The portal wound down to a full close within moments of true activation. Stan couldn't help but feel the hope rising in him as he watched a dark figure step out of the blinding light. Stanford was finally, finally, there. He had gotten his brother back, and that was all that mattered right then. The image of Dipper looking so upset and Mabel crying threatened to overshadow his happiness, but Stan did his best to focus on his brother and... two children that were walking out with him?
Sure enough there were two children, about Dipper and Mabel's age, one of which was clinging to Ford's arm, the other was dragging a fourth figure out of the portal, this last one looking more feminine than the others. Stan's mind instantly made a connection he had thought was previously impossible but was proving him to be wrong once again.
The children both released their respective adults' hand, and the man, who just had to be Ford, stepped forward, and knelt down next to the ground. He bobbed back up a moment later, a Journal in his hand. The children, who were wearing outfits almost identical to Ford's, came up to him, and Stan heard their small voices ask, "Whoa... What's that?"
"It's mine." Ford said, and Stan nearly sighed a breath of relief. "And you will not touch it without my permission." Ford opened up his jacket and slid the Journal inside of it before letting his coat fall naturally to his sides. He reached up and tugged his black mask off. "We're safe... For the time being at least."
The woman took off of her mask, and Stan felt an unmistakable sense of deja-vu. Her hair was thick, and most of it was pulled into a messy bun on the back of her head. Stan felt his confusion grow and a sense of dread/pride start to stir inside of him as the children took off their masks, and two perfect reiterations of Dipper stood next to his brother. All Stan could think of saying was:
"What the heck!?"
Ford's attention was suddenly on Stan, and if he wasn't so consumed with figuring out this entire situation Stan would have shriveled under the glare his brother was sending him. "That is a wonderful way to introduce yourself..." Ford said, stepping away from his guests and coming closer to Stan. "I'm just glad you haven't chosen a more... colorful word to describe how you feel about the present situation."
Stan blinked at his brother, looking him up and down. Ford looked about how Stan had expected. Older, and... that was pretty much it. He looked... healthier than he had last Stan had seen him, which wasn't really saying much. He still looked tired, but not completely drained like last time.
"Whoa... Dad! You never told me you had a twin!" One of the boys dashed up in between Ford and Stan. "Hi! I'm Stan! Nice to meet you!" the boy shoved his hand towards Stan. The older man widened his eyes, looked up at his brother, and said, once again, "What the heck?" Ford opened his mouth, then closed it along with his eyes. "It's... it's a long story."
The woman and other boy came up to Ford, the other boy coming up to Ford's right and practically attaching himself to Ford. The woman placed a hand on Ford's shoulder, then said, "Well... We were going to have to tell them eventually F..."
"I know. I know." Ford said, opening his eyes again. He looked at Stan, tiredness creeping into his eyes. Then he looked at the boys, and said, "Boys... I have something to tell you two."
Stan stared at his brother in shock, no words came to him. He couldn't describe this situation to himself. He had no idea what was going on. He stared in wonder as the boys turned to look at him, then Ford said, "Well... This is my brother." He didn't listen as the first boy said with a huff, "Yeah. Duh. That's what I just said." Ford shook his head, then said, "Let me finish Stan. This is my twin brother. Stanley.
"I'm really Stanford Pines."
The Multiverse was out for Stanford Pines. Well... that wasn't entirely true, it was only several powerful entities inside of the Multiverse who really wanted him, but misfortune seemed to follow him wherever he went. Plus it was just really easy to blame the entirety of the Multiverse instead of listing the people individualy. But right then it seemed that the entire Multiverse was out to get him.
Well, him and Caryn.
"Stanford Filbrick Pines! GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME NOW!" If Ford wasn't so disgusted by what he was doing he would probably be angry. He looked up at Caryn's purple-tinged face, and resisted the urge to faint in front of her. There was just something about human beings that Ford couldn't stand. Maybe because he was one of them.
Strange to think he was now witnessing 'his own' birth. Ford didn't know how to break it to the alternate version of his mother that there were actually two children inside of her, and he knew that no matter what he said now she wouldn't listen to him.
"Caryn... Listen... I'm doing the best I can..." Ford said, trying to focus on the scientific aspects of the situation he was currently trapped in. "Just... just push... or something."
Her shouting was the only sound outside of the silence, and it carried long into the night.
When Caryn woke up again she had two perfect (yet weird) boys thrust into her arms. Ford was nearly as tired as she was, and he muttered something about 'having to get out before something worse happened'. She watched him dash out of the room they were in, and then she had time to finally look at her sons.
Two brown tufts of hair, two tiny hands wrapping themselves around her fingers. Twenty perfect... twenty...two? fingers? She blinked down at her son cradled in her left arm, the name 'Ford' drawn on his forehead. She blinked, gulped, then moved her hand over to her son's hands. The one with 'Stan' written on his forehead began to fuss quietly, but she shushed him. She lifted Ford's fingers silently counting all twelve of them.
Where else had she seen twelve fingers... Stanford. Ford... That was... Wait. What?!
"Wait... No way! But you're our dad!" Stan blinked at his brother, and the boys who were standing in between the two of them. Ford held up his hands, palms out, towards the boys. "Well... No. I'm actually closer to your brother actually." Ford spread his fingers out wide, an act that Stan knew he disliked. "I'm... not your father..."
The boys seemed to be shocked. Stan was shocked. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos must all be shocked as well. The boys looked at each other, then the one on the left said, "Wait. He's you! Ford! He's you! That makes..."
"No sense." the other boy said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, logically it does. I mean, we look almost identical, we both have the same birth defect. Emotionally it doesn't... I mean, I've been calling him 'dad' my entire life... Wait a moment!" The boy looked over at his brother, a grin on his face. "Stan! You now have to call me dad! Whoo hoo! This is the best day ever!"
If Stan wasn't so shocked by what he was seeing and hearing he would have laughed at the boy's words. But all he could even think of doing was look at each of the people who had exited the portal individually. The woman, who just had to be an alternate version of his mother, placed a hand on Ford's shoulder. The young Stan and young Ford were arguing about what young Ford had said, and Ford was... Well... He was staring at Stan himself, a protective look in his eyes.
"Boys. Settle down." He ordered, and in an instant both of them snapped to attention. Ford waved them to the side, and said, "Excuse me." He strode over to the two of them and didn't even hear the woman say, "F... Please... just don't hurt him too much..."
Ford came right on up to Stan, a cold look deep in his eyes. He held his fist up, and Stan resisted the urge to flinch. He closed his eyes and prepared for Ford's strike... that never came. There was a horrible silence, the sound of a fist hitting an open palm, and then the sound of Ford yelling, "What in the Multiverse were you thinking!? Didn't you read my warnings?! You could have put everyone in mortal peril!"
Stan blinked one eye open, and looked into Ford's angry face. "Uh... Hi? What warnings?" Ford's jaw dropped, a look of disbelief shadowing his face. "What warnings? The warnings I wrote all over my Journals! The ones I put all over my instructions? The destruction of our planet!?" He ran his hands through his hair, then asked, "Didn't you read them? Did anyone read them?!"
"I- I read them..." Dipper's quiet voice said from behind Stan. Ford finally broke eye contact with his brother, looking at his nephew. Stan turned around and saw Dipper pull out the third Journal, opening it up to the portal instructions. He also held a blacklight in his other hand, which he shone over the page. On it, in invisible ink, there were words that Stan couldn't read, but he could tell were there.
Stan sighed, then said, "Well, that explains it. You wrote them in invisible ink. No wonder I didn't know about them." Ford now stared in disbelief at his Journal, then he reached into his coat and pulled out the first one. "That... That doesn't make sense... I could have sworn I wrote them in..." His eyes widened when he looked down at the page. "Bill." He hissed.
The boys, young Stan and Ford, walked back up to him, and young Stan said, "Well... At least we know you'll be stupidly-smart for the rest of your life Poindexter." The young Ford turned to his brother in indignation, but Ford put a hand in between the two of them. "This is between me and my Stan boys." he snapped, and Stan gulped.
"Stanley, I was unaware that I had written my instructions in a form you would not enjoy... or be able to find... And I take full responsibility for that." Ford said, lacing his fingers together in front of his chest. "You have still acted irrationally... But in a more understandable fashion than I previously thought..."
"Just beat the snot out of him dad!" Young Stan's voice called out over Ford's formal discussion. "Make him feel pain!"
Ford glanced over at the young boy, who was being dragged back by his mother and brother, and before Stan could react to anything, a six-fingered fist flew into his face. He stumbled back, letting out a pained shout as his younger counterpart let out one of elation. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Now hit 'im in the crotch!"
Stan's eyes bulged at the very notion of such an action, but luckily for him his niece, nephew, and Ford seemed to have a good head on their shoulders. "That," Ford said, watching as Dipper and Mabel dashed in front of his brother, "Was for my family. You've put them in danger for the last time." Stan rubbed his injured jaw while Dipper and Mabel started to yell (mostly Mabel) at Ford. "Hey! That wasn't nice!"
"I know, but I had to appease my son." Ford said, smiling shyly at the two of them. "Plus, I had Stan's permission."
"I don't know what in the world is going on," Mabel stated, glaring at her Grunkle. "But that wasn't cool! That's my Grunkle!" She folded her arms, and exclaimed, "Just who do you think you all are?"
Ford blinked at her, then said, "I'm Stanford Pines. This is Stan," he waved a hand at the boy with a missing tooth and bandage wrapped around his head, covering his left eye. "Ford," He then motioned for the boy standing next to him, a pen stuck behind his ear. "And Caryn." He waved at the woman, who smiled unassuredly and waved at the two other children. "We're the Pines Family."
"But... We're the Pines family..."
Caryn stared at the body of her dead husband. Fibrick's eyes were glazed and unseeing, his hand limp in hers. The battle waged around her, explosions and fire surrounding her on every side. Caryn didn't care right then. All that mattered was that the person who meant the most to her now was dead. He was gone, his spriit moving on to the next plane.
She knew that she needed to get out of there. She needed to get to a safer place. She had to protect the child she carried inside of her. The very idea of her son or daughter growing up without a father made her feel a million times worse.
A blast carried over her head and collided with a boulder several feet ahead of her. She looked dully up from her husband's face and at it, but didn't move. There was a shout from behind, then suddenly a strong hand grabbed her left shoulder, dragging her up and away from another blast that came from the other side. She was pulled away from Filbrick, and into the chest of another man.
"Get behind me!" a deep voice, that sounded very familiar, said, shoving her into the place he wanted her to be. "Leave him!" She shook her head, her stubbornness trying to take over for her grief. "That's my husband!" She said, glaring at the black hood on the man in front of her. He looked back, the sun glinting off of his goggles. "Not anymore." he said softly.
"Just who do you think you are!?" she asked, then yelped as he threw himself on top of her, pushing her down as yet another bomb was flung over her head. "Unimportant!" He said, pushing off of her again. "What matters is that we both get out of here." He scrambled to his feet and dragged her up with him. Caryn felt like puking all over his black clothes, but held what little food she still had in her stomach down. All she could really think of was how lucky she was that she had only recently found out she was pregnant.
The man, without further ado, began to drag her away from the battlefield. Yelling, cursing, and explosions filled their ears, but her eyes were fixed on the back of the stranger's hood. Caryn ran as fast as she could, but the only reason she was still keeping up with the man was because of his firm grip on her wrist.
"Where..." she said, after they got out of the fray and he slowed down a bit, "Where are you taking me?"
The man looked back at her, and she resisted the urge to shiver. "Somewhere safe. I... I have a soft spot for humans..." the man said, and Caryn couldn't help but wince at his words. A soft spot for humans... that didn't raise any red flags whatsoever...
A hop, skip, and a wormhole away, Caryn found herself in a desert cave with the strange man who had rescued her. He had her sit down, and then went off to 'gather water and resources'. She contemplated leaving, getting herself out of this awkward (and potentially dangerous) situation, but she found herself incapable to do any such action.
When the man did return, he immediately thrust a filled canteen in Caryn's hands and told her to drink. The water had a slightly metalic taste, but it was otherwise fine. Caryn sipped nervously as the man reached up and took his mask off.
What she was met with was a perfect reiteration of her husband's face.
"Filbrick!" she croaked out, trying to push herself to her feet. The man looked at her, a confused and nervous look on his face. "How do you know that name?" he asked, scooching away from her. Caryn held her hand out to him, suddenly feeling a million times better. Another version of her husband was there! That... in the Multiverse no one else could have been better to rescue her.
"Filbrick... I know you aren't... aren't mine..." Caryn blurted out, standing up and hobbling towards him. She felt like puking once again, but she couldn't. Not in front of him... Her eyes stared at him, tracing the line of his jaw, the way his hair floofed in the front. Everything about him looked absolutely perfect. He was Filbrick, he just had to be.
He stared at her in disbelief, his eyes squinted to get a better look at her. She prayed that he had met his version of her, and half hoped he hadn't. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he said slackjawed, "C- Caryn?"
She nodded vigourously, reaching forward and nearly crashing into him. She sat down next to him and grabbed his arm tightly. "I... I thought I'd never... My Filbrick is... There was an explosion..." She began to shake violently, her hands squeezing his arm as tightly as she could. "Oh Filbrick... I... I'm so sorry..." She felt like crying (something that never really happened before. Pregnancy hormones were the worst) but she kept any potential tears bottled up for the time being.
"Caryn... I'm not Filbrick." The man who looked exactly like her husband said slowly, and at first Caryn nodded, then she said in a disbelieving voice, "What?" Her companion looked sadly at her face for a moment, then down at her shaking hands. "I'm... Not Fibrick Pines... I'm Stanford Pines..." He looked at her stomach, which showed only the tiniest bit on her near skin tight dress.
"I'm a version of your son."
Stan watched the four children sit in the dining room, a weird board game that Dipper had deemed 'sort of okay' sitting in the middle of them. Three of the four were completely enveloped in the gameplay, while Dipper was constantly glancing up at another adult watching them patiently. Every now and then Stan would glance at his brother, but he preffered not to.
Ford was extremely protective of all four children. Stan now had to tell him where and when they'd be going places, along with who they would be spending time with. Stan thought that that was a stupid house rule, but unfortunately for him Caryn and Ford's word was apparently stronger than his. The kids didn't seem to mind all that much though.
Stan and Ford had instantly started bonding with their niece/nephew/cousins. Ford and Dipper and Mabel and Stan were definitely closer with each other than their counterparts, but they all still had good times together. Ford and Dipper worked on their weird nerd game, along with studying the Journals, which Ford had gifted to the two of them, with promises that they'd keep them safe.
Mabel and Stan were another story altogether. It was a great feat to tick off both Stan and Ford for different reasons, while also turning the inside of the Shack bright blue. Let's just say art project gone really wrong.
Stanley's Ford looked up at him, and their eyes met. The two men seemed to have a short conversation. Well, Stan thought that Ford did. He for one didn't understand anything Ford was trying to silently communicate with him. At least not until Ford waved for him to follow him into the living room. Stan watched him leave the room, and sighed before following him.
"Okay Stan," Ford said the moment Stan entered the same room as him. "We need to talk about something." Before Stan could think it through he'd already replied snarkily. "Of course we do. We haven't talked in years." Ford stared at him for a moment. "Stanley... Listen."
His eyes glanced back at the last room they'd been in, where Mabel and young Stan shouted in victory while Dipper and young Ford groaned. "The boys seem to be getting along just fine with Dipper and Mabel, but I'm wondering... how are you handling it?" He looked back at Stan, a small smile on his face. "I know that seems out of character, but there's really not a difference between us in how we're related to them... And living with Stan these past couple of years has really opened my eyes to our relationship."
Stanley blinked at his brother, then said, "Well... They haven't really tried to talk to me. And I haven't done that either. They've just been... Wait. You've rethought our 'relationship'?" Stanford nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Yes. Does that sound weird?" Stan shook his head. "No... Not if you're a girl..."
"Oh my Axolotl Stanley. You did not just... You're impossible." Ford ran a hand down his face, a small chuckle escaping him. "I have been living with a younger version of our mother for the past twelve-thirteen years." He shook his head and said, "I'm a happily familialized man now. I have my mother/sister and my sons/nephews/brothers. The only thing I need now is for my actual brother to integrate himself into the familial structure, and then I'll be content for the rest of my life."
This was absolutely crazy. But Stan was willing to go along with it... If it meant teasing Ford for the rest of their lives.
"So if you're 'dad', and Caryn's 'mom'. Then are you two..."
"Oh grow up Stanley!"
Hey guys! I'm back again!
Sorry? for not updating like I used to. My life hasn't exactly gotten busier, I'm just weird. I don't have much else to say though...
It was my birthday the other day, and it wasn't exactly the best. I worked in the morning, then my mom was sick (not the big one, just a cold) most the day and so I was stuck at home... I haven't really been able to hang out with my friends due to 'the amazing world of Covid-19' and there were a few other things... I just didn't feel like doing anything but sleep on my birthday. But I plugged through and finished writing this.
Speaking of this, I've had this idea in my head for a while. Let me know what you think of it! I feel like I've been deviating from what I had originally been doing (more of just the portal room and less backstory) let me know if you'd like to see a return to form.
Anyway, stay happy and safe! Remember, it's nearly impossible to get covid from simply being outside! Don't go crazy (either way)!
-BrilliantLight
