g-great distress."

"When else do people like you come to me?" Cipher replied.

Bud looked up in surprise.

Cipher surveyed the crude summoning circle Bud had drawn, and let out something like a chuckle when his gaze landed on the photograph Bud had offered as a sacrifice. "Your daughter has more style."

"So she has summoned you?" Bud asked. "P-please, Lord Cipher, I can't bear it any longer. She—"

"I know exactly what's going on," Cipher said.

"O-of course you do."

"But Pacifica summoned me before she went insane. And, by the way, she's always been crazy. You just don't care enough to see it."

"I-I-I — Pacifica is my treasure, I-I love her dearly!"

"Not enough to stop her from leaving you for a year," Cipher replied. "You've always feared her. But I digress. You want me to do something to stop her madness."

"Y-yes, oh, please, my lord, I would do anything—"

Cipher cut Bud off by laughing loudly. The abrasive sound hurt Bud's ears, but he didn't dare say anything until the laughter wore off.

"Oh, man, that's funny," Cipher said, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye. "No, you wouldn't. Not a coward like you. And anyway, I didn't cause Pacifica's condition. She did it all herself. I'm just taking advantage of the situation."

"Advantage, m-my lord?"

Cipher studied Bud under his watchful eye. "Suffice it to say," he replied, "that your daughter can be of great help to me, if she is guided in the right direction. The will of your father has passed down to her two-fold." Cipher fell silent for a moment, and Bud got the feeling that he was smiling, despite not having a mouth. "Perhaps the reason you have no spine is that she got all of your potential for greatness."

Bud knew he was being insulted, but he was too nervous to be offended. "I-I don't understand. Pacifica has been talking of — of leading the Order. Are you the one that told her so?"

"I am."

"You. . . you mean to have Blind Lincoln replaced?"

"I mean," Cipher said, his voice lowering in pitch, "to not be questioned by a sub-intelligent whelp like you."

"Y-y-yes, Lord Cipher, apologies, Lord Cipher—"

"Silence," Cipher demanded. Bud shut his mouth so hard his teeth clicked together.

Cipher put his hands on the slopes of his triangular sides and assumed a contemplative expression. "You never cease to amuse me, Bud Pleasure," Cipher said, after a pause.

Bud didn't know if he had permission to speak, so he said nothing. He studied the picture in the middle of the summoning circle, bathed in the yellow glow radiating from Bill Cipher. A long silence stretched in the small stone room.

"By the way," Cipher said, "Blind Lincoln has wards in place to detect if anyone summons me without authorization."

Bud's eyes snapped up to Cipher as the words sank into his skull. A burst of panic shuddered through him.

In his periphery, another person appeared: Blind Lincoln, brought into the mindscape by Lord Cipher. "Pleasure," the Order leader said in a hard voice, "what do you think you are doing?"

"Ah, Blind Lincoln," Cipher said conversationally. "So nice of you to join us."

"Lord Cipher," said Lincoln, dropping into a deep bow. "My deepest apologies for my insubordinate follower. If he—"

"No need," Cipher interrupted. "I've been expecting Pleasure to contact me. And now that you're here, I have something to discuss with you."

"Of course, Lord Cipher." Lincoln glanced at Bud and jerked a thumb towards the door.

"No, Bud needs to be here, too."

Blind Lincoln looked at Cipher in surprise. Bud willed himself to disappear into the walls.

"Alright," Lincoln said. He cleared his throat. "What can I do for you, Lord Cipher?"

"You know as well as I the circumstances that brought you to your position," Cipher began.

Blind Lincoln's eyes flicked over to Bud, who flinched in response. If Cipher truly wanted to install Pacifica as the leader of the Order of the Crescent Eye, how would Lincoln view Bud afterward?

"Yes," was Lincoln's measured reply.

Cipher laughed. "Oh, you're priceless, Blind Eye. I'm not replacing you with Bud!" More laughter. "No. Bud will continue to reap the consequences of his cowardice."

Bud gave a little bow here. Just in case.

"His daughter, however. . . Lincoln, are you aware of the events that took place this past week?"

"What events do you mean?"

"Two days ago, Pacifica Pleasure lost her precious powers that granted her telepathy and other psychic abilities."

Lincoln frowned thoughtfully. "I have heard reports of concern about her little psychic show shutting down."

Cipher twirled his cane around and pointed it at Lincoln. "Exactly. Now that she's sans-powers, she needs another outlet for her plans."

Bud thought he saw Blind Lincoln's face turn a paler shade, but his expression stayed composed. "What plans, Lord Cipher?"

Cipher waved the question away. "That's between me and her. However, I want to move her here, to Order headquarters, so she can learn her duties of being leader of the Order."

"You mean to replace me with a careless little girl?" Lincoln demanded. "Cipher, what have I—"

"Shut up," Cipher suggested. "She's not replacing you, not yet. But you won't last forever, Lincoln. Not like I will."

A deep breath from Lincoln. "Of course, my lord."

"You will be in charge of training young Pleasure for her future role. She will stay here, out of sight, away from the rest of the town."

Bud didn't like the sound of that.

"And Bud?"

"Y-yes, my lord?"

Cipher turned on him, and Bud could see his own reflection in the slitted pupil of Cipher's eye.

"You will stay out of the way."

The words felt like a slap in the face. Before Bud could stop himself, he was stammering, "L-L-Lord Cipher, my d-daughter—"

"You wanted me to fix her, didn't you?" Cipher demanded.

Bud swallowed. "Y-yes—"

"This is my way of fulfilling your request. I expect you to be grateful, and to do as I say."

Bud felt any ounce of control he had over his life slip away. He just got Pacifica back, and now he was losing her again. Except. . . hadn't he already lost her? And with her living at Order headquarters, wouldn't things go back to normal? A peaceful home, just him and Catherine?

"Yes, my lord," Bud finally said. "Thank you, my lord."

"Lord Cipher," Blind Lincoln cut in. "I do not want to babysit this child."

"It's not babysitting," Cipher replied, "and any grievances you have can be discussed with me later." He turned to Bud. "You summoned me, Pleasure. So now we have to make some kind of deal."

Right. Bud was prepared for this. This just. . . wasn't the deal he was expecting.

Cipher's hand lit up with blue fire. Blind Lincoln stepped out of the way. Bud gulped.

"If you release custody of your daughter over to me and Blind Lincoln," Cipher said. "We will take care of her and prepare her for her destiny."

"A-and then she'll be okay?" Bud said.

"Yes." Cipher held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Bud wiped his sweaty palm on the side of his leg. Then he reached out and took Cipher's hand.

The blue fire spread from Cipher's hand to Bud's, and the large man tried to flinch away, but he couldn't. And it didn't hurt, anyway. It felt comfortably warm, and. . . peaceful.

The fire disappeared, and Cipher pulled away. The deal was made.

The peaceful feeling faded away with the blue light from the fire. Something sank in Bud's gut, something he couldn't define. I just made a big mistake, he thought.

"Well, this was enjoyable," Cipher said. "I appreciate your cooperation, Pleasure. I'm going to send you out of the mindscape now. I have more to discuss with Blind Lincoln."

"Of course, my lord," Bud said, surprised to find he was no longer stuttering. He bowed low to Cipher and waited for the demon to disappear.

"Don't forget your picture," Cipher said in farewell. He gestured beneath him, where the photograph of Pacifica still sat innocently on the floor. Then, with another gesture, he disappeared. The world snapped back into color, and Bud saw Lincoln with his eyes closed, standing eerily still beside him.

Bud snatched the picture and hurried out of the room, eager to leave Lincoln and Bill to their conversation. As soon as the door was closed behind him, Bud leaned against the wall and let out a relieved breath.

He did it. He summoned Bill Cipher, spoke to him, and convinced him to help him. He did it.

Bud's eyes found the picture in his hand. Pacifica's smooth face smiled up at him from its frame.

Tears pricked Bud's eyes.

You will stay out of the way, Bill had said. You release custody of your daughter. We will take care of her.

"Oh, Pacifica," Bud whispered, tracing the image of her chin with a finger. "What. . . What have I done?"

A/N so there's a contest called "Who's the Worst Dad in Gravity Rises." Bud Pleasure and Gaston Northwest are currently tied for first place.

Edit 8/19: Gaston is clearly the worse person, but I still very much dislike Bud.