A/N: Woo, alright, new update! I am terribly sorry for the long wait! The last few months have been very stressful, and I am finally able to sit and continue this story!

So,[SPOILERS (i guess) IF YOU HADN'T WATCHED THE PREVIEW FOR "ATOTS"] because of the preview for ATOTS, we know that Stan (Fez) is Stanley and Stan (Author) is Stanford. So, from now on, it will be fixed. I will have to edit the previous two chapters and add some stuff.

Blah blah blah, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I don't own Gravity Falls nor its characters. Those belong to Disney.

Dipper didn't move his eyes; he didn't even blink. Instead, he defensively crossed his arms across his chest. Mabel sighed. It was no more nor less what she expected, but that did not mean it hurt any less. She was glad for the arm Stan put around her for comfort, but he was not looking at her.

While Dipper may have his eyes covered under his hat, Stanley was not moving his eyes from him. Mabel was in a tough situation as she had to chose between two loved ones, and it was his fault in the first place. He regretted the way everything turned out, not the way he wanted, but the way fate wanted. His teeth clenched as he saw Dipper blow out the hope in Mabel's eyes. Dipper certainly did not need to rub more salt in the fresh wound right now.

Stan opened his mouth to say something to the boy, with several sentences forming in his head. But he closed it. If Mabel couldn't reach out to Dipper, then there is no chance Stan could right now. But he will have an important talk with Dipper when there would be time. If there would be time. As he sadly looked at Mabel, Stanley asked in the silence,"So what do we do now?"

Stanford replied with another question. "How long do you think we have before the Agents come back?"

"Not a lot. An hour, if we're lucky."

"What about the townspeople?" Mabel asked. "There's no way they didn't notice that their town was destroyed."

Stanley waved a hand. "The townspeople are stupid. They'll freak out today, and it'll all be forgotten tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Stanford arched an eyebrow. "How in the world will they be able to forget this?"

Stanley sighed. "Do you remember…" He stopped without thinking as he realized Mabel and Dipper could hear him. He had to try to keep them safe, he thought. And then he realized...

No.

There's no way to protect them now. They're as deep down in this dark side of the town as he was. And, after all they went through because of him, he owed them at least a little bit of truth. Gathering up confidence, he continued, "Do you remember Fiddleford's memory erasing gun?"

Stanford looked at him. "You must be joking."

"Nope. He decided to give it to a bunch of lunatics before he-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but that's not really true anymore, regarding the town," Mabel said as she twiddled her thumbs. Everyone looked at her. Dipper glared at her. If she's going to tell them, I swear-

"Mabel," Stanley said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, we-" she sighed. "We kinda...Met them."

Stan had a looks of surprise on his face, before sighing through his nose. "And?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"And...We erased their minds of anything related to their secret group after they tried to take our summer memories away?" Near the end the statement turned into an unsure squeak as she chuckled nervously.

Stanley's reaction was instant.

"What?!" Stanley yelled in anger. "I told you not to run into trouble like that!" He sent a glare at Dipper. "What the hell were you thinking? You're so into your little mysteries that you can't sense trouble a foot away, can you?"

"Oh yeah?" Dipper hissed. "Well, at least I don't lie to my own family all the time!"

"I was trying to protect you and you know it!"

"Then why did you send me to the woods a few days after we settled in, huh? You really thought I wouldn't discover anything, Stanley?"

All anger disappeared from Stan's face. He never thought hearing his own name would make his heart shatter.

Trying to get the dominant hand and ignore the lump in his throat, Stan growled, "Well, Milton, I do not pull others into danger with me!"

It was Dipper's turn to be shocked. He clenched his fists."You know I hate my first name! And how can you pin this on me?!"

Mabel pleaded, "Guys, please, stop fighting-"

Knock, knock, knock.

Everything fell silent. Slowly, everyone turned their heads towards the front door.

"Mr. Pines," Soos, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the last hour, whispered. "What do we do?"

Stanley put his index finger to his mouth and silently told them to keep quiet. Trying to stop the wooden floor from grunting, he walked carefully to a cabinet which was now broken without one cabinet door. Out of it, he pulled out two guns. Both seemed alike with the exception of one having a longer handle. Stanley gave that one to his six-fingered brother.

Knock, knock, knock.

The original Mystery Twins looked at each other as if they were having a discussion. Both nodded, and tiptoed towards the door with Dipper and Mabel behind Soos.

Stanford stood against the wall by the door as Stanley put his hand on the knob. Receiving a nod from Stanford, Stanley aimed his gun and opened the door.

Mabel covered her ears and shut her eyes as a loud gunshot was heard.

Silence.

Mabel hesitantly opened one eye to see Stanley still looking at something in front of him.

"McGucket, you are so damn lucky you're short."

"Huh?" Mabel asked as she uncovered her ears and ran past Soos and by her Grandpa.

When McGucket saw her, he grinned. "Hey, Mabel! I just wanted t'make sure you folks are al-oof!" He couldn't finish his sentence due to his surprise when she tightly hugged him. It's been a long, long time since he was hugged by anyone, especially a child.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Mr. McGucket!" she said before stepping back. "How are things in the town?"

"Well," he started as his eyes darted towards Stanley's gun, "after I came back to the town, uh...There ain't much o'the town left. Many buildings are destroyed, some not possible to fix. Also, there was a-"

"Fiddleford?"

"Huh?" McGucket looked up at who he thought the voice came from. Stanford seemed saddened as he looked at the proud man he once knew.

"Fid, what happened to you?" Stanford asked as he looked at his torn, brown overalls which barely covered him. What happened that brought him down like this? Had something happened when he was gone?

McGucket looked puzzled, with his brows crunching up together. "Do I…"

"Last time I checked, you were an amazing scientist. You had a wife, a child. I mean, I understand that was a long time ago, but...What caused you to even stop taking care of yourself?"

"...Do I know you?" McGucket asked, not knowing those words made someone's breath hilt.

He used it, Stanford realized.

He used it on himself.

Stanley whispered something to Stanford. When he did not move, Stanley grabbed his brother's wrist and lightly tugged. Stanford, though hesitantly, moved his eyes away from McGucket, before both of them headed to the kitchen. Or at least, what remained of it.

McGucket still looked lost. "Kiddos? Who was that fella?"

To Mabel's surprise, Dipper was the one to answer, though his reply was to the point.

"The Author."

"The Author?" McGucket asked. "D'you mean the Author? Of the Journals?" He shook his head mournfully. "Why don't I remember him? Why can't I remember him?" he said as his voice was laced with anger.

"Hey," Mabel said softly as she patted his shoulder. "It's barely been two weeks. You're making great progress! You fixed the laptop, didn't you?"

The last sentence made Dipper's memory jog, before remembering McGucket's warning the night before.

"I'm sorry, McGucket," Dipper said as McGucket looked up from looking at the ground. "I should have listened to you when you tried to warn me." His eyes darkened. "I could have stopped Stanford from-"

SLAP!

Dipper felt himself falling backwards and his elbows made a loud thud as they hit the ground. His cheek throbbed and was tinted red. Dipper was in shock while Mabel looked at him, glowering. Last time she saw her this angry was when Grunkle-Stanley let Waddles go outside.

"Dipper, I've had enough of this. Don't you dare say that you would have wanted Stan to never get his brother back. I know you're angry, but you have no right to say anything like that. He may have lied to us, and you may not trust him, but he's still our Grandpa."

I have every right to say so after he lied to me, Dipper thought. But he did not say this out loud. His mouth was hanging open. He was still shocked. And not just because he was slapped by his sister.

Stanley cleared his throat awkwardly as Stanford dragged himself back with his brother.

Shuffling his bare feet, McGucket said, "I'm sorry I can't remember you. Dipper told me you're the Author."

"He's started to remember though," Mabel added.

"He has?" Stanley asked reluctantly. Was the kid just trying to cheer him up or was it the truth?

Mabel quickly nodded. "So he'll remember you soon enough, don't worry!"

Stanley could not stop the faint smile from forming on his face. Her optimism was already rubbing on him.

"But we still have other things to worry about, dudes," Soos reminded them. "What now?" Soos asked.

"Now, you're going home, Soos."

A/N: So, how was it?

As a gift for not being able to update, I shall reveal what the code from the previous chapter meant:

WORDS ARE SO EASILY FORGOTTEN, ACTIONS ARE NOT LIGHTLY FORGIVEN.

Please review! I will try to answer any of your questions! Any type of a review, even one with just "Good," will be greatly appreciated!