For almost three days Bill has interrogated and tortured the energy spirit of a pawn. Whilst he did get the information he wanted out of the soul, the truth wasn't good enough for him. The dream demon had partially hoped the intel he got out of his pawn was just a lie and there was something else, something more rich and delectable than what he was given. But that wasn't the case here. The truth was told and Bill didn't like it.
For half of that week Bill had the energy being contained and bound within a force field bubble with his limbs restricted by chains made from his prison. He would often pull and tug at his confinements in a poor attempt to escape. His stubbornness, at most times, had him struggling for long periods of time before Bill would either zap him or put him to sleep for six hours. He was worried and running out of time. He knew he shouldn't have interfered while Bill was making an important deal but he couldn't just sit back and watch that dumb triangle half-lie to a nearly broken kid. It wouldn't have felt right if he had let the scene play through in the act of false hope. Plus, it wasn't a part of their deal. Bill was supposed to leave the Pines family alone, at least for the most part, during Weirdmageddon. How stupid was he?
The energy being started struggling again after awaking up from another wasted six hours of a blank state of mind when he should have been carrying out his part of the contract. Bill notices the awakening and turns to the prison bubble that hung from the left of his throne.
"YOU KNOW, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE IN THERE IF YOU HAD JUST DONE WHAT YOU WERE TO-LD," Bill had tsk his prisoner, dragging out the last word of his sentence in a teasing manner.
The soul had whipped his head towards the triangle in fury. From the limited movements, it looked like he was trying to yell at the demon overlord yet no voice could be heard from him. However, Bill seemed to understand him loud and clear as if he was indeed talking.
"THAT WAS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS," retorted Bill.
More movements, and they were frantic like the spirit was flat out screaming at Bill.
"WELL," Bill said nonchalantly, "THAT'S YOUR FAULT, NOW ISN'T IT?"
Cypher snapped his fingers and the prison dissipated into thin air. Not expecting to be released, the soul had fallen just short from the stone ground right as he regained concentration to fly. Recapturing his confidence, he, assumingly, glares at the smug looking triangle. He swore, if that pyramid had a face...
"NOW, BECAUSE OF THAT 'INCIDENT' THE OTHER DAY," Bill went on, "INSTEAD OF THE 75 HOURS LIKE WE AGREED ON, YOU HAVE TWO HOURS TO FULFILL YOUR WISH. OTHERWISE YOU'LL BE STUCK IN 1971 WITH NO ONE TO HELP BRING YOU BACK." A portal materialized with a wave of Bill's hand. A timer was attached to the top of the portal that set itself to two hours before counting down. "HURRRYY~THE CLOCK'S A-TICKING..."
The spirit clenches his hands into fists in frustration. That demon was really getting on his nerves.
Without another response, the energy being dove right into the portal which shrunk to prevent anyone, or thing, else in after him.
"Bill," 8-Ball called to his leader with Teeth at his side.
Bill looks at them with a narrow, slit-pupil eye. "Yes?" He said in a polite yet uncaring way.
"Aren't you worried about that Pines kid we lost?"
"NO," Just disappointed, Bill was quick to say but had stopped himself from completing that thought out loud.
"Aren't you worried he'll cause trouble?"
"Yeah," Teeth added, "trouble with Stan's or Mabel's bubbles?"
Then Bill's expression changed from monotone to nonchalant in an instant, "HA, I'M NOT WORRIED. I'VE GOT SOMEONE ON THE CAS-" the triangle stops short of his sentences when the timer above the portal stops just before the spirit came back with a big burlap sack over his left shoulder held by both of his hands. Bill looked genuinely shocked at seeing this. "O-KAAAY...UH...YOU MAY GO?"
The gold energy being gave a single nod of understanding. He made his move to leave when his gaze fell on what-or who- was in Bill's hand. Stanford Pines, solid gold in a petrified frozen state of surprise. The gold energy being's body language took that of alertness and reaches out with his left hand only to be halted by the end of Bill's cane poking into his barrel chest.
"I SAID, "YOU MAY GO"," Bill repeated in a low dangerous tone.
Even though he didn't want to, the soul knew he couldn't risk anything at the moment. So he complied and left. but not without one last sympathetic look at the scientist. He stayed for two seconds too long and was eventually shooed by the demon overlord.
Bill looks off into the distance and then up at the timer above the still open portal he had neglected to close. "FIVE MINTUES." The pyramid breathed in disbelief, even though it would have seemed impossible since on first impression he had no mouth as far as anyone could see. "FIVE MINUTES...HOW COULD HAVE FOUND COULD HE HAVE FOUND IT IN FIVE MINUTES? IT'S LIKE HE KNEW WHERE TO LOOK. IT'S LIKE-" then the demon came to a conclusion, "WAIT A SECOND?! WHO RATTED ME OUT OF THE HIDING PLACE!? WAS IT YOU KEYHOLE? HECTORGON? OR YOU PYRONICA?"
Everybody acted suspiciously casual like they knew something that Bill didn't know, by looking around, whistling and/or humming a little tune to themselves. The guilty party amongst them well hidden within the poor execution of casualness and could never be found unless they or someone else squealed.
Bill growls in frustration.
They are all idiots. OH WELL, Bill thought to himself, AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TIME BABY FOR A LONG WHILE.
With Dipper
Dipper belches after a swig of his soda. However, it wasn't as loud and mighty as the boy had hoped it would have been. Instead, it small, light and short; like that of a baby burp. Dipper blushes profoundly as Wendy snickers next to him.
"Hey," Wendy belched out and continues, "don't worry, man. Sometimes you'll get it, sometimes you won't."
"But why did it have to sound like it came from an infant?" Dipper pulls his hat over his face in shame.
Wendy shrugs, "I dunno."
Dipper raises his hat from his eyes and looks over the chaotic scenery of Weirdmageddon. Monsters of all shapes, sizes and varieties roamed the entire town. Devouring whatever they found appetizing or just curious about the taste of a certain object. So far, none of those creatures that have tested different flavors have thrown up from doing that, much to Wendy's and Dipper's disappointment.
He had spent the night inside of that hollow tree in the forest, successfully hidden the whole time with, miraculously, only a couple of ant bites as a result. Dipper had ended up eating his rations faster then what he would have preferred with only a can of peaches and one canned meat left in his backpack, but the Pines boy couldn't help himself; he was starving, he didn't know the last time he even ate that wasn't a snack on the hike to the alien spaceship with Great Uncle Ford. The temptation was too great and thus he was low on supplies on day two. The difficulty meter rose every time Dipper had to run and dodge out of sight from the eyebats, that he had a suspicion were specifically looking for him, and other monsters that would see him as a potential snack only worsened his will power to preserve the last quarter of his bottled water.
During his evasion/scouring around the town, Dipper had barely escaped the scary yet polite one-armed monster by squeezing himself through the barricaded mall entrance. It was unnerving walking through a trashed abandoned mall as he called out to his sister. He was so used to the bustling, impatient customers of all ages rushing from store to store for the latest sales to teenagers and such hanging around in the food court. Everything was dead now. The vivacious energy felt during a normal day at the mall had long gone dropped dead.
It was in the food court where Dipper met up with Wendy, and Toby Determined, after the redhead's nacho trap didn't work for him. Really, it was a pretty obvious trap but Dipper had to admit that if he, albeit hungry, hadn't anything else to eat since Weirdmageddon started he probably would have fallen for it. However, closer examination and focus on the sense of touch, the rope underneath his feet was really hidden in plain sight. Yet Dipper praised Wendy's work and the idea of manipulating on a potential prey's hunger.
"It would have worked on if I haven't already eaten some canned meat and peaches," Dipper told her after she led him to her hideout in the already disastrous store, Edgy on Purpose, which actually looked better in the apocalypse scenario.
"You have peaches!" Wendy perked up. "Gimme!"
Dipper handed it over with a grin full of mirth.
As Wendy ate the peaches with the plastic spoon Dipper gave her, she began explaining what happened to her and the others when Weirdmageddon started up. Dipper imitated her by eating his last can of meat. He explained everything that happened. The alien spaceship (he jokingly specified that it was space aliens and not illegal aliens just to bring a laugh out of Wendy); Ford's offered apprenticeship; Mabel running away and dying; Stan trading his own life to bring back Mabel. He didn't tell Wendy about Bill wanting to take him under his wing because even now Dipper's not so sure what to think about it. Dipper honestly doesn't see himself as anything special. Mabel was always the interesting twin while he was-well-boring.
Dipper sighs, pulling a knee up to his chest as he gazes off into the distance. Why did all of this have to happen? Where was Mabel? How would he even be able to defeat Bill and free Great Uncle Ford? And why did Stan have to leave? Surely there could have been another solution to the situation.
Wendy spots the long look on Dipper's face, "You thinking about Stan again?"
Dipper nods slowly against his left knee. Mabel's sweater was tied around his front like it had been on day one of the apocalypse.
"Yeah, I miss him too," Wendy says quietly. "I just...never expected Stan to go. I mean, I know he's old, but he's stubborn times infinity with a heart stronger than an oak tree. And at the hands of a demon overlord? That's just messed up."
"You're telling me," mumbles Dipper. There was a short pause before the brunette turns his head towards the teenager, "Wendy?"
"Hm?"
"There's something I have to tell you," Dipper says hesitantly.
Wendy looks back at him, "Ok, shoot. Whatever it is, you have my undivided attention."
Dipper bites into his lower lip breaking eye contact with young lumberjack, unsure of how he should word his thoughts. "You see, after Ford was turned into an Old Goldie replacement..." the boy averts his eyes at the redhead who gives him the go ahead to continue. "Well...Bill was talking to me and, you remember how I described him from my first encounter with him right? Well, this is where it gets weird, he acted the exact opposite when he asked me to become his second in command."
Wendy's eyes widened. "Whoa, really?"
Dipper nods in almost shame. "And you know what's scary? I actually started believing and trusting his persuasive manner. He had seemed like he really did care about me. But after what I think were last minute seconds thoughts when I refused his offer he made my twist by ankle and burned the journals, all three of them."
Sympathy washed over Wendy at the news like sad, sluggish ocean waves as she shook her head slowly, "Oh dude, I'm sorry. I know how attached you were to your uncle's journals."
"It's okay I guess," Dipper shrugs. "Books can be outdated. It's Ford I really need. We need to get him back somehow. I just don't know how right now."
Wendy nods in understatement. "Hey, what did you mean you 'think' you had second thoughts?"
Dipper takes that into consideration, scratching the side of his head as he thought.
"I-don't really know," he says, "it's just-in the heat of the moment, I genuinely wanted, needed, Bill to help me. But before I could even touch his hand it felt like someone else had taken control of my actions, even my speech! It would have been, should have been, frightening. But whatever it was, it make me feel confidence, like I had little to fear about. Except it left shortly after I twisted my ankle and the journals were destroyed. Leaving me to feel alone, helpless and sad."
Wendy pats his back comfortingly. "Hey, the important thing is you got away from those whackjobs and you found me here."
"Yeah, you're right." Dipper gives Wendy a small smile.
The redhead hugs the pre-teen with one arm, rubbing his arm like she had to do in those rare moments of vulnerability with her younger brothers. It was a soothing act and Dipper laid his head on Wendy's shoulder.
"Y'know," the female lumberjack started, "your the little brother I've always wanted. Aside from the whole 'crush on me' for half of the summer."
"Is that so?" Dipper asked curiously as he basked in his contact with Wendy.
"Yeah. I mean, I love my brothers, but they can be real meatheads sometimes. I just want a sibling with enough sense to think before jumping into the bottomless pit."
Dipper laughs.
The door handle from the only entrance to the roof suddenly began to jiggle. Wendy Jumps up in high alert bow and arrow at the ready for any intruders that could be behind that door. And just when the door cracks open, she pulls the arrow back and sends it flying towards her target.
"Hey Wend-ah!" Toby ducks out of the way of the arrow that slightly grazed his hair.
Wendy growls, "Toby! What do you want?"
"Oh, did I just ruin a moment?" Dipper and Wendy nod their heads. The ugly journalist held his hands up in defense from the glares, "Apologies. I'll just go look for the lotion myself." Toby leaves the roof and re-enters the mall, leaving Wendy and Dipper alone once again.
"I don't even want to know what he's going to do with that lotion," Dipper cringes. Wendy agrees with a mirrored expression.
"Hey," Wendy squints to see in the far off distance, "isn't that the bubble you told me that took Stan? Or his body at least?"
Dipper stood up leaning against the ledge of the rooftop, "Yeah, it is. Although, now that I think about it, it's perplexing why Bill would even lock up Stan's body. He's gone right? So what's the use in saving the vessel?"
"Gee, I don't know, " Wendy shrugs. "Sentimental value?"
"Or trophy wise." Dipper grumbles.
Properly sitting himself down with his feet dangling over the edge, he takes out Mabel's MP3 player to listen more to the white metal* his sister had inexplicably replaced most of the Sev'ral Timez song that used to be on there. At first he was extremely puzzled by his twin's preference but after really listening to the lyrics and the rhythms of the tracks it gave Dipper a feeling of enlightenment. Eighty-eight percent of the messages were words of encouragement to him during the past three days of Weirdmageddon and that was when he realized why Mabel had liked this band so much. However, one question still lingers in his head: why did Mabel keep it from him?
Wendy said nothing more as another silence fell between them. Whenever Dipper pulled out that pink MP3 player she knew that was the time to give him some space and collect himself before he could speak again. Toby made the mistake of disturbing Dipper the day before and needed another arrow to be yanked out of his right shoulder, the first time was her fault but it was totally understandable misconception of mistaking him for a monster and the journalist held no ill will towards her.
Although, as she worried for Dipper's mental health her mind began to wander. The redhead wondered if her dad and brothers were alright. She hasn't seen them in what seems like forever. Sure her lumberjack family drove her bonkers most times but she still loves them.
As the boy tried to come up with theories and reasons why his sister would secretly listen to white metal, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. As if on instinct, he stood up on the ledge in an attempt to get a better look at the gold, humanoid silhouette in the sky. Except when he did this he forgot his ankle was still hurt, he lost his footing and began to plummet down to the ground below.
"Dipper!"
The said boy heard Wendy yell, yet he could have sworn he heard another voice yell with her, but it was hard to tell with the air whipping past his ears. He didn't scream, too shocked to even breathe. Time seemed to go in slow motion as light-headedness overcame Dipper as his life flashed before his eyes, his entire childhood with Mabel. He remembers the good and the bad times. Picture day; Valentine's Day, both of those weren't on the top of Dipper's list of favored memories, and he knew it was at the bottom of Mabel's also, but those days were made bearable because they had each other. Everything rushed and raced through his mind to find a non-existent finish line.
The entire summer replays in his mind. Everything they've encounter in their mystery hunts, he recalls. Gnomes; the Gobblewonker; dinosaurs; Gideon; zombies; the Shapeshifter; the portal; Ford; Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons characters coming to life; and then there's three days ago. The alien spaceship he and Ford ventured out to while Mabel stayed to plan their birthday party only to experience the worse day of her life. All of Dipper's memories led up from Stan's death negotiation with Bill and all way to him falling off the ledge of the mall building.
It seemed this was the end of him. And wherever Mabel was, he hoped she was safe and, somehow, happy.
Slowly, he lets his eyes close shut as he slipped into darkness.
*White metal is another term for Christian metal music; Skillet is an example of a white metal band.