Gravity Rises (S3)

AI: Part Six

Content warning: The next two chapters contain semi-graphic descriptions of child abuse and its effects.

For the next three days, Gideon followed Mabel around and tried to get her to listen to him. And in those three days, nothing seemed to work. He told her over and over again that she was dying; he showed her more sad or scary pictures in her sketchbook; he invited her to go to the library with him. But she never heard him when he told her the truth; she dismissed the negative pictures as relics from a past time of hardship; she turned down his offers to go to the library. She was too busy with the brownie village, she said.

At first, Mabel and Charles (and Dipper that one time) had only gone to the brownie village to sightsee. The tiny people had beautiful pottery, Mabel said, and impressive architecture. But then the leaders of the brownie village had approached Mabel and Charles and asked for their help. They wanted their opinions on social conflicts within the village, since their outsider viewpoints would offer neutral suggestions. They also asked for their help with matters of charity, and Mabel started bringing food from the Museum for them. Because of the size difference, a single apple could be chopped up and distributed generously to the brownies.

With Mabel spending most of her time in the brownie village, Gideon had nothing to do. But his mind stayed active as he thought about what he could do to get Mabel out of here. Talking to her bluntly didn't work. Trying to lure her away to the library didn't work: Twice he told her he had a surprise for her, and twice she'd been distracted by Charles taking her to the brownies or Dipper wanting to play a game with her. Even kidnapping her didn't work: She never actually slept, so Gideon couldn't levitate her out of the moon while she was asleep; and Charles was always with her when she shrank down to brownie size. Once, Gideon had picked her up and tried to run away with tiny Mabel in his hand, but Charles had grown to normal size, pointed at Mabel, and turned her back to normal size, too. Gideon ended up on the ground with an aching hand and a confused Mabel on top of him.

He tried to corner the fake people and interrogate them, but they were only there when Mabel was, and they completely ignored Gideon when he asked them questions or threatened them. Mabel seemed to have endless social energy, and she got distracted easily, especially when Gideon tried to talk to her about the prison or the real world. He never got her attention for more than a minute.

Since Mabel's attention was rarely on Gideon, it gave him a chance to watch her and see what her perfect world was like. Her whole family clearly loved her and was interested in what she had to say to them. One evening, she spent hours talking to Ford and Lincoln (or Lee, as everybody called him here; the name "Blind Lincoln" didn't seem to exist in Mabel's perfect world). Ford was fascinated by her observations of the brownies, and Lee told funny stories about past experiences he and Ford had with brownies while adventuring. Mabel's parents came in and out of the room to listen to Lee's stories or smile fondly at Mabel and Ford.

But while Mabel loved her family, she spent much of her time with Charles. Gideon wondered if they'd been spending this much time together the whole time Mabel had been imprisoned, or if it was just because of the excitement in the brownie village. Could Mabel's perfect world really involve so much time with Gideon?

Despite his frustration, Gideon's heart lifted when he thought of that. Mabel really did like him. She liked spending time with him.

Gideon tried to keep his thoughts on his mission to save Mabel, but after he'd thought through his (failed) plans so many times, his brain wanted something else to focus on. So it turned to his theory — that Mabel and Charles were a couple — and looked for evidence to support it. Gideon had a crush on Mabel — he'd admitted it to himself, and he'd even admitted it to Dipper when they were at the Northwest Manor. But did Mabel feel the same about Gideon? She obviously liked him as a friend, but. . . was there more? Gideon watched Mabel and Charles closely, looking for a loving look in their eyes or even a kiss. Any sign that they were something more than friends.