WHY DO I KEEP DOING THIS-
Okay, okay, I've got issues. For some reason, I write a lot of fics that are dark and take place during Weirdmageddon, when in reality I am actually very happy with my life. And I literally have no experience with seeing somebody die very painfully or anything like that. So why do I write this stuff and why do I do it with so much detail?!
Oh well. Anyway, enough of my rambling, I'm just making it clear I don't have depression.
This isn't going to end too well...
It was like it happened yesterday. One minute- no, one second, he was gazing up at the beautiful wispy clouds and the shining sun, and the next he was standing on a hill staring at the sky that was now painted red and the colorful interdimensional rip that'd started all of this. He silently was grateful, for it'd been 4 years - almost 5 - since Weirdmageddon started and he was still alive, still standing. Now, it was global. His sister was saved from almost being killed by the one-eyed monster that'd been the cause of this chaos in the first place when Ford gave Bill the equation, but that didn't stop him from still hurting his family. Ford had thought it was his only card left to play, and he had told Stan that Bill would at least give his family a chance to be safe in the apocalypse.
But he was wrong.
No, if anything, it was definitely the opposite of that. The pain. The scars and marks all over his arms. The blood. The screams.
He closed his eyes, willing his mind to not think about it anymore.
His sister had decided that she had to do something about it when she found herself crying more than she ever had at the cruelness of the triangle. "D-Dipper," she had said, "please... take my grappling hook, and g-go."
He listened to her because it was the only choice he had.
Running down the hallways, he'd found his way to the throne room, but at that moment was when he'd felt the most fear he ever had in his life.
Somebody tapped his shoulder. And he knew who it was.
"Where do you think you're going, Pinetree?"
He couldn't take second chances anymore, that's what he thought then. So he did something stupid. Or at least, what he thought was stupid nowadays.
He jumped off, and escaped with the grappling hook, making a some-what safe landing.
At this thought, Dipper froze. He always reminded himself this everyday;
Bill could've killed him right there and then. But he didn't.
Why?
He shook his head as he went back to staring at the chaotic sights of the town from the hill. It was better to not ponder on that. If he asked why, it was bound to give him more trouble than good. He had more important things to do than ask stupid questions that would waste his time. What had happened to his sister and his great uncles, he didn't know. He wanted to tell himself that they were dead just so he could move on for his own survival, for his own well being, for his own sake. But he couldn't bear it whenever he did, so he lived with a small part of him always knowing beneath the mask he put on, about his sister… knowing she was still alive, and all the horrific things that Bill could've done to her.
It was obvious he was different now. It was obvious he had drastically changed.
Maybe he had matured too much in so little time. But it didn't matter. His family, though he hated to say it, hated to admit it, was the least of his worries.
"There he is!" the familiar voice of Keyhole nervously yelled out.
Oh shit. He shouldn't have stopped to get a breath of air. He should've kept running.
"Get him!" Pacifier announced.
"Damn henchmaniacs," he cursed under his breath as he bolted again, running for his life. He wasn't scared of them, hell no, it was just that he didn't want to see Bill again. The way he was living currently was actually pretty great right now. And as unbelievable as it was, Dipper was pretty good at adjusting to foreign environments and unexpected situations, so he wasn't doing too bad, thank you very much.
He would never admit it, but Dipper didn't want to see Bill again, not because he was scared, but because he didn't want to see his sister again. He didn't want to see her all broken down, because it would only bring him to drop down to his knees in front of Bill. And he couldn't do that, he wouldn't do that, he promised himself. Mabel was his weakness, and he knew that Bill knew. He felt guilty for his actions, but they were to protect himself and his family, and he knew she would understand if she was in the same situation he was in.
Apparently, he hadn't been paying attention, and he tripped over a rock. Before he could get up, he felt something slimy slither around his ankle and pull him up from the ground quicker than you could say Mississippi.
"Trying to play tag with us, Pinetree?" the pink cyclops said, her grin showing off her yellow crooked teeth. He almost winced at the old nickname he hadn't heard in ages, which reminded him of what was going to happen next and his fate of doom…
He put on a fake look of annoyance. "Get to the point." he spat to Pyronica as the saliva from her tongue ran down the side of his leg and slowly dripped down. He kind of wished that she would just eat him so he didn't have to see B-
"No, I think I'll have a little fun first." she said, chuckling, interrupting his thoughts. His mind started blaring alarms off at the word 'fun'.
" 'Ronica, the boss said to make sure he's in, quote-unquote, 'perfect condition' when we catch him." Kryptos stated matter-of-factly. Pyronica glared at him, but nevertheless let Dipper go, only for him to be grabbed roughly by the shoulder when he tried to pick himself up and run off again. He tried squirming in her grip, but she held him firmly.
Her thumb and index finger were together in front of his face. "Give a goodnight kiss to your Auntie Pye, sweetie!" she said in her sickly-sweet voice before snapping, him slipping into unconsciousness and sleep at her will.
The henchmaniacs cackled and howled in laughter as they flew back off to the Fearamid.
When Dipper finally woke up, he groaned from the mild headache he had and the ringing in his ears. He took in a deep breath of air to try to get rid of his grogginess, but he instantly regretted it. The faint smell of blood in the room went up his nostrils, causing him to immediately have a coughing fit. That didn't help either because his throat was dry and sore from dehydration. Dammit, he needed water. And according to his aching stomach, he needed food too. He tried to get back up, but was yanked back by the glowing blue chains around his wrists that he just then noticed. "Shit!" he cursed out loud, unable to rub the pain away from his shoulder, where his arm had almost been ripped off. He struggled in them vigorously until he heard soft murmuring coming from outside the walls.
"-eah, and we made sure to…" he made out, but then the voice suddenly paused, then said something he couldn't comprehend. It sounded like Pyronica again, but who was she talking to?
"-ooting Star can."
"What?! Bill, are you stupid? I'm not questioning your authority, but she could escape. Remember the last time that-"
"Look, I'll think about it, Pye. But I know what I'm doing."
"What about the others?"
Well, he found out who now. His hands lightly shook at the thought of his name and he took in a shuddering breath, trying to calm himself down and prepare himself for the next events. He didn't know what was going to happen though, he reminded himself, and it didn't help that Bill was unpredictable.
Wow, Bill's apparently "unpredictable" yet I can write his personality so well. He's totally not predictable. -cough cough- he is -cough cough-
"It'll be fine. I have that taken care of. And besides, I have special plans for Pinetree."
He shivered from fear. Goodbye sanity, he thought.
At that, the door flew open. Dipper refused to look up, resisting the impulse to. He knew what would happen if he did. He kept his eyes trained on the black bricks of the floor, careful not to show any sign of emotion at all.
"Well well well, someone's finally awake."
He didn't want to acknowledge that it was him. He didn't respond, holding his breath in anticipation for a moment.
"Giving me the silent treatment, then? Two could play that game, Pinetree. Or is it that you're too afraid to look at the face of your lord and master?"
I'm not afraid, he told himself.
"Or are you too ashamed of yourself at who you've become? I mean, look at you! Leaving your sister behind for your own safety was pretty clever, but, oh boy, I'd never thought you'd be the selfish one!"
I'm not ashamed, he told himself. I'm not selfish. I'm not a monster. I'm not you. I will never be like you. I don't want to be like you. It was for her. It was for her. It was for her. It was for Mabel! Don't listen to him, he's just trying to talk you into believing his lies. Don't listen! Don't. Don't Don't Don't Don't Don't Don't Don't Don-
"Look at me, Pinetree."
He disobeyed, looking at the floor more intensely if anything.
A hand gripped his chin and he was forced to look at the face of his enemy.
"You know you're lying to yourself."
Those words hit him hard, but he hid it. He didn't let it show on his face. He had to keep his guard up.
"Your sister would be disappointed in you."
"You don't know anything about my sister, you fucking triangular jerk!" he snapped, wanting to punch him but not able to. "You don't get to say who or what she'll do or say. She does that. She doesn't belong to you. She's not your slave. She's not your puppet." The unpleasant memories of Sock Opera rushed back into his mind at the mention of the last word.
His eye seemed to crinkle up in glee. "Oh-ho, but she is. You should see her, Pinetree! All depressed and hopeless, the full and deluxe pack of negative emotions!"
"You're wrong! She would never blame me! She knows why I did this!"
"I always keep my word. Since when did I lie to you, huh?"
"Like I'd trust you. Go to hell." Dipper snarled.
"Hell doesn't exist, kid. And if it did, I'd say I've already been there and back." Bill countered, inspecting fingernails that weren't even there.
There was silence once more before he spoke up again.
"What do you want from me?"
"Hm, I would tell you, but that's for you to find out, Pinetree."
"You're only making this harder." he retorted.
"That's the point. You should at least be able to figure that out since you're so smart."
Dipper sat against the wall, his gaze averting around him to look around the room.
Fuck this.
"How long have I been here."
"Time doesn't exist, but three days."
T-three days...? No wonder he was so… Whatever, that didn't matter.
The silence continued for a few minutes and he could tell Bill was starting to get bored.
"You know what, I'll give you a hint. What happens to a tree branch when you apply enough pressure to it?"
His head snapped up and he almost gasped. "You want to break me."
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!"
Don't conjure up another screaming head, he thought harshly, biting his lip to keep from saying it. "But why? I don't have anything you could possibly want. Ford gave you the equation, the Journals have been long gone and-"
"And the world is ending for you puny, insignificant flesh bags. Yada, yada, yada, I know." Bill interrupted, rolling his eye.
"I was going to say, 'and it's not like we can set up the Zodiac anyway'."
"Wow, you're more self-centered now than I thought, Pinetree."
"Shut the fuck up. I'm not a goddamn narcissist like you." he snapped again.
Bill turned red for a split second, but went back to normal, emitting his yellow hue. Before Dipper could blink, he was up close in his face, about ten times his size. He tried to tell himself that Bill was just trying to scare him, but it was still intimidating.
"I'm not trying to get something from you. I just want to see you break down in front of me. You Pines keep getting in the way and it's about time you pay. And I'm going to enjoy every second of it."
Dipper glanced at the marks on his arms from years ago again. He gulped.
Apparently last time wasn't good enough for him.
*pukes*
This is going to be the darkest thing I've ever written, maybe. I don't have a plot for this and I'm trying to go "freestyle" just to see where this goes. It might get worse than 'Choice is something they take for granted', but I doubt that. For now, at least… Axolotl, please save this child.
Feel free to comment/review, and give me some ideas and criticism. Thanks!
Welp, I have stuff to do, see you guys next time.