Chapter 9 - A Quiet Moment

The next day, the Guildmaster spent the afternoon muttering over a newspaper and two journals. She seemed intent on writing something in her own records, and didn't require Sixer's assistance for it. He sat on the couch and watched as she wrote, waiting for her to tell him to do something.

The thought occurred to him that he had been waiting a long time for nothing to happen.

The thought caught him by surprise. He blinked a couple times. Why was he thinking? The Guildmaster hadn't—

"Your emotions and knowledge are still yours to use."

…oh. Right. The Guildmaster had said that. Alongside with her declaration that she was not Cipher.

That was the second time she had said it. The first had been when she had opened a portal across dimensions to the Fearamid in the past. His past. Her present.

His tails shifted on the couch before settling. His head felt…strange.

Unbidden, thoughts started listing in his mind.

The Guildmaster had taken control of him from Cipher, just as the rest of his family had been taken by Stanley, Sphinx, and Mizar. Since that day, none of them had been treated in a manner that Sixer was used to.

The Guildmaster's statement that she wasn't Cipher made sense in that regard. She wasn't using him to run errands, to capture enemies, or to be used in any other personal manner.

…Crescent had said that first day that there would be no blackouts anymore. He didn't question why Crescent knew about them. He questioned the truth of that statement instead.

Just because the Guildmaster hadn't shown that kind of interest in his actions yet didn't mean that she was going to continue to ignore him in that manner.

He pushed that thought further back than the rest for now. Were there other matters that required his attention? Likely.

His brow furrowed as what felt like a headache started to develop. Thinking was starting to get difficult because of the pain.

He sighed quietly and closed his eyes. He should put off thinking for a little longer, before trying again.

Change in POV

"So, it's been almost a week now."

Crescent looked over at Stanley. The two of them were standing outside of the Shack, in a corner area where they wouldn't be disturbed. Soos was — apparently — running the tours again today.

"I still can't get used ta ya needlin' the back of my head," Stanley added. He sipped from his Pitt Cola can and looked over at Crescent. "How's it feel on yer end again?"

"Well, yer voice isn't in my head, so that's a plus." Crescent mimicked his counterpart's movements with his own can. The soda's fizz was a strange but welcoming sensation. "An' yer not tellin' me ta do things that he did."

Stanley grunted. "Like I'd want to. No way in hell am I gonna act like that stupid demon an' tell ya ta tear apart families or somethin' worse. I'd donate everythin' ta charity if I did that." He finished off his can and spat the pitt back into the can with practiced aim. "Settlin' in all right? Haven't been doin' anything ya see fit ta complain about, have ya?"

"Well, I'd wish that Maria kid would think ta get Sixer out ta interact with the kids a bit." Crescent nodded over to where Star, Pine, Mizar, and Sphinx were sitting in a circle together. "I mean, I get the whole thing where she's worried about him an' all, but keepin' him cooped up can't be a good thing."

"Wendy said she's not sure what she's doin', so that could be part of it. But yer right." Stanley rapped against the wall behind him in thought. "Think we should go drive 'em outta the house an' over here? Would give 'em somethin' ta do, at least."

Crescent shrugged. "Far be it from me ta tell that kid what ta do."

"That's not a very Stanley Pines thing ta say."

"Yeah. But I'm not feelin' up ta that yet."

Stanley raised an eyebrow at his counterpart. "An' when will ya?"

"Hard ta say. I've been fightin' against that demon fer so long, tryin' ta drop hints about what happened, an' then alluva sudden this kid comes in, wipes the floor wit' us, an' makes a connection I didn't." Crescent made a broad motion with one hand towards the Shack that Maria and Sixer were sitting in. "I was not expectin' that."

"We weren't expectin' you ta show up," Stanley replied. "Maria, maybe. I've kinda met her before."

Crescent blinked, raising an eyebrow.

"She helped my bro get home a couple'a years ago. Would'a made a portal herself ta get him back here, but apparently Cipher did somethin' so she was blocked off. Didn't stop her from makin' open windows so we could talk ta each other, though." Stanley shrugged. "We managed ta get a few things settled, an' then when the portal turned on, she kept it stable on her end so it wouldn't tear up her street. Must've made quite the light show fer her neighbors."

Stanley chuckled, but his laugh sounded half-hearted.

Crescent blinked again, then frowned. "She stabilized it?"

"On her end. That stupid rift still showed up afterwards, but Ford said it was smaller than he was expectin'. Cipher still got through it, but then we pulled the memory thing an' he wasn't a problem after that." Stanley grinned. "That was a good feelin', punchin' that triangle in the eye."

"I'd like it if I had that chance."

Stanley looked at Crescent in surprise. Seeing his counterpart looking away from him with an unhappy expression, he clapped his hand on the other's shoulder. "Hey, now. Ya might get that chance yet. I mean, punchin' demons seems ta be a weakness for 'em that we've got covered." He raised his other hand — still holding the empty soda can — and grinned. "Just you wait — you'll get yer chance ta teach him what it means ta mess with the Pines!"

Crescent's mouth quirked up a little, but it dropped just as quickly. "If he doesn't try ta take us back first."

Stanley frowned. "Oh yeah, that could be a problem. We'll have ta keep you guys in the Shacks fer a bit when it starts, then — unicorn barrier an' all."

"Do you really think that'll keep him out for long?"

"So long as McGucket doesn't try ta make it inta a Shacktron without putting more unicorn hair all over the place, sure." Stanley shrugged. "He might do somethin' else this time, though. Just ta make sure that he can catch the demon by surprise."

Crescent inclined his head slightly, considering. "If he can."

"Yer soundin' more like a Debbie Downer there, Crescent."

"Kinda hard not ta. I'm jus' tryin' ta be realistic here."

"Realistic how?" Stanley frowned.

"He didn't get beat like yours did. He's been runnin' around, breakin' inta dimensions an' makin' deals with people from all over the place. Practically has an army of Henchies now, but they usually stick to their own places and run people inta the ground. If he's plannin' on gettin' us back, he might pull out all the stops ta get us." Crescent shrugged. "Just, ya know, somethin' ta consider."

Stanley's frown deepened. He opened his mouth to offer a counterpoint, paused in thought, then asked, "An' how cocky has he gotten?"

"Huh?"

"Ya heard me. How overconfident is he that he's not gonna get his ass handed ta him on a silver platter?"

Crescent glanced over at the Sphinx and Mizar to see if they'd heard Stanley's question. Upon seeing Sphinx looking at him with a curious frown, he looked back at Stanley.

"Watchin' Cipher's moods isn't exactly somethin' that I tried ta make a habit of," Crescent said. "At first. He liked makin' himself appear all chaotic an' nobody can guess what he's gonna do next — but really, when all he's got left ta do is go after more dimensions, hunt down other Fords an' get mad over one thing or another? He started ta fall inta a bit of a pattern. I think he got bored with everythin' that he'd been doin', an' now he's thinkin' that he's gonna find a challenge in whatever's goin' on here." He motioned half-heartedly with one hand to the clearing. "Why else put four a'ya together?"

"Maybe see what happens if we decide not to get along and tear each other apart?" Sphinx asked as Pine and Star turned to look at Crescent and Stanley.

"Well, that's not gonna happen." Mizar pushed herself to her feet. "Not on my watch. Besides, if he'd wanted that, he wouldn't have stuck everyone in town together like he did. Four Gravity Fallses would be more friction than one with everyone having memories of all of them."

Crescent shrugged. "Like I know what goes through his head. Er. apex?"

"Either works," Sphinx replied with an annoyed expression. The wings that were pressed against his back rose a little as his tail flicked back and forth. "If he wants a challenge, he is certainly going to get one with all of us working together. And without his usual means of terrifying the populace."

"All the better for us," Mizar agreed.

Pine and Star exchanged uneasy, but wide-eyed looks. Crescent had been watching them the last couple days, and it looked like they were starting to act a little different. He wasn't entirely sure, though.

"Th-then, what are we gonna do?" Star asked. "How can we prepare?"

"We can start by making sure that you don't feel obligated to hang on our every word," Sphinx replied gently. "I was thinking of paying the unicorns a little visit later. Perhaps sometime after school is let out for the day so that I can take one of the other children along. I'm sure that, when presented with the situation as it stands, they will be…reluctantly willing to hand over some of their hair. Or not reluctant at all." He grinned, showing off a set of sharp fangs that had no business being in a human face.

Then again, Sphinx was a sphinx. The fact that he was a lion had to show up in more places than just his body from the neck down.

The grin relaxed after a moment. "If you would like to come along, I'm not against it." He nodded to Star. "The unicorns will likely attempt to pull the same 'pure of heart' scam they did in your dimension if they see you, however."

"It's okay," Star murmured. "I…I know I'm not."

Mizar sucked in a breath sharply, then moved over and hugged Star tightly, being careful to mind the wings. "I refuse to believe that."

Star stiffened, confused. "But — but I did terrible things!"

"But did you like doing them?" Sphinx asked gently.

Star blinked. "N…no?"

"Did you personally decide to do those terrible things?"

"N…no." Star shook her head. "I can't do that. I can't decide."

"Because someone else is in control of that."

Star nodded at Sphinx's statement. "Y-yeah."

"But you neither decided on making those actions, nor did you like what you did. If you had, then I would be more inclined to say that you are less pure than your counterparts." One of Sphinx's wings unfurled and wrapped around Star and Mizar. "You were in a position that no one should ever be in. And I don't intend to make you do such things as Cipher forced you to ever again. What you do with your abilities is your own decision."

Star made a sound, like she was trying to say something, but then she cut herself off and buried her face in Sphinx's wing instead.

"The forest…"

Mizar turned to look at Pine curiously.

"The forest knows we're here," Pine said slowly. His hands were in the grass, taking fistfuls of the green blades. His eyes were glowing a soft blue — not a full extent of his power, but enough of it. "It doesn't know what to make of us. The creatures in it are nervous."

"Well, I hope we can make them not nervous," Mizar replied. "You gonna keep going, Dip-dop? Or do you think you should stop for the day?"

The glow faded from Pine's eyes. "I should give the forest time before I go deeper. Gravity Falls is older than the other forests I've felt."

"All-righty then." Mizar slipped away from Star and out from under Sphinx's wing, then sat next to Pine again. "Anything else you'd like to do today?"

Pine blinked at the question, then turned his attention upwards. "I like how the sun feels."

"Cloud-watching it is," Mizar decided. She fell back from her sitting position, lying down on the grass and putting her hands behind her head.

"Things are lookin' up," Stanley said with a grin. He looked at Crescent and nudged him with an elbow. "The kid's birthday's tomorrow. Remember that?"

Crescent frowned. "…I think so?"

"We're gonna have a big barbecue tomorrow. Wanna help me get some supplies?" Stanley's grin widened. "It's been a while since I made a grocery run, an' it's not every day I can say that it was just me."

Crescent's mouth upturned slightly. "If ya need the extra arms, I'm yer guy."

"Excellent." Stanley dropped the empty soda can and rubbed his hands together. "Let's see how much ya remember."