BEEP BEEP!
BEEP BEEP!
SLAM!
The moment he heard the droning buzzes of his alarm clock on the nightstand next to his bed, he was instantly pulled from his slumber (though he barely caught an ounce of sleep), raised his fist and practically slammed his fist down on the infernal contraption making said noise.
Not in a fit of annoyance from being awoken, but out of excitement.
Soos was not normally a very good morning person, against the popular beliefs of his colleagues. It took the man child a good half hour before he became his usual clueless, loveable self.
Not this time though.
Today, he actually had another reason for springing out of bed with such energy.
Not that he needed any other motivation to get out of bed besides going to work at the Mystery Shack, working under the watchful but caring eye of his employer or assisting his best friends with either household chores around the shack, or assisting them in some sort of paranormal adventure which he and they will learn valuable life lessons almost every time. It was pretty much just about the best job anyone could hope for:
Handy man.
Sure it wasn't much, sure it didn't pay great, but he didn't care of any of that. He was actually a needed and valuable member of the crew, and there was nothing more he could want.
No, scratch that.
If Soos still had that time wish the twins went out of their way for just to get him and cheer him up on one of his most despised days of the year, he would wish for this.
He barely caught any sleep that night, but he felt as well rested and ready to face the day as ever.
That's because she's coming.
She's coming back.
Soos slipped on his trademark question mark shirt along with his shorts before looking over at the computer sitting on his desk, its monitor vacant of any imagery, but still causing the handy man to crack a smile at the last face he saw last night.
That smile that melts his heart when he's in any sort of bad mood, that bouncy, beautiful hair that, when the sun catches it just right, gives off an aura so comforting that there's no possible way to be upset with anything negative that the world can throw in your direction.
He's found literally nothing to be wrong with the woman.
Looking at himself in the reflection of his blank monitor, Soos licked his palm and flattened out his hair with his damp hand before slapping on his cap. He flashed himself a toothy smile and a confident thumbs up before another thought came to him. He held out his palm in front of his mouth and breathed into it, taking a sniff of his morning breath. Shivering in disgust, Soos reached down on the desk and took the unopened can of Pitt Cola, snapping it open and taking a long swig, setting it down with a satisfied breath of contempt.
"Yes!" He shouted, pumping his fist.
He hurriedly ran down the stairs and was surprised to be greeted by the strong aroma of pancakes and the satisfying sound of bacon sizzling on a frying pan. He rounded a corner and found his abuelita standing in front of the stove, flipping a pancake in a pan with one hand and tending to the bacon with the other.
"Abuelita, what's all this?" Soos questioned with gratitude to his elderly caregiver.
If she was surprised by his sudden entrance, the woman showed no sign of it.
"Good morning, Soos," she greeted. "You're just in time for-"
"A bowl of Lucky Oats with orange juice poured inside and a side of chocolate chip omelets?" Soos cut her off, a hint of childlike hope dripping in his voice.
"And prune juice," she added, taking a carton of said juice and setting it on the kitchen table.
Soos took a seat and watched as she laid down a pancake, three strips of bacon on the plate in front of him and set a smaller plate containing the omelet next to it.
"Abuelita, you're too good to me, ya know that?"
She planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Nothing's too good for my Mr. Rodriguez. Especially not on a day like today . . ." She trailed off playfully.
"Like today?" Soos asked, his mouth full of doughy pancakes as he looked in her direction.
"Soos, don't pretend I don't know the two of you are getting together tonight. I can hear you talking up there."
It was true, whenever Soos spoke with her via video chat, he couldn't help but speak awkwardly loud as he did, letting almost all of Gravity Falls know of his conversation with the girl from Portland.
But he didn't care.
He wants nothing more than to let the rest of the world know he was courting the most gorgeous woman to walk this earth.
Except now she was coming back. She'd informed him last night that she'd be coming to town along with a surprise. He didn't have to settle for a small image of her radiant face on his screen for the night, pleasing her with cheap optical illusions.
He blushed and hid his face from her as he took another bite of his breakfast.
Later,
Broom in hand, Soos swept the floor of the shack, dragging a large pile of dust from under the counter, currently occupied by the redheaded cashier, sitting on her stool and resting her chin in her palm as she absentmindedly read from her latest issue of BORED magazine.
Wendy popped her gum and flashed Soos a smile as he passed by and swept a new cluster of dust bunnies from under her counter.
As he collected the pile into a dust pan, a cry of anger came from behind. Turning around, he found a little boy standing in front of the vending machine, rapidly pushing the buttons of the machine that had recently stole his money.
Setting the broom down, Soos calmly strolled over to the vending machine and stood on the side, gaining the attention of the child.
"Oh, sorry about that little dude. The machine does that from time to time." The boy looked down at the floor dejectedly. Soos leaned down and offered the boy an encouraging smile. "But luckily for you, you know a guy on the inside."
Slapping the side of the machine, the door magically came unlocked and slid open. Soos then grabbed a bag of chips from the selection and handed it to the now grateful kid. Soos then tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Although, the machine did technically steal your money . . ." He reached into his pocket and dug out a dollar bill and handed it to the child. "We'll keep this between us, okay dude?"
The kid nodded vigorously and ran back to his mother.
Soos leaned against the machine and closed the door. Looking back over to Wendy, the teen flashed him a smile and a thumbs up of approval, which Soos happily returned.
Soos put the broom back in the closet and grabbed a feather duster. Returning to the gift shop, Soos went over to the shelves, taking the inventory off of it and brushing over the shelf with the duster, humming to himself and not worrying about the layers of dust building in his eyes.
A moment after he restocked the shelf, the door dinged and in came a new set of customers who have returned from a tour that Stan had lead them on. Looking out the window, Soos saw the tuxedoed man leaning on his customized eight ball cane with his back facing him, awaiting the next wave of chumps he could help lose a few extra bucks.
As Soos continued to dust, he heard a small girl speaking quickly and excitedly to her mother about some bobble.
"Mommy! Can we get it?! Can we? Can we?"
Her mother only laughed at her child's energy and patted her head. "Sure honey. Go find it and bring it to me."
Squealing with joy, the girl ran over to Soos' side and looked up at the shelving, her mouth agape with anticipation. A moment later, the girls' face fell, causing Soos' heart to plummet in empathy as he saw moisture building up in the child's eyes.
"W- . . . Where is it? Where's the snow globe?"
Her mother came up from behind and took a knee, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I guess they ran out, dear. Come on now, daddy's waiting in the car. We've got to go."
"But I want the snow globe!" The heartbroken child wailed.
That was the last straw for Soos. There was no way he was going to let a child leave the shack without having found what they were looking for.
The handy man set the duster down and bent down to her level, catching her attention. "Here's what's going to happen," Soos began confidently, "your daddy isn't going to leave without you and I'm not letting you leave here empty handed. Stay here, I'll be back!" For dramatic effect, Soos raised both hands over his head Superman-style and ran for the doorway leading to the stairs. "Handy man . . . Away!" He exclaimed, causing the young child to erupt into a series of chuckles.
Once he was out of sight, Soos ran down the stairs and into the cellar where they stash the shop's inventory until they're ready to be shelved. Humming softly to himself again, Soos opened many boxes, but could not find the snow globe the child was looking for.
Panic overtaking him, he opened more and more boxes, not even bothering to rip the tape off and just tearing the cardboard open, letting the packaging peanuts and the box's contents spill onto the floor.
He still couldn't find the snow globes.
A desperate idea sprung into his head.
He dashed up the stairs, avoiding the entrance to the gift shop, not wanting to enter without the snow globe and crush the girl's hopes.
Coming to his destination, Soos threw the door open, startling the occupants.
The Pines twins, his two greatest friends in the entire world lay on their respective beds. Dipper reading the journal he refused to let out of his sight and Mabel laying upside down reading a magazine with her head hanging over the edge, her long hair covering the floor.
"Soos?" Dipper asked. "Is something the matter? Why are you panting?"
"MABEL!" Soos exclaimed, ignoring Dipper's questions. "We have a code three dash A. I repeat, a three dash A!"
Mabel dropped her magazine and sat up straight in her bed, her silly, absentminded expression replaced with one of pure seriousness.
"Let's do this," the preteen whispered. Mabel rocketed over to the door and Soos slammed it shut behind the two of them, leaving a confused Dipper in their wake.
Mabel and Soos quickly made their way down the stairs. "Okay Soos, talk to me," Mabel instructed, keeping her serious face, "what's it we're looking for? A stuffed animal? A postcard?" She gasped. "Is it a postcard with a stuffed animal on the front?!"
Soos shook his head. "It's a snow globe."
Mabel clucked her tongue and scratched her chin in thought. "Mhmm, mhmm, those are popular . . . And you say you looked in the cellar?"
"If I hadn't I wouldn't be here!"
"You got me there. Soos, get ready, cuz we're gonna turn this place upside down looking for that snow globe!"
Soos nodded in agreement, a look of identical seriousness on his face as well before the two began flipping the couch cushions, digging through the fireplace, looking behind the TV, and looking inside Stan's prized rocking chair for a snow globe.
"I know we have one!" Soos cried in desperation. "We had a shipment come in just last week! We couldn't have-"
"Up there!" The child exclaimed, interrupting Soos from his declaration of surrender and looking in the direction Mabel was pointing.
Up on a shelf in the living room was a spare snow globe Stan must have put while unloading the shipment.
Soos looked down at the child gratefully and gave her a thumbs up. "This is why I take you places."
Mabel shot Soos a genuine salute.
Making his way over to the shelf, Soos reached up to grab the globe, but found he was not tall enough to reach.
"It's too far! Just like the distance from my elbow to my mouth!"
Mabel walked up beside him.
She nodded.
He nodded in return.
The handy man leaned down and lifted Mabel up for her to reach the globe which displayed the Mystery Shack in the center, giving the illusion that the Oregon town was experiencing a major blizzard.
She grasped the glass globe.
"Got it-Whoa!"
The moment her stubby hands grabbed the item, she lost her grip and dropped it. Soos, acting on instinct, let Mabel go with one hand, protectively cradling her under his right arm as not to drop her while he caught the snow globe with the other. The two of them let out a sigh in unison.
RING-A-LING-A-LING-A-LING!
Soos' heart plummeted farther as he looked through the doorway and into the gift shop. There, he saw the mother escorting the heartbroken child from the building, a comforting hand placed on her back.
"Not getting that snow globe will traumatize me forever . . ." the girl whispered.
Soos instantly sprang into action. Setting the girl he held in his arms down on the floor as gently as he could, Soos made a run for the entrance, holding the snow globe outstretched in front of him.
"Wait!" He yelled as he burst into the gift shop, startling Wendy and the other shoppers. Soos took another running step further, but accidentally tripped over his own foot.
Holding the snow globe safely overhead, the not-so-graceful giant plummeted face first to the floor, his arm propped upwards, protecting the snow globe from any harm.
Wendy let out a startled cry. "Oh my gosh! Soos!"
Before Soos could reply, he heard the pitter patter of tiny feet walking over in his direction. Looking up from the floor, the bruised man looked up at the radiant face of the child, a smile on her face that did not appear to be leaving anytime soon.
"The snow globe! Mommy! The funny man found it!"
Soos rose to his feet and dusted himself off before handing it to the mother, who had walked over to her daughter. She flashed Soos a grateful smile before purchasing the globe and exiting the shop.
Soos, his mission completed, lost feeling in his tired legs and stumbled over to the counter where he had to support his weight. Panting heavily, he found Wendy looking him in the eye, beaming at the hero.
"Way to go, big guy." She affectionately punched Soos in the shoulder.
"Th-thanks Wendy."
Before Soos could take in anymore gulps of air, he felt a blunt force crash into him from behind. Turning around, he found Mabel hugging his torso tightly, snuggling her face into his belly. "Soos! You did it! You totally made that girl's life!" Mabel praised, making Soos chuckle nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I dunno dude, I don't think I'd go that far."
"C'mon man. Don't sell yourself short," Wendy told him. "You totally did make her day. Did you see those eyes? Bambi would kill for that kind of cuteness."
"I'm just happy I could help make a satisfied customer even more satisfied!" Soos told the two girls.
A thought came to the man.
"Hey Mabel, do you think you and your brother could do me a favor? I have to go get ready for my . . . uh . . . what is it you call it? When a guy and a girl . . . you know . . ."
Wendy suddenly flashed him a surprised look. "Whoa dude! At least wait until you're married for that!"
Soos waved his hand dismissively at the accusation. "No! Nothing like that. I mean, what comes before that," he reiterated. "When, you know, the guy and girl talk and eat and . . . eat."
Mabel gasped in understanding.
"Soos has a date!"
In a panic, Soos clasped his hand over the girl's mouth, silencing her for a moment, only to let her go free once he felt her licking his hand. Rubbing his palm on his shorts, the girl began running around wildly, flailing her arms inside the arms of her sweater and squealing uncontrollably.
Came to a stop at Soos' feet and bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet.
"So?" She pried. "Who's the lucky misses Soos?"
Soos' face reddened at the comment. "Actually, you and Dipper have met her before. It's-"
"What the heck's going on in here?"
Looking back to the cutout doorway, the trio found Dipper walking in. "Mabel, why are you-"
"Soos has a date!" She repeated.
Dipper gasped in surprise before smiling at his friend. "Really? Awesome man! With who?"
"That's the thing. You've met her once. It's Melody. Remember? From the mall?"
Mabel let out another squeal of delight as her pupils instantly dilated and she brought her hands up to her cheeks. "Melody's back in town? Soos! Why didn't you tell us?"
Soos chuckled nervously. "Heheh, I kinda wanted it to be a surprise, y'know? Plus, I was wondering if you guys could do a favor for me," he whispered to Wendy, Dipper and Mabel.
"Anything dude," Wendy answered. "If you need help with the ladies, you can count on us."
Later,
"Okay dudes, so you all know what to do?" Soos asked for the umpteenth time.
"Yes, of course we do!" Mabel comforted him. "We've been over it like a gagillion times! Don't worry. We'll be there for you."
Soos nodded gratefully at his friends as he turned his attention to the front door of the Mystery Shack.
It was now six o'clock and all of the tourists have left for the day. Soos had given her directions to the shack and was now anxiously awaiting her arrival.
"You don't think she got lost, do you? It's easy to get lost around this town." Soos stressed.
Dipper shook his head. "Soos, you're overthinking this big time. She'll be here. Just give it a little time."
Soos nodded at his friend's advice and redirected his attention to the door.
Six fifteen. She still hadn't come.
Soos began to pace nervously.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Soos froze in place and looked to the screen door.
The silhouette of her was standing on the other side.
He gulped.
Looking behind him, Soos saw Dipper and Wendy giving him an encouraging thumbs up while Mabel put on a wide, tooth-filled smile and pointing at her face, reminding him to smile.
With an awkward smile, Soos opened the door.
There she was.
Melody.
In the flesh.
Not on his monitor on his desk in his room.
Right in front of him, her smile now in beautiful three dimensions.
"Hey Soos," she greeted sweetly.
"Melody! Hi. You look, um . . ." he looked to his palm, "insert flattering compliment here," he read robotically, causing the trio behind him to slap their foreheads.
To their surprise, Melody let out a cute chuckle. "May I?" She asked politely, gesturing to the inside.
"Oh! Right!" He stepped aside and allowed Melody inside. "You remember Dipper and Mabel from the mall, right?"
Dipper politely waved while Mabel made a heart with her hands and placed Melody and Soos inside of it, beaming at her creation.
"And this is Wendy, my other coworker."
Wendy waved at the girl who had stolen her friend's heart. "Sup? I'm Wendy. Soos has told us a lot about-"
"You ready to go?" Soos interrupted as he picked up the picnic basket he prepared, not wishing his friends to go into too much detail.
"Ready when you are," Melody shrugged. Soos held open the door and she offered one last wave to Soos' friends. "It was nice to meet you all!" She exclaimed as she made her way out.
Dipper, Wendy and Mabel waved back. Soos, making sure Melody wasn't looking, flashed them a knowing thumbs up, which they each returned with a mischievous grin on each of their faces. Soos nodded and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
Wendy placed herself in between her young partners in crime, placed a hand on their shoulders and dropped down to one knee. "You guys ready for this?"
In response, Mabel lifted a pair of googely eyed glasses to her face. "I came into existence ready," she breathed ominously, only for the eyes on her glasses to pop out of the frame and dangle humorously on springs.
"Kids?" The voice of their great uncle came from the living room. "Why is the place an absolute mess?! And where did my snow globe go?!"
The kids took that as their cue to leave.
Meanwhile,
Soos drove the Mystery Kart through the path in the woods with Melody riding shotgun, her hands resting on her lap in contempt as she gazed at the scenery of the Gravity Falls woods.
Soos cleared his throat. "So . . . this is the woods."
Melody laughed at his awkward conversation starter. "Yep. Very woodsy," she agreed with another laugh, making Soos sigh happily.
He would be a happy man if he could listen to that laugh every day for the rest of his life.
"So," she spoke up again, "where is it we're going exactly Soos? You taking me out into the woods where no one can hear me scream?" She teased.
"Heheh," Soos chuckled nervously. "No, nothing like that. We're heading to Lake Gravity Falls. I've got a boat ready for us there. But we have to park the kart a little ways away, so we'll have to walk a bit."
"Sounds great!" Melody beamed. "That'll give me a better chance to get a look at this place. I don't get to get out much, what with work and all."
"How's that going by the way?" Soos asked, genuinely interested in her work schedule. "You still work over at Meat Cute, right?"
She nodded. "Yep. Actually, that's part of the surprise. I'll be sure to tell it to you if you don't crash into that tree in front of us."
Taking her hint, Soos narrowly avoided a large tree and corrected himself back onto the path.
Not wishing to put her in harm's way, Soos stopped the kart and turned it off.
"Welp, here's where we walk!"
Melody shrugged and exited the kart, the picnic basket in her grasp. "Lead the way," she invited.
Soos nodded and began to walk with Melody by his side. He could feel heat building up in his cheeks and did his best to make his reddened face as inconspicuous as possible. As soon as he was sure the flowing blood had receded, Soos cleared his throat.
"So . . . nice night, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It's really pretty," Melody acknowledged the setting sun in the distance.
With one hand holding the basket, Melody placed her other hand in her pocket and let out a surprised, silent gasp as her fingers brushed against a familiar, small, triangular object that occupied her pocket.
She had forgotten all about it.
Don't worry. Have a good time and you'll deal with this later, she thought to herself.
"Hey Melody," he began, taking a look at the foliage around them.
"Yes?"
"Just to let you know, there, uh, are a lot of weird things that happen around here in the woods. Like, super weird, sometimes creepy things go on here. But don't worry, I don't think we'll run into any problems out here."
"Oh, I don't have anything to be worried about," she said confidently.
"You don't?"
"Of course not. You're here with me."
The heat returned to his face in a flash.
Thankfully, a nearby rustling bush diverted their attention to it.
Soos smiled.
"Uh oh, Melody. Get behind me!" With fake confidence, Soos threw himself in front of her with his arms spread out wide, acting as a shield from something Melody couldn't see.
"What? Soos? What's wrong?"
Soos craned his neck to look her in the eyes, a sly smile on his face that he couldn't help but wear.
The bush in front of them stopped shaking, only to have a black object jump from it, causing Melody to let out a startled gasp . . . then raise an eyebrow in confusion.
The thing that jumped from the bush wasn't a monster that Soos had led her to believe it was, but rather . . . it was Dipper. He wore no shirt and was wearing the furry pants of his werewolf costume Stan made him wear from time to time. A tail came out from his backside and he had on a set of fake wolf ears. In his mouth were plastic fangs that dripped with saliva. His eyes were narrowed on the two and his hands were raised like claws. He growled at them pathetically, but not breaking character for his friend.
"What the?" Melody couldn't help but question, but unable to do so anyway as Soos leapt into action.
"Vile beast!" Soos overdramatically yelled as he sprang in front of Dipper, who continued to growl.
Catching on, Melody, a large smile on her face and a fit of giggles working her way up to her mouth played the role of damsel in distress.
"Oh Soos!" She wailed, placing the back of her hand atop her forehead. "Don't let that thing eat me!"
"Don't worry Melody! It's all under control!" Leaning down, the gentle giant picked up a stick and waved it in front of Dipper. "Take this!" He stabbed at Dipper's side harmlessly, the tween grabbing it and selling the illusion that he had just been stabbed. Letting out a series of choked screams, Dipper collapsed to the ground motionless, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
"You did it!" Melody clapped excitedly, another fit of giggles escaping her, making her snort with laughter.
"Let's get outa here!" Soos suggested as he grabbed her hand and led her deeper into the foliage. The two of them began laughing uncontrollably as they ran, making them lose their breath and come to a stop in the middle of the woods, gasping for breath.
"You were . . . heheheh," Melody gasped, "You were so . . . brave back there . . . Soos."
He waved off her compliment. "Think nothing of it," he said confidently, not breaking character. "But we'd better hurry, there are other-"
Before he could finish his warning, another bush began to rustle right next to them.
Before Melody could go back into her role of damsel in distress, another figure burst from the bush, this time with long, lanky arms.
It was Mabel this time, Melody recognized, dressed in a one piece swimsuit and wearing a comical pair of googely eye glasses on springs. Her arms were stuffed inside long pink and green pool noodles. She waved them in the air menacingly with rambling incoherently.
"Another one!" Melody laughed. "Go get it, Soos!"
"With pleasure."
Soos only took two steps forward before Mabel ran up to him, the pool noodles flailing uncontrollably in her arms.
"RAWRGH! I will destroy your faucets!" She threatened loudly.
"You leave her faucets alone!" Soos demanded as he reached forward and yanked off her left pool noddle. She cried in 'pain' and held her arm behind her back, having just been amputated.
Soos then proceeded to whack Mabel harmlessly with the foam noodle until she fell to the ground, not moving an inch beside the occasional twitch.
Soos dropped the noodle and ran back to Melody.
"Let's go! The lake isn't that far now!"
Laughing even more, Melody followed Soos through the dense foliage.
Soon, the sound of crashing waves became evident. They burst through the last layer of the forest and onto the beach. Resting in the sand peacefully was a white rowboat awaiting their arrival.
"Quick! Get in!" Soos instructed.
Her smile still not gone, Melody complied, still clutching the basket as she hopped inside. Soos grabbed the front of the boat and pushed it into the water, grunting as he did so. He was ankle deep in the water until he found himself able to climb inside along with Melody, being wary to not get her wet with his sopping wet shoes.
They slowly drifted away from the shore as Soos continued to pant heavily.
"I think we lost them."
"My hero!" Melody cried dramatically, grasping both of Soos' hands and holding them tightly to herself. "You were so brave! You beat that monster to death with its own arm! That's so . . . disgustingly cool!"
"Yeah. It kind of was gross, wasn't it? Welp," he clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Hows about we get to eating? Saving you builds up an appetite."
Melody giggled again in response. "Sounds good." She took the basket and placed it on the floor in between them. Reaching inside, Soos took out two ham sandwiches for the both of them. They began eating as realization seemed to strike Melody.
"Oh! Soos, that's right, I wanted to tell you something!"
Soos continued eating.
"The surprise," she reminded him.
He swallowed. "Right! So . . . what is it? You're not like a dude in disguise, are you?"
Melody shook her head. "Nope, no worries there. It's about my job. Remember you asked earlier? Well, my boss had my kiosk permanently relocated."
"Oh?" Soos asked, worry dripping in his voice. "Where? It isn't somewhere far, is it?"
"No, silly. It's here! I've been stationed at the Gravity Falls mall. I am renting an apartment not far from there."
Soos felt his heartbeat kick up instantly. "Y-you mean you . . ."
Melody nodded. "You're going to be seeing a lot more of me, Soos."
Soos had mo idea what to do next. He didn't know how to react, what to say, what to do, he even thought he forgot how to breathe for a brief moment.
He was blindsided with this new information that the girl of his dreams was now a resident of Gravity Falls.
"That's great!" Was all that Soos was able to say, which was all that Melody really needed.
The two leaned in from their seats and embraced each other in a tight hug. The hug only lasted a few moments, however, as a series of bubbles began to rise against the side of the boat, drawing their attention to it.
Soos had been so enveloped in his joy that he entirely forgot about the third part of his elaborate plan.
Not five seconds later, another large figure burst from the water, this one quite taller than the first two monsters they came across. But Melody recognized the three faces immediately.
Stacked one on top of the other was Mabel, who was sitting atop of Dipper's shoulders, who in turn was sitting on Wendy's, who was wearing a one piece swim suit of her own. Mable still had her noodle arms flailing wildly at the top of the human pyramid and Dipper still sported his werewolf costume.
Soos, returning to his role of fearless defender, reached under the seat in the boat and pulled out a large water gun that was taped to the bottom of his seat. Taking aim, Soos pumped the gun and pulled the trigger. A trail of water hitting Mabel in the face. The girl only laughed menacingly in reply and continued thrashing wildly.
"It's no use!" Soos cried. "Melody! I need your help!"
"What? What am I-"
"Look under your seat!" Soos instructed, not stopping from spraying the stacked monster in front of them.
Doing as she was told, Melody felt the water gun under her seat and tore the tape away, gripping the handle and spraying at the 'monster' as well.
With Soos targeting the top and Melody the bottom, it wasn't long before the three of them went toppling backwards into the water. Soos and Melody stood victoriously over the surfaced trio of friends and laughed heartily. "We did it, Melody!" Soos exclaimed excitedly as he pulled her into a tight hug.
Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Melody soon dissolved into the hug and returned it, an ominous smile spreading on her face.
Pulling back, Soos saw the look on her face and quirked an eyebrow.
"Uh . . . Melody?"
Before he could question any further, Melody aimed her gun at Soos' face and fired point blank, sending a torrent of water into his face. Attempting to shield himself, Soos accidentally tripped over the side and fell into the water.
He resurfaced and spat out his mouthful of water, listening to the loud laughter behind him, but looking up at the girl who sent him plummeting into the drink, an almost evil look in her eye flashed at him.
He flashed her an evil look of his own.
"Oho, it is so on," he warned.
Gripping the side of the boat, Soos rocked it violently. Losing her balance, Melody fell into the water next to her friends. She resurfaced and wiped the water from her eyes. Shooting Soos an unappreciative glance before she splashed a small wave of water into his face, which he then returned.
It wasn't long until Soos and Melody, along with Dipper, Mabel and Wendy erupted into a massive splash fight, shouting playful empty threats at one another as they did.
Soos chuckled as he watched Melody and Mabel gain up on Dipper and Wendy.
His laughter died down as he took in the scene before him.
His best friends.
The girl of his dreams.
All getting along and having a fantastic time.
There was nothing else he could possibly want.
Meanwhile,
The fire crackled, displaying the image of the five figures having a splash fight in the lake.
"Oh come on!" A voice called, watching the scene in the fire. "Change the fire! This is too disgusting!"
"If you don't like it, then go find another fireplace!"
"Brothers!" Another ragged voice interrupted. "Enough. You do nothing but fight each time we awaken and I'm not going to listen to it any longer! We've found our town, that's all that matters, isn't it?"
The two other figures nodded.
"Now then," he continued, "all we have- heheheheheh, we have to do is, hehehehe," he stopped chuckling and cleared his throat, only for another eruption of twisted chuckles to escape from his chops. As soon as he had it under control, he continued.
"All we have to do is wait for her to hold up her end of the bargain. And then . . . well, that part's obvious."
The comment prompted the other figures in the multiple fire lit cave to begin chuckling twistedly as well. The image of the fire then revealed the entire mountain town of Gravity Falls.
A.K.A., their next target.
"Wait a second," one of them said, taking a closer glance into the fire.
"Is . . . Is that homeless man wearing a bandage on his beard?"