Chapter 27: Wendy's Tears

Unknown POV

In a place that could only be described as extremely technologically advanced, given the numerous touchscreens and holograms, a woman in a white coat similar to those of scientists could be seen.

This woman appeared to be of mixed race with a slim build. Her short brown hair was tied in a ponytail, leaving the rest parted on both sides. She had a visible lower jaw from the side.

Clearly suffering from lack of sleep, she had deep bags under her eyes and messy hair.

Everything about her showed that she was either a workaholic or simply neglectful, or perhaps both.

"Reagan, we have a problem," declared a voice coming from a screen before it displayed a person in professional attire.

"Yes, J.R.," Reagan quickly responded before hastily adjusting her outfit.

"We've detected a lot of radiation in the state of Oregon. According to the reports we've received, there have also been several cases of nuclear waste theft in the region," explained the man named J.R. as he leafed through a stack of documents, clearly not really reading them.

"Why don't we just send the FBI as usual?" she asked in a confused tone.

"It's because the radiation-related phenomenon is strange, you see," J.R. stated, showing a satellite image.

"You can see here the area where we detected the radiation. Although it's far from being as strong as that of a nuclear bomb, it covers a large area. Moreover, it seems to have moved and then suddenly disappeared over here," he explained, adjusting his glasses.

"Indeed, it's super weird for radiation to move," Reagan muttered, frowning slightly.

"That's why I want you on site to investigate," J.R. said, nodding.

"Okay, I'll be there in 48 hours, just enough time to take care of the agreement with the Illuminati," Reagan said with a sigh. She was already swamped with her team, and now another task was being added.

"Yes, I had forgotten about that technology exchange. We really need to improve our subliminal messages as the elections approach," J.R. declared, frowning slightly before opening his mouth again.

"Focus on the agreement with the Illuminati, and then you'll go to Oregon," he said in a final tone before hanging up.

"Great, more work," Reagan sighed.

Reagan Ridley couldn't help but feel tired in advance at the idea of working on another mission right after this one.

(Image)

...

Leylin Blight's POV

"Are you really interested in discovering the other method?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes, yes, so go on, tell me!" Mabel insisted, approaching me.

"Okay, I'll explain the price to pay for the other method of using magic, but first..." After my words, I brought out a normal-sized crystal ball.

As a practitioner of oracle magic, I had to keep a crystal ball in my possession despite it being cumbersome.

This crystal ball was special; it served not only to cast spells for combat but also to determine a person's talent for becoming a magus.

Mabel followed my instructions and placed both hands on my crystal ball.

The magical energy contained in the crystal ball began to surge through Mabel's mind.

I could see her starting to clench her teeth and shiver from the cold.

"What are you doing to Mabel?!" Stan asked, approaching. I could see Soos and the others starting to worry too.

The crystal ball in front of Mabel began to emit a faint glow, which attracted the attention of people around.

"Very good! Don't let go!" I said to Mabel, who was sweating profusely.

"No! I'm stopping!" Mabel shouted, dropping the ball and falling to the ground. She had slight difficulty breathing.

"I see, you have average talent," I said, looking at the ball. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"She's human after all, it's acceptable," I said to no one in particular, but my words were clearly heard by Dipper and Mabel due to their proximity.

"Average talent?" Dipper said, confused.

"I just measured Mabel's talent for 'magic,' and it's average," I explained simply.

"And... is that good?" Soos asked curiously.

"Yes, it's acceptable since most people have no talent at all."

As Dipper and Soos assimilated the information I had given them, I turned to Mabel to heal her with my magic.

"The pain you felt is just the beginning, so if you want to give up on magic, now's the time," I said seriously. I didn't want to be a babysitter.

I could have known her talent for being a magus without all this pain, but I just wanted to test her. I was sure she would give up on this opportunity.

"I'm not so sure anymore," she said in a low voice.

As expected, she lacked willpower. It seemed that Dipper was indeed the one with the best mental attributes of the two.

"Since that's settled, I'll leave you," I said, wanting to take the elevator, but I had an intruder at the last second.

"Wendy!" Dipper said in a surprised tone, but it was too late as the elevator was already going up with me and Wendy.

"If you wanted to learn magic, you could have just asked like the other two, you know," I said simply to her, but her reaction was violent.

"Shut up! You may fool them, but not me!" she said, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. I wanted to grab her hand to remove it, but I saw a sight I never thought I'd see from her.

Wendy, the tough girl from the Gravity Falls show, had tears rolling down her cheeks. It completely disarmed me for a second.

I involuntarily superimposed the image of Amity, and the current Wendy at that moment.

"What do you want? Apologies like the others? Or maybe a gift?" I proposed, frowning.

I had gone too far with her, and I was aware of it now, but I wasn't going to go beyond simple apologies or granting a favor that wouldn't go against my interests .

Back then, I should have just settled for a few hits on her and continued on my way, but I had to use Jeff and the gnomes to calm her down.

"I don't care about your apologies or gifts, I just want to warn you not to harm Dipper and the others," she expressed in an upset tone.

"I'm telling you, I don't intend to harm them, and all of this happened because of an unfortunate misunderstanding."

I gently removed Wendy's hands from my shirt. I could see her struggling to prevent me from getting out of her grip, but in vain.

"Although you don't seem interested in my apologies, I'll still give them to you," I said, turning back to Wendy after leaving the elevator as I had reached my destination.

"I'm sorry about the gnomes, I should have at least had the decency to take care of you myself and not summon these creatures", I said, a sincere tone at first, but dark thoughts germinated in my mind towards the end of my speech.

"Idiot!" Wendy's voice shouted before rushing towards me, but unfortunately for her, I was just too fast.

I think Wendy was awakening my sadistic impulses in me. Maybe I should stay away from her for both of our sakes.

If Leylin Blight had stayed at the Mystery Shack, he would have noticed that Wendy no longer had a trace of tears on her face, but just an embarrassed expression.