A/N Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. It's a long story. I've had a lot going on recently and I needed to take a hiatus to focus on getting my real life back in order after...well stuff. I'll spare you the details here but I've had to deal with some major losses in the last few months that have hit me quite hard. Anyway, Weirdmageddon blew me away. I can't wait until Nov 23 to find out what happens next so naturally I've got to make up my own version to hold me over until the next episode. Consider this three-shot my attempt to get back in the game. I'll work on updating my other stories soon. You guys are amazing!

Enjoy!

Chapter One

"Remember, this is a prison designed by Bill," Dipper warned as he and Soos and Wendy stood on the bridge, looking up at the giant, dark pink bubble with the shooting star design. The bubble was cracking, and looked almost volatile, and Dipper dreaded to think about how this whole time Mabel had been trapped inside. Who knows what kind of horror she'd been subjected to? He pushed aside his worry and anxiety for her and the pain in his body to replace it with stone cold determination. No way was he going to let his sister rot in some horrible prison of Bill's making. "We have to prepare ourselves for whatever we might find."

Please be OK, Mabel, please be OK…

"Yes, but we'll do it together, for Mabel!" Soos said, holding out his hand.

"For Mabel!" Wendy chimed in, putting her hand on Soos's with equal determination.

Strengthened by his friends' resolve, Dipper put his hand on theirs, "For Mabel!"

Together they approached the cracking bubble and Dipper held out the key and took a deep breath as he unlocked the chains surrounding Mabel's prison. They fell away easily. Almost too easily. It could be a trap… Taking hold of Soos and Wendy's hands, together they stepped into the bubble, with no idea of what they'd face.

Everything flashed a blinding white and Dipper squinted to shield his eyes. But as they stepped further inside the whiteness subsided and was replaced by clear blue skies. It was warm and birds were chirping as they flew by without care. They looked at each other in confusion.

"Mabel?" Dipper called, "Where are you?"

They recognized the path they found themselves on, it lead directly to the Mystery Shack. "Come on, dudes," Soos said, leading the way. The trio quickly made it to the Shack, and discovered the place was in pristine condition. It looked like it always had, the same quirky character but it seemed newer, and business seemed to be booming. Stan was greeting tourists, happily taking all their money, and even some of the locals where there and they weren't angry with him for scamming them again.

"Mabel?" Dipper called out in confusion. Not that he was complaining, but he was expecting something horrible but this seemed more like a dream, especially considering the nightmare the last few days had been since Bill took over. But why would Bill, who took so much pleasure in seeing everyone suffer, trap Mabel in a bubble that looked so incredibly normal and happy?

Just then the door to the Gift Shop opened and Mabel stepped out, a huge smile on her face with Waddles by her side.

"Mabel!" Dipper called, waving to her as the trio approached her. Seeing her after all this time, happy and most of all alive was overwhelming and he felt tears form in his eyes, "Oh man, Mabel it's so good to see you! I thought I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her, unable to contain his emotion.

"Hey Dipper," Mabel said with confusion as she reluctantly returned the hug, "uh, good to see you too? What's wrong bro-bro?" she cooed, alarmed by how shaken up he was, "Hey, it's OK, I'm right here," she soothed comfortingly as she looked to Wendy and Soos for answers, eying them up and down, "What happened? You guys look like you've been to hell and back!"

"We kinda did," Wendy murmured, "What happened to you? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Mabel tilted her head, clearly perplexed that they would ask her that when they looked like they just finished fighting an army of vampire ninjas. "Never better actually. Come on inside, let's get you three patched up and then you can tell me all about it!"

"Mabel…" Dipper started, completely baffled, "you…you mean you don't know what happened? About Bill?"

She rolled her eyes, "Here we go," she sighed, "That stupid triangle guy is back again messing with you? I oughta give him a piece of my mind! That why you're so emotional?"

"I haven't seen you in three days, I didn't know if you were alive or dead, I had no idea what happened to you when the…"

"Wow, he really got to you this time, didn't he?" Mabel frowned, "Must've done a number on you. I'm fine, I saw you just this morning. Sounds like Triangle Guy really messed with your head. What a jerkface!"

Dipper sniffed and exchanged looks with Wendy and Soos. Mabel has no idea, does she? She doesn't know that it's her head that Bill's messing with. How do we tell her that the world is ending, Bill's taken over and she's been trapped in a prison bubble for the last three days while Gravity Falls burns to the ground?

Mabel smiled, "Well, don't worry about it anymore. It's over and everything is fine now. Come on!" She led the way into the Mystery Shack and set Dipper and Wendy down at the kitchen table and poured them each a glass of Mabel Juice and gave Soos a warm and hearty pat on the back, "OK guys, drink up! I promise that will cure what ails ya!"

"I don't know…" Dipper frowned skeptically, "Mabel listen, we don't have time for this you're…"

"Drink it!" Mabel ordered, "Honestly, it'll fix you guys right up! You look really sore and just trust me when I say this will make you feel all better! Plus it tastes great!"

"But I have to tell you something important…"

"Wow, this actually is pretty good," Wendy exclaimed with surprise as she took a tentative sip, "it tastes amazing actually, like…my favourite thing in the world!" she downed her glass greedily and Dipper gaped at her incredulously, "What? It's good, you should try it! And I actually am starting to feel better!"

Dipper watched with amazement as her cuts and bruises started to fade and he looked to Mabel who silently urged him to try it. What is it? An illusion? I wonder if this bubble is like, a dream or something and maybe Mabel's the one controlling it, not Bill and Wendy's getting better because Mabel wants her to. Or maybe it's a trick…

"Do you want some Soos?" Mabel asked, "I made it especially for you guys, I don't know what you've been up to but I think you all could use a boost from my Mabel Juice!"

"All right Hambone, why not?"

She cheerfully poured him a glass, "Come on Dipper, it's not going to hurt you! You'll feel better. Trust me! You really shouldn't knock it until you tried it."

"Dude! It tastes like my Abuleita's special strawberry mango lemonade she likes to make!" Soos exclaimed, "But better!"

"Really? Mine tastes like the best iced Frappuccino I ever had! " Wendy laughed, "Weird! Dipper you have to try it, it's…like magic! I feel great now."

Dipper frowned, and it was true that her cuts and bruises were gone, and Soos looked more energized now but he was suspicious. What if it was a trick by Bill, what if this wasn't really Mabel? Or it was but she didn't know she was being influenced by Bill and she was unknowingly poisoning them or something? Did he really want to drink the magic Kool-Aid?

"I don't know…"

"Dipper…don't you trust me?" Mabel asked, genuine hurt flashing briefly in her eyes. Meanwhile outside the blue skies were quickly being replaced with grey clouds, a little too quickly. "I just want you to feel better and happy, why won't you try it?"

"Mabel, we don't have time for this right now…Bill he…"

"He's a big fat meanie buttface," Mabel stated, "and if he's causing you trouble and we need to fight him or whatever, don't you think you'd do better if you were in tip-top shape? A little bit of Mabel Juice can go a long way! Come on bro-bro, for me?"

Dipper sighed, "I don't think you understand…"

"Come on man, just try it," Wendy urged him with a smile, "you won't regret it."

"And what if it's a trick?"

"Why do you think I'd trick you like that? You're talking as though you think it's going to hurt you or something!" Mabel exclaimed, "Well it's not! I don't want you to get hurt I want you to feel better!"

"I know you wouldn't hurt me but…" Dipper sighed with frustration. How to explain…? "How do I know you're really Mabel and not a trick? How do I know you're not BILL!"

Mabel recoiled in shock, offended that he would ask that but as she seemed to think about it her expression turned to pity, "Wow. That Bill guy really got to you, didn't he? Stupid triangle!" She pulled him into a hug, "Dip, it's me, honest." She released him from the hug and forced him to look in her eyes. "It's me."

Dipper pulled away, staring at her on his own accord before he sniffed, "I really missed you."

"Oh Dipper," she murmured sympathetically, "Of course it's me! Besides, the Mystery Shack is protected, remember? I got that unicorn hair? He can't get in here," Mabel reminded him, she tilted her head towards the Mabel Juice, "Drink up. Please?"

With a sigh he took a reluctant sip and was met with the sweetest flavour he'd ever tasted. Not obnoxiously sweet like he would expect from Mabel Juice, but the flavour was absolutely perfect. Despite its pink with confetti like colour, it tasted like an orange milkshake, his favourite drink, but it was like the best orange shake he ever had in his life! Soos and Wendy weren't lying about it, not that he thought they would, but it still seemed weird to him. Immediately the deep ache from all the bruises in his body eased up slightly. He took another sip and then another. Soon he felt better than he ever felt before.

"Mabel, that's…"

"Amazing?" she grinned, "I told you so, bro-bro!"

"But how?" he asked, noticing the clouds outside dissolve as Mabel's mood was instantly lifted.

"Didn't you know by now never to underestimate the power of Mabel?" she asked with a wink.

Dipper smiled at her, a pang of sadness tugging at his heart. Mabel was so happy here, a part of him didn't want to ruin it but outside the world was ending, and no matter how happy Mabel might be, she was still Bill's prisoner, even if she didn't know it. Besides, he needed her. "Mabel, listen," he murmured quietly, glancing at Wendy and Soos who both nodded encouragingly. "We have to talk. About Bill."

"Right," Mabel nodded, "so what did that three sided jerk do to you?"

"It's not what he did to me," Dipper said hesitantly, "it's what he did to everyone, but most importantly, what he did to you."

"What do you mean?" Mabel asked, narrowing her eyes looking equally concerned and confused, "He didn't do anything to me. I'm fine."

"Mabel, none of this is real," Dipper revealed, "Bill's taken over the world. He managed to get physical form and now Ford's been turned into a statue, I have no idea what happened to Stan and everything is in chaos. And he trapped you in this bubble and it looks so normal because I don't know, I guess he didn't want you to escape so he made you think nothing's changed. If we're going to stop Bill, I need your help and we're here to rescue you."

Dipper wasn't sure how Mabel would react but she stared at him incredulously. Something flashed in her eyes, hinting that maybe she believed him but then she cocked her head to the side, "Um…what?"

"Bill, he took over the world."

"And trapped me in…a bubble?" Mabel quirked an eyebrow and then burst into laughter, "Seriously? That's the craziest thing I ever heard!"

"But it's true," Wendy added, "None of this is real."

"Is this a joke?" Mabel asked, as though she wasn't sure whether to be amused, offended or worried.

"No," Dipper replied. "After our fight a few days ago, you ran off into the woods remember?" He paused a moment as she shook her head blankly. "You uh, you grabbed the wrong backpack by mistake. You took my backpack and inside there was an interdimensional Rift…"

"Interdimensional what now?"

"Rift. It's a long story but it was what Great Uncle Ford and I were trying to protect and keep from Bill. It's why we needed the unicorn hair, so Bill couldn't get in and somehow get to it. If it broke then it would allow Bill to tear a hole between our world and the Nightmare Realm."

Mabel looked almost dizzy as he tried to explain it, "I don't….I don't follow."

"I don't know how exactly, but it had been cracking and my best guess is that it accidentally broke while you had it, and that brought Bill into our world with physical form and now he's taken over," Dipper replied, "he trapped you in this fake reality, I think so you wouldn't try to escape and…"

"You're talking crazy!" Mabel shook her head, as clouds outside began to form once again, "Bill got into your head and has messed with you!"

"You don't remember?" Dipper asked, and then thought about it, "Of course you wouldn't. If you did you would know that this was all an illusion…"

"No, no, no," Mabel exclaimed, "The illusion is this crazy belief that Bill Cipher took over the world! Look around you Dipper! Everything is fine!"

"But it's the truth, dude," Soos said gently as Wendy nodded with agreement, "we were there."

"It's why we were so banged up," Wendy added, "We went through a lot just to get to you."

"You're all cray-cray then!" Mabel insisted, backing away, "If this is a joke or something, it's not funny because I'm seriously starting to worry about your mental health! Whatever Bill did to you…"

"It's not a joke," Dipper said gently, taking her hand but she pulled away. Judging by the outright denial in her reaction…"I think you know it too, maybe even remember… somewhere deep down I think you know we're telling the truth."

Mabel hesitated, looking at her friends with scrutiny, "I think that Bill really screwed with your minds, so I'm beginning to believe that you're not lying because you guys actually believe you're telling the truth. But come on, I'm stuck in a bubble? Must be a really big bubble."

"It is actually," Soos verified with a nod.

Mabel groaned, "Look around you though! If Bill trapped me in a bubble then wouldn't it be more, I don't know, nightmarish? Less normal and real!" She pinched Dipper hard.

"Ow!"

"That feel real to you?"

"Yeah, because I'm real, we all are!" Dipper retorted.

"Of course—!" she rolled her eyes, annoyed and baffled.

"It's this world around you that's the illusion!" he continued, "Come on, don't you think it's weird that one glass of Mabel Juice, which I know tastes like an abomination in real life, would somehow taste like our favourite drink and heal us of our wounds?"

"Yeah, it totally makes sense that in a world that Bill made up just to keep me prisoner for some silly reason would do something to actually help you!" Mabel scoffed, "It just so happens that I may have spiked it with some enchanted ingredients I got from some faeries."

"Seriously?" Dipper raised as skeptical brow.

"They owed me one," Mabel shrugged nonchalantly.

"What are you...how—?" Dipper rolled his eyes dismissively and returned to the matter at hand, "My theory is that Bill wanted to trick you so you wouldn't escape, but we're here to rescue you! We have to stop Bill, and if we're to have a fighting chance, we need you. I need you, Mabel. I think Bill knows that."

She sighed, rubbing at her temples as though fighting a headache, "What do you need me to do?"

"So you believe us?"

"No," she replied, "I'm humouring you. But if I'm ever going to convince you that this is real and you three have gone all cray-cray, I'm going to play along with whatever you need me to do. Maybe it will help you with whatever Bill did to you guys."

Dipper glanced at Wendy and Soos and they both shrugged, "OK, well, I can accept that."

"We'll take what we can get," Wendy agreed.

"OK, but I have to do something first," Mabel pulled out her phone and dialled, putting it on speaker.

"Hey Mabel!" Grenda's loud voice greeted, "What's up?"

"Sorry girls," she sighed, "I'm going to have to cancel today."

"What, why?" Candy's voice whined.

"My bro-bro's gotten a little cray-cray," Mabel sighed, as though she had been horribly inconvenienced, "seems he doesn't believe any of this world is even real."

"Seems pretty real to us!" Grenda exclaimed.

"I know right?! That's what I'm saying!" Mabel agreed, "Anyway, it's a long story but he needs me right now, OK? See you girls tomorrow?"

"Sure thing Mabel," Candy said.

After she said her good-byes with her friends Mabel sighed and straightened up, "OK, so what now?"

"Come with us," Dipper said taking her hand and leading her to the main door with Wendy and Soos close behind, "soon you'll see that none of this is real."

"And that's where I think you're wrong," Mabel grinned, "but if this is the only way I can prove it to you that this is real and you guys have gone bonkers, then so be it."

"I guess we'll find out, right?" Dipper asked.

"I guess so."

I'm sorry Mabel, Dipper thought as they headed outside, When you find out the truth and I literally have to burst your bubble, something tells me it's going to hurt...

A/N Thanks for reading, as always. Please let me know what you think! Please note that I'm a major spoilerphobe and have therefore not watched any promos or anything because I want to go into each episode totally blind, so if for whatever reason you feel compelled to, please don't spoil me in your reviews, even if it's just something from the promo! Thanks!