During a late night in Gravity Falls, at a particular diner the locals know about. A woman with a constantly closed eye lid was busy sweeping in the kitchen, humming to herself. "Tututum, locking up." She heard licking noises and found, on a sink fully of soapy dishes, a pair of scavenging opossums that had to be shooed away by the broom. Her closing hour was more insane as she spotted a particularly large varmints hiding under the table. "Get McGucket, get."
With the tap of the broom, an elderly hillbilly, with a long gray beard, brown overalls and a brown scarecrow hat scurried from the table and out the door. Escaping into the wilderness along with the possums. The store owner begun locking up and made her good nights to her surroundings. "Goodnight Diner. Goodnight tree. Goodnight scary fox man, stealing my pie!"
She realized something was off and had a second look at the spectral white fox with red markings, having a bag of something jiggling in one hand and a pie that was left cooling on the window seal in another. "Wait, whuu?!" The fox stared awkwardly, had a nervous smile and casually tossed it into the window before closing it. The woman saw the spooky yellow eyes and was left screaming while backing away. "Scary fox man! What do I do, what does it mean?! What do I do?!"
She bumped into a phone booth and hurried to use it, dialing to reach someone on the other end. "Yes, hi! I would like to report something. I'm at Greasy's Diner. You won't believe what I seen."
The Fox sense rustling and sneaked into the shadows, keeping watch at the woman's panic. He spotted a group of red robe strangers that have a mark of a crossed eye on their foreheads. Putting a bag over her head and seize her away. The Fox was ready to pounce at the assailants as a leader of the group whispered out loud. "It is unseen." Doing more to confuse the Fox and making him reconsider a more subtle approach.
Over at the Mystery Shack.
Dipper was up quite late at night. With Phantump helping the boy set up a billboard while wondering where Mabel and Sweet Puff went off to. Dipper placed a picture of a silhouette of a stranger with a question mark. He used a pen of blue ink to make a circle and started chewing at the rear end. "Alright Author, who are you?" Accidentally breaking the pen and finding his mouth full of ink.
Bleh!
He wiped the ink out of his mouth and spat while tossing the pen at a tray of thinking pens. "Not again." Suddenly a wild Mabel and Swirlix appeared. "Hey bro, bro!" She leaped on the mattress and landed on her back, showing a bottle with a scroll. "Look what I got!" Dipper pretended to cheer. "Yay! A filthy green bottle." Mabel ignored the sarcasm and stood up to remind Dipper of a previous adventure. "It's a bottle message from Mermando! Remember? He was part fish and part shirtless guy!" She gasped in hope. "What if he wants to get back together?"
Phantump half dropped his eye lids. (I don't think it works like that.) Dipper felt the pessimism and agreed. "I wouldn't get my hopes up for that one." Mabel was too excited to care. "Too late, hopes are way, way up!" She uncork the bottle to get the note out and sat down to read the letter, with Swirlix joining in the read, even if she couldn't understand what is written.
"Dear Mabel."
"So far so good."
"It is with a heavy heart."
"So far so good."
Sweet Puff realized what that meant and rolled her tongue back into her mouth, expecting disappointment as her partner continued reading. "that I must inform you that-" shock seeped into her voice. "I'm getting married?!"
Phantump sighed. (There it is.) Dipper felt a case of deja vu. "It was coming."
Mabel pulled the letter and found a photo, being more focused on finishing the message. "In order to prevent an undersea war... arranged wedding?!" She looked at the photo. "Queen of the Manatees?!"
She looked at the photo of Merboy having regret while with a Manatee that is dressed as a queen. "And she's so beautiful!" The girl despaired in tears. "This can't be happening." She wiped her eyes while Sweet Puff pat her on the back. (You'll get over it.) Dipper pitied his sister. "Oh Mabel, you'll get over him eventually!"
The sister pouted. "You guys don't understand." She looked for something on the floor and pushed away a sweeter with the image of a dog to find a pink book. "On my first day here, I've made this page here for summer romances and look at my luck."
She showed a stranger in a black hoodie. "Turn out to be gnomes."
Then a familiar Gideon. "Child psychos."
Then a blonde man who was kissing hand puppets. "Made out with his own hands."
Then to a group photo of the previous band of Keybearers, along with Ven, Stitch and Bursty. The older of the boys being highlighted "Dead for over a decade and now-" She added the photo of the Merboy's predicament to the album. She used a marker to write the word failed on the page. "I wish I could just forget about them forever."
Dipper admitted to his own foul luck. "Hey if it's any consolation, my summer mission hasn't been much of a success either." He checked his book. "I'm still trying to find the author of this journal and I've been letting the guys down." He put the book away and showed a smashed Laptop. "With his laptop smashed, I've lost any lead in finding him!"
Mabel goofed around with the empty bottle and saw something in the remains. "Wait a minute," She gasped and showed her brother the bottle hole. "Dipper, look!" The boy didn't quite get the idea. "Through your bottle?"
The sister insist. "Just look!" Dipper did so and found it made for a make shift magnifying glass, finding a label in an open slot. "McGucket Labs?!" He paused. "Wait, Old Man McGucket?" Mabel thought outl oud. "You don't think-" Dipper found it pure insanity worth investigating. "It couldn't be!" The ghost type hurried to a photo of the local hillbilly and placed it on the mystery poster. Phantump and Dipper worked together to connect the dots and came of an odd conclusion. "Old Man McGucket wrote the journal?!"
Fast forward to morning.
Ven. Virtu, Cyndi and Aqua were recovering from the ordeal they had the previous day and allowed Bursty to bring the Brute Bonnet to one of his hang out spots. All the while, they discuss the next activity with the Pines. It was a trip to the tourist trap and they were welcome to rather lousy hip hop music. "I live up in a mansion!" With Soos sweeping and singing. "I'm living in a mansion!" Wendy groaned at the end of her patience. "ARK! I can't get that terrible song out of my head!"
Soos asked in ignorance. "Oh, you mean Straight Blanching by Little Big Dog? It's the catchiest song in the summer." Aqua stepped by Wendy and asked in criticism. "You mean a song about flaunting wealth and using the same weird sentence over and over again?"
Soos countered with his own view point. "Dudes, rapers are visionaries! If they told me to eat my pants, I would do it."
"Eats ya own pants, eats ya own pants now!"
The grown up shrugged "I guess I got no choice." and took off his pants, Cyndi and Aqua stared blankly as Virtu's eyes showed a malfunctioning yellow. Ven heard the door slam open, with the Pines having urgent news. "Guys, guys! We need to go see Old Man Mcgucket!"
"We'll explain on the way."
Mabel grabbed Wendy's hand and dragged her into the daily shenanigans, giving the bystanders the chance to escape Soos's nonsense. The grown up followed while still taking off his pants, leaving Stan behind. "Hey what about work?" The Grunkle realized as the door jingled. "Why is Soos eating his own pants?"
Over at the local junk yard.
Ven was the first to have a look at a place of discarded machines, he brought out Haywire and explored with the Rotom while the others used a raised fence chain to go under. Soos had his pants slightly nibbled on and was given glares from Aqua, who most certainly reached a point with his nonsense. Dipper called out by name. "Old Man McGucket!"
Soos got over a thrashing he received and joined in. "Here hillbilly, billy, billy!" They found a duo of rowdy teenagers spray panting on a shed, making a name.
Mc Suckit.
They gave each other a high five in mischief and brought out the Hillbilly that took offense and chased they away with a stick. "Get out of here, you salt licking, horn swaggling-" He was pretty defeated by the nickname. "Mc Suckit, they got me good." He noticed more welcome worthy arrivals. "Visitors!" He lead the group into what is barely considered a home. "Come, come! Pull up some rusty metal, you're just in time for my hourly turf war with the Hillbilly that lives in my mirror."
He yelled at his reflection and Dipper called him out and showed the book. "You can drop the act McGucket! I know you're the Author, you studied the mysteries of this town and wrote this book." The Keybearers and their partners were surprised as Wendy went to get something out of Soos's bag. The smashed Laptop. "Dude, you're the genius that Dipper's been searching for all summer!"
The Hillbilly was quite surprised at the laptop. "Eh, genius?" He shook his head "I'm no genius." and turned in shame. "I've done nothing worthwhile in my life. Everyone knows I'm no good to no body." He looked to a posted newspaper article of himself eating a whole raccoon. "I can't remember what I use to be, but I must have been a big failure to end up like this."
Soos thought out loud. "But the laptop has your name on it." Dipper insisted as he opened the journal. What about this book? Are you sure you didn't write it?" He flipped the pages. "Here, look closely." McGucket had to be honest. "I told ya, I don't recall. Everything before 1982 is just a blur." He squinted his eyes at the odd pictures, until a page of a stranger in a robe flipped in view. By it was the image of a crossed eye. He screamed and fell on his rear. "AH! A blind eye! "Robes, the men! My mind, they did something!"
Dipper closed the book as Aqua and Ven went to the old man and calmed him down. "Easy there," "What did that Blind Eye gang do to you?" The Hillbilly was in a mental strain. "I...Oh, I don't recall." Mabel had pity. "Oh, you poor old man. No wonder you're minds all." She pointed a thumb down and gave a pfft, Ven second that. "Who ever those guys are, they had something to do with you forgetting some details."
Dipper asked around. "What if McGucket learned something he wasn't suppose to know and someone or something, messed with his mind?"
Aqua recalled her own machinations with the art of memories. "It's not an if, something happened and the feelings to it are the only clue we have." Dipper agreed with the grown up. "We got to get to the bottom of this."
Wendy asked the Hillbilly. "Think dude, what's the earliest thing you can remember?" McGucket tried to recall and went to get a news paper article of a disoriented man found at a museum. "This, I think." The locals recognize it. "The History Museum." It's been decided. "That's where we're going."
The band were ready to take off as Aqua thought. "Ven, while you guys go with them, I'm going to pick up our Bonnet friend. I think some memories might be connected to why his mood... changed." Ven recalled the Brute Bonnet barely even having much of an appetite. "If those Blind Eye guys have something that can help us reach deeper, then we can figure out how without damaging anything."
Aqua and her partners took off as Ven was distracted by Haywire's buzzing. (Woah! Lookie here!) The boy followed to a collection of junk, a small oven, a portable fridge, a washing machine, a lawn mower and a fan. Something they've been looking for, Ven gave the Rotom permission. "Go see if you can work with these. That move can be real helpful."
The Rotom agreed and flew around the junk before going into the lawn mower and taking on it's form. He drove over to Ven and showed off sharp looking teeth in celebration before taking off with the crowd, Ven laughed and followed fast.
Over at the Lake.
Bursty showed the Brute a spot that few people ever really take the chance of spotting and went into a short dance. The Brute Bonnet looked at the water as Bursty tossed his head high and made it burst into fire works, creating sparkling ripples that were soothing.
The Mushroom thought back his experiences thus far, reflecting to the memory of the Storm Witch, proud, passionate as terrifying as she is mighty. Everything prior was a strange hunger of various tastes and the moment he awoke in the hollow. Then came a blur, the reflection shifted to a particular, tribal sage sitting by him. The Brute turned to see the sage, with her left eye of red and her right of blue. She gave the Brute a side ways embrace and whispered. "What was seen yesterday, wasn't okay in the slightest. But it's been many ages since anyone has caught a glimpse of the Storm Witch's power. Looking past the distortion, lies a story that should be known."
The Brute Bonnet agreed and squeaked to the familiar face. "What happened to her? Why was there only a piece of her heart left?" The sage kept a brave face and rubbed her eyes for the moment. "It broke apart a long time ago. Pieces of it scattered about in the unknown, with the most important one thought lost. Until now, Mycomancer." The Brute Bonnet was surprised at the nickname and kept a silence. "...Do I know her?"
The sage was ready to answer as a voice was breaking the silence, she had to let the Brute go once more, she kept a smile regardless. "The answer is somewhere-" She poked at the mushrooms chest. "in here, scattered and lost in the gleam. Your friends can help you awaken who you are, if you continue to follow them." Aqua's voice rang more and more, waking the Brute back to reality.
The Mushroom got up and saw the Keyblade Master and the Quilava by her. The Brute barked, much to the relief of the fire type, Aqua phewed and asked. "We've might have found a lead to another mystery. Do you want to help us out?" The Brute nodded and Bursty wished to come along, only for Kit to appear out of the shadows and advising. "Bursty, you should stay hidden until our friends get to the bottom of the latest mystery."
Aqua thought to ask. "It has something to do with a Blind Eye, a Hillbilly might have ran into them and lost a good chunk of his mind. Do you know of this?" Kit certainly does. "I've spotted someone who ran into those guys, while I was trying to make an exchange for some pie. Those Blind Eye weirdos snatched her up when she was having a panic attack from seeing me. Haven't seen her since."
The group gasped and Cyndi flared up. (Why didn't you do anything about it?) Kit looked down to the fire type and show cased his spectral power. "Would seeing my power, have made that woman feel any better? Or would it have made it worse?" Aqua shivered. "It could give someone a heart attack if they're not prepared. Watch over Bursty and make sure no more people get caught, we'll handle this." Kit understood and let the ladies, as well as the Bonnet, take off.
Heading to the Museum.
The band of misfits were traveling by Soos truck, with the corny hip hop track being played on the radio. Ven was stuck in the cargo with the Hillbilly, while the Pines were in the back seat. Ven and Wendy were annoyed by the track and the teenage girl reached a point in taking the CD disc out and tossing it into the wilderness. Forgetting that wasn't hers to throw out and promising to get Soos a new one. On arrival, they made their way into the Museum through a window. Soos called for anyone present as Dipper whispered. "Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious."
Ven had Haywire switched out for Virtu and Shadey while searching with Dipper. Mabel sighed and tried to look away, going over a stuffed mountain lion. Wendy and Sweet Puff noticed something was up and the older girl asked. "Mabel, are you okay? You just walked by a cat without petting it."
Virtu over heard and hovered over. (That is an anomaly.) Mabel pouted. "Gals, everything I'm looking at reminds me of my failed romances." She directed to a jar in yellow liquid, reserving a cardiac heart with an arrow piercing it. "That formaldehyde heart." Then to a diorama with a man lifting an angry woman away. "That romantic diorama."
Then to a billboard with a poster of a blonde man with his hand puppets. "Even this poster of one of my crushes." Virtu helped bring it down as a courtesy, only for Ven and Shadey to realize the virtual duck wasn't with them and come over to check on her. Mabel wished to curse fate's taunting. "Ah come on!"
Dipper wanted to break apart that drama and asked McGucket. "So your last memory was here. Anything coming back?" Shadey and Soos noticed someone moving in the shadows of a corridor. "Guys look!" They caught sight of a silhouette scurrying into a room of light, they followed it into a strange room with many eyes and many ornaments resembling eyes. Yet there was no one to be seen, even the Hillbilly found that odd. "Well kettle my corn, he vanished!"
Ven, Shadey and Virtu looked around in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense... unless-" Dipper finished the thought. "He's gone somewhere?"
McGucket was getting overwhelmed by the many eyes and backed to the wall, where the many eyes were focusing on him. "I'm feeling like all these eye balls are watching me." Dipper noticed. "Wait, they are!" He asked. "Move aside." McGucket did so and revealed a straight staring, hieroglyphic eye. Dipper pressed the eye and the fire place keeping the room lit, slid side ways into the wall and revealing a stair way descending down into the darkness.
"Jack pot!" "A secret passage way!"
The Hillbilly realized they're about to enter somewhere secret and forbidden. "We have to be stealthy, I'll hand bone a message of things if there's trouble."
He tapped various places of himself rapidly, attempting to say in code. "Coyotes are coming for our sweatbreads."
Virtu found that a new language to decipher, even if she and the others have no idea what was said. The band descended slowly, in view of red curtains. Chanting rang in their ears. They sneaked to the curtains and had a peak, seeing what looked to be a circle of six red robed men. In the center was a small chest on a pedestal and by them was a restraining chair. On a second look, the robes had a symbol of a crossed out eye on the hood. The chanters placed a hand on the chest and stepped aside for one member in particular, who asked in chant. "Who is the subject of our meeting?"
Two members stepped out of the shadows, with someone having a bag over her head. "This woman." They pulled the bag off to reveal the owner of the local dinner, Mabel whispered in question. "Lazy Susan?" The strange society had the woman sit onto the chair and closed the bindings on her wrists. The leader of the society asked inquisitively. "What is it that you have seen?"
"Speak!"
Susan had no idea what was going on and answered in earnest. "Uh, well. I was leaving the diner and I, I saw this tall ghost fox and I was like. Whuuu-" The inquisitor went to open the box, assuring the woman that she need not worry, pulling out what looked to be a ray gun with a light bulb for a barrel and a tube connecting it to the rest. On the hammer was a tube containing a scroll. "There, there. You won't be like whuu for much longer."
The order closed the face of their hoodies as the leader adjusted a dial and set an input for a tall ghost fox. Susan looked confused at the device. "What is that gizmo, it looks like a hand drier." The man aimed the device and fired a beam at Susans eye. She screamed out in shock and was left staring blankly in a droll, her eyes dilated before they shrank. The leader turned and asked. "Lazy Susan, what do you know of Tall Ghost Fox?"
Susan answered in her trance. "My mind is clear, thanks to the Society of the Blind Eye." The Society raised their hands in chant.
"It is unseen!"
Dipper whispered in shock. "Oh my gosh, they erased Lazy Susan's memory!" The Hillbilly hand bone his astonishment as Ven was more surprised. "They actually did it?!" Soos chuckled. "Heh! They should have wiped off that awful mascara!" Mabel and Wendy took great offense and Virtu shoved the grown up in anger. "I think she looks beautiful." "She's doing the best she can, Soos." (How rude can you be?)
Soos realized his joke touched a nerve while the Society was unaware. "Lazy Susan, how do you feel?" Susan was released from the chair and stood up jolly. "I feel great!" She was escorted away by the Society Members. "I can't even remember what was wrong, or what I'm doing here. Or if I'm a man or a woman."
The leader opened the canister and brought out a scroll, writing down the name of the patient and vowing. "All your memories will be safe with us." He hurried to a Pneumatic tube that goes somewhere. "Buried in the Hall of the Forgotten!"
"Into the Hall of the Forgotten!"
The tube goes over the door the investigators were using and they returned to hiding while the Society concluded their business and returned the device to it's box. "Good chanting boys, have you been practicing." Once the Society were gone the misfits entered the chamber to look around, Dipper hurried to the strange box in fascination. "Amazing, a Secret Society of Evil Mind Erasers."
Ven wasn't so sure on the evil part, given there is an ordeal with the worlds at large that lead to one escalation after another, he guessed with McGucket. "I'll bet this was what happened to you." Dipper brought out the Journal and used it as an example. "If we could find where his memories have been hidden, it could be the key to unlocking all the mysteries in Gravity Falls." He divided out the squad. "Alright, Mabel, Wendy, you stay here and make sure those robe guys don't come back."
Wendy played around with Mabel in excitement. "Woo! Girls club!" Dipper focused to Soos and Ven, who were checking the tube device. "Soos, Ven. You, me and McGucket are going to find the Hall of the Forgotten."
Soos was too close to the device and his hat was sucked up into the pipe. Phantump nearly jumped and followed the hat, leading the male squad back up the stairs and into the museum. Someone took notice of the running.
"Halt!" "Is someone there?"
The band hurried to find a place to hide, at a pioneer wagon. Shadey leaped into the wagon and had Ven jump in with him while Dipper, Soos and McGucket posed as display models for a point in history. The Zoroark let loose a dark shroud as Phantump and Virtu placed themselves to the grass. Soos and McGucket resemble a traveling couple, while Dipper a babe in Soos's arms. Phantump turned into a stump as Virtu turned into a chicken. Ven and Shadey resemble stored traveling supplies.
Two members of the Society caught up to see the diorama. Something seemed off to them, they couldn't quite put their finger at it. "Man, these things get more uncanny each year." "I could have sworn I heard someone." They took off. "Probably just the janitor, kissing that wax cellar woman again." "Woof, remind me to erase that one from my memory."
With them out of hearing, the illusion wore off and the group breathed, Dipper caught sight of Soos's hat traveling through the pipe and lead back to the chase. All the way to a chute in a wall to slide down through and entering a corridor going to a door with an eye that was crossed by red paint. Dipper opened the door and was the first to behold a long hall with piles upon piles of memory scrolls. Watching over it was a statue of a man in robes, having the hat shoot upon his head. Ven gasped out loud. "Glimmering starlights!" McGucket couldn't agree more. "Honey foggling, salt licking, skullduggery!" Soos chucked. "Man, you have got to teach me those swear words."
Elsewhere.
Aqua, Cyndi and the Brute Bonnet arrived at the Museum that had an wide open window for them to jump into. With the mushroom making a tight squeeze and hoping down to the ground. He caught the scent of something sweet in the air and sniffed as Aqua looked around lost. "Hmm. Cyndi, Toadstool, can you find out where our friends have gone?"
Toadstool grunted and followed his nose to the hall of many eyes and the secret passage way into the strange chamber. Finding Mabel and Wendy on watch duty. The young girl was laying on her back, wearing Wendy's hat as the Swirlix was sitting on her chest. Wendy was checking the hieroglyphics as Mabel sighed out her woes. "I just don't get it. I hug a lot, I can burp the alphabet, I have scratch 'n sniff clothing. Why does every boy leave me?"
Wendy tshed. "Who cares, boys are the worst. You shouldn't get hung up man." Mabel sat up and had Sweet Puff sit on her lap, wondering. "Maybe I come on too strong, you know?"
Wendy thought of something that could be of aid and took her hat back. "Well, what's your opener?" She adjusted her hair to make it short and use her hat to bind it together. "Pretend I'm a boy." She used her hair to make it resemble a mustache attached to sideburns. She deepened her voice. "Testosterone!"
She snorted and spat to the side. Mabel took the chance to introduce herself with an inhale. "Hi I'm Mabel, I'm twelve and own a pig, want to get married." Wendy laughed along with an approaching Aqua and her entourage. The Keyblade Master admitted. "Pretty spot on and natural." Wendy confessed. "Honestly, it was perfect."
The teenager took her hat off and advised to the girl. "You should forget about guys man." Mabel felt a bright idea in mind. "Wendy that's it!"
She hurried to the strange chest with the gun like device. "Forget about guys!"
She opened it to reveal it and sat on the chair. "I just need to type summer romance into this thing and I won't feel bad about them anymore!" Aqua and Brute gasped in astonishment as Cyndi chirped out. (Is this the thing we were looking for?) Aqua looked down to her starter. "The cause of McGucket's missing memories?!" She asked more clearly. "There's actually a device that can do that?!"
Wendy was mutual in the caution. "We don't even know why or how it does it! She could accidentally forget how to read or breath, or" Mabel added. "Or one of those terrible summer songs you can't get out of your head."
Wendy was tempted into going along with it as Aqua signaled they slow down. "Start over from when you saw this! Why would you want to forget about the failures, painful as they are?"
Wendy shrugged her shoulders in a guess. "One too many issues with boys. Like... Ven seems like a nice guy, but let's be real." Aqua hand waved. "He is, but there was never a chance for Mabel." The Pine girl pouted in a light growl as the eldest of the ladies confessed. "That was the more ideal of the failures."
Toadstool sniffed the device as Cyndi stood upward and held onto the ledge of the chair. (Do you really want to take the easy way out? A little failure can be an experience for later.) The Swirlix landed on Mabel's head and barked in agreement. (There had to be good stuff that happened too!) Mabel was contemplating from what her partner was agreeing to, it sounded like a lecture she should listen to.
At the Hall of the Forgotten.
The males and Virtu were searching the scrolls of memories for any particular clues. Soos was quite surprised. "Look at all these tubes. People must've been getting their memories erased all over town." Ven turned in dread. "Has this been going on every time someone runs into something weird around here?"
Dipper found a memory with the name Robbie V. and looked around to find a computer screen with a device bellow it, meant for the tube to be placed in. Soos put it there and watched the device close up, the screen crackled in static and showed a recording of a typical black haired teenager being restrained. The voice of the Society leader was heard in questioning. "Tell us Robbie, what is it that you've seen?"
The teenager explained like he narrowly escaped death. "So this weird guy in a black coat and an eye patch showed up from nowheres and pointed a cross bow at me before he figured out he was going after the wrong guy." He smirked arrogantly and pointed a thumb to himself. "I kicked his butt though."
The Society leader wasn't quite believing that one. "Robbie, speak honestly." The teenager groaned. "I was saved by a hairy guy from the woods." The moment was paused and Ven recalled an ordeal that Kendry reported from his adventure in the world, as he connected the puzzle, Virtu beeped. (What would they have to gain from taking these memories. Are they aware of the damage this would cause?)
Ven put that memory to the side. "When you take away a memory, you take away a piece of the picture. Sometimes it will take away something that makes someone who they are. If they can't fill in the blanks, then they would be clueless about everything."
Shadey grunted to the wisdom. (Even when they run into Kit while he's out of that disguise, they'll just get scared all over again if they don't remember that he isn't going to hurt them.)
McGucket found something in the stone shelf behind the statue. "Lookie fellers!" Virtu hovered over to see names. "It's those words people call me." The main thing they came for was in sight and Soos went to get his hat back. "Dude, your memories! We did it!" McGucket plucked the scroll from it's spot. "Grabby, grabby!" Just then, Virtu heard a beep. McGucket waved the tube. "Heya! I got it!" Something above the shelf, a shifting stone in the wall. Opened to show an eye with a flash of red.
Simultaneously.
Mabel took more into the pokemon's words to heart, contemplating on whether or not erasing her memories of failed romances is a bad idea or not. Just then... an alarm blared and the band readied for the chaos to ensue.
At the Hall of the Forgotten.
McGucket didn't realize an alarm is triggered. "The alarm in my brain's ringing again!" He turned to the eye gazing upon him and dropped the memory scroll in shock. Dipper hurried to catch the scroll as three Society members came barging in. "HALT! Who's there?!"
Dipper, Soos, Ven and their partners made a run for it as McGucket scurried behind the statue like a newt would, escaping sight. The boys hurried to hide behind statues and Ven cast a fast flash to scare off a duo that were trying for a back attack ambush. Phantump spooked the approaching members as Shadey and Virtu sent them rolling in foul play.
Burst!
In a sudden, Muscle Bear and the Brute Bonnet barged a way for the ladies while Mabel and Aqua had Sweet Puff and Ariados set up a sticky web for the door way. Wendy gave a few punches as the boys joined in and had each others backs. More and more of the Society Members approached enmass, using numbers to block a fast opening. More than enough for Dipper to step out of line and give what looks to be the leading member, time to swipe the scroll away. "You shouldn't have come here. We do not give up our secrets lightly!"
Wendy pulled Dipper away from danger and barked in annoyance. "Who are you bathrobe wearing freaks?" The boy wondered more. "Why are you doing this?" Mabel was more focused on a minor input. "And what's with the creepy British accent." The leader was given a device that the girls left behind as he thought. "Well, I supposed we are going to erase your minds anyways." He nodded to his followers and had them undo their hoods to reveal:
A short meek looking man. "Toby Determined?"
An overweight grown up. "Bud Gleeful?"
A middle aged man in a flat hat. "That Farmer Guy?"
As well as a variety of men and women that could easily pass off as a bystander. Including one with a woodpecker on his shoulder. Soos gasped. "Creepy dude who married a wood pecker. You too?" He asked out loud. "How's that marriage going by the way?" The stranger answered in regret. "Oh great. Great." He whispered. "Not great."
The Leader in comparison, readied his hood. "But you've never met me." He flipped it back. "And if you had-" Revealing his bald cranium, showing tattoos that represent parts of a brain. An x marked his left eye, which had a red pupil. "you wouldn't remember!" He stretched his hands to show case the group of pedestrians. I am Blind Ivan and we are the Society of the Blind Eye! Formed many years ago by our Founder" he was trying to remember a name. "our Founder..." He asked around. "Does anyone remember who he was?"
Bud admitted midst the confusion. "We've been using that ray on our own brains an awful lot." Ven and Aqua found that to be the most outrageous detail and the Verdant Wind blurted out loud. "But why? Why have you done this to yourselves and to everyone in town?"
Ivan pressed his fingers together and squinted his eyes at the odd ones of the bunch, the Keybearers and their band of misfits. "As you've no doubt discovered, Gravity Falls is a town plagued with super natural strangeness. No one knew how to stop the things that go bump in the night." He was quite proud of a particular duty. "So our Founder invented the next best thing. A way for us to forget. We've took it upon ourselves to help the troubled townsfolk by erasing the memories of the strange things they've seen. Now the people of Gravity Falls go about their lives, ignorant and happy, thanks to us."
He confessed to the self indulgence he and the Society partake in. "And as a perk, we've help ourselves forget things that trouble us. Everyone has something they rather forget. In fact, Mabel was about to use that ray on herself. Isn't that right?"
Aqua, Wendy and Virtu flinched as Ven turned to the immature girl. "Mabel, seriously?" The girl laughed nervously and blushed. "Maybe."
Aqua had a flash back of the war against eldritch foes, bound to emotions of both Light and the Dark. Entities of Pure Chaos and the monsters that cast their lot with them. Her heart shook at a recollection of a parasitic lord that burrowed into it as a way to save itself from justice. Aqua shook her head and admitted to the Society. "To be honest, me, Ven and a few others have a duty that requires us to keep certain ordeals away from this town and those who inhabit it. Things that would make your deepest nightmares quake if brought to light. It's the way of this Order, so no one gets any ideas to meddle in the things we have to fight." That is something Ivan's aware of. "Such as the monsters that lurk in the shadows, the freaks of Chaos or even" he pointed a finger to the Wayfinders. "those who can poof up a sword in thin air and fight them away?"
Ven groaned and admitted to the last detail. "That's only the surface." He pointed back to them. "If you guys weren't kidnapping people and zapping their brains without their choice, we would have been thanking you. But this is ruining lives!"
Dipper agreed and asked Ivan. "What about Old Man McGucket? He lives in a hut and talks to animals thanks to you! Don't you feel bad about that?"
The Leader had a guilty conscious stirring. "Maybe a little." He used the ray guy to zap his head, no longer feeling that remorse. "But not anymore."
He went to adjusting the ray gun, ready to get this over with. You won't be telling anyone else what you've learned here. Say goodbye to your Summer!" As he approached, a trash lid came sliding to his hand and knocked the ray gun off. McGucket arrived with a trash can full of random, bludgeoning junk. "I've raided the mining display for weapons." He gave the kids something more to fight with. "Now fight like a Hillbilly fellers!"
Wendy pulled out a banjo, Dipper a taxidermist raccoon that was on a log, Soos a metal sign describing dysentery and Mabel a stick that she had Sweet Puff spit into. The Swirlix wrapped a foot around it and let herself be used as a flail. Aqua and Ven brought out their Keyblades, now that they have every permission to fight. A band of pedestrians fair little beyond the numbers, with Wendy and the Wayfinders in particular doing quite the damage.
Muscle Bear and the Brute Bonnet tackled Bud and a muscular dark skin man as Dipper and Phantump kept at who ever tried to attack the smaller of the bunch. Mabel and Swirlix were going out of control with a dazzling bashing as Shadey let loose snarls and Virtu a handy tri attack barrage. Soos was able to scare quite a few members with the sign depicting a disease. "Dysentery's gonna get ya dog!"
Phantump noticed the labeled memory tube and tapped on Dipper, who recognized it and hurried to get it. "McGucket's memory tube!"
The duo were intercepted by the thuggish member who raised his fist. "Oh no you don't!" Dipper found a tube system to sneak the capsule through and ducked while making a run for it, Phantump dazzled the thug with a confuse ray for good measure as Dipper called out to the closest at the other side of the network. "Mabel, catch!"
The girl tried to snatch it, only for the Farmer to snatch it before her and step back. He tried to make a run for it and was intercepted by the angry Brute that raised his fists high. "Give it up Fungi, you're no match for the unstoppable power of-" Mabel found an open end of the tube and used it to suck the robe off the grown up, revealing he wasn't wearing much underneath, save for underwear, a hat and shoes. He sent the scroll flying in a panic. "Wuah!" Then realized. "That's right, I don't wear nothing under my robe. Not gonna apologize for that, maybe you all should apologize for being a bunch of prudes."
The three were nearly blinded as Soos over heard and suddenly had the ray gun, aiming it for his own head. "Well, time to erase that forever!" Ivan tackled Soos to get the ray gun back as Dipper caught the tube, the group leader went to face the boy. "Give me that tube!"
Dipper wasn't going to and tossed it to a pipe that McGucket prepared, the two gave chase to where the network was taking it. "That Memory belongs to McGucket!" "The Societies Secrets belong to us!" Ivan tripped Dipper and reached a pile of memory tubes that the pipe was feeding to, catching the device and pointing the gun at the rowdy band of misfits. "End of the line! By tomorrow, this would seem like a bad dream. Say goodbye to your precious memories!"
He fired at the band, who shielded themselves in preparation. Only for two to jump in the way and take the blast, McGucket and the Brute Bonnet. Only causing the Hilbilly to blink blankly and the Brute to simply shake it off. Ivan had to reload due to a scroll being made regardless and Dipper asked. "McGucket, Brute?! You're taking a bullet for us?!"
Ivan fired again at McGucket and nothing happened. Aqua was about to scream out. "Are you guys still here?!" The Hillbilly took another and laughed. "Okay as I'll ever be!" He cackled madly and marched as the Brute approached in a growl. Ivan kept firing in a panic. "Why isn't this working?!"
McGucket took one shot after another. "Hit me with your best shot Baldy!" PEW! "But my mind has been gone for thirty on years!" Pew! "You can't break what's already been broken!" Ivan's aim was more rapid, going for the human and the mushroom beast, McGucket got in close and swatted the device away as the Brute grappled Ivan. "Say goodnight Sally!" The Hillbilly dealt a finishing head butt and sent the memory scroll rolling.
It wasn't long until the band of misfits had the society tied up to a pillar and Ivan woke up to the bondage, he kicked and barked. "Unhand us!" Ven crossed his arms at a sense of justice. "Not so fun now, is it?"
Mabel brought out a black marker, having mischief in mind. "Hey, want to draw on their faces?" She crossed out the word, Knowledge on the strange tattoo and placed butts underneath, earning a laugh. As much as Ivan protest to, he vowed. "We'll have our revenge, we'll never forget what you've done." Dipper took the ray gun and dialed for the memory of the Society of the Blind Eye. "Oh, I think you just might."
"Say Cheese!"
Pew!
During the sunset.
The Pines and Wayfinders brought their partners in hiding, while they, Soos and Wendy escorted the amnesic Society out. With the false pretense that they were on a museum visit. "Thanks for visiting the Museum for Gold Miners appreciation night. Be sure to tip the Gold Miner on the way out." The former Society Members put money in McGucket's hat as Ivan, who was in a simple red shirt with black shorts, had to stop and ask. "I'm sorry, but what's my name? Where am I?"
It came to a realization that the Society might have been the only identity Ivan has ever known, the Wayfinders pressed their teeth together and something gone too far as Mabel brought a banjo to give. "Your name is Toot-Toot McBumbersnazzle. You're a traveling banjo minstrel, with a song in your heart and funny tattoos on your head." Ivan was convinced rather easily. "Yes." He started playing the instrument. "I am Toot-Toot McBumbersnazzle. Cheers!" He took off in bliss, Ven had an odd pity for the man. "Well, at least he can have a fresh start with his life."
The band went back to the Hall of the Forgotten, know that it is forgotten. They turned on the device, that shined a green logo of the Society. With two tubes in hand, one with McGucket's name and the unlabeled one of the Brute. They were ready to see the memory they came for and Dipper readied. "Alright McGucket, ready to see your memories? To find out who you really are?"
The Hillbilly was quite nervous and pressed his fingers together. "I um. I'm not so sure. What if I don't like what I see?" Mabel insist. "We've came all this way, go on." Aqua advised in wisdom. "It's better to accept who you are and what you've done, than it is to bury it all and deny it. It's how you can move on with life."
It was enough to motivate McGucket to put the tube in the case, turning on a memory of young man with glasses, a scientist assistant. Show casing a Day 1. "My name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket. And I wish to unsee what I've seen." The band gasped as Ven recognized a schematic for a triangle like device that he's seen from Grunkle Stan. The assistant gave a log. "For the past year I've been working as an assistant for a visiting researcher. He has been cataloging about Gravity Falls in a series of Journals." The Pines looked to the Journal as the recording continued. "I helped him build a machine, which he believed had the potential to benefit all mankind. But something went wrong, I decided to quick the project. But I lie awake at night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done." The assistant brought out the gun like device. "I believe I have invented a machine that can permanently erase memories from my mind." He aimed it at his head. "Test Subject One. Fiddleford."
Zap!
The recording flashed forward to Day Five. "It worked. I can't recall a thing!"
Zip!
Day Twenty Two: The Assistant finished a note with the symbol of the Society and showed it to the screen while the viewers noticed crossed out eyes in the background. "I call it, the Society of the Blind Eye. We will help those who want to forget, by erasing their bad memories."
Zip!
Day 74: Fiddleford looked more like a mess, with even his facility looking over cluttered. "Today I came across a colony of little men, very disturbing." He brought out the device once more. "I would like to forget seeing this."
Zip!
Day 189: Fiddleford looked more elderly, with teeth missing and he had a cast on his arm, much like the one McGucket has. His voice was changing as well. "I accidentally hit another car in town. I feel terribibble, terrible." His glasses were breaking "I've been forgetting words lately. I wonder if they're any negative side effects of-"
Zip!
Day 273: Fiddleford was in a run down apartment, having a beard with a bandaid. He was on the verge of pulling his hair out while panicking. "I saw something in the lake! Something big!"
Zip!
Day 618: Fiddleford was without his glasses, his clothes torn and worn and he resembles the Hillbilly the band knows of. "My hair's been falling out, so I got this hat from a scarecrow! Hey are my pants on backwards?"
Zip!
Day ?: The final recording was of the Hillbilly living at the junk yard, speaking gibberish within his own world of insanity.
Aqua and Mabel covered their mouths in shock and the rest were mortified. The girl sympathized with the Hillbilly. "Oh McGucket, I'm so sorry."
They turned the machine off and McGucket picked up the tube. "Ah hush. You kids helped me get my memories back, just like you said." The Brute flinched and squeaked. (Did you even want to see all that again?!)
The Wayfinders felt what was said and looked to him in astonishment as Mabel asked. "Did you want those memories back?" The Hillbilly felt some relief anyways. "After all these years, I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I seen what happened-" He put the tube in a pant pocket under his beard. "I can put myself together again." He hand bone a message.
Thanks for opening my eyes.
The band still didn't get what that means and Dipper realized. "So wait, you weren't the Author but you worked with him? Do you remember who he was?"
McGucket still has a process in his mind, working together to unravel the rest. "It's beginning to come back, but I need more time." He found green shades and a spit bucket. "And reading glasses!" He put them on, one of the lenses fell off as the Hillbilly spat into the bucket. "I got some memoring to do!"
With that clue needing some time, Wendy asked the young girl. "So Mabel, do you still want to erase those failed Summer Romances?"
Pop!
Out came a Sweet Puff that was wondering while Mabel was thinking into her hasty wish. "You know, no one likes having bad memories. But maybe it's better to remember the bad and learn from them than to go all denial crazy trying to forget."
Aqua bobbed her head in approval. "Failure can teach you what has gone wrong, each mistake can help you grow better." Wendy was with that wisdom. "That's some mature junk right there." Mabel second that. "Ms. Mature, that's me."
She asked the two grown ups who were not in much of a know. "Hey, you want to come with us to help Sweet Puff and Oakey train?" It was a pleasant idea, they, Ven and McGucket were ready to head out while there was daytime. Aqua and the Brute Bonnet kept behind with the strange tube unseen.
By the entrance, was Kit, appearing as the phantom he is. "I saw you were escorting that club out of the Museum. At least we won't have to worry about this again." Aqua shook at the madness. "Kit, you're aware about the World Order and why we need to blend in most of the time. The moment Maleficent became aware of other worlds, she started to scheme for catastrophe. It's a shame we have to come to blows with the barrier of that Order again." She groaned."It was wiping out memories of anyone who discovers something they've never seen before, regardless if they wish for it or not."
Kit was surprised and crossed his arms in pity. "I'd understand helping these people cope with the horrors we find regularly, but when you have nothing but blanks in your brain, you'll forget how to live your life to its fullest." He wave his hand. "You've stopped the damage and now you're left with more?"
Aqua sighed out loud and sent out Cyndi, to help be of comfort. "I'm not sure if we can magically undo generations of this. But they can rediscover that bigger world that awaits beyond the Falls." She and Cyndi looked to the tube and to the curious Brute. "Toadstool, do you still remember everything? They've zapped you a few times with that." The Brute grunted. (I remember, but what's in that tube?!) Cyndi shrugged and scurried to the machine. (Want to find out?)
The Brute grunted and looked up to the machine, Aqua placed the tube in and watched the screen crystalize. Showing an adventure in a swamp lands, someone was rushing through and bounced from mushroom to mushroom to get over a river. The protagonist landed and looked up a tree with a grappling hook that was used by two particular individuals. An excited, curious, feminine curl tailed, green and black, humanoid newt with a collection of tools and parts. Along by her was a humanoid frog with black and orange spots, gloves and a basket of herbs. The Newt was more excited at a threshold of an adventure. "We're stepping so close to the realm of the Olms, Amanto!"
As the Dart Frog was keeping caution in pride. "We're pretty far from the village by now. Turning back's going to be an issue if we keep this up." The main protagonist waved a hand resembling the forelimb of a red toad. "Dendro, once you make history, they're would be nothing to turn back to!" He looked to a mountain and lead on while facing the Newt. "Tritura, we got what we'll need once we find this cavern?"
Tritura checked her baggage. "Mmm if I can scrap a few more metals in a jiffy, then we can handle any drop it will have for us." The duo were surprised and were left imagining what the inventor had planned.
Fizzle!
The memory shift to something discovered in the depths of a cavern, a strange box showing a frog showing reverence to three gems. Of blue, green and pink. Tritura was at the peak of her curiosity and Amanto went to open it, much to the protest of Dendro. "Wait, I don't think that is a good idea, remember what Mother Olm said about-" The two opened the box and in a flash of light, they found themselves in a world outside of the cavern, a river going into some badlands. The three amphibians hurried to the river to keep calm and Amanto checked his reflection, showing a confused copper eyed toad man.
Fizzle!
The three clearly traveled by the river way for what felt to be hours, maybe even a day. Finding a small tribal band that were journeying to a canyon of pillars. Tritura let her curiosity get the better of her yet again and sprinted to meet up with the band, of various, monstrous looking beast men. Patrolling in guidance to a Rhino man and his entourage of a brown stone hide Lizard Man and a Beetleman of vibrant orange, the beetle was holding bags worth of foraging and jumped in surprise. The Lizard Man took a step back to keep guard of the Rhino Man who saw the three and insist the guard isn't needed. He raised his hand and approached the Amphibians with a hearty smile, grunting eagerly. "You all look like you've wandered out there for a while, what are your names?"
Tritura gasped as Amanto looked to find the group were quite mellow looking, he hoped and hopped. "We finally found someone!" Tritura talked quickly. "Hi we're Travelers from a land of Amphibians, me, Amanto and Dendro got lost after opening a really special box! I'm Tritura, what do we got to do to bunker down at the village over there?!"
The Lizard Man huhed. "Land of what?!" He turned to his companion. "You catch any of that, Crawly?" The Beetle tapped the side of his head. "Mantlus. I think they're wanting a place to stay until they get their heads back on." The Lizard grunted as the Rhino offered a handshake. "They and us both!" He offered. "If we talk it out over camp, we'll get along fine."
Tritura and Amanto took the hand shake, even if Dendro put on a pair of gloves prior. The Brute stared at the memory and looked more gloomy at the beginning of a well forged family. The show case ended at that moment and Aqua was seeing the depression. "What is that?" Cyndi pointed out the obvious. (This guys memories! But what does he have to do with that?) The Brute sighed at the fond memory. (Something about that feels like it was a really good day. We met someone who came from a far away place and looked to make a home.) Aqua tapped her foot. "This is your memory, were you someone else before you were turned into a Pokemon?"
Kit gasped. "It's crazy to think about, but it's not too common for a human to be reborn as a Pokemon. If you know of the ghost stories, you'll find a lot of them." The Brute was surprised and felt his mind wandering. (Me, Dendro and Tritura... we found a new home with the Beast Pack.) He shook and squeaked. (Why am I feeling blank, why is this making my hungry?) Cyndi snickered mischievously. (You did have a big adventure just now.) The Brute turned in protest. (No, thinking about this feels... blank. Then I get a craving for something to look for.) He felt a strange craving. (A really good portobello with some spices and left in a fire. But why?)
Aqua took the tube out of the machine and put it away as Kit pointed to the Brute. "His using a bigger word than what he's been using. Portobello .." The confusion over a mushroom meant one thing that Aqua figured out. "Something about this memory feels incomplete, in ways that not even our expert can fix. Do you need time to think about this?" The Brute nodded, tired out from his experience. Aqua went to a pouch and brought out the heart fragment, thinking more about it. "This feels a lot like what happened to Iceberg. It's all connected to the Labyrinth." Kit believed that. "And it's why I'd be more careful showing this around, until you and your brother in arms are in safer grounds."
Aqua observed before getting ready for the evening. "We'll need to take this to Suiten and find our answer. But, we've also discovered much about this town, we should celebrate a little before trouble returns." That is agreed upon and they readied to take off to join with the rest of the crowd. Another mystery after a mystery.
