Alright! I Finished The One Request I Got! It's In A Continuity Separate From My Other Fics, But It Should

Alright! I finished the one request I got! It's in a continuity separate from my other fics, but it should in fact work with the episode that came out a few weeks ago, so! That was kinda fun. Requests are still open, so if you like what you read feel free to shoot me more ideas. :3

So, the request was:

annabeththeunicorn answered: I’d like to see Norman loes control of his powers and start destroying things and how the others deal with that.

And here it is. Annabeth, I hope you enjoy~

               “Watch—watch your right!” Dipper called, and his sister narrowly dodged the creature’s claws as it swung at her. She darted around it to where he was hiding behind half of a huge rotted-out tree and they clung to each other for a moment, panting. Dipper turned to peer through a chink in the old log to try plotting an escape route; he never would have expected to run across another gremloblin while ghost hunting, but then again the forest was always full of weird stuff. He hoped the others were okay; the blue of Coraline’s hair poked through some bushes, and he knew Wybie was with her. Neil and Norman were stuck opposite of the twins with the angry beast stamping the fern glade flat between them, and a cliff behind them meant there was no escape that way. Normally a rampaging creature wouldn’t be such a problem for the group, but their main firepower had been called away on official Psychonauts business and left about a day ago, and now they had to figure a way out of this themselves.

               “This is bonkers,” Mabel sighed, as if reading her brother’s mind. “If we had a mirror this would be easy.”

               “Yeah, or even Wybie’s net gun—shh!” Dipper said, shoving his sister down and ducking himself. The gremloblin’s ears twitched, and it turned to stare in their direction, growling deeply.

               “What does he even want? It’s not like we meant to knock that boulder onto his head,” Mabel continued more quietly, and her brother rolled his eyes.

               “We can’t worry about it now. If we could create some kind of diversion to get it to go the other way… no Mabel, you can’t be the diversion! We all have to get away. Augh, why is this so hard?”

               “We hear ya,” Coraline huffed, suddenly beside them, and Wybie crept up behind her. “We tried coming up with our own plan, but the best we could come up with was maybe throw something over Ugly’s eyes and run. Question is, what?”

               “Better than anything I was thinking,” Dipper said with a shrug. “Mabel… no chance you could weave a blanket out of leaves or something…?”

               “Nope. I’ve tried…” she answered, frowning, and Dipper kicked the ground.

               “M-maybe we could throw something in his eyes instead. Kind of a dirty trick, but it works in movies… and I’d rather not find out what my worst nightmare is,” Wybie suggested, and the others nodded.

               “I’ve read about it. Usually it’s sand or something, but dirt should work too,” Dipper said, scooping up a handful of soil, but Coraline grabbed his wrist.

               “Okay, sounds great, but let’s make sure the person doing the throwing can actually aim, okay?”

               “What? You think I can’t? I can guarantee you that—“

               “After half an hour of calculations, yeah, you could do it! But we wanna get out of here right now.”

               They froze as a roar shook the forest, and watched as the gremloblin uprooted a small tree and hurled it into the underbrush where Coraline and Wybie had been hiding, and they exchanged fearful glances. The monster was getting impatient and angry its quarry hadn’t revealed itself yet, and they knew they didn’t have much time. It listened for a bit, then began sniffing around, and they watched anxiously as it drew nearer and nearer to where Neil and Norman were hiding. With less cover on that side of the glade, they had nowhere else to go.

               “Hey monster!” Dipper shouted, leaping over the edge of the rotted log and waving his arms. “When was the last time you flossed?”

               Coraline smacked her forehead into her hand, then leapt to join him, though at a slightly different location. “Yeah! I’ve seen slugs prettier than you!”

               The gremloblin bellowed and grabbed another tree, roots cracking sharply as it was pulled from the ground. The two tormentors ducked back down and ran, waving at the others to do the same, and they all regrouped behind another large tree as the old stump was shattered by the gremloblin’s attack. They still weren’t much closer to the rest of their friends, but at least they’d diverted the creature’s attention and could sort of see Neil crouched among tangled roots.

               Dipper watched the gremloblin pick through their former shelter’s remains, then everyone flinched as it howled in rage and whirled to scan the surrounding forest, sniffing the air and working its way over once more. Thinking fast, Coraline picked up a hefty branch laying at her feet and threw it with all her might, flinging it across the clearing to land loudly in the ferns opposite of them. The gremloblin spun to look, ears perked and livid red eyes wide and almost hopeful.

               It was at this moment Neil decided to run, chunky legs carrying him as fast as they could, but not as quietly. The gremloblin whirled on him, and with another roar it leapt, missing the boy by inches as he bowled into the others. It landed face-first, thudding hard into the forest floor and showering the disorganized group with decomposing pine needles. Apparently winded, the creature struggled to move, and they took the chance to run to new cover—a thick bed of ferns dotted by large boulders.

               “Okay, everyone here?” Coraline asked when they’d settled, brushing hair out of her eyes as she looked over the group.

               “Norman’s still over there,” Neil answered, a note of panic in his voice. “I thought he would run with me, but then he didn’t but I couldn’t stop myself.”

               “It’s okay Neil, we can figure this out,” Dipper reassured him. “Norman’s smart anyway, maybe he knew he wouldn’t have made it in time. Look, he’s sneaking around now.”

               They watched as the medium darted from one tree to the next, heading away from the monster who was still recovering from its wild attack. They silently cheered him on; if anyone was known for being quiet it was him. He got as far as he could, but eventually reached a point where the trees were too thin even for someone like him to hide behind, and there was nothing for it but to dart across the ruined glen.

               With a thud, the gremloblin landed in front of him, casting the small boy in its shadow. The group gasped; all they could see was the beast’s hairy back and Norman’s feet stumbling over debris as he tried to backpedal out of the way. Coraline cast about for more things to throw, but there were only small twigs and leaves around here, nothing good and solid. Judging by how the creature had lunged forward though, it was probably already too late.

               “Hey guys… what do you think Norman’s worst nightmare would be, anyway?” Dipper wondered, and Coraline grimaced at his morbid curiosity.

               “Probably something with zombies… right?” Wybie replied, then an inhuman yelp interrupted their thoughts.

               The gremloblin was backing away and nursing a hand, a strange sort of whimper rising in its throat. A breeze kicked up, barely noticeable, but it forced Coraline to brush strands of hair out of her eyes again, then cover them as a hot yellow flash burst in the clearing with the sound of thunder. The gremloblin was blasted into a tree behind them and knocked unconscious, its mold-green skin and hair singed and smoking. They watched it wake up and scramble backwards and off into the forest howling piteously before turning to see what had sent it running in fear for its life.

               “Oh boy,” Dipper uttered, and he could feel Mabel cling to his vest.

               Norman stood rigid, his fists clenched as electricity flickered around him, casting the glade in sharp shadows. He wore a hurt expression—wrath and sadness combined in a way they’d never seen before. The lingering yellow glow of the gremloblin’s spell coupled with the eerie light of his own power flashed from his eyes, and they were left wondering if he was even aware of what was going on. They had thought the gremloblin was the worst of their problems, but really it’d only been the beginning.

               “Uh… Neil?” Coraline asked, nudging him in the side with her elbow, “Please tell me you know what’s going on.”

               “Um,” he replied hesitantly, gaze still fixed on his best friend, “well, sort of, but not exactly.”

               “What does that even mean?!” Coraline cried, throwing her hands up. “What is this, some sort of freak-out or medium thing?”

               “I dunno! I mean I guess it’s sorta like what he said Aggie did, only he wasn’t sentenced to death just now or anything,” Neil responded, his words pouring out so fast it was hard to follow over the snapping electricity.

               “W-wait, you mean the witch? You guys weren’t exaggerating?” Wybie asked, and Neil shook his head rapidly.

               “So we just gotta talk to him right?” Mabel asked, and her brother nodded.

               “Seems like it, I mean, that’s how he got Aggie to calm down, and since… well, since I don’t think he’s dead it’s not like we can’t talk to him so… worth a shot.”

               Neil thought for a moment, then stood tall, a determined look on his face. “I know what I must do.”

               “Uh… okay man, just be careful. I don’t think that’s normal lightning coming off him, but I don’t think it’s gonna feel too much better if you get hit, okay?” Dipper warned, and Neil gave him a look.

               “We’re best friends. He’s not gonna hurt me,” he said firmly, then edged his way around the rock, straightened up once more, and did his best to approach the medium as if nothing was wrong. Dipper was surprised at how close he got, but it was like Norman wasn’t really seeing anything; thinking back to the journal’s entry on gremloblins he remembered how victims of the nightmare gaze could remain trapped in their visions for days, unaware of the real world, and figured that’s what’d happened. But once Neil started talking, things changed.

               “Hey Norman? You okay?” he started nervously, and flinched as his friend’s burning eyes met his, but he stood his ground. “I think you need to calm down, like maybe watch a movie or something.”

               “I told you to leave me alone,” the medium hissed, and Neil took a step back.

               “Uh… no you didn’t?”

               “Of course you wouldn’t listen. No one ever listens to the freak.”

               “B-but I never said that,” Neil replied, his confidence failing faster than he’d expected. But then, he’d never expected Norman to be so venomous. Struggling, he tried to remember how his friend had said he’d told Aggie, how he’d spoken to her. “Uh, don’t you remember us, you know, being friends? And hanging out and stuff?”

               “You just wanted me to talk to your dead dog! You never wanted to be friends for real,” Norman replied, electricity flaring. The breeze blew harder, and a green mist was beginning to swirl at his feet.

               “Dipper… I’m starting to guess at what Norman’s nightmare was,” Coraline said quietly, and he turned to her. “Neil might need backup soon. Who’s with me?”

               The group raised their hands, and Coraline wished their troubled pal could see this. She only knew the basics of her family friend’s history, but it was enough to know he needed the support right now. Nodding to her friends, she surveyed the scene, looking for a good opportunity to step in. Neil seemed to be blanking on more to say, so now was good.

               “Norman, listen up!” she yelled, striding out until she was just behind Neil and planted a hand on his shoulder as she faced the medium. “Whatever’s going through your head right now, it’s not true! You’re quiet and kind of a nerd, but we know you’re not a liar, and you’re definitely not a freak!”

               “You’re just saying that! You only played with Courtney when we visited, why should I think you like me now?”

               “Ah, cripes… look, I’m sorry about that! I just always wanted a big sister, okay?” Coraline shot back, trying not to lose her cool. “What matters is right now! And right now, I’m worried about my little brother.”

               “Which you still don’t have,” came the bitter reply, and something about his expression made Coraline realize it hurt him as much to say this stuff as it did to be on the receiving end.

               “This is so messed up,” she muttered under her breath, and Neil nodded sadly.

               “This definitely seems more like Raz’s area of expertise,” he sighed, and Coraline tightened her grip on his shoulder.

               “Yeah, well guess who’s not here. We have to solve this ourselves.”

               A rustling behind them announced the twins and Wybie joining them; faced with more people, Norman backed away, arms held to his chest defensively and the lightning that danced around him flaring, but his friends held their ground, knowing they couldn’t back away. If they did, it might make him think they were abandoning him.

               “So you’re all here to make fun of me again?”

               “Norman, we never made fun of you! That was a vision, a lie! You’ve gotta give it some time, it should eventually wear off,” Dipper explained, stepping to the front. “At least I hope so,” he added in a much quieter voice. The journal hadn’t really been clear on how to cure someone of a gremloblin attack.

               “No, j-just—just leave me alone!” Norman pleaded, backing up further.

               “We’re not going anywhere,” Neil asserted, confidence bolstered now that the others had his back.

               “I said go away!”

               The fog that had been swirling lazily at the medium’s feet snapped into a thick tendril and whipped across the group, knocking them into the undergrowth. Coraline was the first up, and scanned the group; thankfully no one seemed hurt, but they had to find a way to end this quick. Noting Dipper was sitting up, she tapped his shoulder.

               “Okay ideas guy, time to think of something. This is only getting worse the more we talk to him, and I think maybe we actually should leave him alone… at least for a bit.”

               “Who knew Norman was so good at being mean, right?” Dipper sighed, “but that’s all the gremloblin’s fault. Maybe if we found out what exactly Norman saw, we can find a way to counteract it.”

               “I think it’s pretty obvious he saw us making fun of him or something, though I don’t know how that turned him into a human Tesla Coil,” Coraline huffed.

               “Me neither, but it’s gotta be related right? He didn’t do anything until after the gremloblin got to him. And if his ancestor did this when she was threatened with death…” Dipper trailed, hand at his chin as he pondered.

               “Whatever he saw… was as bad as that?” Wybie piped up, and Coraline realized he’d been next to her listening the whole time.

               “I guess so,” she answered softly, glancing back at their friend, who seemed to be staring into space again, lost in whatever nightmare world plagued him. “Maybe Dip’s onto something here. We just have to say something strong enough to break the spell.”

               “Or maybe a kiss, that always works in fairy tales!” Mabel piped up, and everyone looked at her with expressions that ranged from simply skeptical to disgust. She looked around at them and rolled her eyes. “Geez, I never said one of you guys had to do it.”

               “Mabel, do you want to get electrocuted?!” Dipper protested, and the others nodded.

               “Brother, please! Has anyone else noticed that so far, he hasn’t actually tried to hit us with anything besides the fog? And that didn’t even really hurt.”

               Dipper sat openmouthed, blinking. “Mabel, you’re right!”

               “Duh, I always am?”

               “It’s gotta mean that he doesn’t want to hurt us one way or another.”

               “I told you he wouldn’t,” Neil grinned. “So what do we do? Keep talking to him?”

               “So far, that hasn’t worked,” Wybie pointed out.

               “Yeah, but it’s kinda all we got, and like Dipper said it might be the only way to snap him out of this. We just have to find the right thing… something the nightmare won’t twist,” Coraline trailed, wracking her brain and wishing she knew him better.

               “Neil, you’re his best friend—maybe you should try again,” Dipper suggested, Neil looked hesitant for a moment, but nodded. Brushing off forest debris, he stood and faced Norman again.

               “Um… hi,” he started again while the rest watched anxiously. “Still here for ya buddy. Um… what’s got you so worked up, anyway?” He looked back and Dipper gave him a thumbs up.

               “You seriously don’t know?” Norman replied sharply. “You left me! All of you did! You hate me behind my back and think I’m a freak. You only wanted to know me for your own reasons, and I was dumb enough to trust you! Just go… I always knew I was better off alone… this is exactly why…”

               There was a slap, and all at once the lightning fizzled out. Mabel seized the medium by his shirt and stared him in the eye with the most determined look Dipper had ever seen—and he prided himself on his will.

               “Norman, don’t you dare! Sure, maybe Neil wanted you to talk to his dog, and maybe Dipper wants to investigate your powers like the dork he is, but never think for a moment that’s all we want you for! You—” she poked him hard in the chest “are one of the coolest people I know because you don’t let junk get you down, not this easy! You’re not dumb, you’re not a freak, and sure as heck you’re not better off alone! You hear me man?! I don’t do fake friendships, got it?!” she cried, shaking him before pulling him into a crushing hug. The other watched in stunned silence; leave it to Mabel to slap an enraged medium and then give him a pep-talk to try bringing him to his senses.

               “Mabel… can’t br… can’t breathe!” he gasped, struggling weakly, and she finally let him go. He dropped to his knees, then flopped to his side, and everyone hurried to check on him. He seemed unconscious, but when Neil poked him he waved his friend off with a groan.

               “So… everything okay there junior?” Coraline asked, bending closer, and Norman rolled onto his back and slowly sat up.

               “Besides a cracked rib thanks to Mabel’s death hug… I think so,” he managed to smile, only to be caught in a two-for one embrace between the girl in question and his best friend. They let him go finally, then helped him to his feet.

               “So… do you know what happened?” Dipper asked tentatively.

               “Um… it’s kinda foggy,” Norman answered, but spoke too soon; in an instant he remembered the nightmare, the strange and dizzying mix of reality and hallucination, his words and those of his friends as they struggled to get through to him, the rush of supernatural power. Unprepared for the mental onslaught, he fell to his knees again and found he couldn’t fight the tears welling in his eyes. What had he done?

               “Dude! What’s wrong now?” Coraline exclaimed, and he quickly wiped his face with a sleeve.

               “Sorry, it’s just… I could have seriously hurt you guys! And I said… I said really horrible things. You should be mad at me, or afraid… I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” he explained, fiddling with his sleeves, eyes downcast.

               “No way,” Neil spoke, folding his arms. “I didn’t fight a bunch of zombies just to leave you because some monster hypnotized you. Besides, Aggie was like, a gazillion times worse, right? And you didn’t give up on her.”

               “Yeah man, scary medium powers or not we’re still cool,” Dipper added, but Norman seemed to deflate.

               “So… you do think I’m scary…”

               “Well…” Dipper trailed, caught between being honest and not hurting his friend any more than he already did. “To be honest… yeah. You were throwing out lightning everywhere, and we didn’t know what to do. It was pretty scary…”

               “But we couldn’t just leave you,” Coraline finished, and Dipper nodded.

               “We figured that would’ve been worse than staying,” Wybie said, rubbing the back of his neck, and Norman nodded softly.

               “Knowing what was going through my head… yeah. It would’ve been… a ton worse.” He curled up, trying not to think about it, and jumped when a hand rifled through his hair.

               “Scary or not, I have to admit you looked pretty badass,” Coraline said, smiling down at him. “Not everyone gets to say they have sweet ghost powers you know.”

               “Uh… that’s one way of looking at it,” Norman replied, looking up at his friends.

               “Besides, if you hang out with a knitting whiz, a mystery hunter, a Michigan water witch who destroyed a kid-eating demon, and not to brag but a mechanical genius—plus no less than two psychics and still think you’re a freak? There’s kiiinda something wrong there,” Wybie pointed out with a grin, and helped the medium to stand again.

               “Thanks guys… for not giving up on me.”

               “Hey, don’t worry about it. Us ‘Mystery Kids’ gotta stick together,” Coraline said.

               “Yep!” Mabel simply said, and her brother nodded before looking at the rest of the group.

               “Well, I don’t know about you guys but I for one have had enough adventure for today. Who’s up for heading back to the Shack and doing absolutely nothing else the rest of the day?”

               There was a unanimous vote of ‘aye’, and not wanting to linger in the demolished clearing any longer, they trudged back home, eager to leave their misfortunes behind. At this point, nothing sounded better than a lazy afternoon in front of the TV with some sodas and junk food. After all, who knew when their next adventure would strike? Anymore, they’d take the downtime they got, and after today… they’d need it.

I hope you guys are ready for some art.

'Cause I'm ready to share some! Get ready for the behind-the-scenes look at Mabel's refurbished mindscape under the cut~

When I decided to rewrite the Pines' mental worlds, I knew both had a lot of potential I'd probably missed out on. I still don't feel like I got all of Mabel's awesome wackiness in, but it's a lot closer to what I wanted to the first time around. While a lot of the key elements-- bright colors, yarn, and so on-- stuck around, they got used and presented a little differently.

For starters, here's the first establishing shot I ever did for her mind:

Pretty fun right? But it felt like it was missing something, and hence the rewrite. I tackled it a lot like I had for Norman's world in that I spent a lot of time imagining how it might actually play if this were a real level in Psychonauts. So it was back to the drawing board for a lot of stuff:

I wish I could actually draw how M.C. Escher it gets inside the castle, but that's the basic layout I used, though a couple things changed between here and the actual story.

I discovered that to properly describe it, I had to draw Mabel's dream room, so there's that.

After all this planning, I was able to do a refined 'establishing shot' to reflect the changes:

A L L  H A I L  T H E-- ahem, wrong fandom. There's clearly danger now, as Mabel's glittery castle stands opposed to the stormcloud that threatens to overtake it. Luckily, by the end of her 'level', she has a solution for that.

Lovely Bernadine the hairdryer dragon~

That's all I really have for Mabel; her brother is up next!

I’m getting this done! Yep! *puts on serious face*

balencia answered: Maybe the gang meeting Aggie?

Gah, sorry this took so long! But writing endings are the hardest thing for me, and even now I'm not sure this was the best...

Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

               “Hey guys… I found it! C’mere!” Coraline called, beaming as she waved her friends over and tossed the dowsing rod aside. She stood on the edge of a sinkhole, overlooking a crescent-shaped pool of crystalline water, its surface smooth as glass and the banks vanishing into the depths with no bottom in sight. Hopping about two feet down, she approached the water’s edge and peered in, noting the rock and sand lining the formation were pure white and devoid of algae; there weren’t any fish, frogs, or even insects inhabiting it either. Rustling behind her announced the arrival of the rest of the crew, and she grinned at them.

               “Crescent shaped pond in a perfectly round sinkhole, right? And you thought the dowser wouldn’t work,” she said proudly, poking Dipper in the chest.

               “I never said it wouldn’t work. I just didn’t think you actually knew how to use it,” he replied plainly, and she shrugged.

               “Same difference. What matters is we found it.”

               “So what does it do, exactly?” Lili said, kicking a pebble in and sending ripples sailing across the smooth surface. Dipper withdrew the journal from his vest and flipped a marked page open.

               “The Spirit Well. After much research, I have verified this unique landforms’ existence in the forests surrounding Gravity Falls. Apparently bottomless, these springs are rich in minerals and nutrients, yet they fail to sustain life like any normal body of water. Local legend maintains they are links to the underworld, but I have yet to observe any supernatural activity at this location. Maybe I need to visit during a full moon like everyone says.

               “That said, these formations are nevertheless intriguing. I have encountered three in this area alone, the largest being nearly ten feet in diameter, and the smallest a mere two—I nearly broke my ankle tripping over it. Perhaps there is something unique about the geology in the area that might explain the presence of these springs, but after everything else, I’m almost willing to believe they really are portals to some spirit world. Drinking not recommended. Or swimming.”

               “Creepy,” Lili pronounced when he’d finished. “Just what we’re looking for.”

               “Exactly. And unlike the author, we actually came here on a full moon. We ready to set up camp?” Dipper asked, looking to the group but most pointedly at Wybie, who’d carted their tent on his bike. It was a big, old-fashioned thing they’d found in the Mystery Shack attic and in surprisingly good shape; a little TLC from Mabel had patched the few holes that marked its olive brown canvas. With Raz and Neil’s help, Wybie unstrapped the cumbersome thing and they maneuvered it to suitable spot only a short distance from the pool. Mabel and Norman started unpacking the other things they’d brought on Norman’s bike—blankets to line the ground, lanterns, even a couple coloring books and snacks to pass the time. The first poles of the tent went up in minutes, and before long they had a welcome retreat from the bugs and a place to wait for nightfall.

               When the sun finally set, Lili lit a campfire and they roasted marshmallows, sitting at the edge of the sinkhole and keeping a close watch on the pond as they ate. But as time wore on and the flames burned lower and lower, drowsiness crept in. Coraline dozed on a very awkward Wybie’s shoulder, and Raz and Lili were either asleep or having an intense telepathic conference—it was hard to tell sometimes.

               Only Norman could be considered alert out of the group; for once he was grateful he was something of an insomniac and could keep watch even as his friends drifted off. The moon was right overhead now, and illuminated the pool with its pale beams as nocturnal insects buzzed softly in the cool night air. He watched a moth flutter lazily through the light, disappear into the shadows, then return the way it’d come pursued by a bat, the mammal’s leathery wings making a soft snapping sound as it pursued its dinner. Another, louder sound interrupted Norman’s thoughts—Neil was snoring, his chin on his chest. The medium chuckled softly; this wouldn’t be the first time he’d seen his friend fall asleep sitting up. He checked his phone, but the no service icon blinked at him, which meant he couldn’t even check what time it was. It had to be almost midnight by now.

               He was almost ready to drift off himself when movement caught his eye. Blinking, he watched as the beams of moonlight seemed to become fog, their edges wavering and blurring. A layer of the fog collected on the pool’s mirror surface, building until it seemed almost solid at the bottom. But something else was forming too. The top of the fog collected into a column, then a figure, its features slowly resolving themselves like adjusting the focus on a pair of binoculars until there was no doubt who it was.

               “A… Aggie?” Norman uttered, eyes wide. She clasped her hands, and nodded, a meek smile on her lips.

               “But… you moved on.”

               “Yes. And I never thanked you for what you did for me... for everyone,” she replied, bowing her head. Norman blinked; this had to be a dream. Ghosts didn’t come back once they crossed over, and she didn’t even look like a ghost anyway, at least not how he usually saw them. She wasn’t so much fog now as tenuous blue-white light, and a normal ghost was an eerie green. What was going on?

               “So… wh—what are you doing here?” he asked, and she looked around as if noticing her surroundings for the first time.

               “Like I said… I wanted to thank you. Everyone else who ever tried reading to me never did anything different. They never spoke to me like you did, never… understood. Thank you.”

               “I don’t know if they even realized what they were doing,” Norman sighed, meeting Aggie with a sad look. “I didn’t know you were just a girl at first either… maybe the others never knew.”

               She nodded softly, more in understanding than agreement, then looked around again. “Are these your friends?”

               “Yeah,” Norman replied, brightening. “I know I said there’s always someone out there… turns out sometimes there’s even more than that out there waiting for you.”

               “You must be happy,” Aggie said, bittersweet.

               “Well… yeah. Aren’t you?”

               “Yes. The afterlife isn’t quite what we all imagined, but it’s wonderful all the same,” she answered, smiling. “It’s just… one can’t help but wonder what life may have been like if it were a bit more like yours.”

               Norman frowned sadly and looked at his shoes. “I wish it had been better for you too, Aggie. No one should go through what you did.”

               “No… but it’s the past now,” she answered surprisingly cheerfully, “and… neither of us have to worry about it anymore.”

               “Yeah,” Norman agreed, smiling. He was glad everything really had turned out for the best for both of them. “So… what now?”

               “I… think I’d like to meet your friends, if that’s alright? I know they’re sleeping…”

               “Um… okay,” he replied, glancing around at the dozing group, not sure where to start. “H… Hey guys?”

               Dipper startled awake, then locked eyes with the wavering figure of Aggie and froze, dumbstruck. He managed to nudge his sister awake, and she groggily stirred, rubbing her eyes until she too saw the spirit hovering over the water. Norman gently shook his best friend awake, then reached around to nudge Coraline. Soon everyone was awake and in awe, and looking to Norman to guide them.

               “Um, so... obviously you can all see her…” Norman began, both nervous and thrilled at the same time, and his friends nodded. “So that’s new. Anyway, everyone, this is Aggie.”

                “You mean… the witch who cursed your town?” Wybie said, and Aggie and Norman gave him matching glares.

               “Let’s not use that word, shall we?” Dipper said, making a cutting motion with his hand.

“R-right.”

               “So… what are you doing here? I though spirits moved on once their earthly business was finished and all that,” Coraline asked, and Norman nodded, equally curious.

               “You see… I did still have business though. I wanted to thank Norman for helping me,” Aggie replied dutifully. “And… check up on him, I guess. It’s not easy being alone…”

               “I’m fine,” he said, smiling as he gestured to the others. “It’s not always easy, no… but it’s been pretty good so far.”

               Aggie smiled warmly as she looked around the group. She could tell—by how the other kids held themselves, the looks in their eyes, the openness of their faces—that there were a lot of shared camaraderie and similar histories that bound them all together, and would keep them together. Some small part of her longed to join them, but her time here was coming to an end, and she’d defied nature far too much already. As her vaporous form began to falter, she waved farewell to the others and gave Norman one last meaningful look before dissipating at last.

               Norman gazed at the spot where his long-lost relative had been, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by his friends who were abuzz with their encounter. Dipper was consulting with Raz and Lili about any psychic readings they might have picked up while Coraline stood by, listening in and nodding her head assuredly. Norman startled a bit when Neil patted his shoulder, but he was grateful for his friend’s moral support, and all three collapsed as Mabel tackled them in a giant hug. Heading back to the Shack this late at night would be pointless, so once Dipper had finished compiling his notes everyone piled into the tent and got comfortable. Their thoughts about the unassuming girl who’d ended up cursing her town and becoming a terrifyingly powerful supernatural entity, only to be brought her eternal peace by one of their own and how truly awesome that was would lull them to sleep.

At first, Lili wasn’t sure what to make of Dipper’s sister. She was loud, naive, and had no concept of personal space. As she eventually learned though, the upbeat girl was a genuine friend and always up for a little ‘girl time’ when the boys were too wrapped up in their mystery hunting.

I realized hardly anyone draws these two together, including me, so I decided to do something about it. Might color later, but for now just enjoy the lineart.

Page 5! Only a few more pages left, I’m thinking about finishing this before the new year starts.