And the crazy world-building begins! Hope you find it interesting!

When Sunday came around, Dipper and Mabel took Bud with them and left to meet up with Soos and Wendy at the Mystery Shack. When they got there, they found Wendy outside on the porch.

"Hey, guys. Cool dog."

"This is Amy's dog," Mabel told her. "His name is Bud."

"Hey there Bud." She extended her hand for the dog to smell her. He sniffed then used his nose to toss her hand up to his head so she would pet him. "Good boy. You guys come inside." She led the way in and held the door open for them.

"Dudes!" Soos threw his arms up. "Aw, come 'ere!"

They laughed and begged to be released as he scooped both twins up in a big hug, practically lifting them off the floor.

"Soos, dude, relax." Wendy smiled. "They just got here."

"We have so much to tell you guys," Dipper said excitedly.

The four friends spent the majority of the day catching up fully about their lives then about how their summers were going so far. Other than Wendy's story about having to wrestle a bear that was trying to break into her new car, the twins seemed to have the most fascinating summer so far.

"And check this out." Dipper pulled a large book out from his vest and placed it on a table for them to look. "It's called the Enchiridion."

"Fancy," Soos said.

Wendy opened it and turned a few pages. "It's blank."

"Yup!" Dipper smirked. "But get this – It knows stuff! If you ask it a question, it'll answer or even show you! Er, well, depending on the question. And it can only show past and present things. Not the future."

"And it can't write in English," Mabel added. "Or any known human language."

"What language does it write in?"

She shrugged.

"Where did you guys get this?" Wendy asked.

Dipper answered. "Uh, well, I found it in one of the rooms in Amy's house. But she said we could hold on to it and use it."

"Cool, so can I try?"

"Sure!"

"Hm, okay…" She thought for a moment then pointed at the book. "Ooh! Show these guys how I messed up that bear!"

The book flipped a few pages backwards then displayed a 3D scene of Wendy holding a grizzly bear in a headlock as she punched it in the head. "That'll teach you to try and jack MY car!" past Wendy was yelling as her brothers cheered a few feet away.

"That's my girl," their dad shouted. "Go for the eyes!"

"Wow," Soos said. "You really gave that bear the work."

"Yeah." She shrugged as the scene faded away. "I think he was that bear Stan trained to drive cars. Anyways, this book is pretty neat. Why did Amy have it?"

"She said it was her dad's," Dipper replied.

"Hm… Okay, but how can it do this stuff? Where did it come from?"

Before he could respond or even shrug, the book suddenly flipped through half of its pages with a sound like a deck of cards being shuffled. They stared at it as it stopped and colored drawings began to appear on the pages with labels and words they could not read. It depicted some kind of strange arch made of leafless branches and creating some kind of tunnel, sitting somewhere in a dark, canopied forest.

"What is that?" Dipper asked.

Mabel pointed excitedly at it. "Hey! Those trees look like the ones in that part of the woods Amy showed us! Do you think it's there? Is it there, book?"

A slanted line crossed the page; the book's way of saying yes.

She gasped. "We should totally go check it out! Come on guys!"

Wendy shrugged. "I'm game."

"I don't know," Soos said. "It's getting late and the woods kiiiind of freak me out at night."

"Don't worry," Mabel told him. "We have – a sniffer dog!" She gestured dramatically to Bud. The dog looked up at her and tilted his head. "He's got a great nose. Boop!" She poked him. "So, if we get lost, we can just follow him back home! Come on, it'll be like old times. The four of us, going on adventures…"

"Mmmm, okay."

"Hooray!" She jumped up then hurried for the door. "Let's go! Hurry!"

"Your sister's as energetic as always," Wendy said.

Dipper sighed. "I know…"

…

"Mabel, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all." Dipper slowly followed her through the canopied area of the forest. As the sun was setting, the covered area was getting darker and darker. Soon, they wouldn't be able to see.

"Maybe we should have brought a flashlight," Soos said nervously. "Hey, do you see that?"

Up ahead was a strange bluish-white ball of light floating beside a tree. The ball looked to be about the size of a baseball and flickered faintly as Mabel walked towards it. Bud whimpered and lowered his head.

"Mabel," Dipper called. "Stay away from that!"

She stopped a few feet from the ball and it quickly faded away. Just as quickly, another one appeared further ahead. "Hey! Dipper, you scared it."

"Mabel! We don't even know what that is!"

"Foxfire…" a soft slow voice whispered from somewhere. "Also known as Will-o-Wisps."

Mabel ran back to the others. They couldn't tell where the voice had come from exactly. "W-who's there?" Dipper called, trying to sound braver than he felt.

"I am…" Her voice was calm and alluring, but whoever she was, she was nowhere in sight. "Just us…and the wisps. They lead people to their fates."

"Death?!" Mabel grabbed Dipper's arm.

"…sometimes. Follow them."

"Why would we follow them?" Dipper said. "You just said that they might lead us to death!"

"Only sometimes, but not tonight. Your fate lies elsewhere. Maybe they want to help… Do not worry… I will be here."

"But who are you? How can we trust you?"

"My name is Flora… You came here for a reason, yes? The wisps will show you the way."

"Flora? Are you some kind of ghost or something?"

She laughed softly. "No, I am as alive as you are… but I have seen many more days than you ever will. …Are you going to follow them?"

The friends exchanged glances then carefully followed after the lights. As they neared one it would fade away and more would appear ahead. The voice had stopped talking but a peculiar presence was still felt as they made their way through thicker and thicker undergrowth with only the fiery lights to guide them. Finally, they came to a stop where several wisps rested along an archway, their faint lights revealing the tunnel they had seen in the book.

"This is it," Dipper stopped right in front of the tunnel entrance and looked up at the intertwined branches. "Flora?"

"Yes, child?"

"Where does this tunnel go?"

"…It is a gateway. A portal, if you will… It leads to the birthplace of magic… but it is not open now."

"How do we open it?" Mabel asked, trying to feel around the archway for hidden switches or buttons.

"I am capable… but why do you wish to open it?"

"Because it sounds awesome," Mabel replied. "I wanna see where magic came from!"

Dipper stepped back to look at the tunnel as a whole. "So, this is like an interdimensional rift? It must lead to another world, right?"

"Of course," Flora said. "It is a natural gateway… placed by Great Mother Gaia to connect this world to hers… It is part of why this forest and town are filled with strange things."

"Part?"

"There are several gateways located around this land… But only a few are physically there. Most of them are natural… placed by the four siblings long ago… long before humans walked this land."

"Who is 'Great Mother Gaia?'" Wendy asked, but there was no response. "Flora? Are you there?"

"What are you doing out here in the dark?!" They yelled in surprise and turned around to find Ford and Stan marching up to them. Not far behind him was Bud; the dog looked a little guilty and they realized that the dog had likely gone back to the house to get them. Amy was also there, with Bill just behind her. "You could have gotten lost or hurt out here," Ford continued as he looked them over. "Why did you come to this part of the forest so late?"

They stammered to find the right words, and before they could get out a proper sentence Amy walked between them and stared up at the archway. "Look," she pointed at the balls of light swaying along its edges. "Will-o-wisps. You guys followed wisps?"

"Uh…yeah," Dipper expected her to be stern or disappointed like Ford.

Instead, she laughed. "Don't you know what wisps are? They could have led you to a cliff."

"That's not funny!" Ford scolded her.

"It's fine," Amy rolled her eyes. She looked around and noticed Bill staring at something amongst the tree trunks. She tried to focus on whatever he was looking at and began to see the figure of something large, about ten or so feet in height. The creature was silent and completely still, but it seemed to have noticed and not cared that it had been located as it locked eyes with her.

"Greetings, Amaranth…" Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy recognized the soft voice.

Amy tilted her head, trying to recall something. "Are you… Flora?"

"Yes… I am. You are… Rose's child. You were small… when we met. How did you remember me?"

"I don't really know." Amy thought for a moment. "Your voice was familiar, but I don't know how I knew your name. Maybe it was something I read…"

"I can't see anything." Stan narrowed his eyes. "Who is that?"

A large scaly hand with long, thin black claws slowly reached out from the trees and pressed into the soft ground. Slowly leaning forward from the trees, came a dark purple reptilian creature with a green underbelly and wide emerald eyes. Its muzzle was narrow and pointed with two thin black horns protruding from the back of its head. Down its spine was a row of flat, black spikes that ended at the tip of a long skinny tail.

The humans stumbled backwards a bit, mouths gaping at the large creature. Dipper stammered. "I-Is that a… dragon?!"

"This… this is incredible," Ford remarked. "I've only ever found skeletal remains, but I assumed they were likely dinosaur related, not actual… Are there more of you?"

"Of course…" Flora nodded slowly. "…but we no longer reside in this world… not since ancient times."

Forgetting his previous anger, he began questioning the dragoness. "Outstanding! The scale pattern and colors, but no wings… Are dragons classified as animals or some kind of superior race?"

"The latter… I suppose. Dragons can change their form… Some humans you have met may have actually been dragons in disguise… If you have questions… Gaia is the one to ask."

"Is that another dragon?" Dipper asked.

"Great Mother Gaia… mother of dragons… ruler of Telmak." Flora slowly approached the archway and a vortex of green light burst open at its center, stretching to fill the entirety of the tunnel. She turned her head to look at them. "Amaranth… Gaia wishes to speak with you… The rest of you are welcome, too." She looked at Bill. "Even you…" The purple dragon slipped into the light and vanished.

"Yeah, no, I'll wait here," Bill said.

"Really?" Amy was a bit surprised. "Okay. Keep Bud with you."

"Do you think it's safe?" Mabel poked her finger through the light then pulled it back to examine it.

"One way to find out," Amy said and walked through the portal. Seconds later, her hand reached back out and grabbed Mabel's sleeve. Mabel shouted as she was yanked into the light. "Looks like it was safe." Amy smirked as Mabel stood up straight.

They were standing in an open field that was covered with ankle-high grass and dotted with patches of wildflowers. The sky above was clear and filled with twinkling stars, but there was no moon in sight. Even so, the field was lit up as if a full moon was present. Before them sat Flora, waiting patiently, and behind them was a mossy stone arch swirling with light. Moments later, Dipper and Ford stepped out from the stone arch and looked around in awe. The others came soon after.

"Whoa," Wendy said. "Where are we?"

"Telmak…" Flora replied. "In your tongue… Myth." She lifted her head and looked around. "This field…served as a battleground…long ago. Flowers mark the places…where dragons died." Mabel looked down and quickly jumped out of the patch of flowers she was in. "Come," Flora said as she turned around. "You would like to meet Gaia…yes? This way…"

"You don't seem very shocked by this," Dipper said to Amy.

She shrugged. "I've never been here before, but I've met and spoken with dragons many times."

"Have you met this Gaia?"

"Not in person, but I've read about her in my father's notes. She's a very powerful dragon, but she's completely passive and refuses to harm others. Apparently, she is the reason that creatures other than dragons are capable of using magic. Well, that's what I remember at least."

Flora led them across the field and over a large hill, where she stopped at the top. Ahead of them was a huge lake of blue water with fireflies dancing above the surface. A path of flat, mossy stones stretched across to the lake's center where an absolutely colossal tree stood, its roots stretching over and down into the water. Long vines hung from the deep green top and at the base of its trunk the roots curled and folded into the shape of a large throne where a dragon was sitting. "Come," Flora said as she began to walk across the stones.

As they approached, a feathery white dragon with a blue underbelly and horns jumped in front of them. "You brought humans here?! Gaia said that Amaranth could come, so why did you bring those?!"

"Is there a problem, Zephyr?" a strong feminine voice spoke clear and stern.

He turned quickly and lowered his head respectfully. "N-no, no, of course not! Eh, Great Mother… these humans -"

"Are my guests, it seems." The dragon sitting at the throne was much larger than the two before her; well over twice their size. She was a deep purple color with a gray underbelly and a circle of long black horns made her appear as though she was wearing a headdress. Her large wings were yellow and orange, butterfly-like, and appeared to be made of light. Around the base of her long neck was a wreath of purple, lily-like flowers that glowered. She sat in a similar fashion to how dogs and cats sat, her posture was straight and tall, and her head was held up proudly.

The one called Zephyr lowered his head even more. "Y-yes Great Mother…" He backed out of their way and allowed them to approach.

Flora perched herself onto a large root beside the throne. The humans stared up at Gaia, unsure what to do or say. "Greetings," she was the first to break the silence. "I am Gaia. Many refer to me as Great Mother. You may address me either way. You are… Amaranth, Ford, Stan, Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy."

"You already know our names?" Mabel gasped, "Are you the queen of the dragons?!"

Gaia chuckled softly. "They treat me as one. I am merely a guardian and guide. They refer to me as 'Mother' because I act as one. I exist here for other reasons."

"For what reasons?" Ford asked. "And what is this massive tree? I can't believe I had never found that tunnel myself."

"You located it now because I allowed you to," Gaia said. "If dragons do not wish to be seen, you will not see them. Even if you had found the gateway, you could never have opened it without the help of a dragon." She looked down at them. "Dragons have long since abandoned Avas."

"Avas?" Dipper tilted his head.

"Forgive me," Gaia said. "You do not speak our tongue. Avas is the name we gave your world. In your tongue, it would translate to Body. As in, a physical body." She looked over their expressions. "You have many questions, yes? What do you wish to know?"

"Everything!" Dipper exclaimed. "This is amazing! I mean, I'm confused, but wow! Dragons have always been in fairy tales, but actually seeing one, no - three!"

"Hold on," Soos interrupted his rambling. "Did you say dragons abandoned us? Why?"

Gaia thought for a moment. "Hmm, perhaps it is time for a history lesson. I will try to keep it as short as I can, but there is so much lost to your kind so long ago.

Hm… I suppose I should start near the beginning. In the beginning, when little to nothing existed, several entities were born. Of these entities, were four siblings that took the forms of dragons. They were dubbed by the Original One as Valor, beast of light and guardian of Avas, Ouroboros, beast of immortality and everlastingness, guardian of Sava, Gaia, beast of life and magic, guardian of Telmak, and Ragnarok, beast of destruction and chaos, guardian of Necronire, realm of chaos and nightmares.

My brothers and I were placed in charge of protecting a delicate balance between the worlds. There are many worlds, some small, and others large and powerful. There are five main worlds: Avas, Sava, Telmak, Necronire, and Evalo, the untouchable world known simply as the spacetime continuum. The main worlds are connected directly, tethered by magical binds." She looked up at the tree above her. "Massive trees, incarnations of the magic, mark the tether points and symbolize that world's lifespan. If the tree is destroyed, that world will perish and fall apart, the tether will break, and the balance of all things will be lost forever. Without the main worlds, all things would cease to exist. If only one of the five is destroyed, the others will be thrown off balance and begin to die."

"So, you guys protect them and keep everything balanced," Dipper said. "You make sure no one messes with it and destroys reality."

"Reality is not the only thing that would perish," Gaia looked back at them. "All things, physical or not, would cease to exist, as if they never happened in the first place. The balance is delicate, but destroying one of the main worlds is no simple task. These trees are pure magic, they do not burn, they cannot be dug up, and they cannot be poisoned. Weather does not touch them, and only powerful dark magic can harm them. Even so, it would not be instantaneous. It would take thousands, maybe millions of years or more to completely kill off one of the main worlds."

"Pardon me," Ford interrupted, "but you mentioned a realm of nightmares. Isn't that where Bill is from? I've seen it before. What significance could a place like that have in relation to the others?"

"Cipher?" Gaia looked at Ford. "He is not from Necronire originally, but you already knew that part… Necronire is Ragnarok's dwelling. You see, long ago, before humans could walk, Valor watched over Avas. Avas, your world, has always been a strange world, a place where things were always changing. A combination of Telmak and Necronire with almost no magic of its own. Necronire, however, well, you've seen a piece of it for yourself.

Ragnarok became jealous, specifically of Valor and myself. He believed that he deserved better than what he had, so he decided to take it. Ragnarok came here to my world, with the intention of killing me, so that he could bind his magic to both worlds and control them both. Valor came to my aid and battled against him, but Ragnarok managed to slay Valor. However, after the fight, Ragnarok was severely weakened and Ouroboros and myself used our power to seal him away in his own world. With Valor gone, Avas began to lose balance and crumble, so the two of us have divided our power to keep both our worlds and Avas whole. But since all of our power is used to keep two worlds each from collapsing, we cannot leave our worlds either. We became just as imprisoned as our brother.

Meanwhile, Ragnarok became infuriated. Trapped in the world he despised; he began using his power to kill Necronire instead of keep it alive. His thought process is that if he cannot have it all, no one can have anything. Necronire is slowly dying, it has been for some time. When Bill appeared one day, Ragnarok developed a plan. He told him what he told his monsters; that Necronire was dying. But he told him that it was because of its own unstableness; therefore, they needed to take over another world lest they perish with it. Even immortals fear death. They cannot fathom the thought.

As for Bill, his goal seemed to simply be to rule all things under chaos. He desired power. Ragnarok on the other hand, is bent on destroying all things, leaving nothing behind, not even himself."

"How can Bill rule everything if it's all gone?" Stan was confused.

"Ragnarok is very persuasive, but he rules with force and fear. The beings of Necronire are absolutely terrified of him. In fact, I do not know of anyone who does not fear him now. Dragons, too, are immortal, and are fully capable of killing other immortals. Not to mention, without Valor, Ragnarok is currently the most powerful beast in existence under the Original One."

"Are you saying Bill's afraid of him?" Dipper asked.

"I would imagine so," Gaia replied. "There is not a single being that does not fear Ragnarok in some way. I do know that Ragnarok put Bill in charge of Necronire while Ragnarok himself secretly absorbs the magic from the tether tree. This was a very long time ago, and Bill has failed several times at conquering Avas, always thwarted by the zodiac ancient humans created with the help of a dragon called Ghost."

Amy seemed to react to the name.

"But," Gaia continued. "Ragnarok no longer has need of Bill's assistance. In fact, he is rather irritated by his failures."

"So, why didn't you guys kill off Ragnarok when you had the chance?" Stan asked. "Wouldn't it have saved a lot of trouble, considering he's not doing his job?"

"Necronire would have fallen apart much faster without his presence. We have been searching for someone powerful enough to bind to Necronire's tether as well as someone to bind Avas. Unfortunately, we have yet to find anyone that can be trusted for it. There is Ghost… He has been absorbing power through nature for a long time. He may be able to bind and balance one of the two. Even so, Ragnarok would have to be defeated first."

"All that just because your brother got greedy?" Dipper said. "He was going to kill his own family over something like that?"

Gaia closed her violet eyes. "We may be siblings through blood, but we did not grow together like a family would. We were born as we are, with knowledge and understanding from the start. Our purpose was known to us before we even developed physical forms, but Ragnarok began to question this. When one is unhappy, they may begin to question their purpose and the reason of existence. That, combined with his jealousy over the respect Valor and I were given and everyone's lack of understanding him, lead him to believe that he was wronged by the universe. You see, for most beings, their destiny is theirs to choose. They have many paths to take and each lead to a different outcome. For some, however, their destiny is set in stone from the start. Ragnarok wanted to change his fate, but found that the only way he could change anything was to destroy it all. He has forged his own path, a path that was not meant to be. Now, there are only two outcomes. He will either succeed and the universe will be destroyed, or he will fail and the balance will be restored, allowing life to continue moving forward.

Do not mistake me. I cared, and still care, deeply for my younger sibling. I wish so badly that I could understand how he felt. Alas, it is not in my, nor our brothers' natures. We are unsure of why Ragnarok is so different from us in this way. Perhaps even the Original One makes mistakes… Or, perhaps it is our own faults. Perhaps we are the ones who are strange."

She stopped and looked over them carefully, locking eyes with Amy. "I… have a favor to ask of you."

"Me?" she looked slightly taken aback.

Gaia blinked slowly. "You seem to be the only one that can get Ghost to appear, or even respond. He is a peculiar one… He will not respond to those I send after him. Half of the time, they cannot even locate him. But you, you have a bond with him, do you not?"

"You could say that," Amy looked a little worried. "But I haven't seen him in a while, and he's stubborn. What do you want from him?"

"I am sure he already knows." Gaia narrowed her eyes. "But I need him to respond."

"You think he'll listen to me?" She tilted her head. "I mean, I can try. I'll have to figure out where he is first… I might have an idea."

"Many thanks to you." Gaia nodded.

"So, you personally know that Ghost dragon?" Mabel asked. "Why wouldn't he respond anyway?"

"Yeah," Dipper chimed in. "How do you know him anyway?"

"Ghost looked after Amaranth…" Flora spoke up suddenly. "…After her parents died… she was still small. He raised her…and taught her many things… and kept her safe. After all… he could not leave behind a dragonling all alone."

"Dragonling?" Mabel looked confused. "What's that?"

"The term we use to refer to our offspring," Zephyr growled at Mabel as if she should know this.

"Oh, this is happening," Amy sighed.

"Wait," Dipper thought for a long moment. "Wait… What? Are you…?"

"A dragon…" Flora finished for him. "…but only half…by blood."

"Whaaaaaa-" the humans stared at Amy.

"Yep, here we go." Amy said. "More questions…"

Gaia chuckled, amused. "You did not know? I see… Amaranth's mother, Rose, was one of my most loyal followers. She took the form of a human to travel Avas, where she eventually met Amaranth's father."

"Yeah," Zephyr growled, "but somehow, word got out that Rose was a dragon. Some foolish humans hunted her down and slayed her, like she was some kind of animal or trophy!"

"Dragons are immortal in that they stop aging once they reach adulthood," Gaia explained. "However, they are flesh and blood as well as magic, and are much weaker outside of their dragon forms. They can succumb to wounds inflicted by powerful weapons and magic, even if those weapons are wielded by humans."

Flora nodded sadly. "Amaranth's father died protecting Rose… Rose was bleeding… dying, but she managed to make it back so that she could bring Amy to Ghost… She did not ask him to raise her… only to keep her safe… It seems… he kept his word."

Amy was quiet. She couldn't really remember her parents very well; she was too young when it all happened. Ghost had told her the story years ago. She couldn't say she missed her parents, because she didn't really know them, but growing up without them was still hard. She hadn't heard from Ghost in several months, but his aura was ever present. That mountain. He had to be on that mountain.

"Are you okay?" Mabel's sad voice broke her thoughts.

She suddenly realized that she had been staring at the ground and looked up to meet the girl's eyes. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I was thinking about something else… sorry."

"This… is insane," Ford mused aloud. "Incredible…"

Gaia interrupted his awestruck ramblings. "It is very late. You are welcome back here anytime."

"Really?" Ford was surprised.

The great dragoness nodded. "During the day, that is. For now, I will have Flora stay in Avas, so if you wish to visit, she can escort you. I only ask one thing. Do not speak of these things to other humans. Dragons left Avas because humans were violent. They feared dragons' powers so they drove them away. We do not wish for another war."

"Another one?"

"I will explain another day," she said. "Or, you could ask the Enchiridion. After all, I created it."

To be continued…

So much background in this one chapter lol. Poor Ragnarok was born different from his siblings in several ways and they could never understand him no matter how hard they tried. Many creatures also naturally feared and avoided him, so he didn't get the same kind of respect or love that his siblings got.

Also, Avas (the dragon word for body/physical body) and Sava (the dragon word for soul) are the same words but backwards.