Gravity Rises (S3)

CW: Part Twenty-Two

Sunday evening was a flurry of activity as people rushed into Gravity Rises.

A group of state troopers immediately went to the Northwest Manor to take the nineteen surviving Northwest servants into custody. There had been quite a bit of argument about those nineteen servants, since the supernatural creatures were holding prisoners who weren't under their governance captive on property that wasn't theirs. But they argued that it was too dangerous to move the servants — and because the servants had killed eleven nonhumans, and had directly aided the demon those nonhumans were responsible for, they had a right to detain them until they could be transferred to their own government.

With multiple prisoner transport vehicles and an abundance of caution, the state troopers made the transfer. The Northwest servants were packed away and driven off to rot in jail.

Throughout the rest of town, construction and utility workers spread out to repave roads, repair phone lines, and basically get the town back on the grid. They had a lot of work cut out for them, but they got started right away. The areas of town that they sectioned off to repair made it harder to move about, but that didn't stop the people who flooded in. Dipper pulled his parents and Mabel through the chaos to get to the Museum — because his parents had to meet Waddles the pig immediately.

Pacifica was in town as well, and she saw Dipper rush past. He didn't notice her. But Mabel did. And she waved. Actually waved. Pacifica, surprised, didn't have time to wave back before the Pines were gone.

"She seems to have forgiven you," Ellie said softly.

"She definitely shouldn't," Shadow Pacifica said incredulously.

Pacifica didn't say anything.

"Pacifica? Are you all right?" asked Ellie.

Were those tears in Pacifica's eyes? From a simple wave? Pacifica had been extremely emotional this last week as she'd shared everything she'd done with her grandmother, but that wasn't really an excuse. It was just a wave. Nothing to cry about.

Ellie noticed the tears. She took her granddaughter by the shoulders. "This, Pacifica," she said, "is proof that change can happen. Good change."

That statement filled Pacifica with a nameless fear. It didn't help that Shadow Pacifica immediately said, "No, it can't. You can't change, Pacifica." Maybe Pacifica couldn't change, but things were going to be changing around her. And the coming changes in Pacifica's life would be huge — and hugely scary.

"Let's keep going," Ellie said. "Okay?"

Pacifica nodded.

Grandmother and granddaughter continued down the street, dodging people as best they could, headed for Pacifica's house. Or, Pacifica's parents' house.

Ellie didn't talk, which Pacifica was fine with. She was having a heated conversation with her shade, anyway.

"They'll hate you," Shadow Pacifica said confidently. "They'll take one look at you and hate you. As they should."

They don't remember me, Pacifica silently replied. They can't hate someone they don't know.

"Well, maybe that's worse. There's no way you can face their blank looks. You're too weak."

That. . . was probably true. Pacifica didn't care about her parents nearly as much as a daughter should. She'd even been glad to be rid of them, back when she'd seen them as wanting to control her. And now she had to face them again. As much as she told herself she didn't care, would she really be able to handle looking at parents who didn't remember her?