This was originally going to be a part of chapter eleven of Bonded. However, as I started writing and expanding on it, it soon became its own story. It would've been too long (and not relevant to the rest of the plot for Bonded), so it's now a separate fic that will just be briefly referenced in that story.

This is supposed to take place a week or so before "The Last Mabelcorn."

Mabel had finished baking a tray of cupcakes: half vanilla and half chocolate. She opened the container of strawberry frosting. She licked the pink sweetness then picked up the spoon. She gave each pastry a generous helping of icing. To finish she coated the frosting in pink sugar crystals. The girl folded her hands and admired her work with a large smile.

The girl plucked one from the tray (a chocolate one). She bit into the dessert, humming at its deliciousness. She licked the stray frosting from her lips.

Brown eyes landed on the tray. There were eleven more, and she would feel sick (both physically and emotionally) if she gorged on all of them. The best part of making cupcakes was sharing them with loved ones.

Mabel glanced out the window. Grunkle Stan was giving a tour to his next group of victims. He waved his arms excitedly, as he spoke about some phony exhibit. The group exploded into oohs and ahhs as they snapped pictures. Stan laughed, probably delighting in how he ripped off another band of morons.

Mabel decided she would save one for her beloved great-uncle, but if she went out there now she would be forced by societal conventions to share with each of the tourists. Not that she minded, but unfortunately she was about six short in having enough for the crowd. The girl was not about to be responsible for the tears of the poor souls who were denied one of her world-famous-or, more accurately family-famous-cupcakes.

Dipper stood out in the clearing of the woods with Wendy. He said something that made the redhead heartily laugh. Mabel shook her head. When would her brother understand that a relationship with someone so much older and cooler than himself would never happen. Wendy herself had tried explaining it to him after their adventure with the shapeshifter, but he still held tight to the belief that when he gained a few years there was still a chance.

Mabel decided that she would save one for the both of them as well. Stan, Dipper, and Wendy-that made three. Soos was doing inventory in the back closet. Mabel had already promised him a cupcake while they were still in the oven. Soos would not break until the task was finished, so that meant a fourth would need to be saved.

The girl's eyes lit up: Grunkle Ford. She skipped over to the vending machine. She had not had much time to spend with her newly discovered family member. Her brother had been selfishly hogging his attention.

Mabel looked out the door to see Stan was bringing the tourist group inside the shack. She quickly typed the code into the vending machine. The secret doorway opened enough for her to squeeze through. She closed the entrance then pulled a flashlight out of her pocket. She descended the staircase that led to the elevator.

Ford was going to be surprised to receive a greeting, not from nerdy Dipper, but from his amazing great-niece who made him a scrumptious treat. She smiled as she imagined how happy he would be to taste the greatness of her dessert.

Lost in her daydream, Mabel nearly lost her balance when the elevator reached the bottom of the basement. The girl opened the door and exited the lift to be greeted with her great-uncle's laboratory. She had only been down there once, and hadn't had much of a chance to really get to see his work.

Mabel skipped around the lab as she observed the equipment and locked up specimen. Dipper had probably viewed those creatures many times. She felt a pang of envy at the thought that her twin probably had been allowed to work with some of the machines. Perhaps he had also had the chance to feed and pet some of the monsters.

A glass container to the right caught her eye. Mabel slowly approached the tube. There was some fuzzy creature frozen within the glass. The girl smiled at its fluffy face and kitten-like facial features. Though its floppy ears reminded her more of a bunny. Dipper was so lucky to be invited into the laboratory on a daily basis.

The young Pines girl leaned against the container. From the looks of the untidy room, surely Ford wouldn't be too irritated with handprints on the glass. She wondered if she could convince her grunkle to unfreeze the creature long enough for her to pet it.

Her hands slipped. Her right hand hovered above the control panel. She rested her hand on the metal surface. Her middle and ring finger pressed the release button.

The machine whirred. The brunette stepped back and stared at the glass container that now glowed orange. The creature shifted. Mabel watched in fascination as its nostrils widened when it sniffed. Slowly, its eyes opened. Mabel's smile fell when she saw that instead of cute kitty eyes, the eyes more resembled a snake. It lurched back, its spine smacking against the back of the glass.

"Mabel!" a voice shouted. "Mabel, get back!"

The girl jumped and backed off as she was instructed. She screamed when the monster opened its jaw. Jagged teeth gnashed at the glass. The claws scratched the container, leaving two cracks in its wake. It advanced, its head increasing the size of the crack.

A man in a beige trenchcoat moved quickly, nearly knocking the girl to the floor. He swiftly entered the three digit override code. The containment unit hissed and a white gas was released. In a slow ten seconds its eyes shut and the monster fell back into hypersleep.

The scientist let out a heavy sigh.

"Grunkle Ford," Mabel said weakly.

The mentioned turned to face the girl.

She stared up at the livid face of her great-uncle. The eyes behind the thick frames came into view. Mabel felt her stomach twist at the glare meant for her.

"Haven't I instructed you to never come down here without direct permission?" Ford hissed. Mabel backed up, but her uncle was not finished. "Have you any idea how dangerous what you just did was?" He pointed to the creature while keeping his glower on Mabel. "What that thing could've done to you?"

Ford tried to push away the images of his niece as a bloody corpse beneath the monster's feet.

Mabel shook and her eyes filled with tears.

"My work is too dangerous for some little girl to be fooling around with," Ford scolded.

"I-I'm sorry," Mabel pleaded.

"I don't want to see you touching anything in here ever again!" Ford snapped.

Mabel backed up, but Ford stayed close.

"In fact, I don't want to see you in this lab again!" her grunkle yelled.

He slammed his fist down on the table, making the girl scream.

Mabel ran for the elevator. She closed the door and wrapped her arms around herself. Tears fell freely down her face.

The lift reached the ground floor. Mabel threw open the door and dashed up the stairs. She wailed and her vision was blurry with tears. She let out a sob as she reached the exit. She swallowed a thick layer of saliva then opened the door.

Stan turned to chide Ford for nearly revealing his secret to the tourists. Thankfully they had all left not even a minute before. Stan's glare dissipated at the sight of Mabel running from the vending machine with her face full of tears. She ran right into Stanley. The elderly man knelt down and pulled the girl into an embrace. Mabel buried her face in Stan's shirt and wept. She clutched the collar of his jacket.

Dipper, Wendy, and Soos joined the two in the gift shop. Though Mabel's twin was more curious as to what the girl was doing in Ford's lab. Soos and Wendy could only stare at their young friend with sad eyes.

"Mabel, sweetie, what happened?" Stan asked as he pet her hair.

"Gr-Grunkle Ford is m-mad at me," Mabel cried. She released a heavy sigh and wiped fresh tears on her uncle's clothes.

Nothing more was said when Ford opened the secret door. Stan's glare fell on his brother.

Stan slowly stood to his feet with both fists clenched, and a firm glower focused on Ford. Mabel clung to Stan's leg.

"What did you do?" Stan hissed.

"What did I do?" Ford cried.

"Look at her," Stan growled and motioned to the sobbing girl.

"She's the one who barged into my lab and fiddled around with my work," Ford explained.

Stan rolled his eyes. "Always about your work."

Ford advanced one foot with his hand in a fist. "She could've killed everyone in this shack if that creature got loose."

Mabel's eyes widened at Ford's words, then she cried harder.

"Then why do you have something like that in the house in the first place?" Stan shouted.

"I will not be scolded like a child in my own house," Ford retorted.

"All I hear is, 'My work's more important than my family.'" Stan clicked his tongue at his brother. "It's always the same story with you."

"I don't have to listen to this," Ford stated. His gaze fell on Mabel. "You just stay out of my lab." With that he walked back into the secret pathway and the vending machine shut behind him.

Mabel broke away from Stan's embrace and ran up the stairs to the attic.

Stan watched as Mabel disappeared out of view. His glare fell back on the door to the secret lab.

This will be a two-shot. I'll have the second chapter up soon.