Bill's shoe less feet kicked up the loose pine needles and dirt as he ran through the woods. The stupid human mind he'd been forced into was running at a thousand miles a minute, each second bringing on a new emotion to add to the mix.

Anger, hatred, fear, depression, guilt, disgust, disappointment, frustration-the list went on forever.

The worst part of it all was that he wasn't accustomed to any of it. He was Bill-freaking-Cipher! He'd never be forced to summit to the will of something as petty as emotion and now that he was, and all at once, he was overwhelmed. One minute, he was convinced he'd go back there and kill Ford - with his bare hands if he had to; beat the life out of him and watch the hope fade from his eyes. The next he cowered and checked behind him every few seconds, afraid of Ford being mad enough to do the exact same to him.

His pace fluctuated from a sluggish stumble to full out sprint and one minute he'd be screaming his lungs out in hopes of alleviating some of the pressure, the next he'd be trying his hardest to keep choked sobs down and silent.

It was as he sprinted that a root took hold of his foot. He tripped and collided with the ground, rolling a few feet away due to momentum and stopping when he reached a tree across the grove.

Bill laid there for several minutes and couldn't stop as tears pooled and overflowed, dripping down the side of his face to the dirt near his ear. Rolling to his back, he brought his hands up to his eyes and choked back the sob that persisted. His head pounded. He didn't know how to deal with any of this. The loneliness that had come over him in the last week was overpowering and he felt overwhelmed by his circumstances.

He closed his eyes and rested his hands by his head.

At that moment, he didn't want to move or go anywhere ever again.

He wrapped his arms across himself and turned to his side, pulling his legs up closer to his chest. He wished it'd all just go away.

It didn't take long for the twins to find flashlights and get out to start the search for the demon. Bill had done an awful job keeping his direction hidden, especially at first. Some places had obvious foot prints where his bare feet had squished into a patches of mud or the pine needles had been so thick he'd left disrupted spots every couple feet. They followed the paths as far as they could then relied on other forms of technical hunting to look for him. Not that either were overly competent at the task.

A yell sounded distantly through the woods and Ford looked over to Stan. He nodded and they followed in the direction they'd heard it come from.

When they came to the conclusion that they weren't finding him fast enough, the twins split up, going in the same direction, but branched out some to fill more of the void.

Ford could still see Stan's light when he heard the quiet, pathetic sobbing coming from not far off in the distance. He took his flash light and pointed it toward Stan's direction and turned it on and off three times to signal he'd found him.

Stan blinked his three times as well and Ford turned to the noise. He walked until he caught sight of the distinct yellow-black mop of hair. He was laying on his side in the dirt and, if not for the occasional hiccup, he would've thought Bill was asleep.

"Bill" Ford called quietly.

Bill jumped nearly a mile and was quickly on his feet in a defensive stance faster than one could say livid, and it would've been intimidating if not for the sudden grimace that crossed his face. He must've gotten injured, but he stayed standing, so it couldn't be too bad.

"What do you want?!" he yelled. The tear streaks stood out brilliantly on his cheeks. It was obvious Bill noticed Ford staring and he looked down.

"Come on, lets go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Bill's voice was raw and grating against his throat.

"Bill-"

"Just leave me alone!" He looked back up at Ford

"I won't" Ford said, his voice raising to speak over, but not quite yelling as he flicked the flashlight off.

Bill's watery gaze hardened and his teeth bared despite the constant tremor of his lower lip only visible by the dimming twilight, "Go now or I'll kill you. I swear I will."

Ford stayed silent. He only watched as Bill trembled with how tight he'd wound himself up. He felt pity for the demon, though he was sure he'd be yelled at if Bill heard that.

"I won't" he whispered.

Bill's glare broke if only for a moment then shattered entirely. He pulled his hand up to wipe away the tears but the tracks remained.

Ford quietly stepped closer. Bill didn't acknowledge him until Ford placed his hand gently on his shoulder.

"Get off of me!" Bill yelled and swung his hand out in front of him, smacking Ford on the arm.

Ford grabbed Bill's wrist to stop him before he could do it again and sudden terror lit Bill's eyes. He struggled to break free, falling back and onto his knees as he pulled but Ford held tight.

"Bill," Ford nearly whispered and Bill stopped struggling if only for a moment, "Bill, listen"

Bill's bottom lip trembled and he clenched his jaw tight to stop it. The fear was still present in his eyes and Ford could only guess at what that was about.

"I'm sorry," Ford said. He could hear Stan approaching from behind, stopping before he got too close to interrupt.

Bill's face scrunched in a scowl and he looked up at Ford, "I'm not listening to this! You're not sorry-"

"-I am. I've been reacting too quickly and am not taking the fact you're a living being into thought-"

"You-"

"-Let me finish" Ford scolded, "I haven't been using perspective which is extremely odd for me." He ignored Stan's sarcastic scoff from behind, "I've been inconsiderate and unsympathetic in this and I'm sorry. I assumed since you've never once shown any reaction to being called a monster before, that you wouldn't now. I overestimated you."

Bill scoffed, "Any reaction I've had up until now wasn't me. I'm forced into whatever this stupid body wants. You don't know anything about what it's like!" he clenched his eyes closed in an attempt to hide the new onslaught of tears, "You know nothing! I..." he sobbed and cupped his mouth with his free hand, "I know nothing." Ford nearly missed it. Had a single cricket croaked at that moment, he wouldn't have heard it.

"Bill," he called, letting go of the demon's wrist and scrunching down next to him. He put a hand on his shoulder. Bill looked up at him through red, tired eyes.

"You don't know nothing." He said sternly, hoping it sounded as convincing as he was of it. "Even without most of the 'book smarts', you still have the 'street smarts' that you've used to think with. You're still cunning and cocky and have the ability of getting your way that I haven't seen in anyone else. Yes, you're in this body and yes, it probably does give you the ability to feel more than your previous, but you are not it. It is you. That body is not the one I saw in the rain. It's not the one that has enjoyed sweets or naps or anything else, it is only the median. You have experienced those things on your own. This body just gave you the ability to."

Bill stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. It took him several moments before his mouth slapped shut and he gulped, averting his eyes. "If I'm the one controlling all of this, why on earth am I out here sobbing like a pathetic idiot."

Ford smirked slightly, "That's cause you're just not used to it. Trust me, give it time and soon enough, you'll be able to hold back your manly tears, no problem."

"I'm not confined to the same gender rules as you. Crying is just a general sign of weakness."

Ford laughed, "No it's not."

Bill's brows furrowed and he looked up to Ford, "What?"

"It's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of compassion or frustration."

"Exactly. Weakness."

Ford chuckled slightly, "Come on, let's go."

Bill stopped, "...I can't"

"Sure you can-"

"No, I mean, I can't."

"Oh," Ford looked down to Bill's feet that were bloody from being poked with pine needles and dirty from stepping through mud. He extended his hand and Stan was right behind him to assist, "come on."

Bill wiped his eyes once more and nodded before taking their hands and limping back to the shack with them. Their conversation wasn't over, but the fight was. And that's all that mattered.

A/N

Ugh...Okay, I think that's over for now...hopefully.

Thanks for the reviews guys! I explained it to a couple of you, but for the guests who commented and in case I missed you, in the previous chapter, Ford overreacted a bit because of what I'm going to call PTSD. I mean, he was literally tortured by Bill, what? five days ago? That mixed with the sudden, unpredictable reaction from Bill and the loud shattering of the glass, I felt like his reaction was appropriate, but if you'd prefer I change it, let me know and I'll see how I can rewrite it a bit to keep the same outcome but different response.

Now back to the plot!