entranceway | Δ [1st Cipher] SVOOL WZIPMVHH NB LOW UIRVMW

[Static crackles and pops over the feed.

It is a combination of a radio tuner whining listlessly between stations with decent service, the familiar whirring grumble of the dial-up tone ad infinitum, the hoarse screech of a car trying to start on a lonely highway in the middle of the night, where it has broken down for seemingly no reason at all.

Images flicker: an illustration of Lincoln's assassination, a room draped with red curtains, the Teletubbies, President Nixon, video footage of a piglet slowly decaying into loam. And then- A V O I C E.]

I GӨƬƬΛ ƧΛY. ƬΉΣƧΣ DIGƧ ΛЯΣП'Ƭ ΉΛᄂF-BΛD. I MΣΛП, IƬ'Ƨ ПӨ IПƬΣЯGΛᄂΛᄃƬIᄃ ƬIMΣ PΛLΛᄃΣ ΛПD IƬ'Ƨ ПӨƬ ƬЯЦMP ƬӨЩΣЯ, BЦƬ I GΣƬ ƬΉΣ ΛPPΣΛL.

[On occasion, between the odd frequencies scrambling the frame with black and white noise, a single eye will appear.]

VΛMPIЯΣƧ. ΛПGΣᄂƧ. ᄃΛППIBΛᄂƧ. GӨDƧ. ΛΉΛΉΛΉΛΉΛ ӨΉ BӨY, IƧ ƬΉIƧ GӨППΛ BΣ FЦП. I'ᄂᄂ BΣ ЩΛƬᄃΉIПG YӨЦ, ЩӨПDΣЯᄂΛПD.

I ' ᄂᄂ B Σ Щ Λ Ƭ ᄃ Ή I П G Y Ө Ц.

[The transmission cuts, leaving a fuzzy screen and a garbled message:]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wha--?

[He lowers his network device and looks around. Wirt is alone in his room, sitting on his bed and very much alone, or so he assumed. He glances nervously, trying to pinpoint some place this Bill guy could be spying from. In a rare moment of bravery he even peeks under his bed, but...nothing.]

...H-How do you know what I look like? There's no one else here...

[He feels like he's in a bad horror movie, all of a sudden.]

[What Wirt doesn't notice is that the wallpaper of his bedroom has an elegant motif, a patterned damask not unlike one belonging to the carpet of a certain child psychic, replete with triangles.]

ӨΉ, I KПӨЩ ᄂӨƬƧ ӨF ƬΉIПGƧ. YӨЦ'VΣ GӨƬ ƧӨMΣƬΉIПG ƧƬЦᄃK IП YӨЦЯ ƬΣΣƬΉ, BY ƬΉΣ ЩΛY.

[No, he really doesn't notice it. The wallpaper has always been like that, but it never had triangles in it before and it's a tiny enough detail that Wirt probably won't notice for a long time. Wirt goes pink all the way up to his ears though and covers his mouth before jumping up to risk examining it in a mirror. He comes back a moment later, free of whatever was there.]

Uh...thanks? [Should he be thanking whoever this is?] But...how can you see me? And why?

[Why would anyone spy on him?]

[Self-consciousness is the easiest thing to rag on, so Bill might as well milk it for all it's worth.]

ΉΛΉΛ. DӨП'Ƭ ЩӨЯЯY, KID. YӨЦ ᄃӨЦᄂD ƧΛY I'M ƧӨЯƬ ӨF Λ PƧYᄃΉIᄃ. ƬΉΣ ПΛMΣ'Ƨ BIᄂᄂ ᄃIPΉΣЯ.

YӨЦ KПӨЩ, IF YӨЦ'ЯΣ ЯΣΛᄂᄂY IПƬӨ GПӨMΣ ᄃЦᄂƬЦЯΣ, I MIGΉƬ KПӨЩ Λ GЦY...

[Bill Cipher...Wirt's not sure he believes in psychics, but he has to admit this is all pretty compelling evidence in favor.]

I-I'm not! I'm not. It's...i-it's a long story but it was just a Halloween costume. I appreciate it but that's really, really not necessary.

[Just. please don't. He doesn't want to talk to your gnome guy.]

[It's good to know that Wirt is so easily persuaded. Precedent has shown that this kid is like Pine Tree: annoyingly skeptical about everything.]

ЩΣᄂᄂ ƬΉΣП, GПӨMΣ ΉΛƬ- YӨЦ DӨП'Ƭ MIПD IF I ᄃΛᄂᄂ YӨЦ GПӨMΣ ΉΛƬ, ЯIGΉƬ?

[OF COURSE HE DOESN'T]

YӨЦ KПӨЩ ΉΛᄂᄂӨЩΣΣП ΣПDΣD Λ ЩΉIᄂΣ ΛGӨ. BЦƬ ƧЦMMΣЯЩΣΣП IƧ ᄃӨMIПG ЦP.

[Actually, he looks like he minds a lot (which Bill surely knows, if he can see him).]

Please don't.

[It's said with a certain resignation though, an awareness that Bill is going to call him that no matter what he does, so putting up any real protest is useless.]

Yeah, no. I'm pretty sure that's not-- wait. [He's had this conversation before. It takes him a second, but when he remembers he gasps.] You're...you're from Dipper's world. Right?

[A wise decision, Gnome Hat. Don't fight it.]

ΉΛΉΛΉΛΉΛ. YӨЦ ᄃӨЦᄂD ƧΛY ƬΉΛƬ.

ӨЯ MӨЯΣ ΛᄃᄃЦЯΛƬΣᄂY, PIПΣ ƬЯΣΣ IƧ FЯӨM ӨПΣ ӨF MIᄂᄂIӨПƧ ӨF ЩӨЯᄂDƧ ƬΉΛƬ I IПΉΛBIƬ ΛƧ Λ ᄃΣᄂΣƧƬIΛᄂ ΣПƬIƬY ӨF QЦΣƧƬIӨПΛBᄂΣ IПƬΣПƬ.

[And that is...probably the most honest answer he'll give anyone today, really.]

[And that honesty is rewarded with far more straightforward acceptance than it deserves.]

...Oh. Okay.

[Wirt's grown to flatly accept a lot of things as normal since he got lost in the Unknown. It just...makes sense, in a dreamlike way. It's so strange that it loops around past strange to just being ordinary again.]

Wait though. Does...that mean you're not actually trapped here? If you inhabit a bunch of worlds at once?

[What a clever gnome!]

YӨЦ ᄃӨЦᄂD ƧΛY I'M ᄂIKΣ Λ ƬΣMPӨЯΛᄂ ƬӨЦЯIƧƬ. ƧIGΉƬ- [Suddenly, and without warning, Bill's eye enlarges to preposterous proportions before deflating again.] -ƧΣΣIПG.

[Huh. That was a weird pause that Wirt can't really explain. Since he can't explain it though he's...going to just try not to think about it at all. Ever.

What he does think about though is the whole temporal tourist thing, and what that could really mean. It's an interesting idea, and it's easy to connect the dots into something potentially big and meaningful.]

So, do you actually know how to leave Wonderland then? Like, on purpose?

Edited 2015-06-25 07:05 (UTC)

I ЩӨЦᄂDП'Ƭ BΣ Λ VΣЯY GӨӨD ƬΣMPӨЯΛᄂ ƬӨЦЯIƧƬ IF I ᄃӨЦᄂDП'Ƭ,

[Bill scoffs, and if he had teeth he would grind them.]

[That sounds reasonable enough for Wirt. With his next question comes a wary look. This is all starting to be a little too good to be true.]

...Does that mean you know how to get other people out of Wonderland?

ПӨƬ FӨЯ FЯΣΣ.

[It's easiest to get that disclaimer out first, just so the desperate, gangly child knows what he's getting into.]

BЦƬ YΣƧ.

[Not for free. Hm...]

Then...what do you want? I don't think anyone has any money here. Do you take people's memories like the vendors do or something?

I DӨП'Ƭ ПΣΣD MΣMӨЯIΣƧ, BЦƬ I'VΣ ΛᄂЩΛYƧ BΣΣП Λ BIG FΛП ӨF ƬΉΣ PЦPPΣƬЯY ΛЯƬƧ.

[AhahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaahahahaHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA.]

Puppetry? What, like...puppet shows? Seriously?

[That seems like a pretty weird thing for a temporal tourist to want, but it seems more like he's judging Bill's taste than whether or not this is a suspicious request.]

[Hey! Who are you to judge? You're the one making mix-tapes of poetry and oboe music, or whatever!]

ӨΉ ƧЦЯΣ. ПӨƬΉIПG BΣƬƬΣЯ ƬΉΛП Λ ЩΣᄂᄂ-MΛDΣ MΛЯIӨПΣƬƬΣ.

[Even Wirt has to admit there's something...strange, about this offer. He can't really put his finger on what, but there's something off there. Then again, it's just a puppet. Right?

Of course, Wirt is perpetually indecisive. He's clearly thinking about it, but he feels the need to weigh all the possibilities here, or at least all the ones he can think of.]

I'll...I'll keep that in mind.

[Maybe it sounds dismissive, but he really will mull it over.]

[Some people juggle geese.]

YӨЦ DӨ ƬΉΛƬ. I'M GӨППΛ ƧΣΣ IF I ᄃΛП'Ƭ FIПD ƬΉΣ BΛЯ ΛЯӨЦПD ΉΣЯΣ. FIFƬΉ FᄂӨӨЯ, ЯIGΉƬ?

ΉΛΉΛ. ЩΉӨ ΛM I KIDDIПG? YӨЦ'ЯΣ Λ ƬΣΣПΛGΣЯ. ƧΣΣ YӨЦ ΛЯӨЦПD, KID.

[The feed crackles out.]

Δ [1st Cipher] SVOOL WZIPMVHH NB LOW UIRVMW

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