When You're a Mystery Kid

The Witch & the Seeker

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured here.

In the distance, floating high above what used to be central Gravity Falls, composed of dark red-brown stone, with lava-like orange-red glow shining through its cracks, was Bill Cipher's Fearamid. That's where Bill and his demon friends reside. That's where Bill held Ford Pines captive. That's where the fate of the world will be decided.

For close to a week now, Norman has lived under its shadow. It was the closest thing he'd ever felt to actual Hell, but in only a few minutes, one way or another it will all come to end. Either this crazy plan of launching an all-or-nothing assault on the Fearamid would succeed, and they defeat Bill and save the world, or it won't.

Nearly everyone had gathered inside the Shack for the final stages of preparation for the assault. Norman was among the last ones to remain outside. Him, and Dipper, who was only a few paces ahead of him, standing at the edge of the Shack's magical barrier, silently gazing upwards at the distant Fearamid.

Norman drew a deep, nervous, calming breath, and called out, "Dipper."

Dipper shifted in his stance, like he was startled out of his thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder, caught one look of Norman's expression, and frowned.

"How long until we go?"

"Five minutes."

Dipper sighed. He turned his attention back to the Fearamid for a moment, before he turned on his heels, his lips quirked into a dry, humorless smile.

"Well. Now or never," he spoke. His eyes looked so tired. He'd tried to hide it, but Norman could still see it.

It felt wrong to say nothing at the sight of it, so Norman said, "We can do this, Dipper. We'll get Ford back, and he'll know how to beat Bill for good. I know we can win."

Dipper raised an eyebrow at that. "Weird. I always took you for a realist."

"If there's ever a time to be an optimist, it's now." Norman hoped he'd said it with enough confidence to at least affect Dipper.

Dipper breathed out the tiniest of laughs. Norman smiled, both in satisfaction and in relief.

Dipper sighed again, before he began to walk towards the Shack, and towards Norman. "Here's to the rest of our lives," he remarked, wearing a familiar dry smile, as he passed by Norman.

Norman's smile fell as Dipper passed him. There was a reason why Norman approached Dipper while he was all alone. He'd spent damn near a week psyching himself up for this moment. A lot of nervous pacing, a lot of second guessing, and too many worst case scenarios passing his thoughts to count. After all of that, he won't let this chance slip away so easily.

"Wait."

Norman reached out and grabbed Dipper's wrist. Dipper stopped in his step, looked down at Norman's hand wrapped around his wrist, then up to face Norman eye to eye. Norman's heart thundered in his ears. He could feel cold sweat running down the back of his neck. This is it. Finally, this is the moment.

Dipper waited with an expectant look. Norman breathed in, and out, and he began.

"N-Not to doubt us or anything, b-but if we end up... you know, not making it? I just want you to know, I'm..."

He faltered. The words were right there, at the tip of his tongue. He was so close to the edge, so ready to risk it all and take the plunge. All he had to do was to say it, right here and now.

"I'm..."

Fear seized his heart. Doubt tied his tongue. Anxiety muddled his thoughts. The words he had so carefully prepared were gone in an instant. The plunge suddenly seemed too dark and deep. The risk felt too much to face.

"I'm...... glad."

Dipper quirked an eyebrow. Norman kept talking, no matter how hard he tried to stop.

"That we got to meet each other. All of us. Even though we get into more trouble than we should, and even though we ended up stuck in this Hell, I won't have it any other way. You all made this worth it."

That was not what he wanted to say. That was not at all what he wanted to say.

"I am more than lucky to have you all as my best friends."

Dipper smiled. Norman faked a smile.

"Wow, Norman, that was..." Dipper let out an incredulous chuckle. "Well, you've always had a way with words." He rubbed the back of his neck. A soft smile formed on his lips. "I guess I... kinda feel the same way. About this crazy, stupid, amazing team."

"Y-Yeah." Norman had kept up the same static smile this entire time. He wondered if Dipper noticed it. "Sorry. For jumping you like that."

"Hey, it's fine! I... I needed that. That was nice." The soft smile Dipper had on his lips then went away. His eyes lit up, his features turning into something much fiercer. He didn't notice that anything was amiss at all. "Now, come on. Let's end this."

Dipper turned around and marched towards the Shack, his hand slipping out of Norman's fingers. He disappeared under the tarp covering the Shack before Norman could utter another word. Norman's legs buckled under him and he fell to his knees, his hands hanging limp to his sides. It took everything within him to not cry out in frustration, at his own cowardice, at his own doubts, at the cold that suddenly gripped his heart in an unrelenting vice. His final chance to say what he truly he felt, and he let it slip away, just like that.

He felt his hands slowly turning into fists. The cold despair inside him churned and shifted, rising and warming until it wasn't despair that he felt anymore. His eyes lit up, and he rose back to his feet. That pathetic, botched attempt at a confession; that might not truly be his final chance.

He just had to make sure everyone made it out of this alive.

He looked over his shoulder, at the Fearamid that hovered far in the distance, looming high over everything in Gravity Falls. A surge of energy trickled down into the tips of his fingers.

Up there, he won't hesitate.

X-X-X-X-X

The countdown ends. The assault shall soon commence.

Quick storytime, I actually managed to originally post this right on time for Halloween! Not the most appropriate way to celebrate, but I'm personally still pretty proud of that. Next year, who knows, I might step it up and do something appropriately spooky.

Celebrations aside, now that this chapter's done, that's four chapters out of four and eight kids out of eight! And what better way to end it than with some good ol' Parapines. As always, a fun ship to work with, even though this particular situation is not at all a fun one for them. Personally, I always thought their romance would work best as a slow burn type thing.

Y'all, we are indeed getting very close to the end of this saga! It's kinda bizarre for me to think that we've managed to reach this point, after so long of having this just a fantasy in my head. It's going to be a long one for sure, which is why I will be splitting it into two parts. Part one will drop sometime in mid-November, and part two will drop at the end of November.

Thank you so much for reading, and see you all in a bit for the conclusion of the Weirdmageddon Saga!