A/N OK, because I'm kinda like Dipper in the sense that I can be paranoid sometimes, I've been fretting probably more than I should that I lost readers due to the last chapter because it is such a drastic change from where the story seemed to be headed but trust me, I'm going somewhere with this!

Thanks as always to my wonderful reviewers and to all those who are following this and put this on their favourites! It truly means a lot to me!

Hope everyone has/had a Happy Easter!

EDIT 7/30/2015

Enjoy!

Alternate

When Mabel slams her fist on the portal's shutdown switch, she's not sure what to expect. But the moment the button is pressed there is a powerful surge of energy and the portal acts like a vacuum, sucking everything that's not tied down towards it. She holds on tight for dear life, the pull of the machine so strong she can barely hold on until her grip slips and she's suddenly flying through the air. The portal closes as she reaches it and she slams hard against the machine and crumples to the ground, momentarily stunned as gravity suddenly returns.

When she opens her eyes she sees Dipper, Stan and Soos picking themselves up from on the floor. Her gaze meets Stan's and she immediately has to look away. He looks completely devastated and it's her fault. I'm sorry, if you only knew…

"Dudes OK?" Soos asks after a moment.

"Yeah," Dipper winces, climbing to his feet and dusting himself off before jogging towards Mabel who still sits in stunned silence. "Mabel, you OK?"

She has to think about it. Her body aches all over, but it's not like it was before when she let the portal open. This pain feels more like normal bruises, not internal bleeding or invisible wraiths sending strange painful but not painful tingling sensations to pulse through her. It hurts, but she'll take it over the alternative. "Y-yeah," she replies, taking Dipper's hand as he pulls her to her feet and she nearly topples over when her leg can't seem to hold her weight. "Ow! Ow, ow ow!" she hisses, glancing down at her feet to see a swollen ankle.

I guess this means this is real, she thinks, because a part of her had been uncertain. A dream surely wouldn't hurt this much. She tries not to think about the implications though, because she did not agree to any deal with Bill Cipher, and she doesn't want to think about what he'll be expecting in return for this do-over.

Dipper takes her arm and drapes it across his back to help her keep her weight off her injured foot, "You sure about that, sis?" he asks with a concerned smirk.

She smiles, clutching her brother's shoulder to stay balanced. You have no idea! She'll take a sprained ankle and some colourful bruises over life threatening and supernatural injuries any day, "I'm good."

Stan stands on the opposite side of the room, staring at the portal, his expression blank but his eyes glistening with raw hurt. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" he asks, his voice strangely quiet and steady considering he looks like a dam about to burst.

Mabel looks away quickly—I'm so sorry—unable to look him in the eyes. She couldn't bear to see the pure devastation in them and is so ashamed and sad for hurting him, especially since she knows exactly what she's done. She kept him from reuniting with his brother. She condemned her own great uncle to remain wherever he had been trapped for the last thirty years, and no matter how much of a jerk he might have been, no matter how much he might have insisted that he shouldn't be saved, his imprisonment is on her hands now. But freeing him would've cost everyone so much, not just her own life, but everyone's. Still, the guilt presses down on her, leaving her shaking.

"Yeah, she just saved the world no thanks to you!" Dipper answers, his voice a mix of anger at Stan and pride for his sister. He sideways glances at her, his eyes rich with concern as he tightens his hold on her silently asking if she's OK.

I'm OK… Selfishly she's relieved to see no anger or hurt directed towards her in his eyes, that in this reality their bond hasn't been broken because of her choice. Their seemingly unbreakable bond remains intact, but it comes at the cost of the happiness of another and she's immediately feels terrible for indulging in that relief.

"I'm sorry Grunkle Stan," she says, "I trust you, I know you're not a bad guy but…" she squeezes her eyes shut, not wanting to lie to him, but she knows that the truth would most likely hurt him too much. "I couldn't take such a big risk," she says finally.

Stan sighs, his shoulders sagged in defeat, "I know, I understand. Considering all you kids probably discovered about me today, I can't say I blame you. Maybe if you knew what this was all for then…but it's OK sweetie, you didn't know."

His words strike her in the heart and she nearly slides from Dipper's grip to fall to her knees because she did know, and she wants to explain the truth to him so badly, that if she let the portal open, they'd lose everything and a dangerous entity would be unleashed and eventually put everyone at risk. Maybe he would understand, but it wouldn't make it any better so she keeps quiet, figuring it's better this way.

Oh Grunkle Stan…this would probably be easier if you were mad at me.

"Then tell us," Dipper snaps, "I think maybe now is the time you explain yourself. Tell us everything Grunkle Stan, if that's really who you are! You owe us that."

Stan nods quietly, "Yeah…yeah I suppose I do."

"Maybe we should get out of here first, hey guys?" Mabel asks, forcing a smile, "I mean, there's still the government people to worry about, right?"

With a heavy sigh Stan slowly walks towards the portal. It's broken, but not nearly as severely damaged as it was the first time around and for a moment Mabel thinks maybe they can still somehow save Ford without risking the world. Stan pauses when he sees Journal #1 on the ground amongst the debris and he picks it up, holding it to his chest. When he gets to the switch he falls to his knees, his shoulders slump in pure defeat and he bows his head as though in prayer. It breaks Mabel's heart to see him like this.

"I failed you," Stan whispers quietly to himself, placing the first journal on the floor in front of him, resting his hand over the six-fingered hand insignia on the cover, "I am so, so sorry."

She can't take it anymore so she releases herself from Dipper's supporting grip and hobbles towards him, kneeling down beside him resting her hand on his shoulder. She glances behind her at Dipper who stays in place, his anger deflating slightly while Soos moves to stand by her brother.

"Grunkle Stan?" she murmurs quietly, "Maybe we should go…the agents…"

"What's the point? It's over. Everything I've worked for. Thirty years and it's all…it's all over."

"What was this machine for?" Dipper asks gently, any sign of anger and betrayal all but gone. She knows he's still angry, but he's put it aside for now, "The journals said it could tear the universe apart, is that true?" It surprises Mabel that Dipper could suddenly be so understanding, considering how furious he was in the other reality, but then again in that reality his whole world came crashing down, while in this one it didn't, not entirely. Besides, Stan looks like he's completely given up. On hope, on life, on everything.

"It was a portal…I…I don't think you'd understand, kids," Grunkle Stan sighs. He glances up and turns towards them, turning around so he's facing everyone. He gives Mabel a wan smile and pats her on the shoulder, his eyes glancing back and forth between her and Dipper, "But on the other hand, maybe you would…" He takes off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose and heaves another heavy sigh,"Soos, do me a favor will ya?"

Soos looks a little torn, and Mabel half expects him to quit like last time, but this isn't like last time. Last time Stan was a traitor, but in this reality he's a sad, misunderstood old man who did some questionable things and kept some big secrets and has a lot of explaining to do. Soos seems a little betrayed, but still willing to hear Stan out, "What do you need Mr. Pines?"

"Take the kids upstairs, maybe get some ice for Mabel's ankle and get yourselves patched up," he says, "I…I need to be alone for a few minutes, OK? I promise though that I'll be right up, and I'll explain everything. Just give me a moment…"

"Grunkle Stan…I'm sorry," Mabel whispers.

"I know you are sweetie, I know," he nods sadly, unable to look her in the eyes, "you were just doing what you thought was right."

Mabel wishes he'd be angry with her, it would make the guilt she feels for making him feel this way a little easier. Even knowing first-hand the consequences of letting the portal open, she somehow can't bring herself to fully believe that shutting the machine down was right. Neither choice was right. Either I condemn Ford to remain trapped in the portal and break Grunkle Stan's heart, or I condemn myself to become a vessel for those Wraiths that will use me to destroy everyone. I guess this is the lesser of two evils, but…it still feels wrong.

Her thoughts drift to Bill Cipher and she tries not to think about the deal she unwittingly made. He seemed far too eager to help her and she doubts it was out of the goodness of his triangle-shaped heart. What does he have to gain from this?

"Come on, Hambone," Soos says, interrupting her thoughts and she's surprised to see him standing over them. He takes her hand and lifts her up in his strong arms to carry her piggy-back style, "Let's go fix you kids up, OK?"

"Yeah," she replies, clutching his shirt as Dipper leads the way back to the elevator.

When they get upstairs Mabel sees that despite the fact she shut the portal down, the Shack still sustained serious damage, but not as bad as last time. She's relieved to see that Soos doesn't seem too worried about the structural damage, though he left her and Dipper alone to assess the damage more thoroughly from the outside. But if anyone would know if the Mystery Shack was in danger, it was him. Stan on the other hand…Will he be OK?

Mabel supposes she should be happy, and even grateful for the chance at a do-over, because even though condemning Grunkle Ford to remain trapped feels so very wrong, the alternative was so much worse. Besides, Ford didn't want Grunkle Stan to save him, and he knew better than anyone why. And Dipper, while still clearly betrayed and upset, isn't completely devastated by what transpired. He's more open to hearing Stan out, and has no reason to feel betrayed by Mabel so his faith is still intact which means he'll be OK. So will Soos. And Grunkle Stan…he should be OK too eventually, right?

"Earth to Mabel!" Dipper exclaims, waving a hand in front of her face, breaking her out of her deep thoughts. She's almost surprised to see that she's now sitting at the kitchen table, her foot propped up on Dipper's lap as he tries to wrap it.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Is this too tight?"

She looks at the bandage partially wrapped around her injured ankle and nods, "It's fine, thanks. Sorry I guess I zoned out for a minute there. Blaarggh! Silly me!" she forces a grin.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Dipper asks, furrowing his brow with concern, "You seem awfully quiet and that's not like you."

Mabel nods, "Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just…thinking."

"About Stan and everything?" he guesses as he finishes tending to her injury. She nods. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in…I still can't believe he had the other two journals the whole time. Stan knows how much the journal means to me. And who is he? If Stan Pines is supposed to be dead then…?"

"He's still our Grunkle," Mabel says with confidence.

"Do we know that for sure?" Dipper scoffs.

"Even if he isn't, he still cares about us, he's proven that so that's gotta count for something. Besides, he's obviously a Pines, he's even got the trademark cowlick and everything, so he's still family. Maybe he faked his death or something, or maybe there's more to what we discovered about him than what it seems," Mabel replies in his defense.

"Maybe," Dipper muses, "but admit it, even you have your doubts."

"I did," Mabel concedes, "but I changed my mind. I know he's not an imposter and I know he didn't build a Doomsday device."

"But the Government Agents said…"

"They don't know Grunkle Stan like we do," Mabel says, "he would never do that. Not without a good reason."

"And what could possibly justify putting the universe at risk?"

"He just wanted to—" she catches herself before she can say too much, "I don't know, but it's probably something really important. We'll just have to wait for Grunkle Stan to explain everything like he said he would."

"He did seem really upset that we shut that machine down, I know it was important to him, whatever it was," Dipper sighs, "but the journals clearly stated how dangerous activating it would be. I just don't understand why he would…"

Mabel interrupts him suddenly with a surprised groan when a sharp pain strikes her in the chest, the same spot the Wraiths had struck her when she was a ghost trying to defend her body in the other reality.

"Mabel? What's wrong?"

She tries to answer but she can't. She can feel the colour drain from her face and the next thing she knows she's falling.

"Mabel!" Dipper cries, but he sounds like she's listening to him from underwater.

Let go…let go…stop fighting us…

Suddenly everything hurts, her nerves pulse and tingle with painful energy and she can feel the Wraiths clawing at her and she tries with all her strength to fight them.

Someone is forcing her eyes open and shining an intense bright light directly into her eyes as a cacophony of sounds ring through her ears. People in the background talking, shouting orders with urgency, a loud buzz and beeping noises that she can't figure out.

"Mabel," a strange voice asks, one she has never heard before, "can you hear me?"

Let go…stop fighting…surrender and maybe we'll spare your brother!

"BP's dropping, we're losing her!" another voice exclaims as she gags at the taste of blood in her mouth and her eyes roll back and once again she's falling, falling, falling…

"Mabel, Mabel please, stay with me! Hold on!"

I'm sorry, Dipper…I'm trying…

Let go…let go…

No…I will not be your vessel!

She's floating in a vast nothingness, completely and utterly alone.

Let's make a deal, shall we Shooting Star?

Falling…falling…falling…

She groans and blinks open her eyes to see the concerned face of Dipper leaning over her, lightly patting her cheek. He stops when he notices her opening her eyes. "Hmmm? What happened?"

"You fainted," Dipper looks like a nervous wreck. "Why didn't you say something?"

She winces, realizing she's lying on the kitchen floor, "Huh?"

"You should've said something was wrong! Did you hit your head down there, is that it?"

"I don't think so…I…I'm fine…" she whispers shakily, trying to get her bearings. What was that? A dream? Is this a dream?

"People don't pass out when they're fine, Mabel," Dipper chides, "What's going on with you?"

Good question, bro-bro.

"Honestly," she pushes herself to a sitting position, "I'm OK. A little overwhelmed maybe, and a lot embarrassed. Other than the ankle and some bruises, I'm fine." Definitely better than I had been before. "Help me up?"

Dipper sighs and takes her hand, "Don't want to tell me? Fine, whatever, but don't scare me like that!" He helps pull her to her feet and makes her sit.

"I'm sorry," she says, "if I knew what happened, I would tell you. Believe me. Things just got a little wibbly-wobbly for a second there, but I'm OK now."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the damage to the Shack is pretty bad, but it's fixable, things sure are a mess outside though," Soos cuts in, entering the kitchen and joining them at the table, "Mr. Pines still hasn't come up yet?"

"Not yet," Dipper frowns.

"I think we should go check on him," Mabel offers, absently chewing on her hair nervously as she tends to do when faced with an overwhelming problem, and this whole scenario takes the cake as far as problems go. What does Bill have to gain from this? Why was he so eager to make a deal? Is this even real? And if it is…there's got to be some catch! "I'll go."

"Uh, no you're not!" Dipper exclaims, clearly still not satisfied by her insistence of being OK. "You need to take it easy right now."

"Dipper I'm…"

"If you say you're fine one more time I swear, Mabel…"

She sticks her tongue out at him and blows a raspberry. He rolls his eyes at her, but she catches the ghost of a smile on his lips. She can't help but return the smile with a muted grin.

"He seemed really upset that we stopped that machine," Soos muses after a moment, "I don't think I've ever seen him like that, he's so sad. Even though I'm kinda mad at him for all the secrets and lies, I can't help but be a little worried about him."

"Yeah well, he brought it on himself," Dipper huffs, "I mean, what was that machine anyway and what the heck is so important that he'd put the whole world at risk?"

"It was a portal, it was to save my brother," Stan confesses, interrupting him as he seems to suddenly appear at the doorway. He looks old, older than he did just this morning. And defeated.

"Your brother?" Dipper looks caught somewhere between skeptical and confused, "Wait, what?"

"It's a long story…"

A/N Thanks for reading, please, if it's not too much trouble let me know what you think, good or bad. I'd love to hear any thoughts or theories or whatever that y'all might have. Reviews feed the muse and she's hungry! Huuunnnnggrrryyyyy! :-)