What If Gravity Falls...

#10 What If Mabel Didn't Leave the Bubble? Part 1

(After flashbacks of the twins being there for each other during the attempt at convincing Mabel to leave the bubble.)

"Im sorry Dipper, I can't do it. I can't handle reality anymore. This place is so much better", Mabel said reluctantly.

Dipper's face fell and his heart broke a little when she realized that she wasn't leaving.

"But I still love you guys, and I always will, so you'll be staying here, safe and sound with me", Mabel smiled excitedly.

"Mabel, we have to leave", Dipper said calmly. "All of Gravity Falls is going through literal hell out there, including our Grunkles and your friends!"

"Everyone's in here, silly!" Mabel snapped her fingers, causing all of her loved ones to appear wearing identical smiles.

"You know they aren't real, Mabel", Wendy jumped in, her tone serious.

"Ya dude", Seuss agreed. "Everyone's still in trouble!"

Dipper nodded, waiting for Mabel to agree.

Instead, Mabel's eyes darkened, and she whispered something into Judge Kitty Kitty Meow Meow Face-Shwartstein's ear.

"By order of Queen Mabel, Dipper Pines and his ragtag friends shall be kept here for all of time", the cat paused. "Until they finally stop calling this place a "fantasy" they will be locked up in the DARK ROOM."

Gasps rang throughout the room. Dipper had never heard of the "dark room", but he could tell that this punishment wouldn't be fun.

Mabel snapped her fingers and the jury of her look-alikes came and tackled Dipper, Wendy, and Seuss. They began to drag the struggling team outside, the real Mabel trailing them.

"Mabel, please don't do this!" Dipper shouted along with his friends protests.

"Sorry bro, this is for you're own good", Mabel replied. "You won't be in there long."

"LET ME GO!" Dipper screamed as they got closer to what seemed to be a house sized black box.

"Mabel!" Wendy yelled angrily.

he door to the black box opened, and the Mabel's stopped.

"Dude, it looks really creepy in there..." Seuss said nervously.

"See you later guys", Mabel called. "And don't worry, there's food and stuff in there!"

With those "encouraging" words, the trio was thrown into the box. Dipper screamed as they all fell, he closed his eyes as he braced for impact, but there was none. He continued to fall for what seemed like hours into the darkness. Dipper tried not to think about how he would escape, or if his friends and family were even alive right now. His anger at Mabel's betrayal began to boil up just as he landed onto something soft. Oddly enough, the impact didn't hurt.

He looked around and saw a seemingly endless grassy field, lit up by spread out lampposts. Dipper saw no stars, no moon, and no sun. Fog was rolling in.

"WENDY?" He shouted. "SEUSS? ANYBODY PLEASE HELP!!!"

Dipper's voice pierced through the silence as he continued to call until his voice broke. He dropped to the grass and curled up into a ball, crying himself to sleep.

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Mabel's POV

Mabel closed the door and ran. She ran and ran and ran, until her legs buckled and she collapsed in an alley. Mabel sobbed as she remembered Dipper begging for her to stop this. The thought made her want to save him from the loneliness of the Black Room.

You can't do that Mabel. It's for his own good.

That voice...

It was always there now. Every second since she got trapped in the bubble, that voice had been there.

It'll only be a few days til he excepts that this world is reality.

And that voice was right. Dipper will be fine. Same goes for Seuss and Wendy.

The Dark Room is perfectly comfortable.

They will be fine.

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Dipper groaned, rubbing his eyes. Why was it so cold and dark?

Oh.

Weirdmaggedon, betrayal, and being imprisoned all came back to him. Great. Just perfect.

He rolled over and saw a plate full of treats. Dipper's stomach growled, and he stuffed his face without another thought.

When he finished, Dipper began to walk. He walked in a straight line. He didn't stop. He didn't take the random water bottles appearing by his side. There was only walking.

Until Dipper collapsed from exhaustion and passed out.

————————————————————————

He awoke and again stubbornly ignored the water. Dipper's breath was raspy as he stumbled along. He wasn't really going anywhere. There was only fog, grass, and the occasional lamppost. Why was he walking again?

Dipper gave up and sat on the ground. No plan of escape came to mind, even after thinking for about two hours. Dipper began coming up with scenarios in his head to keep himself sane.

He imagined that he was back at the shack, with Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford. Mabel and Dipper we're both happy, and everything was back to normal. Bill was gone forever, and there was no bubble.

Dipper fell asleep again, and woke up to soon. He grabbed the bottle, and filled it down.

Useless and weak, he thought angrily. I can't even go on a water strike.

This was his routine, sitting and thinking. Crying and trying not to eat or drink. Hoping that his pain will hurt Mabel. It didn't seem to, because Dipper was never released.

There were never sounds in this place. Unless he spoke, which he often did when his voice wasn't dry. The silence drove him mad.

Around 2 weeks later, Dipper began seeing things. Shadows shaped like his loved ones running through the fog. Faces smiling at him a little too widely. A voice in his head telling him to except that this was his new life.

One time he saw Mabel with her arms open, a happy smile on her face. He got up and ran, diving into the hug, happy tears welling up.

She's finally here to rescue me! She still loves me and cares about me!

Those were Dippers thoughts until he fell through her ghostly form. His happy tears quickly turned into heartbroken cries.

"How could you do this, Mabel?" he whimpered.

Suddenly, he began laughing. Hysterical cackles forced their way out of his cracked lips.

"You're such an IDIOT, Dipper", Dipper said to himself. "Mabel doesn't care about you anymore."

"SHUT UP", Dipper screamed to himself.

"She replaced you with Dippy Fresh", he cackled.

Later that day he finally gave in. He couldn't handle being stubborn and alone any longer.

"FINE. THIS... THIS IS REALITY."

Yeah, I know this was a little cringy. But...thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to vote, follow, and comment!🩷