Later, they found that all the wax sculptures were destroyed, and that the Pine twins were more or less alright. Mabel's leg had been treated, but she still had to rely on her brother for support. Things soon took a rough turn, when the police arrived. Will feared that Bill would be facing permanent imprisonment. But, Dipper quickly explained what had happened, and surprisingly, the cops believed it! The museum staff even apologized, and noted that they forgotten to do their manual check if some of the museum artifacts were cursed, giving the sense that this was a normal occurrence for them in this town.

After that, Bill was off the hook, and the group was walking on the pavement, as nighttime neared. On the way home, Dipper and Mabel did their best to explain the Kill situation to the Cipher brothers.

"So, that guy was our brother," Bill reflected, seeming as though a bitter taste was in his mouth.

"Unfortunately," Dipper murmured in agreement. "And this time, it looks like he's hellbent on resurrecting the old Bill."

"So, it's true?" Will breathed. "We use to be Demons, and Bill destroyed your home?"

The Guardians nodded gingerly, and the boy turned towards his brother. "And, you knew about this, Bill?"

"Yes," The blond answered, hesitantly. "But, would you have believed me if I told you?"

"No," Will admitted. But, the least you could do was try to tell me, He thought, sorrowfully.

Bill placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "To be honest, I didn't completely believe it either, until I saw that Kill guy, then it opened my eyes."

Will shuddered at the memory of the Red Demon. "Does this mean he'll be hunting us down from now on?"

"We won't let that happen," Wendy promised. "I'll protect you with my life if I have to."

"And Kill may be violent, but he ain't usually the sharpest tool in the shed," Mabel remarked. "Which is a wonder why Dipper went out with him."

"Tell me about it," Wendy agreed.

"Really, after how he acted?" Will chided.

Dipper narrowed his eyes at his sister, while she giggled. "Mabel!"

"Only trying to lighten the mood," She insisted to him.

Bill moved closer to Dipper, and smirked. "First Wendy, now Kill? Someone's into redheads," He snickered, softly.

The Guardian shot him a well earned death glare.

"Though, in Dipper's defense," Mabel continued. "Kill wasn't even his first choice, it was--" Then, her brother kicked her. "Ow!"

"That's enough sharing for tonight," He stated, sternly. "For the time being, we need to consult with Fiddleford about Kill and our fading powers."

Mabel nodded quickly, seeming to have forgotten about the past topic. "You're right, especially about the powers. I couldn't even cast a simple fire spell, without feeling exhausted."

"I thought you said it was a powerful spell?" Will reminded.

She shrugged. "I only said that, so you wouldn't worry about me."

"I'm more worried than ever," He responded, truthfully. "Does this mean you guys could be losing your powers?"

Dipper sighed. "We don't know, yet. Hopefully, we can find a way to fix this, before Kill returns."

"Will roughed him up a bit," Wendy said, tossing a proud look towards the boy. "It'll take a while, before Kill recovers."

"Good," The male brunette replied. "If you can guard their shack, that would be nice, Wendy."

Wendy smirked. "Please, I've been sleeping outside their shack as soon as they moved in."

"Wait, what?" Bill questioned.

❇❇❇

After they dropped off the twins, Dipper and Mabel left after a brief goodbye. Wendy then ushered the Cipher brothers to bed, before she returned to the woods surrounding the premises. Moments later, the twins were preparing for sleep, when Bill noticed his brother looked tensed.

"It's going to be okay," He reassured. "Red, Pine Tree, and Shooting Star are going to protect us."

Will turned to him with a weak smile. "Thanks, but that's not what was on my mind."

"Then, what is?"

The blue haired boy hesitated, before turning his whole body towards Bill while sitting crossed legged on his mattress. "Bill, I want you to promise me from now on, that you'll tell the truth."

Bill frowned. "I don't think--"

"Please," Will said, his eyes gleamed. "If anything strange happens that you think I can't handle, tell me anyway. And, if you think that I won't believe you, keep in mind, that I've just been told that I was a Demon in my past life! At this point, nothing will surprise me."

The blond thought long on it, then sighed. "OK, if you ask, I'll tell you the truth from now on."

"Thank you," Will said, softly. "Now, are you feeling...weird?"

Bill tilted his head. "What do you mean by weird?"

Will shrugged nervously. "Like...someone's telling you to do bad things?"

He blinked. What the hell was Will going on about? Telling him to do bad things? Like some reverse Jiminy Cricket?

"No, Will, I don't have some little voice that's telling me to be a bad boy," Bill retorted. "What's up with you?"

There was a strained look on Will's face, like he was holding something back from escaping his mouth. "No reason," He said, quickly. "Goodnight, Bill."

Then, in an instant, his brother laid down on his side and covered himself with his blanket. Bill looked at him strangely, but decided to ignore his twin's antics for now. He curled up on his mattress, on the same moment when Will said this:

"Just so you know...I'm sorry for accusing you at first, because deep down, even though you refuse to show it, you're a good person."

Bill didn't answer, but he will admit, that a part of him desperately needed to hear those words.

Silence then filled the bedroom, and Bill turned off the lights. He rested his head on his pillow, and shut his eyes. As he drifted into a deep sleep, it didn't take long before a nightmare arrived...

He didn't know where he was. He only knew that it was dark. Dark. With fire licking at the sky. And the tangy smell of blood (who knew blood smelled tangy).

He tried to breathe through the smoky air, but his lungs rejected most of it. Moments later, he realized there was a shape hovering over him. A brunette man with tears streaking down his cheeks. Emotions burned in his eyes: sadness, anger, hatred, and heartbreak.

"How could you!?" He cried, his voice shattered like glass.

Bill managed to breathe out a word through his hoarse throat.

"Pine Tree..."

He reached out a hand, that was gloved for reason, and went to brush the young man's cheek. Dipper shivered, when the hand grazed him, before he batted it away. He released a furious yell, before plunging his sword through Bill's heart.

The blond felt a metallic rush of blood, and the warm liquid pooled inside his bottom jaw. Bill spasmed, and choked as his airways were blocked.

There was a call from nearby, and through his blurry vision, he saw a young woman with brown locks running towards them. Shooting Star...

Once arriving, Mabel pulled her brother away from Bill, and stared down at the blond in horror. "Dipper, what have you done!?"

The Pine twins began arguing, but all Bill could hear were muffled voices. A tickle of blood ran down his jaw, as he tried to breathe.

"BILL!"

He recognized that voice. Bill turned, and saw his brother. The youngest Cipher, Will, was regarding him in dismay, his whole body trembling. Bill caught the first signs of tears, that riveted down the little Demon's cheeks.

They made him cry, Was all Bill could think.

He looked back at the Guardians, but focused mostly on Dipper. He growled softly, and as the final remains of his life ebbed away, only one word pulsed in his head:

Revenge.

Bill gasped.

He sat up on his mattress, cold sweat plastered his vest to his back. His chest heaved, as he tried to control his breathing.

What was that?

"Baa!"

Bill glanced down, and saw two beady eyes staring at him blankly. "What do you want, goat?" He snapped.

Gompers only stared, before he suddenly went to jump onto Bill's bed. The blond tried protesting, but the animal was already curled up by his side, and it didn't look like he would move anytime soon. Bill thought about pushing him off, but decided he didn't have the energy. Instead, he laid back down on his bed, with Gompers's warm flank pressed against him. He was ashamed to say, that he felt a level of calmness with the goat by him.

"If you lick me, I'll fry you into barbecue," Bill told the goat, who only snored in return. "Goodnight, you little monster."

❇❇❇

Meanwhile, in a clearing surrounded by birch trees, Kill Cipher was sitting in the center. He growled under his breath, upon looking at the burnt state of his torso, with a permanent scar.

"Well, well," A voice singed through the trees. "Isn't it Kill, coming here to lick his wounds."

Kill rolled his eyes. "I don't need your lectures, Jill."

Instantly, a girl appeared before him. She looked about the age of sixteen, and looked fairly normal if not for a few details. She had pale skin, luscious blonde hair, and pointy ears. She wore a yellow sweater and shorts, and she looked pretty innocent, but Kill knew the amount of destruction his sister was capable of.

"Did you kill blueberry yet?" Jill asked, twirling a strand of her hair with her finger.

"No," He spat, bitterly. "Parentally, Will is much braver in the body of a little brat."

She sighed. "Typical, never allow your idiot brother to do a girl's job."

Kill turned to her sharply. "Hey! It's not like you could've done better, plus, you always make me do the dirty work."

"Don't pretend you don't enjoy it," Jill giggled. "Anyway, this was only a little mishap, we'll get him next time."

"But what about afterwards?" He questioned. "Even if we get Bill on our side, he's still mostly mortal and is no use to us."

"Kill, this is Bill you're talking about," She pointed out. "He's like the most powerful Demon among us, apart from--"

"Don't say his name," Kill interrupted, glaring. "I don't want to hear about that bowler hat wearing nerd! He had the power to surpass Bill himself, but he wasted his talent."

"Irritable tonight, I see," Jill smiled. "Look, Brother, if you're so worried about Bill being useless...we can always use the journals."

He regarded her with uncertainty. "How are we even suppose to find them?"

Jill's eyes lit up with a golden light. "Oh, I already found one...along with a new friend."