Work Text:
2017
Five years since this nightmare began and it seemed to have no end, and this time there was no Sweater Town in which to hide.
Five years since all her childhood illusions disappeared and vanished like smoke.
Five years since she was deceived by a diabolical triangle to bring the End of the World.
Five years since Dipper was dead.
Mabel shook her head at the last thought.
No, she repeated, Dipper isn’t dead, he’s still alive. Her twin hadn’t died in that attack on the spacecraft. Dipper wasn’t eaten by those bats. He wasn’t dead... The others no longer think the same, though.
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The sunlight hit her face, that was her alarm clock for five years, although Mabel had been awake for hours, she was accustomed to having a light sleep at night.
“Why?” She asked, “My hand will always be cold, I don’t even have Waddles now.” She missed Dipper, her twin had always been very warm to her. Dipper always said that Mabel was the warmest person he had ever met, but it was a lie, she was like that because she had Dipper by her side, her twin always managed to paint a smile on her face, as in the second grade of elementary school.
No matter the days, months or years, she could never forgive herself for being so selfish that summer day, her last week at Gravity Falls. If she’d agreed to let Dipper stay, none of this had happened.
She would have gone to visit him every summer, every winter, every vacation, or even better, she could have stayed and worked on the Mystery Shack, their parents would be so proud to have such independent children, they would both go to high school in Gravity Falls, they would continue to have their crazy adventures and go hunting for mysteries every weekend. But the idea of going back to Piedmont alone, the idea of a room without her twin, the idea of facing the world without Dipper, terrified her so much clouded her sight and escaped into the woods. The rest, everyone knows.
“Well, there’s nothing left.” Now she doesn’t have Dipper at her side, but she was no longer afraid, she had been determined to find her brother, no matter if everyone told her that Dipper was dead, she didn’t believe them, the twins shared a bond, and she could feel that this bond wasn’t broken, not yet.
“Hambone!” Someone shouted out of her car, it was Soos.
Mabel opened the sunroof of her vehicle to get out and look outside; Soos was standing before her vehicle. She remembered when they found Melody after fleeing the spaceship, the handyman had recovered his smile and now they both had a son. “Good Morning, Soos.”
“Good morning Hambone, breakfast’s ready.”
“Thank you.”
The friendly man walked away from her vehicle and walked to a group of trucks that formed a circle around a group of people. Mabel wasn’t with them because she was on duty watching all night. In fact, every day for her was to ensure the safety of her colleagues, friends, and her children.
She searched her belongings for some clean clothes, she had changed her nice, colorful skirts into more comfortable shorts that allowed her to fight when they would face a monster, as Wendy had taught her before leaving with her siblings to find more survivors.
The redhead didn’t return, nor any of the other woodcutters, and that was two years ago. She had feared the worst for them, but the Corduroy family was too badass, and they knew how to deal with this situation. Mabel assumed that they must be traveling the continent, McGucket’s cars were very practical, she was very grateful to have the old scientist as her friend. When Mabel felt ready and ready to go out to meet the group, she got out of the car and slammed it shut.
“Good Morning.” Everyone greeted her and she returned the greeting.
Mabel served soup, it was a miracle that the food they had borrowed from the abandoned shops won’t even expire, again she thanked McGucket, the old man had a great mind.
There were familiar faces and strangers, people who were with her from the beginning and people who were integrated during their travels. Families that were torn apart, families that were reunited, families that were created.
Candy and Grenda were talking to each other, always looking in such good humor, Mabel wanted to be with them and talk about boys, as they did in their spring years. Then there was Pacifica with Carlos, Soos’ and Melody’s son, she had grown fond of the boy since he was born. Soos was talking to Stan, the conman was still the same person from before and Mabel appreciated that. Ford, well, he was standing next to McGucket, both always looking toward the horizon, as if they were looking for something there.
Robbie and Tambry were with them, they were still together, even after Mabel had told them about the love potion she had poured over them. Tambry’s bulging belly was proof that the Gothic boy loved her and would protect her.
Mabel sometimes wondered why people still had children in a world where demons are looking to make you slaves or food. A world that’s governed by Bill Cipher.
The idea of thinking about that triangle made her feel like shit. He had deceived most of her family, deceived Ford, deceived Dipper, and deceived her.
She still remembers the demon’s laughter as the Rift crumbled and let all the demons of the Nightmare Realm into her world, and then she fell asleep. She dreamed that she was in a perfect world, where everyone was happy, but Dipper’s voice was what woke her up. And when she saw Dipper, dirty and hurt, the first thing she had done was hug him and apologize for being so weak, for letting the Apocalypse begin.
She was afraid of everyone around her, she couldn’t trust anyone except Dipper or his family. The eyes, she always looked into the eyes of the people to make sure none of them was Bill.
Every night she slept close to Dipper, and she could feel him releasing her hand and rising to return in the morning and back to hold her hand.
Then the attack surprised them, Stan went for her and not seeing Dipper, both faces paled. She had a moment of relief and tranquility at the sight of Dipper, and as he arrived, it disappeared.
The largest of all the Eye-Bats opened in half revealing a row of sharp teeth and engulfing Dipper, her twin had disappeared from her life. But Dipper wasn’t dead, he was still alive, she could feel it. Dipper was able to escape the Eye-Bat, he was outside in this world, and she prayed to God, or any Supreme Being, that he was well.
Ford said that the attack on the spacecraft wasn’t a simple attack, this should have been carefully planned, and all the conclusions pointed to Bill Cipher. The idea that Bill Cipher had Dipper in his claws sent shivers down her body, she didn’t want to think what the demon could do to her younger brother.
She must have taken care of Dipper, not vice versa, she was the alpha twin.
“What a great alpha twin I’ve been.” She whispered to herself.
A plate of warm soup spread out in front of her. Mabel accepted it and smiled at Melody, the woman smiled and sat down near Soos.
Mabel sometimes wondered what would have happened to everyone here if none of this had happened.
Would had she been able to be president? Could she had found true love? Would Dipper be at her wedding? What would her children look like? Ford and Stan would have reconciled?
Would Grenda be of the nobility? Would had Candy graduated from the camp?
Would Pacifica be free from her parents’ mandate to live her life?
Soos and Melody would be together? Would Carlos be as happy as he is now?
Could she ever return to Gravity Falls?
She would never know. Because... Because of her, nobody would have more options than to survive and find a safe place.
A childish laugh made her lift her face and smile, slight, but the smile didn’t disappear. Carlos was a very healthy child, one of the few who didn’t realize what this world was like, but they must know it and must learn to fight.
Mabel remembered three years ago, when she was fifteen, Melody, who was pregnant, was about to be devoured by a huge yellow snake, golden as the sun. That monster had come from behind to attack them. No one had noticed the danger until Candy screamed, and they all turned to see that the serpent was transformed into an excessively giant monster, bigger and longer than an anaconda, and even had a pair of arms appeared, trying to capture Melody or Candy. Mabel swore she saw a third eye on her forehead, but perhaps it was only a mirage of the Sun, and that when this animal was about to attack her, it stopped. A good time for Ford to shoot a lightning bolt that left the snake stunned and walked away from them until it disappeared among the ruins and debris. Ford said he had seen the animal spinning a couple of months ago, but back then it looked harmless and not clearly demonic. Everyone took it as a sign that it was time to leave.
Mabel learned during these five years to fight the monsters. McGucket had modified her grappling hook making it more lethal for monsters... And humans. Though they had helped on their trips to several people, there were people trying to harm them. They tried, because none of them went too far.
A group of fools who thought they were the kings of the apocalyptic world tried to rape Candy, but they didn’t think Grenda and Wendy were at her side to defend her. The girls left them half dead and to be food for ravens or monsters. It was horrible, but it was what they did to protect themselves. Eventually, society was breaking down until there was no one to trust.
Mabel wanted to laugh bitterly, but she couldn’t do it without the others worrying about her sanity.
At first, they had heard the news that Canada had a city free from demons and creatures, a safe place to live.
“There’s no such place.” McGucket said.
But the Pines ignored his words, took their things and promised to return as soon as possible. Their group gave them indications of how to look for their signals.
Dipper was there, Dipper should be there, these and other thoughts had plagued her mind during the weeks of travel that it took them to get to that shelter.
It was a total loss. The place was destroyed, people dismembered or being devoured by animals. Mabel searched for her twin, but he wasn’t there. Dipper was nowhere to be found. Her heart almost broke in half when Stan and Ford wanted to finish the search. Mabel screamed, cried, and begged them not to do so, to have hope. The elders hesitated, but when they saw their niece break up they decided to support her, but they didn’t seem very convinced. This was done more by Mabel than by Dipper.
Luckily for them, their group hadn’t come so far from the starting point. Seven cities later, and they found them now with a larger group of people who were integrated into the group of survivors. Although Wendy and her brothers had gone to look for more survivors.
Breakfast was over and it was time to move, sometimes they walked while the younger ones were in the vehicles or if they simply wanted to do things faster, like running away, then everyone would get on the vehicles.
Mabel looked at her plate. Half empty, half full, she didn’t know what was logical in this world. She sipped what was left and gave Melody the dishes, the kind woman responsible for rationalizing the food and cooking.
The group left the youngest in the vehicles, making sure everything was clear to start a new migration. Where? They didn’t know, they just wanted to find a safe place where they could sleep without fear and live as decently as possible.
The afternoon fell and with it, dusk, three hours after the sun went down the group found a place to spend the night and maybe another week off to move again. It wasn’t right to stay so long in one place, even if it seemed very safe.
The Domination of the World had succeeded and the Earth, or what used to be called that way, was being populated by demons and creatures who established their own rules in all humans who remained enslaved.
Everyone fell asleep after a long day, tomorrow they would have all the time in the world, or what remained.
Mabel had taken care of the orphans, because for her they were only sad and abandoned children, because for others (who weren’t her group) they saw toys, sacrifices, people that no one would miss if something happened to them. Mabel bit her lower lip, tasting a little of her blood and spitting out the vital liquid. She wouldn’t allow any of her children to suffer that, she would take care of them, she would train them, she would educate them, and they would know what it’s to have a family. If the day came when she had children of her own, she wanted to be there forever. She always wanted to have twins when she was childish and believed that the world was a beautiful place. Dipper had told her that this was possible; The birth of twins was typical in the family.
“How much do ya think, pumpkin?”
Mabel, who was on the top of the vehicle, looked down and met Grunkle Stan, the professional conman smiled transmitting warmth and confidence. The brunette smiled slightly as she watched the patch covering Stan’s stray eye. He lost his eye shortly after it became infected after a fight with two demons that appeared to be wild cats.
That was the first time Mabel had to kill something. At first, it didn’t feel good when she annihilated the demons, but after understanding that they were going to hunt, kill or enslave them, this was the best option. The same with the aggressive humans they met.
She hated everything that was related to Bill Cipher.
“The usual.” She answered.
Here there was no need for long conversations with her, all her thoughts were summed up a person.
“Dipper?”
Mabel nodded.
Stan sighed, he missed his nephew, missed his diminutive stature by a millimeter, his funny voice, his plans that could get someone out of trouble, the immense curiosity that surrounded him like Ford. The twins were his responsibility, and he had failed them, again. Stan decided that it was best to forget about Dipper, however sad and cruel it seemed, he knew they wouldn’t find him. Dead or alive, Dipper was no longer with them. Something told him that the boy, now a young adult (if he lived), would never see him again. It was hard to accept.
“Mabel — ”
“No.” She interrupted the old man, she knew what he was going to say, and she didn’t want to hear it, “Please, no, I know what you’ll tell me… That I must give up.”
“Mabel.” The old man called her again.
“I’ve to worry more about my safety.”
But she wasn’t listening to Stan calling her, she wouldn’t, she couldn’t, tears began to pop into her eyes threatening to leave at any moment, the words stuck in her throat.
She couldn’t stand all that shit.
“Mabel — ”
She could no longer deny the fact that slowly, deep inside her... She knew they would never find Dipper.
“THAT I STOP BLAME ME FOR DIPPER’S DEATH!”
This was enough.
“MABEL!”
The brunette didn’t know when Stan had taken her out of the car and had held her tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go, as if he were protecting her from herself, “It’s okay.” The old man’s sad, sweet words echoed in her eardrums, “It’s painful, but enough, is enough.”
Something wet and bitter slid down her cheeks until it was between her lips and follow its way to her chin. Although she couldn’t tell if it was her tears or Stan’s. It didn’t matter; They both shared the same pain.
And Mabel, for the first time in her life, admitted that she had lost something far more valuable than a summer love, much more valuable than a sweater, far more valuable than her warmth.
She lost her other half.
She was broken.
She was incomplete.