Chapter 5: Stubborn

Day 4:

That's it. We're alone. There's no way we're ever getting out of here. Great Uncle Ford and I have been doing some research, and there's still not even a clue as to how we might fix this. Mabel's lucky, I guess. She's actually having fun as a mermaid. The rest of us don't have it so great. We found Pacifica hiding out in the woods. The only obvious difference was snakes for hair. Of course we figured out pretty quickly that it was more than that when we noticed that she wouldn't open her eyes. She told us that she'd turned her mom into stone, and then her dad kicked her out of the house. She'd been in the woods since it started.

It sounded like she didn't want to be around people. She didn't want to hurt anyone else, but she couldn't handle it out there on her own. She begged us to let her keep on attempting to fend for herself, but we weren't about to let that happen. Actually, I would've been fine with it, but Mabel wouldn't shut up about how she helped us last summer when Rana was here. I may be angry, but I'm not evil, so I gave up and let Pacifica stay with us. She still can't open her eyes, though.

-Rana POV-

I stood at the edge of the barrier, not daring to get any closer. We were ready for the first glimmer of hope in all of Gravity Falls ever since their first attempt at this. We had called Dipper and Mabel's mom and gathered everyone we could find for the second try at bringing a full human into the town. Dipper was at my right, all four of his new legs shaking at the thought of what happened last time. Mabel was at my left in her tank, her tail swishing back and forth in excitement. Her smile was wide as ever, no doubt in her mind that this would work. Pacifica stood on the other side of Mabel, eyes still closed due to her newfound "power". Wendy was on the other side of Dipper, her expression underneath all the fur was determined as ever.

We knew how heavily our situation relied on this plan working. We knew that we would be doomed if we failed. One thing they didn't know, however, was that it was much worse than they thought. If I failed, then things would only get worse. They would continue to transform until they were no longer monsters, but no longer people either. Dipper would become a simple deer. Mabel would likely become some kind of fish, most probably a dolphin or something. Wendy would be a wolf by day as well as night.

You get the idea. I had their lives in my hands, again. I looked over at the lone figure on the other side of the barrier. She was fairly tall, probably about a half a foot taller than me at the moment. Her long, curly brown hair was swept into a ponytail that fell down over her right shoulder. Her eyes were the same warm, chocolatey brown as those of her children and her gaze was so full of love, no matter who it was directed at.

She seemed to be in her mid-to-late thirties, but her eyes seemed so old and wise that they just didn't seem to fit with the rest of her. And yet no matter how odd and out of place those eyes were, they were the most beautiful thing about her. The light blue jacket she wore paired with a pair of simple jeans and some light brown boots made her seem even more loving and caring than she already looked to be. Everything about her screamed "mother", and you immediately felt a little calmer just by looking at her.

This was the woman who raised the Pines twins. I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. She nodded in reassurance and I gave her a quick nod back before I lifted my hand and put it as near to the barrier as I dared to let it get. I thought about everybody that I'd be failing if I couldn't break this barrier. I thought of all of the people I would lose.

Finally, I thought of everything that the woman in front of me would lose if I couldn't do this. I thought of how awful it would be to lose both of your kids like that. Then, the fire came, and it grew stronger than it ever had before. I started to feel like I was drowning in my own magic. I kept going. I kept going until there was no way for me to continue. When I dropped to the ground I gasped for air. It took a while for me to be able to look up and see the results.

For a moment the only thing I registered was that the barrier was still there and I panicked. Then I noticed the person-shaped hole in it that was quickly closing up. Seconds later an unfamiliar hand reached out to help me up. My eyes slowly followed the arm up to the person who was attached to it. I smiled and let out a sigh of relief when I realized that it was none other than Mrs. Pines herself. I reached out my hand to grab hers and let her pull me to my feet. Her eyes began to tear up at the same time as mine did, and we both said the same thing at the exact same time.

"Thank you."

And then Dipper came running, dragging Mabel's tank along with him, and I was included in the first Pines family group hug in a very long time. Pacifica and Wendy watched in awe, but Serena stood from behind us, smiling as she finally arrived on the scene of the miracle we had just conjured.

A/N: I've got to be honest. Half of this was done absolutely horribly and the other half I'd consider some of my best work. Oh well, at least half was good. Sorry this isn't being updated frequently. This year I'm taking all honors classes and it's killing me. Winter break is the only reason you're getting anything right now.

Riddle: The eyes so old with a body young will confuse so many and make sense to some. Time is spent but paid right back. But what was so bad that you would get rid of it?