Gravity Rises (S3)

AI: Part Two

JANUARY 16, 2013

"Take this," said Dipper. He pulled a book out of his pack. "Take this to her. Give it back to her."

Mabel's sketchbook. Gideon took it. "All right." He put the sketchbook in his own pack.

Gideon Northwest and Dipper Pines were both hovering beneath Mabel's moon. Gideon flew with his amulet, and Dipper was riding a peryton named Marigold. Dipper had wanted to follow Gideon all the way up to the moon and help rescue his sister, but Marigold couldn't make it. Despite her large feathered wings, she couldn't get past the strong winds that swirled around the moon.

So Gideon had to go alone.

"Go," said Dipper. "Go save my sister." His eyes were wet, and he fixed Gideon with a hard stare.

"I will," Gideon said. With that, he flew away from Dipper and toward the moon.

Big and blue, riddled with cracks, Mabel's moon was her prison. Last Friday, five days ago, Pacifica Pleasure had stabbed Mabel with a magical dagger and caused her to disappear. Not long after, Mabel's moon had appeared, floating above Gravity Rises and the surrounding forest. Mabel was up there, inside the moon, her life draining away to fuel the township.

Gideon had no idea how much longer she had before it was too late. The township was Bill Cipher's prison, and the demon needed it to steal the life from all ten of his Symbols as it traveled through dimensions. Once it reached Bill's dimension, the prison would dissolve, and Bill would be free to reign terror on the multiverse.

None of the Symbols were dead yet, but that could change at any minute. Mabel had been in her prison for five days. How much time did she have left?

That question weighed on Gideon as he flew up to the moon. The wind whipped around him, trying to throw him out of the sky, but with his amulet he was able to push through it. Gideon's flight was powered by magic and therefore didn't rely on the air to keep him aloft. Still, the wind beat at him as he flew, and he hoped he could get out of it soon.

The only way out of the wind, however, was into the moon. How would Gideon get inside? Would he fly into one of the bright blue cracks? Would he push against it until he got through? Was it even possible to get in?

Soon, he was only a few feet from the surface. The moon was directly above him. Its diameter was at least the length of a football field, and Gideon felt tiny in comparison. The blue glow, especially the brighter blue glow from the cracks, hurt his eyes.

He flew up to the moon and tentatively put a hand on the dark blue surface above him. Instantly, he felt a sharp, burning pain through his glove, as if he had just put his hand on a hot stove. Gideon instinctively dropped his hand. What was that?

He scowled. It was magic. It was the magic that was killing his friend.

He pulled off his glove and inspected his hand. It didn't seem to be truly burned, and the pain faded quickly. That was fine, Gideon told himself. He could deal with the simulation of pain. He put his glove back on, then lifted both hands and pushed on the underbelly of the moon. The pain came again, but he didn't drop his hands. With the power from his amulet, Gideon rose in the air, pushing hard on the moon. With his own strength and the strength of his amulet, he would try to get through.

The pain didn't go away, but neither did Gideon. He kept pushing, gritting his teeth. It wasn't long before his hands sank into the moon up to his wrists.

His hands burned, and he didn't look forward to feeling that way all over his body. But that was the price he'd pay to get to Mabel. He kept pushing, though the pain grew more intense. And as he pushed, he slowly slid through the surface of the moon.