Author's Note: It is finally over! Thanks to everyone who is reading this. I can't believe anyone got this far. It is pathetic and not at all up to my usual standard! Yay! Anyway, I am sorry for writing this.

H&S,

Sophia

Mabel's POV

This will work. It has to. If it doesn't… but it will. I know it will. William will be able to fight off Bill. It's only a matter of time…

I follow the trail of carnage through town to find him. He's in the clearing. He still looks mostly like William. I take a deep breath.

"Hey!" I shout.

He turns around, looking furious. "I thought I told you," he growls, "to run."

"William?" I ask, looking at him carefully.

"Sort of," he smiles. I am shocked and so happy. I run into his arms and kiss him. That's when his grip tightens and I hear a crack, feeling pain shoot up my arm. "Sort of," he says quietly. "But not quite."

"Bill," I guess. He smirks.

"Not quite that either, or you would be dead by now. Your boyfriend won't allow it though," he mutters.

"I don't get it," I say quietly. I feel like crying. "Who are you, William or Bill?"

"I'm both, Star. Think of it as a reset button… I'm the original. I'm the kid who died way back then. I'm sort of your boyfriend… just, with some darker traits." He lights one of his hands aflame, as if to prove his point.

"Is… is William ever coming back to me?" I ask. He looks at me carefully.

"Star, this is who I am. It's not pretty. I'm not perfect, but… I was good enough when we first met, before the Cipher Wheel. Am I not good enough anymore? Is that it?"

"You broke my wrist," I say. "The guy I met wouldn't have done that." Blue fire wraps around my hand, and the pain disappears.

"Better?" he asks.

I pull away. He sighs. "Why did you come?"

"To save you," I say. "You are not the man I knew. You're the demon who tortured me. You say you're the same as you were when I met you, but possessing the other half of yourself isn't the same as turning back to normal. Am I right? William, can you hear me?"

Bill's POV

She's right. This monster might have been a part of me when we first met, but it isn't all of me. I'm not saying that I'm all of myself either, but I mean, I'm most of myself. If I can reach the surface…

I fight through the blur to see her. She beams at me. "I knew you were in there!"

"Why do you never listen to anything I say?" I complain. "I told you to run away, but no, you have to save me of all people. I can take care of myself, Star."

"Yeah, you're doing a great job," she sneers. "Look, Sloan, it's the 21st Century. Girls save boys sometimes, not just the other way around. Capishe?"

I moan in frustration. "Boys don't like their girlfriends taking on boys' literal inner demons," I say. "It isn't sexism, I'm sure if our roles were reversed you would feel the same way."

"William, you have control," she says. "I'm fine."

"No, Mabel, you're not. I can't hold him back forever… and so I need to leave."

"Leave? For how long?" she asks.

"Until I can sort this mess out. I… I won't make you wait for me. Can you please just… move on?"

"What are you saying?" she asks.

"I'll always love you, but I'm going to be away a long time. While I'm gone… if you… meet someone, I don't want to hold you back."

This is killing me. I can't handle the thought of her with someone else, but there's no guarantee that I'll ever come back. She's crying. I lift up her chin and give her a small smile. "Don't leave," she says. "If you leave me, I will hunt you down and kick your ass."

"I love you too, Shooting Star," I say, and I give her one last kiss… and leave.

Mabel's POV

I'm sixteen. I'm not supposed to meet the love of my life at age sixteen. When he left, I wanted to cry. I did cry.

He's not coming back, is he? After everything we've been through…

Dipper comes rushing up to me when he sees me sitting on the grass, crying my eyes out.

"He's gone," I say. Dipper hugs me and I cry into his shirt.

I'll be okay. Just… not today.

The End