"They say it's what you make.
I say it's up to fate.
It's woven in my soul.
I need to let you go.
Your eyes, they shine so bright.
I wanna save that light.
I can't escape this now,
unless you show me how!"
"Demons," by Imagine Dragons
Epilogue – A New Beginning
At long last, Dipper Pines had accomplished the near impossible. He had succeeded at stopping the wicked designs of the gaming universe for a second time, saving the population of Gravity Falls (and perhaps, the entire planet) from an eternity of digital captivity. Peace and solitude had returned to the quiet mountain town as soon as he (and his redheaded crush) had ejected the wicked Emperor of Darkness from reality, restoring the status quo.
But to him, in his own personal world, his greatest achievement was none other than being on speaking terms in his secret teenaged love, Wendy Corduroy. It was only through their working together that they were able to keep the wicked forces at bay and prevent them from overtaking their beloved home.
However, as he was expelled from Earth, the evil force offered one final parting gift – a brief reminder that despite having caused the chaos between them, they alone were guilty of tossing trust and faith to the side, using personal faults and insecurities to take cheap shots and wound one another in a dual betrayal. The monster may have set Wendy and Dipper up, but it was their own actions that led to the broken bond between them.
Upon making this realization, their blissful reunion was brought to a screeching halt. An uneasy silence filled the scene as they found themselves dumbfounded on where to go from there. So, when Wendy was the first to break the silence; when she asked for a favor, the shorten thirteen-year-old jumped to the task, ready to move heaven and earth in order to try to put all of the ugliness behind them.
"Time" was what the lumberjack requested of him. "Time" to clear her head and think about their incredible experience. "Time" to reflect on all of the craziness that she had been unwillingly tossed into it and how she had to find her own way to get past it. As much as made him uneasy to hear this kind of talk, Dipper nodded in agreement, as he only wanted what was best for his sweetheart. If he cared for Wendy as much as he claimed, he would have to try to consider her wants and feelings even before his own – this was the lesson that he was taught while on his journey, and the boy had no intention on forgetting it so easily.
After an exchange of half-smiles and small waves good-bye, the two parted ways. Wendy headed back towards her family's cabin as Dipper walked through town to get to the Mystery Shack. Despite the questionable emptiness in his being, he couldn't help but be amazed by how everything in Downtown Gravity Falls went back to its rightful order. It was only a few hours before where that exact spot that been ground zero for a literal battlefield, and yet, it appeared that the townsfolk were none the wiser.
Even as Dipper continued on his way, the friendly locals that offered random "Hello's" seemed not to have a clue that they were two-dimensional repeating cutouts minutes before. Usually, Dipper's interests would be perked by such an interesting fact, and he would want to explore every little detail relating to it.
But after everything that had happened today; after being tested to his full physical and mental limits, and having it all end with a huge question mark in his being, the drained sleuth wanted nothing more than to go home and sulk in bed.
Finally reaching his Great-Uncle's home, Dipper decided to use the Gift Shop entrance to assure that his family had been restored to their human states. The bell hanging over the door frame rang as he opened the door.
"Dipper!"
He looked to his left to see that his twin sister Mabel sitting at the cash register in wait of any unfortunate sightseer that would happen to stumble upon the tourist trap. Her pet pig Waddles lied asleep in a ball alongside of the edge of the counter.
"What happened?!"
He was taken aback by her answer. Did Mabel remember what had happened to her earlier? A sense of guilt overcame him as he had to imagine her fate – an energetic bolt of energy confined within a non-moving, nearly lifeless form.
"W-What happened? What do you mean?"
She hopped off her stool and ran to the other side of the counter, "I mean what happened with Wendy? A-Doy! Where you able to find her after she ran off?"
"Mabel doesn't remember any of it! She thinks the last thing that happened was when Wendy and I were fighting…"
Dipper lowered his head as he was reminded of that sense of uncertainty lingering in his soul. He went on towards the living room, "Yeah…I found her…"
As he held the swinging door open with his hand, Mabel questioned him further, "Were you able to make things right with her?"
He stopped in his tracks. "Yes…no…I – I don't know…"
Without saying another word, Dipper walked through the entryway and started up the rickety stairs leading to his attic-converted bedroom.
*SLAM!*
Mabel gave chase after her brother, "Dipper! Dipper, wait!"
He looked over his shoulder, "No offense, Mabel, but I'm tired and I don't wanna talk about Wendy anymore – "
"No, it's not about that!" She reached into the pockets of her sweater and pulled out what appeared to be a crumpled piece of paper, "I might have misread it, but I think a light bulb wrote you a letter!"
"What?!" Dipper took the sheet from his sibling as he went back up the stairs. Mabel shrug at the oddity and promptly returned to her post in the Gift Shop. The detective walked into his room and sat on his bed as he reread the handwritten cursive note incessantly:
"Dipper,
If my calculations are correct, I will have been transported back to my reality by the time you read this letter. While I am saddened by the fact that I will not be able to do so personally, I wanted to wish you congratulations on a job well done!
You should be extremely proud of your efforts to restore the natural balance between the cosmos. There are not many individuals in any universe that possess the same traits of courage and determination that you demonstrated today. I speak for my son when I say that he would thank you for the integrity and honor you had brought to his mantle.
Always remember, Dipper that it is due to the involvement of people like you that keep our worlds spinning. Without them, they would turn into dark and desperate places dominated by such an evil as that you encountered. If you were ever give up fighting that good fight for everlasting peace, I'd fear that the world would lose one of its best sources of hope.
I say such a thing not just towards the commonwealth, but as a reflection of your personal life as well. Especially after I had the privilege of meeting your female companion, I am more than certain of what I told you earlier. As long as you put your faith in love, trust, and patience, there will no problem that you two cannot overcome together.
While it is important to consider that things may not be perfect, never let that prevent you from doing what you can, for to the world, it will mean just as much…
Sincerely yours,
Dr. T. Light,
July 200X"
"Light, huh?"
Dipper slipped off his sneakers and lied in bed as he mulled over the newfound name of the friend that had disappeared along with the rest of the gaming universe. He chuckled at the biting wit of it all; seeing as how the elderly man seemed to always have the answer to the problems found during his darkest hours.
Folding the memo back up, he reached over and slid it between the pages of his protected Journal #3 for safe keeping. Dipper turned over and looked at his nightstand. An empty, broken picture frame stared back at him, making him think of the cherished picture of Wendy and himself that was stolen by the wicked clones.
Depressed, he let out a dejected sigh and threw himself face-first into his pillow as he drifted off to sleep…
A couple of days had passed, and Dipper was true to his word. Rather than creeping around every corner in wait for Wendy's response, he kept himself preoccupied with his exploring and research, letting the fifteen-year-old attend to her cashier duties in peace. Even though it was on different terms, Dipper felt as he did at the beginning of his journey: on edge for an answer he wasn't even sure he was going to receive.
As night would fall, and Wendy would go home for the night, Dipper would creep down to the living room to watch television with his sister and "Grunkle." As the latter two would rib each other and laugh at the spectacles displayed on-screen, they paid little to no heed to the silent bundle of nerves sitting at the edge of Stan's recliner.
Dipper would toss and turn in bed the remainder of the night, only to be up by the crack of dawn. This seemingly endless cycle would repeat over and over until one day…
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
Dipper was jolted awake by a loud noise coming from overhead. Still in a daze, he lowered his head back into his pillow in hopes of gaining a few extra hours of precious sleep.
*THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!*
"Jah!" The lad jumped up as more thunderous sounds stemmed from the roof. He watched as the sun rose in the distance above the tree tops of the Gravity Falls Forest, pass the see-through window. At first, he chalked the clamor to being a flock of birds or something along those lines, but after hearing it a second time, Dipper realized that whatever was up there was a lot heavier than he had thought.
"It's too early for this stuff!"
Dipper dug into the narrow crevice between the wall and his bed and pulled out his trusty aluminum baseball bat. He kept the weapon at close range in case his adopted home was ever attacked by one of the random creatures that occupied the nether regions of the mountain town.
Stepping into his sneakers, Dipper softly opened the window, taking care not to wake his slumbering twin (with pig cradled in her arms) and stepped on the ledge. He recalled his sword fight with the living wax model of Sherlock Holmes as he made his way up to the rooftop. Gripping his bat tightly, Dipper tip-toed on the flatten surface as he raised his arms over his head, ready to pounce on whatever had attempted to invade his house. He immediately lowered his stance upon learning the identity of the intruder.
Wendy sat at the other side of the rooftop with her back to him. Her arms placed behind her for balance, she freely dangled her booted feet over the edge as she gazed out into the distance. Seeing this, Dipper backed away, not wishing to neither disturb his main squeeze nor violate her request for personal space. He went back to climb down the ridge to go back downstairs.
"Hey there…"
Dipper froze and gulped. He raised his head to see Wendy twisting behind her and looking straight at him. Stuttering wildly, Dipper tried his best to explain himself, "H-H-Hey! I mean, it isn't what it looks like! I – I didn't know you were up here! I'll leave you be. I'm – I'm just going to go back down and –"
"Come sit with me…" Wendy patted the spot next to her with her left hand.
After a moment of hesitation, Dipper walked along the narrow path and joined her at the rim of the rooftop. They parked themselves in front of the dawn, left unsure on where exactly to begin.
Wendy raised an eyebrow, "Dude, what's with the bat?"
Dipper gazed down at the weapon in his arms, "Oh, this?" He shamefacedly dropped it onto the side, "I thought maybe one of those monsters escaped and made it back here…"
"Can't blame ya for that, especially after everything that has happened over the last few days…"
"Tell me about it…"
"Sorry about waking you though. It's just that you guys get to have a better view of the sunrise. My house is blocked off by all the trees so you can barely see a thing. I dunno, it...it just helps chill me out when I'm stressed. I know that sounds lame..."
"It doesn't," Dipper concurred, realizing how little he had seen the sun throughout their whole ordeal, "It really is beautiful, isn't it?"
He kicked his legs, only to have one of his feet brush up against Wendy's. They both blushed as she pulled away and crossed her ankles.
"So, how are you - ?" Each teenager asked the question at the same time, making them stop for a split second. Dipper went first, "I've been really tired lately…" He thought to himself, "…and kinda lonely…"
"I know, right?" Wendy chirped, "I mean, my body feels fine, but my head's always racing, like I have a mad case of jet lag!"
Dipper chuckled at her excited expression, "It's funny when you think about it." He swiped his hand towards the direction of town, "All those people will never know how close they came to oblivion. Or what really happened out there..."
"That's okay. It'll be like a secret that only you and I can share."
The young adult smirked at her reply before spinning towards Wendy, "You haven't seen anyone who remembers what really happened, did you?"
"Nah…" she shook her head, "Even Robbie seemed to forget the whole thing…"
"Good…" Dipper's eyes widened, "WAIT?! ROBBIE?! You mean he went after you again?!"
Wendy placed a gentle hand against his back, "Relax, slugger. It's not what you think. Yesterday, he spent the entire day outside of my house, singing about how sorry he was for everything that happened at Lookout Point."
"Oh, man…"
"No worries! The best part was when my dad got fed up with all of the racket and went outside. I swear, Dipper, he took Robbie and punted him like a football into the woods! I honestly think that purple guy might have fried his mind!"
Dipper crossed his arms and scoffed, "Yeah, that would seem awfully convenient, wouldn't it?" He had heard the exact same sob story before.
Wendy gave her buddy a soft love tap on the shoulder, "Now, don't you start! Besides, he made his own bed, and now he can lie in it!" The copper-headed girl rolled her green eyes as she changed the subject, "But back to what you were saying, the only place that stayed messed up was the Arcade!"
"Wendy…" A lump formed in Dipper's throat, "You didn't go back there, did you?"
"Nope!" She smiled, holding up her hand in a form of pledge, remembering how uneasy the thought made her little guy, "I heard about it from the boys whose dad owns the place! They think it was an electrical fire that did the place in! They told me that every arcade game was blown out! I kinda feel bad since they just got done replacing a ton of stuff after what happened with us last time…"
"Yeah…" Dipper stopped as he became aware of what Wendy was saying. "This is the first time she openly talked about all that stuff with Rumble!"
Tempting the fates, Dipper twiddled his fingers as he inquired further, "Do you mind if I ask you a question about…that?"
"Shoot…"
"Do you remember anything from then?"
Wendy sat back and closed her eyes, "I remember…flashes…different images and scenes that don't really make sense put together. Like I know I set everything up for your birthday and us teasing each other while we played video games…" Her expression became somewhat sad, "But then, I saw that one-eyed guy leaping out of the machine to grab me…and you being shocked as you tried to pull me out…."
Dipper followed her every word as Wendy went into greater detail, "Then, all I see are a bunch of random things: you fighting a giant dragon/turtle thing as I'm surrounded by ugly turtle guards; me trapped in a mirror while you walked around a haunted house with a hideous mask stuck to your face; Robbie pounding on you while making me watch, tied to the roof of some oriental palace. Just a bunch of crazy stuff like that…"
Her friend felt bad for bringing up the subject. Never once did he consider the adventure from her point of view, which based on her descriptions, sounded like a truly frightening experience. While part of him regretted that Wendy might have forgotten certain special moments that happened between them, he figured after hearing her side of the story, perhaps it was for the best.
"I'm sorry…" Dipper looked away from her, "I shouldn't have asked…"
"Don't be." She placed her tiny hand on his shoulder, "Despite all of the craziness, there was something that I know I'll never forget…"
"And what's that?"
She lowered her head, "That no matter what type of trouble I found myself in, I knew you were there, trying your best to get me out of it!"
Dipper lightly smiled at her statement, before the seriousness of the moment took hold once again.
"Was there…anything else that's been on your mind lately?"
Her light-heartedness changed as she knew what Dipper was referring to.
"Actually, a bunch of stuff…"
"Like…us?"
Wendy exhaled, "Yeah, kiddo. To be honest, that thought never really left my mind.
Dipper's heart pounded like it was about to leap out of his chest, "So…what did you decide?"
Her emerald eyes turned stern, "It's not really a matter of "deciding," Dipper. It's more like trying to find a way to fix everything. But I haven't been able to think of a way…"
"B-But," Dipper protested, "I said I was sorry! Does – Doesn't that count for anything?!"
"I know, dork. I'm sorry, too, and yes, it does count for something, but I can't get what that guy said to us out of my head! He was right, Dipper! If we were as close as we thought, why couldn't we see that something was wrong? Even with those clone-things trying to kill us, we should have known that things weren't right. But we didn't; we didn't because we were too angry and hurt to notice what was happening around us…"
As much as it pained Dipper to remain hushed, he simply couldn't argue with Wendy's reasoning. He offered the only response he could think of: "So, what do we do now?"
Wendy glanced away from Dipper. Her long, red hair swung about and blocked part of her freckled face. "There's only one thing we can do…"
Dipper was struck by her words, and yet understood her intentions. There was only so much a relationship – rather it be friendship, romantic, or somewhere in between – could take before being beyond repair. Rather than letting his emotions take control of the situation, he decided to scrape what little dignity he had left off the floor and take his leave.
"I –I get it…I get it…" Dipper stood up.
"Dipper, wait a second!"
He rotated towards the exit leading back to the attic. Looking down at her, Dipper spoke from his heart, "Despite how it ended up, I just wanted to say thanks for everything you've done…"
"Dipper! Hang on –"
"I really mean it. You probably made this the best summer I ever had…" He walked away, whispering under his breath, "I'm really gonna miss you…"
His worst fear had come true: he was now just like Robbie and all of her other ex-boyfriends - a soon to be forgotten name in her phone's contacts list that would be hastily ignored from now on.
As he went to leave, a hand snagged his wrist. He seen that Wendy had reached out and taken a hold of him, "Jeez, Dipper! At least let a girl finish her sentence, won't ya?!"
Wendy led him towards her and sat him right to her again. The embarrassed teen studied her movements as the ginger struggled to help put her feelings into words. "How can I explain?" She bit her lip and kicked her heel against the roof in frustration.
Suddenly, her green eyes lit up. Excitedly, Wendy reached into her flannel and pulled out what appeared to be a folded slip. With a warming grin, she placed her other arm around Dipper's back as she offered the article up to him, "Maybe this will do more than anything I could probably say…"
Dipper took the sheet and unfurled it. At first glance, he recognized the image. The little hero closed his eyes, in hopes that his crush wouldn't see him tearing up.
"Oh…Oh, Wendy…"
He held in his hands the once-missing – once-destroyed photograph of Wendy and him, slumbering peacefully in each other's arms; the very same that his sister had taken with her trusty instant camera at the end of their first adventure in the digital world.
With part of him in disbelief, Dipper ran his fingertips against the front of the photo. He could feel the immeasurable amount of bumps and tears along the imagery. Growing curious, he turned the snapshot over to see the truth behind its miraculous reappearance; it had been painstakingly reassembled and taped back together piece by piece to absolute perfection.
Wendy gave an explanation as Dipper analyzed the memento closer, "When you first mentioned it in the Shack the other day, I'll admit I got freaked out and jumped to the wrong conclusion. But when I went to the lake, I found dozens and dozens of pieces of colored papers in one of the boats out on the water. I thought about what you said and my curiosity got the best of me, so I scooped up every part and carried it along with me throughout the whole ordeal.
Dipper looked at her, full of adoration as she continued her story, "Y'know, it's funny now that I think about it. It was like building a puzzle. When I started to try to put it back together, I couldn't do it. Sections kept getting mixed up or lost. I was getting nowhere going piece by piece, Dipper! I was still close to giving up and tossing everything in the garbage. But, I thought of you, and decided to give it one last shot.
This time, I tried something different; I used another method. Instead of sorting my way through random pieces, hoping to find a match, I started to make layers. The outer background was first, so I'd have someplace to build from. After setting the foundation, things went a lot more smoothly. It made it a lot easier to fill in the rest of the center. Before I knew it, I put the last piece in, and things suddenly became clearer and made more sense.
Dipper was left astounded by what he just heard, knowing that there was more meaning behind Wendy's words than she let on.
Very carefully, she tilted the photograph in his hands upwards so she could see the fruit of her labor, "I was wrong about this thing, Dipper. It's not creepy in the slightest; it's adorable. I can see why you were so hurt when you thought it was gone forever…"
"Yeah…"
She placed her hand on top of his, "We might not be able to savage everything that was broken or lost, but it doesn't mean we can't start fresh and try again…"
He looked up in confusion, "Try again? I don't understand?"
Wendy removed her hand and re-presented it openly, "Welcome to Gravity Falls! You're Stan's great-nephew, right? I'm Wendy Corduroy; I work the cash register when the old geezer feels too lazy to do so…"
Dipper gave her a blank stare, "Wendy? What are you doing?"
The young woman raised her hand higher as she went on with her charade, "What's the matter, kid? You not big on shaking someone's hand when they offer it to you? Or are you just super-shy?" She raised and lowered her eyebrows, signaling for Dipper to follow her lead.
"Oh!"
A second later, Dipper placed his hand into hers, "I'm Dipper…Dipper Pines."
"Nice to meet ya! So, Dipper, huh?" she asked. "Tell me, short stuff, what's with the nickname? Your parents hate you or something?"
They shared a laugh at the joke, just as they did the night of the Mystery Shack Dance.
"Wendy, right?" Dipper played along. "No offense, but this place seems kinda boring. What do you guys do for fun out in the middle of nowhere?"
Wendy proudly pointed a thumb at her chest, "You're looking at the "fun" master, buddy! Stick with me, and we'll get into so much trouble, you won't know what to do with yourself!"
He beamed at her, "I'd like that…I'd like that a lot…"
Touched, the taller teen threw an arm behind his back, "You know what, Dipper?" She held her smaller cohort tighter, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship…"
Relieved, Dipper placed a stubby arm across Wendy's backside and lowered his still-weary head on her plaid shoulder, "Same here…"
Together, the two sat arm in arm as the sun made its way over the horizon. After what felt like an eternity, the cloudy overcast that had plagued Gravity Falls vanished into the atmosphere, allowing a new hopeful light onto the world that needed it so…
(October 31, 2014 – June 11, 2015)
Hi! Thanks again for reading this story! And extra kudos for seeing it through to the end!
It has been a long time coming, but DBR2 has finally come to its conclusion. I can only hope that you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it.
If I may, there are a few things I might need your help with:
1.As with the last DBR, I'm going to do another form of reference guide for this story (after a long vacation to refresh my batteries). So, please, if there's a part in the story you didn't understand, or a scene where the allusion wasn't made clear, please let me know in a review or PM, and I'll make sure to toss it in.
2.This one might seem petty, but regardless if you liked/hated the story, please leave a review letting me know what you thought. This sounds stupid, but the reason I ask is that to me, it goes beyond if it was a good story or not. The original "DBR" was a GF fanbase favorite, and making a sequel was the number one request I had from my readers. After eight months of hard work, my question to you is "was it worth the wait?" Even though DBR2 is a different story by nature, does it compare to the original at all, or do you favor one over the other? Remember, I take any or all advice into consideration, and it might be your voice that influences my future stories.
3.Speaking of, if you have an extra moment, be sure to click on my profile name, and take the survey there. At the bottom of the profile page, I posted a prompt for a future story, and I want you guys/gals to vote if that's something you'd like to read in the future.
Again, thank you all for supporting this story. If you really liked it, I can only hope that you'll spread the word about this tale (I'm personally not a tumblr/twitter/etc person, and you'd be surprised how many people write me NOW shocked that there's a DBR2). As I always say, "Dipper's Birthday Rumble" and the other stories are nothing without your voice and help. It is due to your love that they are as popular as they are, and for this, I am forever grateful to you all.
Thanks again for everything. Until next time...