Chapter 1: Into the Unknown

Somewhere lost in the clouded annals of history is a place only few have seen, a mysterious place meant only for those who are lost. Whispers of such a place—this land called "The Unknown"—are told to the attentive ears of those eager to learn about what does not exist. It is told to those too young to realize that what does not exist cannot be found.

"…Dipper?"

Two twins born into mystery sought this land for the lost. Like countless others, they had scourged the pages of ancient books to unveil the truth of the Unknown, to make but a dream reveal what they had long lost in reality.

"Dipper?"

But they failed to realize the truth. You cannot find what is meant for the forgotten. That reward is reserved for those who stray from their path and travel through the wood.

"Dipper!" Mabel's feet carried her further down the dirt road, one riddled with overgrown tree roots, as she cupped the corners of her mouth and called out again. "Dipper! Where are you?" Her voice echoed between the lines of ancient oaks and leaning birches, alerting a flock of birds to flight. Mabel paused in her steps, watching them with russet eyes as they soared through the canopy. The birds cawed their disgust.

Mabel shivered, looking around her. Nowhere between the thin, ground-hugging fog and streaks of bright moonlight could she see the brown head of her twin. It was not like Dipper to play a sudden game of Hide 'n Seek. That was her thing. It was Dipper's job to call out to her in an annoyed voice and demand for her to stop playing around. She forced a chuckle, trying to lighten the darken mood. Maybe Dipper found something strange and ran off to study it. He was probably waiting for her in the car.

Now that she thought about it, she did not remember leaving the car. She couldn't even remember why she was in these woods to begin with. Her memory was blank, save for two undeniable facts— first, she had a twin brother named Dipper, whom she went on various paranormal investigations with. The memories of their single summer together in Gravity Falls and the book they had found there were faint at best. She knew that those precious details were there and fighting to be remembered, but she could not say for sure what exactly happened.

The second fact was the more bizarre one: she must never take off the glove on her left hand. She knew that hidden beneath the bedazzled fabric on was something no one should ever see, but she could not remember what or why.

She looked around, checking to see if she was alone. The dim lighting revealed not a person, not even those pesky birds. She stared at her glove. She could barely make out the bedazzled heart she added to it years ago. The fake jewels shone in the moonlight, glistening like precious gems. Mabel pinched the tip of the glove and began to pull it off.

"Come wayward souls…"

Mabel jumped, brown curls bouncing, searching for the source of the baritone voice. Her heart banged against her ribcage. The song seemed to be coming from all directions around her, wrapping its dark melody around her body. She stood in silence, afraid to move as she listened.

"Who wander through the darkness,

there is a light for the lost and the meek."

Her eyelids dripped downwards as she was pulled into a bottomless trace.

Dipper was nowhere in these woods, she realized. She must have become too obnoxious for him. He must have left her behind on purpose. He was the smart, logical one. He didn't need her anymore—he never needed someone so goofy and immature. Mabel let her chin fall to her chest. She was surprised that he didn't abandon her sooner.

"Sorrow and fear are easily forgotten…"

But Dipper would have never let her wander off alone. They were twins and he would never betray her. Even if he did leave her behind on purpose, it would be because he thought it would have been better for her. To keep her safe from his recklessness. Mabel's eyes struggled to open again, but a drowsy force demanded for her to keep them shut. Still, she fought on until she could see a slim sliver of vision.

"…when you submit to the soil of the earth."

Brilliant white eyes stared at her as a dark figure, one hard to distinguish in the surrounding darkness, finished off the last notes of its song. A hand dripping with darkness reached out towards her.

Mabel snapped back to her senses, yelling as she stepped away. She toppled to the ground, sending flashes of pain up her arms. In panic, she tried to kick her legs at the creature, but they refused to move. She looked down at them, her breath hitching in her throat. Spindly branches twirled around her legs like vines, holding them in place as orange leaves sprouted from them. As if under a spell, they wrapped higher up her body as a stray branch reached for her gloved hand.

Mabel screamed, snapping her hand away. She clawed the branches, becoming more and more agitated when the branches continued their binding undisturbed.

The dark creature laughed as the wood twisted around her hips, holding her in place. She looked up at it, knowing that the unchanging gleam of its eyes were somehow more victorious looking. She couldn't let it win. She was Mabel Pines and she not going down without a fight. The Mystery Twins never give up.

She searched the ground around her, finding a sharp stone. Grinding her teeth, she raised it far above her head and brought it down sharply. The stone cut through the first branch. Mabel struck another one, happy that they were so thin and so easy to break. She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to cut through all of them before her arms were captured, but she found that the more she sliced through, the less the branches attacked. A few strikes and they stopped coiling around her. They paused in place.

"There's no point in resisting," the creature said, stepping towards her. Its voice was booming. It was elegant to the ear, dripping with the stuff that can hollow the heart of all hope. "The edelwood will consume you and—"

Mabel rolled her eyes, moving her free hand like a mouth. "Blah, blah blah. Whatever. I just wanna find my brother."

"Your brother abandoned you."

Mabel brought the stone down again, this time weakening the hold enough to pull a leg free. She gave a sideways glance down the path. It sloped downwards, cutting the lower half out of view. What she did see looked free of any bizarre monsters and sudden dead ends. "You obviously don't know Dipper like I do," she said, cutting through the branches on her other leg. "He would never leave me behind."

The creature's eyes bulged. "Are you sure?"

Mabel grinned, clutching the stone close to her palm. "We're twins—" She threw the stone at the creature, causing it to sweep to the side. She pulled a leg free and kicked the rest of the branches away. The creature hissed as she scrambled back to her feet. She ran down the hill, calling out behind her, "And twins don't abandon each other!"

She looked at the path again in time to realize that her foot had snagged on a tree root. She fell and hit the ground at high speed. She didn't stay there for long. Pain nipped at every inch of her body as she tumbled down the hill. Her clothes ripped. Twigs tangled in her hair. The jewels on her glove chipped away. She couldn't tell which way she was going, or if her eyes were even working anymore. All she could see was the turn of dark colors as the pain increased more and more before stopping suddenly.

Mabel felt the coolness of water creep up her arms as her consciousness ebbed away.

She could have sworn she heard the ominous opera singing once again as she finally fell into a quiet sleep.

MW: I said that I was going to post this later, but I'm sick and desperate for something that will make me feel better. Plus, I have six of these super short chapters prewritten, so I should be able to do weekly updates no problem now.

I have a lot of "goals" for this fic and I'll mention them when they come up. This chapter, you can see the main goal, which is to have Mabel be the hero of the story. A lot of times in OTGW/GF fanfictions, Dipper is the main dude for whatever reason. Here is Mabel's chance to be the hero.

That's about it. Thanks for reading!

No Notes

Thank you for reading. This will have weekly updates on every Friday. Make sure to come back and read this every week. For more of my writing stuff, check out my writing blog "aphwriter" on tumblr!