A Spark of Hope

Finale

It was cold. The darkness stretched forever, and there was no sound from the steps Dipper took. The portal had transported them somewhere, but he had no idea.

"Wendy? Mabel? Are you there?" he asked. His voice didn't ring out like it would in a cave, or reverberate as it would in a small room.

"Yeah I'm here; Mabel?" Wendy's voice came from behind him.

"Yup, but I can't see anything," Mabel responded, from somewhere in the darkness.

Dipper began to walk forward, his hands outstretched as not to walk into something. Carefully shuffling forward a few steps, the young man began to feel panic well up inside him. Had this been a trap? Was the portal a one-way trip to the void where they would fade from reality? Before fear took hold, he felt something underfoot. Stepping onto the object caused it to sink slightly.

"Oh, that can't be good," he muttered. Immediately the space he'd stood on lit up dark red, and begin to rise. Floating steps away, a crimson cube hovered peacefully, emitting enough light for Dipper to see himself and the girls when they approached him.

"What is it?" Wendy asked, examining it from various angles.

"Not sure, but be careful; it could be a sentinel, and I really don't want to trigger a defence system," Dipper pointed out, relieved when the lumberjill stood back beside him.

Looking carefully at the object, Dipper was unsure of its purpose. He held up his hand towards to cube, surprised when the Prophet's Ring began to glow as he got close. "Not sure if that's good or bad," he thought. Turning back to his companions Dipper's heart stopped momentarily: the was a figure several paces behind Mabel.

"Behind you!" he shouted, causing the others to spin around with their weapons ready.

"What is it!?" Mabel asked, her mallet ready.

"What do you see Dipper?" Wendy also had her knife ready, her eyes scanning the black abyss.

"T-There was, some thing, in the darkness. I looked human, but it wasn't clear," he replied, blinking rapidly in an attempt to find the figure again. "Just, stay on guard, please," and with that returned to the crimson box ahead.

Deciding to put his hand on the object, Dipper was relieved when nothing happened. Unlike the cold air of that realm, the object was warm and inviting. As Dipper pulled his hand away, the cube shook violently with the sound of thunder and the darkness itself began to get pulled into it. As terrifying as the endless darkness was; what lay before the trio was nothing short of a nightmare.

They were inside an ancient castle, decayed for eons, holding together by the corruption of Chaos' power. What Dipper noticed next shook him to his core; attached to the walls were his friends and townspeople whom Chaos had abducted. Tambry, Susan, Tomson, the clerk from the Summerween store, there were so many; he could only imagine that Gravity Falls must look like a ghost town at that moment.

Wendy ran to Tambry, tapping her face lightly in an attempt to wake her, but to no avail. It was either the shock of the corruption or the serious injuries that could be seen that had rendered the poor young woman unconscious.

"We've got to help them!" Wendy pleaded, gripping the black vines that imprisoned her friend.

"Try the knife," Mabel suggested, looking blankly at the rows of prisoners, her emotions numbing. This was too much for the brunette to take in, and the only way to cope was to remove herself from the situation. Dipper feared she would need support after this, depending how things turned out.

"Wendy, please wait," Dipper spoke, placing his hand on his distraught companion; "Even if we get them out of the seals, we can't return them home until we deal with Chaos, and having them awake may put more stress on their bodies."

The red-head gritted her teeth, then exhaled regaining her cool; "You're right, the mission comes first."

The walk through the abandoned structure was strenuous, not because of all the walking, but the need to resist stopping at every person they passed or else they would never get to their destination. During their exploration, Dipper noticed a crack in one of the walls. As he followed it, the crack grew larger and more open until it exposed the world beyond the walls. There was space, and only space. The ancient fortress was a floating monument in the corners of space. Dipper knew that he wasn't in the void thanks to the few lights of stars that glittered in the darkness; "At least we're still technically 'somewhere,'" he thought. Shortly after the group came to a split in their path, both looking dangerously unstable over a fall that would dump someone into space to suffer the effects of a vacuum.

"Which way should we go?" Wendy asked looking back the way they came for any sign of the figure Dipper thought he saw.

"Left looks less rickety, probably should choose this one," Mabel offered, pointing towards the passage.

As she went to step forward, a strand of fate rose in front of Dipper. He grabbed it when suddenly, all he could see was black. He turned around to see a beam of light shine down on the body of his twin, lying flat on her face. Just above her stood the figure Dipper had seen earlier, though it wasn't a person. Standing any feet away was Death; exactly as the stories had portrayed it: a hooded figure with no face in torn black robes wielding a large scythe. It reached out towards the young man, a single bony finger extended causing the air to vibrate intensely.

"AAAGGGHHH!" Dipper screamed, feeling a hand grip him.

"Dipper it's okay, it's Wendy, WENDY!" the lumberjill shook him. Her boyfriend had just frozen in front of her a second ago, and now he was having an absolute fit.

"W-What, Wendy, wh-where, t-t-the path, Mabel!" Dipper stuttered and fumbled his words out, beginning to calm down when his twin came into his gaze. After a minute to regain his composure he began speaking; "We're going right, first and foremost. As for my freak-out just now; it seems the ring is reacting to this place only at key moments; moments of life and death."

"But you were able to see me get crushed by that tree the first time you even wore the ring, what made you freak out this time?" Wendy asked.

Dipper explained what he saw; how he couldn't see how somebody died, just that Death would come for them. Mabel shuddered at the thought of a cloaked figure approaching from the darkness to take her from this world. Steeling their nerves, the gang took the other path with no problems. Occasionally fate strands would appear give Dipper a general idea of what would come.

After what seemed like forever, the trio turned a corner into what looked like a room of worship; there were rows of stone seats on each side, all looking inwards to a small crystal basin. As they got closer, Mabel instantly recognised signs of corruption as the crystal basin was a black quartz, rooted by the shadowy veins of Chaos' magic. Deciding it best to move on quickly, Dipper motioned for them to proceed. When they reached the far side of the hall, they found the passage blocked by corruption.

"Is there a way to get around it?" Mabel asked as Wendy tried to cut away the shadows with her small blue blade, but to no avail. As these words were spoken, the light grew dim, only the golden glow from the Prophet's Ring and the cyan light of Matti's blessed tools remained. Back in the centre of the room, floating above the basin was a deep purple flame, a voice whispering at them. Approaching the flare, the voice grew louder and clearer, speaking in a strange language: "Vraskil droh craxti benyeldif, trunevy viblek ner mazter, vyu knant depheet him. You will burn!" The voice had become clear, Eris the demon of strife and discord was talking to them!

"How are you still alive! You were destroyed by me, personally!" Dipper exclaimed at the flame. It laughed sickly, amused at the discomfort of the mortals surrounding it.

"Yes, you did do that, with Ascalon: the golden spear. That wasn't very nice of you," the voice tittered at him as if to a bold child.

"Cut the crap and tell us how you aren't dead," Wendy threatened, holding the blue blade towards the fiery orb. It hovered silently for a few seconds before answering.

"I'm sure you've met the Master's guests by now? Well how better to resurrect the essence of strife than to imprison mortals and mentally torture them!" the monster began laughing again, as if it could see the disgusted faces the trio were making.

"You're sick! Everything is so twisted and vile in this place," Mabel spat. Eris' laughter subsided and the ruins began to rumble and shake lightly.

"It seems my Master grows tired of my antics, go now and die by his hand. And you, red-haired mortal; don't damage your body too badly, I will possess it once you've be turned to a hollow shell and regain my physical body once again," the voice chuckled, before a tiny piece of purple fire flew over Wendy's head toward the end of the hall, parting the corruption and pushing back the rubble.

"I appreciate your concern, but nobody gets this body except him," Wendy pointed to Dipper who eyes widened at the remark. Before he could interject he watched his girlfriend thrust her weapon into the essence of Eris causing the flame to sputter as the voice within screamed and cursed.

"HOW DARE YOU! MY CORE IS BOUND TO THE MASTER'S POWER, YOU HAVE NO WAY OF ENDING ME!" Eris howled, as Mabel joined in on the demon beat down, slamming her own blessed mallet against the flame as if it was as solid as stone.

Dipper stepped forward with his hand open, the golden strands of pure untampered fate collecting in his grip; "Chaos may bring you back, but he won't waste that energy before we fight him. When you get to hell, tell them the Dipper sent you…and then apologies on my behalf for the inconvenience." Smirking at the bad joke, Dipper closed his hand around the fate strands which once again became the golden pine-tree tipped spear. The girls jumped back as the young man pierced the flaming ball, causing its violent shrieks to echo down the ruins, before raising the weapon and plunging it into the corrupt basin with a brilliant golden blast of energy which burned the shadows back. As the essence of Eris dilapidated into nothing, Dipper released his grip on Ascalon, causing it to separate into raw fate on the air.

Mabel looked at her brother and shook her head; "That was such a terrible joke, honestly."

Dipper shrugged; "I heard it long ago, and it's one of my favourites; sue me!"

The group progressed back toward the now cleared exit, relieved when they came across more familiar faces. While their friends were still trapped and unconscious, there was no longer corrupt magic poisoning them, rather Eris' link to their strife had be severed, now they had time to recover. Wendy and Mabel began to move ever onwards, but Dipper felt a chill down his spine making him turn around.

He saw a figure made of purple smoke begin to form around the basin, contorting into a humanoid shape. Dipper recognised it as the form Eris took when she attacked the Mystery Shack. Dipper opened his hand again to summon Ascalon but before the golden threads even appeared, the smoky figure was cut down by a large curved blade. Death stood over the evaporating smoke, raised its hood towards Dipper, then turned and slowly walked back the way it came. Dipper shook his head and let out a full body shiver, glad that he wasn't on the wrong side of Death today; he promptly turned and pursued his companions.

"Everything alright?" Mabel asked hearing her brother's steps come from behind them.

"Yeah, just a final check, that's all," he responded, resisting the urge to turn around again.

They walked in silence from that point, continuing their routine of checking passage ways and trudging through the ancient castle.

"Just how big is this damn place?" Mabel asked rhetorically; she remembered Bill's fortress from Weirdmageddon, but that was nothing compared to her current surroundings, it felt like they had been here for hours, or was it minutes, her mind was fuzzy at the moment.

Finally, after their long exploration of the ruined castle they reached what looked like a throne room. Pillars travelled down the path, wrapped in corruption; but these were different. Dipper noticed that these black vine-like structures were much thicker here than the rest of the ruins, and they had a red glow which beat slowly. It was as if they were veins connected to a beating heart.

"Well it's about time, I thought you had gotten lost," a voice rang from the head of the room. Sitting in a pure black marble throne was Chaos, his eyes burning red, so much so they could be seen from were Dipper was standing at the entrance. "So how does it feel? You've faced demons before, but what about a god?" Chaos mused, sitting relaxed.

"Get ready, things are about to get intense very quickly," Dipper spoke softly. The girls readied their weapons, and Dipper focused on summoning his weapon. "We've defeated everything you've thrown at us, now we're here to stop you!"

Chaos chuckled, the sound echoing down upon the trio. The intensity of the volume was like stones weighing them down. Mabel shook her head vigorously, sweating intensely.

"If you're so confidant, just get to it then," the ancient being spoke, still sitting down.

Dipper raised Ascalon and with his companions charged for the throne, the golden tip aimed at Chaos' chest. With only a few strides to go, Dipper saw a thread of fate fall before his face. As he ran into it a vision triggered, only a second long but powerful: Death with its scythe raised at Dipper. Immediately he pulled the spear back, but his companions were in full motion and couldn't stop. He could only watch as the god smirked at him, and both Wendy and Mabel swung their weapons at Chaos.

Before the weapons even struck, an explosion of shadow emanated from Chaos tossing the girls like pebbles in a hurricane. Wendy was tossed at one of the pillars, hitting it with a dull thud, whereas Mabel was flung at her twin who dropped his weapon to catch her. Dipper was winded as his sister hit him at speed, but that aside he was far more worried about his girlfriend who lay on the cobbles gasping for breath.

"Ah-ah, no time to be distracted!" Dipper looked back to the throne but Chaos was gone. Suddenly and sharp blow to his side brought him to his knees. There was no pain, just shock from the unanticipated blow. The dark god was standing beside him looking disappointed; "How did Eris fall to such pathetic creatures, after being given a fragment of my powers?"

Dipper began to feel fear creep into his heart; all the other demons and trials he had faced were nothing but tiny pieces of Chaos' power. What now bared over him was the real Chaos; the real primal force of the apocalypse.

Sighing, the ancient walked slowly towards the lumberjill Dipper was so fond of. Panicking the young man stood up and immediately fell, hearing his ribs break in several places.

"Oh, are you feeling it now? Good, that was for Eris, I felt bad that you killed her twice…not really, that was to shatter your hope," Chaos chuckled, not even looking at his victim. He knew Dipper would try to stand up, and chose to hold the damage until that moment. Picking up Wendy by the collar, as if she weighed no more than a feather, Chaos turned back to the injured youth before him.

"I so wished that you could have put up more of a fight, perhaps if the meddlesome Order had taught you to use the ring properly, rather than seal so much of its power, you would have lasted a little longer," Chaos spoke, then dropped the red-haired woman beside Dipper and Mabel.

"C'mon Wendy, tell me you're okay?" Dipper begged, nudging her with one hand while covering his ribs with the other. The lumberjill turned her emerald eyes to him, and they broke his heart. She was smiling while the tears flowed down her face.

"It's okay dork; we knew it was a long shot, but at least we tried."

Turning to his twin in despair, he was further upset at how frail she looked; her energy was gone, her reason gone, her anger and hope gone. The hollow brunette didn't even look to her brother, she just reached out towards him grasping at the air. Dipper took her hand, and with the sensation Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, wishing it was a terrible nightmare she would wake from. Removing the hand that protected his broken bones, Dipper placed his hand over Wendy's head, wiping her tears and covering her eyes. This was the end.

Chaos stood smiling. This brought him great pleasure, to see the so-called defenders of Order broken and hopeless. Pacing a few steps backwards, the ancient demon took in the sight of the ruined castle.

"Do you know this is both my favourite and most hated location?" he asked, not really caring if the morals were listening. "This is the first thing Order ever created; a castle of creation, a core to existence and hope that out of the darkness would come light. It is also the first thing I took from that fool. Look upon the great works of the divine! This was the so-called heaven, the great beyond, the fields of Elysium!" he shouted, his sick laughter echoing through the barren fortress. "Look around Dipper Pines, there is no hope beyond this, I will reclaim what was mine, I will take away everything Order has created, and I will seal her away in a prison of pure corruption until she can no longer comprehend anything other than me!"

Rotating in place Chaos raised his hand, a black mass of shadow that spit red lighting grew intensely in his palm. The cold air of the structure grew hot and Dipper struggled for breath. He closed his eyes, squeezed his sisters hand, and whispered into Wendy's ear; "I love you so much."

Chaos threw the orb at the trio, detonating an incredible explosion of lightning and darkness which shook the entire castle, causing a large section to fall off into the abyss.

When the sound of ringing passed, Dipper still had his eyes closed. He felt warm, and relaxed. His ribs didn't hurt or feel broken, he felt at peace.

"I'm sorry Dipper, I underestimated Chaos, but I still need your help to defeat him. Open your eyes Dipper. Open them!"

Quickly he did as instructed, and standing with her back turned to him was Matti. Only she wasn't in her overalls, but rather the golden armour of her godly form and wielding a large ruined-Warhammer which glowed bright blue like the ruins on Matti's body.

"H-how did you get here!?" he asked amazed.

"I told you; you were being watched by Eros and it informed of the situation," she responded.

Looking around, Dipper noticed a pink tinge to his immediate surroundings; as if an airbag of light coated him and the girls from Chaos' attack. As the aura withdrew, it took the form of a small pink dove which cooed softly before taking flight towards to high perch.

"I understand you are afraid of Chaos, but I need you all to fight back against the dark. Take these, I'm sure they are more suited to your preferences," Matti spoke. With a clap of her hands and the sound of thunder, two ruined hatchets floated before Wendy which she took happily. Another clap of the goddess' hands, and an old pistol appeared before Mabel; it had an indentation in the base where something was missing.

"Use the gifts I gave you, no longer as shields but as ammunition to cast aside the shadows."

Mabel took one of the blue spheres Matti had given her and slotted it into the notch of the weapon causing it to illuminate and hum with power.

"Just like my reliable grappling hook!" the brunette grinned.

"What about me?" Dipper asked, hoping for something to fight Chaos.

"You have the Prophet's Ring. Focus on its power, ask it for assistance and it will reply," the goddess spoke in reply, pointing at Dipper's hand. "Now move aside and gather your strength, I will distract the monster for as long as I can," and with that said the ancient being raised her weapon and took some steps forward while the trio retreated out to the side of the throne room.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Dipper muttered and closed his eyes, concentrating on his relic. A soft golden glow shone from the ring, hidden just out of sight from the gods only yards away. Wendy and Mabel watched Dipper descend into a type of meditation as he entered to deeper parts of the Prophet's Ring, only to have their attention pulled to the battle between Order and Chaos.

/

Matti strode forward, and stood feet away from Chaos. Each looked at their nemesis silently for a brief few seconds, before Chaos grinned.

"Welcome home, do you like what I've done with the place?" he asked mockingly; his shadowy form standing straight, proud of his handiwork.

"I think it needs a little colour," Matti said, and without warning slammed her Warhammer into the ground causing a wave of sharp crystals to erupt from the floor towards Chaos. Several of the sharp rocks pierced the demon's body making him wince and grumble at being impaled. To the shock of Mabel and Wendy, the crystals around Chaos turned jet black and shattered. The dark god readjusted himself and sneered slightly.

"That, wasn't, very, NICE!" he bellowed, pointing his hand out, firing a beam of condensed shadow at Matti who raised a bubble of blue magic around herself as a shield. Very quickly the bubble began to crack and splinter until it exploded against the force of the dark energy. When the dust cleared, there was a stone figure which looked exactly like Matti, with its middle fingers raised at Chaos.

"Didn't like my present? Old people are no fun," the goddess' voice laughed out. Now irritated, Chaos raised his hand once more, pointing at the statue and closing his grip on the air, obliterating the insult down to its atoms. The ancient proceeded to leap from the steps of the throne into the centre of the hall, his anger rising quickly as his hair turned silver white and his human features turned to that of a wraith with a fiery core fuelling its power.

"Cheap tricks and distractions! You could never face me head on!" Chaos spat as he searched for signs of his enemy. "Know I will find you, and then I will deal with your human friends; I'll tear out their hearts while you watch, unable to do anything!"

From behind one of the columns Matti appeared and swung her weapon at Chaos, striking with such force to shockwave shook the stones of her ancient home. Half of Chaos' shadowy body had been destroyed in the impact, a serious blow against the god. Raising her weapon for lethal strike, Matti swung again, and was stopped cold. With only half a body, Chaos held the ruined-Warhammer in place and turned his gaze towards Matti.

"Found you," he spoke softly. The demon opened its jaws and produced an incredible burst of lightning which sent the goddess hurtling towards the dark throne, which smashed as she impacted against it. Mabel could see a hole burnt through the golden breastplate of her ally, showing a ghastly wound from the attack.

/

Dipper sat weightless in space, concentrating on sinking deeper into the realm of the Prophet's Ring. He had always called Erin, that guiding orb out of the relic. Now was his turn to travel to a different world.

Feeling the air around him rushing upwards told him he was on the right course, and after a minute the air stopped moving and Dipper felt still. Opening his eyes, he found himself sitting on a wooden floor in a dining room, similar to that of the Northwest mansion. Chairs sat facing each other on both sides of the large piece of furniture.

The central most chairs were more like thrones, one of white light, the other of smoke and shadow; on both sides of each were smaller seats of white and black, and in the centre of the table was a large hourglass.

"Where in the hell…" Dipper looked around, hoping for any sign that could help him in his fight against Chaos. A large 'thunk' startled Dipper as he noticed large doors on each side of the room open and a number of figures took their seats at the table. The young man recognised some of them; on the far most seat on the light side was a pink dove, Eros, roosted happily in its seat. The closest figure on the dark side was the hooded figure, Death, on the only white chair of the dark side. Inspecting closer, Death's seat was made of bones rather than shadow or basalt.

"Welcome to the primal senate, Dipper Pines," came a familiar voice. Erin was floating above the white throne.

"Yes, well done on hiding like a coward," came another voice he knew too well. The purple fire of Eris' soul hovered above the dark throne.

"Will you ever just die!" Dipper moaned at the purple orb.

"Nope."

Dipper sighed and proceeded to phase out the demon, who was now mostly an annoyance. "What exactly is this place?" he asked his golden guide.

"This is the central source of universal force, a separate dimension where the ancients can contest through strategy rather than force," the light explained. "Though both prefer to spend their time outside this realm, hence their absence."

Dipper looked at the two empty thrones and understood.

"You have come, no doubt, looking for power over the ancients?" came a soft voice from his left. A beautiful flower, of many colours glittered as new buds grew into flowers, which in turn budded again, an endless blooming.

"Who are you?" Dipper asked the talking flower with light wariness.

"I am Life, my dear boy," the plant chuckled happily. Dipper stared, unsure how to feel addressing the force of Life itself. Looking across the table at the robed figure of Death, Dipper came to an immediate conclusion; the various things in front of him were the forces of the universe: Life and Death, Love and Hate, Creation and Destruction, Physical and Spiritual. The pink dove opposite a black wolf with bloody fangs, the blooming flower opposite the reaper, a stone golem covered in vines and stars opposite a molten golem which hissed steam and ash, and a cube of solid pure-white marble opposite a transparent shadow smoke.

"He seems to have caught on quickly," the wolf of Hate mused, "Shall we get on with the test?"

"What test, what's going on?" Dipper looked to the elements confused and unsure about what was to come.

"If you want the power, the real power of the relic you bear, you must withstand the judgement of balance," spoke the golem of creation, its voice old and wise. "You will be subject to our natures, and if you can withstand them, the ring will allow you to use our powers as you see fit; for a short time that is."

The young man looked at the various spirits around him, knowing he had no choice; this was for the sake of everything, to stop Chaos from his ruthless assault on existence.

"I'm ready, what must I do?"

"Brace yourself," came the monotone voice of the marble and shadow cubes together.

Dipper erupted into flames; half of him blazing white, half nightly black. Experiences of his life began to flash vividly through his mind. The elementals of Physical and Spiritual were testing him in their fields; examining his time as human, and the times he was in the dreamscape all those years ago.

/

Outside of the Prophet's Ring, the two titanic powers clashed. While Order held fast against the shadowy assault of her foe, it was clear that Chaos was winning, for Matti was growing tired and weaker.

"Mabel, we have to do something," Wendy whispered, clutching tight to her glowing hatchets. The brunette wasn't sure what decision to make; Matti told them to wait until Dipper had readied himself to fight back, but the goddess was also getting closer and closer to lethal injury. Mabel turned back to examine her brother and jumped having not noticed that his hands were aflame; one white and the other black.

"Wendy, you're right, but let's just wait a little longer. I think Dipper is getting close to whatever he's trying to do," she gestured to her twin. The lumberjill's eyes widened, but she nodded and focused back on the battle just beyond them. Matti's hammer was close to them but Chaos stood in the way, forcing the goddess of Order to hurl waves of energy in an attempt to keep her foe at bay.

/

Dipper fell to his hands and knees as the energy from the two golems receded from his body. His breath was heavy and sweat dripped from his brow, but for the most part he was okay.

"This one is strong," spoke the elemental of Destruction; "Perhaps he can endure the last trial." Both golems returned to their places at the table while Dipper regained his balance.

"Phew, okay, who's last?" he asked wiping the moisture from his brow. The sick laughter of Eris rose from the dark throne in anticipation.

"He has to face the bonds of Life and Death; the mortal will fall, weak and pitiful!"

Dipper was surprised when Destruction hissed angrily at the purple flame; "You forget yourself, goddess of strife and discord! I remember when you too, were moral, begging the dark one for the power to have your revenge on those who wronged you. Were it not for Chaos' influence on your soul, my essence would have destroyed such an unworthy human." The purple flame fell silent, and the molten figure arranged a gravelly smile at Dipper.

"It is time, dear boy. Your final test is ready when you are," spoke the plant of Life. "Take my gift unto yourself and feel the embrace of Death." The plant unravelled a new layer, bearing a golden orb. Dipper picked the item from its place and looked around at the eyes of the other elements; they each had tested him, yet all seemed concerned about the final test, their gazes momentarily shifting to Death then back to Dipper.

"You are running out of time, Dipper Pines. Eat the fruit of Life, the immortal seed, and embrace Death," Erin spoke from above the white throne. Dipper did as instructed.

Sinking his teeth into the golden orb, he felt his heart slow and his senses sharpen. Feeling as if he could move mountains or part oceans, the nectar that poured from the fruit birthed saplings as it splashed on the floor. This was immortality, this is what it was like to be a god! The young man turned to look at the ancient senate only to feel a cold air run through his body. As he turned he felt the bony finger of Death against his forehead, the voice of it was like thousands of whispers in a hurricane, swirling behind his skull. He had felt the essence of Light and Dark in his body three times already, but this was far more intense, to feel the power of immortality and all its possibilities, then having them torn from his very soul was excruciating.

Dark tendrils wrapped around Dipper, like hungry claws dragging prey into a pit. It felt like the shadows wanted to pull him deeper into the Prophet's Ring, but that could only be bad. Feeling a rush, Dipper jerked his body violently, trying to escape, but was restrained tighter. There was silence from the elements as he fought against his trappings, they couldn't interfere without consent from their opposing force.

Having waited long enough, Death took raised his hand again at Dipper. An intense vacuum began weakening Dipper further, he was losing his energy rapidly. That's when he felt it, like a sharp blade against his skin, a strand of golden grey light peeled from his chest and into Death's palm. Another tear and another grey fragment flew out; his soul was being taken. Dipper looked around desperately trying to find some way of countering the attack but found no means, and hung his head as more strands left his body.

The pink dove Eros cooed loudly, and Dipper could see it flapping at the wolf of Hate. The canine looked into Dipper's eyes then bore its fangs in a grin; "I'll allow it!"

Suddenly the silence was broken and Dipper could hear the sound of fighting from beyond the darkness; the shouts of Matti, the laughter of Chaos; and the pleads of Wendy.

"C'mon Dipper, you need to wake up right now! Please, we need to help her!" the lumberjill's voice pierced the veil of shadow.

"Wendy," Dipper lulled, "Wendy," a little louder, "WENDY!" he shouted to the heavens, a radiant burst of gold burning away the black tendrils.

"Well done, Dipper Pines, you have control of the elements of Order and Chaos. There is but one thing left before you return for you battle," Erin spoke, a slight note of relief in the spirits voice, a first from the normal monotone it always used.

"And what's that?" Dipper asked. Instantly he felt an icy pull in his chest. He looked to the source of discomfort to find Death's scythe sticking into his torso. It didn't hurt, it just felt weird, and then the robed figure removed its tool, the piece of Life's fruit stuck to the tip. A weightless feeling overcame him, and the young man began to ascend towards the heavens; he was ready to fight Chaos.

The ancient senate, watched their guest disappear, and proceeded to take their leave; Creation carried Life back through the large doors, Physical turned to dust while Spiritual faded away, Hate and Destruction left through the opposing doors of shadow leaving only Love and Death in at the grand table. Lifting its arm Death nodded to the pink dove which flew from its seat and perched on the figure. The pair vanished in a wave of shadow, returning to the mortal realm where they were always needed.

/

The warm feeling grew cold as Dipper awoke from his trance, only to find Wendy and Mabel watching the battle with absolute terror on their faces. Rising to examine the situation, he grew sick at the scene; Chaos gripped Matti by the throat while shadows whipped her exposed flesh, leaving all too real injuries that dripped golden fluid; divine blood. He wanted to jump in and save his friend, he wanted to attack Chaos and cause a distraction, but every scar on his body burned hot, telling him not to be rash; there wasn't going to be another scar if things went wrong.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelped, seeing her twin not only conscious but standing right behind her. "If we don't do something now I…I don't know what will happen, but it won't be good for us."

"Alright, give me your weapons; both of you," he spoke quickly and clearly. Wendy did as asked, handing over the ruined-hatchets. Dipper gripped them and concentrated hard, imagining the blades being sharp, much sharper that any physical blade. The weapons began to glimmer before bursting with white light, then stabilizing. The weapons blades hummed with raw power, one glorious gold and the other sparkling silver.

He handed them back to the lumberjill who felt a rush at their touch, like electricity running between her palms and the grips. Mabel in turn, offered the firearm Matti had supplied, and watched the same process occur. As her brother held the weapon, it began to glow with intense magic, and bending the alloy to form two chambers: a dove on one side and a wolf on the other.

"Do some damage sis, this is our last shot."

"What about you Dipper, are you gonna be okay without a weapon?" the red-head asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. The young man turned to face the love of his life and grinned; "I've got all I need with me already. Now let's kick some ass."

/

Chaos held his foe tightly, his anger at the goddess had morphed his face clean of human like features. There was only a burning black skull with monstrous fangs and a split jaw, while the deepest of red fire spawned from the eye sockets.

"You have wasted enough of my time," the ancient growled in a low tone. "I'm going to separate your essence from that body and seal you in the black fountain of Eris where your power will fuel her wrath for eons." Matti gasped for breath as the crushing grip around her throat grew more intense by the second. Her vision began to grow dark, the glow of her blue markings began to fade, and she prepared for what fate Chaos had planned.

"Let her go you old, wrinkly, bat-shit crazy, pathetic excuse for a god!" Mabel hollered from the end of the grand hall. That did it, Chaos was pissed. No longer caring about his near dead nemesis, the ancient being hurled Matti into the only remaining wall of the throne room, causing it to crumble on top of her.

"I've had enough of you damn mortals! No more games, I'm ending this now!" the demon roared, leaping towards Mabel like it'd been fired from a cannon. Just before his onyx claws reached the young woman, a shadow flew past moving her out of the way, leaving Chaos to slice through empty space.

"What!?" Chaos looked around, positive his target was just in front of him.

"NOW WENDY!" a voice called before a red-haired woman pounced from her hiding spot behind the pillars and sunk her weapon into the demon's arm, severing it off completely.

Chaos howled in pain, frustration, and above all: rage. The flames of his core intensified, consuming its black skull entirely leaving only a ghostly visage inside the ball of fire. Swinging viciously at Wendy, trying to remove her head, forced the lumberjill to duck beneath the arm, only to get stuck between a pillar and Chaos. The enraged god raised his fist, sparking with chaotic magic, and pummelled down hard.

Again, just before the attack connected, a shadow passed by, taking the mortal with it. Thrusting his fist into empty space, caused it to connect to the ground, triggering an almighty explosion of black dust and crimson lightning that blew the entire section of the ancient fortress below that floor to disintegrate into nothing.

"RAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Chaos bellowed, no longer searching for his targets. The demon god began hurling corrupt energy all around himself, destroying columns and removing sections of the floor.

"Hey! Weren't you taught that bad kids get punished?" Mabel called from behind the shattered throne. Chaos turned like a berserk animal, spitting flames as the figure of the man in the coat became a disgusting hybrid of various creatures: a long curving tail with a sharp tip and multiple spines, back legs like a lion, the torso of a large primate resembling a gorilla, vicious front claws of crocodilian design; all of this behind the same sickening skull which now produced a mane of blood-red fire.

"No you don't," Mabel announced and raised her firearm, and without a moment's hesitation pulled the trigger sending a ball of golden light and one of shadow whizzing into Chaos chest before promptly detonating, igniting the monstrosity in a blue aura that dissolved at the wound. Aiming in for another shot, the brunette fired, but Chaos had seen the weapon and vanished in a shadowy gust.

A roar sounded out right above Mabel as Chaos dropped like a boulder. Raising her hands into an attempt to guard herself from the giant beast, she prepared for the assault. In a flash, a solid blow connected to the onyx skull of Chaos with enough force to redirect him away from Mabel. The god guttered a sick noise as the fractures to its face healed quickly, allowing it to examine what attacked him. Dipper stood beside his twin holding the Warhammer of Order. All else in Chaos' mind left, leaving only one desire, one instinct, one purpose: kill Dipper Pines.

The young man readied his large weapon, while his companions stood either side of him. Looking to Wendy, he nodded and without a word the pair chartered at their foe while Mabel rained cover fire. Chaos weaved its way past the infused bullets and instigated a full gallop towards the duo approaching, and leaped just short of them pounding the ground with corruption. From the blackened stones rose two twisted golems which sputtered corruption like lungs full of water. The stone warriors made straight for the red-haired woman while their master charged at the other target.

"I've got them! You deal with Chaos!" the jumberjill called out, as she sliced at her attackers, who unfortunately would just reconnect their lost segments seconds later. What perused was a fight that rivalled the conflict between Order and Chaos in the beginning of existance; both Dipper and Chaos attacked and parried at every instance. Just when it looked like one had the upper hand, the tide would turn and turn again. Chaos was crafty even it its berserk state, placing its foe between itself and the hail of magic bullets that came from afar. If Dipper had any chance of winning, he would have to attempt something really risky, he didn't like it, but the longer he fought the more likely he would lose.

Desperation reached it maximum point as the young man thrust the weapon of Order into the gut of his opponent. The blessed object ruptured the shadowy form of Chaos but also left Dipper open to an attack. The demonic god lashed out at his face, a single claw reaching its mark and cutting down the left side of Dipper face, narrowly missing his eye. This was enough of an advantage, and releasing the Warhammer, Dipper held up both hand and released an influx of energy that dwarfed Chaos' previous attacks.

Falling to his knees in exhaustion, the young man had given it his all, and the results were showing. Flat on its back was the beastly form of Chaos, the shadowy beast now of rotten flesh with no fire of life in its core. The corrupt golems fell to rubble as their dark bindings evaporated, allowing Wendy to ease back on her adrenaline.

"We did it! I can't believe we actually…Dipper! Your face!" the lumberjill dove for her boyfriend at the sight of blood running down his face, his left eye closed to stop blood entering.

"I'm okay Wendy, just a scrape, honest. Please go check on Matti, she may need treatment," he reassured her, holding his hand to his wound. The red-head obliged, though her concern was still focused on her dork.

Dipper sat back, breathing in the cold air, never feeling more relieved in his life. He heard steps approaching and knew his sister was coming over; "That was some fine shooting Mabes, couldn't have done it without you." There was silence for a moment, then the sound of Mabel's pistol firing sounded three times. Sitting up in a start, Dipper saw his sister standing over Chaos, emptying the last of her ammunition into the creature.

"Merry Christmas ASSHOLE!" she yelled; "Phew, okay, it's out of my system. Now, how do we get home?" Dipper chuckled, glad that his twin was back to her usual self. Wendy approached, holding Matti over her shoulder as the goddess limped with her.

"Well done, all of you. This battle is over, and I suspect it will be a long time before the mortal realm hears from Chaos again," Matti spoke, relieved.

"So how do we get home, and with everyone else as well?" Wendy asked throwing a thumb towards the hall out of the throne room.

"I can take care of that, but I'll need much power. The balance will need tipping in my favour, which may be difficult with Chaos gone," the blue-haired goddess frowned.

"I think I have an idea, but you will need to get them to safety first, and then I can restore the balance," Dipper announced, and explained his plan.

/

As Matti clasped her hands together, a blue wave enveloped the ruined fortress, now more rubble in space than a corrupt stronghold. "It is done, now we must adjust the order of things or else Chaos will regenerate at a faster rate." Opening her hand, a blue swirling vortex appeared, a portal back to Gravity Falls.

"I'll be right behind you," Dipper said, watching his party pass through the gate. Looking at the corpse of his foe, the young man was both impressed and shocked to see the wounds already beginning to repair; Matti's magic had seriously disrupted the balance of the universe.

Concentrating hard one last time, Dipper held out his hand as an orb of white light gleamed in his palm. In one swift movement, he tore the Prophet's Ring from his finger, causing the energy to grow unstable rapidly. Lastly, dropping the chaotic relic into the rupturing energy began creating intense flares of lightning of all colourations. Dipper looked up from the rift in his grasp, only to came face to face with Death. The cold figure didn't move, it just simply pointed towards the blue vortex behind Dipper.

"Alright, I'm going now. I'd like to say I'll see you around, but whose friends with Death, right?" he joked. Death stood motionless, still pointing at the portal. "Right," and with that said; Dipper left.

The fluctuating mass of light, grew and poured energy from its core, swallowing more and more space as if prepared to erupt. A sick cracking sound popped as Chaos regained consciousness and repaired itself, once again taking the form of the human in a black coat. Gazing at the mass of energy, the god stepped back at cast a stream of corrupt magic into it, and to his dismay, only increased the size of the flux. Giving up on control, Chaos summoned a black vortex to escape his surroundings only to be blocked by a hooded figure.

"I brought you into existence, and you have only ever worked against me!" Chaos growled, but the figure didn't so much as flinch. "Fine then, I'll move you myself," the god snarled throwing a shadowy spear at his target. With a flash the spear vanished, and Death brandished its scythe towards Chaos. Feeling the heat of the enormous flux behind him, Chaos bellowed and rushed Death, only to see his surroundings from upside down as Death removed his head in one swift motion. Causally, the reaper caught the severed head and held it at arm's length.

"How dare you! I am Chaos, the dark bringer, feared by all universal forces and beyond!" he spat, now just a black skull with a faint light emitting from its eyes. Without a word or any form of warning, Death cast the onyx skull into the flux as it reached unstable mass.

Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, and Matti stood in the frosty grove looking up into the sky as a brilliant wave of colour lit up all of space for several seconds before fading to inky darkness once again.

"It's over, finally," Dipper sighed, and noticing a tear falling from Matti's face, and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"Thank you, Dipper, but it was my home. The first ever thing I made for myself, which I hoped someday to reclaim from the darkness," she said, wiping her eye.

"Do you think people are gonna freak out that night just lit up like a rainbow for a few seconds?" Mabel asked, her warm breath rising above the trees.

"Eh, maybe they'll just call it a Christmas miracle and leave it be," Wendy suggested, before wrapping her arm around Dippers shoulders and resting her head against his.

"I don't really care what they say, I just want to get some sleep," the young man chuckled, then realised he had an urgent question.

"Hey Matti, what happened to everyone who was captured?" he asked, clearly concerned.

"They are fine, I was able to transport them all to their safest place; whether that be their own home, or somewhere else entirely, it needn't matter, they are safe," the goddess explained, her radiant markings fading and her glorious armour vanishing, leaving the young woman standing in the forest in her traditional steam-punk outfit. "Ah, I can feel the balance restored, in fact slightly in my favour. I shan't use my powers for some time to slow Chaos return. Now, I bid you all good night, and do enjoy your festivities tomorrow."

The goddess walked out of the grove and was met by three gnomes, two thanking her for their lives. She had kept her promise and revived the unlucky victims. Waving goodbye, they escorted her away, while Dipper, Mabel, and Wendy began walking the other direction.

"Guys, my house isn't close by, it'll be at least an hour on foot," Wendy spoke up. They were all beginning to feel drowsy, and the forest was the last place one should fall asleep, especially in Gravity Falls.

"I think we've got it covered," Dipper replied.

Like a shining lighthouse in the darkest of nights, The Mystery Shack stood firm in all its glory. It looked brand new; the construction team Dipper had paid must have finished yesterday while the gang were dealing with their god problems.

"Hang on, something's not right," Dipper stared, and with a nod of his head chucked a stone towards the roof, knocking the building's title and causing the 'S' to fall to the earth. "There we go, alright everyone inside."

Mabel bid them goodnight and slumped up the stairs to her room, wanting to get as much sleep as possible before her blitz of decorating in the morning. Dipper too was feeling the last of his energy fade, and shuffled towards his room, Wendy close behind. The pair fell onto the bed, not bothering to change clothes, a drifted into a deep sleep, hugged together in safety.

/

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" came the happy shouts of a certain eighteen-year-old brunette, acting like she lost the 'teen' in her age.

Dipper groaned, stiff limbs and sore muscles. Squinting in the pale light of the morning while the shadows of snow fell, a warm hand ruffled his hair softly. His favourite red-head was smiling at him, a smile so wide it reached from ear to ear.

"Merry Christmas Wendy, are you ready for a day full of festivities?"

"You bet'cha!" the lumberjill chirped and prepared her clothes for the day, while her boyfriend left the room. Searching for Mabel, Dipper was met by a large Christmas tree, baubles, tinsel, and all manner of decorations. How had his twin prepared all of this, it was only nine o'clock! When he found Mabel, he understood; not only was there six mugs of coffee on the kitchen counter, but standing around the main room was Gideon, Pacifica, Tambry, Candy, and Grenda.

"Well played Mabel, well played," the young man applauded his sister, who shrugged it off and leapt in for a hug.

"Is the guest of honour ready for presents and games?" she asked. Nodding towards the bedrooms.

"I hope so!" Dipper laughed, then stopped cold; "Oh no. I don't have any presents! Crap, what do I do?"

Tambry laughed at her panicking friend, she seemed to have no memory of her time as hostage in Chaos' domain; "Dipper, it's all right, we got you covered," and with that said Mabel produced a small, fat booklet, with a blue pine tree print on the front.

"Don't worry bro-bro, she'll love it."

"But what about you guys? Granted today is special for Wendy, but I don't have anything for you all either," Dipper said, slight regret in his voice. This was met with more laughter, from everyone in the room, including his twin.

"Dipper you gave everyone FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!" Mabel pointed out; "Don't sweat it." Those words eased the young man's conscious, just in time for Wendy to walk in, only to be met with cheers and presents.

As the day passed, and the joyous stories of past Christmases were told, the Corduroy woman couldn't help but appreciate the deepest feelings that all her friends put into her first Christmas. Even in the evening, when Lazy Susan arrived for the meal, and the Gruncles called to wish everyone happy holidays, the fuzzy warm feeling stayed with Wendy.

As the evening came to a close, Dipper sat by the fire, a warm cup of cocoa in his hand, he looked to the small mirror above the fireplace and inspected his eye. "Damn that was lucky," he muttered to himself. Granted he didn't walk away unscathed, but a cool scar beats a lost eye any day.

The sound of soft footsteps approached behind him and worked their way to his side. Wendy sat beside him in front of the warm hearth, enjoying the peaceful moment.

"I've got something for you," she whispered, trying not to wake the party-wrecked Mabel, who lay unceremoniously on the couch covered in confetti. The red-head pulled out a small box, the one she received in Matti's workshop. "I was told only let you open it when the time was perfect, and I've never been this happy in my life."

Dipper took the small box from her, and gazed at his love for a few seconds, her red hair reflecting the glow of the fire, contrasting with her beautiful emerald eyes. As he opened it, golden light rushed from the hearth into the box leaving a glittering shine on the case. Opened fully, the small contained held a single ring: a crimson red band made of some element not of this dimension, and an impressive emerald spiral weaving around it. Dipper stared at it, feeling overwhelmed; the ring looked like it was of Wendy's very essence, brilliant red and cool green.

"I love it, and I'll never take it off," Dipper smiled, and kissed Wendy softly, before producing something from his jacket. It was the small booklet the gang had put together as a gift from him to Wendy. He handed it over, watching a grin appear across her face once more as she examined the object. Dipper hadn't actually looked at it, but he trusted Mabel to make it something worthwhile.

"This is very brave of you, dork. Never thought you'd have the guts to put something like this together," the lumberjill teased, waving the gift in front of him. Now he was beginning to panic, what the hell had his sister done! He watched nervously as Wendy opened the booklet once more and tore at the first page, handing it to him.

"Good for 5 kisses…" Dipper read out, and after a few seconds blushed like a tomato, luckily concealed by the glow of the fire. Mabel had made a coupon book from the opinions of all their friends, and Dipper would have to cash them all eventually. With no choice, and definitely no complaints, Dipper did as the little ticket said, continuing the rest of the holidays, giving in to every command the little pages gave. And he loved every single second of it.

/

As the final day of Winter break came to a close, Wendy said farewell to her friends. Her family would be back in a day or two, and it was unfortunate she couldn't meet up with them, but she needed to get back to college and prepare for her last semester. Mabel also had to leave for home, she had plans with other friends and her own work that needed doing. That all left Dipper alone with his research, just like before.

About a week later, Pacifica Northwest of all people came to the Mystery Shack. The blonde told Dipper of the success she had when investing in his technologies, and that she wanted to thank him for the chance to do so. Pulling out a sealed envelope, she handed it to him and wished him luck.

Closing the front door, Dipper made for the kitchen and opened the letter. He investigated its contents, nothing he hadn't seen before, but attached was a hand-written note from Pacifica. As he read the short message, the weirdologist began to smile. He had some calls to make.

/

Wendy walked the campus, heading to her morning lecture with one of her college buddies.

"So Wendy, how was the break, anything exciting happen?" they asked, hoping for some interesting news.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, the usual stuff that happens at home whenever I'm there," the lumberjill replied, she wasn't lying, but explaining what actually happened would get her sent to a mental asylum.

"Yeah, I didn't do much either. Hey, did you hear we have a new professor for mythology? I heard some people talking about it, but it sounds all made up from the stories I've heard."

"Every story has a lick of truth in it," Wendy chuckled as they approached the entrance to the lecture theatre.

"I don't know Wen, this is a little crazy even for the usual BS that people spread around here," the friend said as the pair took their seats near the front.

As the clock chimed on the hour, all the students prepared for their lecture, only to have the headmaster arrive instead. The elderly man cleared his throat for issuing the many students.

"Dear students, I'm sure some of you have caught wind of the new lecturer that will be taking you for this term. While some of you may be inclined to test this change, I assure you that we only have the best here for your benefit. So, without further ado, I leave you to your studies," the old man nodded before leaving.

Wendy looked around, watching the various people in the lecture prepare to take note, or simply take out their phones and play games. The doors behind her opened while she readied her notepad, and a figure descended the steps up to the central podium and readied his presentation. The red-head looked to the projected picture of the first slide and nearly gasped out loud. There was a black and white picture, it looked as if it was decades old, but she knew all too well it wasn't. Grenda's butler sat on a bench in a large garden, beside a large cow/lion hybrid with several small feathered octopuses on his outstretched arm, nestled comfortably. Wendy turned slowly to look at the lecturer, disbelief slapped her across the face.

"Good morning everyone, I will be your lecturer for this term; Mason Pines," Dipper announced from the centre of the room, sending a wink in Wendy's direction. "Now, let get into the fun!"

And that's the end of my tale, what a long road. I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I did, it could never have been finished without the support of the reviews and PM's from you all asking to keep things going. This entire project was originally an off-time thing I did, and it came to so much more than I thought it ever would.

I would like to personally thank:

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Very special thanks to Geekngroom, FullMetalKhaos and BIuefish for their unparalleled support and companionship during the creation of A Spark of Hope. To Erin and Jon, thanks for the support and I hope you enjoyed. And to Erik, thanks for the amazing help making this come to full its potential.

Farewell to all of you readers,

AND, AS, ALWAYS!

Stay Classy,

TGGDSD.