That night, Mabel snuck out of the Museum. She'd left a note on the bedside table, so Dipper would know where she was in case something went horribly wrong. She would've invited him to come with her, but. . . well, she hadn't quite forgiven him for roping her into his date earlier. And she doubted he'd approve of what she was doing.

Her feet crunched softly in the snow as she walked up the winding hill that led to the Pleasure warehouse. The night was pitch black; it wasn't too late, but the sun set ridiculously early here in Gravity Rises. A flashlight guided Mabel through the darkness. Even in this poor lighting, she could tell that the landscape before her was beautiful. She wished she could better appreciate it.

But, she wasn't here to appreciate the scenery. She was here to scope out the warehouse and look for clues that might reveal anything suspicious about Pacifica.

The warehouse was a large and formidable building. Mabel crept along the side, looking for the door, and soon found one. Now to see if it was locked.

It wasn't.

A thrill of nervousness shot through her. As much as Mabel wanted to explore this warehouse, she had to admit that she'd expected it to be locked. She'd imagined her trip ending right here. But it wasn't locked — and she came here to investigate, right? She carefully pulled the door open, wincing at the sound of the hinges.

Not that there was anyone around to hear.

Mabel's flashlight shone on the antique furniture inside the warehouse, and she wondered if there were any ghosts in here. It seemed like the perfect place for them. She stepped softly, so that she wouldn't disturb any resting spirits, and frowned at the furniture. Having no idea what she expected to find here, she had no idea where to start looking.

"Welcome, Mabel."

Mabel started and dropped her flashlight. To her right, a single lightbulb flickered to life; a figure stepped into view. Pacifica's face lit up with a triumphant smile as her eyes locked on Mabel's.

It only took a second of frozen panic before Mabel's flight instinct kicked in. She ran for the door, which wasn't too far behind her; but before she could make it two steps, she was frozen. A purple light appeared around her body, stopping her in her tracks. She found herself turning to face Pacifica, even though she hadn't moved of her own accord.

Behind her, the warehouse door slammed shut with an ominous boom.

"P-Pacifica," she said, amazed that she could even speak through her fear, "what's going on?"

"I thought you were smarter than this," Pacifica said. "Perhaps you're just cocky."

"Wh-what?" Mabel struggled against the purple light, but she couldn't move.

"Not as impenetrable as you thought, are you?" said Pacifica. "Don't try to struggle, darling: Nothing can escape my power. Not even you."

Mabel's brain raced to catch up to the situation. Pacifica wasn't a fake after all. Some kind of purple magic was making it impossible for Mabel to move. It reminded her of the blue magic around that Northwest boy, the one she'd seen last week — except his magic had helped him fly. This magic was keeping Mabel trapped.

"You thought you were immune to all of it, didn't you?" Pacifica continued. "You found a way to block your mind, and you thought you had defeated me. Well, you haven't."

"I-I don't know what you mean. Let me go!" The more Mabel thrashed against her magical purple bonds, the tighter they felt: like she was being wrapped in cellophane.

Pacifica's grin widened. "Don't lie to me," she said in a tone that didn't match her smiling face. "At first, I thought it was my amulet that was at fault, but now I know it's you. What I don't know is how you guard your mind against my powers — and neither of us is leaving until I find out. Understood?" The light reached Pacifica's eyes as the girl stepped forward, and Mabel could clearly see a glint of madness shining through.

"Y-you're insane," she stuttered. "I don't know anything about mind powers!"

Pacifica grabbed the pendant around her neck, and Mabel suddenly realized that it was glowing the same shade of purple that surrounded her. The cellophane feeling tightened, and Mabel let out a cry of fear as she felt herself lift a few inches from the ground. "Don't lie to me," Pacifica repeated. "I can read everyone. Everyone but Gideon, because he also has—"

She stopped. "I see. Do you have an amulet, Mabel Pines? Do you have some kind of artifact that you use to shield yourself and your brother?"

Mabel was frantically trying to figure out what on earth Pacifica was even talking about. "S-so, you can read minds with that amulet," she said, "but you can't read mine. O-or Dipper's?"

"Yes, yes," Pacifica said, waving a dismissive hand. "So you have an amulet, then? Is that how you do it?"

She's insane. This thought ran through Mabel's head, sweeping up all other thoughts in its wake. She's insane, and she has me in her power. How am I going to get out of this?

I have no idea.

Mabel tried to take a deep breath, but that just served to add to her panic: Her magical bonds made it hard to fully expand her lungs. Forcing herself not to hyperventilate, she spoke slowly and clearly. "Pacifica," she said, "I don't know why you can't read my mind. I didn't know you could read minds in the first place. So—"

"Liar!" As Pacifica's grip tightened on her purple amulet, Mabel rose a little further into the air.

Don't look down, she pled with herself. Mabel wasn't afraid of heights, but dangling a few feet in the air, suspended by nothing but a purple aura, did wonders to one's fears.

"You know exactly why. You're shielding yourself so I couldn't find out your true plans, aren't you? You're planning something. If you don't have your own amulet, maybe you're trying to steal mine!" Another few inches up. "You're trying to rob me of my powers, aren't you?"

Pacifica's eyes shone with a wild intensity. She seemed nothing like the girl who had laughed and flirted with Dipper earlier that afternoon. Was that amulet responsible for Pacifica's hidden insanity? Were those powers corrupting her from the inside out? It was hard to think. All Mabel knew for sure was that she was thoroughly terrified.

"I'm right, aren't I? You're trying to steal my powers."

"N-no!"

"Stop lying! You lie to me, you lie to Dipper!" With each emphasized word, the invisible force around Mabel tightened slightly. Pacifica glared up at her prey. "He has no idea, does he? Poor, innocent Dipper. He doesn't even know that his sister is a power-stealing maniac."

Should Mabel play the bad guy? Play to Pacifica's fantasies? Mabel tried to draw up all the knowledge she had from every novel she'd ever read, but her mind refused to focus on anything except how scared she was. Finally, she forced out, "Of course Dipper doesn't know anything." That was at least one truth that both she and Pacifica agreed on. "Dipper would never do anything to hurt you. A-and neither would I! I hardly even know you. I promise, Pacifica, I'm not trying to steal—"

The air was stolen from Mabel's lungs, and she suddenly couldn't breathe. Her instinct to hyperventilate came back with full force; she struggled against Pacifica's magic, gasping for breath as she floated in the air.

Pacifica sighed and shook her head as if dealing with an ignorant child. "I see you want to do this the hard way, then. Stubborn to the last, aren't you, Mabel?"

The force around Mabel's throat loosened until she could breathe again; as she regained her breath, she saw something else glow purple in her periphery. A large kitchen knife floated into the air, held aloft by Pacifica's amulet.

The knife drew closer, and Mabel felt tears on her cheeks without remembering them forming in her eyes. Pacifica's voice was deadly calm as she said, "Tell me how you shield your mind against me."

"I don't know!"

"Liar. Tell me now."

"Please! I don't—"

"Liar!" The knife was almost to Mabel's throat. "How do you do it?!"

"I don't know!"

"Stop lying!"

"Please!"

Mabel felt the tip of the knife press into her collarbone.

"Pacifica, stop!"

The knife froze.

Pacifica's eyes flicked back and forth between Mabel and something underneath her. A chilled winter wind brushed against Mabel's cheek: Someone had opened the door. Someone was here.

"Dipper!" Pacifica cried happily. The knife lost its purple glow and clattered to the ground. "I'm so glad you're here! I've exposed her, Dipper — it's okay!" Every time her eyes moved to look at him, the glow around Mabel disappeared, only to reappear in the next instant when Pacifica looked back up. Did that mean that Pacifica needed eye contact to use her magic on Mabel? What would happen if she looked away long enough for Mabel to fall?

Suddenly, the idea of Pacifica releasing her became terrifying.

"Pacifica, what is going on?" Dipper demanded. Mabel couldn't see him, but his voice sounded almost as scared as she felt. "Let go of my sister!"

"Dipper, darling, your sister has been deceiving you," Pacifica said. She spoke softly and sweetly, like she was delicately breaking the bad news to him. "She blocked her mind, and yours, from my powers — but it's okay; I know it's not your fault."

"What?"

"I really am a psychic," Pacifica said. Her eyes were still on Mabel. "We have things to make my show seem fake, but I really do have powers. Mabel's trying to steal them — but I've got her now. I'll put a stop to it."

Mabel felt Dipper's arms wrap around her legs; he was trying to pull her down. It didn't work. "Pacifica, let go," he said. "Put my sister down."

Pacifica blinked. "No, you don't understand. I'm saving you, Dipper; I'm saving both of us! As soon as I find out how Mabel is shielding you, I'll put a stop to her once and for all!"

Mabel didn't like the sound of that.

Dipper was still tugging at her legs, but it wasn't working. The only way out of this, Mabel knew, was to break Pacifica's eye contact. The thought of falling scared her, but it wasn't that far, right? She'd be fine. She tried to convince herself of this as she gathered her breath and shouted, "Dipper, she needs eye c—" Her voice choked off at a gesture from Pacifica.

"Don't," the psychic snarled. "The only thing I want to hear from you is a confession. No deception, Mabel. Not anymore."

There was a tense moment of silence before Dipper let go of Mabel's legs. He took a cautious step forward, and Mabel could see him in her lower periphery. "Pacifica, please: Put Mabel down, and we'll talk about this." His voice shook slightly, but he took another step forward.

Pacifica shook her head, keeping her eyes on Mabel. "I thought you might take her side. Please, Dipper, you have to understand: I don't blame you. This is all Mabel's fault."

"What's Mabel's fault?" Dipper demanded. "What sides? All I see is you using magic to attack my sister!" The time for diplomacy was over. Mabel braced herself, preparing to fall, as Dipper rushed at Pacifica.

He barreled into her, and Pacifica's purple amulet disappeared from Mabel's view. So, too, did the glow around her. With a shriek of fear, Mabel crashed to the ground. Miraculously, she managed to land on her feet; her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees, taking huge breaths to force air into her lungs. She could hear Pacifica yelling as Dipper wrestled her to the ground, but it sounded distant. All Mabel could focus on was getting enough air.

"Get off of me!" Pacifica pushed Dipper away with her magic, freezing him in place with another purple glow. "Dipper, please, I don't want to hurt you. Mabel's the one that we need to fight."

"You're crazy!"

Mabel got shakily to her feet. She still felt short of breath, but she ignored her protesting body and raced forward, tackling Pacifica from the side. Pacifica was once again knocked to the ground as Mabel tried to get her hands on the amulet.

"Let me go! Get away!" Pacifica screeched. "You can't have my powers!"

Mabel felt her fingers clasp something smooth, and she immediately pulled. The amulet came off with the sound of tearing fabric, and Mabel fell back. Pacifica let out an inhuman scream as the amulet left her; she reached forward, but Mabel had already gotten to her feet and jumped away.

She raised the amulet above her head, ready to throw it to the ground and smash it.

"No!"

Mabel threw her hand down and waited for the welcome sound of shattering glass.

Nothing.

Mabel looked up, startled, only to see the amulet floating above her head. The purple stone started glowing again, but it wasn't glowing purple.

It was glowing blue.

Pacifica started laughing as she got to her feet and rushed towards Mabel. She was stopped in her tracks by an identical blue glow. Her eyes widened, and she looked around wildly for a second before yelling, "Gideon!"

Mabel turned. A figure stepped through the warehouse entrance. White hair framed a pale face, which was illuminated in the blue glow that emanated from the amulet fastened around his neck.

The purple amulet floated across the room until it landed in his hand. "You've just gotten back," he said to Pacifica in a disapproving tone, "and you're already going crazy?"

Pacifica let out a frustrated growl, and Mabel noticed that her mascara had started to run with tears of. . . something. Pure madness, Mabel supposed. She looked back to the boy with the blue amulet. Sharing a glance with Dipper, she knew that he recognized him, too: This Gideon was the same boy they'd seen with the fairies.

"Get out of here," Gideon told the twins. "I'll take care of Miss Pleasure." When neither Mabel nor Dipper made a move to leave, he snapped, "Get out of here, unless you want her to attack you again!"

This spurred them on; and, grasping each other's hands, the twins ran from the warehouse.

Art by Sorophora