Chapter Text
"I could help you however you'd wish."
You didn't want summer to end. You didn't want to have to leave all these wonderful memories to be left behind... and you certainly didn't wish to leave your brother behind...
"Why so quiet? Do you wish your brother to have this opportunity, and leave you behind?"
You still didn't respond. The demon in front of you sighed, though at the moment you didn't care if he was sarcastic and mocking towards you.
"(Nameeee), dear sweet Shooting Star... You know how nobody appreciates you. Neither do your uncles or your brother, or even your so called friends!" Two gloved hands were put on your shoulders, as the galactic being you came to know as "Bill" throughout this hectic summer kneeled down to be at the same level as you. "But I appreciate you. More than I would appreciate a normal human!" You could see his glowing yellow eye through your giant pink sweater that you were currently hiding your face behind with. You weren't in your right mind unlike usual. You were... vulnerable.
"How could you help me..." Was all you mumbled out, which seemed to make the demon grin a Cheshire Cat like smile.
"Well, firstly, stop hiding your face! It is the gem of the body after all, as I would say... well at least for you puny humans!" Even if you were hesitating, you still did it, as much as the back of your mind was screaming not to. "There you go! Now, Shooting Star... you said you'd like summer to never end, right? For you to always go on adventures, just like you do with dear old Pine Tree. But he left you to have much more fun with Grunkle Sixer. You need to go on adventures on your own to prove him that you aren't a nuisance as he believes you to be!"
Was it true though? Did Dipper really believe you were a nuisance? Of course he did! You are just an annoying grown child... as much as your mind told you to stop believing him, you whole heartedly believed you were just a pain in the neck. For everyone around you, whether they loved you or not.
"Okay..."
"Shake my hand?"
You hesitantly raised your hand, not thinking much of what this deal would do. As long as it made everyone happy, and made you prove that you were good to do things on your own too, you would do it.
When your fingers almost touched the black. gloves, something charged towards the demon. It was your best friend, which most would call your pet pig, Waddles. The demon's yellow colour scheme turned to red as it tried kicking Waddles off him. You immediately came back to your senses. WHAT WERE YOU DOING?! Running towards Waddles caused the space entity to turn even angrier. "You still signed the deal, (Name)!"
"I didn't sign anything, I didn't even shake your hand-" but before you could say anything further, a white light came towards you with agility, and without warning, you and Waddles were swallowed by this light.
'How much did I sleep?' You yawned, rubbing your eyes. You had no recollection of what happened, and tried to get up but immediately hit your head against something hard. "Huh?" was all you muttered, scratching your head. It seemed as if you were in some sort of box.
You started touching the thing that was above you...or well at least in front of you. You were still trying to figure out if you're on your back or on your feet. It felt...soft...like a cushion.
Wait a minute... You were in a coffin?! How did you even get in a coffin in the first place? Were you buried alive? DID YOU BECOME A VAMPIRE?!...now that you were thinking about it, it would be kind of cute for you to be a vampire- (Name), you need to focus! While you were starting to bang the coffin, you heard some soft oinking sounds from something small yet squishy that was on your stomach.. "Waddles? Waddles!" you emediatelly recognised who it was. "Waddles, do you know what possibly happened? Did Gideon take me as ransom against grunkle Stan... again?... wait then where is Dipper...DIPPER!" You started banging the coffin even more, until you realised you couldn't open it... but then... you sensed someone rattling my coffin.
"I better hurry up and find that uniform before someone spots me...Urgggh..." Said the voice of the one who was rattling the coffin. The voice seemed rather high-pitched." This lid weighs a ton! Try this on for size! Mya-ha!"
Before you could react to what this voice said, you sensed something warm licking your ankles. You looked down and saw what you'd least expect in these kinds of situations. Sapphire blue flames.
"AAAAH FIRE!" You started banging the coffin to try and get out, trying to pry the lid open. Eventually, the lid popped open, and you got out headfirst. The person, or should you say, the creature wasn't who you were expecting to see. It wasn't your brother, or Gideon... or even a humanoid in the first place.
"Now to grab the goods..." The creature laughed with a cheeky smile, but soon, its laughter died down when it saw you awake, on the ground with Waddles in your arms. "What?! You ain't supposed to be awake!"
Instead of being as scared as you were a few seconds ago, You were now very weirded out. "A talking...weasel?!" I muttered surprised, looking at the weasel-kitten hybrid creature. It looked a lot like a kitten, with its grey fur and cat-like ears. At the same time, this creature looked like a weasel, with its beady eyes, and white fur covering its chubby body. Though, from what you know about weasels, they usually have slender-like bodies. It also had a black and white striped bow around its neck. "Woah Waddles, if only you could talk too!"
Your eyes then wandered around the area, examining it. It was a pretty dark room, with coffins floating around. What sort of oddity is this? You don't remember Uncle Ford ever talking about something like this... wait, were you back in that Blind Eye society thing again? Maybe that's why you couldn't remember anything that could've led you here.
"How... How DARE YOU! I am no WEASEL! I'm Grim, sorcerer extraordinaire! Tch. Whatever. You...human! Just gimme your uniform, and be quick about it!" It demanded, "'Cause if you don't...you're gonna regret it!"
You giggled, finding his voice quite funny "Wow, what are you gonna do? Bite my ankle-" it spit some of that blue fire towards your leg.You let out a shrill squeak as the blue flames started surrounding you. "WADDLES, WE NEED TO GO!" You pushed the weasel and began sprinting, while holding a small pig in your arms., sprinting past multiple hallways and courtyards that were all built as if they were all a part of a castle. You haven't seen such a place in Gravity Falls before... where were you?! As you were running, you stumbled on your own feet and fell to the ground, leaving a loud thud to be heard, as Waddles ran from your arms so he wouldn't be squished from your fall.
You softly croaked, stroking your head where your head was hurting, as you began looking at my surroundings. You were in a library of some sort, the bookcases made of dark rosewood, with ornate lanterns on pillars. The most peculiar part about this library was the green fire emanating from the lanterns, and the floating books in the air.
Your study in this library was short-lived, as the weasel-kitten named Grim seemed to have found you. "Foolish human! Did you really think you could slip from ME?" He said, emphasising the "me" part. "Now, unless you wanna get burned to a crisp, take off that-"
Before he could continue the sentence, he heard a whip being cracked towards the kitten. You opened your eyes to see that he was now tangled in a lash of some sort.
"Consider it tough love.' Said an unknown figure from behind. He was a tall man with short wavy black hair and pointed ears that made him look like an Elf. A half-mask resembling a crow or a raven's beak concealed his face. He was wearing a grand coat, with thick feathers that were as black as ebony, curled from his blue collar. He looked like someone you should surely not mess with.
"Ah, I've found you at last. Splendid. I trust you're one of this year's new students?" He said. You looked at him confused. Students? Wait, were you in a school? You know what, You'll play pretend and play along with his words. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! Maybe it would save you time until you gained enough energy to punch both this guy and the weasel and run for it.
"Yes, sir!" You said as if you were a soldier.
"My, were you ever eager to make your debut. And bringing a poorly trained familiar with you? That is a clear violation of the school's rules." The man scolded you, and you remained very confused about what had happened. Familiar? What could that mean...
"As if I'd serve some lowly human! Now lemme go!" The weasel-kitten said, clearly struggling under the leash. Poor creature. But I mean, he did try to hurt you, so you shouldn't sympathise with it.
"Yes, yes. Rebellious familiars always say that. Do be quiet for a bit, won't you?" He said. "MMMGHMMMM" the kitten, whose name was Grim, you believe, struggled as the strange man covered his mouth.
"Dear me. Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their own gate and step out of it." Said the man, which didn't help your confusion at all. This must surely be some kind of dream. A very bizarre dream indeed. " I apologize sir for stepping out of the gate, I was just scared."
"Does the very notion of patience elude you?" The man has asked. "I didn't mean to step out, mister. I was only scared because the weasel has blown the lid off and I had to run away so I wouldn't be burnt and so my pig wouldn't turn into bacon. " You sighed in shame, though you did want to giggle. It seemed he was buying it! "No matter. Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber" He said taking Grim by the back of his neck and walking away.
"Wait, sir...What do you mean by Student...Or gate...?" You then covered your mouth and became embarrassed. He looked at you confused.
"You awakened in a room full of gates, did you not?" He asked confused. You looked at the ground in embarrassment "All of the students here at the campus arrived by passing through such gates." He then put his hand under his chin "Although typically the students have restraint enough to wait until I open them before waking up." You looked at him in concern. What type of school is this? Was this some kind of weird geeky roleplay? "I think something blew the lid off mine..." You said. He looked at you and said in an angry tone "The culprit appears to be that familiar of yours." He then shifted his view on Grim and looked at him angrily. "You're the one who insisted on bringing it, so curtailing its behavior is your responsibility!" he started scolding you. You wanted to object that Waddles was your only supposed "familiar", but he wouldn't listen. "But now is not the time for such prattle. You've got a student orientation to attend! Go on, now. Make haste.".
He wouldn't seem to listen to you trying to call him out, until you said: "Where am I, and who are you?" He looked at you confused. "Hm? Have you not fully regained consciousness? The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories...Well, these things happen, I suppose." He looked more serious and responsible than before, he then smiled "I shall explain it to you while we walk. Truly, my magnanimity is boundless."
Then, you started following him hesitantly like a baby duckling, holding waddles in your hands as he began walking somewhere.
"This is Night Raven College. It is an institution for students over the world who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic. It is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland. And I am Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, serve as headmage." I looked at him, a little bewildered. Twisted Wonderland... Yeah, this was definitely a roleplay or a cult. "Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those "gates" which can appear anywhere. A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you."
"A black carriage you say, sir? I don't remember seeing a black carriage before coming here." What you said seemed to have shocked Dire Crowley.
"If I may be impolite, what did you see before coming here?" He asked.
"I don't remember much, actually..." you tried your hardest, but it seemed he noticed you would pop a blood vessel if you tried to think long enough of what happened to have taken you here, so he just nodded.
Though you do wonder... What is Twisted Wonderland?