"Am I blanchin', girl we blanchin'. I live up in a mansion!"

Soos was sweeping to the beat without a care in the world, raising his hands in the air.

Y/n and Wendy were hard at work replenishing the gift shop's inventory, enduring the tenth repetition of the infuriating song. Y/n was nodding her head to the rhythm, while Wendy, on the verge of frustration, felt like tearing her red hair out. "Ugh! I can't get that terrible song out of my head!" She burst out.

"Oh, you mean "Straight Blanchin'" by 'Lil Big Dawg?" Soos piped up, stopping his chore. "It's the catchiest song of the summer!"

"What is "blanchin"?" Wendy argued, "Rappers can't just make up words!"

He stood his ground. "Rappers are visionaries, Wendy. If they told me to eat my own pants, I would do it."

"Eat your own pants. Eat your own pants, yeah!"

The three glanced at the boombox speechlessly, before Soos' face morphed into one of agreeableness. "Thy will be done, 'Lil Big Dawg." He began unzipping his pants as he hummed.

"No, Soos," Y/n ordered.

"Heh, okay!" he replied with a grin.

The song kept playing, making Wendy turn to Y/n. "Can you hand me a power drill? Because I will literally drill it out of my brain."

"I don't have a power drill at the moment," Y/n replied. "But I have this box cutter!" She enthusiastically provided, showing her the tool with a smile, unaware of the implications of her suggestion.

"Good enough for me."

Stan walked out from the living room, reading a newspaper as he made his way to the register. "Hey, guys," he greeted. As he passed by, the trio heard him sing under his breath, "Am I blanchin', girl we blanchin'. I live up in a mansion..."

Wendy looked exasperated as she shouted, "You too?!"

Stan sat comfortably on the stool, relaxing his shoulders. "It's catchy. Sue me."

Mabel and Dipper suddenly burst through the employees only door, panting. Their expressions were frantic. "Y/n!" Dipper called. "Wendy, Soos! We need to go see Old Man McGucket!"

"That's the first time anyone's said those words," Wendy remarked.

"Is it an emergency?" the handyman asked rather excitedly. "Can I break this glass?!" he pointed at the emergency box containing an ax. Nobody knew how it was installed in the first place, it was just there.

"We'll explain on the way!" Mabel screamed and the gang scrambled their way towards Soos' van, ignoring Stan's calls for them to go back.

While in the vehicle on the way to the junkyard, Dipper slowly began to explain the plan. "Okay, so don't freak out..." he started, taking out the journal. "But Old Man McGucket might be the author of the journals." His brown eyes were fixed on Y/n, closely watching her reaction. She responded with pursed lips, unblinking eyes, and slightly raised brows. Inside the van, there was silence, with only the sounds of the car's engine, Soos' chewing, and Mabel's tongue clicking. Y/n swallowed hard before averting her gaze. Wendy was the first to break the silence, asking, "Uh, Dipper, are you sure it's him?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't have thought that this kooky, deranged old man would write something like the journal," Soos added, turning left, nearing the junkyard.

Y/n stared at the back of his seat, a faint hint of a helpless smile playing on her lips. Oh, he had no idea.

"Guess how we managed to find that one out!" Mabel happily kicked her legs in her seat. "We saw a detail through the glass bottle that Mermando gave me– on the laptop it said that it belonged to McGucket Labs!"

"Wait, what?" Y/n asked. "Maybe you're trying to say that the laptop was manufactured by someone from McGucket Labs."

"But we don't know any other McGuckets than the one living in the dump," Dipper argued. "Unless, you know something, Y/n?"

She clamped her lips shut, realizing she might have divulged too much of her thoughts. A careless slip, Y/n scolded herself. "Never mind," she replied, successfully ending the conversation.

After a while, they reached the junkyard, their destination in their quest to find the familiar hillbilly. At last, they spotted his unique home, a structure ingeniously crafted from assorted scrap materials. As they approached, they witnessed him in the act of shooing away some graffiti-prone teenagers. Upon noticing the approaching gang, he greeted them enthusiastically. "Visitors! Come, come."

Old Man McGucket welcomed them with open arms, insisting they enter his peculiar abode. Y/n observed the man thoughtfully. There was no way Dipper's theory about him being the journal's author could be accurate. Inside, McGucket provided them with a tour of his bizarre surroundings. He even engaged in an eccentric conversation with the person he believed to be in his bathroom mirror. "You're just in time for my hourly turf war with the hillbilly that lives in my mirror!" he bellowed, addressing his own reflection in a bathtub. "Quit starin' at me when I bathe!"

Dipper maintained a stoic expression. "You can drop the act, McGucket. I know you're the author," he declared, unveiling the velvet-covered journal. "You studied the mysteries of this town and wrote this book!"

"Dude, you're the genius Dipper's been searching for all summer!" Wendy added, retrieving the busted up laptop from the backpack and showing it to him.

But McGucket still looked clueless. "Uh, genius? I'm no genius. I've never done nothin' worthwhile in my life."

"Looks like it."

"Y/n."

McGucket continued, "See? E-everybody knows I'm no good to nobody. I can't remember what I used to be, but I must've been a big failure to end up like this."

"But the laptop has your name on it!" Soos tried to convince.

Y/n seized the opportunity to check the insignia on the laptop, which indeed read, "McGucket Labs." However, this didn't necessarily mean it was his personal possession. It was F's laptop. McGucket Labs might have been a long-established company producing such gadgets. It seemed unlikely that someone like him would have created it.

She missed F.

Their hope was slowly dwindling, but Dipper wasn't ready to give up just yet. "What about this book? Are you sure you didn't write it? Take a closer look." Dipper started flipping through the journal's pages, while McGucket watched with a blank expression.

"I told you, I don't recall," the older man insisted. "Everything before 1982 was just a blur. Just a hazy..." His sentence was interrupted when his eyes landed on a specific page of The Blind Eye. The symbol seemed to have triggered him as he began shrieking. "The Blind Eye!" He screamed, "Robes, the men, my mind! They did something!"

"Who did?" Y/n asked, her attention fully focused on his words, especially the mention of 1982. Perhaps this man's mind had indeed been tampered with, and he had been deprived of his true identity. Could he be... him?

"I... oh, I don't recall." McGucket replied, his expression hopeless as he massaged his temples.

"Oh, you poor old man!" Mabel expressed. "No wonder your mind's all–" she blew a raspberry. "You've been through something intense."

"What if McGucket learned something he wasn't supposed to know, and someone, or something, messed with his mind? We've got to get to the bottom of this," Dipper suggested, looking over to Y/n, sending some sort of silent plea.

Everyone seemed to follow his lead, as all eyes were now on her. "Alright," Y/n nodded once at Dipper before turning back to McGucket. "Think, man. What was the earliest thing you can remember?"

He contemplated for a moment, before pulling down a newspaper from the wall adjacent to him. "This is... I think."

Everyone saw the headline that read, "Disoriented Man Found at Museum." The in-line photo was of him looking quite disoriented.

"The history museum!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Then that's where we're going," Dipper declared with a determined grin.

The gang hastily made their way to the car, strapping in and speeding away with Soos at the wheel. McGucket, his white beard ruffling in the wind, rode in the back. The ride to the museum was mostly quiet, apart from Soos singing along to his favorite song, "Straight Blanchin'". The peaceful atmosphere was broken when Wendy, fed up with the repetitive tune, ejected the CD and tossed it out of the car. A silence hung in the air, and Soos gave Wendy a dirty look. She paused for a moment, realizing she might have overreacted. "I'll buy you a new one," she offered

They arrived at the museum, and it was clear that it had already closed for the day. Fortunately, only the main entrance was locked; the casement windows remained accessible, allowing the gang to slip inside with relative ease.

"Here, lemme help you up, girly." McGucket reached down from inside of the museum to the other side, where Y/n was.

"Please don't call me girly," Y/n replied, her tone bemused, but slightly apologetic. Nonetheless, she took the offered hand and hoisted herself up against the wall and through the window. "Thank you."

"Ain't no thang." He slapped his knee.

Weird.

Soos, being one of the first people who were inside, called out, "Hello? Anyone here?"

"Shh!" Y/n warned. "We're not supposed to be here at this time. Try not to make any loud noises."

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious." Dipper whispered, looking around.

Y/n placed her hands on her hips as she turned to the old man. "So your last memory🗝 was here. Anything coming back?"

Before McGucket could answer, Soos' voice suddenly boomed and had everyone's attention. "Guys, look!" He pointed and down the hall, there was a shadowy figure running away as if he was caught red handed.

Immediately the gang went after the guy in the robe, with Dipper shouting "Hey!"

They found themselves a room filled with depictions of eyes. Everywhere they looked, there were irises pupils, corneas, eyes.

Y/n had to narrow her eyes for this one. They were sure that the guy was here, he couldn't have escaped to another room in time. From McGucket's words, he "vanish-ified", so there must've been a secret passage. She touched a fake eyeball, smooth to the hand. She had a fair share with codes and secret doors so there's bound to be a hidden button or deciphered symbols.

"Eh... I feel like all these eyeballs are a-watchin' me," McGucket expressed, unconsciously pushing himself against Y/n and hiding behind her. Instinctively, she wanted to push him away, but she felt him shaking, and now she didn't know what to do. "Protect me, girly."

"I told you not to call me girly—"

She glanced at McGucket, who was standing in the edge of the room, beside multiple sets of eyeballs, big or small, different colored irises. With Dipper's quick thinking, he deduced that the eyes were looking in his direction. He made McGucket step aside, and Y/n had to pull him away to reveal a prehistoric symbol of an eye embedded on a rock. Dipper stepped forward and pushed it in. From behind them, the fireplace was casted aside by some sort of mechanism, and a staircase that leads to below appeared.

"Jackpot!" Wendy exclaimed.

"We'll have to be stealthy," McGucket warned. "I'll hambone a message if there's trouble." He began slapping his arms, legs, and face.

"I have no idea what that means," Dipper replied.

Without wasting any more time, they descended down the stairs, going as quietly as possible. If anyone saw the way McGucket cling onto Y/n, they didn't say anything. Why was he particularly clingy to her today?

They neared a doorway covered with red curtains, and voices were soon heard. They were chanting what sounded like Latin languages.

Y/n parted the curtains slightly, and everyone behind her piled in to watch for themselves. The robed people performed their ritual until what Y/n thought was their leader stepped in and spoke with a deep voice. "Who is the subject of this meeting?"

"This woman," the members brought her out and removed the sack off her face, revealing Lazy Susan. They pulled her over to the chair and cuffed her hands with metal restraints.

The leader had his hands together, facing Lazy Susan. "What is it that you have seen?"

"Speak!"

Susan looked unnerved by the voices around her, but she replied, "Uh, well, uh. I was leaving the diner, and I saw these little bearded doodads! And I was like, 'BWAAA?'

"There, there." The main guy replied in faux comfort, going over to open the box they pointed at earlier in their chant. It was a ray gun. The members all pulled down their hoods. "You won't be like 'BWAAA?' for much longer.

"What is that gizmo?" Susan wondered aloud. "It looks like a hair dryer. Are you guys barbers?"

Those were the last words she uttered before it was replaced by a horrifying scream as she was zapped by the gun. He stopped blasting, she stopped screaming, it was silent.

"Lazy Susan!" The leader turned around as if he just did the coolest stunt ever. "What do you know of little bearded men?"

Her voice sounded robotic, monotonous "My mind is cleared thanks to the Society of the Blind Eye!"

Everyone raised their hands as they chanted, "It is unseen!"

Susan was eventually escorted away. "Your memories will be safe with us, buried in the Hall of the Forgotten." The leader extracted a tube from the memory erasing gun and wrote her name on it. He walked towards a wall where it had a pipe attached to it. He let the tube get sucked and it flew through the duct, towards the assumed Hall of the Forgotten.

They adjourned their meeting, now talking casually with one another. They eventually dispersed, saying "Unsee you later", and the room was empty, meaning the coast was clear.

Dipper signaled the group to go into the room, and instantly, he went directly for the ray gun, carrying it. He didn't notice Y/n now lagging behind, looking like something was on her mind.

Her eyes glanced at the gun in Dipper's hand, her brain feeling a little itchy. To think that this sort of mechanism existed, its purpose was to erase a particular memory. Y/n might consider it a good addition to science to help traumatized individuals erase a bad memory, but falling into the wrong hands... she didn't want to imagine the power that someone holds.

It looked so... familiar. Why is it so familiar?

"A secret society of evil mind erasers..." Dipper said. At least he also agreed that it was an evil organization. He turned to McGucket. "I'll bet they erased your memory a long time ago. If we could find where your memories have been hidden, it could be the key to unlocking all the mysteries of Gravity Falls."

And with that, he constructed a plan.

"Alright. Soos. You, me, and McGucket are gonna go find the Hall of the Forgotten. Wendy, Mabel, and Y/n are gonna stay here and make sure those robe guys don't come back." He paused for a second, glancing at her. "Unless... Y/n wants to come with us?"

"Oh, no," Wendy interjected, pulling on the girl's arm. "You already called the shots, Dip. Y/n stays. It's a girl's club."

Mabel laughed when she saw Dipper looking speechless. "Yooo!" she sounded, feeling slightly bad for her brother, but she was also amused by the entire spectacle.

Y/n gave Dipper an apologetic smile. "Guess that's that," she shrugged. She was fine with whatever, though she much preferred staying and inspecting the ray gun more closely.

"Fine," he huffed. "Let's go."

Soos found himself too close to the pipe, causing his hat to get sucked inside and flew off in a direction.

"Follow that hat!" Dipper exclaimed, and the three sprinted off.

And that left Y/n, Mabel, and Wendy. The two girls sat on the stone floors, while the other was standing by the opened chest with the memory gun on it. She took the device in her hands, the metal cold to the touch. She spun it around, trying to identify the parts that made up the gun. The more she stared at it, the more she was confident she saw it before... and being used on someone– prior to the one she saw them using it on Lazy Susan.

With her other hand, she scrolled through the wheel, making letters appear on the screen. From her twisting, she formed words like "dream", "fun", "reality", before she stopped it, placing it back in the chest.

"I just don't get it, Wendy," Mabel groaned out just as Y/n regrouped with them. "I hug a lot, I can burp the alphabet, I have scratch and sniff clothing. Why does every boy leave me?"

"Pfft, who cares? Boys are the worst," Wendy replied, "You shouldn't get hung up, man."

"Maybe I come on too strong, you know?" the brunette shot back.

"Well, what's your opener? Come on–" Wendy slapped Y/n's shoulder playfully. "Pretend Y/n is a boy."

The redhead glanced at her and Y/n stared back just as blank. Wendy raised her eyebrows as if she was waiting for her move. "What?" she asked. "What do I do?"

"Act like a boy. Duh."

Y/n huffed. "Fine." she cleared her throat, trying to come up with a decent greeting. She made her voice lower. "Yo."

Mabel immediately jumped up to her feet and screamed at her face. "HI! I'M MABEL! I'M TWELVE AND OWN A PIG! WANNA GET MARRIED?!"

The faux boy's face morphed into confusion and horror. Before she could utter a word, Wendy laughed from beside her. "Honestly, that was perfect!"

Perfect?!

"You should just forget about guys, Mabel," Wendy added.

It seemed like a lightbulb appeared on top of the brunette's head, and Y/n already feared for what her idea could be. "Wendy, that's it. Forget about guys!" She dashed towards the chair and sat on it before anyone could say anything. She picked up the memory gun. "I just need to type 'summer romances' into this thing, and I won't feel bad about them anymore.

The two followed, but Y/n looked a little more frantic. "Mabel, be careful with that."

"Yeah, Mabel," Wendy looked uncomfortable this time, "We don't even know what that thing does. You could accidentally erase, like, learning to read, or breathe, or..."

Y/n agreed, the thought not even coming to mind.

"Or..." Mabel interjected, "one of those terrible summer songs you can't get out of your head?"

Wendy raised her eyebrows, going silent. And from that, Y/n knew that Wendy had gone completely to the other side, leaving her alone to convince both of them otherwise.

Meanwhile, the three boys who were on another more serious mission found themselves in the Hall of the Forgotten, memory tubes that were stacked all around them could already reach the ceilings. They began their search for McGucket's memories, the clink clank sounds that the glass tubes reproduce were the only sound they heard in the midst of their search.

They saw memories that belonged to people that they met, people that they knew. One of them was Robbie Valentine, and upon watching the memory tube from an old-timey TV that can seemingly read memory tubes, they discovered that the teen was abducted after the event with Rumble McSkirmish. His memories must've been erased after that.

Even so, Dipper hasn't solved the puzzle yet. He still didn't understand the motives of the society.

"Lookie, fellers!" McGucket called them over, pointing at a statue with memory tubes properly organized around it. "It's those words what people call me!"

Dipper and Soos walked over to the older man and upon closer inspection, they saw one memory tube sitting atop of the statue that was labeled as "McGucket Memories". They expressed their excitement, as McGucket climbed atop and easily grabbed the tube from its spot— unaware of the alarm attached at its rear, to which it began beeping.

Meanwhile, Mabel was continuing her plan, having successfully typed 'summer romances' on the gun without prior knowledge in how to use the wheel.

In her last attempt in changing the brunette's mind, Wendy urged, "I don't know, Mabel. Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"ALL IDEAS ARE GOOD IDEAS!"

Before she could shoot herself with the gun, an alarm above the trio suddenly beeped rapidly, the light blinking red. "Oh, no." Y/n muttered. "We have to hide! Quick!"

They were too late, as the men in robes flooded inside and quickly surrounded them, giving them no space to escape. They went ahead and apprehended them, but the girls weren't about to go down without the fight. They screamed and thrashed against their grip, but it was all fruitless and insignificant as they were inevitably tied against the stoned post.

Eventually, another set of the robed men emerged from the other room, Dipper and Soos in their hold. They were also tied up, with no hope of moving. But Y/n noticed that McGucket wasn't with them. Perhaps he managed to get away? She thought of the chance that the older man would save them, but judging his demeanor and insane behavior, he might as well have upped and left the museum, leaving her helpless.

Y/n found herself in the middle of Mabel and Dipper, who were busy writhing against the ropes. "You guys shouldn't waste your energy. It's hopeless."

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?!" Dipper exclaimed angrily out of panic. "They could seriously erase our minds!"

"And right you are, boy," the leader spoke aloud, crouching down and taking away the memory tube that was in Dipper's hands. "You shouldn't have come here. We do not give up our secrets lightly."

They momentarily stopped moving as they glared at the hooded man. "Who are you, bathrobe-wearing freaks?!" Wendy spat. More other questions were from the twins and Soos. Y/n remained quiet as she had to concentrate, but she too had the same inquiry.

"Well, I suppose we are going to erase your minds anyway," he shrugged, before turning around and gave the other members the go signal to reveal their identities. It was a group consisting of people that they already knew; Toby Determined, Bud Gleeful, That Farmer Guy, and Creepy dude who married a woodpecker. Him. Too.

But Y/n's eyes were transfixed at their leader. Somehow, weirdly enough as it is, she was familiar with the man's voice. There was that feeling again; familiarity. She had always found herself in the particular situation for the whole day now. "And you never met me before..." the leader spoke, fingers on the hem of his hood. "And if you had, you wouldn't remember!"

Her senses returned with even greater intensity. The most striking feature that immediately drew her attention was the peculiar tattoos covering his bald head. With a click, recognition hit her—this was the young carny from the day Y/n, Ford, and F visited the carnival! She couldn't forget the emotional moment when he tearfully shared his story about being bullied because of his head tattoos.

So, ha. Take that, tattoo guy. She does remember.

"I am Blind Ivan," he introduced himself. "And we are the Society of the Blind Eye! Formed many years ago by our founder... our founder..." he faltered, looking flushed. "Does anyone remember who he was?" He turned to his group.

Bud gave him a sheepish smile as he shrugged apologetically. "We've been usin' that ray on our own brains an awful lot."

"But why would you do all this?" Dipper asked from beside her, "What do you have to gain?"

She also had that question in mind, along with many others.

Blind Ivan brought his hands together as he strung up together the origin story of their organization. "As you have no doubt discovered, Gravity Falls is a town plagued with supernatural strangeness. No one knew how to stop the things that went bump in the night, so our founder invented the next best thing: a way for us to forget. We 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. And as a perk, we help ourselves forget things that trouble us."

Despite his explanations and the partial clarity they brought, new questions sprouted in their minds. If the Society of the Blind Eye aimed to assist the troubled townsfolk by erasing memories of the supernatural, why hadn't they targeted Dipper, Mabel, or even her? She had encountered and interacted with the supernatural, being supernatural herself. She hadn't witnessed men in red robes roaming around at night, but then again, she wasn't typically outside the Mystery Shack after dark.

Maybe the Society of the Blind Eye was incompetent that they couldn't target anyone. Maybe they only have eyes for people who display signs of trauma. Maybe they have a checklist to follow.

Or, someone could be protecting them from the inside.

But as Y/n's eyes swept across each member's faces once again, no one could have done it. She couldn't think that someone like Bud Gleeful would protect them from the Society.

"Don't you see? This is ruining lives!" Dipper argued, sounding exasperated. "What about Old Man McGucket? He lives in a hut and talks to animals thanks to you! Don't you feel bad about that?"

For a moment, Blind Ivan faltered, frowning slightly. "Eh... Maybe a little..."

...and then he zapped himself with the gun.

"But not anymore."

"Oh, that's gross." Y/n commented.

Ivan ignored her and tampered with the weapon, typing something in. "You won't be telling anyone else what you've learned here. Say goodbye to your summer." He slowly stepped forward, aiming the gun at the entire gang.

"Uh, guys? If we're gonna forget everything, I got some stuff I wanna get off my chest," Soos rambled, "Mabel, for half the summer, I thought your name was Maple, like the syrup. No one corrected me!"

Mabel followed, "I only love some of my stuffed animals, and the guilt is killing me!"

"Sometimes I use big words so I could impress someone but I don't actually know what they mean. I mean, I'm supposed to be the smart guy. If I'm not the smart guy, who am I?!" Dipper prattled.

"Okay, I'm not actually laid back," Wendy added. "I'm stressed, like 24/7! Have you met my family?!"

Eventually, all eyes were on Y/n. And it was quite awkward when the room was silent after spouting so many confessions. Even the members of the Society seemed to be waiting. "What?" She said, looking up at the eyes of Blind Ivan.

"Well? Don't you have a secret to tell, too?"

She couldn't help but smile at that. She would take her secret to her grave.

Her eyes traveled behind the man. "Wait, what is Lazy Susan doing back here?"

They took the bait, spinning around, causing her grin to broaden. Concealed in her jacket's pocket, she swiftly cut the final rope with a hidden box cutter. With the agility of a martial artist, she executed a kip-up, propelling herself to a standing position and expertly disarming Blind Ivan by kicking the gun out of his grip.

He shouted as he was about to make a run for the gun, when all of a sudden a mining pan came flying out of nowhere like a frisbee and hit him square in his bald head. "Owie!"

Rushing in from the adjacent room, McGucket sprinted past Ivan, catching the other members off guard. Wielding his pickaxe, he effortlessly sliced through the ropes restraining his friends. "I raided the mining display for weapons," he declared, pushing a garbage can filled with tools in their direction. "Now fight like a hillbilly, fellers!" He then grabbed a shovel and hurled it at Y/n, who deftly caught it.

Wendy opted for the banjo, Dipper grabbed a stuffed raccoon, Mabel chose a mallet, and Soos went for the informational display about dysentery. "Oh, nobody better mess!"

Ivan recovered soon enough, pointing at the gang. "They know too much! Don't let them escape!"

The Society members closed in on them, but they were swiftly defeated with the weapons provided by McGucket. Y/n skillfully used the shovel to incapacitate them, ensuring minimal harm. She just aimed to escape the situation.

Dipper noticed McGucket's memory tube and moved to retrieve it. As the red guys targeted him, he hastily sent it through the transport tube to Mabel. However, Sprott the Farmer Guy intercepted it before her. Fortunately, Mabel redirected the closest transport tube toward him, catching his robe and tearing it off, leaving him in his underwear.

The shock made him throw the tube away, focusing on the fact that he wasn't wearing anything under his robe.

The view seemed to have stunned the group, so much so that Ivan managed to snatch the memory gun from Soos. "Give me that tube." He told Dipper.

But the brunet was relentless, sending the tub into another transport tube. The two watched it zoom before they broke into a sprint, chasing it.

"That memory belongs to McGucket!" Dipper yelled.

"The Society's secret belongs to us!" Ivan retaliated, gaining speed than the younger boy. The tube reached the end of its tunnel, landing on a pile of other memory tubes. At the last minute, Ivan stretched out his legs under Dipper making him trip, getting ahead of the boy.

But before he could reach for the bottle, someone beat him to it.

Immediately, Ivan aimed the gun at Y/n, who was hugging the memory close to her chest. She was frozen as she realized that one pull of the trigger and her memories would be gone forever. How ironic that she was willing to jump and take a bullet from a real gun but when it comes to this particular gun, she was genuinely terrified.

"Give me that tube," Ivan demanded.

"No, it doesn't belong to you!" Y/n answered, stepping back.

He stepped forward, cornering her, the gun shining in the warm light. "Don't make me use this on you, little girl."

He doesn't remember me.

Of course he doesn't. He probably used that gun on him more than she drank coffee in the last 30 years. And that's a lot.

She stood her ground, eyes unwavering despite the fear coursing through her veins. "You might scare me, but you won't control me," she retorted, defiance cutting through her trembling voice.

"You left me no choice," he hissed, the words dripping with malice as he tightened his grip on the gun, the bulb now sparkling with a blue hue.

Dipper stretched his arm, but it was hopeless knowing that she was out of reach.

"NO—!"

Y/n closed her eyes as she waited for her memories to flush down the drain. Her identity would be erased, she would forget her friends, she would forget Stan, the portal wouldn't be completed, and she'll never see Ford again.

ZAP!

She heard Dipper and her friends gasp, making her slowly open her eyes. Her memories were still intact, she was untouched, because she wasn't zapped by the memory gun. McGucket stood in front of her, bravely facing the leader of the society. "You..." Y/n began, staring at him with empathy in her eyes. Her voice faltered, her composure beginning to fail her. "You took a bullet for me..."

No one did that before.

Another zap rained down on McGucket, hitting him straight on the forehead. "Oh my gosh!" Y/n exclaimed, placing a hand on his elbow concerningly. "Are you okay?!"

He merely blinked.

Then a smile erupted from his face, he looked normal– as normal as he could be. "Okay as I'll ever be!" He cheerfully replied, swinging his arms around. He cackled, inching towards Ivan.

"What?!" Dipper breathed.

Ivan shot the gun every time he shouted the words. "Why... isn't... this... working?!"

"Hit me with your best shot, baldy!" McGucket retaliated, still walking towards him. "But my mind's been gone for thirty-odd years. You can't break what's already broken!"

30 years.

Suddenly that caught her attention.

The old man finally got in front of him even with the multiple attempts of erasing his mind. MgGucket slapped the gun from Ivan's hand, sending it far from him. "Say good night to Sally!" He headbutted Ivan, knocking him out.

Y/n was then surrounded by the gang, relieved and happy that she was safe. But Dipper was the most ecstatic.

Eventually, they got the members tied up like the way they were binded before. Ivan eventually came to his senses, realizing the situation he was in. "Unhand us!"

"It isn't so fun being tied up, is it?" Mabel taunted, pointing at him. She brought out a sharpie, waving it around. "Hey, wanna draw on their faces?"

She proceeded to draw on Ivan's face, doodling all over his tattoos.

They looked seriously angry. "We'll have our revenge. We'll never forget what you've done!"

He fell into a trap with that one as Dipper typed into the memory gun, 'Society of the Blind Eye'. "I think you just might. Say cheese!"

Struggling against the ropes proved futile, and Dipper, using the memory gun, erased their recollections of the Society. Confused, they blinked, scanning the museum with no recognition. The group freed them and led them toward the exit, bathed in the pink hues of the evening sunset.

In a hurry, they concocted a fabricated story to tell the members, providing an explanation for their presence in the museum. "Thanks for visiting the Museum for Gold Miner Appreciation Night! Be sure to tip the gold miner on your way out," Dipper proclaimed, positioned next to McGucket, who held up his hat.

Each member wore blank faces, but accepted the information nonetheless. As Y/n had foretold herself, the people in Gravity Falls are gullible as a bunch of lambs.

Ivan was the last to come out, massaging his head. He paused in his step, turning to the two. "I'm sorry, but... what's my name?"

Dipper had the decency to feel guilty. "Oh... might have overdone that one." He scratched his chin in curiosity.

Thankfully Mabel came out and easily came up with a story. "Your name is Toot-toot McBumbersnazzle. You're a traveling banjo minstrel, with a song in your heart, and funny tattoos on your head."

In a blink of an eye, Toot-toot accepted his newfound identity. He began playing the bango Mabel handed to him. "Yes. I am Toot-toot McBumbersnazzle. Cheers!"

He walked away, with a little bit of pep in his step, as he sang his name.

The three eventually went back to the underground room, specifically the one with a bunch of memory tubes and the TV that shows them the memory.

"All right, McGucket, are you ready to see your memories? Find out who you really are?" Dipper asked, facing him.

The older man looked hesitant, looking down. "I'm not so sure. What if I don't like what I see?"

"We've come all this way," Mabel urged on, nodding. "Go on!"

Y/n found herself at the back of the crowd, nervously picking at her cuticles. The objective of today's adventure was to retrieve McGucket's memories and determine if he was indeed the author of the books — a question already answered in her mind. While the gang focused on that mystery, she grappled with a different concern.

Was he the guy who Ford called? Was he the guy who loved beans his whole life? The guy who had been nothing but sweet to her, who would always manage to solve a Cubic's Cube within seconds.

The screen fizzled.

And he was.

There, looking exactly like the guy Y/n had missed. It felt like taking an ice bath from how cold the room got all of a sudden. The guy on the TV introduced himself as 'Fiddleford Hadron McGucket', making her realize that the F could've stood for Fiddleford this entire time.

As he talked, her eyes scattered around the background of the video. There was the familiar graph of the probability of failure with a sketch of the portal stuck on it. Scribbles of formulas were to his left. "For the past year, I've been working as a helper for a visiting researcher and his assistant. Those two have been cataloging their findings about Gravity Falls in a series of journals. The researcher thought of a machine having potential to benefit all mankind, and I helped them build that. But something went wrong."

Something went wrong?

"I decided to quit the project," Fiddleford continued, "I really wanted to bring the assistant with me in hopes of saving her from that... from that monster, but I... I was simply too scared. But I lie awake at night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done. I believe I have invented a machine that can permanently erase these memories from my mind." He then held up the memory-erasing gun and began typing with the wheel. "Test subject one: Fiddleford."

He placed the bulb against his head and pulled the trigger, extracting the memories. The screen went static and it fast-forwarded to him smiling.

"It worked; I can't recall a thing!"

Static. His lab was in disarray.

"I call it the 'Society of the Blind Eye'. We will help those who want to forget by erasing their bad memories!"

Static.

"Today, I came across a colony of little men, very disturbing. I would like to forget seeing this." He used the ray again.

Static.

"I accidentally hit another car in town today. I feel terri-bibble! T-terrible. I've been forgetting words lately. I wonder if there are any negative side effects to-"

Static.

"I saw something in the lake, something big!"

Static.

"My hair's been a-fallin' out, so I got this hat from a scarecrow. Hey, are my pants on backwards?"

Static.

The final clip was of the man who once was, looking wild-eyed, finding himself in a junkyard. He was maniacally giggling and speaking gibberish. "Yroo Xrksvi! Girzmtov!"

Static.

Everyone stood in silence as their eyes lingered on the TV producing static in a dimly-lit room. The gang let McGucket take it all in, speechless.

The older man wordlessly took the tube out of the container, staring at it. Mabel was the first one who broke the silence. "I'm so sorry, McGucket."

No one said anything when heavy footsteps were drawn towards McGucket. No one said anything when she didn't say anything. And no one said anything when she suddenly pulled McGucket into a hug.

She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt her body slightly shaking as she tried to control her sobs. Just how tragic did the portal test go? Was it even a success? Was that why he already left when she woke up? She felt so frustrated because she couldn't remember anything. And that only made her cry out more.

McGucket's voice brought her out of the water, which was still not helping. This was the same man who would cheer her up when she's sad, who would always listen to her stories, who would take the effort to memorize her coffee preference. "There, there, girlie."

And it was more frustrating when she realized that he didn't even know the reason for the way she acted. He was comforting her just because he wanted to and he's genuinely a kind, kind person deep down.

How frustrating.

She also came to realize that they were probably hugging for too long now. She parted, immediately avoiding their eyes. She didn't have to look at them to know that they might be looking at her weirdly. She had to give them an explanation quickly, or they'll notice. "I was... moved by his story," she tried to explain, sniffling. Her voice was so shaky and breathing was short. "I-I – I thought I could give him a hug as comfort."

"It's alright," McGucket understood, of course he does. "McGucket After all these years, I finally know who I am. Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I see what happened, I can begin to put myself back together again."

He then hamboned a message, something they couldn't understand.

How did he go from a local hillbilly that she could care less about to a significant man that potentially changed her life in one blink of an eye?

"Still don't know what that means," Dipper shook his head playfully in response to the hambone. "So, wait. You weren't the author, but you worked with him. Do you remember who he was?"

A louder sob resounded from the side.

Mabel hurriedly came over to Y/n and massaged her back gently, hushing her cries.

McGucket insisted that he needed more time, while discovering an abandoned reading glasses for himself.

In a second, Y/n was done being emotional in front of everyone. That was enough oversharing for one day, she believed. So, cleaning her face of tears and insisting that she was finally alright convinced Mabel and eventually stepped back from her.

"Are you okay?" Dipper asked.

"I will be," she smiled. It was the truth. She wasn't fine; they knew that, she knew that. But she will be fine. She will be okay.

***

[ROLL CREDITS]

Y/n and Dipper had McGucket sit in between them, the journal in his hands. He was flipping through the pages, trying to remember. "It's all so familiar. It's almost like I can remember..." he reasoned.

"You don't have to force yourself, M–..." she trailed herself, not knowing how to address him. It suddenly felt so weird trying to use his last name when she wasn't used to it.

Dipper held the memory gun close to his chest. "Come on, man. I need some answers here. Anything about the author? Surely you guys are best friends or something. What about the assistant? You said in the tape that you wanted to save her from a monster or something."

"What exactly happened?" Y/n asked as well, being curious herself. She was also having a hard time recalling.

"I– Gosh, I must've used that gun on me more times than I could remember how to count." He scratched his head, never looking so helpless.

The two on his side exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to say.

***

"Hey, there you are," Stan spoke as she made herself known in the basement. "Where have you been? You were probably out there having some fun with the kids while you left me here by myself!" He wanted to tease her, his holster of nicknames were already aimed at her, ready to shoot.

But she wasn't responding to any of them.

He knew that look. He knew what it meant when she sat that way on her chair. He knew what it meant when she despondently placed her head on her arms on the table. He knew what it meant when sniffling sounds came out of her instead of snide remarks.

Without prodding her for whatever she may have come across on her adventure, he let her be and continued working.

Poor girl's got a lot on her mind.

***

***

GRHSZJ FLQ AVQEESS, CCF MF OIGEI
🗝: ???

In the Society's shadow, where memories decay,
A silent sorrow, where emotions sway.
For in the enigma of forgotten dreams,
A reunion bittersweet, in silent streams.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 23!

[author's note]: i keep on finding ways how to keep y/n's face hidden LOL a chapter will be posted where i share my own headcanon of my y/n. of course, you guys are free to come up with your own headcanon of y/n. i didn't want to show her face as this is supposed to be the reader. though when drawing these, i often use myself as reference.

anyway! i'm sorry for the people who expected soos and the real girl and little gift shop of horrors to be their next episode, but i wanted to skip to the significant parts now. just imagine that in soos and the real girl they helped soos find a girlfriend while in little gift shop, y/n secretly helps stan in selling their items. when the man didn't want to buy anything, the two teamed up together and literally trapped the guy. the end.

thank you so much for reading! commenters are always appreciated. I ALWAYS READ THEM! my replies always have an intention. if i don't reply, there must be a reason 👁

speculations? theories? fanarts? let me know!

kimmiepines
7532 words