Dipper stood idly, biting at a hangnail, as he watched Harold struggle to start a fire using only two sticks.

"You know," said Harold grumpily, "I am well aware that humans possess the technology to make lighting fires mucheasier than this." He looked up at Dipper only to see the satyr flash him a cheeky grin.

"Just consider this a part of your penance, Harold. Besides, I thought you shunned humanity and all the technology we've created."

Harold opened his mouth to reply, then gasped audibly, followed by a raspy coughing fit, as Wendy suddenly appeared in the clearing, in a great billow of heavy, black smoke.

"Wendy!" cried Dipper, as she fell to her knees, wheezing. He conjured an industrial-size fan and blew the smoke away from her. It hit the tree line of the clearing before dissipating, and the needles on the trees it hit began to turn brown and cascade to the ground. The smoke left cracked, withered, dead husks of trees where only seconds before, vibrant, green conifers had stood.

Harold stared at the dead trees, horrified, while Dipper darted forward and helped Wendy to her feet.

"Are you okay?" asked Dipper, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Wendy coughed and nodded, her throat still too constricted to speak.

"What in all the realms was that?" asked Harold. "The trees! It… it just killedthem..."

"I don't know, but it's bad," croaked Wendy. "We have to get help and get back to the Gravnemeta, quick, Dipper! I left my mom there by herself!"

Harold's eyebrows shot up. "Beithe's in trouble? I'll come help!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "You have no powers, remember Harold? There's nothing you can do to help."

"He's right, old man," said Wendy, her voice cold. "You'd only be a liability. C'mon Dipper. We need to hurry and see if Puck is at his house."

The pair linked arms, and disappeared from the clearing.

Harold sat down in the dirt, and stared vacantly at the dead trees.

/

Sirona had just sat down a tray laden with cups of tea and cookies when Dipper and Wendy blipped into Tad Strange's living room.

"Oh, more visitors!" she said, grinning. "I'll go put the kettle back on…" Sirona trailed off as she noticed the terror in Wendy's eyes. "What's wrong, dear?"

"The Gravnemeta's being attacked, and my mom's there by herself," said Wendy, her voice shaking. "We need help!"

"Is Puck here?" asked Dipper, glancing around. His gaze landed on Fenris and Mabel, sitting side-by-side on a floral print sofa. He wanted to ask what they were doing at Tad Strange's house, but there were more pressing issues at hand. "Oh, good, Fenris, we'll need you too. Sirona, will you come with us?"

Sirona glanced down at Cecil. The boa had wound himself around Wendy's legs, his tiny forked tongue flicking in and out of his mouth as he smelled her. He unwound himself quickly, and slithered back over to Sirona.

"Oh no," she said. Her normally chipper face was a mask of concern. "Cecil says an ancient one, from the same realm of the daevas, is attacking. Yes, of course we'll help."

Fenris' face went white, as he remembered the previous attack from that realm.

Mabel stood, and grabbed Fenris' hand and pulling him up with her. "We're in."

"Fenris, yes, but you? No way," said Dipper. "It's too dangerous, and you're still healing."

"Protecting the Gravnemeta is literally my job," Mabel said, venom in her voice.

Dipper opened his mouth to argue, but Sirona interrupted him.

"I've just cleared Mabel for duty, and we don't have time to stand around and fight about it," she said urgently. She grabbed Mabel's hand, and with a pop, she, Cecil, Mabel, and Fenris disappeared.

"Dammit!" Dipper's cry echoed for a moment in the empty living room, as he and Wendy blipped back to the Gravnemeta.

/

The Gravnemeta was eerily quiet, except for a wheezing rattle that emanated from near the center. The black smoke was so thick that Mabel could see no more than a foot or two in any direction. She wondered how any of them could possibly fight smoke, when her lungs seized up and she fell into a fit of coughing. Fenris clung to her hand, not doing much better. He was pale and sweaty as he gasped for what little oxygen remained in the air. Sirona, with Cecil draped across her shoulders, stumbled toward the middle of the Gravnemeta, and the faint rattle of lungs nearly on their last breath

"Mom!" choked out Wendy. She and Dipper had materialized directly in front of Beithe's crumpled form.

"Dipper, oxygen!" Sirona rasped out between coughs. Dipper, who was holding his breath, stared at her blankly.

"A tank," croaked Sirona. "And a mask!"

"Oh, right," said Dipper, forgetting that he'd been holding his breath. He conjured the items and handed them to Sirona before doubling over and emitting a harsh, hacking cough.

Mabel pulled the collar of her shirt up over her mouth and nose, hoping to ease her breathing some. Fenris followed suit, as they ventured closer to the others, and watched Sirona strap the clear, plastic mask to Beithe's face. Sirona turned the valve on the canister and started the oxygen flowing. Almost immediately, color began to return to Beithe's ashen cheeks.

"Mabel, Fenris, catch!" wheezed Dipper, as he threw two gas masks toward them. Wendy was already pulling her gas mask on. Dipper leaned over and settled a gas mask onto Sirona as she ministered to Beithe, before putting his own on. He even conjured a miniature, snake-sized gas mask, and strapped it over Cecil's head. Everyone began to breathe more freely. Slowly the coughing and gasping died away, leaving behind nothing but eerie silence.

Dipper turned to Wendy and cocked his head, looking at her through the thick, yellowed lenses on his gas mask.

"Are you my mummy?"

Wendy snorted inside her mask, then kicked Dipper lightly in the shin. "This isn't the best time for Doctor Who references, dork." Nobody could see her face, but it sounded like she was smiling.

"What should we do about the smoke?" asked Mabel. "This can't be good for local wildlife."

"A fan's no good," said Wendy. "When I blipped to Dipper, some smoke blipped with me. He used a fan to blow it away, but the trees it hit all immediately died."

Sirona's head shot up. "It killed the trees? Immediately?"

"Yeah, they just—" began Dipper, but Sirona held up a finger to shush him.

"Cecil says the ancient one is almost here," the goddess said, a note of panic wavering in her voice. "Wendy, Dipper, move Beithe outside of the Gravnemeta, and then hurry back—I have to put a ward up. This smoke cannot be allowed to pollute the Mundane."

Mabel and Fenris stood aside while Beithe was moved to safety, and watched with interest as Sirona ran frantically around the boundary of the Gravnemeta, chanting in her ancient Gaulish tongue.

"Mabel," said Fenris softly, turning to look her in the face, only to remember they were both wearing gas masks. He squeezed her hand. "I am scared for you."

Mabel sighed. "Fen, this is what I've been training for. I'm just glad to have some godly help this time. I… crap, I don't even have a weapon on me!"

"Dipper, Mabel needs a weapon!" cried Fenris, as Dipper and Wendy trotted back toward them from the edge of the Gravnemeta.

"What kind?" asked Dipper, rubbing his hands together.

"A glaive," said Mabel immediately. She hadn't been training with it long, but for some reason, the polearm felt the most natural of all the weapons she'd trained with.

"A what now?" asked Dipper, cocking his head to the side.

"Like, a spear," said Mabel, gesturing wide with her hands. "But with a sword on the end."

As Dipper was conjuring the weapon, it began to rain—large, fat black drops landed on the group, stinging their uncovered skin.

"Sorry about the rain," said Sirona, as she jogged up behind them, Cecil draped across her shoulders. "The ward I set up is basically a dome of water…the smoke hitting it becomes… acid rain, I guess"

Before anyone could answer, they heard it. A low, gurgling growl, and a heavy, slow, almost metallic footfall, making its way toward them from the center of the Gravnemeta.

"Uh, shit," said Dipper, handing Mabel her weapon and backing up a few steps.

"Dipper, this is a scythe!" hissed Mabel.

"Sorry, I panicked!" said Dipper, with a nervous laugh. "It, uh, it looks plenty sharp, though."

Mabel sighed. "Everyone space out. We don't know what we're dealing with, and right now we're just a perfect little clustered up target."

Everyone stared at Mabel as if she'd grown two heads. The gravelly breathing and footsteps grew closer.

"Space out! Now!" shouted Mabel.

Everyone split, except Fenris, who was very conflicted.

"Mabel, I have to stay with you," he said softly, desperation in his voice. "I became human so I could—"

"Protect me, I know." Mabel reached out and touched his arm, which was slick with grimy, black water. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, Fen. You're with me. You watch my back, I'll watch yours."

Fenris sighed with relief, but with Mabel's next words, he tensed right back up.

"So, I know as a wolf you had the whole bitey thing going on—but what are your powers in human form? You dohave powers, right?"

Before Fenris could answer her, they were nearly knocked to the ground by a wave of superheated air, accompanied by a deafening roar that sounded like a diesel engine mixed with the screech of grinding gears.

An enormous, dark beast broke through the smoke about three meters in front of Mabel and Fenris, creeping slowly on all fours. It looked like an amalgamation of demonic hyena and robot. It was covered in a thin, leathery, grey skin, with metallic joints, and deep-set eye sockets, which lit up like glowing coals from within. It whipped a long, lizard-like, steel-scaled tail around its body, causing the smoke to billow and swirl.

The creature opened its mouth to roar again, and Mabel and Fenris could see all the way down its throat, into the pit of its belly—its insides burned with white-hot flame. As it let out another bone-rattling roar, thick black smoke poured out of its mouth.

Mabel took a deep breath, planted her feet solidly and straightened her shoulders. Her eyes darted to Fenris, and she hoped he was looking at her through the thick lenses of the gas mask. His head was angled toward her, in any case.

"Let's play offense," she whispered. An almost imperceptible nod of Fenris' head told her he heard and acknowledged her words.

"NOW!" cried Mabel, as she took a running leap at the demon, bringing her scythe down in a wide arc, aiming for the creature's head. Before the blow could connect, the creature swiped her out the air with a massive paw, and sent her flying backward.

"Mabel!" screamed Fenris. He kept his eyes on the beast, dancing backward, deftly dodging the swipes from its razor-sharp claws.

She sat up and coughed, getting her wind back. "I'm fine," she wheezed, as Fenris reached her and gave her a hand back up.

"Fen, look out!" Mabel cried suddenly. While Fenris was focused on her, he'd let his guard down. The creature took advantage of this, and launched itself at him.

Mabel threw herself at Fenris, tackling him to the ground just in time for him to watch the demon sail through the spot where he'd just been standing.

"Thanks," he murmured, as Mabel rolled off of him. "Hey, is it just me, or does it look like the smoke is starting to clear?"

The creature was crouching behind them, preparing for another attack.

"Maybe?" said Mabel. As long as she had the gas mask and could breathe, she didn't care about the smoke.

Mabel pulled Fenris to his feet without taking her eyes off the beast. It leapt at them, its jaws snapping, black foam dripping from its silver fangs. As she and Fenris dodged, she swung her scythe around, slicing into one of the creature's forelegs. It lifted its head and screeched, as black blood poured from the wound.

"Nice! So it canbe hurt," said Dipper. He and Wendy were standing halfway across the clearing, next to a giant metal box that was sucking the smog in through a large circular vent on its front.

"I told you it looked like the smoke was clearing," said Fenris cheerfully, as he and Mabel jogged toward Dipper and Wendy. "It's even stopped raining on us!"

"Guys, hurry!" urged Wendy, waving them forward. "It's right behind you!"

"Split!" yelled Mabel. She ran left and Fenris ran right, hoping to confuse it.

Mabel didn't have to look over her shoulder to know that the creature was still chasing her. She heard the sound of it running, like pistons firing, and she could feel its super-heated breath on the back of her neck. It was too close behind her to risk turning to attack it.

"Someone, please get this thing off me!" she shouted.

"Can do!" cried Sirona, emerging from what was left of the smoke on the opposite side of the clearing, carrying an armful of rocks, Cecil slung over her shoulders. "Hey 'ancient one,'" the goddess of healing springs called out mockingly. "Ready to rock n' roll?"

She began pelting it with large stones, mainly aiming for its head.

"Crude, but effective," said Dipper, as he, Wendy, and Fenris trotted up to Mabel. The creature had given up on its prey, and began bearing down on its attacker.

"Almost out of rocks!" Sirona sang out. "Someone else be the diversion now?"

"Coming," called Wendy. She ran full tilt until she was parallel with the beast, and shot vines from her hands at it. Dipper, Fenris and Mabel followed close behind her, readying themselves to attack.

The vines, still an extension of Wendy's hands, reached the demon, and wrapped around its torso, causing it to stop its charge at Sirona, and claw frantically at the growth that was tightening around its rib cage. When Sirona saw the creature halt, she booked it toward the others.

"All right!" crowed Wendy. "Flower power for the win!"

Her glee was short-lived, however. Dipper spotted it before she did.

"Wendy, release the vines!" he yelled. The vines around the demon began to turn black and crumble, the decay quickly speeding down the vines toward Wendy.

"What?" Wendy asked, just as the decay reached her hands. Her body suddenly slumped, and she crumpled nearly to the ground. Dipper caught her and lowered her more gently than she would have fallen.

"Sirona!" he screamed, panicked.

"You don't have to yell, I'm right here," said the older goddess gently, as she knelt next to Wendy.

Behind them, the beast was clawing away the last of its binds.

The air was clear enough that Mabel pulled off her gas mask. She turned to Fenris.

"Looks like it's down to us." She dropped the mask at her feet, and tilted her neck, cracking it. "Now would be a good time to figure out if you have any powers in your human form."

/

Fenris peeled off his mask, and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his arm, leaving behind a streak of black grime. He narrowed his eyes at the demon. He had to protect Mabel. Nothing was more important to him.

"I am destruction," he murmured to himself.

"What?" asked Mabel.

Fenris shook his head, sending little droplets of sweat flying from the tips of his hair.

"Nothing." He nodded toward the monster, who had just tossed aside the last of the vines constricting it. "We need to draw it away from them so Sirona can heal Wendy."

"I'll go head-on, you flank," said Mabel, with grim determination.

Fenris touched her arm softly. "Be careful, Mabel."

She surprised him by leaning in and kissing him on the cheek, before running directly at the beast, screaming "HEY BUTTFACE!"

Fenris grinned to himself as he took off at a run, making a wide arc around the Gravnemeta.

His mind was racing. He'd watched Dipper learn to master hismagic—or at least be able to use it effectively around seventy percent of the time. A god's magic was connected to what it primarily represented. The main reason Dipper's magic was so versatile was because almost anything could be used to cause mischief. Fenris had to narrow his scope to destruction.

He stopped just behind the monster, taking care to watch out for its wildly lashing tail. Mabel was holding her own against the beast, slashing at it with the scythe and dodging out of its range while shouting insults at it.

Fenris tried to slow his breathing, and concentrate on destruction. He closed his eyes, and suddenly felt something small and round in his hand. He looked down.

A grenade. That wouldn't work. There would be too much chance to hurt everyone at the Gravnemeta. Fenris sighed and closed his eyes, willing the grenade out of existence. He tried to concentrate on destruction once again, but his focus was shattered by a scream.

"Mabel?!"

The beast had knocked her to the ground, and was holding her down with a paw on her chest. She was trying to hold off its snapping jaws with the staff of her scythe.

There was no thought involved, only instinct. Fenris ran full-speed at the demon's side, and barreled into it, knocking it down, and freeing Mabel. As the beast struggled to its feet, Fenris scrambled onto its back, grabbing its neck, and twisting it.

The creature's neck didn't break as Fenris had intended it to. He surmised that it must be because its bones, like its teeth, were probably metal.

"Well shit," muttered Fenris, as the beast began to buck like a prize bull, trying to throw off its hanger-on.

Fenris clung to the demon's neck, trying to simultaneously choke off its air supply, and keep from being flung off.

Mabel bit her lip anxiously. She tried to get close enough to the creature to use her scythe, but it was literally spinning in circles, its limbs and tail flailing wildly.

Fenris caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't tell what it was. Mabel saw it too.

"Cecil!" she cried. "Be careful, it'll crush you!"

The snake ignored her, and deftly maneuvered under the monster. It anchored itself by wrapping the end of its tail around on of the demon's feet, and began to weave itself in a figure-eight around its legs, constricting them until it could no longer move.

As the demon ceased to spin, Fenris still clung to its neck, even as it lost its balance and was toppling over. He didn't want the thing to be able to bite Mabel. The fall felt like slow motion, and Fenris realized a bit too late that one of his legs was about to be caught under the monster when it landed.

The demon thrashed as it fell, but Cecil held its legs tightly. It landed with a thud, roaring and hissing, black foam frothing out of its mouth, as it tried desperately to free its head from Fenris' grip.

"Mabel, now!" cried Fenris, as he pulled back as hard as he could on the beast's head, exposing its throat.

Mabel nodded, her mouth in a grim line, as she stepped forward and sliced the demon's throat, the depth of the cut extending halfway through its neck.

With a gurgling scream, black blood cascading from its gaping wound, the demon thrashed once, then went limp. The red, coal-like glow in its eye sockets dimmed, until nothing remained in its eyes but darkness.

Fenris let go of the beast's head, and flopped backwards. His aching arms felt like wet noodles.

"Cut its head all the way off, Mabel," he said, staring up at the dome of water that still protected the rest of the world from the residual pollution caused by the demon.

He heard a squelch and a thud.

"Gross," muttered Mabel. She walked over to Fenris, and held out her hand.

"I'm kind of stuck," he said with a small smile, nodding toward his trapped leg.

"Well, let's get you unstuck, then," she said in her cheerful, Mabel way. She tossed her scythe aside, and planted her shoulder against the demon's body, pushing it with all her might.

"Oof, this thing weighs a ton," said Mabel, straining to move it. She was able to budge it just enough that Fenris could slide himself backward, and free his leg.

Fenris slowly rose, putting weight gingerly on the leg that had been trapped.

"Yeah," he said, taking a tentative step, and grimacing. "I think its bones are solid steel or something ridiculous like that."

Mabel moved to put an arm around Fenris' shoulders, to help support him, but he caught it and pulled her against him in a fierce hug before she realized what was happening. He felt her heart begin to beat faster as he pressed a kiss onto the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, not letting go.

"Am Iokay?" she giggled into his shoulder. "Says the guy who just had his leg crushed by a huge, creepy demon thing."

"I saw it step on your chest, Mabel," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "I'm a god—I'll bounce back from this in no time. But you're mortal… are you sure you're okay?"

Mabel pulled back slightly and looked Fenris in the eye. "I'll be bruised and sore," she said honestly. "But it's nothing serious. I promise, Fen."

Fenris bit his lip and nodded. He lowered his head, lightly resting his forehead against Mabel's.

She touched his cheek, and tilted her face slightly upward.

"I know you're an unconventional couple," said Dipper loudly, startling the pair apart. "But couldn't you at least move awayfrom the decapitated monster before making out?"

Dipper approached them, carrying Wendy in his arms, with Sirona and Cecil by their side.

"We didn't—I mean, we're not—" sputtered Mabel, flustered.

"Is Wendy okay?" asked Fenris, frowning. Wendy appeared to be alert and pouting.

"Wendy is fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Dingus here insists on carrying me. Wouldn't take no for an answer."

"You werea little wobbly on your feet, my dear," said Sirona in a motherly tone.

"Yeah, take his side," muttered Wendy.

"What was that with your vines, anyway?" asked Mabel. "Fen touched the creature and it didn't affect him like that."

"My theory is that it was a …pollution demon…maybe?" said Sirona with a shrug. That would explain why its effects seemed more pronounced on Beithe and Wendy, seeing as they are dryads."

Dipper looked up at the dome of water overhead. "The pollution mostly got sucked up in my industrial air purifier, so d'you think the ward can come down? We should probably check on Beithe."

Sirona nodded. "Right you are." She snapped her fingers, and the water evaporated in a puff of mist, which quickly dissipated in the breeze.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

A slow clap echoed through the clearing, and everyone turned to see the source. A man of indeterminate age, dressed in an open, steel gray Nehru jacket over an ice-blue hoodie and jeans, was making his way across the Gravnemeta toward the group, a smarmy grin pasted across his face. His features were delicate, and his hair coal black. A white trilby hat was perched jauntily on his head. He held a thick, iron chain in one hand. He gave the chain a strong tug.

"Come along now, love," said the man, his gentle voice carrying across the clearing. "You don't want to keep your friends waiting, do you?"

A bound, gagged, and thoroughly beaten-looking Arden stumbled forward.

Mabel gasped, and started to call out, but a vice-like grip clamped on her elbow, and she disappeared.

/

Mabel blinked, taken aback. She was in her bedroom in the Mystery Shack. She turned and looked at Fenris, rubbing her elbow where he'd gripped her so hard. She meant to give him an earful and have him blip her back to the Gravnemeta, but the look on his face stopped her.

"Fen, what's wrong?"

He was shaking, his face ashen, and his eyes wild. Mabel took his trembling hand, and steered him over to the bed. She sat him down on the edge, and knelt in front of him. She reached out to touch his cheek, and he flinched.

"You're scaring me," she said. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Fenris took a shaky breath.

"Mabel, that was my dad. That was Loki."