Fire and pain were familiar to Will. They practically went hand in hand for anyone to be fair, but for him, fire and pain were also almost always accompanied by a certain ruler of the Underworld in a foul mood. One which Will would rather jump into a volcano than deal with.
"What the hell, Bill!?" Will cried, narrowly dodging a barrage of fireballs. He wouldn't have seen the first one coming if his master hadn't ferociously bellowed his name.
"Pipe down, you overgrown chicken. I'm not done with you yet!" Before Will flew away, Bill conjured a whip and managed to pin the bird's wings to his body with a snap. Will instantly fell from the air and hit the ground roughly.
"What did I do!?" A yellow blaze engulfed his body as he transformed into his blue haired, human-like guise in order to struggle against his bonds and escape his clearly livid master.
"You and your fucking advice to "talk to her and explain yourself" did shit! It only made things worse!" Bill growled as he approached.
He didn't even know why he had listened to his wimpy servant after his wife had walked out on him in the throne room. He'd reasoned that Will and Mabel got along better than he and Mabel did, so maybe taking a note from the birdbrain might actually help. Bill supposed he failed to take into account one thing. He wasn't Will. And Mabel knew that.
"Instead of trying to kill me, could you maybe tell me what actually happened? It can't be that bad, can it!?" Will pleaded, tearing up and bracing himself for Bill's wrath. Thus, he was surprised when the god actually paused and appeared almost guilty.
"Bill?" Will blinked away his tears of fear as he noted the god's shaking shoulders and tightly fisted hands.
Bill swept his gaze to the side irritably, his lips a firm line. "I didn't… it was… an accident," he said through gritted teeth.
…
Mabel sighed. "Bill, I literally have no idea who stole it. I know it was a wedding memento and everything, but I don't need it… even if it does help restore my powers." Mabel frowned. "If nothing else, can't you just get me another one?"
Bill's jaw clenched. "I could…" he began irritably. "But I gave that shooting star to you and not some thief. And I'm not about to let that smug bastard get away with stealing from you."
"Then where do you suggest we start?" The brunette asked wearily and let Flower Village disperse. When Bill noted Dippy shuddering by her side, he glared spitefully at the amanati. Immediately, Mabel held the tender to her chest with a sharp look of warning at Bill in her sprite's defense.
After a moment, he replied. "Anything unusual happen while you were away? Get any threats? Cause any problems? Make any enemies-?"
"So a typical day for you?" Mabel deadpanned.
"Meet anybody new?" Bill continued despite her interjection.
"Yeah, but I meet new people all the time on the upper planes." She rested her chin on Dippy's head thoughtfully and felt his quivering diminish slightly.
"Anybody that showed any interest in you," Bill specified, his frown deepening marginally. "It was once popular to steal a lock of hair from a chick you had no chance at. Who knows? Maybe stealing something off of them while they sleep is a new fad."
Mabel gagged in disgust. "Thanks for that creepy mental image, but no. No one showed any "interest" in me."
Bill made a noise of skeptism. "Guess I knew better than to ask you," he muttered, standing to his full height.
"Excuse me?" Mabel narrowed her eyes at him.
"Either you're lying to my face or you're just as ignorant as you always are," Bill murmured with a shake of his head as if this were typical of her. "As much as I'm sure you like to pretend that I don't exist while you're away, I hear things. Lots of things." Bill placed his hands on his hips as he looked down at her.
"Oh? Enlighten me, why don't you?" Mabel drawled sardonically, standing and letting go of Dippy, who flew to hide behind her leg with a soft timid click.
"Boy, where do I even start?" Bill spoke dramatically. "First there was that king from Thessaly with the stupid, big hair-"
"-It was one drink at one party," Mabel defended herself, rolling her eyes.
"-Then some water nymph." Bill tsked. "Talk about fruit hung so low you'd need a shovel to eat it-"
"- Mermando is just a friend! And I'd like to add that I was the one swimming in that stream first." She'd been naked, but Bill didn't need to know that.
"And most recently I heard talk of you hanging with that drama queen." Bill's face scrunched up as if offended by the thought. "What was his name? Gabby? Gibbles? Glub-glub?"
"You mean, Gabe?" Mabel said blandly, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, the freak with the puppets."
"Ugh. Please don't make this into a thing," Mabel pleaded, rubbing her forehead. "Say what you want, but he's renowned for his shows so I went to one and we talked a little. He's not associated with theater for nothing."
"He's also not associated with fertility for nothing," Bill murmured as his eye began to flash dangerously.
"I went to some of his shows. For fun," Mabel reiterated firmly.
"Oh, I'm sure you had fun," Bill snorted in a cutting tone.
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
"Did you have fun with you brother too?" he drawled sarcastically.
"One, I did, thank you very much. And two, you're about as subtle as a screaming fury. He's my brother, Bill! My twin brother."
Bill was just being ridiculous now (at least more ridiculous than usual) and all his accusations were really starting to piss her off.
"Sharing a womb sure didn't stop your parents with you." Bill looked at the result of the union pointedly. He couldn't deny that he didn't like what they produced though. When she wasn't acting like a harpy.
"Oh my gods." She stared at him in disbelief. "I can't believe I have to say this to you, but I'm not into my brother. And oh, I am your wife!" Mabel exclaimed heatedly.
"Be that as it may, everyone is into it. You just haven't gone through the phase yet," the god spoke idly even as the urge to do murder flicked past his face. The facts were the facts, but he loathed the very thought. He and Pine Tree weren't on good terms with the whole kidnapping-his-sister-to-be-his-wife thing. No love was lost between them though.
"Seriously? So what?" Mabel shouted in exasperation, throwing her arms up. "Do I have to worry about you and my mom now? Or my dad? Let me remind you, I'm your niece! Is that not close enough for you?"
When it came to the gods, referencing one's genealogy led to about as much discrimination as how much ambrosia you could eat. But Mabel felt pretty strongly about the fact that Dipper and her were just a little more related than the rest of their family. She had helped her mother birth him for her father's sake.
"You're so hung up on me playing around while I'm gone, but what does that say about you?" Mabel spat. "Apparently, we both go for that low hanging fruit," she remarked in a condescending tone. "Don't think I forgot about that time I found you with that minty little nymph."
Humans were meant to be the gods' play things, but nymphs were definitely designed for something a little more in mind.
"For your information, she was an admirer-turned-stalker who I had a very pleasant time with leading on." Bill stated nonchalantly. He didn't know why Mabel was even complaining. In the end, his wife had been the one to turn the naiad into a garden herb. The scent still reminded Bill of his wife's jealous rage. Good times.
"And Pyronica? I know she's been around here lately," Mabel declared, glowering with contempt. "I could smell the burning perfume before I even got to the gates."
"Pfft. You think I'd go for Pyronica?" Bill tapped his cane against his shoulder. "She's a hothead with hardly any self-control and is way too horny for me…" The god paused, contemplating his verbal assessment. "Actually, that doesn't sound too bad," he muttered under his breath.
His neck and limbs screamed in pain suddenly and it took him a moment to follow the path of the thorny rose vines wrapped around his neck, arms and legs. The latter simply came from the recesses of the garden, but the one around his neck led all the way to Mabel's hand.
In a second, his yellow iris began to glow brightly, his pupil thinned to a slit and the white of his eye bled to black menacingly as he met Mabel's gaze who returned the detested look.
"That's right," Mabel growled through gritted teeth as her hand tightened and the grip of the vine constricted around his neck further, drawing blood. Meanwhile, her hand remained perfectly unharmed. "Stupid me. I forgot that you couldn't get anyone to be with you unless you TRICKED THEM INTO BEING STUCK HERE!"
It seemed the past could just never be laid to rest as all of the emotion from long ago came rushing back.
Mabel had been a completely different person. She was optimistic, full of hope… and far too naive. After Bill had taken her, she knew her family would come to take her back and when the call came, she was overjoyed and overconfident.
The earth was dying and so were the humans because she was gone. Nothing would grow and her family neglected their duties in their search for her. Even the other gods combined couldn't make up for the deterioration that it was causing.
So Bill's brother, king of the Gods, had demanded that Mabel return, if only to quell the rampaging search for her.
She had been so close. Soos had been dispatched to retrieve her and bring her home. But as she had waited for the messenger of the gods, Bill had made one last appearance.
"Guess this little courtship just wasn't meant to be. A shame," Bill remarked casually.
Mabel merely did what she had during her entire stay in the horrific Underworld and promptly ignored him, not without sending a hateful scowl his way. If he had simply courted her normally, she would have been flattered and might have even given him the time of day. But seeing his home, Mabel now knew she would rather dine with a fury.
Speaking of which, she also just didn't have the energy to spout venom at him like she had when he'd first taken her. After letting off her steam at him (which seemed completely ineffective anyway), she hadn't consumed a single thing nor spoken in an act of protest. Though, she'd hand it to the death god that she had been close to breaking a few times just due to how absolutely aggravating he could make his presence.
"Probably for the best. It isn't much fun to have a skeleton for a wife. I know. I've tried," Bill continued, as if sensing her thoughts.
Mabel narrowed her eyes at him and flipped him the bird.
"Come on, kid. It was a plan I hatched on a little too much nectar and once it was done I just kind of went with it. I gave it an honest try and accidentally almost wiped out the human race." He shrugged guiltlessly. "Can you blame me for at least giving it a shot?" Bill threw his arms up helplessly.
When Mabel didn't reply, Bill's lip jutted out in a pout.
Crack!
Mabel jumped at the sound and snapped her head back to Bill to find him munching (very loudly) on some seeds in a bag. She instantly seethed at him for doing this to her up until the very end. It hadn't been the first time he had tried to tempt her to break her protest and eat by doing just that right in front of her.
Somehow it had been easier when she wasn't sure when she would be released. Because now knowing that she would be hours away from eating, the brunette's stomach cried out even more for sustenance.
"Ya know, there aren't many things that grow well down here," Bill spoke with his mouth full, "but these pomegranate seeds can really hit the spot. I've hardly eaten anything all day, so I'm practically staaaaarving." He swallowed and glanced over to Mabel who he could almost mistake for a shadow creature the way she was glaring at him.
"They're even candied. It's practically like shoving a gallon of sugar down your windpipe with eat bite," he egged her on further, laughing maniacally on the inside. Everyone knew her love of sweets was unrivaled by any god or goddess.
"I…"
Bill blinked, almost missing the sound of her soft voice. It was weak and faltering, but he could still hear and feel the full extent of her contempt.
"I hate you… so much…" Mabel muttered, curling into herself as she held her stomach.
"And she finally speaks." It wasn't quite as satisfying as he thought it would be. Seeing her withering form, he sighed and picked up the bag, brushing it against her cheek to get her attention.
"Come on, Shooting Star," he urged her gently with that infuriating nickname. He might as well be calling her Toots, Doll or Sweet Cheeks. "You're outta here in no time at all. You wanna faint the moment you see that dumb sibling of yours and make him worry even more?"
Mabel turned her head to glance at him, a look of suspicion passing her eyes before she spotted the bag of seeds and stared at it longingly.
"I wasn't lying. These are the shit," Bill spoke with a light smirk as Mabel uncurled with a sigh and began to open the bag hesitantly. "Oh, they're not poisoned either," he added offhandedly causing the goddess to freeze and throw him a dirty look. "Really, they're not," he reaffirmed. "When I have poison I at least need some nectar on the side. I've got some standards," he huffed, crossing his arms.
Eyes shifting from the bag to Bill, then back to the bag again, Mabel pursed her lips before rummaging through the bag in surrender.
"I still hate you," Mabel murmured, taking a few and popping them into her mouth. She'd just have a little. Gods didn't need to eat that much anyway.
Bill grinned broadly at her. "I hate me too."
She hadn't known at the time that eating something from the Underworld, even if it was just a few seeds, would force her to return. Yet, after all he had done to chain her to him and the Underworld, he dared to toss her aside like an old toy.
"Wife. Calm the fuck down. You really… really don't know what you're dealing with," Bill warned her, feeling the thorns cut into his skin as the scent of roses permeated the air.
"Oh, I know exactly what I'm dealing with. But what I don't know is why the hell I even stay faithful to a manipulative bastard like you," Mabel laughed wryly. "It's not like you even miss me. I'm just a thorn in your side. One bad marriage mistake you're stuck with. All I think about when I'm gone is coming back here when I should be spending my time on someone who actually deserves it."
Bill was silent, grinding his teeth together before stilling as if a thought occurred to him. He chuckled lightly. "That's right. I tricked you. I'm the monster here and the least deserving, just like you said." Angling his head to the side, Bill didn't even flinch as the move only caused the vine to dig deeper into his neck. "And you're free to do whatever you like while you're away. But every moment, every second… know that you'll be the one responsible for leaving a trail of death behind you."
The air began to stir and Mabel's body sudden grew heavy like the sun had just been thrown upon her shoulders. She managed to right herself, but immediately knew what was to come. However, the thickening miasma practically paralyzed her, weighing her down like chains whose every link weighed a thousand tons.
"Because, like it or not, you know, I know, and I know you know that I will not only kill but completely slaughter and torture anyone who touches you because of one little fact that you're forgetting, Wife." His golden hair blackened and his skin darkened to blood red. It was fitting, considering red was practically all he could see.
"The fact, forever and always, that you," his hand rose toward his neck, "are," he grasped the vine tightly in his gloved hand, "MINE!" He roared, sounding more beast than god.
His hand and entire body erupted in flames which ate at the length of the vine like a fuse, and quickly snaked out to engulf the sources. The blue blaze around Bill grew rapidly until the concentration of light and heat finally erupted and burst out in all directions.
Just before the blast, Mabel did her best to cover herself and squeezed her eyes shut to brace for impact.
The air itself felt like it was burning all around them when Mabel finally opened her eyes and gaped at the damage all around her. The ground was scorched, just like a "meadow" outside. Everything was black and burning and the destruction to her place went on far enough that it now resembled a burnt forest more than anything else.
It was all dead, charred and black. Everything except for the ground below her. Numbly, Mabel stared at the brown grass underneath her and then looked only inches away where the grass had been burned away completely to where even the dirt had been singed. There was no way that should have been possible unless…
Bill was breathing so heavily that his entire body rose and fell with his breaths. His demonic form fit perfectly with the deadened landscape around him which he only seemed to notice when he heard his wife's anguished cry.
"DIPPY!"
His head snapped up to see a pine tree, burnt to the branch, rooted in the ground in front of Mabel. He frowned in confusion, swearing that there had been nothing in front of her before, but understood when the charred mass of wood collapsed onto itself and left a tiny spritely form in the ashes.
"O-Oh my g…" Mabel words were caught in her throat and it sounded as if she were choking on them as she crawled over to her tender. Her hands reached out to him, but she pulled back as if afraid she would hurt him more. Dippy didn't move and the extent of the damage to the sprite was hard to assess when he appeared to be just a black mass.
Somehow, the little sprite had shapeshifted to take the brunt of Bill's inferno for Mabel just before it had reached her.
Tears streamed down Mabel's face as she tried to call out to her motionless amanati. Then, very weakly, Dippy turned his head and let out two little clicks. Mabel immediately covered her mouth and whimpered softly into her hands. She could only imagine the pain he was in, yet he was still worried about her.
Bill approached the two slowly, his form returning to normal as, for once, he struggled to find the right words to say.
"Mabel, I-" Bill paused when he didn't catch her muffled speech. "What?"
Her brown locks shadowed her expression as she crouched over Dippy and pulled her trembling hands from her face. "Get. Out." She repeated lowly as her tears dropped to the desolated ground.
"I didn't see him-"
"I said GET OUT!" Mabel shrieked. Rose vines shot out from the ground to wrap around Bill, tearing into his skin more violently than before and began pulling at him in different directions.
He grimaced and struggled within their grip. She was serious and it left him with two options.
The vines fell to the charred ground when their target disappeared from their grasp, but readied themselves to seek him out once more. However, he was long gone.
It's only forever, Shooting Star. Not long at all. (1)
There has to be a way out. There always is.
(1) Dialogue from "Forever" by samanthapaints on tumblr. Link in profile.
Author's Note: This chapter was on the longer side just because it ended up that way, but I'm also gearing up for finals, so a new chapter may not come out until after that's done, but this story is still going strong! I'm super excited to have finally gotten into some of the good stuff and I just want to say thank you all for your kind comments and support. It sometimes makes me motivated and thinks i cans rites goodly. XD
