Author's Note: Hi, everyone. I'm back with another update on Marvel Falls. Sorry for the week off of this, but now, I'm back.
I've got some more to say at the end of this chapter, but for now, enjoy this jurassic story guest staring a certain genius prodigy.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
It was a very hot Summer day when Kamala and Doreen joined Dipper and Soos in the woods. They circled around the trees setting up cameras and tripwires everywhere. Once they were done, the four of them sat and waited at a tree branch.
"Thanks for helping us out with this monster hunt, guys?" Dipper asked.
"Dude, it's an honor." Soos said.
"So do you really think there's a monster out in the forest?" Kamala asked.
"According to reports, yes." Dipper said. "Something here is big enough to rip the roof of a car. If we get a photo of this thing, we'll be heroes."
"Um, Doreen and I are already heroes." Kamala said. "And forget a photo. What we should do is beat this creature down."
"Well, first, we gotta confirm what the creature actually is." Dipper said. "That's why we set up this trap. If everything goes according to plan, the creature will grab that steak, cross through the string, and set off cameras A, B, and C. Once we have better information on what we're dealing with, then we can make sure it doesn't hurt anyone else."
"Uh, but what if the monster comes after us instead?" Soos asked nervously.
"Well, that's what you got super babes for." Doreen said pointing at herself and Kamala. "Really, the worst we gotta worry about are the saps."
"Name calling." Soos said.
"What?" Doreen asked. "No. I was talking about the tree saps. Ever since the heat wave, sap's been pouring out of these trees like crazy. I had to leave Tippy-Toe at home so he doesn't get a single drop on his bushy tail."
"That's a shame." Kamala said. "It wouldn't be a Squirrel Girl adventure without at least one squirrel."
Just then, a powerful woosh of wind blew by catching the four by surprise. They were nearly blinded. All they heard was a snarling roar and three camera flashes. By the time they were able to see, they lost any trace of what flew past them. When they looked at where they left the steak, they saw nothing but an empty stump.
"Whoa!" Kamala gasped. "Whatever that thing was, it's fast!"
"Shh! You hear that?" Doreen asked.
Everyone held their ears out and heard a faint rustling sound coming from below. They all looked down and noticed the bushes moving slightly until someone ran out.
It was a little, black girl in a black-and-yellow outfit on. She wore a blue-and-yellow helmet which barely covered her bushy, pom-pom hairstyle. She also wore a pair of red gloves.
"There's something you don't see every day." Dipper said.
The girl turned her head around frantically with heavy breaths. "Oh, boy. If I don't find him soon, he's gonna…"
"Hey, kid!" Kamala cried out getting the girl's attention. "You lost?"
"What?" the girl asked noticing the four. "Uh… No. I'm just… Um… Going for a hike?"
"This deep in the forest?" Doreen asked.
"Well, what are you all doing out here?" the girl asked accusingly.
"Monster hunting." Soos said.
"Soos!" Dipper yelled out.
"Oop. Sorry, dude."
"Oh, boy." the girl exasperated. "I gotta wrap this up quickly."
"Wrap what up?" Dipper asked.
"Uh, none of your business!" the girl yelled before kicking her heels together. Her yellow boots then sprang up with a set of roller skates, which she rode deeper into the forest away from them.
"Well, that was weird." Kamala said.
"Yeah, it was." Dipper said. "Well, let's go develop those pictures."
"We did it!" Dipper declared as he and the others returned to the Mystery Shack with all three cameras. "We tripped the wire! Somewhere in one of these cameras is a photo of that creature! I'll go develop the film."
"I'll go make us victory nachos!" Soos said running off.
"And I'll… be having girl talk with Kamala." Doreen said grabbing onto Kamala's arm.
"Wait, what talk?" Kamala asked before getting pulled back outside. "Whoa! Easy, Doreen! What's going on?"
"I gotta know the deets." Doreen said excitedly. "While the boys are playing Pictionary with whatever cryptid we're messing with this time, let's talk, because I'm dying to know how your date with Dante was."
"Oh. That?" Kamala asked blushing.
"Ooh. There was a kiss, wasn't there?" Doreen asked.
"No, no. Not on the first date." Kamala said. "But hey, if you want to know stuff, he took me to a restaurant over in town. Thankfully, it was the only one where I didn't go on a date with Gideon, so it didn't bring up any awkward memories."
"Oh, forget that pudgy jerk." Doreen said. "Last night was all about you and Dante."
"That's true. Thanks." Kamala said.
All of a sudden, a familiar snarling roar screeched out into the girls' ears. They followed the noise around the back of the Mystery Shack and ran around as fast as they could. When they made it, they froze in shock at what they were seeing.
Stan Pines was already there, and he was seeing the same thing the girls were seeing: a green pterodactyl with long legs that had purple pants on. It crouched on the ground with Mabel's pig, Waddles, in its scaly claws.
"I… Is that a…" Kamala struggled to say.
"A dinosaur!" Doreen yelled out. "Yep, I'm seeing that too!"
"Mmmm…" the dinosaur hissed stroking Waddles, who was wearing a red sweater that was still connected to a red thread. "A succulent meal."
The monster screeched out as it picked Waddles up in its mouth and flew out into the air. It then flapped its wings and headed out into the forest, but not before Dipper and Soos ran out to join everyone in witnessing it.
"Dude, did you see that?" Soos asked. "That thing was a dinosaur, bro!"
"How is that possible a dinosaur survived 65 million years?" Dipper asked.
"It wasn't just any dinosaur!" Kamala added. "That thing was talking! It even used the word 'succulent'."
"What?" Dipper asked. "That doesn't make any sense! The English language wasn't invented until long after the dinosaurs died!"
"Mr. Pines, you saw it first, right?" Doreen asked.
"It… It took him." Stan said with a stunned reaction.
"Took what?" Dipper asked.
"The pig." Stan answered. "It took Waddles."
"What'd you say about Waddles?" Mabel asked as he rode in on her bike. Her sudden appearance caused a frightened reaction from Stan. "What's going on? Why are you standing around all awkwardly? And where's Waddles?"
"Um… Uh…" Stan stuttered to answer. "The good news is, you're getting a puppy."
"What happened?" Mabel asked.
"Well… see…"
"Your pig got taken by a talking p-terodactyl, bro." Soos answered bluntly.
"WHAT?!" Mabel asked in a gasp. "WHERE DID HE GO?! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! Grunkle Stan, you didn't put him outside?"
"What?! No!" Stan laughed nervously. "I didn't put him anywhere! I'm not acting suspicious! You're acting suspicious! What's a pig?!"
"Then what happened?" Kamala asked.
"Uh, look, it went down like this, see?" Stan explained. "So there I was, in the living room, tenderly nursing him with only the richest of creams, when all of a sudden, that dinosaur burst into the shack and snatched Waddles out of my arms. So I said 'No dice, cowboy!' And I start punching him right in the face, but he played dirty. That really happened. The next thing I know, that monster brought Waddles outside and carried him away."
"Oh, Grunkle Stan, you tried to save him." Mabel said sympathetically hugging her great uncle.
"Uh, yep, I'm a… great man, all right." Stan said.
"You punched a pterodactyl in the face?" Dipper asked. "I thought you didn't believe in the supernatural?"
"Dinosaurs aren't magic. They're just big lizards." Stan said. "Get off my back."
"Well, how do you explain his talking?" Kamala asked.
"How should I know?" Stan asked. "Do I look like a dino expert to you?"
"No, you just look like a regular dino." Doreen laughed.
"Well, no talking pterodactyl messes with my sister." Dipper said. "We're gonna go out there, catch him, and save your pig. For Mabel, guys."
"For Mabel!" everyone but Stan cheered.
"But how will we even find the little guy?" Stan asked.
"Hey, guys." Doreen said. She stood over a red thread that lead deep into the forest. "It looks like Waddles unknowingly left a trail for us."
"Sounds like we have our heading." Kamala said.
Everyone set up everything they need for their rescue mission. Complete with hunting gear, a truck, and a giant cage to trap the dinosaur in.
"All right." Soos said. "That p-terodactyl won't know what hit him."
"It's 'pterodactyl', man." Dipper corrected.
"Actually, nobody knows how to pronounce it because no one was alive back in dinosaur days." Soos said getting himself underneath the truck to finish strapping in the cage.
"Pretty sure that's not how it works, Soos." Kamala said.
Just then, the truck shifted itself forward a bit. Soos yelled out startled by the tire and slid himself out. He then chuckled. "Almost ran over my own head there. Haha. …Wow."
Moving away from Soos, Dipper had a private conversation with Mabel, Kamala, and Doreen.
"Guys, we gotta talk." Dipper said. "This is a really high-stakes mission, and I'm a little worried about Soos coming along on this one. I love the guy, but sometimes, he… messes stuff up."
"What?" Mabel asked. "That's crazy talk."
"Yeah." Kamala said. "Soos may be a little clumsy, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him a liability."
"Remember the other day when he knocked over that crystal ball and shattered it into pieces?" Dipper asked. "Or when he got that new window installed only to let it fall and break on the floor? Or when we found that fairy outside our window only for Soos to kill it with a flyswatter? And just today, when we were developing the photos, Soos let in the light in the darkroom and completely messed up the photos."
"Oof!" Doreen exclaimed. "That does sound messy."
"Let him down easy." Mabel advised.
But of course, Dipper couldn't go through with it. After Soos gifted him with a matching T-shirt hand made by him to celebrate their dinosaur adventure, Dipper didn't have the heart to tell him to leave the mission. After that, everyone drove off to follow the string.
The truck stopped when the string lead to an old, abandoned church at the end of the trail. Everyone got out of the truck and continued to follow the yarn inside. As bad as the church looked on the outside, it looked even worse on the inside, which had a giant hole in the floor. The yarn continued on underneath.
"Looks like Waddles was carried on down there." Kamala said before whispering. "If Stan wasn't here, I'd totally stretch us all the way below."
Just then, a creaking sound was heard startling everyone. They froze as they looked at each other.
"I don't suppose either of you made that noise, did you?" Kamala asked. Everyone shook their heads no. "That's what I thought. Then whatever made that noise must be… RIGHT BEHIND US!"
Soos made a battle cry as he turned around and jumped forward landing right on top of something.
"OW!"
Everyone gathered around Soos finding only a head sticking out from underneath his body. It was a familiar girl with a helmet on.
"Hey, wait a minute." Dipper said. "You're that girl who we saw in the woods earlier today."
"I'm also the girl who's having a hard time breathing!" the girl cried out.
"Soos, get up before she asphyxiates." Kamala said helping Soos up.
After getting back up to her feet, the girl removed her helmet to take a breath and see more clearly. Stan stepped forward and focused at her.
"Wait a minute." Stan said. "Aren't you that girl over at the skating rink?"
"You know her, Grunkle Stan?" Mabel asked.
"Yeah. She and her family moved to Gravity Falls shortly before you munchkins came along. They even opened their own skating rink." Stan said. "What were their names again? Leafa… or Loufa… or…."
"Lafayette!" the girl corrected. "My name is Lunella Lafayette! Now, what are you people doing here?"
"Us? We should be asking you the same question." Dipper said. "This place is too dangerous for… I'm guessing an eight-year old."
"I'm nine." Lunella replied. "And for your information, what I'm doing is none of your business. What about you?"
"Well, we're looking for a talking p-terodactyl." Soos said. "Maybe you've seen him. Big guy. Wings. Carrying a pig in a sweater."
"Wait. He took a pig?" Lunella asked.
"Yes." Kamala said. "Wait, do you know that pterodactyl?"
"Yes, I…" Lunella started to say before stopping herself. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Look, that dinosaur you saw was no ordinary dinosaur. I'll head on down below to save your pig, but I can't…" She was interrupted by Mabel who grabbed her shirt and pulled her in.
"We're going down there with you and that's that! Nothing's keeping me from my Waddles! Got it!"
Lunella could see the fury in Mabel's eyes and was stunned. "Uh… Okay. Let's all go down. But I warn you, that monster you're looking for has no love for humanity."
"Do you know what he's called?" Soos asked.
Lunella nodded. "He calls himself… Sauron."
Stan laughed. "Seriously? What kind of silly name is that?"
"Hey, I didn't name him." Lunella said. "Now, let's head on down. I got a friend already down there who'll give us what we need to bring Sauron down."
The group let a rope down and climbed on down all the way below. When everyone reached the bottom, they found themselves in an old mining site with a few geysers blasting upwards. There were also some grass and mushrooms sprouting along the sides of the area. Dipper went over to approach one when Lunella grabbed his arm and pulled him away.
"Whoa! Don't go near that one unless you want to breathe in poisonous pollen."
"How do you know all this stuff?" Kamala asked.
"Well, I'm not one to brag, but I am pretty smart for my age." Lunella said.
"How smart?" Doreen asked.
"Well, back at my old school, we went on a field trip to a science center where we were challenged with a puzzle that nobody else could solve. The Banner Test."
Dipper widened his eyes. "Wait. THE Banner Test? That's the most unsolvable test imaginable. Not even NASA could pass it."
"Well, I did." Lunella said. "Everyone was surprised when I passed it. Since then, they've been calling me the smartest person in the world."
Dipper dropped his jaw. "You're kidding me."
"Hey, we can exchange nerd notes later!" Mabel said. "Waddles needs us! So are we going or what?"
"Right. Let's keep moving forward." Lunella said. "My friend should be waiting for us in the cave."
Everyone continued on heading deeper into the cave. Lunella took point holding a lantern to shine their path forward.
As they trekked deeper into the cave, the light showed a monstrous face of a tyrannosaurus rex. Most of the people screamed at the sight of it until they realized it wasn't moving. A more careful observation showed that the T-rex was encased in a giant mountain of frozen tree sap. Everyone looked around and saw several other types of dinosaurs all trapped in the same substance as the T-rex.
"More dinosaurs!" Kamala gasped. "And they're all trapped in tree sap!"
"So that must be how they survived 65 million years." Dipper said.
"Yep. That was Dr. Lykos' theory." Lunella said.
"Who?" Dipper asked.
"Dr. Karl Lykos. He was a geneticist who took up paleontology as a hobby." Lunella said. "When he discovered that a mess of dinosaurs disappeared around the area that would be Gravity Falls, he theorized that they may have been trapped in a mess of tree sap. He also believed that maybe global warming plus summer heat may be melting them back to return to this day and age. No one took him seriously though. A lot of people don't like to admit global warming's real, you know."
"So what happened to him?" Kamala asked.
"After he was kicked out of the science community, Dr. Lykos moved to Gravity Falls to confirm his findings, but he disappeared shortly after. At least, that's the public story."
"Public story?" Kamala asked nervously. "What do you mean? What happened?"
"Why don't you ask me yourselves?!"
Everyone gasped and looked up at the top of the cave. Sauron appeared crawling above them before dropping off and landing before them. Everyone took a step back upon seeing him. Meanwhile, Kamala finally noticed the pants that he wore and figured something out.
"Wait a minute…" Kamala gasped. "Dr. Lykos?"
Sauron grinned. "Is it that obvious?"
"You're the weird dino guy?" Dipper asked. "What happened?"
"The wonders of modern science, little boy." Sauron said circling around the group like a predator. "After I discovered that my theory was right, I was elated. I released one of them and strapped him down for study and experimentation. When I realized that I could infuse dinosaur DNA with my own, inspiration struck."
"So you turned yourself into a dinosaur?" Stan asked. "Well, I guess it's important to have goals."
"Oh, that's not all." Sauron said. "My mutation seems to have given me a unique power. Most of the dinosaurs down here are under my control! Behold!"
Sauron extended his wing to show a small group of dinosaurs lined up like they were an organized army. Their eyes were dilated as though they were in a trance.
"And this is only the beginning!" Sauron shouted. "Once my work down here is complete, I will raise my army to the surface, and I will transform every human into a dinosaur under my control!"
"Dudes… I think this guy is a little psycho." Soos said.
"You're telling me." Lunella said. "I figured out what he was up to and I've been trying to study him and stop him."
"And how's that working out for you and your friend who's a traitor to my cause?" Sauron asked.
"Enough messing around!" Mable yelled out. "Where's Waddles, you scaly turkey?!"
"Waddles?" Sauron asked. "Oh. You're talking about the pig. Well, he's alive… for now. He's just been selected to be fed to my newborns that are coming soon."
Mabel shot a deadly glare. "You fiend! You broke in the Mystery Shack, took Waddles, and carried him all the way down here for a snack?!"
"Broke into the shack?" Sauron asked. "Foolish girl, the pig was outside when I grabbed it."
Mabel's angry face dropped into confusion. "What? Grunkle Stan, you said he flew into the house."
"He did!" Stan lied defensively. "He's obviously lying!"
"I'm not lying about this." Sauron said. "The old man carried the pig outside and left him for me to snatch. He even left this little gift on him." He held up a dollar bill which he threw towards Mabel. She looked at the cash and looked back in disappointment at her own great uncle, who was sweating nervously.
"I don't believe it!" Mabel gasped. "You put Waddles outside, then you lied to me about it!"
"That is a pretty cold thing to do." Kamala said.
"Oh, the fate of your pig is the least of your concerns." Sauron said. "My dino-minions… ATTACK!"
The dinosaurs roared and stampeded down the tunnel. The gang screamed before finding another tunnel and running in there. They heard the rumbling of the dinosaurs, but they didn't bother looking back.
Suddenly, the seven of them collapsed. The floor gave way beneath them and they all slid down until they all landed suddenly into another tunnel. They groaned as they stood back up on their feet.
"Looks like we just stumbled into another part of the mine." Lunella said.
"At least we're safe from the dinosaurs." Doreen said. She then looked down and saw another long stretch of yarn. "And we're still on Waddles' trail."
"Yeah." Stan chuckled in relief. "We sure got them off our tail, eh, Mabel? …Mabel?"
"I'm still angry at you, Grunkle Stan." Mabel said seriously. "You put Waddles outside and let him get taken by a dinosaur madman! And now, thanks to you, my pig is going to be eaten by a bunch of baby dinosaurs!"
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Stan defended. "He's an animal. He belongs outside."
"No! That's it!" Mabel yelled. "Grunkle Stan, I am never, ever speaking to you again!" She turned her back on him.
"Look, you can't be serious." Stan said.
"Oh, is someone talking right now? Because I can't hear them!" Mabel yelled.
"Kid…"
"LALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR ANYONE!"
"Hey!" Kamala said grabbing onto Mabel. "Look, I know you're mad at Stan, and I get it, but you gotta be more quiet about it or Sauron's gonna find us."
"Exactly. Don't fight." Soos said. "Why can't you be more like me and Dipper? Look, everything's gonna be cool." He picked up the red yarn and started pulling at it. "You see? We can still save Waddles before the dinosaurs can eat him. All we gotta do to find the pig is follow this here yarn. We just keep following and following, and when we reach the end…"
Soos already reached the end. He pulled the yarn so much, he didn't stop until he realized he had the end of he yarn in his fingers. He turned to find a network of tunnels without knowing which one the yarn was at.
"Soos! You lost the trail!" Dipper yelled.
"Hey, come on. We'll find out way. Trust me." Soos said patting Dipper on the back. He hit him so hard, Dipper accidentally dropped the lantern and let it shatter on the ground.
"Sorry, dude."
Dipper groaned loudly. "That is it! See, this is why I didn't want to bring you along!"
"What do you mean?" Soos asked.
"I mean, this is really important to Mabel, and you keep screwing everything up!" Dipper lashed out. "You ruined our photograph, and now, you've got us hopelessly lost with an army of brainwashed dinosaurs after us!"
"But… we're p-terodactyl bros." Soos said feeling hurt. "I made T-shirts."
"It's pronounced 'pterodactyl'! And these shirts are useless! They're gigantic!"
"I… have… a different… BODY TYPE, DUDE!"
And just like that, Dipper, Soos, Mabel, and Stan argued over one another. Kamala and Doreen were the only ones who weren't upset, and they tried to calm everyone down.
"HEEEYYY!" Lunella yelled causing everyone to stop. They all looked over at her as she held up the lantern. "Is this how it normally is with you people? You gotta get your acts together or we're never getting out alive. Luckily for you, I fixed the lantern and…" She stopped when she noticed everyone's frightened expressions. "What? …There's something behind me, isn't there?"
Lunella turned around and noticed a gigantic figure standing over her. It looked like a T-rex, but its scales were red as blood and it had horns coming from its head.
The giant dinosaur lowered is open mouth to Lunella startling the others into looking away. They didn't want to see the massacre, but their fears quelled down once they heard the sound of laughter. They looked back at Lunella and the dinosaur and saw it licking its giant tongue at her while he laughed.
"Stop! Stop! Quit it, Devil!" Lunella laughed.
"Uh… Is everyone else seeing that too?" Doreen asked.
Once the licking ended, Lunella patted the dinosaur's head. "Guys, it's cool. He's my friend, the one I was telling you about."
"That's your friend?" Stan asked.
"Yep. His name's Devil Dinosaur." Lunella said.
"At least the name fits." Doreen commented.
"Aren't you worried Sauron might try to control that thing?" Dipper asked.
"Nah. Not Devil." Lunella said. "He and I share a mental connection that seems to block him from Sauron's powers. And he's stronger than any of the other dinosaurs, so he's the only one who can get around these mines fine." She turned to her dinosaur. "So Devil, did you find what we need?"
The dinosaur nodded before reaching out one of its tiny arms. In its claws, he held a handful of black, sparkling rocks which he passed to Lunella.
"Are those rocks?" Kamala asked.
"Not just any rocks." Lunella said. "These specific geodes excrete a special substance which I need for a special explosive. Once we're at Sauron's lab, we'll use it to blow all his equipment sky high."
"That's… a plan, I guess." Stan said. "But we still don't know where the lab is."
Devil gave a squeaky roar and held his claws up.
"Devil says he knows." Lunella said. "He'll lead the way.
"So we're just going to follow a giant, ferocious dinosaur into the lair of an equally dangerous dinosaur?" Stan asked.
"You got a better idea?" Kamala asked.
Stan was about to answer, but after a moment, withdrew it.
The team followed Devil Dinosaur down a tunnel until they reached the ledge of a big cliff. There was a partially-broken mine track ahead which connected to a big nest. Everyone looked below and saw a jungle terrain which Devil pointed at.
"Devil said that Sauron set up his lab down there." Lunella said. "All I gotta do is mix the excrement from the geodes into the fungal spores I picked up from the church, and we'll be set up for a big enough explosion."
"But what about Waddles?" Mabel asked. "What if he's down there?"
"I don't think he is, Mabel." Kamala said pointing over at the nest.
Mabel turned her head over and flashed a glittering smile at Waddles, who was sharing the nest with a large egg.
"WADDLES!" Mabel yelled in joy. She ran to the tracks and ran across them heading to the nest.
"Mabel, wait!" Stan yelled out. "Are you nuts?!"
Mabel stopped to turn and face Stan angrily. "Oh, is someone speaking, because I can't hear anything?!"
"Mabel, come back here!" Dipper yelled as he and the others ran across the track following Mabel to the nest.
"Okay, but you gotta make it quick!" Lunella shouted. "There's no telling what'll happen to the rest of this mine after I ignite this thing!"
Mabel cheerfully embraced Waddles once she entered the nest. Everyone else followed her, but were startled seeing the collection of bones that surrounded them. Mabel didn't pay attention though. She pulled out a pig-carrying strap and put Waddles in it.
"Mabel, good that you found him." Dipper said. "But we gotta go before we get into trouble."
"TOO LATE!"
Everyone screamed in terror once Sauron flew down from above. Everyone ducked when he tried to attack them, but Waddles squealed in fear and ran over towards Stan. He tackled him and the two of them fell off the rails and into the jungle below.
Thankfully for the two of them, Stan and Waddles landed on soft mushrooms before landing safely in a mud puddle. Stan groaned in disgust, but Waddles rolled around in it playfully.
"Yeah, you would enjoy this." Stan commented before he and Waddles ran underneath a mushroom umbrella.
High above, Dipper yelled out to Lunella. "Lunella, don't bomb the jungle just yet! Grunkle Stan and Waddles are down there!"
"Well, someone's gotta get them out of there!" Lunella yelled back.
"No one will have the chance!" Sauron shouted perching himself on top of the giant egg. "To me, my winged brethren! It's time for the traitor to receive his execution! Attack Devil Dinosaur!"
Just then, a bunch of pterodactyls appeared out of the walls and flew towards Lunella and Devil Dinosaur. The girl was protected by her reptilian companion who swatted at them with his tail, but it was only a matter of time before he would eventually find himself outnumbered.
"And as for the rest of you…" Sauron snickered over at the rest. "I think the newborn's got a buffet today."
Just then, the egg beneath his feet began to shake. It cracked apart until a giant baby pterodactyl emerged from its shell.
"Awww." Everyone exclaimed finding it adorable.
"You think it's cute now," Sauron said before holding up a steak, "But once it locks onto you, this will be you." He threw the steak over at the baby, who clamped down hard at it and tore it to pieces to eat it. Everyone cried out in horror at it. "Now that your fates are sealed, I think I've got a pig to round up."
Sauron laughed as he hovered up and flew on down to the jungle.
Down below, hiding under their mushroom, Stan and Waddles knew that Sauron was closing in on them. They could see his shadow as he flew overhead.
"I guess it's you or me, pig." Stan said.
He then placed his foot on Waddles' back and pushed him out of cover and into the light. Stan was clearly planning to sacrifice Waddles. But he started to change his mind once Waddles looked back at him.
"What are you looking at?" Stan asked. "Aw, come on. Don't give me that look! What am I supposed to do, let it eat me?"
Waddles kept staring at Stan cutely.
"Oh, I get it. You're trying to guilt me. Well, it ain't working, pal. Who cares if you're Mabel's favorite thing in the world? I can live without the kid talking to me all the time... Telling me her jokes... Makin' me laugh..." Stan frowned feeling miserable over everything he said. He then chuckled once Waddles snorted at him.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Sauron shouted as he made it close to the ground. He then flew over towards Waddles ready to eat him.
"Well, this is about the dumbest thing I've ever done." Stan said strapping Waddles onto his back. He then stepped up to challenge Sauron. "You want this pig, Sauron?! THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME! COME AND GET ME!"
Stan ran out of his hiding place and rushed toward Sauron without hesitation. He then leaped into the air clashing with the dinosaur villain.
Everyone up in the nest huddled together keeping a distance from the baby pterodactyl. At the same time, they watched as the other pterodactyls flew around Devil Dinosaur.
"Kamala, can't you use your powers to get that dinosaur?" Dipper asked.
"I can try." Kamala said. She stretched out her arms to try and grab the baby pterodactyl, but it snapped its beak near her hands making her pull them back. "No good. It won't let me near it."
"What do we do?" Mabel asked.
"Wait!" Soos said getting an idea. "We have to get in a straight line."
"What?" Doreen asked.
"A pterodactyl's eyes are so far apart, that if you stand right in front of it, it can't see you."
"Soos, you've been wrong about stuff all day." Dipper pointed out. "How can we…"
"Dude," Soos interrupted, "Look, I know I've messed up a lot. I could be sort of clumsy, and it's not always as loveable as I think. But please, as my friend, just trust me on this one."
Dipper hesitated for a moment, but then gave a small smile and nodded with Soos. Everyone stood behind Soos in a straight line and moved around the baby pterodactyl. It jerked its head up pointing its beak at the group, but just as Soos predicted, it couldn't see them. Happy that the plan was working, the group moved along the rails avoiding the pterodactyl's gaze. Eventually, they made it back to the ledge where Devil was fighting the dinosaurs.
"Soos, you did it!" Dipper said proudly.
"But what about that?" Kamala asked looking up at the pterodactyl swarm surrounding Devil Dinosaur. The big, red dinosaur finally collapsed after a lot of pecking and Lunella embraced him lovingly. "Any dino knowledge to save him, Soos?"
"Fresh out. Sorry, dude."
"Wait. Do you hear that?" Doreen asked.
Everyone heard a distant screech. The roar even made the pterodactyls stop attacking Devil Dinosaur. Everyone looked up and witnessed an extraordinary sight.
Stan Pines himself rode on the back of Sauron. The dinosaur villain shook himself up and down desperately trying to get Stan off his back, but the grifter stood his ground. And if that wasn't cool enough, he was continuously punching Sauron in the face. Everyone watched in amazement as he rode Sauron until he crashed him back to the ledge. Stan reunited with his family safely, but Sauron collapsed into unconsciousness.
While the other dinosaurs were stunned, Devil found his chance to turn the tide around. He swung his tail around and knocked every last pterodactyl away from him.
"Mr. Pines, that was incredible!" Kamala called out running to him with the rest of his proud family. Even Mabel joined him with a happy smile on her face.
"Here's your pig, kiddo." Stan said passing Waddles over to her.
"Waddles!" Mabel said embracing her pig. "You saved him for me."
"Yeah, well, sometimes you gotta… LOOK OUT!"
Everyone moved away just as Sauron stood back up fully awake. He had a deathly glare coming from his angry face.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU PESKY VERMIN!" Sauron yelled angrily. "I WON'T LET YOU RUIN… WHOA!"
Sauron was interrupted by Devil Dinosaur, who wrapped his tail around Sauron's legs and slammed him repeatedly to the ground. After a half-dozen slams, he left Sauron groaning weakly on the ground.
Devil Dinosaur huffed.
"He is puny, isn't he?" Lunella asked. "Well, shall we bomb this place and get out of here?"
"Sounds like a plan." Stan said.
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the entire mine after Lunella threw her explosive chemical compound into the jungle. Once she did, everyone rode on Devil's back and rode back to the geysers where Devil rode on one that shot him and the others back up to the church right before the mine could collapse in on them.
After they were safe, everyone broke the church apart until the entrance to the mine was sealed up shut. They then walked back outside relieved to put the nightmare behind them.
"I can't believe you did all that for Waddles." Mabel said to Stan.
"Ah, well." Stan shrugged. "I can't have my favorite niece not talking to me." He leaned his hand on a tree. "And if I gotta leap onto a mad dinosaur scientist mutant and punch him in the face, then that's what I gotta do."
"That's kinda sappy." Mabel said.
"What? That's how I feel." Stan said.
"No, I mean…" Mabel pointed at the tree, where Stan was sticking his hand in a big bunch of tree sap. He playfully stuck some of it onto Mabel's face before realizing it was stuck.
"They'll be fine." Lunella said. "Just rub some olive oil onto the sap, and it'll be removed."
"Cool." Soos said. "So… what are you going to do about Devil Dinosaur?"
"This big guy?" Lunella asked petting Devil's head. "I've got a place for him where we can hang out all the time."
"So are we going to have to worry about Sauron coming back?" Dipper asked.
"I hope not." Lunella said. "At the very least, though, we set back his dinosaur takeover plan by a long shot. That's enough of a win for me."
"And hey, if he does, we'll be ready." Kamala said.
Lunella smiled. "Thanks, guys." She then hopped onto Devil's back. "See ya."
"Bye!" everyone exclaimed waving Lunella away.
"Hey, look!" Dipper said rummaging through the remains of his vest. He pulled out a large tooth from it.
"Whoa!" Doreen gasped. "Is that one of Sauron's fangs?"
"That's awesome, bro!" Soos commented.
"Not as awesome as you saving us back there." Dipper said. "Pterodactyl bros?"
"Pterodactyl bros." Soos returned.
"So what do you think about that Lunella girl?" Doreen asked. "Think we'll see her again."
"Something tells me she won't be very hard to miss." Kamala answered.
Devil walked through the forest with Lunella riding on top of his head. He gave a soft screech to communicate with her.
"Yeah. I like those guys too." Lunella said. "They may be loud and clumsy, but they seem cool."
Devil screeched again.
"Helpful? Maybe." Lunella said. She removed her backpack and rummaged through it. "Though if I have to bring them in on my big mystery, I'm gonna have a long story to tell, even how I got my power to talk to you."
Lunella reached into her backpack and pulled something out in her hand. She held onto a blue crystal which, though she didn't know yet, Kamala was more than familiar with.
It was a Terrigen crystal.
Author's Note: I'd like to point something out before anyone gets says anything about Sauron. Yes, I am aware that in the comics, he also has the ability to steal the abilities of anyone he touches, but unfortunately, I couldn't fit that into this chapter. Maybe if I decide to bring Sauron back later in the fanfic, I can have his powers evolve for him to gain that ability. Until then, this is all you have for now.
That's about it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Only two more to go until I move on to the next weekly update for my Young Avengers series. Any and all comments are welcome.