Disclaimer: This was all written in less than a day… after a final… wow. The holiday break is finally starting up, which means chapters should be coming out pretty quickly. Ignoring the fact I have to prep myself for next semester with binders and books everywhere... ew.
Nina EverBlade: Maybe, sorta, not really. There's still gonna be a trial.
ultima-owner: I rarely ever heard of this Smokey the Bear. He's not that well-known in my small county in Canada. I don't understand why he was so important.
nightmarehunter676: I haven't been gone that long. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
RillFipher: Yeah, that isn't going to end well.
RainbowCelin (twice): The sequel won't be for a few months after this is over. The Star vs the Forces of Evil story is going to take a while. Also… that ending of your review was adorable. For your other question: not happening. Gail isn't going to appear in Gravity Falls.
DannyPhantom619: I'm not doing that. No one is traveling to any other dimensions and solving mysteries. However… Elaine might make a few appearances in my Star vs the Forces of Evil story once that gets rolling. So… pluses and minuses.
xForeverGamerx: These sort of reviews I love the best; hearing how much you appreciate the work I put into this thing. Elaine, out of every OC I've made, will always be my favorite. Her friendships with everyone are sweet, especially her partnership with Bill. I hear you about how some stories that rewrite the series are cookie-cutter. Only when there's a lot of effort put into it to make it new and exciting is it worthwhile reading. In the end, thank you for this review. It means a lot.
FrostyAngelWings: Sequels everywhere! HOPE gets a sequel! And Cuphead gets a sequel! YOU ALL GET A SEQUEL! Okay about the artwork. Just send a note when it's ready.
the stargazer (reviewed twice): Role model? Wow, th-thanks! I like your idea, but there's a few things that could be changed. One: I'd change the name Bob. Make it more unique and dangerous. Then again, our villain is Bill, so…? When does the story take place? After Weirdmageddon, or inside the portal? How did she come into existence? What I find useful when writing is making a layout of what you want to do, and solve any problems and loopholes that may come up. You should make an account too. It'll make sharing your work a lot easier, and if you ever need any more help, just pm me.
Cynder (twice): It's getting pretty intense now. I am LOVING the chapters with Ford in them! Also, I already knew about the graphic novel. I mentioned it in a previous chapter, I think.
Galinn: Thanks!
I own Elaine. RillFipher owns Kat.
"Speaking"
Thinking
Edited: Oct. 6/18
3rd POV
Kat grinned, adjusting the bright orange sweater on her as she stepped into the Shack. She wasn't sure how it happened, but Mabel had dragged her into the Duck-tective fandom. Now, there she was with said girl, Grenda, and Stan Pines about to watch the finale. The color was a little off against her blue hair, but she didn't mind.
"Seriously, who thought orange and blue complimented each other?" She grumbled as Mabel closed the door behind her. "If the shades were closer together, than maybe I'd give it a chance." Mabel gave her a playful nudge, smiling. She carried her snack dispenser and had a matching sweater to Kat's own. The only difference was Mabel's had an image corresponding to the show; a duck with a hat, behind a magnifying glad. Grenda and Mabel both wore detective hats, and Grenda carried a toy duck and flag. "Thanks for coming over to watch tonight's Duck-tective finale, guys!"
"Of course! I'm so invested in the lives of these characters!" Grenda replied. The three turned to see Stan coming down the hall in his suit, dusting off his sleeves.
"Hey-hey, look at you! Someone's all dressed up," Mabel commented.
"It's a big night," Stan said, adjusting his bow tie. He took his fez off, holding it to his chest dramatically. "I think we all remember where we were, when we learned Duck-tective was shot." The cloak beside Kat chimed three times, giving them their signal.
"Viewing positions, everyone!" Mabel gasped. They ran to the living room, only to slam to a halt in horror. Dipper, Elaine, and Ford had taken over the entire room. Graph paper was littering the floors, up the walls, and somehow on the ceiling. Crumbled up pieces scattered the couch, and there were a few taped to the TV. Elaine and Dipper sat on one side of the playing board, while Ford sat on the other side.
"Ah! Graph paper!" Grenda yelled. "Kill it! Kill it!" She stomped on the paper, trying to eliminate it to no success. Why won't it go away!?
"Dipper, Elaine, could you maybe move this to another room?" Mabel asked, walking over to them.
"No dice!" Ford said instead, rolling the die in his fingers. "We ran out of room in the basement and we're going for a world record! Now, dice!" He rolled it, grinning. "32, yes! 7000 points damage!"
Elaine and Dipper laughed, and the teen held her chest mockingly as if she was injured. "He got me, Dipper! Go on without me!" Grenda, Mabel, and Stan groaned as if the very sight was painful, while Kat just grinned at her older friend. It had been a while since Elaine was having fun, and not having her life threatened. Plus, this was the first time she'd seen her since the Northwest party. After that, there were all of those… strange anomalies. Gravity just… turned off, and electricity crackled through a darkened sky. She had tried to call her, but the Shack seemed to have been under construction from whatever had happened. Whoever this mysterious person was playing with them, he was improving her behavior. Wait, who… why does he look like Stan? What happened since the last time she saw her?
As for Elaine herself, she did say she yesterday that she wouldn't mind playing with them. Without that little monster trying to eat Ford's head, she was able to focus and understand the rules. Dipper was still better than her, since he had played the odd math and fantasy game several times in the past, but she was definitely giving the younger twin a run for his money. I only said one game. How'd I get this into it anyway?
"Oh, why, why with this?" Stan complained, moving closer to his brother. "You wanna break a record, Ford? You already got it with world's nerdiest old man."
"Hey, at least I'm not all keyed up to watch a kid's show," Ford fired back. Old man? They were the same age, and they weren't in their sixties yet! That wasn't old!
"I'll have you know that Duck-tective has a big mystery element! And a lot of humor that goes over kids' heads!" Stan shouted. The group paused, hearing Elaine began giggling. Seeing all the eyes on her, her laugh turned into an awkward cough.
"Uh… j-just ignore me… k-keep doing what you're doing." It wasn't her fault they were joking about the show within the show. Humor like that, when you were aware of it, was pretty funny.
"… I don't get a lot of it, but I like animals in human situations," Grenda told Mabel, breaking through the odd quiet the teen created.
"Grunkle Stan, it starts in a few minutes!" Mabel told him, glancing back at the owl clock in the area they were previously in. Stan pushed past the girls, and reached to remove the graph paper on the TV set, only for Ford's hand to shoot up and grab his wrist. He was standing up now, with his dice bag in his free hand.
"Move that and pay the price!"
"Oh, what, fifty magical dwarf dollars?" Stan said, twiddling his fingers in the air.
"Don't mock our fantastical monetary system!" Ford shouted, annoyed and offended.
"I'll mock all I want, it's my TV room!"
"It's my house, you…" Ford sighed, not wanting to keep arguing in front of the kids. This… this wasn't going anywhere. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked away for a moment. When he composed himself, he said, "listen, Stanley, did it ever occur to you that if you joined us you might actually have fun?" He shook the bag to emphasis his point.
"What? Now listen to me!" Stan stormed up to Ford's face. "As long as I live I will never…" he ripped the bag from Ford's hand, shaking it in his fist.
"Grunkle Stan, wait!" Dipper cried, springing to his feet.
"Ever!"
"Stanley!"
"Play your smartypants nerd game!" With that, Stan hurled the bag across the floor, not wanting to be anywhere near the cursed game pieces.
"No!" Elaine dove for the bag before it hit the ground as Ford shouted behind her, but it was too late. The dice all rolled out, and the infinity-sided dice flew out of its box. Curse you, Ford, and your idea that plastic makes sense! It tumbled over the floor, before coming to a halt, and it felt as if everything just slowed down, as a newly created symbol appeared on one of the small sides at the top. It crackled with blue energy, and it flowed towards the game's box, making the container tremble with the unusual magic. In a loud boom, four characters burst from the box's cover, making a dramatic pose in front of the blue light.
"Mortals of Dimension 46'/, kneel before me and… snivel!" The wizard rolled the dice before finishing his sentence. "I am Probabilitor! The greatest wizard in all of mathology! Give or take an error of 0.4." Elaine stood up with the rest of the group, standing in front of Mabel as Kat moved to the front of Grenda.
"I blame you two!" She whispered harshly at Ford and Stan. Stan glanced at her at the remark, and looked back at the wizard.
"Eh, is this normal?" He asked, backing up. They followed his example, taking a few steps away from the wizard, and giant griffin with the… razor sharp beak.
"Have you come to send us on the quest of a lifetime because we're the smartest players you've ever met?" Dipper asked cautiously, praying things wouldn't escalate anymore than they already had.
"You are the smartest players I've ever met!" Probabilitor agreed. "That's why I'm going to eat your brains to gain your intelligence. It's what I do."
"It's his thing!" The ogre exclaimed.
"What!?" Elaine and Dipper cried, the girl's voice louder than his own. She was-she wasn't that smart! Sure, she liked the game, and was good at dealing with Bill, but she wasn't clever like Dipper or Ford!
"Seize them!" The wizard pointed his staff at them.
"Your math is no match for my gun, you idiot!" Ford, with practiced ease that he had developed in his exploits in the multiverse, whipped his gun from his belt loop, making it spin up into his hands. He aimed it at Probabilitor's head, and the gun began charging with a blue light. His intense glare could rival the warmth from his weapon, ready to defend the other people in the house.
"Math ray!" Elaine got knocked over as a blue blast of energy rammed through them, taking out the wall of the Mystery Shack… again, and flying everyone across the room. There was no time to dodge, as the bizarre wizard had attacked without any warning with energy and flying numbers that vanished once they struck their target. "I'm not here to play games!" She shrieked, feeling a large hand grab the scruff of the back of her shirt, and was stuck in the same hand as Dipper. "Now to the forest, for the ultimate game!" The ogre carried them along with a quickly captured Ford out of the room, and was picked up by the griffin's talons with the elf on its back. Probabilitor flew ahead in a blue light, and they all flew off after him.
"SOMEBODY SAVE US!" Elaine screamed, seeing the rest of the Pines, Grenda, and Kat fade away in the distance. "STAN!"
Elaine's POV
The ogre, despite his large hands, made an impressive knot. The three of us were tied up against a tree once they reached a secluded clearing off a path I didn't recognize, as Probabilitor used his magic to measure our heads with a summoned tape measuring device. "Hehehe. With each brain I eat, I shall increase my enchantelligence."
"If my hands were free, I'd break every part of your face," Ford retorted, grinding his teeth and ignoring the hungry grin the disturbing wizard was giving him.
"The time has come! Hot elf! Ready the brain-cooking pot!" The elf flipped his hood back, shaking his long hair free and fired a magical flaming arrow at the wood under the pot. The boiling liquid was pink, and I could see the steam rising off of it. The ogre had wandered off to guard their location, and I wasn't sure where the griffin took off to after the pot was lit.
Please, Grunkle Stan, hurry!
3rd POV
The four walked along a trail in the woods, carrying their weapons, and… playing a lute.
"Grenda, where did you get that from? And how do you know how to play it?" Kat asked. Stan led the way with a baseball bat, Mabel had a rake and a garbage can lid, Grenda had a chair tied to her back so she could play her lute, and Kat had a chair from the kitchen. They weren't great weapons, but then again, the nerdy wizard shouldn't be too difficult to take down, right?
She gave the older girl a secretive smile, and continued playing. Kat sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be getting a clear answer any time soon. Just… try to ignore it, and focus on the mission. They knew they were going in the right direction. The few griffin feathers scattered along the trail helped guide them to wherever their family and friends were held captive. "We must be getting close," Stan said, passing another brown feather on the trail. "These fairy bites are getting more frequent." They could hear the fairy call out from his shoulder, trying to peel herself off to fly away. Sadly, from what the teen could see, the wings were torn and the legs and arms were broken beyond repair.
"Halt!" The ogre stomped in front of them, blocking the trail. It swung a double-bladed ax in one hand, and shook a meaty fist in anger. "Yon interlopers are trespassing on the ancient forest of Probabilitor the wizard!" He put his weapon on the ground, and drummed his fingers together. Yellow eyes flashed maliciously, and Kat couldn't look away from the massive fanged underbite. "If ye wish to pass, ye must complete seven unworldly quest, each, more difficult than the-"
"NOW!" Grenda jumped up from a small hill on the trail, and bashed the ogre over the head with the chair.
Mabel slowly walked closer, and poked his foot with the handle of the rake. "Is he… dead?"
"He's magic, sweetie. I'm sure he's fine," Grunkle Stan replied. Grenda hopped down next to him and Kat, and he whispered to the girls. "There's no cops in the forest. We take this to our graves." The girls winked, and pressed onward.
"Hold on, Elaine," Kat whispered, gripping her chair tighter. "We're coming."
Elaine's POV
You know, having my brain eaten by someone voiced by Weird Al… not the most amazing way of leaving this world. But hey, it's better than falling to my death like all those other times. Which were… a lot.Man, how many times hadI fallen off something this summer?
Probabilitor walked over to check on the fire, and Dipper thrashed back and forth in the bindings. "What do we do? What do we do?"
"Stop thinking, Dipper! The more wrinkly your brain gets, the more he'll want to eat it!" Ford shouted, appearing the slightest more calm than we were.
"Oh, like that's going to help us!" I yelled. "Why couldn't you have left that dice in the lab?" Ford turned to face me, and I continued my brief rant, seeing I had his attention now. He opened his mouth, ready to defend himself, but I didn't let him get a word in. "Ford, I know you hate your brother right now, but you gotta tolerate him for the kids' sake. These stupid fights like the one we just witnessed are putting them, and me, in danger. Besides, we could have just as easily moved to the empty attic space to continue instead of the living room. So help me, I will do something brash if this keeps up. You do not want to see me angry." Dipper remained silent, probably because I just went and told off the author of the journals, but it needed to be said. He and Ford needed to try harder, for all of our sakes to avoid things like this from happening. It needed to be said though. Ford opened his mouth to fire back, but stopped when Probabilitor began approaching us, his math staff glowing blue.
"And now, a little math problem: when I subtract your brain from your skulls, add salt, and divide your family, what's the remainder?" He bashed us each on the head, and held the staff right under Ford's chin, the glow increasing with each sec-
"YOUR BUTT!"
"What? My butt isn't part of this particular equation." Turning around, we saw Mabel, Kat, Grenda, and Stan jump out from behind the bushes, giving a battle cry.Kat, why are you carrying a kitchen chair? That's not a weapon. "Drat! How did you make it past my one guard?" How did you get so many ogres in the first place? That's what I'd like to know. "Very well. There's only one way your family can save you. YOU must defeat ME in Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: REAL LIFE EDITION!" He slammed his staff down as a pink symbolic circle appeared under him, similar to Bill's zodiac, and the area was bathed in a pink glow as a tiny castle playing field appeared in the center of the clearing.
"What? Oh, come on!" I heard Stan yell, face still lit up from the glow.
"I choose my characters…" two ogres appeared on the summoned playing field, dropping from his spindly hands. "… vs… yours." I-I didn't know much about what happened. It was sort of like when Gideon shrunk me with the flashlight, except this time, we were teleported too. One minute I was tied to the tree, the next the same pink light covered me and I was in Probabilitor's hand with Dipper and Ford, all of us dressed in medieval clothes.
"Ah! My ears! They're so pointy!" Ford felt around his head in shock.
"There better be something protective under this tunic." Dipper turned around to check, making sure no one else could see, before whirling around in alarm. "Oh, no, there isn't!" I examined myself as well, and groaned.
"Dresses. What is it with the medieval times and women in dresses?" I was wearing a long sleeved midnight blue dress with a silver color and silver vine-like designs around the bottom. A brown leather belt went around my waist, and I had black flats on to finish it off.
"Seriously, can't we just, like, arm wrestle or something?" Stan asked. He and Mabel were picked up into the air, and were floating in a seated position on their side of the game board.
"Come on, this game is a lot of fun. I had my mom pack me a lunch." We were transported to our side of the playing field, as Probabilitor rummaged through a paper bag. "Ew, apple slices? I'll eat you last."
"Uh, just make with the rules, ugly." Stan popped a piece f gum into his mouth, chewing angrily.
"The game is a battle royale. We help our characters by casting spells determined by rolls of the dice. If you win, I'll go back to my own dimension." Mabel clapped happily, happy with that idea. "But if I win, I eat their brains." Can he not look at us like that?
"Hey, I'm not so sure this is such a good-" Dipper was cut off by Stan.
"DEAL!"
"Oh boy," I muttered. "Here we go."
"Let the game… BEGIN!" The moment I saw him roll a 13, I grabbed Dipper's hand and began running. The two ogres tried to smash our heads in with their clubs, but ended up destroying the ground each time they missed, leaving the tiled floor in shattered chunks. I heard Stan and Mabel panic over our heads, but I was more focused on keeping my head on my shoulders.
"There are no moves; you make them up!" Dipper hollered in between screams.
"What? Really?" Stan asked.
"Yes! I tired to tell you: this game involves math, but also risk, and imagination!" Ford yelled, missing a swing of a large ax. Dodging was an easy thing, but we could only do it for so long. Couldn't Stan and Mabel snap to it!?
"Risk?" Stan repeated.
"Imagination?" The two rubbed their hands together, gears working in their heads. "Grunkle Stan, make something up! It's just like lying!" Mabel told him, seeing the similarity before them.
"Any time now!" I screeched.
"I cast, uh… shield of… shielding!" Stan rolled a 14, and as the ax came down on the three of us, a bright blue shield appeared in front. It bounced back, and Dipper and me sighed in relief. "Ha! We're doing it!"
"Shield of Shielding Reversal Spell." And there goes the shield.
"I cast: Giggle Time Bouncy Boots!" Mabel cheered. Boots with springs appeared on our feet, and we bounced out of the way with small laughter. Jumping high over their heads, I laughed as Mabel added the rest of her spell."Hot flamey sword! Super hot flamey sword!" The sword grew longer in my hands, and I gleefully killed the ogre with a slice to its neck. The creature gave a strangled roar before vanishing in a burst of red light. Ford and Dipper eliminated the other ogre with a swing through its middle, and we landed back on the floor as the power-ups boots disappeared.
"No! Drat you! You'll never outrun my… ogre-nado! It is what it sounds like!" The wind blew our swords away and embedded them into the wall in front of Stan and Mabel, the wind threatening to pick us up with it. Ogre-nado… it's shark-nado all over again.
"I cast: CENTAURTAUR!" I-did I really need to go any further with that? How did that even work? It's a body attached to another body at the neck, but… reversed?
"Mabel, I am so confused and so proud right now." You and me both, Grunkle Stan. The horse ran in our direction, and Dipper and me climbed onto one body while Ford got on the other one. Of course, it flipped, and Ford was now upside-down. Clinging to the strange creature, it dashed towards a smaller room on the playing field, the ogre-nado in hot pursuit. I felt the wind on my back, gripping tighter to the scientifically impossible animal.
Mabel and Stan cheered us on as we made it through the archway, and our ride vanished as it barely struck the roof of the entryway. The ogre-nado tried to follow, but couldn't fit through the door and broke apart in a burst of raining ogres. The monsters vanished as they all hit the ground, leaving in the same red light as earlier. Dipper and me smiled at Ford, only for some freaky little nightmare fueled monster to grab us. One giant bloodshot eye stared down at us in a weird purple-brown mass of thick skin, with fleshy tree-like feet, six horns of various designs, bat wings, deformed arms with elbows similar to spikes and human-like hands except for only having two fingers and one thumb. But it was the mouth… it reminded me of something similar to Bill's true form. Large jagged fangs that, despite not sporting any blood and flesh, were clearly able to rip us apart. Two tongues waggled along the corners of the maw, with a tinier mouth in the backside on a middle tongue. Even that tongue has teeth! "Ha ha ha yes! I was saving the worst for last!"
"Oh no!" Dipper shouted.
"The Impossibeast! Hey, I thought they banned this character!" Ford yelled.
"Think again! I'm playing the controversial 1991-1992 edition!" Curse you 90's! The monster slammed us against the wall, preventing us from moving an inch.
"I'll think of some weapons!" Mabel began, shaking her dice.
"You don't understand. This is the most powerful monster in the game! He can only be defeated by rolling a perfect 38! But the odds of that are-"
"Hey, long odds are what you want when you're a world class gambler!" Stan interrupted Ford, taking the die from Mabel. "Alright, Stan, you can do this… papa needs a new pair of… TWINS!" He rolled the die, and we watched it bounce along the board… and stop at a 38.
"NOOO!" Probabilitor screamed.
"Sorry, nerd-wizard. All your smarts are no match for dumb luck," Stan smirked.
"I cast DEATH MUFFINS!" Mabel yelled. Muffins with dynamite sticking out of them appeared in our hands, and we threw them into the beast's mouth. It exploded, and we vanished from the board, reappearing beside the others. Ford landed beside Stan, and me and Dipper landed beside Mabel. Mabel tackled us in a hug, and I felt Kat give me a playful punch from behind.
"The game is like, over," the elf said, closing the rule book. Grenda was hugging him tightly, smiling. "Exceli-whatever."
"No! I'm returning to my own realm! I'm turning into pure math! What are the ooooodddsss?" Probabilitor vanished as his entire body turned pink, and the other creatures vanished alongside him. Mabel took Dipper's muffin, and I handed mine over to Kat.
As the girls were happily eating them, Dipper turned to Stan. "Grunkle Stan, that was amazing! How did you know you'd win?"
"Hey, a gambler never reveals his secrets." He picked the die off the ground, and we saw the gum stuck under it. Real clever, Stan. I laughed, and he popped another piece of the candy into his mouth.
"Man! That was fun for ages 8 to 80! Or a million or however old you guys are!" Mabel told Stan and Ford. Not sure if I had my math right, but if Stan was kicked out around 17 or 18 seeing how he was in grade 12, and then he never saw Ford again until ten years later, plus thirty… they'd be 57 to 58 years old. That… seems about right.
"Y'know, I'm sorry for making fun of your game, kiddo," Stan turned to Dipper. "Sure, it might be too nerdy for me, but it's just the right amount of nerdy for you, Elaine, and my brother. If you wanna hang out sometimes, I won't get in your way."
"Actually, after all that, I could use a little mindless fun," Dipper replied.
"Guys! We can watch the second showing of Duck-tective! It's not too late!' Grenda said, squeaking her toy after pulling it out from her pocket. Kat laughed, and swung her arm around me.
"Hehehe. How come you didn't tell me Stan had a twin?" She whispered in my ear, the humor twisting to annoyance in an instant. I smirked, not providing an exact answer. How was I to respond to that? "Am I gonna have to explain this to Asger?"
"Probably." I crossed my arms. "I'm still mad about all of this though," I said loud enough for the others to hear. Ford moved over to me, looking partially embarrassed. "I don't wanna hear anything from you, Ford. This is yours and Stan's fault." Dusting my flannel off, I pivoted and began walking back towards the Mystery Shack. "I'm going to… try and reset myself."
Maybe I was overreacting, Maybe I shouldn't be too bothered by this.
But…
I would not let Stan and Ford's relationship destroy mine with the twins. I made a promise, and I intended to keep it.
(Time Skip)
I laid on my back, staring up at the ceiling in the bedroom. A soft rap came from the door, and Ford entered. He could've asked before entering. That's a little rude. "Elaine, are you alright?"
"What do you think?" I rolled upwards, and glared at him. "Yours and Stan's argument almost cost us our lives!" Dial back a little, Elaine. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes to regain my composure before focusing back on him. "Ford, Dipper and Mabel mean the world to me. Besides Stan, they were my first friends in this dimension. You may not know this, but you're hurting my friendship." Ford sighed, and walked over to me. Sitting down on my right, he gave me… I actually didn't know what he was thinking. Ford was a lot harder to read them the others. His face was hard to distinguish.
Was he upset that I was commenting on Stan and trying to make peace with him? Was that making him annoyed, or uncomfortable? "I understand your anger, Elaine. But-"
"But nothing. Ford, he only wants to make up with you." Drawing my legs to my chest, I rested my chin on my knees. "Teach me, huh? Ford, I don't know if I want that, especially after what happened today."
"I make you nervous, don't I?" Ford asked. Freezing, I looked up at him. I released my breath, and averted my eyes. "Don't worry, I understand, and I do not blame you. You knowing what you already know, you're afraid I might judge you, correct?"
"Y-yeah. That's… dead-on, actually." I felt him pat my shoulder, and he gave me a small smile. "F-Ford, did Dipper… did you show him the rift?"
Ford nodded. "I trust him to keep this secret, but I told him he not to tell anyone else about this. I assume you know why?" An almost invisible nod showed I did. "He should be returning to him room soon to get ready for bed. Perhaps we can continue our conversation in my lab?"
"O… okay." Getting up, we headed towards the gift shop to the lab entrance. Stan was just coming out of the living room as we came down the stairs. Stan and Ford briefly gave each other the cold shoulder, but stopped when they became aware that I was glaring at them. I did not want them going at it, especially not after what we had been through. It was best to put a stop to it before the yelling even began. "I will pull a Mabel and lock you both in a room together if this doesn't improve. Don't think I won't."
"She's serious," Stan said, detecting the traces venom in my tone. "Welp, I'm not sticking around for that. Night, kid." He walked past us and was halfway up the stairs, before turning back to his brother. "She better be in one piece when I see her in the morning." Ford's heated glare returned tenfold, but nodded anyway to appease him. Returning to the gift shop, Ford punched in the code and we continued our way to the lab. I leaned against the wall once we finally got close enough to his desk, and Ford pulled out journal three from his jacket. As he wrote quietly, not bothering to sit down in his chair, I took the time to get comfortable in my spot, throwing a nervous smile at the cycloptopus. The weird creature squirmed around its jar, and blinked at me.
"Hmmm…" I looked from it to Ford, and smirked. Unscrewing the lid, the monster slid out, and began making its way up my arm again. "Hehe. You're not so bad, are ya? Just misunderstood, that's all." It purred, nuzzling its… face into my neck.
"Elaine, what are you-?" Ford blinked in surprise, seeing me cuddling with the cycloptopus. "That's… why does it like you so much? The amount of radiation from interdimensional travel couldn't have triggered this."
"It's… other reasons," I hesitantly said. "Ford, h-how much have you looked at… Dipper's… entries?" I had to know. Right now. Dipper wrote about everything in that book. While I never looked at his entries, I knew there were parts involving me. Bill's entry with Stan's mind… I knew involved me. Same as the robot entry when I explained why I made my deal. The only time I made my own additions to the journal was with Bipper. I experienced him far more than Mabel did. Ford silently turned around, and I saw his hands grip the desk's edge. After dropping the third journal in a loud thump on the surface. His knuckles tensed, and I saw him take a breath. Oh no. Tell me Dipper didn't…? "Ford… what did he write about me?"
"… you made a deal with him… after reading all my entries, after knowing what he's capable of, you made a deal with him." His voice rose at the end, and he spun around to look at me. "Why?" I opened and closed my mouth, and this seemed to further stress him. "Why!?"
"F-Ford, I… I…" I stuttered. The cycloptopus looked from me to him, confused by nervousness, but didn't react.
"Why!?" He barked. The sharp tone startled me, making me step back away from him. He won't hurt me. H-he won't hurt me. "You've read about what he's like, and the harm it has done to me and this entire universe, yet you still DID it! Bill is a monster that would rather tear you to pieces than keep his end of the deals. You criticized me for my mistakes, and yet you have done the same thing! Elaine, he'll trick and kill you on a whim, just because he is tired of you. Why the hell would you trust-!?"
"How was I supposed to know what I was getting into!" I finally screamed. The monster's tentacles quickly wrapped around my arm tightly in fear of flying off, watching me with a wide yellow eye. "Ford, I knew NOTHING about Gravity Falls when I wound up here! I didn't know what Bill was like when he first approached me at my weakest moment. I was scared, lost, confused, and injured beyond my imagination! I could have DIED if it wasn't for YOUR brother! I was desperate! Y-you try and be in MY position! You have NO right to yell at ME when YOU'RE just as much to blame as ME!" I gripped my hands into fists so tight, my nails were digging painfully into my skin. "And for the record, whatever you may think of me, I am NOTHING like you!"
Ford and me stared heatedly at the other, waiting to see who moved next. He won't hurt me. Ford would not hurt me, I reminded myself, trying to stop shaking. The cycloptopus hissed at him; its eye turning into its fanged mouth, threatening to attack if he came too close. Tears ran down my face, and my eyes were no doubt bloodshot by now. Breathing jaggedly, I tried to force myself to calm down. "Y… you knew… you knew I had made a deal with Bill… and you're only now addressing it. Wh-why…? Why are you doing this to me? D-Dipper, he… he made a deal too-"
"Dipper's mistake is not as grave as yours was," Ford said acutely. "At least he knew the signs." I looked down at the cemented floor, shoulders shaking. I k-I know what I was getting into, and I-I still did it. I still made the deal. I-I don't regret. I d-I don't. I felt the heavy weight of the dream demon in the back of my mind, and I knew he was watching this. I-I didn't hate him. He's-Bill's not a monster. He's my friend. H-he's my partner. I-I didn't hate him.
I flinched, feeling his hand on my shoulder again-the one opposite of where my little friend was-and slowly brought my gaze to meet his. Ford probably didn't even know I would start to shut down, seeing I was bordering on my fight-or-flight response. The cycloptopus growled at him again, but let his hand continue to sit there. He had rolled his chair over to me, so we were more-or-less at eye level. "Elaine, deep breathes, okay? Deep breathes." C-calm down… calm… down… breathe, Elaine. Just... breathe. Ford smiled, and he removed his hand. "That's better."
"He… he wrote about what happened in Stan's Mindscape, didn't he?" I asked weakly.
"He did. He wrote about what happened after the robot fight too." I knew it. "Your arrival in this town, what forced you to make your deal, and the brief moments where you and Cipher actually… got along. A flour fight, heh… not exactly what I was expecting to read in there." I giggled softly at that. It must have confused Ford quite a bit when he read that Bill had possessed a sock puppet and joined me in launching balloons filled with baking material at them. "Elaine, listen well. Do not talk to Bill, alright? At least until I can find a way to seal the rift for good, and get you out of your deal."
My… deal? "Why? Ford, why can't I meet with him?" I was scared. What could happen if I were to speak with Bill? What had him so stressed over that?
"There is no doubt that he would try to use you to obtain the rift, and open the portal between our worlds." Wh… what? The rift… I was so focused on keeping myself from being used to steal the journal and getting possessed… I forgot about the rift in my deal. "I am not forcing you to do this, but do you truly think Bill wouldn't use you for his advantage?"
"Bu-but he hadn't," I forced out. "He hadn't forced me to do anything against my friends."
"Yet, Elaine. From what Dipper wrote, it appears that you've found favor in Bill's eye, which is a terrible thing for one to receive. He will expect you to aid him in destroying this world obtaining the rift. Your deal's conditions were that if you aided him in his plans, he would bring you home. But since you have decided to remain in Gravity Falls, then this means he'll put more pressure in his side of the deal. You may not think he's taking advantage of you, but he may already have. If not, then sooner or later."
"Ford… what will happen… if I say no?" I whispered, tears drying on my cheeks from the argument.
Ford sighed, and I knew he was going to regret his next words.
"If you say no… he'll make sure you regret it."
(Time Skip)
Bill stroked the top of my head, the two of us curled up under the covers of his bed in his suite. My head was nestled on his 'chest', right on top of his bow tie. The demon's hat was bobbing over him off to the side, not interfering with our impromptu cuddling, fingers tracing small patterns in my undone hair. "So… would you?"
"Hmmm… probably," Bill finally said. How could he be so casual about this? "I'm surprised, kid. How'd you not think of the rift when makin' that deal anyway?"
"The journal was more important and stood out the most. The rift was so last minute, I completely forgot it existed." Groaning, I brought a hand up and pinched my nose. "Over my dead body, Bill. I won't do it."
"I can raise the dead, kid. That wouldn't be too much of a problem. You're gonna do it for me eventually, or perhaps I'll just trick someone else in the Shack. Maybe someone on the outside, who knows? I will get that rift, toots. You're gonna have to get used to that idea. Besides," his eye narrowed, "your deal is to help me take over this dimension, remember? Don't want to back out now, do you?"
"I didn't plan on it," I snapped, patience starting to wear thin. "And dream on, Bill." We glowered at each other, before I managed a small chuckle, breaking off the odd tension. "Hehe… ah, we're all gonna die." Bill laughed at that, and pulled me tighter into his hug.
"Nah, Angel. They're all gonna die. You're with me. I ain't letting you get away so easily. Stealing and tricking those poor saps into getting the rift is much more fun than having you get it for me. Whatever Sixer thinks you'll do for me is wrong, so don't worry yourself over it." I squealed as his eye morphed into a mouth, and he began to pepper my face with kisses. Giggling, I pressed my hands against his bricks, trying to push away, only for him push me closer so he could continue his kissing attack. His eye slowly returned, and I managed to wipe the saliva off.
"Not if I have anything to say about it. Maybe I'll just… persuade you to give up." Bill 'smirked', eye inches from my face.
"I'd like to see you try, sweetheart." Oh, I bet you would. His arms rolled me over, and then pulled me back against him so now my back was against him. "I would loveto see you try and stop me."
"Like I told you months ago, Bill. When I got knocked out with that dart by the police: game on." Bill pecked the back of my head, and I closed my eyes.
"Challenge accepted, kid. I don't lose." Maybe…
I was… confused. Time Baby's argument had messed with my head, but it only seemed to push me and Bill closer together. Ford's though… he had a point. He knew Bill much better than I ever would… I think. Bill… he wouldn't force me to get the rift, right? There was no way he could use me or the twins to get it for him. After The Last Mabelcorn, the barrier would be up, which meant… no more visits from Bill. After that day… I wouldn't be able to see him in my sleep anymore.
Opening one eye, I looked back and studied Bill's calm expression. His eye was closed, and I listened to the steady hum of the energy from his body. now that my ear was pressed against him.
He destroyed his own dimension, and everyone he ever knew. Friends, family… he was Bill Cipher, a dream demon. And he… he had me to keep him in control. I was going to prevent this disaster, and I would not let any harm come to this town, or to the Pines. Snuggling further into the hug, I kissed the side of his eye, and let my subconscious fall asleep. Goodnight,Billy.
"Ha ha. Night, sweetheart."
Man, I am on a roll! I just can't stop now! Writing with Ford is so much fun. There's so much ideas I can have here. Also, only one final left, and then we're done. Chem was… yeah, I'm not talking about that.
Until next time!
Angel
