It's been a really hectic week over here, honestly, I'm surprised I was able to get my writing done, but here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
Fight Fighters
Today was one of the few days that the Shack was closed, and, to the triplets horror, without the work or any mystery to investigate they were bored out of their minds. What made it clear that this was one of the slowest days in Mystery Shack history, was that Stan was willing to listen to Soos' idea. That was why he, along with Dipper, Mabel, Mikey and Wendy, was walking down Gravity Falls' main street towards an arcade. Once inside, Dipper and Wendy headed straight the back of the arcade, while the others followed Soos. "This is it dudes, my favorite place in Gravity Falls. Everything I know, I learned right here. A frog taught me how to cross a street. When my house was haunted, I learned how to eat ghosts. And this thing taught me how to dance." Soos said as he showed off each of the arcade games.
The arcade was one of the more popular spots for the residents of Gravity Falls to hang out, even Old Man McGucket was having a great time dancing on a shutdown dance machine. "I've been jigging here for seven days straight!" He yelled as they passed him.
Mabel picked up the disconnected power cord and showed Soos. "Uh, should we...?" She asked concerned.
"Let him have this." Soos said with a shake of his head.
Dipper and Wendy were playing Dipper's favorite arcade game. They chose their characters and a cutscene began. "DR. KARATE! YOU KILLED MY FATHER AGAIN!"
"HNNNGGHHH!"
"YOU TAKE THAT BAAACKKKK!" These cutscenes were what really made the game great.
"Fight!" The game announced. Wendy and Dipper button-mashed for a few minutes, messing with each other the whole time until Dipper won. "Winner: Rumble McSkirmish!" The game announced.
"WINNERS DON'T LOSE!"
"What? You cheated." Wendy said playfully.
"YOU TAKE THAT BAAACKKKK!" Dipper said, imitating his character.
"Round Two!"
"I'm gonna punch the ref." Wendy said.
Dipper nodded. "Let's gang up on him." The kids began unleashing their combo moves on the background sprite of the ref.
Their good time was interrupted as Robbie put up a flyer for his band and stepped between Dipper and Wendy. "Wendy! What's up, babe? Yeah, just putting up some flyers for my band. I'm playing lead guitar. No biggie."
Dipper pulled the flyer down and stared at it skeptically. "Are you wearing mascara?"
"Uh, it's eye-paint for men." Robbie scoffed.
Wendy cut off the argument. "Hey Robbie, Dipper was just showing me this great game."
"Ha, yeah, sweet, sweet. Hey, how about you sit this one out, okay champ?"
Dipper protested as Robbie pushed him away from the controls. "But we just started this round."
"Whoa, whoa, hey! Relax man, I'm just trying to spend a little time with my girlfriend, alright?" Robbie said. The look on his face made it clear he was gloating.
"It'll just be one round." Wendy reassured Dipper. Wendy started talking to Robbie as the match began. "So hey, I'm gonna go camping tomorrow with my dad, so I won't be around."
"Oh, cool, cool, watch out!" Robbie said as he slipped his arm over her shoulder.
The next day, Stan, Soos, Dipper, and Mabel were playing poker in the kitchen at the Shack/ Surprisingly, Mikey had refused to play and was now sitting on the couch reading. The reason for his refusal was soon clear to everyone else. "King me!" Mabel said as she threw her cards on the table, taking the pot for the fifth time in a row.
"Aww! Come on!"
Stan let out a frustrated groan. "It's not fair, she doesn't even know what we're playing!"
"Go Fish?" Mabel asked with a shrug.
"I tried to warn you. You never, ever, gamble against Mabel." Mikey said without looking up from his book.
Loud music, loud enough to shake the chandelier, interrupted anything else they might have said. Soos looked around nervously. "Dude, I think I'm picking up a radio station inside my head."
"Try blinking to see if you can change the channel." Mabel said excitedly.
"Weeendy!"
Dipper rolled his eyes at the sound of the voice. "Ugh, sounds like Robbie."
"Robbie? Is he that jerky twerp I see making goo-goo eyes at Wendy all the time?" Stan asked.
Soos nodded. "He called me 'Big Dude' once. I mean, I know I'm a big dude, but it kinda hurt."
"Should I sic Waddles on him again?"
Dipper shook his head. "I'll handle it." He said as he stood up and marched out the door.
Robbie stood on the front lawn, playing his guitar and singing off key. "Wendy! Wendy, Wendy! Wendy! C'mon out, girl! C'mon down!"
Dipper marched in front of him and glared. "You realize she's not here, right?"
Robbie scoffed. "Yes! ...What?"
"She's out camping with her family today." Dipper said, before muttering under his breath. "And if you listened to her for once you'd know that."
Apparently, he didn't mutter quietly enough because suddenly Robbie was in his face and glaring. "What was that?!"
"I- just said she's not here." Dipper stuttered out.
Robbie wasn't going to let it go though. "No, no, no! You want to get into it, huh? Let's get into it, kid! You think I don't know what's been going on, huh? It's obvious you've got a thing for my girlfriend, don't you? Don't you?!" Robbie said, stepping forward and forcing Dipper back.
"What? No! C'mon, man!" Dipper tried to deny it, but the flush on his cheeks was proof enough for Robbie.
"Yeah, I'm sure she's just DYING to ask out a 12-year old kid who wears the exact same shorts every day. Hey, here's an idea: why don't I call her right now and see if she wants to go out on a date with you?" Robbie taunted as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Hey! Look-! Don't! You don't have to-!"
"Oh! Don't! Please, man! What're you gonna do, huh? What, huh?" Robbie pressed the call button, and Wendy's voice could be heard.
"Hello?"
Dipper, in a moment of panic, jumped up and knocked the phone out of Robbie's hands and onto the ground, where it shattered. "My phone!"
"I-I'll buy you a new one!" Dipper said as he backed away from the even angrier Robbie.
"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy!"
Stan poked his head out of the kitchen window right next to the boys. "Hey! I know a fight when I see one! Stay right there!"
Robbie pushed Dipper to the ground and stared him I the eyes. "You. Me. Circle Park. 3 o'clock. We finish this." He turned away and left as quickly as he could.
Stan walked out carrying a bucket of popcorn. "Aw, he's gone! I was just gonna call the boys over to place a few bets! The smart money's on Skinny Jeans." Dipper stood up and Stan followed him inside.
Dipper was pacing in front of the rest of the family, in complete terror. "What was I thinking?! I can't fight! I've never been in a fight before! Look at these noodle arms!"
Stan shrugged his shoulders, not really seeing why Dipper was so worried. "Just bonk him over the head! It's nature's snooze button!"
"Dipper, calm down. It's not like you need to win the fight. Lose it, and then use that to get Robbie in trouble with Wendy! That's two problems solved." Mikey said with a wide smile
Mabel rolled her eyes at the others' suggestions. "Boys! Why can't you learn to hate each other in secret? Like girls do!"
Stan started to laugh. "Sure, listen to your sister! Maybe you can share dresses too!"
"Maybe he'll just forget about it. Maybe it'll all blow over." Dipper said to himself, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.
Soos shook his head. "I don't know, Dipper. Teenagers are dangerous. Those hormones turn them into like, killing machines!"
"R-Really?"
"Oh yeah, dude. My cousin Reggie got in a fight with a teen once. The guy broke like, all his arms, all his legs, and I think, killed him or something, I don't know. Me and Reggie were just talking about it." He said with a shrug.
Dipper slowly backed into a corner of the room. "I can't stay here! What if Robbie comes back!? I gotta hide!"
"Look, kid. You got yourself a choice here. You can either go face him like a man, or you can hide indoors like a wimp. What'll it be?" Stan said.
At the arcade, Soos was playing a game of pinball while Mikey watched, and Dipper was hiding under the game of pinball. "Wimp it is." Soos said as he watched Dipper curl into a ball.
"C'mon Soos, Robbie's twice my size. I mean, what will getting myself killed accomplish? I just need to hide here until 3 o'clock passes." Dipper said as he crawled out from under the machine. He glanced at his watch, to see that it read 11:29. "Uggggh, this day will never end!"
"Relax, Dipper. Just try not to think about Robbie." Soos said. Dipper nodded and turned to look at a wall, that Robbie had, of course, plastered with posters. Dipper screamed and jumped back landing hard on the floor.
"Okay, this is ridiculous." Mikey said as he helped Dipper up. Mikey grabbed dipper's hat and placed it on his own head.
"What are you doing?" Dipper asked.
"Relax Dipper. This isn't the first time I've taken a punch for you." Mikey said with a slight smirk.
That didn't seem to comfort Dipper any. "But Robbie's twice our size! You could get hurt!"
Mikey shrugged. "It won't be that bad. Besides," He said, holding up a video camera. "It'll be worth it."
Mabel sat on the chair watching her favorite talk show, but she just couldn't get into it while she was worrying about Dipper. "Ugh, poor Dipper. Hiding from Robbie, unable to face his fears." She said to herself.
"Fears are for chumps. That's why I don't have any." Stan said as he walked into the den. He began to strain for something on a high shelf as Mabel watched.
"You want me to go get a ladder?" She asked
"We don't have one."
Mabel stared at her Grunkle in confusion. "What?"
"You know, studies show that keeping a ladder in the house is more dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten guns, in case some maniac tries to sneak in with a ladder." Stan explained, clearly passionate about the issue.
"Grunkle Stan, why you ackin' so cray-cray?" Mabel asked suspiciously.
"YOU'RE the one who's 'ackin' cray-cray!' I gotta go now." Stan said as he walked out of the room.
Mabel stared after Stan, now thoroughly intrigued. "Why would Grunkle Stan be so weirded out by ladders?" She asked Waddles. "Of course! I think he has a secret fear of heights! We'll have to test him to be sure! Or we could leave well enough alone... Nah!"
While Mikey had gone to the Mystery Shack a few hours ago, Dipper and Soos were still at the arcade, waiting for three o'clock to come and go. Soos finished his current level and stared at the game cabinet wistfully. "Man, I wonder what it would be like to go inside a video game for real!" Suddenly he was struck with his most brilliant idea yet. "I should have thought of this years ago!" He said as he began to unscrew the back of the game.
"Stupid Robbie. Such a jerk!" Dipper muttered to himself as he played Fight Fighters.
"A WINNER NEVER RUNS AWAY FROM A FIGHT!" Rumble said in his winning cutscene.
Dipper sighed. "That's easy for you to say, you have more than one life. Ugh, I wish one of these guys would fight Robbie for me." He moved to put another token in the machine but dropped it. He crawled next to the machine to grab and saw something scratched on its surface. "To unleash ultimate power? I do like things that are ultimate." He said as he read the cheat code. Standing up and putting the coin in, he performed the moves. The cabinet shut down. "I guess it didn't work."
Suddenly the screen flared back to life, showing nothing but a white screen. "SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!" The game announcer said.
Dipper hesitated and looked around for anyone else. He stepped forward, but couldn't see controls through the blinding light. "Uhhh... Rumble McSkirmish?" He said as he shielded his eyes.
The screen flared brighter for a moment, then a man came flying out of the screen, screaming. "KickkickkickkickKICK!" Once he landed, Dipper recognized him as Rumble McSkirmish, still pixelated, and looking exactly like in the game.
"Whoa! You're real?"
"HIGH FIVE!" Rumble said.
Dipper jumped up and returned the high five. "Ow! Your pixels are really sharp!" He said, holding the injured hand.
Rumble began to speak in the same dramatic, over-acted, slightly stilted voice from the game. "GREETINGS, CHILD-BOY! I AM RUMBLE MCSKIRMISH, FROM THE U.S.A! PUNCH! KICK! PUNCH! KICK!" He said, demonstrating the moves as he did them.
"Ow! Cooool!"
Rumble walked to the arcade's change machine and began smashing it with his fists. "CHANGE MACHINE! CHANGE ME INTO A POWERFUL WOLF! HWAAAAH!"
"With Rumble around, Robbie will be so scared, I won't even need to fight him. I've got the world's greatest fighter to be my bodyguard!" Dipper said to himself.
Rumble flashed red and turned to Dipper. "I NEED POWER UPS!"
"This is so amazing! I gotta show Soos! Soos?" Dipper called out for his friend but didn't hear a response, he quickly decided Soos had left and began to walk back to the Shack with Rumble.
Soos meanwhile, was trying to work his way out of the very tight game cabinet. A guest put a token into the machine and the screen brightened, revealing Soos' face pressed against. "Help, I'm trapped in the game! It was cool in theory but in practice, it was really boring." He pleaded with the man. The man began to scream and ran from the arcade as quickly as he could. "It's not just a game anymore!" Soos yelled after him.
Mabel was preparing to enact one of her greatest plans ever. "Alright, Waddles. It's time to begin. Operation Get Stan Over His Fear of Heights! I came up with that name." She told the pig. She grabbed a shoe box and ran into the den screaming. "HAPPY GREAT UNCLE'S DAY!"
Stan, who had been sitting in the chair quietly, looked at his niece in shock. "Huh? Is it Great Uncle's Day?"
"Yeah, of course, it's not a day I made up." Mabel said, laughing nervously and handing her grunkle the box.
Stan happily took the box and opened it. The excitement quickly drained from his face as he looked at his gift. "High heels? You shouldn't have. Seriously, wha... what? What is this?"
"What's wrong? Are you saying these heels are too high? Do they make you uncomfortable? Hmm?" Mabel said, getting into Stan's face.
"Maybe." He said challengingly.
Mabel gave up playing dumb and screamed at Grunkle Stan. "Admit it! Admit you have a fear of heights!"
"What? That's why you bought me these? You should be ashamed of yourself! And on Great Uncle's Day no less. But no, I don't have a "fear of heights." Stan said smugly.
He turned back to the TV which had just come back from commercial. "We now return to "World's Most Terrifying Skydiving!" The TV announced, showing a clip of a man in mid-fall.
Stan screamed and hurriedly backed away from the TV, tripping over the dinosaur skull nightstand in the process. "Turn it off!" He yelled. Mabel did and then stared at Stan as he sat on the ground. "So I have a fear of heights. Is that really so cray-cray?" Stan said sadly as he looked away from his niece's face.
Dipper entered the Shack through the kitchen door and began searching for powerups in the fridge. "Well, we don't have any traditional power-ups: turkey legs, pizza boxes, or gold rings. How about... half a taco?" He asked the sentient video game character.
Rumble nodded his head. "Place it, on the floor." Once Dipper did so, Rumble stood over it and the taco disappeared. An inventory bar appeared in front of Rumble and the taco was selected and eaten in seconds.
"I wish I could do that!" Dipper said.
Rumble ignored Dipper. "Now I must defeat the world's greatest fight-fighters. Take me to the Soviet Union!" Rumble ordered.
Dipper thought about that for a few seconds. "That's gonna be tough... for a number of reasons. But I do know a fighter here in Gravity Falls."
"Maximum Power?" Rumble asked, completely confused.
Dipper nodded excitedly. "His name is Robbie V. and he's kinda like my arch enemy."
"Did he kill your father?" Rumble asked in shock.
Dipper looked down and answered nervously. "Well, he's dating the girl I like and he posts a really annoying amount of status updates."
"And then he killed your father!" Rumble said, now furious.
Dipper decided to just go with it. "Uh, sure. Anyway, I was hoping you could, y'know, scare him off for me so I don't have to fight the guy."
Rumble's shoulders began to shake. "Hahaha! Your question makes my shoulders bounce! Fireball! Uppercut! Downer-cut! Bowl of PUNCH!" He yelled performing the moves before smashing the punch bowl on the ground.
"So you'll protect me from Robbie?" Dipper asked.
"Challenge accepted! Press start!" A start button appeared in front of Dipper, and he quickly pushed it.
His excitement was tamped down when he heard someone approach the kitchen. "Uh oh, I think I hear my uncle. Stay perfectly still!" He told Rumble as he waited to see what Stan would do. Dipper glanced back and so Rumble swaying a bobbing in place. "I said stay still."
"This is as still as I can stay!" The video game character said loudly.
Mabel sat on her bed in the attic pondering her situation. How could she get Stan over his fear of heights? Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud sound of Dipper walking in with Rumble.
"Hey, Mabel. Have you met Rumble yet? He's my new bodyguard." Dipper said proudly as he walked in.
"The child gave me a taco!" Rumble informed her.
Mabel was now completely forgotten about her previous situation. "Wow! He's got a crazy voice! Here, say these words." She said, handing Rumble a scrap of paper she had written on.
Rumble took the paper and began reading out loud. "Effer...vescent! Apple..fritter! RIBOFLAVIN!"
Dipper rolled his eyes at his sister's antics. "Mabel, he's not a toy, he's a fighting machine. I'm gonna get him to defend me from Robbie, which means Mikey doesn't have to. Where is he, anyway?" He asked as he looked around the room.
Mabel shrugged. "He already left. He said something about getting set up."
"Oh, well, I can still catch up and get him out of this." Dipper said as he quickly left the room, and then the shack. The boy and his video game character walked the streets of Gravity Falls, slowly approaching Circle Park.
The relative silence was broken by Rumble. "Tell me my opponent's special moves."
Dipper almost laughed at the question. "Don't worry. As soon as he sees you, he's gonna wet his pants."
Rumble nodded seriously. "His wet pants will be no match FOR THIS!" He said as he lifted his pipe into the air.
Dipper jumped back in shock. "Whoa! Where'd that came from?"
"I punched an oil drum!" Rumble said as if it was obvious.
Dipper gently took the pipe away. "Trust me, you won't need that. Just give him a good scare."
Rumble nodded again. "Yes… WITH THIS!" He yelled as he picked a Katana up off the street.
'This street has really dangerous litter."
Mabel slowly crept behind Stan in his chair, before she jumped up with a loud yell. "HEY GRUNKLE STAN!" Stan spit his drink out in shock. Mabel continued to speak. "How would you like to go take a walk nowhere in particular while wearing a blindfold?" She asked as innocently as she could.
Stan shrugged. "Eh, beats just sittin' around here being old." He started to stand up but then locked eyes with Mabel. "Wait a minute... you're not planning on taking me someplace super high up, are you?"
Mabel took on a horribly offended tone. "Grunkle Stan! I would never!" She pulled on a sweater that featured the scout's salute. "Scout's honor!" She said seriously.
"Okay, let's go." Stan relented as he walked out the door. He never noticed the crossed fingers on the back of the sweater.
Mikey had quickly found a crook in one of the tree's that would give the camera a good view and would be hard to spot. He had the camera recording in minutes and sat waiting for Robbie to show up. He didn't have to wait long. "Well, well, well! Look who decided to show up! I thought you chickened out. You ready to settle this like men?" Robbie asked as he approached threateningly.
Mikey retreated slowly, doing his tried and true Dipper impersonation. "Robbie, I don't want to fight you. There isn't any reason this has to go any further."
Robbie clearly fell for the slight quiver in Mikey's voice, because he quickly became cockier than he already was. "You scared, huh? Is that it?"
Mikey took a deep breath and stood up straight to look Robbie in the eye. "If you're going to do something Robbie, just do it. Otherwise, I'm just going to walk away."
Robbie was infuriated. "What?! Alright, twerp, you asked for it!" Robbie stepped forward and pulled his fist back, ready to teach the little kid in front of him a lesson.
Dipper saw all of this happen as he approached with Rumble. "Robbie stop!" He yelled as he rushed towards them.
Mikey glanced at his brother and hissed from the corner of his mouth. "Dipper, what are you doing?"
Dipper ignored his brother and confronted Robbie fearlessly. "Listen, Robbie, this is your last chance to back down."
Robbie scoffed at Dipper's tone. "Right, because two twelve-year-olds are so terrifying."
"Okay, you asked for it." Dipper said as he gestured Robbie forward.
Robbie stared at the massive character in confusion. "Who's your friend? And why is he... blurry?"
"This happens to be the greatest warrior that ever lived!" Dipper announced.
Robbie snorted in laughter at that outburst. "Yeah, right! Hey Eye Patch, what did the kid promise you? More tape for your forearms?"
Rumble was filled with fury at the sound of Robbie's laughter. "HOW CAN YOU LAUGH, WHEN YOU KILLED THIS BOY'S FATHER?!"
Robbie stopped laughing, now even more confused. "Wait, what?"
Dipper stepped forward again. "I'm giving you one last chance, back down, or this guy's gonna go nuts."
Robbie wouldn't stand for it though. "How 'bout YOU back down, kid?"
"You asked for it. Rumble? Go!" Dipper said as he nodded Rumble forward.
Robbie rolled his eyes as Rumble rushed him, but changed his tune after narrowly dodging a punch that would have taken his head off. "What the-? Whoa! Hey! What's happening?"
Mikey watched the scene unfolding with worry. "Dipper, I think this might have been a bad idea."
Dipper ignored his brother again."I didn't wanna have to do this, man, but you gave me no choice. Maybe now, if you-" Dipper spoke as Robbie was being picked up by Rumble, but Robbie being suddenly slammed into the ground silenced him for a few seconds. "Whoa! Rumble! You can stop! I think Robbie's had enough-" Dipper tried to stop Rumble, but the character didn't listen.
"RUMBLE... THROW!" HE screamed as he launched Robbie into the air.
"STOP! I SAID STOP!" Dipper screamed.
Robbie landed hard on a jungle gym. "Hey! What the-? THAT GUY'S CRAZY!" Robbie screamed as he tried to untangle himself.
"FIREBALL!" Rumble through the projectile at the jungle gym, just barely missing Robbie.
Dipper ran in front of Rumble before he could chase after Robbie. "What the heck was that?! You were only supposed to scare him; you almost killed him!"
Rumble began to run after Robbie. "I WILL NOT REST UNTIL THE MAN WHO DISHONORED YOU IS DESTROYED!"
Mikey followed closely behind, grabbing Dipper's hand and dragging him behind. "We need to go, now!"
They followed Rumble as best they could, but the fictional character was much faster than either of them. They had just seen the two of them enter a barrel warehouse. They could Robbie screaming as he tried to escape from the maniac chasing him. "Something told me this would be his first stop." Dipper said as he watched Rumble throw Barrels after Robbie.
Robbie said as he continued to run. "Chill out man! Just chill out!"
"Please, Rumble! You gotta stop!" Dipper protested again as the brothers resumed their chase. "Rumble, wait!"
"Punch punch punch!"
Dipper began to slow as he felt the cramp in his side grow worse. "You don't have to do this! At least pace yourself... You might get a cramp..."
Mikey continued to sprint and tried to pull Dipper along with him. "C'mon Dipper, we can't stop now!" Dipper waved him off as he stopped to catch his breath.
Mikey continued to chase the pair past a newly destroyed car and through the park, occasionally glancing back to look for Dipper.
Dipper tried to keep running, but just couldn't anymore. A pickup pulled up next to him as he tried to catch his breath. Dipper looked up to see Soos in the driver's seat. "Soos! Where you been?" Dipper asked.
Soos shrugged uncomfortably and pointed the video game frame around his neck. "Uh, long story, man. Dude, you see that video game guy tearing up everything in sight? That's crazy!"
"Yeah, I kinda sorta brought him to life to be my bodyguard. But now I have to stop him before he kills Robbie!"
Soos smiled down at the twelve-year-old. "You need an amiable sidekick with a pickup truck?"
"You know I do." Dipper said as he jumped in.
Mabel gently guided her great uncle forward and turned him so that he was facing out. "Take off your blindfolds... now!" she said.
Stan did so and was not surprised to be on top f the water tower, looking down on Gravity Falls. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I was expecting."
Mabel smiled even wider at his calm response. "You're doing better than I thought! Now let go of the handrail…"
"Nope." Grunkle Stan said in a strained squeaky voice. HIs knuckles were white from the force of his grip.
Mabel was about to begin her prepared pep-talk when something on the wind distracted her. "Hey, do you smell anger and hormones?"
The reason for the smell became obvious as she watched Robbie climb onto the tower. "Finally! I'm safe!" He yelled as he flattened himself against the side of the tower.
"Hey, Robbie! Get your own water tower!" Mabel said as she glared at the team.
Robbie stared at her, panicked. "SSSHHHHH! Keep it down! He'll find us!"
From down below a fierce yell was heard. "CHALLENGER SIGHTED!" Robbie screamed and held tightly onto the handrail. Mikey heard his sister's voice coming from the water tower and watched as Rumble began to attack its base. He didn't notice Soos' truck pulling up behind him, he just knew had to do something.
"YOU CAN HIDE, BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!" Rumble yelled as he kicked the water tower. He reared back for another but stopped when he felt something hit the back of his head. Turning he saw Mikey glaring at him, clenching something in his right hand. "YOUR STONES ARE NO MATCH FOR MY FISTS!" Rumble screamed as he launched himself t the child. Rumble's anger changed to confusion as he suddenly stopped moving through the air.
Mikey strained to hold Rumble in place. This was never easy, but right now it was especially hard. Maybe it was because Rumble was magic, or heavy, or because he was already moving when Mikey stopped him. With a great mental heave, he launched the warrior into one of the trees in the park and bent over to try to catch his breath. When he looked back up, he saw the same tree flying through the air, directly at him. He screamed and stumbled backward, falling down. HE looked and held his hands up in a vain attempt to protect himself. After several heartbeats had passed without becoming paste, Mikey opened his eyes. The tree sat in the air just in front of him, surrounded by that same blue-green glow, and suddenly he could feel the effort of keeping it suspended, dropping it in exhaustion and relief. That relief passed quickly as he watched Rumble flying through the air. The punch sent him skidding across the ground, where he continued to lay.
Dipper ran forward to check on his brother and was relieved to hear him moan in pain when he touched him. "Rumble! This has to stop! Please! Listen to me!" He yelled as he kneeled next to his brother.
Meanwhile, on the water tower, Mabel was in a panic as she held tightly onto the handrail. "What's happening!?" She asked her uncle.
He looked out with a completely blank expression on his face. "Oh boy…"
"We're safe, right?" Mabel asked again.
A short hysteric burst of laughter came from Stan's mouth. "Of course not! This thing is on stilts! High up!" He told his niece. Mabel truly began to panic as she watched Robbie fall of the edge.
Rumble caught the teen and raised him above his head. "FINISH HIM!" The game announcer said.
Robbie began to beg. "No no no, don't! Don't finish me!"
Rumble did not notice and raised a fireball high in his hand, preparing to kill Robbie. The fireball was extinguished when a coin flew through the air and hit Rumble in the head. "HWUUUUAAAAAAAAA?!"
Rumble turned and stared at Dipper. "RUMBLE! Rumble! I have something to tell you! Robbie... Robbie didn't kill my father." Dipper said sadly.
Rumble didn't understand what he was hearing. "HUUUUUUHH? THEN WHO DID?"
"What? No one. I-I lied to you." Dipper explained.
"HWUUUHH? WELL, THEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY A... BAD GUY!"
Dipper looked down uncomfortably. "I guess I kinda am…"
Rumble's voice began to come from thin air, even as his mouth stayed closed. "My entire journey, a lie! My honor has been disgraced! Sensei warned me not to join the path of evil... the boy has led me astray! If Robbie V. is not the last stage, then it must be…" The internal monolog stopped as Rumble pointed his finger at Dipper and screamed. "YYYYYOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!"
A new start button appeared in front of Dipper, he took a deep breath. "Don't fight him, man! That guy's got like a black belt wrapped around his black belt. You could get killed!" Soos said.
Dipper shook his head. "I have to. I started all this and I've got to at least try to stop it."
"You sure you wouldn't rather hide like a wimp?" Dipper turned away from Soos and hit the start button. "Fight like a man it is."
"READY? FIGHT!"
Dipper stood still, he didn't have to wait long for Rumble to start fighting. He narrowly dodged Rumble's first attacks while the video game character taunted him. "FIREBALLTHROWLIGHTNINGBALLTHROW! FIRE! YOU FIGHT LIKE A GIRL! WHO IS ALSO A BABY!" Rumble said as he kicked Dipper, causing his new health bar to suffer a massive drop.
Dipper picked himself up off the ground and launched himself at Rumble, delivering a massive uppercut which knocked Rumble to the ground. "DUUUUUUUUDE!" Soos said from the sidelines.
Dipper was ecstatic. "Yes! Oh no." that changed as he watched RUmble's health drop down by less than a percent.
Soos climbed a tree and began waving his arms through Rumble's health bar. "Eh. Eh. Well, it was worth a shot." Dipper joined Soos in the tree and they watched Rumble wander underneath it.
"NO! I HAVE NO LOOKING UP! ANIMATION!" He strained to lean back, eventually ending up flat on his two dimensional back.
Soos and Dipper jumped down from the tree and looked at the defeated Rumble. "So, what should I do, roll him up and put him on my wall?" Dipper asked.
"Dude, we should rock paper scissors for him!"
Rumble began to scream into the air. "FIST! PUNCH! RAAAAAIIIIINNNN! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THAT I HAVE PUNCHES!" Flaming fists began to fall from the sky, knocking Dipper down, and forcing Soos to run. Rumble used his ultimate move as Dipper lay motionless. "SUPER POWER NINJA TURBO NEO ULTRA HYPER MEGA MULTI ALPHA META EXTRA UBER PREFIX... COMBO!"
The fist sent Dipper flying, and Rumble landed over his battered body. "You, sir, truly are the greatest fighter ever." Dipper told him.
"RUMBLE WINS!" The game announcer said.
"WINNERS DON'T LOSE!"
Dipper picked himself up and smirked at Rumble. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, man."
"GAME OVER!"
Rumble looked around and tried desperately to grab onto something as he began to disappear into pixels. "HEH?! NO! NOOOOOOO!"
"Game over, old friend." Dipper said.
"Heh! Nice one, dude!" Soos said with a high five.
On the water tower, the shaking had finally stopped, and Mabel was apologizing. "I'm sorry, Grunkle Stan! I thought this would help, but I was wrong! So wrong!"
Stan ignored Mabel and looked at his hands as though surprised to see them. "I-I survived! I survived and I feel great! Wait, let me do a cocky dance just to be sure Alala-loo-doodly-doo-doodly-doo! HAHA! DEAL WITH IT WORLD! STAN PINES HAS CURED HIS FEAR OF HEIGHTS!" He said with a laugh. He walked to the ladder and began to climb down. "You comin', kid?" He asked when Mabel refused to move.
"Uh-uh."
"What's the matter, YOU got a fear of heights, now?" Stan said with a laugh. It quickly died when he saw the fear in her eyes.
Mikey slowly picked himself up off the ground, exhausted both from the magic and the short fight. He looked around and saw Dipper joking with Soos, but no sign of Mabel. He ran to the tilted water tower. "Grunkle Stan, is Mabel okay?" He yelled up as he began to climb the tower.
Stan leaned his head over the edge. "Physically, yes. But she won't budge!"
Mikey climbed up the tower and onto the platform where Mabel stood. "Mabel are you okay?' He asked gently.
Mabel shook her head and stared deliberately forward. "No! Too high up, way too high up!"
He turned to Stan. "Do you have a blindfold or anything?"
Stan nodded and searched his pockets for the one Mabel led him up here with. He found it and handed it back to Mikey.
He spoke softly to Mabel as he worked. "Okay, I'm just going to put this blindfold on, okay? Then your gonna take my hand, and me and Grunkle Stan are gonna get you down." Mabel nodded. Mikey gently passed her to Stan, who held her tightly in one arm and began to carry her down while Mikey followed.
Robbie glared accusingly at Dipper. "What? Who… who… who was that guy?! Why is it that whenever you're around, there's always ghosts or monsters, or whatever?!"
Dipper shrugged. "I don't know, man."
"That guy almost broke my neck! You know how mad I am right now?!" Robbie said as he got into Dipper's face.
"So I guess you and I have to fight now, huh? Go ahead, man. Do your worse. I just want to get this over with." Dipper stood in front of Robbie and waited for the blows.
Robbie smiled and pulled his fist back. "Oh, man! I am so gonna enjoy this! Aren't you gonna run?" He asked when Dipper didn't move.
"Nope."
"...Are you sure?" Dipper just shook his head. Robbie looked between Dipper and his fist before scoffing and turning to walk away. "It's not even worth it! I play lead guitar so I gotta save my hands."
"Hey, guys! I heard some crazy screaming back here." A familiar voice came from behind the boys, causing them to turn around in shock.
"Wendy?" Robbie asked.
"You're back!" Dipper said excitedly.
Wendy smiled and nodded. "Yeah, man. Whoa! What the heck happened here? Freak tornado or something?" She asked as she looked at the wrecked park.
"Uh, yeah, sure."
She narrowed her eyes at the pair of them. "And why are your faces all jacked up? You guys weren't fighting each other, were you? I hate it when guys fight."
"No! Fighting?" Dipper said in is most convincing voice.
"Why would we be fighting? Never!" Robbie quickly agreed.
"Yeah, we actually fell over trying to stop two other guys from fighting each other." Dipper said slowly, looking at Robbie to make sure he went along with it. Robbie nodded eagerly.
"Cool! It really makes me happy to see my two boys hanging out. I got some unpacking to do. I'll text you guys later."
Dipper was smiling wider than he had all day. "Did you hear that? She called me one of her two boys!"
"She was looking at me, though." Robbie said.
Dipper sighed deeply. "Look, Robbie, if we stay at each other's throats, we're both gonna lose Wendy. We need to make a cold war pact."
Robbie nodded. "Okay. What's that?"
"We need to learn to hate each other, in silence."
"You mean like, what girls do?" Robbie asked, confused.
"Yeah, exactly! What girls do."
Robbie nodded and walked away, which prompted Mikey, who along with Mabel had walked into the middle of the conversation, to speak. "You know, in the actual cold war there was a lot of fighting by proxy."
"Okay?" Dipper said slowly.
Mikey smirked. "So, do you want me to steal his bike or something?" Dipper looked offended at the idea but nodded eagerly after making sure Wendy and Robbie were really gone.
Robbie and Dipper were listening to Wendy tell a story at the Mystery Shack, while she brushed out her hair. They did their best to ignore each other as they eagerly agreed with whatever Wendy said. "...So, then I told Thompson, 'Hey, save some for the rest of us!'" Both boys laughed and nodded along with her. Wendy's brush hit a snag, causing her to roll her and bend down to pick it up. "Aw, man. Just a sec." During the brief moment she couldn't see them, Dibber and Robbie made several non-verbal threats and were again smiling and nodding by the time Wendy straightened up. "So as I was saying…"
Wendy was cut off as Robbie glanced out the window, and began to freak out. "Wait, Where'd my bike go?!" He ran outside to check and quickly discovered that it was nowhere to be found. "Aw, C'mon man! Not again!" He screamed to no one. Wendy and Dipper laughed a bit to themselves before she went outside to check on her boyfriend.
Mikey casually entered from the back of the house and High-fived Dipper. Dipper laughed some more as he watched Robbie freak out through the window, but the laughter died down as he looked back at Mikey. "Hey, Mikey… what did you do when you were fighting Rumble?" He asked. It had been bothering him since it had happened, it seemed just like what Gideon had been doing, but how could that be possible?
Mikey's eyes widened at the question. "You, uh, you saw that?" Dipper answered with a nod and an even more confused expression. Mikey nodded slightly. "Could we talk about this upstairs? I should probably tell Mabel too." He began to walk away and Dipper followed closely behind.
I didn't actually mean for Mikey's reveal to happen now, it just sort of wrote itself in. I think this'll work better than what I had originally planned anyway. Don't forget to R&R!
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