A/N Not much to say here but sorry it's been a while since I've updated anything. Life has been quite a challenge the last several months, and unfortunately it means I have to put fanfiction on the backburner which means slow updates. But I'm hoping to get everything in my other stories updated soon.

Meanwhile this exists because while I adored "Escape from Reality" which was just as weird and colourful as I would expect from Mabel's fantasies, and I thought the emotional moments were terrific (who didn't go 'Aww' at little Dipper and Mabel in the flashbacks?) and I was so happy to see my beloved Mystery Twins together again at last, I think there are a couple of issues left unresolved. That's OK though since there's only so much they can put in an episode which is why I wrote this two-shot. Set between "Escape from Reality" and the finale. Enjoy!


Part One

The reunion was a filled with bittersweet relief and joy. Stan had immediately dropped everything and scooped up Dipper and Mabel in a choking hug, getting a little teary-eyed in the process. "I was cutting an onion!" he had insisted, though there was no evidence to support his claims, but they both played along knowingly as he finally released them before patting Soos on the back, and then pulling him into a warm, one-armed hug as he placed his hand on Wendy's shoulder, thrilled to see his family and staff were safe.

Meanwhile Candy and Grenda tackled Mabel to the ground in an overenthusiastic group hug as Pacifica approached Dipper and quietly wrapped her arms around him in a quick but heartfelt embrace.

Soon everyone was gathered in the living room, swapping stories about their adventures the last few days. How the Mystery Shack had become a safe haven for the survivors, how Stan became their leader and various stories about survival and loss and how everyone ended up there.

The whole time, once Mabel's initial enthusiasm at seeing her Grunkle and her friends were OK faded, she had become quiet as everyone shared their stories. It had been quite a shock when she saw the state of the town, and the eerie red sky with a giant 'X' shaped tear. She had no idea what exactly happened, Dipper, Soos and Wendy had been rather vague, understandably deciding that finding shelter was the first priority, and all she knew was that Bill was behind it.

She still didn't know how much time had passed since she woke up in that bubble. Time had no meaning there—every time she thought about her bubble since escaping it, her sense of how long she was there varied, sometimes she remembered it feeling like she had only been there for a few hours, but other times it felt like, days, months, years even. And with her perception of time inside the bubble completely out of whack, she had no sense of how much time actually passed in reality. For all she knew it could've been minutes or it could've been years. Of course too much had clearly happened to have been mere minutes, and it couldn't have been years, since no one had aged, but how long had it really been? Hours? Days? Weeks? It had to have at least been a few days, but it couldn't have been more than a few weeks since it was still summer outside, but did she miss turning thirteen?

And then there was the question of what exactly happened? How did Bill manage to take over? Why did it seem like everyone who was captured got turned to stone while she was trapped in a giant bubble? Why did she end up getting to live out her childish fantasies while everyone else seemed to have had to go through hell? The weirdest thing was she felt like she knew the answer more accurately than anyone else in the room, but for some reason it was beyond her reach and the answer had been forgotten like a once vivid dream that had quickly faded from memory.

Soos had spent a lot of time sharing his tales about how his grandmother had been turned into a chair and how he had become the unlikely hero of the Oddpocalypse. Mabel had become so lost in her thoughts though that she unintentionally started to tune things out and ended up missing most of what her friend had to say but when he seemed to be finished, Mabel cleared her throat.

"Um…I have a question?" Everyone looked at her as she spoke and while she normally loved the spotlight, for once she wished people would turn their attention elsewhere and away from her because suddenly she felt incredibly awkward.

"What's that sweetie?" Stan asked.

"So…what happened exactly anyway? How did the Triangle Guy manage to take over Gravity Falls in the first place? And when did this happen?" Mabel questioned, "What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?" Stan asked, trying to determine whether she was being serious or not, but the look in her eyes had him gape incredulously, "You mean you don't know?"

"She spent the last four days trapped in a prison bubble designed by Bill," Dipper explained.

"Four days?" Mabel exclaimed, finding something both comforting and unsettling in the answer.

"Prison bubble!" Stan gasped, as he and everyone stared at her in pity and concern, making it clear that it should be her turn to share her story.

She blushed, ducking her head. If things didn't feel awkward before, they sure did now. "It's no big deal," she murmured, trying to downplay it because everyone else had stories of misery, loss and horror, and she had all her wild childish fantasies come true. She spent the last four days apparently, in paradise compared to everyone else. It hadn't been until after the spell over her had been broken that she realised how awful her fantasy world really was, and even then she still had it way better than everyone else. It didn't seem right for her to tell her story considering all her friends, family and neighbours had to go through.

"Must've been awful!" Grenda exclaimed as Candy echoed with, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, fine, I'm fine," she cleared her throat, "but I kind of missed out on all the excitement. I honestly had no idea this was happening until…well…" she looked to Dipper for help and to fill in the blanks. She seriously felt like she was missing something, something so much more than what had happened in reality as she lived out her fantasy.

Whatever it was it was forming a knot in her stomach that was making her nauseous and she felt heavy with inexplicable guilt. She wasn't sure where the feeling came from or why she'd feel so guilty, but she knew it was from something deeper than the fact that she had it easy compared to everyone else. It was like the weight of the world was on her shoulders all over again, but this time there was no button to press or not press, no split second decision she had to make. But something in her gut told her that she had done something terrible.

"Honestly kiddo, no one really knows how Bill managed to get into our world and take over," Stan sighed, "one minute everything was normal and the next…"

"I think I have an idea," Dipper cut in, "but it's a long story."

"Well," Pacifica said, almost impatiently when Dipper hesitated, "go on."

Dipper sighed, "I had been sworn to secrecy, but I…I guess it doesn't matter now." He looked at Mabel and gave her a small smile, "A few weeks ago a portal of sorts between dimensions had been opened…"

"A portal?!" Blubs cocked his head skeptically, which was kind of ironic considering everything, "Between dimensions?"

"That's a story for another time I think, get to your point Dipper," Stan cut in, not to be impatient, but because he clearly wanted some things to remain secret.

"Anyway, it had created a dangerous Rift that could open a doorway between our world and Bill's," Dipper explained, "it had been contained, but the globe that it was sealed in was cracking…I guess it broke before it could be fixed." He purposely kept it vague, because even the little bit he shared felt like he was betraying Ford, but the motley crew of survivors had a right to know.

Mabel covered her mouth to hide her gasp as his words sparked an abstract fragment of a memory. She knew what he was talking about, even though she had no idea what it was at the time, but she could see it in her hands holding it out to someone. Who that someone was and the exact circumstances behind the memory wasn't clear, but it was enough. The last thing she had remembered before ending up in Mabeland was retreating into Sweatertown after running away in tears. Whatever had happened in between was a complete blank, except for that one little fragment.

No one seemed to notice the quiet distress building within her as Dipper began to tell his story. How he and Ford tried to stop Bill, how Ford was turned into gold and how Dipper had spent days all alone trying to evade the Eye Bats, trying to survive as he searched for Mabel. About how horrible he felt for making her so upset that she had run off, about how he would talk to her through the walkie-talkie, not knowing if she could hear him or if she was even still alive, and how by doing so it made him feel a little less alone. About how he ran into Wendy and they managed to get the key to Mabel's bubble from Gideon who had made a deal with Bill to have Mabel to himself but ended up helping them save her.

She listened to the story and wiped a tear from her eye and when he went quiet she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly without even a shred of awkwardness. He had been through so much to get here, and now that she heard how hard he fought to save her, she felt like the worst person in the world for making it so difficult for him even though she knew it was part of Bill's evil design to make her want to stay in the bubble.

Dipper had stopped at the part where he, Wendy and Soos had reached her bubble and the three seemed to unanimously agree without saying a word that what happened inside Mabel's bubble wasn't their story to tell.

"So then what happened?" Grenda asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"We all escaped the bubble and ended up here," Wendy said as the twins released each other from their hug.

"So what happens now?" Mabel asked, trying to ignore the heavy and abstract feeling of guilt that was gnawing at her gut by focusing on her need to do something, "Because I don't know about you guys, but I think it's high time we sent that stupid yellow triangle and his friends back where they belong."

"We're all with you kid," Stan smirked tiredly, "and believe me, we've been trying to come up with a plan to defeat him because let's face it, we can't all hide here forever. So far though we've got nothing, but that doesn't mean we're giving up, right guys?" Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. "In the meantime, we're safe here. So far none of those Eye Bat thingies or creatures have been able to breech the protective barrier you kids and Ford put up." At the mention of Ford his eyes got a little distant and sad and he paused for just a moment. "Anyway, it's late and you four all look beat so I say for now, we should call it a night. We all can use some rest."

"Can't argue with that," Wendy agreed with an exhausted sigh. Soos and Dipper both echoed her as Mabel bit her lip, feeling more rested than she should. She wasn't tired at all, it was like she had a nice long nap before they got there, which somehow made her feel worse.

"Bet you kids are hungry too," Stan added.

"Starving!" Soos exclaimed, his stomach growling as if on cue. Dipper and Wendy both nodded in agreement and Mabel realized she wasn't hungry either. But why should she be? Her fantasy world was full of all her favourite foods. Her stomach suddenly growled, but it wasn't from hunger, rather it was from nausea and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Whether it was from the guilt eating at her or all fake candy she consumed in her bubble she couldn't tell, but she suddenly needed some air.

The room seemed to come alive with more chatter again as they discussed dinner and rations, sleeping arrangements and whatnot. Mabel used that as an opportunity to slip away from the group and sneak off to the Gift Shop where she climbed the ladder leading to the roof.

She climbed up past the nook where they kept a couple of chairs and a cooler to hang out, all the way to the very top of the roof to the highest point and looked out at the red sky, the 'X' shaped tear and the devastation made to the forest. She pulled the collar of her sweater up to her nose, wanting to retreat into Sweatertown, but unable to look away from all the destruction.

She felt her eyes well with tears as she looked around, images of the destroyed and abandoned town flashed in her mind and she could still hear the stories of fear, loss and survival told by the people and creatures downstairs echo in her head as guilt gnawed at her gut so badly it hurt. She sniffed and looked at her hands, closing her eyes to visualize that snippet of memory she got back in the living room when Dipper was talking about how Bill somehow managed to invade their world.

Come on Mabel, think, think, think! She told herself, trying to remember more than that. She was holding it in her hands, reaching to hand it to someone but who? Why? All she could remember was running away in tears, upset after her fight with Dipper, ready to binge on some chocolate to help cheer herself up only to discover she grabbed Dipper's backpack by mistake. With nothing else to do to ease her broken heart she retreated into Sweatertown…and then suddenly she was in Mabeland.

But somewhere in between Sweatertown and Mabeland she was holding the Rift thing that Dipper was talking about. She had it in her hands! That mean that somehow…somehow she had done something to it, something that caused all this.

It was my fault…

So what happened then?

Who was she holding it out to?

Why did she get to live out her fantasies while everyone else suffered?

They were questions that she knew she had the answers to somewhere deep in her mind, memories that hid beyond her reach. But she didn't need to remember the events because even with pieces of the puzzle missing, she had enough of the picture to draw her own conclusions and it wasn't good.

What have I done?


A/N Thanks for reading! Please review! That would be AWESOME! Next chapter will be up in a few days, once I work out the kinks.