Ethereal

20

"No!" Danny shouted, the gesture causing more pain to explode in his head and stomach. He jerked forward as they fell into the water, clawing at the liquid. Instinct brought them towards the surface, but Serafina's henchmen brought them back down.

"Yes," Sera whispered, her pointed claws drawing more blood from his weakened body. He watched helplessly as Dipper was thrown onto the sand, Mabel's hoof was grabbed and pulled back under, Wendy's eyes began to close, Pacifica sank to the ground, and Stan clawed at his surroundings desperately.

No.

Memories floated in the water around him, bringing unwanted pain to the situation. The lab accident. The struggle to keep his secret from the world. Putting his friends in danger. Spectra calling him a freak. His fight with his future self. Watching his friends and family explode.

I can't save anyone.

But I have to save everyone.

With one final burst of energy, Danny let out a yell so loud and powerful it shook the lake floor and vibrated the water around him. Serafina released him, dropping him onto the mud and sand in order to cover her own aching ears. Her henchmen broke apart, swimming away in earnest. Mermando shot towards his father, who groaned uneasily.

Danny closed his eyes, blinded by a sudden, searing white light.

He shot towards his new friends.

* * *

Dipper hardly had time to react to the whole thing. He sank almost immediately to the lake floor, unable to swim in his new form. What happened next was saved in his brain like photographs.

He glanced around, his vision already obscured by the muddy water and whatever that light green substance was. Shadowy figures emerged from the darkness, and his struggling friends sank further.

A skull-crushing yell sounded through the waves, and Dipper momentarily thought about how loud it had to have been. Water muffles noises, but this scream was as clear as a cloudless summer day.

A bright light flashed through the water as the yelling ended, and he saw two blurry figures retreating. He blinked slowly, everything happening too fast.

Something grabbed him and hoisted his body out of the mud, breaking through the surface at an impossible speed. He was laid down on the grass, his hands clutching at the dirt, his coughs wet and painful.

Dipper watched as a black and white figure dove back under the waves.

"Danny?" Jazz inquired, but the boy was moving abnormally fast. He caught his name and dismissed it, grabbing both Stan's and Wendy's hands before flying upwards. Pacifica and Mabel came next, their bodies laying haphazardly on the dry grass as they coughed and spluttered.

"Is everyone alright?"

The entire group went completely silent as they looked up at their savior.

"How'd you do that?" Jazz queried uncertainly.

"Do what?"

"Danny! You're in your ghost form! How'd you change back?"

"I'm what?"

Danny studied his own body with new found giddiness. He ran his hand though his hair and along his jawline, admiring the black jumpsuit and white accents. Feeling his stomach, he realized that all his previous wounds had instantly and miraculously healed. He kicked his own leg, marveling at the way it moved. He hadn't had legs for a while, and the feeling was foreign.

"Where's the journal?" Dipper shouted. His shock had been replaced by an odd mix of fear and hope. They might just get out of this, after all.

Mabel threw up her hands in frustration. "You idiots! You left it at the Shack."

Pacifica spat out water and her snake hair hissed menacingly. "When this is over, I'm suing all of you."

"It's not our fault you wandered off into the forest in the middle of the night!" Wendy growled.

The entire group was thrown into mass chaos. Stan desperately tried to break up the kids and Jazz sat in stunned silence, her body still weak from the lack of oxygen.

"Enough!" Danny finally shouted, waving his hands in the air. "It's fine. I'll just fly over to the Mystery Shack and meet you all at the stream. Sound good?"

A few people grumbled angrily but shakily stood, wringing the lake water out of their soaking hair. Danny's own hair had stayed dry for reasons he could not begin to comprehend.

He extended a hand and helped Stan up off the ground, patting his back encouragingly. "Make sure they get there safely," Danny said. "I don't want to see anyone else getting hurt. This is my fault."

Stan raised an eyebrow in inquiry but said nothing, his thoughts not forming into words.

Danny let go of the man's hand and took off into the air, the fresh wind echoing in his ears and filling his senses. He chuckled once before taking off, flying as fast as ghostly possible towards the small shack.

When he reached his destination, he noticed his parents on the front porch. They seemed to be chatting nonchalantly, with an upcoming ghostly device in Maddie's hands and an old fishing pole in Jack's grasp. Danny went intangible and invisible as he entered the house, avoiding his parent's watchful glares. Or, his mom's, anyway.

Walking into the living room, he found the journal quickly. Resting on the old chair's cushion, he picked it up and noticed that it was already flipped to a certain page.

Halfa.

Danny momentarily lost his breath before remembering that they already knew. Had Jazz told them everything? Did they still trust him? His thoughts ran rampant as his eyes skimmed the page.

Were there more like him? More than just him, Vlad, and Dani?

The thought made him shiver in both fear and excitement.

Someone opened the living room door, their blocky figure freezing in the doorway.

"Ghost!" Jack shouted, pointing a gloved hand at Danny. "Maddie, get the equipment, the Ghost Boy is here!"

Danny rolled his eyes and flew through the ceiling. Great, just another thing he had to worry about on this vacation.

He swerved out of the way of a ghost ray and flew faster towards the stream.

Yo, read this.

Firstly, this book has reached 20 chapters. Thank you all so much!

Now, I was thinking of making a second book that branched off of this, but after lots of thinking, I decided that I should make a part two of this book! So, the end is no where near here. This book is going to be a lot longer than expected. Get excited!

Secondly, after a few people insisting that I try it, I've signed up for the Gravity Falls Wattys! You know what that means: you have to vote for my story if you enjoy it and think it deserves a win. However, voting doesn't start until March 22nd, so, in the meantime, I urge you to submit your own Gravity Falls fan fictions!

Thank you all so so much.