Punishment
When Dipper came to, it was to the sound of loud growling and the clinking of chains. He groaned as he blinked his eyes open, wincing as the pain from a headache hit him. Then he became aware of his arms being held above his head, and when he flexed his wrists, felt something tight around them. Looking up, he saw leather cuffs attached to chains, which in turn connected high on the wall. The cuffs were carved with runes that glowed a faint violet color.
Dipper's brow furrowed and he quickly looked around to the source of the growling. Not too far from him was Bill, who was similarly tied up. The room was dimly lit, but Dipper could see that Bill's wrists were torn open from his struggling, blood streaming down his arms. He also saw a collar around his neck, and judging by the pressure on his own neck, he had one as well.
"Bill," he called to him.
Bill immediately fell silent, staring at him. Then his expression brightened. "Pine Tree! You're awake! I was starting to worry!"
"Y-yeah, I am... what happened? Where are we?" Dipper tried to reach out to the other with thought, but it was as if a blanket had been draped over his mind. He was alone in his head, unable to hear Bill's thoughts.
Bill's expression quickly soured. "I don't know exactly where we are. Some old wooden house from the looks of it. I was teleported directly into this room and tied to the wall. You were dragged in not too long after."
Trying not to panic, Dipper pulled experimentally on his bindings. They didn't give, nor could he burn them or split them apart. "Who brought us here? Did you see?"
Bill snorted. "Yeah, I saw. It was Pavonis and Gideon."
Dipper went still. "Pavonis and Gideon?" He remembered being knocked out by Gideon now. "Oh, oh yeah, Gideon attacked me earlier! He knocked on the door and when I came out he hit me with this pipe and... and he put this thing around my neck..." Dipper shifted his chin and could feel the tug of the leather on his skin. "And then I couldn't use my magic!"
"Yes, it's an enchanted collar, the runes are a newer magic but it's pretty much like what I put on you when you first practiced that killing spell. It prevents its host from using any magic whatsoever. You can't talk to me telepathically and I can't even get out of this body or see into the Mindscape."
"Oh God, then we're trapped, aren't we?" Dipper thrashed, trying to get away from the wall, and his shoulders protested the movement.
"Pine Tree, calm down, I'll think of something!" Bill said, wanting so badly to send reassuring thoughts to the other, but he couldn't. All he could use was his voice. "We're smart, we'll get out of this!"
Dipper started to relax, but a door opening made him jump and tense up again.
"Good, you're both awake," Gideon said cheerfully as he strode into the room, Pavonis following close behind him. Gideon stopped a few feet back from the two, looking them over. "So, Pavo, you say they can't use any of their magic?"
"Nope," Pavonis replied, eyes flicking over Bill and Dipper. "Go on, provoke them."
"Um... I'd rather not."
Pavonis rolled his eyes and walked forward, slapping Bill hard across the face. The dream demon snarled and snapped at him, but there was no blue glow of magic in his eyes, no fire bursting up in his hands.
Dipper flinched at the sound of the strike, and his eyes widened when Pavonis grabbed Bill's shoulders and roughly slammed him into the wall several times.
"Hey, stop!" Dipper yelled, fighting to pull his arms down, but only succeeded in chafing his wrists and making them bleed.
"Heh." Pavonis let go of Bill, who briefly slumped down before recovering and struggling to hold himself up again. "He can't do a thing."
"Fuck you," Bill hissed. His foot kicked out, hitting Pavonis hard in the shin, and the psychic stumbled back. He almost lost his balance, but recovered it, lifting his leg to massage his shin.
"Still got some fight in you, though," Pavonis muttered. "We'll see how long that lasts." He kicked Bill back, hitting him in the ribs and making him gasp for breath.
"What about Pines?" Gideon asked, carefully approaching Bill and looking him over.
Pavonis turned to Dipper, walking closer to him. The human pressed himself back against the wall, turning his head away as the other reached toward him. His chin was roughly grasped, head turned forward again. Anger flared in his chest as the other's green eyes locked onto his, but he still couldn't do anything. No matter how much he focused, how many words he yelled in his mind, he couldn't even summon the tiniest flame. He was powerless.
"He's on lockdown as well," Pavonis said, gazing into Dipper's eyes for a few moments before letting go of him and straightening up. "Thank you for your help with these collars. They are doing a marvelous job."
"No problem." Gideon came over to look at Dipper, leaning in to examine him, tugging his bangs back to look at his birthmark. Dipper took advantage of his proximity to lunge forward and bite into the other's hand.
The boy swore and tried to back away, but Dipper held on tightly, ignoring his disgust in favor of trying to at least bite through to the bone. He could taste blood. Gideon punched him with his free hand, which really hurt, but Dipper was used to such pain, and refused to let go. He could vaguely hear Bill cheering him on.
"I'll get him off." Pavonis grabbed Dipper's face with a hand, and next thing the human knew, his body was being wracked with pain. It felt like hot spikes were racing through his body, all the way down his spine and into every limb, and his jaw went loose immediately, allowing Gideon to pull away. Dipper screamed as his muscles went into uncontrollable spasms, as a burning smell filled his nostrils. Then Pavonis pulled his hand away, and Dipper went limp, panting. White lines covered his face, stretching from where the demon's hand had been, down his neck and disappearing from view under his clothing.
"What did you do to him?" Bill demanded, eyes wide with fear.
"He's fine, I just electrocuted him," Pavonis said casually, flexing his wrist. A few sparks of electricity flew from his palm and fizzled out. "You two have your pyrokinesis? I have my electrokinesis."
"What do you want from us?" Bill asked.
"I'm glad you asked. Gideon, the floor is yours." Pavonis bowed his head and stepped back as Gideon moved forward.
"When I heard about these murders going on, I was disgusted," Gideon said. "I wanted to bring the ones committing them to justice. I had a feeling the supernatural was involved, and when Pavo found Bill's aura, I wasn't that surprised." He grabbed Bill's jaw, squeezing it harshly as he glared at him. "I knew you were insane." He shoved his face away and stepped over to Dipper. "But then Pavo identified you."
Dipper leveled him with an equally angry stare, and Gideon didn't try to grab him.
"We went to several places to be sure, but it was definitely you underneath those tasteless hoods. And he recognized your aura anyway from when we met you. Once we were sure who we were up against, we spent a few days preparing those collars that you are both now wearing. And then we captured you, and here you are."
Bill forced a yawn. "Great, now what do you plan on doing with us?"
Gideon smiled, and reached inside his jacket, taking out a scalpel. "Why, punishing you, of course. You two have caused so much pain and suffering... I think it's time you paid recompense for your transgressions."
He grasped the hair above Dipper's temple, tugging his head back as he leaned over him, and lowered the blade to his forehead. Dipper fought to get away, but the other's grip was firm, and Pavonis soon came over to grab him, holding him still. Dipper could only watch with worry, eyes crossing as he tried to keep the blade in sight, but its point touched down right on the tail of his birthmark. A little more pressure and it cut through, beginning to move up and toward the center of his forehead.
A scream bubbled up in Dipper's throat, but he clamped down on it at the last moment, not wanting to give Gideon the satisfaction of knowing how much that hurt. He squeezed his eyes shut as the scalpel continued to cut, now moving down, and he could feel blood trickling down his face. He bit his lip, breathing quickly, refusing to make a sound even as pain assaulted his senses. He heard Bill yelling obscenities at Gideon, but the boy was ignoring them.
After what felt like forever, the blade was pulled back, and Dipper slowly opened his eyes. Blood ran into them, and he blinked. It felt like his entire forehead was stinging, and he shook his head, managing to return his breathing to normal.
"That looks good, doesn't it?" Gideon crooned, stepping aside.
Pavonis nodded in approval. "I like it. Let's see what his partner thinks." He pushed Dipper's head toward Bill, and Bill inhaled sharply.
"What, what is it?" Dipper asked quickly.
Bill's mouth was drawn into a tight line, one of his eyes twitching. "He marked you. With a star."
"A star?!" Dipper couldn't see his own forehead of course, but he reflexively tried to look up anyway, only to get more blood in his eyes. As he swore and blinked it out, Gideon took a mirror out of one of his pockets, holding it up to him. Dipper's eyes met those of his reflection, and then he saw the neat lines carved into his forehead, marring his birthmark, forming a simple five-pointed star shape. He gasped and jerked back.
"Oh, and we're just getting started," Gideon said happily. "That's just a little something to remind you of who you belong to now."
"I don't belong to you," Dipper snarled. "As soon as I get out of here I'm healing this, Bill is the only master I serve."
"Such brave words, little Dipper, but they're idealistic." Gideon played with the scalpel, letting the blood drip from it. "You ain't getting out of here. You and that shameful excuse for a demon are our prisoners now. You thought you were justified in torturing and killing people? Well, then I think we're justified in doing the same to you. I don't even think I'm gonna turn y'all in... I'll just punish you myself. With you two, this is personal." Gideon tossed the knife to Pavonis, who easily caught it. "Why don't you give Cipher a little mark as well?"
"On it, boss." Pavonis went over to Bill and got to work, and Dipper squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to hear the soft grunts of pain. They soon ended, though; Bill had a very high pain tolerance.
"Lemme see..." Gideon had a phone out now, flicking through it. "I've done research into all these murders, and lord, you two have done some awful things. Truly disgusting. But they do give me some ideas on what we can do to you. We aren't gonna kill you; not yet, anyway. But in the meantime, I think I'd like to try... ah, here's a good one. Pavo, how about the flaying?"
Dipper's heart stopped.
"Nah, not yet," Pavonis said, stepping back and flicking the blood from the scalpel. Bill opened his eyes and screamed at him, but the psychic hardly lifted a brow, instead making sure Bill saw it as he slowly licked the blade clean. Pavonis seemed to savor the taste. Then he continued, "I think we should just beat them first. Start 'em off easy. Beat them until they're about to pass out, shock them awake, and then we start using knives. Then we can start cutting skin off if we want."
Dipper swallowed, knees starting to shake. Gideon looked at him, and he forced himself to still, not wanting to show how afraid he was.
"I thought you were brave, Pines," Gideon mocked, pacing in front of him. "Are you really so reliant on your magic that you're helpless without it? How sad."
"Hey, if I had you tied up in an unfamiliar place, you'd probably be scared too," Dipper snapped.
"Probably. Guess I won't know, since ya know, I'm not the one tied up." Gideon walked over to a window that Dipper hadn't been paying attention to before, looking out. "In case you were wondering, we're in an old cabin that had been abandoned in the forest. There are plenty like it. This one is about... hmm, ten miles from your place, I wanna say? It's quite small, falling down in places, but it'll do. This room in particular gets a nasty leak when it rains. You'll find out soon, I'm sure."
It was pretty cold in the room, and now that Dipper was thinking about that, he shivered. That's when he remembered that he hadn't really been wearing a jacket earlier, just a sweater that Mabel had sent him. Bill was in a similar one. But it wasn't enough for the really cold weather.
"I assume this place is too old for a heating system?" Dipper asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely. You'll be miserable tonight." Gideon watched Pavonis as the star demon teased Bill with the tip of the scalpel, running it along his throat, and Bill was holding perfectly still so it didn't cut him. "Pavo."
Pavonis pulled away and returned to him. "My name is Pavonis, and I expect you to say the full thing, human."
Gideon rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. All right, wanna get started?" He cracked his knuckles.
Pavonis pocketed the scalpel, flexing his arms. "Sure. Which one do you want?"
"Hmm... you know what, I think I want to take the demon." Gideon went over to Bill, who glared at him, eyes promising him a very painful death.
"He deserves to be knocked down a few pegs," Pavonis said, nodding. He stood in front of Dipper, getting a sure stance before reaching out to wind his fingers into the boy's hair and hold his head up.
"Ready?" Gideon asked.
Pavonis smiled. "More than ready."
"Let's punish them."
Dipper squeezed his eyes shut, prepared to be struck in the face, but instead received a hard blow to the gut that knocked the breath out of him. He wheezed, doubling over, and his shackles pulled painfully on his arms as he put his weight on them. Then came the fist to the face, snapping his head back into the wall, and he cried out as he felt bones crunch. He tried not to show fear as he looked back at Pavonis, but the other was a demon. And one that could naturally exist in reality as well, at his full power. So he was incredibly strong.
Soon, blood was dripping out of Dipper's mouth, and he was forced to close his eyes as repeated blows to the face caused rapid swelling.
Meanwhile, Gideon was beating down Bill without any rhyme or reason, just striking him wherever he could and as hard as he could, and the rings on his fingers soon tore the skin on Bill's face to shreds. Bill was soon having to jerk his head back, eyes tightly closed, in an attempt to keep himself from being blinded. His nose was already broken, a few teeth chipped. All repairable with magic... but still extremely painful. But Bill made no noise besides natural grunts as air was forced out of him, just focusing on breathing and riding out the abuse. He's had worse. No human was going to make him cry.
What Bill was concerned about were the noises from Dipper. He tried to glance at him as often as he could, and the weak sobs the other was making as he was struck made Bill's blood boil. He wanted to rip Pavonis apart for laying a hand on his Pine Tree.
"Such bold thoughts for someone so helpless," Pavonis commented, meeting Bill's eyes. He smiled. "No, I don't know exactly what you're thinking about. But I can see your emotions change in your aura. I can take a pretty good guess at what you're thinking based off that."
"I fucking hate you, and as soon as we get out, I'm going to take great pleasure in ripping you apart piece by piece," Bill swore.
"Shut up, Cipher," Gideon responded, hitting him in the mouth and breaking a tooth out. Bill made a startled gasp at that one, coughing and spitting the tooth out, along with a fair amount of blood. "Not so great when teeth are ripped out of your own mouth, huh?"
"And I'll enjoy making you suffer as well," Bill hissed at Gideon. "I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance. It would have been so easy. But I thought prison would take care of you. Guess I was wrong."
"Prison shaped me into a better American. I'm doing a great service to the public by taking down two menaces like you."
"Gideon, listen," Dipper managed, spitting out blood. Pavonis started roughing him up again, but Gideon held up a hand.
"No, let him try to defend himself."
Pavonis respectfully stepped back, idly examining the blood on his hands.
Dipper took in a few breaths, and said, "Look, we... we aren't killing anyone innocent. You've dealt with demons, you know... when you make a deal with one, you are expected to uphold your end of the bargain. A payment is agreed on. You must pay it. Pavonis, what would you do if you were promised something and then the person refused to pay it? And not only refused, but ran away? After taking whatever you had given them?"
Pavonis gave him a bored look. "Kill them, probably. Or take whatever it was anyway."
"Exactly. Kill them." Dipper glanced at Bill, shocked at how torn up his face was. Then he looked back at Pavonis. "Remind me, what is the alternate payment that's always accepted? If, for whatever reason, the first one falls through?"
"Souls, of course."
"Right! Souls!" Dipper looked at Gideon. "All we're doing is debt collection! For anyone who has dealt with Bill and then betrayed him! We're just taking them out! It's something Bill would be doing on his own, I'm just helping him now! Gideon, surely you understand!"
"Oh, I understand. That doesn't mean I like it." Gideon pointed aggressively at Bill. "That demon is murdering people and you're helping him do it. I don't care that he thinks it's justified. It isn't. You two have caused too much pain to be allowed to just walk away!"
"A-are you going to keep us here?" Dipper asked, feeling his breathing speed up as he started to panic.
"I dunno. I might. Depends on how much I decide to punish you two. But you can be sure of something, Pines. You won't be leaving for a very long time."