"Hey! Wake up!"

This was the first thing Bill heard as something slammed into his head and caused him to jolt up. The object that had hit him fell into his lap, and looking down at it he noticed it was a pillow he had been hit by. He tilted his head in confusion before looking up at the one who had thrown it at him with a small frown.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Yes, very much so. Didn't know how else to wake you. You said you didn't like to be touched. Now come on- it's 2 in the afternoon-"

"2 in the- do you think this situation is funny? That you can just procrastinate on helping me?! I have places to be, small towns to get out of! And here you are letting me sleep half the day away!"

"Yes, I'm aware. But when I passed out, I didn't exactly have an alarm clock or a charged phone to wake me up any earlier. Because if you recall: there was a power outage last night that had been caused by none other than the dream demon before me."

Y/n walked over towards a switch on their wall, going to flick it to prove their point that the power was still off, but the lights within the living room seemed to flicker for a moment before brightly lighting up the room. It appeared that during the night, the power within the town had miraculously returned. Due to the light suddenly filling the room, Bill's eyes squinted shut and he fell back yelping, not used to experiencing such a bright light just yet with these new eyes of his.

"It burns!" Bill screeched, covering his eyes with his hands.

Y/n stared down at him, blinking slowly before grinning widely. They couldn't help but find this hilarious. The "great and all powerful dream demon" could easily be taken down by mere light. Oh, they were going to get a kick out of dealing with him. Though, they hoped they wouldn't have to deal with him for much longer if they could figure out a way to get him past the barrier and out of this town. And then it would be the world's job to deal with him, not theirs.

"Huh... Better get used to the light now, or you're not going to survive when we head outside," they chuckled, walking over towards the front door to bend down and get their shoes on.

Bill growled at their laughter. How dare they laugh at him. How dare they?! This was absolutely humiliating. It's not his fault that he was having to get used to a whole new body that hadn't originally belonged to him up until last night. He had to get used to everything again: how to walk, talk... and now he had to figure out how to adjust his eyes to bright lights. Becoming a meatsack was the last thing he wanted to become when he was reincarnated, but it's not like he could really complain. At least he was alive, that's what really mattered.

He slowly removed his hands from his eyes, trying to reopen them once again but they wouldn't open very far and he ended up just squinting while staring up at the ceiling light. So bright. So very bright.

"It might help if you don't look directly at it," he heard the human speak up, causing him to roll his squinted eyes before turning away from the light source and looking over at Y/n.

With his eyes no longer staring right at the light, it was easier to open them up a bit more without his eyes feeling like they were on fire. Blinking away the blurriness of his vision to begin focusing on what was ahead of him, it was then that he realized he could actually see what was in the room, as well as to finally be able to see what this strange townsperson finally looked like.

He already knew what their eye color was, but now he could see their facial features, hair color and length, as well as the color of their skin. He didn't actually care all too much for their appearance, but wanted to at least get an idea of what they looked like just so he didn't end up losing them in a crowd later. They seemed to be wearing fairly comfy clothes: a simple hoodie and sweatpants with a pair of sneakers that they had finally finished putting on. It looked like they had woken up and threw on the first thing they spotted in their dresser. Still, nothing really noteworthy to mention. It was just another human to him.

He looked down at his feet, focusing on them before his little toes began to wiggle and move. At least he had the energy to have control over his limbs once again. That was good. He slowly got himself up and off the couch, a bit wobbly at first but eventually was able to steady himself and start walking over towards the front door to join Y/n.

He kind of looked like a rag doll with his flimsy movements, but Y/n just chose to ignore it as they went to grab the door handle. "Okay. I'm gonna open the door. Don't look directly at the sun and you should be fine."

This just pissed Bill off, looking at Y/n in annoyance. He wasn't a child, he didn't need to be told what to do. He could make his own decisions, if he wanted to look at the sun then he would look at the sun! And that's exactly what he did when Y/n opened the door and stepped outside. Bill instantly regretted his life choices, collapsing to the ground and falling into a fetal position while covering his eyes once more.

"It burns! It burns!"

'This is... gonna be a long day.' Y/n thought to themselves, sighing and shaking their head. They were starting to regret some of their own decisions, as well.

~~~

After some time, the demon was eventually settled down by the human and shoved into their car. Bill didn't pay attention as to where they were going, doubling over in his seat and covering his head to block out the light. Y/n focused on the road ahead, going back to the town line in hopes of figuring out a way to get Bill across and break through this invisible barrier.

When they got to the town line, Y/n parked the car which caused Bill to raise his head in curiosity as to why they stopped only to hiss at the light and glare at it through the windshield.

"Oh my gosh. Are you done? Because I really want to figure out a way to get you out of my hometown."

Bill huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at them. "And I really want to get out of here. So yes. I am done."

The both of them exited the car, walking back over towards the town line where they had previously been the night before. The two of them stared ahead, knowing the barrier was there but just unable to see it as of right now.

"...And we're sure that it's just me that can't pass the town line?" Bill asks, going to stick his hand out only for it to stop, this pink glow forming around his hand and then rippling across the barrier to reveal the invisible wall to the both of them.

Y/n watched the pink glow ripple and disappear, staring in awe as they tried to see how far and how high the barrier went. It seemed to go pretty far up, but they couldn't tell exactly how far up it went. Did it eventually stop? Would that mean there was a chance Bill could get over it? To answer Bill's question, they began to walk forward, nothing stopping them as they did so and walking past the border with ease. Turning around, they spread their arms out dramatically and looked at Bill.

"Does that answer your question? Me, no demon and can pass the town line. You, demon who gets stopped by an invisible wall."

"Okay, okay! I get it- I'm the only one who's actually trapped in this town. So the question stands- how am I getting out of here? You said you'd figure it out- got any ideas?"

Y/n tapped their chin curiously in thought, before a couple of ideas suddenly popped into their head.

And thus began the montage of ideas.

"You want me to just- sprint? Seriously?"

"Maybe you need to be faster to be able to break or phase through this barrier!"

"Uh-huh..."

"Just give it a try, at least!"

Bill did as told, backing up a good half-mile before sprinting as fast as he could towards the barrier. He wasn't exactly the fastest, especially since he was still getting used to his new body, but nonetheless tried to run as fast as he could. Which resulted in the demon face planting into the invisible barrier and getting knocked back down onto the ground.

"...Got any other ideas?" He groaned, laying on the ground and closing his eyes to avoid looking directly at the sun.

"Hmm... maybe you just need to go faster..."

"And how do I do that?! I ran as fast as I could!"

"...Get in the car."

"What?!"

Bill had gotten into the car with Y/n in the driver's seat. He quickly buckled himself in as Y/n didn't hesitate to start the car and put it in reverse, backing up a good bit. They then put the car into drive, putting their seatbelt on quickly, and then stepping on the gas pedal as hard as they could. They drove full speed towards the town line, Bill hugging onto his seatbelt out of fear of this idea. The front of the car made it past successfully, but when it was time for Bill and Y/n to pass it, Bill felt a wall get slammed against his body while the car itself suddenly stopped and forced Y/n's body to jerk forward like someone had just slammed on the brakes. Y/n released their foot on the gas pedal, staring at the car in confusion before going to press on the gas pedal once again. The car did not move, however, as the tires began to turn at full speed but the car remained in place. And Bill was being forced against the wall still, unable to push away so long as Y/n continued to try and drive forward.

"Stop. Stop. STOP. STOP!"

"Huh... that didn't work either." They stopped the car.

"You think?!"

"Okay, let's think... what if you were on top of the car instead of being inside of it?"

"I really hate that idea. Like- a lot."

And yet Bill was gripping on top of the car while Y/n went at full speed once again towards the town line. This time the car made it through all the way. Bill, however, did not. He fell off the car the moment his face hit the barrier, falling back and rolling on the concrete with a bunch of "ows" escaping from him as he rolled.

"...You wanna try piggyback riding on my back and see if that works?"

"....sure. Why not?"

It did not work. When Bill hit the wall, he was holding onto Y/n with such a tight grip that the both of them resulted in falling onto their backs.

Both of them stared up at the sky, laying in the middle of the road. This was not going well, Y/n realized. They had absolutely no idea how to get Bill across the town line.

"You could... climb a tree. See how high you can get and maybe... jump over the barrier? If the barrier is... lower than the trees, that is-"

"You realize I would still have to fall from a very tall height either way. And possibly break all of the new bones I was just given. How about- No. I'd like to keep my body for more than just one day, if that's okay with you."

"Then... I'm out of ideas right now."

"Go figure."

The both of them sighed in unison, staring up at the blue sky. The sun was currently covered by a large cloud at the moment so Bill's eyes were safe for now. Y/n was still trying to come up with some way to get Bill across, but they didn't have many ideas. It's not like they've ever dealt with invisible barriers before. They thought they could quickly solve this and move on with their life like this entire scenario never occurred, but they had no idea what they were doing or what needed to be done to set Bill free.

"Again... this actually happened again," Bill hissed, moving to hold his head and pull at his hair a bit.

This perked Y/n's interest, lifting their head up a little bit and turning to look over at the demon. "...What do you mean 'again'?"

"I mean," he started, grunting as he pulled himself up onto his elbows to halfway sit up and stare at the human with an annoyed expression, "this is the second time some invisible barrier has kept me from escaping into the world! At least back in Gravity Falls I actually knew how to take down the barrier, and I was so close, too, until- ! ....Until I wasn't. End of story." He huffed, looking away.

"Wait, so-... you've dealt with the invisible barrier before?"

"Yup."

"...Is it possible that we could take down this barrier the same way you were going to take down the other barrier?" Y/n questioned, tilting their head to the side.

Bill paused, not answering immediately as he gave that question some thought. As the idea sunk in, he sat up fully and looked down at the human. "It could be possible- The last barrier I had trouble crossing was this barrier that was meant to keep and seal the weirdness that existed within the town. I found out that all it took to take down the barrier for good was this one mere equation- but the one who had knowledge of this equation refused to hand it over to me. I still have no idea what the equation was. So unless you have a genius of weirdness and the supernatural living in this town, I'm not sure how we're going to be able to figure out what the equation is."

"Well, actually..." Y/n rubbed their chin in thought before going to stand up fully and extend a hand out towards Bill. "I know of a genius and a supernatural fanatic that might be able to help. Maybe. I'm not entirely sure, actually. But it's worth a try... isn't it?"

Bill stared at the hand in front of his face, slapping it away before moving to stand up on his own and brush all the pebbles and dirt off of himself. "I suppose it is. Lead the way, Candle."

"Candle...?" Y/n repeated, looking at Bill confused and wanting to further question why he had called them that only for Bill to turn away from them and make his way over to the car. Sighing, they decided they would question the nickname later and followed him to make sure he didn't get in the driver's seat.

~~~

"There's a number of scientific explanations as to why the town lost power last night, all of these explanations having nothing 'supernatural' involved."

"But something supernatural could have been the cause of it this time! No one has been able to come up with an answer for what happened last night! They're just reassuring the people that everything's 'fine' now. But you know what I think? I think they know what really happened and they're just trying to hide the fact that the supernatural is real! If they told the people the truth, the town would be in a state of panic! It's the only possibility for why no one is telling us anything!"

"That is-... very incorrect. There are countless possibilities why they won't tell us anything, you just decided to lean towards the dumbest possibility."

"It's not dumb! You never know, it could be the case! This could be the first major proof of the supernatural that we've come across!"

"It's very unlikely. I really wish you wouldn't constantly assume everything is evidence of the supernatural existing. It's getting childish."

"Well I am still a child! So-... Ha!"

Y/n parked the car on the side of the road, getting out and looking around the park before spotting the ones they had been seeking sitting at a bench underneath a big tree that shaded them from the sun. Bill followed them out of the car, very confused as to why they were here as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to stand beside Y/n.

"...There's a bunch of children here. You're telling me that my possible hope for escaping this town is in the hands of a child?"

"They're not that young- they officially became teenagers not too long ago."

"Oh... joy." Bill hoped his sarcasm had come across as he began to follow Y/n over towards the bench where three teenagers sat, seeming to be talking amongst themselves.

"You're not a child, you're 14. You need to start opening your eyes up to the real world and grow up already."

"Never! Maybe you just grew up too fast and need to let your imagination, hopes, and dreams flow from time-to-time!"

"Woah- is everything okay over here?" Y/n spoke up, causing the three to pause their conversation and look over to see a smiling, waving Y/n looking down at them.

Bill stood behind Y/n, glancing around the table at the three they were now speaking to because apparently they were now his hope of getting out of here. One had long blonde hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, green eyes that hid behind a pair of circular glasses, and pale skin. They wore a white turtleneck as well as a pair of light blue jeans- making him question a bit what season it was that one thought it was time to bring out a turtleneck. The temperature wasn't bad today, not hot but also not cold, just a kind of mild temperature. The second person he spotted was a ginger that had a purple streak in their hair, dark blue eyes and freckles scattering across their face. They wore a green jacket with a blue t-shirt underneath it, dark blue jeans, and held a camera in their hands. These two that he first examined had been the two that were previously talking before they walked up. The third person had been silent the entire time, seeming to be slouched in a way that made them appear as though they didn't want to be noticed. They had copper brown hair that covered one of their eyes, brown eyes that matched the hair, and wore an oversized black hoodie with dark blue jeans. Their skin was much paler than the blonde's and ginger's like they hardly ever went outside and saw sunlight. It was an interesting group of people to see as Bill stood there and listened carefully to the conversation that was spoken between them and Y/n.

The ginger was the first to speak up, pouting and pointing at the blonde. "She's saying that my theories for what happened last night are inaccurate! Just because she doesn't believe in the supernatural doesn't mean it's not a possibility for what might've happened!"

The blonde shut her eyes tight, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "I don't believe in the supernatural because it doesn't really exist, it's just a bunch of myths and folklore- stories that people have told to pass the time or seek attention in the past." She then opened her eyes, looking up at Y/n then towards Bill. "Who's your new friend, Y/n? I don't think I've seen him around town before.."

"Oh- he just arrived," Y/n started, turning to face the demon. "These are my friends, Norah Rain," they pointed towards the blonde one first, "Jerome Henderson," they pointed towards the ginger who smiled brightly and waved, "and Vox Richards." Lastly they gestured towards the brunet who just lowered their head even further, saying nothing.

"Hey, it's really nice to meet you!" Jerome quickly said once Y/n was done introducing the group. Jerome's voice was a bit high pitched like he had yet to have his voice start to change and go deeper or something, and his tone was very enthusiastic and cheerful when he spoke.

Norah gave a nod towards Bill, "And... you are?" Her voice was much different as it lacked enthusiasm and sounded more monotone.

"Bill Cipher is the name, pleasure to meet ya," he held a toothy grin, still not sure what they were doing here talking to a couple of kids.

"Yeah, so he's my temporary roommate back at my place for now until we can find a way to get him out of town."

"What do you mean?" Norah asked confused, looking between the two and not understanding why this man couldn't just leave town.

"Well, you see- Bill is this dream demon that was reincarnated into a human's body and when he tried to leave town we found out there is an invisible barrier trapping him here so our goal is to find a way to take down this barrier so Bill can leave and be on his merry way and I was hoping you guys could help us out."

Silence. Complete and utter silence fell amongst the group as the three of them stared up at the two in... complete shock and confusion. Norah looked as though her brain was buffering and was unable to comprehend Y/n's words, Jerome looked like he had been hit by some sort of freeze spell and could no longer move. He might've not even been breathing while processing all of this.

Vox lifted their head finally, staring right at Bill with a look of just complete confusion spreading across their face. And finally, in a soft tone and a bit of a deeper voice than the other two, Vox spoke up and said their first word during this entire conversation:

"...What?"

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Chapter 6: Sunday, July 10th, 2022