And so we've reached the end of Gravity Falls season one! This chapter was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you all enjoy!

"You know, I'll admit," Mina said casually. "When we decided to stay in the Mystery Shack, I don't think I ever imagined we'd end up moving in with Soos' grandma."

"We didn't even really know Soos at the time, so that makes sense." Izuku winced. "No offense, Soos."

"None taken, dude."

Izuku gave him a smile, before turning to Soos' grandmother. "Seriously, thanks for giving us a place to stay until we get the Mystery Shack back."

"It is no problem." The woman smiled. "The drama that comes with all of you is more than entertaining enough."

"...Ah, alright." Izuku decided to just take the statement as it was.

"Hey, we've been through worse. We can totally get through this," Ochako encouraged. "I mean, we've bested a dream demon in the mind, fought in future gladiatorial combat, rescued a mermaid, dealt with a fighting game character coming into the real world…"

Izuku blinked. "Wait, when did that happen?"

Both Ochako and Shouto suddenly found a deep interest in some spots on the walls. "That's besides the point. Anyways…"

Stan looked unimpressed as usual, and even more exhausted than he normally did, slumped into one of the armchairs and refusing to look at the rest of them. "Oi, shut your traps. The news is on."

"In a surprising turn of events, resident child psychic Gideon Gleeful has taken ownership of the Mystery Shack from resident shyster Stan Pines." The screen switched to show the reporter and Gideon smiling in front of the shack. "Gideon, now that you have the Mystery Shack, what are you planning to do with it?"

Gideon beamed at the camera. "I have a big announcement to make today, and I'd like all the good people of Gravity Falls to join me. Free admission to everyone who wears their Gideon pins!"

"Every time he speaks, he gets on my nerves more and more," Mina sighed. "We're totally gonna infiltrate this announcement, aren't we?"

"Of course."

"Duh."

"I thought that was obvious?"

"Everyone grab your trench coats, and suit up," Stan ordered. "And don't pretend you don't have any, I know you do. Soos can provide the hats."

The "Grand Closing" of the Mystery Shack started off on a cheerful note. Bud Gleeful played some jaunty tunes as Gideon burst through a poster with his face on it, doing a sweet little dance in front of his adoring crowd.

In the back, the Mystery Crew, Stan, and Soos snuck in, unnoticed by everyone (the fact that Stan swiped a Gideon pin to get them free entry helped, although he whined about his hearing aid afterwards). It was a testament to how long he'd been in the town that Izuku didn't dwell too much on the fact that trench coats were actually an effective means of stealth here.

Eventually, Gideon's dance was finished, and he went up to a tiny podium painted in his light blue, with his symbol on the front of it. "Ladies and Gentlemen! I am delighted to announce my plans for the former Mystery Shack." His father brought around a small tray with a tarp covering whatever was on top of it. At Gideon's signal, he removed the tarp with a flourish. "I give to you… Gideon-Land!"

Underneath the tarp was the gaudiest little mini theme-park, with tiny moving roller coasters and a giant Gideon statue whose head spun around and around, giant smile painted on its face. "We're going to remove this dusty old shack, and give you three square miles of Gideon-tertainment!"

"That little brat," Stan practically growled. "He's got no respect for the business. And he's got everyone here eating out of the palm of his hand. Including the police." He nodded grumpily towards the two police officers, who were looking up at Gideon with adoring expressions.

"We'll just need to find a way to get the deed back, right?" Mina said. "He stole it from us, so we should steal it back."

"Get justice for ourselves!" Soos agreed.

Stan grinned. "Now that's a good idea right there. But we gotta do this right - we're gonna need a plan."

"We'd better," Wendy agreed, sliding up next to them. "If I can't work at the Shack, Dad's gonna send me up to my cousin's logging camp." She shuddered. "At least I'd get away from Robbie and his dumb texts begging me to take him back, but still."

Robbie? The grumpy teen from the haunted store? Guy who got a lollipop stuck in his mouth? Izuku blinked at his friends, who all shrugged with equal confusion.

Either way, the stakes just kept getting higher.

They were lucky they had won that photo contest - Shouto bought everyone pizza, and the group gathered in Soos' living room to plan. Stan drew out a map of the shack and surrounding area, and Izuku flipped through the Journal for anything that could help them.

"I got more of those glow and shrink crystals from the woods," he said, laying them out in front of him, before putting them in a bag. "Just in case we need extras. Worse comes to worse, we can just shrink Gideon while we grab the deed."

"That's a good plan," Mina agreed, petting Waddles. "Those can definitely come in handy."

"Right? Oh, and I can use the dagger to open the locks on the house and safe, so we're good there too."

Stan shook his head, not looking up. "Wouldn't work. I magic-proofed all my locks after Gideon first showed up. Gonna have to pick it the old fashioned way."

"Another problem we're going to have is McGucket." They all looked at Shouto, and he explained further. "I saw him working on that big Gideon statue, and we all know McGucket makes some crazy and deadly inventions. I wouldn't be surprised if he made some for Gideon."

"Just what the kid needs, deadly weapons," Stan grumbled, finishing his outline. "Okay, all done. Wendy, Soos, you got all the changes that Gideon's made so far?"

"You bet, Mr. Pines!" Soos moved over and started marking them down. "His giant statue is here, and his dig-site is here-"

Ochako blinked. "Dig site?"

"Yeah, it's really weird," Wendy confirmed. "Not really sure what he's digging for, but he's super intense about it. Cackling about unlimited power and all that."

Instinctively, Ochako looked at Stan, who would know better than anyone if something dangerous and magical was buried near the shack. His shifty look at Wendy's words was confirmation that there probably was something of the sort.

Suddenly, Izuku's head shot up. "You don't think he's looking for this, do you?" He held up the Journal. "It was buried near the shack, and some of the things Gideon has used or has gone after have shown up here."

Stan's eyes widened at the sight. "What the hell? What is that?"

"Right, we didn't tell you." Izuku showed him the cover, so he could get a clearer look. "See, around when we first got here, I found this journal by an unknown author, cataloguing different mysteries of Gravity Falls. I just wondered if he's after it."

"Well, once we get the deed back, maybe we'll know." And with that, Stan turned away, effectively ending that conversation.

Then he grimaced. "Ow, my hearing aid!"

Strange.

The sun went down, and they put their plan into action, Stan leading everyone through a small hole in the fence near the back, watching the big, beefy guards Gideon had hired patrol the area.

Wendy turned to Shouto and Ochako. "You two remember everything I've taught you?" Shouto nodded, and Ochako gave her a thumbs up. "Okay then, let's do this."

The three of them set out ahead of everyone. Shouto waited in the darkness for one of the guards to pass, before easily knocking him out and dragging him into the bushes, all the while marveling at how much his own combat skills had grown since he'd gotten here.

Before, his old man had always made him focus on using his quirk, not actual combat. Sure, Shouto had learned to dodge out of necessity, but actually fighting hand-to-hand had never been a strength of his.

Now, he couldn't use his quirk, and had little control over his strange chaotic magic, but his fighting skills had improved in leaps and bounds. There was probably a lot of dramatic irony to be found there.

Ochako grinned as she knocked out the final guard. "Okay, we're clear!" She whispered back to everyone else, who emerged from the fence to meet them.

"Mind if I join in your defense lessons?" Izuku asked Wendy, looking a little awed. Next to him, Mina nodded vigorously.

"Maybe next time," Wendy agreed, as they approached the shack, guarding Stan as he picked the lock, and looking out for the Gleefuls.

A minute passed, and Stan let out a quiet noise of victory. "We're in." They all crept through into the shack, as silently as they could, making their way towards the safe.

"Alright, now we just need to figure out Gideon's code-" Stan grimaced and grabbed his ears again. "Ah, what the-?"

"Ah-ha!" They all spun around to see Gideon standing in front of them triumphantly, holding the deed in one of his hands. "I knew you'd try and come back to get this! Did you really think you could steal my deed on my own property? I'm gonna have you arrested for this-!"

Izuku made a panicked noise and turned on the size-changing flashlight, shrinking the deed until it slipped right through a surprised Gideon's hands. "What!? Not this again!" The boy made to grab it, and Shouto stretched out his arm, pulling with his fire and praying that nothing would go wrong this time.

For once, it actually worked, and the deed flew right into Izuku's hands, who grew it back to normal size and sprang to his feet. "Alright, let's get out of here!"

"You don't need to tell us twice!" The seven of them sprinted out of the shack and down the lawn, towards the woods.

"Gideon probably still has something up his sleeve," Shouto pointed out, as they dashed through the trees.

"Definitely," Stan agreed. "Wendy, you and I are gonna hold him off while the others get to Soos' house." The older man reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles, fitting them on his hands. "Think you can handle it?"

"Course I can," Wendy agreed, grinning and showing off the bat she had swiped from inside the shack. "You guys keep going!"

"Be careful dudes!" And so the five of them kept running forwards.

"We still need to prove that the deed is ours again," Izuku panted, as they reached the parking lot where tourists usually arrived, one empty bus parked in the corner. "But at least we have it back now!"

The ground behind them shook.

Slowly everyone turned around.

There, cutting through the trees, was the giant Gideon statue, now glowing and moving towards them at high speeds. "Give me back my deed!"

"Okay, so the giant statue is actually a giant robot," Mina said faintly. "Who knew?"

"Everyone to the bus, dudes!" They scrambled into the bus, and Soos sat in the driver's seat, pulling them out of the parking lot and away from the robot.

"This might be a bad time to ask, but do you know how to drive a bus?" Izuku asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I had a couple lessons," Soos assured him. "One of these things is probably a clutch - hang on!" They sped faster, the giant Gideon-bot still stomping towards them, swiping his hands and trying to grab them.

A hand went down right in front of them. "Look out!"

Soos yelled and swerved the bus, sending them off the main road and plowing them through a "Road Closed" sign. The road continued, leading up and around the mountain, again and again, the robot climbing up the sides to meet them.

"Soos, Cliff!" Mina screamed, as they approached the end of the road at the top of the mountain. Soos slammed on the breaks and swerved again, and they went sideways towards the edge, stopping just at the end, the back wheels dangling precariously off the edge. The robot stomped towards them, and Soos tried to get them moving forwards, to no avail.

Gideon picked up the entire bus and shook it, hard, everyone clinging onto seats for dear life. The roof tore right off, and a giant hand swooped in towards Izuku.

Shouto didn't think, just acted, grabbing Izuku's arm and pulling him away. Gideon snagged the back of his friend's jacket and lifted upwards, the motion tearing the fabric and sending them flying into the air.

There was a moment where the two of them were holding arms and free-falling, before Izuku swiped downwards with his dagger, slowing their descent. The two of them collapsed onto the bridge between the two cliffs, bruised but alive.

Gideon jumped down after them, shaking the bridge, and, faster than they could react, grabbing both of them with separate hands. He straightened up and cackled, before Shouto found himself flung onto the opposite cliff, sliding against the ground and into a rock. For a moment, his vision went fuzzy, and he could feel the cuts on his arms reopening again.

Gideon grinned down at Izuku. "With the deed to the shack, I'll finally get Journal number one and gain unimaginable power! I'll rule this town, with you by my side! Ahahaha!"

"Journal One? What - let me go!" Izuku beat against the robotic hand, to no avail.

…What now? If he had his quirk, he could've taken down Gideon's robot easily before it ever came to this. Now all he had was weak and uncontrollable chaos magic, and Gideon was walking away from him, not yet in range of the girls and Soos, with Izuku trapped.

Useless.

…No, he decided. I'm not useless without a quirk. I can still be a hero.

Shouto backed up into the trees, then ran as fast as he could and leapt off the ledge, screaming to get Gideon's attention. Gideon turned to face him, and Shouto smashed feet first into the younger boy, knocking him down - and the robot down with him.

He took note of Gideon's outfit, seeing the sensors. Don't mess with his left hand, that's where Izuku is. Or… He forced the hand open, and heard Izuku's cry of relief.

Gideon got to his feet, and went for a punch, but Shouto caught it easily. "You've done enough damage, Gideon," He said coolly. "Stay away from my friends."

Then he grabbed Gideon's hand and turned it on the boy, forcing him to punch himself in the face, twice. The robot's fist collided with them, and the room they were in spun around and around, forcing them away from each other. As Gideon went flying sideways, so did the robot… and it tumbled off the railway bridge.

Shouto felt them falling and grabbed Gideon, before leaping towards the eye, out of the tumbling robot. Gideon screamed and pushed away from him, kicking out and causing Shouto to lose his grip. For a moment, they were both freefalling, careening towards the ground-

And then someone caught Shouto, and his descent slowed. Dazed, he looked up to see Mina, smiling at him and lowering them with her grappling hook. "Got you!"

"We're all good!" He looked over to see Ochako floating down as well, with Izuku, Soos, and Gideon all safely in her telekinetic grasp. "Looks like Gideon wasn't wearing whatever it was that cancelled the amulet's powers, thankfully. Must've been inside the robot itself." Izuku beamed at her, and Gideon gave her a look that was somewhere in between a glare and a confused stare. Below them, the robot hit the ground and exploded, blue light flaring up for a moment, before there was silence.

The six of them touched the ground, and for a moment, simply caught their breath. Then the Mystery Crew were together, hugging each other tightly.

"You saved me!"

"You both saved me!"

"We all saved each other!" An incredulous laugh tore itself from Shouto's throat.

"Ohmygosh, that was a genuine Shouto laugh! This is the best day ever!" The others laughed, and Shouto elbowed Mina in the ribs for that. She just laughed harder, and he couldn't help but smile, because they were all alive. And they did it! He did it!

The sound of cop cars pulled them out of their celebrations. More cops than Shouto had ever seen in Gravity Falls gathered around them, people from around town wandering over to see the cause of the explosion.

"Gideon!" The two familiar cops ran towards the boy, checking him over. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Gideon sniffed. "It - it was those teenagers! The ones who worked at the Mystery Shack! They attacked me, and blew up my statue with dynamite, and-and you need to arrest them!"

Shouto could feel the glares of the population settling on them, and he bristled. "We did no such thing! Gideon was the one with the dynamite, and he was the one who attacked us now!"

"He stole the deed away from Stan, and tried to attack us for getting it back!" Izuku insisted.

Blubs shook his head. "Sorry kids, but we trust Gideon. Nothing short of a miracle would change our-"

He was interrupted by a screeching sound as Stan's car swerved in front of them, Stan and Wendy getting out. "Stop everything! We've got something to say!"

"Gideon is a fraud, and we figured out how to prove it!" Wendy announced. The two of them ran towards the broken robot, and shoved aside one of the still unbroken panels. "Explain this, Gideon!"

Everyone peered inside, then reeled back in shock at the footage they found. Videos of everyone and their personal lives replayed in front of them, revealing all the secrets Gideon had claimed he knew through psychic abilities.

"That's right. These pins are hidden cameras, and my old hearing aid was picking up the feedback." Stan held up the camera he had swiped before, and one of the videos in the robot panned around with the motion.

Wendy grinned. "How's that for psychic?" Stan crushed his pin, and the other townsfolk threw theirs down, furious gaze turning from the Mystery Crew to the fake psychic they had trusted. Gideon laughed nervously.

"You know," Soos said casually, "After you attacked us, Ochako saved you from falling to your doom, and the first thing you did after that was to try and get her arrested. That's pretty uncool, dude."

Those words seemed to break the dam of anger and betrayal the citizens of Gravity falls had been holding in.

"Gideon, we gave you our trust!"

"You lied to us!"

"You really did try to attack those poor kids!"

Gideon backed away. "Please, it's - it's not what it looks like! W-What are you gonna do with me?"

Durlan sighed sadly. "Tyler?"

Tyler wiped away a tear. "Get 'em. Get 'em!"

"Gideon, you're under arrest for conspiracy, fraud, attempted murder, and breaking our hearts." Sheriff Blubs sniffed. "Durlan, the tiny handcuffs."

"Just one more thing," Stan said, as Gideon was led away. He lifted the boy up, and shook him out, dislodging a bunch of miscellaneous items - and a Journal. Then he opened his hand, and Izuku gave him the deed. He grinned, and held it up for the cameras. "I believe this belongs to me."

"And there you have it," the reporter said. "Town hero Stan Pines and his employees have just exposed Little Gideon as a fraud. What do you have to say to the town, Stan?"

Stan grinned at the camera. "The Mystery Shack is back in business, baby! And we'll be having a great reopening party in two days!"

"That's not a lot of time," Shouto noted, as they lounged around the living room, watching themselves smile on camera. "Think we can pull it off?"

"'Course we can!" Stan boasted, counting the massive wads of cash he had gotten for the first day of reopening. "We just put that little bastard away for good! A party's easy compared to that."

"Has anyone seen my journal?" Izuku asked from the kitchen. "Or the journal Gideon had, they're both missing."

"Haven't seen it," Mina admitted.

Stan waved him off. "Oh yeah, I borrowed both of them. There's some good potential attractions in there."

"What - hey!" Izuku popped his head into the living room, frowning. "Ask next time, okay?"

"Yeah sure, of course." Stan ruffled his hair as he left the room, and Izuku plopped down next to Ochako.

"He's a weird one, isn't he?" He said lightly.

"I think we figured that out when he let us stay here to begin with," Ochako joked. Then she sobered. "Hey, Deku? Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but it's been on my mind since we left Stan's dreamscape."

"Hmm? No problem, what is it?" Izuku tried to think of what could be bothering her, realized that everything that had happened in Stan's mind was pretty ominous, and decided not to try and guess."

"When Cipher was hitting us with our nightmares, I… kind of overheard yours? And I can see why that would be a nightmare, All Might telling anyone that they betrayed him would be a nightmare, but fake-All Might said something about you being born Quirkless, and "One for All?" I was just wondering what that means."

Izuku's blood ran cold, and his heart froze in his chest. Mina and Shouto were both looking at them curiously now, and Izuku had no idea how to deflect the question properly.

Ochako clearly saw his terror. "You don't need to answer if you don't want to! Sorry for bringing it up."

And that would be an easy out for him… except Izuku thought about how Shouto had told them of Endeavor's crimes, and of all the life-threatening things they had gone through together. He weighed his options carefully in his mind.

In the end, his heart chose for him.

"You can't tell anyone about this when we get home, okay?" He begged. "Please, it's really important."

"We can keep secrets," Shouto assured him, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh a little, because of course Shouto could keep secrets.

He could trust these guys. There wasn't anyone he trusted more.

"I was, ah, quirkless. All the way up until the entrance exam for UA," he admitted softly. "Everyone told me I could never become a hero, but I wanted to, so badly. Then I met All Might, and I guess… he saw something in me? He told me I could become a hero."

He took a shaky breath. "All Might's quirk is called One for All. It, ah, stockpiles quirks, and you can pass it from one person to the next, so it keeps gaining power. Eventually All Might got it, and right before UA, he passed it on to me." He let out the breath. "So you can't tell anyone, okay? All Might doesn't want the world knowing."

"We won't," Mina immediately agreed, eyes wide. "That's so - Izuku, that's so cool! Freaking All Might gave you his quirk? That's amazing!"

"And it explains why you kept breaking your arms trying to use it. You weren't used to it," Ochako agreed, clearly connecting the dots in her mind. Izuku let out an awkward laugh in agreement.

Still, his eyes drifted over to Shouto. Considering Endeavor's issues with All Might and what he did to Shouto because of it, would he be upset to know Izuku had his quirk?

"What I don't get is why you sounded so confused when telling us All Might chose you," Shouto finally said. "I would've thought it was obvious. I can't imagine you as anything but a hero, quirk or not. You've more than proven you don't even need a quirk to be a hero. That's just who you are."

Ah. "Shouto, I…"

Ochako winced. "Oh no Deku, don't cry!"

"Did I say something wrong?" Shouto asked, concerned.

"No! You didn't, it was great - these are happy tears." Izuku wiped his eyes and smiled. "I'm just so lucky to be friends with you all."

"We're lucky too!" Mina crushed him in a hug, and soon the other two joined. Izuku tried (and failed) not to cry into their shoulders.

Mina looked nervously at Shouto, who nodded seriously, and they both approached Stan. "Hey, Stan, can we talk to you for a second?"

Stan blinked up at them. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. What's up?"

Mina took a deep breath, and pulled out the photo of the two kids. In front of them, Stan froze. "We found this while we were cleaning up the shack, and we were wondering who they were. Did - do you have grandkids?"

Stan stared at them both for a long moment, and Mina wondered if they had crossed some line. Then he sighed, taking off his fez and running a hand across his forehead. "Not grandkids. Those are my great niece and nephew. They were supposed to come for the summer a few years ago… but they got in a car accident, and, well."

Mina remembered the memory of the funeral, and her heart sank.

"Sorry for bringing it up," Shouto said quietly.

"Nah, it's fine. You were just curious. I get it." Stan made a face. "It's weird, having kids staying with me now. You're all the age they would've been." He shook his head. "Sometimes I see you kids doing things, and I can't help but be reminded about Shermie's descriptions of them."

"I think you would've been a great uncle," Mina encouraged. "You're so good to us, and we're not even family. I'm sure they would've loved you."

Stan scoffed in a way that implied he didn't believe her, but his eyes softened. "Thanks, kiddo. I'm sure they would have liked you guys as well."

(And in the back of her mind, Mina felt that Something once again. It sounded almost amused.)

"Why have you done this to Dipper and Mabel?" You may ask. Don't worry, there's more to the story than this. When I said the twins have already shown up, even in the earlier chapters, I meant it. Their story is far from over, and it's going to be a lot of fun to explore further.

All that being said, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you think!