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Chapter 2: Tagged

Dipper staggered towards his sister, gasping and in pain. She opened her arms just as he collapsed, landing heavily against her. Her hands went to his chest, where the blood leaked from the most. She pressed down on the wound, but the blood still soaked past her fingers, staining her hands.

"Dipper?" She almost whimpered, putting his head in her lap and watching him. "Stay with me, look at me."

His eyes were already a bit glazed over, but he seemed to be doing his best to listen to her.

"It hurts." He whispered, and when he opened his mouth Mabel could see blood there.

"I know it does, bro, but stay awake okay?" She pleaded as she looked at the blood starting to fall from the corners of his mouth.

"Don't leave." He coughed, a horrible, thick, wet sound. Mabel felt tears prick her eyes for the first time since she became a mermaid.

"I won't, I won't. I'm right here." She brushed his hair from his forehead, and revealed his birthmark in the process.

"Wow! Didn't mean to hit you there, Bambi, though I can't say it's the worst thing that could happen today! And look! The little goldfish is here too." A sudden high pitched voice made Mabel look up, and then glare at the figure who held a shotgun over his shoulder.

Mabel held Dipper closer, the others breathing starting to get shallower by the second. Bill's form as a human is tall and lanky, and he held himself awkwardly as though he's still getting used to being in a human form. Mabel glanced down at her brother to see his eyes starting to close, and she gently pat his cheek.

"Dipper! Dipper, stay awake, please stay awake." Mabel begged. Dipper slowly opened his eyes, glancing over at Bill.

"You ass." He managed out.

Bill laughed loudly, moving and using the tip of his gun to tilt Dipper's head towards him. Mabel growled lowly and shoved the gun away from her brother.

"Don't you touch him." Her voice sounded almost feral, and Bill laughed loudly again, this time using the gun to tilt her face towards him.

"I'll just pay attention to you instead. C'mon, guppy, someone else would have shot him eventually, don't be mad." Mabel glared, and despite how her instinct said run she did nothing but turn her attention back to her brother, who had closed his eyes.

"Dipper! Dipper no, wake up." His breathing was getting shallower, and Mabel had no idea what to do. Her hands were covered in his blood. Dipper didn't open his eyes.

"Too bad about Bambi, well, time to move on." Bill cheered.

Mabel put her hand on Dipper's neck, feeling the extremely faint pulse. She breathed a bit easier.

"Fix him! I know you can, save him!" Mabel reached out a bloody hand to grab his pant leg.

Bill arched a brow, but didn't push her away like she thought he might. Instead he looked over at Dipper, before shrugging.

"I don't heal people." He stated calmly, all traces of laughter gone as he took on his more serious demeanor of making deals.

"But you can! Please, Bill, you've got to save him." She tugged his pants, and Bill sighed through his nose like he was majorly inconvenienced.

"What are you going to give me?" He asked, smirking a little. Perhaps he knew now that she had nothing to her name except a cave full of coins.

Mabel couldn't think of anything, she had nothing. "Just... Anything! I'll give anything, just save him!"

Bill looked for a long moment before an almost feral smirk crossed his face.

"Oh, you know just what to say to me, little guppy." Mabel shuddered as his voice seemed to go deeper, a hint of something she couldn't identify lingering in the depth.

"You owe me big for this, I don't heal people." He muttered, before turning back to Dipper.

He moved and placed his gloved hands hard on Dipper's chest, knocking hers out of the way. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen before his hands glowed a deep, almost electric blue. Energy and electricity sparking as it traveled over Dipper's chest. The boy underneath him squirmed, as though in pain, but couldn't move much with Mabel still holding him close and Bill's hands still pressed against his chest. Mabel's glanced at Bill, seeing a thin layer of sweat across his forehead.

Finally, the hunter pulled back, panting a little. Dipper didn't look as pale as before, his breathing still a little shallow but even. Mabel nearly sobbed in relief, holding her brother to her chest and rocking a little. Bill swayed a little on his feet, showing just how much healing took out of him. Mabel glanced at him for a moment, a flutter of worry racing through her at the knowledge she promised him anything.

How stupid could she be? Anything? He could do so much with anything. Then she glanced down at her brother, who was still pale but breathing, actually breathing and going to be okay. She would do it again, in less than a second.

"Woo! That was fun! How about we not do it again though." Bill stated, back to grinning and acting like nothing happened.

"Thank you, Bill." Mabel said softly, lifting her brothers shirt to check his chest. His skin was bare except faint lines that almost didn't exist.

"Don't mention it, guppy. Can't have everyone around here knowing I can heal people." He moved suddenly, once again using the barrel of the gun to tilt her face towards him. "Now, about what you promised me."

She sighed. It was stupid to think she would get a moment in before he started bugging her about this. She knocked the gun away, dipping her hands in the water of the lake to wash the blood away.

"Don't ignore me, guppy, you promised me anything, do you know what I'm going to take?" He grabbed her face with his hand, gloved fingers digging into her cheeks. Mabel struggled to pull away, but couldn't.

"Let me go." With one hand still on her brother, the other reached up to try to pry away his fingers. He tightened his grip, and Mabel could feel the sharp points of his nails pricking her through his gloves.

"I've always wanted a pet fish, much easier to take care of than a deer." He didn't let go of her face as he almost purred the words out.

"No, no, no, I will not be your pet!" Mabel let go of Dipper to push him away more. He didn't move an inch.

Bill smirked, pushing Dipper out of her lap and using his other hand to drag her out of the water. Mabel gasped and struggled, using her tail to get water up and slash him. None of it seemed to affect him, until she managed to open her mouth and start singing.

"Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be

Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea,

While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn,

And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return."

Her voice was shaky, but the words still came from her mouth as she sang. Bill paused, listening carefully to her song even as one eye began to droop. The other she couldn't see behind his eyepatch, but she assumed it was drooping as well.

"My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair,

And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year,

My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold,

There is nothing can console me but my jolly-."

His hand on her face faded for a second, just a second, and she allowed herself to relax. Then he slapped her hard, making her song stop and hard enough to send her face into the sand. Before Mabel can do anything more, Bill dragged her until just the tip of her tail was in the water. She could still breath, but barely.

"Don't you try that again on me, siren." He almost snarled, before moving and sitting on her tail, his back facing her from where she laid on the ground.

Mabel cried out, trying to throw him off her as she felt his gloved fingers touching the end of her fin. Bill dug his heels into the ground, keeping her in place as he pulled out something Mabel couldn't see from his pocket. She reached up and grabbed at him, one hand holding her injured cheek.

"Get off! What're you doing?" She cried out when she felt pain in her tail, making tears prick her eyes. Yet nothing had actually fallen, no tears fell past her eyes. "Bill! Get off!" She tried jerking him away as more pain went through her tail, but he held firm.

He did something else she couldn't see, before he was off her, pushing her away like she had tried to hurt him and not the other way around. Mabel immediately sat up, looking down at her tail. She sucked in a harsh breath at the sight of the bottom of her tail. It had been unmarked before, but now at the bottom of her tail, was an actual tag. It was a small piercing, with a triangle attached to it. Her hands went to it, about to take it off before gloved hands stopped her and pushed her hands away.

"Don't even think about it." He said firmly. "You promised me anything. So I'm taking what I want. That tag shows everyone you're mine, and lets me track you. Take it off, and I won't hesitate to make sure Bambi comes to a much worse fate than being shot."

Mabel glanced at Dipper, who was still passed out. Her breathing was still shallow from just barely being in the water, her tail was radiating pain, but one glance at her brother made her calm down. She would do this, for him.

"See? It won't be so bad. All I want is for you to do a couple favors for me, and heck, if you behave maybe I'll even let you go at the end of all this."

"I will tear out your throat at the end of this." Mabel hissed lowly, eyes starting to glow.

Bill outright laughed, bending at the waist so he was even with her gaze. He reached and poked her cheek, snatching his hand back when she snapped at him, sharp teeth nearly biting his finger.

"Look at that, guppy has a bite?" He cooed, practically giddy now. Mabel glared at him, moving and scooting a bit more into the water so she could maybe slip away.

Bill had her arm in a vice in less than a second. "Where are you going, siren?" She groaned, trying to get her arm away from him.

"What more do you want from me?" She asked, as he raised his hand. She couldn't help but flinch a little, and Bill seemed to delight in that reaction.

"Can't have my little siren running about all free, can I? Tell me, how long can you be out of water?" He asked, and Mabel paled, trying to get away and back into the water.

"Not long at all, really, I can't be out of the water." Mabel said frantically, trying to pry his fingers off her arm. Bill tightened his grip, making her wince.

"Seems I know something about mermaids that you don't. Say goodbye to Bambi, little siren, it's the last you'll be seeing of him for a while." Bill stated the words almost flatly, and Mabel knew he meant them.

"Bill, please-." She couldn't even get the rest of the words out before Bill smashed the barrel of his gun against the side of her head, making the world go dark around her.