22 The Crawlspace

"What are you writing?" Mabel was jumping on the bed like it was a pogo stick, she looked at Dipper who was writing in his diary.

"Oh, no big deal, I just wrote about the rumor we heard today about Gobblewonker and decided to do some research in the Journal about something I heard today." Dipper flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

"Found it!" Dipper stopped at the Geodites page.

"Found what?" Mabel hugged her stuffed tiger and lay down on the bed.

"This afternoon, before we arrived at the Mystery Shack, I heard something strange towards the waterfall. Searching the Diary, I discovered that they were Geodites." Dipper showed the page to Mabel.

"Geodites?"

"Yes, and according to the author, they make high-pitched chirping and humming sounds... And they also sing a baby-pitched little song." Dipper sat down on the bed.

"Oh~ Baby-pitched song~." Mabel thought they were cute.

"According to the Journal, they are frightened by the light or heat emitted by the fire and live in a cave behind the waterfall." Dipper placed the Journal on the bedside table and turned off the lamp.

When they were trying to sleep Mabel asked a question she was curious about.

"Dipper, what did Arthur tell you at that time?"

"Oh, nothing much, he just...gave me some advice." Dipper thought back to today and smiled in satisfaction.

"Which?"

"He told me that... it's better to go to bed early if I still want to grow!" Dipper made it suspenseful and tried to make a ghostly voice with a "scary face".

*Thud*

"Hahaha, good night Dipper." Mabel threw a stuffed hippo in Dipper's face.

"Good night Mabel." Dipper lay down again.

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Gnome Tavern - Gnasty's

"Give me a bottle of your strongest wisteria, please." A gnome with a gray beard sat in front of the bartender.

"I'm gonna need to see some I.D." The bartender looked at the customer and put away the glass he was cleaning.

"Of course, he's right here..." He gave some crystals to Barmen.

The Barmen looked both ways and collected the crystals.

"Your order will be out soon." As soon as he went to get the drinks, the tavern door opened.

"B-boss?!" The gnomes who were there immediately stood up and saluted.

"You can go back to what you were doing, I just came here to resolve an issue." Arthur had arrived and tried to ease the gnomes' tension a little.

Even after the warning that they could relax, they just sat and watched.

"*Sigh* Barmen, a round for everyone on my account." I don't want them to feel too pressured.

The gnomes got excited almost immediately and almost everyone ordered the most expensive drink, meanwhile, Arthur moved to the back of the bar.

"Aren't you going to ask for anything?" I sat down in front of the gnome I had arranged to meet earlier.

"I don't drink when I'm talking business." A gnome with a black beard and blind in his right eye looked at Arthur patiently.

"You could have asked for anything, you know?" I took a recorder out of my pocket and handed it to him.

Nox examined the recorder and pressed the record button.

"Butterflies." Nox hit the save button and then play.

"Butterflies."

"Come on, wasted time is less time having fun." Nox got up and left some crystals on the table as a tip, but as soon as he stepped out the gnomes fell onto the table the crystals were on.

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*Whistle"

"The least likely and most unusual places end up being the answer most of the time." Nox guided me to the Gravity Falls junkyard.

"Fact, the door to enter always changes, and in order not to be discovered it has to be rarely accessible." Nox arrived in front of a scrap of what was once a car, took a key from his beard, and inserted it into the door lock.

*Squeak*

"You better enter right after me, this portal closes when you close the door, or it will close by itself after a while, hup!" Nox jumped into the portal.

"This is fascinating, too bad I don't have time to appreciate this phenomenon." Right after, I jumped into the portal and felt like I was on a slide.

"Wow, just like Lost Legends..." I observed the whole place, various types of merchants and goods.

"I don't understand what you mean but you need a disguise, humans are prohibited here." Nox began looking around for anything that would help hide a human child from view.

"It's not necessary."

"What do you mean "It's not necessary"-?!" Nox saw Arthur's arms stretched out on the floor, which took him by surprise.

"You're pretty weird for a 'human' if I can call you one." Nox raised Arthur's outstretched arm in fascination.

"And you're pretty weird for a gnome." I laughed at the irony of a gnome calling me weird.

"*Cough* I lost my composure for a moment, here whether you buy things with crystals or exchanges depends on the person you are trading with, you can create an account here if you prefer but I don't think you will come here very often." Nox explained and guided me between the stores.

"Who knows..." I couldn't stop looking around, everything impressed me, everything was sold here, elixirs, memory, weapons, potions, body parts, dreams, nightmares, plants.

'It's much better in person.'

"Hey, human!" Said what looked like a Cyclops with a third arm on his back and a little overweight as he pointed at me.

"See if that eye of yours improves. If not, I'll do you a favor and take it out for you! He's my client! Don't disrespect him." Nox climbed onto the Cyclops' belly and looked at the only eye he had.

"B-But..." Cyclops looked like he was going to cry.

But even with this matter being resolved it was too late there were many eyes on this commotion.

*Whispers*

"*Whisper* It really looks like a human but what are those arms...*Whisper*"

"*Whisper* And does it matter? It can make us some good money..."*Whisper*

'The direction this is going, it's going to cause me trouble later with someone trying to sell me...' I narrowed my eyes a little and took a step forward.

"*Whisper* Nox get out of there *Whisper*. You dare call me human you stupid fat cyclops!" I was as disrespectful as possible.

"W-What did you c-call me?!" The Cyclops was becoming visibly angry and red.

"Ah, are you deaf too?! I'm sorry, I know how to speak in pounds but I don't think you would be smart enough to know." Nox came down and stood behind me wanting to see how the boss was preparing the situation.

"You!!" Cyclops, enraged, punched Arthur.

*Boom*

The cyclops' blow hit the ground hard, creating a small crater with cracks.

"*Heavy breathing*" Cyclops calmed down a little after punching Arthur.

"Wow, it was a stronger attack than expected not bad, did I underestimate your fat, or was it muscle?" I took a look at Cyclops' back looking at where I should be.

"What? Get off me, you human!" Cyclops was upset that Arthur hadn't been hit and irritated again that he was still making fun of him.

He tried to remove Arthur with his 3 arms but he found himself re-constrained.

Arthur managed to get there using his punch as a bridge and, in the meantime, he wrapped his extended arm around Cyclops' arm, then wrapped the other limbs when he reached his back.

"You said human... Let me ask you a question, why are you hitting yourself?" I looked at his face as he tried to look at me.

"Huh? Wha- Ouch!" The Cyclops was punched in the head by his third arm.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" I acted like I was genuinely confused.

*Bang*

"Ouch!" The Cyclops was hit again, but this time on his left arm.

"I think you need help but I don't know, according to a certain someone I'm human should I stop or not?" I was waiting to hear the Cyclops' magic word.

*Bang*

"S-stop... p-please." The Cyclops had been hit by his right fist and blood began to come out of his mouth.

"I understand you want me to stop but I need to be rewarded for your mistake don't you think?" I craned my neck so he could see me.

"I'll do anything, please." The Cyclops was on his knees and begging.

"Um, I'm a generous person so I just want an apology." I released the restraints on his arms and returned to Nox's side.

"That's it? I-I'm sor-"

"No, not for me, for everyone around here who wasted their time with this mess, believing in the slightest that I look human." I looked around and saw that those who had bad intentions for a long time were already in a cold sweat.

"Forgive me guys, I made a silly mistake and mistakenly thought he was human." The cyclops lowered his head and soon the crowd dispersed.

"*Whisper* And you wanting to capture him...*Whisper* Ouch."

"*Whisper* Shut up. *Whisper*"

The Cyclops was also already leaving, he had his hand on his head and the other on his cheek.

"Hey Cyclops, come here." I called him before he left, even though he seemed quite reluctant to come back.

"Do you want anything else?" He was already pretty dejected.

"Yes, can your head come any closer?" I asked politely, wanting to tell him something.

The cyclops thought I wanted to punch him again so he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, didn't I exaggerate?" I controlled my hand to go in my pocket.

"I didn't bring any ointment but I have some nutrition pills, I'll try to give you something better later, sorry." I gave him some of the pills I had with me in case I needed them.

The Cyclops was quite surprised by what I had said, so much so that he wiped his ear thinking he had heard it wrong.

"A-Are you apologizing to me, for hitting me?" He was shocked, was that monster apologizing?

"It's just that I wanted to fend off some unwanted monsters who wanted to sell me because I looked like a human, as you said." I gave him an ironic smile.

"Sorry."

"Okay, I was just teasing you a little, what's your name?" My hand rose to the height of a handshake for the Cyclops.

"A-ah, my name? It's Darryl" The cyclops shook my little hand.

"Darryl? That's a good name, I bet your parents love you a lot."

The Cyclops was a little embarrassed and smiled silly when thinking about his parents.

"My name is Arthur nice to meet you Darryl, I hope I can do something for you in the future."

"No need, I owe you, if you need me just call my parents, they run a blacksmith shop, stop by if you need." Cyclops waved his hand saying goodbye for real this time.

"Did you plan all of this? I must say it was impressive." Nox, who observed the situation from beginning to end, was impressed by his boss's intelligence.

"Not everything, the part about dispersing the people, yes, the part about me apologizing and wanting to return the favor to Cyclops and him owing me a favor was not planned, I really wanted to apologize to him. So... do you know where I can find crystals, magic glasses, or enchanted jewelry?" I looked at him thinking about what I needed here.

"Hmmm...come with me." Nox thought for a moment and walked in a darker direction of the place.

"If we're talking about crystals they're the main place to look." Nox was walking confidently like an excellent guide.

"*Laughs* This is not the way, Nox."

"W-what? Why? I was sure we were going the right way." Nox looked around to confirm his location.

"It's not the path that's wrong, it's the path you chose that is, those aren't the crystals I want." I had already realized who we would meet.

"What do you mean?" Nox looked at me doubtfully.

"*Chirp*?"

*Clink*x5

"What's Up, how are you guys? It's been a while, hasn't it?" I waved at them with the hand that was on the ground.

The Geodites stopped for a moment when they saw me, and in the next moment, they threw themselves on top of Arthur.

*Thump*

"I missed you too, little ones." I held them all in a hug.

"Arthur."

"Friend?"

"Family!"

Geodites were able to speak simple words, but to others, it sounded like a noise.

"Geodites, it's no exaggeration to say that they know crystals and minerals like no one else. But don't they have the type of crystals you want?" Nox expressed his doubt.

"I need something a little more supernatural, the Geodites have some interesting minerals but they're not what I'm looking for." I placed the Geodites on the ground.

"Hmmm something more "supernatural"... Unfortunately, I know just the guy for the job. Let's go." Nox straightened himself and regained his composure.

"See you later." I patted their heads one last time before leaving.

"Bye."

"Goodbye!"

*Chirp*

As we delve deeper and deeper into the market, we find ourselves in an area that could be considered dangerous.

"This area is avoided because of the high density of scoundrels,*Cough* Thieves and criminals but the few who venture here are here on business." Nox pointed to a person who just come out of a store with a bottle of something green.

"There is also the sale of monsters and less intelligent specimens, humans too but this is so rare due to difficult access and probably if a human is found it is sold at the entrance." Nox entered what looked like a bar but was completely run down it seemed to be completely abandoned.

The saloon doors were completely broken, creaking in the wind and shattered, it is a miracle of architecture that the wooden building is still standing.

There was a shelf with empty glass bottles, a counter with a rusty bell, and a cuckoo clock stuck at 11:59:45.

Nox ignored everything and went to a round table that was divided in half due to lack of maintenance.

*Click*

Nox rotated the table clockwise, activating a mechanism that opened the secret passage, the wooden floor under the cuckoo clock opened and the clock started working again.

*Tick-Tock*

"We have 15 seconds to get through the passage before it closes."

After we went down the stairs the clock struck 12 o'clock.

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" At the sound of the clock striking, the wooden stairs that form the floor were erected, closing the entrance.

"He has few customers because he is so discreet but even with few, the difference is that they always come back, of course not because of the quality of service... But generally, he always has what you are looking for." Nox explained a little about the salesman who was waiting for them.

"It's rude to talk about someone behind their back, don't you think?" The voice came from behind the double doors in front of us.

"Good ears as always hmph." Nox opened the door that had 3 handles for tall, medium, or small people.

"Sharp tongue as always, Nox."

When entering the door it was completely different from the outside, it was elegant and classic at the same time, there was a shelf of fabrics on the right side, and a service table with an armchair behind it facing away.

"So wha- Oh! A customer, welcome! Sorry for the mess, a customer ordered an outfit from me a little while ago and was choosing the fabric and color that best matched. Come on, sit down." The goblin turned the chair around and saw that Nox was not alone and quickly changed his tone.

"What are you looking for? If you want to order an outfit, I would be very happy to help, a suit with a primary color of white and secondary colors of red and blue would be really fun to make. Ah, sorry for the late presentation, my name is Hast, what would yours be? Gentleman? Would you like a cup of tea?" Hast was excited about the new client.

Hast wore Nose Clip Glasses, a formal vest, had a measuring tape around his neck, on his left arm he wore a needle bracelet, and at the tip of his ears, there were two gold earrings.

"Wow, thanks, I'll come back next time when I need to make an outfit, but I need a crystal." I was impressed with the reception being the complete opposite of what Nox had talked about.

Nox was in a bad mood just being there.

"A crystal...that's an unusual thing to ask for when you come here. So it'll be some crystals and a small cup of coffee." Hast snapped his fingers and several footsteps were heard in the background.

"How did you guys meet?" I was curious about their relationship.

"Me and Nox? Well, he's been a regular customer of mine for a long time and we became friends at a certain point." Hast sat down in the armchair again and raised it to the right height for a face-to-face conversation.

"Friends is too strong a word, acquaintances!" Nox rejected the idea of them being friends.

"Sure he's a little grumpy but he's a good friend." The door behind opened and 4 goblins appeared, 1 carrying the coffee cup and the other 3 carrying a box.

"Hmph, think as you wish..." Nox took the goblin's coffee cup and drank it.

Hast took the box that needed 3 goblins holding it and placed it on the counter.

'His strength is up to par, I'm not impressed he would be in this business if he couldn't deal with unwanted customers.'

"These are all the crystals of different dimensions that we could find." Hast took them out one by one from the box.

"Are there any that interest you?"

"Hmm... I'd have to look at them one by one but I see some peculiar ones." I picked up a sphere that was emitting some kind of energy.

"Would that be the core of something?" I put the sphere back in place.

"Maybe? I don't know the use of most of them." Hast shook his head and sighed at this.

"Which of these stones and crystals do you know the function of?" I asked him when I saw the diversity of crystals on the table.

"Let's see... This one, crystal displays a fascinating array of colors, offering a vibrant and unique blend. At its base is a deep shade of dark blue. As light dances across its surfaces, smooth transitions reveal shades of lighter blue." Hast took the crystal.

"As the rays of light penetrate deeper, purple nuances emerge that intertwine with blue, creating a spectacle of mysterious and captivating colors. At certain angles, soft touches of lilac emerge. At the height of this chromatic splendor, small areas display a pinkish hue, conveying warmth and tenderness. This crystal is a symphony of colors that intertwine harmoniously, evoking a feeling of serenity and incomparable beauty." Hast explained it in minute detail.

"Its function is something we discovered by accident when we lost one of these, it is capable of turning an infertile land into fertile when burying it. A miracle of nature, right?" Hast placed the stone back into position.

"Impressive, bringing life to a dead land can be seen as a miracle but I need something that allows me to see what cannot be seen." I went straight to the point of what I needed.

"To see what cannot be seen... An interesting request... perhaps the stone I use to detect some of these crystals is what you are looking for." Hast opened the drawer and pulled a monocle out of the drawer.

"Try it and tell me if it's what you're looking for."

I rewound my arms, returning them to normal, and picked up the binoculars, Hast wasn't surprised and instead looked at the Nox.

"You've certainly brought me a very interesting client, I'd like to hear more about you if you have time to waste on me." Hast looked at Arthur who had the monocle equipped.

"Oh, I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet, how rude of me, my name is Arthur, Arthur August." I shook hands with Hast when I finally introduced myself.

I could see through the monocle a dark blue color in the center of the Hast.

When looking at the stones ahead they emitted light blue colors, I decided to test imbuing my arm with Armament Haki, and it was possible to see purple energy inside my arm before it became expelled. My arm became an "armor", and when testing Ryu instead of the previous somewhat "Brute" form he followed the path of the veins like a river and calmly enveloped my arm with a reddish-orange aura.

'Hm, interesting skills.' Hast thought as he saw Arthur's arm change to a metallic texture and an aura around his wrist.

"This is exactly what I need, how much does it cost?" I handed Hast the monocle again.

"Well, this one isn't for sale but I still have the rest of the crystals we used to make this little guy here, if you want I can give him to you." Hast got down from the chair and went to the wall on the left side, opening a rather large and messy drawer measuring approximately 20 cm³.

"Give? But I can't accept it, I need to pay you back somehow, I even brought some crystals to pay." I took a bag of crystals out of my pocket and placed it on the table.

"HAHahaha!" Hast gave a sharp-toothed laugh and adjusted his Nose Clip Glasses.

"You don't buy anything here with this, only outside. Here inside I only accept exchanges, you exchange something that interests me and I'll give you what interests you, but with these crystals, you could order me an outfit." Hast pushed the bag of crystals towards Arthur.

"Look, I'm not giving you this for free, it's an investment, I'm bribing you to come here more often, order clothes, or even tell me some stories. I'd like to hear about you." Hast handed over the box and did not take no for an answer.

"As well as I will come here often... I am a human. I exchanged an item I need for precious information, how about that?" I didn't want to leave like that without offering anything else in return, so as a sign of trust, I told him my species so he could get to know me a little.

"A human? HA HA HA! I already suspected it but this is the first time I've seen a human who stretches out and can transform his arm into something that looks like metal. I hope to see you here again, you can also come more often Nox." Hast took us to the door and reactivated the secret passage.

"As if." Nox was the first to exit through the secret passage.

"*Sigh* No goodbyes, as usual, I hope you have a safe trip." Hast lowered his head to Arthur.

"Thank you, I'll be back more often, I hope you have a great week." I lowered my head in response to Hast's.

"To you too." Hast waved to Arthur who soon left through the passage.

"Thanks for introducing me to Hast, Nox. Even though you didn't like it there." I wrapped my arm around the box to fit the disguise as Nox guided me to the exit.

"It's not that I don't like it, I just didn't want to give him the taste of victory, the moment I admit it, it's my defeat." Nox sighed as if he had just left yet another successful battlefield.

"I'll find a way to thank you later."

"Nah, the recorder is enough." Nox patted his pocket.

"By the way, why do you need a recorder?" I was curious because it wasn't anything I expected from a Gravity Falls gnome.

"Secret."

"Oh, come on, talk."

"At the."

"I promise to tell no one."

"No way."

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"Sebas, are you up?" I sat in the laboratory.

Everyone was already asleep by this time, and I was as silent as possible when I entered.

"For you, Sir, always. Except when I'm updating." Some lights in the laboratory came on.

"I need you to transform this crystal into a lens to put in project number 5, how long can you do this?" I placed some crystals of different sizes for Sebas to choose the most appropriate one.

"5 minutes until completion." Sebastian has already started carrying out the process and took the opportunity to bring Arthur some hot milk.

"Couldn't it be hot chocolate, Sebas?" I started drinking the milk while watching the lens process.

"Sir, sugary foods before bed can interfere with the quality of your sleep, which can increase agitation and make it difficult to relax necessary to fall asleep. Milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid that can help promote sleep, as it is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with relaxation and sleep, this will help you sleep better as well as being great for your growth, developing your bones and muscles." Sebas explained calmly reminding him that he was 12 years old.

"I know it's important to me, thank you Sebas." I placed the glass on the plate.

"You're welcome, Sir. The lens has been completed successfully and is ready for test number 4." Sebas aimed the camera at Arthur.

"Hmm, can you see well?" I activated my Armament Haki and moved Conqueror's Haki to my fist.

"I can see it, Sir. So that's the haki..." Sebas zoomed in on Arthur's arm and looked at his heart.

"Sir... there is a problem."

"A problem? What's the problem? Has something gone wrong?"

"Sir, I believe you should see for yourself." Sebas turned on the screen and showed what the camera was seeing.

"That's...!" I looked at the screen in surprise.

"A barrier." Sebas finished his sentence.

"But how?" I moved my Conqueror's Haki and saw that a small part of the bubble was moved as if it were a thread.

'Does this mean my Conqueror's Haki isn't perfectly unlocked?' But if that didn't happen, how can I use it fully? Does it have anything to do with the gift God gave me? So many questions...' I started thinking about what it could be, but I couldn't find a clear answer, only hypotheses.

"... But, if the dam has a hole it means I can open through that hole... Sebas I need you to create a machine for me."

"I'm all ears, Sir."

_____

And I'll end here, I started writing the chapter in approximately November and it's only coming out now. I had final exams, and birthdays, and I played a little to relax, of course, I read and wrote this during that time. Did you like Hast? I must say that I didn't know who the monster would be that would take over the store and what she would be like until I got to the part. I was late, right? Sorry, I can't promise that I'll do it weekly or monthly (I try) but I promise not to leave this work on hiatus.

Thanks again for reading and I'll try to correct this chapter before New Year's Eve if I only send it tomorrow... how was the new year?^^

4606 words. Happy New Year! Thanks for reading.