Chapter 10: The Tree of Prophecy

-Rana POV-

I gasped for air. I hadn't stopped running until I got to the clearing. The tree was just as big and obvious as it had been the day before, but this time, it felt even more so. We didn't take the time to notice it then.

Actually, time had reset after the twins used their magic, so technically it was the day before.

I looked up at the huge tree, from right underneath it, able to touch it if I wanted to. Dipper and Mabel were staring from behind.

"Oh, it looks like you've got more than one prophecy on your hands, now doesn't it?"

I jumped. Why did Bill have to keep doing that? But it did get me thinking. And then I found the answer. I had one more prophecy to deal with now, he was right! The one huge piece of evidence for this, which put everything in perspective, was the gigantic circle surrounding the base of the tree, with a line poking out, pointing away from the Mystery Shack.

Yes, it was a half note. I looked down at it, and backed away. I knew that this meant something. I just wasn't positive what it was, yet.

Mabel finally expressed her confusion as to what was happening.

"Rana, what's going on? How long has this tree been here? And what's with the weird circle thingy around it?"

Dipper and I exchanged a glance. We both knew that the tree couldn't have been here for more than a day or so. It must have grown after we left to go back to the Shack on the first night! And the half note, well only I had any knowledge of what that meant, and I guessed I would have to tell them. I would at least tell them as much of the story as I could.

"The tree can't have been here any longer than a day or two. And the circle?"

I looked over my shoulder at the two, before turning to face them. I could tell that they were worried about how serious I was.

"The circle is a half note. It represents me. This would be because when I'm not trying to keep myself from getting killed…"

I rolled my eyes, reminding myself of the fact that trying not to get killed is almost a hobby for me. At some point during the eye roll, I had started smiling.

"I might sing a little bit."

What? Did you think I wouldn't have a hobby? What am I supposed to do when I get bored, besides narrowly avoid death? Narrowly avoid more death? I'm still human, aren't I? Aren't I?

Anyways, Mabel's usual smile got even brighter and her eyes widened.

"You sing? Show me, show me!"

She was talking like a child! Ugh! This was not the point I was trying to get at. Nonetheless, I didn't want to fight her, so I sang a quick scale.

"There. Are you happy now? You missed the whole point! The point is the whole meaning of this. It's some kind of prophecy! The tree represents Dipper. You know how Bill calls him pine tree? This is why! We're all a part of so much more than even what we thought last summer!"

They were staring at me with grim looks on their faces. They were probably remembering when they tried to defeat Bill Cipher. I mean, one of the many times when they tried to defeat him. Dipper spoke with a blank expression on his face.

"What does it mean, then? And do you think the stem of the half note is pointing somewhere?"

I stared down at the stem of the note that he talked about. It did seem to be pointing somewhere! I got right to thinking it through, aloud.

"You're right about the stem pointing somewhere! I don't think we should check it out, yet, though. We need to prepare first. Also, about the meaning, I only have a bit of that answer, but here it is. I think Bill can't be defeated this time as easily. Only the two of us can defeat him. And it has to be the both of us, for some reason."

It sounded so much more confusing aloud. The twins didn't even know what to say to my thoughts on the prophecy. So what we did was go back to the Shack so we could get the materials to go looking for whatever the stem was pointing us towards. We might not have known yet what the prophecy meant, but we were going to find out what it wanted us to know.

When we got back to the Shack, nobody had anything to say, so we silently gathered a few flashlights, water bottles, and other necessities. We didn't need to pack weapons, because we were fairly sure that if I needed to, I could use my powers on anything that attacked. And if I couldn't, we would run.

Once we had finished preparing, we met up in their room and went out to the forest. It was time to find out what was actually happening. We didn't care how late it was. We didn't even care about reason. We were just going to stay the night in the woods if we had to.

Within a half hour or so, we reached the clearing. The moon was already high up in the sky. It was almost eerie how the moonlight illuminated the tree and the half note. It looked so much more like a prophecy. I looked up towards the moon and the tip of the tree. Then I looked back towards the twins, who were right behind me, letting me lead.

I motioned for them to come along, and started walking towards the unknown. Nothing was known anymore, after I changed Gravity Falls completely. There was something out there, way off in the distance. I could see it, but I kept walking. Whatever was out there, we could face it, the three of us. I looked to my sides, where the twins were now, and smiled. Yes. We could face anything.

A/N: Well, this was interesting. Nobody knows what will be found in the depths of the forest of Gravity Falls. Sorry about the pace of the past few chapters. I need to get all of the information in, and I still need to keep things interesting. I hope I'm doing the show justice! And about the riddle, this is going to be short, and possibly confusing, but it has the potential to be the biggest clue you get up until the big reveal towards the biggest secret that Rana has. That said, here you go. And make sure to keep reading for The Power of Three.

Riddle: Aren't I?