Chapter 1 - Dark Beginnings.
The deer darted forward, dodging the large demonic monster that chased it and the human that sat downwind from it, gun raised. The human figure lay crouched in the bushes, breathing slowly as he waited for the demon to cross his path. Once it did, he fired a shot, startling the birds in the trees above. It hit the demon in the chest, the creature laying sideways as it let loose animalistic cries for help. The boy pulled out a knife, stabbing it down into the throat of the being as black blood poured outwards. He removed his hood to reveal chestnut brown hair as he untied a rag from his waist. He wiped the blood off of his hands before examining the creature in front of him. It was about the size of a wolf, thick black fur fluffing up in places as it became mattered with its own blood. It looked like a wolf yet had a sharp beak of a predatory bird. "This one is new." He mumbled to himself before glancing back around. More growls and sharp caws could be heard as he darted into the green and vibrant bracken, heading towards an unmarked destination. He slipped through the trees and fauna, jumping over loose logs as the growls became closer. He pulled onto a rope, looping his foot into the cord. He glided upwards as the weight from the other end falls to the ground, blending with the environment. He climbed up the pine tree until he reached the top. He glanced across the treetops and at the orange sky above. The familiar tear in the distance an ever-present reminder of the time he lived in. The bestial noises fade away from the ground below. The figure jumped to the next tree, sliding down until he grabbed onto a thick branch. It clanked as he pulled his feet upon it. He kicked it, his body falling down as he lost balance. He skillfully guided his body into the hatch below as he used the other branches to guide himself. The hatch snapped close behind him as he stood in inky darkness for a moment. He traced a hand along the cold and metallic wall until he reached the light switch. The round lightbulb above flickered on with an electrical zap, bathing the room in a stark white light. The figure pulled off his cloak, hanging it beside the other on the wall. He turned back to the only door a second later. He swung it open, stretching his arms as his bones cracked. He walked down a grey metal corridor, rust showing in the corners of the panels. Bulbs were strung together above, glowing a pale white as they lead down the hallway.
"Ah! Dipper there you are!" A voice said, causing the boy known as Dipper to turn towards it. An older man walked forward with a smile as he grabbed the boy into a hug.
"Stan, I thought I told Cordory to inform you that I was out?" Dipper asked after being released from the hug.
"She's gone out for supplies. We discovered something new that could help us. You know where you need to be." Stan replied, scratching his chin. Dipper didn't say anything, he just nodded and continued down the hallway. He entered another room, the sound of people conversing echoing around the metallic room. Dipper entered the mess hall, people talking and eating what few rations there were. Mythological and ordinary people alike were eating finite pieces of bread and cheese. Dipper sat down at one of the empty tables, pulling out something from his bag with gentle ease. He set the notebook onto the table, pulling out a dulled and almost empty pen with it. He flicked through his notes, writing down his recent discovery. The wooden bench he sat on suddenly shifted in weight, Dipper turning to find a blonde female setting her tray down onto the table.
"What are you writing this time, Dipper Pines?" She greeted with a chuckle, breaking her single roll of bread in half.
"I encountered a different demon while out scouting. What are you up to, Pacifica?" He responded, snapping his notebook shut.
"Soos ordered me to get you and I thought I'd grab lunch. Soos is in the meeting room again by the way." Pacifica responded, munching on her bread slowly between her words. Dipper sighed, chuckling a little as he slipped his notebook back into his bag. He slung it over his shoulder as he rose from his seat.
"Thanks, Paz. I'll see you around." He waved goodbye, heading down the hallway and towards the meeting room. He stopped outside a door, turning the rusted doorknob before he swung it open. The room was just like every other room, a single wooden table sitting in the middle surrounded by an array of chairs. Maps were pinned to the wall, a large man standing in front of one of them. He was wearing a black trench coat over a shirt with a question mark painted across it. "Hello, Soos." Dipper greeted, shutting the door behind himself with a metallic clank.
"Sup, dude. Come here while we wait for Mr Pines." Soos said with a wide grin. He pointed at the Oregon map. He was pointing towards the worn red triangle that was circled in even more red ink, notes scrawled beside it. Pins were sticking out of different parts of the entire map, a gathering of seven dots were clustered on the far left of Oregon, another two pins sticking out of the triangle. There were a few more dots around the map. All of the pins had little symbols on them. The question mark, pinetree, crescent, ice bag, llama, pentagram and stitched heart were the largest group on the map.
"What is this?" He asked, scratching his head with confusion, pointing at the newest symbol on the map, the shooting star and six-fingered hand. Soos pointed at the largest cluster in the corner.
"That's all the zodiacs here. Our current location." Soos explained, he then dragged his finger towards the spectacles. "McGucket is making his way towards us, he'll be here in a week to a month." The door suddenly swung open, two people entering. A smaller boy with pale white hair sat down at the table, pulling out a massive amount of books, the other one leaning against the wall before pulling off his black hood.
"What are you talkin' 'bout Soos?" The smallest asked, opening up a book filled with maps.
"Trying to explain to Dipper about the recent discovery," Soos explained, placing a hand on his hip. "Did you two find any rations with Cordory?"
"Too many demons around. We couldn't scavenge anything. Not even Gideon could sneak past before one of them spotted us and attacked." The leaning figure said.
"Hey! Robbie, you did a good job killing that Terra-bird though." Gideon meekly commented, smiling faintly.
"You do know that Terra-birds don't travel large distances on land right? They're flying creatures that can never land." Dipper explained, pulling out his notebook.
"It landed that time," Robbie said grimly, pulling out a small pistol before loading it with more ammunition. Gideon just mildly turned back to his books as Dipper sat down in a chair. He leant back in it, legs against the table. The door swung open, Stan entering the room after he shut the door behind himself. Dipper removed his feet from the table as everyone else sat down at the table, Stan sitting at the head of the table. Dipper slipped his notebook onto the table, flicking to the most recent page, a half-drawn image on it.
"I encountered a new demon while I was out," Dipper stated, pointing at his notebook. Stan picked the notebook up in his gloved hands, flicking through it.
"Kid, how many demons are in here?" He asked a minute later, putting the notebook back onto the table.
"Two hundred and fifty-two. Most of them common in Oregon. The most common to our area are the Terra-bird, Silver-tounges and this most recent one which hasn't got a name. They hunt in packs more often than not." He flicked to the pages of each demon.
"This is why I love this kid." Stan chuckled, ruffling Dipper's hair as Soos patted Dipper on the back. "Right. Down to business." The mood suddenly shifted to a more serious one, Stan rising from his seat. He walked over to the maps, pointing at the one of Oregon. "As you all know, we know that Sixer's been stuck in the citadel for the last fifteen odd years but recent information from McGucket says that the last zodiac is somewhere in the citadel as well." He pointed at the shooting star pin, slight resentment coating his voice as he spoke.
"It'll be risky, won't it?" Gideon stated, the air in the room tense as he spoke.
"That's why I'm only sending one of you to retrieve them. Dipper, you're our best scout and our best fighter when it comes to these monsters. I'm sending you on a mission if you choose to accept it."
"What?! The twig gets to go! Cmon, Mr Pines!" Robbie complained.
"Let's not forget who beat you when he was nine, Robbie." A voice from the doorway said. Everyone turned to see a red-headed teenager leaning in the doorway. Wendy walked into the room and sat down, fixing her headband afterwards.
"No complaints, Valentino. This is the moment we've been waiting for since this nightmare began twenty years ago. Meeting dismissed." Stan snapped before exiting the room. With slight complaints, Robbie left the room as Soos and Wendy followed after him. Dipper felt something brush against his fingers. He glanced down to see a book in front of him. Open at a page.
"You might wanna read up on this, Dipper. Ya'll need it seeing where you're going." Gideon stated. Dipper picked up the book, hand-written notes on the citadel filling the entire page.
"Alright, Gideon, enough boring the kid, he already knows this stuff," Stan said, jerking the book away from Dipper.
"When do I leave?" Dipper asked, crossing his arms softly.
"Tomorrow morning. Pack what you need, you're going undercover to find the shooting star. Remember to avoid the patrols." The older man explained. Dipper nodded, rising from his spot. He left the room without another word, walking down the grey panelled hallway. He turned right and stopped at the next door. He swung it open with a yawn, tossing his bag onto the bottom bunk of the bed. He tore off his boots, dumping them by the door as Dipper sat down on the bed with a sigh. Lying down on his back, his mind racing to remember every detail he knew about the citadel, the capital of weirdness. He dug through his shirt, pulling out a necklace with dogs tags hanging from it, tracing a finger across the pinetree engraved in it. He rose from his bed a second later, flicking the radio on the table nearby on. It crackled to life, the daily propaganda squeaking from the speakers.
'Evening you one life-span flesh sticks, your lord and saviour here, the-' it crackled, static appearing a second later. Dipper slammed his fist against the device, the radio returning to normal. '-Pines has increased to less torture for information. My weirdness gallery will be opening in a few weeks, you pathetic meat puppets like art, right? Remember, I'm always watching!' The radio report ended with shrill laughter before changing to classical music. He flicked it off, lying on his back as he stared up at the bunk above him. He let loose a yawn, his eye fluttering close a moment later.
A young woman ran through the trees, the rapid sound of her heart beating thundering in her chest. She slipped through the trees, the bundles in her arms squirming as one of them let loose cries. "Shh! Hush little one. We're almost there." She whispered, holding the bundles close. "I need to get you somewhere safe and away from him." The snarls grew louder. She reached a tree, pulling a hidden lever which opened a rusted hatch. She stashed the first one in the hatch, stuffing a letter with the bundle. She knelt down, tears running down her checks. "I'm sorry, my child. You're much safer here than in that hell." She pulled the lever again, still clinging to the other child.
"And where are you going?" A chilling voice said. She backed against a tree, clinging to her last child. A figure stepped through the folage, covered in the shadows from the canopy above. She heard growling and snarling surrounding her, wolf-like creatures surrounding the clearing. He was dressed in a black suit. His greying brown hair slicked back, the glasses on his nose making him appear even older. The women was frozen in fear, the bundle in her arms beginning to cry.
"Shh!" She hissed, holding the child closer to her chest as the man advanced forward. Her chestnut brown eyes were wide in fear as she rapidly tried to quieten the child.
"Ariel Pines. What a pleasure." The man spoke, a cane suddenly appearing as he leant against it. "What are you doing out on a day like this?" He motioned to the orange sky above with a smirk, his slitted yellow eyes taunting her. He swung the cane forward, looping the bundle in the hook. He pulled it towards himself as the woman moved forward to stop him.
"No!" She shouted, moving a hand out to grasp the rapidly moving cane. The demons growled, baring their teeth.
"Uh uh! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" He taunted, raising an eyebrow as the wolves moved closer. He grabbed onto the bundle with a six finger hand, resting it in the crook of his elbow. He pulled back the blanket to reveal a wide-eyed child. "Trying to run away with the shooting star I see. Hmmm. That won't do at all."
"Please, Cipher. Don't-" Ariel began to beg, falling to her knees.
"Don't what?" Bill Cipher's smile rose at the sight of the begging women. He moved forward until they were face to face, the demon smiling widely. "Don't you remember the rules? Running away give you the right to become a statue. I won't punish this pathetic child but I will punish you." He snapped his fingers as she began to freeze into stone, tears running down her cheeks. The baby in his arms began to cry, Bill recoiling in disgust. "Ew! You meat sacks are disgusting." He clicked his fingers, the child hovering in blue magic. An object fell to the ground with a quiet thump. Bill lowered his gaze towards the object before picking it up. It was a necklace, dog tags the only thing on the chain. He turned it over in his fingers, the engraving a shooting star on one side, words engraved on the other. "Mabel Pines." He chuckled, reading it aloud. He snapped his fingers, the shooting star changing to a triangle instead before he replaced the necklace around the chubby child's neck. She instantly grabbed the tags in her small fat fingers, sucking on the metal. "Off we go then." He spoke to no one in particular, walking back the way he came.
The trees swayed around the clearing, the sky darkening as night set in. A figure climbed down a tree, stumbling to the ground with a loud thunk. "AH!" He screamed, landing on his side. He slowly rose, looking around the area for something. "Ah ha! I found it! You still got it, Stan." He whispered to himself when he found the hidden lever. He pulled it, the rusted hatch slowly opening to revealing a sleeping child wrapped in a torn blanket. There was a note pinned to the blanket. The man pulled the child out of the hole, squinting to look at the note. He looked down at the child a second later before rising from his crouching position. He walked across the clearing, looking for another hidden lever. He pulled it, another hatch appearing. He glanced into the second hole to find nothing inside. He glanced back at the note with slight confusion. There was a sudden growl and the sound of something crashing through the undergrowth. "Crap." He hissed, holding the blue bundle closely as he fled into the forest.