It wasn't easy to smuggle the equipment needed for a demon summoning into time jail, but if there was one thing Blendin Blandin was, it was dedicated. He would make sure that he got his revenge on those darned Pines kids, no matter what the cost. After what they had done to him, it was all he had left to look forward to in life.

Even after all the surreptitious trades, all the hiding from the guards, all the bribery, he didn't quite have things right- the candles were poorly made, the circle small and plain- but it was as good as it was going to get. Better to try and fail than to live a life wondering what might have been.

Blendin bit his finger until it bled and touched it to the makeshift summoning circle, which lit up with a dim glow.

The summoning chant, at least, he knew now by heart, having read it over and over again in the demonology books that the jail librarians hadn't locked up quite tightly enough.

"Astrum splendidum, te invoco. Invoco tuum potentiae. Dico nomen tuum: Alcor!"

The demon appeared in a flash of light, floating while standing up in the cramped summoning circle. The summoning had worked, despite the odds. Blendin was only one step away from fulfilling his goal, and the mere thought of his success made his pulse race.

"Wͧ̏ͧͧ͛ͫ̀H̩̬̬̜̬͖͑̽̄̋̋̔̚Ô̘ͨͭ̎̎̚ ͗ͩͬ҉̼̪̻ͅD̊̅ͤͫͩ̈́̌A̟̙̤̬̮͉̍̉ͫ̑̇̚R̳̥̭ͨ̅Ė̳̪̠̼͎̜S͈̻̼̏ͤ͆̂ͬ̏͂͘ ̟ͪ͊S̴̽̀̑ͫͧU̩͚͈̪̅̓̐̏̇M̦̭̮̐͆̒ͮ͆͗͟M̾ͨ̋ͩ͒O͉̬͌̇̆N̷̥̆̏ͥͦ̇ͮ ͓̝̩̥̠̩̮̽̐ͩͯͫ̀A̱̅͐̀̚L̗̣̝̰͖͈͑C̳ͨ̌̓̉̚O̥̳̬̪͖̎̓̓̐͊̕R̭͖̍͋ͯ̉̅̏ͦ ̶̤̠̃ͣͭT͚̺͇̯̐̿ͯ͛̌̍H͇̓ͨḘ̷̟͚̳͍͈ ̯̫͇͈̦̪ͫ̄͛̑̔D͐҉͙͙͇̫͕̯̣Ṙ̭̞͙͈͛ͭ͌́͛È̤̘̻Ạ̶͆̋͗̽ͫM̼͖͈ͅB̓͐͊҉̺͉͎E̯̘̦̝̎ͥ̒̑ͅN̶̯͕̫̳͉̮͛͊̒̃́̂ͪD̳̞̥͐̊ͥ̅Ẹ͖̘͆̔͛͑ͨ̓R͉̙͎̈́̎̎?̙̜̜̯͈ͥ̐ͤ̊̏͐"

Blendin held up his finger to his lips as he heard footsteps on the far end of the hallway. "Shhh! I don't want the guards to hear you!"

"Sure, whatever you say. Now, Blendin Blandin, what is your wish? Though… I think I could guess, honestly, if I had to."

Blendin took a step backwards. "How do you know my name, demon?"

"I… uh… Like you said, I'm a demon. I know a lot of things. Comes with the territory, really."

He squinted up at the demon, his eyes narrowing. "You look… familiar, somehow. Have we met?"

Alcor raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, have we?"

"Uh…" Blendin hesitated for a moment. He didn't have the Sight, and he certainly hadn't summoned Alcor before… he must just be imagining things, maybe confusing his familiarity with the illustrations that he had viewed so many times with the appearance of the real Alcor. "I don't… think so…"

"Get on with it, then." Alcor sighed, sitting and crossing his legs, a difficult task for one confined in such a small space. "Why did you summon me? What do you want so badly that you were willing to summon a demon to get your way? Or do you want me to guess after all?"

"The Pines twins- Mabel and Dipper Pines- they ruined my life, they took everything I had from me! Now I want to return the favor!"

The demon broke out into loud, harsh laughter that echoed against the walls of the prison cell.

"Oh, wow. Yeah, that's… that's a no. Sorry, buddy."

"But wait! You haven't even heard what I'm offering you yet!"

Alcor flashed the man a wide, fanged grin. "I don't have to. I'm not going to do that for you, no matter what you have to offer- and, given the circumstances, you don't have an awful lot left."

Blendin hung his head, his stare moving from the demon's unnatural eyes to the cell floor. "But… but I…"

"But I like you, Blendin. I think you're not a bad guy, deep down inside. So I'll give you a heads-up. This whole demon-summoning business you're trying to do here? It's not really your thing. Trust me, I'd know."

Blendin's eyes burned with righteous indignity. "But I must get my revenge on the Pines twins! I won't let anybody stop me, not even you!"

"Hey, now. I didn't say you necessarily had to rule that whole revenge thing out. Just… figure out some other way to go about it, alright? If you keep trying, something tells me you'll find a way to make it all work out sooner or later."

"You… you really mean it?"

"I know it. You know, because of that whole… demon… omniscience thing. Now, unless you have some other deal to make with me, I've got other summons to attend to."

Blendin wordlessly shook his head.

"Alright, I figured as much. I'll be off, then." The candles went out, blown out by a gust of wind with no source, and the summoning circle's eerie light began to fade away.

Alcor held up one finger. "Oh, and one more thing. Between you and me, those Pines twins? They aren't really half-bad."

Before he could ask what the demon had meant by such a statement, Alcor disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Blendin quivered with anger, his hands clenched into fists. All this work, all this secrecy… it had all been for nothing. He would have to start all over again.

But that wouldn't stop him. He would get back at those Pines twins for what they'd done, one way or another.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd go after Alcor next.