Shopping

Bill hummed as he walked out to the car and got in. On another day he would have enjoyed a walk to town, but it was much too cold for that and he didn't want his vessel to get sick. So he had to drive. It wasn't so bad though. He could sit down and crank up the heat, turning the radio to his favorite station, listening to ragtime music as he drove into town. He drove the usual speed limit despite the wet roads, not really concerned about crashing. He was confident in his driving abilities.

Out of curiosity, he went past the bar, glancing into the alleyway where he and Dipper had carried out their first vigilante murder. It was still roped off as a crime scene, but there was no one around at the moment. Bill has checked in on the gang that Jason had belonged to; they were furious about the murder and had publicly sworn to get revenge. Bill planned on just slitting their throats in their sleep or something so he wouldn't have to worry about them later. He probably won't even take Dipper along for that one, just do it on his own time.

Whistling along to the current song, he continued to the grocery store. There weren't very many people here, so he was able to park right near the front. He was still shivering by the time he got inside, and he sighed at the welcome warmth of the building. He greeted the one cashier on duty and grabbed a basket before going to the candy aisle. He grabbed another bag of marshmallows, a few bars of milk chocolate, and as a treat, Dipper's favorite candy: Twizzlers. Bill was pretty fond of the twisty candy too but he favored caramel.

He headed to a different aisle to grab a bottle of apple juice and a twelve pack of Pitt Cola, since they were running kinda low on drinks.

He was about to leave when he realized he should probably buy normal food. Quickly, he went to pick up a packet of cheese dogs, buns, and a few boxed entrees that would be easy to cook. And of course, he picked up some cold medicine as Dipper had requested.

As he was trying to decide whether or not they needed more peanut butter, a sudden presence made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, but before he could turn around, there was a body pressed against his back, thin fingers tightly gripping his arms and pinning them to his sides, far stronger than any human.

"Don't move," a familiar voice murmured into his ear.

Bill forced himself to breathe slowly, closing his eyes as he tried to get his hammering heart under control. Curse these human bodies and their overreactions to fright. Once he had control, he opened his eyes again. "Pavonis," he stated. He clenched the handle of his basket. "What do you want?"

"Well it's a funny thing, Cipher. I was planning on not having to look at you again, but wouldn't you know it, your aura is all over those murder scenes."

Bill inhaled and spun around, freeing himself from the other's grip and quickly moving to the center of the aisle so he wasn't being cornered. He faced Pavonis, whose usual bored expression was replaced with a knowing smirk. "And?" he snapped. "We're demons. You kill people, I kill people, what do you care?"

"I usually wouldn't care," the other said with a soft laugh, spreading his arms. "But Gideon tasked me with finding out who's been doing the murders. And you've been involved in all of them. You and that human boy toy of yours. I reported this to Gideon as requested, and now he wants me to carry out the next part of his orders."

"And what would that be?" Bill growled, standing taller in response to the threatening feel he was getting from the other. He wasn't going to let this younger demon intimidate him.

"Why, punishing you, of course." Pavonis lunged forward, but Bill's reflexes were quick, and he skipped backward several steps. The tips of the other's fingers brushed his coat, and Bill seized his wrist, giving it a sharp twist that made Pavonis hiss in pain.

"You do anything and these cameras will catch everything," Bill said, pointing at the cameras on the ceiling. There was at least one for each aisle.

Pavonis chuckled. "They'll see me fighting you, yes. But no one will be able to identify who I am, or determine where I will be going. That footage will be useless." Pavonis's foot connected solidly with Bill's shin, and the dream demon went down with a yelp, dropping the basket. Its contents toppled out, but he didn't pay attention, trying to struggle back onto his feet. He was tackled by Pavonis, and the moment his back hit the floor, the other's hands were around his neck. There was a thick, leathery item in his hands, and despite Bill's fighting, it was wrapped around his neck and tightened.

Immediately, the strength left him. The usual current of magic that filled his being, that he was so accustomed to that he hardly thought about it, suddenly vanished. He could no longer sense what Dipper was doing back home, he couldn't see into the Mindscape around him, and worst of all, it felt like he had been cemented into his vessel.

"What... what is this?!" he demanded, grabbing at the leather. It delivered a nasty shock to his hands, and he quickly let go as his body protested at the pain. This wasn't right, he should be able to override those signals, but right now they overwhelmed him, and they did not feel good at all.

While he was confused, Pavonis clocked him in the face with a solid punch, snapping his head back. Disorientation flooded his senses, and he found himself unable to compensate with his demon senses at all. It was like he had been struck blind and deaf, forced to rely on weak, limited human abilities. It unnerved him, and he had no idea how to handle this new change in perception. His vessel was strong enough, he has exercised it, but it couldn't stand up to a demon. When he tried to move forward in a counterattack, his legs were knocked out from under him, and next thing he knew, he was hitting the cold, tiled floor.

He whined in frustration as his limbs protested, then there were sharp knees in his back, one hand grabbing the back of his head and yanking painfully on his hair, the other hand curling fingernails against his throat, above the leather.

"Like my collar, Cipher?" Pavonis said quietly. "I designed it just for you. To lock down your powers."

Bill's eyes widened. Struggling, he brought a hand up to the collar, feeling static dance across his fingers. But he was able to touch a single finger to it without too strong of a shock, maintaining the contact just long enough to feel the runes etched into it. He swallowed. This was unfamiliar magic. New magic.

"Took me a while to put it together, but I had some help from Gideon. He made very generous loans of his own magical ability to me as well. He didn't have much, as an untrained human, but his was different enough from mine that it was very useful. Now, Cipher... time to go."

Bill fought to throw him off, but the other's grip was unrelenting, and his vision faded as Pavonis teleported them.

Bill has been way too silent.

Dipper chewed restlessly on some graham crackers as he tried to focus on the cheesy cartoon movie, but ever since he felt Bill's thoughts stop, he has been on edge. It wasn't like it was unfamiliar... sometimes Bill just felt like being a jerk and would temporarily cut off their connection so he could do his own business without having someone listening in. Sometimes he did it so he could get a surprise for Dipper without spoiling it. But this time seemed different. Usually there would at least be a bit of quiet from Bill before the connection vanished, but this time, he had been allowing his whistling and musing over various foods to come through, and then it just... went quiet. All he could pick up on was a kind of anger, then apprehension and worry, and... nothing.

Bill could take care of himself, he knew this, but he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Did something startle him? Did someone in the store try to start a fight? It seemed unlikely, but what else could cause Bill's emotions to rise like that?

As he was considering tearing open another pack of chocolate, he heard someone knocking on the door near the stairs. Seriously?

"We're closed!" he yelled. The knocking persisted, and he grumbled as he got up. Could be one of their many acquaintances... who should know they should call first. Showing up unannounced on a snowy winter day was just rude.

When he reached the door, he found that no one was there. His brow furrowed. Okay, were the local kids getting an early start on Halloween pranks? He turned away, only to hear another set of knocks.

"I swear to God there better not be another flaming bag of dog shit on the porch," he said loudly as he turned back and swung the door open. Stepping out, he did notice the lack of any lit paper bags, so it was good so far. Then there was movement in the corner of his eye, and he turned just in time to be struck across the head by an iron pipe.

Pain exploded in his skull, so intense it brought him to his knees. Magical fire ran down his arms as he realized he was being attacked, but before he could use it, something was locked around his neck, so tight it almost choked him, and the fire went out.

Blinking tears of pain out of his eyes, Dipper managed to look up at his attacker. His vision was blurry and he had a pounding headache, but he could see well enough to identify the other. Gideon stood over him, smacking the end of the pipe against his palm. Dipper tried to use his magic, tried to throw the other away or teleport, anything, but nothing happened. The buzz of energy was gone. His mind was closed off, unable to access that power. The other boy had an insufferable smirk on his face, and as Dipper started to demand an explanation, the pipe was swung again, and there was another splitting pain before everything went dark.