We're getting close to the final stretch! :D
Guest review replies;
Guest: ...go on, go on. Thanks for reading!
BillCipher5off: Thanks, mate!
Chapter XI: Ascent
Dipper and company sat around the kitchen table. It was just past noon, and the sky outside was slowly turning dark from the smoke of the fast approaching fires. Dipper's father had been patched up, but he still looked somewhat worse for wear.
"Alright, so we're gonna need to get the book and Mabel out before we try to take on Bill," mused Stan, "Any ideas?"
"We could split up?" suggested Soos.
"Soos, that never works," snapped Stan.
"No, he might be onto something," said Dipper's father, "I mean, he can't stop us all at once if we split into teams..."
"So he can take us out piecemeal," grunted Stan, "Simon, you were never the smart kid, were you?"
"That's why we get help," explained Dipper's father, "Way I see it, there's probably about half the town left in Gravity Falls. We can build a distraction team from them."
"So let me get this straight," said Stan, "You wanna form a strike-force out of teenagers and the elderly?"
"More like a decoy team," replied Dipper's father, "Keep the cultists busy while we slip in and grab the book and Mabel."
"That's...actually a pretty good idea," nodded Stan, "Alright, Soos, you're on that. Find us a team."
"You got it, Mr. Pines," said Soos, standing up and saluting.
"Alright," said Stan, "We'll also need a team each for the book and Mabel. I'll lead the second. Any volunteers..."
"I volunteer to save my daughter," interrupted Dipper's father.
"Looks like we're Team Book, then," shrugged Wendy, putting a hand on Dipper's shoulder.
"I'm not sure about that," replied Dipper's father, warily, "You're both still kids. Stan, maybe you should..."
"Simon, they can handle themselves," replied Stan, "If any other kid did half the stuff Dipper did last summer, they'd be dead. Besides, the kid needs to stand up on his own two feet – you can't watch him forever."
Simon crossed his arms.
"You're not a very conventional carer, you know that Stan?" he noted.
"I'm not a very conventional anything, kid," replied Stan, "That's why I'm not still in Columbia. Now, I've got a niece to save and a triangle to kick. Everyone ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," muttered Dipper.
He looked out the window at the looming form of Mount Northwest. The sun was now hidden behind the red smoke, turning the mountain into a dark, looming shadow.
It didn't bode well.
The old mountin road hadn't been maintained in years. It was long, winding and treacherous, passing alongside sheer cliffs and deep ravines. As a result, driving up the glorified track in the Mystery Cart and Stan's newly re-tyred car was slow going.
Dipper sat in the passenger seat of the Cart, gazing out over the town far below. In the distance, he could see the fires lining the distant hills, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. He was trying to tell himself that he wasn't scared, but deep down he knew he was lying – he was absolutely terrified of what was coming next.
"You okay, Dipper? You're pretty quiet."
Dipper turned to the driver's seat. Wendy had glanced over to him, sending him a slightly worried look.
"I'm fine," replied Dipper, "I'm just..."
He sighed.
"Okay, I'm not fine," he admitted, "I'm scared. I'm scared of what's happening to Mabel, I'm scared of having to deal with Lonnighan, and..."
He buried his head in his hands.
"...and I'm gonna have to deal with Bill and I have no idea how," he said.
"Everyone's scared, man," reassured Wendy, "But we're all aboard with this, Dip – we're right behind you."
Dipper nodded, but didn't seem convinced.
"Why do I have to be this 'Child of Destiny?'" asked Dipper, "Why can't I just be normal? If I had just fit in like everyone else, none of this would have happened!"
"Do you want to?"
Dipper looked at Wendy and tilted his head.
"Do I wanna what?" he asked.
"Do you want to fit in?" said Wendy, "Do you want to be like the other kids?"
Memories ran through Dipper's head.
"Besides, it's not like anybody likes you or anything."
"The kid's a maniac. They found him screaming at his lunch yesterday. Freak."
"Was school this boring before I went to Gravity Falls? Or is it just this school? Ugh, I wish something exciting would happen."
"No," said Dipper, "I don't wanna be normal."
"Didn't think so," nodded Wendy, "And would you have missed any of this?"
Dipper smiled a little.
"No," he replied, "I don't think I would."
"Well, there you go," said Wendy, smiling, "And you know what else? I bet Mabel would say the same thing."
"I know she would," nodded Dipper.
He looked up at the peak of the mountain.
"Feeling any better?" asked Wendy.
"Well, I'm still terrified," replied Dipper, "But I think I feel a bit more ready now."
"Glad to hear it, dude," said Wendy, "Because we've got a book to find and a Mabel to save!"
There was a brief silence.
"So, who was the other kid?" asked Wendy, "You know, that Eddie guy?"
"He's an anti-friend," chuckled Dipper.
Dipper knelt behind a rocky crag. Darkness had come early, and with it came the cold – all the bitterer for the height of the mountain. Stan lay next to him, holding onto an old walkie-talkie – he was wearing an army surplus helmet he had found in the Mystery Shack's storeroom. Wendy and Dipper's father were huddled on either side of them.
They were looking down over the mouth of a cave, guarded by cultists in yellow robes. Two of them were leaning against the small cliff the group had gathered above – they were talking about the day's events.
"So what happened to the feds?" asked the tall man, "You know, those two MiBs we caught at the Shack?"
"Lonnighan's still deciding what to do with them," shrugged the short man, "I reckon they'll get concrete shoes."
"Concrete sh...hold on there, John Dillinger, we're talking about federal agents here!" exclaimed the tall man.
"Come tomorrow, Uncle Sam won't matter anymore," replied the short man, "Also, John Dillinger was more of a bank robber then a gangster, you'd want Al..."
He trailed off as he heard a distant engine.
"Well, looks like our guests are here," he said.
"I didn't think he'd actually try it," mused the tall man, "Kid's got guts, I'll give him that."
They gazed out into the darkness.
"...shouldn't we be hearing brakes about now?" asked the short man.
With a mighty squeal, a blue van tore around the corner, speeding towards the two cultists and the cliff. The men screamed and leapt out of the way as the van slammed into the rocky wall – the car alarm immediately went off.
Soos leapt out of the passenger seat, pointing at the quickly gathering cultists.
"Get 'em, dudes!" he shouted.
Thompson slunk out the other side and gazed at the front of the car.
"Aw, man," he lamented, "My mom's gonna kill me..."
"What are you gawking at?" shouted a cultist, "Get them!"
The back doors to the van were flung open. McGucket, Soos' grandma, the teenagers, Candy and Grenda jumped out, each of them carrying a blunt instrument of some kind (save Tambry, who still had her phone out.)
"Y'all better stay back!" shouted McGucket, "I been known to bite sometimes!"
The cultists charged into the team – Soos, Nate, Lee and McGucket began to ward them off with their weapons. Soos' grandma walked towards the tall man and the short man, fists clenched.
"Ah, how sweet," scoffed the tall man, "Grandma thinks she can help. Look, why don't you run on back to-"
Soos' grandma viciously uppercut him in the stomach before swinging around and kicking the short man between the legs. She crossed her arms as the two men fell to the ground, wincing in pain.
"Stay away from Soos, you pinchazos!" she growled.
"Note to self," muttered Stan, "Do not cross Soos' grandma."
"Shouldn't we get going?" whispered Dipper's father, "They're supposed to be our distraction, after all."
"Alright, guys" nodded Dipper, "Let's do this."
The group slunk along the cliff-side towards the mouth of the cave. Stan jumped down first, then his father.
"Wait until we're clear," hissed Dipper's father, "Then follow on. If you hear anything weird, run. Stay safe, Dipper."
"You got it, dad," nodded Dipper.
Dipper's father and Stan slipped into the cave, unnoticed among the cacophony of the fight next to Thompson's van. Dipper and Wendy waited about half-a-minute before dropping down and heading into the cave.
It was an odd feeling, walking into the cave. Despite what he'd expected, Dipper felt his fear disappear, replaced by a new feeling – resolve. He now knew exactly what he had to do. He was going to grab that book, he was going to save Mabel and he was going to bring down Bill Cipher once and for all.
Or he would die trying.
EHUAEEG REQUCXD GRMFM NZO
AN: It only gets harder from here, Dipping Sauce.
