All good? Anyone good in the previous chapter? Alright! I'm just gonna say that this contains a lot of references and I would love to see if someone can spot it and point it out! If you did, you get a shower of virtual cookies! Just pretend the screen is a cookie xD

If ya guys wondering how I update so fast, it is because I get a new laptop for Christmas! Yippee! No more lagging when I'm writing chapters! The old laptop could die in the trash! DIE! DIE! You'll never be missed.

On to the story!

Mabel was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of pounding rains on the window panes. Her eyes darted around her surroundings and she found herself in her bed in the attic. Feeling odd, she heard her brother snoring peacefully in his bed across from her.

Why was she here suddenly? Weren't she on the roof just now? Then she remembered. She had made a deal with Bill Cipher. She had to meet him on the roof in midnight for her simple task. She gazed at her alarm clock that showed 10:33 pm.

Only an hour and a half left, she thought. Pale moonlight illuminated a corner of the room, creating shadows that danced along the walls. Lighting flashed and thunder reverberated throughout the room. She pulled the duvet over her head.

It's funny how all her senses are sharper at night. Her ears could detect everything. From the rymthmic dripping of the kitchen tap to the irksome creaking of her brother's bed as he tossed and turned in his sleep. She wondered how he could snore blissfully while a storm raged outside.

She turned her attention to the window. Mabel sometimes love storms. She can sit for hours looking with wide-eyed wonder at the flashing lighting; the sound of thunder thrills her and frightens her at the same time.

The dancing shadows on the walls took on various forms - from mystical creatures to creepy crawlies. Eventually, the storm died down. The night air was cool and crisp, and a gentle breeze caressed her cheeks. As she lay in bed, she fixed her gaze on the window. She marvelled at the rustling of pine trees and its scent wafting through the air. She admired the stars which glittered like precious diamonds in the night sky.

However, there was one star that caught her attention. Her eyes lingered on one star that was so dazzling that the rest shrank in comparison. As she traced the outline of the star, her eyelids drooped and she slipped into sweet slumber, surrounded by the sound of silence.

Shooting Star...

Mabel's eyes slowly began to open. She looked up at the ceiling and her surroundings. It was still night time. She could hear the howling of the wind whooshing through the room. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at her alarm clock.

12:10 PM

Her eyes widened. The meet-up! She tossed about as she frantically jumped off from her bed. She's late! Bill must be mad at her. She knows that the demon hates waiting. She took off her nightgown and wore her usual outfit. After getting dressed, she left the room like a sneaky mouse. She climbed out a window into the roof.

Subsequently she stood there, gazing into the bright full moon. A sudden cold breeze blew in her direction as leaves flew past her. She clung to her sweater, hearing the creaking and rustling of the pine trees. She squinted her eyes on the moon, its light beginning to strain her eye muscles. Until she saw a black line moving down vertically from the moon, creating an eye.

There was a flash of bright white light. She shielded her eyes as the light began to consume the whole landscape, leaving her in a blank white void. Dazed, she looked around. There was no one in here and she felt anxiety going through her system. Her mind started making scary predictions as she tried to find a reaction for every prediction.

Unaware, Bill Cipher momentarily appears in front of her before her very eyes. Mabel flinched and gave out a sigh of relief when she knew it was him. The demon summoned his cane and leaned an arm over it.

"I didn't expect you to come, Shooting Star. I guess I'm wrong about you being a coward," He spoke. "But there's only one thing: You're late."

Mabel scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time." She apologized. She locked her gaze with his. "Sooooo... what's this simple task you're talking about?"

Bill raised an eyebrow and twirled his cane with his other arm lying on his side. "I won't call it simple if I do say so myself. You're going to a dimension where all of your nightmares come true. It's called dimension 77. I thought I could test your abilities in this task. You might come in handy for the near future. Well enough chit-chat! Let's go in right away!"

With a snap of his fingers, a circular portal appeared in front of them. Mabel could see the blackness inside of it. She was not sure she is ready to face her real nightmares. Bill stood near the portal and his eye darted to her. "What are you waiting for? Get in!"

Mabel gulped as she tried to bottle up her courage. With a deep breath escaping from her lips, she looked ahead and finally stepped in. Once she set her foot on a platform, her legs suddenly buckled as nausea hit her. She tried to fight it but it only made it worse. Her heart beat faster like racing cars and she momentarily started to get a tight congestion build up in her chest, causing her to find harder to breathe.

The brunette clutched her chest, struggling to fight for breath and she suddenly lost her balance. She felt herself plummeting down until she felt a hand gripped her wrist and pulled her upwards. When she raised her head, she made eye-contact with the dream demon.

"Careful now," Bill warned. "Your body isn't comfortable and familiar with this place. So it makes you all sick and stuff." He looked as Mabel tried to regain her balance. His gaze softened. "Can you manage now?"

Mabel held her dizzy head. "I g-guess. But can you give me five more minutes?"

Bill nodded, his hand still holding her wrist as Mabel sat down. He didn't intend to lose her now. She still has a prophecy and destiny to fulfill. In fact, she is important and useful when it comes to sticky situations.

Ah who am I kidding? It's not a big deal if she wins. Even if I lose, I can still get to the portal one way or another. The possibilities are endless, he thought. He studied the brunette who's attempting to slow down her breathing and relaxed. His eyebrow raised. He see Mabel as a naive girl who is trying to make everyone's life worth living. To make everyone happy. She is called the Shooting Star for a reason.

The dream demon put his other arm behind him. "So are you done?"

Mabel looked up at him and forced herself to smile. "Yeah, I think I am." Bill lifted her up to her feet but she still find hard to get to the center of her gravity. After a few seconds, she finally stood properly. Bill looked at her. "Okay?"

"Okay."

Bill releashed her wrist and Mabel finally got used to the place. Knowing that she's fine, he snapped his fingers and stairs began to light up ahead of her. They winded around into further distance. Mabel could swore that there's also one step of the stairs following the colors of the rainbow respectively after every three feet. The rest of the background was pitch black and the stairs are the only thing she sees.

The dream demon floated in front of her and started to expound. "Alright! Let me give out the details. You'll be going to walk on this steps until the very end! The colored step is the trigger to your nightmares. You cannot skip it. You have six nightmares to finish, and it only gets worse when you progresses through them."

Mabel looked at him as he started to float away. "I'll be right behind you if you need me. I'm going to watch you handle the nightmares and test your skills. So good luck!" He vanished in a flash and Mabel swallowed the lump in her throat. She heaved a heavy breath before beginning to made her way to the stairs.

It was very quiet and the silence was accompanied with the footsteps when she walked up the stairs. She subsequently came across a red step. This is her first nightmare that she's going to face. She knew she didn't have to worry. If she need anything, Bill is right there behind her.

She took a deep breath before she put her foot on the red step. Suddenly, the whole setting flashed into a landscape she knew instantly: the frontyard of her home. Mabel stiffened at the sight of her house. Was she really home? She mentally slapped herself, reminding her that it wasn't real.

The brunette heard footsteps and she turned to her left to see who it was. She was surprised that it was a tall girl with her long brown hair tied up into a pony tail with a large puffy sweater and leggings with lightweight black shoes. It's older her. Mabel nearly gave out a gasp as she put a hand on her mouth.

Older Mabel dolefully walked to the pavement. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She stepped into the front yard and opened the door. Mabel slowly followed the older her and peeked into the window. Older Mabel tossed her bag on the couch and walked into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed a can of cola. Opening the lid, she took a large gulp of it.

Mabel frowned at this. She didn't expect her being so depressed in the future. Older Mabel then walked to a set of documents laying messily on the dining table. She took a card that caught her attention. It has a picture with the words 'GRAVITY FALLS' and flipped it over. There's a cursive writing which read, 'Sorry, Mabel. I couldn't make it to see you and say Happy Birthday. I'll be there next year'.

Older Mabel frowned and sighed deeply. She threw the card into a box with other stacks of cards before walking away. She muttered under her breath. "All the time."

Tears formed in Mabel's eyes as the landscape slowly fades back to the stairs with the black background. She held her head as tears streaked her face. The brunette didn't notice that Bill was staring at her from her side.

"Doing good?" He asked.

Mabel exhaled slowly. "That's... if Dipper won't come back with me to Piedmont for something more important than me." Bill just nodded. "Yep. Pretty much. Can you move on to the next?"

The brunette wiped her tears away and nodded. Bill floated backwards as Mabel began walking up the stairs. After a few feet away, she came across an orange-colored step. She sucked in a breath and set her foot onto it. The whole place flashed into the interior of a slaughterhouse.

Mabel stiffened. "Oh no..."

She heard pigs squirming about in terror and cows mooing for help. She heard chickens flying about in fear. Feathers, flesh and blood were dotted on the floor. Mabel didn't know if she could walk on it. But she knew she had to do this. She didn't want Bill to win.

Mabel started walking on the slimy, squishy floor. A door was slightly ajar and she stopped there. Curiosity reaching to its peak, she took a peek and she completely regretted for doing so.

A cow was struggling to flee but it couldn't because of the demanding pulling of a man or the excruciating pain of the severely tied rope around its neck when pulled tauntly. The man was frustrated and so hit the cow with a whip. The cow mooed in anguish as its legs began trembling.

Mabel gasped, her chest hurting from seeing this. She closed her eyes when the man did something she didn't want to see. And when she opened her eyes, she glimpsed something she wished she hadn't seen.

The man inserted a wire or rod through the hole in the head of the cow made by a captive bolt. Then he began to grip the rod before sliding it up and down, destroying the lower spinal cord. Blood sprayed out from the hole, matting on the man's clean white shirt. But he care less of it. All he want to do is abuse.

Mabel stepped back and looked away. Nausea began to hit her. She couldn't hold it back together. She took in several breaths and tried to imagine positive things, plus reminding her that it isn't real.

She kept on walking until she came across a door that is half-ajar. Mabel knew she had to face this otherwise this nightmare won't end. She took a peek and glimpsed something far more worse than the cow.

Two fat men were laughing maniacally as they beat up the innocent weak chickens that were fleeing about in the room. The chickens were stomped on, kicked and slammed against floors and walls. Their beaks are ripped off and their heads twisted off. Tobacco is spat into their eyes and mouths, their faces are spray-painted, and their bodies are squeezed so hard that the birds expel faeces. What's more worse is that the two men enjoyed it.

Mabel could feel herself vomiting inside as she looked away from the disgusting scene. She hastily left, not attempting to force upon her eyes to see such things like that again. Sooner, she came across a door that is widely open and more welcoming than the previous two. But Mabel is never the one to be fooled.

She slowly looked over and gasped. Pigs were running about, squirming for help. Mabel could see the exposed flesh on their bodies and legs. There's also a pig with its eyeball misplaced. All the pigs were suffering from live scalding and lifelong crippling. Mabel couldn't take this anymore. She was about to leave when a certain pig draw her attention. This pig is the most different from the others and is definitely one of a kind. Her eyes widened. Waddles.

Mabel put her arms forward. "Waddles!" She screamed, overjoyed to see him. But that joy lasted only a second when the pig was grabbed by a grinning man who forcefully and cruelly pushed Waddles into a tub of scalding water. Tears were visible in her eyes now as she heard Waddles's constant squirming scarring her mind, her heart and her soul. She fell to her bottom with tears cascading down her face when she saw the water grew red.

The scene eventually flashed back to the stairs. Mabel was still sitting on her bottom, her face full of horror. A sob burst from her as she buried her teary face into her hands, her heart pounding to her chest, louder than a human being could ever heard even in a quiet place like this. "I can't bear with this. If the second nightmare is this horrible, can you imagine the third?"

"You still need to face the others as well," Bill momentarily appears next to her, twirling around his cane. "May I remind you that you couldn't skip it."

The brunette blinked away unshed tears as she stifled a cough. Bill conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to her, which both confuses and appreciates the girl. Mabel gladly took it, uttering a thank you before wiping away the tears in her eyes. Once she's done, she decided to return it to him but the demon waved it off. "You can keep it."

He received a frown from her. Instead she shrugged and placed it in her sweater pocket. A thought crossed her mind and she looked up to the dream demon. "Bill, I have something to ask of you," she inquired. "Why did you chose to kill Heather?"

"Is it wrong?" He replied. "Rosie's end of the bargain states that I can kill any souls I desired but excluding you and your peeps."

Mabel shook her head. "Yeah, but still. Why her? What is your reason to kill her? No people in their right mind would kill a person without a reason. Everyone has a reason for doing something."

Bill deadpanned. He placed a hand on his forehead and sighed. "Look, Shooting Star. Humans like Heather did not see the outcomes of their actions. She deserves what she deserves and quite frankly, she didn't deserve to apologize to all the people she treated like junk after having a change of heart. Her sins shouldn't be forgiven."

Mabel curled her lip, her left eye twitched a little. Bill said that Heather deserved what she deserved? That's not right at all. People deserved second chances. She told herself to put that at the back of her mind and focused what she's supposed to do. Talking about unrelated topics really made her forget about the horror she saw. But it will forever scarred her mind, whether she forget it or not.

"I'm off to the third one." She told Bill, standing up. Bill began to float away. "Well then. Good luck."

Mabel started off her next flight of stairs until she came across a yellow step. The third nightmare was actually quite not that bad to her. But it's still horrible. It's about her friends ditching her at her birthday party for their own personal reasons. The brunette successfully faced the third one and moved on to the next step which is green-colored. Mabel had her hopes too high with this nightmare but it's officially one of the worst.

She appeared in a deserted, dilapidated town. It was actually the town of Gravity Falls. The skies were gray before it grew dark, becoming the color of a black bruise like a storm was about to conquer the skies. Papers flew about and one of them stuck to her face. She took it off and gazed at it. There's a picture of her looking away proudly to the residents with words above her which read, 'LOVE MABEL PINES'. The crossed-out LOVE was replaced with HATE in splotches of red ink.

In the picture, she looked like she was made as mayor of Gravity Falls. But wasn't she too young? She threw away the paper and made her way to Greasy's Diner. The brunette got inside and spotted a messy Lazy Susan sweeping off the floors with a glum look in her face.

Mabel slowly walked up to her. "Uh, Lazy Susan?"

Once the old woman laid her eyes on her, she dropped the broom in a gasp, her eyes completely widened. Her shocked face was now turned into a raging look. She pointed an accusing finger to the brunette. "Mabel Pines! The one who corrupted everything in Gravity Falls! The one who caused CORRUPTION!"

Mabel frightfully backed away and jumped about a foot in the air when several other residents popped out behind the counter. "Corruption! Corruption! Corruption! Corruption!" They chanted in an angry tone. Their whole bodies turned black with their eyes glowing bright like a moon.

The brunette left the dinner in a panic. Outside, the residents momentarily appeared, chanting 'Corruption' to her endlessly. She put both of her hands on her ears as she sprinted toward the woods on the winding road. They kept chanting to her in a hollow tone. The residents followed her, now beginning to chant, "We hate you, Mabel!"

She stumbled into the forest, ignoring every scrub that hurt her and every branch that tore her sweater and create bloody scratches on her legs. In the midst of the woods, she approached the Mystery Shack and she could see herself jumping in joy. She ran inside and out of breath, squealed. "Dipper! Stan! Wendy? Soos?"

There was no response. She climbed up the stairs, calling their names until she got inside to the bedroom she shared with her twin. "Dipper!" She screamed. She saw him sitting depressingly on the side of his bed as she stood next to him. "Dipper! I'm so glad to see you!"

Dipper didn't reply to her. He kept staring at the floorboards of the room. Mabel leaned in. "Dipper?"

She heard her twin muttered. "How could you, Mabel? How could you do this?"

The brunette bit her lip hard. She could taste blood but she ignored it. "What do you mean?" She asked. Dipper slowly stood up from his bed. "Don't you realize what you did?" He looked up at her and Mabel almost fell down when she saw his completely burnt face. Burnt skin slowly started to rip apart from his cheeks as his eyeless face stared at her. "You've ruined everything Mabel! We hate you! I HATE YOU!"

Mabel bit her hand to hold back the sob in her throat. Dipper suddenly pushed her to the floor which began to open up and swallow her to nothingness. She felt gravity pulling her down with its strings. The last thing she saw was the eyes of her brother that held an unknown emotion and the words that will forever imprinted in her mind escaping from his venomous lips. "I wish you die, sister."

The setting faded back to the stairs and Mabel was lying down on the colored step, arms outstretched. She stared off into the distance, sweat dripping down to her temple. The brunette began to sit up, recalling what happen when she suddenly broke into a heavy sob, burying her face in the process. Tears began overflowing in her palms, soaking her sweater as she put up her knees to her chest.

"Too much for you to handle, is it?" A voice spoke in front of her. Mabel didn't need to look to make sure it was Bill who was talking to her. Because she know his voice too well. She nodded and spoke silently. "That's already too much for me."

Bill hunched his shoulders. "Well, you can't just give up right now."

"What's the point? I rather lose and help you find the code than facing and enduring all these horror." Mabel said, taking out the handkerchief Bill gave her and wiped off her tears. "Is the vending machine really that important?"

"Very important. It will definitely changed the world. Like literally. Gravity Falls won't be the same ever again."

Mabel raised an eyebrow at this reply. Literally changed the world? That sounds really important. She looked at her shoes, tracing the outline of it to keep her occupied while she's thinking. Worry clouded her gaze. "But I don't want to see all this nightmares. You said it'll turn to the worst as I progresses."

Bill shrugged. "Well, yeah. But do you want your family to be safe?" Why am I supporting her on this?

Mabel shook her head but seconds later, she finally get what he meant. She looked at Bill who just nodded. The brunette flashed a watery smile before standing up. "You're right. Family matters more to me than anything else. I'll finish what was started."

The brunette faced the stairs ahead of her. Only two more and she's done. She ran up the stairs, feeling determination rushing through her. She finally felt strength within her all because of two words that fueled her system: My family. She saw a blue-colored step and confidently put her foot on it.

It was a nightmare where Stan sacrifices himself to save the kids from one impending doom. She saw herself crying over to him. Her wails split the air.

"Grunkle Stan, no! Please wake up! GRUNKLE STAN!"

Mabel managed to face the nightmare and try to confront the last one. She set her foot to a purple-colored step which brought her into red skies. Bubbles that show images of disaster and her fears were floating everywhere. Mabel tried to ignore it as she ran but it always caught her attention. Voices filled the air, haunting her.

"And you won't be able to wish me goodbye at the end of the summer?"

"And he doesn't make fun of me all the time. Like you and Grunkle Stan do."

"High school is the worst!"

"Well, it's a horrible opportunity for ME!"

"I want you to love skateboarding, supporting me and punctuating every sentence with a high-five!"

"Mabel, wait! I didn't mean it like that! Mabel, come back!"

"You're the only person I can count on and now you're leaving me too?!"

Mabel finally sees the crack that led her to the end of her nightmare. She smirked, feeling proud that she really made it this far. She shouted to the air. "See ya later, sucka nightmares!" She jumped into the crack and the whole nighmare breaks like glass and collapsed into shards until they diminished.

The brunette stood in the blank white void, putting her hands on her kness, her shoulders heaving as she breathed in and out.

"That was impressive, kid!" Bill appeared behind her and the brunette turned around with a smile on her face. "What can I say? It's all thanks to the support!" She thought that Bill won't know that the 'support' she's referring was actually him. She placed her hands behind her. "I kinda won now. So I'll be on my way?"

Bill shrugged. "Yeah, well. I don't mind not getting the code anyway. Maybe it's not actually that important. Oh well. It's nice seeing you enduring all that nightmares, Shooting Star. I gotta say, that took guts! It seems your efforts finally pay off. Oh and one more thing..."

He floated next to her and narrowed his gaze. "Whatever happens after this, it'll be our little secret. Between you and me."

"Wait - what?"

"See ya later!" The dream demon vanished and darkness began to consume her eyesight.

Birds were chirping in harmony in the cool air after the heavy storm. Scent of pine lingered through the room, giving it a peaceful nice smell.

Mabel blinked open her eyes and saw the arched ceilings. She immediately sat up and took in all her surroundings. There's the bedside table, her alarm clock, her posters, the closet and Dipper's bed. The air felt like a mixture of cool and warm. Birds flapping by make the atmosphere more serene and lively. It's like a normal day in Gravity Falls.

"Mornin', Mabel." A familiar voice spoke near her. She turned around to see Dipper stretching himself after he woken up from his bed. Mabel rubbed her eyes to make sure this wasn't a nightmare or a dream. When she found out it isn't, she gave out a happy gasp. "Dipper!" She leaped off from her bed and tackled him to the ground.

Dipper was shocked by this. "Mabel, what are you doing?" His twin enveloped him in a tight hug, wrapped with love and relief. He managed to speak from her tight grasp. "Mabel, are you okay?"

"Yup! I'm just... happy today."

Dipper frowned. How can she be happy today when she had only woke up in the morning? He know Mabel was off. She's not like this in the morning. But he shrugged it off. "Well, anyways, Grunkle Stan is making some special breakfast. Thought I might want to let you know."

Mabel stared at him in the eye. "Wait, Grunkle Stan?"

"Yeah...?"

In just one second, Mabel had disappeared and was stepping down the stairs before sprinting into the kitchen. She saw Grunkle Stan carrying the pan and she quickly tackled him in a hug.

"Kid?! What are you doing? You're about to ruin my special treat!" He yelled, moving his pan in the air to prove his point. Mabel giggled. "Sorry, Grunkle Stan. I'm just glad you're safe."

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Uh, me too... kid?"

Mabel pulled away the hug and skipped into the gift shop. Stan stood up and at that time, Dipper came over in his normal attire. Stan leaned close to his great nephew. "Y'know, something's off about Mabel today."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Mabel, still in her nightgown, approached the gift shop. She gasped when she saw Rosie sitting on a chair near the counter with Wendy and Soos. "Rosie!"

Rosie turned and smiled. "Mabel! How ya doin'?"

"I'm doing great! What about you?"

Rosie shrugged. "I'm fine after the whole Heather incident. And I'm just glad that nothing's bugging me anymore." Mabel twitched her lip and grinned. "Good to know!"

"Hey, Mabel," Wendy spoke. "What about the competition we're planning to enter? Aren't we gonna rehearse about that?" Soos agreed. "Yeah, dudes. I worked all night on the keyboard! Let its music rollin'!"

Mabel folded her arms. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that! Hold up. I'll phone Pacifica about it in a minute. Right after breakfast, we're gonna rehearse for the competition. Alright, guys?"

The gang nodded in agreement and Mabel grinned, walking out of the gift shop and climbed up the stairs to get dressed. She knew too well that her whole family forgetting what happened was actually Bill's doing. Why was he being nice and made them forgot certain things so it won't be too awkward and they can focus for the upcoming concert?

Mabel knew Bill was planning something, but that's not her top priority right now. All she need to focus is the band competing.

That's the end of Chapter 10!

I want to let you guys know that the next chapter is going to be the last one. The chapter where everything is concluded. So if you guys had any questions, feel free to put it in your review! I'll make sure to answer it in the story in the next chap!

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