Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls OR the Transcendence AU. Only the execution of this story is mine.

~TCCBJVLRGVRCQUVNQWTWRHWNNP~

He was pulling. Pulling, pushing and burning.

Burning so brightly; blue flames licking, tasting, enjoying his immortal soul.

He also heard sharp, cold screams mixed with insane laughter.

The laughter echoed inside him, mixing and harmonizing perfectly with his shrill screams.

And he was still burning.

If he could've heard over his own agony, over the laughter, the tears, the screams, and cackle of fire, he would have heard someone screaming for him. Shouting desperately at the top of their lungs.

If he could've felt anything besides his very essence tearing and burning, he would've felt the familiar grip of hands around his shoulders, gripping him as hard as they could to try and put him back together.

But he felt nothing from the outside. Heard nothing from the outside. All he felt was in his mind- no, his very soul. All he could feel was the flux of pushing, pulling, and burning.

Burning bright. Burning out.

Then, he saw.

He was a spark. Blue flames that did what he bid. He was a wildfire; uncontrollably powerful. He was candlelight. Soothing, calm. He was the flames licking the sides of bricks in a fireplace, sharing warmth with those around him. He was fire. Crackling, laughing, sobbing, furious fire that left nothing unmarked.

He was change. In constant flux between the lines of reality and dreams. Expectations and decisions.

What was he? What was anyone? What was anything?

Questions filled his mind, fast and furious. Yet, as fast as the questions came, there always seemed to be an answer. An answer so obvious, he couldn't believe he hadn't understood.

The questions and answers came faster.

He burned ever brighter.

The screams got ever louder.

The pushing and pulling came harder.

And then, laughter. Laughter so familiar it hurt and then it stopped and then everything hurt.

Hurt so horribly.

He wasn't burning bright, but fast. To fast. He was going to supernova. His body- vessel- meat bag couldn't handle the flames. The knowledge. Reality itself, in his veins.

He let himself push harder. Pull harder, the motions within his very soul.

There was screaming again. But not like before. There was no coldness to it anymore. It was piercing. Childlike. Metallic.

Agony in it's purest, most vocal form.

He then realized that it was him that was screaming. Him that those sounds came from.

And he was still burning.

He didn't know when the feelings of pushing and pulling stopped. Didn't know when the questions died into a slow trickle then faded away, lost into the void, along with answers so obvious it hurt.

The hurt was gone too. Nothing but raw, frigid numbness danced over his skin.

His heart beat in his ears. A steady thump-thump. A steady spark.

The universe flowed through his veins, thick and black filled with so much nothing, yet still empty with everything that could be thought of, dreamed of, wondered of.

The choices, options, possibilities were endless.

He was no longer burning.

He was the fire. Flames didn't burn themselves, after all.

He opened his eyes.

He was in a cave. No, not a cave. He was underground. Earth surrounded him, yet wasn't oppressive in the slightest. He felt light, free.

Slowly, he sat up. The numbness was still there. He couldn't even feel the dank, dry air on his skin.

He let himself float to his feet. He couldn't feel the ground below.

He looked down.

And felt emotions and panic wash over him.

He was black. Black, for lack of a better word, because not even black described what color he was. His body was the void. The area just beyond the edges of the multiverse...

Multiverse? Multiple universes? Since when...?

His questions were lost as he continued to gaze down at himself. Golden lines traced brick-like patterns into his...skin...?

He knew what happened. How could he not? He knew...

...but refused to acknowledge it. He definitely didn't understand what happened. What he knew. He didn't know.

He didn't know he was a demon. Didn't know anything about that. Nope, nothing.

He took a look at the settings around him, trying to get his mind off his present...condition.

There wasn't much room in the cavern. He vaguely remembered what happened before his body was usurped by a certain dream demon.

Pieces and chunks of twisted, ruined metal and machinery littered his tomb. Sharp, blackened spikes poked out through the walls. Besides the messy machinery, rubble was settled all around him as well.

Memories rushed around him. Of a certain portal. Of a certain dream demon. A pair of twins, along with some familiar, helpful friends.

Vicious fighting.

A dark plan.

Failure. Victory.

Push, pull, and release.

He doubled over, his world spinning around him. He should be sick. He knew what happened. Knew, some way, some how, what had happened. He should feel sick. He should feel horrified. He should be glad. At least he wasn't dead, after all.

But he didn't feel anything. He was still numb, still frozen in memories and happenings.

Paralyzed.

His mind moved faster, sluggishness moving forward into normalcy.

Then, the worry set in.

The feeling was explosive and encompassed his entire being. He felt as if his very soul ached from it, sore and painful. Like a burn.

Who was hurt? Who- who died? Someone had to have died in the struggle that just happened. Everything had imploded, it wasn't possible that someone hadn't died. That multiple people had to have died. Or get terribly injured.

Sickness mixed in with the ache of worry within him.

He hoped to everything. God, the multiverse, his universe, everything, that Mabel was okay. She had to be okay. She was okay. He couldn't let himself think or believe anything else. His twin was still here, still alive. He knew it. She had to be. She was alive. There wasn't any other option.

Mabel was alive.

But what about everyone else? Grunkle Stan, Wendy, Soos...

What about them? What happened to them? They had to be okay. They...no. They were fine.

Fine, fine, fine.

He took a shuddering breath. Forcing himself to relax somewhat, he closed his eyes. He had to relax. He had to clear his mind of his soul wrenching worries. He had to keep a cool head if he wanted to get out of the cave-in.

He walked- no, floated over to where the recently-fixed-now-completely-disintegrated portal had been. Twisted, blackened metal was all that was left.

Wait. He thought.

He stilled himself, a thought coming to his mind. No, it couldn't possibly work, could it? There was no way...

But he remembered the time Mabel tried to tackle Bill.

And he was floating. Floating wasn't normal.

No. He refused to acknowledge it. Didn't want to. Didn't- didn't need to.

He floated around the perimeter of his blackened tomb, trying to find a hole or crack he could wriggle through. Because he was human. A twelve-year-old human boy. That's all he was, all he could be.

But he found nothing. No cracks big enough for him to get through. No holes. No nothing. Not even a ray of light.

He glanced around the cave for the nth time. He knew, logically, that there was no way he should be able to see. However, it was clear as day. No, it was even clearer. He could see things he hadn't been able to see before.

Spider-web cracks that filled the walls.

Dust particles that floated lazily in the air, completely undisturbed by him.

He shook his head violently. His mind kept wandering around. He couldn't seem to keep his mind on one topic for to long. He was never like this before...

He quickly shook his head of that thought, that idea. No. He was already upset enough, barely able to hold on to his panic. He can't allow his mind to wander to darker thoughts. He'd have time to let himself...grieve? Was it grieving that he wanted? Needed? He wasn't sure but whatever conflict of emotions that were swirling underneath his void-like skin could wait.

Turning his head upward, he squared his shoulders. Since there was no- no normal way out, it seemed he had to get out in the only other way.

A way he wished wasn't an option to him.

It didn't take much to will himself to float higher. Being weightless in this way was like standing. Moving, like walking, only with a few more directions to go in.

He was flying higher and higher, the ceiling getting closer and closer.

Then, he passed right on through.

He knew he was intangible. It was a natural knowledge. Like how many legs and arms he had. He simply knew it because. There was no other reason.

However, passing through objects was probably one of the strangest, most near-uncomfortable things he had ever done. Sure, he couldn't feel what was passing through him. There was no texture, no temperature, no nothing. But there was a certain...weight. A fullness that filled his very essence. It didn't hurt, but still...felt, in a way, very strange.

The sight was also bothersome. Unlike the cavern, he actually couldn't see anything while inside. The earth was dark and black. Heavy.

He knew when he was passing through wooden boards next. The wood...felt different. Less heavy. But the weight was still inside him.

Finally, he was above ground.

And he was horrified by what he saw.

There was almost nothing left. The room around him, which was once the gift shop, was in ruins. Large, blackened wooden beams were torn, sharp wooden teeth pointing in all directions. A fine, faint layer of dust had settled over everything possible, showing a few days' pass.

He stared around a few more moments more, stomach rolling with anxious fears. He knew what had happened, but seeing it was completely different.

Though he was still intangible, he carefully floated forward, going deeper into what had been the Mystery Shack.

As he went into the living space, he noted that the destruction got less and less. Phasing into the living room, he noted that much of it was still intact. Sure, the T.V was knocked over and shattered, nearly everything had fallen off the walls, and the dinosaur skull used as a table had not only a large crack in it, but was black with smoke, but the room itself was still there. The wood that had fallen all around, somehow keeping the cracked wooden ceiling from falling down.

Staring around for a few more seconds, he turned and floated upward, moving through to the second floor without incident, as expected.

Upstairs wasn't much different as downstairs. Everything had collapsed, which was unsurprising, and most of the second floor had fallen through, meeting the teeth that was left of the bottom floor. Chunks of flooring and small bits of wall were still, barely, supported by blackened wooden beams that had fallen in just the right way, luckily enough.

He stared at what had once been Mabel and his room. Everything was collapsed inwards, leaving nothing. Twists of ruined wood reached towards the sky in sorrowful need and agony.

The picture made his stomach wrinkle into more knots.

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling hot tears streak down his face.

Why did this have to happen? Why?

Though he couldn't actually touch anything, he collapsed to his knees, floating a couple inches above what was left of the flooring, and sobbed. His tears were furious, flooding. They dripped down off his face and floated around him, the color of molten, shining gold. They revolved around him like miniature, baby stars.

Seeing the inhuman tears made him sob even harder, his breaths coming in sharp, shrill gasps.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, crying out his eyes. It didn't seem the tears would stop. There was no water to run out of, after all.

So he continued to sob.

His eyes screwed tightly together, he didn't notice the blood starting to seep through what was left of the ruins around him. He didn't see the sky blacken with thunderheads. He didn't even notice how the color started melting off everything, leaving the world around him black and white.

Finally, after what felt like both an eternity and a few seconds, he wiped his eyes with the back of his black, void-like hand, flinging more small star-like tears away. Hiccuping slightly, he clambered to his feet. Stilling himself, he turned his head up to the fast approaching dusk, watching stars blink into existence.

The blood was gone. The clouds were gone. Color had seeped back where it belonged. He hadn't noticed the bend in reality.

How long had it been? He wondered. Another strike of fear. Where is everyone? Where did they go?

Closing his eyes. He let his mind wander.

He knew where they were.

Opening his eyes once again, he straightened himself up. Making his way to the edge of what was left of the second floor, he gently floated back down to the ground.

He floated out to the tree line before turning around to take the destruction in in all it's glory.

Glory?

It was worse looking on the outside. Most the shack was in ruins, blackened and twisted. Large cracks in the earth converged from the middle, outwards.

They were massive scars, impossible to mend. He felt as if his heart was breaking all over again. Though he had only lived in the shack for a short time, he felt...lost. Homeless.

It was a disconnecting feeling.

Turning back around to the forest in front of him, he started into the dark forest.

He knew exactly where to go.

The forest wasn't as dark as he thought it would be. Though he recognized it was, indeed, nighttime, he could see every groove in the trees, point out every thin vein in the leaves. He could hear the small snuffling of forest creatures make their way through the night. Could hear the cries and screams of the more supernatural creatures echo around him though they didn't fill him with fear, as they usually would have.

His eyes continued to rove, trying to catch every image. His ears continued trying to every sound. His nostrils flared at the touch of new scents he hadn't noticed before. The smell of ash still penetrated the air, a scent he didn't notice back at the shack. There was also the smell of decaying leaves, soil, and animals wafting through, stronger than the scent of smoke and destruction. However, even the natural smells of the forest had nothing on the powerful stench of magic

Magic. It had it's own smell. He couldn't really compare it to anything. It was strong, like a spice. Natural and earthy, bitter and sweet.

He found he enjoyed the new found scent of magic. It seemed to fill him with energy and vigor. Breathing deeply, he continued on.

The night fell swiftly as he made his way through the forest. Turning his head upwards, he was surprised to see that the usual bright sky was filled with thousands of more stars, creating a network of systems that he could have never noticed before. Pausing, he couldn't help but observe the sky in childlike wonder. He had always found the stars in the sky beautiful, especially sense he couldn't see it back home. Now, however... Well, it was like a blindfold had been taken off for the first time. He could see small, but thick bright clouds that could only be far-away nebulae.

He was frozen in the beauty above him.

Closing his eyes, he forced himself to turn away and continue onward.

As he phased through foliage an trees, he couldn't help but notice that though the sounds of beasts called all around him, he had seen nor hide or hair of any creature.

It was certainly strange, but he would worry about it later. Right now, he was on a mission.

He floated through the forest all night, the scent of magic and earth filling him deeply. He was not tired.

He didn't think he could get tired.

He finally broke out of the second tree line, on the outskirts of the suburbia of Gravity Falls when a light pink blush started across the speckled sky.

As expected, no one was out besides a few gnomes digging through a nearby trash can. Upon seeing him, they let out terrified screams and ran off under a fence, out of sight.

He didn't know what to think of that reaction, but he hoped that it wouldn't happen again. Well, at least part of him.

There was a second part; a small, dark part of his mind that laughed at the fear the gnomes displayed. Laughed...and loved it.

He shook his dark musings away.

Chanting the memorized address in his mind to prevent it from wandering away from him, as it seemed prone to do now, he floated down cracked and cloned streets.

Finally, just as the blackness of the sky have away to the more vibrant colors of dark blue, pink, and orange, he found the familiar house of Soos.

It was the same as always. Bit small and run-down, but homely none the less.

He stared at it for a few more moments. No lights were on in the windows, though he expected that. It was early in the morning.

Squaring his shoulders, he floated up to the house. He wasn't so sure how he was going to knock without being tangible, but he also didn't want to just barge in.

However, before he could even face his dilemma, he ran straight into a burning wall.

Hissing in pain, he stumbled back, completely surprised. Rubbing his forehead, which took the blunt of the pain, he sent a glare to the house in front of him.

Nothing was there.

Carefully straightening himself, he took a few tentative steps forward.

Right there. He could sense it.

A protective barrier.

Though he couldn't see the barrier, now that he was paying a bit more attention, he could definitely feel it. It was a warning. Stay back. Or I'll hurt you.

He wasn't so sure why it was in front of Soos's house.

Keeping a two inch distance, he carefully floated around the house, trying to see if there were any holes in the barrier.

There weren't.

Propelling himself upwards, he used his sense to feel around for the barrier above.

It was still there.

Landing back on the sidewalk in front of the house, he couldn't help but let out a growl of annoyance.

A literal growl.

He tried not to let himself dwell on the fact that he could make very inhuman noises.

Well, what was he supposed to do now? He wasn't so sure if he should try and break through the barrier or not. It had burned him the first time. Not exactly a painful burn, more like a warning, but it was still there none the less.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, he crossed his legs and sat down. Well, sat as well as he could have. He still floated above ground a few inches.

And he waited.

Warm pinks and oranges faded into oblivion as the sky brightened into a lighter blue. Stars slowly blinked out of existence, unable to stand the brightness of a rising sun.

He still waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The house didn't so much as twitch.

The sun started breaking away from the Earth, tearing open the sky with bright blue that chased away the pinks and oranges completely.

He watched at the morning paper landed in front of him, quite literally thrown right through him.

He twisted around in surprise. Around him, adults were getting into cars, ready to go to work. An average day.

No one so much as glanced at him.

Like he wasn't even there.

He suddenly felt very, very cold.

Well, at least emotionally. Physically, he still felt nothing.

He knew he was intangible. He also knew he wasn't a ghost. He also knew the gnomes had seen him.

Or felt you. He thought to himself.

He turned back to the house, uncertainty flashing through him. If he couldn't be seen, if he couldn't interact with the world, how was he going to let his family know he was okay? That he was still here?

The door of the house opened up wide.

He jumped up to his feet. Well, jumped, for lack of a better word. He was still floating, after all.

Soos's Abuelita came out if the house, still in her sleep wear. She glanced at the brightening sky with a sad smile on her worn features. Noticeably rolling her shoulders, she walked down to the side walk to get the paper.

"Hey!" He called out, using his voice for the first time since waking up. He flinched at the sound. It wasn't quite his pre-pubescent twelve-year-old voice. There were undertones of what his voice had sound like, but most of it was drowned in a deeper, darker tone.

It was his voice.

Yet it wasn't.

Soos's Abuelita didn't notice.

She walked up and bent down, lightly grabbing the paper, her hand crinkling the milky plastic that covered it.

"Wait!" He cried out again.

Once again, nothing. The old woman simply straightened up, lightly complained about her back, and turned to go back into the house.

Letting out another growl, he followed the older woman, running straight into the invisible barrier once again. This time, however, he didn't let himself get pushed back.

He watched Soos's Abuelita go back into her house, oblivious.

He pushed on the barrier, throwing all of his weight into it. He wanted to get into the house. Needed to. Mabel was in that house. He knew it, could feel it. He had to see her.

Bright, thick blue flames exploded out of his body, completely burning away the barrier, letting him stumble on through.

Right at the same time, the sound of something breaking echoed inside the house, along with some surprised shouts.

He stilled, unsure what happened. He felt drained. Not exactly physically tired, nor mentally. Just...slightly weaker.

He milled outside the house. The surprised noise faded away into quiet murmurs, something he would never have been able to hear before.

Steeling himself, he phased into the house.

He floated in the foyer, staring at the scene before him.

Soos's Abuelita was staring down at a small pile of ashes on the ground, eyes wide, muttering in distressed Spanish under her breath.

"Abuelita? What's going on?" A sleepy Soos said, recently awoken, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

She was obviously shaken, eyes widened in fear. "It-it burst into flames. Llamas azules."

Soos woke up after that. "What? Flames?"

"The cross given to me by my la hermana." She replied. "It just burned up."

"Uhh, I'm going to go get Mr. Pines." Soos said nervously, glancing around as he did so.

His eyes roved right over him.

Soos, as expected, couldn't see him.

Soos left the foyer, going deeper into the house. He followed.

Soos (unknowingly) led him into the living room.

He felt his metaphorical heart leap at the sight of Grunkle Stan, grouchy looking as ever, sitting up in the pull-out couch. His gray hair was messy and greasy, hanging in his worn face. More stubble than usual clung to his jaw and thin bags hung under his eyes. His gut bulged under his white undershirt, stained with sweat and natural grime. Despite his Grunkle's haggard appearance, he never felt so grateful seeing him alive and unhurt.

"-it burned up too? I didn't know glass could burn." Soos commented.

He hadn't realized the two had started talking.

Stan simply stared at the blackened pieces of shattered glass on the ground that used to be another cross on the wall. His eyes were narrowed in deep thought, fists tightening.

Before he could dwell on his Grunkle's behavior, he floated around the pull-out, freezing as he saw a familiar lump curled up tightly under the white covers.

She was in fetal position, buried under the sheets, only the light red tip of her nose poking out of a giant, dirty mane of fuzzy brown hair.

He felt his breath hitch in relief. She was okay. She was okay.

He floated closer to her, noting a heaviness around the small body.

Mabel was having a nightmare.

He knew it. He could feel it, practically taste it.

It made him sick.

Another reminder of what he was.

He drifted ever closer to his twin, feeling heat and fearful darkness roll off her in waves.

"-think it's a demon?" Soos said in the background. Whipping his head around, he saw Stan and Soos standing up, across the room, observing what had been a cross.

"Most likely. Only powerful demons can destroy things like this. At least, I think so." Stan muttered, staring around suspiciously.

Soos shuddered and tried to get closer to the older man, only to be pushed away.

"But I don't see anything." Soos said, glancing around.

He shuddered.

Powerful demon.

Destruction.

He took a few steps back from Mabel, looking at the young girl in pain and fear.

Powerful, destructive demon.

He felt tears prick his eyes once again.

Through the golden liquid, he watched as both Stan and Soos left the room, saying something about checking other crosses and such in the house.

He was alone with Mabel.

Carefully, he hovered over the bed, next to his sister's still form. Fear and stress clouded her, a thick and depressing smog. He knew if he moved her mound of hair to see her face, her eyes would be moving rapidly under tightly closed lids while her mouth would be turned down in a tight frown.

He wasn't so sure what made him do it. Perhaps it was instinct. Or perhaps it was him wanting to take care of his other half. Whatever the case, he carefully placed his void-like hand on her head, watching as the black hand fade as he fell into her mind.

~TCCBJVLRGVRCQUVNQWTWRHWNNP~

Mabel's dream wasn't really what he expected it to be. He knew it was a nightmare, but he didn't think it would be so foggy. Nor did he expect wild blue fire, horrible screams of pain, and uncontrollable sobbing.

He couldn't see much. Everything was so convoluted that it was hard to make anything out, really. Most of the nightmare seemed more focused on negative feelings and bits of memory, not what really happened.

He floated easily through the depressive smog, easily feeling where his twin was in the confusion. She was right in the middle of the storm, kneeling over a murky, fiery form, tears streaking down her face.

He approached her cautiously, the storm of the nightmare parting before him with his determination to chase Mabel's fears away.

Standing before his sister, he carefully wrapped his two void arms around her, pulling her close, whispering words of comfort into her hair.

He didn't really know what he was doing, didn't know exactly how he was doing what he was doing, either. All he wanted was Mabel's bad dreams gone.

He felt her tears starting to dry as the mad storm around him ceased. He could clearly feel the warm sun beating down on his body, feel a light breeze pass by him, even sense the soft grass and wild flowers he was crouched on.

Mabel slowly pulled away from him. Her eyes, which had been glued shut by negativity and tears were open wide; brown and watery.

Despite him looking nothing like before, despite his void-like skin and golden, inhuman tears in his eyes, she stared at him without fear.

"Dipper...?" She murmured. Her eyes fluttered close...

Next thing he knew, he was crouched on the pull-out, Mabel's arms wrapped tightly around him. He could feel tears of joy bubbling from her eyes and falling onto him.

"Dipper! I- I thought you were...that you were...! But you're not! Oh my God!"

Closing his eyes, he allowed slightly distorted sounding laughter trickle out. Pure joy filled him as his other half laughed along with him. Tearful, inane, grateful laughter.

He watched as his void-like body seemed to glitch, for lack of a better word. Pixels of peach skin closed over him.

He wanted to be with his sister. His twin. His other half.

That's all he wanted.

Human skin closed around him, the familiar weight of a hat fell in his head.

Dipper buried his face in Mabel's hair.

He could touch her.

She could see him.

Everything would be alright.

~TCCBJVLRGVRCQUVNQWTWRHWNNP~

Here I go, starting another long, multi-chapter story. Ugh, I have too many ideas.

This story is going to be based of the Transcendence AU on Tumblr. Now, before you click away, note that this is an Origin story so if you have never even heard of this AU, you'll still be able to understand this. Yay.

Just to let you guys know, this AU is canon until S2X4 so, no NWHS stuff here. Sorry!

Okay, onto other matters, I have the first 4 chapters of this typed up and the first two edited. I'm writing about 1 1/2-2 chapters per week. Once I get a nice buffer, I'll start posting once a week. For now, however, the second chapter will be posted two weeks from now, so May 2nd.

I also want to note that this is actually a continuation of my oneshot 'Burning.' For now, I'll leave it up but I'll probably take it down in the future.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Please review what you guys thought of this. Love it? Hate it? Too short? Long? Confusing? I really would like to know!

Thanks for reading.