Perhaps the most volatile response from my Walk the Line story has been 'Please write a sequel where Dipper comes back,' or 'What? You can't just leave Dipper inside the Portal!' and for quite some time, I've been adamant against writing this plot point. You see, in my canon ending, Dipper never comes back. Mabel and Dipper never see each other again. Mabel learns that life has to go on, and that you can't live life stuck within your sweater. Dipper knows this, and he knows he won't be coming back, so he settles with what he can get; the knowledge that she is alive and safe.

But, I recently had a reviewer who sent me an idea – "Somehow; not even Dipper knew how it happened – all the Pines family from Gravity Falls (Stan, Ford, Mabel, and Dipper) dream-linked, and it was the first time they'd spoken in five/six years, and the last time they'd ever get to speak again before Ford, Stan, and Mabel died and (I'm just assuming here) Dipper is left as some immortal being, and they all knew it. (Set the first night Mabel is in Gravity Falls after the end of WtL)."

Now, you have to believe me here when I say I have tried and tried to write an AU event that revolves around Dipper coming back out of the portal, but every time I write it my words don't flow properly, and I end up hating everything I've written. I never finish writing up the event before I delete it.

So this is my solution to all of my reviewers who asked for this event – and I think it's a wonderful idea. As soon as I received the request ideas started to pop into my head, and I just had to get the writing down on a page. I know it's not what people asked for, but I hope this will give some sort of closure to those that read WtL and wanted more.

I decided to put this fic both in my Walk the Line AU's and Oneshots so that those that reviewed asking for a chapter where Mabel and Dipper see each other again can enjoy it, rather than just those who read my AU's and Oneshots.

I would also like to thank my beta reader PhoenixWillowsRox88 for cleaning up my writing and such - you should all check out her stories!

Much appreciated,

Filthy Mallards.

The wheels of the old car churned up so much dust Mabel almost couldn't see the old shack she'd just pulled up in front of.

She didn't need to see the building in front of her, to feel the heaviness in her chest – both good and bad.

Sitting back, she turned the key off and stared at the smeary dust across her windscreen as the soft rumbles of her car died down.

"Well…here we go," she said to herself, grabbing onto the door handle.

She promptly pulled her hand back off, settling it on her lap with the other, twisting them together. Her nails were painted a sparkly purple, so glittery they kind of hurt her eyes if she stared for too long.

Her eyes were beginning to tingle with something that wasn't pain.

How long had it been since she'd last been to Gravity Falls? Five years? It certainly felt like a lot longer.

The ache in her chest refused to go away. Even though grime slashed its way across her view, she could still see the two children running out the front of the Mystery Shack – one boy, one girl. Both brown haired. One with a hat, another a headband. Both laughing.

The odd coughing, choking noise that yanked itself out of her throat blew the apparition away.

Finally, grabbing her courage, Mabel unbuckled herself and pushed the car door open. The fresh Oregon air was…well, it was like a breath of fresh air. She'd missed this – she much preferred it over the clogged, stale air in California.

She slammed the door shut after pulling the lever to the trunk, hearing the soft beeping indicating it had been opened. Walking around her car, she started gathering her bags – a small blue duffel, and a fat red suitcase with white ladybug spots peppered all over it. She pulled the duffel strap over her shoulder, and put the suitcase down, pulling the long handle up so she could drag it around. She shut the trunk of her car, pivoting on her heels to stare at the Shack before her.

It was pleasing to see nothing had changed outside – the totem pole still stood strongly, a silent watcher, and she could see that the broken middle step was still broken.

"Mabel!" A gravelly voice called out to her. A smile broke out onto her face as she saw the old man walking quickly towards her. The fine lines on her Grunkle's face were finer than ever, but the grin on his face said that he couldn't care less.

"Grunkle Stan! It's so good to see you!" Mabel said exuberantly, rushing over to him. She let go of her suitcase's handle to wrap her arm tight around him. No, it wasn't good to see him – it was great to see him. The relationship between her parents and her uncles was still rocky at best, so she hadn't had all that much of a chance to speak to them at her Graduation – simply a few words here and there before she was whisked away by her parents to go talk to some other people. She understood their feelings, of course. The pang was always there, after all. A constant reminder that there should have been a snarky butthole standing next to her being a...well, a snarky butthole.

Unlike her parents, she didn't blame Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford for what happened to Dipper. What happened had been Dipper's doing. Not anyone else's.

Pulling away, Mabel said, "You haven't changed."

"Heh. Speak for yourself. Not so little anymore, sweetie." Stan's voice was fond, and it pulled a bigger smile across Mabel's lips.

"Nope! I'm five foot seven!" The traitorous part of her brain wondered how tall Dipper would have been – would she have been taller than him? Shorter? How did being stuck in another dimension affect someone's height, if at all?

Stan patted her shoulder lightly, taking her ladybug suitcase inside for her. The closer they got to the gift shop entrance, the more Stan began to fidget. Mabel's brows furrowed. Was he not telling her something?

Just before they walked inside, Stan paused, holding the door handle. "We uh...well, Ford and I got pretty busy while you were growin' up, you see…an' uh…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "Well. Best you see it for yourself." He pushed the door open, leading her inside. Mabel's breath sucked in hard, her eyes wide.

For what would have seemed like such a small, insignificant change to a passing customer, the fact that the vending machine had been moved was like having ice poured over her head. Only because she knew what was behind the covered wall - a wall so exactly the same to the rest of the gift shop – could she tell the wall paper was out of place. Stan walked over to the wall, placing his hand over it. Where she'd half expected to see his hand fall through the wallpaper, flat wall met it instead.

"What…how…?" She breathed, mouth opening and shutting like a fish out of water.

"We filled in the stairway with concrete," Grunkle Stan explained. "With the portal gone…there really wasn't much of a point in keepin' the area open any longer."

She clenched her hand around the strap of her duffel. "You did this for me, didn't you?"

"We knew when you came back you wouldn't want…that around," Ford explained as he walked into the room. His face was a little disgruntled – like he had really opposed the idea, but had gone through with it anyway. "We want you to feel as comfortable as possible, Mabel."

Shifting her bag over to the other shoulder so it went across her body, she smiled. "Thanks…I really appreciate it," she said honestly.

A slightly awkward silence spread out around them for a few seconds, the clock on the wall ticking slowly by. Finally, Grunkle Stan straightened. "You'll have Ford's room for the time being, so-"

"No," Mabel interrupted.

"No?" Great Uncle Ford echoed.

"No. I want the attic."

The two brothers glanced at each other, like they would have preferred another idea entirely, so she pressed a bit more incessantly.

"Look…I know you want me to be comfortable. But this is my first time being back here since…since he vanished." Now that she was here, inside the place he had disappeared from, she couldn't rouse the courage to say Dipper's name out loud. Breathing deeply, she lifted her head strongly, clenching her jaw. "And I'm not going to completely move past this if I'm getting coddled the whole time." They still looked uncomfortable. "Please let me do this."

Grunkle Stan finally conceded with a slight nod. "I guess if that's want you want-"

"It is."

"-then we can't really argue with it."

Her success didn't pull a smile over her mouth, though she did nod.

"Thank you." She reached forward to take her suitcase from Stan, who handed it over with a quick, worried look. "I don't know how long I'll be up there…but I'd very much like it if we could play some poker after dinner. My game face has gotten so good I'll rob the both of you blind!"

Grunkle Stan's chest puffed with pride as she headed out of the gift shop and up the stairs. "That's my girl!" He called after her.

Mabel mustered a small smile to herself, keeping it tight lipped across her face as she walked upstairs, listening to the old creaking of each step under her feet. With every step forward, her shoes began to feel like they were filling with lead, and the feeling in her chest began to grow until it was an eighty pound weight inside of her.

And then the door to their bedroom – no. Not theirs, hers - loomed in front of her like a giant. How she'd managed to move forward with so much weight was beyond her level of scientific understanding, but since when did science really make any sense in Gravity Falls? Her hand had barely touched the handle before she was bursting into silent tears, feeling the weight lift from her stomach, the lead drizzle from her shoes.

She threw her suitcase and duffel onto the floor, staring at the single bed pressed against one wall. It felt empty without his bed there, too.

She hit the door shut with a single clenched fist, smiling bitterly, angrily, sadly. Every single emotion in the emotional spectrum that there was, she was sure she felt at that moment – even the happier ones she could feel tingling through her entire being.

Damn it.

"Dipper you big goof."

Mabel flopped down onto the bed, staring at the roof, and let her tears fall around her.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Grunkle Stan suggested they should go to Greasy's Diner tomorrow for breakfast, to which Great Uncle Ford agreed to. He said it would be a good way for her to reconnect with her old friends.

Mabel wasn't stupid. She knew they just wanted her to get out of the house – and getting out of this house was something she wouldn't mind, to be honest. There were a few people she wanted to see, some places she wanted to visit, memories she wanted to suck up and breathe in and live all over again – the good and the bad.

Not long after ten o'clock she slipped away from the old Ducktective reruns she and her great uncles had been watching and walked upstairs to the attic, feigning tiredness. They looked like they believed her as much as Stan believed in the government's competency, but they didn't say anything and let her slip away.

Mabel really hadn't meant to fall asleep, but as soon as she had changed into her dressing gown and socks, pulled the covers over herself, and let her head hit the pillow, she was out for the count.

Mabel was…confused. Was she dreaming? Was she conscious she was dreaming? The field she was lying in was soft with bouncy flowers, flowers that were all sorts of different shades of white and gray and black.

Oh dear god, no!

She scrambled up into a sitting position, her hair poofing up stressfully. She could almost hear the nasally, nasty laugh; could almost see that sickly yellow glowing in her vision.

Footsteps behind her caught her attention, and she launched herself up into a standing position, spinning around quickly. The battle inside of her head trying to dictate whether she fight or flee died a little when she saw Great Uncle Ford rushing through the field towards her.

"Great Uncle Ford? What's going on?" She asked, panicking at the expression on his face. He was pale and grim, glancing around suspiciously. "Is it…do you think it's Bill?"

"No! No…that's impossible. You know as well as I do that he's gone." She didn't know whether he was trying to convince her or himself.

"But, Great Uncle Ford-!" She began, breaking off when she noticed her Grunkle Stan walking over to them, rubbing his back. "Bloody back," he grumbled. "I'm too old for this crap."

Mabel frowned with concern, opening her mouth to speak, but a soft, slightly awkward chuckle caught her attention. "To be fair, I barely understand any of this, either." The voice struck a nerve in her, a voice so different that it should have belonged to a stranger, yet one she knew instinctively – one that ran straight down through her core.

No. No. No no no no no, it can't be…Mabel felt her breath drawn in in a hard gasp. She didn't want to turn around. It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie. Nevertheless, the open mouth of Grunkle Stan and white expression spreading over Great Uncle Ford's face half forced her to. She was scared of who she would see standing behind her – scared it wouldn't be what she expected; what she hoped.

But then she actually saw him, and all of her misgivings fell away like pieces from a broken window. She found she didn't care how different he might be – just that he was there and he still existed.

Her brother was definitely older, that was for sure – nothing like the thirteen year old who'd been ripped away from her five years ago. His face was a little frosted over and distant, but his eyes were warm puddles of chocolate. Not yellow with black slits for pupils, like she'd half feared. Not some weird combobulation of the two. Even though they were reflected back from within the body of someone she decidedly had never met before, it was definitely him.

It was all him.

Finally, her lungs reminded her to breathe Mabel, breathe, and she barely managed to choke out, "Dipper?"

A smile tugged at his lips and he sucked in a large breath of air, as if he'd been deprived of it for too long. When he spoke his voice was so light and it still kinda broke a little bit, and it was a voice she never thought she'd ever get to hear again. "Mabel," he whispered, like he himself couldn't believe what was happening, and then the smile had cracked right across his face in a way that made her think it was a very rare thing to see.

Mabel didn't think she'd every run so fast in her life, her feet tearing into the flowers and crunching them down under her feet as she flung herself into her brother's arms, her sobs flowing like screams. She felt solid – solid – arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug so tight she felt the air push out of her again. She didn't care that her breathing was barely breathing, that her body was shuddering and shaking. If Dipper hadn't been holding her, she knew she would have been on the ground.

"Dipper, oh Dipper, you dweeb, I can't believe it's you! It's really you," she managed out after her cries subsided a bit. She pulled her head back from where it had pushed into his shoulder, rubbing the sleeve of her sweater against the soaking wet patch of shirt. "Sorry," she found herself mumbling, mentally berating herself. Finally, a reunion with her brother and she was trying to flood the place?

Good job, Mabel. Way to spoil the moment, you big goof.

"It's okay," Dipper said, his voice holding remnants of what could have been a laugh, but had fallen short. He stepped away from her, just enough so that he could look her over while still holding her shoulders. His eyes were full of a dark intensity as he scrutinized her, like he was noting every fine line in her face, every strand of hair, every single change up close like she was some precious jewel that had to be carefully preserved. Finally, he backed off, the smile on his face falling into something akin to relief. "It's good to see you. So good," he added, finally dropping his hands from her shoulders to rub his neck. "I…don't really understand how this happened-" Mabel thought she saw Ford's back straighten, like he was suddenly interested, not just gobsmacked, as well.

"It's really you?" She repeated.

He wasn't smiling anymore, the frosty disposition clouding over his face again, but the look in his eyes hadn't changed. Not once. "It's really me."

"You…look different," she said lamely, broaching the only subject the came to mind at that moment.

"It's called aging, Mabel, I take it you haven't looked in a mirror for the past..." His nose scrunched up, like he was concentrating really hard. "…five years?"

"I didn't know…I didn't know that you would too," she finally admitted, watching the way a single eyebrow arched at her. "You know…grow up."

His expression was instantly unreadable – not only was the door to his face slammed shut, but the windows over his eyes had drawn as well. She felt it like a sharp stab in the heart. He was here, but he wasn't. It was him, her lovable, chivalrous, dorky brother, but it wasn't. Finally taking a proper, actual look at him, she saw how guarded Dipper was – not at her, she knew. The way he'd looked at her before, as if he was seeing the stars for the first time, told her that. He just seemed abnormally suspicious of everything in general. His body looked coiled to spring into action, and whenever his fingers twitched, little blue sparks flittered around them. She especially didn't like that. From the way her uncles moved and shuffled behind her, she could tell they didn't either.

"I don't think I have to age, to be completely honest with you. But it seems to be a subconscious thought. To grow up with you," Dipper finally explained.

"Oh." She didn't know whether that idea made her feel better or worse.

Dipper messed up her hair lightly, and she finally noticed with an annoyed grumble that he was taller than her.

Aw. Butthole.

Stepping away from her and looking at Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford – more specifically at Ford, Dipper stated rather than asked, "You have questions."

Ford didn't waste time, starting in on Dipper rather violently. "Where are we? Where is Bill? Is he with you? Did you make this place? How is this happening? Are you a dream demon, too?"

To his credit, Dipper seemed mostly unfazed by the questions. She thought she noticed an annoyed furrow in his brows at the last one, though it could have also been a condescending glare. She didn't know. Counting off on his fingers, Dipper said, "This is the Dreamscape, I'm about ninety-nine point nine percent sure of it. Bill is probably...around. I didn't make this place. Not sure how this is happening, to be honest with you - and hey, that's offensive, do I look like a demon, smart guy?" She smiled a little when she saw that he barely resisted rolling his eyes, but it fell quickly as she picked up on what he'd said. She could feel her heartbeat thumping in her chest rather violently as images of the yellow triangular demon flashed through her mind.

"Wait, what do you mean Bill is around?" Mabel said quickly. Dipper waved his hand flippantly, like it wasn't a big deal. "He comes and goes, y'know? He's probably spying on us right now, but eh, I doubt he'd try anything fishy."

Mabel decided to take Dipper's word for it.

Grunkle Stan rubbed his chin, standing quickly in front of Ford as he opened his mouth to begin speaking again, drawing Dipper's attention to him. "You…uh, you shaped up pretty good kid, just like your Grunkle." he said, clearing his throat. "Looks like all that toughenin' you up payed off."

"Yeah, sure, Grunkle Stan," he said. He grinned like a wolf, but Mabel could tell it was half-forced. "You and your lessons, eh?" There was an awkward lilt to his voice, and the grin on his face twisted into a more wistful smile. "…been a long time since those."

"Sure has been, Dipper." His voice was gruff, but taunt, arms crossed over his chest. He wouldn't meet Dipper's eyes.

"You gonna have a cry, Grunkle Stan?" Mabel asked cheerfully.

"No!" He snapped back vehemently. "…just got somethin' in my eye's all." Under his breath, she heard him mutter, "Ruddy kids."

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck. Mabel shivered as his posture slumped. He looked a lot more haggard when he did, shriveling like a prune. A raw sadness had drizzled into his eyes; going from pools of melted, gooey milk chocolate to hard refrigerated blocks in a matter of seconds. He straightened back up, hands clenching into fists.

And even though Mabel didn't know this new version of her brother, and even though she really wanted to, she knew what he was going to say before he said it. She spoke before he could, her voice small.

"This is the last time we'll ever get to see you. Isn't it?" It felt like a hundred dumbbells had dropped onto her shoulders. She heard the hard clearing of Grunkle Stan's throat, and felt the clear silence of Great Uncle Ford's stare.

Dipper's jaw worked slowly, his hands shoved into his pockets. He viciously kicked at the ground, sending dirt and flowers everywhere. "It's too dangerous for you to be here. I honestly don't understand what's going on, or how you got here…only that it can't be good. If you're here, then that means Bill has an opportunity to start afresh. I can't afford for that to happen. Everything…everything would be pointless if he got that opportunity."

Mabel found herself nodding at her feet. She imagined an earthquake rattling the world around her, cracking open the earth and swallowing her whole.

For a second – no, a third time, really, she was losing her brother.

"We could…we could help you figure it out, though?" She tried to argue, but even she knew it was meek. Searching Dipper's face, the only response she got was a blank denial. The door and windows were just shut – no, they'd been dead bolted with a lock and key.

She wished she had a key.

"You can't help me. Not now, not ever," he stated firmly, jaw clenched.

"But…" She looked around desperately – for anything, anything, that she could use for an argument. "Uh…Ford! Great Uncle Ford, you could help him, right?" Ford's face wasn't forthcoming, and she felt the last flame of resilience in her chest extinguish, hands falling to her sides. "…right?"

"Mabel, I'm sorry but this is far beyond even me," he said. "We can't risk Bill escaping, not for anything." Dipper was nodding in agreement, determined.

Mabel turned to look at her brother. His eyes were searching her face, shoulders hunched defensively. They slumped out of surprise when she finally said, "…Dipper? Do what you have to do. We can't stop you." He looked like he'd expected her to keep fighting. She heaved in one great big gulp of air, before throwing her arms around him in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Mabel, you're squishing me-"

"Go be a hero, for your big sister, or I'll…or I'll build myself a portal just so I can punch you through it. Okay?"

She heard the smile in his voice as he said, "…Uh, please don't."

Grunkle Stan smacked him on the back. "When you see Bill, d'ya mind giving him the ol' left hook for your Grunkle Stan? Wish I coulda landed one on him myself."

"Sure, Stan. I'll punch him into a circle if that's what it takes."

"Now you're talking kid, might make a bruiser outta you yet," and then Stan was hugging Dipper too, and when she looked at him, he gave her the barest hint of a sad smile. Her own smile was a clone of his own, except she could feel the tears spilling down her cheeks, instead of suppressed like his.

He sure talked tough, but Stan was a real softy when it came down to it.

"…can't…breathe," Dipper choked out.

Her own breath caught when she felt a hesitant, six fingered hand rest on Dipper's shoulder. She felt her brother freeze, all complaints gone as he cast a look towards Great Uncle Ford.

"I'm…proud of you, Dipper," he said after a moment. Dipper just stared. "You remind me of myself, but…you did what I couldn't do. Thank you."

"I'm sorry things turned out this way," Dipper murmured after a moment.

"I am, too."

Finally, Ford pulled his hand back, and Stan backed away, fixing his glasses on his face. Dipper wriggled out of her hold, stepping backwards.

"I wish we could talk for longer, but it just isn't safe," he said. His voice had tensed again. Back to business, she supposed. "I'll do what I can to stimulate you all awake, so concentrate as hard as you can on waking up, okay? Try not to sleep for the rest of the night. I'll try to patch up whatever the hell is going on here, and I don't want to risk any of you returning here before I get the chance." His gaze moved over each of them until they nodded. Mabel felt her head jolt up and down reluctantly.

His hand flared with blue fire, and slowly he began to spin his fingers until the fire had pulled taunt into a soft thread of flame that danced through each digit.

"Goodbye," she heard Dipper say. His voice was as tight as the hand clenching around her heart. "And hey, just remember...I'm always watching." A soft chuckle laced through his voice.

The last thing she saw was a slash of cerulean wrapping across her vision.

Mabel jolted awake in her bed with a harsh gasp, clutching at her chest. Her heartbeat pounded like fists against her rib cage, as if she'd just gone for a sprint.

She slid out of bed, feet hitting the floor as she scrambled to turn the lantern on. Shielding her eyes against the harsh artificial light of the bulb inside it, she checked the time.

Four a.m. Yeesh.

It took her some time to process what had just happened, that after all these years, her brother had been standing in front of her.

But now he was gone again, reopening old wounds along with it.

And yet…and yet she felt good. She felt good knowing that even though he was different, he hadn't become a monster like Bill. He was still her brother, and he still loved her and Grunkle Stan, and even Ford.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light streaming into the room, and she sat on the floor, pulling her nightgown over her knees.

"Goodbye, Dipper," she said softly, pulling her arms out of the sleeves of the gown so they flopped around uselessly. She smiled, resting her chin on her knees. "Goodbye."

Phew. Done. This. Is. Done. I've been working on this for a while, and I am very relieved to finally have gotten it up on here. Again, I want to thank my beta reader PhoenixWillowsRox88, and to all my reviewers, I want to thank you for reading and telling me your thoughts.

Until next time,

FilthyMallards.