Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

                “I need you to save my daughter.”

                Fate sometimes rhymed, but Alcor felt like this one was a little on the nose. A newborn Mizar fading away in the hospital and a loving father pleading to him from behind a circle of candles. If this didn’t remind him of a certain family he once belonged to, he’d be concerned.

                …The sad thing is, it did take a while to click. Human memories, human emotions, were coming slowly to him this century. While they lagged behind, a toothy smile snaked across his features. He could smell sweet desperation here.

                “T̸ha͠t ͡w͏ill̶ ̵ co̴s͢t ͟ y̷ou.” He said, and the human cowered before him. Fear, lovely fear was written all over its squishy face.

                He felt a twinge. In the back of his mind, a thought: he shouldn’t be doing this. It caught him off guard; that piece of his mind had been awfully silent as of late.

                His smile faltered, but then the human spoke.

                “O-of course. I’ve researched what to offer you, I have everything you want. Candy-“

                Alcor’s lip curled. Not enough.

                “Icecream-“

                Not enough.

                “Lamb chops – I couldn’t find a real lamb in time, but-“

He raised a hand, and silenced the human.

                “Not e̸͉̜̫͓̻̤n͡o̝̼̤̬̕u̡͈gh̝̭̪͎̠,” He said, and the look on its face…

                That twinge again. Stronger. It only grew as he watched the human steel itself, take a deep breath, and close its eyes.

                “Then name your price. Please. I can’t-“ Its voice cracked. “I can’t lose her.”

                Name your price. Alcor felt that awesome rush at such an openended deal, but somehow, it felt hollow. Unsatisfying. The human extended a hand, looking down, bracing itself – no, himself – and Alcor didn’t want to take it, didn’t want to crack open the arm and pull out the soul like crab meat from its shell.

                No, no. This was all wrong. He wanted… what did he want? What was wrong with him? He stepped back.

                “I-“ He cringed as the human looked at him. “I need to think.”

                Back in the Mindscape, it came back to him. Their names.

                Lionel Sterling. Belle Sterling. And another.

                …Dipper. Dipper Sterling. That had been him. That had been a human.

                Him. A human. Now, why did he do that? He knew everything there was to know about humans, how to trick them, how to break them. Indeed, he knew so much more than any human could possibly comprehend; there was no way he could fit his power, his knowledge, his vastness into such a fragile vessel. He’d have to cut pieces off, block pieces out… and why would he do that? Why would he weaken himself in such a way?

                Memories. Long lost memories, of laughter, of warmth. Of days spent in front of the TV, eating popcorn, somebody leaning against him. Mizar – no, Belle hugging him tight. Hugging. He remembered hugging, how it felt to have someone squeeze him tight like they didn’t ever want to let go.

                He remembered squeezing back. He remembered how much he loved them. That twingy feeling again - how had he once had so much of it, so much to give, and so much to receive, and now…?

                …

                He wanted it again. He wanted it so much it ached. He’d forgotten, but now he remembered, now it was there and he needed it.

                Alcor knew right then what price he was going to name.

                “Can I have your fries, Dipper?”

                Before he could answer, Naomi reached over and grabbed a fistful. He rolled his eyes.

                “Oh, yeah. Sure. Thank you so much for asking.”

                She grinned at him mid-chew. “Ah’m so p’lite.”

                “Ugh, Noie, that’s gross.”

                “What’ch grosh? Thish?”

                “I’m gonna throw my juice at you.”

                He picked up the packet and pretended to aim at her face. She cackled.

                “Oh, yeah? Well, too bad for you, I haven’t opened my milk yet!” She grabbed the carton. “This is mutantly assigned destruction!”

                “That’s… not quite the phrase-“

                Noie jerked her arm back like she was going to throw it, and he flinched.

                “Ha! I got you! I won!”

                “What? No, I just-”

                “I win, you lose, nananananana!”

                “Oh, my god, Noie.” Dipper snorted, and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

                “Takes one to know one, doofus. Hey, you want my milk?”

                “You don’t want it?”

                “Nah.” She snagged another fry from his tray. “I’m not that hungry.”

                They sat there for the whole lunch hour. At an empty table in a busy cafeteria, they laughed the time away.

                “Argh.”

                “You okay, bro?”

                They were sitting at the back of a public bus. Dipper put his face in his hands and gestured at the man who just got on.

                “He’s got an enchantment, or something.” He paused, kneading his forehead. “Pretty strong.”

                Noie put a hand on his shoulder, and then she turned to the front.

                “Hey! Excuse me, Mr Dude With the Phone in the front.” She waved until she got his attention. Dipper grabbed her arm.

                “No, no, you don’t have to-“

                “Hi! Yeah, hi! Sorry, my brother’s a little magic sensitive. Is there a way you can tone it down for a few minutes or something?”

                The man reached into his bag and tapped something. He looked up again. “My magi-orb was compiling something. I turned it off; is that better?”

                The pressure eased a little inside Dipper’s skull. He straightened. “Yeah, that’s… that’s better. Sorry, thank you so much.”

                Noie nudged him. “See? Never hurts to ask.”

                “I guess you’re right. Still-”

                 “I’m always right!”

                “Ehhh…”

                “Always.”

                They were still a couple minutes away from their stop. Dipper’s head still ached; he tried not to rub it too much, for the sake of the poor man up in front. He rested his chin on his knuckes instead, and listened along to Noie as she talked about the weekend.

                “I caaaan’t wait for Friday. Seriously.”

                “Mmmhm.”

                “I mean I know it’s only Monday, but it was soooo loooong. It always feels so long.”

                “Mmm."

                “They cancelled soccer on Saturday, so I’m gonna bug Grandpa about the car again. I mean, I’m so close to driving – I can taste the freedom! He’s gotta take us out to a parking lot sometime- oh, shoot, the stop! I’ll pull the thing. Hah, we nearly missed it. Come on!”

                “Mmmhm.”

                “Hey, Earth to Dipping Sauce. Hellooo? Dipper?”

                “What?” Dipper looked up, and saw her standing by the bus doors. He grabbed his bag. “Oh, sorry! Coming!”

                He hurried after her. They stepped off onto the pavement; it wasn’t far until they turned and headed down a row of houses. Third from the right was a nice little house with a patchy lawn. Dipper cut across the grass, while Noie skipped along the stepping stones.

                “Keys?” Dipper asked. Noie rolled her eyes.

                “You always say that like I’ve forgotten them. They’re right- where’s my lanyard?”

                Dipper put his backpack down and fished out his copy from the front pocket.

                “You’re a lifesaver, bro.”

                With a grin, he unlocked the door. It was a little stuffy inside, as it always was – Noie had fought battle after battle about being allowed to open a window. It was quiet but for the sound of voices coming from the back.

                Then Noie kicked off her shoes, threw her backpack to the ground and yelled. “WE’RE HOME!”

                “Lock the door!” Came the reply.

                “We just did that!”

                “What?”

                “We just did-“

                “What? I can’t hear you, come over here!”

                Dipper took off his shoes and followed Noie into the living room. The TV was playing some commercial, and two sets of eyes peeled themselves away from the set when they came in.

                “There you are.” Their grandfather sat forwards. He had a head of brilliant white hair, and his bushy eyebrows knit together in a frown. “You don't have to yell across the house. What did you want to say?”

                “I was just saying I locked the door.”

                “Oh." He nodded at them. "Good. Thank you.” 

                Behind their grandfather, a woman waved. “How was your day at school?”

                Dipper shrugged. “It was alright. Nothing much-“

                “Granny, I’m so glad you asked! I didn’t fail my trigonometry test today!”

                “That’s wonderful, sweetie!”

                Her grandfather crossed his arms. “What score did you get?”

                “A sixty three!”

                “You know,” Her grandmother gestured at the air. “Back when I was at school, I didn’t really like the… the, um, the adding and minusing-“

                “Math, you mean.”

                “Oh, thank you, David. Yes, math. But, you know, I asked my teacher, ‘When are we ever going to use this?’ And you know what she said? You know, she said, she said, we used… she said…”

                Her grandmother frowned. Noie exchanged glances with Dipper.

                “She said…” Her grandmother paused, and laughed it off. “And it's gone. Oh, well, it’ll come back. Anyway, how was your day at school?”

                “Um-“

                David’s jaw clenched. “You just said that.”

                “Did I?”

                “Yes, Allie. Yes, you did.”

                The silence stretched, and Noie clapped her hands. “Right! Good talk. Anyway, we’re gonna go to our room. Nice to see you guys!”

                "Yes, it's always so nice of you to come by and visit! Aren't you going to say goodbye, David?"

                David sank back into the couch. "Make sure you study. Don't be mucking around. I'm talking to you, Naomi."

                "Whaaat? What are you talking about?" She grinned. "I never muck around."

                He gave a wry smile. "Is that so. Seeya around, kids."

                Noie walked back down the hall, Dipper following closely behind her. As they turned the corner, they could hear Allie saying, “So what is this show we’re watching?”

Chapter Text

                There was nothing around for miles, no houses, no telephone poles, barely anything taller than a tree. Rolling fields of long grass rustled in the wind, lit only by the light of the moon. Shadowy figures dotted the landscape – they were cows, lying down for a good sleep.

                One lay still under a lone tree. A liquid glistened on its neck. The tree rustled – not from the wind.

                Crack.

                Something tore off one of its limbs. Bark snapped like bone, and the branch was dragged a little distance into the moonlight.

                It was a small figure, in long robes. They hefted the tree branch – it was several times their size - stabbed it into the ground, and drew a circle in the grass. It took a while; they were doing this with care. Then, they set the branch down and walked over to the cow.

They touched its neck; blood got on their fingers, and they licked it off. The figure hesitated, there. Then they shook their head, grabbed the cow’s legs and dragged it into the centre of the circle.

                A gust of wind came like a wave over the fields. Cloak flapping in the current, the figure stepped back, bowed their head, and began to chant.

                “Splendidum stella,” they began, and raised their arms. “te invoco. Te invoco ut facere voluntatem meam. Dico nomen tuum: Alcor!”

                It got cold, then. The figure shivered, and watched the cow shimmer and fold itself out of reality. The lines in the grass glowed gold, and a darkness materialized above the circle.

                They leaned forwards as it took on a humanlike shape…

                And then it receded, and an answering machine appeared in its place.

                “What?” The figure stared as it began to play one of its karaoke songs. She clenched her fingers. “Alcor, what are you doing? Where the hell are you? I need-”

                “Please leave a message after the scream!”

                Lucy Ann took off her hood. After a bloodcurdling cry echoed from the circle, she stepped forwards.

                “Hey, dude, Alcor, it’s me! It’s Lucy Ann! Why aren’t you answering your circles? I’ve been trying for days, I…” She shot a glance at the horizon. “I don’t have much time. I need your help, Al. Can you hear this? Can you hear me at all? Give me a sign, something, anything.”

                She waited, fists clenched, claws digging into her skin. The answering machine kept playing, ‘Disco Girl’, and the circle’s golden glow gently pulsed. Nothing happened.

                On the horizon, however, something did.

The sky began to light up in the east. It was like the sun rising, but it was all wrong: it wasn’t a dull red, but a harsh, clinical white. It moved fast, extinguishing stars as it swept across the heavens, getting brighter, getting closer.

                Lucy Ann felt her heart catch in her throat. She stepped back, and she was about to run for it when the circle flared up. Eight golden lines shot into the sky; she watched as they fixed on the Big Dipper constellation.

                The stars began to rotate.

                In the east, the glow was getting brighter. Lucy Ann hissed as the light hit her skin, and she drew up her hood again. She squinted up at the Big Dipper. The constellation was fading as the glow closed in, but she could still make out the stars of the panhandle; like a crooked finger, they pointed west.

                Lucy Ann nodded. “Okay. Okay, I’ll find you.”

                She backed away, turned, and ran for the hills, her cloak billowing out behind her.

                Noie wasn’t very good at getting to sleep. Dipper could lie down on his bunk bed and be comatose within minutes, but she never got that. Apparently her brain needed some good ol’ staring up at the ceiling before it felt like switching off.

                That was really boring, so you can imagine how she became a bit of a night person. She did dishes. She read books. Sometimes, if it was really hot and stuffy inside, she teased the creaky backdoor open and sat out on the porch.

                It was breezy that night. The pages of her book fluttered as she turned them. Her hair blew into her face, and she brushed it back.

                “Pteh, pteh, hair in my mouth.” Noie wiped a strand off her face. “Get outta there, little buddy.”

                She read for a little while. Slowly, a cosy, sleepy feeling set in; her eyelids grew heavy and the words on the page started to muddle together. She dog-eared the corner, stood up, and stretched out her arms.

                “Alright. Bedtime.”

                The backdoor squeaked as Noie nudged it open. Once she slipped through the smallest opening she could manage, she eased it closed behind her and walked through the living room. It was dark, but she’d done this a million times. She could get around here blind.

                Noie then promptly stubbed her toe on a box sitting by the wall.

                “Oh, ffffffffff…” She dropped her voice to a hiss. “…fffun times. Ow. Ow. Oh, that hurt.”

                She limped her way over to the bedroom door. It was ajar; she started to open it, but then she heard something, a sound, coming from within. She froze.

                A voice. Dipper’s voice, moaning. It was low and quiet and broken, and it made Noie’s hair stand on end. She shoved the door open and rushed over to their bed.

                Her brother was on the bottom bunk. She could barely see him at first, but she got closer and saw how he was holding his head, his fingers digging into his hair. His face, contorted in pain.

                “Dipper?” Noie shook him. It did nothing. She shook him harder. “Dipper, what’s wrong? Hey, wake up!”

                His frown deepened, and he mumbled something almost like words.

                “Dipper?”

                “’m here, I’m over here, I’m…”

                “What? Dipper. Dipper!”

                He cracked an eye open. Then he squeezed them both shut, and turned over.

                “Ohhh…” He groaned. “My head…”

                “You okay?” Noie stopped shaking him, but she kept a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Bro?”

                He didn’t say anything.

                “Do you want me to get Grandpa?” She stood up. “I’m gonna go get him, okay?”

                “No.” Dipper waved an arm at her. “Don’t… It’s fine. I’m fine.”

                “You don’t sound so fine.”

                “No, I am fine, it’s… It’s just a headache.”

                “Dipper…”

                “Please, it’s fine. Just leave it, Noie. Noie.”

                “…Okay.” Noie frowned at him. “You goober. Don’t scare me like that. Can I at least get you an ibuprofen or something?”

                “Yeah. That would, that would be good.” He rolled onto his pillow, and mumbled, “Thanks.”

                She patted his shoulder. It was a little cold; she drew his covers over them.

                “Don’t mention it, bro.” Noie stood. “I’ll be right back. Don’t explode or anything while I’m gone, okay?”

                There was a muffled, “No promises,” and she snorted.

                “Alright. Uno momento.”

Chapter Text

                “Dude, I’m supposed to be the sleepy one in the morning.” She nudged Dipper, who was halfway down to his cereal bowl. When he didn’t respond, her smile faded. “You okay?”

                “Ugh…” He rubbed his head. “I’m okay, yeah.”

                “Still got a headache?”

                “Yeah.”

                Noie made a face. From the other end of the table, her grandfather cleared his throat. “Elbows off the table.”

                “Grandpa! Can’t you see he’s suffering?”

                “Mabel, it’s fine.”

                “Mabel?” Noie snorted. “Who’s Mabel?”

                “Suffering, is he.” Her grandfather rolled his eyes. “Alright. Elbows off the table, Naomi.”

                She drew her arms back, and leaned over to Dipper. “Who’s Mabel?”

                “I don’t know. Sorry.”

                “Is she your giiiirrrlfrrriend?”

                “What? No, I just-“

                “Mabel and Dipper, sitting in a tree-“

                “Are you serious? We are way too old for this.”

                “ K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”

                “Oh, my god, Noie.”

                While Noie was making smoochy faces at her brother, her grandmother walked out of the bedroom. She made a beeline for the door, and David leaned back.

                “Allie?” Her grandfather asked, his brows furrowed. “Where do you think you’re going?”

                “Oh, I’m just going shopping. I won’t be a moment.”

                “Uh, no, you’re not.”

                She frowned. “Why not?”

                “We’re fine on groceries, for one. What are you looking for?”

                Allie shuffled in place. “Well, we need to go shopping.”

                “For what?”

                “We need to go shopping. I won’t be a moment, David, I just-”

                “No, no, you’re confused-”

                “I’m not confused.”

                “Well…” He stood up. “Come on, why don’t you have some breakfast, eh? That’ll make you feel better.”

                “I’m not confused.” She muttered, but she let him steer her towards the table. “We need to go shopping.”

                Noie put on a smile as Allie sat down next to her. “Morning, Grandma! What things do you need? Maybe we can make a list.”

                “We’re running low on ibuprofen.” Dipper said from between his hands. Allie looked over at him.

                “Got a bit of a headache, dear?”

                “Yeah. It’s fine, though.”

                “Aww, that’s no good, is it? Make sure you drink lots of water. If that doesn’t make you feel better, you might be coming down with something.” She laughed. “And if that’s happening, I’m getting the hazmats. There’s only one thing worse than being old, and that’s being old and sick!”

                From across the table, David snorted.

                “Don’t worry, Grandma.” Noie nudged her brother. “Water police are out in full force today. Alright, so we need ibuprofen – and, oh, we’re out of bananas. What else?”

                On the bus, Noie watched her brother carefully. His nose was buried in a textbook – the big nerd – and from the outside he looked fine, but she could see the slight squint in his eyes, the subtle wince every time they went over a bump.

                “Jeez,” She said. “That headache really did a number on you, huh?”

                Dipper blinked. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah.”

                He didn’t sound like he was really listening. Noie rolled her eyes as he turned a page.

                “Dipper. Dipper!”

                “What?”

                “I was saying, that headache really did a number on you, huh?”

                “I guess.” He kept his eyes on his homework. “I’m fine, though.”

                “What do you think it was? Like a magic storm passing over or something? I checked the weather but they didn’t say anything about it.”

                He just shrugged.

                “Hellooo? Am I talking to my brick wall bro? Dipper? Dipper?”

                “I heard you the first time.” Dipper set down his textbook a little hard. “Yeah, it was weird, but it’s gone now, okay? We can stop talking about it.”

                “Ooh, somebody’s a bit of a grumpasaurus this morning!”

                “Noie.”

                “Grumpy grumpasaurus.”

                “Noie-“

                “Grumpa-Dipper-saurus-rex, seen here in his natural habitat-“

                “Noie, stop it. Just stop it, okay?”

                She sat back, a smile frozen on her face. “What?”

                “Look, I’m not in the mood.” Dipper turned back to his textbook. “Just stop talking about the headache thing, okay? It’s fine. Everything is fine.”

                Noie laughed a little nervously. “Well, sheesh, sorry for trying to lighten the mood. I’m just trying to make you feel better, you know?”

                He didn’t say anything. Noie frowned, and turned away to look out the window. Streets and streets of houses whooshed past the glass. The bus rumbled steady and low, but otherwise it was quiet. Uncomfortably so, for Noie.

                “Just worried about you, you know.” She said, if only to fill the stretching silence. “That’s all.”

                Hey, unicorns. Cool. She chased them around, and she was chasing them, and she was chasing them, and she was chasing them-

                The bell rang. Noie sat up with a jolt.

                “Hng? Wassat?” She blinked and wiped some drool off the side of her mouth. “Ugh, fell asleep. Hey, Dipper, what’d we take notes… on?”

                Dipper was slumped over his papers in a similar manner. His pen was still moving, making little squiggle marks down the side of the page. Noie snorted.

                “Hey, bro. Bro bro. Dipper.” Dipper groaned, and she shook him. “Get up, sleepyhead. Class is done, we gotta go to history.”

                “No... Mabel…”

                “Again with the Mabel. Who is she? Besides your girlfriend, of course.”

                He lifted his chin. “What? Mabel?”

                “Yeah, weirdo.”

                “I dunno. Sorry, that name’s just...” He sat up and rubbed his forehead. “Rattling around my head today.”

                Noie snorted, but it died off as she watched Dipper press his palms against his eye sockets. She opened her mouth, but hesitated and closed it again. She turned away to her desk and started packing up her things.

                Next to her Dipper grunted, and then stretched. Finally he looked around the room and noted the empty seats and the students slowly filtering in through the door. He frowned.

                “Wait, did the bell already ring?”

                “Yeah, I told you that already.”

                He grabbed his bag. “Oh, shoot! We’re gonna be late!”

                “We will?” Noie remembered history was all the way on the other side of campus. “Huh, I guess we will.”

                “Come on, we can make it if we run!”

                He swung his backpack over his shoulders and booked it for the door. With a snicker and a shake of the head, Noie took off after him. Through the halls they ran, down the stairs, outside and then across the courtyard. Back inside – a lovely rush of cool AC. Up another flight of stairs, through another echoing hall, right up to the door at the very end.

                Red-faced and panting, the two of them took their seats just as the bell sounded. Noie slipped her backpack off and let it flop to the floor.

                “I think…” She started. “Next time… I’ll just be late.”

                “Hey… we made it.” Dipper took out his notes. He frowned. “Uh, do you by any chance know what we were doing last hour?”

                Noie laughed. “Nope! I was a-snoozing.”

                “Yeah, I figured.” He rubbed his eyes again. “I don’t know how you do it, Noe. I hate sleeping in class.”

                She just shrugged. Up ahead, the teacher was pulling down the projector screen. Some text had been shining on the wall; the blank white surface made them legible.

                ‘Quarter Final Project’, it read. Noie groaned.

                “Boo. I forgot this was today.”

                The teacher turned to the front. “Good morning, class. We’ll be starting our final projects today. This is an assessment, and it will go into your gradebooks as such. And this is also instead of a test, so, I’m expecting some high quality work out of all of you.”

                Noie gave a silent fist pump. Dipper sank lower into his desk.

                “Aww,” He muttered. “Am I the only one who doesn’t actually mind tests?”

                “Yup.”

                “We’ve been studying the immediate Post-Transcendental period for a number of weeks now,” continued the teacher. “so in groups of three, you’ll be assigned one event from this time period to make a poster of. You’ll have to refer to your notes or do some research of your own to complete this project. It’s due three weeks from now. Any questions?”

                Noie raised her hand.

                “Yes, Naomi?”

                “Can we choose our groups?”

                “No. They’ll be chosen randomly.” A groan went up from the classroom, which the teacher pointedly ignored. He picked up a box full of names, and shook it. “If there aren’t any more questions, I’ll start picking groups now.”

                Noie turned to her brother. “Fingers crossed I get you!”

                “That’d be cool. But statistically, it’s not likely-“

                “Cross your fingers, bro! That’ll make it happen for sure!”

                “I mean, that’s not really-“

                “For sure!”

                Dipper sighed, smiled, and crossed middle over pointer. Noie grinned.

                “Yeah! That’s the spirit!”

                “Alright,” Up in front, the teacher started drawing names. “First group has the Antarctica Rescue, and it’s James, Katy, and Naomi.”

                “Goddammit!” Noie blinked when she caught her teacher’s sharp look. “Oh. Sorry. Said that wayyy too loud. Uh, John and Katy, you guys are cool. Whoever you are.”

                There were a couple sniggers from the corner of the class, and the teacher cleared his throat. “Moving on…”

                He kept choosing names. Dipper got put with Ryan and Max. At the end of it, he stepped away and let them get into their groups. Noie stood up.

                “Seeya, bro.” She waved. “Hope your people are good.”

                “You too.”

                With that, Noie slinked off to find her group. The girl, Katy, was sitting in the back corner of the classroom on her phone. She didn’t look up when Noie pulled up a chair.

                “Hey, girl! It’s Katy, right?” Noie drummed her fingers on the desk, waiting for a response. She looked around. “Uhh, where’s the other guy?”

                Katy glanced up. “Oh, J’s not here today.” She looked back at her phone. “I’m texting him.”

                “Ah. Heh, you telling him he’s gotta get his butt over here so he can help us with the project?”

                “Actually, he’s got the floo.”

                “Aww, no! That sucks. Yeah, I was just, uh,” Noie cleared her throat. “jokin’ around. Horsin’ around. So! Antarctica! Gonna do a poster on that. Hey, you want to do the research or do you wanna make the poster? I like making posters, but I’m happy doing either. My bro’s good at research; I’ll pawn that off on him, hah!”

                Katy waved a hand in her direction.  “Yeah, yeah, cool, you can do that…”

                Then she snorted at something on her phone. Noie’s smile stretched.

                “Alright, looks like I’m doing everything. Great. Looove group projects.” She pulled out her notebook and flipped through it. “Now do I have notes on the Antarctica thing? Not here, not here… Oh, here it is! Aaaand I just wrote the title. Cool. Good job, me.”

                She snapped it closed and turned around in her seat. “I’ll just steal Dipper’s – hey, yo, Dip! Dipper! Can I borrow your notes, pretty please?”

                Dipper was sitting with his group, facing with his back to her. He wasn’t that far away, but he didn’t seem to hear her at all. Noie sighed, stood up, and walked over.

                “Dippingsauce? Can I borrow your…“

                Dipper’s thin, tired voice made her trail off. “…please, just put it away for now?”

                There were two other guys in his group. The one on the right tried to wave him off. “Look, dude, I got Runes next period. Just hold on a sec, okay?”

                Dipper let out a quiet moan and rubbed his temples. At that moment, Noie cut in.

                “Hey, what’s going on?” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You alright, bro?”

                Dipper looked up at her, startled. “Oh! Hi, Noie! Uh, what are you doing here?”

                “What’s going on?”

                “I-it’s nothing, don’t worry about it…”

                She looked over to the guy on the right. He had a piece of notebook paper out and was writing on it. No, he was etching, and though most of the symbols he’d put down seemed to fizzle out as soon as he wrote them, she could see a couple of them glowing a steady magical blue.

                Magic. Runes. Noie frowned.

                “Dude. Put that away. Dipper gets a headache when he’s near magic.”

                “Noie, it’s fine.” Dipper tried to protest. “I’m handling this, you don’t need to-“

                “Oh, yes I do! Hello!” She leaned forwards and snapped in his face. “Are you listening? Put it away!”

                The guy shot her a look. “I can’t, sorry. It’s homework, it’s due next hour.”

                “Well you should have thought of that before you left it till last minute, huh?”

                “Noie-“

                “Yeah, but it's whatever.” The guy started writing again. “Look, I’m trying to be quick. It’s just a headache, right? He can deal with a headache for like, twenty seconds.”

                Noie’s smile dropped right off her face. She jerked over and snatched the paper.

                “Hey!”

                “Noie!”

                “Dude, you’re being a major jerk right now.” Noie held the paper up as he tried to grab for it. “I was trying to be nice, but it’s not ‘just a headache’. You know when he was three, there was this magic storm, and he got his head split right open. Dad had to take him to the hospital.”

                “Well, that’s a magic storm! It’s just a few runes, it’s fine-“

                “Oh, it is not.”

                He grabbed her arm and pulled. She switched the paper to her other hand and stuffed it in her mouth.

                The guy blinked. Then, his face drew back in disgust and he let go.

                “Oh, what the hell?”

                Noie grinned, and slid it out of her mouth with a long lick. She offered it back to him, now with a soggy stain trailing down the margin. “Here’s your homework back.” She chirped. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

                He didn’t take the paper. With a huff and glare that could sour grapes, he stalked back to his seat and flumped himself down. She watched him carefully, but he didn’t take out another sheet.

                Good. Noie folded the paper a couple times and stuck in it her pocket, like a trophy. Then she looked back and gave Dipper the thumbs up.

                He wasn’t smiling. When she walked back up to him again, he opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he closed it again.

                “See, bro? That’s how you deal with major jerkasauruses.” She shot a look at the guy, and then cackled to herself. “Fun times. Aaaanywaaayy, can I borrow your-?“

                “Notes. Yeah, sure, just take them.”

                Dipper’s curt tone caught her off guard. “Huh?”

                “Just take them, okay?” He unzipped his backpack, jerked out his notebook and thrust it at her. “Now go. We’ve got our own project, we’re kind of busy here.”

                Noie took it with a frown. “Uh… okay. Are you-“

                “Yes. I’m fine. Thank you for all your help.” He stopped, and heaved a sigh. “Just go. I’ll see you at lunch.”

                With a sinking feeling in her chest, Noie backed up and walked away.

                Lunch. Noie stared down at her tray, and then up at Dipper. He was poking at his food with a spork, a frown creasing his features. Every so often, he’d take a breath like he was going to say something, but then he’d shake his head and let it out.

                He was mad at her for something. Noie tried her hardest to let him talk first, but the silence was unbearable. She slapped on a smile and leaned forwards.

                “Not, uh, not feeling hungry?”

                Dipper shot her a look. Her smile stretched.

                “No? Cool, that’s cool. Uh… lovely weather we’re having-“

                “Just stop. Please.”

                Noie frowned. “Alright. Rude. Well, are you gonna tell me what’s up or are you just gonna sit here being mad at me for some reason?”

                “Noie-“

                “Look, I don’t know what your problem is.” She crossed her arms. “You were all grumpy on the bus this morning, but then we were cool again, and now you’re mad again. What’s the deal with you?”

                “I’m not trying to be mad at you.” He rubbed his forehead. “I know you were trying to help with the guy in my group-“

                “Wait, you’re mad at me for making him stop?”

                “I mean, sort of, yeah! Look, I-I was handling it, but then you came in and escalated the whole thing! You ate his homework!”

                “I didn’t eat it.” She cracked a grin. “I should’ve. Then he’d have the perfect excuse: ‘My classmate ate my homework!”

                “Noie, come on! Now neither of them want to listen to me or do any of the work, so what am I supposed to do?”

                “Hey, my group sucked too. And if you think a jerk like that was ever gonna do his fair share, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.” She shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Look, I’ll help you with your poster if you’re stressing-“

                “That’s not the point!” Dipper slammed his hands down on the tray, and his juice toppled over. He glared at Noie. “You know, sometimes, I don’t want your help, okay? It’s like you think I can’t do anything by myself!”

                “What? No, I don’t!”

                “Then why are you just constantly asking me about my headaches even though I said I was fine? Why’d you feel the need to argue with the rune guy when I said I could handle it?”

                “Well, no offense, Dipper, but you always say you’re fine, even when you’re not. And I know how you ‘handle’ people.” She imitated his voice. “Oh, can you please just maybe sorta stop doing that?’ You gotta be more assertive, bro. Sometimes, you gotta go all out. You gotta eat some homework.”

                “Well how am I ever gonna more assertive if you’re just gonna do it for me?”

                Noie gritted her teeth. “What? So I was just supposed to stand there? I’m not allowed to stick up for you?”

                “Noie-“

                “Look, screw me for being such an awful sister, but I have this thing where I care about you! Last night you were all moaning and muttering something, so yeah, maybe I didn’t want anyone else messing with your headache! Maybe I was worried about you! And you’re gonna yell at me for that?”

                “I know,” Dipper didn’t meet her eyes. “I know you’re just trying to look out for me, a-and I appreciate it, I really do. But sometimes… I don’t know. It’s like you think you’ve got to be my mom or something.”

                Noie hesitated. Her chest, all puffed out from yelling, deflated somewhat, and she gave him a sad smile.

                “Well.” She started, quietly. “No one else is gonna be mom, right? So I… I don’t know.” She slumped forwards, and rested her elbows on her tray. “I don’t know.”

                It was quiet. Noie felt a hand, and she looked up to see Dipper reaching for her. She smiled, and linked hands with him.

                “I’m sorry, Noie.” Dipper said. “But, you know, I don’t want you to be my mom. You’re my sister. You’re my twin sister.”

                “Actually, I’m five minutes older, so that’d make me-” There was a squeeze on Noie’s hand, and the words died on her tongue. “Right. Sorry.”

                “Can we just… go back to that? Please?” Another squeeze. “Mystery Twins?”

                Mystery Twins?” Noie cocked an eyebrow at that. “What mysteries are we solving?”

                “I dunno. It sounds fitting, somehow.”

                “Alright then. Mystery Twins.” She smiled, and Dipper smiled right back. “Now eat your greens. Hah, I’m kidding! I am kidding, I promise.”

Chapter Text

                “Noie. Noie, move your feet. Move- ow! Noie!”

                Noie was sitting on the top bunk, her feet dangling down to the desk Dipper was sitting at. She giggled and gave his hair another stroke with her toes.

                “No-ie,” He whined. “This is so gross.”

                “Good. Maybe you’ll wash your hair this week! Haha, zing!”

                Dipper rolled his eyes, caught one of her feet and started tickling it.

                “No! No! Haha, st-stop!” She drew them back. “Abort mission! Retreat!”

                She flopped down on the bed and threw the covers over herself. Dipper laughed.

                “Aren’t you supposed to be doing the posters?”

                “I am, I am!” The covers shifted, and Noie popped her head out. “I was just looking up a reference photo for California. How’s research going?”

                The computer was on a screensaver; Dipper wiggled the mouse. “Yeah, it’s pretty fascinating. You know that there’s still radio transmissions coming from old Antarctic research stations? There’s one that’s just been broadcasting a guy saying, ‘paper, paper, paper’ for thousands of years.”

                “Weird. Why paper?”

                “Dunno.” Dipper leaned back. “But you know what’s even weirder? Apparently people have been doing research on that guy’s voice, and he was one of the people who got rescued. So the question is, why’s his voice still in Antarctica?”

                “Oooh. I should draw a ghoster on my poster!”

                “Hah. Yeah, maybe you…”

                There was a loud bang from the front door. Dipper trailed off at the sound of David’s voice booming through the walls.

                “I checked outside, I went through the garbage can, it’s not there! Where on earth did you put it, Aliie?”

                “Put what?”

                “My ring!”

                “Ring? Your wedding-”

                “Yes, obviously, my wedding ring. What other ring would I be talking about?”

                “Don’t talk to me like that, David. Did you lose it? Where did you last-?”

                “I did not lose it! You said you moved it somewhere safe! Where did you last see it?”

                “I don’t know! Why would I move it? I don’t think I would do that.”

                “Well, you did.” A drawer slammed, and Noie flinched. “You did.”

                “David? David, I’m sorry. David?”

                Noie looked down at Dipper. He was sitting there frozen, a wide-eyed blankness on his expression as he tried to listen in. She frowned, and then she swung her legs back over the bed and stuck her feet in his face.

                “Wha- Noie!”

                “Foot attack!”

                “Oh, yeah? You know how well this ended last time, right?”

                He made a grab for her ankles, and she drew them back with a giggle. Dipper fixed his hair again.

                “Really, that is gross, though.” He paused at the sound of a door slamming, and then leaned forwards and started typing. “Why don’t I put some music on?”

                “Yeah! Put on that Disco Girl song you love!”

                “Wha-what? I don’t know that- I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

                “Disco giiiirl, comiiiing throoough, that girl is youuuu-“

                “Hey, look at this!” Dipper cut in. “Marcia Sinderson. You like her songs, right?”

                “Not as much as you, bro!”

                Dipper’s eyebrows drooped, but they shot back up again when Noie let out a, “Wow!”

                “What is it?”

                “Look!” Noie leaned halfway off of the bunk to show him a picture on her phone. “This is California before the Transcendence! Isn’t it huuge?”

                Dipper blinked. “Whoa. That does look… huge. It looks…”

                He trailed off, still staring at the picture. Noie raised an eyebrow. “You okay there, bro? Hello? Earth to Dipper?”

                Dipper didn’t respond for a long moment. “Huh,” he finally said, tearing himself away to look up at her with a strange expression. “Yeah. It used to be big.”

                Noie laughed uncomfortably. “Hah! Um, didn’t realise this was gonna be such a major revelation to you.”

                She drew back to sit on the bed. Dipper hesitated, and then turned to type on the computer again. Noie shot him glances; she watched him reach up with a hand and slowly massage his temple. She watched him open his mouth, close it, think for a little, and then turn to her.

                “Noie?”

                Noie pretended to look up. “Yeah?”

                “You know Monday night?” He started abruptly, then paused. “When I got that headache?”

                “Yeah?”

                “I um… I had a really weird dream that night too. Which was weird by itself, because I don’t really get dreams, but I did, and-“

                “What happened in your dream?”

                “Well, it was dark, and there was a girl there.” He rubbed his head some more. “She was calling for help? She was calling for my help.”

                Noie tried for a grin. “Sounds like a typical nightmare, bro. I always get one about this test calling my name. ‘Noie! Noie! You must take me!’ It’s always in Ms Leonard’s voice, which is weird ‘cause studio art doesn’t even have a written test. Wait… what if it’s from the future? Plot twist!”

                They both laughed a little at that. Dipper trailed off first.

                “Yeah… I recognized her, too. The girl in my dream.” He started to frown again. “But also I didn’t really know who she was? She just felt really, really familiar, and I wanted to help her but I couldn’t say anything or do anything and then everything started brightening and… I woke up, with a massive headache.”

                He didn’t say anything else; he just kept rubbing his head, like the memory of the pain brought it back a little. The song playing on the computer faded out, and it was quiet.

                Noie frowned. Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door. She sat up.

                “Hello?”

                The door opened slowly, and Allie popped her head in. “Hey, kids. How’s your evening going?”

                “Yeah.” Dipper said. “It’s going good.”

                “The best!” Noie added, and swung her legs down. “What do you need, Granny?”

                Allie’s smile drooped a little. “Um, David’s upset about something, he’s looking…” She gestured behind the door. “I think he’d appreciate some help? If you’re not busy-“

                “Oh, no, it’s okay!”

                “No, we’re not busy.”

                “Don’t worry, Granny! We’re on the-” Noie jumped off the bunk bed, landed weirdly, and faceplanted into the carpet. “Case. Ow.”

                “You okay?”

                “Only thing hurt is my pride, bro.” She shot up. “Alright, let’s find that ring!”

                Allie laughed. “You kids. Made of rubber, aren’t you?”

                It was the weekend, and the school parking lot was empty but for a couple cars parked under a sunroof. At the curb on the other end of the clearing, a red car was idling.

                “Now, Naomi, you’re in first gear.” David pressed a hand to the steering wheel; his wedding ring glinted on his finger. “What you want to do is lift the clutch and press down on the accelerator. Do it slowly. You’ll probably stall at first, but-”

                The car shut off. Lights blinked on the display.

                “Okay, that’s stalling. You stalled. Try again.”

                Noie made a face as she put the brake back on. “This is complicated.”

                “All it takes is practice, kid. Try again.”

                She tried again, and the car gave out in another anticlimactic whump. Dipper leaned forwards.

                “Maybe you should go slower?”

                “Thanks, Dipper.” She rolled her eyes. “Not like Grandpa just said that five seconds ago or anything.”

                She tried again, and the car stalled once more. “Aargh! I thought I had it!”

                “Don’t get frustrated, kid. Takes time to get the hang of it.”

                “Are you sure you’re doing it slowly enough? Maybe you should-“

                Noie turned around in her seat and glared at Dipper. “Okay, right now you are not being as helpful as you think you are. Can you not?”

                “Ignore him.” David turned her head back to the front. “He takes after Allie. They’re both dreadful backseat drivers.”

                “Wha-! I am not!”

                “You are.” Allie grinned and touched his shoulder. “But hey, don’t worry! Once you get a license, you don’t have to put up with anybody else’s bad driving! That’s what I do!”

                David turned the key. “Try again.”

                She tried again, and the car gave an awful grinding sound before it cut off. Noie tensed up.

                “Oh, no, I broke it!”

                “You didn’t break it. Try again.”

                “You need to go really slowly on the clutch.” Allie said. “Are you doing that? Are you going slow?”

                “I’m trying, Granny. Yup, I’m trying aaaand I’m failing.”

                David heaved a sigh. “Dipper, can you take Allie and wait out on the curb? Naomi needs to focus.”

                “I’m trying.”

                “I know you are. Try again.”

                Dipper and Allie stepped out, and it was just the two of them. Noie frowned. She pressed the clutch and the brake down, and waited for David to start the car. It roared to life; she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, and watched him shift the car.

                “Alright.” David said. “You’re good to go.”

                She breathed in, and out, and tried again. Up with the clutch, down with the accelerator…

                The car lurched forward. Noie sucked in a breath, but then it hit her – the car was moving!

                “I did it! Grandpa, I-“

                “Hey, hey, eyes on the road!”

                Noie jumped and slammed the brakes. The car died.

                “Wha-“ She frowned. “Aw, man, I stalled again!”

                “Yeah, there’s a way to brake that doesn’t do that. But hey,” David looked at her, and there was a rare smile creasing his face. “You did it, kid. You got’er going.”

                Noie beamed. “I did. I did!”

                He ruffled her hair. “You’ll be on the road in no time. Dear god, that’s a terrifying thought.”

                “Hey!”

                They both chuckled at that. David reached over and pressed down the handbrake.

                “So,” he said. “You wanna try this again, or do you wanna let your brother have a go?”

                “Eh, I’ll let Dipper try it. I can sit in the back and tell him everything he’s doing wrong!”

                David shook his head. “No, you’re outside with Allie. Make sure she’s safe, okay? Doesn’t go wandering; she’s started doing that lately.”

                “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, Grandpa.”

                She laughed again, but he fixed her with a stare. “I’m serious.”

                “I know. Don’t worry, I have got her.”

                “Alright.” He grunted, after a moment. “Off you go.”

                Noie closed the door and skipped over to Dipper and Allie. Dipper raised his hand in a high-five, a huge grin on his face.

                “You did it!”

                She slapped his hand as hard as she could. “I did it!”

                “Ow…”

                “I mean, sure I stalled literally right after, but I did it! I did the drive!” Noie grinned at him. “Now it’s your turn. Remember to release the clutch reaaaally slowly, okay.”

                “Yeah, yeah.”

                “No, I mean reaaaaally slowly. Have you got it yet? Like, reaaaaally slowly-“

                He waved her off. “Alright, alright. You’re very funny.”

                “Oh, I’m hilarious! Good luck!”

                He jogged up to the car. Allie started to follow, and Noie touched her shoulder.

                “No, no, Granny, they’re not going anywhere. Dipper’s learning how to drive.”

                “He is?” She blinked. “Why, isn’t he a little young?”

                “Ehh, maybe technically? But we’re in a parking lot, right? Grandpa says you don’t need a license here.”

                “Hmm.” Allie frowned. “It- he still seems a little… little young.”

                Noie shrugged. Then: “Hey, Granny. Guess what?”

                “What is it?”

                “I'm learning how to drive too, and I started the car!”

                “Did you?” She grinned. “Oh, that’s very good. Stick… the one with the stick, right?”

                “Yeah!”

                “Oh, that’s very good. That’s very hard. Not many people know how to do that these days.”

                As Noie watched, the car started up again.

                Allie frowned. “What’s David doing? Where’s he going?”

                “No, Granny, he’s not going anywhere. He’s teaching Dipper how to drive.”

                “Oh, he is, is he. Dipper’s driving already?”

                “Yup. Grandpa’s teaching him.”

                “David’s teaching him?” She snorted. “Why’s he passing that off on David, huh?”

                “What?”

                “Why’s David teaching him how to drive? Where’s your father?”

                Noie stiffened at that. A cold pit dropped in her stomach, and the smile fell right off her face. “Uh… not here… I guess?”

                “Yeah, I can see he’s not here. Why’s he pawning this off on David? He should be here.”

                “Yeah, I… guess he should.” She stared down at her feet. “I guess he should.”

                The car revved. Noie looked up to see it start moving, cruising smoothly along the curb. Her jaw dropped.

                “Whaaat? How’d Dipper get it so fast? Ohmygosh, that is so not fair!”

                “David?” Allie stepped forwards. “Where’s he going?”

                “He’s just teaching Dipper how to drive, Granny.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t believe it. Wait, he’s turning too?! No way. That is not fair.”

                “Dipper’s learning how to drive? Already?”

                Noie opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment she felt a tug on the back of her shirt. Confused, she turned around, and became even more confused at the sight of a tiny figure – they barely came up to her waist - in a dirty red cloak standing behind her, the hood pulled over their head. They seemed to have come out of nowhere; Noie hadn’t heard a sound until they took a deep, rasping breath, and spoke.

                “What exactly,” the figure hissed, in a voice that sounded strangely like a young girl’s, “is he doing here, that’s so fucking important he doesn’t have a moment to come and see me?”

                Noie was completely blindsided – by the figure’s appearance, the voice, the anger, the language… she just stared, at a loss for words.

                “I’ve just trekked across almost the entire length of the United States – being chased, mind you! I haven’t had a second to rest, I haven’t had anything to feed on for weeks, and when I ask Alcor for help, he tells me to go to fucking Southern Arizona – of all places! – to a city full of humans when I’m in this condition, and find him! Yeah, I did that. I was like, oh no, he’s in trouble, he needs my help! But I get here, and what’s he doing?” She stabbed a finger at the car in the parking lot. “Fucking driving!? He’d better be enslaved or something, because I am going to kill him if this is anything less than an emergency!”

                Noie stepped back. “What?” She managed. “Dipper?”

                “Dipper. What are you, some sort of Mizar?” The figure glared up at her, and Noie caught her breath at the glowing red eyes underneath the cloak. “You don’t look like you recognize me. Oh, well, of course he hasn’t remembered to tell you about, me since apparently he hasn’t remembered me at all!” She rolled those menacing eyes. “Whatever. Go get him, I’m gonna kick his ass.”

                Noie’s legs wouldn’t move. Her mouth wouldn’t work. Her mind was racing a mile a minute – Vampire? Mizar? Enslaved? Alcor? What was going on?

                At that moment, Allie stepped forwards. Noie could only watch as she put a hand on the vampire’s shoulder.

                “Hey,” Allie said, carefully. “You haven’t had anything to drink in a while, have you?”

                “What’s it to you, lady? Who are you?”

                “I’m Allie. It’s okay. Let’s go stand in the… the dark, no sunlight.” She gestured to the shade by the building. “Over there. That’d be more comfortable, wouldn’t it? What’s your name?”

                “Lucy Ann.” The vampire stood firm as Allie tried to lead her out of the light. “Look, you’re very nice, but I don’t need your help. I need Alcor.”

                “Okay. We can go get Alcor in a second. There’s a hospital not far from here – they’ve got bloodpacks for just this occasion. Maybe your friend can meet you there?” Allie fumbled in her pockets. “I need... where’s my… Noie?”

                “Yes?” Noie squeaked.

                “Do you know where my… button, calling thing is? Can you ask David?” She looked around. “Where is he?”

                At that moment, the car pulled up by the curb. Lucy Ann shook off Allie’s hand and stalked over just as the door opened.

                “Noie?” David furrowed his brows. “What’s going on? Who’s your little friend?”

                “You!” Lucy Ann stabbed a finger at Dipper, who immediately took a step back, his face turning sheet white. “What’s your problem, man? I came all the way across the country 'cause I thought you were in trouble, but here you are just driving a car around like you’re some sort of human! You’d better have a fucking good explanation for this!”

                She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and jerked him down to her level. Like lightning, David shot around the side of the car. He tried to pull her away.

                “Get away from my grandson!”

                “Grandson? What are you talking about? Alcor, what’s he talking about?”

                “His name’s not Alcor, he doesn’t know you, and I’m calling the police if you don’t get off him right this second! Get off!”

                “Alcor, what’s-“

                “Get off!”

                David wrenched her hand away. She staggered back and sat down hard. Dipper winced, and seemed to break out of his trance; he put a hand over the side of his neck.

                “Ow…” He drew his fingers back. Red glistened on them. “I think… she scratched me…”

                Noie saw the vampire go very still. She couldn’t see Lucy Ann’s face, but she could certainly see the look of pure horror that flashed across David’s; in a movement, he was in front of Dipper, his arms spread wide. The vampire rose up, clawed fists balled, and-

                Allie pulled her hood back. Sunlight hit Lucy Ann's head, and she hissed and drew back, scrabbling for her hood. Noie felt someone grab her hand.

                “Come on,” Allie pulled her towards the car. “Let’s go. David!”

                David was shoving Dipper in the backseat. “Get in the car, both of you. Get in the car right now.”

                Noie didn’t need to be told twice. Seatbelts, she dimly thought as David started the car. She put hers on, and glanced outside.

                Lucy Ann had gotten her hood on again. She was waving her arms, saying something that looked like, “Hey, wait!”

                The car peeled out of the parking lot, and soon she was out of sight. They kept driving; David kept sneaking glances at the rear view mirror, and nobody said a single word.

                It was like that for a long moment. Then, Allie piped up.

                “Where are we going?”

                “Hell if I know. Away from her.” His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “Holy shit.”

                “David! Language.”

                Noie finally breathed, and it came with a laugh. “Wow, haha. That was crazy.”

                “You can say that again, kid.”

                “That was crazy!”

                “What was crazy? What happened, David?”

                David started speaking to Allie, and Noie turned to her brother. “That was crazy, bro-“

                She stopped, and then blinked. There was something weird with Dipper’s eyes – maybe it was a trick of the light, but they almost seemed darker. She blinked again, and frowned. No, it wasn’t. They were black, pitch black, and his irises glowed gold.

                “Dipper? Dipper!”

                Dipper blinked. Now his eyes were normal again. He frowned, and shook himself.

                “Mabel?”

                “Dipper, I’m not Mabel. I’m Noie.”

                He looked at her, frowning like he was confused. “Noie. Right.”

                “Yeah.” She reached out a hand, and grasped his shoulder. Carefully, she patted it. “Are you okay? Your eyes did a really weird thing.”

                “What?”

                “They went, like, black.” Noie frowned. “Who was that vampire? Do you know her? What’s going on?”

                Dipper looked over at David and Allie. He made a face, and then he leaned forwards.

                “Noie,” He said, his tone low and serious. “I think… I do.”

                “What do you mean? How?”

                “I don’t know how, or what it means, but… she was the girl from my dream.”

                Noie just stared. She didn’t know what to say to that.

Chapter Text

                “She was a real small girl – barely came up to my waist. Looked like a six year old, but, uh, hard to tell those things for sure with vampires. She swore like a bloody sailor, so I’m assuming a fair bit older than that.”

                Noie sat on the couch. Her brother’s hand rested in her lap, and every so often she’d give it a squeeze. She looked down at the carpet, at her grandfather’s yellowed toes and sandals. At the policewoman’s shiny black boots.

                The boots shifted. “So you saw her by the school?”

                “Yes. In the parking lot.”

                “Do you know where she went?”

                “No, I’m afraid not.”

                “Okay.” Scribbling sounds. “Anything else?”

                “Uh… well, it was odd but she seemed to think she knew my grandson? Probably mistook him for someone else – she was calling him a different name, shouting some nonsense about… I don’t know. I remember she said, ‘You’d better have a good-‘ f-word ‘-explanation for this!”

                “Okay.”

                “Ugh, I’m trying to remember that name she called him.” The sandals turned to the side. “Allie, do you- oh.”

                “Do I what?”

                “Nevermind. Kids?”

                Noie looked up. David and the policewoman were staring at her, and all of a sudden she felt a little sick. She squeezed Dipper’s hand.

                “You know what name she called you, Dipper? Noie, you got any idea?”

                She opened her mouth… but no. It had completely slipped her mind. She shook her head, and turned to Dipper.

                Dipper, who had that same sheet-white expression he’d been wearing since he laid eyes on Lucy Ann in the parking lot. He seemed completely frozen, so Noie cleared her throat.

                “No.” She said. It was strangely hard to look them in the eyes, so she stared at their feet instead. “We don’t remember.”

                “Don’t worry about it.” The boots straightened. There was a click as the notes closed. “We’ve got more than enough information already to put out an alert. I’ll relay this to our officers, so they know what to keep an eye out for when they’re out on patrol.”

                “Alright, that’s great. Thank you so much.”

                “No problem, sir. And if you see anything else, remember to give us a call.”

                “We will, we will. Thank you again.”

                The boots turned and walked to the door. Creak, slam. Silence.

                A sigh.

                “Jeez.” The sandals shuffled in place. “This was a weird day. I’m gonna go watch something stupid on TV until everything stops feeling like a reality show.”

                The sandals stepped back, paused, and then walked forwards. Noie felt a hand on her shoulder.

                “Hey,” David said. The corner of his lip crinkled back in a grimace. “You two both look terrible. Go and get yourselves an early night, alright?”

                Noie felt herself nodding.

                “Okay. Good.” Her grandfather gave her an awkward pat. “That’ll, uh, make you feel better. Glad… glad you’re okay.”

                With that, he stepped back and cleared his throat. “Alright. Come on, Allie.”

                “Where are we going?”

                “To the living room. Come on, I’ll put on Embassy Under the Sea.”

                “Oh, I remember that.” Allie nodded as he led her down the hall. “Very good docudentistry on the, uh, Atlantis. Who’s the man who does the voice again? Very charming, I could listen to him for on and on and on.”

                David said something, but Noie had stopped listening. She’d felt a squeeze on her hand.

                “Hey.” Dipper started. “Um… ”

                He trailed off. A million words seemed to flit across his tongue; after a long moment, he cleared his throat and chose a few.

                “Weird day, huh?”

                Noie lifted her lips. “Yeah. The weirdest.”

                They didn’t say anything for a while. Noie leaned forwards and stared out of the window, at the sunlight shining down on the patio. She snorted, and Dipper looked at her.

                “What?”

                “Grandpa’s crazy if he thinks I’m going to bed this early.”

                “Oh, haha, yeah.”

                “I mean, vampire or no vampire, I don’t hit the hay if the sun’s still shining... ray!”

                “Hah. That rhymes.” He raised an eyebrow. “Though, wouldn’t it technically be ‘rays’?”

                “Shaddup. You’re crushing my little poet dreams.”

                “You want to be a poet?”

                “No, but if I did those dream’s’d be real crushed by now.”

                The two of them laughed at that, though Noie didn’t think she’d made much of a joke. She could feel Dipper ‘s eyes on her; it felt like he was watching her in a way she wasn’t quite used to, and didn’t quite like. It made her trail off. It made her look away again, for some other distraction.

                There was a glass apple on the table. Noie picked it up and mimed taking a bite.

                “Haha.” Dipper said. “That’s funny.”

                She him a look, and he frowned.

                “What?”

                “Ha-ha. That-is-fun-ny. I-am-Dip-per. I-am-a-ro-bot.”

                Dipper sighed. “Sorry. I guess I’m tired.”

                “Just tired, huh?”

                “Well, yeah. With the whole vampire thing.”

                Noie gripped the apple until her knuckles turned white. “If you say so.”

                “If I- what?” She wasn’t looking at him, but she could feel the couch shift as he scooted closer. “Noie, what’s wrong?”

                She looked down at his feet. Black sneakers. White socks that had gone a bit grey – he should get new ones sometime.

                “Noie? Are you mad at me?”

                Noie gritted her teeth. “You didn’t tell the police lady about your dream.”

                There was a tension in her voice; she’d tried to keep it out, but it wound around her words nonetheless. Dipper seemed to freeze.

                “What?” He shifted his foot. “I didn’t-“

                “We were just all here, laying out the story for her, and you know, you could have said something at any time. Aannnnyyyy time.” Noie could hear herself getting louder. She paused, took a breath, and continued. “But, you know, let’s just keep that a secret. Yeah. No big deal.”

                Dipper spluttered. “Wha-? I’m not keeping secrets, I- I don’t know what’s going on! I don’t know who that vampire was! I-“

                “But you do! You said you knew who she was-“

                “No, I said I saw her in my dream. She looked really familiar, but I don’t know who she is, or what any of that stuff she said to me means.”

                “Cool. That’s good to know.” Noie scowled at his shoes. “So why didn’t you say that to the lady?”

                Dipper didn’t say anything. After a long moment, there was a hand on her shoulder.

                “Noie?”

                Noie glanced up at him. He was looking at her with those big old worried eyes – she could see some hurt mixed in there, as well. Great. She was being a jerk, wasn’t she. With a sigh, she turned away again.

                “Look… Dipper, I don’t think you’re lying or anything.” Noie hesitated. “I just, I don’t know what’s going on, and you’re acting weird. In the car, you said you knew who the vampire lady was… and then you didn’t say a word until just now. You were all zoned out.”

                “Yeah,” Dipper squeezed her shoulder. “I was thinking. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on too.”

                “I know. You do that, you get all quiet.” She cracked a smile. “Then ten minutes later you’re all, ‘Aha! I know who ate the last brownie in the fridge!’ You never believe me when I tell you it’s Grandpa.”

                Dipper didn’t seem to be listening. He was staring off into space again.

                “Dipper?”

                “It just doesn’t make sense.” He said, almost to himself. “It can’t be a case of mistaken identity, because I saw her in my dream. But she called me Alcor; if she knew who I was, why doesn’t she know my name?”

                “Seriously?” Noie rolled her eyes. “Grandpa point-blank asked us if we knew what name she was calling you, and you didn’t say nothing about an Alcor.”

                Dipper waved her off. “One second, Noie. Alcor… Alcor… I know that name. Where do I know it from?”

                “It sounds sorta familiar to me too. Weird.”

                “Wait… I know!”

                He shot off the couch and dashed for the bedroom. Noie blinked.

                “Dipper? Where are you going?” She stood up. “Wait for me!”

                Noie ran after him. He was under their beds, his legs sticking out the side as he rooted around for something. She nudged his foot.

                “Whatcha looking for, bro?”

                Paper rustled. “Aha!”

                “Aha?”

                He wiggled his way out, clutching the edge of a poster. Noie raised her eyebrows at the outline of the old state of Californa she’d traced in sharpie.

                “What’s the poster for?”

                “It’s on the Califonia Incident!” Dipper stabbed a finger at the paper. “Who caused the California Incident, Noie?”

                “Iunno.”

                “What- you don’t remember?”

                “Hey, no test, right? I don’t need to remember!”

                Dipper’s eyebrows drooped. “That’s not a great attitude… nevermind. All you need to know is, Alcor the Dreambender caused the California Incident. That has to be the Alcor she was talking about.”

                “Okay… so why’s she calling you that, then?”

                “That’s-!” He raised a finger, and then curled it back. “A good question.”

                He looked down at the poster, now chewing a pen he’d picked up from somewhere. Noie rolled her eyes.

                “So, wait, she thinks you’re the guy or girl or whatever who blew up California?”

                “Alcor’s a demon, Noie.”

                “Demon?” Noie snorted. “Well, now I’m even more confused. She thinks you’re a demon? How’d she end up thinking that?”

                Dipper just shrugged. He kept chewing on the pen, his brow furrowed in thought. Noie walked over, bent down, and took it from him.

                “Chew on your own pens.” She said, and tried for a grin. “You were spitting out glitter for weeks the last time you ate one of mine.”

                “Hmm? Oh, okay…” Dipper trailed off. He sighed. “There’s just… there’s got to be an explanation for this. I’m missing something. I’ve gotta… I’ve gotta think. Think, Dipper.”

                Noie watched him for a moment, her smile fading. She nudged him.

                “Hey, bro. You know, uh, you don’t have to go all Sherlock Holmes on this. This whole thing is super weird; we should just tell the police about the Alcor thing, and let them figure it out.” She shrugged. “They’re pros, they’ll do their thing, and we can stop stressing about it. Right?”

                Dipper didn’t respond. She nudged him a bit harder.

                “Riiiight?”

                “Noie, one second.” He frowned a little harder. “So she thinks I’m Alcor. Why would she think that? I’m not, unless…”

                “Unless what?”

                Abruptly, he turned to her. “In the car, you said my eyes did a weird thing?”

                There was an edge to his voice. Noie shrugged at him. “I mean, they looked a little dark for a second, I don’t know.”

                “Dark how?”

                “Almost like they were kind of black? With little glowy bits…” She saw the colour leave Dipper’s face and quickly added, “Which is ridiculous! I was probably just not seeing it right- you know, I did just get chased by a vampire, so maybe I was just- Dipper? Where are you going now?”

                Dipper walked over to the front door and knelt down by the baseboard.

                “What are you doing?”

                “The wards are still blue.” Dipper said. His voice was a little shaky. “B-but it happened outside the house, so that doesn’t- that doesn’t prove anything.”

                “Prove what?” Noie reached out a hand but he backed away. “Dipper! You’re being weird again; what are you talking about?”

                Dipper clenched his fists. “I think… I think I know why she thought I was Alcor. What if… what if I was? What if somehow I got possessed, and-”

                “Possessed?” She made a face. “Dude… no. I’m sure that’s not what happened.”

                “Why not? It’s the only explanation that makes sense, Noie!”

                “I mean, it’s not the only explanation; the vampire lady could’ve just been nuts. Right? Dipper-“

                “But that doesn’t explain how I saw her in my dream! Or what happened in the car with my eyes!” He backed away, gripping his hair. “This is really serious, Noie! What do we do?”

                “You’re not possessed, dude. Stop. You’re just freaking yourself out.”

                “What makes you so sure?”

                “Well… you’re not.” She struggled for words. “Look, don’t you have to, like, make a deal or something? You pass out around magic, Dipper. I don’t know when that would have happened.”

                “It could have happened a long time ago. What if-“ He paused, and lowered his voice. “What if this has something to do with what happened to Dad?”

                Noie froze up. She could see Dipper hesitate; he looked down at the floor, seeming to second-guess his words for a moment before nodding to himself.

                “That makes sense. I mean, I’m not saying that’s what happened, but that’s possible, right? I mean, when else would we have come into contact with a demon-”

                “Stop.”

                Dipper’s mouth clamped shut. He stared at Noie, and suddenly she realsed she didn’t know what to say. She sighed. She took a step forward, and wrapped Dipper in a hug.

                He tensed up. “Noie-“

                “I don’t wanna hear your crackpot theories about Dad.” She squeezed him tighter. “You’re freaking yourself out… and you’re freaking me out, too.”

                Slowly, he put his arms around her. Noie continued.

                “Look, something weird’s definitely going on, but can we not get super carried away? Maybe there’s something else that makes sense, that’s not demons. I dunno.”

                “You still think I should tell the police?”

                “About the Alcor thing? No, no, that is- that is getting carried away.” She laughed nervously. “Let’s not, um, tell anyone about the demon theory, alright? I dunno what would happen to you.”

                “Okay…”

                “We don’t need’em anyway.” She pulled back from the hug to smile at him. “We can figure it out, just the two of us. Right? Mystery Twins?”

                Dipper raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t seem to like that name last time I used it.”

                “We didn’t have a mystery then. We’ve got a mystery now, haven’t we?”

                “That’s true.” He smiled back. “Alright. Mystery Twins.”

                “Yeah!”

                Dipper’s smile faded. “But Noie, if I am right, and I did get… possessed, at some point-“

                “Ah, ah, big if there!”

                “But if that’s what’s happening, what do we do? I mean, we probably should go to the police at that time, right?”

                Noie hesitated. She tried for a shrug. “I mean, yeah, maybe? I dunno, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, bro.” With that, she gave a big yawn. “Wow, you know what? I actually am kind of tired. Crazy, huh? Let’s talk about this more in the morning.”

                She turned and headed to their bedroom. Dipper was still standing by the door; she glanced back at him.

                “You coming, bro?”

                Bed slats above her. A stiff mattress against her back. Blankets that didn’t quite cover her side, being hogged by a warm body sleeping soundly beside her.

                Noie was getting a little too old to sleep on her brother’s bed. She shifted and turned her head towards the clock on the desk.

                Nine o’clock. Sheesh, this was still so early.

                Next to her, Dipper made a sighing noise and turned over, bringing even more of the blanket over to his side. Greedy, Noie thought, and rolled her eyes. She tried tugging at them, but it was no use.

                She stared up at the top bunk again, at the mattress poking out from behind the bed slats. It was all grey and fuzzy and dark; she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but somehow she’d always end up opening them again, staring up at the slats again.

                This was boring. Noie frowned. She reached down to the floor, and picked up her phone. Making sure it was angled away from Dipper, she turned it on.

                Bright light flooded her vision. She squinted until it was less overwhelming, and then tapped in her password.

                She opened a browser, and hesitated. Glanced at Dipper; she couldn’t see him in the darkness anymore, but she could hear his steady, slow breathing. He was still asleep.

                Good.

                Noie turned back to her phone, and typed in, ‘Alcor the Dreambender’.

                The first thing that popped up was a Wikipedia page; against the advice of all her school teachers, she decided to look there first. It opened onto a picture of a symbol: a golden, winged star sheltering a smaller star beneath it.

                Scrolling down, Noie found the article. She began to read.

                Alcor the Dreambender, the Twin Star, the Forgotten One (full list of titles here) is an elite dream demon known for his unusually strong connection to the physical world. Coming into prominence shortly after the Transcendence, Alcor’s strange personality and relationship to Mizar make him an outlier among demons, and have been a major subject of study to demonologists the world over.

                Mizar. Noie remembered the vampire calling her that this morning. Her frown deepening, she clicked on the link. It led her to another article, this time with a photo. It was of an older woman with a bright sweater and a wide smile.

                Underneath was a caption: Mabel Pines is known as the first confirmed reincarnation of Mizar.

                At that, Noie sat up in bed. Her eyes were wide. Her breath caught in her throat, and she clicked on another link.

                Another article, this time with the same picture. She scrolled down.

                Mabel Pines (1999-2116), also known as Mizar, was an influential figure during and in the immediate aftermath of the Transcendence. She and her brother Dipper Pines-

                Wait, Dipper? Yes, that's what it said.

                “What the hell…” Noie whispered under her breath. She shot another glance at her brother again. He was still sleeping soundly, the blankets wrapped three times around him like a little cocoon. So normal, and yet…

                She hesitated, and then turned off the phone. Tossed it back onto the floor. Lay back down, and tried to close her eyes.

                Noie stared up at the slats for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

                Eggs. Milk. Salt and pepper. Bowl. Wooden spoon.

                Crack. Pour. Mix. Salt: shake shake shake.

                Stovetop: click click click fwoom.

                Little blue flames licked at the burner plate, and Noie turned them down a little. She jiggled the saucepan, letting the oil slide around and coat the base, then set it on the heat. It simmered there for a second as she reached for the bowl.

                She poured the mixture. Goopy yellow liquid filled the pan. Noie picked up the spoon, poked at a few spots where the egg white hadn’t quite mixed in, and then began to stir.

                Stir, stir, stir. It was quiet but for the steady wheeze of the gas cooker. Early morning light streamed onto the table, illuminating dust particles in the air. It was warm. Noie stepped back a little, and kept stirring.

                A few soft lumps turned up in the egg as it began to scramble. Behind her, she heard a door creak open.

                There were footsteps, coming down the hall, and then:

                “Noie?”

                Noie glanced over, and grinned at her brother. “Morning, Dipping Sauce!”

                “Morning,” He rubbed his eyes. “How long have you been up?”

                “Hmm, do you mean ‘up’ as in awake, or ‘up’ as in not being in bed-“

                “You do know it’s Monday, right?”

                Noie snorted. “Yup. School’s gonna be hell.”

                To that, Dipper didn’t say anything. She watched him walk around the counter and sit down across from the stove. The eggs were sizzling as they scrambled; she turned off the heat.

                “Dipper?”

                He glanced up at her, and back down again. She knew that squirrelly expression on his face; he had something he wanted to ask her.

                “Dude.” She said. “What’s up with you?”

                “Um-“

                “You gonna spill, or have I gotta keep bugging you about it? Dipper? Dipper? Dip-“

                “No, no, that’s not- that’s not necessary.” He cleared his throat. “I’m just thinking of how to… well, this might sound a little excessive, but hear me out, okay?”

                Noie tipped the scrambled egg onto a plate. “I’m all ears.”

                “Okay, so-“

                “Want some of this?”

                “Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

                She turned around. “I’ll getcha a plate.”

                “Um, Noie, wait..."

                “Don’t worry! I’m still listening!” Plates clattered in the cupboard. “Oh, darn it! We’re out of small plates. Welp, you can be a weirdo and eat eggs in a bowl.”

                “I don’t think I should go to school.”

                Noie blinked. She looked back at her brother. “Come again?”

                Dipper was gripping the edge of the counter. “I said, I don’t think I should go to school.”

                “Heh. You and me both, bro!”

                “No, no, I mean… I was doing some thinking last night-“

                “That’s dangerous.” Dipper shot her a look, and she cleared her throat. “Sorry. Keep going.”

                “Anyway, I was doing some thinking last night… about the whole, you know, demon thing?” He sighed. “I know you don’t think it could be that – and maybe it isn’t! – but what if it is? What if it is and I go to school anyway and something happens and-“

                “Whoa, whoa!” Noie held her hands up. “Slow down, Dipper. You can’t just not go to school.”

                “But I can’t just go like nothing’s wrong!”

                She rolled her eyes. “Nothing is wrong. Look, there could be a hundred reasons for the vampire thing. Didn’t we say we were gonna think this whole thing over before we did anything crazy?”

                He didn’t look entirely convinced. “I started reading up on vampires, but-“

                “That’s good!” She leaned forwards. “You know who I bet has lots of stuff about vampires? Granny.”

                “Um, you know she’s-”

                “Her books, Dipper. I was talking about her books. She’s got tons of ones about supernatural creatures in the old study.”

                Dipper blinked. “I didn’t think about that. Do you think… are we allowed to take them?”

                “Eh.” Noie shrugged as she picked up her plate. “You could ask, but I don’t think they’d notice if you borrowed a couple.”

                “I guess.”

                “Then we’re good!” She skipped around the counter and swung an arm around him. “No school skipping needed! Though, I gotta say, I like that idea. Concept is great. Execution is… I dunno, what were you planning to do, write ‘please excuse, I’m possessed’ on all your homework?”

                Dipper snorted. “I guess I wasn’t thinking too much about that bit.”

                “No, it’s not that you weren’t thinking, it’s that you’re thinking too much!” She ruffled his hair. “I can’t keep up with your crazy ideas, bro. Now eat your eggs - they’re gonna go cold.”

                She sat down on a chair and quickly tucked in. Dipper didn’t say anything else; he looked deep in thought, his grin fading from his face, his hands starting to grip the edge of the counter again.

                Noie tapped his shoulder. “Dipper?”

                “Yeah?”

                She hesitated, and then pointed her fork at his bowl. “Are you gonna eat that?”

                “Hey Dipper, what do you think that is?” Noie gave her brother a nudge. “Dipper.”

                He looked up from his book. “Hm?”

                “Look at that!” She pointed at something stuck to the bus seat in front of them. “Do you think that’s alive?”

                “Uhh… it could be gum.”

                “That’s the hairiest piece of gum I’ve ever seen in my life. Like, you could pet that piece of- oh my god I just had the greatest idea.”

                Dipper stuffed his nose back into the pages. “Nope. I’m not touching it.”

                “What? Come onnn!”

                “No way.”

                “Why not?”

                “Because it’s gross. Why don’t you touch it if you want to do that so bad?”

                “Aww, but making you do stuff is the whole point! It wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”

                Dipper snorted. His eyes moved along a sentence, and slowly his smile faded.

                “It says here that some vampires have limited dream abilities.”

                Noie cocked her head. “Wassat mean?”

                “They can project themselves into dreams; that could’ve been what happened with mine.” He made a face. “But… that wouldn’t explain why she picked me. No, it doesn’t fit.”

                Noie took one look at the deep frown creasing his face, and then leaned forwards and touched the gum. She giggled.

                “It’s so fluffy.”

                “What’s- oh, Noie, gross.”

                “Hehe, it doesn’t feel like gum.”

                “That’s disgusting. You should wash your hands once we- Noie. Noie, what are you doing?”

                “Hehehe…”

                She reached her hands out to Dipper. He scooted away. “Noie, don’t you dare! Don’t touch me with that, Noie- Noie! Noie!”

                A few minutes later they walked off the bus, Noie still giggling away while Dipper was rubbing at his face.

                “Ugh, Noie. I need to find a sink.”

                “You’re welcome!”

                They walked down the street, and turned into the school’s parking lot. Noie noticed a couple police cars parked along the curb; she didn’t have to look at Dipper to know he had seen them too.

                “Huh,” he said. “I guess they’re, uh, keeping an eye out for the vampire.”

                Noie just nodded. There was a pair standing guard by the road, who gave them a friendly wave as they passed. She waved back, but something made her reach over and grasp her brother’s hand. He squeezed back.

                “There sure are a lot of them,” Dipper added in an undertone. “I didn’t think one vampire would… you know.”

                “Yeah. Weird.”

                They were rounding the curb to the school gates; the principal was there, leaning on an open cruiser door and talking to the policewoman inside. There were other students walking into school, but they were eerily quiet. Noie could see their faces as they stepped out of their cars – that quick glance around, that hesitation before they started forwards.

                It was strange. It only got stranger as they came around the corner and saw the… the figure guarding the school gates.

                It was hard to describe, because it was hard to look at. Its body burned brighter than the sun; it was wearing some kind of knight’s armour, but just the skin that peeked through the chinks was enough to make Noie’s eyes hurt. It stood a full head and shoulders above the two officers that flanked it, and its fingers were steepled over the hilt of a sword that dwarfed her in size.

                Noie stopped dead. What the hell was that thing? Was it safe?

                The officers ushered her forwards. She hesitated a moment longer, and then started towards them. Dipper lagged behind; squeezing his hand, she pulled him along.

                Through the gates they went. She stared up at its great helmet, and shivered at how it seemed to meet her gaze; how an awareness, a presence, seemed to fix its attention on her. It felt like there was something ancient pressing up against her mind, examining her thoughts, her feelings, her fears, picking her apart with chilling ease - and a split second later it was done with her, its presence there and gone so fast Noie wasn't sure if it had been there at all. She blinked, shook herself, then put her head down and hurried past it as quickly as possible.

                A murmur came from the police officers: “...don't interact with the students, please. You're not allowed.”

                Once they were past, Noie glanced back. The thing hadn't moved from its position, standing still as a statue and towering over the gates it was guarding. ‘Not allowed’… she’d never heard emptier words.

                “Weird.” She shivered as she turned her head back to the front. “What was that thing? Super creepy… and super overkill for a vampire, I think. Did you see the size of that sword, Dipper? Dip-“

                His eyes. They were doing that thing again, and as she stared, he spoke.

                His voice. It was… different, somehow.

                “I don’t like that thing.” He said, and she didn’t know why his voice sent shivers down her spine. “It was staring at me.”

                His eyes really were glowing gold. She watched them narrow, felt his fingers tighten around her wrist.

                “Staring at m̢e͟, Staring right at my… I don’t know.”

                They kept walking.  Into the building Noie went, hand in hand with a demon.

                Her mind was going a mile a minute even as she tried to keep calm, tried to keep her pace steady and tried to keep her hand in his grip even as she longed to tear it out and run – no don’t run don’t make a scene it’ll go back to normal he’ll go back to normal in a second like last time-

                “Mabel?”

                That name again, and now he’s staring at her with those eyes maybe she needs to say something-

                “I mean Noie. Noie.” A blink, and the gold was gone – the brown was back. Dipper’s eyes fixed on her, and her sigh of relief was cut short as she saw the worry in them.

                “You okay, Noie?”

                “Huh?” Noie pretended to come out of a daydream. She looked over at him and stretched a smile. “What’s that? Oh, I’m okay. I’m good. I’m guud.”

                Dipper squeezed her hand. She squeezed back, and then pulled away. He frowned.

                “Are you sure?”

                “Yeah, yeah, no, don’t worry about me. Just, uh… hey look, bathroom!” She nudged him. “I’m gonna go wash my hands. Touched a gross thing on the bus, germs are bad, be riiight back.”

                “Oh, yeah. Then you touched me with it.”

                She walked backwards, calling out, “You’re welcome!”

                “That was not a thank you. Now I gotta wash my face.”

                “You’re welcome, for the reminder!”

                He chuckled, and that was the last thing Noie saw before she pushed the bathroom door open and stepped inside. The pit in her stomach finally dropped, and her smile fell right off her face. She clasped a hand to her chest – she could still feel her heart pounding away.

                Noie looked in the mirror, and her own brown eyes stared back at her, wide and baggy and full of burning questions.

                What on earth was happening to Dipper? What on earth was she going to do? What was she going to tell him?

                She breathed in, and she breathed out. Her heartbeat was still racing, but she couldn’t hear it thumping in her ears anymore. She breathed in again, and let it out with a sigh.

                …

                This was going to be a long day.

Chapter Text

               Noie was surprisingly awake for the first class of the day. That didn’t mean she was listening; she sat still, she stared at the teacher, and she was absolutely lost in her thoughts.

               A tap on her shoulder made her jump.

               “Noie?” Dipper drew his hand back. “Oh, didn’t mean to scare you.”

               “What? No, no, you didn’t scare me, silly.” She poked his nose. “Boop. Whaddaya want?”

               “You know the big knight thing in front of the gates this morning? I went on Gran’s email and I found this.”

               He passed his phone over to her and sat back, rubbing his forehead. Noie raised an eyebrow at him.

               “You okay?”

               “Oh, yeah. I’ll be fine.” Dipper rolled his eyes. “Just another one of those headaches that came from nowhere. Read the thing.”

               Came from nowhere. Noie gave him a tight-lipped smile before turning to the phone.

               It was currently on an email page, of course. There were a couple messages from the gym, one from the ‘Argenta Grant Foundation’, but the only one that was opened was from the school, and it was titled, ‘IMPORTANT UPDATE RE: VAMPIRE ATTACK ON CAMPUS’

               Noie tapped it once, and read its contents.

               Dear parents and guardians,

               We are writing to inform you of an update to the police investigation concerning the vampire attack that occurred on campus Saturday the 21^st. An angel crusader has joined with local authorities to assist in the capture of this perpetrator and will be stationed outside school gates until further notice. Pursuant to the 2027 Crusade Assistance Act, the school and the state authorities will be providing all reasonable accommodations to assist the angel in His mission and to ensure the safety of students.

               Please note, this angel poses NO THREAT to students on campus. He is prohibited from interacting with students or exercising force without police approval. Students belonging to supernatural populations should be advised to exercise caution, but to repeat this angel poses NO THREAT and is only here to find and apprehend the perpetrator.

               For any further questions about the angel crusader, please contact the front office. Thank you for your patience.

               Noie frowned. “Angel crusader? Is that a band name?”

               “I was just looking that up.” Dipper took his phone back. “Apparently, it’s a term for angels that come down to Earth for a specific purpose. Like, defeat this guy, or hunt down that vampire. Stuff like that.”

               “What’re angels, though? Are they like,” she mimed opening a book. “angel, angels?”

               “Biblical ones?” Dipper shrugged. “I mean, probably not, right? Demons aren’t – they’re just manifestations of chaos, and angels are the opposite of that, so-“

               “Manifi-who-ha?”

               “Manifestations.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t know what that means?”

               Noie giggled. “Nah, I do, I do. I’m just teasing ya, you big-word-using nerd.”

               “Oh, of course. You jerk.”

               “You nerd.”

               He rolled his eyes at that, but Noie could see the smile in them. She turned away from him, back to the teacher at the front, her own grin rapidly fading.

               Beneath the desk, she took out her own phone. She typed in ‘angel crusader demon’, pressed search, and went down a rabbithole for the rest of class.

               “Hey, look at that. It’s the weird girl who ate my homework.”

               Noie smirked at the guy in Dipper’s group. “Hey, look at that. It’s the lazy asshole who can’t get his homework done on time. I can call people names too.”

               His expression soured. “What is wrong with you?”

               “What’s wrong with you? You can dish it out but you can’t take it?"

               She chuckled, but there was a nudge on her shoulder. Dipper was giving her a look.

               “What?” Noie frowned. “He totally started it this time. And for the record, he mostly started it last time too so-”

               “Noie…”

               “Alright, alright, I’ll get outta your hair.” She backed off, shooting the table one last grin. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat with my favourite mean girls, but I got my own project to do. Seeya.”

               With that, she turned on her heel and trotted back to the other side of the classroom. Her partner, Katy, glanced up from her phone as she came over.

               “Hey,” Katy said. “You were doing the poster, right.”

               “Yeah, I did it already.”

               “Oh. Cool. Thanks.”

               She looked down again, and Noie rolled her eyes. “Nooo problem. Alright.

               She got out her own phone. After typing in her password, the first thing to come up was an article on demons and angels she’d been reading – an unpleasant surprise. She found herself reading it over again.

               There are no two beings in the universe, the article read, as diametrically opposed as the angel and the demon. Angels are the lovers – and, oftentimes, the enforcers – of order, and dislike the imperfections of the physical world. They want for nothing and cannot be summoned with offerings, but will occasionally visit to right a perceived injustice in the world. Demons, on the other hand, crave chaos, and enjoy sowing as much of it as possible. They take every chance to visit the physical world and welcome being summoned.

               Demons and angels reside in very different areas of the Mindscape and rarely encounter one another. When they do, the results are deadly. The two beings will become incredibly agitated and attempt to annihilate each another.

               Noie snorted. ‘Annihalate’, that sounded so dramatic. Ooo, annihilate, scary big word! Sounded like something her brother would use, the big nerd. Hah!

               Yeah…

               She looked over at Dipper now. He was facing away from her, hunched over a sheet of paper with his head resting on the palm of his hand. Noie watched him write for a while, watched the back of his pen quiver in the air, watched his hand twitch up and itch his nose for a second before returning to its normal position.

               Normal. All so normal. She snorted, a little at herself, a little at the absurdity of the entire situation. He wasn’t possessed, for god’s sakes – just look at him!

               (Remember this morning. Remember his eyes?)

               Noie frowned. Stared down at her phone, with the dumb nerdy article half scrolled through. She closed it.

               This whole thing was ridiculous, and she was ridiculous for starting to buy into it.

               Thump.

               “Oh, dude! Dude, are you okay?”

               Noie’s head shot up, and she saw

on the floor

curled up

holding his head

Dipper. Dipper.

               Her heart stopped. She dashed over.

               “Dipper?” Noie knelt over him. She touched his cheek. “You okay, bro? What’s wrong?”

               He let out a low moan.

               “Is your head okay? What happened?” She locked eyes with the rune guy and hissed, “What did you do?!”

               The guy put his hands up. “I didn’t do anything! I wasn’t even working on runes this time, he just dropped!”

               “What’s going on?” The teacher pushed through a gathering crowd. “What happened?”

               Noie pulled him onto her lap. “Dipper gets magic sensitivity headaches. There has to be something in the room.”

               “Alright, any students with a magi-orb or anything like that, turn them off right now!”

               A couple people went for their bags, but it didn’t seem to do anything. The pit in Noie’s stomach deepened as she felt him clutching at her hoodie, moaning in that quiet, desperate, awful voice – just like when he had that nightmare about the vampire. She could hold him, but she couldn’t stop it; the sense of helplessness stabbed at her like a thousand needles.

               What the hell was going on?

               The teacher knelt beside them. “Does he need to go to the nurse?”

               Noie nodded.

               “Okay.” He threw one of Dipper’s arms around his neck. “Help him up. Everyone else, please behave while I’m gone.”

               Dimly, she picked up his other side and helped him up to his feet. They carried him out to the hallway and across the campus, and all she could think was this happened so fast.

               They passed by the front office; not far in the distance were the main gates. Noie caught sight of a glowing figure standing guard by them.

               She had no way of telling, but somehow she knew it was staring at them. Staring at him. She felt its gaze like a cold wind on her soul, and she shivered.

               “Nearly there,” her teacher grunted. “Dipper? How’re you doing?”

               He didn’t say anything. And Noie had no way of telling, but somehow she knew

               she knew

               exactly whose fault it was.

               The angel watched them pass, still as a statue.

               “I promise you, I am fine. Noie. Noie.”

               “Just one more blanket.” She unfurled it. “Look! It’s such a pretty colour!”

               “It’s hot pink.”

               “I know, right?!”

               “Why don’t you drink your lemsip already, Dipper?” Their grandfather crossed his arms. “That’ll make you feel better.”

               “I don’t even have a headache anymore. It’s completely gone.”

               “You have a headache?”

               “I had a headache, grandma. It’s not- Noie I don’t need that blanket I’m already sweating.”

               "Then drink your lemsip. It fixes everything, kid.”

               “What about this blanket?”

               “Oh, if you have a headache, you should drink some lem, some drink. Ask David for it.”

               “Dipper, what about-“

               “Alright, alright!” Dipper chugged the cup of lemsip, threw another blanket over his chest, and glared at the three of them. “Can you guys chill out now? Please? I don’t even have a headache anymore – I’m fine.”

               A short, stunned silence, broken by a chuckle. Noie looked over at her grinning grandfather.

               “You need a break, kid?”

               Dipper nodded.

               “Alright, why don’t you get some rest? I’ll check on you in an hour.”

               “Sounds good.” He settled back against the pillows. “Thanks.”

               “Don’t mention it. Holler if you need anything. C’mon, guys.”

               David took Allie’s hand and started leading her out, but Noie didn’t follow. She watched them start to leave, then leaned in close.

               “Dipper-“

               “That means you too, Naomi!”

               Noie glanced back at her grandfather. “Huh?”

               “We’re all leaving your brother alone, okay?”

               “But-“

               “Come on.”

               “It’s okay, Noie.” Her brother gave her a tired smile. “I’m fine.”

               “No, but… I need to tell you something.”

               “Right now?”

               “Well, yeah. It’s not urgent urgent, but… yeah.”

               He rubbed his eyes. “Can it wait?”

               “Looks like it can.” David put a hand on her shoulder. “Come along now, kid.”

               He led her into the hallway, and closed the door behind them. Noie frowned at that.

               “How long are we leaving him alone again?”

               “Just an hour. But you’d better not try and wake him up if he’s sleeping.” David sighed. “Kid needs it with the week he’s been having.”

               Noie looked down. After a moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

               “Hey, you done with homework?”

               “Huh? Oh, yeah.”

               David raised an eyebrow. “All of it?”

               “Yes, Grandpa. All of it.” A pause. “Due tomorrow.”

               “…Eh, good enough. You wanna throw on a movie or something in the back?” He shrugged. “Might help take your mind off all this.”

               Noie nodded. “That sounds nice. Yeah, that does.” She began to smirk. “So when you say ‘throw on a movie-“

               “I mean a movie from the bookshelf. If it’s some weird new show of yours I’m leaving.”

               “Aww.”

               “David,” Allie nudged him. “Don’t be such a grump, dear.”

               “Yeah! Listen to Grandma, you big ol’ grump!”

               His lip quirked up. “All I’m saying is, I’ll watch anything from the shelf. You wanna put something else on, it’s gonna be a gamble.”

               “I will take that gamble! Have you ever heard of ‘The Rainbow Adventures of-“

               “Okay, no. Something from the shelf.”

               “But-“

               “I am not watching ‘rainbow’ anything. Something from the shelf please, Naomi.”

               He crossed his arms, and Noie heaved a sigh.

               “Ugh, fiiine.”

               “And drop the attitude, too. Thank you.”

               There were ten movies on the bookshelf, and Noie was certain she’d picked the worst one. ‘Legend of the Shadow’ was an old, old horror movie. It’d caught her eye because it was one of the films her grandfather didn’t let her choose when she was younger; now, she was starting to regret her curiosity.

               It wasn’t because it was scary; it looked like it was from pre-Transcendence times, with goopy blood effects and a hilariously dated skepticism of supernatural creatures (‘Vampires? Don’t have a cow, Brad! Those don’t exist.’) In fact, it was so corny her grandfather seemed to be watching it as a comedy – she could hear him chucking away beside her – but at that moment, Noie didn't find it funny. She couldn't.

               At that moment, all Noie could see was a demon-possessed, shadowy figure stalking through the forest. He came upon the main character, and all she could hear was the screaming.

               ‘No, no, Brad, it’s me! It’s your sister! Brad, no, no no nooooo!”

               Firetruck red blood splattered all over Brad’s face. Beside her, David let out a snort.

               “I love this piece of garbage.” He sat back. “My father thought it sucked too. This bit coming up – watch, this was his favourite.”

               Noie watched. She watched the camera shove itself right into Brad’s face, right up against one inky black eye. A blink, then it was back to a normal brown. With excessively trembling hands, he wiped some blood-slime off his hands and stared at it, breathing hard. Then rather abruptly, he dropped to his knees and threw his arms up to the full moon.

               “I’M A MOOOONNNSSSTTTEEERRRR!”

               David cackled and slapped his knee – the sound made Noie jump. Allie cocked her head.

               “David, are you sure this is appropriate for her?”

               “Huh? Aww, she’s fine. She picked it out!” He shot her a grin. “How’re you liking it, kiddo?”

               Noie tried for a smile. “It’s, uh, good! It’s weird… hey, if you like weird stuff, there’s tons of new-“

               “Over my dead body am I watching Rainbow Adventure Sunshine whatever.”

               “It’s actually ‘The Rainbow Adventures of Mr McStabberson’ and it’s hilarious. It’s about this serial killer-“

               “Shhh.”

               Noie blinked. Then she sat back in her seat and glared at her grandfather. The couch was lumpy, the air was stuffy. On the TV, melodramatic screams fell too loud on her ears.

               “Can I check on Dipper yet?”

               “Dipper?” Allie frowned. "Is he okay?”

               “He’s just got a headache, Grandma. He’ll be okay.” She turned back to David. “Can I check on him?”

               “What time is it… it’s barely been twenty minutes, kid. Hold your horses.”

               Noie hesitated. Then she stood up.

               “I’m going to check on him.”

               "What?” David lookede up at her, surprise quickly turning to a hard frown. “Oh, no you will not. What did I just say?”

               “What did I just say?”

               “Naomi, I said no!” He fumbled for the remote as she walked out. “Naomi Faybelle Argenta, you get back here right now!”

               “What’s going on, Dav-“

               “Not the time, Allie! Naomi!”

               She darted over to the bedroom and cracked open the door before he could catch up with her. Slowly, slowly, she pushed it open, careful not to let the light beam land on the beds.

               “Dipper?” She whispered. Slow, even breathing was the only reply; he’d clearly fallen asleep already. “Dammit.”

               “Naomi!”

               With an eyeroll, Noie closed the door – she had to force herself not to slam it – and heads back into the living room. David and Allie are standing there, waiting for her, one with crossed arms and a deep glower wrinking his forehead, the other wearing that increasingly ever-present look of confusion as she glanced between them. The TV, Noie noticed, had been turned off.

               “Naomi-“ David started. Noie cut him off.

               “I just wanted to check on him. It’s no big deal.”

               “But I told you to leave him alone! You need to listen to me, Naomi!”

               Noie hunched her shoulders. “What, like you listen to me?”

               “Excuse me?”

               “You said you wanted to ‘take my mind’ off things or whatever, but you’re only cool doing it your way with the same dumb crap you like!”

               “No! I let you pick a movie out!”

               “Yeah! Again, out of ten movies you like!”

               He gave her an angry shrug. “Okay, well, I was just trying to cheer you up, kid! If you didn’t want to watch a movie then you didn’t have to, so that’s on you! It is absolutely not acceptable to be acting this way over something like this!”

               “It’s not just this, though!”

               “Naomi-“

               “You never listen to me! You never take me seriously! Why’ve you gotta always ask me if I’ve done my homework, tell me I’ve gotta look after-“ her eyes darted over to Allie. “to be responsible about serious things like I’m some sort of clueless kid? I’m almost sixteen – you don’t treat Dipper this way!”

               “Well, Dipper doesn’t act this way.” He glared down at her. “If you want to get taken seriously, why don’t you start taking yourself seriously. Get serious about school. Get some sense about you.”

               “I do have- argh!”

               She clenched her fists until they went white. All the things she wanted to tell him, all the frustrations that had built up over a long weekend… they got stuck in her throat. While she was silent, Allie tugged at his sleeve again.

               “David, you’re just upsetting her. Calm down. Breathe.”

               David looked away, and took a deep breath. He let it out, and it came with a sigh.

               “Naomi,” he started, and then he hesitated. “Look… I don’t want to be yelling at you. I want you to be happy here, I want you to feel like you’re being listened to. But I’ve just got a lot on my plate right now and I need you to listen to me too, okay? It can't be a one way street. When I tell you to leave something alone, you can’t ignore me.”

               Noie didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything.

               “You can’t, okay? Do you understand?”

               “David.” Allie rolled her eyes. “This isn’t product, this isn’t going anywhere. Why don’t you have Leo pick her up?”

               It was stuffy in the room, and at her words it suddenly got a whole lot stuffier. You could cut the air's tension with a knife as David turned to her.

               “What?” He said. Fists clenched.

               “Just call her father.” She crossed her arms. “Why are you looking at me like that? David?”

               “That’s not, an option!”

               His words made Noie flinch. She tried not to show it.

               “What do you mean?”

               “You know exactly what I mean! Come on, Allie!”

               “David, I don’t-“

               “Leon is-“

               “Please don’t!” Noie raised her voice to cut him off. “Please don’t. That’s just mean – you know she doesn’t remember. And she's not going to remember this time, either.”

               Allie frowned at her. “Remember what?”

               “It’s complicated, Granny. I’m sorry.”

               “What’s complicated?”

               David shot Noie a look. “Then I have to remind her. I'm not being mean, I'm treating her like an adult because she wouldn't want anything less. Look, you wouldn't understand - why don't you go to bed?"

               “Understand what? David?”

               “You keep getting frustrated with her and it’s just mean.” Noie gave him one last defiant look, and turned on her heel. “I’m not going to bed.”

               “Naomi, you-! Ugh, okay, do what you want! Do what you want.”

               She stalked into the hallway, furiously rubbing her eyes. Her throat felt sore, and her face felt flushed from this stupid, stuffy house-

               She was going outside. She needed some fresh air. She wrenched open the glass door and slammed it shut behind her, feeling the handle judder in her grip. Cool night air wrapped around her like a blanket, and she paused. Took a deep breath, and let it out.

               Her breathing got a little funny for a second. She sniffed, and pulled up a chair. Sat back in it, felt the creak. She closed her eyes, and pressed her palms to her sockets.

               “Ohhh my godddd.” She groaned. “He’s such a… Argh!”

               Noie rubbed her eyes for a moment. Then she let her arms fall, and slowly blinked them open.

               “This day. This fucking day, I swear it couldn’t get any…”

               She looked down. Locked eyes with a small, hooded girl crouched in the yard with blood and fur smeared across her mouth.

               Noie blinked. She watched Lucy Ann raise her clawed hand, and give a little wave.

               “…worse.”

Chapter Text

                There was a vampire in Noie’s yard. There was a vampire waving at Noie in her yard. Lucy Ann gave her an awkward smile, and she could see fangs glinting in her mouth.

                “Uh, hey.” Lucy Ann started. “Um… fancy seeing you here.”

                A pause. Absolute silence. The vampire cleared her throat.

                “Didn’t expect you to come charging out here. Um, probably would’ve, would’ve cleaned up a bit – you know, first impressions and all that. Or second impressions, technically, since I already botched that first one. Heh, yeah...” She wiped some dried blood off of her face, and sighed. “Listen, kid, I am really sorry about Saturday; usually I’m better at managing the blood thing. I’m good now – you guys were having this rat problem, you see, and-“

                Noie jolted out of her chair. She scrambled for the door.

                “Hey, wait! I need to explain!”

                She had to get away. She had to get inside. Her fingers were inches away from the handle- then a cold grip on her wrist. Lucy Ann wrenched her back with shocking force, and held on tight when she struggled.

                “Let me go!” Noie shrieked. “Grandpa! Dip-“

                Lucy Ann slapped a hand around her mouth. Her fingers felt like ice; Noie tried to bite them, but flecks of blood and rat fur got in her mouth. She gagged and fought harder.

                “Stop shouting.” The vampire hissed right in her ear, right by her neck. “You’re gonna wake up the whole neighborhood. I’m not trying to hurt you, okay? I just wanna explain something.”

                Noie squeezed her eyes shut. No, no, no, this wasn’t happening, no no no…

                “Kid, will you calm down for a second? I get that this is a bit of a stressful situation, but I can’t let you go if you’re gonna start screaming your head off. Take deep breaths. Imagine a beach or something… I dunno, is kicking my leg like that relaxing to you? Kinda painful, but y’know, whatever works.”

                Noie stopped trying to stomp on her knee and threw her weight forwards again. Even though Lucy Ann was half her size, it did nothing; she didn’t even budge. The initial panic was turning into a sinking despair as she realised nothing was working, nothing was going to get her out of this… she slumped down. The vampire held her up effortlessly.

                “You done?”

                Lucy Ann’s hand crept away from her mouth, and she could reply. She sucked in a breath – she could feel the hand freeze at that, ready to muffle her scream again – then let it out in a sigh, and nodded.

                “Alright, good. I won’t take long, I promise. I just want to tell you why I need your brother’s help.”

                “Help?” Noie frowned in helpless confusion. “You have to be looking for someone else. Dipper’s in high school, he can’t-“

                “’Dipper’ is the human disguise of Alcor the Dreambender.”

                “No, he’s not! He’s not possessed, he’s-“

                “I’m not saying he’s possessed, I’m saying he is Alcor the Dreambender. He’s made a body for himself, wiped his own memories, and he’s playing human for a bit. He does that sometimes.”

                What?

                Noie froze in place. Her mouth hung open, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She was still processing what she’d heard, that he is Alcor, he’s playing human… she didn't understand. That didn’t make any sense, she must have heard it wrong.

                In the dead silence that followed, she could hear Lucy Ann sigh. “Look, he’s clearly got a nice life going on with you guys, so I’m real sorry to be barging in like this. I wouldn’t if I didn’t really, really need his help.”

                Her grip tightened on Noie’s arm. “I’m being… hunted.” She hissed. “Some crazy angel’s taken it upon Himself to ‘rid mankind of that most ancient of evils’ and oh my stars, I do not want to bite it to someone who talks that pretentiously. At least the drunk dude back in ‘96 with a table leg stake wasn’t gonna be so darn smug about it, you feel me?”

                This was all so much; Noie was hardly paying attention to what she was saying. Dipper is Alcor… her mind flashed back to those Wikipedia articles, to Mizar, to Mabel, to Dipper Pines. It did make sense, actually. It made more sense than it would if he was just possessed, it-

                No. No! No, it can’t make sense!

                She shook her head again, faster. “No.” She said, and her voice sounded a lot more certain than she felt. “Th-that’s not possible. He’s just Dipper, he’s just my brother!”

                Lucy Ann cringed. “Please keep your voice down. Yeah, I get that I can’t just go ‘surprise, your brother’s a demon in disguise’ without backing it up. Don't worry, I can prove it.”

                “Prove it? How are you supposed to prove-“

                “Does he get headaches around magic?”

                Noie blinked. “What? How did you…? W-well yes, but how that prove anything?”

                “His human construct’s got a whole lotta enchantments around it to hold back his own magic. And there’s a lot to hold back; anything more really stresses the whole system, threatens to break the dam. He told me it felt like a huge pressure inside his head.”

                Pressure inside his head… Noie had heard that exact line before. “He told you?”

                “Yeah. Like I said, he does this sometimes- hey, give me your phone and I’ll pull up the image search on Belle Sterling.” Lucy Ann chuckled. “There’s a photo of her and, ah, ‘Dipper Stirling’ near the top. He’s not real creative with names, is he?”

                “I’m not giving you my phone!”

                She shrugged. “Fair enough. Look it up yourself if you want. He’s not all that creative with his looks, either – he’s always got that blue pinetree hat on. And the Big Dipper birthmark on his forehead… has he kept that, too?”

                Noie could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was breathing like she’d just run a marathon, trembling like she was standing in six feet of snow. This couldn’t be true, please don’t let it be true…

                “Dipper isn’t Alcor,” she repeated, and her voice sounded so small now. “He’s a real human. He’s my brother.”

                “He’s not a real human. I mean, he’s totally your brother, but he is verrrry much not a human.” Her hand shifted on Noie’s arm. “Look, you want undeniable proof? Bring your brother out here, I need to talk to him.”

                “What are you going to do to him?”

                “I just want to talk. I just want to talk, like we did, okay?”

                “But, but he’s not Alcor!”

                Lucy Ann heaved a sigh. “He is, though. Look, I really don’t have time for this. Alcor’s the only one who can get rid of the angel for me – heck, his presence is the only reason I can hide in your yard, but, ah, I can’t do that forever.” She chuckled nervously. “Sooner or later I’m gonna run out of stuff to eat, and that’s gonna be your problem, too.”

                Noie didn’t know what to say to that. She was at an absolute loss for words, and she hardly moved when Lucy Ann let go of her wrist.

                “Look, you don’t have to believe me, but please, I need you to let me talk to Alcor.” A note of desperation snuck into her voice. “Otherwise I’m either gonna lose my mind out here or get murdered by an angel, and I really don’t like either of those options, y’know? And it’s just a talk, just five minutes. If he’s not Alcor, it’s not gonna hurt him or anything.”

                Noie stepped back. Then she stepped back again. Lucy Ann followed her, a strained smile stretching across her face.

                “You’re gonna get Alcor, right?” It stretched further. “And you’re not gonna call the police because that would literally kill me?”

                She shook her head. “No, no, I’m not gonna call-“

                “Good, good. And you’re gonna get him?”

                With shaking hands, Noie found the door handle. She pushed it open.

                “Just bring him out here, okay? Five minutes?”

                She stepped inside – inside, where the vampire couldn’t follow - then gripped the handle and slammed it shut. Turned the blinds until she couldn’t see the shadow of Lucy Ann’s face, couldn’t see anything of her, anything of what she said…

                Her words echoed in Noie's mind, and she shook her head to clear them. “He’s not Alcor,” she told the blinds. Her voice trembled. “He’s not. He’s real. He’s real, he’s real, he’s… he’s real…”

                She trailed off, slowly, and without her words, the silence was deafening. She was the only one awake; Dipper had to be asleep – oh, and if he was sleeping, she couldn’t wake him up, right? Grandpa had told her not to wake him up, so she couldn’t, it was just not possible, and he was not Alcor anyway, so…

                …so what?

                So she should just go to bed.

                Forget about this.

                …

                At least for now, right? There was nothing she could do right now.

                Noie hesitated a moment longer. Then she turned, and walked back to the bedroom. To the bedroom, with him in it… which was fine! It was fine because he was just her normal, human brother. Everything was fine.

                Her fists were clenched – she unclenched them. Her shoulders had raised – she forced them down. The pit in her stomach deepened, but try as she might, that wouldn’t go away.

                She took a deep breath, and opened the door. A light from the bottom bunk made her freeze. Dipper was awake. With wide eyes, she watched him sit up, turn off his phone, and wave at her.

                “Hey,” he whispered.

                She just stared at him – at his face, at his smile, at his blue pinetree hat resting on the bedside table. She watched him lean forwards. She watched him clear his throat and speak, quietly.

                “I heard what happened.”

                Oh. Oh,no…

                “He shouldn’t talk to you like that.”

                …huh?

                “Who?” Noie managed. “Who shouldn’t talk to me like-“

                “Grandpa. Grandpa shouldn’t.” Dipper crossed his arms. “All that stuff about ‘taking yourself seriously’ – what’s that even supposed to mean?”

                He was talking about the argument with Grandpa. Noie blinked; that already felt so long ago, so far away, it was hard to summon up that same anger. Dipper's felt jarring.

                “Haha, yeah.” She tried for a laugh. “Who knows, right?”

                “He knows. He knows better – you are responsible, Noie!”

                “Yeah, yeah, right.”

                “You are, though.” Dipper got up and walked over to her. “I mean, school stuff, sure, he’s got a bit of a point here, but everything else? Who does pretty much all the chores around here? Who makes the shopping lists?”

                Noie shrugged. “Grandpa says I don’t have to do that.”

                “Yeah, but when you don’t, he doesn’t remember anything! You see what I mean? He doesn’t even notice all the stuff you do and then he turns around and yells at you about being irresponsible!”

                “Yeah, I guess? I mean, I kinda started it this time.”

                “Even still, you’re right.” Dipper looked down. “He doesn’t treat you the same as me, and it makes me angry. I haven’t done anything special, I don’t want you to…”

                He trailed off abruptly – almost cut himself off, leaving something distinctly unsaid between them. Noie frowned at that.

                “You don’t want me to what?”

                “It’s nothing. He’s being unfair, that’s all I’m saying.”

                Noie hesitated, then put a hand on his shoulder. He was still warm from the bed. She pulled him into a hug, held onto that warmth, that comfort, and smiled as he hugged her right back. They stayed like that for a while, then Dipper turned his head, and spoke right into her ear.

                “I don’t know,” he murmured. “It makes me... worried, sometimes, that… that you’ll be jealous of me.”

                She snorted. “Jealous of you? Why?”

                “’Cause Grandpa’s always saying ‘Dipper doesn’t act this way’, ‘Dipper does this’, ‘Dipper does that’-“

                “That’s just Grandpa. I know you don’t think that.”

                “Yeah, but I still get compared to you like that, and… I don’t know, I don’t want it to come between us.” He gave a little laugh. “I try to even it up sometimes… but then it’s like, I wake up and the sink’s empty, you’ve already done the dishes at one in the morning…”

                They both chuckled at that for a while, just holding each other. It was nice, but Noie can’t quite keep it going.

                “Yeah, well, I’m a sleeping nightmare, we both know that.” She squeezed him tighter, then pulled back to look him in the eye. “Dipper, I’m not gonna get jealous of you. Look, I don’t take it personally with Grandpa – he’s having a tough time right now with Granny, you know? He loves us both, he just…” Her smile went a bit crooked. “doesn’t have time for us both. It’s fine, I shouldn’t have-“

                Dipper cut her off with a crushing hug. His voice came in a thick whisper, saying, “It’s not fine. It’s not fair to you.”

                His words put a lump in her throat; somehow they were both so comforting, and yet so terrifying. They made the floor drop out from under her feet, so she buried her head in his shoulder, anchored herself in his arms, and held on tight.

                “I love you, bro bro.” She said. The reply came immediately.

                “I love you too, Noie. You’re amazing.”

                Then he just held her, and let his words sit in the silence. His warmth, wrapping all around her like the most comforting blanket – so loving, so caring, so real.

               Noie squeezed him tighter. Dipper was real. Dipper was real. He was human, and he was her brother, and he was real… because he had to be. She needed him to be. If he was Alcor, what was she going to do without Dipper?

                You’re amazing. Noie’s mind went back to the yard, back to the cold hand around her wrist… and she shivered. Drew back. Tried to look him in the eyes, but didn’t quite make it.

                “Dipper,” she started, and hesitated. He waited so patiently as she opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, then sighed. Rubbed her eyes. “I, uh… wow, I’m tired. I’m pooped! I’m going to bed.”

                He watched her brush past him. “You’re tired?”

                “Yeah, all the, uh, touchy-feelies. They got me all sorts of exhausted, and stars I sound like Grandpa right now.”

                “I mean, I’m pretty sure he’s you in, like, fifty years.”

                “Gross, how dare you. I’m gonna be way cooler than Grandpa as an old person!”

                “I am ninety-nine percent certain you’re gonna tell people to get off your lawn.”

                “Hey, hey, this is disrespecting your elders!” She lobbed a pillow at him. “You just need to get serious about yourself, young man!”

                Dipper cackled at that, and got into the bottom bunk. As soon as he couldn’t see her face anymore, Noie’s smile evaporated. She sat on top of her covers, and listened to the wind blowing outside. It was cold out there, and inside she was warm. She was too warm – in her chest, she was stuffy. Uncomfortable.

                Guilty.

                You’re amazing.

                She heard Dipper start a sigh, and end it with a sleepy laugh. “Goodnight, Noie.” He said. “I love you.”

                She didn’t reply, and after a second, she heard him turn over. Heard his breathing turn slow and heavy as he fell asleep.

                Noie couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t sleep if she tried.

                Her thoughts were a raging fire, and they were burning her at the stake.

                “I think it’s the damn pancake mix. What brand is this - the real cheap stuff?”

                “It's the same one we always get, Grandpa.”

                “Is it, now.” He scraped another pile of cooked flour onto a plate and glared at the packaging. “They must’ve changed something. These are coming out terribly.”

                Noie snorted. “Or maybe you’re just bad at it. Let me do it.”

                She rose from her seat, but he waved her down with a spatula.

                “No, no! You, sit. I only got one more to do, anyway – let’s see how I mess it up this time.”

                He poured a lumpy mixture into the saucepan, and next to Noie, Allie started to smile.

                “Smells lovely! What are you making, David?”

                “Pancakes, I told you.”

                “Oh, pancakes? You know, my mother used to make the most amazing pancakes.” She sat back, seemingly lost in memories. “She was from England, you see… they do them much thinner over there. With lemon and sugar.”

                Noie was already filling her plate with a layer of maple syrup. “The sugar part sounds lovely, Granny.”

                “Yes, it was. Quite lovely.” Abruptly, she turned to Dipper. “You loved it. You wanted her to make it all the time when you were younger.”

                “Uh… sure?”

                He pulled a face at Noie, who shrugged. Allie patted his head.

                “I could make it for you... We should have it again. It’s been too long.”

                She started to stand, but Noie caught her arm.

                “Hey! Let’s, uh, let’s do that some other day. Grandpa’s already cooking us pancakes.”

                Allie frowned in confusion. “Grandpa?”

                “Well, would you look at that!” David slid one complete pancake onto the pile. “That one turned out alright, didn’t it? Noie?”

                “What?”

                He walked over, and stuck it onto her plate. “Here,” He said, in that gruff undertone that was the closest his voice came to apologetic. “This one’s for you, kid.”

                “Thanks,” Noie said, and she gave him a smile. He shuffled away, grumbling something about how he didn’t make enough for seconds so don’t ask, and her smile turned to an eyeroll. This was the closest she was going to get to an apology, so she dug in before it got all soggy from the syrup.

                The table was quiet for a while, but for the sound of cutlery and the occasional lip smack.

                “Mmm.” Dipper said. “This is a good pancake. I mean, it’s in a bunch of pieces, but it’s good.”

                David grunted. “Eh, food is food. It’s not supposed to be pret-“

                Tap tap tap.

                The sound came from behind them. from the sliding glass door still covered by blinds. Noie blinked – what was that? Was there something in the backyard- and her stomach dropped as she realised oh, no, there was, wasn’t there.

                David turned around in his chair.

                “Eh? What was-”

                “I didn't hear anything!” Noie blurted out. She gave him a wide smile. “Thanks for the breakfast, Grandpa, I really-“

                Tap tap tap

                “-love the sound of birds in the morning, that sounds like a bird. Man, nature’s cool, amirite?”

                Allie frowned. “Who’s at the door? David?”

                “No one's there, Granny. Just a bird, nothing to- no, don’t get up! Grandpa!”

                He was at the door; she jolted up, but he’d already opened it. “If it’s a damn bird, I don’t want it pecking my glass. Hey, shoo! Get outta here!”

                Noie’s breath caught in her throat, but she just watched him wave his arm and shout for a bit, then slam it closed and walk back to his seat. Dipper raised an eyebrow at him.

                “What was it?”

                “I dunno, I didn’t see anything. Probably flew off as soon as I opened the thing.”

                Thank the stars, he didn’t see anything. Noie relaxed in her seat, but then-

                Tap tap tap.

                “It’s back?”

                “Someone’s at the door, David!”

                Noie jumped out of her seat. “I can deal with it! You stay, Grandpa!”

                “What are you gonna-“

                “Uno momento!” She said, and dashed outside before anyone could argue with her. With the sliding door shut tightly behind her, she turned around and immediately spotted Lucy Ann peeking out from behind the house.

                “There you are.” The vampire gave her a fanged smile. “I was worried I’d keep getting the old guy.”

                “What are you doing?”

                “I was about to ask you the same question. I thought you were gonna let me talk to Alcor.”

                “I never said that.”

                Her expression turned distinctly unfriendly. “So you’re not gonna help me?”

                “No, I never said that either!” She clenched her fists. “Look, things are kinda complicated right now. I can’t bring him out here, because-“

                “Aren’t you having breakfast? Look, just make an excuse, get him out-“

                “I can’t do that!”

                “Why not?”

                “He’s not… um… he’s not here.”

                “He’s not eating breakfast with you? Even better! Then just-“

                “He’s sick.”

                “Oh, yeah? How sick?”

                “Well, he’s- no, it doesn’t matter how sick he is! He’s sick, okay! A-and he’s not here!”

                Lucy Ann raised an eyebrow. “He’s not in the house?”

                “He’s… at a friend’s house.”

                “I thought he was sick.”

                “He is. He’s sick and he’s at a friend’s house.” She crossed her arms. “Both those things can be true.”

                At that moment, the door cracked open. “Hey, Naomi,” her grandfather’s voice made her jump. “I'm gonna let Dipper gonna steal your pancake if you stay out there too long. Come inside.”

                Noie cringed at the look on Lucy Ann’s face. “Uh… okay! Just one more second!”

                “Wow, he can steal your pancake while being both sick and at a friend’s house?” Her grip tightened on the wall; her claws left marks in the paint. “Impressive. I dunno why I needed to convince you he’s a demon if he can do that.”

                She backed away. “Look, I’m sorry, I just gotta – I gotta go to school soon, alright?”

                “Oh, sure. Don’t let my impending death get in the way of something important like high school.”

                “I-I’m not gonna let you die, I just- stop tapping on the glass, okay? You’re gonna get caught.”

                “You’re worried Alcor’s gonna catch me, aren’t you?” She bared teeth at Noie as she slid the door open. “Fine. I don’t need your help, I’ll get to him on my own. Asshole!”

                Noie slammed it shut and staggered back. She glanced over at the table, at the three shocked faces staring up at her. David was frowning.

                “Did I hear someone say ‘asshole’ out in the yard?”

                “Parrots.” Noie stretched a smile. “They’re amazing birds, aren’t they? I love birds.”

                “Excuse me?”

                “No, that was dumb, that was… I was joking, it was the neighbors. They were just having an argument.”

                Dipper leaned forwards. “Are you okay, Noie?”

                “What? Haha, I’m fine!”

                Tap, tap, tap. Her smile crumpled at the edges.

                “Never been better!”

                “I’ve gotta find out what’s making that noise,” David grumbled into his empty plate. “Gonna drive me insane.”

                “Well, uh, don’t look too hard, haha! Dipper!”

                “What?”

                “We have to go to school soon, don’t we!”

                “Yeah, in a little-“

                “Bus comes soon!” Noie pulled his chair out. “Come on, give me your plate! Go get dressed!”

                “What? But I’m already-“

                “No you’re not. Look at that stain on your shirt!” She poked his chest. “Is that maple syrup?”

                 “…Oh.”

                “Yeah, you can’t be walking around school like that! Go get dressed again! Andale, andale!”

                He got up and shuffled off. Noie dumped the plates in the sink, cast one last glance at the glass door, and hurried after him.

Chapter Text

               It was somewhat awkward on the bus.

               Dipper was staring at Noie, and Noie was staring out of the window. Houses and cars whipped past her field of vision, but she wasn’t really paying much attention; she was listening to Dipper shuffle his feet. Clear his throat. Figure out how to phrase an inevitable question.

               She stared past the scenery, and tried to figure out how to answer him when it came.

               Finally, Dipper leaned forwards. A little inhale, then: “Noie?”

               “Yeah, I’m fine! Doing great! Noooo worries here!”

               “I didn’t say I was worried.”

               “Oh? Haha, even better then!” Noie glanced at Dipper; he was giving her an odd expression. “What?”

               “You’ve been acting weird all morning. Are you okay?”

               “Weird all morning? Hah! I act weird all the time!”

               “Noie.”

               She rolled her eyes.

               “Noie, I’m serious.”

               “Hi serious, I’m dad.”

               “Noie…”

               “What!” She glared at him. “You’re doing that dumb thing where you’ve decided I’m not okay, so you’re just gonna keep asking the same question over and over until I give you the answer you want. Knock it off.”

               “But-”

               “I’m fine, knock it off.”

               He frowned. “But No-”

               “I’m fine, knock it off.”

               “Bu-”

               “I’m fine, kno-”

               “Can you stop!” Dipper snapped. “For like a second? And let me say something?” He sat back, rubbing his temples. “Look, I’m not trying to be annoying, but I know when something’s up with you, okay?”

               “Oh, you’re a mindreader now, huh?”

               “No, but I am your brother, and I know how you act when you’re upset about something.”

               “And I’m sure that’s not wrong, ever.”

               “It started when there was that noise in the yard.” He said, and a bolt of hot panic shot through her. “There was someone yelling... were they yelling at you, or-”

               “There’s no one in the yard! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

               Dipper blinked. “Okay?”

               “There wasn’t! There was just- look, you’re just...” Noie took a breath, and crossed her arms. “Look, I’m done talking about this, okay? I wasn’t upset before, but I am now, so hey, I guess your Noie-Upset-O-Meter works perfectly ! Nice job being right, dude.”

               He just stared at her, completely baffled. “Whoa, what? I was just asking what was upsetting you, Noie. I’m not trying to win a contest or anything… seriously, are you okay?”

               She just glared at the seat in front of her, stubbornly refusing to meet his eyes.

               “Noie? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

               She felt a flush of heat rising in her cheeks, and she turned completely away from him to look out the window again.

               If only that were true, she thought. But noooo, there had to be stupid angels and stupid vampires and stupid demons coming in and messing everything up.

               Now she didn’t even know what she could tell him.

               Noie narrowed her eyes. If only she could. He was smarter than her, he’d probably come up with some kind of plan or strategy or at least an idea on how to straighten out this whole mess… he’d have something instead of just winging it and hoping for the best, you know?

               It was a nice thought. But Noie heard Dipper give a long, frustrated sigh, and she was brought out of these nice thoughts, back into the hard reality of the situation.

               “Alright, fine,” Dipper grumbled. “You don’t have to talk about it if you really don’t want to, but it is kind of aggravating when you get like this, okay? I know something’s wrong when you start snapping at me, so either it’s my fault and we should talk about this, or it’s not my fault, and you’re just taking it out on… ugh.”

               There was a pause, and Noie glanced over at him. He was kneading his forehead.

               “Nevermind.” He said, after a time. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay? That’s all I was trying to say.”

               With that, he went quiet, and Noie felt a twinge of guilt as she listened to the rumble of the bus engine in the ensuing silence. She cleared her throat.

               “I’m not mad at you, Dipper.”

               “Okay.”

               She cringed at his flat tone. “I’m not. And I didn’t mean to be snappy at you, bro, I just… got a lot on my plate right now, alright? I’m sorry. It’s… it’s complicated.”

               “Okay.” He sat back. “You know, you can tell me even if it’s complicated.”

               Noie pressed her lips together and said nothing. After a moment, he cleared his throat and turned to her with a faint smile.

               “Hey, when’s the, uh, presentation again?”

               “Presentation?”

               “For our posters? In history? The one that’s worth assessment points?” At her blank look, he took out his phone. “Nevermind, I’ll look it up-”

               “Ohhh, the, uh, um...” she snapped her fingers. “the stupid group project one, right?”

               “Yeah.”

               “That’s next Friday, I think.”

               “Next Friday?”

               “Yeah! I think. I dunno, I’m not good with dates but that sounds right to me. You should check.”

               Dipper tapped his phone. “It’s next Friday.”

               “Oh, voila! I shoulda never doubted myself!” She chuckled. “Well, posters look good, so it seems like we’re all set for that.”

               “Yeah, thanks for all the help.”

               “Right back atcha, Dippindots!”

               “Dippingdots?”

               “What? It’s got a ring to it, like Dipping Sauce! Or Dippy! Or Dippida-Dippida-Dip-DipDip!”

               “What? That last one isn’t- Don’t I have enough nicknames, Noie?”

               “You never have too many nicknames... Doop! Yeah! Hey, that rhymes with boop!” She poked his nose and giggled at his spluttering. “I love you too, you dork!”

               They passed the rest of the bus ride like this, laughing and talking about nothing of consequence. Their stop came up, and they got off, started walking to school with the same lighthearted chatter between them.

               That was when Noie caught sight of the parking lot. And the police cars. And on the far end, as bright as the sun in the sky, the angel standing guard by the school gates.

               Oh.

               Oh, shit.

               She stopped dead, and Dipper glanced back at her.

               “Noie? You alright?”

               “Wha- oh, yeah, I’m fine!” She didn’t take her eyes off the angel. “I just… uh... one sec, bro!”

               “One second for what?”

               This was the problem with not having a plan. And also being a forgetful human being. And just generally having a lot going on - a mix of all three of these factors, really.

               See, Noie sort of forgot until she laid eyes on the angel that it definitely almost sent Dipper to the hospital yesterday; she couldn’t say how she knew, but it was staring at her, and also it did weird things to him earlier - it just gave her a really bad feeling, okay? She didn’t trust it one bit.

               To get into school, though, she was going to have to walk Dipper right past it… which sounded like a bad idea.

               What was she going to do now? Go home? No, Dipper wouldn’t go with her - that’s a dumb plan. She needed to think of something else, something else…

               “Noie?” A tap on her arm. “I dunno what you’re doing, but it’s hot out here, and I don’t want to be late for class. Can we-”

               Noie snapped her fingers. “Class! That’s on the other end of campus, right!”

               “Um, yeah? So we should-”

               “Wait, Dipper!” She grabbed his arms. “Let’s, uh… um… I know a shortcut!”

               “A shortcut?”

               “Yeah! Have I never showed you?”

               He frowned. “No, I don’t know a shortcut, but the gates are right there-”

               “Nahhh, trust me, bro, this is way faster!” She all but dragged him away from the entrance to the parking lot. “Come on! This’ll be fun!”

               “Okay? As long as it gets us to class on time… where are we going?”

               Noie peered at the tall fence surrounding their campus. It was just a lot of chainlink, she could climb this… they needed to get out of view of the front gates, though. Maybe somewhere near the back of a building?

               The figure of the angel disappeared behind a wall, and Noie nodded to herself. She could make this work.

               This was fine.

               And hey, look, a gate! Noie tugged on it.

               “Aah, shoot. Locked.”

               Dipper crossed his arms. “Was this supposed to be the shortcut?”

               “No!” She kept walking. “It’s, uh, further on!”

               “Noie, I think we should’ve just gone through the gates. That’d be just as fast…” He frowned as he watched her stop by a secluded spot behind the math building. “and also, this is definitely going to get us in trouble. Noie.”

               “Only if we get caught!”

               “Noie, I really don’t have a good feeling about this.”

               She tested her weight on the fence. Stuck her foot in, and hoisted herself up; the metal rattled a little bit, and she giggled.

               “Noie!” Dipper hissed. “This is a really bad idea, you’re gonna get caught!”

               “Aww, c’mon, nobody’s here! Who’s gonna catch us?”

               “There are windows all down that building, Noie! And policemen actively patrolling for intruders right now...” He pinched his nose. “Ohhh, my stars, this is such a bad idea… Look, you do you, but I’m gonna head back to the gates and-”

               “No, no, no, wait!” She hopped off the fence and cut him off with her brightest smile. “C’mon, bro bro, this’ll take five seconds!”

               “The front gate would’ve taken five seconds too! This is literally just pointlessly risky, and I’m not-” He took a step to the side, and frowned when she copied him. “Okay, why are you being so weird right now? Why don’t you want to use the front gates?”

               “Well, uh…” She shrugged. “I mean we’re gonna be late if we head all the way back, so why don’t we just hop on over now, right? Haha, it’ll be fun!”

               “But why’d we even come over here in the first place? We could’ve literally gone through the front gates, but you don’t want to do that for some reason and-”

               “Dipper!” She clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Look, uh, can you just trust me on this one? Please?”

               “Why? What’s going on? Why are you acting so-?”

               “Look! Uh, trust me, I’d love to explain, but why don’t we just do that in the AC, huh? Man, it’s hot outside, isn’t it?”

               She grinned at Dipper, but he didn’t grin back. After a long moment, he heaved a sigh, and brushed her hand away.

               “Okay, fine. Fine.”   He shuffled towards the fence. “You will owe me an explanation though, Noie.”

               Noie’s smile turned to a grimace. “Uh, you got it, bro bro. I’ll explain all the things, don’t you worry! Trust me, it’ll make soooo much sense.”

               Then she stood back and watched him climb, her mind scrambling to piece together that promised explanation. From one crisis to another… still, at least that had taken care of the angel problem. For today. Maybe.

               She stepped towards the fence as Dipper reached the top, leaned a hand on the bar and stared through the rattling links.

               That still left a host of other problems, like the vampire problem, and the Grandpa problem, and the demon problem - which was not a problem in and of itself since Dipper was not a demon, so that was pretty much the same thing as the vampire problem. So hey, if she thought about it like that, there was one less problem on her plate!

               Just in time to fit another one.

               “Hey, you! Get down from there, now!”

               Noie jerked up at the sound of yelling, and her blood ran cold as she saw two policemen charging right for them. Shit. Shit shitshitshitshit-

               “I said get down! Now!”

               Dipper let out a yelp and fell off the fence, landing sideways on the campus side and almost immediately getting pinned by an officer. Noie let out a gasp; she opened her mouth to call his name, but the other man stabbed a finger at her.

               “And you! Get over here!”

               She blinked. “Over the- the fence?”

               “Yes! Over the fence! Do it now!”

               “O-okay-”

               “Now!”

               Noie shot a wide-eyed glance at Dipper - he was being handcuffed on the ground - before gathering her wits and quickly climbing up and over. The second her feet touched down on the other side, she found herself seized by the other officer.

               His grip was so tight it made her gasp in pain. She watched Dipper get yanked back to an upright position, and exchanged a terrified look with him. He’d gone sheet white, and there was grass in his hair and dirt all over his shirt from how he’d landed.

               “Um,” Noie could barely stammer out her words as they cuffed her. “What, um- what did we do that-that requires this level of arresting? I mean, we j-just climbed a fence, we didn’t- I didn’t think this would be, like, heh, the death penalty or something… you know? Hah…”

               She gave a little chuckle at the end of that, even though absolutely nothing about this was funny.

               The officers didn’t respond. Wordlessly, they yanked her and Dipper forwards; Dipper winced from the shoulder he’d fallen on.

               Noie gulped. “Hey, whoa, it looks like he hurt himself there! Dipper, you alright?”

               He looked shocked beyond words, eyes darting all over the place, mouth half open but not making so much as a peep. The officers… Noie strained to look at them, but she could only catch a glimpse of straight faces and dark sunglasses before she stumbled and had to turn back to keep pace.

               Where were they headed? Noie thought the office at first, but she saw they were headed for the back door to the Math building. The school bell rang just then; Noie gave another weak laugh at this.

               “Are you, uh, taking us back to class? Teaching us a lesson? Cause I will certainly not be touching that fence again, no siree, nope, never again… uh, nada? That’s also a nope, and there’s non, that’s French… Nein?” They led her through the door. “Nein is also a way to say that, it’s German-”

                “Girl.” One of the officers said in an utterly impassive tone. She cringed.

               “Ja?”

                “Stop talking.”

               That made her gulp. “...That’s good advice. You’re very smart, I am saying all the things and I should say less things. I’ll do that. Right now. Yeah.”

               The officers led them upstairs, and Noie couldn’t help but notice this was in the direction of her Math class.

               “Wait, are we actually-” She felt a painful squeeze on her arm, and grit her teeth. “Right, right. No talking. Got it.”

               Down the completely barren hallway they went, their footsteps echoing on the tile. Even though class had started, there wasn’t a sound from any of the rooms they passed.

               Not even so much as a whisper. Noie was starting to get a bad feeling about this; she glanced over at Dipper, and could see the same pit forming in his stomach, the same suspicious frown creasing down his brow.

               A moment later, he met her gaze. Mouthed something, but she had no idea what he was saying. She shrugged at him and he tried again, only to be shoved forwards, rather roughly, by the officer.

               “Ow.” He made a face at the man. “Uh, my shoulder actually really hurts, could you-”

                  “Silence.” They both said, in unison. Then they stopped as one, in front of the door to their Math classroom.

               Despite class supposedly having started already, there was not a sound to  be heard from behind it. Noie found herself very much dreading being led into this room; the fact that the handle started to turn by itself, seemingly being opened from the inside without a word from either of the officers, was not reassuring in the slightest.

               It swung outwards, revealing a row of empty desks where her classmates were supposed to be sitting. She gulped, and tried to stand her ground when she was nudged forwards, but the officer didn’t even seem to notice the resistance; he moved, and she had to stumble along with him to keep her footing.

               Into the classroom. Into the empty classroom, devoid of students, devoid of teachers... and yet, not devoid of their presence. It was filled with unzipped pencilcases, schoolbags under chairs, textbooks on tables turned to a certain page. The teacher’s computer was on, and there was half a math problem scribbled on the whiteboard in green; underneath it was a marker of the same colour, capped, and placed neatly on the tray.

               Neatly. Noie could only frown; everything was so neat, so normal, yet so eerie, so empty... like they’d walked out into the field for a fire drill, or something.

               (She’d have heard a fire drill, though. What was going on? What was-)

               “Agh.”

               A noise from beside her. She craned her neck to see Dipper crumple forwards, his lips pulled back in a grimace.

               “Dipper!” Noie made a lunge for him; the officer held her back. “Let me go! What did you do to Dipper? What the fuck is going on?!”

                     “One moment, please,” chorused the two officers. Noie struggled harder as the room began to brighten with a strange light.

               “One moment for what? Ohhh my stars, you guys are totally possessed or something… l-look, just let us go! We’re just kids, I don’t know what you want with us! I don’t…” The light was getting intense; she squeezed her eyes shut. “ Oh my stars, just let us go, just leave us alone I just want you to leave us alone please…”

               She trailed off, and could only stare at the sheer brightness glowing on the back of her eyelids. There was silence, deafening, terrifying silence…

               And then, the light faded, and the officers spoke again.

                              “I am here.”

                              “Open your eyes.”

               Noie felt a strange pull on her eyelids at that - gentle and easy to resist, but unnerving nonetheless. She squeezed them shut, and after a few moments the force abated.

                              “Or do not. I will not compel you.”

               The officers spoke from behind her, but she could make out a large, blobby brightness directly in front of her. She frowned, and then opened her mouth to ask-

                              “What’s going on?” One officer stole the question right off her tongue. Then the other cleared his throat. “Yes, I can see your confusion. I am well aware that the logistics of this meeting have been handled in a more… spontaneous fashion than I had envisioned - you humans can be difficult to account for at times. Your propensity for such spontaneity, it is truly fascinating to observe; it is not beyond me, however, to see why lesser beings find this quality to be… very frustrating.”

               The words passed through Noie’s ears like words from another language - logistics of a meeting? Propensity for spontaneity? Lesser beings? What was this guy on about? Just what was she dealing with, here?

               Curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked open her eyes to catch a glimpse of the brightness standing in front of her. It was very, very bright… but also it was shaped like a human, and clad in knight’s armour, and leaning on a great big sword and oh she knew exactly what this was and it was bad.

               “You’re the-!” Noie tried to stab a finger at him. “You’re the angel guy! F-from the gate!”

               The figure of the angel did not move, did not make a noise, did not react at all to Noie’s words, but the two officers let out a synchronised chuckle, and replied in tandem.

                              “The angel guy from the gate. I have known more dignified addresses.”

               “What?”

                              “It is no matter. Your directness is amusing to me, that is all.”

               Her expression soured. “So glad this is funny to you,” she muttered, eyes cutting sideways to exchange a glance with Dipper. What she saw, though, was her brother still slumped forwards, his limp body held upright by the other officer. Her stomach dropped, her heart skipped a beat, and she whipped back around to shout-

                              “Your brother is unharmed,” Spoke the officers. “Unconscious from my influence, yes, but rest assured, he will wake.”

               “Rest assured? I dunno, I don’t feel too assured, actually! How do I know you’re not just-”

                              “Lying to you?”

               Noie scowled. “Okay, can you not do the weird mindreading thing you’re doing right now? It’s super creepy, and super-”

                              “Annoying, noted.” A pause. “Ah, and I did it again just now. My apologies, you humans communicate on a far more physical basis than I am accustomed to.” The officer holding Dipper gave a wry smile. “Or, as you may have noticed, am directly able to.”

               She raised an eyebrow at him, then turned back to look at the actual figure of the angel, standing so very, very still at the front of the classroom. Not once had she seen it bend its legs, or turn its head, or unclasp its hands from the hilt of its sword; she was starting to wonder if it could move at all.

               That… raised a question that Noie didn’t want to ask. The angel didn’t bring it up for her, this time; it waited quietly, patiently, expectantly, as she figured out how to word it.

               “So, uh,” Noie cleared her throat. “If this is all so hard for you to set up… why did you- well, why’d you do it, then?”

                              “For one reason,” said one officer. Then spoke the other:

                                                       “I need your help.”

Chapter Text

                                “I need your help.”

                Noie stood there for a moment, staring up at the towering figure of the angel before her. This thing... needed her help? Seriously? Before she could put all these questions into words, the angel spoke again.

                                “I see you are bound.”

                “Huh?” Noie frowned as she watched an officer start to fiddle with her handcuffs. “Oh, yeah… you did that.”

                                “I did not bind you.”

                “What? You did - you know, with the whole possessing two dudes to drag us up here?”

                                “Possession?” There was a gentle laugh. “No, no, you misunderstand my methods. A demon possesses; an angel merely guides.”

                ‘Guides’? Really? Noie fought to keep the skepticism off her face, but the angel seemed to pick up on it; both the officers cleared their throats and swiftly continued:

                                “It is much better. It is not a subjugation of will; it is a request, one they can simply deny if they are not willing. I guide them towards a goal, but I do not puppeteer their bodies like demons do - why would I, when humans are reasonably capable of performing my tasks under their own volition?”

                Noie heard the angel chuckle again. There was a click, and the cuffs around her wrists came loose.

                                “Yes, sometimes they perform it in a less than optimal way, but possession is so unnecessary, so crude, so… controlling, and I do not like to use it on my chosen people.” The officer drew back from Noie, absently fiddling with the cuffs in their hand. “I prefer you to be free.”

                With that, the angel fell silent. She rubbed her wrists, still frowning, still feeling like something was terribly, terribly off… but where to even start?

                Dipper was still sagging in the other officer’s grip; she shuffled closer to him, and cast her eyes around the whole classroom.

                “Where’s… where’s everyone in my class?”

                                “I evacuated everyone in the building for this discussion. They will return when it is concluded.”

                Noie made a face. “Why’d you do that?”

                                “For their own safety. I wanted to minimise any potential human casualties that could occur.”

                “Um, what?” A startled laugh came out of her. “What on earth do you think I’m gonna do to you, dude?”

                Both the officers snorted at that.

                                “No, no, you are not capable of posing such an existential threat. Obviously I was not referring to you.”

                One pointed to the other, at the drooping figure of Dipper Argenta held firmly in his grasp.

                                “I was referring to that .”

                There was an edge to the Angel’s voice, there, a coldness that sent shivers down Noie’s spine. She watched Dipper groan, watched his head loll to the side, and she couldn’t help but notice how tightly the officer was gripping his arms. Her heart sank at the sight of white knuckles, and kept on sinking as the angel continued.

                                “If your concerns have been sufficiently assuaged, I would like to enlist your help with a demon I have unexpectedly encountered while-”

                “He’s not a demon!” Noie snapped. The officers’ eyebrows shot up; the angel was clearly taken by surprise.

                                “Not a demon? Tell me what you mean when you say that.”

                “I mean he’s not!” She glared right at its true form. “He’s not! I don’t know what’s going on right now with everyone trying to tell me he’s some kind of demon - he’s just not, he’s a normal human guy! He’s my brother, my twin brother! How the fuck could he be a demon i-if- well, it just doesn’t make sense, okay!”

                Noie paused for breath, and noticed both the officers had started to smile. Her glare darkened.

                “What? What’s so funny?”

                                “The vampire.” As one, they chuckled and shook their heads. “I was confused about why you were jumping to such an unexpected conclusion, but now I see where you were mislead.”

                “Huh?”

                                “It would be patently ridiculous to suggest that your mortal brother is a demon in disguise. Of course he would be a normal human child.”

                Noie blinked. “But what-”

                                “Unfortunately - and this is why your family has gained some unwanted attention - his body is being possessed by an ancient and powerful demon.” The officers’ faces twisted into a grimace. “His name is Alcor the Dreambender, and he loves nothing more than to twist humans into his playthings.”

                “But… but he’s not-”

                                “I already told you, your brother is not Alcor. Your brother is not who I am referring to here. Your brother is normal; the Dreambender is a monster.”

                Noie just shook her head. She could hardly form words. “No, no, that’s… he’s not-”

                                “You mean to say his body is not possessed?” The officers crossed their arms. “I forgive you for denying me, but why do you deny your own truth?”

                “N-no?” She stepped back. “What? I’m not-”

                                “Then why do you deny what your eyes have seen, what your ears have heard? You are a smart young human, in possession of all your mortal senses; tell me, what do they say of Alcor the Dreambender?”

                                The yellow eyes. The magic headaches. Mabel Pines, all those wikipedia articles, and everything Lucy Ann said-

                No, wait! Stop it! Stop it!

                                All these thoughts were careening nonstop across her mind and Noie tried to block them out, tried to think of something else, anything else, but her mind was fixed on Dipper and her eyes wouldn’t stop staring at Dipper and her foot caught on the leg of a chair and she stumbled and the angel...

                The angel was there. Quick as a flash, an officer reached out and caught her before she fell. She yelped, pushed off his hands and backed away.

                He remained perfectly still, and Noie could see his expression had turned strangely solemn. When the angel spoke again, it was just through the one man, and it was quiet.

                                “I did not want to put you through that.” He said. “You must forgive me if this conversation causes you distress; this is not a situation any human would want to find themselves in… especially one already shouldering burdens she finds hard to bear.”

                He looked up at Noie, and her breath caught in her throat.

                                “You are young, child. But I see how old this life has forced you to become.” His face creased with sympathy, and he sighed. “The adults in your life, they have turned their eyes to the screen and not to their responsibilities, and you have stepped up in their absence. Because you needed to. Because your brother needed you to.”

                Noie didn’t know what to say; she managed a faint, “What?” and stared at the officer as he began to walk forwards.

                                “I see that all. I see how deeply it’s hurt you, and how wholly it’s blinded you to the problems you cannot fix: you have learned to ignore them, for if you cannot fix them, nobody will fix them for you, will they?” He stepped right up to her. “And a demon? A child like you cannot hope to stand against such a catastrophic force of evil. What is there for you to do but to simply put it out of mind, to deny the reality and thus the terror, to focus on the issues that are in your power to change?”

                With wide eyes, she watched him reach out, and put a hand on her shoulder.

                                “I can see all of this. I can see you, child, and… I am sorry. This is not the path you were meant to walk.” He shook his head, his brow furrowing. “No, I see this is not the first time the Dreambender has played his games with the ones you love.”

                Noie’s breath caught in her throat. Not the first time? What did he mean? She’d barely even heard of this demon guy up until now; when was this ‘other time’ he… oh.

                Oh, right.

                Oh, she did know what he was referring to.

                                “You don’t remember the first time, it seems.” His words dropped like stones in her gut. “You were too young.”

                “You’re talking about what happened with… w-with my father, right?” Her heart was pounding at her throat; she swallowed hard. “So Dipper was right, it was Alcor? O-or he had something to do with it? What happened!”

                He just gave a sad smile, and patted her shoulder.

                “Do you know what happened?” She watched him turn away from her. “Hello?”

                The officer walked up to Dipper, hands clasped behind his back. His boots were loud on the carpet.

                                “What happened in the past...” he started, and then paused. He stopped in front of her brother. He squared his heels. He cleared his throat, and spoke again: “...is not good for humans to dwell on.”

                With two fingers, he lifted Dipper’s chin, and turned his face from side to side as if examining it.

                                “I came here to set my people free from the past, to rid their world of evils that have plagued them since time immemorial… And I will free you, too.”

                “Free me?”

                                “Yes.” Dipper groaned; the officer took his hand away. “I will free you and all of humanity from the whims of this demon. His games of possession are twisted indeed, but they present an opportunity to bring about his downfall. I am already making the necessary arrangements; it should only take a couple of days before everything is in place.” His eyes flitted up to her. “But in the meantime, I do need your help.”

                Noie’s frown had been deepening as he spoke, and now she took a step back.

                                “It is nothing major, but it is important. The Dreambender is a powerful being, and were he to break out of his construct and uncover our plans, he would be… upset with us.”

                She made a face. “Okay? What am I supposed to do about that?”

                                “ As I am sure you have noticed, I have a particular effect on victims of possession.” The officer paced around Dipper, but she found her eyes sliding over to the angel’s true form, standing motionless in the front of the classroom. “My presence stirs the demon within them; it invokes from their possessor such a primal surge of rage that they cannot help but distrust me. You can see, I am sure, how this would make it difficult for me to protect your brother from any threats that may arise before I am able to return him to a normal state of mind.”

                “Threats? Someone’s gonna attack him?”

                                “No, no, nothing quite so physical. But the mind here is… complicated. How would I best describe it to you?” For a moment, he seemed to grapple for an analogy. “It is as if the mind stands on thin ice. A vast darkness lurks beneath, and any reminders of that darkness would be like cracks beneath his feet. If it thinks too much of magic, of demons, of Alcor, your brother will fall through and be consumed.”

                Noie remembered the headaches he’d been getting over the past few days, the ever-present forehead rubbing he’d do whenever Alcor came up. She gulped, hard.

                “Consumed? So wait, he’d be-”

                                “And remember this.”

                Abruptly, he turned and fixed her with a look that sent shivers down her spine.

                                “Anything that calls itself a friend of Alcor is trying to destroy your brother. Think of that before you make any regrettable decisions.”

                At that he fell silent, just watching Noie. That expression he was wearing… nothing about it looked unpleasant, but there was something so inexplicably off-putting that it made her want to melt into the floor. She nodded, hoping it was an answer he was waiting on, and in the moments afterwards all she could think about was

                                An empty bunk bed. A lonely bus ride. A world without Dipper beside her.

                                Could you imagine that world?

                                Could you imagine what her days would look like? Who would she even talk to if she didn’t have her brother? Who would she have to rely on?

                                Could you imagine if she had to climb past his empty bed every night to go to sleep? Staring up at the ceiling, with nothing but her thoughts and the deathly silence where she used to hear him snoring… Imagine how long she’d lie there, missing him so much it would ache, torturing herself with all the scenarios where he’d still be with her, if only she’d just done something a little differently…

                                Could you imagine how that would feel if it was all her fault?

                Could you imagine!

Could you imagine.

                Noie didn’t notice she was being hugged until she blinked and found herself wrapped up in someone’s embrace. It wasn’t the officer - it was her teacher, her math teacher she barely knew the name of, and she realised she was crying when she felt her gasp catch on the lump in her throat. She was full blown sobbing and long past the point of holding it in and when the teacher squeezed her tight she wrapped her arms around the lady and buried her face in her shoulder and for a moment she didn’t even care how embarrassing this was, she wanted to stay hidden away here forever…

                                “Shhh, child, don’t cry.” Spoke her teacher in that same, dreamy tone. “I am here now.”

                Noie froze up.

                                “Do not worry yourself about this demon any longer. Let me fix what you cannot. Let me take care of this.”

                “I-I…” Her voice shook too hard to talk. The teacher gave another squeeze.

                                “In a few days, everything will be back to normal. I will send for you then. In the meantime,” she let go and stepped back. “You may carry on as if it already is.”

                Noie squinted her eyes at the light, then opened them wide at the sight of her classmates filing into the room. In an orderly line, they took their chairs, picked up their pens, and started scribbling down notes on their homework. She looked for Dipper, and found he’d been placed in his assigned seat; he was slumped over the desk like he’d merely fallen asleep.

                                “Take your seat, please.” The teacher flashed her a smile as she took her place by the whiteboard. “I thank you for agreeing to help me, and again, I apologise for this abrupt interruption to your schedule. I have taken steps to mitigate its effects - unfortunately, I cannot erase your brother’s memories, but I hope this is otherwise a seamless transition.” She waved. “Good luck with your studies, child.”

                With that, she uncapped a marker and turned to finish the problem left half solved on the board. The tall, glowing figure of the angel pulsed once, then winked out of existence. Noie stood there, staring at the space it had occupied, still frozen in shock.

                What… just happened?

                “Now x is- what is x?” The teacher’s voice - it sounded normal now - made her jump. “Can anyone raise their hand and… Naomi, why are you out of your seat?”

                Noie saw the whole class turn to her. She blinked.

                “Is everything okay?”

                “Everything…? Um, I- um...” She shook herself. “No, nevermind! Sorry!”

                Then she scuttled over to her desk. The teacher frowned.

                “Alright, then. Well, who can tell me what x is? Somebody else other than Audrey, please.”

                “No, wait, excuse me?” Audrey was sitting in the front row, nervously fluttering her wings. “Can I, um, can I go to the nurse, please? I don’t feel well…”

                Noie frowned at her textbook, already open on her desk. Her math book had today’s problems filled out in a handwriting so neat it looked like a font. She glanced over at Dipper and saw he was lying on a similarly arranged spread of pages, with his backpack zipped up and stashed under his chair.

                She wrinkled her nose. When’d he have the time to set up all that? Weird.

                This whole thing was just… just weird.

                Before she could think on that much more, the bell rang and startled her. Dipper jumped too; he clenched up tight, then spread back out with a long, painful groan.

                “Already?” Noie’s teacher made a ‘huh’ sound as she stood up. “Time flies. Well, everyone make sure you’ve turned your homework in at the basket - with your names on it, please! Tomorrow we’ll be going over…”

                Noie tiptoed over to her brother. He looked normal enough - clearly in the middle of a bad headache, yes, but still normal. Not a demon, not doing anything weird, just Dipper. His face was down on the desk while one hand rooted around his chair for a backpack, and she’d meant to ask if he was okay but the words didn’t come when she opened her mouth; she just stood there, staring at him, taking in this one moment of normality.

                After everything that had just happened, everything she’d been told… she could feel a lump rising back up in her throat.

                And that was when Dipper spoke. He muttered something she didn’t quite catch, so Noie blinked back a blurriness in her eyes and leaned forwards.

                “Hey, Di- ugh.” Her voice came out hoarse; she cleared it. “Hey Dipper! Morning, sleepyhead, um… how’s that book pillow feeling?”

                “I can’t believe you.”

                Noie heard that, and her blood ran cold. Her smile froze on her face.

                Oh… wow. He did not sound very happy, did he.

                “What do you mean, bro br-”

                “You know exactly what I mean!” He sat up, shooting her a furious look - and did his eyes flicker for a second there? “I told you we were gonna get in trouble taking that ‘shortcut’, I told you!”

                She backed away. “I-”

                “But you didn’t listen to me - no, it’s worse, you had to go and rope me into this and I…” Dipper paused. “Wait, are you crying?”

                “What? No!” She abruptly turned and started shoving textbooks into her bag. “We gotta go to history, Dipper. We’ll be late.”

                “History? Wait, we’re in… math class?”

                He sounded confused now; Noie glanced back and saw him looking around the classroom like he’d just noticed where he was.

                “But wait, we were… I thought we were getting arrested? How did we get back here? What happened while I was out?”

                Noie opened her mouth, then closed it and just shrugged. She tensed up at a hand on her shoulder.

                “No, seriously, what happened?” Dipper was frowning at her; she could see it from the corner of her eye. “Noie? Are you okay?”

                The concern in his voice made her cringe, even more than when he was shouting at her. “I…” She gripped her bag until her knuckles went white, then cleared her throat again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

                Then she zipped it up and slung it over her back, ignoring Dipper’s startled “Huh?”

                “We off to history class yet?” Keeping her head firmly turned away from him, Noie tried for a weak smile. “I think we’re gonna have to run again. Boo. I’ll, uh, I’ll race you.”

                “Noie?”

                She started walking. “What’s that?”

                “Hey, wait, Noie!” Papers shuffled, and Dipper caught up to her with his bag half-open and his arms full of textbooks. “I just-”

                She opened the door for him. “After you.”

                “Oh, uh, thanks? Noie-”

                “I bet these would make nice drums.” Noie banged out the Nario theme on a row of passing lockers. “Dun dun dun dun-dun-dun, dun!”

                “Noie, can you stop for a second?” Dipper rubbed his shoulder. “What did you mean by… you don’t know what I’m talking about? You don’t remember - you know, there was a whole thing where you wanted to take a shortcut for some reason…?”

                He was looking to her face for an answer; she kept it blank.

                “No?” Dipper frowned. “Are you sure?”

                “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she repeated, then: “Hey, do you wanna watch me do a cartwheel?”

                “But if you don’t remember… and I just woke up in math class - so was that all a dream, o-or something?” He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice Noie pull off a cartwheel right next to him. “It didn’t feel like a dream…? But yeah, why would we randomly go off on a shortcut and then… get arrested? That doesn’t make sense…”

                He trailed off, and Noie just watched him think it over, watched his expression sink further into an annoyed confusion - he could tell he was missing something, she knew, and that made her stomach twist a little.

                “Um,” she started. “Maybe it’s like that vampire dream you had?”

                “Huh, I mean, that… that might be it. It didn’t have her in it, though.”

                Noie could only shrug at that. They kept on walking, out the door and through the grassy courtyard, and finally, Dipper broke the silence with a sigh.

                “Noie?”

                “Yyyyyes?”

                “Um, I think that must’ve been a dream, then.” He grimaced. “I’m really sorry for shouting at you over it.”

                Noie blinked, then shook her head. “No, no, you don’t need to say sorry-”

                “Yeah, I do, I was all yelling at you about stuff that… well, didn’t happen, I guess.” Dipper tried to laugh, but it came out as a groan. “Um… that’s embarrassing, I’m sorry. This has been a really, really weird week for me.”

                She didn’t trust herself to say anything to that. After a moment of looking down at his shoes, he continued.

                “I just… I haven’t really been getting anywhere with the vampire thing, Noie. And new, random stuff like this keeps cropping up - it feels like it’s getting worse.” He rubbed his head. “I’ve been getting headaches for days now, but they don’t even seem to be related to magic anymore, they just… happen. Stuff’s just been happening lately, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

                Noie watched him out of the corner of her eye. She watched him yawn, watched him rub his reddened eyes and the bags, deep and purple, under them. She hadn’t really noticed how exhausted he’d been looking lately, but now it was all too apparent.

                “I just…” Dipper started, hesitated, and then sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t know, Noie.”

                He went quiet, and for a time their footsteps were the only sound to be heard. Noie ran through a million little words of comfort in her head, but they all seemed to come up so short, and came off so shallow in her head. Maybe it was because she already knew what she wanted to say to him; no other words fit so precisely than the ones she wasn’t allowed to say.

                After a time, she put a hand on Dipper’s shoulder, and tried out a pale imitation.

                “Um, Dipper?”

                “Yeah?”

                “I’m sure… I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this.” Noie gave him a thin smile. “Don’t worry too much about it, okay? I’m sure we’ll find a way to get you back to normal real soon.”

                He didn’t look entirely convinced. “Yeah, I hope that’s what happens. What if we don’t, though?”

                “Oh, I’ve got a feeling we will.”

                “You’re being… awfully optimistic about this. Even more than usual.”

                “Yeah, cause you’re being even more of a downer than usual - I gotta balance you out!” She ruffled his hair. “C’mon, everything’ll work itself, bro. Mystery Twins are on the case!”

                “Hah…” Dipper’s laugh cut short as she leaned on him. “Wait, Noie- Ow, ow, ow, Noie!”

                “What? Are you okay?”

                “Yeah, yeah, sorry, it’s just… my shoulder.” He rubbed it, frowning. “Did I sleep on it wrong, or something? Ow… ”

                Noie’s heart caught in her throat. Oh, right, his shoulder… Oh, shit, his shoulder, he was going to put it together any second now, shit shit shit-

                Fortunately for her, however, there came a noise from the building up ahead. Dipper looked up, and his eyes went wide.

                “Wait, is that the late bell?”

                “Yeah, sounds like it.”

                “Oh, shoot, Noie! We’re late!” He took off sprinting for the classroom, waving at her frantically with his good arm. “Come on! We gotta run!”

                Noie blinked. Then she followed after him, yelling, “Wait up, Dipper!” and thanking the stars for that little stroke of luck with the bell.

                Maybe she could keep this up for a few days. Maybe everything would turn out okay after all.

                Thoughts like those didn’t make the pit in her stomach go away, no, but it was nice to finally have something to hold onto.

Chapter Text

                It was another long day for Noie. Another long, weird day spent sneaking glances at Dipper and jumping at the sound of school bells. Another day spent keeping conversations short and strategic, vague and unhelpful; keeping certain topics close to her chest, like cards in this weird game she was playing with her brother.

                Playing, not talking.

                “Oh, wow, Dipper, you’re right, that doesn’t make it sound like vampires can affect your dreams that much… but who knows, maybe it’s a super powerful one! I got some more books for you on that!”

                Acting, not reacting.

                “Your shoulder hurts? Oh no, bro! It’s probably from all these nerdy books you’ve been hunched over all day today - c’mon, sit back for a second.”

                Showing, but never, never telling.

                “Nervous? Haha, what’ve I gotta be nervous about, bro?” Her eyes flitted towards the clock in front of the classroom. “We’re going home soon! Going back to the house, yeah…”

                Dipper opened his mouth to reply, but then he hesitated, closed it, and turned back to his notes without protest. The look on his face… it put a strain on her smile.

                She didn’t remember when he’d stopped arguing with her.

                “And I believe that is all I have for today!” The teacher’s voice made Noie glance up at him; she watched his brow furrow at the rustle of people reaching for their bags. “Hey, hey! Did I say you could pack up? Everyone can stay in their seats and talk - quietly! - with your neighbors until the bell rings. Let’s have a little patience, alright? Thank you.”

                With that, he strode over to his desk and sat himself down behind a computer, leaving the room to fill with chatter. Noie looked down the many rows of students in seats, textbooks on tables, and the top of her teacher’s face bobbing up and down above his monitor, cut off just above his eyes.

                No one was looking her way, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that had kept her on edge all day today.

                The feeling that she was being watched.

                Noie shivered at that. She opened her mouth, hesitated, pressed her pencil against the desk until the lead broke, then swept the mess away and turned to Dipper.

                “Going to the store today.” Her words came out too quiet; she cleared her throat. “Dipper?”

                He didn’t look up from his notes. “Yeah?” 

                “We’re going to the store today, okay?”

                “Okay…” Dipper said, but confusion quickly spread across his face. Now, he looked up at her. “Wait, what? The store?”

                “Yeah!”

                “Why? I thought we were good on food and stuff this week.”

                “We’re low on ibuprofen.”

                “I mean, not that low. No need to make, like, an emergency shopping trip-”

                “It’s not an emergency!” Noie cut in. When he frowned at her, she grinned and gave him a nudge. “C’mon, bro! It’ll be good! Why’re you giving me that face?”

                Dipper took a moment to respond. He looked down, covered his face with his hands, and kneaded his forehead. He let out a groan, then: “Ugh… sorry, Noie.”

                “Aww, don’t be sorry, bro! We’ll get you the extra strength tablets, alright?”

                “No, it’s just… can we do this some other day? Please?” He sat back, still rubbing his face. “I’m not really feeling a shopping trip right now - my head hurts, and my shoulder still feels weird, and the whole… whole deal with the vampire… I kind of just wanted to go home.”

                “Aww, Dipper…”

                “You can go if you want, I’m not saying that. Just let me-”

                “No, you can’t go home on your own!” She thought of Lucy Ann in the backyard and shook her head. “Look, it’ll just be-”

                “Noie, please? I, really really don’t want to.”

                “But-but-” Noie stammered. “But you promised!”

                At that, Dipper hesitated. He lifted up his head and raised an eyebrow at her. “I promised?”

                That look he was giving made her cringe. She racked her mind for some kind of answer. “Um, yeah! Back at the- back on the bus! This morning! Before, uh, you went to sleep!”

                “I promised… to go on a shopping trip?”

                “You don’t remember?” Noie could see a little uncertainty creep into his frown. “We were sitting there, going to school, and you were like- um, I was like… actually, you were like ‘Let’s go to the store!’ and I was like ‘yeah!’”

                “But why would I-”

                “Because…!” Her eyes landed on his textbook. “Because vampires! I mean vampire stuff! We were going to buy vampire stuff, remember? For your dream things!”

                He blinked. “Oh… we were gonna buy, like, garlic or something?”

                “Yeah! Haha, you could put some garlic under your pillow - that’d stop anybody from getting too close to you!”

                “Heh, yeah… I guess that does make sense. Not the garlic under the pillow thing, but yeah, we should stock up on that stuff.” Dipper opened the book. “Thanks for, uh, reminding me.”

                Noie didn’t say anything to that. She just sat there, and smiled at him, and twisted her pencil ‘til it snapped in two.

                The bell rang. Dipper looked up.

                “Oh, nice.” He closed his book. “So, uh, are we going to the convenience store, or the store store… oh wait, I’m dumb, they don’t sell garlic in convenience stores. Heh, you ever just immediately answer your own question like that, Noie? Noie?”

                His words washed over her. She stared through his face, and for a moment even the churning pit in her stomach seemed so very far away…

                Then he touched her and she jumped.

                “Hey!” She started to knock his hand away, but gave it a quick pat instead. “I mean, hey. Oh, cool, did the bell ring? Alriiight, school’s out!”

                “Noie, are you-”

                “Fine! Fine! Everything is fine!” Noie shoved her book into her bag. “Everything is completely fine and let me just zip this up here, aaand done! Alright, bus! Bus bus bus!”

                She jumped up and flashed him her brightest smile. He returned a frown, his face a mixture of concern and confusion and frustration that put a lump in her throat. She swallowed.

                “What?” Her voice came off angry; she barked a laugh to try and soften it. “Hah, what’s up with you? Why the long face? I said I’m fine.”

                Dipper looked down. He didn’t say a word.

                “I am fine, okay? Dipper?” Noie’s smile stretched paper thin. “Cool, good talk. Well, we’ve gotta catch our bus now, okay? Come on.”

                She stepped away, and he followed just behind her. The hallways were already quite empty, and the odd group of chattering students didn’t do much to distract from the looming silence between them.

                Down the stairs they walked. Out the building. They rounded a corner, and Noie found herself staring down the main gates, and the glowing figure standing guard beside them.

                At that, she caught her breath. She slowed down to walk with Dipper, and they walked closer, closer.

                She shot him glances. Stared at his soft brown eyes. Linked hands with him, and tried for a smile when that made him raise an eyebrow at her.

                “Hey, Dipper.” She squeezed his hand. “I love you.”

                “I… love you too? Why are you saying it like that?”

                Noie opened her mouth to respond, but the words shriveled on her tongue when she saw his eyes flicker black on gold.

                At first it was just a flash; it was hard to tell if it’d been a trick of the light, and Dipper looked concerned at the sudden shock on her face. He squeezed her hand, and opened his mouth, but they walked closer and his eyes kept flickering.

                Kept flickering, and emotion drained from his face. Noie looked away, but she could feel his gentle squeeze get tighter and tighter and tighter until it felt like her hand was going to fold down the middle - ow.

                She sucked in a breath, kept her head down and kept going.

                Kept walking.

                They were nearly there.

                Nearly through.

                Dipper would be back soon, she told herself.

                Dipper would be back soon.

                Dipper would be back soon-

                                “Hello, child. Please wait.”

                Those words came through a chorus of voices - the angel. Noie frowned at its glowing boots, and reluctantly came to a stop.

                “Um, hey?” She cringed as Dipper’s grip tightened even more. “Do you need something? Not that it’s, uh, not nice to see you and all, but I can’t really stay and chat-”

                                “Oh, I have no favours to ask of you. Quite on the contrary, I have listened to your needs and taken it upon myself to - oh, shall I use a human colloquialism here? There are so many to choose from; your language is charming in its inefficiency, I must say.”

                “Can we maybe get to the point?”

                                “‘To the point’ - heh, there’s one of them. Yes, let us ‘get to the point.’” The two officers cleared their throats, and then a man stepped forwards. From his rubbery gloves and dark blue apron, he looked like one of the people who worked in the cafeteria. He gave Noie a too-wide smile, and then reached into the pocket of his apron and drew out…

                “Oh. Garlic?” Noie made a face. “And a hammer. And a… a stake. That is an actual stake you’ve got there. Um.”

                                “I have blessed these with the cleansing light of my innermost essences. They will be far more effective than any equivalent one could purchase at a human marketplace.” The man held them out to Noie with a grin. “You’re welcome, child. Or as your kind may say, ‘it’s on me.’”

                “Uh…” Noie shuffled back. “Thanks, buddy, this is real… real thoughtful of you, but I think I’m gonna pass on your, um, innermost essences.”

                                “Pass?” All three heads cocked in unison. “You are refusing my gifts?”

                “I mean, refusing’s a strong word, but y’know, my folks like getting points for gas when I use their card, and I’m pretty sure that stake thing is actually super illegal, so…”

                She trailed off. The men just stared at her, faces completely blank.

                “...so yeah? We’re still good? Still…” Noie heard a deep rumbling sound start up beside her; she glanced over to see Dipper baring his teeth at the angel, face contorted with rage. “Oh, he is… he is growling right now. Okay. Um, I think I’ve gotta go? So bye?”

                She stepped back, and stepped back again. The angel didn’t react, so she flashed a smile, snapped a wave, and dragged Dipper out of there at the fastest walking speed she could manage.

                She didn’t look back. She didn’t look at Dipper. She kept her eyes facing forwards, fixed on their bus as it pulled away from their stop and drove off into the distance.

                “Dipper? How’re we holding up, bro?”

                “Ughhhhh…”

                Noie made a face at her brother, who was currently crumpled on a bench outside the supermarket. She waved off some concerned-looking shoppers with a “Don’t worry, he’s okay!”, then gently pried one of his hands off his forehead and pressed a packet of frozen peas into it.

                “Here,” she said, and tucked a receipt into his pocket. “And keep this too, just in case. I’m ninety nine percent sure nobody’s gonna ask for it, but hey, people are jerks sometimes, y’know? Hah!”

                She laughed, but Dipper didn’t respond. He wasn’t very talkative at the moment - he hadn’t been since that encounter with the angel at the gates.

                The memory sent shivers down her spine, brought back flashes of glowing golden eyes, of growling, of looking down at the ache in her hand and seeing actual claw marks in her skin… Noie shook her head clear, and rose to her feet.

                “Alright, you wait here.” She hesitated before patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll be super quick, okay? Pinky promise.”

                Dipper managed a nod.

                “Yeah, that’s the spirit!” With a grin, she stepped away. “You’re the best, Dipper! Love you!”

                Noie took a few steps backwards… then a few more, and a few more not quite able to take her eyes off him. There was a pit in her stomach when she looked at him sitting there, all alone, with his head buried in a pack of frozen peas…

                Maybe this was a bad idea.

                Before she could think too much on it, there was a “Hey!” and Noie had to dodge a cart she’d wandered into the way of. The man pushing it shot her a glare. “Watch where you’re going!”

                “Sorry, sorry!” Her cheeks burned as he stalked past her. “Sorry…”

                Then she cleared her throat, glanced one last time back at Dipper, and made her way inside before she got in anybody else’s way.

                She’d be quick.

                Noie grabbed a basket from the side and held it in the crook of her elbow as she linked her fingers together. One hand rubbed the claw marks on the back of the other as she made a beeline to the fresh produce - it was right by the entrance - and picked out a head of garlic and some pumpkin seeds. She spotted some bananas and remembered they were out, but a split second later she also remembered Dipper hanging on for her for outside and skipped past them to find the painkillers.

                Ugh, the medicine aisle was all the way on the other side of the store. She rolled her eyes and broke out into a little jog as she made her way there; the extra strength ibuprofen was about halfway down the aisle, and she picked one out - no, two. Just in case.

                Noie tossed those into her basket, and grimaced at her little collection.

                Alright. That should keep Dipper from getting suspicious about this shopping trip.

                Now for what she actually needed to buy.

                Noie paced the aisles a little bit before she found the one she was looking for. Fridges full of frozen meals lined one side, and on the other was a man choosing between two bottles of wine; she pretended to stare at the frozen meals until he sighed, threw both of them in his cart, and shuffled off.

                With a shiver, she looked both ways and headed to a very small section tucked to the very back of the aisle, labelled ‘Vampire Products’. Between that title and the bright red bloodpacks dangling from each shelf, it was obvious a human like Noie was not supposed to be opening this particular fridge.

                So she did it quickly, and moved away to examine the squishy bag of gross that was now in her hands.

                It was cold to the touch. The plastic felt thin and clammy - kind of like seran wrap, Noie thought, and with that analogy in mind she was careful not to squeeze it too hard. The label was plain white and noticeably devoid of branding; apart from a logo and tagline tucked into the corner (‘Sated Solutions: Keeping Our Streets Safe Since 2029’), the rest of the space was packed with warnings, each one delivered with more CAPITALISED WORDS FOR EMPHASIS than an angry internet post:

BLOOD PACK FOR VAMPIRIC CONSUMPTION ONLY: 495ml WHOLE BLOOD, COLLECTION DATE 04/25/85

CAUTION: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR USE IN TRANSFUSIONS.

CAUTION: THIS PRODUCT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR GENERAL CONSUMPTION. CONSUMPTION OF HUMAN BLOOD MAY LEAD TO HEMOCHROMATOSIS (IRON OVERLOAD) WHICH CAN CAUSE ORGAN DAMAGE, IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT, CIRRHOSIS OF THE LIVER…

                It went on, and Noie skimmed the rest before gingerly placing it in her basket and proceeding to self-checkout. No drinking the blood, got it.

                She scanned the garlic and the seeds and the ibuprofen, and put them in a bag. Then, with a quick glance over her shoulder, she scanned the bloodpack and shoved it into another bag as fast as she could. She wrapped that bag up, put it in with the other stuff she’d bought, then got out her grandfather’s card and went to pay.

                The bloodpack was twenty-five dollars. Noie muttered a little ‘sorry’ to the card reader as she typed in his pin.

                (This was just a one time thing, she reasoned. She only needed it to last a few days… it’d last that long, right?)

                (Seriously, how much could a vampire even drink?)

                She doodled a little heart on the signature line, and took a deep breath to to steady her own racing pulse as she waited for the beep. Once it went through she pulled out the card, grabbed the bag, and darted for the exit.

                “Dipper? Dipper!” She called his name before she could even see the bench. She rounded the corner, and- “Dipper, there you are!”

                Dipper had sat up, and was giving her an odd look. “Yeah? You told me to wait-”

                “I’m sorry I was gone so long!” Noie wrapped him up in a hug. “I’ve got everything you wanted though, so- oh! How’s your head feeling?”

                “Not great, with you yelling in my ear like that.”

                “Sorry! I mean, sorry… You okay, though?”

                “Yeah… I’m feeling a little better.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’ll be fine, I just want to go home and lie down for a bit.”

                With a tight smile, Noie drew back. “That’s fair, bro. We’ll go home now.” She helped him to his feet. “We’ll go straight home, and you’ll go straight to bed, okay? Okay. Ohhh-kay.”

                Noie had this evening all planned out. Dipper was going to go sleep off his headache, so she’d take that time to slip the bloodpack to Lucy Ann. She could do that in five minutes, then go pick up a few more vampire books from Grandma’s study; if she dumped some heavy ones on his lap as soon as he woke up, she could probably keep him in his room all night. There’d be no chance of him even seeing the vampire!

                She opened the front door, grinning to herself. This was good! This was a good plan. Then she could wake up early, and do breakfast in bed...

                “Hey, kids!”

                Wait, what?

                “Good day at school? Say, aren’t you back earlier than this most days?”

                Noie stared at her grandfather, who was sitting in the dining room and reading an actual newspaper. She was about to ask where her grandma was when-

                Oh, stars.

                Oh, no...

                “Everything alright?” David frowned at them. “You two look terrible.”

                Dipper was already shuffling towards the bedroom. “We’re, uh, fine, Grandpa… I got a headache today.”

                “Another bad one, eh?”

                “Yeah. I’m going to lie down.”

                “You do that, kid. You’ll feel better.” David watched him go, forehead wrinkling in concern. “Might need to take him to the doctor… hey, Naomi, what’s the, uh… the number for the lady your brother sees? D’you know where Allie kept it?”

                Noie didn’t answer. She didn’t hear the question. She was too busy staring at her grandmother.

                Sitting outside.

                Talking.

                Laughing.

                Lucy Ann.

                “Naomi?”

                Where was Lucy Ann?

                “Naomi!”

                Noie blinked. Her grandfather was frowning at her, now.

                “Will you listen to me, kid? I was asking you a question. I wanted to make an appointment with the neurologist for your brother; I’m getting worried about all these headaches he’s been having lately-”

                “Oh, I can set that up.” She blurted out, then: “Why’s Grandma outside? Who’s she talking to?”

                “Huh?” David glanced outside. “Oh, uh, she’s… She came out with me while I was tryna see what was tapping at our porch this morning, and for some reason she didn’t want to come back inside. Wanted to keep sitting out there.” He stuck his nose back into the newspaper. “Don’t ask me why. It’s hot as… it’s hot today.”

                Noie watched Allie let out a laugh. She could hear the faintest bit of it come through the glass, loud and happy. “B-but who’s she talking t-”

                “She’s fine.” He cut her off. “Everything’s fine, she’s just… practicing an old speech of hers or something, I don’t know. I’m just waiting for her to come in so I don’t have to keep sitting on this damn chair - my back’s screaming for the couch, I tell you.” He looked down at the bag in her hands. “Did’ja go to the store?”

                “What? Oh, uh!” Noie hid the bag behind her. “I just- we got garlic.”

                “Were we-”

                “Yes, we were out!” Darting over to the counter, she dumped the garlic and - she’d find a home for it later - the pumpkin seeds into the fruit bowl, then squeezed past the dining table to get to the porch. “I’m going outside!”

                “What? No, don’t…” David hesitated, thought on it for a second, and then sighed. “I mean, uh, I guess you can if you really want to. I don’t know why I’m saying no, I don’t see the harm.”

                She gave him a hug as she passed his chair. “Thanks, Grandpa!”

                “What are you- oh, hugs, alright. Yes, yes, you’re very welcome for, uh… well I’ve been thinking, and, y’know, I say no to a lot of things that maybe don’t matter so much, and-”

                “Oh! You need to go away, Grandpa!”

                “Excuse me?”

                “I mean…” Noie tore her eyes away from the porch, and gave David an awkward smile. “Why don’t you let me keep an eye on Granny?”

                He raised an eyebrow. “You want to sit out there and watch her?”

                “Yeah! A-and you can go back to the couch and watch TV and not be right here?” Her smile stretched wide. “Doesn’t that sound nice? That sounds nice to me.”

                “I’m not sure… you know you can’t walk off on her, right?”

                “Of course! I would never do that!”

                “So you’re gonna stay out there as long as she’s out there?”

                “Pinky promise!”

                Hmmm…” He narrowed his eyes. “Why’re we so eager to look after Allie all of a sudden?”

                “Cause she’s my Granny and I love her? I don’t need a reason to wanna hang out with her!”

                “That’s… I suppose that’s true, but-”

                Noie forced a laugh as she plucked the newspaper out of his hands. “Besides, I have to rescue you from this. Don’t you get news on your phone?”

                David tensed at that; oops, she'd hit a nerve.

                “Ohh, can’t you get news on your phone?” He imitated her voice in a mocking falsetto, and she cringed. “Everyone’s like ohh, it’s so convenient, and then everyone’s wondering why journalism’s dying out - you know what happened once an old paper of mine stopped selling print?”

                “Grandpa-”

                “Suddenly ohh, we just don’t know if that story’s gonna get clicks, ‘cause suuure, that’s the important thing to talk about, the fucking clicks, ‘cause what else are we here to-”

                “Grandpa!” Noie nudged him away with a polite smile. “That’s really cool and important and all, but…” She glanced outside. “Um…”

                He rolled his eyes, and got to his feet with an exaggerated sigh. “Fine, I can take a hint. Nobody wants to hear what Grandpa has to say, he should just shut up and go watch TV.”

                “That’s not what I said!”

                “You keep a close eye on Allie.” He pointed at her with the newspaper. “That’s what you agreed to, and maybe that’s not convenient or whatever, but it’s important, and you young people’ve gotta learn it’s not one or the other.”

                “Young people? What are you even- I’m not gonna let her wander off, okay! Why do you think I’d ever do that?”

                “You gotta learn, is all I’m saying.” David shuffled off, rubbing his back. “You gotta learn.”

                “Alright, alright... sheesh.” Noie crossed her arms. “‘You young people’, oh, my stars. You think there was ever some old grump who said that to Grandpa back when he was a kid? Heh, I bet he was like ‘I wanna be just like you when I grow up!’”

                There was no reply. She looked around, and saw Dipper wasn’t standing next to her… oh, right. 

Tap, tap, tap.

                Noie turned around, and saw her grandmother tapping on the glass. Allie smiled and waved at her when they made eye contact, and there was a flicker of a figure from behind a wall running down one side of the porch.

                Oh, right.

                She gulped, drew the blinds, and gingerly stepped outside.

                The first thing she heard was, “Naomi!”

                “Hi, uh, Granny. I-”

                Arms came down and wrapped her in a hug. Allie squeezed her tight, tighter than she had in a long time. She tousled Noie’s hair and laughed; the sound was loud and loving, happy and carefree, and all the things Noie was going to say suddenly dried up on her tongue.

                “It’s so good to see you!” Allie pulled back, and there was a shine in her smile. “Oh, wow, you’ve grown, haven’t you! Shot up like a seed, a seaweed!” She leaned forward. “You taller than Dipper yet?”

                There was a lump in her throat. “I… um, I… I don’t... think so?”

                “Aww, you should measure. Round your age, you’ll proberbe taller… pr-, properly? No, ‘probably’ ‘be’ taller.” She snorted to herself. “Words, Allie. What are we doing here?”

                Noie just stared. It was strange, to see her grandmother like this: so animated, so responsive, so happy, so… herself.

                Not because it was unfamiliar, because it wasn’t. Her hug, her laugh, her smile, and how it gave way to concern as she noticed the look on Noie’s face; this was all so, so familiar, and suddenly, she missed it so, so badly.

                “Naomi? Sweetie?” Allie squeezed her shoulders. “What’s the matter?”

                She just shook her head and hugged her Grandma. There were no words to explain it, and maybe Allie realised that, too; she just held Noie close, and rocked her a little, and for a moment, wrapped up warm and safe in her arms, everything really was okay.

                Everything was as it should be.

                Then Allie noticed someone. Noie felt her stiffen, and wiped her eyes before looking up questioningly.

                She was frowning at the wall behind the porch… and the figure currently trying to flatten herself against it. The confusion slowly turned to recognition, and then:

                “Is that… is that Lucy Ann? Oh, my stars!”

                Wait, what?

                Noie just had time to go, “Huh?” before she was almost pushed aside in a sudden dash over to the vampire. Lucy Ann stopped trying to hide; she stood up straight, and shot a glance at Noie before putting on her best smile and extending a hand.

                “Uh, hi. Yeah, it’s me again.”

                “Oh my stars, Lucy Ann!” Allie shook her hand vigorously, her words tumbling out of her mouth - almost nervously. “It’s- it’s an honour! I can believe I’m finely meaning you, I never fought I’d see- I… oh, where armyanners?” She gave one more firm shake, and her smile straightened into something more professional. “I’m Senator Aleksandra Argenta, from Southern Arizona. It really is a pleasure to meet you.”

                With wide eyes, Noie watched Lucy Ann look from Allie’s disheveled grey hair down to her faded blue nightgown and bare feet, then dip her head and say: “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Senator. Big fan of your work.”

                “You guys know each other?!”

                Allie turned to Noie, and her smile brightened even further. “Oh, Naomi! You’re here!” She dashed up to her and gave her another huge hug. “It’s so good do see you! Howave you been? How’s school? Oh wow, you’ve gotten so much taller!”

                “I-” Noie pointed at Lucy Ann. “I don’t… How do you…?”

                Lucy Ann chuckled. “Oh, I might’ve made a couple names for myself over the years. I’m surprised you didn’t recognise me with a grandma this cool, though I’ll cut you some slack - I didn’t recognise Argenta either.” Her grin sharpened. “Guess I didn’t see the resemblance.”

                “What?”

                “Naomi, you have to meet this, this!” Allie took her hand and dragged her right up to the vampire. “This is Lushiann, she was instruments in taking down the Chancellor admini-uh-instrumentation acapple decades ago! Living histree!”

                “What?”

                “There was a very pro-nat President you guys elected a hundred years or so back.” Lucy Ann crossed her arms. “Me and a Mizar and some friends, we, uh, ‘took care’ of her.”

                “Oh…” Naomi tried for a smile. “That’s nice. Good job?”

                “Yeah, I’d say saving millions of preters from getting hunted down by the government was a pret-ty good job.”

                “And we’re still fighting for pretrights.” Allie grumbled. “Laws from back then, they’re still on the books and peter-epresentation is still at history lows - you know itsstimated seventy percent of pre-transcendaged citisents are-egistered devote?”

                “Seventeen percent registered to vote, yeah.” Lucy Ann shook her head. “Used to require everyone to have a US birth certificate, no exceptions, and, uh, that’s rather hard for folks whose birth certificate - if they had one - predates the United States.”

                “I can’t believe that’s still alaw, I have a bill going through committeen right now to strike that one out.”

                “Yeah, and it passed.”

                “Oh, it passed?” Allie blinked, and then smiled. “Ohh, it did, didn’t it? That’s wonderful! Still a lot of work to do, though.”

                Lucy Ann nodded. “You can say that again.”

                “I’ll say it as many timesi need to.” She chuckled. “Some of my colleaks could use the reminder.”

                The two of them laughed, and Noie just stared. The scene was too utterly bizzare for her to process; all she could think was what the fuck was going on?

                There was a hand on her shoulder. Allie shot her a grin.

                “Naomi, it’s so good to see you! Oh, my stars, you’ve come at such a good time!” She motioned to Lucy Ann. “This is Lucy Ann - you’verurdove Lucy Ann, right?”

                Noie nodded weakly. “She took down a bad president?”

                “A bad pro-nat president.” Lucy Ann added. “Don’t you forget that bit.”

                “Sorry.”

                “Lucy Ann was such an inspiritasion for me getting in-tolitics.” Allie sighed. “You know, my sister got bitten when she was for a teen, and it was such a rightmare getting anything done for her… I was like, Lucy Ann showed us a hundred yearsago this was unexpectable! Why’s she still gotta deal with this? Someone’s gotta changeings!” She laughed, and squeezed Noie’s shoulder. “And I know we got quite a promisting young lady here who-onts to... to do good change things too.”

                Noie stiffened when Lucy Ann looked her way. “Uh…-”

                “Oh, yeah? She’s gonna be a senator too?”

                “I mean, I don’t know if I-”

                “She’s certainly got it in her, if she wants to.” Allie beamed down at her. “You’re a talented young lady, Naomi. Don’t short your sell short, you’re going to do amazing things. You and Dipper, I can’t wait to see what you do.”

                Noie didn’t know what to say to that. Lucy Ann pursed her lips.

                “Well, you’re not wrong, she’d certainly fit right in as a politician.” She cleared her throat. “Uh, Senator?”

                “Yes?”

                “It’s been really, really great chatting with you… seriously, you have no idea how much I appreciate the company.” She gave a barking laugh, and picked at the blood under her fingernails. “But, uh, d’you think I could, y’know, speak with your granddaughter for a sec? One on one?”

                “You want to do that?” Allie raised her eyebrows. “Oh, that sounds like exciting! What do you say, Nomi?”

                Noie glanced at Lucy Ann, who was giving her a very hard look beneath that smile. She made a face.

                “Uh, sure, I guess?”

                “Naomi,” there was gentle laughter in her grandmother’s voice. “I think you can say that a littleit more politely.”

                “...Yes? Thank you?”

                Lucy Ann’s smirk was hard to look at. “Oh, don’t mention it. You know I’m here all day.”

                “Really? What’s the occasion?”

                “Don’t worry about it, Senator. I’ll, uh, tell you later.” Lucy Ann waved her away. “Give me a second with Noie, alright?”

                “Oh, you want to talk with my granddaughter? That sounds exciting, Naomi, what do you-”

                “I need to walk you back to Grandpa!” Noie tugged her towards the door. “Uh, I’ll be back in a second!”

                Lucy Ann raised an eyebrow. “You’d better.”

                “I-I will!” She opened the door for Allie. “Come on, Granny.”

                “Where are we going?”

                “To Grandpa! To, uh, David!” Slowly, Noie coaxed her into the house. “Come on!”

                Allie frowned, but she let herself be led down the hall and into the living room. David gave her a wave when she sat Allie down next to him; he put his arm around his wife and looked back to the TV with a little grunt of thanks.

                Noie was just walking away when she heard, “Can you ask Lucy Ann when she’s free?”

                She spun around to stare at her, then at David. “Wh-what?”

                “I’d love to see her again.” Allie smiled. “Maybe I can invite her over to our house. For tea.”

                Noie just gaped at her grandmother, at a loss for words. After a moment, David waved her away.

                “I got her, Naomi.” He squeezed Allie’s shoulder. “Good to have you back, I was… Uh, you wanna watch anything in particular? I’m just clicking through channels - so much of it’s a bunch of crap. Ugh.”

                She backed up, staring at her grandmother for one more moment. Then she turned around and darted back through the halls and back outside.

                Lucy Ann was waiting for her, feet right up against the open door and all pretense of a smile dropped from her face. She raised her eyebrows when she caught sight of Noie.

                “Oh, you actually came back. Gotta admit, I was ninety percent sure you were just saying that.” She stepped to the side to let Noie through. “I was thinking of just screaming ‘DIPPER YOU’RE ALCOR’ through the door - y’know, since you left it open and all.”

                She slid the door closed. “Um, please don’t do that.”

                “Oh of course, it’d be very inconvenient for you, wouldn’t it.”

                “No, that’s-! Look,” Noie threw her bag on the table and fished out the bloodpack. “I got this for you, so I’m not gonna let you die, alright? Everything’s going to be okay, so if you could just wait here a little longer, I’m working on a plan-”

                “Of telling Dipper he’s Alcor?”

                “No, but-”

                “How long’s this plan gonna take?”

                “Uh, I don’t think it’ll be too long-”

                “Do you take constructive criticism?” She crossed her arms. “Or is it not quite out of the brainstorming stage?”

                “Uh… look, I have it under-”

                “No, you look, Noie!” Lucy Ann picked up the bloodpack with balled fists. “Look at this! This is insulting! I am not your pet! I am not going to stand in this fucking yard thirty feet from the only person who can actually help while you run around making stupid little plans that won’t fucking work!” She noticed Noie pressed up against the glass, and took a very deep breath. “Okay. Look, I am sorry this is so hard for you, but Dipper is Alcor, and an angel is trying to kill me, and I am sick and tired of sitting around in your yard doing nothing - I have a life to get back to!”

                “I…” Noie gulped. “I’m sorry, I-”

                “Don’t be sorry, just go get Alcor!” She stared Noie down. “Well?”

                “Um, i-it’s just-”

                “Ohhhh my starrrrs…” Lucy Ann dropped the bloodpack and kneaded her forehead. “How are you related to Senator Argenta? Just… how?”

                “She’s… she’s my grandma?” Noie cringed when Lucy Ann started banging her head against a wall. “Uh… did you… did you actually know her?”

                “Didn’t know her - I just met her this morning - but I knew of her, back when she was a senator.” She rested her head against the brick. “She did good work. And she was a real interesting lady to talk to, real passionate… I’m sorry she’s, y’know…”

                “Alzheimer's.”

                Lucy Ann sighed. “Yeah, I figured. That sucks, it really does.”

                “It’s okay.”

                “...You know, not everything has to be okay all the time.”

                Noie didn’t know what to say to that. She stared at Lucy Ann, and after a moment, the vampire turned to look at her.

                “Are you gonna go get Alcor for me?”

                She said nothing, and watched Lucy Ann’s eyes go flat. The vampire looked down again, down at the floor, and suddenly it was hard to ignore how small she was. How young she seemed, in a dirty red shawl several sizes too big for her.

                “Then I don’t know why you’re still standing there.”

                That made Noie cringe. “Do, uh, do you want me-”

                “To go? Yeah, I think that would be best.” She scuffed her feet against the porch. “I gotta lot of thinking to do: gotta figure out how to get to Alcor on my own and that’s… not easy. But hey, don’t let me stop you from living your life. Go inside.”

                Noie stepped back. She stepped back again. She opened the door, and glanced over at Lucy Ann one more time-

                “Seriously? Just go already!”

                Then slid it shut and walked away with her arms clasped around her chest, cradling the deep, sinking feeling in her stomach.

                This was fine. Or at least, it was going to be fine.

                She just had to hold it all together for a few more days.

                Just a few more days…

Chapter Text

                It was stuffy in the sitting room. Noie’s back stuck to the couch, and heat flowed to her face, to her feet, to her fingers, pooling unpleasantly. She tried to just ignore it and read her book, but the moonlight was faint, and it was hard to lose yourself in a story you could barely see.

                After a couple minutes of squinting hard and trying anyway, she finally gave in and got up with a sigh.

                Her feet touched down on linoleum, and that felt cool against the skin… but not cooling. It warmed with contact instead of cooling her down, and she grimaced.

                When she shifted her feet, the sound of them unsticking from the floor was the only sound to be heard.

                And the air, warm and stagnant like a puddle drying up in the sun, like a weight pressing down on her, like a heavy blanket trapping her heat, trapping her, trapping her and only her and you’re screwing this up you’re doing this wrong and Dipper could die…

                Noie fought a lump in her throat. “I know,” she told the room, told the inky figure of the fireplace in front of her. Her words came out too loud, and she cringed as she bookmarked her place, heard her thoughts shout louder still, heard them yell and scream that SHE WAS MESSING THIS ALL UP HOW COULD SHE NOT SEE DIDN’T SHE CARE THAT DIPPER COULD DIE-

                “I know,” Noie whispered, and it was spoken so quietly silence could drown her out.

                Stars, she was doing something wrong. She could feel it in her thoughts, in her chest, in the way her vision blurred and she dropped her book to rub it all away as fast as she could and then she just held her face, pressed her palms into her sockets until spots danced across the back of her eyelids and she could try and focus on those…

                Her hands felt sweaty. Her face was getting hot. This wasn’t working.

                Noie spread her fingers, and through the cracks she glared at the backdoor.

                If only she could get some fresh air.

                After a moment, Noie let out a long groan, and let her hands drag down her face. They fell, and hung limp from her shoulder joints, and she wondered what she was going to do now.

(Or more accurately, and the ghost of a smile flitted across her face at this, how she was going to stop wondering and maybe get some sleep tonight)

                An idea came to her.

                She tensed up when she thought of it. A little frown creased her face, and she shook her head at first like no, no… But her foot did unpeel itself from the floor.

                She took a step forward, and then another. And then another.

                And then another, and in this way, she made her way, down the hallway.

                Past her bedroom, though she stopped to look inside. To peer into the darkness, and hear it breathing. Her face darkened, and she eased the door shut, so careful not to make a noise she couldn’t help but hold her breath.

                Then onward. There was a bend in the hallway that led to the living room, and her grandparent’s room, but straight ahead was a door. It was hard to make out in darkness, but when she reached out and felt for the handle… ah, there it was.

                This door creaked when Noie opened it. It creaked even if she went slowly, and she bit her lip and prayed it wasn’t really as deafening as it sounded right now. Once there was a crack wide enough to slip through, she left it be, and slipped through the crack.

                Slipped through, to the odd little room that was her grandmother’s study.

                There was a window directly across from Noie, and she could see the moon shining through it. Pale light illuminated a desk in the centre; silhouetted the big computer monitor and dozens of smaller picture frames perched on its surface. Beyond the desk, the light danced with specks of dust in the air, scattered little shadows over the carpet, then came to rest on some loose papers and a couple boxes placed against the wall.

                It was strange. Noie didn’t come in this room very often; in the past few days she’d snuck in here in here to look for vampire books, but that wasn’t something she normally did. The study had always felt weird to be in, but the moonlight bleached it clean of anything vaguely recognisable and now it was eerie, ghostly, alien. She could barely see the bookshelves on either side of the window. Picture frames took on an ethereal gleam while the pictures they held stayed faceless in shadow. Everything was black or white, hidden or shown, one or the other, with no room for details in between.

                She looked to the side, at the light switch sitting by the door. Maybe she should press it… but if anyone woke up, they’d be able to tell she was in here, and then they’d come in and ask her what she was doing and that might be - well, a little hard to give an answer to. 

                Noie gave a wry smile as she moved from the door. Hard, because she didn’t really have an answer to begin with.

                As she walked forwards, she felt how different the carpet was to the rest of the house; heavy with shag, it ate the sound of footsteps, leaving a silence that put her on edge. It was like the scene in every horror movie where the music drops out - she was primed for a jumpscare.

                Even though it was silly. Nothing was going to jump out of the shadows, and nothing did.

                She did bump into the desk and almost scream, but that was her fault for not paying attention.

                “Aaah-! Ohhhh, you…” Noie took a deep breath, waiting for her heart to settle. “Are just a desk, aren’t you. You’re just a desk… I got scared by a desk. Cool, that was, that was not an overreaction at all. Good job, brain. Gooood job.”

                With a little chuckle, she let her eyes wander down to the all the picture frames sitting in front of her. It hadn’t been an exaggeration to say there were dozens; the house used to have these pictures everywhere, pictures sitting atop every counter, on every coffee table, in every room.

                Noie picked up one, and tilted it towards the moonlight.

                Pictures of David, and Allie, and a young Leon. Pictures of a happy family spending time together. Pictures that tugged on her chest in an odd way, because she really didn’t know if she’d ever seen her Grandpa smile like that.

                She certainly didn’t remember her Grandma looking that young, that present - all suited up, with a sharpness in her eyes that was gone now - and then… well, and then there was the brown-haired kid beaming up at her, and she certainly knew that his name was Leon and he’d grow up to be her father.

                Beyond that, things stopped being so certain.

                Noie stared at the picture for a few more moments, and then placed it back with all the others. David had pretty much taken all these pictures down by the time she was eleven; he did it slowly, so she didn’t really notice them going.

                She picked up another one. This one was the three of them again, but older and joined by her mother; huh, she’d picked up one of the pictures with her in it. There weren’t all that many because she liked to be the one taking photos - that was what her Grandpa told her once.

                “Nice lady,” he’d also said. “She was always real nice to us… a bit shy, kept to herself, but nice. Wish I could’ve known her better.”

                And that was all Noie would learn of Pinni Argenta. It was funny seeing her mother in photos, because for as little as she knew about her, they shared such a striking resemblance: her mother had the same thick black hair, the same short, solid build, the same sunkenness to her eye sockets that made her look a little intense if she wasn’t smiling.

                It was funny, because all those similarities made her see something other than shyness when she looked at these pictures. She was clinging to Leon’s arm, true, and she wasn’t quite looking at the camera, and her smile was a little distant… but it wasn’t tense. Nothing about her looked tense - only thoughtful, like something had crossed her mind as this photo was being taken and drawn her away from the moment. She had her sealskin coat on, and one hand was fiddling with the collar, much like how Noie fiddled with her shirt when she was thinking something over.

                As she was doing now. Noie smiled when she noticed that, and glanced one last time back at the picture.

                She saw how Leon leaned into her, too, how he had his arm around her shoulders, his engagement ring glinting on the hand that held her close.

                She saw his beaming grin, his eyes shining bright with so much happiness and hope for the future… and she put the picture back.

                Maybe it was a good thing David took them down.

                They were good pictures, and it was nice to look at them from time to time, but they didn’t really feel like pictures of her family. They made her feel weird - not bad, exactly, but kind of hollow in her chest.

                She didn’t think she’d like looking at them every day.

                It was quiet for a moment, and Noie stood still, lost in thought.

                                “One moment, please.”

                Noie wasn’t surprised to hear this by the gates the next morning. She suppressed a groan; couldn’t this angel guy find any other time to talk to her?

                She felt Dipper’s nails digging into her skin, and gritted her teeth. Seriously, any other time. That’d be great.

                                “Ah, yes, I am here now.” The officer shuddered, blinked hard, then grinned down at her. “Apologies, child. I am guiding many minds today, making all the necessary preparations for your brother. It will all be in place soon, have patience.”

                “Uh, alright. Good… job?” She shuffled forwards. “I’ll just-”

                                “But do not worry, child, that does not mean I have neglected in my duties to you.” He moved to cut her off. “When I assured you of my support, those were not empty words; indeed, an angel like myself is incapable of such deceit. Did you know that?”

                “Um, I-”

                                “I am glad you know that now, so you will believe me when I tell you I have nothing but humanity’s best interests in mind.” The officer put a hand on her shoulder, and his grin turned… almost wistful. “You are flawed, but I forgive you your moral failings - they are born of living in a flawed world. Even I cannot stay so innocent here.”

                Noie took a step back. She didn’t know what to say to that, and Dipper’s growl when she nudged him back was not helping. The officer cleared his throat.

                                “But I digress. I see you have a math test today.”

                “I do?” She had no memory of that; right now, school was so far down her list of priorities it was almost laughable. “Oh, heh, thanks for reminding me, I guess. I should go cram for that - think you could let me through? You’re, uh, cutting into study time now, so that’s… yeah.”

                The officer just stared at her, and she trailed off into an awkward silence. It stretched for a long moment before he cleared his throat, and spoke.

                                “I shall be watching over you, child.” He said, then he stepped to the side. “Good luck with your studies.”

                “Uh, thanks, I guess.” She walked a wide circle around him. “Good luck with… that. Bye!”

                Noie sped away with Dipper in tow and didn’t slow down until they were inside the building, far away from his gaze. She still felt watched, but she could push it aside for now; she could deal with her brother.

                She looked back at him, and cringed at the glow in his eyes. Yep, this needed to be dealt with.

                “Hey, Dipper,” she spoke softly, putting her hand on his shoulder and coaxing him over to the edge of the hallway. “It’s okay. You’re okay, you can wake up now.”

                He just curled his lip. A low, distorted growl emanated from him, and Noie’s smile twisted in on itself. She squeezed his shoulder, drew him into a hug, held him close and shut her eyes and tried to pretend this was all normal, this was all just her and Dipper with no demons or angels in between.

                “You can wake up now. It’s okay, I’ve got you.” She clung to him, burying her face into his shoulder, whispering, “I’ve got you, I’ve got you, I’ve got you…”

                He shifted his weight. His grip tightened on her hand. “M͠iza̛r͜?̧” he asked, and she shook her head.

                “No, Dipper. I’m Noie, I’m-”

                “M̙̻͎͔̞̰ͅi͚͙͖̟ṉ͓͍͉̭̙e̲̥̮͉.̪͇͓̘̝͘ͅ”

                She stiffened at that voice. The menace in it stopped her heart, and she flinched when his arm came up and clasped around her. It didn’t feel like a hug.

                “S̼̲̟̬̩h҉̞̪̱͙̙e̹͕̼̭͢ͅ ̯̱i̞̬̙s͖̳̤ͅ ̛̭̬͈͚̯̝m͖̩̩̘̦i͈̜͕̗n̩̣̯̜̘̰e̯͇̩͙̦̜,” He growled, and Noie couldn’t breathe. She didn’t dare to. “S̼̲̟̬̩h҉̞̪̱͙̙e̹͕̼̭͢ͅ ̯̱i̞̬̙s͖̳̤ͅ ̛̭̬͈͚̯̝m͖̩̩̘̦i͈̜͕̗n̩̣̯̜̘̰e̯͇̩͙̦̜, S̼̲̟̬h҉̞̪̱͙̙e̹͕̼̭͢ͅ ̯̱i̞̬̙s͖̳̤ͅ ̛̭̬͈m͖̩̩̘̦i͈̜͕n̩̣̯̜̘̰e̯͇̩͙̦̜, S̼̲̟̬̩h҉̞̪̱͙̙e̹͕͢ͅ ̯̱i̞̬̙s͖ͅ ̛̭̬m͖̩̩̘i͈̜͕̗n̩̣̯̜e̯͇̩, sh͡e ̷is..͢.”

                And slowly, it faded away, until Noie couldn’t hear him over the thumping of her heart. She felt him go slack; pins and needles flooded her hand as his grip loosened. He sagged against her, moaning in pain, and the reverb had vanished from his voice, but… 

                Well, it took a second for Noie to embrace him again. Her eyes were still wide, and her hand was still throbbing, and that voice - stars, that anger - was still echoing through her mind.

                She is mine, it said, she is mine, SHE IS MINE!

                And she stared at the far wall, and she patted Dipper’s shoulder, and she didn’t hear the bell go off over all that shouting.

                They weren’t black, but they were blackened. And cracked; the ends were all chipped, and a few of them were splitting down the middle. Red and inflamed skin lined each one, quickly fading to a colour that was pale, maybe even blue - it was hard to tell in this lighting.

                Noie squinted up at the fading evening light, and wondered how long she’d been studying Dipper’s fingernails. Judging by how dark it’d gotten, probably way too long.

                Stars, she was going crazy.

                Or maybe she wasn’t.

                But she probably was.

                But she probably wasn’t, too. Who knows? Who even fucking knows anymore?

                With a long, deep sigh, she brought her hands up to her face, and pressed them against her eyelids, pressed hard. She could hear her heart beating, and the muffled sound of her grandparents watching TV in the living room, and she could hear Dipper dying right in front of her right now-

                He wasn’t dying. No, he wasn’t dying, okay?

                He was just… getting sicker, and sleeping more, and zoning out. She didn’t even really need to distract him with vampire books anymore; she was more worried she’d leave him behind in a classroom, sitting there blankly, staring at a wall…

                And that morning after he went all demon, he said he threw up blood in the bathroom, and the terror in his face-

                He wasn’t dying! All these headaches maybe weren’t great for him, but he wasn’t dying! She wasn’t going to let him die. She had a plan, okay?

                She had a plan! Everything was fine, she had a plan! She. Had. A. Plan.

                EVERYTHING WAS FINE, SHE HAD A PLAN SO CALM THE FUCK DOWN.

                Noie exhaled, and glowered at her shaking hands. “I’m talking to you guys,” she told them. “What’re you even freaking out about, huh?”

                They clenched.

                “Yeah. That’s what I thought.” She snorted. “Take that… literally just my hands. Stars, what am I doing? What am I doing.”

                Dipper groaned; she remembered he was there and clamped her mouth shut. She thought she might’ve woken him up when he shifted, but it was him rolling onto his side, pulling the blankets tighter around his body like a little cocoon.

                She gave a wry smile at that. How on Earth did he sleep with blankets? It was so stuffy in here, she was sweating in a tank top.

                ...

                His forehead felt like ice. But then again she ran hot, so it could just be her fault. It could always be her fault.

                Noie’s eyes strayed down to the blackened claws tipping each of her brother’s fingers.

                Who knows, she thought, rubbing the band-aids on her hand.

                Between angels and vampires and Dipper dying in her arms, who even knows anymore.

                “Please don’t die.” Noie said. She felt a lump in her throat. “Please don’t die.”

                It was now dark outside. The sun had set on them both.

                “Please don’t die.”

Chapter Text

                Who was Dipper talking to?

                “Huh? I don’t… huh?” Looking up from the bus’s window, Noie saw Dipper frowning at a phone call. He rubbed his face. “No, I can hear you, I just… could you say that one more time?”

                Noie arched an eyebrow. He blinked at her.

                “I’m a…? What? Who is this?”

                “Who’re you talking to?”

                “Um - one second Noie - wait I don’t understand, you’re calling from Grandma’s phone, who is-”

                She snatched it out of his hand.

                “Hey! Noie!”

                Putting it to her ear, she heard, “-that the thing you’re focusing on? Who cares what phone I’m calling from, you are Alcor the Dreambender!”

                Noie’s stomach dropped. Lucy Ann.

                “You’re a demon in human disguise, okay? And I can explain but I need your help to… hello? You still there?”

                “...Hi.” She managed. Her voice was very small, and she cringed at the groan that came through the line. 

                “Oh great, it’s you.”

                “Um…” Dipper was frowning at her; she flashed a bright smile. ”No! No, thank you! We’re not interested!”

                “What are you- are you trying to pass me off as a telemarketer?”

                “No no, sorry, um… no, not interested! Please don’t call again!”

                “You are just the worst, you know that?”

                Noie barked a laugh. “Hah, yeah, so thank-you-have-a-nice-day-bye!”

                “Yeah yeah, fuck y-”

                She whipped the phone away from her face and jabbed the red button until it hung up. The screen went back to normal, and she breathed a massive sigh of relief.

                Crisis averted.

                “Who was that?” Dipper’s voice made her jump. “Why’d you-”

                “Nobody! Just- telemarketer!”

                He frowned at her. “What are you talking about? They were calling from Grandma’s phone, how did someone-”

                “They can do that!” She clutched his phone to her chest. “It’s the, um- can’t think of the word right now but it’s a thing and don’t worry about it! Wow, look, we’re close to school!”

                “Spoofing.”

                “Yeah it’s spoofing!” She blinked. “Wait, what word is that?”

                Dipper was rubbing his head. “That’s what you were saying, they can spoof phone numbers, to… to, ugh. ” With a groan, he curled forwards, putting his face in his hands and mumbling, “Sorry, head is killing me right now…”

                “Oh, no,” Noie said, a little distantly. She was staring down at his phone, at the ‘1 New Text Message(s)’ on his lockscreen. Her heart thumped in her chest; after a moment’s hesitation, she bit her lip, tapped in his password and checked it out, just to be safe.

                The text was… an automatic reminder from their history class that the project was due next week.

                Oh, okay.

                She went back to his message history, and stared at the list of his recent conversations.

                Nothing. Okay.

                Went to close his phone, but paused there. There could be a message coming from Lucy Ann any second, she thought. That could really be a problem; it only took one message to ruin this.

                It only took one second.

                It only took one single slipup, and… okay, she had to deal with this.

                Noie sucked in a breath, and shot a glance over at her brother. He was still cradling his head, fingers clutching at his hair... his thinner, paler fingers tipped with claws, she noticed.

                (And his hair, was it thinner? It almost looked thinner to her…)

                With a hard swallow, she turned off his phone, and slipped it into her backpack.

                Okay, she thought for the rest of the ride.

                Okay.

                When their stop came up and Dipper dazedly asked for his phone back, she said she’d already given it to him. He was frowning and patting his pockets as they crossed the street into the parking lot, but she ignored him.

                That was okay, she thought. He’d forget about it in just a second now.

                The gates. The angel. The lump in her throat. They were all getting so close now, and that was okay.

                Noie squeezed his hand. It was okay. It was okay. It was okay, okay?

                And when Dipper squeezed back hard, claws digging into her skin… that was okay, too.

                Everything would be okay, as long as she trusted the plan.

                                “One moment, please.”

                Ugh, another one of these. There’d be more talk, and there’d be more growling, and Noie just stood there, dreading it. It was okay, too, but stars, she wasn’t in the mood. She’d gotten so little sleep last night - did she sleep at all?

                She… didn’t actually know, and that made her snort. Not a good sign.

                The angel started to talk, now, and Noie just closed her eyes, let his words wash over her, heard all about how the preparations are just about in place, it won’t be much longer, you’ve done well so far for a human. And that’s all I need; my plans would never demand perfection from you. I would never burden one of my chosen with more than they could handle.

                Slowly, Noie opened her eyes. He’d stepped to the side, so she walked forwards, bringing Dipper along with her. 

                                Not to say that your burden has been light, my child. You have struggled more than was expected with it, and… that does sadden me. I admit these morning conversations have been quite endearing; I do so love humans, but an angel such as myself has duties to attend to and I rarely have the opportunity to interact with one, as I do with you.

                                …to form a bond, as I have with you.

                She kept walking. Kept walking, and a smile was put on her face. She was smiling… huh.

                                We are friends, are we not? I believe us to be friends, and that is why it would sadden me if what I placed upon your shoulders caused you feelings of resentment towards me. I forgive you, of course, if they do -  you may never understand the good I am doing here, and no personal attachment would ever distract me from bringing about your salvation, from bringing about the salvation of all my chosen people. If some of them must hate me to be saved, then that is unfortunate, but that is a burden I will carry for you.

                She nodded to herself, like that made sense. Kept walking.

                                But I do hope that we remain as friends after this.

                Kept walking. Not towards the math building. Into the nurse’s office, and that was a little strange but maybe she was taking Dipper there. Yeah, that made sense.

                                Perhaps I can lighten your burden, and that will cause you to look on me more favourably.

                Kept walking, over to the beds. She rubbed her eyes - huh, she was suddenly quite tired. She sat down, laid down, and that made sense.

                                ... There.

                She closed her eyes, and the angel’s smile stretched across her face.

                                “You are welcome,” he said with her voice. With her eyes, he watched her drift off to sleep.

                Noie opened her eyes. She was standing at the bus stop, and it was the end of the day.

                She blinked, then frowned. It was the end of the day already?

                …

                Yeah, her phone said it was two thirty. Huh. That felt like it went by fast; heh, time flies when you’re a master of sleeping through school, right? Dipper didn’t know what he was missing out on.

                Dipper… Dipper!

                He was right behind her, slumped across the bus stop’s bench. The second Noie spotted him, a smile she didn’t know she was wearing fell right off her face. The past few days hit her like a truck, and ohhhh riiight, everything kind of sucked right now, didn’t it?

                Oh, shit! Everything really sucked right now! Wh- uh, what was she- how was she gonna-?

                No, wait, fuck, the bus was coming right now!

                “Dipper? Dipper, the bus!” She frantically tapped his shoulder. “Come on, you gotta get up!”

                He just moaned, and when she pulled him upright oh my stars he definitely didn’t look that bad when they woke up. A nosebleed had dried on his deathly pale face, and his eyes, half-lidded and unfocused, kept glitching to gold.

                “Dipper…” Noie breathed. Her stomach dropped, but then she heard the bus pull up behind them - no time to freak out.

                (No time, never any time-)

                Stuffing it down, she made his hand cover his nose and tried to plaster on a smile as she led him up to the bus.

                Fare money, fare money… argh, she should’ve gotten this ready before they got on! Thank the stars the driver took one look at Dipper and waved them through; that was a good bit of luck.

                Noie all-but carried Dipper to the back of the bus and propped him up in the corner seat. She tried not to look at him as she fished out a box of tissues, and stared at her own hand as she cleaned up the blood on his face.

                ...There, all gone. A nervous chuckle - good as new, right?

                Right?

                She cupped his cheek, and smiled when, a moment later, he leaned into her hand. His skin.. it felt clammy, his eyes were still flickering, and suddenly Noie was struggling to keep that smile on her face. Her jaw trembled, her lips twitched, her breath caught-

                Then she drew it all back. Sat forwards. Stared straight ahead. Drummed on her legs for a second then got out her phone.

                Dipper groaned, and she stared down. Scrunched up the fabric of her shirt, and squeezed until she had a lid back on the pressure in her chest.

                Only then did she dare to sneak a glance at her brother. It looked like he’d fallen asleep; his eyes were closed, and she couldn’t see what they looked like anymore.

                Okay.

                Ohhh-kay.

                This was still fine. There was still a plan, and that was weird but nothing had really changed, she could still fix this. Just keep him away from Lucy Ann and everything would be fine, everything would go back to normal.

                She nodded to herself, like that made sense. Hopefully her Grandpa wasn’t sitting in the kitchen today, she thought.

                Even he’d probably get all nosey if he saw Dipper like this, and that was the last thing she needed right now.

                Washing dishes at three in the morning. Noie had to be quiet; she extracted a mug from the clutter in the sink with surgical precision, and let the tap dribble water over it.

                Then she took the sponge, and scrubbed hard.

                Scrubbed harder than she needed to.

                Scrubbed hard enough that her arms started to burn, hard enough that her breath got harsh and her shirt got stuffy.

                Hard enough that she didn’t have to think about anything, or anyone.

                Scrubbed like she wanted to shatter this mug.

Scrubbed, like she wanted

to scour it all down

                to

nothing.

…

                And then she gave up. Panting, she tossed it in the drying rack. Picked out something else.

                Tried it all over again, because this was good.

Her jaw ached from being clenched.

                She’d been a little stressed from all this Dipper business, you know? She needed to let off some steam-

Her back hurt. Her neck was killing her.

                 -and this way, she was being productive about it! That was great, right?

Stars, her eyelids were burning.

                This was fine. This was fine… and besides, she couldn’t complain.

She was going to scream.

                It was Dipper who was really struggling, you know? She was doing this all for him.

She had to do everything for him.

                And she didn’t mind. She didn’t mind doing things for people. It was fine.

She had to do everything around this fucking house-

                It was fine! It was fine. You know, she’d appreciate a ‘thank you’ once in a while, but hey, it wasn’t like she was expecting one at this point so it doesn’t really matter what she thinks, does it!

shoved her sponge into a glass and soap splattered everywhere and it slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor and-

                Noie caught it. Her hand shot out and she caught it before it hit the ground.

Before it shattered and woke everyone up.

                Heart hammering in her chest, she glared at it. Glared at the soapy water now running down her arm.

Shattered, and then her Grandpa would storm over and he wasn’t going to talk to her about all the dishes she did perfectly, now was he?

He wouldn’t even notice.

                She gripped the glass until her knuckles went white.

                Nobody noticed. Nobody even cared until she messed up, and then they just got mad at her even though she was trying to help and she was going to break this glass.

                That thought popped into her head, and suddenly she was, she was. Noie backed up, trembling with fury, and glanced at the backyard. No, dammit, she couldn’t go out the backdoor-

                The front door! She jerked herself towards it and tried so hard to keep herself from wrenching it open - blood thundered past her ears as she did it slowly, narrowed her vision until she couldn’t see anything but getting outside come on come on FUCKING COME ON-

                Then she slipped through, darted out onto the driveway, and with every once of force in her body, every scrap of stress and frustration and guilt and worry and fury she’d kept to herself for god knows how long-

                Naomi Argenta hurled the glass straight at the concrete and utterly annihilated it out of existence.

                …

                She let out a breath. She breathed in… and pushed it out again.

                Her heart stopped racing; the sound of it faded to silence, and she breathed in…

                And she blinked.

                Looked down, at the constellation of glinting shards beneath her feet. Her bare feet.

                Oh, Noie thought, and there was a rush of shame that set her cheeks on fire.

                Oh, she should not have done what she just did. Why did she do that? Why on Earth did she do that?

                She tried to shift her feet, but there was broken glass everywhere and no shit you idiot, what did you expect was going to happen? You chucked glass at your feet!

                Noie cringed. Stars, she actually did that. She did that, she just straight up lost her temper and snapped - she actually snapped, and broke a glass, and now she was stuck here in this completely avoidable situation that was all her fault… What was she thinking?!

                What was wrong with her?

                What was she going to do?

                She looked around, but there was just glass everywhere. It was just everywhere she looked. Everywhere she tried to move her feet. Everywhere, and staring at it all made her brain go blank.

                Maybe in time, Noie would’ve gotten it working again, and would’ve come up with a solution on her own. Maybe she wouldn’t have, and was going to stand there, bluescreening until someone found her the next morning. She truly didn’t know, and at that moment, there was a noise from behind her that ensured she’d never have to.

                The sound of feet sliding down tile made her turn. The voice made her look up, and gape.

                “Psst, kid.” Lucy Ann was sitting right above her. She’d clambered over to the corner of Noie’s roof, and now those red eyes were peering down at her. She watched with wide eyes as the vampire extended one clawed hand... and reached out to her.

                “Let me getcha out of that,” Lucy Ann said, and motioned her to come up. “C’mon, take my hand.”

                Noie stared at her, and her hand.

                “Come on, it’s alright.” She flashed a fanged smile. “I know I literally look like a six year old, but I promise I can lift ya.”

                After another moment of hesitation, a glance around the driveway for some other way out… she swallowed hard, and started reaching up.

                Slowly, nervously, she touched, then grasped Lucy Ann’s hand. The vampire felt like ice, and it occurred to Noie how tiny she was; she was really holding onto the vampire’s wrist.

                That was not reassuring, but before she could change her mind Lucy Ann pulled her up onto the roof with the ease of someone pulling a damp towel out of the washing machine. The next thing she knew she was on the tile, and that deceptively strong vampire was looming over her, touching her legs wait what was she-

                “You got a bit of glass here.” Lucy Ann picked a shard off the end of her leggings and flicked it away. “That’s the only big one I see, but I’d do a change of clothes before jumping in bed. You humans really don’t do well with this stuff - makes you bleed all over the place, and that’s just wasteful.”

                Noie jerked her legs back, then gulped when those red eyes turned back on her. Lucy Ann didn’t look angry; the vampire’s gaze was steady, calm, carefully neutral, and made her want to melt into the ground.

                She should probably say something right about now, shouldn’t she.

                “U-um-” Noie started. She cleared her throat. “Th-thanks.”

                “Don’t mention it.”

                She opened her mouth-

                “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re still the worst.” Lucy Ann’s chuckle was caustic. “You’re not ‘Would-Leave-In-A-Field-Of-Broken-Glass’ the worst, but I just thought I’d make that clear.”

                “Oh…” Noie leaned away from her. “Uh, o-okay- good… good to know.”

                “Like you know how I’m still stuck in your yard fearing for my life because you won’t let Alcor help? Gotta tell you, I’m now way less worried about death by angel now that I’m literally dying of boredom.” She bared her teeth at Noie. “You know what I was doing when I heard you come out here?”

                “Um, I-”

                “You’re not gonna guess. I was playing Jenga with grass.”

                “Wh- wait, what?”

                “Jenga with grass. Humans still play Jenga, right?” Lucy Ann mimed stacking her fingers. “You make a tower with a bunch of blocks, three of them go this way, three of them go that way, then you try and-”

                “No, I know that ga-”

                “Then you know it’s not supposed to be played with grass!” She giggled, and there was a desperate edge to it. “Noooo, it does not translate, but you know what - I had time to kill! And grass. To kill… Hey, by the way, why do you guys have a lawn out back? You live in a desert, it’s freaky.”

                She scooted back. “Um…”

                “You want to leave, don’t you.”

                “I don’t… I mean, I-”

                “Hey, I do too! You know, just saying.”

                Noie cringed at her expression. She could see how this would be frustrating, but how was she supposed to explain everything was going to be fine?

                Because it was going to be fine, but it was complicated, and… ugh, what was she saying. She definitely owed it to Lucy Ann to try.

                With that thought in mind, she took a deep breath, and held up her hands. “Okay, okay, look-”

                “Oh, I can tell this is gonna annoy the shit out of me already.”

                Noie gritted her teeth. “No, this isn’t- can I just explain the plan, please?”

                “Yup. Gonna annoy the shit out of me.”

                “In just a few days, there’s going to be someone who’s going to, um, help my brother with what he’s got going on-”

                Lucy Ann crossed her arms. “You mean you’re gonna hire an exorcist?”

                “Uh… yeah, kinda.”

                “Not gonna work, kid.”

                “It’s gonna-”

                “Like, even in the scenario where Dipper is just possessed - which he’s not - there’s no way you’re exorcising Alcor the Dreambender.” She snorted at the thought. “Also just saying, if you’re denying this cause you’re worried about Dipper, the scenario where he is Alcor sounds a whole lot better to me than the one where he’s being possessed by Alcor. Like in version two you’re going up against literally the most powerful demon known to Earth, so… be glad that’s not reality, maybe?”

                Noie frowned at her. “He’s not a demon. Look, this is going to work-”

                “Ohhh my stars it’s not though-”

                “The person I have, it’s- he’s a… he’s a special case, okay?”

                “The fuck does that even mean.”

                “You’ll- uh, just trust me, okay? He’s got this plan all worked out-”

                “Wait, he’s got this plan worked out?”

                “Yeah?” Noie frowned as she sat up. “I mean, that’s the plan, and-”

                “Whose plan?”

                “I mean, that’s the plan-”

                “Who made the plan?  The exorcist guy you’re hiring?” Lucy Ann narrowed her eyes. “Who is he, actually? Is he an actual licensed exorcist?”

                She leaned away. “Uh, why are you so interested all of a-”

                “Cause I’m telling you right now that no decent exorcist would ever take on an Alcor possession; they know they can’t touch him. You say his name in one of their offices, they will turn you away and call the police so fast… ” Lucy Ann looked back at Noie. “But I’m getting off track. Point is, you probably hired some kook, or… well, you most likely hired some kook, but I want to know his name . ”

                She stretched a smile. “His… name?”

                “Oh my stars, please tell me you know his name.”

                “No no, it’s just, um… I-I don’t think he has one?” She watched Lucy Ann’s eyes widen. “I mean, I don’t think he’ll be bad at exorcising-”

                “Then that’s specifically the problem, isn’t it!”

                “Wh-what’s wrong? Why are you-”

                “Cause now you’ve got a guy - you don’t know his name - who’s heard this story about Alcor and is telling you he can make your problems go away when he full well knows he can’t!” She stared at Noie’s bewildered expression. “Do you not see that that this is bad? And he’s got a ‘plan’ for- wait, do you actually know what the plan is? When’s it supposed to-”

                “He’s getting things set up. It’s fine.” Noie scooted towards the edge of the roof. “Look, he just wants to help, I have to trust him, a-and it’s not like he’s manipulating me or anything - I don’t have to do what he says! Like, I got you that blood pack even when he, um… didn’t want me to talk to you, um, and-”

                “Wait, what? What was all of that just now?!”

                There was genuine horror on Lucy Ann’s face, and that made Noie cringe. “Look, can I go now? I didn’t explain it well, it’s not that bad-”

                “Not that bad?! Do you hear yourself right now?”

                “I’m, um, gonna go inside now-”

                “No, wait!”

                Lucy Ann shot forwards and seized her arm. She flinched at the cold grip. “Hey-!”

                “Stop. ” Lucy Ann caught her other shoulder. “Listen to me, Noie. Who is this guy?”

                “I told you I don’t know his name-”

                “No. No. Don’t act dumb. You can tell me more than his name and you know it.”

                She squirmed under her gaze. “Uh… I don’t-”

                “This guy told you to keep this plan a secret, didn’t he.” Lucy Ann gripped her tighter. “Noie, I guarantee you he did that because he knows it’s bullshit, and he knows you don’t know any better.”

                “I-I don’t think-”

                “No, stop. Stop thinking you know things, because you don’t and this plan is a ruse for something. Don’t you see how quickly it fell apart when you talked to someone who actually knows about demons? Use your head, Noie. You’re getting played.”

                “That’s not-”

                “You’re getting played, and you need to tell me what’s going on so I can help.” She made a face. “And I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna need Alcor, too.”

                “Wha- no!” Noie shook her head. “No! He’s not a demon!”

                “But he- ugh, look, nevermind. I’m not gonna argue that with you right now, so just tell me about the exorcist guy.”

                Lucy Ann stared Noie down, and she was at a loss for words; her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and she tried to move back but the vampire didn’t budge. She’d gotten herself stuck, again, and now she really needed to think up of a way out of this. She needed to say something, anything-

                And to her surprise, that was when words came out of her mouth.

                 “No.” Noie heard herself say. “You’re not on my side. You’re just trying to use me to get to my brother.”

                  In the stunned silence that followed, that was when the anger came. Really? Was this what was going on? Was Lucy Ann seriously just using her?

                   She clenched her fists. It made sense, in a way. It was possible.

                “Wait, what?” Lucy Ann gave a confused chuckle. “I’m doing what now?”

                   “You know what you’re doing - you’re lying! You’re trying to make me doubt my plan, but I can see through your plan!” Noie stabbed a finger at the vampire, and suddenly she was leaning back. “You’re trying to destroy Dipper!”

                “What are you- are you being serious right now?”

                  “Of course I am! You listen here-”

                “Noie-”

                      “-Dipper is my brother, and he’s not a demon-”

                “Noie, wh-”

                         “-and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep him safe from the likes of you!”

                Lucy Ann just stared at her like she’d grown a second head. The vampire opened her mouth to reply, but she’d heard enough, she needed to go inside, so could she please get these hands OFF OF HER-

                “Noie, I don’t- agh!” The vampire jerked back with a shout, clutching her hands to her body. “Ow! Fuck! Argh, what the hell was that? That hurt!”

                             Wordlessly, Noie rose to her feet. She glared down at the vampire, fists clenched, and watched her hiss and swear for another few seconds before unclasping her arms.

                “Shit, that hurt. What was that?” She glanced down at her hands, “That almost, that almost… felt, like…”

                And confusion turned to utter terror at the dark, smoking burns that were seared into her palms. Skin had turned to ash around the wounds, and she could only watch as the breeze came and whisked it away, scattered it into the open air.

                Then Lucy Ann turned that terrified expression onto Noie, and she felt… something.

                “Y-you burned me.” The vampire spoke in a shaking voice. “You… y-you’re with the angel, aren’t you? He’s the guy behind this plan of yours…” She held her hands out. “Noie, please listen to me, whatever he told you-”

                   Noie felt herself surge forwards. The vampire jumped back and her foot slipped on the slanted roof; she toppled to earth with a cry.

                    Noie watched her land amongst the shards, and that made her smile for some reason.

                     Wait, why was she smiling? Well, that vampire did something bad, right? She lied, she hurt Dipper, she should be afraid of her.

                                They should be afraid of me.

                    Yeah, that made sense. Think of all the times that vampire had trapped her, tried to coerce her, tried to control her into giving up her brother. Well, now she was in control!

                                I am in control.

                     That made sense. She was in control, and that vampire was down on the ground, helpless, screaming out for her dark lord to save her… but Alcor wasn’t going to come, was he?

                             No. No, there was only Noie, and the light of coming dawn.

                                It looked so helpless down there, didn’t it?

                                So pathetic.

                                My fists clench, and I can’t help but smile wide at the thought of...

                   Of smiting this creature?

                Noie blinked. Wait, what? She didn’t want to kill Lucy Ann! Where the fuck did that come from?

                That was when she heard a voice:

                                Do not be alarmed, child.

                And became aware of a presence in her mind that was not her own.

                “You!” Noie felt like cold water had been dumped over her; she started trembling. “What are you doing in my mind?!”

                                Answering your call for assistance, replied the angel, and stars it was weird to hear a mental voice besides her own. You were afraid, and being accosted by a vampire. Would you prefer I had not stepped in?

                “Uh, I’d prefer it if you didn’t try and kill people!”

                “Oh, what the fuck…” Down on the ground, Lucy Ann was staring at Noie with a mix of astonishment and horror. She darted for the front door and started banging on it. “Alcor! Alcor, you gotta get up! You gotta help me!”

                She was so loud, Noie was shaken out of her thoughts by a sudden fear. “What are you doing? Stop, you’re gonna get caught!”

                “Alcor! Alcor, help!”

                “Lucy Ann!” Noie somewhat awkwardly dropped herself off the roof, and came rushing over. “Wait, Lucy Ann-”

                She reached out a hand and Lucy Ann violently recoiled from it. The fear in her eyes didn’t make her feel good anymore; it made her feel awful, and she struggled to explain.

                “No, don’t be scared! L-look, I know the angel thing is weird, but I’m not gonna let you die!” She clenched her fingers, and unclenched them. “I’m still in control. I’m not gonna let it hurt you, I just need it to help Dipper-”

                “You’re delusional. You’re completely delusional. Alcor!”  

                “Wait!” Noie reached for her again but she darted away. “Don’t- argh! Great, yeah, go wake up the whole neighborhood! I’m going inside!”

                She opened the front door and shut it hard behind her. The house was echoing with Lucy Ann’s voice, and she cringed - shit, Grandpa was awake for sure. Any second now, he’d be coming round the corner and she had no idea what she’d say to him-

                                He is not awake.

                The angel again. She frowned. “What do you mean? How do you know that?”

                                I have been able to keep your elders dreaming and ignorant of the confrontation… for the time being. The angel’s voice sounded quieter, and almost strained. But child, this is an unholy place. The Dreambender’s presence is strong here… overpowering. It saps my strength. You must protect them in my stead.

                Noie nodded quickly and went to get a pen. The angel kept talking.

                                I feared an incident like this taking place. The vampire tried to lead you astray, and I sense the seeds of doubt it has sown within you. The angel sighed. The plan will be moved forwards to tomorrow morning; it is not ideal, but I fear delay will let them sprout, and jeopardise my work entirely. And the vampire will be dealt with.

                She heard that, and stopped. “Dealt with?”

                                Do not worry, child. Some nearby humans have already called the police on the vampire; they will take it away, and I will deal with it from there.

                “What? Don’t do that! Don’t kill her!”

                                You feel strongly about this. Why? You won’t have to be involved-

                “Because that’s not my problem with you killing her! My problem is you killing her…” Noie shook her head. “Oh, my stars, you’re actually… you’re trying to… What is wrong with y- argh!”

                Noie clutched her temples at a flash of light. Her head felt like it was on fire, and the angel’s voice was painfully loud.

                                Do not ask that of an angel. Ask yourself instead why you let your human emotions run unchecked, why you let them jump to such wild accusations of my character.

                Her vision swam. Her legs wobbled. She clutched the counter to keep herself from hitting the ground.

                                Of course I was not suggesting anything improper by apprehending the vampire. ‘Dealt with’ was meant to imply keeping it secure and out of the way, lest it hinders our plan. Lest it gets your brother killed.

                                Human, my intentions are pure. My conscience is clear. I know I am doing what is right. If you must question me, let me ask you this: can you say the same for yourself?

                Noie didn’t answer, couldn’t answer. She heard Lucy Ann calling for Alcor, and she pressed her hands against her ears and shook her head, grit her teeth, held back the scream in her throat-

                Then, suddenly, she felt better.

                                You give a truthful answer. Good. The truth is painful, but it is the only way to forgiveness.

                Shakily, she picked herself up from the counter. Looked around her house with wide eyes, like she was seeing it for the first time.

                “Alcor! Alcor!”

                Hearing her for the first time. She felt herself grimace.

                                You will continue to defend the vampire, won’t you. I suppose I have no choice but to leave it be… so long as you keep it from interfering in my plans - that, I cannot tolerate. But for now…

                Noie grabbed a pen from the counter. She walked over to the door, kneeled down, and carefully etched something into the baseboard. It began to glow a steady blue, and Lucy Ann’s cries faded to eerie silence.

                                I suppose this ward will suffice.

                Noie stared at the ward she’d drawn. She’d never learned how to do that, but there it was.

                She did it for Dipper. To keep him safe.

                A frown. Yes, that made sense.

                                Good work, child. The angel’s voice seemed to fade. I cannot remain here any longer. You must bring Dipper to me in the morning… you will know where to go. In the meantime, keep him safe.

                                At all costs, keep him safe.

                Noie nodded. “Keep him safe. That makes sense. I can do that.”

                She stared at the brightening sky, and clenched her fists.

                “I can do that.”

Chapter Text

                “Morning, ki… uh, what are you doing? Naomi?”

                Noie jumped back from the blinds and nearly tripped over herself. She gave her grandfather a wide smile, but he just raised an eyebrow.

                “What are you doing?”

                Oh, right. Words. She cleared her throat and said some of them.

                “I am watching the sunset! I mean rise. Or maybe I meant the moonset - why don’t people ever say that? The moon has feelings too!” She barked a laugh. “Hah, I lied, it doesn’t actually! Isn’t that funny!”

                David frowned at the bags under her eyes. “I’m gonna be ticked off if you’ve pulled one of your all-nighters, Naomi. You’ve got school today.”

                “No I haven’t! No I haven’t. Where’s Gramma?”

                “Just coming up behind me… Allie?” He turned, and his face softened to a smile as she shuffled over. “There you are. Morning, honey. You want your tea?”

                “Oh, yes. That’d be lovel-”

                “On it Gramma!” Noie charged across the room to grab the kettle. “Why don’t you guys while you wait go watch TV? That sounds good. That sounds good.”

                “I was more thinking we were gonna do a proper sit-down breakfast. You know, I feel like Allie and I, we haven’t seen you kids all that much this past week-”

                “Don’t go outside!”

                That was snapped at Allie, who’d pulled out a chair by the back door. She jumped, and David immediately rounded on Noie.

                “Hey! Don’t you ever use that tone on your grandmother, young lady!”

                “Sorry.”

                “Don’t apologise to me, apologise to Allie!”

                Noie looked to her grandmother, who had turned and was now staring at the back door. She cringed. “Sorry, Gramma. Didn’t mean to yell at… you? Gramma?”

                “Was I going to…?” The kettle was starting to rumble as Allie looked back at her. “Outside?”

                “Huh?”

                “I was going to… go see, go meet someone…” She reached out to the door handle. “I need to-”

                “No!”

                “Naomi Argenta!”

                Noie raced around her grandfather to cut Allie off. “Um-!”

                “I just told you not to yell at Allie like that! What’s gotten into you!”

                “I wasn’t yelling, I just needed to-”

                “Don’t talk back to me!” David marched over to her. “Let her go outside if she wants to!”

                “But-”

                “She’s an adult, she can do what she wants-” He grabbed her hand. “You, on the other hand-”

                Noie pulled away, kept blocking the door. “No!”

                “Excuse me?”

                The look on his face made her squirm, but she shook her head. “No! I’m staying here!”

                “Naomi Faybelle Ar-”

                “No!”

                “Stop that now.” David grabbed her arm. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I don’t like it and I want it to stop right now. Let’s have a talk, kid. Come on.” He yanked at her. “I said come on!”

                “No! I said I’m staying here so just fucking listen to me for once in your life!” Noie shoved his hand away. “Why don’t you leave me alone and stop acting like you’re my father!”

                For one terrible second, it was silent. Noie could hear the kettle shut off with a click. Her grandfather staggered back, and the expression he was wearing… she tried to clench her fists.

                “I just want you to leave me alone. That’s what you do most of the time anyways, so why don’t you just go and watch some stupid TV show and butt out?” She couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore. “That’s what you’re best at.”

                David Argenta didn’t say a word. From the corner of her eye, she could see him trying; she could see his jaw clench, his face redden, his throat tighten…

                “David?” Said his wife.

                ...But in the end, the most he could muster was a thick, “C’mon, Allie,” as he led her out of the room. Noie watched the floor as they shuffled away, and left her alone in the kitchen.

                A movement on the porch. Noie didn’t have to look up to see Lucy Ann tapping on the glass beside her. The soundproofing wards were working perfectly, but she didn’t have to hear her to know she was saying, “You’re making a mistake.”

                With a hard swallow, Noie pushed herself off the door and went to fetch Dipper. 

                She tried not to notice that the TV had just been switched on.

                Their bedroom was dark when she slipped in. The sun glowed against the blinds, illuminating the room just enough to reveal a gleaming liquid dripping from the bottom bunk.

                “Dipper?” Noie’s heart skipped a beat when he didn’t so much as groan. “Dipper!”

                He was breathing… just barely. Whatever was dripping from him - it looked too golden to be blood, but seeing it bleed from his nose made her unsure - was smeared all over his pillow and soaked into his sheets. Most of it seemed to come from the small of his back; there was a huge dark spot there… and a strange pair of bumps in the blanket that were too far up to be his legs.

                Noie bit her lip, hard. Dipper groaned and reached for her, and she took his hand, squeezed it… and peeled back the blanket, revealing the dark wings that had erupted out of her brother’s back.

                She watched them twitch for a second, then promptly covered them up again and tapped his shoulder.

                “Hey, Dipper. Dipper.” She stared at his face. Only at his face. “Dipper, you gotta get up. Come on.”

                “Mmmph… Mabel…”

                “Noie. I’m Noie, I’m your sister.”

                “I… know that.” With difficulty, he opened his eyes. The golden irises made her shiver. “I know… things. I saw, in dreams, who you are… a-and…”

                Dipper groaned and squeezed her arm. She tried to pull him into a hug, tried to shield him from his pain, to hide him away from a world that was trying to tear him apart.

                Into her shoulder, he mumbled, “I saw the things… I’ve done…”

                “Shh. They’re just dreams.”

                “No, N-Noie, I-I don’t… I don’t think I’m just this. Just human.”

                “That doesn’t make any sense.”

                “It does, I… I see it…” He gripped her tighter. “I feel like… like I’m waking up. Like I’m dreaming now, and I’m waking up, a-and I can’t stop it-”

                “Calm down. You’re fine.”

                “I’m scared.”

                Noie felt him sob into her shirt. She looked down, at the pair of wings twitching out of his blankets, still glistening with golden blood. She clutched him tighter, and somehow, though the knot in her throat, she managed to say something.

                “I’m scared too.” That hung between them for a moment, and she shut her eyes tight. “But it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.”

                “Noie-”

                “Look, Dipper, I-I’ve made… a doctor’s appointment, okay?” She pulled back from him a bit. “He’s going to fix everything. He’s going to put everything back to normal.”

                Dipper tried to frown. “I don’t… think I’m norm-”

                “No. You’re not normal right now.” Noie eyed his wings. “You’re not well. But you’ll get better, okay? I promise.”

                “Noie?”

                She rose to her feet. “Please, trust me. You can trust me, right?”

                “O-of course-”

                “So come on.” Gently, she tugged his hands. “Let me help you up, bro.”

                Dipper didn’t get to his feet very easily. He wobbled under his own weight, and clutched at her with his claws (she tried not to let on how much they stung - he probably didn’t realise). Noie wrapped a blanket around his shivering form and half-carried him into the kitchen; setting him down on a chair, she glanced outside.

                There was a car idling on the driveway. She knew she needed to get Dipper in there. How she knew… was a question she set aside for later, because there was also the figure of a vampire between her and the car she needed to get Dipper into. Lucy Ann had spotted the blinds moving and came running over; she banged on the glass and shook her head, motioned her to come outside, shouted words that looked just like ‘Listen to me-!’

                Noie stepped back, and bit her lip as she glanced at Dipper. After a moment of hesitation, she darted towards the kitchen, picked up the pumpkin seeds and the garlic. Quickly, she diced up the garlic cloves and put them in a bowl, wrinkling her nose at the harsh smell. She took them over to Dipper, and put them into his hands.

                “Here.” She spoke gently. “Hold this, Dipper. Now let me help you up.”

                He was just a little steadier this time, and Noie guided him over to the door. It loomed before her; she thought of everything that could go wrong, everything he might hear, every mistake she might make after she opened it and took him out into the world… but no. She shook her head to clear it, and took a deep breath to steady herself.

                There was no point worrying. There was no going back. There was no making mistakes - not here, not now, not with Dipper’s life on the line.

                Noie tore open the packet of seeds with her teeth.

                She was going to be perfect.

                And with that, she opened the door and shoved Dipper into the light. He stumbled a little, and Noie caught him just as she locked eyes with Lucy Ann. The vampire looked surprised at the sight of her brother; she took that opportunity to scatter a pile of seeds at her feet and push Dipper onwards.

                “Wha- hey!” Lucy Ann managed a half-step forwards before being compelled to bend down and pick up all the seeds. “Alcor! Alcor, don’t trust her! It’s me!”

                “Lucy Ann?” Dipper tried to glance back, but Noie didn’t let him.

                “Ignore her. Just keep moving.”

                “No, wait! Where are you going? Noie, where are you taking him?”

                “Just ignore, just ignore…”

                Lucy Ann shook her head as they approached the car. “No no no - A-Alcor, she’s working with the angel! You’re a demon, you gotta remember that! You gotta wake up!”

                “He’s not a demon!” Noie helped Dipper into the car. “You’re not a demon,” she told him, and shut the door.

                “Noie-!”

                “He’s not a demon!” Noie saw she was almost done picking up the seeds, and pointed a finger at her. “Please, just stay there, okay! It’s for your safety too.”

                “Listen to me! The angel knows he’s a demon-”

                She walked around the car.

                “-literally an omniscient being, he’s lying to you!”

                She opened the back door.

                “Noie, he doesn’t want to help Dipper! You gotta listen to me! Please, just-”

                And slammed it shut. Once she was inside, the driver started the car.

                                That was far from a perfect method, Noie heard. She rolled her eyes.

                “I got him in, didn’t I?”

                The angel guided them onto the roads without a response. Dipper moaned, and she pushed aside that frustration to check on him.

                “Dipper? Hey, bro, you okay?”

                He descended into a hacking fit, and curled in on himself with every cough. Reddish golden flecks splattered into the footwell and ran from his open mouth; Noie patted her pants for a tissue, but she had nothing for him.

                “Dipper…”

                “L-L-Lu-cy-” He managed. She shook her head.

                “No, shh-”

                “Lu-cy Ann, she-was… was t-there.” He spread his clammy hands, stared down at the claws tipping them. “Said I-I was a-”

                “No. No, you’re not.” Noie covered his fingers. “You’re sick, Dipper. You’re not thinking straight. Just hang on for a little longer, and we’ll get you fixed up, okay? Trust me.”

                He slumped against her, and she put an arm around him.

                “Just trust me,” she murmured. “I love you, Dipper. I’d never let anything happen to you.”

                “I lo̻v̘͇ͅe̸̮̭̯ͅ… I̹̮-̥̤̠͚ͅI̡̭̟͙̦̬-”

                Dipper dissolved into another bout of coughing, and Noie tried to ignore the eerie echo it had picked up. She tried to ignore the blood getting on her legs, the wings shuddering against her side.

                She held him tight, stared forwards, and tried to ignore it all.

                “M͍̼i̥z̻a̶̩̳r̸͙̺.̮.̣̗̰̯͇͎.̦̘̥̬̬”

                Rubbed his back, and tried to hold on until

                                We are here.

                Noie didn’t even notice she’d gotten up until she found herself helping Dipper out of the car. They were at a gas station - she registered it as the one at the end of their block - and the entrance beckoned her. The windows seemed to glow with a strange energy, backlighting a ‘HELP WANTED’ sign hung in front of the door, and she started forwards-

                But Dipper held back. Even when she pulled at him, he stayed put, and a growling noise emanated from his throat.

                She looked around for the angel, but…

                                This is your burden, child. As you have done for many mornings now, you must lead him to me.

                Noie heard that, and stretched a smile. She turned back to her brother, and tugged his arm again.

                “Come on, Dipper. It’s safe, I promise.” Slowly, she coaxed him forwards. “I promise.”

                After a long hesitation, Dipper let her lead him off the tarmac. He hesitated once again as they approached the doors; his lip curled - flashing actual fangs - and she had to stop again to convince him to come just a little closer, to stay with her for just a little longer…

                “Wait…”

                It was faint at first, but it quickly got loud, and made Noie’s stomach drop.

                “Wait!”

                It was Lucy Ann. Fuck, it was Lucy Ann. She sped down the street as fast as her legs could take her, red cloak whipping behind her in a blur. Noie tried to jerk Dipper into the store, but he stayed put - and that was all the time she got before the vampire caught up.

                “Wait!” Lucy Ann tried to reach for Dipper’s hand, but flinched away from Noie. “What are you doing in there?!”

                “Uhh… shopping?”

                “No you’re not, the entire fucking store is glowing!” She moved to cut Noie off. “Alcor, you’re in danger - we both are. You gotta come with me now.”

                Noie glared at her. “Come with you? Uh, no. Absolutely not. He’s sick, I’m taking him in there so I can fix him.”

                “Oh, am I talking to Noie, or Mr Angel right now?” They circled each other. “Honestly can’t tell.”

                “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

                “No, you don’t, you have no idea. Alcor!”

                “He’s Dipper!”

                “Lucy Ann…?”

                Noie’s brother’s thin voice made her freeze, and in that moment Lucy Ann lunged for him. She grabbed his arm and started to pu-

                “Aaaarghhh!”

                Noie heard her scream.

                Heard the sizzle of her skin burning into ash.

                Heard her keep screaming, keep crying out in agony-

                                Because Noie’s hand was wrapped around its wrist and wouldn’t let go.

                “Argh- let go, let g -aaah!”

                                “Ancient One. You were meant to be dust long ago.” The hand tightened. “Unto dust you shall return.”

                “Alcor! Alcor! Alcor!”

                                Alcor… The angel drew back to assess the demon, and Noie whipped her hand back with wide eyes, clutching it like it was going to snake out and attack Lucy Ann again. She looked down at the vampire, and her heart stopped at the crumpled heap that lay before her.

                “Lucy Ann?”

                A choking sob was all that answered her. Lucy Ann cradled her smoking wrist, and there was the awful shine of bone beneath all that crumbling ash… for a moment, she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

                                Go inside.

                And then she blinked, and-

                                You are neglecting your brother.

                Noie’s head snapped over to Dipper, and she saw him staring down at the vampire with something scarily close to recognition. With shaking hands she grabbed him and jerked him forwards.

                “Mizar-”

                “Noie.” She hissed. “It’s Noie. Now come on.”

                “What did you do to-”

                “Come on.”

                “But Lucy A-”

                “Shut up! Shut up, okay!” She yanked him away from the vampire. “I’ve done everything today because I want you to get better! That’s good! I’m good! You need to fucking trust me on this because I love you and I don’t want you to die!”

                Dipper just stared at her, stunned. She glowered back at him.

                “What, do you want to die? Do you want to leave me? Is that what this is?!”

                “No! No, I-”

                “Then follow.”

                She turned and marched into the store, and finally, there was no resistance from Dipper.

                   Through the doors they went.

                      Into the light.

                “Noie?”

                She had a piece of chalk in her hand. On the floor, she traced a perfect circle around Dipper; when he moved, she kept him back.

                “No, you gotta stay there, bro. Trust me.”

                Noie drew symbols she didn’t understand, lined the edge of the circle with laser precision a strange language that she couldn’t decipher. It began to glow a yellow-gold - the same colour as the wide-eyed stare Dipper was giving her now.

                “Noie?” He tried to reach out, but the light converged and blocked his hand from leaving the circle. “What is this?”

                “It’s okay.” She placed candles at each point of the star she’d drawn in the centre. “It’s nearly done. There’s just one more thing I need to do.”

                                Just one more thing, said the angel, and now she was holding something in her hand. Just one more thing, child, and all will be back to normal.

                                All will be as it was meant to be.

                Noie looked down, saw the knife in her hands… and didn’t quite understand, at first.

                “Huh?”

                                You’ve done so well thus far. I am proud to call you my friend. Now, be brave.

                “But… But I don’t understand.” Noie held it up to the light. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

                                You are to save humanity,

                The light fell upon the boy in the circle.

                                by sacrificing its most existential threat.

                Noie felt a cold dread come over her. Behind the shining blade, she watched her brother take a step back.

                “Noie?”

                She lowered the knife. “Y-you told me you were going to help him,” she said, with a voice that trembled. “He’s possessed, you were going to fix him. Not - this.”

                                And I did not lie to you. This body the Dreambender has cloaked himself in is possessed by him, and I shall fix that.

                “B-but you’re trying to kill him!”

                “Noie, what’s going on?”

                                Yes, I intended from the beginning to kill this demon, and return your life to normal. The angel’s words were cold, clinical, chilling. It is no fault of mine that Dipper Argenta was never meant to exist in the first place. To return him to normal is to wipe him from existence, and that is what must be done, therefore that is what shall be done. Do it.

                “No!”

                                Child, I understand the reasons for my omissions may be hard to understand, but-

                “No!” Noie threw the knife down. “No, absolutely not! I would never-”

                                But you will.

                A surge of pain. Noie gasped and dropped to her knees, her vision flashing with blinding light.

                                I forgive you this anger. I was not expecting a mortal such as you to understand the opportunity I was presented with here: a demon who has willfully chained itself to human form.

                It felt like her skeleton was trying to force its way out of her body. Her hand reached out even though she struggled to bring it back, grasped the knife even though she fought to let it go. The angel was too rooted inside her to resist, his presence in every muscle, every tendon, every cell in her body.

                                You came so far. You helped me so greatly up to this point. I truly am saddened that you chose to turn against me now; just know that when this is all done, you will thank me for the peaceful world I deliver to you.

                                And maybe then, we can be as friends again. I would like that.

                “Noie?” Dipper staggered back, fell against the binding circle. “Y-your eyes… what’s going on?!”

                                But for now, you are Mizar, and I need you for this last step.

                “Noie! Noie, snap out of it!”

                                This last sacrifice.

                “Noie, please say something, please…”

                Noie couldn’t look away - she didn’t have the power to blink.

                She could only watch as she stepped into the binding circle and slit her brother’s throat.

                The blood on her hands was warm and golden. The look in his eyes was wild and terrified.

                She could only watch as she pushed him back, and stepped out of the circle.

                She could only watch.

                She could only watch.

                Dipper crumpled. His hands grasped at his throat, and blood soaked them as he gasped for breath. His whole body seemed to be disintegrating before her eyes; skin sloughed off his form, his limbs twisted, his head split and slopped into a pile of bone and tissue and broken sobbing.

                And still the angel wasn’t done. She could only watch as her mouth opened, and her voice rang out with an otherworldly language that seemed to hurt him still further, breaking him down to a moaning, bloody slurry, that dried up like a puddle in the sunlight…

                And god, she could only watch.

Bang.

                A sudden noise startled the angel, and Noie saw a flash of red barrel towards the circle. She didn’t know what it was, but panic flooded the angel.

                “No!” The angel stepped her forwards, but Lucy Ann, clutching the ‘HELP WANTED’ sign from outside, dove for the chalk circle and rubbed a huge hole in it.

                The enchantment broke - the golden glow faded… and whatever remained of Dipper Argenta darkened to a shadowy void.

                “Alcor!” Lucy Ann was laughing with relief as Noie backed up. “You’re back, you’re back, thank god.”

                The only answer she got was a growl that shook the very foundations of the building. The void rose up, and two slitted yellow eyes opened and fixed on Noie.

“M͟҉̷̢̝͚͇̜̼I͜͏̡̛̥̫̙͕̯̙͕̗̳͕̜̘N̸̷͓͉̻̺͚̟̮͝E̡̛̥̹̹̺̺̱͎͚̝̪̞̩̗̻͜!̨̻̫̥̲͇̜̫̣̘͓̞̺͓̦̝͍͜͞͠”

                Noie could only watch as Alcor the Dreambender lunged for her.

                He pinned her to the floor, knocking the breath out of her, and she could only stare up at the eyes of a demon - she saw nothing of her brother. Nothing, and when he plunged his claws into her stomach she screamed with what she thought would be her last breath on this Earth-

                And watched him pull the angel from her body. It came out like a pure white light that hurt her eyes, and she spasmed as its hooks were ripped from every muscle in her body.

                Noie was under her own control again, and she gasped for breath, scampered away from Alcor as he gave a furious roar. She watched with bulging eyes as the demon bit and tore at the angel, made it scream with terror; after gashing it limb from limb, he unhinged his jaw and devoured it from existence.

                When that was done, he fixed those terrible eyes on her once more, and rumbled out, “M͏̨̞̺̗͇̯͎̖̫̮͚̻͈͔̼̹̬̭͝i̵̭̼̺͎͚̜̣͎̯̲̫͠n͏̧̮̘̬͉͓͎͖̰̤̳̠̤̫͈̟͈̳e̝͖̩̥̬̪̠͍̮̟͕͖̞̻̫̖̞͢͡ͅ.̸̸̶̴̢̼͚̟̫.”

                Noie pressed herself into the far wall. “D-Dipper?”

“You are m͏̥̹̮̹̻i͇̩̪͚̩͇͇͢n̶̩͖̮͇͍̱͔͍̕e̱͝. M̸̡̱̬̯̥̺͚̳̩̰i̷͏̹̬̹ṉ̩̹̖͍̪̟̟͝e̩̦.̶̺̠͜ ͏̟̗̺͖̪̻͢M̢̠͈͘͠i̢̲̳̱̜̭̺̰̬n̷̛̹̜͈̮͖e̦͙̭͚̥̭…”

                “Hey, Alcor.”

                A voice. Lucy Ann’s voice. The vampire walked up to the shadowy demon with unnerving ease.

                “Chill it with the mines - I think you’re freaking her out there.”

                Alcor’s head whipped around, and he hissed at her. “S̻̦̱͘̕h̹̰̙ḛ̵̻̪͟ ̸̲̼͕̖̙̱̯̱i̥̦̤͜s̬͖͘ ̱̻̻̳͚̦͇̖̞͘m͏̡̹̻̻͓̺̫͝ị͙͉̝̜͓̝̕͝n̛̺̱̖̙͟ę̮̦͜.”

                “Hearing you loud and clear.” Lucy Ann actually touched him; she patted his arm. “Come on, big guy, you’ve fully murderised that angel. You can come out of demon mode now.”

                Noie closed her eyes, prayed she wasn’t going to see another murder take place right in front of her… but in the darkness, she heard the growling fade.

                “Lucy Ann?”

                “There he is. Hey, Al.”

                “Lucy Ann!”

                “Heh- argh! Not so hard with the hugging!”

                “Oh, sorry!”

                Noie squeezed an eye open just in time to see Alcor set Lucy Ann down. Colour had returned to his form, but he looked far older than Dipper - far taller, and wearing a suit and a gingerly expression as he noticed the vampire’s arm. 

                She didn’t recognise him at all.

                “Lucy Ann… what happened to you?”

                “That fucking angel’s what’s happened to me.” Lucy Ann drew back when he tried to touch the burn. “And you running off to play human again - what the hell, Alcor?! You said you were gonna tell me if you pulled this shit again!”

                Alcor cringed. “I’m sorry.”

                “Yeah, you better be.”

                “I am. I should’ve let you know, a-and I should’ve thought up of some way for you to contact me if you were in trouble… I wasn’t thinking.”

                “You sure weren’t.” Lucy Ann pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Well, it’s good to see a friendly face. Thanks for getting rid of that thing, dude.”

                “No, thank you. Thank you so much for saving me from him, that was…” He shuddered. “Unpleasant. Ugh, angels.”

                “You can say that again.”

                “Ugh, angels,” he repeated, and they both laughed a bit at that. He motioned to her arm. “Hey, uh, let me fix that up for you. “

                “You sure? I don’t have anything for that sorta deal right now.”

                “Don’t worry. I can do it, I think.” He chuckled nervously. “I kinda owe you big time for all this, anyway.”

                Alcor touched the burn, and a blue fire encircled Lucy Ann’s arm for a moment before vanishing in a puff of smoke, leaving unbroken skin behind. The relief in Lucy Ann’s expression was palpable.

                “Oh, you’re a pal.” She sighed, rubbing her wrist. “Fuck, that was killing me.”

                He put his arm around her. “I bet it was… I, um, I’m glad you’re okay.”

                “I’m glad I’m okay, too.” She leaned into him. “And you or whatever, I guess I care about you.”

                “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in centuries.”

                “Heh. Don’t get used to it.”

                “Oh, I wouldn’t dare.”

                The two of them just held each other for a moment, and finally, it was quiet. Peaceful.

                For Noie, unbearable. Because that was her brother right there.

                Her brother, the demon.

                She tried once to get to her feet, but her muscles gave out. She tried again, and stumbled forwards, drawing both of their eyes.

                Drawing his eyes. They weren’t Dipper Argenta’s brown; it was the same gold-on-black gaze she’d learned to fear, and she could feel her skin crawling at the sight of it now. She saw those eyes widen, saw him stagger back, and she tried to speak.

                “D-Dipper-?” Noie managed. “Is that…? A-are you really…?”

                Lucy Ann crossed her arms. “I’m not allowed to say I told you so, am I.” She looked back. “Uh, Al?”

                Alcor had gone sheet white; he looked horrified, and he just shook his head, kept shaking his head, kept backing up.

                “Dipper?” Shakily, Noie got to her feet. “You’re still Dipper, r-right?”

                She reached out for him… and in the blink of an eye he tessered away, leaving something to drop to the floor where he’d stood. Noie blinked.

                “Dipper?” Her heart stopped. “No no, Dipper! Come back!”

                Noie rushed over to where he’d been, and picked up the thing he’d dropped.

                It was a USB drive. An unmarked grey USB drive, and her shaking fingers fumbled with it.

                “What…?” Noie staggered up and looked around. “Dipper! Dipper!”

                But all she saw were trashed shelves, and burned walls, and a vampire trying not to look in her direction. Dipper was nowhere, and when she closed her eyes she saw the demon lunging for her, she saw the demon’s awful gaze pinning her to the floor, she saw the demon plunging its claws into her and ripping, and ripping… Oh, god, she couldn’t stop seeing it.

                There was blood under her fingernails. There was so much blood here, and Dipper was gone.

                “...Noie. Noie.” Faintly, she became aware of Lucy Ann’s voice washing over her. “Um, I’m sure your brother’ll be back soon. Don’t freak out, okay?”

                She stared past Lucy Ann’s awkward grin, past her hands fingering with the ‘HELP WANTED’ sign.

                “That was probably a lot for you to take in… uh, how’s about we get out of this place? How’s about I walk you home?” She chuckled nervously. “I’m kinda in this building on a technicality, so I’m ready to go.”

                Lucy Ann walked past Noie, and she just kept staring. Staring at the spot where the demon disappeared. She fingered the USB in her pocket, and saw again how the horror swept over its face at the sight of her.

                At the sight of her.

                “Noie, you coming?”

                What on Earth did he see?

Chapter Text

                “Kid? Kid?”

                Plodding down the street. Sun beating down on her shoulders. Noie was vaguely aware of the burn in her muscles, the utter exhaustion in her joints.

                Only vaguely, though.

                Her mind was…

Alcor. Alcor the Dreambender. Standing there. Staring at her.

                …elsewhere. Lucy Ann could clear her throat all she wanted, but the sound was lost in choking gasps of her brother’s last breaths.

Before he died, before he DIED she saw it stars she saw it she saw it SHE SAW IT-

                A touch made her scream. Lucy Ann cringed and retracted her arm.

                “Sorry,” she said - Noie felt a pit in her stomach at that. “Uh, kid?”

                Noie opened her mouth, and then nodded.

                “I was just gonna ask, how’re you holding up?” The vampire looked her up and down. “You look, uh…”

                “I’m fine.”

                Those words came out of her mouth, but Noie could barely recognise her own voice. It was fast, flat, devoid of emotion, and she kept walking.

                “You sure?”

                “I’m fine.” She repeated, then: “You don’t, you don’t have to- don’t worry about me. You’ve done a lot, um, today.”

                “Heh, is this your way of saying thank you?” Lucy Ann’s awkward grin died as the silence stretched. “...Alrighty, then.”

                A pause. They kept walking.

                “Um. Wow, even when it’s cloudy it’s hot out here, huh?”

                Noie nodded. “It’s kind of hot here a lot. In Arizona.”

                “You don’t say.” She shuddered. “Ugh, I can’t wait to get out of this place. No offense, but you guys have the worst weather for vampires.”

                "Sorry.”

                “Sorry… for the weather?”

                Noie made a face. “Yeah,” she said, and looked away. “For the weather.”

                It was silent for the rest of the walk home. Silent as the gargle from Dipper’s slashed-open throat.

The knife’s hilt pressing into her palm. The little tug in his skin before it gave way. The blood on her hands, the look on his face-

And the look on its face as it slammed her to the ground. Its lip curled, it’s teeth bared. Its claws, tearing into her while it said she was mine, mine, MINE…

Her brother? How was that her brother?

                Noie gulped, and found herself fingering the USB in her pocket. The edges were hard, and she pressed it into her palm until it hurt. Until it cut through her thoughts and let her breathe again, just for a moment.

                She just wanted to breathe.

                She didn’t want to think, she just wanted to breathe.

                “Hey, Noie.”

                Noie thought she heard her name being called. “Yes?”

                “We’re at your place.”

                She blinked, and yes, they were. The same old, stuffy house she’d been walking back to for years. Everything was the same, the same as it had always been, the same dark wooden door, the same red car parked the same concrete driveway baking in the same hot sun… but something was different.

                Something was so awfully different, and she didn’t want to think about why that was.

                “Hey, that’s your folks’es car, isn’t it?” Lucy Ann made a face. “They might be a little surprised to see you coming back so soon on a school day-”

                “I’ll sneak in. I’ve done it before.”

                She arched an eyebrow. “You have, huh. Oh, of course you have.”

                “Of course I have. Don’t worry about me. Don’t…” Noie’s eyes strayed up to a spot just below the vampire’s eyes. “Um, what about you?”

                “What about me?”

                “Where are you, um, gonna-”

                “Gonna go? What, you’re still not gonna invite me inside?” Lucy Ann gave a guilty grin at the way she flinched. “No, sorry, that was petty, um… no, I’ll be fine, I’ll probably get something to eat and then skedaddle back to Portland.”

                “Get… something to eat?”

                “Yeah. You know of any icecream places round here that have blood flavour? That’s my favourite.”

                “Uh, no, I-”

                “Oh, that’s a shame. Guess I’ll go devour a whole human person then.” She crossed her arms. “Or, you know, literally just go to the supermarket and get a blood pack. I’m sure you know that’s way more convenient.”

                Noie cringed. “Sorry.”

                “Sorry for what?”

                “Um… I… Sorry.” She pressed the USB into her palm until she could feel her bones. “Sorry.”

                Lucy Ann stood there for a moment, waiting. When Noie didn’t say anything more, she sighed.

                “Y’know, it’s Dipper who gets hung up on reincarnations like a dummy, but… I dunno. I’m a little surprised.” Lucy Ann gave her a sad kind of smile. “You’re different from how I remember.”

                Noie’s throat tightened. She couldn’t look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, and the vampire sighed.

                “I know you are.” She made a move like she wanted to pat Noie’s shoulder, but stopped herself. “Look, kid, you’re…I don’t know your life. I don’t know why you decided to buddy up with a pro-nat angel who I literally told you wanted to kill me from day one- but nevermind.” She looked Noie in the eyes. “Look, you’re a young human. Just, go home, sleep, talk to your brother who is definitely a demon… and it’ll be okay, okay? I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but it’s not all terrible. It’ll work out.”

                “Sorry.”

                Lucy Ann sighed. “Okay. Goodbye, kid, and say bye to your grandma from me, too. Best of luck to you.”

                Then she walked past Noie, her tattered red shawl trailing behind her. Noie opened her mouth, and:

                “Wait!”

                The vampire turned around.

                “You’re leaving the state?” Noie grimaced. “That’s a l-long way, don’t you need help?”

                “What, have you got a driver’s license?”

                Noie didn’t say anything. Lucy Ann shrugged.

                “I’ll take a bus, thanks.” She turned away. “Bye, Noie.”

                Then Noie watched, wordlessly, as she walked away, and left her standing alone in front of the house.

                Alone.

Alone.

                She didn’t want to think about it.

                So she walked. Walked to the back of the house, where Lucy Ann told her all that time ago that Dipper was-

                She nudged a doggy door with her foot, and then crawled through it. She was almost too big to fit; it’d been a long time since she’d had to use this shortcut.

Not since her grandparents started staying home all the time, and even then Dipper was skinnier, Dipper was-

                She tiptoed into the kitchen, though she really didn’t have to. The TV was blaring from the backroom, trying to drown out someone else’s unwanted thoughts, painful memories.

Unwanted thoughts she gave him, painful memories she brought up just to get him off her case, just to pretend that Dipper wasn’t-

                She nudged the bedroom door open, and sealed it shut behind her. Put her forehead to the wood.

That Dipper wasn’t-

Wasn’t a demon.

That Dipper wasn’t a demon a demon A DEMON

                Noie felt it coming up like bile in her throat. She tried to choke it back, but THERE WAS HIS HAT THERE WAS HIS BACKPACK THERE WAS HIS BLOOD ON HIS BED WHERE YOU TOLD HIM HE COULD TRUST YOU

                She crumpled. Physically crumpled onto the floor; she made a grab for the desk but only succeeded in spilling papers with Dipper’s handwriting and the hat that Dipper always always wore and it landed in a puddle of golden blood and glistened at her like the disappointment in Lucy Ann’s eyes. She jumped back from it, then with shaking hands she took it and she held it close and she tried to wipe the gold off but it wasn’t coming off it was never going to come off and he was never going to come back because SHE KILLED HIM

                “No…” Noie hugged the hat to his chest, choking out, “No, no, no, n-no, I-I’m-sor-ry, I-I-m-so-sor-ry-I-di-dn’t-mean-to, I-I-di-idn’t-want-to-hurt-you I tried, I tried so hard, I tried so hard I didn’t mean to…”

                She gulped down a breath, and heard the TV’s chatter as it filled the silence. She unclasped her arms a little, and looked down at his hat. Her chin crumpled at the sight; whatever composure she’d won back dissolved in an instant.

                “Dipper, p-please come back…” Through blurry eyes she looked up at his empty bed looming far above her. “Please come back, please. I-I need you… I need someone.” She squeezed her eyes shut to drown out the TV’s blaring chatter. “I need anyone, please…”

                Alone in a bedroom for two, Noie buried her face into Dipper’s hat and sobbed until she didn’t have to think anymore.

                Noie didn’t know when she fell asleep, but somehow, she woke up smiling in her bed. She’d had a good dream.

                But as she woke up, felt the itch of her regular clothes, saw the dark night looming behind her blinds, that cold rush of dread swept in and extinguished every hint of a smile. She sat there, staring up at the ceiling, marinating in the memories of that morning.

The blood that sprayed from his neck, sprayed onto her, the warmth of it soaking into her as she stepped back-

And the shadows rising up, the demon tearing into her calling her mine mine MINE-

                Noie didn’t realise she was holding the USB until she could feel it stabbing into her palm. With a sniffle, she took it out of her pocket, and looked at it like she was seeing it for the first time.

                There was a logo, but apart from that it was grey, featureless. Strangely new, like it had just come off the shelf and not from…

                Noie sat up, pocketing it. She stared down at their computer sitting on the desk. Slowly, she made her way to the ladder, and climbed down the bunk bed until her feet hit the floor.

                The floor. It was clean; there was no more blood. The sheets were white and unblemished, clear of claw marks. There were no more reminders of this morning. No more reminders of her brother.

                If not for the USB, he may as well have been nothing but a strange dream.

                Noie gulped as she shook the mouse. It booted up from sleep, and she tapped in the password as she stuck the USB in a slot; as always, she fumbled to find the right side to put it in.

                As the computer started, she heard footsteps down the hallway. She froze, but it continued past her door and into the kitchen. She opened her files, and found the USB drive.

                After a moment of hesitation, she double clicked.

                A video and a folder appeared. Noie blinked at the titles; the folder was named simply ‘Memories’, but the video had a much more cryptic label: ‘For_Naomi.mov’

                What? She frowned, and clicked on the folder first. There were more video files, a dozen of them. She scrambled for her earphones, plugged them in, and clicked one.

                It opened to some footage of a very young child pushing around a baby walker. A gentle laugh came too loudly from behind the camera; Noie jumped and turned down the volume.

                “Heh, what are you doing?” The voice asked as the baby pushed their walker against a wall. Noie didn’t recognise him, or this house. “You need some help?”

                Noie watched a hand come down and carefully turn the walker. As soon as the baby was free, they drove it straight across a living room and into the couch; the voice laughed a bit harder.

                “You really like speeding around, don’t you?” The camera pointed down to the carpet. “I won’t be able to catch up once you figure out how to turn. Here…”

                Then the video cut off. Noie sat there for a moment, utterly confused. Uh, what was that supposed to be?

                She clicked another one. Same house, same voice, but the baby looked a little older; they were walking on their own, and holding a saucepan lid.

                “Now where did you get that?” The voice asked with amused affection.  The baby threw the lid and seemed to jump when it clattered. “Oh, that was loud, wasn’t it? Did it scare you?”

                The baby came toddling over to the cameraman and pressed their face into his leg. A hand came down to comfort them.

                “Aww, it’s okay. I’m here, it’s okay. You want me to pick you up?”

                They started to make a crying sound.

                “Okay, I’ll pick you up. Just let me…”

                The video stopped there. Noie stared at the last frame, at the baby clinging to this man’s leg.

                They had black hair, like her. She noticed that, then noticed the wedding ring on this man’s hand, then noticed the deep pit forming in her stomach.

                She clicked off the video, hesitated, then backed out of the folder. Her cursor hovered over the first video, ‘For_Naomi.mov’... and she glanced behind her.

                Dipper’s empty bed was the only thing that stared back, but she felt… weirdly watched. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and then turned around.

                She clicked the video, and watched it open into darkness. That voice again.

                “Seriously? Are you gonna stay up?” There were knocking sounds as he fiddled with the camera. “Just… ah, that might be it. Okay, there!”

                Then the man stepped back, and his face… Oh, stars.

                “H-hey! Hey, Naomi.” His laugh. His laugh. “Well, you’re just a camera here but hey, Naomi! Yes, hi! Hi, nice to see you t-”

                Noie shut off the video. Leon’s face still stared at her; she jabbed at the X until it disappeared then backed off fast from the computer. Her heart was hammering in her chest.

Leon. That was Leon.

That was what he sounded like.

                She stood there frozen for a second longer, then opened her door and almost ran into the kitchen just to get away from it, from him, from all of this-

                And came across someone she was not ready to talk to right now. Her grandfather looked up from stirring a cup of tea, his bushy eyebrows raised in surprise… and a bright shine to his stare like worry.

                “Naomi?” He started. She cringed. “Oh, uh, hey! Just making tea for Allie, here…”

                “Oh, yeah?”

                “Yeah. Just making tea for Allie…”

                He stared into the cup, and Noie made a face. She tried to back away, but-

                “So how’s Dipper?”

                Her blood ran cold. “D-Dipper?”

                “How’s his head?” He didn’t quite glance up at her. “Haven’t seen him all day, I-”

                “Fine! He’s fine, he’s- he’s fine!”

                “Okay… Uh, how was school today?”

                Noie swallowed hard. They still thought she went to school today. Wow.

                “Noie, is everything-”

                “Everything’s good! Everything’s great, thanks.”

                “Oh.” He hunched up his shoulders. “Oh, okay then. Guess I should, uh, butt out, then.”

                Noie cringed. ”No, Grandpa. I’m sorry, I didn’t…you’re not…”

                “No, no, I get it. You think you’re getting older, you’re at that age where, you know, you say stuff I shouldn’t take to heart.” He tried for a chuckle. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

                It faded into silence, and his throat tensed at that. He looked away.

                “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

                Noie stood there, once again out of words to say as her grandfather stirred the tea. She wanted to run away, wanted to melt into the floor, but the loose end of the conversation held her awkwardly in place until he started speaking again.

                “Didja know,” he started. “Uh, I mean, it’s not the same thing, but when Leon was around your age - or a little younger, ‘round twelve or so - he got in trouble for sneaking food back to his room.” He shot a glance back at her. “Which, uh, wasn’t allowed back then. Allie’s- it’s a bit more lax with you kids, but… well, it doesn’t matter.”

                She listened to the spoon scrape as it scooped out the tea bag. She listened to the wet noise it made as it plopped into the sink.

                “Anyway, uh, Leon was talking back to her like you like to do. I’d never seen anything like it before - telling her to go away, to leave him alone, he doesn’t wanna say why… like, what’s going on, kid? What’s got you all wound up?” 

                Noie watched David smile into the tea. He shook his head, and snorted.

                “Turns out a little family of gnomes had moved into the park by our house, and they were going through the garbage cans each night. Leon could see ‘em from outside his window, and he was bringing them fresh stuff each night. Thought we’d be mad if we found out - we weren’t mad. It was the sweetest sh-stuff I’ve ever seen.”

                There was a distant rumble of thunder. David looked up at that.

                “Oh, think we’re gonna get a good storm tonight.” He picked up the tea. “Anyway, we ended up inviting them in for dinner some nights, it was nice. The Bompossooms, they were good fun… shame when they moved on, but I think Leon kept in touch with ‘em.” His smile faltered. “For, uh, quite a while, before…”

                Noie grimaced. “Before… yeah. You don’t have to-”

                “It’s fine. It’s fine, it’s-” He gripped the mug. “I like that story. It’s good, it’s…”

                His fingers tapped hard against the ceramic. Tap, tap, tap.

                “You know, makes me think… you know, what you said this morning, makes me think about… about how…”

                Tap. Tap. Tap.

                “With you… you kids, he would’ve made a… made a g…” David turned away abruptly. “Argh,” He sniffed. “I got a cold, I think. Yeah, I got a fucking… stupid…”

                Noie watched him start off down the hallway, rubbing his reddened face and muttering things under his breath. He didn’t say goodbye, but the conversation was very much finished.

                In the silence it left, she heard another rumble of thunder. She glanced at the blinds over the back door, at the darkness that peeked through, and swallowed.

                She stood there until she heard another growl like the sound Alcor made when he had his claws in her chest, and she backed away into her room again.

                Into her room, which still had the growls of the growing storm.

                Into her room, that still had a neatly laid, empty bed on the bottom bunk.

                Into her room, where the USB was still stuck into her computer, about to be played.

                Noie could hear the wind whistling against her window. She could hear the palm trees rustling outside. A storm was coming, and she was going to end up watching that video.

                She was. She just was, so she might as well do it now, right?

                A gulp.

                Find out why Di- why Al- why it was left for her, right? She had to. She had nothing else to do.

                She took a deep breath, and took a seat behind the computer. She gave it a little shake to wake up the monitor, and came face to face with that file again.

                For_Naomi.mov.

                She put on one headphone, then the other. Then she clicked it, and braced herself for that voice again.

                That voice. His voice.

                “Seriously? Are you gonna stay up?”

                She saw the darkness differently now. It was a little fuzzier, a little bluer, and she could pick out the creases of a shirt.

                “Just… ah, that might be it. Okay, there!”

                The shirt shifted as Leon stepped back, and his face still sent a jolt through her. It was smiling, but she could see it looked different to the photos of him; the bags under his eyes, the lines in his face, the sunkenness to his cheeks… wow, he looked older.

                And he had a baby in his arms. Noie’s heart skipped a beat as Leon sat down on a bed, cradling it (her?) to his chest.

                “H-hey!” He said, and gave an awkward half-wave. “Hey, Naomi.”

                Then he laughed, a warm chuckle that made Noie’s blood run cold.

                “Well, you’re just a camera here but hey, Naomi!” The baby made a noise, and he smiled down at her. “Yes, hi! Hi, nice to see you too! I’m talking to you, did you know that? For when you’re all grown up!”

                She watched his smile go crooked. He looked up again.

                “I hope you never have to watch this, but, uh, in case you do, hey. Sorry if this is, heh, a bit all over the place.” He rubbed his face. “Twins have… been a lot the last few months, you and- and the other one, that’s been…”

                In the ensuing pause, Noie let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. Twins. He said twins.

Thank the stars.

                “Well, that’s been complicated, a-and that’s what I wanted to explain! By doing this.” Almost absentmindedly, he started to rock the baby. “There’s, uh, stuff I did, that-that you have a right to know, but I didn’t - I haven’t, I can’t’ve - told people, so if for some reason, um, I’m not around to tell you this-”

                Leon seemed to cut himself off before his words got too fast, and took a deep breath. With a shaking hand, he wiped some hair out of his face.

                “Um,” he started again, and swallowed. “Well, this is, this is in case it all goes wrong, okay? I think I’ve gotten myself in a bit over my head.” A nervous laugh. “I’m certainly planning to be there ten, twenty years down the road when you wanna ask me what the heck I was thinking, but I don’t even know what tomorrow looks like, so this is… this is insurance, okay?”

                The baby made a noise, and he started rocking her again. He grimaced up at the camera.

                “And I better make it fast, it’s your naptime soon.” He nodded to himself. “Okay, okay, so, I guess I should start with the elephant in the room. Your brother… you don’t have a brother.”

                You don’t have a brother. Noie jumped back like she’d been struck; her mouth opened to retort, but Leon was already continuing.

                “You weren’t supposed to have a twin. Alcor altered everyone’s memories so they think it’s normal, but-” He paused. “Alcor… um, Dipper- but I’m getting ahead of myself.”

                Thunder rumbled as Noie stared wide-eyed at the screen. Her hand itched to stop the video, to rip the headphones out and run, but she was frozen in absolute horror. She could only listen.

                Leon’s face was going red. “Um, at the hospital, after Pinni had you, th-there were complications and-” His voice went hoarse; he cleared it and shakily continued. “I-I’m sorry. B-but after Pinni… passed, that caused problems with y-you t-too and now you weren’t going to make it…”

                He wiped under his glasses, then put his arm down and clutched the baby to his chest.

                “I heard that, and I wanted, I needed some way to save you… I went through Pinni’s old demonology notes.” Another hard swallow. “And I found Alcor’s entry. ‘Nice to children’ she wrote, and… heh, well, that was better than all the alternatives. Nice to children; well, I thought, as long as he’s nice to you, right? As long as he’s nice to you.”

                Leon looked away, at a point past the camera. An almost dark chuckle escaped his lips.

                “I don’t make a very good demonologist. I knew it’d be a big deal - hah, a ‘big deal’ - and I was willing to offer anything to make it work. If it had taken my soul…” Another chuckle. “Seriously, I-I didn’t care. It’s kind of crazy, I just thought of you in the NICU and… I didn’t think twice.”

                Noie watched him pause, mouth working like he wasn’t quite sure how to word the next part. She could only stare at him, watch him finally shrug and shake his head.

                “Well, uh… didn’t take my soul! So I’m… about that, I don’t know…” He shook his head again. “No, I-I summoned him, and he didn’t want that. Instead… he said he wanted to grow up with you.”

                Leon frowned to himself.

                “He wanted to grow up with you. Wanted to make a human body, alter everyone’s memories to make it seem like he was a part of the family… I don’t know why he wanted it so badly, but if it was going to save you?” He tried for a smile. “I agreed. He asked me if I wanted to forget too, and I said no. I couldn’t.”

                The baby made another noise, and he gently shushed her.

                “Just a few more minutes, sweetie,” he murmured. “I don’t think it would’ve made a difference if I said I wanted to, um… Alcor isn’t very good at playing human. I don’t know what I expected, but his - bodies? His bodies keep breaking.” He seemed to shudder at a memory. “Ugh, yeah, it’s not pretty. And then he gets angry, and tears up the house - sometimes he fixes it, but I haven’t been able to have people over for weeks, the living room looks like a, like a wild animal went through it… yeah.”

                Leon heaved a sigh. He stared down at the floor with a glassy expression, and Noie shuddered at how tired he looked. Not a grey hair on his head, but at that moment, he seemed older than David.

                “Yeah…” He repeated, to himself. “It’s… it’s been hard. Some days I almost wish he’d just taken my soul; that would’ve been so much simpler, and you wouldn’t - I can’t imagine how confusing this’ll be when you grow up. I wish he’d just taken my soul.”

                After a moment, he seemed to realise what he was saying. He straightened and cleared his throat, trying to rally a smile.

                “But it’s okay! Or it will be okay, or…” He tried for a laugh. “Um, trying to put a positive spin on this is hard. This is all kind of awful… but Naomi?”

                Leon stared right into the camera, straight into Noie’s eyes, and the smile dropped from his face for a very serious expression. The intensity made her shiver.

                “I want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter how bad this gets… this was worth it, alright? I’m okay with this.”

                He smiled down at the baby in his arms, and his smile is so wide, so warm, so very genuine.

                “The deal saved your life, and that’s all that matters to me. I’d do it again, Naomi. I’d do it again a million times, because even if I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, I know it gave you the chance to grow up, a-and you never would’ve had that otherwise.” He smiled up at her, sadly. “Even if something does happen to me, a-and you have to watch this video… that means it worked.  That means you got to grow up, and I’m so glad. I’m so glad.”

                The smile wobbled a little.

                “I hope I can be there for it. Stars, I hope everything works out, and I can be there to see the wonderful person you’re gonna grow up to be… but if I don’t, if something happens to me… I want you to know that I don’t regret a thing.”

                He sniffed. Noie watched that, watched him look down at the baby again.

                “Just know that I love you. And Pinni loved you.” His chin trembled. “I just want you to know that. I want you to know that, Naomi, I…”

                The baby suddenly arched its back and opened its mouth, and the first hiccupping start of a cry got out before Leon stood up. He rocked the baby for a second, before leaning down to give the camera a sheepish smile.

                “Uh, I think that’s my cue.” He extended his arm to the camera. “I’ll ask Alcor to, um, store this when he’s- next time I see him, uhhh… maybe I should redo this? Maybe later, I’ll see if I have more time, um, later.”

                The video shook as he fiddled with the camera. He paused, and gave one final smile.

                “Love you, Naomi. Hope you’re doing good. You’re, you’re gonna be amazing, I hope-” A loud cry made him snort. “Alright, alright, I have to go. Love you so much, Naomi… Um, bye!”

                Then the video stopped. Stopped on that final frame of Leon, smiling down at Noie like she was his entire world.

                Smiling down at her, and she wanted to melt into the floor. She just sat there for a second, stunned beyond belief, the pit in her stomach as dark and heavy as a black hole.

                She shook her head, faintly. Shook her head at the video like Leon could see it.

                Then she glanced behind her, tried to get rid of that awful feeling of being watched.

                The thunder rumbled. Rain pattered on the roof, and the TV blared from one room over… and it was so, so eerily silent.

                Noie just sat there. Uncomprehending. 

                Shivering, because for once she was cold. There were goosebumps on the arm she used to pull the USB out. She held it for a moment, then set it on the desk and scrambled back.

                Now what?

                Now what?

                The rain fell. The wind whistled. The bed springs creaked as she slumped into Dipper’s bed.

                Now what? She asked herself, and stars, she really didn’t know what to think anymore.

Chapter Text

                The storm was short, but intense. Noie listened to the sound of rain splattering on the roof; she listened as it died down, down, down into nothing but an empty trickle.

                Her stomach rumbled, but she didn’t feel like she could eat a thing.

                She looked over to the USB on the desk, heard the ever-present buzz of television drilling through her walls. It was so still. So quiet.

                Noie laid back in Dipper’s empty bed, but she didn’t feel like she could sleep at all. No, she was awake. She was so, so awake…

                And then so, so asleep.

                She didn’t remember when she closed her eyes.

                “Naomi! Naomi!”

                Someone was shaking her. Noie squinted in the sunlight as she looked up at… her grandfather? He shook her again, and she sat up at the urgency in his voice.

                “Naomi, where’s your brother?”

                A slow blink. Her brother?

                “What?”

                “Your brother.” David repeated. He sounded irritated, agitated. “Why are you sleeping in his bed - i-in your jeans? What’s going on?”

                Noie felt a surge of panic. “Dipper, he’s- uh, I- it’s-” She backed up into the wall. “I… I-”

                “I’m here!”

                That voice… Noie stiffened. She saw David look up sharply, and turn his head towards the door.

                “Dipper? Where are you?”

                “Uh, just in the bathroom!”

                “How are you-? I just checked the bathroom, how the hell’d you-”

                “I’ll be out in a second!”

                Noie sat forwards as her grandfather walked back. Her mouth was open. Her throat had dried up. She craned her neck forwards, but the bathroom door just shut as it came into her view.

                But she’d heard him. She’d heard Dipper.

                Dipper.

                Noie shot out of bed, but-

                “Nuh-uh, kid.” David caught her shoulder. “Change your clothes, you aren’t going to school in the stuff you slept in.”

                She shook her head. “B-but-”

                “I’m not butting out on this one. It’s gross. Don’t be gross.”

                “Okay, I will, I just-”

                “No, you don’t have time for later. You kids’re gonna miss your bus; get changed, please.”

                He then walked out, closing the door behind him. Noie stood there for a moment longer, at a loss for words, before she glanced over at the clock.

                Oh. She had woken up later than usual. Probably because she didn’t set her alarm - wait, why was she just standing here? Dipper!

                Noie made for the door, then groaned and forced herself back to her closet. She threw on some new clothes, staggered out, and darted to the bathroom.

                “Dipper?” The door was closed; she knocked, a little frantically. “Dipper?”

                There was no reply. Noie grasped the handle, and hesitated.

                “Dipper? Are you still in there?” She gulped. “Please… please come out.”

                Silence from the door. Noie psyched herself up to open it… but then, a voice.

                “Are you sure?”

                Dipper’s voice. Dipper’s voice, and it sounded so perfectly ordinary that it took her breath away. She couldn’t speak; she could only nod, and apparently, that was enough.

                The door’s handle started to turn. She stepped back, and watched with wide eyes as it creaked open, revealing a boy wearing a red shirt, a pinetree hat, and a very, very nervous smile.

                Dipper Argenta.

                Her brother, Dipper Argenta.

                The same as he always was.

                There were no wings. There was no glow in his eyes, nor were there claws tipping his fingers. He looked so completely, absolutely, utterly normal… but that knowing expression on his face shattered any hope that this was all just a bad dream.

                Oh, stars. Her throat went tight as he opened his mouth.

                Oh, stars.

                “Noie?” Dipper started. He rubbed the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous, like he always did. “Um, I know you saw that video.”

                She didn’t move. She didn’t breathe. She couldn’t have done either if she tried.

                “That’s good, Da- your dad wanted you to see that.” She watched Dipper look away. “It’s an… accurate summary of what happened, but I know you probably have a lot more questions, a-and I can answer them! I remember everything now, so please, just give me a chance to explain and I swear I’ll-”

                Noie didn’t remember stepping forwards but suddenly she was hugging Dipper tight enough to cut him off. The feeling of his t-shirt, the warmth of his normal human body, the little jolt and gasp he gave at her embrace… it made her squeeze him tighter.

                It made her close her eyes, and hold on to that normalcy with every single scrap of effort in her soul. He was here, and he was hugging her back, and for a wonderful moment, that was all that mattered in the world.

                Dipper shifted his feet a little. She could feel him take a breath, and then: “Noie?”

                She kept her eyes shut, but the second he spoke, that moment was shattered. Burying her face into his shoulder didn’t quite bring it back.

                “Noie, I-I… I haven’t even apologised yet.” He tried gently to pull away, but she wasn’t about to let him go. “You don’t know what I-”

                “It’s okay.” Words came from right from the hollow in her chest. “It’s okay.”

                “No, y-you don’t understand, I-”

                “It’s okay.”

                “Noie-”

                “Kids?” A shout from the living room made them both jump. “What are you two doing bickering in the hallway?”

                Noie kept a tight grip on her brother as she whirled around. “We weren’t bickering!”

                “I don’t care what you’re doing, I care that you’re gonna miss your bus!”

                “I can drive them in, David.” Allie said. He ignored her.

                “Get moving, you two!”

                Noie didn’t know what to say in response. She flinched when Dipper spoke for her. “Okay, we’re going!” He said, and then held something out to her - her backpack? How did he have that all of a sudden?

                She stared at it. She watched him nudge her with a strap.

                “Here,” Dipper said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but then: “Here.”

                She took it, after a moment. She put it over her shoulders, and stared as Dipper gave a nervous laugh.

                “We’d, uh, better get going, then.” He jabbed a thumb behind him. “Outside… um, Noie?”

                Noie managed to take a breath. “Okay,” she said, and kept an iron grip on him as she stepped forwards. “Okay.”

                They headed out the door, her hand chained to his arm.

                They walked, and she was so, so aware of her brother walking beside her. Every little detail was brought into painfully sharp focus. The sound of gravel crunching under his feet made her feel like the ground was dropping out from under hers; the warm, undeniable reality of his arm felt like heaven and hell - relieving beyond measure but also dizzyingly terrifying.

                Their silence stretched, and Noie couldn’t think of a word to fill it. She could only focus on her brother, focus on the feeling of his presence and the quick glances that confirmed to her that he was still there.

                (Only glances, though. She couldn’t keep her eyes on him if she tried.)

                They walked in silence, until:

                “Shoot.”

                Noie looked over at him, and then at the bus pulling away from their stop. Oh.

                “Dammit, you’re gonna miss your- um, hold on.” He frowned, and then an idea seemed to strike him. “Oh, yeah! I can just-”

                There was a twist, and Noie froze as she felt the world fold in on itself; it lasted only a second, but her stomach turned and her vision swam and her heart pounded - what the fuck was that?!

                Then she looked up, and saw the school gates right in front of her, and oh what the fuck what the fuck WHAT THE FUCK-

                “Heh, I missed doing that. I guess we’ll be a little early now, but… Noie, you okay?”

                Noie looked at him, watched the nostalgic smile bleed off his face and oh my stars he did that, how did he do that, how the fuck did he-

                “Noie? Are you-”

                She screamed. She screamed and shot away from him and screamed and clutched her hands to her chest and screamed until her world went black at the edges, and Dipper-

                Dipper disappeared.

                Vanished, like he had never existed.

                Noie stood there, stunned, hands over her mouth, staring with wide eyes at the place where he was supposed to be.

                One, terrible moment passed. Her hands crept down, and:

                “Dipper?”

                No reply. Her throat went tight.

                “Dipper? Come back.” Noie swallowed hard; her voice was already trembling. “Dipper, come back. Don’t go again, please. Please!”

                No reply.

                “Please…” She looked down, and covered her face. “Please, I-I didn’t mean it, I… I’m sorry.”

                No reply. No reply.

                “I’m sorry.”

                “Okay class, this is our last problem of the day…”

                Math class. Noie sat there, pen poised above her blank notebook, words washing over her senselessly. She was lost in her own world.

                When it was over, Noie shuffled into the hallway, backpack dragging her down like the weight of the world. His absence was like a hole in her world; she looked to the side, and set her jaw.

                She was going to get him back. A bathroom was coming up on her right; she ducked into it, checked the stalls for feet, then took off her backpack and slung it onto the counter.

                Then she breathed.

                There was a mirror before her. She stared into it, and opened her mouth.

                “Dipper,” she spoke to her twin in the mirror. “Come back.”

                No reply. Her twin frowned at her, and she shivered.

                “Dipper, come on. You gotta come back, okay? I’m sorry, I… I’m sorry.” She looked down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. So… can you just come back, please?”

                The bell rang outside, and the hum of muffled chatter started to quiet down. She clenched her jaw.

                “Well, I’m not going anywhere until you come back. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m…” she tried for a wry smile. “I’m skipping class, Dipper. You’d hate that, so you’d better get your butt back here so I can go to history, okay?”

                No response. She laughed through the lump in her throat.

                “I’m serious. If you don’t come, it’s not happening, I’ll skip it. You want me to fail out? Then keep moping around… wherever you are. I’ll wait.”

                Her twin in the mirror stared back at her. It was far too silent now - silent enough to hear the lights buzzing, to hear her own thoughts racing. She gripped the counter.

                “I’ll wait.”

                And she did. She waited, and for what seemed like an eternity, Noie couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in her chest; the new, terrifying uncertainty that maybe he wouldn’t come back. That she’d wait here all day… and go home alone, again.

                That made her breath catch. That made her think back to the empty bunk bed, the night she spent without him, the glowing eyes burning into her brain digging into her stomach-

                “Noie.”

                But thank the stars, she didn’t have to wait any longer. He stepped out of a bathroom stall, and Noie shoved aside the thought of where he came from because he was back again he was back HE WAS BACK!

                “Noie, we need to- oof!” Dipper was tackled in another all-consuming hug; this time, he hugged back only lightly. “No, it’s good to see you too, but seriously, can we talk?”

                Noie buried her face into his jacket. “Please don’t leave me again.”

                “Noie… are you crying?”

                She sniffed. “N-no.”

                “Are you sure?”

                “Y-yeah. I-I d-o-on’t cr-ry.”

                Dipper gave a faint snort at that. “Not ever?”

                “N-not ever.” There was a tiny smile, but it quickly died. “You’re not g-gonna l-leave this time, right?”

                “Noie, I-I wanted to talk to you about-”

                “Okay, okay, I’ll do that. I’ll do whatever, just-” She squeezed him tight. “Please don’t leave me again. Please.”

                Dipper grimaced. “I don’t know if you’ll want me to stay.”

                “What?”

                “Noie…” There was a heaviness to his voice that rang all sorts of alarm bells. “I have to tell you-”

                “Class!”

                “What?”

                “Class!” Noie drew back from him, but kept a grip on his hand. “We’re late for class, Dipper! Let’s do the talk thing later!”

                “But-”

                “Come on!”

                And with that, she dragged him out of the door.

Chapter Text

                Out of the door.

                The door.

                The door. He reached for it, but his skin was on fire.

                His vision. It flitted in and out of focus as vitreous humours dribbled onto the carpet, and he watched the blurry smudge of her leave.

                Leave? No, be led away. There was quiet talking behind the door, and what his melting ears heard…

                “Dad?”

                “Stay here just a moment, okay?”

                “But Dad! Dipper, he-”

                “Just stay here, please. Play with your toys.”

                Anger. They made him angry. They made him angry, and he lunged for the door-

“R̶̯̞̣̥̗̤͙̮͉̖͇̭͕̼̭͓͘ͅŖ̴̻̙̝̼̯͇̪̰̤̗̦͖̠͈̖̺͕͟͝͠ͅR̴̸̴͔̞̜̱̦̱̯͈̥͢͠R͏̷͓̥̦͕͔̼̳͈̭̫͉̹̫̟̦̣̦͓̘R̴̨̛̞̤̫͈̙̠̲̱̥A̫̙̠̹̱̦̗̲̤̖̖̜̬̣͎͖͘͞Ą̡̫͉͔̙̙̯͉̞̠͙̥̗͉͍͟A̴̢҉̷̛͈̝̜̮̙U̶̖̻̣͈͎̮͉̯͈̬̰̙͜G̳͎̟̫͎̪͝G̨̨͎̹̻̗̰͡Ģ̵̫͈̮͈̳H̴̠̺̲̯͎͔̻̗̣̗̘͇̻̬͘ͅḨ̹̣̬̪̦̩̼̝͈͉͓̙͖̠̝̮̫ͅH̨̟̼̬̕͡H͍̙̗̫͔͘̕͞!”

                Pain. Not every part of him followed. And the knowledge leaking into his mind rushed through the fissures, and the carpet burned beneath his claws, and two feet came to stand before him.

                “Dipper?”

                Knowledge. Knowledge. He snarled.

                “Alcor.”

                That name. That was what he was, wasn’t it? And that was all he’d ever be.

                With a roar he turned and ripped at the sofa, disemboweled its stuffing. His claws - they were too sharp, and his teeth were too big, and his mind was too clear because that was all he’d ever fucking be!

WHY WASN’T THIS WORKING?!

                “You don’t want your fries?”

                Noie watched Dipper look up at her, like he was surprised. She stretched a smile.

                “Hello? Earth to bro bro?”

                A slow blink. “Do I want… oh, fries!” He nudged them towards her. “You can have them, it’s okay.”

                Noie frowned at him.

                “What? I said you could have-”

                “You haven’t eaten anything all day.”

                She tried not to sound accusing, but the hours of watching him space out in class clearly bled through. Dipper sighed at that, and opened his mouth to explain-

                “You need to eat things, you know. You need to.”

                “Noie…” He took one look at her expression, and begrudgingly picked out a fry. “Okay, I’ll eat this one.”

                Then he put it in his mouth, and chewed it. Noie let out a little breath at that, and grabbed a few fries. She tried for a smile.

                “They’re pretty good, huh?”

                “Uh, yeah, sure.”

                “Better than the peanut butter sandwich days. Wayyyy better, right Dipper?”

                “Yeah, sure, I guess?”

                “I dunno, are you sure?” She rattled the fries at him. “C’mon, eat some more!”

                He frowned. “Noie-”

                “Come onnnnn!”

                “I don’t want to. I’m not hungry.”

                “Of course you are! You can’t live off one measly fry, Dipper-”

                “I can, though!” Dipper snapped, and there was a flash of yellow in his eyes that made her shoot out of her seat. His expression immediately turned to horror. “Oh, I’m sorry! A-are you okay?”

                Those eyes… Noie was gulping down a scream. She put a hand on the table, and realised it was shaking.

                “Noie?”

                “I’m. fine.”

                She could feel Dipper looking her up and down. His arm was half-stretched across the table, like he wanted to touch her.

                …She didn’t want to touch him. She looked at his fingers, and realised that.

                “You sure?” Dipper’s frown was out of concern now. “Y-you know, Noie, this is kinda why I wanted to talk to you. I know it’s, um, weird, with me being a-”

                “Nothing’s weird!”

                “Noie-”

                “Nothing’s weird! Everything’s normal!” Noie finally managed to look at him again. “Didn’t we say we were gonna talk about this later?”

                “When is later?”

                “I don’t know, after school or something?” She gave him a shrug. “Whenever, I don’t care! I don’t mind talking-”

                “So, after school then?”

                “...I don’t care when! I-I just said I didn’t care, I-” She gritted her teeth. “Look, can we just have a nice lunch? Or are you gonna interrogate me this whole time?”

                She met his gaze with a scowl, and he sighed. “Okay. Sorry. I just thought-”

                “Oh, that’s your first mistake. Too much thinking, not enough eating!” She nudged the fries towards him. “C’mon, chill out, eat some fries! We’re having a good time!”

                And they were. They were.

                Noie sat with her brother for the whole lunch hour. At an empty table in a busy cafeteria, she talked the silence away.

                “Noie, don’t freak out.”

                Given that Dipper had suddenly grabbed her while they were going home on the bus, that was not a reassuring statement.

                “Dipper?” Noie looked at him; he’d gone pale, and was staring off into the middle distance with a rapidly deepening frown. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

                “I’m-” he gripped the seat with his free hand. “Getting a summons, I-”

                “A summons?”

                “I think I can stay here. It’s strong, but I think I can… argh, shoot.” Dipper glanced her way and managed a nervous smile. “Be right back, okay?”

                Then he disappeared into thin air. Noie sat there for a second, stunned.

                “Dipper?” Her voice sounded small. There was no reply but for the rumble of the bus. She touched his seat, then his bag, and panic fluttered in her chest.

Where the fuck did he go?!

                He was gone, and the bus sped along, and the floor seemed to fall out from under her feet and- she pulled the stop signal.

                The bus swerved over. Ground to a halt. Heart thumping in her chest, Noie grabbed both bags and stepped off onto solid ground.

                Her knees wobbled. Her eyes stung. She stared at the bench for some time, then stumbled over to it and sat down.

                Where was he? Where was he?

                She hugged his backpack to her chest…

What had happened to her brother?

                And frowned. Her slow, shaky breathing counted out the minutes she spent sitting there, trying not to dwell on questions she didn’t want answers to. The sun slumped lower in the sky, and by the time Dipper finally decided to drop back into her life again, that frown had deepened to a scowl. She didn’t look at him when he put a hand on her shoulder.

                “Hey, Noie. Sorry about that-”

                “Have you got that sorted out?” She didn’t watch him flinch. “Is everything back to normal? Are you gonna stop leaving me every five minutes?”

                There was a sigh. “Noie-”

                “Well? Are you?”

                Dipper just stared at her; she could feel his eyes on her back. He didn’t say a word, and Noie played with the strap of his backpack. She looped it around her finger, and tried not to think about things.

                Closed her eyes, and tried not to think about that morning for just a second, just a goddamn second…

                “Noie, we need to talk.”

                And his voice was not helping. She shot him a look, then stood up.

                “Noie, where are you going?”

                “We’re going home, Dipper.” She stretched out a hand. “Unless you’ve got somewhere better to be.”

                Dipper frowned at her. “Noie…” he started, but she took his hand and squeezed it tight. He let her do that, let her lead him down the street. Almost like old times.

                Almost, but for all the ways it had gone terribly wrong.

                “Hey, kids.”

                David was in the living room again when they came home. Dipper stopped abruptly at the sight of him; with a tug, Noie dragged him inside.

                “Hi, Grandpa!” She waved with the hand holding her brother. “Dipper says hi, too!”

                “Does he.” David looked at him. “How’re you feeling, kid? How’s those headaches?”

                Dipper just stared back, completely white-faced. Noie laughed for him.

                “They’re aaall better, aren’t they, bro?” She shook his hand. “Aren’t they?”

                He blinked. “Wh-what? Oh, yeah. Yeah!”

                David cocked an eyebrow. “You sure?”

                “Yeah, don’t worry about me!” He backed into the hallway, taking Noie with him. “Don’t- sorry. Sorry, I… sorry.”

                Once they were in the bedroom, Dipper near-slammed the door closed. Noie snorted.

                “What was that all about?” She saw him open his mouth and quickly added: “I mean… so, homework! Man, I can’t wait to get started on math - Dipper, can you help me out with a-”

                “Noie.”

                She started rifling through her bag. “One sec, I gotta find it-”

                “Noie, please.”

                “Puh-lease, haha. Oh, found it!” She whipped out the sheet and grinned at him. “Let’s do this… Dipper?”

                Dipper was not smiling back. Dipper had covered his face with trembling hands, and as she watched he pressed himself into the doorway, shaking his head when Noie reached out.

                “Dipper? What’s wrong?”

                “I… I can’t.” He got out. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Noie, b-but I can’t keep this up any longer, I can’t…”

                Her hand hovered over his shoulder. “What do you mean? Are you okay?”

                “I know you don’t want me to talk about it, b-but I did so many terrible things- I can’t just, just stand here like nothing’s wrong! I need to tell you, and you’re gonna hate me, but-”

                “Whoa, whoa, Dipper! I’d never hate you!”

                “You can’t be sure about that!”

                “What? Of course I’m sure! I know you, Dipper, I-”

                “No you don’t!” Dipper snapped. “I’m sorry, but you don’t know me as well as you think you do and you need to let me tell you!”

                At that, Noie staggered back. Her throat closed up; she couldn’t breathe. She watched Dipper sigh, and look away for a moment. He turned back, and locked eyes on her, and despite the blotchy face, despite the human eyes she thought she knew so well, despite everything…

                He looked so terribly ancient.

                “Noie?”

                Noie backed away.

                “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout at you.”

                “Shout at me? I don’t care if you shout at me, I…” Noie’s chest was heaving; she couldn’t look him in the eyes. “What am I supposed to do if I end up hating you?”

                It was silent for a moment. Noie stared down at the floor, and tried not to see how her brother slowly drew back his arm and stood still. He had no words to say to that, no reassurances to give to her, nothing.

                He had nothing, and it was unbearable. Noie turned abruptly away and picked up a sheet of paper that had fallen to the floor. Awkwardly, almost mechanically, she held it out to him.

                “I have some, um, homework,” she said, and before he could interject she added, “I know, I know, but… Can we not, for a little while longer? Like just for tonight?”

                Dipper didn’t say anything; he just stared at her with that tired, ancient gaze. Her face crumpled into a smile.

                “Please? We can just have a good time, then you can tell me whatever you wanna tell me, and…” She gulped. “Well, let’s just have a good time now, okay? Okay?”

                After a long pause, Dipper finally took the paper. He read it. Noie watched him read it. She watched as he sighed, opened his mouth, and then:

                “Since when did you start calling homework ‘a good time’?”

                The tension finally eased a little, and Noie let out a laugh. She laughed harder when she saw Dipper look up at her, a weak but teasing grin tugging at his cheeks.

                “Alright, he said, and shuffled over to the desk. “I guess we’re, uh, doing homework, then.”

                She hopped on his bed. “Hell yeah we are! Take us away, bro!”

                At that, he grinned and started to explain, but she couldn’t miss the wariness in his eyes, the tremble in the hands he held the page with.

                She couldn’t miss how he almost put his elbow on the desk, but saw the USB and flinched away.

                Despite everything, it was a good afternoon. Dipper was Dipper, and Noie was Noie, and everything was right with the world.

(Right enough anyway, if you didn’t count the USB that sat between them like an omen.)

                That was until there was a knock at the door. Dipper’s grin, which had been wide as he explained something about derivatives that was definitely a little above their grade level, suddenly dropped; he shrank back as David poked his head in.

                “Hey, kids. Me and Allie, we got dinner going.” He jabbed a thumb at the kitchen. “Pasta. It’ll be ready in a minute, so wrap up whatever you’re doing, and… are you two doing homework?”

                Noie glanced at her brother, then forced out a laugh. “Yyyep! What, are you surprised?”

                “I gotta say a little, yeah.” He grinned at her. “Good for you, kid. Wrap it up for now and come back after dinner, okay?”

                “Yeah, yeah, thanks or whatever, Grandpa.” Noie watched him close the door, then immediately rolled her eyes at Dipper. “Well, that was patronising. I do my homework! Sometimes. He’s seen me do it before, he doesn’t immediately have to be like ‘ohhhh , goooood joooob Noie, you stupid idiot, you’re actually doing your…’ uh… Dipper?”

                Dipper didn’t move from his seat, didn’t even look at her. He had that same deer-in-the-headlights expression from the last time he’d seen David, and Noie couldn’t help but wonder what was scaring him so badly about his own grandfather.

                Her eyes flitted to the USB, and she put that out of mind. She touched his leg.

                “Dipper?” When he jumped, she jumped back. “Dipper, did you hear that? We’re going to dinner.”

                He finally turned that expression on her. “Dinner? With David?”

                “With Grandpa, yeah-”

                “I’m not-” He shook his head. “No. I’m not, I-I won’t-”

                “Won’t what?”

                “Won’t… j-just say I have a headache, okay?”

                Noie frowned. “Why?”

                “Not- I’m not going to sit a-across from them, I can’t- I won’t be able to hold it together!”

                “What do you mean?”

                Dipper’s eyes flitted to the USB, and her breath caught in her throat. She shot up.

                “Okay!” Noie spoke loudly. “I’ll do that! Noooo problem bro, haha!”

                He just looked at her, panic fading to that ancient sadness that made her want to shrivel up. She opened her mouth, then closed it and awkwardly shot finger guns at him as she backed into the door.

                “Alright, uh, don’t have too much fun without me!” With one hand, she scrabbled for the handle and pushed it down. “Seeya, uh… seeya! Love you, Dipper.”

                “I love you too, Naomi.”

                Noie’s smile stretched at that. She tried to keep her eyes on him, but as she closed the door, they couldn’t help but gravitate to the USB on the desk.

The USB.

                It shut with a click, and she hurried down the hallway to get away from it all.

                “Allie, what are you- don’t touch that!” She rounded the corner, and saw David pulling his wife away from the stove.

                “Hey!”

                “You gotta watch yourself! I don’t want you getting hurt.” David noticed Noie and waved her over. “Hey, kid, could you drain the pasta for me? I’m gonna get Allie sat down.”

                “I can help!”

                “You can not give me a heart attack, that’s how you’ll be helping.”

                Noie saw Allie’s frown, and opened the cutlery drawer. “Why don't you set the table, Granny? We need four knives and four forks.”

                She let her grandmother wander over, then got out a colander. David grunted.

                “Four, eh? Dipper not coming?”

                “He has a headache.” She said, and nothing more. She took the lid off the pasta, and the steam rose up in a puff.

(Rose up like the void, far above her head, and suddenly why was she suppressing a shudder?)

                “Another headache… we really gotta get that sorted out.” He scratched his chin. “When’s his next appointment with the neurologist?”

                “Next Monday.” She said, and lifted the pot. Walked it to the sink. “You guys are free that time, right?”

                “Monday?” Allie made a face. “I’ll have to check my shedule-”

                “We’re free, Allie.” David waved his hand. “We’ll be free.”

                Noie poured the pasta through the colander. Steam rose thick and high from the water, and she could feel her heart thudding in her throat. The pasta slid down, little bowties splattering into the sieve with a slimy sound that drilled into her brain; it sounded like his brain, his skull splitting apart and his bloody spaghetti slopping onto the tile...

                She felt sick. She felt sick, and she tried very hard not to let it show in her smile as she scraped it into a bowl.

                “Dinner’s, uh, up.”

                “You’re not done yet.” He pointed at the cold glass jar sitting out on the counter. “You still gotta put on the red sauce.”

                   Noie unscrewed the cap, and got blood on her hands. They trembled as she took what she’d done to the table.

                “And there we are!” David grinned at her. “Thanks, kid.”

                She just nodded.

                “Alright, bon appetit everybody, why don’t we dig in? Here’s the serving spoon, Allie, help yourself… Allie?”

                “Are you alright?”

                Noie looked up at that, and saw her grandmother staring at her with a look of concern. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

                “Huh?” David frowned at her. “Wait, is something the matter, Naomi?”

                She shook her head, vigourously, but her throat was betraying her. Dammit, fuck, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry-

                Too late. David shot up from his seat and had his arm around her in seconds. Allie rose with a little difficulty, but she was there just after him.

                “Whoa, hey, what’s the matter, kid?” David’s bewildered expression filled her vision, and she shook her head. “What’s wrong? You gotta tell us what’s wrong.”

                “It’s-” Noie managed. “It’s fine, I’m f-fine, I-”

                “You’re not fine - look at yourself! What’s gotten you so worked up? Something at school?”

                She shook her head. “No, i-it’s fine-”

                “Something at home? Uh, homework? Homework’s hard? Is that it?”

                “No, no, it’s fine-”

                “Then what is it? Naomi, we can’t fix it if you don’t tell us. Naomi. Naomi-”

                “David!”

                That voice was Allie. David and Noie jumped a little at the sound, and turned to her.

                She was glaring at David. “You need to give her some space,” she said, and he backed off sharply.

                “O-oh, sorry. Sorry, kid.”

                Noie wiped her face. “It’s okay, Grandpa. Look, I am okay, i-it’s just…”

                She stared down at her hands, cringing at the silence that followed, at Allie’s hand squeezing her shoulder. A new wave of stupid crying was building up in her throat, and she swallowed.

                “I j-just…” She clenched her fists, shut her eyes. “Am I… Am I a b-bad-d-pers-son?”

                “A bad person? What?”

                Noie didn’t have an answer to him. She just didn’t, and when she felt Allie hold her a little tighter she just shook her head.

                “Bad person?” David sounded like he was in disbelief. “Is this because we had a little spat?”

                She gave a helpless shrug. “I-I d-don’t know, k-kind of?”

                “Oh, Naomi… I told you, you’re at that kind of age, it’s fine. It’s healthy, even!  You’re not a bad person for getting into arguments…”

                She stared down at her hands, her bloody hands. It was so much more than this…

                “You’re growing up! You’re getting older, and, y’know, testing your limits?” He made an uncomfortable sound. “Does that, uh, make you feel better? How’re we doing, kiddo?”

                When Noie didn’t respond, Allie spoke in an undertone. “I’m going to call her fah- her Leo, okay?”

                “What?” David watched her walk over to the kitchen and start looking around for her phone. He took a half-step forwards to stop her, then glanced back at Noie, sighed, and turned back to her.

                She just stared into her hands. Leon… when she closed her eyes, the video seemed to scream in her head. The watery shine in Leon’s smile, the hoarseness in his voice, and the words he spoke - they stabbed at her.

                They dug deep into the pit in her stomach, and stars she couldn’t take this anymore, she couldn’t, she couldn’t-

                Noie clenched her trembling jaw, and finally looked up at David. “Grandpa?” She started.

                “Yeah, kiddo?”

                “Can I ask you… something weird?”

                Something like panic flashed in his eyes, but he managed a smile. “Uh, sure? What’s up now?”

                She looked at Allie, opening the cutlery drawer, and leaned in close. “Um… about Leon?”

                David froze. She cringed at his expression, and forced out the last bit.

                “How did he… um, how exactly… did he…” - and David’s face had already blanched - “...d-die?”

                There was silence, broken only by Allie looking for the phone. Noie watched him gulp, hard, and she was already regretting this.

                That was when the air seemed to drop ten degrees. The shadows in the room seemed to starken. A sudden, undeniable presence had turned its full attention to her, and she couldn’t help but look.

                Look past David, to the boy standing in the hallway.

                Clenching his fists.

                Staring right at her.

                They locked eyes, and though Dipper didn’t have claws, or glowing eyes, or wings… there was something immutably ancient, there. Something… disappointed.

                He gazed at her like a god watching the folly of mortals, and Noie knew in an instant that this creature’s name was not Dipper Argenta.

                Was it Pines? Was it Alcor?

                Whatever it was, it wasn’t the brother she knew. Maybe it would never be again, and David was talking now.

                “I thought…” She heard his voice come in thick, halting. “I-I-thought… you kids were told the story, right?”

                Noie couldn’t take her eyes off the creature in the shadows. “I… I want to know what happened.”

                The creature’s eyes had a strange gleam to it now. David’s breath caught, and he cleared his throat.

                “Well, uh… I-I mean, there’s… there’s not much to know, you know?” He squeezed her shoulder. “Just, it was the night after Allie spoke a-at a park. You were with us, ‘cause Dipper had that magic emergency and had to go to the hospital…”

                His voice got very tight. The creature looked on, unnaturally still.

                “W-w-we got a c-call.” He gestured with a shaking arm. “The entire… the entire street block, it was… incinerated, th-there was just a b-black c-crater where all the houses were supposed to be and…” He gulped. “Stars, i-it was all gone, and L-Leon - your father, y-your house… that was… you know.”

                The creature finally looked away. David took a shuddering breath.

                “You know.”

                Noie gritted her teeth. “Who caused the explosion?”

                “Huh? It was… some sort of demon attack, kid. A really awful, terrible… demon attack.”

                “Which demon?”

                “What?”

                “Which demon did it?”

                At that, David sighed. “Sorry, I wish I knew, kid. They never could figure that one out, it was just a demon attack.” And then a frown. “They said it was Leo, just ‘cause he married a demonologist and his house was in the centre of the blast. But he wasn’t a demonologist!” He gripped Noie’s shoulder tighter. “I don’t know what they think he was doing there, besides looking after his sick kid, but he wasn’t responsible for that! He didn’t get twenty six people killed! He didn’t!”

                “David?”

                “He-” David glanced over to Allie, and his mouth clamped shut.

                At that moment, Noie flinched as the creature stepped out of the shadows. It strode across the room, and though it was in plain sight, David and Allie didn’t react to it at all.

                Maybe they were just preoccupied, Noie thought. She watched it reach for her hand, then step back and motion her forwards when she didn’t move.

                She didn’t want to go. She didn’t want to see where this was going to take her. But her grandfather was saying hoarse words, and Allie had gone back to searching through the pots and pans for a phone to call her dead father with, and she didn’t know what she was supposed to do other than follow.

                Maybe she said goodbye. Maybe she said she needed to go lie down. Maybe she said nothing at all, and was led to her room like a prisoner led to her cell. Either way, she was in here now, and the creature she could believe was Dipper shut the door.

                The USB. It was on the table. She stared at it, and not him.

                “Noie.”

                Was she still crying? She touched her face.

                “Noie. We need to talk.”

                Yes, she was.

                “I’ve tried to put it off for you, but I can’t. Not any longer. So can you just, please, let me explain?”

                Oh, stars. Oh stars. Oh stars oh starsohstarsoh-

                “N̨͖̤̼̱̘̗̰̭̞͜o̶̱̲̞̜̻͘͞ḭ̬̳̺̕e̪̘̘̤.̢̟̤͎̖͕͘͝ͅ”

                The reverb rattled her chest, and she glanced up just in time to see the demon shed his human form. The air crackled as Alcor unfurled wings of pure void; reality itself seemed to twist and fold up , fold out, as he suddenly became twice his size, as his clothes burned away to a charcoal-black suit, as his glowing, deeply inhuman eyes opened and fixed on her with a glare that stopped her heart.

                His feet lifted off the ground and he floated forwards. Noie shrieked. She staggered back, pressing herself into the corner of the room like she wanted to force her way through it… and suddenly Alcor was holding his hands out.

                “It’s okay, it’s okay!” He was saying, and oh my stars those were claws on his fingers- “It’s still me, Noie.”

                She was shaking her head. She kept shaking her head. No. No. No.

                “It’s still me. This is still… me.”

                No it isn’t. No. No, it isn’t.

                “It is, though.” He looked at her with a gaze so ancient, so tired of this. “Noie. We can’t keep this up. I can’t keep this up. You can’t keep this up - look at you.”

                She couldn’t look at herself. She couldn’t tear herself free from those terrible, terrible eyes…

                She watched them dim. She watched them look down, then flicker back up again.

                “Okay.” He said. Flatly. “You don’t have to hear me tell you.”

                A hand. A clawed hand, glinting and outstretched. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. He spoke again.

                “But let me show you.”

                The world seemed to ripple, seemed to shimmer, seemed to narrow and fall away until it was just him, and his hand, and the terrible truth that shone through his eyes.

                “Let me show you who I am.”

Chapter Text

Let me show you who I am.

                One moment, Noie had his hand - the next, she was lost. She blinked and stumbled in total darkness until her hand found a wall; she flattened herself against it, breathing hard.

                “Dipper?” Her call had a wobble to it. “Dipper, where are you? What is this?”

                All that answered her was a faint noise, like a baby crying. Noie followed the wall with a hand, reaching out in case there was a wall, or a person, or some other obstacle… or a door.

                Her fingers brushed against the handle, and she gripped it. Turned it. The crying got louder; it was in this room.

                With shaking arms, Noie felt her way into this room. The darkness seemed to fall away ever so slightly, and she could see the fuzzy outline of a crib emerge from the void.

                The crying was deafening now, a sustained shriek of distress that made her flinch, made her shudder at the thought of what she was going to find in that crib. She pressed forward, and came across…

                Well, a baby. A very small, very red baby struggling out of its swaddle. Noie tried to shush it, tried to wave at it, but it kept crying - maybe it needed someone to hold it? The thought struck her, and she reached in to pick it up and and she brushed its shoulder and-

                The skin… smeared. Noie felt it like she’d touched whipped cream; she pulled her hand away and there was a dollop of scooped skin between her fingers.

                The baby screeched. Noie tried to grab it again. Not everything came with her.

                One moment, Noie was holding that in her arms, watching in horror as pieces slopped off and smashed on the carpet. The next, there was a growling, a burning; she cried out in pain, and then-

                She was in the bathroom, running water over the ropey burns lashed around her forearms.

                They looked… different. She felt taller. There was a wedding ring on her finger.

                Noie looked up at the mirror, and saw Leon’s terrified face staring back at her. She yelped, and jumped back, and-

                A destroyed living room. The curtains had been brought down. The window had been smashed, and glass crunched under her sandals. Great claws had shredded the drywall and gutted the sofa, and, curled up like a nightmare under the burned carpet, was a pair of two beady yellow eyes that struck fear into her very soul.

                She gulped. “Alcor?”

                Only a growl answered her. The scene shifted again, and suddenly she was reading some kid a bedtime story.

                “...And the princess escaped the dragon, and they all lived happily ever after.”

                The little girl looked up at her with drooping eyes. “So the dragon, he’s all alone?”

                “Yes. He wasn’t being very nice.”

                “But dragons are cool! I would’ve… tried to be friends…”

                “Heh, okay. Goodnight.”

                “No, Daddy, wait!” She grabbed her arm. “You said you’d stay here till Dipper came back!”

                Noie felt herself glance at an empty bed beside them, and suddenly it felt cold. She shivered.

                “Please? Just a little longer?” The little girl’s voice trembled. “Dipper’s coming back, right?”

                “No, no, he’ll come back, don’t worry.” She hesitated, then swallowed. “He always does.”

                “Always?”

                “...It seems like it.” She picked up another book. “Let’s read the next book in the series! This is where the evil dragon comes back, and the princess has to fight him off one more time! Can you read the first sentence for me, Naomi?”

                Naomi.

                Naomi.

                “Naomi Faybelle Argenta, I told you to stay in your room!”

                The little girl clung to the doorframe. “But, Dip-”

                “Dipper isn’t safe right now! He’s not feeling well! I’ll handle this, go to your room!”

                “But-”

                Noie stalked over to her. “Naomi,” she hissed, and grabbed her hand. “ Please, go to your room!”

                Then she shoved the little girl away and slammed the door shut. A pause, a breath. A cringe as she recalled the big-eyed look on her little face - she shouldn’t have shoved so hard.

                But there was no time to regret.

                I҉̷'̴͠m̴ ̧̢r̶͞u̸͝n͞҉͝n̸in̶͞͝g͡ ͏o̴͡ư̡͡t̨ ͏҉̢ơ͡f̡̕ ̢p͜a͝t̨͟i̧͡e̛n̷҉c̨e!” A terrible, snarling voice made her jump. “M̻̠͞A̡̟̦͠K͓̯͖E͏̵̼͓ ̢̹̥͜A͍̭͖̝̘̟͙͖͟ ͇͍D̵̦̱͎̖͙̖̮̰͜E̯̪͇A̵̢͕̝͖̗͓̼͘L̰͘͜ ̘̹̣W̢̛͖̠̥I̮T̥͕̝͕̺͕̟H̢͇̤̩̞̦̪̹ ̵̭̟̪̤͎̺͈͝M̻͈̥̦͔̳̞͡ͅE͈͕̲̟,̼̱̳̦͈ ̸̤̮͉̻͔̫͎͔͞L̛҉̫͇̮͎͟Ę̶̪̭̻̝̙͎O͏͕̯̭͔N̨͙̲͟!̙̮̣͕͖̬̕͞”

                She turned back to the voidlike figure pacing around the ruins of the living room. A gulp. She scurried over.

                “Okay. Okay, Al- Dipper, I’m ready.”

                The demon narrowed his eyes. “D͇͉̕͢o̸̧̠n̴͔̻͍̥̜̮̺͜͟'̮ț̹̻͔͇͇̰̟ ̴̙͖̜̻͢m̩͉͚͎̠͍̹e̺̟̱̩̜̙͜s̛̘̪̳̹̕s̥͎̬͎̻͖̱͢ͅ ̶̛̟̬̠̯̹͟t̤̝̳̟h͓͕i̸̵̠͎̯͈̫̘s̘̻̲̜͍͝ ̴̫̮̤̱̺͜͝u̢̯̺̰͔̘̠͘p̖̞͟ ̡̧̫̟̠̰̕a̮͖̜g͎͓̠͢͡a̳̬̬̥̙i̛̠̮̹̯̮̪̜̠̖͟n̶̟͇̥̣̬̠̗͎̹̬͘͞ͅ, o͚̗̣̠̺̘r̭͕͈͘̕ͅ ̸̦̻͔̰͎̤͜͡y҉̯̗̭̳̠̰̭o̵͔̮̞̦̖̪ͅͅu͎̪͜'̢̲͖͟ͅͅl̥̪̳̣͖͝l̪̺͡ ̵̲͡b̴̬͍̹͔̟̺͟e͏̥̕ ̣̻̺͕͘s̡͇o̵̳͕͙̟̘̥͎̭̪̕r̡̬̻̩̝̼r͙͇̣̝̖̭̕͠y̷̖̝̤͖.”

                “I told you, I didn’t know he had a magi-orb, I-”

                “I̴̡̡̦̤͖̯̭̲͟ ̸̸̨̛̣̲̠̠̼͕̼̜̙̮̗͎̗̳̞̪̺͟D̸͖̠̼͙͕̮̭͝O̴͓͉̺͍̹̣̦͖͈̰̳͕̮̗̘͟͞ͅN͡͏҉͏̞̠͙͕̩̜̩̹̳̖͓̭̟'̴̪̠͕͍̗̦̝̩̦͕͕͎̳̱̙͚T̷̢̳̫͍͙̪͇̯͎̞̤͘ ͏͇̖̻̯W̴̢͔̯̩̦̮̦̹̝̝̘̲̙̞̭̯̥̗̖͠͡A̷̻͚̭̪͖̹̣N̵̠̲̮̥̞̣͈͈̝͉̤͉̜͈͠T̵̨͍̥͕̺̳͘ ͢͏̧҉̪̙̩͎͍Ę͖̰̳̻͇̻̙̱͓͢͜͞ͅX̧͔̦̳̕C̡̖̺̭̯͔̯̼̺̬̜̦͕U͝͏̞̱̙͙͍̬̯̱̗̝̲̳̠̬̰̰̜S͜͜͡͏̗̭̞̰̲̹͎̪̳̯͔̘̥̙ͅE̠͈̠̦̰̪͎͙͔̞̦̠̪̰̝̹͇̩̯͜͝S͏̶̨̹̮̳̯̠͚̲̗͎̺̭̹͓̱̭̝̩͉̥͟͞,̵̴͓̝̘̥̱͚̪̠̯͡ H̢͎̯̖͚̜͓̦͔͟U̴͚̦̱͙̻̙̲͎̠̮͎͈̙̭̺͝͞ͅM̸̼͈̹̬̪̞̙̬̖̩̣̲̖̳͎̣̭͓̤͜Ḁ̵̖̜̠͉̣̲̭̼͔̜̮̝̕͘͡N̸͉̫͉͉̻͔͝͝͠!̵̡̨͈̻̲̮̜̩̥̠͉̬̳̲̼̞̳̟͖̣” The demon screeched. “I̛͏͏̵̡͉͔̣̖̝͔͓̗̹̻̗̰̮͚͓͍̪ͅ ̶̸̢̛͍̯͈͈͍͇̫̳̘̬͖͖̱̤̲̖͖J̵̠̙̘̹͓͓̭̫̩̼̲̣͇̜̝̬U̢̧͓͙͈̗͉̹͎̣̘̯̠̰̥̠̕͠͞S̴̴̬̙̞̹͡͡T̷̹͉̺̰̹̼̥͞ͅ ̸̶̶̜̣̲͜ͅW̨͜҉̟̰̩̗A̷͞҉̜̳̤̠ͅͅN̷̶̡͙̺̹̠̰̼̤̬͍̪̩̳̱̖̖͎͜T̨̡̛̬͉̬͔̭͖̲̹͓̦̞̬̳̥͔̞̬̤ͅ ̛̼̹̟͍̲̦͞ͅT͠͏̳̩̭̻̼͕̻͉̟̭̪̙̩͎͔̹ͅH̴̺̙͍̣̯̣̫̤̞͔̹̫̞̰̯̭͔̤͎͠͞Ị͔̭̩̝͘͘S̸̶̷̺̫̣̱̯̮ ͏҉̨͕̰̦͙͙̺͇̲͞T͏̧̩̦̗̙̘̠͓̠̖͎̣͕Ọ̵͔͔̣̻̖̱̬̼̰͇̺̤͖̹͓͟ ̘̣͓͕̲͖̫̪͈̤͙̙̝̺̖̣̼͝͡W̨̪͕̻̘̳̬̥̼̰̣͈̣͍͈͘̕Ǫ̧̢͎̟̗͔͖͟R̴̵̛̖͚̦͚̰̦̭̬͎̟̲̝͟͞ͅK̴̢̙͔͉͕̰̯̩̳̠̰̲̜̱͠!҉̭̤͎̜̫̘͝͝͝ ̶͏̴̭͙̱I̸̡̺̩͖̗͕̦̬ ̴̶̛̥̯̰̩̖͎͈̭̖̣͚̩͖̕͞J̨̡̲͇͍̯͠U̺͉̩͈̭̮͉̮͎̘͘͢S͏̡͎͖̯̬Ţ͡͏̶̭̱̪̖ ̷̰͓̳̬̯̱̳̜͕̮͕̫̼̪͕̻̺̭̕͘͡͠ͅW͇̻̟̥̕͢A͟͟͏̻̫͈͓̪͚͙͕̥̯̻̪̺͚̜͢͡N̨̥̖͍̩͉̪͖̟̕̕ͅT̛̯͓̩̥͡͞͞ ̫̘͚͓̟̞̞͎̜̲͘E̲̰͕̻̤͈̲̼̙̦̟̲̯̤̘͍͕͙̰͘͠V̵̜̫̜̤͇̪̱͞E̵̺̲̫̟͖͍R̡̘͙̟͈̯̯̰̲̩͡Y̭̠͉̣͇̰͓̮̝̻̩̯̖̱̹͕͚̖͜͟T̵̢̼̙̺̝͜H̸̸̨̢͔͙͈͕̳͍̱̬̩͍̙̞̟̣͞ͅI̬̰̪̞̝̞̬̳͢͞ͅͅN̷̴̦̬͔̟̻͔̩͈̭G̵̡̦̣̥̼͓̤͕̻̞̩̲͕͕̣͙͡ͅ ̧̺̯̼̞͖̼͚͙͓̫̥͟T̵̝̪͓̭̩̠͖͍̳̬̳̰͉͖ͅO̴̷͝҉̠͈̠̦̮̭̗͚̰͙͉̝̟̻͇͔̣̭ ̸͢͝҉͉̤̙͔̟̠̩̟̰̰̳͕͎̩͖͓̦̰W҉͠͝͏̨̬̞͉̖̩̻͕̳̺͇̘̬̝̩ͅƠ̴̗͙͈͈͕͝R̷̜̟͈̕̕͞ͅK͈̦̞̥̟͓̜̝̣̠͕̫̹͙̩͕̥͝͠͠ ̨̼̞̫̤͚̕̕͜ͅA̷̡̢̗̗̝̪͖̭̖̦̻̮̥̹̗͠G̴̢̭̯̩̭̰̞̜͉̳͘͜A̧̡̹̜̖̞̮̳̞͈̟͙̻̩̘̹̭͍͔̮̕͠I̢̛͜҉̟̠͙̰̦̱̪̹͎̺̜͙͙̬͓̲͝N̸̡͓̲̞͍͔̲̦̬͠ ҉̵̜̲̲͈̥̕Ą̵̸̹͙͚̦̝̙͈̭͉̪̩̪̻͚̕͢N̪̙̠̩̮͕̰͞D̨̮̳̪̣̦͞ ̨͏͙̜͈͎͎̟̝̟I̵̥̲͍͍̝͈͘ ̵̢̱̝͙͘͡͞ͅD҉̡̛̞̟̺̲͞Ơ̧̩̳͕̥͉̘͕̳ͅN̜̟̬̺̜̻̺̬͉̖͍̭̗͇̠͉̕͠͝ͅͅ'̸͡҉̧̬̭̮͖͍̯̘̺̹̖͓̳̮̩͎T̵̯̩̬̭̺̘͍͘͠͠ ̸͜҉̶̰̞̯͖̥̤͇̼̭̖̺͚̠̼̹͙U̢̮͎̰̘̗̪̻̙̜̬͘͘͝N̴̼̠̟̥̰͚̥̳̼̲̼͉̕͢͡ͅD̷̛͓̫͎͇̪͞Ę̷̰̹͉̜̗̰̝͟R҉̧͓̠͖̭̮͔͖̥͖̗̺̲̟͝S̵̡̧̝͇̜̻͙͚̟͉̻Ṱ̛̰̰̥͉̻͙̮̫̣̰̞̭͓̲͎̤̯͘͝Ạ̷̰̦̥̹͚̞͈N͏̵͉̭̮̩̖͍̹͙̲͇̩̻̖̪̙̠͡D҉̸̧̼̱̮̝̬̥͠ͅ ̵̢͔̥̞͘͘ͅW͔̣̦̣̩͍̲̤̘̺̬͖͠ͅH̙̭̩̱̫͔̞̜̗̫͞ͅY̧̭̟͕̤̥̥͇̹͡ ̸̶̧̛͙̫̱̜̬͓̠̪͎͞I̛҉͇͈̰͈T̖͖̘͍̯̜͕͖̝̱̣͇̩͘͢͟͢͝'̴̷̢̼͚̠̫͉͈͉̭̻̼̥̠̰͢S͏̴͈̤̤̜͢͢ͅ ̧̦̬̼̱̱̲̟N̢̡̪̹̤̮͉̥̝̭͕̝͚̖̲͙̩̮̞ͅO̸̡̨̫̻̼͓̮͇͕T̡҉͢͏̣̼̜͚̟̜̳̦ͅͅ ͕̳͇̲͚͖͇͙͘͜͢͠W̵̧̟̗̼̺͇̖̲̬̜̫͙͔̟̪͎̝̻̬͝͞ͅO͢͝͡͏̣̪̜͖̬͖̪̯̥̬̳͚͖̬̲͖̤͙̠͠Ŗ͔̠̦̳̩͙̩͕̫̭͖̜K̶̢͇̟̥̳͚̼̱̼̖͎͇̞͔͢I̢̨̖̝̱͉̠̫͎̗̮̘͘͢N̴̥̙̥̹̬͔͖̼̕̕͢G̢̜̱̮̳̞̟̳̱͓̟̤͇͜͟-”

                “Alcor-”

                “D̴͇̭͉̳̘I̴̕͜҉͎͎̲͔͔̫͔̳̼͚̰̘̠̖P̵̴̘̘̲̘̤͉̟̻̯͕͕͝͡P̢̛̼̲̻̪̰̺̥̦͘ͅE̡̡̖̪̮̻͔͇̹͚̩̣̩̼̦̣̱̻͢R͏̧̜̟̖̘̯̻̮͟͢!̡̢̛̣͇͕̥̕ͅͅ”

                “Dipper.” She took a deep breath, then extended a hand. “I’m ready to renew the deal.”

                The demon looked at her with cruel contempt. He snarled, then lunged forwards and grabbed her whole wrist; his claws dug in, and fire flared up between their fingers.

                Noie let out a yelp. She cringed, struggling to look up, struggling to look him in the eyes once again.

                His pupils… they were like little golden pinpricks in the void. They didn’t look like human eyes.

                They didn’t look like her brother’s eyes.

                Her brother. This wasn’t her brother.

                “But it is, though.”

                A voice. Not from the demon. From the little boy, huddled in the corner behind her with his wings wrapped around his legs.

                Noie stared at him. He didn’t meet her eyes, but she could see his soft, brown, normal irises.

                “I just… wanted a family again - no, I wanted my family again.” He curled up even tighter. “It’s been so long, I-I’d lost so much since they… passed. I wanted them back. Belle and Lionel… I just wanted them back.”

                “Dipper?” She stumbled forwards, and suddenly it was her arm reaching out to him. “What’s going on? Belle and Lionel? Who’re-”

                “Not you.” He looked up, and his gold-on-black gaze stopped her dead. “They’re not you. They’re not Leon. That’s what I didn’t understand; that’s why it wasn’t working - don’t you get it?”

                “Get what? Dipper, I don’t-”

                “I tore apart your family for a lie!” The whole living room seemed to crack and splinter; suddenly it was the demon on the couch shouting her down, letting go of her bleeding hand to stab fingers at himself. “This is me, Noie! This is who I am! I can run around and play human for a couple centuries, but this is where I always end up!”

                Noie covered her ears. His voice carried through her strange hands.

                “Noie, I have to tell you! From the instant I woke up from that body, and I remembered this… I-I couldn’t keep it from you!” He growled and pressed his hands to his forehead. “And maybe that’s just me being selfish again, but I couldn’t, okay? I’m a demon, it’s who I am.”

                Her head was pounding. Her mind was melting down. She just shook her head. She just shook her head.

                “Naomi.”

                She just shook her head. She tried to hug him, but he backed away.

                “Naomi-”

                “Just stop it.” Noie’s voice came out as a sobbing croak. “I don’t want to know who you are, I-I j-just w-w-want you t-to be Dipper again…”

                “But… this!” Dipper gestured to the broken home. “This is Dipper! Don’t you see, Naomi?”

                “It’s Noie! You’re supposed to call me Noie!”

                “Naom-”

                “I don’t want to see!” She crumpled to the floor, covering her eyes with strange hands. “I just want it to go back to normal. I just want it to go back to normal. I just… I just…”

                “Naomi.”

                “No no no no… I just… I… I can’t, I just… I can’t, I...”

                “Noie.”

                A gentler voice. After a moment, a familiar hand on her shoulder. He let her pull him into a hug this time, let her sob into his shoulder and grasp at him like she was never going to let go.

                “Dipper…” She managed, after some time. “I want to go home. I want to go home…”

                “I’m so sorry. You can’t.”

                “Dipper-”

                “I destroyed it. You can’t.”

                Noie whirled around quickly, and suddenly they were sitting at the edge of a massive, blackened crater in the centre of a neighborhood. Her heart skipped a beat, but looking around… this wasn’t her street. This wasn’t her home.

                “It is, though.” Dipper was staring down at the wedding ring on her finger. “At least… it was meant to be, before I came in. Before I ruined everything. Before I… Naomi?”

                Noie shook her head. “Dipper, I wanna go home.”

                “Leon… I haven’t told you how he died.”

                “No, you don’t need to.” She scrambled away from him. “Dipper, no. Don’t tell me. Please don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

                “You do, though. I know you do.”

                “No. No, I take it back. I don’t care. Dipper. Dipper!” She watched him close his eyes, felt the scene begin to shift. “No, no, Dipper, wait! Stop! I don’t wanna know! Dipper, please, I don’t-!”

                “No. It’s fine. Please, you don’t need to-”

                “Leo.”

                “It’s fine. You don’t need to do this for me.”

                “Leo, honey…” A laugh. “You’re being ridiculous.”

                Leon laughed a little, too. In the mirror, he straightened his tie. “Mom, I’m just saying, it’s fine. I need to be the one taking him to his… his appointment anyway-”

                “We’re his grandparents, Leo.” Allie typed something on a keyboard. “I guarantee you they’ll let us take Dipper in for his checkup - now, where is this place again?”

                “Mom, seriously, it’s fine-”

                “Oh, my stars, Leo. You’re as stubborn as your father.”

                Leo started to respond, but there was a muffled voice on the other end that made Allie laugh. He grinned despite himself.

                “Was that Dad?”

                “Yes, he’s saying I’m the stubborn one for some reason and I’m not sure I appreciate that when you haven’t even gotten dressed David!” Another muffled pause and laugh. “Heh, the two of you, it’s like herding cats. Anyway, we were going to take Dipper this weekend.”

                Leon struggled into his suitpants. “No, it’s fine, Mom-”

                “Leo, we’re already taking Naomi - let us do something nice for you!” Her tone turned worried. “You deserve a break, honey. Every time I see you, you look so tired.”

                He looked in the mirror, at the bags under his eyes. A grimace.

                “Come on,” she pressed. “You’re such a great parent to them, and you’ll be even better with a little more rest!”

                “Mom…”

                “And it’ll be a great opportunity for us to get to know Dipper a little more! We see so much of Naomi - and she’s wonderful, she’s so wonderful - but I don’t think we’ve ever had that kind of one-on-one time with him-”

                “One-on-one?” Leon blanched at the thought. “No, no, no! Um, I mean-”

                “Why not?”

                “Well, it’s…” He made a face. “It’s complicated, okay? H-he’s got, you know, the… the magic sensitivity-”

                “And we can handle that, sweetie. I know this is stressful, but I promise you, David and I wouldn’t offer if we weren’t one hundred percent sure we could keep Dipper safe in our house. We don’t have any enchantments, we don’t  have any imbued wards, I leave my magi orb at work-”

                “It’s not just that, though!”

                “Okay. Please tell me what other considerations there are so we can solve this.”

                “I can’t- Look, it’s- I don’t-”

                “We don’t have to talk about this now.” Allie’s voice came in a little gentler. “It’s okay, Leo, I didn’t mean to fluster you. I just want you to know we’re here, okay? You don’t have to go this alone.”

                Leon gave a grim sort of smile. “Okay, Mom.”

                “I can tell you’re making a face at me. Am I being cheesy?”

                “No, no! It’s just…” He sighed. “Complicated.”

                “Okay… okay. I love you.”

                “I love you too, Mom. See you soon.”

                “See you soon. Now where’s Davros - honey, are you still in your sweatpants? The mayor wants us at the park at least an hour earlier…”

                Leon chuckled as he heard her voice get fainter - yeah, she was off to corral David into something decent. He hung up the phone with a smile, one he didn’t even realise he was wearing-

                Until a shriek from the kid’s room stole it away.

                Leon jumped and tore out of his bedroom. He rushed down the hall - narrowly avoiding the legos strewn about the floor - and burst into the kid’s room.

                “Naomi? Naomi!” He looked down and heard… giggling. Naomi was there, thank the stars, with Dipper’s pants over her head. She turned to look at his voice.

                “Daddy?”

                Dipper was there, too.

                “Daddy, where are you?” Naomi swung her arms around to try and find him. With a grin, Leon stepped a little closer and let her hit upon him. “Is that you?”

                “Yes, that’s me.”

                “I found you! I found you, Daddy!”

                “Yes you did!” Leon scooped her up and swung her around the room, laughing at how she shrieked with joy. He gently tugged Dipper’s pants off her head. “Now, what are those pants doing there? Pants don’t belong on your head, they belong on your legs!”

                She laughed her delightful little toddler laugh. “Yeah, they pants don’t belong on your head, they - then you can’t see out of them! That’s silly!”

                “You’re silly!”

                “Nooooo, you’re silly, Daddy!”

                “Yeah, you’re silly!”

                That came from Dipper. Leon flinched at the voice, at his eager little face suddenly pressed up way too close to him, but he stepped back and recovered with a laugh.

                “Me, silly? I’m not the one putting pants on my head!”

                That quip was the height of comedy for both toddlers, who immediately shrieked with laughter. Leon gave a shakey grin, and gently set Naomi down.

                “Alright, you guys are high-energy today, huh?” He chuckled nervously. “Glad we’re going to a park… Uh, alright kids-”

                “Nooooo, you’re silly!”

                Suddenly, Dipper was latched around Leon’s legs; Leon went rigid at the thought of hands turning to claws, legs burning as he was picked up and thrown against the drywall-

                “Hey, get off me! Get off me!”

                Leon kicked himself free, stumbled, and fell hard against the doorframe. A shock of pain brought him back to the present… and the shocked look on Dipper and Naomi’s face brought a pit to his stomach. He reached a hand out.

                “Hey, I’m sorry, kid. Are you okay?” He cringed as Dipper let out a sob, then another, then buried his face in his little hands. “Aww, I’m so sorry. That was my fault, I’m so sorry.”

                Dipper lunged for him and buried his head in Leon’s jacket and wrapped his claws around his throat and sobbed into his shoulder, and Leon just tried to hold him there.

                Tried to keep in mind that even if Dipper was fake, was a demon’s human construct, was not their son not her brother… he also seemed to be a very real little toddler who needed his dad.

                That, at least, couldn’t be fake. If Alcor was this good at faking being human, he’d be able to form a body that’d last more than a couple months.

                That was what Leon thought, anyway. And in moments like these, with Dipper wrapped around his chest and Naomi huddling silently on her bed, watching them with a worry in her eyes no three-year old should have… that theory gave him only a pang in his chest.

                Because it meant he was failing two kids instead of one. Stars, Alcor really knew how to torture him.

                “I’m sorry,” Leon whispered to the boy he so badly wanted to love. “Daddy’s sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

                “I-I-l-lov-ve-y-you…”

                Leon squeezed tighter at that, because god knows the kid meant it. After a moment, he felt another pair of arms wrap around him and he shifted to let Naomi in on the hug.

                He closed his eyes, and for a moment, he could hardly tell which was which.

                “I love you too…” He whispered, then with a sniff he pulled back. “A-alright, kids, we gotta… we gotta get thinking about leaving in a little while. Where’s the nice clothes we picked out yesterday? I know I saw Dipper’s pants around here, but…”

                Naomi reached behind her, and picked up Dipper’s pants. She then put them back on her head, and both Leon and Dipper laughed a bit.

                “Are you being silly again?” He asked, and both of them started giggling. “You two, I swear… but seriously, where’s the rest of it? It was on your dresser this morning.”

                Dipper pointed a finger. “Noie put it under her bed with the pie.”

                “Pie? What pie?” Leon lifted the bedsheet… then let out a long, deep sigh. “Naomi, sweetie, is this the shepherd’s pie we had for dinner yesterday?”

                She beamed at him. “Yes! I herdeded the potados into fields!”

                “Ohhkay…” Leon poked at the mashed potatoes strewn across their shirts and smushed into the carpet. He then sat up and clapped his hands. “Right! New game! We’re picking new clothes! Uh, first one to do that and show me wins! Now I gotta take some stuff to the washing machine…”

                “Daaad, are we there yet?”

                Leon was glad they were going to a park. It was hard enough to get his kids to sit still in the car.

                “We’re in the parking lot now, Naomi. One second.”

                “Daaaad!” Dipper bounced up and down in his booster seat. “My pants are itchy!”

                “Your pants are- what?”

                “They’re itchyyy, Daaad, I wanna take them off!”

                “But you picked them-!” He paused, and took a breath. “I’m sorry they’re itchy, Dipper, we can’t change them now. We’re outside.”

                “But Daaaad-”

                “You’re not taking them off, we don’t have spares.”

                Don’t have clean spares, anyway, Leon thought as he maneuvered into a parking spot. Dipper started sniffing in the back, and he gritted his teeth.

                “Dad, are we there now?”

                “Yes, we are.” Leon unbuckled his seatbelt. “Hold on a second, Dipper, I’ll get you out of your harness.”

                He opened the car door and walked around to Dipper’s side, rubbing his eyes. Stars, he was exhausted. It was barely even twelve and he just wanted to go to sleep.

                When he opened Dipper’s door, though, something made alarm bells go off in his head.

                Dipper had gone… quiet. More than quiet; he was sitting absolutely still in a way toddlers just didn’t, staring forwards with a certain expression Leon recognised all too well. His heart skipped a beat.

                “Dipper?” He tried shaking the kid a little bit. “Hey, Dipper, how’s your head feeling? You okay?”

                Slowly, dazedly, Dipper turned that ancient expression on Leon, and a part of his mind that he hated started thinking well it’s been a couple months, this might as well happen, he wanted to talk to Alcor about a few things anyway-

                “Dipper!”

                “Daddy?” Dipper blinked, then frowned. “My pants are still itchy.”

                Leon gritted his teeth. “Do you have a headache?”

                “Huh? A little, but-”

                “How long have you had a headache?”

                Dipper stared at him, then shrugged. Then held up five fingers.

                “Five… five what? Five minutes? Five hours?”

                “I- I dunno? I guess it was just now?” He shrank back in his seat. “Am I in trouble again?”

                Leon didn’t say anything to that. This was so… so frustrating. He didn’t want to deal with this. For one day, just one day, he wanted to go out and have a nice day with his parents… but nooo. No, it was probably all back to Alcor again, great, fricking fantastic-

                “Are we gonna have to go home again?” Noie was leaning forwards in her seat. “Daddy?”

                He hated that she knew to ask that. “I…” He started, then rubbed his temples. “I don’t… I don’t know, maybe! Um, when’s the last time you had your water, Dipper?”

                “Wa… ter?”

                “Yes, water!” He snapped, then: “Sorry. Your, uh, sippy cup, right there. Were you drinking from it?”

                “Um-”

                “No, he wasn’t!” Naomi said, then offered hers to him. “Here! So your head won’t go boom!”

                “Naomi-” Leon half-reached a hand out, but Dipper had already taken it. “Uh, Dipper already has his own- but that’s very nice of you, Naomi.” He made a face. “Sure, that’ll… keep his… um, healthy.”

                “I’m helping!”

                “Maybe that- that’s the thing.” Leon watched Dipper drink, pressing his knuckles to his teeth. He muttered under his breath, “It’s not the thing, it’s not, it’s never the f...fffricking simple thing… I should go home. I dunno when it’s gonna happen, so I gotta… well first I gotta drop her off and- and go, and… and then I gotta say hi, and then-”

                “Hey!”

                “And Mom’s gonna be weird about it, and-”

                “Hey! Helloooo?”

                Leon heard his children laughing. He frowned, followed their eyes to look behind him- then jumped out of his skin at a man standing just over his shoulder.

                “Aaaah, whatthe- Dad?” Leon braced himself against his car as David burst out cackling. “Oh, it’s you! Heh, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

                “Oh my stars, Leo, I didn’t even mean to there! I didn’t think you’d let me get so close!” He shook his head. “Hoo, you were real lost in your thoughts that time! Glad I was there to knock you out of it!”

                Leon rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. “Yeah, Dad. Where would I be without you.”

                “Late for Allie’s speech, that’s for sure!” David spread his arms wide and wrapped Leon up in a hug. “Good to see you, son. We’re real glad you and the gang could make it.”

                “Thanks… Thanks, Dad.” Leon hugged back, and found himself smiling. “I’m glad to be here too. Missed you guys, uh, a lot.”

                David gave him a couple pats, and squeezed tighter. He held Leon like that for what seemed like a while, until:

                “Grandpa!”

                “Oh ho ho, speaking of the gang!” David stepped out of the hug and right up to the car. “Hey, Dipper, Naomi! You guys ready for a good old day at a real special park!”

                At that, Leon stepped back. Took a breath. Watched David start to unbuckle Dipper.

                “Grandpa!” Naomi was almost chewing herself out of her seatbelt. “Pick me up pick me up pick me up-”

                “Just give me one second, sweetie!”

                “Dad?” Leon frowned. “Why are you down in the parking lot? I thought you and Mom were gonna be with the mayor already.”

                “Oh, yeah, we were over there!” David picked Dipper up, swung him around, then put him down. “Woohoo, there we go, kid! - Um, but I told Allie I was gonna sneak out and wait for you guys.”

                “Oh, you didn’t have to-”

                “Didn’t have to, but I wanted to!” He grinned at Leon. “Besides, I’m doing Allie a favour. God knows she’s better at rubbing elbows with all the, uh, government people or whatever. I cramp her style.”

                “Grandpa Grandpa Grandpa Grandpa-”

                “Okay, okay, I’m coming, Naomi!” David straightened his suitjacket and walked around the car. “So how’s things been going with you, Leo? These rascals haven’t been giving you too much trouble, have they?”

                Dipper ran over to latch onto Leon’s legs, and he suppressed a shudder. “Heh, um…”

                “Ohh, no, I know that sound.” David tickled Naomi, and she shrieked with delight. “Have you been givin’ him trouble? Have you been givin’ him trouble? Oh, no, kid, we can’t be having that!”

                "Hahahaha, st-stop, stop!”

                “Okay, okay!” He unbuckled her and lifted her up on his shoulders. “I guess we’ll have to stick you in the dungeon this weekend, eh?”

                “You guys have a dungeon?! I wanna go!”

                Davd chuckled. “You are… something else, kid. I love ya.”

                He started up the hill with Naomi rambling into his ear, and Leon suddenly realised he hadn’t said a thing about Dipper’s headache.

                “Where is the dungeon? Do you guys have a secret trapdoor? Do you have a dragon! You guys gotta have a dragon!”

                “Uh, I guess we’ll have to check when we get home, eh? That’ll be a fun game.”

                Leon looked down at Dipper, and made a face. Heaved a sigh. Made a decision.

                Took his hand, and followed after David.

                Once they were over the short hill that lined the parking lot, greenery and trees laid themselves out before Leon like a great, natural carpet. A winding path led past a couple benches up to a chattering crowd gathered in front of two large white tents; gusts of wind made them flap, and go still, flap, and go still. A microphone was being set up on some temporary staging, and it shrieked once or twice as the stagehand adjusted it.

                Leon shivered a little as another squall rushed over the park. The trees rustled. The tents flapped. The crowd chattered. It was a sunny day, but he eyed those dark clouds coming down from the mountains.

                A storm was coming. And it’d be fine, as long as it didn’t come in the next few hours.

                “Hey, slowpokes!” David was running down the hill. “We’re gonna beat you to Allie!”

                Dipper laughed and tried to run after them. Leon felt the tug on his hand, and grimaced.

                “Hey, Dipper, Dipper. We’re not racing.”

                “Aww, why not?”

                “Well, it’s…” His eyes slid away from Dipper’s gaze. “You got a, uh… headache, and…”

                “But I can still run! I drank all my water, too!”

                “You did, you did. But, uh, let’s walk, huh?” He looked past all the trees. “It’s pretty, right Dipper? You know they’re just opening this park today. Isn’t that, uh, cool?”

                The only response he got was more tugging on his arm. Fair enough, he thought. Opening ceremonies weren’t a particularly fascinating subject to any toddler, even ones that weren’t…

                He made a face.

                Weren’t… well, what Dipper was.

                Anyway, they were passing through the crowd, now. Leon kept an extra tight hold on the boy’s hand as they made their way to a little behind the stage, where a number of people in suits were congregated.

                Where was Allie? There was Allie, right in the thick of it. Leon knew it by her voice; even though he was a fair distance away, he picked up the tail end of:

                “-and you think Tempe has a ghost problem, I just got a call from the mayor of Jerome City. Fifty haunting incidents were recorded last week there - on Monday.” She glanced over to see David approaching, and stepped back. “Fifty incidents in one day, can you believe that? That’s why you’re absolutely right, we’ve got to improve warding standards statewide - excuse me for a second.”

                She then turned around, and plucked Naomi off her husband’s shoulders. Leon felt Dipper tug on his arm again, and this time he just let go.

                “Why, hello, Naomi! Someone’s gotten a little bigger since I last saw them!” She hugged Naomi tight, and balanced her on her hip as Dipper ran over. “And, ah… Dipper! Dipper, I’m so sorry, little guy, how’re you doing?”

                “I drank all my water!”

                “You did? Oh, that’s great news! Staying hydrated is important, especially when it’s hot out like this.” She ruffled his hair. “You should be wearing a hat, too. Leon, didn’t we give them those big sunhats last Christmas? Where are those?”

                “Those are in the-” Leon reached behind for a backpack, only to discover he wasn’t wearing one. “Oh, snap! I left their stuff in the car, I’ll just-!”

                David started off. “I got it, Leo! No worries!”

                “Oh, Dad, you don’t have to-” He made a face. “Oh, okay? Okay.”

                “He’s doing something nice for you, Leo. Let him.”

                Allie set Naomi down; she immediately started picking at grass, while Dipper just stood there, wearing that far off look again. When Allie smiled at Leon, he tried to smile back.

                It didn’t work. Allie stepped closer, and her arm came up to grasp his shoulder. He chuckled and tried to brush her off, but her grip was iron.

                “Leo,” she said, in that concerned tone that made him hunch up. She gave a squeeze. “Relax, sweetie. How’re you holding up?”

                He didn’t meet her gaze; he looked over at Dipper and Naomi. “Um, the kids-”

                “I’ve got my eye on them. They’re fine. How are you?”

                “Heh, what is this, an interrogation?” He tried for a laugh, but she didn’t give him an inch. Finally, he sighed. “Uh… I guess I’m a little tired? It’s fine though-”

                “A little tired?” She chuckled, but there was an edge to it. “I’ve seen vampires more alive than you - eight o’clock last night, a whole committee of them.”

                “Mom-”

                “Which is totally understandable! You’ve got twins! I felt like that when you were that age, and there was only one of you! It’s okay to need a break, Leo.”

                “I don’t-” He tried to step away. “Thanks, Mom, but I don’t- I can’t-”

                “Got the bag!” David tossed it at Allie, and she caught it. He slung a hand around Leon. “What’re we talking about? Uh… did I interrupt something?”

                Leon opened his mouth, but Allie cut him off. “You remember when Leo was young, Davros. How much sleep did we get?”

                “Sleep? Hah! Didn’t know her.” He patted Leon’s back. “You look like I did, son, and that’s never a compliment.”

                Leon tried to extract himself. “Look, uh, i-it’s fine, I’m-”

                “Leon.”

                “I just- look, it’s complicated, okay?” He held up his hands. “Um, how’re you guys doing? It’s good to see you-”

                “It is! It’s been the first time in way too long.” Allie glanced around at the people, and kept her wide smile. “Look, just… don’t shut us out, okay, sweetie? I know that’s what you do tend to do when stuff is stressful, and the past few years have been, well… there’s been a lot of changes for you, and you don’t need to be handling it on your own.”

                Leon gave a grim smile, there. ‘A lot of changes’ - that was one way to put it.

                Unconsciously, his hand moved over to touch his wedding ring.

                “Yeah,” David said, after a moment. “We’re not trying to make things hard for ya. We just want you to tell us how to help, right?”

                Leon tried for a quick nod. Allie gave him a smile, and moved in to wrap him up in a hug.

                He tensed up, but after a moment he just melted into it. A second later, David somewhat awkwardly wrapped his arms around them both. No words were spoken, and for a second or two, Leon almost felt like a little kid again, without any of the world’s worries weighing so heavy on his shoulders.

                Then he heard Naomi’s voice, and opened his eyes to see her offering something muddy to the mayor of Tempe.

                “Look at my dirt dragon! Dipper and I made him for Grandpa’s dungeon!”

                For once, it was David and Allie rushing over to deal with his children, and that felt… kind of nice.

                Leon stood there, his clothes flapping in a little gust of wind.

                It was good to have a break from it all.

                “That’s my cue.”

                Leon was sitting to the side of the stage, staring out at the park. There was a speech going on, but his mind was elsewhere; words registered only as a background hum as his thoughts took centre stage.

                His children and a few other kids were playing a little ways out in the trees. Leon didn’t think it was a good idea, but David had fished a ball out of the bag before the speeches were to start, and they seemed to be happily kicking it around the grass, so it was fine, right? Dipper would be fine, right?

                He didn’t even have that much of a headache, so he’d probably be fine to play ball a little bit. Yeah, it was fine. It was fine-

                “Leo.”

                A touch on his shoulder made him jump. He looked over, and watched his mother rise and head for the stage.

                “Wish me luck,” she whispered in passing. Then she straightened her cuffs and stepped up onto stage, striding across it just as the mayor finished up speaking.

                “And now, we’ll hear a word from our special guest, Senator Aleksandra Argenta!”

                Applause broke out as Allie took the podium. Leon watched his mother adjust the microphone; as it died down, he caught her little grin before she opened her mouth, and for the millionth time in his life he wondered how on earth she could be comfortable speaking in front of so many people. It was like a superpower, he thought.

                “Thank you, Mayor Martìnez, it’s an honour to be speaking here.” Allie turned a sparkling smile to the crowd. “And good afternoon, everyone! I hope you’ve been enjoying this beautiful new park! I was walking around with my husband earlier, and it was stunning. Truly stunning.”

                Leon glanced over at David. His father was grinning from ear to ear as he watched Allie speak; when he noticed Leon watching him, he put his arm around his son and pulled him in close.

                “And, as I was walking around, what struck me most was the diversity of people, magical and mundane, simply… enjoying the park beside one another.” Her smile turned strange. “It hasn’t always been this way. For most of my life, it hasn’t been this way.”

                The trees rustling in the wind and the children laughing in the distance were the only sounds to be heard as a hush went over the crowd. Allie cleared her throat.

                “I’ve talked about my sister before. Her name was Iveta. When she was fourteen, she was bitten by a vampire, and from that point onwards, public spaces like these were forever closed to her.” The shine seemed to leave Allie’s eyes. “Our family could so rarely venture outside. Where would we go? Restaurants didn’t have anything for her. Most buildings were filled with anti-preter wards, as mandated by laws still on the books since the Chancellor administration. Even simple parks often had a thread of silver buried around the perimeter to keep the nonhumans out. It was…”

                She laughed a little.

                “Well, it was ridiculous, wasn’t it. But it wasn’t going to go away on its own. Iveta, and I, and so many other preternatural rights activists, we fought to break those walls down, and we’re not going to stop fighting - there’s still so much to be done.”

                A large ribbon and scissors were being walked up on stage. With a grin, Allie stepped back.

                “But here, today, we can still celebrate how very far we’ve come.” She grasped the scissors. “So on this day of February third, thirty-six seventy-two, I officially declare Douglas Park open!”

                With a flash of cameras and a snip of the scissors, she cut through the ribbon. The crowd burst into applause, and Leon rose with his father to clap for her.

                “Woo! Woo, you go get’em, Allie!” David whooped, and Allie shot him a wink as she posed for photos. Leon chuckled.

                “I love you guys. You’re ridiculous.”

                “Eh? We’re ridiculous?” He slung an arm around Leon and pulled him in close. “I guess we are, kid. It’s a good life.”

                Leon smiled, at that. He watched as the applause died down, and people went back to talking amongst themselves, dispersing out into the newly opened park. He watched Allie shake hands with a couple people, that same sparking smile on her face as she spoke with them and nodded along with their words.

                “Man,” David spoke from beside him. “Y’know, some people call their wife their better half, but I think Allie’s more like my better two-thirds.”

                It was a jokey line Leon had heard before from his dad - so many times before - but this time, it struck his heart in a weird way. He looked down, and felt the wedding ring on his finger, and for a moment he missed Pinni so much it was like he was back at the hospital again…

                “Heh, Leo?” David looked back at him, and frowned before his face blanched in horror. “Oh shit, Leo, I-I’m so sorry-”

                “What?” Leon stepped back. “Hah, um, it’s okay, Dad-”

                “No, I-I just, I didn’t think about it, I-”

                “I know you didn’t. It’s okay.” He watched David ball his fists. “Don’t worry about it, it’s okay.”

                “Argh, I’m such an idiot. Such an idiot.”

                He turned away, and Leon didn’t really know what to say. He glanced back over at Allie, then down again, down at the ring on his finger. It was funny, how things had changed.

                Funny, how things that stayed the same seemed so different now.

                The wind picked up. Leon worried his ring, and… he didn’t notice it at first. The voice.

                He only noticed with a tug on his suit.

                “Dad?”

                “Naomi?” Leon looked down at her, and the wind flapping past her shirt. “Where’s your brother, sweetie?”

                She pointed, immediately, at a figure sitting still by a tree - very still. Leon felt a rush of dread come over him.

                “Is that Dipper?” He tried to keep his voice light. “Is he not, uh, f-feeling good, or something?”

                Naomi just looked at him, eyes dull, expression solumn for such a small child. Oh, no. Oh, no…

                “Naomi?”

                “You told me not to talk to him when he’s being weird.” She shuffled her feet, and he felt his stomach drop out. “So I didn’t. I came over here.”

                Leon tried to reply. He opened his mouth. Then looked back at that dark, still figure sitting in shadow, by all the flowers blooming and the people wandering and the children playing...

                And he took off. Pushed past David as he turned to investigate, paid no heed to the “Hey, Leo! Where’re you off to?”

                He kept his eyes on the figure, and broke out into a run. His heart thundered in his chest like the beat of a drum, thump thump thump counting down the seconds to a disaster he could see playing out in his head. He tried to run faster, tried to get there before time ran out, but it felt like he was too slow, too slow, too slow…

                And then he reached Dipper. The boy was not sitting; he had tightly curled himself up into a ball, and the tremors running down his body struck fear into Leon’s heart. Oh, stars, something really was happening.

(Today, because of course it went down today, he never got a day when he asked for it-)

                “Dipper!” Past experience screamed at Leon not to touch him, so he hovered his hand over Dipper’s shoulder. “Dipper? H-hey, kid, are you okay?”

                He didn’t reply, at first.

                “Dipper?”

                Dipper mumbled something.

                “Dipper!”

                “-no, I don’t, that’s not- that’s not me, I don’t like that, I-”

                Leon felt a hot rod of fear go through his chest. No, no, no, he was remembering!

                “Dipper!”

                “Dipper? That’s… that’s me…”

                “Dipper, hey! It’s me! It’s Daddy! It’s-”

                A sudden gust of wind tore past them both. It only flapped around Leon’s jacket, but Dipper took it like a physical blow; he moaned and shook, and flopped onto the grass - before Leon could react, he let out a scream.

                “Dipper?!” This time, Leon grabbed for him… and felt the skin stick and mould to him like wet dough. It came away in his hands, and Dipper screamed again. He tried to wrench his arms off of his legs, but all that ripped out were the bones of his arms.

                Leon stared, frozen in horror as Dipper’s flickering eyes tried to make sense of the scene. Then-

                “Leon!”

                That was David, charging across the field. That was enough to get Leon out of his panic, and straight into pure terror.

                “Frick. Frick!” Leon jumped to his feet. Dipper had started screaming at another gust of wind, pressing his stumpy bones to his splitting temples - oh, stars, he had to get the thing out of here.

                He made a decision. He grabbed Dipper - bringing on another bout of screaming - and pressed the boy against his shoulder, covering the melting bits as best he could with his jacket. Allie and David were coming for them, so he ran.

                Ran for the parking lot. Ran like everyone’s life depended on it.

                “Leo!” He heard. He didn’t glance back; he only yelled a reply.

                “Just take Noie! I’m taking Dipper to the hospital!” He made it to the hill. “I’ll- I’ll call you later!”

                Then he was up, and over, and into the parking lot. He threw what remained of Dipper into the backseat, then jumped in the car and fumbled for his keys; his fingers trembled as he jabbed them into the ignition and turned. The car roared to life, and he was turning onto the main road before he even caught a glimpse of his family reaching the hill.

                David and Allie stood there, backed by the growing storm. His mother was holding Naomi, and their shrinking silhouettes were already faceless to him. They could only watch him go.

                Then there was a pained moan from Dipper, and Leon’s eyes were drawn back down to the monster on his backseat. He quickly turned off the road and drove on, drove fast, ran a stoplight, kept his knuckles white on the wheel.

                Something was reaching for him. He kept his eyes on the road.

                "Daddy… help…”

                He clenched his jaw. “It’s okay,” he offered. “Just lie still.”

                “I don’t know… I don’t know what’s going on, a-am I dying? Daddy, am I dying!”

                They had driven out into the desert. The wind had picked up, drawing dust up into the air.

                “Don’t worry, Dipper.” Leon was pulling over now. “It’ll all be over soon.”

                “Daddy…”

                After that, all Leon heard from the back seat was Dipper’s terrified, broken sobbing. Leon could only sit there, letting it strike right through to his heart; he looked to the door handle, but… no. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave a kid alone like this.

                Maybe his life would be easier if he could. He knew what was going to happen, he should be running, should be doing something-

                He turned on the radio. There was an advert.

                He turned it up, and tried not to hate himself.

“NINETY NINE DOLLARS FOR ONE COUCH WOW ISN’T THAT A DEAL JUST NINETY NINE DOLLARS-” Static. “-ALL NOW THEY’RE GOING FAST WOW JUST NINETY-” S͘t̨ati̸c. “-NE DOLLARS FOR A COUCH-” S̢̕͝t͏a̸͜t̨͜ic. “-T’S A DE-” S̷̨ţ̷͟a͝͝͏t̸͘i̸̕͢c̛͟͞͝ “A̷T ̕͞4͜͡͠80̢S̛̝̙̝͔̦͍̻͘T̵̗̝͕̞͇͉A̛̭̮͕͚̭̰̯Ţ̷̛͇I͠͏̮̼̲̼̻͜C͎̺̤͚̜̯̲̝͝ 7̷͉̹̮͙̳1̡̠ S̟̮̥̝̘̟̘͉͠T҉҉̳̰̬̺̮A̴̰͚̫͕͚͎̯̣͙̗̝̪̯͔̜̱͉T͚̘̲̟̤͝I̶̛͚̟̜̬̟͙͘͠Ç̵̛̛̙͇͎̟̲̤̼ͅ ͤͨͫͬ̒̓̓ͨ̀̔̏͏̴̷̧̗͇͉̘̬̹̪̗͎S̨͎͔͖̻͗ͨ͗̀̾͠T̛̳̣̩͉̝̬̠͔̤̦̦̩̭̥̻̠̹̙̔̋̇͌̔̽̌̆͘Å̶̡̢̧̞̪̬̻̂́ͯ͊̏ͤͧͧ̈́̄̌̅̍ͩͨ͢T̸͔͈̺̙̯̝̫͔͉͕ͩͥ̐͛͗͂̅͛͠I̷̛͖̞̤ͤͨ́ͫͨͣͪ̓̔͌ͪ̐̒ͣ͡C͂̄̒̍ͤ̄͋̓̋̓ͪ͏̸͇͕͓̦͢͠ͅ Rͭ̾͑ͯ̈̇̾̓̀̔͏̱͎̯̱͙̖̖̬̘R̢̡͉̲̞̗̟̝̗ͪ̽͊̂̂͐͆̉̾́ͨͦ̓̔̍ͨͤÀ̡͐͒̈́̄ͬͭ̃ͭ̾̏ͬ̃̂҉̨̥̫͎̜̟͈̣̦̙̰͖͉̼͉͜ͅA̶̧̯̰̳̫͚ͮ͒͋ͩ̈͗̿͌ͦ̒̓̋̈́̅ͣ̍̅͐̽̕͘A̷̧̛ͪ̋̿̅͏̤̩̝͉̜̹͎̰̩̫̭͎̱ͅA̷̢̛̪͚̰͉̤̬͖͛̾̇̔̋̀̉͒̐͒̚̕͝Ą̶̭͓͚͙̤̺̺̻̞̜̔ͭ͐̍͌͂̂̂̀̚̚Ä̵̵̢̧̪̣̭͎̻̤̙̹̪̠̼ͫ̌͜Â̷ͫ̆̄͒ͩ͛ͩ͑̈̓̑̆ͪ̂̍̏҉̬̱̙͉̣͉͔̱Ā̵̂̄̋҉̫̳̥̠̺̹̰̺͍̺̩̟͙̖̟ͅA̷̢̛̪͚̰͉̤̬͖͛̾̇̔̋̀̉͒̐͒̚̕͝Ą̶̭͓͚͙̤̺̺̻̞̜̔ͭ͐̍͌͂̂̂̀̚̚Ä̵̵̢̧̪̣̭͎̻̤̙̹̪̠̼ͫ̌͜Â̷ͫ̆̄͒ͩ͛ͩ͑̈̓̑̆ͪ̂̍̏҉̬̱̙͉̣͉͔̱Ā̵̂̄̋҉̫̳̥̠̺̹̰̺͍̺̩̟͙̖̟ͅ

                Leon felt a searing heat whip past his arm, and that was when he knew it was time to run. With the demon’s roar building to a crescendo behind him, he shot out of the car and scrambled away as fast as his legs could take him.

BOOM!

                Amd not a moment too soon. Leon couldn’t see well in the growing dust storm, but the great blue light and earshattering explosion that emenated from his car was impossible to ignore. Something whipped past his cheek as he tried to duck; he thought it didn’t get him, but then he felt a stinging line in his skin where some shrapnel had sliced just below his eye.

                He touched it, and felt wet blood. His shaking fingers could hardly comprehend the sight, before-

                “H̠͎̪͓̦͍͚̞̭̩͇͚͇̤U̷҉̨̨̭̩̘͍̮̥̩͓̟̼̞̲̬͉͔͜M̧͏̷͉͉͎͖͕̜̺̙͎̣͙A͘҉̮̼͖̠͈̬̫̠̲̰̦͉̩̗̠N̻̟͍͜͜ͅ!”

                Leon could see a dark figure tearing through the rubble of his car, his car...

                “W͍͍̻̘̞͈͘͠H͏̶͕̲̲͖͍̼̜̲̦̱̮̖͙̟̜̤͟ͅE̴̶̡̗͍̺̘͈͔͡ͅR̵̴̛̙̤͙̭̪͇E̶̡̺̟͔͜ ͚͖͎̝̞͉̕͠A̧͙̬͉̻͢R͠͏̭͈͔̤̭̟̰͚̯̬̞͙͙̜̙͙E̴̫͚̬̫͘ ̢̧͈̙̯̙͕̞͚̫̬̙̖̟ͅY͜҉͕̰̼̥̱̗̜͇̠̥̫̙̹͖̺̞Ǫ̗̣̠͖̦͍͙U̸͡͏̵̛̲̣̲?͘ ̵̸̸̨͏͙͖̼̲͚̣͔̣̲̭̯͓̭̜̻̩̝ͅW͘͏̻̘̲͈͍̳͓H̸̥̱̗̫̱͉̠̟̗͕̠͍̠̞̳̗̙̤̺̕Ȩ̴̭̫̲̙̭̼͔̝͈͎̳̞͇̗͙̼͕͈̯R̴̫͖͕̻͚̠͔͝E͏̴̢̧̧̯͍̰̣͕̣̙͖͚'̸̖̳̟̦͘͡Ḑ̷̸̙̱̱͉͙̭̭̖̤͇̲͚̬̜̬͜ ̧̢̧̛̗͙̜͍̪̰̯̥̼̺͉͖̠̕Y̳̦̤̖͙̤̪͈͜͝O̴̸͔̥̮̹̲͘U̧̻̦͙̭̻̖̙̟͟ͅ ̢̡͓͚̤̦̹̪̣̭̜͚̗̼͈͞͞G̠̣̗̜͖͕̗͙͈̣͕͚̝͙̱̮̥͟͜O̴̯̯̳̼̮̟̤͚̘͕͉̯͟͜!͔̙͓̯̤̖͇͚͚̕” The demon tore through steel like soft butter. “S̨̡̛̳̞͔̥͎̣̯͈͔̘͉̣͓͕̩̺̘ͅH̸҉͙͇̩̘̥̪͓͓̲̠̱̕O̢҉͉̝̙̺̩̯̻̠̰̭͜W҉̰̰̣̬̬̭͎̬͝ ͝҉̴̲̟͈̲̺͙͖̟̭̠̠Y͏̛͔̜͓̘̦̖Ơ̴̪̥̼̩̠͙͚̭̰͚͖͉̮̖̼͟U҉̸̶̯̩̰̖̮̺̥͎̰̖̙͙̟̜͔͕̞͞R̦͚̬͓̮̳̺̲̗̝͘͟S҉̷͏̬͕̘̩͎̖̳͚̖̝͎̦̩̼̰̱̬ͅE҉̬͙̩̲̰̮̤͕̝͓̱͔̲͞ͅĻ̧̺̣̺̝̗̙̘͘͡F̧̭̹͓̻̻̝̮̼͚̩̣̬͠ͅͅ!̵̴̧̟̲̭̬̻͓͕̖̘̪̭̭͖͉̻̖̕”

                He just gulped, and lay like a rabbit in his burrow, frozen stiff with the dreaded certainty that Alcor was going to find him. His heart was pounding. His cheek was bleeding onto his shirt; he could feel it dripping off his chin.

                “T̴͏̧͚̝͚͕̞̟͟H̢̟͕̼̮̖̪̰͓̭̦͇̤͘͠͞ͅE̷̢̖̰̼̥͉̠͍͔͙͓̣ͅR̶̸̹̬̤̺̺͕͓͈̞̮̬̥͓̼͚͎̥̮͢͠E̸̜̰̫͚̞̟̬͉͇͍̩̹̗̕ ̸̛̤͇̭͓͓̪͎̹̹̖͖̦̲͕ͅY̶̛̼͍̣̙̘̥̝̠͇̠̕͠Ǫ̛̻̬̹̩̮̙̦͓͙͍̟̱̞͇͢U̸̯̬͍̳̳̮͓͎̮ ̕A̸̢҉̬͔̮̣̫̪̘͍̫R̡̯̖͔͓̰̹͚̙͍͇̪̪̗̠̠̞̘͘͘ͅE͏̴̧̝͉̥̥̣̞͖̗̭͔̭̬̥̩̜̯͓ͅ!҉̵̰͙̦͈̩̰͔̯̠͙̘͕̯͓̩̯̞̰͈͡”

                Leon squeezed his eyes shut, and tried not to scream when he was wrenched upright. Alcor didn’t like it when he screamed.

                The demon brought him in close. “Y̵̛͍͎̟o͔̰͎̼͔̭̥͘͘u̸̻͜͡ ҉̶͚̖͜c̡̮̪̻̯̙͎͍̮͡a̛̦͖͓̮̼̮̯ͅn͙̜̯̣̼̤͙̻͘͝'̨͇̜̙̺̝t̢҉̖̙̯̼̝͠ ̛͍͠ͅh̬̱̺̼̮̘̦͟i̡̳͓̳̼̠̠̤d̛̯ͅe̤͙̝̙̗̪̼̤͚ ͙̲̭f̸͏̢̹̥̮͕ŗ̛̲͖̙̹͔͙̟o͏͚͈m̶̫̭͉ͅ ̧̢̳̭̪̯̞̺̜̬m̢̨͔̜̮͎̪̺e̷̡̠͕̥̺̩̗͞,” it hissed, low and dangerous, and then it started sniffing him. He suppressed a shudder as he felt its cold nose brush up against his cheek, then…

                It licked him. Leon strained away, but he couldn’t escape it, couldn’t escape anything. He was trapped. He was still trapped when the demon let go. 

                He touched his face, and felt smooth skin where it had taken his flesh and knitted it back together. He looked back at the demon, took in its unsurmountable height, unseeable darkness, unfeeling golden gaze… and felt a sinking despair that was anything but unfamiliar.

                “T̖͎̻ẖ̩̮̹͍̹̼i͙͎̙ͅs͎̹̲̱̱̬͚̱ͅ ̮ẉ̯̬̭̭͓̠͔ͅa͙̹̫s̳̫ ̞̻a̬͔̳͈̫̤̺̭ͅn̞̱͎̘͇o͇̪̼t̲̠̣͍̝̤ͅh̫e̮͉͙̱̪̜̝ṟ͔̯ ͇̟ͅf̝ͅai̖͉l̞̳͎̥̣̮̬ͅu̼̼͎̣̩̠̩ͅr̳͓̤̦̙ͅe͚͎̹̮̝̞̩,̗̺̲ͅͅ” it growled. Leon watched it unfurl its wings, watched them crackle in strange ways as the wind swirled dust around them. “M͎͕ͅͅa̳̞̺̗͕̩ͅg͈̯i͔͇̼c̫̪͔͎̹̰̦ ̗̩͓̺̠s̥t͕orm̘͔͈.̝̖̼ ̺̩̳̙̳̲͍T̟͈̯̬̫̣̥h̺̲e͎̼̩͇̳ͅr̯͙e'͙s̺ ̖̥̱ͅḁ̳l̳̬̻wa̠̗̳̤̪̥y̼͖͍̞̼͖s͔̮ ̯̱̬̝s͕̭̤̤̻om̙͇͓e͓̫̹̭̦̱t̰̬̥h͎̩̞i̥n̮̦͍g̼̼͎.̰ T̨͇̟h͉̯̥̜͓̕ͅe̛̺͎̼͎r̻͚̥e͙̞̺'͢s̩̳̥͚ ̵̰a̷̦͉̩͕̩̲̞lw̧͔̠͔̮̰a͓̩̤͓y̺̳̠̘s͕͇̟̖̳ ̵ͅs̠̩̖̭̼̻o̘̫̠̜͖̞ͅm̷̞͕̘͈̪̪̥e̢t̲̳̤͕̞̳͍h̪̮̥̲iņ̰͓̟͍͕͚g͖͇͍̝̗̟͕!̣̝͝”

                “Magic storm?” Leon scrambled back. “Wh- I didn’t know, I swear I-”

                “W͏̶̰̤̼͕̟͎̤͇͓͇̭̘̥̙̺̹̰͢͝H̛҉̟͈͇͔͡Y̶҉̸̝̩͉̗̥̜͝͞ͅ ̸͎̮̠̙̦͓̣̪̻̗̝̰͓͞͠I҉͞҉͏̥̠̯͚̖̬͎̗̳͙̬̱ͅS̴̨̟̤̖̼̪̭̻̭̫̕ ̵͔̬͍̗͔̮̳̩͙̮̪̱͘͟T͓͈͈͇̝̳͕̹̤͜ͅH͏̶̺̬̯̥̙͔̳̼E͏̶̨̱͔̘̙̘͓͈R̢̦̼̠͍͉̤͚͔̘̳̹̕E̡̧͙̫̬͎̪̯̯̜̫̖̟͕̩̞͍̳̞̼͘ͅ ̲̜̮͔͔̲̯̬̲̗͕͓̗̬͎͖̦̼͟Ạ̴̷̫̮͕̦̖̙͍͉̙̱̠͠L̶̨͕͔͙͉̜̱̗̳͈̰̜͉̟͖̯̻͠͞W̶̶̜̯̠͖̪̥̩̣A̸̡̧̛̤͈̳̮̖̣̗̺̤͇͎̬̬̯Y̸̦͍͓͙̻̼̗̱̣͟S̵͘̕҉̹͇̪̱̖͎͍̖͎ ̠̳͇̗͕̦̻̗̠͇̝̫͎͠S̶͈̻̤̙̝͉̫O̷̶̯̣̟͙̜̯̞͕̮͙̰̘͙̣̩̭͘ͅM̷̶͚̠̰͕͞ͅE̷̛͡҉̩̰̳̙̟͙͉̺͈̹̘T͓̲̭̱̖̦̙͔͓̳͓̠̖̼̯̦̹̰͢͟H̨̫͈̰̱͙̩̩̮͉̱I̡̟̺̱͎͖̪̺̫͘͞N͏̳̬̻̤͎͖̖̭̪̼͔̬̤͚̯̪̥ͅG̶̵͎͙̻̦͍̠̯͟͝͠ͅ! W̵̛͕̦̯͍̜͉̭̬H̡͈̞̮̙͙̺̲̭̱̪̰̝͈͉͙̜̟͟ͅY͠͏̞̞̞̺͡ ̸̨̮̭͓̜̞̺̤̮̱̤͕̩̲̭̰͎͓ͅI̧͜͏͙̙͕͓͕̜͈̬͔͉̲͙̹̲S̶̫̬͚̭̱̠̫̮͖̫͍̟̗͓͔̲͝Ņ̨̨͈̜͚̩̞̭͇̝̕'̸̺̪͍͙̪̥̺̥̹̘̭͔̯̰͙͉̖͘͢ͅͅŢ҉̝̦̺̮̣̘̞ ͏̧͉̥͍̦͢ͅT͡͏̢̳̞̗̞̫̪͠͠H̸̡̰̬̜̯̦͙̺͙͈͙͎̙̱̯̼͎̕I̶̴̼̬̟̪͓̣͕͉͍̱̥̝̦̹͚̮̲͡S̸̵͝͏҉̠̪̝̩̥̞̟̝  J̴̸̦͔̞͈̝̱̝͕͈̳̮̫̖̠ͅU̶̢̯͇͉̞̮̮͍̳͖̩͈̩͢S̨̯̭̠̼̪̻͙̹̬͙͠T̷̜̯̼͟ W̷̷̨̪̥̖̬̫̲̹̙̲͙̠̮̼͞Ơ̷̸̫̥͎̝͞R͏̶̶̗̺͔͎̯͎̱̪̫̪̰̘̲̬͙̤K͝͞͏̛̪̼̱̯͇̺̳̗̜̭͔̘I̲͍̲̩̰̜̬̲͙̘̞̞̰͘͟͝ͅṈ̷̛̖̪̹͓͉͙͈͉̥̳̙̱̕G҉̧̪̞̙͓͉͖͘!̶͙̩̘̭͔͖̲͓”

                The demon roared and clawed at the air, seeming to rip holes in the very fabric of reality. It breathed blue fire, then balled its fists and struck at the ground until it felt like the whole planet was shuddering against its blows. Leon watched it blast sand into glass, and all he could think was god at least it’s not the living room again, thank god, thank god…

                Something landed on Leon’s fingers. Some sort of blackened metal thing - part of the car? He held onto it, and when Alcor seemed to have had its fill of mindless destruction and had gone still, he cleared his throat.

                “Um.” He started out. The demon didn’t move a muscle. “...Hi.”

                No reply. The Dreambender, Render of Souls and Shepherd of Nightmares, sat just a few feet away from Leon, and he was suddenly struck by how not an hour ago this thing had been walking around in the body of a child. It had been playing ball with Naomi, for god’s sakes!

                Anyway, he tried to speak with it again. “Um, so… what do I need for you to fix my car? Is this, like, a whole steak deal, because my house is a drive away and and right now I can’t-” Leon watched it stand up. “Um… drive? What are you-”

                The demon was stalking towards Leon - if it was human, he’d have sworn it gave a deep sigh before starting off. It grabbed him by the chest and sort of dragged him through something; when he opened his eyes, he saw it had deposited him on the floor of his living room. He sat up, blinking.

                “Oh, you just took me home? Uh, thanks?” He watched it float into the kitchen. “But what about my… car? Hello?”

                The fridge opened. Leon gritted his teeth, got up, and followed it.

                “Hey, we didn’t shake on a deal.” He caught it poking at his steaks; it only growled in response. “I’m sorry, you didn’t make a deal, you can’t take those. They’re really expensive.”

                Alcor curled his lip. Then he scratched the plastic seal, dropped it on the ground, and slunk off.

                “Wha- hey!” Leon picked it up. “Well, now I’ve gotta use it or it’s gonna go bad! You…. ohhhhhh…!” He threw it on the counter. “Well, I guess I’m cooking this up somehow. Don’t even have a grill, but cool. Where are you going now? ”

                Alcor had stalked back into the kid’s bedroom. The growl it triggered was so predictable it made Leon roll his eyes.

                “She’s with my parents, it’s fine.”

                “W͎̝̞̘H̲̯̖͕̜̼̣̬͟E̢͕̙̠͈R̫̮̭̠͡E͏̷̜̜̦͕͉͚͓ ̛̣̭̙̰͖̦͕͢I̵̼̭̝̤̝̙̠̕Ş̝̩͕̺ ̧̟̝͍̘̣̬͝M̵͓͈͖̲͈̺͠I̥̰̖͘Z̠̤̼̘̪͙A̖̗̹͕̞̜̰͚Ṟ̖̟̟̲͡?”

                “I just told you. With my parents.”

                “W̷̧̛̤̩̠̣̪Ḫ̡̛͇͖͖̯E͔͢N̯͓͜ ̵͍͈̺̝̹͎͓̠̞W̪̯̫͙̝̫̘͙͜͟͠I̷̱͚L͕̜̖͍͉̟̕L͠͏̟̤͉͎͈͞ ͏͙͔̥̠S̶̡͖̥H̵̰̘̲̥̟E̶̡͓̼̞̮̭ ̳̯̖͎̼̠͍̬̞͞R̹͍͚̳E͙̩̬T̛̮͕̤͕͠͞U̸͓̣̞͝R̻̮͖N̸̼̯̫̯̮̝̟̲?”

                “Uh, I dunno? Sometime on Monday?” Leon rubbed the back of his neck. “I gotta call them, but, uh, I can’t with you here, so- hey, wait!”

                Alcor had stalked back into the living room. Leon followed him.

                “Hey, can you let me finish? I, um, I wanted to talk to you about something!”

                He had only just turned the corner when the demon started growling, again. It was hunched over something, and he only just had time to glimpse something like a human face before-

                Boom!

                Magic sparked and crackled, and skin exploded all over the room. Leon grimaced a little as smoke rose up from his carpet.

                “What was that?” He watched weird, bloodless patches of flesh slowly dissolve into nothing. “Are you trying to make a-”

                “R͗͌̀̂ͧ̍̂̌̏ͤ̑ͪ̂̓͊̚͡͏͖͈̯̫͟ͅRͪͬͬ̌ͩ̊̑͑ͧ̎̓͆̒͛̆̔͏̺̟͕̗̬̠͙̼̖̺͚̫͉̗̙̝͔R̴ͣ̈́̏̀͛͗̿̐ͪ̊͆͒̄̚҉͓̝̪̪̗̤̫͇̩̤ͅR͕̩̖̥̺̤̠͈̩͚̹͇͔̘͈̣̳̱̞̓̀̊̐͗͐ͬ́ͮͦ̈̃̚͜͞R̷̢̠͕͍͓͔̙̥̹͍̝̞̞ͪ͐̒̐ͤ̄̽͆̃ͣͥͣ̆R̨̬͍̟̞̫̱̫̹̫͙̱̲̟̲̝̼̯̿̆̾̂ͅR̡̬͇̪̬̗̫͖͙͇̜̮̫̳͉͕̲̤̟͋̂̌̑̉̕͘͟͢Ŗ̢̺̼̮̼̤̗̦̮̼̰̜͔̇̊̂ͥ͊̅̅ͧͦ͂̚͘A̵̛̙͇̳͙͇͔̤̣͚͕̞̗̹̯͎̝ͯͥ̃ͫ͆̂́͒̍͡ͅȦ̢̲̰̞̘̜̖̭̙̦̝͙͔̪̗̰͈̥͍̆́͛͆ͮ̎ͫ̔̑ͫ̓̐̈́ͭ͒͆̚̕A̵̡͇̥̣̮͇̻̞̥̞̯͈̩̱̿ͨ̓͗̚͝͝Ȁ͋ͥͫ̕҉͏̧̢̼̭͎̣̬̻̼̣̯A̴̛͖͉͔͖̣͈̼̲̬͙̥͎̝͇̰̍̅ͣͫ̈͟͞A̴̼̪̞̜̱̯̲̯̮͇͉̲̰̤̩̫͍͔̅̓͐ͨ̽ͣ̍́̎͑̓́͗ͬ̂̆͢͡ͅA͔͍̻̮̟̪̰̫̯̟̮͉̦̘̫̩̍̐ͤͧ̓̈́ͧ̀͘͢ͅA̳̺̘̥̩̦̦̼̳̦̘̝̬̩̞̙ͫ̄ͮ̊̄ͪ̃̎̐ͥͯ͐͋ͥ́͋̒́͜ͅA̞͎͎͍͚̥͇͓̗̳̝͇̖̥̣̗̖ͩ͂̔̅̇̐̓̆̇̾ͧ̊̿͢ͅ”

                The demon punched the ground hard, and the whole house seemed to wobble.

                “Whoa, hey! What are you-”

                “M̡̛͕͔͓̳̭̜͖̝͈̼̟̦̗͎̭͡ͅA͏̢̩̟̼̼̮͓͇͈͕̥̯͉͎̘̟G̨̱̫͙̮͓͎̬͜͠͡͡Į̩̘͍͚͓̯͚̞̤̙̻̰̤̹̮͎̗ͅC̛̼̝̫̭̞̺͈͎̬̰̣͈̥͢͠ ̧̧S̴̢̨̨̗̣͕̳͜T̵̹͎̣͈̯͍̪̰̜̳̲̮͕̠̞̤̙̕O̴̡̠̣̙̗̰̯̱̹R͏̪̯̝̺̤͚͎̼͕M͔̮̯̹̣̩̖͖̠̘̗̰̼̻̫̹͖̕͘͞͞!̧” Alcor bellowed out. Then it sat back on its haunches, and muttered, “I̛̕ ̸̧͝h̨͟a̶̕t̵̕e ͘͜m͡ag͟i̴̶c st̷͢͢or͟͢m̧s͢.̵͠”

                “What, can you not make a body at all? Alcor?” He watched the demon rise to its feet. “Well, if you can’t, can we talk? L-look, I need to-”

                Then it vanished into thin air. Leon blinked a couple times, stared at the burn marks still smoking on his carpet, then clenched his fists and kicked the couch as hard as he could.

                “Oh you have gotta be- Ow!” He jumped back and smacked his head on a lamp. “Ow! Argh, for crying out loud… Alcor! Alcor!”

                No reply. Leon cradled his head, and limped into the kitchen to find some candles.

                How could something so utterly terrifying also manage to be so insufferably irritating at the same time?

                Leon’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He felt it, there, as he was drawing out a chalk circle with one of Pinni’s old summoning boards.

                A moment of hesitation… then he just let it ring. It was probably a scam caller, he thought. He didn’t need to see who it was. He was busy.

                With a gulp, he sketched Alcor’s star into the centre of the board. Yup, busy.

                He lit the candles. After a few buzzes, it shut off, and he rose to his feet. Picked up a crumpled piece of paper, and began to read out an incantation.

                "Stella, uh, splendida, vos invoco.” He managed, stumbling over the Latin. “Vos invoco ut facia- um - faciatis volun… voluntatem meam. Dico nomen vestrum: Alcor."

                Light bled out of the living room. A shadowy figure coalesced in the centre of the circle, and set its beady golden eyes on him.

                “W̶͝ha͢t͢͢ d͘o͏͏ y̡o̡u̸͢ ͏͜wą͠n͢t͢͞?” It hissed. “I͡ ҉w̨a̶s ̵̧wi҉t̕͏h̴̢͘ ͠m̢̧͝y̵ ̶̡M̴i̕͜z̛͢a̧r̡̕.”

                “You were-?” A sudden shot of fear went through Leon. He should’ve answered his phone! “How long were you with Naomi! Did anyone see you? You aren’t supposed to-”

                “Ḭ̦͕̘ ̘͔̭͈̬̦͙ͅD͈̯͚O̼̦̗̯ͅ ̳̼̹͙̞̯̬̯N͖̘̦͔̝͎O̝̺̦̻T͇̲ A̫̗͙̜̮̠N̥̟͖̙̯̼̣S̥W̻̲͔̬͇̩ͅE͈͙͓̭͖͇̟R̰̖̠̮͕ ͓̭̻͉̬͉̩̲T̹̣͙̩̻̰O̮͇̲̺̫̼͇ ̳͓̗Y̱͓O͉̹̥͍U̖͈,͓̣̪̲̠͖ͅH͖͖̙͍U̙̞͓̦̺M̜̫A̱̰̥N̮̥̠̤̮̹!”

                Leon flinched at that, but he set his jaw. “Okay, okay, whatever. Listen, uh, Alcor-” and he got another snarl there - “We need to talk, okay? A-and…”

                He reached behind him, and brought out the slashed-open pack of steaks.

                “We need to make a deal.”

                At that, Alcor’s growls cut off. It floated up to Leon’s eye level, and stared at him intently. Leon tried for a nervous chuckle.

                “Uh, does this mean you’re gonna-”

                “Y̕e͠s̶.̸” The demon folded its wings behind itself. It seemed to be grinning, now. “I͡ ͢l͢ike͏ ͘i͘t̛ ҉wh̴e͡n y̛ou d̛e̢al̨ w͝it̸h̸ ͞m̕e̴,͝ hu͞m͞an.͢ ͟Y͟o̡u̴'re͠ so bad͏ ͡at şta̷ti̵ng͟ y͠ou͢r͟ ̶terms.”

                “Um…” Leon ironed out his paper against his shirt. “Well, I, uh, I wrote some terms down on h-here, so… point, um, thing one!”

                The demon extended a claw past the circle and poked at the paper. He stepped back.

                “You need to fix my car, Alcor. All of my currently-owned car.” He saw the demon’s grin stretch wider. “A-and look, can you please not try and find a loophole like you did with the garden? I know I’m not a demonologist, I-I’ve probably missed a lot-”

                “Oh͡, yes̴ ,͜ y̢o͟u̷ have͘.͜”

                “But look! if you wanna play human so bad then I need that car! It’s not gonna go so well for you i-if I need to drive you and Naomi somewhere and I can’t because you just wanted to be clever about it!”

                The demon paused a moment, then let out a rumbling growl. Leon took that to mean he’d do it.

                “O-okay, and point two… you need to clean up the living room, again.” Leon watched him roll his eyes. “Yeah, well, you explode something in here, you fix it! I-I shouldn’t even have to be paying you for this- I shouldn’t have to be paying you for the car either! Argh!”

                “I̵ ͟wa҉s̴ di͟s҉please̕d͘. ͟I͞t wa͡s͠n͝'t ͟m̴y͏ ͏fa̕u͡l̢t.” Alcor looked away. “May̨be i͢f͠ you̵ ͠w͝er̶e͟ bęt͢t̵e͜r͟ at̴ ̡tḩi͜s, I ͝wo͏ųl͘dn'̸t̡ ҉h͠av͏e͟ ̡to tak̸e̶ o̴ut͘ ͠m͢y a͞nge̶r ̧o͢n͏ anytḩing͢.̛”

                Leon blinked, once, twice. “E-excuse me? You said it yourself, this was a magic storm! This was not my fault!”

                “I̶ ne̷ver had̸ t͜ǫ d̸o͠ thiş ̨w͠i̶t͢h L̴ion̢el.” The demon seemed to pause at that. “I want that back.”

                Leon stared at him, then glanced down at his notes. “O-okay… point three.”

                “A̸not͜her̕ ͏task̛. You ąr͜e askin͟g͡ a ͏lot͞ fro̢m me.”

                “This is just… just a small thing, okay? At first, this is a small thing.” Leon took a deep breath. I need you to j-just sit there, hear me out on something. For as long as I need to express it. Okay?”

                “N̛o̕. ͞Y͏ou bǫre̡ m͘e.” Alcor poked at the steaks. “Wi̢t͜h͢ ̴the ̧ot̷h̸e͠r̸ ̛c͜h͘or͠es̷,͠ that̢ ͠ge̴t̷s̢ y͞ou five̛ ̵minute҉s.”

                “Five min- oh, come on! What about, like, ten minutes?”

                “Wh̨at ͘a̢bout ͡fou͘r ͝min͞u̶tes?͝”

                Leon opened his mouth to protest, but the demon was grinning dangerously at him. It was all a game to this thing, wasn’t it?

                “Okay, fine.” He nearly stuck his hand out, but then he added: “You’re gonna fix my car, clean up the living room, and listen to me for four minutes. In return, you get this pack of steak and only this pack. Deal?”

                Somehow, that uncomfortably wide smile stretched even wider, flashing several rows of fangs. Its hand snaked out and snatched his, jerking him closer and squeezing his fingers in a grip that squeezed, that crushed, that burned…

                And then Leon was released, left to cradle his hand as the demon tore into the steaks. He watched it rip off chunks in disgust; a small part of him couldn’t help but feel like it was being deliberately gross, what with the way it still stared him down expectantly.

                Expecting what, he wondered, then: oh, right, the speech! He unfurled his crumpled notes and scanned the page as quick as he could.

                “I'm͠ list̷en̸ing,̵ h҉um҉a͟n̵.”

                “Yes, sorry, sorry-” Leon looked up. “A-alright, I got it, I- I wanna ask you something, Alcor.”

                The demon showed its teeth. “Th͘at͏ ͜was ̢n̕ot̴ ̢in th̕e͢ ͡de͟a̵l.”

                “But just- are you enjoying this?” He saw Alcor go still. “Like, being here, having your human body break every few months… wh-what are you getting out of that?”

                “I am a̡ de̡mo̷n. Yo̷u͟ ҉w̕o̸ul̛dn't͘ ̷un͡de̵rs͞t̛a͜n͝d̕.”

                “No, I do understand. All demons want chaos - that’s what Pinni said, all demons want chaos.” He ran a hand through his hair, and tried for a laugh. “And, uh, sure, you’re making life pretty chaotic for me right now… b-but I don’t understand why you’d stay here.”

                “B͏ȨC̷̛͝AU͟͝Ş̕͢E͜ I̵ ̶W̴̸A̢NT̢͝ T̨Ơ̵ ̷S̕T͝͠A͜͞Y ̢͟H̸̢̕ER͡E!”

                “But why? You’re a, you’re an SS-class demon, you don’t need to be messing around with one family. If you wanted to, you could literally tear apart the world - a-and I’m not trying give you ideas, I’m just saying-”

                Leon suddenly felt himself getting slammed against the wall - it winded him. The demon was there, eyes black as night, bared teeth glinting with red blood.

                “Alcor?” He gasped out, and the demon snarled at him. “You said… you’d give me four minutes.”

                It dug its claws into his arms like it wanted to tear him apart… and then it slicked back, pacing around the room like a wild animal. He took a couple deep breaths before starting again.

                “Look,” Leon started. “I’ve just… I’ve been thinking. About that deal we made three years ago.” He paused to cough. “I-I wouldn’t take it back for the world, you saved Naomi a-a-and I’m so, so thankful for that, so just… just keep that in mind, okay?”

                He stepped forwards, and Alcor backed up, hissing.

                “I’ve just been thinking about it. And I’m just wondering what it’s doing for both of us - you keep getting frustrated when your bodies break down, and I…” He gulped. “Well, i-it’s not about me, but… Naomi’s growing up.”

                “A̝̯n̲͖̥̥͇̦͔̫d̝̫̯͙ͅ ͇̜̟̖I̙̯ ͓̱̩̫̥͚̠̹ͅg̳̫̘̜̙ͅe̖t̥̼ ͉̟̭̩͉t͎̗̲̺͍̖̥̤o͉ g̬̻̹̗̬ro̱̬̬͕̦̟̠̝w͍ ͕̹͈̹̫̼͕̫u̯ͅp̞͕ ̬̞ạ̪̟̭̫̫̻͕l̰̫͚̖̱͍͈o̼͙̳̞̱ͅng̫͕͙̤s̝̬̻͚̹ͅi͎͉̯̥̼͍ͅd̥͎̙̖̙̤̺̪̘e̱̗̘͈͖̮͙̺ͅ ̱̳̰h͓̹e̱̙̗̻͕ͅr!” Alcor retorted. “T̸̡̼̝̞̠͔̳̞͈̦͜H̺̘̮̻̼̯̦͓A̸͔͓̗T͓̰̘̤̺ ͕͎̖̙͉̻̕͝W̵̨̹Ą̷̼̣͡S͏̳̖̭̥̘͜ ̸̧͖̭͍̹̝̲̩͎T̷͉̗̬̕͟Ḫ̩̤̦̝͢E͖̮̱ ̛̼̮̞̣̺̞̰͝ͅD̲̗̬͇̬E͇̥͙̯͈̱̩Ḁ͚͚̪L̹̺͔,̧̬̪̘̙͢ ̮̬̕H̸̬͎̹̱̤̮Ṵ̷̣̣̰̦͟M̵̧̟̳̗̼̯̫̼͈͘A͏̸̟̥̮̪͔N̴̠̭̭̻̘̪!̷̢̖”

                “But it’s not working!” Leon gripped his temples. “I can’t stop thinking about how on earth Naomi’s going to have a safe, happy childhood with you rampaging around the house every time your body breaks! You still haven’t even fixed the fucking carpet!”

                He advanced on Alcor, clenching his fists. The demon flattened itself against a wall.

                “This is not how a child is supposed to grow up, and I hate it! I hate that this is her life right now!” His breath shuddered. “I hate that I just… let it happen, let it all turn into this… but that’s why I wanted to talk to you, Alcor.”

                He looked back at the demon, and it snarled like a cornered dog.

                “Y̫͉̱̼̲͚̖͎o͍͖̤͖̬̗̹̪̞̼̮͍̩u̜͇̻̮̤ ̪͔̯͕̬̙̭̠͙̻ͅw̩̯͍̣̫̰͚̳͎ͅa̮̥̤̝̟n̤͉̭͔̺̦͙̘ͅt̼͙̞̼͎͕̳͇͕̖ ͖̣̺̲̦̖͉̖͔̬̺͙̜͖̹͎͖̟t͉͎̝͍̭o̘̟̖̥͎̻̖͕ ̪̩̭͖̺̥̝g͇̜̟̘e̗̩̟͈̼̜̯̤̩̖͈ͅṱ̲͔̻̭͔̳͖͉̰̗ ̥̣̻̻̰͙̗͙̝̲̬̠r̬̮͖͚̺̗̤̣͕͕͖̹͓̣̖̞ͅi͖̘̱̥̭͔d̯͉͓̱̞͔͍͚̝͍̪̯̺̩͙͎ͅ ̪̲̤͖̟͎͎͕͖̞o͈̮̣̗͙̘̳͙̫̺̻͉͍͙f̫̼͔̰̘̟͕̘ ͕̯̣̭̥̖̪m̖̰̣͙̤̞͖̲͙̤e̖̮̗̻̭̱̯͍̠̖̹̫̩?̮͉̘̤͚̩͕̟͕͕̪̳̙̣͚ͅ”

                “I want to renegotiate, yes.” He watched the demon freeze in place, and he sighed. “Look, I-I’m just saying, there has to be something else you want from me rather than this weird ‘raising you’ thing. It’s not going to work, you’re a demon.” He shrugged. “I don’t know what you want, but we have time to figure this out. We’re not rushing like… like the first time, we could work something out.”

                Alcor just stared at him, face utterly devoid of emotion. It was almost creepier than when he was angry.

                “Uh, well? Feedback?” He rubbed his face. “I really will give you anything if you can just go away without jeopardising Naomi. I don’t even care anymore, I-I’ll give you my soul if you just leave us alone and let me raise her. Oh, a-and you’d have to wipe her memory, but that’s a small thing, then you’re free to do, uh, whatever it is demons do in their spare time.”

                Not a sound came from the demon, but the longer Leon stood with him, the more he felt… endangered. There was something happening with it, something stewing in its mind, and he took a step back.

                “Uh, is that a no, then? Alcor?”

                Alcor didn’t look at him. Smoke was rising from where it had dug his claws into the carpet. It muttered something.

                “What was that?”

                “So this is why it feels different. Why this hasn’t been working.” It growled, and the sound sent a shiver down Leon’s spine. “Y̮̖o̫̘̦̪̟̗̙u̻͉̳͖͕.̼̯̖͉͚̗̼̻ͅ ̻̜̖̮͉̺̣̘T͈̭̙̪͈h͎̱̰i͈͎̹s̘͍ ̳̘̮̤͙̳̯͚̤i͖̪̲̯̬̭̬ͅs̺̞̻̜̲̼̮̜ ̬̲̗y͇̭̤̖̝o̥̬͕͖̹̲ụ̭̭r̦̪͚ͅ ͓͖̙͚f̣͙̰͚͈̰͈͇au͚̰͇̣̘͎l̹͚t̝̹̹͍̠.̥”

                Leon blinked. “My-”

“Y̷͇̮̮̮̬͎O̲̯͖̩͎͉̙̲̪͙̩̤̙͢ͅU͢͡҉҉̮̝͙͖͇̞̰̮̼̞͙'̵̧͍̗̙̜̤̟͇̙͢R̢͏͔̤̼͉̬̘̟̬̫̞͍̙̱E̛͔̜̼̖̙̭͔͈͞ͅ ̕͟͏҉͓͇͚̦̕T̡͇̱̳͉͓̣͕̼̣͉̕͝R͏̰͔̩̭Y̴̡͇̖̮̪͙̭̞͍̘͇̦͚͎͎̲̻͉̝͘͡I͠҉̷̨̭͎̱͔̗͖̟̬̩̳̦̫͕̲̭ͅN̷̝̦͍̙͈̱͔̟͕̣̹͈͞G͕͚̗͎̙͇͕̬͚̳͙͍̣̳͙̰̠͉͟͡ ̛̟̺̱̙͚͚̝͉̬̘̲͞T̶̷̶͈̳͍͚̠̘̼̜̪̞̝̤̻̳͎̳͜O̬͚̮̬̯͉̤̻͈͢ ̵̢̭͚͇͔͠͞G̴̛̜͕͉͔͚̥̠̮͈͎͈̗̳̼͚͙͢͠͝ͅͅE͜͜͏̱̪̬̮̗̪͚͙̺̳̻̬̗ͅͅT̶̨̹̦̩̖̠̖͉͡ ̡͡҉̲̤̘̣̖͢R̷͚̭̣̤͉̮̥͈͍͞I͈̜̗̯̲̣̭̳͘Ḓ̮͙̜͟͢͝͠ ̧̪̣͉͉̦͢ͅǪ̷̢̰͖͕͚̟͙̘̘͕F̶̦͎̭͙̯͓̲̤̙̟̲̗̺̬̬̱͚̠͘͝͞ͅ ̷̶̸̛̝͍̫̙͇̗͍̯̘͕̥̼͙̤̰͝ͅM̛̙̰͔͎͉̹̟̗̣̠͇̘̘͇͠Ḛ̶̷̯͕͉̞̖͖͖̬̪͖͚̳̬̤̩̻͢!̼̝͕͈͙̱͚̟̪͓̙” Alcor screeched. “Y̷̶̖̫̝̻͜O͝͏͔̦̞̲̲̬̹͇͈̗̦U̶̧͇̘͖͘͞ͅ'̴̶̮͙͓̩̱̼̰̙̠͖̳̦͘͜͟R̵̜͇̞̗͖̘̗̣̦̜̻̤̰͙͖̰͇͜E͏̨̫̖̞̜͕̘͚̻͙̲̤̼ͅ ͏̷̡̙̪̰͇͖̼͟͝N̶̛̜͈̘̞̰̪͜͞Ǫ͓͍͔̖̰̫͈͖̻̻̮̱͚̩̦̭̤͍͡T͏̨҉͎̻̙̹̘̦̪͓͍̥͖͕̻̰̕Ḩ̢̹̳̣͢͝Ị͚̭͇̫͙̯̘̳̣͕͇͚͖̜̣̠̕̕Ņ̦̟͖̩̼̺̭̘̱̰̠̹̘͕͎G͇͎̞̮͇̪͍̙̜͜͢ ̧͚̳͖̯͡L͢͝҉̱̜̝̯̣̬̰̘͓͚̬̮̘̞͎͚͇̤I͇͈̬̠͚̣͕̭͟͠K̴҉̪̫͈̥̜͉͍͎̪̤̘͇̘̺͇͈̫̼͔E͕͇͉̬̝̦͇̦̫͕͓̦̳̣̣͙̜͝ͅ ͝͏̨͏̖̯̟̪͕͎̗̱̩͇͕̱̤͈̩͎Ļ̸̟̲͕͈̣̝͕͕̤̰̫͞͠I̸͏͍̼̙̜̮ͅO͏̣̩͕̹̙̺͙̹̫̠̠͉̝̗̙̹͞ͅN̴̘̭̭͈̜̹͍͍̰̫͚̞̪̥͈͎͓͇̕͝E̷̴͖̦̟̺̜̣͖̬̖͕͈͍͝L͏̨̞͢͠͡!̺̘͈̙̼̻̺̪̬̹̻̱̙̱͘͞ Y҉̻̠͉̝͚̹̯͇͘͝O҉̢̜̖̮͖̤̱̳͝͡U̢̟̰̝̩̗̼̖̭̳̫͚̩͓͕̯͝ͅͅ ̧͈̰͚̥͓̯͈̭̱̞͎͉̘̳̕ͅN̨̟̦̜̠͜Ȩ̢͎͍͕̖̥̦̫̱̜̼̖͜͟͠V̦͍̮̪̟̱̥͜E̤̝̙̤̳̬̫̱̬͈͇̮̩̗̞͔̳͟͢͞ͅR̴͖͈̦̻̥̟͔͔̺̜̞ ̵̴̢̬̼̠̘̮̬̰͎̥̕͢L̕҉̢̡̤̼̺͟O̶̧̻͖̩̬͙̬̞̱̮V̛͞͞͏̱͈͉̻̬̼͍͚͔̮̺̖̲̗̤̜̭̙̙E҉͠҉̭͕̟͖̥̮̣͈͖̬̼ͅD̸̶̡̮̖̻͘͝ͅ ̢̫̻̳͓̜̜̭̦͇͉̤̬̤͕͍͜͠͞͡M̷̨̜͇̲̜̻̭̤͍͇̰͞E̶̛̼͖̩͍̜̰̦̕!̸̴̶̧̳͈̫͚̗͔͍͉̻̝̦̙̲̮̻ ̵̧͙̻̯̯̕͟”

                Leon backed away, but the demon tackled him to the ground, sinking claws into his arms. “Argh, you’re hurting me, Alcor! I’m sorry, I didn’t know this would make you so angry, I just thought-”

“Y͎̘̹̰̠̪̼̤̫̬̼̱̦͔̞̹̼͙̦͝O̵̡̫̱̩̯̬͔͚͉Ų̷͍͇̖̼͔̦̙͎̣͘͢͜ ̵̗̼̯̹̕J̞͇͔͎̫̪̤͍̦̯̬̝̗̹̦͘͝ͅU͏͠͏̫͔̹̯̙̰̼̭̠̮̫̟̣̭̝S̵̛̠̯̖̖͈͈̹͍̕ͅŢ̸̰̠͎̺͚̜͝ ̵̴̵̥̪͚̣̘̱T͞҉̦̦͖̫̗͎̱̤̥͔̖̝H̶̵͈̖̭͇̣͕͉̝̥O̡̳̩̖̩̲̥͍͖̣̞͓͚͜U̵̸̼̩̯̗͍̺̗̞̦̖͕͙͔͖̦̖̝͝G̴̛̖͕̣̯̼̠̖̭͉͈̙̲̼͓̭̘͡H̷͡͏̳͍͚͝T̘̹̠̳̣̬͕̫̱͍̰̫̪̳͖͚͜͞ͅͅ ͇͓͉̹̠̹͙͈̙̜͇̬̯Y̶̧̧̯̺͙̦͍͉̝͚̠͘Ơ̲̟̯͎̩͎̘̖͇̗̱̗̝͞͞ͅU̴҉͏҉̣̲̩̜͈̜͈͙̰̝̼͇̘͍͍̯͇͠ ̷̧̼͕̖̣̭͈̬̪͖̱̝̠̤̻̤̟̲C͏̶̦̻̥̱͎̝͔̲͎̭̠ͅƠ̸̶̻͓̯̹̹̞͈̻̩̙̰̥͙ͅU̢̞̫̼̙̘̳̰̼̤̲͇̺̳̱̟̕͘͟ͅͅL̵̵̘̹̩̪̮͕̭̱̥̦̤̜͙̖ͅD̛҉̦͙͈̙̳̗ ̶̶̧҉̣̰̺̦̫̣͙̺͕̜̞̯͞G̶̬̩̭̫͓͜͝E̛͇͔̗̤̮̯̪̝͙͖̭̻̗̩̩̹͢͢ͅT͏̸̮͎͍͙̩̮̱̙͎͙̝̞̭̳̭̻̞͚ ̸̵̧͕͓̖͈͉̥̺͔̼͡R̴̵̡̳͍̦̻̙̹͟͝I̴̻̞̞͓͡D̢̗̩͙̬͜͜͠ ̰̜̘͍̠̫͕̪̖̳̻̣̖̤̕͘͢͞͞ͅO͏̟̝̲̘̮̝̹F̛͟͠͏̶̮͖̣̱̙̘͓͎͚̱̫̺̪̩͎͖ͅ ͏̢҉̸̝̘̮͚͚̯̫͚͎̝̥͕̹̘̮̪̤̞̱͘M̷̲̹͙̥͕̰̜̩̩͈͉͓̙̕͡E͏̷̹͙͉͙͞!̴̢̼̟̰̦͓̫͔͡ͅ” The demon slammed him into the ground. “I͚͉̩͎̩̜̬̙̳͔̰̱̭̹̟̘̭̳ ͈̯̞̮ͅJ̤̘͍̗̘͈̘͚̣͙̘͍͓̪̪U̫̠͎̙͙͈S͎̦̱͇͙͈͎̦͕̘̗̘̻̘̻͈̞̬T͎̱͓͕̳͇͚̮̰̝͉̭̤̺̲̟ ̬͇̥͉͎W̹̝̟͙̺̜̲̥̭̼͙͍̹̹̪ͅA̮͓̰̹̯̮̙̺̰̙N̩̖̠̱̣T̝̯͎̤̞͓͎̝͕̥̙̜̞E̥͎̠͎̱ͅD̰̪͍͇̞̩̦͙͙̱̳̩̱̼ ͎̦̣̫̥̟͔T̥͇̻̳̦̟H͕̺̦̜̹̞I̠̦̻̬̺̤̪̤̫̘S̖͉̙̰͍͕͚̤̞̱̗͇̘̖̬ ͎̯̝̦͎̬̝̹͔̗̰̼̬͙̯ͅͅT̝͖̦͉͍͇̠̗̹̭̹̜͚̯O͙͉̹̩̬̫̮͖̞̺̤̰̞̬̹̜͚̩ ̰̭̙̜͉̺̜̣̪͚W͕̩̫͉̼̣̲̰̖͙̗͎͕̞O̹͕̩̰R̺̳̰̫̠̦̰̦̠͕̼̪̰̮̘͚ͅK͙͉͖̪̥͓͇͕͍͇͔̱͇͔!̱̥̯̠̰ ̞̬͎͈͙̖͇͈̫̼̪͙̳͎͙̺̳I̙̟̹̳̜̻͙̩͍̬̼͈͈ ̤͓̻̫͈̙͕̣͖̰̯J͓̣̤͎̖̟̺͕͇̻͚͔̲͙̳͚͓̟U̳͙͇͕͖͔̟͈͓̱̳̱̙̬͓̼S̳̘͔͖̗̞̭͕T͕͙̻̙͕ ͎͓͔̤̞͕̦̹W͓̙̠̠̘̱̬͓̪̱͎̬̠̘̻A͓̼̻̰̣̳͚̣͙͖̩͙N͚͕͈̝T͔̭̲̟̗̳̹̟̖̦̦͙͓̗͓͕̪̩E͉͎͖̙̫̼̹͇̙͓͇͍͍̺̳͙Ḏ̩̭̫̹͎ͅ ̖̤͕̤͍͍͍ͅE̻̙̻̤͍͕̣̟̞̣̣̳̙͉V̫͓̮̠̖̲͇̫̤̙̪̻͉̜̲E̟̖̪̺͓̣̘͇̪͚̦̹͎̥͖̦̠̺R̳̼͉̻͇̤̟̻̺Y̩̙̯̲̻͚̫̹̦̯̼T̗̥͓̼͔̭H̘̮̖̞̩̥̰̲̬͇̞̺̯̝ͅḬ̱̬̹͇̬̳̲̫̯̪̥͉̙̤̫ͅN͇̜̖̙̙̫̯͔̞̙͈̬G̖͓̞͇̹̼͚̰̼̟̺͈ ̳͖̲̙͍̯̳̲̫̣Ṭ͎̬̳͇͎͉̼̫ͅO͎̝͚͍̜̬̺ͅ ̠̹̙̦͇̰̞͈͍̗̗B̤͎̝̬͉͕E̪̰̩͖̦͕̜͓̯̺̺̳͖͇̳͖ ̫̫̫̹͍͓̥̰͍̘̩͇̞͓̰̝̪ͅͅO̩̩̻͎̖̬͍̪̻̬̖̫͙̞̟ͅK̤̭̪̯͕̘̦̥͇̭̬A̯̫̬̣̤̼̝̝̜͖͕̣̟̰̬̩ͅY̳͕̻̠͎̘̺̪̣͔̫͈ͅ ̙̻̠̫̥̜̮̟̭͈͇̪̲̮̞̖͕͖B̺̙̬̞̲͈̦̝̙͕͙̬̠̱͚͉̗Ṷ̜̮̙̳̫̠̬͙̰͚͉ͅT͚̯͎̤̯̫ ͖̣̤̤͓̲̪͈͈͔Y͉̯̙̪ͅO͍̳̯͚̩̜͎̘̥̰͈̘̠̮U̟̥͓͎̟̯̺̭̙̝̭̹͈̬ͅ ͍̘̗̘͚̖̰͚͎̼̹̳̱̲̹͎̞̗S̻̮͓̝̜̰͙̲̟A͕̜͎͚̼͚͉͕̤̞̝͍̹͚͎B̠̪̣͔̰̥͔͖͓̩͖̣̳̲ͅO̯̦̖͉̠̼̲T͎̼̻̹̥ͅA͉̝̭͈̣̝̺͎̻͙̫G̯͙͍̙͖͓̰͎̼͕̻̪͚͍͕̪̬ͅE̜̘͎̰̟͙̥̘͔̞ͅD̫̫̤̲̰̺̭͎͚̦̬͉̟̱̮̩̭̞ M͍̹̯̝͚̞̙̳̩͇̻̥̬̱E̹͙͉̝̦̞̦͈̯̪̪̘̯!̭͙̣͇

                :No, Alcor… Stop, stop!”

“I͊ͯ̀ͤ͂ͮ̏̇͜͢͏͖͇͔̩̠̪̩̖̠̞̳̞̗̣̗͇̜͜͜ ̷̎͌ͫͬ̇ͪ̐̊͗̾͏̘̘̥̬̤͎̦̭̘͈̙̠̩̠͘͟W̸̢̙̣̭̪͍̟͎͉͇̩̭̜͓̬̲͖͂ͦͭ̀̾ͦͩ͘O̮̩͚̳̪̩̬̙͔̦̖̙͔͙ͦ͗̿̒͡͞N̨̖̟̘͉̰̹̺͓̘̥̙̈͂ͩͮ̑̓̇͘͞'̧ͬͦ̈̃͂̿͌̂̐ͩ͗ͩͮͫ̃͘҉̟̼̯ͅT̷́̔͂ͥ̀͊̒ͭͫ͐͢͝҉̮͙͕̘̣͓̼̻͔ ̴ͦ̎̊̏̌̓҉̛͙͚̙̹̪̤̙̖̰̙̪ͅL̷̢̞̼͖͉̣̣̦̘͈̖̜̩͙͕͕̑͑̑ͯ̃͊͗̋̄ͣͯͦ̌̍͊̓̃́̽͜͝Ȩ͈̯̰͒̎́͒ͬ̔ͦ́͊̏̇ͫͬ͗̏͞ͅT̛ͥ̋́̏͒̀̐͊͌̍̑̑ͦ͌̒̓҉̲̤̖̲̮͚͟ ̨̮̥͍͙͓͕̬̥͇̟͛͊ͭ̂ͫ͆͂ͧͥ̿͑̕Y͈͕͙̥͉̺͎͕̼̤͑̿͗͑͐̂͂͘͞͞Õ̵̡̼̹̳̪͇̳̠͇̲̳̇̆͒͂̂ͣ͗́͐ͮ́͘͟U̧̲̞̹̖͓̩͈͕͋̂ͤ̃̔ͭ̃̈ͫ̆ͣͫͯ͡ ̵̛̘̼̱̩̤̯͗ͧ̄̈́͟͡Tͣ̒ͪ͌ͩͪ͑͌̄ͣͬ̇̏̽ͣ̚͏̲̻͍͕̥̗̙̯̜̙͇̯̖̜͕͙̙ͅA̶̻̝̯͎͉̣̮͎̫̳̺͖̙͚͔̭̍ͣ̌ͤ͂͗ͩ̈̓̇̂̓́̓͋͌͝K̙̺͍̫̮͕̙̮̞̝͖̗͚̠̲̟͛ͦ̐̈ͥͬ̏͛̒͟͠Ĕ̖̠̮̙̼͉̥ͩ͛̌̅ͫ̅̂ͮͦͦ̍̚͠ ̴̠͖̣̯̟͍̞̗̞̮͈͕̬̙͙ͩ̉̉ͪͧ͛̒̆̔͟͝M̡̧̺͙̳̄ͥͩ̅̆ͭ̃̐̈̇̽̔͐ͫ̆ͬͥ͢Į̶̷̜̳̺̬͇̰̋͋̌́̋͆ͤZ̸̃͒̆̒̉ͧ̀̍̓͆̆̅͘͝͡͏͇̤̼̠̫̣̱̝͙͖Ą̨̒̈́ͭ̒̿ͯ͠͏̭͎̺͇̺̤̞̬R̞͚̙͔͕̙̲̮͒ͮͥ̂͂ͩ͊͂͒̔͋̈́͆͒̏͆̃̔͟͞ ̢̄̾͋̿ͤ̈́͊͂̍ͬ̔̎ͯ̂̆͗̔̾͏̵̥̪͇̘͙̯̺͖̗͓͈̹̕Ḁ̡̱̻̼̩̥̻͖̙̙͍̠͈̰̭͍͔̹̆̽̌͐̌̅̿ͤ͊̎ͣ̐ͬͬ̂͢Ẃ̧̛͎̘̻̭̭͔̺͓̱͇ͩ̄̓̕A̷̡̢ͪͤͣ͋̎̋ͦ͆ͥ́̔͐̓ͫ̂ͯ͟҉͉̮̼͎͈̗Y̧̗̭͍͈̤̰̘͔̪̦̯͗͆ͦ͂̓̀̄̄͑ͮ̀ͣ̽͡ ̶̙̰̤̪̼̪͖ͤͥ̂͐̈͂̽͘Ḟ̴͕͈͎͇͇̔̇̐̈ͭ̈͛̍̀̓ͣ̈́̍͊̏̍̒͘͝R̶̛͓̥͕̞̬̙̤̣̎͗̉̇ͤ̌̓̔̒͌̆ͯ̐͊͗̅̚͟͡͠O̴̶̧̨͖̝͖̦̜͇̮͈̎̄̽͗̄̂ͤ̊͊̐̈́͘M̸̏̈́ͪͬ̂͛̈́͂ͯ͆̀ͥ͊̍̆͑҉͖͉̩̬̪̩̥̘͖̺̤̻̞̮̳̖ͅ ̸̸̡̺̬͖̖͕͕̱͚͓̥̦͈̳̟̝̃̏̋͆͂ͭͧ̂ͣͫ͂̅̈́ͨ̎͗̃ͅM̸̗̦̩̬̳͍͑ͣ̑̽͘͡͞E̷̵͇̻̥̥͓̺̩̪͈͔̠̩̗̘͍͔͚̊͋̌ͫ̆̍̔͋̑͑͊́ͩͫ̊ͮ,̸̖̰̬͍ͩͩͦͯ̍ͣ̓̑̎ͭ͐ͤͥ͗ͥ̕͜͝ͅ ̓̿̇ͫ͏̢̣̦̦̺͇̭̦͔̻͍͚͠͠ͅŞ̧̛̥̦̞͖̗͕̫̗̭̻̝̗̼͕̉ͥ̅̋ͥͮ̎͜ͅͅḦ̸̯̯͕̦͚͇͖̜̺̘́̀͗́̋̽ͦ͒ͤͨ̚̚͘͜͡E̛͐͂ͮ̈́̑́ͭ̌ͫͪ̿ͨͩ̌̔͊͆̒҉̮̭̤͎͙͓̭͓̜͓'̷̨͈̹͔̞͙̼̟̬̲̪̠̮̺̓͌̋ͭ̿̅̄̃͐̈́͛̉ͨ̓̑͘Ṣ̶͚̘̰͍͍̙̪̪̯͇̍͂͊̏̍̍̀ͤ̍̉̈́̓̉ͥ͘͟ͅ ̵̘͚̭̟͕͖̣̣̩̙̘̫̠̙̺̮ͪ̀̉ͨ̅ͣͩ̿ͣͣ͛̿͗̿̄ͪ̍͘͞MI̶̡̡̪͈̭̘̲̥̱̠̲͙͖̪̦͙̠͈̖ͣͯͩ̋̀̊N͛̓ͯͫͯ̉ͯ͛ͪ͋ͦ́̐̈́͂̐͟͜͢͏̹̦̙̭̬̹͙̣̥̻͈̻͈͚͔̰̦E̖͙̼̜̰̬̐̑͂ͥͫͩ̔̉ͭ̌̉̉͡͝ͅ,̸̢̛̛̻̤̬̹̺̝̗̗ͯ͋͂ͮ̓͐̔̃͛̾̇̐́̆ͧ̍ͣ͝ ̶̢͙̭̬͍͔͉̰͖͈̜̘͇̖̤̃ͯͣ͊̋͑̕ͅS̡̨͎̮̝̘̽̒̓ͮ̅͘͝H̛̯̪̠̔͆ͤͭͤ̎̍̊̋͛͋̈̉ͧ͐̑͘͠Ê̷̱͖̦͖͙̞̘̦̥̺͍̣͊̓̽̅ͭ̎ͬ̇͗͊͋͒̚̚ ̸̸̯̱͍̪͎̰ͣ̒̇͗̾̑͒̍̆͆̑͐͒ͭͫ̇͒L̢̝̺̙̪̠̮̩̯̽ͤ̋̆͒̌ͧ͂̑̌͊̚͡͞ͅOV̴̸̵̩̺͎̫̜̰̺͍̖̩̺̻͙̭̠̪̩͖̻ͤ̈́̃̐͘E̷̡̖̺͖̳̊ͥͨ̈͗̌̀̒̾̎ͭ͋͒ͯ̚Ș̛̪̠͙̜̜̳͕̪̞͔̣̙̤̬̺̪̖̓̌̒́̿̿̽͆ͩ̐ͧ̈ͧ̕͞ͅ ̸͇͎̮̫̐ͣ̐̀͊̋ͪ̀̑ͤ̔ͥ̾͡M̸̢͉̗̝̖̠̬̥͊̄̈́̏ͭ̉̂̓͗͗ͬ̏̀ͪ̈̐ͯ̕͢͠E̷̡̡̪͍̼̮͖̞̦͒̾̈́̊ͤ͑͂͑̚̕͝ͅ!̛̠̥̙̯͋̑ͨ̐͐ͭͨ̓͛̆͆͋̄͝͞ sH̵̩̥͈̒ͩ̀̌̾ͮ́̏̊͛ͬĔ̘͍͙̪͍̖̜̜̰͍̩͒̎ͬ̓͐̏ͪ̇̉͌ͣ̈̎ͥ̕͢͠ ̵̞͔͔̞̟̠̗̻̬͕̓͋ͦ̂̈́ͣ̌͗̆͠͞ͅĻ̷̦͎̲̖̗̳͙̦̞̙̥͔̳̯̭͕̱̀́ͮͦ̇͛ͬͨͨͬ̎ͩ̽͋̚͠ͅO͒͑̀ͬͮ̄̆͋͊͟͏̴̧̪͕̙̟̘͈͎͜V̵̷̳̩͔̪̘͍̐̉̏̈́͗ͩͣ̋Ȩ͖̖̩̟͓̳̲͎͚͚͍͚̥̺͙͆͗̿͌̿̇͊ͫ̓ͪͭͩ̈ͯ̕ͅͅͅŠ̨̢̩̯̭̪̭̩͉̿͑́̀̿ͫ͆ͪͯ͛ͧ͋̈́ͨͫ͘͞ ̷̡͇̩̣̰̦̥͈̱̮̭̙͋͗̓͑̂́̐ͫͪ̀̉̅̈ͩͦͩ́̚͜͝M̶̨̻̥̱͚͇̘͚̲̭̩̺̪͒̑ͧ̄E̲̮͇͇̪̤ͮͨ͆́ͫͬ̍͋ͫ̃̀͡!̷̢̢͔̪̩͈̯̗͍̣͔̩̠̰̫̫̭͐ͬ͛͢͢ͅͅ ̩̻̣̘̤̳̝͍͙͚̂̄͆̈́̇̇ͫ̔̇͐̓̐̐̈́̅̔ͭ̌͢Ś̡̖̯̱̞̼̩̟͈͖̼͉ͫ̀͊͘̕͢H̵̰͖͉̙̣̘̺̰͈̃̓͛͆ͭ͢͠͠E̶̛̺͙̝͖̖̦̪̭̤̻̬̼̰̦͓̞̤̰̦͋͂̄̄ͫ͑ͬ̋͑̈̽̄ͪ̓͝ ̨̡̅͐͌ͨ̾ͦ̿͗͑͑̏̅̾͌ͨ҉͏̧̩͕̤̥̭̮̙̩̞͖̺̖̬L̈͑ͨ̀̽͌͒̎̏͋̿̆̑ͥ̅͏̡̥̙͚̥̪̖̟̻͔͎̕O̪̯̳͍̻͉̤̠̠̗̭͚̻ͨ̑ͮ͐̀ͩ̕͞V̥͓͕̖̰̯̞̎ͧ̏̌̚͜͝E̸̛̻̤̹͕̓̇̀̒ͩ͆̊͟S̴̶̢̰̜͈͉̲̝̗̻̖̗̘̻̫̭̮͇ͧ̽ͯ͗͠ ̸̵̡͈̠̝̘̙͎̲̮̖̳̩͎̭͐ͯ̒͒̅̇ͦ̍̂͗̿̂͆̌ͥͪͥ̅̕͡M̸̨̡͕͇̻̲͖̖͍̞̪͎̦̫̀̒̂͑͊̿ͭ͛͆ͮ̚̚͡ͅE͗ͧ̅̃ͣ͗̀ͦͨͦ̀̀̇͂̍̓̒҉͏̷̲͎̳͙̬̩̙!̧̛̪͔̫͕͎̯̠ͤͬͨͩ̔̄̒ͭ̕”

                Alcor slammed him into the ground again, and the whole living room shuddered. He slammed him again, and the drywall cracked. Glass shattered, and storm winds came rushing in.

                He slammed him again, and a massive explosion ripped through the entire house. The blast wave incinerated the neighborhood, flattened half the town, and the sound of a terrible scream could be heard for miles.

                Right in the epicenter, was Leon. His atoms were torn apart before he felt a thing, but it couldn’t be said that he hadn’t seen this coming. When Alcor opened his eyes, all he saw beneath his hands was blackened dirt and rising smoke.

                The human wasn’t there. The human wasn’t anywhere. Alcor scrabbled around in the rain.

                “W̟̥͈̼̬̩̟ͅh̺e̞̘͔͇̭̘̞̬r̰̝͈͚̜̮e̱͔͈̹͔̩͙'͈͙̪͙̯̗͚͚̮d̠͎ ̫̳͉y̩̺̦̥o̯͕ṷ͈̟̬͚͓ ̗͉͈͍̳g̞̜̪o͔͓̲̦̠?̭̥” He growled out. “S̪̤͙H͇̣̰͚̼̼̫̙̫O̗W̖̫͕͙̬̻ ̦̘̥̠̤̺̫͚YO̪͇͔U̻̺̖͍̬͙͉ͅR̜̗̺̖̞͇̟S̻̜̯E̫̭̹͈̝L̠̦̲̘̼F͎!”

                Nothing but distant wails answered his call. Alcor felt something like rage rise up in his chest - fear.

                “Ṋo͇̘͇͉͈̪.̳͇̯͕ ̣̟̙̱N̻O̟̻!͔̩̹͚̱̘̣̗” Police sirens made him stand up. “H̝U̥͈̙͚͕̖ͅM̠͈̻͎̩A̭̻̙͖̞͖̭̖N͇! ͎̯͙̟͎͕L̖̗̟I̻̥̫̟̥̟O̺͕̩͉̥̠N̫̥̻̻̜̙̼E͉͉̼͈̬͔̬̲L͎̳̩͓͕͕̘̯̭͔, W̗̥ͅH̗E͈̙̣̺R̭̗͈͙E̝̯̭ ̳̖͕̗ͅA̪̞̹͔̭͚̣̼R̞̼̜E̬͚̺͙͈͚̞ ̥̖͈̟̪̞Y̺̗̹͕͕̙̘̙O̠͈̦̟̩͕̹̖U̻͕̹̥!̫̯̻͓͔ͅ L̵̢̛҉̼͎͎̭̳̯̤̣̟͚ͅI̶̶͕̰̺͚̻̥̦̣͕͜O̡̼͉͍̯̗͕͈͇̪͍̳̙̬̤͡N̶̢̟͎̳͖̗̭̯̹̱̯͇̺̦̗ͅE̺͈̤͍͚̦͍̣̣̟̜͖̺̖̻͠L̢͔͖͙̰͙̯͕̭̹!͏̢̨̳̹̫͈̟̮̪͉̘̖͇̗̹͉̜̝"

                No answer, no answer. Alcor stepped back, trembling, and fled into the Mindscape.

                Later, the storm would clear. After hours of picking through rubble, search teams would arrive at the massive crater carved out of the town, and in the centre of it all, crying for his Daddy, was Dipper.

                He was alive, somehow. It was a miracle, apparently.

                And then he hid from himself for twelve years, stuffed his sins deep into a human body and pretended like I WASN’T THE ONE WHO DID THAT I WASN’T THE ONE WHO KILLED LEON!

                A scream. A scrambling back. They hit the wall, and - where were they? Who were they? What was going on?!

                A blink.

                They… they were Noie. She was Noie. She gasped like she’d just done a marathon, and quickly she held up her hands - they were back to normal. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring anymore.

                And… and she was in her bedroom. Huddled in the far corner, there was-

                It.

                Him. Dipper.

                Alcor.

                “Y-y-you c-can go n-now.”

                His voice. His shakey, sobbing voice. Then its wings wrapped around its form.

                “I-if y-y-you want t-to go, I-I understand. I-I w-won’t be m-mad.” It curled up tighter. “I’m sorry, Noie. I’m s-so, s-so

so-o-o-r-r-r-y-y…”

                Noie watched her brother, the demon, sob into his knees, and stars, she didn’t know where her brother started and a monster ended.

                She… she had to get some air. She jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, trying to get the sight of him out of her mind.

Chapter Text

                Noie was lost. Her thoughts were on fire. She stood in the hall, trembling with the need to run, to scream, to do anything to escape this.

                What was she going to do? What the fuck was she going to do? Oh, stars, oh stars, oh, stars…

                Noise filtered through her ears. She stood, frozen, as Dipper’s quiet sobbing leaked through the door behind her. Down the hall, David and Allie were talking - it sounded like they were still having dinner.

                “Oh, this pasta is, is lovely, David. Do we have to go shopping today?”

                “You don’t think it’s to do with me, do you?”

                “Huh?”

                “You don’t think she’s mad at me?” Cutlery clinked against the plate. “Is it still because of that movie thing? I don’t understand…”

                “Who’s mad at you?”

                “Naomi.”

                “Naomi who?”

                “N- what? Oh, for god’s sakes, Allie!”

                “What!”

                “Ugh…”

                “David? Why are you angry at me?”

                “It’s… don’t worry about it.”

                “Da-”

                “Don’t worry about it. Just eat your st- just eat your dinner.”

                Naomi found herself backing away from the kitchen, ears buzzing, throat tightening. She needed somewhere quiet. Somewhere to clear her head.

                She glanced at the living room where the TV was still on, playing an advert. Not there.

                She backed up a little more, then set her jaw, whirled around, and shut herself into Allie’s study.

                Noie breathed. She breathed. She breathed. She pressed her face against the door, and stared into the darkness.

                Her thoughts wouldn’t stop racing. It was like… like a bomb had been set off in her mind.

                She didn’t know what to think. She’d been putting off thinking about this so long that her only thought was what now?

                Dipper was a demon. Dipper killed their dad - her dad.

                What now?

                What was she supposed to do now? Carry on like it didn’t happen?

                 Noie gulped. She… she really wanted to do that, but she couldn’t, could she? Dipper killed somebody, and not just anybody, her dad! Her actual dad! You gotta hate somebody for that!

                So… she hated him, maybe? Then why did her gut still drop at the thought of him leaving forever? Did she really want to hang around some kind of murderous, demonic, angry, violent… Dipper?

                Noie banged her head against the door. She didn’t want that. She couldn’t want that. With everything Dipper confessed to her, how the fuck could she call herself a good person if she knowingly hung out with a murderer!

                A gasping sob escaped her mouth, and she covered it. Her shoulders shuddered, and she just slid down the wall, shaking her head. Through blurry eyes, she turned to look at Allie’s desk, and found herself in its looming shadow. It stood tall, so much taller than her, and the shining pictures of Leon and his happy fucking family glared down from on high, watching her, judging her. She curled up into a ball, but she couldn’t escape them, couldn’t stop thinking about the terror she felt as Alcor pinned him down, claws digging into his shoulders, teeth bared, voice bellowing… like a monster.

                Your brother is a monster. He killed me. He killed this.

                What now?

                Noie gripped her head until it hurt. “I… don’t… know! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know!”

                She sobbed into her hands, and the air was filled with guilty silence. She sobbed, and she sobbed, and she sobbed, until those sobs turned to sniffles, turned to stillness.

                In the darkness, curled up with her forehead pressed to her knees, Noie’s thoughts were finally still. She took in a breath, and let it out, slow.

                …

                She needed that.

                She still didn’t know what to do about Dipper, but she could at least think about it without the very notion of his true nature sending her into a panic.

                Slowly, she lifted her head. Her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark, and she looked around and saw everything in shades of grey. The carpet was brighter than the walls. The desk still loomed, but she could pick out the detail in the wood; it wasn’t featureless. A slit of moonlight fell just short of her feet, and she moved her leg to catch it.

                Noie spread her toes, then clenched them. She flattened out her foot, and dragged it slowly through the carpet. She watched this for a while, and then she drew herself back, and rose to her feet.

                She walked to the desk. Her eyes were trained on the shutters, and the moonlight streaming through them, and she didn’t look down at the desk when she reached it. She didn’t look at the picture frames that crowded around her.

                She clasped her arms before her, and hesitated.

                Finally:

                “Dipper?”

                Her voice sounded remarkably clear; she expected it to wobble. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth again.

                “Dipper. Please come here.”

                Nothing and no one answered her. She waited, and waited, and waited… and then she sighed. Dipped her head. One of her hands wrapped around an empty ring finger, and she closed her eyes.

                “Dipper…” Naomi took a deep breath. “Stella splendida, vos invoco. Vos invoco ut faciatis voluntatem meam. Dico nomen vestrum: Alcor.”

                The chant rolled off her tongue… surprisingly easily. There felt like there should be some kind of change in the air, some kind of difference after the words left her lips, but nothing happened. Nothing happened.

                Then, there was a sound from behind her. She turned around, and came face to face with her brother, Alcor the Dreambender.

                Her heart still stopped at the sight of him. Wow, he towered over her, and the pitch black wings folded behind his back ate the moonlight; she could only make out a void. His suit, and bowtie, and black gloves - they looked nothing like what Dipper would normally wear, and his face…

                His face was bowed. It was hard to make out, but it may have been a little blotchy, too. His eyes were closed, and if she looked at nothing else but them, she could maybe see something of Dipper in him.

                But she couldn’t help but look at everything else. After everything that had happened, it was all too much, and maybe she didn’t want to talk to him, maybe she was making a mistake-

                “Hi…” Noie struggled to name him, then gave up. “Hi.”

                “Hello, Naomi.”

                His voice: it rang out with a faint, but noticeable echo. It also shuddered a little, like Dipper’s always did just after he finished crying. Noie didn’t know what to say to that.

                “Uh…” she pressed herself against the desk, staring down at his shoes. “Do they sell those?”

                He paused, at that. Then he looked up at her with the strangest expression. “Wh-what?”

                “Demon shoes.” She tried not to shudder at his gold-on-black eyes. “Do you, like, go into a store and try a bunch of those on, or-”

                “No, no. they’re part of my form.”

                “Part of your…?”

                “It’s- um, complicated. Basically, I just… imagine what kind of shoes I want and then they’re, uh, there. They’re just there.”

                “So you’re wearing imaginary shoes.”

                Alcor rubbed his neck. “I… guess? Heh, uh, I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but yeah? My whole form’s kind of…” He looked over at her, and his voice dropped to a mumble: “ imaginary…”

                Noie just stared at him.

                “Uh, Noie?”

                There was something so strange about seeing her brother’s nervous mannerisms on the demon that pinned her down and reached inside of her…

                “Naomi?”

                She was laughing, now. Or maybe she was crying - it was hard to tell.

                “Wh-what’s wrong? Naomi?” He tried to reach for her, then drew back. “I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll just-”

                “No, wait!” Noie tried to get a hold of herself. “I’m sorry, it’s just… stars, this is so messed up. This is so messed up.”

                Dipper flinched back at this. “I know. It’s my fault, it’s all my fault-”

                “No, not you!” She hesitated, then broke out into a giggle. “I-I mean, yeah, you, kind of? Actually, a lot… yeah, you, uh, did some weird shit, my dude! Kinda, kinda dropped the ball there! Screwed the pooch. Killed the dad.”

                Dipper stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “Uh-?”

                “But if you’re so messed up, what the fuck am I doing?” She gave him an angry shrug. “Why the fuck am I talking to you? That’s the real question here!”

                “I-I don’t know, why are you-”

                “I’m asking you that!” Naomi snapped. “I’m asking you that because I don’t fucking know!”

                He jumped back like she’d struck him. She stared down at him, and felt something break in her chest, and all of a sudden she couldn’t stop yelling.

                “You told me all these things about Leon, and how you killed him, and you showed me - you put me inside his fucking head while you were slamming it against the ground!” She pulled at her hair like she wanted to rip it out. “You show me all of that, all of that, but you’re not gonna tell me what you think I should do about that?!”

                “I-”

                “I know you, Dipper! Maybe not as well as I thought I did, but I can see you putting yourself down, trying to get me to hate you! You’re really feeling bad about this whole Leon thing, aren’t you? You just want to drive everyone away so you can go off and feel sorry about yourself, don’t you!”

                Dipper was crumpling under her glare. “Noie, I-”

                “Well you can’t!” She slammed a fist down on the desk. “Dammit, Dipper, I can’t… I can’t lose you.”

                Noie paused, for a moment. She swallowed hard.

                “Dipper… I’m not a good person.” She stared down at the picture frames on the desk. “I’m not. You told me all this stuff about how you’re a demon, how you acted like a monster, how you killed Leon… like you think I care.” A lump formed in her throat. “But I don’t care, not as much as I probably should. Dipper Argenta… he’s been my twin brother for as long as I can remember. He’s the only person who talks to me at school. He’s the only person who actually listens to me. He’s… probably the only actual friend I’ve ever made.” She snorted, mirthlessly. “And maybe that says something about me, that I can’t make friends. I dunno.”

                She closed her eyes. She just sighed.

                “All I know is that I need Dipper Argenta. I don’t care what he is under all that, I… I can’t lose him, I just can’t.”

                Silence. Awful, awful silence. After a long pause, Naomi forced herself to look back up at her brother. She watched him look away, and she set her jaw.

                “So you need to tell me what you’re going to do.”

                She stared at Dipper, and waited for his reply. He struggled to meet her eyes; his ear twitched, and he shot only glances at her before taking a deep, shaky breath.

                (Did demons need to breathe? The thought struck her as she watched.)

                He met her gaze with those strange, golden eyes, hesitated once more, then opened his mouth…

                And then closed it. Frowned. Noie frowned with him.

                “What?” She watched his ears prick up. “What are you doing? Dipper?”

                He glanced at her, almost started. “H-hold on a second, Noie,” he said, and then he turned and waved a hand. The terrible silence that had descended around them seemed to lift, and all of a sudden Noie could hear beyond the room. It seemed like only ambient noise - the hum of the air conditioner, the chatter of the television - but then Noie heard a voice.

                David’s voice.

                “Allie!”

                Something was wrong; she could hear it.

                “Allie, are you there?” A door slammed. Her stomach dropped. “No no no no, where’d you go?”

                Noie and Dipper found themselves looking at each other, seeing each other’s panic reflected in their widening eyes.

                Noie had no idea what was going to happen with her brother. She had no idea how they were going to fix the great rift that had formed between them, how they’d even begin to patch up the hurtful things they’d said and done to each other…

                “Allie!”

                But for one, terrible moment, it was like none of that even mattered. Dipper threw open the door, and the two of them rushed as one into the living room.

Chapter Text

                “Allie!”

                Noie raced around the corner and nearly ran into David. He grabbed her arm.

                “Allie?” His face fell as he got a good look at them. “Kids! D-did you hear anything just now, uh, l-like a door slamming, or-”

                “No? What’s going on?”

                He grit his teeth. “I did something stupid, that’s what’s going on! Allie’s missing!”

                “What?”

                “No time! Y-you know, I haven’t checked Allie’s office yet, why don’t you two do that while-”

                “We already checked that.” Dipper stepped forwards; he was in human form again, Noie noticed. “How long has she been gone for?”

                “I… I don’t know!” David gripped his temples. “I just- we were watching TV, and I just let her walk off for some reason! I didn’t think about it!”

                “Okay. That’s okay, we’ll just-”

                “It’s not okay! I can’t believe I did that! Argh, this is all my fault - ALLIE!”

                Dipper gripped his shoulder. “Hey, that’s not important right now. Have you searched the whole house already?”

                “Y-yeah? God, that only means one thing.” He looked outside. “Oh, my god. She could be anywhere. This is how people die.”

                Noie felt like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on her. “She’s not gonna die.” She stepped back, and shivered when Dipper looked right at her. “She’s not gonna die, right?”

                “No, she’s not.” He said, and there was a strange shine in his eye. He turned back to David. “Look, it doesn’t matter if you messed up; we can fix this now.”

                “Wh-what?”

                “Go call the police!”

                “The police?” David blinked. “Right, the police! What’s the number for the police- 911. Ohhh, you idiot, David…”

                Dipper nodded at Noie. “While they’re coming, we’re gonna go outside and look for her, okay? Maybe she hasn’t gone far.”

                “That-that sounds like a good plan.” David stepped away, digging for his phone. “She’s gonna be okay, she’s gonna be okay, she’s…”

                Noie stared at him until she felt a hand on her arm. She shivered a bit at Dipper’s grip; he seemed to notice, and motioned her to follow.

                “Come on, Naomi.” He tried for a smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay, okay? We’ll get her back in no time.”

                The smile he wore… it seemed so odd on his face now. It was hard to look at it and not see the fangs, his fangs, but- She shook herself.

                That wasn’t important right now.

                Noie took his hand, and let him lead her into the darkness. They stepped outside, and the crickets started chirping, and suddenly it struck her how utterly normal this night seemed. It wasn’t even that dark; the moon draped itself just above the skyline, watching over everything with a steady silvery glow.

                It didn’t seem like a night for Allie to go missing. It didn’t match up with the deep, sinking fear in her chest as she looked up and down the street and saw nothing.

                “Where are we looking?” Noie asked. “Should we split up? You go that way, I go this way? I should go back inside to get my phone…”

                “We don’t need to look for her. I know where she is.”

                “We don’t-” Noie blinked. “ What?”

                Dipper was standing there, still. “I know exactly where she is. I can get her back.”

                “Wh- How do you know that? How on earth do you…”

                He looked at her. His eyes weren’t glowing, but there was something shining there that made her questions shrivel up on her tongue.

                Of course he knew, she thought. Of course he did. She swallowed.

                “Well, don’t just stand there, we have to get to her! Where is she?”

                “I’ll tell you. We need to do something first.”

                “Need to do what?”

                “We need to… make a deal, Naomi.”

                “A deal?” A chill went through Noie’s body. She stepped back. “Like… the demon thing? The shaky hands thing?”

                He just nodded. She frowned.

                “We don’t have time for this, Dipper! Allie’s missing!”

                “I know, it’s-”

                “Then we gotta go now! Just tell me where she is and-”

                “I can’t!” Dipper snapped. “Not without a deal! Do you understand?”

                She shrank back at the echo in his voice. She watched Dipper sigh, step back, and compose himself. He looked back at her, and there was a deep guilt written into every line in his face.

                “I can’t,” he said, quietly. “I know you’re not… comfortable with me right now, but I need… there’s a part of me that needs something in return. It doesn’t have to be big, b-but it’s been twelve years since I made a deal, I can’t do it for nothing.”

                Noie didn’t say anything. She didn’t dare to.

                “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get frustrated, I just…” he clenched his fists. “I can fix this, so please, let me fix this. I know I’ve messed up a lot, so let me fix this one thing for you and your family, okay?”

                Dipper looked to her for an answer. Noie hesitated, and then, silently, she gave a nod.

                “Okay,” she said, and watched him relax just a little bit. “Okay. What do I need to do? You said I need to, uh, give you something?”

                “An offering, yes.”

                “Oh.” She looked down at her hand, and struggled to get out the next bit: “...So, um… like blood, or souls, or-”

                “No no no no no!” Dipper cut her right off. “No, you are not giving me your soul here! This is not that big a deal! Besides, I already have it - but that’s not important right now-”

                “Wait, you have my-”

                “Long story, not important! Shouldn’t have mentioned it, sorry!” He drew back. “Sorry, sorry, I’m making this confusing and scary when… I just need a small thing, okay? Think, like, a tub of ice cream. Not soul ice cream, just… yeah.”

                She blinked. “Demons take ice cream for deals?”

                “I take ice cream for deals.” His smile was quick, nervous. “Or… I know we don’t have any candy in the house right now, but if you buy me some later, you can offer to do that now. That’d be fair.”

                “Okay-”

                He kept on talking. “Or you don’t have to offer anything physical. You could just offer me something you don’t want anyway. Like unwanted memories.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “Then it wouldn’t even be like I’m taking something away from you. Killing two birds with one stone.”

                “What do you mean?” Noie frowned. “Where are you going with this?”

                “Give me your memories of the past few weeks, and I’ll find Allie.”

                Stunned silence. Even the crickets went silent. Noie felt her stomach drop; she just stared at Dipper, dumbfounded.

                She watched him swallow.

                “You don’t have to take it.” He said. “But I know… I know you don’t want me to be a demon. You just want me to be Dipper Argenta. So I can do it, I-I can put everything back to normal and make a human body again, it can be like none of this ever happened. If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you. If you don’t want to know, you don’t have to know.” He looked down. “It’s the least I can do, after… everything.”

                Everything… back to normal? Noie shivered as she thought of everything that had happened since that day when Lucy Ann showed up by the school - stars, it felt like a lifetime ago. She could hardly imagine a world where her biggest problem was a group project in school; a world where her biggest frustrations came from occasional clashes with her grandfather.

                A world where her biggest comfort was her brother.

                She looked up at him, and hated how his face drummed up a mess of conflicting emotions in her - love and hate and fear and anger all mixed together and made things complicated where they used to be so simple. She just wanted to be close to him again. She just wanted to trust him again. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

                Normal. That was what she wanted. And that was what he was offering.

                So, wordlessly, Naomi extended a hand. She watched her brother’s face flash through a million expressions before locking into something blank and unreadable. Then, he spoke.

                “This is what you want, then.”

                It wasn’t a question, but she nodded anyway.

                “Alright.” He put out his own hand. “Let’s shake on it, then.”

                They grasped each other, and shook, once. A small burst of blue flame startled Noie, but she couldn’t pull away. He was gripping too tight.

                “So…” she managed. “It’s… done, then?”

                “It’s done.” Dipper released her, and turned away. “I’m going to get Allie first, make sure she’s safe. It won’t take long, and then I can wipe your memories.”

                She tried for a nod. “Good… good plan. You need me to come with you?”

                “No. You don’t have to do anything.”

                “Okay, I’ll just… wait inside, then?” Wordlessly, he dissolved into shadow - Noie took a sharp breath. “A-alright. I’ll wait inside. I’ll wait inside.”

                She stepped back, and took one more look out into the night. The crickets were chirping again. The lights were off in all the houses, and the cars lay still in their driveways. It all seemed so incredibly normal.

                Hopefully, it would start to feel normal, too. She turned, and walked inside.

                Opened the door.

                “Yeah, she’s about five foot eight, she’s got- Allie?”

                Closed the door. She could hear her grandfather groan, and then turn back to the phone.

                “No, that wasn’t her. Yeah, she’s five eight, got white hair, she’s- you’re spelling it with a K, right? A as in Alfa, L as in Lima…”

                Noie walked over to the couch, and sat down on the couch. She stared without seeing, and let David’s words wash over her.

                Her hands were trembling. She gripped her knees, and waited.

                She didn’t have to wait long before there was a knock at the door.

                “Huh? Oh, hang on a second!” David rushed over to open it. “Allie, is that- Aaagh!”

                Noie watched him jump back with a yell; the phone dropped from his hand and clattered against the tile. He spotted her standing up and shook his head frantically, but she walked over…

                And saw Alcor the Dreambender standing in the doorway. The demon was dressed in his finest suit, with a thin gold chain looping up to his folded wings. In one clawed hand, he clutched a top hat to his chest. The other was resting gently on Allie’s shoulder; she lit up when she saw her husband, and he let her walk forwards and embrace him.

                “David!” She gave him a peck on the cheek; he was too startled to even register it. “How was your day, honey? Leon and I, we had a wonderfullay, we went shopping!”

                “Wh-what?” David managed. Alcor looked down.

                “She was walking down the side of the road. I picked her up and took her back here.”

                “Why?” He gripped Allie tighter. “What do you want from us?”

                The demon stepped away. “I should go now.”

                “Yes, you should. We don’t have anything for you.”

                David moved to close the door, and Alcor caught Noie’s eye briefly before it was slammed in his face. Allie waved.

                “Bye, Leon!” She frowned when David grabbed her hand. “Ow. Where are we going?”

                He picked up the phone. “Getting you away from the door. Naomi, Dipper, go to your room. Hello, police? Are you still there?”

                Noie looked to the side, but she didn’t see Dipper there. After a moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

                “I said, go to your room.” David growled, and then shoved her towards the hallway. “Hello, yes? I’d like to report a demon sighting…”

                Thoughts buzzing in her head, Noie stumbled back and made her way into her bedroom.

                She shut the door. She took a deep breath. She let it out, slowly, and then spoke.

                “Dipper?”

                “I’m here.” The reply was immediate. She turned, and saw a small boy curled up on the bottom bunk. “We should do this before the police get here.”

                “Yeah, that sounds… sensible.” She waited for him to get up, but he didn’t move. “Uh, Dipper?”

                “Sorry.” He wiped his eyes, and got to his feet. “I’m good now. I’ll do it.”

                His face was a little red and blotchy. He didn’t smile. Noie frowned at him.

                “Are you… sad because Grandpa told you to go away?” She crossed her arms. “You didn’t have to show up as Alcor. You could’ve just showed up as yourself-” and there she caught herself- “Or, well, not… you know what I mean.”

                “Yeah…” he said. “I know what you mean. I don’t know, I just… I wanted to…”

                He trailed off. Then he sighed, and gave a shrug.

                “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now. Are you ready?”

                Noie nodded.

                “Alright.”

                “How, uh… how’s it going to work?” She resisted the urge to step back when he moved towards her. “Is it going to be, like, weird, or…?”

                Dipper wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face into her shirt. She stiffened at first, but it felt so, so nice just to have him hug her again; she hugged him back, and closed her eyes, and it was like nothing was wrong.

                                Nothing was wrong.

                                Nothing had happened.

                                Everything was going to be okay.

                After the longest moment, Dipper shifted, and Noie pulled back with a smile.

                “Alright,” she said, and ruffled his hair. “Good hug. That was a good hug! Got me all the warms and fuzzies.”

                Dipper tried for a chuckle back, but Noie raised an eyebrow at him.

                “Hey, what’s up with you?” She brought him in for another squeeze. “You’re not allowed to be sad, bro. This is illegal!”

                “Is it?”

                “Yeah!” She snorted at the sound of sirens. “See? They’re coming for you, bro.”

                Dipper had nothing to say to that; he just let her hug him. The sirens kept getting louder.

                “Huh, are they… pulling up to our street?” Noie pulled away to look out of the window. “Oh, wow, they are! What’s going on?”

                “Don’t freak out.” Dipper stepped away. “I think I heard Da- uh, Grandpa talking about it earlier. I’ll go ask him about it, okay?”

                She waved him away. “Yeah, go do that. This is freaky… Come back soon, okay?”

                “I will. I promise.”

                Alcor closed the door behind him, then sighed, and let his smile drop. He then vanished into the Mindscape to make his new human body, leaving no trace behind.

                Back in the bedroom, Noie stepped away from the window. She made a face, shrugged, then wandered over to the desk and sat down in front of her computer.

                There was a plain grey USB on her desk. She wiggled her mouse, then looked down at it and raised her eyebrows.

                It was probably Dipper’s, she thought. She tossed it into a desk drawer, and resolved to tell him she’d done that whenever he came back.

                By the time he did return, familiar and human and with a big genuine smile on his face, it had completely slipped her mind.

Chapter Text

Noie had to run. She dashed down the halls, clutching a textbook to her chest and forcing air in and out of her mouth. The door was just to the right - she was nearly there, nearly there, there!

                She crashed into the door and staggered into a lecture hall full of people. A few turned to look at her - she reddened at that - but most of them paid no attention.

                The professor continued talking, and she slipped past him to take her seat.

                “-in microeconomics, it is often observed that the opportunity cost - which is the cost incurred by not choosing the next best option, for those of us who need a reminder - the opportunity cost is often evaluated in terms of…”

                Noie reached the back of the class, and slid into place beside an elven woman in fuzzy pyjamas. The woman cracked a smile at Noie as she hurriedly unzipped her backpack.

                “Someone likes to be fashionably late.”

                “I know, I know.” She took out her magi-orb. “It wasn’t my fault this time, the library printer jammed while I was trying to print out- Oh, what did I miss?”

                “Uh, econ stuff?”

                “Bea…” Noie stared down at her empty desk. “Why don’t you take notes?”

(And stars , she thought, she sounded just like Dipper there)

                “Don’t need ‘em. I know this shit already.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah.” Bea winked at her. “I know lots of things, Silver. You coming to debate club tonight?”

                Noie made a face as she opened her textbook. “I don’t know. I don’t think I did very well.”

                “I would argue that’s inaccurate.”

                “I got yelled at for speaking out of turn.”

                “Yeah, and the look on your face was fucking hilarious.” Bea chuckled and nudged her. “Hey, you forgot the rules for a second. Big whoop. You’re new. Come back, alright? I liked your section.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah, you made good points and all that. And you didn’t talk like a mile a minute, so I could actually hear ‘em, too.”

                “Oh.” Noie flashed a smile at her. “Thanks. Uh, I guess I could go back, then?”

                “You’re guessing correctly, Silver.” Bea looked at her for a moment. “So… you gonna boot up that magi-orb of yours anytime soon?”

                “Huh? Oh, right!”

                Noie fiddled around with the base of the orb until she found the button. It was a strange thing, like a crystal ball mounted on top of some hardware. It booted up and instantly went to her notes, which was convenient but… weird, that it knew exactly what she wanted.

                Magitech was weird, Noie thought. She didn’t really like it.

                Noie lay on her bunk bed, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone as her magi-orb sat open on her lap. The dorm around her was small, but cozy. It was a little messy, with some clothes on the floor and a couple papers strewn around her desk, but clean enough for a college student.

                Besides, the clothes weren’t hers. There was laughter and the jangle of keys; Noie cut her eyes towards the door as it opened.

                “-did not do that!” A woman burst into the room with raucous laughter. “Hahaha, J, you’re such an asshole! Get outta here! Go! I’ll see you later!”

                She then slammed the door, loud. Noie raised her eyebrows.

                “Hi, Val.”

                “Huh?” Val looked over at her. “Oh, yo, Noie! How’s it going!”

                “Uh, pretty good.” She switched off her phone. “Just doing my homework.”

                At that, Val chuckled. “You’re always doing your homework, aren’t you?” She took off her jacket and dropped it on the floor. “When do you even have fun, dude?”

                “I have fun!”

                “Oh, yeah?”

                “I do!” Noie curled up a bit. “I’ll have you know, I’m the fun twin.”

                “Hah! So where’d you go last night, again?”

                “...Debate club, but-”

                Val cut her off there with a cackling laugh, and Noie scowled. She turned back to her phone.

                “No, no, dude,” Val tapped the side of bed, still chuckling. “We’re cool, dude, we’re cool. You do whatever nerdy shit you like, okay? I don’t care. I love it.”

                Noie shot her a tight smile, and she snorted.

                “Aw, come on, dude, take a joke.” She looked around the room. “Yo, did you clean up in here again? It looks great!”

                “Yeah. I did the bathroom, too.”

                “Man, that is awesome! You’re awesome! See,” Val reached over and nudged her shoulder. “this is why I like you! I don’t have to worry about anything when I’m here!”

                “That’s-”

                “Oh, was gonna tell ya! I’m not gonna be here over the weekend - I’m going over to Joss’s.” She grinned at Noie. “He’s gonna throw, like, the best halloween party - dude, I can’t wait. It’s gonna be lit.”

                “That sounds cool. What costume are you wearing?”

                Val only sniggered in response. Noie looked over at her.

                “What?”

                “Nothing, dude, nothing. Oh my stars, you’re precious, did you know that? I love you.”

                “What?” She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

                “Oh, you’ll understand when you’re older.”

                “We’re… the same age? What do you mean?”

                Val just shook her head and took her phone out. She disappeared under the bottom bunk, and Noie rolled her eyes.

                “Oh-kay. Good chat. Whatever.” She stared at her phone for a few seconds, then kicked off her covers. “I’m going outside.”

                “Mhm… What did you say?”

                Noie stalked across the room and out into the hall, fist balled around her phone as she brought up Dipper’s number.

                Outside, she called him up. Her phone rang once, twice, and then put his face on screen.

                Dipper’s face. She just got a look at his fuzzy beard before he adjusted the camera. He was lying on the floor, surrounded by papers, and he shot her a crooked smile.

                “Hey, Noie! Just doing homework, what’s up?”

                “Oh my stars I am turning into you.”

                “What?”

                “No, no, it’s fine. It’s fine.” Noie laughed it off nervously. “Heyyy, Dipper! Dipperino. How you doing, bro?”

                “Pretty good!” He looked down at his papers, and shrugged. “Just, uh… just doing homework. What’s up with you?”

                “You know what people do at a Halloween party?”

                “A Halloween party? Uh… dress up, I g-”

                “Yeah! So I’m not crazy!” Noie paced underneath a tree. “That’s what I told my roommate, but she seemed to think I was being stupid about it or something!”

                “Oh, that-”

                “And she still acts like I’m her maid or something! What’s up with that? I got 24 hours in my day just like her; why do I have to spend my time cleaning up our room while she goes partying!”

                Dipper made a face. “Yeah, I’m sorry, Noie. That really sucks.”

                “Ugh. Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “Roommates.”

                “Heh, yeah.”

                “What, you got roommate troubles like me?”

                “Oh, no, I just - I was just sympathising. Roy’s cool!” Dipper gave a thumbs up to someone offscreen, then smiled back at her. “We made a chore wheel.”

                Noie slumped against the tree. “Oh, I wish Val would agree to a chore wheel. I even made one up for her and hung it on the wall, but she didn’t even notice it!”

                “Did you… tell her it was there?”

                “No, but she’s gone all the time, I never remember to talk to her when she’s there.” Noie’s frown deepened. “Besides, why’s that even my responsibility? She’s an adult, just like me! She should know how to do her stupid chores by now; I shouldn’t have to tell her to do it!”

                “Yeah…” Dipper made a face. “Yeah. What are you gonna do now?”

                “What do you mean?”

                “I mean, maybe you could talk to an RA, or-”

                “Ugh, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to blow it into a massive thing - I mean, it’s fine! I’ll survive.” She shrugged at him. “I dunno. Am I being a downer? I’ll stop being a downer now.”

                “No, no, you don’t have to-”

                “So, how’s the week been treating you, bro?” Noie crossed her legs and leaned forwards. “Is it just more of the homeworks for you, or…?”

                “No, no, actually, I went to, uh, spellcasting club, actually!” Before she could open her mouth, he added: “Online. They stream it, and you can join the stream. And I-I wasn’t participating - obviously - but it was cool.” He grinned, and his eyes twinkled with excitement. “Really cool. And the teacher stayed later, and we had this whole conversation about enchantments… you’re probably not interested in the details, but it was really fascinating!”

                Noie beamed at him “Aww, yeah! That sounds so cool, bro! I’m so glad you got to do that.”

                “Yeah!” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And, uh, I don’t have class Wednesday, so I went back and visited Grandpa.”

                “How’s he!”

                “Doing okay! Doing okay… He says he misses you.”

                “Hah! Good one.”

                She laughed at that, but Dipper didn’t join in. “No, seriously,” he said. “He was talking about how he can’t wait to see us all back together on Christmas.”

                “Oh yeah?”

                “Yeah.” Dipper’s voice lowered. “I… I think he’s kinda lonely in the house, Noie. You know… ever since Grandma…”

                He trailed off there, and she looked away. She stared at a little patch of grass off to the right, and it was quiet for a moment. The only sound was the rustle of the wind.

                “Yeah…” Noie felt herself say. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I bet he… is.”

                There was a noise on Dipper’s end as a door opened and closed. He sighed. “Yeah.”

                There was a pause, as he seemed to think over his next words. Then:

                “Have you thought about… giving him a call this week?”

                Noie made a face. “Yeah, I should… I should do that.”

                “You don’t have to, but he’d like that, I think.”

                “No, no, I should. You’re right, I should.” She shrugged. “I just, I dunno… I don’t know what to say, I guess?”

                “That’s understandable. Maybe just something like hi, how are you doing? Then go from there. It doesn’t have to be long.”

                “Yeah… you’re right. You’re right, I’ll do that.” She looked back at him, and managed a smile. “Thanks, Dipper. I love you.”

                “I love you too, Noie.”

                She beamed at that. “Man, I just wanna hug you right now! Why aren’t there video hugs? Someone needs to get on that!”

                “Heh, that would be cool.”

                “And I just wanna poke your cute little beard, too. I love it.”

                Dipper’s hand went to his chin. “Cute? I mean, thanks, but I don’t think cute is the right-”

                “It’s soooo cuuute and soooo little-”

                “Okay, ha ha. You’re very funny.”

                “And you’re a big dork.” She snickered at him. “It looks great, bro. I’m just teasing.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah!”

                “It doesn’t look too thin, or-”

                “Nope! It looks great on you, seriously.”

                “Oh… thanks!” He stroked it, and grinned. “Thanks, Noie!”

                “Anytime.” She watched as he shuffled through some papers. “Welp, I won’t keep you. Have a good day, Dipper!”

                “Thanks, you too! See you on Friday!”

                “See you on Friday,” Noie said, and the video feed shut off with a beep. She stared down at her phone, and found herself still smiling.

                It was good to talk to Dipper, she thought. Things never felt as bad after one of their chats.

                She didn’t go back to her dorm right away. She turned her phone off, and just sat on the grass for a little while.

                It was peaceful. It was nice.

>im at the parking lot. wheres this place again?

>Down the main street where all the shops are on the right, you’ve probs passed it before. It’s got a black sign that says ‘Tree’s Teas’

>If we see you pass by we’ll all scream for you. You won’t miss us ;)

                Noie made a face at that last text from Bea as she walked down the street. Hopefully she wouldn’t miss this place.

                “Alright,” she said, and looked up at the signs. “Tree’s Teas, Tree’s Teas. Where are you?”

                She passed by sign after sign, glanced in window after window. It was a hot day; there weren’t very many people out on the streets, and she could feel the sun beating down on her hair.

                Why they were going for tea on a day like this, Noie had no idea, but she still felt her heart skip a beat as she caught sight of the sign.

                They were going to tea. They.

                Noie took a deep breath, and opened the door.

                “Is that who I think it is?” Bea’s voice came with a rush of cool air. She was sitting by a group of other students, waving her over. “Ey, Silver! You found us!”

                She laughed nervously. “I, uh, found you! Hi Bea, hi…”

                She recognised a few faces from debate club, but not their names. The others were even more of a mystery - thank the stars Bea immediately launched into an introduction.

                “You know Gus and Meena from Tuesday. And, ah-” She pointed a finger at the other three. “That’s Sara, Mako, and, uh - what’s your name? Heh, just kidding, dude - he’s Jess.”

                Noie tried for a wave. “Hi. I’m… Noie. Nice to meet you?”

                “Yo, Noie.”

                “Nice to meet you too!”

                “Hi!”

                Smiles and greetings filtered in, and she allowed herself a smile. Maybe this would be fun.

                “Cool! Nice to, uh… So, I just get a drink, and we study together?” Noie looked over at the menu; there were a staggering number of options there. “Jeez, these guys are serious about their tea, huh? Think they’ll kick me out if I order a soda?”

                Bea snorted. “Blasphemy, Silver. No, you gotta order a tea! They’re really good here!”

                “Alright… which one should I do?”

                “Dude, you should get the macha!” One guy - was he Gus? - held up his drink. “It’s my favourite!”

                “Or you should try the chai!”

                “Or apple cinnamon!”

                Noie made a face. “Thanks? I guess I’ll, uh, pick one of those.”

                “Or I could go up there with you?” One of them, a woman with bright purple hair, looked up. She spoke quietly. “I, um, I work here, actually, so I could walk you through it…”

                “Oh, that sounds great.” Noie smiled at her. “Sara, right?”

                “Yeah.” She got up from her magi-orb. “Alright. And I can give you my, my employee discount, too.”

                “Oh, sweet! Thanks!”

                Bea waved at them as they went over to wait in line. There was an awkward silence as they stood there, just a little too far away from the group and not entirely sure what to say to one another.

                Noie cleared her throat. “So,” she started. “You like… tea?”

                “Yeah…” Sara nodded. “I get a free cup every shift.”

                “Oh. Sweet. That’s… fan-tea-ast… uh…”

                “What?”

                “Bad pun, sorry. Butchered that.”

                “Oh…”

                They moved forward in line. Noie glanced her way, and then scuffed her foot on the tile. Oh, stars, she shouldn’t have tried a pun. Now this lady probably thought she was a weirdo.

                “Hey,” Sara looked over at her. “Were you from Diamondback High?”

                At that, Noie frowned. “Yeah? Why?”

                “I went there too!”

                “What?”

                “Yeah, I remember you from my history class senior year.” She smiled at Noie. “You have a brother, right?”

                “Yeah, Dipper! He’s going to SASU, he’s my twin.”

                “Ohmystarsyouretwins.”

                “What, you didn’t know?”

                “No! I- well, duh, you guys were in the same year, I should’ve figured it out.” She smacked her head, and Noie chuckled. “I’m dumb, ignore me.”

                “No, no, it’s cool.” She picked at her shirt. “Seriously, we were in the same history class?”

                “Yeah! You don’t recognise me?”

                “I… uh-”

                “I get it, don’t worry about it.” She ran a hand through her purple hair. “I didn’t have this until I went to college. Trust me, I look pretty generic without it.”

                “No, your face looks really nice!” Noie blinked. “I mean - sorry, I didn’t mean to be weird-”

                “You’re fine. You’re fine. Thank you, Noie.” Sara grinned at her. “You know, I, uh, always wanted to talk to you. Back in highschool.”

                “Really? Why?”

                “I dunno, you guys - you and Dipper - you seemed like really cool people. To me.” A little red was sneaking into her face. “I dunno, you guys just seemed like you were always having fun with each other, and… I dunno. I dunno, it seemed cool.”

                Noie stared at her for a moment before cracking a smile. “Aw. You should’ve.”

                “Yeah, I should’ve! I, uh… I dunno. I’m kind of… bad with people. Sorry.”

                “No, don’t apologise!” She hesitated, and then bumped Sara’s shoulder. “No time like the present, huh?”

                “Yeah. Yeah! Nice to meet you, Noie.”

                “Nice to meet you too…”

                “Sara.”

                “Sara, sorry. Bad with names.”

                “No, it’s totally okay-”

                “Hi! Are you ready to order?”

                Noie and Sara stared at the cashier waving them forwards, and then blinked at each other.

                “Oh… oh!” Noie turned to the person standing behind them. “Why don’t you go ahead of us? I still need to decide.”

                After a moment, Noie ordered her tea, and sat back down among the group. It was a little new, a little awkward to sit with so many people… but the longer she sat there, the more she was aware of a great big beaming grin on her face. It was nice to be here - really nice.

                She sat back, and sipped her tea, and let the hours slip by.

                11:47. Dammit, she should be at class by now.

                “Come on, submit!” Noie stabbed a finger at her magi-orb. “Submit! Submit, you stupid thing!”

                It kept loading. She huffed and stomped her feet into her shoes.

                “Come on, come on… wait, no internet? Seriously?!” Noie tapped aggressively at the white error message that popped up. “No! No, you can’t do this to me! What happened? Did the internet go down? Arghhh, I don’t have time for this!”

                She paced around the room for a second, hands on her temples. She had to submit her slideshow - the presentation was in ten minutes! Why did she always do this to herself?!

                “I gotta… I gotta fix this.” Noie clicked to troubleshoot her wifi problems, hesitated, then opened her desk. She hadn’t cleaned it out since highschool - maybe she had a USB in here or something?

                Stars, she hoped she did. She rifled through random papers and pieces of old homework, growing increasingly desperate as the minutes ticked by too fast and oh fuck it was 11:50 now she was definitely going to be late-

                “Oh!” Noie happened upon something small and grey and rectangular - a USB! “Oh, yes! Thank you thank you thank you!”

                She kissed it and then plugged it into her magi-orb. After pulling up her files, she copied her slideshow and went over to paste it into the USB’s drive-

                And there, she paused. Frowned.

                “Huh?” She moused over a file titled ‘For_Naomi.mov’. “It’s… for me? What is this?”

                She had never seen this before in her life… or had she? The longer she stared at it, the more something came back to her; an awful feeling of déjà vu flooded through her like ice in her veins, and she felt her heart beat faster. She felt her head begin to pound behind her eyes. She stared longer, and she almost saw flashes of something, someone, a dark figure looming over her, digging its claws into her stomach and ripping out-

                Noie staggered back, panting hard. She was shaking all over.

                “What the…? The fuck?” Noie felt her stomach, then looked back up at the screen. “What the fuck?”

                Nothing answered her. The only sound was the hum of the air conditioner. She gulped down air, and tried to steady her heartbeat.

                She shuffled forwards. “Well… that was…” she tapped the screen to minimise the file. “That was… something. Okay. Oh-kay.”

                Her head had stopped hurting, but everything still felt strange. She stood over the magi-orb, just breathing for a moment. In, and out. In, and out.

                In, and her eye was drawn to the clock. 11:53. She let it out in a sigh.

                “I’m gonna be so late.”

                Noie glanced down at the USB, and grimaced at the way it set her brain tingling - it was like pins and needles inside her skull. Whatever was on it, whatever that file was…

                She’d deal with it later.

                The presentation was twenty percent of her grade, and the internet hadn’t come back, and this still seemed like a perfectly fine USB, so she took a deep, shuddering breath and decided to brush over this for now.

                She copied her slide onto the drive, rubbing her head and trying not to look at the file with her name on it.

                This was fine, she thought. Everything was fine.

                Her head hurt when she wondered what was on it, so she tried not to think too hard about that. She thought about getting her keys and getting her bag and getting out the door. On the way to her class, Noie rehearsed her lines, pointedly ignoring the weight in her pocket.

                There was a flash of something as Noie tiptoed into the back of class. It was cold in here, but she was sweating. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible… had happened? Was happening?

                She stared through every presenter, tapping the desk with the USB. The weight of it, the slight curve to it that fit around her thumb-

picking it up from the ground gripping it shouting where’d he go WHERE’D HE GO-

                “Naomi Argenta?”

                Noie stiffened. The man who called her name had wings and a suit and glowing yellow eyes- then he was just her professor.

                “Do you have your presentation?”

                “P… presentation?” Noie nodded, stiffly. “Yes. Yes, I-I have it. I just need to plug it… in.”

                “Alright. You’re next.”

tore apart the angel horrible screams looking at her like YOU’RE NEXT-

                The presentation was… awkward. Noie liked to think she was an okay public speaker - she didn’t need to rehearse something a million times to sound natural. That day, though, she really wished she had a script to fall back on; she stumbled through her words, talking fast, breathing fast, gripping the microphone with white knuckles and trying to think past the pain behind her eyes and the flashes in her vision-

                “A-and there was, there was this presi-, uh, president, Ch-Chancellor-”

A voice in her ear, a laugh, “a very pro-nat President you guys elected a hundred years or so back-”

                She got through it, and was met by scattered applause. Class was nearly over. She took the USB, and sat back down at her desk.

desk and looking over at dipper knowing what he is KNOWING WHAT HE IS-

                What was going on? What was happening to her? She groaned into her hands, acutely aware of the heads she was turning right now; just a little longer, then she’d be able to go back to her dorm. Just a little longer, then she’d be able to sort this out.

                ...Stars, she hoped Val wouldn’t be there.

                The pain behind her eyes just kept pounding away at her, and it felt like eons before this class was finally dismissed. As soon as she heard chairs moving, Noie stumbled out of her seat and started off on the walk across campus.

                It usually wasn’t that bad of a walk, but today it seemed to drag on. Time seemed to stretch, and suddenly each footstep

                                                                                                                                                                                                               felt like

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               an

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               eternity.

Leon’s eyes. They closed, and accepted their fate.

I want you to know that I don’t regret a thing.

                A man’s voice echoed from the pain behind her eyes, and Noie staggered into her dorm room. Her eyes went right to Val’s bed; when they saw it empty, they fixed on the magi-orb.

                Slowly, almost reverently, Noie took the USB out of her pocket. She was going to find out what was on it

and why there was a part of her that already knew.

                She closed the door. Locked the door. Walked to the magi-orb, and sat herself down before it.

                Breathed. In, and out.

                Plugged the USB into the base. Saw her name once again - ‘For_Naomi.mov’.

                Clicked on it

                and watched

                and felt the pressure behind her eyes suddenly pop and-

                Oh. Oh.

                Oh, no.

                It was dark in Noie’s dorm. The lights were off - had been off all through the night - and the early morning sun glowed against the blinds.

                Noie was there. Lying in bed, on top of her covers. Her phone screen illuminated the deep bags under her eyes, the creases on her forehead, the sheen of sweat that had collected in her hairline.

                She hadn’t slept all night. How could she? If she closed her eyes, she’d start thinking, and if she started thinking, she’d think about her brother and how he was Alcor the Dreambender and how it felt to have his claws dig into her belly and-

                Noie felt her whole body shiver. She shifted in bed a bit, and stared down at her phone.

                No. No, she wasn’t going to think about that. It didn’t seem real.

                Maybe it wasn’t real.

                Maybe this was all, like, a really intense dream she’d had. All that stuff with the angel and the vampire and… him, that wasn’t her life! That wasn’t the kind of person she was! It wasn’t!

                Noie could see her hands. Her palms were sweaty - in the darkness, the shine looked a little like blood.

                She gulped. It wasn’t.

                It couldn’t be.

                She didn’t stab him.

                Noie woke to the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned; her head felt awful, and when she moved a hand to cover her face she felt the weight of her phone - she’d gone to sleep with it in her hands.

                Why’d she do that? And why was it… night outside? She sat up, and looked down at her phone.

                Dipper Argenta was calling her.

                She saw his face, and everything came back to her like a kick in the teeth - oh, god. The phone rang again, and she flinched and tossed it to the ground.

                It sat there, ringing, ringing, ringing. Noie curled up tight and plugged her ears with shaking hands.

                Ringing.

                                Ringing.

                                                Ringing.

                …

                Silence.

                She sniffed, and opened her eyes. Her phone was lying still on the carpet; she stared at it for a second, and then shuffled out of bed to pick it up.

                Her stomach growled as she got to her feet. Her legs felt weak. She knelt down, and picked up her phone, tapped the screen, squinted as it turned on.

6:23

Friday, October 29

Dipper Argenta - Missed call

                Noie sighed. Of course… she was supposed to call him today. What the fuck was she supposed to do about that?

                The phone rang again. Noie jerked back and banged her elbow on the edge of her desk.

                “Ow! Fuck!” She jerked it back, and glared at the phone. “Argh, Dipper, you… you demon.”

                It felt weird to say it out loud.  The phone kept ringing, ringing, ringing, and she opened her mouth.

                “You… You…” She stared at his dorky profile picture, the one they’d taken on a trip to the Grand Canyon last year.

                She stared at the gentle grin on his face, the way his hand came up to stroke his patchy stubble. And to think, all this time, buried underneath that, underneath him…

                “Y-” she tried, but her throat had gone tight. The words wouldn’t come. Her phone finally stopped ringing, and her brother's smiling face faded to black.

                Noie took a deep, shuddering breath, and turned off her phone.

Maybe this wasn’t that big a deal.

                It was three in the morning on a Saturday, and Noie was wondering if, you know, maybe it wasn’t the end of the world if her brother was a meaty shell formed around a bloodthirsty demon. He was still a demon, yeah, but as long as the demony bits like the wings and the claws and the urge to kill stayed locked away, you’d never be able to tell!

                So in a way, nothing had changed, right? Just don’t bring up the demon thing, and it could still be normal between them.

                Noie stared up at the ceiling. She stared up at the moment she slit her brother’s throat, at the terror shining in his eyes, the terror of her. She stared until she couldn’t anymore, and pressed her hands to her face.

                Stars, she never wanted to see that again as long as she lived. If she could get things even halfway normal after that, well…

                Well, she didn’t know.

                …

                She didn’t know what she wanted to do.

                Noie didn’t know what time it was. She didn’t know what day it was. But sometime late at night on her magi-orb, she heard keys jangle outside her dorm. Her heart caught in her throat as the handle turned; for a moment, she imagined she’d see Dipper on the other end, see his golden eyes glowing in the darkness, see-

                See her roommate Val peek her head in, then raise her eyebrows as she caught sight of her.

                “Wow, you still awake?” Val cracked a smile. “Lemme guess: some kinda homework shit. Am I right or am I right?”

                Noie tried to form words, but they caught in her throat. She just stared as Val shut the door.

                “You not gonna say anything?” A pause. Val’s chuckles died off. “No? You, uh… you alright there, dude? Noie?”

                She just shook her head. A sob came out of her, and suddenly the lights came on.

                “Whoa, whoa!” Val stood on the ladder, her bewildered expression looming over Noie. “What’s the matter, dude? What are you doing? Why are you surrounded by… soup cans? And- are those dry noodles? What the fuck?”

                Noie tried to cover them with a blanket. “I-it’s fine… Val, d-don’t-”

                “Uh, no it isn’t? You look like you haven’t slept all weekend, dude.”

                “I-”

                “And your hair. Eugh. When’s the last time you showered, ‘cause it’s officially been too long.”

                Noie clenched her fists. “I-it’s fine, Val. Leave me alone.”

                “Oh, come on. I’m only trying to help.”

                “Leave me alone!” She snapped, and watched Val flinch away. She sighed. “Sorry. Look, it’s just… it’s just complicated, okay? Thank you for the offer, but it’s just… you can’t help, so just leave me alone. Please.” She turned back to her magi-orb. “Let me figure this out.”

                There was a moment of silence as she tapped away at the screen. Val shuffled her feet, then cleared her throat.

                “Okay.” She said. Then: “You wanna smoke?”

                “What?”

                “I just got a pack, if you wanna-”

                “No! Just leave me alone!”

                Val put up her arms. “Okay, okay, you don’t have to be rude about it. Sheesh.” She then turned off the lights. “Well, I’m going to sleep. Good luck with your issues, dude.”

                 She got into her own bed, and Noie sat there in silence. She looked at her magi-orb; there were several articles it had automatically pulled up on demons, and she’d been reading through them before Val came in. As she stared, another one popped up: ‘Fight with your roommate? Browse over 50+ listings in your area with roam4homes.com’

                Noie turned it off in disgust. Stupid magi-orb - what was she even doing up this late?

                …She had a class in the morning, didn’t she. What was it, Tuesday now? Ugh, yeah, there was no way she was going to that. She felt awful; her head was pounding, and her hands were trembling, and her hair felt dirty and there were little shards of hard pasta in her bed and she was still kinda hungry…

                Noie put her face in her hands. This was… she couldn’t go on like this. She was going to fail college. She needed to, to talk to Dipper, maybe, or maybe not… well, she needed to come to a decision about whether she was going to talk to Dipper or not. She needed to do something to resolve this… but what?

                She sighed, deeply, then dragged a hand down her face. She looked over at her phone, picked it up, and just held it in her hands. She hadn’t turned it on since Friday; there were bound to be a lot of missed calls on there.

                Yep, it was probably going to make her feel awful.

                Yep…

                …

                Her stomach growled. She hesitated, and then sat up in bed.

                Maybe she should get something to eat first.

                “Here’s your order, ma’am. One crispy fried fish taco and a medium soda.”

                “Thank you so much!”

                “Thank you for stopping by, have a good night.”

                “You too, dude!”

                Noie stopped for a minute to smell her order before placing it on the seat next to her and driving off. It smelled nice and warm and fishy; Bea said it made her car stink - and yeah, maybe it was a little strong - but she couldn’t see why it smelled bad. It brought her back to drive-through dinners, her grandfather piling everyone into the car and setting out on the road. They used to do them a lot after Allie stopped cooking… it was fun, back then, sitting in a car with her family all around her. It was comforting, and right now, a little comfort sounded good. 

                Noie parked her car under a streetlight in a near-empty parking lot. She took a deep breath, and let it out. She looked at her phone, which sat still turned off in a cupholder.

                She took a bite of her taco, chewed a little… and then turned it on. It booted slowly; the silence hung for a few, awful moments, before it came to life.

                The first thing she saw was the time: it was 3:30 in the morning. Then there were her missed calls. She had twenty. Her texts were filled up, too - one of them was from Bea asking to hang out, but the rest were all Dipper:

Sent last Friday at 6:31pm

>You there?

>Today is our weekly meeting, btw. That’s why I’m calling.

Sent last Friday at 6:40pm

>Let me know when you want to reschedule!

Sent last Saturday at 8:06pm

>Are you okay?

Sent last Saturday at 9:17pm

>If you’re busy with homework or something that’s fine. Just text me when you get this.

Sent last Sunday at 11:57pm

>Please call me, Noie.

                Oh… whoops. Noie could feel herself cringing into her seat as she scrolled through his messages. Yep, that was… expected. He was probably worried sick by now, and at that she gave a dry smile.

                Her brother, Alcor the Dreambender, was worried sick about her. Stars, but it was true, wasn’t it? He used to get worried if she got home from work too late; she only could imagine how frantic he’d be after getting ghosted for a whole weekend.

                Noie had no idea what she was going to do with him, but the pang in her stomach made her type out a short reply:

Sent last Tuesday at 3:37am

>Still alive. Sorry.

                She sent it off, and took another bite of her taco. Now he was probably going to call her in the morning. What she was going to say to that, she had no-

                Bzzzing!

                Noie jumped. “Aaah!” She yelped and glanced down at her phone. Dipper was calling. “Seriously? You’re calling me now? It’s three in the- ugh.”

                She hit the ignore button, hesitated, then went over to her messages. She could already see Dipper typing something up, so she rolled her eyes and sent a text.

>go to bed, ding dong. well talk in the morning ok?

                Dipper’s typing paused for a second, and then continued. She snorted a little at that, then brushed some taco crumbs off of her pyjamas.

                His replies popped up in rapid succession:

>Are you okay?

>What happened Friday?

>Also you should go to bed too, it’s 3 in the morning. Don’t you have French at 10 tomorrow?

                Despite everything, Noie found herself smiling at his texts. This was so, so… Dipper of him. This was the brother she knew, not Alcor, not some kind of demon.

                She made a face.

                Even though… that wasn’t true, was it. Because. Dipper was a demon. The brother she knew had always been a demon.

It’s still me. This is still… me.

                   Always. She just… hadn’t seen it before, hadn’t known, hadn’t wanted to know-

 “Noie?” She watches him stagger back, fall against the binding circle. “Y-your eyes… what’s going on?!”

                      -let people tell her who she wanted him to be, and then…

   her hands on the knife across his throat. her hands feeling the tug of parting skin. her hands covered in warm, golden blood, her hands, her hands, HER HANDS-

                Noie didn’t realise she was crying until she felt a sob rip through her body. She’d dropped her phone; with shaking hands and blurry eyes, she fished it out of her lap and turned it on.

                There was another text from Dipper.

Sent last Tuesday at 3:45pm

>Just call me after that class, okay? Love you, hope everything’s okay. Sleep well <3

                Noie stared down at that text, sniffed, and then smiled. It didn’t last long, though; she thought about what she had to do in the morning, and sobbed into her steering wheel.

                It was a while before she could bring herself to drive home.

                Val had left. The door was locked. Her phone was fully charged, and open on Dipper’s phone number. Noie had even dressed herself for the occasion; she passed some time just looking through her t-shirts, waiting for things to feel right.

                Eventually, she sat down at her desk, took in a deep breath, and let it out. There was nothing left to delay this with anymore… but for a moment, she stared at the wood grain on her desk, at the morning sun shining in and putting a soft glow on her carpet.

                It had been a weird night. She’d cried a lot. Questioned life. Wondered what the fuck she was going to tell Dipper. Came to a decision, thought it was a terrible idea, talked herself out of it… and then talked herself back into it after every other solution seemed to work out worse.

                After all that, she finally felt… not calm, but quiet inside, if that made sense. There was an uneasy stillness in her mind, a lull in her thoughts; it was like she’d worried so much about this conversation that she’d exhausted her ability to worry at all. At this point, whatever happened, happened.

                All she needed to do was get this over with, so Noie looked back down at her phone, pressed the call button, and waited.

                It rang once.

                Then it picked up.

                “Noie!”

                Dipper. Noie grit her teeth at his face. “Hey,” she said, and then nothing more. Dipper hesitated a moment before replying.

                “Uh, hi! Hi!” There was relief in his voice. “Oh, I’m so glad to hear from you! I couldn’t reach you all weekend - I-I thought maybe you’d lost your phone, I didn’t want to freak out Grandpa so I just- I- what happened?” He stared at her unsmiling face. “Is everything okay?”

                “Everything’s…” Noie tried for a smile. “Um, it’s nice to see you.”

                He frowned. “It’s nice to see you too? Also, it’s ten fifteen - aren’t you supposed to be at French? You didn’t have to-”

                “Are you alone?”

                “What?” He looked around his room. “Uh, I think Roy’s at class for the next hour. Why?”

                Noie just stared at her brother’s face. She knew it so well; she knew those worried creases in his forehead, that slight tilt of his head as he leaned in closer. A part of her wanted it to stay like this forever - wanted it to stay normal. Human.

                “Why? Noie?”

                But it couldn’t. She knew that now.

                “What’s going on?”

                She took another deep breath, and let it out. Didn’t look him in the eyes; she trained them on his chin, and opened her mouth. “Dipper,” she said, slowly, deliberately. “I have to tell you something.”

                “What? What is it?”

                He was leaning in very close, now. Her eyes slid down to her desk. “I have to tell you… you need to remember. The deal, it’s broken, you need to remember now.”

                “Remember? What do you-”

                “You’re a demon, remember you’re a demon!” Noie’s head shot up; she stared him down. “Dipper, I remember who you are, you’re Alcor the Dreambender and I need to talk to him- I mean you. I need to talk to the whole you.”

                “Wh- what? Argh!” Dipper clutched his head. “I- what are you talking about, Noie? I’m not a- ugh… I’m, I’m not a-”

                “Yes you are! You’re Alcor, you took a human form so you could grow up with me. We made a deal so we’d forget but I remember and you have to too, okay!”

                Dipper had crumpled out of frame; she could only see the top of his head. “Noie…” he moaned. “I don’t… it’s not… what’s… what’s happ̗͘e͎̭͈̭̗ni̲̫̖̜̬n̫͉g?”

                “Please remember, Dipper.” Noie felt a pang of guilt at the pain in his voice. “I’m sorry it hurts. I didn’t want to do this, but it’s the truth, okay? You’re… you’re a demon.”

                He wasn’t speaking anymore; she only heard a whimper in reply. There was a wet pop, and then another, and then a tearing sound that made her squirm in her seat.

                “Dipper?” She watched as the last bit of his head fell out of frame. “How’re you, uh, taking this? Everything okay?”

                Something bumped against the desk. Other than that, it was dead silent. All she could see was the chore wheel at the far end of his dorm; she stared at it, and waited for him.

                Waited, until she heard a low, distorted growl. The sound of someone swearing under his breath; a hand coming into frame as it gripped the desk, a tall, suited figure rising up, and locking glowing golden eyes on her.

                Alcor the Dreambender.

                Noie thought she’d gone past worrying, but she saw him and suddenly she was trembling all over. Her stomach flipped and made her feel sick; it was something about those teeth, those claws, those wings flaring out behind him, those eyes staring her down as he dug inside her and ripped and tore-

                “Mizar.” Those eyes; she watched them narrow slightly, then widen. “Naomi.”

                Noie forced a laugh. “That’s… that’s me. Hi. F-fancy meeting you here, huh? Ha! Haha! Jokes. I’m funny!”

                “N-”

                “That was an entrance, huh? Ent-er-ance. En-trance. Enterancé! That’s Spanish for, uh, nothing, I just said it in a, in an accent.” She felt herself leaning back as he opened his mouth. “I-it’s actually, uh, entrada, la entrada, th-that’s Spanish for entrance, s-s-so th-that’s-”

                “Naomi.”

                Noie stopped talking. She could feel her heart beating in her throat. She closed her mouth and sat there, staring at him. He started to speak, then stopped, sighed, and shook his head.

                “This… hold on a moment. Stand back.”

                Noie heard that. It took a second to register, but he reached towards the camera and she backed up to the end of the room. She didn’t know what he was doing at first, but then she saw his hand come out through her phone screen; his head appeared, and then his torso, and then he stepped off of her desk and dusted himself off.

                “That’s better… Naomi?” His expression fell as he looked at her. “Look, this is… weird, I know. I’m sorry you remembered, that wasn’t meant to happen. What set it off?”

                She tried to speak, but nothing came out. After a moment, Alcor nodded to himself.

                “The USB.” He picked it up from her desk. “Of course - why didn’t I think of hiding that? Ugh, that’s dumb. I’m sorry.”

                Noie swallowed. “I-it’s okay, Dipper-”

                “It’s no̕t͟. I made a deal, I promised you wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore, but I… I rushed it.”

                She watched his hands ball into fists. 

                “I just wanted to get away from it all as fast as possible… just like I did with Leon. Just like it! Argh, why can’t I just ge̴̶t į͝ţ t͞h̷ro̵u̵͞g͏͡h̸̸̡ m̢y̨͝ ḩ͢ę̵̡a̡d̵ ͏͝th̸͢a̕t̴̨-” He stopped, and glanced her way. When he saw her flattened against the wall, the echo dropped from his voice. “Sorry. It’s fine… I’m fine, Naomi. I’m not gonna do anything.”

                He seemed to think for a moment. In the silence, Noie peeled herself off the wall.

                “It’s just…” Alcor started, and then sighed. He straightened. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll do it right this time, Noie, I promise.”

                Slowly, he extended a hand. Noie stared at the tips of his claws, then followed his arm up to his face. The demon - her brother’s expression was carefully blank, and the black-and-gold stare he fixed her with still sent shivers down her spine. He’d shaved, she noticed.

                “Dipper?”

                There seemed so little of her brother to recognise, but…

                “Just take my hand, Noie. I’ll put it all back to normal, okay? Like you want.”

                “Normal.” Noie gave a wry smile. “That’s what I always wanted, isn’t it.”

                Alcor tried for a laugh - it was awkward, familiar. “Heh, uh… don’t worry about it. I… I get it, you know? This is a lot. I’m a lot.” He didn’t quite meet her eyes. “It’s… okay, if you don’t want to deal with it.”

                She recognised that tone. She recognised it from fights they’d gotten into, when she’d said something hurtful and Dipper went quiet. She recognised the pang in her chest.

                Noie stepped forwards. “Dipper, I-”

                “And it’s not like I don’t deserve it.” He was talking faster now, hugging himself. “After everything I did to you, a-and your family, it’s no wonder you don’t want me around like this! I killed your dad! I ruined your life! I was horrible and demonic and a monster and-”

                “I’m sorry.”

                “I know, I-” Dipper blinked. “Wait, what?”

                He was staring at her now, golden eyes wide in astonishment. Noie took a deep breath, and clenched her shaking hands.

                “I wanted to say… I’m sorry, Dipper.”

                “Why are you sorry? I-”

                “Let me talk, okay? Because I’ve been thinking on this, and I owe you an apology. I owe you an apology, Dipper.”

                He frowned, but he didn’t speak. Noie grit her teeth.

                “It took me a long time to realise I did. It took me all of last week, I barely slept, I ate-” she gestured to her bed, “dry pasta at three AM while I was looking up stories about you, I… well the point is, I know what I did wrong now. I know I didn’t treat you right, bro. And I’m sorry.”

                Dipper just looked bewildered. “You think you didn’t treat me right? I ki-”

                “I know you killed Leon!” She snapped. “I know, okay? And I’m not saying you didn’t do bad shit, I’m saying we both did bad shit! We both… hurt people, you know?” She shook her head. “I hurt your friend, Lucy Ann. And I hurt y-you.”

                Her voice cracked a little. She stood there, looking down at the carpet, trying to get it back under control. Dipper’s eyes were boring into her head.

                “I-I sold you out, bro.” Noie managed. “You and your friend, I sold you out to some pro-nat angel because I thought he could fix you.”

                “Oh, Noie, I never blamed you. You were possessed, you-”

                She shook her head. “I wasn’t possessed. Maybe at the last moment it was the angel who stabbed you, but everything that led up to that? That was me.” A crooked smile, a mirthless laugh. “That was… me. And you wanna know why I did that? I was scared of losing you.”

                “That’s unders-”

                “I was scared of losing my grip on you. Things were bad, back with Grandpa, okay! Everything with Granny a-and school, everything felt like it was spinning out of control, but you were… you didn’t change up on me. You were always there for me - it was supposed to be the two of us looking out for each other, you know? Not one of us turning into some all powerful demon who… who didn’t need me anymore!”

                “No! I need you, Noie!”

                “Don’t say that.” Noie stabbed a finger at him. “Don’t say that, Dipper. You don’t need me.”

                “I do, I-”

                “You don’t need me.” She backed away, shaking her head. “Not in the way I wanted you to need me. Because I needed you to stay human and I slit your fucking throat over it!”

                Dipper flinched away from her, eyes wide, mouth open, but saying nothing. Her words hung between them. She took a deep breath, and let it out with a shudder.

                “And maybe…” she started. “Maybe that’s what messed me up so bad. About you being a demon. It wasn’t what you are, or what you did… it’s what I did - what I did and never apologised for. It ate me up inside, Dipper.” She swallowed, hard. “It’s been eating at me all week. I couldn’t handle it when I was fifteen, and I… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

                It was silent. Noie hung her head low, and felt the silence stretch. She had nothing more to say but sorry, sorry, sorry… and when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up, wordlessly.

                Alcor was there, gazing down at her with his gold-on-black stare, his face framed by his fancy suit and by wings as black as the void… but Dipper was there, too. Dipper was there in the nervous smile he flashed her, in the awkward pat he gave her shoulder, in the stuttering way his words tumbled out of his mouth when he tried to speak.

                “It’s… uh…” he tried. “You… want a hug, Noie?”

                Noie stared at Alcor, Dipper, her brother for a second. Then, she sniffed, and threw her hands around him. He squeezed back, and she buried her face into his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

                It was nice, for a moment. Then something else wrapped around her, something warm like skin but also much, much wider and she looked back and-

                “Aaah!”

                “Whoa, sorry, sorry!” The darkness swallowing her up suddenly flared out behind Dipper. “Those were just my wings! Sorry!”

                She stared. “Just your… just your wings, huh.”

                “Yeah, I-I’m sorry, I should’ve known that would, that would be weird-”

                “No, no! I’m sorry I freaked out!”

                “No, don’t be sorry-”

                “No, you don’t be sorry!” She giggled. “We… we’re a pair aren’t we?”

                “What do you mean?”

                “I guess it’s just… I don’t know! I don’t know, Dipper!” She sat down on the bed. “There’s a lot of things I have to get used to, I guess? Having a demon for a brother.” Her chuckles died out. She looked up at him. “But… I’ll work on it, okay?”

                Dipper frowned. “You… don’t want to forget?”

                “No. Not again. You’re a demon, Dipper. I don’t want to hide from that anymore. I don’t want to pretend you’re something you’re not.” She smiled. “You’re my brother, Dipper. Everything after that, that’s… I can get used to that, okay?”

                Slowly, he gave a smile. “Okay.”

                She grinned, and stood up from the bed. “Now let’s try that hug again, huh?”

                Dipper sniffed, floated forwards, and wrapped his arms around her. They squeezed each other tight; Noie buried her face into the crook of his shoulder, and closed her eyes.

                This was okay, she thought.

                They’d be okay.

                “Hi! Welcome to Tree’s Teas, how can I- Noie!”

                “Ey, Sara!” Noie swaggered over to the counter and slung her arm over the counter. “How’s it going? What’s cracking? Hopefully not the mugs, ha!”

                Sara giggled as she raised an eyebrow. “It’s going okay… how are you? You seem kinda excited today!”

                “Oh, yeah! I’m hanging out with my friend right now!” She grinned as Sara blushed a deep red. “And! I’m studying econ with my brother, so I’mma need two cups of my usual today!”

                “Alright!” She picked up a mug. “By usual, do you mean the one tea I ordered for you last week? The Nutty Chai?”

                “Yeah, yeah, that one! It was good!”

                “Okay, then!”

                Sara turned around to pour the tea. Noie fished around inside her wallet - there were so many receipts in here she could barely find her card.

                “So your brother,” Sarah started. “Are you video chatting with him or something?”

                Noie opened her mouth-

                “Wait, you’re buying two teas, I’m dumb.”

                “You’re not dumb.” She cracked a smile. “Maybe I just really like tea, yknow?”

                “Heh. We do have free refills.” Sara turned to look at her. “But is he actually in town? Dipper?”

                “Yeah!”

                “That’s awesome! How long’s he visiting for?”

                “Visiting?” The smile froze on her face. “Um…”

                She trailed off there; Sara seemed to get the hint.

                “Oh, am I asking like a bajillion questions? I’m sorry.” With a nervous laugh, she placed the first cup on the counter. “I haven’t seen him since high school, that was - wow, that was nearly a year ago!”

                “Hah! Crazy, right? So much has changed.” Noie stared at steam rising from the mug. “So much has changed.”

                “I know, right? So that’ll be… five thirty-nine for the two of them, Noie. Noie?”

                Noie looked up. “Huh?”

                “Five dollars and thirty-nine cents.” Sara frowned at her from behind the register. “Uh, are you okay?”

                “Me?” She barked a laugh, started digging through her wallet again. “Oh, I’m fine! Never better! I was just remembering, um… he’s got a beard now. Dipper. It’s really funny.”

                “Funny?” Sara chuckled a little. “What’s wrong with it?”

                “Everything, and you’re not allowed to say a word about it.” She handed her card over. “You’ll see, dude. It’s great. He’s so proud of it… I love it.” Her snicker softened to a smile. “I love him.”

                Sara grinned. “Aww.”

                “Heh… ahem, anyway,” she took the card. “Enough mushy stuff, this is hard study time! We’re not just gonna pass this test, we’re gonna destroy it!”

                “Heh, I bet you guys will. Good luck!” Sara blushed a little. “Hey, uh, if you’re still here in an hour, you know, I get off work at five, and-”

                “You wanna join the study party?”

                “Y-yeah!” She fiddled with her apron. “I mean, if that’s okay, it’s totally fine if it isn’t, I know-”

                “Hey. Sara.”

                “Yeah?”

                “That’d be dope.” Noie pointed a cup of tea at her. “I’ll keep a seat open for you, okay?”

                “Oh… okay. Okay!” She gave a grin. “Thanks, Noie. Careful with your tea.”

                “Hey, if I spill some, it’s my brother’s. Anyway, we’ll be outside. See you at five!”

                “See you!”

                Noie walked out of the door, two cups in hand. The patio was shaded and covered in mist makers; it felt quite nice, for such a hot day.

                It felt nice to see Dipper there, tucked away in the corner. He was still wearing a suit, but the eyes that looked up at her were warm and brown; the smile he gave her wasn’t stretched, or full of fangs. It was just… him. Dipper. Her brother.

                Maybe he was other things, too, but he was always, always her brother.

                Noie grinned back at him, and walked over.