Chapter 11: The Power of Three

-Rana POV-

I could sense that there was something ahead. And it wasn't going to be good. That didn't matter, though. I needed to keep on going. There was nothing that was going to stop me. If I didn't find out what the stem of the half note was pointing towards, I would probably go crazy or something!

I suddenly felt an intense wave of fear surge over me. I still had no idea what it was up ahead. It could've been a trap, set to capture me and set Bill free. I took a deep breath, pushed away the fear, and grabbed Dipper's left hand and Mabel's right.

"Whatever we find in there, we can face it, right guys?"

I sounded so much less confident than I meant to. They didn't seem to be very confident, either. We were all grateful for the reassurance of each other's fingers interlaced with our own. No matter how terrified we all were of what we would found out there, the two of them nodded and we continued our hike to who-knows-where.

We were all silent for the most part with a little bit of conversation about whatever was out there in the woods. All the way until midnight we just walked, nobody complained about being tired, nobody stopped for a break, we just kept on going. But then, at midnight, we all felt like we needed a rest.

We stopped, put down the bags that we all were holding, and pulled out our water bottles. We sat down by a tree, and stayed there for about 5 minutes, before a bright golden light began to emanate from the area where I had seen something earlier. At this point, that area was only a few minutes away, and the three of us were all ready to get up and go. And we were definitely going straight toward the light.

We didn't have any idea what it was, but we knew it was special, it was different, it was exactly what we were looking for.

The thing is, as we got closer, I started hearing this awful sound. At first, I thought it was just my stress getting to me. But then, it became unbearable, it sounded like a scream. It wasn't just any scream, though. It sounded murderous, like you'd hear in a horror movie.

But there was one other noise, buried under the screams and the wind around me. This noise was much more familiar, from many times hearing it at home, and even a few times here.

The laugh of an evil maniac, namely, Bill Cipher. He was in my head, laughing about something that was about to happen. I suddenly knew that it wasn't going to be a good idea to keep going, but I could no longer stop. Bill was driving me towards the light, and even though I now knew how bad this was going to be, I couldn't resist it. I couldn't even show emotion anymore. Suddenly, I realized that I had no control left. Bill had complete control over my body!

I wanted to scream, but nothing came out, my mouth wouldn't even open. I saw through my peripheral vision that Dipper was looking at me like he could tell something was wrong. Yes! If he figured out what was going on, he might be able to drag us away from the light!

When I began to focus ahead of me, again, I suddenly realized what the light was coming from. It was only about 10 feet away now. And it was horrifying. All I could see anymore was a fifty-foot pyramid, with an eye in the middle, and a top hat at its tip. It was a giant Bill Cipher statue! And it was glowing gold! We were doomed!

Dipper suddenly turned away from the statue, so close to it now that he could touch it if he wanted to. Mabel had turned away, too. They had both realized in the same instant what the statue looked like. They had both suddenly realized that it was Bill. They started running, expecting me to come with them. I tried, but I simply couldn't move away from the statue.

I began to float. The fire that always seemed to envelope me when I was using my powers was appearing. I suddenly felt as if I was no longer really fully inside my body, and realized that Bill was trying to get rid of me. And not by killing me, but by sending me into the statue. Who knew how many were trapped in there?

This wasn't something I could get out of. At least, I couldn't get out of this on my own. Just as I was giving up hope, I heard voices, yelling, from down below.

"No! Bill, you can't take her away from us!"

It was Dipper, and I could hear his voice getting shakier and shakier, as he began to float in the air, becoming surrounded by the same blue flame that was surrounding me. I couldn't physically see it happen, I just kind of knew.

Within seconds, the blue fire was aiming towards me. I was now consumed by the fire from him and my own. Then, I was suddenly freed, and I dropped to the ground. The last thing I heard was Mabel's screams as she realized that the only two people with her were lying on the ground. We were both lying there, unable to move. She didn't know what to do.

Luckily, it turned out that Dipper had already been out for a bit, and just as I blacked out, I heard Dipper groan as Mabel screamed. Good. He was awake. As long as they were both awake, they would both be fine, I didn't matter, only them. Only them.

A few hours later, I woke up in Dipper and Mabel's room, still a little disoriented. I stood up next to Dipper's bed, where I had been laying moments before. Dipper had been sleeping on the floor. I was trying to leave when Dipper sat up and started whispering.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I winced. I hadn't wanted anybody to notice me going back to my room. Nonetheless, I nodded. He didn't need to know how much of a lie that was. I smiled as he got back up onto his bed.

"What happened back there? After we reached the statue-pyramid thingy, I couldn't tell what was going on."

He looked down at the floor and half-smiled. I guessed it must have been bad, but exciting at the same time. I think we were all used to that feeling by then.

"Not much. I apparently still have some magic, though. I got angry when I figured out that Bill was trying to take you, and I just kind of freed you. It didn't really register that I was using magic, I just did it. I couldn't let you die. I knew that was what he was going to do to you. I wouldn't let him."

He was blushing. I was, too. Both of us were smiling. We let the silence last too long, and someone had to say something, so I came up with another question.

"What about Mabel? She played some part in all this, right?"

He looked at me, thoughtfully. I smiled at him, trying to lighten the mood that was getting way to dark for the conversation. Soon, he had an answer.

"She was the one who pointed out the fact that you weren't there. She's the reason we made it back to you in time. She's the reason you're still here. She saved you."

I smiled, then looked over to Mabel's sleeping form. I really did have the greatest friends, didn't I? There was nobody else in that world that would have been able to do what they did. They were so amazing.

"No, the both of you saved me. You worked together, and with the three of us working as a team, we've uncovered at least one secret of our little prophecy."

He looked at me, slightly curious about what I meant. I then changed my expression from reassuring to serious.

"It's not just the two of us, it's the three of us. She's a part of things, just not in the same way the two of us are. We are definitely something special."

As I said this, I did the one thing that I really feared after I had gotten to Gravity Falls. I kissed him. I kissed Dipper. I was just as surprised as he was, but neither of us pulled away. Deep down, I knew we would never last, this was only a mission, but I didn't want to think about that. When we broke apart, I tried to act like that was totally normal, and I spoke a few last words before I went to my bedroom.

"But she's a whole different kind of special. She's special all on her own."

I smiled, and I went to bed, glad that I could finally get some rest, even though it was already six. The sun was already rising, and I was going to have a whole new day ahead of me within two hours or so, but I could at least rest for a while. Then, we would have another day of discoveries.

Still, as I drifted off into sleep, I could already sense a deep discomfort, as if my magic was already stirring around inside, ready to act up later, and ruin another day, or maybe save it. I didn't know yet, and I really didn't care. I had the two best friends in my current world, there was nothing that could ruin this.

A/N: Okay, you guys all knew already that there was going to be some romance in this, so no complaining! I am so ready for the next few chapters. I'm pretty sure this story is about to come to an end, but that doesn't mean that Rana won't be back. She will most definitely be back. Can't wait for the next chapter, which will hopefully come quickly, Mysteries of the Pine Tree. Please review and tell me how you think I'm doing, it really helps! Also tell me what you think the prophecy means, or what you think the riddles mean, I'd love to see what you're finding out!

Riddle: Three summers. One feels like forever. The second cut short. The third is disaster.