Sorry it's been awhile! Was figuring out some stuff; in real life and for the stories. But I'm back now; so don't worry! I realize this one is shorter than the others, but I felt like if I tried to add more for the sake of more words, it'd fall apart and lose it's focus.

WARNING!?
There are mentions of drinking and alcohol at the end.
Just letting anyone who dislikes know. That is all.

Enjoy!

Drabble 19: A Tale of Two Twins (Pt. 2)

Sum:
The twins wake up to a scream in the middle of the night.
Upon finding Grunkle Abel crying in his bedroom, they
don't know what to think, but do their best to comfort him.

Internally, it only further drives the knife stuck in his
heart deeper. Externally, he tells the boys that he loves them
and appreciates their efforts greatly, besides promising
to tell them what it was about tomorrow . . .

And when they discover a certain device under the
Mystery Shack, they learn exactly why he had been crying that night.

Universe:
Swapped Roles
(Basically, it's the same but
with different people in different
places than they would be)

A`N:
I just got to thinking on how people in the "Ageswap Au"
replace little Stans with Dipper and Mabel and vice-versa
and so on with the rest of the cast. Well, if it still applies after
"A Tale of Two Stans", that means that Mabel would've been the one
thrown out, as painful as that is and everyone would try to play it
differently. So here's the blatant truth, people! Enjoy! ;-P

Once Mabel had calmed down, Lee popped the question that most were thinking. "Grauntie Mabel, what happened?" he made a loose gesture towards the brother and sister and the entire room. "Why was the real Grunkle Abel in that . . . portal place? And why were you pretending to be him?" he asked.

Mabel flinched away and Ford punched his brother on the shoulder. Abel only sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Just call me Dipper, alright?" he asked.

All three boys nodded. "May I ask why, sir?" Fidds asked, readjusting his glasses.

Abel nodded, pushing up the grey bangs hanging over his forehead to reveal a birthmark; the Big Dipper, every line and star there in perfect order.

"Heh heh, neato! That has got to be one of the greatest things I've ever seen!" Lee exclaimed, grinning wide.

Abel, or Dipper, just chuckled, and Mabel couldn't help but smile. "I like this kid; he's weird." he pointed towards Lee with a grin.

"What's the deal with this portal?" Ford pressed, growing a little fidgety.

Eyes widening, Dipper stood and started to pace, a pen in hand, clicking it incessantly. "That reminds me. Mabel," he turned towards her. "Are there any security breaches? Does anyone else know about this portal?" he asked.

"No, no, just us." she gave him a look that said 'Really, bro?'. "Also maybe the entire U.S. Government." she added.

"The what?!" Dipper repeated, running towards the glass that separated the two rooms. On one of the nearer monitors, he could see the agents milling about.

"Okay, it's alright. We just need to stay calm, and think of something; like old times, right Mabel?" he asked, smiling. Mabel glanced at him, then away. She sniffled, holding her wrist. His smile dropped hard. He walked over, reaching out to her.

"Mabel, please, I just want to-" Dipper tried, only to have his hand smacked away as she stood swiftly.

"If you wanted to help, you would've stopped him! You would've helped me!" she shouted, then sniffed quietly, tears streaming down her face, anger and distress muddled together in her brown orbs. "Why did you leave me behind? Why did you give up on me forty years ago?! Did I mean so little? Was our whole childhood, our whole friendship, our dreams and plans; all of it fake?!" she shouted at him.

All the boys stared at her, stunned, but it hit Dipper the worst. He stared at her, wide-eyed, cringing, a few small tears streaming slowly down his cheeks and stubbled chin.

"I, I mean . . ." Mabel sniffled, starting to sob. She looked away. "I'M SORRY, okay? I know that I'm just the dumb twin, that I . . .that I'm good for nothing . . ."

"Mabel, no . . .you're not worthless." Dipper was quick to assure, stunned and rather horrified that she even thought that.

"You're thinking it," she muttered darkly.

Dipper stiffened, gaining an exasperated, desperate look. "No, you are!" he shoots back. "You're putting words in my mouth. I made a mistake, but you're not one! Why won't you just let me help you?!" he demanded, his voice rising to a shout.

For several long moments, they stared at one another; half-glares. Fidds, Ford, and Lee stayed to the side, silent and watchful. After a moment, Mabel's expressed softened, and she let out a half laugh, half hiccup. "Like old times. We'd fight, and then . . ."

"And then we'd make up with one another, even if it took a few years." Dipper followed up with a tired smile.

Mabel stepped towards him, head butting him on the shoulder playfully. "You stole all of my Easter candy, you jerk!" she accused; but she was laughing; they both were, together.

"Yeah, and I made up for it by helping you make the best costume next Halloween! And I gave you most of my candy then!" he shot back playfully, pulling her in for a hug.

"What happened?" Lee asked, looking down when all eyes were suddenly on him. "I only mean, you keep talking about all this stuff that happened thirty and forty years ago, and other stuff that seems to be even before that. Are we allowed to know?" he finished.

Dipper and Mabel glanced at eachother. They really did look identical. Other than the clothes and stubble on Dipper's chin, they looked exactly alike. Except . . . except, when you looked a little closer, you could see one difference, or . . . maybe it counted as two.

Mabel's cheeks had a slight, natural blush to them, just about on the cheekbones. And Dipper had a similar color on his nose. They glanced back to the boys, then both seemed to nod in sync.

"You deserve to know. Gather around." Dipper beckoned. And for a moment, it was almost like looking at the same exact gesture, voice, and face in previous weeks, when Grunkle Abel, who was actually Grauntie Mabel, would have them sit around while "he" told a story about monsters and other things. "He" had seemed . . . almost happy at those times, or at least content.

To see such a familiar gesture from someone so new yet so already-known . . . .it was a bit difficult to deal with.

At that moment, a muted banging sounded throughout the place. All five looked upward, hearing the voices through the monitors. "Oh know, they've found us!" came Fidds' high-pitched cry, voice cracking.

At any other time, Ford and Lee would've teased him for it. Oddly, Grauntie Mabel had always supported and rarely partaken in the teasing of such things. Maybe it had something to do with having a brother and growing up together in those dark days of puberty.

"No, we still have some time, we need to think of a plan!" Grauntie Mabel was quick to reassure.

"Aw man, I was so wrapped up in all the feels of this that I completely forgot about those crummy agents!" Lee piped up, worried and annoyed.

"Forget . . . that's it!" Ford exclaimed, going for his backpack. He pulled out the Mind-Eraser gun they'd gotten on their adventure with Old Man Ramirez.

"Where did you get that?" Dipper snapped, suddenly very anxious and relieved all at once. He snatched it out of the others hands, going for the para-scope that was disguised as the totem pole above ground. He hooked some wires to it and typed in what he wanted, muttering about frequencies. He checked the above-ground before turning and shouting.

"COVER YOUR EARS!" he cried. All were quick to obey. The sound-wave rippled outwards. From the monitors, they could just hear the agents crying out in surprise and pain.
Afterwards, Grunkle Dipper was hurrying up the stairs with a command of "Stay down here until I signal it's safe. Watch the monitors." before he was in the elevator and gone.

Lee laid a comforting hand on Grauntie Mabel's arm. "Grauntie Mabel," he said, and with such certainty and seriousness that was quite unusual for the wild-child. "Don't worry, okay? We'll get through this, together. Even if you were only a friend of Grunkle Dippers', you'd still be out family. Okay? I promise everything will still be alright." he hugged her then, tightly.

After a moment, Ford and Fidds joined in, and they all shared in a group hug.

For the first time in a long time, Mabel felt like herself for once. Not her brother; not her brother who always succeeded in everything, but herself again; her own, wild, imaginative self, like a more girly version of young Stanley. Stanley and Stanford, whose presence over the summer had reminded her of herself and her own twin, all those years ago.

Ford, always racing off to search out the paranormal and supernatural. Lee, who always found some never-thought-of-way to spice up and enliven the usual bland everyday things. It helped her to become invigorated again, stopping her from falling into another slump of drinking and shutting everyone out during those darker, uncertain months, which happened every five years or so like clockwork.

For once, Mabel was back and loved for being herself.

Okay, so, I didn't exactly do a flashback. I might later on, but I can't help but think that this is better. It's already abundantly clear what Mabel did for her twin; at least, for Dipper. Obviously not to the other three boys, but hopefully it will soon.

I may or may not do a third, final chapter to this. We'll have to wait and see. Enjoy and please review! The more reviews there are, the quicker I am to update! It's motivation and fuel, I live off of your review!