Chapter Text
Bill rolled his head to the side, showing off a bruised gash along the side of his forehead. “Sixer,” he coughed, against the dizziness. “I think he's gone.”
Ford raised a shaky hand to his face, barely keeping it together. “How- how much of that was you?”
“Aren't I an amazing actor?” Bill said, pushing his palms against the floor to sit up. “Wow. Yup. He’s definitely dead-”
The wind knocked out of him when Ford strangled him down, and Bill stubbornly held onto his vessel, even while every bone in his body screamed to let go.
“ You made me kill him!” Ford shouted, slamming Bill’s head against the sink cupboards. “Get out of him right now!”
Bill felt the back of his skull splinter into shards. “Nope!” he choked out, tasting iron on his teeth. “Guess you'll have to become my new puppet-”
He didn't notice Ford grabbing the knife until it was too late. It punctured his eye, fracturing the world around him, and he found himself floating in the middle of space.
Ax floated above him, stars speckled across his skin. His eyes landed on Bill, big enough to reflect his tiny, glowing form.
Bill looked down at his hands, curling his fingers to make sure they still worked.
“Bill,” Ax rumbled, his voice smooth like water. “You’re still alive.”
“Of course I am. That wasn't my body.”
Ax laughed softly. “I’m not letting you go back.”
“ What?!” Bill suddenly felt like he was going to explode. “Ax, I didn't go through all of that just to stop now!”
“You lost.”
“I WON. Killing him was part of the plan!”
Ax shook his head in disappointment, moving through the air gracefully. “He won't make the portal for you. You won't change his mind.”
“Oh, sure, like he's just gonna keep running from me.” Bill said sarcastically, reaching a hand out to transport himself anywhere else. A blue flame flickered in his hand, sending a searing shock up his arm.
He jumped back, cursing as he curled into himself. “He can't replace me! I’m all he has, how many times do I have to prove that?”
“Prove it to yourself.”
“Up your-”
“Bill, he hates you now.” Ax continued. “Stanford is going to block you out just as much as anyone else. He doesn't have you. You lost him.”
Bill seethed, looking up at the god in warning. “I never should've decided to take care of you.”
“You would be dead without me.”
Before Bill could retort, Ax swished his tail, sending him back to his bedroom. The chatter outside the door reeked of the Henchmaniacs partying, celebrating… something Bill didn't know about.
It took him a second to guess they often did this in his absence. He shifted his gaze around the state he left the floor in, scattered empty bottles, Ax’s small tank, his bed tipped on its side so he could use the whole wall for a place to stab photos of his enemy with pushpins. It wasn't exactly what anyone would call ‘home’.
He could probably try going back to the manor, call Ax’s bluff on his alleged ban. He could start over and find a way to drag Ford back to the blueprint. If bait didn't work, he always had Ford’s sanity to mess with, if there was any left.
But Bill sat listening to the party music through the door, thinking. Technically, he never hurt Fiddleford at all. Not once did he lay a scratch on him, even though he wanted to. Any injuries decorating the body were only caused by Ford, and that made Bill swallow his own puke.
He had to wonder whether or not Ford would bury the body, or just leave the dimension without a trace. Maybe he’d even stand his ground, waiting with a weapon for Bill to return.
But what would he say? They’d just argue again, just fight until Bill lost his temper and incapacitated Ford in some way, and then separate until it happened again. Even if Bill could live for eternity, he couldn't re-live his current luck of finding someone quite this special.
He didn't believe it when Ford said he’d move on, so he had to make sure he was right. He had to fly in and destroy any possibility Ford had of a perfect life, he didn't care how selfish it looked.
Bill could fit in Ax’s tank, he realized, and found himself sitting inside it. He couldn't make himself get up and see how much he’d ruined, how much damage he left Ford in. He reminded himself there was still time, and he could always haunt him again.