Prologue
After stepping out of the portal to Gravity Falls with the rest of the army, everyone else looked at the six in shock and concern.
"So what exactly happened back there?" asked Noah.
"Bill Cipher stole the pieces of the Great Diamond." Candy explained. "He used them to open portals to three, no four eras."
"But why?" asked Soos.
"I'm not sure." Candy frowned. "But I bet it has something to do with whatever evil plan he has."
"So what do we do?" asked Wendy.
Candy thought. "It's best that we split into three groups to deal with this."
"But didn't you say there were FOUR rifts?" asked Mabel.
Candy nodded. "But I do sense that some of these other rifts have merged with each other, which will make travel across them easier, which is why I lead the team that will traverse between them because I can do so with my powers. Besides, when we saw those rifts open up, I noticed Bill send out Three dark sources of energy across them. Meaning three parties to investigate them."
"Well, then we should go with you." Mabel offered, gesturing to herself and Grenda. "It'll be a girl party!"
Mason spoke up. "It may not be a good idea."
"Why not?" asked Grenda.
"Given how there are three rifts to seal and six of us, it feels advisable for each of us to go in groups of two." Mason suggested.
"Right," Candy nodded. "What's more, I believe it's best me, Mabel, and Grenda are on each of these teams."
Her friends turned to her.
"Why's that?" asked Grenda.
"Think about it, the three of us were given those diamond pieces and some sort of prophetic dream. There are three of us so it falls on us to contain each of these three energies."
"But Bill stole our diamond pieces." Grenda lamented. "Those things might have been able to help us."
Candy's face fell. "Oh yeah..."
Seeing the saddened state her friends were in incited Mabel.
"Don't give up girls. Even without those Diamonds, we can still stop this. Remember, those dreams came to the three of us specifically, BEFORE we got the diamonds. Plus we're pretty skilled with our weapons so we can take out any of those monster jerks too! Right? I know you do, Grend-o!"
Grenda grinned as she drew her blade. "Heck Yeah!"
Candy smiled and nodded before getting serious again. "Though we should also be on alert with these new worlds. Chances are there are evils in these new dimensions, so I wouldn't be surprised if Bill forms alliances with them.
The others nodded.
"And like you said with Grenda's strength, my spirit, your passion, Mason's sword skills and Soos and Wendy's strange powers, we can accomplish anything!" She smiled.
"Aren't they supposed to be 'Sage' powers?" asked Soos. "I mean that's what Bill called them."
Wendy nodded. "I mean three of them have been discovered so far."
Mason turned to her, worried about what she was going to say next.
"I mean, that witch in the Caverns; the one who attacked the forest a while back told me in the caves that Dipper is The Sage of Darkness. So chances are the reason why we haven't seen him is because he's probably on the run from Bill's forces."
"How?" Mabel asked. "How are we sure he's not-"
"Because he has those powers like Soos and I do." Wendy told her. "And unlike Soos and I, who spent the past few weeks searching for him and the others, he's likely been training to survive and had more time to master his powers. So that's how I know he's out there."
She gave Mason a reassuring smile.
"So with me, Dipper and Wendy, down. That leaves nine more who have yet to awaken their powers." surmised Soos. "Any guesses as to who they may be?"
Candy put a hand to her chin. "Well, Bill did say they were chosen by the Universe so chances are we'll likely find those who were given these powers as we go along with our journey."
"That sounds fair." Sprye nodded. "So who's with who? As in who's with Mabel? Who's with Candy and who's with Grenda?"
Mason quickly spoke up. "I'll go with Grenda."
They looked at him.
"What?!" Grenda was incredulous.
"Um, excuse us for a moment." Wendy pulled Mason aside.
"Mas-I mean, Dipper. Why do you want to go with Grenda?" She whispered. "Don't you think it's better to go with either Mabel or Candy?"
"Well both Mabel is close to me and Candy interacted with me enough to know what I'm like." Mason told her. "If either of them were close enough to me without your intervention, they might catch on to my true identity. Grenda is the only one who hasn't, so sticking with her seems like my best bet to maintain my cover."
"Ok." Wendy nodded. "Though I'm not sure I see this as a good idea."
"Grenda, why don't you want to go with Mason?" Mabel asked her grumpy friend.
"Because I don't trust him, Mabel." Grenda pouted. "I mean think about it, during our most intense hour in those caves, he shows up and saves us, give us some cryptic detail about your brother being alive but doesn't elaborate on that, and during our stay in Gnome Villa, he never leaves his hut. I want to believe he's a spy. Sent to either destroy us from the inside out, starting with the strongest member; me, or someone sent by Bill who's using us to lead him to Dipper's location. He is one of the twelve people who can put a stop to Bill's plans."
"Look, Grenda." Mabel assured. "I get why you don't trust Mason, he's so mysterious and silent but for some reason, I feel like I do trust him."
"Why?" Grenda slightly teased. "Because you're in love with him?"
Mabel looked flustered. "No. It's not like that, there's some sort of connection between us, like...I know him from somewhere, someone I've known...all my life."
"Exactly, a soulmate, if you will." Grenda replied.
Mabel looked annoyed. "Whatever. He's already made his choice and I don't want to raise any more trouble about that with everything else that's going on."
She walked back to the group as Wendy and Mason came back.
"Ok, so I talked things out with Mason and he says he wants to go with Grenda because he thinks that his strong skills will go well with her strength."
Grenda scoffed.
"Anyways, I'll go with Mabel." Wendy added. "I think I can be responsible enough to keep her safe, and sort of give her the support she needs, emotional and otherwise."
Mabel smiled. "Thanks, girlfriend."
They shared a fistbump.
"And I guess that leaves Soos with me." Finished Candy.
"Anyways, we'll each take a third of the Gnomes and Manotaurs with us." Candy told them. "That way we'll have some support in case we run into any more of those monsters across dimensions."
"Sounds good to me." said Wendy.
"Let's all have some time to prepare." said Candy. "We'll meet back here in half an hour."
She walked to her hut and the others to theirs.
A few minutes later, everyone was back out in the village square. Mason, Grenda, Mabel, Wendy, Soos and Candy were standing before the Gnomes and Manotaurs who had divided into thirds.
Candy tapped her tome and the Summoning Ring flew out of it.
She outstretched her palm and closed two fingers into her hand.
The Ring divided into three. Each one had an image of the rifts that had opened.
"You guys ready?" asked Candy.
They nodded.
Mabel, Wendy, and their faction walked through their ring which vanished upon them passing through it.
Candy, Soos and their group did the same, the ring floating out behind them.
"Come on, Mason." Grenda called, only to see him walking to the rear.
"Hey, Buddy. Come on!" Grenda called out.
Mason stopped at the back as Grenda approached him.
"What are you doing?" She demanded.
Mason turned to her.
"I'm just getting us one more ally." Mason replied.
Grenda raised an eyebrow. "Like who?"
"Emelda!" Mason called out. At once, a turquoise fairy flew out of the woods before the two of them.
"Yes Di-I mean Mason?" she asked.
"We need you to come with us." The knight told her.
"What for?" The fairy asked.
"With these new worlds, it'll be hard to navigate all over the place." Said Mason. "So I'll need you to scout ahead and report back what you see."
"You mean report back to your superiors about our status." Muttered Grenda.
"Ok. I'll do my best." Emelda nodded before flying through the portal.
"Now we should get through." Mason instructed the troops.
"Hey, I'm in charge." Grenda scolded. "Let's all get through and conquer this strange place."
The gnomes cheered and the Manotaurs roared as they all marched through behind Grenda.
"I literally just said that." Mason grumbled before he sighed and followed behind the rest of them.
He phased through the gate and it closed behind him.
Leading a small force of troops, Grenda stepped through one of the newly opened portals. The world spread out before her was very different from the one she was familiar with. Despite the sense of normalcy Grenda nevertheless, continued her search for the Gate to Worlds. Turning her attention to an innocent park, she began asking around for anything out of the ordinary. And with her came the Phantom Knight; Mason.
Grenda's troops all walked through the gate to find themselves standing in front of a giant area with a sign that said 'PARK' above it.
"Let's get walking." She told them.
They walked through the gates through the trees under the blue sky.
So far nothing strange. No monsters attacking the people, no dark clouds or rifts. So far, everything was...regular.
Bur for Grenda...there was Mason.
She stopped and turned to him.
"You know you could have accompanied either Mabel or Candy. Why did you choose to follow me?"
"Like I said, your strength and mine will come together perfectly." Mason replied, without turning to her.
But Grenda wasn't convinced.
"I can't figure you out." She frowned. "How much do you really know of the Pines Family? Of Mabel?"
Mason said nothing but his body was slightly shaking.
"Who exactly sent you?" She asked. "Where did you come from?"
"That's..." Mason trailed off. "Let's just say I'm an old enemy of Bill."
"Like from another dimension?" She asked, starting to become convinced.
"Yeah-I-I mean, no but-"
"But what?" asked Grenda. "Are you from another dimension...or someone Bill sent to spy on us to destroy from the inside out? Starting with their strongest member AKA Me?"
"Hey, we're strong too." A Manotaur tried to protest, but Grenda wasn't listening in.
The forces stopped and watched as Grenda confronted Mason.
"So who exactly are you?" she asked. "What are you planning, and what exactly do you hope to gain from working with us?"
Before Mason could say anything they heard footsteps.
Emelda flew before them with an anthropomorphic Gumball Machine following her.
"Are these the ones?" He asked her.
Emelda nodded.
The Gumball man approached her.
"So you guys are the gnomes, Minotaurs, and Kids who are going to save the day?" He looked unamused.
"Yes?" Grenda responded. "Do you know us?"
"This fairy told me everything that was going on." He replied. "At first I didn't want to believe it, but seeing as how all of my employees have gone missing and were not in their rooms playing a prank on me or slacking off, I had to accept she was right."
"Guys, this is Benson." said Emelda. "He's the boss of this park."
"Hi there." Grenda waved.
"Hey." said Mason.
Benson turned to Grenda. "Are you OK? Do you have a cold or something?"
"What do you mean?" asked Grenda. "Why would you say that?"
"That's just what she sounds like, sir." Mason told her.
Benson looked embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry, then."
"It's fine." Grenda sighed. "Anyways tell us how they went missing."
"It all started like this." Benson explained.
Benson walked through the house searching for Mordecai, Rigby and Pops.
Mordecai?" He threw open the living room door to see if he and Rigby were playing video games but, nothing.
"Rigby?" He walked into the kitchen to see if there eating junk food but the kitchen was empty.
"Pops, are you here?" He opened Pops' room to see if Pops was still asleep but Pops was not there.
"Skips, if you're done lifting weights I need you..." Benson opened the door to Skip's garage but Skips was absent.
"Muscle Man, Hi-Five Ghost stop playing this prank or you're fired!" Benson kicked open the trailer but nobody came out."
Benson walked out and looked exhausted. "Now where could they be?"
"Excuse me, but are you in trouble?" A faint voice came above him.
The Gumball Machine looked upwards and saw Emelda.
"A...fairy?" Benson was bewildered. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Emelda sheepishly replied. "Here, let me start over. My name is Emelda. I am a fairy from another world and I am here with my friends to deal with any disturbances."
"Woah, woah." Benson interjected. "Your 'friends'?"
Emelda nodded. "They're a human girl, a rogue Phantom Knight, some Minotaurs and Gnomes. If you can handle them."
Benson shrugged. "Wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary where I'm from."
Emelda looked taken aback. "Really? But everything here looks so...regular."
Benson deadpanned. "Sister, you haven't seen nothing yet."
Emelda nodded in acceptance. "Anyways, come with me. We need to find them at once. I was told to search ahead so they're probably not far behind."
She floated off and Benson followed her.
"And then we ran into you guys." Finished Benson. "Anyways, what are your names?"
"I'm Grenda." Said Grenda.
"And I'm Mason." Added Mason.
"And as Emelda mentioned earlier, my name is Benson." Said the Machine. "And I'm willing to help you in whatever way you need."
"Well you can start by directing us towards any evils around here." Mason told him. "Are there any notable people here who are known for doing terrible things?"
"Well the only evil I can think of right now is East Pines Park." Said Benson. "But all they do is prank us and steal the park statue of our founder."
"Well if he's someone who is strongly antagonistic then he's our best bet." Said Grenda. "Can you take us to him."
Benson nodded. "But we'll have to be careful. Their manager is a prank-obsessed monster. If he doesn't hesitate to attack me and my employees, then chances are he wouldn't do the same to you two kids and your gnomes and bull-men. Follow me."
He walked off and the others followed him out of the park.
They followed Benson along the path to East Pines. Emelda had flown ahead to scout.
"So how bad is this, Gene guy?" asked Mason. "I mean, he can't be as bad as the people we face back home."
Grenda turned to him with suspicion. He had no right to associate himself with fighting the enemies THEY faced.
"Well, the fact that it's dangerous for kids like you to fight monsters like those aside..." Benson jerked a thumb to the Gnomes and Manotaurs.
"HEY!" A Manotaur protested.
"What exactly do you face back in your dimension?" he asked.
"A few of those gnomes, a Lake Monster, living wax figures, ghosts, clones, Halloween Monsters, Videogame villains brought to life, Dinosaurs, stuff like that."
He turned to Grenda who didn't seem to react. Good thing her low intelligence prevented her from connecting the dots and figuring out he was Dipper.
"What a coincidence. We face things like that at this park, too." Benson replied with amazement. "Though not living wax figures or dinosaurs and it's living holograms instead of clones."
(A/N: Sorry to allude to the most hated episode with Benson with the latter mentioning.)
"Really?" asked Mason.
Benson nodded. "Though it's namely because of the shenanigans of two of my employees; Mordecai and Rigby. A Blue Jay and Raccoon respectively who slack off and get into all sorts of mischief."
Mason chuckled at this. These two seemed like fun.
"I mean; do you know how many times I have threatened to fire them?" Benson's temper started to rise with irritation creeping into his voice. "Yet for all the things they do, after every time that they slack off when I tell them to get back to work-"
"You just don't really do it." Mason cut him off. "Because life would be just so dull without them."
Benson was slightly baffled. "Well...I would prefer it that way but yes. Life would be so dull without them, and I am sort of used to the messes they bring."
"Yell me about it," said Mason. "My sister is the same way. I mean with all her loud sleepovers, her obnoxious boy band singing, and the fact that I give up so much for her sake and get little in return...while it can be irritating, I'm also used to it. Because I Love her no matter what."
"Your sister-" Grenda spoke up, which caused Mason to tense, "The way you're describing her sounds a lot like-"
"I'm here!" Emelda flew back.
[Music: Have A talk: HW]
"What did you see?" asked Mason.
"I can see several monsters stationed within East Pines Park, they're not running rampant, they seem to have taken it over." the fairy explained.
"Do you really think this 'Gene' person would team up with such creatures?" Grenda asked.
"It seems like a stretch for him to do this, but if it's to get one up on me and my park then he'd probably do just that." said Benson. "Heck, I'd be surprised if that wasn't the case."
Suddenly there was some rustling in the bushes nearby eliciting everyone's attention.
"An ambush!" Grenda exclaimed.
The bushes began to shake when suddenly...
Out burst a panicked Gene.
"It's him!" cried Benson.
Mason and Grenda drew their Sword and Knife respectively.
"Woah! Wait! Please don't kill me!" The Vending Machine cried.
The two kids lowered their weapons.
Gene noticed Benson.
"What are you doing with them, Benson?" he asked.
"We're here to stop your monsters, Gene." The Gumball Machine glared. "So stand out of the way, or we'll deal with you right here."
"Wait? You think I set this up?" He exclaimed.
"Well...yeah." replied Benson.
"I didn't," he replied. "It was Muscle Man who did this!"
"Who?" Grenda tilted her head.
"Another one of my Employees," Benson told her, "And the only one who could out-class Gene in pranking."
"Yeah yeah." Gene glared. "He's taken over my park with the help of those monsters!"
"What?" Grenda and Mason exclaimed.
"You see we found him unconscious in the middle of our property and we restrained him and were about to sentence him to punishment by pranks, when some kid in a Pine Tree hat arrived leading a bunch of monsters. They attacked and tied up my men, we tried to fight back but they were really skilled."
"Wait, some kid in a Pine Tree hat?" Grenda exclaimed. "That's Mabel's brother! But then why is he with those monsters?"
Gene shrugged. "I don't know, but the next thing I knew, that kid fed Muscle Man this weird drink that gave him super strength and then he was leading the monsters to drive the employees out of my park!"
"Is this a prank?" asked Benson who was clearly unamused.
Gene vigorously shook his head. "No, It isn't, I promise you!"
Benson turned to Mason and Grenda. "What do you think?"
"Let's see this with our own eyes." Mason suggested as they continued onward towards East Pines.
They later approached the gates which were closed.
Mason shook them. "Locked."
"Well duh." snarked Gene. "It's security. Just wait for me to get the Keys.
"No time!" Chutzpar growled as he stomped forward and pried the bars apart with his bare hands.
Gene was baffled. And so was Benson.
"We should still be careful." Emelda instructed. "If what Gene said is true then there are monsters in patrol."
[BGM: Hammer of Stones: HW]
Mason nodded. "I'm still concerned about our primary mission, but right now we should focus on stopping these monsters."
"Hey! No one goes through here!" A Gulblin screeched.
"C'mon!" Grenda drew her Giant Blade. "Let's force our way through."
"Right behind you." nodded Mason.
Grenda rolled her eyes at this.
The two of them charged at the monsters.
"Hey!" Benson complained. "Isn't it dangerous to do that?"
He and Gene looked at each other and nodded before following the two.
"No! Wait! You're both unarmed!" Emelda cried before they rushed off. She groaned. "Forget it."
Grenda and Mason both charged ahead before Benson and Gene reached them.
"No! Wait." The East Pines Manager cried. "You're both near-"
Before anything else could be said a giant red Water Balloon soared through the air and landed between the four of them causing them to fall back.
"The Prank Depots." He finished.
"The what?" asked Emelda.
"Like I said, Gene is obsessed with Pranks." Benson explained. "Whenever my park breaks into his place during our little prank wars, he has all of his equipment stored in two depots where he can deploy them at will."
Gene nodded. "I just never thought I'd live to see the day they'd be used against me, let alone MUSCLE MAN of all people using them against me."
"Well that's some karma right there for you," Benson smirked.
"Shut up!" Gene snapped. "I wouldn't be in this mess had that dumb kid not shown up with those monsters and put Muscle Man in charge of them to prank us to death!"
"He's met with Mabel's brother?" asked Grenda. "Why would that cause such a negative change in him?"
"I'm...not sure." Mason replied. "But for now we need to stop these Water Balloon attacks, let's sieze the depots!"
Grenda nodded as the four of them rushed towards the nearest depot.
Suddenly the Earth began to rumble and before anyone could ask what was happening,
RRRIPPPPP!
The portion of Earth before the depot was uprooted and was raised into the air, blocking their easy access to it.
"WHAT?!" They all exclaimed.
Benson glared at Gene. "Is that new?" he snarked.
Gene vehemently shook his head. "N-no! Not at all, I don't have the tools to do that."
"Then we'll just have to go around the back." Mason frowned before rushing off around the fissure.
Grenda followed him to an outpost where some monsters were stationed.
Both drew their weapons and cut through the Gulblins with Ease as Benson and Gene stared in awe.
"I wanna fight too." Gene complained. "This is my park!"
"Then let's get you two equipped with weapons." Emelda suggested, "Come with me back to the security checkpoint and we'll give you some weapons to use."
Both Anthropomorphic food dispensers nodded before they retreated to grab weapons.
Both of them stared at the depot.
"Here's the plan." Mason told Grenda. "I'll draw them away from the depot, and then you go in-"
Distrusting Mason, Grenda snarled, "I'm going in now."
She charged in with a roar.
"GRENDA GRENDINATOR!"
Mason was stunned.
"Sh-she just went in! No, Grenda, NO!"
He ran after her as the rest the monsters noticed her.
"Hey, you jerks!" She shouted with rage. "Yeah, I'm talking to you! Come here and step right up to get sliced!"
The monsters all charged her at once and dogpiled her before she could even swing her blade once.
Mason noticed this and cast his his hand.
A lavender seal of energy formed beneath the monsters and they were all blown off.
Grenda noticed him with his glowing hand.
"How...how did you do that?!" She exclaimed.
Mason shrugged. "You know magic armor and stuff. Thiugh that aside, next time I tell you a plan, how about you wait around and hear it through. That way something like that won't happen again!"
Grenda scoffed. "I don't need to listen to a stranger like you. So just mind your own business and stay in line!"
With that she charged into the Prank Depot with her weapon drawn.
Mason was baffled at her harshness towards her.
"Usally she fawns over brooding boys." He thought, before brushing it off and rushing in after her.
He saw her battling a group of monsters but was oblivious to one with a bow readying a shot behind her.
"Grenda look out!"
She monster released the arrow but he sprang up with a shield to block it. He turned to her.
Grenda simply nodded. "Cool. Anyways I think we're done here."
"Hardly!" Gene's voice came from outside.
They turned to see him and Benson together, holding two strange rods. Benson's was red and Gene's was blue.
"What are those?" Asked Mason.
"Weapons." Benson told them. "Your fairy friend had her gnomes supply us with some weapons from the Gnome Armory."
"So let's take back this park!" Gene added.
"Alright," Grenda nodded. "Where should we start."
"There's the Prank depot to the west." Gene explained. "If the monsters haven't seized control of it yet, we can beat them there and prevent any more attacks on our forces."
The others nodded and the four of them hurried out as two Manotaurs stationed themselves in the East Depot.
Just as they were approaching the West Depot another, the area before it it began to shake and mound of earth uprooted into a wall to keep them from reaching it easily.
"I got this!" Gene cried as he pointed his Blue road at the cliffside.
The tip began to glow light blue and several giant blocks of ice formed to form a staircase
"We can climb over that ditch instead of going around." He told them.
"Nice thinking." said Benson, "And I know what'll buy us some time."
They climbed the ice staircase and Benson noticed a few Gulblins starting to advance into the keep.
He pointed his red rod which released a fireball to create a wall to prevent their entry.
"Gene, get us down." Benson turned.
Gene nodded and created more ice blocks for them to climb down on.
He entered the building at once.
"We're in!" He told them.
"That's a relief." Mason sighed. "That way we don't have to worry about any water balloons raining down on us for a while."
Suddenly the screens inside of the depot began to flicker and all of them showed a chubby green face.
"So, you've managed to take the depots, huh?" He asked Gene, Mason and Grenda (not noticing Benson behind them). "We'll looks like it's time for the Master Prankster to make his move!"
Before Benson could say a single word about Gene and the others being with him, the screens flickered off.
"So it looks like this Muscle Man is coming out." commented Mason. "If we take him down, he'll stop this operation."
"We need to get some answers from him," Grenda frowned. "Let's knock him out."
"No." Benson stopped them. "He's my Employee so I'll take care of him. If he knows I'm here and that you're all on my side he'll stand down.
They exited the Depot (with a few Gnomes remaining stationary inside it)
They ran to the central path that lead to the Manager's Lodge and saw a green figure charging out, stopping before them. A giant mallet in his hands.
It was Muscle Man, in all his glory.
"Muscle Man!" Benson exclaimed.
The green man ignored his boss and glared at Gene, Mason, and Grenda.
"So you think you can come in here and take back this place?" He demanded. "Not a chance."
"It's my park, Muscle Man!" Gene protested. "And you're not welcome in it."
"Well, neither are they!" Muscle Man pointed at the two. "You're all here to hurt my Starla, aren't you!"
They all exchanged glances.
"What do you mean?" asked Mason. "WHO'S Starla?"
"My love." Muscle Man shouted. "That kid in the Pine Tree hat told me that you were after my She-Lion. They told me they took her somewhere and the only way I would see her again was to defeat any bad guys coming here. Which all of you are."
"They're not bad guys!" Benson tried to reason with his Employee. "Please, they're with me!"
"So you've recruited my boss as well?" Muscle Man snapped at Mason and Grenda. "I bet it was you who convinced him to join him, Gene."
"No, we needed to-" Benson tried to explain.
"I told you before this is a textbook prank setup. Invite 'em out, get 'em comfy, then BAM! Egg in the face, or pie in the face. Something ends up in someone's face, and it's usually not good."
"Oh, come on! That was one time!" Benson tried to explain as he grew red. "As your boss, I command you to stand down."
"Well as your employer it's my responsibility to save you from these punks!" His eyes began to glow bright brown and he slammed his foot down causing several mounds of earth to shoot out and knock the four of them down."
They all looked at him in shock.
"H-how did you?!" Exclaimed Benson.
"He's a sage!" Emelda exclaimed.
"A what?" Benson turned to her.
"12 powerful elements are what can counter the villain who opened the gaps between worlds." Emelda told him. "So far we have awakened three of them on our side, Water, Nature, and Darkness. It seems here that some of the champions have been chosen as well."
"Then why is he fighting against us?" asked Benson.
"It must be the bad guys' way of averting the prophecy. By having some of the sages fight for them. That's why they impersonated m-Dipper. And had him make Muscle Man fight us!"
"So what do we do?" Benson exclaimed. "I can't KILL one of my employees!"
He was cut off when a mound of Earth nearly took his head off."
"No, but we need to get him to calm down." replied Mason. "Knock him out!"
He drew his sword and shield.
Grenda drew her blade and Benson and Gene readied their rods.
Muscle Man let out a squeal as he lunged at them.
Grenda swung her blade but he managed to grip it in both hands.
"W-what?" she exclaimed.
Muscle Man then tossed the blade, with her still holding onto it.
Benson walked forward with a glare. "Sorry. Well...not Sorry."
He pointed his rod as Muscle Man and a ball of Fire shot from it and caught to his shirt.
Muscle Man in response to this began to squeal like a baby and flail around, spreading fire and earth mounds everwhere.
"MY PARK!" Gene screamed before glaring at Benson. "Well it's a good thing I have the ice staff.
"He began aiming projectiles of Ice at the fire before it could spread throughout the rest of the park.
"What are you doing?" Emelda exclaimed.
"Saving my park, fairy." Gene retorted.
"Oh that's just great. What about the FREAKING MONSTER LEADER WHOSE WREAKING HAVOC ACROSS IT RIGHT NOW!"
"Right." Gene replied. He walked towards the flailing Muscle Man who was rolling across a pond to douse the fire.
"How come that fire isn't out?" Asked Emelda.
Benson shrugged. "Maybe it's enchanted?"
Emelda shook her haed. "It is magically generated, but it's just as normal as any fire."
"Well then let's see how he fares with enchanted ice!" Gene pointed his ice rod at Muscle Man in an attempt to trap him.
Suddenly a seal of red magic appeared below the buff prankster and he disappeared before a shard of ice could reach its target.
"What? Where did he go?" Gene cried.
"Warp Magic." Mason whispered. "He's not working alone. Someone is helping him."
"You think it's that witch from the caves and the forest?" Asked Grenda.
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Let's hurry to the Core Lodge and see for ourselves. That's also where they must have brought Muscle Man."
They turned their attention towards the lodge and began to advance forward when suddenly an wall of earth rose and kept them from advancing.
"What?" Gene cursed.
"Wow, he recovered fast." Benson remarked.
"Likely courtesy of whoever is helping him." Mason glared. "We have to find another way in."
"There are to checkpoints on either side of the lodge that are heavily guarded." Gene told them. "But that means we'll have to take the long way."
"Hold on." Mason spoke up. "I have a feeling that he'll be expecting us to do that. Don't yiu think he'd have traps lying in Wait for us there?"
The other contemplated this.
"I mean they don't call him the master Prankster for nothing." Said Benson. "What do you have planned, kid?"
"A chance to turn the tables." Mason replied. "Follow me."
He ran off and they followed him.
He made his way to the West Prank Depot.
"My plan is to operate this thing and use it on the central lodge. That will destroy his base and leave him with no chance to recover."
"Kid, that's brilliant!" Gene exclaimed.
"Very smart." Benson commented as well."
Mason nodded.
"Hold it!" Grenda spoke up. And everyone turned to her.
"How do we know you're really planning to fire on the enemy base?" She demanded. "For all we know you could be planning to fire on our forces and further weaken them for your allies to finish them off?"
"What?" He looked at her.
"Don't think I'm not onto you." She snarled. "I mean what? Just because you show up out of nowhere, after we've NEVER seen you before, that we can just assume you're on our side? I mean you've never even told us your backstory so I can just assume you're a spy sent by Bill!"
"Who?" Asked Benson.
"Well unless I get some answers you're not doing anything right now."
"Well we gotta do something or this place is toast!" Gene panicked.
Mason turned to Grenda.
"Trust me." He pleaded.
"What?" Grenda demanded.
"Grenda, just this once. Trust. Me." He pleaded. "The reason I haven't told you or the others anything is because, if you...if Mabel knew the truth of who I was, it would put her in danger because Bill would target her to get to me. Just like you are, I'm trying to protect her."
Grenda softened but she still wasn't convinced.
"So what? I'm just supposed to trust you?"
"I mean let's be fair; you haven't really given me a chance. And all that's happened from that is you putting yourself in Danger that we have to get you out of."
"It's better than being backstabbed by you."
"Well let's put it this way. If I wasn't really on your side then during all those times you were put in danger, all I would have to do was not step in and let those monsters finish the job. Yet I didn't and because of that, you're still alive."
Grenda was baffled.
"My point exactly. See? You can trust me. You just need to give me a chance."
Grenda looked unsure at this. But reluctantly nodded.
"You better not be tricking us."
"If I was then I'd deserve no better to be beaten up by you." He replied.
Grenda turned her attention to an oncoming swarm of enemies pouring out of the west.
"Enemies coming our way!" she exclaimed.
"Distract them." Mason pleaded. "I need you to buy me some time!"
She nodded and rushed towards them with Benson and Gene not far behind.
Several Dino Men charged at her but she slashed them back with her Giant Blade.
As they charged back at her Gene fired a blast from his Ice Rod to freeze them in place while Grenda thrust her blade forward to impale it.
The ice shattered and the monster vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
Benson released several fireballs from his Rod that incinerated the Gulblins, though some caught onto the trees.
"Hey, watch the park, Dunwoody!" Gene snapped as he doused the fires.
"Well excuse me if I'm trying to stop these monsters." Benson retorted.
"Calm down, you two." Grenda leaped up and charged her blade in the air before spiraling down and cutting down the enemies.
They turned their attention towards the remainders and lunged forward, knocking them down with a few strikes.
Once they were done, Mason sent a transmission through Grenda's communi-crystal.
"We're all ready. My plan begins, now!"
They turned their attention back to the depot as A turret rose from the top.
Grenda began to anticipate and dread it turning around and firing on the forces...
But to her relief. It fired onto the lodge, breaking it to wet splinters.
"And score!" He cheered.
"MY LODGE!" Gene screamed.
Everyone looked at him,
"What, it's still my park." He protested.
"Look!" Mason pointed.
Muscle Man was slowly standing up, his legs shaking.
[Music: Focal Line: Hyrule Warriors]
"Looks like he's letting up. Now's our chance to knock him down!" Mason exclaimed.
They all charged at Muscle Man, but to their shock, he brought up his Hammer and slammed it into the ground.
Several mounds of Earth shot from a glowing portion of the earth and sent everyone flying back.
"Wow, so he can seriously take a huge blow like that?" Grenda shouted. "We need to stop him, now!"
Gene charged at Muscle Man shooting several blasts of ice from his rod.
The green man simply dodged them and summoned several stones to collide with them before scratching Gene's surface and causing him to crumble down.
Benson rushed forward and sent out a blast of Fire that Muscle Man blocked with Earth before he pelted around Benson with several stone copies of his Naginata.
Mason frowned at this. "Time to kick it up a notch! He charged forward and began to charge an intense orb of magic in front of him. With a yell, the orb enlarged and exploded which sent Muscle Man flying.
"You're one of those sages too?" Benson exclaimed.
Mason said nothing as he charged at Muscle Man, curling up into a ball and charging at him.
Muscle Man sent up several mounds of Earth...that were easily plowed through.
"Strike!" Grenda cheered.
She charged at Muscle Man as she spun around with her blade, slicing through a few mounds and causing him to back up and tumble down.
Muscle Man replied with an uppercut and summoning several boulders.
"Grenda!" Mason cried as he shoved her out of the way and took the hit, getting nailed by several boulders.
"MASON!" Grenda cried before she ran to his side.
"Mason!" she shook him. "Stay with me."
He looked at her with a smile.
"I take it you CAN trust me at this point, huh."
Grenda nodded. "Yes! Just please don't die."
Upon seeing this Benson turned to Muscle Man, fury in his eyes.
But it was not just his usual unhinged, everyday fury, there was something else to it as well...not just to control his out of control employees, but to protect these two kids who he felt like he had to trust.
"Muscle Man." He spoke in a deepened voice. "That's enough. Stop this now."
Muscle Man didn't seem to listen, he just narrowed his eyes and this just flared the fire inside of the Gumball Machine.
Benson's rod began to glow...and so did his body with a scarlet fire.
"Stop this, NOW!" He yelled.
He let out a scream as a red dragon of fire appeared from a seal of magic beneath him.
Mason, Grenda and Gene gasped.
"How can his rod do that?" Exclaimed Gene,
"This is not the rod..." Emelda exclaimed. "I think...I think he's been chosen as one of the twelve Sages."
"WHAT?!" Mason and Grenda cried.
Benson thrust his rod forward and the flame dragon shot as Muscle Man like a bullet, ensnaring him in fire.
Muscle Man stood up, his legs wobbling before he charged forward with his Hammer.
Benson just charged up his rid with fire as an intense blast knocked Muscle Man back.
Muscle Man planted his hammer into the ground and pounded on it stunning Benson with a wave of dirt.
Benson hit the ground.
"No matter how hard we fight, he seems to take every hit we take!" Grenda protested.
"This power isn't just his own." Mason commented. "Someone else must be helping him."
Gene looked around until he noticed something odd.
"What's that?" He asked.
Mason and Grenda turned to where he was pointing and saw some strange transparent shapes in the air.
"Hang on." Gene sent an ice cold breeze from his rod to reveal Two-Wizarlocks hovering above Muscle Man. Their lanterns were pointed down towards him as if they were feeding him energy.
Upon seeing this Grenda sprang up and sliced one of them down causing it to lose its hold over Muscle Man.
Mason dealt with the other one by charging his sword up with dark energy and releasing it in a sword beam that knocked the other one down too.
Gene finished them off by sending down sharp icicles to impale them, turning them into dark smoke.
Muscle Man suddenly froze and clutched his head.
"M-my head!" He whined.
"He's letting up!" Emelda exclaimed. "Finish him!"
Benson pointed his Rod at Muscle Man and allowed a giant orb of fire to charge up.
With a scream, he orb expanded before it exploded and Muscle Man was sent sprawling back. He was defeated.
Upon seeing their leader defeated, the Monster forces made a hasty retreat with warp magic as the others turned their focus onto their former enemy.
"Muscle Man!" Benson exclaimed. He shook his employee's shoulder. "Muscle Man, wake up."
Muscle Man's eyes began to move and they opened. They were back to normal.
"Ughhh. What happened?" He groaned. "St-Starla?"
"Starla's not here." Benson told him. "It's just Benson...and some others."
Muscle Man jerked up and was on alert. "Starla! Those monsters took her!"
He stood up, but crumpled back down from the blows he took.
"Ssh." Emelda flew up to him, "You're in no condition to move anytime soon. How's about we rest for a bit and you tell us what went down before we got here."
Muscle Man nodded.
Gene then walked up to Grenda and Mason with a sincere smile.
"Thank you, kids. For saving my park." He nodded. "Well...most of it."
"Well, enemy or not. It's what we do." Mason smiled.
"And now that that's taken care of. Now I can go back to pranking Benson!"
"Really!" Emelda glared. "Even though we're in the middle of a dimensional war, you're seriously concerned about a PRANK WAR!"
Gene frowned guiltily. "S-sorry. I guess I could stick around and help with this, as well."
"And so will we." Benson addressed himself and Muscle Man. "If we're two of these sages, brought up, then we'll need to help...as long it will make the threat to our world and the park go away."
"Thank you. Truly." Grenda nodded.
By the way, Grenda." Smirked Gene. "You have the voice of a professional wrestler."
Grenda growled. "I WANNA PUT HIM IN A HEADLOCK AND MAKE HIM FEEL PAIN!"
Mason stopped her. "Hang on, I have a better idea."
He walked forward and grabbed a wallet out of an East Pines groundskeeper before inserting it into his dollar slot.
"Hey? What are you?"
Mason pressed a few buttons and two candy bars fell from Gene's screen. He reached in the slot and grabbed them.
"HEY!" Gene blushed embarrassedly while Benson and Muscle Man laughed.
"Do you know who else like to take people's food like that?" Muscle Man joked. "MY MOM!"
"Here." Mason gave one to Grenda who accepted.
"Thanks." She smiled. "And hey, I'm sorry for being suspicious of you. I just wanted to keep Mabel and Candy safe."
"It's cool." he nodded. "I completely understand. I would do whatever it took to keep my sister safe."
Grenda turned to him. "Your sister?"
Mason's eyes widened and he said "Y-yeah. I have a sister. And she's in danger of being targeted by Bill. That's why I'm so mysterious around you. If they knew who I was, they would know how to get to me. So I hide my identity in this armor so they won't know who I am. Besides, I've being hunted by Bill and his friends, since I was discovered as one of the sages."
Grenda nodded in understanding. "I see. And...what is your true identity?"
Mason looked down and Grenda realized it.
"Oh...right. But Mason, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else."
Mason smiled underneath his helmet but frowned seconds later. "Thanks...but not here, not now. I'll feel comfortable doing it when the bad guys are dealt with, besides, we should rest after this fight and hear Muscle Man out."
Grenda nodded as they all gathered around Muscle Man as he began to share what happened after the dimensional crisis started.
To be continued.
Up next, an attack in the Future...and Mason finally reveals his identity to Grenda.
Sorry it took too long to make this, like I said, college and stuff.
