But she couldn't stay. She had to try again. He didn't know that the world had ended, that Bill had brought nightmares and demons to terrorize Gravity Falls and it was all her fault. She'd given him the rift. And all because she didn't want to grow, didn't want to lose her brother. Because summer had become something slipping through her fingers and that would have been okay if it wasn't taking her brother, her friends, her childhood, and-

When the summer's over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this Mystery Shack junk is over forever.

-and her Grunkle Stan.

She pulled away from him, an apology thick in her throat, only to find Dipper's arms were stiff, as though the arms around her belonged to a statue instead of a person. A quick glanced around revealed her Grunkle Stan and Ford were also frozen, both of them trapped in what looked to be a fierce conversation. After taking stock of the situation, Mabel narrowed her eyes, fixing them on a point over her brother's shoulder, and growled. "Either come out or turn them back. I'm tired of games."

Twin cackles disturbed the eerie silence, rolling around the room and over her head until the demons emerged from the shadows cast by the portal. Each of them had clocks for bodies, thin black limbs that dangled carelessly as they floated in the air; the only difference between them was their minute hands, they traveled in opposite directions. "What's wrong, Mabel? We thought you loved games?"

"Except nerd games," the other added with a giggle. "Those are boring."

Ignoring their taunts - she was used to them by now - Mabel told them, "You're not sending me back far enough. It's always after I press the button. You need to send me farther."

"That's not part of the deal."

"We send you back-"

"-so you could change things-"

"- and you did!"

"Just not the things you wanted to."

Balling her fists, Mabel demanded that they either make her a new deal or let her out of the loop.

"Sorry."

"No can do."

"No refunds."

"No exits."

And just when the reality of spending the rest of her life trying to fix a mistake she was doomed to repeat, over and over, until her body broke down or she went mad, began to burn its way through her soul, a different form emerged the shadows, taller, more human. Better dressed.

The demons turned on this new form in an instant. "Leave!" They hissed in unision. "This is our loop, our territory, our prey."

The new demon chuckled, the sound sending shivers down Mabel's spine. "Your prey? I see. You think this girl belongs to you. Well, check again." He waved his hand; Mabel felt her chest grow warm, and though she couldn't see whatever it was the demons were looking at, she saw their minute hands speed up to a frantic pace. Less than a second afterwards, they shot across the room, as far away from the demon with the black wings as they could manage.

"Forgive us, Alcor!"

"We didn't realize she was yours!"

"She was just so tempting!"

"Scrumptious, really!"

Alcor's expression darkened, shadows darker than starless sky curving around his body as the demons continued to spew apologies. "Mabel," he said without taking his glowing golden eyes off them, "how many loops have you had to endure? Can you remember?"

For some reason, she desperately wished she could. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry. I think I lost count."

"You heard her," he growled. "She's done. You're not going to get anything more out of her. Now get out of here. And don't let me catch you again... You won't like what happens if I do." And they'd heard the rumors; they knew the stories, so they sank into the walls, retreating back to the Nightmare Realm, which, they hoped, was outside of Alcor's reach. He was a demon of the mindscape, after all.

Once they were gone, Alcor let the shadows recede. Mabel gasped, her eyes darting from his face to Dipper's. "You're not going to believe this, but you look just like-"

With a finger pressed to his lips, Alcor lifted his bangs, revealing the exact same birthmark Dipper bore in his forehead, except his glittered like actual stars. "Don't tell anyone, okay? This dimension is different from mine, so this probably won't happen to your Dipper."

She grinned happily as he helped her navigate her way out of her brother's frozen arms. "You look so cool, brobro!"

Alcor paused for a moment, then shrugged, deciding to go with it. "Thanks, Mabel. Sorry about the looper demons. Your soul technically doesn't belong to me, but since every Mizar is under my protection, those two morons still should have known better."

Remembering how he sent them packing made her smile. It felt strange on her face, like her muscles weren't quite used to moving in that direction anymore, but she figured she just needed some more practice. "So what happens now?" Somehow, now that Dipper was around and a super cool, super powerful demon, things didn't seem so hopeless.

Except he bit his bottom lip at the question, not avoiding her gaze but obviously wanting to. "Now I send you back, Mabel. Back to where you came from."

"But Bill took over the world!" She wailed. "He wrecked everything… and it was all my fault. Because I ran away. Because I gave him the rift. I…" Her watery gaze fixed on Alcor, she said, "I just… I thought we were always going to be together." Towards the end, her words stopped making any sense, devolving into harsh sobs that tore at Alcor, making him want to do nothing more than promise that everything would be alright, that she wasn't to blame, that Bill would have found someone else to trick, some other way into the Physical Realm. But there was really only one thing he was absolutely certain of.

"Mabel, would you ever leave me behind? Can you imagine yourself never speaking to me again?" She vehemently shook her head, swinging her hair back and forth. "Then why don't you have a little faith in me? If you'd never leave me behind, then what makes you think I've ever, in a million years, leave you?"

Sniffling, Mabel said, "But everything's going to be different now. And Grunkle Ford likes your nerd games and he doesn't make fun of you like I do and he's smart, smarter than me."

"Hey, chin up. Don't sell yourself short. Change scares everyone. It even scares me. Losing y-" He cut himself off abruptly, practically swallowing the words that were meant to follow.

Alarmed, Mabel checked him over. "Are you okay?"

He waved her off. "I'm fine. Totally fine. I just… Nevermind." Brightening, he poked her forehead, "Why don't I just show you?"

It was a hospital room, smelling of antiseptic and latex gloves. Sitting on the bed was a woman who looked exhausted, her head sunk so far back into her pillow it nearly spilled over her face. But she was beautiful, her cheeks rosy, her brown eyes bright with a warm sort of happiness that touch everyone in the room. And she smiled to see her two babies, her precious twins, held in the arms of their Great Uncle, who wept as he said, "They're a treasure, Shermy. The most precious treasure in the whole world, and I didn't even have to climb into a boat to see it."

Mabel blinked, rubbing her eyes to find she was crying again. "If he never grew up, he never would have met us. Do you get it, Mabel? Sometimes, change is what you make of it. And if anyone can turn something everyone thinks is awful into something awesome and fun, it's you."

"You're not listening to me!" She insisted. "Bill won! Everything's gone. It's over." Her shoulders hunched, she added in a small voice, "We lost."

He placed a hand on her head, stroking back her stray hairs. "I know, I know. But give it one more go, Mabel. Don't give up on that timeline just yet. Something tells me it can still be saved. But," he glanced at the alternate version of himself, at the desperation on his face, trapped in a moment where his sister needed him to make things better but he didn't know how. Alcor knew how. But it wasn't his place. This Mizar wasn't his. "Dipper can't do it on his own. He's going to need your help, even if he doesn't always know it."

Blue flames lit up Alcor's hand, though he didn't hold it out for a handshake. It had to be her decision. "If you're willing to give me your memories of these loops, I'll send you back to before you made your deal."

"But how will I know what to do if I don't remember?"

And at that, at her doubt and worry and the way her hand clung to his sleeve, he smiled. It was a rare, gentle smile, just for her.

"Trust me, Mabel."

The loop demons breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Alcor decided not to chase them, after all. Well, it was the Nightmare Realm. Even a demon as powerful as him would have trouble find two demons trying to hide amongst the endless horde of teeth and claws. Finally, exhausted, they collapsed to the ground in a dark cave.

Baaa!

A dream sheep filled the entrance of the cave. It was only one, but dream sheep didn't just wander into the Nightmare Realm, and they didn't travel alone. Its lips curled back, revealing razor-sharp teeth. The loop demons turned to run deeper into the cave, only to find it blocked by a multiplying wall of wool and fangs.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure how many sheep I've brought to this place." They heard the gleeful voice of the dream demon they'd believed they'd escaped as it reverberated off the walls. "In fact," he sneered, "I think I lost count. But I can tell you this," a disembodied mouth full of pointed, gleaming teeth cackled cruelly in the dark, "they're all very hungry."