Hoo well this'll be my first unusual ship fic. The idea for it came from a friend who suggested that maybe a few years after Ford went through the portal, he managed to build a house on a distant planet, so I went along with that. There'll probably be more violence and obviously some smut a bit later, so I added the rating and warnings accordingly. Hope you guys like the first chapter, and feel free to let me know what you think of my alien characters! ^^ and I'm open for suggestions for aliens and such too!
Also a few notes: Steele is pronounced (Stay-lay), and I labeled where the dream begins, but I always write the dreams in first person, so that's why that part goes from third person suddenly to first person and back again. I believe that's all I need to note, but let me know if anything else is unclear.
Three years it had been now. Three years since Stanford Pines' life had changed drastically. Three years of seeing so many different intelligent species, and still, he never felt more alone. For one, so many languages were spoken that Ford needed to modify a translator to be able to understand everyone. He had learned that this galaxy was known as the Aurorus galaxy, millions of light years away from the Milky Way. Fortunately, the species known as Cartharians had been kind enough to help him out when the portal spat him out on their planet. The English language was surprisingly close to a universal language that many species spoke across the galaxy. He worked a bit in order to get a small star ship. After years of traveling around and getting the hang of a few languages, as well as avoiding capture by various trafficking and crime lord groups, Ford had finally found a place to settle down at least for a little while. He now had a small house in a great forest of trees over one hundred feet high on a planet called Scarletta, home of a super alpha species known as the Steele. They were a kind species that lived mostly in their enormous metropolises, leaving the environment around these vast cities alone. Ford could make out the capital city far off on the horizon. He gazed up at the sky, the main star of the system, a red giant many times larger than Earth's sun, floated high up. Being rather far away from the main sun, sixth planet from it, gave Scarletta cooler temperatures north and south and tropical and dry at the equator. The forest was a bit above the equator, making a not too hot but not too cool climate.
Ford stepped out of the shelter of the forest onto the shore of a gigantic lake which separated the forest and the capital city. Shielding his eyes from the sun, he spotted the shape of a Steele approaching. It was gliding close to the water, the tips of the fifteen foot wing span nearly skimming it. The light blonde feathers shimmering in the sun. It slowed for descent and whooshed around Ford, kicking up sand with the force of its wings.
"Well, long time no see, Rissah!" Ford greeted the Steele as its wings quickly disintegrated.
Red eyes met Ford's brown ones. Rissah smiled, running a hand through the wind blown light blonde hair. "Hey, Ford! Just bringing you some supplies from the city. Also got the information you requested. Hold on just a minute..." Rissah dug a hand through a small duffel bag, pulling out several bulk foods and finally bringing out a device similar to a flash drive.
"Here ya go! This has a ton of information on Steeles, specifically on our temporal displacement and item teleportation abilities. Hope this helps with, uh, whatever you're doing." Rissah handed him the storage device shyly.
"Oh, yes thank you so much! This will contribute to my research tremendously. Your culture and society is so intriguing, and quite frankly, a lot better than my species in many ways," Ford said, taking the items gratefully.
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure you've told me before, but what is your species name again?" the young Steele asked curiously.
"Humans also known as homo sapiens. Though I'm not from this galaxy. My home is..very far away."
"And...is it common for you to have six digits on each hand?"
Ford looked down at his hands like many times before. "No. Most humans have five fingers on each hand like your species. My extra digits are what some would call an anomaly or mutation perhaps. It's just how my DNA coded it."
"Ah, I see." Rissah turned away for a bit as his phone began buzzing. "Sorry, but I'm needed back at the city, you know, one of the heroes of Scarletta and all, but I'll see you later, alright?" Rissah began to reconstruct the wings, bone forming then muscle and feathers expanding quickly around the skeletal structure.
"Why, of course! You still have much to tell me about the heroes of Scarletta. So, yeah, see you later, Rissah," Ford waved as the pale Steele too off, riding on a strong breeze over toward the distant city.
Once Rissah was out of sight, Ford took the supplies and ventured back into the forest. He took the familiar path that wound through the massive trees. The forest was filled with sounds of alien birds and other animals who mostly lived in the great canopy above him. It created a sky of green that went on and on as if it never ended. After a good ten minutes of hiking, he came upon his house. It was a simple square shaped one story with a loft and made of juvenile trees. Ample power was provided through solar panels powered by the light of the red giant. After placing the perishable items in the fridge and freezer, Ford immediately sat down in front of his laptop made by the technologically advanced species known as Aquarions. He spent a few hours sorting the data provided by Rissah and placing them in their corresponding data files. It had been quite a while since he went off planet. With the computer, he could explore the galaxy wide Internet to do research and learn more about the Aurorus Galaxy. Even so, he was still left with so many questions, especially the mysterious crime lord rings that circled the different star systems. Some species could do things he thought were scientifically impossible, like the Steele's temporal displacement abilities they use to teleport items at will, along with their rapid genes that allow them to construct and deconstruct whole wings. All of it made Ford feel small and insignificant.
After scrolling through some of the new Steele files, Ford closed the laptop, emmiting a sigh. "I need to take a break from this, or I'll end up making myself feel lonely again." Usually when he started feeling like this, Ford would take an empty journal and go out and sketch local fauna and habitats, but this time, all he felt like doing was laying down and staring at the ceiling. Taking off his boots and glasses, he laid down on his bed, letting his eyes close and his mind drift into the dream world.
(DREAM) I was back in Gravity Falls. It looked just as it did before I went through the portal. As I walked along the main road, the wind whistled through the trees, causing a rustling that whisked past me as if it was leading me somewhere. Choosing to follow it, it lead me down the familiar dirt road to my old house used for my research, and where my trust had been betrayed.
"Feeling rather nostalgic, IQ?" the condescending voice made me cringe as it reverberated through my mind.
"Would you fuck off already, Cipher?! My life's a mess enough without you invading my dreams," I shouted into the air.
At this, the triangular silhouette appeared above the trees, one glowing yellow eye gazing down at me, and the ever so annoying laugh permeating into my ears. He descended down, looming gigantic in front of me.
"You seem to be having a rip roaring good time in this galaxy, huh? It's too bad most of these species are too advanced and smart to fall for my tricks. They've had a few run-ins with me, but I think they know better now unfortunately. Hehe, wow, you must feel so isolated and alone being the only human!"
Bill slowly circled around me, his eye always fixed on me. The feeling of that gaze on me made me shiver.
"Oh, what's wrong? No sly come back or curse at me? I must be right, huh?"
"What do you want, Bill? You usually don't bother me here unless you want something, and you know that I know better than to make a deal with you, especially after everything that's happened."
He abruptly stopped right in front of me. His diamond shaped pupil now glowed red, and the distinct smell of smoke filled the air. I looked up at the trees to see a massive forest fire devouring the trees one by one. The sky above glowed orange.
"Want something? Why,I'm just checking up on you, Fordsy. You're going to be an important pawn in my plans for the distant future. I need to make sure you're in one piece. I'm glad to see you still have plenty of spunk left in you," the triangular demon laughed cruelly. "Well, see ya later, IQ. Try not to die, okay?"
With a flash of blue fire, Bill engulfed the dream landscape in fire, everything disappearing in one burst. (END DREAM)
Ford woke up, bolting upright, and clutching at his chest. Sweat had beaded up at his temples and dripped down to his neck. A tingling sensation still lingered on his skin as if the flames really and come close to touching him.
"It's not real. It's not real," Ford tried to reassure himself with this mantra. It had been the first time in three years Bill had invaded his dreams, and it was just as terrifying as he had remembered. As he put his glasses and boots back on and venturing to the main floor, he felt like he could still feel Bill's gaze on him. It was like a small pin prick that was slowly boring its way deeper and deeper into his skin. It began to become unbearable, the terror and paranoia rising.
"That's it," Ford thought as he grabbed his plasma gun and secured the strap across his chest, wrapping a scarf around his neck, and sliding the black trench coat on. He stormed out of the house towards his hidden star ship. "I need to clear my head."
The small craft's engines started up with a whir. Ford skillfully maneuvered it off Scarletta and into the darkness of space. The main star loomed colossal in the distacne. "I need to go somewhere where I can shake Bill's gaze." Ford inputed the planet of the Aquarions in a star system not too far from this one into the navigation system. "Destination confirmed," the computer stated. With the destination set, the ship charged up and boosted into light speed. It always clattered and shook a bit as it traveled at this speed. Ford closed his eyes and tried to relax, letting his mind shift into his memories.
The jolt of the ship exiting light speed snapped Ford back into reality. Ahead of him loomed the planet Aquare. "You have reached your destination: Planet Aquare home planet of the Aquarions," the computer announced. Ford took manual control and navigated the ship toward the planet. It was average sized, a bit bigger than Earth. It appeared gray and barren from space. Urban sprawl along with small settlements dotted the planet's surface, lighting up the bleak landscape. Ford had done some research on Aquare. Even though it seemed to be devoid of plant life, a series of massive caverns lay beneath the surface that stretched planet wide. Diverse life lived in those caverns, permeating oxygen to the surface that provided breathable air to the atmosphere. Ford aimed the ship at an orbiting space station, carefully parking it in an open space. Aquarions didn't allow visitors to come down to the surface in star ships. They say it interfered with their advanced brain waves and technology when many ships were around, as well as for security measures. They transported people to the surface through molecular teleportation, a common technology in this galaxy. He approached the front counter with many other eyes staring at him.
"You'll be on Transporter Three in approximately ten minutes. Have a great time on planet Aquare!" the attendant smiled at Ford, handing him a ticket. "Oh, I should also inform you that you will be scanned for any contraband."
"I understand. Thank you." At that, Ford went into a small cafe to the left which overlooked the planet along with the piercing light of the white star which served as the system's main star. He kept his eyes focused on the ground and out the window. He could practically feel the different eyes on him. He was the only human in the galaxy, an oddity to be sure. He tried to keep a low profile knowing the trafficking ring was all around, always searching for unique individuals to capture and sell for profit. He began tapping a finger on the table, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. His heart was practically pounding out of his chest as he grew more and more anxious. At last, there was a minute left, and Ford was in line for Transporter Three. He was sandwiched between two aliens that towered over him at about eight feet tall. Heavy breathing could be heard right behind him, making his hand stand on end as he could feel the warm breath hit the back of his neck lightly. Then, just as the transporter was starting up, harsh sirens blared. Everything in the room turned red as lights flashed. The others began to panic as they were all locked in the room. Shouts of "What's happening?" and "Let us out," could be heard in multiple languages. In a panic, Ford began backing up to get away from the chaos. He looked around the room frantically, pushing away anyone who was about to run into him. Suddenly, the transporter behind him lit up a brilliant blue and began whirring loudly, drowning out the shouts of the others. He was about to turn around when he was tackled from behind and the distinct sound of a gun charging pierced his ear drums as the end of it was thrust onto the back of his head.
"Don't move, bitch!" a male voice commanded.
Not knowing what else to do and his gun in its holster still, he raised both hands up and slowly picked himself up, the fun still placed at the back of his head.
"That's it. Nice and easy there bu-buddy. No sudden *burp* movements."
Out of nowhere, the stranger slung an arm around Ford's neck, moving the gun from his head and firing off two shots to the ceiling, instantly causing the panic to stop.
"Listen up! You're all gonna stay nice and quiet while I get some business done."
"Umm, what exactly is going on?" Ford asked timidly, managing to find his voice.
"Uh, you're my hostage, duh. What'd you think this damn gun was for?" he laughed in a slightly aggravating tone.
"I-uh got that. I mean, why am I your hostage?" Ford reworded, trying to stay calm.
"All you need to know, nerd, is that I'm Rick, and you're my ticket outta here, so smile for the camera, biatch!"