#the-subpar-ghost

Première vidéo de la traduction française !

« Tout s’arrête maintenant ! »

La voix de Dipper déborda le bruit des machines, la lumière brillante du bouton rouge attendant sa main. Mabel et Mous regardant nerveusement par-dessus son épaule, avec le pressentiment d’une catastrophe qui se préparait.

Juste avant qu’il n’ait pu enfoncer le bouton, le cri d’une voix grave les fit se retourner tous les trois à l’unisson, vers la porte.

« Ne touche pas ce bouton ! » lança un Stan Pines essoufflé sur le seuil de la porte menant à la salle du portail.

Un silence choqué suivit, le compte-à-rebours de l’horloge emplissant l’endroit.

Les bras tendus pour calmer la situation, le vieil homme progressa vers le levier. « Dipper, éloigne-toi ! S’il te plaît ne touche pas ce bouton d’arrêt, tu dois me croire…

-         Et POURQUOI devrais-je te croire ?!

Le visage de Dipper s’emplit de haine tandis qu’il s’éloignait du levier vers son grand-oncle.

-         Après que tu aies volé des déchets radioactifs ? Après que tu nous ait menti tout l’été ? Je ne sais même pas qui tu es !

Stan regarda son neveu dans les yeux, plaidant :

-         Je sais que tout ça semble faux, mais cette machine doit absolument rester active ! Laisse moi au moins t’expliqu… »

Une sonnerie émanant de la montre du vieil homme l’interrompit. Son regard passa de sa montre à sa famille tandis que sa respiration s’accélérait.

« Oh non, s’écria-t-il, accrochez vous ! »

Avant même que les mots aient quitté sa boucHe, tous les quatre commencèrent à s’élever depuis le sol, s’éloignant les uns des autres dans des trajectoires chaotiques tandis que le crissement du portail en train de s’ouvrir résonnait dans la salle.

« Zéro minutes trente-cinq secondes » sonna le compte-à-rebours. Dipper se retrouva propulsé contre le mur, s’accrochant à un tuyau comme tout secours.

« Dipper ! »

Le garçon détourna son attention du mur lorsqu’il entendit le cri terrifié de sa soeur. Avec horreur, il découvrit que Mabel était suspendue exactement au centre du portal grondant, seule une corde enroulée à sa cheville la retenant au sol en-dessous. Ses yeux terrifiés, grands ouverts, l’appelaient lui, suppliant la moindre aide.

Son cœur battant à toute allure, les yeux de Dipper suivirent la corde de la cheville de Mabel jusqu’au bouton d’arrêt. Il se tourna vers sa sœur, criant et montrant du doigt le levier sous elle.

« Mabel, vite ! Eteins le ! »

Comprenant son plan, la jeune fille fit une pirouette pour se hisser le long de la corde. Elle progressa jusqu’à ce qu’il n’y ait plus qu’un petit espace qui la séparât de la fin de la corde et du levier ; qui la séparât de la fin de ce chaos. Prenant une grande inspiration, elle donna un dernier coup de bras à la corde pour se propulser en avant…

Soudain, le portail s’ouvrit complètement, un flot de lumière aveuglante enveloppa la salle.

Terrifiée, Mabel se sentit attirée en arrière, vers la gueule béante du portail.

« Non ! Non, non ! » Ses doigts effleurèrent le levier, mais elle fut tirée en arrière après avoir échoué à s’agripper plus fermement. Elle agita les bras follement, tentant de s’agripper à quelque chose, n’importe quoi…

« A l’aide ! Dipper ! Stan ! »

Les pleurs de la fille furent assourdis par le tumulte de la mâchoire ouverte derrière elle.

Le sang de Dipper se glaça dans ses veines lorsqu’il vit sa sœur, se débattant sans succès, entrer lentement dans le portail.

« Mabel, accroche-toi ! » lança le garçon, s’élançant avec toute sa volonté vers le levier.

Le temps sembla ralentir cruellement lorsque sa main se tendit vers le bouton ; qu’avec une horreur qui lui noua les tropes, Dipper saisit les yeux de sa sœur jumelle terrifiée, son corps ondulant à travers la surface, entre deux dimensions.

Seul un instant sépara le contact de la main de Dipper avec le bouton de la disparition finale de sa sœur dans l’air.

Une sonnerie perçante retentit lorsque le bouton fut relâché, et tout autour de lui s’effondra dans un carnage de mécanique et de personnes, tandis que la porte du portail s’effondrait à nouveau vers la non-existence.

Pendant un bref moment, tout demeura immobile. Puis, avec un grincement sourd, le sommet de la structure triangulaire commença à tomber vers la gauche. Le grincement initial se transforma en un chaos d’implosions alors que la structure s’effondrait sans secours sur le sol.

Dipper s’accroupit pour s’abriter de ce chaos soudain, couvrant sa tête avec ses bras tandis que des débris pleuvaient autour de lui.

Aussi soudainement qu’il avait commencé, le bruit mourut dans le silence.

Le garçon se redressa sur ses jambes qui le portaient à peine, les yeux fixés sur le cercle détruit qui, quelques secondes plus tôt, avait avalé la silhouette de sa sœur.

« Mabel, elle est… » sa voix se brisa avant qu’il ne puisse continuer, des larmes se mêlant à la poussière tombée sur son visage tandis qu’elles tombaient sur un sol rude.

Sa sœur avait disparu, avalée par le portail.

Basic gist is that Ford and Mabel are still visiting the gems and Steven and they're having a lot of fun with them. Ford and Mabel walk up towards the lighthouse to watch the New Year's fireworks and that's when Ford talks to Mabel about a decision he's come to involving her welfare.

Lots of feels and fluff up ahead.

Mabel rushed forward climbing the first beam of the fence as she looked over the cliff at the town below. “Wow!” She said with awe as the summer sunset gleamed, its final rays casting the clouds and ocean with stunning shades of pink, purple, and gold. “What an awesome view! You can see everything.”

Ford looked out at the town, spotting nearly every place he could name from where they were. “Yeah you can.” He leaned over the banister and soaked in the scene for another minute before looking down at the girl beside him. Well, he may as well get this over with. He swallowed and took a deep breath trying to steady his heart while he began in a serious tone. “Mabel… I’d like to talk to you about something. And I’d like to talk to you as an adult if I could.

The girl looked up at him, surprised but entirely focused now. “Okay.” She said warily.

He decided to proceed with a happier thought. “You’ve made some really close friends here. Connie and Steven and the gems.”

She seemed to relax a little with that. “Yeah everyone’s been great. It’s much nicer here than some of the other places we’ve been to.”

“Yes it is. So you—you like it here, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll be sad when we have to leave.”

“Maybe… you don’t have to.”

“Huh?”

Now time for the hard part. “How would you feel about staying here from now on?”

Mabel looked at him with large brown eyes filled with an expression he couldn’t identify. “You mean… forever?”

“Yes.”

She went silent, turning back to the view as she wrestled with the idea. Ford took her silence as a good sign. Least she didn’t dash the plan immediately.

“Part of me really wants to,” she said her gaze getting sad and thoughtful. “But… what about Dipper? And Stan and Soos and my parents? What about all of them? Do we just give up on them?”

Ford sighed. “Mabel, there’s an infinite number of dimensions. We could search literally forever and never find home again. I don’t want that life for you.”

“Can I ask something?” She said in a timid voice. “If I weren’t here right now—if I weren’t with you, would you stay?” Ford was silent for that but before he could answer she went on apologetically. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t a fair question.”

“The thing is, though,” he began cutting off her train of thought as he answered her, “I wouldn’t stay either way.”

“What?”

“You’ve seen the many enemies I’ve made, Mabel.” He explained. “They can follow me even through other dimensions. You’ve been put into harm’s way because of me before and I’d never be able to live with myself if you were hurt or worse if it ever happened again.”

“So you’d… leave me here?”

“I’d make arrangements.” He said immediately, attempting to explain it in a way that didn’t seem so harsh. “You’d be safe and fully provided for, surrounded by friends and loved ones and be allowed to grow up happy and healthy with—”

“No!” She said cutting him off before he’d finished. She faced him entirely, her legs set in a firm stance and her arms braced at her sides and balled into tight fists. Her face was angry with set resolve, though her eyes sparkled with fear and hurtful tears. “No, you—you can’t leave me here, alright. I-I won’t stay here while you go off and risk your life trudging through wilderness and facing bad guys and monsters alone, okay!” She choked on the last word as if that idea were more unbearable than anything else she could have been faced with.

“Mabel…” Ford tried gently, reaching a hand out to calm her.

“Is it… is it because I’m boring you?” She asked in a small frightened voice.

“No!” Ford said immediately, dropping to one knee and putting his hands on her shoulders, firm but gentle. “No, of course not!”

“Then why would you want to just leave me behind? I’d never see you again if that happened and you’re all I got.” Her voice choked on the last part and the tears she’d been trying to keep at bay, fell at last.

The sight of her with such an expression tugged painfully at his heart and he began in a tight voice. “I don’t want to leave you, not at all. Truthfully, I’ve gotten so used to you, Mabel. Being on my own again… I don’t want to live that way anymore, but I have to think about what’s best for you, despite what I may want.”

Mabel was quite for a moment, but gave him a watery smile when he finished explaining. “What’s possibly better than being with my uncle fighting and overcoming whatever comes our way together?”

Her words stunned him for a moment, before he too gave her a gentle smile. “Not much I guess.”

There was a short moment of silence before Mabel leaned over and enfolded his shoulders in a hug of which Ford returned wholeheartedly.

“I know you want to do what’s best for me and I don’t blame you for that,” She whispered against him, “but how would you feel if I stayed here and you kept wandering dimensions and then… through some small chance you did make it back home and I wasn’t with you. Would you be able to live then?”

He didn’t need any thought to figure out how that would make him feel. “No. I most certainly wouldn’t.”

“Even if we never do make it back, I don’t want to stay here thinking “what if” for the rest of my life and always wondering what happened to my uncle. Who wants to live like that?”

Part 1 Part 2

Ford and Mabel are talking about what happened between him and Pearl when he left.

part 1 of the drabble is here

Part 3

It was late, the other gems had stopped work hours ago to allow Mabel and Steven to sleep, but Pearl and Ford were still working; swapping blueprint designs, making adjustments and tinkering on small projects that were promised not to cause too much ruckus.

As they fitted together some engine parts their hands touched and for a moment their eyes met in a deep intense gaze. The tension between them was so thick you could’ve cut it with a knife. Years of discovery, discussions, arguments, and simple moments bridged the distance between them drawing the two of them closer as their faces neared one another.

Pearl’s heart rose in her throat as her eyes instinctively closed and waited for the moment their lips would meet. It was only a whisper of contact before Ford pulled away, cheeks blazing red and a new expression taking over his features.

“I’m sorry.” He announced instantly. “But I can’t do this. Not since… not since last time.”

Pearl looked at him and saw that he was now guarded—angry, the ghost of a hurtful memory etched upon his features. She knew what memory it was and took a step back, mindful to give him space.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” She said lamely finding sudden interest in the dirt floor of the barn.

“Sorry?” Ford said, turning back to her. “Sorry for what? Sorry that you pushed me away? That I left? Or sorry that I’m back?”

“Sorry for everything. The way things ended between us mostly. I just…”