Chapter Text
Welcome to your life,
There's no turning back,
Even while you sleep,
We will find you,
Acting on your best behavior,
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world
~Everybody wants to rule the world by Tears for fear~
But I used the one by Lorde for this story
(May 5, Gravity Falls, Oregon)
Three days. That was all it took.
He watched squished next to Mabel and Annie on the couch in the Mystery Shack, watching as news reporter Sandra Jimenez, hair almost completely burned off, delivered the world’s death sentence. “This just in,” she sounded so shocked; so terrified of the piece of paper in her hands. “The UN has just surrendered to the strange demons that brought us Weirdmaggedon two. Other countries are now following in pursuit. You all have permission to start FREAKING OUT!”
The television then went blank, Annie turning it off with the remote and stretching her arms to the ceiling. “There’s no use listening to that,” she sighed, eyes staring at something in front of her. “I think it’s pretty obvious the world’s gone to hell.”
He didn’t want to hear those words; he didn’t want to see their beautiful news reporter freak out like that. Yet, he couldn’t look away. He couldn’t stop her words from echoing around in his head. So much had happened; so much he couldn’t even begin to explain.
His parents were in the kitchen with Ford and Stan, speaking in hushed tones, refusing to let him come in. His sister was asleep in her play pen and he found that he envied the fact she was too young to remember any of this. The three girls sitting in the living room with him had long ago lost their cheerful smiles and hopeful expressions. Valentina, dangling her legs off the arm of the couch had sighed, sliding off it. “I’m going to go check on my aunt and uncle,” she stated, glancing towards them briefly. “It’s been pretty quiet out there, haven’t you guys noticed?”
Hopping off the couch, he trudged over to the window of the shack to gaze outside. It looked completely ordinary, almost no trace of anything unusual out there. Ford had said something about the demons spreading out across the world to create chaos, so he wasn’t too surprised if there weren’t many creatures lingering around out there. Once The Beast disappeared with Wirt, everyone unfroze, completely horrified and panicked about the giant tears in the sky.
“I’m going home too,” Annie stood from the couch, stepping over to where her girlfriend held the door open. “We’ll meet up with you all later.”
With that, they were gone. He wasn’t too worried about them; they had made it obvious they could take care of themselves. He wrung his small hands together, Jason hopping beside him and giving him a sad expression. He gave the frog a small smile. “Yeah,” he nodded, looking outside once more. “I wish Wirt were here too.”
It was his entire fault; no one had to tell him that. If he had been able to stop Mortimer; to get to Wirt sooner, the demon wouldn’t have stolen him away. He hadn’t been a good leader. If he had been a good leader, Wirt would still be here. He would still be with him.
Speaking of Mortimer, the man hadn’t been responding to anyone for the past three days. He just sat in the guest room of the Mystery Shack, completely shell shocked by what had happened. He wanted to be angry with the man; he really wanted to, but he just couldn’t at the moment. If he had known what Mortimer was about to do, he would have done something to stop him.
But in the end, he had just been a little kid. A little kid who couldn’t do anything to save the people he cared about the most.
He stepped over to the door, giving a quick call to Mabel that he was going outside for a few minutes. She nodded, too preoccupied with something in her hands; a picture frame perhaps. Her eyes were beginning to fill with more tears and he swallowed the knot in his throat. He couldn’t stand to see anyone cry anymore.
He hadn’t even cried in front of his parents, excluding the moment when Annie had to physically stop him from running. He had never seen his mother cry like that before. She hadn’t even begun to calm down until his dad showed up, setting Yin Wei in Ford’s arms and taking the sobbing woman into his arms. Her cries still echoed around in his head, leaving an unsettled feeling in his stomach.
He pushed the door open, walking numbly down the porch steps. Jason followed, silent and calm amongst the stillness of the outdoors. An odd feeling had settled over the sleepy town of Gravity Falls. It no longer had that odd, but cheerful vibe to it anymore. It had been touched by something evil; something that no one would be recovering from anytime soon.
He walked across the dirt road, to the house they had been living in for almost a year. He could see his brother almost everywhere he went now. Making snow angels in the front yard the previous winter, playing with the water hose when it got really hot. He could almost see his brother now, sipping tea on the porch with another poetry book. Or writing poetry. He could hear his clarinet, the music playing beautifully from his room.
He didn’t think the memories would hurt that much.
He felt the tears slip down his face, and he wiped them away with the back of his hand. Crying wouldn’t bring Wirt back. He didn’t even know where to begin. His brother just vanished. Vanished without a trace and the only thing that knew where he was, was The Beast.
“Hello there, Gregory.”
He whirled around only to see the thing that had ruined everything; that ruined their happiness. “You!” he stomped over to where the demon stood, staring directly in those odd colored eyes of his. “Give him back! Give my brother back!”
“No, I don’t think I will. I think he’s quite happy where he is,” the smile that grew on the demon’s face contrasted oddly with his dark skin. “And since you asked so rudely, I’m not inclined to do anything for you.”
“Give him back! He’s not yours!”
The Beast rumbled a strange sort of laugh erupting from him that sent a chill down his spine. Even Jason stepped closer to him, hiding behind his legs. The demon sneered down at him in a threatening manner, yet he squished down the fear. “You poor confused child, no one tells you anything, do they? Your brother never told you, did he? My, my, how upset you must feel, knowing you’ve been kept in the dark about all the important things. Just like an insignificant child.”
“You took my brother from me!”
“He was never yours to begin with,” The Beast merely sighed, as though speaking with him now was a waste of his time. “Your brother belongs to me now. I’ll take care of him better than you and your family ever did.”
He sounded completely disgusted saying those words, looking disdainfully at their house. He felt the tears burning in his eyes, hands curling into fists that shook at his side. “Why?” he asked suddenly, catching the demon’s attention once more. “Why did you have to take my brother? Isn’t there anything I can do? Take me instead! Just let Wirt go!”
The Beast tilted his head at him, looking at him almost endearingly. Like he was just something so amusing; so laughable. “And why would I let my precious Young Lover go after I just got him? You are an insignificant child; you have nothing to offer. Your life is worthless to me,” the demon sneered at him, uttering the cruel words. “The worthless little boy who couldn’t do anything to save his brother. I wouldn’t even be surprised if your precious brother hates you.”
The words hit him like a slap to the face. He felt the tears slide down his cheeks, slipping onto the green grass beneath his feet. “Wirt wouldn’t hate me!” he snapped at the demon, who merely grinned at him. “He wouldn’t!”
“Are you so sure about that? The little boy who thought he could outsmart me and ended up being almost turned into an Edelwood. You caused your brother so much worry; so much stress by making a deal with me. It could have killed you both and you want to know whose fault that would have been?” The Beast stepped closer to him, a clawed finger pointing directly at his face. “I would have been your fault.”
“But the Queen of Clouds would have sent Wirt home! He stayed to come get me!”
“You really think that? While I do not agree with my sister’s hunting techniques, she would have taken your brother and feasted off his dreams for ages. And she has you to thank for that,” The Beast chuckled once more, the sound making more tears fall from his eyes. “Think of all the times you put your brother in danger with your sense of adventure. You never considered the consequences of wanting to have fun all the time. What a selfish brother, you were. I pity your little sister.”
“No, I was a good brother! I was!” wasn’t he? Wirt kept telling him all the time that what happened to them wasn’t his fault. That it was Wirt’s fault, but that couldn’t be so? He loved his older brother; he truly did but the older boy lacked vindictiveness. He could be melodramatic but he wouldn’t purposefully hurt him. Maybe Wirt had lied to protect him from the truth. That his carefree attitude and love for fun put people in danger. It had put Wirt in danger!
He sniffed, eyes burning from all the crying. “I…I just want my brother,” he fell to the ground, knees landing hard against the ground. “I just want Wirt. He promised that nothing bad would happen! This isn’t fair!”
“Life isn’t fair, Gregory,” The Beast almost sounded sympathetic. “There is no such thing as fairness.”
Beatrice was absolutely right. Why did he choose to ignore her statement all those months ago? “The world is a miserable place, Greg. Life isn’t fun.”
The world was awful; a completely miserable and cruel place. It was just sad he was now only realizing it.
“Please…” why did he sound so small? Why couldn’t he do anything right? If he had protected Wirt, like he promised, none of this would have happened. “Just give him back. Give him back to me! To Mom and Dad! We all love him so much!”
The Beast only sighed with exasperation, a single white rose blooming into existence before he crushed it, letting the petals fall the ground. “As I said before,” he spoke calmly, with no trace of remorse or compassion. "He was never yours to begin with.”
The demon knelt down to his level, a hand reaching for his face; finger tilting his chin upwards to look at him. “You’re never going to see him again. You will never win against me!” he could almost mistake the demon for being arrogant, except there was no boasting in his tone. He sound completely matter o’fact; like they were discussing the weather together. “In the state you’re in now, there is no way you could even fight me. In such a pathetic, weak form that you have. You have power yes, but you’re still a worthless child.”
He felt the anger stir, throat tightening once more. “SHUT UP!” He jerked his head away from The Beast, fists curling tightly as though he were going to punch the demon. Something he never thought he would ever do to anyone. “SHUT UP! I’M NOT WEAK! I…I…”
“Then what are you?” The Beast sneered, stepping away from him. “Prove you’re not weak. Show it to me! You want to save your brother, Gregory? Then get stronger! Fuel your anger and one day, when you’re strong, we will meet. Until then, do try to keep alive. It’s going to rough out there, I assure you.”
Before he even blinked, The Beast was gone. He was left there on the ground, sitting numbly while the white rose petals drifted away with the slight breeze that brushed through. A breeze carrying the promise of summer. The tears started up once again and this time, he just let out the sob he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in.
Why? Why, why, why, why, why? Is this what true pain; true loss felt like? He collapsed into the grass, the soft blades muffling his wailing screams. Fingers dug into the ground, digging through the dirt and pulling out the green blades. One year. In a week, it would be the first anniversary of their year here in Gravity Falls. And now it was gone. Everything he thought he knew was gone. Wirt was gone, the plans he had for the summer were gone, and the plans they made for the future. All of it was gone. Swept away with the wind. Lost forever.
“And all shall fade. The flowers of spring. The world and all its sorrows at the heart of everything. But still it stays. The butterfly sings. And opens purple summer with a flutter of its wings.”
He had hear d Wirt say that before; something about it being from a musical or what not. Before, he hadn’t paid much mind to it, but now, it echoed around in his brain. It only made more tears fall from his eyes. Why didn’t they have more time together? How could he have let things slip by like that?
Why did he have to suffer like this?
“Greg!”
A voice. A distinctive voice he never thought he would hear again. He immediately sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes and ignoring the dirt smearing across his face. He rose to his feet, picking up Jason and looking around. Where was that voice coming from? Who was talking to him? How was it even possible….
“Greg!”
And then there she was. Only, something wasn’t right. Before they left The Unknown, he had caught a glimpse of her in her true form. Beautiful curled red hair; a blue dress and freckles dancing across her bright rosy cheeks. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t supposed to look like this.
She wasn’t supposed to be…a blue bird.
“Beatrice,” his dark eyes widened at the sight of her, watching as she fluttered over to him and perched herself on the railing of the stairs leading to his house. She panted soundly, little bird chest heaving as she looked at him intently. He set Jason back down, the frog looking equally concerned as he did. He walked over to her carefully, scooping her up into his hands. “Beatrice,” he spoke again, now thoroughly confused. “What are you…how did you get here?”
“I’m not quite sure,” she spoke after a few moments of panting, lifting her wings and looking at them with dismay. “I’m not sure how I’m a bluebird again, but that’s not important right now. Greg, something’s really wrong! Something happened to The Unknown; I don’t know how we’re in the mortal world! Wait, where’s Wirt?”
And just like that, he felt two more tears slide down his cheeks.
~
(May 5, Washington D.C)
“Let’s do a toast, Beasty. A toast to all our plans coming to fruition.”
“Agreed, Bill.”
The sound of two glasses clinking together could be heard throughout the entire room. The two demons, both older than this universe, stood at the edge of the balcony. The fearamid hovered over the city of Washington D.C, the two of them leaning over it ever so slightly to watch the humans run around in complete terror. A few of the humans, the smart ones, had fled the minute they sensed something was wrong. The rest had stayed behind, ripped away from their homes to become slaves to the other demons who roamed the city.
Or food.
It was nice to be able to relax for once. Their plans complete; the puzzle pieces falling into place. He almost wished Wu were here so he could see the look of complete horror on her face; how all her efforts to keep him out of this dimension were in vain. Now her great-grandson belonged to him and his family, well, he knew how to keep them in line. Humans were so predictable, after all.
“It is a shame, though,” Bill started to speak again, staring idly into his drink as he spun the glass lazily with his wrist. “That Mother dearest had to be a casualty. The others aren’t exactly what you would call happy campers.”
Ah, he had almost forgotten about that. He had mourned her loss; privately, of course. He didn’t have very many memories of her, except for the ones he had in his formative years. When he, Bill, Wuya, and a few others were the equivalent of human children. How many eons ago was that? Two? Five? It was hard to tell now; sometimes he forgot how old he was. Though he supposed it didn’t really matter; time was such a trivial thing. Especially now that Bill had domain over it.
As if reading his thoughts, Bill rolled his one eye. “Well it’s not like I’m the first one to steal the power of time and space. We all know that Time Baby stole the knowledge of time from Daddy.”
“Yes, I know that, Bill. We all know that,” he commented with a sigh, that particular memory popping back up. Now there was a creature he hadn’t paid a visit to in eons. Perhaps it was time to see their father once more. “Have you spoken to him, recently?”
“Recently? Oh, no,” Bill shook his head, a conniving grin forming on his face. “I don’t think anyone’s visited him for over five thousand years. I know I wasn’t able to.”
Ah, he had almost forgotten Bill being locked in the Nightmare realm for about a thousand years. The natives living in where Gravity Falls would eventually be were wise in moving away from the land; labeling it as cursed. And of course, he had been locked away in The Unknown, so there was no way he could have had any contact. Excluding the witches.
No, the older ones that were still locked away were furious. He could feel their anger; their rage directed towards him and the others. Their mother had many friends, and despite not being the most powerful archon, she was well liked; respected. In their eyes, her death had to be avenged.
The earth could feel their anger. Earthquakes had been spotted all over the globe; volcanic eruptions and other strange weather occurring earlier than usual. More violent, too. Thousands of humans had been killed by nature alone. If he listened closely, he could hear the Leviathans scraping at the door to their prison, whispering threats and other atrocities that would make anyone’s skin crawl.
“Father has been silent,” he spoke indifferently; he cared little for his other creator. “Tell me, Bill, you don’t want to release him, now do you? It would be such a fuss to get him out.”
“Now why would I want to do that?” Bill almost sneered at him, refilling his now empty glass. “He’d kill us for sure and you know it would only take a snap of his fingers to do so. And did you really not know that no one knows how to release him? It seems like when Mother locked him up; she just threw away the directions on how to get him out.”
“Hmm,” he trailed off, almost in disinterest now. “Perhaps she did not want him to get out; that’s why she locked him up in the first place.”
“Anyway, this topic is boring. Let’s talk about your little lover. How much of a fuss did he put up?”
“Not as much as yours,” he stated flatly, pouring more wine into his crystal glass. “Everyone in Versailles could hear yours.”
“He does have quite the set of lungs,” Bill sounded proud, smiling fondly at the memory. Dipper, they all knew very well, had a very different view on what happened to him. “And he’s definitely a lot prettier than yours.”
He rolled his eyes at that comment, taking no mind to it. Bill didn’t really care about the appearance of the mortals; he was just trying to irritate him. Childish, but not unlike Bill. “If you say so,” he put no feeling behind the words and Bill miffed slightly at the apathetic look on his face. He let his thoughts briefly drift to his young lover. The boy hadn’t said anything much since their first night together. He had stayed curled up in a nest of blankets, glaring at him with fierce hostility.
He wondered how long it would last before he came crawling to him. Begging to be loved.
“So, anything cooking in that belly of his yet?”
He merely cast the other demon a withering look. “Must you be so crude?” he asked with a sigh, somewhat tempted to roll his eyes. Bill only sniggered, setting his glass down on the table nearby, stepping closer to the balcony to observe whatever was going on down below. He joined the other demon, both of them watching with vague interest as a lower ranking demon tore into the flesh of a politician, blood splattering the once pristine walls of the White House.
“Of course,” Bill only smiled lewdly at the sound of the man’s fading screams. “Shouldn’t that be obvious?”
It didn’t surprise him. Not really, anyway.
So he watched with his brother as the lower ranking demon tore away more flesh off the man’s body. Crude. No show of grace or restraint. It almost made him dislike his younger brothers and sisters a little more than he already did. He and the other elder siblings, the ones still left anyway, stood on a higher level. A different pedestal; almost a world away from the lesser ones.
“To the future,” Bill nodded towards the world out there; the one they’d been denied for so long. “We should call it Weirdmaggedon two.”
“No,” he shook his head, though he didn’t stop the smirk from forming on his face. “This is so much bigger than Weirdmaggedon.”
And the humans had no inkling of what was in store for them. What was in store for the world. The knowledge of that made the smirk on his face grow wider.
End.