19. Chapter 57: No Big Deal(2)

"We've been usin' that ray on our brains an awful lot!" Bud said with a laugh.

Several other members returned to the room, 'Toby' being among them.

"We, uh, couldn't find the rest of them, sir," 'Toby' informed Blind Ivan.

"They shall be dealt with soon enough, but for now we will settle with just these four," Ivan decided.

"Why are you doing this? Going around erasing people's memories?" Wendy wanted to know. "What do you have to gain?"

"Wendy Corduroy, you've lived in this town all your life. Surely you have no doubt discovered that Gravity Falls is a town plagued by supernatural strangeness," Blind Ivan explained. "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." He held up the ray. "With this, we were able to help the troubled townsfolk by erasing the memories of the strange things they've seen. Thanks to us, the people of Gravity Falls can go about their lives without worry. We even help ourselves forget things that trouble us as a perk of membership. Everyone has something they'd rather forget."

"But you don't give them a choice, do you?" Wendy asked with a sneer. "I don't remember you asking Lazy Susan for consent and I doubt you would have asked Robbie either!"

"Ah yes, we wanted to save Robert Valentino from what troubled him and we would have if it weren't for that Luz Clawthorne," Blind Ivan said. "He escaped our grasp then, but only for a time."

"Sounds like you guys are using that ray gun to get out of therapy," Pacifica told him.

"Therapy is too much trouble and there is no guarantee of long-term success, trust me it is better to just forget and live on in ignorance. And I'm sure you would agree with me, Mabel Pines," Ivan said while pointing to Mabel, who looked away. "People don't always know what is best for them, which is why we exist. Now, before I erase your memories of discovering us, is there anything you all wish to forget? I ask out of courtesy."

The girls said nothing at first until Mabel hesitantly spoke up. "I… I want to forget about… Bill Cipher," she said, much to the shock of the other girls.

"As you wish," Ivan said. "Bring her to the chair!"

The other members grabbed Mabel and brought her to the chair. They strapped her to the chair while the other girls protested, 'Toby' making sure to check their ropes.

"Let her go!" Wendy shouted. "Mabel, you can't let them erase your memories! Whatever the problem is, we can all talk about it! Denying it will only make it worse!"

"Your words are meaningless now!" Ivan shouted as he held up the ray gun. "After I'm finished with her, you'll be next." He aimed the ray gun at Mabel, but before he could pull the trigger it was snatched out of his hand by 'Toby'. "What the… Toby, what's the meaning of this?"

"Now, guys!" 'Toby' shouted as he ran off with the gun.

Two members were knocked out by Mason and Soos, who were each holding shovels. "Someone outta teach you guys to not mess around with my sister," Mason declared.

"We've been compromised!" Bud cried out.

"Stop them, you fools!" Ivan ordered. While the Society members charged at the gang, he turned in the direction 'Toby' had gone off in. "I'll deal with the traitor."

Pacifica notices the ropes were much looser now. "Hey, our bonds have been loosened."

"Thank Vee," Mason said as McGucket came in with a container of objects.

"We raided the mining display for weapons!" he explained. "Now fight like a hillbilly, fellers!"

The girls each grabbed a weapon: Wendy pulled out a banjo, Candy grabbed an informal display about dysentery, and Pacifica pulled out a stuffed racoon.

"Seriously?" Pacifica asked.

However, they made do with what they had.

"Get this song out of your head!" Wendy shouted as she hit a Society member with a banjo.

"I'm coming, Mabel!" Mason shouted as he ran for Mabel's chair. However, Tats got in the way.

"Oh no you don't!" Tats said as he grabbed Mason's shovel and stabbed it in two. "What are you going to do now, little man?"

"Uh…" Mason said, thinking fast. "Grappling hook!" He pulled out his grappling hook and fired it, hitting Tats in the face.

While Tats cried out in pain and stepped back, Candy grabbed the rope attached to the hook and tied it around the large tattooed man's feet. When Tats tried to step forward, he instead fell flat on his face.

"Thanks Candy!" Mason shouted as he ran over to Mabel and undid her straps. "Are you alright, Mabel?"

"Y-Yeah." Mabel responded, a bit startled. "Let's bust these guys."

"Mabel!" Pacifica cried out as she tried fending off Chips with her stuffed raccoon.

"Coming, Paz!" Mabel shouted as she ran over, taking her sweater off and pulling it over the head of the monkey butler, blinding him.

Meanwhile, Ivan had managed to catch up to 'Toby' and was trying to grab the ray gun back.

"Let… go!" 'Toby' shouted.

"What has gotten into you, Toby!?" Ivan cried out as he pushed 'Toby', causing Vee to fall onto the ground and change back into her human form with some spots around her eyes. "AAHH! What… what are you!?"

"Uh, you better give that gun back if you know what's good for you!" Vee tried to threaten while giving an adorable hiss.

"….Was that supposed to be a hiss?" Ivan asked her.

"Did it scare ya at least?" Vee asked, only for Ivan to aim the ray gun at her.

"I'll make you forget before I forget!" Ivan declared while pulling the trigger, shooting a beam at Vee.

Vee closed her eyes and shielded her face with her arms, but nothing happened to her. When she opened her eyes, she saw that McGucket had gotten in the way in order to take the blast for her. "McGucket!" she cried out in shock. He was then hit by another beam. "Oh my Titan! Are you alright?!"

"Heh, as I'll ever be!" McGucket declared as he was continuously zapped by the ray gun with no effect.

"Why… isn't… this… working!?" Ivan asked in disbelief.

"Hit me with yer best shot, Baldy! But my mind's been gone for thirty-odd years! YOU CAN'T BREAK WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN BROKEN!" he laughed before headbutting Blind Ivan, knocking him out.

Later on, the Society members, including the real Toby, were all tied up.

"Not so fun when it happens to you, is it?" Mabel asked as they finished their knots. She pulled out a marker. "Hey, want to draw on their faces?"

"What?" Blind Ivan asked.

"Tra-la-la…" Mabel said as she wrote 'butts' on his head.

"Hey, stop that!" Ivan shouted as the others laughed at him. "That's not funny!"

"It's pretty funny," Pacifica told him.

"Yeah, it's, like, objectively funny," Soos agreed.

Blind Ivan growled. "You have no idea who you're up against! We have powerful friends and we will never forget about this!"

"Oh, I think you just might," Mason said as he held the ray gun and typed in 'Society of the Blind Eye'. "Say cheese," he told the Society members as he aimed the ray gun at them.

Walking out of the museum were the now former members of the Society of the Blind Eye, dressed in normal clothes as they put money in a cash box held up by Mason, who stood next to McGucket. "Thanks for visiting the Museum for Gold Miner Appreciation Night. Be sure to tip the gold miner on your way out."

"Um excuse me," said Blind Ivan, who was now dressed in a red shirt, cargo shorts, tennis shoes, and a fanny pack. "But what's my name? Where am I?"

"Oh… might've overdone him," Mason winced.

"I'll handle this," Mabel said as she walked over to Blind Ivan. "Okay, you're… Steve, the local good Samaritan. You go around helping people however you can. Like mowing grass and cleaning the park and stuff like that."

"Yes, I am Steve the Good Samaritan and I shall go clean up the park!" Ivan, now known as 'Steve' declared as he went to pursue his destiny.

"Is this… alright?" Paz asked as the gang walked back into the museum.

"Hey, it's the least we could do. Whoever he was before is probably long gone now," Mabel replied.

"McGucket, do you still have your memory tube?" Mason asked McGucket, who in response pulled the tube out of his beard.

"Got it!" he said.

"Then let's finally find out who you really are," Mason told him.

McGucket hesitated briefly. "I-I don't know," he admitted. "What if I don't like what I see?"

Mason put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we've already come all this way. You can do it."

Downstairs, in the Hall of the Forgotten, an image popped up on a screen of McGucket in his lab, thirty years younger.

"My name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket, and I wish to unsee what I have seen," he said on the tape. "For the past year, I have been working as an assistant for a visiting researcher. He has been cataloging his findings about Gravity Falls in a series of journals. I helped him build a machine which he believed had the potential to benefit all mankind, but something went wrong. I decided to quit the project. But I lie awake at night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done. Fortunately, I have invented a machine that can permanently erase these memories from my mind."

He held up the ray gun and as he pulled the trigger, the scene went to static before coming back on. "It worked! I can't recall a thing."

More static. The lab behind McGucket seemed to be in disarray "I call it the Society of the Blind Eye. We will help those who want to forget by erasing their bad memories!"

More static. McGucket looked more disheveled and nervous. "Today, I came across a colony of little men, very disturbing. I would like to forget seeing this."

More static. McGucket's lab was a mess and his arm was in a cast. "I accidentally hit another car in town today. I feel terri-bibble! Terrible. I've been forgetting words lately. I wonder if there are any negative side effects…"

More static. McGucket had a beard and was filming from a motel. "I saw something in the lake, something big!"

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

More static. The last part of the tape had a wild-eyed McGucket filming from the junkyard. He was maniacally giggling and speaking gibberish. "Yroo Xrksvi! Girzmtov!" Then the tape ended.

McGucket and the others were silent as they processed what they had just watched.

"Oh, McGucket, I'm so sorry," Mabel apologized.

"Aw, hush," McGucker told her. "You kids helped me get my memories back, just like you said."

"But did you want those memories back?" Mabel asked.

"After all these years, I finally know who I am," McGucket answered. "Maybe I messed up in the past, but now that I seen what happened, I can begin to put myself together again." He hamboned a message, thanking the gang for opening his eyes.

"Still don't know what that means," Mason admitted. "So, wait. You weren't the Author, but you worked with him. Do you remember who he was?"

"It's beginning to come back, but I need more time," McGucket admitted before spotting a pair of gold glasses with green lenses. "And reading glasses. Heck!" He put the glasses on and spat into a jar. "I got some rememberin' to do."

Mabel looked down, thinking about what McGucket had gone through and what she had almost done to herself.

"Hey, you alright, Mabel?" Wendy asked, noticing this.

"It's just… I was about to give up and have my memories erased of Bill, just like how McGucket went all denial crazy trying to forget whatever he saw. And it made me realize that if I keep denying what happened, I'm only going to end up hurting myself even more." She sighed and held up her gloved hand, finally taking off the glove so she could show it to the others.

"Oh my god… Mabel…" Wendy gasped in shock, Candy covered her mouth while Pacifica looked in horror. Vee felt a shiver while Soos looked terrified, McGucket looked sympathetic, and Mason stared down out of guilt.

"Did… did Bill do this?" Paz asked her, seeing that Mabel's hand had a scar on it shaped like Bill's eye.

"Yes," Mabel answered. "I made a deal with Bill out of desperation, but he tricked me and then possessed me, leaving me outside of my body. I had to witness him bringing out a knife and… carving his mark onto me." A few tears leaked out of her eyes. "If I hadn't taken my body back, I can't imagine what else he might have done…" She then felt Paz take her hand, making Mabel blush as the blonde girl held it gently.

"Hey, it's alright," Pacifica told her. "Nobody should have gone through what you did. But we promise that we won't let anything like that happen to you ever again." She brought Mabel into a hug. "And I won't let him hurt you again."

Mabel, eyes watery, hugged back. "Paz…" she said.

"I get why this was hard for you to talk about, but I'm here for you," Pacifica told her. "We all are, just like how you are here for us." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Thank you…" Mabel said, wiping away her tears. As she let go of Pacifica, Candy nudged Mason and encouraged her to go talk to him. Mason hesitated, but went up to his sister. "Mabel… can we talk?"

Mabel also hesitated, but nodded. "Yeah, we can."

Mason looked down, his expression being one of guilt. "I know I said this before, but I am so sorry for what happened. When you got possessed by Bill, I was terrified. Because I knew that I could have lost one of my sisters before. I was such an idiot for letting Bill manipulate me for years!" He gave a stressful sigh. "I don't even know if I can be Dipper anymore. Bill gave me that name, Bill put me on this path. He made me think I was special and cool, and because of that I couldn't see him for who he was, which put you and Luz in danger." He pulled his jacket over his head. "Aaaargh, what have I been doing all this time!?"

Mabel looked at her brother for a long time before patting him on the shoulder. "Di… Bro, listen to me. Your whole, like, supreme tough guy monster hunter and mystery solver thing? It's pretty silly. But that's what I and Luz like about you! Because that is you and shouldn't let Bill take that away from you. And you shouldn't let Bill take being Dipper away from you either. I mean, you didn't choose the name Dipper just because Bill told you to, right? That was still you. So, I don't know, even if the guy who suggested it turned out to be a complete psycho, I don't think that means it should be ruined forever. Because I like Dipper and Luz likes Dipper. Plus if you stop going by it, I'm going to have to start going by Shooting Star as revenge. Star for short!"

This made Mason half-smile. "I think I like you as Mabel better."

"Aww no, I was already getting used to it! Star sounds like the name of a princess, doesn't it? Or a galactic warrior!" Mabel chimed, both siblings feeling a weight lifted from their shoulders. "And Luz would change hers to Meteora!"

"Oh man, she's gonna hate that," he commented with a laugh.

"But don't stop calling yourself Dipper. Don't let Bill take away who you are. Because I like going around solving conspiracies with you, Little Dip." She gave him a playful nudge on the shoulder. "Just no more secrets, okay?"

Dipper nodded. "Yeah, no more secrets." He sighed in relief. "Honestly, I was afraid that we would turn out like Stan and his twin."

Mabel's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, Grunkle Stan has a twin!?"

"Had a twin," Dipper corrected. "Stanley Pines died in a car crash years ago. Stan doesn't like talking about his brother, but I can tell he misses him a lot. He said that they used to be very close until they had a falling out during high school, something they never recovered from before the accident. There are a lot of things that Stan wishes he could have said, wishes he could make up for. But he never got the chance to. And I don't want that to happen to us."

"Yeah, I don't want that to happen to us either," Mabel agreed. "Poor Stan…"

"So what are we going to do with the rest of these?" Pacifica asked, gesturing to the hundreds of memory tubes occupying the Hall of the Forgotten. "Blind Ivan said that one of us has seen him before, so one of our memories is around here somewhere!"

"Going through all these memories could take a while," Mabel realized. "And it is already getting late. We could always come back, so how about we put that mystery on hold for the night? We don't want our parents getting too worried."

"Or suspicious," Pacifica muttered under her breath.

The others agreed with Mabel and they began to leave the Hall of the Forgotten, not noticing the camera that was watching them…

Outside, the gang headed for Soos' truck. Before they got in, Mabel went over to Wendy. "Hey Wendy, I'm sorry for how I lashed out earlier. You were right, I shouldn't have ignored my problems."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Mabel," Wendy told her. "I forgive ya. I'm just glad this Society business is over with, at least for now."

"You said that you went through something similar to me once," Mabel told her. "What was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

Wendy sighed and took a knee. "It was when my mother died," she admitted, causing Mabel to gasp. "I was in denial at first, hiding how much her death hurt me. But that only made the pain worse. I only started to feel better about it when I had someone to talk to."

"Who?" Mabel asked.

"A child psychiatrist," Wendy answered. "Best one in town. Okay, the only one in town. But she's still really good. I could give you her information, if you want."

Mabel thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, I think I would like that."

"Alright guys, hop in!" Soos said, motioning for Wendy and Mabel to get inside the truck.

Wendy nodded and got in the passenger seat next to Soos. "Hey, you know what? Going on this big adventure actually made me get that stupid song out of my head."

"Nice," Soos said as he started the truck and turned on the radio, which was playing 'Straight Blanchin''.

Wendy groaned and covered her ears. "Oh come on!"

And so the Mystery Shack gang drove away from the museum, passing by a black van which was hidden just out of sight. Inside the van were two men dressed in plain black suits over their white shirts and plain black ties. They also had American flag shaped pins on the lapels of their suits.

"Should we do anything about this, Powers?" asked a man with close-cropped, light brown hair.

"No," said his partner, a black-haired man with a dark gray mustache. "For now, Trigger, we just continue to observe the Pines family…"

Back in the Boiling Isles….

King groaned as he finally woke up. "Oh what happened… did I fall asleep?" he said before realizing he was trapped in a net with the others.

"King! You're awake!" Sprig cried out. He, along with Gus, Edric, Jerbo and Steve were all tied up in a net hovering over the side of the Jolly Roger II.

"Wait, I recognize this ship," King said.

"Surprise," said a familiar voice. He and the others turned to see Captain Hook standing on his ship with Smee at his side. "Welcome back to the land of the living, however brief your time left in it may be. My name is-"

"Oh no, it's Captain Hook!" King interrupted.

"Do you know this guy, King?" Gus asked him.

"He's the guy me and Amity encountered at our fishing job!" King explained.

"Are you done!?" Hook demanded, silencing them. "Anyway, as you might have already figured out, you all are my hostages tonight! I've already had my men take your scrolls away, along with this… weapon." Hook held up a slingshot.

"Hey! That's my slingshot, you big chinned scalawag!" Sprig cried out.

"Yes, I see that," Hook said, rolling his eyes. "Though you should be more worried about your own pink skin, since your fate will entirely depend on how that that accursed Amity Blight-"

"Goodfellow. She goes by 'Amity Goodfellow' these days," King pointed out.

"Do not interrupt the Captain!" Hook yelled in anger, pulling out his gun.

"Now Hook, calm yourself," Smee said. "They're of no use to us if they're dead. Let's just go write the ransom letter." He then escorted Hook away from the guys.

"Well, it looks like we're in quite the pickle," Steve said. "They took my coven mirror, and my shirt!"

"Yeah, we gotta find a way out of here," Gus said.

"Or find a way to get help," Jerbo suggested.

Edric, frantically looking around, spotted a small creature sitting on the railing of the ship. To his surprise, Edric recognized the creature. "No way…" He looked at the others. "Hey, hey I think I know who can help!"

"You do?" Sprig asked him.

"Batric! Batric, it's me, boy!" Edric called out to the bat, who looked at him. "Remember me, Edric? We met at the Knee? I never thought I would see you again, but now I need your help! Go to the Owl House and get my sister Amity!" The bat started to fly away. "Don't worry guys, we'll be saved in no time!"

"...We're all doomed, aren't we?" Steve asked and everyone else except Edric nodded.

Luz came back to the basement with her guitar, while Skara had managed to summon a bass and drum kit for Anne and Marcy, and a keyboard for her. "Sorry that took so long, but I-" Luz noticed Willow's braided hair. "Whoa, Willow-Wisp, I like what you did with your hair!"

"Thanks, Amity helped with it," Willow replied, showing off her twin pigtails with a few pale green streaks dyed into it.

"Well welcome to the dye club," Luz said with a thumbs up. "Alright Anne, we'll follow your lead."

Anne nodded. "This song is dedicated to me, Marcy, and Sasha who isn't here right now," she told her audience, which consisted of Amity, Willow, Bo, Cat, Amelia, and Viney. "But with some help from the Bard Beasts Girls, Luz and Skara, let's do this!"

1-2-3-4

The four girls started to play their instruments as Anne began to sing. "Took a leap through a box, super weird, to a swamp, where frogs talk!"

"Ooh!" Marcy sang.

"We got stuck, had no plans, but with luck, we did pretty good, I think!"

"Woah-Oh!"

"Making friends and enemies, it's weird but hey it's grown on me!"

Anne and Marcy sang together. "Bug, frogs, newts, and toads! Gonna be a bumpy road! Flies for snacks, worms for lunch-

"And I fell in love with the swamp!" Anne sang.

Anne and Marcy sang together again. "It's no big deal! Yeah, no big deal! Found a way to start again, brushed off the dirt and made some friends!"

The other girls started clapping along.

"It's no big deal! Yeah, no big deal! We feel at home in a place that shouldn't be real! Crazy strange, but it's no big deal!"

"Now for the guitar solo!" Anne pointed to Luz, who started to play Rocky, causing his magic to spread around the basement, creating the illusion of a beautiful swamp with butterflies, shooting stars, and dragonflies.

"Whoa!" Amity said in shock.

"Is this… illusion magic?" Viney asked.

"Oooooh! It's no big deal! Yeah, no big deal!" Anne, Marcy, Luz and Skara sang together. "We feel at home in a place that shouldn't be real!"

"Killer birds!" Luz sang.

"But it's no big deal!"

"Riding snails!" Skara sang.

"But it's no big deal!"

"Eating flies!" Marcy sang.

"But it's no big deal!"

"Finally me, and it's no big deal!" Anne finished, the music stopping and the illusion disappearing as the basement returned to normal. The band took a bow as their audience clapped and cheered.

"Wow! Encore!" Hooty said, having heard the performance. "Oh also, Luz, I should mention that my friend Batric has a message for you."

"Uh… can it wait?" Luz asked him.

"He said it's urgent, apparently King and the guys got captured by some pirates," Hooty said.

"What!?" the girl shouted.

"Yeah, he says that some human pirate has them," Hooty mentioned.

"Human pirate… Captain Hook!" Amity realized.

"Wait, Captain Hook?!" Marcy asked. "He's real!?"

"No time, me and Amity will take care of this," Luz said as she and Amity started running upstairs. Viney followed.

"I'm coming too! Puddles and I could give you cover!" Viney said while Anne and Marcy followed them out of the house.

"We're also coming!" Anne said. Her hair and eyes turned a neon blue while antler-like twigs sprouted out of her hair. "There's no way I'm letting them harm my brother!"

"And with our powers, we'll be able to help!" Marcy declared, her hair and eyes starting to glow green.

"You two have powers?" Luz asked with a smirk, changing into her cambion form while Amity covered herself in her Abomi-suit. "So do we."

At the Jolly Roger II, Captain Hook has finished writing down his ransom letter.

"'-and if you ever want to see them again, turn over Peter Pan!" Captain Hook declared before placing the letter in the bottle.

"Not bad, Captain!" Smee's voice said from behind him.

"Why thank you, Smee," Hook replied, turning around and realizing that Smee wasn't behind him. "Smee?"

"Oi, you think the Captain smells funny?"

"Why yes, I think so too."

Hook stared at his crew, who looked at him in confusion. "Who said that!?" Hook cried out before hearing snickers. He turned around and saw that Sprig had been secretly mimicking the voices of Smee and the crew.

"Why that's because the captain hasn't had a single shower-"

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Hook yelled at Sprig. "You boys seem to be taking this lightly."

"Well we have nothing to do but wait," Edric pointed out.

"At least give us some snacks!" King demanded.

"And a bag, Steve's feeling a little seasick," Steve added.

"Please give him a bag," Jerbo begged.

"Well tough clams for you!" Hook told him off. "I have a ransom note to send."

"Hook!"

The pirate heard a familiar voice and he looked up to see several figures flying down: Luz in her cambion form carrying Amity in her Abomi-Suit and Viney on Puddles with Anne and Marcy, the two human girls possessing glowing hair while Marcy summoned a green crossbow.

"Let our boys go or I'll shove that hook inside you anally," Luz seethed.

"Better do as she says, partner," Anne said, crossing her arms as she smirked at Hook, who was starting to realize that this was a mistake…

"Stroke! Stroke! Stroke!" Smee ordered while he, Hook, and the remaining crew made their escape on a lifeboat after fleeing from the carnage caused by the witch girls. The Jolly Roger II was sinking and surrounding it were the fried bodies of pirates who hadn't been among those lucky enough to escape.

"This is worse than the crocodile," Hook said, sounding traumatized.

Back at the Owl House, Eda and Lilith were checking on the boys, who had brought back safely.

"Alright, you boys can sleep in the living room if you want. Betcha you had a wild guys night out, did ya?" Eda asked as she and Lilith placed out sleeping bags for their guests.

"Thanks, Eda," Gus responded.

The girls, meanwhile, were gushing over their powers.

"Damn, I like the bat wings, Luz," Anne complimented.

"Yes, your cambion form is fascinating," Marcy said as she inspected Luz's wings. Usually Luz wouldn't like that, but this time she allowed it.

"Thanks, though I have to ask, how did you two go Super Saiyan like that?" Luz asked them.

"Honestly, we aren't completely sure," Anne admitted. "It may be a side effect of living in Amphibia for so long or it might have something to do with the music box that sent us there. Our forms are not always reliable either and they tend to exhaust us afterward, so we are pretty exhausted right now."

"Does Sasha also have powers like this?" Amity asked.

"Yeah, she does," Marcy confirmed.

Lilith heard someone calling her name and she turned to see Steve.

"Um, hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Steve asked awkwardly.

"Steve… I'm glad to see you again," Lilith replied.

"I miss you at the Emperor's Coven," Steve admitted. "It isn't the same without you. But you seem to be doing alright."

"Yeah, I… I think I am," Lilith said, looking over at Amity and Luz talking and laughing with Anne and Marcy. She smiled and turned back to Steve. "But how have you been?"

"Me?" Steve asked. "You know, pretty good. Kikimora got demoted to coven scout."

Lilith laughed. "Seriously?"

"Hey, who is this guy, Lily?" Eda asked, butting in.

"Oh, you don't recognize me? You kinda blasted me one time," Steve told her. "Not that I hold it against you. I get it. Emotions were running high."

"Well, any friend of Lulu's a friend of mine," Hooty interrupted. "Hi, my name is Hooty! Lulu's best friend!"

"But… I thought Steve was Lilith's best friend," Steve said, confused.

Viney, meanwhile, walked up to Edric with the bat. "Hooty says this little guy was the one that relayed the message to help you guys out," she said as Batric flew up to Edric and landed on his shoulder.

"Hey, I knew you'd pull through for us!" Edric said with a smile. "I didn't think I would see him again after I lost him on the Knee, but I was right about us having bonded! Now he's coming to live with me and Em and Uncle G…"

Amity saw her brother chatting away and she smiled, glad to see him in a better mood. It seemed like Batric couldn't have chosen a better time to come back.

"You should probably check him for rabies first," Sprig suggested.

Back in Gravity Falls, the front door opened as Vee let herself in.

"I'm home!" she shouted.

'Home'. Once Vee had never thought she would hear herself say those words.

But the basilisk had found it and she was even happy to call this place home.

"Did you have fun with your friends today, Vee?" asked a voice from the kitchen.

Vee nodded. "Yeah, sorry that I got back a bit late," she answered. "It took longer than I expected."

"As long as you're staying safe," the voice from the kitchen said. "We're trusting those Pine kids to watch out for you."

"And they do a good job at that," Vee reassured them as she went into the kitchen. "So what are we having for dinner?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs," answered the black man at the stove. He was wearing an apron that said 'Kiss the Cook'.

Vee smiled and licked her lips. "Can't wait," she said. "Do you want me to start setting the table."

The man at the stove nodded and Vee started to lay out plates for the three of them as a second man came in.

"Vee, I thought I heard you coming in!" said the second man. "How was your day?"

The basilisk in human form just shrugged. "Oh you know, just your average Gravity Falls day," she said as she continued setting the table for herself, Blubs, and Durland.

'Family' is another word Vee never thought she would hear herself say. And she might not have been ready to say it yet, but she was certainly thinking it as she got ready for dinner with the two cops. Though living with them had been an unexpected development, it was not an unwelcome one.

And perhaps one day she would even be ready to say the word 'dads'.

Marcy has had this nightmare before. And it always went the same.

It began with her drowning.

Marcy was underwater, sinking deeper and deeper into the darkness awaiting her below. When she tried to swim to the surface, tentacles came out of that darkness and wrapped around her, pulling her down and making her sink even faster.

As she struggled, Marcy could make out a trio of figures above her, watching her descent from the surface. She recognized them as Anne, Sasha, and her father Andrias. Desperate, she tried to call out to them for help. But they didn't move and her lungs only filled up with water.

And as the fight started to leave Marcy, as it became clear that nobody was going to save her… she saw many orange eyes lighting up the darkness that embraced her.

Then as the darkness took the girl and Marcy finally drowned, she heard a voice speaking to her:

"Don't you think it's time to say goodbye to those childhood friends of yours?"

Marcy gasped, shooting up from her sleeping mat. She was panting frantically, trying to calm herself down. She looked around and saw the other girls in the basement asleep. Anne was next to her and like Marcy she was wearing borrowed pajamas. Luz and Amity were cuddling on their shared mat, while Willow and Skara were sleeping close to each other as well. Viney was sleeping on top of Puddles, having convinced Eda to let the griffin into the basement. Cat, Amelia, and Bo were also asleep on their own mats. Marcy sighed as she laid back, looking at her girlfriend's peaceful sleeping face.

She wrapped her arm around Anne in comfort, too scared to go back to sleep at first. But when she felt Anne's arms wrap around her in return, Marcy smiled and slowly began to close her eyes again.

Upstairs, Edric was sleeping on the couch while Jerbo, Gus and Sprig slept on the sleeping mats. Batric was sleeping on Edric's head, seemingly not wanting to leave the side of the male Blight.

Morning came and all of Luz and Amity's friends had gone home. Anne, Marcy, and Sprig were having breakfast with Luz, King, and Amity when Eda came in. "Alight, Janet, Chrissy, and Jack," she said, referring to the Amphibia trio. "An old acquaintance of mine is here to help you three out."

"Oh, you mean your ex is here," King said, much to Eda's dismay.

"Yes, my ex is here. But he said he managed to make something to get the three of you back to Amphibia," Eda told them, surprising the three.

"Whoa, really? That's great!" Anne said in excitement.

They all went outside to find Witch Rick with the portal gun that had been used to open a portal to Amphibia, but a keyboard was connected to it.

"Alright, so I managed to pinpoint the coordinates of your world, Amphibia, and it's synchronized to a specific song note that I managed to get down. Fortunately, Titan's Blood isn't necessary for this, though I can't keep it open for long," Witch Rick explained.

"Wow, are you some kind wizard? Do wizards exist in this world?" Marcy asked.

"I'm more of a warlock or what you humans would call an 'edgelord'," Witch Rick said as he got ready to open the portal.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then," Anne said as she turned to face Luz, Amity and King. "Thanks for letting us stay with you guys. We really had a lot of fun."

"Yeah, this is one of those adventures that we'll never forget rather than one of those adventures we wish we could forget," Sprig told them.

The girls began to exchange hugs.

"It was great to meet you," Luz told Anne. "Sorry about accidentally stranding you here, but at least you got a good time out of it."

Anne chuckled. "I don't mind, and something tells me this won't be the last time that we see each other."

"Yeah, I have that feeling too," Luz admitted. "Though next time, you'll be the one hosting the sleepover."

Anne nodded. "I would like that. Good luck on finding a way to the human realm."

"And I hope you find a way back to Earth too," Luz told her. "And that you fix things with Sasha. Don't give up on either."

"I won't," Anne promised.

"I'm actually sad to be leaving so soon," Marcy confessed. "This place is so cool and I feel like we've only just scratched the surface."

"Yeah, but we got people who must be worried about us back in Amphibia," Anne pointed out. "Maybe in the future we can have more time. Preferably when that Belos guy isn't a problem anymore."

"Don't worry, my girlfriend promised to kick his ass," Amity said with a smirk.

Eda then came out in a hurry. "Wait!" she said. "Before you three go, I thought I should give you something to remember the Boiling Isles by." She tossed the trio t-shirts, which they looked at.

"Bad Girl Coven?" Sprig asked as he read the shirt.

"Yep, you three can consider yourselves honorary members of the only coven in the Boiling Isles worth joining," Eda told them with a wink.

"This is awesome!" Marcy said excitedly. "An actual witch artifact!"

"Yeah, thanks Ms. Clawthorne," Anne said.

Lilith came out as well. "And Marcy, since you showed such an interest at the museum, I thought you might like to have this," she said, holding up a bag filled with books on the history, flora, and fauna of the Boiling Isles. "I finally got back some of my stuff from the Emperor's Coven and I felt like you deserved to have them."

Marcy's eyes sparkled in wonder. "Oh. My. Frog. Thank you Lilith!" She pulled the Clawthorne woman into a hug, surprising her.

Witch Rick finally managed to play the right music note, opening a portal. The trio looked through and recognized what was on the other side.

"It's Wartwood!" Sprig realized.

"Alright, this is a one-way trip and the portal won't last long!" Rick told you.

"Thanks for my first guys night out, King!" Sprig said as he jumped through the portal first.

"You're welcome, my pink frog buddy!" King waved.

"Goodbye, and I hope we meet again!" Marcy waved at them as she entered the portal.

"You too!" Amity replied as she waved back.

"Hey Anne!" Luz called for Anne, stopping her before she entered the portal. "If you are ever back on Earth, look up a town called Gravity Falls in Oregon. There's a place there called the Mystery Shack and my step-brother Dipper works there. Tell him that you know me, I'm sure that the two of you would get along great as well."

"Okay, got it!" Anne replied with a thumbs up. "Later Clawthornes! Thank you for everything!" She ran inside the portal just before it closed.

"You think they made it?" Lilith asked.

"I'm sure they did, right Rick?" Eda asked him.

"Don't worry, they're fine," Witch Rick assured them. "And you're welcome. If you want, I could also start working on a stable, two-way portal to Earth for you girls."

"Wait, you mean it?" Luz asked him.

"Yeah, I mean it won't be easy without Titan's Blood, but there are other ways to travel between the realms," Witch Rick replied. "And using this may be the key to it." He referred to the keyboard for the pun, but nobody responded. "What? Not working for ya? Witch Morty would have loved it."

Back in Amphibia, the trio appeared in front of Wartwood.

"Finally, back home!" Anne said excitedly.

"Anne? Sprig? Marcy!"

The trio saw that the whole town of Wartwood was coming up to them. Leading the charge was a purple tadpole with a bow. "Anne, Sprig, you're alive!" she cried while in tears as Anne embraced the tadpole in a hug,

"We are, Polly, we just… had an interesting trip," Anne told her.

"Sprig!" said a yellow frog girl with tufts of orange hair, a turquoise hat with ragged patches, frayed overalls, and light green farming clothes. She pounced on Sprig. "We were worried sick for ya!"

"H-hey, Ivy, sorry that I made you worry," Sprig apologized as he hugged Ivy back.

"So glad that you're alright!" Ivy said, almost in tears.

"Aww," Anne and Marcy gushed.

"Where have you three been?" asked Hop Pop, who wore a maroon jacket with dark elbow patches and gold designs on the edges over a white undershirt. He also wore a lilac cravat and puffy dark gray pants, and dark brown shoes. It was the same outfit worn by his predecessor. "We were worried that you might've been eaten, or you fell off a cliff, or if a lionfly got you! And Marcy, if something bad were to happen to you, General Yunman was gonna have my head, and all of Wartwood might have been wiped off of the map."

"We even came up with an elaborate scheme to have Wally pose as the princess in case Yunman came to check up on you," said a blue frog girl with one eye covered by her light pink hair.

"Relax, Mayor Hop Pop, we're fine," Marcy assured him. "We just got trapped in another dimension for a day."

"Fortunately, we met some witches there who helped us out," Anne replied. "Though I have a feeling that won't be the last time we'll see them…"

"Wait, witches?" asked the blue frog girl, suddenly very interested. "Okay, you need to tell me everything about your trip! And next time you go to a world with witches, take me with you because I would love to meet them!"

Anne chuckled. "I am sure they would love to meet you too, Maddie."

"Well that's great and all, but what matters is that you three are alive and with all of your limbs attached," Hop Pop said, relieved. "Now let's go home, I need to lay down for a bit…"

The crowd dispersed and the Plantar family (plus Marcy) began to walk home, passing by the former Mayor Toadstool, a large light green toad who was currently picking up trash around Wartwood as part of his community service. He had Marcy to blame for his fall from power, since she had served as Hop Pop's manager during his mayoral campaign and her political savviness helped him win the majority vote in Frog Valley.

"So what did you guys do?" Polly asked her siblings.

"Well, I got captured by pirates and witnessed their horrible demises thanks to our new friends there," Sprig explained while Anne and Marcy slowed down to talk to each other.

"You really think we'll see Lumity again, Anne?" Marcy asked her.

"I really do," Anne admitted as she held Marcy's hand. "But for now, I am just glad to be back." She then pulled Marcy into a kiss, which the two girls shared for a moment before continuing to follow Anne's adoptive frog family.

Steve was whistling as he returned to the Emperor's Castle and passed by Belos. "Morning, my Emperor."

"Steve, I hope you enjoyed karaoke night. I got your report about those pirates. We found their scalding bodies and some still alive who are to be sent to the Conformatorium," Belos told him.

"You can thank Lilith's niece and her human friends with the glowing hair for the help," Steve told him. "Welp, time for Steve to go eat cereal!"

"Yes, very good," Belos said as he continued on his way. A moment later, he stopped in his tracks. "Wait, human friends? Glowing hair!?"

Somewhere in the dark forests of Amphibia, a hooded approached the hidden hideout of some renegade Toads. The Toad lookouts spotted the newt. "Halt! What business do you have here?" asked one lookout named Bog.

"Um, sorry, just that… I am here to pay off my village's debt!" the newt explained.

"Fine, we'll let you in. But the captain and his lieutenant are not in a good mood," the other Toad lookout, Fens, said.

Inside the hideout, sitting at her desk, was the blonde human known as Lieutenant Sasha. She was polishing her red heron sword when she noticed her reflection and her scars. That caused her to stop polishing the sword and put it down. Her eyes looked grayer than their natural color. When she heard something coming in, she quickly put on her sunglasses and readjusted herself. "What is it, Captain?"

Coming in was a green toad with a large and muscular build. His left eye glowed yellow-green and was in a constant squint, while his right eye was marked with a pink scar, pale blue, and dull due to the injury. His eyes did not have visible pupils. He possessed sharp, yellow teeth. He wore brown metal armor with a dark mauve cape. "The village we took over sent a representative," Grime explained as he showed the newt inside.

"Uh, Captain Grime and Lieutenant Sasha, I know that my village owes you a large debt but… I may have something that would be of interest to you," he said nervously, offering a package.

"An offering?" Sasha sighed. "Fine, just leave it on my desk. But you will still have to pay us."

The newt sighed, placing the item on her desk and unwrapping it.

Sasha glanced at the item. It was a box ornamented in gold and three colorless gems. Her jaw dropped and it looked as if her soul had left her body. "No… no way…" Her hands started to shake. "Where did you find this!?" she demanded.

"Oh, well I-"

"Nevermind! Your town's debt has been completely paid off," Sasha told the newt, shocking both him and Grime.

"Really? Yippie! Wait until I tell the others!" the newt said as he scurried off.

"Lieutenant, what's so special about this… trinket?" Grime asked in confusion, only for Sasha to start laughing. "Uh… Sasha?"

"Eheehehe… ehehe.. Yahahahahahaha!" Sasha laughed as she held up the music box, her sunglasses having a red glint. "Sorry Grime, it's just… I'm feeling so nostalgic, you know? Because this is much more valuable than whatever those villagers owe us. This is the box that brought me, Anne, and Marcy here."

This surprised Grime. "So it could send you back to Earth?"

"Earth?" Sasha asked. "Who said anything about going back to Earth? Everything I need is in Amphibia, there is no life waiting for me back on Earth…" Especially not after what she had been through, what she had done. She was a Toad soldier now. "But this box may be just what we need to take down King Andrias once and for all…"

Many years ago…

King Andrias, the ruler of Amphibia, was a large newt with bluish skin and a lighter underbelly. He had pale yellow eyes and was so tall that he towered over his armored guards. Andrias was stocky and muscular with white hair. He wore a dark purple metal suit of armor over a lighter colored shirt, a crown, pauldrons shaped like snail shells, a gold snake belt and a purple and yellow tunic.

He sat on his throne, waiting for his Rangers to bring in the creature they had discovered.

Said creature had a bag over its head as it was finally brought before Andrias, forced onto its knees. Andrias thought the creature looked quite pathetic and he hoped that this wasn't a waste of his time.

"What did you say this creature's name was?" Andrias asked the lead Ranger.

The Ranger bowed and pulled the bag off the head of his prisoner, revealing a human with pale skin, brown hair, a beard and mustache, and blue eyes.

"Your Majesty, the creature called itself… Philip Clawthorne."