Chapter 11: A Father's "Love"

The next morning Layla heard Ford groan in pain when he had woken up, a hand to his head.

She knew what that meant, he was feeling the effects of the metal plate reacting to the cold. He then glanced at her, seeing that she herself was shivering from the cold and grimacing from the pain that pulsated from her own head. She had then tapped her head as well, letting him know that the metal plate was hurting her as well.

Ford grunted as he got up, her hearing the pops and snaps from cold limbs trying to get themselves to work again. He sat next to her and put his own hands to the fire, her feeling his body heat illuminating from him, making her a little more comfortable. Layla let him sleep a lot longer than he probably would've liked, but if she was honest with herself she rather not have slept after the dealing with Magum once again.

The thought that he had used her once again made her want to vomit. Or cry. Maybe both…

Layla then noticed that Ford's warm brown eyes kept looking at her bare hands. Since she no longer was wearing her gloves her hands were exposing the secrets that she had hid under them for so long. Scars, countless scars, licked over the pale skin of her hands, looking as if knives tried to carve her up like a piece of kosher meat being served. It made her uncomfortable, but she could tell that Ford was concerned.

That was when Layla finally decided how she had met Magum. She told him how the recruitment was and how she had felt blessed that she had a shelter, food, water, and a place to sleep. Layla had told Ford how she had learned so much, like fighting, and felt as if she were invincible.

"Rick mentioned that you and Magum… were a thing at one point?" Ford asked, his voice a little nervous, as if he didn't want to ask the question in the first place.

When Ford had said that, it almost felt that Layla's heart had stopped. How did Rick know about it? But what made her feel worse was that Ford asked her about it, and he did not seem like he had wanted to ask. How could she explain to Ford what all had happened to her? Despite her brain telling her that it was a bad idea, her heart said otherwise. Ford deserved at least the truth about Magum and her.

Layla had told her tale on how she met Magum, even telling him how once she was invited into Magum's personal quarters that everything went to hell. She could tell from Ford's hard facial expressions that he was not pleased about the confirmation.

Once she was done telling her tale, she felt as if she wanted to break down and cry, or wash every bit of her body with hot, stingy acid. Talking about the surface of the situation made her want to sleep and never wake up.

"Well, you're not in that situation anymore… we got each other now, we'll keep each other safe." Ford then sincerely told her, him having a small smile on his face, as if to try to comfort her.

Layla couldn't believe that he would say something like that to her. Her eyes filled with tears as she felt a blush spread across her face. His warm eyes and smile was making her feel warm. She wiped her eyes with Ford's oversized sleeves as she was still wearing his coat.

"Thank you… thank you for that, Stanford," Layla tearfully said, her sniffling.

Ford then stood up, him offering his left hand. "Ready to get new clothes?" he offered.

Layla gave a slight nod as she then gave him her left hand. A three-fingered left to a six-fingered left.

"Ready."

After going through a natural portal, the two travelers had found a dimension that was in what looked like a farmland.

In the middle of seemingly nowhere, there was a two story farmhouse next to dull, read barn. Ford had asked how it was possible and Layla had to explain that some dimensions had a Earth-like feel to them. She had been to a few of those, and quickly left because she didn't want to think that she was home when she wasn't.

Once they made it to the farmhouse, Ford was the first inside, him making sure everything was clear. He made the signal and Layla followed inside, her looking around the dusty rooms.

Despite it being dusty, Layla decided that she wanted to try to bathe, stating that she still felt the way that Magum touched, causing her to grimace and shiver. She went upstairs, trying to find herself a bathroom. Once she found one she began to run the water, grateful that the water began to steam the room.

Layla peeled off Ford's trench coat and the clothing that she had been force to wear by Magum. She then saw her reflection in the mirror, her gasping as she truly saw how much her body was covered in scars. Thick red and white crisscrossed on her body, several shiny ones from burns, and deep looking scars that seemed to be deep in her tissues that would never heal.

Tears flooded her eyes, seeing how terrible her body looked. Even if she did escape Magum, even if she truly felt like she would be safe with Ford, she had the permanent reminder of Magum etched into her skin. Slowly, she lifted neck, knowing that she was going to see the thick scar that went across her throat.

It was such a ghastly white she was wondering how she was even alive.

A scream ripped through her throat, just seeing how horrifying the scar was.

All of sudden she heard her name being called out, and within a minute the door opened and Ford was in the doorway. For the first time he actually looked at her bare form, his face immediately turning red. He spun around and left, slamming the door behind him.

"I am so sorry!" Layla heard Ford frantically apologize through the door. "I heard you scream and I thought you were in trouble!"

"It was a damn spider!" Layla smoothly lied. She did have a huge fear spiders, so it was plausible lie.

She heard him leave the door as she entered the shower, the hot steaming water cleansing her. For some reason it never dawned on her on how the hot water tank was still active… and the lights.

Soon her shower was done and she carefully stepped out, looking for anything to dry herself off. She searched through the cabinets underneath the sink, finding herself two fairly large blue towels. Quickly, as she was starting to get cold, she wrapped her long jet-black hair in the towel and the wrapped the second one around her body.

As she was about to leave the bathroom, she saw Ford's crumpled up trench coat on the counter. Layla knew she had to return it, so she grabbed it, using the same hand that held her towel closed. For a moment the thought of her leaving the bathroom with just the towels made her face turn into a deep crimson.

But he had already seen me naked… the jerk. Her crimson blush turned deeper with embarrassment.

Her free hand turned the knob of the door. When she exited the hallway looked completely different from before. Before the floor was a thin gray carpet, but now wood was beneath her bare feet, sucking the heat from them. The walls were once decorated with a floral wallpaper covered with thickly dusted picture frames, now they were wooden, a few pictures she recognized.

"What the hell!?" Layla gasped as she saw a picture of dark haired woman with her hair in a braid, her skin almost a dark caramel color with blue eyes. It looked like her mother before her Middle-Eastern skin color started to pale from being indoors for so long. In the woman's arms was a little newborn baby, its bright, electric blue eyes shining bright in the sight of the new world. "That's me… and… Mom…?"

"What the fricken hell is this damn place!?" Ford's voice demanded from a different room. Layla followed the voice and entered slowly in… her room?

It was the same exact room that she had lived in when she was in Gravity Falls. The bed was covered with a thick purple comforter, something she had begged her father to get her to replace the blankets that were sewn together from her too small of clothing as she grew up. Even the same romance novel that Rick had bought for her was on the nightstand next to the bed, a bookmark in the exact spot she remembered that she was reading.

"Why… why is my room here?" Layla gasped in frustration as she tossed for his coat. She then went to a chest that was at the end of her bed, another object she begged her father for. She opened it seeing that old stuffed animals were still in there and old photo albums.

"W-we should get out of here…" Ford insisted, his voice wavering nervously, him putting on the slightly damp coat that Layla had tossed him.

The scenery began to change, much to Layla's surprise. Her bed was replaced with a bunk bed, although the clothing that she had seen on the bed for her were still there. She noticed a handmade poster of one five-fingered hand that read "Stanley" next to it in green while there was an orange six-fingered hand that read "Stanford" next to it. Her confusion then turned into terror as she then saw Ford's facial expression showing fully his confusion and fear.

"Do you know what the actual fricken hell is going on here!?" Layla hissed at Ford as she grabbed the clothes off the bed.

"Not a damn clue," he lowly replied. His eyes glaring around the room as it once began to shift. It began to look like an extremely spacious room. Around were long tables with posters scribbled with terrible handwriting about some bogus science fact. At the end of the room was two tables, one with a covered stained sheet that read "Stanley Pines" in the messiest handwriting that Layla had ever seen, and the table next to it had extreme elegant handwriting that read "Stanford Pines" and had a silver machine sitting on the table moving in a circle, its poster talking in great detail. "We're getting out of here," Ford stoicly said as he then grabbed Layla's wrist and dragged her out of the room. The last thing Layla saw in the room was that the silver machine had stopped with a small puff of black smoke.

Layla noticed as she was dragged through the hallway that it had once again changed, but it was almost like a combination of memories. To her it was almost like looking into the white hallways of Magum's facility, but there were also pictures of two toddler boys. It was all confusing and conflicting.

Layla was then put inside the bathroom. "Get dressed and we are leaving ASAP," Ford ordered her in a low rumble of a voice, him seemingly raising in panic. She could tell that he desperately wanted to leave, and she wanted to as well, but she didn't like the fact that he was treating her like that. So she had slammed the door in face, her immediately unwrapping herself from the towels, her body dry.

The clothing she had was similar to what she always wore. There was a pair of underwear and a bra for her, which she put on quickly. She also slipped on the pair of black slacks that were perfectly her size… it was so odd… as if…

Magum…

Layla had to push that thought to the back of her head so she could slip on the purple turtleneck sweater. Her throat was then covered, which gave her such an odd comfort. She had never realized that the scar on her throat was so terrible… she had never bothered to look. Layla had always thought it was a simple scar, like on her hands and arms…

There were no socks, which she was used to, and she put on the rider boots that went just below her knee. They felt worn and comfortable, easier to run in. Quickly, she brushed through her damp hair wither her fingers, just trying to get whatever terrible tangles that wreaked havoc in her natural feathered hair.

"We need to start moving," Layla heard Ford continued through the door as she finished dressing. "You said we have to find your father's research, right?" As he had finished the sentence, Layla opened the door.

"Yeah…" Layla replied in agreement, her voice a little hard. "My thing though… how do I have clothes here?" she asked softly.

A sudden creak in the floorboards caused the fugitives to turn to the noise. A man with silver hair and a long silver beard, him wearing a brown coat with a black shirt made of nothing but strings with muddy pants and torn up shoes. Layla had grabbed a knife that she had found in her coat while Ford had grabbed his gun from his side, both ready to attack the strange person. But… he had hazel eyes and wore thick glasses… the weathered face looked familiar to Layla…

"Hello, Layla…" the man hoarsely whispered, his voice cracking with age.

Layla dropped her guard immediately. She knew him…

"D-Dad…?" she gasped in disbelief. "I-is that you…?"

After sixteen years… her father was before her. She knew that Dr. Bartek had done so much wrong in the past… but she held on to the memories of when she was little, when her mother was still around. She remembered being happy to see her father and remembered his fond hugs and hair ruffles. It seemed after her left… in a way he did too.

"Dr. Bartek…?" Ford muttered in a mixture of anger and shock.

"Ah… so you're Bill Cipher's new target, eh?" the old man asked in an almost mocking way. "Stanford Filbrick Pines…"

"Ford," the brunette curtly told the old man. "Just call me Ford."

"Why not 'Stan'?" Dr. Bartek asked amusingly. It was like he knew something already…

"That's my twin's name," Ford answered, his voice rising with anger. "But… why the hell are you here?"

Dr. Bartek ignored Ford and stared at Layla, a smile on his face. "Ah, Layla, you look just like your mother…" he commented.

"I-I do?" the raven-haired woman softly said. "You've never mentioned that before…" she admitted. She knew there were similarities between her and her mother. The black hair, the blue eyes, although hers were much brighter. They even had similar facial features, except Layla had more of an upturned nose and had freckles on her face. Her mother also had tanner skin, her being part Middle Eastern-Israelite while Layla was a deathly European white from her father.

Dr. Bartek then ignored her and faced Ford. "And to answer your question, Ford," he had said Ford's nickname with such distain. "I built this place. It's a hideaway in the pocket dimensions, very similar to Earth. The technology I found goes into your subconscious and arranged the room to what you want, or what you really wanted to see."

Magum's… that's how Magum did things… did my father know him!?

Dr. Bartek then continues, "Like Layla wanted to see her room in Gravity Falls. You wanted to see your and your brother's room. Then it goes and takes bad areas from your past and brings them to haunt you." He then gives an almost insane smile. "Like I can see a room filled with corpses with amputated limbs. You…" he then pointed to Ford. "You saw a science fair… and they say I'm odd. I like to psychologically mess with people… and you seem to be an interesting case, Ford."

Ford was red to the face with anger, him shouting, "How about you cut the bullshit, Dr. Bartek, just hand over your portal research so we make sure Cipher doesn't get it!"

An insane smile spread across Dr. Bartek's face, a rotten tooth grin. He then tilted his head to the side, as if he was purely innocent. "I don't have them," he said simply. Layla felt her heart drop. "I haven't had them for sixteen years."

Layla's heart dropped turned into pure fury, feeling her blood boil. After all these years of searching and he didn't have them!?

"WHAT!?" Layla's infuriated scream ripped through her throat. She then approached her father and grabbed him by the raggedy collar of his shirt. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE THEM!?"

A deranged laugh erupted from the old man. "I don't have them… do I have to spell it out for you, my dear girl?" he laughed in a condescending way, as if she was a child. There it was again… a condescending tone from him. But then he said "my dear"…

Like Magum… God it's so creepy!

"You're smarter than that, Layla Amelia Bartek," her father said condescendingly. Layla then released her father from her grip, although her anger as literally boiling over, him giving a small smile. "That's a good girl… but I've made my progress on my research…" he then continued.

"What research?!" Ford demanded angrily. He raised his gun slowly to Dr. Bartek, Layla seeing that he would not hesitate to pull the trigger. She pleaded with her eyes for Ford not to go through with it. He lowered his gun when he had caught her gaze.

Dr. Bartek then reached into his torn brown coat, him pulling out a small vial of a bright green liquid. In a way the liquid illuminated its own light, giving the impression that it could possibly be radioactive. The old man held the vial in front of him, his hand almost shaking.

Layla felt her stomach knotted up, her blood roaring in her ears. She didn't like the way the vial looked. To her it looked so unnatural… to her it felt like so much was spilled for it.

"Dad…" she began lowly. "What did you do…?"

A smile spread across the insane man's face. "I found it, Layla!" he cried out, insane joy in his voice. "It took years… and a lot of those monsters and humans I had sent here… but I did it!" Layla stared at him with wide and frightened eyes, her not being able to believe the words that were coming out of the man's words. "This…" his eyes darting to the neon green vial. "This can rearrange your genetic code, it can activate and deactivate codons and can help restore lost appendages, lost tissues…" His hazel eyes then darted to Ford's hands. "It can even remove extra appendages."

Finally, Layla couldn't take it anymore. "How many people, humans and monsters, did you kill for this, Dad!?" she cried out. Her head ached as she remembered fuzzy memories of her father promising that it will never happen again… that it was a onetime thing. A recent memory of Colonel, another victim of her father's experiments. "You said you weren't going to that anymore when I was a kid… but you did anyway! I bet Mom left because of you not me!" A thought came to her mind, and she couldn't help but say it aloud. "But why wouldn't she take me with her!? Why-!?"

A flash of a memory. A mangled body of her mother… torn limbs ripped viciously from sockets. Dried blood on the deathly pale skin of her face…

A gasp escaped her, her left hand going to her mouth as dread and realization hit her almost like a meteor hitting the earth. "YOU KILLED HER, DIDN'T YOU!? YOU BASTARD!"

Her father rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed at the accusation. "So what if I did…? The anomaly runs in her side of the family, she was a perfect genetic subject to see if I can help you. Layla, don't you see? I did this all for you sweetheart!" After the years of Layla traveling through the dimensions, she could tell by the way he had spoken that it seemed forced.

"You killed my mother!" Layla sobbed, her fully realizing that her father was indeed not the person she tried to make out to be in her head. She thought she could reason with herself that her father was still the man that loved her and hugged her close as a toddler. "You lied to me saying that she hated me because of my hand, that I wasn't normal!" The raven-haired woman then grabbed Ford's gun from his hand, a grunt of surprise escaping him. "It wasn't for me you did this for… who made you!? Was it Bill? Was it part of your deal, you had to do this by a certain point or you'll die or something?! Were you doing this all to save your own ass!?" She then pointed Ford's gun to her father's face, her electric blue gaze unwavering, and her hand still. "Tell me the truth. NOW!"

A deranged cackle escaped her father's mouth. "My dear, dear, Layla Amelia… you want the truth…? Maybe I didn't like your anomaly… I blamed Gravity Falls for years with its weirdness factor, and your mother was born there, so of course the oddities and anomalies was bred into her DNA… But Bill Cipher… he opened my eyes… to cure anything! Cancer could disappear, AIDS, bodily defects… people can become gods… the more I experimented, the more I felt like God!" A deranged smile spread across his face as his hazel eyes seemed to spark with madness. "But why should I bless people with my research all willy nilly?! Bill Cipher had a plan… and he still does…

"He's right on how humans are pathetic sacks of flesh! HE WILL CLEANSE OUR WORLD AND MAKE IT BETTER! All I need to do to secure my future is hand you two in…!" he concluded as he pressed a button that was on top of the vial's cap. The room then began glowing a red, a loud siren blaring. "Now you two freaks can die for all I care!" he then cackled an insane laugh, his body arching backwards in amusement.

The raven-haired woman had no words for what her father said to her. She felt as if those wisps of her childhood memory were nothing but implants to her. Were they real? Or were they part of Bill's or even Magum's plan? There were no words… she knew what had to be done.

Layla pulled the trigger and a blue plasma of energy goes through the insane man's head, a man that she called her father. The hole took out his eyes and nose, destroying part of the skull, metal and brains oozing over the edge of the wound, a mixture or dark red and pink as blood and tissues splatted to the floor of the odd cabin. Dr. Bartek collapsed onto his knees and fell to the side, whatever remained of his blood and cerebral tissues trickling out.

The gun in Layla's hand shook and she dropped it, it making a thud on the ground. Her breathing became ragged and tears spilled over her eyes. She then collapsed onto her knees, putting her hand on the red light tinted floor, her body shaking with sobs.

Layla Bartek had killed her own father, a man who flat out told her he never cared for her truly and saw her as more of an experiment from the start. Was anything real anymore to her? Her mother was murdered by her own father, and she in turn had murdered her own father…

But was that justice…? Or did she slip to a new low, the same level as Dr. Bartholomew Bartek?

"Layla…" Ford finally whispered to her. "We need to go… we can't have Cipher catch us…"

Layla then stood up with a firm nod as she took a deep breath and let him take her hand to drag her out of the house. As the two drove away from the building with the Biker Pod. A few times Layla turned to look behind her, seeing nothing but tall warehouses. It was all a trap from the start… her father had planned everything.

She couldn't help what she did next, she felt that she needed the comfort. Layla then wrapped her arms around Ford as she drove. Slowly, she leaned into him, the smell woodsy smell of Ford actually comforting her. Layla sobbed gently as she the memories of her past became clearer and clearer.

The drugs that was injected into her for years to repress her memories… what Magum had said to her was true, and she didn't know if that disgusted her more or her father doing the actual act.

Layla closed her eyes as she felt the secure scent of Ford let her drift off to sleep.

A/N: Once again this extremely long chapter, one that was originally 10,000 words, to separate parts once again! I am so sorry this had taken so long... watching "Smallville" and the "Gravity Falls" marathon was... distracting.

Also, I would like to inform that Layla Bartek has her own tumblr blog now! If you want to ask questions about the OC or anything pertaining to any of the fan-fiction I write, just give the tumblr layla-bartek.

Thanks for reading as always and thank you all for being so patient!

~Skye Hendersen~