All was silent.  The tent had cleared of the last stragglers hoping to meet the Gleefuls, who had vanished into the impossibly cavernous depths.  You slipped out of your hiding place in the shadows, crossbow in hand.

Now, if I were a secret basement, where would I hide?  Underground, of course.  Nice job, self.  Thank you, self.  You paused from your self-congratulatory back-patting when you hit an intersection.  How huge is this magic tent anyway? 

You'd long ago left behind the stage area, finding yourself in a stone-floored canvas labyrinth.  You tried once to lift the tent away from the floor as a shortcut, but the cloth walls seemed to be sealed to the ground.  You couldn't cut through the fabric either, which was somehow unyielding as stone.  You were left wandering, having long ago lost your bearings.  You wouldn't have been able to backtrack if you tried, but you had no intention of leaving without Will.

You picked a fork at random and wandered down the left path.  The lighting was dim, but you  kept your eyes to the stone floor, searching for a way underground.  Eventually the path opened into a dark storage room filled with boxes and... racks of weapons.  You tried not to think about that as you spotted a suspicious drag mark in the dusty floor.  You pushed a box aside to see an iron trapdoor.  Bingo.

You holstered your crossbow, yanking the trapdoor open with all your strength.  It squealed loudly as it opened and you froze, waiting to get caught.  After a few seconds of tense silence, you let the door open the rest of the way and slipped down the ladder.  The murky air clung to your skin as you made your way underground, making you shiver.

You heard voices as soon as your feet touched the ground.  It was so dark down here that you couldn't see your hand in front of you, but there was a light at the end of the corridor.  You edged forwards, careful not to trip, as the voices became clearer.  The one talking was Mabel.

"-disappointed us for the last time, Cipher!  I don't know why we kept you around this long, but not anymore!"

You got closer and heard Will's voice, pleading for his life.  You rounded a corner and stopped short, shocked at what you saw.

Dipper and Mabel Gleeful were standing in the middle of a vast chamber.  Decrepit-looking scientific equipment lined the walls.  At the far end of the room, a giant triangular portal-looking machine was whirring ominously.

You almost didn't see Will at first.  He was kneeling between Dipper and Mabel, his arms covering his head.  Even from across the room, you could tell he was trembling in fear.

There was another person in the room you didn't notice until he moved.  He looked just like Will except he was blond, wearing a yellow suit.  He glanced at Will and away with a bored expression as he fiddled with some dials on the lab equipment, making the machine's humming change pitch.  Dipper frowned at the portal.

"Careful with those settings, Bill.  If they're not precise, the portal will suck us in instead of Will, or it'll take you with him," he snapped.

"Cool it, Pine Tree, I know what I'm doing," Bill snapped back.  His voice had an obnoxious quality that really grated on your nerves.

"I never understood that nickname," Dipper muttered, turning back to Will.  Taking advantage of the moment of distraction, Will had tried to scramble away.  Mabel lunged for him, grabbing him by his hair and throwing him back to his knees.

"Where do you think you're going, Will?" she asked in a creepy voice.  "We're not- GACK!" She cut off as an arrow whistled past her head.  You stepped out of the shadows, crossbow aiming at Mabel.

"Don't touch him!" You shouted, trying not to let your voice shake.  "The next one's going between your eyes!"

Mabel, Dipper, and Bill all rounded on you.  "Wha- Y/N?" Dipper cried, astonished.  Then his face hardened.  "I told you this was none of your concern.  Get out before we make you leave and forget everything you saw here."  His amulet started to glow, and you felt your body seize up, but not before letting off another shot.  Dipper shouted with rage as the arrow glanced off his arm, leaving a bloody stripe, and his amulet faded.  Regaining control of your body, you turned the crossbow onto Bill.

"Stop- whatever it is you're doing!" You tried to order him, but he just laughed. 

"You think that little toy is going to hurt me?  Bring it on!  Pain is hilarious!"  He kept fiddling with the dials, indifferent to your threat.

You saw movement out of the corner of your eye.  Mabel had turned back to Will and raised her hand to strike him.  Without thinking, you turned your crossbow onto her and fired.

You were trying to fire a warning shot.  You were aiming for her hand.  You just wanted her to step away from Will.  But she turned to you at the last second, amulet beginning to glow...

And your arrow hit her straight in the chest.

She took one step back, eyes wide with surprise, and toppled over.  Dipper screamed her name and lunged to catch her, but she was dead before she hit the ground.

"No... NO!  MABEL!  PLEASE! MABEL NO!  DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! MABEL!"  He screamed, cradling her in his arms.

"I- I didn't mean to!" You stuttered, shocked and horrified.  Dipper looked up at you sharply, and the look in his eyes made you want to curl up in a ball and cry.

"You're dead..." he whispered.  "YOU'RE DEAD!" His amulet burst into blue fire.  All the objects in the room started levitating and hurtling towards you.  You stumbled back, trying to escape, and you hit the control panel Bill had been messing with.  Your elbow hit some levers, and your crossbow fell out of your hand and flipped a switch, and the portal suddenly made a sound like tearing metal.  The center began to glow, letting off lightning that struck the floating objects.

Dipper's attention turned to the portal.  "What- what's going on, Bill?"

"I don't know!  The settings are all messed up!  There's no telling what could happen!"  Bill, who had seemed so bored earlier, now looked genuinely scared.  "I'm getting out of here!"

"NO!  Bill, I command you to stay!"  Dipper's voice was harsh.  Bill seemed about to protest, but his voice cut off as a cuff appeared around his wrist, connected by a magical chain to Dipper's.  His next words were drowned out by the portal screaming to life, sucking the nearest objects into it.  Mabel's corpse, left on the ground by Dipper, was sucked towards it and vanished.  He turned to it, about to scream her name, but cut off again as he was also sucked towards the portal.

"Bill!  Do something!" He screamed over the roar of the portal. 

Bill pretended to consider.  "Well, Pine Tree, I could do something, or I could stand here and file my nails."  Somehow, the portal didn't seem to be affecting Bill or Will, left kneeling in the middle of the room.

"Bill!  You traitor!  BILL!" Dipper roared as he was sucked off the ground and disappeared into the portal.  Bill laughed for a moment, then cut off as the chain around his wrist went taut.

"Oh-" he was jerked forwards, dragged behind Dipper into the portal.  You were clinging to a piece of machinery for dear life, saying a silent goodbye to your precious crossbow as it sailed past you.  Well... maybe that's for the best.  I never wanted to kill anyone.

You kept your death grip as the portal slowed down, eventually becoming quiet and still.  You and Will were the only ones left in the room.  You let go of the machine, climbing to your feet.

"Will, are you all right?" You asked, taking a hesitant step towards him but stopping as he cowered away.  Your voice seemed absurdly loud in the suddenly silent room.

"Don't.. please, just leave me alone..." he whimpered, turning away from you.

"Will, talk to me.  What's the matter?"  You tentatively moved closer, seeing the blood on his face and the signs of other injuries under his clothes.  He tried to scramble away, but faltered.

"No... don't... I'm just so tired of being hurt... I just want to be left alone..." His voice was scratchy and raw.

He froze as you knelt next to him, obviously expecting violence.  You could feel the tension in his body as you put your arms around him, like he was waiting for you to rip out his spine or something equally gruesome.

"Will, I'm never going to hurt you.  Please believe me, you're safe now."  You held him tight, willing all of his pain and fear away.

"No... I don't... I can't..."

"Will, look at me."  You pulled away enough to see his eyes, tears flowing freely from the uncovered one.  "It's all going to be okay.  I promise."

He hesitated, waiting for a trick, then grabbed onto you and clung tightly.  His face was buried in your shoulder.  His demon tears burned your skin like acid and your legs slowly fell asleep, but you didn't let go.  You knelt on the floor with the demon for what seemed like hours until he'd finally cried himself out.  He leaned against you, shaking slightly, completely spent.

You pushed him upright and put your hand on his face, gently wiping away the remains of his tears.  "Come on, Will.  Let's get out of here."

You tried to help him to his feet, but his legs gave out.  "I'm sorry... I don't think I can walk.  Just go on without me... it's fine..." He wouldn't meet your eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous.  I'm not leaving you here.  I'm stronger than I look, you know?"  You flashed a smile at him, then in a quick move, hefted him off the floor and onto your back.  He tried to protest, but you carried him out of the room without any trouble.

"Come on, Will.  Let's go home."