"Y/n."
Said girl looked up at the sound of a gravel sound calling her name. "Hello?" She called. The voice belonged to him. "Where are you?"
"Y/n."
"Stan," she replied just as quickly as before. She looked around, searching desperately for the elder man. She only needed to see his silhouette, his shadow. Where could he be?
"Y/n," he said for the final time. Finally, he materialized in front of her, but his wrists were ensnared by a pair of handcuffs. "We lost," his voice dropped in a whisper, "they... they found us."
And as if on cue, alarms reverberated around her, and flashes of blue and red appeared. A megaphone squeaked from afar, alerting them of someone coming into the scene. "This is the police!" Through the powerful blast of the megaphone, the police officer's urgent voice reverberates among the continuous sirens.
"Stan Pines, you are suspected to have been constructing a highly dangerous doomsday device hidden beneath the shack! Surrender yourself immediately! I repeat, surrender yourself now!"
Y/n remained frozen in place. The police found them and now Stan is getting taken away. Away from the portal, away from progress, away from the Mystery Shack.
Away from her.
This was her worst nightmare.
"No," She found the strength to speak. "No, please!" It all felt so real. "Stan!"
His gaze remained downwards. "I'm sorry, kid. I have no choice."
"Don't go! Please! We've worked so hard!" She tried to reason. Thirty years of trying to save Ford and it all goes downhill? Ruined by the police? Everything was gone just like that, and they were so close– yet so far.
The older man didn't say anything, but his feet moved to their own accord, taking him somewhere. Y/n tried to stop him, tried to wake him out of his trance. Maybe he was being brain-washed. Maybe his memories were wiped clean. Why was he giving up so easily?
"Stan! What about Ford?"
"We tried everything," he stopped in his tracks a bit, tilting his head to the side to address her. But he wasn't looking at her. "But I guess it wasn't good enough. Face it, Y/n. We didn't succeed.
"We. Failed."
Y/n opened her eyes, inhaling deeply as if she only remembered how to breathe again. She clenched her fist in retaliation to the dream she had. Bill couldn't be blamed– she has been having these dreams now long before she met the beast. Although, there's a possibility that he purposefully took advantage of her mind while she was asleep.
So many things to ponder about. For the last three decades, all she ever cared about was fixing the portal. Her and Stan's lives intertwined in a shared mission, dedicating countless hours, poured undying effort, and endured the passage of time. Days turned into nights, seasons passed, yet their resolve remained unwavering.
But remembering the occurrence of her dream... minutes have passed for how long she's been staring blankly at a wall.
Only realizing that this wasn't her bedroom. This wasn't the shack.
She vaguely remembered Soos suggesting they go to his house for the meantime– his house being his Abuelita's. She remembered finally falling to sleep from exhaustion and when she awoke, she saw a different living room filled with timeless trinkets. Frames of young Soos littered around the yellow walls, and the furniture was covered by meticulous patterns. Stan and Mabel laid on the ground with sleeping bags, while she laid on a mattress propped up on a couch.
A rustle beside her caught her attention. It was Dipper, He was squirming, closing his eyes tightly. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his blanketed shoulder, rubbed soothing comforts. He was mumbling something before waking up in cold sweat. He screamed momentarily, clutching the blanket they shared.
He breathed heavily. "Y/n?" He saw her already staring at him. "I just had a horrible dream that Gideon stole the deed to the Mystery Shack, and kicked us out, and... we all had to move in with... Soos' grandma?" He all said in a series of questions.
Before Y/n could say anything, the third person sharing their bed sat up and leaned in closely towards them. "That was no dream, dude."
Soos, shirtless, said with conviction.
Dipper screamed in horror, waking everyone up. Abuelita from the side turned the lamp on and brought a finger to her lips. "Shh! Por favor."
"Uh, sorry...! Abuelita..." Dipper trailed off. He didn't even register that he was sleeping besides Y/n until he did, scooting slightly away. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I?" He muttered guiltily.
Y/n's face morphed into an assuring smile. "I was already awake before you. No worries."
"Well you sure woke everyone else with that scream," Stan quipped from the ground he was sleeping on. "Now quiet! The news is finally on," he pointed at the TV.
Shandra Jimenez appeared on the screen, microphone in hand. "In a movement that has all of Gravity Falls buzzing, child psychic Gideon Gleeful has taken surprise ownership of the Mystery Shack, previously belonging to area shyster, Stanford Pines."
This time, Gideon stood in frame with the reporter. "Now that you have the shack, what exactly are you planning to do with it?"
"I have a big announcement to make today," Gideon spoke with a huge, fake smile in his punchable face, "and I'd like to cordially invite all the good people of Gravity Falls to join me. Free admission to anyone who wears their Gideon pins! It's my face!" He winked.
Y/n was the first to react. "The people of this town are too gullible to believe this despicable kid," she voiced out.
"I just can't believe Gideon beat us," Dipper lamented, sitting on the edge of the makeshift bed, "Normally, I'm able to save the day. This is all my fault."
Mabel stood beside her brother. "Don't worry, Dipper. Looks like Mabel's going to have to be the hero of the family now. I'll defeat Gideon with my grappling hook!" She brought out the tool she chose from the beginning of the summer.
Dipper glared mildly. "Mabel, no offense, but that grappling hook has literally never helped us once."
"Oh yeah? Jelly grab!" The girl shot her grappling hook at a random jar of jelly inexplicably placed on a shelf, causing it to break and splatter jelly on the walls. The paintings, porcelain angels and half of Abuelita's body were in the splash zone and are now covered by the sticky substance.
"I vacuum the walls now."
"So you lost the Shack," Soos said as if it was a normal day, like it was a trivial matter. "Look on the bright side, dudes! Now you get to live here with me. Soos!" He then invited anyone to race cars without batteries. It's supposed to be a pretend kind of game.
"We gotta take the Shack back."
***

***
The next day, the family dressed up as an undercover entourage– with help from Soos' wardrobe and went to Shack. They saw the child psychic taking up the stage and dancing around before walking up the podium and spoke into the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen! Today I am delighted to announce my new plans for the former Mystery Shack!"
Bud came up with a wagon, a covered prototype on it.
"I give you..." Gideon reached down and pulled the cloth away, revealing a miniature version of his plans. "Gideonland!"
"What?!" The incognito team exclaimed in unison.
"We are gonna turn this dirty ol' shack into three square miles of Gideon-tertainment. And introducin' our new mascot, Lil' Gideon Jr.!"
Bud pulled off a cloak to reveal Waddles in a Gideon costume, white hair and all.
"Boom, he's a pig!"
"Waddles!" Mabel screamed in horror. "You monster!"
"Alright, that's it!" Stan pulled off his disguise and angrily ran up the stage. Mabel, Dipper, and Y/n followed, destroying everything in their path.
Stan stood behind the lectern. "Listen up people. Gideon's a fraud! This kid broke in and stole my property!"
"You have to believe us!" Y/n reasoned.
"Arrest him officers!" Mabel ordered.
"Yeah!" Dipper agreed.
Gideon walked up. "Such accusations!" He said, his tone being artificially innocent. "Mr. Pines, I recall you gave the property to me!" He had the nerve to frown in confusion. "Look, here's the deed right here!" He easily pulled the deed out of his shirt for the town to see.
"Well that's all the proof I need to see," Officer Blubs dismissed.
"I love you, Lil' Gideon!" Durland hollered. "Sing them funny songs!"
"Do you actually believe that Stan Pines would willingly give the deed of his house to Gideon?!" Y/n shouted, angry and frustrated. "They're rivals for crying out loud!"
"Stan and I are very close friends!" Gideon instantly retorted, flashing his puppy eyes. "And he trusted me to hold onto the deed for safekeeping. We're the best of friends after all!"
"Best of friends?" Stan glared. "More like the worst of enemies. Give me back my deed, you pint-sized troublemaker!"
The little boy snapped his fingers and two burly guards got ready to kick the Pines off the stage. "Hey!" Mabel yelled. The other three were easily grabbed.
Y/n surprised herself that she could endure all Gideon's taunt without easily knocking him out of the stage and taking the deed. Beat up the father too for neglected parenting. But looking at the people of Gravity Falls, she knew that they were easily swayed, and if they saw her assaulting their favorite manipulator, they might shun her out and never trust her again. She had sacrificed so much to maintain her reputation.
"Now get off my property, old man!" He slapped a Gideon pin on Stan.
"I'll show you who's the old man- AH! Ow, my hearing aid! Ow!"
The Pines got carried off the stage by the guards. "Thanks for visiting Gideonland, folks!" Gideon giggled a heinous laugh. "Don't come back, I don't care for y'all."
Going back to Soos' home, Mabel, Dipper and Soos sat on the couch sadly, sulking about today. Stan and Y/n were in the kitchen. The former was pacing around with a telephone in his hands while Y/n was leaning on the countertop, her arms crossed and her face contorted into worry.
2 minutes earlier, in the midst of their argument, the ringing of the phone cut them off. Stan answered with a scowl, but when he heard the voice from the other side of the call, his face melted into nervousness. His skin paled more and he was sweating. "H-Henry! It's you! What's wrong?"
This wasn't the first time a call came up while they were talking. Stan waited, nodding consciously. Henry sounded mad at the other end from the way the older man was trying to calm him down. It seemed that the parents heard the news all the way from Piedmont. "Don't worry, your son and daughter are fine!" He reassured them, himself included. "Where're we staying? Uh, I put 'em up in this amazing four-star hotel!" There are hotels?
He seemed to be in his own world of delusions, like he was actually in a fine establishment, being served food. Y/n was getting more worried. "What, uh, sure! We got..." He glanced at the contents inside the refrigerator which was merely a near empty gallon of milk, "we've got plenty to eat..."
Stan stood back up in faux confidence. "Relax, if I thought I couldn't take care of these kids, I'd send them back right away. " That seemed to have done it. "Uh huh, you too." He ended the call seconds after.
Silence ensued, but not for long when Mabel shouted from one room away. "Grunkle Stan, can we order pizza?"
The older man checked his pockets only to discover they're empty. Y/n kept silent, tapping beats against her skin.
"They have to go back," Stan spoke in hushed tones, leaning against the tiled surface. "I can't afford to take care of them anymore, not when Gideon has the Shack."
"He also has the portal."
Stan frowned deeper, if that was even possible. He wanted to curse Gideon with every fiber of his being. How did he manage to beat them? For how long are they going to remain underneath his small thumb?
The thought of Gideon having his hands on the portal has been plaguing their minds for the last 12 hours. It's only a matter of time until Gideon dismantles the entire Shack for his tourist attraction and discovers the underground device before using it for his evil schemes. There was no way of stopping him then.
"Wait, where are you going?" Y/n stood up, seeing that Stan was about to walk out.
Stan sighed. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air. There's a lot on my plate right now." He didn't look at her. He never did, until he exited the kitchen and outside of the house.
Y/n didn't bother pursuing him, as she figured that he really needed a breather. Her mind has been jumbled. She had no idea what to do first. Should she just sneak over to the Mystery Shack and stealthily pass through the guards and Gideon to get to the basement? And what happens after that? Does she just plan on staying there forever?
"Y/n! Let's play racing cars!" Mabel's voice reverberated through the walls again.
"But we have no batteries so we have to pretend!" Soos chimed in as well.
Mustering all her positive thoughts to her facial expression, she pushed herself off and stepped into the living room with a small smile on her face. "How do you play?" She saw Soos, Mabel, and Dipper sitting on the floor with the racetrack in the middle. It had toy cars in the plastic path, waiting for control. But without the batteries, it was immobile.
"Go, go, go!" Mabel cheered on. "Go, red car!"
Y/n sat on the ground with them, placing her hands on her lap. She noticed Dipper watching her every move, and she looked back, catching his eye. He flashed a small reassuring smile, but it was strained. Her lips were pursed as she tried to smile back, but Dipper knew that she must be exhausted from the situation. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his noodle arms and force her to rest.
"Go, other red car!" Soos smiled, raising a fist.
Dipper's attention reverted back to the other two trying to entertain themselves with stationary vehicles. "This would be a lot more fun with batteries," he complained, glowering.
Sounds of footsteps interrupted the ongoing race and the four looked up at the old man who wore a worried look. Stan cleared his throat. "Kids... we gotta talk." Everyone stood face to face with Stan. "Look, I've been thinking, and... I can't take care of you anymore. I don't have a house or a job. The plan is, you're goin' home. Your bus leaves tomorrow, here are your tickets."
"But Grunkle Stan, you can't just give up!" Dipper tried to reason.
"Look, we lost, okay?" Stan cut off, casting a quick glance with Y/n. "The best thing is for you to be with your parents. I'm sorry, kids. Gideon won," he placed the tickets on the table. "Summer's over."
He didn't leave room for any objections and left the room. Soos ran after him, calling his name. "Mr. Pines! Come back! Reconsider!"
"Okay, that's it!" Dipper protested. "Guys, if Stan won't get our home back from Gideon, then we'll have to do it ourselves."
"Gideon may have the upper hand, but we have one thing he doesn't," Mabel said confidently.
"The journal!"
"A grappling hoo- oh." Mabel stopped. "The journal. Journal!"
"Y/n, you have to come with us," Dipper expressed with determination. "We need your help in getting the Shack back, too. I'm sure you're mad at Gideon and want proper revenge on him."
She does. She wanted nothing more than kicking the little guy's behind.
So the classic trio went to the Mystery Shack and concealed themselves behind large bushes. Two stoic-faced and muscly guards were pacing around the fences. They couldn't possibly get through. Dipper emerged from the bushes with a telescope.
"Okay. What can we use to defeat Gideon?" Dipper opened the journal in his grasp, flipping through the pages. "Barf fairy?"
"Yeah!" Mabel voiced.
"Nope." Dipper went to the next. "Butternut Squash with a Human Face and Emotions?" Y/n snorted back a laugh as she reminisced the exact moment she and Ford encountered this for the first time.
"Yeah!"
"Nope."
Dipper pitched to the next page, but Mabel stopped his hand, pointing at the set of symbols. "Whoa, what's this?"
Y/n leaned closer and saw the one-third part of the schematic plan of the inter-dimensional portal. It reminded her of the actual device living underneath them. She kept silent as she inspected Dipper's change in expression.
"I've stared at this page for hours. It seems like a blueprint to build some kind of strange futuristic super-weapon-"
"BORING!" Mabel bellowed. It seemed that Y/n had always underestimated Dipper, when he's actually smarter than he came off as. The braced-wearing girl continued, "To defeat those guards, we need some kind of army!"
"An army?" Y/n asked, "what about..." she temporarily took the journal and flipped to a specific page. "The gnomes?"
"Good idea, Y/n!" Dipper cheered, while Mabel nervously tugged the collar of her sweater. The three knew about their history with the gnomes. Heck, they experienced it firsthand. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The three went back to where it all began. This was where they found Mabel tied up on the ground with a bunch of gnomes, but it seemed that the group were busy doing something else.
"I wonder what gnomes do out here alone in the forest," Mabel wondered aloud as they walked towards a nearby bush.
They got their answer when Y/n pushed apart the bunch of leaves and there they saw Jeff in a rather compromising position. Squirrels lathered his small body as he took a "bath" in a tub. The trio screamed in horror, and Jeff screamed back. "This is normal!" He tried to convince them.
There was no other way to change their mind otherwise.
"Well, well, well. Look who came crawlin' back,'' Jeff mocked, "So, changed your mind about marryin' me, did you, Mabel?"
"Ew, hardly!" Mabel replied all too quickly. "We need your help. And seriously, ew!"
"You want our help?" Jeff became angry, "after you left me at the altar? No dice!"
Y/n stepped forward with an inviting smile. "Well, what if we were able to get you a new queen?"
"Yeah, one even more beautiful than me!" Mabel encouraged.
Dipper smiled, "Her name's Gideon, and she has lovely white hair."
"Whoa. Mature woman, huh?" The gnome seemed interested in their offer. "Hey, Shmebulock, get my cologne!"
Said gnome came in with a skip in its step. "Shmebulock!" Y/n couldn't help but smile at the sight. Oh hey, it was the same gnome she and Ford experimented on.
"It's a deal!" Jeff shook hands with Dipper.
And they were off. Y/n schemed a plan to get inside as she laid out formations around the Shack. They talked about distracting Gideon before calling out for the white-haired boy. "Give us the deed to the shack, Gideon, or else!" Dipper demanded.
Gideon smirked with his hands on his hips. His two bodyguards were quick to stand behind him for backup. "Am I supposed to say, "Or else what"?"
"Yes, you are supposed to say that!" Mabel screamed as they heard the code word. "Now!"
The two guards were frozen as they felt gnome hats impaling their backs, temporarily knocking them out as they fell to the ground. The rest of the army of gnomes charged forward riding deer and bunnies. They had Gideon surrounded, number clearly at an advantage.
There was a flash of panic in his eyes. He tried to run, but it was useless as the gnomes pointed their apparently sharp hats. The three stepped forward with a threatening gaze. "You're surrounded by an unstoppable gnome army!" Dipper began, "Now give us back our deed and get off our property!"
Mabel's eyes narrowed, and Y/n's glare could cut bullets. Gideon only sighed in defeat, frowning down. "Very well," he spoke somberly. He dug through his coat pocket. "I supposed this deed belongs to-" He pulled out what wasn't the deed, but instead it was a whistle, and he didn't hesitate blowing into it. It produced a deafening, head-splitting sound, hurting the gnomes' sensitive ears. The trio looked around in worry as their plan slowly crumbled.
They guessed their other weakness other than leaf blowers were loud, shrill sounds.
The grimace on Gideon's face was quickly replaced by a cheerful simper. "Huh, what do you know? Works on gnomes too!" He shrugged before casually blowing on the whistle hard again.
Every gnome kicked their feet in reaction to the piercing noise. Their faces were scrunched in pain and for a moment, Y/n felt bad they had to string in the gnomes along. "Stop, we'll do anything!" Jeff screamed, kneeling on the ground and bowing. "How can we serve you, Your Majesty?" He continued, bringing a smile to the little boy's pale face. "The most beautiful girl we've ever seen!" The compliments were non-stop.
"I AM NOT A GIRL!" Gideon screeched, startling everyone.
"Really? But your skin is so soft! D'you... moisturize, or..."
"Subdue them!" Gideon commanded, pointing at the three. The gnomes immediately scamper towards them and easily got a hold of Dipper, Mabel, and Y/n who was thrashing around their hold.
"I have to admit, kids, I am impressed by your creativity," Gideon said, placing his hands behind his back. The audacity of him calling them "kids" was really starting to irritate her. "How did you ever-"
And as Dipper was trying to get out of the gnomes' hold, he didn't realize that the journal had slipped out from his vest, falling to the ground. Gideon instantly caught the sight of it, gasping. "Oh, no!" Dipper exclaimed in a panic.
"No!" Gideon breathed in disbelief, staring at the open pages of writings. "Could it be?" His eyes widened. "Is it...?" He went and carried it in his arms, flipping through the pages with an excited giggle. "Of course! It all makes sense! The one place I never think to look, you had it the whole time!"
If it wasn't possible, Y/n squirmed more. Just the thought of Gideon holding the journal filled her veins with fiery anger, but seeing it in person... she wanted nothing more than to choke his non-existent out of his mystery.
"No!" Dipper voiced out, trying to fight against the deathly grip of the gnomes. "Give it back!"
Gideon remained smirking. "Every victory you had because of your precious book!"
Dipper glared, "Give it back or I'll-!"
"Or you'll what, boy?" Gideon leaned forward in a mocking manner, rendering the other speechless. "You'll what? Huh? Huh? No muscles. No brains. Face it! You're nothin' without this!"
Y/n growled, trying to pull her arm out of their grip. "Don't make me beat you up again, Gideon!" She threatened, but it didn't faze the boy. She'd attacked him before, she wouldn't hesitate attacking him again for all the pain and suffering he had inflicted upon the family.
Gideon simply snorted. "I'd like to see you try!" He waved his hand, "Bye bye forever, y'all!" The whistle in his mouth produced that loud noise again, and the gnomes carried the three out of what used to be their property.
"NOOO!"
"AHH!"
"Let me go! Let me go, you dang gnomes!"
The gnomes dissipated and spread out after dropping the three of a random clearing. "Next time, do your own dirty work!" Jeff scolded before calling for his squirrels again and tucking it inside his pants.
Dipper remained seated on the dirt, placing his hands on his knees. "Well, that's it. Guess the bus should be here soon."
Mabel stopped pacing. "What?! Dipper, don't give up!" She crouched down to his height and tried to meet his eyes but they stayed staring at the ground as he aimlessly drew doodles on the soil. "You always have a plan!"
"No, the journal always has a plan!" Dipper quickly interjected. "Think about it, Mabel. Gideon was right! The only courageous or cool things The only courageous or cool things I've ever done have been because of that journal," he rambled. "Without it, I can't help you, or Stan, or Y/n..."
He briefly glanced at her. She was wearing a forlorn gaze.
"...Or anyone," Dipper finished his speech, looking back to the ground.
"There's gotta be something we could do," Mabel worried, turning her head towards Y/n, who had been silent ever since.
"What can we do?" Dipper asked, and when he was met with silence, he thought that that was it. It was over. With Gideon having his journal, he was powerless, helpless, weak.
"Bus 52, departing Gravity Falls. All aboard." The intercom sounded.
The twins found themselves in front of the bus door, opened and just too soon.
Their bags were packed, unprepared and unplanned. They begrudgingly hauled their baggage into the bus and towards the back of the vehicle, with no other passengers on board. It seemed that no one else planned on leaving this town the same time they did. It was the middle of the summer, after all.
Dipper and Mabel peered through the window from the back. There stood Stan, who could only give them an apologetic look. "Sorry, kids," they heard him through the glass. "It's for the best." There was nothing they could do. The Shack was gone, they didn't have a home, no business, no money. Everything was taken away from them, just like that.
As the bus began departing, the twins watched the friends they had made that stood beside Stan. Candy and Grenda were crying as they hugged each other. Wendy mournfully waved her goodbyes. The older man couldn't even look them in the eye.
But Y/n was nowhere to be found.
Dipper's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. She wasn't even there to say goodbye. He thought he could have one last conversation with her before leaving, but he guessed the universe couldn't even grant his one request. "I can't believe this is happening," he mumbled absentmindedly, and the bus drove further away from the town that unfurled his curiosity to the unknown.
Goodbye, Gravity Falls.
***
Back in the Mystery Shack, Gideon slammed the front door closed as he excitedly stomped his little feet on the wooden flooring, giggling in victory. All his scheming and waiting for the right time had finally come to fruition. (Though he wasn't really patient as he literally broke inside the Shack with dynamites, but that's beside the point).
He ordered his servants he call his parents out of the living room to have this moment all to himself. The mother and the father scrambled to escape his wrath and he was left to his own devices. "It's finally mine!" Gideon hollered. "At last! I have Journal number-"
He placed the journal he took from Dipper on the table. But it wasn't the first journal as he was expecting. Instead, the cover had adorned a number 3, not 1.
"Three?!" Gideon uttered in pure disbelief. "There were three of 'em?!" He slapped his forehead.
"Uh, son?" Bud's voice resonated through his son's tantrums. How he had the guts to speak to him while he was having an episode was beyond him, but it was an urgent matter. There was an unwanted visitor that he had caught at their doorstep.
"Don't disturb me, old man!" Gideon howled in anger.
Bud sighed in exhaustion. "B-but, you have a guest. They seemed furious."
"Gideon!"
His ears perked up at his name. "Let her in."
The large man hesitantly opened the door, and there stood Y/n, seething with rage. Without speaking, she quickly charged towards the little boy and tackled him to the ground. Gideon screamed for help as he tried to stop the flurry of arms coming to slap his face. Y/n's hands snaked towards his collar and began squeezing until he was choking on his breathing.
Big hands came and pulled her off, grabbing onto her arms tightly. "Now, calm down! Calm down!" Bud repeated, trying to alleviate the girl's fury. "We can all talk about this!"
Gideon was trying to replenish his oxygen, easing his collar and breathing heavily as he laid on the ground. This brought a small smirk to Y/n's face as she exhaled in exhilaration. That felt good.
"I told you I would kick your butt. Thanks for letting me in, by the way," she told Bud sarcastically.
"Ugh, get away from me, you're crazy!" Gideon screeched.
"Guess we haven't established that yet. Give us the Shack back!" She demanded, pushing against Bud's hold.
"Tell me, where is Journal number 1?!"
"I don't know."
Gideon stood up. "Don't lie to me!" He chucked the nearest chair to the other side before striding towards her. "Where's Journal number 1! The Journal that I got from that boy was the third one. I need all three for the power to be unlocked!" He screamed.
Y/n deadpanned, her lips pursed into a line. "Give me. The deed."
Gideon paced around wildly before stopping. His eyes widened as if he had a realization. "Dipper! He must know where it is. He gave me the third one and kept the first for himself!"
"Even if you try and ask him, they're already long gone," Y/n tried to say.
Gideon pulled on his hair frustratingly, his face red. "I can't let him leave Gravity Falls!" He shouted and began to take his leave, taking the two journals with him.
"Hey- w-where are you going?!" Y/n called out desperately, annoyance seeping through. She tramped her shoe on Bud's foot making him let go of her and she chased after him. Running outside of the Shack, she watched Gideon make his way to a larger version of him made out of steel. It was a robot Gideon, who can move according to his controls.
The giant stomped its way through the forest until they were gone. Y/n had to find a way to get to it somehow and finally stop his reign once and for all.
***
"Hey, Dipper, wanna play 'Bus Seat Treasure Hunt'?" Mabel offered, in hopes of cheering up her brother. They always come up with such random activities that would pass the boring time of traveling.
Dipper continued gazing through the window and watched the trees pass by. "I'm not in the mood," he answered earnestly.
"Oh, come on," Mabel insisted, opening the bus seat in between them, revealing what was underneath. "We've got a Canadian coin, gum that's shaped like Ronald Reagan's head– ooh! Miscellaneous fluid stain-!"
"Giant robot!" Dipper shrieked..
"Yeah, giant robot– wait. What?!" Mabel exclaimed back.
"LOOK!"
From the back of the bus, a giant Gideon robot slid across the dirt and was carelessly sprinting towards them. "Halt!" They heard his voice. "I demand you to halt!" Every step sent an earthquake their way. The twins screamed in a panic, going to the front of the bus where the driver sat.
"Mr. Bus Driver!" Mabel cried. "There's a giant Gideon bot coming towards us!"
"Oh, hey dudes."
"Soos!"
The twins cheered in relief when they saw a familiar face. It turns out that Soos had been taking multiple jobs at once when the Mystery Shack was temporarily out of service. Now, he had been a part-time bus driver for at least 40 minutes and this was his first day.
Soos accelerated and pressed on the gas, making the bus move faster. "Hang on, dudes!" The vehicle dodged Gideon's attacks as best as they could, but when the overly large hand went and reached for it, Soos had unknowingly swerved to a new direction, heading towards a restricted area, blocked off by wooden signs.
The bus went up a hill, the road going round and round. For a moment, they thought they lost him, but the robot was unfortunately persistent and carelessly climbed up the mountain. The twins watched through the window as the Gideon-bot made the effort to clamber up. "He already won, what does he want from us?!" Dipper asked incredulously.
They ran towards the front and saw that they were heading straight towards a cliff. "Soos! Cliff!" Dipper called out, but it was too late for Soos to kick the pedals. The tires squealed against the dirt until the bus turned and ended up hanging for its dear life, stopping right at the edge of the hill. Soos tried to accelerate, but the other end of the bus didn't have dirt to move against.
Gideon rises from the mountains, striding menacingly towards the transport. The bot easily grabbed the bus and began shaking it up and down until the roof was torn apart. There, he found Soos who busied himself reading a manual to help him in this situation. The twins were nowhere to be found.
He turned around and looked for them until he saw two kids trying to run across the railroad that connected two tunnels of the cliffs. Dipper and Mabel tried to escape, but when they saw the signed boards that said, "DEAD END", on the other side of the railway, it was hopeless to get away.
The Gideon-bot jumped down and landed, causing the bridge to quake with its weight. It was amazing that the structure could still withstand the great amount of mass. "TELL ME!" Gideon's real voice reverberated through the speakers of his machine. "Where is Journal #1?!"
"Journal #1?" The twins echoed his question.
"Don't play games with me, boy!" The robot punched the other cliff, rocks crumbling apart and falling onto the siblings. Dipper and Mabel tried their best to dodge the descending boulders.
Dipper glared at the bot. "I don't know what you're talking about, you took the only journal I ever had!" He shouted in retaliation. "What do you even want with these journals, anyway?"
Gideon didn't answer, instead he reached down and took the twins in each of his metallic hands, separating them. Mabel struggled against the tight, cold grip.
"LET GO OF HER!" Dipper punched the metal in every word he spoke.
The bot simply laughed. "You still think you're some kind of hero?"
Without warning, Gideon tossed him away. Dipper landed by the edge of the cliff, hitting his head on a rock. He felt a warm, sticky substance running down his nose. "Agh..." he rubbed the pain on the back of his head. It was getting hard to breathe, getting hard to stand up. But he managed to do so, anyway.
"Dipper, help me!" Mabel screamed. "Help!"
The boy tried to look around for a way to reach his sister and rescue her, but his mind couldn't even think properly. His mind was hazy, and his heartbeat was erratic. Usually, he would've taken his journal out of his vest right by now and flipped through the pages for the solution. But he didn't have anything, and he was left to himself.
He didn't know what to do.
He just stood there, frozen in place. The anxieties he had always felt came crashing in more heavily now. Gideon's words from earlier were plaguing his mind that his shoulders were sagging from emotions.
"Face it, kid, you're nothing without that journal!" It was true. " How're you gonna fight back? No muscles, no brains..." His words got to him. He felt tears escaping him as his lips quivered. "What are you gonna do, huh? What are you gonna do?"
Dipper retreated back to the forest in defeat. Gideon was right. There was nothing he could do. He let the words of mockery get to him as his resolve crumbled. His mind shut down.
That's why he was following his heart this time, and took a leap of faith.
He turned around and charged forward, plunging down from the cliff. He jumped, flying down towards the bot. Dipper yelled, alerting the bot as it faced him.
Dipper crashed directly through the eye– which was made of glass– and tackled the real Gideon out of the controller. They landed on the floor but Dipper quickly stood. "Let go of my sister!" Dipper reared his fist back and punched Gideon repeatedly in the face.
"Never! I finally won this time!" Gideon retaliated, pushing him off and fighting back. The two exchanged punches and hits. The Gideon bot replicated his actions, flying Mabel around.
Gideon managed to throw Dipper down, sending punches to his face until the brown-haired boy had had enough. His brows furrowed in resolution as he stood back up and prepared for Gideon's next hit. And when he did, he captured the boy's fist, easily stopping him.
The white-haired boy's resolve faltered for a bit, startled at Dipper's change in strength.
With Dipper's other hand, he guided Gideon's arm and twisted it around to aim for his pale face. He began hitting him with Gideon's own arm, playing a game of "why you hitting yourself?".
Finally, Dipper managed to force one last hit on Gideon, and the bot did the same, hitting its own head. It punched itself so hard, that the head came loose, spinning around wildly.
With Gideon out of his control hub, the robot lost its balance, until it eventually fall backwards and plummeted down. "Dudes! NOO!" Soos shouted.
The twins were falling in mid-air, screaming as they did so. The Gideon-bot crashed and caused a huge explosion, big enough for everyone in the town to see. Parts of the robot were still fizzing with electricity, convulsing as the last remaining power wore off. Amongst the destruction, a continuous squealing of a rope was heard,
The smoke dissipated a bit to reveal Dipper and Mabel, going down slowly with the help of the almighty, "GRAPPLING HOOK!" Mabel declared loud and proud. "Told you that would come in handy." She told to her brother before their shoes hit the ground safely.
"Mabel, that was amazing!" Dipper exclaimed excitedly.
"Not as amazing as you defeating that robot!" Mabel shot back, playfully punching him in the arm, causing him to knock over a random metal sheet and under it was his journal. Safe and sound.
Dipper quickly picked up the book and tucked it inside his vest, just in time for the townspeople to arrive– including the police. "Is this the thing that exploded?" A random townsfolk uttered aloud.
"What's going on?"
"What is it?"
"What happened?"
Gideon managed to pop his head out of his contraption, groaning as he felt a headache coming from the impact he dealt. The people saw him and immediately ran to his aid. "Gideon!" Deputy Durland assisted Gideon all the way down as the twins watched with distaste.
The group of people all feigned a concerned look. "What on earth happened here?" Durland asked the little boy.
"It was the Pines twins!" Gideon bawled haplessly. "They tried to attack me and blew up my statue with dynamite! Arrest 'em!"
"WHAT!?" The twins squawked in disbelief.
"Officers, he's lying!" Dipper tried to convince, but the handcuffs were already out and dangling.
Gideon wore the smirk back to his face as Blubs shrugged, "Sorry, kids, but we trust Gideon– and nothing short of a miracle could ever change our-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
The Stan mobile made its entrance as Y/n carelessly drove through the dirt and even went to bump the police car so hard that it flipped to the side before parking But Stan didn't care as he jumped out of the window. "Wait, wait! Stop everything!"
"Not this guy again," Blubs discerned, not even commenting enough that a young-looking kid was driving the car in the first place.
Stan sprinted out of the car and parted the people to make way towards the cops. "Just wait! Look!" He was full of energy as he ran to the destroyed robot. "You guys all think Gideon is so perfect and honest, "Oh! I could never tell a lie! I'm Gideon!"" He mocked, making Y/n roll her eyes.
"He's more honest than you!" Blubs retorted, hands on his hips.
"Yeah!" Durland agreed, "and he's psychic too!"
"How's this for psychic? Bam!" Stan proceeded to kick the Gideon-bot, causing the metal panel to fall off. "Take a good look!"
Inside the bot were numerous monitors displaying the lives of people from Gravity Falls. The townsfolk surrounded the bot and pointed out their appearances inside the screens. "That's me!" They echoed.
"That's right!" Stan grinned. "These pins are hidden cameras! And my hearing aid was picking up the feedback! Who's the fraud now?" With a pinch, he easily broke the pin in his hands, revealing the small camera inside.
The rest of the townspeople followed suit, smashing their Gideon-themed pins on the ground before glaring at the culprit. Gideon could only giggle nervously as he feared for his consequences. Everyone marched towards the child with grief-stricken expressions. "Gideon, we gave you our trust!" Durland sobbed.
"You lied to us!" Manly Dan exclaimed with roughness in his voice.
Gideon shrank back until he was cornered. He stuttered some sort of explanation, but it was useless to change their minds now. "W-what are you gonna do with me?"
Durland turned to the town's local enthusiasm enthusiast. "Tyler?"
With a heavy heart, Tyler looked away. "Get 'em..." he sobbed, sniffling away his tears. "Get 'em!"
Gideon gasped as Blubs stood over him. "Lil' Gideon, you are under arrest for conspiracy, fraud, and breaking our hearts!" His voice cracked at the end before turning to his partner. "Durland, the tiny handcuffs."
They shackled his tiny wrists together before letting him walk towards the police car. Stan was already there by the vehicle's door. "Just one more thing," he said, picking Gideon up by the back of his collar and effortlessly shaking him.
"Let go of me!" Gideon screamed as the contents from his suit fell. There were his wallet, set of keys, an ax!?, a random crumbled paper, a photograph of Mabel, the deed, and the second journal.
Y/n nonchalantly slinked through the crowd and took advantage of them being distracted by Stan reclaiming the deed. Fortunately, she managed to slip it inside the pocket of her jacket. No one seemed to have noticed it, and when the twins walked closer to Stan, she casually just gave them a relieved smile.
"I'm glad you guys are okay," she told them.
The twins reciprocated her smile, "Finally, we're free from Gideon," Mabel sighed in completion.
"Yeah, no more of that little jerk terrorizing us," Dipper added, smiling.
Gideon was finally sent off in the police car, screaming out curses and threats. Shandra Jimenez materialized beside Stan. "There you have it. Local hero Stanford Pines has just exposed Lil Gideon as a fraud," she said, aiming the microphone at Stan. "Anything you have to say to the town, Stanford?"
The camera pointed at Stan, Mabel, Dipper, and Y/n laughing carefree.
"The Mystery Shack is back, baby!"
***
The tourist trap was indeed back and better than ever, bustling with customers and booming with sales. With the grand re-opening, they attracted fans who wanted them to autograph their merchandise. Stan did so gladly, just as gladly as he took their money.
When the Shack was empty again, the family took their time adjusting to their rooms again, placing everything back to where it used to be. It seemed that Gideon didn't really touch anything in their rooms and with that, they were grateful.
Dipper and Mabel were tidying up their room when Stan opened their door. "Hey, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel greeted.
"Uh, you kiddos settlin' back in okay?" Stan began before letting himself in. He sat on the edge of his nephew's bed, right beside him.
"Yep!" Mabel answered.
"Hey, Grunkle Stan?" Dipper spoke slowly. "Me and Mabel have been talking, and I think there's something we should finally tell you."
He showed him the velvety book with the six-fingered golden hand on the cover.
"This is a journal Y/n and I found in the woods when you sent us out," he told the older man, handing Stan the journal to peruse. "It talks about all the crazy stuff that goes on in Gravity Falls. Gideon nearly destroyed the whole town trying to find it. I don't know what it means, or who wrote it. But, after all we've been through..." he and his sister exchanged smiles, "Maybe you should finally know about it."
Stan's face was serious, void of a smile. "I'm glad you showed me this, Dipper." He closed the journal after skimming through it. For a moment, they thought he was going to say more, but he suddenly cackled aloud. "Now I know where you've been getting it all from! Spookums and monsters." He ruffled up Dipper's hair in the process. "This kooky book has been filling your head with crazy conspiracies!"
"But it's all real!" Dipper tried to convince him. He had to believe him!
Stan merely laughed. "You gotta quit readin' this fantasy nonsense for your own good. Although some of these would make great attractions!" He opened a random page and showed an illustration of the Squash with Human Face and Emotions. "Can't come up with this stuff! Mind if I borrow this?" Stan got up from the bed, taking the book with him and strutting away.
"Wait! No! Grunkle Stan!" Dipper called after him, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Stan chortled, ""Magic book." Ridiculous!" He walked out of the room, laughing echoing in the hallways.
He didn't tread long before he saw Y/n, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed coolly. "Good acting back there. For a second, I would have also thought that you don't believe in the paranormal."
The two of them walked down the stairs. "How could I not when I've been living with one for 30 years?" Stan inputted the code and the vending machine easily opened with a hiss. They slipped inside. "And hey, they have to think that I don't believe any of this stuff or it would blow my cover."
They stepped out of the elevator at the lowest level, automatically entering the room that held the key to saving her exemplar and his brother.
"Let's get to work."
Y/n sat in the chair and dragged herself over to the table, where she opened a drawer to reveal the first journal. Stan handed her the third journal, and the second one as still in her jacket pocket when she took it out. She set them down on the table. One. Two. Three.
After all these years.
Finally they have them all.
One. Two. Three.
Y/n opened the journals to their corresponding pages. The sensation of the paper against her fingers was exhilarating. It was as if each time it had a different texture. She found the blueprint and pieced it together. There it was. Codes littered the entire pages, and she immediately copied the arrangements of the alphanumeric symbols. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Ford's writing and the buttons she was pressing.
Slowly, the lights on the portal lit up, associating with the switches and levers she moved. Stan was quiet, watching her work, right until she pressed the last key, and the portal turned on.
Stan gazed at the illuminated portal, beaming with life. "It's working! Y/n, it's working!" She was speechless.
The older man madly rushed through the sliding door and face-to-face with the portal. Stan jolted the massive lever to the other side, which Y/n watched through the protective glass. The portal began to sparkle with power, emitting random laser lights before blinking to a bright white. The empty and presumed-dead was now brought back to life. All thanks to these journals.
One. Two. Three.
"Here we go," Stan said, his hands on his hips. Their hard work is finally getting paid.
Three. Two. One.
***
END OF SEASON 1.
ZIV BLF IVZWB?