Chapter 51: Let's Kill Tonight

A/N: Listening to "Panic! At the Disco" while struggling, trying to figure out what to title this chapter. As you can see, I finally decided on a title. XD

Mild warning for violence and sort-of child abuse (depends on whether you consider Bill to be a child or not).

The ride back to the Mystery Shack was quiet and sorrowful. How could Stanford betray them like this?! Of course, Mabel also understood that he thought he was doing what was best for them... But still, how could he do this?!

Dipper didn't say anything to comfort his sister, a deep look of concentration on his face the whole ride back to the Shack.

When they arrived at the Shack, Dipper finally spoke up. "Listen, just because Ford left us doesn't mean we can't save Bill ourselves!"

"How?" Stan asked. "It's too dangerous, and I don't want you kids goin' anywhere near whatever sick thing they have planned for tonight!"

"But we have to do something!" Mabel defended. "And Dipper is right; we've done plenty of great things without Ford's help! We don't need him!" She said furiously. "We're unstoppable all on our own! And don't you forget Grunkle Stan that it was you who defeated Bill during Weirdmageddon, not that traitor!" Stan didn't know if he wanted to cringe or blush.

"And..." Dipper added, pointing a finger at the roof as if to make a point and pausing dramatically, "I have a plan!"

Mabel smiled. "See?! If Dipper's got a plan then there's no way we'll lose!"

"I don't know..." Stan persisted, concerned of letting the kids go near what may end up being an execution. It wasn't that he wanted to give up and let Bill die or anything, or even necessarily that he thought they couldn't do it, but the whole situation felt as if something could easily go wrong and the kids would then be haunted for life. If they didn't succeed in saving Bill, his Great Neice and Nephew would be pinned with the same guilt Stanley himself dealt with following the event where he lost his brother to that portal over thirty years ago. Questions of "what could I have done differently?" Stan knew by experience that those were the hardest questions to shake...

"C'mon Mr. Pines, we've gotta at least try. If not for the little dude, then for us," Soos said, kneeling between Mabel and Dipper, wrapping an arm over each of their shoulders. The three of them looked to the older man pleadingly.

'I can't very well stop them from trying, can I? They'd hate me forever, which wouldn't leave them any better off than if they tried and failed...' Stan groaned. There was still a chance they'd succeed, right? So what kind of caretaker would he be if he didn't at least let them try? "Oh... Fine, fine! We'll see. But before I agree to anythin', Dipper! What's your plan kid?"

Dipper smiled. "Okay, here it is..."

. Saturday, June 21st, 2014 ... 11:55 PM ….

Bill shivered as the door to his cell was slid open with a bone-chilling creak. Gideon walked in with Ghost-Eyes and Stanford at his side. 'Of course,' Bill thought. 'This is the perfect opportunity for him. All he has do to is stand by and watch as this albino baby-man kills me and he's free of me.' Stanford wouldn't, after all, face any repercussions because of the deal they'd made: As long as he didn't light the fire, didn't kill him directly, Ford was scot-free. It wasn't as if he was causing Bill's death, he was only observing from the sidelines, and the deal never said that Stanford would be responsible for protecting him in the slightest.

Bill smirked mirthlessly. "Now who's the back-stabbing bastard?" Bill asked. "The only difference between us now is that I wasn't stupid enough to ever trust you."

Ford frowned, but didn't respond. Instead he reached forward and grabbed Bill by his arms, pulling him up from the ground. He handed him over to one of Gideon's other goons to be dragged outside.

Bill limped as he was pushed out of the police station. What he saw set up in the middle of town made him go rigid with fear. Gideon's henchman pushed him forward, but Bill pushed back, panic seizing him.

"No..." His voice was barely above a whisper. There, in the center of town, was set up something that Bill hadn't seen used in America for a very, very long time. A large, wooden stake was erected in the center of the street, logs of wood surrounding it, a wooden platform set up above the logs with stairs leading up to it. Bill could see Wendy's father still finishing with putting the logs underneath the platform and around the stake, adding kindling and lighter fluid around in various places to aid with the burning.

Gideon's henchman shoved at him again and this time Bill tripped, knocking him out of his petrified state. Now, he was fighting it.

"No! DON'T!" He pleaded. The pain of being burned alive, suffocating on thick smoke, his flesh melting... "PLEASE, NO!" He struggled, jerking around, trying to break out of the grasp Gideon's henchman had on him. Eventually the ex-con got tired of his struggles and punched him, sending him harshly to the ground. Even still Bill struggled, trying to regain his footing and escape.

"I'll take him," Ford suddenly spoke up, and Bill froze again. Struggling against him, for some reason, was something Bill couldn't force himself to do as Ford lifted him off the ground, a six-fingered hand grasping his upper arm on either side, leading him towards the stake. Bill could feel himself growing light-headed as his breaths came in short, panicked, hyperventilating gasps.

Ford looked around, noting that they were half way between the police station and the stake and there was no one within fifteen feet of them. He leant down and whispered to the trembling form: "It's alright. I won't let them burn you. I promise."

Bill almost forgot how to walk. He stumbled, but Ford gently steadied him, his grasp on Bill's arms sturdy, but not harmful. Supportive. Bill felt tears spring to his eye, but he forced them back, making himself suck in a few deep, steadying breaths before continuing to limp towards the stake. Bill didn't know why he believed Stanford... But he did. His panic eased to a dull thrum in the back of his mind and the future suddenly didn't look so dark and painful anymore. If Stanford truly did help him, then... He'd be okay.

Ford led him up onto the wooden platform, taking off the handcuffs after being handed the key by Sheriff Blubs, and he re-cuffed Bill's hands behind him again, this time with his arms looping around backwards behind the wooden stake. When he clipped the cuffs on they weren't nearly as tight, and Bill appreciated how the cool night air soothed his rubbed-raw wrists.

Ford gave him a quick reassuring pat on his wrist as he pretended to finish restraining him before stepping away, off of the platform. He didn't go far, stopping just a few feet away from the base of the stairs. Bill eyed him out of the corner of his eye, but he made sure to keep his head faced straight forward so as not to attract attention to Ford.

In front of him Bill could see the town's standing clock-post which held the time. It wasn't nearly as extravagant as, say, the one that could be found in the New York Grand Central Station, but it told the time well as it stood tall on its dark-green, old metal post. On it Bill could see that there was a mere two minutes left until midnight, until the fire would be lit and his fate would be left in the hands of Stanford Pines.

Bill scanned the crowd, looking for any sign of the other Pines, but none of them came into view.

"Get on with it!" Someone in the crowd shouted. There was a general sound of consent. Those who looked worried or opposed to what was going on didn't speak out against the more enraged townsfolk.

'But it's not time yet!' Bill wanted to scream, but he bit his lip, drawing blood, and held it in.

Gideon held up his tiny hands and the crowd fell silent. The short albino looked at his watch. "Well, my watch appears to be off by a minute. Oopsies!" Gideon said, motioning to Wendy's father. Mr. Corduroy lifted a flaming torch and held it high for everyone to see. The crowd cheered. Mayor Cutebiker chanted "get him" without enthusiasm. Bill couldn't help but glance at Stanford, his eye almost pleading for him to take action...

Ford didn't move, but all the same, the flaming torch didn't make it onto the pile of wood. An axe flew through the air, knocking the torch out of Mr. Corduroy's hand before sticking in a nearby telephone pole. Bill, along with the rest of the town, whipped his head sideways to see where the axe had come from.

Wendy stood off to the side, observing the large erected stake and the crowd before her. She looked at her dad. "Really dad? You crushed my phone, grounded me over, like, nothing, and didn't expect me to figure out what was going on?" Wendy groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't kill my friends!" She motioned widely with her arm to Bill.

"YOU GO HOME!" Her dad ordered. Wendy balled her hands into fists and sucked in a deep breath.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Bill winced. She could be loud when she wanted to be.

"GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM!"

"NO!"

Wendy and her father glared at each other. Her dad groaned. "Why don't you LISTEN to me?!" He asked, frustrated.

"I do, when you're not trying to burn my friends!" She retaliated. "Don't make me take you down, old man!" Despite all of his tough talk, Wendy's father had never won a fight against her, especially not when they were seriously fighting in large part because he wasn't willing to hurt his daughter. Roughhousing he could do, but actually physically fighting her? Never.

"Fine," he said, lowering his voice to what was still a scream for most people, but was almost a whisper for him. "We'll both go home," he commanded, not giving any room for argument.

Wendy looked at her dad, then to Bill, and back to her dad again before groaning and nodding her head. "Fiiinnee..." She looked at Bill. "Listen, I'm like, one-hundred percent sure that the Pines will come save you, okay? Otherwise I wouldn't leave." Bill simply stared back at her, so Wendy gave up with an exasperated sigh and began to walk away, her dad following closely behind her.

Gideon had a confused expression on his face. "Ahem," he said in a petite voice, "it really is midnight now. A bit past, actually. So why don't we get this started?" He walked towards the dropped torch, but just as he was reaching to pick it up, a colorful blur sped by, snatching it up and whisking it off down the street.

"I'd say I'm sorry to have to do this, but I'm not!" Mabel's voice pierced the night as she and Dipper sped forward on the golf cart, an army of Gnomes flanking them on either side. She fired her grappling hook, catching Gideon by the hair, and her and Dipper sped off in a different direction, dragging a screaming Gideon behind them as he bounced along on top of a swarm of Gnome bodies.

The Gnomes began to spread out, dividing and conquering. The townsfolk who didn't actually care if Bill burned or not quickly fled to the safety of their homes and cars, but the rest put up a fight.

"Remind me how you two keep convincing us to fight your battles for you!" Jeff said as he hopped up onto the golf cart. Mabel reeled in her grappling hook and tucked a still screaming Gideon under her arm.

"It's not our fight this time! It's for Bill!" Mabel reminded him. Jeff rolled his eyes and bit at a grasping convict's hand as they tried to pull Mabel off the cart.

Dipper pulled the cart to a stop next to the stake, opposite of the side with the stairs, and Mabel handed Gideon over to him, Dipper instantly tying him up and setting him on the seat next to him. Gideon struggled and cursed, but nothing the short boy said or did helped him in the slightest. "I'll go get Bill!" She said, launching her grappling hook towards the top of the stake and pulling herself up onto the platform. She landed near Bill and instantly ran over to him.

"It's good to see you made it, Shooting Star. Cutting it a bit close on time there though, weren't you?"

"Beggars can't be choosers Bill, and besides, you don't look like a burnt Dorito to me!" Mabel said cheekily as she pulled at the handcuffs. "You know, I'd actually kind of expected them to tie you up with rope, so..."

"If they'd done that I would have just used the flames when they tried to burn me to burn away the ropes and I might have escaped!" Bill groaned in exasperation. 'Surely Pine Tree at least thought of this?!' But alas, when Mabel shouted down to her brother in inquiry of how she should get the handcuffs off, Dipper had only shrugged and shouted back a "figure it out, I thought they'd use rope!" Dipper then took off in the golf cart again as Ghost-Eyes neared him, trying to get Gideon back in an interesting game of cat-and-mouse.

Mabel looked next to Soos and Stan, who were each busy fighting. Or, more specifically, Stanley was fighting a couple of thugs while Soos provided as much support as he could. "Oh, maybe Soos will have something! I'll be right back!" Mabel said before hopping straight off the front of the platform. Bill cringed, expecting her to stumble on the out-cropping loose logs that stretched out from the platform, but instead a few of the Gnomes scurried by and caught her mosh-pit style before setting her on the ground, allowing her to race off in Soos' direction once again.

"Soos! Soos! Do you have anything to break handcuffs with?" Mabel asked.

"I'd pick 'em, but I'm a little busy," Stan voiced as he punched another one of Gideon's goons in the face. 'Where's that no-good brother of mine when I need him?!' He thought to himself.

"I might have something in my truck," Soos said, tripping a nearby attacker.

"Great! Thanks!" Mabel said before rushing to Soos' truck. She looked in the back and found a toolbox. Her eyes instantly went to Soos' own old, faded-handled red screwdriver and Mabel gulped. 'It'll have to do,' she thought as she grasped it and headed back for Bill, grappling herself once-more onto the platform.

"Hang on Bill, I'll get you lose!" Bill squirmed uncomfortably at the sight of the screwdriver, despite the fact that he knew it wasn't the screwdriver, but he didn't protest. Mabel's voice saying "beggars can't be choosers" echoed through his head.

Mabel reached for the handcuffs and was about to begin working at them when Dipper suddenly called out to her.

"Mabel! Get out of there!"

"What?" Mabel asked intelligently, looking around. She hadn't noticed, but at some point in the last few seconds Ghost-Eyes had suddenly given up on chasing Gideon and had instead pulled out a pocket lighter. Dipper had stopped the golf cart, and Ghost-Eyes had demanded that Gideon be turned over or else he'd light the wood. Dipper had complied and let Gideon go...

And Gideon had immediately tossed the lighter at the pile of lumber. With the kindling and lighter fluid still spread about it, the flames grew in an instant and surrounded the base.

"Oh man," Mabel groaned, realizing that heat had been instantly created around them. "Hold on Bill, it's okay, I'll get you down from here, just hold on!" Mabel positioned the screwdriver over the handcuffs and slammed her grappling gun onto the back side of the tool. The screwdriver left a scratch on the handcuffs' metal, but they didn't break. She tried again.

"Shooting Star," Bill began, coughing as smoke rose from the fire beneath them. Mabel coughed too.

"H-hold on! I've almost got it!" Bill knew that she was lying though. Police handcuffs were sturdy, well-built, and wouldn't be broken so easily, especially not under the might of a thirteen-year-old girl.

Bill was already sweating and coughing, and Mabel wasn't doing much better. Still, she looked ready to either free him or die trying. Bill raked his eye over the scene before him, peering around at the Gnomes and various people, looking for Stanford, but he was nowhere to be seen.

'Damn him!' Bill thought harshly and he growled. Mabel glanced at him, but kept working. 'Damn everything!'

Bill turned his eye to Mabel and she stared back, sensing his gaze on her. He was scared, she could tell, but more prominent than that was a fierce seriousness and determination.

"I don't want to die alone," he said quietly. Mabel didn't know what that meant until Bill spun himself around the stake, lifted his legs so that his feet were braced squarely against her chest, and he kicked with all his might.

Mabel had barely let out an inaudible 'oof' as she was shoved backwards away from the platform. She barely cleared the flames, landing in her Grunkle Stan's outstretched arms, Dipper by their side a moment later.

"BILL!" Mabel screamed, but she couldn't see up over the edge of the platform to glimpse him from so nearby, especially not since he was now sitting on it rather than standing after having lost his upright position in the effort of kicking her off.

'It makes sense that this is how it would end,' Bill thought. 'Just as it did before, so does it end again, in flames.'

Fire, the element behind his power. Flames his method of bringing about destruction and yet, in the end, they always turned around and betrayed him. They were always the source of his demise.

Bill closed his eye shut tightly and waited.

A/N: The End~! The story's over! Haha, just kidding. It's only another one of my notorious cliffhangers. Don't worry though, I'll update again soon, probably in a couple of days.

'Till next time, remember! Reviews are love, reality is an illusion, the Universe is a hologram, Buy Gold, BYE~!