Well, here it is: Chapter 3. I'm sorry if the wait seemed long for you, Final exams ate my life for a while there.

Special thanks goes out to Gold Testament. GT had some ideas that I think really helped flesh out the Gideon Confrontation scene.

If you want: leave a review and let me know how I'm doing at this writing business.

Proofread by my wife (who totally took me writing fanfics way better than I thought she would)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Gravity Falls, but as soon as Disney releases complete season boxsets I'll totally buy it.

All joking aside: Disney owns gravity falls and this fiction has not and will not generate a profit for me.

With Blind Eyes 3

A Fallen Adversary

Dipper blinked his eyes against the rays of the morning sun as Mabel jumped onto his bed and started bouncing up and down.

"Good morning, sleepy head! The sun is up and the birds are singing, so it's time to get up, up, up!"

"Ugh, good morning, Mabel. Would it kill you to sleep in just once?" Dipper groaned.

"Life is meant to be seized, Dipper! And you and me are gonna seize every moment of it!" Mabel spoke confidently as she continued bouncing.

"Well, I'm awake now, so let's Carpe Diem and get some breakfast," Dipper replied.

"Carpe Diem? Wazzat mean?" Mabel looked befuddled.

"Its Latin for 'seize the day,'" Dipper replied.

"Don't you know that Latin is the language of nerds?" Mabel teased affectionately.

"Hey, I'll have you know that Latin is the language of intelligence," Dipper said somewhat defensively.

"Don't be that way," Mabel replied, before half lidding her eyes as she stepped closer to Dipper, "Maybe you can give me some private lessons later, oh intelligent one."

Dipper started to sweat, "Right, later…"

Mabel grinned at his affirmation, "Definitely, now, onward to breakfast!"


Gruncle Stan looked dead to the world as he took his first pull of black coffee and rubbed his aching back. Falling asleep at the control panel ain't doing any favors for my back, but it will all be worth it.

"Are you okay, Gruncle Stan?" Mabel queried.

"Yeah, Stan, you look even worse than usual." Dipper agreed.

"When you reach my age, kid, you'll find that some nights the bed loves you less than other nights. But enough about that, we got a full day of fleecing idiots."

"Actually Stan, I was hoping we could close the Shack and have a day trip," Dipper stated.

"And where would you want to go on this completely spontaneous trip, Dipper?" Stan asked skeptically.

"I was thinking we could take a visit to the county jail?"

"Why would I want to go to the county jail of my own free will?" Stan became even more skeptical.

"I need to interrogate Gideon Gleeful." Dipper stated with complete seriousness.

Stan was about to respond when Mabel broke in, "Gideon is, like, the biggest butt on this continent. Why visit him ever? Have you forgotten how he swore vengeance against Stan?"

"Actually, Mabel" Stan qualified, "I think Dipper claimed my spot on the top of his crap list ages ago."

"Pushee, the question still stands," Mabel focused her attention on Dipper.

"Well, you see, last night I was going over my journal when I had a realization: the fastest way to figuring out how to restore your memories would be if I had access to all three journals," Stan tensed up briefly at this before Dipper continued, "I know Gideon had the number 2 journal. If we can get him to tell us its last location, we may be able to find it, and we'd be one step closer to restoring Mabel's memories."

"I think this is going to be a waste of time," Stan said adamantly, "Things were crazy leading up to Gideon's arrest. I doubt he even knows where it last was, and even if he did: do you really think he'd just tell you?"

"Come'on, Stan. If there is any chance of success we have to try," Dipper noticed the hard look in Stan's eye and decided to follow up, "…it's for Mabel."

"Yeah, Gruncle Stan, it's for the May-train!" Mabel followed through.

Unbeknownst to the twins, Stan was fighting a war against himself. I have those journals, but if I tell them, they would start asking questions. Questions that I can't answer. Even if I did weasel my way through all those questions, then I'll have to share the journals with Dipper. It'll set me back all summer. I know that little rascal would probably keep all three under his pillow: there's no way I could steal them back in order to keep working on the portal at night. I have to keep the journals to myself. I don't think Gideon realized that I have his journal, so the safest thing to do is…

"Alright, kids, you win. I'll give you a lift to pay ol' Gideon a visit, but there is no way I'm seeing the lil'monster myself." The look of happiness on Dipper's face caused a wave of guilt to wash over Stan. The fact that Mabel was staring at Dipper's smile with a look of infatuated joy, didn't make Stan feel any better. Once I have the machine up and running, Dipper can read all three journals till his eyes fall out. Once I succeed…everything will be worth it.


"Thanks for the lift, Stan," Dipper hopped out of the backseat with Mabel following.

"You have an hour. I want to get out of here as quick as possible," Stan shivered, "This place is unnatural. So many cops in one location…"

Dipper turned to Mabel, "Are you ready to interrogate an archenemy, Mabel?" he said as he lightly jabbed her in the shoulder.

Mabel lightly jabbed him back with a matching grin on her face, "I was born ready," and for a moment everything was back to normal for Dipper: their sibling back and forth was so familiar to him, "Gideon won't know what hit him."


Dipper and Mabel went through all the protocols for visiting an inmate, and before too long they were standing outside Gideon's cell. ("What? We don't get to talk through phones with a sheet of plexiglass between us? What a bummer," Mabel was disappointed. "We do things differently than the fancy federal prisons. Plexiglass is expensive," replied the guard who escorted them.)

Dipper and Mabel looked through the bars of Gideon's cell, and saw Gideon slouched on his cot. Light form the window fell across his face as he looked up to fix them with a glare.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't my peach, Mabel, and the worm, Dipper," his voice filled with hate, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? And be quick about it, you're cutting into my time in the yard."

"We've got questions for you, Gideon," Dipper started.

"Yeah, we do. Why d'ja hate Dipper so much? I thought Stan was your top enemy?" Mabel had questions of her own.

Both Dipper and Gideon looked surprised as Mabel asked this question. "That wasn't the question I had, Mabel…."

"I know, Dipper, but I got questions too."

"Well, Mabel, my queen," Gideon said in an imperious tone, "I guess I'll lay out how Dipper earned my just scorn. You see Dipper," Gideon said the name this time with venom, "broke the two of us apart. He turned you against me. My Piedmont peach was made sour for me by that wretched interloper!" By this point Gideon had worked himself into a self-righteous anger. Dipper knew that Gideon's rage would only make getting answers harder, but Mabel seemed satisfied by Gideon's answer and in a way she was recovering her memories by second hand accounts, so Dipper couldn't hold it against her for seeking memories in her own way.

Mabel smiled at the answer. Imma beginning to detect a trend here. I have someone interested in me, and Dipper comes in and saves me from them. Of course, I never liked Gideon all that much—at least as a boyfriend, but the point stands. Poor Dipper, he must have suffered watching me go from terrible romance to terrible romance. Then again, I guess a good romance would have been even worse for him. Oh man, he must have hated Mermando. I wonder how Dipper was involved in getting my first kiss away from me. Dipper is one smart cookie. I'm sure he must have done it in a way that I wouldn't notice.

"Well, that's all I needed to know. Dipper, it's your turn," Mabel stepped aside.

"Right," Dipper stepped closer, trying to look tough and imposing. He failed miserable, Mabel thought, he is just too adorable for his own good.

"Gideon, where are you hiding Journal number 2?"

"And why should I tell you where I had it?" Gideon stepped up to the bars, sneer fixed on his face.

"Tell me, now, Gideon!" Mabel could see from the start that Dipper's tactic was going to fail, so she lightly pushed Dipper aside, and turned to Gideon.

"Come on, Gideon," Mabel said sweetly, "Ya can tell us about your little, old journal."

"I'm sorry, my peach, but I'll never tell."

Quick as lightning, Mabel's hands darted forward and latched onto Gideon's orange jumpsuit. She jerked him forward, so that his face was pressed painfully to the bars. There will definitely be bruises from this encounter.

"Tell us where the Journal is, Right now!" Mabel shouted into Gideon's face. Gone was her sweet demeanor, replaced by a fierce look.

Gideon gasped and pawed pitifully at Mabel's hands, "Why do you suddenly want my journal so badly?!"

Mabel kept her hands on Gideon's jumpsuit as Dipper responded, "Did your journal ever mention something about the Society of the Blind Eye?" Dipper asked.

"Sure it did, but I figured it wasn't worth lookin into." Gideon replied as Mabel tightened her grip on his jumpsuit.

"Well they had a device that could erase memories, I need to know if there is a way to reverse the process," Dipper continued.

"And you think my journal may have had something about it, well you're out of luck. My journal had nothing about memory rays in it. I would know. I've read that journal cover to cover multiple times. I know more of Gravity Falls' secrets than you could ever find out, boy!" Gideon's sneer deepened. Dipper thought of sharing that little detail about the invisible ink, but decided against it. Eventually, they will let Gideon out of here, and if he knows of the invisible ink, he would definitely obsess over getting his hands on my journal even more. No, it's best to keep that detail to those that can be trusted. Little did Dipper realize, the author was serious about trust being a limited commodity.

"So, you knew that your father was a member of the Blind Eye?" Dipper asked curiously.

"LIAR! MY FATHER IS A CLUELESS BUFFOON!" Gideon yelled.

"He is now, thanks to Dipper here using the mind eraser ray on him as well as the entire Society of the Blind Eye." Mabel said with conviction.

"Well, you have been a busy, little bee haven't you Dipper?" Gideon said with a giggle even though Mabel still had him press against the bars, "But I wonder: if the society is no longer active why do you want my journal so badly? Surely, you don't need it. Unless someone you know had their mind erased, hmm? Someone close to you…" Gideon's tone was full of mocking by the end of his speech.

Mabel could see that Gideon was trying to play mind games with Dipper, and grew angry at Gideon for such an underhanded tactic, so before Dipper could respond she said, "Enough stalling!"

Mabel pushed Gideon back an inch before slamming him back into the bars, "Tell us where you're keeping the journal!"

Gideon gasped in pain, "Never!"

Mabel slammed him into the bars with even greater force, "Tell us!"

"Alright, alright," Gideon shouted before continuing in a resigned tone, "I don't know where it is. I had a concussion from falling off the bridge. I know I had it with me in the giant robot, but after the explosion everything's a blur. I assumed it was amongst the wreckage. Anyone could have picked it up."

"Liar!" Mabel was about to slam Gideon against the bars a third time when Dipper placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He's telling the truth, Mabel," Dipper spoke quietly.

"Oh, sorry, guess I got carried away again," Mabel released Gideon who retreated deeper into his cell and started crying tears of frustration. Mabel turned to Dipper, "I am totally the alpha in our relationship, Dipper."

Upon hearing this, Gideon remembered his rage, "How dare you treat me so cruelly, Mabel! The entire Pines family will pay recompense for this affront! Now, more than ever. Once I'm out of this damnable cell, I will have my vengeance!"

"Yeah, yeah, come'on Dipper we got our answers." Mabel confidently grabbed Dipper's hand and led him out of the holding cell area. She felt excited from the confrontation. If Mabel stopped to think about it, she would have been disturbed that a little violence made her feel so full of life, but Mabel being Mabel, she didn't stop to think about it for a second. She just reveled in her emotional high and clutched Dipper's hand slightly tighter than she normally would have. Dipper's hand began to sweat.


Grunkle Stan was fiddling with the radio when they finally exited the prison.

"Sorry it took so long, Stan," Dipper spoke up first as they settled into the backseat, "Apparently exit procedures take longer if you assault an inmate." Dipper threw a nasty glare at Mabel, who only smiled back, "Snitches get stitches, Dipper. Gideon will get his for squealing on us."

"And how will prison justice be executed when none of the prisoners know?" Stan asked, completely ignoring the fact that he had corrupted his great niece to the point that she would even know the inner workings of prison culture.

"Oh, I have connections from our time in the county lockup," Mabel smile innocently, belaying what she was talking about, "Remember our first family bonding day, Stan? Good times for all. I'm probably the best darn Benjamin counterfeiter this side of the Mississippi."

"Darn tootin' you are, Mabel!" Grunkle Stan agreed, "I still have one of yours framed above my bed. You make me so proud." Grunkle Stan had a small tear in the corner of his eye; a look of immeasurable pride on his face. Dipper cleared his throat, effectively breaking the moment. Stan's face returned to his usual dour look before he said, "Well, Dipper, how did your playdate with Gideon go?"

"It wasn't a playdate. It was an interrogation!" Dipper's voice cracked and Mabel laughed openly.

Gruncle Stan waved his hand dismissively, "Semantics. So how did it go?"

"Not well. Gideon had the journal with him at the scene of the giant robot crash. Literally the whole town was there, anyone could have picked it up during the clean-up," Dipper said, a little down cast.

Gruncle Stan felt what nervousness he had ebb away at this, but a new burden of guilt settled on his shoulders. I will give him both journals as soon as I can. I will. I swear it. This oath didn't lessen the guilt Stan carried on bit, but Stan was a hard man. He could handle the guilt, just like he could handle anything else the world could throw at him. He handled every stupid tourist to come his way. He handled that Columbian prison. He handled losing Carla to that damn hippie. He handled growing old alone and bitter. He handled it all, and dammit, he'll handle this too. Who knows? Maybe once I get the machine working, I could stop Mabel from losing her memories in the first place. I don't really know what its limitations are. Maybe there are no limitations and I could do anything at all.

"Well, chin up, Dipper. I know what will lift your spirits," Gruncle Stan said, "Lunch at Greasy's Dinner."

"Yay! Onward, my chariot!" Mabel enthused.

"Buckle up, first," Dipper advised.

"Aww, Dip, always lookin' out for me," Mabel gave him a one armed hug before grabbing her seatbelt, "Click! Onward, my chariot!"


They arrived at Greasy's Dinner without much incident (if you don't count Stan nearly hitting a miniature deer that was about the size of a cat. Dipper didn't consider it too unusual). They all piled out of the car, and took their seats at their usual booth.

"Okay, kids, I'm feeling generous today," Stan said out of guilt, "Pick anything you want."

"Really!? I'm gonna order a short stack of pancakes and eggs! Best day ever!" Mabel exclaimed; not looking the gift horse in the mouth at all.

"You never let us order off the menu, Stan," Dipper said perplexed.

"C'mon, Dipper, here's your chance to put some meat on them bones," Mabel said with her trademark grin upon her face, "Don't pass it up!"

"Hey, I'm not that skinny," Dipper counter.

"You are kinda scrawny, kid," Gruncle Stan commented.

Dipper felt insecure having his physique picked over by those so close to him, "So what if I have noodle arms. Overeating isn't gonna change that anytime soon!"

Mabel gave a half frown, "Don't take it that way, Dipper. Your noodle arms suit you. Besides you're strong where it counts." Mabel reached across the table and placed her hand on his chest above his heart.

Dipper began to sweat when she left it there for a few moments too long, "Th-thanks, Mabel. You always know what to say when I need it."

"And don't you ever doubt it," Mabel removed her hand.

Stan had observed this interaction with trepidation. Mabel is acting like she does around her crushes, and yet she's different. Her behavior is more sincere. Maybe some ghost of sibling affection lingers in her heart, and she's confused by it. Yeah, that's probably it. The more she gets to know Dipper the more sibling-like her affection will become! No worries, everything will be back to normal soon. Stan knew somewhere in his heart that he could be dead wrong, but stubborn, old men have long learned to not listen to their hearts and Stan was no different. Stan put Mabel's affection from his mind

Stan smiled, "Well, you kids ready to order?" Upon receiving confirmation, Stan turned and waved Lazy Susan over. Thank God she finally stopped calling me. If I ever hear a cat meow again, it would be too soon.


After a satisfying meal, they all returned to the Mystery Shack. "It's not that late. I can still give a few tours to some saps. Dipper, man the register till Wendy gets here for her shift."

Dipper climbed up on the stool even though there was no one in the gift shop. Now would be an excellent time to figure out who might have picked up journal 2, and while I'm at it, where journal 1 may be. Just as Dipper settled in, and started making a list of who was at the crash site (Gideon wasn't joking: the whole town was there), Dipper heard the sound of a stool scrapping across the gift shop floor. Dipper opened his eyes to see Mabel bringing a stool over next to his.

"I thought I would keep you company….cutie," Mabel flirted in her Mabel way. Eyes half lidded and a brace filled smile on her face.

"Be my guest," Dipper replied a little uncertain as Mabel clambered up on to her stool which was now touching his.

"So….does Stan make you work the register often?" Mabel struck up a conversation.

"No, usually Stan has you or Wendy at the register. I have a theory that Stan believes customers spend more money when there are pretty girls around." Dipper replied.

"So, I'm a pretty girl now?" Mabel grinned as she teased him her cheeks flushing.

"Wha-, yes…no…that is I mean to say…I-I-…I don't know what to say," Dipper dissolved into a stuttering mess. His face heated and a bead of sweat formed on his temple.

"Ha ha, you're lucky I find your awkwardness to be adorkable, Dipper. Adorkable and strangely attractive." Mabel said confidently.

If it was at all possible Dipper's face blushed even more. Dipper tried to muster the courage to form a semi-coherent reply, but before he could, Mabel punched hard on the shoulder nearly knocking him off the stool. "I'm joking with ya, Dipper. Laugh a little."

Dipper chuckled weakly but his vulnerability needed to know something, "Which part are you joking about? Me being adorkable or attractive."

Mabel shifted on her stool, uncomfortable with the penetrating nature of the question, "Look…Dipper," she said softly, "It can be both a joke and the truth at the same time." Dipper kept his mouth shut, "Dipper, I really do like you, you adorkable idiot."

"Mabel, I…I….I think you should get your memories back…before we start anything," Dipper felt like a coward running from his own shadow. His own heart. I am totally stalling here. I can't accept her advances outright: she'll never forgive me once she gets her memories back, but I don't want to hurt her by shooting her down either. Dipper would admit to no one, but he also kind of liked Mabel's attention. He didn't want it to end with him rejecting her.

Mabel punched his shoulder a second time, "Sure, Dip. You're lucky I'm alpha. A normal girl would never have been so straight forward with you, or so understanding of such an obvious stalling tactic."

"Normal always was overrated anyway. I much prefer our unique brand of craziness," Dipper tried to recover with a compliment.

"I can tell you're trying to butter me up, but your heart is in the right place, so I'll let it slide," Mabel graciously accepted, "But I'm gonna be expecting a straight answer as soon as I get my memories back. No stalling allowed!"

"Yeah…I'll give you the response you deserve then. I promise," Dipper fearfully knew that if she honestly demanded a reply to her attraction after regaining her memories, he would tell her the truth. Telling her wasn't what was scaring him though. It was the fact that he didn't know what the truth was, that was scaring him.

"Oh, and don't expect me to take a backseat in our relationship, just cause you put me on hold. You know I'm not that kind of girl. Whamp!" Mabel slapped a sticker on his shirt. It had a picture of Timothy the metro train and had the words No brakes on this train added to it in sharpie.

"You were looking for an opportunity to use that sticker, huh?" Dipper said with a grin on his face.

"Maybe….But seriously, I won't stop until I get a definite no." Mabel said, her face completely straight.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You wouldn't be you if you did," Dipper replied.

They chatted for a little while longer until Stan finished his first tour of the day.

"And here you will see our wonderful gift shop. Pick something out for your family back home or perhaps a keepsake to remember your visit by. Bring your selection to the register, where Dipper…..and Mabel will ring you out."

"Awww, aren't they just the cutest couple I've every seen," One middle-aged, out of town woman gushed.

The sentiment was mirrored by pretty much every other woman in that tour group. Dipper and Mabel being on the other side of the gift shop were unaware of their perceived coupleship; however, Stan heard this, and was about to counter it when he noticed something. The tour group was definitely in a better mood now, and one thing Stan knew was that happy customers bought more merch.

"Oh, yes, that's my grandniece, Mabel, and her young man, Dipper. You should have seen the boy the first day he saw her. The first thing he did was come to me and practically begged for a job here. He wanted a reason to spend more time around her. I really didn't need the help, but I couldn't turn the kid down. It put a pinch on the Mystery Shack's finances. I may have to let him go before the end of the summer if things don't pick up," Stan put on a sad face. He was a businessman first and foremost, and he knew how to work a crowd. Sales tripled for that group. In fact sales were so good that when Wendy arrived he had Dipper and Mabel work together on restocking the shelves. His only instructions were that they be visible and together when he brought the next tour group through. He told a similar story to the next group and again sales were way up. He never realized that young love was such a gold mine.

I should have thought of this ages ago. These suckers are loving the couple angle. I know there'll be hell to pay for encouraging this once Mabel gets her memories back, but this gravy train is too good to pass up. I gotta pay the bills somehow, building and powering the portal is too damn expensive.


The day came to an end, and once again Dipper and Mabel retreated to their attic bedroom.

"You kids had better not break a window tonight. Looks like a storm's rolling in," Gruncle Stan said adamantly.

"Alright, Gruncle Stan, I promise I won't play with the grappling hook tonight," Mabel replied.

"Same goes for you too, Dipper."

"What? When have I ever broken a window?" Dipper defended.

"Bedroom Minigolf."

"Fair point. Goodnight, Stan!"