Ford knew that Bill was upset. That was obvious. Bill wasn't exactly the kind of person who enjoyed being trapped (hence why he had 'liberated' his entire dimension), and Gravity Falls' natural law of weirdness magnetism was trapping him inside of the town. Ford was fine with Bill... you know... not destroying everything inside of Ford's home dimension, and if he had to be tortured in order to keep it safe... Well, sometimes life stinks.

Luckily for him, Bill was giving him a break. And not a break encased in gold, but an actual break-break. The floor of the Fearamid was cool, and Ford pressed the palms of his hands against it, wanted to place his face next to them, but knowing that he wouldn't want to be seen like that in front of Bill. Ford was being defiant, and he would give Bill no pleasure in seeing his weakness.

His breathing was ragged, his heart pounding in his chest, his stomach growling in protest, his eyes wanting to slide shut in order to sleep. But Ford allowed none of that to deter him. He leaned against the frozen statues of the townsfolk, feeling empathetic towards them. He knew what it was like to be a statue, and the boredom each and every one of them was facing, along with the trauma, was overwhelming to even think about.

He looked down at his hands, pressed flat against the floor, and lifted his right one, trying to slide it under the chain on his left wrist, but to no avail. He sighed and leaned his head back against some person's legs, and closed his eyes for the briefest of moments. Perhaps some sleep would do him some good. That seemed like something Mabel would tell him.

Mabel. He must appear indifferent to her. He had to hate her. Hate Mabel. List the things Mabel has done. 1: Broken project. 2: Not listen to his pleas. 3: Push him through the portal. 4: Leave him stranded in the Multiverse. 5: Fake his death...

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead." Ford's eyes flew open, and he saw Bill floating in front of him. He had something inside of one of his hands, and the sound of dull tapping was coming from it. The thing looked like a large birdcage, and Ford could see pink and purple sparkles bouncing up and down. He shoved himself to his feet, and Bill laughed. "My, my, Fordsy. You sure are persistent,"

Bill set the birdcage up on a hook that appeared next to the throne of human agony. Ford followed his movements with his eyes, and was appalled to see that there was a small child inside of it, one that looked younger than Stan and Dipper. "Now Gideon, remember, I want those dances to keep on coming!" Gideon. That name was familiar. Ford remembered Stan talking about how he hated this little jerk. Gideon...

"But Bill!" a young southern accented voice cried out, "Please!" Bill clicked condescendingly, folding his arms and shaking his 'head' at the boy. "You're adorable Gid, so you should be happy with this setup. Now, I have someone else to attend to..." Bill turned towards Ford, and loomed above him. "What do you say Fordsy? Ready for another round? How do smiley faces sound? Oh, what am I saying, I'll do them anyway!"

Ford's eyes met Gideon's for a brief moment, the boy bouncing up and down, dancing in a way that a lot of mothers deemed 'cute'. But there was nothing cute about this scenario. Gideon gave him a look of 'I'm sorry', but before any more connections could be made between the two prisoners Bill grabbed Ford's chains and tugged him away from the ground, nearly cutting off Ford's air supply.

"This will be fun..."

The scenery changed very little for Ford. Every now and then he'd be alert and see one of Bill's Henchmaniacs give their report, but that was seldom, and even more unlikely was an update on his family. Apparently, Stan had been rescued from a... bubble? Ford wouldn't put it past Bill. That day was one of the worst. There wasn't a cell in Ford's body that wasn't screaming in protest.

Some days Bill would use his sharp fingers to make Ford nearly bleed out (he actually had a few times, but Bill patched him up), others it would be solely psychological pain. But out of all of Bill's various torture methods electrocution seemed to be his favorite. It didn't require messy blood getting everywhere, didn't require Ford to keep his eyes open. All it needed was for Ford to be present. Bill would string him up from the ceiling, not caring that Gideon was watching, and would send hundreds of thousands of volts directly into Ford's body.

Sometimes, after days of staying awake, Ford would just pass out during the sessions. Bill found that to be aggravating, and so he stopped slicing Ford open, as that was where most of it happened. Ford did his best to stay alert. Did his best to prove that Bill wasn't getting to him. And he had to say he was doing a good job.

He'd talk to Gideon whenever Bill wasn't present. The kid told him that he was sorry practically every day, and Ford would always shake his head and claim he deserved it. He gave the boy his hypothesis on how to unfreeze the townsfolk, and Gideon promised he'd remember it. Their conversations were always cut short, but at least they weren't completely alone all the time.

Then it happened. One day, when Ford was in the middle of being electrocuted, Bill asked him if he was ready to talk (for only the millionth time), and Ford claimed that he would never tell the demon anything. Bill wasn't upset, like usual, in fact, he seemed to be getting a bit bored with what he was doing, then a loud crash! echoed through the room and Ford could just make out the head of a... Tyrannosaurus Rex? What...

Then it clicked. As Bill began to scream at his Henchmaniacs to take care of the problem Ford realized who it must be. The kids had come to save him! He could see... his house? It was turned into a robot? That would explain why it had taken so long.

Bill stayed in the Fearamid, watching the other aliens dash off to go fight the Shack. His concentration must have been thrown off, because Ford felt his chains disappear, and he dropped to the arm of the giant chair. "Bravo Dipper and Stan!"

Ford didn't realize at first what he had implied. He had been thinking of his nephews so often those past couple of... days? weeks? that it slipped right on out of his mouth. He couldn't help but beam at the broken window, where he could see the house prepare itself for the inevitable fight. Then Bill said in a quiet voice, "Wow... Those kids sure do care for you." Something dawned upon Bill before it dawned upon Ford. "And you care about them... Don't you? Bill turned his entire body around, looming over Ford and glaring down at the small human.

"What are you..." It clicked. The thought of Bill doing what he had done to Ford to Dipper and Stan was... Ford felt like vomiting at the mere notion. "Oh no." He whispered, taking a step back and shrinking in fear for the first time. "No... You... Not the kids!" He knew it was idiotic to try to change Bill's mind, but his moral compass told him he had to try. "Please! You ca-"

He felt his body get encased in gold, time seeming to slow down. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't smell anything (which may not be such a bad thing), all he could do was think. Think and worry about Dipper, Stan, and... No. Don't think about Mabel too. You'll just put her in danger as well.

As always, he just had to wait.

The next feeling that Ford had was his hands turning back into flesh. He half-prepared himself to see Bill again, but didn't fully, just in case it was the kids. He dropped his arms to his sides and blinked as his vision returned momentarily. There were the sounds of people reuniting, and Ford glanced to either side, looking for... Ah! There they were!

"Boys! Oh, I knew I could count on you two!" Ford took only three steps to stand right behind the two of them, then lifted them up in the air, squeezing them close to his cheeks. He put them down shortly, mainly to keep himself from throwing out his back, then he turned, and saw a man he hadn't seen in thirty years.

"Fiddleford," he breathed, seeing his old friend stand in front of him. Fiddleford was wearing a brown pair of overalls, that looked like they hadn't been washed in months, and a large-brimmed hat in the same color. There were some bandages on his feet and one hand, but other than that he wasn't wearing a thing. His beard was long and unkempt, but he was wearing green lensed glasses, and looked slightly sad. "I haven't seen you since we... parted ways." A realization that had been dawning on Ford for a long time came to full fruition, and he stated it nice and simple. "You must hate me."

Ford was ready for any reaction Fiddleford might have, and he would never forget what his old friend said next. "I've tried forgettin'" Fiddleford smiled sadly down at a spot on the floor next to Ford, then added, "Maye it's time I try forgivin'. Come here old friend." And to Ford's increased (but definitely not unwelcomed) shock, Fiddleford took a step forward and gave him a quick hug.

"Yeah, missed you too bro." Ford breathed in sharply through his nose at his sister's statement, and he looked over at Mabel, opening his mouth to say something. She looked tired, and her sweater had a hole in its sleeve. Ford was about to step over to her when Dipper said, "Listen, uncle Ford, there's not a lot of time. You told me before you were captured that you knew Bill's weakness. A secret way to defeat him?"

A thousand ideas crossed through Ford's mind in a second, and then he remembered what he'd been thinking of that last free day. The Zodiac. He glanced at Mabel's Shooting Star, Dipper's Pine Tree, and Stan's Mackeral. "I..." he said, and suddenly nothing else mattered. "I do!" He turned and stepped towards the center of the room, pulling out a pair of black gloves and slipping them onto his hands. "Now, does anyone have a pencil, pen?" His eye caught a bottle of paint resting close to him, and he smiled before saying, "Perfect!"

Mabel was going to think he was crazy.

Drawing a circle on the floor. Okay... And people said that Mabel was the crazy twin. Like honestly, who in their right mind draws a circle to defeat a space demon? Stanford Pines apparently. Mabel couldn't exatly see what Ford was drawing, but by the time he'd stepped back there was a... bunch of random pictures? How was a Llama going to help them beat Bill?

"Have you lost your mind?" Mabel asked, holding a hand up to her head and beginning to feel a headache coming on. Ford didn't even look at her as he answered her question, "My mind is fine." he stated, and Mabel severely doubted that. "And there is a way to defeat him, with this!" Ford motioned towards the circle, where a picture of Bill rested in the center.

"The world's most confusing game of hopscotch?" Pacifica asked, glaring at Ford, who looked over at her. He then looked at Stan and pointed at the girl, as if to say "this one?". He sighed when Stan nodded, and responded, "No. A prophecy... Although..." his eyes met Mabel's and he added, "It would make a pretty fun game of hopscotch."

He took a deep breath, and began to explain about how he'd found the Zodiac. While he was doing so he stepped over to his nephews and gently pushed Dipper onto his Pine Tree symbol, then Stan onto the Mackeral one on the other side of the circle.

"Dipper, the Pine Tree." Ford said as he put Stan in his place. "Stan, the Mackeral." He waved at the other symbols, and watched in silence as Soos took a stand next to his own symbol, on top of the question mark. Robbie Valentino was shoved onto the symbol next to Mabel's Shooting Star, Pacifica next to Stan, with Wendy on the boy's other side. Gideon slid in between Dipper and Robbie, and Ford took his place next to Soos, watching Fiddleford grab Stan's hand.

Ford grabbed Soos' hand, and nodded at the rest to do the same. As the other eight grabbed onto each other Ford ordered the rest of the people to leave, including most if not all of the other Zodiac member's families. He smiled as the nine of them began to glow blue, and a strange wind picked up inside of the room, which started to smell more natural.

"Now all we need is..." He muttered, and he looked off towards the window, where Mabel's grey hair was blowing in the wind, her back to the rest of them. She had her arms clearly crossed, but Ford didn't have time to think of his sister's demeanor. What mattered was the world. "Mabel! Mabel you're the last one! Get on over here!"

"This is all phooey." Mabel stated, spinning around. She glared at her brother, then added in a rejective tone, "You really think a super complex art project is going to defeat that monster?"

"Mabel, we don't have time for this." Ford said, glancing back at the others. He stretched his hand out to his sister and added, "Just..."

Mabel shook her head. "Just what? Trust you? And why would I do that!? Don't forget who literally started the end of the world here." She glared at Ford, and didn't even pay the rest of the Zodiac's cries of agrivation and concern any notice. In her point of view this was solely between her and her brother. Ford pushed his hand more out towards her, and said, "Mabel, please, I know. Just help me fix it!"

"Fix what?! What exactly are we fixing? How can I trust you to actually tell me!?" Mabel threw her arms in the air and exclaimed, "You didn't even tell me about Bill! You haven't told me anything about that portal place! YOU NEVER TELL ME THE TRUTH! How can I trust you?" Ford's eyes wandered from her upset face, that looked ready to punch him, to the window of the Fearamid. Bill was gaining the upper hand against the Shack, and he knew that if he didn't do what Mabel wanted, they'd lose.

"Fine. Mabel, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you the truth, and I should have." Ford grit his teeth as he said that, not actually feeling the sorrow he was claiming. "Now, I'm telling you the truth when I say that we need you."

Mabel still glared at him, and the rest of the people held their breath as she stood there silent. Then she took a step forward and grabbed Ford's hand. "Fine." she growled, "I just hope you're not lying about this too." Ford glanced over at her, and snapped, "Of course I wouldn't lie about this!" Mabel rolled her eyes, "Of course not, you're Stanford Pines. You can never tell a lie. You're Mr. Perfect even when you cause Weirdmageddon. I guess you finally got justice. You know, what you deserved."

Ford stiffened, the burns on his wrists screaming in agitation about how he was keeping them folded. His throat felt like it was on fire, his feet might as well have nails pounded into their soles from how sore they were. His mind didn't even register his mouth say, "And I guess that you think you had a great time? Swam with any mermaids recently? Maybe I should go out there and join Bill right now, so we can keep this 'Ford punishment' going. Maybe you'll want to take part in the 'fun' I've had in my 'just desserts'."

The next thing he knew, Mabel's hand wasn't in his own, but it was shoved against his shoulders. "What did you just say?!" She demanded, and there was a fire in her eyes. "I knew you were hiding something!" Ford felt the power the Zodiac had been making fade away from his body, and he tried to shove his sister off of him, but that only served in making her more angry.

"Don't ruin this Mabel!"
"Don't be such a phsyco!"
"Stop fighting you guys!"
"What are you two old guys doing?"
"Miss Pines! Mr. Pines!"

"Oh no it's Bill...! Right? Isn't that what you're all thinking?"

Hello guys! As promised, here's the rescue chapter!

I had a great time figuring out how Mabel and Ford would fight in the end (ya know, cause sibling bickering), and I hope I did a good job. The first part was shockingly easy to write (I guess I'm just a phsyco), and I see a bit of Ford/Gideon bonding happening, where each of them blame themselves for starting Weirdmageddon.

So... Bill's not a nice person. I have it set up in this story that it took about a month to rescue him, so you know that Bill used all that time to break Ford as much as possible. The guy (under normal circumstances) should be dead. At the very least there's a bit of mental trauma, so that'll be fun for Ford and Mabel to work through.

Honestly, if one of my brothers did something like Ford, I would probably fight them too. I had Mabel use 'deserve' because at least some people (whether conciously or unconciously) think or say that Ford deserved what happened to him. I... do not think so. At least, he didn't deserve what happened to him here.

Don't worry, they survive. It's gonna be okay! I'll probably be doing the events of what happens right after this in flashbacks of other chapters. Hope you enjoyed!

-BrilliantLight