The Life of Sammy

by I'mABigBoyNow

Gravity Falls may seem like a normal town, but in reality, it holds some of the most powerful and dangerous secrets in the entire world. Sammy didn't expect much excitement when he first moved into Gravity Falls. But when he starts work at the Mystery Shack and meets Dipper and Mabel for the first time, he will soon realize one universal truth: life is always unpredictable.

20. Chapter 20: Gideon Rises

Smoke. Metal. Fire. Blood. That was all Sammy could smell and taste.

Where was he right now? He looked around. He was surrounded by dense vegetation as far as the eye could see. Bang! What was that sound? Bang! Bang! Bang! There it was again! It was the sound of… gunfire. Yes. More specifically, the firing of an M60 machine gun.

He looked down at what he was holding. An M16 assault rifle. Has an effective firing range of 600 yards and can spit out hundreds of rounds per minute. Sammy caressed the rifle with his fingers… His fingers. They wouldn't stop shaking. Why are they shaking?

"Sammy…" Someone was calling his name. Who could it be? "Sammy." The voice was getting louder now. It sounded… familiar. "Sammy!" Maybe if he kept ignoring them, they would soon go away. "SAMMY!" Sammy snapped out of his trance as a pair of hands grabbed him by the collar and spun him around. "Sammy, what the f*ck are you just standing around for?! We gotta get the h*ll out of here, now!" Sammy slowly blinked at the face that was only inches away from his own. "C… Carlson?," he murmured. "Damn it, Sammy, move your ass before we get–!," Carlson screamed before a nearby explosion suddenly knocked them to their feet.

There was ringing in his ears, and every joint in his body ached. Was that Gideon's dynamite? No, it was an M26 hand grenade. He slowly got up. Carlson was laying down next to him, his face in the mud. Sammy rolled him over so he wouldn't drown in the mud, and quickly checked his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief. His friend was alive. Unconscious, but alive. He heard yelling and stomping in the distance. Before he knew it, he and Carlson were surrounded by a group of soldiers, aiming their guns at them while yelling in a language that Sammy could not understand. "Giơ tay hết lên để cho bọn tao thấy cái tay của mày! Ngây bây giờ!"

Sammy closed his eyes and waited for the bullets to end his life. But then, there was another voice, loud and booming, commanding total authority over the group. "Stop." With just one simple word, the enemy soldiers suddenly lowered their guns and went silent.

Sammy opened his eyes. His blood turned to ice. His heart skipped a beat. His legs turned to jelly. "Oh, no," he whispered, shaking his head. "Not you. NOT YOU."

A man strode forwards as the soldiers parted for him, like the Red Sea had parted for Moses. He was nearly nine feet tall, large and muscular, with gray skin that stretched over his frame, accentuating the veins and muscles that rippled underneath. He was completely nude and covered in blood, blood that was not his own. His nose was flat, his eyes were sunken into his skull, and his smile was wide and horrifying, exposing horribly stained teeth.

It was the same man that Bill Cipher summoned to torment him not too long ago.

"Hello boy," said The Man. "Did you miss me?" Sammy glanced down and almost threw up at what he saw. In his left hand, The Man was holding a severed head. Blood was dripping from the stump that used to be the neck. The eyes had been plucked out, leaving two empty sockets, the nose had been ripped off, and the mouth was frozen into a scream.

But none of that was the worst part. The worst part… was that Sammy recognized who that head belonged to. "Hutch," he sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "Hutch… What have I done?" "Shhh, don't cry, boy," The Man whispered. "You'll be joining him soon…"

Sammy woke up with a start, his heart pounding away. He quickly sat up and looked around. It was dark inside, so it took a while for his eyes to adjust, but he could eventually make out the sleeping forms of everyone else in the room. He sighed in relief and laid back down, but he was in no hurry to go back to sleep. Realizing that his face was wet with tears, he wiped his face. I haven't had that nightmare in years…, he thought to himself. I thought I was finally over it, but… Oh, Hutch… I'm so sorry. He had to fight back yet another wave of tears.

As the minutes passed, Sammy felt his eyelids growing heavy again, and he was about to go back to sleep when just a few feet away from him, Dipper suddenly sat up and screamed, waking everyone else up. "Dipper?!," gasped Sammy, sitting up again. "What's wrong?!" Dipper was sweating profusely, but he quickly calmed down upon realizing it was a dream.

"Sorry. I just had a horrible dream that Gideon stole the deed to the Mystery Shack, and kicked us out, and… we all had to move in with Soos' grandma?," said Dipper, growing a little confused at the last part of what he said. "That was no dream, dude," said Soos, leaning into his personal space. Dipper screamed again, though he was more likely startled by the handyman than anything else. Soos' grandmother, who was sitting in a chair, turned on the lamp next to her. "Shh. Por favor," she shushed gently. "Uh, sorry, Abuelita," Dipper apologized. "Are you sure you're okay, though?," Sammy asked worriedly. "Yeah, I'm fine," said Dipper, before doing a double take when he saw the state that Sammy was in. "Are you okay, though? You don't look so good either." "I'm fine," Sammy said a bit too quickly, something that did not escape Dipper's attention. "Oh, Soos, your grandma is so adorable!," said Mabel, enamored by Abuelita as she walked up to her. "And her skin is old lady soft. Haaaahhh!" She began rubbing the old woman's face, which the latter did not seem to mind very much. "Mabel, quit being creepy! I wanna see what's on the news," said Stan, before taking the remote and turning the TV on.

"In a movement that has all of Gravity Falls buzzing, child psychic Gideon Gleeful has taken surprise ownership of the Mystery Shack, previously belonging to area shyster, Stanford Pines," said the news reporter, Shandra Jimenez. A picture of Gideon winking at the camera while surrounded by a litter of puppies was shown, and then a picture of Stan dressed in a devil costume while surrounded by fire, laughing. "That picture's taken out of context," said Stan. "Do I even want to know the context of this?," asked Sammy. "Nope," Stan said bluntly.

"Now that you have the shack, what exactly are you planning to do with it?," Shandra asked Gideon as she held a microphone to his face. "I have a big announcement to make today, and I'd like to cordially invite all the good people of Gravity Falls to join me," said Gideon, facing the camera. "Free admission to anyone who wears their Gideon pins! It's my face!" He winked while holding up a plastic pin with his smiling face on it. Stan turned the TV off in disgust. "I just can't believe Gideon beat us," sighed Dipper. "Normally I'm able to save the day. This is all my fault." "Come on, Dipper, don't say that," said Sammy, giving him a reassuring smile. "You still did your best, and you saved us all from Bill. That makes you a hero in my book."

"Thanks, Sammy," Dipper mumbled, though he didn't seem to believe him. "Yeah, don't worry, Dipper," said Mabel. "Looks like Mabel's going to have to be the hero of the family now. I'll defeat Gideon with my grappling hook!" She took out her grappling hook, the same one that she got from the gift shop after they defeated the gnomes. "I'm surprised you still have that," Sammy commented. "I didn't think you'd still have it with you." "Why not?," Mabel asked, shrugging her shoulders. "Dipper still wears that hat, and you still have that beautiful yarn bracelet!"

"Hm, you have a point," said Sammy, looking down at his rainbow bracelet that he was wearing around his wrist. To be honest, he had completely forgotten that he still had that. It felt like it had been forever since he got it from the gift shop. "Mabel, no offense, but that grappling hook has literally never helped us once," said Dipper. "Oh yeah? Jelly grab!," cried Mabel as she aimed her grappling hook at a jar of jelly on the table. But when she shot it at the jar, it ended up shattering the container, causing purple grape jelly to splatter everywhere, including Abuelita's face. "I vacuum the walls now," the old woman said, before taking out a vacuum and using it to remove the jelly from the walls. "So you lost the Shack. Look on the bright side, dudes!," said Soos, who was sitting in front of a toy racing track in his underwear. "Now you get to live here with me, Soos! Hey, anyone want to play race cars? They're out of batteries but we can make pretend." Then, Soos accidentally spat out a few pieces of unidentifiable food that landed onto his stomach. "Would that be a new low if I ate that? Haha I'm just kidding, I'm totally eating it!" As the others watched him eating the food from his belly, they all had the exact same thought, one that Stan voiced out loud in a weary voice. "We gotta get the Shack back."

The next morning, the group decided to put their plan into motion. Well, it wasn't really a plan. It was more like a half-baked idea that they came up with in the middle of the night. Dipper, Mabel, Soos, Stan, and Sammy were wearing fake disguises to blend into the crowd, waiting for Gideon's announcement. "We're in," Dipper whispered. "Just wanna way, don't know what we're doing here, but I am loving these fake mustaches," said Mabel, twirling her fake facial hair. "You don't think the beard is a bit much, do you?," asked Sammy, wearing a fake beard that itched terribly on his skin. "If anyone asks, I'm not Soos," said Soos, pointing to his hat, which literally said the words Not Soos. Finally, Gideon walked on the stage, much to the crowd's joy. "Ladies and gentlemen!," he said loudly. "Today I am delighted to announce my new plans for the former Mystery Shack. I give you… Gideonland!" He walked up to a table that was covered with a blue tarp, and swept it away to reveal a miniature model of Gideonland, including a statue of himself. "What?!," Soos, Sammy, and the Pines family cried in unison. "We are gonna turn this dirty ol' shack into three square miles of Gideon-tertainment," said Gideon, before walking towards yet another tarp covered table. "And introducin' our new mascot, Lil' Gideon Jr.!" He pulled the tarp away, revealing Mabel's pig, Waddles, dressed up as Gideon. "Boom, he's a pig!"

"Waddles! You monster!," screamed Mabel, horrified by what she was seeing. "All right, that's it!," growled Stan, marching towards the stage. "Mister Pines, wait!," whispered Sammy, grabbing Stan's shoulder. "Our cover will be blown!" "To heck with our cover! Nobody upsets my niece by taking her pet pig away!," said Stan. He pushed his way through the crowd, with Soos, Mabel, Dipper, and Sammy close on his heels. The group ran onto the stage, much to Gideon's outraged shock, and basically hijacked the announcement. "Listen up, people. Gideon's a fraud! This kid broke in and stole my property!," Stan accused, pointing straight at Gideon. "Arrest him, officers!," yelled Mabel. "Yeah!," yelled Dipper. "Such accusations!," Gideon gasped, pretending to be surprised and offended. "Mr. Pines, I recall you gave the property to me. Look, here's the deed right here!" He pulled the deed out of his shirt and showed it to the crowd.

"Well that's all the proof I need to see," said Sheriff Blubs, who was satisfied by this rather meager evidence. "I love you, Lil' Gideon! Sing them funny songs!," Durland howled next to him. The rest of the crowd murmured in agreement and began shouting for them to get off the stage. "Everyone, wait!," said Sammy, walking to the front of the stage. "We're telling you all the truth! Mister Pines did not hand the deed over to Gideon! Gideon practically took it from him by force! That can't be ethical or legal, can it?" This time, instead of dismissing his claims, most of the crowd began murmuring to each other, as though they were actually considering if Sammy's words held any weight or not. Gideon, meanwhile, was both bewildered and furious, though he made sure to hide it behind his dimpled smile. For a very long time, he thought he had the entire town wrapped around his finger, yet Sammy, who had only been here for a few weeks, already had most of the townspeople on his side as well! He had to find a way to deal with that nuisance later, but for now, he had to keep playing the part of the innocent, lovable child star.

"Oh Samuel, you little jokester, you!," he laughed, walking up to Sammy and slapping him on the back a few times, making sure he did each one as hard as possible. "Listen, I know how much you look up to Stanford and you're willing to defend him at all costs, but it's time to face the facts. I have the deed to the Mystery Shack, which makes me the rightful owner. There really ain't no two ways about it! Now why don't you step aside and let me finish my speech. You know, the one that you and your friends have so rudely interrupted?" "Oh, yeah? Well, interrupt this!," yelled Stan, before knocking down a cardboard cutout of Gideon. The crowd gasped in horror, as though they had just witnessed him committing some religious sacrilege.

Finally having had enough, Gideon snapped his fingers. Two burly bodyguards suddenly went up to the stage and grabbed each of them. "Hey!," cried Mabel as she was being lifted up in the air. "Now get off my property, old man!," snapped Gideon, slapping one of his pins on the conman's face. "I'll show you who's the old man!," growled Stan, before his hearing aid suddenly started acting up, something that, strangely enough, had never really happened before. "Ow, my hearing aid! Ow!" As one of the bodyguards, Tats, grabbed Sammy by the arm, Sammy had to force himself not to break the man's arm right then and there. I could do it so easily, too, said a small and cynical part of his brain. It doesn't matter how big you are. Everyone has the same anatomical weaknesses. I could twist your arm around, force you to your knees, and make you cry like a little baby! Instead, he forced that thought out of his head and let the guards carry him and his friends off the stage. "Thanks for visiting Gideonland, friends! Don't come back, I don't care for y'all," said Gideon, mockingly waving them goodbye. The guards then unceremoniously dumped them on the other side of the chain link fence before going back inside.

Dipper got up and kicked a nearby rock out of frustration. "Don't worry, guys. We'll get the shack back somehow," he grumbled. "We better," said a familiar voice. The group turned to the voice and saw Wendy walking towards them with her hands in her jean pockets. "Wendy!," Dipper said in surprise. Wendy leaned against the fence, a gloomy look on her face. "If I can't work at the Shack, my dad's gonna force me to work upstate at my cousin's logging camp," she said. "What? You're leaving town? But we need you here!," cried Dipper, distraught by the news. "Yeah, especially Dipper, because of his giant crush on…," said Soos, stopping when he noticed that Dipper was glaring at him. "…You… eucalyptus trees! Ha! The kid loves eucalyptus trees!" He laughed nervously. "Saved it!" "So… I'm guessing that working at a lumber camp isn't really what you want, is it?," Sammy asked sympathetically. "No…," sighed Wendy, crossing her arms. "That's only what my dad wants me to do. I mean, I get that I come from a family of lumberjacks, but… it's never what I wanted to be, ya know? I still want to figure myself out first!"

Then, they heard what sounded like loud rock music coming from the bushes. Wendy's expression immediately turned sour. "Oh man, guys. Don't look now," she groaned. Robbie got out of the bushes holding a boombox above his head. His arms were visibly shaking. "Take me back, Wendy! My arms are too skinny to keep holding this boombox forever!," he hollered over the music. Wendy quickly got on her bike. "I was never here," she murmured, before riding away while Robbie chased after her, still holding the boombox. "Have you been getting my texts? Do I need to send you more texts? Wendy!" After that, there wasn't much else for them to do other than go back to Soos' house. Once they got back, Stan immediately went to the kitchen to call the twins' parents on the phone. Everyone else stayed in the living room, which everyone had noticed was more than a little cramped. "This is not good. I cannot feed such a big family," said Abuelita. "Where will we stay, Dipper? Where will I put all my sweaters?," asked Mabel. "And what's Stan gonna tell Mom and Dad?," asked Dipper. Noticing how forlorn they both looked, Sammy tried his best to cheer them up, even though he was still having trouble trying to cheer himself up. "Come on, you guys. Turn those frowns upside down!," he said, trying to remain optimistic. "Look, I know things seem pretty bad, but even if we don't have the shack, at least we still have each other." "Yeah, and Mr. Pines will figure something out. He always does," said Soos. The twins smiled hopefully. "You really think so?," asked Mabel. "We know so," Sammy said confidently. Then, an idea came to mind. "Hey… now that I think about it, weren't we about to have a group hug right before Gideon arrived? Why not have one right now?"

Seeing no reason why not, everyone in the room, including Soos' grandma, engaged in a group hug together. Then, Mabel's stomach grumbled loudly. "Man, I'm starving!," said Mabel. "Yeah, me too," said Dipper. "I don't think we've even had breakfast this morning."

"You said it, bro-bro! I could really go for some pizza!," said Mabel. She turned her head to the kitchen and hollered, "Grunkle Stan, can we order pizza?" There was no answer. "I'll go check in on him," said Sammy, before going into the kitchen. The lights were off, shrouding the entire room in gloomy darkness. Stan was standing in the corner with the phone in his hand, his head hung low and his shoulders hunching. It didn't take a genius to connect the dots. "Let me guess. No pizza?," Sammy asked sadly, keeping his voice down so that those in the living room couldn't hear him. Stan sighed and shook his head. "No," he said, turning out his pockets, which were empty. "No pizza." The two of them stood there in silence, not knowing what else to say to each other. "...You know, Mister Pines… My offer is still on the table…," Sammy said tentatively. "Nah," sighed Stan, shaking his head. "But why?," Sammy asked in exasperation. "Look, it's not a problem. I have money! Just let me–" "It's not about the money, kid," said Stan. "I can't provide for the kids anymore. I'm broke. I've got no income, no business, no home, nothing."

"Then let me provide for us!," Sammy urged. "Don't forget, I used to work for you at the shack for free, Mister Pines. No offense, but I'm not running short on money like you are. I can buy the kids whatever they could possibly need! Food, new clothes, yarn for Mabel's sweaters. Heck, I can even buy you guys an entire house if I want to!" Stan raised an eyebrow. "Come on, kid, now you're overexaggerating," the conman said skeptically. "You expect me to believe that you, a teenager, are well off enough to buy your own house?" Sammy quickly closed his mouth, his face turning red as he avoided eye contact with Stan. "...No way. You weren't kidding, were you? You actually have that much money just laying around?," Stan asked in bewilderment. The redness on Sammy's face turned even more prominent. "Yeah, I'm kind of rich… Big whoop," he mumbled. Stan sighed again, his shock replaced with weariness. "Well, none of that would even matter anyway. I just got off the phone with Dipper and Mabel's parents in California."

"And…?," asked Sammy, fearing the worst. "...They want the kids to come back home for the rest of the summer," said Stan. "What?!," cried Sammy, before quickly covering his mouth as he glanced towards the living room. "I mean, what?!," he whispered. "W-well, then… then… call them again! Tell them they have nothing to worry about! Tell them I'll take care of everything! Tell them–" "I already did," sighed Stan. "As you can imagine, the idea of their kids being taken care of by a complete stranger that they've never met before doesn't sit well with them. That's why I can't take your offer, Sammy. It's not because of my own pride or ego. It's because… there'd be no point. Their parents want them to come back to California… and that's that…"

"Well… well…," said Sammy, racking his brain for any ideas. "Well, let me talk to them! I'll try to get them to change their minds! I'll–" "Kid! You're not listening," Stan said impatiently. "There's no point! They've already made up their mind." He sighed heavily. "Look, I don't like this any more than you do. But… what other choice do we have?" There was another moment of silence between them. No matter how much Sammy wanted to deny it, deep down, he knew that Stan was right. Dipper and Mabel had to go back home. It was for the best…

Meanwhile, while Stan and Sammy were wondering how they were going to break the news to the kids, Gideon was living it up in the Mystery Shack. At the moment, he was gleefully tossing photos of the Pines family into the fireplace and watching them burn. Laughing, he took out Journal #2 and examined it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Waddles trying to climb out of the window. With a sneer, he took out a small whistle and blew into it. No sound came out of it. At least, no sound that any human could hear. But for Waddles, an animal with much sharper hearing, the sound from the whistle was excruciating. "Back to your corner!," yelled Gideon as he pointed to the corner of the room. Waddles quickly ran to that corner and laid there, cringing and shivering in fear of his new master. As Gideon stood by the fireplace and flipped through the pages of the journal, Bud walked into the room, carrying a painting of a sad clown, which happened to be the same painting that Stan stole from their house earlier this summer. "I've been meaning to ask you boy. Shouldn't you be celebratin' Gideonland instead of stickin' your head in that there book all day?," he asked his son. Gideon narrowed his eyes and turned to face him. "Father, have I ever told you the true nature of this book?," he asked.

"It was written many years ago by a brilliant unknown author who learned secrets too powerful for one man," Gideon explained. "He hid his journals where he thought no one would ever find 'em. Because he knew that if the journals were to ever be bought together, they would unleash a gateway to unimaginable power. Codes and maps have led me to believe the other book is buried somewhere on this very property, and I intend to find it!" Bud nodded his head, finally understanding. "So that's why you wanted the Mystery Shack," he said.

"That's right, father," said Gideon, taking out a shovel, "it's time to begin the search. For the other journal!" He was about to leave the shack, but suddenly stopped at the doorway. "By the way… that young man, Samuel… Does he look familiar to you, father?," he asked. Bud took his hat off and scratched the bald area of his head as he thought hard. "Well, boy, now that you mention it… I feel like I have seen him before. But for the life of me, I can't remember where or when I could've seen him. Why do you ask?" "...No reason, father," said Gideon, walking out the door with the shovel as he slowly digested this new information. "No reason at all…"

Back at Soos' house, Soos and the twins decided to pass the time by playing with Soos' race car track. Of course, since there were no batteries, all they could do was move and bump the cars around with their hands. At least Mabel and Soos seemed to be enjoying themselves. "Go red car!," said Mabel. "Go other red car!," said Soos. Dipper just sat with his arms crossed, bored out of his mind. "This would be a lot more fun with batteries," he deadpanned.

Then, Stan and Sammy both walked into the room. The kids looked up at them, hoping for good news, but that hope disappeared when they saw the gloomy looks on their faces. "You don't have to say anything, Sammy. I'll tell them," said Stan. Sammy nodded sadly.

"Tell us what?," Dipper asked nervously. Stan turned to face the twins. "Kids, we've got to talk. Look, me and Sammy have been thinking and… I can't take care of you anymore. I don't have a house or a job. The plan is, you're goin' home. Your bus leaves tomorrow, here are your tickets." He then took out two bus tickets that he ordered online. "But Grunkle Stan, you can't give up!," Dipper protested. "Yeah dude. Look at these faces!," said Soos, wrapping his arms around the twins. "Be cuter, Mabel! Your summer depends on it!," he said, nudging her. "Look, I lost, okay? The best thing is for you to be with your parents," Stan said, placing the bus tickets on the table. Dipper and Mabel couldn't believe what they were hearing. They didn't expect him to simply… give up like that. "Sammy?," asked Dipper, turning towards Sammy and giving him a pleading look, hoping that he would talk some sense into their grunkle. Instead, Sammy glanced at Stan and sighed heavily. "Mister Pines and I… are on the same boat," he said. "I offered to be the one to look after you two, but… your parents aren't comfortable with you guys being placed under the care of a stranger. And honestly, I can't really blame them. I'm so sorry…"

"I'm sorry too, kids," said Stan. "But it's over. Gideon won. Summer's over." The conman turned around and walked out of the house with his head hung low, not wanting to see the sad and disappointed looks on their faces anymore. "Mr. Pines! Come back! RECONSIDER!," said Soos, running after him. However, the instant both of them were gone, Sammy's mood suddenly turned on its head. "Okay, guys," he said, a determined look on his face. "The bus isn't going to be here until sundown, so we have until then to find a way to get that deed back."

Dipper and Mabel stared up at him in confusion. "Wait, what? But a second ago, you were in agreement with Stan," said Dipper. Sammy narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Stan may think that Gideon has won, but I say the battle isn't even close to being finished!," he said. "We are going to do everything we can to get that deed and the shack back, no matter what it takes! After all, since when has the Pines family ever given up?" The twins quickly grew emboldened by Sammy's short speech. "Yeah. Yeah! You're right, Sammy!," said Dipper, smiling excitedly. "If Stan won't get our home back from Gideon, then we'll have to do it ourselves." "Yeah! That's the spirit!," Sammy cheered. "Gideon may have the upper hand right now, but we have one thing he doesn't," said Mabel. "The journal!," cried Dipper, holding out the journal. "A grappling hoo– oh," said Mabel, sheepishly putting her grappling hook away. "The journal… Journal!"

Wasting no time, the three of them ran straight to the Mystery Shack and watched from outside the fence that Gideon had set up around it. The shack itself was also surrounded by the bodyguards from earlier. "Alright, the bus to take us out of Gravity Falls comes at sundown. If we wanna stay in town we've got to get past those guards, make it through the fence, and get Gideon to hand over that deed," said Dipper. "Any ideas? I'm open to all suggestions," Sammy said. "Just leave it to Mabel. Wa-chow!," cried Mabel, taking out her grappling hook again. She shot it in a random direction, causing the metal claw to hit a tree branch and ricochet towards Dipper, hitting him in the face. "Whoa! Are you okay, Dipper?," asked Sammy, looking down at him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," sighed Dipper, before getting back up and glaring at Mabel. "Now will you admit the grappling hook is useless?!," he snapped. "Nope!," said Mabel.

"Okay. What can we use to defeat Gideon?," Dipper asked as he began flipping through the journal. "Let's see… Barf fairy?" "Yeah!," cried Mabel. "Nope," said Dipper, continuing to flip through the pages. "Butternut Squash with a Human Face and Emotions?" "Yeah!," Mabel cried again. "Nope," said Dipper, flipping away again. Then, one of the pages caught Sammy's eye. "Hold on," he said, stopping Dipper. "What's that?" He pointed at what appeared to be a large and intricate blueprint that covered two whole pages. "I've stared at this page for hours," Dipper said, staring at it in confusion. "It seems like a blueprint to build some kind of strange futuristic super-weapon–" "BORING!," groaned Mabel, interrupting him in mid-sentence. "To defeat those guards we need some kind of army." "An army… Now where could we possibly get an army…?," Sammy murmured. "...Wait a minute!," Dipper cried out in realization. "An army! Guys, that's it!" He began flipping through the pages again until he finally found it. "The gnomes!"

"Uhh…," Mabel groaned uncomfortably, tugging at the collar of her sweater. "Are we sure we should ask those guys for help? They did try to marry me and make me their queen…" "I say it's worth a shot," said Sammy. "But you don't have to come with us if you don't want to, Mabel." But as uncomfortable as Mabel was concerning the gnomes, she was still adamant on coming with them. So the three of them went into the woods to look for them. "I think this is their hiding spot," said Dipper as they walked into what appeared to be some sort of clearing.

"I wonder what Gnomes do out here all alone in the forest?," asked Mabel. "Yeah, that's a good question," said Sammy. "Maybe they take naps all day, or interact with other woodland creatures, or heck, maybe they even make delicious jam– Oh my goodness!" The three of them stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the leader of the gnomes, Jeff, bathing in a tub of live squirrels. "Do do do… Aah!," cried Jeff, seeing them for the first time. "This… this is normal. This is normal for gnomes." He scrubbed his armpit with one of the squirrels. "Scrub scrub." Sammy quickly covered the twins' eyes while glaring at Jeff. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself," he said. "Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it," Jeff replied casually, getting over his initial surprise. "Well, well, well. Look who came crawlin' back. Take five, Chris." One of the squirrels, Chris, jumped out of the tub. "You guys keep doin' what you're doin'. So, changed your mind about marryin' me, did you, Mabel?" "Ew, hardly. We need your help. And seriously, ew!," said Mabel, cringing in disgust. "You want our help? After you left me at the altar? No dice!," Jeff replied with anger. "Well, you did try to force her to marry you against her will," Sammy said disapprovingly. "So I think that leaving you at the altar was a completely understandable response."

"Oh, come on!," Jeff groaned. "Kidnapping and marrying our queen has been a tradition of ours for thousands of years! How was I supposed to know that you apparently need 'consent' to do that nowadays?" He huffed and crossed his arms. "Seriously, you don't know how difficult it is for us to get a new queen every few hundred years. It's harder than you think!"

Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy looked at each other, and somehow, the exact same idea popped into their heads as they smiled mischievously. "Well, what if we were able to get you a new queen? One even more beautiful than me," said Mabel. "Her name's Gideon, and she has lovely white hair," said Dipper, trying not to laugh. "And she is about the same height as you," said Sammy, snickering a bit. "So you can finally have a queen that you don't have to always look up to." Jeff thought about it for a moment, intrigued by this offer. "Whoa. Mature woman, huh? Ya know, it would be nice to finally have a queen that's our size, especially for those of us with bad necks. This sounds like a real bargain! Hey Shmebulock, get my cologne!"

Then, Shmebulock came out of nowhere, holding a bottle of cologne. "Shmebulock!," he said. "Is Shmebulock all you can say?," asked Jeff. "Shmebulock…," Shmebulock said sadly as he nodded his head. "It's a deal!," Jeff said excitedly, shaking hands with Dipper.

Later on, Gideon was still digging around the Mystery Shack, trying to find that other journal, but to no avail. "Where are you, Journal? Where are you?!," he growled as he dug his shovel into the dirt. He had already tried digging around the front of the shack without success, so he decided to try his luck around the back. But before he could start digging another hole, Bud poked his head outside. "Boy, I hate to interrupt you, but you have some guests," he said. "What?," Gideon groaned impatiently, throwing the shovel to the ground before storming around the shack. Much to his ire, he saw Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy outside of the fence.

"Give us the deed to the Shack, Gideon, or else!," yelled Dipper. Gideon rolled his eyes. It was baffling to him how stupid these nuisances were, but there it was. "Am I supposed to say, 'Or else what?,'" he asked mockingly, gesturing to the bodyguards behind him. To his surprise, Mabel smirked. "Yes, you are supposed to say that! Now!" Suddenly, an army of gnomes led by Jeff ran out of the forest and barged through the chain link fence. The guards tried to intervene, but all it took was a couple of gnomes launching themselves at them and poking into their backs with their pointy hats to knock them both out. Immediately, Gideon was surrounded.

"You're surrounded by an unstoppable gnome army, now give us back our deed and get off our property!," said Dipper. "And let the marriage ceremony begin!," said Jeff. Gideon gave the gnome a confused look, then pretended to surrender. "Very well," he sighed, reaching into his jacket. "I suppose this deed belongs to–" But instead of the deed, he pulled out his animal whistle and blew into it as hard as he could. In an instant, all of the gnomes collapsed to their knees and writhed around on the ground, covering their ears in pain. "Oh, no!," Sammy gasped, realizing that their plan had now been foiled. "Ha! What do you know! Works on gnomes too!," Gideon chuckled before blowing the whistle again. "Stop! We'll do anything! How can we serve you, Your Majesty?," Jeff begged, bowing to Gideon. "The most beautiful girl we've ever seen!" "I am not a girl!," Gideon yelled furiously. "Really?," asked Jeff, feeling Gideon's hand, much to the child star's disgust. "But your skin is so soft. You moisturize, or…" He slapped the gnome's hand away and pointed at Sammy and the twins. "Subdue them!," he commanded.

And just like that, the tables were turned. The gnomes pounced on them at once and easily overpowered them through sheer numbers, holding them in place. "I have to admit, kids, I am impressed by your creativity!," Gideon gloated, walking towards them. "How did you ever…" "Let go!," yelled Dipper, trying to free himself from the gnomes' grip. But then, his movements caused the journal to fall out of his vest, right in front of Gideon. "Oh no!" Gideon gaped at what he saw. "No! Could it be? Is it?," he cried, picking up the journal and observing it. "Of course! It all makes sense! The one place I'd never think to look! You had it the whole time! And to think I actually considered you a threat!" He flicked Dipper's nose. "Wait a minute," said Sammy as he narrowed his eyes. "So you've been looking for that journal the whole time? But what could you possibly want with it?" "Wouldn't you like to know, Samuel?," Gideon sneered, before flipping through the pages with glee. "Yes, yes, yes! It's all there! But why does it look like it's been torn apart and pieced back together with glue and tape? Seriously, what have you fools been doing with this journal?" "No! Give it back!," cried Dipper, trying to reach for it. Gideon held it just out of range. "Every victory you had was because of your precious book!," he taunted.

"Give it back or I'll–," Dipper growled. "Or you'll what, boy? You'll what? Huh? Huh?," Gideon asked mockingly, leaning into Dipper's personal space. "No muscles. No brains. Face it! You're nothin' without this!" He waved them goodbye. "Bye bye forever, y'all!" Then, he blew into his whistle again, causing the gnomes to cringe and carry them all away. "NOOOOOO!," Dipper cried, reaching his hand out in a fruitless endeavor to get it back as he was being dragged away. The gnomes dragged them back into the forest, then released them and ran away. "Next time, do your own dirty work!," Jeff said angrily. "Come on boys!" He pulled at his pants, allowing the squirrels to jump into it, then ran away with the other gnomes. "...Okay," sighed Sammy, slowly nodding his head. "Okay. That didn't work out as well as we had hoped. Don't worry, guys. We'll find some other way to get the shack back." But Dipper was no longer on board.

"What's the point?," the preteen asked, sighing heavily. "The bus is going to be here soon." "What?," cried Mabel. "Dipper, don't give up! You always have a plan!" "No!," Dipper said hotly, bolting to his feet with an angry and defeated look on his face. "The journal always has the plan! Think about it, Mabel, Gideon was right. The only courageous or cool things I've ever done have been because of that journal. Without it, I can't help you, or Sammy, or Stan, or anyone." "Dipper, that is not true," Sammy said sternly. "That journal may have sometimes helped, but it does not define your worth! All those 'courageous' and 'cool' things you've done on all of those crazy adventures we've had together? They were all you, not the journal!" "Sammy, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but for once, can you please stop lying to make me feel better?," groaned Dipper. Sammy's eyes slightly widened before they narrowed in anger. "So you think… that I've been lying to you?," he asked angrily. "Guys, stop!," Mabel pleaded. "No fighting with each other! It won't solve anything!" Both Dipper and Sammy lowered their gazes, feeling a bit sheepish by what just occurred between them. "Sorry," mumbled Dipper. "I'm upset, but not at you, Sammy. I just… I don't want to leave…" "...I know, Dipper," Sammy said softly.

"Come on, guys. There's gotta be something we can do," said Mabel. "What can we do?," Dipper retorted sadly. Mabel opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't think of anything to say. She looked towards Sammy for help, but he seemed to be just as lost as they were. So for the rest of the afternoon, none of them said a word to each other. Instead, they sat there in the middle of the clearing, simply relishing in each other's company until the bus came…

Unfortunately, that time was not as long as they had hoped. Eventually, the three of them had no choice but to go back to Soos' house so that the twins could finally finish packing their belongings. Then, the twins, Stan, Soos, and Sammy all went to the bus stop together in order to exchange their final goodbyes. Wendy, Candy, and Grenda also decided to tag along. There were many tears that were shed before the bus finally came. "Bus 52, departing Gravity Falls, all aboard," said the bus driver, opening the side door. The twins looked back at Stan, perhaps to silently beg him to take them back one last time. But Stan only shrugged helplessly. "Sorry kids, it's for the best," he sighed. The twins looked down in sorrow and were about to walk onto the bus when Sammy suddenly stopped them. "W-wait!," he cried, running up to them. "Guys! Before you leave, I want to give you one last gift." The twins looked at each other in confusion and waited. To their surprise, Sammy removed his yarn bracelet - the one that he had gotten for himself from the gift shop - and handed it over to Dipper. "Here," he said, placing it in Dipper's outstretched hand. "Just a little something to remember me by… b-before you go."

"Wow! You're really giving it to us?," asked Mabel. Sammy nodded and wiped the tears that were spilling down his face. "Like I said, it's just a little memento… you know… s-so you won't… f-f-forget…" The twins smiled up at him tearfully. "Sammy, are you kidding? We would never forget you," said Dipper. The three of them exchanged one last hug with each other. After that, the twins got on the bus, and Sammy had to stay behind with the others as he watched the bus leave, growing smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from view. "Sorry, kid," said a mournful Stan, placing his hand on Sammy's shoulder. "It's for the best." "I know," said Sammy, sniffing. "That doesn't make it any less painful, though…" After that depressing scene, everyone went back to their homes. Of course, since Stan had nowhere else to stay other than at Soos', that was where he was forced to crash. Sammy also had to stay in the same house.

The two of them decided to spend the rest of the day by watching TV together, but of course, that was nowhere near enough to fill the hole in their lives that were left behind by the twins. "Well Stan, this is it," sighed Stan. "Rock bottom. No friends, no family, stuck watching infomercials for whatever that is…" Meanwhile, the TV was blaring out some nonsensical ad, as usual. "Are you sick of piles of owls constantly blocking your driveway? Well then you gotta get owl trowel!," the spokesman was shouting. Stan sighed again and slumped his head against the couch, seemingly having run out of energy completely. "Well… that's not exactly true," Sammy said with a comforting smile, nudging Stan's arm. "You still have me. Remember that talk we had only yesterday? Before this whole mess started?" Stan chuckled at the memory. "Yeah, I remember," he said fondly. "Sheesh, now it feels like forever ago. Hey, thanks for sticking with this old bag of bones, even after he lost his entire business. It really means a lot."

"Anytime, Mister Pines," said Sammy. "In my eyes, you're still my boss." Stan chuckled again. "Heh, whaddya know? I'm feeling better already," he said. But the smile on the conman's face was quickly replaced with a contemplative frown. "But still, I can't believe that little monster, Gideon, finally got the best of me. Never thought I'd live to see the day." "Yeah… I suppose that was our mistake, huh? We kept on underestimating him when we shouldn't have," said Sammy. "That's true," said Stan, nodding. He picked up one of Gideon's pins and stared at it. "I still can't help but wonder, though. How did he do it? Why is he always one step ahead? Maybe he really is psychic after…" Suddenly, Stan cried out in pain while covering one of his ears.

"Oh my gosh! Mister Pines! Are you okay?," Sammy asked worriedly, steadying him so he didn't end up falling off the couch. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Stan grumbled. "It's this stupid hearing aid! Ever since this morning, it's been blasting that high-pitched ringing into my ear. Seriously, what keeps causing that?" "Has your hearing aid been acting up like this in the past?," Sammy asked. "No! That's what's boggling me about this!," said Stan, tapping his hearing aid with his finger. "It's never done this before. Heck, it's almost like it starts acting up every time there's…" For some reason, Stan trailed off. An inquisitive look appeared on his face as he observed the pin in his hand. "Mister Pines? What are you thinking right now?," asked Sammy.

Stan gave no answer, too lost in thought. Then, his eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute!" He suddenly bolted up, as though all the energy that he had lost suddenly came back to him. "That's it! I know Gideon's weakness!," he laughed. "You do?!," cried Sammy, standing up as well. "W-well, what is it?!" "I can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner! It was so obvious!," said Stan. "What is? Stan, what is Gideon's weakness?," Sammy asked in both anticipation and exasperation. Without saying anything, Stan held up the pin so that Sammy could see it clearly, then crushed it in his hand. To Sammy's surprise, hidden inside of the pin was what appeared to be some sort of tiny hidden camera. It took a moment for him to connect the dots.

"Mister Pines… you're not insinuating that…," said Sammy, his eyes going wide. Stan nodded. "That's why my hearing aid has been acting up since this morning," he explained. "It's been picking up the feedback from the hidden cameras in these pins. That little gremlin's using 'em to spy on everyone." "And since everyone in town has them… it would allow Gideon to spy on all the townspeople and know exactly what goes on in their private lives!," said Sammy. "So that's how he's able to keep making these so-called 'psychic predictions!' Mister Pines, this is huge! If we can get everyone to believe us, Gideon won't just have to hand back the deed! He may even end up in jail!" "This could be our ticket out of this mess!," said Stan. "I bet the kids would be over the moon once they hear–" The conman's eyes widened in horror. "The kids!," he cried. "We gotta get 'em back!" "Oh my gosh, you're right!," gasped Sammy. "Come on! It's not too late to go after them!," said Stan, getting his car keys. The two of them were about to leave the house, but passed by Soos' grandmother, who was standing near the doorway while holding a tray of iced tea. "Would Mr. Pines and little Sammy like a…," she was about to ask, when Stan suddenly kissed her right on the lips before running out the door. Bewildered, Sammy ran after him. "Why did you just kiss her?," he asked as they ran towards Stan's car. Stan just shrugged with a wide smile on his face. "Hey, it was the heat of the moment, so why not?"

They quickly got into Stan's car and drove away, hoping that they could catch up to the bus before it was too late. As they drove, there was a bit of an awkward pause. "So, Sammy," Stan spoke up, keeping his eyes on the road. "Since there's nothing else for us to do now other than talk… you mind telling me who Hutch is?" Sammy noticeably tensed up, and he turned his head to stare at Stan. "H-how did you know?," he asked nervously. "I heard you saying his name in your sleep last night," Stan confessed. "It sounded like you were crying too. I'm not trying to pry or anything, but… maybe it'd help to get it off your chest or something?" Dang it!, Sammy mentally groaned, sweating bullets. I was talking in my sleep? I hadn't done that in years! Then again… I haven't had that nightmare in years either. Ugh, it must've been because of Bill Cipher and his dumb mind-reading, nightmare-summoning powers. I… I can't tell him or anyone about my past. I'm not ready yet! Come on Sammy, think of a way out. Find a distraction!

"Um… uh, the thing is… oh, look! It's the bus!," he cried, pointing at the bus ahead of them. "Come on, let's go flag them down." To Stan, it was pretty obvious that Sammy was trying to distract him with something, but he decided to let it slide. Right now, they had more important matters to attend to, which is getting the kids back and telling them the great news!

But before they could do so, the ground suddenly shook violently. "Whoa! What was that, an earthquake?," asked Stan. "It doesn't feel like an earthquake," Sammy murmured. "It sounds more like… giant footsteps." Then, he happened to glance at the car's rear view mirror, and saw something that made his jaw drop: a massive Gideon robot charging towards them from behind. "Mister Pines," he whispered in a scared voice. "Don't freak out, but there is a giant robot that is chasing us right now." Stan glanced up at the rear view mirror, and his reaction was about the same as Sammy's. "Yep, I just saw it," he whispered back, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "And it's catching up to us. Like, really, really fast."

Sammy took another look, and his heart momentarily stopped when he realized that the robot was now much closer to them. In fact… "Mister Pines get us out of here it's going to step on us!," he screamed in one breath. If it wasn't for Stan's quick reflexes, the robot would have crushed the car underneath its foot, turning them into a flesh and metal pancake. Fortunately, they were able to swerve out of the way, narrowly dodging the robot's foot as it slammed down into the asphalt road, missing them by only a couple of feet. However, the robot didn't seem to notice or care that it nearly crushed a car with people inside of it. Instead, it continued running, briefly looming above them before passing them entirely. Its focus was on the bus driving in front of them… the same bus that had Dipper and Mabel inside it! "Halt! I command you to halt!," the robot yelled in Gideon's voice. Meanwhile, in Stan's attempt to avoid getting stomped on by the robot's foot, he ended up swerving the car too sharply, causing it to spiral out of control. He and Sammy screamed as the car spun around like a top, unable to stop itself. Then, the car crashed into a nearby tree, stopping them in their tracks. The sudden change in momentum caused their brains to collide with the inside of their skulls, briefly knocking them unconscious.

When Sammy came to, only a minute had passed. The car was now totally wrecked, but at least he and Stan were alive. Wait. Was Stan alive? A groan sounded next to him, alleviating Sammy's fears. "Geez, that was one heck of a bump just now," groaned Stan, rubbing his head, which now had a rather nasty bruise on it. Sammy quickly got out of the car and looked for the robot or the bus, still dizzy from the crash. The bus was on top of a mountain, and it was leaning over a cliff. The robot was not too far behind, climbing after them. "I… I don't understand," said Sammy, shaking with rage. "Gideon already has Dipper's journal. What else does he want from them?!" From inside the car, Stan groaned again, reminding Sammy that he needed to get him out of there first. He opened the driver door and pulled Stan out of the wrecked car.

"Ah! AH!," Stan hissed, collapsing to the ground the moment he was out of the car. "Oh, no," murmured Sammy, seeing the unnaturally bent shape of Stan's leg. "Mister Pines, I think your leg is broken." "I figured that out for myself, thanks kid," grumbled Stan. He tried to stand up, but he was unable to put any pressure on his broken leg. The conman looked up at Sammy with a pained expression on his face. "Look, just forget about me," he said. "Leave me here. You gotta go save the kids from that giant Gideon robot… thing." "B-but I can't just leave you here!," Sammy protested. "I'll be fine! I'm not the one who's in grave danger here!," snapped Stan. "Just go! Now!" Realizing that Stan was right, Sammy nodded and ran towards the mountain, leaving Stan behind. He'll be fine, he tried to reassure himself. He can take care of himself.

Sammy was never more thankful for the cardio he received from all of his daily jogs than now. He eventually made it to the edge of the cliff, where the bus was stuck on. The entire top of it had been ripped right off, which made Sammy fear that Gideon had already gotten to the kids. But when he climbed onto the bus and looked inside, what he did not expect to see was Soos at the driver's seat, reading from the bus manual. "Okay. What's closest to our present situation?," the handyman asked himself, frantically flipping through the manual. "Raccoon in the engine or angry grandparent won't leave bus? Proba- probably the second one." "Soos?!," cried Sammy. "What are you doing here? Have… have you been the bus driver the entire time?"

"Sammy!," cried Soos. "Dude, am I glad to see you! I was taking odd jobs so I could support Stan, and one of them was being a bus driver! I was driving Dipper and Mabel back to California when this giant robot that looked like Gideon started chasing us and–!"

"Yes, Soos, I know all of that, I saw the whole thing!," Sammy said impatiently. "Where are they now?" Soos pointed up at a long bridge above them, where Dipper and Mabel were still being chased by the giant robot. "Oh, no," Sammy whispered, running towards the bridge. "Wait! Sammy, you're not gonna fight that thing on your own, are you? Dude!," cried Soos.

Meanwhile, up on the bridge, Dipper and Mabel tried to escape Gideon's robot, but they quickly came across a dead end. The robot jumped high in the air and landed in front of them, its sheer weight causing the bridge to shake and buckle, though fortunately, it did not collapse. "Tell me! Where is Journal #1?!," Gideon demanded. "Journal #1?," Dipper and Mabel asked in unison, looking at each other in confusion. "Don't play games with me, boy!," yelled Gideon as he made his robot punch the cliff above them, causing rocks to rain down on them.

"I don't know what you're talking about! You took the only journal I ever had! What do you even want with these journals anyway?," Dipper asked angrily. The giant robot then reached down and grabbed both of the twins in each of its hands, holding them up to its face. No matter how much they struggled, they couldn't free themselves from the robot's literal steel grip. "Let go of her!," yelled Dipper, fruitlessly punching the robot's fist. "Ha ha ha, you still think you're some kind of hero?," Gideon asked mockingly, before making the robot callously toss Dipper over its shoulder. Dipper painfully landed on top of the cliff, his head hitting a rock. He now had a black eye, a bloody nose, and a possible concussion. The robot turned around and walked away with a struggling Mabel still in its grasp. "Once I find the final journal I'll rule this town! With you as my queen!," Gideon laughed evilly. "Dipper! Help me! HELP!," Mabel screamed.

Dipper slowly got up, his head pounding. He could only watch helplessly as his own sister was being taken away by this… this… monster of a child. Inside of his head, he could still hear Gideon's mocking laughter. Face it kid, you're nothing without that journal. How you gonna fight back? No muscles. No brains. What are you gonna do, huh? What are you gonna do! For a moment, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of despair and helplessness. Gideon was right. He was nothing without that journal. And Gideon had a giant robot! What could he possibly do to save the day? He was no hero, just some kid who got lucky over and over again.

But he also couldn't abandon his sister. He had to do something! But… what? He racked his brain for ideas, but came up with nothing. He could feel the despair beginning to crush him… But then, he spotted the bracelet around his wrist, the same colorful yarn bracelet that Sammy had given to him before they got on the bus. He decided to put it on when they were on the bus just because, but looking at it now, he felt the despair from earlier slowly ebbing away. He then thought back to what Sammy said to him not too long ago. That journal may have sometimes helped, but it does not define your worth! All those 'courageous' and 'cool' things you've done on all of those crazy adventures we've had together? They were all you, not the journal! And as Dipper pondered over Sammy's words, he realized that… Sammy was right! When he trained with the manotaurs and defeated the Multi-Bear, he didn't use the journal at all! That was all his doing! When he defeated Wax Sherlock Holmes with nothing but his ingenuity, no journal was needed! When he helped his friends defeat Bill, again, no journal! And when he saved Wendy and her friends from a couple of ghosts by doing the Lamby Dance… Okay, that wasn't really his proudest moment, but hey, he still saved the day! And once again, no journal…

And if he could do all of those incredible things without it… then there was no reason why he couldn't also save his sister from a maniacal child controlling a giant robot.

Before the rational part of his brain could tell him that doing what he was about to do was a horrible idea, Dipper ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped as far as he possibly could. The robot turned around to see what was going on, which ended up working in Dipper's favor. Like a professional diver hitting his mark, he smashed through one of the robot's glass eyes and tumbled into the inside of the robot's head, where Gideon, dressed in a black motion capture suit, was controlling it. Gideon was too shocked to do anything other than stand there as Dipper charged towards him and tackled him to the floor. This also caused the robot to fall onto its back. "Let go of my sister!," yelled Dipper, punching Gideon in the face.

"Never! I finally won this time!," yelled Gideon, pushing Dipper off of him. The two of them began fighting each other, with the robot still mirroring Gideon's movements, so from the outside, it looked like the robot was fighting an invisible opponent. For someone who was half the size of Dipper, Gideon was still incredibly strong. He tackled Dipper and punched him in the face. Dipper pushed him away and stood back up. Gideon tried to punch him again, but Dipper managed to catch his fist. Then, to Gideon's surprise, Dipper redirected Gideon's fist and made the child star basically punch himself in the face instead. However, that turned out to be a grave mistake, because the robot copied Gideon's movements by also punching itself in the face. This caused the robot's head to spin around, flinging Dipper and Gideon everywhere.

"Careful in there!," cried Mabel, who was now holding onto the robot's thumb. The robot took a few steps back, and for a moment, it looked as though it was about to fall off the bridge. Fortunately, the robot's head finally stopped spinning, allowing Gideon to regain control of the robot and prevent it from falling over the edge. The two kids were incredibly dizzy and battered from what had just occurred, but they managed to get their bearings back quickly.

With a yell, Dipper ran towards Gideon with his fist cocked back, but this time, Gideon was ready for him. He stepped to the side and stuck his leg out, causing Dipper to trip over it, then grabbed him by the back of his vest and punched him in the back of the head. Like a rag doll, Dipper crumpled to the floor, extremely rattled by the blow to the head. He tried to get up again, but his energy from before was now completely spent. With a nasty sneer on his face, Gideon grabbed Dipper by the arm and raised him up like he was a proud hunter holding up the wild game he had just shot. Now, Dipper was too injured and exhausted to fight back.

Meanwhile, Mabel had managed to squeeze herself out of the robot's grip during all the chaos, but as she slowly tried to climb down its wrist, the giant metal hand suddenly closed in on itself, snatching her up once again. She was about to start struggling again, but then, she heard Gideon speaking to her through the robot's mouth. "Alright, Mabel! I didn't wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice! I've got your brother at my mercy now, and if you don't tell me where Journal #1 is, then I'll have to… dispose of him. And I'm sure that's the last thing you want, isn't it, my sweet peach?" Mabel's eyes went wide with horror as the sheer gravity of the situation finally dawned on her. Somehow, Gideon had beaten Dipper, and he was threatening to kill him if he didn't get what he wanted! "No! Dipper!," she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she doubled her efforts to escape the robot's grip, but to no avail.

"Tick tock, dear," said Gideon. "After that little stunt your brother tried to pull, my patience is already thin as it is. Just tell me where the last journal is, and I'll let him live. It's as simple as that." "I… I can't," Mabel whimpered, hanging her head as all of the fight left her. "I don't know where the other journal is… I swear, I didn't even know there was another journal…"

"...Well, that's a shame," Gideon spoke after a tense moment of silence. "I guess you don't care about your brother after all." "Wait, NO!," Mabel cried out in a panic. She didn't know what Gideon was about to do to Dipper - maybe throw him out of the robot or something - and she didn't want to find out. "Wait! I-I don't know where the other journal is… but I can give you something else… something you might want even more than the journal." "And what would that be, Mabel?," asked Gideon, already knowing what she was going to say. Dipper momentarily regained consciousness. "Mabel… no…," he groaned. "Quiet, boy!," hissed Gideon.

"You said you want me to be your queen, right?," asked Mabel. "Well, if you let go of Dipper, I'll…" She choked back a sob. "I'll be your girlfriend. I'll try on clothes with you, I'll go on as many dates with you as you want… Just please, d-don't hurt him anymore…"

Upon hearing what Mabel said, Dipper hung his head in defeat, believing he had failed his own sister. Gideon, on the other hand, was much more ecstatic. "Really?," the child star said in a delighted and almost gloating tone of voice. "Do you really mean that, Mabel?"

Suddenly, before Mabel could say yes, a small pinecone sailed through the air and hit the side of the giant robot's head. The impact was laughably weak, but it was enough to catch Gideon's attention. He turned the robot's head towards where the pinecone came from, and to his surprise, he saw Sammy standing at the end of the bridge, glaring up at him.

For some unknown reason, the moment Gideon locked eyes with Sammy, he was then gripped by an intense feeling of terror, which was enough to make him sweat profusely. It was the same feeling he got when he confronted Sammy at the pool; that feeling of being stared down by a wild predator that one might stumble across in the woods during the dead of night. However, he forced himself to push that fear aside. After all, this wasn't the same. Unlike last time, he had no reason to be afraid of Sammy anymore. He was the one who had Dipper and Mabel at his mercy. He was the one piloting a giant robot that made Sammy look like an insect in comparison. He was the one in control! "Well, well, well, if it isn't the big hero who's come to save his friends again," he sneered, unceremoniously dropping Dipper, his condescending gaze focused entirely on Sammy. "I had a hunch I'd see you again, since you and the Pines twins are practically attached at the hip." Sammy ignored Gideon for the moment and looked up at Mabel worriedly. "Mabel, are you alright? Where's Dipper?," he hollered. "Sammy!," cried Mabel, tears of relief streaming down her face. "I'm okay, b-but I don't think Dipper is! He's inside of the robot with Gideon, and… and I think he's hurt very badly…" Sammy took a deep breath to calm down. The last thing he needed was to let his anger get the better of him. "Just hold tight, Mabel!," he hollered up at her. "I'll find a way to get both of you down from there, I promise!"

"Hey! Don't ignore me, Samuel!," yelled Gideon. "Don't forget, I have the high ground here! I could step on you like the bug you are right now! The only reason I haven't done it yet is because I want to make a deal with you. Listen, I have both Dipper and Mabel at my mercy right now, and I'm willing to trade them for–" "Save it!," Sammy hissed. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say right now. Do you know what I'm going to do instead?" He glared up at Gideon again, and the same feeling of fear returned with a vengeance, only this time, Gideon could not push it aside like last time. "I am going to come up there and kick your sorry behind."

Suddenly, Sammy did something that Gideon did not expect. He ran straight at them, seemingly unafraid of Gideon's robot practically towering over him. Feeling a sudden sense of panic, Gideon quickly commanded his robot to lift its foot up and stomp down on Sammy. But the robot, because of its immense size, was rather slow in its movements, and Sammy was able to dodge it by leaping to the side as he ran. Enraged, Gideon continued trying to stomp Sammy into oblivion, but Sammy was still able to expertly weave between the robot's feet.

After about a minute of continuous stomping, Gideon stopped and looked down to see where his target was. To both his surprise and fear, Sammy was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you, you little pest?!," he boomed, frantically looking around. "Show yourself, you coward!" Unbeknownst to him, Sammy had managed to cling onto one of the robot's feet, and he was currently climbing up its leg with nobody being any the wiser. Gideon had made a grave error upon using a giant robot against a much tinier person like Sammy. A robot as large as this one had severe blind spots, and it was very easy for someone as quick and small as Sammy to take advantage of those blind spots immediately and hide himself from Gideon's view.

As Gideon kept trying to look for him, Sammy climbed up the robot's backside and soon reached its shoulder. At the end of its arm, he saw Mabel trapped in its metal hand, its fingers encircling her like a steel trap. Mabel saw Sammy as well and was about to cry out in surprise, but Sammy quickly put a finger to his mouth and shushed her. Fortunately, Mabel was able to get the message and stopped herself from making any noise that could alert Gideon. Instead, she gave him a pleading look and silently mouthed, "Please save Dipper for me."

Sammy gave her a thumbs up, but then, the entire robot shook violently. "I said come out, you coward! Stop hiding and fight me like a man!," yelled Gideon, the top half of his robot swinging around violently. Sammy was nearly shaken off, but fortunately, he was able to barely hold on, his fingers painfully digging into the seams between the metal plating. Once the robot stopped shaking, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly climbed up the robot's shoulder, then its neck, then onto its left ear. Finally, he jumped from the robot's ear and grabbed onto the rim of one of the robot's glass eyes, and rammed himself through the glass, coming face to face with a shocked Gideon. "What?! That's impossible! H-how did you…?!" But Sammy paid no attention to him. Instead, his focus was on Dipper, who was laying on the floor and covered in nasty bruises, barely conscious. "Sammy…," the preteen groaned, unable to stand.

Wasting no time, Sammy quickly ran towards Dipper and gently picked him up. He tried to give him a comforting smile. "I saw what you just did," he whispered. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen in my life." Dipper smiled up at him, grimacing in pain. "T-thanks," he said in a weak voice. Then, Sammy gave Gideon the most chilling glare he could muster and stepped towards him menacingly. Scared out of his wits, Gideon took a step back in terror, but his robot took a step back as well, and it began teetering on the edge of the bridge. Everything shook so violently that Sammy nearly lost his footing and dropped Dipper. "Whoa! Gideon, stop! Don't move!," he cried, realizing what was going on. But Gideon was too frightened to listen. Instead, he continued backing away from Sammy. "Y-you stay away! I ain't afraid of you!"

Once again, Sammy tried to tell Gideon to stop, but it was too late. The robot finally took one step too far, and fell right off the bridge, carrying Sammy, Gideon, and the twins along with it. Meanwhile, Soos could only watch from the sidelines. "Dudes! Nooooooooooo!," he yelled out in despair, unable to do anything but watch helplessly. The robot fell through the air and landed in the valley below, causing a massive explosion to occur. The explosion was so large that all of the townspeople saw it, and they immediately drove over to investigate. After the smoke finally cleared, all that was left of the robot were burning scraps and pieces of broken metal.

At first, it appeared as though there were no survivors. Then, from above, Dipper, Mabel, and Sammy slowly came down from the bridge, with Sammy holding the twins in his arms while Mabel was using her grappling hook to lower them down. "GRAPPLING HOOK!," she cheered. "Told you it would come in handy!" Once they were back onto solid ground, Dipper immediately hugged Mabel and Sammy, ignoring the pain he was currently in. "Guys, that was amazing!," he cried. "Mabel, I can't believe you actually saved us with that grappling hook! And Sammy, I can't believe you were able to take down a robot all on your own!" "Heh, um, thanks Dipper," Sammy chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his head. "But I didn't really take down a robot. It was Gideon who made it fall off the bridge by accident. What you did was way more impressive."

"Yeah! You were amazing too, Dipper!," Mabel said excitedly. "The way you jumped off that cliff and straight through the robot's eye, it was like an action movie! Then you started giving Gideon the ol' one-two! Bam! Pow! Whap!" She excitedly made punching motions while making sound effects with her mouth, getting a laugh from Dipper and Sammy. "Heh, c-come on, guys, you're over exaggerating," said Dipper, chuckling bitterly. "I mean, I still failed. Who knows what could've happened if Sammy hadn't arrived in time? I couldn't… I still c-couldn't…"

Sammy and Mabel exchanged worried glances upon seeing that Dipper was on the verge of tears. Then, Sammy quickly walked up to Dipper, knelt down to his level, and hugged him tightly, much to Dipper's surprise. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Sammy said in a gentle voice. "What you did was the bravest thing I've ever seen in my life. Please, please don't act like what you did wasn't good enough." "B-b-but I couldn't beat him," Dipper stammered, his head buried in Sammy's chest. "I still got my butt kicked. I c-couldn't save Mabel. You were the one who saved us in the end, not me. All I did was become Gideon's punching bag…"

"Are you kidding?," asked Sammy, letting out an incredulous laugh. "Dipper, you did so much more than that. You literally stood up against a sociopathic child piloting a giant robot! I can't even imagine myself doing something like that at your age. Even when all the odds were against you, even when you were at your lowest and on the verge of giving up, you didn't give up. You still tried. And you know what? That makes you the real hero in my book."

Dipper was stunned into silence, unable to believe what he had heard. He failed… and yet, Sammy and Mabel still thought he was… a hero? At that moment, he felt an overwhelming urge to break out in tears, but it wasn't until Mabel joined in the group hug that the dam finally burst. He wrapped his arms around both of them and squeezed, weeping loudly.

Eventually, the three of them separated. "Thanks, guys," Dipper sniffed, wiping his eyes. "I don't really think I'm a hero myself, but… I'm glad that you two think I am." "That's what best friends and twin sisters are for, bro-bro!," Mabel said lightly, giving Dipper a friendly punch to the shoulder. However, that light touch was enough to send a wave of pain through Dipper's body, causing him to bend over and groan. "Oh my gosh! Dipper, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?," Mabel asked worriedly. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Dipper reassured, wincing in pain. "Gideon messed me up pretty badly, though. For a kid who's shorter than his own hair, he is strong. Ow."

"Me and Soos will get you patched up as soon as we can," Sammy promised. Then, he noticed something on the ground next to them, something really familiar. "Look Dipper, I found your journal," he said, picking it up. "You did? Yes!," cheered Dipper as he took the journal and hugged it to his chest with a wide smile. "I wonder where Gideon is, though?," asked Sammy, looking around worriedly. His eyes went wide. "Oh, no. Guys, you don't think he's–"

Suddenly, a police cruiser drove up to the scene, and it was none other than Blubs and Durland, followed by the other townspeople as they surrounded the wreckage, wondering what the heck just happened. "Is this the thing that exploded?" "What's going on?" "What is that? It's over here!" Then, a frazzled but otherwise unharmed Gideon emerged from the wreckage, much to Sammy's relief. He had a less than stellar opinion about him, especially after everything he's put them through, but that didn't mean he wanted him dead. Meanwhile, the crowd gasped in shock when they saw their beloved town darling in such a state. "Gideon! Oh, good heavens!," cried Durland, running over to him and helping him up. "What on earth happened here?" "It was the Pines Twins!," Gideon accused, pointing at them. "Them and their evil accomplice, Samuel! They tried to attack me and blew up my statue with dynamite! Arrest 'em!" "What?," Sammy and the twins cried out in unison, shocked that Gideon would have the gall to accuse them of such a… On second thought, this was exactly something that they expected him to do.

"Officers, he's lying!," Dipper protested. "It's true!," said Sammy, backing him up. "Gideon was the one who attacked us, not the other way around! You have to believe us!" The two cops paused and looked at each other, both confused by the conflicting accounts they heard. "Well, as much as we trust Gideon… I see no reason why Sammy would ever lie to us…," Blubs said in an uncertain voice. Gideon was shocked that the two policemen were actually on Sammy's side instead of his own, and was even more shocked when he saw the townspeople murmuring to each other in agreement! No, this wasn't how things were supposed to go! He had the entire town wrapped around his little finger! How could Sammy, this nuisance, this, this… do-gooder, who's only been here for about a month, suddenly have so much sway over these idiots?! This will not do. He had to crank up the charm, quick! "Please, officers, don't listen to their lies!," he cried, trying to make himself look as small and vulnerable as possible. "It's me, Gideon, the town darling, remember? Look into my eyes and tell me that I'm a liar." He made the most adorable puppy eyes to sway the crowd, and unfortunately, it worked. The entire crowd awed in delight, immediately taken in by his charms. "Well, that's all that I needed to hear," said Blubs. "Sorry kids, but we trust Gideon. And nothing short of a miracle could ever change our–"

"Wait!," said a familiar voice. "Wait! Stop everything! I've got somethin' to say!" Everyone else turned towards the voice and saw Stan and Soos walking towards them. Stan was limping, and Soos had to help him by putting the conman's arm around his shoulders. "Mister Pines, you made it!," said Sammy, relieved that Stan was fine, albeit clearly injured. "Grunkle Stan?!," cried the twins, alarmed by the state of Stan's leg. "Oh, no! Grunkle Stan, what happened to you?!," gasped Dipper. "What, this?," said Stan, acting like his broken leg wasn't a big deal. "Please, it's nothin'. I've gotten worse injuries from boxing." He turned towards the crowd. "Alright, listen up! You guys all think Gideon is so perfect and honest. 'Oh! I could never tell a lie! I'm Gideon!'" He even mimicked Gideon's voice and mannerisms when saying that last part. "He's more honest than you!," Blubs retorted angrily. "Yeah! And he's psychic too!," Durland agreed.

"How's this for psychic?," asked Stan. "Soos, you mind?" Soos nodded and kicked the head of the Gideon bot, causing one of its panels to fall open, revealing a hidden room. "Take a good look!," said Stan. Everyone else crowded around the head and stared at the inside of the room, which had many screens, each of them showing a recording of what the townspeople had been doing in their private lives. "Wait a minute, is that ME?," cried Lazy Susan, pointing at one of the screens, which showed a recording of herself pouring coffee into an omelet. "The secret ingredient to my coffee omelet is coffee!," said the Susan on the screen. "And me!," said Toby Determined, pointing to another screen, which showed himself being diagnosed by a doctor. "I can verify that that birthmark is indeed disgusting." "Hooray!" The rest of the crowd also began pointing at different screens, saying, "That's me! That's me!" over and over again.

"That's right, these pins are hidden cameras!," said Stan, taking one out and showing it to the crowd. "And my hearing aid was picking up the feedback! Who's the fraud now?" To prove his point, he broke the pin, revealing a hidden camera inside of it. Everyone else, angered and disgusted by what they saw, took their own pins and tossed them to the ground. Then, they all surrounded Gideon. "Gideon, we gave you our trust…," Durland said sadly. "You LIED to us!," yelled Manly Dan, his veins visible on his neck. "Please, I… It's not what it looks like… What are you gonna do with me?," Gideon asked nervously. "Tyler?," Durland asked Tyler, who could only look away in sorrow. "Get 'im… Get 'im!," he sniffed, wiping a tear from his face.

"Lil' Gideon, you are under arrest for conspiracy, fraud, and breaking our hearts," said Blubs, taking his sunglasses off to wipe his eyes. "Durland, the tiny handcuffs." Durland walked over to Gideon and locked the child star's wrists together with comically small handcuffs. "Wha– no!," cried Gideon, unable to believe what was happening. But then, as if to add insult to injury, Stan picked him up with one arm. "Just one more thing," he said, shaking him like a ragdoll. "Let go of me! Ow! Ow! Ow!," cried Gideon. Various different items fell out of his coat, including the deed to the Mystery Shack and Journal #2. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Stan took the deed and the journal, then showed everyone the deed while hiding the journal behind it.

"I believe this belongs to me," the conman said proudly. "No! No!," cried Gideon as he was being herded into the police car. "Watch the hair! You can't do this to me! Y'all are sheep! You need me! I'll be back! You'll hear from my lawyers!" As Gideon glared at everyone from the backseat, his eyes landed on Sammy, and his anger grew tenfold. Once again, Sammy has put a stop to his plans, and to add salt to the wound, he has yet to uncover any of Sammy's secrets. The unfairness of it all was too much for him to bear, and he began to pound on the window with his fists while screaming himself hoarse. "SAMUEL, YOU LITTLE PUNK! THIS AIN'T OVER! I'M GONNA FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE, AND I'LL GET MY REVENGE ON YOU AND THE PINES FAMILY! YOU HEAR ME?! THIS AIN'T OVER!" As the police car drove away, Sammy and the twins could only watch with wide eyes. "Geez, I really dodged a bullet, huh?," said Mabel as she cringed. "Sammy, what did Gideon mean when he said that he'll find out who you are?," asked Dipper, looking up at him. "I have no idea," said Sammy, lying through his teeth.

Suddenly, Stan hobbled over to them and scooped them up with his arms. "Come on, you knuckleheads, we're on TV!," he said excitedly. "...Huh, so we are," said Sammy, realizing that they were now being filmed by the local news crew. "There you have it. Local hero Stanford Pines has just exposed Li'l Gideon as a fraud," Shandra Jimenez said to the camera. "Anything you have to say to the town, Stanford?" "The Mystery Shack is back, baby!," said Stan, causing the others to cheer along with him. Yes it is, Stan, Sammy thought happily. Yes it is.

The very next day could only be described as "prosperous" for the Mystery Shack. After news of Gideon's defeat spread around town, the shack became more popular than ever, and was filled to the brim with new tourists. Mabel, of course, made sure to get rid of that hideous Gideon costume that Waddles was forced to wear, and burned it in the fireplace. The group also spent most of the day fixing the sign that Bud destroyed with the wrecking ball, and by the end of the day, it was good as new. Though they still couldn't get that darn S to stick…

The next morning, Dipper and Mabel were moving back into the attic and unpacking their belongings, with Sammy helping them. "Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow," said Mabel, making random cat noises as she unpacked. Then, Stan entered the room to check up on them. His leg was wrapped in a large cast, and he needed crutches to get around, but other than that, he was doing relatively well for an old man with a broken leg. "Hey, Grunkle Stan!," Mabel said cheerfully. "Hey, Mister Pines. Um, how's the leg?," asked Sammy. "Well, the cast is itchy and my leg smells like death, but besides that, I'm doin' pretty good," said Stan. "You kiddos settlin' back in okay?" "Yep!," said Mabel. "All of my favorite moldy spots on the ceiling are still there!," She looked up at a particularly moldy spot on the wooden beam above her bed and smiled at it fondly. "Even you, Daryl." Then, Dipper glanced at Sammy nervously. "So should I tell him?," he mouthed silently. Sammy smiled and gave him an encouraging nod. "Yes. It's time," he mouthed back. Dipper nodded, then took a long, deep breath before turning to face Stan.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan, me, Mabel, and Sammy have been talking, and I think there's something we should finally tell you." He took out his journal and handed it to Stan. "This is a journal I found in the woods. It talks about all the crazy stuff that goes on in Gravity Falls." Stan started flipping through the journal with an unreadable expression on his face as Dipper kept on talking. "Gideon nearly destroyed the whole town trying to find it. I don't know what it means, or who wrote it. But, after all we've been through, maybe you should finally know about it." As Stan looked through the journal, Sammy stared hard at his face, but it was almost impossible to tell what was going on in the conman's mind right now. "I'm glad you showed me this, Dipper…," said Stan, solemnly closing the book. The others waited anxiously for his reaction…

…but none of them expected for him to suddenly burst out laughing. "AHAHAHA! Now I know where you've been getting it all from! Spookums and monsters. This kooky book has been filling your head with crazy conspiracies!" He ruffled Dipper's hair. "But it's all real!," cried Dipper, not knowing why Stan didn't believe him. "Haha. You gotta quit readin' this fantasy nonsense for your own good," said Stan. "Although some of these would make great attractions! Can't come up with this stuff! Mind if I borrow this?" He got up and hobbled out of the attic on his crutches, the journal tucked underneath his armpit. "Wait, no! Grunkle Stan!," said Dipper. "'Magic book.' Ridiculous!," Stan laughed as he hobbled out of view. "Stan, I need it!," Dipper called after him, but he was already gone. "...I did not expect that to happen," said Sammy, blinking in surprise. "I didn't think he'd just… brush it all off like it was a joke…" And yet, something didn't sit right with him. If Stan really didn't believe what Dipper told him, why was he initially so silent? And why did his laugh sound so forced? "Dipper, you don't need that book!," said Mabel. "Don't you see? On your own you almost defeated a giant robot with your bare hands!" "Mabel's right," said Sammy. "It's like we said earlier. With or without that journal, you are still a hero in our book."

"Whoa. Thanks, guys," Dipper said gratefully. "I still want it back though." "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it back soon," Sammy reassured him. "Yeah! I mean, what would a boring old man like Stan want with that book anyway?," asked Mabel. Suddenly, all three of them were hit in the face by cold streams of water. Then, Soos popped out from one of the cardboard boxes with water guns in his hands. "Soos-ed!," he said. Dipper and Mabel laughed and ran out of the attic while Soos chased after them with his water guns. Sammy laughed as well, but unlike the others, he stayed behind in the attic. He reached under his bed and took out a large and black duffel bag, then took out a towel and used it to dry his face. However, something small and thin slipped out from the folds of the towel and floated to the floor. Sammy let out a sharp gasp, his eyes going wide. He picked it up and held it to his face. It was an old photograph.

The photo was in black and white, and it had been folded and creased so many times that it was on the verge of being ripped apart. The photo showed three people smiling back at him. The one in the middle was himself, the one to his left was his old friend Carlson, and the one to his right was… "Hutch," Sammy whispered shakily, feeling the tears return.

In the photo, all three of them were dressed in military uniforms. None of them had a worry or care in the world. None of them knew the terrible things that would happen to them in the future… "Hutch, tớ rất xin lỗi," Sammy whispered. "Tớ rất xin lỗi vì không thể cứu cậu khỏi con quái vật khốn khiếp đó… Tớ hy vọng rằng dù cậu có ở đâu đi chăng nữa, cậu đã được yên nghỉ khỏi cơn ác mộng đó rồi." He kissed the photo, then put it back in his bag.

That night, deep underground, for the first time in years… the machine turned on.