A/N So sorry for the delay! Writer's block and real life really knows how to steal a girl's momentum. Ugh. You guys are awesome though and help keep me going. I really struggled with this one, and am not too thrilled with the result, as it didn't quite turn out how it looked in my head. Hope you guys enjoy and that it was worth the wait (again, sorry).
Thanks to my lovely reviewers!
shootingstar34: Your English is fine but I think there's a glitch because some words are missing from your reviews but I get the gist of it, so it's OK. Thanks for being a faithful reviewer as always. I'm happy that my story is one of your favorites.
Lauren: Thanks for the review! I'm glad that I'm able to keep things interesting.
The Last Deathly Guardian: Your review is awesome. I'm glad you like the Wraiths, and you can certainly keep them as your pets, but careful, they may turn on you. Sorry to put your brain and heart through so much intense suspense. OK, not really, because that's the reaction I hope for, you know? I'm glad you're loving my story thanks so much for the review!
guest (May22): Thanks for the review!
KTDLover: Yeah, Mabel's stuck in quite the Catch-22 isn't she? I'm happy that Dipper's in on part of the problems Mabel's facing because I love it when the Mystery Twins work together, always have, and she shouldn't have to deal with everything alone, that's for sure. The cause of the earthquakes (and anomalies) will be explained eventually. Thanks so much for the review, I'm really happy that you like this! Hope you like the next chapter!
gravityfalls22: Don't have much to say for once, but first of all, get out of my head (you'll see why), and second of all I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Your reviews are AWESOME and I've really liked talking to you via email and sharing theories with you. I know I've mentioned it once or twice but I'm so excited to see this fanart you're working on! It's a huge honour that this inspired you to draw the Wraiths.
TMNTGFKittySidekick01: Sorry for being so slow on the update, I'm glad you like this and it's really cool that you've been following since practically the beginning. Loved your review, it made me laugh.
NyuNekoNya: Thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.
guest (June23): Sorry for the slow update! "Made Me Realize" should be updated soon, I've had too much on my plate lately so I haven't had time to focus on both. Glad you like my stories!
Annagraham: Love your name, and thank you so much for the wonderful compliment! I'm truly flattered that you like this so much! Hope you like this chapter!
If I missed anyone I apologize! I value every comment I receive, so thanks to everyone who's reviewed and/or has followed/favourited this as well!
Without further ado, here we go!
Attack
There isn't much Mabel can do to defend herself against the Wraiths as they viciously attack her once again. She can feel them tugging at her, her body tingling and surging with that strange energy, and she's overwhelmed with pain and that same sensation of both floating and falling that she had felt before. All she can do is close her eyes tight and hold on for dear life.
"D-don't let m-me float away!" she begs absently, clutching at her blanket and doing her best to focus on Dipper's voice as he begins to speak words she can hardly hear or even understand. His voice is muffled, like she's listening to him from underwater, but she can hear the determination and panic in his voice. As he speaks he grasps her clenched fist and she wants to take his comforting hand, needing him as an anchor to hold on to, but her body is so tense she can't uncurl her fingers to grasp his in return.
Let go, child, let go…
"No!" she shakes her head, "No!"
She can smell sulphur and smoke, wrapping around her and stealing her breath away, her shoulder burns, her chest feels like it's being crushed under the tension and pressure, she can't move, she can't breathe, she can only hold on.
"D-don't l-let th-them take m-m-me…"
Let go and your brother will be spared…
"Hold on," Dipper says frantically, "this isn't working, let me try something else…" He briefly releases her hand to presumably flip through the pages of the journal before taking her hand once again.
Let go…let go and everything will be all right…
She tries to ignore the call of the Wraiths and tries to focus on Dipper's voice as he speaks more words that make no sense, clearly in some other language, and the Wraiths only laugh at his attempt. The sound of their laughter cuts right into her soul. It is unlike anything she's ever heard before. She thought they sounded terrifying when they were beckoning to her, or furious with her, or threatening her, but their laughter, their amused laughter was beyond terrifying. Not only is the sound horrific and dissonant, but it only highlights the futility of Dipper's attempts at stopping them.
Foolish child, thinks a few magic words will be all it takes to defeat us? Your brother can't protect you, he's going to burn, he's going to burn, he's going to burn…
Leave him alone…she silently begs helplessly.
She manages to open her eyes a sliver, and she can see Dipper trying furiously to save her from the creatures that only she can see or feel as he chants foreign words in the journal, looking around blindly, not knowing where to direct his words. But she can also see smoke everywhere, and flames licking at the privacy curtain around them, and the walls behind him. Dipper is completely unaware of the fire surrounding them but she can feel the heat and the smoke and she can't breathe, she can't escape and she can't even begin to fight it.
Let go, let go and he will be spared…
He can't protect you. He's going to burn and it will be your fault…your fault… Just let go, surrender to us and he will be spared.
"N-no!" she gasps weakly, struggling for air.
"Hold on, Mabel," Dipper begs, she can see him put the journal aside, and lean forward to wrap his arms around her, tears falling down his face, "hold on…I've got you, I've got you…just breathe, OK? Breathe…." he pulls her tense body towards him until her head is resting on his shoulder and he holds her tight, "Leave her alone!" he snaps defencelessly.
"D-don't let g-go D-dipper…" she begs faintly, sobbing into his shoulder.
"I won't, I won't…" he replies softly, his voice breaking.
There's no escape…nothing can save you…sooner or later you will belong to us…Surrender…everything will be all right…you just have to surrender, let go…let go…
Never! Leave me alone! Go away! You're not supposed to be here! You can't have me!
You think your dream demon will stop us? Then where is he, child? You think your foolish deal will protect you?
Your brother's going to burn!
Mabel chokes out a garbled cry as all at once she's enveloped in suffocating heat and she's forcibly yanked away from her brother.
She's surrounded by a swirling thick cloud of smoke and can barely see anything. She falls to her knees, choking and coughing, grasping at her chest, her whole body buzzing with strange and electric energy that stings and burns. The smoke stops swirling to take shape until it once again looks like a twisted reflection of herself. She looks around and can see that she's no longer connected to her body, and she frantically crawls backwards away from the parasitic spirit.
On one bed she can see herself, still in Dipper's arms as Stan followed by a small team of nurses walk in in slow motion, on the other, herself from the other timeline still trapped in a comatose state, wrapped in the same grey aura that binds her to the Wraiths. The other Dipper is there too, keeping vigil. He looks like he's asleep, his head resting on his folded arms on the rail of her bed, unaware of what's happening around him.
Let go, the Wraiths tell her, reaching out to her temptingly, it will be all right if you just let go, surrender, join us on this side…join us and your brother will be spared…
"Never!" she hisses, "Leave Dipper alone! Don't you dare touch my family!"
He's going to burn, they're going to suffer…all of them…every single person you've ever cared about…they're going to suffer unless….They grin an unnaturally wide grin, beckoning her to come to them. Just let go little one…it will be all right…stop fighting us and you will see…
"No!" she snaps, backing away, "You can't have me! You cannot have my soul! You cannot use me to…to whatever destructive endgame you're playing at!"
You think you have it better with your dream demon? You think the future he has in store is any better? Think again…your choice child, let go…surrender…come to us…everything will be all right…
"Forget it!"
Very well…there's no escape little one…just wait and see…you think it's bad now…you should've just let go…
"You keep saying that, but all I've seen you do is some stupid tricks, you're pathetic!" Mabel hisses, backing away, tired of being pushed around, tired of living in fear. So even though she's terrified she tries not to show it, instead she snaps angrily, "You're nothing without me, you're desperate. I will never surrender to you, it's not going to happen! I'm…I'm going to stop you!"
The wispy apparition laughs and backs up to the other bed where her other self lies, gliding like mist in the wind. With a wide smile they reach for the other Dipper, smoky tendrils caress his face and he opens his eyes and lifts his head in slow motion.
"Leave him alone!"
You cannot defeat us, you cannot escape us. Once your dream demon is done with you, you will be ours.
Your brother's going to burn…
"Dipper!" she shouts in desperation, as though she could somehow get his attention, even as a ghost. Bill said I can see and feel and sometimes even touch the other side… she thinks, there's got to be a way to defeat them. There's got to be a way out of this! "DIPPER!" she shouts to the other timeline's version of her brother. To her surprise he slowly turns his head towards her, as though he can almost hear her. "Wraith! You need to find out how to defeat Wraiths! They've come through the Portal, they've latched on to me and want to use me to destroy everything! You got to stop them! OK, Dipper? You have to stop them!"
Other Dipper, still moving in slow motion looks confused, his mouth slowly starting to form her name.
The Wraiths are unimpressed, the wide grin turning to a frightening scowl. Empty, smoke-filled eyes narrow with rage.
You shouldn't have done that…
"Why? Feeling threatened? So there is a way to stop you, isn't there?" she grins determinedly, despite the terror she keeps hidden deep within. She can't let them see her fear. "You really are pathetic! You're nothing without me, and you think I will surrender to you?"
We may be powerless to take your soul in your timeline, little one, not until your dream demon is done with you or you surrender to us, but that doesn't mean we can't have a taste! They hiss furiously, suddenly advancing at top speed. The fingers on their smoky hands elongate into long sharp claws and she instinctively hold her hands up to defend herself, even though the action is useless. They cut into her chest, in the same place they had originally struck her, but this time it's different, the pain is the same but this time it leaves a mark on her soul. She screams in agony as they shift into a swirling mist, wrapping around her, claws digging in and twisting like a knife. The only shape the Wraiths maintain is a vague resemblance of her face as it glares at her.
Just you wait little one… it did not have to happen this way, all you needed to do was let go… surrender…maybe then we might have shown mercy…
Suddenly the assault stops and their surroundings dull into shades of black, white and grey, except for her and the bright yellow triangle that suddenly appears between them.
"Hey guys!" he waves his stick figured hand, "Heard you were having a party without me! So… what'd I miss?"
Mabel collapses to the floor, her soul throbbing with bizarre, indescribable pain, a strange kind of agony, and an unsettling numbness taking over her. She looks down to see her spirit is still in colour like it usually is in the Mindscape, but it's muted somehow save the unnaturally bright shade of crimson blooming from the wound they left on her chest. She puts a trembling hand on the wound and looks up at Bill Cipher and the Wraiths.
"Looks like someone hasn't been playing nice," he scolds his eye narrowing menacingly and the Wraiths hiss, backing off, "What did I tell you? So long as she's bound to our deal she's mine!"
Suddenly, with the snap of his fingers she's back in her body, gasping for breath like a fish out of water, writhing helplessly from pain, completely disoriented.
"Breathe, Mabel," one of the nurses tells her, "Come on, take deep breaths can you do that for me?"
She tries, but her lungs burn as though on fire, an unbearable pressure and shooting pain in her chest. Mabel's body tenses and her eyes dart around blindly, seeking out her brother, "D-Dip-p…" she sees him being loosely held back by Stan, but when her eyes meet his and she weakly reaches for him Stan lets go and Dipper grasps her hand, still standing back to give the medical staff room. As the nurses work, she doesn't take her eyes off Dipper or Stan, who stands behind her brother with a supportive hand on his shoulder.
One of the nurses leaves the room as the others try and calmly help her get her breathing under control, coaching her to take slow, deep breaths. She's trying, but it's so hard to draw in a decent breath with the crushing pressure in her chest, pain and panic gripping her tight.
"Come on," one of the nurses soothes calmly and gently, "deep breaths, you can do it. Breathe."
Dipper's mouthing the word, silently urging her to breathe, completely distraught. Her eyes flutter and she tries, she really tries, but she hurts so much and she's still tense and hyperventilating and she blinks back tears because she doesn't know what else to do.
What did they do to me? She wonders helplessly.
"Mabel," Dipper pleads, his voice breaking, "come on sis, you need to breathe, you need to calm down!" he pauses, his expression darkening, "A-are they still…?"
She knows what he's asking and she shakes her head. Bill Cipher drove them off…and I don't know if I should be grateful or terrified…
"Oh man, her pulse is just racing," Stan says absently, shaking his head as he quickly glances at the monitor, his eyes wide with worry, "Mabel, sweetie please."
She can hear the guilt and pain in his voice and she chokes a sob, trying so hard to get her breathing under control. Don't feel guilty, Grunkle Stan…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…This is my fault…I'm so screwed and I don't know what to do…
Finally, after what feels like forever but probably wasn't very long at all, Mabel is able to draw in one deep breath, and then another, and then another and the overwhelming pressure on her chest and lungs slowly lift, making the simple act of breathing easier. Everything hurts, but she's slowly beginning to calm down, her eyes getting heavy and her body slowly beginning to relax except for the occasional muscle spasm.
"What happened?" Stan asks in bewilderment.
"From the looks of things she had a panic attack," a nurse explains, "when the doctor gets here we can find out more and maybe get you something to help you relax, OK?"
Mabel nods weakly, coughing a couple of times as she shakily tries to sit up, but the nurse gently motions her to lie down and adjusts the bed a little and props the pillow from the other bed beside her to help her sit up. She's so depleted of strength that she allows the help, because if she's to be honest with herself there's no way she'd be able to do much of anything on her own power, at least not now. "Thanks," she whispers hoarsely, giving the nurse a grateful smile even though it's clear to everyone she's trying so hard not to break down and cry. She finds that it's easier to breathe and there's less pressure on her chest now that she's in a sitting position and she relishes the small relief it brings.
Meanwhile Dipper wipes the tears from his eyes, shrugging away from Stan's comforting grip on his shoulder and grabs her arm, mindful of the IV, "I'm sorry," he murmurs, "I… I tried."
"I know," Mabel nods, "I know you did." She smiles at him tiredly, her eyes expressing her thanks as she takes his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
The doctor and other nurse return and the doctor goes over her chart, checks her vitals with a frown and then says, "So I hear you had an anxiety attack."
"I guess."
"Mabel, do you know what triggered this attack?" the he asks softly.
"Uh…no," she replies meekly, because somehow she doubts that they'd believe the truth, not that she'd trust them with it anyway.
"Is there something going on in your life that's causing you stress, more than you feel like you can handle?"
To everyone's surprise Mabel laughs. It's the kind of laugh that comes from someone who is clearly at the end of their rope, frantic, bitterly amused and bordering on tears. She clutches at her aching chest, her laughter threatening a relapse as she tries to catch her breath between laughter, but she shakes her head, a sad grin on her face, "Oh doc, you have no idea." Try the weight of the world. Try the fact that there's two timelines I'm responsible for and two demonic creatures that are fighting over my soul or whatever...and that doesn't even begin to cover it.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asks.
She shakes her head, her laughter breaking into a choked sob as she shies away, realizing her behaviour has her family worried but she has no idea what to do right now. Of all the things that's stressing her out, there's only one thing she's willing to share with the doctor, "OK, how about the fact that everything was going great, a super fun happy summer with my bro-bro and my Grunkle, meeting new friends, having fun adventures and basically the best summer ever and then…then suddenly…"
Suddenly we learn that Grunkle Stan was living a lie, suddenly everything we thought we knew was wrong and we were betrayed and the world was on my shoulders and I chose wrong, I chose wrong and now everything is falling apart, I'm in danger, my family's in danger because no matter what I did I chose wrong!
She takes a deep breath, "Suddenly I'm stuck here in this stupid hospital, and no one can figure out what's wrong with me!" She sounds harsher than she intends to, but she doesn't care at the moment. She's not safe here and the worst part is that she knows that after this 'anxiety attack' incident, they're definitely not going to let her go home now.
"Mabel…" Dipper murmurs gently, trying to keep her calm.
"This place freaks me out," she adds, "I hate it here, and I'm freaked out by this place." She subconsciously looks to the other side of the room which is mercifully free of any apparitions of the other reality.
Besides, this so-called illness is supernatural, there's nothing you doctors can do for me here. I need to get away from here, from this room where...
The doctor nods in understanding, "I know that a hospital can be a scary place for a kid, and being so far from home and sick and not knowing what's wrong, I can see how that can be very scary and frustrating."
"It…it is," she nods, glancing away from everyone, focusing on a small tear in her blanket that had long ago been stitched back up like it's the most interesting thing in the room. She winces and grasps at her chest with a trembling hand, everything aches but the place where the Wraiths struck her spirit hurts the most and she feels hollow somehow. What did they do to me?
"Well, I'm going to prescribe a mild sedative to help you relax and something for the pain, OK?"
She nods absently and they leave the room.
"Mabel...what happened to you?" Dipper asks quietly.
Mabel glances back and forth between Dipper and Stan and sighs, "Grunkle Stan…can I talk to Dipper in private for a sec?"
Stan nods, "Yeah, sure thing kid." She catches something in his eyes as he turns to leave, and she knows that he's caught on that there's something they're not telling him. He's no fool. She's glad he's not calling her on it, but then again, if he called them out on keeping secrets from him that would make him the biggest hypocrite of all.
"What happened, Mabel? Oh man, you scared me half to death!" Dipper exclaims, pacing a little, absently clutching the scrape on his arm, distraught, "You were suffering so much and I…I couldn't do anything to help you!" He stops pacing, approaching her with a raw and pained look in his eyes, "Y-you stopped breathing for a moment, I was so s-scared that…I thought I was losing you and I was completely powerless to save you!"
Mabel blinks back tears and reaches out for him, "Dipper I'm…"
"Please Mabel, don't say you're fine."
"But I'm not fine," Mabel admits, her lower lip quivering, "I'm tired, I'm scared and everything hurts. I don't know what to do…This attack…it was like last night but…but so much worse."
"Did anything that I tried help at all?"
"I don't know," she replies honestly, "they…the Wraiths…they tried to get me but…I don't think they're strong enough to latch onto me, or hurt anyone else and it's making them angry, I think….I think they were lashing out."
"But why you?"
"Maybe…maybe because I was closest to them when the Portal op—when they escaped the Portal before I could close it," she winces from the half-truths she keeps telling, and she hates how its getting easier to come up with these misleading half-truths. It's to protect them... she tells herself, "Maybe that somehow made us linked but…but I don't think they've latched onto me, yet. They're trying but…it's not working. I think."
"How could you be sure?"
The pain in her chest flares up, as does the bruise on her shoulder giving her doubts of her own, "I don't know. But I do know that I've got to get out of here. I'm not safe here."
"But the doctor…"
"I think it's the Wraiths that are making me sick, and if that's true no test is going to tell them that, there's not much they can do for me here. Here we're limited. But at home, at the Mystery Shack…there's the journals and we have more freedom there."
Dipper looks torn, he scratches at the bandage on his arm in thought, "You have a point, but…I don't know…" he frowns, "I think…we should tell Grunkle Stan about this. He might've lied to us about the journals and everything but…he might know what to do."
"Maybe," she sighs, clutching at her aching chest. There doesn't seem to be a physical wound left behind, but she can feel it in her soul, a painful sensation that she can't even begin to describe but leaves her feeling drained.
"Oh man, I never felt so helpless in my life like I did just now," Dipper laments, "you were suffering so much, and I knew they were attacking you but…I couldn't see them or feel them and the banishment spells I tried didn't seem to do anything to help you…I wish I had my blacklight…maybe there is something that's hidden that will tell us how to stop them…"
She can see the gears turning in his head and knows that he won't stop until she's safe. She blinks back tears, glancing away knowing that there's not much he could do. The mark their attack left on her, the invisible wound she can still feel seeping from her soul, makes her wonder if they're too late. Even if he could stop the Wraiths, and the fact that they seemed threatened when she managed to reach the other Dipper tells her that maybe it's still possible somehow, however difficult, there's still her deal with Bill to contend with.
While Bill's adamant about keeping her in the dark when it comes to what he wants from her, she knows that it's not good. When he comes to collect, it seems like a very real possibility that the consequences could be worse than in the other timeline. Either way she's screwed, but the worst part is knowing that she could very well be dragging her family down with her. She's convinced now, that no matter what they do, no matter what they might accomplish, it's completely hopeless. There's no way out of this.
"Mabel," Dipper soothes, "we'll figure this out."
"Yeah," she nods, her voice empty.
A nurse comes in and adds something to her IV drip, telling her that it will help her relax and sleep and then leaves. Grunkle Stan peeks tentatively through the door and Mabel, quickly feeling the effects of the medicine take hold, nods and he steps in.
"You can tell him," she says to Dipper, glancing at Stan with a small smile. She yawns, "Oh that stuff works really fast…'m so tired…Please don't leave me alone, OK?"
"We'll be right here when you wake up," Stan promises, combing his hand through her hair with an affectionate but sad smile.
"We're not going anywhere," Dipper adds.
She forces a tired grin, glad to know they have her back, even though she knows it's useless, that the Wraiths have proven that they can do great damage whether she's alone or not. But at least she doesn't have to face them completely alone. And she's relieved that for now, so long as she never let's go and surrenders, that the Wraiths can't hurt them. Do what you want to me, but you're not going to touch my family, you won't hurt my brother…I won't let you.
It takes no time at all for the meds to kick in and soon she's in a deep sleep. Her dreams take her to the Portal room, back to the moment when the weight of the world was on her shoulders, when whatever choice she made would determine the future, but this time it's different.
She's alone in the room this time, gravity is pulling her up and towards the machine and she looks behind her at the swirling vortex, but it's no longer a rainbow of light, there are no stars, everything is just various shade of grey, circling the black nothingness of Limbo. She grasps at the switch for dear life, the idea of being sucked into the Void is the most terrifying thing of all. She looks down and sees that she's in her pink shooting star sweater this time, and while she's the only thing in colour in her dream world, her colours are muted, and the wound the Wraiths left on her chest glows white as it seeps what looks like blood. She closes her eyes and holds on tight.
"Figures your dreams would take you here," a voice says from behind her. She looks towards the familiar sound and sees the circle of the portal is now like an eye, the inverted triangle of the machine is yellow and Bill blinks at her and waves, flipping over and turning to his normal size. He snaps his fingers and she falls to the ground, her surroundings turning to nothingness.
He floats towards her and circles her with scrutiny, stopping in front of her, "Didn't I tell you to watch your back Shooting Star? Look at you, you're a mess!"
"Where were you?" she demands breathlessly, looking him in the eye, too frightened to look around and see the nothingness around them, too scared of the possibility that he pulled her back into the Void of Limbo once again.
"None of your business sweetheart," he shrugs.
"But aren't I just your investment that you want to protect? Isn't it supposed to be in your best interest that I'm not harmed or something?" she hisses venomously. "Where were you when they attacked me? What took you so long?"
"Meh, you and Pine Tree seemed to have had it all under control," Bill shrugs casually but then bursts into laughter, thoroughly amused with himself, "aw man, I knew I couldn't say that with a straight face. If I had a mouth I'd be smiling at how funny that is!"
"What did they do to me?" she asks, clutching weakly at the wound on her chest.
"Oh relax," he scoffs, "I stopped them before they could do too much damage. Besides, you're talking like I owe you or something. Like just because we made a deal I should be available to help you at a moment's notice. I own you, not the other way around, kiddo."
"Yeah well, what good am I to you if they keep attacking me like this?"
"I'll admit they are becoming quite the nuisance, but that's only because they're desperate, haha. It's kind of pathetic really." He floats closer to her, "Here, let me take care of that," he points to the wound and she shies away an angry scowl on her face.
"Don't touch me!"
"Won't do either of us any good if we let that fester," Bill rolls his eye and places his stick figure hand on her chest and a blue glow swirls from his hand to the wound, sealing it closed. It still throbs with an intense ache, but it's not as bad now. "Not exactly healed, unfortunately that's not possible, but it won't get any worse."
"How do I stop them?"
"What? The Wraiths?" Bill laughs, "You can't."
"But they can be stopped. They can be defeated."
"True," he concedes, "most things can."
"How?"
Bill Cipher laughs, "I wouldn't worry about them. Once I'm done with you, the other timeline will disappear and they along with it. They won't be a problem much longer."
"And in the meantime?"
"Don't let go."
A/N Phew! That was so hard to get through! Hope you enjoyed it! As always please let me know what you think, good or bad! Reviews feed the muse, and really helps keep me going.
Also, one last thing. I'm thinking about starting a writing challenge thingie this summer, something to get the fanfiction writing community together and it could be a lot of fun. Like, each week you're given a prompt, a word count and a time limit and anyone who wishes to participate writes something within those guidelines and shares it. I created a forum to get started, but before I jump right in, I need to know if there's any interest. So, if you're interested in maybe participating or contributing ideas, please PM me for details.