The One He Protected///Gravity Falls Fanfic///TW in desc.

This Will All Make Sense

Living in the Mystery Shack in the woods, Stanley was used to forests.

This was not a normal forest.

The trees had dark purple bark and bright teal leaves. The grass was dark blue and the dirt was hot pink.

But the colors were something he could look past. It was how quiet the forest was. They weren't meant to be so silent- there were meant to be birds and other animals, the wind rustling branches and leaves, and bugs buzzing around.

No, it just was dead quiet.

Walking in a place like that with William made it more difficult. The kid blended in pretty well with all the colors, and he wasn't exactly paying attention to where they were going. He'd notice a colorful rock and run off to grab it, then Stan would have to rush over and grab him so he didn't accidentally run into the void.

Oh, that was another thing. The forest was basically just a pathway with void all around it. And William had cheerfully explained to Stan what would happen if they fell into it.

Stan wasn't exactly pleased with pretty much being stuck with babysitting duty. Sure, he'd taken care of his niece and nephew last summer, but he chalked that one up to dumb luck. This was a different situation. William was a much younger, hyperactive, literal demon child. And Stan doubted he'd leave unscathed by Mrs. Cipher (he was still confused about that one) if anything were to happen to her son. Not that he'd let anything happen to William.

At that thought, William promptly turned direction and ran into a tree. Either he was purposely trying to do that, or he needed his eye checked. Stan sighed, expecting William to start crying or screaming, being ten years old. To his surprise, though, William picked himself right up and laughed. He didn't seem to be in pain at all. The demon turned and noticed Stan's expression. "I have a high pain tolerance." He said simply. "Uh-huh." The human furrowed his brow. William decided to be a bit less reckless after that one.

Eventually, the sky in this weird forest started to darken. A night-like illusion took over everything. That was when Stan started wishing the quiet was back. The grass started rustling, and there were hushed mutters all around them. William marched through, humming to himself. Stan tried keeping up, muttering to himself about being too old to be running around a forest to make sure a ten-year-old didn't fall down into the void.

William stopped humming and started muttering lyrics of some nonsensical song. He sputtered out phrases like "can't wait 'til I'm older," and, "it'll make sense." The demon smiled, attempting a cartwheel. He failed, falling onto the dirt and rolling over a few times. He jumped back up and let out a small cheer. "Ta-da!"

Stan stared at the kid incredulously. "What?"

The demon laughed a bit, tugging at his cape. "Well, I'm trying to be brave!" He said, his voice becoming a bit quieter. "So, I'm telling myself that when I'm a grown-up like you, I'll... Well, this'll all make sense! I'll be even braver! Being a grown-up- well, everything will be a lot better!"

The human was quiet at that for a moment, trying to find an easy way to tell the kid that being an adult wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Instead, he asked, "And why do you think growing up will help you be so brave?"

William sighed a bit. "Well, growing up in a house with my family was..." He gestured vaguely to the side. "When you're a powerless demon in a family like mine, you don't tend to stand out. My parents are some of the most powerful demons I've ever seen, and my siblings are so cool!" He paused. "Then, here I am. A powerless demon-"

Three red dot-like lights appeared in the shadows, making William jump and hide behind Stan. The lights suddenly moved forward, revealing themselves to be only oddly-colored fireflies. The demon facepalmed. "A powerless demon, and a coward." He grumbled, stepping toward the fireflies. One landed on his forehead, and he carefully blew it away.

"And if I could just be braver... When I'm a grown-up, I could be just as good as them!" He smiled, bouncing up and down a bit. For a second, Stan saw himself. He recognized that passionate spark and thrilled excitement in his eye. That, and the constant comparison to a sibling.

Stan sighed, patting the kid's head. "You don't need to wait. I'd say you already are pretty brave if you're willing to go so far in this place like this." William looked up at him, his eye bright. "Really?" Stan nodded.

"Well, I'm doing this for Dad. You humans don't seem to trust him, but he's awesome." He paused for a moment, looking around at the forest. "I just hope we can get to Dad..." William had just gotten him back. He'd just gotten his family back. He wasn't about to lose any of them now.

And with a step forward... William fell into a rabbit burrow.

He fumbled a bit and managed to stand at the deep bottom. "That was unpleasant!" He said, shaking the dirt out of his hair. Stan laughed a bit. William noticed something and tilted his head. There was a small light at the end of the burrow. 'This'll make sense someday.' He thought, managing the lower himself through the underground tunnel. He managed to let go and slide down into a larger part of it. He stood up, looking around at where he was. Stan tumbled down after him, a bit less gracefully.

"What is this?" William hummed, looking at the small holes that littered the dirt wall in front of him. Each had a glow to it, like something shiny was in them. "You'd think the Dream Demon would know what part of the Mindscape this is." Stan muttered. William glanced at him, laughing slightly. "You'd think." He echoed.

William stepped forward and cautiously put his hand in one of the openings. He touched something smooth and cold. A crystal. His fingers traced along it, trying to get a firm grasp. "I think I heard of these." He said, perking up. He turned to Stan. "They're hotspots of Flintgold's power. Flintgold must be altering Dad's Mindscape, and these are where his power is held and controlled." He looked into the hole. "Mama taught me about these. They come in all different forms, usually specific to the living beings around it." He stepped back. "You must like valuable things. There are crystals in there."

That piqued Stan's interest. He went up to one and tried grabbing the crystal inside. Once he tugged at it, the whole burrow shook. Stan stumbled back a bit, startled. William looked up, an excited gleam in his eye. "I've got an idea. I just hope the others have the same one as me."