Star vs the Forces of Gravity Part 2

"Hey dudes, over here!"

All four of the disembarking teenagers turned to see a heavier set man wearing a suit and fez waving at them.

"Soos, looking good," Mabel called out as they approached.

"You're really doing that suit proud Soos," Dipper added as their friend hugged each of them in turn.

"Thanks guys. Who're your friends?"

"Soos, are you telling me you don't recognize your favorite cousin?" Marco said, feigning shock as he opened his arms.

It took Soos a moment, his face slowly turning from confusion to astoundment before he enveloped Marco in a bear hug. "Oh no way dog! Little Marco? Dude, it's been forever! I'm so glad you could make it! Where're your folks? And who's this with you?"

"This is Star, she's-"

"Soos! Soos! You're not going to believe it! She's a magical princess! Isn't that amazing?!" Mabel blurted out before Marco could finish answering.

"Dude, you brought a princess as your date to my wedding? Up top dog!" Soos said as he held up his hand for a high five.
Marco tried to correct Soos about Star being his date but Star pushed past him to give Soos the high five he so badly desired, their hands colliding with a thunderous clap.

"Whoa, strong arm you got there Star. My hand stings a little, and it's kinda numb now. Ow.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're all here, I've got a favor to ask you guys. I'll explain on our way to the Shack."

The Pines twins shared a look of concern, Soos sounded nervous, which was understandable considering everything that was happening but this was Gravity Falls so there could be any number of sources of trouble. The cab of Soos's truck wasn't big enough for all of them so Marco and Dipper jumped in the bed of the truck while Star and Mabel sat up front with Soos.

"So what's up Soos? How can we help?" Dipper asked through the rear window panel.

"Well, first let me ask, just how magical of a princess are you Star?"

"Incredibly!" Star exclaimed, whipping out her wand and pointing it out the passenger window. A rainbow blast of magic burst forth from its tip and struck a woodpecker sitting on a man's shoulder. There was an explosion of sparkling dust and when it cleared the woodpecker was turned into a harpy.

Marco couldn't help but notice that rather than being terrified the man seemed overjoyed as he hugged the transformed creature and yelled, "Our marriage is saved!"

"Okay, good to know. So for those of you who might be unaware, Gravity Falls is home to some pretty weird stuff and I love that weird stuff and so does Melody, wouldn't change it for a thing. But her family isn't from around here and she's worried about them freaking out a little so I kind of, sort of, maybe promised her that our wedding would be as normal as possible. I didn't mean to drag you and Star into this Marco but if you're willing to help I could use it."

"What do you say Star, want to help us fight monsters?" Mabel asked, flashing perfectly even, brace free teeth.

"Oh heck yeah! This is starting to turn out just like a wedding on Mewny! Let's do this Marco!" Star said as she threw her arms up into the air.

"And hey it's not all bad, I've gotten her to make some concessions, Multibear's gonna DJ the reception."

Marco shook his head, it seemed that ever since Star had come into his life nothing was going to be normal. "Where do we start?"

**

After getting themselves settled in at the Shack and marveling at the renovations and additions Soos and Melody had added to it the newly formed quartet gathered in the living room to come up with a plan. It was quickly agreed upon that they would be better served by splitting up, since Star and Marco had plenty of monster fighting experience the twins would take one of them with them as Mabel and Dipper knew the area.

That was how Dipper found himself paired with Star, he and Marco realized what a disaster it would be if Mabel and Star's hyperactivity were to be let loose unsupervised. Star happily skipped along behind him as they made their way towards the base of the mountains outside Gravity Falls.

"So what are we looking for out here? Hydra? Sphinx? Cerebus?" Star asked, eager to bust some monster heads.

"Something more dangerous simply by its inherently aggressive nature," Dipper said as he pulled out a bag of jerky and ripped off the seal. Star made to grab a piece but Dipper pulled the bag away from her, cautioning her with a raised finger before cocking his head to one side. Star paused and listened as well, her ears catching the distant sound of wood cracking before she began to feel tremors up through her feet. They grew in intensity until it felt like an earthquake as treetops in the distant swayed suddenly before disappearing from sight. Before she realized it a stampede of woodland critters was racing past her in panic, all the while Dipper waited calmly, his gazed focused in the direction the animals had come from. Finally Star could make out figures charging towards them, growing almost exponentially bigger the closer they got. She could make out horns on their heads and from the sounds of their stomping feet they definitely had hooves.

One burst into the lead, dashing forward to leap through the air, smashing through a solid oak trunk as it did so without showing any signs of being phased in the least. The sun glinted off a ring of gold in its nose as it cleared the treetops with its jump before it came hurtling back to the earth, landing with such force that Star and Dipper bounced nearly a foot off the ground. It sniffed the air with a snort before raising its head up high and letting out a fierce cry of, "Jerky!"

The cry was echoed by the others of its kind as Dipper turned to Star, shouting over their boisterous cries, "Star, I give you the manotaurs."

Star regarded the horde of cow-men calmly before stepping past Dipper, tossing him her wand as she did so.

"Hold that for me, will ya?" she said as Dipper fumbled to catch it. Star cracked her neck one way and then the other before striking a fighting pose. "All right boys, let's do this!"

**

"So what's the deal with these little guys?" Marco asked as he kicked a gnome out of the air as it leapt at Mabel. Another one charged from out of a bush, hoping to take advantage of his precarious balance only to get punted by her.

"Oh they like to cause trouble, usually it's just some harmless pilfering of food but every so often they get it in their heads to try to kidnap a girl to marry. Wouldn't want them messing up the wedding looking for a queen now would we?" Mabel replied casually as she pulled out a grappling hook from underneath her voluminous sweater and was pulled into the air just in time to avoid a rush of gnomes.

Marco couldn't help but be impressed as she soared through the air nimbly and landed on a thick tree branch high above them all. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle that made all the gnomes freeze as they clapped their hands to their ears.

"All right you punks, listen up! My friends are getting married in a couple of days and we're here to tell you that no funny business will be tolerated. You got me?"

"Is that what this is about? Jeez Mabel you know you could have just tried talking to us to begin with!" One of the gnomes shouted, shaking his fist at her.

"Hi Jeff!" Mabel said before using her grappling hook to swing back down to the ground. "How's it going?"

"Fine, until you and your new muscle showed up and began knocking us around. Now what's this all this about a marriage?"

"Soos and Melody are getting married in a few days and Melody's folks aren't aware of how… different things are here and to make them comfortable for their short stay we're asking you guys and all the others to lay low for a while."

"That didn't really feel like asking, more like telling with fists," Jeff said as he snapped his fingers and several other gnomes lifted him up onto a stump so he was closer to eye level with Mabel.

Mabel stuck her fists on her hips as she cocked an eyebrow at him, "Well I'm asking now and if you don't like it then me and my boy Marco here can go back to laying the smackdown on you all."

She gave Marco a look as he stood there casually and he started before crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in what he hoped was an intimidating pose as the gnomes looked between him, Mabel and their leader.

"Hey, there's no need for that now, we can keep things civil. We can stay out of your hair but you gotta give us something in return."

"What did you have in mind?" Mabel asked cautiously.

"You give us all the scraps and leftovers from the reception."

"Fine, but only if you also spread the word to stay away to anyone else out here. Dipper and a friend are dealing with the manotaurs and between your two groups that should cover everyone."

"Deal," Jeff said, extending his hand for Mabel to shake and as she did the gnomes around him let out a cheer. "Hey Mabel, you ever think about that offer to marry us from way back when?"

"Let go of my hand or I'll feed you to Gompers."

"Fair enough. All right boys, we're going on a little vacation! Let's get a move on!"

With that the gnomes turned and rushed deeper into the forest until not single red hat could be seen. Mabel turned to Marco and flashed him a winning smile.

"See? It's all in knowing how to handle them."

**

Star was having the time of her life as she toppled manotaur after manotaur, the brawny bovine men were eager to fight and even after she put one down there were plenty to take his place. She dodged blow after blow while delivering vicious punches and kicks of her own, laughing the entire time.

"I love this town!" she cried as she leapt over a charging bull-man, kicking off his back to send him careening into a tree. "I'm going to have to bring my father here! He'd love you guys!"

"We would be honored to meet the man who produced such an astounding warrior as you Star!" one of the manotaur said, she thought his name was Beardy or something like that, as he brought his fist down in a blow that just barely missed her and cracked the earth where she had been standing. "Where do warriors like you come from?"

"A little place called Mewny," Star said as she made to roll out of the way of a blow only to find she had misjudged and collided with a manotaur's leg. She looked up expecting to see a fist coming her way but found all the manotaurs staring at her.

"Did she say Mewny?"

"I thought that was just a story."

"The legends are true!"

They were all muttering more of the same as they shared nervous looks with each other.

"Hey guys, what's the problem? Let's get back to tussling," Star said as she raised her fists playfully. The reaction wasn't quite what she expected, every manotaur stepped back fearfully, as if suddenly she was the real monster.

"Guys? What's going on? Chutzpah? Petuitar?" Dipper asked as he peaked out from behind the tree he'd been taking cover behind.
Star looked at him, her face a painting of confusion as one of the manotaur's Dipper had called out to turned to him.

"Destructor, is what she says true? Is she from Mewny?"

Dipper looked at the fearfully nervous faces of the monster-men, his mind racing to come up with a reason for their distress. Unfortunately it wasn't faster than his mouth.

"Well yeah, I guess. I mean, she's a princess and she even has this crazy magic wand to prove it," he said as he held up Star's wand in his hand. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, or bull's as it were in this case. There was a collective sharp intake of breath and then every manotuar turned and ran, screaming for their lives. Dipper coughed as they kicked up a cloud of dust and once it cleared he found Star standing rather forlornly in the midst of the former battleground.

"Hey, you okay Star?"

"Yeah, but what the heck was that about? We were having so much fun."

"I haven't the foggiest," Dipper said as he handed Star back her wand. She looked at her family heirloom, trying to understand what about it and her had terrified them so bad. "Maybe some of my Gruncle Ford's old notes can tell us what that was all about. Either way, it doesn't look like we'll have to worry about them messing up the wedding."

Dipper had already begun walking back towards the Shack as he spoke but Star was still studying her wand.

"You coming Star?"

"Yeah," she said as she turned, her attention still on the wand, which meant she wasn't watching where she was going. Her foot caught on something and she let out a quick yell of surprise. She caught herself on the same rock she tripped over, pausing as the shape caught her attention. It quickly became clear that it wasn't a rock but a statue. She hadn't noticed it before because it had been overtaken by a bush that most likely had been destroyed in her rumble with the manotaurs. It was a funny little thing, a pyramid with an eye on one side and a single, crude little stick arm. There was some kind of structure on the peak of the pyramid and with everything else about it the bit on top kind of looked like a hat. This town really was full of weird stuff, Star thought to herself.

"Star?" Dipper's voice called out to her, he must have just realized she wasn't right behind him.

"Coming," Star yelled back before giving the statue one last look. On a whim she gave the outstretched hand a playful shake and then began skipping her way towards Dipper.

As the normal sounds of the forest resumed the fading sun fell on the statue, revealing paper thin cracks slowly spreading down from the reaching hand.