Chapter 4: Level Up!
'Gideon is now the game's final boss and the gang has met a potential new ally that resembles Gravity Falls' own Wendy Corduroy! But can she be trusted?'
Previously
"What are those?" Will asks, now turning around and spotting the two creatures hovering over him, his own eyes widening at the sight of the creatures. "Ok, not quite what I meant!"
Both monsters now roar, creating a rippling wind that threatens to knock the three off of their feet! Quickly swallowing his fear, Dipper pushes Mabel behind him as he unsheathes his sword.
"Stand back guys!" Dipper voices as he brings his sword into view. "These monsters are mine!"
Before Dipper can lunge towards either monster, the Ogre swings its right fist towards the boy and knocks him off of his feet with his sword flying out of his hands! Dipper lands on his back in front of a tree with his head hitting the trunk of the tree rather hard. The Cyclops now spots Will with the control board fearfully sinking to the ground in fear of what the creature has planned.
"Dipper!" Mabel screams as she begins running towards him, but is suddenly grabbed up by the Cyclops and is brought into the monster's view. Mabel begins struggling against the monster's grip with the monster tightening it with each move she makes.
"Put me down now!" Mabel demands. "This is not how you treat a princess!"
Having been knocked down, Dipper sits up and immediately notices that Mabel is in the clutches of the Cyclops. Rubbing his head and with a wave of determination hitting him, Dipper jumps back to his feet and grabs his dagger from his belt.
"Hey big and ugly! Drop my sister if you know what's good for you!" Dipper screams to the monster. Just as Dipper is about to sling his dagger towards the Cyclops to free Mabel, two arrows now hit both creatures directly in the chest, destroying them instantly! With Mabel free from the Cyclops, she is caught by Will bridal style before she hits the ground.
"Got ya!" Will says.
"Great catch." Mabel replies to Will.
"Ok, where did those arrows come from?" Dipper asks in confusion.
"Sometimes those things are super hard to get rid of." A female voice says to the group, them now turning to the owner of the voice. Dipper and Mabel's jaws nearly drop at the sight of who spoke to them. "It's a good thing I had those arrows with me."
"Wait, is that-?" Mabel begins.
"Wendy?!" Dipper finishes his sister's sentence.
Currently
"Wait, Wendy?" Dipper tries to confirm, his eyes glued to the woman standing before them. "Wendy Corduroy?"
Sure enough standing before the group is a woman who resembles Wendy Corduroy exactly. The only difference are the clothes which is composed of a forest green two piece outfit which consists of a fitted short sleeved shirt with a belt that ties around her slender waist and fitted pants that run into her forest green fitted boots that snuggly fit around the calves and that run up to her knees, much like Mabel's boots. From her right shoulder to her left hip is her utility belt that houses her numerous arrows for her crossbow that is currently attached to her right wrist. The hat that Wendy normally wears is also missing, thus giving the full view of all of the woman's flowing auburn hair.
"Not sure who that is, but you can just call me Lady Wyn." The woman, known as Lady Wyn, replies to the crowd. "I live in the nearby village that was half demolished by a herd of Minotaurs. I was just on my way to their cave when I saw that you guys were having trouble out of those two monsters so I figured, why not offer you guys a hand."
"Wow, Lady?" Mabel speaks to Wyn, Will now setting her on her feet. "Are you like a princess?"
"Nah, I wish though." Wyn replies with a laugh, moving a bundle of hair out of her face and to behind her right ear that is revealed to be an elf ear. "I'm just your regular everyday warrior, but everyone calls me Lady Wyn because my dad is a very respected elder in our village and everyone looks up to our family. We are pretty well known in these parts."
"Hey, we were just on our way to level two." Dipper informs Wyn. "Would you like to join us? We could use someone like you on our team."
Placing her hand to her chin, Wyn begins pondering Dipper's offer while turning her vision to the sky. Normally when it comes to roaming through the dangerous areas of this level, the woman normally travels alone and considering what she has encountered before, she doesn't know if it will be safe to bring the three along with her. However, since she is on a mission of her own, what could it hurt to join those who are most likely on the same mission? Coming to a decision, Wyn turns back to the boy with a smile forming on her face.
"Normally I'm a loner when it comes to traveling, but I guess it wouldn't hurt." Wyn replies with a shrug. "Plus I could use the company, but I have to warn you guys, things around here do get pretty intense."
"Yay! Our first ally!" Mabel shouts with glee, now running to her brother's side. "Hi I'm Mabel, the warrior princess, this is my brother Dipper, and the guy standing behind the gate, his name is Will. He is the game's controller."
"Cool, it's nice to meet you guys and I know Will." Wyn replies with a nod. "When it comes to him, keep your eyes peeled because he loves sneaking up on you."
"So we've noticed." Dipper mumbles.
"Ok I think I've had enough excitement for the time being." Will expresses as his body begins fading. "I'm going to go take a breather for a moment as those monsters gave me quite a scare, but just remember kids, I'll be watching you and when you least suspect it, I'll be there!"
Lifting his hat in a parting salutation to the gang with a wide grin appearing on his face, Will's body completely disappears from behind the gate.
"Is Will always like that?" Dipper asks as he turns to Wyn.
"Yea, but you'll get use to it after a while." Wyn replies with a light laugh. "Didn't take me too long though."
"Welp gang, let's make it to the end of the stage and on to level 2!" Mabel voices as she approaches the gate and opens it for them to pass through. "I can't wait to see what else this game has in store!"
Dipper, Mabel, and Wyn now make their way through the gate, the half way mark through level one, so to continue on their way to level two which isn't too far away from where they are currently. Continuing to walk along the path, a block of the ground suddenly breaks away and rises into the air with the gang quickly stopping short at the walkway's sudden movement. With that one block rising into the air, it suddenly falls back down to fit back into the walkway with another piece right next to it now rising into the air. That block suddenly falls back down to fit back in place with the pattern repeating along the path to the other side of the stage. Below the rising blocks is a deep ocean that contains deadly sea creatures that will result in player's point reduction and even death if they latch onto them!
Having gotten through this area while playing the game externally, the memory of the walkway's pattern now comes back to Dipper as he watches the pattern the blocks are exhibiting, an 'ah ha' moment going off in his mind.
"Ok, I remember this pattern and got through this when playing the game before." Dipper informs the group. "When one block falls, jump on it and when it rises, jump onto the next one that rises until we reach the other side so just follow my lead. There are also little surprises down below so watch out for them."
"Surprises like what?" Mabel questions.
"Piranhas and Hydra serpents." Dipper replies to Mabel. "Just be on the lookout for them because they will take off a good percent of your points if they attack you. Unfortunately, my character had a run in with those things which is why it took me the longest time to get to level 2. So just keep a close watch as we pass over this ocean."
"Aye Aye captain." Wyn expresses, now grabbing an arrow and placing it into her crossbow so to be ready for the next enemies they encounter.
"Ok let's move!" Dipper instructs as he grips his dagger and Mabel grabbing her whip.
The three now walk onto the first block, it rising into the air rather quickly, everyone holding on to each other for balance. With the one they are standing on about to fall back in line of the path, the gang now jumps onto the second one that is rising, them landing onto it safely. A hydra now jumps out of the water, it aiming to attack Mabel. Seeing the serpent aiming right for her, Mabel lashes her whip at it, instantly destroying it, its 15 points being instantly added to her stats.
A ferocious Piranha now leaps out of the water and is about to attack Dipper, but a quick slashing from his dagger instantly takes the vicious fish out, its 5 points being added to Dipper's stats.
"It's a good thing I learned to divide my attention or else I would have been a goner." Dipper voices, turning his full attention back to the front of him.
With the second block everyone is standing on falling back towards the ocean, the gang jumps to the third block in sync with two bats now heading directly for them. Immediately spotting the bats, Wyn quickly grabs another arrow from her belt and loads it into her crossbow alongside the other arrow. Releasing the arrows, both bats are instantly destroyed with their 10 points each being added to her stats. Now safely leaping onto the fourth rising block, the gang finally leaps onto the solid ground of the other side of the stage where a brown and gold treasure chest appears.
"We finally made it and look a chest thingy!" Mabel points out, her being the first to run to it. Opening the chest, it is revealed to everyone as to what is inside. The first item is a sword, the second are three gold coins, and the third is a yellow speed potion.
"Alright, we are going to split these items up." Dipper says, as he approaches the chest. "Since I lost my sword when the Cyclops attacked me, I'll take the sword, Wyn, you get the speed potion, and Mabel you get the coins."
"Hey, I want the speed potion." Mabel expresses in a pouting manner. "I've got plenty of coins, which are practically worthless!"
"No probs kid, I'll switch with you." Wyn coolly replies to Mabel. "I've got more potions then I know what to do with anyway."
"Thanks Wyn!" Mabel squeals, Wyn now trading items with her. "Now I get to move super fast!"
With the items removed from the chest, it closes and disappears from sight. Just as everyone takes a step to continue on their way, a huge centaur with a rapier now appears in their path, it lashing it's sword at everyone and them just barely dodging the attack despite the little time they had to react.
"Stand down guys!" Wyn speaks to the twins, now loading three arrows into her crossbow at once. "This one's mine!"
Aiming her crossbow at the mythical creature, Wyn releases her arrows towards the creature, it taking max damage to its life. Having lost twenty five points from its ninety six, the centaur is still standing, but is weakening. Once again swinging it's rapier at the three, everyone ducks out of the way of the blade.
"Let me give you a hand with that." Dipper speaks to Wyn, now gripping his sword with both hands. Leaping from the ground, Dipper lunges towards the creature and slashes at the Centaur's neck, the creature arching back while howling from defeat and now disappearing. Landing back onto the ground, Dipper sheaths his sword, the points of the Centaur now added to Dipper's stats along with an extra life, giving him two extra lives.
"Piece of cake." Dipper speaks as he brushes his hands together as if dusting dirt from them. "I think it's best to let me take it from here Mabel. Since I've got the most experience with the game, I can lead us to level two no problem."
Dipper begins walking ahead of both Wyn and Mabel, Mabel rolling her eyes as she begins following behind Dipper along with Wyn.
"Ugh! Boys." Mabel mumbles with distain.
Level 12
Having watched the defeat of many of his monsters at the hands of the trio, Gideon slams his fist onto the keyboard, causing it to spark a small bit from the slam.
"I was sure that Centaur was going to do Dipper in for sure!" Gideon fumes, his angry eyes still focused on the screen. "Still yourself Gideon, there is still the end of the level boss! One so powerful that not even Dipper will be able to take him down! That's perfect and I have the perfect monster in mind, one that I know will shake him up! I just have to make sure that he aims for just Dipper and that little friend of theirs that just joined the crowd while sparing Mabel by any means necessary. I want my goddess unscathed for when I have her brought to me. Speaking of my future wife, I better make sure Bill is handling the arrangements of her arrival as I asked him to."
Master Bedroom
Laying on the edge of the red rose petal colored queen sized bed with six neatly layered pillows against the headboard are three dresses that Bill pulled from the closet for when Mabel is brought to the castle and is crowned Gideon's video game goddess, one red, another purple, and the last one, pink. Each dress is designed differently from the next starting with the red dress. The red dress has long sleeves with large puffs on each shoulder and the bust area to the hips is to fit the wearer snuggly. At the waist of the dress is a red ruby encrusted belt that separates the top of the dress from the long flowing skirt that has a train tail below.
The purple dress is a strapless and sleeveless gown that zips up in the back, the bust of the dress is shaped into a heart formation and has tiny stars randomly spotted throughout that area of the dress that can be seen when worn under the right light, the middle of the dress also snuggly fitting the wearer comfortably, and the bottom of the dress fans out, mimicking like that of a ball gown.
The last dress, the pink dress, is a simple dress that has short sleeves and covers the wearer's body from top to bottom with a long flowing skirt that allows the wearer limited movement, and zips up in the back.
Eyeing all three dresses, Bill begins trying to decide which Mabel would look the most elegant in while also trying to get a mental picture of her in each garment.
"Which dress would Shooting Star look the most beautiful in?" Bill says to himself as he continues looking between the dresses. "If it were me making that decision, I would love to see her in the purple dress as it is the most eloquent and fits Shooting Star's personality just perfectly."
Closing his eye so to get a mental picture of the woman wearing the dress, Bill's body becomes transparent with an image of Mabel wearing the purple dress appearing on his body, her imagined facial expression matching the lively color of the chosen garment. Despite helping Gideon achieve his current level of power, it amazes Bill that he is able to get a clear mental image of a cheery Mabel wearing the dress he would like to see her in despite the scales of the situation being tipped in the most disadvantaged way, especially with her involved.
Regardless of the current state of Bill's body, a light tint of red crosses the demon's cheeks while he continues to hold that image of the girl. Acknowledging his feelings quickly surfacing for the young girl, Bill pushes the emotions back while keeping his mental image of Mabel in the dress he chose so to see if that dress will fit what Gideon is looking for regardless of what the dream demon prefers. Who said dream demons don't feel even a little?
Continuing to focus on the image of Mabel wearing the garment, his concentration is now broken with the ringing of his bow tie being the culprit and forcing him to lose the image that he was holding. Opening his eye with an annoyed expression, Bill taps his bow tie with it converting to a projection screen with the image of Gideon appearing on it.
"Yello?" Bill greets the pint sized dictator.
"Bill, have you chosen the rightful outfit for my sweet pea yet?" Gideon questions.
"Relax short stack, I have everything under control." Bill replies as his eye shifts into a matter of fact expression. "You don't have a thing to worry about."
"Perfect." Gideon expresses as he rubs his hands together deviously. "I've already got the perfect trap set that none of them will ever see coming and soon, Mabel will be in my arms! Put the finishing touches on Mabel's outfit and meet me in the control room! Pronto!"
"Will do." Bill replies, the projection screen now disappearing and returning to his bow tie. "I think the purple dress will do for Shooting Star."
Focusing his eye on the red and pink dresses, Bill levitates both garments off of the bed. With the snap of his fingers, both are now engulfed in blue flames and turned to ash, both mounds of ash piling on the floor in front of the demon.
"Now to find the shoes to match." Bill mumbles to himself.
Level One
Having gotten over yet another stretch of ocean filled with hydra serpents successfully, Mabel, Dipper, and Wyn are each riding a Pterodactyl over the remainder of the land that is covered in large land scorpions.
"I'm sure glad that we were able to catch a ride on these giant dinosaurs." Mabel says as she leans forward and hugs onto to hers while making sure to keep her balance on the beast's back. "Those big spiders don't look friendly."
"Those are scorpions Mabel." Dipper corrects her, now looking down and noticing two of the scorpions strike the ground with their stingers. "They do look pretty vicious."
"Hey guys! Look straight ahead, Level 2!" Wyn informs them, the twins now looking ahead of them and noticing the gate to level 2 quickly approaching.
"Finally! We made it!" Mabel cheers.
"Amazingly, it took less time to make it here now than when I first played the game." Dipper expresses.
With the three continuing to fly their way to the gate to level 2, the team's pterodactyls suddenly disappears from under them with the three now falling to the ground.
"Hey, what just happened?!" Mabel questions. "We were just in the air a moment ago!"
The prehistoric area of the stage the three are on now changes to a cave scene, a large boulder now blocking the entrance/exit of the cave. Quickly getting to their feet, Wyn, Dipper, and Mabel run to the boulder to begin trying to push it out of the way so to get out of the cave, but soon discovers that even with their combined efforts, the boulder isn't moving even an inch!
"Why isn't this thing moving?!" Mabel fumes as she turns and begins trying to push the boulder with her back. "We have to get out of here!"
Before anyone else can express their distain about the sudden change in scenery, loud growling suddenly ripples through the hallow cave, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Mabel, I thought you ate that turkey leg." Dipper whispers to her.
"I don't think that was my stomach Dipper." Mabel replies, feeling her blood run cold at noticing the sight of narrowed red eyes glaring at them in the darkness. "I believe we have company!"
Dipper and Wyn now turn around and spot the glowing red eyes that Mabel is slightly shivering at the sight of. Along the walls of the cave, the torches mounted on the walls now light up the inside of the cave to reveal what those eyes belong to, a large silverfish grey wolf the size of a saber tooth tiger that is standing on its hind legs! On the chest of the wolf is a red stitched hearted and on its head is a mess of jet black hair that runs down the beast's back in a straight mane. Landing on its front legs, the wolf continues growling at the sight of three warriors with a stream of drool running from the beast's mouth through its razor sharp teeth.
"Robbie?!" Dipper gasps, observing the features of the beast that match his arch nemesis exactly. Quickly overcoming his initial shock, Dipper grabs his sword with a grin appearing on his face. "Oh I've been waiting a long time to square off with you and I don't plan to waste a minute of it!"
"Dipper wait!" Mabel calls after her brother as he now lunges at the large wolf.
The wolf reacts the same as Dipper, running and lunging towards him while raising its right paw and displaying its machete fashioned claws! Positioning his sword so to bring it down on the wolf's head, the wolf swings its paw towards Dipper, swatting him as if swatting at a fly with the boy now slamming into the left wall of the cave and landing on the ground face first with his sword landing next to him.
"Ok, this has got to stop happening!" Dipper fumes.
"Dipper!" Mabel shouts, now turning her attention towards the large beast, her eyes narrowing in anger. "Hey! No one hurts my brother, but me!"
Grabbing her whip, Mabel lunges towards the beast and being within range of the monster, Mabel harshly lashes at the beast's face a few times with it recoiling at the girl's relentless attacks! With Mabel's attack, the beast is now minus sixty points from its three hundred and twenty.
"Hey, no need to exclude me!" Wyn replies, loading three arrows into her crossbow as she arrives to the left of Mabel. Aiming her crossbow at the beast, Wyn releases them with the arrows now impacting the wolf, taking even more points off. Another forty points is taken off of the monster.
Dipper now sits up and notices his sister and Wyn attacking the wolf. Looking to his left, then his right, Dipper spots his sword and grabs it while jumping to his feet.
"This ends now!" Dipper growls. "If Robbie can't get away with pushing me around in Gravity Falls, he won't get away with doing it here! This is my video game!"
Lunging towards the beast, Dipper arrives to the right of the monster and lashes at it consistently, taking off more points then what Wyn and Mabel are taking off together! Feeling itself becoming weak, the beast releases a sonic roar, sending a wave of electric rings towards the three with the trio leaping out of the way just in time to avoid losing any life points. Jumping back to her feet, Mabel makes another run for the beast, but trips over a rock in the cave and lands on her stomach, her whip flying out of her hands.
"My whip!" Mabel yells, seeing her weapon land at the feet of the monster.
Her scream got the beast's attention with it now fixing its eyes on her. Before the girl can climb back to her feet, the wolf stands on its hind legs and grabs her, now bringing her into its view. With Mabel in the wolf's grip, a single golden heart appears over her head, indicating how many lives the girl has left.
"Mabel!" Wyn and Dipper shouts in unison.
"You're coming with me!" The wolf growls to her with Mabel trying to pull herself out of the wolf's grip. "I have orders to take you to the master!"
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Mabel protests. "Put me down this instant!"
Holding out its right paw, a silver cage appears with the door opening and the wolf slinging Mabel inside. Closing the door, a vortex appears behind the wolf, it turning around and running into it.
"Dipper! Wyn! Help me!" Mabel's voice calls out to them with the vortex quickly closing.
"NO! MABEL!" Dipper calls back to her with a hopeful reach, but the timing is too late as the vortex now closes.
Staring in disbelief at the area of the cave where the portal disappeared, a few trails of stars faintly blinking where the vortex was, Dipper falls to his knees with his sword falling out of his hands.
"Mabel….She's gone." Dipper quietly speaks as he lowers his head. "I failed you."
Wyn, who isn't that far from Dipper, makes her way over to him and places a hand on his left shoulder.
"Don't worry Dipper, we'll find her." Wyn tries assuring Dipper.
"Whoa, why the long face kids?" Will's voice speaks at the entrance of the cave.
Hearing the control board's voice, Dipper and Wyn begin looking around for him at the entrance where the boulder is still blocking it, not noticing a pair of eyes suddenly appearing on the left wall of the cave. Blinking a few times, Will now emerges from the wall while fixing his hair. Noticing the duo is still looking at the entrance of the cave, the board clears his throat, now getting their attention.
"You guys should really pay more attention to your surroundings as I can appear anywhere." Will speaks to them with a laugh. "And I hate to tell you, but the princess is in another castle."
Dipper now gets to his feet while glaring at Will, a glare sharp enough to cut glass!
"My sister just got kidnapped and you're joking around?!" Dipper snaps which causes Will to jump back. "She can be anywhere in this game and you're laughing right now?! Do you have any idea just how upset I am right now?!"
"Whoa, whoa kid, heel." Will speaks to Dipper while raising his hands in defense. "I saw everything, but as the golden rule stands, I can't interfere with a player's fight when it comes to a level boss."
"Then what are you even doing here?!" Dipper continues fussing at the board.
"If you give me a minute, I can explain a little advantage that you two are now able to take advantage of." Will begins as he regains his composure. "Considering you two made it through level one with extra lives, level two has a warp hole that will allow you to skip through half the level so you can make it to level 3 in no time flat thanks to those little beauties. However I must warn you that level 2 is an ocean stage and you'll need special ocean gear that will allow you to breathe under water, of course supplied by yours truly. Plus the gear comes with special weapons equipped for defeating the monsters you will encounter. If you think Jaws was a vicious shark, this next stage makes that shark look like a guppy!"
"Anything to find and rescue Mabel!" Dipper declares. "I refuse to let her down!"
"That's the spirit kid!" Will replies with a smile, a set of double doors with the number '2' on them now appearing in the back of the cave. "I would like to welcome you to level 2!"
What Ally will they meet up with in level 2? Stay tuned to find out!
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