Chapter 21 - Holiday Chaos
Thanksgiving had been quiet, small, and simple, compared to the candy chaos of Halloween. Sixer found himself preferring this.
The chaos that came after it, however, was not what he had been expecting.
As soon as the weekend for Thanksgiving ended, loud, cheery music started blaring from the center of town. Decorations for end-of-year celebrations that Sixer barely remembered started popping up all over the Shacks, and people came in from town proclaiming well-wishes and 'Happy Hanukkah's, 'Merry Christmas'es, and even a few that Sixer had never heard of before.
There was…something in the air, as well. Something he hadn't felt in a long time.
It had taken him a day to put a name to the feeling.
Excitement.
But there was likely some tension, too.
"I have absolutely no idea what to get everyone for Christmas!"
Maria tugged at her hair as she looked at the snow on the ground. The white stuff had fallen over the last few days, and it had forced the school to close until the roads could be properly plowed. Apparently, falling in foot-thick blankets was not what normal plows were prepared for.
"Isn't it a bit early to be thinking about that?" asked Alex from nearby. "It's only the beginning of December; we've got a good twenty days."
"I want to beat the rush at the end of the year, if there is one in town." Maria paused, then dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "But I don't have any cash because I don't have a job in town. Damnit."
Sixer tilted his head, ears flicking. Gifts? The idea of giving something away freely – that was it, right?
Maria wanted to find people gifts. Okay. But she didn't have a way to getthem legally.
"That could be a problem." Karen stepped out of the kitchen and put her hands on her hips, frowning. "Although, would it be out of the question to make gifts?"
"That would mean getting materials. Which would mean buying materials." Maria grumbled into her hands, then raised her head. "Which leaves me in the exact same position."
"Not completely." Alex sent Karen a knowing look, then looked back at Maria. "Our daughter has a lot of crafting supplies. I'm sure you'll be able to think of something, especially if you ask her for help."
Karen nodded in agreement. "Yes; she's very much into making small gifts for us for Hanukkah and Christmas. I don't see why you can't do the same."
There was an interesting idea. Maple would be willing to do something like that, wouldn't she?
"Maybe…" Maria frowned, scratching her head. "I'll have to see if Mabel or one of her counterparts would be willing to help me with anything. I…I might have a few things I could use in my subspace pocket? I haven't really gone digging in there for a long time, so I don't know if there's anything good in there."
Maria must have a quite a few interesting items in there that she could use. But would she be willing to part with them?
"Well, maybe look there first," Alex suggested. "And then see if you need anything from Mabel."
"…yeah. Yeah." Maria tapped her chin in thought, frowning. "It's been a while since I've done inventory…could get two birds with one stone here…."
Sixer's curiosity was increasing. She was going to go through her subspace?
But what did she have?
"Guildmaster, what do you keep in your…subspace?" Sixer asked carefully.
"Lots of things. Journals, old tech, mementos from other worlds – I've got a surplus of berries in there too, in case the trees out in the woods don't last the winter." She ticked the items off on her fingers. "Extra supplies in case I run out of room in my journals – which has happened a couple times…might wanna restock on those soon…." The Guildmaster shook her head. "Know what, I'm just going to do that inventory now before I forget about it. Mind if I take over a room for a bit?"
Alex frowned. "We do have a living room that we haven't been making use of—"
"Great, thanks!" The Guildmaster took off and disappeared before Sixer could move. He stared after her, blinking in confusion.
"She's pretty eager to go and take care of that," Alex commented. "It sounds like she's going to be pretty busy with that."
Which was Sixer's thought as well. She could have asked him for assistance, but…she didn't.
Would she appreciate the help? That was likely the case. She probably hadn't thought of asking for it when she rushed off.
He rose from the couch and followed the Guildmaster to the living room that Alex had mentioned.
He found her sitting on the floor as she was pulling out a red, rectangular bag with black handles. Next to her were already a few stacks of journals. "Guildmaster?"
"Hm?" The Guildmaster looked up. "Hey, Sixer. What's up?"
Sixer hesitated. He came for a reason, he needed to voice his question. "Do you…require assistance?"
"With doing inventory of my stuff, you mean?" The Guildmaster set a stack of mostly-red devices off to the side, the familiar PokeDex she'd used to summon Jewels and the others sitting on top.
Sixer nodded. "You said you had a lot of items…without extra hands, it would take some time, wouldn't it?"
It would make sense that he should be there to help, right?
The Guildmaster paused. "Are you…saying you'd like to help?"
Like to?
…did he?
…it certainly felt that way, didn't it?
"I-if you think you require it – if you don't, I can—"
"No, no, it's okay, Sixer." She held up a hand, cutting him off. "If you're up for helping me with this, I'm not against it; having a little company while I do with might be a good thing, actually." She smiled a little. "I just didn't want to press you into anything you didn't feel like doing, that's all."
Sixer relaxed. She was all right with the assistance. That was good. He stepped into the room and sat down across from her.
The journals and devices she had already pulled out attracted his attention. How did she have that much already?
"I haven't started counting things yet. I'm getting these out for now, to look things over." The Guildmaster put a hand on a stack of journals. "These are recordings of all the places I've been, down to the minor details. Everything that I don't throw into these two ends up in the rest of the volumes."
The Guildmaster pulled out two red journals as she spoke. One had a globe on the cover, the other a phoenix. He had seen her writing in them before.
But…those stacks…
"How…how many?"
"Hm?" The Guildmaster was grinning.
"How many worlds have you been to?"
The Guildmaster paused in the middle of pulling that familiar orange, ratty backpack out of her jacket. "Um…you know, it's been a while since I've really sat down and counted. There's quite a few, though. Now you've got me curious – I'll have to sit down and go through my memories and count how many I've been to. When I'm done taking inventory on my stuff."
Sixer nodded. That made sense. Tackling one problem at a time was better than taking both at once.
"Why do you ask?" The Guildmaster set the backpack aside and started pulling out sacks. There were fruits sewn on the sides. It took Sixer a moment to recognize them as Berries.
He blinked at her question, tilting his head. He could feel his tails swaying behind him as he thought – that was a strange sensation. "I'm…I'm curious?"
That felt like the right word for what he was feeling.
The Guildmaster's own curious expression persisted. It seemed she wanted more of an answer than that.
Well…he had been spending a lot of time thinking to himself. Both about his own situation and….
"The Dark Arms came after you for a reason. Maybe the key to why they did before is in the past?"
Maria blinked. "You mean, maybe they came across what I'd done before and that got them to cause the – the World Collision?"
Sixer blinked. "They chose you for a reason. It would…make sense."
It really did. There had to be more World Jumpers besides Maria, so why would the Dark Arms choose her over any other ones that may be living in the multiverse?
The Guildmaster looked thoughtful. "That might be something to look into. Later. I'd like to see if I have anything gift-worthy in my subspace first."
Sixer nodded. "Of course."
He wondered if the Guildmaster was just saying that, or if she really was going to think about it.
It took a while for the Guildmaster's subspace to be emptied. There were a large number of devices and trinkets that she had on-hand that he hadn't seen before – and if he had, he barely remembered them.
But the amount of computing devices that Maria had with her was astounding, especially considering that she was likely able to access the internet using her own mind.
"I hadn't realized I was carrying so much old tech with me," the Guildmaster commented, looking over the pile of laptops and touch screen devices. That pile alone took up most of the space on the couch behind her.
Old tech? A lot of it looked quite advanced for Earth!
"McGucket might like something from that…maybe I can do a hard reset on some of those if that hasn't happened already and give the kids something to mess with. I mean, it's not like I need to use laptops and stuff like that anymore."
There was an idea. But…still, there was so much here! Journals, the berries, the technology – even a number of trinkets that had likely been picked up over the course of the Guildmaster's time traveling.
It made the living room an absolute mess.
"Okay." The Guildmaster folded her arms across her chest, frowning. "Let's see…what to do for Christmas presents…."
"Guildmaster, how can you carry this much and not notice the weight?"
"Hm?" The Guildmaster blinked. "Oh – subspace pockets don't have any weight to them. They're basically pocket dimensions you can access to store things. I think the theory goes that everyone has one, but not everyone has easy access to them. I had to learn how to access mine from my cousin, who figured it out on his own." She smiled a little, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Besides, I have other things to worry about besides the weight of my material wealth."
Sixer's expression shifted. He could guess what the Guildmaster was referring to.
The Guildmaster looked around the room again. "I'm gonna start with the things I want to keep. My journals are a definite start."
She started grabbing the first stack of journals next to her, taking the books one at a time and throwing them under her jacket. Each one disappeared before it could hit the floor, leaving Sixer a little wide-eyed at the sight. They were gone in a matter of moments, leaving a clear space on the floor where the stacks of books used to be. There were five left behind – blank ones, of different colors.
"Hm." The Guildmaster picked up a burgundy one. "I'll write down the stuff for Gravity Falls in this one, I think. Later, though." She tossed that into her jacket as well. "Now for the rest of this stuff."
Sorting through the contents of the room took some time. There were so many souvenirs that the Guildmaster had from her travels – each one had its own story, but she didn't seem to be focusing on telling them at this point in time. That was fine with Sixer – that wasn't the intent of what they were doing today.
But…
"Guildmaster, what's in that crate?" Sixer nodded to the wooden box Maria was leaning against.
"Hm?" She glanced back. "Oh, that?" The Guildmaster moved to one side, showing the mark stamped on the crate – a skull and crossbones with a straw hat sitting on top. "It's a carton of alcohol made from the berries. I don't get drunk, so I haven't really had an interest in drinking it." She paused. "It…might be interesting to see what Stanley thinks of this, actually. I'll see about asking him about it later, maybe. Or keep them for a gift later, one of the two."
The crate disappeared in a flash, leaving behind fading sparkles. The sight caused Sixer's eyes to widen quickly. She hadn't even moved her jacket! How had she—
The Guildmaster chuckled. "Yeah, that happens if I put anything that big into my subspace. Or bigger; I've done that a couple times."
"…could you teach me?"
"Hm?" Maria blinked a couple times. "You mean – teach you how to get into your subspace pocket?"
Sixer nodded. This was a useful ability that could come in handy in the future. Especially if he needed to carry something and he didn't have a backpack or anything similar.
"I don't see why not," the Guildmaster replied. "We're gonna have to do it later though, I think…if that's okay with you, I mean."
Sixer held up his hands in a placating sort of gesture. "Whatever you think is best, Guildmaster."
Maria bit her lower lip at his response, but nodded. "Okay."
Eventually, the room was cleaned up of trinkets and tech, which left it feeling even more empty than it had been when they'd started.
At least, it felt that way, but Sixer had the feeling that there was a side table in here that hadn't been there before.
"Glad that's done," Maria commented. She stretched her arms above her head and grunted. "It's been a couple centuries since I've gone over everything like that; it probably needed to be done."
Sixer blinked. "Can't you keep track of the contents of your subspace without needing to go through it, Guildmaster?"
Maria blinked at the question as she lowered her arms. "Well…technically, yes. But it's in the principle of the thing. As much as I am currently robotic, I…I like being human. It's who I was,before all this. So I try to hold onto the little things."
That struck a chord with Sixer – or, more accurately, with his memories of Crescent. No matter what had happened to them, he had still tried to be…who he had been.
"…I think I see a little better now why Crescent held onto acting so much like he always did, even in the forms of others," he said quietly.
Maria's expression morphed, and she sighed at the same volume. "Everything's going to be all right eventually. We just…we need more time than we have."
Sixer nodded.
Time Break
The rest of December was…chaotic. But not in the same chaotic that Cipher was.
Because of all the end-of-year holidays that the people of Gravity Falls threw together, it became a colorful chaotic mess of tradition upon tradition that changed depending on the day – or even depending on the hour of the day. The Pines were encouraged to lead the Hanukkah celebrations because it was theirtradition, and the Mabels took to it with great enthusiasm.
Star actually assisted them, much to Sixer's own surprise – he barely remembered Hanukkah, so he didn't add as much of a voice as his counterparts did. Star likely only helped because her counterparts encouraged her to do so. It…seemed to be helping. She was becoming a little more outgoing than she had been in previous months.
However, Sixer's own limited to non-existent knowledge of the holidays meant that he ended up getting a crash course in everything. Every tradition – excluding any that could become bloodfests – were utilized and celebrated every single night in December, even when the parents had to take their children out of the celebrations before they went too late. School was still apparently a thing, despite all evidence to the contrary.
There was just so much going on, from Hanukkah to something apparently called "Candlenights," and while that made everyone go a little crazy, it was a chaos that wasn't from Cipher.
And as cautious as Sixer was about it, he had to admit this was a better chaos to be a part of than anything Cipher could cause.
Although…he still couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea of giving and getting gifts.
Especially when Maria decided to surprise them with things over the course of Hanukkah.
"Are ya sure ya want me ta have this?" Fiddleford looked over a touchscreen cell phone that Maria gave him. "What if ya need ta contact people?"
"I've got an internal comm system; I'll be all right. Besides, this is an old model, and it's seen more wear than any phone ever should. I figure you can use the tech for something still, maybe see how something from another dimension fares in comparison to anything that exists here."
"Ya mean this came from another dimension?!"
Fiddleford's reaction was filled with an excitement and eagerness that Sixer hadn't heard from him in a long time. It made him pause in the act of unwrapping his own gift.
Before his thoughts had the chance to drift to the melancholy, Stanley spoke up.
"Heck kinda drink is this? Some kinda fruity beer?"
"It's made from those berries – you know, the trees I planted out in the woods?" Maria called across the room. "As much as they are used for healing properties, they apparently can cause some wild results when mixed with alcohol. Since I don't getdrunk, I figured that you'd be interested in trying some."
Stanley grinned, as did his counterparts, who also were given a mix of various types of Berry beer. "Don't mind if I do."
"Where'd ya get this stuff from, kid?" asked the hulking, muscular demon that was Andrew, Mizar's Stanley.
Sixer felt something unnerving from him, somehow, but he wasn't sure what it was or why. Perhaps it had something to do with what had changed Andrew in the first place?
"A dimension where I joined a group of pirates for a while," Maria replied. "We made friends with a barkeep who experimented with some things from my orchard. She left me instructions to make more, too, if I ran out."
Stanley blinked. "…Fidds, how good are ya at buildin' a still?"
…of course Stanley would go in that direction.
Fiddleford scratched his chin. "Depends, do ya want moonshine or somethin' else?"
Stanley grinned. "I'd love ta see what else we can make with that stuff when we get a steady supply. Build whatever ya want; Ijust want ta taste test everythin' that comes out of it."
Stanford snorted. "You don't know what you're getting into."
Sixer agreed. Even now, the memory of Fiddleford's moonshine was working its way back to the present – slight pain from absent willpower included. He'd gotten drunk after one sip of the stuff and woke up with a hangover that could kill the dead two days later.
"Too late!" Fiddleford cackled. "Expect it when the weather warms up!"
Maria chuckled while Sixer finally got around to opening his gift.
He was so startled by what the box contained that he barely caught Maria's response to Fiddleford's and Stanley's conversation.
Inside, nestled in the center, was a circular badge with a pair of wings. There was a glowing red gem in its center, glowing with its own inner fire.
He recognized this.
"Guildmaster?"
Maria turned and looked over with a curious expression.
"Why are you giving me this?" Sixer held up the badge. "I…I never joined your Guild officially; why—"
"I wanted to give you one when I first met you," Maria replied. "That badge would have let me stay in contact with you, just to make sure things went okay on your end. Since you're calling me Guildmaster still, I figured that I might as well make it a bit more official." She grinned. "You can consider yourself a part of the PokeExplore Guild now, Sixer."
Sixer's eyes went wide. That was…that wasn't what he had been expecting. At all.
"PokeExplore?" Mabel repeated. "What kind of a Guild is that?"
"One made up of creatures that look like normal animals with superpowers based on elements. We went around and helped others and saved the world a few times." Maria rubbed the back of her head, looking somewhat sheepish. "It was the second time I was away from home; I was one of the founding members."
"That is so cool!"
It may have been 'cool' from Mabel's perspective, but there was more to it than that. Much more. Being called a member of a Guild that Sixer had only visited briefly – and that Maria apparently still kept goingsomehow – wasn't something that he had been expecting.
At the same time, he remembered what being near the Guild had been like, and the rumors that had surrounded it.
That only those who got to know the two Guildmasters personally were allowed in without needing to fight for a place first.
That you had to prove you were trustworthy to get such a position.
Did…did Maria…?
It was a thought that plagued Sixer over the course of the next few days, as the other Pines family members gained badged of their own in their gifts.
If she trusted him that much…and saw him as…
…perhaps there was something that he could do for her yet.