Soos wore his pajamas as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing his teeth for the night. He softly hummed a tune as he brushed around the inside of his mouth to the rhythm. Once finished, he spat in the sink and promptly rinsed his mouth with a cup of water that sat beside the faucet. After spitting the water out, he looked directly at his reflection in the mirror and smiled.

"Your smile is on point, Mr. Mystery," Soos complimented himself with a smug look.

He walked out of the bathroom and stepped across the hall into his bedroom. He spotted Melody as she sat at a desk opposite the bed in the bedroom's corner, looking through and filling out various papers.

"Going to sleep soon, babe?" Soos asked as he slipped under the covers of their bed, looking at her flirtatiously. "Or do you feel like getting wild tonight?"

From under the covers, he proceeded to pull out a video game case that read 'Lario Wagon 8' on the cover art that showed a cast of iconic colorful characters riding matching go-karts and bikes.

"'Cause I'm feeling like pulling another all-night Lario Wagon session! The wild part being we play on the hardest track: Rainbow Lane. And I call dibs on Broshi!"

Melody glanced over at Soos and the game. "Oh, not tonight, honey. I gotta fill out this paperwork for the Shack."

"Again?" Soos asked, putting the game down disappointedly. "This is, like... the third night in a row! Is it because I keep calling Broshi? Fine, I'll let you have him this time but if you start being cheap with the shells again, I can't promise I'll keep my cool."

"No, I don't care about Broshi, even though he's obviously the best character," Melody told him as she turned back to her papers. "It's just that work needs to get done. I need to make sure we're going to be able to pay off this month's mortgage. This would usually be the last year for us to pay it, but the refinances set us back. And the recent drop in sales that the Shack has been having might be a problem for us."

"Sales drops?" Soos questioned as got out of bed and walked over to Melody. "What do you mean? The tours have been doing great!"

"Merch hasn't been though," Melody told him with a concerned face.

She then grabbed a sheet of paper displaying a line graph and presented it to him. The graph displayed a steady arrow that has remained steady and high in the beginning and middle but begins to plummet around the end.

"You see, we've always had consistent sales in merch until about March when they began to slowly decrease. However, sales had only just taken a huge hit about a week ago."

Soos looked at the graph in shock. "But...but how?"

"I'm not sure," Melody admitted as she placed the graph down. She picked up another graph and showed it to him. "But here's the money that's been made from selling tours of the Shack. It's been more consistent than the merch sales, but it's also been on its own recent decline. The hardest hit would have to be the merch sales though, which means we might have a tough time getting the money we need to pay off this month's mortgage."

"Oh," Soos said disappointedly. He then worked up a slight smile. "Well, it's no big deal. We just have to pay off a late fee, right? We'll just do a better job trying to sell merchandise. Or better yet, take Stan's advice! 'When business is low and nothing suffices, put on a smile and raise the prices!'"

"Soos, there is no late fee," Melody told him candidly. "Since we never officially transferred ownership of the Shack after moving in, we're still paying under Stan's name."

"So?"

"So... they still think Stan is paying the Shack's mortgage," Melody said. She leaned forward and grabbed a rolled-up sheet of paper from across the table. "And after over thirty years of history with him, they, uh, kind of hate him... I mean, some of the most recent incidents under his name come from Summer 2012, where the bank lists that the Shack has been through an 'accident may or may not involving a wrecking ball', a 'giant woodpecker attack', and, um, a 'there is a totally not a portal underneath the house' accident..."

"Hey, I remember coming up with that name for Stan!" Soos gleefully realized. "At the time, he told me that it was the worst name of all time. Guess he had changed his mind."

"Yeah, well, because all of those incidents happened in one summer, AND with the number of times Stan called for refinancing, they think he's unfit to own any sort of property," Melody explained. "And because we're still under his name, it means all of those incidents are on us or 'Stan'. And if 'Stan' doesn't pay the mortgage, then instead of getting a simple late fee, 'Stan' is going to get foreclosed."

Soos stared at her blankly in silence for a moment. "So Stan is going to get foreclosed? That's terrible! We need to do something about it."

Melody stared back at Soos blankly for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. "Alright, I guess I could've explained that better. Honey, to put it simply, if we don't get enough money to pay off this month's mortgage, we're going to lose the Shack."

Soos' face then immediately changed to a look of shock. He began to feel a bit dizzy, so he sat back down on the bed and rubbed the side of his head, processing the situation. There was nothing about the thought of losing the Shack that sat well with him.

"Aw man..."

Melody looked at him with concern. "I'm sorry, baby. But we're really gonna need to figure out how to increase sales in the coming week and fast because it's not looking all that great right now. And I don't even want to think about how Dipper and Mabel would feel if they heard the Shack was shutting down."

Soos agreed. Dipper and Mabel have only just gotten to Gravity Falls. The summer had merely just begun. Sending them back so early because he was struggling to pay for the Shack would destroy them. Fortunately, he was nowhere close to thinking of letting that happen.

"Well, the Shack isn't getting shut down!" he said as he confidently stood up from the bed. "Don't worry! I have a plan on what to do to get business going around here again."

"Really?" Melody asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely!" Soos assured. "I'm going to make things right again. You've been working so hard on all our finances behind the scenes while all I do is put on a costume and play a character. Let me handle this situation. For you, for Abuelita, and for Dipper and Mabel." He walked over to the other side of the bed and placed himself underneath the sheets and looked back over at her. "We'll be out of this in no time. Trust me."

Melody smiled fervently at his words. "Well, it's not like you've ever given me a reason not to trust you." Soos smiled warmly back at her, feeling complacent inside just as she turned herself back toward the table and documents. "Good night, honey."

"Good night, babe," Soos said as he turned over on his side away from Melody, shutting his eyes. Though after a brief moment, he opened his eyes again and stared forward at the wall in front of him.

He thought for a second as his face began to display a look of concern and guilt. Despite what he had just told Melody, he actually didn't have much idea on how to increase business. But he felt as though he wasn't contributing to the Shack nearly as much as Melody has been and felt guilty about it. He was Mr. Mystery. And it was up to him to honor that name and make as much money as he possibly could. If they were actually in a position of struggling to do that, then he must've been doing something wrong. Now, he had to make things right before it became too late.

"We'll be out of this in no time..." he whispered to himself but remained unsure.

"Hi, I'm Bobby Renzobbi!" Bobby shouted enthusiastically. "Are you tired of forgetting to get your grandma a birthday present? Well, you need to get the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack!"

It was a Tuesday morning and Dipper and Mabel were sat in the living room watching TV, bored as can be. Dipper sat slumped to the side, head leaning against his raised fist on the armrest. Mabel laid down on her back on the floor, essentially watching the screen upside down.

"Grannies love the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack!" Bobby voiced over an elderly woman wearing the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack on her waist appeared on the screen.

"I love the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack!" the woman said as she gave a thumbs up to the screen.

"Believe me when I say that there's no birthday present your granny would love more than the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack!" Bobby said as the camera panned back to him. He held a Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack in his hands and pointed it toward the screen. "Call the number on the screen and order the Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack now and we'll throw in a second Handy Dandy Granny Fanny Pack for free! You can give it to your other granny for her birthday! Or give it to a friend's granny for her birthday! Or give it to your neighbor's granny for her birthday! IT'S THE HANDY DANDY GRANNY FANNY PACK!"

Dipper grabbed the remote and shut off the TV. He sighed loudly as he slumped back in his chair, having nothing to express but his complete and utter boredom. "Man, there's just nothing good on."

"Duh. Everyone knows they never air the good shows on weekdays," Mabel said as she rolled around on the carpet freely so to somewhat alleviate her boredom.

"Yeah, but this is just a whole new level of boring. And there's nothing even interesting going on around town that's worth checking out," Dipper said as he slumped himself further into his seat. "There's gotta be something better for us to do than sit around all day."

Mabel sat up as a thought came to mind. "Let's go see what Soos is up to!"

Dipper considered the idea for a moment, before casually shrugging as he got up from his seat. "Yeah, alright."

Mabel threw herself off the ground and followed behind him as the two began making their way from the living room toward Soos and Melody's bedroom, which formerly used to be Ford's room, which actually used to be Soos' break room before Ford himself returned. Admittedly, in the few days that they'd been in Gravity Falls since arriving, neither of them had spent all that much time with Soos. They've been doing their own separate things for the most part, which was a crime considering one of the main factors contributing to their original want to return to Gravity Falls in the first place was to see their friends again. Considering the Shack was closed for the day, it felt like a good time as ever for the two to actually spend time finally catching up with Soos.

The two reached his bedroom door, which had an open crack in it. Before they walked in, they heard nervous mumbling coming from inside from Soos himself. Dipper and Mabel glanced at one another with inquisitive looks. They peeked inside quietly and saw Soos anxiously pacing around the room with a paper in his hands.

"Think, Soos. Think," he told himself. "There's gotta be a way to make a lot of money fast. What would Stan do?" He stopped pacing for a moment and stood still in the center of the room to think. He smiled brightly as an idea suddenly came to mind. "I know! He would rob something! I gotta go find that heist gear he left for me!"

Soos then turned toward the door and began to quickly walk up to it. He placed his hand on the knob and pulled the door back, immediately catching sight of Dipper and Mabel standing at the doorway, looking at him with suspicion.

"AH!" Soos screamed, startled enough to fall back on the floor. As soon as he processed the fact that it was the twins, he put on a nervous smile. "Oh, uh, hey dudes! What's up? And, uh, how long were you two standing there?"

Dipper crossed his arms. "Long enough to hear what we needed to."

"Soos, you're planning to rob someone?" Mabel asked with unease.

"What? No! I wasn't planning on robbing anyone! " Soos denied, shooting up from the floor. "I was thinking more along the lines of robbing somewhere. Ya know, like a bank or store or something."

"What? Soos, what do you need money for so badly that you need to commit robbery?" Dipper questioned.

Soos sighed guiltily. "There's no point in lying to you guys. Dudes, I have some really bad news."

Mabel gasped. "You didn't forget to get Abuelita a birthday gift, did you?"

Soos suddenly gasped in fear. "IT'S NOT TODAY, IS IT?!"

"No, I was just asking if you forgot," Mabel clarified.

"Oh, phew," Soos let out a sigh of relief as he wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead. "Had me worried there for a sec. But no, it's not that bad. It's more along the lines of... 'We Might Lose the Shack' bad."

"WHAT?!" Dipper and Mabel shouted in unison.

"Wait, are you also implying that forgetting to get Abuelita a birthday gift is worse than losing the Shack?" Dipper curiously asked, branching off from the main subject.

"Dipper, that's not the point," Mabel said. She turned back toward Soos. "Soos, what do you mean we might lose the Shack?"

"Well, not gonna lie, Melody put it in a pretty confusing way," Soos admitted. "But, like, the bank doesn't like Stan, and we're paying for the Shack under Stan's name, so the bank doesn't like us. And so all of the trouble Stan got into is now under our name, and so if we miss on a payment on the Shack, we're going to be foreclosed or something like that. And that's kinda-sorta really likely since we're not making all that much money this month."

"That's terrible! You can't lose the Shack!" Mabel said worriedly. "There's gotta be something we can do about this."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out, dude," Soos told her. He sat down on the bed. "I told Melody I had a plan to get this place going again, but the truth is: I got nothing. I don't know how I'm possibly going to get out of this one."

Dipper thought for a moment. "Wait, how are you and Melody still under Stan's name? Don't you guys have the deed to the Mystery Shack?"

"Yeah!" Mabel realized as she also began to remember the Shack's deed and the lengths that Gideon had gone to get it before, including spawning Bill Cipher. "And the Gravity Falls 'Finders Keepers' law, which I can't believe still exists, says if you hold the deed, you own the place!"

"Exactly!" Dipper said enthusiastically. "So if you show the bank that you have the physical deed to the Shack, then you won't be under Stan's name anymore and shouldn't get foreclosed for his faults!"

"But are you sure it works like that?" Mabel asked curiously.

"That's what it says according to the official Gravity Falls Law Book," Dipper says, pulling the law book out from his hoodie.

"Gravity Falls has an official law book?" Mabel asked as she got closer to see the book.

"Where else would they keep track of laws as absurd as the 'Finders Keepers' law?" Dipper questioned her as he flipped through the book. Upon landing on a certain page, he pointed out a section to her. "Ah-hah! See? The 'Naa-Nana-Naa-Na, You Can't Catch Me' Law says that if a new property owner presents the deed to their property to the bank immediately before foreclosure under a previous owner's name, they can save their property under their own name!"

"That's great!" Mabel cheered excitedly. "Also, the worst name for a law ever."

"Agreed," Dipper nodded as he closed the law book. "But hey, at least all Soos has to do now is show the bank he has the deed and we're in the clear!"

Soos stared at the two as he remembered the deed. "Uh, yeah! The, uh... the deed!" He looked around nervously. "I most likely have it!"

With those simple words, Dipper and Mabel's uplifted spirits slowly degraded to ones of near horror.

"Soos, you did not lose the deed, did you?" Dipper asked worriedly.

"No!" Soos assured as he got up from the bed and began searching around the room frantically, looking inside drawers, amongst the shelves, and under his bed. "It's around here somewhere!"

"Here in your room?" Mabel asked.

Soos sighed with guilt as he kept searching. "Here in the Shack…" Dipper facepalmed himself while Mabel stared forward at Soos in pure horror.

"Alright, alright," Mabel said calmly as she stepped forward. "No need to panic yet. Nothing a simple retrace of steps can't fix. Soos, when was the last time you remember having the deed, and where were you?"

Soos stopped searching and sat back down on the bed in front of the twins. He thought about it for a moment, trying his hardest to clearly retrace his steps. Suddenly, an idea hit him. "Oh, I remember! I was watching TV!"

"The living room!" Mabel said with a smile. "You see? There we go! C'mon, let's go search-"

"Wait, wait..." Soos halted as he continued to retrace his steps. "It might've been when I was making a sandwich, actually."

Mabel looked unsure for a moment, before settling on it. "Alright, so the kitchen then. Let's go-"

"No, it wasn't in the kitchen," Soos stopped again. "I was making the sandwich in the bathroom."

Dipper and Mabel glanced at one another with weird looks. Dipper turned back toward Soos. "Why were you making a sandwich in the bathroom?"

"Multi-tasking, dude."

"Alright, fine," Mabel settled again, ignoring the topic. "Let's go check the bathroom."

"Actually, wait," Soos halted once again. "It might've been the other time I made a sandwich. That time it was in the kitchen. Or was it when I went to Yumberjacks?"

"Alright, it's clear that retracing steps isn't going to do any good here," Mabel admitted, glancing over at Dipper.

"Soos, why don't you just hang here at the Shack and search the place for the deed while Mabel and I come up with a way to bring in more customers?" Dipper suggested.

"Yeah!" Mabel agreed. "You obviously have a better idea of where it is than we do...even if that's not saying too much."

"And the way it seems, there's at least a ninety percent chance that the deed is even here," Dipper said. "At least in the event that the deed just can't be found, Mabel and I will have already begun working on our only other solution."

"And if that doesn't work either, then we'll all rob a bank!" Mabel suggested enthusiastically.

Dipper glared blankly at Mabel for a moment. "We'll... just cross that path when we come to it."

Soos smiled tenderly at the two. "You two would help me after I dug us in this hole in the first place?"

"You're like family to us, Soos," Dipper said with a smile.

"Yeah! Even when we make mistakes so bad that we wanna punch each other in the face, we still love each other in the end!" Mabel said while making a punching motion. "We just love each other with black eyes!"

"Thanks, dudes," Soos said with a chuckle. "Just do me one favor- please don't tell Melody about any of this. Trust me, I've seen her get angry during Lario Wagon sessions. I really don't want to see how she reacts if she finds out about all this."

Dipper and Mabel nodded at Soos as they both used their hands to make a zipping motion on their lips, assuring him they'll keep their mouths shut. They then quietly walked out of the room and shut the bedroom door behind them, leaving Soos on his own to continue scavenging the Shack for the deed.

Soos stood up from the bed and looked around the room. "Alright then. It looks like it's up to Mr. Mystery to solve this mystery. I'm coming for you... deed!"

He suddenly noticed a nacho chip on the floor and excitedly picked it up.

"Hey, I was wondering where this went!" He then tossed the nacho into his mouth and ate it, making a delighted noise as he crunched on the chip. "Mmmm, yep. That is old."

Later that morning, Dipper and Mabel walked into the center of town up to a mini-mart on the street corner. They watched as several different townsfolk roamed the streets, going in and out of different stores and buildings. The twins stood confidently as they held Mystery Shack flyers in hand.

"Alright, so here's the plan..." Dipper began as he looked over to Mabel. "I'll go around town posting these flyers up on walls and buildings while you stay here on this corner and advertise with a more direct approach."

"Direct approach! Got it!" Mabel repeated confidently. "But I was just wondering- is advertising the Shack more really gonna help improve business?"

"Of course," Dipper assured. "The one thing I've noticed in the few days we've been back is that there's nothing advertising the Shack in town. Grunkle Stan was always trying to find ways to advertise and bring business in when he was in charge. I mean, one of the first things he made me do when we first came to Gravity Falls was put up signs for the place. Soos just isn't as strong as an advertiser as Stan was." He walked up to the wall of the mini-mart and stapled a flyer to it before turning back to Mabel. "We just gotta think like Stan and get up in people's faces with these ads."

"Get up in people's faces. Got it!" Mabel repeated him again. She then looked around at the townsfolk walking around and noticed some of the familiar faces of citizens she's seen four years before. "Wow! I can't believe how many people I recognize! You think they'll recognize us?"

"Maybe," Dipper thought as he looked around at the townsfolk as well. "I mean, when I went to the grocery store the other day, the store owner actually recognized me. He even said I was kind of... famous!"

Mabel snickered. "You? Famous? Pffft!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. My point is, maybe we can use our name as a way to endorse the Shack when advertising. Who knows? It might rally up more customers because we're recognizable."

"Sure thing, Mr. Celebrity," Mabel poked. Dipper sighed in slight annoyance at her remarks as he walked off to go advertise around town. Mabel stayed behind at the mini-mart as planned and readied up her flyers. She looked around at passing townsfolk, preparing herself for direct approach.

Eventually, she spotted Rosanna and Reginald happily walking down the sidewalk together pushing a baby stroller. The sight of their happiness made her feel great, as she knew they were still just planning on getting married the last time she saw them. Just seeing how far they've come after so long brought a feeling of warmth inside her. Though she didn't know them as well as most townsfolk, she still felt they were still very approachable.

"Rosanna! Regy!" she greeted as she approached them enthusiastically, causing them to stop their stroller right in front of her. The couple then looked at her with confusion.

"Do we know you?" Reginald asked, scratching his head.

"It's me, Mabel Pines!" Mabel reminded as she spread her arms out happily. "The girl who used to wear braces but still had the world's brightest smile? Not that I've lost it, of course."

The reminder seemed to click with the two as they smiled back at her. "Oh, Mabel!" Rosanna gladly remembered.

"We haven't seen you around in years!" Reginald added. "How have you been?"

"Great! But from the looks of things, I'd have to assume you two are doing even better!" Mabel said, glancing between the happy couple and the stroller.

"Oh, absolutely! Married life is the best!" Reginald said happily, looking over at his wife.

"And we just had the little one in November!" Rosanna added, gesturing to the baby in the stroller. "Her name is Ruby! Isn't she precious?"

"Awww! She sure is!" Mabel said as she peeked into the stroller to see their baby girl sleeping away peacefully. "Man, what healthy family dynamics you guys have! Love to see it!"

"There's just so much to talk about! It'd be lovely to catch up sometime!" Rosanna suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Mabel agreed as she pulled a Mystery Shack flyer from the stack in her arms, holding it out for the two to take. "You guys should come over by the Mystery Shack! You may not know this, but it's still around and it's still as mysterious as ever! Maybe when you two and the kiddo are free, you all could come on over and-"

"Nuh-uh," Reginald cut off as he handed the flyer back to her.

Mabel took the flyer back and looked back at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"Supporting that old excuse for an attraction?" Reginald questioned with a raised eyebrow. "No way. After everything we've heard, there's no way the Mystery Shack is ever getting another cent from us."

"Sorry, Mabel," Rosanna said as she and Reginald began to walk off with their stroller. "You're great, but we will never support that crusty, old hut of lies again."

Mabel held the returned flyer up disappointedly as she watched the two walk away. She looked back at the flyer and shrugged. "Oh well, maybe it's just bad word of mouth," she told herself. "Or the fact that Stan ruined their proposal. Ya know? It's probably that."

She searched around for another person to target with her ads. Soon, she recognized Mr. Poolcheck walking out of the mini-mart with a bag of groceries. His face looked about as stern as she remembered, so she was hesitant about approaching him but felt it was worth a shot nonetheless.

"Hey, Mr. Poolcheck!" Mabel greeted as she casually walked up to him.

"WHAT?! WHO?! WHERE?!" he burst out suddenly, causing Mabel to flinch. He frantically glanced around until he spotted Mabel right in front of him. "Oh, it's you," he acknowledged in a calmer tone. "You got taller."

"Um, yeah..." Mabel nodded, still put off by his previous outburst. "It has been four years after all."

"Has it now?" Poolcheck questioned quietly as he looked to ponder over it. "Ah, I guess it has been four years, hasn't it? Interesting. Very interesting. Ya know, it is truly funny when you think about how fast time passes. The concept of time is truly a fascinating concept to think over."

"Yeah, it is!" Mabel agreed, surprised by Poolcheck's calmer and more sophisticated manner compared to the tough and strict man that she remembered him to be. "Gee, Mr. Poolcheck, you're a lot less stressed out nowadays than I remember."

"Ah yes," Poolcheck nodded. "My doctor had informed me around the same time that despite my generally good health and impeccable build, my blood pressure was unacceptably high. I've been attending therapy and doing yoga sessions to help alleviate my stressful demeanors and become... pure." He then closed his eyes as he pressed his hands together and bowed forward, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "Namaste."

"Namaste indeed!" Mabel cheerfully returned. "Maybe you can express some of that pureness of yours around at the Mystery Shack!" she said as held a flyer out to him.

Poolcheck's eyes then burst open and began twitching, as well as suddenly going bloodshot. "T-T-The M-My-M-MYSTERY SHACK?!"

He took a few steps back and dropped to his knees.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" he began to scream at the top of his lungs, bringing the attention of everybody on the block.

Mabel stood frozen in fear with her arm still extended out and offering the flyer as the screaming ensued. Her eyes glanced around at the townsfolk turning toward her and the livid Poolcheck. She wasn't sure how to possibly respond to the current situation.

Mr. Poolcheck kept screaming for a solid moment until he eventually calmed down a bit. He started taking a bunch of deep breaths before finally standing up, now drenched in sweat. He straightened up his posture but started to shiver as he tried to keep it. He looked back down at Mabel and took another deep breath.

"I apologize," he spat out calmly through his clenched teeth. "But I would prefer NOT to visit the Shack after hearing the latest NEWS about that house of LIES."

He then grabbed his wallet from his pocket and began aggressively digging through it until he pulled out a tiny photograph of a puppy chasing a butterfly. He held the picture up to his eyes and forcefully stared at it for a good moment until he calmed down even further. He then began to smile and calmly giggle at the picture for a minute before putting the picture back into his wallet. He then straightened his posture once again before walking off and proceeding with his day, his normally stern expression on his face again.

The townsfolk then directed their attention toward Mabel, who continued to stand frozen in place, incredibly confused and somewhat frightened by what had just happened. She then shook her head and thought about what Mr. Poolcheck had mentioned.

"Latest news?" she restated. "What did he mean by that?"

"YOU!" a deep, belligerent voice boomed at her.

Startled, she turned around and immediately caught sight of Manly Dan marching toward her furiously. Despite this, she smiled and waved at him as he approached her. "Oh, hi there, Mr. Corduroy!"

"Don't you 'Hi there, Mr. Corduroy' me!" Manly Dan scolded. "What do you think you're doing trying to advertise that dreadful place to us?"

"Dreadful place? You too?" Mabel asked, confused by everyone's sudden turn on the Shack. "What happened? I thought everyone loved the Mystery Shack!"

"Not after we figured out that there ain't no mystery about that shack!" Manly Dan shouted. "We've seen through the lies of the damned place! We know the truth!"

Mabel continued to stare at him with an addled expression for some time. "That the vending machine chocolates that say 'no nuts' actually do have some nuts in them?"

"What? No!" Manly Dan shook his head. He grabbed an issue of the local Gravity Falls Gossiper from his back pocket and shoved it in Mabel's face. "Haven't you read the newspaper?" he asked as he pointed directly at an article titled 'Mystery Shack is a HACK!'. Mabel stared at the paper in shock as she took it from Manly Dan and read the article closely. "Your 'Mystery Shack' was just recently exposed for having nothing but fake attractions and items that were used to deceive and scam us out of spending money for all these years!"

Mabel glanced through the article quickly, seeing how it managed to say exactly what Manly Dan summed up. The article used images of the Shack's faked attractions such as the Sascrotch, Sack of Mystery, Tarantulip, Thigh-clops, and other made-up artifacts to support its claim. Of course, Mabel knew that the Shack's items weren't legitimate, but to see the public finally learn about it when the Shack has been around for over thirty years was incredibly hard to process.

"Wait, so people still read the newspaper?" Mabel asked awkwardly in the midst of all the tension.

"That's not the point! You're advertising fraud to us!" Manly Dan continued to rebuke as he grabbed a flyer from Mabel's stack. "It's bad enough that my daughter is still working there when she has more important things to be worrying about! I don't need people like you trying to shove this garbage down our throats!" He then took the flyer and ripped it in half. The surrounding townsfolk began to cheer as he then took the torn halves of the flyer and began to tear those apart as well.

Mabel, however, stopped paying attention to Manly Dan and glanced back at the newspaper. While the crowd was distracted by Dan now beginning to absolutely pulverize the flyer's remains like a wrestler, Mabel quietly slipped away from the crowd and ran around the corner of the street with the rest of her stack of flyers and the newspaper in hand. She needed to meet up with Dipper and remind him what was really going on with the Shack's decreasing popularity and sales. As well as save him in the possible case that he was possibly receiving the same harsh treatment that she had just endured.

After turning a few street corners, she eventually spotted him normally stapling flyers to the side of a building. "Dipper!" she called out as she began to sprint toward him.

He turned toward her after posting a flyer. He immediately noticed that she was in some sort of distress based on the look on her face. "What happened?"

"Dipper, I figured out why the Shack has been doing poorly recently!" she revealed as she showed him the issue of the Gossiper, pointing out the specific article calling out the Mystery Shack.

He took it from her hands and read over it. "'The Mystery Shack is a hack. Attached to this article are images depicting the true nature of Gravity Falls' most infamous tourist attraction, which was discovered to be nothing more than a shameless cash grab using... fake attractions?!' What?! I mean, it's not wrong, but what?! They seriously just found out about this?"

"I know, right!" Mabel nodded. "Did people totally forget that Soos literally called all the attractions fake the day Stan made him the new owner?"

"Exactly! This is ridiculous!" Dipper shouted, looking back at the newspaper and raising an eyebrow. "Also, people still read the newspaper?"

"HEY! THERE THEY ARE!" a voice called, startling the two. They turned around to spot Manly Dan and the rest of the townsfolk in an angry mob approaching the two.

"Mabel?!" Dipper asked fearfully as he began to take slow steps backward, completely muddled by what was going on.

"Oh yeah..." Mabel began. "I forgot to say that the town is pretty mad at us for advertising the Shack. Mostly me, but they probably won't skip out on you either."

"GET THEM!" Manly Dan ordered as the mob started to rush at the two.

"RUN!" Mabel shouted as she dropped the rest of her flyers and began running as fast as she could around the corner away from the mob.

"I am getting VERY tired of running after and away from things this week," Dipper said as he also dropped his stack of flyers to follow his sister away from the angry mob that pursued them.

We'll be meeting up with an old character next chapter, so stay tuned for that.

-Absolute Rift

(Chapter updated as of December 8, 2022)