Chapter 11: Nightmare in Gravity Falls Part I (Chapter rated T to be on safe side)

'Have you ever had an experience that changed your life in ways that you can't imagine? Was it horrifying? Satisfying? Something you wish you can go back and change? A past experience lived by the Pines' will soon return, but will they be able to face it?

On this peaceful, clear, and balmy Friday night in the town of Gravity Falls, the normal activities of the town have ceased, which has brought the town to a complete standstill. Could it be due to the night? The lack of activities? Or because it is time for everything and everyone to settle in for the night until the dawn of the next day? For whatever the reason is, a dead silence is lingering over the town. However, for one particular residence of the town, two participants are enjoying their night inside as they watch the non-stop horror movie marathon that was planned for this very night.

"Don't go in there!" Mabel whispers as she grips onto her brother, who is returning the gripping hug as the two watch their current movie, Dead Space 2: The awakening. "If you go in there, you will meet your doom! Listen to me and stay out!"

Continuing to watch the movie, the hero of the movie now steps through the door of the mansion that is crawling with the undead. The door to the house slams tightly shut behind him and an ear piercing scream is heard, which causes Mabel to dig her face into her brother's left shoulder.

"I can't continue watching this!" Mabel whimpers. "I can't, it's too scary! Let's watch something else please!"

The hero of the movie now steps through the door of the mansion and from what can be clearly seen, he has become apart of the undead. The skin on his face is beginning to peel and his left arm looks to be dislocated. Dipper, who is continuing to watch the movie, now gains an idea with a grin spreading across his face.

"It's ok Mabes, the scary parts are over now." Dipper says convincingly.

Listening to her brother, Mabel now turns back to the television and notices the hero bite the neck of a civilian.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Mabel screams as she digs her face back into her brother's shoulder. "That was so not funny Dipper! Turn it off now! I don't want to continue watching this!"

Laughing at the joke pulled on his sister, Dipper grabs the remote and stops the movie, thus turning it off.

"It's off Mabel and I mean it this time." Dipper says, Mabel now catching gazes with her brother.

"Why did you do that?" Mabel asks, anger evident in her tone as she punches Dipper's left shoulder. "That wasn't very funny scaring me like that! You know how I feel about scary movies!"

"Mabel, how is it you are scared of fictional horror movies?" Dipper inquires as he rubs his shoulder. "We see things far scarier than that in this town every day and you aren't afraid of what we face, but you're scared of these movies? Remember Catherine? She was far scarier than any horror movie ever made!"

"I didn't think those movies would be that scary!" Mabel fumes as she punches her brother again. "You said, when renting these movies, they weren't going to be scary! The next time we have a movie marathon, I'm picking out the movies!"

"If you say so Mabes." Dipper replies, now turning to the clock above the television and noticing the time reads 11:34pm. "Well, it's about time we wrapped this up and head to bed. I didn't realize how late it was."

"You were too busy scaring me that's why!" Mabel says, her anger dissipating as the two get to their feet.

"Do you want me to leave the light on for you while we sleep so the boogey man won't get you?" Dipper teases, which earns him another punch from Mabel.

"I'll be fine sleeping with the lights out thank you!" Mabel sternly replies as she and Dipper begin making their way towards the ladder leading to the attic. Reaching it, the two climb the ladder and head to their room.

"So tonight, do you want me to leave the door open for you?" Dipper continues teasing. "I mean I can sleep with the door open if you want me to or sleep with it closed like we usually do."

"That's enough Dipper!" Mabel snaps as she and Dipper quickly change into their bed clothes. "So you scared me once, that doesn't mean that I'm afraid of everything now!"

"Hey, I'm just making sure." Dipper replies as he closes the bedroom door and climbs into bed. "And I will admit that my joke wasn't very funny. I'm very sorry about that."

Mabel doesn't reply, but climbs in bed, pulls her cover over her, and turns her back to her brother.

"Turn off the light." Mabel calmly requests, not making eye contact with her brother.

"Good night Mabel." Dipper says to her, now shutting off the light.

With the lights out and the door closed, the entire room is dark, but not completely as the full moon hanging over the town is spilling a faint and illuminating light into the room through the small window. With not a word spoken between the two, the sounds of faint snoring can now be heard coming from Mabel.

With his eyes wide open, Dipper now looks over at Mabel and can see her side rising and falling with each breath she takes. Releasing a small sigh, Dipper turns over on his right side, closes his eyes, and falls asleep himself.

The Next Day

Its beautiful day in the town of Gravity Falls. The sun is shining bright above the city and the birds are singing. The tourist attraction/trap of the town hasn't opened for business as of yet, but is an hour away from opening for business.

Upstairs in the attic of the business are the twins bedroom, which only one of them is still asleep while the other is out and about. With the sun shining through the small window to their bedroom, Mabel now rolls onto her right side and opens her eyes slightly. With the light from the sun shining brightly into the room, it is hard for her to open her eyes fully. Sitting up, Mabel throws the cover back and swings her legs over the side of the bed as she rubs her eyes.

"This is going to be an awesome day!" Mabel cheers. "And I'm going to wear my newly knitted sweater just to commemorate this perfect day!"

Looking across from her, Mabel notices that Dipper's bed is empty and that his back pack is gone.

"That's odd that Dipper is gone and so early at that." Mabel observes as she climbs out of bed. "He usually sleeps in an hour after I wake up, but he probably went on a monster hunt. You can't separate him and hunting down the paranormal. Oh well, he'll be back soon enough."

Making her way over to the closet, Mabel begins sifting through her sweater collection in search of her newly knitted sweater. Now spotting it, she pulls it out of the closet and looks over the garment. The sweater was knitted using sky blue yarn with silver metallic threads knitted in and the center picture is a bright yellow sun with a smile. Hugging her new sweater, Mabel quickly changes into her desired outfit, headband and shoes included. Having changed, Mabel now looks herself over in the mirror hanging on the inside of the closet door and smiles.

"Absolutely perfect!" Mabel compliments herself. "Now it's time to spread my Mabel cheer to everyone to begin their day and today is the day that Soos and I visit to the carnival that just came to town. Thankfully gruncle Stan isn't running it this year."

Closing the closet door, Mabel skips out of the room and makes her way down the ladder to the first floor of the shack. Being on the first level, Mabel skips her way to the kitchen and notices that no one is there.

"I wonder where everyone is." Mabel asks herself as she makes her way over to the refrigerator.

Opening the fridge, Mabel grabs the milk and closes the door. Grabbing the cereal, a bowl, and a spoon, Mabel takes a seat at the table and puts together a bowl of sugar flake corn cereal for breakfast. Taking a bite of her cereal, the girl looks towards the door hoping any minute that Dipper would walk in and greet her like he normally does. After a minute of waiting, Mabel notices that no one has entered or passed by the kitchen door way. Sighing, Mabel continues eating her breakfast.

"Dipper should have been back by now." Mabel says to herself, continuing to eat her breakfast. "I hope he isn't avoiding me after what happened last night. I know I got mad at him for the joke he played on me, but hopefully he isn't mad at me for punching him. Maybe I shouldn't have hit him the way I did, but even still that joke wasn't funny."

Taking another bite of her cereal, Mabel pushes the bowl aside and gets to her feet.

"I better get to work in the shop before gruncle Stan yells at me." Mabel says as she begins making her way towards the shop. Continuing on her way, Mabel now spots Wendy walk out of one of the rooms in the hall way and notices that she is texting on her cell phone. Perking up, a smile crosses her face.

Wendy!" Mabel calls out to the teen as she runs behind her. "Wendy!"

Continuing to run after the teen, Mabel notices that Wendy hasn't turned around to notice her. Now catching up with the teen, Mabel runs in front of her and waves her arms in an attempt to get the girl's attention.

"Wendy, it's me Mabel!" Mabel calls out. "Good morning!"

Wendy is continuing to text on her phone and haven't looked up once to notice the twelve year old who is desperately trying to get her attention. Continuing to text, Wendy now walks around Mabel and continues on her way to her destination. Frowning, Mabel turns around and spots the back of Wendy as the teen continues on her way while she continues texting.

"I was right in front of her." Mabel assesses. "How come she didn't see me?"

Now making her way to the shop, Mabel notices Wendy has taken her usual spot behind the counter and is reading a magazine. Running over to the counter, Mabel hops on the seat next to the counter.

"Hi Wendy!" Mabel tries getting the girl's attention again. "How was your morning?"

Wendy is continuing to read the magazine in total silence.

"What is going on here?" Mabel asks, her frustrations surfacing. "Why isn't she responding to me?"

Just then, Soos enters the shop carrying his toolbox. Seeing her other friend changes Mabel's frown to a smile.

"Soos!" Mabel greets as she hops off the seat and runs up to the man child. "Hey Soos!"

"Hey Wendy." Soos greets to the teen, now getting her attention as he approaches the counter. "Have you seen Mabel?"

"No, not yet." Wendy replies, continuing to read her magazine. "I think she's still asleep."

"I'm right here!" Mabel calls out to Soos. "You passed me right by Soos! I' .here! I'm the girl wearing the sunshine sweater with matching headband and shoes? Hello!"

"Mabel promised that we would go into town today to the carnival." Soos informs Wendy as a frown forms on his face. "Hopefully she didn't forget."

"I'm sure she didn't forget." Wendy reassures as she turns to him. "If I know Mabel, she wouldn't break a promise unless there was a good reason. Don't worry, she'll be down soon enough."

"I'm already awake and ready to go Soos!" Mabel yells, hoping she would be heard this time. "I've been ready to go for the past forty five minutes now! Let's go, LET'S GO!"

Having yelled to the top of her lungs, Mabel notices that Soos and Wendy are still chatting amongst themselves and haven't acknowledged her at all.

"Why is everyone ignoring me?" Mabel asks. "I didn't do anything to offend them, did I?"

"Soos and Wendy, I have bad news!" Stanford begins as he now walks into the shop.

"What is it?" Both Soos and Wendy ask in unison.

"We're going to be short handed the rest of the summer thanks to Dipper no longer being with us." Stanford reveals. "I knew that monster hunting he was so into would get him in trouble one of these days. So as of this day, I'm giving everyone a double shift."

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Wendy asks with concern. "When did it happen?"

"I'm not sure really." Stanford replies with a sigh. "From what the police said, when they investigated his disappearance, they didn't find him, but they found his backpack in the middle of the forest this morning. That's the only evidence they have."

Hearing that her brother disappeared in the middle of the forest without an explanation, Mabel now feels a wave of shock hit her. But that shock quickly changes to sadness.

"Dii…ppp..er?" Mabel stammers, feeling tears rapidly surfacing to her eyes.

"So due to that unfortunate turn of events, Soos, you're doing both you and Dipper's job today." Stanford informs him. "Wendy, you're covering you and Dipper's shift tomorrow."

"I'll do anything to in the honor of Dipper's memory." Soos replies with a nod. "You have my word."

"Now as easy as this won't be to tell her, has anyone seen Mabel?" Stanford asks as he looks around the shop for her.

"I'm right here gruncle Stan!" Mabel shouts as her tears begin streaming down her face. "What happened to Dipper? You have to tell me what happened to him!"

"We don't know where she is." Wendy replies. "She hasn't been seen all morning."

"WHY CAN'T ANYONE HEAR ME?" Mabel shouts, her tears still falling like torrential rain fall. "I'M RIGHT HERE FOR THE LOVE OF IT ALL!"

Just then, another Mabel now walks through the shop's door, getting everyone's attention. Seeing that brings confusion to Mabel's face as her sadness is replaced with confusion and a bit of concern.

"Hey everyone." Mabel greets to everyone. "Sorry I'm late. After learning of my brother's sudden disappearance on the news, I went for a soothing walk. I don't understand what could have happened to him and why his back pack was the only thing found."

"We're sorry too Mabel." Wendy replies, now approaching the girl and hugging her. "But whatever we can do to help you through this, we'll do that."

"You're darn right we are." Stanford agrees. "I see you kids as my own and when you're sad, I'm sad as well."

"Thanks guys." Mabel manages a small smile.

"What the heck?" Mabel says as she observes the scene in front of her. "How is it they are hugging me when I'm right here? And since when did grunkle Stan start seeing us as one of his own? What is going on here?"

Continuing to watch the scene in front of her, the entire area now goes black with everyone and everything suddenly disappearing. Becoming even more confused, Mabel begins looking around while trying to figure out what is going on this time.

"What is going on now?" Mabel asks, continuing to look around.

"That must have really shattered your heart to see that no one loves you anymore!" A voice that mocks Mabel's so closely speaks to her from behind her back. "So happy I could be of assistance!"

Having heard the voice, the sweater wearer feels the color leave her face and her heart nearly stop. Slowly turning around, Mabel now spots the one person that she thought was gone forever.

"You!" Mabel manages to say. "I thought I melted you away after you tried to kill me and my brother!"

"Well that's the thing about us clones." Catherine begins, now taking a step towards Mabel. "We aren't easily disposed of. Especially me, but it's nice seeing you again as well dear sister!"

"What did you do with my family?" Mabel asks, her shock disappearing and being replaced with anger. "Why is it they didn't notice me? And what happened to my brother? He wouldn't disappear so suddenly while solving a mystery! He's more careful than that!"

"You know, you ask too many questions!" Catherine snaps. "But if you must know, I finally achieved taking over your life where I'm the real Mabel Pines and you are just an imposter! And don't worry about Dipper, he's in a better place now!"

Hearing Catherine say that her brother is in a 'better place' makes Mabel's stomach twist in knots and bring on a sick feeling.

"How could you do this?" Mabel manages to ask through her sickness. "How could you make my brother disappear and take over my life?"

"Well I took the chance while I had it." Catherine answers, a deranged smile appearing on her face. "You ruined my plan when I attempted this before, but I got my chance and when you least suspected it at that! Face it, you're no longer loved or wanted! Your life is mine now and so is your family! And just to make things official, I have to get rid of the imposter for good! We wouldn't want anyone to think you're me now would we?"

Reaching into her sweater's front pocket, Catherine now removes a small hatchet and presents it to Mabel.

"I'll try to make this as painless as possible for you." Catherine says as she begins approaching Mabel once more. "Oh and when you get on the other side, give Dipper my regards!"

Not wanting to know what Catherine has planned with her hatchet, Mabel breaks into a run at break neck speed away from her.

"If it's a chase she wants, then it's a chase that she will get!" Catherine evilly chuckles to herself as she begins after Mabel.

Continuing to run in the depths of darkness, Mabel can hear footsteps running closely behind her.

"Where are you going dear sister?" Catherine's voice taunts in the darkness. "I thought you loved having a sister! Don't you want to stick around and do sisterly things together?"

"You're not my sister!" Mabel shouts, continuing to run. "It was a mistake creating you!"

"That's not something you say to someone you consider your family!" Catherine's voice angrily shouts to the girl, her hatchet now slicing the right sleeve of Mabel's sweater. "I thought you really cared about me and learning that you never wanted me hurts! That really hurts Mabel! It hurts a lot!"

"You tried to kill my brother using sleeping pills and then tried to kill me!" Mabel shouts continuing to run from Catherine. "Family would never do that to each other! You never cared about me so why would I care about you?!"

Hearing the clone growl, a sharp pain now shoots through Mabel's left leg, which brings the girl's running to a halt. Looking down at her leg, she notices a large bruise.

"Where did this come from?" Mabel asks as she kneels down and begins inspecting the bruise. "That wasn't there before."

Continuing to inspect the mysterious wound, Mabel doesn't notice Catherine appear in front of her.

"Maybe I can answer that for you." Catherine calmly speaks, now getting Mabel's attention. Spotting the girl standing before her, Mabel's pupils shrink to tiny dots as she begins backing away from her.

"Stay away from me!" Mabel demands, her voice full of terror. "Don't come any closer! Just stay back!"

"But don't you want me to help you fix your boo boo?" Catherine asks tauntingly as she presents her hatchet once more. "I want to help you heal it so you can feel all better!"

Continuing to back away from Catherine, Mabel now feels her back hit a wall. Turning back to the front of her, she spots Catherine just inches from her. Seeing the glint of hysterics in Catherine's eyes, the sweater girl feels her heart sink.

"Don't worry dear sister." Catherine begins as she raises her hatchet, the blade glistening in an unknown light. "I'll make sure you don't ever feel pain again!"

"CATHERINE NO!" Mabel Shrieks.

With her hatchet as high as it will go, Catherine now brings it down on Mabel, resulting in an ear piercing scream coming from her.

With eyes shooting wide open, Mabel sits up with a start and is breathing very heavily. Quickly tossing the covers back, she looks to her left leg and notices that her 'bruise' is gone. Now turning to her right arm, she notices that she is still wearing her night gown and not a sweater. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mabel begins bringing her breathing under control.

"It was just a dream." Mabel whispers to herself as she wipes the sweat from her forehead. "Thank goodness it was just a dream."

Just as she is about to lay back down, Mabel feels a hand touch her right shoulder, which nearly makes the girl jump out of her skin.

"Hey Mabes, are you ok?" Dipper asks, now taking a seat on the bed next to her. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep. After that, you just started crying. Are you ok?"

"I had a dream about…about...her." Mabel reveals, now catching gazes with her brother. "She came back, made you disappear, and then she took over my life."

"Who came back and took over your life?" Dipper asks, noticing that his sister is on the brink of tears. "Wait, you don't mean?

"Ca…th..er..ine." Mabel stammers as Dipper pulls her into a hug.

"Shhh, Mabel its ok." Dipper begins consoling the girl. "Catherine is long gone and can no longer hurt us. You saw to that."

"But what if she is and she actually does take over my life and separates us this time?" Mabel asks through her light sobbing. "I can't live without you Dipper."

"And I can't live without you either." Dipper whispers as he continues consoling her. "If it so happens that Catherine returns, we're going to face her together."

Returning the hug, Mabel tightens her grip on her brother.

"Thank you Dipper." Mabel manages a small smile.

Outside of the shack, at the entrance of the forest, the replica of Mabel is staring intently at the residence, particularly at the twin's bedroom window.

"It's so nice to know that you are thinking about me as well dear sister." Catherine speaks, a deranged smile spread across her face and the hint of hysterics in her eyes. "I can't wait to see you and fill you in on everything I plan to do to you and your family! I hope you're looking forward to it just as much as I am!"

Removing a hand held object from her sweater pocket, the moon light gleams off the object, revealing it to be a small hand knife. Ramming the knife harshly into the tree next to her, Catherine now runs off into the darkness of the forest with an echo of maniacal laughter following closely behind her.

TBC…

That dream shook Mabel up pretty badly, but how will she react when she discovers that her nightmare wasn't really a dream after all? Keep reading to find out in the next gala entry! Next gala entry: Strange stories start circulating around Gravity Falls about Mabel where her picture and name are popping up everywhere. Getting a look at the stories, the girl in those pictures are surely her, but who is behind it all? How will Dipper and Mabel be able to stop the rumors before they get too out of hand?

Review Please!