His head pounded and his wrists ached where they'd been rubbed raw by the ropes around them. There was no part of his being that didn't scream in agony. If he'd had any strength left, he might've been able to keep his head up and his eyes open and his mind alert, but as it was, he fell into blissful oblivion. Voices mumbled around him and on occasion something would bump him as he was dragged across concrete, but he couldn't muster up the will power to open his eyes. Maybe they thought him dead or maybe they thought he was unconscious. It wouldn't be terribly unlikely after the beating he'd been through. Heck, he felt he'd pass out at any second.

It'd all happened not thirty minutes prior. He'd felt absolutely certain that his last threats would be eliminated and he'd be unstoppable in finalizing the last steps in his Weirdmagenddon, but he'd underestimated the Pines family. The event passed in a blur and in mere moments, when he thought it was all over, Stanford had activated a spell that took over his body and turned him human. He'd been right, it was all over. With his powers sealed away and at a disadvantage in the new body, the Pines' had easily overpowered him and took him captive. The sky turned back to blue and the damage repaired itself. The throngs of people that had once been his throne fell and gained consciousness just in time to see him in his weakened state. Had it not been for his Shooting Star and Pinetree, he'd surely be dead. No doubt about it.

"Don't you dare pass out, Cipher." the harsh words bit through the muffled chaos. Ole' Sixer had always had a harsh tone toward him.

Bill managed a weak grunt, but couldn't manage to even open his eyes. The second the towns people recognized the once yellow triangle now turned man, they had mobbed him and he'd been beaten beyond recognition, each of them taking turns in hurting him in one way or another. He'd laughed for the first little while, but by the time he'd had his ribs bruised, the pain started to get to him and, being unaccustomed to human emotion, tears had filled his eyes. While he hated this weakness, he couldn't bring himself to resent it. It had, after all, been the key factor that caused the youngest Pines twins to calm the others and beg for mercy for him.

He couldn't stop the weak, strained chuckle that bubbled up at their foolishness. They'd prevented the death of the one who'd destroyed their town. They'd prevented the death of the one who devoted himself to kill them.

"If you've got the strength to laugh, you've got the strength to walk the rest of the way." Stanley said as he pulled the demon turned human farther up and onto shaky legs.

Bill tried to keep up as they pulled him down the road, but stumbled on the trembling legs beneath him. It was just in time that they lifted and shoved him into the back seat of Stan's 1965 El Diablo. He was shoved into the middle and the twins climbed in next to him with their great uncles taking up the front seats.

The silence was deafening and the tension was high. He tried to keep his bloodied head from lolling back and forth, but found it extremely difficult to form any kind of intentional movements and gave up quickly.

"Grunkle Ford, shouldn't we take him to a hospital?" One of the twins asked. Bill found he couldn't focus enough on which one it was. They both looked alike right then anyway.

"I had thought about it, but I doubt there's a single doctor in a fifty mile radius that'd be willing to look him over. We'll just have to do it ourselves once we get back." He assumed it was Sixer who had spoken since that was who'd been addressed.

"I don't know that we'll have the medical knowledge to fix this. He looks awful." something pulled his shirt away from his body and he squinted to see a small hand probing at his abdomen. "There looks to be several problems with his ribs which means there's a possibility of internal bleeding"

"What do you want me to do, Dipper? He nearly destroyed the town. No one else is going to help him and the only reason he's not dead in a ditch right now is because of you two. If he dies, he dies, there's nothing more we can do about it."

"We have to!" that must've been Mable, her voice higher and more nasally, "There has to be something we can do!"

Bill peaked open a swollen eyelid to look down at the children beside him. Had he not been nearly beaten to death and saved by the two least likely people on earth, he might've thought of doing harm to them, but he had nearly been beaten to death and he was in a vulnerable position. He felt an ache in his chest at the compassion, or was it pity, the twins displayed.

"th-hank you" he whispered, his throat raw from screaming and voice muffled from being strangled. Tears formed in his eyes and he was unable to hold them back. His chin dropped to his chest and his eyes closed, the silent, exhausted tears drying on his face as he was whisked into unconsciousness.

A/N

Hey guys, thank you so much for reading. This is just a short sneak peak into whats coming up. Call it a prologue or trailer, if you'd like. I really avoided writing much from Mable mainly because I don't really know how to write her in a somber setting and I don't feel she'd speak up much unless to defend someone.

Anyway feel free to comment your opinions and vote for the story and I should have the first real chapter up soon!