For the first time in millennia, Bill Cipher felt real fear.

The Symbols had formed the Cipher Wheel. He could feel it, even in this useless body.

He'd been in Lincoln's body for ten days; it was terrible. Yes, Bill wanted a physical body again, but he wanted his body, with all its abilities, all its power. Not a stupid human meatsack.

But he had to inhabit a human body until the township reached his dimension. Otherwise, the township would turn around, and Bill had no idea how to reorient it toward his dimension if that should happen. Stupid ancients and their stupid complicated prison. They'd made sure Bill would be effectively powerless during the most important part of his escape.

Bill didn't like feeling cut off from the mindscape, but he wasn't completely blind, even in this body. He could still feel changes to his prison. He'd felt Mabel escape the false moon, for example. And now he could feel the surge of power as the Symbols united and became the Cipher Wheel.

Was this it? Was his escape attempt already over? Bill had successfully separated the Symbols from each other, but his efforts had all been unraveled. Even Pacifica had somehow been convinced to switch sides, when Bill was certain he had her wrapped around his finger.

Still, those hadn't been his only efforts. Bill hadn't just been sitting around since the township started. The servants had taken dozens of books from the Order library before caving in the Northwest passage, and Bill had been reading them, studying them, trying to squeeze any helpful information from them.

It had seemed a useless exercise, since Bill already knew much of what was in these books. But it had been worth it — it had worked. A few days ago, Bill had found something in an obscure chapter of an old text, and he and the servants had been working on a new project ever since.

But it was too late now.

He could sense the Symbols reaching through the mindscape. Reaching for him. Bill was physically alone in one of the Northwests' guest rooms, but he mentally felt the Cipher Wheel's presence. They were here. His defeat was imminent.

Bill felt a spectral chill as the Cipher Wheel reached out and wrapped their magic around him.

~~~~~

The Cipher Wheel was exhilarated. Their existence was joyful; their power was thrilling. They were one mind, created by ten different minds all fused together, and they harnessed the protective magic that ran through them.

They were the protector of the entire multiverse. They were the only one who could stop Bill Cipher from escaping and destroying innocent people's lives. They took this responsibility seriously, of course, but they also reveled in the power that this gave them. It truly was amazing to realize that they could do so much good for themselves and for other people.

This amazement only lasted a few moments, though. Then the Cipher Wheel was focused. They reached across the mindscape, searching for Bill. They knew where he was: the Northwest Manor. It only took a second to mentally transport themselves there. Yes, the mindscape was linked to the physical plane, but it wasn't bound by the same laws. So it was easy to skip over to another building in the blink of an eye.

There he was, the demon himself, possessing Lee's body. The Cipher Wheel didn't feel angry when they saw him. Instead, they only felt joyful anticipation to be rid of him.

They reached out and bound him with their magic, which encircled him like ropes. He didn't resist; he couldn't. All the Cipher Wheel had to do was yank him out of Lee's body, and then they could unleash their full power on him. It was destructive power, yes: It would greatly diminish his abilities, including the ability to communicate with humans in their dreams. But it was also helpful power, good power. Goodness, the goodness of love and compassion, could fill up the leftover space in the mindscape when the Cipher Wheel cut Bill down to size.

The Wheel's magic had him trapped. They pulled on his metaphysical ropes, trying to tear him free of the body he'd stolen.

He didn't budge.

What? That couldn't be right. The Cipher Wheel pulled again. Their strong, beautiful, protective magic was wrapped around Cipher's spirit; he couldn't escape it.

Yet he didn't come out of Lee's body.

The Cipher Wheel kept pulling. Surely if they kept trying, the way Gideon had with Greg's exorcism, then they could bring Bill out of Lee's body. They couldn't destroy him if he stayed in there.

Or could they? The Cipher Wheel tapped into the power they had. It didn't seem like it would work if Bill were in a physical body. The Cipher Wheel's power existed completely in the mindscape. Any interference from the physical or spirit planes would be an obstacle to them.

But that wouldn't stop them from trying. Bill also existed completely in the mindscape; it was part of his prison. Even though he was in a physical body, the Cipher Wheel could surely reach him as one mental being to another.

So they tried. They poured out their magic. They kept pulling, trying to get Bill out of Lee's body. Why wasn't he leaving?

The magic washed over Bill, but it didn't touch him. Lee's physical body protected him; it acted as a barrier, and the magic couldn't penetrate it. The Cipher Wheel couldn't use their magic against anyone who had a body.

Even a stolen one.

They watched as Bill seemed to realize this. His eyes — his entire body was in greyscale except for his eyes, which were bright yellow — his eyes widened, and a smile spread across his face.

"Is that all?" he asked.

His voice washed over the Cipher Wheel. He was talking out loud, but they could still hear him in the mindscape. No. . . no, that couldn't be all. They were the Cipher Wheel. They had the power to save the multiverse!

"Hmm. Disappointing. Well, you tried, I suppose." Though Bill couldn't see the Cipher Wheel, he kept up that infuriating smile.

What? Why wasn't this working? The Cipher Wheel accepted that their magic couldn't reach Bill in a physical body, but why couldn't they pull him out of it? Surely it'd be easy. They had so much power. . . .

They stayed, their magic still wrapped around Bill, thinking things through. Pulling his spirit, trying to get it out of the body, wasn't working. Why? The Cipher Wheel focused, trying to break the connection, the way Gideon had earlier that day. But this connection was somehow stronger than the connection between Greg's spirit and body. How could that be? The Cipher Wheel searched for something that could answer their question.

The more they focused, the more they could feel something. A dark power between Bill Cipher and Lee's body. It was Cipher's power, and it formed the connection that kept Bill rooted in place. It was, somehow, stronger than the Wheel's own power.

The Wheel didn't understand. They had knowledge of their own power and of what they needed to do to defeat Bill. They hadn't considered it a problem that he was inside Lee's body. But not only was he in Lee's body, it seemed his power — forged through the deal that allowed him to take over this body — was strong enough to resist the Cipher Wheel. They couldn't find a way to break the connection.

They. . . they had to think about this. Holding ten minds in one was exhausting, even for a being with such power. The Cipher Wheel was great at following the programmed steps that they knew, but they had a hard time adjusting to new information. The best way to figure out what to do next, now that they had tried all the obvious options, was to disband and allow their ten minds to think for themselves and discuss their ideas.

But the Wheel didn't want to disband. It didn't want to disband until Cipher was defeated. Why wasn't Cipher defeated?

They couldn't figure it out. Not in this ten-mind amalgam. They had to separate.

Reluctantly, the Cipher Wheel released their magic and let go of Bill.

"Goodbye, then," Bill said happily.

It was humiliating to leave like this. It was humiliating to leave at all. But there was nothing else the Cipher Wheel could do.

So they withdrew. Their mind returned to the Mystery Museum, where the ten Symbols stood with closed eyes and glowing hands. The glows provided the only color in the mindscape. The colors were beautiful, but they didn't bring the Cipher Wheel joy. The joy of their power had been replaced by the sadness that it hadn't worked.

Well, they couldn't dwell on that. They had to disband. With a thought, the Cipher Wheel separated, and each Symbol's mind regained its individuality.

For the moment, the joyful power of the Wheel was no more.