Man, it sure was hard to write an original chapter. I don't know how Alex Hirsch did it, what with the general plot of the episode, dialogue, and not to mention the feel of it all. But enough about that, here's a chapter I bet you all were plenty excited for, the one based on the Gravity falls episode that debuted one of the show's principal antagonists that wasn't a three-sided one-eyed demon, Lil Gideon. Now, this may be the start of certain chapters being darker, but then again, this is Gideon we're talking about, so that's a given. And don't even get me started when everyone's favorite psychopathic dimensional triangle comes around. I also might bring more original chapters later on, so any ideas would be greatly welcomed, some might need to be plot relevant in order to carry things along, but other than that, I can see things progressing quite nicely.
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Enjoy!
Initially, Stan Pines had no idea what his niece, Rita, was thinking when she asked him to look after her little brats for the whole summer. He already had enough trouble making sure the shack had enough business to get by in this sleepy backwoods town, not to mention other crucial matters that needed to be dealt with, so having to watch about thirteen kids was no easy task. Of course, when he's generous-at least as generous as an experienced conman can be-, the old man can give them an early break at the end of the work day, which may include his other employees. Sure, it may not bring that much money in the register, but he figured he owed them that much. Besides, it's not really that hard to sway tourists' perception of reality to further his own greedy ambitions. Heck, he could make a sport out of it if he wanted to.
"For tonight's final illusion, we have the incredible Sack of Mystery. When you put your money in, it mysteriously disappears." He says in an ominous tone for added measure. Amazingly, the tourists actually bought this and proceeded to place all their hard earned cash into the sack, much to the satisfaction and pleasure of Stan as he grins in response. "Heh, suckers." he chuckles.
"Uh, Mr. Pines." Bobby, who was the only employee that was still working a shift, spoke. "Not to question the way you do business, but don't you think you should try less...sleazy means of getting money?"
Stan rolls his eyes and shakes his head in exasperation. "Oy. Kid, let me give you an important life lesson, if people are willing to believe anything a person tells them, only to carelessly give their money away, then it's their own fault for being born just plain stupid. Take it from an old pro, it doesn't hurt as long as they're not aware of the pain of being fleeced."
"I...guess that makes sense." At times like this, Bobby wonders why his cousin ever wanted to work for a guy like Stan. "Anyway, I'm done throwing out the old attractions you wanted to get rid of."
"Does that include the one with the dog tail, head of a snake, and body of an alligator?" Receiving a nod, Stan sighs in relief. Good. 'Cause I don't want another complaint from some broad about their little brat having recurring nightmares or something." He gives a careless shrug. "Now then, that crosses out your last chore for the day. Go ahead and join the other tykes in the shack."
"You sure?" Bobby asks. "Because I still got a few more minutes left."
Normally, Stan would accept his employees continuing to work to the bone, but since he was on a roll, it didn't seem like it was necessary to have his niece's boyfriend continue working. "Ah, you've done enough. Just don't let me catch you snogging my niece."
"Heh, right. Sure."
Flustered by that comment, Bobby wastes no time in going inside. His girlfriend, Lori, along with his sister, Ronnie Anne, and their cousin, Soos, and the rest of the Loud siblings were seated in front of the TV. "Boo-Boo Bear, come sit near me." his babe patted a spot that she saved for him for close proximity.
"Thanks, babe." He sits down, wrapping an arm around her. "What're we watching?"
"See for yourself, bro." Lincoln pointed to the TV.
It showed a tiger inside a hospital room. "The Tiger was badly injured in the explosion." The narrator explained. "But through science and ingenuity, we repaired him...with a fist!" a human arm that forms a fist suddenly popped out from the tiger's fur and the show's title appeared on the screen. TIGER FIST! This instigated cheers from everyone present, who found the prospect of the program very compelling.
Rubbing her chin in thought, Lisa takes out a tape recorder. "Hmm, note to self. Delve into possibility of attaching human appendage to wild animals, and make sure to credit television series to avoid lawsuit."
The program was then cut for a commercial which showed a hand summoning a flock of birds. "Hey, look. It's that commercial I was telling you guys about."
"Are you completely miserable?"
A grown man bawling his eyes out answered that query. "Yes!"
"Then you need to meet...GIDEON." The last part was spoken in a silent whisper.
"Gideon?" Dipper questioned.
Lola crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Never heard of him."
"What makes him so special?" Mabel asked as well.
"He's a psychic."
Mabel, Leni, Lana, and Lily tilt their heads with curious expressions. "A-woo?"
"So, don't waste your time with other so-called men of mystery." They could see a recording of Stan exiting the outhouse, trying in vain to get toilet paper off his foot with FRAUD plastered over him. "Learn about tomorrow, tonight at Gideon's Tent of Telepathy."
For some of the Louds, this new attraction of Gravity Falls actually seemed compelling. "A psychic? I thought they live in those fun rooms full of pillows instead of tents?" Leni tapped her chin.
"Whole different meaning, Leni." Luna told her with with a shake of her head.
"A psychic is an individual who makes ludicrous claims that he or she has certain abilities pertaining to that of the mind or even more outlandish, can foresee events that occur much later on than in the present." Lisa's explanation wasn't enough, leading the prodigy to facepalm with a sigh. "People who say they can know what you're thinking."
Mabel's eyes lit up in wonder at the prospect. "Wow. Well, now, I'm getting all curious-y inside."
"Think Stan would let us go?" Lana asks, also intrigued. But, her uncle already had an answer once be came bursting through the door.
"No, he wouldn't!" After exploiting the gullibility of tourists, Stan went back into the shack just as the commercial was finished and the idea of his employees and family indulging the likes of Gideon was unforgivable to him. "Let me make this clear, nobody working for me or related to me will be caught dead with the competition. Ever since that monster, Gideon, rolled into town, I've had nothing but trouble!"
Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow. "Is taking your parking space really enough to get a rise out of you?"
"It was reserved for me, and he knew it!" The aged con artist glared before clearing his throat. "But, it's not just that, he's also been stealing potential customers away too, the people who showed up today aren't nearly as big as the ones from last week."
"Wow. This guy must literally be a batter scammer than you, Grunke Stan, if he can get people to believe he's psychic." Lori smirked.
Stan pointed a warning finger at her with a stern expression. "You hold your tongue there, young lady! No one fleeces better than your great uncle and don't you forget it! That annoying monster's just been showing off, singing songs, and doing silly dances."
"Maybe he really is psychic." Lincoln pondered. "Wouldn't be the first strangest thing we've seen s far, and this is coming from a guy who turned into a wolf-beast not too long ago...worst experience of my life among other things."
"Like what, Stinkoln?" Lynn asks with an amused chuckle. But then, he gave her a deadpanned look that made her realize what he was referring to. "Ooooh, right." She winces, scratching her hair, a hint of regret going through her momentarily.
"Why not go and find out?" Ronnie Anne suggested. "Sure beats sitting on out butts all day."
Stan grew frustrated over them not obeying his rules. "Hey, didn't you hear me?! You're all forbidden from patronizing the competition, no one that lives under my roof is allowed under that Gideon's roof."
"Do tents even have roofs?" Bobby inquired.
"No, they do not." Dipper smirked.
"I think we just found our...loophole." Luan holds up a literal rope tied into a loop, inciting laughs from only her and Mabel. "So, should we go now or continue our in-tents debate." Some nearly tore their ears off to stop hearing all the incredibly lame puns. "Come on, that last one was pure gold, it should be like an episode title or something."
"So, come on down, folks. Gideon is expecting you." The way that was said was ominous in nature, but none took heed and thus, were unexpected for what was in store.
When the Tent of Telepathy first opened up shop in Gravity Falls, practically the entire town flocked over to observe the newest tourist attraction. The reason for this was that the one known as Gideon had a flair for the theatrics, a method similarly used by Stan, but with Gideon, there was more than just guiding them through attractions such as singing and the dancing that awed many. For the Loud siblings and company, they were mostly just curious of there was any validation in the claims that Gideon truly was capable of psychic abilities. Compared to what they've seen so far, it wasn't a stretch that this was actually true in a sense. Even so, the possibility that it was just another scam like the attraction Stan uses in the shack was always present and at most, they would just humor the claimed psychic.
"Get right up here, folks." An adult male wearing a Hawaiian shirt and straw hat with a name tag showing Budd on it says. "Put your money in Gideon's Psychic Sack." Once again, the townsfolk showed how much they are willing to believe in something.
Inside the tent, the Louds and co took their seats along with all present, some taking bites and drinks that were laid out for any customer to but in addition to attending. Dipper took the time to observe the place and couldn't help but feel some similar characteristics between it and their great uncle's tourist trap. "Anyone else feel like we're in a Bizarro version of the Mystery Shack?" he asked.
"Trust me, Dips. It's not just you." Lynn answered. "Check it out, they even have their own Soos and Bobby."
Both cousins turned and looked to see that the tend had indeed it's own handyman and teenage employee, only different was they had different clothing and hair color. Besides that, they still had an uncanny resemblance and the former two narrowed their eyes in contempt. "I don't like them." The Santiago teen decided.
"Totally." Soos agreed.
Suddenly, the lights began to dim, gaining everyone's attention and making Mabel excited. "It's starting. It's starting!" She squeals as the spotlights centered on the curtains with a suspenseful theme and they could see the silhouette of a seemingly big man beginning to advance towards the audience.
"Let's see what this 'monster' looks like." Lori crossed her arms.
Everyone braced themselves for whatever was behind the sheets and then, the curtains pulled apart to reveal...a small boy who looked no more than eight or nine years old with white hair fancied up with jell and a light blue business outfit and had on a cape. "Hello, America!" He greets with a very thick Southern accent and flattering smile. "My name is L'il Gideon." He clapped his hands, making doves fly out of his hair, inciting cheers and claps from the audience.
For the Mystery Shack crew, all they could do was blink in both surprise and confusion once they saw what Gideon really looked like. "That little dude is Stan's worst enemy?" Luna incredulously asked, she and everyone else expected much more.
"But, he's so wittle." Mable cooed.
"And his hair is so shiny." Leni marveled.
"Yeesh, the old man must really be off his game." Ronnie Anne shakes her head.
"I hardly believe someone so...bright has the power to look into one's own mind." Lucy added, shuddering.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is such a gift to have you here tonight! Such a gift, indeed." The young self-proclaimed psychic then puts his hands together in anticipation. "In fact, I have a vision. I predict that every single one of you will say 'awwww'." The child then pulled off one of the cutest face poses he could muster, and there was just no way the audience could resist cooing at the sight.
"Aww..."
Mabel and Leni were at awe at the sight. "It came true." The young girl with braces whispered."
"That's like, so amazing."
"Oh, come on." Lola rolled her eyes at them. "The whole adorable routine is so played out."
Dipper shared in that sentiment. "Yeah, only you two are impressed."
"Starting to think this was a literal waste of time." Lori rested her chin on her hand.
"Hit it, dad!" Gideon said to Bud, who started playing on the piano as the child psychic started a song once he flung his cape at the audience, starting a fight between them over it.
His whole routine was meant to convince all that he was what he claimed.
That he possessed the uncanny ability of peer into their minds.
Not a fraud like most.
Only little old him.
He then began to beckon the audience to stand up from their seats. "Come on, everybody! Rise up! I want y'all to keep it going!" Before any of the kids knew it, they stood up along with the rest of the audience, taking them by surprise. "Wha-What's happening?" Lucy asked, actually showing a hint of fear, mostly because it appears she's going along with with this plucky show tune, which was against her very nature.
To really sell it, he correctly guesses what others were thinking.
For an old woman with a cat on her lap, he spat out her wish for her son to call more often. "I'm leaving everything to my cat!"
To Sheriff Blubbs, he guesses that the cop has been at the tent beforehand.
Of course, you didn't need to telepathy to see that as the cop was wearing a Gideon t-shirt, carrying other various Gideon merchandise. "Oh, what gave it away?"
Lisa rolled her eyes. "Pish-Posh. Pardon my language."
Gideon then went directly at Mabel, correctly guessing her name.
"How'd he do that?" Mabel gasped.
"Your name is literally all over your shirt." Lori pointed out, exasperated.
Gideon finishes his act by giving thanks to all his fans for coming to the tent just to see little old him.
With that, his number finally ended as a sign with Gideon's name descended down and blue fire ignited. "Oh...oh, my goodness." The child pants, taking a drink of water before waving to the applauding and cheering crowd. "Thank you! You people are the real miracles!" He bows in apparent gratitude as the crowd continued to praise him. 'Look at them.' He mentally shook his head in spite, keeping up his whole smile and wave routine. 'Nothing but a horde of blind sheep who'll eat up anything, that's all these backwoods townspeople are good for. If it weren't for that old hump of a mystery man and his rusty old shack, I wouldn't waste time with this place. But once I get all two of them, it'd all be-' His inner monologue was cut off when he spotted a group among the audience that weren't applauding, save for one and the way she cheered, her brown hair flowing beautifully, and the light radiating off her braces, it was that Mabel girl.
Back then, he was just showing off his 'psychic powers', but now that he got a better look at her, he could now only think of one thing. 'Beautiful...such a pretty thing...must be mine.'
Once the whole show was over, the siblings along with the Santiagos and Soos made their way back to the shack while discussing how they felt about the performance of Stan's rival put on. "Seriously, that runt and his little sideshow is supposed to be enough of a threat to Stan's business." Lynn chortled. "What, does Stan need to learn how to dance like a total dork?"
Lola scoffed. "The whole musical number bit is such a played out act. Though I must admit, his cute routine is impressive."
"But let's face it, the kid's an even bigger fraud than Stan." Dipper voiced his thoughts. "No wonder our uncle's jealous."
"Aw come on, guys. His dance moves were so adorable!" Mabel beamed, having been very taken with Gideon's performance. "And did you see his hair? It was like, woosh!"
Lori sighs warmly. "You're too easily impressed, Mabes. Come on, let's head back already before Stan blows a fuse."
From the Tent of Telepathy, Gideon peeked out, having been eavesdropping on them. He noted that they were apparently from the Mystery Shack, his business' top competitor since setting up shop in this town. "So, they're Stan's kin are they? Well now, it seems I'll be claiming myself two prizes in one whole summer." Eyes narrowing, he holds the jewel on his pendant tightly, with it glowing eerily blue as a plan started to form in that not so innocent mind of his. If all plays out accordingly, it'll make settling in a place full of gullible ingrates so worth it, and should there be any obstacles in his way, then they'll soon know the full wrath of Gideon Gleeful.
While Stan was pretty sore about them going to his rival's place, he was fortunate enough to see them that most of them weren't so quick to be so entranced by that little monster's charm, save for Mabel, Leni, and Lily. Thankfully, no groundings were given out, but he made it clear that he wouldn't be so lenient about 'fraternizing with the enemy' next time. Presently, the Loud brothers along with Ronnie Anne sat near the table when Mabel suddenly ran up to them with her face covered in sequins. "Guys, check it out! Lola helped me bedazzle my face!" She struggles to close her eyes. "Blink. Ow..."
"That's not permanent, right?" Lincoln asked with a concerned frown.
"I'm unappreciated in my time." Mabel laments until the doorbell rings.
"Somebody answer the door!" Stan bellows.
Mabel quickly wipes her face clean. "I'll get it!" She opens the front door to reveal it was none other than Lil Gideon from last night with a charming smile that can just make girls like her squeal, and squeal she did.
"Howdy."
Seeing him made her gasp in surprise. "It's wittle ol' you!" she recalled.
The self proclaimed chuckles in apparent nervousness. "Heh, yes, my song's quite catchy. Now I know we haven't formally met, but after yesterday's performance, I just couldn't get your laugh out of my head."
Flattered, Mabel decides to humor him a little. "You mean this one? Ahahahahahahahaha!"
"Oh, what a delight! Now, when I saw you in the audience, I said to myself, 'Now there's a kindred spirit! Someone who appreciates the the sparkly things in life!'"
"That's totally me!" Mabel coughed out sequins that bedazzled Gideon's collar.
"Enchanting." He marvels in a hushed whisper. "Utterly enchanting."
"Who's at the door?!"
Knowing full well that Stan would waste no time in forcing Gideon to vacate his premises, thus costing her a potential new friend, Mabel thought fast in order to prevent that from happening and spotted her spooky younger sister. "Hey, Lucy." she pulls the young poet closer. "Lucy Goosey. Luce Chain. My goth sister from the same mother."
Although she couldn't see it, Lucy's eyes rolled behind her hair bangs. "What do you want, Mabel?"
"I need a quick solid, little sis. Stan will ground me for the rest of the summer if he sees me hanging out with his biggest rival. I was wondering if you could maybe distract Grunkle Stan while I hang with Gideon? Seriously, I'll owe you big time for this. I'll even consider knitting black sweaters for your Morticians' Club friends."
"While I try to avoid the affairs of humans that aren't a part of family, you're lucky that you just happen to be my sister. That and this forbidden attachment that you've formed would make good material for my poems. Go now, my little ones." Lucy releases her pet spiders and they obeyed their mistress' orders and went straight to where the con artist was. Soon enough, a scuffle was heard, involving screaming, objects falling to the ground, and the riff raff of an old man trying to escape the nocturnal creatures.
"AH! SOMEONE CALL AN EXTERMINATOR!"
"Lovecraft, Rice, and Poe can only distract him for long, so make the most of it."
"Thanks, Luce!" She closes the door.
"I appreciate your discretion, I know old Stan's no fan of mine." Just the thought of her being that codger's kin made him shake his head in disbelief. "I don't know how in the world can a lemon so sour be related to a peach so ever sweet."
"Gideon!" Mabel flatteringly laughed.
"What do you say we step away from here and chat a bit more? Perhaps in my dressing room?" Gideon offered.
Just as he hoped, she was ecstatic at the prospect. "Makeovers! Let me get my sisters, Lola, Leni, and Lori. They would love-"
"NO!" Gideon grabbed her hand tightly to prevent her from going back inside the shack. The volume of his voice startled Mabel, who could only stand frozen as she gazed into his face which had an expression of panic and upon closer inspection, one of fury. Realizing his overreaction would put her off, the child psychic collected himself and lets her go. "I terribly apologize for my outburst, I'm not usually like that. See, I was hoping that this little thing was just between the two of us, I hope that's not asking for much."
"Oh...well, I guess that's okay." Mabel brushed her hair, a little uncertain. "Are you sure, though? They wouldn't really like it if I left them out of this. Especially Lola."
"Family is important, I can understand that." Gideon tells her, holding her hands in a more gentle manner. "But Mabel, I wish for today to be all about the two of us. I'm sure your sisters can understand that. You do want to spend time with me, don't you?"
"Yeah, totally!" She nods. "One makeup session without them wouldn't hurt them too much, I guess."
"Delightful, now come along. We'll have a grand old time, I just know it."
As she was led by the charming young boy to his home, Mabel sent one last look towards the Mystery Shack looking a little too guilty. The others would no doubt be concerned about where she was since Lucy promised not to tell anyone that she'd be at Gideon's house. Worrying her family's not exactly something she's all in for, unlike makeovers, but Gideon was just so endearing, it was hard to say no to that face. Granted, there was the bad blood between him and her great uncle, but there's no way just because Gideon's business was a rival to Stan's, that didn't necessarily mean she couldn't be friends with him and maybe she could convince him to include the others as well.
For Gideon, his plan didn't involve the other Loud siblings, and pretty soon, she'll come to realize that the only company she'll ever need is him.
And no one else.
Everything was good in the Gideon household. Bud was outside selling used cars and that boy was away, the wretched one was nowhere in sight and that was just the way Mrs. Gleeful wanted it. She sat comfortably on the couch, perfectly content as for the time being, all was right in the world, when her family settled in this place, she did everything in her power to make it so that his wrath would never be unleashed upon her being. Not like the past times. o..the dark times...never again. Suddenly, she felt a shiver up to her spine and that was making her shake uncontrollably and hyperventilate, nearly having a fainting spell.
Never again...
The door slowly opens and there came her son, Gideon and with him was his new friend, Mabel Pines Loud. "Nice home." she complimented, smiling brightly at the commendations.
"Well, it's no mansion. But, I prefer the simpler things in life. I may make a generous amount of money, but I try not to be reckless with that I've so humbly gained." Gideon turned to his mother. "Why hello there, mother dearest. Still cleaning up?"
Said mother gave a simple nod as she kept using the vacuum.
"Good."
Mabel walked towards the woman with a friendly greeting. "Hi, Mrs. Gleeful! I'm Mabel!" She was waiting for a greeting in exchange, but the woman continued her cleaning and was led away by her son.
"My mama's a had worker. Wouldn't do her much good to be disturbed. Come along now." Mrs. Gleeful stayed silent until they were gone, but she didn't waver in her vacuuming, because just as she predicted, Gideon came back. "Oh, and mother. It'd give me great joy if you'd be so kind as to not disturb me and Mabel, and you care about what gives me joy, don't you?"
The way he said that was in the same cute manner that he's famous for, but she could see the real him behind that smile and could only continue her silence which was all the answer he needed. "Just keep vacuuming...just keep vacuuming..." she started chanting.
Back with the kids, Mabel gasps with astonishment once Gideon unveiled his dressing room. It had everything from fluffy boas, fedora hats, various unique designs of his own uniform, along with a large mirror and fancy boots. This was every fashionable girl's dream and she was living it. As much as she wished her three sisters who shared in her admiration were here, she couldn't help but be thankful that she gets to experience this. Noticing her awed expression, Gideon sent a smirk her way. "You see something you like? 'Cause I do." he whispered.
Obliviously laughing, she gave him a funny look. "What?"
"Never mind. Let us begin."
She wished this moment would never end.
Unfortunately, the time came for her to go back home which was a downer for her since she was having so much fun dressing up with her new friend, but Gideon was polite enough to escort her to the shack. "I still can't believe you have clothes that aren't even in stores yet." She said to him, still overjoyed by her experience with him. "Not even Lori and Leni have that much material in their room back home." As they walked, Gideon allowed her to do all the talking, it gave him more time to stare longingly at her, such a sweet and tender girl, the kind that he deserves to spend the rest of his life with. Not wasting time with the likes of Stan. "Seriously, Gideon. I haven't spent such a good time with a guy since...a while, I guess." She tells him with a good nature shove to his shoulder.
Rubbing his shoulder gently, he maintained his pleasant demeanor. "The pleasure was all mine for entertaining you, Mabel. I do hope we'll have another chance to socialize again.
"Sure we can, silly! Bye! Call me up soon!" Mabel waves farewell.
"Oh, don't you worry. I will." Gideon narrowed his eyes at the departing girl.
Inside, she saw her brothers and Lisa checking out the journal with everyone else doing their own thing. She decides to show off her new look by wiggling her sharp fingernails over her twin. "Hey, family and friends. What's going on?"
"Whoa, where have you been?" Dipper asked, putting the book down. "And what's going on with your fingernails? Makes you look like a wolverine."
"Mabel!" Lori, Leni and Lola cornered Mabel as they inspected her being.
"I smell cherry scented perfume." the pageant princess sniffed.
"Makeup has been applied." Leni gasped.
"And are those fake eyelashes?" Lori pointed with an accusing tone. "You had a makeover without us, didn't you?!"
"Uh...whoops?"
Lola crosses her arms while looking away with a huff. "To think I once thought of you as a sister."
"Girls, I'm sorry, but it was too good to pass up." Mabel insisted. "All I did was hang with my new little pal, Gideon. I'm telling you, he is one dapper little man. You'll love him."
Lynn stopped spinning her basketball to look at her sister. "You bailed just to see that little guy? Pretty risky, Mabes. You know if Stan knows about this, he'll take away your sweater privileges."
"Yeah, and I don't trust anyone who's hair is bigger than their head." Dipper said with a skeptic frown.
"His claims of supernatural abilities are obviously flawed as well. So, I see no need to even concern yourself with him. Travelling sideshow acts are hardly noteworthy in the slightest." Lisa said.
"Plus, a little odd that he asked you specifically, don't you think?" Lincoln asked.
"Think it might be to sabotage the competition by going for the family?" Ronnie Anne suggested.
"Oh, leave him alone, you guys." Mabel spoke in defense of her new friend, then turned to three of the blondes in the family. "I know I shouldn't have left you three out. But Lori, you're always so busy planning your next date with Bobby. Lola demands a lot of free time to herself, and Leni, you'd...probably would've forgot."
"About what?"
Mabel then addressed he others. "You all never even want to do the girly things with me anyway. It's always mud, practicing music, nerdy experiments, gags, poetry, or doing guy stuff with Soos all the time."
"Not all the time." Ronnie Anne denied.
But to contradict her, her handyman cousin walked in with a bag of unheated hotdogs with Bobby in tow. "Hey, dudes. Do any of you up for watching these hot dogs blow up in the microwave one by one?"
"We're in!" The Loud brothers agreed, followed by Ronnie Anne, Lynn, and Lana.
"And babe, Wendy had one of her pals manage to help me score some movie tickets." Bobby tells her, holding them up.
"Oh, Boo-Boo Bear~." Lori and her boyfriend locked arms and went out for their date.
Lola snorted in disgust as she walked upstairs. "This shack is becoming a pigsty."
"Dog-gone it, I was about to eat those." Luan snapped her fingers before chuckling at her cringeworthy pun.
Leni tilted her head. "But, Charles isn't here."
This was exactly what Mabel was talking about. As much as she loves being part of a big family, their differences along with their personal hobbies makes it hard to actually socialize. Everyone keeps on putting their focus on different things while one or more siblings end up going solo, and this time around, it seemed like it was her turn. Making it all the more reason why she was hopeful that Gideon would call to request another casual hangout together, one that would be just as fund and memorable as their recent one, she doesn't care what Stan or the others would say about him. So far, he's been nothing but sweet to her.
As soon as the next day arrived, Gideon made good on his promise and invited Mabel to have a quaint little walk around the town before eventually, he led her to his family's personal factory where all the merchandise based entirely on him was produced and sold to the masses. Sitting on the roof gave them both a view of Gravity Falls in its entirety, and though it's a small town, looking at it from their view made it seem like it was bigger than most would imagine, impressing the likes of her. "Whoa, the view from your family's factory is nuts! I can barely see the shack from here." She sent a knowing grin. "Good thing we both brought our-"
"Opera glasses!" The both cheered, sharing a laugh as they looked through.
Gideon always loved being perched upon his current position. It is hands down his favorite spot on the planet, even more so than enchanting the masses with his showmanship. For it not only gives him a wide open view, but also gives him a sense of power as he observed all those who weren't successful like him. "Do you know why I like sitting up here? When I look down on all them little ol' people, I feel like I'm king of all I survey." He rubs his hands with an ominous whisper before going back to his upbeat act. "I guess that makes you my queen."
Mabel took this as being simply flattering, not seeing how much he found it literal. "What? You are being so nice to me right now. Quit it!" She playfully smacks his stomach.
"Except I can't quit it. What I say comes from the heart." He tells her, holding his chest tightly.
Mabel darts her eyes for a second, put off by the implications there. "F-From the where now?"
"Forgive my boldness, but I've just never felt this close with anyone. So, so close." He raised his hand to stroke her long brown hair with a giggle.
Awkwardness and creepiness begun to fill the air and Mabel pushes his hand away. "Um, look Gideon-" she had to push the hand away one more time, unsettled by how forward he was being, starting to realize that he may have had the wrong idea. "I like you a lot, but can't we just be friends?"
Nevertheless, Gideon persisted by imploring her for one simple request that may be asking a lot from her. "At least just have it in you to give me a chance to show you just how I feel. Mabel, will you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"
"A playdate, right?"
Shake of the head.
"Shopping date?"
Another shaking of the head.
"It'll just be one lil ol date. I swear on my lucky bolo tie." He tugged at his collar, and it wasn't until now that Mabel noticed the blue gemstone on it.
While normally, Mabel would jump at the chance of being asked out on a date. She just always imagined it'd be a super cute guy her age or older who also owns a Pegasus with the head of a hawk and the whiskers of a cat. A part of her thought she might have given him the wrong idea about enjoying their get-togethers, and it's not just the whole age thing that makes this super awkward, but she honestly only sees him as a buddy she would call on when she has the time, sorta like her siblings with their best friends such as Clyde, Margo, Haiku, etc. But, she just couldn't say no to that pleading face of his, only someone completely heartless would just dash his hopes and that wasn't her. "Um. Okay, then...I guess..." she said, caving in the end.
Right now, Gideon could pass out from happiness. "Mabel Pines Loud, you have made me the happiest boy in the world!" he exclaimed, wrapping her in a hug.
Mabel flinches. "Are you sniffing my hair?"
"I'm sorry. What?"
Her siblings and coworkers had to do a doubletake when Mabel recanted her day with Gideon, especially the last part where she agreed to go on an actual date with him, much to her own embarrassment. They all stopped what they were doing to give her their full attention, Lincoln and Ronnie Anne had to stop playing their video game, pausing it as soon as she told them all. "Gideon literally asked you out on a date and you said 'yes'?" Lori asked, just to make sure she heard her younger sister right, not bothering to pick up her phone that she dropped out of total shock.
"EEEEE!" Leni squeals excitedly, while clapping her hands. "This is like your first date ever that's not with gnomes, Mabel! We have totes gotta talk about what you're gonna wear tonight!"
Luna motioned the second oldest to calm down a bit. "Pump those breaks, sis. I'm stoked for one of my sibs scoring a date as much as the next dude, but not sure we should be celebrating."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not a date-date." Mabel clarified for her. "I just didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I figured I'd throw him a bone."
Her oldest sister shook her head at the twelve year old's naivete when it comes to boys. "And that's your first mistake." Lori told her. "Trust me, guys don't work like that. You say yes or do one nice thing for him one time and he suddenly leaves you anonymous gifts and drops not so subtle hints. Is it flattering? A little. But, there's always a line."
"She has a point, Mabel. Keep that up, and the kid's bound to fall in love with you." Lincoln warned.
"Oh, what do you know, Lincoln?"
"You mean besides the fact that my best friend is the only other person I know with an obsessive crush on one of my sisters?" He retorted.
"Baby bro's laying some truth on you, brah." Luna pointed out.
"Seriously, no offense to the Clydesdale, but this is kind of like that." Lynn shrugged.
"Come on. I'm not that lovable, and Gideon isn't like Clyde. You don't see him going overboard to impress me, do you?"
Just then, the doorbell rings and she was the one to answer, only to scream once a magnificent white horse with a black mane trotted in being rode by none other than Gideon. "A night of enchantment awaits, milady!" He held his arm out for her to take.
Mabel smiled sheepishly at him, realizing too late that maybe he was a bit taken with her in the romantic sense. "Oh, boy..." She reluctantly takes his arm and screams when the horse took off, leaving the surprised shack crew.
"Oh, come on!" Lola shouts indignantly. "How come she gets to have someone whisk her away on a horse?!"
Initially, she had perceived that Gideon would have just taken her to the mall or some other place for their "date", but could never expect him to do something extreme such as taking her out to a fancy restaurant with an aquatic theme in Gravity Falls. If she wanted to be taken to a restaurant, her dad's place would've been her first choice, mostly because Lynn Sr. would just lose it if one of his kids was eating in another place other than his own, not to mention flat out fainting. What felt even more weird was how everyone present whispered among themselves about Gideon being there with a girl and a horse being granted access. Despite all her initial misgivings, she had to admit, all the special treatment she's getting from him does have its perks. Maybe that was why Lori tried to get Clyde's attention back when she, Dipper, Lincoln, and Leni tried helping the guy out.
Didn't make his advances any less creepy.
"I can't believe they let us bring a horse in here." She said.
Gideon smirks and smugly places his feet on the table. "What can I say? People have a heck of a hard time saying no to me."
When the waiter came around, he paid no heed to the child's lack of table manners, he even applauded him for it. "Ah. Monsieur Gideon! Ze feet on zhe table! An excellent choice!"
Despite his praise, Gideon was unimpressed with the brown-nosing. "Jean-Luc. What did we discuss about eye contact?"
"Yes, yes! Very good!" The waiter got the message and backed away.
Mabel continued to enjoy all the luxuries of the establishment. "Here I thought the dinner table back home was the only one with this many forks and is this water with bubbles in it? Ooh lala, oui oui!"
Her "date" gained an impress smile. "Oh. Parlez vous francias?"
"...I have no idea what you're saying."
"Say Mabel, I've been wondering. How is life in the Mystery Shack?" Gideon asked out of the blue. "One can only imagine what machinations go on in that deathtrap. Especially when your caretaker is someone as nasty and crude as Stanford Pines. Why, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that perhaps you've encountered some...shady operations."
"Hmmm..." Mabel tapped her chin. "Besides all the warrants, forged papers, and the smell of desperation, not really, no." She intentionally left out the parts of all her paranormal encounters, not sure if he was able to handle it.
Thinking about her uncle reminded Mabel about his reaction to her striking up a friendship with his competitor of all people and now that he thought about it, some of these patrons were taking pics of her with Gideon sames as when they had strolls, but there was no way that news would travel that fast.
Right?
"Mabel, I must say that spending such lovely dates with you is just so magical, it makes me excited for our next date." Gideon grinned flirtatiously.
"Whoa, whoa. You said only one date and this was it." Mabel reminded him with a frown. "Gideon, I'm sorry, but as much as I love hanging out with you, treating it as dating makes it...weird."
His fake smile still on, Gideon pulled one last trick up his sleeve. "It doesn't have to be. Tomorrow's date promises to top this one in every way. Hark! What a surprise! A red crested South American Macaw!" The exotic bird flew in on command. "Two...three...four..." Gideon gave it the signal to do as he commanded it.
"Mabel! Will! You! Accompany! Gideon! To! The Ballroom Dance! This! Thurbday!" Gideon shook it violently to correct its error. "Thursday!" The macaw coughed out a letter addressed to her.
This announcement drew the attention of most of the patrons who were taken by the sight of the town's resident celebrity asking his "girlfriend" out on a date. "They're expecting us. Please say you'll go." He implored, staring into her eyes.
Not only was his face too dang adorable to say no to, but the rest of the people in the restaurant gave them both their undivided attention, anxious to hear the girl's answer, and of course, the majority of them were Gideon fans and therefore were hoping that Mabel would happily accept his proposal. She sweats nervously, being put on the spot like this made her feel dread. Should she choose to deny his request, then more than one heart would be broken and she'd be indirectly responsible, and she didn't want to face that kind of thing. "Look, I'm going have to say..."
Curse her oversized heart.
Back in the shack, because Gideon once again stole more of his customers which lead to not making enough income than usual, Stan decided he might as well close up shop early and waste the rest of the day on the couch while keeping the television on until next morning. However, once he looked through the newspaper, he was welcomed to the sight of that little cretin, Gideon. But if that wasn't enough, he had to see a picture of the little monster holding hands with who was most definitely his own great nice, Mabel with the article detailing his rival's girlfriend of all things. The list of things to set Stan off was a long one, such as cops or refunds, but this was the one thing to top them all and he furiously went to the gift shop to find answers from the rest of his nieces and nephews about this.
"Hey, hey! Can someone tell me what the jackal is Mabel doing in the paper next to that crazy pickpocket, Gideon?!" Stan demanded, holding said article for them to see.
"Oh, yeah. It's like, a big deal." Wendy holds up her phone. "Everybody's going nuts about Gideon and Mabel's big date tonight."
"Which somehow dominates over my latest post." Lori crossed her arms bitterly. "It's one thing for girls from my school, but my own sister? That's a whole new low for me."
Stan paid no heed to Lori's dilemma, but did to what Wendy just told him. "WHAT?! That little shyster is dating one of my great nieces?!" You might as well empty out his entire vault by uttering that horrid sentence.
"I wonder what the new name will be for the new power couple?!" Soos said, looking up from a tabloid magazine with the two kids in on it, already brainstorming. "Mabideon? Gideabel?"
Leni raised her arm. "I got one! Magibeleon!"
"Oooh! Now that's a good one, Leni."
Fuming with unbridled rage, Stan exits the shop.
"Let it be known that we all advised Mabel not to, Grunkle Stanford." Lisa informed him, not wanting to suffer his wrath due to her sister's choices.
Their conman of a boss re-entered, dressed in his Man of Mystery formal wear, heading straight for the door. "Yeah? Well, it ends tonight. I'm going right down to that little skunks house, this is gonna stop right now!" He slams the door shut, making them flinch and he went straight to his personal car fit only for him. He was ready to give the little menace a piece of his mind.
Watching him leave, Soos had a funny thought and shared it with the others. "Dude, wouldn't it be funny if that was a closet, and he had to come back and go out the real door?"
"Cuz, that would be hilarious." Bobby agrees. "Hey, do you thing that really was a closet door? Does the gist shop even have one?"
"Huh, that's a good question." Soos had to admit.
"Wanna check?"
"...Sure?"
The older of the two cousins opens the door again. "Nope. Real door."
"I am supposed to be younger than you both, right?" Ronnie Anne blandly asked with an exasperated face.
Meanwhile, Stan drove straight for the home of his business rival and abruptly end whatever's going on between him and Mabel. It was one thing to poach potential customers and his parking space, but romancing one of his great nieces was the last straw. The seasoned conman was driving so fiercely and erratically, he just passed by the urchin's dwelling and had to back up a bit before storming up the front door while snorting in disgust at a cupid statue of Gideon and slams his fist on the door. "Gideon, you little punk! Open up, this is the perfect time to show you a little gesture and I don't care if you're a kid." He reads the sign on the door that told him to please pardon the garden. "I will pardon nothing!" He bellows, ripping the sign off.
The door finally opens, revealing Bud Gleeful, who surprisingly smiled upon seeing the old man. "Why, Stanford Pines! What a delight!"
"Out of the way, Bud! I'm looking for that creep son of yours!" Stan pushed him aside to see if the kid was inside.
"Afraid I haven't seen the boy around, but since you're here, you simply must come in for some coffee." Bud insists, pushing Stan into his home.
Stan didn't trust how hospitable the father of his chief rival was being, and wasn't going to stop in what he's going to do here. "B-But I came-"
"It's imported, you know. All the way from Colombia."
"Wow, I went to jail there once." Stan recounted with an impressed tone. He looks around and just had to whistle in appreciation, even he could admit that his rival knew how to live in style. "Some nice digs you got here." He spotted a portrait and takes a brief moment to admire its uniqueness that truly spoke to him in a way. "Oh, this. This is beautiful."
"Now, I have a hunch that you're here due to your niece and my Gideon are well, they're singing in harmony so to speak." Bud chuckles to himself.
That reminded Stan on why he came here in the first place. "Yeah, that's right and I'm against it!" he states, throwing a pillow down.
"No, no, no. I see it as a fantastic business opportunity. Just imagine it, the Mystery Shack and the Tent of Telepathy in a joint deal that benefits all those involved." Bud suggested with a charming grin and guides Stan around the house, trying to sway the conman to his point of view. Thus, securing the deal of a lifetime. "We've been at each other's throats for far too-lemme get that." Bud quickly removes a picture of Stan that was taped to a dartboard, making the darts fall. "As I was saying, we've had animosity with each other for far too long and I believe it's high time that we let go of past grievances to make a better tomorrow for everyone. We're not too different, Stanford. We're both after an equal goal and by ending this silly little rivalry, we have the chance to pool our collective profit, you see."
Stan instantly brightens at the mention of profit, if he hadn't opened the nearby cash register, he would've heard CHA-CHING in his mind. "I'm listening."
With her date with Gideon over and making the choice that she is no way very proud of, Mabel needed to consult with the others about what her next move should be, so she wasted no time in hightailing it back home so that she could tell them everything that happened at the fancy restaurant and how she made a big mistake. "How'd it go, Mabel?" Ronnie Anne asked once she passes by. Though, judging from her distraught expression, it was apparent that it didn't go as they had hoped.
"I-I don't know. We have a lobster now, so that's something."
"Let me get that." Lana puts the crustacean inside the fish tank. "Now, Axy can have a friend."
Lori got down on her knees and looks directly at the twelve-year-old. "Just to make sure, you made it clear to that kid that it was over and you'll never have to hang out with him again, right?" She grew concerned when Mabel briefly paused. "Mabel? You flat out told him that it was over, right? Mabel?" She pestered, using a stern big sister voice, used when absolutely necessary.
Mabel answered the only way she knew how to at the moment, by flailing her arms out with a frustrated yell. "He asked me out on another date and I just didn't know how to say no!"
"Quick wussing out, Mabel. It's not like kicking the main goal." Lynn told her.
"It's not that easy, Lynn! Maybe if it were just someone I barely know, but I do like Gideon. But, only as a friend or a sixth little sister, so I don't want to hurt his feelings, especially around so many people that were staring at us." Mabel defended. "I just need to get things back to where it used to be, as friends and nothing more."
"Pretty sure that's not how he saw it then." Lincoln spoke up. "Asking you out on more dates, just as soon as you both started hanging out? He probably wanted this from the beginning."
"The horse tracks that were left behind can attest to that." Lisa commented.
Just out of nowhere, a raccoon crashes through the window, surprising everyone and making them scramble. "Raccoon!" Lola shrieks, getting up on the table and panicking. "Quick, someone get me the broom!"
"Raccoon wife! Get back over here and stop disturbing the neighbors!" That southern accent was recognizable, along with the scent of a prospector hillbilly with no sense of sanity named Old Man McGucket. "This is why my son wouldn't let us move in with him, that and you kept scratching his face. You're lucky the possum said no. Otherwise, I would've kissed her accidentally."
Ronnie Anne peeked out the window and saw the mad old timer. "Who the heck is that old guy again?"
"Old Man McGucket, town's resident kook, we ran into him before." Lincoln explained.
"Didn't you tell us that he chased guys on Soos' boat through the lake inside a robot lake monster?"
"It was nuts." Luan laughs at her own quip. "He had a lot of bolts in the head."
"Eh, he's less dangerous when you get to know him."
"Sorry for the commotion, little fellers. I'm here at the behest of Gideon Gleeful." The gadgeteer looked to Mabel. "He personally wants you to meet him by the river right this second. Said it's mighty important."
"Uh..." Mabel gulped once she saw her siblings giving her stern glares, expecting her to finally deny a request for once, but then she thought that this was her chance to try and let him down easy and salvage a friendship with him as a result, putting an end to this whole thing in her own way without breaking any feelings. "Tell him I'll be right there." She flinches when they all collectively groan, prompting some things that needed to be said to her about her current romance.
"Just let it sink already!" Dipper exasperatedly shouts.
"Guys, just let me talk to him. If he really likes me so much. Then, maybe he'll listen."
Her optimism was admirable, but her hesitance was making it all more complicated than it needed to be. Nevertheless, she followed McGucket to the lake where Gideon was waiting, standing besides a boat with an oar for McGucket to use, stroking the small vessel along while Mabel and the child psychic sat quietly with each other. "What happened with dancing being the end of the night?" Mabel curiously asked, finding it odd that despite agreeing to another date with him, Gideon planned another special outing.
Gideon took her hands with his with a coy smile. "Don't you want this evening to last, my sweet?"
"No!" Mabel recoiled once he made a romantic move, which was what she was hoping to avoid for once. "I mean yes-I mean, I'm always happy to hang out with a friend, buddy, pal, chum, some other word for friend..." She trails off, attempting to convince him that she's not interested.
"Pal?" McGucket suggested.
"I already said that. Maybe mate?"
"I prefer soulmate." Gideon whispered with a half lidded look, making Mabel grimace. Even more so when the sound of fireworks caught her attention, making her turn and see them fly up and explode in the night sky with her name spelled out inside a heart.
Even McGucket found the gesture impressive. "Well, can't say no to that."
"If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare myself for later. My daddy bought me cherry flavored lip balm." Gideon suggestively told her, taking his leave while humming a happy tune.
He spent so much time being the little casanova, he was oblivious to how fully stressed out Mabel was now. Here she was aiming to convince him to only view one another as merely friends and nothing more and he practically pulls off another over the top romantic gesture that cements the fact that he's interested in something more than just a friendship with Mabel. There's no denying that even if she does deny him, that would do little in his advances to make Mabel his girl. All the girl could do was run, run as fast as she could back to the shack, her heart racing the whole time and not in the good way. She enters the living room and panted heavily, pacing around the room. She realizes that her siblings were right, Gideon was never going to stop unless she gets enough nerve to outright reject him.
Yet, he was still the sweetest little boy she's ever met and breaking his heart would make her seem like the bad guy. "...I can't keep doing this. But, I can't break his heart. I have no way out!"
Her ranting was interrupted by her siblings and the Santiagos. "What in the heck happened on that date?" Dipper asked the question that was on all their minds.
"I don't know! One minute, I was in the friendzone and then before I knew what was happening, he pulled me right in the romantic zone. It was like quicksand! Chubby quicksand!"
"So, basically, you wussed out again." Lynn correctly guessed.
"He used fireworks this time! FIREWORKS!"
"So, that's what it was." Bobby realized.
"Okay, but just chill out a little, Mabes." Luna wrapped an arm around her younger sister. "Just say no to him next time and that'll be the end of it, it's not like you have to marry him."
In a stroke of pure inconvenience, Stan enters wearing a Gideon t-shirt of all things. "Great news, Mabel. You have to marry Gideon!" He announced with a broad smile.
"What?!" Mabel exclaimed with horror while her siblings and friends were aghast.
"Grunkle Stan, who literally are you to decide that?!" Lori demanded with a glare.
"It's all part of a long-term deal I made with the runt's old man, Bud Gleeful. Lot of cash could come out of this and it's all thanks to our kids getting cozy with each other. Plus, I got this shirt." He realized that the shirt put a lot o emphasis on the gut he hides when he's the man of mystery, making him cringe. "Ugh, I am fat."
"AAAHHHH!" Mabl to the attic room.
Stan calls after her, missing the point. "Bodies change, honey! Bodies change..." He laments.
"This can't be legal." Ronnie Anne said with disgust. "Are we in another country or something?"
"We're not in America?"
"Leni, focus. Grunkle Stan, this is totally bogus!" Luna stated, getting words of agreement from the others.
"Yeah, Mabel doesn't even like Gideon that way." Lincoln pointed out. "She just wants to be friends with him. Her family isn't really doing her any favors by meddling like this. Would it work if she felt the same? Maybe, but she doesn't. If friends like each other that way, then let them choose..." he sent a glance toward Ronnie Anne. "...at least, that's what I think."
"Uh, yeah. What Lincoln said." Ronnie Anne cleared her throat, hiding away a blush.
"That was pretty specific." Bobby observed.
"Can it, Bobby!" Both kids told him.
"Let's see you complain when the Mystery Shack hits hits it big and we're all swimming in all the sweet moolah coming from this. I'm gonna go ahead and start my plans for very late retirement. No interruptions!"
"Okay, I think I speak for all of us when I say that enough is enough." Lincoln speaks up. "Even though I never like it when there's meddling in whatever's going on with a sibling. This time, it just might be what Mabel needs. Ronnie Anne, Bobby, you two should stay here. We can go and talk to Mabel ourselves." He said, and both nod in understanding.
As the only ones in the family with enough sense, her siblings went to their bedroom to see how their poor sister was doing in light of her relationship with Gideon escalating beyond a simple friendship, without her ever wanting it to be that way to begin with. To their respective grief, they saw her completely in her sweater, having pulled it up to cover her entire being. "Oh, geez. It's worse than we thought, you guys." Lincoln grimaced with the rest, knowing full well what this meant.
"Mabel..." Dipper tried reaching her.
Her depressive and melancholy tone was painful for them to hear. "Mabel's not here. She's in sweater town."
Lori knelt down with a light smile. "Does Mabel want to come out of sweater town?" Her answer was a whine from her sister.
"At least use the sweater you made today, it was totally needle-less." Luan got no response. "Aw come on, Mabel. You're my one good critic."
Lisa clears her throat. "If I may interject for the sole purpose of proposing one of vast suggestions of mine that would put an abrupt end to Mabel's plight forthwith. During the entirety of all that has been occurring, we all can safely ascertain that due to our dear sister's hesitation in denying Gideon's romantic advancements, that is the main obstacle to the solution to this plight. With that in mind, our clear course of action must be to speak on Mabel's behalf ourselves."
"You mean...if she won't break up with him, we should do it for her?" Lucy asked.
"Seriously? That's as bad as Mabel not having the guts." Lynn declared. "Girl needs to suck it up already and take care of her own business."
"When do you think that can happen? After the honeymoon?" The comedian retorted. "Besides, Stan sure as heck won't be any help. Might as well be us."
"Precisely. As stated before, there are other vast suggestions. But, that's the only option that has the least probability of going to jail. I like to think we all learned our lesson after county."
"You-You guys would do that?" Mabel asked, her eyes peeking out from sweater town. Seeing them all nod in affirmation, Mabel felt her spirits finally rise up and happily hugs them all out of joy and relief. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
From what their sister told them, this seemed like the place.
After the boat ride provided for by the town's local kook on the lake, Gideon reminded her about the exquisite ballroom dance date she promised at The Club, which was obviously the kind of setting for a couple in love. Only thing was that Mabel was in now way interested and if Gideon won't listen to her, then perhaps her family can help spell it out for him. "Okay, this kid may be a creep, buy you gotta admire his tastes in restaurants." Lori spoke, already planning future dates with Bobby here.
"There he is." Lola pointed to a table with only one patron with a huge menu board, the tiny hands were a huge giveaway, that and the smell of hair gel and they advanced towards him.
A clearing of the throat from Dipper made the child place the board down. "Oh, well if it isn't the rest of the Loud folk. Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Dipper, Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily I believe." Gideon noted, surprised that they were here. He planned this entire night with only one Loud sibling in mind. "Y'all are looking well."
"Thanks." Dipper tried finding the words. "So...look, we sorta have to talk about our sister, Mabel. See, she...well-"
Lola beats him to the punch. "She doesn't want to see you again. Like ever." Lily blew a raspberry from the pageant girl's arms."
"Poo-Poo!"
Gideon tilted his head, trying to make sure he heard her right. "Beg your pardon?"
"Look, little dude. Our sis liked you at first, but only as a friend, you know?" Luna explained. "She's totally weirded out by all this dating business you keep piling on her."
"But, that doesn't mean she doesn't like it." Leni assured him. "Girls just need, like, some space and junk."
"The animals were nice, though." Lana shrugged.
"Although, she's not dealing with all this pretty well, she would've come here to say this herself, but she was a bit scared." Lincoln gestures to himself, his brother, and their sisters. "As her family, we just wanna make sure she doesn't get hurt."
"Otherwise, others can get hurt." Lynn stretched her hands, making cracking sounds. "You know what I mean, right?"
Lucy stood in front of the jock. "Don't take that seriously. We come in peace."
"So yeah, this whole thing you're doing with our sister, it's literally done for. She can post it online to make it official if she wanted to." Lori held out her phone. "Heck, I could make a post about it myself right now and it'd still be a done deal."
Gideon allowed them to speak their minds to him, voicing their shared discomfort at his pursuit for the heart of Mabel Loud, intentionally making themselves obstacles in the path he has made for himself, sparking a fire inside him. "So,...what you're saying is...y'all are coming between us." The beloved little boy surmised, his right eye twitching and a tick mark on his head, along with his fists tightly clenching.
Dipper was the first to notice his change in demeanor, especially that intense glare he sent them and tries to diffuse the situation. "Hey, you're not gonna like, freak out or anything, are you?" he warily asks.
The young psychic kept his steel gaze before brightening up, feigning a front of understanding. "Of course not. These things happen all the time, bygones and all that."
"Oh. Well, cool. We're just gonna go now." Dipper jerked his thumb to the exit.
"Sorry it had to go like this. But, thumbs up, right?" Lincoln smiled apologetically.
As the Louds made their exit, Gideon's gaze followed them out. "Thumbs up indeed, my friend." he whispered ominously, showing a subtle glimpse of the kind of child he really was. When he asked Mabel to hang out with him, he saw it as his chance to gain what he's sought for and gain an added reward in a lovely vibrant girl to call his own.
No one was going to stand in the way of that.
Outside, Mabel tentatively waited for siblings to come back, hoping things didn't end sourly with a heart broken and guilt she wasn't sure she could ever get over. She spotted them exiting and rapidly asked to get answers. "How'd it go? Please tell me he's not mad. Did he try to read your minds with his psychic powers?"
"It's all good, brah." Luna smirked. "Little man didn't flip out. So, that's something."
"Told you it was easy to reject him." Lori crossed her arms. "Let this be a lesson to all of you that these are things an older sister knows plenty about."
Lincoln nudged her. "But, we did it because we care about what you want, Mabel."
"Just don't expect us to solve all your problems for you." Lynn said. "Gotta learn to speak for yourself."
"And please stop humoring him with his preposterous abilities." Lisa rolled her eyes. "He is but a feckless youth with no characteristics that are paranormal in origin."
The last thing Gideon remembered watching the Loud clan leave the club and the darkness of the night hiding his scowl of unequaled rage that adorned his youthful features. Without so much as a word, he had texted his father to come pick him up and take him back home.
"Hope you had a good time on your little date, son." Bud said slyly. "Romancing one of Stan's kin was genius. This deal with him will make us more cash than our stop in Nebraska." Bud didn't pay heed to his son's sullen silence, only ranting about the eventual mass assorts of money he'll get from the recent deal made with their former rival. Arriving home, Bud unbuckles the seat belt for him and places him down where the child silently walks inside where his mother just kept on vacuuming, walking by her.
"Mother."
Out of earshot, Mrs. Gleeful shivered. "He's mad..."
Inside Gideon's bedroom, he sits in front of his reflection with a candlelight and the mirror lights being the only source of illumination. He pants heavily once images of Mabel's siblings flashed through his mind. His temper rose out of the gall those kids showed in denying him what was rightfully his and his alone, not just Mabel, but the key to the secret within the shack that's ripe for the taking. All his life, he's gotten everything handed to him and from his view, there's no denying Gideon Gleeful and nobody has the right to do so. Not his parents, not Stanford Pines, and certainly not those impudent brats that are intent in keeping Mabel away from him.
"Children of Louds. You lot don't know what you've done." He growls out, grasping the amulet that was aligned to his necktie and suddenly, it glows with a light blue aura. The candle rose up with the light bulbs of the mirror shattering all at once. Every furniture in his room were telekinetically lifted at the command of the child. "You just made the biggest mistakes of your lives!" With a flick of his hand, his dresser was thrown down, along with the rest of the objects, making a complete mess of his once neat room, getting his father's attention.
Opening his door, Bud saw the room in shambles. "Gideon Charles Gleeful, clean up your room this instant!" Bud reprimanded sternly.
His only son turned to him with a glower of pure fury. "I CAN BUY AND SELL YOU, OLD MAN!" Gideon roars with a warning.
A moment of silence later, Bud concedes. "...Fair enough." He leaves to allow his son to keep raving.
Gideon looked to the various pictures of Mabel that decorated his door with, focusing on the group photo she was in with her siblings. With the powers of the amulet, he burns away all but her.
Soon, she'll only need him in her life.
There's no place for her family in their new lives together, because their own lives will already have ended.
He'll see to it personally.
Tomorrow was spent with more fun and games for the Louds, Mabel especially needed it now that all that mess with Gideon was over and done, she can now goof around with people who she loves without a care. Still, a part of her was saddened since this means she and couldn't hang out anymore. Despite his obsession with her, she got along great with him at first. Well, there wasn't much to do anything now, except for ramming Soos who was stuffing his shirt with a pillow.
"Hit me with all you got, dudes!"
Dipper, Mabel, Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, Lynn, and Lana charged straight for the gut only to be repelled by the added pillow protection, bouncing off to the ground, laughing. "Let's go again!" Lynn punches her opened palm with a determined grin. "This time, I wanna try with my helmet. It completely wasted the dummies during practice!"
"I'm so glad everything's back to normal!" Mabel laid back on the grass with a content smile.
"You guys sure the kid will keep his word and back off?" Ronnie Anne asked with a skeptical look. "Seemed a bit too easy that he just lets it go without a fight. He brought an actual horse to the shack for crying out loud, just to ask Mabel out on a date."
"You're supposed to say no offense at the end there, Ronnie Anne."
"No love letters or messenger birds have come in." Lincoln responded. "At least, so far."
"In case he does try something again, I got my bat ready just in case." Lynn proudly said.
They then heard the telephone ringing and Lincoln wasn't going to come in last this time around. "Dibs not it!" He quickly says, placing a finger on his nose. His siblings followed suit, with Dipper being the last one.
"Dang it." With a frustrated huff, Dipper went to answer the phone. "Hello? If this is Rico, Stand Pines isn't here. He's somewhere as a coal miner." He recited the cover story Stan had them all memorize in case a man named Rico ever came comes calling. No one dared pressed the matter, the less each of them know, the better.
"Toby Determined. Gravity Falls Gossiper."
If memory serves right, the last time he saw the wannabe news reporter was when the kids held him responsible for Wax Grunkle Stan's murder, which left a bad taste in everyone's mouths. "Oh. Hey, man. Sorry for accusing you for murder last week." He apologized, making a mental note to apologize to Manly Dan next. Having also accused him might put a strain on his chances with Wendy.
"Water under the bridge. Say, we want to interview you about whether or not you've seen anything unusual in this here town since you arrived."
Dipper spoke out in delight. "Oh, finally! I thought no one would ever ask! I have tons of notes and theories. Cool if I bring two more of my siblings? They'd want in on this." He takes out a notepad and pen to write down the directions. "Okay, that's 412 Gopher Road. Tonight? You got it, man." The eager mystery solver yelled for his prodigy little sister and his only brother. "Hey, Lisa! You there?! Lincoln! Get in here, bro!"
"Elder brother, please refrain from raising your vocal chords for the sole purpose of exclaiming our designations, you're scaring the gnome specimen Lana manged to collect for me." A crashing sound was heard. "Of whom is now free."
"What's up, Dipper?" Lincoln asked.
"You won't believe who just called. It was that Toby Determined guy from the gossiper, he said he wanted to have an interview about all the crazy supernatural stuff that's been going on in this town!" Dipper excitedly told them.
Both of his siblings gasped. "Whoa! That's huge!" His only brother smiled in excitement, fist bumping him. "People's minds would be blown by everything we've seen. We could even have our own TV show!"
"With the aid of my various colleagues from some of the most noteworthy institutions and lab corporations, we could erect a personal division stationed right here dedicated to the documentation, research, and study of the massive array of impossible variables. They'll have to invent a whole new award that even surpasses the Nobel for this and I'd be considered the pioneer of such a movement!" Lisa lets out a rare sight of giddiness.
"I got the directions right here. Let's go!"
The three of them run out the door past Lori, who nearly falls over. "Hey, watch it! Stan's phone cases are cheaper than they look!" A sound from her phone made her look to see that she got a new message.
-HEY, BABE. EPIC DATE PLANNED TONIGHT RIGHT HERE-BBBXOXO
After she finished reading it, Lori squealed excitedly, making Luna who was sitting by the counter with her guitar cover her ears. "Dang, and you complain about me turning my amps. What's your damage, big sis?"
"Bobby just texted me about a date for later. The three B's stand for Boo-Boo Bear. He always leaves those at the end of his texts!" Lori swoons, holding the phone close to her chest.
"Dude, I just saw the Bob-ster unclogging the toilet with Soos, don't know how he could've sent a text dealing with that mess." Luna said with sympathy for the cousins. "Also, why couldn't he have just asked you out in person? You're in the same place."
"Obviously, he's excited, so he doesn't want to waste any time." Another beep was heard, but it was from Luna's phone.
What the rocker read made her eyes sparkle. "Righteous! Someone sent out a mass text or something about a concert gig. This can be my big debut in Gravity Falls!"
"Hey, we got one, too." Luan and Lucy walked up. "A new comedy club opened up and an ad was released online."
"Apparently, it's one-half of the same club, the other half being a poetry reading. If I could, I'd express a feeling of exquisite joy, but I decide not to." Lucy looked up at her older sister. "We should hurry and collect our good material."
The jokester ruffled her little sister's head affectionately. "Read my mind, Luce."
Outside, Lana stopped what she was doing and caught whiff of something. It was the aroma of the candy crafted by the gods themselves, she could easily recognize it as chocolate. And lo, there they were, chocolate bars littered on the ground, organized into rows and more importantly, they were ripe for the taking.
But, she wasn't the only one who noticed. Lola and Lily also spotted the mouth watering treats and followed the trail to see where the source is, hoping to find more. Lynn was doing some push-ups, until she got hit by an incoming projectile, making her groan and looked to see that it was a football of all things that hit her. "Alright, who's the wise guy? I almost broke a new record." She noticed a note attached to the ball and pulled it off to read the contents.
It was a challenge directed at her to see if she truly was the toughest of them all.
"So, someone's calling Lynnsanity out." She cracked her knuckles and followed the directions on it. "Oh,this will be good."
None of the siblings were aware of the sinister plan that was in motion.
The three siblings who were meeting with Toby Determined were making their way to the destination at the exact time of night and stopped once they found the address. "Um, Dipper. He did say 412, right?" Lincoln asked his brother as they along with Lisa stop to see that they were meeting at a factory. That was suspicious enough alone since it's not the place one would normally meet a journalist to exchange info, even if it is a pretender like Toby. What really set them off was that the factory itself seemed to be abandoned.
"Yeah, this looks like the place." Dipper confirms. Though, he was beginning to feel uncertain as they walked up.
"What are you three doing here?" A familiar spoke in confusion and they saw their oldest sibling.
"Lori?" All three raised brows at her presence.
"I believe that's an inquiry we should ask ourselves." Lisa crossed her arms. Dipper was contacted by a local reporter, of whom instructed to meet him at this exact location precisely at the given time."
"What? But, Boo-Boo Bear texted me about a date here." The young woman looked snidely away. "Honestly, his choice in date nights and standing me up will cost him a lot of hand holding and kissing privileges."
"Hang back a sec. You mean there isn't a rock concert here?" More surprises came in the forms of the rest of the siblings, each having arrived at the factory as well, each for their own different reasons. "Bogus, I was rearing to pull off a new tune I cooked up." The rockstar sister bitterly scowled.
Lucy looked at the ground, downcast. "Sigh. I should've known it was too good to be true."
"This has to be some darn kids' trick, because tricks are for kids." Luan snickered, but glared soon after. "But seriously, I hate this as much as you guys."
"Guess I brought my lucky baseball bat for nothing." Lynn lamented.
"Noo cndy...?" Lily babbled with a lip quiver, being carried by the little princess.
"What a rip-off! Lana, stop eating the bits from the ground." Lola tells her twin.
"Might as well make the best of it."
"So, basically, we all got punked." Lori concludes with a frown that could keep all the siblings in line when their parents would leave her in charge. "That was a mistake." She opens the doors and they walk inside where there was barely any light on, just an empty room full of broken down equipment and materials. The siblings turn to leave, knowing that there was nothing for them here, but the doors abruptly closed shut and the lights turned on one by one until shining down on a single chair that spins around to reveal Gideon, brushing the fake hair of a doll made in his likeness.
"Hello, friends." He greets with a devious smirk.
"Gideon?" Lincoln puts the pieces together and finally realized. "Were you the one who dragged us here?"
"Amazing what a phone number of a female news reporter, leaving chocolate trails, copying some idiot's text name, making fake messages, and paying someone off to throw a ball can get you." Gideon started playing with Toy-Gideon's arms a bit. "Tell me something, children. How long have y'all been living in this quaint town? A week or two? You like it here so far? Enjoying the nice scenery? Although, I can't say being in that crusty old shack must be a treat. Can only imagine what goes on there. Perhaps you could indulge me?"
There was a unanimous sense of being unnerved by his queries among the siblings, not seeing a reason why he would want to know anything or why use the shack as an example. That place was fake as he was, and they work/live there. "Okay, is literally a point to this?" Lori asks, both irritated by his questioning and being set up by him. "I'm already angry with you messing with me, my sister, and my boo-boo bear."
"Don't take me light, girl. Same goes to all of you!" Gideon said, tone laced with a warning omen. "This town has secrets none of you can even begin to comprehend!"
"Is this about breaking you and Mabel up?" Lynn groaned with an eye roll. "Dang it, shrimp. What do you need us to do for you to realize she's just not into you?"
"LIES! You all turned her against me!" He hopped off the chair, glaring accusingly at all of them while grabbing his amulet. "She was my peach dumpling and none of you had the right to get in the way!"
"Okay, let me handle this, guys." The jock girl moved forward with her bat.
However, such barbaric action didn't faze Gideon in the slightest. He taps into the powers of his amulet and with a raise of his hand, the Loud siblings were all surrounded in light blue auras and are lifted up in mind-air. The siblings were caught off guard of this action, Lola held strongly onto Lily who began to tear up in fright, he flings them into stacks of boxes, making merchandise and foam fall down on them. Gideon snickers sadistically as he stands over them as if they were ants to him, they stared, but now with awe and with fear. "Reading feeble minds ain't all I can do."
"N-Not probable..." Lisa stuttered. "You are but a fraid...!"
"Tell me, little girl. This seem fake to you?" The uncanny telekinetic abilities that the amulet bestowed upon the psychotic child allowed him more him-based merchandise rise up, all floating over the Louds and ready to remove them from Mabel's life permanently.
Unaware of the current plight her siblings found themselves in, Mabel sat outside alone on the front porch deep in thought while chewing on her hair. She was thankful for her siblings willing to break things off with Gideon for her, but she was beginning to realize it might not have been the best way to end it. As much as she was afraid of hurting Gideon's feelings, Lynn did have a point, she can't count on her family to fight all her battles for her all the time. It was her problem, so she needed to fix it herself. "How's the hair tasting, buddy?" Wendy remarked as she, Ronnie Anne, and Bobby sit beside her.
"Everything alright, Mabel?" Bobby asked.
"Wendy, Bobby. I need some teen advice." She addressed the only teenagers present. "You two have broken up with people before, right?"
Bobby hums in thought. "Hmm. Well, there was that one time I broke up with Lori over what Lincoln said about Ronnie Anne." That earned him a punch to his precious side.
"Still a dummy move, by the way." Ronnie Anne reminds him. "Idiots were teasing him, whatever's between me and Linc does NOT involve you or Lori."
"I get it. Last punches you gave me taught me that, Nie-Nie." Bobby rubs his side gently. "Lori's the one serious relationship I've had and honestly, it is just great. What about you, Wendy?"
The red haired cashier shakes her head with remembrance. "Oh, definitely. Ross Durham, Eli Hall, Stoney Davidson..."
"Gideon still on your mind, sweaters?" Ronnie Anne asked.
Mabel nodded somberly. "I don't get what's wrong with me, you guys. I thought when Dipper and the others spoke for me, things could finally get back to normal, but I still feel all gross."
"...Mike Worely, Nate Holt, and don't even get me started on the tattooed guy..."
"Look, relationship tips aren't exactly my forte, but if it were me, talking it out would've been just fine." Ronnie Anne tells her, giving her own two cents on the matter.
"Huh. I guess letting my siblings do it for me was a mistake." No matter how much she was afraid of the outcome, that didn't change the fact that it was Mabel's responsibility to resolve and problem she faces and the luxury of having those to do it for her can be very rare. She stands tall with a newfound sense of determination. "Gideon deserves an honest breakup. I owe him that much."
"...Danny Feldman, Mark Epston..." Wendy thought about the last guy and realized something. "Oh, man. I'm not sure I actually broke up with him. No wonder he keeps calling me on my phone and the house cell."
"Think you can drive me to him?" Mabel asks Bobby.
"Of course. But, I was just about to ask you where Lori was."
Mabel stares in confusion. "What do you mean? She's on that date with you."
"What date?"
"Earlier, she got a text about you asking her out. I thought you came back because you forgot something."
"I was cleaning out the bathroom with Soos. Trust me, there is no time to do anything else besides that until the job's done." Bobby shivers at the memories.
"Wasn't that around the time the others had their own plans and left around the same time?" Ronnie Anne noted, suspicion growing. "Hey, Mabel. Do you know where Gideon is right now?"
"Uh, yeah. He sometimes goes to his family's factory. Why?"
Ronnie Anne grabs the Loud sister and her big brother, heading straight for the family van. "We need to check something out. Don't wait up for us, Wendy, and maybe work on your boundary skills. Just saying."
Wendy didn't have time to respond as her phone was being called by the very same boy. "Ignore."
Gideon Gleeful was a fake like their uncle.
That was the natural conclusion most of the Louds made when they first went to the Tent of Telepathy.
All they saw was a show off dancing fancy showtunes with an obsession for their sister.
His commercial certainly didn't say anything about him possessing actual abilities that normal science and logic couldn't explain thanks in part to a unique gemstone inside his amulet, abilities that he was using to try and kill them with right now. They all scattered around the factory to dodge all the oncoming merchandise that were thrown their way with extreme force. Gideon cackles maniacally, having the time of his life by threatening the lives of his crush's family.
"Leni, copy machine at your 3'o clock!" Luna tackles her sister out of the way, dodging coffee mugs as well.
"I thought it was seven?"
"Just come on!"
"Make a break for the door!" Lincoln told them, holding Lana and Lisa's wrists. But, as soon as they ran for the exit, a huge cabinet blocks their path and with Gideon's command, it fell down down where they ran out of the way.
Bubblewrap moved like snakes and wrapped around Luan, Lori, and Lucy. Their struggling was music to Gideon's ears as he lifts them up and quickly went to work on trapping the twins, Lisa, and Lily inside boxes while having wrapping paper constrict Lincoln, Leni, and Luna, making their bodies collide with each other. Dipper and Lynn were the only ones who were left free and were distraught over their siblings' capture. "Grunkle Stan was right all along..." Dipper shakes his head. "You ARE a monster!"
"Who'll have your sister at my side! The way it should be!" The psychotic little psychic laughs evilly along with toy-him.
"Alright, that's it!" Lynn picks up her bat that had been littered on the ground and grabbed another bat encased in a package, handing it to her brother. "Should've just knocked that crazy head of your back at the club!" The brother and sister duo boldly charged, raising their weapons when Gideon took the time to play with his doll, but he simply levitated them up with the rest.
"This could've been avoided if you had just let myself and my Mabel be at peace with each other!" Gideon furiously declares. "But no, you just had to stand in the way of true love, trying to selfishly keep her away from me, her soulmate!"
"Are you still on that?!" Lincoln exclaimed. Though scared out of his mind, hearing Gideon still rant about about his delusions was getting on not only his nerves, but the nerves of the others. "If anyone's selfish, it's you! Mabel never wanted to date you, she just wanted a friend to spend time with. But, then you got this creepy crush on her and she didn't like it!"
Luan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you little creep! Trust us, if Mabel wanted a boyfriend, she would've made it as obvious as you did!"
"And you literally think threatening her family like this will change her mind?!" Lori looks at Gideon with pure hate and disgust, the same feelings the girl in question would feel. "She would rather hate you forever than even think about dating you! She wouldn't even want you as a friend anymore!"
"You're being a huge brat, more than even Lola!" Lana shouts from her box. "No offense." she says to her fellow box occupant.
"Honestly, I'm inclined to agree."
Gideon's body trembles with anger as they continued laying onto him about the reality that no matter what he does, there was no way Mabel could ever return his feelings, but he refused to accept that. "No. More. LIES!" He roars, taking a look at boxes full of sharp shears and grins with excitement, ready to finish this. "And by my hair, I'll make sure you'll never lie to me again." The shears were ripped from their packages and he moved them close to each of the Louds, going in for the kill, making them gasp in horror.
"G-Guys? What's happening?" Lana asked form her box, tearing up.
"Just don't worry! We'll think of something!"
Empty promises were the worst.
"Gideon! Stop!"
Fate seemed to be smiling down on the Louds due to the timely arrival of Mabel, Ronnie Anne, and Bobby. "Babe!" The teenager shouts in dread, looking up to his trapped girlfriend.
"Lincoln!" Ronnie Anne was equally distraught for her own Loud.
The person of Gideon's obsession being halted Gideon and dropped the shears, not wanting to seem like the bad guy, but it was too late for that. "M-Mabel. My sweet marshmallow. What're you doing here?" He asked, using his false innocent routine.
His little facade may have won her over once, but Mabel saw with horror of what was about to happen through the window and for the first time since meeting him, she now sees who the kind of person Gideon Gleeful truly was past his cute doe eyes, sweet smile, and dashing charismatic nature. This was a person she could never as a boyfriend, or even as a friend. It was high time he finally figured that out. But first, she needed to let his guard down. "I'm sorry, Gideon. But, I can't be your marshmallow. I should've told you that from the start." She says with an apologetic frown.
"I-I don't understand..." Gideon trembles, taken back. He squeezed his amulet tight, it's magic beginning to suffocate the Louds still caught in his grip.
"Hey...Mabel...!" Lynn chokes out. "Stoked your finally showing some backbone, but could you be brutally honest with him later?!"
"Preferably when he's not attempting to murder us!" Lisa shouts in agreement, finding it hard to breathe.
Mabel looks at them with concern, but gave them a knowing nod to assure them that she had a plan, sending subtle glances towards the Santiago siblings. "Hey, but, we can still be makeover buddies, right?" She offers with a small smile, holding his hands reassuringly. "Wouldn't you like that at least?"
"Really?" Gideon asked with hope, not noticing her staring at his amulet the whole time and once she got her chance, shouted out the tough girl's name."
"Now, Ronnie Anne!" Mabel grabs his hands tight, so that he couldn't stop the skater girl from yanking the amulet out of his tie. Mabel then promptly lets go to allow Bobby to push Gideon away.
"Of course not!" Ronnie Anne hands the amulet to Bobby to keep it out of his reach, freeing the siblings from Gideon's control and getting back up. "You just tried to kill my family! What's wrong with you?!" Mabel exclaimed, surprised that he actually thought he still had a chance.
"My tie! Give it back!"
"Bro, heads up!" Bobby throws it to Lincoln and they begin a game of keep away, the amulet was thrown from sibling to sibling until Dipper caught it with a triumphant grin.
"Ha! Not so powerful without this-whoa!" Dipper yells out when Gideon manages to ram him with a scream, intent on retrieving his prized trinket. The child psychic was stronger than he looked, as both fell through the broken window.
"Dipper!" Everyone shouts in fear as both boys plummeted down the cliffside in a freefall.
Initially, both screamed out in terror as they fell, but then it became a mid-air slap fight between both of them, which would only end until they eventually hit the ground. But fortunately, it never came. Both were caught by the same magic Gideon used to attack the Louds, this time being utilized by Mabel who used it to also levitate herself and the others safely down. She lands her twin gently, but was more rough with Gideon. "Listen, Gideon." She began, standing over her former friend. "I will never, ever, date you." She firmly tells him, handing the amulet over to Lisa who tucks it away.
Her family and friends cheered her on for her assertiveness.
"Yeah!"
"You tell him, sis!"
"Punch out his face for extra measure!"
"Lynn!"
"The little freak just tried to kill us!"
"My powers!" Gideon shouts in dismay over the loss of the source of his gifts and the loss of Mabel's adoration. But this didn't mean this was the end, that couldn't be farther from the truth. "Oh, this isn't over." He warns them threateningly. "This isn't the last you'll see of wittle. Ol'. Me..." He made sure to get his message across, all while backing away into the forest.
"He does know we can still see him, right?" Lucy asked.
Without another word, the gathered family and friends enveloped each other in a group hug out of relief, thankful that they all made it out of such a harrowing experience once again, and even though Gideon's warning was clear in their minds, they were not concerned. For without his amulet, what else could he possibly do?
"Ah. Now this is living, brother." Stan sighs in content, reclining back on the push couch. He was in the Gleeful household to finish signing up official paperwork that would finalize the partnership he and Bud made. Both businessmen were in high spirits, looking forward to all the spoils they'll get thanks to this deal.
"That it is, Stanford." Bud agreed, taking a sip of water. "Just think, from here on out, it'll be all name brand foods and clown paintings." Just as both tipped their glasses in solidarity, Gideon storms in, his father was unaware of how livid he looked which skyrocketed once the child sees Stan sitting comfortably in his own home. "Hey, welcome back, sonny." Bud casually greets. "Stan stopped by to-"
"Stanford Pines, I hereby rebuke thee!" Gideon hotly declared to the con man. "Do you hear me?! You are rebuked!"
"Rebuke?" Stan repeats with a confused eyebrow raise. "That even a word?"
"The entire Pines-Loud family has incurred my fury!" Gideon bitterly seethes at him. "One day, I will make it so that every last one of your kin will pay recompense for their unrepentant transgressions!"
"Geez, you sound like Lisa." Stan chuckles, not taking him seriously. "What, do you both to bed with the same dictionary?"
Bud clears his throat with a nervous laugh, trying to calm his son down before irreparable damage can be made. "But, sunshine. What about your arrangement with Mabel and-?"
"SILENCE!" Gideon demands, face red. "You can take that deal and rip it to shreds for all I care! I want him off my property yesterday!"
Both men share an uncomfortable silence over the boy's anger fueled rant, and Bud knew well enough that there was no negotiating with his boy when he gets like this, and so, she speaks to Stan. "Looks like he's gone into another one of his rage spills, again. Kids these days." Though this was such a wasted opportunity, Bud wasn't foolish enough to argue with Gideon, so Bud takes the contract and like the child wished, it was ripped up, much to Stan's shock and disappointment. He just watched his dreams of be torn to shreds.
With this, any business partnership between the Mystery Shack and the Tent of Telepathy was gone, and it was back to its previous state of a rivalry.
Huffing, Stan stood up. "You know what? Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." But before he leaves, he has one last sneaky idea that relates to the clown painting and before the Gleefuls knew it, he rips it off the wall and runs out.
"Um, Stan?" Bud called, clearly not expecting this. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need that painting you done stole back. Stan? STAN?!" He could shout all he wanted, there'd be no response.
"Try and catch me, suckers!" Stan challenges with a laugh, placing the painting in his car and driving off, pulling one last trick on his rivals was good enough for him.
Arriving back at the shack, the kids were all laid all over the living room, collectively exhausted from their encounter with Gideon. Despite how horrible the ordeal was, it was a good thing no one got injured during the debacle. The amulet they managed to steal from Gideon was hidden safely away in an impenetrable safe Lisa made herself for any objects of great importance. With Gideon no longer a threat. at least for the night, they were free to get some much needed rest.
Not a word was spoken up until they heard Stan drive up in his car who walks inside with the prize he swiped from the Gleefuls and mounted it on the wall with a forlorn expression. "I could've had it all." He notices how his niblings and employees looked a little worse for wear. "The heck happened to you all?"
"Gideon." All responded.
"Gideon." Stan scoffed with disdain. "Not only did the little mutant ruin our chances for potential big bucks, but he swore revenge on the whole family." He recalled, laughing at the notion. "Heh, guess I better watch out for him nibbling on my ankles."
"Yeah..." Lincoln responded, remembering that without the amulet, the worst Gideon could do was throw a tantrum. "Yeah, how's he gonna destroy us now? By reading our signs?"
They shared a group laugh out of that. "Maybe he could tell me where Mr. Cocoanuts was made." Luan snickered, gaining genuine laughs for once and they weren't just from Mabel.
"Or maybe he could guess what number we're thinking." Dipper remarks.
"He'd never guess what I'm thinking of." Mabel proclaimed. "Negative eight! No one would guess a negative number!"
"You should totes tell him and make him look like a joke!"
No one bothered to correct Leni.
"Uh-Oh, you feel that?" Lucy did a fake shiver. "You can practically feel his nefarious plotting of our destruction right this second."
Mabel stops laughing and frowns a little. "Listen, you guys. I'm sorry for not rejecting Gideon sooner." She says with guilt. "I shouldn't have hung out with him or be amazed by his 'powers' to begin with. That way, none of this would've happened. And if I had ended it myself without having to let you guys get involved, then he wouldn't have felt the need to hurt you."
Luna rubs her sister's long brown hair. "Don't beat yourself up about it, Mabes. Not your fault the runt turned out to be totally mental."
"And you were in a bad place, we always look out for our family." Lincoln adds with a hand on her shoulder.
"Mablll..." Lily hugs her big sister's waist, making her smile in gratitude.
"We're gonna head to Soos'." Bobby said, leaving with Ronnie Anne. "See you tomorrow."
"That's your cue to hit the hay, I gotta cancel a lot of reservations." Stan tells them, watching them go up to drift off away to sleep.
Even after late hours, Gideon was still fuming about his defeat at the hands of the Louds. His new vendetta against them was one that he would pour a lot of energy into, he swore that they will regret ever crossing him and denying him of what he wanted. Them, and anyone foolish enough to be associated with shall be punished accordingly at his hand. Didn't matter when and how, he just knew that in an endless list of goals, getting his revenge on the Pines-Loud family was item number one.
He dealt with his anger the only way he knew how, by acting his frustrations through newly crafted wooden crude doll figures of the Louds and Santiagos to add to his collection of similar figures of nearly every resident of Gravity Falls. He plays around with the Mabel doll, using it to voice out what he wanted the real deal to think. "Gideon, I still love you. If only my stupid family wouldn't get in the way."
Next was the Stan doll. "Look at me. I"m so old and smelly."
"Duh, where do babies come from?" He uses a dimwitted tone for the Leni doll.
The Lori doll was waved around. "Blah-Blah-Blah, Boo-Boo Bear this and phone that."
"Give me something to hit while I stink up my body with sweat." The Lynn doll was held upside down.
Gideon glares hatefully at the Dipper doll. "What're you gonna do without your precious amulet?"
Losing the amulet was a great loss, that much Gideon was willing to admit. But, though he was might miffed by how easily they managed to take it away, he was undeterred. For there were many ways to go about fulfilling his dreams of revenge against those who have wronged him, so much for him to choose from. "Oh, you'll see, boy..." He said in a hushed foreboding tone, closing the old book lying on his desk. The cover itself was red with a six-fingered hand marked by the number two. "You'll all see..."
End Credit Scene
"You done?" Soos asked anxiously with his back turned.
"Not yet." Mabel responded.
"This requires patience, Soos." Lola advises him.
"How about now?"
"Almost, and there."
Getting the all clear, he turns around to show his front side being covered by sequins. "Hit it, Luna."
Lucy turns the light off while Bobby shines the flashlight at Soos, lighting up the place as if he was a disco ball with Luna playing fitting music on a radio, being observed by the kids. They watch as he slowly spins around, illuminating the shack into their own personal disco dance club, the only critic was Stan who watched with a perplexed expression.
"You're all fired."
Thank god I got that out of the way.
