Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Uncharted or Gravity Falls.
Chapter 25: Broken Paradise
(Dipper, Wendy and Pacifica run down a path away from the entrance of the city. Several soldiers and guardians chase after them while also fighting each other.)
Dipper: Come on!
Wendy: You okay?!
Pacifica: Yeah, I'm fine. Go go go!
(They make a turn and head for an opening as more guardians appear in the trees.)
Dipper: Look out!
Pacifica: They're everywhere!
Wendy: Keep going!
(They reach the opening and jump to a platform of a broken bridge. They're about to get up the ledge on the other side when they see some soldiers jumping to the platform behind them. Another with a rocket launcher stands on a hill behind the platform and aims at them. A guardian suddenly comes out of nowhere and pounces on him as he fires. The rocket hits a support beam of the platform and it comes loose. It slides downhill and everyone on it loses their balance.)
Dipper: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
(The soldiers on the sides drop their weapons and fall over. One even falls off the thing. Dipper, Wendy and Pacifica stay in the middle to avoid falling off. They see a big stone wall at the bottom of the hill in their path.)
Dipper: (frantically) Ah, crap! Crap! Crap!
Wendy: Oh, my God!
Pacifica: We're gonna crash!
Dipper: Hold on!
(The three of them crouch down and huddle together. Dipper puts his arms around his two female companions. The platform smashes through the wall and the trio is knocked back. They get up when the platform stops. Some soldiers lay dead near them while another is impaled on a tree branch over them. They are disgusted at the sight.)
Wendy: Okay... We need to get the hell out of here now.
Pacifica: I couldn't sleep for days after I saw that last time.
Dipper: Let's take their weapons. We're gonna need them more than them.
(They pick up the pistols and rifles from the dead soldiers. Wendy hands one to Pacifica.)
Wendy: Didn't seem to do them much good, but here.
Pacifica: Thanks.
(Dipper picks up his hat that fell off and puts it back on.)
Dipper: Alright, no time to sightsee. Let's keep moving.
(They make their way through the ruins of the city and reach a small courtyard. Several old bodies lie around the area.)
Wendy: Huh... Looks like someone else made it in here before us.
Pacifica: Let's hope we have better luck making it out.
Dipper: Yeah, these bodies look like they've been here sixty, seventy years.
(Due to it being warm, they take off their winter coats.)
Wendy: Well, Ivan and his crew would have headed into the city. So, if we can just make it back to the entrance, it should be clear by now.
Dipper: Uh, no, Wendy, we're going after the Cintamani Stone.
Wendy: (confused) What?
Pacifica: We have to stop Ivan.
Wendy: And how exactly do you plan on doing that?
Dipper: Get to the Stone first, before he does, and destroy it.
Wendy: Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Don't tell me you're buying into all that supernatural nonsense.
Dipper: Honestly, I don't know what to believe anymore.
Wendy: (serious) Okay, well just in case you missed it, that man is certifiable. He thinks he's fulfilling some sort of prophecy. That the Stone will somehow make him invincible. Immortal.
Pacifica: (bewildered) We're standing in the middle of Shambhala and you're questioning what's possible?
Dipper: Yeah, you saw how many bullets they pumped into those things. Something strange is going on here.
Wendy: All the more reason why we should get out while we still can.
Dipper: We're just trying to set things right...
Pacifica: ...and maybe save the world?
Wendy: (shakes head) Oh God... (to Pacifica) Listen, sunshine, the world doesn't care. You stick your neck out, you are asking to lose your head.
Dipper: You said so yourself you want to take this guy down.
Wendy: Yes, and I want to see him pay more than you do. But that's not how it will end. (motions to bodies) This... This is how it will end.
Dipper: (stern) No... Not this time. Maybe I don't always have to play the hero, but I've realized that sometimes you just have to.
Pacifica: So, c'mon... Whaddya say?
Wendy: That you're crazy.
(Dipper and Pacifica just smile. Wendy sighs in defeat.)
Wendy: But let's go save the damn world.
(They load up their guns with ammo and are about to get moving when a pair of the purple muscular guardians enters the area from some elevated platforms on the sides of the courtyard. They speak menacingly in some strange language.)
Dipper: (irritated) Ah, great. It's more of those freaks!
Wendy: Take cover!
(They run off around the courtyard and open fire at the guardians who shoot back at them with crossbows. Dipper and the girls dodge the arrows and put rounds of bullets in the guardians.)
Dipper: Stay back! Don't let them near you!
Pacifica: (frightened) What are those things?!
Dipper: Hard to kill, that's what!
Wendy: (anxious) I know right! What are we supposed to do!?
Dipper: Just keep shooting! Aim for the heads!
(Pacifica and Wendy shoot at the head of one guardian together while Dipper takes on the other one. They soon kill them both after putting a few rounds in their heads. Then a third guardian shows up on a platform wielding a chain sling with a blue flame in it. He swings the chain and throws the ball of fire. It hits the ground near Dipper and explodes.)
Dipper: (shocked) Holy crap! Those things blow up!
(Pacifica and Wendy take cover as Dipper picks up a crossbow from a dead guardian and shoots an arrow at the one with the sling. He hits it in the head and it falls over dead. It gets quiet again and they take a breather.)
Dipper: We're gonna need stronger weapons than this.
Pacifica: That's for sure.
(Dipper then notices that the guardians have black teeth. We wonders where he's seen it before but decides to think about it later. They climb up to the platforms and jump across to exit the courtyard.)
Dipper: Come on. You can make these jumps.
(They move to another area and find an entrance blocked by some big tree roots. Dipper sees a mass of blue sap on the roots.)
Dipper: (curious) Hey, that's sap... it's just like the resin. That stuff is flammable. Stand back!
(He shoots the sap. It blows up and the roots shrinks away, revealing a new path.)
Wendy: (stunned) Whoa! What the hell?
Pacifica: (stunned) Oh my God, what is that?
Dipper: Ah, doesn't look too creepy...
(They follow the path through the ruins. Dipper shoots some more masses of blue sap to clear the way.)
Dipper: Now we're talkin', let's go!
(They enter another wide area. Dipper spots the top of a big temple in the distance.)
Dipper: Wait, that looks familiar... (realizes) Of course. That must be where the Cintamani Stone is. We gotta get to that temple.
(They drop down from the ledge into a field near some ruins. They look around at the environment.)
Pacifica: It's all so beautiful.
Dipper: This place really must have been something back in the day.
Wendy: It's kinda quiet.
Dipper: Does feel kinda haunted, doesn't it?
They go up into the ruined building and look for a way through. Wendy turns around and sees several soldiers enter the area.
Wendy: (whispering) Whoa whoa whoa! We got company!
Pacifica: (whispering) Again?!
Wendy: Told you. Too damn quiet.
Dipper: (whispering) They haven't seen us yet. Get back.
(The soldiers start to search the field. Dipper takes cover behind a pillar and throws a grenade at the soldiers. It takes some of them down and throws the others off guard. Dipper and the girls open fire on them and another shootout occurs. Another pair of guardians enters the area and kills the rest of the soldiers. Wendy and Pacifica shoot at the guardians to distract them while Dipper takes them out with his crossbow. The area is cleared of enemies and they go to the back of the ruins. They find a gate with a wheel to open it. Dipper tries to turn the wheel but the gate only gets lifted on one side and doesn't open.)
Dipper: (groans) Damn it, it's stuck! Ah, the other counterweight is missing.
Wendy: (smirks) Well you look about the right size.
Pacifica: (laughs)
Dipper: (chuckles) Funny.
(He climbs up to the chain without a counterweight and grabs hold of it.)
Dipper: Alright, I'm on it.
Wendy: Okay, here we go...
(Wendy turns the wheel to open the gate. Pacifica pushes a rock under it to hold it open. The two girls run under as Dipper drops down and slides under the gate before it crushes the rock and closes.)
Wendy: You were cutting that a little fine...
(They keep moving and drop down into a flooded street. More soldiers appear and attack them from down the street. A trooper with a grenade launcher appears on a ledge over the street and shoots down at them.)
Dipper: Look out!
(He climbs up to the ledge, takes out the trooper and uses the grenade launcher to blast away the remaining soldiers at the end of the street.)
Dipper: You girls all right?
Wendy: Yep!
(They climb out of the area and continue down the path until they get to a small courtyard with an old cart in it. They see and walkway up on a ledge.)
Pacifica: Looks like we need to get up to that ledge.
Dipper: Let's use the cart.
Pacifica: Here ya go!
(Dipper and Pacifica push the cart over to the ledge. Wendy watches them.)
Dipper: That'll do it.
Wendy: Nice work guys.
Dipper: (sarcastically) Thanks for the help... Wendy.
Wendy: Don't mention it.
(They get up to the ledge and make their way down the walkway until they reach a long staircase leading to the big temple.)
Dipper: There it is.
(They go up the stairs and enter the temple. They move down the hallway temple and get to a large hall where more soldiers are fighting more guardians.)
Dipper: (stunned) Oh, shit... get down! There's guardians down here too!
(They take cover on the upper walkway of the hall and wait as their enemies destroy each other, only taking out those that get too close to them. Soon, the soldiers are gone with a few guardians left. They come out of cover to eliminate them.)
Dipper: Watch out for the guys with the slings!
(Dipper picks up another crossbow and kills one guardian with it as Pacifica and Wendy handle another. Soon, all the enemies are down.)
Dipper: Okay. All clear.
(They enter another hallway and find a stairwell.)
Dipper: The Stone's gotta be here somewhere. Let's try headin' up.
Pacifica: Alright!
(The trio go up the large staircase as fast as they can.)
Dipper: C'mon, we better hurry... Alright, we're almost there.
(Soon they get to the top of the stairs and enter a huge room with several pillars along the sides. In the middle is a tree trunk coming out of the floor with branches connected to the ceiling. Stuck in the middle of the trunk is a massive blue orb.)
Pacifica: (amazed) There it is... the Cintamani Stone.
Wendy: (amazed) I can't believe we beat them here.
Pacifica: It's beautiful...
Wendy: Yeah, magnificent. Now let's smash it and get the hell out of here.
(As they approach the stone, Dipper notices something about it.)
Dipper: (confused) Wait... Something's not right...
Pacifica: (curious) What do you mean?
(He goes up to the stone and examines it.)
Dipper: Marco Polo had it wrong... This isn't a sapphire. It's amber.
Wendy: Amber?
Dipper: Yeah, y'know, fossilized resin. It's just tree sap.
(Then he looks over at the wall and sees carvings of tree with a small blue orb in the trunk. He starts to realize something.)
Dipper: Wait a minute...
Pacifica: What is it?
Dipper: (shocked) You gotta be shittin' me...
Wendy: (annoyed) Hello, Dipper?
Pacifica: (annoyed) I hate it when he does this.
Wendy: Tell me about it.
(Dipper remembers the clues about the Life Tree from the temples in Nepal and in the mountain. He runs across the room to a big opening in the wall leading back outside. Pacifica and Wendy follow him.)
Dipper: How could I have missed it?
Pacifica: Missed what?
Dipper: There's not actually a Stone. It's the resin. The sap from the Tree of Life.
Wendy: Okay, hold on, now you've lost me... (points to tree) this tree?
Dipper: No... that tree.
(He points outside to a massive tree on the ground below the temple. They stare in amazement at it. Pacifica sees some figures near the tree.)
Pacifica: There he is. Ivan.
(Dipper looks through his binoculars and sees Ivan and his remaining soldiers on a bridge next to the tree. Ivan goes down some steps from the bridge.)
Dipper: He's headed to the Tree... (realizes something else) Oh my God... the black teeth...
Pacifica: What?
Dipper: The black teeth on those Guardian things and the bodies in Borneo. They ate the resin and it changed them somehow! That's where the dangerous power of this place comes from!
Wendy: And you think that's what Ivan's planning to do?
Dipper: You really wanna wait around and find out?
(Suddenly, they hear a weak but cocky voice from behind.)
Rumble: Bravo, Sherlock...
(They quickly turn around and see Rumble standing next to a pillar. He's severely wounded and is holding his side in pain. They are shocked at his state.)
Rumble: Well done...
Dipper: Rumble? Geez...
(Rumble slumps down and leans against the pillar.)
Wendy: Oh, Rumble...
Rumble: (smirks) What's the matter, mate? Disappointed Ivan beat you to it? I'm afraid you just missed him. Figured I'd stay behind and wait for you to come join my little party.
Dipper: What are you talking about?
Rumble: He clearly had no use for me no more. But he left me like this so you'd find me later. (laughs) Maybe that's what old Ivan wanted all along, eh? He's cleverer than he looks.
Pacifica: (determined) We can still stop him.
(She steps closer to Rumble.)
Dipper: Pacifica, don't -
Pacifica: No, we can help you.
Rumble: Sorry, love. This isn't a movie, and you're not the plucky girl who reforms the villain and saves the day. It's just not done like that.
Dipper: Rumble, listen to me. You -
(Rumble holds up a grenade with a crazed look on his face. Pacifica stops moving towards him.)
Rumble: Parting gift from Ivan. Pity he took the pin...
(He drops it to the floor. Everyone gets frightened.)
Dipper: Get back!
Wendy: Pacifica!
(The grenade explodes and Dipper and Wendy are thrown back. They get back up and look over. Rumble is dead and Pacifica is lying on the ground severely wounded.)
Dipper: (worried) No!
Wendy: (worried) Oh my God...
Dipper: Pacifica!
(They kneel down and try to help her up. She groans in pain.)
Dipper: Okay, you're gonna be okay. C'mon, we're gonna get you outta here.
Pacifica: (weakly) No...
Dipper: C'mon...
Pacifica: Just stop Ivan... Go...
Wendy: Not a chance. Come on.
(They put her arms around their necks and help her stand up. They walk down the steps and get onto the bridge outside. They hear voices coming their way.)
Dipper: Shit!
Nathan lets Elena's arm drop and takes his gun out.
Wendy: It's all right, I've got her. You cover us.
(Dipper lets go of her arm and takes his gun out.)
Dipper: Alright, this way!
Wendy: We have to get her out of here!
Dipper: I'll clear the way!
(Soldiers appear on the bridge and open fire. Dipper fires back as Wendy hides Pacifica behind the bridge wall.)
Wendy: (assuring) Come on, honey, you can do it. Hang on. Wait here.
(Dipper takes down the soldiers.)
Dipper: C'mon, keep moving!
Wendy: Okay, we're gonna move.
(She helps her up and walk down the bridge. Pacifica struggles to stand.)
Wendy: Come on, you can do it. Watch out. Okay, little bit further. Here we go...
(More soldiers arrive.)
Dipper: We got company!
Wendy: Okay, hang back...
(He keeps killing the enemies in his way, determined to get his friends to safety. Soon they're all gone.)
Dipper: Keep going!
Wendy: Okay, we're gonna move. Come on, you can do it. There we go...
Dipper: Paz, you all right?
Wendy: Come on, let's step over this... You can do it, come on, one big step... Okay, here we go. There we go...
Pacifica: Wendy? Thanks...
(They get across the bridge and get to the large bridge leading out of the city.)
Dipper: I think that's the last of them...
(Wendy helps Pacifica sit on a rock to rest. Dipper walks up to them.)
Dipper: (comfortingly) Hey, Paz, how ya doin', huh?
(Pacifica just whimpers.)
Wendy: Not good...
Dipper: You just hang in there okay? I'm counting on you. (to Wendy, firmly)
Dipper: Head for the gate. Go as fast as you can.
Wendy: Wait, what do you mean? (realizes) No... no way.
Dipper: Look Wendy, I have to end this.
Wendy: (worried) No. You don't. Not on your own. Don't you dare take on this stupid crusade all by yourself!
(Pacifica groans in pain again.)
Dipper: (sternly) Just get her outta here.
Wendy: Not without you.
Dipper: Look, if that stuff could really transform Ivan...
Wendy: Please don't do this.
Dipper: If it could actually make him invincible, and I didn't try to stop it...
Wendy: But it's suicide, and you know it.
Dipper: You know me, my mind's all made up. So just go. Get as far away from this place as you can.
(Dipper runs off and jumps down to a lower ledge. Wendy just sighs sadly and accepts his decision. She helps Pacifica back up and starts moving down the bridge. Dipper keeps moving as fast as he can to the Tree of Life ready to end it.)
Dipper, Pacifica and Wendy make a good trio, don't they? Last chapter is up next.