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

The Depths

Ida had never felt so cold before. Not even when she was dying.

Every breath felt like she was inhaling ice shards. The darkness around her felt like snow.

Snow. She remembered snow. White, fluttery, beautiful snow. Everything at home felt so far away. Home... For a moment, she felt at peace, more than she had in decades.

Then, she slammed into the ground. Well, apparently, the abyss had a ground. It felt like glass. "This is great." Ida muttered. "Just f^cking great." She attempted to sit, but the tendril around her waist yanked her up.

"Ah, hello Ida." A voice whispered. It seemed to merge within the darkness. The realization hit. The monster had no other form. Ida shivered. Flintgold was the darkness. The tendril tightened around her. "What? Aren't you excited to meet me?" Ida had heard of Flintgold before. So, no, she was not excited to meet him.

Ida struggled, trying to claw the tendril off. "Oh, Micheals, Micheals, Micheals. When will you learn? Fighting only gets you hurt." Flintgold laughed, his voice low. The tendril tightened more, making Ida's breathing hitched. Pain echoed through her ribs. Laughter through the darkness even more, making Ida's ears ring.

Another tendril grabbed her arm, lifting it up. "It's wonderful, really. I can hear your precious friend begging for your release. I can hear every ounce of suffering in his voice." Ida clenched her fists. "Let me go, right now!" She demanded, using her strongest voice.

"Why? So you can run away and leave him here?" Flintgold hummed. A tendril emerged and lifted her chin. "No, so I can beat your a$$." She responded. The tendril grabbed her other arm, holding it up like the other. "Of course, because a child like you could most certainly defeat me." Flintgold hummed sarcastically. He let out a laugh that seemed like a screech in Ida's ear. "You're weak compared to other Judges. You can't do anything."

Ida felt his words sink into her skin like needles. 'He's trying to get to you. You can't be lost here.' She thought. The tendril suddenly pulled at her arms, making her shoulders ache. It felt like she was being pulled by a rack.

"I'm feeling generous today. You back down, and I let you go and leave this town. You can live out your own life and be the normal girl you've always yearned to be. Think about it. What good were any of them going to do for you? They would've just abandoned you, but you're so pitiful that they just felt sorry for you. Why should you help them?" Flintgold's voice dripped with false sympathy. "So, will you take my offer and leave, be happy, go on your own?"

She felt an invisible eye pierce into her soul. "Or will you stay here and suffer for people who never cared for you?"

Suddenly, Ida pulled down her arm with such force, the tendril loosened its grip. She bit down on it as hard as she could, a metallic taste filling her mouth.

Flintgold let out a screech and flung Ida to the side. "UNWORTHY CHILD!" He screamed, making Ida cover her ears. Her heart raced, but she stood and reached for her knife. She had an idea. A crazy, unreasonable, stupid idea that would probably grant her a second death. Flintgold was technically a specter, and a spirit could kill another spirit. That was what made him such a threat to Ida.

She was most certainly going to try it. Her only wish was that Bill wouldn't be harmed by it. The only kind Judge she knew had told her how to trap a monster. It reminded her of The Exorcist that she'd secretly watched with Bill when she was ten. It had scared her so much that she begged Bill to stay the night (he'd joked about how she wasn't scared of him, and she protested that he was a good demon). She tried not to think of that. She was only getting sad. If she could perform the spell, maybe she could help Bill get control, and they could find a way to get rid of Flintgold.

There was a small, selfish side of her that only wanted to do this so Bill would see worth in her. After this, if she could, she could stay.

Then, she remembered the other Ciphers. They were his family. Her heart sank as she made her decision. She was doing this for Bill, and for his family. Not for her.

Flintgold kept screeching. Ida cut one of the tendrils launching to attack her. She just had to say the spell, and get blood and water on Flintgold. She nearly slapped herself.

Yes, get water and blood onto an endless void. A completely possible plan.

Another tendril launched at her, nearly breaking the skin of her leg before she dodged. She suddenly smiled. Now, she had a plan. Her clothes were still wet. And in physical form, she had a lot of blood.

She quickly turned into her ghostly form and started running around, letting the tendrils phase through her. Ever since she got her physical form, her ghostly form had drained lots of energy from her. She couldn't keep this up for too long, and she didn't know everything Flintgold could do. She had to be quick with it all.

This was a stupid idea. A brilliant, stupid, crazy idea. Exactly what she was made for.