Melody personally thought she was living the dream. A steady job, living with her boyfriend in a house that had already long since been paid off, really, all things considered, she was positively winning at life. Which why she was very surprised when, a week into her new life, Soos called an "all-employe meeting". "We need to improve our game and fast," Soos announced.

"What? Why?" Melody asked. "Wendy told me that the Mystery Shack has always had this many customers. We're doing pretty steady."

"Exactly. We're doing steady," Soos said. "My impassioned speech at Dipper and Mabel's birthday was to inspire the masses, move them to understand the glory of this sanctuary, but we haven't gotten anything more than, y'know, normal. And normal is not what we do here."

"Well, what do you think the problem is?" Melody asked.

"The problems is us, dudes," Soos told her. "Our act is totally out of order."

Melody looked to Wendy for some explanation, but Wendy simply nodded in confirmation. "Mr. Mystery is no longer the snazzy, handsome devil he once was," Soos declared. "Let's face it, now he's a pudgy guy with a half-beard. I am not rocking this suit and bow tie."

"You're not… not rocking it, sweetie," Melody comforted him. "I'm sure everyone will get used to it."

Soos shook his head. "I may be Mr. Mystery, but I am no Mr. Pines. We're going to have to overhaul the entire act if we want to win back the crowds."

"What is this 'act', exactly?" Melody asked.

"Mr. Pines was the jaded mystery researcher, I was the lazy part-timer, and Soos was the bumbling, but capable handyman," Wendy clarified. "The crowds ate up our constant back-and-forth with each other."

"Wait, that's an act?" Melody asked, looking between them surprised.

"Kind of," Soos said. "Mr. Pines just had us play up certain parts of our personality, y'know, keep things interesting for the people. It's like he always said..."

"The show never stops until the last souvenir is bought," Soos and Wendy recited.

"With that in mind," Soos continued, grapping some papers off the counter. "I've got a few ideas I want to run by you guys. Question-y the Question Mark was a dud, but these are more character than mascot."

Melody wordlessly took the papers she was handed, too shocked to respond. She had sort of assumed the Mystery Shack had just been a place where the staff made up a bunch of nonsense mysteries, got a cheap laugh, and everyone got paid. That clearly wasn't the case. There had been a decided theatrical dynamic, something she had never considered.

She looked down at the sketches. Mr. Mystery would be replaced by one of his loyal creatures (Soos in a weird animal costume), she would be a sort of Belle character (Seeing the beauty in the beast) and Wendy would play it all off like she worked for a perfectly normal person. The next page was Dr. Mystery, Mr. Mystery's twin, a wanna-be villain who tried to be evil (Soos drew himself in a cloak and fake mustache), but was too nice. She would his girlfriend, who constantly reassured him about how evil he was, and Wendy would be the apathetic part-timer who sardonically observed how Soos could be doing much eviler things. The third idea cast Mr. Mystery as an intrepid, yet still bumbling explorer, who gathered all of his findings at the Mystery Shack (Soos in safari gear). She would be the girlfriend who regularly went along with him on adventures to make sure he didn't forget anything or screw up, and Wendy would be the veteran, wise-beyond-their-years janitor who had been working for Mr. Mystery "longer than they could recall." The only common element was that Soos was wearing the fez in each one. It was the symbol of the Mystery Shack, after all.

"I like this last one," Wendy decided. "Not too far off from Mr. Pines' way of handling tours, not really a major theme change. I mean, you know, sucks to be officially relegated to janitor, but with Melody on cashier duty, not much else for me to earn my keep. Plus, I get to be all cool and cryptic. And, you get to keep your half-beard. Everyone wins."

"That half-beard thing was kind of one of the highlights of that one for me," Soos admitted. "Melody, what do you think?"

Melody looked up at her boyfriend. "Do you really think we need to change all this?" she asked. "I mean, Mr. Pines seemed to have the ideal situation going, shouldn't we just stick with that?"

Soos shook his head. "Mr. Pines ran this place for 30 years. He was charismatic and charming in his own way, a way I can't replicate. I can't let Mr. Mystery become an echo of his past self. We have to keep him as strong and memorable as ever. The Soos era of Mr. Mystery!" he declared, panning his arms out at the imaginary title.

"Then, yeah, let's go for it," Melody said, still slightly bewildered.

The smile fell off of Soos' face a little. "Dude, Melody, are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine it's just, I'm surprised. I've always kind of, coasted through life, and I thought this would be the same," Melody confessed. "But you, you're so passionate about this place, Soos. I'm just, I dunno, I feel like a fish out of water, I guess."

Soos considered this. He stood there thinking of what to say, for a second. Then, he went over to the clothing rack and tossed her a shirt. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack, Melody," Soos congratulated. "I get that you aren't too crazy about it right now, but you don't have to be. Showmanship isn't about being better or flashier or making sure everything is perfect, but providing something more, in your own special way."

"Yeah, if it was about being good and passionate," Wendy added, gesturing to the room at large. "You think this crummy place would still be going after all these years?"

Melody smiled. "Thank you guys. And uh, Soos, I know you were going for a big theatrical thing, and I appreciate that, but uhm, I'm already wearing this shirt," she pointed out.

Soos snapped his fingers. "See, that's exactly the kind of kind-hearted correction that Mr. Mystery's girlfriend would make for him! You've already got it down!"

The team laughed at that, and Wendy elbowed Melody. "And don't worry about the passion too much," Wendy said, winking. "It might seem impossible at first, but there's no one who hasn't fallen in love with the place, trust me."

Soos gasped and pointed at Wendy. "And that's exactly the kind of veteran, wise-beyond-their-years wisdom that I'm talking about! Dudes, I think we're already nailing this!" Soos cheered. "Oh, I'm gonna go into town and see if any of the shops are selling safari gear! The Mystery Shack is back! WOO!"

Melody watched in amusement as her boyfriend excitedly ran out of the room to the porch where his truck was. She smiled and got up, placing the thrown T-shirt back to where it was on the rack. This was her job, now, something only she could do. And she silently pledged to do it until the last souvenir was sold.