Chapter 6
Dipper had just gotten back with the sleeping bags. While he was seriously hoping that this would be a temporary arrangement, a part of him couldn't help but be excited about this: bad situation aside, this might be just what he needed to win over Wendy. Besides, how often does one get visited by their future relatives? Well, technically Moses was from an ALTERNATIVE future, but that was FAR in the back of his mind. In fact, he planned to head straight to the designated sleeping area. That would have been EXACTLY what happened, if it wasn't for the fact that he heard muffled sobs coming from inside one of the many unexplored rooms.
Peering inside, he saw his future nephew gazing upon a necklace of some sort, a sad expression on his face. "You okay there?" Dipper asked, a hint of concern in his voice. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I'm good," Moses said, sounding startled and not very convincing. "Did that necklace belong to your mom?" the male Mystery Twin inquired. Sighing, the future boy shook his head, "Actually, it belongs to Rachel, my best friend back in the future." Frowning slightly, Dipper stated, "If you need to get something off your chest, you know I'm here for you."
"That's just it," Moses began, "Once this is all over, just about everything I ever knew will likely cease to exist. I mean, there were a LOT of bad things in my life, but there were a bunch of GOOD things, too. Take Rachel, for instance: her parents, Robbie and Tambry, got together after the death of Wendy's family the day Gideon took over, so she was born a few months after I was. She may have been the result of a 'life-is-short' kind of thing, but despite this, and possibly her background, she's one of the greatest people in my life, so I don't really like the idea of her fading from existence. If THAT isn't bad enough for you, though, there's the matter of Stella."
"Who's Stella?" Dipper asked. Before his future nephew could answer, though, a female voice called out, "Why don't you ask her yourself?" Both eyes immediately turned to girl with brownish hair that looked to be about six-years-old, wearing a camouflage jacket, a red sash over her forehead, and a seemingly ordinary pair of black gloves. "What are you doing here? Actually, now that I think about it, HOW are you HERE at all? The portal was destroyed!" Moses demanded. "Gideon put it back together after he broke through our defenses," she explained, "and I thought you'd like to know that your family was still alive. They were being taken captive, last I saw, but I managed to escape and come here to the past."
"I'll be mad at you for disobeying orders and joining the fight before you were ready later," the future boy stated, getting a little teary-eyed, "Right now, I'm giving my favorite cousin a hug." "I'm your ONLY cousin, but I won't argue," the future girl stated, equally teary-eyed as she accepted the embrace. "Should I grab another sleeping bag?" Dipper inquired, feeling a little overwhelmed.
Later…
"So now we have TWO children here from the future?" Stan demanded. "To be fair, the appearance of my cousin wasn't supposed to happen," Moses replied, "in fact, it's been made clear that she's not ready to be a part of the war." "Hey, that's not fair, you know," Stella retorted, "I mean, YOU were allowed to join the fight when you were FOUR! Why can't I help you guys when I'm older then you were!?" "There's more to warfare then fighting, Sarah," Moses said with a sigh, "Besides, I had two things back then that YOU have yet to discover." "First off, don't ever do that again: you know I prefer my nickname," the future girl stated, briefly removing her gloves to reveal a star-pattern birthmark on her palms, before glaring, "and secondly, I don't think it's fair that you get to fight because you can start fires: EVERYONE is able to do that."
"I'm the only person we've found so far who's able to do THIS!" Moses declared, waving his hand and creating a small flame, before sighing, "and my powers had NOTHING to do with it. If anything, they should have convinced our family NOT to let me fight, since they were a constant reminder of who my FATHER was." "Oh yeah: THAT guy," Stella said with a wince, "but then WHY won't they let me fight with you guys?"
"Like I said, it comes down to two things," Moses replied, "The first being that for all your intelligence, you tend to act without thinking. What would happen if we charged into one of Gideon's bases without a clear plan?" "Okay, I see your point there," his cousin relented, "and the second reason?" "It's actually quite simple, really," the future boy stated, "While I'll admit that you DO know how to fight, you're always trying to do everything by yourself. It takes more then one star to make a constellation and you are but one person on the team. Once you've learned how to trust the people who want to help you, everything else will come easy."
"Hate to admit it, kid, but your cousin's got a point," Pacifica put in, "My family might have a good system going, but the wheels will never turn if there's nothing attaching them to the engine." "I have NO idea what she said," Moses groaned, to which his cousin giggled, "She said that the machine is only as good as it's parts, but it's not surprising that you didn't grasp that: Mom is ALWAYS driving you nuts."
"She does that to everyone," Dipper said with a laugh, before noticing Pacifica was starting to look pale. It was at THAT moment he realized what his future daughter had just said. "MOM?!" Dipper and Pacifica yelled at the same time, before fainting from shock. "NOW I owe my mom $30 bucks," Moses said glaring at his cousin, who stood there looking embarrassed.
Author's note:
I know what you're thinking and don't worry: there's a perfectly logical explanation for all this. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until next chapter to hear it. I know that's cruel and all, but what's a story without a little drama, you know? Until then, feel free to take a stab at who Moses' father (biological or otherwise) is. Hope it will be worth the wait.
