AN: Alright! Time for another chapter. I hope you all love this fanfic as much as I do. Also, be sure to check out my published work if you love horror. Anyways, time to dive on in. Enjoy.
-Dipifica Writer aka: James Milliken
Disclaimer: Gravity Falls is owned by Alex Hirsch, Disney, and Disney Television Animation. All rights reserved.
Warning. Chapter contains: Profanity, violence, and suggestive themes. Reader's discretion is advised.
Chapter 2 Make or break
Dipper met up with Mabel at the party and she was told everything what happened between Dipper and their father. When they were escorted to their room for the evening, Dipper told Mabel about the purposed plan Pacifica told him in the hallway an hour ago…
"Sounds like the princess likes what she sees, huh broseph? Hahahaha" Mabel teased then laughed while sitting on her bed.
"It's not funny Mabel. She does make a good point though. If the village suffers because of me, then it's up to me to make it right. As far as I can tell, there isn't much choice in the matter…" Dipper said as he sat on his bed pondering on what he might have to do.
"But Dipper, a knight? That sounds pretty hard to do. We both trained back in our village to maybe become squires someday but the rank of knight is given to a very select few. Right now, there is only three knights and all three of them accomplished great deeds to earn those titles." Mabel explained.
"I know Mabel. But what else can I do?" Dipper said then the door to the twins' room opened up and David entered.
"Hello you two. We need to have a serious conversation before you both go to bed." David said as he pulled up a chair to sit with the twins to talk.
"The king…He made his decision to restore the tribute to half again instead of it being quartered." David said but was fearful on what he will have to explain next.
"That's great father!" Mabel said.
"Yeah Dad. Now when we go back the village will have just enough to scrape by this winter." Dipper said until David held up a hand and Dipper and Mabel stopped to pay attention.
"Dipper. The king only agreed to do this in order for you to stay here and train in the royal military core." David said which shocked both the twins.
"W-Wait a minute… What do you mean. I-I thought-" Dipper said but was interrupted by David again.
"It's not up for debate Dipper! You were ordered to stay here from now on." David said.
"NO!" Mabel shouted.
"Mabel…" David said in softer tone as he saw she was beginning to cry.
"Why does Dipper have to leave the village? Our family?! That's not right! We were supposed to be together!" Mabel shouted as tears no fully poured down her face in frustration and sadness.
"…I'm sorry Mabel. It's the king's decision. We have to obey." David said.
"B-But…What about the village? Didn't you say you needed an heir for Piedmont?" Dipper said.
"Well…Unfortunately, none of us have a choice in that matter neither. Mabel…You are going to be the next in line to rule Piedmont." David said.
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!" Mabel yelled until Dipper got up and hugged her which quieted her down.
"Mabel…I know it's not fair but I promise we will see each other again…"Dipper said as he started to cry too.
After a few moments, David spoke again…
"Mabel. Again, I'm sorry but I need to talk with Dipper in private please. Wait outside the room until I call for you." David said and Mabel slowly got up and walked out in a heavy depression.
Once she left, David turned his attention to Dipper…
"Listen Dipper. You are not to speak about what I'm going to tell you to no one. Not even Mabel. Am I clear?" David said in a lowered voice.
Dipper looked at the room door for a moment then sat down on his bed and nodded in agreement.
"You only have one month to become a squire. If you fail…" David said then paused as he lightly shook in fear.
"What will happen?" Dipper asked.
"If you fail…The king will have you killed." David said which drained the color from Dipper's face.
"W-What do you mean!? Why!?" Dipper asked as he was beginning to panic.
"The princess proposed the idea that you train to become a squire but the king doesn't want to waste time and resources if you don't show results. You must be absolutely focused Dipper." David said and after a few moments Dipper nodded in agreement.
"One last thing… You need to stay away from Princess Pacifica." David said.
"Why?" Dipper asked.
"If you would anger the king in anyway, he will execute you on the spot. So, for your safety, please don't involve yourself with his daughter." David said as he placed his hands on Dipper's shoulders to show how serious he was.
"I-I…I understand." Dipper said as he was shaken up on the situation, he was now in.
"Good. Tomorrow morning, the king with give us the tribute. Then, you will begin your new life here in the capital from here on out until the month is over with." David said then after a moment he pulled Dipper into a hug.
Both were scared and feared that this was going to be the last time they see each other. However, Mabel knew what was said as she eavesdropped on the whole conversation. She too was scared that not only Dipper was going to be gone but he could possibly die from this…
.
.
.
The next morning came and the Pines family were at the front of the castle's estate. Dipper had to say goodbye to David and Mabel but it was harder than any of them realized…
"D-Dipper. Remember what I told you last night, ok?" David said as he hugged his son for the last time.
"Yes Father." Dipper said.
Once David was done hugging Dipper, he went into the carriage that was summoned to take him and Mabel back to Piedmont. However, before they left Mabel had to say her goodbye as well…
"Mabel…"Dipper said until she hugged Dipper hard.
"Dipper…Please be careful, ok? I want to see you after the month is over with. Understand?!" Mabel demanded with teary eyes.
"Yes…We will see each other again." Dipper said as he hugged Mabel back.
After the hug, Mabel departed with David in the carriage. Dipper fought with all he had to hold back his tears. Then suddenly, Pacifica appeared from the doorway of the castle…
"Ready, Sir Dipper?" Pacifica asked.
"…Yes. Let's begin, your royal highness." Dipper said with determination in his voice.
Yes, he was upset that the King could have him killed but if he achieves the rank of squire from one of the three knights, then his family and village will be taken care of. Moreover, he would survive and see his family once again and that was worth fighting for.
Meanwhile with Mabel and David…
David and Mabel remained in silence for what seemed like hours and the recent events had left both of them into a state of shock and sadness. However, David knew something had to be said…
"Mabel… I know your brother is strong and one way or another we will see him again-" David said until Mabel interrupted him.
"You're lying!" Mabel yelled now tearing up once again.
"…So you did listen in last night." David said.
"Yes. I know Dipper's life is on the line and we might not be able to see him again but you are right about one thing. Dipper does have the strength to pull through this." Mabel said.
"Yes…" David said.
"So as the next heir to the village of Piedmont, we will make sure he has a place to come home to!" Mabel said with fiery conviction.
"Understood." David simply said as the two were determined to work hard for Dipper's sake.
.
.
.
Back with Dipper…
.
.
.
Dipper was settling in the barracks where he will be spending the next month in. He received his new training outfit from the princess and was told all trainees wore the same clothing for all their training. Suddenly, other trainees came into the barracks too…
"Who are you?" The black-haired male trainee demanded.
"Oh sorry. I'm Dipper Pines. I'm going to be training here for the next month to become a squire." Dipper said as he approached with his hand extended to give a handshake but was denied.
"Name's Robbie. This is Nate, Lee, and Thompson. Don't expect a warm welcome pipsqueak." Robbie said coldly.
"Oh…Ok." Dipper said.
"Listen up. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but to have the damn gall to think you will become a squire in a month's time is stupidly annoying. We have been training here for two damn years to even get noticed by one of the three knights and you think you are better than us to get selected?!" Robbie said as he lightly shoved Dipper.
"Take it easy dude." Nate said.
"Yeah, he probably doesn't know how things work around here." Lee chimed in.
"Whatever! The one that Royal Knight Corduroy will acknowledge will be me got it!" Robbie said as he poked Dipper in the chest.
Dipper didn't say anything and Robbie stormed off with his friends. Dipper knew there were other trainees here but he didn't know that some of them were this intense. Moreover, Dipper didn't realize that if Robbie and his friends weren't made into squires after two years, what chance does he have with only a month?...
"ROLL CALL!" A loud voice called out which startled Dipper.
He knew to hurry to the training square when roll call was announced because Pacifica did explain that much at least after Mabel and his father left. She told him there was a schedule for all new trainees that are looking to become squires. A royal knight can take up to three squires during their service to the crown. However, two of the three royal knights have already took their three squires. So now the only knight left is the youngest of the three knights, whom Dipper finally saw for the first time once he reached the training square with the other trainees…
In the square, there was a large wooden stage with a large man standing on it with a young woman clad in armor next to him. All the trainees gather in front of the stage in orderly lines to listen.
"May I present, my daughter, Royal Knight Wendy Corduroy!" The towering man shouted.
"Ugh! Enough Dad!" Wendy said.
Dipper was awestruck on how beautiful Wendy was. Her red hair flowing in the light breeze, her dazzling eyes that looked at Dipper briefly, and her strong exterior that commanded respect. Dipper knew she was amazing to become the youngest knight in the kingdom's history but to see her in person was another story all together…
"Listen up trainees. Some of you are new but some of you have been here for years. I only have one spot left for someone to become my squire! Regardless on how long you've been here, if you show results and can best one of my current squires, then you will be selected! My father has been the drill instructor for years. Even before I was born, he taught here and molded those that can make it. However, don't you think you have it easy! He as the absolute authority to cut anyone from this military training core!" Wendy yelled with strong conviction.
Dipper couldn't afford to be cut from the core. His life was on the line but also the hopes he would return to his family as well.
"Now! That introductions are done; I will take my leave! My father will take things from here. I will return with my squires in the next two weeks for the assessment test." Wendy said as she took her leave from the stage.
Everyone looked at her leaving with attraction in their eyes. However, all were interrupted by Wendy's father slamming his foot so hard on the wooden stage it broke down instantly. The lustful attraction the young men and some women had towards Wendy was now replace with fear by the man before them.
"To you newcomers, I'm Manly Dan! And you will grow to fear me!" Manly Dan shouted as he approached the trainees.
Dipper lightly shook nervously but maintained his cool as best as he could until Manly Dan approached him…
"YOU!" Manly Dan shouted.
"Y-YES SIR!" Dipper responded which made Robbie and his friends snickered.
"The royal family has informed me of your special situation. However, I will not change my ways just because you are under their thumb! You either make it here or you won't! Your life is figuratively and literally in my hands now!" Manly Dan said, which made some of the new trainees whisper to each other.
"QUIET! That goes for the lot of you! If you don't make it here, I will personally send you home crying! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" Manly Dan shouted.
"YES SIR!" Every trainee responded.
"Good. Now training begins! 100 laps around the square! GO!" Manly Dan shouted and the trainees obeyed.
.
.
.
Back in the village of Piedmont…
.
.
.
"Sir David returned!" One villager shouted as he spotted the carriage that was approaching.
Everyone came to greet David and his children home but were dumbstruck to see only his daughter in tow and not Dipper once they exited the carriage…
"Citizens of Piedmont! I have returned along with my daughter, Mabel. However, as you can plainly see, my son, Dipper, isn't with us. Have no fear, for he is of no harm. By my authority….and of the crown…" David said which he paused as he was fighting his sadness to maintain his composure in front of the people of Piedmont.
"My brother is no longer in line for lordship of this land. I, Lady Mabel Pines, will be the heir to this village! Dipper Pines is now training to become a squire for the kingdom. So, as heir to this village, I hope you will aid my father and I in maintaining our home for him to return to." Mabel butted in and everyone understood and knelt down in respect to the new heir of Piedmont.
Afterwards, David instructed the carriage to take the royal tribute to the local treasury of Piedmont. They both got out of the carriage once it arrived at the treasury house of Gleeful…
"Lord David! Welcome back my lord!" Bud Gleeful greeted once he emerged from his home with his wife and child in tow.
Mabel felt uneasy seeing the son of the Gleeful family, Gideon. For years he's been looking at Mabel unpleasantly which made her uncomfortable. They never spoken with each other even though they are both of the same age. However, now Mabel would have no choice but to converse with Gideon seeing how she was heir to the village and he was next in line for the treasury.
"Mabel. Mr. Gleeful and his son Gideon are in charge of the village's finances. Their family has been in service to our family for generations. You will have to work with them once I'm gone to maintain the economy here in Piedmont." David instructed.
"U-Understood." Mabel simply said as she was trying to avoid eye contact with Gideon, whom was looking at her lustfully.
"We have this year's tribute Bud. Please circulate the funds with the villagers. Have the neighboring farmers notified that our market is open to purchase their crops for this year. Also, notify my village guard-captain I would like to speak with him at my manor." David instructed.
"As you wish my lord." Bud responded as he bowed with his family
David and Mabel took their leave but Mabel knew Gideon was still glaring at her with lust in his eyes…
As David and Mabel walked back to their manor, they decided to converse…
"Father…Do I have to work with that Gideon creep?! He disgusts me with his weird smirk and outlandish hairstyle. Not to mention he smelt like he was wearing women's perfume!" Mabel protested which made David laugh a little.
"I'll admit, the boy is…different. However, like it or not you will have to work with him in the upcoming years. But I'm afraid we have more important matters to attend in the moment." David said which worried Mabel once she saw her father's attitude change to being more serious.
"What's wrong?" Mabel asked.
"…You will find out once we go inside and talk with the guard-captain. This won't be pleasant but necessary. All I ask Mabel is that you stay silent when we have this conference with guard-captain Mark Douglas. He and I are not on the best terms and it's going to get even worse…" David said which made Mabel a little nervous…
.
.
.
Back with Dipper…
.
.
.
After the hundred laps, Dipper along with many of the other trainees were exhausted. But that didn't matter because of their instructor wasn't done with them yet. In fact, this was merely the beginning…
"Alright recruits! Time for sparing matches! For those of you that signed up willingly, you should already be familiar with the practice weapon of your choice. However, those who never laid hands on a weapon before today, will be given a crash course in pain!" Manly Dan shouted.
Everyone went for the wooden weapons on the wall rack. The favorite ones were the swords and spears. However, all were taken before Dipper had a chance to grab one. Once it was finally his turn to grab a weapon, all that was left was a wooden club.
Dipper grabbed the club but it was heavier than it appeared. It took all of Dipper's strength that he had left just to lift it off the rack. Once he did, the club fell to the ground. All the while, Dipper could hear Robbie and his friends laughing at him trying to wield the hefty weapon.
"Everyone! Front and center!" Manly Dan shouted which everyone obeyed until he saw Dipper struggling to get into line due to the weight of the club, he was forced to take with him.
"PINES! MOVE IT NOW!" Manly Dan shouted.
"YES SIR!" Dipper shouted in frustration as he dragged the club.
Finally, Dipper made it into line but was out of breath. Again, Robbie and his friends snickered at Dipper's misfortune but there were a couple other trainees that took pity on him especially since it was his first day…
"Sparing will take place into two parts! First half before the lunch bell and second half after! I will set the matches for you all. If any of you can land a single blow on your opponent's vital spots which are the head, heart, or gut, you will be deemed the winner! However, those of you unlucky enough to lose will be barred by me to be selected in the upcoming squire selection!" Manly Dan shouted which immediately got the attention of Dipper.
"Sparing matches will take place in the pit!" Manly Dan shouted as he pointed to the part of the training square which was specifically dug out for combatants to fight.
"First up! Trainee Katlin and Trainee Tambry!" Manly Dan shouted.
"Yeah Tambry! Go get her!" Lee shouted.
"Take her down!" Nate cheered.
"Be careful." Thomson said.
"Knock her dead." Robbie said.
"No prob guys." Tambry said as she high-fived them on the way to the pit.
Dipper knew she was obviously friends with Robbie and the others but when he spectated with the rest of the trainees, he saw just how vicious the matches were…
"READY! BEGIN!" Manly Dan shouted as the two girls went at it.
Dipper was in shock that the blows that these girls took was nothing compared to the sparing matches him and Mabel once did back in Piedmont. Both Katlin and Tambry were hitting each other so hard, Dipper swore he heard a bone or two crack during the fight. Blood was even being spilt, as some of the hits landed. Finally, Katlin was too weak to even stand and fell to her knees in defeat but Tambry had yet to land a victorious blow. All she had to do was tap her on the head, chest, or stomach but Dipper saw in horror that she wasn't gentle with her finishing blow. Unable to defend herself, Katlin's head took a mean bash from Tambry's wooden sword and knocked her to the ground.
"That's match! Winner, Tambry!" Manly Dan shouted and Tambry's friends cheered while other looked in disgust especially when Katlin was escorted out of the pit and it was revealed that finishing blow took her eye out of the socket…
Match after match happened and Dipper had to watch them all. Some weren't so bad as the match Tambry was in, others were too barbaric to even describe. Luckily, Dipper's name wasn't called yet. However, neither was Robbie's as he eyed Dipper with satisfaction like he knew he was going to fight him. But before Dipper's name was called, the tower bell rung for lunch hour…
"Time for your break! Be back in an hour! Those who don't return, will be expelled!" Manly Dan shouted as he took his leave…
"Lucky break, pipsqueak. But don't get too comfortable. Our next match is coming up next. Hahahaha." Robbie said to Dipper as he laughed and walked away.
Dipper was hyperventilating at the thought of facing Robbie. He was clearly more skilled than he was and had been a trainee longer than him. So, it stood reason to believe that Dipper's match would be an impossible one to compete. Moreover, Dipper was stuck with this heavy club. Against Robbie's light sword, Dipper was at a severe disadvantage. For now though, Dipper left the heavy club on the ground near the pit and walked with the others to the mess hall for lunch…
.
.
.
Dipper sat in silence and ate his food slowly. He was in shock because he not only knew his chances of winning were next to zero but also that his chance to be selected as a squire was also vanishing. Suddenly, Dipper was startled by two girls that sat with him at the table he was at. One of which, was a hulking girl that plopped down on her seat like a boulder hitting the ground.
"Hey new guy. I'm Grenda." Grenda said then took a huge bite out of her turkey leg.
"And I'm known as Candy." Candy said in a soft spoke voice with a smile, which Dipper saw as a breath of fresh air since this whole day started.
"Hello. I'm Dipper. Dipper Pines of Piedmont." Dipper greeted.
"We wanted to find out what's your story." Grenda said while continuing to stuff her face.
"My story?" Dipper inquired.
"Yes. From what little we heard; you were put here as ordered by the royal family if I'm not mistaken. Could we ask for your side to fill in the blanks?" Candy asked.
"Not much to say. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was told to become a squire before this month was over with. Doing so would help my family but if I failed…it would mean disastrous consequences." Dipper said but didn't go into further detail than that.
"I see…" Candy said.
"Whatever the case may be…You got your work cut out for ya. I heard that Robbie guy is no joke with a sword. In fact, I heard that the only reason why Royal Knight Corduroy wouldn't take Robbie as a squire was because they used to be a couple." Grenda said.
"Wait! What?!" Dipper said in disbelief.
"Yes. Wendy and Robbie grew up together and became a couple. But then Robbie was caught cheating with Tambry and she broke it off to pursue becoming the third knight of the kingdom." Candy explained.
"Oh…Wow." Dipper said dumbfounded that a jerk like Robbie and a noble woman like Wendy ever were a thing.
"Yeah. So, what are you going to do? Clearly you don't have the strength to swing that club." Grenda said.
"…I guess I would have to do my best." Dipper said still down about the whole ordeal.
Candy and Grenda looked at each other and nodded.
"What if we traded?" Grenda purposed.
"Traded?" Dipper asked curious now.
"Yeah…Look. I'm trying to be selected too but I feel like you got a bad hand and against someone that will never be selected in the first place…So, I will give you my sword in trade for your club." Grenda said which really lit up Dipper's face to the point where he was about to cry tears of joy.
"R-Really!?" Dipper asked with renewed hope.
"Of course. In exchange, you become our friend." Candy chimed in with another smile.
"Agreed!" Dipper said with a huge smile of confidence.
Dipper now had a real fighting chance but he still had to be on his toes. Even though Dipper got a better weapon to fight with, there is no telling how good Robbie was. Everything hinged on this fight. He needed to be in the selection. Otherwise, his life would be over. He needed to prove that he has what it takes to the king, Pacifica, his family, and more importantly…Himself.