A Spark of Hope
Ch.11
Wendy sat on the sofa, glancing around the room at the destruction caused by Eris and her shades. Tambry and Robbie walked in, supporting each other from tipping over, and placed themselves beside the red-head.
"Hey Wendy, you okay?" Tambry asked as she slumped onto the cushions.
"Yeah, sort of, maybe? I don't know. You guys saw what happened," the lumberjill muttered, drifting in thought. Everyone was both relieved and afraid after Dipper defeated Eris. They knew that they had dodged the bullet when Dipper used the Prophets Ring to take down the demon, but that type of power changes people.
The young man had told Wendy and Mabel about the fates of previous relic users, and so far; the track record was devastating, both to the bearer and those around them. Originally it was unsettling that Dipper would be heavily exhausted when using its power, but the more he does, the less damage it seems to do to him. Wendy couldn't be sure if he was just managing the exertion of power, or if the ring was having some unseen effect on the youth.
Mabel entered the room with a broom, followed by Candy and Grenda. The brunette looked at the state of the house and tossed the instrument to the side; "No point in even trying," she sighed, then lay on the torn rug.
"Don't worry Mabel, I'm sure I can convince Marius to lend some help," Grenda offered, easing herself against what was left of the southern wall with Candy.
"Thanks Grenda. I know that my Gruncles are going freak when we tell them what's happened, but Stan will be happy knowing a Baron is behind us," she said mentally bracing herself for the phone-call-to-come.
There was a small chuckle between the group, the comedy easing their worries slightly. Then Dipper and Gideon walked and the relief subsided in a blink. Everyone looked at Dipper intently.
"Wow, you cut the mood with a sterling-silver knife," Pacifica expressed as she walked in on the scene. Candy looked at the blonde and rolled her eyes; rich person metaphors were so cringy.
Dipper looked to all his friends, his sister and Wendy. The youth paced a few steps until he was positioned in view of everyone; "Why don't you guys start with the questions, and I'll answer as best I can?" There was a brief moments silence before the room erupted with questions.
"One at a time, please! Starting from the left!" Dipper shouted over the mob pointing to Pacifica first.
"How did you kill that thing? One moment you're on your ass like the rest of us after that monster blew us back; and the next you're under it catching your girlfriend while the demon explodes!" Pacifica asked trying to keep her cool. This was also the question of most of the others were waiting to ask.
Dipper inhaled deeply and began his explanation; how the Erin taught him to use the ring as a weapon, and how the ring generally worked. This way he could inform those who knew somewhat of the rings power, and those who knew nothing.
"But how come you didn't pass out like the other times?" Mabel called out. She was concerned that the relic nearly killed her brother the first time he used it. Now not only was he unaffected by the drain he originally felt, but he could now fully move about and interfere with the world while time was stopped. Wendy had thought about that too; when the tree nearly fell on her, Dipper saw it coming and had to act quickly, but this time he had already completed his actions and was waiting at the finish line, like watching dominoes fall.
Dipper thought about it for a moment, and a worried look crept up his face. He took out the ring from his pocket and every pair of eyes locked onto it. "I don't know Mabel, but you're right. Something is really fishy, and I'm not sure what to do now."
"Why don't you just get rid of it, toss it into another dimension or destroy it?" Robbie suggested to the surprise to everyone. He wasn't the most engaging when it came to apocalypse issues, but he was trying.
"It's not that easy; I'd love to but right now we can't," Dipper announced still staring warily at the object in his hand.
"Why not Dipper!? That ring has only brought danger to you and everyone in Gravity Falls! Why can't you just…" Wendy begged, not understanding why Dipper wouldn't wash his hands of the issue.
The weirdologist looked at the lumberjill, and his heart ached at the sight. He tried so very hard not to upset her, and yet the daily occurrences of the supernatural were just a stronger force on their lives. "I can't destroy it; because it's the only thing we have that works against Chaos. Look at how Eris' Shade nearly turned you into mincemeat. Now imagine how much harder things are going to get when Chaos starts getting impatient."
The gang understood where Dipper was coming from. Nobody liked it, but as usual the youth had a point; as of now the only effective offence and defense was the accursed ring. Noticing the depressing mood Dipper decided that a boost in spirits was needed, he walked out of the room and into Ford's old study, now his. Mabel had managed to follow her brother even though it felt like her entire body was cramping up. She watched him start prying at a loose floor board next to his desk, and when it came off she couldn't contain her excitement.
The rest of the group heard Mabel's screams from the room a few doors over. Robbie and Gideon jumped up in panic, only to be told it was an excited scream not a panicking scream. The girls had become very good at distinguishing the various sounds Mabel could create with her mouth; almost an entire language in itself.
When Dipper returned, his sister was latched onto his back laughing like a manic, and under his arm was a medium sized duffel bag. He dropped the bag in front of Wendy and proceeded to struggle with his twin. While doing this, the lumberjill unzipped the carrier and her eyes widened; there was hundreds of thousands of dollars neatly arranged in thousand dollar bills. As the rest of the group noticed what Dipper had produced only Pacifica could speak, being an ex-millionaire.
"How did you get that much money? You had to have robbed a bank using one of your space gadgets!" she asked, her eyes still fixated on the contents of the bag.
Dipper had given up trying to pry off his sister, and began his explanation: "I haven't just sat around the last two years doing nothing y'know. Some of my less weird research was submitted and I got huge funding as thanks. Academies expected I'd use it buy new equipment, but a make my own from the UFO on the edge of town. This bag contains half a million in cash, as an emergency fund; since I've got more in the banks."
Everyone just stared, still trying to comprehend what it could be like to own so much money; even Pacifica was impressed since she'd never actually earned a penny of her original wealth.
"But if your loaded, why were you still working from a basement in the Mystery Shack of all places?" Tambry asked, no longer fixated on the money. Mabel just snorted at the question and answered for her brother since she knew exactly what he would have said.
"Because this place is basically his home! We spent summers here for the last six years and not a thing had changed since then. Even when Dipper moved here full time, why would he change anything? The memories that these walls hold are worth more than any sum of money you could offer him," the brunette announced, holding her head high, proud of the heartfelt speech she just gave.
Dipper grinned, happy that his twin could tell what he was thinking half the time; "That's right, and as a reward for helping defeat our first chaotic boss, everyone gets fifty-grand to spend on whatever they want, my treat."
The group of friends could believe it, each reaching for a stack of cash when suddenly the bag was pulled out of reach. "But first, try and scrounge up as many knick-knacks as you can. I'd like to save as much of the original stuff before I pay for renovation," Dipper said with a smirk. "Come, come now; the sooner you all start searching, the faster you get your reward!" With no time wasted the group was rejuvenated, fueled by their desires, no longer feeling tense and sore, they hastily started scavenging for any unharmed trinkets.
A short time later the group had returned with a decent number of objects: Stan bobble heads, bumper stickers, a singed puma shirt and a couple other pieces of junk only Dipper and Mabel would consider valuable. Then came the moment most had awaited; each one received fifty thousand dollars in cold hard cash.
Pacifica of all people had to point out that even when Dipper took a share of the money, there was still a stack left. He explained that it was for the repairs to the Shack and that nobody was getting any more money.
Tambry and Robbie left very excited, saying that they were just a call away if there was trouble. Pacifica wanted to blow it all on her personal pleasure, but decided to invest it in some of Dipper's other projects as stocks, knowing that down the line the fifty thousand could become a few million. Gideon gave a nod of thanks and said he'd be leaving town for a few days, but he'd be back after some purchases off some people he knew back in Texas. Mabel decided that she'd go with Candy and Grenda for a super-spree; "God knows what those three are gonna do," Dipper thought to himself. The brunette also informed her brother that she would stay with the girls until the Shack was fixed.
Finally, Dipper turned to Wendy who held her portion of money with both hands, afraid that if she let go it may just disappear. Never before had she or her family had so much money to spend leisurely. Growing up her dad worked overtime just to have enough money to clothe, feed and educate herself and her brothers. When her oldest brother started helping out at the lumberyards, a little more money was distributed in the household. Dipper just looked at her, understanding what she was feeling and giving her some space.
"Dipper, I-I-I don't know what to say," the red-head stammered out. Her boyfriend walked over and embraced her, trying to give a sense of security. When he pulled away he grinned warmly and held out his portion of money; "I think this should be reasonable payment if you were to let me sleep on your couch for a week or so?" he proposed. Dipper didn't feel like he should ever just give a handout like the Northwest family used to do in order to maintain control of people; he'd awarded his sullen comrades after they aided in the defeat of a dangerous demon, and now he was in need of shelter, food and companionship.
Wendy jumped at him with a bear-hug that could match her fathers, joy radiating from her laughs. She really did have the best boyfriend ever; smart, dependable, understanding, caring and never forceful on any topic of debate.
"Well, I suppose we should get going before it gets too late," Dipper suggested. He took up the duffel bag and Wendy placed the money inside and zipped it up. The young man slung it over his shoulder and the pair began to make their way to the Corduroy cabin. Unaware of the shadowy figure leaning against the trees out of their line of sight.
A man in a black trench coat stood with his arms crossed, his eyes focused on the young man who walked in the opposite direction. "Well played Dipper Pines, but don't act so confident. I've never lost before, and I don't plan to anytime soon."
Chaos opened his hand and a purple flame appeared; the last cries of Eris before she was destroyed echoed from the light. A twitch of anger crossed the ancient being's face; his eyes flashing crimson and his hair turning white. Snapping his hand closed the flame extinguished, and the ancient evil turned to smoke on the wind, his thoughts of revenge simmering, waiting to be acted upon.
Yay, another one down. I decided I had to finish this before Monday, so now I'm going to try and get minimum sleep for tomorrow. I know this was kind of a filler chapter, but there has to be some between fluff and action or else it's just terrible cutting! But from the reviews, you all seem fairly happy with how it's going, so I'll keep it up.
Shoutouts: Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos; these two are awesome writers so check out their stuff! BIuefish; for joining the story and giving some really awesome feedback, help make the presentation of the story better. And the usual guys, you know who you are, just thanks for enjoying the story.
Truthfully, if the story hadn't gotten the feedback it has, it would have finished off around this chapter, but you guys keep it going and kicking with your reviews and PM's, and for that I must thank you. As I mentioned in the last chapter, I may need to take a break so it may be two weeks before you see the next chapter, or two weeks from the next chapter to the one after. Its just life getting in the way.
AS ALWAYS! Stay Classy,
TGGDSD.
