"Keep yourself upright- at minimum, don't lean in like that."
"Mabel leans in though."
"You don't fight like Mabel. Don't lean in: you'll only hurt yourself.
Dipper sighed. A hand was held above him, offering him a boost. Without a second thought, he took it from his newest mentor and was raised up with a rush.
"Is it really that big a difference between us?" Dipper asked Arline as he dusted himself off. She snickered and nodded.
"Oh yeah. If you ever have the chance to step back and watch yourself fight," Arline shrugged, "I don't know, record yourself, you'd see how different you two approach the same issue."
"Yeah, doofus!" Mabel called from the couch, where Grunkle Stan laughed next to her, holding a soda in his hand. Waddles oinked next to him, resting beside the sofa.
"You're the doofus!" Dipper retorted.
"Switch," Arline patted Dippers shoulder, "Mabel, you're up."
"Get to watch a pro work!" Mabel told Dipper as they passed one another.
"More like get to watch your master wipe the floor with you now," Dipper smirked as he took his seat.
"Like it was any different with you," Grunkle Stan chuckled.
Dipper grumbled. Sitting down next to his grand uncle, Dipper let the sores and bruises of the previous sparring subside. Whenever Mabel was done, he would be going up again, like it had been for the past week.
It had been like this since that meeting, nearly a week ago.
After the news of the Warlock, Graupner Kinley, having escaped got to the whole crew, the tension around the mystery manor had doubled. The idea that this man was able to escape from the Gravity Falls jail wasn't that large a stretch- too many individuals had done so in the past, including Grunkle Stan.
It was the level of ability he had shown in doing so.
Arline had explained it. "I'm not a magic user, but I've worked with and against them in the past. The more precise a spell is, the harder it is to cast generally," she had explained with the whole crew listening late that night after Summerween, "and this one was perfect."
"We're talking an entire jail cell wall of brick, completely re-arranged. They had been all pulled out and layered as they would have been if some shmuck had just built the wall that way," Stan had added angrily.
"Why did it take authorities so long to detect this?" Yuki had asked.
"Because," Arline shook her head and held her face in her hands. Stan took up the cue.
"Because the Gravity Falls police department is a joke, for starters?"
"They thought the cell had always been like that at first," Arline groaned, "and it gave the guy a half our lead on the cops. He could be anywhere now."
Dippers fingers clenched the ends of the sofa, thinking back to that meeting. It had made Dipper realize how lucky they had all been. That day, the entire group had split up: Mabel at a distance from Yuki, Dipper out in the wilds looking for Wendy, and three back at the manor. Had the Warlock run into any one of them, someone could have been hurt, or killed.
It was this realization Dipper shared that caused an agreement to be settled on: the mystery manor watches out for itself. For now on, if anyone was going anywhere, they went with at least one other. This wasn't as much of a problem as they had made it sound- as the twins settled on not traveling alone anymore, Soos could stay at the shack for a few days without problem, and Wendy was now permanently residing in the manor. There was always someone to be with when leaving.
Yet, as Dipper watched his sister charge at her master, leaping up into a feigned kick that lead into a driving punch, Dipper worried.
Not for the Warlock. Dipper kept telling himself that the man was a joke. He was a coward; running constantly from Dipper and Mabel while throwing whatever magic he could behind him as he fled. Not only that, any attempt to sound intimidating was lost from his stupid stutter.
It was the possibility he had help now. There could be another one of these warlocks out there now. Earlier the past week, Dipper had tried looking up more specifics towards people who studied magic, only to find that even more of the books of the library had been stolen. Miss Isoar had commented on their status as, "having a hefty late fee."
Yuki had been, as he always was, the calm and thoughtful of the group. Quickly after discussing the possibility of there being more spellcasters to deal with, he suggested finding them before they could act. Dipper had loved it; at least until Yuki explained himself.
"This may just be a large misunderstanding," Yuki had explained, "many times in various cultures, battles and wars are fought all under a lost chance to compromise. This very well may be one of those incidents-"
"The guy literally wants power," Dipper remembered cutting in angrily. "He sliced my arm open to prove it."
The determination in Yuki's words faltered, but he had continued. "This is a determined, resourceful person. Why shouldn't we attempt to turn his resourcefulness into something constructive?"
"Yuki doesn't have a bad point," Wendy stepped in as Dipper's face heated up, "but until we have that chance, if we ever do, we need to assume this guy means bad for us."
Stan had agreed with Wendys stance. Safe and steady in the face of opposition. Should the guy come after them, they could present a strong face together. Until then, assume he was watching with a steady, ever angry eye.
"We should go look for him," Dipper mumbled on the couch.
"He's not going anywhere," Stan quietly told him.
"He could be."
"He won't."
"How can you be so sure?" Dipper asked, his brow furrowing.
"He reminds me of my brother," Grunkle Stan shrugged, "in an annoying, stubborn way that makes me look compromising."
"Don't worry," a voice from the door added, catching the two off guard. Wendy stood inside, watching Mabel practice with deliberate eyes. "This dude tries coming after us, we'll be ready."
Dipper's eyes fell onto Wendy as he studied her. There was a new appreciation between them since their renewal of their friendship. Wendy had become closer than ever before between the twins- now almost always in on their plans. While she never participated with the fighting they did, Dipper always caught her smiling as she watched him spar.
Inside the boy, there was a revived interest in Wendy. He couldn't remember a time he hoped that anyone was watching him fight than now. Every moment that Dipper knew Wendy was to watching him duke it out, he put every ounce of strength into his attacks. He had to make sure she knew how hard he was trying.
It was weird though. She wasn't… alive. She was dead, but not in body. Not technically, at least. Through curiosity and testing, the twins, Wendy and Soos had done tests to her mortality. She seemed to have no limit to the amount of blood she could have removed from her body, and her pain threshold, already established as extraordinary, now rested at 'godlike'.
Even with all these benefits, Wendy was still cursed. A moment would go by as one of the inhabitants of the manor would take a long sip of water, or chew on stale candy, and they would catch Wendy breaking away from a wishful stare. It made living with her a near constant state of pity and self-loathing, as every moment they took something for granted, they would be reminded of her condition. Always hungry, never sated; always thirsting, never quenched.
It made movie nights with Wendy easy though. While she was always tired, she was able to shrug it off as long as she kept busy.
Dipper realized suddenly how long he had been staring at the freckled girl, and that she had been looking back. He blinked and quickly looked away, feeling hot in the face.
Just ahead, Mabel fell to the ground with a loud 'oof'. As Arline sighed and lowered her stance, Mabel grumbled and crossed her arms while lying down, pouting.
"One of these days I'm going to get you," she said before leaping back up.
"I hope so," Arline nodded, "compared to how fast you're learning, you'll be able to overtake me in a few years no problem."
"A few years?!" Mabel angrily repeated, her arms at her side. "Maaan!"
"Mabel, dude, c'mon," Wendy called out, "this is discipline stuff. Can't rush it."
"Hah! Yeah right," Stan chuckled, "you can always rush things."
"Can't rush things and get them effectively," Arline corrected.
"Don't know what you're on about," Stan shook his head, "as far as I've been able to tell, you just need to be a genius. Then boom! You've learned it."
"I suppose you're speaking from experience?" Arline asked, crossing her arms as she glared at Stan. "Picked up boxing in only a week?"
"Who says that I was ever taught?" Stan grinned.
Dipper shook his head a growled. "You were sent to classes against your will and you sucked until you got older," he said. Stan spluttered as Mabel giggled with Arline.
"Well, I at least learned faster than most shmucks!" Stan protested.
Arline waved him over. "Then come over here and throw your bit in."
Stan blinked. "What?"
"Come over here and show us what you got, big guy," Arline repeated. No malice in her invitation, Arline smiled only warmly at Stan. The hesitation was palpable, but as the moment passed, Stan did stand.
"Mabel, step aside sweety," he said as he passed by his grand niece. "Time to watch a pro at work."
"Right," Mabel smirked.
"Hey Soos! Yuki!" Wendy called into the shop, "Stan's going to spar Arline!"
Stan nervously turned his glance to the windows, where sure enough two faces poked their gazes out, watching Stan with both elation and nervousness. "Get 'er, Mister Pines!" Soos called through the window as Yuki squinted. Dipper awaited as eagerly as Mabel: Stan may be a loud-mouthed boaster, but he could throw a heck of a punch. They doubted Arline was going to go as hard on him as she did the twins.
Yet as Stan stretched his fingers, she closed her eyes, and spun harms rapidly. Two cycles in mid-air whipped around, Arline closed her composure and grunted. Her friendly demeanor had evaporated as she stared and watched Stan.
"Oh, going to take me seriously, are you?" Stan asked, his eyebrow cocking up as he grinned, "good."
Stan cracked his knuckles once, and took a step forward to ready himself.
His step must have been charged with power, as the ground then shook. Waddles squealed in surprise and leapt up to his feet.
"Woah!" Mabel declared, "Grunkle Stan is on the paths of earth!"
"What? No I'm not!" Stan declared, staring at the ground.
Dipper had pushed himself off the couch. That definetly wasn't intentional by Stan. Wendy also stepped outside, followed closely by Soos and Yuki. Scanning around them as the tension between the two fighters evaporated, Dipper spotted the source. He pointed and gasped. "Smoke!" he shouted.
A large plume of smoke billowed rapidly over town.
"My bike is right there!" Mabel pointed as she rushed over to the couch, where her jacket rested. Reaching inside for her keys, she and Dipper raced to her bike, hopped on, and started the engines.
"Wait you two!" Stan yelled at them, "it could be dangerous!"
"We'll be fine!" Dipper called as Mabel spun the bike away.
"We're going with each other!" Mabel shouted, and then raced ahead.
The town was in an uproar. Darting between cars driving away from the black trail that lead miles into the sky, the twins grew closer to the danger. There was no time to communicate a plan of action between them, but they were ready. Unspoken and silent, they had each other to rely on.
As long as they had that, it could be assumed they could not lose.
"Guys!"
"Grenda! Candy!" Mabel said as she slowed her bike. Through the crowds, Mabel's pair of friends stepped out. They had been running past the fleeing residents towards the twins.
"Something caused the gas station next to Bargains Depot to explode!" Candy hurriedly explained.
"Yeah! Fire's CRAZY!" Grenda shouted.
"You two are okay?" Mabel asked.
"We're-" Candy started, but Dipper patted Mabel's shoulder.
"They're fine! Warlock could be there, we need to go!"
"Okay, hold on!" Mabel shouted.
With a screech of tire, Mabel took off once again.
With their directions clarified, Mabel was quick to bob and weave her way around parked cars and down alleys. Only a minute separated meeting their friends and arriving at a burning building. They were alone now, and Dipper quickly rushed off the bike. The gas station had been blow off the planet, and half the store had gone with it- leaving a burning wreck in it's place. Dipper and Mabel were more than shocked to see no bodies laying about though- this wasn't just any accident.
"Anything?" Dipper asked as he peered around, trying to approach the pillars of fire and smoke.
"A whole lot of nothing," Mabel groaned as she craned her head around. Then she did a double take on her search. "Dipper?"
Dipper spun and looked her way. His gaze followed hers, and he found himself staring at the opposite end of the Bargain Depot. Closest to the forest was the greenhouse- its glass casing entirely shattered. Moving just out of sight appeared to be something small.
A collection of figures wearing tall, red hats shuffled out of sight.
"No way," Dipper gasped.
He and Mabel ran as quickly as their legs and feet could carry them to the other side of the building, through the pieces of burning debris and around the trails of smoke they caused. To Dipper's and Mabel's understanding, there was an unspoken rule that prevented...
They arrived and turned the corner. The entire greenhouse had been looted. Only small flowers remained- the larger trees and tropical plants had all be taken away. Rushing into the thick brush of the forest was a line of small, squat men in bright, colorful outfits and red hats.
"Gnomes?" Mabel gasped.
"Why?" Dipper asked.
"They'd never go out of their way to hurt anyone," Dipper gasped.
"And even if they did, why would they steal plants?" Mabel asked him, "I mean, of all things... plants?"
Dipper scowled and clenched his jaw. "I think we've discovered who broke out the Warlock out from his cell." Mabel gasped. "What? You don't really think they'd be above helping him."
"I didn't say that," Mabel pointed out, "but Jeff... he's not evil, he's just a dumb jerk." She turned back to the building, scanning it. "Dipper, I don't think there's anything else we can do here. We need to get-"
"Back, yeah," Dipper nodded. "Fighting Gnomes on their turf without proper prep is just suicide. We need to head back."
The drive back was a majority of close calls. They barely left the site of disaster just as the police and fire department both showed off and quarantined the entire half of the town. They only managed to get out of town just as the traffic began to enter gridlock; the confused citizens trying to get home and check on loved ones. Had this been a joint effort of the Gnomes and the Warlock to disrupt the town and steal... low-grade greenhouse plants, it worked.
The crew of the Mystery Manor awaited their return, along with a nervous pig. Grunkle Stan was currently dealing with the worried visitors, who he was advising to pack their bags and visit Portland, mostly due to the fact that Portland was great this time of year, and had nothing to do with the column of smoke behind him.
"The gnomes!?" Stan barked as soon as the last group of tourists left the shack, leaving the crew alone.
"Definitely," Dipper nodded.
"Unless there's a troupe of short, round dwarves in town," Mabel grumbled.
"So the gnomes and Warlock are working together," Wendy scowled. "Great. As if we didn't have trouble already."
"The goblins are going to have a field day about this," Soos commented, "they already don't like the gnomes, man."
"Oink," Waddles squealed, looking at the woods.
"Goblins and gnomes don't like each other?" Arline asked.
"It's complicated," Dipper said, "what's important is that they made a move in public. They stole, of all things, plants. Why?"
"Maybe they can use their magic to grow them into something else," Yuki suggested.
"Why not just do that magic on plants in the woods then?" Mabel asked, "it doesn't add up."
"Oink!" Waddles squealed louder, still looking at the woods.
"All that matters is that we've got another enemy on our hands," Stan said, "and that they're willing to start a war," Stan's, to the twins shock, seemed to drain in color, "with... people."
"Unfortunately," a deep, booming voice called from the tree line, having the entire group jump and whip towards the woods, "things are far more complicated than that." Out from the shrubs, an enormous many-headed, many-armed bear stepped out.
"Multibear!" Mabel cried.
Multibear, do you know what happened in town?" Dipper asked as he and Mabel first approached the bear, followed by Soos and Wendy.
"I do. The trail of smoke was visible from my cave, as well as the fires," Multibear said, eying Arline and Yuki, "we have not met, allies of Dipper and Mabel. I am Multibear," he told Arline.
"I'm Arline Hirsh. I'm glad to hear you're a friend of ours," she calmly replied.
"I am Uki-Dohth," Yuki nodded, "a pleasure."
"Perhaps another time," Multibear shook his primary head, and looked to Stan, "guardian Stanley, I would ask for Dipper and his allies to accompany me. There is grave tidings, and they are needed elsewhere."
"What? Go into the woods after what just happened in town!?" Stan demanded as Multibear nodded. "No way!"
"Grunkle Stan," Mabel scolded him.
"We'll be fine," Dipper added.
"I would suggest your two friends to come," Multibear added, glancing at Soos and Wendy, "for an added presence."
"Uh, sure dude," Soos shrugged, "as long as we're not getting eaten."
"I'm definitely coming," Wendy nodded. "This sounds important."
"As important as it can be," Multibear agreed, and looked to the twins, "are you ready to accompany me?"
"Uh..." Mabel and Dipper looked back to Stan. Concern at having them leave into the wilderness was mixed with anger. Yet they were going with a trusted ally- a monster who sided with them on many occasion. There would be no arguing with the twins.
"Go on," Stan shrugged, "us three got the building on lock down," Stan said with a nod and surrendering grin.
"Stay safe," Yuki told the four as they began to follow Multibear. With a determined oink, Waddles trailed on after Mabel.
"Don't start a war unless you have to!" Arline added as they entered the woods.
"That would be preferable," Multibear agreed quietly.
The woods was tense. The air itself seemed charged with power. Even with the breeze that always gently passed through the trees ever present, the once swaying branches refused to budge. The four following the mutated bear could only peer around. Animals watched them from a careful distance, daring not to make a noise.
"Multi-bear, what is going on?" Dipper asked. "Where are you taking us?"
Multibear sniffed the air. "We are close. Come, over that hill," he indicated with a bob of his head. With a worried look to his long-time friend, Dipper nodded and followed the bear up the hill.
When he passed over the hill, he gasped. They were no longer alone.
Clusters of creatures, all humanoid, gathered around a massive and naturally grown table. A tree had been grown to resemble a huge oval surface. As the group passed over the hill, their collective gasps grew.
Gib and a large cluster of goblins.
Jeff and a grouping of gnomes.
Leaderaur and several Manotaurs.
An unrecognized but elaborately decorated Fae with several suited fae next to her.
To Mabel's displeasure, a massive collection of Lilliputtians.
A collection of grim vampires, now glaring at the twins.
A massive, white furred Werewolf and two similarly sized werewolfs prowling one side as they sniffed the air.
A family of, to Mabel's delight, true elves, all wearing loose fitting clothing and hippy-like gear.
"Oink," Waddles gulped.
"Dudes," Soos bent down as the four humans all whispered to one another, "what the heck-a-doodle is going on?"
"I don't know," Wendy admitted, worriedly staring at the gnomes, "but our new baddies are present."
Dipper gulped. There was sufficient distance between all the various monsters, and for good reason. Half of them glared angrily at one another. The Manotaurs looked down their larges nostrils at almost the entire table dismissively, and outright laughed at the lilliputtians. While their attitude and superior actions were rude, it was not an alien action. Even the Fae seemed dismissive or someone uncaring towards other races.
Mabel then clutched Dipper's side and pointed.
"Look," she said in a whisper.
"What?" he asked her, peering at the fairies. "Oh, look, it's Twinkle-Moon again," Dipper groaned.
"No, dude," she pointed more urgently, "behind them, there."
Dipper then saw it. The glade they now stood on was centered in a circle of hills. Nearly perfectly across the small meadow, a tall figure stood. Wrapped in a thick cloak and hood, an unseen person watched the collection. Arms held across it's chest, this figure seemed deliberately unnoticed by those present.
"Multibear, what's with that guy there?" Dipper asked, tapping Multibear and letting Mabel point. Multibear gulped.
"Do not stare too long at it," he told Dipper with a shudder, "that is the Guardsman."
"The Guardsman?" Dipper repeated. He dared another glance at the man in black. There was something... troubling about how much fear Multibear put into his reply. It seemed out of character for something that could easily maul fifty men to have a worrying response to a single figure.
"What is it?" Dipper asked.
"An ancient spirit," the bear told Dipper.
"Why is he here?" Dipper asked, "is here to help with... whatever is happening?"
Multibear snorted. "He would not come on our behalf. He is here to ensure the protection of that which he guards."
"Which... is?" Mabel asked.
"The heart of the forest," Multibear stated.
An equally worried gulp was shared between the twins. Whoever this 'Gaurdsman' was, he had never once been mentioned in the journals, and he gave them the shivers. It seemed unnatural how still he stood. Had Dipper not been pointed to him directly, he probably never would have noticed him; just assumed it was a shadow.
Then, a loud clap of rocks slapping one another broken the din of commotion. Twinkle-Moon had floated up, levitating two stones and smashing them together.
"All are present, please take your positions," he called about.
Multibear rocked his head, moving over to the table. Quickly, the four move over and stand by the hard wooden table. Multibear grunted and nodded to the fairies, and the rocks clapped once more.
"Bob, please record," Twinkle-Moon said to the side as he landed on the table, and rested the rocks next to him, "the second recorded inter-special council meeting is now begun. This meeting is to establish a course of action regarding the recent events causing strife in our shared woods." Twinkle Moon glanced behind him to the silken-dressed Fae woman with long, beautiful white hair. She nodded to him, and he continued. "Jeff," Twinkle-Moon addressed the Gnomes, who stood on the table next to the standing vampires, "your actions this day have spurred this emergency meeting. Explain yourselves."
"Explain ourselves?!" Jeff roared back, pointing his first at them angrily, "you watch your tone there, bub!"
"Keep yourself civil," Twinkle-Moon chided him. "And answer the question."
"Hah!" Jeff spun around, look hysterical. "Explain ourselves. How about they-" Jeff pointed to the Goblins, "explain themselves first!"
Gib the Goblin Mayor, also standing on the table gasped and glared back. "Watch your tone! And by what right do you accuse us!? We dealt with the long dreaded shapeshifter!"
"And now you take our boys and hold them hostage!?" Jeff demanded heatedly.
Gib's mouth fell open as several of the creatures gasped and stared at the Goblins. "We have done no such thing!" Gib roared.
"Then how do you explain the kidnapping of my friends," Jeff motioned for one of the Gnomes to climb up. A shaken and scared looking lazy-eyed Gnome with a scraggy, gray beard climbed up. "Tell 'em, Shmebulock."
"...Shmebulock," the gnome said with tear-filled eyes, pointing dramatically at the Goblins.
The table gasped and stared at the Goblins, who all looked shaken and startled with whatever the gnome had said.
"Human grown, non-native plants for our friends freedom!" Jeff declared, pushing Shmebulock off the table with a backhand, "you call that innocent!?"
"We have no such demands!" Gib roared.
"Whatever! That's not what's really important!" Chutzpar the Manotaur suddenly roared, slamming his fists onto the table. "We had to give into a humiliating demand! You!" Chutzpar, his eyes bulging, pointed to the largest werewolf, who eyed him without worry.
"What?" the white furred werewolf growled.
"Tell them, Leaderaur," Chutzpar smirked, his arms crossed.
Leaderaur, the tallest and darkest of all the Manotaurs, leaned all the way over the table easily, and got directly into the face of the werewolf, who never budged. With a mighty, booming voice, he commanded, "WE WANT OUR XBRIX BACK."
"What?!" the werewolf snarled with a grin, "we don't play Xbrix!"
"Yeah, that wouldn't make sense," Dipper quietly agreed, "werewolves, playing video games."
"We're Minpendo gamers, obviously!" the leader werewolf rolled his eyes, and Dipper loudly face-palmed. "Their controller design was easier for our claws to handle."
"Then why was it we could smell werewolf in our man-cave!?" Chutzpar demanded as Leaderaur leaned back, his thick arms crossing one another. There werewolf leader scowled and glared at them. "Unless the alpha doesn't have control over his pack?" Chutzpar snickered as the other Manotaurs back him up with loud cat-calls and heckling.
"Restrain yourselves," Twinkle-Moon told the Manotaurs. A loud, high-pitched bark of a laugh called attention, and a blue golf-ball stepped forward, with bright blond hair and brown clogs.
"You're ones to talk," Franz the Dutch Lilliputtian accused.
"...What are you insinuating?" Twinkle-Moon stared at his like-heighted creature.
"Oh, oh, more of this 'playing innocent' nonsense," Franz pranced about, "well, it wont work on us!" Franz announced. "You've been harassing our courses for a solid week!"
"Impossible," the lady behind Twinkle-Moon cooly said, her voice soft and ethereal, "our enchantments are able to track all Fae activities. We have never had the need to enter the primitive golf courses."
"Right, I'm sure that our friends just got levitated without ever being touched and put on the highest courses without ever noticing?" Franz pointed out.
Twinkle-Moon scoffed, his eyes closing as he grinned. "Yes, after all, we can trust the word of a species that is so blood-thirsty that before recently, the only thing they were known for- aside from being struck by the end of a metal stick- was fighting amongst themselves," Twinkle-Moon was granted a smile from the woman behind him, "so clearly we can trust your word."
"Keep it up, Pal," Franz warned, stepping closer, "and you'll see just how much we've learned from ourselves about warfare!"
"Yes, I'm sure you've learned plenty about being smacked around, literally," Twinkle-Moon snorted. Franz dived at him and socked him across the face.
The spark was enough for the entire table to suddenly break out in fights. Manotaurs dived in all directions, grabbing people and trying to out-punch their friends. Goblins and Gnomes charged across the table, throwing themselves at each other haste. The elves did their best to stay back, but only ended up knocking into the vampires, and beginning a fierce slap-contest between them. Only Multibear and the four were able to stand back, watching the chaos as outsiders. That, and the Guardsman, who hadn't budged a muscle.
"So, is it just me," Mabel asked Dipper, "or do their stories all sound... similar?"
"Yeah," Dipper nodded, "all of them either got bullied or had something taken. If the gnomes case, both," he noted.
"What are you thinking?" Wendy as the four leaned in.
"I don't know," Dipper admitted, scratching his chin, "I kind of jumped the gun with the gnomes working with Graupner... but they said that some of their own was kidnapped, and demanded human-grown flowers."
"Why would anyone want plants from a greenhouse next to Bargains-Depot?" Wendy shook her head as she frowned, "that's like... thirty bucks stolen, max."
"What about the Xbrix theft?" Soos asked, "that's totally not cool. Taking someone's Xbrix."
"Yeah," Dipper nodded, "but they said it smelled like werewolf. Trust me, I can confidently say that Manotaurs love video game consoles- they can sit on the couch and play, which they love. They wouldn't lie about that."
"Oink," Waddles said.
"But the werewolves said they like Minpendo," Mabel reminded him. "As a former werewolf, had I the chance to any console, I'd want the Minpendo Smee to play on."
"What's connecting all of this together..." Dipper asked quietly, still scratching his chin. "There's something about this that seems... connected."
"Well, whatever it is," Wendy sighed, "it's getting the same reaction from everyone," Wendy said with a sigh. Dipper nodded. Then he blinked and looked to his sister. Mabel saw him, and gasped. The two spun around, and stared at the fight.
"That's it," they said in unison.
"The... fight?" Wendy asked.
"Oh dude," Soos clapped a hand to the side of his head, "that totally makes sense!"
"Someone is getting them all riled up! They're hating each other now- I mean, I don't even need to point anything else out," Dipper said as he watched punches, kicks, slashes, and otherwise other forms of attack were exchanged.
Without a second warning, the huge bear next to Dipper opened his jaw and bellowed. "EVERYONE- SILENCE!" The fight instantly froze. All eyes turned on Multibear. With a single snort, he turned to Dipper. "You may now speak, my friends."
"Uh... okay," Dipper said, as he leaned to the table. Yet as he went to speak, Jeff groaned.
"Great, who invited the Pines here?!" he cried as he loosened his stranglehold on Gib, the Goblin Mayor.
"Yeah, no one wants pipsqueak here," Chutzpar sneered.
"I invited him," Multibear growled.
"Oh, look guys," Chutzpar laughed, "one dweeb invited the others! It makes sense! Let's laugh at their dweebishness!"
The manoaturas gave stupid, bellowing laughs. Leaderaur barely moved his lips as he chuckled, looking like a chewing cow standing upright. Dipper rolled his eyes, but looked around. While the Lilluputtians scowled and the vampires also glared, the others seemed interested.
"Go ahead," Gib said, his voice constricted to sound even higher in pitch, "give us your piece."
Dipper nodded. "So... a lot of people here had something wrong done to you," Dipper said aloud, starting his hypothesis, "and a lot of people here don't claim to have done anything-"
"Wrong," Twinkle-Moon jumped in, rubbing the side of his face, "we've done plenty. We done nothing wrong in the face of just action."
Dipper rolled his eyes and continued, "but no one here claims to have committed anything against anyone else here?" he asked.
"Pfft, we've thrown junk at loser-face over there," a Manotaur by the name of Pubertaur cackled.
"And we've definitely performed better in our skirmishes against the gnomes in previous battles," Gib shrugged.
"And we've-" a vampire by the name of Vistile spoke up, but Dipper groaned and cut him off.
"Okay! Okay!" he shouted, "so everyone's had the chance to do wrong to someone else here, we got it!"
"What Dipper is trying to get at is that no one's done anything recently," Wendy stepped in, drawing confusion from many of the faces. She, unlike the Pines twins had little reputation among the monsters at the meeting.
"Uhh... no," Chutzpar shrugged, "I don't think so."
"So, what if something else," Mabel spoke up, "is going down? Hmm?"
"Recently," Dipper spoke aloud, "there was a human who came to town. He's a warlock- a human who can cast magic," Dipper clarified. Many of the races muttered to themselves, and the gridlock of fighting began to wane. Many of the attendees listened intently. "He's done nothing but cause trouble in town- tearing up buildings, summoning spiders from the forest-"
"Ohh, that's what happened," Jeff gasped. Gobs snarled and slapped the back of his head.
"Shuddup," the mayor told him.
"And deliberately attacked, cursed, and attempted to probably kill us," Dipper finished.
"Doesn't sound like such a bad guy," Franz snickered. A few others seemed to share that opinion, and there was muttering mixed with laughter and snorts of glee.
Mabel gasped. "Really guys? Look past our... past for now! This guy, Graupner Kinley is his name- he's bad to the bone!"
"Why should we care?" the Fae woman spoke. "He has done nothing to the woods as an assault."
"That you know of," Dipper pointed to her.
"Are you suggesting that we-" the Fae woman began to heat up.
"I'm just saying that for the past two months or so, Mabel and I have had to deal with a man, a human Warlock," Dipper restated, "who doesn't care who he hurts or how he gets what he wants. And if something about stirring up trouble in the woods gets him something, I wouldn't put it past him on trying it."
Gib nodded and looked to Soos. "What say you, our friend: Soos the Liberator?"
"No, dude," Soos shook his head, "this guy is a total jerk- through and through. Tied me up in chains and almost strangled me."
"Even if this theory is true," Twinkle-Moon spoke up, "you're spewing the hypothetical. We can't merely take your word. We're talking about a war here!"
"Then..." Dipper turned to Mabel. This was worse than they had clearly thought. Scuffles and angry fights were one thing. They were among the leaders of collected, organized races of creatures. Magical creatures- creatures of power and magic. A war could not only be disastrous, but catastrophically destructive to the land around them. If war was on the line, maybe a desperate plan was required. Mabel grinned as they communicated only through their eyes.
"Let us bring the evidence to you!" she declared.
"How?" the lead elf asked, his town drawn out and aloof.
"We think that someone is out there, orchestrating these attacks on you," Dipper explained, "we bring that person here, and you deliver justice to him."
Twinkle Moon looked around. Several of the attendees seemed entertained by the idea. However, their opinion was a minority. Most who listened to Dipper seemed disinterested or annoyed with his input. After a thoughtful pause, Twinkle-Moon finally spoke. "Having you go away wouldn't be horrible," he admitted.
"C'mon dude, seriously?" Dipper whined. "Aren't you supposed to be the neutral party here, or something?"
Franz laughed. "If anything, he's just as involved as anyone else!"
Mabel stepped next to her brother. "Then we can't just leave now."
"Why?" he asked.
"They'll just keep fighting, and decide to go to world war three without us," Mabel explained. Dipper sighed and nodded. There was no denying her point. This was a powder keg already lit, and they had only sprinkled water on the fuze. Delaying was one thing- they needed to continue until they could cut the danger at the source- and find the true culprit... assuming there was one.
Dipper turned to the table. "What if I call upon someone to mediate this meeting?" Dipper announced. The monsters guffawed. Only a few listened intently, and Dipper went red.
"What?!" Mabel demanded.
"What's so funny?" Soos demanded.
"What makes you think we'd listen to anything you say as 'official'!?" Vistile the vampire hissed.
"What's more, this is a conference for us non-human speices. You have no real say," Twinkle-Moon told them.
Multibear roared again. "Their friend... she is not human."
Wendy blushed as the eyes of the meeting turned on her.
Multibear continued, "and she, unlike the other three, have no real prior relations to anyone present. The most she has had experience with is the energies of life and death. I would suggest she be our neutral mediator."
"W-what!?" Wendy gasped as loud murmurs spread around the table.
"No, he's right," Dipper nodded excitedly to Wendy, "you're the only one they can't attack- you've done nothing to them."
"And you're waaay too cool for them to hate," Mabel added with a grin and thumbs up.
Wendy glanced between them. "I... dude, I havn't had anything close to this pressure before."
"It's just the fate of the entire region based on a declaration of war that may or may not be decided here today," Dipper shrugged casually, "no biggie."
"Dipper," Wendy grinned and rolled her eyes. The sarcasm was not lost upon her, but as he slid his fingers across his lips and tossed away an invisible zipper, she could only grin. His confidence in her, as always, was solid. She nodded and repeated action, tossing her unseen zipper with a flick.
"Aww, you two are just adorable!" Mabel said, grabbing them both and squeezeing them as close to her as she could.
"Even if she is a neutral party," Franz said," she's not a monster- she's undead! A former human!"
"Your point?" Vistile hissed.
"She's a young undead!" Franz huffed. "She probably doesn't know anything about-
A hush fell over the group. Soft, evenly paced and confident footsteps walked past the manotaurs, who's strong and powerful leers fell away. Emerging from behind them was the cloaked figure. Shocked faces of all types watched as the Guardsman stalked the edge of the cluster. Spectral in how it moved and silent as a ghost, the hooded figure walked all the way around the table, silently passing the manotaurs, the elves, the vampires, the fairies, and then finally it stopped. Before Wendy it stood, tall and imposing. She could only tremble as it looked down upon her. Dipper stood next to her, unwilling to abandon her to such a being.
It reached out, moving a gloved, black hand to her. She flinched as it reached out...
And patted her shoulder.
Opening her eyes, she stared up at the void that was the shadow of the hood. Not even turning it's face to the table, the male-sounding voice uttered a mere three words as quiet as a distant breeze.
"She will do."
Not a single being dared to oppose it's will. Then it turned back from Wendy and made its slow, steady walk back to it's sentry position.
"Uh... very well," Twinkle-Moon swallowed loudly as the groups of monsters and creatures re-positioned themselves back to their clusters, all eying the being on the hill. "This woman will be our mediator. All comments and remarks must be passed by approval through her."
"Amendment approved," Wendy quickly said with a chuckle.
"It's really that scary?" Dipper asked Multi-bear.
"The Guardsman is the legend of legends," he explained, "they say as long as there has been the woods of this land, the Guardsman has always been in the shadows, protection the most sacred part of the woods. No one has seen it for... hundreds of years. To resist it's will is to evoke the wrath of an otherworldly power."
"Glad it's on our side," Dipper sighed.
"Maybe he'd like to have a coloring book," Mabel piped up. Dipper slowly turned to his sister, utter confusion etched into the lines of his face. "Like, you know, as a 'thank you for siding with us' gift?"
"... Maybe later," Dipper suggested. He turned to Soos. "Soos, maybe you should stay with Wendy and keep everything in order."
"You got it bud," Soos saluted, "unofficial bodyguard, official rockin' dude standing by!"
"You too bud," Mabel pointed to Waddles, who nodded and stepped next to Wendy's feet.
"Wendy, you got it?" Mabel asked as she and Dipper started to move away.
"Permission to locate evidence to, uh, conspiracy-dude is granted," Wendy waved them off. With a nod back to her, the twins then turned and charged their ways out of the meadow, leaving behind the tense meeting of monsters.
A quick call after leaving the woods was all that was needed to form a plan. While Stan, Arline, and Yuki had been quickly updated, others needed to be. Candy, Grenda, and Pacifica were all reached. Zander never picked up his phone, which sorely upset Mabel. Everyone had been updated to the troubles at stake- war was looming on the horizon.
Stan seemed to most disturbed by the news. He seemed almost dizzied to the update. His determination won through though- remaining upright through nothing but the anger of the warlock possibly being behind something this bad steadied his stance. Very quickly he gave the twins permission to find this guy and 'quite entirely whoop his sorry butt'.
Rushing back into town on Mabel's bike, the twins met up with Grenda and Candy the one place they knew they could find evidence for the Warlock's doing- the ruins. the police had surrounded the entire wreckage, but with the intimidation of Grenda and the verbose of Dipper's explanation for having the right to go past the police, they easily bullied their way through.
It took no time for Dipper to track down their first piece of incriminating evidence.
"This looks familiar," Dipper darkly said. Lifting up from the remains of a coat rack, Dipper held a clump of singed fur. Long, thick, and course where it had not been burnt to a horrible, crusty glob, Dipper handed it to Mabel. Without hesitation, she sniffed it.
Her lips curled and nose crumpled. "It's him."
"Who?" Candy and Grenda asked.
Dipper took back the fur and pocketed it. "A werewolf. He used to go by the name of Folbrow." Dipper shook his head. "And he's also been a pain for us."
Mabel shook her head heavily. "Three strikes."
"He's out," Dipper added.
"So, he's the guy who's done this?" Grenda asked quietly.
"I think so," Dipper nodded, "last time we ran into him, he was working for the Warlock. We let him go after Mabel royally kicked the ever living crap out of him. Didn't think he'd actually come back."
"So, where do we find this loser?" Candy asked, reaching inside her small purse for a small canister, "I've got a wonderful spray I'd like to test on him."
"We have to find him first," Mabel reminded her.
"Then we suplex him!" Grenda declared, punching her fist into her other palm.
Dipper stood up, having the others rise with him. With his lips pursed, he looked to the others. "He's not magically include, Folbrow. He used to be a hunter around here. So he's not really capable of communicating with magic," Dipper said aloud.
"Yeah?" Mabel nodded, "that makes sense. So?"
"So, how else does someone get in touch when they aren't up-to-date with tech, and can't use magic?" Dipper asked with a grin to Mabel. Before she could answer, he turned and started away.
Candy was the first to gasp, but Mabel wasn't far behind. Grenda blinked and stared after Dipper. "I don't follow," she shrugged.
"There's an outdated technology that no one of our generation uses," Dipper told them as they followed his march, "something only an old fart like Folbrow would use. It's also useful because in the right hands, it can't be tracked."
"Wait, you don't mean-" Grenda started. Dipper spun, and reached out for Mabel's spare pink sunglasses and slipped them on before he answered her.
"Payphones."
*Dramatic overtunes upon Dipper's revelation*
Another half-episode. I had a blast writing this, for reference. So much is on the line, and yet I couldn't believe how many jokes slipped in without me even planning them. This reminded me a lot of how Season one felt. You veterans with me- you remember. Way back MORE THAN HALF A YEAR AGO. Btw, isn't that crazy!? This story is almost a year old! :O
But yeah, this chapter. I'm kind of hoping a few of you are staring to see the lines between the dots I've lined up. A few already have with previous episodes, and I've been very proud of that. :) For those of you know getting at what I'm saying: remember A Summerween Carol? See anything that sounds similar to the future? Hmm?
No? Oh... darn.
Once again, I am forced, forced, FORCED to ask those of you who review anonymously or only with title and no account to FREAKIN' GET ACCOUNTS ALREADY! I got a really nice series of reviews from some anonymous reviewers and it broke my heart that I couldn't instantly respond with huge thank yous! Oh, and for those of you that already do, you know I seriously appreciate every single one you send my way. Seriously- thank you so much. This story didn't become what it is today just because of me- it's because you all encourage me to KEEP GOING.
Which I will. :)
Okay, I've blabbered on long enough. See you guys next week!
Unseen Giant: ORDER IN THE COURT.
(A gavel sized for a giant crashed down through the roof with a earth-shaking crack. EZB is instantly smashed as a giant wearing courtly judge robes looks down in regret.)
Giant: (wincing) WHOOPS.