July 14th

Avas got a new guardian today. It's been thousands of years or something since Valor's death. And the new guardian is Ghost! We all got up super early this morning and went with Flora to the mountain that this world's tether tree is on. As the sun began to peak over the horizon, Ghost took his place as the new official guardian.

The guardian is connected to the tether by magical means. They exchange and share power with the tree, keeping it alive and thriving while receiving knowledge and power in return. Apparently, the trees need a guardian to help balance out their magic. Otherwise, the world collapses on its own energy. So, the guardian has to be powerful enough to handle all of that energy before connecting to the tether. They also have to have good leadership qualities, since they're in charge of an entire dimension and all. Which makes me wonder… How come humans don't know anything about Valor or the tree?

Well, there are a few fictional stories that mention similar things. A tree of life or something along those lines. Maybe ancient humans knew a little about it? Of course, all of those stories end up with negative endings due to humans' greed, so maybe it's best that humans don't know.

Anyways, since Gaia and Ouroboros no longer have to hold together more than a single world each, they were able to come visit briefly to welcome Ghost into his new position. It was the first time I saw Ouroboros in person. He almost looks like those depictions of the Mesoamerican Quetzalcoatl creature. They must be based on him.

Ghost and Crusade were having trouble getting a Sky Amaranth due to a crazy ice storm surrounding the Great Cliffs. So Mabel and I called Dawnbringer the phoenix. Mabel literally yelled at the sky for her and she just exploded into existence. Dawnbringer is so…intense.

It turns out the cause of the storm was the distressed spirit Aquarius. He's the sibling of Telmak and Starpelt and he makes clouds, rain, and storms. He looks like a titanic whale with a serpent body and lots of flippers. Wait…I just realized something about his name…

So, he was being attacked by this big shadow that kind of looked like a really ugly squid. But even though the blizzard froze dragon wings, Dawnbringer's flames kept her, and us, safe. Bill came too, though he didn't actually want to, and the blizzard didn't bother him too much in his dragon form. Dawn said it's because he has a thick carapace in place of scales. (I think she was also calling him thick-skulled)

Bill sure did a number on that shadow. He really hates those things.

After freeing Aquarius and destroying the shadow, the blizzard stopped and Dawnbringer defrosted the Amaranths. That makes six out of ten. Only four more to go.

…

As of late, Bill had been finding himself longing more and more to be close to Amy. Close, as in physically, and closer than usual too. This longing seemed to grow stronger with every day that passed as each day was more excruciating than the last. It was almost painful, but only because he would not allow himself to succumb to the desire. Though pretty often he would alleviate the longing by finding some way to get her to initiate interactions, for it was just not enough to be near her.

What he wanted from her was physical interaction, but he would not say so to her nor would he be the one to start it. The surest way he found that would get him some kind of physical interaction from her was when he got hurt. Though her tending to any 'accidental' wounds he inflicted upon himself was not nearly enough to satisfy him. Either way, he wanted more. He wanted to touch her. To hold her. But he could never get himself to do so. Today was, unfortunately, no exception to that.

He had spent the whole morning on his feet, following Amy around but stopping and standing awkwardly several feet away every time she stopped to do something. He had hardly spoken much either. A few times throughout the morning, Amy would look up from what she was doing or glance over at him curiously. She had asked him the first time what he was doing but only received a shrug and "Just watching" as a response. Though it was a bit peculiar, it was not rare for him to do some strange inexplicable thing. So, she paid little mind to it and continued with her morning chores. Still, she was a bit curious.

Later in the morning, Bill stopped at the beginning of the first-floor hall and watched Amy walk to the door at the other end, open it, and toss a piece of raw meat down to the basement before closing and locking the door back. She muttered something to herself as a snarling echoed from below on the other side of the door, then she turned and brushed past Bill, stopping momentarily to look at something in the fish tank wall.

During the brief moment that she had stopped, he reactively moved his hand and reached to touch her back, but he stopped and withdrew his hand. "I can't," he muttered as she walked away.

"Can't what?"

He jumped and turned to look at Mabel standing beside him. "What the -? None of your business!"

"What?" She tilted her head to the side. "Well, you're just standing in the middle of the hall entrance muttering to yourself."

"Exactly," he said. "To myself."

"You were talking about Amy, right?"

He winced.

"You were, weren't you?" Mabel grinned. "What about her? I saw you reaching out towards her – ah!"

"Shut it!"

She felt him grab her arms and, before she knew it, she was in her room. "You were!"

He clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the doorknob. He settled after a few seconds and just stood there staring down at the doorknob in his hand as if debating if he wanted to open the door or not. After a long minute, he sighed and released it, but he did not turn away from it to look at her.

"So what if I was?" he muttered.

"Well," Mabel said, "what's the problem?"

"Problem?"

"You said you 'can't'. Can't what?"

He inhaled slowly, carefully thinking over his words. "I…" Was he really about to explain himself to her? "I keep having these…thoughts. Desires…" He spoke slowly.

"For Amy?"

He tensed. "Yes… For Amy. I want her attention. No… More than that. I want to give her attention. Touch her. Hold her…" He felt ridiculous admitting these things out loud. "I just want…her."

"Because you love her," Mabel told him very matter-of-factly.

He quickly turned to stare at her, shocked.

She grinned. "Heh. Or at least, you really like her." She shrugged. "So, why don't you?"

"I…can't."

"But why? Why can't you? Why don't you just admit to her how you feel?"

"Because I'm afraid!" he snapped, wincing at his own words.

"You? Afraid?"

"Don't mock me, girl," he growled.

"I'm not. But really? What are you afraid for? I'm pretty sure she likes you too, so I don't think you need to be afraid of being rejected. No. I know she likes you. Why else would she put up with all your psycho craziness?"

He stared at her then turned away. "…That's not really the problem."

"Then what is? Wait!" She suddenly realized it. "You're afraid she's going to betray you or something, aren't you? Like that friend you had a long time ago that turned against you to save himself!"

He turned back to her, looking both surprised and angry. "How the hell do you know that!?"

"Oops… Um. We kiiiind of read about it in the Enchiridion a while back. Sorry…"

"You – Ugh!" He rolled his eye. "Yes! That is why! That, and everything I had to deal with before that, and everything I've had to deal with Ragnarok is exactly why!"

"But Amy wouldn't do something like that! She's too nice!"

"That friend I had was nice too," he said. "Then he tried to kill me!"

"Amy wouldn't do that."

"How do you know that?!"

"Bill! Amy doesn't even kill bugs if she can help it! She complained about it for like twenty minutes after Dipper killed a spider yesterday! She's too nice. Feisty, but nice. And she likes you! I know you can't really see any future stuff when it comes to her for some reason, but she's not going to betray or hurt you. In fact, the other night, great uncle Ford asked her something similar and she was totally disgusted by the idea."

He knew that. He had actually overheard it when it had happened. "I…"

"I know it must be really hard. And I know that I have no idea what that feels like, but I do understand. Okay? But even you should know that Amy wouldn't do something like that to you, or anyone for that matter!"

He remained silent.

"Just tell her. Or, if you don't want to admit that you like her yet, then at least tell her about that fear. Something! I mean, come on. Do you really think she would betray you like that when she's already put herself in danger for you? Remember how she protected you when Icarus showed up? At least consider it more now."

"I'll…consider it."

"Good," she said with a nod.

Dipper opened the door and stopped to stare blankly at them. "Uh, what are you guys doing?"

"Nothing," Bill snapped as he pushed him aside to leave. "I was just leaving."

"Ouch! Sheesh!" He turned to his sister after Bill had left. "What was that about?"

"Aw, Bill's just having trouble processing feelings."

"Um, what?"

"You know, for Amy."

"Oh. …Wait, he actually came to you for that?"

"Eh, more or less."

The next day, Flora had convinced them all to go with her to the lake in Telmak that surrounded the tether tree. Even Dionysus had agreed to go, but only after being promised that he would not be required to speak to Gaia.

"This is a really big lake," Dipper mused aloud as he stood at the water's edge. "The water is a nice shade of light blue. It even shimmers and sparkles, all the time!"

"It must be magic-related." Ford took out a small vial and scooped up some of the water. It sparkled in the container as he examined it.

"Duh," Bill said a few feet away. "It comes from the tree."

"From the tree?"

"The tree is made of magic. It obviously doesn't need water for itself. It makes it for everything else." He said it all as if it should have been a well-known fact to them.

"Where's Gaia?" Mabel asked. Despite the lake's gargantuan size, they could still easily make out the throne carved into the massive tree where Gaia usually sat.

"Who cares?" Dionysus muttered bitterly.

"Now that she's free," Amy said, "she's probably taking care of all kinds of things in Telmak. It's a whole world after all."

"Uh, guys." Dipper stepped back from the water. "What's that?"

A large dark mass was moving under the water, a tail trailing behind it like a snake. It was zigzagging its way closer and closer. "Should we be worried?" Ford glanced at Bill who shrugged.

Suddenly the mass vanished, having gone deeper underwater. They watched the water in silence for a long tense moment before a big splash of water assaulted them as a dragon burst from the lake. "Surprise! It's me!" Crusade shouted.

Dipper and Mabel screamed, both in surprise at the sudden appearance and also at the torrent coming down on them. Amy had created a barrier in time that stopped the water from getting on herself. The others, on the other hand, were soaked, Bill looking greatly displeased.

"Whoops!" Crusade laughed. "At least the water's not cold, right?"

"Crusade," Amy released her barrier. "You're supposed to be Ghost's beta. What are you doing playing around here?"

"Don't be such a buzzkill!" He plopped his head onto the grass. "Everyone needs a break every now and again."

"I know," she smiled. "That's why we're here."

"Nice!" His head shot up and he smiled widely. "Any of you losers up for a swim?"

"I can't swim," Teeth frowned.

Crusade looked shocked. "But it's so easy! Anyway, the water at the edge is pretty shallow. I'm just laying down. Don't worry! You'll be the only monster in here."

"Other than you," Amy added.

Crusade directed his attention at her. "Are you swimming, too? You must look nice in swimwear!" He yelped and quickly jumped back into deeper water as she went to storm over. The dragon's head popped up a few yards away. "It was just a compliment!"

The rest of the afternoon was peaceful; Mabel played in the water with her brother and Crusade. Now, the dragon was acting as a slide, lifting them from the water with his head and allowing them to slide down his back and jump off his tail. Teeth had eventually made his way into water where he could barely reach the bottom and steadily kicked his paws around while they cheered him on. Dionysus had transformed into a red dolphin and was doing leaps over him. Meanwhile, Ford was taking the opportunity to document information about the area and a strange blackish-blue butterfly that had landed near him, and Flora and Stan rested peacefully on the soft grass a bit further away.

Bill followed Amy as she walked along the water's edge. They were pretty far from the others now and the eye of Starpelt was beginning to close.

"Look at that." She stopped suddenly.

He followed her gaze to a set of black stones lined in a big circle. They stepped into the circle to examine the stones. There were carvings along the faces of the stones, all in the dragon language.

"Must be a gate," Bill said. "One made by someone other than Gaia or her siblings."

"I wonder where it goes?" Amy crouched down and trailed her fingers along the carvings. "Maybe I can open it?" She moved to stand in the center of the circle and took a deep breath. Her green eyes flashed and the text along the stones started to glow as a white light engulfed the circle. When she blinked, they were standing in a dark cavern. She could still make out Bill standing beside her.

"What did you do?" He looked around.

"I…don't really know. Look, lights." Not far off, they could make out the shape of a tunnel where a multi-hued light wavered and shone softly. "Looks like a reflection from water." She moved towards the tunnel.

After turning the corner down the short tunnel, they entered a large chamber where a rim of stony ground about four feet wide circled a large pool of clear water. At the bottom of the pool were many clusters of light blue crystals that caused the water's reflection to dance along the walls and ceiling of the chamber. From where they stood, a few stone pillars with flat tops formed a walkway towards a larger one in the center of the pool. Directly above and hanging from the ceiling was a massive cluster of clear crystals. Unlike the crystals under the water, this cluster was not glowing.

"This place is so serene," Amy said as she walked across the walkway towards the center of the pool.

Bill met her at the center and glanced around. "There's an aura here that seems familiar…"

Amy scanned the walls. "The water's blue-green reflection sort of looks like the aurora borealis.

Bill laughed a bit. "Have you even seen the aurora borealis?"

"Not in person, but I know what it looks like."

"You'd like it there, at the North Pole. Since you like snow and all that annoying ice stuff."

She chuckled and turned to face him. "Probably."

He stared at her for a long time, watching the blue-green caustics dancing on her. "Amy," he said after a while.

"Hm?"

"…Are you going to hurt me?"

"What?" She tilted her head, confused. "What do you -?" A realization struck her and she suddenly remembered several things at once. "Oh Bill." She stepped closer to him and pressed herself against him as she wrapped her arms firmly around his waist. "Of course not. I will never hurt you."

He instinctively hugged her back, tightening his grip a little as she spoke. He huffed, almost like a little laugh, and buried his face into her shoulder. "…I don't want to let go," his voice cracked just a little.

"Mm. Neither do I," she said quietly.

She could feel his heartbeat against her own and his shaky breath. They stood there and held each other in silence for a long time, even after his breathing had settled. It wasn't until several minutes later when a mysterious voice caught their attention that they released each other.

"What is this?" the voice echoed from above. "A king and queen in my lair? No… You two are not together. At least, not like that…"

They both looked up. Coiling around the massive cluster of crystals hanging from the ceiling was a deep blue, nearly black, dragoness. Her bright blue eyes twinkled mischievously and she cocked her head.

"This is your home?" Amy asked.

"Indeed." The dragon twisted her snake-like body upside-down then turned her head upright. Her broad wings stood out from her thin serpentine body. "You know, this is the first time we've met in person. Of course, we've never met before." She swung her head down, hanging by her feet and tail. "Have you ever looked at the world from this angle?"

"Upside-down?" Bill gave her an odd look.

"It's quite an interesting scene…when the sky is the ground and the ocean is the sky. And when it rains…"

"Great," Bill rolled his eye. He did not appreciate the presence of another person here. "How do we get out of here?"

"Leaving so soon?"

"Yup." He turned back towards the direction of the tunnel.

"Leaving behind what you know to walk amongst the unknown. How daring. How foolish. How wise."

"Even I don't know what you're talking about, lady," he said.

"Neither do I," she twisted upright. "After all, tomorrow is an important day."

"What?" He looked back at her dully.

"What's happening tomorrow?" Amy asked.

"Nothing yet," the dragoness replied. "It is not tomorrow yet."

"Okay," Amy smiled. "What will happen tomorrow?"

"Many important things."

"Well, I tried." Amy sighed. The dragoness was clearly a master at nonsense.

"Try and do. Remember, even bad things teach us powerful lessons. Those who push through the darkness with a noble heart will bathe in peaceful light."

"Is something bad going to happen tomorrow?" Amy tilted her head.

The dragon mirrored her movement. "Indeed. Something painful, in more ways than one. But the one suffering within the cocoon eventually emerges as a beautiful butterfly."

"All right," Amy nodded. "Since you know what's going to happen, that means you know when, right? Mind telling us that much?"

"Whatever for?" she sounded baffled. "You cannot stop what is to come. Many things in the future can be altered by our actions in the present, but some things are set in stone. A stone that cannot be broken."

"Okay. Who are you anyway?"

"I am known by several names." She twisted herself around the cluster and craned her neck back to continue looking at Amy. "For I am a dreamweaver dragon. But the most common alias I go by is Aurora. You may call me as such. Or don't. It does not matter to me. And you," she twisted back around again, "are Amaranth. Daughter of Rose. But you go by the alias 'Amy'."

"You know me?"

"You are not really surprised, and that is not surprising. After all, Rose was Gaia's beta. Everyone knew Rose. Everyone loved Rose. But who doesn't love roses? Such a lovely flower. Ah, but not nearly as lovely and grand as an Amaranth. For Amaranths can live anywhere. Not just live, but thrive." Aurora turned herself upright and curled around a particularly large gem and looked over at Bill. "And all adult dragons know Bill Cipher. How ironic."

"Ironic?" Amy asked.

"Highly so." She nodded. "It seems that Rose's wish came true. And then some."

"Aurora. The bad thing that is going to happen. Is there really nothing we can do?"

"There are many things you can do. Every day, all the time. Ah, but if you mean something to prevent it, then no. Sadly no. And it is not a bad thing. It is bad things. More than one. They typically come in threes. Luckily for you, there are only two. Unless you count the kitchen sink."

"Kitchen sink? My kitchen sink?"

"A sink can be replaced. Unlike what else will be lost." She noticed Bill tense up and added, "Do not fret. What has been established here today can never be lost. Never broken. Never faded. It will only grow stronger. Your trust is not misplaced this time."

"Yeah, well, I didn't ask you!" Bill snapped.

"You did not need to. Ah, forgive me for interrupting earlier. Such a warm and sincere moment it was. But there will be many more to follow once the darkness has passed. May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows. I wish you great fortune. Farewell."

And with a bright flash of white light, they were suddenly standing back in the ring of mysterious stones, Aurora nowhere in sight.

To be continued…

Dreamweavers are weird.