Gravity Rises (S1)

MM: Part Nine

"Help! Help, I'm in here!"

In her periphery, Mabel saw Lizzie massaging her temples. "Mabel, please: That isn't going to work. We're pretty deep into this cave, remember?"

Mabel's hands clenched into fists, and she whirled on Lizzie. "How come you won't listen to me? It's my brain, isn't it? I'm the original, and I don't want all these Mabels fighting over who's stronger!"

"It's not about what you want, it's about what you need," Lizzie said calmly. "The crystal has done this before; it helps people understand how they really feel. You'll thank me once this is all over. You'll thank all of us."

"No, I won't," Mabel muttered, leaning against the crystal wall.

Lizzie shrugged.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Lizzie said, "It would be courteous to make some light conversation."

Mabel looked up at her. "You're not actually me, are you? Because I'm never that rude."

"You're never this open," Lizzie corrected.

Mabel bit her lip to stop herself from retorting. "Look, just. . . just tell me. . . is my brother okay?"

Lizzie met Mabel's eyes. "Would you ever hurt your brother?"

"No! I mean, not on purpose. . ."

"Then he's fine. The Mabels fighting over him won't hurt him."

"Fighting over him?"

"Sure. You love your brother, but you also find him annoying, right?"

"Well, yeah, sometimes," said Mabel, glancing to the floor.

"So, one Mabel out there loves Dipper with all the sibling love she has, and she's fighting against another Mabel who finds him too annoying to stand it."

"But. . . neither of those things are true, not like that."

"I know," Lizzie replied. "The copies are all extreme versions of you."

"If. . . ," Mabel began. "If the one who thinks Dipper is annoying won. . . would I stop loving him?" Her voice gradually dropped into a whisper as she spoke.

"Of course not," Lizzie said. "None of your feelings are going to disappear. They're just going to be sorted out, so you know for sure which side of the spectrum you lean towards. Can't you see this is a privilege? The crystal is helping you, and you're complaining about it."

Mabel's mouth started moving, but no words came out. She didn't know what to say to that.

"Right," Lizzie said, after letting Mabel struggle for words for a few seconds. "Honestly, if anyone's being rude—"

But she didn't get to finish her thought, because just then the wall next to Mabel exploded.

Mabel cried out and jumped away as shards of pale rock flew across the room. Ducking and covering her head, Mabel listened to the shattering sounds lessen and then stop, almost as quickly as they started. She peeked up from beneath her hands to see the dust settle around a figure standing in the violently formed entrance.

Him again?

"Who are you?" Lizzie demanded, stepping forward.

He glanced from Mabel to Lizzie and back. What was his name? Gideon? "I take it you're the guard?" he asked.

"What?"

Mabel got slowly to her feet. "I'm the real Mabel," she said. For some reason, it felt good to say that.