The Witch in the Woods (Bill Cipher x reader)

Chapter 28

Bill leans against the bed, pressing his back against it rather harshly as he continues to speak. He looks…guilty and regretful. "I don't know what to call it. A corruption, I guess? Or some sort of curse, I don't know. It doesn't affect you when you're first created, or born in some cases. But as you get older, and the power grows stronger, so does this….thing. It's like a whisper in the back of your head that gets louder the more you ignore it, so it's always easier to lean into it. It gives you the itch to get more powerful, control people, and take over worlds. Do what demons are known for." As he continues to speak, you can see the tension in his shoulders relax slightly.

Your mind is working quickly with this new information. Your anger is all but forgotten as all you have is questions. "I don't understand. I thought the crystal was supposed to grant you new powers. It shouldn't give you any corruption, should it?" Bill laughs and shakes his head. "Not exactly. If a human got it, nothing would change for them. It takes what magic you have and multiplies it. That's why it's so dangerous in the wrong hands." You pause for a second, a stone settling deep inside you and leaving a pit in your gut.

"....You thought that when you got your powers back, the corruption would hit you again." You're starting to slowly piece it together in your mind. Bill nods. "I figured if it came to that, I wouldn't care much about stabbing you in the back or not. I might start Weirdmaggedon all over again if given the chance. I can't trust myself not to." He frowns deeply, looking at the ground between you two. This conversation seems to be really hurting him emotionally, you realize. "I really didn't mean to make you cry. All this 'feeling' stuff is still new to me and I didn't want to make a deal I couldn't keep, especially for your sake."

You aren't sure what to think of Bill's explanation. Normally, you'd try to think through how you feel about it first but that currently isn't a viable option. Looking at it objectively, everything makes sense. Bill didn't want to risk hurting your feelings if he got his powers back and immediately snapped back into 'Classic Cipher.' It was the best choice for him given the circumstance. Though, you didn't really give him the chance to explain his answer since you stormed off right afterwards.

“Bill, I-” Before you get the chance to fully explain yourself, there’s a cracking of wood from beyond the bed. Both you and Bill whip your heads around to witness both the door and dresser slowly being torn to pieces by magic. The door creaks one more time before it completely bursts, sending splintered wood across the entire room. The dresser falls to the ground, thudding loudly enough to send vibrations up your legs. Elegar is standing beyond the doorframe, his whole body lit aflame in a red blaze. Your time is up.

"These games are getting tiring. When am I going to see what you can really do?" A burst of flames emanates from Elegar with a big boom. Bill jumps into action immediately, vaulting over the bed and stopping the wall of flames with his very own, though it doesn't seem to be very effective. The whole room gets roasted and blackened, including your hiding place which is set aflame as soon as it's hit. You can feel the heat radiating off your back. You swear under your breath and dash to the other side.

"You want to see what I can really do? You asked for it." You grumble under your breath, reaching for one of the floorboards near the bed while Bill and Elegar are busy battling. You loosen the false board, revealing a wooden box underneath. Tossing the board to the side, you reach for the box. "(Y/N)!" You hear Bill call you in distress, and you look up. You feel heat and only have half a second to raise a hand to protect yourself.

You scream, clutching your hand close to your chest and hunching over in pain. Your nerves are fried, sending waves of hot pain up your arm as your hand blisters. You breathe heavily, trying to will the pain away so you can grab the box or before the mirror demon fires another attack. Thankfully, Bill seems to have covered that front for you. You watch out of the corner of your eye as he turns to the demon and his whole being goes blazing red to match the demon's own. Bill throws no magic but storms right up to Elegar and grapples him to the ground. Evidently, he's pissed.

After a minute or so, the pain starts to dwindle down enough to allow you to think clearly and move. You blink the tears out of your eyes and shakily pull your hand from your chest, gasping in shock at the mawed skin. You try to move your fingers and a sob rips itself from your chest at the blinding pain that ripples across your entire body. You can't feel the fear associated with losing your hand to this, though you know the possibility.

You look back to the wooden box waiting for you and grit your teeth. Anger and spite are the only emotions fueling you as you reach for it with your good hand, taking it out from under the floor to set it in front of you. You pop the latch open and reveal the contents inside; A dagger and three small vials of potions. You down all three potions in quick succession then grab the dagger. Your stomach lurches but the pain in your hand dissipates completely. With new found energy and strength, you stand from the floor.

Bill and Elegar are still in a brawl, fighting like two rabid animals against each other. You don't have the patience to wait for them to be done. "Elegar!" You shout forcefully, causing both men to pause and turn their heads towards you. Bill has a busted lip and a black eye, but Elegar has a bleeding cut on his cheek, a lost tooth, and multiple bruises scattered across his skin. You grip the dagger in your good hand with an iron hold, your knuckles white. "You wanted a fight? Well, here it is!"

You walk towards the two, taking large strides. Elegar rolls to get Bill off of him, but by the time you get close enough, he doesn't have the reaction time to avoid your slice with the dagger. You slash right into his arm and he immediately screams in pain as the skin around it burns an angry red and sizzles. He grips the area, looking at you with raw hatred. A deep seated satisfaction permeates you as you smirk. "What, never dealt with a dagger made to kill demons before?"

In a fit of rage, Elegar fired a ball of flames at you but you easily dodge to the side. You readjust your grip on your dagger as you approach to slash him again. He backs away but you continue pushing forward, hacking through the air with all the rage you can muster. He tries to fire more flames at you but you cannot feel the heat nor the pain. You keep going, letting the flames fly past you as they singe your clothes.

You get another good hit on him after he nearly trips over some broken wood. He grunts in pain, steam filling the air. The roof of your fake home has disappeared at this point, and the walls are filled with cracks and fragments. All the windows are busted out, the doors don't exist anymore. Beyond this, there's an endless black void of nothingness. This fake world is slowly breaking down with you in it.

As you take another swing, Elegar grabs your wrist and suddenly reels a punch at you. Your head goes flying backwards, sending a shock through your system. You can feel blood pooling in your mouth but you can't find it in yourself to care. You wrench your wrist out of his grip and go for a swing, but he sees it coming and grabs your fist. Your wrist gets bent backwards. You kick upwards and nail him right in the knees. He drops to the ground.

You pant in exhaustion, your body not used to the excessive combat since quite a few years ago. You approach the demon on the ground, moving to use the dagger to stab him in the heart. At the last second, he grabs your arm and you suck in air as you're suddenly flying. You feel your body hit a wall, but it crashes straight through. You hit the ground, skidding across the floor and scraping your skin against it like concrete. 

It takes you much too long for your liking to sit up. By the time you do, you realize that you're in the middle of blackness. You can see the house in the distance, a human sized hole in the wall. You stand to your feet, scrambling to find your dagger. It's laying on a random part of the invisible floor. You grab it quickly and take a look around. It's blackness for as far as the eye can see, save for your blood pooling around you on the invisible floor.

In the distance, you see a gleam of something shiny. You narrow your eyes, straining to see if you can find the cause but it's either too far to tell or too dark to see. You hesitate, glancing back over to the crumbling ruins of a false home. You're certain the fight will continue without you; Long enough to sate your curiosity anyway. With this in mind, you take careful strides towards the gleam.