Chapter 4 …Till Somebody Gets Hurt

Mabel immediately knew something was wrong. First, her hand felt weird, like it was burning but from a cool flame. Second, she saw that blue flames had encompassed both girls hands. Mabel gasped and tried to pull away, but found that she couldn't. Finally, she heard Bella laughing. It started out low, but grew with intensity and pitch as Bella stood up. A grin stretched unnaturally across her face as she gripped Mabel's hand tighter.

"Uh, Bella?" Mabel squeaked. Bella began to quiet her laughing. She slowly reached up and removed her sunglasses. As they slid off, they revealed two large yellowed eyes with long slit pupils staring ravenously down at Mabel.

"Heh heh, sorry Shooting Star," Bella said, her voice changing from a teenage girls voice to something very familiar to Mabel, something from her nightmares, "BUT 'BELLA' ISN'T HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Bill!" Mabel shrieked as she doubled her efforts to pull out of the handshake, but Bill held firm, "Let go of me you psychotic corn chip!"

Bill pulled Mabel forward so that they were face to face. He feigned insult as he got closer to Mabel, "I'M HURT KID. BESIDES, WE MADE A DEAL." His voice got dangerously low and Mabel shrank back for a moment before feeling a pulling sensation. Bill began to yank back on her hand, but the weird thing was, her body stayed in place. Mabel was thrown into the air, tumbling around trying to decipher which way was up. When she finally righted herself, she saw Bella and her own body lying motionless on the ground.

Suddenly, her body began standing up, albeit a bit wobbly. Mabel flew closer as her body stood up straight. Her eyes snapped open, revealing them to be a sickly yellow color sporting the same slitted pupils that had, until recently, belonged to Bella. Mabel screamed as she heard Bill's voice and laugh coming from her body.

"WOOHOO! THIS BODY HAS SO MUCH ENERGY! I FEEL LIKE I COULD MURDER MILLIONS AND STILL HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO RUN A MARATHON!" Bill laughed as he looked at his new form in a nearby mirror.

"Wha-! How! WHAT!?" Mabel stuttered as she looked down at Bill controlling her body, "How are you even alive?"

"I'M A BEING OF PURE ENERGY, AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ENERGY, 'IT'LL MAKE AND ASS OUTTA YOU AND ME'!" Mabel cocked her head as Bill stopped for a moment and contemplated the absurdity of what he had just said. He then smacked himself in the face, "NO WAIT, THAT'S NOT RIGHT... ASSUMPTIONS! YES THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ASSUME! NAH, WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS THAT ENERGY CAN'T BE DESTROYED."

"Get out of my body you three sided jerk! You can't be Mabel-Bill….MaBill!" She gasped as she tried to swoop down into him but ended up spinning mid air. Bill laughed, crossing his arms, he shook his head.

"WE MADE A DEAL SHOOTING STAR—"

"Well the deal's off! You tricked me!"

"JEEZE STAR, YOU'RE TAKING THIS WORSE THAN PINE TREE," Bill commented nonchalantly. Then a look of recognition and malice crossed over his features. An unnatural smile spread across his stolen face as he looked to the door then back at Mabel, sticking his thumb out in its direction, "SPEAKING OF PINE TREE, WHY DON'T WE INCLUDE HIM IN THIS LITTLE REUNION!"

"NO!" Mabel screamed, but it was too late. Bill had already sprinted toward the door, ripping it open and slamming it shut. She heard the sound of the next door opening. If she was in her body, her heart would have been hammering through her chest. She made to follow but she didn't entirely know how to move in this new ghostly form, so she clumsily tried swimming for the door. She ended up flying through it instead. Once she realized she could, she phased through the door to Dipper's room, too.

The room was dark, save for a small reading light attached to a large book Dipper had been reading. Mabel immediately saw her body climbing onto Dipper's bed, holding something in its hand. As they got closer to the light, she found it was a pair of large scissors that she had used for arts and crafts.

Mabel swooped in to tackle her body and the demon possessing it when it brought the scissors down on Dipper, fast as lightning, stopping just short of his neck. Mabel froze as a foreign look crossed her body's features. A sickeningly sadistic glint shown in Bill's eyes as he let the scissors rest of Dipper's neck.

"ONE MORE MOVE, SHOOTING STAR, AND YOU BECOME AND ONLY CHILD," Bill threatened, a smile threatening to split his, or Mabel's, face in two. He whispered loudly as Mabel stared hopelessly at her brother. Mabel was about to remind the demon of their deal, but Bill interrupted, "OUR DEAL WAS THAT YOU'D LET ME HAVE YOUR BODY IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE," Bill moved the scissors around Dipper's throat in a triangle shape, it traced the skin but no blood was drawn. "BUT, IF YOU WANT TO CALL OFF THE DEAL, I'LL JUST KILL HIM NOW. HAHA! NOW THAT WOULD BE HILARIOUS, HIM WAKING UP TO HIS SISTER STABBING HIM!"

"No! Stop! Leave him alone!" Mabel swooped to tackle Bill, but ended up flying straight through him, "Huh-what?!" Bill laughed as she turned back around and tried to tackle him again. She tried two more times before yelling in frustration and glared at Bill. He began laughing again, this time pointing at Mabel.

"I'M-I'M SORRY," he laughed, trying to catch his breath, "BUT YOU JUST LOOK SO ADORABLE WHEN YOU'RE IN DISTRESS!" Bill was about to berate her again when he heard a groan come from underneath him. The boy had begun to stir, his eyes fluttering open.

"Ugh, Mabel, I'm trying to sleep…" Dipper yawned trying to roll over. Bill's smile grew wider as he saw the kid's eyes snapped open after realizing his current situation.

"What the— Mabel!? What are you doing?!" Dipper asked, his voice cracking. Bill chuckled some more. After the adrenaline had kicked in, Dipper finally had gotten a chance to really look at his sister. He noticed everything about her seemed wrong, other than the fact that she was about to kill him, her shoulders were hunched, and her body slackened like she was being held up by strings. Then there was the obvious: her eyes were yellow.

"BILL!?"

"HAHAHA! GOT IT IN ONE, PINE TREE! I SHOULD GIVE YOU A PRIZE!" Bill stroked his chin as he contemplated what to do, "I'VE GOT IT! HOW ABOUT THIS PAIR OF SCISSORS LODGED IN YOUR TRACHEA!" Bill held his weapon high above his head before plunging it down at Dipper when Mabel screamed at him.

"HEY DORITO! You kill him, and our deal is off!" Bill halted once again right over Dipper's throat. The boy held his breath, afraid the slightest motion would cause the sharp object to slit his throat. He lay motionless as Bill turned back to the other twin hovering in the air. His gaze bore into her, but she held her ground…figuratively.

"TECHNICALLY SPEAKING, THAT DEAL WAS SOLELY TO PROTECT OL' PINE TREE IN THAT MOMENT. IF YOU HADN'T TAKEN THE DEAL, I WOULD'VE JUST KILLED HIM ANYWAY!"

"I don't understand-"

"I FULFILLED MY END OF THE BARGAIN. I DIDN'T KILL YOUR BROTHER, YOU'RE WELCOME BY THE WAY, AND YOU'RE FULFILLING YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN: GIVING ME YOUR VESSEL TO USE AS A MEAT PUPPET UNTIL I'M DONE WITH IT!" Bill stood up and turned fully towards her, crossing his arms . Dipper drew in a breath of relief when the blade left his neck. Being able to move once again, he locked his gaze onto his copy of the journals. He quickly looked at Bill, who was still busy staring down some spot in the air. He assumed it was Mabel because she was stuck in the Mindscape.

He quickly reached for the journal, fingers just brushing the spine when a pair of scissor were stabbed into the book, just missing his hand. With a gasp he turned around to find Bill's face dangerously close to his, that sickening smile growing ever wider. Dipper lie there as Bill leaned over him.

"TSK TSK PINE TREE, NO CHEATING," He cackled condescendingly. Dipper's eyes narrowed at Bill and he looked off into the space where he thought his sister was.

"Sorry-in-advance-Mabel!" He apologized and before Bill could register what was going on, Dipper had kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying off the bed. Dipper yanked the scissors out of the book and tossed them away. He then began speeding through each page of the journals looking for something that could help him get Bill out of his sister's body.

Dipper had reached a page that looked promising and he smiled, "Hey Mabel! I might have found something! All we need to do is— NO!" Dipper's smile vanished and his skin turned ghostly white as he saw that Bill had recovered. Not only that but he had grabbed the scissors again and were now holding them above Mabel's body's heart. Dipper ran towards his sister's demon possessed body, but stopped as Bill began pressing the scissors into her chest. Bill paused in his assault and cackled.

"YOU TWO ARE HILARIOUS! YOU MAKE IT SO EASY TO USE ONE OF YOU AGAINST THE OTHER! REMINDS ME OF SOME BROTHERS I RAN INTO A WHILE BACK; I REALLY SHOULD CHECK IN ON MOOSE AND SQUIRREL AGAIN…" Bill gazed off in the distance before chuckling and setting his attention back on the kids in front of him. "TIS REALLY IS THE BEST WAY TO START OFF A REGENERATION!" Bill was laughing again at the twin's misfortune, but Dipper momentarily became sidetracked by Bill's latest exclamation.

"Wait a minute, you can regenerate? Is that how you came back?" Dipper's curiosity got the better of him. Bill smiled coyly, a mischievous glint in his eye. Dipper shivered, the emotions looking too wrong on his sweet sister's face.

"I'D LOVE TO TELL YA KID! I'M SURE WE COULD COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF…" Bill's hand became engulfed in a blue flame, "DEAL?"

"No way," Dipper crossed his arms as Bill extinguished the flaming appendage. He smiled as he circled Dipper, a predatory look on his face. Dipper was nervous, but also worried for his sister. He had no idea where she was, he couldn't see into the Mindscape. He followed Bill, never taking his eyes off the demon, "Is Mabel here?"

"OH SURE," Bill nodded he turned around and began talking to air, "WHY DON'T YOU SAY HELLO TO YOUR BROTHER HERE, SHOOTING STAR?" Dipper glared at Bill who pointedly ignored the boy's look, "OH THAT'S RIGHT, HE CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"Dipper! Punch him in my face! Get him out of my body!" Mabel waved her arms, pointing at Bill. She stared at her brother in disbelief as he continued to stare at Bill, not acknowledging her, "Dipper? Ugh!" Why couldn't he hear her? Dipper's eyes flitted around the room momentarily, never leaving Bill for more than a few seconds.

"Mabel," As if hearing her pleads, Dipper called out, still glaring at Bill, "You need to find a vessel to speak through, remember the sock puppets?" Mabel's eyes lit up as she quickly flew into her room grabbing her Mabel sock puppet before entering her brother's room again. Dipper and Bill both turned to see her floating sock puppet form. Bill grinned unnaturally as she floated over to him and began hitting him with her sock puppet arms. Mabel screamed a battle cry as she attacked her own body, the puppet hands squeaking softly with each impact.

"AW, THAT'S ADORABLE!" Bill cooed as the Mabel puppet continued to weakly beat against him, "KEEP GOING SHOOTING STAR! I THINK YOU'RE MAKING A DENT!" Bill laughed as the puppet became more frantic. He grabbed the puppet and tossed it over to Dipper who clumsily caught her.

"Good try Mabel," Dipper giving the sock Mabel a reassuring squeeze. Mabel moved to float next to her brother's head. Both twins glared back at Bill, at least Mabel tried the best she could with her sock puppet face. The silence in the room was thick, making the twins uncomfortable. Dipper took a slight step forward so he was between his sister and the demon possessing her, "So…what happens now?"

"WELL, I COULD JUST KILL YOU BOTH," Bill shrugged nonchalantly. Dipper and Mabel froze. Bill stalked towards the siblings. Dipper shuffled his feet and tried to back away, but he backed him and mabel right into the end of his bed. As Bill got dangerously close, Dipper shook himself out of his stupor and realized an important detail.

"If you wanted to kill us, you would have done it already!" Dipper dared as Bill stopped inches in front of him.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING NOW KID?" Bill laughed. Dipper stood his ground and Mabel joined him.

"Dipper's right. You're bluffing!" Mabel yelled and pointed an accusatory puppet hand at the demon. Bill opened the scissors and snapped them closed right in front of Mabel's face. "Probably?" She squeaked, a lot less confident then she had been moments before. The tension was thick between the three. Finally, Bill straightened his stance.

"YOU TWO MAY NOT BE AS DUMB AS YOU LOOK," Bill finally admitted. Dipper and Mabel both looked slightly shocked. Dipper released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Bill continued holding up a finger, "YOU SEE, I ONLY WANT ONE THING-"

"Our family dead?" Dipper guessed. Bill stared at the boy, paused for a moment, then raised another finger

"… FINE, I WANT TWO THINGS. FIRST AND FOREMOST: I WANT MY BODY BACK!"

"Your body? How are we supposed to know where it is?" Mabel asked incredulously.

"LUCKY FOR YOU, I KNOW THE GENERAL LOCATION OF MY PHYSICAL BODY, AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE RIGHT HERE IN GRAVITY FALLS!" He proclaimed, then pointed to the twins, "AND YOU TWO ARE GOING TO FIND IT FOR ME. LET'S GO!" Bill gestured with the scissors towards the door.

"What do you expect us to do, walk there? You do know we aren't in Gravity Falls, right?" Dipper pointed out. Bill narrowed his eyes at the boy.

"THEN WHERE IN THIS BACKWATER DIMENSION ARE WE!?"

"Piedmont, California."

"Mabel!" Dipper scolded as Mabel covered her little puppet mouth. Bill scratched his head as Dipper turned back toward him, "In any case, Gravity Falls is a 9 hour drive from here, so we aren't exactly able to just walk there. How could you possibly not know where we are, I thought you were supposed to be omniscient or something."

"GIVE ME A BREAK, PINE TREE, I JUST REGENERATED AFTER BEING ERASED FROM ALL EXISTENCE; I'M GOING TO BE FUZZY ON A COUPLE OF THE DETAILS." Bill scratched his chin, thinking. He then snapped his fingers as an idea came to him, "I'VE GOT AND IDEA! LET'S STEAL YOUR PARENT'S CAR AND DRIVE THERE!" Bill turned to exit the room when Mabel interrupted him.

"We can't steal the car! I mean besides the fact that it's wrong and stuff," Mabel admitted.

"MORALITY IS RELATIVE, SHOOTING STARr-"

"Look, Mabel may be the self proclaimed Alpha-Twin, but even she isn't tall enough to reach the pedals in a car," Bill looked down at his body's feet and mentally sized them against the vehicle he had seen in the driveway. He then cursed and kicked a nearby book as he realized the truth in the boy's statement.

"STUPID HUMANS AND THEIR STUPID HIEGHT DISADVANTAGES! SERIOUSLY, HOW DOES YOUR SPECIES SURVIVE WITH THESE KINDS OF LIMITATIONS?" Bill raged. His eyes turning from their normal yellow and black to a deep red. He finally paused and took a deep breath in and out to calm himself down, "YOU KNOW WHAT? IT'S FINE. WE'LL JUST GET THERE THE WAY YOU DID FOR THE SUMMER. TO THE BUS STATION!"

"We're not going, especially not with you!" Dipper stood his ground and Bill turned to look at him and his sister. They both looked determined to not give in without a fight. They thought they could actually stand a chance against him. Bill smiled at their delusion. Mabel then floated up and joined her brother.

"Yeah! We can't just go to Gravity Falls! What about our parents, and school, and-"

"UHUH, UHUH," Bill nodded, "THOSE ARE DEFINITELY CONCERNS. COUNTER POINT-" in a flash, Bill pushed Dipper up against the edge of the bed, leveling the scissors dangerously close to the boy's jugular, "-AN ALL POWERFUL DEMON IS POSSESSING YOUR BODY AND HE'S ABOUT 7.3 SECONDS AWAY FROM SEPARATING YOUR BROTHER'S HEAD FROM HIS NECK," MBill smirked at the twins, who he noticed had gone ghostly pale, "I THINK YOU HAVE BIGGER CONCERNS AT THE MOMENT."

"Waitwaitwait!" Dipper yelped, "We don't have any money to get bus tickets, and even then, there aren't any buses to Gravity Falls this early in the morning!" Bill considered the boy in front of him for a moment.

"I'M SURE WE'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT, RIGHT SHOOTING STAR?" Bill shrugged, snapping his fingers. Immediately, Dipper's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the floor. Mabel cried out and floated over to her brother. She began nudging him, but he was unresponsive.

"What did you do to him?" She demanded. Bill had begun putting some supplies in the bag he had found on the floor of the room.

"RELAX SHOOTING STAR, HE'S JUST ASLEEP," Bill replied in a bored tone. He grabbed the bag and continued over to Mabel's room. As Mabel followed him, she noticed that some of the things he was packing made no sense at all. He threw 12 pairs of socks into Dipper's bag along with a couple of Pitt Colas and a granola bar. He then put a couple of candy wrappers, around two dozen pencils, and a single shoe in Mabel's bag. The last thing he grabbed was Mabel's new grappling hook mumbling to himself, "WHERE DO YOU GET THESE WONDERFUL TOYS?"

"What are you even doing?" Mabel finally blurted out. Everything Bill was doing was nonsense. He turned to her after zipping up both bags.

"PACKING FOR OUR ROAD TRIP, DUH!" He exclaimed and walked back to Dipper's room. He had the bags thrown over one shoulder, and the sleeping boy over the other. Mabel didn't realize how strong her body was, unless this was all Bill's strength. She hoped it was the former. Bill turned back gazing at Mabel, the sadistic look in those demonic yellow eyes sent a shiver down her spine.

"COME ON SHOOTING STAR! YOU, ME, AND PINE TREE HAVE A BUS TO CATCH!"