Disclaimer: I do not own GF
Have fun.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Bill chuckled lightly, breaking the hug the boy gave him easily.
"Good." He murmured, lightly pushing down on the brim of the boy's hat. "Now, I've got her trapped deep in the woods. Would you like to teleport there or walk?"
Dipper bit his lip. Walking would give him a chance to let himself catch up to his mind- his actions. Mental preparation.
But teleporting was faster.
The young brunet swallowed thickly.
"Teleport." He said.
Bill gave him a pointed smile, all too-sharp teeth in a too-wide of grin. In the darkness, Dipper could easily make out both eyes; one glowing a harsh gold and the other a frigid dark blue.
Bill clutched the child close to him once more and Dipper buried his head into the god's stomach once more.
"Ready?
Dipper hummed an affirmative.
And with that, Bill blipped them away.
Dipper winced as the feeling of being uprooted from reality passed by him once again. The world span around him and odd feelings crept over his skin, raising goosebumps as it did so. He closed his eyes tightly, though he didn't need to, and simply waited for the world to form around them once again.
Feeling the ground rush up against his feet, Dipper sighed and tried to peel himself away from Bill, who was refusing to let go of him completely.
"Um, Bill? Y-You can let go now." Dipper said, heart beating as mad as ever.
Bill stared down at him, his usual look of elation missing from his face.
For once, Bill actually looked...serious.
"Listen, Pine Tree. Before I escort you the rest of the way there, I have to tell you a couple of things, okay?"
Dipper nodded slowly. "Okay...?"
The god sighed. "First of all, don't step into the circle of runes I trapped her in, for obvious reasons. Second, don't listen to what she's saying at all. Whether it's about me, or you, or your parents, don't let her rile you up, got it?"
Dipper nodded again.
"Finally, and this is most important; What are we going to do to her?"
Dipper blinked owlishly at Bill, slightly confused. "We're going to...to kill her." He spoke plainly.
Unnoticed by the brunet, a spark of pride glittered in Bill's one human-esqe eye while his lips twitched up in a small yet predatory smirk.
"Exactly. Now let's go."
Keeping a single, protective arm wrapped around Dipper's waist, Bill turned and lead them even deeper into the forest. His body illuminated the area around them in a soft light, just enough to stop them from tripping or running into anything.
Dipper stared around as he always did when he journeyed with Bill to a part of the woods he hadn't seen before. The air was thick and heavy, oppressive and somehow cruel. It put weights on his entire body, making each step he took harder than usual. Though no obvious scent pierced his nose, there was a certain mustiness in the air that easily settled on his tongue, drying it out and leaving the unpleasant taste of dirt in his mouth. He couldn't help but squirm a bit; the temperature was also a bit too hot for his liking. Not enough to start sweating, fortunately, but enough for him to be slightly sticky.
Trees towered above, though what type he wasn't so sure as all of them were completely bare, leftover branches trying to grasp the sky in need, but never able to, forever stuck by their roots in the hard ground. The bark was blackened, almost burned in a way, and an odd liquid seemed to be oozing from the inside, shiny and red. Dipper almost though it to be blood, but no irony scent hit the air. Whatever the case was, it severely disgusted him in some fundamental and instinctual way and the young brunet found himself turning his head to Bill's side, trying to get the image out of his mind in favor of his...friend.
Friend.
That word sent all sorts of shocks of dread to his stomach and he had a sneaking suspicion why.
Dipper gulped nervously and glanced up at Bill, who looked a bit on the bored side having to walk them the rest of the way there.
He had felt this feeling before, not so long ago, reminiscent of a certain redhead...
Dipper dug his nails into his palms. Yeah.
It was exactly like that.
But how could he like Bill? Bill was a- a guy.
He wasn't gay, right? He couldn't be. He's already thirteen, shouldn't he know if he was gay or not by now?
Nerves filled him up even more as his mind raced through half-formed thoughts and ideas.
He'd never been attracted to another guy. Never.
Then again, he had never been attracted to another girl before Wendy...
Dipper shook his head some and bit his lip, an action that didn't go by unnoticed by Bill.
"You okay?" The god murmured to him.
Dipper nodded weakly, mouth dry. Bill was so close to him like always, radiating that protective heat that made Dipper want to bury his head into the god's stomach and never leave.
"...Yeah." He croaked out somehow. "I'm fine."
Bill glanced down at the boy pressing into his side. Dark shadows were cut along the soft angles of his face, making him look much darker than before. His brown eyes, usually alight in a joyous and curious wonder about the world around him, were dull and frigid. There was a certain... depravity there. Some thing inherently wrong yet unavoidable and unfixable, a cog out of place in his brain, leaving a crack that opened up into a merciless void, without a hint of light.
Bill loved it, and wondered ideally if there was a chance to widen that dissonance.
Dipper rolled his shoulders back and almost too slowly for his liking, Bill lead them through some undergrowth and into the small grove ahead, right into the vile fog.
Despite the smog being heavy and gross, Dipper found he could see through it perfectly and the deeper Bill lead them into the clearing, the more it thinned out. It swirled on the edge of the tree line, a simple cover and release that was there for superficial reasons.
Finally, the last wisps of the fog cleared his vision, and Dipper laid his eyes upon what was before him.
A seal of some sort stretched across the ground. It was small and cramped, barely two feet in diameter. The complicated runes inscribed into the ground sprawled out from the middle and were completely foreign to him, the very definition of advanced magic. They glowed the same dark yellow that the strange fog was, light pulsating softly.
Dipper's eyes worked from the seal, up to the being itself and the boy froze upon staring at Ace Moonlighter, goddess of identity.
She looked like a science experiment gone terribly, terribly wrong. Her face was nothing more than a vaguely humanoid skull, forehead a bit too flat, nose a bit too long, pure black eyes way too far apart and wide, and lips too askew to be considered human. Pale, paper-thin skin was stretched comically over her face, golden veins clearly seen underneath. Her mouth was open in a permanent expression of one being surprised in the most horrific of ways, and her thick lips acted like gums for needle-like bleached teeth. Thin hair drifted down past bony shoulders, the pigment of rotting skin with what looked like partially decayed eyeballs weaved inside the strands.
The horror show that was Ace Moonlighter continued on with lack of skin or muscles over the entirety of her chest. Dipper could clearly see her entire rib cage and even parts of her spine. No organs were inside, the cavity filled with what appeared to be snapped off ribs of a different origin.
Ribs broken off and taken.
Dipper started shivering all over.
Ace Moonlighter's rib cage eventually ducked back under the pasty skin of her enlarged and bulbous, bare stomach, which was completely smooth save for a large, what looked like some sort of circular branding where her belly button ought to be. The mark seemed old and faded, whatever symbol inside the circle long healed, leaving just a thin ring of blackness.
From there, a skirt made of what appeared to be human faces stitched together hung at her scrawny hips and flowed down to her ankles in a smooth cut. Her feet protruded outwards, large and pigeon like with red claws.
Ace Moonlighter was repulsive. Completely and utterly. If Dipper wasn't feeling so detached from reality at that moment, he'd probably be vomiting.
Upon seeing the two slide into view, she threw her head back and laughed, a dry and rough noise that sounded like she was about to hack up a nonexistent lung.
She hissed, voice clipped yet still able to hold out every syllable a bit to long.
Bill audibly growled at her, clutching Dipper closer to his body.
Dipper stared at the creature before him, so unlike Bill in every way, shape, and form. There was something wrong with her, and not just because she was a monster, but staring at her...
She was like an affront against nature itself. Something so twisted and corrupt it shouldn't exist at all.
"̢A҉́ǹ̛d ̛͘w͝͏ḩ̵͡at ̸̸a͏ ̶̸̛c̷̢ú̸t̶̵e ̢l̸̸i̧͠҉t̸t̢l͢è ̀b͠oy̨͠.͞͏ ̡Y̶̷̕o̴̧u̧̕͜'̢͞r͠e͘ ̨̨̕f͏a͠c͘͞ȩ ̨is͢͏ a̡b̸̕s̵ol̵u̸͟t̸͜e̸̷ĺ̶y̶ p҉̷r̴̢e͡c̀i̵o̴͜ų͢͡s͘."̸͝ She continued on, uncaring of the god behind him.
Dipper curled his lip at her.
Normally, when confronted with a killer of loved ones, people in at least books and movies have some form of confrontation. Questions are asked, threats are thrown, and the hero comes out on top.
But what sort of questions could he ask this creature? This monster? She had no reason, she was an animal. She was insane in every sense of the word.
Bill seemed to know what he was thinking about. The god bent over slightly to whisper near his ear, quiet enough for the other god not to hear.
"Something's not right with her. She won't answer any question you might throw at her, not because she wants to see you squirm, Pine Tree, but because she does not understand."
Dipper closed his eyes and sighed.
Of course.
The goddess in front of him was so far off from anything sensible, that not even blue and orange could explain her morality code.
"So what do I do?" Dipper whispered so quietly, he thought Bill didn't even hear him.
But the god answered him, just as quiet.
"What do you want to do?"
"̷Let̡͝t͡in҉ģ͘ ̶̧̛şm͝a͡҉l̨l̴͟ ̢̧c͜h̵͢il̕ḑ̧r͞e̵n͡҉̛ ̸d̸͠e̴ci͏d̸̶́e̛ y̛͟o̵̧͢u͠ŕ͜ ́͝á̶̵c͘t̀i͡ò́͝n͜͟͠s̵, C̨͢í͘͜p͏͟he̸r̵̀͘?̴̷ ͏O̵͟͢h̴̀,҉͏́ ̵͘y̨̛ò͏҉u͝҉̛'͟ŗ͜e̛͜ ̀a̢͢ ̸͞b͢͠ig̀ge̴r̨ ̧́̕f̴̛̕a̵͢i҉l̸͠ur̴̡è̢ ̶́t͘͞ha͏̵ǹ̴̕ ̛l̀a̛͠śt̢ ̛̛̀ţ͢i̸͢m̀e̷̴!̴̛ ̢͢͠H̕ow̷͟ ҉̕t̴̛h҉e̢ ̧m҉i͠ghty̡ ̧͜ha̧̕͠v̛͝e̶͠ ̵̧͝fal̵͟l̕e̷͘n̕͝!̴̧"͘ Ace Moonlighter cackled.
Dipper curled his lip at her. He was thirteen! Already a teen! Not a child!
Bill simply responded with another rumbling growl that Dipper could feel through his side.
Sneer still locked in place, bright brown eyes dulled into a frosty rage, Dipper slowly stepped towards the bound goddess, slipping out from Bill's tight hold quickly.
"Pine Tree..." The god behind him warned.
But Dipper didn't stop until he was at foot away from the small, detailed circle, staring up at the disaster of a goddess. Closer up, he could make out the leftover expressions of horror on the faces that made up her skirt. What he also noticed, upon closer examination, was the white pinpricks that were her pupils and the vile yellow mist that condensed around her fowl feet, keeping her from scratching the runes out.
"̧̛Òh̨͏,̵͟͡ ̵̡͡w̴͞h̀͜͞a̸͠t҉ d͞҉̛ó̷͡es̴͞͞ ̡̢̡t͜h̴i̴̸͢s̶̴͜ ͏s͏w̧è̸͜ęţ ̵b͏̀a͘͞b͞e wa̵̷͟nt͝?́ ̕Doè̶͢s̴͟n'͢t̛͟ ̴͝h̕͡e̕ ͜͡k̷̀͠n̸o̶̧̕w͟ ̀҉ń͟͠o̧t҉́ ͝t̡̢o ̷͢męśs̛ w͞i͝t̶̵͢ḩ̸ ͘͞those̸ ̀mo̴͏ŕ͟ę͞ ͟p̴͠o͠҉͢w̨͝͠e͘r͠f̀u̶l̸ ̨͟t͟h̸҉҉an̡ hę͏?̡"̀
Dipper felt a pair of hands grip his upper arms and yank him back into a warm chest. Bill forced him to stumble about two feet back, leaving a yard of space between him and his parent's murderer.
His parents...
The people who loved and supported him unconditionally.
From his dad who bought him all sorts of books when he was young, not caring that he had preferred reading over playing outside with other boys.
To his mom who would pick him up and curl around him when watching T.V, stroking his hair softly until he was lulled to sleep.
But that was all gone, wasn't it? Had been for eight years now.
And they weren't coming back.
Not even magic could raise the dead, after all.
Dipper felt an inner fire lick his insides, flames so frigid they actually burned him. The collected leftover memories of his parents simply repeated over and over and over again like a record.
Everything seemed to stop.
His heart.
The Earth.
Time itself.
Nothing was moving and silence reigned supreme, if only for a fraction of a second.
"Burn her."
His heart started up again.
The Earth started rotating.
Time itself ticked by once more.
And a single snap from behind him ended what had begun.
Ace Moonlighter let out a terrified screech as azure flames exploded across her skin, consuming everything it could of her. Even from a yard away, Dipper could sense the heat and force behind the fire, more powerful than anything he had experienced before.
The sounds gurgling from Ace Moonlighter were something from the Underworld itself. Shrieks and cries that came with bubbling golden ichor. Veins in her face popped from the heat, causing rivets to stream down before evaporating into the air itself from the heat. Her eyes slowly melted from her sockets, juices dribbling before evaporating themselves while the actual eye ended up puddling some one the ground, golden and pulpy.
Ace Moonlighter grabbed her hair as it burned away as well, clawing at the melting skin of her scalp.
Her mouth open, and between her screeches of pain, she started, of all things, singing.
"̛T̸̵̕uh̕ ͟x̵̨sa̷̧͞ ̷͝u̡҉̴s̀̕į ͝h͢m͡͝a̴͞ ͏̷a͞f͠z͘q̧ ̧̀l҉̸͜h ì͢e̶͢co̷ ͡͏m̧͟͡c͏ ͡͡e̶ t͟͢f̧n҉i͝͡ǵfy̸͝ j̴́d҉hd͝,͞ ̀̕͏ ̵j̛yv͠ ̨̧x̸̢w̛ì͢͏ ̨s̢̀͏z̸̕t͢k͠r͘ ͝tl̛od̛l̷̢͘ ͏p͝͏̶r͘ ́̕c̵m̴̀v͞͞ţ͡r͘͏ ̷̧jcs̶̢c̶̡
Her voice was even more distorted than before as her vocal chords burned away along with her tongue. It wasn't like any song Dipper had ever heard before. Heck, it wasn't even a song, just a random string of letters pronounced side by side.
Bill narrowed his eyes, easily picking up on what nonsense she was spouting. It was nothing important, though it did bring memories from the long forgotten past back into light. The child in his arms didn't seem to notice or care, content in watching flesh meld together with flesh as her skin melted from the bone she had, golden ichor running everywhere briefly before dispersing into the air.
However, that pure magic wasn't gone forever. No, slowly but surely, Bill could feel himself gain more energy by killing the goddess slowly than him using it to kill her in the first place.
Ace Moonlighter's rib cage blackened and cracked under the intensity of the flames, causing her to clip off the end of her song. The stolen ribs inside her came to a similar fate, crumbling into dust and falling away.
After her ribs went her spine, causing her to fall against the invisible barrier. Though Dipper knew there was magic holding her body up, it was still a bit odd to see her body sag against open air, broken and burning and melting away.
Despite her shattered torso, Ace Moonlighter continued to scratch at herself in a bid to get the flames off, only to meld the skin of her fingers together, twisting and splintering bone under the heat, causing the digits to contort in strange and horrifying ways.
If Dipper wasn't feeling so disconnected from it all, if he hadn't been in that dark part of his mind, where shadows loomed and cruelty spouted, he probably would've been sobbing himself from the sight, but as it was, he continued to watch with a conflicted expression, unsure of what emotion he was even supposed to be feeling at this point.
Anger?
Disgust?
Justice?
Joy?
"I think the word you're looking for is schadenfreude." Bill murmured to him, voice dripping in that poisoned honey once more. "It means taking pleasure from another's misfortune."
Was that what this alien feeling was? Schadenfreude?
Bill tightened his hold on the boy, wrapping his arms fully around Dipper's waist and crushed the child against his front. His chest rumbled in a low, almost laughing purr at the condition of Ace Moonlighter, who's spine was now completely severed in half, rendering her in two, very much alive, parts. Her screams by now dissolved into nothing but weak cries as the life was drained from her, eaten away by Bill's flames and given to him. The transferred power coursed through his veins, hot and delicious.
Bill couldn't care less for the fact that she used to work under him and do his every bidding like a good soldier did. Right now, he just wanted to feast on the magic provided.
Though nowhere near full power, Bill hadn't felt so alive in years. Not only has he grown stronger, but he had his little sapling at his side, reading to drink in the blood of his enemies and absorb all the hatred and malice that Ace Moonlighter had provided.
The goddess was a catalyst for his Pine Tree, the first step on a road Bill would happily lead him down...
...And one his Pine Tree, even if he didn't know it yet, would love to follow.
Ace Moonlighter's form slowly started splintering, thin cracks appearing all over her to show that her long, long time on Earth was finally over.
And with that, Ace Moonlighter shattered.
Dipper jumped at the sudden disappearance of flames and the goddess, who was just loose bits of dust in the sky.
With the shattering of Ace Moonlighter came the shattering of the malicious spell Dipper put himself under. Tears of horror of what he just-just commanded Bill to do tore at his heart. Suddenly, his legs felt too weak to hold him up and his gut twisted and rolled, muscles contracting in the most abhorrent of ways.
He would've thrown up if had any strength to do so, but right now Dipper felt as if his entire soul had been sucked out of his body, burned away by Bill's own mystic flames.
However, the blond didn't let his good child fall to the ground in a heap. No, feeling his Pine Tree weakening in his arms, hearing the soft cries spill from the brunet's lips sparked Bill into action and the god quickly scooped the child into his arms bridal-style, tucking him as close to his chest as possible.
"Pl-Please, Bill..." He whimpered, burying his face into the god's chest. "J-Just...t-ta-take me away."
"Of course."
And Bill blipped them away.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Bill knew exactly where to take his little Pine Tree, knew where the child would feel most comfortable and be able to catch himself.
He blipped back into existence into their special little waterfall clearing. The moon glinted off the water, lighting the area in a solemn, silvery glow while lazy fire flies circles around. The pond reflected the milky stretch of stars perfectly and the pinpricks of light sat like treasured jewels in the water.
The god lowered himself into a especially soft patch of grass and wildflowers right under one of the trees near the edge of the clearing, leaning against the bark and shifting his sapling so he laid vertical against his chest. Bill folded his legs together some, keeping the boy there in a rather protective, if not possessive manor.
Carefully, the god took the child's hat off, setting it to the side so he could run his fingers through the thick and soft curls his sapling had, rubbing him gently behind the ears as well in a calming pet.
Dipper simply laid limply against the blond, unable to hold himself up anymore.
In movies and books, the hero usually found themselves regretful at this point, realizing that killing your enemy was a bad decision and regretting it bitterly until the end of the story.
Dipper shuddered as his heart beat erratically.
He didn't regret Ace Moonlighter's death.
Not one little bit.
Schadenfreude.
Yeah.
Pleasure in another's misfortune.
The brunet felt more tears come to his eyes. He nuzzled into the crook of Bill's neck, trying to wash away the horror he felt with himself by focusing on the god's delectable scent and the slow pets he gave his head.
Revenge hadn't felt bad. Not at all.
It felt good.
And that's what terrified him.
"B-Bill?" He asked, voice cracking.
The god hummed in response to show he was listening.
Dipper bit his lip. He couldn't ask Bill if he was a bad person or not. The god wouldn't understand. He didn't believe in morality, after all.
He also couldn't tell Mabel, the only person who knew his deals with Bill.
She'd be horrified.
Maybe even frightened of...of...him.
No, he was alone in this, all alone.
"Pine Tree, are you doing better?" Bill breathed against the top of his head, warm breath sending shivers down his spine.
Dipper was suddenly aware of how close he was to the god, curled up against him like this, and precisely how fast and hard his heart was beating.
"A...a little." Dipper muttered and in all honesty, he really was. Bill was a stable and calm presence. An anchor. He didn't judge him and he never would.
Dipper felt another shudder wrack his body as Bill twirled a thumb around a lock of hair on his neck, pad brushing against the nape of his neck.
"Would you like me to sooth your mind?"
Dipper peeked up at the god, catching the gaze of the single flaming pinpoint.
It didn't bother him in the slightest.
"You can do that?"
Bill sighed. "Kid, you pretty much gave yourself to me. Entering your mind would be a snap."
Dipper narrowed his eyes slightly. "You could do that anytime, whenever you want?"
Bill shifted slightly and brought his other hand up to cup Dipper's cheek, causing the brunet to briefly lose his breath. His thumb traced his soft jawline back and forth, slow and steady.
"Sort of. You have to be in the forest but in theory, yes. However, I will of course always ask permission from you, Pine Tree and if I do something you don't like, tell me. I'll be able to hear you if you think or say it."
Dipper worried his bottom lip some. "...Okay." He finally relented. "I give you permission."
Bill gently tucked Dipper's head under his chin, causing the brunet's breath to catch once again.
The next thing Dipper felt, was the slight slackening of Bill's body as the god did his work. Both eyes fell close and for a second, nothing really happened.
Then, Dipper felt a small and hesitant push in his mind. Careful and cautious. Then, that strange push turned into something else entirely.
It was like all his worried were being drained away, pushed to the back of his mind to worry about a different day. Closing his eyes, Dipper imagined the woods underneath the morning sun, how light filtered through the trees and how everything was so peaceful.
He could feel the soft grass against his knees, rough bark against his palms, and of course, Bill's ever comforting presence by his side, leading him and laughing along side him, cracking jokes and singing 80's hits.
Dipper allowed his body to relax for the first time that day, feeling at peace. The strange pushing and stroking of his mind slowly let up and Dipper let himself fall in tandem with his dreams- of the forest, of Multi-bear, of adventure, of written words in a notebook, of Bill.
The god who somehow came to mean so much to him in such a little amount of time. Who teased him and hugged him, knowing no personal space whatsoever but was so warm and just plain comforting that he really didn't mind. Who now made his heart race and dance with strange emotions and who cared what he had to say and cared about his fascination with the woods and all his creatures.
An image danced to the forefront of his foggy mind, hazy and strange, like a dream.
It was him and Bill, sitting in this very clearing at the water's edge. Like now, Dipper had been sitting in his lap and Bill...he was...
Dipper's eyes snapped shut at the misty memory from only a day or so ago. Of Bill's lips traveling warmly across his skin, arms wrapped around him...
Dipper's eyes flashed open and he flushed.
Above him, Bill slowly opened his eyes and stared down at him quizzically.
Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!
Bill he...he had seen...
Dipper gulped thickly and, like he did when overly anxious about something, promptly opened his mouth, and stuck his foot inside.
"So, heh, you saw that, didn't you? I mean, like, it was just a dream! I don't have control over what I dream! It was probably because of the pasta we had that night. You know how Italian food is late at night..." He rambled, cursing his mind to think about that while Bill was in his head.
Bill simply smirked down at him, completely amused. "Pine Tree, calm down." He ordered.
Dipper promptly shut his mouth.
"So, kissing, huh? What's that?"
Dipper froze and slowly looked up at an inquisitive Bill.
"You don't know what kissing is? I mean, you've been here a long time, but I'm pretty sure it existed in the Dark Ages or whatever."
Bill rolled his one normal eye. "Of course it did! But why do people do it? Is it like some weird mating ritual you humans do or something?"
Dipper couldn't help it; he burst out laughing.
"What?" Bill replied, indignantly. "it's a valid question!"
"Sorry!" Dipper squeaked. "It's just- the way you worded that. How do you not know what it is?"
Bill scowled. "I used to know many things before I got trapped here, Pine Tree! But being cut off from the world and your powers can leave you...disorientated."
"So you forgot."
"No. I didn't forget. I just didn't care to remember. That's different. So what is it?"
Dipper flushed again. How the heck was he going to explain this?
"Well, when two people like each other a lot, then they'll kiss one another as a gesture of affection, usually on the cheek or lips."
"That was a very textbook description."
Dipper blushed even harder somehow, whole face glowing red in the night. "Well, it's not like I go around kissing people!"
Bill chuckled at that. Using his fingers, he pushed the brunet away some and tilted his head up to peer down at his red face and cute pout.
Dipper, in turn, bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep his eyes from falling onto Bill's slightly parted, grinning lips.
"Hmm, you humans are interesting, especially in the ways you show affection for one another."
Before Dipper could comment, a warm and slightly moist pair of lips met his, clumsy and unsure, but solid nevertheless.
The thirteen-year-old's reaction was delayed but nevertheless, one of instinct based on his now pounding heart, tentatively returning the press of lips, just as clumsy and unsure as Bill, a bit less solid, but true.
And in that single moment, all of Dipper's fears and nerves melted away, and everything just fell into place.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Far away from the pair, yet still relatively close by, a single girl slept in her bed with a cuddly pig, unaware of the two and unaware of what was going on just beneath her.
Stan tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator doors creaked open, loud and obtrusive in the silence all around him.
The man breathed deeply, nose wrinkling at the foul smell that hung in the air. Carefully, he lifted up the crate he had back up and tried his best to peer around the box as he walked forward into the dark room, passing by broken machinery and odd technology. Already shattered pieces of glass crunched under his feet and he used his muscle memory to side-step any stray pipes that fell in his way.
Making it to the back of the hallways, passing three journals propped up next to once another on a desk covered in notes about cracked codes, revealed sigils, and crimes against nature.
Stan gave a small glance at the grainy black and white photo he had of his nephew and niece when they went fishing a while back. Both beamed at the camera, eyes bright and smiles wide.
He felt his own lips twitch a little before carrying his crate though a doorway, cement cracked from thirty years worth of age.
He padded into the room illuminated by the massive red sigil printed on the back wall. The crimson glow bathed him easily and outclassed the two similar purple sigils on the walls right and left, the yellow sigil above, and the smaller, green sigil painted in the middle of the room, runes curled around a large alter placed there.
Stan used his knees to put the crate down, cursing at the pops in his back and the flare of pain in his hips.
Gods was he old.
Using his feet, the older man shoved the crate to the side of the alter, just next to the tightly knit circle of runes that surrounded it.
Letting out a breath through his mouth, Stan slipped the gas mask he had hanging around his neck on and pulled on an old, worn pair of gloves that happened to have six fingers instead of five.
Turning to the alter, the older man picked up a mason jar half-filled with a dark, red liquid.
"This time. This time for sure." He muttered as he unscrewed the top.
Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a thin paintbrush, one any famous painter could be found with. The bristles were crinkly from it's previous uses, but it would definitely get the job done.
Steadying his hand, he dipped the brush into the blood and carefully painted the runes he hoped were correct on the alter, over the top and all four sides. The symbols were cramped, but perfectly straight. His hand went slow, years and years of trying and failing perfecting his lines and curves.
There was not a single shake, nor stray drop.
After all, this had to be perfect.
Finishing up his work, Stan slipped out of the room briefly to grab the crowbar he kept under his desk, eyes lingering briefly on the picture as they always did before returning to his work.
Jamming the crowbar in, Stan cracked the crate open, grateful he had the mask to alleviate him from the smell of human remains
Making sure the runes were dry, Stan carefully started to align the stray bones onto the alter, making sure they would all snap together if this was to go right. Constantly trying to find a correct human skeleton with the right width and proportions was nearly impossible, but he always managed.
"Black market will never let you down." Stan muttered as he finished aligning the bones and picked his brush and mason jar back up to paint similar runes around the bones, a hard feat considering their shape and texture. It took much, much longer than the alter as it always did, hours stacking upon hours, but finally Stan was able to step back and admire his work.
"Finally. Okay, now let's get this over with." He said out loud, listening to his voice reverberate around the cold room with heaviness in his heart. Sighing, he turned and walked to the back of the room.
On the back wall, an inactivated sigil sat, carved into the wall like the others. It wasn't as grandiose as the others, but still impressive in it's own right. Multiple circles sat inside, runes carved all around each circumference, with a spiderweb string of more runes connecting each layer. Right in the center was a large indent, perfect for one to press both hands into.
Which was exactly what Stan did.
Squaring his shoulders and steeling himself, heart pounding madly in his chest out of nerves, he spoke the same Crimean Gothic he always did, rough on his tongue and throat.
The ancient and by all means, dead words boomed all around him and the sigil before him started to glow a muted red, slowly getting brighter and brighter.
Stan trembled under how much magic he was giving to all the sigils in the room. His knees shook and sweat condensed. Pressure built up behind both his eyes and in his bones, threatening to splinter him into thousands of tiny shards.
Just as it was getting to be too much for the older man, Stan ended his chanting and the muted red light faded away as the sigil stopped glowing.
Completely spent, Stan stumbled around, ready to be met with blackened bones and evaporated blood of another failed ritual, only to be met with exactly the opposite.
A perfect skeleton sat on the alter, gleaming off-white and connected, ligaments shiny.
Stan glanced down at the hands, the true teller if everything went right for once in his life.
Both had six digits, perfectly melded and completely natural.
And Stan couldn't hold in his whoop of joy.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Well, that was fun.
Nice decent chapter for you guys. I'm glad I split them up.
Big thank you to The Keeper of Worlds for the poem Ace Moonlighter sings in this! If you want to translate it, it's in Vigenere and the pass phrase is their name, The Keeper of Worlds. Thank you so much!
JackieLanternXOXO- Where you laughing during her death? Because I was smiling the entire time writing it!
The Keeper of Worlds- Hehe, hope you had fun this chapter!
Guest- Was this exciting enough for you?
crabbySeer- Curious to see how your theories have changed after this chapter ;)
Wildtail of Wind- Hope you liked this chapter! Some mysteries are solved, but even more are revealed, aren't they?
random name- What dog doesn't like bacon is the real question :3
LuminousMoonRay- Haha, hope this chapter was up to your expectations then!
A Fan- Haha, thank you so much!
Just-Gold- Ah, thank you! Hope you liked this chapter!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this interesting chapter. Story's not over yet, so hang on tight~
As always, thanks for reading!