I'm posting a day early again. Why? School stuff. Again. Government is the worst class ever. Ugh. Luckily I'm done with that class on Tuesday, so hopefully I'll be able to manage to keep to a Sunday schedule.

This week has not been kind to me. Lots of bad things have happened, such as illness and the death of my guinea pig. So I've not been able to write much. Luckily I've gotten a bit of an idea of what to do next, so hopefully I'll be able to write more soon. I still have about nine-ten weeks before I run out of chapters to post (I've written up to chapter 15 and am currently writing chapter 16) so as long as I finish before then, I suppose it doesn't matter much. Just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks to all the kind words last week. They meant a lot to me. I'm still not particularly happy with this story, but I'll keep it to myself. I will say, though, that I change Bill's characterization a bit in this chapter. He's still the same as before, but more... gentle. Slightly. His thoughts will get explained soon, so if anyone is wondering 'What the hell is going on in Bill's mind?' well, you'll find out. Eventually. Also, there is some talk about the attempted rape in this chapter. That is marked by a single asterisk (*) before and after the section. It is only a brief paragraph at the beginning, so don't worry or anything.

And I think that's it. I'm trying (and failing it seems) to keep these notes shorter. I'm not having much luck, am I? Ah well. Remember to review/comment! If you have any thoughts on where you think this story is going, I'll be glad to hear them. I may or may not listen to them, depending, but it might give me inspiration or something.

Enjoy!

Dipper woke in the morning with his entire body aching. His head, his back, his arm, and his legs. Part of him wished that he couldn't remember the previous night; that his mind would be so muddied and aching again that everything would have faded away. But that wasn't so. His head was much clearer than it had been the previous night, and he remembered, vividly, what had happened.

He took a shuddering breath as he sat up, looking around the dark and gloomy cell. He could feel himself shivering, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was because of the cold or not.

*Dipper had known that pirates were cruel. He had known that they tortured their prisoners, that they did their best to break them and make them submissive. That even the strongest of men would break at the hands of the cruelest pirates. But to do that to him. To attempt to… to… it was unheard of. How would it even have worked, he wondered morbidly as he shivered. How would the pirates have derived pleasure from his body? Was it even possible for one man to get pleasure from another? Dipper had never heard anything like it. Though, he did have to admit he had lived a very sheltered childhood and didn't know much about the world because of it. Perhaps pirates just got pleasure from seeing people so utterly terrified. It wouldn't surprise him.

*Well, regardless of the hows and the whys, he felt terrified. More terrified than he had been before, because now he knew what the pirates were capable of. That they could, and would, do unspeakable things to him. Well, he would just have to take it. He, he didn't want to give up. He refused to give up. Or at least, he refused to give the pirates the satisfaction of seeing him break. He couldn't.

He decided then that he wouldn't think of what had happened and what had almost happened. It… he couldn't. Thinking of it made his stomach churn, and since he already had so little food in it, he didn't want to throw up. Throwing up acid was never fun.

But there was still one thing that puzzled him, about the happenings of the previous night. The pirate captain, the demon, had… saved him. In a roundabout way. But why? What did the captain want from him? Dipper recalled the captain claiming him as his own, saying that no other pirate could touch him. For what purpose? Was, was the captain going to do him what those pirates were trying to do last night? Or was he going to do something worse? Was he better or worse off now that he had been claimed by the insane monster who captained this ship of nightmares? He honestly didn't know. Maybe he wouldn't get touched by random pirates now, but that didn't mean that the captain would treat him any better than the rest of those demons. In fact, things might now be worse, since the captain was so insane, so demonic.

Dipper could feel tears gather in his eyes at the thought. Oh, just what had he gotten himself into? He hoped to God, or whoever out there that was listening, that his sister was alright, so that this all would have been worth it. If she was dead... If he had failed at saving her... God, he couldn't even think it. She had to be okay. Please, let her be okay.

Dipper took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He needed to calm down. He needed to think. He needed to breathe. Panicking would get him nowhere. He was Dipper Pines, he wasn't going to have a panic attack, not now. He'd had a bad batch of panic attacks right after his parent's death, and he knew that having one now would just make everything worse. He didn't have his great uncle there, to sit with him and give him support while his mind shut down with fear and panic. So he needed to calm down. He needed to relax and breathe. He'd survive this. He was Dipper Pines. The son of Edward and Diana Pines. Brother of Mabel Pines. He'd get through this. He had to.

After a while, after he had mostly calmed himself, Dipper tried to stand, his legs aching with the inactivity. He wanted to examine his cell, wanted to see if he could find a loose bar or something to help him escape. However, almost immediately after standing he found himself collapsing back to the ground, his head swimming and his shoulder throbbing. He let out a strangled cry as he landed on the ground, having instinctively used his arms to break his fall, which jarred his shoulder. He hadn't noticed it much before, his mind occupied with- and worrying about- other things, but now he was aware of just how painful his wound was. Like fire. He instinctively tried to clutch his shoulder to get the fire-like pain to stop, but all that did was make it worse. He almost didn't want to take a look, not wanting to see how bad it was. Because it had to be pretty bad, if it hurt like this. Yet, despite how much he feared looking, he knew he had to. He was sure that if he could look, he'd remember what it was he needed to do.

So, with great hesitation, Dipper looked over to his left shoulder- the sleeve still rolled up from the previous time he had examined the wound- and let out a hiss at the sight. Before it had only been a little red and puffy, bad but not terribly so. Now, though, it was a bright, angry red and was swollen to nearly twice its usual size. He could see pus oozing around it, which made him gag a bit. That, that wasn't good. There was no way that that was anywhere close to good. Dipper took yet another deep breath as he tried to think of what to do.

His arm needed to be seen. It needed to be cleaned out, properly and thoroughly. And soon. He didn't know what an infection looked like, but he guessed that his wound was close, if not already infected. And if it was already infected, like he feared, well, then he'd need treatment. Alcohol to disinfect, and herbs and ointments to help heal. Things that he didn't have, and most likely would not get any access to. There was nothing else he could do for it, he knew that now.

What was he supposed to do? His arm hurt like hell, his stomach was growling, and his head was aching; how exactly was he supposed to survive like this? He let out a soft groan as he thought. He couldn't give up. Yesterday, he had let despair rule him. He had let himself break down. But he couldn't do that again. He couldn't let these pirates beat him. He couldn't let them win.

For now, he would do his best to monitor his wound. While there wasn't much he could do for it, he could keep an eye on it. It may not help, but what else could he do? And as for his head hurting and his stomach growling, well, he'd just have to eat something. He saw that the bread and water he had been given the previous day was gone, so he'd just have wait to eat whatever he was given today. Even if it was moldy and gross. He needed sustenance to live.

With a plan in mind, even if it was a terrible one, Dipper felt himself relax just a bit. He was still trapped, but he would find a way to keep himself alive, just until he could find a way to escape. Then he could treat his arm and begin to heal. He would survive this. He would. He had to. Mabel needed him, he couldn't leave her alone. He had a long life to live. He couldn't die here, alone on a pirate ship.

With a soft sigh, Dipper leaned his head back against the wooden wall and waited for his food, hoping that they were still planning on feeding him. He felt weak, he needed to eat something. And to drink something. His throat was parched, drier than a desert, and he desperately wanted something to make it ache less.

It was a while later before the door to the brig opened, letting light flood in. For that time, Dipper had been thinking about his life before, back at home with his sister and his parents. Yeah, it was painful to remember, but it was better than reliving the previous night, like his wandering mind had wanted to do. He felt his heart simultaneously leap and fall at the sound of the door. Oh, please be food and not more pirates looking to hurt him. Or worse, the pirate captain coming to take what was 'his.'

He watched, his heart thudding, as the hulking pirate opened his cell door. He then felt his heart freeze as he noticed the pirate didn't have any food with him. Oh, please don't be there to hurt him. He was in enough pain as it was, mental and physical; he didn't know if he could take much more.

He shuffled back against the wall when the pirate came closer to him, which elicited a scowl from him. The pirate- who looked to be the same one who had fed him the previous day, the same one who had held his sister captive- reached down and yanked him up, causing him to yelp in pain and fear. He tried to struggle again, but he was too weak. Too tired. He could feel tears welling in his eyes as the pirate gripped his right shoulder painfully, holding him in place. He closed his eyes, awaiting whatever pain he was about to be dealt.

However, instead of pain, all Dipper felt was his wrists getting pulled. Opening his eyes, confused, Dipper watched as the pirate removed the chain for his manacles from the wall, holding them in the hand that wasn't gripping his shoulder.

"W-what...?" Dipper whispered, wanting to ask what the pirate was planning on doing to him, but unable to say anymore when his voice gave out. It seemed that all the screaming he had done the previous night- not to mention the dryness- had taken its toll. But the pirate seemed to get the general gist, if his dark scowl was to go by.

"Cap'n wants th' see ye." The pirate growled, before pushing him forward, towards the brig entrance. Dipper stumbled, his legs protesting the movement, his head aching as he was moved so roughly. He felt the pirate grab his arm again and force him to move, exiting the cell and walking over to the entrance of the brig. They stopped near the door, however, which he soon learned was so the pirate could put an extra set of restraints on his ankles, which were heavy and cumbersome. He tripped when the pirate tried to get him to move again, which just made the hulking pirate growl in anger and pull him more harshly.

Dipper did his best to keep up with the pirate's fast pace, not wanting to anger him anymore, but it was hard with his swimming head and his aching legs. Part of him wanted to look around while he was out, so he could map himself an escape route, but he found he couldn't. Not with how badly his head was pounding with the exertion. He could feel his mind muddying again and all he could do was blindly follow the pirate's movements, stumbling and tripping every few steps.

It wasn't until they reached the stairs to get to the upper decks that Dipper processed what the pirate had told him, about how the captain wanted to see him. He could feel his heart freeze as he they climbed the steps, his addled mind racing as he wondered what exactly that entailed. What did the captain want from him? He recalled the demon saying last night that he'd see him tomorrow, which was now today, but he had thought they had been empty words. He hadn't expected to actually get brought to the captain. Or, more accurate, he had hoped that he wouldn't actually get brought to the captain. Oh dear. Oh no.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Dipper had only a second to close his eyes in preparation before the doors were opened and the bright sunlight hit them. He could feel his head pound as the light attacked his eyes- even from behind his lids- his migraine worsening with the too bright light. The pirate didn't care about his plight, however, continuing to yank him along at the same pace they had been going at before. Dipper kept stumbling, blind, his ankles and arms aching from the manacles tugging on them and from the numerous times his right shoulder had been yanked when he had tripped. He had no idea where he was and felt utterly terrified as he thought of where he was headed. He didn't want to meet up with the pirate captain. That was the last thing on Earth that he wanted.

But soon he felt the pirate stopping, the grip on his arm bruising as he heard a knock sounding on a solid door. A few moments passed before a high pitched- though muffled- 'enter' was heard. Dipper swallowed dryly as he was tugged inside, his eyes still closed. The pirate that was gripping his arm suddenly let go, which caused Dipper to fall to the ground painfully, a small yelp of discomfort escaping his lips against his will. He then heard footsteps coming closer to him, before he felt his shoulder getting grabbed roughly once more.

"Put him over there. In that chair. Chain his legs, but release his arms." He heard the captain say, before he was dragged up and over to wherever it was the captain wanted him. He felt the restraints on his wrists leave, but the ones on his ankle remained, tightening and getting forced to the stiff legs of a chair. He tried to move his legs, but they refused to budge, completely secured to the chair. He listened as feet thudded away from him, presumably the pirate leaving.

"Anythin' else, cap'n?"

There was a pause. Dipper could hear other, lighter footsteps move, closer to him this time.

"No. You are dismissed."

The pirate left then, the door thudding shut behind him. Dipper still kept his eyes closed, partially because of the pain, but partially because he didn't want to accept this reality. Didn't want to acknowledge the fact he was trapped, chained up tight inside what he guessed was the captain's quarters, with the demon in question mere feet away from him. He heard an amused laugh, followed by more footsteps.

"You know, keeping your eyes closed just makes you look childish." A voice sounded, right next to his ear, a lot closer than he had expected. Startled, Dipper's eyes flew open, light bombarding them. He let out a gasp as he saw a golden eye right in front of his face, the eye accompanied by a huge, amused grin. He jerked backwards, trying to get away from the madman, but unable to do so. His attempt just made the demon in front of him laugh again.

Dipper could feel his heart thudding as he watched the captain straighten, content that he had successfully startled his prisoner, and walk to stand by a large desk that was in front of them. He could also feel his head pounding, from both the light and from the panic he felt flooding through him.

What did the demon want from him? Why was he here? Dipper's mind was racing, so many questions bombarding him, but he was unable to comprehend or speak any of them, his mind and throat too sore. He could only watch, heart racing with fear and confusion, as the captain paced over to a tea kettle that was sitting on the desk, before pouring himself a cup.

Moments passed in silence as the pirate captain moved around his desk, collecting various things, such as sugar and cream, as well as a small pot of honey. Dipper felt his confusion crescendo as he watched the demon move, his lithe body almost swaying as he worked. What on Earth was going on?

Finally, moments later, the demon turned to face him, a manic grin on his face. Dipper waited with bated breath for the demon to do something. A beat passed, before the captain extended his arms, holding out the tea he had just poured.

"Tea?" The demon asked, an eyebrow raised as he continued to grin.

Dipper stared in dumb shock at the proffered cup, opening and closing his mouth as his confused mind tried to understand what the captain was doing. He had no idea what to say, what to think. Was it... Was it poisoned? Was the captain trying to kill him after all? Was this a test? He didn't know, and he felt unease bubble up inside him as he simply stared. Another beat passed before the pirate captain extended his arms further.

"Go on, take it. Don't have all day, Pine Tree." The demon claimed, though his grin was still highly amused. Dipper just continued to stare, trying his best to work through the pros and cons of taking the cup. On one hand, it could be poisoned, but on the other hand, he might offend the captain if he didn't take it. Another moment passed before he hesitatingly reached out and took the cup, his hands shaking lightly as he did so. He didn't want to upset the captain. He… he didn't want to get hurt anymore. He ignored the shooting pain in his shoulder as he stared down into his tea.

"W-why...?" He questioned hoarsely, his eyes returning to the captain, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. He watched as the captain shrugged.

"I find that tea and honey helps with sore throats. Plus, I figured you'd be pretty thirsty, since you didn't drink the water I so gratuitously ordered for you." The demon claimed, his grin taking a sardonic twist. "Now go on, drink. It's only polite, after all."

The captain then reached to the side and grabbed his own cup of tea, which Dipper had not seen the demon make. He watched as the captain softly blew on the hot liquid, taking a sip a second later. He bit his lip as he looked down into his own cup, debating. Well, if the demon was drugging him, there wasn't much he could do about it, was there? And, the tea did smell delicious. It had been a while since he had seen such a rich tea as this. Probably stolen, but it still looked and smelled wonderful, especially when his throat began to ache. So, even with his great reservations, Dipper found himself taking a sip of the piping hot liquid, not really minding as it burned down his throat. It tasted even better than it looked, and he found that he couldn't help the small smile on his face as he drank. It reminded him of home.

"Need more sugar? I find that tea on its own is so bitter. Always need to put in a bunch of sugar and honey to counteract the taste." Dipper heard the captain say casually a few moments later, startling him out of his blissful drinking of the tea. He looked up quickly and saw that the demon was staring intently at him, his cup of tea pushed to the side. The demon was, for once, not grinning. Instead, he had a contemplative look on his face as he studied him, head tilted to the side a bit. Dipper could feel himself flush at the look, squirming uncomfortably at the unwanted attention.

"N-no. This is- this is fine." He stammered, his voice still a bit hoarse, but better than it had been previously. He watched as the captain nodded, picking up his cup again and taking a long sip. Silence overtook them then, the captain drinking his tea and studying him.

Dipper had no idea what was going on. While he admitted that the tea was excellent, and that it appeared to not be poisoned or drugged, he had no idea why the captain would give him this. Why waste such fine tea on a prisoner? Especially when before, all he had gotten was foul water and rotten food? What did the demon want from him? This polite facade was concerning him, making him wonder just when the demon would lash out, showing his true colors.

Several minutes passed while the captain drank his tea, Dipper cautiously drinking his as well. Once he had reached the bottom of his cup, drinking the honey that had congealed there to help his still sore throat, he heard the captain put his cup down, the demon grinning again as he stared at him. Dipper felt his back stiffen as set his now empty cup down as well, looking at the captain with distrust and fear.

"So. How are you enjoying your time on my ship, The Nightmare?" Dipper heard the demon ask a few moments later, leaning back in his chair as he grinned, eyebrow raised. Dipper wasn't quite sure if the demon was being serious or not. The captain was so insane, he might actually be asking. Regardless, he kept quiet, knowing that his honest answer might make the pirate captain angry at him. It didn't surprise him, though, that the ship was named The Nightmare. It certainly felt like one. The captain chuckled when time passed and he still had not answered.

"No answer? Well then. Not a very talkative one, are you?" The demon asked, before standing and walking over to the back wall, rummaging around for something on the table that was sitting there. Dipper took the time to discretely look around the cabin, realizing with a small jolt that he had yet to do so. It was reasonably sized, he supposed, for a room on a ship. Since he could see no bed or living space, he assumed that this was not the captain's quarters, but was instead his office. Stan had something similar on The Mystery, but it was not as spacious as this room was. Plus, Stan's had a large window on the back wall, while this room just had a door to what Dipper assumed was the captain's actual quarters, with a large map taking up the remaining wall. The only furniture he could see from his perspective was the large desk that was in front of him, a few large chests scattered around, the table that was beneath the large map, and the two chairs he and the captain were sitting on.

The demon found whatever he was looking for quickly, holding it up with a soft 'aha,' which brought Dipper's attention back on him. He could see a piece of paper in the captain's hands, yellow and stained. He was unsure what it was at first, until the captain turned it to face him. He then felt recognition as he saw that it was the worn and creased poster that he had kept in his jacket's inner breast pocket.

"I can see that you're a fan of mine, though. My men found this in that pitiful jacket of yours. What do you think? Capture my likeness well?" The demon asked, holding the poster up next to his face with a wide grin. It was a really good drawing of the demon, he begrudgingly had to admit. The only difference was that now Dipper could see that the demon had a golden, triangular eye patch covering his right eye, and that his visible left eye was a bright golden hazel. His skin was also a golden color, either deeply tanned or he had mixed blood. Possibly Egyptian? Paired with the yellow jacket, black undercoat and trousers, it created an… interesting image. Not to mention the three golden teeth the demon sported, which glinted in the well-lit room. He could also see the small cut that he had caused on the pirate's cheek, already mostly healed.

"See that they raised my bounty," the captain continued when Dipper didn't reply. "Guess pillaging all those wealthy ships advances one's infamy. Ha!"

The demon then folded the poster up and handed it to Dipper with a wink- or, he blinked his one eye over-exaggeratedly, which made Dipper think that it was a wink.

"Here, so you have something to remind yourself of me in that cell of yours." The demon explained, smug amusement coloring his expression. With great hesitation, Dipper took the poster, glancing at it briefly. He took note of the demon's name, but he didn't want to use it. Using his name would make the pirate captain seem human, and he didn't want that. He didn't want to think of this monster as human, because he didn't want to think a human could be as deprived as 'Bill' seemed to be. Refolding the poster, he decided to put it into the back of his boot so he didn't have to keep holding it, eliciting a snort of amusement from the demon. But Dipper watched as the captain's face shifted, losing a touch of its amusement.

"Now. Onto business." The captain said, his expression turning just a bit more serious. Dipper felt his heart dropping a bit as he watched the demon walk over to a chest over by the left wall. "Take off your shirt."

Oh God no. His eyes widened as he took in the words, his heart starting to thud fiercely and his breathing becoming erratic. Take his shirt off? Why?! Oh, he had known that the politeness and courteousness was just a facade. Dipper's muddled mind began to race as he started to struggle against his leg restraints, his arms flailing as he tried to push himself back. He didn't know what the captain would do to him once his shirt was off, but he definitely did not want to find out. His mind was filled with thoughts of the previous night, knowing that nothing good could come from his shirt coming off. He even managed to stand, a bit awkwardly with the manacles around his ankles, but he didn't care. He didn't want the pirate captain to touch him, didn't want to get... Hurt. He didn't want to get hurt. Not again.

When the captain turned back to face him, Dipper bared his teeth, eyes narrowed in a challenge. He may be in an impossible situation, but he'd be damned before he let this monster touch him at all. A beat passed, where the two just stared at each other, before the demon started to laugh, high pitched and insane. He could feel indignation rising in him at the sound, almost overpowering his fear.

"Oh Pine Tree. It's funny how dumb you are." The demon claimed a minute later, once his laughter had died down, before sobering just a tiny bit. "Relax, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. I noticed your arm's looking pretty bad there. Another week or so and you might need to lose it, or worse! Since I've got big plans for you, I'm not about to let you die or get mangled on my watch, so I'm going to clean out your wound for you. And for that, I need you to take off your shirt."

Dipper stared at the captain, his heart slowing as the adrenaline faded with the captain's explanation, and tried to find the lie in his words. With the knee-jerk panic fading, he was able to think a touch more rationally, and knew that what the demon said sounded logical. And, for all that he didn't want to trust the demon, he didn't seem to be lying. The captain was simply staring at him calmly, no grin, with his eyebrows raised slightly. Dipper could not detect a lie. And his arm was really killing him, the pain almost unbearable. Not to mention that the captain was right; if he didn't get his wound cleaned soon, it was only going to get worse. He knew this. If the captain was offering to clean it, to help heal it, well, it might be worth it to listen. Even if it was a trick, Dipper couldn't afford to not try. Besides, it wasn't like he could fight the captain off even if it was a trick.

So, with a sigh and a mistrustful glare, Dipper slowly removed his shirt, grimacing as he felt his shoulder stretch. He heard as the pirate captain picked something up and walked over to him.

"Turn." The demon demanded, kneeling next to Dipper, setting a bottle of rum on the ground, as well as some clean looking rags. Doing as the demon said, Dipper turned to the right a little, so the captain could see his wound clearly. The captain let out a loud whistle when he saw it.

"Wow, Pine Tree. My man sure did a number on you! Just make sure you don't squirm while I'm fixing you up, got it?" The demon demanded with a careless grin, before lifting the bottle of rum up and dumping it on the wound. Dipper did his best to not scream, but it was hard. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes as the alcohol stung bitterly. He also began to wonder why the hell he was allowing an insane pirate captain tend to his wound, and why said insane pirate captain was cleaning his wound instead of a medic. He felt as the demon began dabbing at the wound with a rag, wiping the blood and pus away a bit roughly. The demon then repeated this pattern several times, trying to get the wound to fully clean.

"Why are you doing this? Why not have your medic do it?" Dipper gritted out a few minutes later, when the pain became a bit more bearable. He felt the demon's hands pause from where they were wiping the blood away, a small chuckle coming from him.

"Oh, so you do speak. Trust me, Pine Tree. You don't want anyone else on this ship touching you! They don't like your kind very much!" The demon claimed, grinning sharply as he looked up at Dipper from under his hair. Dipper swallowed dryly and nodded tightly in response, biting his lip when the demon went back to work. It was several minutes before the demon seemed content with the wound, getting up to throw out the numerous bloody rags.

"Tell me, Pine Tree. Is your skin usually warm to the touch, or do you tend to run on the cold side?" The captain asked as he rummaged through his chest, glancing back over his shoulder at Dipper, who frowned. How on earth would he know that?

"I, I don't know. Is that important?" He questioned, watching as the captain shrugged.

"Your skin's pretty warm there. I'm trying to figure out if it's fever or natural. So I know how infected that wound of yours is." The demon said casually, picking up a small bottle from inside the chest, tilting it back and forth and looking at its contents. Dipper didn't reply, just bit his lip worriedly as he watched the demon do whatever it was he was doing. He hadn't noticed his skin getting warmer, but it was possible. It was so cold down in the brig, it wouldn't be surprising if he hadn't notice.

The captain finished what he was doing and walked back to him, kneeling on the ground again. Dipper could see that the demon had a few bottles with him. The captain opened a bottle and poured a little on his long fingers, rubbing it into the wound. Dipper winced at the slight sting, the strong scent of herbs filling his nostrils. He tried not to notice how surprisingly gentle the demon was being with his ministrations, how focused he was. It was too human for Dipper to comprehend.

The demon put a few other herbs on his wound, the medicinal scent thick and cloying. He could practically taste it. But he didn't mind. It was good, this stuff would help heal him. He didn't want to think about why the captain was doing this for him, why he was healing him. It was too confusing. Right as the demon was wrapping his arm up with a bandage, there was a knock on the door. Dipper felt the captain finish the bandaging, before heading over to the door to speak with whoever was out there. A minute later, the captain closed the door, a tray of food in hand and a grin on his face. Dipper felt his mouth salivating at the rich food he could smell, his stomach growling as it reminded him of how he had not eaten in two days. The captain simply laughed as he set the food down on the table, which had Dipper glaring at the demon.

He watched, bitterly, as the demon ate his food carefully, a mocking grin on his face as he watched Dipper through a hooded eye. Dipper scowled back and looked away, shifting in his seat as he tried not to start begging for food. Never, in his life, had he ever really felt hunger. First he had his parents, who always had enough money to get them all feasts if they wanted. Then he had his great uncle, who made sure that no one on his ship went hungry, especially him and his sister. So now, with his stomach empty and his head hurting, he couldn't help but want the feeling to end. It was torture to feel, especially now that his arm was less painful and he had nothing else to focus on.

Minutes passed that way, the sound of the captain masticating the only sound in the room. It was getting harder and harder to not start begging, his stomach churning bitterly. God, he was starving. He could feel hatred rise in his gut for the captain, knowing that the demon did this only to torment him. It didn't matter that he had just fixed up his arm; this was worthy of hatred. Dipper was still facing towards the wall when he heard the captain get up and move closer to him, kneeling on the ground in front of him once more. Dipper turned to face the demon, a scowl on his face, faltering a bit at the contemplative look he could see on the captain's face, a small plate of meat in his hands.

"Tell me, Pine Tree. Are you above begging for your food?" The captain asked, head tilted to the side. There was no smile on the demon's face, no humor in his eye. Just intrigue and curiosity, which made Dipper's heart stop for a brief second. It looked so human, so normal.

The words then registered in his mind, and Dipper scowled harder. Of course, the demon would want him to beg. Well, he refused. He had his pride. He wouldn't demean himself like that, not for this monster. Lifting his chin, Dipper turned his face away from the pirate once more, dismissal and disdain clear in his actions. He could hear the pirate captain chuckle darkly from his spot on the ground, before feeling a callused hand gently grip his jaw, turning his face back forcefully. Dipper's breathing stopped as he saw the pirate's face, so close to his own that he could practically count the golden freckles the demon had on his cheeks.

"Your insolence will get you nowhere, you know. I help you, out of the goodness of my heart, and yet you still defy me. What a pity. Perhaps some time without supper will change your mind. Until I see you beg, like the needy child you are, you will not be fed. Do you understand, Pine Tree?" The demon questioned, a slow smirk rising on his lips. Dipper, despite how off he felt at the closeness, bared his teeth in response, making the demon chuckle lowly once more. His jaw then got released, the demon jerking it slightly to the side as he got up and walked over to the door, opening it to get the pirate whom had brought him here. The demon then threw a shirt at him- not the one he had taken off- saying nothing as he sauntered back to his desk, sitting in the chair that was behind it. Dipper, not really having time to complain as the hulking pirate came up and began releasing him from the chair, put the shirt on with a grimace. It was clean, he knew, but it was still not his own. And it was a bit too large on him.

Dipper felt himself get yanked up then, the pirate scowling at him as he pulled him towards the door. He followed, not looking back at the captain, his jaw set as he marched out the cabin and to the below decks. Since his head hurt a bit less with the tea and honey he had drank, Dipper made sure to glance around the ship as he walked, taking in the features he could see. The dark looks he got from the various pirates concerned him, but he made sure to hold his head high with false bravado, like his great uncle had always taught him. Entering the below decks, he still looked around, trying to mentally map the halls as they walked.

Soon Dipper was back in his cell, the pirate removing the ankle manacles and putting the chain for his wrist ones back on the wall. The pirate said nothing as he worked, leaving as soon as the chain was set. Dipper then sat on the ground and stared at the wall, unable to do much else.

At least his arm didn't hurt as badly, he thought morosely as he sat. He supposed he should feel grateful that the captain had seen to his arm, but he found that he just couldn't. Not with the demon's parting words. Dipper knew, then, that he would never beg the captain for anything. He refused. The captain claimed that he had big plans for him, so it wasn't like he would let him die.

Right?