Puppets of Fate

Chapter 7

Mabel finished packing. Her parents would be here any minute now.

Her summer in Gravity Falls really was over.

It had ended along her brother's life.

The others had offered to help her because of her broken arm, but Mabel had refused. She just wanted to be alone.

It took longer than expected, of course. But eventually, every sweater and posters had been folded and stored in her luggage.

Soon, the only thing left was her scrapbook. Mabel sat and opened it, flipping through the pages.

Every summer memory was in it. The first day they arrived in Gravity Falls, the time they went fishing, Summerween... She couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered the good times they had. And when her thoughts trailed to her brother, the smile faded away. As she closed the scrapbook, Mabel looked up to Dipper's side of the room.

His backpack, the bin full of chewed broken pens, his books... Everything was still in place. But it felt so empty without him.

Mabel's heart ached as the time for her to leave without her twin was closing.

Would her summer really end like this ?

Dipper's hat was lying still on the bed where she had put it.

And next to it was the note Bill had left behind.

Mabel stared at it for a moment. Before opening it once more. She didn't know why she wanted to put herself through those words again. Merely holding the note made her eyes tear up.

But maybe she thought she deserved that pain.

So she read the note again, each word soaking in her mind.

"Best of all, people will just think Pine Tree lost his mind, and his mental form will wander in the mindscape forever. Want to join him, Shooting Star?"

She crumpled the note, enraged by Bill's twisted words. But just as she was about to throw it away again, she froze.

Mabel reopened the paper. Something had drawn her attention.

She read the same sentence

again

«people will just think Pine Tree lost his mind, and his mental form will wander in the mindscape forever»

and again

«his mental form will wander in the mindscape forever »

and again

«his mental form.»

Her eyes widened, suddenly filled with a new light of hope. She remembered the ghost from the store, the entry from the journals – from what her brother had told her - and the memory of her twin being separated from his body.

Could Dipper's « ghost » still be here ?

If it was, maybe there was still hope to save him ! Maybe he just didn't know how to communicate with her ? Even if she had no puppet left, maybe he wouldn't even need it as a ghost.

Mabel suddenly realised : if there was any hope that Dipper might still be here then...

She couldn't leave Gravity Falls. Not now.

She had just found a glimmer of hope, she couldn't lose it. But how ?

Her parents wouldn't understand. Not after what had happened to Dipper. And Stan...

''I don't know what I'd do with myself if you got hurt on my watch''

That's what he had told them the night they had made the promise to be careful with the journal.

With Dipper's death, Stan undoubtedly refuse to help Mabel too. He wouldn't allow himself to. After all, he already kept secret the real reason Dipper had died, just to keep her parents safe.

In others words...She was on her own.

What could she do ? Mabel started to pace around the room, looking for a solution.

« C'mon think Mabel, think ! »

Dipper would probably only appear near his death place, as ghost usually did in stories.

Plus, the mere thought of going to her brother's funeral was too unsettling. It seemed better to stay in Gravity Falls to find a solution and save her brother. But on the other hand, if she was wrong, she wouldn't have any chance of saying goodbye one last time. It would be too late for that.

If only there was a way for her to be at two places at once...

She suddenly recalled the second week following her arrival in Gravity Falls. During that time, Grunkle Stan had thrown a big party.

And with the memories of that party, she saw the answer to her problem.

Without hesitation, she folded Bill's note and put it in her pocket, grabbed her brother's hat and left the room.

There was no time to waste, she had to act quickly.