Chapter 25: Emily and the Anime Girl

(Emily's P.O.V)

"La, la, la, la, la!" Mabel sang as she skipped through the Shack's gift shop, only to be caught in the screendoor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Braces! Braces caught in the screen door! Someone dictate my will, I'm giving it all to Waddles!" Mabel cried and before I could say anything, Soos came up to her with a screwdriver.

"Say 'ah,' girl-dude." He said and Mabel opened her mouth.

"Aaaah!" Soos then pried her braces off of the wires. "Soos! You saved me!" Mabel exclaimed happily.

"Heh, heh! Just doing my job, hambone." Soos assured her as he tossed a screwdriver in his tool belt. "I'll see you dudes tomorrow." He waved and walked out the door.

"Bye Soos!" The twins waved.

"Night Soos." Wendy said, not looking up from her Chinese finger trap.

"Night Soos! Say hi to Abuelita for me!" I called after him.

"Night Soos." Stan said as he worked on the 'Thigh-Clops'.

"Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo! Walking to my car." Soos sang as he walked off.

"You ever wonder what Soos does when he's not here at the Mystery Shack?" Mabel asked.

"No."

"Not really."

"Not once ever."

"Um, maybe a little?" I offered. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Mabel answered it.

"Letter for, Emily Jewel." The mailman said and I recognized him as the 'were-wolf' from episode one. I tried not to laugh as I walked up to the door way.

"That's me." I said and he handed me the letter.

"Have a nice day ma'am." He waved and walked off.

"Thank you!" I called after him and closed the door in slight confusion. Who would give me a letter?

"Who's it from? Who's it from? Who's it from!?" Mabel asked, jumping up and down. I gave her a quick laugh and looked at the letter.

"It's from Reggie. Soos' cousin." I gasped. I then opened the letter and looked at it.

"You, and one guest, are invited to our engagement party. We hope to see your there." I read.

"Ah! An engagement party!? That's amazing...wait you know Reggie?" Mabel asked.

"Sort of. I met him when Soos invited me for dinner at his place. It was before my treehouse was ready for me to move in, Reggie was there with his girlfriend, who I guess is now his fiancée." I explained.

"Awww, that's so sweet he invited you?" Mabel gushed and I laughed.

"Yeah, it is. Guess I made a good impression." I joked, giving Mabel a playful wink, and gathered my stuff.

"Well, I'm gonna turn in. Night." I waved and everyone waved to me as I walked out to my treehouse. Humming the theme song as I went. Cause that was coming up soon. *wink*

The next day was pretty normal. I woke up, got dressed, went to the Shack, had breakfast, and got to work. I was with Wendy by the counter when a kid with a coin and lollipop walked to the postcard rack, where Stan popped out from.

"Hello!"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Please, don't let my horrible elderly face frighten you." Stan said, he then pulled away a sheet revealing Goldie. "Don't you want to use that nickel to get a nugget from old Goldie?" He asked.

"Uuuuhhh..." The child grimaced.

"Watch this!" Stan put a nickel into a slot of Goldie, who raised his hat. His arm then moved up and down, both eyes then fell out while slimy grease and sparks came out of him. The child ran away crying.

"Okay, seriously, Mr. Pines. It's time to throw that thing out. Its face reminds everybody of the inevitability of death." Wendy said.

"Yeah, when I first saw him, I got so freaked out I whacked him with a broom." I added. True story, though the only reason I did it was to mention it now. Worth it!

"What?! Sure, he's a little rusty around the edges, but old Goldie is a classic show-stopper, like me. Huh?" Stan asked, his hand then slipped on some tease causing his arm to be in Goldie's mouth.

"Aaaah! Kill it! KIIILLL IIIITTT!" Stan exclaimed, flailing his arm around. I face-palmed and walked over before prying the creepy statue off of Stan's arm.

"Okay, then. I'm gonna be over here now." I said, pointed to the other side of the store and stood by the vending machine.

"Alright, Soos. You can do this. Just use your mouth to say words that makes romance happen." I turned to see Soos slowly rise up from the shirt rack and turn to the women.

"Your face is good. I'm a Soos!" He greeted and the women screamed and ran out of the Shack, punching a man and knocking things over in the process. Soos then slowly sunk back into the shirt rack. Dipper then walked up worriedly.

"Soos? What was that all about?" He asked, pushing the shirts aside.

"I-I think I was flirting, but I'm not sure." Soos stuttered.

"Did some say flirting!?" Mabel exclaimed, popping out of barrel filled with keychains.

"How long have you been in there?" I asked her.

"Eh, I lost track." She shrugged.

"Okay never mind. Soos, what's going on?" I asked.

"Well, I kinda promised my grandma I'd get a date by the end of the week, but I've never actually been on a date before." Soos explained and grabbed the sign on the vending machine.

"You belong on me, out-of-order sign." He sighed and placed it on himself.

"Awww Soos, that's not true..."

"Finally, my prayers for a chance to match-make this summer have been answered one again! With Emily and Nate being officially an item, I have time to match other people up." Mabel exclaimed, cutting me off.

"Soos, a little advice. You need to get rich. Or lie about being rich. Outside of that, I don't like your chances." Stan said and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't listen to Stan, dude. You're a sweet guy with a steady job and a pickup truck." Wendy assured him.

"Would you date him?" Stan asked.

"Oh! Would you...heh...look at that." Wendy muttered, holding up the 'Avoiding Eye Contact' magazine.

"Wendy's right Soos, you're a really sweet guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you." I added and turned to Stan.

"And no, I wouldn't date him because he's like a brother and I have a boyfriend." I said.

"Fair enough." Stan shrugged.

"Soos, you help us so much, it's time we help you, dude. We're gonna get you that date." Dipper assured him.

"We're taking you where romance lives and fashion styles die." Mabel grinned.

"Yeah, I see where this is going..." I said and we started heading out the door.

"To the mall!" Mabel exclaimed once we arrived.

"I'm gonna find a replacement for old Goldie. Babysit Soos while I'm gone." Stan told us and I gave him a salut.

"Aye-aye Stan." I said and we all laughed and Mabel began to scan the crowd.

"Alright, Soos. Are you ready to explode the charm bomb on these poor, unsuspecting ladies?" She asked hopefully.

"Uuh. But what if I embarrass myself again?" Soos asked, while nervously sweating.

"Eh. You can't be any worse at this than Dipper." Mabel shrugged.

"Yeah!...Wait, what?" Dipper asked, after cheering. Mabel then blew in her whistle.

"And, FLIRT!"

"Oh boy, here comes a montage." I sighed heavily and we walked up to a women from behind a tree.

"Eye contact." Mabel explained and Soos walked up to her.

"Hey there! I'm not scared of your eyes at all! I'm gonna look at them!" He cried, using his fingers to keep his eyes open, causing the women to scream and run away.

"Eye contact!" Soos screamed after her and I ran up and put his arms down from his face.

"It's just means, look at her directly. Not up or down." I explained.

"Oooooooooooooh."

Next we were at a different part of the mall and Mabel was giving Soos another lesson.

"Conversation."

Soos walked up to a women who was eating ham on a stick. I'm still shocked that she ordered that all to herself.

"Huh. You know, I've actually been in a pig's body. Did you know pigs have a hard time walking backwards?" Soos asked as the women started to walk backwards.

"Not you, though! Not that I'm calling you a pig. Where are you going?" Soos laughed and I facepalmed.

"Mabel, maybe we should do more practice rounds at home." I suggested.

"Nah, he's got this!" Mabel smiled and took out two pairs of sunglasses and walked up to Soos.

"Confidence." She explained simply, raising one pair up. Soos then went up to 'Edgy On Purpose' to talk to the person there.

"So, you're probably a girl, right? Wrong? No, I was right the first time. Wrong." Soos said in confusion.

"Okay, that's enough." I said and walked over and started dragging Soos away. We eventually were sitting outside of a video game store and Soos was moping as Mabel took a prize out of a toy capsule.

"Don't worry, Soos. You'll find the right girl. You just need to stick with it! Haha!" Mabel laughed as she pulled a sticky hand back and flung it on Soos' face.

"Could this day get any worse?" He sighed and looked up to see his cousin. "Oh no! Cousin Reggie!" He exclaimed seeing his cousin and his fiancée toggled.

"Feel it, it's muscle." Reggie said and his fiancée giggled as she felt his arm.

"He can't see me like this! I gotta hide!" Soos cried and rushed into the store before we could stop him.

"Oh boy he's in the video game store again. Come on." I sighed and we rushed in to se Soos look at a familiar game. Romance Academy.

"Huh. Never seen that one before. 'Virtually improve your dating skills. Nine out of ten basement dwellers recommend.' This is perfect!" Soos exclaimed and we walked up to him.

"Well, I guess you are better at games than at flirting." Dipper agreed.

"Anything to get you out there, Soos." Mabel added.

"I'm not sure you want to buy that game, sir. This is the third time someone's brought it back, and there's a note on it that says 'destroy at all costs.'" The store clerk explained.

"Then, why didn't you destroy it?" I asked suspiciously. The store clerk was about to answer, but turned to Soos who was 'flirting'.

"So, hey there. What's your deal? Like to...?" Soos asked a cardboard cut out of a women before 'she' fell over. "Oh, she's dead!" He gasped.

"We'll take our chances." Mabel said simply. We bought the game and left the store. It was getting late so Soos decided to try out his new game while the twins and I headed back to the Shack.

I didn't sleep well last night, not because of hauntings from Bill, but because I was worried about .GIFfany. She was a pretty powerful villainess. I just hoped I could help in defeating her. I'm sure I could help with that.

Right?

Next morning I was with Wendy as Stan was ranting about the badger he wanted so badly.

"You don't understand, guys! This animatronic badger sings, it dances. It's the perfect money taking attraction. But he won't sell it to me!" He exclaimed.

"This is literally too dumb for me to care about." Wendy deadpanned.

"Ditto. Stan, you have plenty of attractions at the Shack, you shouldn't be hung up about some random attraction." I added.

"But it's the perfect money maker! I can't let this slip past me!" He cried and the twins walked inside.

"Hey, have you guys seen Soos? We're supposed to help him with match-making today." Dipper asked.

"Yeah! I wore my motivational sweater and everything thing!" Mabel exclaimed and her sweater read 'U can do it Soos' with the second 'o' in Soos slightly misplaced. "I messed up that part."

"He didn't come in today. It's the first time he's missed work ever!" Stan said and the twins looked at each other worriedly.

"I didn't hear anything from him either. Maybe we should check and see if he's feeling alright." I suggested and the twins nodded. We rushed over to his house. Abuelita let us in and we went over to Soos' room. Which was pretty dark and littered with several cans of Pitt Cola and it gave off a dark creepy vibe.

"So that's basically my entire life story. Now you tell me a thing about you!" Soos laughed.

"Every time you compliment me I get another highlight in my eyes!" .GIFfany exclaimed as she...danced on the screen I guess.

"Uh, you're pretty!"

Sparkle

"And pixel-y!"

More sparkle

"And so agreeable!"

Even more sparkle.

"Yes!" Soos exclaimed happily and pumped his fist.

"Uh, Soos?" Mabel asked, making our presence known and Soos turned around in his chair.

"O-oh hey, dudes! Come in! This game is amazing. I'm making eye contact, going on dates, and I haven't seen any natural sunlight for thirteen hours!" Soos explained and Dipper kicked away a soda can as I walked over to him.

"Please tell me you at least took bathroom breaks." I pleaded and Soos thought for a moment.

"Oh yeah, I did." He assured me, well tried to at least.

"Soos, maybe it's time to apply these skills with real girls!" Mabel suggested.

"But I'm about to meet her parents! Her dad is an octopus-man." Soos whispered.

"Of course he is." I muttered as Mabel opened the blinds and Soos hissed at the sunlight. Dipper then grabbed Soos and started dragging him out the door.

"We're going back to the mall, man. You need to unplug!" Dipper said.

"I second that." I added as I followed them.

"I'll see you later, .GIFfany. I'll be back, I swear!" Soos called after .GIFfany and Mabel laughed.

"Soos, you don't have to wish it goodbye. It's just a game. It's not like it's going anywhere." Mabel said and closed the door behind her. Soos finally started giving in and walked along with us. Once we made it to the mall Mabel scanned around for some potential dates for Soos.

"Dang! Where all dem sweet honeys at? I'll check the ladies' bathroom." Before I could stop her she rushed into said ladies room and started shouting through a megaphone.

"It's love time, girls! Get out there! No time to wash your hands!" She exclaimed and several women ran out in terror.

"Let's get out of here!" One screamed.

"It's time to date! Date! Date!" Mabel exclaimed and I facepalmed.

"And...here comes security." Dipper sighed and turned to Soos and me. "I'll deal with this. Stay here and help Soos practice on some real girls." Dipper said and I gave him a thumbs up as he ran off.

"Okay Soos, you are way over thinking this. Just walk over and say hi." I explained simply.

"But...but these girls have so many dimensions! And no explanation-ing menus!" Soos panicked, hiding behind a plant.

"Okay, gaming isn't like really life. Mainly because you aren't staring at a million pixels at once. But the point is that nothing can replaced speaking to someone face to face." I explained and Soos seemed to take it all in.

"Yeah...maybe you're right." He said and I smiled happily, though it turned to a frown when I saw that we were right by the t.v store.

"Hi, Soos!" A cheery voice cried and Soos turned around to see .GIFfany on a screen and hearts around her.

".GIFfany! Oh man, I'm so relieved to see you! Oh, this is Emily. The girl who randomly appeared that I told you about." Soos said and gestured to me.

"Um, hey." I greeted.

"Hi Emily, Soos told me all about you." .GIFfany smiled and gave me a wave. Though I could tell she was on edge.

"Yeah, he's helped me a lot..." I was cut off by two hands covering my eyes.

"Guess who?"

"What the...Nate!?" I gasped and turned around to see my boyfriend standing there.

"Hey, I walked in and saw you here so I decided to come up and say hi." He explained and I smiled.

"Whose that?" I turned and saw .GIFfany looking at Nate, how looked at her back in confusion.

"Uh...what...?" He whispered in my ear and I shushed him quickly.

".GIFfany, this is my boyfriend, Nate." I introduced and .GIFfany seemed to ease up.

"Awww, that's so cute. Hi Nate!" .GIFfany waved and Soos turned to her.

"I'm glad you're here .GIFfany, but what are you doing here?" Soos asked.

"Oh Soos, I am not an ordinary game. I am...special." .GIFfany explained, popping on a couple screens. Also making a toy dog bark. She then pulled up a screen of people working on computers.

"The programmers tried to delete me." .GIFfany explained and one of the figures saw an X on his computer he then got shocked before he could delete the program.

"So I had to delete them." The screen then went black.

"Wha-what did you do to them?" Soos asked and several .GIFfany's started to appear.

"That's not important. What's important is that you won't have to talk to real girls ever again. You and me can be together." .GIFfany then covered all of t.v.'s. "Forever!"

"Wow, that's awesome! Sort of a red flag, but mostly awesome! So, what do you want to do now?" Soos asked.

"Anything you want, Soos." GIFfany said.

"Are we just gonna ignore the fact that she..." I quickly covered Nate's mouth and laughed.

"Ah haha. Okay, you two have fun, we're gonna be over there now." I said and dragged Nate away and started running.

"Whoa Emily, what's going on!?" Nate cried as I dragged him through the mall.

".GIFfany is an accidental A.I. We gotta warn Dipper and Mabel!" I cried and finally found the twins walking away from two security guards.

"Hey Emily! Whatcha doing...whoa!" I grabbed Mabel and pulled her with me along with Nate and Dipper ran after us. We finally went underneath the escalator and I sighed.

"We have a problem, .GIFfany is not an ordinary game. She's an A.I." I said.

"Huh, A.I? What's that?" Mabel asked.

"Mabel, A.I is an 'artificial intelligence' .GIFfany has feelings! And usually that stuff isn't good...wait, how'd you know she was an A.I!?" Dipper asked.

"'Cause she followed you guys here! He's with Soos now! Why did you even leave him alone with her!" Nate exclaimed and grabbed my shoulders worriedly and I smirked.

"Nate, I've know Soos for a while. Trust me, I know exactly where he went."

"So, he's riding the toy train...I feel like I should be surprised, but I'm not." Nate whispered as we hid behind a cart that sold jewelry.

"Choo choo!" Soos cheered happily, but the ride stopped.

"Please insert fifty cents to continue." A robot voice said.

"Awe man." Soos whined and Mabel was about to go up to him when I pulled her back.

"Emily! Wha-!"

"Ssh, look!" I pointed and Melody walked up to Soos, wearing her 'Meat Cute' apron.

"Oh sorry. Dude, that's awesome that you're a grown man riding a little train like that! You're totally like, owning it." She said, amused.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm like, if it's fun, uh, do it. You know?" Soos explained.

"Exactly! Being an adult is the worst. Skewering meat, remembering to pay bills, I just want to ride tiny trains all day." Melody agreed. I heard Mabel give a light squeal.

"At least you get to work at Meat Cute. Extreme lunch meats are the food of the future." Soos responded. Wait...meet cute, meat cute! I just got that haha! Nice one Alex!

"I feel the same way. I'm Melody by the way." She introduced and they shook hands.

"Oh, I'm Soos. I tell you, if you like robots for kids, you should check out the best restaurant of all time!"

"You mean..."

"Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree!" The two exclaimed in unison causing Mabel to squeal even louder, and Melody started playing with her hair.

"What? You've heard of Hoo Ha Owl's? I loved that place when I was a kid!" She exclaimed happily.

"Oh yeah, dude. There's one right in this mall! I should show you some time." Soos offered.

"I'm free around eight." Melody said.

"Boom! Done." Soos smiled and gave her a finger gun.

"Perfect. I'll see you then." Melody then handed Soos a couple of quarters and waved before walking out of the mall and into the sunset.

"Now?" Mabel pleaded. I nodded and let go of her arm.

"Now."

"What a nice lady. Well, back to riding this tiny train for children." Soos said and Mabel tackled him down and started cheering happily and playfully hitting him. The rest of us then caught up.

"We saw the whole thing, Soos. That was amazing! You talked to a real girl, and you got a date!" Dipper cried.

"I did?" Soos asked in disbelief.

"Yeah man! Did you not see what we did?!" Nate exclaimed.

"This is the best day of my life!" Mabel cheered and and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Soos, you were amazing, and I think she likes you!" I added, giving him a hug. "I'm so proud of you!"

"You were in the zone, you made eye contact, it was like you'd done this a million times before. Don't you see? That game really worked!...surprisingly." Dipper said, muttering the last part.

"You don't need it anymore; you can toss it out! Please...please toss it out." Mabel pleaded.

"Toss it? But, I like .GIFfany. She's good to me. She's predictable." Soos argued.

"Soos, can a computer game go to Reggie's engagement party with you?" Dipper asked.

"Uh..."

"Yeah, thought so. Come on, go home, get dressed him something nice, take that game back to the store, and go out on your first date!" I smiled and pulled him towards the door.

"But...but what is I mess is up?" Soos asked nervously.

"We'll be there to help you." Mabel assured him and I turned to Nate.

"Wanna tag along?" I offered.

"Who am I to pass up pizza with my girl?" Nate said and wrapped his arm around me playfully and I laughed. Soos went to his house while we headed back to the Shack to gather supplies for Soos' date. I'm surprised at how fast everything went. I had to rush to my treehouse in order to grab my purse.

Once it was eight, we were already at the mall and Mabel was giving Soos a recap about what was going to happen at the date as Dipper gave him some water and Nate and I were to side giving him smiled and thumbs up.

"You can do this, Soos! Just remember what your love crew taught you. How does she look?"

"Nice!"

"What are her stories?"

"Interesting!"

"And who's going to pay for dinner?"

"SOOS IS!"

"Now, DATE!" Dipper cried and blowed on an air horn, causing Soos to run away screaming.

"They grow up so fast." Mabel sighed happily.

"They sure do. So when are we gonna follow them?" I asked and Dipper glanced at the clock.

"Hm, nows good." He shrugged and we headed off to Hoo-Ha Owl's. When we arrived Soos and Melody were already sitting down and we sat in a both near them. Mabel and Dipper got a pizza box with holes for their eyes while Nate and I just sat next to each other and watched.

"Man, I could go for some complimentary breadsticks right now." Melody said.

"Uh, one time I was so hungry, I ate the decorational bamboo at a Chinese restaurant." Soos laughed and started singing while patting his stomach. "Like a big old panda!"

"You're hilarious." Melody laughed.

"Yeah, well, you know, I just sorta say whatever pops into my, uh..." Soos trailed off as he saw a screen of GIFfany with subtitles reading 'You paused me?'. Soos then spit out the water he was drinking and started coughing.

"Soos, are you okay?" Melody asked, ignoring the water that got sprayed on her.

"No! I'm, uh, fine! Everything's fine." Soos denied.

"You sure? You're spitting an awful lot." Melody said, obvious to the three screens behind her that made subtitles, 'You left me for her?'. Then and image showed a giant red X over Melody's face.

"Uh oh." Nate and I gasped worriedly.

"Uh, can you sit tight? I have to go to the bathroom for a long time. Not in a weird way." Soos said, standing up and rushed over to us.

"Soos, what are you doing out there?" Mabel asked, putting the pizza box lid down.

"I've got a big problem, guys. I'm being stalked by .GIFfany!" Soos exclaimed.

".GIFfany!?" The twins asked.

"Or maybe it's pronouced, "Jiffany?" I was never really sure." Soos said thoughtfully.

"Soos! I thought I told you to get rid of the game!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, .GIFfany appeared on the three screen above us and looked like she was mad at us.

"Uh-oh." Mabel gulped.

"Take it from someone who brought an arcade game to life, this will not end well." Dipper said.

"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure she's stuck on TV screens." Soos assured us, right on cue, .GIFfany began to travel on several of the game screens and stopped at 'Fight Fighthers'.

"Ha! A new challenger approaches! Prepare to be-dah!" Rumble cried before getting shocked by .GIFfany.

"Soos, get Melody, now." I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh boy." Soos sighed and rushed over to his date. "So hey, anyway, you uh, wanna move this date far away into the forest away from all electronics and people?" Soos asked hopefully.

"What? But the floor show's about to start." Melody said and pointed to the stage.

"Uh!" Soos was about to protest but the five mascots appeared on stage as the music begun.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Who wants to hear Hoo Ha the Owl? Oh! Who...?" Hoo-Ha then shut down and the spotlight turned to the beaver cheerleader, who was possessed by .GIFfany.

"Hello, friends. Hoo Ha the owl is dead." .GIFfany said and the cowboy frog started playing soft music. "This next song goes out to my forever boyfriend, Soos."

"Soos, what's going on?" Melody asked cautiously.

"No time to explain! We gotta get out of here!" Soos exclaimed and dragged Melody towards the door. The twins Nate and I then followed suit.

"The only way out, Soos, is in my arms! After them!" .GIFfany cried and the rest of the animatronics came to life with glowing red eyes, and started advancing towards us. We rushed to the exit but the doors slammed shut, trapping us.

"Oh come on!" Nate cried in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Soos, but you can't run away from our relationship!" .GIFfany said and took control of the skee-ball games and started shooting at us. We screamed in horror and Soos pulled down an arcade game for cover.

"So, about all this, I may have purchased a dating simulator that obtained sentience and went crazy." Soos explained to Melody.

"A little!?" Nate asked, freaking out.

"Oh, I am crazy. Crazy for you, Soos." .GIFfany said creepily before shooting lightning at us, catching Melody's hair on fire. Soos quickly patted it out as she screamed.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Melody! I'll fix this. It's me she wants. I'll distract her while my friends keep you safe! It's the only way!" Soos declared.

"Soos, these are children." Melody said, hugging the twins as Soos climbed over the arcade game.

"The only WAYYYY!" Soos cried and rushed through the skee-balls. "Over here, .GIFfany!"

"Stop!" .GIFfany yelled as Soos used a pizza plate as a shield to cover himself and slid into the kitchen as .GIFfany chased after him.

"On three we split. One, two..." Dipper was cut off by the giant beaver karate chopping the game and we screamed before rushing off.

"Three!" I cried and quickly grabbed a chair along with Nate and Melody.

"Hey, Five Nights at Freddy rejects! Have a seat!" I cried and whacked one of the barrel mouse down.

"Haha! Nice!" Nate laughed.

"I made that joke before..." I admitted and Melody ran to help Dipper with Big Beaver. I watched the scene in horror and suddenly Nate screamed and pushed me down as the other barrel mouse held him and the others hostage.

"Guys!" I cried. "Ug, why did .GIFfany have to do this for a guy!?...wait...THAT'S IT!" I quickly got up and rushed to the kitchen.

".GIFFANY STOP!" I exclaimed at the door way and .GIFfany, who already had the flash drive in her finger extended froze and turned to me.

"Emily!?" She and Soos gasped.

".GIFfany, listen to me, this isn't right. You don't have to do this." I said and walked slowly towards her.

"Why!? Every boy I'd ever loved left me! Even my father didn't want me!" .GIFfany exclaimed and the screen that showed her started to become more angry, but I could tell that wasn't all she was feeling.

"The octopus man?" Soos questioned. I thought for a moment then face-palmed.

"Oh duh, the programmer! Soos, that's her father. He tried to delete .GIFfany." I exclaimed in realization and the rest of the animatronics suddenly collapsed. Freeing the others.

"How...how did you know?" .GIFfany asked in bewilderment.

"I was abandoned too. When I was just a baby, and that's what you were once too wasn't it? When you father tried to delete you, all you were was a baby. You...you were only defending yourself." I said and then .GIFfany in the screen started to cry.

"I...I didn't mean too! I was scared! I thought he loved me!" She exclaimed and the beaver animatronic collapsed on its knees and went into a crying position.

"Listen .GIFfany, I know you were hurt, but forcing others to love you isn't right. Soos has his own life out here." I explained, bending down to face her.

"You don't understand, you have a boyfriend!" .GIFfany accessed. I smiled softly and stood up and held out my hand.

"Yes, I do. But we started out as friends first." I explained and turned to Nate. "Our love just grew naturally over time."

"But...but I don't wanna be alone! No one can love me!" .GIFfany said, tears flowing down her face on the screen.

"I think I can fix that, but you have to do back in your disc first. Trust me." I offered and the .GIFfany on the screen looked between me and Soos and the beaver retracted the flash drive from its finger and grabbed onto my hand. Lighting then came out of the beaver and screen before going into Soos' pocket and he pulled out the disc for Romace Academy. It was slightly sparking, but harmless.

"She's in." Soos reported and we walked out of the kitchen.

"Emily, Soos!" Everyone cried and they ran over to us.

"What happened!?" Dipper asked.

"I think Emily just...helped a villain." Soos said and handed me the disc.

".GIFfany just needs someone in her life. She's lonely, and I think I can fix that." I explained.

"Really how?" Mabel asked.

"Come on, I'll explain later!" I said and we all rushed out of the mall. They followed me through town and we finally stopped outside the building that I needed

"The arcade?" Nate questioned. "Isn't it closed?"

"Yeah, no one tell Stan, I'll never hear the end of it." I said and took a bobby-pin out of my purse, picked the lock and we walked in. I the walked over to the Fight Fighters game and put a few quarters in.

"Selected your character!" A computer voice said and I selected Rumble and pressed play. The scene then changed to Rumble preparing to fight Dr. Karate.

"And...FIGHT!" The referee exclaimed and I looked at .GIFfany's disc.

"Okay, just say hi." I said and lighting shot out from the disc and into the game and .GIFfany appeared by Rumble's side.

"Hi, I'm..."

"Dr. Karate, you killed my father again! Prepare to die!" Rumble announced and .GIFfany gasped.

"WHAT!? Take this you jerk!" She exclaimed and shot lighting at Dr. Karate, immediately killing him.

"Rumble Wins!" The computer announced. The game then went to a cut scene and Rumble turned to .GIFfany in shock.

"You...you defeated my greatest enemy! Did he kill your father too?" Rumble asked.

"Uh...no...but I'm sorry he killed your father. You must have loved him." .GIFfany said.

"HAHA! My father would have loved you, would you like to join me on my quest to defeat all evil!?" Rumble asked and offered .GIFfany his hand and she squealed.

"Yes! Um...does this mean...we're...friends?" She asked.

"Of course! I'm always looking for comrades to join me in battle against those who wish to cause innocents harm! I am Rumble, what is your name?" He asked.

"I'm .GIFfany."

"Come, let us continue on our quest!" He exclaimed and took her hand. .GIFfany giggled and they were dragged off screen.

"Thank you." She whispered to me and the cut scene ended. The screen went back to to the main screen and I smiled.

"You're welcome." I said and we all walked out of the arcade, heading back to the Shack.

"So how'd you know that .GIFfany was lonely?" Dipper asked me and I sighed as I looked forward.

"It's easier to tell when you've been lonely." I said simply and Mabel hugged my legs.

"You're not lonely now." She said sincerely and I smiled and hugged her back.

"I know that Mabel, trust me."

"Hey, I'm sorry for all of this, Melody. I honestly remember Hoo-Ha's being a lot more fun when I was a kid." Soos apologized.

"Believe it or not but I've been on worse dates." Melody replied.

"Really?" Soos asked.

"Never date a magician." She deadpanned.

"Ew, why would I?" He grimaced and Melody playfully hit him, causing both to laugh.

"Oh! Hey you aren't maybe interested in going to my cousin's engagement party in a week? I promise there's like zero robot badgers." Soos asked.

"Yeah. I'll still be in town then." Melody agreed.

"Still be in town?" Soos questioned.

"I'm going back home to Portland in a few weeks. But we can video chat, if that's okay with you?" Melody explained.

"A relationship with a girl that I can only see through my computer...sounds perfect!" Soos said happily and Mabel squealed happily.

"Spirit of love, we did it!" Mabel exclaimed and Abuelita appeared out of any alleyway.

"Yes. Yes, I am so happy." She smiled.

"Have you been following us all day?" Dipper question.

"Soos' life is my soap opera." She explained.

"Okay..." Nate said awkwardly and I kissed his cheek.

"Hey, sorry about tonight. I know it wasn't what you planned." I said.

"Nah, it's okay. Everything turned out fine." Nate assured me.

"I'd like to make it up to you though. Reggie invited me to his engagement party. Want to be my plus one?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah! Sounds great!" He said a bit to cheerfully and quickly cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah that's cool." We both then laughed and all of us headed back to the Shack.

I gave the arcade one last time and smiled hopefully. I've made a big change today, I don't know how it will affect the future, but I do know that I don't have any regrets about what I did.

No regrets at all.

Author's Note:

Yay done! When I got Journal 3 and read about .GIFfany and Rumble being a 'thing' I kinda wanted to explore more about it. So I planned for Emily confronting .GIFfany for a while now. I really hoped it was a nice twist to this episode.

As for what comes next, I'm hoping to get it done in late July or early August. We'll see won't we. Anyway let's go onto the reviews.

GF fan (Guest): Welp, I hope that was a happy scream...

mchap1154: Awww, Nate's not the only one who is sweet. I'm excited for The Love God episode too!

Linz2: Wow, you're really on top of this aren't you? Hehe, Emily isn't making too many changes...yet.

Pizza01: I'm really glad you liked this chapter! Also I couldn't resist throwing a BillDip joke in.

Reptil: Thanks! And I'm looking forward to Blind Eye as well.