He found out about what had happened when Pyronica had inquired where his cellphone was. Bill had been engaged in a game of cards with her kids when it happened.

"Heya Bill, where's your cellphone? Some Tambry girl is tellin me you gotta pick up, apparently something has blown up all over the news." Pyronica frowned, looking up from her cellphone in confusion.

Bill neatly froze. "Tambry is Dipper's friend."

He leaned back, reaching for his bag that had been thrown over the couch. He thumbed through it before bringing out his simple smart phone. He stared at the blaring amount of missed calls from Mabel and the one message from Ford telling him to come in now.

"Turn on the T.V. Now."

He wasn't sure if he growled it but Pyronica's Alpha had ushered the kids away as his lifetime friend did as asked.

There was an immediate blare of breaking news.

"—there was an immediate flare of emergency help at a nearby warehouse which was shown to have been housing startling amounts of Suppressors. We are currently awaiting news on whether or not this has to do with the current shortage of Suppressors in stores. Oh! Gideon Gleeful has arrived on scene!" The news reporter, Sandra Jiménez, turned towards the pale face of the greasy baby doll. Pyronica growled at that.

"Mr. Gleeful! Is it true that this building is under your name?"

"Outrageous lie, my dear!" Gideon said, eyes flashing in instant frustration. "There seems to be some blown over the top-!"

"Mr. Gleeful." Even over the screen Bill could feel how pissed Ford sounded. That was his first red flag.

The camera turned to where Ford walked over to him calmly, one of the others at the agency trailing him. "I need to ask, since this whole scandal was caused by a case file you asked me to look into."

Sandra could almost smell the drama about to unfold.

"Case file? That's hardly-"

"I understand, you merely wanted us to check on the Alpha's you were concerned of. As should anyone who is the current head of the ABO." Ford paused slightly, collecting his thoughts. "But, a few of the people we have apprehended tonight who had ambushed our agents claimed they were your business partners. Now, as the head of the ABO agency, I have to ask, what business were you conducting with such a large amount of Suppressors? My, if I could speak quite freely, it was almost as if you were about to sell them. Suppressors are government regulated property, even the head of the ABO cannot handle that regulation."

"My, you are speaking quite freely Stanford Pines." But Ford had pressed him into a corner on national television.

"No…" Bill muttered, very softly. Pyronica looked at him in concern.

"There will be a full investigation conducted by the agency. That is all we will be able to tell you at the time as we interrogate the suspects and put these Suppressors back on the market."

Bill fumbled for his phone again, scrolling through the list and finally settling on Mabel's number.

His heart sounded incredibly loud in his own ears as he stood up, collecting his things. Stanford was pissed. He only got that pissed when something very precious to him was threatened. Bill had seen that rage when his twin brother had been attacked. If the agents had been ambushed that meant Ford had to have sent someone important in.

And if from what Bill could remember, he had called off a case with Dipper that had to do with investigating something similar.

"Bill! Thank god you answered! I've been trying to get ahold of you all night!"

"Dipper. Where's Dipper."

The line crashed on static for a moment and when she spoke he could hear the tremble in her voice.

"There… there was an accident."

"Now, she said the kid was doin fine and if ya'd listen to me for one second-!" Pyronica ripped his arm close to her, smiling sweetly. "Then ya wouldn't be almost killin yourself before ya see him again."

He couldn't speak, there was an undeniable amount of anger pooling in his system. It was her manicured grip that kept him from snapping at her angrily. She had told him once before that she adored his dominance but the moment he thought he could mistreat her she would hurt him.

"Bill, sweetie, stop look at me." She pinned him before they turned the corner, cupping his face. "Come on love, let's take a breather."

"Ronica-!"

"You can't go in there like this. Getting marked unwillingly is difficult. That kid is gonna be a mess and the last thing he needs is some angry Alpha laying over him. He's scared, okay? But he's gonna be alright."

He butted his forehead against hers. "I promised. Promised, promised to protect him. But I ran away, let myself run away and now-"

"And now he's in bed, maybe a lil' broken but still there. Hey, come on baby, Dipper's a strong one."

"What good am I if I can't-can't keep promises?" There was a dull ache in his chest, more violent than the guilt of being unable to protect Dipper, his partner and probably the love of his stupid life. "Can't fail." He hissed through his teeth. "Can't fail anyone else."

Her eye flashed for a moment before she nipped at him gently. "Don't beat yourself up over that too. None of that was your fault."

He took a breath, shutting his eyes to bury the memories of a family long forgotten. But was it really forgotten when the reason his partner was fucked up was because of his family?

She pulled away before taking his hand and leading him down the hall way.

Naturally standing outside the door was the Pines family along with a pretty blonde he recognized from somewhere.

Mabel immediately crushed him in a hug. "Heya big guy."

"Ribs, need those, Star."

She released him, allowing him to briefly introduce Pyronica.

The blonde gazed at him before holding out a hand. "Pacifica Northwest. Family friend."

He took it, narrowing in on the familiarity of her name easily. "Bill Cipher, coworker and asshole."

"What I tell ya about that introduction?" Pyronica snapped, smacking his arm.

"Hey, honesty is priceless." He looked at Pacifica, seeing the momentary flash of recognition of his name as well. He smirked, nodding in acknowledgment before turning to Mabel who was biting her finger nails. Ford was a little ways off on the phone, arguing hotly.

"Fill me in. Might as well before I tear myself apart over this one." He said it sharply, wanting to lay down once more.

"Tambry was the one who alerted the police." Mabel said softly, ushering them to a nearby bench. "Dipper sent out an SOS and she panicked. Wendy says it was a set up. They weren't expecting to get exposed. Dipper was supposed to be taken out silently."

"Nothing is silent with him." He said, though he could hear the hollow edge to his voice once again.

"Ford was pissed when he got the SOS from Tambry. But this is good. Pacifica says she can do some damage control from Ford's outburst—"

"Oh sweetie, you don't need damage control." Pyronica leaned over, grinning freely. "That was class A manipulation, and I'd know, learned from the best. Ford backed Gideon in ta a box, made a scratch in his stupid armor. What you ladies need is a backup plan."

She threw one of her legs in his lap before sliding in-between him and Mabel. He grunted, sliding over as she giggled. "Here's how it works. I've been diggin', wasn't gonna mention it cause I wasn't sure about the connection. There's some bill tryin to make its way to the big house to be voted on. Guess what? It's to remove suppressors from the market."

"What?" Pacifica and Mabel hissed together. Even Bill blinked in surprise.

"Mhm, Eight ball got me the information a few days ago, thought it was useless junk, it wouldn't a passed. But if Gideon was collectin the pills? You following?"

"Oh my god." Pacifica whispered, leaning forward to gaze at Pyroncia. "We could totally ruin his image. If we release this to the media ABO will have a bitch fit."

"Introduce Ford, person who broke it wide open…" Bill muttered, instantly following along.

"Well, you found the loopholes, can it work?" Mabel turned to him seriously and he understood. Her brother had been hurt in this whole mess. She wanted them put away just as much as he did.

"Dipper would be so proud to have us working legally. Listen here, fuckers." He leaned again, closing their little intimate circle. "The elections are literally a few weeks away. Mabel's got the activist group and you bet, if you can fund us with that, we can meet a few requirements of a campaign. Course, Pacifica is funding it too."

"Can't you fund? Or does that not work in the Cipher family?" Pacifica asked it innocently enough. Bill almost flinched at that.

"I'm not the heir."

Pacifica frowned. "What? Cipher doesn't have an heir yet?"

He looked at her. "There should be Tad in that place, from the Strange family."

"Haven't heard a thing." She insisted.

He brushed her aside, determined to keep some semblance of focus. "If we get the backing of the Northwests and the program Mabel has as activist we can make Ford into a saint symbol. This was the original plan, before we found out about Pacifica. But we have to spread this like wildfire before the election."

"All ya gotta do is ask, baby, I'll call the others, give Mabel back up." Pyronica grinned, leaning forward to drop a card into Mabel's pocket.

Their discussion quickly ended when the doctor stepped out of the hospital room.

She gave a wry smile. He was startled to realize she was human. "Hello. I see we have some new faces. Don't worry, Dipper is going to be fine."

Mabel gave a sigh of relief.

"But, there is going to be some difficulty in recovery. As you guys all know, mating marks are not to be taken lightly. You are all extremely lucky that Dipper is an Omega. He was pulled out before the mark was complete. We need to work the hormones out of his system and allow the mark to heal. If Dipper had been given a full mark, we would have had a near irreversible situation." She paused to give them all looks. "As part of ABO, it's important to remember that a lot of your rituals have different effects on specific natures. Omega's naturally fight off markings due to their in between nature."

Bill stared at that. He had not known that.

"If left alone, they can in fact fade after a while. That's why it's seen as an accomplishment if a marking is permanent on an Omega. If it stays, it means they have submitted to you. If it doesn't, it means they have won." She cleared her throat, smiling at them for a while. "His mind might be a little scattered as he fights it off. He will be a little weak but he will pull through. I just ask that the Alpha's take it slow with him. You're nature will probably set him off."

"I'll go see'em." Pyronica declared, standing. "You three get everything situated and I'll get the guy going."

Bill wanted to argue but his hands were clenched onto his knees tightly. Markings were personal to the ABO society. It was another symbol that clearly represented their culture. Alpha's grew up learning about these markings as a way to ensure that their mate would stay as their mate. Beta's grew up with tales of marking with your true love like some cliché romance novel. Their own history wasn't great but the Cipher family had grown up with very respectful views.

Tad had broken a taboo law in his family. His knuckles turned white. Tad had forced himself onto Dipper, breaking the courteous law of the Cipher's that made sure both mates agreed to the marking. In olden times, Beta's were visibly marked against their will which led to slavery. It was the reason why so much tension was held between Alpha's and Beta's. Beta's were viewed as weaker and inferior. The royal families attempted to bridge that gap but an age old Alpha association had wanted to break it down all over again.

With the human interference, the olden ways were being tossed out and the bridge was being repaired.

It seemed Tad wanted to break it all down again. He had to assume that was Gideon's plan in order to gain control. He had to take control of Tad, who was head of the Cipher household, one of the oldest lines outside of the Northwests.

Cipher's were the Alpha's of all Alpha's. Even if they weren't Alpha's. Their word was law in the old societies and it trickled down to other modern groups.

Bill was going to get revenge. He trembled from the attempt to keep calm. He wanted to rip him to shreds, to tear out an eye. It seems Bill had let him get off too easily the last time, he would need to set the message straight. He dragged his hand over his face, rubbing at the eye under his eyepatch. It had just started to throb uncomfortably, a ghost of a wound building up from stress.

"So." Mabel said, making him jump. He had forgotten she was there. "What happened between you and Dipper?"

"What didn't happen." He scoffed, easily.

Mabel rolled her eyes at him, jabbing him in the ribs. "Okay, correction. What happens now?"

He scowled, of course she already knew what had happened. The look on Pacifica's face told him she knew as well. He crossed his arms over his chest as a response. "It's complicated. But we will be fine. I'm ready to put this behind me."

"What?" Mabel asked.

"Dipper isn't interested enough to try, therefore I find no reason to continue to pressure him. Though, this time it was not my fault." He rubbed at his head in frustration again. Fuck. "I just… For now, I want to promise his health. I don't want to think about anything else." It'll hurt too much.

The two of them shared a look that he chose to ignore.

The door carefully clicked open and Pyronica slid out. She gave a watery smile, wiping at her eyes. "He's great."

She sat by him as the other two girls rushed in. They didn't speak, not even when Bill wove his fingers together till his hands trembled. Eventually she reached and took his hand in hers. "Remember what I said? Just a lil broken."

"I don't care about that." He said hollowly, clicking his mouth shut. He was being emotional, it was getting annoying.

"He does." And they left it at that.

Ford joined him while Mabel and Pacifica had their moment. "My brother is returning to help out."

"I'll set up poker nights. Sixer, this is Pyronica."

"How do you do." She greeted cheekily, waving at him.

Ford nodded, hands woven together in anticipation.

He broke the silence with a single. "I was an A class jerk to him."

Bill wanted to groan. Nooooooo, he didn't want to end up emotionally helping people.

"I should have listened to the both of you when you asked to put Gideon away. I should have expected him to retaliate by now. I was being foolish."

"We all make mistakes." Pyronica said, saving his sorry emotionless ass. "But we got a chance to fix it and take it down. Whatcha say, wanna talk some dirty business?"

Ford steeled himself before nodding. "What do I need to do?"

Bill could have said a lot of things when he entered the hospital room. He could have talked about the night Dipper left nearly crying from his house or how he still remembered the feel of Dipper's breath across the back of his neck. He could have brought up the car sex and how he couldn't get the look of tender love on Dipper's face out of his head.

Instead everything died in his throat at the way Dipper was seated, legs drawn up with his arms on his knees uncomfortably. His neck was bandaged, face as pale as always. He got stuck in the doorway before forcing himself all the way in. He needed to smell Dipper, feel him under his hands.

He did get the whiff of the Omega and felt his Alpha growl at it. He hated it, hated himself all over again when he could taste the faint tang of Tad in the air. He trembled, sitting down in the vacated seat and leaned back, looking out to the side where the window was. There wasn't a great view, the city had too many buildings for that.

"Hey, jackass." Dipper finally croaked.

Bill smirked, but lost his usual spark. "Still spunky, I see."

"Mhm. If you treat like fragile glass I'll kick your ass."

"Nothing short of a car can take you down." He finally looked at Dipper as he spoke. He took in the dark purple bags under his eyes, the tapping of his fingers on his forearm. "How are you?"

"I feel fucking disgusting." Dipper snarled as he spoke, raising a hand to mess with his hair. "I feel Tad, and I feel dirty." Each word was spat with venom but there was an underlying tremble to it.

There was silence for a long tense moment before Dipper spoke once more. "I submitted."

Bill's heart clenched, there was an animalistic urge ripping in his stomach.

"I submitted, if Wendy hadn't gotten me out, Bill I-"

"Don't say it." He said, voice careful. "You wouldn't have gone down. I know you. You would have fought until your stubborn ass died."

"It's making me freak the fuck out." He gave a laugh. "It's making me think I want to submit to him, even when I don't. It's-It's the most nastiest I've felt in my skin since learning I was an Omega."

Broken, Pyronica had told him.

Bill stared at him, watching the fine pieces that were Dipper Pines begin to slip and fall away. He leaned forward, hand gently on the bed. Dipper was still beautiful when he fell apart. Watching him come undone brought satisfaction to him. It was a beautiful and twisted spiral. But this time around it left him hollow, aching to silence the void with Tad gurgling and choking on his blood underneath him. No one made his Dipper feel this way.

He didn't care if he was broken. He would still be here if he wasn't. It was so stupid, but a part of him was always going to go after Dipper, even if he wasn't wanted. It twisted and tugged at him but if this was how Dipper wanted it he would take it.

"Okay, let's talk." He watched Dipper look at him in surprise. "We've been through this, multiple times, haven't we?"

"I don't think we have." His partner replied.

"When I became desperate and gave into my instinct after watching you go down, we had a talk about capabilities." He spoke in confidence, seeing the wince as Dipper remembered the memory of his rampage. He used to be the king of Alpha's for a reason. "You, single handedly took me down while almost bleeding out from a stab wound. We had a very through conversation where I placed out every single ability you had to contribute to our duo and I proceeded to let you know an Omega did not define you. You define yourself, not your nature."

"I know." He whispered, bottom lip trembling.

"This will not define you, Dipper Pines. You will get through this and you will kick its ass. You will not allow this to win because you never allow anything to win against you. You do half the shit you do out of spite. This will not define you."

They sat in silence as Dipper gazed at him with tear filled eyes.

"I'm sorry, Bill." He exclaimed. "I, I didn't know what I wanted. I wanted to help you and I didn't realize how fucked of a deal that was. I was such a dick, man, I'm sorry. Yet here you are, making me feel better."

"None of that." Bill snapped. "You got marked, what the fuck? I think getting my heart broken is pretty less of a deal."

"It's still a deal. It's still a feeling and I'm sorry." Dipper sighed, giving up before he finally leaned back. They sat in another comfortable silence. "Right now… I can't give you a sincere answer. My mind is jumbled and my body is being a jerk."

Bill turned frowning.

"I… I think I'm a little broken." His eyebrows furrowed in a way Bill found adorable. "A little dirty, a little messed up. I don't want you near me just yet as I get through this. But… I'm here, if you'd like to have me."

Bill stared, stared at the flushing cheeks and the implication of what his partner just said settled in. He gaped. "Okay, I think this shit is making you loopy, I'm getting a doctor."

"No, stop! I'm serious, I just, what else can it do? I fucked shit up enough as it is."

Bill stared, actually standing from his chair as he listened. He ran a hand through his hair. A relationship was not what he wanted to think about now that shit was hitting the fan. Dipper needed to adjust and properly think things out first. Only then would he probably accept it as sincere. But then again, Dipper had just said he would want to try once the shit with the marking cleared up.

"Kid, I'd take you even if the entire world gave up on you."

The sincerity of his words left an air of apprehension, foreboding at the possibility of something, anything, blossoming between them if it wasn't already.