"Leave me alone. God let me go.
I'm blue and cold. Black sky will burn.
Love pull me down. Hate lift me up.
Just turn around. There's nothing left.
Somewhere far beyond this world,
I feel nothing anymore."
"Dear Agony," by Breaking Benjamin
Chapter 15 – Beneath These Armors We Keep
From behind her lime-green visor, Wendy narrowed her eyes at the metallic blue speck dashing towards her.
"What is that thing?" she asked. "It's wearing the same outfit as Dipper's clone…" She spotted that this model's helmet was rather opened ended; however, the redhead couldn't get a good look at the face behind it.
Left without any other choice, Wendy pointed her blaster downwards as a hyper beam began to charge in the muzzle of her arm cannon, "Hold it! Freeze right there!"
Dipper, unable to fully hear his friend from behind her headgear, looked up to see that the towering orange, yellow, and red robot aiming straight at him with her cannon fully charged, "Man, it's already rearing to go for a fight…" He proceeded to rev up his own buster with a soft *WHRRRL* sound, "But then again, what hasn't today?"
Wendy was surprised that the diminutive dot refused to obey her commands, "I'm not messing with you!" she warned, straightening her arm further, "I swear it!"
Dipper took the motion as a possible act of war, "It's about to fire! I have to counter it before it can attack!"
Without warning, Dipper let his charged shot loose with a *WHOOSH!* Luckily, Wendy slammed on her brakes before he released his buster, having the energized blast fly harmlessly over her right shoulder instead of striking her dead-on. She froze for a split-second in alarm as outrage quickly overtook her.
"Why – you little pest!"
Wendy returned fire immediately, launching a series of hyper beams at Dipper. He ducked and rolled under the lasers with a "WHOA!" only to end up on one knee. The pint-sized warrior issued a second plasma blast at Wendy, forcing her to step to her side to avoid the stream.
"What…" the ginger questioned, "…was…"
"…that?" Dipper shared the same notion, "This one fights different than Wendy's replica; it's a lot faster and less slimy…"
"This guy's more agile and cautious," Wendy noted the change between her green and blue opponents, "The double acted like he could care less if he was hit or not, but this new shrimp's doing anything and everything to avoid my beams. Maybe he's more fragile...?"
The two circled around each other in silence, each waiting for the other to strike. While Wendy definitely had the height advantage and better reach, Dipper's armor was lighter and less bulky, allowing him to move faster without much resistance. They looked back and forth between their shielded faces and their respective weapons, looking for any sign of change; any excuse to begin the melee again.
Suddenly, Wendy's arm cannon started to shift. Dipper noticed that the launch pad widened and spread outwards. His crush lowered her gun-hand, as he saw something poking out of the tip.
"Is that…a missile?!"
Before he could react, the deadly projectile came rocketing out of the blaster. Dipper dove to his side, nearly missing the explosive. It exploded with an ear-deafening *KA-BOOM!*, leaving a small, but deep hole in the sidewalk.
"That – that was a close – " His words were cut off as he spotted two more missiles heading in his direction! Using the advanced dexterity given up by the blue armor, Dipper flipped backwards in a reverse-tumble, avoiding the impact of the second rocket by mere inches.
*KA-BOOM!*
He glanced up to see the third missile nearly upon him. Given no time to escape, Dipper focused his energy, lined up his arm cannon with the threat, and closed his eyes before releasing his counter-attack.
*KA-BOOM!*
A thick cloud of smoke filled the scene, preventing Wendy from seeing the damage she had caused, "Did it work? Did I get him?"
Her scanners in the visor weren't able to pick up anything until the fog thinned out. At first, she took the sign of no active life as a victory, meaning that she had successfully eliminated the azure menace. From out of the corner of her emerald eye, Wendy had spotted it: a thinning shadow rose through the smoke to the sky. She gazed up to see Dipper in mid-air, dinged and covered in soot, undergoing some sort of transformation.
"What is he doing up there?"
Wendy watched as the boy's arm cannon reverted back to that of a regular, blue gloved hand. However, a group of razor-tipped gears emerged in each hand.
"BUSTER CHANGE – METAL BLADE!"
"Okay…" the fifteen-year-old bemoaned in disbelief, unaware of what was going to happen next, "He did not just say all of that!"
As the undersized teen descended back to earth, he flicked his hands towards the girl, sending the half-a-dozen Metal Blades in her direction.
"Hey! What the heck?! He can make spikes now?!"
Wendy skipped back multiple times as the blades came close to nicking through her booted feet. As Dipper landed safety on the ground, his fist tapping the cracked concrete, Wendy raised an eyebrow in confusion as she wondered about the mysterious assailant before her.
"What in the world is this thing? He's like the "Swiss Army Knife" of killer 'bots!"
Dipper continued his onslaught of flying, pointed cogs at the lumberjack princess, forcing her to jump over the hazard in a single bound. A new strategy came to Wendy's mind, "Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. I keep trying to overpower him when all I need to do is prevent him from attacking…"
She pulled her arm cannon back and concentrated, allowing her mind to become one with her suit. Her sub-consciousness scanned through her inventory until she found exactly what she had in mind, "…Perfect…" A new message flashed across her visor:
"ICE BEAM ACTIVATED!"
With the new change in her arsenal, Wendy fired the thinning blue-hued laser directly at Dipper's left hand, catching him completely off guard.
"Ugh! My arm!" With great difficulty, the sleuth bought his hand up to face level, revealing that it had been frozen solid in a block of ice. Unexpectedly, Wendy nailed his other arm a second later, leaving both limbs unable to function.
"AHA!" the cashier celebrated, "I knew that'd do the trick! Let's see you make anymore goodies now, blue boy!"
Left nearly powerless in his plight, Dipper went to flee in an attempt to hopefully go free himself. Instead, he found himself fastened to the floor. His eyes moved downward, seeing that his favorite ginger had frozen his feet to the walkway.
"Nope! Sorry, little guy!" Wendy teased, pulling her blaster back as she wagged her metal finger, "But we can't have you hopping about, can we?"
Dipper pumped both legs in vain, hoping that the extra strength given by the suit would be enough to break through the icy barriers securing him firmly. As he was starting to make some progress towards freedom as the frozen columns began to crack, Dipper could feel himself being pelted with the strange ray against his chest. Wendy walked victoriously towards her prey as the mount of ice rose up over his body, leaving only his head exposed to the elements.
As his breath slowed, Dipper's voice dried up, becoming devoid of all sound. He couldn't even plead with his attacker to stop. Just as the ice climbed over his head, he let out a hushed whisper:
"B-B-BUSTER CHANGE –A-A-A…"
Wendy stopped and stared at the android entirely frozen in the huge brick of ice. She overlooked every inch to confirm that all movement had ceased within the square. Content with her handiwork, the lanky girl walked away from the sight as she set out to renew her quest, "Maybe now, I can get back to getting to the Arcade and finding Dipper…"
*KRAK!*
She spun around on her heels as a chill traveled down her backside. All of a sudden, a large, yet thin crack had appeared down the center of the ice brick. Wendy let out a sigh of relief, chalking the event up to the dry, humid weather that had plagued her hometown for the last few days.
"Get a grip, Wendy-girl! He's frozen solid! He's not going anywhere soon!"
*KRAK!*
Another crack formed diagonally across the brick, releasing a thin layer of steam into the atmosphere. Wendy peered deeper into the ice as her concern returned. Even though his facial features were hidden away within the darkness, the robot's eyes seemingly stood out to the freckled-face fighter.
"Wow," Wendy thought, "It may be the ice messing with me, but those are the bluest eyes I have ever seen in my life…"
*KRAK!*
The perplexed young lady glimpsed down at the new damage before returning her sights forward. The blue eyes gawking at her from within the barrier were now glowing brightly, almost as if they were headlights.
*KRAK!*
A fourth split shot across the ice block. This time, the fixture started to slide, discharging more condensation. Wendy backed away from the slab as more pieces collapsed internally.
"No – No way!" She maintained her silent retreat as her grip tightened over her blaster. "How could he - ?"
*KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK!*
A rumble spread out from beneath Wendy's feet. A huge roar erupted from within the cracked ice. The wedge exploded as the cry rang out through the empty street:
"ATOMIC FIRE!"
Wendy could feel the mixture of falling ice cubes and rainfall crashing against her armor. The rising vapors fogged up her visor, temporary blinding her from the outside world. She swiftly ran her gloved hand over her face, just to time to see the blazing eyes staring daggers at her. With his hands raised to the sky, Dipper repeatedly gasped for air, his cast-ironed shoulders ascending and lowering with each breath taken. Sweat fully blanketed his face as it was the only exposed part of his body not consumed by the protective blue suit.
"He's breathing?!" Wendy wondered, now left unsure of the true nature of the opponent she was battling.
As he let out another enraged battle howl, Dipper bent over and lowered his searing palms to the ground. A line of living fire raced towards Wendy, going in between her gangly legs.
"WHOA!" The high-schooler leapt to the side to avoid the messy aftermath of the flames, keeping in mind that the last thing she needed at the moment was to get her ankles trapped in the melting cement. Wendy jumped into the air with a striking somersault. Unaware to her, her body omitted a series of electric sparks as a new message appeared in the corner of her visor:
"SCREW ATTACK ACTIVATED!"
Dipper stopped his assault as he spotted the shining twirl heading his way, "Did it – Did it just become a sparkler?"
Seeing that her counter made Dipper halt in place, Wendy took another bound towards her quarry, resuming the spectacular display of the multi-colored swirling display.
"I gotta do something now," Dipper said as he dodged the falling sparks, "Or else, it's going to get lucky and burn me to a crisp!"
Just as Wendy was descending from her second Screw Attack, the young detective switched his busters and hoisted his hand-gun upwards as he shouted out loud: "AIR SHOOTER!"
A mini tornado spun out of the tip of his reformed Mega Buster. Wendy shortly found herself trapped within the confines of the cyclone as she was hoisted dozens of feet into the sky. As the tornado's hold faded away, the redhead found herself falling back to earth at a tremendous speed.
"AAH!"
Wendy felt something catch her as she was about to hit the ground.
"Huh?"
She maneuvered her head to the left to see that the miniature cobalt pugilist was holding her up with a single hand along her backside. She flailed her limbs wildly in an attempt to break out of Dipper's grip.
"Hey! Put me down! NOW!"
With a sly smile spreading across his face, Dipper obeyed the command of the mysterious, yet tinny voice coming from behind the helmet.
"As you wish…"
Using the amplified power of his armor, Dipper simply tossed Wendy behind his back with an open-handed throw. To his surprise, the leggy figure morphed before his eyes, landing on the street as a knee-tall, red and yellow ball. It bounced several times before grinding on its brakes.
"So now, it's a roly-poly?" Dipper inquired, uncertain of what was happening before him.
In her Morph Ball configuration, Wendy rolled towards her baffled friend as he maintained his aim on her. The reflective sphere swiveled around, choosing to take a criss-crossed, unaligned pathway towards her target. Upon reaching Dipper, Wendy rotated around him at lightning speed, promptly leaving the lad severely dizzied as it zoomed past him. As he regained his senses, Dipper noticed that the ball had left several shimmering red and blue pellets at his feet.
"Ew, gross!" Dipper complained, lifting a leg upwards, "It poops little flashing balls!" Hearing his own words vocally made him freeze in place, "LITTLE FLASHING BALLS?!"
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Hearing the sounds of her bombs go off successfully, Wendy stretched out of her ball form, "Umm…gotcha!" Now standing upright, the plucky girl turned around to see the damage she caused, only to have her mouth instantly gape open, "You gotta be friggin' kidding me?!"
Amidst the thinning smoke, Dipper stood uninjured with a smug, determined look on his face. To Wendy's shock, a mass of spinning metal leaves encircled him, shielding him from every possible angle.
"Leaves?! My bombs couldn't stand up to stupid leaves?!"
With a motion of his hand, Dipper sent the pointed plant life in Wendy's direction. She quickly covered her head as they were upon her; the scrapes and scratches caused could be felt from within her armor. Becoming frustrated, Wendy latched onto a nearby fire hydrant with her Grapple Beam, yanked it from its bolts, and hurled it straight at Dipper, "Argh! I don't get it! No matter what I do…"
Dipper fired at the flying obstacle, turning it into a million pieces of red shrapnel, "…it just keeps coming at me without any signs of slowing down!"
"What do I have to do to stop ('im/'er)?!"
Seeing her latest attack fail, Wendy dashed towards the nuisance, deciding to finish the fight with her more naturally given gifts – her fists. The outraged female swung downwards at her smaller foe, alternating between her gloved hand and using her cannon as a bludgeoning tool.
Dipper cut and ducked out of the way of each of Wendy's blows, adding to her elevated fury. He thought to himself as he persisted in his defensive maneuvering, "It's too risky using the weapons at close range; I'd probably end up blowing myself up!" The thirteen-year-old tried to jab towards his super-tall challenger, only to have his punches swatted away.
Abruptly, Wendy waved her blaster across Dipper's face as a tiny wave of orange flame puffed out of the tip. She smiled from behind her screen as his attention waned towards the fireworks, "Great! He's detracted! Now's my chance!"
As Dipper noticed something was amiss, Wendy reached and delivered a hard sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet. As his body bounced off the ground, his main squeeze used the toe of her other boot to send him into the air. A second later, she flew after him, and upon reaching his height, sent him diving back to the concrete with a well-placed bicycle kick.
*CRASH!*
Wendy landed safely, a few feet away from the indigo automaton now embedded in the paved road. She looked over his wrecked body, expecting that her spike would be enough to put him out of commission. At that moment, Dipper's blue eyes opened and stared squarely on Wendy, making her gasp in fright. In a blue blur, her admirer flipped over, placed his hands against the cracked ground, and pushed off of it, thrusting his legs outwards in chorus. The force of the unexpected blow took Wendy to the other end of the street, where her armored body painfully dragged across the solid terra.
With an entire city block separating them, Dipper and Wendy made it back to a standing position as they found themselves in a stare-off. Both were drenched in perspiration, trying their best to catch their breath. Each combatant was exhausted by the on-going battle. Their bodies ached, pleading for them to end this stalemate. However, their anger grew, as they knew that this fight brought them no closer to reaching their main goals.
A desperate idea raced through the mind of both adolescents; one last-chance, bottom-ditch effort to end things once and for all. Dipper's fist became filled with a light-blue aura as Wendy's became illuminated by a blood-red light. They pulled a leg back, as they focused all their strength on the task at hand. A split second later, the duo took off, tearing towards one another at high speed. Bellows could be heard rising from their sore throats as they sprinted on.
Upon reaching their destination, Wendy and Dipper heaved their arms backwards and delivered a simultaneous punch to the other's face. The sonic boom created by the collision shattered every window along that particular street. The impact of their glowing fists drove their helmets from their heads; the gear sprung down the sidewalk in conjunction.
Although stunned, the teenagers forced themselves forwards, dragging their arm-guns up and pointing them dead-center in the now-exposed region in an effort to get that final blow. Just as they were about to pull the trigger, they looked back at their rival. As their eyes met, the entire world seemed to freeze in place.
At first, they were unsure of the pleasurable sight. Familiarity and acquaintance had often betrayed them in the last few hours. However, after taking time to study the little detailing in the seconds that felt like hours, they were given proof of their humanity. Sweat, bruises and scratches, as well as the rare instance of blood offered things that the pixelated clones of the digital world were not able to reproduce.
Without saying a single word, the friends rushed in and embraced as tightly as they could. Wendy dropped to one knee in order to get a better grip. In that small period of time that seemed like an eternity, in the middle of a raging battlefield, a sense of serenity and peace could be found in that small spot in Downtown Gravity Falls.
"I – I didn't – I had no clue you were inside there…"
"I had no idea it was really you, either…"
As soon as they had their fill, Wendy and Dipper released their grasp and excitedly tried to talk over each other:
"Where did you go? That purple guy –"
"I dunno. At times, I couldn't tell you if I was still on Earth or not – "
"Where'd this armor come from? Not too shabby…"
"And man, what's the deal with your eyes? Why are they shining like that?"
Despite all of the questions that had to be asked and all of the concerns that still needed to be addressed, the reunion was brought to a sudden stop – not by the warring factor of the outside world, but from the conflicts found within each soul. The warm and fuzzy feelings were quickly replaced with those found with the inner wounds they had given each other earlier. Doubt and uncertainty filed the awkward pause the companions found themselves trapped in.
Remembering the vow he had made along his journey, Dipper spoke up, breaking the surreal silence, "Um…" he scratched the back of his curly brown hair as he nervously stared at the ground, "Listen, Wendy. I have to talk to you about the other night –"
Her continued stillness made him uneasy. He looked up to see that Wendy's attention was no longer on him; rather, her emerald eyes focused on something over him.
"Look, Dipper…" she said in a soft tone, "We're here..."
Dipper turned around to see a flat-roof building in the middle of the block. A dark, yet ominous purple barrier enclosed every square inch of the structure. The hole in the rooftop emitted a matching-colored beam into the sky, creating a dark overcast that blanketed the entire mountain town.
"It's the Arcade!"
As Wendy and Dipper were locked in mortal combat, they had inadvertently stumbled onto Main Street, reaching their shared goal by pure serendipity.
The redhead headed towards the source of all of the mayhem that plagued her home, "So, what are we waitin' for? Let's light this place up!"
"Hold on!" Dipper struck his arm out to prevent her from going onwards. "Watch…" He charged a quick blast from his buster and released it onto the barricade. The sapphire wave was pulled apart in several directions as soon as it made contact with the violet entity.
Wendy took a step back in astonishment, "Whoa!" Out of curiosity, she fired a hyper beam at the obstruction, only to watch the same thing happen to her rainbow-colored shot.
Dipper glanced back at his partner in crime, "See? That thing probably would have torn you to pieces as soon as you made contact with it!"
"But how do we get rid of it?"
"I'm not exactly sure, Wendy," Dipper admitted.
*KRAK!*
The heavens above them started to change. The gloomy-gray overcast caused by the invasion of the gaming universe became a pitch black. Random bolts of lightning provided the only source of available light. The roaring boom of thunder echoed for miles.
*KRAK!*
"But I think we're gonna find out in a minute or two…"
As it was with their initial encounter, the earth beneath their feet shook as a circle of flames formed above their heads. From out of a mass of dark purple pixels, the menacing shape of the Emperor of Darkness was brought back into reality. His clanging armor reflected the rapid flashes of the lightning in the atmosphere. The bleak, bleeding eyes centered on the two figures before them; the smooth mask covering his face offered no expression.
"My, isn't this a surprise!" The dictator taunted the couple, "I must admit, I find your progress ever so impressive. Even when separated and faced with certain death, you two managed to overcome the odds and find your way back to each other's side. You do live up to your feared reputation in the digital universe! However, your legend ends here! Bear witness as we take everything that you care for!"
"Bring it on, ugly!" Wendy dared, her arm cannon aimed straight at the evil ruler, "There's isn't anything that you can toss at us that we can't beat!" She patted Dipper on the back with her free hand, "So, go on, freak! Do your worst! We'll take it, and even have time afterwards to mop the floor with ya!"
Amazed by her response, Dipper leaned towards Wendy and murmured, "W-Wow! Just wow! Where did you come up with that?"
Wendy blushed, "Dude, it's just ad-libbing! You have to talk just as big and bad as the other guy! It's almost like a rule or something…"
"HAHAHAHA!"
The Emperor laughed at the will of the gingered warrior in front of him, "So very amusing. If only any of those other fools back home were as entertaining as you! But I digress…"
He reached back into its flowing magenta cape and retrieved his fang-shaped blade. With a firm thrust, the tyrant sent it deep into the concrete.
"Minions! To me!"
From out of the ether, a small battalion pixelated into the scene. Within seconds, Dipper and Wendy were surrounded once more by a legion of lizardmen, green-wrapped ninjas, and pumpkin-headed imps.
"DESTROY THEM!"
As the group tightened their grip, the buddies were pressed back-to-back like when they were originally abducted. However, the fear and hopelessness of their last encounter had long pass, as both were now blessed by the powers given by their individual power suits.
*WHRRL!*
The Mega Buster on Dipper's hand started to charge as it flashed neon blue. He called over his shoulder, "Are you ready to do this?"
Wendy, readying her own weapon, moved her head back so he could hear, "You betcha…"
The teens rotated in unison, blasting away the underlings that charged towards them. A barrage of vibrant lasers showered the crowd in faultless harmony, hastily reducing the forces to nothing more than piles of ash and pixels that evaporated upon reaching the ground.
With all other enemies vanquished, Wendy and Dipper turned their sights on the Emperor waiting on the side lines. Their busters drawn, the pair walked towards the mastermind.
"The games end here!" Wendy boasted, "Now, are you going to go peacefully, or are we going to have to tear you to pieces?!"
Again, Dipper found himself amazed by his sweetheart's witty banter, "I swear, it's like she must write comic books in secret…"
The sovereign's solid eyes turned a demonic red, "You whelps…dare challenge me?!" He removed his sword from the crushed concrete and gripped it with both clawed hands, "I will make you taste terror unlike anything your feeble minds could possibly comprehend!"
He held the sword up against his helmet as he chanted in an unknown, ancient language. An instant later, the Emperor disappeared from the site in a burst of fire and smoke.
"Where'd he go?! Where'd he go?!" Dipper endlessly scanned the area, looking for any clue to the villain's whereabouts. "He'd had to go somewhere!"
Wendy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You have to chill, Dip! He's trying to psyche us out! Just stay close and keep an eye out for anything suspicious, okay?"
Dipper nodded along, her sage advice offering some much-needed comfort to his wilted nerves. They paced themselves, exploring the creepy scene, while making sure not to trek too far from one another.
*CRASH!*
Both twirled around towards the end of the street, their impulses on full-alert for any signs of trouble. A lone garbage pail rolled from the adjacent alley onto the road before coming to a stop. As they were able to let out a relived breath, the inferno reappeared in between them. Wendy spotted the emergence from out of the corner of her eye.
"DIPPER, LOOK OUT!"
She pushed her charge out of harm's way as the Emperor swung his sword in a vertical slash, spreading a wave of fire downwards. Wendy threw herself back, firing a string of hyper beams straight into the foe's chest.
"GAAH!" With a pained groan, the Emperor faded back into his nitrous cloud. The redhead ran over to help Dipper back to his feet.
"What is this guy?!" Dipper stood up. "It's like he's anywhere and everywhere!"
"It's just parlor tricks, buddy; a ruse not even worthy of your "Grunkle." Wendy flexed her arm gun, patting it proudly with her other hand. "The important thing is that we can hurt him! We have the tools to put this creep away once and for all!"
As Dipper's worries were starting to calm, the ill-omened blur began to surface over his posing cohort's shoulders. His blue eyes widened as he raised his arm cannon, "WENDY! BEHIND YOU!"
Before Wendy had a chance to turn around, the hovering scoundrel draped his heavy magenta cape around her upper half, holding both of her arms down. Knowing that she wasn't able to attack, the Emperor pressed down on the young woman in his grasp, hissing into her ear, "Now, tell me. Am I as harmless as you said?"
"Perhaps not," Wendy replied, her confidence never shaken, even despite her current situation, "But you're just as stupid as I figured you to be!" Dipper watched as her body shifted, slinking downward as she underwent her Morph Ball configuration, slipping in and out of the path of danger.
"WHAT?!" The Emperor glanced down to see that his hostage was already out of his reach. Instead, he found half a dozen flashing orbs placed beneath him.
*WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!*
"ARGH!" The despot staggered, being stunned by three consecutive charge blasts to his body. Dipper marched forward with weapon drawn; his apprehensive attitude replaced with one filled with outrage and contempt.
"No one lays their filthy mitts on my Wendy, jerk!"
Stunned, the Emperor wasn't able to teleport away as Wendy's bombs exploded one by one under his floating form.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
To Dipper and Wendy's shock, their adversary was overcome by an actual layer of fire! He hollered in pain as the flames spread across his backside, devouring the luxurious, living purple cape whole.
"So that's it," Dipper understood. "You can dish it out, but you can't take a little bit of fire, can you?" He looked across the way at Wendy, who seemingly shared the same mindset.
"Do it…" she mouthed, giving off a toothy grin, "Do it, Dipper…"
Dipper slapped his hands together, focusing his energies in order to change weapons. Holding his arms at chest-length, he pushed off and launched a napalm attack onto the Emperor, "ATOMIC FIRE!"
The nightmarish creature's cries ricocheted throughout the empty square. Dipper prolonged his fiery stream until he seen something resembling a grape blob falling to the floor, only to be absorbed into the ground.
As Dipper lowered his hands, he searched the ground as Wendy hurried to his side, "Dude!" she celebrated. "That – was – AWESOME!" She playfully slapped his metal front, "You totally melted that guy! We won!"
However, the boy was hesitant to join on her festivities, "I'm not so sure…"
"Huh?!" Wendy lowered herself to Dipper's level, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, take a look over there!" Her green eyes followed his hand as he pointed down the road.
"The purple stuff's still up at the Arcade…"
"And we're still like this…" Dipper rotated his gloved hand as a demonstration.
*RUMBLE!*
A massive earthquake rocked the earth, knocking both teenagers off their feet. A huge crack broke through the sidewalk, stretching itself out down the entire street. As the twosome rose up, they repositioned their stances in an attempt to withstand the trembling earth.
"Why can't these things ever be easy?" Wendy complained as she prepared her blaster for whatever was heading their way.
With a sense of guilt, Dipper responded, "Because these things are never easy, Wendy…" He sighed and carried on under his breath, "…especially when it comes to you and me…"
Suddenly, as if by magic, pieces of the sidewalk and street began to break off into giant chunks. The portions, now caved into round, circular shapes, merely drifted above the floor as they organized into a neatly stacked wall. There, they remained motionless; almost like they were waiting for instructions from a higher power.
"What are they doing?" Wendy questioned, as the calmness of the extraordinary sight made her on edge.
"I'm not sure," Dipper pondered, taking a precautious step towards them.
Awakened by the singular footstep, the balls of cement, grass, and soil shot out towards Wendy and Dipper at an alarming speed. Trying their best to avoid the speedy pellets, the partners fired at the orbs, only to find that their beams had no effect. Within seconds, the teens were overwhelmed by the spheres, spread out among various heights and widths.
"OOF!"
"OWW!"
Despite their best efforts, Dipper and Wendy were violently knocked off their legs, their now-helmetless heads banged against the rough ground. As they recovered from the throbbing blow, they looked up from the floor's eye-view to see what was happening.
As soon as the pieces reached the other end of the street, they started to merge into one large sum. The natural coloring of the heap was replaced by a familiar mauve shade. From within the center of the budge, an enormous eyeball – the same clear, expressionless type as that of the Emperor – poked out and inspected its current situation. Crudely made arms and legs flowed from the middle piece as a curved horn prodded out of each side of its rounded neck. With a subtle growl, the beast walked towards the downed co-workers; its hallow treading reminiscent to that belonging to a golem.
Wendy and Dipper scrambled upwards, gawking in horror at the sight before them.
"It's…It's some kind of rock monster!" Wendy exclaimed.
"Actually, with the horns and everything…" Dipper noted, "I think it's supposed to be a Purple Devil of sorts…"
"Whatever it's called, it's heading this way!"
The monster went on with its warpath, forcing the pair backwards. Dipper turned his head towards Wendy for advice, "You got any ideas?"
"Same as always…" She lifted her arm cannon upwards and supported it with her free hand, "Blast the darn thing!"
Following suit, Dipper raised his buster and proceeded to join alongside Wendy's attack. Although their beams appeared to cause the transformed material to part a slight distance, no permanent damage could be found. Any lost substance was directly returned with a flash of the metal eye. The behemoth let out a mocking, low-key laugh.
"It's not working!"
"We have to keep trying! Or else, that thing is gonna squash us like bugs!"
The golem stopped; its body dissolved away to become one colossal bunch for a second time. Dipper and Wendy stopped on the dime, preparing for what was coming next.
"It's going to transform again!"
"Okay, wait a sec!" Dipper attempted to make sense of their blight, "All this stuff comes from a game, right?"
"Meaning?"
"Meaning this blob has to follow some type of pattern or predictable trait. They're just made that way! All we have to do is take our time and find that correct sequence, and we'll be able to get across without getting hurt…"
"If you say so…"
Instead of breaking out into the wall of spheres, the monster turned into a flowing downpour of rocks. As it hit the ground, it rebounded off the surface to maintain its momentum. Upon facing almost-death, Wendy lowered her brow, replying in a sarcastic tone, "…unless it has a second pattern…"
"I didn't know! I didn't know! These things grew more complex as computers became stronger and –" Dipper stopped his defensive rant as he spotted his solution staring him straight in the face.
"Wendy! Wendy! I got it! I know how we can get through this!"
"What?! Dipper, there's no way to get past that –"
"Trust me…" he pleaded, reaching out for her hand, "Please?"
Biting her lip, Wendy's sights went back and forth between her little guy and the upcoming hail of lavender boulders. With no other option available, the fifteen-year-old shrugged her shoulders and gripped Dipper's hand.
"Alright, kiddo; I trust you. So, what do we do now?"
As soon as Wendy's hand made contact with his, Dipper felt a sudden shock travel through his body. He couldn't tell if it was a side effect caused by his armor, or if his personal feelings were coming into play.
Standing hand-in-hand with his crush, Dipper leaned back, ready to spring upwards at a moment's notice. "We wait until the right moment…"
The clashing stones drew closer, making beads of sweat form on Wendy's forehead.
"Dipper…"
"Wait for it…"
*CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!*
"Dude…" she started to pull at the arm holding her fast to the spot.
"Wait for it…"
A second later, the deluge leapt into the air, inches away from demolishing the two heroes.
"DIPPER!"
"NOW!"
Tightening his grip on Wendy's arm, Dipper lunged the both of them forward, narrowly missing the rocky torrent. Sensing that it missed its target, the accumulation speedily changed back to its bipedal state.
On the other side, the friends came up from their fallen state. Wendy stood upright and checked herself for injuries, still in disbelief that she and Dipper made it through in one piece, "That was insane! I still can't believe it!"
Dipper, looking at the circumstance a bit differently, could only gaze at her with a gleam of appreciation in his eyes, "…thank you…" Realizing his intentions, Wendy returned a simple smirk as they flipped around to confront the approaching brute.
With a snarl, the colossus stretched out his arm in an attempt to seize Wendy. Just before the gargantuan hand reached her, Dipper shoved her out of the way, only to end up being snatched up in her place.
"DIPPER!"
Not able to break free of the giant's grip, Dipper could do nothing but be twisted and turned at its leisure.
"PEW! PEW! PEW!*
He observed that the middle of the organism was being mercilessly bombarded with countless lasers. With his limited range, Dipper glanced down to see Wendy shooting at the fiend in an effort to break him loose.
"PUT HIM DOWN!"
Several spots in the terrain-turned-flesh were stripped away. Dipper watched as the iron eye sent out an electrified signal that made the tissue stretch over the missing parts, making it whole once again. Seeing the recovery up close, he finally figured out how to stop the golem.
"Wendy!" Dipper tried to scream down to her, "I know its weakness! You have to – "
Before he could relay the information, the leviathan sucked Dipper up through the palm of his hand. Wendy stopped her offensive, worried that she might accidentally strike her chum trapped within the golem. She spotted a large bump traveling from its right arm, across its flat torso, just to be launched out of its shoulder blade. Dipper shrieked out loud as he traveled through the air, growing silent as he hit the ground with a sickening *SPLAT!*
"Dipper!" Wendy lowered her sights at her enemy, "You're going to pay for that!"
Growing wary of the plaything at its feet, the monster parted its arm muscles, giving birth to two smaller clones. The mini-devils climbed down the purple limbs, and approached the armored girl with their hands reaching outwards.
"Stay back!" Wendy nailed the right-most replica in the mid-section, leaving only its feet behind. The moment after, the creature re-grew its unusual skin, bringing it back to perfect condition. She went to take another shot at the nuisance, only to be blindsided by the smaller monster on her left. The reformed diminutive copy tackled Wendy to the ground as she went to get up. Her arms were pinned down as the faceless beings leered over her struggling body.
"GET OFF HER!"
All of a sudden, the genetic copy on Wendy's right went soaring into the air. She raised her head to see Dipper at her side, punching the left over doppelganger directly in its eye. It liquefied into a gooey mess on the sidewalk. He reached down and offered a helping hand to his main squeeze.
"But how?" Wendy asked as she was pulled to her feet.
"That's what I was trying to say – it's the eye!" Dipper clarified. "The eye is what keeps regenerating the body. If we get rid of it…"
"I gotcha…" Wendy closed an eye to get a better shot at the goliath. She concentrated her efforts on the area surrounding its eyeball. Once it was cleared, she yelled out for Dipper,"It's all ready for ya, Dip!"
With a mighty bound, Dipper hopped over his taller counterpart and changed his weaponry. The monster went to squeeze the ascending with both hands, but misjudged the direction, allowing him to pass unharmed.
"METAL BLADE!"
A single gear struck the metal eye, sending it shooting out of the golem's backside. Without its power source, the lofty corpse softened before turning into a messy slush spread all over the ruined street. A long, shining object was ejected from the clutter, sending it well into the distance. The lingering eyeball sparked and flickered until it resorted back to a bubbling, purple ooze.
Wendy and Dipper walked over to the remnants of their tormentor.
"Well, look at that!"
"What do you think happened to him?" Dipper queried. "Burnt to toast?"
"Vaporized to a milkshake?" Wendy chirped in.
"Either way, glad it wasn't us…"
"You got it, buddy…"
Just as they thought their nightmare was over, the slimy residue of the Emperor sprung back to life. It slithered down the road like a snake before disappearing around the corner.
"Hmm…" Wendy speculated, "I wonder where it's going in such a hurry?"
"Well, we destroyed its body, so if anything, it'll try to find another source of power."
Her expression turned serious, "Wait, Dipper. Didn't he have some magic sword with him?"
"Yeah, I think so…"
"Well, where is it?"
"When that thing blew up, I could have sworn I saw something fly off into –" Dipper stopped, comprehending the point Wendy was trying to make. The two looked at each other with a sense of dread, before picking up their respective helmets and taking off down the street in search of the slippery muck…
As soon as the Emperor's physical form was obliterated, his Dark Sword was thrown towards the other end of Gravity Falls. In actuality, it was searching for a host for its master to consume so that he might live again. In the short period of time given, the sword searched far and wide for that one would consider to be a kindred spirit – a person with a similar mindset that would make for an ideal new home for its owner.
Its hunt would take it to the Gravity Falls Graveyard.
The sword crash-landed blade first into the soft soil, feet away from its selected target. A lone figure stood alone in the cemetery after having his life force drained away during the attack on the secluded town. Unable to move his body of his own accord, the long-haired, stringy boy stared at the new presence. His pupils widened as the sharp edge began to give off a demonic light.
It was satisfied in its selection. His jealously. His anger. His hatred. All were excellent counters to that found within the cursed duo that had defeated him. The Emperor had greatly underestimated the hope and compassion found within each of them. Their darkest hour managed to make these traits shine even brighter. This chosen individual could negate all of the good they brought forth without much effort.
With a purplish-red burst, the teenager was released from his bondage. Layers of pixels poured from every orifice of his body as he fell to his knees. He coughed loudly as his restored three-dimensional form became use to the flow of oxygen once again. As soon as he came to his senses, he looked around, unaware of neither his current surroundings nor how exactly he got there.
His dark eyes focused again on the Dark Sword, its unique and somewhat wicked nature called out to him. He approached carefully, left confused by who would leave such a treasure in the middle of nowhere. He reached for the handle of the blade, the sword slowly whispering sweet nothings into the back of his fogged mind.
Robbie V. heaved the weapon from the ground. "This is all kinds of awesome," he said as he took several practice swings in the air, "I can't wait to show this baby off around town!"
After a half-hour of constant searching, Dipper and Wendy met back in front of the shielded Arcade.
"Did you have any luck?" he hoped that his crush had better success.
"Nope…" Wendy undid her helmet so they could talk face-to-face. "I looked around with and without my scanners, and I haven't been able to pick up anything on that smile-ball…"
"We can't give up!" Dipper threw his fist into an open palm. "I just know if we get rid of that sword, we can break through the energies – " He trailed off as his eyes focused on a new prospect coming up the street. "NO WAY…"
"What's wrong, Dipper? What is it?!" Following his line of sight, Wendy spun around and wiped her eyes, thinking that she was seeing things as well. "Robbie?!"
Sure enough, Robbie V. traveled down the boulevard with the blade they needed in his grip. They flew down the path, only to make the gothic teenager flinch due to their unusual appearance.
"AHH!" Robbie jumped back, blindly waving the sword around, "Stay back! I know ninjutsu!"
Irritated, Wendy placed a fist on her hip, "Robbie, knock it off! It's us!"
"Us?!" He opened his eyes to see the two armored adolescents standing before him. "What the – ? Wendy?! Kid?! What are you two doing dressed like that?!"
"Robbie, listen to me!" Wendy attempted to reach out to him, "There's no time to explain. You need to give Dipper and me that sword right now!"
"Nuh-uh!" Robbie tightened his hold on the weapon, "I'm the one who found this beauty. So, why should I have to give it up?"
"You need to listen to her, Robbie…" Dipper warned. "Before it's too late!"
Robbie lashed out at his rival, "You're the last person to be giving me demands, especially after everything you've pulled this week! And what's with the lame robot outfit? Is it Halloween-time on Reject Planet? His sights went back to Wendy, "But you babe, I don't know what the dork said to get you in that thing, but I'm not gonna lie; you really make that look work!" Robbie seductively clicked his tongue at his ex-girlfriend, making her cringe aloud and roll her eyes in disdain.
Left dumbfounded by the goth's response, Dipper looked back at Wendy, "I'm going to blast him. It'll be a lot easier if you let me blast him…"
Wendy pressed his buster down, "No, you can't blast him." She tried to reason with Robbie again, "Robbie, don't you notice something wrong in this town? I need you to believe me, and give me that sword!"
"Oh?" He crossed his arms, "And where was this "trusting" nature when we broke up last week? When I needed you to believe me? Tell me, is there any difference between now and then?"
While Wendy thought of an answer, Dipper jumped in, "Yeah, there's a big difference: she's telling you the truth, and you actually did what you were accused of doing…"
Robbie jumped to his own defense, "You snot-nosed – "
Wendy chastised the younger teen, "Dipper, you're not helping!" She took a few steps closer to the cynical goth. "Robbie, please. What's happening right now – " Wendy used her arms to circle around the present company, "It's a lot bigger and more important than what's going on between you, me, and Dipper." She held out an open palm, "Give me the sword and help me make things right again."
He looked deep into her pleading emerald eyes – the same eyes that he adored since they met in the fifth grade. Robbie held the sword by the edges and offered it to Wendy, only to pull away at the last second. The infernal voice – the same from the graveyard – warned against her treachery. It spoke of how the beautiful, auburn-haired girl was nothing more than a cheat and a liar; that she and her "new boy" would say anything to take all that was good away from him.
"I…can't…" he quivered. "I won't!"
From out of nowhere, the violet blob slid out of the shadows and hurried towards its latest conquest. Before Dipper or Wendy realized what was happening, the ooze climbed over his body, covering his completely. The elder teen yowled in agony as his body began to change. A thick, purple miasma exhumed out of his pores, blinding the on-lookers to the metamorphosis occurring within.
"Robbie!"
Sending the impending danger, Dipper took a hold of Wendy and dragged her back, ensuring that she was out of harm's way. Together, they watched as bright lights twinkled from within the deep fog. Robbie's cries could no longer be heard. Instead, it was replaced by the intimidating sound of insane laughter:
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The mist cleared, revealing a vastly different Robbie V. Gone was his short, yet messy hair. It had been replaced with long, incredibly straighten silver hair that reached his backside. His bangs were parted to the right side of his face. His black eyes were now a bright, almost-neon green, reminding Dipper less of Wendy's emerald ones, and more so of a cat's.
His trademark "Broken Heart" hoodie was transformed into an oversized black trench coat that stretched down to his kneecaps. Grey pads were stitched into each shoulder blade. Beneath that, he sported matching onyx suspenders along with the same colored trousers and boots. His body was no longer pathetically skinny as he was given a muscular build.
The Dark Sword that had triggered the alteration also took on a makeover of its own. Instead of resembling a demonic fang, it was thinned out to become a white katana that was as lengthy as its welder. Robbie gripped it with two black-gloved hands as a devilish smile spread across his now-pock-free face.
"I…AM…REBORN!"
Dipper and Wendy could only look on as the amethyst aura returned, coating the new Robbie from head to toe. He raised his blade over his head as he prepared himself for battle.
"CHALLENGE ME IF YOU DARE!"