WARNING: BLOOD AND DEATH

When Dipper opened his eyes, everything was dark. For a moment, he thought he might have been blind folded but, as his vision began to clear, he felt a warm breeze ghost over his skin and he knew he was outside. A lot of time had passed, that was for sure. Dipper might even have slept a bit. He felt more rested than he had for the past week or so. He groaned and gave himself a moment to recuperate. He felt drowsy and tired, he wanted to keep sleeping but he knew it was a bad idea. Night had fallen. He was in danger and as soon as he remembered what had happened, adrenaline began pumping through his veins. He was in danger. His family was in danger. The Warlock had gotten them all.

Dipper tried to stand but found he was unable to do so. He couldn't even move his arms to his lap and he found it was because he had been tied to a wooden stake. Suddenly, he remembered the dream the Warlock gave him in flashes. It was so strange looking to his side and finding Mabel as he had seen her then, with blood dripping down the side of her head and slumped forward, unconscious. The only thing keeping her up was the wooden pole she was tied to. Next to her was Ford who was equally unconscious.

His eyes darted to the sky and he found the moon. It was slowly rising to the center of the night sky just like Dipper had been shown in his dream. His gaze fell downwards and he found Bill tied between two pillars. Where in his dream the ex-demon had been relatively unharmed, the blond was covered in bleeding scars now and was naked. It took a moment for Dipper to realise he bore the same cuts he had when he first came to them. The Warlock had been drenched in blood when he surprised them in his basement. He must have just finished carving the sigils and whatnot back into Bill when he returned for the bowl.

"Bill—" He tried but his voice was hoarse and weak. "Bill—!"

The blond didn't respond. As far as Dipper could deduce, he was the only conscious one and the Warlock was nowhere within sight. This was his chance to free himself and save everyone. He tugged at the rope binding his wrists together, hoping he could squeeze his hands out but it was too tight. His next move was to try to get the ropes to slack and loosen by relaxing his bound limbs. He felt his binds untighten but it wasn't enough for him to squeeze himself out. Had he not been as exhausted then, he might have actually managed to force his arms free.

"You're awake." Tad said as he came from behind.

He walked past Dipper. The Warlock wore the clothes the teen remembered seeing in his dream. The obsidian dagger was in his left hand and he twirled it expertly.

"What's happening?" Dipper asked as he tugged at his ropes. He couldn't just give up even if he knew he probably couldn't get out. "Are you going to use us for your ritual or something?"

"No." Tad smiled and it was strange how innocent and soft of a gesture it was, "I need to keep an eye on you so I brought you all here. The last thing I want is for you to escape and ruin everything at the last second. In this scenario, I can watch you and make sure you behave."

"Are you going to kill us after?" Dipper asked and he was, honestly, very afraid of the answer.

"I'll tell you what," Tad sighed, "I really thought about it. The problem is I like Mabel and I don't want to have to kill her unless I have to. So I only really want to kill you and your uncle Stanford. The problem with that is if I let Mabel live and wipe away her memory, the tight bond between twins will eventually get her to remember. Then she'll be sad that you're dead and yadda, yadda, yadda. The same thing goes for a bond between parent and child."

"Parent and child?" Dipper pulled a face. "Do you mean Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan?"

"Yes…?" Tad said though he seemed perplexed by Dipper's reaction. "Is Stanford not Stan's son?"

"No, they're brothers." Dipper said. "Twins. It's a long story."

"Hun. It must be." Tad muttered, "Regardless, if I want to keep Stan and Mabel happy, I can't kill either of you."

"So are you going to take our memories away too?" Dipper asked.

"Yes." Tad said and he turned to walk towards the alter, "But not now. I need to use the rest of my magic for this ritual. You'll just have to wait until I become more powerful."

"Wait—!" Dipper called desperately. If he couldn't free himself to save everyone, he could stall until the proper time had passed and Tad missed his chance to perform the ritual. "I-I want answers!" Tad paused curiously and waited, "How did you get past the ward the first time?"

Tad grinned, "Mayor Tyler Cutebiker." He said, "I'd tell you to note this down for future references but you're going to forget anyways; the thing about wards is that they form holes to allow those permitted to enter the protected premises. I held onto Tyler's hand and got in through the same hole that opened for him. Simple."

"And the salt?" Dipper questioned. "We lined the room with salt."

Tad seemed surprised. "Did you?" but then he seemed pleased, "I must be stronger than I thought. Salt barriers are irrelevant to powerful beings, which, I guess, I am. The one thing I wasn't able to fight against were the runes you hid across the room to nullify my powers."

"Would you have attacked Bill had you been able to wield magic?" Dipper probed.

"I would have seriously considered it." Tad admitted, "The problem with doing that would have been the amount of memory erasing I would have had to do. And with so many terrified people running amok, I likely would have missed one of them. And all it takes is one person with his or her memories intact to get all the others to remember. I like this place. I don't want to lose it."

"Then why are you doing this?" Dipper asked, "What's the point in gaining power?"

"How did you know that was what I was doing?" Tad returned curiously.

Dipper motioned his great uncle.

"You're both very smart." Tad complimented and he didn't hide that he was impressed, "You particularly astonish me. You're so young and so promising. I see bits of myself in you. Anyway, when a rare opportunity arises, one must seize it."

"And Bill is a rare opportunity?"

"He's a cured demon." Tad said and glanced at the blond who still hung limply between the two stone pillars. "There were rumours demons could be cured but no one I've ever known has actually stumbled upon one. Great power lies in his blood. He's a redeemed soul."

"Redeemed soul?" Dipper asked.

"Yes. Demons are corrupted spirits." Tad explained and he pointed at Bill with his thumb, "This one was saved and made mortal."

Tad was about to leave again but Dipper quickly stopped him with another question, "Hold on, what's up with all the Enochian stuff?" he asked, "Bill said no one could read it."

"Are you trying to stall me, Dipper Pines?" Tad called out with a playful smile. The teen gulped guiltily and said nothing. "I'll have you know, your plan won't work. I've got a timer," he raised his hand and displayed an electric watch with a countdown tied to his wrist. There were five minutes left, "It'll beep two minutes to midnight and that's when I'll start the ritual. You won't make me miss my deadline by continuously asking me questions."

Dipper mentally cursed to himself. He supposed he couldn't be faulted for trying. "I still want an answer." He insisted and that much was true.

"You're growing bold." Tad commented, "I like that." He twirled the obsidian dagger another time, "Demons are biblical creatures. Enochian is the language of angels. If I want to draw the most power I can from 'Bill's' blood, I need to use something strongly related to what he once was."

"But no one can read Enochian." Dipper said.

"No one aside from me." Tad smiled and winked.

"What…how?" Dipper asked in awe.

"I found myself an angel." Tad said.

"Angels exist?"

"If you can believe in demons, then why is it so difficult to believe in angels?" The Warlock countered.

"Mayor…Cutebiker?" Dipper guessed in disbelief and Tad started laughing.

"No, not at all." He assured, "The angel I found is dead. I tortured the information out of her. Capturing her was difficult but it paid off."

"And this ritual?" Dipper asked, "Is it biblical as well?"

"No, it's a standard Warlock ritual." Tad said and he sounded regretful, "It's the rudimentary thing to do to draw out power from basically anything. There's no special ritual to sap the power from a cured demon. No one thought they really existed until now. They're impossibly rare anyway so no one would have gone through the hassle to develop an actual ritual specific to this extraction of power."

"And what are you going to do if it works?" Dipper asked. "Start a new apocalypse?"

"A new one? Did I miss the first one?" Tad laughed. "You're a curious kid, Dipper. That's very good. I'd encourage you to keep it up but I wouldn't want you meddling in any more of my business. Nonetheless, the other Warlocks have been spit balling a massive take over for a while. Normal humans would become slaves to the supernatural – the superior beings. I might go through with it but there will be some technicalities to deal with first. Boring stuff I'm sure you don't care about."

Dipper was about to speak when he was interrupted by the beeping of Tad's watch. His mouth fell shut and his eyes widened. Two minutes to midnight. Tad was going to start the ritual. Without a further word, Tad left for the alter, twirling the knife in his hand along the way as he recited words in a language he didn't know. Dipper began to panic. He needed to do something, he needed to get Tad to stop his incantation and get Bill and his family to safety.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it—" Dipper hissed to himself.

His eyes darted all over the place. He was looking for something – anything that could help him thwart Tad while he still had the chance. But there was nothing he could do. He watched Tad mix herbs, powders and whatnot together and pour it into the stone bowl that had officially denounced him as the Warlock. As he continued speaking his spell, the markings on the bowl and on the obsidian dagger began to glow purple. Dipper was running out of time.

Suddenly, a groan off to his side drew his attention. Ford was waking up. Perhaps not all hope was lost. Ford was incredibly smart and he could wield magic. He could free himself from his bonds and save them.

"Grunkle Ford—" Dipper whispered loudly and anxiously. "Grunkle Ford, snap out of it! Please!"

His uncle lazily opened his eyes and stretched his neck to peek at him over Mabel's slumped form. "Dipper…?"

"Grunkle Ford, we're running out of time!" He said and he wanted to cry. They would be cutting it so close and he was very afraid they weren't going to be fast enough. "He's doing the spell, he's going to kill Bill!"

"Bill…" Ford mumbled drowsily and he turned to see Bill hanging between two stone pillars. When the image registered, he snapped out of his daze completely. "Bill!" He yelled and the abruptness of his cry had Tad stumbling over his words for an instant. He glared at them but continued his work all the same. "Bill! Wake up!"

The ex-demon didn't even so much as twitch.

"I-I can't get free!" Dipper panicked and he kept tugging on the ropes but they weren't loosening.

"Damn it!" Ford cursed and he jerked at his ropes as well.

They seemed to be as tight or even tighter than Dipper's. The two hopelessly pulled with all their might but their bonds wouldn't let up. Tad was approaching the end of his spell. He raised the stone bowl to the sky just like Dipper remembered he had in his dream. They were so close to the end. Bill was going to die.

"Can't you use your magic!?" Dipper snapped desperately.

"No, he enchanted the ropes!" Ford growled in frustration and continued pulling violently. "Damn it!" He roared, "Bill! You need to wake up!"

And against all odds, the ex-demon's eyes fluttered open. He was as confused and dazed as Ford and Dipper had been when they first awoke but he seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation much faster than them. He sobered up quickly and terror filled his eyes. He understood he was going to die if a miracle didn't take place soon.

"Bill!" Ford cried, "Use your magic!"

"I-I can't!" Bill exclaimed desperately as he also began to tug at the chains keeping him in place. All they did was clang against the stone.

"What do we do!?" Dipper asked frantically. His heart was thumping madly in his chest.

They were down to the final few seconds. Tad was lowering the bowl to the alter and grabbing the obsidian dagger. In that moment, Ford began to crumble. His eyes watered and he fought against his ropes with the ferocity of a wild animal. He screamed and cried, hoping that if his ropes didn't give out then the wooden stake that kept him in place would. But neither did.

"Bill!" He yelled as Tad walked towards him, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Dipper was almost crying. If Ford had changed his tune it was because all hope was lost. Bill was going to die.

"I-I shouldn't have treated you like that!" He continued and tears streamed down his face. Bill stared at him with wide eyes and an anguished expression, "I love you, damn it! I love you so much! I was just mad and I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

And Bill started to cry as well but it changed nothing. Tad spoke a few more words and, with the hand holding onto the stone bowl, he forced Bill to look at him. Ford yelled when the Warlock brought down the dagger and slit Bill's throat. Dipper was petrified in horror. The screams and shouts of his uncle were muffled beneath the thick beating of his own heart. Everything was happening so slowly and yet so fast. A red line appeared at Bill's throat just as the light in his eyes died. Blood began gushing violently – more so than in his dream. Tad must have cut an artery. The crimson liquid sprayed Tad and flooded into the bowl as he laughed maniacally.

Thunder roared and Dipper looked to the sky. There were no clouds. He saw the moon slowly turn blood red. Then his eyes fell onto Tad who was still cackling madly and seemed to be changing. He drank the blood and Dipper's eyes glanced ever so briefly to Bill's lifeless body before returning to the blood soaked Warlock. He was doubled over and his limbs and joints seemed to pop in and out of place until he suddenly sprung upright and began to float. He ascended higher and higher from the ground, encompassed in a purple glow. His sick guffaw echoed louder than before, vibrating through the entirety of Dipper's body and never had the teen been so afraid in all his life.

The wind picked up and was suddenly so powerful the surrounding pine trees bent in awkward positions, nearly snapping into two. Then Tad's body exploded with purple fire that immediately began devouring whatever surface it landed on. Dipper anxiously noted a flame had fallen on his stake and was quickly burning through the wood. He started tugging at his binds urgently. The last thing he wanted was to be burnt alive after witnessing the brutal murder of a friend.

"This is so…invigorating!" Tad exclaimed as his body formed together again. There was a strange, unnatural echo to his voice. His skin had purpled and his eyes were nothing but black pits. "I was expecting a lot of power but nothing compared to this…"

He floated closer to Dipper, Ford, and Mabel and eyed them inquisitively. The teen still kept tugging at his ropes as the fire steadily spread. Tad grinned upon noticing the fire.

"I know I said I would spare you," Tad said, "But this power has…illuminated me. You're all nothing but useless flesh bags…this world should not be dominated by your kind. It's time for the greater beings – the Warlocks to rule. Screw the formalities, the beginning of our age is happening tonight and it's starting in Gravity Falls."

And with that he left with a cackle. His evil laugh stayed with them long after he had disappeared out of sight above the pine trees though Dipper didn't pay it much attention. The fire had spread to his blue vest and was beginning to burn through the material. Ford was too overcome with grief to be of any help and Dipper was sure that he would die. However, the purple flames suddenly spread to the rope keeping him bound in place and ate just enough of the bonds for Dipper to free himself. The ropes snapped and he wasted no time in ripping off his vest before the fire went for his skin. He then fell onto the grass and breathed heavily as he watched his piece of clothing being reduced to ashes.

"Mmm…" Mabel moaned and Dipper's attention snapped to her. She was regaining consciousness.

"Mabel!" He exclaimed and dashed for her.

He tore the ropes from her wrists and she fell forward, barely catching herself in time. Then he freed Ford. The moment the latter's binds were loose enough, he slipped his hands out and ran towards Bill to free him. Dipper wanted to go after him but he had his sister to worry about beforehand. How was he going to tell her about everything that had just happened?

"Dipper…?" she asked feebly.

"Hey, take it easy." He cooed softly and he held her in a trembling embrace.

"What happened…?" She groaned and held her eyes shut for a moment.

"I…he…the Warlock…" Dipper stumbled and he found that was all he could say before breaking into tears.

Mabel looked at him with concern but she quickly understood when she glanced over her brother's shoulder and found Ford holding Bill's lifeless body to his chest. "No…" she muttered, her eyes filling with tears, "No!"

And Dipper held her as she screamed and cried. He didn't know what to tell her to soothe her so he just wept with her and held onto her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment. Mabel digging her nails into Dipper's back as she wailed while Ford sobbed over the corpse of the man he once loved so terribly. The only thing that drew them from their moment of sorrow were the unexpected distant screams that started a few minutes later. They all looked in the direction from which they came and found the sky was illuminated red and purple from fire – fire Tad had probably started in the midst of his power trip.

"Can you stand?" Dipper asked his sister.

He stood and helped her up. When he was convinced she could stand on her own, he made to go to Ford but she stopped him. Dipper sighed deeply but before he could tell Mabel to let him get Ford, she slipped her hand into his for comfort and maybe for support as well. He let out a shaky breath and walked towards his great uncle.

Dipper's steps were heavy as he closed the distance between he and the other man. Ford cradled Bill's corpse in his arms. His face was buried in his golden hair and he cried sobs so terribly sad Dipper almost broke down again from simply hearing them. However, he steeled himself. He placed his free hand on his great uncle's shoulder and avoided looking at Bill's dead face to the best of his ability.

"We have to go." He croaked. "We need to stop Tad. He wants to enslave the world."

"I killed him." Ford wept and clutched at Bill's body, "This is all my fault."

"Grunkle Ford…" Mabel tried and her voice shook from the sorrow she attempted to keep contained. "It's not your fault…but we need to go…"

The screams were getting louder and Ford couldn't ignore them anymore if he tried. He pulled away from Bill and wiped the warm tears from his face. With a shaky breath, he closed the ex-demon's vacant eyes and gently laid him on the ground, folding his arms over his chest. They would come back for him later to give him a proper burial. Now they needed to save Gravity Falls again.

"Let's go."