"ALRIGHT, FORD, TIME'S ALMOST UP!"

Mabel was being squeezed so tight she thought that she might pop open at any moment, but she struggled as hard as she could against the giant fingers crushing her. She kicked, punched, and Dipper did the same, but it seemed no use: Bill's grasp was like concrete.

"I'VE GOT THE KIDS!" The triangle said. "I THINK I'M GONNA KILL ONE OF THEM, JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT!"

At first, it didn't sink in what he had just said: they were too focused on fighting. But a red light was flashing around them, and they could hear him chanting in a sing-song voice.

"EENIE"

A pine tree symbol was glowing in black and red in the massive eye of the chaos demon. Wait…

"MEENIE"

A shooting star…oh no, oh no.

"MINEY" A pine tree again.

Dipper grabbed her arm, as if he could protect her against this. As if it was just another monster they were hunting this summer.

A shooting star lit up in his eyes and his hand raised up. "YOU-"

Mabel screwed her eyes shut just as a voice called out "WAIT!"

When she opened them, Great-Uncle Ford was looking Bill Cipher dead in the eye. "I surrender!"

Bill's eye returned to a pupil and his hand lowered. Mabel breathed a deep, relieved sigh of air.

"GOOD CHOICE." Bill said, dropping them like dolls on the stone floor, adding new members to the newly formed family of bruises on Mabel's body. The two of them stood up and ran to Ford and Stan's cage, desperate to reach them.

"Great-Uncle Ford, you can't-!"

"BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT?" Bill said. "I BET YOU THINK I WAS BLUFFING. I THINK I'LL PROVE I WASN'T"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, Ford and Stan both screaming out "no!" Mabel turned around to see Bill's finger pointing, charged with magic.

Directly.

At.

"DIPPER!" she screamed, shoving her brother out of the way before her body was seized with a searing pain.

"MABEL!"

When Mabel was three years old, she had stuck a fork in an electric socket. Her body had seized up and shuddered uncontrollably, an agonizing burning sensation covered her from head to foot. Her parents had pulled her away before anything too serious happened, but she had never forgotten the pain.

This was like she had shoved her braces into that socket.

She screamed.

Three voices in one "MABEL! MABEL NO!"

It felt like it lasted forever, but suddenly it stopped as she fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Dipper was at her side, cradling her head, shaking her shoulders, as she struggled to focus. Her feet felt cold and heavy, and the sensation was creeping along her calves.

Ford was pounding at the walls of the cage, zapped with every strike but coming back with renewed force. Stan was on his knees, screaming her name in a tone that was barely human. Bill laughed, high and manic, somersaulting backwards through the air.

"OH, THIS IS JUST RICH!" He cackled, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "LOOKS LIKE SHOOTING STAR IS GONNA FINALLY FALL!"

"Mabel!" Dipper screamed. "Mabel, are you okay?"

Mabel looked down at her feet…and suddenly realized why they were so numb.

They were turning to stone. And it was spreading, spreading rapidly up her legs.

She looked up at Dipper, who was looking at her legs with wide eyes. He was white as paper, and his voice shook slightly. "Mabel…you're gonna be fine, alright? I can-I can fix this."

"Dipper…" Tears were welling up in her eyes. I don't want to die, I don't want to die! "Dipper, I'm sorr-"

"Mabel, don't talk! We can fix this! I can-" His mouth was moving but words couldn't form. "I can-!"

"Dipper, you can't fix this!" she said, as the saltwater poured out of her eyes. The stone virus was nearly at her waist now, and her heart was racing, like it wanted to beat as much as possible before…before…

"LOOKS LIKE YOU BETTER CUT THAT DEAL FAST, FORDSY!" Bill said, leaning back to take in the scene. "OR PINETREE'S NEXT."

"MABEL!" Ford screamed. "MABEL!"

Stan was bawling, words unable to form past the tears.

Mabel took a deep breath, for a brief moment a sudden calm seizing over her. "Dipper, I…" she blinked hard, trying to choke back a sob. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let Bill trick me, it's my fault this all happened!"

"Mabel, it's not your fault!" Dipper yelled. He couldn't even look her in the eye. "I shouldn't have told Ford that I-I should've-I- "he broke down into massive sobs. "Don't leave me." He said. "Please. Don't leave me."

"Hey," she said quietly, putting a hand to his face. "Don't get all weepy on me now, brobro. Girls don't like a crybaby." Dipper turned to look at her, with absolute agony in his eyes. "It'll be okay." She said, trying to smile and not look like she was scared out of her mind.

The stone spread up to her stomach, and she gasped with pain. She turned her head to look at Ford and Stan.

"Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford, I-" she swallowed as hard as she could. "I love you guys, so much!"

"MABEL!" Ford said. "Stay with me, sweetie, okay? Don't you die on me!"

Sweetie? Since when has Great-Uncle Ford…? Suddenly she realized that one of the fingers on his gloves looked pretty floppy, and she smiled with secret realization. Grunkle Stan, you rapscallion. "Take care of Waddles for me, okay?! Make sure he get his walks…and his milk…and someone rubs his cute lil pig tummy every day, okay? Promise!"

Ford/Stan looked like he had been punched in the gut, but he nodded even as the tears sprang to his eyes. "I'll do it, sweetie. I…" he rubbed his eyes fiercely and turned away. "I promise."

As the stone reached the tips of her lungs, and breathing became a painful exercise, Bill gave an impatient sigh. "WHAT A TOUCHING FAMILY SCENE. BUT TICK TOCK, SIXER. WHAT DO YOU SAY WE GET STARTED?" His hand was held out, alive with blue flames.

Stan/Ford clenched his fist, looking like he was holding back a string of words that Mabel would have charged to her swear jar. "I'll do it." He said through his teeth.

"GOOD CHOICE."

Mabel realized she only had a few more minutes. "Beat him." She said to Dipper. "Use that big nerd brain of your and beat him, okay? For me."

Dipper nodded, grabbing her hand. "Sure thing, sis."

Mabel smiled, letting her eyes droop slightly. She was so tired…so tired of fighting…

The stone reached her heart, causing a massive pain to erupt in her chest, almost like she was having a heart attack. It was hard to focus on anything as she started getting drowsier. Soon, the stone spread over her eyes and ears, leaving her effectively blind and deaf. As the stone spread over her entire body, Mabel had lost all five senses, leaving her with nothing to do but think.

I deserve this, don't I...

At least Dipper got to live. At least I was able to do something useful.

I hope he's still alive, at least.

I hope the world isn't gonna end just because I'm a stupid, selfish little brat.

I deserve this.

Mabel had no perception of the outside world, so she had no idea how long it had been. It could be minutes, hours, days, maybe even more. At some point, she realized she could feel something. It was a sharp, cracking feeling that was spreading all over her body. Whatever it was, it seemed to be coming from multiple places at once.

Suddenly, an intense, shattering, pain appeared all over her entire body at once. It lasted an instant, and then she was no more.