Chapter 2: The Last 2-Years | Part II |

Monday, June 17th, 2013-

" Unfinished business?"

"Well, it's not so much unfinished business as 'the not knowing was driving Dipper nuts, so we decided to go with it.'" Mabel answered Lee who seemed to be completely over his nausea.

"Not knowing what though?"

"Last summer before things got, weirder, Dipper and I had found a secret society on accident while trying to help McGucket, that was known to a select few as 'The Society of The Blind Eye', they took away any memories that the townspeople had of paranormal activity because they thought it to be too disturbing or gut-wrenching for them to deal with. We're going back this time to look at some of the memories for fun, to see if we have any memories that got erased, and to make sure that the blueprints for the memory gun haven't fallen into the wrong hands. "

"Yea that'll be the top priority and then we can snoop around," Dipper added.

"Wait, so you're saying while helping the town hillbilly you somehow found a literal brainwashing cult, and that we're gonna go back there to make sure that no one took the blueprints for a memory gun?" Pacifica remarked.

"Yeah pretty much! Mcgucket is also a genius, it's just taking him a bit to get his life back together. He also founded the society and created the memory gun, to use on himself and everyone else. He just used it too much to the point that his mind went PBBBBT!"

"What got me thinking about it and how we should visit again, was when Pacifica and I had to save Mabels' face from a monster I saw something weird."

"What wasn't weird in there?"

"Right?! The one thing that stuck out to me among…. other things… Was that there was a cultist selling memories."

"Meaning, they must still be active!" Pacifica finished.

"Exactly,"

Pacifica beamed, it was a small thing to be happy about but she let herself feel a sense of inclusivity. She was on the right track. Why am I blushing?

"But we don't know for sure, so let's just focus on McGuckits blueprints for now.."

At the mention of his name again, Pacifica felt a bit of guilt for the remark she made earlier, she hadn't really been exposed to a side of Mcgucket that struck her as a genius, besides what happened to The Mystery Shack during the apocalypse, which again made her hope that there wasn't going to be any sign of a glowing triangle.

"Haha you mean McSuckit" Lee added, which led to a high five from Nate.

This remark made Pacifica a bit more relaxed

Tch! I'm not the only one

"Lee" Wendy bit

"What?!"

"Can you at least try to give the guy a bit of respect, I mean he's part of the reason why the world isn't aflame right now."

"That and my destiny hoodie!"

"That and your destiny hoodie Robbie, thanks for adding that… I'm just glad that I don't have to deal with that stupid song anymore."

"Eat your own pants

Eat your own pants"

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Soos, will you please turn that crap off?"

"Hey you still owe me for throwing that CD out the window, I never got a new copy. And it was a limited edition!"

"Fine, I'll get you a new one on the way home."

A 10-minute drive later and they were at the museum, this time Wendy was in the front and Pacifica sat in between Robbie and Tambry, who was on her phone. Dipper sat in between Nate and Lee, while Mabel sat up front next to Wendy on an awkward middle seat/storage compartment.

"Sooo, what do you like to do for fun or whatever? Play dress up in potato sacks?" Robbie asked in a disinterested tone.

"That was one time… and no. I happen to enjoy golfing, what about you? Crying over a girl in a cemetery?"

Robbie blushed as Nate and Lee started laughing hysterically. "She got you good, Robbie!"

"Whatever!" He pulled on the drawstring of his hoodie and looked out the window. Who even was this kid? Acting like she knew everything. If this was how it was gonna be with her in the group, Robbie didn't want her there, Pacifica high-fived Nate and Lee, oblivious to how her comment made Robbie feel.

In the front, Wendy could tell that this was gonna be a problem if Robbie continued with his delusion that everyone was out to get him. It already wasn't helped by Pacificas need to prove that she was better than everyone else. Wendy knew it was subconscious for both of them because the biggest contributing factors were their parents. Pacificas had raised her to think that she was better than everyone else and praised her when she expressed that, as well as a lot of other toxic ideologies that messed her up, including the way they disciplined her.

And I thought my family was messed up..

She had almost been sent to a private school specifically for Northwests, that would have taught her to be like her parents. But after having to sell the mansion, the school's funding had to thankfully be cut.

As for Robbie's parents, they were nice people but pretty creepy. One example is how they expressed joy at death because it meant business. One could only imagine how Robbie coped with that, Wendy knew that they loved their son, they just didn't seem to understand his personality. Everyone had to deal with some messed up stuff, she just hoped that they worked this out before it snowballed into something awful, they both had more in common than they wanted to admit, and it'd be nice to see them on amicable terms.

"Here we are!" Thompson said in an uneasy tone.

"I think I might wanna stay in the car for this one…"

"Come on Thompson, you're not really back out now are you?"

*sigh*

"No Robbie, I guess I won't."

"Alright then let's GO!"

As the group made its way into the museum, which was now closed since it was 5:00 in the evening. Wendy was up ahead with Pacifica and the twins, Nate and Lee close behind, ahead of Robbie and Tambry, with Thompson in back, Dipper couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them, out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something move towards the room that went where the society had been. And shine his flashlight where he thought he saw the figure. Pacifica just raised her eyebrow at him.

"Did you see something, man?"

"You good Dip-Dot?" Wendy and Mabel asked accordingly, "It's probably nothing, just a raccoon or something." He said as a muffled sound voiced behind the group, and just as quickly disappeared. "Wait, where'd Thompson go?"

"How much you wanna bet he got scared and ran off? Because he got freaked out by these wax figures. Hehe"

"Or maybe he got freaked by your death breath and decided it wasn't worth the trip!" Pacifica said under her breath, not intending for Robbie to hear her.

"What's your problem?!"

"GUYS! Now is not the time, I think something happened to him. We just need to get to where the society was the last time we were here and then split up to try and find him."

They walked through the museum past a lot of creepy wax statues not wanting to be near Robbie, Pacifica made a point to walk next to Dipper. At least he was tolerable. And a good friend, a part of her mind pushed.

"So what's with the new nerd book? I thought it was red. Not blue."

"Well, the original journal that our Grunkle Ford wrote is somewhere in the bottomless pit. We decided it was better to do that than keep it. But that doesn't mean that I can't put some of what I know into my own journal."

"I feel like that's exactly what that means."

"Only if I let it get too far."

Pacifica raised her eyebrow, and Dipper shrugged. Causing her to roll her eyes. "Whatever Dipper, as long as we're not stuck in another apocalypse, it's like fine with me or whatever."

"Here it is!" They were in a room full of eyes, that Pacifica noted were all staring at a slab of stone with an eye carved onto it. Creepy…

"Now all I have to do is press this annnnnd.. there we go!" Dipper pressed the slab of stone, and it caused the fireplace to move in order to reveal a secret passageway underneath the building.

It reminded Pacifica of how her old home, Northwest Manor, had many secret rooms, trap doors, and even an underground fallout shelter in case of emergency, which was built when she was around seven, in the event that they couldn't make it to the escape route that led to their private island. She remembered how she used to hide away from her family before she got better at socializing. She didn't miss it, just the peace that having an escape from being perfect gave her.

Now at this moment, while they were about to go where a cult used to be, she felt weird, definitely. A year ago if you'd have asked her about whether or not she would actively be a part of these types of adventures, she would have laughed in your face, found a way to make you feel insecure, and not on your life!

After everything that's happened, Pacifica also felt glad that things turned out the way that they did, because not only did she gain real friends but she felt comfortable with the company she was in and who she was with. I think I could get used to this.

"Okay, now that we're here, we gotta split up. Pacifica, you and Wendy go follow that tube and see if you find anything suspicious. Nate, Lee, you follow this one. Robbie, you and Tambry follow that one, while Mabel and I go up ahead and see if anyone's here, and if anyone sees or experiences something weird, make sure to come back here and meet up with me and Mabel." Dipper whispered.

"You guys sure you don't need any backup?"

"We're good, thanks, Wendy."

"Anytime dude."

5 minutes later, they were still following the tube. And while Wendy was fine with not talking, the lack of conversation was starting to irk Pacifica.

"Hey, so what's with your friend Robbie? He's like kinda moody, and rude."

"…"

Wendy had to think about how to word this to Pacifica, Robbie did have those tendencies but it came from deep insecurities that Wendy didn't care to bring up. He had grown as a person since last summer and had apologized for the way that their relationship ended, a little bit before Weirdmaggedon. But was still working on how to deal with them, and was starting to get a bit more control over how he handled himself in social situations.

"Robbie is complicated."

"Oh what? Is he like, super dramatic about everything that happens to him?"

"Pacifica, c'mon give him a break, it's just that-"

"He likes to act like nothing is his fault?"

"No, well-"

"Oh I get it, he's allowed to make fun of me but when I joke around it's not okay?"

"Can I finish?"

Pacifica huffed and nodded her head yes.

" Robbie is hard to pin down, and I know he can be difficult to deal with, believe me. But he is a good person once you get to know him. Just try being patient with him. I've found that that helps."

"Ugh, fine."

Pacifica decided to at least be amicable with the emo teen the next time they were thrown together. I guess it couldn't hurt, especially since we are gonna be in the same friend group. This was important to her, she cared about what the other people in this group thought about her, and not getting along with one of them definitely didn't get her any points. While she was thinking she noticed that Wendy had stopped in her tracks,

speak of the devil.

Right in front of them were Tambry and Robbie, who she had just bumped into, landing her on the ground, while he staggered a bit

"Why don't you watch where you're going blondie? If that even is your real hair color."

Psh look who's talking….

Almost in unison both Wendy and Tambry told him to lay off, which ushered a disapproving sigh and eye roll from the moody teen.

"How did you guys get here?"

"We were just following the tube that Dipper assigned to us when our flashlight went out. We decided to try and see if we could find another light so we wouldn't end up like Thompson."

"Alright well, it looks like we're going to have to work together now. As long as we don't waste any time, cause if this flashlight goes out…." Wendy said as her flashlight went out. "We won't have any idea where we are…"

"Okay," she continued, "We just need to make sure to stick together and everything should be MMMMPH!"

"WENDY?! MMMMMPH!"

"TAMBRY! AHHHH"

*shrieks*

2 hours later

Pacifica woke up in a small corner of some darkened room, and it took a second for her to open her eyes. When she finally did, she couldn't see anything, her surroundings felt cold and wet. She was also very dizzy.

"Ughhh my head"

"Pacifica?!"

"Robbie? Where's Wendy? Where's Tambry?"

"I have no idea. I just woke up like an hour ago and didn't even know that anyone else was here until now. But if they were here I'm sure they would've been up by now."

"….."

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm stuck in here with Barbie's little sister and costar from Toddlers in Tiaras."

"Oh, as if I have it any better! I have to deal with a whiny Marilyn Manson knockoff on clearance."

"Y'know what you little- Wait. You actually know who Marilyn Manson is?"

"Yeah duh! Unlike you, I have more than one brain cell that pushes me towards having something called a personality. Plus he's worked with my favorite composer, Meck G…."

"You mean the guy who does the music for BloodCraft: Overdeath? That guy is awesome! Also, I do have a personality thank you very much, it just so happens that I don't share it with jerks who act like they're better than everyone else."

"…."

This stunned Pacifica. Was she really doing that?

It wasn't like it was on purpose… But it was, she had been defensive when Robbie even insinuated something that put her image down in the slightest, because whether she liked it or not her image mattered to her. She could admit to that, but what she didn't understand was why he acted like he wasn't at fault and that she was just out to get him. I guess in a way I have been… I tried to be patient with him, maybe I'm just not as good at this as I thought…

Pacifica once again felt like she was just like her parent, and she couldn't escape that being her destiny, no matter how hard she tried to change.

"Robbie…I'm sorry, I was a jerk. I was just nervous about what everyone thought of me, and usually, I'm good with other people. Confident in who I am, but I guess I'm still figuring out who that is… I guess that putting you down when I felt even a little bit threatened was my go-to, I ended up hurting you instead of trying to take the opportunity to get to know you. I'm not better than anyone else and I'm no better than my parents."

Robbie felt terrible, he didn't know much about her than what he'd seen in the newspapers and on TV, so to him, she seemed like a stereotypical mean girl with no feelings other than spite, but Wendy had told him that she was trying to better herself. The only reason that she'd been in his life was that not only was she a part of the zodiac, but also a friend of Mabel and Wendy's, he hadn't given her that much thought until today. This girl had more problems than he thought. Robbie knew that he'd not only been a jerk but as hard as it was to admit, had started it.

"I'm sorry too Pacifica, I could've been nicer to you in retrospect, making friends is hard, and I'm not great around new people, especially when they're so different from who I am. You seem like a good kid, I'm sure if we ever get out of here alive we could try again. But take it from me, don't worry so much about being like your parents, or trying to be someone you're not. 'Cause you're not your parents or anyone else, you're YOU. Mabel taught me that, and I know it's hard to learn how to be a better person, but you're doing good."

Pacifica was in tears, she'd never been told anything like that by someone who was technically an adult, not even her therapist, how did this guy she just met see right through her? And want to push her towards just being who she is. Pacifica never really thought about how she was missing so much when she worried about ending up like her parents. Instead of focusing on them, she could have been being who she was, without having to be ashamed or insecure about it. Wendy was right, in the past 20 minutes of talking to Robbie, it just took time. Albeit they were in a confusing and dangerous situation, it pushed both of them toward wanting to be friends.

"Thanks, Robbie… It means a lot" Pacifica said with tears streaming down her face. It's a good thing no one can see me!

"Don't sweat it, kid."

Pacifica wiped her tears, and tried to feel if she smeared her makeup, once she got as much of the wetness off of her face, she decided to try and find an exit.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if there's an exit."

"I already looked."

"Well it wouldn't hurt to look again, plus we need to find Dipper and the others… Wait, I think I found something!" Pacifica said as the tip of her finger felt one of the slabs of brick that lined the wall push back, almost like the slab of stone that took them underneath the basement.

"I can't reach it! Follow my voice and see if you can try to lift me up…. No! Grab the back of my knees and put me on your shoulders…"

As soon as Robbie had her on his shoulders, Pacifica was able to feel that there was more than one button that she was sure would only open to some sort of code.

"What's happening up there? You okay?"

"No it's just, I think that they only respond to some type of code!"

"Huh, maybe try the address of the building? That's what my parents do for some stuff at the cemetery."

"I doubt they would do something that…. Oh hey, it worked, good job Robbie!" She said as the roof moved to reveal the tunnel they had been in 2 hours prior.

"You're welcome!"

After pulling Robbie up, Pacifica led him back the way they came, stole a flashlight from the museum's maintenance man who was currently distracted by one of the wax women which they both thoughts was disgusting, and decided to follow the tunnel that Mabel and Dipper had gone through. Which they were told led to the main room, where the cult performed their rituals.

"It's unlikely that they're in here, considering we don't know how long we've been out of it. What do you say we do if we can't find them?"

"I think we should just keep looking, let's also keep an eye out for anything weird, do you have any of the weapons Soos gave you?"

"I took some tools from the maintenance guy, I call the wrench."

"I'll take the hammer."

At the end of the hall, they reached the room where The Blind Eye had erased many memories. They crept into it slowly making sure to stay in the shadows when they saw someone move, without thinking Pacifica was going to inch closer to see who it was accidentally exposing their location, but Robbie held her back as the shadow was revealed to be

"Mayor Cute Biker?!"

After getting over their initial shock that the mayor who was currently clad in cultist robes, Robbie and Pacifica leaned away from the opening they were looking through and hid behind the wall to make sure they were out of sight.

"What's the mayor of Gravity Falls doing with a memory gun? What would he have anything to do with a disbanded cult?" Robbie frantically questioned.

"Wait, 'Never mind all that!"

"What do you mean never mind all that? We can't just-"

"No, Robbie," Pacifica cut him off,

"'Never mind all That'. The new policy he put in after Weirdmaggedon, must be connected to it somehow. He could be planning to erase all memories of that ever happening!"

"If that's true then we need to find the others before anything happens!"

"Where do you think they could be?"

As if on cue, a sound erupted from the other room, Wendy, Tambry, Nate, Lee, and Thompson were about to be tied up to a post in the middle of the room. Wendy, Tambry, and Thompson were awake and struggling to break free, while Nate and Lee were knocked out cold.

"I guess that answers that question," He replied. "Now all we have to do is find the twins."

"Dipper and Mabel aren't tied up so we could try to look for them, but we can't split up, so any suggestions?"

"Hmm, maybe we could… wait, I think I see something."

Out of the corner of his eye, Robbie thought he saw a pink glittery sweater and a lumberjack hat. Could've been wishful thinking, but after 3 minutes he was sure it was Mabel and Dipper. Just to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating, he decided to sneak towards the pillar they could be behind.

"HEY! What are you doing?!" Pacifica hissed in a low tone so as not to be detected.

"I think I see the twins! If it isn't them and they're not there we're gonna have to knock out some cult members and see if we can set our friends free."

"OK, be careful. Don't let anyone see you."

Pacifica watched nervously as Robbie crept out of the doorway they had been spying through, making sure to take off his key chain before he left. A majority of the shadowy figures in the room were distracted by the group of teens that were tied up in the middle of the room, mainly Wendy who was getting frustrated with her captors and being quite vocal about it. The rest of the cult members were spread out, making sure that no one else was around. Robbie was going as slow as possible, keeping an eye out for any sign that the monitoring cultists could detect him. He'd not had as much practice in stealth as Pacifica hoped, but was doing well so far. On all fours, he inched his right knee forward, then his left, making sure to make as little noise as possible. He slowly pushed his fingers upwards,

Psh! 'Fingerless gloves aren't cool.' Now they're saving my a- WAIT NOOO

Right as he had started to pull his left leg forward to inch behind the tall pillar that was closest to where he had thought he saw the twins, the tip of his shoe accidentally made contact with some loose rubble on the stone floor.

Pacifica's heart was beating loud in her ears and pulsing a mile a minute, so she did the first thing that came to mind and threw a prosthetic eye from the floor across the room, to get the attention away from him. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Robbie had gotten to where Mabel was apparently hiding right before she bolted away to the halls hoping to hide away and then come back. Right as Pacifica turned around - SMACK - she hit something. Which turned out to be someone, she had run into Dipper, but before either could even process what was going on, Pacifica turned him in the other direction and started running. They hit a crossroads at which point he grabbed her hand and started to run right, after a couple of twists and turns they eventually got to a place that was labeled 'The Hall of The Forgotten.

"Dipper where were you?"

"I was with Mabel until we got separated trying to find the others after realizing that they were picking off our numbers one by one! Where were you?"

"We ran into Robbie and Tambry, but she and Wendy were taken. I guess they meant to come back for us but we both fell into some sort of fake floor then went to the main room trying to find the others, Robbie found Mabel."

"Oh, good now I think we shoul- Pacifica?"

"What is that?"

She asked looking at a tube with her father's name on it, and why is it on this statue while every other one is on the floor? Was he a part of this? With her father's track record she wouldn't be surprised. He was always into some sort of shady deal or idea that sunk any faith she had in him or her mom potentially being better people, but before she could reach out and grab the tube, Dipper stopped her.

"Don't touch it, it'll trigger an alarm that will alert everyone that we're here."

"Wait, Dipper, I think I have an idea."

A couple of minutes later, in the main room, Robbie and Mabel were trying to find a way to get behind the pillar that their friends were tied to without raising alarm or being spotted. They were running out of time and ideas before they noticed that the leader of the cult had stopped to look down at a device, which was beeping furiously before a majority of the cultists left to go in the other room, leaving only three cultists, who at the moment were more interested in a conversation amongst themselves than their surroundings.

"Dipper must've run into Paz and raised the alarm so we could free everyone!" Mabel whispered.

"OK, you go try to get everyone free, I'll go knock these guys out with the wrench and then see if we can help Pacifica and Dipper."

Before they went to do anything, Mabel took the wrench from Robbie and replaced it with a bottle of fabulosa. He gave her a look of confusion, and she explained that even if they were their enemies, the cultists were still human beings and that we shouldn't hurt them. If it was anyone else he would have ripped the wrench out of their hands and done what he felt needed to be done to save his girlfriend, but since it was Mabel who was the literal personification of a sunny day full of pink glitter and warm hugs, Robbie decided to take the spray cleaner and do what he could.

He realized that the 'weapon' Mabel had given him was pretty effective, at least more than he thought it would be and he took out two cultists before Mabel freed their friends, allowing Tambry to step in and kick the last one standing before running into Robbies and embracing him.

Mayor Cutebiker and the rest of the cult finally reached the 'Hall of The Forgotten' and noticed that the one labeled 'Preston Northwest' was missing, but before the mayor could say anything he was knocked out cold. Pacifica and Dipper had hidden underneath a pile of memory tubes and used some of the janitors cleaning supplies to knock out the mayor. They almost lost in the struggle until help came their way in the form of their newly freed friends.

"Guys, Mabel! You're okay!" Dipper shouted.

"Of course we're okay, Mabel and Robbie had our backs while you and Paz distracted them, guess we're gonna have to erase some memories again," Wendy replied.

"I can't believe Mayor Cute Biker had anything to do with this, he always seemed like the friendly neighborhood puma panther enthusiast/mayor, not some weirdo cultist."

"Mabel, he probably did it because he felt like he didn't have any other choice, I mean the 'Never Mind All That' policy can only do so much to make things feel normal again."

*sighs*

"I guess you're right Pacifica."

"C'mon Mabel, let's go erase some memories."

Wendy's suggestion did cheer up Mabel, in a strange way, or at least urged her to get it done as quickly as possible. Because she was not only suspicious of who the new cult members might be (if they were new at all) but also of what was on the three tubes that Pacifica now held in her arms. One was labeled 'Preston Northwest' while the other two had 'Pacifica Northwest' labeled neatly on them. One by one the group removed the hoods of each cult member, most of them they had never met in their life, a taller, biker man with grey hair, glasses, and a camo bandana. Another was a lady with brown hair that had curls at the bottom, Her nose was small and round, with four freckles on it, and she had lashes on the bottoms of her eyes pointing downward. A woman with brown hair, fair skin, a pointed nose, and a scouts badge. Others they recognized as the guy that was obsessed with anything American, The Mayor, another two they recognized but couldn't place, a thin young Hispanic woman with light brown skin, black eyes, and long dark magenta-colored hair going down to her hips, and a young man with a darker light brown complexion who had a soul patch. The other two were Sergei, which made Pacifica feel a bit irked, and

"Mom?!"