Eight chapters, one sitting…someone cut my fingers off.

This chapter shall officially begin the Twilight Town arc, an arc that I hate with a burning fiery passion that arises from the depths of hell…but I digress, I hope you guys enjoy this arc-starting chapter.

Now, on with the show!

Chapter 4: For Pigs The Bell Tolls - Part 1 - Another Fine Mess

The next morning, everyone woke up bright and early. They all prepared for the trip to Twilight Town by packing up backpacks filled with items like Mushrooms, Syrups, and various other things. They all met outside the inn once they were ready.

"Well, are we ready to head out?" Dipper asked his group.

"First we have to find the ancient city." Goombella said. "And I think I know where it is. Follow me." She led them to the West side of Rogueport where they stopped by a sewage grate in the middle of the road.

"This must be the sewer grate Frankly mentioned yesterday." Little Dan said.

"Come one, we have no time to waist." Mario said. He flipped into paper, surprising Manly Dan and Little Dan, then slipped into the grate, followed by Goombella, Koops, Flurrie, Pacifica, Dipper, and Candy.

"Um…how are we supposed to get down there?" Manly Dan asked. Little Dan climbed up on his shoulder.

"Here, let me help, dad." Wendy said. She grabbed his wrist.

"Wait, what are you-" Manly Dan was cut off as he suddenly flipped into paper along with Wendy and Little Dan. They slipped into the sewer grate and met up with the other heroes down below. Then they returned to normal.

"Whoa! How'd you do that, sis?" Little Dan asked.

"Long story." Wendy replied.

"So now where do we go?" Flurrie asked.

"I did some reading on the ancient city." Dipper said. "The ruler of the city made deals with the residents of Twilight Town on occasion, but because of how far apart the two towns were, the ruler had a warp pipe constructed for it and it was kept near the plaza so anybody could enter it."

"Maybe it is through there?" Candy pointed to a green wooden door that looked to be ages old. "We will have to cross this gap to reach it."

One by one, the ten heroes began to jump over the gap, reaching the other side with ease. They all walked through the green door and entered a very small room. All they saw inside was a very old looking pipe that appeared to be covered in mold and rust, but underneath all of said mold and rust, it appeared to be made of hardened clay. A sign was next to the pipe. Dipper walked over to read it.

To Twilight Town

"We found it." He said.

"You ready to jump in?" Pacifica asked.

"When am I not ready?" Dipper remarked. He leaped into the pipe and felt like he was being dragged into eternal darkness…

:::::

After what appeared to be an eternity of falling through darkness, Dipper shot out of the pipe and landed on dry, dead grass and a bunch of dirt and some sand. He stood up and wiped the dirt off of his clothes and looked around. Dipper was now in an old, dark city surrounded by woods made up of dead trees. The villagers resembled life-sized rag dolls wearing…rags. He turned and waited for the others to come through when Candy, Goombella, Manly Dan, Wendy, and Little Dan came through.

"Where are the others?" Dipper asked.

"For some reason, the pipe won't let them through, so they said to start without them." Wendy explained.

"I wonder why that happened…" Dipper said.

"Ah…are you travelers?" A voice asked. The group saw one of the rag dolls, a male one, approach them.

"Um, yes, we are adventurers. Why do you ask?" Candy asked. Then they all heard a large bell toll.

"Oh no, who could it be this-" The male rag doll was cut off as he was engulfed in a purple cloud of smoke. Then, when the cloud dissipated, the man was gone.

"Whoa! What happened to that dude?!" Little Dan asked. Then they heard an oink, and Dipper looked at the ground where the man once stood to see that he was replaced by a pig.

"Did he…did he just turn into a pig?!" He exclaimed.

"Oh no…not Freddy too." Another voice said. This time an older looking male rag doll approached them. His face was covered by large bushy gray eyebrows and a large gray mustache. His head was also torn open a bit, revealing some fluff, and the man carried a wooden walking cane.

"Who are you, and what's going on here?" Manly Dan asked.

"This is not the place to talk." The man said. "Please, come with me to my house." The man led them to a small house that had the word 'MAYOR' etched into the foundation above the door. Once they were inside, the light was so dim that Goombella had to turn on her headlamp to create some extra light.

"First, I must ask of you this: please leave, this town is cursed." The man said.

"We can't leave, we're here for something important." Goombella said.

"Hmm…very well, stay if you must." The man said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mayor Dour, and this town is Twilight Town."

"Nice to meet you, Mayor Dour." Dipper said. "Now could you please tell us about this curse you mentioned?"

"…I suppose I can." Dour said. "You see, an abandoned bell tower, what we call the Creepy Steeple, lies deep in the woods. A monster who lives there has cursed this town, and now every hour, the bell tolls and someone here turns into a pig. We have been unable to stop the curse and we have yet to find a cure or a way to prevent it."

"How many residents live in this town as of today?" Dipper asked.

"The total population of Twilight Town is 19, and including you all, 6 guests." Dour said.

"And how many have been turned into pigs?" Dipper asked.

"The last count of pigs in town is 11, including Freddy." Dour said.

"Then that means we only have 14 hours to break the curse before we all turn into pigs." Dipper said.

"I don't think all of us should go to the Creepy Steeple." Wendy said. "I volunteer to stay behind and help out in town. I think it would be safer if some of us stayed behind."

"I volunteer as well." Candy said. "I have done some farming in my home country so I can help with the pigs."

"Then it's settled." Dipper said. "Goombella, Manly Dan, Little Dan and I will go to Creepy Steeple and take care of this thing. Wendy, you and Candy stay here and wait for the others. We only have 14 hours max to stop this, so we have to work fast."

"You can leave town through the gate in the Eastern area of Twilight Town." Dour informed.

"Thanks, Mayor Dour." Dipper tipped his hat. Then he, Manly Dan, Goombella, and Little Dan left the Mayor's house and walked off towards the gate, ready to put an end to the curse.

-(End Of Chapter)-

And thus the Twilight Town arc begins! I don't think it will be too long but the length will be decent. So far the Glitzville Arc is still the longest but that's because it has so much content. Sill, I hope you enjoy the next few chapters to come.

Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciated, and as always…

Stay Tuned!

~087-B