A/N: Hello, everyone! if you're still alive, that is. Hopefully you are and are just swamped with a bunch'a homework. That's probably why some of you aren't reviewing; good luck to those who are going through that. But I'd like to extend a thanks to someone who's put this story in their favorites and set it on alert today. LumpyApple. Or LumpyApples. Hehe. Thank you so very much. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story enough to do that, and that goes to all you followers! also, I noticed I made a few giant boo-boos in one of the earlier chapters - forgot which one. I'll fix it when I get the time. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Chapter Fifty-Two! things are really kicking...
A Triangle in the Stars
Chapter Fifty-Two: The Fated Arrival
Peridot was dancing around in the boat, still wearing the captain's hat. She thoroughly enjoyed this, as her large grin also indicated. Ford had one of his arms on the rim, staring out into the ocean. The other arm was holding his stomach. Two hours. Two hours till they could get a bite to eat. Two hours till they could finally deliver the final blow to Bill. He thought for sure that this time the demon would be gone for good. And the world and every universe and dimension would be forever safe from his manipulative tyranny and malicious plans. And they could finally relax.
"Hey, Sixer..." Stan spoke up, looking out into the depths of the horizon, "does Beach City look weird to you?" and then he squinted, trying to look at it better.
Ford frowned a bit, squinting his eyes as well. He could barely see it, but it didn't looked ruined at all, surprisingly enough. This was strange. He shook his head eventually, eyes slightly wide, "No. It looks... normal."
The green Gem stopped her dancing, and blinked. She now put her full attention on these two men, frowning slightly.
"Do you think the GSP is wrong? or maybe Wendy got the location mixed up?" he asked, glancing at his brother.
"GPS, Stanley," again Ford stifled a chuckle. "And no. This is the right location. We're in the right place, and heading in the right direction."
He was beginning to think his toss-away theory about Bill having reformed powerless wasn't so far-fetched after all. But that was still an assumption. And they couldn't go off assumptions. Peridot tilted her head.
"Do you think something's wrong with Bill? maybe he left his power in Gravity Falls," Stanley suggested, frowning. "Or maybe we just can't see anything..."
The man rubbed at his chin, humming, "I was thinking of the possibility that he reformed powerless, actually... but we shouldn't rely too much on that. Maybe we're just too far to see properly."
And that was closer to Stan's second idea and to life as well. It was relatively impossible to see intricate details from far away, unless you had mythical eagle eyes. But they'd see smoke too. And then something clicked in Stanford that made his theory about Bill make sense.
Wendy.
Wendy was still alive.
If Bill still had his powers, the entire town, and possibly the state as well, would have been leveled, and every person killed or transformed. But he didn't voice that yet. He had to be sure.
Stan tapped his feet, thinking. Ford began pacing. Peridot watched them, becoming clueless. Of course, she wasn't a mind reader. And they had more of an idea of Bill's abilities than she did. So she asked, "Uh, what's going on?"
The scientist looked over at her, pursing his lips. Stanley glanced at his brother, "I'm driving. Why don't you explain it to her?"
And the green Gem turned to stare directly at Ford now, expecting a detailed explanation. Ford sweatdropped, stopping his pacing, and nodded, "Of course. Well, we're thinking about why Beach City hasn't been destroyed or 'weirdified' yet if Bill's there."
She tilted her head, but was satisfied for the most part, "Oh, I see."
This action made the hat fall off her head, but she caught it with lightning reflexes. Years of being a technician had given her that ability. Ford noted this mentally, being sure to write it in his entry concerning her later. Stan began to speed up, "Let's see if we can get there earlier!"
"Earlier would be great, yes," Ford sighed, setting his hand back on his stomach now.
Peridot set the hat back onto her head, pressing her hair down. But it refused to stay down. She huffed, tried again, but the result was still the same. She frowned, and her eyes flashed a light blue. Everything metal hopped just then, but that was it. Ford patted his pocket, where his GPS was. That felt funny. Stan was vaguely surprised when all the readings went crazy for a second. He piped up awkwardly, "Uh... Stanford... never mind about that weird thing."
His brother nodded, eager to put that behind him, "Of course..."
He had a slight inkling he knew where it came from though. More like, who. The Gem still seemed unaware of it all. She scratched at her head, her frown deepening, being careful not to push off her hat.
"No, I mean, all the instruments just went... well, weird for a moment..." he glanced at Stanford.
He frowned a bit, "Oh.. that's strange. Maybe that's just a thing."
The man glanced at Peridot, unsure if he should tell her, or say it out loud. He didn't exactly trust her, never mind all her help and what he could glean from her hints about her past. This power she held could easily kill. And she was unaware she had it. The Gem raised an eyebrow, confused but still a little irritated. Stan glanced at Peridot as well, and then at Stanford, "Hey, Poindexter, come look at this for a second."
Ford nodded, and walked over, curious. Peridot watched them both, eyebrow still raised. His brother then talked in a low whisper, "I think something's up with Peridot."
Ford sighed, and nodded, "So it's not just me..."
But he wasn't relieved in the slightest. Peridot busied herself with watching the scenery change, and had assumed a more relaxed expression.
"I know she's hiding something. What should we do?" he whispered.
"Problem is, I think she may not even know she is," Ford whispered back, biting his lip. "I think we should keep her around. So far, she's done nothing but help us."
But he was still cautious. He'd gotten betrayed before, so he was preparing for it to happen again. He was starting to rethink the plan of letting Peridot stay as security while they took care of Cipher. It was tough.
"Yeah, but didn't Bill do nothing but help you, at first?" asked Stan, biting his lip. He took to watching Peridot closely.
Ford's eye twitched. That he did. And it was all a lie. Perhaps the alien was also lying. But there was something that set her apart from Bill. Something he couldn't quite put a finger on. Said object of their conversation had sat herself down, hugging her knees once more. She looked sad. It was almost as if she felt their vibes change. Ford glanced at her, and soon nodded, "Yes... but there's something different about her.."
Stan frowned, "Like what? her being green?"
Ford frowned as well. And then his eyes lit up as he finally got it, and he voiced it, "No. It's her mannerisms. I've trained myself to see through master manipulators. She's not one. She seems to wear her heart on her sleeve."
Stan frowned, "You sure? then what else could be up with her?" he was completely focused on the conversation now.
"It could be just that she doesn't know and isn't aware," his expression softened, and his tone as well. It went from distrusting, to a slightly skeptical realization. But this realization had some backbone and evidence to it.
"Hmm.." the ex-thief pursed his lips, "do you think—" then the boat slammed into something, and Stan would have skidded back, but for his fierce grip on the wheel.
"Woah!" Ford almost fell overboard, completely caught off guard, but Peridot was fast and agile, and caught him by his trench coat before he did. He stared at her, eyes wide, and she pulled him back on board. He quietly thanked her before he looked around frantically, "What on earth did we hit?!"
The green Gem blinked, becoming just as frantic and forgetting how sad she was. It seemed she was imprinting off of him, but she really was scared and anxious. Could it be that Jasper and Lapis finally found her? she hoped it was just land.
The second old man looked once he recovered, and his eyes widened. "Land... we hit land!" he sounded awfully surprised. A beach sprawled out in front of them.
Ford brushed himself off and looked. He gasped. Finally. They were here. Peridot was beaming. Her hopes were answered. The scientist allowed a small smile to cross his lips, "We made it..."
But he was both relieved and confused to see that the beach wasn't ravaged at all, and that the sky wasn't filled with smoke and odd colors.
"Uh, did we make it to the right place?" he asked, looking up at the dark clouds that had started to clear.
"I believe so..." Ford blinked, scanning the beach. "Let's go find a dock. Maybe we'll get some answers."
Peridot looked out across the beach too. She was certain they were at the right place. Something told her it was, and it wasn't just her GPS. Stan soon got them out of the sand, and starting searching for a dock to dock at. Ford looked across the land still, chewing the inside of his mouth. Nothing was wrong. They soon passed buildings. Nothing was wrong. And there were a few people walking around too, not dead or transformed at all. It was all okay. He found this so strange, but it only fueled his theory that Bill had reformed powerless, or nearly powerless. This was a relief to him. Peridot, meanwhile, took in the scenery with a sort of childlike wonder. It was amazing to her.
"Hmm. He must have moved or something..." Stan mused, frowning.
"But it looks normal," Ford replied. "He would've destroyed this town, and then moved." He continued to rub at his head, "I.. I honestly think he wasn't at full power when he returned..."
This all but confirmed it. The green Gem listened in slightly, but was a little preoccupied.
"I don't know. Maybe he was never here at all and Wendy's call was a hallucination?"
"I highly doubt that..." Ford frowned, rubbing at his head still, "I really do..."
Soon, a dock came into view, and a peculiar-looking fellow dressed in what seemed to be a raincoat, hat, and blue boots was standing on it. Yellowtail looked out across the ocean, searching for incoming boats. He soon smiled when he saw the Stan O' War II, and began waving it down. The green Gem blinked at him. He looked rather strange, she noted. But at least he was livelier than the Ocean Town people. Ford soon noticed as well, and made that same connection. He was oh so relieved. Stan pulled the ship in, "Alright... here we are. Beach City..."
"We made it..." Poindexter muttered once more. He smiled a little. Now they could get something to eat, and then take care of Bill. He looked towards his brother, "Hey, Stanley, are you hungry again?"
Peridot tilted her head at Yellowtail, and he waved at her. She waved back awkwardly, and soon began taking care of the anchor, tossing it down into the ocean.
"I sure am," he then glanced at Peridot. "You can come with us to get a bite, sweetie." He flashed a smile.
She looked at him and blinked, looking confused. She'd never eaten before. She never needed to or saw a need anyway. But she grew curious as to how it would all taste. She hummed and nodded, "Alright. I'll try your human food."
Ford chuckled a bit and patted his stomach, and then grabbed the case containing the weapon by the handle. He already had some money left over, and so did Stan, but he thought maybe more was needed this time around. Yellowtail was waiting for them to step off, and Peridot was the first to do so. They both then examined each other, extremely curious. Stan stepped off, soon after Peridot, knowing Ford would get the cash. And his brother did indeed get the cash, opening up the safe, and then he brought out a few other things. Like ammo. But he felt like he wouldn't need it. Not like they needed the quantum destabilizer. He closed and locked it up, and then joined Stan and Peridot. He looked down at the strange guy the Gem was examining, just now realizing just how short the guy was. He wanted to say something, but figured Stan could take it from here.
"So, where's the nearest fast food place around here?" asked Stan, to the little fisherman.
The fisherman smiled and then spoke, but it sounded like complete gibberish to all of them. Except maybe Peridot, but judging by her raised eyebrow, it seemed even she didn't understand. Ford scrunched up his face, and tilted his head.
"Um, can you just point?" asked Stan, smiling a little, wondering if the man could even understand them, and if everyone else spoke this strange tongue.
Stanford was thinking that same thing, blinking. It was highly interesting. Yellowtail then obliged, showing he did indeed understand them. He grinned, and pointed in the direction of the Big Donut. There were other restaurants lined up here, however, but for some reason he chose that place. Peridot was already heading off, eager to try some food. Stan, eyes widening, soon followed Peridot, forgetting one minor but polite little thing, "Wait up!"
The scientist sighed, and did the thing both of his companions had forgotten. He thanked Yellowtail, before he headed off after his brother. The fisherman nodded and waved, saying "Goodbye" in his language. Not that they could understand. He got that a lot in this town.
Peridot hummed as she slowed down her pace. Two of her floating fingers were on her chin, and it looked a bit odd. She began wondering what this place looked like, all the while looking around at the entire town. It looked wonderful. And lively, and not ravaged at all. This was extremely good. Stan continued to the Big Donut, glad to see that this place wasn't broken down like Ocean Town, and Bill was nowhere to be seen. But that did also make their job harder...
Ford frowned a little, clutching the case tighter, "I wonder what the place looks like..."
He was, of course, referring to the restaurant to which they were heading. Peridot wondered that same thing, but didn't say anything, still taking in everything. The old man was also worried about where Bill could possibly be. Could he be planning? of course he would. He wondered what it could be. But he didn't say anything about that. Stan frowned, "Should we ask people about him, to see if he's contacted anyone here?"
His brother jumped slightly out of his trance, and soon nodded, "I believe we should. We don't seem to be getting anywhere this way. Since we're heading to the... this place, I think we should ask there first..."
The green Gem simply listened. She didn't think she could contribute anything.
"Hopefully they know about him..." the ex-Mystery Shack manager stated with a slight sigh.
And luckily, they both did...
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed. I'm sure you all know what to do by now. So Ace had Stan. And I had Peridot, Ford and Yellowtail, for his brief appearance. X3 Yeee. Getting closer and closer... and le suspense... hehe.. see you all next Thursday!