Thanks for the Follow, Shadescribe! It's good to see you dropping into my inbox again! I completely understand the busyness of college life, but I'm glad to see you again.

On top of that, I'm posting on my birthday today, so I feel this is a special treat - for me, anyway! You guys are gonna see a familiar face that Sixer hasn't seen in a long time. And it is going to be a very...fluffy...encounter.

Chapter 3 - Old Friend

Axel and Roxas did not stay long in Gravity Falls. They spent a lot of time talking with Maria – sometimes when Sixer was around, sometimes when he wasn't.

Thanks to a few gifts over the last year, Sixer was able to keep himself busy with rerecording his previous discoveries from his now-dead dimension into a new journal – minus everything that had to do with when he was...enamored with Cipher. Sixer left a series of notes instead, objectively stating how what he thought was a friendly partnership wasn't, and when in his time in Gravity Falls went from delight to horror at the sight of triangles and everything else related to the demon.

Unfortunately, the side-effect of going through memories of the past was…less than friendly on his sleeping habits.

"COME ON, FORDSY, JUST SHAKE MY HAND, AND WE CAN GO BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS!"

"NO!"

Sixer shot up in bed, breathing heavily. He didn't realize he had the sheets in a vice grip until he'd managed to catch his breath.

Getting his hands to relax was a task in and of itself.

Stopping himself from reaching for his neck was another.

He gripped his wrist instead and looked around the room. There was his bed, and three others. Each one had sleeping figures in them, but they might not be sleeping any longer, considering how Sixer had just woken up.

He glanced at the window, and saw gentle sunlight starting to sneak in through the curtains. It must have been…five in the morning? Six?

Well, he wasn't going to be going back to sleep at this rate.

Sixer stepped out of bed and took advantage of the dark to quietly get dressed, then slipped out of the bedroom and started downstairs.

The kitchen was quiet. No one was up yet, which was fine for Sixer. He needed to clear his head, and he wasn't going to be able to do that in his room with his family, or down in the kitchen with the thought of making breakfast.

He needed to see the sky and make sure that it wasn't red and apocalyptic.

Sixer stepped out onto the porch and breathed in the damp, cool morning air. The sun was on the horizon. The forest was quiet.

And the sky was lightening from the deep midnight blue of night to the brighter colors of the morning.

"So, it was just a nightmare."

Still, the presence of the nightmare was troublesome. He hadn't had many over the last year – from what he remembered. After all, dreams and nightmares faded from the awake mind eventually.

But that didn't mean Sixer didn't feel their effects. It felt like Cipher's ghost was bombarding him every night, and not even the presence of a nightmare eater like Alcor was doing anything to help him with that.

"I need to clear my head."

Sixer stepped off the porch and walked into the trees, disappearing between the pines as he took a well-worn trail that he and Maria had walked multiple times over the last year. While the sun continued to climb higher and warm up the Oregon woods around him, Sixer fought against the thoughts that had been drudged up by the nightmare slowly fading into the back of his mind.

What if he comes back?

No, we killed him, he can't, he—

Ciphers are resourceful, though. He might have a contingency plan. And now he knows how to—

No. He had a debt to pay. We ended him.

But why was it that he wasn't able to convince himself of that?

He had been there when Cipher had been crushed underfoot by his brother, Crescent. Sixer had blasted the monster with enough fire to keep him on bedrest for several days. Star and Pine had left their own marks on the monster as well.

He had paid the unpaid debt he'd started by transforming them and forcing them into servitude.

So why was Sixer suddenly feeling uncertain about that now?

Sunlight hit him in the face abruptly as he stepped out of the trees and into an open clearing, forcing him to stop for a moment and check his surroundings.

He was standing at the edge of a clearing. On one side, trees stopped in a half-circle, while the other side dropped off abruptly in a cliff. On the other side of the cliff was a lake – one that held a floating island head and his family, as well as the robotic remains of Fiddleford's Gobblewonker – and, perhaps, maybe an organic one swimming in the lake's depths.

Scorch marks stood out on some portions of the grass, but they weren't very visible. Sixer eyed them, then leaned against a tree behind him and sighed.

"Should I keep going?" he asked into the air. "Or do I…stay here…"

Maria wasn't there to give him any form of advice. She was back in the Shack, likely asleep.

Sixer closed his eyes and breathed quietly, taking in the calm forest morning. The smell of pine needles and dew, the sound of the lake quietly lapping against the base of the cliff, the roar of the falls….

He had almost managed to calm himself from the nightmare and confirm to himself that yes, this was a safe place to be, when a branch snapped.

Immediately, Sixer was alert. He moved into the clearing and turned to face the trees. Red-orange fire sparked to life on his arms, and flames crackled loudly as they covered his arms from his hands up to his shoulders. "Who's there?!"

Something moved in the trees – a giant, robed figure, with a hood up over the figure's head. Sixer wasn't able to see the facial features clearly, but he noticed that he couldn't be taller than the figure's waist. Whoever this person was, it was doubtful they were human in any sense of the word.

The figure stepped out of the trees. Sixer was tempted to step back, but remained where he was. If he moved too far back, he was going to end up falling into the lake, and with his tails as fur-covered as they were, they would only weigh him down.

How had they snuck up on him like that? He should have been more alert, not lost in thought!

And then the figure spoke.

"I mean you no harm, Ford." The figure's hands– purple, but a soft tone – pulled the hood back a little, exposing the figure's face a little better.

An alien face.

A familiar face.

The purple color of the woman's skin and the seven eyes that focused on Sixer tickled the back of his mind. Something was trying to make him remember – he had…met this woman before? When?

Sixer's brow furrowed as the fire sputtered on his arms, then started to die a little.

He remembered…something. A mountain view? Thin air? Something about a sanctuary and someone who knew how to defeat—

Oh.

The fire died immediately as Sixer stared in shock. "Jheselbraum?"

The kind smile that he got in response brought back Dimension 52 in a rush of memory, sight, and sound. It almost threw him off-balance, but he managed to keep himself steady.

Even with his soul shuddering with pain from the missing part of him.

"It is good to see you, in a place that is not surrounded by chaos," Jheselbraum said gently. She took a few steps into the clearing, but when Sixer took a step back, she paused.

Sixer wasn't sure what Jheselbraum was doing here of all places. And she was…glad to see him?

Someone who didn't succeed in destroying his Cipher the first chance he'd had?

Someone who had been changed by the very demon he had resisted for so short a time in comparison to his time spent enslaved?

...he didn't even have the metal plate in his head anymore. Anything that might have said he was someone who had been to Dimension 52 was long gone.

His ears pulled back at the thought.

"Stanford."

Jheselbraum's expression had gone gently stern, as had her voice. It stopped his train of thought short.

"I do not care for what has been done to you. But despite that, I still care for you. You did not ask for this, and I therefore do not hold your actions against you. It hurt to see you be turned into what you became."

The hurt was audible in Jheselbraum's voice. It caused Sixer to stare, lowering his arms. His ears raised a little.

Jheselbraum sat on the grass, causing Sixer to stiffen up a little. What was she doing now?

The Oracle held her arms wide and gave Sixer a teary-eyed smile. "Ford. It's okay."

She was….

Sixer knew his eyes were watering. From relief, from the sadness of not having been able to see her in so long…he wasn't sure.

But Jheselbraum was holding her arms open in a welcoming gesture, and she was smiling, and she wasn't mad at him for what had happened to him.

It took Sixer only a moment to lunge across the clearing and wrap his arms around Jheselbraum's neck in a tight hug. The gesture was just as quickly returned.

Sixer had almost forgotten that he was so small compared to Jheselbraum that she could carry him. He certainly remembered that now.

"Stanford, I am so sorry that I wasn't able to step in and save you and your family myself. If I had had the strength required to face against Cipher, I would have done so."

Sixer buried his face into her robe at the base of her neck and didn't offer a verbal answer. Not for a few moments, at least.

"I didn't…I don't fault you for that."

When he'd been trapped, Sixer thought that being trapped under Cipher was his fate – for either the rest of a mortal life or an immortal one. Maria had come in out of nowhere, and as grateful as he was for that…he hadn't thought that anyone would have been able to take him from Cipher's control.

Jheselbraum sighed, then moved so that she was leaning back from the hug so that she could look at Sixer fully. "You've changed."

Sixer's gaze moved away from her, focusing more on a few blades of grass near them. "…I know."

It was…hard to imagine himself as being who he had been. Or being like his counterparts in any capacity.

"But you are in a place where you are surrounded by people who love and care about you, and that is all I could have ever hoped for."

The kindness and relief in her voice brought Sixer's gaze back to her.

"You can put your trust in those people, but you should also trust yourself more to make your own decisions," Jheselbraum continued. "I know that you can."

Sixer blinked a couple times, absorbing that. Make his own…? Maria had been encouraging him quite a bit on some of those matters.

"I'm…I'm getting there," he said quietly. "It's…taking time, now that Alcor's pulled back a little on helping, but I'm getting there."

The fact that Mizar and Alcor had made a deal to help Sixer and his family improve their mental states hadn't come as a surprise when Sixer had found out. But the deal had only lasted up until the point that Cipher had been killed – now, Sixer was on his own in that regard. At least he had a base to work up from now.

"That's all I can hope for." Jheselbraum paused. Sixer felt her arms shift a little in the hug. "Now…I have a question to ask of you."

"Hm?"

Jheselbraum looked a little embarrassed. "Your current appearance has rendered you even more…well, dare I say adorable, than you were when you were in my temple."

That was the last thing Sixer had been expecting. "Um…"

Jheselbraum chuckled at his reaction. "I was simply wondering if you would permit me to scratch you behind your ears for a little while. You feel quite stiff, and could use a little relaxing."

Sixer blinked. That was it?

A part of him insisted that he go and ask Maria if it was all right to give Jheselbraum permission, but she wasn't here. And she also was just going to ask him if he felt it was okay.

He knew this. Maria had pulled that sort of thing a few different times already.

But…did he feel okay with that?

Jheselbraum was someone he had trusted highly when he had been traveling throughout the multiverse. Someone – Sixer now remembered – he had missed.

Sixer nodded to Jheselbraum's request, and she smiled.

"Let me know when you would like me to stop," Jheselbraum said as she adjusted her hug. One hand snuck up from his back to the back of his head.

As soon as Sixer felt her gentle fingers settle in behind his ears and start scratching in an even rhythm, he felt the tension start to leave his limbs.

It felt so nice.

A part of him wondered why it was that Maria had never thought to ask if it was all right that she could do this. He reminded himself that she probably didn't want to overstep his boundaries.

Jheselbraum kept up an even rhythm as she carefully massaged his scalp. It mussed up his hair, but he didn't really care. That could be fixed easily.

Besides, he didn't get a calming sensation quite like this every day.

Sixer sighed contentedly. A vibrating rumble started in his chest, leaving him feeling warm and fuzzy as he leaned into Jheselbraum's fingers. He ended up falling back a bit, but Jheselbraum caught him and carefully lowered him into her lap, still scratching behind his ears as she did.

Sixer closed his eyes as she kept going. He didn't feel like telling her to stop – he trusted her, and they were in a place that was clearly safe. None of the wild creatures in Gravity Falls ever came around to this area – at least, not now; Sixer's and Maria's time spent utilizing their abilities didn't attract any attention of that sort.

Sixer's thoughts started to slow and grow fuzzy – not blackout fuzzy, but a different fuzzy. The kind of fuzzy that came from having his tails brushed back in January, and occasionally after that.

He made himself a little more comfortable and let himself drift, the vibrating sensation in his chest still going with an even, strong rumble as Jheselbraum continued scratching behind his ears. It didn't take long for his mind to drift.

Change in POV

Sixer had disappeared.

While Maria wasn't worried by that, she was concerned that he didn't tell her where he had gone – or when he would be back.

Granted, he was a fully mature formerly-human being and was capable of taking care of himself, but that didn't mean Maria wasn't allowed to worry.

"He'll come back." The man with his blond hair in spikes gave Maria a smile that was meant to be encouraging. "It's not like he's going to leave, what with that connection."

"Yeah, but he's been gone since everyone woke up this morning. Who knows how long he's been gone." Maria tugged on a lock of hair, frowning. "I hope nothing happened in the night…"

"While he is gone, we should discuss your position as a World Jumper and what your future actions should be." The other blond man folded his arms across his chest, frowning at Maria. "We have been here for a year, and you have only solved half of this dimension's problem. What will happen if you cannot solve the other half of the problem? You are going to have to return to our dimension at some point."

"Maybe. But I intend to stay here for as long as it takes in order to get this fixed." Maria frowned at the two men. "This problem will be fixed, Knives. I'm not about to leave until it is."

"But there is a chance that you won't find a solution," Knives pointed out.

Maria's mouth pressed into a straight line. "I'd rather not think about that."

"What about our home dimension? I doubt that anyone there is aware of the threat these Ciphers can make themselves to be." Knives frowned. "If one demon was able to cause as much chaos as this Puppeteer was, I don't doubt that others will be capable of doing the same."

"No one from my generation would have been naïve enough if Cipher ever made himself known and tried to pass off as a muse," Maria replied. "Stupid or reckless, maybe, if they decided to take a deal from him. I don't know about the current generation, considering that I haven't been on Earth since before Gunsmoke. It would probably be a bit of a culture shock if I went back."

"And it hasn't been here?" Knives frowned. "I should think that there would have been. We are in what we consider the ancient past, and yet you haven't been thrown off in the slightest. Why is that?"

"Well—" Maria cut herself off, blinking. "Hm. You're right. You'd think I would have taken more time to adjust but…I've been taking things in stride without batting an eye."

"Maybe it's because of all the different places you've been to?" Vash suggested. "I mean, you've probably had culture shock so many times that you're not as bothered by how different places work anymore."

There may have been a grain of truth to that, but Maria got the feeling that there was something else too.

"I think I'm going to have a harder time with my home dimension because it is my home dimension," Maria said slowly. "I have a specific picture in my head of how Earth was when I left for Gunsmoke. It's obviously changed by now, but considering that Chronica and the others apparently think I'm dead because of the stunt I pulled stopping you two…I wouldn't be able to go back. Any property that my family owns no longer has my name attached to it – if we own any property at all anymore. It wouldn't do me any good to go back there."

"But you're still planning on visiting Cybertron when we go home, right?" Vash asked.

Maria's expression shifted.

"Maria?" Vash sounded worried.

"…you're not planning on going back at all, are you?" Knives intoned.

"I've been thinking about it," Maria admitted. "Knives, I don't feel like I belong at home anymore. My dimension is cutting ties with me faster than it takes me to summon a portal. It's probably not gonna be too much longer before Wildfire passes on to the AllSpark at this rate!"

Her family was long-dead; the world thought she was dead. So what was going to happen next?

Knives and Vash exchanged looks.

"Why don't you call her and talk to her?" Vash suggested. "I mean, you haven't done that since we got here, right? And we're getting close to the end by now."

"…I dunno."

"You're afraid of finding what you most fear if you do that," Knives said flatly.

Maria stiffened at the accusation while Vash spluttered and gawked at his brother.

"D-don't say that!" Vash yelped. "Sh-she could still be fine, and she'd never know until she called!"

"Or, she could be dead and she's never know until she called," Knives replied. "We are in a Shrodinger's Cat situation, except that it's Shrodinger's Cybertronian. And the only way to know the truth is if Maria contacts Wildfire or any other member of the Cybertronian race that she knows." He looked at Maria. "What are you going to do?"

Maria was startled at the direction the conversation went and spluttered a bit. "I—"

She turned her thoughts quickly in another direction.

"I'm going to find Sixer."

And with that, Maria turned and ran into the woods.

She knew of a couple places that Sixer might end up passing through – the berry orchard, and the clearing at the lake's edge they used to spar using their fire abilities. Both were on the same path, but if Sixer was meandering…

It didn't take Maria long to reach the clearing that met the cliff overlooking the lake. The sight that she was met with set her skidding to a halt.

There was a giant, dark purple-robed figure sitting with their back to the trees, a hood up over their head. Maria just came up to the figure's shoulders at this height, which wasn't what made her cautious.

It was the fact that she could see Sixer's tails spilling out from the other side of the figure that made her frown. Fire sparked from her fingers as she considered the situation.

Mysterious giant figure, sitting in the clearing, clearly has Sixer nearby. He wasn't currently fighting back, so there was a likely chance he was unconscious.

Maria was about to charge out into the clearing throwing fireballs when a faint sound hit her ears. It sounded like something….rumbling.

No. She'd heard this sound a few times before, and after the first time helping with solving a particular issue with Sixer's tails, it wasn't a sound that Maria was going to forget.

Sixer was purring. And she could hear him faintly from across the clearing.

But…why?

The robed figure's head turned, and Maria pulled back behind the tree again to avoid being seen. She heard a soft, knowing chuckle that reminded her of a knowing archeologist friend who was amused by the antics of her crewmates.

Wait.

Robed, that laugh sounded female, Sixer purring…

…was it someone he knew?

Maria peered around the tree again and locked her gaze with the seven eyes that the other had.

Maria's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped a little.

This was the last person that Maria was expecting to see in this dimension, much less anywhere near Sixer.

"Jheselbraum?" She stepped out from behind the tree a little, the fire fading from her fingertips quickly.

"Hello, Maria." Jheselbraum's voice was quite calm and mellow, especially considering that she had Sixer purring. Maria thought she could see her vibrating a little as a result of what Sixer was doing. "My apologies for worrying you by distracting Ford, but I had to see him."

Maria entered the clearing, stepping lightly. She could see Sixer, now – he was curled up in Jheselbraum's lap, tails splayed out. Jheselbraum had one hand in his hair, scratching slowly behind his ears while he faced the lake. Her other hand rested lightly on Sixer's side. Either she was scratching him in time with his breathing, or it was the other way around; Maria wasn't sure.

"No, it's – he just disappeared early this morning and no one had seen him get up. I know he can handle himself, but to be gone for this long was a bit concerning."

Maria came to a stop next to Jheselbraum and sat down, gaze not leaving Sixer. He had that expression of pure, relaxed bliss again – one that Maria had only seen when she helped with brushing his tails. The fact that he was this relaxed around Jheselbraum wasn't surprising – it was the fact that Jheselbraum was here, in this dimension, that had caught Maria off-guard.

"Why are you here?" Maria asked. "I mean – you've got counterparts of Sixer to keep an eye on in for when they end up in your dimension, right?"

Jheselbraum turned her seven-eyed gaze to Maria. "Well, Ford is one of those counterparts who I have been very concerned about. I do not think you would fault me for wishing to ensure his well-being?"

The seven-eyed gaze wasn't one that Maria had experienced before, and having such a motherly, protective gaze turned in her direction was something that threw Maria off a little.

The fact that Jheselbraum was also interested in Sixer's well-being wasn't a surprise,– she was known among Gravity Falls fans as someone who helped Fords across the multiverse recover from attacks and have the metal plates put in their heads to keep Cipher out.

"So…what's the verdict?" Maria asked carefully, keeping her voice low in case she disturbed Sixer. So far, their conversation hadn't, but she wasn't about to take any risks.

Jheselbraum's expression became somber. "He…has been better. But he has also been far worse. His soul is still something that is very troubling."

Maria nodded. "Yeah. Do you know anything about…a solution for this? His willpower is being used in a way that it isn't supposed to, and the one being that I thought of first who could provide a possible solution said that he couldn't."

Jewels' assistance back in November had told her what had happened to Sixer's willpower, but he hadn't told her what could be done to reverse it.

"You will find your solution in time," Jheselbraum said evenly.

"But when?"

Jheselbraum gave Maria a knowing look. "Do you want me to tell you everything that is going to happen, down to the minutest detail?"

"In this case? I just want to know who I can turn to so that I can get Sixer's and his family's souls back to normal."

Jheselbraum held Maria's frustrated gaze with a calm expression. She blinked once, twice. "The opportunity will come to you. But that doesn't mean that you should sit back and wait for it. Perhaps you will find your solution far sooner than if you waited."

Well, it was better than a confirmation that Sixer and Maria were going to be tied together like they were now for the rest of their lives.

Maria nodded. "Thanks. I just…even the hope of it helps."

Jheselbraum smiled in return. "I should not keep you here much longer; I do not doubt that your friends will worry." She removed her hand from Sixer's head. "And I cannot keep up this rhythm for much longer; my hand will start to cramp!"

Maria chuckled quietly as Sixer's purr continued at a level strength for a little bit longer, then quieted as he started to stir.

"Mrr?" Sixer's eyes started to open, brow furrowed.

Maria hadn't been expecting thatnoise. She barely held back a squeak as she clapped her hands over her mouth. Oh gosh that sounded adorable.

Not something she was used to thinking of an old man. She quickly threw the thought out of her head and dropped her hands from her face.

"It seems we may have stayed in one place a little too long," Jheselbraum said softly. "Your family became concerned over your absence."

"Hm?" Sixer's gaze moved, passing over Maria before shooting back abruptly. In that moment, Sixer became very much alert, and scrambled out of Jheselbraum's lap and into a sitting position. "M-Maria! H-how long—"

"I haven't been here long," Maria replied, fighting to keep her amusement down. "As for how long you've been gone, it's been a few hours since everyone woke up."

Sixer blinked a couple times, then slumped a bit and ran a hand over his face. "My apologies; I should have come back far sooner, rather than—"

"Nonsense; you looked like you needed the momentary distraction," Jheselbraum replied gently. "And I was more than happy to help."

Sixer looked up at Jheselbraum for a moment, then looked away quickly. He looked genuinely embarrassed.

A thought occurred to Maria then, allowing her to change the subject away from anything that might make the situation worse from Sixer's perspective. "Say – why don't you come back to the Shacks for an hour or so? You could check in on Star and the others, and I'm sure that Sixer's counterparts would appreciate you dropping in for a bit."

Sixer's ears perked up, and he looked at Maria in surprise.

"While I would love to do that, I only had enough time to meet with the two of you," Jheselbraum replied. Her expression became saddened. "Perhaps another time, when you and I are not quite so concerned about the livelihood of certain people."

Sixer's ears drooped a little while Maria sighed and her shoulders dropped.

"I know you would like for me to see them," Jheselbraum said gently. "But another Ford will be on my doorstep soon, and I do not wish to miss him." She rose to her feet, then helped Sixer up onto his own. "I will be back to check on your progress, however – don't think that this will be the last time you see me."

The Oracle smiled gently, and Maria got the feeling that she meant it.