Missing

Talking and Reading

Amelia woke up in a hospital bed. Her grunkles were sitting in chairs. She looked around in confusion. "Where...?"

"Dry drowning." Stan explained as Ford left the room. "You'll be out of here tomorrow."

A nurse came in, checking on Her vitals. The older Pines men were shooed out with the explanation that visitors hours were over. Amelia was left alone.

Her eyes focused on the triangle demon sitting on her knees. Bill's color was muted, his hat limp. Like he was sad.

His black hands clenched, eye going black as his body turned red. "D- Do you realize...how incredibly STUPID THAT WAS?"

Amelia gulped. "I- It was them. I just-"

"NO, AMELIA, YOU DON'T! THAT COULD'VE BEEN AN ATTEMPT ON YOUR LIFE BECAUSE YOU KEEP INSISTING ON OPENING THIS STUPID CASE!" Bill loomed over her, tall and furious.

Amelia glared. "Mabel and Dipper aren't stupid!"

"I KNOW THAT!" Bill roared. He calmed, returning to yellow. His hands cupped her face. "Sweet child, I know."

She sighed as he settled on her knee. "So, what were they?"

"Mental projections. Which means that the twins' minds are working."

-_-

The next day, Amelia was checked over and declared fine. All water had been pumped out of her lungs. When she returned to the Shack, she went looking for the book that had told her about bonds.

Amelia stared at the old book, it's pages yellowed by time. But she focused on the chapter.

BONDING: It is common for any magic user to magically seal their life to a companion, such as a cat or a bird spirit. These companions are stuck with the user for life, called familiars.

Demon/Angel bonding, however, is different. The ceremony of summoning is used, and then a deal is struck. Often, the user and the summoned creature agree on something the other has to do for them.

Then, the deal is sealed in a exchange of the human's blood and the creature's magic. The demon leaves a claiming mark, depending on the level of power the summoner has or the tasks. Some common type of marks are doors or drawers in the chest. Scars are also common.

But, a extremely powerful summoner can have the mark burnt or tattooed into their flesh. These bonds are permanent.

Often, the creature extends the human's body for as long as the bond is needed. This means the human can live for thousands of years without growing old. This also means that the human can survive for long times without food or water. Quick healing also occurs.

In permanent bonds, a friendship sometimes occurs. In rare cases, a romantic or sexual relationship is started.

"Doing some research?"

Object head Bill stood next to her chair, soda in hand. Amelia shrugged. "Just brushing up on some stuff." He nodded as he sat down. "Why us?"

"Hm?"

She shut the book. "Why did you ask Ford to build the portal? Why agree to go with Gideon's plans." Amelia stared at her hands. "Why did you target Pines?"

Bill hummed as he leaned back. "Good question." He took a sip. "I went after Sixer because he was smart and arrogant. He was easy, even after those 30 long years. Stan... He got boring."

She raised a brow. "You bore easily?"

"You live for trillions of years." Bill said. "But the twins...Oh the twins." His finger tapped against the can. "I originally preferred Shooting Star."

"Because fun means chaos."

He nodded. "Yep. But then I took a closer look at Pine Tree." At her blank look, he sighed. "Imagine if I wanted to kill a whole bunch of people. Well, Shooting Star would argue against it simply because 'it's wrong'." His voice went high. "But Pine Tree would have a huge amount of reasons why not. Every situation he gets thrown at, he finds new ways to deal with it."

Amelia nodded. "Oh." She glanced down to the book. She looked up a second later. "Wait, do you have a crush on my cousin?"

"No-!"

"Do you?"