Betrayal

Chapter 15

~Mabel's POV~

I looked at my brother. He was pale and his wrists were rubbed raw. Bill had done something awful to him, I could see it in his eyes.

Bill had me in a choke hold, holding my head up by pulling my hair. I let out a small cry.

"Let's see Pine Tree," Bill said. "How long will it take for this Shooting Star to burn?"

I gritted my teeth and looked my brother in the eyes. "Don't worry about me, Dip."

He had tears forming in his eyes. I wanted to go over and give him a hug, to show him that I was fine and so I could make him feel better. We always worked better together anyway.

I took my arm and hit him in the gut. It was weird, him being in Dipper's body, but...not in Dipper's body. He simply tightened his grip on my hair and around my throat.

Stan slowly stood up. "Cipher. Please-"

Bill let go of my hair and flicked his wrist. Stan slammed against the wall. "Grunkle Stan!" I screamed. Bill grabbed Dipper's shirt and held him up to his face. "You see Pine Tree? I'm already getting stronger!"

He dragged us out of the room. "I always thought you two were smarter than this," Bill was saying. "But, I could be wrong. Oh, and we can't forget your sibling relationship. See, this is why I don't have feelings. Feelings make one weak."

He went rambling on for a bit, but I ignored him. I glanced at Dipper. He was limp and his eyes were closed. I could tell that his teeth were clenched together. My brother must be in pain. I wished that I could somehow get Bill off me and run over to him. He's sacrificed everything for me. It was time I did something for him.

I glanced down at Bill's arm around my neck and bit down. Bill barely reacted. He simply stopped and looked down at me. Anyone else probably would've cried out in pain, but Bill was laughing. "Pain is hilarious!"

Bill dragged us all the way to Stanford's room. He shut and locked the door then dropped us. I crawled over to Dipper. "Dip?" I asked, shaking his shoulder.

He groaned, but didn't open his eyes. I felt his forehead. Yikes! He was burning up! "It's okay, Dipper. We're gonna get out of this, I promise."

He still didn't open his eyes. I took his hand, just to let him know I was there. Like he always did to me when I was sick or in pain. I whispered softly in his ear, non-stop, calming him down with soothing words.

Too soon, Bill tore us apart again. He had two books tucked under his arms. The journals!

~Dipper's POV~

We were dragged down to Stan's lab next. Bill had all three of the journals. I could barely keep my eyes open and Mabel looked like she was trying to come up with a plan. She held my hand after Bill let go again. Any other time I would have brushed her off, but it was nice to know she was there. The one person I could trust.

I remember when she hadn't trusted me. She trusted Stan. Did she still not trust me? I tried to brush the thought off. Come on, Dipper. You've got bigger things to worry about!

But still...

My thoughts were interrupted by an explosion. I looked up to see Bill opening the portal. I had no idea what he had in mind for us, but it couldn't be good.

I sat up with some difficulty. Mabel helped me. We had to stop him somehow. I looked around the room, trying to think of a plan though the pounding of my head.

Someone grabbed my chin and forced me to look up. Bill smirked at me. "Are you ready to experience true misery, Pine Tree?"

I was too tired to say anything back. I just tightened my grip on Mabel's hand. I wasn't going to let Bill do anything to her. Bill let go of my chin and my head dropped. He moved in front of Mabel. "Now, the fun begins."