Before setting off, Blendin took Mabel to the time archives where the records of every human that had ever lived were catalogued.
"Why are we here?" she asked.
"To look for your file," replied Blendin, "It should be in the Pines of the year twenty first century section."
"That's a lot of people with the last name Pines," replied Mabel.
"Yes, it is," said Blendin, "We've got Mabal Pines, Maybel Pines, Marble Pines, oh, here we go."
Mabel facepalmed, "That says Mable Pines you idiot. It's spelled M A B E L, Mabel! Not M A B L E!"
"Whoops, my bad," said Blendin, "You'd be amazed how many people get such simple spellings like that wrong."
Soon Blendin found the correct folder.
"Got it," he said, "Mabel Pines, born August 31st, 1999, Piedmont California. Uh, do you want to know the date of your-"
"Uh, no thank you," replied Mabel.
"Oh good, because they don't write that date in these publicly available files," said Blendin, "Just in case some rich dictator shows up demanding to know how long they have until they die. You'd be amazed how often that happens."
Blendin poured through the documents in Mabel's folder and soon came up with enough information that could get Mabel to side with him. With the pull of his time tape, they headed off to the first location.
"Here we are."
Mabel looked around and to her shock, she discovered that they're in her bedroom in Piedmont.
"Where...I mean, when are we?"
"The first morning after you returned home from Gravity Falls after you lost Dipper," replied Blendin.
Mabel watched as her younger self walked into the bedroom, looked at the empty bed where Dipper once was and cried. She tried to reach out to her but Blendin held her back.
"Remember, we can see everything, but they can't see us and we can't interact with anything either in this method of time travel," he said.
"But what do I-"
"Just look."
Mabel watched as younger Mabel cried until Waddles walked into the room and started licking her hand.
"Thanks Waddles," she said, "Huh, I...I can't just sit here all day, can I?"
Waddles oinked.
"But then, mom and dad won't let me go outside other than the backyard and the pool."
"Wait, you guys have a pool?" said Blendin.
"Let's just say that while everyone in Gravity Falls knew me and Dipper were from California, only Grunkle Stan knew exactly where in California we lived."
The two resumed to watching younger Mabel. She looked down at a paintbrush just about sticking out from under her bed. She bent down to grab it.
"Hey, it's my old paint set," she said as she looked out the window. It was slightly overcast.
"You know, it sure is a lovely day...for painting."
The two watched for a little bit longer as Mabel set up her paint set and began painting the view outside.
"You see," said Blendin, "You...you rediscovered your talent of painting that day. The soon to be artist Mabel Pines was born today."
"Blendin, if you're trying to convince me that it took losing Dipper for me to discover my artistic abilities, and using that as a reason to convince me to not let you change the timeline, then you've failed," said Mabel, "I knew that well before that day. And besides, I'd happily trade that off to have Dipper back."
"That's not why I brought you here. I'm just starting at where it all began."
With another pull of the time tape, they disappeared off to their next destination.
"Oh, I know this one," said Mabel, "Summer School report card pickup day."
The two watched as the soon to be sixteen Mabel Pines happily skipped along with her report card in hand back home.
"I just about passed that math class, but it was enough for the credit which was all I cared about by then."
"You...you think Dipper being there would have helped you do better?"
"Duh! I'd still do bad, but it would be good enough to pass it first go. I wasted half of my summer too. On the plus side I ruled it in all my art classes."
"impressive."
"You know Blendin, none of this is convincing me that changing the timeline is a bad thing," said Mabel, "Or am I missing out on something?"
"Well, without Dipper, you failed math but excelled in the arts. Your parents then too took notice of that and let you drop both science and math the following year to pursue arts."
"They would have let me do that even if Dipper didn't disappear," said Mabel, "They expected him to end up in Harvard and me in a community College. That story Ford and Stan told us that day he came out of the portal was beyond relatable now that I think about it."
Blendin didn't reply to that until they reached their next destination. They arrived back in Mabel's bedroom. The room was now covered in paintings and the area where Dipper's bed once was, now was home to a mini art studio. Mabel, now seventeen sat at her desk on her computer.
"Why are we here and not my graduation?" asked Mabel.
"You'll see in a minute," said Blendin.
Suddenly...
"Oh my god!" yelled Mabel.
She covered her mouth as she screamed with joy.
"Mom! Dad!" she yelled as she leapt out of her chair and ran downstairs.
"I got in! I got in!"
"Oh, I remember this day," said Mabel, "it was the day I got accepted into the art school I applied to as first choice. They told me I had one of the best portfolios submitted that year. Must be why they also paid for pretty much my whole tuition with that grant."
"Your years of isolation left you in your room where you mastered your talent of art."
"Okay, so maybe I wouldn't have gotten in with full scholarship if Dipper didn't vanish as I wouldn't have his side of the room to put all my supplies in and mom and dad may have gotten me to pursue STEM courses more, but that doesn't mean that I got in only because of that," said Mabel, "That was through my hard work and commitment to get in."
"But what about what happened while you were at College?" said Blendin as he pulled the tape again.
"Wow, so, you're studying business?"
"Sure am. I'm already top of my class."
"So am I."
"Oh? What course?"
"Uh, well..."
"It's okay, you don't have to be scared."
From a nearby table, Mabel and Blendin watched the conversation.
"That was my first date with Tim," said Mabel, "I needed help finding the dean and he guided me to their offices."
"Would you say it was love at first sight?" asked Blendin.
"Not right then," said Mabel, "But then I replied to his question."
"Well, I'm in the arts program," said Mabel.
"You're top of the class in the arts program?" said Tim.
"For a freshman, they said I'm pretty good."
"Wow. I've heard the arts program here is one of, if not the best in the country."
"Yeah. And I'm here on full scholarship too."
Tim spit out his drink, "Oh my goodness!" he yelled, "That's incredible."
Mabel blushed a little, "Aww, thanks."
"We continued meeting after that until he graduated. I graduated two years later and reunited with him as he worked in an office nearby to where my studio is," said Mabel, "But Blendin, I still don't get it. All this stuff may have happened one way or another. What would be so significant that would result in me not wanting Dipper back? Other than the fact it's against your rules."
Blendin sighed, "This all started when you lost Dipper and it made your parents fearful of losing you. So, they became overprotective of you and that made you paint and do more arty stuff indoors given how much they isolated you. That combined with the fact you did bad in your non arts courses made your parents let you pursue it even more and by junior year, you were one of the best artists in the whole school. That got you into the best art school in the country."
"And all that still in some way could have happened had Dipper still been here."
"But what about Tim? You said he was amazed by your talent but also the fact you got your whole education paid for. If that hadn't happened, you think Tim would have still talked to you?"
"Are you trying to put my marriage at risk?" yelled Mabel.
"Think about it, Mabel," said Blendin, "That's all I'm asking of you."
Mabel thought for a second.
"Well, I mean, I guess a little. But what about when I opened my own studio and reunited with him? I made it because of my hard work, not because I lost my brother!"
"Yes, but from how things are, you think had your studio venture failed, he'd still want to marry you?"
Mabel snapped, "Okay, I've had just about enough of your games Blendin! You take me to all these places in my past to prove how much changing the timeline would affect my life and yet they just make me want to do it even more. So, what if I didn't discover my talent for art because I lost Dipper? So, what if I made the honour's role for STEM instead of art because Dipper helped me? So, what if I didn't get full scholarship into the art school of my dreams because I went down a less art filled junior and senior year and didn't have time to do any? So, what if I didn't meet Tim? I'd still have Dipper with me!"
"Don't...don't you see what you just said?"
"I...I didn't mean that last part," she said.
"No one ever does, and yet that's what happens each time any time agent deals with someone who wants to change the timeline."
"What are you trying to show me Blendin?"
"Mabel, if you never did any of that stuff, you wouldn't be the person you are today. An artist, a friend, a wife, and of course...."
The time tape was pulled again.
The duo landed in Mabel's house.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Just look," said Blendin.
At that moment, the front door opened. Mabel and Tim walked inside. In their right hands, were two baby carrying baskets.
It was the day Mike and Daron, Mabel's children, were born.
"Aren't they the sweetest things you've ever seen?" said Mabel.
"Next to you, yes," replied Tim.
Mabel and Blendin looked on.
"And of course, you wouldn't be a mother," he said.
Mabel looked back at him. "Wait? Are...are you saying that if I go foreword with letting you change the timeline; I'll lose my kids?" she said.
"Not exactly," said Blendin, "Those odds can't be calculated for certain given how complicated time is. But the chances would be very high. Especially in your life with how many unexpected things occurred in it."
Mabel thought back for a second. Her mind raced at speeds as fast as light. Thoughts from the last 30 years flashed by like a movie only she could see and hear. The day she lost Dipper, the day she started painting again, the day she got into college, the day she met Tim and the day she married him too. But most of all, the day Mike and Daron were born. She began to cry.
"I...I can't do that to them," she said, "They're my babies. I can't risk losing them."
Blendin hugged his old friend, "It...it's okay Mabel. Now you know why messing with time isn't good. It maybe able to bring back one thing you lost. But it will take away something else from you in return...I think."
Mabel wiped away the tears, "I understand," she said, "But then, what about Dipper? He can't stay in my time period and now that altering the timeline is out of the question, what am I supposed to do to help him?"
"Well, there is one other option," said Blendin.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you...you didn't let me explain it given how keen you were on doing it this way. But the advancement of time technology has also allowed us to create and visit alternative timelines.
"What?" said Mabel.
"Basically, it's like an alternative dimension but a bit different given time travel exists in our universe. It...it's a timeline that exists alongside this one, but things are slightly different in that one. I could find a timeline similar to yours where Dipper falls into that vault, use the old-time travel method and bring our Dipper into that one so he...he's out of it. That way, he'll have a place where he can exist and that timeline's Mabel will still have her Dipper."
"Wow," said Mabel, "I barely understood any of that but all I needed to here was that Dipper would be able to exist and Mabel would still have him. But wait, does...does that mean I have to-"
"Yes," replied Blendin, "This method can give Dipper a place of his own, but that would mean you...you'd have to let Dipper go."
Mabel pondered for a second, "I've lived thirty years of my life without my brother. In that time, I went to art school, now make a living doing what I love, got married to someone who cares for me beyond just what I'm capable of and have two beautiful twins who call me mom."
She turned to face Blendin.
"Losing Dipper might be the toughest thing I'll ever have to do. But if that means he'll be able to live a life of his own, with a Mabel in a timeline who needs her brother...."
she sighed
"...than I'm ready to let him go."
Blendin smiled, "Let's go talk to Dipper then."
----
Back in present time, Mabel and Blendin returned and ran through the plan with Dipper.
"So, I'll be able to exist in a timeline where I previously didn't?"
"No, no," said Blendin, "That timeline's Dipper will have gotten trapped himself and when you show up, you'll replace him as the Dipper of that timeline given in that method of time travel, only one version of the same person can exist in that moment of time. It's so that we don't have those problems people who travel to other dimensions have. They come into contact with their alternative self and the whole dimension ceases to exist."
"Wow," said Dipper, "But, you're certain that it will work and let me live like none of this ever happened?"
"Yes."
"And will it affect this timeline in anyway?"
"Other than the fact you'll won't exist in this timeline anymore, no. You'll still be remembered by people who know you given this won't erase minds, but you won't exist in this timeline anymore."
Dipper thought for a second before her turned to his sister.
"What about you Mabel?"
"I already told Blendin that I'm okay with this," she said, "All we need is your approval and we'll go foreword with it."
"But...you just got me back," he replied, "I don't want to hurt you with the fact you'll never see me again."
Mabel put her hand on her brother's lap.
"Look Dipper. It would hurt me more to know that you exist here and have no way of leading a proper life than knowing I can never see you again but that you're safe and sound in another timeline. Where we're reunited and never had to live thirty years apart. I lived those thirty years thinking you were gone forever. I mean, you were legally declared dead. But now I'll have peace of mind knowing that you did live. And that now you'll have a chance to grow up and live a life like I had. I'll know that another me got to grow up with her brother, rather than grow up alone. What good is success when you don't have anyone to share it with after all?"
The two twins, with a 30-year age difference, pulled in for one more hug.
"I'll never forget you," said Mabel.
"Me neither," said Dipper.
"Okay Blendin, I'll do it."
Blendin and Mabel smiled.
"But can we do it tomorrow so that I have enough time to say goodbye to everyone?"
Blendin and Mabel looked at each other and nodded.
"Of course, bro, bro," she said.