"Aaahh~" Maggie sighed as she stood in the shower, the hot water feeling like it was washing away her worries alongside a week's worth of sweat and grime. "This feels so good~" she said to herself before a soft knock was heard at the door.
"You okay in there, Maggie?" came Luan's voice from the other side. "You've been in there for nearly an hour."
"Yeah. Just relaxing after all that chaos." Maggie answered as she rinsed any remaining soap off her body before shutting the water off. She then stepped out, dried off and blow-dried her hair with the hair dryer Luan lent her before changing into some fresh clothes that were also provided by Luan. "Much better." she said with a smile as she walked out of the bathroom. "I have to remember to say thanks to the owners. And thank you for the clothes."
"Sure thing. However, I had to borrow the bra from one of the others since mine aren't as big as yours." Luan said as she gestured to both of their breasts.
"Yeah." Maggie said as she looked down at herself. Her outfit was just a simple a simple blue shirt, jeans and shoes, all of which hugged her body. "Sometimes I hate being this big." she said as she lifted one tit before letting it drop and bounce.
"Some women like big, some don't. To each their own." Luan said with a shrug.
"True. So, where's that guy that might have the memory gun?" Maggie asked.
"Mr. Ramirez said he went into a secret bunker of sorts under the house. We'll have to talk to him about it." Luan answered.
"Ugh. Why can't anything be simple?" Maggie groaned as Luan lead through the house in case her legs gave out on her again.
"Life's never simple." Luan answered as they walked into the kitchen/dining room to see Abuelita chatting with another woman at the table. "Hello Abuelita. Hello Mrs. Ramirez."
"Hello." said the younger woman with a kind smile before looking at Maggie. "And hello to you sleepyhead. How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Maggie said before looking at them both. "Thank you for everything. The food, the shower and the bed."
"Of course. And please, call me Melody." said Melody.
"If you need more soup, there is still plenty." Abuelita offered.
"Thanks, but I'm already full." Maggie politely declined before looking around. "I hate to rush, but where's Mr. Ramirez?"
"Soos is in the shop selling merchandise to tourists." Melody answered as she slowly sat up, her pregnant stomach showing under her long dress. "Oof. These two are a handful." she said as she gently rubbed her stomach.
"Don't strain yourself, Melody. Maggie and I can go talk to him on our own. Right Maggie?" Luan said before noticing Maggie staring at Melody, her right eye occasionally twitching.
"Is something the matter?" Abuelita asked after noticing Maggie's expression.
"Uh...one moment please!" Luan quickly said before dragging Maggie out of the kitchen. "Maggie? Maggie, you okay?" Luan asked. Maggie didn't respond to her, making Luan sigh before gaining a serious look. "Sorry about this." she said as she held her pointer fingers up before putting them in her mouth, then jamming them into Maggie's ears.
"AHH!" Maggie yelped before swatting Luan's hands away. "Blech! You know I hate that!" Maggie growled as she wiped her ears.
"You were staring at Melody with your eye twitching. What was that about?" Luan told her, making Maggie blink before looking down at the ground.
"I saw that she was pregnant...It made me think of what Zim's trying to do with all those women." she muttered loud enough for Luan to hear. Luan's eyes widened before her expression softened.
"Listen Maggie. I know you're afraid of aliens, but I don't think you need to be afraid of Zim. From what my sisters told me, he's a good guy." Luan said with a smile.
"I know. Honestly, it was nice talking with him before I knew he was an alien." Maggie said as she thought back to their first encounter. "He'd told me he was from far away...hehe. Didn't think he meant a different planet. Anyway, he said that he'd lost once years ago. He was so devastated that he was going to kill himself had Gaz not stopped him."
"He said all that?" Luan asked in shock.
"Yeah." Maggie nodded before a frown came to her. "But...honestly, I don't know if I can believe that story anymore. I mean, what if it's just to let my guard down so he can...you know?" Maggie said before biting her lip in worry.
"It's alright. He won't do anything to you." Luan said with a smile.
"But what if he tries to do something?" Maggie asked in fear. Luan merely put her hands on Maggie's shoulders, her smile taking on a malicious undertone.
"If he does, then all the pranks I've pulled on April Fool's Day will be nothing compared to what I'll put Zim through." Luan stated. Maggie blinked before processing that and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Now I'm scared of and for Zim." she muttered.
"Is everything alright, dearie?" Abuelita asked as she and Melody approached them from the kitchen.
"Everything's okay. My friend here's just...still recovering is all." Luan quickly lied. "So, when would we be able to speak to Mr. Pines?"
"Follow us." Melody said before leading the small group towards the shopping area. They looked to see a man in a suit, fez and eyepatch holding an eight ball cane and leading a group of people around the Mystery Shack on a tour before stopping at a poorly made statue of an old man in similar clothing.
"And here we have a statue of town hero and founder of the Mystery Shack, Stanley Pines." Soos said as he gestured to the statue. "Whether exposing deranged child psychopaths or risking his own mind, nothing stopped Stanley from helping and protecting the friends, family and town he loved most." Soos explained, earning oohs and aaahs from the tour group. "Now, who wants their picture of themself with the statue? Only 15 dollars each!" Soos said, causing the audience to cheer and pay before they started taking turns posing with the statue.
"Is all that true?" Maggie asked Melody.
"That's right. Stanley's a hero to everyone in town." Melody answered.
"He is a good man despite his faults and has been a great father figure to Soos." Abuelita added as the tourists all received their pictures and began to leave the shack.
"Come again soon. Tell you friends!" Soos called out before shutting the door after the last tourist left. He then turned and thumbed the fresh wad of bills he'd gotten. "Another profitable day." he said before noticing the women. "Hey everyone! How are my two favorite women?" he asked before giving his wife and grandmother a kiss on their cheeks. "And it looks like your friend's awake." he said towards Luan before looking at Maggie. "How you doin' dude?"
"I'm good. You and your family really helped me out. Thank you so much." Maggie said with a smile.
"No problem." Soos waved her off. "Now I hate to rush you, but I was told by Mr. Pines to bring you to see him down in his old lab when you woke up."
"You mean the guy that's the statue?" Maggie asked, making all but Luan chuckle.
"Not Stanley Pines." Soos said as he locked the door and put an 'OUT TO LUNCH' sign on the door.
"Then who?" Maggie asked. Soos merely smiled as he grabbed a lantern and walked over to the candy machine. He then pushed a few buttons before the machine opened up, revealing a hidden staircase.
"This way." Soos said as he lit the lantern and walked down the steps.
"Be safe and have fun." Abuelita said as Luan and Maggie followed Soos, their eyes wandering around before they stopped at the elevator. Soos punched in a code before it came up and opened up for them, allowing them to step in before it began to descend.
"So this is to the secret bunker?" Luan asked, sounding calm.
"How are you so calm?" Maggie asked.
"Lisa has a bunker of her own." Luan answered before the elevator stopped, allowing them out into the secret lab. "Although..." Luan started as they stepped in and took in all the old computers, machinery and wide space. "Hers isn't this big." finished the funny Loud sister.
"Yeah. First time I came down here, it felt like I was in a videogame." Soos said as they walked further in and saw two old twins talking to each other.
"C'mon, Stanford. He was your friend." Stanley said.
"I know, but I don't feel like going. I already went to his funeral." Stanford answered.
"You can't tell me you're not curious." Stanley said with a frown.
"It's my fault he became like he did for 30 years. Even if he did forgive me, I don't feel like I've earned it." Stanford sighed.
"Uh, Mr. Pines?" Soos spoke up.
"What?" both of them said as they turned to him.
"You have visitors." Soos said as he gestured to Luan and Maggie.
"Why did you bring them down here?!" Ford asked.
"You told me to earlier." Soos answered, making Ford blink before sighing and rubbing his head.
"Right, right. I did. Sorry. This whole thing's just hitting me hard." he apologized before approaching Maggie and Luan. "Greetings. I'm Stanford Pines. Pleasure to meet you." he said as he held a hand towards them.
"Hi. I'm Luan. This is Maggie." Luan introduced while shaking his hand before Maggie shook it afterwards.
"Do you have six fingers?" Maggie blurted out, making Ford chuckle.
"Indeed I do." he said as held both hands up and wiggled all twelve fingers before putting his hands into his pockets. "But enough about that. I heard that one of you has been having trouble coping with a bit of knowledge you've stumbled upon."
"Well...yes, actually. I learned about...well..." Maggie began before hesitating.
"It's alright. You can tell me. I've probably seen weirder." Ford said with a chuckle.
"How about aliens?" Maggie asked with a glare.
"Is that all?" Ford asked with a chuckle, making the two women blink and sending Stan into laughter.
"In case you didn't get the memo, this is Gravity Falls. Weird things happen here all the time. Aliens existing? Not the craziest thing to happen." Stan explained.
"Really?" Luan asked.
"Indeed. But that's for another time." Ford answered before looking at Maggie. "I don't know the full details as to why you wish to forget that aliens exist, but I can help you erase it from your mind."
"Finally!" Maggie cheered.
"Careful. People will never believe you used to be an emo if you act like that." Luan said with a smile, earning and playful shove from Maggie.
"However." Ford interrupted.
"Ugh. Another catch. What is it this time?" Maggie groaned while throwing her hands up.
"The memory gun is a delicate device. It's a complex piece of technology that utilizes-"
"I'm falling asleep here and it's not from being old. Get to the point!" Stan interrupted, making Ford grunt before sighing.
"Long story short, certain components are needed to make the device. Components that I, unforntunately, don't have available at the moment." Ford explained.
"Let me guess. They're not exactly available at a dollar store, are they?" Maggie asked.
"Nope. However, I do know of a place that might have them, if not a whole device, that may have them." Ford continued. "The home of my late friend, Fiddleford McGucket."
"Is there another 'but' coming up?" Luan asked.
"I'm afraid so." Ford nodded. "After his passing, the place has been locked tight and nobody's been allowed onto the grounds."
"At least until tomorrow at 4 o'clock anyway." Stan added. "That's when McGucket's will is going to be read. Everyone's going to be there to meet each other, send final regards or see if they're in it."
"Is that what you two were arguing about?" Soos asked.
"Correct." Ford admitted. "I had no intention of attending...but I may stop in just long enough to see if I can find the components or spare memory gun to wipe that tiny bit of your memory." he finished, his attention directed at Maggie.
"C'mon, you were his friend. I'll bet he left you tons of cash or something." Stan said with a smile.
"Can't you think of anything else but money?" Ford asked with a scowl.
"Hey, I'm not just asking because I'm greedy. We could use the money to fix the Stan o' War II and continue sailing the world." Stan said defensively.
"I still have plenty of money set aside that we can use to fix the boat! We don't need anymore!" Ford argued before turning to Maggie. "After this whole business with the will is over tomorrow, I'll see what I can do about your memory."
"So I have to wait longer?" Maggie asked with a despondent tone. She looked up when Luan pulled her into a side hug.
"Cheer up, Maggie. It's only for one more day." Luan said with a smile. "Now come on. Smile before people start calling us Melpo and Thalia."
"And if you can't find anywhere to bunk tonight, you can stay here again." Soos offered.
"Actually, she can bunk with me tonight. We got a lot of catching up to do." Luan said.
"Suit yourself, dude. Door's open if you change your mind." Soos said with a shrug.
"We'll keep that in mind." Luan said before turning to the two Stans. "Thanks again. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Farewell for now." Ford said as he and Stan waved goodbye while Soos and the two women rode the elevator back up.
"I'm surprised you didn't chew Soos's head off for bringing them down here." Stan said.
"The portal is destroyed and the computer towers and other technology down here has been gutted, leaving nothing but empty shells. There's no harm in anyone coming down here." Ford explained.
"Alright." Stan shrugged. "Now, back to the matter of the will." Stan said, setting off another argument between the two brothers.
The three had returned to the surface and walked out of the candy machine before Soos closed it.
"So what did Ford say?" Melody asked.
"He can't do anything until tomorrow. Oh, and he's going to the will reading." Soos answered.
"I'm glad. It may help him get some closure." Melody said with a smile.
"I hope so." Soos said before turning to Luan and Maggie. "So what will you two be doing? Your friends are all over Gravity Falls, but they wanted you to let them know when you woke up."
"I'm messaging Lisa now." Luan answered as she texted on her phone. She got a reply a moment later before pocketing her phone. "She said she'll pass the word to everyone. As for us? We're going to take a little ride around Gravity Falls. See the sights and all that."
"Have fun dude. And we'll all see you in three days." Soos said before he, Melody and Abuelita all held up tickets to Luan's comedy show.
"Aw, thanks." Luan said with a smile before she and Maggie walked towards the door. "Well, we're off. Bye bye!" Luan said with a wave before she and Maggie left the building and headed towards her car.
"Surprised you don't drive a clown car." Maggie joked as they approached a yellow convertible car.
"Maggie...did you just make a joke?!" Luan asked in astonishment.
"What? You saying I can't make them?" Maggie asked with a smirk as they got in the car.
"I'm just stunned. I've never heard you crack a joke!" Luan exclaimed before laughing. "And that was definitely a good one!"
"I'm more stunned at the fact that you haven't been cracking jokes left and right. I know you know I like your mime act more, but that never stopped you from making puns and such." Maggie answered.
"Oh...yeah." Luan said while averting her gaze before sighing. "I decided to rein myself in after that one April Fool's Day fiasco with Benny."
"He still hasn't forgiven you?" Maggie asked.
"The restraining order he has out on me says no." Luan answered. "I'm just glad my family didn't rub salt in the wound by saying 'I told you so' to me...more than the 100 times they did for a whole week afterwards anyway."
"After suffering your pranks every April Fool's Day for years? They were entitled to throwing it in your face." Maggie replied.
"Yeah." Luan sighed before perking up and starting her car. "Well, no sense moping about the past. Time to hit the town!" she said before they drove off.
A/N: Someone asked me about Lisa erasing their memories in the past about Zim but not able to in the present. There's a reason for that coming soon.