Okay, no new information about the series, Naruto or Gravity Falls, just a little question.
What should the next chapter be: a backstory chapter (And if so, which character should the chapter focus about?), a chapter detailing Soos or Wendy's fight (if you choose this, you must decide either because it can't be both), or a normal story chapter?
Also, just to make sure no controversy arises from a character near the end of this chapter (but it might happen anyway), I'll say (if I didn't mentioned this earlier) that the characters here are darker than their canon interpretations. If you have any question, they may be asked, but don't expect to get happy answer.
So with that out of the way, read and enjoy...
(In Sasuke and Naruto's Battle)
The placed shaked as Naruto and Sasuke collided constantly, Sasuke giving the blonde ninja a glare of his pure hatred while Naruto just smiled, with a slight hint of smugness in it. On the 4th time they collided, they finally separated and landed on the ground, Naruto removing the dust off his body while Sasuke clenched his teeth and growled in frustration.
"Quit fighting back, Naruto!" demanded Sasuke, only getting a smile and frown from the blonde ninja in response. "The kid, the cypher beast, the pieces, none of them concern you! Get out of my way so I can rip the beast out of him, and then I'll come for you!"
"Anything that could greatly damage the world, or release the cypher beast, is of my concern." stated Naruto with a smile, Sasuke frowning and growling as Naruto continued. "You were of my concern as well, Sasuke...but that has changed ever since you made it clear that the Sasuke I knew was gone."
The raven-haired teenager opened his palm, and a light blue sphere, with electricity surrounding it, started to form, being completed in the short time that Sasuke and Naruto engaged in a stare fight.
Naruto shooked his head and opened his palm, a pair of shadow clones appearing and building up energy in the form of a light blue sphere as he asked "Don't you get it, Sasuke?" with a tone of disappointment. After that, the clones disappeared and Naruto started to run towards Sasuke
"This battle was over before it even begun."
"Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori collided, and a pillar of light soon performed the ceiling of Sasuke's team headquarters, soon followed by a giant explosion that, while not covering the headquarters, did cover the entirety of the duo's battlefield.
(Hidden Leaf Hospital)
Dipper was in his bed, taking deep breaths as he processed nearly everything that Mabel had told him. Mabel, and Stan, were sitting on a bench nearby, while a few medical-nin were checking machinery that showed his pulse and other stuff. "Okay, so, wow, that was a lot of information." "And I just have one question, why did the Cypher Beast never told me about this?"
Suddenly, the beast took control of Dipper's body again, although this time it felt the pain Dipper was having and groaned for a moment before speaking. "Well, you never asked."
One of the medical-nin briefly turned to see the beast-controlled kid and then turned back, stopping what he was doing and turning again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Once it was confirmed that it was real, the medical-nin dropped notepad in shock and took out a kunai, soon followed by the rest of the medical-nins in the room.
"Ugh, can't a mischevious being of pure chakra answer a question in peace?" complained the Cypher Beast. "Besides, I can't do anything as long as my host is resting, so cut it out! Either way, as I was saying, you never asked, and to be honest I didn't really wanted to talk about it."
"You didn't want to talk about the fact you were separated in one evil and one...kinda good half?" asked Mabel. "If you didn't want to talk about this with us, we understand that, but why not Dipper? He's your host after all."
Instead of an answer, the cypher beast returned Dipper back his body and, inside his mind, he turned around and acted like he wasn't listening. Shortly after that, one of the medical-nin in the room walked to Stan and Mabel.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Pines...and the girl with you, but visiting hours are over." informed the medical-nin to the man. "I'll have to ask you to leave, but don't worry, if everything goes fine he should be better in no time."
"Thanks for letting me know." the old man stood up, soon followed by Mabel, who gave her brother a partially happy and partially worried look before the man turned to her. "Come on, Mabel, we gotta leave."
Mabel turned to Stan with the same happy/worried hybrid look, but she soon closed her eyes and smiled, nodding once and then leaning closer to her brother's ear. "I'll protect you no matter what." she whispered.
Once the two had left, the medical-nin returned to the rest and their work resumed. Just as Dipper sighed and started to fall asleep, the cypher beast called him, Dipper rolling his eyes and entering his mind so that he wouldn't get any more annoying.
(Inside Dipper's Mind)
Dipper and the beast engaged in a short staring contest before Dipper narrowed his look, crossed his arms and turned away from the being. "What do you want, Cypher Beast?" asked the boy, not bothering to his his anger.
"I envy you, Dipper." complimented the beast in an honest tone, a surprised Dipper turning to the beast in response. "I mean, you have some pretty good friends, and your family as well. You might not have a lot of friends...but as far as I can see, the ones you have are the best you could hope for."
"Wow, Cypher Beast...that was...I actually don't know what that was." said Dipper. "Are you being sincere, or are you trying to mock me? Because if It's the second one, then I can't believe you'd stoop so low."
"Trust me, I was not lying when I said that." Dipper once agains looks shocked as the cypher beast continues to talk. "You know...I also have other reasons to envy you: not only do you have a good family and friends, but you have complete free will to do whatever you want...two things I never had. My "mother", if I can even call her that, used me as a tool ever since she made me, doing a lot of things againt my will, no matter how petty or monstrous they were, I never had any choice."
Dipper quietly utters "cypher beast" in a sympathetic tone, the cypher beast taking notice and looking away from the boy. "But you probably don't want to hear anymore. I'll stop bothering you now, go back to the real world and sleep a bit."
"Well, bye Cypher Beast." said Dipper as he got ready to leave.
"I insist, call me Bill." muttered the cypher beast in response.
Hearing him say that, Dipper smiles and nods in response. "Understood, good night...Bill."
Dipper left once he said that, the beast opening his sole eye to see the boy nowhere to be seen, laughing a bit before falling asleep.
(Back in Reality)
As Dipper started to relax a messenger pigeon came from the open window, handing him a piece of paper before leaving through the same window. When Dipper checked the piece of paper, he discovered it was more than just that. "A map?" thought Dipper.
And then he turned it around, which revealed the next message:
Meet me at the alley near this hospital at 8:00 pm, the map has the location of a temple that will help you find out more about the Cypher Beast. Don't even think for a second this is too good to be true, because it is true.
Remember, the alley near this hospital at 8:00 pm.
XOXO, Pacifica Inuzuka.
"Pacifica?" thought Dipper, narrowing his look as he finished reading.
(Sometime later, at the Streets of Hidden Gravity)
Mabel and Stan jumped from far away and landed safely on the ground, the two taking a deep breath before walking to their house without trying to get any attention.
Mabel looked down at the ground for a moment before lookign forward, crashing with a boy just as tall as her, who had blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. He was also wearing a black cloak, black pants, black gloves and black shoes.
"Sorry, I didn't see where I was going." apologized Mabel as she helped the boy get up.
"No, it was my fault." replied the boy, scratching the back of his head as he continued. "I should have seen a beautiful girl such as you coming."
Hearing the answer, Mabel closes her eyes and shakes her head in amusement, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I don't know if you said that just to be nice or to give me a hint but save it, I'm not into romance." told Mabel to the boy, extending her hand as she followed by introducing herself. "By the way, name's Mabel."
"Name's Gabe. Gabe Bensen." replied the boy, Gabe, as he and Mabel shaked hands. Once their hands separate, the boy continues to speak. "So, I have a question to ask you-"
"If It's about the cypher beast then I have nothing to tell you." stated Mabel, crossing her arms and giving the boy a glare.
"Whoa, hold it! The question has nothing to do about that! Honest!" assured Gabe, Mabel narrowing her look in response. "I was going to ask you if you like...puppets."
The boy slightly raised his hand, and from the sky a mechanical dragon-like puppet came out, Gabe swiftly controlling it using some strings that seemed to come out of his fingers. The dragon flew over the town and then landed behind the boy, letting out a realistic roar to Mabel's bemusement and Stan's indifference.
This was then followed by the boy using his free hand to manipulate a warrior-like puppet, whose movements coincided correctly with the boys' strings. Once the warrior puppet and dragon puppet met, the two briefly started to fight before the warrior took out a sword and swing it at the dragon's face, the dragon letting out a roar before falling unconscious.
With that done, the warrior grabbed his sword and jumped off the dragon puppet, landing near Gabe and bowing down to Mabel. "I'm a puppeteer in-training." said the boy in a proud tone. Before he continued, Gabe manipulated the humanoid puppet so he gave the girl an invitation. "So, what do you say?"
Mabel glanced at the invitation, then at Gabe, and finally at Stan, who sadly frowned as he shaked his head.
"Sorry, Gabe, but I won't be able to go." replied Mabel, handing the boy the invitation back. "I'm in a bit of a...difficult situation, and I would like to rest so I can be 100% ready when things, eventually, go wrong. But thanks for the invitation."
"Oh...no problem." replied Gabe. "Guess I'll just keep trying to find people who want to go."
"You had an oddly positive reception to my answer." commented Mabel, scratching her chin in curiosity.
"Well, in a world that's made up of people with tragic pasts, some more than others, It's necessary for someone to stay positive despite the grim feelings of the setting." explained Gabe, Mabel giving him an approving smile in response. "So anyway, I won't take anymore of your time. Good evening."
With that said and done, Gabe manipulated his puppets so they would go away before leaving, Mabel giving the boy an amused look and giggle before she followed Stan back home.
(At Stan's House)
The old man opened the doors and he and Mabel went inside, finding that nobody was waiting for them. While Stan decided to sit down and wait, Mabel looked at the rest of the house in hopes of finding the people she expected. "Wendy? Soos?" called Mabel, earning no response.
"They haven't returned yet, Mabel." stated Stan as he walked to a chair, sitting on it as he continued. "After all, we have only been at Hidden Gravity for a handful of minutes. We have to wait, and in the case of the figure Pacifica mentioned, keep our eyes open."
"Oh right, I had forgot about that." sheepishly said Mabel, scratching the back of her head. "Still, I wonder what happened to Soos or Wendy..."
And then Soos and Wendy appeared from the windows. Mabel went running to the duo once she saw them, but got instantly worried once she saw something...off about them: the two looked particularly upset about something.
"Guys, what happened?" asked Mabel in a worried tone.
The duo exchanged saddened looks before taking deep breaths, sitting down before Wendy let out her answer. "...We don't wanna talk about it." answered Wendy.
"On one hand, we're greatly disturbed, and we got some pretty heavy blows today, but on the other hand, we do bring some good news." added Soos, his tone changing to a slightly happier one on the second part. "Not the red cypher pieces though, a fellow named Nota Niceguy grabbed mine and broke it in pieces."
"And Gideon took the one I was going to grab before I could get it." added Wendy.
"Then what are the good news?" asked Stan, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, Nota Niceguy was somehow more stupid than me and he told me where to find the final two pieces." answered Soos in a hopeful tone, Wendy smiling once she heard that and looking at him as he continued. "And the second is that-"
"Wait, the two final pieces?" interrupted Stan in disbelief. "I understand about the third, the guy Pacifica mentioned most likely has it, but what about the fourth one?"
"Pacifica will lead Dipper to it." answered a mysterious voice.
"What do you mean Pacifica's going to lead him to the fourth one, little brat?" asked Stan, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"Name's Candy, old sack of pessimism." answered Candy in frustration, calming down before finishing. "And what I mean is this: Pacifica got a map to the cypher tower, a supposedly non-existent location that details about the backstory of the cypher beast, but what she doesn't know is that the tower is also the resting place of one of the light blue cypher pieces."
"And the reason you came here outside of telling us is?" asked Soos.
"It is expected that Dipper will be searched by the ANBU once he leaves the hospital, and they'll attack and search the tower in hopes of finding him." answered Candy in a blunt tone. "I want you to come with me and Grenda so we can defend him while he searches for the piece and or, more likely, tries to find about the beast's past. Are you in?"
The team, except Mabel, exchanged looks before getting determined smiles and turning to the girl. "Count us in." stated Wendy, Soos and Stan in unison.
Mabel's pocket started beeping, and she took out the walkie-talkie in it, turning it on and answering the call. She and the voice on the other end spoke for a while with "mmhm" and "uh huh" before finishing with an "understood". The girl sighed as she turned off the walkie-talkie and put it back on her pocket.
"Not me, I have to do something somewhere else." said Mabel, shaking her head.
Mabel walked to the door, opened it and then went out of the house, closing the door as hard as she could afterwards. From there, in the windows the girl could be seen jumping to the top of a tree, jumping from tree to tree as she left the city. "What's wrong with her?" asked Candy with worry.
"When it comes to Dipper being in danger or anything related to Gideon, Mabel doesn't bother to try and act affable or even nice the instant she learns." explained Stan. "She shows some of...her real personality, when the situation is related to one of those things. She shows all of it when it's related to both."
"Real personality?"
"I've said too much. Just tell us what we're supposed to do."
"Okay then, i'll keep this brief..."
(Later, at an alley near the Hidden Leaf Hospital; 8:00 pm)
A postlight turns on and off sporadically as Pacifica and her canine companion, Kiniriko, arrive at the alley and wait for Dipper. Pacifica has her eyes clossed and her arms crossed, while Kiniriko looks around so she can alert Pacifica on anything. It doesn't take long before Dipper arrives, Pacifica opening her eyes and turning to see the boy.
"Good, at last you arrive." said Pacifica as the boy walked to her. "Ready to go?"
"I first need to ask you a few questions before I decide to follow you for real." stated Dipper in a blunt tone.
"Go ahead." said Pacifica, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, the first one is this: how did you even get the map?" asked Dipper.
"By getting it, of course." answered Pacifica with a giggle, Dipper groaning in frustration before the girl resumed. "Now the specific method? Maybe I found it laying on the ground, maybe I beat up a thug in order to get it, maybe I manipulated Gideon himself so he would give it to me. The method doesn't matter, what matters is that I got it."
"Okay then, I'll take your word. For now." replied Dipper. "Now the second question: following the map, what are we looking for?"
"I'll answer your question with another question: have you ever wanted to know more about the cypher beast?" asked Pacifica.
"Well, not really." answered Dipper in an honest tone, scratching the back of his head as he continued. "I might have become more interested ahout it since I talked with him earlier this morning, though."
"The map will guide us to the cypher tower, a supposedly mythical place where the history of the cypher beast is located." explained Pacifica. "Nobody knows where it came from or how it got the history of the beast in the first place, but it could prove useful to know more about the burden you have to deal with."
The cypher beast, offended at what the girl said, took control of Dipper's body without warning and glared at the girl, who took notice almost instantly. "That's Mr. burden to you!" stated Bill, returning Dipper his body almost immediately afterwards.
"So you really do have the cypher beast inside of you...fascinating." remarked Pacifica in a deadpan tone, with a slight hint of amusement. "Either way, in short: the tower contains all the information you'll ever need about the cypher beast."
"Okay, that really is intriguing. Now the third and final question: what if the guy you said would stab a cypher piece in me comes to my room and sees that I'm not there?" asked Dipper, crossing his arms. "He can just leave and try to find me somewhere else."
"I already called your sister. She's gonna make sure that the he doesn't even get the chance to do that." explained Pacifica, getting on top of her canine companion before she finished. "Now follow me, we wasted enough time talking about this."
Dipper follows Pacifica as she leaves to go look for the tower, unfortunately failing to see a pair of ANBU agents coming out of the shadows. One of them has a monkey mask, while the other has an eagle ask, the latter taking out a walkie talkie and turning it on before speaking.
"ANBU cypher team, get ready to begin the search! The prime cypher host is on the run!" ordered the eagle masked soldier. "Repeat: the prime cypher host is on the run!"
A platoon of nameless ANBU soldiers came out of various parts of the alley: disguised as graffiti, out of trash cans and so on. The ANBU platoon reunited with the eagle and monkey masked soldiers, jumping towards the direction Dipper and Pacifica went shortly afterwards as a familiar figure watched: Mabel.
"I wish I could help, but I got my own problems to take care of." thought Mabel with a sad tone, sighing once she felt someone coming. "And speaking about that..."
Mabel then turns to see a shadowy figure approach the hospital, shaking her head in response. She takes out a cigar pack and a lighter, grabbing a cigar and lighting it up before smoking it. After a while, Mabel blows the smoke before getting ready to go to the hospital.
"This is the part where I get ready to destroy the mentioned problem." spoke Mabel with a malicious tone.
To Be Continued...