"Maybe it's a dream, maybe nothing else is real. But it wouldn't mean a thing, if I told you how I feel. […] Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay or should I go? I've forgotten how to tell; did I ever even know?"
— Touhou/Cristina Vee, Bad Apple.
. . .
Episode 16: Nightmare Core.
Arc: "Awakening"
Opening: Butterfly Core – Valshe.
. . .
It's so cold…
Everything's black; I can't see…
I cannot breathe…
. . .
My body stiffens at every sound I hear…
Why can't I move? What is this feeling?
. . .
Somebody…
Save me…
. . .
As soon as I open my eyes, everything around me is burning. The town of Gravity Falls is burning. The world is burning. There are people screaming, praying and running with their children, pets and family. They are leaving the town to somewhere safe, probably. I stand up, noticing that I was sitting at the middle of the road, and walked towards the burning town; a town that has once been peaceful, quiet. I don't know what is happening. There are people telling me to run away, to stay away, but I don't listen.
What are they so afraid of?
I walk further inside the town, analyzing every inch of it. Then I lay my eyes on a preteen, around my age, sitting next to a burning house, in a fetal position, her legs pressed firmly against her chest, and she's crying, sobbing uncontrollably. I walk towards her. She raises her head to look at me, and her eyes held despair. I can also feel her fear from here. She stands up, and I notice we are the same height. I cannot recognize that girl, but I feel like know her. However, I don't.
"Pine Tree" She says. She is talking to me, because there is no one else in town except us. That girl knows me, but I don't know her, or I feel like I don't. Who is Pine Tree, and why is she calling me that? Come to think about it, what is my name? "Pine Tree, you have to save yourself. Why are you here?" Her grey eyes hold no emotion after she says this. No emotion at all – she stares at me, waiting for my answer. I extend my hand to touch her face, but it goes through her cheek like she was never there. I've never felt so empty before, like all my emotions are gone.
Alas, I cannot remember my true name.
"I don't know you." I say simply, not caring if I crushed her feelings or not. Even saying that, I can't hear my own voice; I heard nothing. Without saying anything, I spin on my heels and turn to the core of the burning town. The girl behind me shouts something, but her voice is cracked and I can't hear a thing. Ignoring her, I keep walking until I stop in front of a store. It is called 'Dusk 2 Dawn', and half of it has already been destroyed by the fire. I open the door carefully, so I wouldn't get burned, and looked inside – something makes me want to remember about this place, but I can't remember anything. I close the door and walk a little more.
I don't know what happened before and I don't know what is happening now. I just keep walking, because that is all I can do. I turn away from Dusk 2 Dawn and keep walking around; my footsteps are silent and light; and I walk slowly – like a snail. It's like I'm enjoying the ride, though I am not.
My heart almost stops upon seeing corpses. Some people have been stabbed; others have been burnt to death. I can't handle seeing this, and turn my head to the other side. However, that doesn't work. There are also corpses on the other side. I feel the bile rising in my throat, but I don't throw up. I don't want to, so I keep the food inside my stomach. I ignore all the corpses and then keep walking.
The town was never-ending. The town seemed so small before… I guess I was wrong.
As I kept walking, more horrible sights crossed my eyes. I see people burning. I hear screams of agony and despair. There are people crying for the loss of a relative everywhere I go. That makes me wonder who'd do such an atrocity. I have no words to describe this. However, I finally stop at my final destiny: a place called 'Mystery Shack'. I analyze the place around it. There is a golf cart half-destroyed, half-intact. There are some dollar bills lying around, as if they were telling me that someone was here before.
I opened the wooden-made door before analyzing inside.
The place seemed to be somewhat of a store before everything was burn to ashes. There was fire everywhere, and it was hard to recognize some things, but I managed to do it without failing. Half of the t-shirts have been burnt to ashes and what seemed to be a vending machine is completely destroyed. Behind it, there is some kind of secret entrance. I narrow my eyes at the secret passageway before I turn my back to it and go to the other side of the gift shop instead.
I cross the gift shop and open one door to the left.
That place was so destroyed I can't even imagine what it was before. So I close the door behind me. I started walking around until I reach somewhere that looks like a living room, and it is half-burnt; still burning. On my right, there are stairs that will lead me upstairs. So I climb the stairs until I reach a small room that looks like an attic. I slowly open the door, afraid of what I might see. My eyes widen and, this time, I can't prevent the bile from rising in my throat and escaping my mouth.
I fell to the floor, emptying my stomach, and look up again.
There is a girl staring at me with wide open chocolate eyes, but she is not moving. She is hanging from the ceiling, and there is a rope tightly tied around her neck. There is blood everywhere, coming from her stomach, neck, mouth, eyes and limbs. It is a traumatizing sight. The worst thing is…
I don't know who that girl is.
Her eyes, wide open from shock, were of a beautiful brown color. Her hair was also brown, but had a darker shade. She was wearing a shooting star sweater.
"Shooting Star…" I murmur, and it's the first time I hear myself talking. My voice is weak and almost inaudible, like I had lost all my strength. I don't know if what I'm living is the harsh reality or a nightmare, but I pray to be the latter. So many deaths and I don't even know what's going on. I don't know my own name. That girl before called me Pine Tree. Is that my real name? My head is pounding and overflowing with questions that I wanted to answer, but couldn't. Something even more shocking happened when I looked at my right side.
Written in blood at a wall near me, there were the words:
hUmANiTY WiLl FaLl
aNd i wILl RiSE
I was paralyzed from shock and realization. I didn't know what was going on, I didn't remember anything, but that wasn't reality. It was a dream. The blood was from the girl hanging from the ceiling and next to me. I turned to her, fearing that she'd still be alive and laugh at my reaction. It was the first time I'd shown emotion since I woke up in this dream. As soon as I finished my conclusion, the world around me started to spin and I blinked to stop the dizziness, though it didn't work.
Everything faded into darkness…
. . .
. . .
. . .
Dipper woke up gasping for air as his eyes shot open. The blunette felt himself leaning against the cold ground under him, even if there was none. Everything around him was black. Dipper narrowed his eyes after realizing what was happening: the dreamscape. Bill Cipher. He tried to stand up, even if every muscle of his body felt sore, and managed to do it – even if he almost fell face-first on the floor at the first attempt. Dipper didn't know where to start after that. Maybe calling Bill and require an explanation would be a good beginning.
"Bill!" Dipper called. His throat, somehow, felt sore, and his voice came out weakly, but loud enough to cause an echo through the dreamscape, that has once been the mindscape. "Bill, come out! I know you're here." After saying that, Dipper was greeted with a laugh that also echoed through the mindscape and peeked through his ears like sharp knives, forcing the blunette to press his palms against his own ears.
eREh tOn Si lLiB, yllis
And the unknown language was back.
"W-who are you? What are you talking about?" Dipper asked as fear consumed his mind and made him shiver when the laugh once again echoed through the dreamscape. This laugh made one memory resurface his mind at this point: humanity will fall, and I will rise. "It was you who showed me this dream, wasn't it?!" Everything went quiet for a second, before a demoniac voice rang through his mind:
"wHy dO YoU asK?" It questioned.
"Why are you doing this?"
"i cAn'T TeLl YoU, PeSKy HUmAn." It answered. "BuT I cAn MaKe A dEaL WiTh yOu." Dipper raised an eyebrow. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't good, for sure. Dipper started walking backwards, wishing to magically trip onto a portal or something, but there was none. That was until he bumped into a wall; an invisible wall that 'wasn't supposed to be there'. "tRYiNg To RuN aWAy, aRe wE?"
"What do you want from me?" Dipper asked in despair. "I don't even know what you are!" He felt a cool sensation on his head again, and, due to the lack of any light, Dipper discovered his birthmark was glowing again. Dipper raised an eyebrow upon feeling something wet touching him from his feet to knees and looked down. There was water under him, and it was rising every second. Dipper could see, due to the water's reflection, a birthmark – that had the shape of the Big Dipper – glowing on his forehead.
"i Am tRyInG tO sHoW YoU tHe rEaLiTy, KiD." The voice that once seemed to be gone was back. "ThIs wOrLd Is cRuEl AnD MeRcIlEsS, sO yoU SHouLD Be CaReFul WiTh WhO yOu TrUsT." The creature didn't have a mouth, but Dipper could feel it grinning at him. And, now, the water had reached his waist. Dipper blinked before processing what was going on: he would drown. Dipper immediately panicked. He didn't forget that he could swim, but then what? He couldn't swim for the rest of his life. "So, wHaT iS It gOiNg tO bE?" Dipper closed his eyes. He couldn't make another deal. Not now that he already had one.
"Go… Away…" He managed to whisper, before feeling the water halfway to his chest. Dipper was terrified. From where he was standing, leaning against the invisible wall, the blunette could feel the thing's disappointment, but this emotion soon turned into a grin as the creature sniggered.
"wElL, iF yOu cHaNgE YoUr MiND i'Ll sTiLl bE HeRe." It said. The water had reached Dipper's chest and was almost reaching his neck. "ReMeMbEr: WhEn GrAvItY fAlLs aNd eArTh bEcOmEs sKy, fEaR tHe bEaSt WiTh JuSt oNE eYe."
And it was gone. The presence was gone; the creature was gone. Dipper realized what was going on: the creature abandoned him. Of course it would be this way; it was always this way. He would always be betrayed and abandoned. "Ariadne…" Dipper whispered the name that crossed his mind. The water had reached his chin and was still rising. Soon, Dipper would drown. He closed his eyes, trying to remember who Ariadne is, and who she had been to him.
"You must trust me; no matter what."
"Life is meaningless, isn't it?"
"We all die one day."
"Forgive me, Dipper."
"fEeD."
"I'm sorry."
The water finally surrounds him completely, making Dipper drown. He feels himself relaxing, but was still conscious enough to realize the mistake he had done…
. . .
It's so cold…
Everything's black; I can't see…
I cannot breathe…
. . .
My body stiffens at every sound I hear…
Why can't I move? What is this feeling?
. . .
Somebody…
Save me…
. . .
I see deaths.
I see people screaming for mercy.
I see murderers.
I see corruption.
. . .
What do I seek? Forgiveness? Redemption? What do I seek? What does humanity seek? Is that what we seek? Revenge? Or peace?
. . .
It's so cold….
It's so dark here…
Where am I?
. . .
Please, somebody save me.
Save me…
Please…
Bill…
. . .
"Pine Tree…"
Hopes are lost…
"Pine Tree?"
Promises are broken…
. . .
"Pine Tree!"
Please…
"PINE TREE!"
Bring me back…
"PINE TREE!"
To light…
. . .
I wake up in a jolt; all of my muscles stiffen at the sound of wings flapping around me. My eyes are open, but I see nothing. I start a coughing fit when I try to talk at first; it is pretty harsh, but I knew it would stop soon. My throat hurts and burns, even if I haven't said anything. Had it all been a dream? I blink a few times and I get my sight back. The first thing I can see is the clearing. The memories of what happened before resurface my mind and I can analyze everything better: Ariadne. She deceived me… Why would she do that? At what cost?
The sky had a soft blue color, indicating it was already dawn. My coughing fit stops eventually, and I do everything to prevent another one. It takes me a few seconds to realize the warmth around me, and I discover I'm being pressed against someone's chest, with two arms surrounding me. I look up.
It's Bill Cipher. The whole world around me seemed to stop. He didn't bother looking at me. His eyes were closed tightly, as if just seeing me would made me fade into an eternal darkness. I am too tired to move, but I'm sure I can talk. And the first thing I say had to be a question:
"Bill… Why are you crying?"
A/N: OOC, KILL IT WITH FIRE!
You all are pretty confused, aren't you? I like doing that to people because they don't comment enough on my stories. As your punishment, you will spend one week on a CLIFFHANGER! I dunno if that'd be one week, alright, but you all get it. To answer your questions: yes, there will be Bill's side of the story and YES YOU'LL KNOW WHY HE IS CRYING. Yes, Bill's acting OOC but who doesn't do that nowadays? XD ANYWAY there WILL be an explanation of why he is crying. LATER.
And, now, THE CHALLENGE:
(1) The song at the beginning of the episode is Bad Apple, from Touhou/Cristina Vee. Whose theme song this is from? Tip: it's from one of the 15 main characters. Put in the reviews who you think this theme song is from! :)
Yeah, there will be FIFTEEN main characters because I can. This challenge will be one of the main things that will make me enjoy the reviews. Please, people, do the challenge because the prize I'm planning will be GREAT. I know you'll like it :) it has to do with the story, if you want to know. And DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN THE CLIFFHANGEEEEEEER! Hahahahahahaha!
Here are the avaliable characters for now:
- Dipper
- Bill
- Keehnesi
- Beatrice
- Asaph
- Daniel
- Danna
- Ariadne
There will be more soon, but these are the only ones now because I need to develop the other characters better and you'll know their theme songs! Well, I'm updating the list when there are changes ok? Thanks, dontforget1!
Also, here is a second question for you!
(2) Why is Bill crying?
I want to see you suffer trying to find out XD Well, that's all for now! This chapter isn't as big as the previous one (it has 'only' 2.600 words), but it's very LONG, when talking about length, right? Sorry, not good at math. Anyway, I'm outta this.
Awakened Niwana, off.