Heyo! Chapter 5 part 2 is now up! Once I started writing, I couldn't stop! It's definitely MUCH angstier than the other chapters, so be prepared. Anyways, only one more chapter to go after this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls. Only the idea for this fic.

bubble, bubble, toil and trouVle pt. 2

However far he looks, all Dipper can see is white. There are no distinct walls, floors, or ceilings. Just whiteness as far as the eye can see. Dipper, Wendy and Soos all look around, searching for any sign of Mabel in this snow-colored space.

"Mabel! MABEL!" Dipper calls out. He's not really expecting an answer in return, but not sure what else to do. "Okay guys, Bill has taken over the town and if his weirdness spreads he's going to take over the whole world. Our first step to stopping him is rescuing Mabel, but he's got her trapped in this strange prison bubble. She's probably being tortured right now as we speak."

"What is this place, anyway?" Wendy asks. Suddenly they hear a cracking sound, like an egg hatching, or glass about to shatter. Dipper looks around frantically and his eyes land on the space beneath his feet. The white 'floor' they are standing on is starting to break, with rainbows erupting from the cracks. The ground shatters in a burst of color and the trio plummets through. They fall, and fall, and fall, the bottom of this bubble nowhere to be found.

"Guys, if I die, I want to die hugging!" Soos cries out, grabbing Dipper and Wendy and pulling them into a tight embrace.

"Gah! Soos, you're choking me!" Dipper responds, his weak noodle arms trying in vain to squirm free.

"Let my body be your shield!" Soos, using all the strength he has, flips around so his body is between Dipper and Wendy. Dipper's eyes widen as realization dawns on him. Soos is willing to sacrifice himself to save me and Wendy. He feels tears prick at the edge of his eyes, but he doesn't let them fall, knowing they are not out of danger yet.

Squinting, Dipper can just make out an oddly shaped rainbow quickly approaching them. The ground! He moves his hand until he feels Wendy's and squeezes it tight. She squeezes it back and the three of them brace for impact.

THUD!

They hit the ground hard, Soos taking the brunt of the impact. His arms go limp and Dipper and Wendy roll off of him. Dipper lays on his side, curled into the fetal position, willing what little food he had that day to stay in his stomach. Slowly the nausea passes and he blinks open his eyes. He sees Wendy already standing, but hunched over with her hands on her knees, like she's fighting off the urge to throw up too. Next his eyes land on Soos, who is still laying motionless where he landed. Oh no.

"SOOS!" Dipper screams, bolting up and rushing to his friend's side. His head spins and white spots dance in front of his eyes, but he ignores it and focuses on Soos. Blood trickles from a wound in his head and he continues to lie still and limp. Dipper can't tell if Soos is breathing, or if it's just the tears in his eyes making it seem that way. Oh Soos…Dipper closes his eyes as silent sobs shake his frame. He's already lost both of his Grunkles and his sister. He can't lose Soos too!

A loud gasp suddenly jerks Dippers eyes open. Soos starts coughing and wincing in pain. Dipper tries to move him to a sitting position, or at least roll him on his side but it's pointless. Maybe Dipper should start lifting things heavier than books.

"Soos!" Wendy cries, kneeling by Dipper's side after hearing the commotion, "You're alive!"

Soos's coughing attack finally subsides and he blearily opens his eyes.

"Whaaa…?"

"Remember we entered the magic bubble thingy and then the floor started cracking into rainbow sparkle stuff and then as we were falling to our doom you pulled an Uno Reverse on us and used your body as a flipping shield, man!"

"You saved our lives Soos! Again!"

"Well what can I say? That's the handymans honor, dudes."

Dipper laughs wetly and wraps his arms around Soos. He smiles as he feels Wendy do the same. They should all probably be hospitalized at this point, but that's not really an option with a dorito like Bill around. Dipper pulls out of the hug, his face turning more serious.

"C'mon guys. We need to finish what we started. We need to rescue Mabel."

"Well then dude, lets go get her!" Soos musters up all his strength and stands with the help of Dipper and Wendy. Together they trek deeper into this bubble of nightmares.

The first thing that catches Dipper's eye is the tall, dark tower placed in the middle of the bubble. The next thing he notices are the weird creatures surrounding it. Waffles with giant knives and really buff arms. Brightly colored animals dancing around the perimeter. A pink cat with a head too big for its body stationed at a watch tower nearby. There's no way Dipper, Wendy and Soos can sneak past them all, let alone rescue Mabel.

"Yo, whatcha lookin' at?" A voice from behind Dipper calls out. Dipper jumps and spins around, fists raised. Wendy and Soos follow his lead. A tall, muscular guy with blond hair and colorful clothes stands in front of them. This guy looks familiar to Dipper, but he can't quite place where he saw him.

"Woah man, put the punchers down! We're not here for a fight." Another voice says. Dipper turns to his left and his eyes widen as another tall muscular man steps into view, but this one has blue hair. That's it! These are the guys from that 80s film that Mabel likes! The last time Dipper saw these two was in Stan's mind when they were fighting Bill for the first time. Dipper sighs, oh how far they've come.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Wendy asks defensively, her legs bent and ready to pounce.

"I'm Zyler!" The blond one says,

"And I'm Kraz!" The blue guys continues,

"And we're super, cool broz!" They say together, in perfect harmony. Wendy wrinkles her nose in disgust.

"What do you want?" Dipper finally asks.

"Dude, chillax we don't mean any harm." Zyler says, throwing his hands up non-threateningly.

"Yeah man, we just want to know if you're here to help Mabel because she's like totally in trouble." Kraz adds.

"How can we trust you? You were created by Bill!" Dipper retaliates.

"It's true Bill made us come to life again, but it was Mabel who gave us souls in the first place, man." Zyler starts.

"Yeah and we'll totally do anything to get her back." Kraz finishes.

"Dude! You sounded like so rad!"

"Gnarly! Thanks man!"

"Okay enough!" Wendy yells, "How can we get to Mabel if she's completely protected?"

"I have a plan, listen up," Dipper says, motioning for everyone to huddle up, "We need to take out the dancing animals, the watch tower cat and the waffle guards. Wendy, I want you to take out the cat. There's no way we can get to the tower unseen unless he's taken care of. 80s dudes, you and I will take out the dancing animals. They're relatively small, but there's a lot of them, so stay alert. And that just leaves the waffle guards."

"Oh ho, leave them to me." Soos says. He grimaces in pain but his eyes are set with determination. He puts his cap on backwards and holds out his hand, "For Mabel!"

"For Mabel!" Wendy adds her hand.

"Yeah, bro, for Mabel!" Kraz adds his.

"Yas, for my girl Mabel!" Zyler adds his.

"...For Mabel." Dipper whispers and adds his hand to the top of the pile. They break and run off their separate ways, the plan in motion.

Dipper rushes forward, into the crowd of animals. They stop what they're doing and link arms, creating a wall between Dipper's team and Mabel. Dipper lets out a battle cry and swings his arms around like crazy, hitting anyone and everyone in his path. He feels rage, similar to that he felt when Luke was bullying Mabel. He would do anything to protect her, anything.

Fists fly and between Dipper, Zyler, and Kraz, the wall of neon-colored creatures finally breaks. Not wasting a second, Dipper sprints past, making his way to Mabel's prison. He hears an explosion behind him and he turns around to see the watchtower up in flames. He smiles as he watches Wendy jump from it and unfurl her flannel and use it as a parachute. Somehow - against all laws of physics - it works. Dipper shrugs, that's certainly not the weirdest thing I've seen this week. Wendy gracefully lands beside him and together they close the distance to the tower.

"You shall not pass!" The waffles shout in unison, crossing their knives across the door.

"YAHHH!" A familiar voice shouts to the left of the waffles. They look up in surprise as Soos jumps on one of them, sinking his teeth into it's delicious flesh. Wendy laughs and before the other one can react, she punches its face out.

"Well…that's certainly one way to get rid of the guards!" Dipper says, chuckling. He'll miss these adventures when summer ends and he has to go home. If summer ends, He thinks solemnly. And if I go home. Dipper recalls the proposition Uncle Ford made with him, and how that's what started this whole ordeal. If he hadn't agreed to stay, Mabel would have never gotten upset and run off. Dipper's a horrible brother.

"Hey, why the long face? We're so close to Mabel!" Wendy asks, coming up behind him and slinging an arm over his shoulder.

"I don't know. It's just…when I last saw Mabel we were in a fight. What will she think when she sees me again?"

"Mabel loves with her whole heart, you know that right?" Dipper nods, "Well then you also know that that love won't stop because of a stupid fight. Sure she might be hurt and upset, but ultimately that love will win out everytime."

"Dang, how are you so wise?"

"I don't know man, it must be an apocalypse thing." Wendy shrugs and shoves a chunk of waffle in her mouth. Dipper laughs again and grabs a piece for himself, ignoring the twitching of the delicious guard.

"Well dudes, what are we waiting for? Let's go get Mabel!" Soos throws his fist up in the air and lets out a battle cry. Dipper, Wendy, Blondy and Blue all follow his lead before rushing into the tower. They climb flight of stairs after flight after stairs, refusing to slow down until they get to the top. They reach the last step and are met with a big, metal door with a giant lock right in the middle. Wendy cracks her knuckles and steps forward. She yanks a bobby pin out of her hair (she wore bobby pins?) and walks up to the lock. She unfolded the pin and stuck one end into the keyhole, jiggling it around until it clicks. She carefully refolds the pin and sticks it back in her hair, before turning the doorknob and opening the door.

"What can't you do?" Dipper asks, his mouth gaping open and eyes wide.

"Apply even eyeliner. Actually, I don't know if I can or can't, I've never tried. Y'know I probably could." Wendy answers shrugging. Dipper looks at her in amazement, knowing she could totally apply even eyeliner on the first try.

"It's now or never dudes," Soos says, shaking Dipper from his thoughts.

"We'll wait out here and guard the door!" Zyler and Kraz say together.

"Okay great, as for the rest of us…let's go." Dipper pushes the door open all the way and hesitantly enters the room. He hears the others follow close behind. Dipper freezes at the sight that meets him.

Mabel's hunched in a corner, her arms chained to the wall above her. Her hair is a mess and covers most of her face. Dipper wonders what horrors its hiding. Mabel's sweater is torn to shreds, the yarn frayed and coming apart. Small injuries litter her body, the most prominent ones on her legs - specifically her ankle, it's twisted in a way someone's foot should never go. Oh Mabel, what did Bill do to you?

"M-Mabel…"Dipper says, his voice barely above a whisper. The girl in question doesn't so much as twitch, seemingly not hearing Dipper. However his other friends did, and Soos and Wendy wrap comforting arms around him. Dipper leans into them as his legs give out, tears flowing freely down his face. They hold him up as he cries, staring at his broken sister.

"C'mon Dipper, we gotta help her." Wendy finally says, slowly pulling Dipper to his feet. He shakes like a leaf in the wind, but he stands, knowing his sister needs him to be strong right now. Soos gently pushes him forward and Dipper walks on numb legs to his twin.

"Mabel?" Dipper whispers, kneeling in front of her. Dipper feels a ghost of a smile as he sees Mabel's head lift up slightly at his voice. He gently brushes her hair behind her ear and he can finally see her face. And it's not a pretty sight. Giant bags are under her eyes, like she hadn't gotten sleep in days. Which, Dipper thinks, she probably didn't. Scratches litter her face, like someone had clawed at her with their nails - or, Dipper gulps, a knife.

He slowly runs his finger down her cheek, tracing one of the cuts. Mabel flinches violently at the contact and Dipper quickly pulls away. He looks at his hands in fear, a million questions running through his head. Did he hurt her? Was that cut deeper than he thought? Or was this more of a mental thing? Dipper looks back to his sister and sees that she's trembling, and tears that she refuses to let fall prick at the corner of her eyes.

"Mabel?" Dipper asks again, scooting closer but being careful not to touch her.

"Please…I can't…" Mabel mutters. Dipper's eyes widen and he whips his head around to the other two in the room. Wendy and Soos simply shrug in confusion. Whatever happened, it was bad.

"Mabel, what did Bill do to you?!"

"Please…Dipper stop…I just want to go home."

Dipper lets out a whimper of sympathy, hating to see his sister like this. Hating that Bill can reduce her to this. "We will, Mabel. We will,"

"No…" Mabel's eyes refocus and she looks up at Dipper for the first time since he's entered that room. Dipper smiles, and waits for the relief to show on her face. But instead of relaxing into his arms, Mabel's eyes widen with fear and she kicks her legs out at him - even the one that's broken. "NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!"

Dipper jumps back in surprise, expecting many things from Mabel but not that. He was prepared to fight monsters of all shapes and sizes - heck he was even prepared to fight Bill! But he wasn't prepared for that. His sister…his sister is looking at him in fear. He's never seen such terror reflected in her eyes, and never has it been directed at him.

"Mabel...what happened?" Dipper asks, concern overriding his surprise. Mabel's eyes harden and an expression Dipper has seen multiple times flashes across her face. Anger.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?! You happened!" Mabel screams, jerking forward as much as her chained arms allow. "And don't try that worried brother act again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

"What? Mabel it's me, Dipper!"
"I know who you are…BILL!" Mabel spits and the glob of saliva lands on Dipper's shoe. Dipper watches as she falls limp in the chains, all the fight drained out of her. Her eyes flutter, like it's taking all she can to stay conscious. Dipper feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to see Wendy motioning out the door. With a final glance at his sister, he follows Wendy out of the room.

"What do we do Wendy?! Mabel thinks I'm Bill! She's hurt and I can't do anything without scaring her!" Dipper paces around the hallway, hands pulling at his hair in anguish.

"I don't know, man. But we're not going to give up on her!"

"Yeah dude, Wendy's right, we'll fix her. It's what we do best." Soos grabs Dipper's hands and gently pulls them away from his scalp. He falls limp against Soos and feels tears stream down his face.

"What do we do?" Dipper asks weakly. Wendy kneels in front of him and gives him a reassuring smile.

"We just need to show her that it's really you."

"How do I do that?"

"Use your twin powers dude!"

"Y'know that's not a real thing, right?" Dipper laughs wetly, remembering their conversation on the roof. God, that felt like so long ago. He wipes away his tears and pushes off Soos, ready to save his sister.

"Back for more?" Mabel asks when they reenter the room, "Aren't I broken enough?" Mabel laughs and Dipper's heart wrenches.

"Mabel, listen to me. I am the real Dipper. I am not Bill."

"Sure thing, demon."

"Look at my eyes. Are they yellow? Are my pupils slits?"

"No…but that doesn't prove anything!"

"Remember earlier this summer when Bill possesed my body? You were putting on that puppet show to impress that ventriloquist guy. When Bill was in my body my eyes were yellow and my pupils were slits."

"Yeah well Bill is an all-powerful being of chaos now. He-you probably know how to hide that now." Mabel's glare lessens and she looks unsure of herself. Then her face lights up like it does whenever she has an idea - even through all the injuries Dipper can see the gears turning in her mind. "If you want to prove that you're not Bill, then tell me something only my brother would know!

"Fine. The bake sale at the beginning of 7th grade? You wanted to impress a guy…what was his name?

"Henry Valenstein." Mabel whispers. It's working, Dipper thinks, smiling slightly.

"Ah yes! Henry Valenstein! Good ol' Henry! But the thing I remember most about that day was the frosting fight we had! Gosh we were cleaning that up for days. Mom and dad were so mad!" Dipper laughs and sits on the ground, close to Mabel but not touching her. His pose is relaxed and happy.

"You're good, but the real Dipper wouldn't have forgotten his name." Mabel's face falls and Dipper watches as she closes off, putting her walls back up.

"Okay okay, I have another one! The day you almost died choking. You were eating M&Ms, if I'm not mistaken. You were jumping on your bed and I just wanted some peace and quiet so I could read. But noooo you had to go and sing Sev'ral Timez non-stop! And then you started choking and let me tell you that was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. None of our adventures this summer have made me as scared as when you choked."

"Aw, Dipper…"

"I thought…I thought you were going to die Mabel! I thought you were going to die and it would have been all my fault! I had nightmares for weeks to follow, remember?"

"I remember. Every night you would crawl into my bed and lay your hand on my chest, just to make sure I was breathing."

"Exactly, Mabel! It's really me!"

"No…nonono…Bill can travel into my mind! You must've watched that memory!"

"If I watched it, then how would I have known what happened like I was there?"

"I don't know! Probably some creepy dream-magic or something!"

"It's cuz I really was there Mabel. I was also there when you had a mental breakdown due to your math class. I woke up in the middle of the night to find you asleep over your homework, with tear-tracks on your face. I decided to do your homework for you, so you wouldn't fail math and have to go to summer school. And then I spent my own free time helping you pass the rest of the year instead of hanging out with my friends."

"Well gotta admit you're not the best teacher. Besides, you loved it!"

"Hey! I'm a great teacher!" Dipper huffs in indignation, "But you're right. We DID have fun. You still owe me for that, y'know!"

"Nuh-uh, I paid off that debt when I saved you from Gideon!"

"After I saved you first! You wouldn't have had to do that if you had just told him 'no'!"

"Ah, right. Whatever happened to him?"

"He's risking his life so we can save you, dude! So let's get this show on the road!" Wendy shouts jumping up beside Dipper. Mabel yelps and flinches back against the wall. Her breathing becomes labored as she starts to hyperventilate, eyes wide and panicking.

"Wendy!" Dipper shouts, glaring at her.

"Sorry man, but we need to skedaddle. Gideon can only hold Bill off for so long." She pulls out another bobby pin and picks the locks to Mabels cuffs. Her arms drop and she hugs herself, scooting closer to the wall, if that's even possible. Wendy and Dipper stand up and start to move to the door, where Soos is keeping lookout.

"C'mon dudes, we've only got like a few minutes left." Soos says, looking out the window, "The creatures are recovering and Zyler and Kraz can't hold them off much longer."

"No…" A small voice whispers. Dipper turns and sees Mabel still on the floor, curled into herself.

"What's the matter? We've got to go!" Wendy shouts.

"No, you're just trying to trick me again! To get me to let my guard down, to get me to hope!"

"Mabel, no ones trying to trick you! We just want to go home!"

"Shame on me, shame on me, shame on me…" Mabel rocks back and forth and puts her head in her knees. Dipper walks forward and kneels in front of her again.

"I have one last memory to share. The end of the school year, you were at your locker when Luke and Sasha came to pick on you. But even as they were calling you names and threatening you, you still smiled brightly and reacted with positivity. Also the occasional kick to the you-know-where."

"Yeah, well I don't think this situation calls for positivity."

"That's not what I'm saying. You are so strong and powerful and never give up, even when the situation seems hopeless. And I'll always help you fight those battles. I'm just sorry my noodle arms couldn't do much that day."

"Nah, you trying to do anything was enough."

"I remember when we were walking down that hallway to the nurses office I made a mental promise. I promised that I would always have your back, no matter what. Especially when you've been kidnapped by a crazy triangle guy. And I never told anyone about that, so Bill couldn't have stolen that memory from you. It really is me Mabel." Dipper smiles at Mabel as her eyes widen and realization dawns on her. She smiles back and throws her arms around his neck.

"Oh Dipper I'm so so sorry for not believing you! And for your information, I made that same promise too."

"It's okay, I'm just glad that you're back."

"Thank you for saving me. Now can someone please help me up? This position really hurts." Mabel winces in pain and Dipper quickly pulls away. Wendy takes Soos's spot as the latter walks over to Mabel and picks her up, careful to avoid her injuries. Mabel smiles and hugs Soos, whispering a quick 'thank you' to him too. Together the quartet makes their way down the tower and out of the bubble. Now all they have to do is defeat the illuminati.

Whoo man. That was painful to write. Poor Mabel needs a hug. And so does Dipper. Honestly they all need hugs. If you liked this chapter, then please leave a review or follow/favorite this story! I would love that! And also get ready, because next chapter is even more painful than this one! Anyways, see you next week!