Gravity Rises (S2)

BB: Part Ten

Gideon watched as the water swirled around the tunnels, carrying the Pines with it.

The blast had caught the shapeshifter too, but he didn't much care. As long as he grabbed the Journal and got out of here before anyone could reorient themselves, everything would go perfectly.

As soon as the way was clear, Gideon left the pipe, grimacing at the orange rust that had rubbed off on his black gloves as he'd turned the wheel. The sooner he was out of this filthy place, the better.

He sidestepped past Stanford, Dipper, and Candy, who were coughing and spluttering in a heap on the floor. Neither the Journal nor the shapeshifter's hulking form was anywhere to be seen.

His eyes raked the ground for the Journal as he turned the corner to return to the lab, the bright lights making him feel exposed despite his invisibility. He was still looking when he almost tripped over something. He looked down.

What his eyes found wasn't the Journal, but an orange lump on the ground.

Gideon's heart leapt to his throat. It was Mabel.

And she wasn't moving.

He fell to his knees at her side, rolling her over to get the hair out of her face. Her hair was so thick! It felt like an eternity to get it out of the way so he could check if she was breathing.

Her chest wasn't rising or falling, but when he bent over, he thought he could feel a faint breath on his cheek. Was he just imagining it? Was she—?

He activated his amulet, trying to check her for thoughts or any kind of brain activity. His hands flickered into view, and he jumped before realizing that he had turned visible. Of course. He couldn't do two things at once.

A part of him screamed at the rest of him to stop panicking, to get ahold of himself, but it was too small to have any effect. Which was why he spent a few seconds thinking Mabel was brain-dead before remembering that he couldn't read her mind.

"Mabel," he said, shaking her shoulders gently — or maybe not so gently. "Mabel, get up. Breathe. Come on. Come on!"

This was his fault; this was his fault; he did this; he turned on the water—

One of Mabel's eyes opened.

Gideon breathed in sharply. "Mabel!"

"I'm not Mabel," she hissed.

"Wh-what?"

"It's me, Shifty. The shapeshifter?"

Gideon stared at her — it — for a moment before shoving it away. "What! What are you doing, pretending to be Mabel?"

"I thought her family would find me, not you!" Shifty-Mabel sat up, glaring at Gideon, whose panic was quickly giving way to anger.

"I can't believe you would—"

"Kid," Shifty-Mabel said suddenly.

"No, listen, if I freaked out, imagine—"

"Kid, turn invisible. Now."

"What?"

Shifty was looking over Gideon's shoulder, and Gideon turned before he could stop himself.

Mabel — the real Mabel — was standing behind him, staring at him with wide eyes.

Gideon turned invisible and ran, dashing back to the entrance of the tunnel, but the damage had been done. How could he have been so stupid!

Across the room, the shapeshifter got to its feet. "Where's the Journal, child?"

Mabel's eyes locked on Shifty's. "S-stop it," she said. "Stop looking like me."