A/N Hey guys! How is everyone this fine spring day? I hope everyone is doing awesome! Thanks to everyone who has read this far and I hope y'all will stick with me until the end!

Shout out time!

Oh gravityfalls22, as long as you have an email account getting a fanfiction account is easy, just click on the login/register button and follow the steps. Why aren't you allowed to get one? Makes little sense to me but oh well. Anyway, first of all, I'm glad you liked the moment where Dipper pretends to be sick to try and stay with Mabel or at least make her feel a little better. I liked it too. I enjoy writing little moments like that because yay mystery twins! I'm glad you're intrigued by the Wraiths, they're fun to write and create! You'll learn a little bit about them very soon. I'm also happy that my ER scenes feel realistic despite my limited medical knowledge. I try and draw from personal experience having been there myself as a patient and a visitor (minus the whole, y'know plot specific details of course) so I'm glad it works. Also I would LOVE to get my hands on "Dipper and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Non-Stop Fun" but alas I can't find it anywhere and I've put an end to ordering stuff online. So tempted though... Thanks for all the awesome reviews, you've become my rock that helps keep me motivated when I write this story and I'm so grateful that you found this little story of mine. Also, if I could be a writer for "Gravity Falls' for reals, that would be a dream come true! So I'd have no problem with you petitioning with Alex to hire me if you want but uh...no pressure. You're awesome.

Guest (Apr 19): Funny you should ask those excellent questions! This chapter may or may not answer some of them! I'm glad you like this!

Theluckystar22: I know your review was from chapter 8 but I forgot to mention that I LOVE "Doctor Who" and to call this story better than the Weeping Angels episodes is a massively huge compliment to me!

RockSunner, Nelli3, Williebadger618, Guest (Apr 17) and everyone I might've missed over the last few chapters, thanks for the reviews! They feed the muse y'know and always make my day! I'm glad y'all are enjoying this!

Anyway, I'm not sure about this chapter, I'm a little worried about it being a little too exposition-y and a tad OOC in certain places with a certain hard-to-write character but that might be because my inner critic has been trying to hog all the attention from my muse lately. Hopefully that's all it is but we'll see, right?

Well, without further ado, ENJOY!

Vulnerable

The assault is quick and agonizing and there's nothing Mabel can do to fight back against her ghostly doppelganger, not that she doesn't try with all she has. But the creature isn't corporeal and while it seems to have no trouble inflicting unimaginable pain on her, she can't touch it, she can't hurt it, all she can do is writhe and scream and try to get away.

Suddenly her surroundings turn to various shades of grey except for a triangular flash of yellow moving in between them, causing her attacker to hiss angrily as Mabel crumples to the floor breathlessly.

"You don't belong here," Bill's voice is low and menacing, "buh-bye now!"

She is ours!

"Haha, that's a good one," Bill chuckles before his eye narrows and he continues, "but we made a deal so actually she belongs to me right now. You have no claim over her."

But her soul…so strong, so pure…we need it. We need her to let go, surrender…

"Well, find someone else, this one's mine," Bill folds his stick arms.

The pain deep within Mabel's soul subsides, but it still lingers, leaving her unable to move and she watches the exchange, completely bewildered. There's nothing she can do here to escape them when she realizes she's back in the Mindscape and time has once again stopped. She can see her other self in the other bed, but she's transparent. There's still a very faint grey aura surrounding her, forming into what looks like a string of grey yarn, connecting her other self's body to the Wraiths who continue to take on her form.

"Oh that's right, you can't!" Bill laughs, taunting her ghostly replica, "You're too weak to jump hosts, but there's not much left of the one you chose so you're stuck. That's hilarious, really."

You stole her from us…she is ours! Let go little one, surrender, stop fighting us…come to us…

Mabel crawls away from them, horrified. Bill hovers almost possessively between her and the creature or creatures, she's really not sure if there's one or many of them, as they reach for her, beckoning her to come closer, still resembling a twisted reflection of her. The remnants of pain from their assault on her soul pulses through her and she holds herself protectively, terrified that even now, in this brand new timeline that she might still fade away. And maybe she still will, because she has her doubts that she was ever given a second chance, that it's all part of Bill's trickery to get her to do whatever it is he wants. But it feels real, and yet so does the other reality somehow, and she doesn't know what to believe anymore.

"Why can't you all just get away from me?" she snaps, "Leave me alone! I don't belong to either of you! You can't have my soul! What the heck?"

"I'm not asking for your soul, Shooting Star," Bill reminds her, "just a favour. These creatures however…nothing but foul parasites if you ask me."

Her phantom doppelganger hisses and charges, Bill casually dodges the attack until it's made clear that he's not their target. The Wraiths arms elongate, one grabs her shoulder, long nails digging in deep, making her scream as it lifts her high off the ground. Its touch is like burning ice as a knife forms in the other hand and Mabel braces herself for another attack as it raises its unnaturally long arm up to strike but the pain doesn't come. A flash of yellow and Bill sweeps in, taking the blow instead as he shoves the Wraiths away. Mabel falls to her knees as they let go of her, trembling from pain and adrenaline and looks up to see the attack seems to have little to no effect on Bill, except now he's no longer creepily amused, he's furious.

Bill grows in size, no longer his normal yellow colour. The triangular demon is now red, his eye glowing in rage, "You do not belong here on this side! Be gone! Unless she fails to keep her end of our deal, you cannot have her!"

The Wraiths disperse into a cloud of thick mist and retreat to hover over her other self's comatose body and the scene vanishes as though it had never been there. The only clue that they were ever there is the pain that still throbs relentlessly, yet none of the attacks leave a physical mark that she can see.

"Th-thank you," she stammers breathlessly in disbelief.

"And as for you!" Bill hisses, still red and furious turning to her to hover over her menacingly, "You're starting to become more trouble than you're worth! There's no need to thank me, I am merely protecting my investment, nothing more!"

"I didn't ask for them to attack me!" Mabel snaps back with tears in her eyes. Her instincts are telling her to cower away in fear, but Mabel's had enough of being pushed around like a helpless victim. "Please, just tell me what's going on! Why are they after me?"

"Because they need you! Haven't you been paying attention?"

"But why?"

"I've already explained it to you my dear," Bill hisses, though he returns to his normal size and yellow colour, "they latched onto you when they crossed through the portal, the journey made them weak, too weak to find another host so they're stuck with you, but they didn't count on you abandoning ship for this new timeline you created thanks to me, and they're not happy about it. I'd start watching my back if I were you."

"But if they're there with that other version of me, and I'm here, how did they find me? How is it they can still attack me?" Mabel asks, tears falling down her face as she demands answers. The pain is subsiding enough for her to function again and she climbs to her feet, her eyes narrow and she asks the big question that's been plaguing her, "Is it because this isn't real? Am I dreaming all this while in reality I'm stuck in a friggin' coma?"

"Would you prefer Limbo? Because I can still easily arrange that," Bill warns.

Mabel's eyes widen in horror and she backs up a step, wrapping her arms around herself, wincing at the deep, deep ache that's settled deep within. She falls back down to her knees, looking away from him as she begins to sob.

Bill sighs, "It's as real as you perceive it to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she cries in exasperation.

"All this around you is very real. But so is the reality you left behind," Bill explains, "we made a deal and you created a whole new reality, it's that simple."

"You mean you tricked me into making a deal with you."

Bill ignores her, "Anyway, as the creator of this new timeline, you have the rare privilege of being able to sometimes see, and even touch the other side. You are still connected to that timeline, to that other version of you. That's why you're sick, that's why the Wraiths found you, is it really that hard to comprehend you stupid girl? Don't worry, once you fulfill your end of the bargain, the deal is sealed and complete and you'll feel like yourself again and this other timeline will cease to exist. Unless you fail to deliver of course, in which case…" His stick figure arm gestures to the empty bed once occupied by her other self.

"And wh—" she starts but Bill cuts her off.

"Ah, ah, ah…too many questions. It's starting to get annoying," Bill says.

"But what do you want from me?"

"Remember, part of the deal is you do as I say, no questions asked! I am being way too generous as it is! Timing is everything kid, when the time comes you'll know. In the meantime…boop!" he hovers over to her and gives her a light shove, making her fall backwards.

She flails her arms in surprise, feeling that weird sensation again of both floating and falling but when her head hits the floor Bill is gone, and the black and white palette of the Mindscape is once again gone and she's blasted by a bright light shining directly into her eyes.

"She's waking up!" someone says as she groans incoherently, disoriented by the sudden change in surroundings. "Mabel, are you all right?"

She blinks sluggishly and glances around at the hospital room, realizing she's lying on the floor and two nurses are kneeling beside her. Her whole body throbs, and she instinctively tries to turn away from their prying eyes and she realizes she can hardly breathe as her pulse races from adrenaline brought on by fear. What am I going to do? She wonders in quiet panic.

"Mabel, honey breathe, come on deep breaths," one of the nurses tells her calmly, "you can do it."

She turns to the nurse and tries to do as she says. It's just breathing but for some reason it takes way more energy than it should to draw in a few deep breaths but she manages and starts to feel better, even though it's wearing her out.

"Come on, let's get you back in bed, shall we?" she asks. Mabel nods and they help pull her to her feet and ease her back onto the bed. "Looks like you pulled your IV out," the nurse frowns as she reattaches some wires that lead to a monitor tracking her vitals. Mabel glances to see a bleeding puncture wound on her wrist just above her hand with a nice purple bruise surrounding it. "Looks like some bad bruising on your shoulder too," she comments, pulling the edge of the hospital gown to reveal her shoulder and Mabel's gut twists in worry when she realizes that the bruising is where the Wraiths had grabbed her and she winces at the sight, because it only serves as a painful reminder of what went down in the Mindscape. She's ironically grateful that Bill saved her, but it only puts her deeper into his debt and she shudders from just how hopeless her situation is. "Did you land on it when you fell?"

She can't really find her voice but she nods, because there's no other way to explain it.

"Oh hun," the nurse tsks, "you really need to be careful. Your blood pressure is still way too low and you need to stay off your foot. It might not be broken, but it's still a very bad sprain. Next time hit the call button so we can assist you if you need to get up OK?"

Mabel nods, her lip quivering as she tries so hard not to cry. She wishes Dipper were here, even with the nurses there, she feels so scared and alone. Why do I feel like I'm just digging myself deeper and deeper until there's no way out? On the other hand she's glad he isn't. He's kind of a worrier by nature, and this would probably send him off the deep end but she selfishly needs the company. Maybe she can't, or at least shouldn't tell him what's really going on, because that would only complicate things more than they already are, but just being there would be enough to ease her fears. But she can't stand being here, in this room knowing that right now, in a different timeline she's lying in the bed next to hers in a coma, possibly dying, and just being here is leaving her vulnerable in both timelines.

"Shh, it's OK, you're not in trouble," the nurse soothes, misinterpreting her tears. She hands her a tissue as the other one steps out of the room, "But we're going to have to reinsert that IV and it might mean you're stuck here a little longer."

Mabel looks at her sharply, "N-no…they s-said only one night."

"Well, with any luck you'll start feeling better after a good night's rest and who knows? Maybe you'll still be sleeping in your own bed tomorrow night, but that's for the doctor to decide," she tells her gently, "right now it doesn't look good, but that can easily change so don't you fret about it right now, OK? You just need to concentrate on getting better."

Mabel nods, but she's trembling and clearly the stress of her secret predicament is showing on the monitor when the nurse looks at the numbers and frowns. "I'll arrange for a doctor to check on you shortly, perhaps he can prescribe something that will help you relax."

It doesn't take long for a doctor and the nurse to return and before long she's back on the oxygen, which makes her nose feel dry and itchy, a new IV is inserted in her arm above her hand and she's given something to help her sleep. She tries to fight it, because the thought of falling asleep when she's still so vulnerable to possible attacks from the other timeline is terrifying, but it doesn't take long for the meds to take hold and her mind is wrapped in a thick fog and she drifts into a deep, dreamless sleep.

0-0-0

"Are you sure it wasn't you?"

Awareness seems to come in stages and the first thing she notices is the sound of Dipper's voice. He sounds worried and a little angry and she wants to know what's going on so she tries to open her eyes but they're too heavy to open.

"Of course not, Mabel shut it down remember?" Stan's voice this time, "It's deactivated and broken, I don't see how it could possibly be because of the Portal. It doesn't make sense that the gravity anomalies are still happening, they should've stopped the moment Mabel hit that button."

"Well, if it's not that machine then what else could be causing them?"

"I don't know, Dipper."

What are they talking about? The gravity anomalies are back? Must've slept through it…

Things are quiet for a long moment, and caught somewhere between sleep and waking, Mabel starts to drift again, just knowing her family is by her side makes her feel safe and the warm blanket of sleep is so inviting so she kind of wants to return to it. It's OK now that Dipper and Grunkle Stan are here. But when she feels a hand rest on her hand, it pulls her closer towards awareness.

"This is your fault," Dipper says, "I know you meant well but…you should have told us. You should have said something and then maybe Mabel wouldn't have gotten hurt. Oh man, she's still so pale. What's wrong with her?"

"Wish I knew kid," Stan grunts with a hint of regret. She can hear him heave a deep, weary sigh, "Y'know if you kids just minded your own business…you had promised me that you wouldn't go looking for trouble when I gave you back that journal…"

"We weren't looking for trouble!" Dipper raised his voice slightly, and then quickly hushes when he realizes he's getting too loud, "We were trying to clear your name, remember?"

"I know but….dammit!" Stan mutters under his breath, "if I had known how things would've turned out…I can't believe after thirty years of trying to save my brother, I failed. And what it somehow did to Mabel…the last thing in the world I ever wanted was for you kids to get hurt and I'm so sorry."

"I've never seen her this…this vulnerable," Dipper muses, his voice breaking slightly, "and I don't just mean physically…I hope they figure out what's wrong so they can help her feel better because…seeing her like this is just plain wrong." His grip on her hand tightens, and she can feel the warmth and comfort of his presence wrap around her and her finger twitches in response. "Mabel?" he murmurs with bated breath.

I'm trying broseph…I'm just so tired I can't just yet…give me a sec…

After a moment he continues, apparently deciding he was imagining things, "Do you think…could whatever is wrong have something to do with the Portal? She didn't get knocked around as much as we did, but she was right next to that thing…and the energy in the room was weird and unnatural and she was right next to it…"

"I hate to say it, but I think you might be on to something there," Grunkle Stan agrees guiltily.

"For a second it looked like she was going to get sucked right through!" he continues, raising his voice a little.

"But she didn't. Thank goodness she didn't."

"But she hasn't been herself ever since!" Dipper continues, "Oh man she's never been like this before…no matter how bad the situation, she's always managed to remain optimistic and confident and now…I mean she's trying but…what happened to her?!"

"I know you're worried about her, I am too, but she's strong, she'll be fine. Until then, we just have to be there for her," Stan's voice sounds regretful yet hopeful.

"Yeah," Dipper sighs. She can feel him brush her hair off her forehead, and she fights the thick fog wrapped around her to open her eyes, managing to flutter her eyes with a soft groan. "Mabel? Hey sis, you with us?"

She blinks her eyes open tiredly and gives a slight grin, "Hey…" she murmurs hoarsely.

"Hey yourself," Dipper's worried face warms into a smile, "You OK?"

Mabel doesn't answer right away, because she's not quite sure but she clears her throat, "You guys were watching me sleep, weren't you? Creepy."

Dipper's grin widens, "How are you feeling?"

"Fuzzy," she shrugs lightly with a crooked smirk, her eyes drifting closed again. She struggles to open them again as she says, "I'm glad you guys are here now."

"Kid was in here the moment visiting hours started," Grunkle Stan chuckles softly.

"That's because he's the best bro-bro, ever," Mabel beams trying so hard to sound more like herself, like she's OK because she hates that she's got them so worried.

"I wish we could've stayed," Dipper's smile fades into a frown, "we heard you had a rough night."

Mabel's breath hitches at the quick burst of phantom pain in her chest as the memories of the night before flash in her mind and she glances at her shoulder, then the empty bed beside her before looking down at her hands, "Meh, it was…it wasn't a big deal. I just…guess I stood up too fast or something and my ankle couldn't take the weight and then…it was just a minor setback, really."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you," Dipper says placing his hand on her shoulder, causing her to hiss in discomfort. "What'd I do? What's wrong?"

"Nothing major, just managed to get another bruise," she chuckles nervously, "must've banged it on the way down, I don't…I don't remember exactly."

Dipper narrows his eyes at her with mild scrutiny. Mabel knows she's a terrible liar to begin with, and as her twin, Dipper's always the first to catch on during the rare times she tries but he doesn't call her on it. "Can I see?"

Mabel shrugs, "Sure I guess, it's not much of a big deal though." She reaches the collar of the hospital gown and lowers it over her shoulder to reveal a dark purple bruise.

"Mabel…oh man this looks almost like a handprint…" Dipper gasps.

"Hmm, so it does," Mabel tries to sound nonchalant, but to see with fresh eyes the physical reminder of what happened in the Mindscape is terrifying. The bruise is unsurprisingly about the size of her own hand, but the vaguely hand shaped bruise marks her shoulder almost like a brand, like even though she's indebted to Bill, it doesn't mean that her foes in the other timeline are going to give her up that easily.

"It looks bad…"

"Well, it's a little sore but it doesn't bother me..." She hates that she's straight up lying to her brother, but realizes that she's mostly lying to herself because while it doesn't hurt too badly, that much is true, the fact it exists is disconcerting because none of the other attacks left a physical mark like this one. Oh I hope it doesn't mean anything…

"Did someone do this to you?" Stan asks, his voice low and dangerous.

"Whoa, whoa, it's nothing like that!" Mabel exclaims, "You guys are making a fuss over nothing, I know you're conspiracy nuts and all, but stop it. Seriously. Now when can I get out of here?"

"Easy there kiddo," Stan grins, "Why don't I go find your doctor and see what he says, OK?"

"OK."

"I might also take a detour to the cafeteria, I'm starved. You kids want anything?"

"I'm good," Dipper says and Mabel nods in agreement. Stan nods once and leaves the room.

Left alone, Mabel flashes Dipper a wan smile, "I'm fine Dipper, stop worrying so much. I swear you're going to give yourself wrinkles before you finish puberty the way you keep frowning like that…"

"You're not OK," he persists, "something's going on that you're not telling me. What is it?"

Mabel glances at the empty bed beside her and catches a quick glimpse of her other self but it's gone in the blink of an eye, "You know I hate hospitals."

"Who doesn't? But that's not what I mean," Dipper persists, following her line of sight. "Did something happen down there with the Portal that we don't know about?"

"I…I…" she stammers, trying to think of something to say, because he's not going to let it go. Do I tell him the truth? As she asks herself the question she understands what Grunkle Stan meant when he said he kept the Portal a secret to protect them. She wants to tell him, she doesn't want to carry this burden alone but the truth would only make things worse for everyone. It would break Grunkle Stan's heart all over again if he knew she knew about Stanley all along, and Dipper…selfishly she fears he wouldn't trust her anymore, but it's not just that. She knows her brother, she knows how far he would go to protect her and the last thing she wants is for him to get hurt or worse.

Apparently she takes too long to answer and Dipper gives her a sad smile, "OK, if you don't want to tell me that's fine, I don't know, maybe you're just not ready? But no matter what, I'm here for you, OK?"

"I know," she nods, returning the smile. Her lips quiver and she can feel herself getting emotional again and she hates it, she hates worrying Dipper, she hates being scared, being in the hospital and in this room, and stuck between two apparently very real timelines and worried that she's doomed them both somehow with her choices. She hates that somehow the Wraiths can still reach her and she hates not knowing Bill's endgame.

"Hey, do you think we can get out of here for a while?" she asks softly, her voice shaky and rich with emotion.

"We still have to see what the doctors say…"

"No I mean here, out of this room," Mabel clarifies, "I can't stand being cooped up in here like this. Maybe we can go for a walk, have a change in scenery?"

Dipper smiles, "I don't see why not. I'll go ask."

Being left alone in the room leaves Mabel feeling a little jittery and anxious, but when Dipper comes back with a wheelchair and a grin on his face she relaxes, "Your chariot awaits milady," he says theatrically, giving her a grand and dramatic bow.

She can't help but giggle, grateful for the silly gesture and replies with a horrible attempt at a British accent, "Oh why thank you good sir." He takes her hand and helps her into the chair. A nurse, different from the one last night comes in and helps her get situated with the IV stand and oxygen and tells them they'll let their uncle know they're just out for a quick stroll if he gets back before they do.

"So where shall we go first?" Dipper asks.

"Anywhere but here," she replies, reaching for Journal #2 and setting it on her lap. When he gives her a strange look she just shrugs bashfully, "I think…I think maybe we need to talk in private somewhere."

Dipper seems surprised, "Oh! Sure, OK."

As he takes her down the hall Mabel chews on her hair nervously. She can't do this alone, she does need his help, at the very least to help make sense of the journal with his mad research skills so she has to say something. But just because she can't tell him everything doesn't mean she can't tell him anything.

I just don't know what to say…

A/N As always, thanks for reading everyone. Please let me know what you think, thoughts, theories, criticisms, whatever. It always makes my day and helps feed the muse don'tcha know! (she's HUUNNNNGGGRYYYY!)