When we last left off, Dipper was rolling a di for the safety of his wife.
Praying to all of the gods in the universe who didn't hate him, he threw his di. It bounced on the ground once… twice… Three times, and landed on-
100!
Dipper grinned, trying to act surprised at the outcome. Kira was surprised. She had to suppress a sob of joy and relief as she stood there. Dipper found himself wanting to cry at that moment, but held back for the sake of appearances.
X was easily the most surprised of any of them. His face, what little he could see of it, looked like he just bit into something unpleasantly sour.
"Wha- But how-" He stammered, unable to accept his defeat.
Dipper couldn't hold back a smirk now, "I believe that I have won this game. Now for my winnings," He said, pulling out his blaster.
The men got the message and stepped back. X stepped forward and released Kira, who walked towards Dipper with as much reluctance as she could fake.
She still had on that horrid collar that seemed to suppress her powers. Dipper discreetly lit his hand on fire and melted through it, causing the metal monstrosity to clatter to the floor.
Kira looked up at him, she was about two inches shorter, with disbelieving eyes. He couldn't blame her. Dipper himself could hardly believe this was really happening.
He turned to X, "Good game, Mr. X," He said, looking towards the pile of money on the floor.
The man grunted, still disgruntled and angry at his loss. He bent down to pick up Dipper's di.
That's where the Pines made his biggest mistake. He let his guard down.
X examined the plastic di and a sick smirk spread across his face as he saw the small glob of gum on the opposite side of the 100.
Dipper's heart sank. He knew.
"Cheater! This man is a cheat! I am the rightful winner of this gamble!" He screeched, holding Dipper's di aloft.
The other men gasped at the rigged 100 sider and turned to growl at him. Kira tried to stand protectively in front of him, but the collar thing seemed to drain her too much to be of any real help.
Dipper was on his own for now, and he had to protect his wife.
That's why he tried to scream at her to run.
Unfortunately for him, luck seemed to have other things in mind. For as soon as he prepared to run, he heard the sound of a dart gun firing.
He found himself frozen to the ground, almost forgetting what it was like to have a loaded gun aimed at you.
Kira, however, hadn't forgotten. And instead of standing stock still, she leaped into action with blinding speed, throwing her body in front of his.
A small cry of surprise and pain escaped her mouth as the dart hit her in the stomach. That got Dipper's attention.
With a roar of fury, he simultaneously scooped up his wife and set a wall of pure flames between the two of them and the back alley gamblers. He didn't realize that his pack was left on the other side until it was too late.
He didn't have time to think about how he would get home at the moment. Instead, he turned tail and ran with Kira in his arms. He could tell that she was breathing with his heightened senses, so that was a source of small relief, but the two of them were far from out of the woods yet.
Dipper didn't really know where he was going as he ran. All he knew was that Kira was in trouble, and they had to get out of this shady part of town.
He pulled the dart out of her stomach, and noticed with despair that this action was pointless. All of the poison had already been injected into Kira's system.
He cursed creatively and tossed the dart over his shoulder.
Dipper heard his wife chuckle softly in his arms, "Lan- Guage- Mason," She managed.
He glared at her before looking up to see where he was going, "Kira- Why?" He demanded in between breaths, "How- could- you- do- something- so- stupid?" He asked.
"You- You would've done it- Too… Dumbass," She replied weakly.
"Are- you- alright?" He asked.
"I'll-" She broke off in a coughing fit, "Live," She finished.
That response wasn't at all reassuring. As he exited the more shady part of Lottocron Nine, he started screaming for help, "GET HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE! MY WIFE IS DYING!"
Everyone walking past looked away. Most of them recognized the two of them from Wanted posters and didn't want to get involved.
A desperate sob escaped his throat, "Please!" He begged.
He looked around to see that everyone had gone into their houses. He looked down at his wife, "I'm sorry. Kir- I'm so sorry. I love you," He said.
She tried to smile, "It's okay. I-I'm okay with- with this. You-" She broke off, wheezing.
Before Dipper could reply, he heard someone's voice, "Hey! You! Take her in here!"
He looked up to see a human-cat hybrid frantically beckoning him to her house at the end of the street.
For a second, he couldn't move. He stared at the catwoman, barely believing what she was saying. Her fur was gray, she had one blue and one green eye, and she was wearing an apron. He hadn't met a Hybrid since dimension 26.
"Quickly! Come on! Are you deaf?" She snapped.
Dipper blinked and ran towards the woman. She looked concernedly at Kira. She quickly scooped her out of his arms and brought her unconscious form to a table. From the looks of it, she was some kind of doctor.
"Can you help her? Please say you can help her. I'll do anything!" He begged.
She frowned, "I'll see what I can do. You're Dipper Pines? The one who killed Bill Cipher?" She asked.
"The one and only," He replied.
You hardly killed me, Bill complained.
Dipper kicked himself for forgetting about the demon, Is there anything she can do? Will she be alright? He asked.
Hate to say it, but I don't know. I've never seen a poison like this before. If I had to guess, it was designed especially to kill halflings. Ki-Ki isn't one, so she might be alright. He said.
Halfling? Dipper asked.
Half creatures. Not exactly the right word for our… Arrangement. But it's close enough. You're basically a half demon, half human. He explained, In any case, the poison would've had a much worse effect on you than Ki-Ki. I don't know if she'll be fine, but she's not dead yet, so that's something. He said.
Dipper nodded, Alright. Not much, but I'll take it. I just hope this lady-
He realized something, "I didn't catch your name," He said, trying to calm down a little.
The cat woman spared him a glance, "It's Amaisha Prewett. Dr," She said.
"Dr. Prewett," He repeated, "Thank you,"
She gave a dry laugh, "Don't thank me yet. I have a lot of work to do,"
Dipper nodded and mulled over what Bill had said. Was it true that the poison coursing through Kira's veins would have killed him if he had been hit? What would he have done differently if he previously knew this information? Nothing, most likely. It all happened to fast for him to do anything differently.
He found himself wondering how things would have gone if the roles had been reversed. If Dipper had been the one dying in a makeshift doctor's office, and Kira was sitting in the chair beside him, anxiously wondering if he'd ever recover. Did he wish for that fate?
Stop. He mentally chided himself, It happened. Nothing you can do to change it, so stop killing yourself over this.
Dipper had gotten a much, much healthier mindset while he was rebuilding the portal. Just the knowledge that Kira was still alive gave him the strength to keep going. She was his rock, his world, and he knew that he would crumble without her. He barely survived it the first time, and he sure as hell couldn't do it again.
He watched as Dr. Prewett examined Kira's condition, not liking the frown on her face at all.
"What's wrong?" He asked, terrified of the answer.
Dr. Prewett looked at him for a long time, her eyes telling him all he needed to know, "I'm sorry, Mr. Pines. But there's nothing I can do. The poison's spread too far. It would take a God to heal her at this point," She said.
Dipper's whole world shattered at these words. Nothing?
There was really nothing they could do?
He would just sit here, helpless, while he stared at his dying wife, counting her breaths until the number reached zero. Kira was his whole world, his entire reason for living, and he was just supposed to let her die? To let slip away right in front of him?
No.
Absolutely fucking not.
He promised himself that this wouldn't happen again. He would let another person he cared about sacrifice everything for him.
He stood up abruptly, knocking down his chair in his haste. Dr. Prewett looked like she wanted to protest, but conceded at the utter determination on Dipper's face.
No one was going to stop him this time.
He turned to Bill, Hey! Do I or do I not have the power of a God? He asked.
Well… It depends on what kind of God you're talking about. If you mean a being of- He began.
ANSWER ME! He screamed inwardly.
Bill was startled at his seriousness, Alright, alright. If I'm right, which I always am, then you want to know if you can use your healing powers on her. Am I correct? He asked.
YES! Now tell me what to do. I need to do something! He answered desperately.
Just a warning, this will either kill you or knock you out for twelve hours. He said, knowing Dipper's response to this already.
I don't care. What do I do? He asked.
Bill began to instruct his host, Okay. Put one hand on her wound and one over her heart. He said.
Dipper did so, Okay? He prompted.
Now concentrate on her heartbeat. Zero in on it. He said.
Yeah? He thought after complying with Bill's instructions.
You'll have to do this carefully. Concentrate as much of your power as you can into your fingertips. He said.
Dipper followed his instructions, focusing on the very essence of his soul as he concentrated it into his fingertips, which quickly began glowing blue.
Now… Zap her! Bill finished.
Taking a deep breath, Dipper did just that. He focused on the power in his fingers and forced it into Kira's chest and open wound, forcing them to heal.
The process was less of a zap and more of a prolonged strike. It was clearly as painful to Kira as it was to him. Her eyes were glowing an unnatural blue and the veins around her eye sockets were also shining.
Dipper was sure he was the same way, "How- Much- Longer?" He demanded aloud, his voice straining with exhaustion and pain.
Just a little more. A little more. So close. And… He trailed off.
"BILL!" He screamed.
Now! He finished.
Dipper felt the last of the energy pour into Kira's chest, slowly destroying any poison inside of her system.
He let himself smile with satisfaction. At least Kira would be alright.
He watched as she opened her eyes, "Ma… Son?" She croaked.
But Dipper was already too dead to the world to reply. His unconscious form buckling and hitting the floor, oblivious to Kira and Dr. Prewett's panic.
A/N: Amaisha is pronounced "A-My-Sha" Thanks for reading!