The light hurt Wirt's eyes even as the scent around him was familiar; dirt and summer. His whole body was wracked with pain, a familiar feeling when it came to travel.
"You're not quite awake yet, Wirt." A woman's voice, soft and caring sounded from somewhere above him but Wirt had a hard time opening his eyes.
"Mmgh. Who's there?" He tried cracking them open, only for them to fly open as he saw a blue haired woman in a blue and gold dress wearing a golden crown. "Are you…The Cloud Woman?"
She smiled gently and nodded. "Queen of the Clouds, to be precise. It's nice to formally meet you, Wirt, The Siren of the Shadows. I apologize for the late visit. It is difficult to do when The Beast is too near for any privacy."
Wirt tried moving his body, it still hard to do. He didn't know if that was because he was dreaming or if the travel was that rough when using such a lantern. "Wish I could say the same. Did you hear me?"
"Yes, but I do not hold that against you. Anything to do with The Beast should be thought as suspicious. Though, I suppose that means you have a right to understand the deal I made with The Beast all those years ago. But first, let me show you what you almost destroyed." She spoke, revealing a small flame in her palm, it dancing about lively and vibrant orange. "It's all I could save at the time."
Wirt's eyes were wide now, charcoal burning in the light but couldn't turn away from whose soul that was. "I thought…I thought it was snuffed out." He whispered. The breath he let out shook his being with relief.
"I acquired this and in turn The Beast wanted your mother's body preserved. I do not know why. But, Wirt, I have another reason to visit you. You see, if I did not lure Gregory from The Unknown, you would have stayed in that feral state. It's time to grow up, Wirt." She held the small flame close to her. "Neither of you could grow with both your souls split up. In turn, more souls than it was necessary perished, all because of you both. I need you to return Gregory's soul to him properly and do something for me."
Wirt's brow was furrowed. "What?"
"There can only be ONE Beast-like being in The Unknown. This is all between you and your father and you both have caused plenty of damage along with it. Help me return balance." She gave him a sad look, one full of pity for him. "Do what is right for Gregory, even if it will hurt you." She extended her hands to him, Greg's fragile but bright and warm flame in front of his face.
His gaze went to her, still confused as to what she wanted him to do. "How do I return balance?"
Her hands were warm as she made his hands mirror her own before placing Greg's soul in his palms. "I am truly sorry." She had the same look of pity. "I do not believe there is a way to change your fate."
When he awoke, Greg's soul was bright and hot in his little lantern, the glass beginning to crack and the wood splintering more under the weight.
'I'm really starting to hate that woman.' Dipper had thought as he tried keeping Greg and the (stupid) lantern from The Beast and-wouldn't it be ironic-Wirt's mom.
He'd broken free before Greg walked too close and pulled the preteen back only for a bullet to graze his cheek. Both obviously shocked, had looked for the source, as The Beast didn't have a gun, only for Dipper to see Wirt's mom with a rifle, up and pointed, her body an unhealthy color as she side walked-more like limped-next to The Beast's side from the tree line. "I could get you all arrested for kidnapping." Her voice was slow and slurred, like she was having a hard time controlling her mouth.
Even with his mom there, Greg hadn't went to her, despite her telling him to. "How is she here?" His voice cracked. He grasped Dipper's arm tightly, shaking. "Dipper…"
Dipper rose a brow, still trying to conserve his strength so he stayed still, on guard. "It's okay."
Mildred's arms gave out, as if the rifle weighed a hundred pounds, her hands almost letting go of the rifle as she let out a gasp of shock at it. "Ya said She took care of my body!" She pointed a glare at Beau.
The Beast looked to her and smiled as he lifted it back up. "She did. But remember, Mildred, dead meat breaks down as it warms."
Scoffing, Mildred tried taking aim again, pointing it at Dipper, her eyes cold. "You owe me a fresh body then, you bastard. And why are we hesitating?!" She yelled, then gave Dipper a scathing look. "Give me my son or I shoot you."
'Why me?!' Dipper thought, but he refused to let Greg go, not only because Greg was the one latched to him but because Greg needed him. "Try it!" He tried pushing Greg further behind him, seeing his sister and Paz get closer from the corner of his eyes.
The Beast chuckled, it low and hollow. "I see." The Beast went after him but was cut off by a jump punch to the head, curtesy of the one and only Mabel Pines, the runes on her gloves alight in the same gold hue as her eyes. The moment she punched, she did a left hook before her body landed and she skidded back, successfully making it where The Beast stepped away from her brother, the gold crackling along his antlers.
He growled. Even if it was unintentional, a human utilizing their soul like a power source was a huge disadvantage and a pain. The last person he knew to do such before their death was The Woodsman. It was why he wasn't turned to Edelwood yet.
"Rot in Hell!" She yelled, her body returning to normal and momentarily feeling heavy when just a moment ago she felt lighter than air. "Ugh. Dizzy."
Dipper glared at Mildred with ire when she took another shot, missing his head but his favorite hat now had a bullet hole. "You obviously can't shoot, so stop it!"
"Come on, Dipper, while we have a chance." Paz was soon next to him, trying to help him, her gun in one hand and the other gripping his bicep. He nodded and saw the Grunkles.
"Listen, we need to finish that barrier fast. If we want any chance to beat it, we have to trap it." Grunkle Ford spoke, limping over slowly as he helped Grunkle Stan.
"What else do we need?" Grunkle Stan asked.
"Everything, unfortunately. How, though, when we have the thing eyeing us?" Grunkle Ford asked, stepping on a branch that tried getting close to the family.
They all looked to each other but Greg looked down, getting an idea. "I'll distract him. He'll follow me as long as I have his lantern which will give you guys time to spread out. Mabel, can I borrow Waddles?"
"Huh?!" Mabel asked, baffled. "Why?"
"So I can ride him around, duh!" Greg rolled his eyes.
The Pines family looked between each other worriedly, but knew they didn't have time. The Beast would be done waiting for them to decide what they were going to attempt as only Greg could decipher his body language as "playing cat and mouse".
"You have me too! I'm tired of hiding." Beatrice spoke from on The Shack roof, flying down to the top of Greg's head.
"Ah, so nice of you to join us, Beatrice." Dipper drawled sarcastically. He forgot she was even around, though it'd be understandable why.
"Yes it is!" Greg grinned, an idea coming to as he pet Waddles.
There was a big difference between a plan and a GOOD plan, The Pines family had found out pretty quickly. No wonder Wirt had usually stopped his brother.
Lucky for them, while Greg was boarding Waddles, the trees and branches of the forest surrounding them groaned and swayed with the wind deciding to pick up at an alarming rate, catching The Beast's attention while Mildred had been tying her bandages tighter, not concerned with the Pines family at all since The Beast had her stop for the time being.
"AH, MOM! BEAU! LOOK OUT, THERE'S A GORILLA!" Greg had screamed, flailing the lantern and Waddles squealed, running between and around them as quick as he could to distract them while The Pines family snuck into the woods and spread out, taking separate paths to gather what they needed, though they knew Greg couldn't distract him for long. Luckily, they left the boy with a knife, just for some sort of protection.
Dipper had argued to stay at with at first, but Mabel had argued back that he was the fastest at foraging in the woods since he explored them so frequently. Putting up the barrier was crucial to trapping the monster that had tormented them. That, and Pacifica had pointed out that The Beast wouldn't kill Greg while Mildred was there, nonetheless wherever Wirt may have been.
Reluctantly, he conceded.
"ENOUGH, GREGORY." The Beast snarled, a branch leaving the earth to trip Waddles and make both him and Greg fly into the air briefly before they toppled, Waddles landing on Greg, the boy letting out a pained wheeze as the swine struggled.
"Hold on, Waddles!" He groaned, his body in unbearable pain and face turning red.
"Greg!" Beatrice yelled, trying to fly in front of Waddles' face to make the pig get up. "Come on, stupid pig! Get up, you're crushing him!"
"No more games. Where did they go, Gregory?" The Beast's voice was low in a way that spoke of his impatience. He approached Greg, kicking Waddles off the child before grabbing his lantern as Greg gathered his breath.
"No…don't." He groaned, reaching for it only to grab The Beast's ankle under the shadows.
Mildred began to get close to Greg, relieved. "You have your stupid little flashlight now, Beau, so let's go. Come on, Greggy, we have stuff to do and mommy needs your help." She still spoke to him like he was a toddler.
"No, I don't…want to go with…I'm waiting for Wirt." Greg argued, one arm trying to lift himself with Waddles sniffling at it to try and help while the other still held The Beast's leg.
Mildred rolled her eyes, bending down cautiously to make Greg let go and to help him up as she shooed away Waddles. "Don't be ridiculous, sweetie. He's forgotten all about you, so why are you waiting? Awe, don't look like that, I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just telling the truth." She cooed, running a hand through his hair, trying to make it nice.
Greg's face went from red because of lack of air, to an even redder in anger. He did something he rarely-if ever- did. He glared at his mom and stood, stomping his feet and hands in fists waving through the air. "NO HE DIDN'T! I WILL NOT GO WITH YOU! NO! NO! NO! I REFUSE! I WANT WIRT! I WILL WAIT FOR HIM! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! WHY DIDN'T YOU STAY DEAD?!" He screamed, tears pooling in his eyes and eventually gasping for air.
"Greg!" Mildred gasped. "How could you say that?! Beau, do you see this? This is all your damned child's fault! He turned my baby against me!" She waved a hand around.
If it could be seen, Beau raised a brow. "Did he now?" He found it amusing, but he really wanted to hunt that Pines family. "We'll deal with the tantrum later, Mildred."
"Pfft." They heard a laugh. "Wow, I have never seen you throw a fit. I'm glad you could."
Greg's eyes widened and the tears fell before he could stop them. "WIRT!" He yelled, running as best he could towards his brother who was walking through the thicket. "I KNEW YOU'D COME BACK!"
Wirt smiled, arms stretched out for his most precious person. "Yes, brother-o-mine, of course." He hugged Greg tightly when the younger reached him, surprised when Greg pulled away slightly after only a second and pulled his head down to cover Wirt's head, forehead and his nose in his own kisses. He held tighter, feeling his heart squeeze in his chest. Greg had never given him kisses before.
"It took me too long to load this thing." Mildred mumbled, having reloaded the rifle and struggled to lift it again. She glared to Wirt.
"You've had your moment, now, HOW are you here, Wirtham?" Beau asked, knowing he couldn't just sneak away to hunt the Pines family with his son right there. Well, he COULD, but then his son would get in the way and warn the family. Help them, even.
When Wirt pulled away, he saw the cuts and bruising on Greg he hadn't noticed before in his excitement at seeing his little brother having thrown his first fit. His eyes turned iridescent and the black along his arms spread, smoke coming out in a puff. He sent seething glare to his father. "Father, why is my brother injured?" He stood, looking right at The Beast. "Who else have you harmed of MINE while I wasn't myself?" His voice held a second tone, making it sound rough to the ear, not quite unholy like that one time before, but very close.
The Beast grinned.
Mildred cocked the rifle.
The Pines family all gathered around the open area of the barrier, revealing what they gathered.
"We have a problem. I couldn't track any unicorns." Dipper panted, having ran as much of the whole area as he could, only stopping when his body would give out.
"Unicorn hair? I…I might actually have some. We were too busy for me to remember before." Mabel was catching her breath too.
"Where?" Grunkle Ford asked, using a knife to cut the runes into some of the items.
"I'm back with the waterfall water." Paz said, having to use a discarded bottle someone littered to hold it in.
"That's great, but, Mabel, Unicorn hair?" Dipper asked, in a hurry since he wasn't sure where The Beast was or if he was close.
"I have a handful in my scrapbook back in mine and Paz's room…oh." Mabel bit her lip, realizing her mistake.
Dipper pinched his nose, letting out a breath. "We have no choice, we need it. Grunkle Ford and Stan, stay here and work on the rest of it. We'll head back and grab the Unicorn hair. Sound good?" He looked to them.
"Sounds good to me, I'm beat." Grunkle Stan huffed.
Grunkle Ford rolled his eyes. "Just because we're staying put doesn't mean this is relaxing, Stanley. Go ahead, kids, we got this settled." Ford smiled at them, shooing them away.
"Then what are we-" Paz was cut off by a loud booming sound and the thundering crack of a few trees falling far off from their current spot.
The group stayed silent a moment before it was broken by Mabel. "I hope that wasn't The Shack." Mabel let out nervously.
"I guess we'll have to see." Dipper resituated his hat and took a deep breath.
"I'll stay with the old guys. Might need a guard while they work." Paz said suddenly, a finger to her chin in thought.
The twins looked to each other and nodded, hugging the Grunkles and Mabel kissing Paz before they made sure they were as ready as ever to set out.
"Mystery Twins?" Dipper asked, a smirk on his face as he held out his fist.
Mabel laughed lightly, extending her own fist to mirror her brother's. "Mystery Twins."
They set out into the thickening fog, hoping that Greg and Waddles were unharmed.