GravityTale

1 ~ Good Things Don't Last

Ah, summertime. Arguably children's favorite time of the year, the most beautiful of days, when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and flowers are blooming.

Perfect days for a game of catch.

For normal children, that is. For Dipper and Mabel Pines, the summer days were not spent playing childish games. For them, the days were going to be spent chasing down every odd and end they could find. For once again, the twins had come to summer at their favorite place in the world: Gravity Falls, Oregon.

For in this place, you were more likely to find flowers singing and birds blooming, and all other things odd, strange, weird. What better place for the Mystery Twins to vacation?

Nowhere. There was no better place.

And this year, this year was going to be great.

Because last year, Bill Cipher had been vanquished. The demon was gone, and now, the twins could cavort all across Gravity Falls without fear of the demented triangle.

Yes, this was going to be a good summer.

~o0o~

Sans was reasonably happy, all things considered.

Well. As happy as one can be in an endless loop of timelines.

But, that was why it was "all things considered." Because, really, all things considered, this was a pretty good timeline.

In fact, almost every timeline since That-One-Time-Sans-Did-Not-Think-About had been pretty good.

Almost fifty resets in which the kid's Lv never got over eight or nine, almost fifty resets where Papyrus hadn't been-...

Well. Sans didn't like to think about that.

And this timeline.

This time, the kid hadn't even gotten one EXP. They hadn't once lifted a hand- or, rather stick, as they still held on to the broken branch- against a monster. Normally, even if they had gained nothing up until that point, they could never make it past Undyne without gaining a bit of Lv.

But not this time. They were nearly finished with Mettaton's games, and still had not earned a single bit of Lv.

This was a first. And it made Sans happy.

Of course, there was always that nagging sense that it didn't matter. It didn't matter if the kid made it to the end without gaining any Lv. They would still reset. They always did. What did it matter if they gained no Lv?

It didn't. They would still reset. They always did.

But.

But this timeline, this one timeline...

It was good.

And, leaning back against the wall of the MTT resort to wait for the kid, Sans resolved to enjoy as much of this one timeline as he could.

~o0o~

Deep in the forest sat a statue. A pyramid. A demon. Imprisoned forever, banished from his reign, lifeless but for the occasional bird that perched on his outstretched hand.

Yet he was not alone. There was a voice, a quiet, compelling voice, calling from a distance.

Free us.

We are so close.

All we desire.