Nightmares and Daydreams

Chapter 26

Dipper's Pov

The journey through town was once again silent, which was good for me. It meant fewer chances of painful memories being brought up. Memories that would get in the way of what was really important.

The amount of destruction increased but still not a single person in sight. I really hope it's because they're hiding and not de- "AAAHHHH!" Me and Mabel looked at each other then ran towards the sound of screaming. Over by the lake, Pacifica was being surrounded by edelwood, one of them wrapping around her ankles. Mabel gasped and quickly ran over to her while I pulled out my knife and started hacking at the branches. I managed to cut one off but it quickly grew back and tightened its grip on Pacifica's ankle, digging into her skin. "Dipper, do something!" Mabel yelled while trying to pull Pacifica out of the branches. "What do you think I'm doing!?" I yelled back.

Clearly, cutting the branches wasn't working, so what!? What would make them go away? I thought back to my notes on edelwood branches but nothing came up. C'mon Dipper, think! They make oil, the Beast controls them, fuel for his fla- wait that's it! I took out a box of matches from my backpack and struck one of them, creating a small fire. I quickly threw the match at one of the branches and it burst into flames. The one around Pacifica's ankle quickly went limp and Mabel was able to pull Pacifica out. We all watched in awe as the branches caught fire and burned to the ground, a sound similar to screaming coming from the bark.

Once the fire died down, Mabel and I turned our attention to Pacifica. "Are you okay?" "What were you doing out here?" me and my twin asked at the same time. Mabel shot me a 'be more compassionate' look so in response I rolled my eyes but let her take care of her girlfriend. Other than a few bruises and the scars from the edelwood, she looked and seemed fine. "What are you doing here," I asked once again. Pacifica rolled her eyes and said, "I was looking for you two. This town is in ruins again, but everyone decided to run and hide this time. Well, I'm gonna help you!" Mabel and I looked at each other in surprise then she turned to Pacifica and, with a small smile, said, "of course you can help us. We were in need of more hands." With Pacifica on board, we all headed back to the shack.

~~T.T.S~~

The second we stepped foot into the shack, Ford bombarded us with questions. Stan quickly intervened, which I was thankful for, and we sat down in the living to go over what we found.

"Okay, so while we were on our scouting mission, we found-" "A gun!" Mabel interrupted. I massaged my temples and nodded at my sister's input. "Yes we found a gun, but we also-" "You also found me," Pacifica added. I facepalmed and glared at the two and they thankfully shut up. "Okay, so like I was saying, I think we might have found a weakness. While rescuing Pacifica, I set one of the edelwood branches on fire and it completely burst into flames and went limp. It might be the key to taking out Bill, but. . ." I paused and tapped the marker to my chin. Fire might be able to burn a tree, but what about Bill. Were we supposed to set him on fire and he would die? Was there something else we're missing?

"I think that's enough for today. You two have given us a lot of information, so let's take a break for today and revisit this tomorrow," Great-Uncle Ford said while reviewing our work on the board. We all agreed and split off, Mabel taking Pacifica upstairs, Stan probably going up to his room, and me and Ford going down to the basement.

The ride down in the elevator was quiet till Ford broke the silence. "You did good today. I'm proud of you, Mason." I nodded with a smile and we exited the elevator and entered the secret library. While Ford stayed near the bookshelves, I went over to where Wirt was resting. Greg was already over there, sitting in a chair near the couch Wirt was laying on. He looked up at me and smiled and I smiled back and lifted the boy into my arms. "You're not bored down here are you?" I asked while gently petting his hair. "Nope. Mr. Ford said I could help out, and you sent me here on a mission. So I can't be bored!"

My smile became forced as I remembered the reason Greg was down here. He was down here because Wirt was down here. And Wirt was down here because I fucked up. I got him hurt and now he was unconscious, maybe even de- "Dipper?" I blinked back tears and sighed, putting Greg back down on the chair. I then slumped down on the floor next to him and buried my head into my knees.

"I-I'm sorry Greg," I choked out. I didn't want to cry. It was a waste of time, time I could be using to work. But I couldn't help it. Everything was all my fault! "I-I'm so s-sorry Greg. I g-got him h-hurt." I felt the little boy sit next to me and rest his head on my shoulder. "It's not your fault," he whispered, putting his hand on mine. I wanted to believe him but I couldn't. Wirt was hurt because he had to save me. If I hadn't been there, things could have been different. He might still be alive. 

"Greg, he got hurt saving me. I-If I wasn't there he m-might still be okay." "Yeah but you only went because I asked y-you..." Greg drifted off and his eyes started to fill up with tears. He looked up at me, scared, and, in a whisper, asked, "I-Is it m-my fault?" I gasped and then picked the boy up and placed him in my lap, gently petting his hair while he held onto me. "Oh no no no. Of course it's not your fault. None of this is your fault." "B-But, I asked you to go find him. A-And you both got hurt." I shushed the boy and continued trying to comfort him. "You just wanted to protect him. It's not your fault, Greg." "You wanted to protect him too."

I hesitated not knowing what to say. Greg did bring up a point that my guilt wouldn't let me hear. I wanted to protect him, it was the entire reason I had gone out. I was so focused on what Bill said that I failed to realize why he said it. To hurt me. This guilt I was feeling was just Bill's words trying to hurt me. Sure I could have stayed and maybe things would have been different. But what if things actually got worse?

I gently smiled and hugged Greg, running a hand through his hair. "We both wanted to protect him. It's not any of our faults. Only Bill's-" "And the Beast's," Greg spat out, with more anger than I thought possible for the usually happy 9-year old. I nodded and sighed, looking over at Wirt. "Yeah, and the Beast's. But we're not gonna let them win. We're gonna stop them and then we'll save Wirt." "Like Pilgrims?" Greg asked while looking up at me with innocent eyes, his lips quivering a little. I smiled and gently nuzzled his cheek then said, "yeah, just like pilgrims. Now come on, it's getting late." I stood up, picking Greg up as well, and was about to head upstairs when I paused.

"Um, d-do you want to sleep down here?" Greg nodded and I placed him down on the couch next to Wirt. He cuddled under his older brother's arms and I placed a blanket over both of them. "Can you stay?" Greg asked. "Y-Yeah, I can do that." I pulled over the chair and sat next to them, trying not to cry. It was hard, especially since I was sitting right next to Wirt. I just wanted him to wake up, blink his eyes drowsily like he always does, and smile up at me. I wanted him back, so so bad. To yawn and then affectionately ruffle Greg's hair before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to my cheek while tiredly asking what time it was. That last part was more so wishful thinking, but I still wanted it.

Greg's light snoring snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to look at the sleeping boy. Trying hard not to wake him, I leaned over and nuzzled his cheek one more time while saying, "goodnight Greg." Moving away from Greg I looked over at Wirt and, with slight hesitation, leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek. My own cheeks heated up, making me smile and giving me enough courage to kiss him again.

"Goodnight my Pilgrim." 

Hello Bat Fam! Let's skip the pleasantries and cut to the chase. This book is going on a tiny break. I have been seriously procrastinating on writing and I need a break to get the good ideas flowing again. Wait, you thought I was naturally this amazing at writing? Welp surprise surprise, only 99.999% of this perfection is from birth (I need to shut up and quit being a self-absorbed ass😂). Anyway, I won't be updating for a little while but don't panic! I'll be back before you know it!  Goodbye, my lovely bat fam!