18
Chapter Thirty Four
Deals With The Devil
Jessica Corduroy shivered, despite the heat put off by the overworked computers surrounding her. Faust, her former mentor, was still alive. The mentor who'd seen the evil growing in her from her exposure to the power of the rift, and had trained her to focus it until she was truly a force to be reckoned with.
"But—your lab exploded, with you in it," Jessica said quietly, studying the wrinkled face, and the rheumy eyes that peered at her in the dim room, reflecting the scrolling green text flashing across the monitors. "I saw it. There was no way you survived."
The old man let out a high pitched giggle, and grinned widely as he said, "Psh. I was never in any real danger, Jessie. It was merely a convenient way for me to disappear for awhile. I had… things to do. Besides, your upcoming wedding had distracted you from your studies. It was time for me to let you figure things out on your own for awhile. Granted, I hadn't intended to be away for quite so long."
Faust's smile faded, and he sighed. "How unfortunate it is that our methods of magical and paranormal study seem to have diverged so much. You had such promise. If you were inclined, there is still so much I could teach you—"
"No," Jessica said emphatically, cutting him off. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her former mentor. "Absolutely not. When you knew me, I was corrupted by the power of the rift. That connection has been severed. That Jessie is dead, and nothing—nothing—will ever bring her back."
Faust shrugged, and with a small smile he said, "That's alright." He rested a hand on the nearest computer monitor, and his smile widened. "After all, I have a new star child to play with."
"If you even think about—" Jessica cried, lunging for Faust. She nearly fell over when the hand reaching for his bony shoulder clamped down on air. Faust had vanished. As she stared around the computer lab, eyes narrowed, Faust's disembodied voice mocked her, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
"Good luck saving them, my dear. My... favorite pupil."
/
The red-eyed, blood-hungry Gleeful brother lunged at the shrine master, aiming for his throat. Oliver, however, had faster reflexes than the teen expected, and was able to dance out of the way. He quickly brought up his fists and widened his stance, glaring at all three of Gideon's brothers. The red-eyed brother advanced on him again from the front, while the other two attempted to flank him. However, Oliver was always just out of their reach. He didn't even appear to be trying to land any blows. He was strictly playing defense.
Gideon stood back, watching the fight with interest, then began to head in the direction Dipper had been thrown, auras of pink magic blooming around his clenched fists.
"Gid! Gideon, wait!" cried Lexie, in an attempt to distract him from further harming Dipper.
Gideon stopped, then slowly turned to face Lexie, who was, of course, still tied to the tree. His piercing blue eyes homed in on her, and he raised an eyebrow. "What is it, sugar?" He frowned. The pet name had slipped from his lips so naturally just now. He'd surely never called Lexie that before. Had he?
Lexie felt a strange feeling flutter up in her stomach when he called her sugar. A sob caught in her throat, and she found herself choking out a single word, as tears welled up in her eyes. "Please..."
The pink auras around Gideon's hands flickered and faded away as he approached Lexie, the look on his face inscrutable. "Please what?" he asked softly. He reached a hand out, and gently brushed back a few stray hairs that had fallen in front of Lexie's face.
"You—you're better than all this," Lexie whispered, as hot tears slowly slipped down her cheeks. "Your brothers are… they're wrong. But you're not. You're real. You're mine, Gid."
There was an electric shock at the back of Gideon's skull that shot down his spine at Lexie's words. He shuddered, and as he stared into Lexie's woeful eyes, he began to feel lightheaded. "Sugar," he breathed, as he leaned in to press a soft kiss onto Lexie's mouth.
A scream from across the clearing ruined the moment. Lexie let out a gasp of dismay, and Gideon turned quickly to see his brothers land a combined blow that sent the shrine master crashing back against a tree, his head bouncing off it with a sickening, hollow thud. His eyes rolled up in their sockets, and he slowly slid down the tree trunk, leaving a thick trail of blood in his wake.
"No!" screamed Lexie, as Gideon's brothers roared in triumph, then turned and began to stalk in the direction Dipper had been thrown.
Suddenly there was another hollow thud, and Gideon only had time to utter, "Huh—OOF!" before he was sent sprawling to the ground, unconscious. Because Dipper was no longer where he'd been thrown. He'd managed to get himself up, and use Gideon's distraction (and a sturdy, fallen tree branch) to his advantage.
Lexie was crying and nearly hyperventilating, unable to form words, and when Dipper untied her binds, she fell forward onto her knees, over Gideon's prone form. Blood was beginning to seep through his hair.
"C'mon, Lex, we have to go!" Dipper cried, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Gideon's brothers are about to realize I'm not there and come after us! We need to run, now!"
Tears still streaming down her face, Lexie allowed Dipper to pull her from the clearing. All she could think about was the scarlet rosette of blood forming against Gideon's shining white hair.
/
"I wonder what's keeping them?" Mabel asked absently, staring at the twilit sky from her friends' living room window. She turned back around on the sofa, and hugged her knees to her chest. "You don't think the Gleefuls have hurt them, do you? Even Oliver-san? They couldn't hurt him, right?"
"I—no, absolutely not," Aurora said, somewhat unconvincingly, from her chair across the room. "The shrine master is adept in almost all styles of martial arts. None of the Gleefuls could hurt him."
"But what about all of them at once?" Wendy asked, her eyes wide with fear. She stood opposite Aurora, leaning against the wall next to the kitchen doorway. "What if they jumped him? Or Dipper? And what have they done to Lexie?"
A low moan of panic rose in Mabel's throat, and she began unconsciously wringing her hands. She didn't want anything to happen to any of her friends, but to lose her twin would be like losing a part of herself.
Pacifica scooted over next to Mabel from the other side of the sofa, and placed a trembling hand on top of Mabel's, squeezing lightly.
"I'm sure they're just fine," she said. With a half-hearted chuckle, she added, "Dipper is probably avoiding bringing Lexie back because he still doesn't know who to choose—Wendy or 'Rora." She grinned as both girls' faces became brilliant shades of red.
"What about you, Paz?" Mabel asked quietly, her hands still now that Pacifica was touching them. "And Lexie? Why'd you only mention Wendy and 'Rora? I thought you all liked my brobro."
Pacifica made momentary eye contact with Mabel before looking quickly away. "Psh, it's always really just been between those two. The way he looks at them—it's obvious. I just flirt with him because it's fun to see how flustered he gets. Same with Lexie. She actually told me as much. She thinks of Dipper as a brother, but with flirting privileges."
"Ew," muttered Mabel, but a smiled twitched at the corner of her lips. She shot a knowing look at Wendy, then Aurora. "Okay, then. Who do you both think he'll choose?"
Wendy's face was as red as her hair, and her eyes flicked to Aurora, a look of panic, mixed with something like longing, in them. "I dunno," she said quickly. "I mean, 'Rora's beautiful, and kind, and—" She cut her self off, then quietly repeated, "I dunno."
Aurora stared down at her hands, her cheeks pink. "I just want Dipper to be happy. How doesn't matter."
Mabel, noticing the awkward tension between Wendy and Aurora, changed the subject. "What I don't get, is why would the Gleefuls take Lexie? Why the sudden obsession with her?"
Pacifica shook her head, finally letting go over Mabel's hands. She didn't scoot back into her original seat, however. "It's very strange, isn't it? I don't remember them ever behaving in such an outright lewd manner, even if they were always bullies. The way they looked at her, though… like they wanted to, um, love her...to—to pieces."
"Well, this morning the shrine master said something that, although I didn't really take seriously at the time, is beginning to trouble me a great deal," said Aurora. She wrapped her arms around herself as if she were cold. "Oliver-san said that there was something wrong with the world. That he could feel it."
Before the last sentence was out of Aurora's mouth, Mabel cried out and doubled over in pain, pressing her hands to her forehead in agony.
Dipper holding hands with Aurora, smiling at her with genuine love, kissing her...Dipper and Wendy clinging to each other, their embrace and accompanying kiss exceedingly intimate...Oliver-san—but not Oliver-san? A harsher, more battle-hardened version of him, covered in scars and tattoos. A name suddenly materialized to accompany the strange version of Oliver-san. Pike… and… Pacifica, naked, crawling on top of her—Mabel! Paz gazing at her with a sexual hunger so strong that Mabel felt her insides quiver even through the searing pain of the headache.
Mabel moaned low and collapsed forward onto the bamboo flooring. It felt like the room was spinning around her.
"Mabel?! Mabel? Mabel!" Pacifica's terrified voice finally broke through the barrier of pain between Mabel and the world around her. She was kneeling next to Mabel, holding her by the shoulders, concern in her wide, blue eyes. Mabel glanced around blearily, and saw that Aurora and Wendy had also dashed across the room to her assistance.
"It's okay," she mumbled, attempting to sit up. "I just—is there somewhere I can lie down in the dark, please?"
"Of course," said Pacifica. She and the other two girls helped Mabel to her feet. "You can lie down in my room for as long as you need to," she continued, leading Mabel by the hand, slowly up the stairs, and down the hall to her bedroom. As Pacifica flicked the light switch on, Mabel winced and let out a soft hiss, covering her eyes.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, you said you needed it to be dark," Pacifica blurted quickly as she turned the light back off and led Mabel to her bed.
"It's okay," Mabel said weakly, as Pacifica helped her lie down. When Pacifica started to pull her hand away, Mabel tightened her grip on it. "Please," she said softly. "Please stay here with me?"
"Okay, Mabel," said Pacifica. She perched herself on the edge of the bed and stared down at Mabel. Her eyes were closed, her dark lashes appearing as smudges against her pale skin, tinted a warm purple from the twilight seeping in through the open window. Her full lips were parted slightly, pink and inviting. Pacifica swallowed hard and licked her lips.
"Paz?"
Pacifica started, then blushed to realize that Mabel had opened her eyes, and caught Pacifica staring at her lips.
"Yeah, Mabes?" Pacifica questioned, unable to meet Mabel's eyes. She was shocked, then, when she felt Mabel's hands on her shoulders and the back of her neck, pulling her down, so they were face-to-face.
Pacifica's breathing became ragged as she stared into the deep brown depths of Mabel's eyes. Her eyes dipped down to Mabel's mouth—her lips were once again slightly parted, and incredibly tempting. And then they were on her own.
Pacifica's eyes widened with surprise, then closed with pleasure, as Mabel kissed her passionately, her hot tongue parting Pacifica's lips and teasing her tongue. Mabel gently nibbled on her lower lip, and Pacifica sighed against Mabel's mouth. They had never kissed before, but this felt familiar. Even better, if felt amazing. She hadn't dared hope that the sister of her supposed crush, Dipper, would actually have any kind of feelings for her, since girls dating each other was taboo in the Village of Falling Gravity. But now Mabel was kissing her.
Mabel finally pulled away, and Pacifica let out a small whine. Then she blinked rapidly, and shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. Her face appeared an extra bright shade of red, because it was offset by her platinum blonde hair. She was having trouble putting her thoughts into words, so she simply uttered, "Why?"
Mabel reached up and stroked Pacifica's cheek with the back of her hand. "It just felt right."
The corners of Pacifica's mouth turned up. "You never really needed to lie down, did you?"
Mabel shrugged. "Lying down after an episode certainly never hurts, but..." she trailed off and waggled her eyebrows.
Pacifica let out a soft chuckle, then glanced out the window into the deepening twilight. "I really am starting to worry about Lexie, Dipper, and Oliver-san. I think the four of us should go up to the shrine and see what we can find out."
Mabel sighed and nodded. "I think you're right."
/
GIFfany paced the antechamber of the shrine, growing more agitated by the minute. The air around her seemed to buzz and hum with electricity, and when Soos reached out to touch her shoulder, he was hit with a powerful static shock. GIFfany didn't even notice. She was mumbling to herself, grinding her teeth, and pulling at her hair bow.
"Isn't possible… this is my reality… are their bonds really strong enough to—no… and the undead man, how is he even—? Ugh...Snow white and his big bad wolf, what a fairy tale...and twin girl can see SHE CAN SEE! HOW?!"
"Uh, GIFfany, what're you going on about?" asked Soos gently, rubbing his shocked hand.
GIFfany spun on her heel to face him and stamped her foot, pouting. "Everything I've done for you, they're trying to ruin it—to tear my world apart! I did this for you and they're all selfish and don't want us to be happy!"
"Uh," said Soos, stepping back slightly. "I don't know what you're actually talking about, but I should really go help my friends, so..." He took another slow step back, then turned to leave. Before he made it two steps, he felt thick cables begin to wind up around his legs. Panicking, he struggled to free himself, but only ended up toppling over as the cables continued to wind around him and tighten. He saw shoes in front of his face, and looked up to see GIFfany towering over him, sneering. Her eyes glowed red, and the air around her hummed with electricity.
"You aren't going anywhere, Soos," she said, her voice taking on a tinny, digital overtone. "Not ever. I lost you once. I'm not losing you again. You belong to me."
/
Melody held the sleeping Stanley against her chest as she stared at the bodies scattered around her living room. She glanced over at the clock and sighed. It felt like it had been forever since Jessica went to try and find the source of the cables, but it had only been an hour at most.
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and swung her head back around to see Oliver twitching violently, as if having a bad dream. Next to him, Soos snored softly.
"Hello?"
Melody nearly screamed as an unfamiliar voice cut through the eerie silence that covered the town of Gravity Falls like a blanket. The voice was coming from the gift shop. Melody held Stanley tightly against her with one arm, while the other wielded a baseball bat that had been propped up in the hallway, and kicked the door to the gift shop open.
A boy, probably around the age of thirteen, stared at her with wide, light hazel eyes. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt, jeans, and nondescript running shoes. His skin was deeply tan, and his shaggy, black hair stuck up in clumps, like he'd just rolled out of bed. Melody suddenly felt the motherly instinct to smooth back his hair. Instead, she dropped the bat gently, and walked toward the boy.
"Sorry about the bat," she said. "It's been a weird evening. What's your name? And what are you doing here by yourself?"
His eyes flicking to the bundle of blankets held against Melody's chest, he shrugged. "Name's Rey. I've been trying to find anyone else who wasn't asleep with these weird cables attached to 'em. So far, you and your baby is it."
"You're saying the whole town is affected?" Melody asked, surprised. Then she breathed, "Oh, sweetie," when she realized how scared the poor boy must be. Full Motherhood Mode was immediately activated, and she held the employees only door open for him. "Come on in the house. I'll fix you something to eat, how does that sound?"
Rey smiled. "Sounds great, ma'am." When he stepped through the door, he came to an abrupt halt, however. He stared at the sleepers collapsed on the floor of the living room, clenching his jaw. His lower lip trembled slightly.
"Come on, sweetie, they aren't going anywhere," Melody said, attempting to make a joke as she stepped around him and beckoned him into the kitchen. The boy put on a tough front, but he was obviously very upset. "What would you like to eat? I don't have much prepared, but I could make you a sandwich," she suggested.
Rey's gaze lingered on the sleepers a moment longer, then he squared his shoulders and turned to enter the kitchen. "A sandwich would be good," he said, settling himself into a kitchen chair facing away from the living room. "Can you do me up a peanut butter and pickle? Please," he added as an afterthought.
Melody laughed softly and turned to face the boy as she lay Stanley down in his portable bassinet. "That's so funny—I craved peanut butter and pickle sandwiches nonstop when I was pregnant with this little fella. In fact, I still like them."
Rey blushed and looked at his hands. "My mom makes them for me all the time. I used to hate them… but now its like my ultimate comfort food."
"Aw, that's sweet," Melody said, as she slid the plate with his sandwich in front of Rey. "Who are your parents, anyway? I've never seen you around town, and Gravity Falls isn't exactly a big place."
Rey held up a finger and shook his head as he chewed a mouthful of thick peanut butter. He smiled gratefully when Melody sat a big glass of milk in front of him, and took a large gulp before finally attempting to speak.
"We're new to town, so you probably haven't met them yet. I'd heard weird stuff happens here, but this is, like, next level weird, you know?" He took another bite of sandwich, and another sip of milk before continuing. "Thing is, I'm really worried about my dad. He's sensitive to virtual reality stuff, and being hooked up like he is could hurt him badly."
Melody felt a pang of sympathy for the boy. She knew exactly how he felt. Knowing that GIFfany was in Soos' head, trying to force him to love her, made her feel sick to her stomach.
"I have a friend who was also unaffected, like us, and she's gone to look for the source of the cables," she said, reaching across the table to pat Rey on the hand. He blushed and looked down again.
"Thing is, I know where the source is," he said, looking up at her, his hazel eyes serious. "I was just sca-I just didn't want to go in by myself. But if your friend went looking, she's probably already there. It was pretty obvious that the cables were all leading to Gravity Falls High School. I think we should go meet her there, and try to wake everyone up." He shot her a hopeful smile.
Melody sighed. "It's better than sitting here wondering what's happening with Jess. Just let me get baby Stanley a bottle made up, and get him situated in his stroller, and we'll head out."
Rey beamed. "I knew you'd help me."
/
As the computer monitors surrounding Jessica continued to endlessly scroll glowing green script, she sank down onto a molded plastic chair, near tears. She wasn't at all digitally inclined. She'd torn the room apart looking for any kind of notes or instructions, but of course, Faust wouldn't have made it that easy for her. Was this all her fault? Was he doing this to everyone she loved just to fuck with her? Melody had mentioned that she thought the attack was on Soos, because she had been kicked out of the simulation by GIFfany, but GIFfany was a character from a buggy game. She couldn't have put all this together—couldn't have gotten the whole town under her sway. Not by herself.
Jessica's fists clenched. Faust had probably thought it was funny to add the homicidal sprite to his simulation. He certainly had nothing invested in whether or not GIFfany was able to brainwash Soos into loving her. No, he most definitely had ulterior motives that had nothing to do with GIFfany and Soos. But what were they?
Back before she was stripped of her connection to the rift, Jessica could have easily figured out Faust's motivations behind trapping the whole town in a virtual reality simulation. He'd trained her in secret starting about two years after she became Scorpius. Her soul had already begun to shrivel and turn black with hatred. Faust had sensed it, honed it, and then exploited it. It was he who taught her to manipulate people's minds. Manipulating Ollie's mind on her wedding day hadn't been the first time she'd screwed with other people's heads, but it had certainly been the instance with the most lasting impact. In a way, she had Faust to thank for the existence of Wendy. That thought brought a bitter taste to her mouth, and made the bile rise in her throat.
"Jess?"
Ripped from her thoughts, Jessica leapt up from her chair and whirled toward the direction the voice had come from, auras of purple fire crackling to life around her outstretched hands.
Melody stood in the doorway of the computer lab, Stanley's stroller in front of her, and a tan, dark-haired youngster at her side. Melody's eyes were wide as she stared at the purple fire surrounding Jessica's hands, but the boy merely raised one eyebrow and said, "Neat trick."
Jessica slowly lowered her hands and doused the magical flames. She glanced from the boy, to Melody, then back to the boy. "Who's this?"
Melody was too busy staring at the mass of cables and overheated computer equipment to respond.
"I'm Rey," the boy said. He sat down in front of one of the computers and stared intently at the screen.
"Hi?" Jessica said, still confused. "Mel-"
Melody cut her off. "What is—who did all this?"
"F-" Jessica began. Somehow, instead of 'Faust,' however, it came out as "Fuck if I know." The less everyone knew about her connection to Faust, the better.
"Language," Rey murmured in a singsong voice, without turning away from the computer monitor. Suddenly he began typing away, the keys on the old mechanical keyboard clacking loudly.
"What are you doing?!" Jessica cried. "Stop! We don't know what will happen to everyone!"
"Rey, please—think of your dad," Melody begged. "Don't just start pressing buttons. You could really hurt people!"
Rey stopped typing, hung his head for a moment, heaved a sigh, and then turned in his chair to look at the two ladies. "Do either of you know computers? Have you written code?" Jessica and Melody silently shook their heads in the negative. "Well I do, and I have. Don't freak out, okay?"
Jessica and Melody made baffled eye contact as Rey resumed his clacking at the keyboard. After a minute or so, he grunted with frustration.
"I can't get them out," he said, although he continued typing. "Something is blocking me. I can, however," he said, typing more slowly and deliberately, "even the playing field." He typed out one final line of code, and hit the enter key with a flourish.
"How exactly can you do that?" Jessica asked skeptically.
Rey spun around in his chair, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Think of it like cheat codes."
/
Gideon blinked slowly, trying to get his bearings. His vision was slightly blurred, the back of his head throbbed, and when he touched the wound gingerly, his hand came away covered in blood. He heard angry voices heading toward him, and when he glanced around, he saw that Lexie was gone. A burst of adrenaline shot through him, then, and he scrambled to his feet. He held onto Lexie's empty tree to steady himself.
As his brothers approached him, he saw that his yellow-eyed sibling was dragging Oliver-san's limp form behind them by the ankle. He tossed the shrine master's leg aside as they drew closer to Gideon, and Oliver-san's body tumbled over onto its front, like a rag doll. Gideon swallowed hard. Had they actually gone and killed him?
"Where the fuck is she, bro?" Gideon's golden-eyed brother spat. He reached out and pushed Gideon hard in the chest, sending him stumbling back against the tree trunk.
Gideon shook his head. "I don't know. I think Dipper snuck up behind me while I was distracted and," he turned his head so they could see the bloody wound for themselves.
"What had you so distracted?" asked the yellow-eyed brother, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Ooh, ooh, I know the answer!" interjected the red-eyed brother, shooting Gideon a malevolent, toothy grin. "It's not a what—it's a who. This useless little weakling thinks he deserves to have Lexie all to himself. Why, I think this waste of oxygen fancies himself in love with her!"
The three brothers howled with laughter and made exaggerated kissing noises, while Gideon stood silently, rage building in his chest. When their laughter faded, Gideon spoke quietly.
"You all just want to use her. You're greedy, savage beasts. You disgust me."
"Oh, ho ho!" said the golden-eyed brother, an edge to the mirth in his voice. "We just want to use her? We wouldn't even know she existed without you, bro. You were the one who made us need to possess her. We're just acting on our instincts. We've let you think you're in charge, but you're not. You're the weakest of us. Together, we can make you powerful, but only if you prove you're willing to work with us, rather than against us."
Gideon spat at his brother's feet. "Fuck you. You all need me. I'm the real deal, here. You're all just cheap imitations."
The yellow-eyed brother swaggered forward, cracking his knuckles, a menacing smile spreading across his face. "Them's fightin' words, brother." The other two moved to flank him. Gideon clenched his jaw, preparing to have the shit beaten out of him.
Suddenly, everything seemed to flicker and the trees shuddered, though there was no breeze to shake their leaves. A disembodied voice called out loudly, "Player reset activated."
Gideon's head immediately stopped throbbing, and he felt completely refreshed. He touched the back of his head, and there was no bump or blood. He furrowed his brow in confusion, and then realized that Oliver was no longer splayed out on the ground behind his brothers. Movement at the edge of the clearing caught his eye, and he let out a low chuckle. "Wow. He looks much better. And also, pissed."
His brothers turned to see what he was looking at, and let out shouts of dismay. Gideon forgotten, they ran screaming across the clearing, with deadly intent. Oliver glared at them, unmoving. Why wasn't he moving? He may not have been dead before, but we was gonna get that way soon if he didn't try and fight off Gideon's brothers.
Panic rising in his chest, Gideon helped in the only way he knew how: he cast a shimmering, transparent bubble of protection around Oliver. His brothers ran straight into the bubble and were knocked several meters back. They knew his magic—knew the pink defensive bubble was Gideon's doing. Screaming obscenities, they got to their feet and turned to rush their brother. When they were within a meter of him, he threw up a barrier of his own, and their bodies thudded uselessly against it.
Their faces twisted with inhuman rage, his brothers began prowling the perimeter of the bubble, searching for any weakness they could exploit. Gideon stood in the center of his barrier, trembling. There was no way he could fight his werewolf, dragon, and vampire aspects at the same time. They would destroy him.
"You're the only one who can stop them, kid," Oliver said, from directly next to Gideon, who jumped, looked over at the now-empty bubble across the clearing, then turned back to face Oliver.
"You're in my—what the actual—h-how?" Gideon sputtered.
Oliver smiled blandly and shrugged.
"Cheating!" shrieked the dragon aspect, glaring at the new occupant of Gideon's barrier bubble. "Trickery! Fraud!"
The werewolf aspect didn't bother using his words. Although still mostly human-looking, he snarled snapped at the pink barrier.
The vampire aspect opened his mouth to reveal elongated, razor-sharp canine teeth. "I don't care that I'm a part of you," he hissed. "It won't stop me from ripping your throat out and gaining strength from your blood. It's all you're useful for, Gideon—a snack."
"Look at them, Oliver," Gideon said quietly. "I could maybe win a fight against one of them, let but not all three! They're way more powerful than me."
"Yeesh," Oliver said with a wince, looking over Gideon's shoulder. "Well, uh, looks like you only have to go up against one."
Gideon turned back to his brothers, and his stomach dropped. The three individuals were gone, and in their place stood a monster. The chimera's body was almost identical to Gideon's, although more muscular. And it had leathery wings sprouting from its shoulder blades. And its head was a strange combination of wolf, dragon, and bat features. The monster's shoulder length white hair was really the only thing left of it that truly resembled Gideon.
"Shit," Gideon said flatly. Even though the barrier was still up, he took a step backward.
The chimera tossed its head back and let loose a gravelly laugh. "It's time we got rid of you, Gideon Gleeful. You've become more of a hindrance than an asset. And when we're done tearing you apart, we're going after the prize that you lost us, and we're going to have our way with her, until there's nothing left of her to have our way with."
Gideon felt the bile rise in his throat. The power holding his barrier in place wavered and sputtered as he tried to push the image of Lexie being ravaged by this creature out of his mind. He sank to his knees, angry tears slipping down his cheeks.
"I wish you still had your powers, Oliver. I sure could use the extra help right now."
Oliver knelt down next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Do remember your first magic lesson with me? You were so eager to learn spells, but before I would teach you any, I made you say two sentences over and over, until I was sure you'd memorized them."
Gideon looked up at Oliver and nodded. "I am the magic, and the magic is me. My magic is an extension of my will, and self."
"Exactly," said Oliver, ruffling Gideon's hair. He held a hand out toward the chimera, who was still pacing around the edge of the barrier, shouting taunts and insults. "Gideon, that is your monster. It is made up of the worst parts of you. Parts everyone has. (Okay, so your parts have been enhanced, but my point remains). People all have monstrous parts of themselves, but what counts is that we try to overcome our monstrous natures, and be better than them—be more."
Gideon shakily pushed himself to his feet, looking at his former mentor questioningly.
"You're getting it, aren't you?" Oliver asked, grinning. "Gid, it's just magic. You are more than your monsters. Because—"
"I am the magic, and the magic is me," Gideon finished. With a grim smile, he allowed the barrier to drop, and strode toward the chimera, an aura of rose-colored fire wreathing his hands. "You are my monster, and it's time for you to die."
/
Soos lay on the floor of the shrine antechamber, wrapped in colorful computer cables that matched GIFfany's hair bow. He'd tried to reason with her, but she quickly grew tired of his pleas to untie him, and had conjured cables covering his mouth as well. All he could do was track her with his eyes as she paced the room, continuing to rant about things he didn't understand.
"They'll pay, oh, they will," she fumed. "Anybody who tries to tear us apart this time will be utterly destroyed, on a molecular level. And you'll forget all about your so-called 'loved ones,' because I'm the only one you should love. ME!"
Soos continued to watch her, because there was nothing else he could do.
Outside the shrine, in the deepening twilight, Dipper and Lexie approached the shrine at a run, and nearly collided with Wendy and Aurora, who were walking side by side in front of Pacifica and Mabel.
"Holy shit!" cried Wendy, holding onto Aurora's shoulder to steady herself. "Oh thank God, you guys are okay! But where are Soos, GIFfany, and the shrine master?"
Dipper opened his mouth to reply, but Lexie collapsed to her knees, her body heaving with sobs, rendering her unable to catch her breath from all the running she and Dipper had just done. She held one hand against her chest, and the other she clenched into a fist, held against her mouth to try and stifle her cries.
"What the hell did those monsters do to her?" Pacifica asked, rushing to kneel next to Lexie, and attempt to calm her sister's sobs. Her question, however, brought on a fresh wave of sobs from Lexie.
"I don't know," Dipper replied, shaking his head. "Maybe—" He stopped, and looked around, puzzled, as a band of light zoomed across the landscape, and a strange voice spoke from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Player reset activated."
"What was..." Dipper began, but trailed off. He blinked rapidly, as his true memories came rushing back to him.
Lexie abruptly stopped sobbing, and slowly stood up, her eyes flashing yellow. "What is this fuckery?" she said low.
"GIFfany," said Mabel, her voice flat. She was looking toward the shrine entrance, where Soos' one-time simulated girlfriend stood, glaring at them, her eyes glowing red.
"Hello, friends of Soos. It would appear that an outside influence has come to your assistance. It doesn't matter. They can't help you if you're dead."
GIFfany held her arms out to her side, and with a crackle of electricity, five exact copies of her appeared, all in fighting stance. They immediately launched themselves at the group of teens, and in the confusion of flying limbs and screaming, Aurora was able to sneak out of the fray, and into the shrine without any of the GIFfanys noticing.
Soos was still lying on the floor, wrapped in colorful computer cables. He closed his eyes and let out a muffled sigh of relief when he saw Aurora. She quickly removed the cables covering his mouth, and before Aurora could ask him if he was okay, he blurted out, "I know she's homicidal, but don't hurt GIFfany, dudes!"
Aurora narrowed her eyes as she began tugging at the cables binding the rest of Soos' body. "Our memories were returned to us. Were yours not? Or are you just completely brainwashed now?"
"No, dawg, I'm not brainwashed. I remember everything, and believe me, I want to get back to Melody and baby Stanley more than anything. But I still don't want GIFfany hurt," he said, wiggling his shoulders to stretch them as the binds holding them began to fall away. "She thinks she knows what love is, and doesn't understand why I won't love her back. She's a program, not a person. She is only acting this way because her programming is faulty. She doesn't deserve to die for something she has no control over."
Aurora shook her head as she removed the final cables stood up. "You are too kindhearted, Soos. I'm sorry, but this has to end." She turned on her heel, and began to shift into her full dragon form. She stepped through the doorway when she was almost to wide to fit, and spread her wings. Once she was fully shifted, she let out an ear-piercing roar, and charged at the real GIFfany, who had stood back from the fighting, as one-by-one her copies had been defeated.
GIFfany turned to face Aurora, hands held out, and shot arcs of electricity from her fingertips. The shocks felt like little more than static, thanks to Aurora's tough dragon hide. She careened headlong into the sprite, knocking GIFfany to the ground, and lashing around to smack her aside with her tail when she tried to get up. About this time, Soos stumbled out of the shrine, tripping on cables. He dodged Aurora's tail, then made a break for the rest of the teens, who had defeated the final copy of GIFfany, and were watching the dragon fight from well away.
The fight was over in minutes. GIFfany, beaten and bloody, sank to her knees, her head down.
"You can't… you can't take Soos from me," she said, more sadness than defiance in her voice.
Aurora shifted back into her human form, and knelt down in front of GIFfany. "I understand how you feel," she said gently. "I know how much it hurts to want to be with someone, and not be able to." Her eyes flicked up for a moment, and landed on Dipper and Wendy. "If you love someone—truly love them—you want them to be happy. Even if what makes them happy brings you the most incredible pain you've ever felt."
GIFfany raised her head and stared at Aurora, pixelated tears in her eyes. "How do you deal with the pain? What makes it go away?"
Aurora smiled sadly. "It doesn't go away. The pain is always there. You just have to let them go—let them find their happiness. Try to find comfort in the knowledge that the one you love is happy, and that by letting them go, you helped make that happiness a reality. GIFfany, Soos loves his wife and son. They are what bring him happiness. If you let him go, you'll have aided in his happiness."
GIFfany nodded, and pulled herself shakily to her feet. She looked at Soos, and her voice quavered as she spoke. "Go, and be happy. But remember me, Soos. Remember me." Her form began to fade, until she was no longer visible. Then the world around them flickered, and everything went black.
/
"Melody, something new is happening on this computer, look," Jessica said, pointing to a flickering monitor. "Oh, wait, that one, too!" she said, pointing across the room.
Melody scanned the room, and said, "I think something is happening to all of them… Rey, what did you—"
Suddenly all the computers shut off at once. The ghost of light slowly faded from the monitors, and the overworked fans sputtered to a stop—all but one, that is. The one Rey had been messing with. It remained on, the green glow of the monitor casting the barest light on the room. There was one short line of text blinking on the screen.
"What's it say?" Jessica asked, since Melody was closer to the computer than she was.
"Take care of Soos..." Melody read softly. "Rey, where'd you go? What did you do?" she called out, panic rising in her chest. There was no answer. He was gone.
With no warning, the computer shut off, leaving the room in complete darkness. Baby Stanley began to wail.
/
Gideon jerked awake with a deep gasp, his eyes wide. He had been sitting up on the sofa, his head hanging forward limply. He stared around Soos and Melody's living room as his friends all slowly sat up, blinking in confusion. A weight on his lap shifted, and he looked down to see Lexie's head still resting there, though her eyes were open, and wet with tears. She still wore the tattered wedding dress.
"Gid," she said, her throat tight as she attempted to hold back a sob. She was tired of crying, even if a lot of her recent crying had been done in virtual reality. "If you could please stop dying, nearly dying, or appearing to have died, I'd very much appreciate it." She tried to smile, but her lips trembled, and a tear slid down her cheek.
"Sugar, I'm so sorry," Gideon whispered, recalling in excruciating detail how he and his 'brothers' had treated Lexie in the simulation. He lifted her so that he could hold her in his arms, up against his chest. "I'm so sorry," he murmured again, rocking her gently and kissing the top of her head.
Lexie pressed her face into his collarbone, and then suddenly let out what sounded like a half-laugh, half-sob. She raised her head, a genuine smile on her lips, though tears still slowly leaked from her eyes. "How'd you do it, Gid?" she asked him breathlessly.
Gideon cocked his head to the side in confusion. "How'd I do what?"
Lexie leaned up and placed her face so close to the side of Gideon's neck that her lips brushed his flesh when she spoke, giving him goosebumps. "You smell like you again. There's no hint of copper or burning anything." She inhaled deeply, exhaling her warm breath next to his ear as she whispered, "I've missed this smell."
Gideon tried to focus his thoughts to see if he could still feel the three bestial presences at the back of his mind, but it was difficult to concentrate while Lexie ran her lips over his neck and greedily inhaled his scent. He met Oliver's eyes across the room, and raised a questioning eyebrow. Oliver grinned at him, and nodded.
It was real. It had happened. Gideon had killed the chimera, and rid himself of the monsters trying to control him. A weight that he hadn't realized he'd been carrying in his chest lifted, and the relief made Gideon feel light enough to float away. He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the sofa cushion, happy to let Lexie sniff him to her heart's content.
/
Mabel and Pacifica had been sitting together in Stan's old overstuffed chair when they'd passed out. Pacifica opened her eyes first, which led to Mabel waking up to a passionate kiss from her girlfriend.
"That was nice to wake up to," she grinned, once Pacifica pulled away for air. "I'd like to do that more often. We should plan another, uh, 'sleepover' soon." Her cheeks grew warm as she remembered what had happened the last time Pacifica had stayed the night with her.
Pacifica chuckled as she leaned back in and hugged Mabel tightly. "I don't know how my dad would feel about that," she said, her eyes flicking to Oliver over Mabel's shoulder. "Unlike the assholes I used to call parents, he actually knows me, and is very aware of how fucking gay we are for each other."
Mabel let out a small giggle. "So gay. Like, the gayest."
Pacifica burst into peals of laughter, quickly joined by Mabel. The two laughed until they were out of breath, and tears of mirth ran down their cheeks. For now, even if only temporarily (this was Gravity Falls, after all), they and their friends were safe, and everything felt right with the world.
/
As soon as Wendy's eyes were open she zeroed in on Dipper, who was on the opposite side of the room from her, rubbing his eyes.
"Dipper!" Wendy cried, crawling across the floor to him. She threw herself against him, and he hugged her tightly.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Dipper, as he held her close and rubbed her back slowly. "Well, I mean, I know we were trapped in some kind of virtual reality… But how?"
"I don't know, and right now I really don't care all that much," replied Wendy. "I'm just happy to be back in our own reality."
As she was speaking, Wendy made brief eye contact with Aurora, whose cheeks took on a pink hue, before she turned and quickly left the room. Wendy reasoned that if she remembered everything that had happened in the simulation, so must Aurora. Which meant… Wendy didn't really know what it meant. Her stomach twisted into knots as she realized the strange feelings—the attraction—she'd felt for Aurora in the virtual reality had not stayed in the virtual reality.
It wasn't until Dipper reached over to the edge of the sofa to pull a throw off and wrap it around her shoulders, that Wendy realized she was trembling.
/
As everyone woke up and the couples celebrated their reunions privately, Aurora leaned against the living room doorway, and tried to avoid dwelling on the pain in her chest. Her talk with GIFfany had reopened some old wounds that she had thought were long-healed. She'd finally accepted that in order for Dipper to be happy, she had to distance herself from her feelings for him, and allow his relationship with Wendy to move forward.
She thought she'd been okay with that, but it wasn't until that she said the words aloud that it really hit her—her pain over losing Dipper as her mate was never going to go away. As he grew older, he'd no doubt eventually marry Wendy, and they'd start a family. And she would be shut out. If they had children, she'd be relegated to the role of doting aunt along with Mabel, and she'd never know the joy of having a family of her own. She knew (or at least had thought she'd known) that she'd never feel about anyone the way she felt about Dipper.
Except a fresh wound had opened while inside the simulation. Aurora had found herself inexplicably attracted to and in love with not only Dipper, but now also to his mate. By a cruel twist of fate, she wanted Wendy now, too. She wanted both of them. The two people who she knew with certainty she could not have.
As if sensing Aurora's thoughts, Wendy glanced up and made eye contact with her over Dipper's shoulder as the pair hugged. This was all becoming too much to bear. Aurora looked away from the happy couple and made her way outside, onto the front porch. She needed to get some fresh air.
She was leaning against the railing, looking up at the stars, when she heard the front door creak open, and footsteps approached her. Oliver leaned against the railing next to her and cleared his throat softly.
"We need to have a chat about Dipper and Wendy."
Aurora felt all the blood in her body rush to her face. How the hell did Oliver know?
"What about?" Aurora asked, still staring at the sky. There was no way she could look at him now.
"Well—" he began, but cut himself off. He leaned further forward over the railing and squinted into the darkness. "Jess! Mel! And… baby! I was about to start worrying about you!"
Baby Stanley let out a loud wail in response.
"Dammit, Oliver, you woke him up," Melody sighed, although she didn't really sound angry. They reached the porch and she lifted him out of his stroller and began bouncing him on her hip to calm him. "Is-is Soos okay?" she asked, her voice hopeful.
"He is fine, Melody," Aurora reassured her. "Here, let me take care of little Stanley while you go check on him."
Melody handed her baby over with a quick murmured "Thanks," then hurried inside. Aurora was close on her heels, extremely grateful for the distraction their arrival had caused.
/
Jessica slowly sank down onto the porch steps. The events of the past twenty-four hours had left her exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Now that she was sure everyone was safe, the adrenaline in her system wore off, and if she closed her eyes for any amount of time, she would probably immediately fall asleep.
The step creaked as Oliver eased himself down next to Jessica, and the two sat in companionable silence for a moment.
"So," Jessica finally said, mustering a wry grin, "you weren't at all worried when you woke up and Melody, Stanley and I weren't there with you?"
Oliver smiled and shook his head. "I know you can handle yourself, Jessie. I figured that wherever you were, Mel and the baby were safe with you. I'm assuming we have you to thank for getting us out of there. Did you figure out who was behind it? And preferably kick their ass?"
Jessica sighed. She couldn't keep a secret this dangerous from Oliver. Not after everything she'd done to him, and everything they'd been through together.
"I know who it was," she said, meeting his eyes, guilt tearing at her insides. "Ollie… we have a serious problem."
/
In the darkness of his personal lab, Faust flipped through various CCTV feeds from all over Gravity Falls. Every now and then he would type something on his tablet, taking notes on the results of his experiment.
He turned to his main monitor, and switched it to the high school computer lab feed, rewinding it to the point where the woman with the baby and the young teenage boy had arrived.
"Interesting," he muttered to himself, scratching his chin. "No record of this child at all. Seems to have appeared out of thin air, and vanished again just as easily. The code—how he slipped into my system… quite brilliant, actually. But still—the boy is an aberration. Did not plan for him. Must be mindful of my newest data. Need to keep strict control of this experiment."
Faust sighed and stared at the monitor for a moment longer, before pulling up a file on his tablet.
"Ah, Jessica, my faithful pupil. What beautiful power you had—and a mind for experimentation! No useless morals or ethics could hinder your curiosity. You could have been great, had that little upstart Star Child not bested you." He chuckled low. "No matter, it will all work out in the end."
Faust closed Jessica's file, and pulled up a new one. Below a picture of the antique puzzle box, bold green text blinked the message:
Completed
Phase Shift Activated
/
Stayed Tuned Next Time For Chapter 35: Adventures In Parentsitting
/
Please Please Please Drop me a message or review if you're liking this so far. It helps me keep a focus on where I need to go next.
Peace