Burned Out
When morning came, Dipper and Bill were apprehensive, but optimistic. Gideon actually showed up first, taking the chains that bonded the two and leading them outside so they could get their daily relief out of the way early.
It was cold and wet, their bare feet quickly turning numb as they walked across the damp grass, but they still liked being able to stretch out their legs and breathe in fresh air that didn't smell like blood and sweat.
Bill had to be supported; his legs hadn't healed correctly from Gideon breaking them several days ago, so putting weight on them caused incredible pain. It was one of the many things that would have to be fixed once they were freed.
Gideon didn't really talk to them, looking away and going through his phone as he waited for them to finish their business, only responding when the two told him they were done.
He was leading them back inside when Pavonis appeared in a crackle of electricity that made their hair stand on end, and the demon was in his star-shaped form, blinking at them as he flew in a close circle around them.
"Done with your bodily functions?" he asked, voice possessing an eerie second tone that wasn't present in his human form.
Gideon answered. "Yes, I was just taking them back in."
"Good, because I have some fun things planned for them today." Pavonis closed his eye, and more static surrounded him as he shifted into his human form.
Gideon scowled as he fixed his hair. "Hey, I told you that I want-"
"Yes, yes, you want to free them soon. But I need a little more time to get what I want out of them. Do you know just how strong Cipher is? I can't just take his essence all at once, I have to do it carefully."
"How soon do you think you can get it done?" Gideon asked.
Pavonis considered. "Hmm... another week, probably? If I really push it. But it could kill Bill's human vessel. If that's not a concern of ours, then by all means..."
"I don't want to kill it. Just... be careful. Take a little longer if you need to, then... but can we please go easier on them? Pines is still really sick, after all."
Dipper was actually feeling better, but he sniffed loudly anyway, giving Pavonis the most miserable look he could.
Pavonis sighed. "Oh Gleeful, you are too kind... You must have really been brainwashed by those counseling sessions in prison. Fine, I'll reel it in a bit with the human. But Bill is a fellow demon, he can take whatever I do to him. He's apparently had worse." Pavonis gave Bill a rough shove as they went into the cabin, and the other ended up tripping and falling onto the floor with a soft grunt.
Dipper quickly helped him up, but his arms shook; he was weak after so many days with hardly any food, and his limbs were covered in cuts, bruises, and burns anyway. Everything hurt, and the additional strain from pulling Bill to his feet was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
"Thanks," Bill said to him, leaning over to kiss the tears away. Dipper couldn't help looking at Bill's missing eye, biting his lip and trembling. He could only imagine how much that must be hurting the other.
"I have so many great things planned today," Pavonis said brightly, watching Gideon take the two into the room they've been locked up in, moving them a bit away from the previous day's blood puddles and attaching the chains there.
"You always say that," Bill sighed.
Pavonis gestured to Gideon, who handed him the backpack he brought along every day.
"Let's see... ah, here we go. This should be fun." Pavonis took out what looked almost like a scale, except it had a cord and a dial on the front, along with a small plastic bag filled with square black rocks.
"What is this, science class?" Dipper asked, squinting suspiciously at the items. He recognized the device as something he has used in school before.
Pavonis picked up the cord to the burner, holding the plug in his hand. The device powered on when he turned the dial, and a display showed the temperature. "Sure. I'm gonna conduct an experiment. I want to see how long it'll take for a single piece of charcoal to burn through human flesh."
Dipper recoiled. "What the fuck!"
Gideon seemed just as disturbed. "Where uh... where are you putting the charcoal?"
"Dunno yet," Pavonis replied. He chose a piece and set it on the hot plate, watching it slowly heat up. "But I know how this stuff flakes apart as it burns... should be a really interesting result."
Bill couldn't move very far, but he did his best to shelter Dipper behind him. "You are not touching him. Do it to me, but Pine Tree doesn't deserve that."
"I think you both deserve it equally. But if you're volunteering, then by all means... Gideon, choose a thigh and expose it for me."
Gideon turned to Bill, took in a breath, and leaned down to grab the fabric over one of his legs. Though the two captives still wore pants, the clothing was torn to shreds by now, barely hanging on to them. It was really for modesty more than anything. Gideon tore a decent shred of fabric from over one of Bill's thighs, large enough for a piece of charcoal to sit on the flesh.
"I'll do a thigh first... if I like the results, I think I'll let one burn its way into a stomach. Won't that be fun?" Pavonis laughed as he used tongs to prod at the charcoal, waiting for it to grow hot enough.
Bill swallowed but didn't show his worry. He felt Dipper's hand move into his and gave him a glance.
"It'll all be over soon," Dipper assured him quietly. "We can get through it."
Bill swallowed and nodded, looking forward again. Soon. He had to believe that.
The charcoal torture was excruciating, and Bill wasn't the only one who had to suffer it. The piece had burnt through the skin and sunk deep into the meat of Bill's thigh, and it was actually pressing against the bone when Pavonis used the tongs to grind the charcoal into powder, at which point it finally cooled and dispersed. What was still in the wound, Pavonis left as he set another piece burning to use on Dipper.
It was one of the few tortures that actually had Bill crying, not really by choice; his vessel was in so much pain that it was a natural response, and Bill hated every desperate cry and plead that came from his mouth as he endured the agony.
His thigh felt like it was on fire when Pavonis turned away from him to heat a new piece, and he cussed out the demon with every vile word he could think of, including several in dead languages. He didn't stop until it became apparent that the next piece was not for him, and he switched to begging, not wanting Dipper to suffer it, knowing he wouldn't be able to handle it, but Pavonis didn't care.
The torture was enough to make the boy pass out, and Pavonis sighed as he knocked the coal away, and proceeded to strike Dipper across the face with the hot tongs as he tried to wake him up.
Once he got the human to open his eyes, he started on him again, this time slapping him every time he seemed about to black out, keeping him awake and terrified the whole time. After that, Pavonis proceeded to use up the entire bag he had brought, and the two were covered with disgusting, large burnt holes by the time he was done.
Gideon seemed sick to his stomach, and called for a stop as soon as the last piece was dust.
"Yeah, they do look pretty awful already," Pavonis laughed as he stood and looked the two over, appreciating how they were curled up and trembling, tears streaming down their faces. Dipper was openly sobbing while Bill's jaw was clenched, the demon ignoring his pain enough to hold the other close with his arms. There was very little blood from this; the charcoal had cauterized any veins it broke.
"I told you I didn't want to do things like this, this is horrible, I... I think I need a moment." Breathing shakily, sickened by the smell of burnt flesh, Gideon went over to the window and leaned out.
"Okay, take your moment, I'm gonna go outside and clear up my sinuses, it really does smell awful in here." Pavonis didn't leave right away though, instead pausing right outside the door to pick something up. "And when I get back, I'm gonna have some fun with this." He pulled a saw into the room, and Dipper and Bill gasped at the sight of it, holding each other more tightly.
Pavonis laughed, tossing the saw onto the floor and walking out.
"B-Bill, I can't do this anymore, I... I want to die," Dipper choked out, burying his face against Bill's chest. "Everything hurts, it feels like I can barely breathe, I'm sick and starving and I j-just want to die so it will all go away..."
"Pine Tree, no, don't say that." Bill kissed him. "We'll get through it, please don't just give up, and especially don't say that you want to die. You have so much to live for... listen, when we get out, we'll take care of the pain. We'll go to the hospital and be treated. It'll suck for a while but anything will be better than this. Then we can go back to the Mystery Shack, keep doing our tours and magic shows... Soos and Melody will be having their baby by next month! In only a few weeks, Dipper! Aren't you excited? Don't you want to see their little girl?"
Dipper sniffed, nodding a bit as he thought about that. "Y-yeah, I am really looking forward to seeing her..."
"And!" Bill pressed on, relieved that Dipper wasn't shaking as much, "Your sister is in town! You're going to see her when we get out! You can't give up, not with Shooting Star waiting on you! You don't want to leave her behind, do you?"
"No, I don't, I... I want to see Mabel again."
"Of course you do, I want to see her too. So please, stay strong, and stay alive. It would be so easy for us to just die, but we can't. Not yet. We have a long life ahead of us, a life together, I want to enjoy it."
Dipper took in a slow breath, exhaled, and said, "I'm sorry. I just want the pain to end."
"I know... I do too. This is all really awful, isn't it? Tell you what... from now on... no more vigilante. Just... we'll deal with the people who have betrayed me alone. And we won't torture them, we'll just... take exactly what they owe. That's all. If a death is needed, we'll just do it quick and move on. Okay?"
"Okay..." Dipper wanted to sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be able to now. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at Gideon, who was watching the pair.
"I feel awful," the other said, fiddling nervously with his rings. "Look, I... I don't want to see you suffering anymore. And... if you promise to do what you said, not torture people anymore, just... I'll let you go. How about that?"
"If you can let us go, we would love that," Bill said.
Gideon nodded, eyes briefly darting toward the saw, and then walked toward them. "Okay. But Pavonis ain't gonna like it."
"I don't care, get us out of here."
Gideon looked nervously at the window, and then knelt next to Bill, reaching for his collar. His fingers were able to pass the electrical barrier, and he pressed against a few runes, muttering something. There was a spark and he flinched. "Ah... I don't quite know everything about these... I just helped. But I'll try to get them off. I'm just an amateur at magic, nothing like you, Dipper."
But Gideon managed to unlock the collar, and a seam appeared, allowing him to separate it and drop it. The moment it lost contact with Bill's neck, the demon felt magic surge back into him, and he gasped, remaining eye widening as it all returned. Vision flared as he once again saw the Mindscape, senses sharpening to their previous state, and he felt the current of energy that flowed through the entire universe, that the talented could draw on for magic, and that demons could always feel.
He laughed giddily, blinking and holding up a hand, cyan flames bursting from it. They weren't as strong as he could usually make them, he was still weak, but it was something!
"Pine Tree! Hold on, let me take care of you!" Bill grabbed Dipper's collar, easily breaking it with magic, pulling it off and hurling it to the other side of the room.
Dipper's body went rigid, eyes also widening as he was able to access his magic again, irises briefly taking on a golden glow before he raised his hand, making a flame much like Bill's, grinning as the yellow flames danced over his fingers. "I can use my magic! Bill, I can use magic again!"
Bill grinned too, hugging him tightly, almost sobbing as he realized he could hear his partner's thoughts again. And Dipper realized this too, and their minds seemed to embrace as well, exchanging thought and emotion, and though the shared memories of their respective tortures was agonizing, it only brought them closer together.
"Oh, oh hold on, let me heal you!" Bill said quickly.
"Wait, you two are really weak," Gideon interrupted. "I'll do it. I may not be the best, but I can do this." He hesitated, then reached into his pocket and took out what looked like a bracelet made of strange red pearls. He slipped it over his wrist, and the stones glowed as he lifted his hands. "Magical artifact," he explained. "Like my old bolo tie. Who first?"
"Dipper, heal Dipper," Bill said instantly. "But quick, before Pavonis returns." With his perception returned, he was able to watch the other demon as he paced outside, stretching and occasionally messing with Gideon's motorcycle. He couldn't read another demon's mind without actively using a spell, so he had to watch body language to get an idea of when the other may return.
Gideon nodded and turned to Dipper as the boy separated from Bill to sit in front of him. "Okay, Pines, what first?"
"All these wounds from the charcoal, please, before they get infected."
"Right, let's see." Gideon took in a breath, and began whispering Latin as he moved his hands over the wounds. His eyes took on an unsettling red glow, but the magic seemed neutral enough, just doing what it was ordered to do. As he passed over each hole, it closed, bringing relief. Once all of them were closed, he moved on to anything that looked infected, and the skin cleared, pain fading, cuts closing up into pale scars.
"Oh, my hands and feet, please," Dipper said, pulling the bandages off and flinching as they tugged on his skin.
"Oh man, hurry," Bill said as he sensed Pavonis start to walk back to the house.
Gideon quickly healed the puncture wounds from the nails, and Dipper struggled to his feet. Bill got up too, hissing at the pain in his legs.
"Cipher, let me fix your legs, you won't be able to run on them like that," Gideon said urgently.
"I won't need to run, give me the key to your motorcycle."
"My motorcycle? My father bought that for me as a reward for being released from prison, you can't just-"
"The key, Gleeful!" Bill yelled.
Gideon glared at him but gave him the key.
"We'll buy you another!" Dipper shouted, wrapping an arm around Bill to support him as they ran out. They stumbled and almost fell several times, but they were invigorated by their new freedom, adrenaline rushing through them from the excitement.
They passed Pavonis at the door, and the psychic jerked back, staring at them in shock. "What the- hey!" He started after them, but they were quick to mount the motorcycle, Bill kicking the kickstand up and starting it, as Dipper sat behind him and tightly held onto his waist. In seconds, the vehicle was revving up and shooting off through the trees, following the barely noticeable path that would hopefully take them out of the forest.
Pavonis's eyes glowed purple, and he whipped toward Gideon as the human came up next to him, grabbing him by the neck.
"You let them go?!" he demanded, fingers digging in hard enough to choke the other.
"I-I had enough," Gideon managed, face turning red. "What you had planned for t-today would have killed them... I couldn't let it continue." His fingers scrabbled desperately at the back of Pavonis's hands.
The psychic snarled and threw the other hard against the outside wall of the cabin, turning in the direction that the two had fled. "You still owe me all of Cipher's magic. I'm going to get it, and when I get back, you are going to suffer in their place." He took off running, almost as fast as a motorcycle himself, disappearing into the woods.
Gideon wheezed as he got up, grasping his bracelet as he ran after the other. He wasn't as fast, but he was determined to catch up. One way or another, he had to be there to see how this ended.