08
Pacifica

Pacifica didn't remember dozing off, but when she awoke on the floor of the living room with a stiff back and a bad taste in her mouth, Pacifica came to realise that it was the worst night of sleep she had ever gotten. Cracking her back, Pacifica looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was barely eight in the morning, and Pacifica, despite having slept quite a bit, felt as though she hadn't gotten any sleep to begin with. Glancing around the rest of the living room, she saw that Gideon was laying near the entrance of the room, snoring loudly with his mouth hanging open. Last he checked, he was on the couch.

Pacifica looked at the couch and her heart swelled just a little bit. Mabel was laying in the arms of Scarlett. It looked a little cramped for the two of them to be sleeping comfortably, but they didn't seem to mind when they fell asleep.

The bitter feeling slapped her across the face when it hit her that Pacifica wished Dipper were here. It only caused a god-awful, shitty feeling of dread in her heart to realise that she could've been cuddled up with Dipper this morning and not waking up alone and cold.

Shivering, Pacifica tugged her blanket closer around herself. Had no one turned the heat on in the shack? The blanket could only do so much to keep her warm, so, still keeping it clutched around her shoulders, Pacifica walked into the kitchen to make herself something that would warm her up.

Taking one look at the uncleaned coffee pot, Pacifica scrunched up her nose and moved over to the teapot. It still had some tea in it from the day before, and after giving it a quick sniff, she determined that it hadn't gone bad.

Pouring a decent amount into a mug she found in the cupboard, Pacifica stuck it into the microwave and waited for an excruciatingly cold minute to pass.

Sighing with her mug in hand, Pacifica took a look out the nearest window and felt a small smile creep onto her face. It was lightly snowing outside, mixed with the quiet light of the sunrise, it was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

Visions of kissing in a snowfall scraped across her mind, forcing the smile to drop from her face in an instant. If they didn't find Dipper, that was something she would never have with him.

Taking a slow and controlled sip from her mug, Pacifica shook a majority of the thoughts out of her mind for the time being. She really had to stop with ridiculous fantasies that weren't important.

She slowly crept back into the living room, not at all surprised to see that no one had woken up at all in the time she was gone. She half-expected that Mabel would've gotten up before her, considering both her and Dipper's upbringing, however that was not the case.

And, honestly, Pacifica didn't expect that much from her, considering how rough her past twenty-four hours had been. At least she had Scarlett.

Carefully carrying her mug as to not spill it all over herself and not to wake anyone else up, Pacifica made her way over to the table where Mabel and Scarlett had sat for a few hours —judging by the scraps of paper littering the table and stubs of cigarettes— to try to see what she had figured out.

As it turned out, none of the words that Pacifica had suggested had led them anywhere. Sighing in relief, she slumped down into the chair and began pouring over the notes Mabel had taken.

At least it didn't have anything to do with Reverse Falls weirdness, as far as she could tell. Looking at Mabel's notes, she tried to teach herself how to decode an autokey.

It was a little difficult to learn, and she got frustrated quite a few times, however in the end, Pacifica had it sort of down.

Pacifica quickly wrote Dipper's message on a clean sheet of paper and began to decrypt it. Using a variety of words that she could think of that had something to do with magic —she wasn't about to let that go because, come on, if Dipper didn't get himself in trouble with magic then what else could it have been?— and a few with herself.

The words 'journal', 'gleeful', and 'mystery' hadn't gotten her anywhere, so Pacifica tried a few that were more personal to her and him. It was harder to come up with words when it had something to do with her. But Pacifica had a few down by the time she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"How long have you been up?" Gideon yawned, still trying to keep his voice lower.

Taking another look at the clock, Pacifica saw that it was already past nine. "About an hour." She mumbled, taking another glance at her latest attempt at decoding. "So far, before you even ask, I haven't gotten anywhere."

Gideon groaned and took the seat next to her. "I'm sorry, Paz."

"There's no need for you to apologise." Pacifica rolled her eyes and took another sip from her mug, wincing when she found that it was cold.

Gideon nodded and glanced at the mess of paper on the table. "Mabel is certain that it is an autokey?"

"It only makes sense." Pacifica replied, standing up and taking her mug into the kitchen. As soon as they were in the kitchen, she placed her mug back into the microwave. "Everything so far has had something to do with all of us, and Mabel was the only person who remembered using a code with Dipper."

"Right," Gideon murmured, opening the cupboard and pulling out a box of cereal. "Um, Paz, I know you're trying to put everyone's feelings ahead of yourself, but I just wanna let you know that if you need to talk to someone, I'm right here."

The thought was nice, but Pacifica shook him off. "I'm fine, honestly." She gave him a fake smile that she prayed it looked genuine enough to get him off her back. Did she want to break down and start crying because her boyfriend was missing and didn't tell anyone what was really going on in his life? Yes. Would that do her any good at the current moment? Absolutely not.

Her sensibility won over, and Pacifica took another long sip from her mug.

Gideon looked convinced enough that he wasn't going to ask again, and he shrugged. "So, last night Mabel mentioned going to Paris?"

Right. That was their only lead thus far. The only definite thing they had. "Yeah," she mumbled after burning her tongue. "So, you should probably pack. Mabel planned to leave at noon."

Gideon's eyes widened tremendously. "And you were just going to tell me now?!"

"Be quiet!" Pacifica hissed. "They're still sleeping. I doubt they would appreciate being woken up by our loud voices."

"No, we wouldn't." Scarlett leaned against the doorframe, hair slightly mussed. The shirt she was wearing was hanging slightly off her shoulder, and when Pacifica's eyes traveled down her frame she realised that was all Scarlett was wearing.

Averting her eyes, Pacifica took another long sip from her mug and watched as Gideon became a red-faces sputtering mess.

Scarlett strode past Pacifica and over to the coffee pot, staring at the mess with disdain. Taking the coffee pot off the counter, she moved gracefully over to the sink and began rinsing it out.

Pacifica's eyes lingered on the shirt she was wearing. The recognition sparked behind her eyes as Pacifica came to recall who it belonged to.

Pacifica was about to open her mouth to express her thoughts, however she respectfully decided against it. It belonged to Dipper, Pacifica knew it. Bringing it up would not be in her best interest, because it would only cause a problem.

She probably just missed him. Pacifica remembered, vaguely, the conversation the two of them had the night before, and she knew that there was simply nothing to read into.

She missed him, because he was her best friend. Not because she was showing Pacifica that she was staking a claim.

Gideon seemed to figure out the connection Pacifica made —it probably didn't help that Pacifica was consistently staring at her shirt— and he was about to excuse himself when Mabel rounded the corner, looking fresh-faced and perky.

"Good morning, everyone!" Mabel grinned, sweeping into the little kitchen. "Alright, I know everyone is tired, but we have to start the day. We know that Dipper isn't here, so there's no use sticking around dreary Reverse Falls when we could be halfway to Paris by now!"

Gideon glanced at Pacifica, eyes wide. Stepping closer in her space, he leaned over to Pacifica, keeping his voice low, "um, isn't she a little too happy?"

Pacifica regarded Mabel as she walked over to where Scarlett stood, and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Scarlett whipped around, dropping the towel she was using to dry off the cleaned coffee pot. "Um, hey, sunshine, you're doing that thing again."

Mabel gave a little shrug and her eyes twinkled, but Pacifica could see the strain on her smile. "What thing, Scarlett?"

"That thing where you pretend everything is okay when it's not," Scarlett walked over to where Mabel had swiftly avoided her grasp, and placed her hands on her shoulders, "look, I know that what's going on is tough. Dipper is gone and we're having little to no luck—"

Mabel shook her head, "yes, that is bad, isn't it?" She let out a bell-like laugh and looked at the three of them as she walked back over to the doorway. "Anyways, we have about two hours or so before the plane takes off, so I suggest that you all pack your belongings up! I dunno how long we will be there, so pack for up to a week, alright?"

Pacifica reached out her hand to touch her shoulder. She needed to be brought back to solid ground. "Hey, Mabes?"

"Yes, Paz?" Her cool blue eyes regarded her in such a way that reminded me of Dipper. It was so startling that Pacifica dropped her hand off her shoulder swiftly.

"Um, just, take it easy." Pacifica muttered. "We're all here to help, okay?"

"I know." She replied, her voice still carrying so sweetly. "Well, Scarlett and I ought to pack up at the manor, I suppose you and Gideon can pack up here? Scarlett and I will pick you up in an hour or so. Sounds good?" She didn't wait for anyone's opinion before she clapped her hands together. "Splendid! Let's go, Scarlett."

The two left very briefly, and Pacifica stared dumbfoundedly at the door they had exited from. Sighing, she looked over at Gideon. "We should probably pack."

Gideon looked worried. "What about Mabes? Is she alright?"

"I'm not sure." Pacifica murmured, eyeing the coffee pot that had just finished brewing. "She's trying to take the lead here. You remember that her brother is missing."

"Yes, so I figured she would be the most upset." Gideon continued, slowly walking out of the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that Scarlett is talking to her right now." Pacifica tried to make Gideon feel a little more relaxed. The situation was certainly frightening, with everything that had happened in the past day, and everyone just needed a breather. "C'mon, let's get packed for the trip."

* * *

The few hours passed so excruciatingly slow that Pacifica wanted to bang her head against the nearest solid object.

The four of them anxiously boarded the plane that Mabel seemed to procure out of thin air. And, considering how she was acting earlier in the morning, Pacifica was keeping an eye on her.

Scarlett confessed to her that she had tried talking to Mabel about her chipper behavior, but Mabel shut her down instantly.

The plane ride itself was spent by Pacifica picking anxiously at a loose thread in her jeans. Time seemed to move even slower now that we were moving to our destination.

"Yes, just try to relax, everyone!" Mabel clapped her hands together and gave them all her show-stopping smile.

It was only at that moment that Pacifica recognised what it was. She was using the same fake smile she used when she performed at the Tent of Telepathy.

"Um, Mabes, gonna level with ya," Gideon shifted on his seat, "I've never been on a plane before and I am feeling very ill."

"Nerves." Scarlett grumbled, looking out the nearest window.

"You seem just fine," Gideon muttered.

"Yeah, I've never been but I'm not afraid of stupid statistics." Scarlett rolled her eyes, resting her chin on her hand.

"I've been on a few planes." Pacifica piped up, enjoying the mindless conversation that had started. Anything to get her mind of the inevitable. "But usually it was just for trips across the states, never been out of the country before."

"I wish it were under better circumstances." Mabel smiled mournfully.

Gideon shot me a wary glance before clearing his throat. "Ahem, well, any luck with that code?"

Pacifica sunk further into her chair. "No, I dunno what the word could be. It feels as though I've tried everything."

"Everything?" Gideon raised a pale brow. "C'mon, Paz! What other words could there be?"

"How about we shout out a few," Scarlett rose from her chair and strode over to Pacifica. "I can think of a few that describes your relationship."

Pacifica tried not to take it personally.

"Hmm, what was that word?" Scarlett mused, tapping her finger to her chin. "It was something gushy. We got drunk one time and he was spouting off the different types of love to me."

"Yeah, he's a delight when he's drunk." Pacifica meant it as a jab, however she couldn't help but smile at the memories of when she, Dipper, and Mabel drank excessively.

"Yeah, anyways," Scarlett flicked her wrist outward, a pleasant smile drifting onto her face when she heard a loud 'crack'. "He told me about the love he had for you, and the name of it. I think it was pragma."

"Pragma." Pacifica tested the word out on her tongue. If that was what he meant for her to figure out, she hadn't heard him tell her it directly. "Wanna give that a shot, Mabes?"

Mabel was already writing down the word on a sheet of paper. "Hmm," she murmured. A minute or two passed before her shoulder slumped. "I thought I was getting somewhere with the first letter being 'P', but the word is a bust."

"Hmm." Gideon hummed to himself. "Well, this word doesn't start with 'P', but, Paz, have you tried the word sweetheart?"

"Yes." Pacifica sighed heavily. "It was one of the first words I tried."

"So, let's try sticking to a 'P' word." Scarlett interjected. "Is it Pacifica's name?"

Mabel perked up. "That could be it!"

"Give it a shot!" Pacifica nearly jumped out of her chair at the mere thought of that being the answer. Racing over to where Mabel sat, she peered over her shoulder as she began to decode the message.

"Sorry, that isn't it."

Pacifica's shoulders slumped tremendously. She had to think rationally. There had to be a 'P' word that would relate to me and also—

"Paz." Pacifica stated with utmost clarity. "Try 'Paz'."

Mabel looked up at her, her brows furrowed. "You sure?"

"Just give it a shot!" Pacifica exclaimed, about to take the pencil out of her hand and work it out herself.

"Calm down, calm down!" Mabel held up her hands before she turned her attention back to a spare piece of paper. "Give me a minute."

It was the longest minute or so of Pacifica's life. But the expression on Mabel's face said enough.

"Um, how'd it go?" Gideon perked his head up when the silence lasted.

"It worked." Mabel muttered. "It worked alright. But the outcome isn't any better."

"Stop speaking cryptically and just—"

Pushing the paper toward Pacifica, Mabel kept her head level with the wall ahead of her. "See for yourself."

Glancing down at the paper, Pacifica's eyes scanned the entire message and her heart stuttered to a halt like a dying car engine.

snafu. can't return without putting you all in danger. krefezen cult. magic. catastrophic damage.