A/N: Surprise! I got sick so I had time to work on another chapter! I hope that my suffering can bring you joy.
Chapter 3: Apologies
Day 2:
Grunkle Stan called mom and dad. Dad wasn't home, so mom answered. She was surprised, but not as much as you'd expect her to be. It wasn't like she just found out that her kids are stuck in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but more like she found out her kids had been kidnapped and held ransom. Come to think of it, that may be sort of the case.
Whatever turned us into monsters has also created a barrier around town. Nobody can leave. Mom is going to come soon, but what if she can't get in? What if the barrier goes both ways? Dad won't be coming. Mom says she's going to tell him we're just staying in town for a while longer. He won't think twice about it. He'll call once or twice, but it's not like he'll find the time to try to visit us. That is if it's even possible for anyone to visit.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen any tourists lately.
-Rana POV-
Tears streamed down my face, tiny waterfalls of emotion. I looked around, knowing that I was being watched. I heard a rustling sound from the trees on the far side of the clearing, and suddenly Dipper was running towards me. I expected him to be angry, and he had every right to be.
Instead, he extended his hand to me. I reluctantly reached out to grab it. It felt like a thousand lightning bolts surging through me, but it wasn't magic, it was feeling. It was love, relief, maybe even happiness. It was one short moment, but it was enough. From that moment on, I was determined to save my friends. They wouldn't continue to suffer because of me. Not when they were so kind about it.
He sat down next to me and sighed.
"Rana, did you really not know until you got here?"
The tears that had just barely stopped began to flow freely again, and I shook my head.
"No. I had no idea. If I did, I would've come immediately."
We locked eyes for one short moment before he looked down at his four legs, which were new to me, but he'd had them for a year now. I'd seen his eyes, wide and desperate, and I knew that I would risk my life to save him, his sister, his friends, everyone.
It surprised me, though, when he looked back up, his wide eyes suddenly filled with confusion.
"Then why did you come back?"
I stared him right in the eyes, and grabbed his shoulders, one of the few things still identifying him as human. I couldn't risk not getting this point across.
"I came back because I love you and I missed you. Look, you don't know how much I wish I'd known about all of this. You don't know how much I wish I could've saved you before now. It's going to be harder now, but now that I'm here, I'm going to help you."
I forced a smile.
"And nobody's going to stop me."
At that, he smiled. Seeing him happy turned my smile into a genuine one. I pulled him into a tight hug, and when we came apart, he seemed to notice something.
"That necklace, I recognize it from somewhere. I think aunt Jessie used to wear one like it when we were little. Where did you get it?"
I stared at him. He couldn't be serious.
"Dip, this necklace is a prison box. It's the one Rayla used to lock up my best friend from home. It's Rayla's prison now. I can guarantee you, unless your aunt is in some seriously dangerous magical business, she does not have this necklace."
His jaw dropped. No doubt he'd forgotten about Rayla and Bill and my stupid family. He had bigger problems to deal with.
"I'm so sorry, Rana."
I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter. Let's go find your family. I need to see the full weight of the problem before I can start working on a solution."
He nodded, and he led me towards the Shack. I walked the whole way in silence. I didn't want to believe the truth of the matter.
But I knew it. I knew the full weight of the situation.
I'd seen it all over the internet before I'd come to this world.
I caused the monster falls au to become reality.
That thought was so heavy in my mind that I ran into the door. I shook the thought away and put my hand on the handle. As I turned it, I realized that nothing would ever stop me from winning this. Not even the odds.
I pushed the door wide open. When we walked through it, I saw everyone. I saw Mabel, a mermaid, with a pink, scaly tail and a pink bikini top, sitting in a tank just big enough for her to submerge herself if necessary. I saw Wendy, who was now covered in fur, with sharpened fangs and a pair of wolf-like ears on the top of her head. Everyone was different, but it was exactly as I expected.
All of their desperate eyes found me. I forced myself to look everyone in the eye before I looked back down at my feet again. There had to be a way. I would find a way. It didn't matter that this curse was cure-proof. I would risk anything and everything for these people.
But first I would need to call for backup. It was time for Serena to really see Gravity Falls.
A/N: I really want to thank those of you who stuck with me for this. I hope that I have been visibly growing in my writing skill as it has nearly been a year since I first started the first one. If you notice something I am doing well at or something I could do better at, please tell me in the reviews. I'll never do better if I don't know how I'm doing.
Riddle: A curse that can never be broken may one day be undone, but to break the laws of magic may just break the strongest one.
