Dipper's POV

I had a beaming smile on my face as I spent the morning with Wendy and Dani. We decided to have brunch at the diner then head to the arcade afterward. Wendy and I were in the middle of playing a game called 'Fight Fighters' with Rumble McSkirmish and Dr. Karate as our player characters as Dani stood beside me, watching. "Watch out! Wow!" I exclaimed. "Ooh, cutscene!"

The scene changed to shots of what looked like anime close-ups. "DR. KARATE, YOU KILLED MY FATHER AGAIN!" my character, Rumble McSkirmish yelled. Wendy's character, Dr. Karate just growled back, which made my character angrier. "YOU TAKE THAT BAAACKKKK!!"

"Fight!" the game narrator announced. Wendy and I started our fight, both of our characters going at it and I could hear Dani cheering me on. I took a glance at her and smiled, blushing. She looked so adorable... But when I looked back at the game screen, I noticed Wendy was winning so I had to act quickly. Doing a few more moves, I was quick enough to knock down Wendy's character. "K.O! The winner: Rumble Mcskirmish!"

"WINNERS DON'T LOSE!" Rumble's character sprite added, giving a wink.

Wendy gave me a playful glare. "What? You cheated," she teased.

"YOU TAKE THAT BAAACK!" I shouted, imitating Rumble. I laughed and Dani giggled at me.

"Hey, Dani," Wendy said, "wanna take this next round with Dipper?"

Dani smiled and nodded as Wendy moved aside, making room for her beside me. I inched closer to her. "Round Two!" the announcer said.

I noticed Dani plastered on a determined look. "I'm gonna punch the ref," she said.

"Fight!"

"Let's gang up on him," I added with a smirk. The round started and Dani and I started using all the combo moves we could so that we weren't hitting each other but it looked as though we were hitting the referee.

"Hohoho," Wendy laughed from behind us. Dani and I soon joined in on the laughter.

We all stood there, enjoying each other's company but the mood soon changed when I got a strong whiff of body spray and I immediately knew who it was. "Wendy!" Robbie shouted as he walked up to us, his hands full of flyers. I rolled my eyes at him as he wrapped his arm around Wendy. "What's up, babe? Yeah, just putting up some flyers for my band. I'm playing lead guitar. No biggie."

I looked skeptically at one of his flyers. "Are you wearing mascara?" I asked.

"Uh, it's eye-paint for men," Robbie defended coldly.

"That's... that's still mascara," Dani remarked and I snickered.

"Hey Robbie," Wendy greeted, ignoring Dani and I. "Dipper was just showing me and Dani this great game."

"Ha, yeah, sweet, sweet," Robbie dismissed as he pushed Dani and me out of the way, giving space for himself and Wendy. "Hey, how about you sit this one out, okay kids?"

Dani and I looked at him upset. "But we just started this round," I stated and Dani nodded.

Robbie put his hands up in defense. "Whoa, whoa, hey! Relax man," he said, "I'm just trying to spend a little time with my girlfriend, alright?"

"You're not the only one!" I shot back.

I felt a hand quickly intertwine with mine and I realized it was Dani. "Dipper, please," she said. I sucked in a deep breath and sighed.

"It'll just be one round," Wendy added.

She and Robbie turned to the game's screen as the announcer said, "Round Three! Fight!"

They then started their game. "So hey, I'm gonna go camping tomorrow with my dad so, I won't be around," Wendy informed Robbie.

"Oh, cool, cool, watch out!" Robbie said and I could sense he wasn't paying attention. Wendy laughed as Robbie threw his arm over her waist, pulling her closer to his side. He then glanced back at Dani and me, shooting me a glare.

I glared back as the game announcer said, "Opponent sighted! Fight!"

I then felt Dani start to tug on my arm, her hand still in mine. "Come on, let's just go," she said.

---

Dani and I decided to leave the arcade and just grab some ice cream and walk around town, although I kept quiet since I was too preoccupied with my anger towards Robbie. Dani took notice of this as I walked her home. She stopped me before we walked up to her sidewalk that led to her door. "Hey, Dipper, you okay?" she asked me worriedly.

She looked me straight in the eyes and my heart felt like it had stopped. Just looking at her made all my problems go away. But I just sighed, knowing I had to tell her. "It's just..." I trailed off as I felt my blood starting to boil again and I growled. "Ugh, it's Robbie! He just makes me so mad! I mean, why he have to be such a jerk all the time and how does Wendy even put up with it?!"

Dani placed both of her hands on my shoulders and forced me to look at her again. "Dipper, breath," she told me and I immediately sucked in a deep breath. "Look, I'm not exactly a fan of Robbie either, but I've realized that he's not even worth the fight. Just don't let him get to you, okay?"

I took another breath and managed to smile at her. "Okay," I assured her and placed my hand on her cheek.

She smiled back and placed her hand over mine. "Thank you, Mon étoile," she said, giving me my new favorite nickname.

I blushed and smiled dreamily at her. "I love when you speak French to me..." I stated.

Dani blushed as well and giggled. "Goodnight, Dipper," she said before letting me go and making her way towards the entrance of her house. I was about to leave as well but stopped when I noticed Dani running back to me. She quickly stood on her toes and gave me a peck on my cheek. "Bye!" she shouted and ran inside her house. I stood there, staring and I place my hand upon where her lips touched me and my face heated up even more. I then grinned widely and practically skipped joyfully all the way home.

Man, I'm so lucky...

---

"So, you really can't come over today?" I asked Dani through the phone.

"No, I'm sorry, Dipper," she said from the other end. "Something came up and I have to babysit my client's son, Henry. Don't I, Henry?" the part I assumed she was talking to a baby as I heard it coo which made Dani giggle which made me smile. "But don't worry, I'll see you later this evening for our movie night, okay?"

"Yeah..." I stated, slightly upset. "See you this evening. And good luck with your babysitting job."

Dani giggled. "Thank you," she said. "Kids can be a hassle anyway, but I love them and besides, my job pays more than what I'd be making if I worked at the shack."

"Wow, guess I might have to take up a job babysitting."

"Hehe, I'll see you later, Dipper."

"I'll see you later, Dani."

"Bye."

"Bye..." I hung up my phone and sighed as I put it in my pocket. I was off the side in my living room while I took my call as Stan, Mabel, and Soos were at the table, setting up a game of poker for us to play. My head hung low as I walked over and took my seat. "No need to add the extra seat, Dani can't make it."

"Alright," Stan said as he tossed the extra chair across the room.

"Why can't she make it?" Mabel asked.

"She's gotta babysit," I answered.

"Welp, that's what ya get for being a babysitter," Stan added, taking his seat. "Which is exactly why I don't have that job."

"But technically you do, Mr. Pines," Soos spoked up as he gestured to Mabel and me.

Stan gave Soos a slight glare. "Soos, I'm gonna need you to do me a favor and shut your yaps." Soos saluted and dramatically closed his mouth.

I playfully rolled my eyes as we began to start our poker game. A little while into our game, Mabel was practically owning us. "King me!" she exclaimed and threw down her pile of cards to reveal all kings.

"Aww! Come on!" the rest of us groaned, throwing our card in the air. Mabel grinned widely and took the pile of chipackers. Stan was too cheap to buy actual playing chips.

"It's not fair, she doesn't even know what we're playing!" Stan complained.

"Go Fish?" Mabel questioned.

Suddenly, the faint sound of an electric guitar could be heard in the distance, causing the chandelier above us to shake. "Dude, I think I'm picking up a radio station inside my head," Soos said as he picked at his ear.

"Try blinking to see if you can change the channel," Mabel suggested. Soos blinked a few times but nothing happened.

"Weeendy!" I heard Robbie's voice sing from outside. It was extremely off-key.

I rolled my eyes as I huffed. "Ugh, sounds like Robbie," I complained.

"Robbie?" Stan asked. "Is he that jerky twerp I see making goo-goo eyes at Wendy all the time?"

"He called me 'Big Dude' once," Soos mentioned. "I mean, I know I'm a big dude, but it kinda hurt."

"Should I sic Waddles on him again?" Mabel asked. Mabel went to pet her pig but he started chewing on her sweater. She laughed. "Whoa, easy tiger."

I carefully thought over my next actions. Dani told me to just let the whole Robbie thing go, but he's getting under my skin. Maybe I can just try and talk to him instead of constantly battling with him. I sucked in a deep breath and stood up. "I'll handle it," I declared and left the room to head outside.

As I left, I could hear everyone chorusing, "Ooooooh!" Along with Stan adding, "Haha, conflict!"

Once I made it outside, I saw Robbie was standing with his guitar in hand and his foot propped up on an amp, singing way off-key. "Wendy! Wendy, Wendy!" he sang ten shouted, "Wendy! C'mon out, girl! C'mon down!"

I walked up to him, agitated. "You realize she's not here, right?" I asked.

Robbie scoffed. "Yes!" he stated then gave me a nervous glance. "...What?"

"She's out camping with her family today," I explained then muttered, "And if you listened to her for once you'd know that."

But Robbie heard me. "What was that?!" he growled, stepping off the amp and storming up to me.

"I—just said she's not here," I tried to cover up.

"No, no, no! You want to get into it, huh? Let's get into it, kid!" he shouted. "You think I don't know what's been going on, huh? It's obvious you and your girlfriend don't want me dating Wendy, don't you? Don't you?!"

The situation was starting to get out of hand so I tried to lie my way out of it. "What? No! C'mon, man!" I exaggerated.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's just DYING to listen to 12-year old kids with one who wears the exact same shorts every day," Robbie said sarcastically then pulled out his phone. "Hey, here's an idea: why don't I call her right now and see if she wants to talk to you about our relationship?" He then dialed Wendy's number and it started to ring.

I began to sweat nervously. "Hey! Look—! Don't! You don't have to—!" I panicked.

"Oh! Don't! Please, man!" he mocked. "What're you gonna do, huh? What, huh?"

"Hello?" I heard Wendy ask through Robbie's phone. Quickly, in a panic, I slapped Robbie's phone out of his hand and it crashed to the ground, breaking on impact.

"My phone!" Robbie exclaimed then turned to glare at me. Oh no...

I held up my hands in defense. "I—I'll buy you a new one!" I stammered.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy!" Robbie threatened and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. I gulped in fear. This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

"Hey!" we heard a familiar voice shout. We turned our heads to see Stan poking his head out of the window. "I know a fight when I see one! Stay right there!" He then stuck his head back in and walked off.

I looked back at Robbie only to have him growl at me and throw me down, making me land on a bunch of trash cans. "You. Me. Circle Park. 3 o'clock," Robbie threatened, punching his hand and started walking off. "We finish this."

I watched him in fear just as Stan came outside, a bucket of popcorn in hand. "Aw, he's gone! I was just gonna call the boys over to place a few bets!" he said and ate a piece of popcorn. "The smart money's on Skinny Jeans."

I stood up and brushed myself off, shooting him a glare. "Way to be a supportive uncle, Stan!" I exclaimed sarcastically. He just shrugged, plopping another piece of popcorn in his mouth. I groaned and stormed inside the house, Stan soon following. I could feel the panic rise even quicker and I started pacing back and forth. "What was I thinking?! I should've listened to Dani and just ignored him!" I cried. "Plus, I can't fight! I've never been in a fight before! Look at these noodle arms!" I waved my wobbly arms to demonstrate.

"Just bonk him over the head!" Stan suggested. "It's nature's snooze button!"

"Boys! Why can't you learn to hate each other in secret? Like girls do!" Mabel suggested.

Stan snickered at her comment. "Sure, listen to your sister! Maybe you can share dresses too!" he commented then laughed as he pounded his fist on the table. "BOOM!"

I tried to steady myself. "Maybe he'll just forget about it. Maybe it'll all blow over," I tried to reassure. Images of Dani's adorable face began replaying in my mind and I could feel myself calm down.

That was until Soos said, "I don't know, Dipper. Teenagers are dangerous. Those hormones turn them into like, killing machines!"

The panic came back. "R—Really?" I stammered.

"Oh yeah, dude," Soos clarified and I gulped. "My cousin Reggie got in a fight with a teen once. The guy broke like, all his arms, all his legs, and I think, killed him or something, I don't know. Me and Reggie were just talking about it."

I started hyperventilating as I backed myself into a corner. "I can't stay here! What if Robbie comes back?! I gotta hide!" I said.

"Look, kid. You got yourself a choice here," Stan said. "You can either go face him like a man, or you can hide indoors like a wimp. What'll it be?"

---

"Wimp it is," Sos said.

I decided to hide out at the arcade to prevent myself from getting destroyed. I was currently hiding under one of the games Soos was playing but crawled out as I said, "C'mon Soos, Robbie's twice my size. I mean, what will getting myself killed accomplish? I just need to hide here until 3 o'clock passes." I looked down at my watch just as it turned to '11:30'. "Uggggh, this day will never end!" I groaned and slammed my head down on a nearby counter.

"Relax, Dipper," I heard Soos try to reassure. "Just... try not to think about Robbie."

I sighed once more before lifting my head and screaming at what I saw. Hanging on the wall were several of Robbie's band posters that depicted him in a threatening manner with the phrase 'You're dead!' I shook my head and sighed. "I gotta go clear my head," I told Soos and walked off, my head hanging low. I walked off towards my favorite game in the arcade, 'Fight Fighters' and decided playing a few rounds would help but sadly it didn't. Robbie's jerkiness never left my mind. "Stupid Robbie. Such a jerk!" I muttered to myself in frustration as I was in the middle of a game.

But it turned out I lost this round. "K.O! Continue?" the game announcer said.

Then my character, Rumble McSkirmish popped up on the screen. "A WINNER NEVER RUNS AWAY FROM A FIGHT!!" he stated.

I sighed. "That's easy for you to say, you have more than one life," I said. "Ugh, I wish one of these guys would fight Robbie for me." I took out another game token and started to insert it into the coin slot but ended up dropping and it rolled onto the floor. As I went to retrieve it, I noticed something was written on the side of the game's machine. I dusted it off to see some text and code underneath it. "'To unleash ultimate power'?" I read. "I do like things that are ultimate." I grabbed the coin and rose back up and inputted the code. "Back, back, hold, forward, back, forward, down, hold, quarter circle, forward, triple punch!" I expected something cool to happen but instead the game shut down. "I guess it didn't work." Suddenly, the machine flared back to life. "Uhhh, Soos?" I yelled for him as I backed away from the game.

A blinding light flashed from the machine and I shielded my eyes, peeking through my fingers. "SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!!" the announcer shouted.

I hesitated but soon responded with, "Uhhh... Rumble McSkirmish?" The bright light shined brighter and suddenly a pixelated form started to manifest from the game screen and popped out doing a spinning roundhouse kick and landing right in front of me. The figure lifted its head to reveal... Rumble McSkirmish?! "Whoa! You're real?" I asked him.

We stared at each other for a moment before the both of us raised our hands, high-fiving as we said, "HIGH FIVE!"

I winced and pulled back my hand in pain. "Ow! Your pixels are sharp! Ugh!" I whined. Wow, I wish Dani was here to see this!

"GREETINGS, CHILD-BOY!" Rumble greeted. "I AM RUMBLE MCSKIRMISH, FROM THE U.S.A!" He then started doing several fighting moves. "PUNCH! KICK! PUNCH! KICK!!" In the last part, he ended up kicking me in the face.

"Ow! Cooool!"

Rumble then turned his head and spotted the coin machine. "CHANGE MACHINE! CHANGE ME INTO A POWERFUL WOLF!! HWAAAAH!!" he yelled before smashing the machine in half.

"With Rumble around, Robbie will be so scared, I won't even need to fight him," I said to myself. "I've got the world's greatest fighter to be my bodyguard!"

I then took notice that Rumble was flashing red. "I need power-ups!" he told me.

"This is so amazing! I gotta show Soos!" I exclaimed then looked around. "Soos?" When thee was no response, I figured he was busy and decided to leave, heading back to the Mystery Shack and talking to him about Dani the entire way. I just can't get her off my mind. When I got there, I rummaged through the fridge in hopes to find something for Rumble as he was attacking a fly, laughing when it died. Yikes. "Well, we don't have any traditional power-ups: turkey legs, pizza boxes, or gold rings," I explained then pulled out something, displaying it to Rumble. "How about... half a taco?"

"Place it, on the floor!" Rumble ordered.

I hesitated to do so but did anyways. He simply looked at it and it disappeared in a pixelated state before reappearing in a power-ups menu behind his head. I stared in awe. "I wish I could do that!" I commented.

"Now I must defeat the world's greatest fight-fighters!" Rumble said. "Take me to the Soviet Union!"

"That's gonna be tough... for a number of reasons," I informed, tapping my chin. "But I do know a fighter here in Gravity Falls."

Rumble knelt to my level. "Maximum Power?" he asked.

I pulled out one of Robbie's flyers and handed it to Rumble. He scanned over it as I explained, "His name is Robbie V. and he's kinda like my arch enemy."

"Did he kill your father?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Well, he's dating a friend of mine, which my girlfriend and I think he's not right for her and he posts a really annoying amount of status updates."

"And then he killed your father!" Rumble falsely stated before crumbling the flyer in his hand.

"Uh, sure," I hesitated. "Anyway, I was hoping you could, y' know, scare him off for me so I don't have to fight the guy?"

Rumble stood up straight and laughed, "Hahaha! Your question makes my shoulders bounce! Fireball!" He shot a Hadouken out the window and did some actions as he said to them: "Uppercut! Downer-cut! Bowl of PUNCH!" He grabbed a bowl of my sister's 'Mabel Juice' and chugged the remains before smashing the glass bowl on the floor.

"So you'll protect me from Robbie?" I asked.

"Challenge accepted! Press start!" he agreed then suddenly a blue 'START' button materialized before my eyes.

I stared at the button. Is this a good idea? I mean, I told Dani I wouldn't let Robbie get to me or act on anything. Buuuut... I'm not the one who's gonna be fighting him... I glanced away before reluctantly pressing it. It flashed back and forth from blue to red before disappearing. I then heard the sound of footsteps and assumed it was Stan. "Uh oh, I think I hear my uncle," I warned Rumble. "Stay perfectly still!" Rumble just continued to rock back and forth in his fighting stance. "I said stay still."

"This is as still as I can stay!" Rumble informed, still rocking.

I sighed. "Well, if that's the case, I should probably hide you somewhere," I said. "Ooh! I can hide you in my room upstairs, and you can even meet my sister! She's one other person I trust besides Dani."

"Ah, yes! Dani!" Rumble stated. "She is the one you call your 'Sweet Sunflower' is what I can recall from your rambling on our way to this place!"

I blushed, glancing away. "Yeah..." I then cleared my throat. "Let's get going." I lead Rumble out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room where I found Mabel standing by her bed. "Hey, Mabel. Have you met Rumble yet? He's my new bodyguard."

"The child gave me a taco!" Rumble added.

"Wow! He's got a crazy voice!" Mabel said, amazed. She then took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it, handing it to Rumble. "Here, say these words."

Rumble scanned over the paper before reading, "'Effer... vescent! Apple... fritter! RIBOFLAVIN!!"

I gave her a stern look. "Mabel, he's not a toy, he's a fighting machine," I explained. "I'm gonna get him to defend me from Robbie."

"Isn't that kinda like cheating?" Mabel asked.

I shrugged. "I guess so," I said and paused. "Well, I'll see you after the fight."

I started walking Rumble out of the room, but he kept reading from the paper Mabel gave him. "POOP! POOP AND BUTTS!"

I sighed and took the paper out of his hand. "Alright, no more," I told him before tearing it up and tossing it over my shoulder.

---

It was getting closer to 3 o'clock and Rumble and I decided to head out. We were walking down Main Street, on our way towards Circle Park when Rumble said, "Tell me my opponent's special moves."

"Don't worry. As soon as he sees you, he's gonna wet his pants," I informed.

"His wet pants will be no match FOR THIS!" Rumble yelled and pulled out a metal pipe, swinging it about.

I flinched. "Whoa! Where'd that come from?"

"I punched an oil drum!" Rumble replied.

"Trust me, you won't need that," I said. "Just give him a good scare."

"Yes..." Rumble said as he threw down the pipe but ended up picking up a sword, "WITH THIS!!" He swung the sword around a few times as I dodged his blows.

"This street has really dangerous litter," I muttered. He continued to swing the sword until I growled, frustrated. I took it out of his hand and threw it. "Knock it off, Rumble!" I then heard someone yelp and realized I had thrown the sword at someone. "Sorry! Hehe... eh..."

Sooner or later, Rumble and I made it to Circle Park where I found Robbie sitting on the back of a bench, trying to act all 'cool' and 'intimidating' with his hood up and head down but it didn't work. I had told Rumble to hide so I can give him a signal for a dramatic entrance. Robbie lifted his head and shot me a glare before hopping off the bench and storming towards me. "Well, well, well! Look who decided to show up!" he said. "I thought you chickened out. You ready to settle this like men?"

I stood tall and confident. "Look, dude, I don't think you want to fight me," I warned. "Let's just call this thing off before someone gets hurt."

"You scared, huh? Is that it?" Robbie teased.

I smirked at him. "Okay, dude! You asked for it!" I said then snapped my fingers, commanding Rumble to come out from his hiding spot and into his fighting stance.

"Who's your friend?" Robbie asked with a chuckle. "And why is he..." he squinted his eyes, "blurry?"

"This happens to be the greatest warrior that ever lived!" I informed confidently as I continued to smirk.

Robbie scoffed. "Yeah, right!" he protested. "Hey Eye Patch, what did the kid promise you? More tape for your forearms?" He then laughed to himself.

"HOW CAN YOU LAUGH, WHEN YOU KILLED THIS BOY'S FATHER?!" Rumble yelled, pointing a falsely accusing finger at Robbie.

Robbie raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?" he questioned.

"I'm giving you one last chance, back down, or this guy's gonna go nuts," I advised.

"How 'bout YOU back down, kid?" Robbie threatened.

I shrugged, still smirking. "You asked for it," I said and moved aside for Rumble to take over. "Rumble? Go!"

Robbie just laughed but when Rumble went to throw a punch, he noticed this and ducked. "What the—?" he questioned and tried to run away but Rumble stopped him by grabbing the hood of his jacket, lifting him. "Whoa! Hey! What's happening?"

"I didn't wanna have to do this, man, but you gave me no choice. Maybe now, if you—" I tried to tell Robbie but cut myself off when I saw Rumble throw Robbie to the ground. My eyes widened. "Whoa! Rumble! You can stop! I think Robbie's had enough!"

"RUMBLE..." Rumble started and threw Robbie high into the air, "THROW!"

"STOP! I SAID STOP!" I shouted to Rumble.

Robbie fell back down and ended up landing on the nearby metal climber. He quickly sat up and exclaimed, "Hey! What the—? THAT GUY'S CRAZY!"

"FIREBALL!" Rumble yelled and formed a fireball, throwing it in Robbie's direction. Robbie ran off before it hit.

I turned to Rumble, furious. "What the heck was that?! You were only supposed to scare him; you almost killed him!" I yelled.

"I WILL NOT REST UNTIL THE MAN WHO DISHONORED YOU IS DESTROYED!!" Rumble yelled before punching a tree in half that had one of Robbie's band posters on it. He ran off and jumped up, punching an electric pole. "AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGG! PUNCH!"

I stood there, worried. "This isn't good..." I muttered. Dani was right, I should've stayed it. She's gonna be so mad when she finds out... If she finds out... 'If', 'If' is good... I huffed and ran out of the park and into town, on the search for Rumble. After a while, I finally found him at Barrels & Crates, Incorporated. "Something told me this would be his first stop."

I watched as Robbie ran out of the building and made his way down the fire escape. Rumble then broke through the wall behind him with a barrel in hand. Robbie screamed as Rumble threw the barrel in his direction. But Robbie ducked to avoid it. "Chill out man! Just chill out!" he yelled at Rumble.

"Please, Rumble! You gotta stop!" I pleaded. Rumble continued to throw down barrels at Robbie as he ran down the escape ramp. Robbie jumped over every barrel, resembling a game of 'Donkey Kong'. Once Robbie made it to the end of the ramp, he jumped off and started running with Rumble soon chasing after him. "Rumble, wait!" I shouted and started following them.

"Punch punch punch!" Rumble exclaimed as he beat up several objects around him. A green 'GO' sign then appeared and he followed it.

I continued to run, slowly running out of breath. "You don't have to do this!" I panted. "At least pace yourself..." I started to slow down as pain began to form in my side. "You might get a cramp—" I stopped in my tracks and hunched over, clutching my side, "Ah!" I took a few breaths and recovered myself, continuing to chase them. I chased them as they ran through the docks, Rumble destroying someone's car in the process. I followed as they ran through a barbecue and I grabbed someone's cup of water, splashing it in my face as I ran. But after a lot of running, I had to stop and catch my breath. As I was panting, a familiar brown pick-up truck drove up next to me. "Soos!" I exclaimed as he popped his head out from the driver's side. "Where have you been?"

"Uh," he said and glanced down at the frame of the game 'NORT' around his neck, "long story, man. Dude, you see that video game guy tearing up everything in sight? Haha! That's crazy!"

I glanced away nervously. "Yeah, I kinda sorta brought him to life to be my bodyguard," I admitted. "But now I have to stop him before he kills Robbie!"

"You need an amiable sidekick with a pickup truck?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "You know I do." I hopped into his truck and we were off. Soos drove until we made it to Circle Park. There, Robbie was on top of the water tower with two other people I couldn't quite make out while Rumble was at the bottom, punching the stilts that held the water tower up.

I got out of Soos' pick-up truck just as Soos told me, "Time to save the day, dude."

"YOU CAN HIDE, BUT YOU CANNOT HIDE!" Rumble yelled up to Robbie.

I ran up behind Rumble and shouted, "Rumble! This has to stop! Please! Listen to me!" Rumble ignored me and then kicked the water tower, breaking it and causing Robbie to come plummeting down towards us. But before he could hit the ground, Rumble caught him by the hood of his jacket.

"FINISH HIM!" the game announcer's voice shouted.

Robbie cowered in fear. "No no no, don't! Don't finish me!" he pleaded.

Rumble gathered up a fireball in his hand, ready to defeat Robbie. But enough was enough. I growled and pulled out a coin from my pocket, chucking it at the back of Rumble's head. The fireball disappeared just as he questioned, "HWUUUUAAAAAAAAA??!!??"

He turned and faced me as I picked up two black wood pieces, holding them to my face to make a cutscene effect. "RUMBLE!" I yelled and threw down the wood, storming up to him. "Rumble! I have something to tell you! Robbie... Robbie didn't kill my father..."

"HUUUUUUHH?" Rumble asked in disbelief. "THEN WHO DID???"

"What? No one," I clarified. "I—I lied to you."

"HWUUUHH???" Rumble exclaimed. "WELL, THEN YOU'RE ACTUALLY A... BAD GUY!"

I looked downcast, rethinking my actions. "I guess I kinda am..."

Rumble placed Robbie's hood on a nearby tree branch and dramatically looked away from me, placing his foot upon a rock. "My entire journey, a lie! My honor has been insulted!" he narrated. "Sensei warned me not to join the path of evil... the boy has led me astray from my teachings." He then turned to me. "If Robbie V. is not the last stage, then it must be... YYYYYOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!" A 'START' button then appeared next to me.

I heard someone panting and turned my head to see Soos was running towards me. "Don't fight him, man!" he exclaimed. "That guy's got like a black belt wrapped around his black belt. You could get killed!"

"I have to. I started all this and I've got to at least try to stop it," I explained.

"You sure you wouldn't rather hide like a wimp?" Soos asked. I looked down and came to terms that I have to face my consequence. I ignored him and punched the 'START' button, making it disappear. "Fight like a man it is."

Soos stepped to the side as the game announcer's voice said, "READY?" Above us, health bars for Rumble and I appeared. Rumble got into a fighting stance and I mimicked his position. "FIGHT!"

The two of us ran at each other, screaming. "FIREBALLTHROWLIGHTNINGBALLTHROW!! FIRE!!!!" Rumble yelled and threw a fireball at me but luckily I dodged it. But before I knew it, he kicked me in the face, sending flying to the ground. I looked up at my health bar and saw it had dropped dramatically as Rumble laughed, "YOU FIGHT LIKE A GIRL! WHO IS ALSO A BABY!"

I had enough of this and stood up. "Urr!" I growled as I charged towards him. I yelled as I jumped up, uppercutting him right in the jaw. It felt like it all happened in slow-motion as Rumble soon fell to the ground. I looked up at his health bar and frowned when I saw only 0.5% of his health was gone. "Oh no." Screaming, I ran away as I saw Rumble stand up. He threw another fireball at me but I dodged it again and scurried off, soon climbing up a tree to avoid him.

I sat on a branch and looked down to see Rumble was at the base of the tree, pacing back and forth and unable to look up at me. "NO! I HAVE NO LOOKING UP! ANIMATION!" he cried. He aggressively yelled as he tried to look at me but ended falling flat on the ground.

I laughed cheerfully and hopped out of the tree with Soos soon by my side. "So, what should I do, roll him up and put him on my wall?" I asked him.

"Dude, we should rock paper scissors for him!" Soos suggested.

We thought all was done for but we looked down at Rumble when we heard him scream, "FIST... PUNCH... RAAAAAIIIIINNNN!!!!" Suddenly, it began raining down pixelated fists upon Soos and I. We tried our best to avoid them but to no avail. Rumble eventually found a way to get up off the ground. "NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THAT I HAVE PUNCHES!!" he declared then yelled as he flamed up in a blue fire, stomping towards me. I tried to run but he was already punching me in the face, screaming, "SUPER POWER NINJA TURBO NEO ULTRA HYPER MEGA MULTI ALPHA META EXTRA UBER PREFIX... COMBO!!" There was a twinkle of light and in a flash, an explosion appeared in the shape of a fist and once it dissipated, I lied there, beaten and bruised.

I looked at Rumble as he stood tall and proud. "You, sir, truly are the champion of champions..." I managed to say and groaned, laying my head down. I need to see Dani after this, she'll fix me up...

"RUMBLE WINS!" the game announcer said.

"WINNERS DON'T LOSE!" Rumble announced.

A thought then crossed my mind and I smirked at Rumble. "I wouldn't be too sure about that, man," I said.

"GAME OVER!" the game announcer shouted in a deep voice.

Rumble's eyes widened and he looked down at himself to see he was starting to disintegrate. "What? No! NO! NOOOOOOO!!!" he yelled and with that, he was finally gone.

I painstakingly stood up and walked over to where he was standing. "Game over, old friend," I said, tipping my hat. A high score entry then appeared in mid-air, reading 'THANKS FOR PLAYING' I smiled at walked over to it, typing 'DIP' into the entry.

Soos walked up behind me and smiled. "Heh! Nice one, dude!" he said.

I heard someone grunting and looked over to see Robbie unhook himself from the tree branch. He looked up at me and marched towards me, glaring. "What? Who—who—who was that guy?! Why is it that whenever you're around, there's always ghosts or monsters, or whatever?!" he yelled.

I shrugged and replied, "I don't know, man."

"That guy almost broke my neck! Do you know how mad I am right now?!" Robbie growled.

I glanced down at my beaten self and I wanted to say something snarky, but I knew something had to be done now. "So I guess you and I have to fight now, huh?" I asked and closed my eyes, holding out my arms. "Go ahead, man. Do your worse. I just want to get this over with." I just want to see Dani...

"Oh, man! I am so gonna enjoy this!" I heard Robbie say but there was a pause. "Aren't you gonna run?"

"Nope."

"...Are you sure?" I nodded in response. I was waiting for something but all I heard was Robbie scoff. "It's not even worth it! I play lead guitar so I gotta save my hands." I opened my eyes and quietly sigh in relief.

"Hey guys!" we heard a familiar female voice say. Robbie and I turned our heads to see Wendy walking towards us. "I heard some crazy screaming back here."

"Wendy?" Robbie and I questioned.

"You're back!" I added.

"Yeah, man," she replied and then looked around to see the park was in pieces. "Whoa! What the heck happened here? Freak tornado or something?"

Robbie and I glanced at each other. "Uh, yeah, sure," we lied.

"And why are your faces all jacked up?" she asked, looking closely at our faces. "You guys weren't fighting each other, were you? I hate it when guys fight."

"No! Fighting?" I twisted.

"Why would we be fighting? Never!" Robbie chimed in.

"Yeah, we actually fell over trying to stop two other guys from fighting each other," I once again lied. I gave Robbie another glance.

Wendy paused before smiling at us. "Cool!" she chirped. "It really makes me happy to see my two boys hanging out." She then looked at me. "Dani would be proud of you." I smiled at her but in the back of my mind, I knew she would be upset to find out I let Robbie get under my skin. "I got some unpacking to do. I'll text you guys later." Wendy leaned up and kissed Robbie and pulled down the brim of my hat before leaving.

I turned to Robbie. "Did you hear that? She believes us!"

"She was looking at me, though," Robbie snapped.

I sighed. "Look, Robbie, if we stay at each other's throats, we're both gonna lose Wendy," I explained. "We need to make a cold war pact."

"Okay. What's that?"

"We need to learn to hate each other, in silence."

"You mean like, what girls do?"

I smiled to myself. "Yeah, exactly! What girls do." I continued to nod and smile to myself.

"You're weird..." I heard Robbie say and he huffed, walking off. I just gave him a look and shook my head. Well, time to see Dani...

---

Since her house turned out to be close, I walked and made it to the doorway. I knocked a few times before the door opened to reveal Dani with a baby boy in her left arm, bags under her eyes, what seemed like baby vomit on her shirt, and her hair was way messier than usual. "Oh, hey, Dip—" she started but stopped and her eyes widened when she saw my beaten self. "Woah, what happened to you?!"

I looked her up and down, chuckling. "I could ask you the same thing," I said.

She shot me a playful glare. "I asked you first."

"I asked you second." Her playful glare turned into a real glare and I sighed. "It's a long story."

Her glare faded and she gave me a smirk. "Come on in."

She let me through and the two of us made our way to her living which was littered with baby toys and we took a seat on her couch. She bounced the baby boy on her knee as I explained everything that happened to me today. By the end, she kept silent and just looked down on the floor. "...And so now, Robbie and I are gonna learn to hate each other in silence," I said. She didn't say anything. I sighed. "Look, Dani, I know I didn't listen to you, and I let Robbie get to me but... UGH! He's just mean and I—"

"I'm proud of you," she finally spoke up.

I turned to her, eyes widened. "What?"

She finally looked up at me and smiled. "Dipper, you have gone behind my back and did what I told you not to do... but you did fight a video game character to save Robbie," she said. "Even though you hate the guy! And if that's not what a true hero would do, then I don't know what will!"

"So... you're not mad at me?" I asked carefully.

She sucked in a deep breath. "I may be slightly disappointed, but no, I'm not mad at you," she said. "I could never be mad at Mon étoile..."

I smiled back at her. "I'll take it." The two of us then turned our heads to the baby boy who was still in Dani's lap when we heard him coo. I chuckled and held my hand out toward him to have him grab a hold of my finger. "Well, this must be little Henry, huh?"

Dani giggled and bounced him lightly on her knee. "Hehe, yeah, he's quite a handful."

I looked at her and chuckled. "I could tell."

She scrunched her nose at me and then yawned. "This little bugger exhausted the living daylights out of me..." she said tiredly.

I threw my arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, having her lay her head on me. "Well, once I get all fixed up and our movie night is over, we can finally get some—" I cut myself off when I heard Dani snoring loudly, "...rest." Henry giggled and reached over to start playing with her already messy hair. Luckily, I used my other arm to pick him up and pull him away, placing him on my lap. "Now, now, Henry, let her sleep," I told him. "The two of us..." I could feel my eyes starting to droop, "we—we had a..." I rested my head on top of hers, "long day..." And with that, my eyes finally closed and I drifted it off with my 'Sweet Sunflower' by my side...