Silverwingstorm - Tumblr Posts

After a very, very long time with no ideas, I finally thought of something to use the last prompt I had been given. Silverwingstorm gave me "GRAPPLING HOOK!", so, enjoy!

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          Mabel giggled, bouncing on one of the giant mushrooms’ caps as her brother rolled his eyes and returned to consulting the Journal. He walked past Wybie, who was examining another through his customized welding mask and poking it with a stick, and Norman, who was helping Neil recover from an allergenic fit after he’d run to hug one of the enormous fungi’s stalks. Lili and Coraline were a little further away, playing out a very Alice-in-Wonderland-inspired tea party on top of one particularly wide cap. The glade they’d discovered certainly looked the whimsical part; aside from the huge fungi everywhere, there were wildflowers in spades, and the trees had an odd, ancient twisted look to them. Everything looked vibrant, alive—almost otherworldly.

            “Hey guys, check it out!” Raz called from deeper in the grove, and the others hurried over to where the psychic stood on one of the mushrooms. “Come on up, you can see it better from here.”

            With a little telekinesis, they followed suit, and saw what had him so intrigued—a small grassy clearing encircled by mushrooms. Dipper flipped through the book and laughed triumphantly, then held the page out for all to see.

            “This is exactly what the Journal described! We found it—the giant fairy ring!”

            “Fairy ring? How come I don’t see any of the little guys flying around? I’d expect there to be a whole bunch, like a bazillion,” Mabel frowned, and the others nodded.

            “Um, well, they are magical creatures. Not like they have to follow any rules or anything,” her brother offered, but she blew a raspberry at him.

            “Boo! Maybe we need to walk inside it. That works, right?”

            “The book explicitly states that’s a bad idea,” Dipper retorted, holding his sister back. “Actually, it says it’s dangerous.”

            “Since when could we not handle a little danger?” Coraline scoffed, ruffling Dipper’s hair. “Isn’t this exactly what we prepared for anyway?” She waved her trusty pruner under his nose to drive her point, and he sighed.

            “Yeah, yeah…. Alright. Count of three?”

            “That’s more like it,” she grinned. “Okay. One.”

            “Two,” Lili counted.

            “Three!” Raz finished, and together they leapt off the mushroom cap, their feet thudding on grassy earth.

            “Uh… guys?” Norman asked warily, looking at his surroundings fearfully, and the group tightened as they looked around.

            The grass beneath their feet looked the same, as did the mushrooms around them, but if the glade they’d been in was whimsical, this was downright bizarre. The trees were larger, dark limbs and bark tracing lopsided spirals, their jagged leaves an eerie shade of violet. The grass beyond the circle grew long and deepened into teal, the wildflowers unnaturally bright and almost ethereal. Delicate orbs of light blinked in and out of existence like fireflies; the sky was a deep plum flecked with stars and swirled with luminous green clouds. Even they—eyes, skin, clothing-- had taken on a more vibrant look; it was safe to say they were no longer in Gravity Falls. Or anywhere else on Earth.

            “Oh boy,” Dipper uttered, summing up everyone’s thoughts pretty well.

            “If I didn’t know better…” Raz began, glancing at his girlfriend.

            “I’d say we were in a mental world,” she finished, taking his hand.

            “But we know that’s impossible,” Coraline added, scanning the strange forest and clutching the pruner. “Okay mister Librarian, what’s in here? How do we get out?”

            “Uh… it really doesn’t say,” Dipper groaned, snapping the book shut and tucking it back into his vest dejectedly. “Hey, maybe we can find some fairies now, and ask them.”

            “S-sure… ‘cause that always works in the movies,” Wybie griped, withdrawing his tongs from his coat and clicking them.

            “Psh, you guys! We haven’t even been here five minutes and you’re acting like everything’s out to kill us! That one fairy me and Dipper saw seemed awesome! Then Soos smashed her… but whatevs! We can totally find more and become bfffs—best fairy friends forever!” Mabel cheerily piped up, then began walking to the edge of the circle.

            “Wait, Mabel!” Dipper cried, hurrying to catch up and grabbing her by the shoulder. “We seriously don’t know what’s out there! The Journal said it was dangerous, remember?!”

            “The Journal says a lot of stuff’s dangerous!” Mabel retorted. “Besides, as long as we all stick together we should be good, right? So let’s go already!”

            “Mabel’s got a point. We can do a little exploring, and I bet we just have to jump into the circle again to get back,” Lili reasoned, and the others nodded.

            “Okay, but not too long. This place gives me the creeps,” Dipper conceded, folding his arms and falling in with the rest of the group as they walked by, following Mabel’s lead.

            A silvery moon slowly rose overhead, its pale light pouring through the canopy, glistening off crystalline dew caught in spiders’ webs and dappling the teal grass. A light breeze would occasionally kick up, and musical birdsong, like nothing they’d ever heard, would sometimes break the still as well. No one else heard it, but Norman and Coraline exchanged looks when tiny peals of laughter echoed through the flowers, as if something was playing with them. It all seemed too much like a dream.

            “Ugh,” Mabel finally grunted when they reached a small clearing, plopping down on the soft turf. “This is totally a fairy’s natural habitat, so how come we haven’t seen any?”

            “Maybe this is their day off,” Raz wondered, and Lili shook her head.

            “Maybe you’re a big dork,” she teased, then turned to examine their surroundings. “Maybe… they need an offering. We brought snacks, right?”

            “Uh-huh,” Norman replied, slinging his backpack down.

            “What kind of food do you think fairies like, anyway?” Neil wondered, and his friend shrugged.

            “Who knows? Not like zombies, who definitely only eat one thing.”

            “Any self-respecting fairy eats a steady diet of sugar, duh” Mabel stated, quite sure of herself, and Norman quickly stepped aside as she dug into his bag to pull out a huge package of gummy koalas. She tore it open and pulled a heaping handful out and held it over her head. “Hey fairies! We brought you some delicious treats! We just wanna hang out and play with you guys a bit, doesn’t that sound like fun?”

            “Yeah! C’mon out!” Coraline joined in, grabbing her own fistful of gummies and holding it up eagerly, and everyone else followed suit until Norman was left holding the empty bag. He shrugged, perfectly fine watching the others anyway. They looked pretty silly, calling after fairies and waving handfuls of candy around. Then, under their voices, he heard tinkling laughter and what seemed like a singsong-y murmuring. And then a high-pitched squeal drowned it all out.

            Mabel was stiff as a rod, frozen with glee as tiny glimmering humanoid no taller than a hand flit around her on glowing orange butterfly wings. It landed gracefully on her finger and took one of the proffered gummies, seemed to examine it warily, then took a bite, squeaking happily at the flavor. Suddenly the air was full of the things as they emerged from the brush and trees, all eager to try what these humans had brought them, and soon everyone was laughing and playing with them. The fae especially enjoyed messing with Norman’s hair once they discovered its unique properties, and everyone received flower crowns whether they wanted one or not.

            Then all at once, the fairies fled. Some sought shelter in Wybie’s coat, but he was too ticklish for them and didn’t stay. The kids exchanged looks, and slowly drew together as the forest began to seem threatening again. A twig snapped somewhere beyond a massive trunk, and Coraline brandished her pruner.

            “Who goes there?!”

            “Why Coraline…”

            The blue-haired girl froze, eyes wide.

            “Is that any way to greet your dear… old… mother?”

            A spindly form emerged from the trees, all metal and ragged black dress. Silken black hair framed the cracked porcelain face that had haunted far too many dreams, the jagged smile that leered at them all wolfishly. Needles clicked as she clasped her hands—no, she was still missing her right one, just like she was still missing her eyes—clasped the stump in her left in what might have been an endearing gesture.

            “Don’t you remember me? We had such good times together,” the Other Mother cooed in all her awful glory, smiling because she knew. Of course Coraline remembered. She remembered so well, the pruner had dropped from her quivering hands.

            “Jonesy…” Wybie whimpered, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back. “What’s sh-she doing here?”

            “Coraline dear, I thought you didn’t like little motormouth,” the Other Mother sneered, folding her arms reproachfully. “Oh, I’m sorry—cat got your tongue?”

            “Shut up! I killed you!” Coraline snapped, forcing Wybie to hold her back. “Leave me the hell alone!”

            “Silly, silly girl… you see, after everything you did to me, I was forced to go home…”

            “Th-this place is your home?” Dipper asked nervously, and the Other Mother tilted her head.

            “Hm… you’re new, aren’t you? I’m glad Coraline’s made so many new friends… though I’m sure I could make her better ones.”

            “No, you couldn’t,” Coraline fumed, but the spidery monster ignored her.

            “Yes, this is home sweet home, I suppose. But I was always a free spirit, wanted my own little place, a family…”

            “A meal,” Coraline growled, and this time the Other Mother snapped her head around.

            “You watch your tone, young lady.”

            “You’re not my mother! You’re not anyone’s mother! Raz, Lili, shoot ‘er! Someone!” Coraline shouted, grabbing the pruner off the ground and whipping it at the monster but missing terribly. She retreated into the heart of the group with angry tears in her eyes while Mabel offered a consoling hug and the psychics leapt to the forefront.

            “How rude,” the Other Mother snarled, and before the two could react she lashed them both across the face.

            “Lili!” Raz cried, ignoring his own wounds, but the tough girl brushed him off.

            “Oh, you wanna go?!” she shouted, and the monster seemed taken aback. “I’ll show you to mess with a Psychonaut!”

            The air around the Other Mother wavered, and she looked around in confusion before her dress spontaneously combusted. Shrieking, she scrambled to put it out, swatting at it with all six limbs while Lili smirked.

            “Let’s get out of here,” Dipper suggested, and the others nodded. They fled the clearing at full speed, heading back the way they’d come and hoping Lili’s efforts had been enough to keep the Other Mother at bay… at least enough to give them a good lead.

 ---

            “I told you it was a left at that tree back there,” Raz panted as the group ground to a halt in front of a huge cluster of luminous crystals, and Dipper pounded a fist to the side of his head.

            “Augh, I knew it! Do you think we can backtrack? Do we have time?”

            There was the sound of a crash nearby, and they collectively flinched.

            “I’m gonna say no,” Wybie put, and they all scanned the forest frantically.

            “I never knew fairies could be bad,” Mabel bemoaned quietly, and her brother patted her shoulder.

            “I never would have thought she counted as a fairy,” Coraline sighed, then squared her shoulders. “Okay, I beat her before, I… we can beat her again, and this time she doesn’t have my parents or the way out to use as a bargaining chip.”

            “So this might be her home, but we have the advantage, right?” Raz asked, and she nodded.

            “Yup. She loves games, so here’s what I’m thinking…” she started, laying out her plan. The others drew close and listened carefully; it wouldn’t be complicated, but nothing could be when a monster was closing in on you with every second. When she finished, they scattered—not too widely just in case something went wrong, but far enough apart they wouldn’t give each other’s locations away. Crouching in bushes, crevices in the crystals, and winding roots, they hid silently and listened as the snickering sound of metal on metal approached, clicking against the ground before stopping just in front of a crystalline pillar.

            “Hmm, now where could they all have gone?” the Other Mother wondered aloud in a mocking tone, tapping a finger to her chin. “Hide and seek, Coraline? Not very original. Let’s see…”

            Coraline held her breath, listening to the monster feel her way around the crystal columns, much too close to where she’d hidden. The best she could do was curl tighter in the little space she’d found in the crystals and cover her ears to drown out that dreadful sighing, clicking sound until finally, it left to search elsewhere. But she didn’t dare move or even breathe a sigh of relief; the Other Mother was blind, not deaf.

            Lili watched the wicked fae creep by with a souring look on her face from her spot in some bushes, and wondered if she could set her on fire again. With the others nearby though, there was a risk of the Other Mother stumbling into them in her efforts to put the fire out, doing more harm than good, so she nixed that idea. What else could she do then? There were all these plants around…

            The Other Mother felt something ensnare her legs just as she made to take a step and toppled forward, landing hard. Rolling awkwardly, she sliced at the tiny vines that were now retreating back to the undergrowth, a growl rising in her throat as her strikes only met dirt. Lili silently congratulated the vines on a job well done, and with the Other Mother vulnerable, she picked her up and flung her into a nearby crystal spire, stunning the spindly fae for a moment. This gave them a chance to break for it, heading for the tree Dipper had taken a wrong turn at.

            It was a huge relief when they could see the clearing with the fairy ring peeking through the trees ahead. The sight spurred them on to go just that bit faster, but a terrible rush through the branches above and the dark jagged form that dropped in their path interrupted their progress. Raz barely managed to throw up a shield as the Other Mother reared and brought her forelegs down on him. Neil made to tackle her, but Lili grabbed him mid-leap before he could be sliced to ribbons and set him down, giving him a questioning look. He made to reply, then tackled her instead as the Other Mother struck at them again, and Raz punched her away so the two could get back on their feet.

            “Brats! More trouble than you’re worth!” the beldam rasped as she swiped haphazardly at the scattered group, and managed to catch Wybie by his coat. Digging into the thick fabric, she lifted him up and laughed, an ugly dry sound. He struggled valiantly, even prodding her in the face with his tongs, but she knocked them away with her other arm. “Found you… now for the rest.”

            “Wybie, shields up!” Mabel suddenly cried, and Dipper looked over to see the grappling hook in her hands and aimed at the Other Mother’s head. Wybie saw too, and flipped his welding mask down, while the fae looked around, listening in confusion.

"GRAPPLING HOOK!"

            The pop of pressurized air gave Mabel’s location away, but the beldam could never have pinpointed the hook’s trajectory as it shot by, clanged off Wybie’s mask, and draped over the Other Mother’s shoulder before Mabel set it to retract. The tines hooked around her face and neck, and she screeched at the steel met her pale skin. Dropping Wybie, she clawed at the hook desperately, and Dipper leapt in to help his sister hold on as the line bucked and snapped. They were quickly joined by the others, and with a little psychic power, the group managed to begin dragging the monster back, all the while enduring her insults and ear-splitting screams as the metal tines chafed her skin. Slowly they pulled her until she was back-to-back with a tree, then Raz and Lili exchanged looks and waved the others off. Exerting their best control, the two wrapped the cord around the tree until the Other Mother could barely move and tied it securely. Despite the shrieks in the background, they all high-fived one another, and Coraline got squeezed in a big group hug.

            “Okay, okay dorks, let’s get outta here. I’ve had enough of this place, and Needles needs to think about what she’s done,” she said with a truly grateful smile, jabbing a finger back at her nemesis, and the others nodded eagerly. They trudged back to the fairy ring, clambered onto one of the caps, and counted to three again before jumping off. At first, it seemed like it hadn’t worked—it was dark, and the clearing was lit by moonlight. But everything was duller, and the little flickering lights that danced around them were actual fireflies.

            “We made it!” Mabel cheered, then frowned. “But I lost my grappling hook…”

            “Hey, I lost my pruners, and Wybie lost his tongs. At least your thing actually beat her,” Coraline offered, patting the other girl’s shoulder, and she responded with a grin.

            “Hey, that’s right! Mabel saves the day!”

            “With a little help,” Raz pointed out, and she lightly patted his helmet.

            “You tell yourself that,” she teased, and they all laughed.

            “I bet Stan has another grappling hook laying around somewhere. I’m not sure why he even had that one in the first place though…” Dipper said, rubbing his chin, and his sister shrugged.

            “Eh, whatever. It was nice while it lasted. Who knows, maybe I’ll get some other super cool thingy to replace it!”

            “O-or… I could always build you one,” Wybie offered, and Mabel’s eyes widened.

            “You would do that for me?”

            “Um, well, sure… not like you didn’t save my life back there or anything.”

            Mabel squealed and wrapped him in a hug, which he endured awkwardly but not ungratefully. The group of friends were happy to leave the clearing behind, both minds and bodies exhausted from the fight. They walked quietly, leaving each other to their thoughts—well, except for maybe Raz and Lili, who seemed to chat telepathically as much as they did aloud. Coraline hung toward the back of the group, arms folded around herself. She sighed softly, mind buzzing; she’d never wanted to see that hideous face, hear that awful voice again, and knew there was a good chance she’d have nightmares tonight if she managed to sleep at all.

            “Hey,” Raz spoke up, suddenly beside her, and she blinked in surprise.

            “What?”

            “Uh, I couldn’t help but overhear…” he trailed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Look, Lili and I can give you some tips to help with nightmares. I’d offer to actually sort them out for you, but that’s technically not allowed and I’d get in big trouble for it.”

            “Nah, I understand, Mr. G-man. But… thanks. I might just take you up on the tips,” Coraline said softly, smiling. Raz returned the smile, then trotted off to catch up with his girlfriend as the lights of the Mystery Shack finally poked through the dense woods. Coraline looked over her group of friends and smiled gratefully; somehow facing the beldam again hadn’t been nearly as bad with them by her side.