Just a quick warning for this chapter; parts contain minor mentions of nausea and blood, as well as violent actions.
This chapter was going to be out earlier since most of it got completed surprisingly fast, I just slipped up towards the second half of writing this chapter and haven't been in a good mood, so it's been delayed for more than like two weeks now...
Well, here's chapter 58 of "Welcome Home".
At about 5:00 in the morning, Ford had woken up from his blackout after unintentionally getting drunk that night. He opened his eyes to find himself in his bed down in the laboratory. How did he get there? Where was he last? The last thing he could remember was driving a car from... somewhere. He remembered being upset about something, but the rest was a daze.
Ford turned on his other side with an uncomfortable groan, his eyesight still blurry from just waking up. He reached a hand out and shook the air.
"Bill, what happened last night?" Ford murmured, still in a half-awake state. He waited a moment only to get no response. Ford rubbed an eye and opened them wider, looking beside him to see the other side of the bed empty, without his boyfriend inside it.
Oh, that's right. Ford had to remind himself. Bill was gone. He took a breath in and realized that his breath smelled of champagne. Now that he thought about it, he did remember Stan having some cake and champagne on the table that night. And that's when Ford realized...
He'd gotten drunk.
Ford sighed, his head hurting, and laid on his back before bringing himself to a sitting position. He found this to be a mistake when a wave of nausea hit him, resulting in him facing the consequence.
After a couple moments Ford laid on his back once more, looking up at the wooden board above the bed. He put a hand over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. He hadn't intended to get drunk, so he assumed it had just happened on its own. He just hoped he hadn't said anything awkward towards the other. Ford allowed his eyes to shut, regardless of the pain he'd felt after waking up. Perhaps waking up a second time would be a bit better than the first.
"Are you sure about this?" Leggy asked, shivering at the thought of the plan.
"Bratty boy isn't here," Bill replied. "This is our chance to escape this place." He stated.
Being that it was still early in the morning with the moon still up in the sky, surrounded by the darkness of the night, it was much too early for Bratsman to be at the studio. He would be at home at this time, asleep in his bed, giving the boys an opportunity to make a stealthy escape. They had all stayed up late for this, and Bill was dedicated on using this opportunity to his advantage. He was going to succeed with his plan and get away from the studio. Whether he came out of the building with or without the others didn't much matter to him. He had gone through his plan with the boys a bit earlier, however, so as long as they stuck to it, there was a good chance of them roaming free as well.
"But don't you remember what he said the last time he caught you trying to escape? This is the last chance you've got!" Leggy reminded, putting his hands on Bills shoulder and looking at him with worry. Bill scrunched his nose at the contact, but otherwise paid no mind to it.
"And it might be the best chance at getting out of here we'll get." Bill responded, scowling. "I was clueless out there tonight. If you hadn't made that distraction, I'm sure I would have messed up that pathetic chance I'm having to cling to." He added.
"But what if this goes wrong?" Leggy asked.
"Are you kidding?" Bill scoffed. "You're not questioning my plan, are you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"N-No, I just don't want it to backfire for all of us." Leggy clarified.
"Well I have a great plan! It's foolproof!" Bill exclaimed, putting his arms out beside him, which made Leggy remove his hands from his shoulders. "And as long as you things stick to it, you'll be out free, too." Bill added.
Chubby Z raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna help us?" He asked.
Bill shrugged. "Depends." He responded. "If it helps with my plan, sure. Whatever gets me out of here." He said.
Leggy gave a slight scowl. "Hey man, selfishness got you into this mess in the first place," He stated. "Being selfish now won't help you." He said.
"Call me what you want, but unlike you four, I actually have somewhere I need to go." Bill responded with narrowed eyes. "I don't mind dragging you meatsacks along with as long as it doesn't mess up the plan. That sounds fair, doesn't it?" He asked, folding his arms.
The other boys all looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the other. They all shrugged in unison.
"Good." Bill said. He let his hands drop back to his sides and ran a hand through his hair. "Lets not waste time. We should get this over with quick." He stated.
"Get what over with?" Creggy asked. Greggy nodded, also not understanding.
Bill turned to look at Creggy with a deadpan expression. "You're kidding." He grumbled. Creggy gave an awkward chuckle before looking at the floor. Bill rolled his eyes and facepalmed. "I can't believe i'm putting up with you robots." He said with a scowl.
The four all gasped, taking offense to the label. Leggy put a hand on his heart. "We're not robots!" He said.
"You can't just take an insult, can ya'?" Bill mumbled under his breath.
"We're radder than robots!" Chubby Z said, pumping his fists into the air. The boys all nodded and got down on one knee, throwing out their hands beside themselves and sang, "We're clones!" in a perfect boy-band unison.
Bill gave a wide forced grin, annoyed at the sudden obnoxious outburst of singing. One of his bottom eyelids twitched, and he said, "Excellent." Through clenched teeth. As if he didn't already know that.
The boys smiled and nodded, all giving mumbled agreements that their momentary performance had been a good one, none of them sensing Bill's sarcasm.
Bill put his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor for a moment, furrowing his brows as he came up with another idea.
"Now here's a thought..," Bill began. The other four all looked at him, tilting their heads. He looked back up and said. "If you're clones, couldn't ya' just use some of your DNA to make new versions of yourselves?" He asked.
Chubby Z's eyes widened. "Dang, why didn't we thinka' that?" He asked aloud.
"Because I'm a genius." Bill mumbled under his breath.
"We can't do that!" Leggy claimed. Bill looked up, narrowing his eyes slightly. Leggy pointed at the side of the cage, over at the wall with the old tubes. "Bratsman's chambers are broken, remember?" He asked.
"Well he's gotta have another way." Bill replied, hands on his hips once more.
Leggy shook his head. "Nah dawg, if he did have another way, half of us wouldn't be standing here." He frankly stated. He scratched the back of his neck and said, "One of them being you."
Bill glared. Creggy G noticed this and furrowed his brows. "Look man, you're not perfect. I think we can all agree on that." He said, messing with his golden necklace. He looked up at Bill and said, "You're not like us, if the real Chris wasn't Bratsman's favorite, you'd be outta' here by now after the mistakes you've been making." He stated.
"Perhaps i'm not like the rest of you nitwits, but that's not exactly a bad thing." Bill responded. He chuckled. "I mean, you were made for this, not me. Ya' can't blame me for screwing up pointless little dances."
The group gasped in unison a second time. Creggy G glared back at Bill. "You take that back, dawg." He demanded.
Bill hummed, folding his arms before giving the other a cocky grin. "No, I don't think I will." He responded.
"I don't think I like you all that much," Creggy stated, narrowing his eyes. "You're a jerk!" He exclaimed.
"Which makes for good reason not to piss me off." Bill shot back, clenching his fists by his sides.
"It seems like you just get angry easy, thinking you not being perfect is a big lie." Creggy stated.
Bill scoffed. "You wanna talk about perfect?" He asked, pointing to the side of his face. "Just look at this jawline!" He spat. Creggy shook his head in disbelief at the other, and Bill narrowed his eyes again. "In case any of you forgot, i'm not even supposed to be here." He reminded.
"An ol' broken record that is." Chubby Z muttered to the others who stood away from the two arguing. They silently nodded in agreement.
Creggy gave a nod of his own with more sass to it. "Right, then after this is all over, you'll be runnin' back crying about all this to that old human." He said with an eye roll.
Bill's eyes widened for a moment. He glared again. "How did you know about him?" He asked in a forceful manner. Leggy caught on to the rough tone and bit his lip, looking down at the floor and away from the demon. Bill didn't seem to acknowledge the blonde.
"Word gets around here, dawg. Don't be too surprised." Creggy said. Bill heard this and looked over at Leggy for a moment with narrowed eyes. Creggy continued, saying, "Besides, he doesn't seem too bright, either."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Bill demanded, his glare hardening and his fists clenching further.
Creggy gave a shrug. "Think about it, dawg," He began. "If he left you alone, away from his sight, in the middle of the forest long enough for you to find Chris and get mistaken for him by Bratsman, that shows a poor look at his protection towards you." He stated.
"He gave me a job." Bill informed, scowling.
"Are you sure it was a job?" Creggy asked. "For all you know, maybe he was looking for a break from you and all your attitude." He stated. "Maybe the old dude was just lookin' for a break around you."
Bill growled at this, his expression filling with rage. He reached an arm out, grasping Creggy by the neck with force and harshly pulling him closer. Creggy was taken by surprise at this and could see the fire in the demons eyes.
"You don't get to talk about him like that!" Bill snapped, taking his other hand that was still clenched in a fist and bringing it up to the others face, roughly punching the blonde. Creggy fell to the floor at the sudden hit, still in a sitting position with his arms supporting him up. He could feel something weird dribbling down a hole in his face and brought a hand up towards his nose. He drew his hand out towards him to look at in the dark, seeing a dark red substance on his fingers. He looked up at Bill with wide eyes.
"You..." Creggy began, still surprised. No one had ever made this gesture to him before. "Y-You just punched me!" He cried out.
"Sure I did," Bill agreed with a shrug. "Let that be a lesson; don't bring him into this." He stated in a more serious tone.
Creggy glared. "A lesson?" He asked, getting up and ignoring the pain in both his nose and his forming black eye. Bill was taken by slight surprise when Creggy got back up with a scowl. "You'll regret that!" He exclaimed, lunging towards Bill and knocking the demon to the ground, the other falling with him. Bill glared and swung at the blonde a second time. Creggy was able to dodge the attack this time, but fell on his side on the process. Bill scoffed and the pathetic man and grabbed him by the hair, forcing them to make eye contact.
"Hey, cut it out you two!" Greggy C tried. Creggy looked into Bill's eyes to see the demons cold glare. Bill put his fist up behind himself as if he were about to swing at the pop star a third time, only for Creggy to kick Bill in the leg. Bill lost grip on the other and looked down at his leg for a moment, laughing for a moment before growling. Creggy jumped up from off the ground and tilted the other blondes chin up, smacking him across the face. Bill took the hit and looked up in annoyance.
"You just had to fight back, didn't you?" Bill asked, standing up beside the other. The two met eyes, both upset. "Don't bother trying to gain the dominance." Bill warned, grabbing the back of the others head and tugging on his hair. Creggy groaned, his lip quivering slightly.
"Lay off him, man!" Leggy said to Bill, his arms out beside him.
"This isn't any way to control your anger." Creggy stated, regardless of the expression the other wore. "I'll bet that human would be disappointed." He teased, regardless of the others expression.
Bill narrowed his eyes. "I told you not to bring him into this, you idiot!" He exclaimed, giving the other a kick between the legs. Creggy's glare changed to a cringe, whimpering slightly at the sudden shot of pain. Bill shoved him back to the floor and slid down on his knees atop the other, grabbing his hair again and giving a few quick clocks to the face.
"Stop!" Chubby Z and Leggy P cried out in unison. They both rushed up behind Bill, grabbing his arms in attempt to get him away from the other. Bill fought the grip on his arms and, after a few attempts, managed to shove them away. When his arms were free, he went back to attacking the blonde.
Greggy C grabbed Creggys arms and tried pulling him out from under the raging man. Bill glared at the person dragging him away and grabbed the man's hips to keep him steady. Chubby and Leggy took the opportunity to grab Bill's arms a second time, forcing him backwards. Bill's squabbling caused him to fall down. The two with a hold on him combined their strength to lift up the angered man. Greggy was able to lift Creggy up from the ground. His nose was turning a darker shade of pink, blood dribbling from his nostrils.
"You okay, man?" Greggy asked, gently holding the others shoulders.
"Never better." Creggy lied, adjusting his necklace chain.
"You're lucky I'm restricted to human strength." Bill spat, glaring at him from a distance. He was still angry, but decided against fighting the two holding him for a moment.
Chubby Z put his hands on the side of Bill's head after Leggy grabbed both arms. He looked at the blonde with a scowl. "Yo, what were you thinkin', dawg?" He asked.
"He was using Fordsy against me!" Bill growled, shooting a dirty look at the blonde across the room once more. The other boys looked at each other for a moment at the odd name. Bill noticed this and realized the nickname he had used. He cleared his throat and looked away, drawing his eyes to the floor. "Er... Ford." He corrected in a sudden mutter.
Creggy snorted. "Tough guy's got a soft side." He mumbled to himself. Bill's attention went to the man after he'd caught onto a bit of what he had said.
"What was that?" Bill shouted suddenly. He yanked himself away from the two holding him and bolted towards the other. "Apparently you haven't learned your lesson, numbskull." He said. Greggy shrieked at a high pitch and abandoned Creggy, getting out of the way. Creggy's eyes widened as Bill came after him, the other two following behind him. Creggy made a run for it, rushing to the other side of the cage. Bill snarled and rushed to catch him. At that point, the boys were running around the cage like they'd lost their minds. Eventually Bill had gotten ahold of Creggy and pushed him on the ground.
"When will it end?" Leggy groaned, holding his side as it began to cramp up.
"I'm not soft!" Bill growled, putting both his hands in the others hair and gripping it. Creggy winced, but otherwise did nothing. Bill looked down at the man with a cold stare. "I don't know what all you've heard, but if you use him against me like that again, things won't be pretty." He warned. Creggy nodded uncomfortably. Bill gave a mocking smile and pointed at the man. "You've got a little something there." He teased, directing his finger towards the blood by his nose. Parts of it had dried, which would make it harder to wipe off.
Chubby Z came rushing up to Bill, trying to get him off Creggy. He hadn't fully acknowledged that Bill wasn't currently attacking. Bill turned his head and stayed in place, looking at the man. "Hey!" Bill exclaimed in a chiding manner. Chubby heard this and backed away.
To their luck, the room's main door was slammed open, causing all of them to flinch in surprise. Bratsman stood at the door and was quick to turn on the light. He looked at the boys and quickly saw Bill on top of Creggy, the man below him in pain and bloody.
"Chris!" Ergman shouted with a cold glare. Bill's eyes widened as he turned to look at the producer. Bratsman walked towards them, his cane in hand, a glare on his face.
Bill scowled slightly. "Aw, orphans." He muttered to himself. He was in trouble now.
"Stand up!" Bratsman demanded. Bill gave a silent huff of breath before complying with the others demand. Creggy took this as opportunity to stand up, his body aching, nose bleeding, and eyes throbbing. He held the side of his face and bit his lip. Bratsman noticed the blonde in pain and put his hands on his hips. "Cregsie, c'mere." He commanded in a softer tone. Creggy sighed and walked towards the front of the cage, standing in front of the other. Bratsman looked down at the others face and gasped. The producer forced his hands through the bars and grabbed the sides of Creggy's cheeks.
"Your face!" Ergman exclaimed, a look of horror apparent. He forced the others skull to move side to side as he looked at the damage done. "Your perfect face!" He shrieked. Bratsman let go and put his hands back out of the cage. What had happened? He'd stayed at the studio to deal with all the malfunctions of the show earlier that night, making calls and sending letters to multiple facilities. When he heard sudden constant racket, he had to get up and deal with the boys. He had no idea there had been a fight until now. And he'd caught the one responsible- quite literally- red-handed.
"You!" Bratsman shouted, pointing at Bill. The demon noticed the glance and knew he was in trouble. "I remember warning you about what would happen if you slipped up again!" He stated.
Bill's mouth was slightly opened as he was rendered speechless. Was there any way he could get himself out of this? He looked at Bratsman with furrowed brows and quickly pointed to Creggy. "H-Hey, he started it!" He claimed.
"I don't expect you boys to have mature responses unlike that one, but you should know better than to attack your brother like that!" Bratsman stated. He pointed at the door behind him. "Now get outta' here, you're coming with me." He stated. Bill gulped, but ignored his emotions and walked over towards the front of the cage beside Creggy.
"Just where do you assume you'll be taking me?" Bill asked. Bratsman scowled at the blonde and narrowed his eyes. As if he didn't know the answer. As if he had forgotten the warnings. The producer kept his stare on the other. Bill bit his lip slightly. "Oh." He muttered.
Creggy looked at the blonde with a look of guilt. He didn't exactly like him, but he didn't see this as right to toss him away to face death like the clones would.
"I'm not going." Bill stated, folding his arms and looking away.
Bratsman glared. "Don't put up a fit here, Chris. Resisting will only make things worse for you." He threatened. Bill heard him, but said and did nothing in response.
Creggy frowned at his producer. "H-Hey, come on! He's right, Mr. Bratsman. I upset him, I started it." He admitted, putting a hand on his chest. "Don't punish him. Punish me, instead." He said with a guilty expression.
"He should've controlled his temper." Bratsman said with narrowed eyes. He looked back at Bill and shouted, "Now come on!" Before bringing his hands to unlock the cage.
Bill scrunched his nose and kept his gaze away. "I'm not going. You can't make me." He stated.
Ford had managed to get a bit more sleep since his last attempt, but woke up with a headache worse than his first. He held his head and groaned, giving a long roll of his eyes before sighing deeply. The moment he worked up the energy to support himself up slightly with his elbows, a wave of nausea hit him again and he had to take a moment to empty his stomach.
After a few moments of laying pointlessly in his bed, feeling a bit more relief as far as his stomachache was concerned, he got the courage to get out of bed and stand up. He looked at his side table and noticed his boots there beside it. Ford grabbed his boots and slipped into them. Bending down made his headache scream at him, but he did his best to ignore the pain. Once the boots were on his feet, he walked towards the door and left the room. He ignored his work waiting for him and instead headed towards the elevator. It was about 7:00 in the morning, so there was a chance Stan would be awake. Perhaps if he was around, Ford could get some answers.
Meanwhile, (To the hungover scientists luck,) Stan was currently awake, cooking up some scrambled eggs on the stove in a pan. He added shredded cheese and ham bits to the breakfast. He'd been humming old songs from his childhood that morning out of boredom, and the nostalgia from specific songs was pleasant, unlike some others that he preferred to avoid. When he heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching, he glanced over towards the doorframe to see his brother walk in looking half-dead with eye bags and messy hair.
Stan snorted. "Mornin', wasted." He greeted, stirring the eggs. Ford heard the slight laugh and greeted Stan in return with narrowed eyes and scrunched nose. Just the sight made Stan begin laughing.
"Stanley," Ford grumbled to give a bit more 'proper' greeting before walking towards the table. He sat down and buried his hands in his hair, elbows planted on the table.
"You don't take alcohol well, do ya'?" Stan asked, abandoning the stove for a moment to grab a couple plates before returning.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Ford proceeded to grumble, dragging his hands down his face and groaning at the annoying pain his headache was causing. The light of the room was also hard on him, especially after just waking up.
Stan gave a slight smile. "Ah, you know I'm just messin' with ya'." Stan said with a chuckle. He dished up some eggs on both plates and gave one of the two to Ford, placing the other on the opposite side of the table.
Ford took a slight glance at the plate put in front of him and muttered, "Do forks still exist on this planet?" With a slight raise of his eyebrow.
Stan scowled. He walked to the utensil drawer and got two forks out, returning to the kitchen table and purposefully dropping one fork on the side of Ford's plate so it made a loud clang. Ford groaned at the loud sound.
"They sure do, jackass." Stan answered with a roll of his eyes before sitting down at the other side of the table.
Ford sighed. "I'm sorry," He murmured, "I feel horrible this morning."
"You should," Stan replied, putting his hands on his hips. "I made breakfast and everything! So your sass isn't parta' the peaceful morning I was wishing for." He stated.
Ford gave his brother a deadpan look that made Stan grin. "You know what I mean." he said with furrowed brows.
"Ah, sure I do," Stan said, still grinning. He pointed his own fork in Ford's direction. "Now don't let them eggs go to waste. They took a whole 10 minutes ta' make." He said. Ford gave a slight chuckle and complied.
Ford's stomachache was feeling much better after breakfast, and he'd even considered taking a shower to get rid of some of the toxins making him feel so miserable. Perhaps some warm water and steam would calm him and ease his pounding headache. After a moment of contemplation, Ford decided to go along with that plan and took some time to treat himself to a nice, warm shower. He'd come out with his head feeling a bit better than it had before he got in, which he was satisfied with. And while his head still ached, at the very least it had calmed down slightly.
Ford got back to the lab in a dark blue robe, his hair still damp. He'd gone to the bedroom to change into his usual outfit, minus the lab coat for now. After he finished up, Ford moved to his desk and sat down, looking at the paperwork scattered around the desk. He had a lot of work to catch up on, after getting so distracted and off track recently. If only he could focus. This was important.
Ford was in the dark at his desk, a microscope on his desk as he studied the rock underneath. In one hand, he adjusted the dial on the microscope. In the other, he held a flashlight, holding it up so that the light shined on the rock he was studying. It got tiring, having to constantly switch what both hands were doing if he were to take notes, a drink, or adjust his glasses so they wouldn't slip off his face. He squinted his eyes constantly, trying to get a better look at the rock he was researching. The power had gone out in the shack, leaving them to things like candles and battery powered lights.This rock that Ford had discovered had a substance inside too precious to leave be. He wouldn't let a mere power shortage get in the way of an extraordinary discovery. There was a candle stick beside him on his desk with a long, white candle inside, though it didn't have a flame to go with it. Ford would have gotten up to get a lighter to light a flame to said candle, were he not so occupied with three different things at once.
The elevator was still functional, however, courtesy to an emergency system Ford had installed to the shack when it was being built years ago. Still though, he was too caught up in his work to hear the elevator coming down or opening. Bill walked into the dark laboratory with Ford's lab coat neatly folded in his arms. He saw the slight, flickering light of Ford's dying flashlight at his desk and approached the scientist. He stood behind his boyfriend and unfolded the coat, placing it overtop his shoulders. Ford noticed the other's presence, but was caught up in jotting down some notes.
"Stan got the ol' thing washed for the first time in a decade." Bill teased.
Ford rolled his eyes and finished up the sentence he was writing, setting down his pen. He turned his head to look at the blonde. "Har, har." He said a monotone voice. Bill grinned and gave a snicker that made the scientist smile. He turned back forward to look at his work once more.
Bill peered over his shoulder to try and get a look at what the other was doing. He leaned on the chair and rested his chin atop Ford's shoulder. Bill lifted his arms up slightly and instead draped them around the mans neck. Ford took a quick glance at the blonde. Bill was nuzzling into the crook his neck, afterwards looking down at the microscope Ford had on the desk.
"Whatcha' wokin' on?" Bill asked.
"Something extraordinary," Ford replied, squinting his eyes for a moment as he looked into the microscope. "As I was taking a walk in the forest, I found this rock in the lake. It was shining and caught my eye. But it wasn't the rock itself that was shining, it was something around and inside of it." He said. "It's what I believe to be twenty five karat gold." He said, giving a smile at the sight of his finding.
Bill narrowed his eyes. "Wait, wait- twenty five?" He asked, looking at the rock.
"Yes," Ford confirmed. "It seems to be of higher value than-"
"But that doesn't exist." Bill stated frankly, cutting him off and furrowing his brows. "You know me. I'm the master of gold, Ford. But i'm tellin' you, this can't be what you think it is. I'm not convinced." He said. "I've never seen anything like that, which must say something."
Ford scowled slightly. "It has to be," He replied. "It wouldn't make sense if it were anything else. The gold substance inside this rock appears to be of more value than any other gold." He said.
"And do you know what value every type is, smart guy?" Bill asked.
Ford went silent for a moment. He closed his mouth and looked down at his notes. "Not exactly." He admitted in a mutter.
"All i'm saying is that the chance of this being legit isn't likely." Bill said. "And if you can't be sure, maybe you should look into the types you're not familiar with. I'd offer to help but it's too difficult to tell exactly with your lighting strategy." He added.
Ford looked up. "Oh, that reminds me," He began. He turned to look at the other. "Did the power come back on?" he asked, picking up his pen.
"Yes, that's why the lights are back on and you're not restricted to a pathetically lit flashlight." Bill replied.
"Right." Ford muttered, shining the flickering light onto the rock he was studying. Bill noticed the obvious struggle and was about to address it before Ford asked, "Would you light that candle?" Before adjusting the microscope's lens once more. Bill saw the direction Ford nodded his head towards and saw the candlestick on his desk.
"Won't the blue colored flame mess things up?" Bill inquired.
Ford gave a wave of his hand. "Ah, i'm sure it'll be just fine." He dismissed, turning a page.
"If you say so..." Bill mumbled. He put a hand on the desk and leaned forward, bringing one of his fingers towards the candle. A flame emerged from his finger and he brought it up to the tip of the candle, bringing fire to the wick. He was shocked to see a sudden burst of flame burning up from the candle wick. Bill flinched, but looked on in awe at the surge of power he seemed to have. The second Ford noticed the obnoxious flame from the mere candle, he jumped back in his chair and exclaimed a mix of confusion and shock.
"Oh yeah," Bill said with a grin, getting on his knees and folding his arms on the desk, resting his head atop them. "Just fine." He said, pupils enlarged at the powerful flame.
Meanwhile, Ford was rushing away from his desk to go retrieve his fire extinguisher. Bill didn't seem to notice. His eyes glistened at the sight of the gorgeously chaotic fire. The flames were burning the candle wax quickly, said wax dripping off all along the sides of its stand. It had been a while since he'd seen such power in reality. Of course there was the time he and Ford had spent in the dreamscape with the shapeshifters, but that was all in the mind. This was reality. What he saw before him was a glimpse of power he was capable of possessing. Ironically, Bill wasn't even trying to perform anything big. Just a simple lighting of a candle. This started to make him think- Had he become more powerful over time? Was it because he had preserved the majority of his power for a good while, or was it that performing something bigger would sometimes just take some more relaxatio-
An obnoxious spray of foam knocked Bill out of his train of thought. He quickly took his arms off the desk and stumbled to the floor, looking up at the fire being put out. He quickly frowned at the sight of his chaotic flame dying down from the fire extinguisher. The flame withered away, only a bit of smoke left behind. Bill scowled before shooting a glare towards his boyfriend.
"Well, that's enough of that mess." Ford said, setting the extinguisher down. "It seems I stand corrected." He added in a muttered tone. The room was dark once more, aside from the hardly working flashlight and slight moonlight coming in from the hole in the ceiling under the shacks steps. Ford looked down beside him to see the blonde's slightly glowing eyes looking back up at him, an upset expression on his face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ford questioned.
"It was beautiful." Bill stated, bringing himself to sit and folding his arms, looking away.
Ford rolled his eyes at the childish behavior. "It was dangerous." He sternly replied.
Bill glanced back at him over his shoulder. "Sometimes the dangerous things can be more gorgeous than anything else." He stated.
"Well, it wouldn't be so gorgeous if the shack were to burn down." Ford grumbled with half-lidded eyes. He held a hand out beside him, looking down at the other. Bill noticed the hand and narrowed his eyes. He grabbed hold of said hand and Ford pulled him up off the floor.
"It would burn for good reason." Bill tried to convince.
"I beg to differ." Ford said before grabbing hold of Bill's hand and shining a flashlight onto it. He squinted his eyes attentively, looking at both his palm and fingers.
Bill scrunched his nose. "What are you doing?" He asked, uneasy and confused.
"A quick examination." Ford answered, checking the others index finger specifically now.
"Last year all over again." Bill muttered. He threw his head back and started laughing. "Back when you hated me." He said with a grin.
"It seems you're assuming my opinion's changed," Ford teased, tugging the hand back closer to him. "Hold still."
Bill's mouth hung open, and he looked at the scientist in surprise. "Oh, how cruel, Sixer." He pouted.
"Yes, yes, i'm a big meanie, aren't I?" Ford dismissed with a cocky smile.
"That you are," Bill agreed, putting his other hand on his hip. "Big meanie Sixer." He murmured.
"Bigger than you?" Ford asked, drawing his eyes away from the hand and instead looking at the blonde. He flipped Bill's hand over and gave it a quick peck before turning around to look at his desk. Bill's hands fell to his sides and he looked at the man with wide eyes.
"...You got me there." Bill admitted in a mutter. He stood beside Ford and noticed he was looking down at the candle, shining his flashlight over the area. He put a hand behind his back and furrowed his brows slightly.
"Tell me truthfully, Bill," Ford began. He turned to look at the other, meeting the blondes gaze. Ford pointed his hand at his desk, specifically towards the nearly finished candle and slightly burnt papers. "Did you know you could do this?"
"That much power with something simple? No." Bill replied. "It just kinda... happened." He said, scratching the back of his neck.
Ford gave a slow nod to the answer. "Well, taking that into account, there has to have been a cause." He responded, putting a hand on his chin and looking away in thought. "I just wonder if it was something you had done, or if the surge of power was some sort of object in itself." He thought aloud. He looked at Bill again. "Does there happen to be anything odd that's happened to you lately?" He questioned.
"Oh, sure," Bill said dismissively. "I went to go pour a bowl of cereal the other day, but the box had a bunch of hairs mixed in with the flakes."
Ford grimaced. "Gross." He said, a look of disturbance on his face.
"Yeah, didn't know Stano could shed." Bill said, folding his arms.
"Well, I was thinking more physical effects," Ford informed. Bill raised an eyebrow. He looked at the scientist as he adjusted his glasses. "Have you been feeling ill? Weaker than usual?" Ford then asked.
"Haven't felt it," Bill answered. He narrowed his eyes in slight suspicion. "What's with all the questions?" He asked.
"We need to figure out what this is about, especially since it's happened so suddenly." Ford said. "Your apparent increase in power should be investigated as soon as possible." He continued.
Bill gave a mocking grin. "Are you afraid?" He asked, his suspicion turning to cheekiness. He got no response from the man and laughed. "Fordsy's afraid, how cute." He mocked.
Ford narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a child." He felt the need to remind. "This was unexpected. I can't sit around and do nothing as far as investigating goes. Especially with all the outcomes this could cause." He added.
"Outcomes?" Bill repeated, curious.
"More bad than good." Ford stated.
Bill grinned again. "You're afraid." He teased.
"I'm not afraid." Ford grumbled. "I just don't want anything bad to happen. There's also always the chance that this could be harmful to you. We need precautions." He clarified.
"Aww," Bill cooed with a grin. "Sixer cares." He said.
"It's ironic how you always seem to find a way to tease me." Ford scoffed. The flashlight in his hands began flickering more than it had before, and in a matter of seconds the light finally gave out. Ford looked down at the flashlight and scowled, smacking the side of it and giving it a few shakes. The light wouldn't come back on. "Perfect." Ford muttered.
Bill reached for the flashlight and Ford let him take it, being that it was useless now. Bill tried hitting it on the desk which made Ford cringe slightly, though he did nothing to stop him. Last time he'd checked, they were out of batteries anyway. If he couldn't do more tests or take notes on features of the rock on his desk, perhaps he could try performing a few tests on Bill to check for any oddities in behavior. He watched Bill carelessly toss the flashlight behind him, the device falling to the floor. Neither paid any mind to that.
"Would you be alright with doing a few experiments?" Ford asked.
"Now you've got my attention," Bill said with a grin. "What do you need?" He asked.
Ford gave a slow shake of his head. "I can't say for sure right now," He admitted. "Just some basic physical examination tests to make sure there isn't any issues or flaws compared to your typical behavior." He explained.
"So you're stopping work to do more work?" Bill asked, obviously unamused. He folded his arms. "When was the last time you gave yourself a break, brainiac? Because by the looks of it, ya' need one." He pointed out.
"I can't take a break now," Ford argued, turning himself in front of the other. "There's too much that could be on the line here. And thinking back on what that young, blonde man Stan and I found in the forest said..,"
"Would you forget about that guy?" Bill shot back. He put his hands on Ford's shoulders and gave a slight scowl. "You're putting too much thought into that. Whoever that stranger was, chances are he was just some loon. I seriously doubt anything bad is gonna happen." He stated.
Ford only released a sigh. "It just seems like a better idea to take a few precautions than doing nothing." He said.
"I've felt fine all day, for all we know this could have been a coincidence." Bill responded. He saw Ford's doubtful expression and admitted to himself that he didn't exactly think it was coincidence, either. Regardless, he gave a slight tilt of his head, his scowl fading a bit. "You're worrying too much too soon, Six. The more you worry, the more stressed out you'll get. You need to relax." He pointed out.
"I relaxed last month." Ford replied.
Bill sighed. "Come on, you've been so stressed lately," He said, resting his forehead on the scientists chest. Ford frowned and gently combed through the blondes hair with his hand. Bill moved his chin up to look at the other man, Ford looking down slightly to meet his gaze. Bill tilted his head. "The power's out, anyway. If you took a break, maybe we could go... have some us-time." He proposed.
Ford then scowled. "Absolutely not," He rejected. "There could be health risks you have that we don't know about. We can't just ignore this and put it aside so immaturely. I'd much rather spend time running some tests rather than wasting it on something pointless." He stated, his scowl remaining.
"Pointless?" Bill repeated, taken aback by the response. Ford noticed the faint look of hurt on the others face and realized his poor choice of words.
"...W-Well," Ford stammered, adjusting his glasses. He drew his eyes down to the floor, a hint of awkwardness hitting him. "Unnecessary, anyway. Time consuming." He corrected.
Bill hummed. "Well, if you're that interested in doing those tests on me about this power surge thing, i'll comply." He said. Ford looked back at the other once more and gave a nod.
"Excellent," Ford said, putting his hands behind his back. "We should move down to my study. There's some basic supplies I had left down there that I'll need." He stated, turning to look at the elevator.
"Well we'd better hurry then, huh Dr. Paranoia?" Bill replied with a mocking grin, heading towards the elevator without looking behind him. Ford saw the other beginning to head to the study and furrowed his brows, thinking for a short moment. Before the blonde could leave he quickly reached a hand out, grabbing Bill by the wrist and swiftly pulling him backwards towards him. Bill gave a quick shriek at being pulled in the dark, but calmed when his shoulder made contact with the warmth of the other man.
Ford kept him close, keeping his grip on Bill's wrist and leaning over beside his ear, confusing the smaller man. "Another time." He purred in a murmured tone, gently stroking the bottom of the blondes chin with his index finger. Bill's eyes lit up slightly, and he wore a small look of surprise before turning to look at the other. He gave a faint nod of his head and stood frozen as Ford pulled away. Even in the dark, he could spot Bill's speechless expression that had appeared so suddenly. His low-toned chuckle sent a shiver down the demons spine. He remained frozen in place and just watched for a moment as the author walked off towards the elevator. What had just happened? Bill couldn't tell for sure. It was strange- as if for a moment he had seen another side of Stanford; a much more... romantic one. He was unfamiliar to it. He liked it.
Ford noticed that he was walking by himself and looked behind him halfway there, stopping in his tracks. The small bits of light coming from the machinery, as well as the blondes eyes from across the room, displayed that he hadn't been following.
"Are you coming?" Ford asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bill gave a quick shake of his head to bring himself out of his train of thought. He looked back at the other and nodded to the question. Bill cleared his throat and approached as Ford proceeded to walk, trailing behind the scientist like somewhat short of a lost puppy.
"Quit yer' squirmin'," Bratsman spat, glaring down at the struggling blonde and holding a tighter grip on his arms.
Bill was struggling. He was light and easy to move about, which didn't help him in his attempts to escape the producers hold on him as the man guided him to his next (And, hopefully not last..,) destination. A place Bill didn't want to go. He knew that he could have prevented all this, but also blamed Creggy for getting on his nerves and causing him to act up and all out of place. He was fighting Bratsman, swinging his arms and legs in poor attempt to break from the grip. Unfortunately his attempts weren't strong enough. He wasn't getting any closer to any exit. Still though, he continued struggling.
Ergman gripped Bills arms rougher. "Stay still, you brat!" He demanded.
"I'm not going in there!" Bill blurted. He glared and tried twisting around in his hold to little avail.
Bratsman scoffed and proceeded to walk towards the door at the back of the studio. He managed to get to the door and tried to handle Bill in one hand to open the door with his other. Bill continued with his squirming and tried kicking his feet up onto the door. He succeeded in this and tried nudging the producer with his knee, only to find that he couldn't quite reach. Instead, Bratsman just hooked his arm under the blondes leg and tried to keep him trapped in the hold as he opened the door. Bill saw the door leading to a small, dark room made of stone lit merely by the sunlight coming through a barred window on the wall. He only squirmed more at this.
"Just get in the cell, will ya'?" Bratsman growled.
"You can't make me!" Bill exclaimed, trying to kick the other. Bratsman narrowed his eyes and opened the door further, grabbing hold of the side of the blondes arms. Bill's eyes widened as he was being tossed into the room. "Woah, wait, woah, no, no, wait- hey!" Bill cried out, released from the grasp and falling in mid-air to the floor. He crashed and hit his head, but ignored the throbbing and was quick to get up. He crawled up towards the door and just barely grasped the handle, Bratsman slamming the door shut. Bill screamed and clawed at the door with his hands, his fingertips doing practically nothing against the hard, metal door.
Bill looked up at the door in fear and started banging his fists on it to make noise. "Let me out!" He pleaded, hearing nothing but footsteps walking away and his hands slamming against the door. Bratsman didn't come back. No one came to help. He scowled. "Let me out!" He screamed. The next several minutes were filled with him struggling to either get help out from someone else or annoy Bratsman enough to where he would come back. His time of struggling proved to be useless. Everything around him was quiet save for himself and the noise he was making, though he couldn't actually hear other sounds. After his fit he stopped. He kept his fists clenched but put them in his lap, taking a long huff of breath.
What now? Bill asked himself. He stood up with a scowl and looked around the cell. There was a window looking thing against the back wall, a passage of air flow to the outside world. He grinned and ran up to it, holding the thick bars in his hands and looking out. The spaces between each bar were much too slim for him to try and fit through. The area that he could see didn't have anything too useful around him. No buildings, no cars, no people. Just grass. Grass and trees in the somewhat near distance. Much too far away for him to access, however.
Bill gripped the bars harder and started shaking them aggressively. They wouldn't budge. It was only causing pain to the joints in his fingers. Bill glared and, after a bit of struggle, finally let go of the bars. He smacked one out of annoyance and ignored the stinging pain. Nothing about this was humorous.
He eventually moved to the corner, sitting down. Looking in front of him he saw the door that had him trapped in the room. He gave a huff and just looked around, deciding to look visually rather than physically for a moment. He looked to his right in the other corner against the wall and noticed a body there. His sudden shock caused him to give a cry of surprise. He smacked his hand over his mouth to stop himself and just took a second glance at the body. It was human, but didn't resemble the look of a living person. It looked almost like a lonely skeleton who was long dead.
Bill gulped and looked away. Instead he rested his back against the wall, bringing his legs up against his chest, his thighs close. He took a hand off his mouth and instead slithered his hands into his hair, balling up his fists slightly.
"Perfect." Bill grumbled. What was he to do now? The door had no handle on the side of the wall he was on, and the window didn't show any signs of budging any time soon. He told himself he'd give both another go later, but for now he figured it best to leave it alone. He wasn't very confident in his plans pulling through, anyway. They were faint, and didn't have a very good chance of succeeding.
Bill sighed. "This is fine," He tried to tell himself. "Sixer'll come help me." He said, as if for a moment he'd forgotten their encounter from the other day that had messed up his chances. If only Bratsman hadn't had Bill wrapped around his finger then. If there was nothing stopping him, he would have been able to go back with Ford, tell him the truth of what was happening as opposed to being forced to lie. He'd much rather be in the presence of Ford rather than stranded all alone in a cold cell. A cell he assumed would only get colder when the sun went down again when this day came to its end. The sun had just risen, so at least he'd have some time to get used to his current environment, regardless of how much he hated admitting that.
Bill wished things had gone differently. He had a whole plan for escape planned out earlier that he would have gone through with, all until his fight with Creggy happened. Their brawl had messed everything up. Now he was paying the price. Bill remembered when they were caught, how Creggy had tried to get Bratsman to take him rather than Bill, regardless of their fight. Bill hadn't expected that coming at all, and he wondered why the clone had tried such a thing. It didn't work, but the attempt was... nice.
But why?
What had Bill done to receive such a sacrifice? Especially after he'd messed Creggy up? Even though Creggy had gotten on his nerves, there had to be something else that Bill was missing to grasp about this. He thought, but just couldn't put his finger on it. He was convinced that this was Creggy's doing. Sure he'd made a kind offer, but perhaps he was just trying to get on Bills good side. A smart move by him, after being attacked by Bill. The demon assumed this to be Creggy's fault. The clone was the reason they'd been caught, and why Bill was sitting on the stone floor of a lonely cell. Bill scowled. That troublesome clone was to blame.
"That's just how it-" Bill began, only to stop himself. His pupils shrunk slightly as he stared off into the distance, hitting a sudden realization.
No.
It wasn't Creggy's fault. Sure he'd pushed Bill's buttons, but at that point it had only been a mere argument. Bill hadn't had a handle on his anger in the moment. He made it a bigger thing- a bigger issue- than it needed to be. He made the situation worse. His anger was the reason he'd picked a fight with Creggy. His recklessness was the reason he'd attacked him so mercilessly at the restraints of his mere human strength. His racket was the reason Bratsman had heard them from his office. His actions caused him to get into trouble. To use up his one generously given chance from Bratsman. It was Bills fault. He'd gotten himself into this mess. His selfishness throughout his time at the studio had slowly built up to what his fate was now.
This was on him.
Creggy wasn't innocent, but he hadn't intended for violence or any trouble to occur. Bill was the one who had led that on. And he'd been selfish. He had conducted a plan to get him out of the studio, and saw the others as mere options. Not a good way for him to think, especially being that the clones had suffered under Bratsmans presence much longer than he had. He'd been selfish, only thinking about himself, and yet Creggy was over there, willing to completely give himself up if it meant Bill getting off the hook.
Bill gave a slight frown. "I can't lie to myself around this one," He told himself, resting his legs outstretched on the floor for a moment. "I guess I do need to work on some things..." He muttered.
What now? This wasn't a very good question for Bill at the moment. He criss-crossed his legs and sighed, tilting his head back as he ran his hands through his hair. Afterwards he let his hands loosely fall by his sides. Bill sighed and draped them into his pockets. He hadn't slept all night. He felt tired. For a moment he allowed his eyes to shut on him, if only to relax. He fiddled his hands around in his pockets all until he felt a peculiar object hit one of his knuckles. His eyes opened suddenly and he looked down at his pockets.
"Huh?" Bill blurted in confusion. "What's that?" He questioned. He fiddled with his pocket to try and feel the object once more. After a moment he managed to get it in his hand. Bill tilted his head and looked down as he took his balled-up hand out of his pocket. He looked at his fist and opened it, confused when his fingers revealed a strange ring-shaped object. He narrowed his eyes and grasped the ring between his index finger and thumb, holding it up closer to his face to get a better look. This ring... it was familiar. He could have sworn he'd seen Ford planning it out on a sheet of paper Bill had seen on his desk a week or so prior. It looked like gold... the gold he'd been studying.
When Bill realized this, he grinned. "Stanford, you son of a gun." He praised. He spaced out his fingers and slid the ring on one of his fingers. Being that Ford had created the ring, it reminded him of the scientist. For a moment Bill wondered if Ford knew that he was lying when they had gotten the chance to meet face-to-face the day before. After thinking further, he thought against it. Bill was a good liar. It would have been tricky for Ford to see through the lie. However if Ford happened to know that something was wrong, he certainly would have done something about it as opposed to leaving Bill there with the others. Ford had also looked very upset the last time they spoke after hearing the news that Bill wouldn't be returning back with him to the shack. If Bill could have said something, he would have. He hated the trapped feeling he had felt because of Bratsmans technique.
Regardless, Bill stood up, looking down at his hands. He wished to waste no more time than needed. He looked specifically at the hand with the ring on it and tried summoning fire. Nothing. He narrowed his eyes and tried again with more force. Still nothing.
Bill scowled. Come on...
He grabbed his wrist with his other hand and gave a long, strained groan as he tried his best to force something to happen. All he needed was a simple spark to regain some confidence. Recently he'd been feeling on and off that the confidence had was spiraling down without a sense of control on most situations. Bill stumbled backwards slightly and hit his back against the wall. He glared at his hand, watching for something to happen. He couldn't afford to let this chance flop. He stared and stared at his hand until finally... a small, quick flash of blue flame emerged from the palm of his hand, only to immediately extinguish right after.
Bill's eyes widened. To his surprise, Stanford's theories had been correct. Well, one at least, from what he could tell. The ring had worked, and its power had paid off. Bill grinned at the success and felt a bit of relief at knowing he had a chance of using some power. If only he could find a source to gain more. Ford had pointed out a few theories about things similar, but neither of them could say for sure. Bill figured he'd have to test some of those ideas out if he wanted to expand his powerful capabilities on top of the restraints holding him back. Right now though, he felt a wave of relief. Because thankfully, the ring hadn't been a flop.
It had worked.