Welcome to the Transcendence AU! This is a Gravity Falls AU that diverges from canon sometime in Season 2. The main premise is twofold: 1) what if Bill died in Dipperâs Mindscape and it permanently transformed Dipper into a demon himself? And 2) what if this caused the âweirdness bubbleâ around Gravity Falls to pop, making magic and weirdness commonplace around the world? It is a story filled with a lot of hardship and sadness, but also a lot of love, friendship, and found family.
Some helpful links:
The original post by Mod Z that spawned the AU
A quick primer by Mod F that goes over the basics and links to some fics
A more in-depth summary of important events
Character bios
Our wiki (please use this instead of the Wikia/FANDOM wiki!)
Other than that, you can traverse the #art, #hc, and #fic tags to find a huge assortment of content. We hope you will enjoy your time here!
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No, she couldnât be dead. He refused to believe it. She wasnât dead. He would return from a summons, and she would be there, calling him bro-bro and Aldork and make him try on a sweater before selling it on her Etsy store.
Mabel Pines couldnât be dead.
Anger
There he was, lying on the ground, and Dipper could tell by the fading aura that this was it for him.
He looked up at the cultists, and his body darkened, and golden lines broke through with blinding light.
Dipper pleaded with the universe as he sat next to the bed, clutching the hand of this girl who meant so much to him. He begged and pleaded, wanting her to stay with him, even for just a little longer.
âPlease donât go,â he sobbed, and his golden tears stained the bed. The universe doesnât do favors for demons though.
Belle Sterling deserved a little more time in this world.
Depression
Letting go was so easy, and Alcor let himself forget. He couldnât bear to think about all the ones who died, about his son, who would never understand that he loved him, and his daughter, who had a connection bigger to him than humanity could comprehend. Too many Mabels, and Stans, and Fords, and Henrys, and Sooses, and Acacias, and Hanks, and Willows, and Cassies, and Malalas, and Torakos, and Lionels. Even Bills dying hurt him, because he ended up liking many after Ian, more than he wanted to. And he feels the guilt of those whose souls still remain, like Wendyâs, who remains trapped in that ruin for eternity, thinking that he was going to betray her.
So, he let himself go, and Alcor became a name to be feared again. While human sacrifices remained taboo for him, no one was safe from his unholy wrath if they dared summon him.
And yet Alcor didnât understand this lingering emptiness and sadness. Despite his lack of empathy, he still despised himself, and often wished he didnât exist, that it was possible to destroy himself and let his soul continue on. And he couldnât remember why he wanted this so badly.
He felt a little pang of intense sadness throughout the next few millennium, never understanding what was causing it. It could be a few years apart, or seventy, and there seemed no way to solve it.
But everything hits when this girl opens the journal, and begins reading the words of the first person he ever really cared about, and every single loss he has ever felt comes crashing down on him, and he canât help but sob with guilt and self-loathing, because he let himself forget them.
A girl whose soul he has never encountered ends up hugging him, the unholy demon he never should have been, feeling sympathy for a monster that could destroy her in a minute.
And that just makes it worse.
Acceptance
He looks at Earth, and can feel everything that every person there is dreaming.
He can feel the death of a Lionel, and there is that sadness that rises, up, but also the knowledge that he lived a full life.
Besides, there is another soul being born.
He feels the first breath of the twin that possesses Mabelâs soul, and smiles.
Who knows what life she will have? Maybe causes unknown will cause her to die before she can experience the world. Or maybe she will live on, growing old and getting married and having plenty of kids, grand kids, and great grand kids before she breaths her final breath.
Dipper smiles, and he closes his eyes as he takes something in his chest, and pulls.
As he, finally, gets the chance to move on, he smiles.
Everyone dies, but he is proud to know that some of them loved him and cared about him as he fades away.
The former demon and former god is reborn as Penelope, almost exactly a century later, and the doctors are all confused when she doesnât cry.
When she is born, she laughs like she has all the joy in the world at this new cycle of life.
Playing human again, Alcor makes it longer than he usually does. He's in college now, juggling classes, family, a curious vampire, and a strange, increasingly sinister web of mysteries weaving themselves around him. Without his omniscience to guide the way, he'll have to work hard to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.
Dipper knew this was going to go well the second he locked eyes with Mal from the passenger seat. Leaning against the hearse, he could see her double take, then, with a kind of forced, furious casualness heâd learned to spot from a mile away, she rocked to her feet and stood there with her hands in her pockets as they parked.
âHey!â Was the first thing he heard as he opened the door. âSo this is weird, Iâm thinking back on what I said yesterday, and I canât seem to remember the part where I said weâre bringing Mom along!â
He cringed. âMal-â
âNo, no, come on!â Mal bared a smile. âI obviously messed up in the instructions somewhere, so letâs hear it. Was I supposed to use crayons?â
âMallory!â Their mother jumped out of the car. âDonât talk to your brother that way!â
âTch. âYes, Mom,âââ she rolled her eyes. âWhy are you here? Did you seriously leave Dad at home alone?â
âAlone? Heâs not a child, he wanted me to come.â Her gaze softened. âWeâre worried about you two. Especially this⌠adventure, you said you were going to a friendâs house!â
âYeah, and we decided to take a lovely forest walk togetherâexercise, oh, the horror!â She cupped her cheeks in mock terror. âWe might even get some, gasp, fresh air out here! What was I thinking, weâd better get inside!â
âDonât be ridiculous, Mallory-â
âIâm being-! Youâre being ridiculous, stalking us up here like we need fucking babysitters, weâre adults! Adults!â She glowered at Dipper. âWell, I am, anyway. You trust me with your whole fucking funeral home but I donât tell you exactly where I am for one second and youâre out here accusing me of-â
âIâm not accusi-â
â-always on my fucking case!â
âIâm sorry! I just-â
âNo! No! You listen to me, Mom! You listen to me for once in your goddamn life!â
Dipper felt himself inching away from the two of them as they got into it. Oh, boy, he thought, this was going about as well as heâd expected. Good thing Marsh hadn't arrived yet; he mightâve just shriveled up on the spot from the awkwardness. Hahâwell, hopefully theyâll have it out of their systems by the time she got here.
âŚ
Wait.
âMallory, please, can you just calm down for a second?â
âIâm calm! Iâm soooo calm, youâre the one who-â
Dipper cut in. âHa-hang on,â he stammered, gesturing at Marshâs car. âMarsh is here already? Where is she?â
Something flickered in Malâs eyes. âUhâŚâ she started, then cleared her throat. âOh, she went on ahead. Got sick of waiting for you, I guess.â
âShe-! and you didnât go with her?!â
âI was waiting for you!â
âWhat? You couldâve texted me! What if she gets into trouble in there?â
âOh my god, youâre just as bad as Mom. Sheâs fine.â
âYou donât know that!â Dipper gazed into the forest, at the shady path ahead that disappeared behind the beckoning trees. âWe need to go after her.â
âWhâŚâ Behind them, their Mom frowned. âYou seem really concerned about this, sweetie. Whatâs going on in the forest?â
âNothing,â Mal rolled her eyes. âHeâs just being paranoid. Wonder where he gets that from.â
Dipper made a face. âItâs⌠I-I donât know, it could be nothing. But⌠we think there might be some clues in there about who-â He glanced at Mal, who arched an eyebrow. âUh, about who killed Gemma.â
Their Mom just stared for a moment. Her eyes slowly lifted to the forest. âJust so I understand,â she said, quietly, carefully. âwhat youâre saying, sweetie, is thereâs a chance sheâll encounter a murderer in that forest.â
âI donât-â Dipper started, and then sighed. âMaybe. I donât know, itâs hard to say.â
âOkay.â Slowly, she turned that iron stare onto Mal, and even she wilted under it. âSo. You were also aware of this, I assume.â
âI-â
âAnd you let her do what?â
âWh-, I-!â Mal stammered over her words. âMarsh wanted to go on ahead, thatâs not my fault! What was I supposed to do?â
âYou tell her no! I mean, for starâs stake, Mallory, show a little backbone! I never thought you'd be the one I'd need to say that too!â
âYeah!â Dipper said, then blinked. âWait, what?â
âIt's not my-â
âDon't. Please, don't try that with me right now.â Their Mom rubbed her forehead. âMallory, I love you so much, but I have to say, I am getting sick and tired of hearing that from you lately! Nothing's your fault, nothingâs ever your fault!â
âI never said that! Tell me when I ever said ânothing's ever my faultâ, that's ridiculous!â
âYou-!â She stopped, pursed her lips. âOkay. Okay, Mallory.â
Then she turned back to her car. Mal, fists clenched, face flushed, followed her.
âOkay what? Are you gonna apologise?â
âYes, I'm sorry. Now can we put this behind us for now?â Their Mom opened the trunk. âWe've got to get that poor girl out of the forest. Here, take this.â
Then she tossed something Malâs way. Dipper came closer, and she handed one to him as well⌠some sort of bracelet? He wasnât sure what to make of it; the chain was fine and silvery, but the pendant was a spud of little white flowers wound together with twine in a tight pattern. It was oddly clashing, and itâd have looked amateurish if it wasnât so well constructed.
Dipper glanced towards Mal, and he could see the question in her eyes. âIs this a charm?â She said, and Dipper could see their Mom hesitate. âDid you make this?â
âItâs just a bit of wild garlic and silver.â She said, vaguely. âI heard it was a vampire on the newsâanyway, are we ready?â
Mal opened her mouth⌠then seemed to think better of it. âYeah, uh, actually, before we go, I-I got something as well.â Digging in her pocket, she drew out a blue glass charm with a loop of red ribbon, paused, and thrust it out to Dipper. âHere.â
His eyes went wide. âIs thatâwait, is that my magic blocker necklace? You finally made another one?â
âWhat do you mean, finally?â
âUh-â A quick glance up at Mal. âI mean, oh my god, thank you so much, youâre the best! This is amazing, Iâve been so sick of these headaches!â
With a big grin on his face, he snatched it up and looped it around his neck. Before heâd even tied the knot, he felt his headache start to spike.
eeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEâpop!
Dipper blinked, shook his head as the pain faded. When he looked down⌠the glass charm had shattered into glittering pieces on his shirt.
He didnât even have time to be disappointed.
âOh, for fuckâs-!â Mal threw up her hands. âGreat. Great! You broke it, genius! Why not? Everythingâs going so well today, huh!â
âI didnât do anything! I-I just put it on.â
Their Mom frowned. âOh, Iâm sorry, sweetie, thatâs really disappointing.â
âDisappointing to him?! What about me? I worked on that stupid thing for-â She cut herself off. âUgh, whatever. It doesnât matter.â
âMal?â
âI said, whatever! Are we going into the forest or not?â
âHmph.â Their Mom took a second to nod. âYouâre right. Come on; letâs stick together, you two.â
And she began to lead them into the forest, glancing back every few steps. Dipper didnât think Mal would follow at first, but she kept pace with him, her arms crossed, her head firmly turned away. His hand brushed the red ribbon, and he sighed.
âHey,â he started. âThanks for⌠I really appreciate you tried to make another one. I know itâs not easy.â
She didnât respond. He paused, and tried again.
âIt, uh⌠it took you a few tries on the last one, right? Iâm sure youâll get it!â
He tried to reach out a hand, but she sped up to avoid him. Dipper sighed⌠then, looking at the trees closing in, tried to put it out of mind. That wasnât important right now; he had to keep an eye out for Marsh. She was probably just at the cabin, but⌠well, you never know.
Mal, though, hadnât got the message. She fell into step with their Mom, and shot her a Look. For a little while their Mom politely ignored the daggers being thrown her way⌠but then she let out a groan.
âOkay, Mallory, whatâs wrong now?â
âOh, nothing,â and as soon as their Mom met her gaze she was aloof, staring off into the trees. âJust, uh⌠just wonderingâjust thinking, you know? Just thinking about what I heard earlier, ah, something about a book?â
âA book?â
âYeah! You and Dipper were on about some kind of book.â Their Mom didnât react, but Mal caught Dipperâs flinch. âYeah, look, heâs heard about it! Whatâs going on, huh?â
She took a moment to reply, âMallory,â she started carefully, glancing around the forest. âI can tell you later, but I really donât think this is the time. We have to find your friend; arenât you worried about her?â
âOh my gooood, sheâs fine! You think weâre actually stupid enough to walk into a forest with a murderer?â Mal glanced back at Dipper with a strange smirk. âActually, scratch that. But hey, youâre obviously not that worried if youâre letting us tail along.â
âOf course Iâm-!â Dipper saw her hands clench, then struggle to straighten out. âIâm very worried right now, Mallory, and Iâm trying to concentrate! I donât want you kids playing detective with an actual murderer! I just also know that if I told you to stay in the parking lot, youâd go right in after me. Iâve been your mother for almost twenty years now, Mallory, I know how this works.â
âWh- why are you singling me out?!â
Dipper rubbed his forehead. âGuys, guys, can we please not fight the whole way to the cabin? Look, Malâs right, we both planned it; itâs not fair to put it on her.â
âThank you, Dipper.â Mal raised her eyebrows at her Mom. âSee, he agrees with me!â
âWell-â
âIâm not the one starting anything, Iâm just asking questions. Like, what about this book, huh?â She looked back at Dipper. âHow about you, bro? Are you gonna tell me anything?â
âI⌠uhâŚâ
âMallory!â Their Mom snapped. âI promise you, I will tell you later! I donât-â Her voice seemed to lower by instinct. âI donât want to talk about it in public.â
But that was a mistake; Dipper could see how Mal immediately switched from grumpy pot-stirring to genuine interest. âIn public, what?â She gave a little chuckle that faded out as their Mom didnât meet her eyes. âWait, whatâs⌠is something going on? Is Dad okay?â
âWh- no, itâs nothing to do with⌠your fatherâs fine.â
âThen, I-I donât understand what youâre talking about. Youâre actually keeping something from me?â
You could cut the tension with a knife; Dipper glanced between the two of them, then all around the looming forest. He made a face.
âWell,â he mumbled. âSeems like this is your private moment.â
Their Mom slowed to a stop. Mal didnât even make a snarky comment as she seemed to collect her thoughts, take a deep breath, and let it out in a sigh.
âI wanted this to be a little more planned out,â she said. âYour father and Iâthis doesnât change anything, okay? We both love you so much, and we only want the best for-â
âYouâre getting divorced?!â
âWh- no, Mallory! Of course not!â
âOkay, okay, jeez!â She scowled at Dipperâs muffled snort. âHey, Iâm not the crazy one here, what the hell was I supposed to take from âyour father and I still love you?â Fuuck, Mom, donât scare me like that!â
âOh, my stars.â Their Mom pinched her forehead. âThis went so much better in the car⌠Look, Mallory, we used to⌠a long time ago, we were in⌠you have to understand-â
âAnd now youâre sounding like you used to be in a cult or something.â She rolled her eyes. âSeriously, Mom, you gotta work on your messaging.â
It took a moment. Mallory looked from her motherâs stricken face to Dipperâs nervous smile, and the penny finally dropped.
âNo way,â she breathed, and watched her Mom give a timid nod. âWh- no way, noâyouâre joking. Youâre joking!â
âNo. We used to⌠we used to be in the Circle. But it was a long-â
âThe Circle?!â She backed up, stumbling over a twig. âWh- Alcor? No way, no way, no way!â
âMallory-â
âI donât- you canât- I wouldâve known this, I wouldâve known this!â Then she froze, her eyes going wide. âThe book. Thatâs why you had a-â
Then she cut herself offâbut it was too late. She glanced up at her motherâs shocked face, and tried for a shaky smile.
âI-I mean,â and the blood was draining from her face; her hands were wringing together. âI-I just meant-â
âYou knew about the book?â Their mom glanced at Dipper. âDid you tell her?â
âNo! I didnât, I had no idea until last night.â He blinked at Mallory. âHow long have you known?â
Mallory was backed up against a tree; she could only shrug. âI- I donâtâwhy are you guys acting like I knew? Iâm just, Iâm just finding out now! You had a what?â
âMallory, come on.â
âIâm serious, guys! I had no idea, IâŚâ One look at their faces, and she grimaced, put up her hands, and changed tack. âOkay, fine! I-I did see it once. It was back when I was a stupid teenager, I dug through your guysâ stuff one day, and, yeah. But I didnât think anything of it.â
âYou didnât think anything of it?â Dipper raised an eyebrow. âYou found an illegal demonology book, and you were just like⌠okay? No follow up questions?â
âWell-â
âIt hadnât been moved at all,â their Mom breathed. âYou put it back exactly where we left it.â
âYeah, thatâs- you know what I was like as a teenager, I liked getting away with stuff.â Her smile strained. âI-I knew it was a big deal, thatâs why I put it back where I found it! Then I⌠I just kind of forgot about it, I guess.â
âForgot about it?â
âYeah, I-I⌠look, it doesnât matter right now!â She sidled away from the tree and started down the path again. âWe gotta find Marsh, guys! Isnât that what we came here for?â
Dipper blinked; he exchanged a wide-eyed look with his Mom, then rushed to catch up. âHey, Mal, wait, you wanted to talk about this!â
âYeah, well, weâre nearly at the cabin, so-â
âWhy didnât you tell me about the-â
âI donât know, Dipper, I donât know!â She rounded on him. âMaybe Iâm better at leaving shit alone. Maybe Iâm stupid and I couldnât put two and two together; I mean you just needed one night to realise Mom and Dad are secret demon summoners, itâs sooo obvious! Iâm sorry Iâm not as smart as you!â
âI didnât say you wereâŚâ Dipper hesitated, took a deep breath, and pressed on. âWhy do you always act like I-Iâm calling you stupid? I didnât say that, Mal, Iâve never said that! Iâm trying to see if youâre okay!â
âOhhh, Mr Thoughtful.â
âI mean, it was really shocking to me, too, canât we talk about it?â He slowed as she kept walking. âWhy canât we just talk anymore, Mal? Why canât you just stop for once and actually talk to me like a real person!â
And Mal stopped, dead. Dipper could feel his heart beating in his throat as she stood there, his words echoing too loud, too real. He didnât know when itâd started, but talking to her⌠somewhere along the way itâd become like walking in a minefield, nodding along and smiling and pretending he wasnât always, always looking out for the next bomb to trip up on.
That wasnât the way he wanted it to be. He used to love talking to her, he used to love⌠He didnât know if they could go back to how things were before.
He wanted to, he wanted to so bad, but she was turning around now, and he was terrified he was about to get that answer.
Dipper looked at his sister. She tried to look back, tried to stare him down defiantly, but it was her gaze, for once, that slid to his shoes.
The forest was silent as she took a breath.
âDipper-â
But she couldnât finish. A flinch, and she turned her head to the side.
Seconds later, far off the path and deep in the trees, Dipper heard a scream.
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Playing human again, Alcor makes it longer than he usually does. He's in college now, juggling classes, family, a curious vampire, and a strange, increasingly sinister web of mysteries weaving themselves around him. Without his omniscience to guide the way, he'll have to work hard to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.
Mal was checking her watch when a car finally pulled up to the parking lot by the forest. She took one look at it and narrowed her eyes; how the hell did she beat Dipper here? He was supposed to be right behind her!
Agh. Cool it, Mal, cool it. She stretched out a smile as the engine juddered off and Marsh stepped out of the car.
âHey, Khady!â Mal gave a big wave. âThe K-ster, howâs it going? You look a bit tired!â
Marsh was rubbing her eyes. âYeah, I was working past two last night, so this better be worth it.â
âOh, it for sure is. Just wait for Dipper to explain, he found a crazy clue about the cabin!â She raised her eyebrows. âHeâsâhe should be right behind me, but weâll see.â
âHmph.â Marsh glanced towards the road, then back at Mal. Something in her eyes seemed to soften. âHowâre you doing, howâre you holding up?â
âMe?â
âYeah! After⌠well, let me know if you want to talk about it.â
OhâGemma, right. Mal suddenly felt the smile stretching her cheeks was a bit too strong an opener; she did her best to soften it.
âI, uhâthanks, thatâs, thatâs very nice of you.â She looked away, tried on a sigh. âIâm just⌠trying to keep upbeat, you know?â
âFor sure.â
âBut you know, Iâm devastated, of course! I mean, itâs, she was my best friend!â
âOf course you are. Iâm so sorry⌠you know, anyway you feel, thatâs the right way to feel, you know?â Marsh shifted uncomfortably; her words started to come out a little halting. âI, uh⌠you know, when my⌠when my Mom died, I⌠I went to work that day. People think that was cold of me, I-I shouldâve been home crying or some shit⌠I just wanted to be around people, you know? I wanted the routine, not justâŚâ Her eyes got distant, then refocused. âSo, yeah, no, I didnât mean to seem like I was judging or anything. Sorry. Iâm not very⌠Iâm not great at this stuff.â
Mal stared at her. The first thought that hit her mind: well, thatâs lucky.
âOh jeez,â said her mouth. âIâm sorry to hear about that, I didnât know.â
âI mean, why would you, I didnât tell you.â Marsh shrugged. âIt happened a while ago now, itâs, itâs not about me.â
âWell, thanks for telling me, then. I appreciate itâuh, but anyway!â She clapped her hands. âI guess Dipperâs taking the scenic route or something, so I might as well show you now.â
Mal picked up something on the hood of the hearse, and Marsh leaned over. âShow me what? Is that one of your glass things?â
âGlass charms, yeah!â Holding it up, Mal let it catch the light and glimmer. âI just thought, you know, it might be a little dangerous in the forest, so I could make something to help!â
âOkaay?â
âThis little guyâs a pretty beefy Sight charmâput it on, and you should be able to see if a gnome so much as sniffles in your line of sight!â At Marshâs arched eyebrow, she added: âYou know how that Collins guy hid in your house, right? If youâd had this thing on, youâdâve spotted him in a heartbeat.â
That got her attention; Mal held it out, and she took it, turned it over, inspected it. âHow do you know it works?â
âI test âem, obviously. I made one of those invisibility doodads myself; it completely negated the effect.â Mal gave a winning smile. âTrust me, Khades, nothingâs gonna sneak up on you with this thing.â
âHm.â She paused for a moment⌠and then began looping the red ribbon around her wrist. âThanks, Mal. This could actually be really- whoa!â
She pointed to something in the treeline; Mal turned, and saw nothing. âWhat is it?â
âSome kind of⌠big butterfly, like a spirit, or something!â Marsh looked around her with an air of open wonder. Her pupils seemed just the tiniest bit greyed, Mal noticed. âAnd the sky looks a little different too⌠Wow. I can see why people are jealous of the Sight, now. Thatâs amazing.â
Mal tried to hold back a little smirkâsheesh Ianitor, she thought, dial back the special effects, will you?
A chuckle answered her thoughts. âAww, little murderer, let me have some fun! Your friendâs certainly not complaining⌠not yĚľeĚľt̡̏Í.â
Mal glanced to the side. Heâs not to hurt her, or Dipper, remember? Theyâre just gonna walk in the forest, hallucinate up some evidence, and spend the rest of the investigation chasing their own shadows until they gave up on the whole thing.
âYes, yes, I remember our deal.â Ianitor patted her shoulder. âQuite a masterstroke of a planâI wish Iâd come up with something so diabolical! Shall I get started on this one while you wait for your brother?â
That didnât sound like a good idea⌠but suddenly Marsh turned her head. âOh, there you are!â She said to thin air. âYou snuck up on me, Dipper. Alright, are we ready to go?â
âHang on,â Mal started, but Marsh looked straight at her with those grey eyes, nodded, and turned to walk into the forest.
âAlright,â Marsh was saying. âLetâs stay together now, guysâŚâ
âHey!â Mal stepped forwards, but a hand caught her shoulder. âWhat the hell, this isnât the plan! Weâre supposed to go in together!â
âReally? Well, you shouldâve mentioned that in the deal,â said Ianitor. âAh, but donât worry about her, sheâll be just fine! You know what you should worry about?â
âWhat?â
âThe book.â
Mal blinked. âWh⌠what book?â
âI donât know. I just overheard Dipper and your mother talking about itâit sounded important, I wonder why theyâre keeping it from you?â Ianitor spoke like he was holding back a laugh. âYou should ask him about it when he gets here.â
âIâŚâ
âCome, relax, sit down,â the demon said, as Marsh disappeared into the trees behind her. âIt wonât be too much longer, now.â
Dipper didnât know when to start the conversation. It seemed a little awkward to launch into it while she was turning out of the driveway, but now they were stopped at an intersection and he wondered whether this was more of a highway conversation.
Glancing out the window, he noticed a truck next to them, two guys sitting and chatting in front. Odds are they werenât having to talk about demon summoning, he thought. Lucky.
âSo,â thankfully, his Mom broached the topic first. âAbout the, uh, the book. Is it inâŚ?â
âItâs in my room.â
âOh, good. Good. Phew, haha.â She flashed him a nervous smile before the lights went green. âWouldnât be good to lose that!â
âUh, no,â He raised an eyebrow. âWhere did you even get something like that?â
âWeâve always had it, actually. Itâs been passed down the family for generations; the original builder of the funeral home bought it, or at least thatâs how the story goes.â
Dipper crossed his arms. âOh, so itâs a super illegal heirloom, thatâs sooo much better.â
âDipper-â
âIâm sorry, Iâm just-! Iâm still trying to process this. I never once heard you guys talk about demons, but now this is like a whole family thing? I donât-â A horrible thought hit him. âWait. That gas leak in the crematory before I was born, that wasnât-â
âThat wasnât Alcor.â His Momâs voice turned hard. âItâs not related, I donât want to talk about that.â
âMom-â
âIt was a horrible accident.â Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. âHorrible day, I-I donât- Bad things happen to good people, they just do, it-it doesnât matter what y-you do or who you worship!â A blink. âI mean-â
âWorship?â
âI didnât- I just mean, itâs true, i-isnât it? Bad things can happen to everyone, I was just-â
âOh, my god,â Dipper gazed at his Mom like a whole new person. âYou guys donât just summon demons, do you?â
His Mom didnât reply straight away, but the corner of her mouth twitched a bit. âYou donât generally worship demons,â she said, eventually. âItâs a much better idea to pick one.â
âOh my god.â
âOutside of California, the Circle is actually a very reputable-â
âOh my god, the Circle? The, the âDreamerâs Starâ nuts?â Dipper ran his hands through his hair. âYou know why that is, right? Like, maybe they wouldnât be illegal if they didnât follow the guy who literally blew up California, right?â
âDipper-â
âLike a hundred-something million people, I donât remember the- there was a whole, like, Los Angeles, we heard about it over and over again in school.â
âYes, that is how itâs taught.â His Momâs lip twisted down. âAnd I wonder if they mentioned that there was actually another demon-â
âAre you defending him right now?!â
âIâm just-, I know itâs going to soundâŚ! Well, it was in His wisdom that you two didnât grow up in the Circle, so I just have to trust that He doesnât need my defense.â
It was so, so weird to hear his Mom talk like that; eugh, he could hear the capitals. As they turned onto the highway, he sank into his seat. âSo what, we werenât supposed to hear about this? Why?â
She opened her mouth, closed it, and made a face. âI⌠itâs a long story, sweetie.â
âWeâve got time.â
âYes, well⌠itâs not a pleasant memory.â A hard swallow. âIt happened when you were both born. We⌠I-it took a long time for us to have children, a-and when we⌠you were both born very early, very early.â She stretched out trembling fingers. âTwenty-three weeks, she was the size of my hand.â
Dipper didnât say anything, but the pit in his stomach was growing.
âA-anyway, it wasnât⌠she was going toâŚâ Her jaw tightened, her eyes locked forwards. âWe needed a miracle⌠and it came, He answered us!â
âYou made a deal.â
âYes, and look at you, look at Mallory!â Her smile was warm and watery. âYouâre okay. I forget, itâs⌠itâs one of my favourite stories, actually. Iâm so glad I was finally able to tell it to you.â
âBut,â he shook his head. âWhat did you make a deal for?â
âWell⌠I donât remember.â
âHow do you not-â
âThat was one of the stipulations,â she said. âAnd we couldnât raise you two in the Circle, either. He was very firm on that, and so we didnât; we stopped going to gatherings, we got rid of our robes, our books. That one you saw was the only one we kept, I⌠couldnât bear to part with that one.â She gave a wistful sort of smile. âItâs been in our family so long. I-I thought, if youâd ever found your way to the Circle on your own, Iâd have something to give you. But only if you did it on your own, I never wouldâve broken my promise.â
âHmph.â Dipper shifted in his seat. âGood job on that.â
âYes, yes, Iâm not, ah, thrilled with your father about last night.â Her eyebrows raised. âAlmost twenty years, and he just has it all out in the middle of the⌠whatâs done is done, he just wanted to help.â And she cast him a side glance. âIâm guessing I canât convince you to keep this from Mallory, can I.â
âAre you kidding? I think she would literally kill me.â
âHah, I, uh⌠thatâs my problem, I guess.â A pause. âLook, sweetie, Iâm sorry, I know this is probably a big shock, to say the least. But we havenât⌠nothing has to change, okay? Your father and I arenât different people than we were yesterday, we still love you and we only want the best for you. We left that life behind a long time ago for you and Mallory, and weâd do it again every time. Every time.â
Those words warmed him a little, but he couldnât help but ask: âWell, you didnât give it up completely, did you?â
âHmph, no. Just like you two havenât completely given up on running around trying to find a dangerous murderer.â She pursed her lips. âIâm quite interested, for instance, that this âMarshâs houseâ appears to be a parking lot next to a forest.â
âMom-â
âWeâre worried about you two, okay! You just donât talk to us!â
âSo you summoned a demon about it?â
âSo we were potentially planning to see if we could contact him again,â she spoke very carefully. âJust something small! Just to keep you two from getting hurt, you wouldnât even have seen Him!â
âOh, great, yeah, wonderful.â He shook his head. âGod, why Alcor, again? Like of all demons, that guy?â
She snorted. ââOf all demons?â Do you have a better one in mind?â
âWell, no, just⌠heâs literally the California guy.â Dipper crossed his arms. âDidnât our whole funeral home start as a staging ground for all the casualties from that? I donât get why this is some big family tradition.â
He expected his Mom to have something to say to that⌠but she was silent. When he looked over, he saw she was looking at her back mirror with a strange expression; seemingly blank, but there was something turning over in her mind.
âMom?â And instead of looking over, she just kept staring, oddly rigid. âUs, I was saying-â
âI know, I heard- Iâd love to tell you the story, butâŚâ she motioned with her head a little. âDonât look back, but that white carâs been behind us since we got on the highway.â
It took Dipper a couple seconds to process the implications. He immediately glanced back and saw a little sedan with tinted windows. âThat one? Whatâs-â
âI just said donât look back!â
âSorry,â he sank into his seat, heart beating. âMaybe theyâre just going the same way weâre going?â
âHmph. Theyâd have passed us by now; Iâve been driving like an old lady trying to explain this to you.â There was an eerie calmness to the way she flicked her blinkers. âThisâll prove it.â
They were moving onto the exit lane; Dipper couldnât help but glance in the mirrors and see the white car do the same. âWh- they are following us!â
âNot very well. Donât worry, sweetie, Iâll get rid of them.â
âGet- what? How?â
But she didnât respond, so he was only left to hold on. The exit lane was starting to diverge; Dipper saw the white car follow them as they began curving awayâbut then! With a jerk of the wheel, her Mom cut across the growing shoulder. A chorus of beeps came from behind, but Dipperâs eyes were only on the white car; he saw it actually swerve for a moment like it wanted to follow⌠but then it seemed to reconsider, and it stayed the path, sweeping away from them.
Before a line of trees cut them off, Dipper thought he saw something in the window. But it was gone so quick, and then he was left to reckon with what on earth his Mom had just pulled off.
âOh, dear,â she said so mildly; her shoulders had gone up again, and she gave a timid wave to the car flipping her off in the passing lane. âSorry, sorry! I really donât like doing that.â
âUm. Okay, so can we talk about that?â He blinked at her. âYou just lost that car like itâs nothing!â
She couldnât hold back a little smirk. âDipper, sweetie. In your words, Iâm in an 'illegal cult'. Thatâs not the first time someoneâs tailed me to a gathering.â She glanced out of the window. âIâm not sure who that was, though. The police are a little more subtleâback in the day, anyway.â
Dipper wasnât quite ready to move on. âOh. Cool. Cool cool cool, this is- you guys got mad at Mal for shoplifting!â
âOf course we did, weâre her parents.â She flicked on the blinker again. âOh, hereâs our exit! Well, now Iâve bared my soul to you, I canât wait to see what trouble you kids have been getting up to.â
A thought hit him. âOh, no,â he groaned, and slumped in his seat. âMalâs gonna kill me for bringing you along.â
âWell, the way itâs looking, sheâs going to kill both of us.â His Mom shot him a meaningful smile. âI know I canât ask you to keep this under wraps forever. But maybe this can wait until a better moment?â
âA better moment?â
âHm.â She took a moment to think over her words. âWell, a more private moment. Can you do that for me?â
They turned a corner, and Dipper saw the parking lot come into viewâthe hearse loomed, and he couldnât help but gulp.
Demonologist students-- r!ford, r!henry, and r!mabel-- put their heads together to make a paper about Alcor's Summoning Fuckeryâ˘. So Alcor decides to challenge himself to break a record of ridiculousness. Alcor has the best week of his life and the group project gets an A+.
Playing human again, Alcor makes it longer than he usually does. He's in college now, juggling classes, family, a curious vampire, and a strange, increasingly sinister web of mysteries weaving themselves around him. Without his omniscience to guide the way, he'll have to work hard to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.
Dipper didnât sleep well that night. For the moments where it didnât feel like his brain was pressing on the back of his eyes, he couldnât help but think of that lonely cabin in the woods. Thereâd been no joy to solving Gemmaâs puzzle; the word revealed itself to him like an ever-deepening pit in his stomach.
Because theyâd have to go back there, wouldnât they?
To the place where he got attacked by a demon, the place where his necklace shattered and left him struggling to drive to the store. To the place that ended his happy little year in college; the closer he got to going back, the more he fretted what had been said about him back on campus, how warm a welcome he was really going to get.
To the place that began with Gemma betraying him, and ended with Lucy Ann⌠betraying him? Revealing herself? Telling him that everything he knew about her, everything theyâd done together was nothing but a sadistic prank played by some vampire with too much time on her hands. It was true, wasnât it? Yeah! Yeah, then she left, got annoyed when Gemma wouldnât drop it, and came back to make her shut up about the whole thing!
(Of course weâre friends.â)
That was the only way it made sense to him.
(âIâll see you around.â)
It was the only thing that fit the evidence. Lucy Ann killed Gemma, and⌠and tomorrow, they were going to see what all these codes had been pointing towards.
A scowl. Tomorrow, he thought, and tried to close his eyes; in no time at all, they were staring up at the ceiling again. And his pillow was too warm, and he was sweating under his covers but cold when he pushed them offâagh, fine! Fine, he was up!
Maybe heâd get a water or something.
Casting a glare at the stars outside his window, he felt his way to the door, creaked down the hallway, and started downstairs.
He didnât get far before he paused. A sound downstairs: some kind of rustling? At first he thought it was coming from the funeral home⌠but no, definitely from the living room.
As it kept going, his grip tightened on the railing. It could be Mal, and man, was it mean that every fibre of his being suddenly wanted to go back to bed? Come on, Dipper, donât be like that. Sheâs having a hard time, she needs you.
She needs you.
âŚ
But his feet just didnât move. The harder he tried, the more frozen he felt. The more he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, faster and harder until with a sigh, he gave up on it. Fine, he thought, taking a step back up. Heâd just-
The person downstairs cleared their throat, and that was not Mal. Dipper blinked; curious now, it was suddenly all too easy to rush downstairs, throw open the door, and find-
âOh!â Dipper gave an apologetic smile. âSorry, Dad! Didnât mean to surprise you, I was just like, whoâs downstairs right now? But itâs just you, haha.â
And he did feel bad; his Dad, kitted out in his nightgown and sleeping cap on the sofa, had jolted half-up and dropped a book with a thump on the carpet.
âUh, sorry. Again.â He saw his Dad struggling to reach down, and moved forwards. âI can-â
âDonât!â He held an arm out. âDondundundun- I- donât, donât! Donât!â
âOh, uh, okay? You sure you donât want-â
âDonât! Donât, I- donât! Donât!â
He was more animated than Dipper had seen in a while, waving him off with big jerky swings of his arms. Dipper certainly got the message.
âWhoa, no worries, Dad, itâs fine!â He pointed to the kitchen. âIâm just, uh, going to get some water. Do you want some?â
He shook his head and kept reaching for the book. Dipper lingered for a moment longer, guilt needling as he watched his Dad struggle to lift it, then crossed into the kitchen. The oven read 4am in glowing red letters; it was off by a couple hoursâhe forgot how manyâbut it was definitely very late.
âI didnât think youâd be up!â He called into the living room as he got a glass down. âI, uh, I couldnât sleep, hah. Is that the same for you?â
He got a grunt in reply. Filling up his glass, Dipper wondered whether to ask again; his Mom and Mal, it felt like they could âreadâ him so much better than Dipperâanother pang, because of course they could, theyâd been the ones actually looking after him, while heâd been off⌠well, these days it wasnât even clear what heâd been doing. Not making friends, thatâs for sure.
âUh, yeah, great,â he continued. âThatâs⌠yeah. Great. Did you want-? Oh, right, youâd said no.â
Water in hand, Dipper made his way back to the living room. His Dad was scraping papers into a binder; must be some funeral home stuff he was trying to work on.
âYou donât have to stop.â He pointed upstairs. âI was gonna go back to my room, or⌠I could help if you needed? What do you-â
âDone! All done, all done.â His Dad stood up abruptly, the binder clasped to his chest. He limped his way past Dipper with a, âAll done, all, all done, and all done. All done, allâŚâ
And then he was gone; Dipper could hear the handle going for a bit before the door creaked open and slammed shut.
âAlright,â he muttered to himself. âNice to see you, too, Dad. Good⌠good talk.â
Man, he should make more of an effort. Months, and it was still⌠he wasnât used to this version of his Dad. It used to be, you couldnât be in the same room as Ronald Quicksilver without hearing his opinion on anything and everything that came up; sometimes he did his homework in the living room so his Dad would walk over and backseat-drive him into all the right answers. But not when he was learning to driveâno, the backseating got a lot more literal and a lot less wanted there.
The memory made him chuckle, but it quickly tapered into a sigh. He seemed happy enough with Mom and Mal, but Dipper could see it every time a customer looked him over⌠no, be honest. He got that look, too, that moment when he just didnât get what his Dad was saying, and his Dad⌠his Dad stopped trying. And once he got his necklace fixed, he was just gonna go right back to college, right back to talking with his Mom on the phone and hearing how Dadâs doing, what Dadâs doing.
Was that how it was gonna be now? No. No, he wanted to talk to his Dad again!
Standing there with a glass of water warming in his hand, Dipper resolved that he was gonna do better on this⌠as soon as heâd gotten to the bottom of who killed Gemma, and how to make Mal feel better. Oh, and what was going on with Lucy Ann, and also getting his medication sorted and getting back on track with his classes, andâlook, it was a priority! It was just that a lot of things were priorities right now.
A yawn was building in his throatâspeaking of priorities.
As he turned to leave, though, something caught his eye. At first he thought it was something shiny under the couch, but when he glanced back, he realised it was more of a glow, somethingâand his stomach twistedânot quite of this reality. It was like the shapes he saw when he pulled up at Gemmaâs house, when he saw through the walls to find-
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeâŚ
With a shudder, Dipper pulled his thoughts back. Setting his water down on the counter, he kneeled down, hesitated, and then stuck a hand into the darkness. It didnât take him long to feel something hard and square and leatheryâa book? Was this the one his Dad had dropped, and⌠not picked up, but shoved under the couch for some reason? Whyâd he do that?
Frowning, he drew it out. It was a heavy thing, definitely closer to a textbook than anything else, and it shed pages and post-its as he lifted it into his lap. Its spine was broken at a page near the middle; he turned to it and saw-
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
Dipper had to physically cover his eyes, because oh my god that was Alcorâs summoning circle oh my god what kind of book is this? Only once his head had stopped buzzing and his knees had managed to slam the book closed did he dare to look again; his shaking hands traced the edges of uneven, yellowed pages, and then flipped the whole thing back to the cover. The title was dulled with age and hard to read, but he caught a bit of moonlight, and there he saw, as damning as a bloody dagger:
 AN INTRODUCTION TO DEMONOLOGY
Dipperâs heart jumped into his throat. His first instinct was to shove this thing right off his lapâwhat on earth was a demonology textbook doing in his house? This was⌠the level of illegal this thing was, his head was spinning to think of it. Mom and Dad werenât demonologists, and neither was Mal, so-
âŚSo why was his Dad reading it? At first Dipper had the desperate thought that heâd dropped some other, unrelated book, and this amazingly illegal little bombshell had just been left here by somebody else, some other time. But if the lack of dust didnât kill that theory dead, the notes finished it off; his head swam as he gathered them up and read his Dadâs shaky handwriting: FOREST SPOT? RCH OUT OLD CNCTS SEE WHT WKS NOW, Y NO ANSR
Dipper didnât realise how hard he was breathing until his head started to spin; with shaking hands, he just shoved all the notes inside until he couldnât see them anymore. What the hell was going on? What was he supposed to do about this? Did Mom know? What was he gonna-
Creak.
Just the slightest sound made him freeze, stock still, hardly daring to breathe. Sitting out in the open, with this book on his lap⌠when the noise didnât repeat, he raced to stuff the thing into his shirt and jump to his feet. He peeked into the stairway, and when his Dad was nowhere to be seen, he dashed upstairs as fast as he dared, back down the hall, back to his room.
âCome on, Mallory! Letâs have a nice family breakfast!â
âNo, weâve got, Dipper and I have somewhere to be, donât we, Dipper? Dipper?â
For once, Malâs gaze wasnât the most piercing thing in the room. Dipper didnât even register her voice until he got a shove on the shoulder.
âHuh? What?â
âWeâre going to Marshâs, remember?â She spoke through gritted teeth, then spun around at the sound of crackling bacon. âWha- Mom! I just told you-â
âDonât be like that, sweetie! If youâve got a big day ahead, you need a big breakfast!â
âWh-!â
âHelp me set the table, wonât you, Mallory?â
âI-â
âPlease just set the table.â
And maybe it was opposites day, or maybe Mallory could sense the same strangeness in the air that Dipper did, because he heard a great huff⌠and then the opening and slamming closed of cabinets. Forks and knives and spoons and plates started appearing in front of him, and in front of the figure sitting at the end of the table.
Ronald Quicksilver was sitting still and straight, his good hand tapping on the table, his eyes trained unmoving and unblinking on Dipper. Dipper couldnât see what expression he had on, because he didnât dare to look; he just sat with his phone out, the screen black, staring at his reflection and waiting for the moment he could run out the door and never look back.
Stars, it was such a stupid move to take that textbook. Of course his Dad would come back for it, of course! And now what? Were they gonna talk about it? âHey, Dad, couldnât help but notice youâre trying to summon a demon, is that a new hobby?â
Just the thought made him cringe into his seat. Last night heâd been wanting to talk to his Dad moreâhe mustâve been touching a monkeyâs paw. What a mess. What an absolute-
âBreakfast,â Mal dropped a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him, then lowered her voice. âLetâs eat fast, yeah? Weâre wasting daylight.â
Then she served their Dad, set her plate down, and started inhaling her toast with the speed (and table manners) of a teenager in a growth spurt. Their Mom gave her an odd look as she sat down.
âYou two are certainly in a hurry today.â A pause; she and their Dad exchanged a glance, and then she smiled over at Dipper. âWhatâs, whatâs the rush, sweetie? What are we up to?â
And now both their eyes were on him. âUm-â he started, but Mal cut in.
âGoing to Marshâs, sheâs a great friend, yadda yadda, letâs go.â
Then she stood up, and swift-walked her plate to the sink before her Mom could stop her.
âWh- Mal, honey, you canât be done-â
âCan and am.â
âYou donât want to have breakfast with us?â Her eyes softened. âItâs been a while since weâve all sat down together. I feel like Iâve barely seen you since Gemma-â
âCool cool coolâDipper, buddy, how long does it take to eat an egg? Are you waiting for those things to hatch?â
âHatch? Theyâre fried.â
âHatch, gestate- whatever, stupid joke, it doesnât-â She jerked her head to the side. âShut-! Nevermind. Look, Iâll be outside!â
Dipper had a horrible realisation that he was about to be left alone with his parents. âW-wait,â he jumped up, shoving bacon into his mouth. âWaiâ fâr âe!â
And he dashed out of the door after her. Their Mom was quick to follow.
âHey, whatâs the big rush? Whatâs gotten into you two?â
Dipper slowed down; Mal forged ahead. âJust⌠friends! Going to see that same friend we did a week ago, uh, Marsh.â He tried for a grin. âWeâll be back soon.â
âIt canât wait for after breakfast? I was hoping we could have a little talk.â
A talk; he caught the tension in that. âSorry, Mom, just-â He said; his eyes skipped over to Mal. âSheâs really excited to go, and itâs⌠good for her, you know? Get her out of the house. Maybe later?â
âOh, definitely, Iâm glad sheâsâŚâ A pause. âDoes she⌠has she talked to you about it, orâŚ?â
âNot really.â
A sigh. âI thought so. Oh, poor Gemmaâpoor Mallory. Itâs got to be so-â
âHey, Dipper!â Mal shouted from the hearse. âAre you gonna stand there gossiping with Mom about me or are you coming with?â
Then she started the engine with a roar, and tore past them out of the parking lot. Their Mom blinked.
âShe left without you!â
âNo, we just take two cars everywhere now, apparently.â To her look, he could only offer a shrug. âShe says sheâs got a pickup in town?â
âThat's not on my calendar. We really shouldn't be using the hearse just to go to lunchâit costs a fortune in gas.â
âYeah, wellâŚâ A nervous laugh. âYou can tell her that.â
âHah. Youâre⌠Iâll talk to her later.â His Mom hesitated for a moment, her hands clasped to her chest. âDipper?â
Dipper knew what was coming; for a split second he thought about driving off as well, putting this off until some other time⌠but he was already stopping, already looking back. âYeah?â
âI was just, um⌠funny story, I was talking to your father this morning, umâŚâ A pause; now it was her who struggled to meet his eyes. âHe said you were up pretty late. Are you sleeping alright, sweetie?â
He had such a pit in his stomach. His head was static.
âUh⌠we were just- your father and I, we⌠this is going to sound, hah, silly, but-â
âYouâre asking about the book,â Dipper said, because of course she was. âThe dem-â
âYes!â She spoke sharply, then put her hands up. âYes, that, that thing. Look, sweetie, Iâm sure you have a lot of questions-â
âQuestions?â The static was louder now, a buzzing in his ears. âYeah, you could say that! That was not what I was expecting, and you know, Iâm getting pretty tired of all these bombshell secrets dropping about everyone I know! I would really like that to stop!â
âIâm sorry.â
âWhy, why on earth do you guys have a-!â At her flinch, he forced himself to stop; right, not the thing to be yelling about in public. âI just- how long has this been going on? What are you guys doing? Do you know how illegal that is?â
She nodded; her eyes were blurring. âI know, I-I know. But weâve been worried sick about you two since Gemma was killed; I know youâre still trying to investigate it. Thatâs what youâre both running off to do, arenât you?â Her voice cracked, and she lowered it. âI couldnât bear it if anything happened to you two, I really couldnât. Heâs helped us before; if He could just watch over you two for a couple weeks-â
âHeâs helped- what? Who?â At her silence, Dipper tried a dangerous question. âAlcor?â
Something in her jaw went tight. By way of answering, his Mom dug in her purse, and drew out her car keys.
âYou shouldnât be driving, sweetie.â She pressed a button, and the locks clicked open. âPlease, let me give you a lift.â
Dipper hesitated for a long moment. He glanced across at his car, still dirty and dented from the beating itâd taken at Gemmaâs⌠then, with a sigh, he moved towards hers.
âFine,â he said. âBut Mom, youâve got a lot of explaining to do.â
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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New transcendence au vampire oc, her name is Viola Winthrop and her entire purpose is to force my other vampire into vampire politics. Sheâs a delightful R!fiddleford and sheâs one of the many many people that haunt his narratives.
I understand why people kill off old characters, filling Louisâ years with events is a lot. Will i stop? No. No i will not.
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Playing human again, Alcor makes it longer than he usually does. He's in college now, juggling classes, family, a curious vampire, and a strange, increasingly sinister web of mysteries weaving themselves around him. Without his omniscience to guide the way, he'll have to work hard to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.
Mal didnât read muchânot anymore. She had fond memories of hanging out in the library after school, or stashing books in the forest for those lonely, lazy summers before she had her own car. It was her very first secret: her folks didnât mean to discourage it, but they had a way of being pleasantly surprised to find her reading that she found absolutely infuriating. Nobody ever went âWow, Dipper, are you feeling alright?â when they caught him halfway through The Two Towers, so whyâd she have to grimace through that same joke over and over and over again?
So of course, she learned to never let anyone catch her.
Sheâd leave the library when her Mom came to pick her up and pretend she was coming from laser tag. She wouldnât touch her summer reading list; hey, she was supposed to be the stupid one, right, so why bother? She didnât need their approval, she didnât need anyoneâs-
âI canât take it anymore, Angie,â Mal felt a hand on her shoulder as she glared down at a blurring sheet of paper. âIâm so stupid, Iâm so stupid, Iâm so STUPID!â
âWhoa, calm down, itâs just math! Everyone hates-â
âNot Dipper! It comes so fucking easy to himâwhy do I even try? Why do I even try at anything!?â
-and with a jerk, Mal was back in the funeral homeâs parking lot; midway through a drag on her vape, she gasped and hacked and coughed herself back into reality.
âOh, shit,â she managed, staring up at the stars as she caught her breath. Then she snapped her head to the side, and scowled. âIs the-ere anything I can do to make you stop fucking doing that?â
She didnât see his face; she never, never did. But the voice that spoke from her shoulder had become all too familiar.
âOh, did I upset you?â crooned Ianitor. âIâm sorry, little murderer. I could see you were reminiscing; I just thought Iâd help out.â
Bullshit, Mal thought⌠but sheâd long since given up on arguing with him.
âIf I may say,â he continued (always, always continued), âitâs strange how you remember past events. Demons, of course, weâre omniscient beings, but it seems like you humans have an oddly⌠selective memory. You donât remember Harry in the library with you? Hanging out with Gemma in your forest?â
And sure enough, more little snapshots wormed their way into Malâs mind. She was more prepared this time; as Harryâs dimpled smile flashed before her eyes, she took a long drag and just⌠tried to not be here.
âEmmy! Ohmigosh, howâs it going? I missed you soooo much!â
âCome on, Mal! You promised not to laugh at me!â
âOh, my stars, youâre ridiculous. I love you.â
Her fingers were trembling, so she clasped them together. Heâs in your head, so you just donât think about it, thatâs all you do. You just gotta shut off, you just gotta hold onâ
âHelp! Help! Please, Mal! I donât wanna-â
âNo. No way. That's sick. Youâre sick.â
âSo, uhh, howâre you holding up?â
âIs that a joke?â
âOf course not. Dude, you look like shit, Iâm just trying to- where are you going? Harry? Come on, Harry, donât be like that! Donât- why wonât you just talk to me, Harry, come on! Please, Harry, please!â
Heâs trying to get a rise; thatâs all this is, a rise. Donât react, donât think, donât feel. You donât get to be a person anymore, this is what you deâwait, donât think that, donât- stop thinking, just stop, just STOPâ
âAre we doomed? A-are we just doomed to this?â
âWhat are you talking about, Harry?â
âWeâre trying to get away - weâve always been trying to get away with this shit! Ever since Angeline, weâreâ weâve just been running from this and I CANâT TAKE IT ANYMORE!â
âEmmy? What are you-â
âNO!âe
It was only when the sound echoed back to her that Mal realised sheâd said it out loud. Stars filtered back in and found her back against the wall, her hands in her hair, the pen lying in the gravel by her feet.
Her heart was pounding so fast it hurt. No, no, no. Not that night. Not ever againâbut a cackle in her ear was a chilling reminder this wasnât up to her anymore.
âOh, that oneâs a bit too fresh, huh?â The naked glee in his voice could hide behind no pretense; she could hear the wet sounds of his smile. âI can still get you with that one.â
âDon-â Mal started, and then bit it back. Donât. Donât. She could see her vision narrowing inâno, please donât, please! Sheâd do anything!
âHahâanything? I hear that so often; you know my price, little murderer.â
Mal just nodded. Yeah, whatever, sheâd do another one.
âAre you sure? I donât want to overwork you; youâve still got quite the backlog from when I helped you with-â
Her fists clenched. Itâs fine! Itâs fine! Everyone was still giving her space afterâ she had time to work on it, thatâs all.
âOh, I suppose thatâs true.â And his voice drew back. âVery well, then. Enjoy your break, little murderer. I wouldnât take too long if I were you.â
And then, finally, mercifully, silence. Mal stood for a moment in the peace of her own mind, eyes closed, soaking in the cricket-song. She used to come out here a lotâused to sneak out her bedroom window when she was a teenager, or walk out the backdoor while the glass was in the kiln, and stare up at the stars and wonder how much sheâd miss them when she got to the big city. Maybe sheâd get all burned out on NLA, and move onto one of those far-out floating islands, and start a plucky YA fantasy series under the pseudonym E. M. Mercury that unexpectedly hits it big and fly across the world on flashy book tours and movie adaptations but always come home to her cozy little farm under the stars⌠or, you know, something like that. It wasnât like sheâd put a bunch of thought into it, right?
The ghost of a grin flitted across her lips, before a sigh blew it away. That was all they wereâghosts, dead as the bodies sheâd work with for the rest of her grinding life.
She thought a lot about reincarnation, these days. Starting again, leaving your past and your bloody hands behind, living a new life unburdened by all the mistakes youâd piled up in front of you. What would she be like? Would she be a different person⌠orâand bile climbed her throatâwas this something deeper, some rot in her soul, dark and evil and inevitable, that reached out and choked everything good and kind around her?
What if she started over, and found out she was exactly the same?
A shudder. Bending down like someone twice her age, she scooped her vape out of the gravel and stuffed it into her pocket. Rubbed her face. Scratched her arms. Glanced back at the door, then up at the stars, searching like she could find something new in them.
Something.
Anything.
Anything at all.
âŚ
But all she found was a hand on her shoulder. âLittle murderer,â it started, and she honestly, truly, wished she was dead right now. âA moment of your time?â
She didnât even bother to shake her head.
âYes, yes, I was going to leave you alone. Iâm so sorry to disturb you, but I thought youâd want to know something.â
Then he paused, made her turn her head and ask, âWhat is it?â
âItâs Dipper, your, ah,ââand he chuckled a bitââyour brother. Looks like heâs coming to knock on your door. I told you not to take too long, didnât I?â
God damn it, Dipperâshe rubbed her eyes. Why now? What did he want?
âYouâd better go find out. We donât want him to wonder whatâs taking you so long.â
And that got her to move. With a groan, she picked herself off the wall and shuffled back into the crematory, locking the door behind her. Striding across the mess, she reached the other side just as there was a knock. There she paused, and managed a smile; her charm would turn it from a deadeyed grimace into something a little more presentable.
Cracking open the door, she slid outside and shut it behind her. âDipper!â She said to the figure standing in the dimly-lit hall. âHey, bro, two questions. Whatâs up, and why canât this wait until morning?â
Dipper looked at her. âI know what you did,â he said, and her blood went cold.
âWh-what? What do you mean?â She backed against the doors. âWhat are you talking about, I-I donât know what youâre talking about!â
But he just looked confused. âGemmaâs code,â he said, slowly. âI said, I know what it says?â
âUhâŚâ Mal started, and then jumped at a cackle in her ear. The dots slowly connected: Ianitor. Motherfucker.
âYeah! Yeah, sorry, fine, justâŚâ She waited for his laughter and the white-hot fury in her chest to die down. âWhat do you- code? Gemmaâs code?â
âYeah⌠sorry.â His expression softened. âI know⌠we donât have to⌠I know this has been really hard for you. Marsh and I, we can-â
âWhat, youâre gonna cut me out of this? Cut me out of solving my best friendâs murder?â She spotted a paper in his hands, and snatched it. âLet me see that.â
It was mostly just to check; yep, it was that little code she texted him from Gemmaâs phone. Funnyâhe thought it was sooo easy, but it seems like he only just now figured out the second message she put in there. Smart twin, yeah right.
âNo, no, not cutting you out at all, thatâs, that's why I came down here!â Her eyes glazed over as he pointed at some circled letters. âI was taking another look, I noticed the xâs, this one is right in the middle of a sentence! Strange, right? And the letters after are capitalised; if you put those all together, they spell-â
âCabin,â Mal said. Dipper grinned; his excitement was punchable. Nobody told her this false-trail stuff was gonna feel less suave and more like being on a show aimed at particularly stupid preschoolersââcan you find the clue I left thatâs staring you in the face?â âOh wow, good job!â
âExactly!â He said, and her fists crumpled the page. âHer familyâs cabin in the woods! Thereâs gotta be something there!â
âOkay, thatâŚâ She gritted her teeth. âI, I never wouldâve noticed that! But, uh⌠are we supposed to go now or something?â
âWhat?â
âItâs the middle of the night, dude.â Shoving the paper back at him, she crossed her arms. âI donât know about you, but I think vampire hunting is more of a daytime hobby.â
He blinked, the smile fading on his face. âUh⌠no, yeah, totally! I just thought youâd want-â
âWant to know, yeah, thanks.â
âMal-â
âOh my god, if the next words out of your mouth are âhowâre you doingâ-â She stopped herself, put her hands up. âIâll-, Iâll see you in the morning, alright?â
Worry was written all over Dipperâs face. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. âOkay.â
âYeah, weâll, weâll get Marsh on this as well or something. Iâll call her.â
âOkay.â And as she turned her back on him: âI love you.â
For now, she thought. âI love you too,â she said, and then she shut the door in his face. There was no solitude to be had, though; immediately Ianitor piped up.
âYou didnât like my little prank, did you?â He snickered. âI do apologise, it wasâwhat do you humans say? It was too good to pass up!â
âI thought I paid you to fuck off for a bit.â
âOh, no, not at all! You should pay closer attention to the deals you make, little murderer.â His claws squeezed down on her shoulders as she crossed the room, stepping over some things. âYou paid me to not bring up that certain little incidentâfor an unspecified amount of time as well, sloppy. Quite sloppy.â
She was digging through the drawers, trying to drown him out.
âAnd that âextra timeâ you thought you had, hah, well, thatâs just gone up in smoke, hasnât it? Now that heâs found your trail, it seems like weâd better discuss the next stage of the plan.â
There they were; drawing them slowly out, Mal laid one glass charm on the desk, and then another. She cut two lengths of red ribbon and tied them into bracelets; crude work, but itâd do.
âIt looks nice to me,â said Ianitor. âI like the red. It reminds me-â
âOf blood, yeah, youâre a demon, I get it.â
âOh, you wound me, little murderer! I have more dimensionality than that!â A pause. âIt reminds me of fresh blood. A true connoisseur knows to be specific.â
Mal let out a groan, turning to a long sigh, deflating her down, down, down until her face rested on the counter. She used to like murder mysteries; there was always a charm to the villains, wasnât there? They could juggle like a million twists and still have time to trade their little quips. They never seemed stressed at all; it was unrealistic, thatâs what it was!
I love the Nightmare sheep from transcendence-au. My favourites are Lolonja, Fluffernutter and Isolation. Although the descriptions are vague, i love how they are represented.