A gasp escaped my lips as I shot upright, the notepad clattering to the floor. The kids gawked at me, but before anyone could speak, I squeezed my eyes shut, activating the Memento Mori.

13:30

33.1%

The other numbers were a blur. Focusing on the causality rate and the time, I realized, judging by the fallen notepad and the surprise on everyone's faces, I'd looped back to the part where I was explaining how to fight Mary.

"Alright," I muttered, massaging my sore neck under the scrutiny of the teenagers. Wendy, Tambry, and Valentino stared intently as I tapped my foot impatiently.

"Dude, you're creeping me out," Tambry finally blurted, Valentino nodding in agreement. Only Wendy seemed to grasp what had happened. After a moment to gather myself, I excused myself and dashed back to the Mystery Shack.

Since I'd left my journal at home, I swiped Dipper's from the counter—it wasn't exactly hidden. Flipping through the pages, I realized Stanford had documented some of Gravity Falls' more controversial, non-anomalous occurrences. Then it hit me.

Snagging the journal, I returned to the group and opened it to the entry titled "Antisocial Personality Disorder." Unlike the fantastical creatures documented elsewhere, this was a recognized human condition. Perhaps Stanford theorized how the disorder could fuel urban legends. Why was this just coming to me now?

Finding the teenagers still bewildered, I beckoned Wendy away from the others. Valentino grumbled about stealing his girlfriend, but childish complaints were the least of my worries. Wendy, thankfully, seemed to understand.

"Did you just..." she began, her voice trailing off.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "Died and came back."

After explaining what happened to us before I died, Wendy's face fell. She squeezed her eyes shut and sighed deeply. "...So the Mary we're seeing now, that's… her?"

"Probably," I said cautiously. "But don't lose hope. Anyone Bill controls isn't truly themselves. Remember that." Authority came easily, considering my own experience of being manipulated by Gideon's curse, likely fueled by Bill. That monstrous version of me, the one who attacked the twins...wasn't me. We couldn't see Mary as the innocent girl she once was.

"...This doesn't make sense," Wendy muttered, disbelief lacing her voice. "Why would Ms. Ryu do this…?"

"Hold on," I interrupted. "Before we tackle that, explain things to Tambry and Valentino in a way that… doesn't involve my time travel shenanigans. Okay? I can't risk them knowing about my ability. So please, per favore."

Wendy sighed, but a flicker of understanding passed through her eyes. "...Alright."

Wendy did a fantastic job explaining the situation, weaving truths with believable fabrications to paint a picture for Tambry and Valentino.

"Whoa, that's way darker than I expected," Tambry said, finally putting down her phone. "But why, Ms. Ryu? I never thought of her as a bad person. And how? How'd she mess with everyone's memories except Wendy's?"

"Let's break it down," I offered, grabbing my notepad and sketching a simple diagram. "First, the whole Mary incident from six or seven years ago? I think the counselor, Ms. Ryu, orchestrated it all." I underlined her name for emphasis.

"Those stories we heard like Mary unleashing a lizard invasion or killing the bunnies? We only know them because Wendy heard them from Ms. Ryu. Tambry and everyone else doesn't remember because… it never happened. Ms. Ryu fabricated those stories."

The Mandela Effect wasn't the culprit. These events were pure fiction.

Wendy groaned, covering her forehead with her hands. Valentino tried to offer comfort, but she pushed him away, overwhelmed by the sudden revelation.

"But why?" Valentino finally asked, a question surprisingly mature for him. "Why would a teacher do something like that?"

"Probably to get Mary institutionalized," I explained. "By painting Mary as the town weirdo, Ms. Ryu manipulated Wendy into confirming Mary 'needed help,' giving her supposed evidence for the state."

Wendy shook her head in denial. "That doesn't make sense! The lie's too obvious. If I'd just asked around, anyone could've debunked it! The lizard story – all I had to do was question it!"

"But you didn't," I countered gently. "You never questioned anyone."

"...Why?" Her voice trembled.

I sighed. Deep down, she probably knew the answer.

"You know why. You weren't the type to pry. You mostly kept to your group and skipped classes during that time."

"..."

"She sowed discord. Without being caught."

That your friend is a weirdo.

That our friend needs to be sent to some special school.

The school counselor had been whispering to young Wendy in the ear...all that time when she talked with Wendy.

"..."

wendy seemed in despair. I, ignoring her situation, kept on talking about what I could explain.

"Of course, Mary was...challenged mentally from the beginning. It's probably true that she did show some violent demeanor towards animals and acted anti-socially. You told us that she was already visiting the counselor's office even before you got really close with her, didn't you?"

"...Yes."

"But the one who made the situation harsher, and manipulated the results of this situation to send her to a special school run by...the society, was probably her."

Every single one of the listeners seemed to be extremely surprised...except for Wendy, probably all of them couldn't believe how evil a person could be.

...There was no Lizard incident.

The Bunnies in the cage were probably killed by a wild animal, like how most other friends of Wendy remember. And the counselor seized the opportunity and put the bloody knife under Wendy's desk. This would probably cause Wendy to have a higher bias towards Mary, making her easy for the counselor to use.

"You were young, Wendy," I said softly. "Don't blame yourself for something you didn't know."

"...I know, but..." Wendy trailed off, the weight of the revelation settling on her shoulders.

The others seemed to be processing the information better, but the question of Ms. Ryu's motive remained.

"Why go to such lengths?" Wendy finally asked, her voice weary. "I was just a kid. The state wouldn't have taken my word seriously. Why all this trouble?"

"There's more to Ms. Ryu than meets the eye," I said, my voice taking on a serious tone. "According to my research, she's not the calm, collected counselor everyone thinks she is. Beneath that facade lies someone ruthless, someone who will do anything to achieve their goals. She's manipulative, cunning, and a master at controlling people, especially students."

Tambry, her eyes wide with newfound understanding, tapped furiously on her phone, likely recording what I just revealed. "The real psychopath was Ms. Ryu, not Mary," she muttered.

"The psychopath was her, not Mary..." Tambry muttered as she typed into the phone what I just said.

A shiver ran down my spine. The drugged drinks and cookies confirmed Ms. Ryu's dangerous nature. Well...Though it's most likely she did it because she recognized my face from the Society of the Open Eye. It seemed being on their blacklist came with a hefty price tag.

"...So what do we do now?" Wendy, who was still clutching her head from all these things happening around asked with a tired voice. "How do we solve this? Do you know what to do with Mary?"

...I couldn't say anything. It was...devastating, but even after all that, I couldn't find a way to actually solve the problem.

But there was one key difference now. I opened the journal and pointed at the part that was written about anti-social personality disorder.

"Well, the journal here shows how we should treat people with anti-social mental disorder. It says that we should keep being logical and all, but..." I sighed once more. "Do any of you have an idea to bring the ghost into a therapy session? The ghost who's actively changing our memories?"

"..."

"Yeah. thought so. Well, there is one possibility. Mary actually answers to our messages, so...maybe we can try that one. Valentino. You try."

Valentino's jaw slackened as I explained the fabricated memories. "Wh-what? Why me?!"

Sympathy flickered across my face, but I knew urgency was key. I shoved the phone into his hand. He stammered, his fingers hovering over the screen.

"Just follow the script," I muttered, outlining a message that challenged Mary's fabricated memories.

Valentino typed hesitantly, "...Um... shouldn't alter... other people's... memory... it's... against the law... don't... pretend to be... my friend..."

A tense silence stretched as he hit send. The phone buzzed with a confirmation chime, then... nothing. We waited, anticipation thick in the air. Finally, a notification pinged – a reply from Mary.

I snatched the phone, dread pooling in my stomach. The message displayed:

Mary: Memory? What are you talking about? Don't you remember how close we were when we were young? Anyways, let's talk again soon.

Disappointment washed over the group. They'd seen a glimmer of hope, only to have it snuffed out.

"Welp. That failed," I said, showing them the phone.

Their surprise at Mary's response was quickly overshadowed by the realization of my earlier omission. With a sharp clap, I refocused their attention.

"Listen," I said, my voice firm. "We may have uncovered Ms. Ryu's role and Mary's innocence, but that doesn't negate the threat she poses. Remember, all anomalies..." I lowered my voice, glancing at Tambry and Valentino, "...sent by Bill are inherently dangerous. They can turn violent at any moment."

"But isn't this situation caused by the society?" Wendy interjected, her voice devoid of its usual spark.

"No," I clarified. "The counselor didn't seem aware of Bill or his anomalies. This isn't the Society's doing. It's Bill, manipulating Mary into a weapon. The fabricated memories you mentioned – the forgotten friend – that's Bill's handiwork. He thrives on chaos, and this situation is his latest anomaly, twisting Mary into a threat."

Frustration gnawed at me. We knew Mary was a weapon, a Bill-twisted anomaly, but how to disarm her? My mind raced through possibilities – traps, counter-spells, even Mabel's glitter rain (though that seemed a bit… optimistic). Then, a memory flickered, a fragment from the loops before. A loop where I'd managed to delay Mary's arrival by a few precious hours.

An idea sparked. What if we could do that again, keep pushing back her arrival bit by bit? Delay her enough so she wouldn't appear until a few years later, after I'd hopefully dealt with Bill himself. It wasn't ideal, but it was the only shot I saw.

"Alright, listen up," I gathered Wendy, Tambry, and Valentino. I explained the plan, leaving out the Bill part and my… well, previous demise. It wouldn't freak them out any less, and they needed to focus.

The plan was audacious, bordering on reckless. We were going to create a digital smokescreen, a massive online distraction to throw Mary off course. Tambry, bless her tech-savvy soul, became our weapon of mass distraction. She messaged her online network, spreading a fabricated news story – Mary Robinson, they claimed, had been involved in a horrific car accident.

Hope flickered, then doubt. Messages spread like wildfire online, but wouldn't Mary easily debunk them? Unlike me, she wouldn't be trapped in a loop, stuck receiving one-sided information. But the magic of the internet, or maybe the curse of it, was its chaotic nature. Debunking something online was half the battle, and sometimes the very act of trying fueled the flames of the rumor mill.

Thirty minutes felt like an eternity. Just as despair threatened to engulf us, Stan burst through the Mystery Shack door, eyes wide. "Have you seen Mary?" he barked.

I held my breath, studying his face. "No, . Why?"

"Heard on the news," he panted. "Quadruple car accident, near Gravity Falls. Some girl named Mary Robinson…It's her! She's dying!" After wailing a bit, Stan rushed out to check other news sources to really check if the death was true.

Relief washed over me, masking a flicker of guilt. This was working. I gave Tambry a silent thumbs up. But before we could celebrate, Stan reappeared, his face now etched with confusion.

"Never mind," he grumbled. "Apparently, it wasn't Mary. She's still coming."

My stomach lurched. We rushed back to the laptop screen. Sure enough, nestled under the avalanche of every fabricated news storys were a single, stark comment.

Post by TMBRY11

Hey guys I heard that Mary has been involved in a car accident near gravity falls and she's severely injured

Comments(1)

-MR666: It's actually not her but someone else that looks like her! Still sad though...

post by TRYI561

My friend who works at the mystery shack is in the hospital because of a terrible car accident :(

Comments(1)

-MR666: It's not her, but someone who looks like her!

My heart hammered a frantic rhythm. MR666. Mary Robinson. The jig was up. We'd underestimated her.

"We need to go further," I said, my voice tight. "There's no turning back now. Tambry, make more fake news. Just anything. That she just went to North Korea, Got killed, did some stupid things, or whatever. Just do it."

We need to make fake news to send her away.

After all, she's dangerous. Right?