I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to get out! I've been having so many tests these past couple of weeks and haven't been able to write much. To top it all off, this is the fifth draft of this chapter! I usually only have one or two. I just couldn't get this chapter right! However, I have a lot of time this next week so I'm hoping to get at least one more chapter out. Be on the lookout!

Also, I'm going to go back and change a couple of things in the chapter before this one. Not a lot! I'm just fixing a few spelling mistakes and adding a line or two of dialogue to the end. I felt like the ending of that chapter was rushed since it was probably nine or ten at night when I was writing the scene. I had school the next day and I was tired. So if you go back and see some changes, that's why.

Now for the reviews…

bloodstone38: Although that would be an interesting idea, Mabel doesn't have any mystic powers. But who says that Mabel she won't be able to stop the Shadows of the Underworld anyways?!

Someone: Another person who likes Black and White! Woo hoo!

iGogoTomago67: I'm glad you thought it was intense. And of course I will keep going!

Daughter of bill cipher: I'm happy you found the chapter amazing! Sorry it took so long for the chapter. I had school, but I was also being kind of lazy.

Guest: You'll have to wait and see what happens next.

NamineNasha: I'm so happy you love the story and that you like the idea! Also, hooray! Another person who thinks I write Bill well! Mabel and Bill's relationship is going to be interesting. I just hope I won't rush it… But yes, they will have to work past their differences. After all, Mabel isn't just going to up right forget that Bill almost killed her whole family.

What the family will do? Hmmm… Well, I can say that Stanley will try to swear, but Ford will stop him. Mostly because I don't swear so I don't make the characters swear in my story.

It is nice to see Mabel as the lead hero. I guess it is usually Dipper in the show, but Mabel does have her moments. I also kind of wanted to make it so Mabel has gotten stronger since Weirdmageddon. An event like that had to leave some kind of scar. So I decided to make her take karate so she knew how to fight. She wants to protect herself in case something like Weirdmageddon ever happened again.

KittyCat151: Ah yes, Mabel and Bill, go continue doing whatever you want! And precious cinnamon rolls? I've never heard that expression before. I kind of like it. Also, you'll have to wait and see what happens with their relationship. It might be much different than you may think.

IamSimplyGIO: I'm glad you like my writing style and you think it's an awesome fanfiction!

Thanks all you amazing people for reviewing!

This chapter's realm idea was by Sarstar98. I only changed a couple of details and added some things. The idea for the realm was created by her/him. Thanks for the idea!

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls. It is owned by the fantastic Alex Hirsch and Disney. I also don't own the Bean Boozled Challenge.

An hour went by.

Then two.

Bill had finally calmed down by then and was back to his original colors. He was lazily floating in the air and passing a small blue flame back and forth in his hands.

Mabel was still in the same spot but was now playing tic-tac-toe with herself.

The third hour went by.

During that time, a small earthquake began and lasted about two minutes. Mabel was surprised she didn't hit her head and get knocked out by it. She was being thrown around like a rag doll and was lucky to only escape with only a few bruises.

Bill was still floating, slightly amused by Mabel's constant tumbling. However, his tiny smirk quickly turned to an annoyed frown when the rumbling stopped and the geyser still didn't erupt. The cracks did grow bigger though, so that was something.

By the fourth hour, Bill finally had enough. "Okay! I don't have the slightest idea how you are so calm, but I swear that I am going to die from boredom!"

Mabel glared at him. "Oh, and here I thought dream demons were immortal. But what do you know. The all mighty Bill Cipher can't stand doing nothing for a few hours and is going to die because of it. Oh please, someone help him!" Bill growled at Mabel's mocking town. She simply rolled her eyes and went back to her game.

Nothing else was said that hour.

Or the fifth.

When the sixth hour passed, Mabel finally spoke up.

"I think…" The rest was mumbled under her breath and Bill strained to hear it.

"What?" he grunted.

She gritted her teeth and tried again. "I think we should make a pact."

Bill eyeballed Mabel. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we both clearly stated a couple of hours ago that we both wanted each other dead."

"A little longer than a couple hours ago," Bill sneered.

Mabel continued as if he never spoke in the first place. "However, if we are going to be at each other's throat the whole time, we are never going to accomplish anything." Bill stayed silent but paid more attention to what she was saying. He had to admit that she made a good point. "So, I say we make a pact that says we have to at least get along well enough that we can finish this journey without one of us dead."

Bill nodded his head in agreement. "I think you make a valid point." He paused and raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch though?"

Mabel cocked her head in confusion. "Catch?"

"Yes, all deals have a catch to them. I know that better than anyone, trust me."

"True, but you're talking about deals, not a pact. In a pact, there are no hidden strings or anything that will end up hurting the other person. A pact is straightforward. And what I'm proposing is that we have to promise each other that we have to try to get along well enough so that we don't kill each other." Her neutral look turned into a glare. "At least until this whole mess is over. After that, it's a free for all."

Bill glared right back. "I think you have good reasoning Shooting Star."

"I know I do Cipher." She held out her hand. "So, what do you say?"

The dream demon eyed her hand. "Are you sure this isn't a deal?"

"One hundred and one percent." Bill's eye flickered up to Mabel's face for a millisecond when he heard her repeat the words he said earlier. But his eye went back down to her hand before she could even notice.

Bill glanced at his own hand for a moment before reaching forward to grab hers. His hand was surrounded by a blue flame when he grabbed Mabel's. He couldn't help but notice how well her hand fit in his.

Mabel gave his hand a hard shake and Bill returned it.

They let go but continued to stare at each other, neither saying a word. After a moment, Mabel finally looked away and sat back on the ground. She once again began a game of tic-tac-toe.

Bill's eye never left her, although Mabel didn't notice. He was a bit surprised that she was so calm around him. Normally people would cower in fear at his very presence. The fact that she didn't left him a tad shocked. And it also made him admire her a bit. Even when they first met in Stanley's Dreamscape he admired her and her courage a little. He had never met someone who knew he was a monster from the very start yet still had the guts to stand up to him. It actually gave him a bit of a challenge. And it was a lot more fun for something to be difficult than easy. She made some points in his very long life very interesting.

He would never actually admit it though.

However, now that he thought about it, he had really only seen her scared of him twice. And they were only times when he was actually threatening her life. The first being when he tried to kill her in Stanley's Dreamscape, the second being when he was about to kill her during Weirdmageddon. Every other time though, Mabel had stood up to him and he never actually felt any fear coming from her at all! She was extremely intriguing in that matter.

But he could not deny the fact that he couldn't stand her. No matter how interesting she was.

His thoughts were interrupted by violent shaking.

Mabel stopped her game and dove to the nearest wall, clinging on for dear life. She managed to look down and saw the cracks start to grow into giant holes with a lot of steam coming out of them. A small smile appeared on her face. "B-Bill!" she shouted, her voice shaky from the earthquake. Bill's eye left the holes and went towards Mabel. "I think this thing's about to blow!"

Bill's lazy expression changed instantly. "Finally!" he screamed to no one in particular. "I can finally get out of this stupid geyser!"

Jets of water began to fly out of the ground and the holes got even bigger. There was so much steam that Mabel could hardly see and she was squinting to get a good look at the ground.

Everything was quiet for a moment. Then there was one last humongous shake until the ground completely fell apart. A giant beam of water shot up and caught Mabel and Bill in its grasp. They both let out a small scream of surprise. Then the water continued up into the darkness of the hole above them.

As they continued up, Mabel's screaming quickly turned to shouts of joy. "This is the best thing ever!"

Bill looked over to her in shock. "How can you like this?! You're afraid of heights!"

"True, but I'm not falling to my death."

Bill was about to protest when he suddenly got flipped around and the water was hitting him straight in the face. He tried to put his hands down to push himself up but it proved to be difficult since it was only water. He started to yell but immediately got a mouthful of water. Instead, he settled for growling in frustration as he tried to get himself out of the situation. This wasn't exactly what Bill considered fun.

Mabel, however, was having a blast. She couldn't stop laughing at the sight of Bill getting a face full of water. It was time someone, or something, took that smirk off his face.

Bill gritted his teeth when her heard Mabel's laughing. To think, she was making fun of him, a powerful dream demon who… He stopped his thoughts and mentally face palmed. I'm a dream demon for crying out loud! How did I forget that for even a second?! Bill stopped trying to push himself off of the water and began to float again. He flew into the air, going only a little faster than the geyser. While flying, he made a small towel appear in his hands and proceeded to wipe the water off of his face and hair. The soggy clothes could wait. He did straighten out his hat, bow tie, and eye patch though.

He turned around and scowled at Mabel's laughing face. "Well, let's see how you like it Shooting Star." He snapped his fingers and suddenly Mabel turned over and her face was getting hit by water. He smirked at the sight and let out a small chuckle. There, that should tech her. But instead of hearing screams, he heard… laughter?

Bill continued to float up, his mouth slightly ajar. How was Mabel still laughing? To add even more shock, she somehow managed to push herself up enough so she could look at him. Mabel smiled. "This feels great!"

Bill lifted a hand and was about to push her back down into the water when a bright light appeared behind him. He turned around and shielded his eye from the glaring blue sun. Mabel did the same and somehow managed to turn around and get into a sitting position on the geyser.

Suddenly the darkness that surrounded the two disappeared and buildings and houses replaced it. The houses came in many different shades of blue, each one with a white, almost snow like roof. The tallest building couldn't have been bigger than four stories high. Most of the houses were small and about the size of the Mystery Shack. There were even buildings were smaller than Dipper and Mabel's bedroom back in Gravity Falls!

The town was very small and couldn't have held more than three hundred residents. There were a couple of people milling around that looked normal, but something about them wasn't right. They looked like humans. They had eyes, hands, hair, and all the things a normal person would have, yet something was wrong.

As they got higher, Bill simply glanced at everything with little to no interest while Mabel looked down in awe. Although the town was small, it had a certain charm to it. She thought it was cute.

She was so busy admiring the town that she didn't even notice that the geyser stopped moving upwards. But Bill did and his face finally showed some mild interest. He knew how this would end and it was going to be quite enjoyable in his opinion.

Mabel's eyes darted over to a couple of kids playing ball in what looked like a driveway. She smiled slightly at the sight. She remembered when her and Dipper were kids and would do things like that all the time. They would still do those things every once in a while but not as much as they used to.

Her thoughts came to screeching halt when she felt the water she was sitting on begin to disappear. All the color drained from her face and she looked up at Bill. Mabel saw his smirking face and her eyes narrowed at him. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"Yep."

"And I'm guessing that you're not gonna help me either?"

"You're correct Shooting Star."

"Didn't we just make a pact that said we weren't going to kill each other? Plus, last time I checked, you need me alive."

"Once again, you're right. However, no one said I couldn't have any fun. So let's see how long it takes a Shooting Star to hit the ground." He smiled as the last bit of water holding Mabel up disappeared.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Mabel muttered under her breath. Then she began to fall.

Unlike when Bill was dropping her in the cave, Mabel couldn't hold in her scream. Bill could hear it loud and clear yet the people in the town didn't seem to notice it.

Bill couldn't contain his laughter and finally let it all out. He didn't know why, but seeing Mabel scream why she was falling to her death always seemed to make howl with laughter. With any other person he might have let out a few chuckles, but with her, it was different.

He decided to follow her down so he could get a closer look at her fear filled face. He flipped himself around so he was upside down and zoomed downward towards Mabel.

When he reached her, Bill pushed Mabel down so instead of going feet first towards the ground, she was going face first. Then he flew under her so Mabel was facing downward towards him and he was facing upwards towards her. Bill moved in so their faces were nearly touching. "How are you enjoying the fall Shooting Star?"

Mabel stopped her screaming and glared at him. "I really hate you right now Bill, a lot more than usual."

Bill shrugged. "I didn't expect anything less."

"Do you only take joy in watching me suffer?"

He shrugged again. "Mostly, but I feel content with other things."

"Like what?"

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. And, sadly, I can't do that quite yet." He glanced down and saw that they were about to hit the ground. He quickly flew out from under Mabel and levitated in the air. He smiled a bit as he saw her about to hit the ground, then sighed and snapped his fingers.

Mabel hugged her body into a ball and tightened her muscles, preparing for the ground that would surely mean her doom. Yet, when her body reached the ground, it bounced her back up! Mabel looked down in shock as she was thrown back into the air. She fell back down but was thrown up again. The ground was like a giant bouncy house! Mabel closed her eyes and let out a laugh. This was actually fun!

The dream demon rolled his eye at the sight. He figured that she would think it was fun no matter how much he wished that what he did wasn't. But he only had a small time frame to think of something so he couldn't let it bother him too much.

When Mabel was finally bouncing low enough that she wouldn't break a bone, Bill snapped his fingers again and the ground turned back to normal.

Mabel straightened herself out and was able to land gracefully on her feet. A small crunch could be heard when her feet touched the ground and she looked to see if she had stepped on a bug or something. To her surprise, it was only the grass. But it wasn't the normal green grass one would usually see. This grass was a shimmering white that crunched like ice whenever someone stepped on it.

She broke away her gaze from the grass when she felt a thump on her head. She grabbed her head and looked up to see Bill with his cane in hand. Mabel raised her eyebrows at him questioningly. He simply rolled his eye in response. "We're not going to get anywhere if you spend all day looking at the grass."

Mabel sighed and let go of her head when the slight pain went away. "Well then Mr. Flying Dorito Man," Bill scowled at the name, "let's get going." Mabel walked past Bill in the direction to the town and he followed suit.

It took about a minute to enter the town. There was only a little field surrounding it so it was easy to get in. The second the two entered, the three kids who were playing ball, the ones Mabel saw before, turned to look at Mabel and Bill.

There were two girls and one guy. The first girl was the tallest and Mabel guessed she was the oldest. However, she still looked like she was only seven. She had medium length blond hair that was held back by purple headband. She was also a bit plump. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and they were larger than the other two's. Her nose and mouth were an average size. The young girl was wearing a long sleeved purple turtle neck with a short black skirt. She had on long black leggings with furry brown boots.

The second girl was the shortest and looked only a little bit younger than the first girl, maybe six. She had jet black hair pulled up into a high ponytail. She was skinnier than the first girl and she was the skinniest of the group. The girl had dark green eyes, a small nose, and an average sized mouth. She was wearing an orange sweater with a pair of blue jeans and had on the same pair of brown furry boots as the first girl.

Finally, the boy was taller than the second girl but shorter than the first. He also looked around the age of six. He had short, jet black hair and green eyes, nearly the same color as the second girl. Mabel guessed that he and the second girl were siblings. He had an average sized nose and a largish mouth. He was wearing a dark blue jacket with black sweatpants and had on black boots with a white design around the soles.

However, the one thing all the children had in common was their skin. It looked like it was made of pure ice. Their skin was light, almost clear and Mabel thought that if it was any clearer she could have seen right through them! But it didn't look like the ice-like skin would break. It seemed like it was the same texture a regular skin was.

Mabel smiled at the kids, then lifted up a hand and waved to them. The three kids continued to stare at the two, mostly Mabel, for a moment before they smiled at her and waved back. They glanced at Bill and looked at him questioningly. Bill glared at them and made a giant blue flame appear in his hand. He held it out to them threateningly and the kids took a couple of steps back and looked as if they were about to scream. Bill smiled even more and was about to throw the fire ball at them before Mabel stopped him.

"Bill!" She hissed.

He looked at her, a smile still playing on his lips. "What, we aren't going to be here long so I want to have fun while I can."

"You find hurting children fun?!"

Bill rolled his eye. "Please, I wasn't going to throw it at them. I was just gonna throw it close enough to scare them. A lot."

Mabel slapped him lightly on the arm. "Bill, if you do that I will find ways to make your life a complete nightmare!"

"My life already is a nightmare! Why do you think I enjoy it so much?!"

"You know what I mean!"

Mabel glared at the dream demon and he glared right back. A couple seconds later, Bill read Mabel's mind and saw that she wouldn't budge on this. He let out a sigh and looked away. They didn't have time for this!

"Fine," Bill growled. He lowered his hand and made the fire disappear. Mabel smiled in satisfaction.

She returned her attention to the three kids and she noticed that they looked as if they were about to run away. "Wait!" Mabel called out before they could. The children's eyes went to hers and their faces seemed to calm down a little. Mabel began to walk towards them very slowly so she wouldn't scare them off. Bill watched with a slight bit of interest.

"It's okay," Mabel said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you." When she came close enough, she held out her hand for any of the children to take. The three seemed to relax some more and the oldest one stepped forward and took Mabel's hand. Mabel expected the little girl's hand to be cold, but it was actually quite warm. Mabel smiled some more and then crouched down so she was at the girl's level. "Hi," she started, talking a bit louder." "My name's Mabel. What's yours?"

"M-my name?" Mabel nodded encouragingly. "It's Rebecca."

"Hi, Rebecca! It's very nice to meet you." Mabel's smile must have been contagious because Rebecca now had a smile on her face too.

"It's nice to meet you too Mabel." She turned around and pointed to the other two kids. "That's Josie," Rebecca pointed to the black haired girl. "And that's John," she pointed to the only boy."They're all my best friends in the world!" Mabel grinned and let go of Rebecca's hand, then held it out to Josie. She grabbed it immediately and began to rapidly shake it. Mabel smiled even more at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Hi! I'm Josie! It's really, really, really, really, really…" She trailed off. "Amozong?" Josie let go of Mabel's hand and put a hand to her chin in thought. A frown appeared on her face. "Amazang? Amazong? Amizing?"

"Do you mean amazing?" Mabel asked.

The smile returned to Josie's face. "Yes, amazing! It's really, really, really, really, really amazing to meet you!" Mabel returned the smile and giggled a little.

She turned and held her hand out for John to take. He looked at it hesitantly before shaking it. Mabel gave him a warm smile though and he returned it. She felt Josie tug on her arm and the young girl leaned in and whispered in Mabel's ear. "Sorry about my brother. He's really shy at first, but once you get to know him and he gets to know you, John's the most annoying person you'll ever meet!"

Mabel eyes darted over to Bill, who was floating in the air with a bored look on his face. Yet his eye stayed on Mabel and the group of kids. "I think your brother has some competition." Bill must have heard her because he rolled his eye afterwards. Mabel couldn't keep a small giggle from escaping.

Josie looked over at Bill then quickly stood behind Mabel. "He's not gonna hurt us, right?"

Mabel turned to Josie and ruffled her hair. "No, he's just a big buttface who likes to stop people from having fun." The kids laughed at Mabel's comment and Mabel's smile only grew.

A cough came from directly behind her and Mabel turned around to see that Bill was right next to her now. She let out a small yelp but stood her ground.

"Buttface," Mabel heard John mutter under his breath. The kids, including Mabel, all began to laugh at what John said. The scowl on Bill's face grew.

"Sorry to interrupt your little play date, but Shooting Star, you've seem to have forgotten why we are here."

The children smiled and began to look around. After a couple of seconds, their smile was replaced with a look of confusion. Rebecca voiced the question they were all thinking. "What shooting star?"

Mabel smiled at Rebecca. "Shooting Star is a, er, nickname Bill has for me." Mabel didn't know if the only name Bill called her was a nickname, but she decided to go with it.

"Oh." Rebecca grabbed the other two and told them it was just a nickname and John, Josie, and Rebecca were once again in front of Mabel. "So, buttface here-"

"My name is Bill," said dream demon growled at Rebecca. Her face showed a flash of fear but quickly went back to its happy state.

"So, Bill here said that you were here for something. Maybe we can help you find it!"

Josie hands flew up. "Yeah! We're really great at finding things!" Mabel couldn't keep the smile off her face if she even tried. These kids were just so cute!

"Well," Mabel began, "we're looking for-" Bill's hand clamped around Mabel's mouth, stopping her from saying another word.

He glared at the children. "Could you excuse us for just one moment?" He quickly pulled Mabel aside but before he could go much farther, she bit his hand. "Ack! What the- You know, that doesn't feel too bad actually." Bill shook his head and pulled his hand away from Mabel's mouth. "No matter how good that felt, what was that for?!"

"I should be asking you that. Those kids could know where the shadow shard is!"

"But those kids could also be working for the shadows!"

Mabel gave him an 'are you kidding me" look. She groaned. "You can't be serious. They're just kids!"

"Never too young to become a murderer."

Mabel was about to scream at his stupidity when she saw the kids watching them. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Bill, I think we could tell if those kids were Shadows of the Underworld. And besides, they might be the only ones who will listen to us. We don't know what anyone else is like in this town and they might be our only chance."

Bill put a hand to his forehead and squeezed his eye shut. "Fine! But if they turn out to work for the shadows-"

"Which they won't!"

Bill ignored her. "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Mabel rolled her eyes at the comment and walked back over to the kids.

"So what are you looking for?" Josie asked.

Mabel once again crouched down so she was face to face with the kids. "Well, what Bill and I," Mabel pointed at Bill who appeared behind her in all his scowling glory, "are looking for is something called a shadow shard. Have any of you ever heard of it?"

Josie, John, and Rebecca's eyes all widened. "Have we heard of it?!" Josie screamed. "Of course we've heard of it! It's one of the most important items in this town ever!"

"Besides the Crystal Tear Drop," John muttered.

Rebecca nodded in his direction. "Yeah, besides that."

Mabel looked at them, the confusion clear on her face. "What do you mean that it's one of the most important items?"

"The shadow shard is a very rare item. Right now the mayor has it, but if anyone ever wants to get it, they have to go through seven impossible tasks. If they fail even one, they lose and can never try again. However, if that person completes all seven impossible tasks then they get the shadow shard!"

"Why is it a competition?"

"The mayor has had it for five years now. One day a person saw it and asked for it. He didn't have a need for money so he couldn't just sell it. Yet, he felt like only someone very special could have the shadow shard. So, he created the seven impossible tasks. Only if a person completes all seven of the tasks can they get the shadow shard."

"What are these seven tasks?"

Rebecca looked over at Josie and John, who both shrugged. Rebecca looked back at Mabel and did the same. "None of us know. The tasks change every time. They don't want a potential challenger to be able to study the tasks and know how to beat them easy as pie."

"And," John butted in, "no one has made it pass the fourth task."

Rebecca nodded again. "Yeah. The last challenger came three years ago. He made past the fourth task before losing the fifth one. We haven't had a challenger since."

Mabel nodded. "So, where does one go to start the seven impossible tasks?"

All three of them gasped. "You want to do the seven impossible tasks?" Josie asked.

"Bill and I want the shadow shard so why not."

The three children shared a smile. "Well then," Josie grabbed Mabel's hand, "let's go!" Josie pulled Mabel forward and Mabel stumbled into a standing position. She had to run to keep up with the young girl. John and Rebecca looked at each other and ran after the two. Bill simply sighed and floated after them.

"We have a challenger!" Josie screamed to anyone who would listen. "We have a challenger!" She continued to pull Mabel through the town. As people heard what Josie was saying, they perked up and began to follow the little girl through the streets. Mabel looked around and noticed that all the people in the town had ice-like skin.

Mabel turned her head around and squinted. There were about one hundred people behind her and even more were coming. However, if she looked close enough, every once in a while she would see a flash of yellow and black in the very back of the crowd.

After a couple more minutes of running, they reached what looked like the tallest building in the town. It was also one of the widest buildings. She had to guess that this was where the mayor lived.

Josie burst through the thick, oak doors and leaped into the main lobby. She finally let go of her death grip on Mabel's hand and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. When Josie finally looked up, she was met with the stunned gaze of many adults who looked like they worked at the place.

"Excuse me," a young woman, maybe in her thirties, walked up to Josie. The woman had long, ginger hair and muddy brown eyes. She was wearing a grey pantsuit with a black pair of slip ons. To top it all off, there was an extremely irritated look on her face. "What do you think your do-"

"We have a challenger!" Josie screamed before the woman could get any further.

The woman's angry face quickly went from surprised, to complete and utter shock in a matter of seconds. "Who?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper. Josie lifted a hand and pointed at Mabel. The woman's eyes flew over to her and she quickly grabbed Mabel's hand. Mabel winced at how tight the woman's grasp was. Then the woman began to pull Mabel down a long hallway. "My name is Kerry," was all the woman muttered before she turned back to face the group.

"No one moves until further notice." Kerry pointed towards a man who looked like a security guard. "Davis, watch them." He nodded and walked closer towards the group.

Kerry turned back around and continued to pull Mabel down the hallway. Mabel was a little shocked at this woman's force, but couldn't help but smile at the shadow floating along the wall next to her.

Mabel was pulled into the last door in the hallway and was faced with a rather small room. It was rectangular shaped with snow-like tiles and walls that looked like they were made of ice. There was a chandelier like light hanging from the ceiling and a large, wood desk occupied most of the room.

Sitting at that desk was a rather small man, only a about an inch or two taller than Rebecca. He had light brown hair that was cut short. His eyes were a dark blue and were an average size, just like his nose and mouth. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath it. And on his feet, it looked like he was wearing black boots, but Mabel couldn't be sure.

The man stood up and strode towards Kerry. She had to look down to see him as did Mabel. "What is the meaning of this Kerry," he snapped. Although he looked like a ten year old, he sounded the age of forty. "I told you that I can't be disturbed. I have very important documents to go through. I need to get them done as soon as possible. The sooner they're done, the sooner I can help the town."

"Yes, I know sir. But this is extremely important."

"More important than helping the town?"

Kerry grimaced. "Well, maybe? I'm not quite sure. It depends how you look at it."

"Stop speaking in riddles Kerry." The man turned his head and finally noticed Mabel. "And Kerry, who is she?"

"Sir, that's what I came to tell you. She's a challenger."

The man's face instantly went from stern to shock. "A challenger?!" Kerry nodded. The mayor pointed at Mabel. "And it's her?!" Kerry nodded again. His eyes widened even more. "Leave us." His voice was a whisper and Mabel had to strain her ears to hear him. Once again, Kerry nodded and she left the room.

The mayor walked to the door and Mabel kept her eyes on him. He stuck his head out and looked down the hallway to see if anyone was there. There wasn't. He pulled his head back in and shut the door with a thud.

"So, what are we supposed to do? Complete these seven impossible tasks while you sit around and eat snow cones."

The mayor let out a small scream while Mabel simply jumped a little. She was starting to get used to his sudden appearances. The two turned around to see Bill lounging on the mayor's desk. "Wh-who," the mayor stuttered, "the h-heck are y-you? And how d-did you g-get in here?!"

Mabel let out a shaky laugh. "Well sir… er. Sorry, I don't think I got your name."

"It's Nick."

"Nick. Nice name." The mayor smiled at Mabel's comment. "Well Nick, this is my, um, partner. His name is Bill…" She trailed off at the look Bill gave her. If he didn't want people to know who he was and went as far as become human…ish, then he probably didn't want her saying his last name. Bill was a pretty common name but Mabel didn't know anyone else who had the last name Cipher. Even if the mayor or anyone in this town didn't know who Bill was, better safe than sorry.

Nick took a deep breath and composed himself. He walked up to Bill and held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you Bill." Bill only eyed the hand until Nick pulled it back. "Not one for handshakes. That's fine not everyone is." He shook his head and turned back to Mabel.

"So, you want to do the seven impossible tasks to get the shadow shard?"

Mabel stepped closer to the mayor and made eye contact with him. "That's correct Nick."

"How did you name the shadow shard shadow shard?" Bill began talking before Nick could get another word out.

Nick turned to face Bill. The mayor had a strange look on his face. "We call it the shadow shard because it's a shard and it looks like it's made of shadows. Why do you ask?"

Bill shrugged. "No reason." Nick shook twisted his body so he was facing Mabel again.

"So, if you want to become a challenger, then you need to learn the rules." Mabel nodded. "First, you have to do this alone. Your friend can cheer you on," Bill rolled his eye at this, "but he cannot help you in the actual competition. Second, if you lose even one challenge, you can never try again. No matter how much you may beg or bribe me, the answer will always be no. And the third rule, there is only one challenge per day so no asking if you can do two per day instead. Can you agree to-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Mabel and Nick looked at Bill, who was back to floating in the air. Apparently, he would rather hide his last name then his powers. Bill had an annoyed look on his face. "Are you telling me that we have to stay here a whole week?"

Nick ignored his question for a moment, stunned at the fact that Bill was flying. He pulled himself together though and looked Bill straight in the eye. "Yes, those are the rules, as they have been for half a decade now."

Mabel saw Bill's eye twitch and butted in before something bad happened. "I agree with the rules mayor and I am ready to start as soon as possible."

"Good," Nick said, a smile appearing on his face. "Then the tasks will start tomorrow. You will be provided a home where you can stay for as long as the tasks go on." The mayor grabbed her hand. "Now come. We have an announcement to make." Just like Josie and Kerry did, Nick began to drag Mabel out of the room and back towards the lobby. Mabel heard Bill growl and saw him following them.

When they entered the lobby, only a few people were still milling around. However, there was a giant commotion outside that the security guards were trying to handle. The mayor pulled Mabel out the door and to the very top of the steps. When the security guards saw the mayor they immediately stepped to the side. The crowd quieted down when they saw him.

Mabel looked back and saw Bill floating in the doorway, not bothering to move any farther.

The mayor squeezed Mabel's hand even tighter that Mabel was afraid the blood flow would stop. He threw both his own and her hand up to the sky. "Citizens of Glacier Town," Mabel could practically hear Bill complain how unoriginal the name was. She smiled a bit at the thought. Nick continued. "We have a challenger!"

There was silence for a couple of seconds.

And then the noise was overwhelming.

Every person in the crowd was cheering. Young, old, kids, adults, anyone and everyone were cheering. For a town with only three hundred people, they made a lot of noise. The loudest cheers though were coming from the three kids at the very front of the crowd: Josie, John, and Rebecca. Mabel waved at the three and their grins grew and they cheered even louder. She looked behind the kids and saw what looked like their parents. They gave a small wave Mabel's way and Mabel returned it.

After a couple more minutes of cheering, Nick held up the hand not holding Mabel's and the people quieted down. Nick was finally able to speak again. "The first task will begin tomorrow and our challenger…" Nick trailed off. His skin got lighter (if that was even possible) and a shaky laugh escaped his mouth. He stood on his tiptoes to whisper in Mabel's ear. "Er, I don't believe I got your name."

Mabel bent down to whisper in his ear. "It's Mabel." Nick smiled and Mabel stood back up.

"Our challenger, Mabel, will begin her first task at noon! Let the seven impossible tasks begin!"

This was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it off there. In fact, this was 15,000 words in all! But I think that it's better if I end it here.

However, since I feel so bad about making all you amazing people wait three weeks for this chapter, I have a surprise… The next chapter is coming out today! That's right, two chapters in one day! I was going to leave them both as one really long chapter, but I felt like I would be rushing the story if I did. And I hate rushing stories.

Rushing stories is something I need to ask you guys though. Do you guys think I'm rushing the story? I'm trying to make sure it's going at a steady pace. However, I can't be sure because I always find something to worry about in my chapters. So I'm never certain if it's just me worrying about it and the chapter's fine, or if I was really rushing it. Please leave some feedback on that. It would help me a lot.

I still need ideas for realms! If you have one, feel free to tell me!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R, follow, and favorite. If you have any criticisms or things you think I should improve on, leave a review! I love to hear what you guys have to say!

I'll see you guys in the next chapter… I hope. If the next chapter isn't up today, that means I died from doing the Bean Boozled Challenge. I am being forced to do it against my will! If you don't see the next chapter up today, you know what happened! Wish me luck!

Until then…

Peace! GamerFan369