Northwest-Pines Mystery Hunters

Thirty-Northwestern Showdown

We finally got a chance to see the true form of the voice. It formed a shadowy figure with its back facing us. It turned around when it heard us coming, and Gideon stepped forward to face it.

"What happened between you and my father?" He demanded. The figure laughed.

"What will you gain from it, Northwest? I'm here for the reward just as much as you are." Gideon raised an eyebrow.

"What's the reward?" That was what confused me the most about Gideon. He was so calm and collected, he could talk his way through anything.

"My freedom. Did you really think this was the first time your father has used me? I'm a minor chaos demon. He's been using me for longer than you've been alive, young Northwest. And I'm not the only one. If I defeat you in battle your father will free me." Gideon nodded sympathetically.

"Then it seems we've some common ground here. I'm fighting for my freedom too. I think that we could both benefit from an alliance. If you help me defeat my father, I'll grant you your freedom." The demon laughed again, this time it was throaty and uncontrollable.

"Have you learned nothing from reading that journal of yours, Northwest? You cannot free me. Only the one who summoned me can." Gideon nodded.

"If there were a way where you and I could both go free, would you accept a truce?" The demon seemed to recoil slightly.

"I'm interested. What did you have in mind?" Gideon smirked.

"We fake our battle."

"This is insane." I protested as Gideon and I snuck into his father's study.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I shook my head. "Then this is our only shot. I may not be the biggest fan of demons, but he deserves his freedom just as much as anyone." I sighed.

"I know. But we're putting an awful lot of trust in him. Suppose he betrays us?" Gideon stopped.

"Mabel, we have just as good of a reason to betray him. We both just want to be free from my father, the only difference is that your life is at stake too. We need this." I sighed.

"I know that you're right. But I can't help but feel that Ford's suspicion of... well, everything, has started to rub off on me." Gideon shrugged and pressed on one of the stones surrounding the fireplace. The bookshelves twisted around to reveal random jars and bottles. Gideon rummaged through and grabbed a couple, just as the doorknob started to turn. 

Panicking, Gideon grabbed me and held me tightly to his chest. He squeezed his eyes tightly and his amulet started to glow, and over his shoulder, I saw two security guards enter the room. My breath caught in my throat as their eyes looked straight past us as they scanned the room. One checked behind Mr. Northwest's  desk while the other restored the bookshelves. They nodded to eahother and left in silence.

"That was close." Gideon said, stepping away. He placed a hand on his forehead and slumped against the wall.

"Gideon, are you okay?" I asked. He nodded silently.

"I've never kept people other than myself invisible too... not for that long, at least."

"So we were invisible then." He nodded again. He stood up shakily.

"Let's get back up to the roof. This needs to be perfect." He opened th door and checked the hallway before racing up to the third floor.

"Maybe think about slowing down for those in dresses?" I suggested. "Besides, how exactly is whatever's in that bottle going to help us?" Gideon stopped at the top of the stairs.

"It's going to create a diversion, that's how. We'll create an explosion, then when my father comes up to check on us you and I will be hidden. Given enough time to rest, I could probably manage to cloak us momentarily. That's when the demon will present my father with the news that he's won. And once my father releases him, we'll present ourselves and pretend to defeat him. He'll be long gone and my father will be forced to allow us to go free." I nodded.

"What if your father doesn't buy it? Or what if he decides to play dirty?" Gideon looked at me.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying, what if he doesn't free the demon? Your father playing dirty is literally the reason wyer we're in this mess. I think he's going to play dirty again." Gideon looked at the ground in deep thought.

"We'll just assume he doesn't. Now let's go." He opened the hatch to the roof, where his father was already waiting for us.

Preston, the demon, and two bodyguards stood on the roof when we stepped out.

"Well played, Gideon. I'm genuinely surprised at how close you came to winning." Gideon's eyes went wide.

"No..." He said, barely above a whisper. Hs shock turned to anger and he stepped forward. "No! This isn't fair! You stacked the deck from the beginning. How dare you take advantage of me-no, of us like that?" He yelled. Preston chuckled and clapped slowly.

"Gideon, your gullibility proves you to be even more foolish than I expected," Gideon growled and ran at Preston, punching him in the nose. Preston fell back slightly and fell into the arms of his bodyguards. They moved as to fight back, but Preston chuckled and waved them off. He wiped a bit of blood away and examined it. "I'm impressed. I didn't think you would be capable of physically fighting someone." He snapped his fingers. "You can go." The demon stepped back.

"You're not letting me go?" Preston glared at him.

"Leave us at once." The demon reluctantly agreed. Preston chuckled again and returned to his usual state. "Now then-" Gideon punched him again. Honestly, I was just as surprised as Preston was to see Gideon getting so physical. He pounded his fists into Preston's chest.

"I hate you!" He cried. This time, Preston's nose was bleeding a lot.

"Gideon, what on Earth are you doing?" He asked. Gideon stepped back and wiped tears away from his eyes.

"Now I understand. This was never about Mabel. This was a game to you. You enjoy seeing others helpless under your control. I'm done using my magic for you. And if it means I can never come home, then so be it."He turned away from his father and started to walk past me.

"Gideon, I-"

"Let's go, Mabel." He grabbed my arm and led me down with him.

I will never forget to look of pure shock on Preston's face as we left.

***

Bill Cipher chuckled as he watched Lone Wolf and Pine Tree walk away from Northwest.

"I hope those kids are ready for what's next. There's a lot worse than Northwest out there..." He looked back at his latest creation. "Isn't that right, Crescent Moon?" Pacifica said nothing. She was exhausted, and even if she weren't, not much could take her attention away from the journal. It was hard enough for her employees to get her to eat. She kept rereading the journal.

Cipher knew that he needed to wait for her to be ready. She hadn't lost it-not completely, she just wanted to be sure she'd absorbed all the knowledge the journal contained. Soon she would be ready, and soon he could restore time to its normal balance.

He just needed to wait.

(A/N) Hey guys what's up? I'm doing NaNoWriMo so slow updates this month.