Phew! This was a long one! Enjoy, and please don't forget to review when you read! It really encourages me to carry on. Thank you all who have already read and reviewed, it always makes me smile when I read them! And as always, I don't own Gravity Falls.

The kettle bubbled furiously as it boiled, the steam escaping with an ear-piercing shriek. Grunting, Dipper lifted the old copper container from the hob and poured a neat stream of water into the teacup before him, a cloud of steam rising in little swirls as it hit the cool air. He rolled his eyes as he stirred the teabag around; his sister was known for her strange ways, and one of them was being unbelievably picky with tea. He poured in the milk with a little plop, added two sugars, and began to ascend the stairs toward her bedroom.

"Mabel? I've got a cup of tea for you,"

A small whine from beneath the covers was his answer. He crossed the room, his eyes fixed on the lump beneath the duvet he recognised as his sister. Placing the teacup on the bedside cabinet, he grasped the curtains at the window and yanked them apart, allowing the morning light to stream in like a flood through the bedroom. The lump stirred and whimpered as it moved over, facing away from him. Dipper sighed as he sat down beside the protuberance with a "flump", placing a hand on the floral print material. His sister had a habit of hiding when she was depressed; as a child she called it "Sweater Town". It was never a good sign.

"Mabel…" He probed a finger through a hole in the material, peering through the darkness, until he found a tired brown eye peeking back at him. "There you are! I got some tea for you, just how you like it!"

A grunt sounded from the bulge in the material as it moved with gargantuan effort, the quilt still hooded over her head as it sat up, giving the figure a strange worm-like appearance. Dipper smiled brightly as he picked up the cup, allowing the steam to swirl temptingly in little eddies in front of the opening of the duvet.

"That's it, take it…" He carefully placed it in the hand that protruded from the soft duvet, and a face appeared. He reeled back slightly at the sight before him. His sister's hair was ratted beyond belief, and her face was pale and had an almost greasy sheen to it. Her eyes swam like two lumps of coal in milk, ringed with a crimson tinge. It looked like she had been awake all night.

Of course she'd look like this, Dipper thought as his sister smiled wanly at him through the tiny hole in her quilt, sipping the hot tan liquid carefully. He'd look like this too, if he were in her shoes. In fact, he suspected she'd been up all night. After she had cried herself hoarse the night before, he had led her to her room, coaxed her into getting into her nightdress as he pulled back her duvet and tucked her in. She had looked at him with large, watery eyes, and pleaded with him not to leave her. How could he? So he sat next to her, propped up against the pillow and on top of the duvet, she laid down into the pillow and the blankets pulled up close around her chin, as he rattled off stories from their childhood at her request. She had smiled at points, giggled tiredly, and even requested a rendition of the Lamby Lamby song (At Dipper's behest). Eventually, however, Mabel had croakily whispered that she wanted to sleep, so Dipper ruffled her hair, stood up and left the room, stating that if she needed him, he was right next door.

Turns out she just wanted to be alone.

"How are you feeling now…?" Dipper asked, his eyes full of concern. Mabel looked intently into the cup before her, dodging her brother's gaze. She mumbled as she buried herself deeper.

"I can't quite hear you," Dipper leaned closer, until it looked as though he might join her in her soft prison. "You know, not every guy is like Marcus,"

This caught her attention. Mabel's eyes met her brothers, swimming with salty tears that stung, causing her to blink. She whimpered, sipping her tea to distract herself. "It's not him dumping me over the answerphone that's upset me,"

Dipper blinked incredulously at this. "So... what's really upset you about it?"

Mabel shook her head, eluding her brother's intense gaze further. She drained the cup and held it out for him to take. "I think… I think I'm just tired, bro. I didn't get much sleep last night," She blinked slowly, letting loose a long, deep yawn. "Why don't you go see Wendy or Grunkle Stan and Soos?"

"But…" Dipper started, but was quickly stopped as his sister raised her palm to stop him.

"Trust me, bro. I just need to rest…" She murmured, resting back into the pillow behind her. "Just for an hour or two. Then I promise I'll get up and do stuff. Okay?"

Dipper's mouth twitched. "Okay… as long as you're sure,"

"Sure I'm sure, Dipping Sauce," his sister squeezed the young man's hand in reassurance as he stood to his full height, the bright light of the midsun washing over him as he stood before the window. Giving each other another squeeze, Mabel watched as her brother left the room. She listened to the plodding of his feet as they stepped down the wooden staircase, and the slam of the front door as it shut behind him.

"I'm sure," She whispered to herself as she rolled over onto her side, clutching her knees to her chest. "I'm sure,"

"Grunkle Stan?" The taps he left on the window echoed through the empty clearing of trees. Dipper placed a hand up against the coolness of the glass as he peered inside, his eyesight struggling to see through the murky blackness that awaited him. "Huh. Must not be in," He shrugged, and looked around him with detached interest. The yard remained littered with curios, unchanged as always, and the buggy, ancient and rusting with age and abuse, was in the usual place, its bright coloured canvas top flapping gently in the summer breeze.

"Huh…" Dipper mumbled, scratching his head as he looked about him. "SOOS! YOU HERE, DUDE?"

"Wait a sec, dude!" A rustle came through from behind the shack, and the familiar face of his old friend popped out from behind the building, a wide grin spreading across his features as he spotted his friend. "I was just doing some chores on the shack, y'know?"

"Sounds cool," Dipper smiled. "Hey, have you seen Grunkle at any point? I can't see anyone in there,"

The older man pondered this for a second, his brow furrowed as he peered up at the shack. "Y'know, I ain't seen the old guy all mornin'. I saw him last night when I went home, but I think he's in bed," Soos looked skyward as he thought. "Come to think of it, he was muttering a lot. Something about kids, or something,"

"Kids?" Dipper's eyes narrowed. Why would his Grunkle Stan be mumbling about kids to himself? Maybe he was going a bit strange in his old age? He scritched his chin in thought, that was quickly interrupted at the sound of drilling wood. He looked up and saw his friend pushing a drill through the wood exterior of the shack, sawdust billowing out beneath him.

"When the old guy wakes up, I'll tell him you called, okay?" Soos grinned toothily, waving with his free hand enthusiastically as he watched the young man walk away. Dipper turned, gave him double thumbs up and a grateful "Thanks bro!" as he strode down the lane, back toward the town.

"Mabel…"

"Who's there?! Who are you? Why are you speaking into my mind?!"

"I'm a friend, Mabel, you can trust me,"

"A friend? "

"Just someone who cares about you. A guardian of sorts,"

"A guardian? Are you my guardian angel?"

"I suppose you could call us that. There are lots of us,"

"Wow…"

"Wow indeed. We saw what happened to you, Mabel,"

"Oh… that,"

"It hurt, didn't it?"

"Y-yes… so much,"

"We hate seeing you sad, Mabel. We've been watching over you for a very long time,"

"That's a bit creepy,"

"We prefer to call it… caring. We know what really hurt you, sweet Mabel,"

"The reason… why he…"

"We could fix all that for you. Give you what you want more than anything in the entire world. We know how empty your arms are, sweetheart,"

"…What's the catch?"

"No catch, Mabel. Just you and what you want more than life itself. Now, what do you say? Do you want this gift?"

"… yes. Yes I do,"

Dipper whistled in amazement as he took in his surroundings with a worried air. Gravity Falls had never been the most bustling of towns, but this… if he were down south, he'd swear that tumbleweed could blow through the streets and not get stopped. A hollow breeze blew through him, sending an almost frightened chill that crawled up and down his spine. Turning, he saw one of the posters that he, Mabel and Wendy had stapled to a telegraph pole. Ripping it down, he spied another poster that ruffled next to it.

"Missing… Rachel, aged three…" He mumbled as he read, his eyes then distracted by another paper. "Please find, Daniel… aged five years…" "Age 6 months, please find our Nathan…"

"What is going on here?! These posters look barely more than a few days old!" He muttered to himself, feeling the colour drain from his cheeks. Amongst his thoughts, a few steps echoed down the street behind him, causing him to yelp in shock. He turned, and was faced with the back of a very familiar figure.

"Wendy!" Dipper breathed in relief as he called out to the woman, who marched onwards. She was lumping another familiar little figure on her hip, yet something wasn't quite right.

They were both completely silent.

"WENDY! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Dipper raced towards her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Would you please just-"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME," The woman roared, slapping the man's hand away from her as though he were made of fire. He gasped as he reeled back in shock, as though he were struck in the face. "GET AWAY FROM US! NOW!" Her eyes flamed in anger as she grit her teeth, holding the young child away from him in a protective grasp.

"Wendy… what's wrong?!"

"I told you, get away!" She backed away, eying him with almost possessed eyes, pressing her baby to her chest, his copper curls peeking out from between her splayed fingers. Dipper held his hands up in surrender as he stepped towards her tentatively, reaching out a careful, comforting hand.

"Wendy, please, this isn't you! What's the…"

THWACK.

The world spun around for Dipper in an instant as he stumbled, a hand clutching his nose that felt as though it would explode. His eyes pricked as he fought back the hurt that threatened to rip him to pieces, not from the sizeable right hook he had just received to his nose, but from the figure that was now running from him at top speed. He stumbled backwards as he backed into a wall, the coolness of the brick hard against his back as he allowed himself to reel. Taking his hand away from his nose carefully and gently, he found his palm was full of blood. Gasping, he quickly clasped it back to his nose, the sight of crimson and the metallic smell causing him to gag slightly.

"Blood… why'd she have to punch my nose?" He throatily coughed as he felt in his pocket for a piece of fabric and wadding. He hated blood, he always had. As a thirteen year old, Mabel had fell over and bit her tongue, and it had been left up to him to clean up the mess. He remembered throwing up quite a good deal afterwards from the sight, and since then he had always had an aversion to it. "What in god's name is going on here?!" He yelled into his hand as he felt his temper peak.

Finding a packet of tissues, he held a decent wad against his nostrils, and slid down the brickwork in a sweaty, shaking heap. He heard another set of footsteps approaching him, yet these didn't sound like shoes. It sounded like bare feet, slapping against the concrete as they passed him. Dipper looked up with all the expectancy of knowing he would not like the sight.

He didn't.

"M-M-Mabel…?"

The figure that walked before was indeed his twin, her chocolate-coloured locks hanging behind her as she glided along the pavement, a serene smile gracing her face. She was wearing the light blue nightdress she was wearing the night before, giving the impression that she had just got out of bed. And indeed, she was barefoot. Her eyes stayed focused yet hazy, pointing forwards as she walked, barely blinking and registering that her brother was in full freak-out mode by now.

"Mabel, what the FUCK is going on?" Dipper squeaked, his panic button now fully blazing. He reached out two panicked arms, forgetting the tissue that he had held against him nose, allowing the blood to stream freely past his lips and down his chin. He grabbed his sister's arms desperately, physically stopping her from walking.

Mabel turned, the serene smile almost blissful as she faced her twin, and took his hands into hers, the blood from his hands not staining her skin as she did so. In fact, it almost repelled against it. Dipper took a closer look at his sister, noticing that her skin was healthier than he had ever seen it. In fact, it was almost as though she were…

"Glowing…" He whispered hoarsely.

"I am, aren't I?" She replied peacefully, her dark round eyes meeting his as she spoke. "That's what they say to expectant mothers, huh?"

"What…" Dipper bit his lip as he grabbed her wrists. "But Mabel!"

"Shhh… don't you hear them? My babies need me…" She whispered as Dipper's hands were forcefully pulled apart, freeing her from her brother's terrified grip. She waved goodbye as she resumed her graceful steps, a straight beeline as she headed toward the forest.

Dippers heart felt as though it were a bird in a dropped cage, frantically beating as he tried to process this information and the very, very strange events that he had just encountered.

"Come to Gravity Falls, you said," He muttered angrily as he broke into a run, back to his sister's house to grab '3'. "It'll be a nice break, you said. For Christ' sake, Mabel, how did I let you talk me into this?"