The new girl in Gravity Falls; by Joona Irene

The Missing Page

By Joona Irene

~~still Dipper POV~~

Every triangle with an eye inside was looking towards the hiding spot of the promised page. Mabel and I ran, starting with the carpet in the gift shop and ending with the attic window. Finally we came to the conclusion that it was somewhere in the forest.
Mabel and I walked, excitedly, nervously, anxiously through the trees. There were scattered birch trees, and I realized that they had eyes too, so we began to follow those.
"This should be the last one." I said, examining the small black spot of bark that resembled an eye.
"Hey, isn't this the same spot the hidden tunnel was?" Mabel noticed. I looked around, realizing she was right.
"That's...odd." I mumbled. "It couldn't possibly be in there...we checked!"
"Well, let's check again!" Mabel jumped up and down. "Maybe Bill just put it there!"
"Maybe." I said, not really agreeing. "Well, here goes. Back into that tunnel...Tops Gnid Loh, Tops Gnid Loh, Tops Gnid Loh." I said casually. Like last time, there was a shaking of the earth and the tunnel opened.
Since we'd already been in here before, Mabel and I made our way much faster than last time. We almost tripped over the slide in the dark. I had a hard landing though, on my face.
"Dipper, don't you know how to slide down a steep sheet of rock like a normal person?" Mabel scoffed me.
"It's not like it's something I do every day!" I argued, my face covered in dust. I got up and readjusted my hat. "Let's just go." I said, embarrassed. Mabel was smiling wide, but it soon disappeared. She probably is still worried about Bill's deal. I can't say I'm not, but...if we get Lilac on our side it won't matter right? We need to let her know that we're her friends. And maybe something...more? No, no, that's silly. You don't know what she is. She could be any kind of creature. She could be anything.
We entered the room, only to see a surprise. Last time the river had been at the far end of the cave. But now it was touching our feet, covering the entire floor.
"Dipper..." Mabel said, looking at it. "The water's risen! How deep does it go?" she waded out, splashing a little as she went. Thankfully she reached the middle of the room without falling, and it only reached her knees.
"I think it's safe!" She called. "Let's look for the page!"
"How?" I wondered, my chest feeling heavy with doubt. "It's paper! It'll get soggy and be useless, or sink!"
"So?" Mabel asked, getting further away. I heaved a sigh and followed, searching in the water.
Soon I caught up with Mabel. Surprisingly it was easy to walk around. In the distance I could have sworn I heard the pitter patter of raindrops. Oh, that's why the water's risen. It's raining. Suddenly something caught my eye. It gleamed in the far corner. I waded my way through the enormous tunnel puddle to it, hopes rising.
It was sticking up halfway from the water. It seemed like a piece of paper, but I had to get closer. I reached for it, and almost lost my balance, when Mabel grabbed my arm and held me up.
"Thanks." I said. Then, I grabbed the page. I looked at it, a smile spreading across my face.
"We did it!" Mabel exclaimed, throwing water up into the air. "We beat Bill! That MUST be the page right? It has to be!"
"I can't believe it." I said, looking at it. The paper felt silky in my hands and was heavier than the normal paper in the journal. Then I saw that the bottom right corner was missing. I stared at the paper in awe.
"Let's go back to the shack. We have to examine this."
"Good call bro-bro." Mabel said, shivering. "This water is cold!"
We had to swim out of the tunnel, like last time. The stronger current made it easier than before though. Last time Lilac helped me swim out. I shook off the memory as I wrung out my t-shirt. It was still raining, so I felt like a dork. Once we had our breath back, we left for the shack, tingling with excitement.

"Okay, do you feel ready?" I asked Mabel. She nodded, holding Waddles in her lap because she deeply insisted. We were in our room, with the door locked and the journal and the missing page out in front of us. I took a deep breath, and began to analyze what was supposedly Lilac's greatest secret.

The first thing to catch my eye was a depiction of what seemed to be a thickened black stick figure with bright, blue eyes and short white hair that clung to the head. Lilac has blue eyes and white hair. Then there were some scribbles and arrows pointing to the picture. The first one was pointing to the eyes. It read: 'Absorbs Even light to see'.
There was a second arrow pointing to the rest of the black figure. It read: 'No knives, blades, or torches of any kind. No guns either. Diamond? Alloyed metal? Water rolls off like wax.'
"It's kind of hard to read that long paragraph." Mabel said, her voice quiet. I looked at the paragraph, reading it out loud, slowly:
'While exploring the possibility of flying I met this creature resting in the trees. At first it was elusive but trust was eventually acquired. It appeared as female but I later learned that this thing has no gender. Evidently it has a destructive past and even claimed to have destroyed the entirety of human kind- in alternate dimensions. This dimension was, to it, number nine.
'This creature goes by the name of Lilac Whites, and sometimes appears as a human child or an adult. Elusive is a priority. It was only willing to relinquish such information with me as long as I swore on my life to NOT WRITE IT DOWN, or even try to recall it. Of course, I had to, as this could be potentially be the most powerful creature I've yet encountered, who could not only become my best friend and protector, but partner in solving the mysteries of Gravity Falls. Be kind to it. Be gentle too.
'I soon discovered that Lilac Whites is not it's real name. As for that secret, it will not reveal. Trusting it was a mistake as it left me to live in the water. Who knows how long it has lived? Solitary may be it's best defense against itself.'

I looked up at Mabel, shocked. Scared.
"That...that..." was all Mabel could say. Waddles grunted.
"This can't be Lilac." I breathed, re-reading it. "Can it? There's just no way, no way!"
"Dimensions...destructive past...I don't understand..." Mabel finally whined. "This CAN'T be Lilac! She wouldn't kill anybody, much less everybody!"
"Best defense against itself." I murmured. "Against itself? What does that mean? What does any of it mean?"
Mabel and I continued staring at the page, re-reading everything over and over again, trying to make sense of it, that perhaps there could be a better explanation, that somehow Lilac wasn't and didn't have anything to with this thing. But the more Dipper and Mabel read, the more they had to realize the reality of the missing page.
"Mabel..." I said sadly, softly, frightened. I looked up at my sister, who had the same look in her eyes as me.
"Its Lilac." She said in a hushed tone. "This thing is her."
"I just wish it wasn't." I sighed. Waddles started running around us in a circle, his little ears flapping. Mabel picked up Waddles and held him like a baby. Waddles's little feet churned the air, as if he was still running.
"At least I know were to look for her." I offered, a sad look planted on my face. Maybe it would never leave. After knowing all this...