Ao3 Version

I knew in an instance who was approaching me.
But this time, I refused to cower in fear and regret. No matter what he would
ask me, I would not let it stop me from burning this hotel to the ground…

 

“I am
Judgement Boy!” The monster descended from the ceiling once more with his roar
of: “JUDGEMENT!”

Its wide
grin stretched further when it saw Mabel, and it asked her the question: “You
find yourself in a hotel in another dimension. You learn that it was not only
your neglect, but also this hotel, that played a role in the death of your
brother, whom you love very much. The question is… Who killed your brother?”

“I did,”
Mabel said without hesitation. “I could have saved him if I had been a better
sister; if I had taken the time to listen to him, and help him, like he always
helped me. Even if this hotel didn’t exist, my brother would have still taken
his life… But that doesn’t change the fact that this place must be destroyed,
and that it still played a role in my brother’s death.”

“You have
chosen not to avert your eyes from the truth, but to meet it head-on,”
Judgement Boy’s tone of voice seemed different as he said this. Almost like he
was… approving of Mabel’s answer. “Yet instead of cowering in regret, you
decide to take action, and do what you can to make up for your role in your
brother’s death.”

This time,
the golden dollar symbol fell instead of the heart, and with that Judgement Boy
left.

Mabel
smiled to herself and continued going in the direction she had been walking in.

It didn’t
take long before she saw it; The Eternal Flame. There was no doubt in Mabel’s
mind that was what it was. She picked up the glass jar and released the orange
flame inside. It immediately began to burn its surroundings, and seeing how fast
everything was catching on fire, Mabel hurried away, knowing she still had to
leave the hotel.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It’s done. Soon the hotel will be no more. The
souls still trapped will, hopefully, be free. But even if that isn’t the case,
at least new souls won’t be joining them. I won… No, we won, Dipper.

 

Mabel
walked out of the hotel and began to make her way towards the forest, when she
spotted Cipher; he was walking out of said forest, only to get a look of
absolute fear as he saw the smoke rising from the hotel.

“What have
you done!?!” he howled, but didn’t wait for an answer. He broke into a run and
sped past Mabel, into the infeno.

Mabel
watched as he ran in there, wondering if perhaps he would try to put out the
flames. She wasn’t sure if that was possible, but she still preferred to wait
and see; none of this would matter if the hotel didn’t get destroyed.

Soon after,
Will came running out of the hotel’s front door. He looked surprised at seeing
her.

“Why are
you still here!?” he asked, his voice and expression full of panic. “Go!”

“I have to
make sure this place truly disappears!” she argued. “For everyone who ever died
there.”

“But…” Will
didn’t finish his sentence, as from the front doors, Cipher ran out, carrying
someone wrapped in a blanket. Cipher was covered in burn marks, but the blanket
was free of burns, meaning it was probably a fire-safe blanket. “Go.” Will
commanded her, but now Mabel was curious; why wouldn’t Cipher have used the
blanket on himself? What was so special about this person, that he had run into
a burning building to rescue them?

“Are you
okay?” Cipher asked the person as he placed them on their legs; which were bare
and wrapped in a few vines. Cipher’s voice was tender and full of concern; his
eyes looked like they were close to tears.

“Yes, thank
you,” the person said in a voice which Mabel recognized all too well. They
pulled of the blanket, but their back was turned to her, revealing only brown
hair which looked a little longer and wavier than Mabel remembered, also with a
few vines intertwined with the locks.

“… Dipper?”
Mabel whispered as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She almost couldn’t
believe it. She stepped closer and reached out a hand, just as the person
turned around to see her.

There was
no longer any doubt; it was Dipper. At first Mabel thought he looked younger,
but then she realized it was the absence of stress wrinkles and eye bags that
gave that impression. His skin looked pristine; almost as if it was carved from
polished wood, but it still looked soft and warm. His brown eyes now had a
vague glint of green in them, and he was wearing what looked like a cocktail
dress made from pine needles.

“It’s
really you,” Mabel cried and tried to get closer to him, but Dipper ran over to
Cipher and hid behind him; a look of hatred and disgust spread on Dipper’s
face. “Dipper? I-“

“You almost
killed me!” Dipper shouted, clinging on to Cipher like a lifeline. “If Bill
hadn’t saved me, I would have burned alive in that fire you started!”

“I- I
didn’t know you were in there!” Mabel tried to explain. “I- I thought- Dipper,
please! I’m so sorry-“

“Why are
you calling me that?” Dipper asked with an angry frown. “My name is Pine Tree.”

“Oh…” Mabel
shook her head. “What did Cipher do to you?”

“Why are
you saying it like that?!” Dipper, or Pine Tree, finally stepped out from
behind Cipher. “Bill has done nothing but treat me like a treasure. Then you
come along, nearly kill me, destroy our home, and try to what? What exactly are
you trying to accomplish here?”

“I… I
don’t,” Mabel shook her head. Her brother had still been there. She had almost
killed him. Why had she done that? She had a realization and turned to Will
with a look of betrayal. “You said my brother was dead! You told me to burn
down the hotel, knowing I would have killed him!”

“Mabel!”
Will shouted. “That’s not your brother! Your brother was gone the moment he
decided to stay at the hotel! All that’s left of him is that soulless husk!”

“How dare
you!” Cipher hissed and stepped in front of Dipper in a defensive stance. “You
don’t get to speak to him like that!”

Mabel
looked at the now burnt remains of Cipher’s House. She almost couldn’t
comprehend this; Cipher seemed to really care about her brother, her brother
seemed to like living in the hotel, and Will… the guy she thought had been
helping her, had lied to her and almost made her kill Dipper.

“Mabel,
listen to me,” Will implored. “You wanted to stop the hotel, right? You need to
leave now, or none of this will have mattered at all.”

Mabel
looked at her brother and Cipher; Bill was holding him close, softly stroking
his hair. Her brother seemed genuinely sad and betrayed.

“Dipper,”
Mabel stepped closer to her brother. “Or… Pine Tree… Were you really happy at
the hotel?”

“Yes,” he
replied.

“Are you
sure you don’t want to come with me? Back to reality?”

“No!” Pine
Tree reminded Mabel more of her brother than ever, now that it looked like he
was getting close to a panic attack. “All I remember about that place is pain!
I never want to back there!”

“Alright
then,” Mabel sighed with a small smile. “I guess this is my chance to finally
be a good sister.”

“You can be
that if you leave!” Will said, his voice full of panic again. “Let your
brother’s soul find rest-“

“No,” Mabel
said decisively. “I promised when I first got here that I wouldn’t leave
without my brother. I’m going to keep that promise. I’m staying here.”

With those
words, the hotel began to repair itself; it looked like the destruction was
happening in reverse, as all the fire damage was undone.

Bill and
Pine Tree looked on with expressions full of joy and happiness. Will looked
like he was filled with despair at the sight.

“We’re back
in business!” Bill yelled with a large grin.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

And so another cycle is completed, and the
hotel returns to normal. Another guest joins the ranks of the souls who will
never escape Cipher’s House. For no one can escape Cipher’s House.

 

Pine Tree
liked the hotel’s new permanent guest; her name was Shooting Star, and even
though the fact that she was made out of rocks burning in pastel colors meant
that her flames could accidentally hurt him, she was kind and energetic, and
loved spending time with him. The two of them seemed to have a connection that
Pine Tree couldn’t place, but he didn’t really care to analyze it.

The two of
them were sitting in the hotel lobby and having a talk, when Pine Tree’s other
favorite person showed up.

“It’s time
to return to your rooms soon~” Bill said as he stood behind Pine Tree, placing
one hand on each of his shoulders. “Our new guest is expected to arrive any
moment now, and we can’t have him see anything too… disturbing on his first
night.”

“Oh, but
Bill,” Pine Tree gave him an exaggerated pout and bit his thumb. “I still need
to do one more thing before going to bed.”

“Did you
forget to change the sheets?” Bill asked with a slight smirk; of course he
already knew Pine Tree would never forget one of his duties, especially not one
that was crucially to keeping the charade going for just long enough.

“Of course
not,” Pine Tree laughed and playfully slapped Bill’s hand.

A knock was
heard on the hotel’s front door.

“Oh!
Whatever it is, it will have to wait until I’ve shown our guest her new room!”
Bill said and swung over to the door.

Pine Tree
and Shooting Star both left for the door behind the check-in counter; there was
a small peephole through the wall in there that they could use to scope out the
new guest.

Pine Tree
looked through the hole, watching as a young, frazzled looking woman was helped
inside by Bill. She looked pale and her eyes were bloodshot.

“Who is it?”
Shooting Star asked, leaning over Pine Tree’s shoulder.

“Hmm, if I
remember the files correctly, she’s that one who was kicked out by her family
and lived on the streets,” Pine Tree said. He observed Bill talking to her and
escorting her to the guest room. “Alright, coast is clear.”

They both
left the backroom; Shooting Star made her way to her room, while Pine Tree
grabbed a tray of food and water he had left on the coffee table in the lobby.
He walked with the tray down the hall to a newer addition to the hotel; a big
steel door seemingly bolted shut, but Pine Tree retrieved his key to the door
and opened it.

“And how
are we doing today?” he asked sweetly as he stepped inside, shutting the door
behind him.

Inside, the
room looked a dungeon, with dirt floor and cold stone walls, with the only
light coming from a window with bars on it. Under this window, chained to the
wall, sat Will. His body looked beaten and malnourished, and his mouth was
partially sewn shut, only allowing it to open the tiniest bit. Various parts of
his body were also covered in random stitches, and even one of his eyes was sewn
completely shut.

“I have
soup,” Pine Tree said as he placed the tray on the ground and picked up a spoon
to feed Will.

“He used
you,” murmured Will in a weakened voice after a couple of spoonfuls.

“Huh?” Pine
Tree tilted his head in confusion.

“When he ‘saved’
you from the fire,” Will clarified.

“What?”
Pine Tree gave him a hard to read look.

“He doesn’t
care about you; he just knew seeing you would-“

Then Pine
Tree laughed. He let out a strong, cruel laughter.

“I already
know that!” Pine Tree said. “Whose plan did you think it was?”

“What?” now
it was Will’s turn to look confused.

“Yeah, the
whole get her to burn the hotel, almost kill me?” Pine Tree elaborated. “That
was my idea.”

“But… how-?”

“Did I know
you would suggest The Eternal Flame to her?” Pine Tree giggled. “What did I say
to you? ‘What if she burns down the building while Bill’s gone?! I would be
gone in an instance!’ Oh, don’t give me that look, Will; I already knew you were
a traitor. I might not remember much from my first days at the hotel, but I
remember you trying to ‘help’ me leave. Bill refused to believe that a member
of his family would ever betray him, so I suggested this plan to prove it. And
now, I just happen to have your old job, as I’m the only one Bill would trust
that position to~”

“But… Bill
is manipulating you…”

Pine Tree
laughed again. “Really? You think he’s the one manipulating me? I have him
wrapped around my finger. A little pout there, a wave with my eyelashes there,
and he’ll do whatever I say. So yeah,” he rose to his feet. “I manipulate him…
but I also really love him. He saved me after all. It’s your fault you can’t
understand the love we share.”

And with
that, Pine Tree turned towards the door.

“Don’t
worry; I’ll leave the rest of your food there,” he pointed to the tray sitting
about five feet away from the chained up Will. “In case you get hungry or
thirsty later.”

Will
snapped and tried to pull himself free of the chains, but it didn’t work, and
Pine Tree left him there; alone again.

Ao3 Version

I think I’ve gone insane. There is no way this
place can be real… No, I have to stay strong. My brother is trapped somewhere
here, and if I don’t find him… I won’t even think about what might happen to
both of us…

 

Mabel ran.
At that point, it was all she could do. She had to find Cipher’s room so she
could finish her deal with Saki. Then, she’d find her brother, somehow, and
they’d escape this living hell.

When she
arrived at a staircase, she leaned against the railing for a moment, trying to
catch her breath, before proceeding to climb the stairs. She came face to face
with a door; it looked so much different from all the other doors, like it
didn’t belong in this hotel. It was made from dark, almost black wood, and it
lacked a number plaque, instead it just had some weird pattern carved into it.

Mabel
carefully opened the door, poking her head inside. Inside was a short hallway,
three doors on each side, with the hallway ending in a final seventh door. The
seventh door had a golden pattern similar to the one she had just gone through.
It only made sense that the souls would be hidden behind that door, so Mabel
ran to it, trying to open it, only to find it locked. She heard footsteps from behind
the door; they sounded panicking. She then heard the sound of someone running
up the stairs.

Panicking,
Mabel ran to one of the other doors, ripped it open, and hid inside, praying
that whoever was coming wouldn’t find her.

Luckily,
she heard the footsteps walk right past her and open what she was pretty sure
was the door she had tried to open.

“Is
everything alright!?” she could hear a muffled voice ask; it sounded worried,
scared even. She couldn’t hear the response, but it didn’t seem to soothe the
other person’s worries. “What?!” they exclaimed.

There was
the sound of another door opening, and someone else speaking; “It was me, Bill.
I wanted to give you an important message, and I thought you were in your
room.”

“Well? What
is it?” the first speaker asked, and now that Mabel knew it was Bill, she felt
even more scared than before; she seriously doubted Bill would forgive her for
breaking into what appeared to be his home.

“Our guest
decided to leave,” the other person said. “Guess she gave up on finding her
brother.”

“What!?”
Bill exclaimed. Mabel could faintly hear someone respond to his outburst, but
it seemed to be the person who had been in the room Mabel tried to break into;
the one Mabel couldn’t clearly hear. “Will, keep Pine Tree in your room; guard
him with your life. If anything happens to him while I’m gone…”

He didn’t
finish his sentence, but even Mabel could feel his threatening gaze. There were
more sounds of footsteps along with more doors opening and closing. Mabel
waited for a couple of seconds with bated breath before she dared to go back
into the hallway.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The hallway was abandoned once again. I don’t
know who the two people Cipher spoke to was, but… One of them was either
seriously misinformed or, the somehow more likely solution, they covered for
me…

 

Mabel
decided to try the door she had originally wanted to go through; it was no
longer locked and, as she poked her head inside, it was empty. The room was
golden and black in color, and basically looked like a normal bedroom; a very
fancy and expensive bedroom to be fair, but still. There was a king-sized bed,
a violin lying on said bed, a dresser, a desk and office chair, both of which
was covered in papers and documents, in front of the door was a big mirror, a
low table underneath it, with two ceramic pots growing flowers; the room was
also decorated with some potted plants. Cipher hadn’t seemed like the caring
type of guy, but maybe he acted differently to plants than his hotel guests.

She walked
over to the desk and began to look through the various papers; at first she was
curious what they were, but then she realized that they were all related to the
hotel. There were work schedules, lists of activities and arrangements,
maintenance notes; they looked like they could have belonged to a normal hotel.
Then, after digging through various notes, she found stacks of papers that were
different; they looked almost like… police files or public records.

The first
one she picked up had a picture of a young man with a strained smile. Then
there were pages on pages describing what appeared to be his life, specifically
how he had been verbally abused by his mother for playing with dolls, how that
had led to issues socializing with others, how that had turned him into a
hermit, and so on, escalating until the last page described how he, in a fit of
rage, had murdered his mother by stabbing her repeatedly with a knife, then
attempted to… sew her back together, and when it didn’t work, the file simply
said: “He could no longer face reality.”

Mabel
looked through some of those other files, and they were all the same; from
early childhood they would describe how certain events led to others,
eventually escalating to some kind of tragedy, and then ending with the words
saying that they “could no longer face reality”.

She
clutched her head in her hands. What did all of this mean? Who were these
people? How did Cipher have such detailed files on their lives? And why did
they all end the same way?

It was then
that Mabel spotted another file, hidden between the various papers strewn
about. She could only see part of the picture poking out, but there was no
doubt about it; that was a picture of her. She hesitated for a moment, but
forced herself to pick up the file and read it.

It had her
name, her age, her birth date. It detailed how she and her brother had been
friends since they were born. How they had always considered each other their
best friend. How Dipper had excelled in school, and Mabel had grown jealous. How
said jealousy had caused her to seek away from her brother, getting new
friends. How when Dipper had begun to struggle in school, Mabel had been
secretly happy. How Mabel had still tried to help her brother, but had
eventually given up and convinced herself that her brother was just lazy and
didn’t try hard enough. How she had abandoned her brother when he needed her
the most to pursue her own social life. How her brother had stopped answering
her scarce phone calls and messages after his exam. How after he came back, he
got his grades back, and learned he had failed. How Mabel had told him to just
try harder. How her brother had gone quiet once again. How a suicide note had
been found in his dorm room. The file ending such: “Realizing she had caused her
brother’s death, she could no longer face reality.”

Mabel let
go of the file. It had been right. Mabel couldn’t deny it any longer. She knew
now why she was in this hotel, and why she was being tormented like this; she
had killed her brother. She curled into a ball on the chair and started rocking
herself back and forth, crying softly.

“Are you
really gonna give up like that?” a voice asked from behind her. Mabel turned
around and almost screamed at who she thought was Bill, but she realized it
wasn’t Bill, just someone who looked a lot like him.

“Who are
you?” Mabel asked, drying away a tear.

“My name is
Will,” he responded. “You know now why you’re here?” he nodded towards the
various papers and files.

“Because I
killed my brother,” Mabel sobbed.

“No!” Will
shouted. “Come on! It literally says it in every single file!”

Mabel
blinked her tears away, mostly because sorrow was getting replaced with
confusion.

Will picked
up Mabel’s file, which was still on the last page, and used a finger to
underline the last sentence.

“I can’t…
face reality?”

“You
couldn’t face the fact that your brother was dead,” Will confirmed. “But it
seems like you’re able to now, which is… interesting.” He got a pondering look
on his face.

“I need to
know one thing,” she paused and tried to brace herself for the answer. “Did my
brother ever… end up here?”

“… Yes,”
Will responded. “I actually thought he’d be the first to escape, but… he came
back. And now, he’s dead.”

“So… he
came back because he couldn’t face reality either,” Mabel nodded to herself.
Now she knew what had happened to her brother; after everyone, including Mabel,
had pushed him away, he had decided he would rather return to the hotel and die
there, than face reality.

“Don’t
blame yourself,” Will said and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “This
hotel has taken so many souls; it’s to blame.”

“No,” Mabel
shook her head and stepped away from Will. Her voice was hoarse with emotions,
but her expression was steadfast and stern. “I am not going to lie to myself
any longer. If I had been a better sister, my brother wouldn’t have died. But
that doesn’t mean this place doesn’t share some of the blame. I am going to
leave this place, but not before I destroy it, so it can never hurt anyone
again.”

“Wow,” Will
looked at her in shock, but slowly a smile crept on to his face. “Yes,” he
nodded. “That could work… In one of the hotel’s hallways, there’s a jar
containing The Eternal Flame. If you let it lose, it can burn down the entire
hotel. But you have to promise to never return to hotel, otherwise it won’t
work.”

“Okay, but
first, I have one last piece of unfinished business; Saki saved my life, and in
exchange I promised to bring her one of Cipher’s souls… Also, how do I find
that Eternal Flame?”

“Follow
me,” Will led her out of the room and through another door, which led to an
enormous room filled with shelves upon shelves of jars with different colored
lights inside. Will surveyed them before grabbing one and rearranged the
others, so that it was less obvious one had been taken. “Here.”

Will handed
Mabel the jar. “Give this one to Saki. And don’t worry about finding her or The
Eternal Flame; this hotel has a habit of showing people exactly what they want
to see…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I know now why I’m here. I can choose to either
give up and receive my punishment for letting my brother die, or I can make
sure that no one will ever suffer because of this hotel, again.

 

Wandering
through the hallways, it didn’t take long before Mabel arrived at a hotel door
different from the others; like the door to Cipher’s home, it lacked a number
plaque and was also more fancy than the other doors, albeit not to the same
degree as Cipher’s.

Mabel
knocked on the door and it didn’t take long before it opened. Saki’s head poked
out and, as soon as she saw the jar with the soul, she snatched it out of
Mabel’s hands and popped opened the lid.

“Oh! I’ve
waited so long for this,” she said with an almost orgasmic delight. She plucked
the soul out of the jar using her thumb and forefinger, and proceeded to lick
and suck on it while making obscene sounds.

“Um… I’m
just gonna go now,” Mabel said and began to shuffle away.

“Mhm,
sure,” Saki nodded between her moans and headed back inside her room. Mabel
wondered how long that soul would even last…

As Mabel
began to traverse the hallways once more, hoping to find that Eternal Flame
that Will had mentioned, she heard that familiar song from behind her, slowly
getting louder; “Do you know who I am? They call me Judgement Boy~”

Ao3 Version

Saki may be sadistic, and I think Cipher’s her
uncle, but she’s still the most friendly being I’ve encountered in this hotel,
and that should say a lot about this place.

 

Before
leaving Eye-See’s room, Mabel tore off a part of her sleeve and wrapped it
around one of the bigger shards from the mirror Saki broke. It didn’t make for
the best weapon, but it was better than nothing.

Leaving the
room, Mabel found herself in another hallway, of course. She comforted herself
with the fact that she wasn’t in that dungeon again, but still, she had no idea
where to go.

In that
moment, Mabel remembered something her brother had told her: “When stuck in a
maze, keep your right hand to the wall, and you’ll get out.” So Mabel turned
right, placed her right hand on the wall, and walked. The corridors of the
hotel might not be a maze in a conventional sense, but it was still a better
plan than anything else Mabel could think of. Plus, she felt kind of happy that
she was using a trick her brother had taught her.

Said joy
only lasted for a short time, when she suddenly heard someone yell: “JUDGEMENT!”

Like
before, the same kind of anthropomorphized scale dropped down from the ceiling,
carrying the same two symbols as before. The monster’s smile widened when it
saw her, and she froze in fear. The creature hadn’t even said or done anything
yet, but the mere memory of what had happened before was enough to make Mabel
want to curl up into a ball and cry.

“You’ve
recently finished your first year of college,” the monster said. “Your brother
had suffered a breakdown during his last high school exam. While you hadn’t
heard much from him the previous year, after his first college exam, he’s not
answering any of your calls or messages. It takes days before he finally calls
you up. A short while later, your brother calls you up again, saying he failed
his exam because he had another breakdown. What do you do?”

There was
no longer any doubt that the monster somehow knew things about Mabel’s life,
considering that what it just described was exactly what had happened before
her brother disappeared.

“I… I
encourage him to try again,” Mabel almost stutters. “I know he can do better,
and he shouldn’t let those mental problems get the better out of him.”

“I see,”
the monster simply said. “Let’s consult the Balance of Truth!” Once again the
scales on the creatures rocked back and forth, until the heart was dropped and
fell to the ground, breaking on impact.

“But I told
the truth!” Mabel protested, staring at the broken heart. The monster ignored
her and began to talk again:

“When your
brother comes to you for help and support, you tell him to just get better. Not
unlike a lifeguard seeing a drowning victim and yelling at them to stop
drowning. You don’t hear from your brother again, and when he’s officially
missing, all you find is a suicide note left behind by him. It was your choice.
You get to live with it.”

Mabel fell
to her knees, sobbing her eyes out, while the monster flew past her. It wasn’t
true… She wasn’t the reason her brother disappeared.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I never ever, EVER wanna see that thing again!
I’m just gonna find that room with the souls Saki told me about, bring her one,
then find my brother and get the hell out of here…

 

While
walking through the hallway, Mabel kept her eyes peeled, not just to look out
for more monsters, but also to try and find a door that looked out of place.
She was so focused on what was ahead of her, that she didn’t even realize what
was behind her.

“Are you
looking for something?” a feminine voice asked. Mabel turned around but
couldn’t see anyone. “Down here~” Mabel looked down and saw that it was her own
shadow that was speaking; the only thing that looked out of place was a pair of
eyes that looked nothing like hers, was embedded into her shadow.

“W-who are
you?” Mabel asked, taking a couple of steps back, but her shadow naturally
followed, and along with that, the two eyes too.

“My name is
Ombra,” the voice sounded from her shadow. “I thought you looked troubled, so I
decided to shadow you.” The voice giggled at its own pun.

“I’m…
looking for my brother,” Mabel responded, averting her eyes from the shadow’s.

“Aw, is he
lost?” Ombra asked.

“H-he just
disappeared,” Mabel said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “I j-just want
to find him and go home…”

“Did he
leave because of you?” Ombra asked. Her tone had turned drastically more
serious.

“W-what?!”
Mabel gasped, once again inching away from the shadow. This time, the shadow
didn’t just follow her; it grew longer and bigger with every step Mabel took.
“N-no!”

“Are you
even sure he’s here?” Ombra continued asking, her tone now maniacal. Mabel’s
shadow rose from the floor, as if it had turned into a three-dimensional body.
“With a sister like you… he’d probably kill himself to get away from you!”

“Shut up!”
Mabel screamed and held tight to her make-shift weapon. “HE’S NOT DEAD!!”

Mabel lunched
with the mirror shard. Her make-shift dagger went right through the shadow.
Ombra grabbed her by the arm.

“Come on;
everyone here’s taken a life or two~” Ombra chuckled. Mabel dropped the shard
and wrestled her arm away from Ombra. Panicking, Mabel grabbed the nearest
thing she could find; the lamp behind her that was lighting this part of the
hallway. “N-no! Stop!” Ombra shouted, but Mabel ignored her and threw the lamp
at her.

The lamp
went right through the shadow and hit the floor. The light flickered a few
times before it went out, bathing that part of the hallway in total darkness.
The eyes fell to the floor; without light, there were no shadows to inhabit
either.

Mabel ran
into the nearest room, hoping Ombra couldn’t follow.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Why…? Why are they saying it’s my fault? It’s
not! I didn’t- I have to find my brother soon… otherwise, I don’t know what
will happen to me…

 

Mabel
breathed heavily as she leaned her entire weight into the door. After a few
moments of silence, she finally fell to her knees and started crying.
Everything was starting to become too much for her, and she was starting to
wonder if she would ever be reunited with her brother.

Suddenly,
in the other end of the room, she heard something. Steeling herself, Mabel got
back on her feet and stepped forward to see what it was.

All she
found was a pedestal. Upon said pedestal stood a glass jar, and inside said
glass jar was a butterfly.

It was
small and pink, flapping its wings as it flew around the jar. Sometimes its
wings would stroke the glass, creating the sound Mabel heard before.

Taking pity
on the poor thing, Mabel released it from its prison.

“There you
go, little buddy,” she said while the butterfly flitted around, enjoying its
new freedom. “I wish someone could just free me from here…”

“Mabel”

 

“Huh?”
Mabel gasped. That had sounded like her brother, but there was nothing in this
room. “Is that you?” she asked the butterfly, already in tears. “Did you turn
into a butterfly?! Please, answer me!”

“It hurts”

 

“Don’t
worry!” Mabel sobbed, gently cupping her hands around the little butterfly.
“I’ll find a way to change you back! Everything’s gonna be alright.”

“Why weren’t you there, Mabel?”

 

“W-what do
you mean?” it was first now that Mabel noticed the sound wasn’t coming from
inside the room; it was more like the sound was coming from inside her own
mind.

“I needed you”

 

“I’m here
now,” Mabel tried to assure him, tears still streaming down her face. “I won’t
ever leave you again!”

“I didn’t have to suffer”

 

“You could have saved me”

 

“You didn’t do anything!”

 

“You were too busy being selfish!”

 

“That’s not
true!” Mabel sobbed. “I did everything I could! I didn’t know!”

Mabel let
go of the butterfly to dry her own tears away. It was then she saw that the
butterfly had grown much bigger.

“I- I
wasn’t being selfish!” Mabel screamed at the butterfly. It grew again; it was
now as big as her head. Mabel was starting to realize that this was not her
brother.

“It was your fault!”

 

“That suicide note might as well have been
written with your hand!”

 

“YoU KiLlEd mE”

 

“No, I
didn’t!” Mabel shouted. “My brother’s not dead! And it wasn’t my fault!”

The
butterfly kept growing, and along with it, the voices became louder and louder.
It wasn’t long before the butterfly filled half the room and the voices were so
loud that Mabel had to run.

She fled
the room, shutting the door behind her, and the voices finally stopped. It
seemed like Ombra wasn’t waiting for her in the hallway either.

As Mabel
made to leave, she noticed a plaque on the wall by the door. It read: “Caution:
Butterfly’s Room. Feeding the animals is not allowed”. Below the plaque,
someone had written in crayon: “So there’s no access for
deniers-deniers-pants-on-fires”

Ao3 Version

It took a long time to fall asleep after I met
that… woman… Now I need to look for a soul, but I have no idea how I’m supposed
to find one! And judging by what Saki said, I can’t let Cipher know that I’m
looking for one either…

It took
longer for Mabel to wake up than usual. Normally it took her longer to figure
out what to wear than getting out of bed. Her conscious returned slowly, and
once it was there, Mabel fought to fall asleep again; she didn’t want to walk
around this hotel anymore.

She quickly
realized, however, that she couldn’t fall back asleep, and opened her eyes,
only to see a giant sword suspended above her head.

Reacting
quickly, she rolled off the side of her bed and down to the floor, just as the
sword fell and pierced the bed. She recognized the sword too; it was the one
that almost impaled her when she first arrived at the hotel.

The sword
levitated up again, leaving a deep hole in the bed, and aimed itself at Mabel
before hurtling towards her. She dodged out of the way just in time and ran out
the door, not looking to see if the sword was following.

She skidded
to a stop when she reached the lobby and rammed into the back of one of the
couches, flipping her over and making her land on her back on the floor, just
seeing the sword fly past her and getting imbedded into the wall.

“Already
doing some morning gymnastics?” a familiar voice asked. Mabel rose from the
ground and saw that it was indeed Cipher.

“Why was
that sword chasing me?” Mabel questioned, gesturing to the sword.

“Oh, it
still is,” Cipher chuckled, and the sword removed itself from the wall and
started chasing Mabel again. She tried to run, duck and dodge out of the way,
but the sword kept following her. “Don’t you remember? You promised one of the
guests to take care of it. You can’t run from your responsibilities forever.”

“Tell that
to the guy who forced this sword on me!” Mabel yelled before she had an
epiphany.

Just as
that happened, the door opposite the hallway leading to the rooms opened, and
out of it came that Damocles guy, riding his wheelchair.

Thinking
fast, Mabel dashed towards him, sliding to a stop and ducking in front of him,
leading the sword to stab him through the throat.

“Oh! That
was great!” Cipher laughed, applauding wildly. Mabel tried to catch her breath
while staring at the sword, waiting to see if it would chase her again. After a
few seconds, the sword seemed to evaporate, leaving none of it behind. “So, did
that feel good to you?”

“What are
you talking about?” Mabel scoffed. “I was just trying to survive. Plus, he kind
of deserved it, considering it was his fault the sword was chasing me.”

“Hm,
interesting,” Cipher pursed his lips together before returning to his trademark
smirk. “But were your situations really any different? He was willing to
sacrifice you to survive, and vice versa.”

“Well, I
assume he did something to warrant having a giant sword suspended above him,”
Mabel countered.

“And you
don’t believe you have done something to deserve that?” Cipher asked her. Mabel
looked at him with a confused expression; she couldn’t recall doing anything
like that. “On another note; how about some breakfast?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I wasn’t totally onboard with following Cipher,
but damnit I’m hungry! I hadn’t even realized I was getting hungry, like I don’t
recall feeling hungry at all while being in this hotel… So this is probably
more of the hotel’s mind games, I guess…

 

Mabel
reluctantly followed Cipher to the dining room; it looked dusty and decrepit,
like it hadn’t been used in a long time. Cipher turned to her and held up a
hand, signaling her to stop; she obliged.

“Wait
here,” he said and walked through a door, which Mabel assumed led to the
kitchen. He soon returned, carrying a tray with two pairs of standard utensils,
an omelet that looked like it was made of rubber and was flubbing around on the
plate like the fin of a sea lion on land, a bowl filled with a fuzzy, white
substance that seemed to have tiny eyes, and Mabel could even hear noises of
distress coming from whatever it was, and finally two glass… chalices, there
wasn’t another word for it, filled with a bubbling dark orange liquid that
seemed to fizz and overflow the chalices every so often.

“A-am I
supposed to eat that?” Mabel asked, pulling a disgusted face at the tray.

“Um, no,” Cipher responded, sounding
insulted. “This is for me and my sweetheart~” his tone changed instantly to one
of joy and happiness. “I bring him breakfast in bed once in a while; usually
when he’s too sore to get out of bed.” Cipher nodded towards the kitchen door.
“Go in there and find something yourself.”

Mabel
reluctantly stepped inside, finding a dark and dirty kitchen, the air oozing
with smoke to the point that she nearly couldn’t breathe. The chef was standing
in front of an oven, which seemed to be the source of the smoke; the chef
seemed to be a skeleton, missing several bones, including its lower jaw, along
with several ribs and fingers, and wore nothing but a raggedy chef’s hat.

“Um,” Mabel
let out a small cough, hoping and praying that she could get out of this
somewhat unscathed. The skeleton turned around, its hollow eye sockets and
featureless skull staring at her. “Can I… get something to eat?”

The
skeleton pointed to a table, although it was hard to tell since the hand it
used lacked an index finger. The table it pointed to stood in the other end of
the room and seemed to be decked out with different dishes, as well as plates,
bowls, and utensils; it was most likely some sort of buffet for the guests.

“Thanks,”
Mabel said before heading over to the table. The skeleton chef returned to its
cooking, which seemed to alternate between stirring a boiling pot and staring
into the smoking oven.

Mabel took
a look at the different foods on the table; most of them looked delicious,
except for the fact that they all seemed to be alive in much the same way that
Cipher’s food had. With everything that happened at this hotel, it wouldn’t be
a big leap to assume that some kind of magic gave the food life, even the vegan
dishes. It seemed the guests at the hotel were so sadistic that they took joy
in eating things that were still alive and could possibly feel pain.

She tried
to focus on the food that didn’t seem to be moving, but not only were there
very few of those, but those that were, looked gross and unnatural compared to
the living food.

She decided
that, at the end of the day, she would rather eat something gross over
something that was still alive, and picked up an empty bowl and filled it with
a thick, red, bubbling soup from a pot on the table. Despite the way the soup
was bubbling, almost as if it was boiling hot, no steam or heat emitted from
the liquid. Holding her bowl in one hand and picking up a spoon in the other,
Mabel walked back to the dining area, and sat down at the table.

Taking her
first, hesitant spoonful of the soup, she was relieved that it didn’t taste as
gross as it looked; it had a very drab, boring taste, kinda like oatmeal made
with water instead of milk, and way too much water at that. The consistency was
definitely the worst part, as the thick liquid was difficult to swallow.

After Mabel
was about halfway done with the bowl, she started to feel sleepy, which was
definitely odd since she had just been asleep. Eating another spoonful of the
soup, Mabel encountered something hard in the liquid and spat it out; it looked
like a piece of bone.

The
realization that this could be related to the chef’s lack of bones, almost made
Mabel throw up; almost, but instead she just spat out her soup.

Trying to
get the idea of having eaten human bones out of her head, Mabel didn’t notice
herself getting more and more sleepy, until she fainted headfirst into the
bowl.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My head hurts… my stomach too… Ergh, and I have
a horrible taste in my mouth… What happened?

 

The last
thing Mabel remembered was when she ate breakfast… She found a piece of bone in
her soup, and then… Her food must have been drugged, but why? The thought that
maybe the chef wasn’t the only donator to the hotel’s meals crossed her.

She was inside
a dark room, confined to a soft armchair by metal bracers extending from the
chair; there was one around her neck, one resting on her forehead to keep her
head in place, one around each of her wrists, ankles, shins, and the back of
her elbows, and finally one around her stomach. It was nearly impossible to
move because of these confinements.

Aside from
the chair Mabel was sitting in, the room seemed empty, but then again, without
the ability to move her neck, Mabel couldn’t get a good look at the room. As
her eyes adjusted to the darkness however, she could make out several mirrors
of different sizes standing and hanging around the room, each of their
reflective surface pointed in Mabel’s direction.

But as her
eyes adapted to the darkness, she saw something else; at first she could only
make out one big eye, staring at her from behind from behind one of the
mirrors. As her vision adapted more, she almost began to wish she could go back
to sitting blindly in the dark. The creature had black, veiny skin, it’s face
only had one giant eye in the middle, along with a hognose bat-like nose. From
its neck, multiple short, thick tendrils were sprawling, as if feeling through
the air. Finally, it didn’t seem to have a body, its head was just balancing on
a pair of thin, bony arms that ended in clawed hands.

“Who are
you?” Mabel asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking. The monster
approached her. It jumped up and rested one of its hands on her lap for
support. The other hand gently petted Mabel on the head,  and she was forced to look at this thing.

“You… have
beautiful eyes…” a raspy, echoing voice emitted from the room. Out of her
peripheral vision, Mabel could see the reflections in the mirrors change, but
she couldn’t get a good enough look to see what they changed into.

The hand on
her head left its place, and the creature waddled away from Mabel, only to
bounce back on one arm, carrying a jar filled with eyes in the other.

“No…” Mabel
sobbed, tears streaming down her face as she realized what the monster wanted
to do. The creature sat the jar down and returned to its former place balancing
on Mabel’s lap, using its free hand to dry Mabel’s tears.

She shut
her eyes, but opened them again when she heard a loud bang, followed by the
creature’s weight lifted from her lap, and the sound of a mirror shattering. In
front of her stood Saki, having seemingly punched the creature into one of the
mirrors; none of the mirrors seemed to show any reflection now.

“At first,
I was just gonna let Eye-See do what they do,” Saki said, freeing Mabel from
her restraints through brute force. “But then I realized, you wouldn’t be able
to locate my soul if you’re blind. I mean, maybe you could, but it would take
way too long.”

“So are you
going to help me?” Mabel asked, rubbing her limbs as they were freed, trying to
regain some blood circulation.

“Oh no,”
Saki shook her head and gave Mabel a stern look. “This is a one-time thing. From
now on, you’re on your own.”

Ao3 Version

Of all the things to happen, I hadn’t expected
the floor to collapse under me. Maybe it was some kind of trapdoor? But that
wouldn’t make sense given how far I’ve fallen… I should’ve landed in the
hallway on the floor below, but instead I feel like I’ve fallen for… almost a
full minute…

 

After
falling for much longer than she logically should have, Mabel finally hit the
ground. The cold, stone floor hurt, but miraculously she didn’t seem to have
suffered more injury than a couple of bruises.

Getting
back on her legs, Mabel looked around and examined her surroundings. It looked
like this was the hotel’s basement, or using a more appropriate word, dungeon.
It was structured like a hallway, about as wide as the ones in the hotel, but
without any doors in sight. The walls and floors were made with stones, the
entire atmosphere was cold and damp, and it was so dark that Mabel could barely
see two feet in front of her.

Mabel knew
all she could do was pick a direct and hope it would lead to an exit. After a
game of eeny, meeny, miney, moe to decide which way to go, she walked on with
cautious steps.

The hallway
had a big echo to it, enhancing the sound of every step she took, and every
shaky breath that left her body. Coupled with the overall silence, this put her
on edge, feeling like every sound she made was giving away her position to some
monster that lurked just out of eyesight.

And then
she heard it:

“Do you know who I am?”

Mabel could
barely hear it, but it did make her stop in her tracks, holding her breath to
listen closer.

“They call me Judgment Boy”

She still
couldn’t make out the words, but it sounded like singing, and it sounded like
it was getting closer.

“Do you know who I am?”

Now she
could hear the words, and the song was joined by the sound of rustling chains.

“They call me Judgment Boy”

She began
to run away from the sound, not wanting to see what kind of creature the hotel
was throwing at her now.

“Do you know who I am?”

“I am Judgment Boy”

Mabel froze
in her tracks; not only had the voice gotten louder, but now the words had
changed, and that couldn’t be good. So Mabel stood still, trying to see through
the darkness what it was that was chasing her.

“JUDGMENT!”
the voice shouted, and from the ceiling descended a creature Mabel could barely
comprehend. It looked vaguely human, with a head and face, but its mouth was
stretched into a horrifying grin lined with long, sharp teeth. It didn’t have
any legs, but seemed to be hanged from its cone-shaped hat on some kind of
pulley-system. And for arms, it instead had what looked like a pair of scales,
with a cage on each end. One cage held a golden dollar symbol inside, the other
a pink heart.

The
creature’s mouth stretched even wider as it looked at Mabel, and it spoke: “You
are thirteen years old. You have been struggling academically most of your
life, but your brother has always excelled in school. This year however, your
brother begins to struggle, and with time his grades get worse and worse. Now…
what will you do?”

“What?”
Mabel shook her head in disbelief. She probably shouldn’t be surprised, but
what the monster said sounded awfully similar to… “I help my brother of course!
I would be worried about him!”

“… I see,”
the monster’s grin widened again. “So you say
you’d be there for him. Well, I say
we should consult the Balance of Truth.”

The scales
that made up the monster’s arms began to sway, slowly at first, but then began
to built up momentum as they swung faster and faster.

“Judgment…
NOW!” the monster suddenly yelled and the floor of the cage containing the pink
heart fell, letting the tiny heart fall down and shatter on the stone beneath.
“While your brother is suffering, you’re too busy with friends and boys. The
few times you let yourself think about his situation, you take a secret glee in
his failure. It was your choice. You get to live with it.”

And with
that, the monster simply turned around and left, singing the same song he did
when he first appeared.

While the
monster hadn’t physically hurt Mabel, she would have preferred if it did; it
would have been better than this.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

That had been… disturbing. I only hope I don’t
run into that… thing again. I’ve been walking around for a while now, but… I
don’t seem to be getting anywhere. Is there even a way back to the hotel?

 

Mabel was
starting to think she wasn’t going anywhere. It was hard to believe, since she
had been walking in a straight line all this time, but still. There was one way
to find out for sure; Mabel removed her headband and placed it on the ground
behind her, then she kept walking forward. If she found her headband again, it
would mean she was running in a circle.

Her eyes
were starting to grow more accustomed to the dark, but that didn’t make much of
a difference.

Her feet
were starting to ache, but she had to keep walking, otherwise she would surely
die here. Mabel kept her pace for twenty minutes longer, before she stopped and
leaned against the wall. She could feel that her feet had blisters, and she was
almost about to check, when something in the distance drew her gaze.

It was a
soft, blue glow, approaching from the part of the hallway she had been walking
from.

Mabel knew
she should probably try to outrun whatever was approaching, but she could
barely run in this condition, and whatever that glow was, it could probably
chase her down, just like the previous monster.

As the
light got closer, she could make out some voices, and she instinctively tensed,
only relaxing when she realized it wasn’t a song. At least it wasn’t another of
those monsters.

The voices
were echoing, and hard to make out in general. It was only when she could see
where the glow was coming she realized what the voices were.

It had the
body of a skeletal, ghostly fish, swimming through the air and illuminating its
surroundings with its blue glow. The head, however, looked like one of those
old, rabbit-eared, box TVs, and the screen was showing a picture of her
brother. It was heavily distorted by static, as were the sound coming from the
TV, but it was definitely him.

“M-bel,”
her brother’s voice sounded from the TV. “I n-ed –“ the image changed and her
brother looked frustrated. That was the last glance she caught before the
creature passed her, and Mabel pursued behind it. “Wh- w-n- -ou -el- -e?”

“Dipper!
I’m right here!” Mabel cried out. She had no idea if her brother could hear
her, but it seemed like he was speaking to her directly. “A-are you trying to
guide me? You know how to get out of here? Where are you?”

“N-ver
lis-e-! Yo- -ever l-st-n!” it sounded like the static was getting worse.

“Dipper, I
don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me!”

“-o- l-te.
Y-u -er- t-o -at-,” with those words, the creature flew upwards and through the
ceiling, leaving Mabel behind.

“I’ll find
you, Dipper,” Mabel said, tears starting to stream down her face. “I promise.”

Mabel kept
walking, albeit at a slower pace now. She didn’t know for how long she walked;
too caught up in her own thoughts. Had it been a recorded message? Was Dipper
trying to contact her? She was soon broken away from her thoughts when her feet
hit something; her headband.

She picked
up her headband and held it close. It seemed like there was no way out of there
after all. She sat down and began to cry, both out of sadness and frustration.

“So, have
you learned your lesson?” Mabel’s attention was brought away from her tears,
and she looked up to see Cipher, standing right in front of her, smirking.

“I’m…”
Mabel paused to try and regain her composure. “I’m not entirely sure what I was
supposed to learn.”

Cipher let
out an audible sigh and rolled his eyes. “Let’s hope you will. Anyway, follow
me; I’ll return you to your room. You’re probably tired by now.”

Mabel
reluctantly rose from the floor and followed Cipher. It was better than staying
where she was.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I let Cipher lead me back to my room. I’m just
too tired at this point to protest. I’ll have to continue my search after at
least a couple hours of sleep…

 

After
escorting Mabel to her room, Cipher left, leaving her alone. Not even bothering
to use the covers, Mabel just lied down on the bed and fell asleep almost
immediately.

Her dreams
were plagued by vague nightmares and intangible thoughts, ones that were
difficult to grasp and recall, but nonetheless would fill anyone with dread.

As she was
brought out of her slumber, Mabel found it difficult to breathe, as if a heavy
weight was placed upon her chest. She also realized that she couldn’t move,
like there was a disconnect between her brain and body.

She wanted
to call for help, but found that she couldn’t say a word. Her eyes searched the
room for an explanation, and she caught sight of a humanoid figure, standing in
the corner of her room, staring at her.

The figure
stepped forward, revealing a young, attractive woman with red eyes. She was
smiling at Mabel.

“My, what
soft skin you have~” she licked her lips, Mabel wasn’t sure if it was hungrily
or sexually meant; maybe it was both. “Though, I wonder why Cipher’s alright
with me eating you…” the woman frowned in thought. “Perhaps you’ll be able to
shed some light on that,” she snapped her fingers, and suddenly Mabel was able
to speak again.

“W… what do
you want?” Mabel asked carefully, trying to take deep breaths despite the
invisible weight still on her chest.

“Huh, that’s
weird,” the woman tilted her head in honest confusion. “Usually the first thing
people say to me is ‘Please don’t hurt me’, or a variation of that.”

“What can I
do to make you spare me?” Mabel inquired.

“So, you
wanna make a deal?” the woman smirked and rubbed her hands together. “Very
interesting… Alright. Here’s the thing, I’m a soul-eating demon. I had a
tendency to gorge myself, so my mom sent me to live here, hoping my uncle,
hoping he would curb my addiction. He has, because he’s a greedy asshole that
hogs all the souls!” the woman shouted with fury, before forcing herself to
calm down. “And I can’t eat the souls of the guests, because then he’d know. Luckily,
my uncle has two chambers on the hotel’s highest floor where he keeps his soul
collection. Unfortunately, I can’t enter those rooms because a magic ward he’s
placed on them. If you promise to go to one of those chambers and bring me just
one soul to eat, I won’t bother you again. So, do we have a deal?”

The woman
snapped her fingers again, and Mabel finally felt the weight lift from her
chest, and with it she was able to move once again.

“Can you
show me where those chambers are?” Mabel asked, sitting up in bed.

“Nope, that’s
not how things work around here,” the woman shook her head. “You have to find
it yourself.”

“Well, I
don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Mabel sighed and nodded. “I’ll… find you a
soul to eat.”

“Great!”
the woman cheered and grabbed Mabel’s hand. A small spark of light emerged from
her grip, but it disappeared as fast as it came. “My name is Saki, by the way,”
she laughed and spun around out of pure joy before opening the door leading to
the hallway. “Oh, and our deal only apply to us; everyone else still want to
get you, so try not to die before you get me my soul, okay?”

And with
that, she left Mabel alone.