"Remote?"
"Check!"
"Pillows?"
"Check!"
"Popcorn?"
"Check! Or—" Soos swallowed and looked down at the nearly empty bowl. "Oops."
Wendy shrugged. "Eh, we can raid Stan's pantry when we get hungry. Now— are you guys ready to be introduced to one of the greatest TV shows of all time?"
Mason exchanged a grin with Mabel, squished next to him in Stan's yellow recliner. "Ready!"
"Alright." Wendy pushed a button on the remote and the television flickered to life. "All-day marathon of Ducktective, here we come!"
"Woah, woah, woah! What are all of you doing here?"
Mason's head swivelled in sync with the heads of Wendy, Mabel, and Soos to where Stan stood framed in the doorway. Wendy gestured to the TV. "Watching Ducktective, like I said."
"And why is this happening in my house?" Stan asked, crossing his arms. "In my chair? With my popcorn?"
"Actually, the popcorn's all gone," Soos volunteered. "It was good, though. Nice flavor."
Wendy was unperturbed. "Soos's abuelita's house is too small for all of us to watch, and my little brothers don't exactly understand the meaning of 'privacy.' You're welcome to join us."
Stan gave the cartoon duck onscreen a judgmental look. "Pass."
Mason couldn't help but be a little relieved at that; Stan probably would have kicked him and Mabel out of the comfy recliner, and Mason didn't particularly want to sit on the floor. But then again... Wendy was sitting on the floor, barely a foot in front of him. Mason began wondering if sliding down to sit next to her would look too weird.
Yeah, it probably would be. He would just stay in the comfy chair with Mabel; it was a little strange to be sitting so close to her, squished together as they were, but somehow it felt right. Even though they'd only met a week ago, Mabel felt almost like family.
Loud quacking came from the television, but Mason didn't look up fast enough to catch the subtitles translating duck-speak to English. Stan, still lingering in the entry to the living room, frowned at the TV. "Are you kidding me? That guy's obviously the criminal. Arrest him, Ducktective!"
"Actually, he's innocent," Soos informed him. "The crook's really—"
Mabel poked him on the back of his head. "Shh, spoilers!"
"I find it funny how you spent the last week trying to get me to give you another day off, but the day you don't have to be here, you show up anyways," Stan said, raising an eyebrow at his employees.
Wendy grinned. "We just missed you so much that we had to come back."
Stan's snort of disbelief was cut off by a voice coming from the TV, although the screen was dark. "Gravity Falls... guess who's back."
The voice had a gentle southern accent, but something about it still sent a chill down Mason's spine. It was as if the speaker had put some kind of sound effect on the voice, adding multiple layers to the words. Next to Mason, Mabel tensed as it continued. "The Tent of Telepathy is opening today— I hope to see y'all there." The voice made a sound that might have been a laugh. "It's gonna be a mighty good show."
Almost in unison, Stan, Wendy, and Soos groaned.
"Of course Gideon's back in town— that's just what we need," Stan muttered. "I swear, that kid—"
"Who's Gideon?" Mason asked, cocking his head as the television switched to another commercial.
"He's this 'child psychic' who runs a show here every summer," Wendy said, her tone one of distaste. "Obviously a fake, but somehow has got the whole town convinced of his 'power' and stuff. They're all terrified of him."
"Yeah, and every time he's here he steals our business. People come from all over to see his stupid show." Stan rolled his eyes.
Mabel leaned forward in the chair, and Mason turned to see her face uncharacteristically pale. "Mabel, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she said, giving a shaky smile. "Hey, do you think we could go see his show?"
"What? Did you hear a word of what we just said?" Stan asked. "That kid is the enemy! No we can't go see his show!"
But Mabel's words had sparked an idea in Mason. "Grunkle Stan, wait— maybe we should go watch it." Mabel cocked her head at him, as if surprised that he had agreed with her.
Stan threw his hands up in the air. "And now my own nephew is betraying me."
"No, I mean—" Mason hesitated. "You said that Gideon takes all your business, right? And—well— we haven't exactly had a lot of customers lately—"
Stan grunted, but didn't argue, so Mason kept going. "Maybe there's something that— no offense— Gideon is doing that you—we— aren't."
"Are you trying to tell me that some kid is a better businessman than me?" Stan asked, frowning.
Mason decided not to answer that question. "My point is, there's probably a reason that he has better business than you. But what if we went to his show and figured out what that reason was? And then we could implement whatever it is in the Emporium and get more customers!"
"So, like, we'd spy on him by going to his show? And then steal his ideas?" Wendy grinned. "Sounds good to me."
Stan, however, was still reluctant. "I don't know if I want any of you there— face it, the kid's creepy. I've heard some strange things about child psychics. Besides, I am not paying his overpriced entry fee."
Mason thought that was rather hypocritical coming from a man who, according to Soos and Wendy, had once managed to wring thirty bucks out a tourist by convincing them the normal entry fee was forty— but since they seemed like a nice person, Stan was gonna give them a discount.
"Aw, c'mon, Stan, we can take care of ourselves," Wendy said. "Besides, there'll be a ton of people there— almost the whole town comes on opening day, not to mention all the tourists. It's not like Creepy Gideon will notice us." Mason thought he felt Mabel flinch at that.
Stan sighed. "Fine. But it's coming out of your paycheck— and you'd better come back with some dang good ideas for the Emporium."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Wendy hopped up off the floor, grinning. "Alright guys, Ducktective marathon is off. Watching creepy psychic show is in!"
Mason grinned back, but part of him couldn't help wondering what he had just gotten them into.
***
Gideon Gleeful sat, quiet and still, in the dimly-lit backstage area of the Tent of Telepathy. Unusually quiet and still, many would say, especially for a boy his age— it was unnatural. In fact, many things about him were unnatural. There was something off about him, something that no one could quite pin down.
Maybe it was his snow-white hair, or the fact that at times his pupils appeared slitted and almost lizard-like; perhaps it was the multiple layers his voice seemed to gain when he was onstage, something the sound crew swore up and down they had nothing to do with. Or it could be the whispers spread by stagehands that you should never, ever make him mad. Whatever the cause, it was enough to spread whispers of fear among the townsfolk— and yet they still came to his shows, as intrigued as they were repulsed.
Gideon knew how the residents of Gravity Falls viewed him; in fact, he relished the wariness and discomfort that came from just being near him. When others feared him, he gained a sort of power over them.
And Gideon Gleeful liked power.
After a quick check to make sure the area around him was empty, Gideon closed his eyes, looking for all the world like a child resting. Although he couldn't see the world around him change to black and white, he felt the subtle shift that came as he entered the mindscape.
"Showtime again, is it?"
Gideon opened his eyes and gave the yellow triangle floating in front of him a bored look. "Why yes, it is. So kind of you to notice," he said, a southern accent coloring his words. While he didn't need Bill's help for his show, the dream demon was the source of Gideon's powers, so Gideon endured the formality of speaking with him.
"I'm tired of these pointless human frivolities, Pentagram," Bill said. Even without a mouth, his yellow glow radiated displeasure. "When I saved your life at birth and gave you a portion of my power, it was not so you could waste them playing showman. I gave you a task—"
"Calm down, Lord Cipher," Gideon said, keeping all but the faintest trace of mockery from his words. "It's a work in progress. Finding a random rock in the forest is a bit harder than it seems."
"It is not 'a random rock,' and you would do well to show some respect. Find it, and soon. I'm running out of patience." Gideon calmly stared down Bill's one eye, refusing to be cowed. "In the meantime, I have another task for you."
"Oh, goody. What am I looking for this time? A magical leaf?"
"A girl."
At this, Gideon couldn't help but be a bit startled. "A girl?" he repeated.
"Not a human girl— an Avem," Bill said. "One who's caused me much more trouble than she's worth."
"But the Avem— they're in another dimension." Gideon frowned. Bill had told him about the winged Avem, the enemy of demons— and, being half-demon, they were Gideon's enemy too. "How did one end up here?"
"A portal. I don't know where she's staying, but sooner or later she's likely to come to your show." Bill paused. "Her name is Mabel, and I want you to get rid of her."
"You mean—"
Bill's stare told Gideon exactly what he meant.
Gideon tried to squash the surge of revulsion that rose in him. If Bill wanted him to kill some girl— well, he wouldn't question it. Besides, it wasn't like it would make a difference to Gideon. He didn't know her.
"Alright, well, if that's all..." Gideon adjusted his cape. "I have a show to run. I'll let you know when the girl's gone."
Before Bill could reply, Gideon let himself phase out of the mindscape and back into the physical world. The backstage area had become a bit more crowded with stagehands carrying props for his show; Gideon noticed that they were careful to keep their distance from him. He smirked at that— good. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.
A glance at the clock told him that it was only a few minutes until showtime. Gideon glanced out past the curtain at the sea of people filling the tent, which was starting to look crowded—a sell-out, as always. People always were attracted to power, and Gideon was the most powerful there was.
Gideon was about to let the curtain swing shut when something in the audience caught his eye. Frowning, he scanned over the crowd, unsure of what it was he had seen or even what he was looking for.
His gaze landed on a girl near his age, dressed in a pink sweater and trailing after a few other people. He dismissed her almost immediately, but his eyes moved unbidden back to her. Gideon didn't know what it was, but there was something about her— it repelled him and drew him in at the same time. She looked perfectly normal, but—
Gideon's eyes widened as the realization came to him.
This was the girl Bill wanted him to kill.
***
Mabel kept her eyes trained on the red of Wendy's hair as they wove through the crowded Tent of Telepathy. Already she was regretting asking to come here—had been regretting it since the words came out of her mouth.
The voice on the commercial... it had taken her barely a second to place the multi-layered voice of a demon. But that was impossible—Lilith was the only demon in Gravity Falls, and the voice coming over the television was male. Mabel tried to convince herself that it was just some kind of sound filter, and acting on impulse, had asked to go see this Gideon.
It was a way to assure herself that there couldn't be another demon here—not now, not when Dipper felt almost as close as he had before losing his memories. It was just some human trying to sell more tickets to his show.
But now that she was inside said show, Mabel felt her skin crawling. She wondered if she had made a big mistake—if Gideon Gleeful was a demon, she had just led Dipper and her newfound friends right to him.
A prickling on the back of her neck made Mabel whip her head around, feeling like someone was watching her. Looking in the direction of the stage, she saw the curtain twitch, but didn't see anyone.
Mabel shuddered and sped up her pace, pulling up next to Wendy. "Hey, um— do we really want to see this show? Ducktective is on all day, right? We could go watch that—"
"Nah, we can see Ducktective anytime," Wendy said. "Who knows when Stan'll let us anywhere near Gideon again?"
Hopefully never, Mabel thought. Even if Gideon wasn't a demon, she would prefer to be far, far away from him.
Dipper, on Wendy's other side, shot Mabel an encouraging smile. "Besides, this is gonna help the Emporium get better business." He paused. "Hey, where'd Soos go?"
As if by magic, the Emporium employee appeared behind Mabel, munching on a bag of popcorn. "Doods, there's a snack bar over there!"
"Nevermind that, the show's about to start— we gotta find seats!" Wendy pushed through the crowd, and Mabel did her best to keep up.
"Wendy, wait!" Dipper said. "There's no way we'll be able to find four seats next to each other—we should split up."
No! Mabel's mind screamed. No, they shouldn't split up! If there was a demon here, the last thing Mabel wanted was Dipper and their friends being where she couldn't protect them.
But Wendy was already nodding. "Good plan. Okay, Mason, you come with me; Mabel, you and Soos find seats as close as you can."
"Wait, I don't think—" But before Mabel could get the words out, Wendy and Dipper had disappeared into the crowd.
This wasn't good. Mabel grabbed Soos's arm and did her best to follow in their wake, but as she shoved through the crowd, the lights dimmed.
"It'll be okay— we'll meet up with them as soon as the show's over," Soos said. "There's a couple of empty seats over there."
Although all of Mabel's instincts were telling her to get out of there as fast as possible, she couldn't leave without the others. As Soos led her over to the chairs, Mabel craned her neck, frantically scanning the crowd for Dipper and Wendy.
"Dood, sit down! The show's about to start!" Soos leaned forward in his seat, eagerly munching his popcorn.
Reluctantly, Mabel sat down and looked up at the stage. All of her nerves were on high alert, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when a spotlight turned on, illuminating the blue curtains and empty stage. Deep breaths, Mabel, she told herself. This was probably nothing. Just a random kid pretending to have powers. No need to be jumpy.
That didn't stop her from flinching when the spotlight turned off, or from nearly falling out of her chair when it turned back on to reveal a no-longer-empty stage.
A boy stood there with his eyes closed, arms behind his back. Although he couldn't have been much older than Mabel and stood only a bit taller than her, his hair was pure white—dye, it's just hair dye— and he wore a button-down blue shirt and a short cape.
A murmur of nervous laughter travelled the room at his sudden appearance, but Mabel found herself relaxing a smidge. He had just entered the stage from between the curtains while the lights were out— no demon magic there.
"Welcome to the Tent of Telepathy." Gideon's eyes stayed closed as he spoke. Mabel searched his voice for the multiple layers of the commercial, but didn't hear anything but a southern accent. A wave of relief swept over her.
"There has always been more to the world than what meets the eye." Gideon whipped around, his cape fluttering as the spotlight turned off. Mabel strained her eyes towards the stage, but the tent had been plunged into total darkness. Gideon spoke again, his voice coming from all around them. "You know that— otherwise you wouldn't be here."
The spotlight flashed on again, this time angled towards the back of the room. It turned off just as Mabel caught a glimpse of Gideon standing there.
"I will be your guide to what lurks beyond the sight of humans—your escort to the realm of the unknown." Wind ruffled the ends of Mabel's hair, and beneath her sweater her wings tensed. Not real, not real, he's not real.
"But be warned..." The spotlight turned on right next to Mabel. She squinted into its brightness as Gideon leaned forward, staring right at her. There was something— off about his eyes, but she couldn't put her finger on it with the light blinding her.
The light turned off before she could figure it out, but it was only a moment before several more turned on, angled down at the stage. Gideon stood there, eyes narrowed as they swept across the crowd. Mabel shrank back into her seat, willing him to look anywhere but at her.
And then the eyes landed on her, and even though she was several rows back Mabel could see the slits of his pupils. Eyes just like the one that haunted her dreams stared at her as Gideon spoke, a smirk on his face.
"You may not like what you discover."
***
The curtains swept shut in front of Gideon, and he let out an exhale. All in all, it had been a very successful show—he had communicated with some "ghosts," had spilled a few deep dark secrets, and the people had been left whispering in fear and awe, unsure of what was real and fake.
But that girl. Gideon had been unable to resist getting a closer look at the supposed enemy of demons during his opening, but of course he couldn't act on Bill's orders in a tent full of people like that.
It was disconcerting how... human she looked. How first she had squinted at him into the light, and how her face widened in terror when Gideon had allowed some of his demon side shine through. It was easier to think about getting rid of her when she was just a face in the crowd, but— Gideon shook his head. She was the enemy. He would do as Bill said.
"Excuse me, sir?" A stagehand tapped Gideon on the shoulder. "You need to go greet the people as they leave."
Gideon flinched, startled out of his thoughts. A bit of demon crept into his voice unbidden. "Don't speak to me unless I speak to you first."
"But, sir, then how will—" The stagehand realized his mistake and shifted nervously. "I mean, yes, sir."
Gideon lifted his chin as he made his way out the back entrance and circled around to the front, where a steady stream of people were exiting the tent. Several pointed and whispered as he walked over, some snapping pictures with their phones.
Gideon smirked at that— people would never fail to be attracted to what they feared. He gave a few nods and smiles, adding a bit of slit to his pupils.
As he got closer, Gideon's eyes were drawn to a pink sweater pushing its way along the edge of the crowd: the Avem girl. Almost on instinct his feet moved in her direction, even though Gideon didn't know what he expected to do when he reached her.
When the girl looked up and saw him, her eyes widened in fear and she looked like she might bolt away. Gideon put on his best reassuring smile, but he dropped it as her eyes widened even more; it wasn't an expression he used often.
"So, did ya' enjoy the show?" Gideon asked, still unsure of where he was going with this.
The girl's eyes darted left and right. "Um— it was very interesting. I, uh, need to find my friends, so—"
What are you doing? Gideon's brain yelled at him. Talking to the girl was not what Bill wanted him to do!
And maybe that was it: a small, rebellious part of Gideon's mind didn't want to be just another pawn of the demon, at the beck and call of "Lord Cipher." Maybe he didn't want to kill this girl, enemy of the demons or not.
I'm not a pawn, Gideon argued. He wasn't just another piece on the board, he was the player! Bill was just a way to get Gideon the power he wanted. Gideon wasn't beholden to the dream demon.
He almost believed himself.
Gideon looked back up at the girl. "What did ya' say your name was?" There, that was a good reason for him to have come over here: if he had the girl's name, it would make it easier to find her later.
The girl looked like the last thing she wanted to do was give her name, but couldn't find a way out of it. "I'm— Mabel."
Gideon nodded. "Well, hope to see you soon."
"Uh—" Mabel was cut off by a tall girl with red hair running up accompanied by a boy about her height and a very large man who looked like a gopher.
"Mabel, there you are!" the boy said. "Wendy and I got caught up in the crowd and couldn't find you guys, and then Soos came up but you weren't with him."
"I— I'm fine," Mabel said. "Let's go." She followed her friends, glancing quickly back at Gideon before speeding up her pace.
Gideon watched her go, a strange feeling in his chest that he didn't recognize. Getting her name was a mistake; now she more real than ever.
You don't have to do this, a soft voice in his head whispered. Prove that you aren't Bill's slave. Let the girl go.
But another voice answered, one that was louder and sounded like Bill. I'm the only one that can give you the power you crave. You will never belong with normal people—but they will fear you. They will fear you, and then you will be the player and not the pawn. The voice paused. Unless you're too weak to do this.
Gideon closed his eyes. Inhaled. Exhaled. Opened them to reveal slitted pupils.
He would not be weak.
Hey guys! I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to be published. The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy for me and I haven't had much time to write, but hopefully things will be better now. Hope you enjoyed today's chapter!