"When Things Get Weird"
While Jade and Uncle as well as Wiruko and Hideo climbed the voting ladder, a certain Pines quietly produced a pair of very familiar objects: the sceptres from before.
"Sooo.." Quietly, she strolled up to
Hideo, lightly tapping him in the side with one of the objects.
"Boop~" Slowly, a faint
red glow emitted once more from the thing, marking him as
guilty.
"Huh... I guess it's still broken," Mabel commented, shaking her head and tossing away the first sceptre.
"Your turn," she mused to
Uncle and Jade, lightly booping the other young child with the thing as well. This time, it glowed
blue - proof of her and her uncle's
innocence.
"Haha, looks like this one's still good!"
Now, though, the girl laughed nervously.
"So, uhh, guyssss... You found Grunkle Ford, amirite? You can tell us where he is, now!" she assured with a faint smile, touching her hands together and waiting for someone to speak up about just where her great uncle was.
"Woah, haha, Mabel? How'd you change so fast, dood?"
Seeming to brighten at the sight of the man, Mabel suddenly bound away from Dipper and her Grunkle Stan, tackling the unsuspecting Soos in a hug.
"Soos!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly through the embrace. Soon enough his words actually hit her, though, causing her to momentarily falter.
"...Uhh, Soos? I've been wearing this the whole time, silly," she explained with a laugh. Soos only looked confused, his eyes briefly moving upward in thought.
"Uhh... Naw, dood - you were totally wearin' some wacky blue and black fancy getup," and with a brief point at Dipper?
"You, too, dood. Like, some weird suit or somethin'. Totally uncomfortable."
"...What?"
It wasn't too far away that the fun was really starting to begin for a certain pair of twins. Still settled at the tent, it seemed that what they'd been awaiting the whole time was finally coming into play. With everything falling into place, now, they almost cheerfully looked to their little 'guests'. Or, well, Mabel did. While her brother tended to some special preparations, the female of the twins bent forward in front of Ford and company, smiling sweetly at them.
"Heh, heh... I do hope you're comfortable, loves~ Since you're all so exceedingly helpless... I think I might just let you have a choice between the best seats in the house," she gestured to where they were chained to their seats, now.
"..And ever so valiantly attempting to help your sorry little... 'friends'. I'm sure this endeavor of ours will be plenty enjoyable as is, but oh, how pleasing it'd be to see you struggle like the pathetic little rats you are~" she purred, playfully brushing a hand by Ford's face with a giggle, followed by her playfully snatching Gideon's hat, going as far as to place it on her own head before wrinkling her nose instead and tossing it on the floor to stomp on it with her fine platforms.
As she did so, the chains so tightly woven around her prisoners began to unravel. For Gideon Pines, this meant quickly trying to squirm free. Pacifica? Fallen to the floor, bleeding heavily from where the chains had cut into her skin.
"Pacifica!" Gideon exclaimed, hurrying to his cousin's side with obvious worry. A look of horror crossed his face as he frantically tried to figure out what to do, before merely glaring at Mabel.
"Y'... Y're a monster!"
"I'm quite flattered, you sweet little thing~" Mabel replied, all-too-enthusiastically. Before Gideon had the chance to demand she give them what they needed to help his cousin, another voice could be heard from outside.
"Oh, hurry it up, sister. I do so recall us having places to be," the male voice called, his tone radiating mild annoyance and impatience.
Ah, Dipper.
Cracking a grin, Mabel blew a kiss to the unfortunate four with a giggle before turning to stride out.
"Do enjoy your seats, because things are about to become much more interesting." And then she was gone. Vanished to the outside world that seemed to almost inevitably be darkening. It was obvious that bad things were to come. Whether the town of Gravity Falls was ready or not, here the twins came.
"Are we leavin' now, my queen?" Gideon, who had been standing off to the side, inquired. As time went by, he wasn't sure if he was growing more afraid or more attracted to this alternate Mabel. Regardless, despite not so much as getting an answer, he hurried after. All that was left of the twins and Gideon was the unfortunate group in their wake.
Ford slowly stood up, his unraveled chains falling off his form and clattering to the floor. He breathed heavily, still weak and feeling the strain of what his body had been put through. Tortured by twisted versions of his family... it wasn't outside the realm of the kind of horrors Ford had experienced while lost in between dimensions. Even with all the paranormal surrounding Gravity Falls, it wasn't something Ford had expected to encounter once he'd found his way home.
Sighing, the man turned to his fellow former captives. His eyes looked over the trio with concern, but when Lalonde caught his gaze, she waved him off. Ford gave her a terse nod and rushed to Pacifica, picking her up in his arms in hopes that she'd be safe in his arms. A faint whimper could be heard from the blonde child, but other than that, she was almost scarily quiet.
"Whatever those two have planned, there's a high probability it will spell Gravity Fall's doom!"
"We should head back to the shack," Lalonde said, raising a hand to touch at her hair.
"We'll formulate a new plan there."
Ford nodded in agreement and gestured for Gideon to follow him out of the tent and through the monochrome Gravity Falls. The young boy, who looked both terrified and worried, eagerly followed after. His eyes wouldn't come off of his cousin in Ford's arms, not even to look where he was going. Which admittedly led to a few missteps and fumbles.
***
Back at the shack, Junko was slowly coming to. Her eyes blinked open to find Solas standing over her. She grimaced at him, shifting in the bed she'd been lain in to touch at the bandage at her shoulder.
"How did I... Where...?" The girl groaned, sitting up quickly. Solas didn't stop her as she moved to stand.
"In a town called Gravity Falls."
Junko turned on him, her legs shaking slightly. She was strong enough to stand, but the girl was finding herself overwhelmed by her sudden environment shift. She took a shaky breath and rolled her eyes.
"I don't know where that is," she muttered,
"so, it's probably not that facility. I guess I... shifted again..." Junko raised her right hand and eyed the mark on her palm. After staring for a few moments, she visibly flinched and hid the mark by closing her hand into a fist.
"Ugh, my fucking shoulder... Hey!" Junko pointed a finger at Solas.
"Like, haven't I seen you before? Can you tell me what the hell is going on?"
Solas only shrugged.
"Maybe just in a dream."
Junko let out a frustrated sound at that answer.
"Ooookay, yeah, probably another messed up situation with weird people, right? I'm going to check things out and hope it's not totally the worst!" Turning on her heels, Junko gathered her strength and walked out the front door of the shack.
As she was exiting, Ford and the others were arriving. Ford began calling for others to help Pacifica, but Lalonde seemed preoccupied. As the group gathered around Junko and Pacifica, Lalonde stood back and began to brush aside her bangs. If anyone were to look upon her eyes, they would find her purple pupils were missing. Instead, Lalonde seemed to have two yellowish eyes, with narrow slits for pupils.
"Ha ha! This is just too perfect!"
Lalonde was laughing, but it was not her voice that escaped her lips.
"I got you all together for the big finale! I bet you were all wondering why your powers have been sapped, huh? Well, let me fill you guys in!"
Lalonde doubled over and began to flash a bright yellow...
"Peekaboo."
It should not have been like this. It should have been in a voice edged with fire, like shadows ravenous and hungry. It should have been a voice like the crack of doom and in a form that made the creatures from the Pit look like Saturday Morning Cartoons in comparison.
From the beginning to the end, they had seen his hand. Some more directly then others. Upon the walls, in the stained glass windows of the shack or in the most innocuous places. When he spoke, it seemed to bypass ordinary speech and went straight into your mind. It was a voice of dares and trouble, of heady summer days and pranks. And for a moment, perhaps people might have been moved to consider it a potential friend.
Until you remembered what exactly, this power had done through his agents.
Max Caulfield drugged and drowned in the lake, Meteo decapitated, so many dead because of him. And as they looked into its eye, they came to the realization that perhaps they knew that stare. The stare of a man peering down a microscope to regard amoeba. You were neither human nor anything approaching sentient but rather something to be toyed with or discarded at the owners leisure. And you were lucky if you even got that much.
Lalonde was on the ground, seemingly dead though if watched carefully, her chest was seen rising up and down shallowly as the dream demon cackled.
"NAME'S BILL! BUT YOU CAN CALL ME YOUR NEW LORD AND MASTER! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRIBUTE AND GIFTS! AND LIKE ANY GOOD OVERLORD, ITS TIME! BEHOLD MY FAITHFUL! STEP OVER HERE GOLDEN BOY! DON'T BE SHY, CLAIM YOUR REWARD!"
And towards
Gilgamesh he bestowed upon him a glowing sphere of energy, which sunk into the King of Heroes heart. Bill laughed darkly as he rubbed his hands together.
He then snapped his fingers and spheres rose up, each one bearing an emblem. An hourglass, a flexing arm, etc as Bill laughed gleefully.
"I'm going to definitely put these to good use! Of course...Well. There is ONE thing left to do."
A sphere with the emblem of a katana was noticeably empty as Bill seemed to loom with intensity as his voice rumbled like approaching doom.
"CON-MAN!!!!"
And in a burst of smoke, Roman would appear. A mic in his ear and blinking before turning to look at Bill. He smirked and tilted his head.
"Bill! Heeey, listen I was kind of in the middle of something here. And it was just getting good too!"
To his credit, he didn't even flinch as Bill seemed to increase in size over him as the Dream Demon roared.
"YOU'VE BEEN HELPING THOSE DEAD ONES BEHIND MY BACK! WE HAD A DEAL, CON-MAN! YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT I'M LIKE, WHEN I'M ANGRY?!"
"Our deal ended the moment I fulfilled my part of the bargain. Once I was caught, you've yet to even pay me in so much as a red cent. So really..."
He inhaled deeply on his cigar and blew the cloud of smoke upwards as he grinned.
"I'm thinking I should be upset here. I've yet to receive my due."
"I'LL GIVE YOU YOUR DUE! OUR DEAL IS OFF!"
Bill rose up in his new form and from the group, a Catsune would run forward, roaring as she transformed into a massive lioness as she leaped for Bill.
Bill didn't even so much as glance Neo's way as his eye zapped her in mid-jump. Neo blinked and stiffened as she turned to stone and shattered on the ground upon impact.
"NEO!"
There was a dangerous look in the thief's eye now, as he raised his cane and took careful aim.
Bill turned and zapped him as well and with a grimace, Roman looked down as from the feet up, he began to turn to stone...He sighed....And suddenly began to chuckle, his last word as he looked at Bill to be the following as he spat out his cigar.
"Gotcha."~
And now, in addition to the fallen body of Lalonde, was a statue of Roman Torchwick. Bill sighed out. He felt a lot better for that and he snarled as he stomped forward to the group.
"Now hold still, so I can kill you all-URGH!"
He froze....His eye widened in shock and he began to shake, reality around them flickering in turn.
"WHAT.....IS....HAPPENING?!"
There was something wrong. A thread tied back from the party here, to Bill all the way to the Afterlife where the Battle to end all Battle of the Bands was taking place with powers on the line. And then he knew. His eye contracted in abject rage.
"COOOOOOON-MAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
Hours earlier....
"I'm just gonna borrow this, thanks."
Roman held aloft the journal of John Winchester and was greeted with a grunt of assent from Sam as he continued to watch his sitcom. Roman beamed and as soon as he was out of sight, let out a sigh. Thank goodness it was as easy as that. And taking a seat on a nearby seat, he flipped open the pages and headed for the chapter marked 'demons'. In particular, all the lore the old hunter had gathered up on making deals with them.
That was always Roman's way, to go in prepared but circumstances prevented that. Bill, that smarmy little bastard had held all the cards in the beginning. He even managed to take their weapons and his aura. So if he was going to have any wriggle room, it would have to be via his own methods. But he had to be careful...Very careful. If Bill found out early? He was as good as toast. And if the group found out he was a traitor? Then he was dead just as much, though hopefully their heroic side might assist him there. He grimaced and thought mentally that perhaps he should do something less dangerous, like juggling flaming torches in a firework factory. But then he thought of his motivation, the reason he was doing all this.
He thought of Neo....The real Neo in Madara's grip and how he couldn't get her back, unless he proved himself. Fine then. Let the die fall where they may, Roman didn't care. Because as a rule of thumb, whenever you found yourself against a winning hand?
Cheat.
A deal broken by the demon in question would have repercussions of its own. These formats existed that power may be channeled properly. It wasn't simply a question of just- waving your hand and it magically appeared. All Roman had to do, was get Bill into a position where he broke his own deal. He closed the book and for the first time, smiled for real. A devious, cunning grin honed on the slums of Vale.
He had a plan.
Present time.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU SPECKS!"
Bill was in pain and assaulted from three fronts. The Afterlife, the current time and from his own power backfiring. A perfect situation, engineered by his own for one purpose.
To give survivors and those in the afterlife a fighting chance.
Lets get ready to rumble!
Starring
@C.T. as
ACTUALLY MILDLY AMUSING[Marvel Comics]
MAYBE I'LL KEEP THIS ONE FOR A PET ENTERTAINER THING!
@Crow as
IS THIS THE ONE THAT GOT THE GENDER CHANGE OR WHAT? and
SHOTACON? HA! [Granblue Fantasy]
HUH... I THINK I'LL MAKE THESE ONES EAT THEIR SWORDS AND DUMB CAT.. ON REPEAT. FOR ETERNITY!
@Verite as
Koyomi Araragi and
Shinobu Oshino [Monogatari]
...THESE TWO ARE SICK. I LIKE IT!
@Kaykay as
ANOTHER ANNOYING KID TO DEAL WITH [Monogatari]
THIS BRAT GETS TO GO FIRST!
@Jeremi as
GREEN BEAN [Marvel Comics]
...I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS ONE IS! MAYBE I'LL TAKE HER WEIRD MEATSACK BODY FOR A RIDE AFTER ALL THIS
@Atomyk as
WHAT A DUMB NAME [Steven Universe]
WHAT? YOU MEAN THIS ONE DIDN'T GET KILLED BY THE SHIFTER?
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty as
...SHE MIGHT ACTUALLY ALMOST BE AS WEIRD AS PYRONICA! and
UNFORTUNATE LITTLE GUY BEING KEPT FOR DOG FIGHTS [Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire]
HA! WHAT EVEN HAPPENED TO THIS ONE!
@Crimson Spartan as
ANGSTY GUY [Fire Emblem Awakening/Murder Games] and
ANNOYING FLIRT [Fire Emblem Awakening]
I TAKE IT BACK ABOUT THE BRAT. ANGSTY LOVER BOY CAN GO FIRST!
@Schnee Corp Lawyer as
ISN'T THIS SOME DUMB PROGRAM? [The Witcher]
I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO KILL THIS ONE! HATS OFF TO LAWYER OVER HERE. GIVE ME A CALL SOMETIME, BUDDY!
@Lissamel as
DUMB WALKING MORTAL DEVICE [The Property of Hate]
I WONDER WHAT'LL HAPPEN IF THIS ONE DOES THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE?!
@ResistingTheEnlightened as
Duke Togo [Golgo 13] and
Michaelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti [Flashpoint]
THEY LIKE GUNS, RIGHT? HAHA, LETS MAKE THOSE THINGS SHOOT BACKWARDS!
@Gummi Bunnies as
ODD EYES and
VIRUS [Sentou Jousai Masurawo]
@TheColourlessRainbow as
Da'losen Lyison and
Kepti [Original Characters]
AH YES, SURVIVORS OF THE GREAT VOWEL FAMINE OF '89!
@Gwazi Magnum as
THE ONLY USEFUL ONE, APPARENTLY! [Fate Series]
I GUESS THIS GUY'S PROOF I CAN COUNT ON AT LEAST ONE OF THE LOSERS WITH ME!
@Raven as
ANOTHER BOTHERSOME OLD MAN and
YET ANOTHER DUMB KID [Jackie Chan Adventures]
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT OLD PEOPLE AND CHILDREN ARE DEMONS. THAT'S AN INSULT TO ME AND MY KIND!
@Nater Taters as
PINK BLOB [Kirby Franchise]
HAHA, WHAT'RE THOSE WEIRD SETS MORTALS USE? BEANBAGS?... I THINK I'LL MAKE ONE FROM THIS THINGS CARCASS!
@Archmage Jeremiah as
DRY BONES and
SLIGHTLY LESS ANNOYING CHILD [The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]
WHERE ARE ALL THESE DAMN CHILDREN COMING FR--.. ACTUALLY, THIS ONE DOESN'T SEEM THAT GREAT!
@york as
HOURGLASS [Life is Strange]
MURDERED! INSIGNIFICANT! DRANK A LITTLE TOO MUCH
@Yun Lee as
Aran Ryan [Punch-Out!!!]
INVESTIGATED! GUILTY OF BEING DUMB AS A ROCK!
@Bomb as
ALMOST AS BIG OF A CRYBABY AS MY COUNTERPART [L]
MURDERED! INSIGNIFICANT! GUESS HE REALLY LOST HIS HEAD! HAH!
@Yang Lee as
LeShawna [Total Drama]
KILLED! INSIGNIFICANT! IMPALED
@IntrusivePenDesperateSword as
Clarence Irawn [Fallen London]
KILLED! INSIGNIFICANT! WHERE DOES HE KEEP ALL THOSE CANDLES?! IMPALED
@The Tactician as
Samurai Jack [Samurai Jack]
INVESTIGATED AND DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! DID SOMEONE ORDER A FRIED SAMURAI SANDWICH?
@DapperDogman as WOAH, WASN'T THIS GUY FROM SHOOTING STAR'S FANTASY? [Undertale AU] and BLAH BLAH BLAH MR. POWER I DON'T HAVE [Legend of the Legendary Heroes] INVESTIGATED! INSIGNIFICANT!
@Ringmaster as CONMAN [RWBY] INVESTIGATED AND DEAD AS A ROCK!!!!!! GUILTY! HE THOUGHT HE COULD CROSS ME, SO HE GOT STONED! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
@Mighty Roman as SOME DUMB MUSCLE THAT THINKS HE'S GREAT! HAH! [Marvel] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@T.O.M. as ISN'T THIS SOME SORTA BOARD YOU DUMB MORTALS THINKS LETS YA TALK TO GHOSTS? and Kanbaru Suruga [Monogatari] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@CrunchyCHEEZIT as SERIOUSLY, HOW IS THIS GUY NOT OBESE? [Prototype] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@Gossamer as CLARITY and DARKNESS [Original Characters] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@Cromartie Sarkissian as STEELY [MCU] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@Josh M as MUSCLEHEAD and "Big Cass" [WWE Kafabe] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@Krieg as THIS ONE ONLY CAME MORE ALIVE WHEN SHE DIED [Overwatch] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! LOST
@LuckycoolHawk9 as Lincoln Campbell [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D] and APPARENTLY NOT GOOD AT HIS JOB [Arrow] DEAD! INSIGNIFICANT! COULDN'T EVEN HANDLE A LITTLE FLESH WOUND
@Takumi as USELESS DRUNK and DUMB KID [Michiko and Hatchin] INVESTIGATED! MY KIND OF GUY!
@The Silver Paladin as ANOTHER ANNOYING TWIN and ANOTHER EVEN MORE ANNOYING TWIN [Supernatural] DEAD, JUST LIKE I'M GONNA MAKE ALL OF YOU! SERIOUSLY, DO THEY REALLY THINK WE CARE!?