Almost forgot to post this week! Man, getting sick really threw me off this week. Glad I remembered!
Chapter 5 - First World Jump
In the couple of days before Maria and Sixer left for their first world, the entire town very quickly came to learn what they intended.
"If ya find a solution, you'll bring 'em back here so we can offer 'em a proper thank you, all right?" The mayor – a skinny man known as Tyler Cutebiker – put his hands on his hips and frowned at Maria. "An' so Crescent, Star, an' Pine can get that fixed, too."
"It's either I bring them back here or I bring Crescent and the kids over, but that's the plan," Maria replied. "I don't intend to let things stay the way they are – not by a long shot."
"Good." Tyler nodded. "That family's suffered enough."
Mayor Tyler's sentiment was shared by the rest of the area's inhabitants – both those who lived in the main part of town and those who were out in the woods. Maria could have sworn she saw the Multibear talking with Sixer right before dinner one evening, but she never asked Sixer and he never said what the forest guardian and he spoke about.
If it was something that was to be kept between them, she wasn't going to pry.
"Ready to go, Sixer?" Maria tilted her head at him.
Sixer's tails flicked at the question. "I think so. I don't have a reason that would delay us any further."
"Come back as soon as you can, will ya?" A Stanley with green eyes and wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants clapped a hand on Sixer's shoulder. "I'd like ta get back ta normal in here, too."
"We'll see what we can do, Crescent," Sixer replied.
"Time gets a bit wonky between dimensions, so there's really no telling how long we're gonna be gone for." Maria moved away from the watching group and raised her right hand.
With a snap of her fingers and a swift, downward motion, a flash of blue sparks shot off Maria's fingers. A portal opened in the air in front of her – circular, glowing a soft blue, and large enough for Maria and Sixer to walk through single-file.
The appearance of the portal brought on a number of gasps.
"That looks like Grunkle Ford's portal!" exclaimed one of the 12-year-old boys standing nearby. "Except it's – it's stable!"
"My portals usually are, Tyrone." Maria grinned at the kid. "I haven't run into a moment when my portals have gotten unstable yet. I consider myself lucky on that." She looked over at Sixer. "We're heading to Atlantis first, like Axel and Roxas suggested. I don't know how much of a help they will be, but it wouldn't hurt to give them a try."
Sixer nodded and stepped off the porch to join her. "Do you think much time has passed for them since you were last there?"
"Possibly?" Maria shrugged. "We'll have to see when we get there, right?" She gave a lopsided smile, then motioned for him to follow her. "Come on."
Maria stepped into the portal, disappearing from Gravity Falls. Sixer hesitated for a moment, then followed.
Sixer wasn't quite sure what to expect when he stepped into a glowing, bright blue tunnel of energy. "What—"
"This happens sometimes." Maria motioned for Sixer to follow her down the glowing blue tunnel. "Certain worlds can connect to each other like this, if they're close enough but at the same time far enough away from each other. It's weird, I know, but I find it pretty cool."
Sixer followed Maria, somehow not losing his footing. The tunnel seemed to be an almost perfectly circular shape. "Where are we going, then? You haven't changed your mind since you last told me, correct?"
"Nope, we're still going to Atlantis first. Then we're gonna come back home and make sure everyone knows whether it worked or it didn't." Maria looked back at Sixer, eyes bright. "It'll give you a taste of the people I know outside of those in the Guild, too. But I won't ruin anything until we get there – I'd like to see what you think of the place as soon as you see it."
Sixer nodded.
The glowing blue tunnel branched off occasionally, but Maria didn't take any paths that led away from her destination. Eventually, they reached a point where the tunnel stopped in a curved dead end that almost looked like a bubble.
"What now?" Sixer asked.
"Now, we do this."
Maria pressed her hand against the bubble, and it immediately flattened and swirled into an open portal. She looked at Sixer and grinned before motioning for him to follow her through the portal before stepping through.
Sixer followed almost on Maria's heels, then stopped abruptly when he saw what was on the other side.
They had stepped into a town square of some kind. Small tents and booths sat around the outer edge of the square. Each one was run by white-haired people in blue and purple tunics, robes, and dresses calling in a language Sixer didn't recognize completely.
The architecture was strange as well – white stone rose above his head in buildings that looked more ancient and yet almost like they had been built yesterday.
It was incredible.
And there were people staring.
Maria closed the portal behind them with a wave of her hand and grinned at the look on Sixer's face. "Well, here we are. Now to just settle into this world a bit and see if we can find that solution here."
Sixer nodded. He didn't take his gaze off the people who were starting to gather. "And…how are we going to do that?"
"Well, we should probably talk to Kida and Milo first before I do anything with Yobmok." Maria rubbed her chest, looking a little uncomfortable. "Although, she definitely knows that we're here."
"Who?" Sixer turned his gaze from the crowd.
Maria pointed up. Sixer followed the motion, and his eyes widened abruptly.
High above the city was a glowing blue-white gem, circled by satellites of stone. It might have blended into the sky were it not for the darker material the satellites were made from.
"She basically powers this whole city and keeps the people here alive. She's where I got my core from, too."
"…oh."
Sixer wasn't sure what else to say. A crystal sphere that powered the entire city?
His curiosity got the better of him.
"Is it magic or advanced technology that no one in this dimension will ever be able to replicate?"
"I think she came from a meteor, but I'm not sure of her history beyond that. She feeds off the release of positive emotions, though, if that helps." Maria paused, then looked grim. "Oh boy."
Her tone drew Sixer's attention. "What is it?"
Maria looked uneasy. Were her eyes glowing a bit more than usual? "If you, uh, feel a tugging at your soul, it's…probably Yobmok."
Sixer's tails stiffened. He barely heard the sound of someone running across the stone on sandaled feet. "What?"
"My core came from her – she knows that we're connected in a way that's not meant to be because I've got this connection from her already." Maria's words were starting to quicken. "She's not gonna try anything with you, thank Primus, but that doesn't mean that—"
"Maria!"
Sixer stepped back in surprise as a woman with long white hair and robes that looked almost ornamental rammed into Maria and grabbed her in a hug.
"It has been a long time since we have had you here!" The woman pulled back and looked at Maria with an expression of delight.
"H-hey, Kida." Maria looked surprised at the sudden hug, but was recovering.
Sixer looked between her and the woman – Kida? Was this one of the people that Maria and he were supposed to be meeting?
"What brings you here? Is there trouble on our world?"
"There's trouble, but…nothing here that I know of," Maria replied. "It's, um, something that came up for me that was a bit of a two-parter. Could we talk about this in a little more of a private place? This isn't something I want getting around to very many people."
Kida frowned. "Of course. Milo will be there."
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
Kida turned her gaze to Sixer and he suddenly found himself caught in a scrutinizing gaze that suggested the woman in front of him was far, far older than she looked. "And who is this?"
"This is Sixer. He's a friend, and…plays a part in the problem." Maria looked at Sixer with a slight smile. "Sixer, this is Kida, the queen of Atlantis."
Queen?!
Sixer was about to dip down into a bow out of respect when the woman grabbed him in a hug. She was stronger than he was expecting, and much more informal.
"A friend of Maria's is a friend of mine," Kida said with a tone of finality. She grinned. "Come! Let us speak as friends of your problem, yes?"
"Ah—"
Before Sixer could articulate an answer, Kida had grabbed his arm and started to drag him through the crowd. He was about to protest, but then Maria appeared next to him with a sheepish, but relieved grin.
"Is she…always like this?" Sixer asked.
"Pretty much." Maria shrugged.
Kida dragged Sixer across the city and uphill towards a palace that looked like it had been repaired at some point. Maria kept pace with ease, taking in the view with a look of nostalgia while Sixer felt like he was seeing the world with fresh eyes.
He was relieved that Cipher had never managed to find this place.
Kida brushed past the guards, pulling Sixer along as Maria followed behind. He caught sight of her nodding to them with a recognizing grin as he was pulled the rest of the way into the palace.
The throne room was…not what Sixer had been expecting. An open ceiling to the sky and the sight of the crystal above, a pool in the center of the room with a series of stones that seemed to be arranged in a specific pattern, and a lounge on the other side of the pool where a young man with short brown hair and glasses reclined in the same tribal, ornamental wear that Kida had.
The man blinked in surprise when Kida dragged Sixer into the throne room, Maria following behind. "Kida? What – Maria? What are you doing here?"
"Trying to find the solution to a problem," Maria replied.
Kida pulled Sixer across the pool, splashing up water and causing him to splutter a little as they reached the other side. "This is Sixer. He is a friend of Maria's."
"A friend?" The man – likely the king, now that Sixer thought about it – sat up a little straighter. "It's not every day that I meet a friend of Maria's." He held out a hand. "Milo Thatch, linguist and current king of Atlantis."
Sixer hesitated and considered bowing instead of taking the offered hand. Then he remembered how informal Kida had been, and accepted the gesture. "Stanford Pines, but…I've been going by Sixer recently."
"Pines? That sounds familiar." Milo frowned and rubbed his chin in thought.
Sixer blinked a couple times. Familiar?
"As curious as I am to pursue that right at this very moment, there's…something else I wanted to ask you." Maria paused. "Something that Yobmok was aware of as soon as I set foot in this dimension."
Kida and Milo exchanged looks.
"She did mention a connection between you two, but she did not specify any further," Kida said. "What sort of a connection is it?"
Maria paused. Sixer glanced at her with a concerned look, but she shook her head.
"Sixer and his family lost their dimension to a demon," Maria said. "And…said demon did a few things to him and his family."
Kida's and Milo's expressions morphed into concern.
"Including turn him into a kitsune," Maria added. "But that's not the part of the problem I'm currently trying to solve. I'm not even sure he can be changed back at this point."
"Why not?" Kida frowned. "If he was human before—"
"I have been like this for…a long time," Sixer said. They were talking about him; it would make sense that he added his own voice to the conversation. "If I was returned to human form, it is more than likely that I would very quickly pass on."
Kida's eyes widened sharply.
Milo shifted. "Then…what's the other part of the problem?"
"The connection," Maria replied. "It was…something that was established before the transformation, and it's something that I snatched away from the demon before he could cause Sixer and his family to completely destroy the dimension I was in at the time."
"What sort of connection is this?" Kida asked coldly.
Sixer felt a tug in his chest and winced. Maria glanced at him with a surprised expression.
That hadn't been her? Then—
"The demon did something to his soul," Maria said cautiously. "He…tore a piece of it out and turned it into the connection that Yobmok sensed. His willpower, specifically. If there's no one on the other end, he…he drops. And so far that's happened twice."
"Why?" Kida leaned forward, frowning at Sixer. "Why has this happened twice?"
Sixer glanced at Maria for a moment before looking back at Kida. Milo appeared to be lost in thought. "The first was…when Cipher caused this. The second was when Maria tore control from him and took over."
"Cipher?" Milo frowned. "Like a code?"
Sixer shifted a little in place.
"Why?" Milo asked.
Sixer glanced at Maria again. "How much should we…?"
"As much as is needed," Maria replied.
Sixer nodded. He looked back at Milo and Kida. "There are…a lot of factors that went into what happened. I originally met Cipher when I traveled to Gravity Falls, Oregon, in order to study the supernatural. I had hit a roadblock in my studies, and he came to me pretending he had answers. I, like the naïve, eager researcher I was, followed his suggestion to make a portal, because he suggested all the supernatural creatures came from another dimension that was leaking into ours."
Milo raised his eyebrows. "You built it?"
"I did. And then I found out that he had lied to me and what he was really doing was using me to bring on the apocalypse. I shut down the portal, hid 2 of my research journals, and called on my brother to hide the third. We…had a misunderstanding, and I was thrown through an accidentally activated portal and left on the other side for thirty years. I traveled the multiverse, trying to find a way to stop Cipher. And then my brother brought me home, creating a rift from the portal in the process."
Sixer shook his head. "We weren't able to contain it for long."
"Then…the end of the world happened?" Kida asked.
"Unfortunately. My family and I attempted to find a way to stop it, and we nearly succeeded, but then…" Sixer sighed. The memory of the argument over the Wheel wasn't fresh on his mind, but it was clear enough to remember. "Cipher caught us by surprise. And, because my brother and our niece and nephew were the most annoying to him, he turned that meddling around and made it something he could use."
"That's when he did this." Milo stood up and walked down to them. "And then Maria was able to get involved and put a stop to that?"
Maria nodded. "Yeah, but it was…a long time, before I was even aware of what was going on. Sixer had one tail when all this started for him. When I rescued him, he had six. He was trapped for six hundred years at most."
Milo's brow furrowed. "And how long has it been since then?"
"A…a year, I think?" Sixer looked at Maria.
Maria considered for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. That was the deadline that Cipher had to break in and start the apocalypse, and you guys took care of him as soon as he broke in."
"You killed the demon?" Kida sounded surprised.
"We…we did, yes." Sixer smiled at the memory of Cipher screeching his last words before dying the horrific death he'd deserved. "He owed us for what he did to us, whether he realized it or not. So we…made sure that he paid his debt."
Kida blinked, then nodded as she looked on with determined satisfaction. "Good."
"But that still doesn't give us an answer as to how to solve this connection you mentioned." Milo looked between Maria and Sixer. "Is it possible that I could see it? How did you tear it away from this Cipher?"
"I had to do it on a mindscape level, and I don't know if the spell I used to get in will technically work, since Cipher was usually at least in the area in the previous times that it's been used." Maria shrugged. "So I don't—"
Something yanked at Sixer's soul, cutting Maria off and causing him to make a gagged gasp.
"Hey!" Maria scrambled to grab something with her right hand while her left went to her chest. "Keep your hands off that! I want to find a way to make his soul whole again, not let him get passed from person to person like a hot potato!"
The yanking sensation ceased, and Sixer doubled over, resting his hands on his knees as he fought to get his breath back.
"Primus," Maria muttered. "You really had to do and do that, Yobmok? Seriously?"
There was a pause, and Sixer looked over at Maria. She was glaring up at the sky – likely the crystal specifically.
"This is a dire problem for him and his family, who we left back at home with the people who rescued them," Maria said with barely contained anger. "I don't want to hand him over anywhere and separate him from his family – I want him whole."
Want.
The definition of the word slipped in one moment and out the next, but it left Sixer with a dull, familiar ache in his chest. He waited for it to fade as he continued to keep an eye on Maria, watching for her reaction to the current situation.
In case she needed him to do anything.
There was another tug – gentler, this time – and Sixer felt a curious presence in his head for a moment before that faded.
It felt like there was water lapping at the edge of his mind.
Milo and Kida both looked a little disturbed.
"If there is anyone here who might know how to fix a soul, it would be Yobmok," Kida said. "She is bound to ours, and calls upon me when the energy is needed. She will call on Milo as well, if his time comes."
Milo shifted, looking a little nervous.
"If we are to know what she wishes done, we will have to speak with her," Kida said.
Maria hesitated.
"What would that…entail?" Sixer asked.
"I-It's just meditation techniques," Milo said. "That's all that's really needed to communicate with her – that, and one of these." He motioned to the crystal shard that was hanging around his neck. Sixer had noticed it before when he'd seen Kida and the other members of Atlantis – everyone seemed to have one. "Which…you're going to need one, if you're going to be present."
Sixer blinked at that. "How do I…get one?" He glanced at Maria.
"…I think because you're connected to me, you're gonna be fine? Because otherwise you're gonna get a mental connection back to Yobmok and…I dunno if that's a good idea for you right now," Maria replied carefully. "You'd basically have two people connected to you – me and her. Maybe when this is settled you can decide whether you want a crystal shard or not, but…"
Sixer felt that gentle tug against his soul again. Maria glanced up at the sky with a pointed look.
"I can…see how that might be a problem," Sixer agreed. "I'll put the decision on hold until I'm in a better place to decide on that."
"Which is completely understandable!" Milo agreed quickly
"We'll give you two some time to get acclimated to the city before we attempt to get to the bottom of this," Kida added. "While it does not take time to prepare to contact Yobmok, it does take time to prepare a feast in the honor of Maria's arrival."
"Feast?" Maria's eyebrows rose. "You don't have to do that, Kida – really, this is just going to be a quick in and out, not—"
"But I insist! It has been so long since you have been among us. We should spend time together before you disappear again!" Kida wagged a finger at Maria, frowning. "We are going to postpone this until tomorrow. It can wait another day, and I wish to hear stories of your adventures from you."
Maria looked like she wanted to protest, but the looks on Milo's and Kida's faces made her sigh and shake her head. "How can I refuse that? All right, we'll go walk around a bit and do this feast thing." She pointed at Kida. "Tomorrow, though, first thing we do is talk to Yobmok."
"Yes!" Kida grinned widely and hugged Maria in delight. "The cooks will be glad to know of your return! I shall set them to work!" She bounded out of the throne room like she had springs on her feet – a sight that left Sixer staring in surprise.
Milo chuckled. "I'm glad she hasn't lost her spirit."
"Yeah, no kidding." Maria turned to look at Milo. "We're gonna poke around for a bit, then. See you tonight?"
"If that's the plan." Milo motioned towards the doors leading out of the throne room. "Go on, have a little fun. And make sure to show him as much as you can – I know I got a kick out of this place when I first got here." He gave Sixer a grin.
"Will do! Come on, Sixer – let's go have a look around!"