Mabel looked around the main hall of the mall. There weren't that many women mingling around, which posed a problem for their goal. She considered charging the bathroom to get more ladies into the picture, but she wasn't in the mood for it after her conversation with .GIFanny. Instead, she picked someone out at random, a lady holding a purse, and pointed at her. "There's a live one, Soos. Just do like you practiced."
"I-I don't know, dude," Soos stammered. "These girls have so many dimensions, and no explanationy menus."
"You'll be fine," Mabel said, pushing him forward, "Talk to her the same way you would .GIFanny. Now, go!"
Soos, sweating profusely, walked up to her like a nervous gazelle. "Uh, h-hi." he said.
The lady examined him, taking in his already soaked through shirt and patchy facial hair, and looked unimpressed. "Can I help you?" she said.
Soos cleared his throat. "My, uh, my name's Soos. What's yours?"
"No." The lady said flatly.
"No? That's kind of a weird name, haha," Soos said, before his eyes widened, "Uh, not that I'm saying you're weird or anything! It's just like, uh, y'know, must be hard for you to use your name to order food, right?" The lady shook her head and started walking away. "Oh no, undo, undo!" Soos said, motioning like he was hitting a keyboard.
The lady turned back for a moment, just to say, "You can't undo who you are," before continuing to walk away. Soos slumped over, defeated.
Mabel winced, before rushing over to pat his arm. "It's OK Soos, that lady was just a jerk."
"What, and so were all the ones I talked to yesterday?" Soos asked dejectedly. "No, I'm the problem. I think I might just be unlovable…"
"Nobody's unlovable, Soos," Mabel said firmly, "You just need more confidence. Like, uh," she looked around for inspiration, and found both a perfect example and something to lift her bad mood all at once. "Gabe!" she said, rushing over to him.
He turned toward her, "Mabel? What's-whoa!"
Mabel dragged Gabe back to Soos, "See, Soos. Gabe here has weird interests-"
"Weird!?" Gabe said, affronted.
"But," Mabel added, "he owns it! He does his puppet shows with confidence and passion!" Mabel hugged Gabe, "And someone noticed it, and now we're happy together!"
Gabe, though, extricated himself from her arms. "Speak for yourself, Mabel," he said haughtily.
Mabel's brain short-circuited. "What? W-what do you mean?"
"We haven't talked in ages," Gabe said, "You haven't even texted me once."
"Sorry, Gabe, I've been busy helping my brother with something." Mabel said. Her heart was in her throat, she couldn't get broken up with on top of everything else! "Besides, it's only been a few days, I thought it'd be fine!"
"Well, it's not," Gabe said, looking away. "If we're going to be together, I should be your number one priority." He looked back at her, "Of course, we could go on a date right now. I've got to pick up supplies for my next show, and we could get lunch afterwards." He glanced at Soos, "Unless you're too busy again…?"
"I'm not too busy." Mabel said quickly.
"Uh, dude…" Soos said hesitantly.
Mabel turned back to him. "You'll be fine on your own Soos, just remember, be confident!"
"It's not that, Mabel. I just think this guy's giving off a lotta red flags…" Soos said, before looking around. "Hey, where'd you go?"
Mabel and Gabe had already left, headed towards the crafts store. Gabe needed to pick up some yellow yarn for his bee puppet, and some more googly eyes for his book puppet. Mabel thought they were in great condition, but she guessed that regular maintenance couldn't hurt. While she was there, Mabel also decided to pick up some more yarn for her sweaters. "Is that for your next puppet show?" Gabe asked with interest when he saw it.
"Nah," Mabel said, grabbing different colors, "I also make sweaters, and I've got a new idea for a matching pair with Waddles. Oh, have I told you about Waddles? He's my pet pig!"
"No, you hadn't mentioned that." Gabe said, going back to browsing.
"Oh, he's so cute, I'll have to introduce you. I'm going to make a sweater for him that's going to be glittery, and I'm going to make myself an ice cream sweater. Ice cream and sprinkles, get it?" Mabel said. Gabe just hummed in response, seemingly less interested in this since it wasn't about puppets, but he didn't seem bored either, so Mabel kept rambling about Waddles and sweaters and whatever came into her head. For a while, she didn't have to think about laptops, or dating sims, or brothers leaving her behind. She could just focus on spending time with her boyfriend.
Reality would soon catch up with her. As soon as they sat down at the mall food court, Gabe said, "So, I was wondering when your next puppet show was going to be. I don't want to miss it."
Mabel laughed. "Don't worry, I'll let you know when it's coming up. But honestly, I don't know either."
Gabe frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Well, after my Sock Opera, I was a little tired," Mabel said. "That was, like, one of the biggest things I've ever done. I just kinda want to let it sit for a while before I try to top it, y'know?"
"No, I don't know." Gabe said.
"Huh?" Mabel said, feeling the conversation steer back into dangerous territory.
"If I weren't throwing shows, I'd go insane," Gabe said, "I've had some doubts, what with all your talk about sweaters and pigs, but I'm really starting to think you don't love puppets as much as I do."
"Of course I love puppets!" Mabel said angrily, "But I've got other things going on. Is it really so bad that I have other hobbies?"
Gabe gasped. "Puppetry is not a hobby! It is an artform! A way of life!" Gabe stood up. "I thought you understood that, but clearly not." He started walking away, and Mabel was shocked.
"Really!? That's it, you're breaking up with me over that!?" Mabel said, standing up too.
"Of course, you've insulted my craft." Gabe said, not even looking back at her as he kept walking away. Mabel just stood there for a few seconds, then everything hit her all at once. The pain of the breakup itself, followed by all the things she'd been using their time together to escape. She numbly walked over to the nearest store and sat down outside the display case, already grabbing the neck of her sweater to pull up over her head.
She was, however, brought back to reality by a familiar, uncanny laughter. Letting go of her sweater, she looked behind her. She'd wound up in front of a store that had a lot of TVs on display, and sure enough .GIFanny was on one of them, laughing at her. "What's so funny?" Mabel asked, half sad and half angry.
"Oh nothing," .GIFanny said innocently, "It's just funny that the bastion of 'true love' from earlier got herself dumped."
That hurt, and Mabel was stunned for a moment. "Of course," .GIFanny continued, "I'm not surprised. Your ex-boyfriend was right earlier, you know."
"About what?" Mabel said hotly.
"That he should have been your number one priority. If you love someone, you must always show it." .GIFanny said.
"Then why aren't you with Soos right now, huh," Mabel retorted, "Why are you messing with me?"
.GIFanny appeared on another TV. "I am with Soos right now. We are having fun riding trains together."
Another one appeared. "I am simply very good at multitasking."
Yet another blinked to life. "I came to find you because I wanted to tell you that-"
All the TVs came on, each showing a different version of .GIFanny who spoke in unison. "YOU ARE A TERRIBLE GIRLFRIEND!"
Mabel felt her lip wobble, before turning and running away. .GIFanny was laughing behind her, and she ran until she couldn't hear it anymore, and then she kept running. Finally, she stopped to catch her breath, only to tense up a moment later as she heard that laugh again. She spun around, looking for the source, and spotted Soos riding a toy train. Huh. I guess she wasn't lying about the train.
Mabel started walking over, trying to think of a way to separate Soos from .GIFanny, when the train stopped. Soos reached into his pocket for more quarters, but then the girl from the Meat Cute stand walked up and started talking to him. Mabel felt her spirits lift a bit, and she proceeded with more stealth. She took up position inside a nearby plant, just in time to hear Soos and the girl say "Hoo-Ha Owl's Pizzamatronic Jamboree!" in unison.
"What, you've heard of Hoo-Ha Owl's?" said the girl, playing with her hair. "I loved that place when I was a kid."
"Oh yeah, dude, there's one right in this mall," Soos said casually, "I should show you sometime."
"I'm free around 8." the girl said, causing Mabel's spirits to lift again.
"Boom. Done." Soos said.
"Perfect. I'll see you then." the girl said, giving Soos some quarters before walking away. She waved goodbye, and Soos waved back.
"What a nice lady," Soos said, "Welp, back to riding this tiny train for children."
"SOOS!" Mabel exclaimed, running out from her hiding spot.
"Oh hey, Mabel. Sorry about abandoning the date plan, but I wanted to ride the train, haha." Soos said.
"Forget the plan, you got a date just fine on your own!" Mabel said.
"I did?" Soos thought about it for a second. "Oh wow, I did!"
"Like I said, just be yourself with confidence, and someone will love you for it!" Mabel said, "Now you don't need .GIFanny anymore."
"What?" Soos said, "But I like .GIFanny. She's good to me. She's predictable."
"She also isn't real," Mabel countered, "Can you go to your cousin's engagement with a computer game?"
"Um…" Soos said, thinking about it.
"Plus she was really mean to me earlier!" Mabel added.
"Wait, what?! That doesn't sound like the .GIFanny I know at all!" Soos said incredulously.
"Well she was!" Mabel said, the memories bringing down her mood, "Gabe broke up with me over his stupid puppets, and she said it was my fault for being a terrible girlfriend!"
"Whoah, that's, like, really uncool of her." Soos said. "Alright, dude, I'll break up with her before my date with Melody tonight."
Mabel remembered .GIFanny's words about "drastic circumstances," and quickly said, "Maybe you should just…not tell her? Y'know, just grab the disc and return it to the store?"
"I can't do that, Mabel," Soos said, "I always promised myself that if I have to break up with a girl, I'll do it to her face." His eyes grew distant. "I won't just disappear one day for no reason."
"But-" Mabel began.
"No, dude." Soos interjected, shaking his head, "I won't compromise about this." He walked away, leaving Mabel to wonder how exactly she was going to handle .GIFanny. She pulled the disc to .GIFanny's game out of her pocket. Once again, she considered breaking it in half, but she didn't know if that would destroy .GIFanny, or if it would destroy her only weakness. Dipper. I need Dipper. Soos' date wasn't until 8, so she had some time to get Dipper's opinion on the disc. Mabel nodded determinedly, tucking the disc back into her pocket as she ran out of the mall.
She hopped into the golf cart, making for the dump. When she arrived and found McGucket's hut again, though, neither McGucket or Dipper were anywhere to be found. She spent a few minutes walking around the dump, calling their names, but to no avail. She returned, downcast, to the golf cart and got in, but didn't move for a few seconds. Then, she slammed both hands against the wheel, and screamed, "Could something just go right for once today!" She didn't know how to deal with .GIFanny, she hadn't had a chance to deal with Gabe's breakup, and the thought of Stan being the author, which she'd been doing such a good job of pushing down until now, was creeping back in now that she was feeling awful.
Mabel let her head slump forward. All she wanted to do was to talk to her brother, to not feel alone anymore, but now she had no idea where he was. She sat there for a few minutes, finally letting the tears that had been building since her Gabe had dumped her fall. She cried because she'd lost a boyfriend, and because she was overwhelmed, but most of all because there was nobody here to hug her and tell her it would be alright. After a while, though, she took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked up. She wiped her eyes and turned on the golf cart, making for Soos' house. He still had a date, after all, and even if nothing else was going right, she could help him prepare for it.
Soos answered the door when she got there. He frowned at her. "Dude, have you been crying?"
Mabel nodded. "I went to try and find Dipper, but he's not where he said he'd be, and I just…" She trailed off with a sigh, then let out an "oof" as Soos hugged her. Guess I was wrong earlier she thought as she hugged Soos back tightly. "Thanks Soos." she said after a minute.
"No problem, dude." Soos said, pulling back to smile at her. "By the way, you haven't seen .GIFanny's disc anywhere, have you? It wasn't in my computer, which was kinda creepy, but I need it to bring her back to the store, so…"
Mabel laughed awkwardly. "Nope, haven't seen it, but I could help you look?" Maybe I can sneak it back into its case while he isn't looking?
"Thanks, dude, but maybe later. We gotta get ready for my date with Melody!" Soos said, stepping aside to let her in.
"How did .GIFanny take it when you broke up with her?" Mabel asked, stepping inside.
Soos winced. "Not well. She started yelling at me, saying nobody but her would love me. Saw that mean side you were talking about, haha, but then I remembered she's a video game, so I just paused her and she couldn't do anything about it."
Mabel sighed in relief. "Glad that's taken care of." Pausing her. Why didn't I think of that? With that pressure taken off, Mabel was able to focus on helping Soos. She gently teased him about the sweater vest that was the nicest thing he owned, saying it made him look like a dork, but reassuring him that she was sure Melody would love it. She helped him run through some date basics, reminding him to tell Melody that she looked nice, to be attentive, and to pay for dinner. By the time they had to leave, she was feeling a little better.
Today has been an emotional rollercoaster. Mabel idly thought as she and Soos rode back to the mall. Let's try and end it on a positive note! She gave it her all during Soos' pre-date warm-up, sending him off with something approaching her usual enthusiasm. Soos ran out of the room, with Mabel resolving to sneakily follow along and watch the date. She'd hidden inside another plant, watching Soos approach Melody. He was very blatantly looking at his hand notes, but Melody seemed to find it funny. Great. So far, so good.
Right before they walked in, though, McGucket suddenly ran up to them. He looked more disheveled than usual, and very frazzled. "You there! You work at the Mystery Shack, right?! Have ya seen Mabel?!" he asked desperately.
"Uh, yeah dude, she's over-" Soos began, but Mabel had run out to them as soon as McGucket had asked for her, a cold feeling washing over her.
"McGucket, where's Dipper?" Mabel asked.
McGucket wailed. "Oh, it's terrible! He's been captured by the Blind Eye!"
"The what?" Mabel asked at the same time Melody asked, "Soos, do you know these people?"
"The Blind Eye!" McGucket screamed again. "They're the ones who scrapdoodled my memory away. I told yer brother we shouldn't go alone, but he didn't listen to me! Now they're gonna do the same to him if we don't hurry up and rescue him!"
"Wait, Dipper's been kidnapped?" Soos said, concerned.
"We should probably call the police." Melody said, pulling out her phone.
"There ain't time for that!" McGucket said.
"Besides, the sheriff around here isn't very good at his job." Mabel added. "We're probably on our own." She turned back to McGucket. "Where is he?"
"The history museum," McGucket said, "but we need to scare up a posse and fast! We can't do this alone."
"You're not alone, dude." Soos said, cracking his knuckles. "If my pterodactyl bro needs saving, I'm coming along!" He turned to Melody apologetically. "Sorry, Melody, but I gotta take a raincheck on this date."
"It's fine, Soos. This sounds important. In fact," Melody pulled her purse more securely onto her shoulder, "I'm coming too!"
"Wait, really?" Soos said, "I mean, thanks, but you don't have to do this."
"I know," Melody said, "but I can't imagine just going home knowing a kid's been kidnapped. Besides, I'm a red belt in tae kwon do, so I think I can help."
"You know tae kwon do!" Soos said excitedly. "I already thought you were awesome, but now you're, like, even more awesome!"
Melody blushed. "Oh, you flatterer."
"Guys," Mabel cut in, "as cute as this is, my brother's in danger!"
"Right, right, sorry dude." Soos said, "Lead the way, McGucket!" The group ran out of the mall. None of them noticed the security camera that followed them on the way out, or the spark of electricity that went inside the restaurant.
Kcab srettel eerht
DOO WKLV SRVVH QHHGV LV VRPH KRUVHV.
Previous code: TICK TOCK, MCGUCKET
Notes: Gabe is out of the picture, and Melody is in the picture, so I'm happy. I think this is the longest chapter I've posted yet, which I guess is fitting for the last chapter I currently have done. If I don't make the next update, at least this was a big one haha. But seriously, there was a lot to cover on the Soos and the Real Girl side of things, and I hope I did it justice. I feel like toward the end this chapter starts getting a bit too A to B. Like, it just goes "then this happens, then this happens" and so on. But maybe that's just the quicker turnaround messing with me. What'd you guys think of it?
I guess that's my cue for the usual spiel, so I hope you enjoyed it! Ratings and reviews are always very much appreciated. Thank you for reading!