Between the realms of grand mountains and vast deserts lay a small and fertile valley. This valley had always been the birth place to the powerful and respected American Bison. Great flowers blossomed and rivers ran from the solitary peak of the Moody Mountain, a tall and rocky mountain in the middle of this plain. It was a testament to the power of nature; that time itself could always craft beauty from the wastes around it, and such effort took patience and-
"Fire in the hole!"
Approximately three hundred square feet of dirt and flower found themselves skyrocketed in a single moment. A construction worker pressed the plunger and ignited the explosives laid carefully around a large patch of earth.
The dirt and torn flowers raining down as harmless dust, a large, portly figure with a wide straw hat walked forward. "Well, now, that just 'bout do it. That'd be the space needed for the new sewage linin'. Sir, you may have your men get to work."
"Yes sir," a tall, built man with a construction hat behind him nodded. He turned and whistled behind him, and near immediately, a crew of a dozen workers came closer, wielding tools and driving tractors closer.
"Finally," the man in the straw hat said, patting dust from his shoulders, "I can bring this backwater town into a something of a more modern and enjoyable light." A flower from the blow-to-sky patch of land fell into his breast pocket, and he paused. A warm chuckle later, he patted the flower and said, "Well, if that don't mean fate's welcoming me into this weary land, I don't know what is."
Turning away from the working hole in the ground, he started strolling away, towards the starts of a small, old-west town. Wooden buildings and a lack of paved roads gave the frontier town it's timeless charm. That very charm seemed to affront the tall, wide-bellied man walking towards the town saloon. He grumbled at the sight of those in town wearing period piece material. Stepping past the swinging doors, the older man sighed.
To himself, he muttered, "My boy, you'll be the death of me," reaching into his jacket and retrieving a small picture. Staring into the three figures, the hatted man finally removed his hat and held it aside. He stared at the younger him, and his younger wife. Held by the two of them precariously was their son, a child of white hair at a very young age. The child in question in the picture was tearing at the hat on his father's head while trying to simultaneously leap out of his mother's grip.
"Gideon, you better be havin' better luck," the father grumbled as he fell into the seat in the saloon. "This plan of yours is costin' a fortune."
Nearby, someone called out, "Bud!"
The picture was stuffed away quickly. A smaller man with a wide moustache approached the large man, a grin to match the moon's crescent atop his cheeks.
Bud Gleeful returned the smile with his own patented grin. "Mayor Jordan," Bud Gleeful nodded to him, "It's lovely to see you this morning."
"Quite the commotion in town today," the man with wide moustache asked Bud, twirling the hairs on one end. "People sayin' you aint givin' into no superstition."
"You heard correctly," Bud nodded firmly, "I've dealt with mystics in my life, and I can tell you with certainty, the one outside town is no real seer. Compared to my son, that is."
"Well, it's great to see someone still cares about Darkbark," the man said, and waved for the man to follow. Bud lifted himself up with only the smallest of grunts, and followed. The Mayor spoke as they walked, "This town has sat in the shadow of a city of lights and vice for too long. It's about time we showed the folk of the world," the Mayor said as he and Bud pushed out the swinging doors and into the street, "The charm of the old world."
"I couldn't agree more! And with my family's addition of new-world amenities, like real plumbing," Bud reminded him, "There won't be a tourist in the world that wouldn't spend a wallet or two for several nights in the neighborhood! Why," Bud nudged him, "We may even need to consider building a hotel for all the guests to stay in."
"Oh my! Wouldn't that be a treat!" the Mayor gasped and clapped a hand to his chest, "To think, this old feel place with enough visitors to gander a hotel of sorts?" he smiled. "I don't know how you ain't a millionaire yet!"
Bud Gleeful chuckled, and then glared at the sunset. "Me neither, mayor. Me neither."
As the Mayor subdued his laughter, the scant people of town paused.
The ground was trembling.
"Oh darn it," Bud grumbled, "If this is another infernal earthquake come to put us behind schedule-"
"I… I don't think so, Mister Gleeful," the Mayor gulped, staring off into the horizon. "Oh no!" he gasped, pointing far in the distance. "They're coming again!" he turned and hollered into town, "Everybody inside! They're a coming!"
"Now, hold on Mayor," Bud desperately turned, trying to reach out for the much-shorter man than he, "I wouldn't be so hasty on that. It could just be another…" he turned, watching as the workers out by the new patch of cleared earth abandoned their posts and fled for their lives. The rumbling only grew stronger. The hatted man gave in as the cloud of dust was large enough to block out the entire horizon. He turned and ran for the Saloon, where many others charged into.
No sooner had he reached inside and turned around had the cloud of dust arrived. The light faded slowly, and the thunder that came with became overwhelmingly loud. Those nearby with smaller frames and heads held their ears as the noise arrived. Bud winced, but listened carefully, aware he could hear something.
Someone inside the dust cloud was speaking. Someone unseen.
"This one! Bust it up!"
With a cry of approval, there was a loud 'thwack' and a shattering of glass.
"Yeah! Take that!"
Another loud crash.
"Using horns is too mainstream! Let's use baseball bats!"
"Yeah, okay Talon, trying a little too hard. Just hit their car."
"Oh. Like this?"
Thwack. Crash.
"Yeah! That'll show them!"
"Yeah!"
A trumpeting bellow, deep and as terrible as the earth splitting into two, echoed through the air like thunder. Bud watched, peering past the now filthy windows as the dust slowly dissipated. He turned towards windows watching the outskirts of town, and saw the dust cloud moving away.
Within moments, those who had taken cover in town slowly filtered out into the trampled streets. In the street, left a ruin, was a fancy and now crumbled-in roadster.
"My car!" the Mayor cried out, rushing towards the vehicle.
"My husband!" a woman cried out, running into the middle of the street, "He was one of the workers! Has anyone seen him?"
The mayor whined, "My caaarrrr," terrified of touching the absolute wreck that his prized vehicle had become.
"Sir," the woman approached Bud, "You've seen him, right?" Bud said nothing, keeping his eyes on the horizon, towards the vanishing cloud of dust. The woman cried behind him, holding her hands in her face.
Bud, gritting his teeth, glared at the vanishing cloud. "You try me, whatever y'all think you are. I'll get this job done, and then you'll see who's the real powerhouse 'round here. I don't care how I do it, but if it means I have to work alongside the devil, Buddha, or my mortal enemies on earth, I will get this job done!" he roared, waving his clutched hat into the air.
"Almost done!" Wendy cried.
"Good," Dipper shivered, "This is freaky enough."
"C'mon dude," her voice echoed from around the back of his car, "I'm just taking 'em out. Nothing crazy."
Soos pointed out, "Except for the part that half of them are lodged in places that should have killed you," as he sat next to Dipper with Waddles. "That's at least a little weird," he tacked on.
Far off the beaten path, next to a long dirt road that seemingly went on forever into the wilderness of the plains, the two cars and motorcycle had come to a stop. It had been nearly an entire night of driving. After switching drivers, Wendy insisted on doing something somewhat macabre; remove the bullets wedged into her body. Soos had been kind enough to offer his personal tools, with the promise she washed them later. Mabel was asleep in the back seat of Dipper's car, her mouth drooped open and sprawled about wildly.
"And… there!" Wendy declared loudly, the clatter of a solid bullet clattering to the dusty ground announcing her success. "Ahh, that feels so much better."
"I bet," Soos nodded, "Like having bracers in or something."
Dipper said to Soos, "It is a preferable method of torture. Just ask Mabel."
Wendy, standing behind the car, slowly lowered the tweezers Soos had loaned to her. She was alone, as was insisted earlier, seeing as how in order to remove the bullets successfully, she needed to remove the clothing in the way. Topless, and finally without bullets in her body, she looked down, feeling the skin around her wounds. In a rapid and supernatural way, the wounds finally closed up. She would never admit to it, but the sight of her invulnerability was a thrill, even if the cost was constant pain of fatigue, hunger, and thirst, and the thrumming in her head that never left; no matter how long she closed her eyes.
Clapping the bra on first, she wrapped her flannel shirt back around her shoulders, only to feel the wind hit her skin. "Wha?" she asked, and looked down. "Oh. Dang it," she grumbled, easily fitting a finger into the bloodied holes in her shirt. "I'm decent," she called out, and yet the inner coils of her decency cried for a mild amount of reprimand, "But we need to get me shopping. I look like the feakin' Terminator."
"You are the terminator," Soos said.
"Just less Austrian," Dipper nodded.
Placing the tools into Soos' satchel, Wendy walked around the car, and found the two staring in the total opposite direction of her. She snorted. "Guys," she called to them, and they both turned, "I'm good?"
"Dipper wanted us to be sure we wouldn't peek," Soos claimed, only to find a heel jam onto his foot. "I-I mean, uh, we saw prairie dogs. Super cute!"
Wendy snorted, telling them, "Good cover," adjusting her shirt with a quick shrug.
"I thought so," Soos nodded.
Her eyes focused ahead, on the distant horizon. It struck her; the vast emptiness. "It's so… weird," she muttered.
"Ah, the flats of America," Soos rubbed his hands together as he deflated and moved from Dipper, "Devoid of forests, mountains, and logging camps. Instead, they're filled with cows, lost hipsters, and tumbleweeds." As Soos patted his arms together, held across his chest, a small tumbleweed rolled by. "My research is rock-solid," Soos proclaimed proudly, lifting his chin an inch higher.
Wendy asked him, "Your research tell us where this road really leads to?" as she put a thumb over her shoulder to the long, vast road.
"Nope," he shrugged.
Dipper spoke up, "If Zander isn't hiding anything from us again, this takes us to some small town called Darkbark. It just sits in the middle of the wilderness, a small-time tourist attraction like Gravity Falls was, except with, like, even less to see."
Wendy chuckled, "Were it possible."
"If the land they built the town on is anything like this," Dipper pointed around himself to the horizon, "It is possible."
"And we know nothing about what's at the end, waiting for us," Soos happily reminded them, "The usual."
There was a soft rattle against the car wind-shield. Turning, the three saw a recently awaken Mabel- her hair messy and tangled and her eyes droopy and clouded with fatigue. She rested her knuckles against the glass, and winked to them.
"She's ready to keep going," Dipper explained. Mabel rapidly nodded her head.
"Well," Soos yawned and stretched his hands above his head, "Let's get going dudes."
The two gentlemen strode back to the cars as Mabel scrambled her way into the driver seat. As the first door opened, Dipper stopped, staring ahead. "Wendy?" he called.
The blinked. Her eyes had frozen in Mabel's face. With a shake of her head, she smirked. "Sorry, was just dazing," she waved a hand to them, and turned to the bike. The moment they could no longer see her face, her grin fell. It was taxing to smile so frequently.
Especially when she felt as she did.
The bike spurred to life, and the bike lead the way with the two cars tailing behind. Riding atop the buzzing engine that proudly hummed while speeding away, Wendy frowned, staring ahead.
She hated the way Mabel looked. Wendy reconsidered that, no, that wasn't it. Wendy shuddered and blinked. It wasn't that Mabel looked tired, it was that she was allowed to act like she was in front of Wendy. Then again-
Wendy growled and bit gently on her lip. It was a horrible feeling in her stomach as she realized how selfish it was to assume that just because she had issues that everyone had to act differently in front of her. Baring the curse of the Wraith was a difficult burden. The greatest stressor was watching others capable of dealing with their own perfectly natural problems. What was worse is when they complained about it.
She could not eat to stave her hunger; it just made her stomach clench and seize. She couldn't drink to spare her from thirst; her throat would tighten and her mouth would go dry. If she dared to close her eyes long enough to try and sleep, a spiraling abyss of mind-rending deepness would well in her inner eye. There was no escape from the pains of the inability to rest and replenish. The best way was to distract herself. If she was able to forget that she was... inhuman, she could forget what pulled her down. She could escape the pain.
Riding a bike through a desert in the west of America, for once in a long time seeing not a sight of green in her field of vision more than three feet tall... that was refreshing. More to her than she could imagine. A solid minute passed, seeing the long, straight road ahead of her, and Wendy just... closed her eyes. She let the washing air pass around her, and she was drowned in the blare of tearing wind, roaring motor, and spewing gravel.
Eventually the whipping wind and winding road through gentle hills came to peak around one large round, and the three vehicles were then in sight of the town. Darkwood. The town was scant large than the interior of Gravity Falls' downtown main street. It was made of only four small, dirt, main roads, and nearly all the buildings seemed to have survived since the mid-nineteenth century. There were a smattering of cars, and many of the trucks present were severely outdated. Wendy craned her body around, looking back to Mabel and Dipper.
The twins in the car seemed to be discussing the town as well. Wendy could nearly make out their lip movement, seeing how Dipper was less than enthused; something that she shared. To no one in particular's surprise, Mabel was terribly excited. Her eyes lit up as she scoured the town, looking about as she drove some forty feet behind Wendy.
Moments turned to minutes, and soon the three vehicles slowed their approach until they found a dusty, wood-fenced parking lot next to town that displayed rusted trucks fit for a beat-down farmer. Tossing her hair gently behind her, Wendy finally stood off the bike, and turned to the others. The twins climbed out of the car as Soos made his way over, followed in part by a pink pig.
Mabel awed at Wendy. "Oh wow, Wendy, you look radical."
"Huh?" she asked. Mabel made her pointed by hastily approaching and poking Wendy's stomach. "Oh yeah," Wendy shrugged, "Should probably get me some clothes that are a bit more, uh resistant?"
"To bullets?" Dipper asked, his eyebrows raising.
Wendy shrugged, "Sure. We have, like, infinite money."
"Unless these farmers hunt with fully-automatic machine guns, I don't see us finding Kevlar here," Dipper pointed out.
Mabel excited declared, "Or maybe there's some sort of old-school, old-wives tale, old-west trick that makes you immune to bullets!"
"Yeah, hambone!" Soos nodded, "I think they called it 'dodging'," he mused earnestly. "Sounds impossible, if you ask me."
"Nothing is impossible," Mabel informed with deadly assurance, her eyes wide and pupils dilated, "With... money," she held up the 'magical' credit card of untold cash. "Let's go get Wendy some clothes first!"
"Shopping on the job," Soos nervously said as the four began to walk towards the first road, "I dunno. Maybe we should split up and look into-"
"Soos, we could get you a new tool here," Mabel pointed out.
"Or maybe a jacket of your own," Dipper added. "I'd like one with spurs."
"Really?" Wendy eyed him.
"...Uh, no," Dipper suddenly blushed, "No, I was just joking. Spurs are... not for me."
"I think I'd like a good belt," Soos nodded to himself, "Something that can let me always carry my tools around, or at least one or two good ones, you know?" he asked, an uncertain shrug following his words.
"Dude, of course!"
"Sounds like a good idea to me."
"We will buy you the coolest, most sparkly, glittered belt in existence."
"Oh wow, you guys are awesome," Soos smiled.
Walking into the main street, they found a strange sight. A single car, the most modern as an eighties-era sports car style, was bent and crumpled in on itself horribly. The flashes of red, yellow, and orange paint had been torn and scratched by, what the four could see, as a number of base-ball bats on the ground around the car. A single man, wearing flamboyant cowboy gear and matching wide-brimmed hat cried on its caved-in hood.
"It wasn't 'sposed to be you, darlin'," he whispered to the car, "You was just an innocent victim. I'm so sorry they touched you like that," he cried, his grief so taken that his tears fell like a forever falling river.
Quietly, Wendy asked her friends, "Man, what happened there?" as she leaned into the twins and Soos.
"Baseball bats... dented car..." Soos analyzed, and then snapped his fingers, "Clearly we're looking at un-sportsman like conduct."
Mabel snapped her fingers, "Exactly."
Dipper rolled his eyes. "It's probably some sort of gang activity," Dipper stated, ignoring Soos' and Mabel's ideas. "Gangs around here may not be able to afford any kind of stuff. Maybe baseball bats are all they can afford."
Wendy frowned. She had no idea why, but something about the sight of the car felt like… a warning. It hadn't been the first time she had felt that. "Let's just keep an eye on that, right?" Wendy firmly said as the four walked by the mourning man. As they pushed around him, Wendy spotted a shop. "There!" she pointed ahead. "Gift shop. T-Shirts and belts. Man, just what we need."
Mabel hopped up excitedly. "I hope they have scorpions and centipedes in candy pops!" Mabel exclaimed as they made for the small wooden shop, "I've wondered if the bug is still alive inside the candy, so you get to play god to this small, helpless creature."
"Oh, wow dawg, that's so existential. What'd you do?" Soos asked with vested curiosity.
"Naturally, I'd toy with it and then let it go, just so it knows who's boss," Mabel explained with a shrug.
Wendy eyed Mabel, and somberly told her, "I think they die when you pour boiling hot candy on them."
"You'd think that," Soos shrugged, "But we once saw a living T-Rex embalmed in a massive stalagmite of pure tree-sap, and it was totally alive still."
Wendy paused, watching the three walk ahead. "...you guys met a living T-Rex once?" she asked in a broken voice. They moved on ahead, missing her question. "Man," she mumbled, rushing to catch up, "The things I missed."
Walking up with the three others, Wendy found herself at the tail of the group. The small shop had the classic swinging hinged doors of paneled wood. The still doors then flung open as a clearly local duo walked out. Two ladies, wearing heavy and long dresses stepped out, fanning themselves with small collapsible and frilled fans.
"Good day ladies!" Soos nodded his head to them.
The two women nearly stalled in their walk. They eyed Soos, tiniest amount of discontent with his addressing them. Then they spotted Wendy. She frowned right back at them. That discontent followed to her, with some amount of judgement levied onto Wendy. Yet, before she could say her snarky remark, they looked to the twins... and their eyes widened.
"Hiya!" Mabel waved.
With a loud cough, one of the two pushed her friend away. "'Scuse us," she muttered quickly, and they pushed around the four.
"Okay! Have a nice one Cow-girls!" Mabel waved after them, her wide smile never betraying her warmest of graces. "Huh. People are so shy around here. Cute!" she added.
"Yeah," Wendy mumbled, "Shy..."
She turned back to walk in with Soos and Mabel, who had made their attempts to step inside with no resistance. Then she spotted Dipper. He too was staring, watching the quickly leaving duo as they raced across the street, hiking their dresses up a few inches. His face held that stern, solid frown: a look she had come to understand as 'studying'.
"Dipper?" Wendy asked.
"They looked at us funny," Dipper muttered to her.
"Yeah," Wendy nodded, "Gave you that 'ew' kinda glance."
"I mean, maybe... it looked more like they..." Dipper glanced to her, and then back to the two leaving ladies. "Nevermind," he shook his head, and walked inside after his sister.
The inside of the corner shop was, to Wendy's surprise, eerily similar to the Mystery Manor. Wooden panels of aged and worn walls meshed horribly with a sloppy collection of messy, second-hand souvenirs. The cashier, a young man around the same age as the twins, leaned with absolute lack of care while pouring into a magazine.
"Welcome to Knick-Knacks and stuff," the man called over, his words bumbling over one another as he barely opened his mouth.
"Thanks!" Mabel waved back to him, "Got any cool clothes in shop today?" she asked with a smile.
"No," he grumbled.
"Well, we'll have a look around anyway!" Mabel cheered. The boy finally peeked an eye up, and blinked. Mabel turned away, and quickly spotted a collection of clothing racks. "Oh! There!" she rushed over, grabbing Wendy's hand and pulling her away.
"Whoa! Down Mabel, down girl!" Wendy laughed as she slid across the floor and found herself by a mis-matched flurry of varying clothing.
"Now, let's see," Mabel quickly grabbed a dozen shirts and dresses, "We got to get you all situated. Same with Soos!" Mabel added, looking to the handyman, who was staring at the shop with wide eyes from the door. "I mean, Dipper and I got a bunch of extra clothes since we stayed over for the summer. But you two need stuff!"
"Mabel, dude," Wendy rolled her eyes, "I just need, like, a jacket. Like," she reached over to a different rack and pulled out a leather jacket, "This one."
"Ohh! Actually, not bad!" Mabel grinned, "Now we need to get you like, metal chains or something!"
"Metal chains?" Wendy lowered the jacket slightly.
"Yeah! To complete the 'badass biker' look," Mabel grinned.
"How about just the jacket?" she asked. "Besides, I'm not sure they sell full sets of heavy metal chains."
"Hmm... good point. Still saying you'd look great with metal chains. But, okay! Just the jacket! For now, at least," Mabel added.
Wendy grinned, and then saw Dipper approach from behind, his eyes at the door. As her experience had taught her, he was now going through less of a 'study' and more of a 'formulate' state in his mind. Mabel looked to Wendy, and saw the look in her friend's face, only to turn and find Dipper at her back.
"What?" she asked her brother.
Dipper told them quietly, "I got a bad feeling."
"Dude, what?" Mabel put her hands at her hips, an impressive feat consider she still held six pieces of clothing in each hand. Dipper's eyes flickered to Wendy, a hesitation in his mind.
Wendy nodded silently. "One sec Mabel," Wendy stated loudly, "Going to see what's taking Soos," she said, and laid her soon-to-be owned jacket on her shoulder.
As she walked away, hearing Dipper speak to Mabel in whispered tones, her mind bit at her trust again. Dipper wouldn't openly enter forum with Wendy around. Maybe it was just her mind, always torn with exhaustion that she could never cure, but the idea that Dipper could be so invested in her, and yet still withhold like that... it made her angry. Her teeth clamped down tighter than usual, feeling pressure build.
She took a deep breath. No, she was just over-reacting to things again. It was likely just stress of her situation, and a minor thing. She could handle it. Dipper was just being a little paranoid; nothing new there. Finally, her mind was taken away by Soos, who had gone to sit by a bent wooden bench.
Before she could even ask, she could instantly see his feelings. He was slouching in the seat, his eyes to the floor and his elbows resting on his legs. His cap was pulled over his face just a few inches lower than needed.
"Hey," Wendy quietly said, "You okay, bud?"
Soos shot up, and a plastic smile was worn.
"Yeah!" he nodded, "Totally fine, dude. No problem here. Why would there be a problem here? There isn't one," he assured as he machine gun'd out words.
Wendy eyed him. "You're not doing a good job convincing me."
"Oh," Soos said, his smile vanishing, revealing a neutral and open expression. He chuckled. "I guess I never was good at that, huh?"
"No man," Wendy gave him a small smile. "You're better at being truthful dude. What's up?" she asked him.
Soos sat down again, his back leaning on the rest of the bench. Words seemed difficult for him, as he looked around. His eyes lingered on posters and signs that offered deals. After a few moments of silence, he finally said, "It all reminds me of Mister Pine's place."
Wendy sighed and turned about. He wasn't wrong. As the second longest employee to work at the Mystery Shack turned Manor, it was eerily similar. Everything was... the same. Change the context from mystery to Cowboys and Indians, the eyes in jars with geodes and smoothed off rocks, and change herself leaning on the counter with a magazine with the bow, who was staring at the twins.
"Yeah," Wendy mumbled, "It really is dude." She found herself falling into the seat, and with a loud 'flump', she sat next to Soos. "Only," she nudged him, "They don't repair damages as well as you did," she said, pointing to a piece of wood that was bending out of the floor, held down by a thin and hap-hazard piece of duct-tape.
"At least they got the first step right," Soos shrugged. Wendy and him both chuckled. "Good start."
Wendy smiled, and looked to her long-time coworker. There was a longing in his eyes that spoke more than his own shadowed words. As much as she did her best, seeing Soos like that really ate at her. She felt a tug in the base of her throat, and nudged herself. She asked him, "You miss him, don't you?"
Soos nodded. His face fell slightly, yet a smile grew. "I just saw this shop, and was like, 'Oh! Mister Pines would love it if I stole some ideas'," he exclaimed, "But... I can't tell him anything I find, can I?" Soos asked Wendy, "Because he's gone now."
Wendy turned away. Soos was easily the jolliest person that Wendy had ever met in her life. Hiding behind his eyes was, probably for the first time in her life, enough pain to match hers. And he kept it bottled in his mind. That kind of reflection shocked her. She could see it, nearly manifesting as a shimmer of light in his colored irises.
Instead, she stared at the ground and nodded. "Yeah. They're all gone," she nodded.
"Sometimes," Soos said quietly, "When we nap on the road, I still see them. You know, at Gravity Falls." From his words, Wendy looked to him, her eyes blank. "Oh," Soos pulled back, "Sorry. You don't... oh dude, my bad." Wendy shrugged, and turned away, her own mood crushed.
Another benefit of dreaming she could not experience; sometimes seeing people actually see in the reality of her world.
She stood up suddenly. "We need to stay distracted," Wendy informed him. "C'mon, we can see if there's any other shop we should stop by before we get to business."
"Sure!" Soos said, and quickly lifted himself to his feet. "Former employees unite!"
"Nothing former, as far as I'm concerned," Wendy patted his shoulder, and turned to the doors.
Before she could push them open, she saw someone coming towards them. Her body froze. She recognized the man. Soos paused next to her, apparently aware of her frozen stature.
"Dude? What's up?" he asked, and turned. Peering out, he said, "Now, who's-" His mouth dropped open, "Uh-oh," he managed to say.
The two saw him approaching, a forward march that hid no sense of intent. He was driven, and his eyes were glazed with anger. But Wendy and Soos, more than anything else, recognized his wear and body. Horrible tropical shirt of pink and yellow, plain but dirtied dress pants, and a wide straw hat. Thick arms rocked back and forth as he marched closer, and his massive chin wobbled back and forth with his sway. His face, screwed up, presented a pair of buckteeth that made Soos's look mild and easily passable. Flanking his back, the two dressed ladies followed behind. They knew exactly who that was.
"We need to leave now," Wendy decided.
Soos nodded, "Three billion percent behind that decision."
The two spun away from the door and made to the twins, who were quietly busing in mid-debate.
"But if they did recognize us," Dipper told her.
"Who would actually know us?" Mabel rolled her eyes. "I think if jerkface McGee was here, he would have, like, crazy assassins or whatever."
"Graupner may change his strategy," Dipper scolded her.
As Wendy and Soos arrived, Soos quickly butted in, "I got other news dudes! We, like, should go."
"Go?" Mabel whined, "But I haven't found the perfect match! Also, Soos," Mabel held out a belt with fashioned bullet holders, "A Soos Handyman belt! Perfect, right?! And no luck on the chains yet, Wendy."
"Forget the chains, man," Wendy waved to the door, "We've got company."
Dipper reprimanded his sister, "I told you!" With a heavy sigh, he asked, "How many?"
"One," She told him. He blinked, and she added, "And it's not who you think it is."
"Huh?" The twins blinked.
Behind Soos and Wendy, the doors opened up with a loud clatter. A voice filled with southern fury called out. "Pines! I know you're here!"
Wendy and Soos moved aside, splitting the view wide. The twins saw him just as the two did for the second time. With the four facing him, the twins gasped.
"You!?" Mabel gasped. "Gideon's dad!"
"Bud Gleeful," Dipper announced, his words keen and sharp.
"The Pines Twins," Bud Gleeful grumbled, taking a few wide steps into the shop, "I heard you were in my town."
"Heard, huh?" Dipper repeated, glaring at the two ladies, who behind Gleeful, were more than comfortable.
"Yes. Thank you, ladies," Bud turned to the two women, and nodded. "You've been very helpful." They nodded and smiled to him, and then quickly left the shop, clattering with their heels out. "Now you two – oh, four. You two, I recognize you!" he pointed to Wendy and Soos. "Stanford's workers."
"Actually, it's 'Stanley'," Soos pointed out.
"If you say so," Bud shrugged, and then glared at them, "I should have known that Pines would come after me, even after we left town for good!"
"What?" the twins gasped in unison.
Already done with this man, Wendy scorned him, saying, "Dude, we're here on our own time. Shove off."
Soos crossed his arms, "Yeah dawg, had no idea you were even here."
"And if we did," Dipper scowled, "You wouldn't be worth our time. We're on a tight schedule."
"Good," Bud nodded, his jaw tightened, "Then you can see yourself out of my town."
"Your town!?" the twins repeated.
"Well, not yet," Mister Gleeful adjusted his shirt's collar, "But with the sad excuse of this town's Mayor losing popularity, I'll be the town sweetheart in a month only, and then-" he held himself. Removing his hat, he scratched the back of his head, where traces of hair remained. "I should have been mayor. Look, I don't much care for ya'll. Frankly, if I could, I'd force you out right now," he warned them, "But as I'm just a town life force, I'm going to put this as a 'polite offer'. Get moving before I find a legal reason to kick you four outta town."
Dipper took a step forward. "We'll leave when we find what we came for. In fact," he looked to the three around him, "I bet you have something to do with whatever is going on around here!"
"Excuse me?!" Bud barked.
Dipper pointed to him. "You and Gideon always were close to the source of the trouble-"
"Or were the problem!" Mabel added.
Dipper decided aloud, "And we know something is going on around here. We're not leaving until we find out what!"
"Yeah!" Wendy folded her arms together, "Good luck forcing us to move too."
Soos puffed his chest out, "Yeah! Because I'm a pretty heavy dude. Like, maybe not as heavy as you, but like pretty big."
A vein in Bud's temple twitched. Straightening up, he reached inside and pulled out his phone. Dialing once, he spoke to the phone. "I need the boys in the knick-knack shop. Got some unhappy, unpleasant customers who think this town is a dump. Need them tossed out. Willing to pay more for those who don't care about hitting teens," he added.
"Boss," the phone called back, "We've got trouble on our end."
Bud shouted at the device. "I'm not paying you to tell me what I can and can't do!" yet he calmed, and turned away from the four. "Okay, what's wrong?!" he hissed.
"They're coming back!"
Bud growled audibly. "Gosh dangit! Again!? That's twice in one day!"
"It's coming again!?" the teen at the counter gasped. He rapidly left his seat and rushed towards the windows, where he began to put up storm shutters.
Bud roared at his phone, "Then get the guys away from the construction sight and send 'em home 'till they leave!" He closed his phone, and laid it back into a pocket. "Not again, gosh dangit!" he turned back, to the four. "I'll deal with you four later," he scowled.
"What's going on?!" Dipper demanded. "Something in town not going the way you want it to?" he asked forwardly.
Bud ignored him, and made for the door. Dipper and Mabel, only exchanging a quick glance, followed suit. Wendy grumbled and also followed with Soos.
Outside, people were staring down the one road they came in town with, and some began to scream and holler. Bud was before them, trying to spot someone through those retreating.
Wendy stopped looking around. Her senses were abuzz. The air seemed to vibrate. Then she realized it wasn't just the air. The solid, dusty ground beneath her was quietly vibrating. Shaking. It was so small, yet she could feel each cell in her body worrying about this sense. It was danger.
"Guys," Mabel spoke up, "Does the ground seem 'shaky' to you?"
Dipper looked to his sister. "Uh, no?"
"I'm just clumsy, so it always is," Soos said.
Wendy, sure as rain, said, "Yes."
"Well, two out of four is-" Dipper said, and then paused. The four finally looked to the ground. Pebbles were trembling, shaking on their own accord. The air thrummed with a distant rumble, growing stronger. "Okay. I take it back. I feel that."
"Same. Like when my stomach is–" Soos gasped, "–Is the ground hungry?!"
"They're coming back!" Bud roared, his massive body acting as a siren for those not yet aware of the coming danger. "Y'all get inside!"
At the end of town, the four saw it racing for them; a huge cloud of dust and debris of torn earth. Something was billowing into town. Bud spun around, pushing his way past the four and darted back inside the shop. The ground was practically in mid-earthquake now, and the very edge of town was touched by the cloud.
"Inside!" Dipper shouted. Mabel darted with him away quickly, and Soos followed behind.
Wendy stayed behind just a moment longer. The cloud of red and brown was... beautiful. She had seen it on television and movies before; the billowing wall of air and dirt that enveloped all it touched, but never in person. It mystified her. With a jolt, she realized she was still standing outside the shop, and the billowing cloud was half way to her. Retreating backwards to the shop, she stepped away, never turning her eyes from the sight.
Then it arrived, coating the entire sky with the blanket of thin tan.
"What is it!?" Dipper asked to Bud, who's fearful eyes remained glued onto the dust outside. He never spoke, only sweat falling from his face.
"Aliens!" Soos exclaimed.
"Dust elementals," Mabel said with quiet certainty.
Yet Wendy frowned, listening carefully, still closest to the door. "No," she shook her head. Her ears picked up something. Maybe it was the strange clarity of her wraith-condition, but she saw and heard things that no one else seemed to. To her friends and Bud, and the rest of town, it was a blur of tan, brown, and red as waves of dust flowed throughout the air.
To her, she saw shapes. Messes of bold shadows; large as cars, furry, and horned. Loud hoofs clattered in the dirt. Then, to her shock as well as the three behind her, someone spoke in the dirt.
"Find another car! We're going to bash it in!" the voice, deep and dangerous proclaimed.
"Got one! It looks old!"
"This'll show 'em!"
Thwack! Crash!
Wendy watched what no one else could see. At least a dozen figures, each much larger than a human, stood on hind legs and held... baseball bats. Each of them took a swing at the car, smashing in metal and glass without concern.
"Hah! That'll teach them!"
"Yeah! Maybe now they'll reconsider!"
"Alright boys!" a voice cried out, the same dangerous, low tone, "I feel like we're done! Back to the mountain!"
With an overwhelming cry, the voices in the dust cried out, "Yeee-haawwww!"
Before the entirety of hoofs vanished, Wendy heard over the thunder, "You all better get out of town, or else we'll come back and break something other than a car! Hah!"
The dust picked up yet again. Billowing into the shop gently, those inside behind Wendy stepped back, but she stared out. The figures had gotten back onto all fours, leaving behind their weapons and stampeded away.
A few long, quiet minutes later, the dust had settled. Wendy was first to step outside. She calmly walked out into the middle of the street, staring down into the dirt.
There were hooves the size of her face everywhere.
"And there's old Jone's truck," Bud Gleeful's voice quietly came from behind her. "Good thing he don't drive. Can't see anything anyway. Probably thinks it looks brand new, or something."
"Jeesh," the three made it to Wendy, examining the car, "Talk about anger issues."
Mabel patted Soos' arm, "So it's a gang of angered, supernaturally charged baseball players. Nice guess, dude."
"Just luck, Hambone," Soos grinned.
"It's not Baseball players," Wendy called out, and pointed to the ground. The moment the three feet were around her, she said, "Hooves. Unless there's a whole team of cows or something out there-"
"Minotaurs," Dipper gasped. The three turned to him.
Soos scratched his cap, rubbing his head. "Dude, didn't they decide to go by 'Manotaurs' now?"
"In Gravity Falls, yeah," Dipper nodded, and from under his vest, he pulled out his own journal, "But Minotaurs are still the defined species." Dipper quoted out of the book, "I have something in here. Ahem, 'Half man, half bull, all strength and power, they are a fierce, bold, but not entirely unintelligent race. They also like being 'Manly and acting tough', but tend to use this as a means of sheltering their own insecurities, which would likely be worked with through emotional vulnerability'."
"They didn't like Multi-bear," Mabel noted, "So less cool than normal Minotaurs."
Behind the four, someone cleared his throat. They all slowly turned, and saw Bud Gleeful staring at them. "Ah, listen," he said, cupping his hands before him timidly, "I know we got off on the wrong foot here-"
"Mildly," Wendy snarled.
"But this town needs help," he admitted, "I'm here supporting their new building of infrastructure and a proper sewer system! But these... things," he pointed to the now distant cloud, "Keep coming and attacking! If they have no cars, they can do anything but pray my masterful plan of getting them tourism will work!" he then chuckled to himself, "Which, it will. But it could work sooner!"
"So, instead of kicking us out of town," Dipper slapped his book shut, "You want us to find these minotaurs and stop them?"
Bud nodded and held a hand around him. "Look at this town, ya'll. They need a touch-a modern life. I'm giving them all I got, but these things are slowing it."
"What's in it for us?" Mabel asked, her arms crossed tightly.
"Anything in the shop is free," Bud told her.
"SOLD!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Mabel," Dipper held a hand on her shoulder, "We can pay for anything in there."
"Oh. Okay," she turned back to Bud, "half-sold. What else?"
"Whatever those vile beasts have claimed is your?" Bud suggested.
Mabel opened her mouth to speak quickly, yet Dipper was faster. "Deal," he extended a handshake.
"Good," Bud nodded, and quickly shook the hand, "Now get going. I'm don't fancy dealing with y'all any longer than I need to."
Wendy mumbled, "Feeling's mutual."
As the four turned and walked from the wrecked truck and Bud Gleeful, Mabel leaned to Dipper. "Really dude? We totally could have haggled something else. Maybe taking away his favorite hat!"
"We came for a piece of Starkissed, remember?" Dipper asked. Mabel pouted silently. Her brother glared at her. "Zander wants us to find these special magical stones, and the best bet is that whatever caused the Minotaurs to appear and start acting crazy is a stone." Dipper turned and looked to Wendy and Soos. "Any different ideas?"
Wendy agreed with the decision. She nodded at Dipper, saying, "Even if it's not the stone that caused them to appear, it's a good place to start looking."
Soos added, "I'm also in agreement."
"To which one?" Dipper asked him.
"Yes," Soos explained.
At that, Dipper sighed. He declared, "Well, we'd better find someone to tell us where they came from. For all we know, they're just roaming around out there."
A sordid tone replied quickly. "They aren'."
The four turned to the voice. A man, wearing a leather cap with one lid flipped up, leaned against a wooden column on the buildings porch. He wore a simple dress shirt with a darker tan vest, and to Dipper's shock, wore short shorts nearly as short as Dippers. The man was with a grand chin and strong features, bearing the resemblance of a chiseled hunter.
"I've tracked 'em," he spoke, his voice betraying his foreign persona, "They buggered off towards the Moody Mountain- a solitary lot just a few kilo's out the way," he pointed. "Been waiting on someon' who'd come along for a walkabout. You lot interested?"
Soos nodded slowly. "I understood about half of that."
"If you're going to show us where they are," Dipper spoke up, "Then we'd love for you to show us the way."
"Not a problem," he nodded, pushing away from the post. "I prefer my place of retirement be more... secure. This town don't offer much, just the way I like it."
As Mabel and Wendy shrugged, Soos told the man, "Well, mysterious Australian man of seeming tracker authority, show us to this mountain."
He nodded, and turned to the alley next to the building. "Mates, to my jeep." Down the short alley, the four found a large, windowless red and tan jeep. He was quickly pulling himself inside, and the engine roared to life with a strong purr. "Climb aboard."
"Sure!" Mabel nodded and quickly lifted herself into the front passenger seat. "This doesn't feel at all like the one-time Grunkle Stan had us climb into his car without telling us where we were going first."
"Yeah!" Dipper nodded, and then halted before following his sister. "Wait... uh..."
Wendy reminded him, with a whisper, "We outnumber him, dude."
"Right," Dipper sighed, and followed into the jeep.
"All aboard," the man called out as Soos and Wendy also climbed into the roofless beast of a car. "Let's give this little safari a go."
"So," Dipper leaned forward, his head between the front two seats, "What's your name?"
"Ron Nulboon," the man said as he reversed the car. The five felt the jolt of the inertia and then as quickly as it started, the jeep halted.
"And, uh, what exactly did you retire from? Hunting? Park Rangers? Wildlife rescue?" Dipper asked hopefully.
Ron Nulboon chuckled. "Nah, mate. Insurance Salesman."
A long, shocked quiet ride began after Ron's revealed profession.
Yet as they darted further westward, the four saw, creeping over the horizon and closer still, a large, solitary peak. The mountain was clearly alone, with little to no evidence of range to call home. Speckles of snow rested at the top, giving only the smallest of indications to the height of the massive geological mound.
The entire time they road down the prairie, Soos, Wendy, and Dipper conversed of their plan.
"If they're anything like Manotaurs, they'll have a cave of some sort," Dipper explained.
"A 'man cave'," Soos quoted.
Wendy chortled, "My dad would love them."
"I think they met," Dipper admitted.
"Huh. Small world," Soos commented.
"Inside the man cave we could see a sort of primary leader. The biggest, meanest, toughest, scariest of the bunch. He'd be the one probably pulling the strings," Dipper explained, "If we can find him and either beat him or take him down a notch, we could scare the others into submission."
Soos nodded, adding, "And then force them to stop attacking town, while getting us a chance to find the small stone thing. A plan of Dipper Pines if ever there was one."
Ron suddenly spoke up. "Hold on for a tick." The car reeled on direction, and came to a stop.
In her seat, Mabel craned forward. "Who's that?" she asked.
"Local shaman," Ron grumbled. "Name's Wanekia."
Stepping closer to the jeep was a shorter man of venerable age. Not entirely wrinkled but quite sun-kissed, the man had bronze tanned skin and fine black hair that fell to his shoulders and reached to his center back. He wore jeans and a simple brown leather jacket, tied with cowboy boots and belt.
"A... shaman?" Wendy asked him.
"Authentic and all," Ron assured her.
"I didn't know their dress-code updated," Soos admitted.
The man approached, meeting Ron with a stern look. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the retired insurance salesman. The shaman said in a calm, disgruntled voice, "You again."
"Mornin' Wanekia," Ron nodded.
"Nothing you do will change what has happened," the man warned them sullenly. His eyes flickered to the twins and Wendy, which did a quick double-take. "These children you bring with you will only be hurt should the worst happen. Turn around. Your luck is bound to run out."
"I've been unseen so far," Ron noted. "These things can't be that observant."
"This is their land you encroach!" the shaman barked. He breathed, and turned to Soos, "You must know this is wrong to invade their land."
"Uh, so, dude, like," Soos rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not really into talking about that sort of stuff. Makes me kind of uncomfortable."
Wanekia stepped away, shaking his head. "You aught know better. You step into death's doorstep!"
"Already there, actually," Wendy sighed, sliding back into her seat. The Shaman stared at her, his eyes wide and shocked at her words.
Mabel waved at him, "Well thanks for the warning sir!" as Ron pressed the gas pedal again, and the car lurched forward.
"Turn around!" he cried after them. "They will not let you take away their land!"
"Old coot," Ron chuckled.
"He's a real shaman though, for real?" Dipper asked, poking his head past the seats again.
"Authentic as they come. As I've heard, he's done his fair-share of magic and fortune telling in his life. Says he can read animals and speak to 'em. It's why he doesn't stick to town much," Ron sniffed loudly, and shook his head. "But he lives out here anyway. Not sure where."
Soos, to Wendy, said, "He kind of gave you a weird look." She nodded, furrowing her brow. With only a small 'hm', she thought she had noticed that as well. Soos asked, "You think he maybe could tell? About... your..."
She turned to him, eyeing his idea. Her neck craned as she peered behind the trail of the car, watching the Shaman grow smaller in the distance. "Maybe. I don't know," she said. "Let's deal with this problem for now."
Some ten minutes later, the jeep finally came to a park. They had spotted, a minute prior, a series of caves that lead into the mountain. The mountain itself, upon closer inspection, had gaping holes and cavernous sections all broken out by natural wear and geographic forces. Dipper was quick to point them out, "If I was a minotaur, and I've undergone their trials before, that'd be where they'd live."
"What trials?" Mabel laughed. "You're about as squishy as a teddy bear!"
"Shut up," Dipper had snapped, leaning back into his seat, "I fought Multibear and won for those trials."
"Nuh uh," Mabel grinned. Dipper merely stared at her, and her grin began to waver. "Wait... you're kidding." Dipper smirked, shaking his head. Mabel pushed him. "You're kidding," she insisted.
After parking and finding their way to the closest path that led into the caverns, Ron had withdrawn from the back his own hunting shotgun- equipped for, as he called them, "Harmless high-dose tranquilizer rounds. Put a croc to sleep with a touch." With the butt of the gun secure in his shoulder, he followed Dipper and Mabel inside, the five creeping quietly along the slowly darkening path.
Shadows and splits in the earth became common. While they never fully missed the surface, the path leads them slowly deeper down, but never out of sight from the sky. Cracks above them showed the deep reaches that the fissures above could lead to, should someone fall. They even spotted similar caverns across a wide ravine, some twenty feet across.
"Bet I could make it," Wendy said quietly, eyeing the other side of the canyon.
Dipper fought back a chuckle. "After we save the world," Dipper promised her, "We can put a bet on that."
It was a few minutes in further when Ron suddenly held out his hand above his head. "Hold," he said. With their attention gathered, he slowly lowered his hand ahead, pointing to a ledge. At a bare whisper, he said, "Shadows."
The five slowly got the ground, and slowly leaned over. Dipper's mouth fell open, along with Wendy's and Ron's. Mabels mouth split with a wide, awe-filled grin, and Soos nodded calmly. "Not exactly wrong," Soos shrugged.
Walking around on both all fours and on hind legs were Bison. American Bison wandered around the wide, natural hallways of the caves below them, their massive shaggy forms casting shadows from, what the five could see, torches and electrical light bulbs strung around the hallways. Dipper grumbled and pushed himself away from the ledge, looking to the others.
Mabel smirked at Dipper, "So, you were wrong."
"Though, admittedly," Soos consoled Dipper, "not very far off."
Dipper scowled, "This is impossible! They don't have fingers! Digits! How could then even hold a baseball bat, let alone swing one!? All evidence still points to Minotaurs who-"
From below, a voice rang out, and the five crawled to the ledge again, spying below.
"Boss!" one Bison called. The voice ushered in a larger Bison. "We made the new baseball bats!" the one said, lifting a baseball bat with one hoof as it stood on it's hind legs. Dipper's mouth fell open as the baseball bat lifted itself in the center of the hoof- suspended there like it was held by... something. The larger one lifted its own hoof and took it, using supposedly the same kind of power.
"They look good. All of 'em are like this?" the Bison called 'boss' asked.
"Oh yeah! Making them is becoming a breeze since we stole that one truck with all the lumber!" the one chuckled. "Now we never have to use horns again!"
"Great. With the gifted stone of magic power given to us, we're now stronger than ever. One step closer to superiority of the plains, and getting those horrible humans out of our lands!" the boss declared with a bellowing laugh.
Dipper once again pushed himself away from the ledge, scowling. "Okay... they are psionic or something."
"Psionic?" Ron, Wendy, Soos, and Mabel all asked quietly.
Dipper hissed at them, ushering them to be quieter. "Think a psychic, but they can use their mind powers to lift things and manipulate things, while not always able to read your thoughts," Dipper said, reaching inside his vest and withdrawing his journal. "Here. 'Psionics are a breed of psychic- more aligned to the use of mental capacity to alter the physical rather than the astral'. Basically, you get mind muscles," Dipper concluded.
"So, they're strange supernatural Bison?" Ron asked. "Don't sound too crazy."
"Really?" Wendy asked, aghast. "Massive animals the size of cars with the ability to speak, use psychic powers, and are clearly organized aren't a threat?"
"Actually, he's not wrong," Dipper stated, and began flipping pages, "There's a good chance I can find a spell or something that may disrupt that power over their minds."
"Wait, you're going to use magic?" Mabel gasped.
"Maybe?" Dipper replied.
Mabel gasped, and then pushed him, "But that's bad!"
"Why?" Dipper demanded.
Mabel reminded him, "Because it's what the bad guys are using!"
Frowning, Dipper retorted with a simmering voice, "Well, maybe fighting fire with fire isn't such a bad thing." He turned back and flipped pages faster. The pages slapped the ground, and dust from his journal mixed with the soil around them. This cloud of dust started falling away, creeping into the air. Wendy and Soos saw such a small cloud fall and disperse near the Bison.
"Hey," Soos cleared his throat at a whisper, "Do they have good sense of smell?"
"Huh? Yeah," Ron said, looking down the barrel of his gun, "Why you ask?"
A single moment later, all the Bison stalled and sniffed the air. The dust had settled.
One asked, "Did someone kidnap a dusty, pre-pubescent nerd recently? I just got a strong whiff." The other bison replied rapidly.
"Nope."
"Not me."
"If I did, I forgot about him."
The responses made the Bison then all turn as one, and face the five on the ledge. They all stared at the five humans with wide, dark eyes.
Dipper chuckled. "Whoops."
"INTRUDERS!" the 'boss' roared, pointing his hoot at them. "Get 'em guys!"
"Run!" Dipper shouted.
Wendy was instantly on her feet with Mabel. Dipper followed closely behind Ron, and Soos was floundering to stand, helped to his feet by Wendy. The thundering and clamor of hoofs rushing at them filled the air. They could scream and not hear themselves. Rushing away though, they found they had the distance advantage.
At least until one Bison leapt up a twenty-foot clearing and landed before them.
Wendy yelped, "They're coming out of the walls, man!"
"Gotcha!" the Bison roared.
Mabel, the first contact, kicked out. Her foot was well placed, and the Bison's eyes bulged out as he gasped, and lowered his top hooves to his crotch, where Mabel had just placed her hit. As it buckled and fell to the floor, the five raced past it.
"Nice one!" Soos nodded to Soos.
"Thanks buddy!" Mabel waved and winked to him.
Another Bison leapt up, seemingly at superior ease. Mabel had little time, and found herself at the receiving end of a charge. Dipper spun and saw, only in the nick of time, Mabel shoved off the ledge.
"No!" he roared. "Not again!" He spun to Wendy and Soos, and with a tightened jaw, he shook his head. "I'm not leaving her behind! Go! We'll get out on our own! Don't get caught!"
"Dipper!" Wendy reached out for him, but he had already turned. He leapt down after Mabel and the assaulting Bison. "No! Dipper!" Wendy shouted, watching him descend into the shadows below.
"We need to go!" Ron shouted, cocking his shotgun. "I can knock one or two down before-" Another Bison landed right next to him, and he spun his head just in time to see him there. "...clever girl." Ron barely had enough time to spin and aim the shotgun at the figure before he too was knocked clear from the ledge, falling into the shadows with the Psionic Bison.
Soos pulled at Wendy. "Dude! Come on! We need to go!"
"But-" she spluttered.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The two backed up from the side the twins had fallen, and were back-to-back. On either side now, the bison had collected in large numbers. They were surrounded.
"Give up, puny humans," the 'boss bison' demanded, his dangerous dark voice assured of his victory.
Soos and Wendy looked around. The way out was blocked. The way deeper in was severely blocked. The shadowed path after the twins lead to captivity, surely, along with Ron. Wendy then peered to the other side, where the wide, twenty-foot ravine stood.
"So," she quietly said to Soos, watching the Bison before her, "They can jump real high. You think they can climb at all?"
"Uh... Hey!" Soos turned and shouted to the Bison, "You guys' good climbers?"
One of the Bison paused, and placed a hoof under his fuzzy chin. "Well, as long as it's not a vertical slope, sorta like a wall, I suppose we're good."
Soos nodded, and turned back to Wendy. He whispered, "As long as it's not a vertical-"
"I heard him, Soos," Wendy informed him with gritted teeth. She sighed, and looked back to the large ravine. "Soos... How much do you trust me?"
"Like, easily a hundred out of a hundred," Soos firmly said.
"Even though I'm an undead monster?" Wendy asked quietly.
Soos waited a moment, his mind going through the thought. "Even though you've got a disability of not dying. I trust you."
"Then hold on," Wendy rumbled.
She turned, pulling Soos with her. The Bison made to follow, but quickly saw their path. One, two, three steps over, and the two made their leap. Soos screamed as he and Wendy flew through the air, soaring across the deep trench below them. Only darkness awaited as they slowly begun to fall more than move forward.
Yet, as their leap would have it, Wendy made contact with the surface and she dug her hands into the rock as hard as she could. Pain seared her mind as fingernails and skin shattered and split, yet she held on.
Soos was less lucky. He fell as she did, but his fingers could not find purchase in the rock, and he made to fall further in. Wendy then snapped out, and grasped his arm. Pulled with his weight, and the shock of her torn fingers, she screamed in agony. She felt as if her body was tearing itself in two. Not that it would matter; she couldn't really die.
"Soos!" she screamed, "Grab onto something, please!"
Soos swung himself to the wall, and he too found an outward jutting rock. Finally, she let go, and he remained on the wall below her.
"Can you climb?" she asked. Soos nodded.
Each reach was an eternity.
Every tug was a monumental struggle.
All the time, they would never look down. It was only up. One pull at a time.
It could have been ten minutes, or a week, but eventually, the two found themselves pulled up along the side of the mountain. Wendy stood up, dusting herself off with ease. The constant fatigue and wear of pulling herself up a near sheer cliff had vanished. She smirked to herself. "A benefit of being dead," she sighed, and looked to her nails. Skin had already nearly closed, and her nails looked straight again. "That too," she sighed.
"Wendy," Soos gasped behind her, his hand and arm poking up into the air. With her help as she turned to him, Soos was liberated from gravity's claim, and he rolled onto the dirt wheezing. "Okay... ladders can't be all that bad luck. They don't hurt nearly as much as that."
Wendy smirked beside herself.
Soos turned and opened his previous sealed eyes as he panted. "And see? Totally trust you, dawg."
Wendy's smile calmed and grew. "You're something else, you know that?" she laughed.
"Handyman here, just doing my job," Soos declared as he stood up. The two laughed, relieved of their danger.
Yet, as they paused, almost perfectly mid-laughter, they realized it was just them. They were alone.
The twins were somewhere deep in the mountain, alone.
"Uh..." Soos drew out his uncertain sigh.
"Great," Wendy adjusted her hat atop her head, scratching her scalp, "Well, we're out. But... now what?"
"I'm sure that if we just wait long enough, the twins will be here in a bit. Right?" Soos asked.
It may not have been the first time the crew had been split. It may not even have been the most sudden and frightening moments of their lives. As they stood atop the mountain, the knowledge of their friends still stuck deep inside with a horde of angry psionic Bison keeping them captive eating at Soos and Wendy's minds, they felt the situation worse. They were alone.
Really alone for the first time since Gravity Falls had vanished forever.
Guess who got their computer fixed in the middle of the week!? :D Guess who also had to pay for a new internal power supply?! :O (hint: both answers are me.)
So, we're back! Normal schedule is a go, with no more delays in sight. Sorry that I didn't warn anyone of such return, but I had to rush with this week anyway. My work has a habit of trying to get me to do longer hours (and I can't complain about cash, yo) but it eats up writing time. Still, here we are. Yay. :)
I hope my promise of an episode NOT centered around Dipper or Mabel came off well for you guys! I know I hinted at Soos being part of the central, but that's going to be in part two. We needed to see Wendy's side before we got to his. She's holding a tad more in than he is, after all. But yeah, next week will be our honorary 'Soos' episode as this was our honorary Wendy. Man, that's now Stan, Wendy, and even YUKI with their own perspectives. With soos out of the way, that'd be all main characters. Achievement Unlocked? :o
Finally, the artwork you guys keep sending me. OMG KEEP IT COMING. I love your dudes and dudettes work so much. You all show such cool aspects of characters I only DREAM of, since I cannot draw myself (not incapable, just lazy mind you) and you all help realize that dream of seeing them true. The OC love, the group shots, the concepts- AAAHH MORE MORE MORE! I love it all so much! Thank you all for the show of love!
Welp, that's all for now. Remember, new updates each late Saturday/Sunday-ish. Until then, seey-
(A Bison wearing a bold red plumber hat and a black mustachio crashes through the ceiling and onto EZB with a bounce. In strange, cartoonish fashion, EZB is flattened, and then vanishes as '200' drifts up above the place his body previously existed.)
Plumber-Bison: (in a high-pitched Italian voice) Yahoo! (jumps and spins away.