"Howdy, Firefly! Finally looking past rainbows long enough to get a taste of the real world?" I rub my eyes and blink, I'm lost in the middle of field surrounded by forest. I whirl around in a daze.
"Who's there?" My voice drips authority that doesn't quite match up with my facial expression. The moon is only a sliver in the sky that denies me anymore light that I could use.
"Just a figment of your imagination! Nothing more than your subconcious trying to give you some of the answers you're looking for." The voice is too cheerful, but my ears perk up when he mentions answers. I'm suddenly surrounded by a heavy, blue light and the outdoors slips away to a cozy looking den with a fireplace.
"Have a seat by the fire, make yourself at home!" The voice suggests and I make my way over to a simple armchair. A dapper, blue triangle (that's something I didn't think I'd ever say) pops into existence with a puff of smoke. He only has a single eye, and reminds me of the symbol on the back of the dollar bill, but with a top hat and bow tie.
"What do you mean you had some answers? Do you mean about last night?" I question, he seems to smile in response but it's hard to tell, again, he only has an eye.
"The name's Will. I can't tell you anything that you don't already know, but that doesn't mean I don't have the answers. And heck, I'm feeling generous today, you get a freebie question. Go on, hit me with it." I think for a moment, 'one question and then he will help me figure things out, that sounds fantastic!'
"Did I hypnotize Dipper Pines?" I ask, its such a foreign question that I have to replay what I said to make sure I'm not going crazy. A second doesn't even pass by before he smugly replies.
"Define, hypnotize. Any girl can make a boy travel to la la land. Even if that specific boy is charming, mysterious, and dangerously powerful. You're not that special. And why do you even care? A magic trick went wrong, it's not like you have a special destiny to fulfill..." I slump down in my chair, even if he was rude about it, he was right, why do I even care so much about what happened?
"Don't look so down, Firefly! What would you say if I told you that you could have a special destiny? Full of mystery and adventure and yadda yadda yadda. You can play a part in...something." He winks at me, clearly trying to sway me with his offerings.
"Why do you keep calling me Firefly?" I retort. Gravity Falls is just like every other normal town, sure there are a few kooky people, but there can't be anything 'destiny' related here.
"Ah, ah, ah, you already had your opportunity. Now, we have to be fair. If you want more information, it's going to cost you." Will says in a sing-songy voice.
"What kind of cost?" I reply eyeing him carefully. He looks more than thrilled that he's caught my attention, and I don't like it.
"I'll give you the path to an exciting fate that has to do with what happened last night, and in return I need you to burn a book for me. It's very specific, you'll know it when you see it." He tells me calmly as if this is an everyday occurrence.
"What do you say, kid? Is it a deal?" He sticks out his spindly arm and his hand produces a small blue flame. Burning a book seems like an easy price to pay for whatever future he is alluding to. Nothing is telling me this is a smart deal to make with a triangle, but my hand seems to disobey. The flame is so cold it burns me, and I screech in response. I try to pull it away but he clamps down hard, allowing my flesh to sear in continuous, excruciating pain. The fire place spews out of its containment with a mighty roar, setting the room ablaze and I'm surrounded. My hand is released and Will disappears within the choking smoke.
"Will! What did you do that for?!" I yell, and try to escape the melting room. My lungs ache as each breath is poisoned. I cough and stumble, searching desperately for a door. The cold brass of a door knob makes my heart nearly jump out of my chest with happiness.
Fire licks at my legs and I desperately push through the door. I'm met with another room full of flames, and amidst it all is a red, leather bound journal with a golden, six digit hand. We are engulfed in heat moments later, the book is reduced to ash.
My body shoots up in terror, my screaming suppressed only by a fit of coughing. I'm covered in a layer of sweat and my lungs try hard to get my breathing under control.
"Are you okay, Pacifica?" Gideon asks worriedly. The nights sky leaves the room in darkness, but the glowing alarm clock reads 3:13 a.m. My nightmare must have been loud and woken him up.
"Just a nightmare, don't worry about. I think I'm just going to run to the bathroom real quick and grab a glass of water." I say croaking. I slip out of the room and down the attic stairs before he could start asking me about it. The house is eerily still, and I bump into unfamiliar corners of walls and tables while trying to navigate through the shadows. My eyes burn in pain as I flick on the bathroom light, and I go to shield my eyes with my right hand.
I stop dead in my tracks and look at my palm in horror. A triangle with an eye is etched into my palm as if someone took a soldering iron to my skin.
"Oh my god, that actually happened. What on earth did I sign up for?" I whisper yell to myself. My left hand touches the marks gingerly and I flinch in excruciating pain once more. Searching through the medicine cabinet rewards me with a tube of ointment and an ace bandage. At the very least the bandage will keep the mark hidden, I can't have Gideon getting involved in whatever I just did, or anyone for that matter.
I stare into the mirror and look hard at myself. Nothing's making sense.
Gideon's loud snores make me sigh in relief once I return upstairs. The book Will wants me to burn is oddly familiar but I can't place it. I toss and turn in bed for hours on end trying to untangle all my thoughts and fears into coherent sentences. Suddenly it dawns on me. That book was on the table in the Tent of Telepathy! The real question is, do I dare attempt to face the Twins of Telepathy again?
Sorry this is a bit shorter than the last two chapters. I only got like 5 hours of sleep and then had a 4 hour long doctor's appointment. Running on fumes, but I wrote this while in the doctor's appointment so I had something to put up. May undergo heavy editing. Thanks for the support! P.S. The cipher wheel is different in this story, which will be addressed in the next few chapters!
~Firefly~