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“A whole new world!” Rapunzel sang into the microphone.
“Don't you dare close your eyes.” Eugene sang with her.
“A hundred-thousand things to see!” Rapunzel went on.
“Hold your breath, it gets better.” Eugene assured her.
“I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far; I can't go back to where I used to be.” He sang together.
“You know, I think they do this song better then Jasmine and Aladdin.” Meg remarked.
“Meg!” Giselle giggled, playfully shoving her arm.
“Hm, I dunno. I think they're about on-par.” Varian shrugged.
“A whole new world!” Eugene sang.
“Every turn a surprise.” Rapunzel chimed in.
“With new horizons to pursue!” Eugene placed his hand on Rapunzel's shoulder and reached out to the crowd.
“Every moment, red-letter.” Rapunzel leaned into his chest.
“I'll chase them anywhere, there's time to spare.” They urned to each other, holding each other's microphones as they sang in harmony. “Let we share this whole new world with you.”
“Varian!” Varian looked over from the singing couple to see Stanford walking over to join their neighboring tables, accompanied by a teen boy and girl that looked similar to him. “Let me introduce you to my family.”
“We're here too, you know.” Meg pointed out.
“Oh, uh, yes. My apologies, I only really met Varian.” Stanford explained.
“Hi, I'm Mabel, and this is my twin Dipper!” The girl said cheerfully. “What's your name and are you single?”
Varian laughed a bit as her brother slapped his hand to his face. “I'm Varian, as you've no doubt just heard, and no, I'm dating someone.”
“No!” She gasped. “Why?! All the guys are taken or...or creeps!” She fell to her knees. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride!”
“...Sorry?” Varian said, looking at her awkwardly.
“Don't worry about her melodramatics.” Dipper rolled his eyes. “She'll get over it, she always does.”
“Thank you, Rapunzel and Eugene, for that wonderful duet!” Oswald the Lucky Rabbit said as he hopped onto the stage, Eugene scooping Rapunzel up and carrying her back to the table they were sharing with Varian.
“She gets a new crush every week, seriously. Don't stress over it, man.” Dipper went on.
Mabel looked up at him with a betrayed expression and pouted.
“Oh, Varian!” Rapunzel said as they took their seats again. “New friends?”
“Stanford was introducing me to his family.” Varian explained. “This is Dipper and Mabel.”
“Stanford was...?” Rapunzel looked thoughtful.
“He was one of the scientists I worked with to build the Oswaldinator, remember?” Varian remidned her.
“Oh, right!” Rapunzel nodded. “Well, it's wonderful to meet you both, Dipper and Mabel.”
“Did you bring anyone else out?” Eugene asked. “I thought I heard you had a brother...?”
“Oh, no, Stan didn't want to come out.” Stanford shook his head. “But, we did bring someone else out.”
“Coming up next, we have a newcomer to the stage, a newcomer to Outside actually, who has requested he introduce himself after the song. I'll let him get to it, then!” Oswald hopped off the stage.
At first, there was nothing. Then fog started to fill the building as the lights dimmed.
“We all pretend ta be th' heroes on th' good side.” A young, Southern-American-accented voice said from somewhere, and then the spotlight turned on on-stage as the music started to play, shining down on a young boy with white hair wearing a blue suit and cape as he stepped out of the fog holding the microphone in both hands, vocalizing. “Ohhh...ohhh-ohh.”
He opened his eyes and smiled at the crowd with turquoise eyes that almost seemed to glow, or maybe it was a trick of the light, as he walked towards the front of the stage in time to the music.
He gestured to one side of the audience as he walked towards them. “Some things are black and, y'know,” he gestured to the other side of the audience as he walked towards them, “some things are white, it's just so. Y'all never stopped to smell the roses, oh no.” His hands easily switched which was holding the microphone as he gestured, a sly smile on his pale, freckled face. “But, you're the good guy, uh huh? And he's just some other scum?” He chuckled a bit, shaking his head a bit. “What a sad hill you've left yerself to die on.”
He put the microphone on the stand in spun in space, spreading his arms out to the sides as he sang on. “So many shades of gray!” He stopped, facing the audience, and wagged his finger at them mockingly with one hand in time to the music, the other hand trailing up and down the microphone's side. “Oh, how can you say y'all are grown and still not know?” He threw his free hand up, as if throwing something away. “Good easily fades away!” He brought his hand back down to join the other on the microphone. “Naive young beau, I will swallow you whole.” He grinned and started to walk back to the middle of the stage.
“Because,” he took off his cape and threw it at the audience, which Dipper caught for him, before he started to dance around as he continued singing, “Ah'm a villain, Ah'll go fer th' throat and slit.” he mimed slicing his neck with a deranged smile and then straightened up, placing a hand on his chest, “didn' notice what a wicked li'l devil Ah could be?” He chuckled and spun in place, spotting to face the audience again. “But, babe,” he gestured to the crowd, “ye're a villain, y'all reach fer the knife an' twist.” His eyes glinted unnervingly as he looked over the transfixed crowd, not only the villains but the heroes as well. “Hello, new friend; th' dark thing that y'all tried ta hide from me!”
He moved closer to the front of the stage, swaying as he continued. “Good luck.” He whispered into the microphone, then continued singing. “Ah'm killin' someone, maybe you're killin' someone.” He gestured to certain heroes that had killed their villains before as he sang. “Maybe Ah'm killin' you, maybe ye're killin' me. Maybe...”
He stepped back, shrugging a bit. “We all pretend ta be th' heroes on the good side, but what if we're the villains on the other?” He put the microphone in the stand. “Am Ah good, am I bad?” He moved one hand, then the other, as if he was balancing a scale. “What is good, what is bad?” He gripped the microphone with one hand. “Th' one that Ah would take a bullet fer is treated like a dirty dog somewhere else.”
He stepped away, taking the microphone off and carrying it as he walked along the front of the stage, his gaze on the crowd. “Are we good, are we bad?” He looked at the audience. “What is good, what is bad?” He walked back to the stand. “Th' one that Ah would choose a bullet fer is treated like a prince; throne in his mother's house.”
He put the microphone back in the stand and spread out his arms, spinning in a circle again. “So many shades of gray!” He grabbed the microphone as he stopped spinning and walked away from the stand with a bit of a sway. “Oh, how can y'all say that you know, but not follow?” He turned to the audience again with a grin. “Good easily fades away!” He walked to the edge of the stage and knelt down to look at them all. “Naive young beau, Ah will swallow you whole, because,” he stood up and tapped his feet as he continued, “one, two, take it from the top.”
He jumped back and spun again, turning to them with a bit of a chuckle, the turquoise earrings he wore that matched his eyes catching the lights, also seeming to glow. “Ah'm a villain, take a stab at you in th' dark!” He danced towards the front of the stage again. “Didn' notice what a wicked li'l devil Ah could be?” He looked around at everyone. “But, babe, ye're a villain, take a knife ta me in th' heart!” He threw his hand out to the crowd in an inviting way. “Hello, new friend; th' dark thing that y'all hate ta see in me!”
He put the microphone on the stand as he went on, throwing his hand up like he was raising a toast. “Drink up, all villains, make y'all beg fer yer every breath! What a group of wicked wretched li'l beasts we are, baby!” He mimed drinking it, then tossed the “glass” to the side, gesturing around him as he did so. “What fun, we're all villains! Pluck th' air right out from yer chest!” He did a cheerful little wave at some flabbergasted faces. “Hello, new friends, and welcome to th' Devil's house party!”
He grabbed the microphone and went on. “Ah'm killin' someone. Maybe ye're killin' someone. Maybe Ah'm killing you, maybe ye're killin' me? Maybe...” He held the microphone with both hands as he started to step backwards into the fog.
“We all pretend ta be the heroes on th' good side, but what if we're the villains on the other?” He sang as he started to disappear into the fog completely. “We all pretend ta be the heroes on th' good side, but what if we're th' villains on the other?”
The fog completely consumed him as the song ended. When the fog cleared, he was gone and everyone who was stunned into silence jolted as the lights all came back on and the boy came out from behind the curtain.
“Thank y'all kindly fer listenin' ta my li'l song!” He said cheerfully, waving to them with one hand as he approached the microphone stand again. “Ah was inspired ta sing it by th' recent conflict between heroes and villain an' some people switchin' sides an' Ah'm so glad people have realized that good an' bad is in all of us and no one should be put in a box!” He put the microphone back in its stand. “Mah name is Gideon Gleeful from Gravity Falls! Have a lovely night!” He blew a kiss, walked off the stage and made his way to where Stanford and his family were sitting before.
Dipper sighed, looking at the cape in his arms. He always like to make an entrance. I'll talk to you later.” He walked back over to the table and handed Gideon his cape.
“Excuse us, everyone.” Stanford said as he and Mabel followed suit.
“That was...something.” Meg chuckled a bit.
Varian nodded. “Yeah...it was something, alright.”
And people thought he was theatrical.
(End)