AN: Thank you again for the LUV!

Okay, that's about it :3

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Demon King

As Stan searched town all day and was unsuccessful at finding Matthew, he decided two things, one, he was never asking directions from kids ever again, two, Ellie was going to murder him. But could she blame him when it was her kid who walked out with all his teenage angst?

"Watch it!"

Stan snapped out of his musings when he realized he almost crashed into a girl with dark curls and grey eyes.

"Sorry," he grumbled.

"People these days!" She said. "I have a guest to impress!"

The girl walked off with her groceries, shaking her head.

"Yeesh, kids these days."

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

"Hello Matthew Pines," The Boy said with a smile. "Now that you are my prized…ah, guest, you should finally know my name, Damion Befuddlement."

Matthew snorted in laughter. "You serious? Are you joking? Damion Befuddlement? Oh God."

Damion scowled as Matthew burst into uncontrolled laughter. When he finally settled down, he smirked at the supposed Demon King. "To what do I owe the pleasure of being tied up, your majesty?"

Damion smiled once more. "Out," he said to Stratus who obeyed instantly and left the attic. "First thing's first; I want you to know that I have your best interests at heart, Matthew."

Matthew scoffed. "Well you're sending some seriously mixed messages here. I mean you sent a goon to Taser me then carry me here to tie me up. So, sorry if I don't think you care about my best interests."

"A very sarcastic one," Damion mused.

"That a problem?"

"Not necessarily," Damion said. "Anyway, your mother, Ellie, sent you here to be kept away from me, and I would guess, so your past self— "

"Wait, wait, wait. Mom, knew?! She knew I was Bill?!" Matthew demanded in shock.

Damion smiled again. "Indeed."

"Why didn't she tell me?" Matthew asked weakly.

Damion shrugged as the oily blackness in Matthew's soul began to reawaken.

She didn't tell me?! Why didn't she tell me? Don't I deserve to know?

"You feel that?" Damion asked suddenly, a smirk on his face.

"Feel…what?" Matthew asked slowly, the darkness slowly fading.

"It's getting stronger."

"What's getting stronger?"

"The darkness within you," Damion drawled.

"What?" Matthew demanded as fear replaced anger and betrayal. "I-I don't want it to get stronger!"

"Why not? It's your destiny," Damion said.

"I—no! I don't want—if my darkness takes over…what'll happen to the twins?" Matthew asked.

"You see, Matthew. Everybody's soul is split in two sides, their dark half and their light half. The more you get feelings like love, generosity, and selflessness, the stronger your light half becomes. But the more you feel things like bitterness, jealousy, and betrayal, the stronger your darker half grows. Having your siblings around…it produces a lot of love from you, and the more you stay with them, the less dark you become…which is bad," Damion said.

"Why do you think your powers shut off? You were getting too loving, too caring, too selfless." Damion shuddered. "You were forgetting who you really were, who Bill Cipher was."

"I'm not Bill Cipher," Matthew said firmly.

"You are, Bill Cipher, you'll always be him, he's in your very soul," Damion said.

"I got my flames back, that has to count for something." Matthew said.

"Yes, I know," Damion said. "But, question, do you remember anyone kissing you?"

Matthew narrowed his eyes, moving his sleeping limbs a bit and gritting his teeth at the discomfort. "No. Nobody…" Matthew's voice trailed off and his eyes widened in realization.

"Wendy…"

"Yes…" Damion said as if he were eating something delicious.

"But…my parents kissed me when I was younger," Matthew said.

"They're human."

"But—so is Wendy…isn't she?" Matthew looked at Damion who simply smiled mysteriously.

"Wendy isn't human?"

"I didn't say that."

"You're implying it."

"I implied nothing."

Matthew scowled at the infuriating boy before lying back on his pillow. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I will tell you all of that—in about an hour," Damion got up and walked towards the attic door.

"What?! Dude! You can't leave me hanging!" Matthew called.

Damion turned around and smirked. "I just did." And with that, he opened and closed the door.

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

"La, la, la, la, la…there!" Mabel said triumphally, holding up the gold brick sweater she had made for Matthew. "You think he'll like it?"

"Sure, I guess," Dipper mumbled dismissively, looking at the door.

"Not to worry, Dip-Dop! Matt will come through that door any minute now!" Mabel said happily. Just then, the door opened.

"Ma—oh, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel said. Dipper jumped off the counter. "Did you find him?" Dipper asked.

Stan frowned and shook his head. "I've searched for two hours, the town the woods…I can't find him."

Dipper and Mabel exchanged a worried look.

"W-what if he got so mad he ran away?" Mabel asked.

"Matt wouldn't do that…would he?" Dipper said.

"Or, what if he's kidnapped?" Mabel said. "What do we do then?"

"One thing's for sure, your mother is going to murder me," Stan grumbles with a sigh.

"Oh, she won't blame you Grunkle Stan," Mabel said. "Matt walked out on his own."

"I was supposed to make sure he didn't go all gold eyed, and I failed miserably," Stan sighed, hanging up his jacket.

"If he doesn't come back today we'll have to call the police," Stan continued as he walked out.

"Dipper…" Mabel said in a low voice. "Do you think...what if Matt…jumped off a cliff or something?"

"Mabel don't talk like that," Dipper said firmly. "Matt's stronger than that. He wouldn't just say "enough is enough" and end his life!"

"Yeah but…since I could remember he's been fighting Bill. I could tell, it was always in his eyes. And then we turned around and called him the very thing he's fighting, what if he thought we didn't love him anymore and…?" Mabel's bottom lip trembled.

Dipper forced a chuckle. "Hey, c'mon Mabel, that—that's crazy! Matthew wouldn't do that! He couldn't have done that!"

"We need to find him," Mabel said firmly. "What if he's stuck in a cave again? Or being held hostage by a crazy creature? Or—or anything could be happening to him!"

"You're right, look, if he doesn't come back in let's say an hour, we go looking, okay?" Dipper said.

Mabel nodded.

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

Matthew grunted with exertion as he pulled against the bedposts once more. The rope rubbed against his wrists, turning the pale flesh red.

"Come on…" He ground out. "Come on, Come on!"

The bedpost gave a groan but that was about it.

Matthew finally gave up, lying against the pillow in defeat. He squinted at the digital clock next to him. He hadn't been back at the Shack for two hours, he wondered if the twins were worried. Or probably not, especially after the jerkish things he said to them.

Man, I messed up this time.

The door than opened and in came Penelope with a tray of soup.

"In comes the she-devil," Matthew sneered. "What are you? Another one of mister Befuddlement's little pawns?"

Penelope furrowed her brow and placed the tray on the nightstand. "You really need to show more respect."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Sure, let's show respect to the prick who has me tied up like a freaking dog!"

"You're only like that because you wouldn't cooperate," Penelope sighed.

Matthew chuckled bitterly. "So, what? If some guy comes to you, grabs you by the arm, and tasers you, are you going to cooperate, Penelope?"

"Uncle said you ran," Penelope said.

"Yeah, because he was being a creep!"

"You're very brave Matt, I admire that about you," Penelope purred, sliding her hand up his leg and squeezing his thigh.

"Stop that," Matthew said jerking his leg away. Penelope laughed. "Oh, you'll grow to love me handsome, I promise you that much."

"Don't bank on it," Matthew said glaring at the smug girl.

"Oh, I do, Mattie, I do," Penelope said with a giggle. "Here," she said holding out the spoon of soup. She delicately blew at it and positioned it near Matthew's mouth.

"I'm not eating that," Matthew said.

"Why?" She asked.

"You could've poisoned it."

Penelope rolled her eyes and sipped from the spoon. "There, not poisoned, see?"

"I'm not hungry," Matthew said turning away stubbornly.

"Yes, you are," Penelope said in a sing-song voice.

Admittedly, Matthew was hungry. But there was no way in hell he was going to let his captors give him anything. He refused to cooperate and that was that.

"Come on, Matt, open up!" Penelope said.

"I am not a baby!" Matthew barked.

"You sure are acting like one," Penelope said with a smirk.

"Oh, screw you."

"Now, now, that's not nice," Penelope said showing Matthew the spoon again. "Now open wide!"

"I'll feed myself," Matthew said. "Untie my wrists— "

"You know I can't do that," Penelope said calmly.

Well, it was worth a shot.

"I'm back," announced Damion, who had appeared out of nowhere and was now sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Always one for dramatic entrances, hmm, My Lord?" Penelope asked with a smile.

"Indeed," Damion said smugly. "You may leave."

Penelope obediently left, though not before blowing Matthew a kiss. He snarled at her and she giggled, leaving the room.

"Now, about why I want you here," Damion told Matthew. "It is to complete your— "

"Blah, blah, blah, destiny, what is this? Harry Potter?" Matthew demanded.

Damion scowled. "This is serious, Matthew."

"Is that why I'm tied up? Wow!"

"Matthew," Damion hissed. The room dropped several degrees.

"Well, this is interesting. You're turning all Snow Queen on me," Matthew said, unfazed.

Damion looked annoyed for a second, before he smiled. "You'll make a fine king."

"King? What?"

"Back to my explanation," Damion said. "A Demon King is— "

"…The ruler of the demons…" Matthew said as a barrage of info came barreling though his mind (well, about time). "He or she is able to control demons and other creatures of darkness, he is also immortal but can change age, sex, or form, if he or she so pleases and has a fearsome amount of power."

"Correct," Damion said with a smile. "Now the reason I want you here is— "

"You want me to be the next Demon King," Matthew finished.

"As my blood-relative, yes," Damion said.

"The only Pines that exist are me, the twins, our parents, Grandpa Sherman and Stan and his brother, none of whom are demons, which means you can't be one of them, meaning I'm not your blood-relative, also meaning that you're a liar," Matthew said with a frown.

Damion smirked. "Or so you thought."

"I've been watching the Pines for years, if they had another relative I would've known."

"Unless, he wasn't on Earth? Have you ever thought of looking for anymore of us in any other dimensions?" Damion asked, his smirk broadening. "Besides, all you ever looked at were Ford, Ellie nor Emmet really interested you, did they?"

"Who are you?" Matthew asked, his eyes full of bewilderment.

Damion grinned. "Why, I'm your uncle, Matthew, the younger brother of Ellie Befuddlement."

"H-how—? You're not a demon if you're my uncle!" Matthew exclaimed.

"Unless…I'm in your situation," Damion drawled.

"You were sent back too," Matthew whispered. "And when the previous Demon King offered to make you the next one, you excepted…" Matthew looked up at Damion. "That's why…" Matthew's eyes widened. "…you're a thirty something year old man trapped in a nine-year-old body!"

Damion's smirk was wiped off his face instantly. "It isn't my fault! It was the Axolotl's!"

"He trapped you in a kid's body?" Matthew asked, unimpressed.

"He messed with my powers because I wasn't attempting to redeem myself and I was 'taking the darker path.'" Damion sneered as he made finger quotes. "My powers are dwindling, I'm more powerful than the previous King, each one is, but the damn beast can still mess with me.

"You, on the other hand, can be the strongest Demon King known to us all, the Axolotl can do nothing to you, you can show humanity who rules this place. I can train you to be who you were born to be…just except your destiny."

"Next you're going to tell me how to use The Force," Matthew said. Damion scowled darkly and the blonde sighed. "Thanks, but no thanks, I don't need a personal Mr. Miyagi."

Damion gritted his teeth and Matthew smirked. "Sorry, sorry, I'll stop with the pop culture references." Though Matthew was anything but apologetic. It was hard to when your supposed uncle was cool with tying you to a bed.

"You will follow your destiny," Damion growled.

"Aye, aye, Morpheus."

"MATTHEW!"

"Whoops, not sorry."

Damion's brown eyes glowed red and black and red flames dance on his palm. "You think this is a game?" he hissed. "You think this is funny?"

"No, you just piss me off," Matthew replied.

"You will do as I want you to, Matthew Pines!" Damion roared. "And I will make you feel unspeakable pain if that is what it takes."

All the jokiness disappeared from Matthew's attitude as thoughts of different tortures filled his mind. He suddenly regretted putting people in similar situations. But he wouldn't break, no matter what his insane uncle did to him.

"Then get on with it," Matthew spat.

Damion chuckled darkly. "Oh, I'm going to have fun."

Damion raised his hand, electricity crackling in his palm, he then touched Matthew's torso.

In that moment, Matthew was kind of feeling guilty for torturing Ford the same way…

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

Ellie sped through the landscape like crazy. Twice she avoided the police, and five times she almost ran over a deer without caring less. Her son was at stake and she didn't care what was in her path, she was going to save him from her monster of a brother.

The sign Welcome to Gravity Falls! Blurred past though she slowed slightly, releasing a breath when the Mystery Shack came into view. Ellie drove her car into the parking lot and got out, slamming the car door of her green car shut. She then threw the door open, showcasing Mabel and Dipper who were looking nervous.

"Mom?" The asked in unison.

Ellie crouched and held out her arms with a warm smile, she almost forgot how much she missed her kids.

Mabel instantly barreled into her mother's arms, Dipper was more hesitant, but he finally ran up and hugged her too.

Ellie pulled away with a smile, "How are you kids?"

"Awesome! This place is amazing!" Mabel said with a grin.

"Yeah, it's…not as much as a boring dump as I thought it'd be," Dipper said casually.

Ellie stood up as Stan walked into the gift shop sipping coffee. When he saw Ellie, he spat out all the contents of his mouth. "Wha—? Ellie? What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Coming for a little visit," Ellie replied, looking around. "Matthew, is he here?"

Stan began to sweat. He then cleared his throat. "Well…"

"He's been missing for three hours," Dipper said worriedly. "We were just about to go looking for him."

Ellie looked from Dipper to Stan, who she caught gritting his teeth and miming "cut it out" to Dipper. When she caught his eye, he chuckled nervously. "I'm uh, sure he's fine."

"You lost my son?" Ellie asked slowly, walking to the man.

"Uh— "

"After I told you to look after him?"

"Ellie, look, it's not what—!"

Dipper and Mabel cringed as Ellie began slapping Stan in the face.

"You—slap—lost—slap—my—slap—son?!" Ellie exclaimed shrilly.

"He walked out—!"

Stan was once more silenced as Ellie slapped him in the face with her purse.

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

Matthew screamed for about the millionth time that day as the shockwaves went through his body. He fell back in the pillow, panting heavily, his body twitching the spasms.

"Well?" Damion drawled.

Matthew's defiant glare was the only answer he got.

Damion's lips curled into a smirk. "Hard, headed. Nice."

He shocked Matthew again and he once more screamed. "I have you best interest at heart, Matthew, you just need to…"

Damion didn't finish, the teen had viciously spat in his eye.

The shocking stopped momentarily, Damion stunned into silence, before he wiped the saliva away and glared at Matthew.

"You little…"

The most painful shock yet coursed through Matthew's body. He had to bit his tongue, lest, he screamed for mercy. He wouldn't break, he wouldn't.

Damion slapped Mathew hard on his cheek once the shocking stopped, Matthew barely supressing a whimper of pain.

"Don't you see? I'm trying to help," Damion said.

"Oh, yeah," Matthew chuckled though his grunts of pain. "Of course, you are. That's why you're torturing me."

"Why do you fight so hard?" Damion demanded. "I wanted to become King almost instantly."

"Maybe because I have people I care about," Mathew ground out.

"I care for people." Damion narrowed his eyes.

Matthew snorted. "Right."

Damion's eyes glowed red again and Matthew's nerves were filled with excruciating pain.

…A-X-O-L-O-T-L…

AN: Well…*clears throat* I was not expecting to write that.

Hope you enjoyed!

Fantasy Freak OUT!