Let Me Be Your Eyes

Chapter 16-Capture

So sorry for the wait! Summers are tremendously busy for me. This chapter was beta'd by Nephritic_Hypnotist on AO3 and -unknown02- on Wattpad! To the (many) commenters:

McDoodle37: Here, have an inhaler
Pandemonium825: Uh oh indeed!
lunarowl64: I mean, what else would you use your great niece and nephew for? And I mean, seriously, how many people have arrested Stan by now? As for Jeff, he probably skedaddled with shiny stuff the moment nobody was watching him.
aries-cipher278: You're a dirty minded mortal, aren't you?
Dreamin_of_ships: Prideful teens find moving on difficult without the right motivation...
ChaaryChaney: The next page is out right about.... now!
-unknown02-: Thanks for all the great input and betaing!

Now have another chapter and pray the next one comes swiftly!
Enjoy~

Chapter 16-Capture

Gold eyes widen at the saccharine-sweet order. "H-how-"

"That doesn't matter!" Mabel interrupts. Snatching Bill's and Dipper's wrists, she takes off toward the far exit. Two steps out, her right arm is yanked back by her twin. She twists to snap at him when the brunette realizes why.

The teen in question kneels on the rugged stone floor, perspiring heavily and choking out small gasps of air. Dipper's eyes squeeze shut as he emits a pained moan. "Stop it, stop it, stop it..."

"Dipper!" she gasps. Her grip on Bill's wrist loosens as she kneels by her brother. "What's wrong?"

Between gasps and shudders, Dipper pants, "It hurts!"

Mabel hesitates for only a moment of heavy concern. Then, shaking her head, the young woman directs her attention up. Bill glances between his father on the platform and his friends at his feet. "C'mon," Mabel urges, snaring the blonde's attention, "help me with Dipper before those goons gets us!"

Said goons are beginning to comprehend that their "super-secret" meeting is no longer as secret as they believed. A few robed individuals nearer to the spying teenagers find the initiative to split up to flank them.

"Uh- Yeah!" The blonde loops an arm under Dipper's as Mabel moves to her twin's other side. Together, the pair drag Dipper along as they lope toward the far end of the cavern. Mabel curses herself for coercing her brother into letting them sneak closer. Now they have more ground to cover, giving the cultists - who are rapidly encroaching - a better chance of catching them. Bill and Mabel dodge around the stalagmites and amber pillars, trying their darnedest not to let Dipper's dangling feet catch on anything and slow them down.

Matthew watches the escape unfold with rather little concern. Without even needing to tell them what to do, his underlings are already pursuing the nosy brats. Even if they do manage to outwit his admittedly simple minions, his ace will find them without difficulty. To be certain, though...

"Tad," Matthew sniffs. A flash of violet resolves into a floating square a foot from the man's head.

The single eye on the creature, a slit of lavender on an expanse of black, squints in amusement. Twiggish, black arms ending in three basic digits adjust the small, professional tie positioned below its viewing apparatus. "Let me guess," the creature known as Tad Strange hums, his voice one that sounds as though multiple individuals are speaking in unison. "You wish for me to follow the children and, when your fools fail to capture them, debilitate the twins, knock your spawn out, and bring them to you." At the sneer on Matthew's face, Tad rolls his single eye, scoffing, "Am I wrong?"

Sighing, the chief of police shakes his head. "My followers are not fools, demon."

"The fruits of their endeavors say otherwise, Cipher."