Opening File: Spirits
There have been many myths and legends on our world, especially after the awakening of the Grimm and the many theories surrounding Aura, Semblance and Dust. But the most famous topics are the ones surrounding Spirits. You can guess what spirits are, given the number of ghost stories you must have heard growing up. Spirits as you call them have various manifestations, one theory of them being that some spirits retain human qualities of the dearly departed that have unfinished business, others could be born from pure thought and emotions from us, there are even some spirits that reproduce like humans do, then you get some spirits are close enough to be considered actual gods, then you get demons which is what you would call evil spirits that are very violent and blood thirsty.
Spirits are believed to be connected directly with Dust given its unique and mystical properties. The majority of them appear as animals, some even said to be purified Grimm that have existed alongside the living from the very beginning. It is said that some Hunters have learned a secret art of summoning these spirits to defend them if they are in danger however they cannot linger for long for they are susceptible to corruption by the Dark Substance the Grimm are made from. Though the mechanics of this secret are remain a mystery is rumored that it begins with a contract formed between Spirit and the one who summons them.
Close File
Xxx
"What is the exact definition of life? Is it being able to see, hear and touch people around you? Is it the fact you have a beating heart? Is it because you have been given the chance to grow and see the world you are born into?" TOM asked, closing the 'Spirit' file. "Who knows what exactly life is and what it's meant to be? Everyone's been asking that question since they learned to walk on their own two feet. I guess it all depends on what your definition of life is. So in way you might have answered these questions without ever asking them by doing what you've been doing since the day you were born: live."
Xxx
"You allowed our daughter to bring this strange child into our home and you intend to keep her?!"
Genki had to suppress the urge to sigh at her husband's question, especially since they were having company soon. Kani Sanban was after all a very busy man given that he was the Prime Minister of Japan with his wife being the head of Sanban Industries. Right now the girl was still asleep but Genki had called a very old friend to come and see her, given the nature of how she came here.
"Yes and for now I want her to remain here. She has no home or family to return to and until very recently she did not even exist in this world but she has a power that could bring harm to others if something wrong happens."
"So why not contact Sebben or Bellum and let them deal with her?" Kani said, stubbornly trying to change his wife's mind.
Even though he should know by now that is next to impossible.
"They will be informed after I've spoken with Sensei." Genki said just before a maid approached them. "Yes Sayoko?"
"Genki-san, you have a guest."
"Send him in."
The door opened and in walked the person Genki had called for. He wore a red robes with black lining, carrying a cane to help him walk but his most prominent feature was that he was a Mobian.
A rat Mobian.
Genki and Kani both bowed in respect. "Sensei Splinter."
"It is good to see you, Genki and Kani." The Sensei spoke wisely.
"You as well, Sensei." Genki replied back, smiling a bit. "Thank you for coming on short notice."
"It is of no trouble. You spoke of a girl your daughter found." Splinter said, sitting before them and accepting the tea offered to him.
"Yes. She was found buried alive near my daughter's favorite tree." Genki frowned. "I do not know exactly how she was brought here but I know she has been hunted…By the Fallen."
Kani stiffened and while the Sensei remained calm his gaze became serious. The Fallen were infamous in Japan to the few who knew of them, especially Sammael who was believed to be the one who nearly killed the Emperor and was responsible for the loss of the Emperor's sword that had been a symbol of inspiration during that time, making the reputation of Sammael and the Fallen all the more notorious to the select few who knew of them.
"She was buried by the demon Moloch and summoned to our world by followers of Sammael." Genki continued.
"Summoned to our world?" Splinter questioned.
"It's…Hard to explain, Sensei." Genki said, sighing a bit.
Splinter held out his hand to her and she placed her hand on it, activating her Semblance. Instantly Splinter's eyes flashed and he learned everything about the girl that Genki had learned earlier.
"This is…Troubling." Splinter said, retracting his hand.
"I believe it would be a mistake to send this girl away, especially with the shape her mind is in. Here she is as far from Sammael as she can possibly be." Genki stated.
"Yes, I agree." Splinter nodded in agreement. "She is a lost soul. We cannot let her wander back into the darkness."
"And what if Sammael comes looking for her?" Kani questioned. "His agents are everywhere."
"You plan to inform Sebben-san of this." Splinter said to Genki who nodded. "GrimmFall was built close to the Darklands along with Nevernest Academy to ensure an army would always be ready to guard against the Grimm emerging from that place much like how Yamanouchi was built at the base of Mt. Fujiashiyame to ensure the source of the Grimm was always guarded. A balance was created between us and the Grimm but the Fallen have always sought to tip that balance in their favor. This girl's powers, if others like her are summoned it would be catastrophic for the entire world."
"I believe Sammael wished to use her to infiltrate Nevernest and possibly even the other academies, including Yamanouchi. That is why he sent the demon Moloch after her. She fought well with others summoned here but almost died. She is lucky to have survived." Genki said, remembering what her Semblance had shown her. "A young child who has the power to shift between dead and life, becoming human or spirit. Before today I didn't believe anything like that was possible. And she's not the only one. Another was brought here, a man who uses this power for his own selfishness, the very kind of monster Sammael attracts.
I have no doubt he will eventually become a threat, especially if he forges an alliance with the Fallen."
Genki took a moment to take a deep breath, remembering the one the girl had once thought of as her father before he showed his true nature to her. Vlad Master, a shrewd man longing after a woman who had given her affections to another man who actually considered Vlad his best friend before Vlad had revealed himself as the monster named Vlad Plasmius, the one who created Danielle and was willing to melt her down to simply dissect her remains. The few thoughts she had seen was enough to make Genki furious and if she ever met this Vlad she would gladly strike him down. He was the kind of monster that deserved nothing less than a swift death, even if he was already half dead.
"If that is the case, it stands to reason that we will be in dire need of allies." Splinter rubbed at the lower end of his snout, analogous to a chin. "And as we cannot return this poor child to her home, it might be wise to see if she would feel inclined to assist us."
"In her condition? After what she's just endured?" Genki shook her head. "She won't be in any condition to help us, even if she was cognizant and willing when she wakes up."
"Yes, the trauma that she has endured is the sort that has shattered the will of many great warriors." Splinter admitted. "However, there is one means by which we can spare her the torment of her recent experiences."
"You mean-" Genki stopped and blinked. "You don't really suggest that we do that, do you?!"
Splinter raised one hand. "Genki-San, I know more than anyone the morality of tampering with one's memories, but the machinations of Moloch are rarely ever recovered from through conventional means. The efforts of Sebben and his associates has revealed only one guaranteed method of recovery: the complete and total suppression or removal of those memories."
"I…don't like it, but you may be right." Genki nodded. "But it isn't just Moloch that she's had a run-in with. Her entire short life has been centered around being betrayed and used. If we do this we might be no better."
"I am not proposing that we completely erase her recollection of her past." Splinter clarified. "Only her recent encounter with Moloch so that she may be spared a recollection of something that no child should have to go through. We could still tell her what she had gone through without going into details, but being told of a terrifying experience and actually experiencing it are two radically different things."
Genki sighed but nodded. "Very well. As much as I wish to oppose this method I could not allow myself to let her live with what she had been forced to endure."
Xxx
Kuki had been curious about the girl she had brought home and had gone to check on her when she noticed her parents and Splinter heading for the room. She hid herself around the corner, watching as they entered the room the girl was sleeping in. She slipped over to the door as it closed and peeked through, wondering what exactly they were going to do.
Danielle was still asleep as Splinter entered, followed by Genki and Kani. The Sensei placed his hand over Danielle's head, revealing a small jellyfish glowing pure white.
"This spirit is one of several that have been discovered with unique abilities. It is said that spirits are formed from animals that have bonded with Dust in some form of manner, granting them great power." Splinter said as the jellyfish hovered over Danielle. "This spirit has the power to remove memories and has been used in cases such as this young girl."
Curiously a small wisp of cold air emerged from Danielle's nose, sending a chill through the room and causing her to shiver in her sleep.
"She senses the spirit." Genki clarified, knowing the basic of Danielle's ghost powers thank to her Semblance.
"Intriguing." Splinter admitted.
The jellyfish placed its tentacles directly over Danielle's forehead and temples. A white pulse spread from the tentacles, washing over Danielle who let out a cry of discomfort but remained unconscious as a red substance was extracted from her temples, traveling down the tentacles and into the jellyfish.
"The memories are being extracted now." Splinter said, watching carefully.
Danielle struggled a bit; her body emitting a green glowed.
"What is happening?" Kani questioned.
"Her powers are reacting to the extraction." Splinter answered as Danielle contorted, her ghost form glowing green.
"She's instinctively fighting even when she's unconscious." Genki muttered, slightly surprised by what she was seeing.
Perhaps living a short life of betrayal and deceit had made the young hybrid paranoid, even in her sleep. The energy build up from her had forced the jellyfish back as she cried out, her eyes blinking open as she looked around frantically, seeing she was surrounded.
"Danielle-" Genki started but was cut off as Dani let out a scream.
A green glow emanated from her form, radiating outwards as a white ring appeared around her mid-section and split into two that spread down her body, morphing her human form into her ghost form. The jellyfish began to quiver and attempt to pull back.
"She's repelling it!" Genki called out over Danielle's screams. "We need to neutralize this or the procedure will fail!"
"I suspect that your normal precautionary measures will not account for this power." Splinter said before a tendril of green energy lashed out from Danielle and almost struck the Mobian, who swiftly ducked and then performed a handless flip to avoid a second strike from the ectoplasmic limb.
"Call it off!" Kani shouted.
"If we do that now it could cause even worse damage!" Genki replied. "Get me one of the sedatives and put it in a reinforced capsule!"
It would be their best hope of delivering the sedative to Danielle without it being destroyed by the protective aura…and even then there was no guarantee that the sedative would work on her.
Meanwhile, Kuki felt a sudden pressure around her head and winced, placing a hand up to her temple. The best way to describe what she was feeling was like she was experiencing phantom pain from a limb she'd never had, like information was passing up lines of muscles and nerves that weren't physically part of her body, coming right from…Danielle.
Kuki opened her eyes, seeing a pulsing strand of red linking her and Danielle as the girl continued to scream and lash out. Slowly raising one hand, Kuki grasped the red strand with one hand. Her aura flared and poured down the length of the thread, spilling into Danielle. Almost immediately the ectoplasmic aura began to recede into the girl, whose screams faded as her body relaxed.
"She's…stopped." Genki raised one brow, standing up from where she had been forced to take cover to avoid another ectoplasmic lash.
Splinter glanced out of the corner of his eye to where Kuki was hidden. "Indeed." He nodded. "Fortune seems to be with us this day."
Danielle shifted back into her human form, remaining still as the jellyfish spirit continued its work. The girl fell back onto the bed, returning to her previous sleeping state. A moment later the jellyfish seemed to have finished its work as it floated away from Danielle and back into Splinter's hand.
"Is it done?" Kani asked, standing up.
Splinter nodded as the jellyfish vanished. "The spirit removed any memory connected to her encounter with Moloch. From this point forward she will need rest and time to heal both physically and mentally from what has happened."
Genki sighed as she brought the covers back over Danielle. "At the very least the worst is now over. She must have burned herself out."
"Yes." Splinter nodded in agreement. "I have seen such reactions before. Her fear and trauma had caused her to lash out, using her powers to try and protect herself. Now that is has been removed she can have the chance to recover."
"Thank you for your help, Sensei." Genki said gratefully as she bowed again. "I will take over from here and watch over the girl. We will also send word of Sammael's scheme to Sebben and hopefully stop him before more souls are abducted."
Splinter nodded. "And thank you for offering to protect this young soul. Perhaps she will now be allowed to find some sense of peace no matter the circumstances of her being here."
Kuki saw Splinter coming to the door and ducked away, sneaking quickly down the hall before he left the room with her parents. Splinter spared a quick glance in Kuki's direction before taking his leave, confident that Danielle was in good hands. Once they were gone Kuki took the chance to sneak back into Danielle's room, watching as the girl slept, now free of the trauma inflicted on her.
'Perhaps when she wakes up she can show me what it's like to be a spirit.' Kuki thought before closing the door.
Xxx
"Alright. This is gonna be called Glove Story: A Sock Opera. Just to warn you, people's eyes will get wet. Cause they'll be crying." Mabel announced to her gathered friends in the living room of the Mystery Shack. "From laughter! From how tragic it is."
Dipper had a bit of trouble trying to rip sock puppets that were glued to his face. "Yeah, um. That's sounds great." He coughed up some pom-poms.
"Come on, Dipper, you gotta roll with Mabel's craziness. It's what makes life worth living." Wendy said, seemingly on board with the whole puppet-show idea. "How are you doing, Nyx?"
"Pretty good." Nyx said, making a puppet resembling a parrot. "What about you, Hoagie?"
"Ow!" Hoagie winced as the needle he was using sew eyes into his sock puppet cut his thumb. "Kind of having a bit of trouble here."
Planes and stuff related to science he could handle.
Making hand craft puppets from house hold items?
Not so much.
"Puppet boy, Puppet boy, you're the boy I-" Mabel sang.
"Loooooovvvvveeee!" Everyone sang with Waddles squealing along.
Stan Pines had started to walk in, seeing the puppets and everyone singing. "Not even gonna ask."
Xxx
Later that day Mabel putting puppets around her bed. "Goodnight, my babies." She took a Gabe puppet and made it kiss the Mabel puppet. "Mwop mwop mwop mwop. Mwah! Soon, Gabe Benson-"
In the meantime Dipper tried another password and computer beeped, signaling it was the wrong password.
Agan.
"Ugh, wrong password, WRONG, WRONG! UGH!" Dipper collapsed in exhaustion.
"Don't stay up all night, Dipper. Last time you got this sleep-deprived you tried to eat your own shirt." Mabel pointed out to Dipper as he started sucking on shirt which he then spat out.
"Pleh. Just a few more tries."
Xxx
Seeking some privacy Dipper climbed onto the roof, typing and making the computer beep.
"Ugh, I can't take that sound anymore." He complained, pounding on computer. "I. Hate. You. Sound." Dipper yawned, unable to stave off sleep for much longer. "There has to be some shortcut or clue. Who would know about secret codes?"
The wind started to blow, making Dipper look up and he gasped when he saw something. An eye creeping around the moon, and bricks formed around it to reveal a golden triangle wearing a top hat and bow tie with black arms and legs extending out. As the triangle appeared all color seemingly vanished from the world.
"I think I know a guy." The triangle said, floating down to Dipper.
"Ah! Who are you?!" Dipper shouted, clutching the computer to his chest.
"Relax, kid. Don't get a heart attack. You've got at least another eighty years before that." The triangle said. "Well, well, well. You're awfully persistent, Pine Tree. Hats off to you!"
He took his hat off, tilting the world sideways causing Dipper to start falling off the roof. "AA! AAA! AAA! AAAAAAA!"
The triangle put his hat back on and world returned to normal, watching as Dipper fell back onto the roof.
Dipper grunted, looking back up at the triangle. "Who are you?"
"Name's Bill, but you can just call me Bill. I got to admit, you've been setting off red lights all over the place. I've been looking forward to meeting with you." The triangle explained. "You sure managed to catch a lot of attention and stay alive considering the kind of things you've seen."
"What do you mean by that?" Dipper questioned.
"Oh, I know lots of things." Bill's voice turned deeper as his form showed many images as if he was a TV with the channels constantly changing. "LOTS OF THINGS… You got a laptop that you think will answer all those questions you've got about Gravity Falls. Not a bad plan."
"How do you know?" Dipper asked.
"I've been keeping an," He suddenly became bigger and his voice became lower again. "EYE ON YOU," He then returned to normal size and voice. "And I must say I'm impressed!"
"Really?" Dipper asked.
"You deserve a prize! Here, have a head that's always screaming!" Bill clapped and a screaming head appeared.
"Aah! Aah! Aah!..."
Dipper jumped back. "Ah! You're crazy!"
"Sure I am crazy. What's your point?" Bill snapped his fingers and the head disappeared layer by layer, showing the nerves under the skin, then the skull and then it evaporated. "Hahaha... The point is, I like you. How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small," His voice went low and his hand and eye light on fire. "FAVOR," His voice returned to normal. "- in return."
"What kind of favor?" Dipper stared suspiciously.
"All I want is a puppet!"
Dipper was now confused. "A puppet? What are you playing at?"
"Everyone loves puppets. And it looks to me that you've got a surplus."
"Look, Mr. Bill, I appreciate the offer but I'll do this by myself." Dipper said, not trusting the strange…thing that suddenly showed up out of nowhere and offered help to him.
"Well if you ever change your mind," Bill reached down on Dipper's head and pulled up an image of Dipper's brain. "I'll be here for you, ready to make a deeaaall." Three slots appeared spinning on his chest and stopped at a pine tree symbol. "Hey, wanna hear my impression of you in about three seconds?"
Bill started waving his wands, screaming hysterically. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Xxx
Dipper then woke up, screaming hysterically and waving his hands. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He looked around, seeing he was awake and still on the roof.
"That was real, right?"
Xxx
"I'll drag you down into the depths of the Earth itself. You'll still live but you'll feel like dying every second. Unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to escape the eternal torment! Live the rest of your lives rotting in the ground, never to be found again."
Superboy's eyes shot open and he leapt to his feet, looking around wildly and spotted Artemis on a futon next to him. "Artemis?"
He heard movement behind him and spun, launching a punch at someone who quickly dodged and jumped back. It was a young man, dressed in orange robes. He was quickly surrounded by more of them, holding swords and were ready to fight.
"Who are you?! Where the hell are we?!" Superboy shouted.
"In our monastery." Someone spoke in English but their accent sounded Chinese based on what knowledge that had been implanted in Superboy's mind.
Connor watched as a man stepped forward through the crowd, stopping a few feet away and bowed. He was a tall, muscular, but good-looking man with a bald head; his eyes were always closed with a rectangle-shaped face.
"Who are you?" Connor asked, not lowering his guard.
"I am Monk Guan and the Grandmaster wishes to speak with you and your friend." The man said, gesturing for the rest of the robed men to lower their weapons. "You survived a horrible ordeal at the hands of the Fallen Moloch. That is no small feat but you have a long journey ahead before you have the chance to return home."