Gravity Rises (S3)

CW: Part Four

When Lee returned to his own mind, he couldn't think at first. He felt overwhelmed by what had happened with the Cipher Wheel.

He remembered it perfectly. He remembered being ten minds at once. Ten minds, one being of great power. But now he was himself again; he only had one mind. It was a jarring change, and he had to process it.

So did the other Symbols, it seemed. Everyone stood there for a moment, still holding hands, still glowing their different colors. But their eyes opened, and they stared at each other, and Lee knew that everyone else was back in their own mind, too. They were all trying to process what had just happened.

"Did it work?" said a voice. Lee jumped, then saw Andrew standing by the stairs. Right. He was here. He must've seen the Symbols' eyes open.

"No," Ford said. "No, it didn't work." His voice had an edge of bitterness to it, but it was mostly full of disbelieving sadness. He let go of Gideon's and Mabel's hands, and the multi-colored glow disappeared.

"What? Why not? What happened?"

The other Symbols released hands, each with sadness in their eyes. They'd all experienced the same thing. They'd been one mind. Lee struggled to wrap his head around that idea.

"What happened?" Andrew repeated when no one answered him. "I felt the power coming off of you. Surely you were able to unite your minds."

"We were," Ford said. "We went to Cipher and found him just where we expected him. But we couldn't get him out of Lee's body."

When Ford said it — said it out loud — Lee felt a sudden weight drop in his chest. It fell to his stomach, which churned with a sickening dread. He suddenly found it hard to breathe steadily.

"Why not?" asked Andrew. "You should just be able to exorcise him the way Gideon did with Greg. Expect with a lot more power."

"We tried," Gideon said. "We really did. We could feel that power, and we used it. But we couldn't separate Bill from Lincoln's body."

"We separated so we could think this all through," Fidds said.

Andrew stared at them; Lee couldn't read his facial expression, but he had no doubt it was a negative one. "Was he fighting you?" the minotaur asked.

"No," Gideon answered. "He didn't have to. His connection with Lee's body was so strong that we couldn't break it."

"It was so dark," Pacifica said quietly. "The connection. . . his power. . . it was evil."

Lee glanced at her. She stood by his side, staring at the floor with a horrified expression on her face. She knew now. She knew that Bill's power could only lead to darkness. It was good that she knew — Lee doubted that she'd ever want to help Bill again — but the look on her face broke Lee's heart.

"The deal," Andrew said. "The dark power you felt — that must've been his and Lee's deal."

"How are we supposed to break that?" said Robbie. "It's way too strong."

The words pulled Lee's attention away from Pacifica. His heartbeat sped up; it was so fast and strong that it seemed ready to burst from his chest.

It was the deal. The stupid deal Lee had made twenty years ago. It was keeping Bill safe.

"Grunkle Lee?" said Mabel. "Are you okay?"

He couldn't imagine what expression he had on his face. He felt a deep horror, one he couldn't name but couldn't ignore. He felt dizzy, too. "I. . . I think I need to lay down," he said.

Melody was immediately by his side. "We can go to Ford's room," she said.

Ford nodded in agreement. "Come join us when you're ready," he told Lee. "We'll need your input."