Prologue: The Girl at the Statue
Mabel Pines ran ahead of her family, despite her brother Dipper's calls for her to wait up.
Having cut her hair last summer so the length sat on her shoulders, it was much easier to dodge branches and chase her pet pig Waddles. Her bracelets - a mix of metal bangles, plastic children's jewelry, and pony beaded homemade crafts - rattled against each other. She was too excited to stop now, rushing deeper into the woods as the footsteps of her family behind her faded.
She'd missed these woods for all the months spent back in California. Last summer had been the best of her whole life. And now she was back in Gravity Falls- finally back where she and her brother seemed to belong.
The Pines were going back to the Mystery Shack after camping to celebrate Mabel and Dipper's second visit to Gravity Falls. Soos was in Portland with Melody, so the Pines family were able to stay for the summer. Meanwhile, Wendy was out in some woodsmen club for the summer, though she promised to be there before the Pines left.
Mabel finally caught up to Waddles and scooped him off the ground. She hugged him tightly as she waited for those slowpokes to catch up. But, the woods were oddly... quiet.
Dipper had told her before- if the woods were completely quiet, something was wrong. And there were no crickets or frogs to tell her that everything was okay.
Her eyes slowly scanned the area around her. The pine trees towered over her, blocking out any sunlight. It felt cold, despite how hot it had been a couple seconds ago. Mabel could only hear Waddles' snorting, but even that sounded muffled. Brushes were covering up a small clearing before her, where the light finally seemed to reach. And a faint hum could be heard from behind it.
She took a small breath and moved closer to the brushes. Shifting Waddles to one arm, she reached over and moved some of the leaves out of the way.
For a moment, the clearing seemed average. The grass was a bit dead and the area was silent, but normal.
Then, she saw what seemed to be the cause.
Bill's statue.
The demon encased in stone was still lodged in the ground, more moss covering it than when she last saw it. Flies buzzed around it and the grass ringing around it was almost gray with decay. As if the statue itself was deceased. Little white flowers were scattered across the statue, the edges of the petals withering and gray.
Then, the humming caught Mabel's ear again and she looked in the direction of the sound.
A girl - or at least, what looked like a girl - strolled closer to the statue, holding a small handful of white flowers. She settled them down around it and smiled. Her smile disappeared when she noticed the flies, starting to shoo them away.
"No, no, no..." She whispered. "Get off him." Her gaze hardened as she watched them buzz away.
Mabel took a sharp breath, fixating on one thing about the girl. Well, a couple things. The strange mix of angel and demon features scattered on the girl - halos and horn... wings and a tail...
It was something out of her drawings from last year. Those crazy little characters that Dipper never understood.
The girl brushed her dark hair out of her face, glints of green streaks visible between the brown strands. Her movements were almost weary, slow and easy.
Fascinated, Mabel leaned closer. But then a sudden snap broke her out of her thoughts. She looked down quickly and saw a broken stick beneath her feet. She looked up and the girl was staring back at her.
Her uncovered eye was ringed by redness, like someone who'd been crying for years. Her clothes were bloody, a scar light on her face against her tan skin.
The two stared at each other for a moment, as if frozen by the situation. The girl's hand twitched nervously, as if uncomfortable that she was even being looked at.
"Go away." Her voice was quiet, twinged with fear and anger.
Mabel opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn't move, just staring at her.
"I said go away." She hissed, stepping closer to Mabel. "Right now."
Mabel wanted to, badly. She didn't want to be near Bill's statue. And, whoever this girl was, she didn't want to be near her.
The girl's wings flared - white and feathery, but seeming ripped to the point they couldn't be used - as if she was trying to make herself bigger. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and suddenly ran at Mabel.
With a startled shout, Mabel managed to push herself out of the brush and stumbled back. Off-balance, she fell to the ground, still holding Waddles in her arms. The girl ran after her, breaking through the leaves and pulling something out of her jacket.
Then, the girl collapsed, some kind of dart sprouting in her neck.
Mabel's heart was racing as she stared at the girl's crumpled form, so badly that it hurt her ribs. Her ears were ringing, unable to hear the voice calling her name or Waddles squealing and wrestling around to be let go. Then, her brother's hand reached her shoulder and she whipped around, just seeing his face.
"Uhm... Hey." She managed, her hands shaking as she pointed to the girl. "Bill..." She couldn't explain further.
Dipper's brow furrowed as he heard that, his eyes darting to where she was pointing. Slowly, Dipper stood back up and pushed the brush back. As soon as he saw Bill's statue, he pulled his hand back as if burnt. He stepped back to Mabel and sat down next to her. He didn't say anything.
He looked back up at Ford, and Mabel followed his gaze. Ford was staring intently at the girl, unconscious from the sleeping dart he'd fired earlier.
Grunkle Ford hadn't seen anything like her, not knowing if she was some kind of angel or demon, or mix of both. A creature from another dimension or higher plane? He didn't know, but he was fascinated.
And angry. Whatever- whoever this was clearly had some connection with Bill. And... He paused, needing to look away for a moment.
"I'm bringing her to the Shack. To study." He suddenly said. Stan looked at him in surprise for a moment.
"Are you sure that's not... like- kidnapping, or something?" He asked, pointing at her. The girl looked human enough.
Ford looked at his brother, raising a brow. "I don't exactly think her species is human."
Stan shrugged, as if to say "fair enough."
Mabel felt an uneasy ache in her chest, her grip relaxing as she set Waddles down. The pig snorted and began circling the girl, rooting around and curious. The girl had rushed to attack her, but it still felt wrong to study her. She looked at Dipper, who wasn't meeting her face. But they seemed to understand each other.
This summer was going to be weird.
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