"You could be my someone, you could be my scene.
You know that I will save you from all of the unclean.
I wonder what you're doing, I wonder where you are.
There's oceans in between us, but that's not very far."
"Blurry," by Puddle of Mudd
Chapter 4 – Twice Upon A Quest
Dipper opened his eyes, following the blinding white light, to discover that for once, he wasn't free falling through realities. He looked forward to see that he was placed upon a mounting steed, galloping towards a humongous castle. All throughout the pitch black sky, Dipper could see strangely shaped dark figures zooming back and forth from the ground. Flashes of red and orange followed their movements, onto the surrounding people. Were they literally raining fire down on these people?
Suddenly, a thin, yet powerful blue laser came from the sky, slicing into the poor horse. "AAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE!" Dipper let out a girlish scream as he flew through the air, with arms and legs flailing wildly. He landed hard on the ground with a loud *CLUNK.* Despite being in total pain, Dipper questioned the odd sound. He stood up and looked at his current outfit.
Dipper was placed into a bluish grey set of armor that covered him from head to toe. Though it was kind of clunky, Dipper seemed not to mind. On his side, a blue lance was hung on his belt. Not knowing what to expect, Dipper clumsily unlatched the blade and resumed onwards the castle.
Dipper carefully examined the surroundings. Part of the building had caught fire, leaving several servants struggling to extinguish them. All of a sudden, a red gargoyle swooped in and picked up one of the servants with its talons. Looking at the screaming man, Dipper readied his aim, and threw his lance at the horrid creature, narrowly missing the captive. The creature shrieked, exploding into a small flame, and dropping his prey back onto the ground. Suddenly, Dipper felt something in his hand. It was the lance he had just thrown! Suspicious, Dipper turned and threw the blade into the air. Once again, it magically reappeared into his throwing hand!
"Cool! "thought Dipper. "It's like a boomerang…in a way."
Dipper looked behind him to see that same group of villagers staring at him. Dipper froze in nervous hesitation. All at once, they began to cheer for him excitedly! Dipper rubbed his iron plated head in confusion. He never had such a response towards him, ever! For this, he had no idea how to react to him being hailed as a "people's champion."
An elder came from the group and addressed him, "Young sire, praise the heavens that you have heard our cries for assistance once again…"
"Wait…" Dipper interrupted. "You KNOW me?"
The wise man looked confused at Dipper's statement, "But, of course, sire. You are the famed knight known throughout the land for drawing back the demon king and his army of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls from this kingdom."
Dipper, unaware of these statements that the elder had provided him with, played along with his claims. "Right! So, any idea why these things have returned?" quizzed Dipper.
The old man continued on with his narration, "For the Princess, of course! It is said that only those of the royal bloodline can be used in the ceremony to unite the human and demon worlds into one reality…"
Dipper had only one guess to whom said princess could possibly be. "Where is the princess at the moment?"
The elder pointed towards a huge wooden door at the end of the hall, "She is residing in the throne room, but…"
"Thanks, but I can take it from here!" interrupted Dipper, speeding away to (hopefully) greet his princess. As he ran through the long hall, he observed that who (or whatever) attacked really had it out for this kingdom. Countless windows were shattered. The rich, fancy carpeting was dirtied and torn up by what appeared to be claw marks. Even the heavy wooden door at the end was severely banged up, almost being torn off its hinges.
As Dipper entered the room, he hustled (at least as much as he could donning armor) to the edge of the room, where a ceremonial throne sat. He sighed in relief as he confirmed his suspicions.
In the decorated throne was Wendy, wearing a golden crown, and draped in a lavish white gown laced with blue trimmings. Struggling to catch his breath, Dipper nearly fell at her feet.
"*HUFF*- Wendy! - *HUFF*"
He looked up at his secret love, surprised that she didn't say a single word. Wendy sat, perfect in posture, without moving a muscle. She stared into space, her green eyes devoid of the spark that Dipper loved so much. Her face was left completely blank, with her trademark dimples gone missing. Her pale, snow-white complexion was now a greyish tone.
Worried, Dipper hopped back to his feet, and sprinted to Wendy's side. He picked her hand up without any resistance, and called out to her,
"Wendy, say something; anything, please!" The teenage girl offered no response, maintaining her stance. Dipper did everything that he could think to regain her attention: he snapped his fingers in front of her face, he whistled loudly, he pinched her gently, he tickled her feet, until finally, he stood up and shook her by the shoulders, calling her name while trying to hold back tears. All of his tactics had failed. Wendy continued to sit on her throne, as if she was a lifeless doll.
Dipper took a deep breath and realized that the situation was so dire, that desperate times called for desperate matters. He knew what he had to do. There was only one thing he could think of that would make Wendy look up and give him a huge, dimpled smile. He hated to do it; he hated it with all his heart, but if it was the only thing that could wake Wendy up, he'd do it a thousand times for her sake. As Dipper was about to perform the dreaded, yet patented "Lamby Lamby Dance", he was thankfully interrupted by the sage he talked to earlier.
"Sire, sire!" he called out, catching up to the armored teenager. "Thou hadn't given me a chance to explain! " Dipper resumed his regular stance, secretly glad that the stranger hadn't come in two minutes later. The elder continued in his story, "Before ye arrived, the monsters had already invaded the palace! While even the guards cowered in fear, the Princess stood valiantly, battling the demons with an unparalleled velocity. .."
Hearing this made Dipper smile. Even though these game-based worlds seemed to lock Wendy into the role of "damsel-in-distress," it was great to hear that she was still kicking butt and taking names. Dipper knew that despite being the "hero" of the story, in the real world, Wendy could easily tear him in two if she really wanted to.
The sage went on further, "…despite this, she was soon outnumbered and verily, she was shortly taken." Dipper looked back upon the empty shell that was his secret love. He asked, "Taken, how? She's right here!"
"The demons kidnapped her soul, her essence, in order to fuel their ceremony. If left alone, it will be only mere hours until the two worlds merge…"
Dipper sighed, once again, picking up Wendy's hand. It was lacking of any warmth. It was almost as if she was already…
"NO!" echoed throughout Dipper's mind. He couldn't think like that! However, Dipper was frustrated. Every single one of these gaming worlds has literally held Wendy over his head, threatening a worse fate for her with every passing moment. Luckily, they have been nothing but psyches and trickery so far, but when would that end? Could there (would there) be a situation that even he couldn't intervene with? The thought crossed his mind that Wendy could have fallen the moment she crossed over to this digital world; that his journey was for naught. Dipper had to stop himself and force all the "what if's" out of his mind. It was the only way he could keep going without driving himself crazy.
He turned back to the wise man, "What is it that I must do to save her?"
"Thou must brave into the point where our world ends and theirs begins. Throughout your journey, you must come across several sacred relics that you must use to combat the demon leader. Without them, you have no chance!"
The man reached into his pocket and gave Dipper a gauntlet. The silver item had a huge blue gem embedded in the middle. The elder explained, "The items are stored in secret treasure chests that were hidden throughout the terrain. The jewel in the gauntlet will flash onto discovery of a hiding place. Use it wisely."
Dipper took the gift and slid it into his right hand. After thanking him, Dipper asked the sage on where to begin his quest.
(shortly later)
"Out of all the places in this world to begin, I have to start here?!" Dipper exclaimed in anguish. He carefully stepped further into the cemetery, waiting for the madness to begin. Halfway into the graveyard, Dipper could have sworn that he heard a noise coming from beneath him. He stopped to listen, but no further sound came. After a few steps, the earth began to move under his feet!
Dipper watched in shock as the ground began to rise and sink in front of his eyes! All of a sudden, dozens upon dozens of coffins began to rise up from the ground. Slowly but surely, legions of the undead began to pour out of their raised resting places. Dipper was amazed as before him, it was literally raining the living dead! Unlike the "Slaughterhouse" slime zombies, these creatures had a cartoonish quality to them, though Dipper figured that they were just as deadly.
Dipper pulled out the magic lance and began hurling the infinite weapon at the upcoming horde. While it was successful in vanquishing the vile monsters, Dipper realized that he couldn't take out every single undead person. Carefully, he cleared a path through the demons, and performed a running jump onto the next area. Ahead of him lied a small bridged path leading to another peninsula. When Dipper crossed the bridge, he looked to see that it was collapsing under step. He hotfoot it across the corroding platform, making it in the nick of time.
As Dipper continued onwards to the new land, he could feel a form of resistance trying to hold him back. It took the teen a minute to understand what was happening; the wind itself was attempting to push him backwards. Dipper tried to fight the harsh gusts until he seen the next obstacle. From the wind itself, little red creatures formed, and dove towards Dipper. He attempted to chuck a lance at one of the creatures, but it was easily deflected. He then leaped over the second creature, only to land on top of the third one. As Dipper was struck, he flew backwards as his armor shattered into a thousand pieces!
The creatures looked upon the boy in his current state. They mockingly laughed, and quickly left to pursue greater threats. After a moment to gather his thoughts, Dipper looked to the sky to wonder why his enemies left in pity. A cold breeze quickly informed him why. Dipper glanced down to see his current condition. Gone was his niffy bluish grey armor. Instead, the teenager was left nearly and completely naked! The only thing covering his shame was a pair of white boxer shorts, complete with small blue lamb prints spread throughout.
Dipper smacked himself in the face out of pure embarrassment. For the first time during the entire ordeal, Dipper was actually grateful that Wendy was not by his side to witness this. Besides, Dipper knew that in this state, one more blow could spell his doom.
"How can this get any worse?" he asked himself. Suddenly, the gauntlet on his arm began to glow. This meant that a hidden chest was nearby. Dipper carefully navigated to behind a giant oak tree, to where a golden treasure chest popped up. As Dipper hoped for some type of clothing, he struck the box with his lance to open it. A sparkle came from the chest, quickly forming into a jester-like creature, complete with flowing red cape and demonic red eyes. Dipper shook as the being leered at him, when abruptly, it raised its arm and zapped him with a beam of light!
As Dipper reopened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he was a lot closer to the ground. He looked down at his body. The only thing he could see were feathers everywhere! Dipper went to scream in terror, but the only thing that came out was a confusing "QQQQQUUUUAAAACCCKKKKK!"
Dipper tried to raise his arms, but instead he found wings in their place. "Nononononono…" he thought to himself, trying to run from the sight in front of him. Dipper actually fell, discovering his legs were now stubby webbed feet. As he waddled forward, Dipper had seen a small pond. He peered over to see his reflection, confirming his suspicions. The Jester-Magician creature had transformed the teen into a blue duck!
Dipper tried to gather his wits, trying to avoid saying or wishing anything else that could possibly jinx him in the near future. How could he save Wendy in the form of a duck? His thoughts were interrupted as suddenly, more wind based red creatures came upon the boy-duck. In a nervous fury, Dipper leaped away from the peril, quacking and flapping his wings rapidly. "Jeez…" moaned Dipper inside his mind. "I can't even fly in this thing?"
As if the fates heard his plight, the duck's body began to glow repeatedly, and shortly after, Dipper was returned to his human form, albeit his "boxer-shorts-only" form. Despite this, Dipper was happy to be human again.
Dipper finally arrived at the huge gate leading to the next area. He looked on to see that the gate was securely locked. Suddenly, Dipper was taken aback by rustling in the treetops over him. A huge yellow cyclops, dressed in red body armor hopped down to confront the boy.
"Let me pass!" ordered Dipper. The monster laughed in his face, "Like I'm going to roll over for a small child in lamb underwear!"
Aggravated, Dipper pointed back at the beast, "Shut up!" wishing that he would have thought a better comeback. The cyclops began to launch fireballs from his mouth full of jagged teeth. Dipper gasped, throwing himself to the cold ground in order to dodge the projectiles. He quickly shot back up and threw 3 lancers at the beast, making him roar in anguish. The creature then raised his curled fists into the air and slammed them into the ground. Dipper watched as the ground literally rose up and down, as if it was a tidal wave heading straight towards him. Out of reflex, Dipper flipped into the air, avoiding the wave, and before landing, shot a trick lancer into the creature's eye. The cyclops immediately burst into flames, quickly evaporating into the atmosphere.
"YES!" cried Dipper in victory, unsure on how he was able to make such an incredible shot. A shining beacon shot out, from where the creature stood, into the sky. Dipper dove to catch the glowing object. As he looked down at it, he had seen that it was a golden key. It must be for the locked gate up ahead! He looked up to hear someone say from the sky, "NICE CATCH!" Dipper laughed at the announcement, yelling back to the sky, "THANKS!" A flash of light occurred before his face. His body suddenly felt heavier (and a lot warmer). Dipper looked down to see that the bluish armor had once again formed over his body.
Dipper, with key in hand, started towards the gate, when he tripped over something in his path. On the ground, the golden gauntlet began to blink repeatedly once again. He turned around to see that another hidden chest had risen from the ground. Not taking any chances, Dipper stood a great distance away from the chest before launching the lances to open it. Instead of a monster, a silver and gold incrusted shield popped out. Dipper picked up the object, noting that it was too big for him to use. At the same time, he remembered the sage's warning about certain relics being needed to defeat the king of the demons. Dipper placed the shield on his back and headed onwards, opening the gate and entering the new area.
Within seconds, Dipper started to explore his new level. It was a small village, complete with several medieval style homes. Throughout the village lied several old-fashioned artifacts including water wells and windmills. However, Dipper looked on in disgust as he noticed that the majority of the buildings were set ablaze. He guessed that the same flying creatures that invaded the castle must have trashed the town as well. Dipper explored the town further, only to discover that not a single soul was left. He hoped that the defenseless villagers were able to escape in time.
Dipper looked to the sky to see a humongous, yet very crooked tree towering over the entire village. It was shaped similar to that of a hand whose twisted fingers stretched outwards towards the night sky. Dipper peered at the odd sight until he took notice of something off. There were several objects hanging throughout the branches! Dipper shuddered, thinking to himself, "Is that what happened to the townsfolk?"
The armored teenager headed towards the huge tree at the edge of the town. Dipper glanced up to see that (fortunately) the tree limbs were not holding the corpses of the fallen townsfolk. It had contained, however, rows upon rows of hungry-looking vultures. Dipper could feel dozens of eyes watching his every move. His vision shot up as he heard an angry *SQUAWK!* Within seconds, it quickly turned it dozens of screeches. The vultures began to swoop down on Dipper with extreme haste. Arming himself with the infinite lance and started to pick off the rotten birds one by one. As they began to dive faster and faster, Dipper began to jump and flip over the birds as he continued to slay the creatures.
Exhausted, Dipper looked around to see if any of the vicious predators remained. Luckily, all that remained was merely feathers floating around in midair. All of a sudden, the jewel on the gauntlet began to flash again. Dipper excitedly followed the signal to the middle of the tree, when yet another golden chest popped up from the ground. Taking his careful stance from a distance, Dipper opened the box to find a golden cross. Slowly, Dipper picked up the relic, wondering to himself if it would bless the remainder of his journey. He turned around to see that through the pathway leading out of the town stood the second gate. Dipper carefully approached the gate, looking for any clue that could lead him to the key that would open the gate.
Unfortunately, Dipper shortly received his wish as he heard continuous flapping from overhead. It wasn't of the same level of sound that came from the flock before. It was similar to that of a thousand vultures. Dipper browsed up to see a huge monstrous vulture. It bent down to face the young teen, unleashing a horrific roar that almost knocked him off his balance. The giant beast began to flap its wings once more; the massive gusts it created pushed Dipper further back from his target.
Once the beast returned to the air, Dipper, with lance in hand, ran back and forth trying to run the growing shadow above him. The last thing that he needed was a 3-ton bird in his lap! Trusting his instinct, Dipper launched a lance up into the sky, luckily striking the bird on its beak! As the thing cried out in anguish, it violently fell back to the ground, causing a miniature tremor. Dipper quickly jumped to avoid the quake, and in mid-jump, launched another lance at creature's face, making it recoil in pain.
As a last attempt, the creature attempted to peck at Dipper. Despite the long distance, the vulture stretched its feathered neck across the field at an attempt to claim the boy's life. At the last second, Dipper hopped over the vulture's head and beak, taking a lance and piercing its outstretched neck. In one final cry, the creature released a death moan, and as with his cyclops partner, exploded into flames, leaving behind another golden key. Dipper picked up the second key, which immediately opened up the gate before him. Dipper hurried through, wondering what other bosses awaited him in this world.
Dipper discovered that this new path led to a mountainside that was completely covered in ice. Dipper shivered in his armor by merely looking at the frigid landscape. Oddly enough, the top of the icy land was actually steaming! Dipper figured that something important must be located upon of the summit. Dipper looked around for a way to traverse the harsh realm. Maybe he could find a series of footholds or something similar…
As Dipper explored the side of the mountain, he was extremely thrilled to find a worn-off yet still-standing series of platforms and ladders. Dipper set foot on the first row, disheartened by the way that it creaked and swayed as he moved forward. When he reached the second story of platforms, Dipper heard a horrific howl that echoed throughout the countryside. Dipper couldn't tell if it was the arctic wind blowing fiercely or that another monster was on its way to greet him. Suddenly, Dipper felt vibrations flow under him as a new being stepped onto the plank with him.
Dipper stood readily as he observed the new creature. It was a human sized wolf, complete with snow-blue fur and glowing white eyes. Similar to that of the cyclops, the monster also wore a bright red vest. It raised its head to let another bone-chilling howl from deep in its chest. Dipper readied his blade, just waiting for the wolf-beast to strike. Without warning, the wolf charged at the armored hero, attempting to slice at him using razor sharp claws. Dipper ducked over the creature's rampage, and thistly, struck the beast's midsection. The creature howled in anguish, quickly exploding into blue flame.
Carefully, Dipper ascended to the next level, where he came face to face with another ice-colored wolf. Trying to beat the monster to the punch, he quickly hurled a lance at this wolf. The wolf released a blue beam from its mouth, turning Dipper's projectile to ice. The frozen lance fell to the ground, cracking into several pieces as it landed. The wolf creature began to deeply inhale, in which Dipper guessed that meant another ice beam was coming soon. Without thinking, Dipper ran towards the beast, sliding between its legs, and leaping up behind it. Before the ice wolf could react, Dipper had already nailed it with 3 lances, easily dissipating it into blue flames. Victorious, Dipper turned around and immediately jumped back as he just barely missed another ice shot coming down from above. He glanced up to see a third wolf peering over the plank overhead. Taking careful aim, Dipper marked the sinister being, and threw another projectile. The lance hit the beast with such force, that it was knocked off the platform! Dipper watched as the wolf fell to its doom, howling all the way…
At last, Dipper made it to the ice mountain's summit. He stood amazed upon seeing why the mountaintop steamed; there was actually a huge lava pit trailing down into the center of the mountain! Alongside it was a pathway leading alongside it. As Dipper began to travel deeper into the inside of the mountain, he noticed that the lava began to bubble repeatedly. Dipper glanced at the boiling point. He gasped in horror when he seen two glowing yellow eyes staring back at him from the lava!
Dipper covered himself as a figure rose from the lava pit. He lowered his arms to reveal that a dragon-like creature made entirely of magma had appeared before him! The dragon began to blow chunks of liquid fire at the teenaged boy. "Crap, Crap, CRAP!" screamed Dipper, trying to avoid the deadly projectiles! In between shots, he threw two lances in retaliation, with one of them striking the liquid based beast in the face. It jerked back in pain, its yellow eyes glaring at the plucky teen. The dragon's mouth began to flash a bright red-orange. Dipper raised his eyebrows to the sight before him. He knew what was going to happen; the lava monster was planning to unleash a fire-storm upon him! Dipper looked around his surroundings. The path was too narrow to openly dodge without chancing failing into the lava. Suddenly, an idea flashed in Dipper's mind. He reached behind him to the massive shield on his back. He held the shield forward, throwing his entire body against it. Dipper shortly heard a gigantic roar, followed by extreme amounts of heats against the metal surface. The boy dared not to lift his head up during the attack. Even though the attack only lasted a minute, it felt like an eternity to Dipper. After a moment, Dipper began to feel a cool breeze against his blistering cheeks. He glanced up from behind his protection, to see that the lava-made creature sat dormant. Dipper guessed that the demon may have run out of strength using that ultimate attack. "Now is the perfect time to strike…" he thought to himself.
Dipper jumped up from behind the golden shield and hurdled several blades at the monster, with the last shot striking it between the eyes. Unleashing a massive groan, the creature quickly sunk back into the pit from which it came. Dipper resumed hiding behind the oversized shield to avoid splashing lava. As he ducked, Dipper heard a tiny rumbling noise coming from a short distance away. He peeked around the shield to see that a third golden chest had risen from the ground. Once again putting distance between the box and him, Dipper shot at the chest. Dipper gleamed in excitement at the item that popped out.
A set of golden armor lay before Dipper. The plates on the armor seemed a lot thicker and sturdier than the set he was wearing right now. The helmet, complete with red decoration on top, would cover his face, save for a thin line for vision. As Dipper touched the golden treasure, he let out a startled cry as it crawl up his arm and spread out over his entire body. Despite the looks of the armor, Dipper felt great; he was able to move his frame with very little restriction or weight.
Clad in the new armor, Dipper looked back towards the shield that earlier saved his hide. He picked it up and noticed that it, too, began to change. The shield started to conform in size to meet the golden armor, as if they were made for one another. Dipper was now able to hold the powerful relic in his left hand without any strain. "Neat!" he thought to himself. He looked down at his infinite lance, noticed that it had also changed from a blue tint to a shining gold one. Feeling somewhat empowered, Dipper continued down the spiraling path, hoping he was nearly at the journey's end.
Dipper walked down the smelting road, his newly-acquired weaponry taking a bit of the heat off of his shoulders. As he traveled carefully the path, he began to notice that the lava stream following the trail began to bubble once again. However, the pockets were not as huge as the one that birthed the lava dragon minutes ago. High-pitched shrieks began to fill the air. Dipper surveyed in revulsion as small flying creatures started to form from the lava itself. Upon closer look, Dipper discovered that they were actually baby gremlins! He smiled at the sight, for despite being monsters of incredible evil, he had to admit that they were very cute. His demeanor changed shortly as within seconds, dozens of the gremlins were upon him, biting and clawing.
Using both lance and shield, Dipper attempted to swat away the vicious horde. He tried to take shots with the golden lance, but for every one he took down, three more rose up to take its place. Defeated, Dipper hastily decided to retreat down the route, nearly avoiding falling into the magma stream. As Dipper raced down to the bottom, a huge gate closed tightly behind him, locking out his pursuers.
Sighing in relief, Dipper explored his new surroundings. The room he had walked into seemed to be a decaying wasteland with moss and barnacles covering every aspect. Another gate stood at the end of the room; it, too covered in plant life. Dipper guessed that meant that this pathway hadn't been opened in some time. Was this the way to the demon world (and Wendy?)
As Dipper reached the midpoint of the fallen room, he began to hear an odd noise, similar to that of buzzing. It sounded like it was surrounding him yet he couldn't see anything for miles. The buzzing grew louder and louder, driving Dipper crazy. "What is it?" he thought to himself. "Where is it coming from?" The answer was shortly upon him.
From every aspect of rotting plant life, they came. Hundreds of thousands of flies came together in front of Dipper, rotating in a huge circle. Swiftly, said circle began to unite into a singular form. Dipper observed in awe as he gawked at the largest fly that he had ever seen in his young life! The fly-monster immediately shot a green substance at the young armored hero. Dipper, in reflex, blocked it with the golden shield. He glanced down to see that the creature was strong enough to produce a strong form of acid. In response, Dipper struck the fly-form with several lances. The creature suddenly changed hues, from a greenish black to a bright orange.
Confused, Dipper stood defensively as the giant fly dissolved back into the pile of swarms. Within a moment's notice, the thousands of flies vanished, each going their own separate ways. Dipper rotated himself within a circle, trying to attempt to guess where the creature was going to turn up next. He knew that it was still in there with him; he could hear the buzzing.
Suddenly, an oozing substance had dropped down in front of his covered face. His vision shot up to see the fully formed fly monster snarling down at him, hanging upside down from the top of the cavern. Dipper quickly shot his projectiles upwards to meet the beast. After striking it several times, the creature changed colors once more, to a bright red, and immediately, flew down to tackle Dipper. However, instead of using its full form to crush the boy, it disbanded into a murderous swarm.
Dipper ran wildly in a panic, trying to shoo the countless insects. However, they stuck to him like glue; hindering his movements, blinding his vision, and even slowing his breath. Due to this, Dipper began to slip into unconsciousness, his legs wanting to give out under him. His thoughts, however, grew stronger and stronger, his spirit raging:
"I can't give up…she still needs me…I won't give up…she's waiting for me…"
With gathering his last ounces of energy, Dipper raised his head and hand into the sky, and shouted the source of his strength, as if he was begging for more:
"WENDY!"
Miraculously, a lightning bolt came crashing down onto the armored boy, spreading through his insect-covered body. Dipper didn't feel pain; if anything, he felt incredible warmth, as if his secret love was besides him, cheering him on. The lightning radiated him until it finally shot out of every end of his body.
Before his eyes, Dipper watched as hundreds of thousands of tiny flames floated back into the ground.
Exhausted, Dipper approached this last gate. He didn't see a key (or even a lock) anywhere. His attention gathered to the top of the gate, where another object was forming. It was a young woman, angelic in appearance, standing out through a misty background. It was enlightening to Dipper to finally see another female character in these games that didn't take on Wendy's form. His concentration broke as the muse began to speak onto him.
"Dearest knight, have thou gathered the sacred relics needed to challenge the demonic king?"
Dipper stepped forward and nodded, "Yes, ma'am. I have collected the golden armor and shield, as well as the jeweled cross."
"Excellent. But what of the Princess's Bracelet?"
Dipper's smile quickly vanished. "The what?"
The angelic being explained, "The Princess's Bracelet emits a form of pure energy needed to create the ultimate weapon needed to slay the king of demons. Without it, ye are doomed…"
"Ok," Dipper replied. "Where do I get it?" The angel frowned. "Thou must find it at the beginning of the quest…"
Dipper looked confused, "So, I have to go back to the castle?" The angel shook her head, "No, you must restart your entire quest. All items you have collected will vanish, and every monster you have slain will be revived…"
Dipper, now annoyed, spoke up against the action, "Now, wait a minute! I don't have time for that! I have a girl I have to rescue, who's probably already peeved at me for making her wait as it is!"
The angel looked down, outstretching her hand, "I'm sorry, but that is the rules of the game. You have no choice in the matter…" From her hand came a blue light, "Enter the light to begin your journey anew…" Dipper turned around and ran the other way, proclaiming "No way!" His escape was abruptly stopped as the way he came was closed off. He turned around to see the blue light heading right towards him, when suddenly, a pink sparkle flashed before his eyes.
The flash was actually a tiny female pixie, carrying a piece of jewelry twenty times her size. "WAIT!" she
squeaked, "This is the Princess's Bracelet, needed to defeat the demon leader!" She turned back to the angel and its blue light, "The demons attempted to trick this boy to prevent his possible victory."
With that, the fairy floated over Dipper's hand and dropped it into his hand. It was a golden bracelet, complete with red and green jewels. Dipper carefully secured it around his wrist, flashing it to the pursing angel, "So…can I go now?" The being smiled, nodding, and shortly faded away. The sound of a lock opening echoed throughout the room. The final gate slowly opened in front of Dipper.
He turned his attention back to the pixie, "Thank you, but how did you know…" The fairy gave him a cute smile, "Your princess asked me to help you…" "My princess?!" thought Dipper. He continued to quiz the fairy, "Is she alright? Where is she now?"
The fairy explained, "At the moment, she is trapped in the void between the living world and the demon world. I met her after she risked her life to save me from a hungry demon. She was watching you fight for her benefit. She could tell how badly you miss her, and I could see how much she misses you…" Hearing that last line made Dipper blush and rub his arm in embarrassment. "…for this, she asked me to help you in your journey, for I can transverse the borders between life and death."
She then turned towards the open door, "If you wish to return life to the Princess, you must do battle with the demon lord. Once successful, her soul will return to the mortal plane, and the demon world will vanish once again…"
Dipper bravely took a step towards when something caught his eye. The hand in which had Wendy's bracelet around it had a small blue fireball hovering just above. The fairy looked on in wonder, "The bracelet reflects the purity of its wearer. As long as you carry hope in your heart, you can win!"
Dipper continued into the final gate when he heard the fairy's final encouraging words, "Your princess has total faith in you. She's waiting for you, so don't let her down!"
Dipper nodded and turned onwards to the last battle. After stepping through the massive door, he froze in shock of the sight before him.
On a gigantic throne sat a terrible horned, red demon, similar to that of the gargoyles he met at the beginning of his quest. It wore ceremonial body armor across its arms and legs. Perhaps the most gruesome sight was the fact that the demon had another face inside of its torso.
Trying to fight his nervous shakes, Dipper approached the demon leader, when suddenly, it reached out its finger at him. Sharp laser beams sprung out from the tip. Dipper quickly dove in the opposite direction. Upon getting back to his feet, Dipper took a golden lance and threw it at the leader's face. In quick reflex, the demon flicked the projectile away, as if it was a gnat. Dipper looked down in despair at his empty hands, until he seen his right hand glowing. The fairy's words came back to Dipper. Immediately, he emptied all scary and negative doubts from his head, and replaced them with thoughts of Wendy. He watched in amazement as the flame on his hand grew ten-fold!
He looked back at the demon leader, his arrogant smile now gone from his face. Dipper threw a giant blue fireball at the evil being, making him cry out in pain. As Dipper continued to pelt the boss, the creature ducked a shot, and fired a finger laser back, striking Dipper. For this, his golden armor and shield shattered into a million pieces.
"Oh, no!" he thought as he regained his balance. Dipper was once again left in the form of near nudity with the mere exception of the lamb marked boxers. However, he noticed that Wendy's bracelet was still attached. Dipper tried to throw another fireball, but this time, it only traveled half the distance before dissolving. The demon king laughed at the half-naked boy's efforts.
"The golden armor must increase the range of the weapons…" Dipper analyzed. "The only way I can finish this is if I get up close…"
Dipper took a deep breath and quickly ran to his opponent. He jumped up on the leg of the beast, while dodging more lasers. Angry, the king swung at the miniature hero, completely missing its target. While outstretched, Dipper leapt to the huge bicep, and ran up it, finally meeting the villain face-to-face. As the king shrieked in anger, Dipper jumped towards the monster's face, with a huge fireball in his palm, and once again, his precious redheaded crush on his mind…
The room exploded with gushes of blue light! Groggy, Dipper looked up at the sight before him. From the carcass of the fallen demon leader, hundreds of lost souls escaped from its body. Dipper stood in quiet awe, waiting to see that belonging to his lost love. After a few seconds, the lights faded from the corpse, leaving behind nothing else but a new portal. Dipper was worried; why didn't he see Wendy's soul? He quickly entered the portal, hoping an answer was waiting for him on the other side.
Once the blinding white light faded, Dipper was greeted with a familiar voice.
"Sire! Thanks goodness you've returned! You did it! The demons have retreated!
Dipper looked up to see that the kindly sage from earlier was there to greet him. The portal had taken him back to the downtrodden castle where his quest began. Dipper glanced down at himself to see that the bluish armor had returned to him, saving him from total embarrassment. He turned with hope to see that his Wendy, restored to full life, was waiting for him on the royal throne.
Dipper looked at an empty throne to see neither Wendy nor empty shell that sat there earlier. All that remained was another white portal adjacent to where the throne stood. Dipper turned with desolation to the wise man, "Where is the princess? What happened?!"
The elder looked down, unable to meet Dipper face-to-face. "As we watched the demons flee the land from inside the castle, we heard a noise coming from this room. As we walked in, we had seen the Princess being led outside through that "door of light." Unfortunately, sire, we didn't see who her companion was…"
Dipper looked at the portal with confusion. "Wendy left of her own accord?" he asked himself. This didn't make any sense. Didn't the fairy say that she was waiting for him? The great fears that Dipper buried deep within himself quickly rose back up to the surface. What if this was another game messing with him? Was Wendy even here beforehand, or was it a trick of his mind? Dipper sighed at the realization. How much longer was this going to go on? There were dozens of different games at the Gravity Falls Arcade. Would he have to go through every single one to find Wendy? He wasn't sure anymore.
Dipper turned and thanked the man once more for his assistance. As he walked into the next portal, he carried a single thought in his mind:
"Where are you, Wendy? Wherever you are, I just hope you're okay…"