Little Dipper

Back to the Real World

"Hgh!" Gideon felt the breath forcefully leave his lungs as he was caught in Pacifier's chain whip and slammed to the ground on his side. "Hhnngh..." He squirmed in the metal, then looked over his shoulder at his opponent.

"You know, you're pretty impressive – especially for a human child." Pacifier remarked, walking over and kneeling next to him. He had decided to shrink down to the size of a human adult for this battle, so he could see his opponent better. "Mm, the chained-up look suits you. Maybe I'll let you live and make you my slave."

"I'll kill you in your sleep." Gideon said aggressively.

Pacifier laughed. "That's exactly the kind of spunk I've been missing! You're a little young now, but a few years of grooming and you'll be juuuust right."

"Gideon!" They heard Bill yell as a blast of fire hit Pacifier in the side.

"Ngh!" Pacifier let out a grunt of annoyance and brushed the fire off, glancing to the side. "Ah. So, you're back."

Stan dropped Kryptos unceremoniously on the ground and cracked his knuckles. "We beat two of you. Who's next?"

Pacifier looked over at Keyhole, who was walking off to avoid the conflict. "That's funny, normally people would be an emotional wreck by now. Key, did you go easy on them?"

Keyhole looked back at him. "Oh, they got wrecked alright. They're just strong. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to avoid the physical violence."

"Yeah, okay." Pacifier looked at Bill and the others. "Bill, don't you have a date with Pyronica? She's been waiting for you."

"Get off of Gideon first." Bill said firmly.

"Mm....nah." Pacifier grinned. "You go, they fight me, if they win then he goes free. If they lose, then he's mine."

"Don't even think about it!" Mabel growled, rolling up her sleeves.

"Where's Tad?" Stan looked around.

"Last I saw he was being gang-banged by 8-Ball and Teeth." Pacifier shrugged.

"WHAT?!" Bill went pale as Stan and Ford's eyes went wide.

"He means double-teamed." Gideon said, focusing his power on the chains to try and move them. They were created by magic, so it wasn't easy.

"Oh. Good. Okay." Bill nodded.

"Bill, you better get going. We'll play his game." Stan nodded to Bill. "Maybe you can help Tad while you're at it."

"AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIII!" They heard Teeth yell as he went flying over.

"Don't think he needs it." Pacifier commented, seeing 8-Ball being punted the other direction. "Get going, Bill. She's over by the rift." He pointed in that direction.

"I'm going with you." Dipper insisted to him.

Bill looked at Dipper and sighed, shaking his head. "Not this time, kiddo." He unfastened his coat and took it off, handing it to him. "Hold onto that for me, would you?" He asked, untying his bowtie.

"What are you going to do?" Mabel asked.

"Go all-out. Only way I can beat her." Bill said grimly, floating into the air. "Be good." He flew off.

They watched him go and then Pacifier snapped his fingers, shifting the chains around so Gideon was bound in a ball of chains. "Let's play, then."

"Bring it on." Mabel said firmly as she, Ford and Stan prepared to fight.

Dipper stepped back, watching Bill fly off towards where the rift had opened up. "Good luck..."

–

Bill landed at the spot of the broken ship's crash site and saw Pyronica standing where she had come in. She was facing away from him, her head bowed and her arms crossed over her chest. Bill frowned, feeling a bit of sorrow for their lost friendship. Maybe he could...repair it?

"Pyronica." He said softly.

She tensed and looked over her shoulder at him. "You're back. Did you enjoy your trip into your nightmares?" She asked sarcastically. "Was saving those slaves worth enduring all that?"

"Why do you call them that? Keyhole was human once." Bill reasoned, walking up to her as he grew to match her giant size.

"I dunno, it depends on who you ask." She shrugged. "Anyways, it doesn't matter who we were before, only who we are now. And who we are now is creatures that are far above human, that see how weak humans are and understand why they're seen as playthings to be stolen and sold on auction."

"Wait...'we'? You mean, you were also...?" Bill looked confused.

"Didn't I just say it doesn't matter? Slaves are slaves, we are superior. That's just how it is. The strong toy with the weak." Pyronica spat.

"Pyronica..." Bill sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It...doesn't have to be like this. You're a nice girl, you don't have to be mean just for the sake of it. Why can't...why can't you just change your mind about destroying worlds? What drives you to do that?"

"I don't need a reason." She turned to him fully. "Unlike you, I didn't start my life of crime for any special reason. My first crime was killing my family with powers I didn't know I had. And you know why I did it? Because they tried to tell me what was best for me, to put up with it even if I HATED it."

"...My reason wasn't that far off." Bill commented.

"I know. You lost your brother to a corrupt system, wanted to change things. But, tell me, would you have cared at all about the injustices of your world if you weren't affected personally?" Pyronica asked.

"I--"

"The answer is no. You had a good life, loving adopted parents, you were spoiled beyond belief. The only bad thing was the fact that your adopted brother was misshapen and taken away for it. Just like how you didn't give a shit about who you stepped on and used in this world here until you found that one person, that one kid, that gave you the family you had been needing – since apparently we weren't good enough." Pyronica walked towards him, uncrossing her arms.

"Come on, I--" Bill started again.

"No. No, don't even try to tell me that you had a change of heart from your years trapped in a closet. Had it been anyone else, if it wasn't your precious little Pine Tree, would you have changed your mind and gone against the plan, against us?" Pyronica asked.

Bill waited a bit to see if she was going to speak again. "I...I...might've?" He tried, shrugging.

"Mmm, probably not. You see, even if we were trapped, we had ways of contacting the outside world. You know this. And one of the things I found out that way was that other versions of you, ones that met older Pine Trees, had no issue exploiting and even trying to kill the boy. Something about this particular universe had you deciding to change your mind about everything. So, what was it?" Pyronica demanded.

"I dunno." Bill shrugged again.

"I don't know, either. But, I do know this. The only way you can stop us from destroying this world and killing or enslaving everyone in this town, is to force us out." Pyronica's hands flared with fire.

"...So...there's no peaceful option?" Bill sighed, unbuttoning his shirt and dropping it to the side. "No way I can make you change your mind?"

"Sorry, no. This world or us, one of us is going down." Pyronica said coldly.

"...I really hate that you're making me choose." Bill held his head in his hands before running his fingers through his hair and looking straight at her. "But, I can't let you have your way, Pyronica."

She pursed her lips tightly and then nodded. "Fine. Then, we fight. The battle to decide everything."

"I'm sorry." Bill said softly. "But, I love them too much. I wish I could have you both..."

"Enough talking." Pyronica waved it off and then threw a fireball at him. "Just fight me!"

Bill stepped back out of range of the blast and wrapped his arms around himself, his skin turning pitch-black and his markings turning red before he spread his arms out, two more sets of arms coming out of his sides as his eyes turned red and his teeth grew pointier and sharper. "As you wish."