"They came from the sky, and they came from the sea.
They came from the inside of the television screen!
Babies of bastards, breeding as one.
The fate of Earth is doomed! I quit! I'm done!
Some kind of darkness come creep over me.
On what legal meat does our Caesar do feed?
So we could never be this free?"

"I Don't Wanna Be (A Superhero)," by Roadrunner United

Chapter 6 – Invasion

It had been a mildly pleasant summer morning for the small, sleepy town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. The gentle breeze flowing throughout provided a refreshing relief to the smelting sun raised overhead.

As per the usual flow of the day, nearly every seat was filled at the local favorite eatery, Greasy's Diner. It was a little past the lunch hour and numerous residents waited in excitement for their most desired entrees and snacks.

The proprietor, "Lazy" Susan Wentworth, sped up and down the aisles with absolute perfection. As if through mechanical clockwork, she flawlessly juggled platters filled to the brim with steaming hot food, picked up messy, half-eaten plates, and shoved the generous, well-appreciated tips left on the tables for her into the pockets of her apron.

The job was definitely more than trying at times, but when the elder saw the satisfaction on her patrons' faces (as well as their content from having their stomachs pleasantly filled), she knew that all of her hard work was well worth it.

Clearing her hands, Lazy Susan pulled out her pen and notepad, and leaned over to listen to the next upcoming order from the table before her.

"So," she croaked cheerfully, "What'll it be?!"

Just as the customer opened his mouth, a massive rumble came from beneath the ground, making everyone in the establishment freeze in place. Concerned murmurs started to rise up as the consumers looked around for an answer.

"What was that?!"

"It felt like an earthquake!"

"An earthquake? All the way out here? That's impossible!"

As the crowd started to calm themselves, another tremor rocked the diner. Cracks formed through the thin windows on the wall. Countless articles of china rattled from the various tables and violently crashed into the splintered floor.

A third vibration, stronger and louder than the last two made it apparent that the shaking was not only growing greater, but coming closer towards their location. A moment later, the noise was literally on top of them!

*CREAK!*

All eyes focused on the ground as the floorboards began to budge with a sickening groan. With a violent thrust, a huge, hulking object came bursting from the ground. A myriad of high-pitched screams rang out through the tiny restaurant, destroying the remaining glass articles in the process.

A giant yellow-green centipede had risen from the damp earth. It looked down upon its prey, wiggling its endless amount of legs wildly, and tilted its head back, letting out an ear-shattering roar before crawling out of the hole completely.

The clientele crowded towards the exit of the diner, pushing and shoving each other out of the way as they dashed out of the stuffy restaurant. Lazy Susan backed away from the monster nearly frozen in terror.

"Wha…What in the world?"

From behind the counter, the chef had seen that his kind-hearted boss was in the deadly creature's sights. Gripping his butcher knife tightly, the loyal employee leapt the barrier and dug the blade into the centipede's side.

The beast let out a pained cry, only to begin to glow various neon colors wildly. Seeing that he had an opening, the chef sprinted pass the behemoth and stood at his employer's side.

"What's….that thing doing now?"

"Not sure, boss, but whatever it is, it's probably not good!"

The two watched as the centipede changed its color to a purplish blue. It wailed aloud once more, as something started to form from its waist. A mixture of colorful pixels poured from its wound as another set of howls entered the chaotic scene.

The oversized bug split from one enormous centipede into two slightly smaller ones. The fiends aligned by one another as they stared down the stunned co-workers.

"There's two of them now?!"

Backpedaling, but not yet willing to give up her pride and joy so easily, Lazy Susan looked around for anything that could used to drive back the threat.

"The silverware!" exclaimed the cook. "Use the silverware!"

They each picked up an armful of supplies and began to hurl the items are the vicious vermin. Surprisingly, the centipedes dodged the projectiles with alarming speed.

"They're…" Lazy Susan squawked, "…faster than before!"

"Keep trying!"

After several attempts, each worker was able to successfully nail the creepy-crawlies. As with the last time the centipede was struck, the menaces began to seize up and alter their colors; this time into a reddish orange tint.

Seconds later, four centipedes were climbing up and down the walls of Greasy's Diner at lightning speed. Seeing that her companion was continuing to attempt battling the danger, Lazy Susan grabbed his arm.

"No!" she warned. "You'll only make more!"

Left without any other option, they fell back towards the exit door, "I'd hate to do this, but…"

The duo fled from the diner, leaving the humble establishment to the colossal insects that were bent on making the rustic building into their new hideaway…

A hearty sigh echoed through the deathly silent Gravity Falls cemetery.

"…Wendy…"

The slender gothic form known as Robbie V. let out another exhale as he endlessly studied the photograph that he held in front of his pocked face. He had spent hours analyzing the image of his redheaded ex-girlfriend, chalking her every finest detail to memory.

The black-donning teen lowered the treasured possession onto his hooded chest marked with a broken, sewn-up heart as he closed his eyes and tried to think of the good times: the instances where her simple smile would light up his seemingly gloomy demeanor; how his lamest jokes or a quick tickle would instantly make her release that oh-so contagious laughter.

His mind quickly shifted to that fateful night about a week ago. Wendy had caught him in the middle of another lie, and with her patience finally worn thin, she opened the passenger door of his van, and slammed the door on it – and him forever. The furious scorn the ginger wore as she turned towards the Pines kid and his great-uncle was burnt into his sub-conscious.

The mere thought of the boy had ruined his life immediately turned his sadness into pure hatred. Robbie cursed everything and anything that bore his rival's stupid nickname, from the constellation that was hung across the night sky to those delicious frozen chocolate treats with the fruit filling on the inside.

"Bet that little punk's so happy…" Robbie bemoaned, "….thinking he has Wendy all to himself…" He placed the photo back inside of his hoodie pocket, remembering the pure joy that overcame Dipper's face the exact moment Wendy had broken up with him; something that he was more than sure that the little brat had replayed over and over within the confines of his own mind.

"I swear, he won't get away with it! One day, I'll – I'll –"

Robbie lowered his head back onto the soft ground, watching a dark overcast pass through the sky. He knew, deep down, for whatever sort of vengeance he could unleash upon the teenager that had wronged him, it wouldn't bring Wendy back into his life. Here he was, hiding away in one of the empty graves just outside of his parents' home/funeral directory while the two partners-in-crime were out and about in the world, possibly having the time of their lives.

"Sometimes – I wish the Earth would just open and shallow me up!"

As if the universe had heard his half-baked plea, a pair of mangled red limbs rose up and wrapped themselves around the heartbroken goth's waist, making him screaming aloud as he struggled for freedom.

"AAAHHH! I didn't mean it! I didn't really mean it!"

Using his sneakered feet to press against the brown soil, Robbie was able to pry himself free from the ghoulish arms. He turned around, his back against the earthly wall, as he watched the buried appendages frail around in vain as they searched for their escaped prey.

"O – kay!" Robbie tried to comprehend the sight before his eyes, "I've been down here plenty of times, and that's never happened before; especially in a grave that hasn't been filled ever!" He placed his barely-gloved hand under his chin as he pondered further, "Something's definitely up…"

Fearing what would happen if "whatever-that-was" was to fully rise from its resting place, Robbie began to scale the gritty walls back to the topside world. Upon reaching the mid-point, a hand reached down to aid the shaken adolescent in his ascension.

"Whoa," Robbie greeted, making a firm hold of the hand before him, "Excellent timing!" He turned around to see something unrecognizable making its way to the top of the grave's flooring. Climbing out of the hole, the goth looked forward to further thank his rescuer, "Seriously, you couldn't have come at a –"

Robbie choked on his words as he saw he was clutching a decaying, severed hand. It squirmed and bounced of its own concord in his grasp.

Letting out another shriek, Robbie inadvertently threw the arm away, bludgeoning it against a nearby tombstone. The hand melted into a green, gooey mess before vaporizing into a pile of pixels and into the atmosphere.

"Wait…I've seen that happen before…"

A wave of familiarity swiftly overcame the confused goth. The unusual sight reminded him of his other secret; of all the terrible things he had done the first time he believed that the young sleuth was trying to steal his beloved sweetheart away from him…

Robbie's attention soon heightened as he spun around to see a small battalion of separated hands, slowly using their fingernails to edge closer to avenge their fallen brethren.

*AARRGGHH!*

A series of tortured groans rang throughout the abandoned graveyard. Robbie looked past the open grave and towards the rolling fields. A legion of shambling undead shuffled their way across the countryside towards the scared teenager. Their welting flesh drooped downwards with every step. Their saddened eyes focused only on the lingering sight before them. The disgusting stench stemming from them nearly made him lose his lunch.

Without a second thought, Robbie dashed away from the horrific scene, not caring where his next destination was, as long as it was far enough from all of the monsters that had come across him.

"I can't prove it," he glanced over his shoulder, ensuring that he was ahead of his pursuers, "But I know he has something to do with this! I just know it!"

*HOO!*

All of a sudden, a purple flash jumped out from the distance, landing inches in front of the fleeing goth. Robbie skidded to a stop as the being stood up from its hunched position, shortly towering over the cowering boy.

The demon threw back its long, cylinder-like skull, exposing a shiftless jaw with rows of jagged, pointed teeth, complete with waggling tongue. Two yellow eyes narrowed downwards as its pure black pupils grew in diameter. It swatted at Robbie with shorten, but powerful arms with razor-sharp claws, making him twitch in nervous agony as it released another haunting battle cry before ascending back into the air:

*HOO!*

"No! Not like that! Do it the way I shown ya!"

"Manly" Dan Corduroy threw his fishing rod down onto the boat's floor in a fit of rage as his three boys watched on with nervous caution.

"But, Dad," the eldest Corduroy boy complained, "There's something wrong out there! I think the fish…are different somehow!" He displayed his own pole, which looked as if something had taken a bite out of it. "See?!"

"What?!"

Fully enraged, the hulking lumberjack lunged his muscular arm deep into the blue depths in search of the culprit. It was such trying times that made Manly Dan ecstatic that his daughter was a bit more skillful and independent in her athletic efforts. However, his disappointment shortly returned upon remembering how Wendy preferred to spend her free time alongside delinquents or those freaks in that bucolic shack out in the woods rather than with her family.

After a few moments, the giant tightened his grip, pulling his quarry up to the surface and onto the boat's barren bottom. All four males peered down at the odd sight before them with raised brows.

A small red fish bobbled around helplessly as it attempted to find its way back to the water. The abnormal guppy was unlike anything they had ever seen. A long, yellow mohawk traveled from the top of the head to the middle of its back. It flapped tiny white wings positioned on its sides almost like it was trying to fly out of the way of danger.

Manly Dan watched as the fish's bulbous blue eyes locked solely on him, never once wavering in the slightest. It softly moved its lips, letting out a hushed cry: "Cheep – Cheep!"

The spooked outdoorsman shook his head clear, and looked towards his boys, whom waited for his response, "You see, my children?! Nothing to it!"

Wanting to further prove his dominance over the defenseless creature, Manly Man clutched the aquatic life form and started to plummet it endlessly, inciting a round of cheering from his children: "DAD! DAD! DAD! DAD!"

The woodsman let out a shocked gasp as after a couple of well-placed blows, the tiny fish seemed to melt away into a puddle of multi-colored blocks and dots. The Corduroy boys grew silent as their father pulled away from the spectacle, "What in the world –"

Suddenly, the Gravity Falls Lake began to bubble and boil in response to the fish's demise. The strapping men looked around the secluded body of water for an answer to exactly what was causing the disturbance.

The sound of incalculable splashes reverberated through the forest. The hunters raised their heads in awe to see that dozens of the winged sea-life launched themselves into the air! They waved their little wings as they aimed towards their tormentors.

In spite of the overwhelming odds, Manly Dan stood tall. A creepy smile spread across his bearded face as he turned around to call his sons to arms, "It's just as I feared. The fish revolution is upon us! The time is now, my boys! Stand and fight with me!"

Motivated by their father's encouraging speech, the three adolescents rose to their feet, and followed in his example, punching and kicking their way through the downpour of flying fish. The unfortunate victims bounced back into the lake, where they disappeared into a pile of pixels while letting out their disheartening cry: "Cheep –cheep! Cheep-cheep! Cheep-cheep!"

Making their way through the hazard, the Corduroy boys celebrated their victory over nature as their father prided over them. "You see, lads?" he asked, flexing his massive muscles, "There's nothing you can't conquer with a little elbow grease and –"

The lumberjack was cut off as one last spray could be heard. A colossal shadow was cast over the men, bringing their cheering to a sudden stop. The four pairs of eyes looked to the sky to see that an oversized flying fish floated through the sky! It looked down, the blue angry eyes filled with discontent at the slayers of its children. As it slowly descended towards the panicked fishermen, it let out a defiant battle cry, making it known that their trespasses would not be tolerated:

"CHEEP-CHEEP!"

As his jaw dropped open at the sight of such overwhelming odds, Manly Dan turned once more towards his children, who waited for any sense of guidance. He pointed into the distance and started to bark a new set of orders, "RETREAT! Row, my children! Row!"

The three Corduroy children immediately sat down, oars in hand as they worked in conjunction in order to escape the vengeful beast before it came crashing down upon their simple vessel…

"WOO! WOO! WOO! WOO!"

"Deputy Durland! Now, what did I tell you about wasting all of your ammo like that?" Sheriff Blurbs reloaded a new clip into his standard-issued pistol. He peeked out from behind the police cruiser he and his partner had taken refuge behind and slowly took careful aim at the menace in the distance before squeezing the trigger.

*POP!* *POP!* *POP!* *POP!*

An entire row of proceeding purple creatures had been pixilated out of existence, out to be quickly replaced by two sets of sky blue counterparts. Behind them, another brigade made up of green simple-looking bug monsters descended from the sky, speeding their way towards the earth as they let out a chant of "Beep-Boop-Beep-Boop."

"You see?"

"Oh! I getcha!" The Deputy reloaded his weapon, and following his mentor's advice, planned his shots accordingly. Despite taking a few misses, he was successful in eliminating nearly half of the newest set of mini-monsters.

"Darn it!"

"There, there…" the Sheriff placed his hand on his friend's shoulder to comfort him, "You did a lot better this time."

"It's not that," Durland explained. "I think these things are moving faster than the last batch!"

"Hmm…" Blubbs pondered the Deputy's claim as he clicked his chamber. He popped up from behind his cover and let out another barrage of bullets. Durland was right! Despite taking his time, half of his bullets missed their mark; some of the projectiles even collided with the green set bringing up the rear.

As he slumped back down to refill his weapon, the Sheriff remembered how they got caught up in all of this craziness. The two officers were making their usual rounds around town when they were flagged down by a group of distressed citizens in the center of town. As the two left the safety of their cruiser, they asked the assembly what was the matter, only to be directed towards the sky.

"Look! Outer-worldly invaders! From space! They're heading this way! RUN!"

The Sheriff and Deputy looked up as the crowd disbursed. An army of block-looking insect fiends made their way into the planet's atmosphere. Seemingly defying gravity itself, the intruders marched bit by bit, inch by inch closer to the earthbound plane. Their dotted eyes remained solely focused on what was before them.

*PEW!* *PEW!* *PEW!*

The raiders let loose a series of short laser blasts, prompting the cops to duck and hide behind their patrol car for cover.

"Shots fired! Shots fired!" Blubbs shouted into his walkie-talkie, "Requesting immediate backup!"

"Uh, Blubbs?" Deputy Durland questioned, "Aren't we the only two officers in town?"

Realizing that his cohort was right, the Sheriff sat back and sighed, "It's times like these I wish we did more recruitments…

The two remained in that same spot for nearly a half-hour, taking turns between on firing upon the scourge and bouncing back into cover to stock up on supplies.

"Hey, Blubbs?"

"Shoot…"

"This may sound crazy, but doesn't this all seem kinda familiar?"

"How so?"

"I mean, no matter what we do, they just keep coming and coming. I dunno, it just reminds me of something when I was little; something I used to play with…"

From behind his dark sunglasses, Blubbs's eyes lit up upon hearing that particular mention, "You know something? I was thinking the exact same thing…"

The blaring sound of an alarm entered the the heavens, completely blanketing the small cries of the bug-like cretins. The policemen glanced from their hideaway to see that a floating red spaceship cruising along the skyline.

"Hey, Blubbs! Whatdya think if I nailed that thing? It might be some sort of mothership that'll stop the others from coming!"

The portly patrolman shrugged his shoulders, "Couldn't hurt…"

Holding his pistol closely, Deputy Durland closed one eye and lined up the sights of his gun with that of the saucer. He gently squeezed the trigger, only to watch as the ship exploded into a million little red pixels!

"I got it! I got it good!"

"Great job, buddy!" his superior officer congratulated with a pat on the back.

However, to their horror, the destruction of the alien craft only sped the predetermined course of the shiftless beings.

*CLICK! CLICK!*

"Hey, partner? I think I got a problem here…"

The Sheriff tried to fire his weapon, only to find out that he had the same dilemma.

"I'm all out of ammo, too!"

Now defenseless, the police officers looked up to see that the invaders were literally on top of them; their endless gibberish made their skin crawl. Left without any other option, they hurled their pieces at the swarm, and bolted in the other direction, screaming at the top of their lungs and arms flailing wildly as they headed for the nearest point of shelter…

"What?! Are you kidding me? "Three" was the best one ever. The greatest 8-bit title of all times! It laid the framework for what all modern-day platforming games are based on!"

"You're out of your mind! "World" was everything it was and more! Better graphics! Multiple exits to a single stage! That awesome little dinosaur guy! There's no doubt…"

It had been a while since the brothers that helped run the Arcade in downtown Gravity Falls had enough free time to freely have a debate about classic gaming. Roughly a month had passed since they agreed to aid their friend (and on-and-off again protector) Wendy Corduroy in planning a surprise to an unknown "special someone" in her life.

For this, the gingered teenager asked if there was any way that she could secure the entire complex to herself (and her gentleman caller) for the duration of the entire day. At first, they were hesitant to grant her request; that was, until the ever-so-plucky girl presented her trump card – a direct line to her friend, Tambry.

The boys came in the next morning and retrieved their keys from the hiding spot that Wendy and they had originally agreed upon. However, they were instantly floored by the mess that awaited them!

The overhead lights flickered on and off without rhyme or reason. All of the video screens were stuck in a rolling, static-filled fashion as their memory units were apparently wiped clean. Bluish-colored chocolate birthday cake was smeared across several parts of the floor. Worse of all, someone had spilled what appeared to be soda-pop into the "Fight Fighters" arcade machine, short-circuiting it out of functionality.

After being chewed out by their father, the rightful owner of the Arcade, for what seemed like an eternity, the siblings were charged with giving the family business a complete overhaul. Circuit breakers were changed. Light bulbs were replaced. Floors were scrubbed and polished. Nearly every inch of the Arcade had been painfully gone over with a fine-toothed comb until it was brought to a sparkling condition.

However, after everything had been said and done, the brothers deemed it all had been worth it to obtain a real girl's phone number!

The argument was interrupted by a massive earthquake. Luckily for the two, nearly everything had been bolted down to the floor to prevent any further damage to the establishment.

"Wha – What in the heck was that?!"

A second quaver rocked the Arcade, forcing the teenagers to hold each other as they trembled in terror at the events unfolding before their eyes. The walls began to flash every possible color possible; they realized moments later that the source was none other than the displays of the vintage video game machines. The brothers leaned over the register to see that row after row of arcade cabinets flickered and sputtered uncontrollably until everything boiled to a head as a bright light soon overcame the entire complex.

The duo shielded their glasses-covered eyes as they attempted to get a better look at the sights at hand. A stream of multihued pixels excreted from each machine only to join together into one massive rainbow-like stream. The form stopped right in front of their counter, as the unnatural beam began to break into individual pixel piles. The groups promptly took shape as the boys' eyes widened at the spectacle.

A myriad of characters they easily recognized from their beloved video games came storming into the real world! The variation of different beings made into reality were simply too many to take note off; the workers watched in awe as bipedal killer turtles, flying squids, barrel-toting gorillas, crawling all-too-happy slimeballs, and sword-carrying skeletons amongst others made their way past them without the slightest of acknowledgment.

The fanboys would have been openly geeking out over the events at hand if only they didn't fear for their very lives at that particular moment.

Suddenly, a robotic silver samurai donning purple warrior garments broke away from the crowd and approached the check-in where the brothers had hoped to be a safe haven. The evil presence narrowed its red eyes at the startled high-schoolers, pointing a razor-blade covered arm straight at them.

"LEAVE! NOW!"

Without a second warning, the brothers tossed the keys to the Arcade on the desk before they dashed out the exit.

"She's all yours! Make sure you lock up before you go!"

From a mountaintop just outside Gravity Falls, the wicked Emperor watched with hushed glee as his forces continued to plague the innocent residents of the town. However, he figured that long enough had passed; the time for petty games was over with.

He raised his dark, chaotic blade into the air, making the atmosphere turn another shade darker. The Arcade at the center of the town soon became surrounded by an eerie purple glow. The despot thrust his blade higher in the sky, making a tidal wave of pixels explode from the glowing business and onto the outside world. As the beam spread further, devouring everything in its path, the Emperor drew his head back and let out a cruel, cold-hearted laugh, knowing that the battle was over with before it even began…

Mabel Pines sat with her face in her hands as she kept watch over the Mystery Shack Gift Shop. A few hours had passed since she witnessed an awful fight between her twin brother, Dipper, and his crush, Wendy Corduroy. She had innocently walked in on the shouting match between the two former friends, as they both claimed that each had tried to kill the other the night before.

The cheerful girl tried her best to defuse the awkward situation; however, the damage had already been done. Things were already on uneasy ground before the previous night, and this incident finally sent both Wendy and Dipper over the edge. Blinded by their rage and hurt feelings, Mabel watched as each teenager exploded back and forth before declaring their hate for each other.

Each seemingly wounded by the other's actions, the two fled, going their own individual way as tears flowed from their faces. Left behind and forced to be the de-facto caretaker of her Great-Uncle's Mystery Shack, Mabel sat in solitude, waiting for the next unfortunate soul to arrive at the semi-attractive tourist trap, as she tried to find a solution to the crisis at hand.

While Mabel was definitely undecided about the romantic implications between the two, she understood that it would be an utter tragedy if things were left the way they were between her sibling and their redheaded co-worker. She knew Dipper better than anyone in the world, and to say that Wendy had a positive influence was surely an understatement. If anything, the ginger was possibly the only other person besides herself that was able to break him out of his shell!

Even though she was sometimes left out, Mabel had to admit it was nice to see her twin being dragged by the hand towards new experiences and adventures instead of always having his nose buried in a book or computer screen. The metal-mouthed teenager knew that such a good thing was worth trying to repair!

"It's kinda funny when you think about it," Mabel reflected, shaking her head back and forth, "I'm the one that came here looking for a summertime crush, and now…"

A distant rumble interrupted her thoughts. Mabel lowered her feet to the floor, making sure not to accidentally step on her pet pig, Waddles, as she came down from Wendy's stool. As the violent shaking increased, the brunette walked over to the window and gasped at the sight before her: a literal wave of dozens of different colors headed in her direction, seemingly coating anything and everything within its grasp.

"Uh, guys?!"

Hearing the cry from the parlor, Grunkle Stan and Soos walked into the Gift Shop to find the stunned pixie staring outside from the windowsill. Upon seeing the abnormality before them, the three stood frozen at the horrid fate that awaited them.

"Well," Grunkle Stan removed his fez and scratched the top of his grey-haired head, "As we reluctantly face this unknown fate before us, I find myself certain of one thing: I just know Dipper has something to do with it!"

"Agreed…" Soos and Mabel nodded along with the comment, not daring to move their eyes from the impending doom approaching at lightning speed…

Minutes later, Gravity Falls had been left devoid of all the signs and sounds that came with the everyday bustle of life. All that remained were a few remote "beeps, clicks, and blops."

The Emperor of Darkness looked upon the newest addition of his ever-expanding kingdom. All had gone exactly to plan. The supposed guardians, the two children that had previously bested his world, had been taken care of; ironically, by turning them against each other. The gateways were now fully opened, and all means of possible resistance had been severed.

From his newest foothold, he gazed into the distance. It would only be a matter of time before the rest of this realistic, flesh-based world would be firmly secured within his armored clutches…