Content warning: The third and final section of this chapter contains references to child abuse and its effects.

Art by GiddyDanish

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

It was strange to have a wedding on the day after two funerals. But that's exactly what Caleb and Yingtai did.

The elders had given their approval — or, at least, enough of a majority had. Caleb would be allowed to leave his prison long enough for this wedding. Yingtai was ready: She had apparently kept a beautiful red wedding dress all this time, and Candy had rarely seen her so happy as when she pulled out that dress and tried it on.

Yingtai also forced Candy into the nicest dress she owned, which was a sea green dress shoved in the corner of her closet. Candy, who was usually adamant about not wearing dresses, didn't even complain this time. After all, it was her parents' wedding, and she wanted to support them.

The wedding was done according to traditional minotaur rites — and Candy, having never been to a wedding at all, had nothing to compare it to. It was outside, over by the trees instead of in an arena. The midmorning sun shone down on Caleb and Yingtai, who stood on a dais above the snow. Strings of blue and purple flowers hung from the tree branches, and more flowers rested around Caleb's hooves and Yingtai's feet. Yingtai wore her beautiful red dress, and Caleb wore a golden tunic. The two outfits looked great together, even though that was coincidental — the tunic had been Andrew's wedding garb, borrowed by Caleb, and it happened to complement the red dress with its golden accents.

Candy stood with the crowd apart from her parents. The Grays were here, and the Pines, and a handful of other humans. But most of the guests were minotaurs, of course. It wasn't the entire village, like had come to Xítway's funeral, but it was still a sizeable number.

Mrs. Gray squeezed Candy's shoulder. Candy tensed — she didn't like being touched without warning — but she tried to relax. Mrs. Gray was just being supportive.

The ceremony began with a traditional prayer, given in the minotaur language. The rest of the ceremony would be in English, though, and Candy was grateful. The officiating minotaur elder started talking about vows, symbolism, commitment, and so on. Candy wasn't sure her parents heard; they were too busy looking lovingly into each other's eyes. Gross.

But also cute. A little bit.

The elder finished his speech, then turned and pulled a long purple ribbon from a tree branch. "Grasp hands," he instructed.

Yingtai and Caleb did so — his left hand, her right.

The elder started wrapping the ribbon around their hands, over and over again. He'd said something about this in his speech: how the binding of their hands represented the binding of their lives. He'd probably explained why the ribbon was purple, too, although Candy honestly hadn't been paying much attention. This whole thing was a bit too overwhelming for that.

As the elder twined the ribbon, Caleb and Yingtai made promises to each other about supporting each other and never forgetting their love. They'd certainly had a thirteen-year trial run for that last part, Candy thought, with their secret meetings. They probably could've just stopped at any time, deciding it was too hard — but they hadn't.

Even though Candy was still mad at them for hiding Caleb from her, she had to admit she was glad that they had stayed committed to each other for all this time.

"Your life is hers. Your life is his. Your life together is yours." This was what the elder said after finishing tying their hands. Caleb and Yingtai turned to face the crowd. They lifted their hands up for everyone to see.

And the crowd cheered.

The sound startled Candy, much like the howling at the funeral had startled her yesterday. But while yesterday's sound was low and mournful, this sound was high and encouraging. Candy had no idea how many minotaurs approved of her parents' being together, but there didn't seem to be any booing. The minotaurs drew out and repeated the syllables "ha-sha" in their cheers; Candy had no idea what that meant, but she joined in. Dipper did, too, and Greyson. It was surprisingly enjoyable. . . and emotional.

Uh-oh. Were those tears in her eyes?

Then Caleb started speaking, his voice loud enough to be heard in the crowd. "Humans have two names," Caleb announced. "Their personal names, and a shared family name. I will be taking Yingtai's family name: Chiu. We are now Yingtai Chiu, Caleb Chiu, and Candy Chiu."

As he said this, Yingtai beckoned to Candy. Candy frowned, but it was obvious Yingtai wanted her to come up onto the dais.

Candy didn't particularly want to, but she went. "Right here," Yingtai said, guiding Candy with her free hand to stand between her parents. Then Yingtai lifted one of Candy's hands up to join Yingtai's and Caleb's tied hands.

The Chiu family stood with hands clasped, on display for everyone to see.

Yep. Those were definitely tears in Candy's eyes.

But Candy was honestly too happy to care.

~~~~~

"It was amazing, Melody! Candy's mom's dress was so pretty — and her dad looked really handsome — and she denied it after, but I totally saw Candy crying. Like, good crying. Right, Greyson?"

Greyson nodded.

Melody smiled at Dipper. "I'm sorry to have missed it."

"You would've loved it," Dipper said, nodding. "But I bet you had a great time with Soos."

Melody turned around to look at the aforementioned Soos. Soos, who was sitting on the couch (he and Melody had been snuggling when Dipper, Dipper's family, and Greyson had come here after the wedding), gave an embarrassed smile.

"We did have a great time," Melody said. "We found a lovely brunch place in Baker City. There was a lot of traffic leaving and coming back, but that just gave us time to talk."

"Awesome," Dipper said, beaming at the two adults as if he were their personal matchmaker.

"Where are Ford and Fidds?" asked Mabel. "Are they here?"

Melody nodded. "Ford is in his lab, doing some kind of research on the spirit plane. He shooed me away before I could really see what he was doing. And last time I checked on Fidds, he was asleep."

Mabel frowned. "He's been sleeping a lot since the we beat Bill."

"I know," Melody said. "I've been thinking about how to help him. He needs something to do."

"Let us know if there's any way we can help," Camille said.

Melody smiled. "Thanks."

"Hey Mason," said Sam, "I think someone want to see you."

A little snuffle gave away who that someone was. "Waddles!" said Dipper, immediately dropping down by the pig and throwing his arms around him. "Hey, buddy!"

Waddles gave more happy snuffles, and nudged Dipper's chest. Greyson grinned and sat down as well, ruffling Waddles' ears. Dipper knew it would be a little weird to have a pet pig, but he was so excited to take Waddles back home to California with him.

"When are you planning on leaving?" Melody asked Camille and Sam.

They glanced at each other. "We're not sure," said Sam. "Grace and Gideon are packing Gideon's stuff and putting it in the trailer we rented, so we have to wait for them to finish before we can drive back. But we also don't want to leave while there's anyone here who can use our help."

"We do need to get Mabel and Mason back to school soon, though," said Camille.

Dipper froze. He looked up at Mabel, who suddenly looked panicked. "School?" Dipper said. He had completely forgotten about it. "We just saved the world! Don't make us do school."

Camille smiled a bit at that, but then her expression turned serious. "Listen," she said, looking between her two children, "if either of you needs to stay home from school for a while to recover from all this, we will let you. We're going to talk to the school, and to some counselors. Okay?"

Mabel's panicked look turned to a relieved one. "Okay."

"But we should get home pretty soon so we can start talking to them," said Sam. "We just haven't decided exactly when."

Melody nodded. "Well, for now, it would be great if you had some of your meals here, so that Ford and Fidds can have some friends with them."

"Good idea," said Sam.

Dipper turned his attention back to Waddles and tuned out the adults' conversation. Then he thought of something. "Hey, Dad," said Dipper, "should we, like, get a crate for Waddles before we leave?" He looked up at his parents.

Camille did not look thrilled about the prospect of taking a pet home, but she didn't say anything. Sam said, "That's probably a good idea. We'll want him to be safe on the drive."

Dipper nodded.

"Mabel?" asked Greyson suddenly. "What's wrong?"

Dipper looked up. Mabel had a strange look on her face. "Mabel? What is it?" said Dipper.

Her eyes flickered between Dipper and Waddles. She made a frustrated noise. "I told Gideon he had to tell you this."

"Tell me what?" Dipper folded his arms. "Gideon's not here."

"I know," Mabel said. She sounded really worried.

"Mabes," said Dipper, trying to soften his voice, "what is it?"

"It's — it's Waddles," she said. "I. . ."

"What about him?" Dipper prompted.

"I don't think he can leave town."

He frowned. "What?"

"R-remember how you f-found him in the forest? That day with the clones?"

"Yeah," Dipper said slowly. Greyson nodded; he'd regained a lot of his memories that Gideon had wiped.

"And do you. . . remember. . . how one of the clones really liked you? I-I mean — not like that—"

"Right." Dipper started to get a nagging suspicion. And he didn't like it.

"That was the clone with the star on her shirt," Greyson said.

Mabel seemed ready to disappear on the spot. "Well. . . she. . . uh. . . she. . . became. . . Waddles?"

Dipper stared at her. His brain tried to process this. "But," he blurted, "Waddles is a boy! He has boy parts!"

Much to Dipper's annoyance, Sam suddenly started coughing, clearly trying to cover up a laugh. Mabel didn't laugh at all, though. She just gave a little nod. "I, um, asked Gideon about that, and he says he doesn't know why it happened that way, but, um, the clone wasn't actually a girl. It was just this, um, magical creation, pretending to be me. And then Waddles just happened to be a boy pig. That's what Gideon said."

"And why does Gideon know anything about this? Was he involved?"

"His amulet transformed Waddles. Somehow. He has no idea how it happened. I didn't know how to tell you. And I didn't want to touch Waddles, in case I still somehow absorbed him like I absorbed that other clone — and so I didn't — but after we broke Pacifica's amulet, Waddles came out to us, and it turned out I could touch him — so he definitely wasn't a clone anymore, at least by that point—"

"So that means he's just a pig now," Dipper interrupted. "Not magical. He can leave town. Right? That's why you don't think he can leave, because the supernatural creatures in general can't leave, and Waddles used to be a clone?"

Dipper had thought before that Waddles might be magical — he had been in a magical forest when Dipper had found him — but he hadn't thought about that when planning to take him home.

Waddles couldn't be magical anymore. It wouldn't be fair. He had to be able to come home with Dipper.

"I. . . I don't know if he can leave," Mabel whispered. "Maybe he can. But Gideon thinks we definitely need to test it. Before we put Waddles in a car and try to drive away with him."

Dipper had a very unpleasant image pop into his mind of what it might be like if Waddles hit the barrier while inside a moving car. "Yeah," he admitted with a sigh, "we probably should."

He got up and lifted Waddles into his arms.

"Now?" said Mabel.

"Why not?" said Dipper.

"I'll come too," said Greyson.

"And me," said Sam.

So it was that Dipper, Mabel, Greyson, and Sam walked from the Museum to the edge of town. The streets were busy with people, but Dipper hardly noticed as he weaved between them and shifted Waddles in his grip to keep ahold of him.

He was suddenly. . . well, terrified.

They reached the edge of town, which thankfully was not as busy as inside. Dipper's stomach lurched with panic. Waddles had to get through. He had to.

"It's about right here," Mabel said, pointing up at the "Welcome to Gravity Rises" sign. Dipper looked up at the sign, then back down at Waddles.

"Do you want me to try it?" Sam asked.

"No. . . I will," said Dipper.

He lifted Waddles. "Okay, buddy," he said, his voice shaking. "We're going to leave town. Ready?"

He walked forward.

Waddles squealed as he bumped into the barrier.

Dipper turned cold, even beneath his coat. "N-no, Waddles, you have to go through." He held the pig in front of him and kept trying to move forward.

Another squeal. A cloudy white aura appeared around Waddles as he pressed up against the barrier.
"No!" The word burst out of Dipper's chest. Dipper pushed. If he just pushed hard enough, Waddles would get through — he had to get through—

"Mason, you're hurting him," said Sam.

"No — he has to go through — Waddles, you have to come with us—"

Waddles responded with a squeal of pain.

"Mason—"

"I know!" Dipper stepped back. His vision was suddenly blurred by tears. Waddles squirmed, trying to get out of Dipper's arms, and Dipper let go. Then he sat down hard on the street.

And cried.

Waddles, who'd been scared by Dipper shoving him into the barrier, seemed to forgive him when he heard his crying. The pig climbed into Dipper's lap and started licking the boy's face. Dipper was too distressed even to laugh at the feeling of the pig's tongue. He was too distressed to notice the freezing cold street beneath him. He wrapped his arms around Waddles and sobbed.

Sam appeared at Dipper's side and gave his son a hug. Dipper couldn't stop crying. This is ridiculous, he thought. I wasn't even crying that much at Lee's funeral yesterday. And now I'm sobbing over my pet pig? I'm. . . I'm a terrible nephew. . . .

"I'm sorry, Mason," Sam said quietly. "I've got you."

Then Mabel started crying, too. She didn't sit down on the cold street or go over to Dipper, but her breath hitched and her eyes leaked. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "I sh-should've told you. . . ."

To her surprise, Greyson moved to her side. "Do you, um. . . want a hug?"

Mabel didn't really know Greyson that well, but she did want a hug. So she nodded.

Greyson hugged her. "It's o-okay," he said. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Mabel took a shaky breath.

Dipper would've loved to see that small scene, but he was crying too hard to see or hear much of anything. He didn't know when he'd stop crying. If he didn't stop. . . then he'd never have to leave Waddles. They could just sit here on the street forever.

After a few minutes, Dipper thought of something else. "Where's he going to go?" Dipper said. "We can't just — I can't just leave him."

"We'll figure something out," Sam promised.

"Maybe. . ." Greyson stopped hugging Mabel — she gave him a small, grateful smile — and came closer to Dipper. "Maybe I could take care of Waddles."

Dipper looked up at his friend through his tears. "R-really?"

Greyson nodded. "I bet my parents would let me. Waddles can live with us."

Dipper smiled a bit. "Thanks, Greyson."

"Of course."

Waddles would be okay. Greyson would take care of him. Dipper believed that. But. . . it didn't stop him from crying. He buried his face in Waddles' neck as the tears kept coming.

Had he even cried this hard at all this entire winter? He really was a bad person, wasn't he, if he only cried a little bit for his sister and grunkles, but then lost it for his pig.

"Get it all out," Sam said. "You've been through a lot. It's okay."

But maybe he wasn't just crying for Waddles. Maybe he was crying for. . . all of it.

With his arms around Waddles, and his dad's arms around him, Dipper kept sobbing.

It was time to let it all out.

~~~~~

Gideon hadn't been there to tell Dipper about Waddles. But he had his own problems to deal with.

Today was a pretty good day, so maybe problems wasn't the right word. But things were happening, a bit faster than Gideon could process. He hadn't gone to Caleb and Yingtai's wedding — he was sure Candy would not want him there — and had instead spent the day with Grace and some helpful neighbors, packing up his belongings. Because he would be moving. Away from the Northwest Manor. Away from Gravity Rises. To live with his sister.

He was excited. But also nervous. And a little sad. He didn't want to leave his amulet. Or his forest.

And there was. . . something else.

The nervousness built up in his chest throughout the morning, and Gideon was sure Grace would be able to hear his pounding heart. But she never did.

Finally, they stopped for lunch. And Gideon thought he would implode if he didn't talk to Grace soon. So he resolved to do it now.

The neighbors went home to eat. Gideon and Grace, meanwhile, threw together some sandwiches in the Manor kitchen and took them to the dining room. "Evi," Gideon said once they'd sat down, "can I, um. . . show you something?"

Grace frowned. Gideon knew she could hear how nervous he was. "Sure," she said.

Gideon breathed in deeply. "Okay," he said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper. It shook in his hands. "I want you. . . to read this."

Still frowning, Grace took it from him and unfolded it. For a brief moment, Gideon saw the title at the top of the page.

The Northwest's Relief.

Gideon's nervousness buzzed across his skin as Grace read the page. At Gideon's request, Ford hadn't copied the Northwest's Relief page from the first Journal into the new copy. But he had copied the page onto a separate piece of paper and given it to Gideon to keep. That way, Gideon knew how to find the Northwest's Relief, but it was still a secret from everyone else.

Grace's eyes widened as she read. Gideon tried to imagine what she was thinking. A magical plant. Healing. Scars disappearing. It was too good to be true.

"The Northwest's Relief," she finally said.

"It's. . . it's amazing, isn't it?" Gideon said.

"Y-yes, this is — wow," she said.

But there was a hesitancy in her voice. Gideon knew what that meant. His heart fell.

"Gideon. . . ," she said tentatively. "The thing is. . . with Father's trial. . ."

"I — I know," he said. "I've been thinking about that. They. . . they're going to need. . ."

"Yeah," she whispered.

He didn't have to say it. They both knew what they were talking about. But he wanted to say it. He wanted to be able to talk about this. "They're going to need me to show them my scars," he said, "for evidence. Against Father."

She nodded.

"It's been a month since I first read about this flower," Gideon said. "I. . . I've been wanting to go find it since then."

"I'm sorry," Grace said.

"I don't want to wait," he admitted. "But I know I have to. But. . . Evi?"

"Yeah?"

"Once Father's trial is over. . . once they don't need my scars anymore. . . can we come back? And find the Northwest's Relief?"

Her expression broke into a sad smile. "Of course," she said. "Of course, Charlie. We'll come back."

Even though part of him was devastated that he was going to leave Gravity Rises without first finding the Northwest's Relief, even though part of him wanted to scream about how it wasn't fair, Gideon still felt a lot better after hearing Grace say they could come back.

He'd have to wait. But he could wait. He was pretty sure he could.

The pain in his scars flared, like the scars themselves were crying out in dismay.

But. . . We'll be back, Gideon silently promised himself. It's okay. We'll be back.