Gravity Rises (S3)

CW: Part Eighteen

"I can't do it," said Gideon.

He, Mabel, Dipper, and Pacifica were standing in the trees, only a few houses away from the edge of town. They could hear the hubbub of the crowd as reporters talked about the town suddenly reappearing, or the border stopping anyone from entering. Everyone was so close — their family members were so close.

"What do you mean, you can't do it?" asked Dipper. "Aren't you happy to see her again?"

"Of course I am!" Gideon said, offended that Dipper would doubt that Gideon was happy to see his sister. "I just — What do you say to someone you haven't seen for six years? And why didn't she try to contact me sooner? I don't think I can do it."

Pacifica scoffed. "Oh, please. You're Gideon Northwest. You think you can do anything."

"Well, not this. It's too much."

He was aware that he was showing a side of himself — an unsure, anxious side — that none of these three had really seen before. But he couldn't help it.

"Come on," Mabel said gently. "We came down together. Andrew sent us down here to be the first Symbols to leave town. He wants us to see our families, but he also wants us to tell everyone that he's coming. So we should do that."

"And I want to see my parents," Dipper said. "You know, the parents I haven't seen for weeks."

Mabel elbowed him in the side.

Gideon took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. I can do this."

"You can do it," Mabel agreed.

Gideon gave her a small smile. Then he rubbed his fingers on the cool stone of his amulet — which was in his pocket, not on his lapel. He didn't think it was a good idea to display his amulet to reporters who would probably be all over the story of the Order once they knew about it.

The group of four stepped out of the trees and onto the road.

The sun was close to setting, and it was shining in their eyes, but they could still see the crowd beyond the barrier. Gideon doubted he was the only one feeling preemptively claustrophobic — there were so many people out there! But he kept walking, and so did the others. They walked down the road, avoiding the ridge of dirt in the middle that stuck up through the broken asphalt.

"Mabel! Mason!"

There were Mabel and Dipper's parents. The twins gasped, then broke into a run. Sam and Camille were pressed up against the invisible barrier, trying in vain to get through to their children. But though they couldn't get through, their voices could. So they called for their children. And the twins answered.

Gideon wanted to break into a run too. . . but he also didn't. In fact, he wasn't quite sure why his legs were still working at all. He scanned the crowd, wondering where. . .

"Gideon! Charlie, I'm right here!"

Without Gideon telling them to, his legs started running. Pacifica ran beside him, crying out for her grandmother, who stood beside Grace. But Gideon hardly noticed Eleanor. He could only see his sister.

Mabel and Dipper reached their parents first. They jumped right through the barrier, as if it weren't there at all — which it wasn't, for them — and landed right in their parents' arms. Sam lifted Mabel and spun her around, and Camille hugged Dipper tightly. Gideon glanced their way, and he was happy for them. He really was.

And then there was Grace.

Gideon ran through the barrier and threw his arms around his sister. The first thing he noticed, weirdly, was how short she was. He almost had to lean down to hug her. What—? But then he realized it wasn't because she was short. It was because he'd grown so tall.