When Stan first saw the figure step through the portal, he was beyond happy.

The dark figure just had to be Ford. There was no one else it could be, right?

The figure kneeled down and picked up the first Journal, and slid it into their black trenchcoat. Stan had a chance to see how small the figure was. Ford must have slimmed down quite a bit.

Then she took her mask off. And Stan heard Dipper's words. "Who is that?"

"I... I have no idea." Stan admitted, stepping towards the woman, who stormed towards him. Something was creepily familiar about her. Like Stan had seen her somewhere before. Like on TV...

Then before he could say anything to her, she punched him in the face.

"Ow!" He cried, "What? Who?!"

"This was an insanely risky move, restarting the portal!" She cried, folding her arms and glaring at him. Stan was glad that looks couldn't kill, he'd already be buried. "Didn't you read my warnings?!"

Stan blinked. He rubbed his jaw and stared back at the woman. "Read... Your warnings..? Who..."

"Yes Stanley. My warnings." The woman repeated. How did she know his name? "The warnings I wrote over my portal instructions. The warnings that I literally highlighted. I'm not an idiot. You on the other hand..."

Stan shook his head slightly. Who was this lady? Why had she come out of the portal when Ford was the one who was supposed to be there? Wait. Ford!

"Listen lady. I don't know who you think you are," Stan said, sticking a finger towards her face. "But my brother was supposed to come out of that portal. Who are you?"

The woman grit her teeth at Stan, then something seemed to click in her mind. "That idiot." She hissed. "I swear. If I ever see Stanford Pines again, I will break every part of his face."

She ran a hand through her hair, lumping up the top part of her ponytail. "Well, since I already know who you are... I'm Stella Pines. But you can call me Elle. Never Ella."

Stan blinked at Elle, who was busy fixing her grey hair. "Stella... Pines?" He choked out, and winced when she sighed.

"Seriously Stan. Are you the same across all Dimensions?" She asked, adjusting her glasses. "Yes. I'm a Pines. Always have been. Probably always will be."

"You... Know my brother?" Stan asked, watching his presumed relative roll her eyes. "Know your brother?" She asked, rubbing her chin and looking vaguely off into the 'distance'. "Let's see... Do I know Ford Pines... Well, we have basically the same life story, and we spent nearly two decades traveling together... And he has exiled me to his own dimension..." She shrugged slightly, and asked, "But who truly knows the mind of a man?"

Stan couldn't help but open his mouth. Elle seemed so calm about the entire situation. Who was this lady?

"Elle... Who are you?" Was all that Stan could force himself to say. Elle sighed, and held up her right hand, displaying her fingers.

On her six-fingered hand.

"Take a wild stab in the dark." She stated, and Stan instantly started to feel like vomiting.

"Well, well, well. Guy genius and girl genius. Working together? Ford! Elle!"

Ford grit his teeth, he glanced over at his companion and nodded slightly at him. "Yes we're working together. We have a common goal."

"Ford, please, that can't be the only reason we're working together..."

"Be quiet Ella!"

"I'll be quiet when I want to be quiet! You can't boss me around! I'm not some doll! And don't call me Ella!"

Bill watched the two inter-dimensional travelers bicker back and forth. This was fun. Bill liked this.

"Shut up and kiss already!" he yelled, throwing his arms up, "I'm sure the two of you probably have enough conflict inside of you to fight for eternity! You sound like an old married couple!"

Ford and Elle snapped their heads around to look at Bill. The latter of which blushed under her mask. "Gross!" Ford said, facepalming. "We're literally the same person!"

"Which means you're perfect for each other!" Bill said, lacing his fingers together and blinking at them 'innocently'. "I'm sure the two of you will make such nerdy kids..."

"What do you say Stanford, shall we kill him slowly?" Elle asked, reaching behind her to pull her quantum destabilizer off her back.

"With pleasure." Ford answered, copying her actions. "You want the eye?"

"Ha! I've got you tricked!" Bill said, holding his hands out towards a closed door behind his throne of optical illusions. "You two aren't the only ones who've gotten an alternate version of themselves!"

That's when Bill-2 showed up.

"What do you mean we can't get Ford back?!"

Elle had helped Stan sit down. A million thoughts running through his head. This lady who had walked out of the portal was a female version of his brother... Ooh... He was going to be sick...

Then, when he had expressed his desire to re-restart the portal, she had immediately turned him down. He claimed that it was the only way to get Ford back, and she admitted that she knew that.

She sighed at his question, and Stan could see a pang of sadness pierce her eyes. She looked down at the ground, then at her left hand. "Trust me Stanley, I would love to see Ford again, for various reasons. But it's too dangerous. The more we open the portal, the higher the likelihood that the world will be destroyed. I can't have that happening."

Stan grit his teeth. "So I'm stuck with you?" He spat, and her face turned from remorse, to anger.

"Fine. If that's how you want to think about it." She said, folding her arms. "Honestly, I don't want to be here either. But here I am."

"Hi! Uh... Mabel here. What on Earth is going on?!"

Elle spun around and saw Dipper and Mabel. Her eyes widened and she leaned towards Stan, who was staring off at the far right wall.."Stan... You didn't tell me there were children here..."

"They're Shermie's grandkids..." Stan responded, looking over at his niece and nephew.

"I have a nephew? And a niece?! Ha! Take that Bill!"

Elle stepped over to the kids, and knelt down in front of them. "Greetings. Do kids still say 'greetings'? I haven't been in a Dimension like this for a really long time..." She held her hand out to Mabel, who shook it.

"Whoa, a six-fingered handshake! That's a full finger friendlier than normal!" Mabel exclaimed, looking down at the hand she was bringing up and down.

"I like this one." Elle said, pointing at Mabel. "She's mine now. She's weird!"

"I... I don't... Are you the Author of the Journals?"

Elle released Mabel's hand, and turned to look at Dipper. "Um... Yes..." Dipper's mouth turned into a huge smile and he breathed in loudly. "And no." Dipper's smile dropped, and he sagged his entire body. He looked down at the ground and mumbled, "Okay..."

"No, no, no, buddy, I did write the Journals. Just... Not these specific Journals. That honor belongs to... Well, the me of this Dimension." Elle said, stepping towards Dipper and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure the two versions are the same... Here, let me show you."

She opened the Journal to the bookmarked page, and blinked at the portal instructions. "Well. That can't be right..." She mumbled, mostly to herself. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure I wrote my warnings in regular ink... That idiot. And they said I was the dumbest genius in the Multiverse."

Dipper looked like he was going to faint.

Ford had been in the Multiverse for what felt like an eternity.

In reality it had only been about a dozen years, but that was still a huge portion of his life. He'd been weirded out, kidnapped, coronated, and a bunch of other things. Luckily most of them were good...

But not this situation.

He sat in the bottom of a spaceship. A rented one it looked like. There were empty boxes filling the area around him, and the light above him was flickering in an annoying way.

He'd been jumped on. And the worst part was that it had only been one person. He was getting sloppy.

He heard a mechanical door slide open, and he looked up at a masked figure that walked in. The same one who had knocked him out.

"Honestly, I thought you were never going to wake up." She... She? said. "What were you thinking you knucklehead?!"

Ford blinked in confusion at her, and she stepped towards him, reaching up to take her mask off. She looked familiar, and he felt... Something, like he had met her before. But he couldn't remember where...

"Stanley... I am very upset at you right now." She said, moving to stand right in front of him. "But I am also intrigued. How did you find all my Journals? I know it's been like, thirteen years, but still!"

Ford's confusion doubled. "Your Journals? How do you know Stanley?"

The woman in front of his snarled for a moment, then her eyes widened. She looked down at her side, and lifted her palm up slightly. "I... You're not my brother."

"Um... What?!"

"Get down! Don't let it taste human flesh!"

There were a few things in life that Stella liked. Reading, writing, fighting (long story). But hunting monsters was high up on her list.

There was a reason she'd become a bounty hunter in the Multiverse.

The Cycloptopus squealed, and tried to escape her. Stan hit it on the head with his newspaper, but that didn't even faze it. Stella vaguely heard Mabel ask if they could keep it, and she dashed over the table and cornered the monster in... well, a corner.

"Steady... Steady... And..."

The Cycloptopus opened it's mouth, which was conveniently located behind it's eye (Elle could pretend that it was Bill). She brought her electric-gloved hands down on the center of the creature, and held them there until the monster was incapacitated.

She pulled it up by a tentacle, and smiled at the three people standing behind her. "Did you guys see that?!" She asked, and the kids nodded.

"Stan. Isn't this cool? I bet..." Her smile dropped slightly and her shoulders sagged, "Nevermind."

Neither of them would be able to get over Ford.

"Are you crying?"

Elle stared up at the ceiling. The cool mountain air of Dimension 52 floated through the hospital window.

"No." She snapped, "I mean... My head feels like it's on fire. My neck and shoulders still hurt from the 2-D Dimension. I'm trapped in the Multiverse. And... And..." She swallowed and grit her teeth. Her hands were tight fists by her sides, and she glanced over at Ford, who was sitting in a bed across the small room from her.

"And they cut off my hair!" She concluded. "So no... I'm not crying. I'm wallowing in my self pity."

"That's too bad," Ford's said, leaning back and gently resting his own bandaged head back on his pillow. "If you were I'd have to comfort you."

"I could use some comfort. I miss coffee..."

"Same."

"And this is why I checked with Mabel before I just offered Dipper an apprenticeship." Elle said, watching Dipper and Mabel talk. She looked over at Stan and whispered, "Because I'm going to ask if she wants to stay too."

"You make no sense " Stan whispered back. To which she responded, very maturely if she could say so herself, "You make no sense!"

Once a confusing Pines twin, always a confusing Pines twin.

Fighting Bill was fun though.

Hey guys! It's me again!

This is sort of inspired by Norah Faye's prompt. I changed details up (because I'm me). I hope you guys enjoyed.

If there are infinite universes, then there has to be one like this. Am I right!? Am I right..?

Thanks for everything again! You guys make my day!

I don't remember if there's anything else I need to say... So... Bye! Have a great day!

-BrilliantLight