-Maniac Interlude-

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(3rd person POV)

"Hey... Bill's been gone for a pretty long time."

Everyone turned to look at Keyhole as he pushed his food around his plate. Pyronica sighed. "It's only been a week. It's longer than he usually takes, but it's not actually the longest he's been gone. I remember once when Bill lost track of time and I didn't see him for a whole month."

Keyhole grimaced. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

Pyronica shrugged, not really caring either way. "Bill will return when he does. And he always does." She really didn't see why anyone would worry over that. Bill would never leave them. They belonged to him after all. And he belonged to them as well.

Xanthar snuffled and leaned against Keyhole, comforting him (or seeking comfort for himself?)

Keyhole buried a hand into Xanthar's thick fur and sighed. "I'm just... worried that maybe something happened to him. I mean, all we know is that he apparently found a brother, whatever that means, and that's all we really know." He pulled out his Com and frowned at it, pushing his dinner plate aside, not really having an appetite. "Has anyone been able to contact him?"

Hectorgon twitched when everyone turned to stare at him. "Why do you all automatically assu-"

"So did you?" PaciFire asked, picking his teeth with the bones from dinner, then tossing the bones into his 2nd mouth and grinding it down to swallow (he had a calcium deficiency okay?) Hectorgon groaned. "Alright, so I may have tracked down his signal to try and pinpoint where he is..."

"And? Where is she?" Kryptos leaned forward, his half drank bowl of soup nearly tipping over from the motion. Amorphous Shape reached out a tendril to move the bowl aside before it spilled. Would be a pain to have to clean it up. Both for them, and the potential stress it would cause Bill if he really did return home to see it. Amorphous Shape shivered a little, his mother was quite terrifying sometimes.

Hectorgon sighed, running a hand along his plane. "Okay, well. Do you want the good news or bad news?"

"Bill's not dead or captured again, right?" Now Pyronica had her eye narrowed, baring her teeth at the thought that they were going to have to fight whatever asshole managed to--

"Not, nothing like that." Hectorgon waved his hands quickly. Pyronica's flames had been flaring up. "I found Bill, but she's in another dimension."

"Well that's no problem. We have a teleporter right there." 8-Ball shrugged. Hectorgon shook his head by rotating his base. "No, that's the bad news. It's a dimension we can't get to."

"What does that mean?" Keyhole fiddled with his Com, swiping through the pages, opening and closing the chatbox.

"It's somewhere outside this Dimensional set. Outside this Reality." Hectorgon tried to explain. "It's... The signal is coming from somewhere that doesn't exist, according to all my scans, because it doesn't exist here."

Everyone stared. "So, is he stuck there? Can he not find his way home to us?" Pyronica asked, saying what they were all thinking (fearing). To their relief, Hectorgon shook his head again. "Bill is perfectly capable of returning. She just... doesn't." Here, he grimaced again. "I've managed to hack her Com and see some of what she's been writing or doing. She's having fun there." He paused and then added, "There are humans there."

"Wait." Kryptos sat up straight with a disturbed look on his face. "Humans? So she's on Earth? I thought you said she was somewhere that didn't exist?"

"It IS Earth, just not our Earth." Hectorgon deadpanned. Kryptos hissed in a breath. "Alternatives. A parallel world..." His mind raced. Bill really WAS far from home. They wouldn't be able to get to her-- make her come home-- there was no means of travel--

Kryptos frowned. The only way for travel between worlds in such a way would require a portal. A transdimensional portal built at the location you wanted to connect into. That's what made portals so difficult in the beginning. Portal technology had come a long way, not the least because of Bill's help. The Federation perfected portals so they could spread to a new Dimension and begin exploring (conquering) it. But they only managed to figure out portals from studying Bill's energy signature whenever she slipped between them.

This was information that Hectorgon had unearthed from the Federation files he hacked into. He told Kryptos about it, the two geniuses discussing together about what it all meant. The most stable portals would be built at the location that you wanted to go to, which was pretty much impossible to do without any contact with said other dimension, otherwise a portal would only be able to send through a few ships at once before closing behind them. A one way trip.

The Federation simply sent through a few ships filled with the builders and supplies to construct the portal they wanted on the other side. Sometimes they ended up not having enough supplies or the team would be killed by some hostile natives, but after the set about of time, the Federation merely sent more ships through just in case.

But...

That only worked for dimensions that EXIST.

Dimensions that were created by the AXOLOTL.

Their AXOLOTL.

And if what Kryptos studied about theoretical parallel worlds was accurate, what Hectorgon was talking about was a dimebsion outside their AXOLOTL's domain. A world under the domain of a different AXOLOTL. That was where Bill was, and they wouldn't be able to get to him.

Tangent, the fact that they could still TEXT Bill was a miracle in and of itself. Though, Kryptos glared at his own Com. The time difference between dimensions meant that it took a very long time for Bill to receive or send texts. Kryptos tried to calculate it out and was pretty sure they had at least a week of delay between texts they sent and the texts arriving at wherever Bill was.

It had been a week now, so they should be getting a text back from Bill soon. Kryptos had been tempted to have his Com on and staring at it like Keyhole did, but he'd had more important things to do.

Like getting the supplies he needed for the Temporal Destabalizer.

Murdering the god of Time wasn't as easy a task as Kryptos thought. Many of the items on his list were blacklisted non-tradable goods.

Kryptos scowled.

He had put off getting the last few items because he didn't want to talk to the man who would be able to get it for him.

The newest head of the Lituratura family.

Jorgio had been dead for centuries. Kryptos knew and understood that. He had no reason to hold onto this grudge with the man dead. But he still didn't like that he would have to ask Jorgio's great-great-great-great grandson for help. Even if, by this point, the Lituratura family no longer knew what their ancestors had done to him.

Kryptos clentched his fist. Outliving your enemy didn't really feel like revenge. And Bill had told Kryptos to let it go. Heck, everyone else had also told him to just let it go. The guy who'd hurt him was long dead. There was nothing and no one to hold onto this hate for. Bit Kryptos just didn't want to just let bygones be bygones. And it was petty. It was hateful. It was awful. Kryptos knew that.

But he couldn't just stop himself from feeling this way. He didn't know how to. But for the most part it didn't cause him any issues. But here and now, when he knew that the Mafia familia would have the resources and connections needed to get him what he wanted, Kryptos wanted to scream. He tried his best to hide all of this from his expression as he listened to Hectorgon explaining just how far away Bill was.

Well, Kryptos excused himself and left the dining room to return to his own quarters. As much as he missed Bill, having her away at the moment was a good opportunity. Kryptos could plan and scheme all he wanted without having to hide his thoughts. Bill would stop him if she ever found out how close he was getting to (temporarily) killing Time Baby. Kryptos wasn't stupid. He knew what would happen if Time Baby died.

Bill had mentioned offhand a few times about the Pillars she was part of. Kryptos could put together what it would mean if Time Baby, the Pillar of Time, were to fall. Heck, Bill once mentioned about accidentally knocking down Time Baby and having to hold up Time before it unraveled and caused a temporal collapse. Well. Yeah. Kryptos knew that would be a problem.

But. It would only be a problem for other people.

Kryptos had been studying everything he knew about Time. How it worked, how it functioned, how it trudged ever forward, requiring the most intense of technology to go backward. Kryptos could easily build a Seal around himself, around all of the Death Star, place his home and his family outside of Time. They would be safe from the collapse. And the rest of the multiverse wouldn't even notice that anything had been wrong once Time Baby reformed and put everything back in place.

All it would mean was the fact that for a mere 1000 years, the rest of the multiverse would be inaccessible.

And Kryptos saw no problem with that. What did he care for the rest of the multiverse? His friends were here. His family was here. They would be safe once he set up the barrier. And when Bill returned, they would all be together for 1000 years, with nowhere else for Bill to go, Kryptos would be able to have 1000 years together with Bill.

...and it's not like the rest of the multiverse would be hurt by this, no time would pass for them, they would be perfectly fine. And Bill's power would ensure that he and the rest of their friends would survive the thousand years with no problem. They had Bill's huge garden filled to bursting with crops and flowers, and it wasn't like Bill couldn't simply create food for them. They would all be together. It wouldn't be a problem.

Kryptos just needed to finish making this Anti-Time barrier. And then build his Temporal Destabalizer. And he only needed a few more items to do so.

Time-Tape, a Gravitational generator, a LOT of Cosmic Sand and... Unobtainium.

Kryptos frowned. Those were difficult things to get.

But the mafia, with their connections and money, would be able to get them. Kryptos would simply have to suck up his pride and ask the current head of the Lituratura for help. Bill had a good relationship with them, even now, and they all knew who Bill's family was. They would be willing to do a few favors. Kryptos simply didn't want to ask them.

But, Kryptos was getting to the point where he was considering just doing so. After all, what was more important here? His pride? Or his chance for pursuing Bill in a romantic sense?

"What if Mother doesn't like you back?"

"Auuugh!" Kryptos jumped and turned to see Amorphous Shape lounging on the sofa in his room. "Ammy! What the heck!?" Kryptos placed a hand on his front plane and felt his heart buzzing quickly. "What are you doing in my room!?" Kryptos cried.

"I followed you." Ammy blinked slowly.

"....why???" Kryptos groaned.

"I was bored." Ammy shrugged.

"Right, well, please leave." Kryptos buried his face in his hand. Amorphous Shape merely laid back on the sofa. "I'll leave after you answer my question." Ammy said simply. "What if mother doesn't like you back?"

Kryptos took a deep breath. "I already prepared for that. If Bill says 'no' I will accept it."

"And then what?" Ammy tilted one of his 'head' blocks. "Will you move on? Find some other being to lust over?"

"Can we please not talk about it." Kryptos turned to face Bill's son.

"But I want to know."

Kryptos internally groaned at this aspect of Amorphous Shape that was so much like his mother, both Bill and Ammy were curious about everything. Nosy as fuck too. Neither of them really get the hint to leave well enough alone. And, Kryptos knew that Amorphous Shape wouldn't drop this matter until Kryptos told him enough to satisfy his curiosity.

"I will be upset." The polytool admitted. "But I won't blame Bill for not liking me back. That... that's fine." It wasn't. But Kryptos wasn't going to force Bill to do something he didn't want. And he would do his best to pretend it wasn't going to be a problem. If Bill said no, at least. Kryptos really, really hoped Bill would say yes. But...

(If he had to be honest with himself, Kryptos suspected that Bill didn't see him as a potential partner. A friend, definitely. A sibling, most likely. But even so, he had to know for sure. He had to hear it from Bill herself.)

"Look, if you're gonna go around asking me about my love life, I'm gonna ask you the same." Kryptos tried to turn the conversation around. But Amorphous Shape shrugged with a, "Haven't met anyone I'm interested in." He absently played with a loose thread on the sofa. "I suppose I haven't met much people aside from you all." Ammy blinked slowly. "Is romance really so important? Is finding a mate really so important?"

"It's complicated." Kryptos gave up on making Ammy leave, he clearly wasn't going to. "Sometimes, you get to know someone, and you realize that you just... Love them. Love being with them, hanging out with them, seeing them happy." Kryptos was flushing darker and darker as he spoke. "And then you realize you want to be with them. You want to be special to them. For them to look at you and want to be with you too."

Amorphous Shape wiggled on the sofa until he got comfortable. "But we're already loved by mother. And we already have mother forever. He'll never leave us. He will always return."

"It's not-- that's not the same!" Kryptos sighed. "It's like... I... I want to... be close to Bill in a way that isn't just friendship." He waved his hands, searching for the right words. "I mean, Bill is very adorable and I do, kinda, want to... t-touch her lines an-and--" Kryptos was nearly black with embarrassment, "--measure her angles--"

But no etching. Pyronica had told Kryptos many times that Bill was uncomfortable with the actual act of mating when it involved herself. Oh, Bill was definitely a pervert. Kryptos knew that from personal experience. But the instant she had to be the one involved in anything more than just touching...

Kryptos groaned. "But I'm not just after Bill for that. I just... really like her." He slumped over his desk chair. "Look, can you please leave now? I have a lot of work to do." He told Amorphous Shape, hoping that the segmented being was finally satisfied. He was. Ammy nodded. "Well. Alright." He slid off the sofa and glided smoothly towards the door.

Before leaving, he stated "Regardless of what happens and what mother chooses, he will still love you."

"I know that." Kryptos did. He knew very well how much Bill cherished him. It was part of why he loved her so.

Ammy nodded. "Good. I'm glad to hear that." He left the room, closing the door behind him and Kryptos wondered about getting a lock. As he settled back down to begin penning a letter to the current Lituratura head (what was his name? Sammio?), Kryptos wondered how Ammy managed to sneak into his room with him without him noticing.

He looked down at his paper and jumped a little to see Ammy's handwriting on it with the words 'I'm a ninja'

Dammit Ammy!

---

(Ax POV)

The days went on and I couldn't feel Bill anywhere. I knew they had left and the worry unsettled me. I couldn't keep watch over Bill while they were away. I didn't enjoy no knowing. I shouldn't be so worried, but I was. I pulled in my power, to prevent Space from expanding. It would slow down the heat death of the universe. The worry built up in my core. Bill wasn't here. The Weirdness within the Nightmare Realm was powerful enough to last for a couple million years, which wasn't that long, all things considered. It leaked, that was to be expected for a collapsed dimension, but even with me grabbing onto the leaked energy to convert into a form I could use, I could do nothing to stop the leak. The Nightmare Realm wasn't meant to hold together.

Even with Bill gone, I would be able to use the leakage from the Nightmare Realm to sustain the universe for a few million years. I can only hope Bill returns before that time.

Time Baby hasn't even realized Bill was gone. He didn't care. I allowed myself to sigh. Why that boy didn't understand how important Bill was to the continual existence of Reality was beyond me.

We three are the Pillars of reality. We were all important.

But Time Baby never sees just what it was that Bill did, what Bill helped us with. I suppose it was my fault for never sitting the two of them down for this talk. But I've never had to have this talk with my Bill and Time Baby before.

The others I've had never even had the chance of ever getting along enough for me to need to talk to them about this.

I've always wanted preferred for those two to get along. I've told all my Bills to try and get along with Time Baby. They've never bothered. The two would fight all the time and end up destroying each other. Generally, Bill would kill Time Baby. It's happened over and over and over and--

Frankly, I only really request such a thing out of routine by now.

So imagine my surprise that this Bill actually tried. Still tries, actually. Even after everything Time Baby did to them.

And I didn't do anything about it.

For a brief moment, I wondered if perhaps... Bill had decided to leave, had found someplace that they liked better than here. For a brief moment, I almost felt afraid. The idea of Bill leaving and never coming back... after I've made a decision (for myself, by myself) to actually try and perhaps... be a father, a real father, to Bill...

...It hurt.

It hurt to think of what I would do if Bill never returned to me.

I couldn't imagine a world without them anymore. Perhaps I'm being foolish. The other Mes certainly thought so, leaving me one by one until I was alone. They didn't want anything to do with an AXOLOTL who chose to love their Bill Cipher. And this here, was part of the reason.

I was worried. I was stressed. I was wondering where Bill was, when Bill would come back, whether or not they even would.

It hurt, not knowing.

For one insane moment, I almost considered getting one of those 'Com devices' that all the mortals were getting nowadays, a way to be able to contact Bill when they left the boundaries of my Reality. But that was a ridiculous idea. I couldn't even hold one. I didn't have thumbs--

I shook my head, waving away some of my clouds. That wasn't the point. I shouldn't be thinking about this sort of thing at all. My purpose was to keep Reality running as long as I could before everything ends. I shouldn't be wasting my energy with worry. But I couldn't help myself. I didn't know where Bill was, whether they were safe or--

Wow. I really have become a father, haven't I?

I frowned and burrowed into one of my clouds. I felt odd. Or rather, I was feeling anything at all. I had been numb for so long, simply going about my duty without thinking of anything else, mind clear, heart calm and uncaring of the world around me.

It was easier not to care. It was more fair to not care.

But now I can't go a day without feeling.

Is this how Bill goes through life everyday?

It's exhausting.

It was odd in a way. I felt... for a lack of a better word, more alive than I've been for trillions of years. When an entity gets to be my age, the days blur together and you get so used to things. Numb and done and just going through a routine without really thinking about it. But now I've found myself struck with all sorts of new thoughts and feelings and I didn't know how to handle it.

Things have felt strange ever since the other AXOLOTL disconnected from me.

I felt light. I felt free. I WAS free.

It was something I was still unused to.

Desires I was never meant to feel, wants I was never meant to have.

I don't even know what I'm thinking anymore. The thoughts in my head were too much for me. I had to stop worrying. I shook my head and went back to my work.

I gathered more of the leaking weirdness from the Nightmare Realm. If left alone, it would merely diffuse into the multiverse, mildly effecting the creatures within it as they absorbed and grew under the effects of Bill's energy. But when I gather it myself, I could clean it, use the energy for my own work.

Not for the Souls I have to recycle, but for the new worlds I had to create.

Every new Space needed a bang. An initial burst of energy and mass to get the ball rolling, to push the space apart so it would expand and grow. Bill's leaking energy had to go somewhere, so I merely took it to help me with my work. But I could only do this for so long as the Nightmare Realm still had energy to leak. A few million years go by so quickly.

Perhaps...

I sent my gaze down at that odd little polytool that Bill had taken in. He sought to kill Time Baby. I knew this, of course. I doubt Bill did. Bill, for all their Sight, was very blind to what goes on right before them. They didn't like to think badly of the people they loved. They didn't like to suspect them of such things. I had originally thought to warn Bill about that child (what was his name again? Kryptos?) and his ambitions. But now, I wonder if maybe... maybe having Time cease functioning, at least for a little while (a thousand years was nothing really, I've had naps that lasted longer). So I kept watch over his antics and set up preparations to make sure Reality wouldn't fall from the loss of a pillar for a short time.

And it wasn't as if I was only allowing this because it would be a good excuse to not work for a thousand years.

Definitely not.

....I really have been corrupted, haven't I?

Somehow, I didn't feel disgusted at myself like I thought I would.

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