Hope you guys enjoy this little story based on a theory I have about Mabel at the end of "Dipper and Mabel VS the Future". Will be AU once the next episode airs (obviously). – LPA

Chapter One: Awake

"I just wish summer could last forever."

"At last! At long, long last! The Gateway between worlds has opened...the day has come! The world is finally mine!"

"Oh no! This is bad!"

"Mabel! Come in Mabel!"

"Mabel? Can you hear me?! Come on sis, open your eyes, please!"

With a groan she slowly fluttered her eyes, but didn't quite have it in her yet to open them, the chill of the woods and the sense of foreboding and dread slowly drifted away to be replaced with warmth and comfort. She was aware of something cool and soothing on her forehead and sensed a warm, sweaty hand wrapped around hers. She twitched and the hand squeezed.

Something didn't feel quite right. She was confused, her mind a little foggy and her head throbbed with a pounding ache. She felt strange and when she tried to move she discovered she didn't have the strength and the attempt was a little painful. But with great effort and a slight whimper she slowly blinked her eyes open and watery brown eyes blinked back at her with anticipation and worry.

"Dipper?" she murmured hoarsely, "What's going on?"

His lips curled into a smile and he sighed with relief, "Oh man, Mabel! Thank goodness you're finally awake! I was so worried. Everyone was."

"Wh…what happened?" she groaned, closing her eyes tiredly as she struggled to remember. All her thoughts and memories were a jumbled mess that she couldn't seem to make sense of, and trying only made her head hurt more. She clutched at her temples with shaky hands and squeezed her eyes shut with a moan.

"Hey are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Are you in pain? You look like you're in pain. Should I get Grunkle Ford? He can help…"

She was hit by a sudden and inexplicable pang of resentment when he said Grunkle Ford's name, but she wasn't sure why. She couldn't remember, it didn't make sense. Mabel didn't like feeling that way towards anyone so she shoved that feeling aside and replied, shaking her head slightly, "I…I'm okay, my head hurts though. Actually, everything hurts. What happened to me? I can't….seem to remember…"

Dipper looked a little panicked by her words, "What do you mean you can't remember….What's the last thing you remember?"

"I…I don't know…" she replied, rolling to her side and clutching her head as random images and memories flashed in her mind. She was running through the woods, crying. Running away? Running towards something? She couldn't tell. She saw herself drawing invitations to her and Dipper's 13th birthday party, a walkie-talkie, hugging her friends sadly, standing over Dipper's bed leaning over him waking him up with Mr. Upsidedownington, a goofy character she hadn't done since they were eight, Stan with a comforting hand on her shoulder, Ford telling her she's a good person, Wendy, Soos, the high school, the sign said "NO ESCAPE", Dipper was trying to comfort her, and she was hurt and angry…but why? She was running, crying, a mysterious snow globe with what looked like a galaxy inside, yellow eyes, maniacal laughter, a cold foreboding wind…

"Breathe Mabel," Dipper said, grasping her shoulders and taking her hands away from her face before pulling her into a hug and rubbing her back, "breathe." She took a deep breath, realizing that she was starting to hyperventilate. "You just woke up, it's okay. It's okay if you don't remember yet, just take it easy…"

"But…but…" she gasped, and though her memories were incoherent fragments, that familiar maniacal laughter echoed in her mind with profound clarity, like he was right there with them, "BILL! H…he…tricked me! I'm so sorry Dipper! We have to stop him!"

"Shh, it's okay, he's gone. We defeated him," Dipper explained. He gently released her from his hug and she sank into her pillow, heavy with exhaustion, "We don't have to worry about him anymore."

"What? He's gone? But…I…he…" she closed her eyes, struggling to recall as she felt so confused. "Why can't I remember?"

"Well, when Bill attacked us, you took a powerful hit," he said as a tear fell down his cheek. He wiped it away and gave her a sad smile, "I thought I lost you. We were all so worried that you wouldn't wake up. I don't know what I would've done…I'd never forgive myself if you…" he paused and his smile widened as he shook off the horrible thought, "Doesn't matter now. You're awake. That means you're going to be okay. It's probably better if you don't remember anyway. It was…it was pretty terrifying."

His eyes glossed over as he got lost in his thoughts and he shuddered at a memory that was completely out of her reach. She grimaced and struggled to push herself into a sitting position, wanting to offer her brother some comfort. It was unsettling, not being able to remember what happened, but whatever it was, it clearly affected Dipper greatly. When he caught onto what she was doing he slid an arm across her back and helped her sit. In turn she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a gentle pat on the back.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be."

"Yeah well, I just can't shake the feeling that this was all my fault," she admitted as Dipper got a couple of pillows and propped them up behind her to help her sit up.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know," she replied, "I just do."

"Well, it wasn't your fault," he said, "and it doesn't matter. It's over now and soon everything will return to normal."

She smiled, "Yeah. I guess so." She closed her eyes and felt a pang of sadness.

"What's wrong, Mabel?" Dipper asked, noticing her melancholy. "You don't sound very happy. Cheer up, sis, this isn't like you. Bill is gone! We defeated him once and for all! And now you're awake and finally on the mend - we should be celebrating!"

"You're right," she replied, but she couldn't shake the feeling that what she was forgetting was incredibly important, and the gap in her memory was upsetting her more and more. But it hurt trying to remember, and what little she could recall was starting to slip away like a dream. "But I can't help it. I just can't let go of the feeling that I've done something terrible," she confessed, her voice breaking as tears left wet trails down her cheeks.

"You did nothing wrong."

She grasped at her aching head, forcing herself to try and recall the events that brought her here and put the jumbled thoughts together, even though it hurt. Maybe if she could connect the scattered pieces of memory together and fill in those gaps, maybe she wouldn't feel like she was missing something so incredibly important.

"I…I was running in the woods. I was upset because…because…"

"Mabel you don't have to do this right now," Dipper said worriedly, "you just woke up, you probably should take it easy…"

"I overheard you say something…" she continued, squeezing her eyes shut as the pain in her head intensified, "I don't remember…what did you say? What did you say Dipper?"

"Sorry Mabel, I don't know what you're talking about."

"And then…we had a fight," she continued as it slowly, vaguely came to her.

"No, we didn't fight…Mabel..."

"Bill…he tricked me. I was having the worst day…why?" she groaned, "H…he took advantage and t…tricked me into….giving him s…something…important."

She felt Dipper give her shoulder a squeeze. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice raising in pitch from worry.

She gasped in frustration, "Ugh! It's there and yet…I don't…I can't remember! I just know I did something terrible!"

"Oh man, Bill really did a number on you, didn't he?" Dipper said softly, shaking his head, "What you're saying doesn't make any sense. I think you were dreaming because that's not how it happened, I swear. None of this was your fault."

She opened her eyes and squinted at him, the light in the room hurt her eyes, "Are you sure? It…it's foggy but it felt so real. I felt so desperate and alone and…and…"

"It was Bill. He messed with you when he hit you with that energy blast." Dipper explained, "You were out for a couple of days now and he must've done something to make your dreams seem more vivid and real. Nothing happened the way you described it, we didn't have a fight and you did nothing wrong."

"Wait a sec, a couple of days?" she gasped, "I didn't miss our birthday did I?"

"What? No! Mabel, that's like, over a month and a half away! We still have almost the whole summer ahead of us!"

"We do?" Mabel furrowed her brow, even more confused because something about that statement didn't line up, but she wasn't sure how. Not only was she positive that it was at least a week away, but it didn't quite fit the timeline she knew.

"Yeah," Dipper replied, looking really worried, "man, what did Bill do to you? Listen, why don't you take it easy and I'll get Grunkle Ford, okay? Maybe he's got answers. Besides, everyone will be thrilled to know you're awake. I'll be right back."

He rushed out of the room and Mabel watched him go as she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. She was forgetting something important, something vital. Something was off. Something was wrong, she knew it.

But then again, maybe Dipper was right. Maybe it had all been just a dream. She had no reason to doubt him, except for the fact she couldn't shake that horrible feeling deep inside.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw something, a shadow moving. She could hear very faintly the sound of evil, maniacal laughter. She whipped her head towards the sound, which made her muddled brain hurt but then the sound vanished when someone knocked on the door.

The door opened without an invitation and Dipper and Ford stepped in. He asked her some questions and she told him what little she could remember, most of what she said made him frown with confusion because according to both him and Dipper, her version of events was vastly different than theirs.

"Bill he…" Ford sighed, "he has the ability to warp reality. That must've been what happened to you. He put you in a deep sleep and made you believe that what you were dreaming was real. I theorize that's also why you seem to be suffering mild amnesia, because to remember two similar yet also entirely different realities, what actually happened and the fake reality Bill created in your dreams, it would overwhelm your mind. So you forgot them both, only remembering fragments, perhaps even blurring the two together. Does that make sense?"

"Um…I guess so?" Mabel didn't sound too sure. She sighed, draping her arm over her eyes, "But I don't know…it all seems too…um…"

"Overwhelming? Confusing?" Ford asked.

"Yeah."

"I imagine it would be," he nodded.

"Will she be okay?" Dipper asked worriedly.

Ford grinned reassuringly, "Don't worry, she's going to be fine. Now look, Mabel, things might be a little jumbled at first, but we're all going to help you get through this. I suspect you'll be back to your old self before you know it. Soon the fake reality Bill put you in will fade from your memory and this one will start coming back to you and what doesn't, we'll help you fill in the blanks. It could be worse after all, right?"

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, "I guess it's better than forgetting everything."

"That's right," Ford nodded.

Dipper gave her shoulder a squeeze, knowing the pep talk didn't do much to cheer her up.

"But it still feels so strange," she added, shivering as deep down something still seemed so wrong, no matter how much they tried to convince her it was all okay. But she figured that would pass as she recovered from…whatever Bill supposedly did to her. She still had no clue of what actually happened.

"Hey, I know you're still overwhelmed and hurting, but do you think you're up to some visitors?" Dipper asked, "I'm sure that might help cheer you up."

"That sounds good, bro-bro," Mabel nodded with a tired smile.

"Everyone is really looking forward to seeing you now that they know you're awake," he added as he went to the door. When he opened it, Stan and Soos literally spilled inside and tumbled to the floor, clearly waiting just outside the door waiting for the go ahead to enter. Bounding in past them was Candy and Grenda who both rushed to her bed and pulled her into a huge bear hug.

"Mabel!" they said in unison.

"Oof!" Mabel grunted, unable to help but laugh as her two best friends hugged her with unbridled exuberance. "Hey girls! Good to see you!"

"Hey Mabes," Wendy greeted casually, stepping into view and leaning against the doorframe, giving her a wave. Mabel waved back, still locked in the three way hug with Candy and Grenda.

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Stan asked, having picked himself up off the floor and adjusted his fez and tie as he approached her bed.

"Weird," Mabel replied honestly, giving her grunkle a quick hug once Candy and Grenda let her go, "but I'm okay."

It was Soos's turn for a hug, "Hey Hambone, we were really starting to miss you."

"Yeah," Wendy agreed, lightly punching her on the shoulder. Mabel held out her arms and Wendy shrugged, giving her a quick hug, "Gravity Falls was so dull while you were out for the count, man. Totally not the same without you. It's good to have you back."

"It's uh…good to be back, I guess," Mabel shrugged, glancing around the room at everyone. They were all smiles, and the room was suddenly full of chatter and warmth and love. She wasn't really sure what everyone was saying, they all seemed to be talking at once, their voices blurring together in an odd harmony of relief and joy so much that she could hardly pick out a single voice.

She would've thought that would quickly become overwhelming in her condition, considering she just woke up from a coma or whatever, but they were all so happy that it was contagious. So even though she still wasn't entirely clear of what was going on, and felt exhausted and drained mentally and physically, Mabel smiled and laughed as she watched the people she cared about celebrate their victory over Bill and her return to consciousness.

She basked in that love and attention that radiated from her family and friends, drawing from their positive energy to chase her uncertainty away. Sure, she seemed to be suffering from mild amnesia and false memories, along with aching all over and feeling pretty weak, but Ford was right. With such wonderful friends and family to help her out, and apparently had almost the entire summer ahead of her, recovery should be a breeze and she'd be fine.

Please Mabel, don't do this to me! Please wake up…I need you.

The voice that suddenly echoed through her head was so clear that she let out an audible gasp, her eyes immediately seeking Dipper. But it quickly became clear that it wasn't him who said that, even though it sounded like him. In fact it looked as though no one said it. Dipper was sitting next to her, laughing at something Stan had said but when she gasped he turned to her, "You okay?"

Hesitantly she nodded with a smile, "Y…yeah, I'm fine."

Satisfied with her answer, Dipper smiled back and the celebration resumed. Mabel tiredly settled into her stack of pillows while the sense of unease began to creep back into her mind. But she forced herself to ignore it, reminding herself that it was only because of whatever Bill did to her. And somehow Bill was gone for good. Everyone was celebrating, and she should be too.

So she did, though mostly as an observer. But she smiled when she was supposed to, and laughed when it was appropriate and yet everything felt so empty somehow. And no matter how hard she tried she still couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something terrible and was forgetting something so profoundly important.

-So…what did you guys think so far? Worth continuing? Please leave a comment and constructive criticism is always welcome. Encouraged even. Helps me improve, you know? Thanks for taking the time to read this! -LPA