Chapter 8: Versus Mabel part IV: The Final Insult
'Mabel is still not convinced Catherine is evil, despite Dipper's numerous warnings. What is it going to take for her to finally see Catherine for what she is?'
Mabel and Catherine are in the kitchen looking the cookies over.
"These look delicious." Mabel says as she inhales the scent of the cookies. "And smell delicious too."
"We really did a good job with them." Catherine says, now turning to Mabel. "I can't wait to do more things like this with you."
"I couldn't agree more." Mabel says as she turns to her clone.
The two now embrace each other in a hug and doesn't notice Dipper standing in the doorway of the kitchen watching them.
"Your days are numbered Catherine!" Dipper mentally declares with his vision fixed on Catherine.
With Mabel hugging Catherine, the copy now looks up and notices Dipper in the kitchen doorway staring at the two. Smilingly evilly, Catherine gestures with her hands the numerous things she plans to do to Mabel; from cutting off her head, to hanging her, to choking her. This only makes the boy's determination to expose Catherine that much more of a goal.
After the cookies cooled off, the delicacies were devoured by Mabel and Dipper in total silence while Catherine went to the twins' room to pick up a bit. After the cookies were eaten, Mabel and Catherine headed out for their Sister's fun day out. However, unbenoticed to them, Dipper has followed them out and is planning to follow them everywhere they go.
The first destination by the two is to the park where the two girls are currently playing on the see saw.
"Try to bounce me higher!" Catherine happily shouts to Mabel, now being bounced into the air. "I want to reach the sun!"
"I'll do what I can." Mabel happily replies as she is jettisoned into the air by Catherine.
With Mabel's end of the see saw coming back to the ground, Catherine is now lifted into the air. Catherine's end of the saw now comes down with her firmly placing her feet onto the ground. Bouncing off the ground, Catherine is shot into the air with Mabel tightly embracing the handle bars on her end of the saw. With Catherine coming down once again, Mabel is lifted into the air and shouts in delight.
From behind a bush, Dipper is watching the two and is shaking his head.
"I'd like more than anything to send you to the moon Catherine." Dipper says to himself as he continues watching the two.
Having had enough fun on the see saw, the two girls now move to the hopscotch block with Dipper silently following behind them. He now runs behind the merry-go-round making sure to stay out of sight while keeping a close eye on the two.
"I bet you can't get through this entire block hopping only on one foot." Mabel jokingly challenges.
"I bet you that I do." Catherine replies. "Let's put up a little wager to make this bet interesting."
"What do you have in mind?" Mabel wonders.
"If I make it through this entire block hopping only on one foot, I get to wear each of your favorite sweaters all next week." Catherine bargains.
"Ok fair enough." Mabel agrees. "But if you can't make it through the block on one foot, but I do, you have to be my assistant for one week."
"Alright then." Catherine nods. "Shall we shake on it?"
"To make it official!" Mabel agrees as she and Catherine now shake hands to make the deal official. "You're up first."
Propping up her right leg, Catherine begins hopping on the block. Moving from the first two beginning blocks, the clone now hops on one foot vertically through the double blocks on only one foot. Making her way back to the single blocks, Catherine finishes the entire block having hopped on her left foot only.
"Piece of cake." Catherine gloats with a smile. "So I'll be wearing your red sweater with the pocket in the front tomorrow."
"But I haven't had my turn yet." Mabel replies with a smile. "The bet is still on."
Moving to the beginning of the block, Mabel props up her left leg. Hopping into the starting block, Mabel moves to the second block then the third and then the fourth. Now moving into the vertical blocks, Mabel's right leg gives out, which makes her bring her left leg down to regain her balance.
"Ok, that looked so much easier when you did it." Mabel says now turning to Catherine. "You clones are flexible."
"What can I say?" Catherine says with an arrogant smile. "So your pocket sweater?"
"You got it." Mabel smiles. "Let's go jump rope now! The local girls should be out today and I really want you to meet them. Don't worry, you'll fit right in."
Grabbing Catherine by the hand, the two now run from the hopscotch block and to the crowd of girls in the park who are jumping rope. Having watched the two move to crowd on the far end of the park, Dipper makes his way to a bush far from the crowd of girls and hides behind it. Peeking over the hedge, Dipper can see the two clearly talking to each other and now to the other girls. From what he can see, Mabel is introducing Catherine to the girls.
"Why is Mabel so proud of her?" Dipper asks himself. "There is nothing about that thing to brag about! I can't wait to show Mabel what a mistake making Catherine was and finally end her existence!"
Continuing to watch from the bush, Dipper doesn't notice one of the girl approach him from his right.
"Hi." The girl speaks him.
Hearing someone speak to him, Dipper now looks to his right to spot an olive skinned girl with long jet black hair wearing a fitted tie dye tee shirt, cut off shorts, knee high white socks, and blue jean shoes standing next to him.
Smiling, Dipper waves to the girl.
"My name is Kate." The girl, Kate, introduces herself. "What's your name?"
"Dipper." Dipper quickly introduces himself.
"Why are you hiding in this bush Dipper?" Kate inquires. "Do you want to jump rope with us?"
"No thanks." Dipper replies, politely turning Kate down. "I'm actually watching those two twin girls over there."
"Oh is one of them your girlfriend?" Kate continues inquiring.
"No, those two girls are my sisters." Dipper answers Kate, mentally wishing that she would go away before his cover is blown.
"Oh ok." Kate nods. "So do you have a girlfriend because if you don't,-"
"I have a girlfriend!" Dipper quickly speaks up, cutting Kate's sentence off. "Yea, her name is Wendy and we've been together for 4 years now. I'm very happy with her."
"Oh…ok." Kate sadly replies. "I'll see you around then. Nice meeting you Dipper."
Turning from Dipper, Kate now runs to the crowd and begins talking to them. Dipper breathes a sigh of relief knowing that he can continue spying in peace and watching the two while undercover. Continuing to watch the two, Dipper now notices Kate point in his direction with the other girls turning in that same direction, Catherine and Mabel included.
With his cover blown, Dipper now ducks behind the bush and silently prays that none of the girls will approach the bush and confront him about him spying on them. But anyone can pray for the best right?
"Dipper Alexander Pines!" Mabel's voice sternly speaks to him.
Cringing at the sound of his sister's stern voice, Dipper slowly rises from the bush and faces his angry sister and confused clone.
"Hi Mabel." Dipper greets with a nervous smile.
"What are you doing here?!" Mabel asks, her temper surfacing.
"I came to record the activity of the common girl." Dipper half wittingly answers. "Your species is very fascinating and it is true that you girls do talk a lot to your own kind."
That comment earns him a continued hard stare from his twin.
"Well thanks for ruining jump rope for us with your spying!" Mabel snaps. "Catherine and I are now heading to the Ice Cream parlor to continue our sisters' day out! DON'T follow us!"
Turning away from Dipper, Mabel waves good-bye to the other girls as she and Catherine begin making their way out of the park.
"I'm only doing my job as your brother Mabel." Dipper says to himself. "There is no way I am leaving you alone with that deranged clone!"
Moving from his spot in the bush, Dipper begins silently following the two towards the Ice Cream parlor.
Ice Cream Parlor
Catherine and Mabel have made it to the ice cream parlor and are currently seated at a booth, Mabel having already made her ice cream order.
"I'm sorry Catherine." Mabel apologizes. "I didn't know he was going to follow us out today. I'm really embarrassed that he was spying on us."
"That's ok Mabel." Catherine smiles. "You couldn't have known that he was going to do that, but it's just us once again so let's continue enjoying our Sisters day out."
"You're right Catherine." Mabel smiles to her clone. "I'm so happy you're my sister."
In the booth right next to the girls, Dipper is sitting with a menu covering his face as he eavesdrops on the two girls' conversation.
'When is she going to realize that that thing isn't her sister?!" Dipper mentally says to himself.
With Catherine and Mabel continuing to talk among themselves, Pacifica Northwest and her friends now approach their table. That brings their conversation to a halt.
"Hey Mabel." Pacifica arrogantly greets the girl. "I see your cheap uncle finally raised your dollar a week allowance. In order to buy something in here, you must have saved long and hard for every penny he gave you."
"Literally!" Her friends say in unison as they break into hysterical laughter.
Looking next to Mabel, Pacifica notices her clone and not Dipper.
"What no Dipper today?" Pacifica continues. "You two are normally inseparable, but I see you have another freakish twin. Just how many of you freaks are out there?"
Having heard Pacifica's insult to Mabel, Dipper grits his teeth to calm his rising anger. The last thing he wants to do is blow his cover because he decided to put the blonde in her place for insulting him and Mabel! He had to stay undercover in order to prove his point about Catherine.
"Why don't you go bother someone else Pacifica!" Catherine speaks up, having heard enough of Pacifica's insults to Mabel.
"What did you say to me freak?" Pacifica asks to the angry clone.
"You heard me!" Catherine replies as she jumps out of the booth and stands in the blonde's face. "I said why don't you go bother someone else! You need to take your two flunkies and go wax your mustache! It's coming in a little thick and from where I'm standing, you'll need the both of your lackeys just to remove that rug from your face!"
Reaching in her purse, Pacifica quickly pulls out her compact mirror. Looking into the mirror, Pacifica notices that the hairs on her upper lip that she had bleached are now a dark brown. Placing her compact back in her purse, Pacifica covers her mouth with her hand and slants her eyes in anger at the clone.
"You and your entire family disgust me!" Pacifica hisses from behind her hand.
"I'm sure not as much as that caterpillar on your face was disgusting me." Catherine retorts.
Turning away from Catherine, Pacifica and her friends now make a break for the exit of the shop.
"Thanks for sticking up for me Catherine." Mabel thanks her clone as Catherine takes a seat back next to Mabel.
"You're welcome." Catherine replies. "No one messes with my sister."
Dipper had to admit it to himself that despite Catherine being evil, she had a way with words and those same words put Pacifica in her place!
Having waited nearly thirty minutes for her order, the waitress now arrives at the table with Mabel's order.
Later that night
Having spent the entire day out, Catherine and Mabel are now having a sleep over in the spare bedroom in the attic, which leaves Dipper to sleep in the main bedroom by himself without Mabel. Or does it?
While the two girls are in the bedroom talking and laughing, Dipper has set up a make shift bed consisting of his quilt and pillow outside of the bedroom. With his mini-tape recorder in hand, Dipper now presses the record button and sets the device against the wall.
"I'll be listening to their entire conversation the whole night until they fall asleep, but incase I miss something, my tape recorder will pick it up." Dipper says to himself. "I don't tire easily so if Catherine tries anything while Mabel is asleep, I'll be able to catch her red handed, destroy her, and play back the evidence for Mabel after I save her."
Placing himself up against the wall, Dipper now leans his head back to listen to the two girls talking. From what he hears, they are talking about a boy they saw at the park. While spying on the two the entire afternoon, he didn't remember seeing the boy they are describing.
Twenty Minutes Later
Continuing to listen to the two, Dipper can feel his eyelids becoming heavy with his head dipping occasionally. His eyes now close with him immediately opening them, remembering that he has a job to do which is to protect Mabel from her clone. Shifting his position a bit, Dipper tries to make himself a bit uncomfortable so he can stay awake until the girls fall asleep.
One hour later
Dipper is laying flat on his back fast asleep next to his tape recorder. The last thing he heard before dozing off was Catherine wanting to be close to Dipper like Mabel is. Without the energy to think her comment through, the boy fell over into a deep sleep. With Dipper unconscious, Mabel and Catherine are also asleep having nodded off 10 minutes after Dipper did. However, the tape recorder is still running.
The next morning (8am)
The sun has risen over the town of Gravity Falls and accompanying it is the summer heat. Dipper is still asleep outside of the room the girls are in.
Inside the room, Catherine is the first to wake up and notices that Mabel is still fast asleep next to her. Grinning, Catherine gets to her feet and makes her way to the door. Opening it, she steps out and notices that Dipper is fast asleep against the wall next to his tape recorder.
"He was spying on us last night just like he did in the park yesterday!" Catherine mentally fumes. "That's it! He has gone too far this time! It looks as if he's going to be first on my list!"
Walking into the bathroom across from the twins' bedroom, Catherine slams the door behind her. Hearing the door slam, Dipper's eyes now shoot open as he sits up with a start. Looking around the attic, Dipper notices that no one appears to be awake with him. Now turning to the bedroom the girls spent the night in, he notices that the door is still closed.
"Good, they're still asleep." Dipper says as he gets to his feet and grabs his tape recorder. "And I have their entire conversation on tape. I better go review it so when I finally have the evidence I need to expose Catherine, I'll be able to play it back for Mabel."
Grabbing his blanket and pillow, Dipper throws both into he and Mabel's room and darts downstairs to the den to review the tape of the girls' conversation. From the bathroom, Catherine heard Dipper's entire plan.
"This ends now!" Catherine hisses. "If I don't get rid of him, he's going to ruin everything I'm working too hard for!"
Releasing a growl, Catherine now turns to the bathroom mirror and rams her right fist into the mirror, shattering it into numerous pieces.
Den
Dipper is sitting in the chair listening to the tape of Mabel and Catherine's conversation. From what he has heard so far and is currently listening to, Catherine and Mabel are talking about the guy from the park.
"What guy?!" Dipper asks in frustration as he continues listening to the recording. "I followed them to every inch of that park and didn't once see the guy that they are talking about! This can't be what they spent the entire night talking about!"
Continuing to listening to the tape, Dipper doesn't notice Catherine walk past the den and towards the kitchen. Catherine, on the other hand, caught a glance of Dipper listening to the tape on her way to the kitchen. With the clone now entering into the kitchen, she opens the fridge and grabs a pitt cola from the door.
"He wants to spy does he?" Catherine fumes as she walks to the counter. "Well, I'll take care of that and see to it that he NEVER spies again!"
Turning to the shelf above the counter, Catherine's eyes now land on a blank white bottle. Smiling evilly, Catherine grabs it and opens the bottle, noticing that there are three pills left in it.
"These will do." Catherine says as she opens the Pitt cola can and dumps the pills into the drink. "These will do just fine."
With the pills in the drink, Catherine swishes the contents around so to make sure that the pills dissolve and that there won't be any left over after products of the pills dissolution. Looking into the can, Catherine notices that the pills have completely dissolved and that the soda in the can is still the same color.
Making her way out of the kitchen, Catherine now enters the den with a sweet smile on her face.
"Good morning Dipper." Catherine sweetly greets to the young pines. "I have your favorite drink."
Hearing Catherine speak to him, Dipper looks up and notices that she is standing next to him while holding a Pitt Cola.
"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking soda?" Dipper coldly asks her.
"It's not for me silly, it's for you." Catherine replies with a laugh, now handing the boy the can. "I figured that you would want to start your day out with a little energy. From what Mabel tells me, you're quite the monster hunter so you'll need every bit of energy that you can possibly get. I wouldn't want you to get tired out during one of your hunts considering how random they happen."
Eyeing the clone suspiciously, Dipper now takes the can from her.
"Um thanks?" Dipper says with a nod. "Good to know that my sister has spoken so highly of me."
"You know Dipper, I'm sorry that you and I haven't had the chance to bond since we met." Catherine begins as Dipper now takes a sip of the soda. "I really wish you and I had the same relationship that you and Mabel have. It's really cool that Mabel has a brother like you to grow up with and share everything with. I really wish I had that, but just being a copy of her doesn't do very much I'm afraid."
With Catherine spilling her heart to Dipper, the boy is feeling himself becoming very sleepy as the pitt cola can now falls out of his hand. As Catherine continues talking, her voice is now sounding distant with each word she speaks.
Noticing how sleepy Dipper is, Catherine continues talking knowing that within seconds, the boy will be deeply asleep and out of her way. Dipper now dozes off into a deep sleep which is the clone's cue to stop talking.
"Nighty night Dippy." Catherine says with a grin.
Snatching the tape recorder from his hand, Catherine slings it to the ground and stomps on it, breaking the tape recorder is into numerous pieces.
"One down, one left to go." Catherine says to herself as she grabs Stan's fishing rope from behind the chair Dipper is in. "It's time I had a nice long talk with my loving sister Mabel. Oh Mabel, time to wake up!"
With the rope in hand, Catherine begins making her way towards the ladder that leads to the attic.
Attic
Mabel's eyes now open as the girl sits up and looks around the room. Looking next to her, she notices the sleeping bag next to hers is empty.
"I wonder where Catherine is." Mabel says as she gets to her feet and stretches. Her question is soon answered when the door to the bedroom flies open and Catherine appears in the doorway.
"Oh good morning Catherine." Mabel happily greets to her. "I was wondering where you went off to."
"Oh, I went off to go speak to our brother about yesterday." Catherine replies, now revealing the rope to Mabel. "Let's just say that we came to an agreement about him giving us our privacy when we ask for it."
"Catherine, why do you have my great uncle's fishing rope?" Mabel inquires in confusion.
"I plan to use it to remove an obstacle from my path." Catherine calmly speaks as she begins walking towards Mabel. "It's been in my way for far too long and it's time to get rid of it."
"What obstacle?" Mabel asks as Catherine continues approaching her.
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Catherine replies as she tightens the rope between her hands.
Mabel begins backing away from Catherine with each step forward that the clone takes.
Downstairs
Wendy and Soos now arrive for work and enters into the forest entrance of the shack.
"So I told Robbie that a real date isn't just sitting at home watching movies all the time." Wendy continues as she closes the door behind them.
With the two entering the den, Soos immediately notices that Dipper is fast asleep in the chair. He then gestures for Wendy to lower her voice so she doesn't wake the sleeping boy.
"The little dude must have stayed up all night watching television again." Soos whispers. "He's like a total rock star."
"I'm not sure if that's it Soos." Wendy replies to him, feeling that something else is at work as to why Dipper is fast asleep. "Something is wrong."
Making her way over to Dipper, Wendy presses her ear to his chest and can hear faint sounds of his breathing and heart beat. She then presses her index and middle finger to his neck and can feel that his pulse is beginning to fade.
"Soos, hurry! Call 911!" Wendy panics. "Dipper's breathing and heart beat is fading and I can barely get a pulse! On second thought, you take him to the hospital right now while I go find Mabel!"
Nodding, the man child now picks the boy up and rushes out of the door with him.
"Mabel should still be asleep so I'll just go wake her up!" Wendy says to herself as she begins making her way towards the ladder of the attic.
An ear piercing scream now rips through the building, which causes the teenager to cringe.
"Oh no Mabel!" Wendy panics, now darting to the ladder. "Hold on Mabel, I'm coming!"
Attic
Catherine has cornered Mabel in the room that the two had a sleep over in the previous night.
"Catherine, why are you doing this?" Mabel asks to her copy. "I thought we had a great sisterly bond. You even put Pacifica in her place for me."
"Well people like her should learn to mind her business." Catherine replies as she wraps the ends of the rope around her hands. "There was no way I was going to let her insult you, at least not until I got to you first. But not everything turns out the way you plan it."
"What do you mean the way you planned it?" Mabel asks, hoping Catherine's next words wouldn't be what she is thinking.
"Well let's just say that 'our' brother got in my way so I had to strategically put him in his place." Catherine reveals. "Right now, he's in a place known as the sleeper's grave yard and when I get my hands on you, he won't be able to stop me. No one will and with us being the only three home, I'll finish you off before anyone has a chance to stop me."
"How could you do that to him?" Mabel asks in shock. "Dipper was right about you all along! You are evil!"
"Well, putting him out of his misery with the plan to do the same to you so I can take your place isn't exactly something a nice person would do." Catherine scoffs. "I think me replacing you will do this world a huge favor."
"Not if I have something to do with it!" The two girls hear. "You might want to take a step back away from my friend or else you'll regret it!"
Mabel now looks around Catherine to spot Wendy. Seeing the teenager causes the clone to growl. With Catherine distracted, Mabel pushes Catherine out of the way and runs behind Wendy.
"Mabel, what is going on and why am I seeing two of you?" Wendy inquires as she looks between Mabel and Catherine.
"I made a copy of myself using the copy machine in Stan's office." Mabel spills as Catherine turns completely to her and Wendy. "I was so mad at Dipper for not spending time with me that I made a copy of myself to have someone to talk to!"
"And how is that working out for you?" Wendy says, noticing Catherine narrow her eyes at them both.
"You are such a little snitch!" Catherine hisses through gritted teeth as drops the rope to the ground. "I can't wait to silence you for good!"
Catherine now lunges towards Mabel, but is caught by the collar of her sweater by Wendy. With Catherine tightly gripped in Wendy's arms, the clone is trying her hardest to get to Mabel.
"I have to get rid of her!" Catherine screams as she continues fighting against Wendy's grip.
"Not on my watch you won't!" Wendy replies, now wrestling Catherine to the ground.
"I have an idea!" Mabel speaks up. "Wendy you keep her right there! I think I know what to do about Catherine."
Darting from the room, Mabel quickly makes her way to the ground floor of the shack and into the kitchen. Quickly looking around the room, Mabel spots the water sprayer sitting on the kitchen table.
"Perfect!" The older pines says, now grabbing it and darting back up stairs.
Making it back to the room, Mabel notices that Wendy has Catherine in a headlock. Aiming the water sprayer at Catherine, Mabel narrows her eyes at the clone.
"I should have known better than to trust you over my own brother!" Mabel hisses. "I'm ashamed to have EVER called you my sister and you will NEVER be the real Mabel Pines! There can only be one and that is me!"
Pulling the handle of the nozzle back, Catherine is now hit with a forceful and direct shot of water. Like heat to gold, Catherine is now melting from the water dissolving every inch of her frame. Within minutes, Catherine is completely dissolved and is nothing more than a glowing water puddle laying at her feet and Wendy's waist.
"Whoa, that has got to be the strangest thing that I have ever seen." Wendy says as she gets to her feet. "Well not as strange as what happened at that convenience store, but this is a close second."
"I owe Dipper an apology big time." Mabel begins sulking. "I should have listened to him when he tried to warn me about her, but all I did was ignore him. I've got to be the worst sister in the world."
"Don't beat yourself up about it kiddo." Wendy gently says to the sulking twelve year old. "It's not too late to apologize to him and I know that he'll accept your apology."
"I'm going to take care of that right now." Mabel replies as she turns on her heels to leave the room, but is stopped by Wendy placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Mabel, he's not here right now." Wendy begins.
"Ok, where is he?" Mabel asks as she turns back to Wendy.
Gravity Falls Memorial Hospital
In room 2042, Dipper Pines is sitting up in bed but is resting comfortably and has an IV stuck in his right arm. The doctor was already in to check his vitals and everything came up normal, except his shortness of breath which was immediately treated. Sitting to the left of him is Soos, who is overjoyed that Dipper is doing very well after the scare he got.
"Thank goodness you're ok little dude and that you were out cold due to just sleeping pills." Soos happily praises with a wide smile. "You had me scared there for a moment."
"I should have known better than to accept that soda from Catherine!" Dipper begins fuming. "I knew all along that she was trouble and all Mabel did was stick up for her the entire time. I could be dead right now and Mabel wouldn't notice or even care! The only thing on her mind would be what her and Catherine would do next as sisters!"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that dude." Soos replies. "You two are family and if I know Mabel, she wouldn't let anyone come between you two, especially when it comes to someone she just met."
"I wish that were true Soos." Dipper sadly replies as he turns his vision to his lap. "I wish that were true."
The door to Dipper's room now flies open with a brown blur flying in and rushing over to Dipper's bed. The next thing the boy knew was that he was having trouble breathing due to something cutting off the air to his lungs. Focusing his vision, Dipper looks down and notices Mabel is hugging him tightly.
"I am sssssssssssssooooooooooooooo ooooooo sorry Dipper!" Mabel apologizes, continuing to hug her brother. "I should have listened to you about Catherine when you warned me about her! She was evil after all and tried to kill me! I'm so sorry Dipper, I really am! Could you ever forgive me? Please say you will!"
Looking into her brother slightly blue face, Mabel now releases him.
"Thanks for releasing me." Dipper coughs, now catching a second wind with the color returning to his face. "And yes I will forgive you. I could never stay mad at you, even though you did choose Catherine over me."
"I'm very sorry Dipper." Mabel continues. "I just got so caught up with having a sister that I didn't know what else to think. You didn't spend time with me and I was really upset about that, but I know to never make that mistake again. If I have to wait forever for you to come back from solving a mystery, I'll do that."
While the two are continuing to talk, Wendy quietly walks in and gets Soos's attention. Signaling for him to leave the room so the two can continue talking privately, the handy man now walks out quietly behind Wendy.
"I feel so bad Dipper." Mabel says, now embracing Dipper in another hug. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you. By the way, what happened that landed you in here anyway?"
"Catherine gave me a pitt cola littered with sleeping pills." Dipper reveals. "After I got here, my stomach got pumped. The doctor says I'll be fine, but just have to remain here overnight for observation."
"Then I'll be here all night with you." Mabel says, laying her head on her brother's shoulder. "I'll always be by your side Dipper."
"And I'll be by yours too Mabel." Dipper replies with a smile as he returns the hug. "Hey, whatever happened to Catherine anyway?"
"She's a puddle of water now." Mabel happily replies.
A/N: I know I should have split this chapter up into two segments, but I just couldn't let it go at that and everything just flowed together. So I hope you all enjoyed this super long chapter and just remember, this isn't the closing of the gala as there will be more stories being posted here in the coming days/months!