Chapter 8- You're the Boss Pt. 2

A/N:
The wait is finally over, and here it is! I'm a little rough around the edges, but hopefully this will be satisfying enough. Thank you all for being with me thus far, and thank you for loving this story!

Grunkle Stan slammed his trunk shut as I waited patiently outside the porch of the Shack. An hour passed since our last conversation, but it felt like a few minutes as time flew past us. I spent most of the time pondering on what to do in order to keep the Shack running. But my mind was still occupied with this voice... It just kept repeating itself saying, 'Mabel, Mabel, boss Mabel...'. I found myself smacking my head with my own fists and shaking my head back and forth. Still, even as I stood on the old wooden floor boards of the porch I could hear the ghastly voice whispering my name.

Grunkle Stan chuckled as he made his way to the driver's seat of his red beat up car.

"See you in 72 hours! We'll see who makes more money!"

I just gave him a grumpy old look as I held an empty glass jar firmly around my arms. Grunkle Stan opened the car door and took off his velvet colored hat and tossed it towards me, landing right on my head.

"I'll make more money then you, you'll see!" I hollered.

Grunkle Stan just waved a hand at me and slammed his car door shut driving away, leaving only a cloud of dust in his wake.

The sound of the screen door opening and closing behind me caught my attention.
I turned around to see Dipper giving me a worried look.

"Mabel, did you just make a bet with a professional con man?"

I smiled at Dipper and I wrapped an arm around his neck, "Oh come on, being a better boss then Stan will be a sinch! Profit, here we come!"

I swung both of my arms into the air and a loud CRASH sound echoed throughout the forest. I didn't bother to look down as I realized the glass jar was gone...

"You broke the jar-"

"We'll get a new one..." I said cutting him off.

Dipper sighed and took my arm off of his shoulders. "Mabel you do realize that this bet is a death sentence right?"

"Ah come off it Dipper! I mean seriously, how much money can Stan even make on vacation!?"

Dipper pondered on the thought, "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"You know what your problem is? You worry too much."

"But hey, you know what they call people who worry too much?"

I looked back at Dipper as we walked back inside the Shack, "What?"

"You call them, worri-ers! Ha, ha, get it? Worri-ers like as in… Warrior-"

"How do you come up with these jokes!?"

Dipper grinned and he crossed his arms. "I have my ways… But besides the corny jokes and the bet, do we have any more tours today?"

I looked at the time and then I jumped towards the counter. I flipped through a schedule book that was underneath the register and sure enough, we had one more tour to go.

"Well, we only have one last tour before it's all over… So it shouldn't be that bad right?"

"I hope so. You're the new boss so… What do you want me to do?"

I stared at him blankly and I realized that that was actually a good question. What exactly SHOULD Dipper do? I never really thought about being boss this far, all I wanted to do was prove Grunkle Stan was wrong.

"Well… I uh, guess you'll just have to do whatever Grunkle Stan was making you do last time…"

"Oh come on really!? You can't be serious-"

\ "It's just for today Dipper I promise! I admit, I didn't really think all of this through and besides! This is at the spur of the moment! I can't just change things right away you know?"

Dipper gave me an angry look but nodded in understanding. "Alright fine… But I really do hope that this is the last time I'm ever doing this…"

I watched sadly as Dipper walked away disappearing behind the staff doors. I really didn't want to make Dipper do this but I didn't have anything else planned, well at least not yet anyway… But the look on his face made my heart thud like a drum. Surely there could've been a better option?

But on the other hand…

I looked at the time again and it dinged softly as the minute hand finally stroke 12, indicating that it was a new hour of the day.

I made haste and I opened the cash register; flipping through the stacks of cash that was presented in front of me. We were so close, or at least that's what Grunkle Stan said, I didn't want to lose the game yet. Hopefully this would be the last day of the job, that way I can finally have some quality time with Dipper.

I smiled at the thought of Dipper and me together as I continued to count the stacks of cash. But as I was counting a voice whispered, 'Mabel, Mabel, boss Mabel...'. I found my smile turning into a wide grin and I let out a deep chuckle, "Yeah… I am the boss…"

All the while I kept on thinking to myself, 'How hard could being a boss be?'
But at the same time, I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone, or, something was watching me…

(*, My Big Dipper ,*)

I pulled my hair and rubbed my head in frustration. The minute the tourists came in, they rushed into the Shack like a bunch of hungry animals. Communicating with them seemed to be futile as they all quacked nonsensically and holy jeez they wouldn't shut up! Dipper took the tourists in for the tour but half of them stayed inside the gift shop where Soos should be but he wasn't there! And heck knows where Wendy is, where the falls is she!?

A customer frantically ran up to me and slammed down a case of 'Mystery Soda' in front of me. Little did he know it was just "Diet Pitt Cola" but with Grunkle Stan's label on it.
I took the case of bottles from his hands and as calmly as I could I asked, "Welcome to the Mystery Shack! I see that you've-"

"I WANT MORE OF THESE NOW!" He yelled.

All over the Shack people kept on shouting and yelling at each other and soon, the air became very humid and sweaty with all these people clumped up into one place. Worst part was my hair didn't fair any better… That or the room smelled like old, moldy gym socks…

"But sir," –I yelled over the chatter- "That is the last case! We have to order-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME! I WANT MORE… NOW!"

I recoiled as the man's face oozed out with sweat and spit as he looked at me with a constipated face.

"Hey dude! There's no need to yell at the cashier!" A man in a Hawaiian shirt remarked.

The soda driven man turned around, with the same constipated expression, and gave him a bloodshot glare. "YOU CALLING ME A FAT TUBBY!?"

The man scratched his head, "Uhh that doesn't make any sense-"

"NOW YOU'RE CALLING ME STUPID!"

The man waved his arms in front of him in defense, "Wow bro! Chill out, I was just saying that-"

"I'M GONNA HIT YOU!"

"Wha-"

The soda driven man took the case of soda and slammed it on the floor like he just didn't care. He then leaped towards the Hawaiian shirted man and smacked him in the face with the back of his hand. The slap echoed, and for a second there was silence.

The shirted man stood there shocked, unable to move… Then his face grew beat red and he raised both arms above his head, "YOU DONE DIDDLY DONE IT NOW TUBBY!"

"YEAH I KNEW IT! I KNEW HE WAS RACIS-"

The shirted man tackled the soda man and soon there was a tackling/smack fest with everyone hitting each other for no reason. I leaped over the counter as I tried to stop the rowdy crowd, but they all pushed me away like I was a rag doll. I ended up crashing against a wall face down and my head landed against the floor hard. As I opened up my eyes slowly I saw the staff door burst open as Dipper ran towards me panting heavily.

"Dipper what are you doing here!? You're supposed to be giving a-"

Dipper grabbed the collar of my shirt and shook me frantically, "THEY ALL WANT TO SEE ME STRIP AND TURN INTO A DOG POLAR BEAR WOLF MAN! YOU GOTTA HELP-"

The staff door burst open again and a mob of hormone driven teenagers pointed at Dipper, "THERE HE IS! GET HIM!"

Dipper screamed as the crowd of tourists rushed towards him like a stampede. He tried to escape but when he ran he tripped over himself and landed hard against the floor.

I watched in horror as the teenagers began to swarm around him and engulf him like a group of zombies.

"MABEL, HELP ME!"

Soon the crowd of people landed on top of Dipper and they started flashing away, grabbing at his clothes with their sweaty little hands like hungry cannibals.

"DIPPER!"

I was just about to head butt someone in the crowd till Soos came bursting through the staff door with a family of raccoons on his face.

"SOOS,' I screamed out as he rushed towards me, "WHERE WERE-"

"I TRIED TO CLEAN OUT THE ATTIC BUT THEN A PACK OF RACOONS WERE LIVING THERE AND NOW THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME AND- OH MY FALLS! NOT THE EYEBROWS! PLEASE, NOT THE EYE-"

Again, the staff door slammed open and this time, I saw Wendy sprinting as if she was running for her life.

"WENDY!" I yelled out over the crowd, "WHAT'S GOING ON!? "

"RUN! THE TOILETS ARE CLOGGED AND-"

There was a deep rumble that shook the Shack and without warning, the staff doors flew open as a flood of water erupted out like a geyser.

My mouth hung opened and I screamed, "OH MY FALLS WE'RE ALL GOING TO-"

And before I could even finish my sentence, the water hit me and I got shot out of the Shack entrance from the sheer force of the sewage. I landed face first against the parking lot and I spit out a mouthful of dirt with disgust.

"Eww," I moaned, "Tastes like Grunkle Stan's socks!"

All around me people were moaning and muttering; all of them slowly coming back into consciousness.

Then the same soda driven man opened his eyes and shot up to his feet. He looked around and then he looked at the Shack and gave off an angry look of disgust, "This place is a dump!"

Everyone started to nod their heads in agreement and shouted things like, "THE SHACK SUCKS" and "WHO THE HECK IS IN CHARGE OF THIS PLACE!?" But mostly, what hurt me the most was a women yelling out, "WHAT KIND OF BOSS WOULD LET THIS HAPPEN!?"

At that remark, I sank to my knees as the tourists all filed into their tour buses. All of them wet, dirty, and grimy from the unpleasant experience they just had inside. The bus erupted with muffled noises and fumes. I watched the bus kick up some dust and I let the grim fall all over me. Showering me with shame and exhaustion…

I hung my head so that my bangs would shadow my face. I didn't even bother to look up as a hand rested against my shoulders and Dipper said softly, "Well this is your first day! It could've been worse… Right?"

I felt tears swell up in my eyes and I managed to croak, "Y-Yeah… I guess you're right…"

I wanted to escape this reality; I wanted to escape the deafening sounds of failure being whispered in my ear. But the sound of Soos screaming and raccoons screeching made it difficult to forget about today's events.

But there was this one voice, one other voice that whispered ghastly. "Mabel, Mabel, when will you learn?"

I let out a sigh and I got up, heading towards the Shack with a heart heavy, and my spirits limp. And I couldn't help but feel the weight of failure being placed on my chest like a large bucket of dark, gloomy sprinkles…

(*, My Big Dipper ,*)

I felt my back let out a loud *crack* as I straightened it after bending over for so long. I held a mop in one hand and I wiped my forehead with the other. I looked at the newly cleaned gift shop as the orange lit sun glowed deeply across my face. The warmth soothed me of the pain and suffering that I endured today and I took in a deep breath. Sure the air still smelled a little like donkey poo but needless to say, it was almost perfect.

For a minute I just stood still, absorbing the last of the sun's rays before the moon took its place impatiently.

After the disaster I ordered everyone to clean up the Shack. However, Wendy wasn't budging saying that her stomach was cramping up, and Soos was nowhere to be found. In the end, Dipper and I were the only ones who cleaned up the entire Shack. I gotta say though, it felt good to have some alone time with my Dipping Sauce (Even if we just cleaned most of the time).

The staff door opened and I turned my head to see Dipper holding a bucket and a mop looking tired and gloomy.

"Well," Dipper said putting down his bucket. "I mopped the bathrooms and I scrubbed the toilets like a true man! Needless to say I'm never going to the bathroom again!"

I put my mop to the side, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is there are things in the bathroom that shouldn't exist! I saw a three headed wolf fish in our toilet! A three headed wolf fish!

I giggled, "You and your silly imagination!"

Dipper let out a grunt of stress and then gave me a smile.

"You know, even after all this I'm kinda glad that this whole mess was made."

I raised an eyebrow at that, "Why?"

"Well, I got to spend a lot of time with you. Even though you know- we didn't really get to talk while we were cleaning… It felt, nice to have you around me."

I smiled, "I feel the same way bro."

At that moment my stomach let out an unfitting grumble. I looked up at Dipper and blushed, "Guess I'm a little starved."

Dipper nodded, "Same here, do you want to order a pizza or something?"

I pumped my fists up in the air and I smiled, "Heck yeah!"

Dipper chuckled and walked towards the double doors which lead to the living room. He turned around and smiled warmly, "It's nice to see you up and running again sis."

As he left I felt a warm sensation in my body. I closed my eyes as the evening sun was replaced by the new born moon. A light white glow washed over the nicks and knacks of the shop, and the shadows seemed to come to life. However, the night seemed peaceful today. Outside the trees swayed and danced to the light wind. The shadows of the branches seemed to waltz to the melodic tones of the whistling breeze accompanied by the sound of owls waking up in search for their prey.

I witnessed the moon rising high above trees, staring down at me through the window as if it were saying a shy hello.

I breathed in the fresh night air and exhaled, refreshed by the song and scent of Mother Nature.

I picked up the money jar and clutched it tightly, staring at it with shining eyes. I rattled the jar lightly and I purred at the resonating sound of change clattering against the glass. Though the jar was only filled with a few coins, it felt nice to know that we earned something today.

"My hopes and dreams are all in here…"

I released my embrace with the jar and I placed it against the table. I closed the window and I bid the night good bye.

I turned around to head for the living room where Dipper was waiting, but I stopped mid step as I saw a feminine shadow plastered on the wall.

I snapped my head back, but I saw nothing there. I turned around again to face the wall but was only greeted by the washed glow of the moon.

I shrugged my shoulders and let out a weak chuckle, "Guess it's just my imagination-"

Something shattered next to me and I looked down to see change scattering across the floor.

"The jar!"

I went down to my knees and began to salvage what I could through the darkness. As I was doing so I heard a voice whispering,

'Mabel…'

I looked up from the floor to see who called my name, but instead I only saw the shadows that lined up against the walls.

"W-Who's there!?"

"Mabel, Mabel, Mabel, Mabel, Mabel…"

The voice kept saying my name over and over again. The sound resonated through my ears as my eyes darted from wall to wall to see what was causing me to lose my sanity.

I sucked in a deep breath and I screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU!?"

The whispers stopped, and I observed my surroundings.

"What am I? Now that's a good question…"

The voice was ghastly and weak which sent shivers down my spine.

"S-Show yourself!"

"You're already facing me!"

I looked everywhere but I just couldn't see who it was.

"Look closer, and stare at the wall…"

I did as I was told and I stared at the wall.

"Now, what do you see?"

I continued to search the wall, but all I could see were the shadows of the various objects in the shack including my own.

But then I saw another figure appear, rising up ever so slowly, showing me it's pearly whites. The figure seemed to be wearing a dress and its body shape resembled a woman's.

"You… You are a-"

"A shadow spirit?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Well that's a new one… You don't seem to want to hurt me so… What are you doing here?"

The shadow jumped towards another wall and seated itself on the shadow cast by the counter.

"Why you summoned me!"

"What? I didn't do some sort of special incantation or opened a spell book to unleashed the heck pit of-"

"No, no, no! None of that sort. You just happened to approach me in the basement earlier today, remember? The emerald bow tie? The glowing light? The shadow downstairs that looked over your shoulder? The one that whispered your name?"

"So it was you! You were the one that kept on saying my name all this time! You know, I always thought you would be a lot scarier… You are a lot scarier when you're hidden in the- wait for it… Shadows!"

I laughed at my own joke but the figure just seemed to roll its eyes.

"Charming… My name's Amy, Amy Smith."

"Name's Mabel, Mabel Pines!"

"I know that already, and do you know what else I know?"

"What?" I asked.

"I also know that you're going through a hard time."

Amy leaped off the counter and reappeared on top of the table, her posture lady like and mature. "This jar right here? How in the world are you going to fill it up if it's broken?"

Amy jumped from the counter wall and appeared on the floor, "You said that it was your dreams Mabel, the very thing that drives you! The thing keeps you alive and going! The dream of being with 'him'!"

Amy moved towards the wall where she originated from and she crossed her arms, "I may not know much about your relationship with him, but I do know a thing or two about boys! I WAS quite a charming young girl when I was alive…"

True to her word, Amy DID seem to have that sort of aura around her. She seemed like a laid back person, but also someone who could take control of things if needed be.

"You… You'll help me?"

"Anything for you Mabel! You did free me, and I am forever in your debt!"

"But, what can you do? Give me advice? How will that help?"

"If you die as a teenage girl and you're trapped in the real world being a spirit for a long time, you'll learn a thing or two."

Amy poked at the broken glass pieces on the floor, "You said that this jar is filled with your hopes and dreams did you not?"

I merely nodded my head.

"Well, let me tell you something." Amy looked up, "Dreams shatter easily. If you slip up once, a crack will appear. If you slip up twice, you just may break it."

I stared at the shards of glass around me and sulked.

"But there are more jars out there. If you break one, you can just get a new one. That is hope, something to look forward to. A new destiny, reborn!

Amy opened her palm and slowly, the pieces of broken glass began to pile up with each other. Shards among shards rose from the ground around me.

"Of course if you step on the shards of your previous dreams you will experience pain. But by learning where the shards are you can avoid them and next time, you will be more cautious. You will know how to clean up the mess you made before."

The pieces of glass finished colliding with each other and Amy held the jar to my shadow.

"And when someone is there for you, to help you collect those shattered pieces, you can create something beautiful…"

I looked forward and I saw the object hovering in front of me.

It wasn't like the cheap old jar that I had before, but it looked simple yet beautiful (like what the rich people have).

"Though the design of the jar is simple, sometimes simplicity is better than complexity."

I sighed, "If only love was like that…"

Amy smiled, "I'll help you Mabel… But you're going to have to do everything I say."

"Okay but… I have a few questions."

Amy went silent, but I looked at her shadow and she only nodded.

"How did you end up in that bow tie?"

Amy chuckled, "Strange things happen in Gravity Falls now doesn't it?"

I merely nodded my head.

"That bow tie that I was trapped in, it was a gift, a gift from your Grunkle Stan."

I gasped.

"He gave it to me as a birthday present when we were fairly young. How he got the jewel I wouldn't know, he never told me."

"That's cool but, how did you get inside the crystal?"

"I…" There was a sudden silence as Amy stopped talking. "I don't remember… All I remember is that it was a cold winter, cries, screams, sobs, and…"

Amy, despite being a shadow, seemed to shiver. "All I can say is that it wasn't a wonderful time for Gravity Falls that winter."

I just nodded my head in understanding. "That's harsh… How did you meet Grunkle Stan anyways? And why didn't he tell us about you?"

Amy raised a hand, "I'll answer your questions all in time. But now I have a question for you. Do you trust me?"

I placed the jar down and I turned to face Amy, "You don't seem like a bad person so, I'll trust you!"

Amy nodded, "Then come to where I am."

I obliged and I walked towards Amy. I faced the wall where Amy was, "Okay, and now what?"

"Place your hand over mine on the wall."

I did as I was told and I felt a warm sensation engulf me as my hand and her shadow connected.

"Keep your hand over mine, and continue to concentrate on my shadow."

I did as I was told but I felt a stinging sensation begin to run through my arms and into my brain.

"A-Amy," I squeaked, "I-Is this supposed to happen? It k-k-kind of really hu-hurts!"

As the seconds went by the stinging feeling began to become stronger, and stronger.

I closed my eyes.

"Don't lose focus! I'm merely trying to enter your subconscious. Once I am in there I can help you directly. We will be one Mabel, you and me. And through this, I will help you…"

All I could do was stare at Amy as I pressed my palm against hers with a much greater force.

"Do you trust me?" Amy asked.

I nodded and smiled grimly, "Yes… I trust you."

With a sudden gust of wind coming from the open window, the pain felt like a surgical knife cutting into my brain. The howling wind began to get stronger, and stronger as the seconds passed by.

I felt my mind becoming numb, and I felt like I was at the verge of collapsing till finally, like a switch, everything stopped.

I opened my eyes and I stared at a blank wall. I turned around to see if Amy was anywhere to be seen, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

'Did it work?' I thought to myself.

'It did! Mabel, it's a success!'

I gasped in happiness and I squealed.

Just then Dipper burst through the door with a worried look on his face.

"Mabel, are you alright!? I heard screaming and squealing! Did something happen?"

I looked around myself and I didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed fine and normal. Even the window was closed…

I turned to face Dipper and I shook my head, "Nothing out of the ordinary bro! You're probably just paranoid or something!"

Dipper rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, "Alright… Well, the pizza guy says he's going to be here soon so why not wash up before he gets here?"

"Sounds good to me!"

I skipped past Dipper but before I left I stopped myself and gave Dipper a seductive look, "Oh and by the way, you looked cute in that boywolf costume…"

With that said, I left a confused Dipper standing alone in the gift shop to ponder on my words.

As I made my way upstairs to the bathroom I placed a finger against my lips.

"What did I just say!?"

'It wasn't you, it was me.'

"B-But how!?"

'I'm part of your conscious now remember?'

"O-Oh yeah I forgot… But will that really help? I mean, that was just out of the blue and-"

'Trust me Mabel… You'll see, and I'll answer all the questions that you seek…'

I just nodded my head and entered the bathroom.

As I washed my hands, I couldn't help but think about what Amy would make me do. I wasn't the one who said that, but it was her. If she could make me say stuff, then can she make me do stuff?

I looked at myself in the mirror and I let out a sigh.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this…"

And there was just 48 hours to go…

A/N:
I feel as if this chapter wasn't satisfying enough. After being out of the writing business for a few months I realized I lost my touch. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be released during the spring. Complications and school caught me. Summer is here, and like last summer updates should be normal (for the time being). Thank you all for your support thus far, and I hope you enjoyed.

(P.S, there were a lot of outtakes to this chapter. (One of the reasons why it was so short). If anyone would like to read the outtakes for themselves, then please p.m me. I will gladly send you a copy. )