This chapter is relatively short in comparison to the others, but I couldn't think of a better way of ending this chapter than how I did. :P
I'll be going out of town this weekend, so I wanted to get this chapter up earlier in the week. My grandfather has stage four cancer, so the family is going to visit him for a few days (it's a ten hour trip). This may be the last time we get to see him. :(
As always, thank you so much to all the wonderful readers and reviewers. I love you guys so much! Energy witch, Fantasy Fan 223, young red-winged soul, Marisol777, Kenn, MLGbilcipher89, Berrybanana05, Hey, and eyes-glued-shut thank you so much for your reviews on chapter thirty four.
There is some blood and violence in this chapter. It's nothing worse that what I've written before. I actually did have to go back and rewrite some of it to tone it down a bit, as I want to keep this story rated T. Oh, and a canon character dies in this chapter too. Just a heads up.
Hey: They returned to their dimension. I don't think I'm going to bring them back. If I do, I'll have to figure out a way for it to happen since Kellen broke the inter-dimensional travel mirror.
Also, Energy witch has posted a ton of fantastic artworks for this story, Bonded, and Tickles for a Workaholic. You can see them on her DeviantArt page if you're interested.
Aaron and Mabel stared wide-eyed at the glowing red eyes staring in their direction. Bill's body floated weightlessly in the air, the chains and bed hovering behind him.
"Bill," Mabel choked out.
The demon screamed with what sounded like two hellish voices: one shrill and the other deep and echoing. Alternating red and white flames surrounded his body and decimated the chains. The bed plummeted to the ground leaving a dent where it landed.
Aaron screamed and released his hold on the girl. Mabel fell to her feet and absently rubbed the soreness away from her neck.
Bill moved closer at a slow pace. Aaron backed away until he felt gravity give away. He fell out the open doors on his rump; the knife slipped from his grip and stabbed the earth a mere inch from his thigh.
Six gnomes attacked the two men who struggled with a flailing Pacifica. The slightly larger one fell on the smaller, taking the blonde girl with them. Grenda offered a hand to the other girl. The smaller man gripped at Pacifica's ankle. She screamed and Carson bit the man's arm. Using the distraction to their advantage, Grenda helped Pacifica to her feet.
The man grabbed Carson by the throat and slammed him on the ground. He pulled the revolver from his pocket and shot Carson in the head.
"Carson!" Jeff yelled.
Pacifica gasped.
Jeff hopped off his captive and rushed over to the corpse of his close friend. Jeff extended a hand, but quickly recoiled it. The bullet had killed him instantly.
"You'll pay for this," Jeff growled. He turned, hatred in his eyes. "You'll pay!" the gnome leader repeated, saliva dripping from his sharp teeth. "Too many gnome lives lost tonight," he said softly. Jeff grinned and said to the rallying gnomes. "Let's show these men what happens when they cross us."
A hundred gnomes attacked, crawling on the humans like ants. The screams were muffled as they were carried away into the woods where Jeff intended to show them true vengeance.
Taking hold of Pacifica's hand, Grenda led her to the van where Mabel required their assistance. The two girls stopped abruptly at the sight of who they believed to be Bill step out of the van. It was the same body, but nothing in the face resembled the man they had come to know over the past year.
Bill turned to face them. "Tend to Mabel," he instructed.
The girls didn't need to be told a second time.
Bill returned his attention to the man who hastily crawled away from who was once his victim. Bill leaped into the air and flipped, landing in a kneeling position in front of Aaron. The assassin screamed and fell backwards. Bill gripped at the man's shirt collar and pulled them both up. He pressed his nose against the shaking and sweating man's and grinned, showing off the fangs.
"Tell me," Bill said, his voice echoing. "How does it feel to be on the other side?"
Aaron saw his own reflection in that red eye. So long he reveled when his victims wore that very expression as he stood above them armed with the glistening tools.
Bill repeated his question in a higher voice followed by his trademark laugh. Aaron could only stare with a gaping mouth as those clawed fingers stroked his cheek.
Bill felt the bile rising up his throat, but he didn't care. He parted his lips and let the vomit mixed with blood spill over his chin and down his shirt.
"You cut Shooting Star," Bill growled, spitting the soup of chunks and stomach acid on Aaron.
With his index and middle claw he sliced Aaron's cheeks. He then cut above the jawline, severing the muscles and tendons that held his jaw in place. Aaron yelled as his mouth could only loosely hang open.
Bill's stomach flipped. He leaned over and let the bloody vomit pour out of him like a fountain. He chuckled then retched a second helping. With the back of his free hand he wiped away the stray mucus from his nostrils and the leaking from his eye. The blond straightened his posture then returned his attention to the victim.
Bill tapped the bandage over his right eye. "You took my eye." Aaron shuddered, but couldn't speak. "Now how does that famous saying go again?" he asked. Bill grinned as the other man's body contorted.
Grenda and Pacifica helped Mabel out of the fallen vehicle.
Bill looked up and said to the girls, "Look away."
As soon as Mabel shileded her eyes Bill returned his gaze to his victim. He opened his mouth. Aaron's stomach twisted as Bill's teeth transformed into points. The demon licked his lips then opened his mouth as far as it would physically go. Grenda clamped her hands over Mabel's ears, but she had already heard the screams.
Bill dropped the assassin on the cold ground. He then turned to the last remaining lacky, shakily pointing a revolver at the blond. Bill smiled, his shark-like teeth stained with their leader's blood.
"Try it," Bill dared. He stood with his arms out.
At once he dropped his weapon and fled from the scene.
Bill then fell to his knees and choked up the last of what remained in his stomach, yet the pain wouldn't cease. He rolled onto his back and gripped at his abdomen. Mabel rushed over with the other two close behind.
Bill inhaled and swallowed the abundance of saliva in his mouth, instantly regretting its puke flavor. His throat still stung from the regurgitation. He turned his head to the right and a trickle of blood pooled from his mouth.
"Bill," Mabel cried as she threw herself down on her knees. She put her hands on either side of the demon's face and tilted it up so that their eyes met. For once she was at a loss of words and instead only smiled. The brunette laid her head on Bill's shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. "We found you in time," she whispered. "You're going to be okay."
Groaning, Bill lifted his arm and petted the girl on the shoulder. "Thank you, Mabel," he said.
Mabel sat up and gave Bill a tearful smile. "You used my real name," she said.
Bill nodded, immediately regretting his decision as his vision blurred.
"Bill!" Mabel cried.
"Mabel, we need to call an ambulance," said Pacifica.
"I'm not leaving him," Mabel retorted.
"It's okay, you call and I'll stay here," Grenda said to Pacifica. She punched her palm. "Incase that creep comes back."
Bill coughed then smirked up at Mabel. "Are you always this stubborn?" Bill asked.
"You should know that by now," Mabel replied.
Wendy parked a quarter of a mile away from the shack. The six hurried as silently as possible through the forest, however when trying their best to stay hushed, the nature made it its mission to echo every rock crunch beneath their shoes and each blade of grass passed by.
The group ducked behind the trees closest to the tourist trap. This reminded Dipper too much of the last time the agents infiltrated the Mystery Shack last summer.
From what they could tell no more cop of federal cars surrounded the shack. There was still a chance that a few remained inside, perhaps even an ambush. Wendy and Stan exchanged glances and nodded as they readied themselves to be the muscle should they meet with such an obstacle.
Robbie was assigned the position of lookout while the other five made their way to the back entrance. Stan gently turned the knob to find it already unlocked. He took a deep breath and held out his hand to steady the others as he made his way inside the place that had been his home for the past thirty years.
He crept further inside waiting for someone to jump out and pin him to the ground. Despite their age, his eyes were as sharp as ever. A sudden movement to the right and Stan jumped into action, grabbing a frying pan. He raised the impromptu weapon and swung. The startled opossum squeaked and scurried out the now open door. Stan put his hand over his racing heart and his lungs relinquished the captive breath.
Stan beckoned the others to follow him inside. Carefully the other four snuck into the shack. They made their way over to where the vending machine had been dismantled giving full access to the laboratory.
They stepped into the elevator. According to Ford's plan Soos and Wendy would travel to the bottom floor to distract anyone who might be inside. The second part rested on the chance that the agents had not discovered the secret room yet.
The elevator reached the bottom level. Soos nervously stepped out, reminding himself of the many heroes he had played in video games who faced similar dangers and came out on top. Wendy gave a thumbs up to Dipper then followed Soos out the elevator.
To their surprise the entire lab was cleared out. Wendy whispered for Soos to be on guard incase they walked towards an ambush. Soos nodded and sang quietly to himself to help calm his nerves.
"I never knew all this was down here," Wendy said as she approached an empty desk. "Either Ford is super tidy, or or those agents confiscated his stuff." She opened a drawer to find it bereft of any objects or research. From what Dipper told her about how Ford always had papers lying around she figured the latter.
"I hope not," Soos said. "Mr. Ford and Bill worked so hard."
He walked over to the living section of the lab, now ransacked. The bed had been stripped of its sheets and the mattress and pillows thrown haphazardly up against the wall. Each of the drawers of Ford's dresser were left open with the clothes also piled on the bed. The chair had been knocked over and one of the legs broken. Soos could only sigh.
"Do you think they found that gun?" Wendy asked.
Soos shrugged. "If they did we won't remember tomorrow," Soos replied.
Wendy crossed her arms and stomped her foot. She hated waiting, but that's all they could do. Neither one knew where that secret room, and all they could hope was that Powers and the other agents didn't eitehr.
The elevator stopped in place in front of the secret room.
"Stanley," Ford said before the door opened. "I only show this room to the people I trust most." He smiled at his brother. "We've had our issues in the past, but now." He put a hand on the other man's shoulder. "I trust you with my life."
"Glad to hear it, Sixer," Stan said and punched his brother in the arm.
Ford opened the door and led them to the shrine room. He slid his hand over the wall which revealed a secret compartment. He keyed in the number which opened the hidden door. Stan grinned now wishing he had taken his brother on a few past heists.
The three walked inside, Ford in front, Stan following behind, and Dipper at the rear. Stan winced at the amount of portraits that beared Bill's original form.
"Hold up, is that real gold?" Stan asked pointing to a Bill Cipher statue. He whistled and said, "You can get a pretty penny if it's solid."
Ford eyed the very item. "I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner," he said and nearly facepalmed. Bill might not be too happy, but there was no need for a false idol when he had the real Cipher lying next to him almost every night.
"What's that contraption?" Stan asked as he made his way over to the mind reading machine.
"It's something I'm using to try and unlock Bill's knowledge," Ford explained.
Stan turned with a hand on his hip. "I thought you put that bond on his finger to get rid of his knowledge."
"Well with those demons coming back we need all the information we can on them," Ford retorted. He put his hand atop the helmet. "If anyone has the answers it's Bill." The author sighed and balled up his fist. "But unfortunately a Mindscape that large is taking too long."
"You keep talking about a Mindscape, but I don't follow," said Stan.
"Picture a maze in your mind that contains all your memories, feelings, dreams, and everything you ever learned," Dipper tried to explain. "Yours actually looks like the Mystery Shack."
Stan put a finger under his chin. "I guess that makes sense. I've been here longer than any other place in my life."
"We can discuss more about the Mindscape later, but now we need to find that memory gun," Ford ordered.
He opened up the drawer by Project Mentum where he remembered storing Fiddleford's invention after using it to erase the townspeople's minds.
"It's gone!" Ford gasped when he found the drawer empty.
"Are you sure?" Dipper cried rushing to his great-uncle's side. He remembered Ford putting the gun in there almost a year ago. He looked up at the older man. "Did-did you use it again? Maybe?"
Ford shook his head. "I had no need to." Just to be sure he thought of any chance since the end of Weirdmageddon he might have required erasing another's memories, but came up blank.
"Are ya sure you didn't just misplace it?" Stan questioned.
"No, I saw him put it there!" Dipper yelled while he pointed to the empty drawer. Dipper gasped then turned to Ford. "You don't think someone else took it, do you?"
"Negative," Ford said with a shake of his head. "You, Bill, and I are the only ones who know about this room." He looked down and thought to himself, Bill wouldn't have taken it, would he?
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said a voice from behind.
The three jumped and quickly turned to see the last two people they wanted standing behind them. To the right was Agent Albert Powers and just to the left was Agent Jeff Trigger. In Powers' hand was the very memory gun they had been searching for.
"I believe you're looking for this," Albert said holding up the desired item.
DUN DUN DUN, Cliffhanger! This chapter was relatively short, but I had to end it on that cliffhanger. I have a love for cliffhangers. *Snickers*
I plan on ending this arc with the next chapter, so expect the next one to be long.
So, I had to cut out some of the fight between Bill and Aaron to keep a T rating. I alluded to it, but couldn't show in fear that it would be too graphic that this story would have to be rated M, but Bill bit out Aaron's eye and he died of blood loss.
Thank you all for reading. Agents/Abigail Powers arc finale in chapter thirty six!