Disclaimer: I in no way own Gravity Falls, nor do I own any of it's characters. It all belongs to producer, animator and voice actor, Alex Hirsch. Thank you very much.

As many of you may know, I have decided to dedicate a chapter to each member of the team. But I'd like all of you to know that I will not take requests. I already have plans for this story. Thank you very much.

Mabel's Inner Demons

Mabel had never really been afraid of the dark. In fact, she could not sleep unless her room was dark. In a way, she actually loved being surrounded by darkness. It made her feel at ease for some reason. She could not explain it.

Even as a young girl she enjoyed the dark. Every time she participated in a game of hide n' seek, she would always find a dark place to hide. Places that other children dared not go near. But not her. She was drawn to it. It intrigued her.

"To think a bubbly girl like you enjoys being in the dark," is what her brother would always say. Of course, he had always meant it as a joke, and Mabel took it as such.

But that didn't change the fact that he was right. It even confused her. She always like to think of herself as an optimist. Someone who always looked towards the bright side of situations.

And yet she still felt at ease every night when she'd go to sleep. Closing the lights and jumping into her bed. It filled her with a sense of calm.

The darkness that she was in was different though.

Her surroundings had put her on edge. Never before had she been in a place of this nature. Everything was pitch black. It almost made her feel like she was dreaming. It was a possibility. After all, this was a challenge made by a dream demon.

She could barely see anything in front of her face, yet she could see her own body quite well. The moment she looked down at her pink sweater, she knew that this darkness was eerily unnatural. She started to question whether or not she really was dreaming when she saw something in the distance. The very fact that she could see something in the distance had only added to the unnatural effect of the darkness surrounding her. It was as though everything but her and the figure were devoid of any color.

It made her uncomfortable, to say the least.

Having no other choice, she began making her way towards the distant figure. She felt as though she had been walking for only a few minutes by the time she actually reached the mysterious figure.

She smiled as she stopped about ten feet away from the figure. She had recognized who it was almost immediately.

"Pacifica! I'm so glad your okay!" Mabel said, making her way towards the girl. She stopped suddenly when she realized that the girl was unresponsive, "Pacifica, are you okay?" Mabel asked, warily making her way towards her.

She stopped again when she heard the blonde say something. She did not hear her properly though.

"What was that? Speak up Pacifica," Mabel said, already standing about 4 feet behind Pacifica. She did not know why, but the closer she had gotten to Pacifica, the less comfortable she felt. There was just something about the blonde that didn't seem right. what it was, Mabel could not say. But she knew that it was something that made her seem off. What could it have possibly been?

She got her answer as soon as she heard Pacifica's voice.

"I said, why are you acting like you're such an optimist?" Pacifica asked, her voice echoing off the darkness. It made her sound unnatural. Almost demonic.

Of course it only made Mabel feel even more uncomfortable.

"What do you mean?" Mabel said, trying to hide the fact that she was at unease.

"You know what I mean! Stop acting so cheery all the time! You and I both know that's not the real you!" Pacifica yelled, turning around to face the girl.

As soon as Mabel saw Pacifica's face, her blood ran cold.

It was her eyes. They were blood red. It looked as though she had been possessed by a demon, and it was not unlikely. After all, this whole challenge was set up by a demon.

However, Mabel doubted that was the case. She had remembered the whole ordeal her brother had went through to try and fix a laptop. Bill had ended up destroying it and taking over Dipper's body. She had seen first hand what a possessed individual looked like. It was nothing like what she was seeing at that moment.

"Pacifica, what's wrong with your eyes?" Mabel said, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

"Shut up! Don't try and change the subject!" Pacifica yelled, her voice still echoing, as though they were surrounded by invisible walls. Mabel was beyond frightened at that point.

"Pacifica, what's gotten into you?" Mabel said, her voice a higher pitch than usual.

"What's gotten into me? No! What's gotten into you? Why do you have to lie to yourself and pretend to be something you're not?" Pacifica shouted. Her eyes seemed to have turned to a deeper shade of red somehow.

"W-what are you talking about?" Mabel said, not bothering to prevent herself from stuttering slightly. She was well aware that her fear was evident to Pacifica.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about you bitch!" Pacifica said. Though she had stopped yelling, her tone of voice was still dark and hostile.

Mabel was so frightened that she could not stand upright. She fell down to one knee, refusing to look into Pacifica's red eyes.

But that only seemed to provoke the blonde haired girl standing in front of her.

"Do you really think anyone is fooled by the facade you put up everyday? Even your beloved brother sees through it! Deep down, you're just a scared little girl!" Pacifica said, yelling again. She had balled her hands into fasts, and her face looked angrier than ever before. It all somehow seemed unnatural. But Mabel could not tell, she was still covering her face with her hands. She refused to look at the girl standing before her.

"No! Shut up!" Mabel said, her hands still covering her face, refusing to look at the girl standing before her.

"That just proves it! You know I'm right! Everyone knows what you're really like!" Pacifica said. She still raised her voice, but she was not quite shouting.

"Shut up! I'm not a scared little girl!" Mabel said, this time covering her ears. She still looked down, refusing to even so much as glance at Pacifica. She could not have felt more helpless.

What if the girl was right? What if Mabel was scared of showing her true self, so she masked it with the bubbly girl image?

"Don't bother lying to yourself. Everyone around you can see right through the mask you try to hide behind. Your stupid friends, your great uncle, even your own brother can't stand it. They know that behind the bubbly girl image, is a sad girl, too scared to face the world. You know I'm right, don't even try to deny it!" Pacifica said. At that point, she was standing inches away from Mabel. Looking down at her in disgust.

Mabel could do nothing. She was in too much fear to do anything. What could she have done anyway? What if everything Pacifica had said was true?

But Mabel refused to believe her. How could she? She barely knew Pacifica at all. Sure, they were no longer rivals, but that did not mean they were friends. In fact, Mabel had very little contact with the girl after the Northwest mansion ball.

and yet, here she was, berating Mabel with ugly words. Words that struck Mabel like knives to the chest.

"It's not true. I'm not scared to show my true feelings!" Mabel said tearing up. No matter how hard she tried, she could not sound confident. She sounded scared.

Pacifica laughed. Not a genuine laugh, but a taunting laugh.

"Quit lying to yourself! You know everything I said is true! You're scared of your own emotions, and you know it!" Pacifica said, her words like bullets, fired by a marksman striking Mabel's heart, lowering her self esteem and confidence with every bullet.

Mabel finally cracked. She could not hold in the tears. She knew that she had lost, and Pacifica had won.

Pacifica knew it as well.

"This world is not meant for weak people like you! You can't deal with your emotions and you know it! You try to hide that fact under your mask of feigned happiness. But it doesn't work. Not on your friends, not on your family, and definitely not on all the boys you craze over," Pacifica said, raising her hand. It seemed to be glowing a bright shade of white. She was ready to finally put the girl sitting before her out of her misery.

Unfortunately for her, Mabel was not ready to die yet.

Pacifica stood back in shock as Mabel stood up, her face distorted in anger.

Mabel lashed out at Pacifica.

"You listen to me you useless piece of rich trash! I'm not weak! I'm not a sad little girl, and I am definitely not scared of anything! Not my own emotions! Not from showing my true self, and definitely not you! You think that you can just walk up to me and talk about how much of a coward I am? You barely even know me! So don't talk about me, my friends or my family, you bitch!" Mabel yelled. She had finally snapped, unable to contain herself. Pacifica deserved it for what she had just said to.

Yet, Mabel could not help but feel sorry for her. She herself was surprised at how much anger her voice held. She was equally surprised at herself for the harsh words she used. It was unlike her. She was kind at heart, bubbly and always calm, not depressed and angry.

She saw the look of pure terror on Pacifica's face. She knew that she had gone too far. Mabel did not want take joy in hurting other people. She did not like people being scared of her.

"Pacifica. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm also sorry for the harsh words. But I'm not weak, and I don't need to prove that to you. Being happy doesn't make me weak. I'm not afraid of my feelings, and being the bubbly girl people see everyday is my true nature. I'm not sad or scared deep down. I think it's you who's the scared little girl," Mabel said calmly. She looked Pacifica in the eye and noticed that they were no longer red.

And at that moment she suddenly knew. She knew that this could not have been Pacifica. She should have known from the moment she saw the girl's eyes, and heard her voice, that this was not Pacifica Northwest.

she looked the demon in the eye and said three simple words.

"Be gone demon" and with that, the figure standing before her disappeared into thin air. At the same time, her surroundings flashed white and she was transported to another chamber within the temple. As soon as she had gotten up, she was hugged by someone. Someone she could not have been happier to see.

"I'm so glad you're okay Mabel!" Dipper said, hugging Mabel as though he had not seen her in years. This was not an awkward sibling hug. This was a genuine hug. He was so happy to see her, well and alive.

"I'm glad we're both okay Dipper," Mabel said as she was released from the hug. She was suddenly hugged again, this time by none other than Pacifica Northwest.

"It's good to see you Mabel. I knew you could make it," The blonde heiress said, letting go of Mabel after a few seconds of embrace.

Mabel knew that this was the real Pacifica Northwest. She was certain of it. The one that had insulted her, called her weak and a coward, was just a figment of her imagination. Of course, that's what she assumed.

"It's good to see that you're okay too Pacifica," Mabel said with a sincere smile.

She looked around, noticing what looked like an exit at the far wall of the chamber. Dipper had seen where her gaze landed, and spoke.

"There's some sort of barrier. Everyone has to finish the challenge first, then we can get out," he said gesturing towards the large doorway that lead to what looked like a beach. Most likely the other side of the island.

"Okay, looks like all we can do right now is hope that everyone makes it out alive," Mabel said, sitting down leaning against a wall.

she knew that her friends were strong people. What Bill had said about them meant nothing to her. As far as she was concerned, they could all make it out of this easily.

Or so she hoped.

I like how this one turned out. I've always had the idea of Mabel having anxiety and masking it with her bubbly personality. Review if you find errors, and thanks for reading.