Mabel needed to find her brother.

That’s what she had been trying to do for the past week, but it was with renewed urgency that she glided out of the tree that morning, Lilith Crypt’s words still echoing in her mind. He has no idea you exist. 

Mabel wanted nothing more than to believe that the dream demon was lying. She wanted to curl up under the tree and hide in Sweater Town. She wanted to pretend that this was the dream, that in reality she and Dipper were safe at home, that they were together.

Because most of all, Mabel wanted Dipper. 

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. He has no idea you exist. Dipper had lost all memory of Mabel, his twin, his best friend. All this time Mabel had been searching for him, assuming that he was doing the same, when Dipper had no idea he even had a sister. Had no idea he was from another world, had no idea about magic, had no idea he had wings. Had no idea who he was. 

Mabel wiped her eyes. Would he even be the same person? Would Dipper be the same nerdy brother that she loved? If Lilith could erase so much of him, what would stop her from completely changing his personality? And what if she had changed how Dipper looked? Mabel would never be able to find him then! 

Mabel took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. If Lilith had changed Dipper’s appearance, surely the demon would have told Mabel, if only to laugh at her despair. Mabel was just being paranoid.

Which gave her an idea. Her brother was the most paranoid person Mabel knew, and sometimes that paranoia, along with Dipper’s innate ability to plan and come up with solutions to problems Mabel thought unsolvable was what saved them.

What would Dipper do? 

Mabel knew the answer. Her brother would use his smarty-pants brain to analyze the situation and logic up a solution. Unfortunately, Mabel had never been much good at logic. That was Dipper’s thing— but Dipper wasn't here.

Mabel stretched her wings back, feathered lilac tips glinting in the sunlight. She rolled her shoulders, easing the stiffness of sleeping from her body as she prepared to face the day. Dipper was out there somewhere, and she was determined to find him.

“Maybe— maybe when he sees me, his memories will come back.” Mabel spoke aloud, nodding to herself. “Sure, Lilith can make him forget everything when there's no one he knows around, but when he sees his sister, surely he'll remember!” For the first time that morning, Mabel started to smile. “Now I just gotta go find him!” 

She gently flapped her wings twice before leaping into the air, feathers beating up and down to propel her into the air. Mabel shot up through the trees and into the world above, a land of the green canopy of the forest and an endless blue sky. Here Mabel felt safe, wrapped in infinity and high above her problems. 

She did a loopty-loop and soared past a flock of geese, waving at the birds. Some squawked at her, and Mabel laughed as she leveled out just above the trees. 

In the week since she had woken up in an unknown forest, Mabel had been exploring the forest to try to get a sense of what dimension Bill had sent them to. At school in Divinus, the Avem dimension, she and Dipper had learned about the other dimensions out there. Each had their own unique creatures, people, and plants, and both twins loved to learn about them.

Dipper was always fascinated by the anatomy and abilities and other nerdy stuff of the creatures, while Mabel preferred to imagine someday meeting them. The twins would pretend to be interdimensional explorers, travelling and learning new things about these other worlds together before they triumphantly returned home.

Now they were in a new dimension, just like in all their games, but here they were separated. 

Despite the sun warming Mabel's back as she flew, she shivered as more of her dream came back to her. A lonely boy from California… staying with his great uncles…

Mabel's eyes drifted toward the cluster of buildings nestled in the woods, and she gasped. That was why she hadn't been able to find Dipper in the forest— he was in the town, staying with some unsuspecting people. She could go in town, find him, and then he would remember and everything would be fixed!

But— Mabel frowned. It hadn't taken her long after arriving to realize what dimension she was in. It was known as Dimension 46’/, and it was one where the people had yet to embrace the supernatural creatures among them. 

For whatever reason, in this universe all magic and supernatural related things were contained to one town— Gravity Falls, Oregon. Only a few people lived there, as everyone was terrified of magic. Still, the dimension had lots of fascinating creatures, from Gremloblins to gnomes to fairies. 

But Mabel couldn't just walk into town showing her wings to the world. She and Dipper had learned from a young age that when people were afraid, they could do terrible things. Mabel didn't want to risk anything by going to find Dipper undisguised.

So she would find a disguise! All she needed was something to hide the wings on her back and the tail feathers on her ankles.

Mabel flew back to her sleeping tree, planning to check if she had any sweaters without wing slits. She was looking for her purse when someone's voice stopped her. 

“Mabel, Mabel! We have an emergency!”

Mabel spun around, startled. “AH— oh, it's you, Jeff. What's wrong?”

The gnome leader sat down on a log, breathing heavily. “Give— give me a minute. I ran all the way here, and we gnomes don't exactly have the longest legs.”

Mabel tapped her foot impatiently as Jeff caught his breath. “The— the human explorer is in the forest, and he brought a predator!”

“A predator?”

“There’s someone with him, and I—  I don't know, we just get a sense of hunger from it!” Jeff crossed his arms. “Gnomes would make very tasty food for some creatures!”

Mabel refrained from rolling her eyes. She had met the gnomes her second day in Gravity Falls, when she had woken up to find herself tied to the ground with a tiny man down on one knee, proposing to her.

Needless to say, she turned him down. 

Mabel had easily broken free— gnome ropes were tiny— but she felt bad after seeing Jeff's forlorn face when she declined to marry him. Not bad enough to say yes, mind you, but Mabel didn't know anyone there. Any friends would help her.

Mabel offered to help them find a queen, and in return the gnomes would help her find Dipper. There were a lot of the gnomes, and with their help Mabel could search the entire forest.

“Mabel, we need you to come scare him away!” Jeff stared up at her, eyes pleading. “You're big, and have magic! You can fight him and the predator!”

Mabel sighed, wondering— not for the first time— if the help of these gnomes was worth it. “Can't you just turn into your big scary gnome monster thing?”

“We would, but we've encountered this explorer before. He discovered our weakness.” Jeff's voice dropped to a whisper. “Leaf blowers.” 

“Um… okay.” Mabel hesitated. “What do you want me to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that you—” Jeff paused as another gnome came out from behind a tree. “Carl? What's up?”

The gnome whispered something to Jeff, who grinned as Carl walked back into the trees. “Good news! The explorer moved past. We're safe! Sorry to bother you, Mabel. Oh, and have you had any progress finding us a queen?”

“Not yet, but— who is the explorer?” Mabel had yet to encounter any humans who dared to enter the forest.

“He's from town. He and his brother are the only people who ever enter the woods, and he always carries a book. No one knows what he writes in it, but there's always one with him. Sometimes people come with him, like the predator.” Jeff shuddered at the last part.

Mabel nodded. “Okay. So, if you don't need anything…”

“Everything is fine! Don't forget to find us a queen!” Jeff waved as he left the clearing.

Mabel hesitated. She was curious about this “explorer.” But I need to find Dipper. But then— maybe a human who wasn't afraid of the supernatural could help Mabel. And if he lived in town, maybe he had seen Dipper! Besides, it wouldn't take long to find the explorer, and Mabel didn't have to show herself to him. 

She took a step forward. “Jeff! Where was the explorer going?”

Jeff poked out from behind a tree. “Carl said he was heading towards—”

He cut off mid-sentence. “He’s coming this way!” Jeff turned and ran, stumbling as he fled. “With the predator!”

As he ran out of sight, Mabel laughed. “That predator is probably a cute fluffy cat and the gnomes are just being silly. Wait— does the explorer have a cat? That would be awesome!”

Focus, Mabel. The explorer would be here soon, and she couldn't let him see her. Mabel grabbed her purse and wrapped it around a high branch. Now she needed to find a spot for herself.

Laughter filled the air. Mabel whipped her head around at the sound. It was a girl's voice, but then—

“So you've gone with Grunkle Ford before, right Wendy? What do you think we'll be doing? A monster hunt? What kind of monsters?”

Mabel froze. She knew that voice.

Dipper.

They grew closer. Mabel's wings were in full view, but her earlier confidence that seeing her would make Dipper remember wavered. She started towards the voices, heart pounding.

Then she saw them. An older man wearing a trenchcoat— the explorer?— walked a few yards ahead of a redheaded girl who looked a few years older than Mabel, and talking animatedly to her…

“Dipper!”

Mabel clapped a hand over her mouth as the trio stared into the trees. Dipper was right there, close enough for Mabel to touch. And yet he looked so different, wearing a dark jacket over an orange coat— and he had glasses. Part of Mabel wanted to laugh. They made him look even nerdier than usual.

“Did you hear that?” Dipper stared at the redheaded girl, who nodded. 

“It was probably just some weird bird.” The girl shrugged. “Don't worry about it.”

She and the older man had already started moving, but Dipper took a step towards the trees. Mabel held her breath. Every inch of her body wanted to jump out of hiding, but she couldn't. Not while there were others around. 

He has no idea you exist. Mabel shrank back behind the tree, tears pricking at her eyes. Her brother was so close, yet so far away.

“Wendy, you go on ahead. I'm gonna— I want to check something.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I'll only be a minute.” 

Mabel squeezed her eyes shut as Wendy spoke again. “Okay, but don't take too long. I'll tell Ford you're investigating something.”

Dipper laughed, and then there was silence. Mabel knew that this was her chance to let Dipper see her and make him remember.

But what if he didn't remember? What if he saw her with her wings, and like Lilith had said, he rejected her? Mabel couldn't— that couldn't happen. 

“Is someone there?” Dipper called. The forest was quiet. 

“I know I heard something. Are you okay? Do you need help?”

His voice was close. Mabel took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the tree, leaning against it so her wings were hidden. “Hi!”

“Ah!” Dipper jumped backward. Mabel stood frozen, a forced smile on her face. Does he remember me?

“Who are you?”

Mabel blinked hard. She couldn't cry, not here. Dipper didn't remember her, and her only plan was gone. “I— I'm Mabel.”

Dipper narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing in the forest? No one from town ever comes out here.”

Mabel forced out a laugh. Lilith hadn't been lying— Dipper really did have no idea who she was. “I went for a walk. Why are you out here?”

“I'm investigating.” Dipper wore a proud grin. “My grunkle— great-uncle— is an explorer. He studies the forest and the supernatural, and knows all about the creatures here—  oh, by the way, I'm Mason.”

Mabel choked. She hadn't heard that name in years. That was Dipper's real first name, before he got his nickname from his birthmark. 

And ever since the first grade, Dipper had hated that name. Mabel's hands clenched into fists. Lilith had even taken away her brother's name, replacing it with one that only brought bad memories. 

“Heh, our names are sorta similar. Mason, Mabel. Almost like—” Mabel caught herself before she finished the sentence.

Dipper shrugged. “Yeah, sorta. Are you new here? I haven't seen you around town.”

“I'm visiting for the summer. On vacation.” Mabel smiled half-heartedly. 

“So am I! Staying with my grunkles.” Dipper glanced down the path. “I should probably go. Hey, I'll see you around. Come visit the Mystery Twins Magic Emporium! That's where I'm staying.”

Mabel nodded. “Yeah, I— see ya’.”

“Nice to meet you!” Dipper turned and ran down the path. Mabel watched, and as soon as he was out of sight she sank to the ground and wrapped her wings around her. Finding her brother hadn't gone at all how she expected.

“Nice to meet you!”

“He has no idea you exist.”

The tears Mabel had been holding back fell.

Winged Falls is officially back in business! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter— and don't be afraid to comment and let me know what you think. I'll be updating every Wednesday for now, and if I decide to change then I'll let you know. Thanks for reading!