~Bill's POV~

"I know your weaknesses, too."

His answer shocked me. Did little Pine Tree just...threaten me?

Me of all people?

"How?" I asked. Maybe he was just bluffing. Everyone bluffs when they're scared.

He just smirked at me. "Well, for one I know you're probably a very sad person, well, at least you were. You probably went through something intense. Something so terrible, that it drove you to insanity. You also think you're extremely clever." He shrugged. "But someone clever wouldn't have smashed the author's laptop. He would have kept it for himself. You want the journals, but that laptop probably had just the same amount of information as those journals. And let's not forget-"

I had enough. I grabbed the kid's throat. "You know nothing about how I think!"

I could tell he was struggling to breath. "Really? Because you're hiding it terribly!"

I internally gritted my teeth. "You little..." I felt my hand heating up.

Pine Tree noticed it too. "No, wait! You shouldn't kill me! Haven't...you been preserving...me for...something?" His words came out in gasps. His face was bright red. He looked me straight in the eye. "You really gonna...end this all now? Fine...do it."

My anger subsided. I grunted and let go of his neck. He fell back down to the ground, gasping for air. He had tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Anything else to say, Pine Tree?"

He opened his mouth, but all that came out was coughing.

"That's what I thought."

~Demon Dipper's POV~

No use hiding anymore. This would end today. No one was going to stop us.

I walked back to "our" room. Shooting Star's friends were still fast asleep. I glanced out the window. The sun was just inching it's way over the horizon. Perfect.

I held up my hand. It sparked then burst into a flame. I smirked. No one would be getting in my way. I contacted Bill and stepped into the mindscape.

"Do you have the journals?" Bill asked, looking impatient.

"Well, not exactly," I said. "But, I just needed to tell you that Shooting Star maaay or may not have found out I'm not her brother."

Bill's eye turned red. "What."

"So, um, I was wondering if I could reveal myself now? I mean, the old man seems to trust Shooting Star more than me."

"Where is she now?" Bill asked. He tried to keep his voice even, but I could tell he was mad.

"It's all taken care of," I said. "I locked her in the closet."

"Okay," Bill said. "Here, I'll make a deal with you. How's 'bout you let me have that body of yours. I'll take care of everything, don't worry. Just make sure Pine Tree doesn't escape or die before I kill him."

I nodded. He held out his hand to me and lit it on fire. I grabbed it and felt a weird sensation of being pulled out of my body. I looked down at myself. My body was transparent. It was also pitch black.

Bill looked down at my, well now his, hands. "Ah, just like before." He looked up at me. "I'll be back in a flash. You know what to do."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

I stepped out of the other side where Bill had come through. It went into the cave. I glanced at Pine Tree. His head was down and he looked like he was crying.

"I always thought you were stronger than this," I said.

He froze and looked up, tears still falling down his face. "Y-you. W-where's Bill? I-Is he gone?"

There was a little hope in his voice at the last part.

"Let's just say he went to take care of some...business with your family."

His eyes widened and his face went white. "W-what kind of business?" I could tell he already knew.

"Oh, nothing you'll miss. Don't worry. We just have to get some things in order."

He gritted his teeth. "Don't you dare hurt my family!"

"Hmmm," I said, pretending to think about it. I teleported so I was right in his face. "Too late."

~Bill's POV~

I wobbled in "Pine Tree's" body once again. I could hear Shooting Star's muffled cries from the closet. "Morning, Shooting Star!" I yelled in.

I pulled the broom off the handle and walked in. She looked up at me in fear. I grabbed the duct tape from her mouth and yanked it off. She let out a cry of pain.

"Looks like my minion took good care of you."

"M-minion?" She asked. "W-who are you and what did you do to my brother?"

I knelt down to her eye level and rested my elbows on her knees. "Wow. It hurts really. You don't recognize me? Well then, Shooting Star, I guess it'll be a mystery, hm? Well, let me give you a hint." I leaned forwards so my mouth was just brushing over her ear. "That was a nice deal, wasn't it?"

I leaned back on my heels. Her eyes widened. "Bill."

I held out my arms. "The one and only!"

She gritted her teeth. "What have you done to my brother, you evil, one eyed, dorito demon!"

I smirked. "He's alive," I said. "For now."

"You lay one finger on him-"

I put a finger to her lips. "I wouldn't be worrying about your lame brother now. You're the one who's in the most danger." I took my finger off her lips.

"W-what do you mean?" She asked, her voice shaking.

I lit my hand on fire and looked at it fondly. "Well, Shooting Star, I want to see how long you'll burn for."

~Stan's POV~

"Something's going on with the kid."

"I know."

Ford handed me the journals. "Its Cipher."

"I know."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Why else would he be acting so weird?" I asked. "He wouldn't have the guts to steal for you. He knows that if Bill got the other journals that the world could be in danger. He's no idiot." I picked up the journals and sighed, looking at my reflection. "I just...wanted so badly to believe that he was okay."

Stanford put a hand on my shoulder. "I get it."

I looked up at my brother. "But you've never actually watched kids before. What am I going to tell their parents?" I buried my head in my hands. "This is all my fault. I should have warned them sooner."

"It's not your fault the kid's so curious."

"He wouldn't have been curious if I'd just told him straight out...everything."

Stanford opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a scream

I jumped to my feet and ran up the stairs. I bursted into Dipper and Mabel's room. There was another scream. "Grunkle Sta-" It was cut off. I ran to the closet where I had heard it coming from.

Mabel was against the wall her hands behind her. Dipper was in front of her holding a fireball in his hands. "Dipper?" I whispered. I ran over and grabbed him by the back of the shirt. He gritted his teeth and threw the fireball it me. "What are you doing, kid?"

"Nothing that concerns you," he said.

I dragged him out of the closet. I glanced at Mabel's friends, who had just woken up and looked confused. "Go home, you two."

They picked up their stuff as fast as they could and ran down in about a minute flat.

I turned to the kid in my hands. "What are you doing? You're gonna kill her!"

He shrugged. "Well, that was the point."

I tightened my grip and lifted him off the ground. "What's up with you..." I answered it for myself. "Get out of him, Cipher."

He grinned. "Actually, this isn't Pine Tree's body," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"None of your business. But for now..." he grabbed my hands and lit his on fire. Pain shot up my arms and I dropped him. Something knocked me off my feet and then held me down. I opened my eyes to see Bill on top of me. His legs were holding my arms down and he was sitting on my chest. "I've got big plans, and you aren't stopping them."

I tried to move my legs, but it was like they were paralyzed. "What did you do to my nephew?" I said through gritted teeth.

"He's alive," Bill said. "For now."

"You little-"

I was cut off by someone ramming into Bill. He tumbled off me and I could move again.

I quickly stood up just to see Mabel pinned to the floor. "Any last words, Shooting Star?" Bill lit up his hand.

There was a yellow flash and someone fell out of it. I couldn't see until the light disappeared, but it was Dipper.

"Kid!" I said. I ran over to him. He looked pale and weak.

"S-Stan?" He said, barely a whisper.

~Dipper's POV~

I felt like this place was draining my energy. Who knows, maybe it was. I felt myself slump even more in the chains. I officially couldn't feel my arms.

My clone floated up to me. "You ready to go on a little trip?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was physically too weak to open my mouth. Hunger gnawed at my stomach. I was surprised I hadn't gone insane yet.

My clone took a key and unlocked my hands from the shackles. They fell to my sides. It felt like pins were stabbing into my arms. My clone made a portal. "Ready to go on a trip?" He asked, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulled me in. I didn't have enough strength to struggle.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground.

"Kid!" Someone shouted.

I opened my eyes to see Stan kneeling over me. "S-Stan?" I gasped out. My vision was slowly going black.

"Hey, kid," Stan was saying. "Kid. Dipper!"

I blinked the black out of my eyes. "W-what's going on?"

Stan opened his mouth, but he was interrupted. "Just on time, Pine Tree."

I turned my head to see me. I immediately knew it was Bill. He was holding Mabel in a headlock. I tried to sit up, but everything was swimming in front of me. "Bill..."

"Let's see, Pine Tree," Bill said. He grabbed Mabel's hair and forced her to look up. She let out a yelp. The sound of my sister in pain felt like a knife to my heart. "How long will it take for this Shooting Star to burn."

~theshipper101~

Ooh, cliffhanger

Sorry this took a while, but it's pretty long, so I can give myself that.

Hopefully a quick update soon!