Gravity Falls: Life of Sammy

by MyLittleScrubs

Gravity Falls may seem like a normal town, but in reality, it holds some of the most powerful and dangerous secrets in the entire world. Sammy didn't expect much excitement when he first moved into Gravity Falls. But when he starts work at the Mystery Shack and meets Dipper and Mabel for the first time, he will soon realize one universal truth: life is always unpredictable.

4. Chapter 4: The Hand That Rocks the Mabel

It was yet another day at the Mystery Shack, and for once, things were going pretty normal. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos were watching another strange show in the living room. First, it was Duck-tective, and now, it was Tiger Fist. Sammy decided to join them while simultaneously working on the large stack of bills and taxes in front of him that Stan had neglected, namely by putting them into a nearby paper shredder one by one, as per Stan's instructions. "The tiger was badly injured in the explosion, but we repaired him with a fist," the TV blared as it showed a tiger with a giant human arm attached to its torso. Soos and the twins began cheering while Sammy just chuckled in amusement. He didn't really see the point in these types of shows at first, but they were actually starting to grow on him. "Tiger Fist! …will return after these messages." Then, for some strange reason, the TV showed a man sobbing into his hands. "Hey, look," said Soos, pointing at the screen. "It's that commercial I was telling you guys about." "Are you completely miserable?," a voice in the background asked. "YES!," the man cried dramatically.

"Then you need to meet… Gideon," said the voice, whispering the name. "Gideon?," asked Mabel. "What makes him so special?," asked Dipper. "He's a psychic," the voice in the commercial answered for them. "Aroo?," said Mabel, tilting her head like a dog. "A psychic is someone who can read minds, basically," Sammy explained. "So don't waste your time with other so-called 'men of mystery,'" the voice said with disdain, as the screen showed Stan Pines himself coming out of an outhouse, with the word FRAUD stamped over him in giant red letters. "Learn about tomorrow night at Gideon's Tent of Telepathy." Then, the voice proceeded to rush through a huge block of text that none of them could even hope to decipher. "Wow, I'm getting all curiousy inside!," said Mabel. "Well, don't get too curiousy," Stan grumbled, walking into the room. "Ever since that monster Gideon rolled into town, I've had nothin' but trouble."

"That sounds a little harsh, Mister Pines," said Sammy. "What did he ever do to you?" "He stole my parking space that one time!," said Stan. "And… uh… yeah, a bunch of other stuff that I can't really remember right now. But trust me, Gideon is nothing but bad news." "Well, is he really psychic?," asked Mabel. "I think we should go and find out," said Dipper. However, Stan was quick to put a stop to that. "Never! You're forbidden from patronizing the competition. No one that lives under my roof is allowed under that Gideon's roof!," said the con man, before leaving the room. "Do tents have roofs?," asked Dipper. "I think we just found our loop hole… literally! Mwop mwop!," said Mabel, holding up a string tied into a loop. "Now hold on, guys," said Sammy. "You heard what Stan said." "Come on, Sammy, aren't you even a little curious?," asked Dipper. "Yeah!," said Mabel. "Besides, it's gotta be more fun than shredding up Stan's tax forms all day." Sammy looked down at the huge stack of paperwork on his lap. He had to admit that Mabel had a point. "Okay… I guess it wouldn't hurt to pay a little visit," he said with a small smile. As Soos and the twins cheered, the commercial continued running on the TV. "So come down soon, folks. Gideon is expecting you," said the voice, before the commercial finally ended. Sammy had no idea why, but those last few words left an uneasy feeling in his gut…

Later that night, Sammy, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos went to visit the Tent of Telepathy, without telling Stan, of course. When they got there, they were surprised by how many people were waiting in line outside. Standing at the entrance of the tent was a large, chubby man with a straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt. "Step right up there, folks," said the man, holding out a sack for people to put their money in. "Put your money in Gideon's psychic sack." Sammy immediately recognized his voice as the one in the commercial. Eventually, they were able to get into the tent and get their own seats. "Whoa, this is like a bizarro version of the Mystery Shack. They even have their own Soos," said Dipper. He pointed at a maintenance worker not too far away, and he looked so much like Soos that it was honestly a little unnerving. He had a nametag on his shirt that said Deuce, and when he walked by them, Soos glared at his doppelganger while eating an empanada. Suddenly, the lights went out, and a large spotlight shone on the stage.

"It's starting! It's starting!," Mabel said excitedly. "Calm down, Mabel," said Sammy. "We haven't even seen Gideon himself yet." "Yeah. Let's see what this monster looks like," Dipper said, crossing his arms. Suddenly, the stage shook as a large shadow formed from behind the curtains, as though a giant was making their way to the front. However, when the curtains were opened up, the large, menacing figure was revealed to be a child with puffy white hair, freckles on his face, and a stature that made him even shorter than the twins. "Hello America! My name is Li'l Gideon," said the child on the stage, taking a bow. "That's Stan's mortal enemy?," Dipper asked incredulously. "But he's so wittle!," gasped Mabel, enamored by his cuteness.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is such a gift to have you here tonight!," said Gideon. "…Such a gift. I have a vision. I predict you will soon all say, 'aww.'" Then, Gideon did a cute pose along with big puppy eyes, and sure enough, almost everyone in the crowd awwed at the adorable sight. "It came true," gasped Mabel. "What? I'm not impressed," said Dipper, rolling his eyes. "You're impressed!," said Mabel. "You have to admit, it was pretty adorable," said Sammy. "Hit it, Dad!," said Gideon, pointing at a man sitting at a piano on the stage. It was the same man who was greeting the tourists at the tent's entrance earlier. As Gideon's dad began playing the piano, Gideon began to sing. "Oh, I can see, what others can't see. It ain't some sideshow trick, it's innate ability. Where others are blind, I am futurely inclined. And you too could see, if you was widdle ol' me! Come on, everybody, rise up! I want y'all to keep it going!" As everyone stood up and started clapping along to the beat, Dipper, who had no intention of standing up with them, suddenly found himself getting up from his chair against his will. "Wha–? How did he–?," he cried, shocked that for a really short moment, he had no control over his own legs.

"Dipper? What's wrong?," asked Sammy, unconsciously clapping along with everyone else. "Sammy! D-did you feel that?!," asked Dipper. "Feel what?," asked Sammy. "Um, n-never mind," sighed Dipper, deciding that it was probably his mind playing tricks on him.

"Keep it going!," said Gideon, before he continued to sing. "You wish your son would call you more." He pointed at an old lady with a cat sitting on her lap. "I'm leaving everything to my cats!," yelled the old lady. "I sense that you've been here before," Gideon sang as he pointed at Officer Blubs, who had all kinds of Gideon merchandise, including a shirt that had the little boy's face on it. "Oh, what gave it away?," Blubs asked cluelessly. "Come on," groaned Dipper, less than impressed with what he had seen so far. "I'll read your mind if I'm able. Something tells me you're named Mabel," Gideon sang to Mabel. "How'd he do that?," Mabel gasped in awe, not realizing that her sweater literally had her own name on it. "So welcome all ye… to the Tent of Telepathy. And thanks for visiting… widdle ol' me!," Gideon sang, finally finishing his song. As the crowd cheered wildly, Gideon was clearly exhausted from his own song and dance number. "Oh… oh my goodness," he panted, drinking from a bottle of water. "Thank you! You people are the real miracles!" "Woo! Yeah!," Mabel cheered, while Sammy clapped politely and Dipper just rolled his eyes. After that, the group left and started walking back to the shack.

"Man, that kid's an even bigger fraud than Stan! No wonder our uncle's jealous," said Dipper. "Oh, come on. His dance moves were adorable! And did you see his hair? It was like, whoosh!," said Mabel, practically bouncing in excitement. "I thought it was great," said Sammy. "He had almost everything: doves in his hair, singing, 'psychic' powers. I guess it's no wonder Stan doesn't like Gideon. With shows like that, he could put the Mystery Shack out of business." "You guys are too easily impressed," said Dipper. "Yeah, yeah!," said Mabel. As the three of them headed back to the shack, talking and laughing, none of them realized that Gideon had been following and watching them for a while, and had heard every word of what they said. But at the moment, he couldn't care less about that. Instead, his attention was completely fixated on Mabel Pines. And as he watched them leave, a plan was already forming in his head…

The next morning, Mabel had spent hours gluing sequins to every inch of her face, and went to show Dipper, who was casually sitting on the couch while reading his journal. "Check it out, Dipper! I successfully bedazzled my face! Blink!" She blinked her eyes, causing some of the sequins to fly off her face. "Ow." "Is that permanent?," asked Dipper. "I'm unappreciated in my time…," sighed Mabel. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Somebody answer that door!," Stan yelled from another room. "I'll get it!," said Mabel, running to the door. When she opened the door, she didn't see anyone. Then, she looked down. "Howdy," said Gideon, smiling up at her. "It's 'wittle ol' you!," gasped Mabel. Gideon laughed nervously. "Yeah, my song's quite catchy," he said. "I know we haven't formally met, but after yesterday's performance, I just couldn't get your laugh out of my head." "You mean this one?," asked Mabel, before laughing obnoxiously. "Oh, what a delight!," said Gideon. "When I saw you in the audience, I said to myself, 'Now there's a kindred spirit! Someone who appreciates the sparkly things in life.'" "That's totally me!," Mabel laughed, before suddenly choking and coughing out some sequins, which ended up landing on Gideon's collar. "Enchanting. Utterly enchanting," Gideon whispered, far more enamored than disgusted. "Who's at the door?," Stan yelled from inside the shack. "No one, Grunkle Stan!," Mabel called back. "I appreciate your discretion," said Gideon. "Now, Stan's no fan of mine. I don't know how a lemon so sour could be related to a peach so sweet." "Gideon! Aha ha!," Mabel said with yet another laugh. But before Gideon could invite her over to his place, Sammy suddenly walked up behind Mabel. "Hey, Mabel," he said. "Stan didn't believe you when you told him there wasn't anyone at the door, so he sent me to check on you. Is anything– Oh! Hello, Gideon."

"Uh, hello… you," said Gideon, narrowing his eyes at him. "Do I… know you?" "Sorry, let me introduce myself," Sammy chuckled, holding out his hand. "My name's Samuel, but you can call me Sammy if you'd like." "...pleased to meet you," said Gideon, shaking his hand. "So what brings you to the Mystery Shack?," asked Sammy. "Well, I was hoping if Mabel could come over to my place and chat a bit more in my dressing room," said Gideon. "That is, if you're okay with that, Mabel?" "Are you kidding?! I can't say no to makeovers! Yahoo!," Mabel cheered, poking Gideon in the stomach. "Ow," said Gideon, laughing along with Mabel. "Oh… well, have fun, then," said Sammy, smiling at them. "We will!," said Mabel, before grabbing Gideon's hand and running off, despite not knowing where Gideon's house even was. As Sammy watched them leave, he wondered if he should tell Stan about this, but decided not to. The two kids already seemed to be good friends, and it would be a shame for Stan to break up their new friendship because of a little grudge. Besides, what was the worst that could possibly happen?

Later that day, Mabel finally came back from her playdate with Gideon, looking a little different than before. Her hair was curled up, her face was slathered in makeup, and she had on pink nail extensions that were several inches long. When Sammy saw her, he couldn't help but laugh a little. "It looks like you had a lot of fun today," he chuckled in amusement. "I sure did!," said Mabel, twirling herself around. "What do you think, Sammy?" "I think it's… a really unique look for you," said Sammy. Personally, he felt the blue mascara and pink nail extensions were a little much, but he didn't want to be rude. "Why don't you show Dipper?," he suggested. "That's a great idea!," said Mabel, giggling to herself. "Heh, I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees my new makeover!" She ran into the living room while Sammy followed her. Dipper was in there, laying on the couch while still reading the journal. "Hey Dipper. What's goin' oooon?," said Mabel, dangling her nails over Dipper's face. "Whoa, where have you been? And what's going on with those fingernails, you look like a wolverine," said Dipper. "I know, right?," said Mabel, roaring and scratching the air. "I was hanging out with my new pal, Gideon. He is one dapper little man." "Mabel, I don't trust anyone whose hair is bigger than their head," Dipper said. "Oh, leave him alone!," groaned Mabel. "You never want to do girly stuff with me; you and Soos get to do boy stuff all the time!" "What do you mean?," asked Dipper. Then, Soos entered the room with a pack of hot dogs in his hand. "Hey dude, you ready to blow up these hot dogs in the microwave one by one?," he asked Dipper. "Am I!," Dipper cried excitedly. The two of them ran into the kitchen and began popping hot dogs in the microwave while Mabel just stood there with a glum look on her face. "It's okay, Mabel," said Sammy. "At least you've got a new friend now." "Yeah," said Mabel, cheering up. "Yeah, you're right, Sammy. I don't always need Dipper to have fun! I've got Gideon now! Oh, that reminds me. Gideon invited me to his family's factory tomorrow! I was hoping you could keep this a secret from Grunkle Stan. Pwease."

"Hey, I didn't tell Stan last time, and I won't start now. My lips are sealed. You just worry about how much fun you and Gideon are gonna have tomorrow," said Sammy. "Yes! Thanks, Sammy! You're the best!," said Mabel, running upstairs while laughing to herself.

However, those happy moments were not meant to last. After Mabel came back from her second playdate, she was noticeably much more glum than before. When Dipper and Sammy asked her what was wrong, Mabel told them that Gideon had fallen in love with her, but she didn't feel the same way. And when Gideon asked to go on a date together, Mabel had been too pressured to decline, and they were now going to a fancy restaurant sometime soon. Dipper and Mabel decided to continue their conversation over playing video games, while Sammy just sat back and listened. "It's not a date-date, it's just, you know, I didn't want to hurt his feelings and so I figured I'd throw him a bone," said Mabel. "Mabel, guys don't work that way. He's gonna fall in love with you," said Dipper. "Yeah right. I'm not that lovable," said Mabel, before she then proceeded to absolutely demolish Dipper's character in the video game. "Kaboom! Yes!," she cheered. "Okay, we agree on something here," Dipper muttered, a bit miffed that he lost so easily. "You know, Mabel, I could tell Stan about this," Sammy suggested. "Maybe he could do something about this." "No, don't tell Grunkle Stan!," said Mabel. "I can't let him break things off for me! Gideon deserves better than that. And I still like him, but only as a friend! I just need to tell Gideon the truth." Then, the doorbell rang. "Huh, speak of the devil," said Dipper.

Mabel immediately went to answer the door, and nearly had a heart attack when a white horse suddenly bust through the doorway. And riding on that horse was none other than Gideon Gleeful himself. "A night of enchantment awaits, m'lady!," he said. "Oh boy," Mabel murmured, her former conviction now gone. "Um, Gideon… this is nice and all… but I was wondering if…" "What is it, Mabel?," asked Gideon, staring into her eyes dreamily. "Speak whatever's on your mind, and I'll give it to you." "Um…," said Mabel, nervously tugging the collar of her sweater. "I was wondering if… if…" Suddenly, her mind drew a complete blank. She initially wanted to tell Gideon that the date was off, but now, it felt like her tongue was tied into a knot. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't find the right words. So instead, she looked back at Dipper and Sammy for help. Dipper only raised his hands as if to say, "Hey, don't look at me. I don't wanna get involved in this." But when Mabel looked at Sammy and saw how concerned he was, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I-I was wondering if Sammy could come with us on our date!," she said quickly. "What?!," Dipper and Gideon cried out in unison. Meanwhile, Sammy just looked shocked, like a deer caught in headlights. "But… but Mabel, my peach," said Gideon, "it wouldn't exactly be a date with three people, would it?" "Don't worry, Sammy's gonna be our chaperone, right Sammy?," said Mabel, smiling nervously. "Um… I-I guess I could come along," said Sammy, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't have anything else to do, so…"

"I always bring a chaperone when I'm going on a date!," said Mabel, lying through her teeth. "You don't mind if he comes along, do you, Gideon?" Gideon seemed like he did mind, judging by the twitching of his right eye and the forced smile on his face. "Of course he could come with us," he said through gritted teeth. "It'd be a pleasure to have you accompany us on our date, Samuel." "Are you sure you don't mind, Gideon?," asked Sammy. "You don't look too happy about it." "You're imagining things!," Gideon said with a slight edge to his voice.

Gideon, Mabel, and Sammy eventually found themselves sitting in an aquatic themed restaurant that primarily served seafood. Sammy was surprised when the restaurant actually allowed Gideon to bring his horse inside, and wondered just how much influence that boy had over the town. "I can't believe they let us bring a horse in here!," said Mabel. "Well, people have a hard time saying no to me," Gideon bragged, sitting back and placing his feet on the table. A waiter suddenly walked up to their table. "Ah, Monsieur Gideon!," he greeted in a weird accent. "Ze feet on ze table! An excellent choice!" "Jean Luc, what did we discuss about eye contact?," Gideon said coldly. The frightened waiter quickly looked away. "Yes, yes, very good!," he said, nervously backing away. Now, Sammy was certain that there was more to Gideon than meets the eye. Nobody could be that afraid of a child, unless they had a really good reason…

Meanwhile, Mabel was trying to break the tension by acting like her usual, bubbly self. "I've never seen so many forks!," she gasped, before picking up a glass of water with bubbles in it. "And water with bubbles in it? Ooh lala, oui, oui!" "Oh! Parlez vous français?!," asked Gideon, leaning towards her excitedly. "...I have no idea what you're saying," said Mabel.

As the "date" went on, Sammy began to notice many things about Gideon that were fairly alarming to him. He acted friendly and amicable towards Mabel, but was coldly indifferent towards Sammy and anyone else who approached their table. It was also clear that Gideon was really self-absorbed, since up until now, he had only ever talked about himself, and not once did he ask Mabel about her personal life. And as the date soon came to a close, it was clear that Mabel was growing increasingly uncomfortable from all the attention that they were getting from everyone else in the restaurant. "...And so I said 'Autograph your own head shot lady,'" Gideon laughed. "Yeah…," said Mabel, laughing nervously. There was a live lobster now on her plate, but she couldn't bring herself to take one bite. "Mabel, tonight's date was a complete success. And tomorrow's date promises to top this one in every way!," said Gideon. "Whoa whoa, you just said one date, and this was it," cried Mabel. However, Gideon wasn't even listening.

"Hark! What a surprise! A red crested South American rainbow macaw!" To everyone's surprise, a giant colorful macaw flew into the restaurant and landed on Gideon's arm. Mabel couldn't help but scream in surprise and grab the lobster for comfort, while Sammy just stared at the bird in shock, wondering where it even came from. "MABEL!," the macaw screeched. "WILL YOU- ACCOMPANY- GIDEON- TO- THE BALLROOM DANCE- THIS- THURBDAY." Gideon angrily shook the bird. "THURSDAY!," the bird corrected itself, before coughing out a letter and flying away. Everyone else in the restaurant now paid full attention to their table, murmuring excitedly. "Oh, so adorable," said a woman. "Gideon's got a girlfriend," said a chef.

"They're expectin' us. Please say you'll go," said Gideon, not noticing the absolutely distraught look on Mabel's face. Mabel had hoped this would be quick and easy, but with all of these people staring at them, it became exponentially harder. Sammy quickly placed his hand on Mabel's shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Don't worry about all these people," Sammy whispered to her. "Don't worry about what could happen. Don't even worry about me. Pretend it's just you and Gideon. Tell him how you really feel. I believe in you." Mabel smiled gratefully and nodded, then turned back to face Gideon, who was still eagerly waiting for an answer. "Oh, Gideon," sighed Mabel, "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to say-" However, she was cut off when everyone else in the restaurant began talking to each other, just loud enough for Mabel to hear. "I'm on the edge of my seat," said Officer Blubs, leaning forward in anticipation. "This is gonna be adorable," said Tyler Cutebiker. "If she says no, I'll die from sadness," said an old woman. "I can verify that that will indeed happen," said a nearby doctor. As more people began chattering, Mabel began sweating nervously, the confidence instilled by Sammy completely gone.

"I-I'm gonna have to say… of course I'll go!," said Mabel, cracking under the pressure. Everyone else in the restaurant cheered and applauded, while Sammy just let out a sad little sigh. "Splendid!," cried Gideon. "Mabel Pines, you have made me the happiest kid in the world! Our next date is gonna blow this one out of the water, I just know it!" Seeing how uncomfortable Mabel was, Sammy decided that this so-called date went on long enough. "I'm sorry to cut this short, Gideon, but I have to take Mabel home now," he said. "She's not feeling so well. I think she might have a stomach bug or something. Wouldn't want anyone here to catch it."

"I do?," Mabel asked in confusion. "Yes, you do," said Sammy, raising his eyebrows. "You don't feel well, Mabel. That's why you don't want to be here anymore. Right?" "Oh, right!," said Mabel, realizing what Sammy was up to. "Sorry Gideon, but I'm not feeling too good." She began fake coughing loudly while trying to appear as ill as possible. "I should be heading back to the Mystery Shack. B-but I'll be there for our next date, okay?" "Oh… alright, then," Gideon sighed, disappointed that their current date had to be cut short. "Well, I hope you feel better soon, Mabel! Oh, and make sure to bring Samuel along on our next date, okay?"

That caught both Sammy and Mabel off guard. "I'm sorry, what?," asked Sammy. "You… want me to come to your next date?" "Of course!," Gideon said cheerfully. "You've been such a delight to be around, and I would love to get to know you better. Besides, the more the merrier, am I right?" Sammy had no idea what to make of this. Before, Gideon had shown Sammy with nothing but irritation and cold indifference, but now, it was as though Gideon's entire attitude towards Sammy turned completely on its head. What in the world was going on?

"Um… sure," said Sammy. "If I'm not too busy, then yeah, I can be you and Mabel's chaperone for another day…" "Wonderful!," said Gideon, clapping his hands. "I can't wait for our next date, Mabel Pines! Oh, but you don't feel so good right now. What was it you said you had? A cold?" "A stomach bug," Sammy answered for her. "Then don't let me waste any more of your time. Go on and take Mabel home," said Gideon, waving them away. Sammy and Mabel got up and left the table, but not before Mabel took the live lobster from her plate and stuffed it into her sweater. Then, after the two of them were outside and far away from the restaurant, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know why, but the atmosphere felt so tense back there," said Sammy. "I know, right?," sighed Mabel, clutching the lobster to her chest. "Why did you take the lobster with you, by the way?," asked Sammy. "Well, the 'date' turned out to be a total disaster," Mabel said bitterly. "So I figured I might as well get something out of it. Even if it's just a lobster as a pet." Sammy was quick to notice how depressed Mabel sounded, and tried to cheer her up. "Don't feel too bad, Mabel," he said. "You can tell him the truth on your next date. You're bound to have better luck next time." "...I'm sorry, Sammy," Mabel mumbled. Sammy looked down at her in confusion. "Sorry?," he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Um… sorry for what?"

"I tried to do what you said," said Mabel, her voice slightly cracking. "I tried to pretend it was just me and Gideon, but then all these people started talking and the pressure was getting to me and–" "Whoa, whoa, hold on," said Sammy, stopping and bending down to her level. "Why are you so upset about that? It wasn't your fault." "I guess I'm just… mad at myself," said Mabel, sighing heavily. "I'm mad at myself for not having the guts to tell Gideon the truth… for leading him on like this… for dragging you into this…" "Hey, now," said Sammy, giving her a comforting smile. "You don't have to feel bad about that. I want to be a part of this. I want to be by your side and help you through this as much as I can. So don't beat yourself up for 'dragging me into this' because chances are, I would've tried to intervene anyway." A small smile formed on Mabel's face. "Thanks, Sammy," she said, wiping some of her tears away. "I do feel a little better now, but I still wish I could've told Gideon the truth…" "Like I said, there's always next time," said Sammy. Then, the two of them continued on to the shack in slightly higher spirits.

When they arrived back at the shack, Dipper was still on the couch, reading the journal. "Don't you think you've been reading that journal long enough?," asked Sammy. "You've been reading it for almost the entire day." "Are you kidding? This journal is amazing!," cried Dipper. "It talks about things like ghosts, unicorns, magic stones, it's got everything! Oh, by the way, how did Mabel's date with Gideon go?" "It… could've been better," said Sammy. Meanwhile, Mabel was dumping her new pet lobster into the water tank. "Hey Mabel, where'd you get that lobster from?," asked Dipper. Mabel only shrugged. "Well, at least it's over and you won't ever have to go out with Gideon again," said Dipper, going back to reading his journal. However, when Mabel didn't give a response, Dipper looked back at her. "Mabel? It's over, right? Mabel?"

"BLAARRGG!," cried Mabel, flailing her arms. "He asked me out again and I didn't know how to say no." "Like this: no," said Dipper. "Seriously, I don't see how hard that is." "It wasn't that simple, Dipper," sighed Sammy. "Mabel was under a lot of pressure at the time. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at us." "Yeah, exactly! And I do like Gideon, as a friend slash little sister, so I didn't want to hurt his feelings!," cried Mabel. "I just need to get things back to where they used to be. You know, friends." "Are you sure, though?," asked Dipper. "If you couldn't tell him before, what makes you think you can do it now?" "Easy! Last time, I couldn't tell him the truth because there were so many people there," said Mabel. "But next time, I'll make sure that we're completely alone first, and then tell him how I really feel. And boom! We're back to being friends and nothing more!" Mabel ran upstairs, already in much higher spirits than before, now that she had a plan. "I still don't understand why Mabel wouldn't just say no," said Dipper. "It can't be that hard, right?" "Well, you know Mabel. She's a total sweetheart. The last thing she would want is to hurt Gideon's feelings," said Sammy. "Yeah, you got a point," said Dipper. "By the way, I should mention that Grunkle Stan now knows about Mabel and Gideon dating each other." "Really? How?," asked Sammy. In response, Dipper took out a newspaper that he had stashed underneath the chair cushions earlier and handed it over to Sammy.

"What the heck?," asked Sammy, staring at the front page of the newspaper, which showed a photograph of Mabel and Gideon walking through the streets. "How are they already printing out newspapers about them dating? It's only been a couple of days!" "Beats me," said Dipper. "You'd think they would have more interesting things to cover, since they literally live in the weirdest town on earth. Anyway, Grunkle Stan saw the newspaper and went straight to Gideon's house. He seemed pretty mad about it." "Well, I just hope he doesn't do anything too drastic," Sammy murmured worriedly. Stan didn't seem like the type of person who would hurt a kid, but then again, he did seem to hold an animosity towards that child psychic.

"So what was Gideon like during the date?," asked Dipper. "Because he didn't seem too happy when Mabel made you come with them as their chaperone." "That's… kind of the weird thing," said Sammy. "He initially seemed pretty irritated with me, but at the end of the date, he invited me over to their next date for some reason." "Wait, really?," asked Dipper. "But why? I thought he hated you or something." "Oh, I don't think Gideon hates me," said Sammy, "but… yeah, I was definitely not on his good side earlier. I wonder why he's suddenly so interested in me…" "Yeah, that is pretty weird," said Dipper, nodding. "But I wouldn't be surprised if Gideon actually grew to like you. You do have that effect on other people." Sammy stared at Dipper in confusion. "Huh? Dipper, what do you mean? What effect?," he asked. "I'm just saying you're a really likable guy," said Dipper, casually shrugging. "I mean, I like you, Mabel likes you. Heck, even Stan likes you, and he doesn't really get along with anyone." Sammy remained silent for a moment, then chuckled and ruffled Dipper's hair. "Thanks, but you don't have to make up all of that stuff to make me feel better," he said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go check on Mabel. Let me know when Stan comes back, okay?" As Sammy walked out the living room, Dipper just stared after him in bewilderment, wondering why Sammy would think he made any of that up.

Mabel and Sammy had hoped that the next date with Gideon would turn out better than the last one, but that turned out not to be the case. Throughout the ballroom dance, Mabel tried to tell Gideon the truth many times, but each time, there was always something that prevented her from doing so, whether it be the loud music drowning out her voice, constant interruptions from Gideon's fans, or Mabel's nerves just getting the best of her. And for some bizarre reason, Gideon seemed much more interested in Sammy than he ever did before. Even though dating Mabel was still his top priority, Gideon would also ask Sammy many probing questions, like where he came from, who his contacts were, which school he went to, etc. Unfortunately, those were all questions that Sammy was not ready to answer yet, and as the dance slowly came to a close, Gideon became visibly more frustrated that none of his questions were being answered. Eventually, he gave up on questioning Sammy entirely, and the three of them left the ballroom and were now on a boat ride in the lake, with Old Man McGucket as the boatman.

"Boat in the night! Boat in the night!," McGucket laughed as he rowed the boat across the lake. "Hah, you know I thought dancing was gonna be the end of the evening, right?," Mabel asked nervously. "Don't you want this evenin' to last, my sweet?," asked Gideon. "NO!," yelled Mabel, catching both Gideon and Sammy by surprise. "I mean yes. I mean I'm always happy to hang out with a friend, buddy, pal, chum, other word for friend…" "Pal?," McGucket suggested. "I already said pal, uh, mate?," said Mabel, smiling nervously. "How about soul mate?," whispered Gideon. Suddenly, fireworks shot up from behind them, showing Mabel's name in the night sky as well as a giant heart. "Well, you can't say no to that," said McGucket, unaware of the look of sheer horror plastered on Mabel's face. She had hoped that them being alone on the lake would finally help her muster up the courage to say no, but the fireworks were like the final nail in the coffin. Like McGucket said, there was no way she could say no to that… so she didn't.

When they got back to the shore, Gideon invited both Mabel and Sammy to yet another date that he had planned, this time in a different restaurant. Before, Sammy was not sure why Gideon kept insisting on bringing him along as a chaperone, but now, he was certain that it was because Gideon wanted something from him. What that something could possibly be, Sammy had no idea, and frankly, he didn't really care. At the moment, the only thing he did care about was figuring out how to get Mabel out of this sticky predicament she found herself in.

Once they got back to the shack, Mabel immediately began pacing around nervously, just like how Dipper usually did when he was stressed or excited about something. "...I mean, he's so nice, but… I can't keep doing this. But I can't break his heart. I have no way out!," she cried. "Mabel, I don't want to sound pushy, but you need to break things off with him as soon as possible," said Sammy. "If you keep leading him on like this, it won't end well for either of you." "Ugh, I know!," groaned Mabel. "But I don't know what to do! If I tell him how I really feel, it'll break his heart, but if I don't say anything, he'll find out eventually and it'll still break his heart! There are no good outcomes! Ugh, why does romance have to be so complicated?"

Then, Dipper walked into the room and saw Mabel pacing around anxiously. "What in the heck happened on that date?," he asked. "I don't know!," cried Mabel. "I was in the friend zone, and then before I knew what was happening, he pulled me into the romance zone. It was like quick sand! Chubby quicksand!" "Mabel, relax," Sammy said calmly. "You can still tell Gideon the truth later on. It's not the end of the world." "Yeah, and plus, it's not like you're gonna have to marry Gideon," said Dipper. Suddenly, Stan walked into the room, and to everyone's surprise, he was wearing a shirt that said "Team Gideon" on the front. "Great news, Mabel. You have to marry Gideon!," said the con man. "WHAT?!," cried Mabel. "It's all part of my long term deal with Buddy Gleeful," Stan explained. "There's a lot of cash tied up in this thing. Plus I got this shirt. Ugh, I am fat." Unable to take anymore, Mabel screamed and ran out of the room. However, Stan thought Mabel was horrified for a completely different reason. "Bodies change, honey!," he called after her. "Bodies change…" "Mister Pines!," snapped Sammy, glaring at Stan. "Couldn't you see how stressed Mabel already was about this whole thing? Why'd you have to open your mouth and say something like that?!" He ran after Mabel, leaving Stan bewildered. "Yeesh, must have hit a nerve there," he said. "Not cool, Grunkle Stan. Not cool," grumbled Dipper, running after Sammy and Mabel. "Hold on, am I missing something?," asked Stan. "Kids!"

Sammy and Dipper went into the attic and saw Mabel crouched in the corner, her entire head buried under her sweater. "Oh no. Mabel…," sighed Dipper. "Mabel's not here. She's in sweater town," said Mabel, rocking back and forth. "Are you gonna come out of sweater town?," asked Dipper, sitting down next to Mabel, who only whined and shook her head.

Upon seeing Mabel in such a depressed state, Sammy finally decided that enough was enough. "Mabel, I'm going to do what I should've done from the beginning," he said. "I'm going to go to Gideon and tell him the truth myself." Mabel peeked her head out of her sweater and looked up at Sammy with hope. "You will?," she asked. "Of course," said Sammy, giving her a comforting smile. "Just leave it to me." In an instant, Mabel tackled Sammy to the floor and gave him the biggest hug she could possibly muster. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you!," she cried gratefully. "Don't mention it," Sammy chuckled, patting her on the back. "Are you sure you'll be okay doing that, Sammy?," asked Dipper. "What if Gideon ends up freaking out or something? You never know." "It's okay, Dipper," Sammy reassured him. "He's a kid, but he's a sensible kid. I'm sure that once Gideon knows the truth, he'll handle it in a calm and rational way."

The next day, the three of them went to the restaurant where Mabel's date with Gideon was supposed to take place. While Sammy went into the restaurant to confront him, Dipper and Mabel waited outside the restaurant. Gideon was sitting in a booth with a large menu held up in front of him. When he saw Sammy coming, he put down the menu and greeted Sammy with a wide and somewhat forced smile. "Oh. Sammy, so glad you could make it. You look good, you look good. Where's Mabel, by the way? Is she going to be a few minutes late or…?"

"Hello, Gideon," Sammy said politely. "Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… Mabel won't be making it tonight. She doesn't have the same feelings for you as you do for her. She's been trying to tell you for a while now, but she didn't want to hurt your feelings, so… I'm doing it for her. I'm really sorry about this, Gideon. But Mabel wants you to know that she does like you as a friend, and she hopes that you and her can still be on good terms."

Gideon just sat there in silence, with a blank expression on his face. "So what you're sayin' is… you've… come between us," he growled, his eye twitching. "Oh, no no no!," Sammy said quickly. "That's not it at all, Gideon. But… you need to understand that things can't always go your way. Sometimes, the girl you fall in love with won't love you back. It sucks, but it's a pill that you have to swallow." Gideon didn't say anything, but on the inside, he was seething with anger. Mistaking that anger for sadness, Sammy tried to comfort the child psychic. "I think you are a good kid, Gideon," he said gently. "Don't let what I said get you down. Even though Mabel doesn't love you back, the two of you can still be good friends. Plus, I bet there's a whole line of other girls who would want to go on a date with you. You're still really young, Gideon. You've got plenty of time to find someone to share all that love with, okay?" Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Gideon was cheerfully smiling again. "Oh, I completely understand, Samuel," he replied calmly. "These things happen. Bygones, you know. And it's like you said, there's plenty of other fish in the sea." "That's the spirit!," said Sammy. "It's great that you're taking this so well. I'm glad we had this talk. Well, see you later. Good luck on finding that perfect match."

As Sammy walked away, Gideon let his mask slip as he glared at Sammy's retreating back. "Good luck indeed, my friend," he whispered hatefully. "Good luck indeed…"

Once Sammy was outside, Mabel anxiously ran up to him. "How'd it go? Was he mad? Did he try to read your mind with his psychic powers?," she asked worriedly. "It went well," said Sammy. "In fact, it went much better than I had hoped. You don't have to worry anymore, Mabel. Everything's fine now." "Yeah, and don't worry, Mabel, Gideon's just a kid. He doesn't have any powers," Dipper reassured her. With a heavy weight now lifted from her shoulders, Mabel was immediately back to her happy, bubbly self, and the group walked back to the shack, thinking that they could finally put this all behind them. None of them noticed Gideon glaring at them through the restaurant window, tightly gripping the blue stone around his collar.

After stomping back to his house in a rage, Gideon went up to his room and slammed the door behind him. The room was dark, but Gideon didn't bother turning on the lights. Instead, he paced around the room in anger, muttering obscenities under his breath while holding onto the blue stone around his collar. Gideon found that mysterious stone a long time ago, buried near an elementary school that he used to attend. "Samuel, you don't know what you've done!," he growled hatefully, while the stone suddenly started glowing eerily. At the same time, various objects in his room began to float into the air, encased in the same light that emanated from the stone. "You've just made the biggest mistake of your life!," yelled Gideon, furiously throwing the objects around with his stone. But of course, it was no ordinary stone, but an amulet that Gideon found buried near an elementary school that he used to attend. Back then, he was just like any other little kid, caring only about playing tag during recess and choosing which snack to bring to school. But after discovering the amulet, Gideon changed, and certainly not for the better. The amulet tainted his soul and twisted him into a vengeful, power hungry child, and even made his hair turn white. The amulet also turned out to possess magical properties, allowing Gideon to move things around with only his mind. That amulet was Gideon's first real introduction to the supernatural, and from that moment on, he had been obsessed with it ever since.

Suddenly, Gideon's father, Bud Gleeful, walked into the room, having heard the loud commotion. "Gideon Charles Gleeful, clean up your room this instant!," he scolded. "I CAN BUY AND SELL YOU, OLD MAN!," screamed Gideon. "...Fair enough," said Bud, quickly stepping out of his son's room and closing the door. Then, Gideon turned around and looked at a photo pinned on the wall. It showed Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy smiling at the camera together. It was one of the photos that they took together during their boat trip on the lake, after what happened with McGucket and the Gobblewonker. How Gideon managed to get his hands on that photo was a complete mystery. The child psychic glared hard at the photo, or more specifically, at Sammy, who was sitting behind the twins with his arms around their shoulders.

"I've seen you before, Samuel," growled Gideon, narrowing his eyes. "I don't remember where or when I saw you, but I have. I'm gonna find out who you are, Samuel. And after that, I'm gonna make you regret ever coming between me and Mabel! Even if I have to resort to more… extreme measures." Using his amulet, Gideon burned away the part of the photo with Sammy and Dipper in it, leaving only Mabel in it. "So things can't always go my way. Is that what you think, Samuel? Well…" He chuckled. "Just shows how much you really know."

The next morning, everything was pretty normal, or as normal as things could get in a town as weird as Gravity Falls. While Sammy was in the gift shop, recording the stock, he could hear Soos and the twins having fun in the other room. "Hit me, dude!," said Soos, having tucked a pillow under his shirt. Both Dipper and Mabel charged at Soos' belly pillow and bounced off it, laughing. "Feels good," said Soos, laughing along with them. "I'm so glad everything's back to normal!," Mabel said happily. Suddenly, the telephone in the living room rang. "Your turn," Mabel said quickly. "Your turn. Aw, man…," sighed Dipper, saying it a tad too slow. He went over to the phone and answered it. "Hello?," he asked. After a moment of silence, he said, "Yeah, okay. I'll go get him." Then, Dipper walked into the gift shop with the phone in his hand. "Hey, Sammy," he said. "Toby Determined is on the other end of this phone. He wants to talk to you."

"To me?," asked Sammy. "But why?" Dipper just shrugged in confusion. Sammy took the phone from Dipper and answered it himself. "Hello?," he asked. "Toby Determined, Gravity Falls Gossiper," Toby said on the other end of the phone. "Hey, Toby. Um, sorry about what happened last time we met," Sammy apologized sheepishly. "You know, about the whole… accusing you of murder and all that." "Water under the bridge!," said Toby. "Say, we want to interview you about whether you've seen anything unUSUAL in this here TOWN since you've arrived."

Sammy's eyes went wide with surprise. "What? What is it?," asked Dipper. "Toby wants to interview me about the supernatural things we've seen in this town," said Sammy, covering the phone's speaker with his hand. "Hold on, what?!," cried Dipper, feeling both ecstatic and outraged at the same time. "But why would he interview you about it and not me? I'm the one who's been obsessed with the supernatural since we got here! Er, no offense, Sammy."

"None taken," said Sammy. "You know, I could ask Toby if I could bring you along to the interview." "Oh yes, please ask him that!," cried Dipper, vibrating with excitement. Sammy put the phone back to his ear. "Hey Toby, would you mind if I bring my friend, Dipper Pines, to the interview as well? He's really fascinated with the supernatural. I'm sure that he could help with your interview a lot more than I ever could." For a few moments, there was silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Sammy could barely hear Toby's voice, and it appeared as though he was talking to someone else nearby, but Sammy couldn't make out a single word. Then, Toby started talking on the phone again. "Sure, I don't see why not," he said. "Here's the address for you to go to. You got a pen and paper?" "Hold on a second," said Sammy. He reached under a table and took out a dusty piece of paper and a pen. Then, he continued talking with Toby while writing on the paper. "Okay, can you tell me the address now? Mm-hm. 412 Gopher Road? Let me write that down really quick. 412… Gopher… Road… That's the right address, right? Okay, good. When do you want to meet? 8:00 PM? Sure, we can make it. Alright, thanks."

After Sammy put the phone down, Dipper looked up at him anxiously. "What did he say? Did he say yes?," he asked. Sammy smiled and nodded. "Yes!," Dipper cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "Sammy, this is just the kind of breakthrough we've been waiting for! Imagine what could happen in the future! We could become famous, we could change the entire world with our discoveries, we could even–" "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Sammy, amused by Dipper's excitement. "It's just going to be an interview. An interview that's going to start at 8:00 PM tonight. Are you free for that?" "Yeah, I am. But… ugh, 8:00 PM sounds so far away. I can't wait that long!," Dipper sighed, barely able to contain his excitement.

Fortunately, Dipper was able to wait that long. As night fell, the two of them went to the address that Toby gave them. However, when they got there, they were more than confused when the address led them to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. "Huh. That's strange," murmured Sammy. "Why would Toby tell us to meet him in a warehouse?"

"Aw man, don't tell me it was all just a prank!," groaned Dipper. "Maybe we should take a look inside, just to be sure," said Sammy. The two of them opened the front door and stepped inside of the building. Other than a bunch of dusty cardboard boxes and objects, the inside of the warehouse was almost completely empty, except for a chair at the end of the room that was facing away from them. "Hello?," asked Dipper, his voice echoing across the room. There was no answer. "I guess it really was just a prank," sighed Sammy. "Maybe Toby wanted to get back at us for trashing his house earlier. Sorry, Dipper." "It's fine," said Dipper, even though the look on his face and the tone of his voice showed that he was clearly disappointed. "Let's just get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps." Sammy and Dipper turned around to leave, when suddenly, the door slammed shut in front of them. "What the–!," cried Dipper. Sammy quickly tried to open the door and even slammed his shoulder against it a couple of times, but it didn't budge an inch. "It looks like we're trapped inside," he said. "But how did the door–?"

Suddenly, one by one, the lights in the warehouse turned on, leading to the chair at the other end of the room. The chair turned around, and sitting in it was Gideon, petting a doll of himself while glaring at the two visitors. "Hello friends," he said menacingly. "Gideon?," asked Sammy. "Ughh, Gideon," groaned Dipper, rolling his eyes. "Samuel. Dipper Pines," Gideon said coldly, playing with the doll. "How long have you two been livin' in this town? A week, two? You both like it here? Enjoy the scenery?" "What do you want from us, man?," Dipper asked angrily. "Listen carefully, boys," Gideon hissed, pointing at them vindictively. "This town has secrets you couldn't begin to comprehend!" "Gideon, is this about Mabel?," asked Sammy. "I already told you that she's not in love with you. Don't you remember that talk we had back in the restaurant? I thought we came to an understanding there…" "Oh, I understood, all right," growled Gideon. "I understood that it was you who came between me and my sweetheart! Did you really think you could pull the wool over my eyes with your flattery and games? You lying serpent!"

"W-what?," asked Sammy. "Gideon, I wasn't trying to trick you! Everything I told you back there was the complete and honest truth." "Yeah, and Mabel's not into you! When are you gonna get that through your thick little head?," Dipper asked angrily. "LIARS!," roared Gideon, getting up from the chair and walking towards them. "YOU turned her against me, Samuel! She was my peach dumplin'!" Gideon grabbed the amulet on his collar, which began to glow. "Uh, you okay, man?," asked Dipper, taking a step back from the unhinged child. "Gideon, I think you're taking this too far," sighed Sammy. "Listen, why don't you calm down, and the both of us can sit down and have a nice, peaceful conversation– Huh?!" Sammy suddenly found himself floating in the air while being surrounded with the same ominous glow emanating from Gideon's amulet. Then, he was roughly pushed back by the invisible force, sending him crashing into a pile of boxes. "Sammy!," cried Dipper, shocked and worried by what just happened. "Readin' minds isn't all I can do," said Gideon, smiling at Dipper menacingly. "But- but you're a fake," gasped Dipper. "Oh tell me, Dipper: is this fake?," asked Gideon, using his amulet to lift up the surrounding merchandise into the air. Then, Gideon tossed the merchandise at Dipper with his powers, but fortunately, Sammy quickly recovered and ran towards Dipper, scooping him up and carrying him out of harm's way just in time. However, Gideon was far from done. He continued throwing merchandise at Sammy and Dipper, who were barely able to dodge them.

Then, Gideon tried to crush them with a large cabinet, but they were able to dodge that as well. However, both of them ended up crashing against the wall painfully. "Grunkle Stan was right about you, you ARE a monster!," yelled Dipper. "Gideon, stop this!," yelled Sammy. "You're going to kill someone at this rate!" "That's kinda the point, Samuel!," Gideon said with a sneer on his face. "I'm gonna silence you and Dipper Pines, permanently! Then, there will be no one else standing between me and the love of my life! Mabel will be mine!" He laughed maniacally, then held up the doll and pulled a string on its back, making the doll laugh evilly as well.

"Alright, enough is enough!," growled Dipper, grabbing a baseball bat and running at Gideon with it. "Dipper, wait!," cried Sammy, running after him. He knew that Dipper stood no chance against Gideon and his powers, even with a weapon. "Who's a cute little guy? You are!," Gideon talked to his doll. "No you are!," the doll replied back. Dipper raised the baseball bat above his head and was about to attack, but Gideon quickly used his powers to levitate both Dipper and Sammy into the air, rendering them completely helpless. "She's never gonna date you, man!," yelled Dipper, struggling to break free. "That's a lie," said Gideon. "And I'm gonna make sure neither of you will ever lie to me again. Starting with you, Samuel." Then, Gideon levitated a giant pair of lamb shears and was about to cut Sammy in half. "Sammy!," Dipper cried out in horror, unable to do a thing. Sammy tried to break free, but every single muscle in his body was frozen. So he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his imminent death.

Suddenly, Mabel barged into the warehouse. "Gideon! We have to talk!," she yelled. "M-Mabel. My marshmalla," gasped Gideon, quickly dropping the shears. "What are you doin' here?" Mabel glanced up at Sammy and Dipper, then looked back at Gideon. "I'm sorry Gideon, but I can't be your marshmallow. I needed to be honest and tell you that myself," she said. "I-I don't understand," said Gideon, squeezing the amulet in his hand. "Uh, Mabel?!," said Dipper, feeling his throat suddenly closing up. "This probably isn't the best time to be brutally honest with him!" "Hey, but we can still be makeover buddies, right? Wouldn't you like that?," asked Mabel, a kind smile on her face. "Really?," Gideon asked hopefully. Suddenly, the smile on her face was instantly replaced with a look of fury. "No, not really!," she yelled, snatching Gideon's amulet away. Dipper and Sammy painfully landed back on the ground. "You were like, attacking my brother and friend, what the heck?!," Mabel yelled angrily, looking absolutely livid.

"My tie! Give it back!," cried Gideon, reaching for his amulet. Instead of letting him have it, Mabel tossed it over to Dipper, who caught it. "Ha! Not so powerful without this, are you?," he taunted. But then, Gideon charged at Dipper and tackled him through a window, causing Dipper to drop the amulet. "Dipper!," Mabel and Sammy cried out in horror. The two of them ran to the window and looked outside, afraid that they would see Dipper and Gideon as two bloody pulps on the ground. To their relief, both of the kids were hanging onto a tree branch that grew from the side of the cliff. "Dipper, are you okay?!," Sammy asked worriedly. "I'm fine!," Dipper hollered up at him. "It's a good thing this branch was here, otherwise we'd be– Ow! Ow! Gideon, quit it! What the heck are you doing?!" While hanging from the branch next to Dipper, the child psychic had decided to start kicking at Dipper with his stubby legs. "I'm not through with you yet, Pines!," he growled hatefully, trying to kick Dipper off the branch and make him fall to his death.

"Ow! Ow! Quit it! Stop!," yelled Dipper, kicking Gideon back. "Guys, both of you have to stop!," Mabel cried worriedly. "Look! The branch is breaking!" The two boys stopped kicking at each other and looked up at the branch they were holding onto. Sure enough, it was starting to break. The branch wasn't strong enough to support Dipper and Gideon's combined weight, and any movements they made, no matter how small, could cause it to finally snap in half and make them plummet to their deaths. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! What do we do?!," cried Dipper, realizing the dangerous predicament they were in. "I can't die now! I'm too cute to die!," Gideon wailed. "Try climbing to safety!," said Sammy. Dipper tried to hoist himself over the branch, but that only made the branch buckle even more. "Stop moving, you idiot!," cried Gideon, clinging on for dear life. "You're gonna kill us both!" "At least I'm trying to do something instead of crying like a little baby!," Dipper snapped. But he also knew that Gideon was right. There was no way for either of them to get out of this. Any small movement could mean the difference between life and death. Even if they didn't move a single muscle, the branch would still break eventually.

"Oh gosh, what do we do, what do we do?!," Mabel cried fretfully, pacing around in circles. Seeing that Dipper and Gideon would not be able to pull themselves up, Sammy quickly made his decision. "I'm gonna go down there and help them," he said, with one leg already over the windowsill. "Mabel, stay right here." "But I want to help!," Mabel protested. "It's my fault he's down there! I shouldn't have let you break things off with Gideon for me! I should've done it myself, but I was too afraid, and Dipper might die because of my mistakes, a-a-and–"

"Mabel!," Sammy said firmly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Take deep breaths." Mabel nodded and slowly breathed in and out, eventually calming down. "It's not your fault," Sammy continued. "You couldn't have anticipated any of this. And you were under a lot of pressure, just like anyone else would in your shoes." "B-but I could've–," said Mabel, before she was cut off by Sammy. "Don't," he said. "Don't torture yourself with all these what-ifs and what could've been. That kind of thinking won't lead to anything good. Believe me, I know that more than anyone…" A sad look crossed Sammy's face really briefly, but it vanished just as quickly as it came. "Dipper is not going to die," he reassured Mabel. "I'll make sure of it."

Tears welled up in Mabel's eyes, and she was shaking from head to toe, but she smiled anyway and nodded. Sammy nodded back, then looked down at Dipper and Gideon. "Don't worry, you two!," he hollered. "I'm going to come down and help you guys! In the meantime, do not move a muscle! Got it?" "Yes, yes, we got it, just hurry up already!," cried Gideon.

Sammy climbed out the window, carefully avoiding the broken glass, then started to slowly climb down the face of the cliff, grabbing onto any vines or cracks that he could possibly find. Meanwhile, Mabel watched the whole thing from the window, nervously playing with her hair. After what felt like forever, Sammy finally got close enough to the boys that they could both reach him safely. "Give me your hand, Dipper. I'll pull you up," said Sammy, reaching out to him with one hand while holding onto a vine with the other. "What?! Why him?! Why not me?!," cried Gideon, gripped by both fear and rage. "I'll pull you up too," Sammy reassured him. "But after I help Dipper." "I-I don't know, Sammy. I-I don't think I can do this!," said Dipper, clinging onto the branch even tighter. "Yes, you can," said Sammy. "You can do it. I know you can do it."

Dipper wanted to argue, but when his eyes met Sammy's, he realized that Sammy never gave him a reason to not trust him, and he wasn't about to start now. "You can do it, bro-bro! I believe in you too!," said Mabel. Taking a deep breath, Dipper gathered up his courage. Then, he reached for Sammy's hand while also launching himself off the branch. Fortunately, Sammy was able to catch Dipper in time. The latter immediately hugged Sammy and buried his face in Sammy's chest, refusing to let go. "Are you alright, Dipper?," asked Sammy. Dipper nodded, his face still buried in Sammy's sweater. Sammy could feel the front of his sweater growing wet with Dipper's tears. "It's okay," said Sammy, rubbing Dipper's back. "You're safe now."

"Dipper, I'm gonna need you to climb onto my back," said Sammy. "Wrap your arms over my shoulders so I don't have to keep holding you. I need to help Gideon now." Dipper nodded and did as he was told, making sure to hold onto Sammy really, really tightly. "Okay Gideon, it's your turn," said Sammy, reaching his hand out again. Gideon slowly began to inch his way along the branch, but stopped when the branch started shaking under his weight. "I can't!," he cried. "If I keep moving, the branch is gonna break!" "Don't worry, I'll catch you," Sammy reassured him. "You can trust me." "And why should I trust you, Samuel?!," yelled Gideon, his fear momentarily replaced with rage. "You're gonna save me after I just tried to kill you and Dipper Pines?! You expect me to believe that?!" At that point, Sammy was finally getting fed up with Gideon. "Fine, then let me explain this to you in another way!," he snapped. "You don't have a choice right now, Gideon! The way I see it, you only have two options. You could either stay on that branch until it breaks and you fall to your death, or you could take a chance, put aside that giant ego of yours, and trust that I'll catch you in time. So what's it going to be?" Then, Sammy's frustration went away, and he gazed into Gideon's eyes with such conviction and compassion that it stunned the child psychic. "You are not going to die, Gideon. Not on my watch," he said firmly.

Finally gathering up the courage to move again, Gideon slowly pulled himself over the branch, then balanced on it while holding his arms out like he was a trapeze artist. Then, with as much strength as he could muster in his stubby legs, he leaped off the branch and grabbed onto Sammy's outstretched hand. And it was in the nick of time too, because not even a second later, the branch that he had been standing on finally snapped in half and plummeted to the ground far below. Once Sammy and Gideon grabbed hands, Sammy quickly pulled Gideon towards him and hugged him to his side with one arm. Gideon and Dipper exchanged nasty glares with each other, but said nothing. "Alright, we did it! See, that wasn't so bad, was it?," said Sammy, trying to lighten the mood. "Don't you dare let me fall, Samuel!," growled Gideon, turning back to his old self again. "I won't," Sammy reassured him. "I already promised, didn't I? Hey Mabel, we're coming back up now!" However, things suddenly went from bad to worse when Sammy began to climb back up the cliff… and the vine that he was holding onto suddenly broke.

"NO!," Mabel wailed, watching in horror as her two favorite people - and Gideon - began falling to their deaths. She frantically looked around the warehouse, hoping to find something, anything, that could save them. Then, she noticed something small and shiny on the floor next to her. It was Gideon's amulet, which had fallen out of Dipper's hand after Gideon tackled him through that window. Upon seeing it, Mabel immediately knew what she had to do.

As Dipper, Sammy, and Gideon fell through the air, Dipper and Gideon started fighting and slapping each other. Both of them stopped and screamed in terror when they looked down and saw the ground approaching fast. Without any hesitation, Sammy grabbed both Dipper and Gideon, then hugged them to his chest and positioned himself in a way so that his body would cushion their fall. Of course, that meant sacrificing himself in the process, but it was a decision that Sammy found rather easy. Fortunately, right before they hit the ground, they were suddenly enveloped in a blue glow and froze mid-air. Then, the three of them were separated from each other. Mabel floated down from the warehouse, holding the amulet in her enclosed fist.

Once Mabel reached the ground, she immediately confronted Gideon, who was floating upside down. "Listen Gideon, it's over. I will never, ever, date you," she growled. "Yeah!," said Dipper, getting the last word. Mabel lowered them to the ground, then threw the amulet on the ground, shattering it into pieces. "MY POWERS!," cried Gideon, staring at the remains of his amulet in shock. Then, he glared up at each of them. "Oh this isn't over. This isn't the last you'll see of wittle… ol' me!" The others watched as Gideon walked into the dark forest and vanished from sight, glaring at them the whole time. Once he was gone, the three of them immediately embraced each other. "I'm so glad you guys are okay!," cried Mabel. "Yeah, so am I," chuckled Dipper, still shaking from his near-death experience. "We'd be a bunch of pancakes if it wasn't for you, Mabel. And Sammy, thanks for going down and trying to save us. That was probably the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do." "Yeah, that was awesome!," Mabel said excitedly. "You didn't look scared at all!" "Actually, I was absolutely terrified the whole time," said Sammy. "I was just good at hiding it." After one last hug, the group separated. "It's getting pretty late. We should get back to the shack before Stan wonders where we went," said Sammy. But as much as the twins wanted to go back, there was still one thing they needed to address, one thing that really bothered them. "Sammy… when we were falling, you tried to put yourself between us and the ground," said Dipper. "You were going to sacrifice yourself just so me and Gideon would have a chance of surviving. And you did it so quickly, too. You didn't even hesitate or think about it. You just… did it." Sammy smiled at the twins. "Of course I did that," he said. "I'd do anything to keep you two safe." "Even if it means… l-l-letting yourself d-d-die?," Mabel whimpered.

The smile on Sammy's face vanished in an instant. "Oh… so that's what got you both so upset," he said. The twins nodded sadly. Sammy sighed and pulled them into a hug once more. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to make you two feel this way. But… if something like this happens again… if you guys are in real and terrible danger… then I can't promise I won't do something like that again. You're both kids. You have your whole lives ahead of you."

"W-what exactly are you saying?," asked Dipper, trembling a little. "Are you saying that your life doesn't matter? I-is that it?" Mabel also started shaking, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, no, no! Of course not!," Sammy said quickly, trying to comfort them. "I'm not saying my life doesn't matter! I just… I…" Unfortunately, Sammy couldn't say much else without giving away some really personal information about himself, things that he was nowhere near ready to tell yet. "Look… I understand why you guys are so distressed over this. But this is just who I am. I put other people's needs over my own. If someone needs help, I'm going to do everything I can to help that person, even if it means enduring some hardships here and there. But that doesn't mean I hate myself or anything crazy like that. I'm pretty content with who I am and where I am now. Sorry, I'm rambling a little. Anyway, I'm just a guy who… really cares about his friends and family. That's all. There is absolutely nothing that you two need to worry about, okay?"

"I… I think I understand," said Dipper, slowly nodding. "Yeah, me too," said Mabel. The group hugged each other a little longer. "Can we go back to the Mystery Shack now?," asked Dipper. "Of course we can," said Sammy. The group walked all the way back to the shack, and when they got there, they saw Stan hanging up a clown painting for some reason.

"I coulda had it all," sighed Stan, before turning around and seeing Sammy and the twins. "What the heck happened to you three?," he asked, seeing that they were covered in dirt, sticks, and some bruises. "Gideon," the group said in unison. "Gideon," growled Stan, narrowing his eyes. "Yeah, the little mutant 'swore vengeance' on the whole family. Ha, I guess he's gonna try to nibble my ankles or somethin'." "Oh, yeah," said Dipper, a large smile forming on his face. "Yeah, how's he gonna destroy us now, huh? Maybe try to read our palms?" "Or maybe he'll try to guess what number we're thinking of," said Sammy, chuckling in amusement. "Well in that case, he'll never guess what number I'm thinking of," said Mabel. "NEGATIVE EIGHT! No one would guess a negative number." Everyone laughed. "Uh oh. He's plannin' on destruction right now!," laughed Stan, laying on them. The laughter continued long into the night.

However, none of them knew that this wasn't the last they've seen of Gideon Gleeful. As Sammy and the Pines family were laughing together, Gideon was back in his bedroom, making four wooden dolls, each of them resembling a familiar person. As Gideon started playing with the doll that looked like Mabel, he began talking in a high-pitched voice. "Gideon, I still love you. If only my friends and family weren't in the way." Then, Gideon put the Mabel doll away and held up the one that looked like Stan, talking in a deeper, gruffer voice. "Look at me. I'm old, and I'm smelly." Then, Gideon picked up the doll that looked like Sammy. "Ooh, look at me. I'm a dumb, pathetic loser with a savior complex and a bunch of secrets that I'm not willing to share." Finally, Gideon picked up the doll that looked like Dipper, which had derpy eyes and a tongue sticking out of its mouth. "Hey, what are you gonna do without your precious amulet?," asked Gideon, trying to make his voice sound as dumb as possible. "Oh you'll see boy…" As Gideon put away the dolls, he closed the journal that was on his desk, revealing the front cover to have a golden six-fingered hand with a number on it. The cover looked identical to Dipper's journal, but instead of the number 3, the number 2 could be seen in the center of the hand. "You'll see…"