Chapter 39: The Demon's Scorn!( Set when both Pines and Cipher are 18!)
'Have you ever given up something for the sake of someone you love? Was it something personal? Something they didn't care for? What about something you know you can live without? As human! Bill rushes into the portal to save Mabel from her captor, he soon finds out that giving up his power might have been a mistake, especially when he discovers it's embodiment that can only be named a Demon's Scorn!
Sweat is pouring down his face, his heart is racing, and his pupils are dilated as he is running at break neck speed to the Shack. After getting the note that Mabel has been kidnapped by the monster that Bill swore never to see again, the only thing that rushed through the ex-demon's mind is saving the woman he loves. Why did they have to break up over something like this? Why was he so tempted by gaining his power back that he was blind to see what was truly in front of him? Why did it all have to happen like this? If it weren't for him, none of this would even be happening right now!
So many questions ran through the man's mind, but no answers to provide a peace of mind for him. The only thing on his mind was getting Mabel back and making things right with her at all costs, even if it meant giving his life for her. As long as she was safe, that's all that mattered to him!
"Mabel, I'm sorry!" Bill says to himself, tightly clutching the note in is hand. "I was such a fool for putting power ahead of you! Why did I even let that cross my mind? I am so sorry! If I lost you, what would I do?"
Now reaching the forest entrance of the shack, Bill doesn't bother to knock ,but instead pulls the doors open to the point of nearly pulling it off it's hinges and rushing inside. Before the ex-demon can go any further, he is met with an angry Dipper Pines who has been less than happy at seeing the man since he and Mabel's break up and with the thoughts of wanting to bury the man because he broke his sister's heart. And without power, that would be needlessly easy.
"If you're back to cause more damage, Mabel isn't here!" Dipper growls to the man as he blocks the blonde's path. "Of course if she were, I wouldn't let her see you anyway! I knew her even going out with you was a bad idea!"
"Pine Tree, we can get back to our rivalry later, but for right now, Mabel is in danger!" Bill hastily informs the furious younger pines. "I found this note when I got home and found out she was lured into the portal! I have to save her before I lose her forever! I know I was foolish for breaking her heart and did have a good reason to do so, trust me, I realize that, but you better believe I'm going to make things right with her at all costs!"
Turning his blazing vision away from the ex-demon, Dipper snatches the paper from him and reads over the note, his simmering temper quickly fizzling out as his eyes widen from what he is reading. Turning back to the heavily panting blonde, Dipper's eyes are saying what words his mouth can't form which are: If you don't save her, I'll really have a reason to bury you!
"Is Stan still in the basement?" Bill asks through his heavy pants.
"Yea he is." Dipper answers, with Bill going around him and beginning down the hall. "And Bill?"
Hearing the pines call out to him, Bill whips around to Dipper and notices the man smiling at him.
"You two better make it back here safely or else." Dipper playfully threatens the man with Bill beaming a quick smile in his direction and resuming down the hall. Now reaching the intersecting hall that leads to the gift shop and the stairs that leads up to the attic, Bill notices a trail of debris that leads into the den towards the gift shop caused by the monster that snatched Mabel. The bottom of the stairs leading to the attic have been decimated, the wall next to the kitchen doorway has a large gaping hole in it as if someone were thrown through it, and the den itself looks as if a tornado hit it! The chair is toppled over, the television is lying flat on its front, the fish tank on the right side of the room is destroyed with the tank's water saturating the carpet, the entire room is a complete disaster area!
"That's the thing about bad guys." Bill expresses, carefully stepping through the debris on his way to the gift shop. "They can never be subtle when making an exit!"
Now reaching the gift shop, a bigger shock hits the man when he notices the vending machine leading to Stan's underground lab has been destroyed with the machine itself lying on the ground with a wide gaping hole open in the back of the machine as sparking wires protrude from the hole. Just seeing that, Bill can feel his human blood beginning to boil. It's not enough that he snatched the woman he cares deeply for, but to destroy his future in-laws property, that is going too far!
Now rushing down the stairs and into the elevator despite the debris that is scattered about, Bill finally makes it to the lab only to be met with more debris in the form of fallen rocks, broken glass from the monitors and gauges around the room, and even the glass that separates the room from the portal's area.
"Stan!" Bill calls out to the older man as he carefully maneuvers through the glass and rocks on the floor. "Stan, are you in here?"
Not getting a response, Bill can feel his pulse quicken that much more to the point of his heart nearly exploding! What if the monster hurt Stan or worse? He can't bear the thought of the worst case scenario right now despite how overbearing the thoughts are.
Making it through the damage, Bill enters the area of the portal and notices a beaten and unconscious Stan lying on the ground on his back with his broken glasses lying to the right of him. Despite the older man's outer appearance, which speaks of an apparent struggle between him and the intruder that entered his home and made off with his great niece, his breathing is steady from the rising and falling of his chest despite what his outer appearance says. Getting closer to him, Bill notices that Stan's shirt is torn, his medallion has been ripped from around his neck, the man has what can be described as deep claw marks running from his throat and to his torso, and his right slipper has been knocked off of his foot. Bill even notices a deep gash on Stan's forehead that is peaking out from under his bundle of grey hair that is bleeding, but not enough for him to go into shock. Rushing over to his side, the ex-demon sits him up with hopes that is Stan alive and can tell him what he needs to know.
"Stan, please tell me you're alright!" Bill voices with worry, his pulse still racing. "Stan, please answer me!"
Apparently from hearing Bill's voice, the older man's eyes flutter open with him turning in Bill's direction, his blurry vision now making out the outline of the ex-demon's face. With a renewed rush blasting through his veins, Stan opens his eyes fully and now wraps his hands around Bill's throat with Bill toppling over and Stan's left knee pressing hard into his chest.
"You have a lot of nerve coming back here Cipher after what you've done!" Stan hisses as he tightens his grip around Bill's throat. "You hurt my great niece and now you send some monster to kidnap her?!"
"Stan, you've got it all wrong!" Bill chokes, now grabbing onto Stan's wrists so to try and pry him off of this throat. With what strength he does have, Bill manages to evade Stan's death grip while taking in sharp breathes to regain what was lost. "I never created that monster! That thing came after me and is using Mabel as bait to lure me out! I know I broke her heart for something that I now realize was a mistake, but I plan to make things right with her! I promise! She's in that portal and I plan to go in there and save her, even if it means giving my life for her. As long as she's safe, that's all I care about!"
Hearing the devoted words of the ex-demon, Stan can hear through the ringing in his ears, the sincerity in his words for Mabel. While he never cared for the man in the start, he has to admit that there is something there that stands out from all the other men that Mabel has dated, something that makes him worth liking in his vernacular. Softening his gaze, Stan stumbles to his feet with the help of Bill, the old man now pointing in the direction of the portal.
"Go." Is what catches Bill's ears. Turning to the older man, Bill notices that he is pointing towards the portal.
"What?" Bill questions, making sure he heard the man correctly.
"You heard me, I said go!" Stan repeats. "If you don't make it back here safely with her, that monster won't be the only thing you'll have to worry about! Now go save my niece knucklehead!"
"But what about you?" Bill inquires. "You're hurt."
"Son, let me tell you something." Stan begins as he straightens his back. "I was in the toughest army, had the meanest sergeant, and have been in more fights and enemy camps that you only hear about on television. Not to mention, been in jail more times than you can count with Columbia being the worst there was. Now if I can survive that, you better believe I can survive a few scars and blood. Now go save my niece before I show you just what the army has taught me!"
With a small smile forming on his face, Bill releases the man and faces towards the portal, a sharp breath being drawn in and released. Mentally brushing away any thoughts of doubt, Bill now runs into the portal, a blinding turquoise light spewing from the gateway.
The bright light fades with a smoldering charcoal grey scenery now surrounding the ex-demon, him taking a short moment to take in his surroundings. Walking a short bit further into the unknown, Bill now looks around, more grey scenery meeting with his vision.
"Mabel?" Bill calls out, hoping to get a response from the woman. With no response returning, Bill walks further into the portal with his eyes scanning the area for any sign of the woman.
"Mab-" Bill begins calling out to her again, but is stopped by the sound of her voice calling out to him.
"Bill!" Mabel's scared voice cries out to him from his left. "Bill! Help me!"
"Mabel! I'm here and coming for you!" Bill calls back to her, him now running in the direction of her voice. "Hang on!"
Continuing on his mission, Bill now spots a figure lying on their back ahead of him, prompting the blonde to pick up speed so to reach them. Now being within range of the person, Bill notices that the person lying on the ground is Mabel and she is unconscious. Rushing to her side, Bill cradles her in his arms and places her head in his lap while checking for any signs of life within her. Feeling that she doesn't have one functioning vital sign, a wave of sadness now hits the blonde. Looking down into her unconscious face, Bill can see her image starting to blur in his vision. While the woman doesn't have any visible scars, she isn't breathing and doesn't have a pulse.
"Mabel, I'm sorry!" Bill apologizes as he places a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I placed power ahead of you and now look what happened to you! I wish I can take it all back and that we can happy again, but it's thanks to me that you are like this! I hope that you can forgive me for this!"
With tears now rolling down the man's cheeks, a tear lands on Mabel's face, which causes the woman's eyes to flutter. A groan can be heard which catches Bill's attention with him now noticing her eyes crack open and roll up towards him.
"Bill." Mabel's weak voice speaks at seeing the man hovering over her. "Bill, you came."
With a smile, Bill wipes away his tears.
"Of course I came!" Bill happily replies. "I can't live without you Mabel and I'm so happy that you're alright. I was worried sick about you!"
"Oh Bill!" Mabel happily exclaims with tears now pouring out of her eyes as she embraces the man in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you came for me! I can't stand another minute in here with him! He's done nothing but torment me!"
"It's over Mabel and I'm taking you home right now." Bill says, the woman still embracing him in a hug. "You won't have to worry about him ever again. Once you're back safely on the other side, I'll come back and deal with him! He's going to pay for hurting you and taking you away from me!"
Still embracing the man in her arms, Mabel's gentle expression now changes to a sickening evil smile as she raises her right hand, a sharp dagger now appearing in it. Slamming the dagger into his back, Bill releases an ear piercing howl as Mabel twists the dagger in his back, the pain it's bringing the ex-demon giving her pleasure! Releasing the handle of the weapon, Mabel gets to her feet and kicks Bill in the rib cage on his right side, smiling as the man wriggles in pain.
"Mabel, how-how could you?" Bill chokes out as he warily tries to grip the weapon in his back so to remove it.
"You fool!" Mabel speaks in a voice not of her own. "How could I ever love a weakling like you?! You're pathetic!"
Despite his vision staggering from the overwhelming pain, Bill looks towards Mabel as she breaks out into a hysterical laugh with her body now becoming engulfed in grayish blue flames. Halting her laughing, the girl looks towards Bill and now morphs into a vision that will forever become tattooed on the side of the blonde's eyelids and brain, a vision that use to haunt him every time he looked in the mirror when he possessed the one thing that made him who he use to be, Bill Cipher, dream demon.
"Awe, don't tell me you're not happy to see me because I am overjoyed to see you again!" The demon now taunts the human. "Ha! If you actually believe that, you're dumber than I thought you were! However, I knew by dangling the one person you care the most about in front of you, your sickening human emotions would surface! I'm so glad to be separated from you and am even ashamed that I use to be a part of you!"
"Loving someone is-isn't a weakness." Bill sputters, blood now spilling out of the corner of his mouth. "I love Mabel and I don't care how weak that makes me look."
Scowling, the demon delivers a sharp kick to Bill's stomach, further making the man roll over, forgetting about the dagger that is still sticking out of his back.
"Considering that I'm not completely heartless, I'm going to give her a chance to see you one last time before I send you into the dreamscape permanently!" The demon in Bill's image laughs. "But not to worry, I'm going to take real great care of her and wouldn't dream of hurting the poor dear! Haha! Dream! See what I did there? I crack me up."
"You better not lay a hand on her!" Bill manages to shout to the demon through the pain he is feeling.
"And what are you going to do to stop me, human?!" He challenges in a hiss, now snapping his fingers with a glass tube filled to the top with a thick yellow liquid appearing and inside, an unconscious Mabel whose hands are tied behind her back, her ankles tied together, and duct tape over mouth. The woman's hair is a mess and a small bruise is visible under her left eye. "Without your powers, you're just as weak as her race is or at least, that's how I remember it anyway. Oh Mabel darling."
As if on cue, the woman opens her eyes and notices her human Bill and the demon that dragged her into the portal as bait for Bill. Her eyes widening, she begins fighting against her bonds while screaming behind the duct tape over her mouth.
"So, any last words for your beloved before she witnesses your lights going out permanently?" The demon speaks.
With searing pain shooting throughout his body and his vision beginning to blur, Bill is trying to muster what strength he can gather so to fight for the woman he loves and not let this monster win! After all, he managed to get this far so why give up now?
"I'm not letting you win!" Bill hisses as he stumbles to his feet, now removing the dagger from his back despite how painful it is and holding the handle of the weapon tightly. "You can say and do whatever you want to me, but I'm not letting you win! I gave up my powers for her and she will always be more important to me than anything else in this life! You better believe one thing for sure, I'm walking out of here with Mabel and that's a promise!"
Smirking, the demon raises his right hand with it becoming engulfed in white hot flames.
"I see you're a glutton for punishment." The demon calmly speaks. "Well then, it would be rude of me not to kindly accommodate you!"
Now standing straight on his feet, Bill wipes away the stream of blood that was escaping his mouth, a smirk of his own coming to his face.
"I can take whatever you throw at me!" Bill challenges as he motions for the demon to come at him while positioning the dagger in just the right position so to wield it when needed.
"Oh I'm going to enjoy this!" The demon replies as he lunges towards the human.
*And this is just a preview from my upcoming fic 'A Demon's Scorn'! You can check out the full summary for this fic on my profile for further details! Also, there is a MaBill poll open on my profile until Sept. 6th so cast your votes now! For those that have voted, thank you much!
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