(A/N: How's it hanging? Still clinging to that cliff I left you at last chapter? Well, let me put you out of your misery, because we're here with the next installment. This chapter may be a little bit shorter, but it was originally intended to be part of last chapter, but I split them up when it started it getting too long. It still works as its own chapter though, possibly even better than as part of the last, so let's get to it.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 12: Bill Makes Bad Deals

There was a fiery explosion upon impact, and Bill cried out as he was blasted backwards. He landed hard on his side with a grunt as bits and pieces of rock rained down around him. He recovered quickly though and pushed himself up, then looked at where his statue was in horror.

"No!" he wailed, reaching out towards the blast.

As the smoke and dust cloud settled, the destroyed remains of the Bill statue became visible. It had been completely blasted apart, with the two biggest pieces being the top hat and the extended arm.

"No, no, no!" Bill cried and rushed over to the pile of rubble.

All around, the tornado died down, allowing the others to bear witness to the scene. Luz lay a short distance on the ground from Bill as he attempted to gather as much of the shattered statue into a pile. He placed the top hat on top and stuck the arm into the center of it, then grasped the hand and desperately shook it, but to no avail.

"No, no, no, no, no! It doesn't work!" He angrily threw the stone arm, where it broke in half against a tree. "I don't believe it! That was my only chance to get a body! I was so close too! How could this happen!?"

As the others rushed over to Luz's side, Bill's attention was drawn to them. His eyes flashed violently and his face twisted with anger. Getting up, he whirled around to face the others, pointing to one of them in particular.

"You!" he thundered furiously.

Luz was suddenly yanked away from the others by an unseen force. The others called out her name as Bill floated up into the air, taking Luz with him. She gasped and sputtered, clawing at her neck, as if she were being choked, and there was indeed the imprint of palms around her neck, like invisible hands were strangling her.

"Do you have any idea what you've done!?" Bill roared. "That statue was my only chance to get a body! Now I'm stuck as a mere mind in this pathetic human body!"

Still clutching her throat, Luz attempted to speak around the invisible hands choking her. "That… was… the plan…"

Bill's eyes flashed furiously. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your victory, because now you and all of your little friends will have to die. And guess what, hero; you're first!"

Once again, an unseen force seemed to grab hold of Luz and began slowly turning her head to the side. She grabbed at her own head, attempting to stop it as her head began to turn past her turning point, threatening to break her neck and turn her head completely around.

"Luz!" Amity exclaimed, and each of the magic users prepared to attack.

"Hold it right there!" Bill shouted down at them. "One more move and I'll snap her neck right now." This gave the others pause as they looked on helplessly, and Bill returned his attention to the girl in question, a cruel sneer spreading across his face. "Of course, I'm going to do that anyway, but every second of life counts, right?"

Luz's eyes were practically bulging out of her head as her neck turned to the breaking point. She was practically waiting for the sound of her neck snapping and her life to end. Only this time there would be no Titan waiting for her in the in-between realm to interfere with her passing and bring her back to life. This time, death would be for keeps.

"Wait, stop!" King shouted as he rushed forward. "Let's make a deal!"

The twisting of Luz's head stopped, but still held in place at the painful angle as Bill glared down at the little Titan. "What kind of deal?"

"King, what are you doing?" Eda demanded in a hushed voice.

The little Titan ignored her. "What if I know of another way you can get a body? Spare Luz and I'll tell you."

Bill studied him for a few moments before glancing at Luz, then looked at King again. The invisible force released Luz's head, allowing her to turn her head forward again, and she began coughing and gasping for air.

"Go on," Bill said curiously. "How else can I get a body?"

"King, seriously, what are you doing?" Eda asked again.

"Don't make a deal with him," Dipper insisted. "There's always a catch."

Once again, King ignored them as he pointed up at Bill. "As long as you agree to spare my friends, then… then…" he took a deep breath, "then I'll give you my body.

This was met by shocked gasps from everyone else, followed by cries of "What!?" Even Bill seemed baffled, raising an eyebrow at the little Titan.

"You said I'm the reincarnation of the original you," King explained. "That means if you take over my body, you should be able to make it yours since, well, I was originally you."

Bill continued to study him for several more seconds, then he carelessly tossed Luz aside, and Eda quickly flew up to catch her. "Interesting… Yes, that could work." He motioned for King to come to him, and the little Titan was lifted up to float right in front of Bill. "You're saying you'll sacrifice yourself by giving me your body, after you all fought so hard to stop me from getting one to begin with?"

"King… cough… no…" Luz wheezed.

He still continued to ignore the others. "Well, I have a few conditions, of course. I'm not just going to hand over my body for nothing."

Bill's eyes narrowed. "You're not exactly in a position to bargain."

King pointed at him. "Actually, I am. This is the only way you can get a body now, so you need me. I know how your deals work; you can't take me over unless I agree. I have something you want, you have something I want. That's how a deal works. You either abide by my conditions or I don't give you my body."

"In which case, I'll just kill you all," Bill pointed out.

"Hey, I'm doing this to save my friends, so I'm going to make sure they stay safe," King argued.

The interdimensional being rolled his eyes. "Uch, fine, what are your conditions?"

"King, no, don't do this!" Anne shouted up at him.

"We'll find another way!" Mabel added.

"There is no other way," King called down to them. "Bill's too powerful. He could kill us all at any moment. With this, I can at least ensure your safety."

"But he'll destroy the rest of the multiverse!" Dipper cried.

"You mean liberate it," Bill replied. He then gave King a bored look. "So that's it then? You want me to agree to spare your friends and you'll give me your body in exchange?"

King nodded. "That's right. You're not allowed to hurt them or do anything to them, not ever."

Looking bored, Bill once again rolled his eyes. "Sure, fine. I won't harm a hair on their head. As long as they promise not to interfere with my fun of course. If they get in my way, then they're fair game. I think that's only reasonable, don't you agree?"

The little Titan pointed at him. "And one more thing, you're also not allowed to do anything to Earth, Amphibia, or the Boiling Isles, ever."

Bill's eyes widened in disbelief. "What!? Now you've gone too far. That's asking too much."

But King held his ground as he glared at the interdimensional being. "No, it's not. You don't want them to interfere with your fun, then you need to leave their worlds alone, or else they will, which just moots the whole point of this deal. The whole reason we're trying to stop you is to save our universes. There are countless worlds and dimensions out there for you to conquer. All I'm asking is that you leave the human realm, Amphibia, and the demon realm alone."

"Oh, so now it's the entire human and demon realm? A moment ago those were just Earth and the Boiling Isles."

King crossed his arms. "Come on, Bill, be reasonable. The rest of the multiverse is yours for the taking. What's three little worlds compared to all the others? Just agree to spar my friends and our worlds so they can leave in peace and the rest is yours to do whatever you want with. That's a pretty generous deal. You're definitely getting more out of this than us."

Bill scowled, but appeared thoughtful as he considered King's conditions. The others looked on in dread, not liking either option. Finally though, Bill let out a sigh, giving the little Titan a look of admiration.

"You drive a hard bargain, kid," he told him. "But very well, I agree to your conditions."

"No!" Luz cried in dismay. "Please, King, don't do this!"

Lowering his head, King gave his foster sister a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry, Luz, but I have to. But while I'm still me, just remember that… that I love you guys." Tears filled his eyes, but he blinked them away as he returned his attention to Bill. "Swear to it. And tell me the conditions of our deal. I want it to be clear with no loopholes."

A loud groan escaped the interdimensional being. "Uch, fine. I hereby swear that in exchange for your body that I won't ever do anything to your friends down there or to Earth, Amphibia, or the Boiling Isles."

"The demon realm."

"Yeah, yeah, sure, the demon realm. You satisfied?"

Letting out a resigned sigh, King closed his eyes for a few seconds, as if mentally preparing himself. "Yes, we have an agreement."

"King…" Luz begged.

He glanced down at the others once more. "Luz, Eda, thank you so much for everything. I don't know what's going to happen to the me you know after I do this, but I'm grateful to have had you as my family." He turned back to Bill. "Alright, let's do this."

Bill's maniacal grin returned. "Very well. It's a deal!"

He held out his hand and a blue flame appeared in his palm. King hesitated for a few moments, glancing at his own clawed hand, then reached out and grasped Bill's hand, giving it a shake. The moment he did, the flames expanded, moving over King's hand as well. Bill's grin widened and he began laughing like a madman. His eyes rolled up into his head and his body, or rather, Marcy's body went limp.

Bill's laughter continued to ring out, though it no longer emitted from Marcy's mouth. Suddenly, the transparent outline of Bill rose up out of Marcy. He wasn't so much a ghost as he was an actual glowing outline, as if someone had drawn him with colored pencils made of light but had forgotten to actually color him in.

His arm was extended, his hand at the meeting place of King and Marcy's. It then traveled up the length of the little Titan's arm and up his body until it reached his forehead, making it look as if Bill were reaching into his skull. Then, still laughing, he was sucked inside.

King's head jerked back, as if something had slammed into him. The blue flame surrounding his and Marcy's hands was extinguished, and the girl in question suddenly dropped from the sky. While the others had been looking on in horror, Willow managed to snap out of it enough to send up a series of vines to catch the Taiwanese girl before she hit the ground.

Up in the sky, King was grasping his head, his eyes squeezed shut and his body trembling. But his trembling soon stopped, and then his shoulders began shaking as he began silently laughing. His laugh became audible though, and it was very different from how the little Titan usually laughed, but very akin to that of a certain interdimensional being.

As King's eyes suddenly snapped open, they were revealed to be the same kind of eyes as when Bull was controlling Marcy. They were visible for only a few seconds though before his whole body began glowing, to the point where he appeared to be made of light.

"King, no!" Luz shouted.

Bill's laughter just grew even louder as the glowing form of the little Titan began to change shape. "Sorry, to disappoint you, but King's gone." His form finished changing, and was now in a familiar triangle shape. "And Bill is back!"

The light vanished and King was gone. In his place was Bill Cipher in all his glory, looking just as he did in Marcy's mind and exactly as Dipper and Mabel remembered him. Luz, however, was more concerned with the loss of her foster brother than she was of the immediate threat Bill presented, and she let out a quiet, "No…"

"Oh, yes, baby!" Bill countered. "I've been restored! New and improved. Ah, who am I kidding, I was always perfect." He looked down at his hands. "And my power has been fully restored as well. But let's test it, just to be sure."

He pointed forward and motioned upward. The trees of the entire length of the forest for as far as the eye could see rose up into the air and began twirling around. Bill laughed as he lowered his hand and the trees came back down and replanted themselves.

"Yes!" he declared. "I've returned to full power. Did you miss me, Gravity Falls? Bill Cipher is back again." But then he shrugged. "Well, a copy of the OG Bill, but same difference. I'm the only Bill there is, so yeah, Bill is back!"

Down on the ground, the others looked on in horror. Not just at what had become of King, but at Bill being here in the real world at full power. But while most of them had horrified looks on their faces, Eda and Luz looked heartbroken. Tears began pouring down Luz's face, but she seemed to be in a state of shock, unable to tear her eyes away from Bill.

Eda had tears in her eyes as well, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall in a blatant attempt to try and remain strong. Her hand clenched into a fist, so tightly she nearly drew blood as her nails dug into her palms, and she reached up and wiped her eyes before glaring up at Bill furiously.

"Ok," she said, her voice cracking, "you got what you wanted. Now it's time to fulfill your end of the deal."

Bill turned to her. He didn't have a face beyond his single eye, but if he had one, there was no doubt that he'd be smiling. "Ah, Eda. Or should I call you 'Mom'? Nah, too formal. In any case, I want to thank you. Not only for taking care of me, but for keeping me so amused. You really are one of a kind, Owl Lady."

"Enough of your babbling!" Eda shouted, sounding on the verge of a breakdown as she trembled with barely suppressed rage and sorrow. "You got your body, you've had your power restored, so just get out of here! Go… conquer some other nearby dimension and get out of this one like you agreed!"

Bill's single eyebrow rose. "Like I agreed? I do believe our agreement was that I wouldn't do anything to any of you or your worlds. It was never that I had to actually leave."

Mabel shook her fist up at him. "We don't want you here! After what the other you did the last time he was here, or what the you-you did now, you're not welcome here anymore!"

Bill just crossed his arms and nodded. "Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Very cute, Shooting Star. You too, Owl Lady. I can understand why you would want me gone. It must be painful to have me here after seeing what happened to King. I can't imagine how much that must have hurt… so I'm not going anywhere!"

Moving to stand beside his sister, Dipper pointed up at him. "You made deal, Bill. You swore you wouldn't do anything to our world, and yet you're already going back on it. You just uprooted a bunch of trees for miles. Even if you did put them back, do you know how much that's going to disrupt the forest and the creates in it?"

Bill casually floated down to them as he lounged on his back in midair. "Yeah, about that. I know I said that I wouldn't do anything to you or your worlds, but guess what, I'm gonna!"

He motioned upward with his finger and all the others were lifted up into the air, had their heads bonked together, and then were tossed back. Bill openly laughed at them as they let out pained groans, and Sasha forced herself to sit up, rubbing her head where it had been knocked against Hunter's.

"Hey," she said, pointing at him in accusation, "you can't do that. You made a magic deal thing with King. There were even fiery blue handshakes and everything."

Bill flew over to her. "Yes, so there was. But here's the thing, toots, deals can be changed as long as both parties are in agreement. And seeing as King is my reincarnation, or OG me's reincarnation if you want to get technical, then that means he is me and I am him. So let's see what he has to say about this."

He rose up into the air and suddenly split in two, creating a second Bill. Both Bills turned to each other, each of them looking smug despite not having a face.

"Hey, Bill," the first Bill said to his copy, "are you ok with me going back on my side of the deal and wreaking havoc all across the multiverse, even the worlds I said I wouldn't touch?"

The second Bill just waved this off. "Sure, Bill, have at it. Tear this whole dimension apart if you want." He then pointed down at the others. "But what about those guys? Is it ok if I mess with them?"

This caused the first Bill to laugh. "Go ahead, do whatever you want with them. Show 'em what it's really like to party."

Both Bills laughed at this before coming together, and only a single Bill remained, and he looked back down at the others. "Well, there you go, we're all good on both ends. I'm just fine with me not upholding my end of the bargain."

Looking outraged, Anne pointed up at him. "You… That is… You're just… You!"

"I think what she's saying is that you planned this all along," Amity accused.

Anne pointed at her. "What she said!"

Getting to her feet, Luz glared up at the interdimensional being. "You were going to use this leap in logic ever since King gave you his conditions. You completely took advantage of the fact that King's your reincarnation to get out of your end of the deal."

"I told you, Bill makes bad deals," Mabel replied.

Despite it being part of his body, Bill had removed his hat and was now twirling it around with his finger. "Hey, it's not my fault if the little fleabag didn't consider all the angles. He should have thought things through a bit more." He then placed his hat back on his head. "So, now that that's out of the way, let's get started. It's time to begin Weirdmageddon 2.0. Let's see, where did the original me leave off? Hmm… Oh, yeah, I believe it was…"

He snapped his fingers. Instantly, everything around them changed. It was as if Bill had flipped a light switch or changed the channel on the TV. Gravity Falls instantly went from being completely normal to Weirdmageddon as it was seventeen years ago, as if the madness had never ended back then.

"Ah, there we go," Bill remarked. "So much better, don't you think?" He held out his arms. "Now this is a party!"

However, the only one who seemed to think so was Bill himself. Witches and humans alike looked around at the chaotic environment uneasily. Not even the Boiling Isles while under the Collector's control could compare to what they were now bearing witness to. And they weren't the only ones who were horrified, as the gnomes Bill had tossed around earlier were fleeing in terror.

"Run for your life!" Jeff shouted as he fled with his fellow gnomes. "It's the end of the world part two!"

"Shmebulog!"

Anne backed away as a tree suddenly developed feet and began storming after the gnomes. "What's going on? What is all this?"

"It's Weirdmageddon," Dipper replied, and reached up to swat a giant, mutant, two-headed mosquito that had landed on him and attempted to suck his blood. "Bill's started it up again. And believe me, it's only going to get worse from here on out."

Mabel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dipper, if Bill really figured out how to spread Weirdmageddon beyond Gravity Falls, then the whole world is in danger."

The color drained from Dipper's face. "Then we have to stop him before he takes down the barrier."

A growl slipped past Eda's lips as she glared up at Bill with eyes that had turned completely black and her feathers stood on end. "Well," she seethed through clenched teeth, "if King is gone and the girl is no longer being controlled, I guess we don't need to hold back anymore."

A hawk-like screech that was more animal than human escaped her as she shot up towards Bill. He carelessly glanced at her as she came at him and swiped her hook. Bill casually reached out and grasped her hook with two fingers. "Yeah, that's really cute, lady. Seems you're a little upset that your little pet is no longer with us."

"He was my son!" Eda snarled, the last word coming out as a screech.

Bill rolled his eye. "Fine, son, whatever. No need to go to pieces over it though."

He snapped his fingers and Eda quite literally fell apart. Her hand, hook, feet, arms, legs, wings, and head all fell away from her torso, dropping to the ground in a pile.

"If you're going to behave like a wild animal, then you belong in a cage," he told her, and snapped his fingers again. Several cages appeared, each one encasing one of Eda's body parts.

"Eda!" Luz cried, rushing over and picking up the cage containing her head. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," the Owl Lady's upside-down head growled. "Get me out of this thing so I can tear him apart."

"Not if we lose our heads," Luz replied, but then seemed to realize what she said. "Sorry, you know what I mean. We just need to stay calm and figure out a way to beat him and get King back."

Up in the sky, Bill laughed mockingly at this. "That's hilarious. And just how are you planning to beat me? With these?"

He made a come to him motion, and all the palismen staves were yanked out of everyone's hands by an unseen force. They flew up into the sky and began circling over his head.

"These were carved from trees, right?" he asked, even though it was clear he already knew the answer. "What do you say we take things back to their roots. Literally."

He pointed at the staves, then down at the ground. The staves all dropped down, stabbing end first into the ground. They then grew in size and transformed into trees, the tops of which were trimmed to have the shapes of the Palismen.

"Stringbean! Owlbert!" Luz cried.

"Ghost, no!" Amity screamed in dismay.

A traumatized look crossed Hunter's face as he stared at the tree his palisman had turned into. "W-Waffles?"

Floating over to one of the trees, Bill banged his fist against it. "Knock on wood, am I right?"

Amity seized control of her Abomination sludge. "You monster!"

She formed a giant Abomination and sent it at the interdimensional being. The purple golem let out a grunt as it stomped towards him with its arms raised. Bill just remained where he was and eagerly rubbed his hands together.

"Oh, goodie, I could use a drink," he said, and then snapped his fingers. The Abomination froze, and then was sucked down into a small glass that suddenly appeared before floating up to Bill. Plucking the glass out of the air, he used his eye like a mouth, his eyelids acting as a pair of lips, to drink down the Abomination sludge. "Aah, that really hits the spot."

Sasha made a face. "Eww."

"We can't fight him head-on," Dipper told them. "He can basically control reality. We're going to have to retreat and regroup."

Mabel grabbed and shook him. "Come on, there has to be something we can do. This isn't like the last time. We have magic on our side now."

Her statement was met by laughter as Bill floated over to them. "Oh, right, sure. Magic. That'll help you. Tell me, what kind of magic are you planning to use next? Some more Abomination goop? Some pretty little plants? A few fancy illusions? Cute little drawings on pieces of paper? Just how exactly is magic going to help–"

Something blasted against him. He was unharmed by it, but it was enough to draw his attention, and he gave Hunter an annoyed look. Hunter was glaring at him furiously with tears in his eyes as he drew another magic circle, firing another burst of magic that harmlessly blasted against the interdimensional being.

"Change her back," Hunter snarled furiously and tearfully. "Change Waffles back right now! Give her back to me!"

He fired several more blasts of magic, but each was ineffective as the last. Cutting his eye at him, Bill just crossed his arms and gave him a bored look. "Sheesh, Golden Guard, chill out. You're getting so bent out of shape over a silly palisman." But then he slapped his head. "Oh, that's right. You lost your first one. The one Evelyn had made for Caleb all those years ago. No wonder you're so upset. Well, don't worry, GG, I'll give you a bigger and better Flapjack."

He snapped his fingers, and the tattoo on Hunter's arm suddenly floated off him. He took a step back in surprise as it rose up into the air and grew to a massive size. It then gained depth and detail, until it had become a giant thirty-foot version of Flapjack, complete with scar, who turned to Hunter, cocking its head to the side curiously.

More tears filled Hunter's eyes. "F-Flapjack?"

The giant red bird chirped pleasantly, but then it suddenly scowled and let out a loud screech. It lunged forward to peck at him as Hunter stood there in shock with his arm outstretched to the bird.

He was tackled out of the way at the last second by Dipper, and the bird's beak drove into the ground, cracking it. Hunter laid on the ground, stunned, as Dipper rose up over him and looked down at him furiously. "What are you doing, you idiot!?"

"But…" Hunter muttered, both sounding and looking traumatized. "It's Flapjack…"

Dipper slapped him, bringing the grimwalker out of his trance. "Snap out of it! It's a trick! Bill's just messing with you!"

A loud tweet behind them had both Dipper and Hunter turning around, and the giant Flapjack loomed over them. Suddenly, the others rushed over to defend two boys.

"He's right," Willow told Hunter as she sprouted two more vines on either side of her. "That's not Flapjack. Flapjack's gone. And even if he wasn't, you know that he would never hurt you. Don't be fooled by this fake."

"It's his tattoo though," Gus remarked, looking from the big red bird to the place Hunter's tattoo had been. "How'd he do that anyway?"

Mabel threw her arms up. "Um, hello! Control of reality!"

The bird screeched and took a step forward. Without Stringbean, Luz had to rely solely on her glyphs, and she activated a light glyph that caused a blinding flash of light. The bird recoiled, shutting its only eye. Willow acted next, sending vines up at it and wrapping its beak shut.

Amity glanced at her girlfriend. "Hey, Luz, you remember that spell Eda used on the slither-beast?" She looked back up at the struggling bird. "Sleep spell!"

She drew a magic circle in the air and sent it flying up at the bird. But as the glowing circle flowed over it, nothing happened. The bird just blinked, then tore free of the vines.

"That didn't do anything!" Sasha shouted, throwing her arms in the air.

"I know, but why?" Amity exclaimed.

"Maybe it doesn't sleep since it's because it's just a tattoo and not something real?" Anne suggested. "I don't know, I have no idea how any of this works!"

The bird spread its wings aggressively and the others screamed. It lunged forward to peck at the closest of them, which just so happened to be Sasha. However, the blonde girl disappeared, revealing herself to be just an illusion as the bird pecked at her.

Its one eye blinking, the bird pecked next at Mabel, and then Luz, but they disappeared as well. It chirped questioningly, then glanced behind itself to see the others running away, including those that had disappeared when it attempted to peck them. Anne and Sasha were dragging the unconscious Marcy along while Amity was twirling her finger around in the air, retracing a magic circle to levitate the caged, several parts of Eda along with them. The bird chirped again before it spread its wings and took to the air.

Gus looked over his shoulder as they ran along. "Guys, I think it saw through my illusion!"

"We just need to get to the trees!" Dipper called back. "They're too thick for it to get through them!"

But before they could reach those trees, the bird came down in front of them, cutting them off. They backed away from it as it advanced on them.

"What do we do now?" Willow asked.

"What do you mean, what do you do?" Mabel demanded. "You're witches, you have magic! Use it!"

"It's a giant animated tattoo created from Bill's reality warping," Gus replied. "What exactly are we supposed to do against that?"

"Magic!"

The bird took another threatening step towards them. All the others stepped back except for Anne, who held her ground. With her being one of the ones supporting Marcy, Sasha took notice of her friend's lack of retreat.

"Anne?" she asked uneasily.

The girl in question took a deep breath. "I'm going to try something. Take care of Marcy until I get back."

"Wait, what are you…?"

Removing Marcy's arm from around her shoulder, Anne took off, circling around the bird. It briefly glanced at her before looking back on the others, deciding to focus on the bigger group, and took a step towards them. Anne ran behind the bird, stopping at the entrance to the woods, then she picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could at the bird.

"Hey, you big Flapjack phony, over here!" she shouted.

It was the rock more so than the shout that drew the bird's attention, and it turned around to face her. Anne stood her ground, looking determine as the bird now took a step towards her.

The others looked on in fear and bewilderment as Anne assumed a pose. "What is she doing?" Dipper asked.

Sasha's eyes widened in realization. "I know what this is."

Allowing everything else around her to fade out, Anne gave herself over to her environment. A rather difficult feat with how chaotic everything had become. And yet even this strange warped reality had its own bizarre rhythm. Anne picked up on it and began moving to it.

"It's the Plantar family dance," Sasha whispered.

As the bird watched Anne move, its stance became less aggressive. It now began watching her almost curiously, its head making small, jerking movements in time with Anne's. Its wings made small flapping motions as well, as if it were preparing to pounce, but trying to find the right moment to do so.

Suddenly, it lunged forward. Anne kept her eyes closed as she kept moving, even as the bird came at her. Still following the rhythm, she made a twirling, ducking motion, smoothly maneuvering out of the way of the bird's outstretched talons and then crouching beneath it. The bird seemed baffled that it missed just before it crashed into the trees.

A loud screech escaped the bird as its head became stuck between two trees, and it began struggling to get free. Anne proceeded to do her strange dance, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. The others rushed past her with Luz grabbing Anne's arm. Anne snapped out of her apparent trance as she was dragged along.

"Huh? What?" she gasped out.

"Anne, that was amazing!" Luz exclaimed.

"I know," Dipper agreed as he ran along next to them. "I thought you were exaggerating about the effectiveness of the dance when you told us about it."

"Save the admiration for when we're safe," Eda's head replied from within the cage Mabel carried. "I think your dance made your bird friend angry."

It seemed she was right. The bird managed to pull its head out from between the two trees it had been stuck in. It angrily flapped its wings before flying after the others as they rushed for the woods.

They made it at the last possible moment, slipping past the tightly packed trees that the bird once again crashed into. It screeched angrily as it attempted to get through. Willow made it even more difficult by having vines grow around the trees, closing all the openings.

Realizing it wasn't going to get through, the bird finally gave up. It tweeted angrily before turning around and flying off. The others let out sighs of relief at finally being safe.

For now anyway.

(A/N: Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire. King had a good idea that would have worked under normal circumstances, but Bill managed to find a loophole in King's logic to go back on his side of the deal. Now he's back with his own body at full power, and Weirdmageddon is back in full swing. The chaos is already in motion and Bill is messing with people in some pretty twisted ways. Poor Hunter, it seems his past traumas keep finding their ways back to him. And now everyone else has lost their palismen as well. Seems our heroes are in quite the pickle. Everything has gone cuckoo, they lost their palismen, King is gone, Bill is back, and Eda and Luz are on the verge of losing it from the loss of King. Speaking of which, the whole thing with him being the original Bill's reincarnation worked perfectly for this scenario to take place. Tune in next chapter to see where things go from here.)