Camp castaway
Colossus was perched on the edge of a cliff, hidden from the rest of the group, as she communicated with Steven through the old Neutron communicator. She was desperate to find a way to get Steven to come to Volcano Island.
"Are you sure there's no way?" she pleaded with him.
"I'm sorry, Colossus," Steven replied, "but Peridot says that teleportation is too risky in this chaotic state that's warping our time and space. Even the warp pads are malfunctioning."
Peridot appeared on the screen, confirming Steven's words. "If Steven were to try to teleport with Lion, the results could be catastrophic," she warned. "He could end up fused with Lion, trapped on a planet of molten lava, or disintegrated into particles of space dust."
Colossus realized that Steven's safety was more important than their mission. "I suppose that does sound bad," she conceded. "We wouldn't want to risk losing you."
Steven was confused by Colossus's urgency. "Wait a minute," he said, "why are you so anxious to get me there? You're the leader of the freedom fighters. You can handle the United for a while."
"Yeah, but this isn't anything like leading the freedom fighters! You're the one who-" Colossus tried to tell him, but was interrupted by Mabel's urgent call.
"Colossus! Where are you!" Mabel yelled, cutting her off.
"Crap! I gotta go!" Colossus quickly shut off the communicator and hopped off the ledge, landing in the sand with a small cloud of dust. She brushed the sand off her clothes and made her way back to camp, gripping the communicator tightly.
The group was gathered around the campfire, with their attention on the Wise Old Hermit Crab. "Join us, Colossus. You have another mission to go on," he said.
Mabel patted the empty spot next to her on the log, inviting Colossus to sit. She gratefully accepted and took a seat next to her friend.
"Chosen Ones," boomed the voice of the Wise Old Hermit Crab, "you have been summoned once more; your friend, the Lumber Jack lady, has been spotted at the Crystal Ruins."
Mabel and Dipper exchanged a knowing look as they realized who he meant. "Wendy," they both said in unison.
"You must find her," continued the Old Hermit Crab, "once you unite with her, then you'll be complete and ready to fight the Mawgu!"
"Finding Wendy is all good but we shouldn't jump to fighting the Mawgu already!" piped in Timmy, who was busy working on the machine. "You guys have to find all the parts to the Rip Zipper!"
Timmy then held up the pictures of the the parts to the Rip Zipper to look at the size and shapes; he then put on a welding mask and started welding metal together reshaping it to make it to where the parts can fix into it.
"While he works on that, we'll go find Wendy!" declared Colossus.
"But now we have more people than we started with," Colossus pondered aloud, closing her eyes momentarily. "I need to choose who comes and who stays."
"How are you going to decide?" asked Dipper.
"Through heat signature," replied Colossus, her eyes blazing with a glimpse of orange and green in her pupils, like the heat signature camera police use.
"There are five different outcomes to the future I see through the sight of heat signature. Whichever outcome is the best, I choose to follow that path."
She started chanting in Latin, "Horologium quod adhuc operatur ricinum obsistit, exitum sic det qui deprimat!"
As she opened her eyes, she saw five different outcomes of the near future in the form of heat signatures. Some outcomes led to failure, while others led to death. After seeing the last outcome, Colossus opened her eyes and declared, "Only three should come with me! Star, Jacob, and Mabel, the rest of you keep the camp safe and help with the Rip Zipper!"
"What did you see in your predictions of the future?" Dipper asked, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.
"Four failures and one success. In one of them, Mabel and Star accidentally burned down the camp," Colossus replied solemnly. That explains why they're coming with her.
"That explains a lot," Marco muttered, casting a wary eye at the two giggling girls.
"At least with me, they can burn down bad guy territory and not this place," Colossus said with a wry smile, causing Star and Mabel to laugh even harder.
"Now, where should we go?" Colossus turned to the Wise Old Hermit Crab, her eyes searching for guidance.
"Head west and follow the reflective lights of the crystals," he said in his deep, gravelly voice.
"Good enough!" Colossus declared, her eyes alight with determination. "Mabel, Star, get off your asses! Jacob, follow beside me!"
"Yes, ma'am!" they all chorused, eager to set out on their mission.
Star slid her magic book of spells into the side book pouch that was strapped to her waist and hips. Colossus led the way down the path, with Jacob, Mabel, and Star following closely behind.
"Bye!" Star called out cheerfully. "We'll bring back dinner!" Mabel added before the group disappeared down the path.
"They seem to do whatever she tells them," Dipper remarked.
Marco was surprised. "How does Cole handle those two? She's only a year younger than me and Star."
"Maybe they're scared of her?" Dipper suggested.
"I don't think they're scared," Marco replied. "It's more like they respect her. Something we could use a little more of, don't you think?"
"Either way, I'm just glad someone else is babysitting Star instead of me," Marco said, relieved.
"Now we can finally relax without having to worry about our girls," Dipper agreed, taking a deep breath.
The Crystal Ruins
In the dense forest, thick vines twisted overhead while sharp orange and blue crystals lined the narrow path. Colossus expertly stomped on the giant mutant bugs, their gooey insides splattering on her corset and Jacob, in his BeastMan form, feasted on their entrails.
Meanwhile, Star blasted other bugs into dust with her magic wand, and Mabel wielded a recently acquired leaf blower to blow the remaining bugs away from the group.
Jacob, with sharp teeth still dripping with bug blood, asked, "Where did you get the leaf blower?"
"It fell from the sky like two seconds ago!" Mabel exclaimed, "But it's proven useful against bugs. Although, it usually only works on leaves and garden gnomes."
"Colossus, last time I met you, you didn't seem to have super speed or this thing called heat signature. What happened?" Star asked.
"I've been learning more about my demon powers," Colossus replied. "The longer I stay a demon, the more abilities seem to come naturally to me."
"That's so cool!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's definitely been helpful in our battles," Jacob added.
"Speaking of new powers, Star, that Freeze Spell you came up with at that exiled Fort was pretty impressive," Colossus said as they continued through the forest.
"Oh, thanks, Colossus," Star replied with a smile. "I've been practicing a lot lately, trying to come up with new spells."
"You've definitely grown a lot since we first met," Mabel added.
"I know, right?" Star said. "I used to be so clueless about magic, but now I feel like I'm really getting the hang of it."
"I'm still amazed by how quickly you picked it up," Colossus said. "It takes me a while to master my abilities."
"Well, I have a great teacher," Star said, gesturing to Colossus. "And it helps that I have such supportive friends."
"Aw, thanks, Star," Mabel said, giving her a quick hug. "We're always here to cheer you on."
As they walked, Star continued to talk excitedly about her new spells and Colossus listened with interest. The forest may have been dangerous, but they were together and felt stronger than ever before.
Jacob smiled while looking at his girlfriend and the happiness she was displaying. It's good that she is becoming happy again and smiles a lot because there was a time when she didn't and that worried all her friends. She had been experiencing trauma and expressing sadness since her 13th birthday, but it seemed like time traveling and jumping to other universes has helped her a lot.
But suddenly his smile was cut short when his lover displayed concern.
"Heads up guys, we've got company!" Colossus said pointing ahead that purple monsters covered in green moss headed towards them.
"I got this!" Jacob said baring his sharp teeth and arched his claws and started to charge towards those miniature moss-covered Mawgu monsters.
Jacob rammed his beast claws right through one of their torsos making it bleed purple all over the grass from both its mouth and its recent slice wound.
Jacob sliced right through the side and slit the neck of the other monster next to it, he kept slicing and crushing the moss-covered monsters.
Soon Mabel's open mirror communicator, strapped by a zip lock, emerged out of the black gooey suit strapped to Jacob's white jeans under his suit; his powers were growing weak.
"Where do they keep coming from?!" Jacob growled.
"They emerge from the ground!" Timmy's voice came from Mabel's Mirror. "Look ahead of you!"
Star looked over Jacob's shoulder to see a little spout where monsters were born from the earth. "Tiny volcanoes?!" She asked.
"They're Fumaroles," Timmy corrected her.
"Whatever they're called, let's just bust them!" Star said as she headed over to the Fumarole and used her wand to blast the spout right off the ground.
Sand-filled the hole where the spout used to be, and Jacob killed the last monster finally. His black goo suit slithered and moved to the bottle tied to his waist.
Jacob felt a twinge of anxiety as he looked up to see a drone with a cartoonish version of Timmy's face and a peace sign drawn in silver.
"Keep a lookout!" Jacob said to the drone.
"Don't worry, I will!" Timmy replied through the Mabel's Mirror communicator.
Now that things had calmed down, Mabel yelled out excitedly as she looked over a cliff, "Hey, come look at this!" Everyone turned to see floating trampoline-like springs inside a floating stone cylinder.
"Cave Man Trampolines!" Mabel exclaimed, staring down at the trampolines.
Star smiled and repeated the phrase, "Cave Man Trampolines!"
Without hesitation, both Star and Mabel jumped off the cliff and started bouncing on the floating trampolines. "I think they're used to get across," Colossus suggested.
"For those who don't have wings," Jacob joked, tugging on Colossus's wings.
"Exactly, so use it!" Colossus replied, pushing Jacob off the cliff so he could bounce on the trampoline.
"You're a dangerous woman and that's why I love you!" Jacob shouted up as he jumped up and down.
"Sometimes I just like to feel the bounce," Colossus replied with a grin.
Cole jumped off and landed right in the center of the trampoline, causing Star, Mabel, and Jacob to bounce into the air. They laughed and felt like they were flying.
"And it's a fun one too!" Jacob added, landing on the trampoline and crawling on top of Colossus to give her a hug and some smooches.
"You two make a cute couple!" Mabel said, grinning.
"When you get married, will it be a big royal wedding between a prince and a princess?" Star asked with a smile.
"She was always a princess to me before any of us knew," Jacob replied.
"Awwww!" Mabel and Star said in unison.
"There's no time for sweetness," Colossus said, trying to stand up straight on the trampoline while wobbling a bit. She had jumped so hard that they flew up in the air.
"We have to go find Wendy!" Colossus exclaimed, as they all jumped to the other floating trampolines until they landed on the other side of the riven.
"She better be alright, or else Dipper is gonna cry all his life," Mabel said.
"Why would Dipper care that an older girl who isn't related to him is in trouble?" Jacob asked, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, he's dating my sister!"
"She's just an older human that looks similar to me," Colossus said.
"They never got together. Dipper just had a crush on her," Mabel explained.
"Hey, if she's a human who looks like Colossus, he never had a chance," Jacob remarked. "Trust me, he's better off in our home where nerds and wimps are attractive."
"Speaking of crushes and being torn between two people, I think I feel confident enough to tell you that-" Star began, but suddenly interrupted herself. "Wait, what the hell is that?!" she exclaimed, pointing ahead.
A giant Crystal Scorpion crawled into view, emanating a purple aura and leaving behind a trail of purple ooze from its crystal exoskeleton.
"It's a Crystal Scorpion!" Jacob declared, clenching his fists.
"I'll crush it like the insect it is!" Colossus cracked her knuckles and got ready to fight, but the scorpion lifted its tail, revealing a purple crystal at the tip.
Before they could react, the crystal shot out like a dart towards Colossus. She quickly turned around and shielded her friends with her wings, but the shards struck her back, causing her to cry out in pain. Blood dripped down her skin from the wounds.
"Colossus!" they all cried out, concerned for her well-being. She flexed her muscles, causing the shards to pop out of her flesh, and fell to the ground with blood droplets.
Thankfully, Colossus's moon pendant glowed and her wounds began to heal rapidly. Her skin became smooth again, and any scars disappeared. However, she began to cough and hacked up some green fluid. It splashed onto the ground and started to burn through the dirt.
"Those shards were darts with poison!" Cole warned them, pointing out the obvious danger.
Colossus then turned back to the Crystal Scorpion and snarled as her hands turned black and gooey, growing bigger. "I'll crush you!" she growled. She charged towards the scorpion and smashed it into shards with the palm of her hand, lifting her hand, the scorpion was now a pile of shattered glass.
Accompanied by the shards was a puddle of poisonous acid that had been stored inside the scorpion. "We need to watch out for these things," Colossus said, as her hands returned to normal.
"We also need to avoid falling into that stuff," Jacob said, looking over the edge. They all followed his gaze to see a lake of purple, steaming goo. In the middle of the goo, a mutated mass of the earth was moving around, being pulled by tentacle-like vines.
"What is that walking biohazard?" Jacob asked, staring at the creature with horror.
"Poor thing, it probably didn't choose to become this monster," Cole said, looking at the creature with sympathy.
"Such an eco-geek!" Mabel teased Jacob mockingly.
"It's brilliant!" Star agreed as she hopped onto the mutated earth,
"We can ride it all the way up to the ruins!" Mabel said, following Star and landing next to her.
Jacob crossed his arms in disapproval. "It's a misuse of nature," he said.
"Come on, Jacob. We all love nature, but we have an opportunity to ride a free vehicle," Colossus said, grabbing Jacob and jumping on the biohazard.
"Alright, but I don't have to like it," Jacob replied with a huff.
The moving mutated earth crawled into the purple goo river connected to the lake. "I hope it takes us all the way to the ruins," Mabel said, eager to reach their destination.
They rode the Biohazard through the forest, with Mabel in front, Star holding onto her to prevent her from falling in. Colossus relaxed by lying down with her hands behind her head, while Jacob dangled his feet over the edge and rested his face in his palms, with elbows resting on both his knees.
They all took in the scenery, feeling the natural air brush against their skin. Colossus took out a cigarette, placed it in her mouth, and lit it, exhaling a puff of smoke. As she looked up, she could see the sunbeams seeping through the leaves of the trees above them.
"I never knew an island could be this big. I thought they were small," Mabel said, voicing her surprise.
"I hope this purple goo isn't toxic," Star said, concerned.
"Nah, the fumes here are natural. They can help clear pores!" Jacob said, taking in a deep breath of the purple fog emanating from the goo.
"Mmm, my face does feel clear!" Mabel exclaimed.
"It's hard to believe that something so dangerous like this Goo can emit clean and natural air," Jacob remarked.
Suddenly, Colossus's ears started to twitch and morph into pointed demon ears. Jacob's ears twitched back like a dog's as they heard something that humans couldn't.
Jacob quickly pulled his legs up and moved towards the center of the moving ground.
"Tss!" Colossus made a noise, informing Mabel and Star.
Star quickly pulled Mabel away from the edge and into the center with Jacob and Colossus. "What is it?" Star whispered as they squeezed together.
"Flatten yourselves so they can't see us!" Colossus whispered as they all lied down on their bellies. Before they flattened down, they looked over at the land next to the river.
There were lines of purple Mawgu monsters walking along both sides of the river, completely unaware of the kids riding the biohazard. Mabel quickly lay on her back, while Colossus covered her mouth. Star and Jacob lay on their bellies, grateful that the earth was tall enough to keep them hidden.
They tried to breathe as lightly and quietly as possible to avoid drawing attention to themselves. They could hear the monsters gurgling and snarling calmly, completely oblivious to the kids' presence. If the monsters had noticed them, they would have attacked, hissing and growling viciously.
All they could do was wait until the ride was over, and hope that the monsters wouldn't be able to swim in the purple goo, or they would be killed if they tried to step into the river of hot goop.
As they rode along, the hissing grew louder and more violent. Colossus, wanting to get a glimpse of what was happening, moved her tail to the side of the ledge, using her red eyeball to spy. The tail turned black and gooey, as the claws and green scales disappeared beneath the black goo, allowing her to see what was going on.
Colossus closed both her eyes and focused all her sight into her tail's eyeball as the goo stretched out and moved into the vision of the hissing.
Insight the monsters were fighting with each other it was quite a violent sight the little Mawgus scratched and bit into each other trying to kill.
"Creatures act out like that with each other when they haven't seen their prey in a while," Akumu explained to Colossus in her head.
The monsters in the fight ended when the more dominant Mawgu chomped down on the little Mawgu's neck making him screech and bleed out.
The little one died within minutes, "The Mawgu must've not given them attention so they act upon animal impulse," Akumu said.
The eyeball was sucked inside the black goop tail as it retreated to Colossus turning back into her normal green, scaly and clawed tail with the eyeball on it.
Soon they were finally out of the clear with the monster noises died down only Colossus sat up when she knew they were safe.
Colossus then looked ahead to see they were heading into a cave, "Hey everyone we're about to ride into a cave!" Star, Jacob, and Mabel sat up to look.
The purple goo river flowed into the cave, "Maybe this cave is a shortcut to the Ruins!" Mabel suggested. "It's also the best hiding place, where the monsters can't find us," she added.
As they crawled deeper into the cave, it would have been pitch black, but the bright purple ooze provided ample light to guide their way. "Maybe we're safer in here," Jacob said optimistically.
However, the temperature inside the cave began to rise rapidly. "This goo is making the cave unbearably hot," Star complained, rubbing her forehead.
"Caves have no ventilation, so the hot air gets trapped inside," Jacob explained.
"It's sweltering in here!" Mabel moaned, peeling off her sweater and collapsing on the ground. "We can't take this heat much longer," she added, gasping for air.
Star unzipped her dress down to the waist, revealing her bra. "Jacob's right. We need to take off some clothes before we all get heatstroke," she said, fanning herself with her hand.
As they stumbled through the cave, they suddenly found themselves hurtling down a steep incline, the ground beneath them becoming a fast-moving river of purple goo.
As they continued forward, they suddenly realized that they were heading towards a slanted river hill like one of those long rides. "My wings are dripp-IIIINNNNG!" Cole exclaimed as they went down the slope.
Mabel and Star clung to each other tightly as they hurtled down the slope. Colossus dug her claws deep into the dirt and used her wings to grip onto her friends to avoid falling off. They let out a series of blood-curdling screams as they slid down the purple goo slide with the splatters flying up all around them and rocky walls zooming by.
"Weee!" Mabel yelled gleefully with her arms in the air.
Star still held onto her, yelling "Make it stop! Make it stop!"
Jacob, on the other hand, was not enjoying the ride and pleaded, "Can we please get off this crazy thing?"
Colossus remained determined to hold on tight until the end.
Suddenly, the earth leveled out, and they emerged from the cave, finally coming to a stop at the end of the purple goo river.
"Thank god!" Jacob exclaimed in relief.
However, as they came to a halt, Star's Magic book of spells slipped out of her pouch and popped open.
Colossus removed her claws from the dirt as Star crawled to the edge and vomited, exclaiming, "Never again! That ride was terrible and unsafe!"
Jacob wholeheartedly agreed, whining about how he never wanted to do anything like that again.
"Dudes, look over there!" Mabel exclaimed, pointing towards the temple. As the group recovered from their dizzying ride, they turned their attention to the beautiful structure before them.
The temple was old and majestic, with crystal columns that sparkled in the sunlight. Birds flew gracefully overhead, adding to the serene atmosphere.
"The Ruins! We made it!" Jacob declared with excitement.
"Wow, it's absolutely stunning," Mabel marveled. Star's gaze, however, was fixed on Jacob's fit physique, causing her and Mabel to drool.
"Stop it, girls, I already have a girlfriend," Jacob said, pulling Colossus into a side hug.
"Star, focus on the mission at hand and don't ogle the Prince's chest," Glosaryk chided.
"I regret letting you bring him along," Colossus grumbled.
"I know he can be annoying, but he's knowledgeable when it comes to other magical dimensions," Star defended.
Star picked up her book and tucked it into her pouch, making sure it was secure. "Stay close, everyone," she said, making sure they were all within her line of sight.
As they climbed the stairs of the Ruins, the sun beat down on them, making the group hot and sweaty. Mabel had tied her sweater around her waist, while Star had unzipped her dress to use as a makeshift skirt, revealing her bra. Jacob had still not put his shirt back on.
Colossus sat down on the steps, needing a break. "Just give me a minute," she said, taking off her boots and pouring out sweat.
Her hair transformed into a hand that held her boots, and she stood up, feeling much better. Together, they continued up the Temple stairs, feeling cooler as they went.
As they reached the top, they took in the stunning sight of the Ruins. The Crystal columns shone in white, blue, and orange, and birds nested in crevices. Vines grew on the walls, making the place feel alive.
"It's like something out of a Studio Ghibli movie!" Mabel exclaimed, admiring the beauty of the ruins.
"I love those movies, even though they're so old in our time," Colossus added.
"We watch them on every date night," Jacob said, smiling.
"What's Studio Ghibli?" Star asked, looking at Glosaryk, who floated above her shoulder.
"Oh, sister, we have much to discuss," he replied.
Mabel and Star walked ahead, calling out for Wendy. "Wendy, are you here? Where are you?" they yelled, while Jacob commanded them to stay close.
As they reached the top, Mabel commented, "Boy, this place is ancient!"
"Not as ancient as Glosaryk," Star added,
Glosaryk said "Hey!" in response.
Jacob and Colossus caught up with the girls, and they all looked down to see a moat of purple goo surrounding the ruins.
"We should be careful where we step," Mabel warned, pointing to the edges of the path where a steaming hot
"No wonder it's so hot - this purple goo is everywhere," Jacob remarked, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"This place is a heatstroke waiting to happen," Colossus said, black goop dripping from her body.
"It's hotter than August!" Mabel complained.
Suddenly, howling echoed through the air.
"Wolves?!" Mabel exclaimed.
"Given this island, it might be something more than just wolves," Jacob speculated.
Colossus was about to say something but interrupted by a sharp pain in her back. "What the-" she gasped, pulling out a sharp purple crystal. It was the same crystal from the crystal scorpion they had encountered earlier.
Colossus retched acid and turned around to see a legion of crystal scorpions crawling over a nearby wall.
"RUN!" Colossus shouted, grabbing Star and Mabel and holding them tightly to her sides. Jacob followed, running on all fours as a barrage of crystal darts rained down on them.
"Don't let them hit the others! Don't let them hit the others!" Colossus repeated in her head, weaving and dodging through the attack. Luckily, she spotted a corner up ahead and quickly turned the group in that direction.
Jacob, however, ran past them and almost tumbled over the edge, face planting into a lake of purple goo. Colossus grabbed him by the back of his pants just in time, using her foot to keep him from falling.
Pulling Jacob back onto the stone floor, Colossus declared, "We need to head deeper into the temple to avoid these scorpions!"
Colossus released Star and Mabel, and ran alongside the temple walls to avoid the Crystal Scorpions and stay clear of the edges to avoid falling into the ooze.
After a while, when it had quieted down and the gang was sure they were safe from the Crystal Scorpions, they slowed down to catch their breath.
Although the temperature was as hot as summer, the shrubs and trees growing around the Temple were red and orange, as if it was mid-fall.
"Look!" Mabel exclaimed as she pointed towards an edge.
"What is it?" Jacob asked, peering over the edge with Mabel to see a cluster of trees, some of which were chopped down.
"Only a lumberjack would chop down those trees!" Mabel deduced. "Wendy must be close, and she has her ax with her!" She continued, moving deeper into the ruins.
"At least we know she isn't unarmed!" Colossus said, following Mabel.
"Wendy! It's me, Mabel!" she yelled again. "Where are you!"
Soon they heard howling again. "There's that howling again!" Jacob said, as the howling got louder and louder.
"WENDY!" Mabel yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Mabel?!" a voice yelled back. It sounded like Wendy.
"Wendy! You're here?!" Mabel said as she continued to run further.
The rest followed Mabel until they found a set of stone stairs leading up to the top. Mabel was exhausted from running, but she was determined to find Wendy.
Jacob transformed into his BeastMan form and offered Mabel a ride up the stairs. Colossus opened her wings and flew up the stairs, while Star used her wand to summon a pink flying cloud to carry her up alongside her friends.
"Wendy! We're coming!" Mabel yelled with renewed energy.
As they made their way up the stairs, Timmy's drone flew above them. "Guys, there's a rip zipper component nearby!" Timmy's voice crackled through the Mabel's Mirror on Jacob's waist.
"Maybe it's at the top with Wendy!" Mabel said, holding on to Jacob's neck for dear life. Colossus flew next to Star's cloud above Jacob and Mabel.
Finally, they reached the top and saw four crystal columns at each corner, with a small rock building in the center, about the size of a jail cell. On top of the building was a lawn chair with an umbrella and a table on one side and a cooler on the other.
It would have been something to investigate, if it weren't for the big purple Crystal hounds surrounding the area. These hounds weren't regular hounds, and they were the ones howling.
"So they're the ones howling," Jacob said, standing up on his feet as Mabel still hung on, dangling.
They got closer as they snarled and growled.
Mabel let go and dropped down to the floor.
Colossus was hesitant to fight since she loved dogs and wolves, but if it came to it, she would have to.
"Don't hurt them!" Wendy said. Everyone looked up to see a silhouette sitting on the lawn chair they hadn't noticed before. It stood up and turned to face the group.
It was Wendy. She had her shirt torn and tied to one of her ankles, and something tied to her forehead making the front of her hair stand up like a cowlick.
"These are my hounds!" Wendy said as she jumped down. "Heel!" she commanded. All the hounds stopped snarling and turned to Wendy, panting happily.
The hounds nuzzled against Wendy, pushing each other over for attention. "Mabel, I'm so glad to see you!" she said as one of the Crystal hounds licked her face.
Mabel ran towards Wendy and gave her a big hug happy to see her teenage coworker "Man! Dipper is gonna be so happy to you!" She squealed excitedly.
Wendy then noticed Colossus and Star and a boy she hasn't met before, "Well if it isn't Colossus Equinox!" She said with a smile. "I should've known that just by being here you and my Mystery Twins would be involved,"
"Nice to see you too corduroy," she said crossing her arms.
"Hi! Wendy!" Star said waving excitedly.
Jacob just walked passed all the girls and inside the small rock building then came back out with an Iron Bobble, "I think this might be the Rip Zipper Component," he said tossing it up like a baseball.
"Is fox boy over their your boyfriend?" Wendy asked Colossus.
"Sure is, even if he had to eat bugs and sleep outside after being sent here; but I still love him," she answered putting Jacob on the spot. He didn't care he just put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a smile.
"I guess like Jacob, you've been ruffing it out in these woods!" Colossus said.
"Sure did, built a cabin down by the river!" Wendy replied with a smile swinging her ax around like a cane.
"If you want, you can come down to our camp!" Star offered.
"You got heat and electricity?" Wendy asked, curious.
"Somewhat, yes!" Colossus answered.
"Hell yeah!" Wendy exclaimed, excited at the prospect of having modern amenities.
"Good, you can bring your dogs with you!" Colossus said with a smile while petting one of the crystal hounds.
"Fantastic! They need to drink fresh water besides goo!" Wendy said, laughing while one the hounds licked her fingers.
"So what have you guys been doing?" Wendy asked, noticing the exhausted stature and determination in the young ones eyes as if they've been working all day.
"Well, we were summoned here to defeat an evil monster and save the Universe!" Jacob answered. "Up until now we've been searching for others and killing monsters, but now we're trying to find parts to a machine to defeat the monster."
"Well you've been busy haven't you!" Wendy stated.
"I'm busy right now," Colossus pulled out a blade from her thigh holster. "I'll catch up with you guys later. I need to get dinner sorted," she said.
"Jacob, why don't you take the girls back to our camp?" Colossus suggested, "I've gotta a meal to catch!" She then placed the knife in her teeth and jumped off the temple to fly down into the woods.
"You go do that," Jacob replied. "C'mon, let's go back to camp. We'll catch up on everything on the the way."
As they left the temple, Jacob led the way back to their campsite, chatting with Wendy,
Star and Mabel along the way.
Camp Castaway
As the sun began to set, Timmy was busy welding metal onto the Rip Zipper. Occasionally, he glanced down at his pad to check on his drone's feed and see how everything was coming along.
Meanwhile, Dipper and Marco were having a blast, exchanging jokes and laughing without a care in the world. With the girls away, they could finally let loose.
Pacifica was lounging in a chair, sipping coconut water from a shell and sporting sunglasses, swinging her crossed leg.
Suddenly, the peaceful atmosphere was interrupted by the arrival of Mabel and Star, carried in by the massive BeastMan Jacob, with Wendy and her Crystal Hounds following closely behind. "We're home!" they announced.
"Nice while it lasted!" Marco said, as the group noticed Mabel and Star entering with Jacob and Wendy.
"Guess who we brought!" Mabel said excitedly as Jacob set her down.
Dipper and Marco immediately jumped up to greet their friends.
"Hey Wendy, nice to see you," Dipper said with a smile, acting normal for once.
Wendy was a bit taken aback by Dipper's demeanor. She had expected him to be more excited to see her. "Are you not gonna come over and squeeze me out of being happy to see me?" she asked, looking confused.
Dipper looked a bit uncomfortable at the suggestion. "Uh, you want me to hug you?" he asked hesitantly.
Wendy shook her head. "No, sorry, you don't have to. Didn't mean to make it weird," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Soon, Colossus emerged from the bushes with her scythe over her shoulder, its blade firmly lodged in the head of an anaconda.
"I got dinner," Colossus announced, dragging the dead snake behind her. "I'll skin it, clean it, and cook it so well you won't even know it's a snake!"
She headed towards her hut, and upon reaching it, Colossus opened the door. "You don't want to see this," she warned, dragging the anaconda inside. "It'll get bloody!" With that, she closed the door.
After some time, during which blood splattered on the window, Colossus opened it. Her face was smeared with snake blood as she poked her head out.
"May take a while, I need to make sure this bastard isn't poisonous!" Colossus said as she pulled her head back in and closed the window.
"I can't believe we're going to eat snake!" Pacifica said.
"Colossus is the hunter, we should trust her judgment!" Mabel replied.
Nighttime
After everyone had finished eating the snake, which had been skinned, de-poisoned, washed and cooked, it actually tasted pretty good, and people couldn't get enough of it.
While everyone was busy eating and sitting around the fire, Colossus snuck off to the beach to get some time to herself. She sat down at her usual spot and looked out at the ocean. She was hoping to get a word in with Steven, so she pulled out her communicator.
Footsteps sounded through the sand, and Colossus quickly put the communicator back as the footsteps got closer. "Hey, mind if I join you?" Wendy asked.
Colossus knew it was Wendy without having to turn her head. "Go ahead," she said, pulling out her pack of cigarettes and picking one out.
"Is that safe?!" Wendy asked as she sat down next to Colossus.
"For me and every other animal person, yes. Bad for you and all other humans like you!" Colossus replied, placing the cigarette in her mouth and lighting it. "Animal people have stronger lungs than humans do," she made it clear.
Wendy sat in silence for a while as Colossus kept puffing on her cigarette.
"So it was quite clear earlier that Dipper used to have a crush on you!" she said after a huff.
"Used to?" Wendy asked, surprised.
"You haven't heard? Dipper has a girlfriend now," Colossus answered. "That Fox Prince you met earlier? My boyfriend, That's her brother."
"He's dating a princess?" Wendy asked, still shocked.
"Oh yeah, boys like him are hard to come by in my time, which means every girl is attracted to him," Colossus said.
"I mean, if Dipper and I weren't in such a feud, I'd gladly take him off the princess's hands!" Colossus added with a chuckle and a big grin.
Wendy just took in the fact that Dipper was completely over her, is this a good thing or bad? does this mean he doesn't care about her anymore?
