Okay, I decided to break the "Upload once in a month" today since I couldn't wait to upload this chapter. Can't say what the next chapter will be, since the next story chapter is set to be long.
No information this time, since I don't really know what to explain today. Also, I don't really remember if the last shadowy figures were really shadowy figures or hooded figures shrouded in darkness, but in this chapter they're the second thing. Sorry if this causes any inconsistensies.
Last time, on Gravity Falls: Sharingan Master
"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.
Currently
(Hidden Leaf Hospital, Dipper's Room)
The figure, now apparently a hooded figure, arrived at the room and removed his hood, revealing himself to be Gabe Bensen. He looked at the bed only to see it was empty, looking around to try find Dipper without much success. "Where is the cypher host?" asked Gabe, scratching his head.
"Nowhere to be found, no matter how hard you search."
The lights of the room suddenly lit up as Gabe turned to see Mabel at the entrance. She has on her mouth what looks like a cigar, which she lighted up as she and the boy exchanged angry looks. "Are you smoking a cigar?" asked Gabe, raising an eyebrow.
"No, i'm eating a lollipop. A cocaine lollipop. Made out of cocaine." answered Mabel with a smug tone. She narrowed her look and smiled as she continued. "Would you like a taste?"
Gabe remained silent for a moment, only to be interrupted the instant he opened his mouth. "Too bad, this is actually a cigar." mockingly replied Mabel, who took out her cigar and blew some smoke, putting it back on her mouth and smoking it again shortly afterwards.
"You know, I have heard that smoking can kill you in a lot of varied ways." said Gabe, narrowing his look in disgust.
"I can kill you in far more varied, far more brutal ways that smoking could ever do in hundreds of years. And trust me, you don't want to know if I'm bluffing or not." stated Mabel with a smug smirk.
Gabe frowned as he started to lose his patience. He glanced at a sign that read "No smoking, please" and he smirked, pointing at it as the girl raised an eyebrow. "Well, did you forget about that sign over there?" asked Gabe. "You're not supposed to smoke in the hospital."
Mabel turned to see the sign and then turned back to the boy, smiling malevolently as she got an idea. "Then we should take this outside, don't you think?" suggested Mabel as she reached for her cigar.
The girl took out her cigar and blew a considerable, even alarming, amount of smoke from her mouth. Gabe held his breath just as the smoke covered him, and he managed to see Mabel laughed evilly as she took out a pair of kunai.
"Oh no!" thought Gabe, realizing what Mabel was about to do.
Gabe got ready to jump out of the window as soon as Mabel striked both kunai against each other. This caused a small sparkle to appear, which created an explosion that expanded to the rest of the smoke.
(Outside the Hospital)
Gabe jumped out just as the rest of the explosion happened. He landed on a roof near the hospital, and he was soon followed by Mabel, who didn't even have a scratch. "I'm surprised you came out of that alive." spoke Mabel with a malicious chuckle, gripping her kunai as she continued. "Luckily, I'm still here to finish you off!"
The girl leaped straight for Gabe, who quickly rolled away just as the girl striked. He then raised his arms and the warrior and dragon puppet from before arrived from the skies, both held by the subtle strings coming from Gabe's fingers. All Mabel did in response was utter "hmph" as Gabe sent the dragon puppet at the girl.
Mabel went running for the dragon and she jumped just as the puppet opened its mouth wide to eat her, the girl landing on the dragon's head and planting on of her kunais on its head, dragging it and opening the rest of the puppet as she went running to Gabe. He narrows his look as the cut open puppet unleashes confetti from the remains, catching Mabel off-guard.
It didn't take long for the confetti to disperse and for Mabel to resume her run, the warrior puppet appearing out of nowhere and startling the girl as he raised his sword, which he swung just as Mabel managed to jump back and dodge it. Tightly holding her remaining kunai, Mabel and the warrior puppet engaged in a sword battle as Gabe grabbed the dragon puppet's corpse and covered it in spider web, putting away the cocoon on top of another nearby roof as the battle continued.
In the middle of the battle a familiar Hidden Leaf ninja, Sakura Haruno, woke up and walked out to see Mabel gaining the upper hand against the warrior puppet. "Alright, what's going on?" asked Sakura, who looked up to see Mabel and Gabe's fight. She initially looks angry before she recognizes the girl. "Is that Mabel?"
Sakura barely dodged the thrown warrior puppet, which was swung up by Gabe just as Mabel jumped to take the final shot, instead being greeted by the bemused look on Sakura's face. All Mabel uttered was a simple "Hi" before she leaped for the puppet, earning a worried look from Sakura in response.
Just as the battle continued another hooded figure, one that is as tall as Sakura in fact, appeared and interrupted the fight. He grabbed Mabel by the neck of her shirt and threw her away. The girl managed to recover her balance just before hitting a tree, using it to jump back to the roof as the hooded figure walked to Gabe.
The figure took out his hood and showed that he had reddish hair and empty eyes, and then he turned to see Mabel ready for anything. Sakura managed to recognize who was the figure.
"Sasori?!" thought Sakura, who got an angry look before she went back inside her house.
"It looks like you're having trouble with this ninja." remarked Sasori, turning to Gabe with a pair of empty eyes as he continued to speak. "But if I remember correctly, I gave you the task to implant the cypher piece into the prime cypher host, not waste your time trying to kill someone irrelevant to your mission. Have you done what you were tasked to do?"
"He will never get to do that!" growled Mabel as she landed back on the battlefield, catching Sasori's attention in the process. "Dipper already left the hospital, and it doesn't matter what I have to do, I will stop you from looking for him!"
Sasori stood still as his response was apparently pure indifference. He then gave the girl a smug smile as he raised his arms, semi-invisible string coming out of them and going up in the sky as Gabe and Mabel looked with worry and anger respectively.
And then puppets came from the sky, all holding a weapon and going at random points in the village.
"Sasori, don't you think this is a bit overkill?" voiced Gabe, giving the puppeteer a worried look.
"Anybody related to the cypher host could be as powerful, or even stronger than him. You must not underestimate your opponents." stated Sasori, narrowing his look and getting a smile as he resumed. "Besides, if we can at least show the host that we mean business by trashing the village, that's fine by me."
One of the many puppets went after Mabel, who bared her teeth in defiance as she waited for the attack. However, the puppet was smashed to pieces when Sakura, now wearing her usual clothing, punched it strong enough to shatter it. "Thanks for that."
"No problem." replied Sakura, punching another puppet without even looking at it. She then briefly glanced to see Sasori ordering Gabe to run away, which the boy obeyed without question. "I'll take care of these things, you go after the other boy."
Mabel nodded and she went jumping after Gabe, who jumped down and took out a kunai so that he and Mabel were on even footing. He forgot about this warrior puppet, it seems, as they took the battle to the ground.
As the duo exchanged blows, Sakura punched and or grabbed and threw some of the puppets back at Sasori, who shrugged them off. It didn't take long before Sakura changed from fighting to protecting the Hidden Leaf villagers, finally realizing the hopelessness of the situation when even more puppets came from the sky.
"There's too many of them!" exclaimed Sakura, grabbing a puppet and throwing it away before she resumed. "I need the help of a professional puppeteer. Someone who knows a good deal of things about puppets...Kankuro!"
And then an ear piercing shriek was heard, which caught Sakura's attention. She turned around to see Hinata running around while dodging the puppets. Seeing that, Sakura got a worried look as she tried to get an idea, which she got not too long after.
"What's going on?!" asked Hinata, who barely managed to dodge one of Sasori's puppet's attack.
The puppet was hit by an incoming puppet, one thrown by Sakura. The pink-headed girl then jumped down, went to Hinata and grabbed her and pulled her away just as another puppet attacked, kicking its face before she turned to the girl.
"There's no time to explain, so listen carefully! Go to Hidden Sand as fast as you can and tell Kankuro to come here! I'll try to hold back Sasori while you do that, but there is no time to waste!" ordered Sakura, grabbing one of Sasori's puppets and throwing it back before she continued. "Since Kankuro has good knowledge of puppets, he should know what to do in this situation. If he looks uncertain, tell him that Gabe is the one in danger. Hurry!"
"Okay!"
Hinata and Sakura separated, Hinata going to the village's exit while Sakura returned to battle the puppets. Mabel and Gabe briefly clashed just as the girl reached the exit, but Hinata managed to dodge the clash and continue on her way, jumping away as the battle between Mabel, Gabe, Sakura, Sasori and the hundreds of puppets continued.
The two kids continued to clash and strike each other until they separated to catch their breath. "You know, while you're definitely stronger than I thought, you're not nearly as dangerous as I expected." remarked Mabel with a slight tone of wonder, although this only managed to anger Gabe. "I was expecting you to be both smart and strong, like the guy who can carry out the plans he makes."
"I'm not the one who comes up with the plans. I'm nothing more than a beginner puppeteer after all." replied Gabe, who narrowed his look as he continued. "Sasori tells me what to do, and then I execute them."
"Hmph, that sounds familiar." thought Mabel, briefly letting her guard down.
Gabe took a leap straight for Mabel, who gripped her weapon and blocked the puppeteer's attack before it hit her. Mabel then overpowered Gabe and threw him to a tree, which Gabe used to jump back at Mabel and clash with her again.
(Hidden Sand)
Slightly exhausted by the trip, Hinata finally managed to arrive at the village, although what she first saw was practically the deserted streets. There was literally nobody in the place, though only if you left out the tumbleweed that passed by.
Hinata didn't give up and started to look for Kankuro, taking the search from the streets to the roofs to, a bit reluctantly on her part, the Kazekage office. Over there, she didn't find anybody...except for a redheaded figure that had a huge resemblance to Gaara, although this one was completely immobile.
The girl walked to the figure and looked at it for a while before the figure moved and turned to see her, proving that it was alive. "Gaara?!" screamed Gaara, taking a few steps backwards.
"Yes. And you're Hinata from the Hidden Leaf, correct?" asked Gaara, the girl nodding in response. "Do you require assistance with something?"
"Yes but not-not you from you Gaara, but from Kankuro." replied Hinata, still startled by the moment.
"I see. Kankuro, somebody needs you." stated Gaara, looking at a corner completely covered in darkness.
From the shadows a Hidden Sand ninja with a black body suit and purple markings came out. "K-Kankuro?" asked Hinata with a shy tone.
"Yes, that's me." replied Kankuro. "You said you needed my help with something, right?"
"Sakura sent me to get your help. You see, a huge predicament has sparked in Hidden Leaf, and now hundreds of puppets are raining from the sky." "The one responsible, as far as I know, is someone named Sasori, and Sakura told me that you have your fair share of knowledge about puppets and that you could help us defeat them an this Sasori. So, what do you say?"
"Hmm, I don't know-" remarked Kankuro, scratching his chin.
"Gabe is in danger!" Hinata shouted at the top of her lungs.
The girl covered her mouth with her hands as she got herself and Kankuro startled. However, while Hinata covered her mouth in shock and then tried to explain herself better, Kankuro got up, summoned some chakra threads from his fingers and two of his puppets arrived immediately near his side. "Guide me to Hidden Leaf." requested Kankuro with a serious tone.
(Back with Gabe and Mabel)
The duo's battle continued as they dodged the thrown and destroyed puppets coming from Sakura and Sasori's battle. Gabe and Mabel once again clashed, but this clash took longer than usual, at least long enough for Mabel and Gabe to exchange determined looks. Gabe soon looked up and he saw Sasori gesturing him to come to his side.
Gabe pushed Mabel away and then went running to the walls, jumping on them until he managed to land at the roof. "Come back here, you coward!" called Mabel as she went running after Gabe.
The two managed to get on the same roof Sakura and Sasori were in, with the addition of a rather exhausted Hinata coming from the woods. The two saw that, exchanged surprised looks, they both shrugged and continued to fight like usual.
Sakura throws some more puppets away before helping Hinata get up. "Did you manage to convince him to help?" asked Sakura.
And then Kankuro, along with his puppets, appeared. "Does that answer your question?" replied Hinata.
"Master Kankuro?!" asked Gabe in shock, although he was more worried than happy.
"So, this is the fabled Kankuro?" mockingly inquired Sasori with a laugh. "You don't look all that impressive to me. I bet one of my dear puppet friends will take care of your quite easily."
Before Sasori could even raise his hand, Kankuro narrowed his look and quickly summoned chakra threads from his hands, with more seemingly coming from the rest of his body and hitting Sasori instantly. "Chakra Threads: Body Capture!" exclaimed Kankuro.
After that, Sasori suddenly took the same pose as Kankuro and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move by his own free will. The witnesses got hopefuls look, except for Gabe and Mabel, who looked confused.
"Wait a minute, I never heard of this technique before. Does it really exist?" asked Mabel in disbelief. "And if it actually does exist, how can such a ridiculous, out-of-nowhere technique work in the first place?"
"Because the Sasori you see here is not the real deal, but a puppet!" stated Kankuro as he moved to make Sasori reach for his clothing.
Sasori got a smug smile as he was surrounded by a light blue light, which soon dispersed to reveal Sasori had now a more marionette-like look. Just as the rest looked shocked while Kankuro narrowed his look, Tobi suddenly arrived from the ground, going to "Sasori's" side before he spoke. "Well, well, well, you found out the little trick after all." remarked Tobi with a mocking tone.
A glowing red light is then seen at the puppet's left cavity, with the form of the glow taking the shape of a red shuriken. Seeing that, Mabel realized what it meant as she and Gabe stopped fighting for a moment.
"A red cypher piece?!" exclaimed Mabel in shock.
"Yes, little girl, that's what it is." replied Tobi, who walked behind. He then pierced the puppet's cavity, grabbing and taking out the red cypher piece as well. "Would you like to discover what happens when a body's red cypher piece is destroyed...while the puppet is in control of many others?"
The red cypher piece was destroyed by Tobi, who teleported away just as the Sasori puppet's eyes turned completely red. Kankuro then swung the chakra threads for a few moments before he "released" them, making the puppet go up in the sky just as it was surrounded by red electricity. Eventually, the puppet starts to shake, and it then exploded in a way similar to fireworks, which mostly weirded the witnesses instead of amusing them.
They then turned to the puppets...who remained still for a moment before becoming motionless and crumbling to pieces. They turned back to Tobi, who was laughing like a hyena.
"Just kidding! Nothing happens with the puppets!" exclaimed Tobi with a childish tone, earning him an angry glare from the rest. He used his serious tone again as he spoke. "But you have failed to retrieve the piece before I could destroy, so not everything went right for you. Goodbye, hopeless ninjas of the world."
Once that's done, Tobi teleported away while letting out a malicious chuckle, with a shuriken thrown by Sakura failing to hit him. After that, Kankuro lowered his arms and turned to Gabe with an angry look. He closed his eyes, shaked his head with disappointment and then helps Sakura with Hinata, who is still exhausted. Gabe looked at the ground with regret as Mabel walked to him, but he jumped away before she could put her hand on his shoulder.
Now alone, Mabel looked around for the beginner puppeteer, and she managed to spot him only to see him jumping from tree to tree away. He turned back to the girl and sighed before leaving, this time for good. "Gabe..." said Mabel with a tone of sympathy.
(Streets of Hidden Gravity)
Mabel walked on the streets while looking at the ground, having a sad look as she managed to get to the middle of the city, where she saw a familiar sight: Gabe looking up at the sky.
"My fake master turned out to be a fraud, my actual master is angry at me for what I did and Gideon has betrayed me and left me for dead." remarked Gabe with a pessimistic sigh, turning to the ground before he finished. "This is a terrible day."
The boy then turned to see Mabel standing nearby and walking to him. He failed to notice the worried look on her face though. "Oh great, now it turned even worse." muttered Gabe, giving the girl an angry look of defiance as he spoke. "What are you going to do now? Put me under arrest and bring me to the ANBU?"
"I want to talk with you." replied Mabel. Gabe rolled his eyes in response. "Do you know that Kankuro guy?"
Gabe looks surprised at the girl's question. He gave her an angry look before he sighed and decided to answer. "Kankuro is my actual puppeteer master. I studied under his tutelage for a while before "Sasori" appeared. That was when everything went to hell: I met this group called the Akatsuki, this chubby guy named Gideon, and I was then pressured-by which I mean forced-to cooperate with them to help Gideon with his plans.
Mabel crossed her arms as she continued to hear the boy's story. "I got the light blue cypher piece from Sasori, but that's as far as I got to interact with Sasori since he never taught me anything. For the rest of the time, I kept my relationship with him a secret, and I continued to act like Sasori's partner so I would avoid inquiring his wrath."
Mabel gave the boy a sad look as he continued. "But then Sasori was revealed to be a literal puppet, and Kankuro's more than likely mad with me since I associated myself with it. I don't know how he figured it out, though, maybe it was obvious or that Hinata girl told him on the way, but I really don't want to know that right now."
"If only there was a way you could get rid of that cypher piece." remarked a sorrowful Mabel.
Mabel started to walk away, leaving Gabe alone to think for sometime. He then took out the cypher piece from his pocket and looked at it, getting an idea once he glanced at Mabel and the piece.
"There might be a way." thought Gabe. He then used his puppets as platforms so he could jump straight for Mabel, who turned and looked at him with surprise as the two met face-to-face. Gabe gives the girl a sorrowful look as he raised his hand. "I'm sorry for this."
He swung his arm down and stabbed the light blue cypher piece into the girl's stomach, who coughed some blood once she was hit. Once the two hit the ground, Mabel got up despite the pain, and she extended her arms so she could strangle Gabe, who stood still in front of the girl.
"Why you little-!" the girl's attention changed once she felt a strange surge on her body. She looked down and saw that she was surrounded by a light blue aura. "What...what is this power?"
"The cypher piece's power." answered Gabe before he noticed the girl's heavy breathing, with no signs of major pain. "For most ninja, this power would have caused them to scream in pure agony, but you seem to be withstanding it just fine-"
And then Mabel started to scream in agony, grabbing her head as her eyes turned completely blue. In the middle of the girl's agony, Gabe grabbed one of the girl's hands. "I'll help you control it." said Gabe, taking out a knife.
The boy then carved a pyramid with a single eye in it, although Mabel failed to notice the carving since the pain she felt from the cypher piece was far greater. After the carving was made, Its sides were covered with a blue, glowing light as the pain Mabel felt started to fade away. "What...what did you do?" asked Mabel with genuine shock.
"I carved a cypher seal into your palm. The seal grabs and...well, seals, most of the power of the piece in a sort of metaphysical-gibberish cage, making sure that the power doesn't consume and then possess you." explained Gabe, who managed to hear something coming as he finished/ "I need to move on. I have to find something else worth to live for after today's revelations."
"You could join Team Mystery." suggested Mabel with a shrug.
"I could, but I won't." replied Gabe. "Maybe when things calm down. Goodbye, Mabel from the Hidden Gravity."
A gigantic dragon puppet, presumably the one Mabel damaged earlier, arrived and the boy jumped to his head. Gabe turned around and waved goodbye with his free hand as the dragon left the village. Mabel waved goodbye with her hand with the carved symbols, looking at it and getting a worried look once Gabe was out of view.
"If this seal controls the power of a cypher piece...what does this mean about Grunkle Stan?" thought Mabel.
To Be Continued...