I believe in great discovery
Ha! First fanfiction since a February (and first Gravity Falls fanfiiction since 2016). Lately I was rewatching the show and I've suddenly had shitton of ideas for fanfics with Stans (so many stangst and fluff, I tell ya!), and I even got to begin a birthday fic, but work made it hard to finish.
Nevertheless I settled for this short fic. It was inspired by Wisława Szymobrska's poem Odkrycie (The Discovery) and decided to use it here, because it suits Ford almost perfectly..
Please, leave a reveiw.
I believe in great discovery.
I believe in the man who will make the discovery…
And so the great day came. The portal was ready and they were going to test it for the first time. The gateway to other worlds. The endless possibilities just within Stanford Pines' reach. Everything was ready – all the equations were in order, all the parts worked fine. Now they only needed to do the test run.
He and Fiddleford took the test dummy and activated the portal…
I believe in fear of the man who will make the discovery.
But accidentally it was Fiddleford who almost got sucked into a portal. Frankly, Ford managed to pull him out of it, but his assistant didn't seem okay. His eyes were wide, his face pale and he was breathing heavily.
"What is it? Is it working?" Was the first thing Ford asked when Fiddleford was lying on the floor after his brief encounter on the other side. "What did you see?"
At first his collage friend just said something backwards that sounded like gibberish.
"Fiddleford?"
The man sat up and added, not even looking at Ford:
"When Gravity Falls and Earth becomes the sky, fear the beast with just one eye."
It sounded like a prophecy. A prophecy of doom.
"Fiddleford, get ahold of yourself!" Ford called to him and even put his hand on Fidds' shoulder. "You're not making any sense!"
His assistant flinched and moved away, finally gazing at Ford.
"This machine is dangerous. You'll bring about the end of the world with this." And then he put his own hands on Ford's shoulders and said: "Destroy it before it destroys us all!"
"I can't destroy this! It's my life's work!"
I believe in paleness of his face,
In nausea, in cold sweat on his lip…
He's been used. Bill lied about everything: Ford's bright future, the benefits the portal will bring to humanity, their friendship… Bill Cipher was no muse – he was a demon and he was going to unleash the Apocalypse on Earth. And when Ford finally confronted Bill, the demon showed his true face.
"Looks like mister Brainiac finally got smart! Let's just say that when that portal finish charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party!"
In that very moment Ford got a glimpse of Nightmare Realm – a dark, unfriendly place filled with unimaginable horrors. There was no denial that if those things come out on Earth, it will be a catastrophe.
"No, I'll stop you! I'll shut it down!"
He really did shut it down. But it didn't mean the world was safe.
I believe in burning of the notes,
In burning them to ashes,
In burning every single one.
He hid the instructions under dark light so nobody could finish the job and let Bill in.
I believe in scattering numbers
In scattering them without regret.
Even though he spent countless hours working on that thing… even though it once seemed to be the key to formulate the Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness… now he was happy to not open this portal ever again…
I believe in man's rush
In the accuracy of his movements,
In his unconstrained will…
The quicker he would get over with, the sooner he would be free. This portal should forever stay inactive… for the sake of everyone… In fact, it should be dismantled for a good measure.
And yet he couldn't make himself destroy the device, even though it would be the best course of action. Every time he tried to do it, he felt he just couldn't do it. After all, he worked so hard on building it… And maybe there was a slight possibility that it could be used for good… It would such a shame to just destroy it.
I believe in the boards smashed
In the pouring out of liquids,
In the extinction of the beam.
He tried to get rid of everything Bill-related in the shack. He broke the glass pyramids and covered all Bill's likenesses behind wallpaper.
I claim it will work
And that it won't be too late
And it will take place in the absence of witnesses.
He could feel Bill's eyes on himself. He practically heard demon mocking his efforts in stopping the apocalypse.
Nobody will know, I'm sure of it.
But Ford knew it won't be enough. He needed to hide the journals too. Fiddleford won't help him – not after what Ford did to him. He couldn't even trust himself… not when Bill had free reign in his mind. The demon seemed to be everywhere, even when Ford was perfectly aware there was nobody in his place and that the metal plate was blocking Bill from his mind.
So who else he could trust? Was there anyone who would come to his aid?
Neither wife nor wall,
Not even a bird, for it may sing.
And so Ford asked for help his estranged brother. And when Stanley finally came and Stanford made sure his brother wasn't possessed, he let them inside and started to explain.
"Listen there isn't much time." His voice was shaking as he turned to Stan with one of the journals. "I've made huge mistake. And I don't know who I can trust anymore."
Stan immediately tried to comfort him. Like all the things between them never happened. And so Ford decided to open up further. Because his twin had to understand the seriousness of the situation, Stanford showed him the portal and explained how dangerous it could be.
Finally he told Stan to take the last journal and leave.
"Remember our plans to sail around the world on a boat? Take this book, get on a boat and sail as far away as you can! To the edge of the world! Burry it where no one can find it!"
But this wasn't what Stanley wanted. Not after so many years apart. Not after he hoped to mend their relationship. The grievances had been exchanged: about who was selfish and who had it worse. And then it got even worse.
"I'm giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life, when you won't even listen!"
"Well listen to this: You want me to get rid of this book?" He drew out the lighter. "I will get rid of it right now!" And put it under the journal.
I believe in an unplugged hand…
No, it wasn't what he wanted…
Ford got a grip of his journal, before the flames could even touch the paper.
I believe in a broken career…
"No! You don't understand!"
How could he understand? He wasn't there when Ford was discovering the wonders of Gravity Falls… This journal was a document of his academic pursues in this place… The thought that it all should just go with flames…
"You said you wanted me to have it, so I'll do what I want!"
Stan took the journal away and proceeded with putting it under lighter again.
"My research!" Ford yelled.
I believe in many years of wasted work…
Not everything in his journals were tainted by Bill; not everything deserved to be destroyed in the fire. All the notes he meticulously did all those years in Gravity Falls… all those creatures he discovered and studied… All the work he has done and Stanley wanted to destroy it.
Yes, the portal plans were dangerous… but it didn't mean that everything else were to be lost.
And so Ford threw himself on Stan to save his life's work. In the chaos of their fight the portal was activated and Stanley accidentally pushed his twin towards it. When Ford was slowly sucked into the blue void, he threw the journal to his brother in the moment of desperation. He didn't know if he did it to preserve it from damage or if he hoped for Stan to somehow save him with it.
I believe in a secret taken to the grave…
As he was travelling through the countless dimensions, Stanford Pines slowly came to conclusion that he will never come back home. Stanley would probably never activate the portal and, honestly, it was probably for the best. Better die in another dimension than let Bill have his way.
These words soar above the rules.
When he came back to his home dimension, the first thing he did was to punch Stanley for activating the portal. Then he learned about Dipper and Mabel, and told them his and Stan's sad story.
They don't look for basis in any examples.
And then strange thing happened – after thirty years he didn't have any qualms against disabling the portal for the sake of his family and world as a whole.
After all, it wasn't his life's work anymore. If Dipper's eagerness was anything to go by, Stanford Pines left a much bigger legacy. All in all, Ford was happy that Stan didn't destroy the journals; and that Dipper found one of them.
My faith is blind and unsubstantiated.
But Ford didn't tell Stan about the rift…