So powerful. So intense. So...free. I haven't felt like this in over a century.
Looking down at myself, I notice a bright, cyan colour cover my entire triangular body. Diamond bricks line across my torso, matching my one diamond shaped eye. I float gracefully above the ground, my thin black legs hanging limplessly.
Two screams ring through my senses. One male, one female. I detect the fear emanating from them easily. It's cold, bitter, helpless.
"N-Nadiline?" a girl's voice whimpers. "I-is that you?"
I look towards a sweater wearing tween, now standing next to her twin brother fearfully, holding onto his arm for comfort. Both of them are covered in leafs and dry dirt, caused by their sudden fall into a deep sleep the night before.
"Please. Please don't be scared...that's the last thing I want." I answer her. Using my lasts bits of power, I send them waves of courage, hoping to manipulate their emotions while I can. Warm, sweet, comforting. Their shivering bodies cease and their fear diminishes. One last job complete.
"You've missed this, haven't you?" I look to the similar demon in front of me. Neon green, symmetrical square brick pattern, and a rectangular eye. "The pure impossibility of it. A form beyond reason. Demonic entities, true to their embodiment."
"It's very familiar." I answer, raising a black hand to my face and examining it. Suddenly, it lights up with bright green flames, dancing across my fingers. Lumi floats towards me, lifting up his own hand and lighting it with yellow flames.
"This is what true power feels like...I wish I had done more with it while I had the chance." he says with sorrow.
I look into his eye, "It's the fact that you did nothing that means you did everything. Something Bill could not control. Just because we were given our abilities Lumis, does not mean we should take advantage of them. Besides, we will not be burdened with them anymore…" My eye wanders towards the forest floor, where a blonde man continues to lay calmly. His body glows a dim yellow, as streams of light hover from him and towards us.
"Ready?" I ask my brother.
"Ready." he answers.
The streams of light surround us, tangling around our bodies. I feel the familiar power start to be drained away, as my triangular form starts to dim and diminish, as well as Lumi's.
"Nadiline! What's going on?" Dipper asks me frantically, taking a few steps toward us.
"Stay back Dip. It's alright. Providence is taking back our halves of his power. He's making us mortal again. Just stay put and let the process finish." I warn, taking ahold of Lumi's hand. Beneath us, I spy our thin, black legs becoming more whole, more flesh like. Closing my eye, I feel our demonic bodies start to disintegrate away and turn human. We slowly fall from the air and land on our two feet, letting our biological bodies take control of our systems, instead of the demonic presence.
The light begins to fade away as I feel my long hair land on my shoulders, indicating that the power has been drained completely. With his hand in mine, I feel a warmth emanate from Lumi's skin. I squeeze his palm, making total sure that he is still with me. He squeezes back gently and then lets go. I open my now two eyes and look to our surroundings. The twins stand before us, smiling kindly.
"Welcome back Ciphers." Dipper says happily.
Looking down at myself once more, I see my familiar human body. But now, it's different. I do not feel power, intensity or false freedom.
I feel alive.
Taking a long, deep breath, I savour the feeling of oxygen in my lungs once more. But that's not all. I feel my mind awakening, my heart beating and my blood pumping. My pale freckled arms now start to hold some colour as my skin darkens slightly. Taking some of my hair in my hand, I see a sandy, blonde colour stain the strands instead of the bright cyan I have come to get used to. Looking at Lumi, I see that his once black slitted eyes are now a beautiful dark blue, a colour he shares with my mother and I. His neon green hair has now turned to a bright blonde, mimicking our elder brothers.
"Bill…" I breath out, remembering our third sibling who still remains motionless on the ground, next to a shattered violin. "Bill?" I call out, running over to him and shifting down onto my knees. I shake his cold form violently, unable to receive an answer, other than some violent, dry coughs.
"Is he still in there?" Mabel asks, coming to stand behind me.
"I think so." Lumis answers, walking over and kneeling beside me. I remove my hands from Bill's shoulders, seeing a dark red liquid stain my skin. Panicked, I try turning him over to see the damage.
I grunt as I try to move his body, but my human arms are only starting to gain their strength after so long. "Lumis! Help me." I order my brother, pulling on his arm.
"Nadi I-"
"Now!" I bark, needing to know what caused the liquid to be coursing from his Bill's back. Lumis obeys reluctantly, grabbing ahold of Bill's side and flipping him over on the leaf covered grass. We all gasp in shock as we roll bill onto his stomach, as the sight of his back was not a pretty one.
His white dress shirt lays in a rumpled mess, tattered and bloody. The skin on his back that shows through the fabric is cut, splintered and red. I remove the shreds of shirt from his back to try and get a better look.
Gasps once again escape our mouths. Large red gashes have come to rest from Lumi and Bill's confrontation. I spot splinters of wood stuck in the cuts. Looking back at my second brother, I give Lumis a glare, one which he returns with an apologetic look.
"I-I was so angry…" he blurts out in excuse.
"Well it's too bad you'll never be able to apologize." I answer spitefully. I know now is not the time for such harsh comments, but after all that just happened...
I delicately place one hand on Bill's back, using the others to remove the pieces of wood. One by one, a sickening drop of blood after another. We hear a soft and hoarse moan come from my unconscious brothers mouth, still feeling pain after his knockout. I finish my inexperienced first aid, calling us even after Bills handy work on my large leg burn from last week.
"Nadiline? W-what are those?" Mabel asks me fearfully, pointing to the still visible spaces of skin in between Bills wounds.
"They're just scares Mabel, nothing to worry about."
"B-but...look what is says." She points once again, gaining my curiosity as I examine the long healed wounds on Bills skin. In small, rough letters, the scar spells out a word. One I am quite familiar with.
"Monster." I say under my breath. "Witch." Spells another, as well as a third, "Demon."
'Obviously the scars we gave you were not warning enough, boy…you know how we deal with witchcraft here.' The memory in Bill's mind of that cruel, horrible man replays in my thoughts.
"They did this to him. All when we thought everything was perfectly fine, ignoring the pain in our brothers eyes and all the cries of pain we'd hear him produce...all because of our town. Bill had to face the townspeople and prove his innocence...when he was in fact guilty all along."
"Who would do this to a child?" Dipper asks himself spitefully.
"People Dipper. Just scared, ignorant people."
I leave the conversation at that, tired of all the sick secrets and memories that have been unveiled to Lumi and I, as well as the twins.
"We need to get out of here." Lumi warns, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I know. I just...I just wish-"
"Now Nadiline. He'll be awake soon, and not the 'he' we want to see. Our brothers gone."
I feel more tears start to form at the brim of my eyes, not ready to say goodbye yet.
"Two weeks. After all these years, we only had TWO WEEKS." I sob angrily, wiping away the salty streams making their way down my cheeks. "And half of the time I barely trusted him. I never even got to hear him play his violin…I just wish I'd known." I take one last look at Bills sleeping face, before leaning down and placing a soft kiss in his hair. I get up from my knees, taking a deep breath in and looking at Dipper sternly. "Get you and your sister home Dipper. I'm sure your uncle is worried." I say through sobbing breaths.
"But-" Dipper starts, still having that spark of determination I've come to know and admire.
"No, Dipper. We've lost this battle. Go home." I turn on my heel, walking in the opposite direction of the town. "Lumi, you coming?" Lumis nods firmly, following behind.
"But you can't just end it like this, where are you going!?" Mabel calls after me with worry.
"No clue Mabes. Anywhere I suppose. We don't exactly have all the time on the world anymore. Besides, it's about time we start living the lives we got, instead of living in the past."
I look at her brother. A small boy, only twelve and searching for monsters, but holding one hell of a strong heart. I knew he reminded me of someone.
"Hey Dipper. Remember, just because we lost this battle, that doesn't mean the war is over. Lumis and I have tried doing our parts. Now it's time for you to fight."
Dipper nods, a confident smile on his face. I continue walking away with my brother, looking back one last time. "Oh, and promise me something?"
"Ya?"
"Kick that triangles sorry ass for us. He deserves it." I smirk.
"Promise." Dipper says confidently.
I nod, turning away and thinking of my eldest brother, seeing a bright, smiling face I know I can now look upon with love and admiration. Our brother. Our Bill. Taking Lumi's hand in my own, we walk into the deep forest, hoping to see it all one last time.
Before we have to say goodbye.
"A 12-year-old boy had a panic attack.'Cause the father he loved left and never looked back.
No longer the hero he counted on. He told him he loved him and then he was gone.
He tried to look happy in front of his friends. But knew that he'd never feel normal again. He fought back the tears as they filled his eyes. And wanted him back just to tell him goodbye.
When the rain falls down. When it all turns around. When the light goes out. This can't be the end..."
Nadiline Cipher lets a single tear fall its way down her cheek as she sings the sad tune softly to the valley before her. The sun begins to rise over Gravity falls as she sits on the peak of it's west cliff. Beside her is her only brother, Lumis, his warm arm around his sister as she leans her head against his shoulder.
"-His dad was a good man that everyone liked. But nobody knew he was dying inside. He promised his family they'd be alright...and then with a long fall he left them behind.
When the rain falls down. When it all turns around. When the light goes out. Please tell me, is this the end?"
In front of them lays three small, square stones. Inscribed on them are the names of the two people they used to rely on the most, but instead, failed them in the end, just like everyone else.
'R.I.P Bill Everest Cipher, 1826-1862. Aged 36. A beloved father, with a heart larger than the sun.'
'R.I.P Adelaide Cipher, 1828-1858. Aged 30. A dedicated mother, who smiled all all who saw her.'
And finally, a much newer one, and definitely more confusing to anyone who comes to read it:
'R.I.P Bill Johnathan Cipher, 1850-2012. Aged 162. Or 24, however you look at it. He was a crazy weirdo. But our crazy weirdo.'
"The role of a father he never deserved, he abandoned his children and never returned. And over the years, though the pain was real…"
Nadine brushes away a salty tear, it joining the others on her soaked sleeve,
"they finally forgave him and started to heal…"
The two remaining Cipher children wince their eyes as a comforting summer warmth envelops their bodies, holding him tightly and shielding them from their cold pain. Lumis holds his sister closer, leaning his head on hers as a cool breeze whips through her dirty blonde hair. Taking a deep and soothing breath, he sings along with her.
"How close is the ending? Well, nobody knows. The future's a mystery and anything goes. Though love is confusing and life is hard, we fight to survive 'cause we've made it this far…it's all too astounding to comprehend. It's just the beginning this isn't the end. It's just the beginning this isn't the end."