If only we could forget Chapter 3, a gravity falls fanfic

Ford had lost count of how many seconds were passing. He couldn't tell if there was a real clock somewhere around where he was or if his head was just pulsing and creating the noise. At any rate, time seemed to be moving slower than it had in even Dimension 5'kk, where time was at one-quarter speed. It was probably due to the fact that now his entire body was made out of gold, and he was (probably) sitting in Bill's room, awaiting the triangle to come back and torment him some more.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock...

How long had Weirdmageddon been going on now? A month? A week? A year? Was it possible that time no longer existed? Was Bill really as powerful as he made himself out to be? If so, how many lifetimes would it take for Bill to finally break Ford, leave his mind and body completely in shambles while he extracted everything he could ever want from his old 'friend'. Would Ford eventually cave and let Bill have free reign? Maybe even give him his consent to do whatever he wanted to his body? Would he ever become that desperate if Bill gave him enough time?

What about Dipper and Mabel? Would Ford ever see his niece and nephew again? Were either of them safe? It was unlikely that Bill already had captured either of them, since the demon wasn't using either of them as leverage against Ford yet. And if they were never captured... Would they still grow up regularly? Would they still be kids the next time Ford saw them? What if they were adults when they finally could rescue Ford... But would Ford ever let them? After what Bill had done to him, and would continue to do, could Ford ever trust himself in civil society again? Would Dipper and Mabel ever accept him?

And Stan? What would Ford give to have Stan next to him now? Sure he wasn't quite ready to forgive him for everything, but Stan had to know that Ford still cared for him. Right? What if Ford never saw him again? What if Stan was captured? There was little to suggest that Bill would think of using Stan against Ford. He would probably either kill him or turn him into another statue to go in his collection. And if Stan wasn't captured... there was a risk that he would die of old age long before Bill was done with Ford. Ford might live for centuries off of Bill's power, but Stan would be cast aside.

All that was left to do was wait.

It felt like a million years, yet no time at all when Ford received feeling once again. Of course, his 'welcome back to the world' gift was an electric shock right off of the bat, but at least it was something.

All of his hairs stood on end, his body writhed with pain and tried to escape the deadly force coursing through it, but there was nowhere to go, no one to turn to. All that was left in his life was pain, pain, pain... and of course, Bill.

Bill. Bill. Bill... Bill... Bill! Bill! Bill!

"Bill!" was the first word his scorched throat choked out as he regained consciousness, and at his outburst the pain instantly stopped. Crumpling to the stone floor, which was almost as warm as the demon floating about Ford, but was probably due to the electricity that had been pumped into it mere seconds before. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears, his heart beating intensely in his chest. Everything about and around him seemed... alive.

Gasping for air he closed his eyes, listening to his blood roar. The next thing he felt was the tip of Bill's cane tap his head gently, and he looked up at the demon in indignation. Breathing heavily and trying to shake the feeling of electricity from himself he blurted out, "I will never. Never, tell you what you want to hear." Biting the inside of his lip he watched as Bill's yellow body flashed red, and repressed a shudder when Bill said in a low voice, "Don't be too sure about that Sixer."

The next thing Ford knew a large black hand was pulling on his hair, jerking his head up and nearly yanking all the hair out of his head. Letting out a shout Ford could do little but listen as Bill laughed maniacally. "You know... I find you so appealing when you scream." Bill said, bringing Ford closer to himself, watching the human twist in front of him with humor that only someone as evil as he could ever find joy in. "I wonder if I can get you to scream out that equation... or... You know, I rather liked when you said my name like that."

Feeling sick to his stomach for a number of reasons Ford forced himself not to vomit. He wanted to open his mouth to tell Bill that that would never happen, but when he did all that came out of it was another cry of pain. Bill shuddered pleasurably, causing the hand holding Ford up by his hair to tremble ever so slightly, putting more tension on Ford's scalp.

Cries of pain were the first indication that something was wrong in the basement. Sure Ford had had his fair share of injuries around Stanley on the Stan O' War, but Stan wasn't sure what was hurting his brother now. As far as he knew Ford hadn't mentioned any new experiments he'd been working on, and even if he had started one without alerting him it was unlikely his pain would last for so long.

Plus, it didn't exactly sound like a pain that came from a pinched finger, or a slice, it sounded rawer. More guttural. And... like the memory of pain than the actual situation, if Stan did say so himself.

Speeding his way to Ford's 'private study' Stan didn't even pause to think of the potentially embarrassing situation he might be putting his brother in. Ford always liked handling his problems on his own, rather than ask for other's help. But goodness help Stan he was going to help his twin even if Ford sucker-punched him for the millionth time.

Sure enough, the moment Stan threw Ford's door open, there was his brother, lying in bed and shaking like a leaf. Stan choked suddenly, inadequacy building up inside of his stomach. Generally, he prided himself in his ability to protect his family, and that was true for the most part, but whatever traumatic experience had happened to Ford was really making him terrified... and put him in pain. Stan didn't want Ford to wake up and not realize that Stan wasn't part of the threat.

A strangled cry from Ford snapped him out of his confused thoughts, and he carefully approached Ford's side, and tapped his shoulder, making sure he was mostly out of the way of his brother's fists.

"Hey Ford... Ford... Wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

Stan would never forget the look of pure terror that was in Ford's eyes as they opened at that moment. Whatever Ford had been dreaming about was obviously still at the front of his mind, and he spat out a muffled word before grabbing Stan's hand in a lightning-fast motion and twisting his wrist almost to the breaking point.

Then, all in a moment, Ford seemed to fully wake up. His eyes widened and he stared at Stan in shock and horror. "Stanley?" he asked, his calm composure starting to slide right back on, "Uh... Thank you." He released Stan's wrist and sat up, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. Stan stared in wonder at him as he stood up and shoved the frames onto his face, turning towards the door and starting to shakily walk towards it.

"Hold up. What just happened?" Stan asked, catching up with his twin and cutting him off before he could leave. Ford blinked at him, his cheeks growing a bit darker. "None of your concern Stanley. You woke me up and I'm fine now. Now if you'll excuse me I think that some coffee..."

Stan held a hand up in front of Ford's face. "Stop right there," he said, and Ford glared at his palm. "No one is having any coffee, or food, of whatever of any kind until you tell me what the heck is going on!" Ford's gaze snapped to Stan's face, and he said in a low and dangerous voice, "Stanley, I am not discussing this right now. Not now, not ever. You're not going to find out, and that's okay. Now, let me go get-"

"What are you talkin' about?" Stan snapped, causing Ford to snap his jaw shut. "What? You don't trust me?" Ford breathed an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. "Of course I trust you Stan, I just don't-"

"Don't care?" Stan finished for him, raising an eyebrow and glaring at him. "Huh?" Ford growled angrily and snapped, "Stanley I do care about you! I care about you too much to bother you with such issues! Maybe I want to be the one protecting you for once!"

Stan stared in shock at Ford, who had drawn himself up to his full height, taking full use of his one and half inches on his brother. Stan opened his mouth to respond but Ford was already shoving him out of the way and storming out of the room.

Note to Stan: If it's Ford who's screaming, don't expect an explanation.