I hope the drama in the last chapter was entertaining. Just to clarify, Mabel and Dipper have a two week thanksgiving break, so they had gone back to California for school for a couple of months and returned to Gravity Falls after thanksgiving. They won't be staying long, not for right now. They'll make appearances later in the story, of course.
Here is chapter 5 of "Welcome Home"!
The ride home from town was peaceful, thanks to Stan buying Mabel a coloring book and Dipper a new "Who dun it" book before they headed out of town. He remembered that Dipper enjoyed those types of books. The twins thanked Stan for the gifts. They knew their visit back wouldn't be long, which is what led them to assume the reason for the items. Stan was still reading his magazine, so everyone was occupied at the time.
The silence that filled the car gave Ford a bittersweet opportunity to think about what had happened with his encounter with Bill Cipher, the demon who had taken advantage of Ford's trust in the past, who was now in the form of a human. Two yellow eyes with black slits for pupils, all too familiar from when he would possess Ford. He also had short blonde hair, pale skin, and his typical voice, minus the echo. When Bill spoke it was as though a real person was speaking- odd to hear, frankly. All of this just didn't make sense. If Stan had his memory wiped in order to erase Bill from existence, how was he still here? It was clear that this was no new life for him without a clue what was going on. Bill still had his memories, and he looked like a typical adult if you didn't know any better about what he really was.
Ford wanted to keep all of this trouble away from Mabel and Dipper. Their visit in Oregon was limited, and he wanted them to enjoy it without having to worry about a potential threat. The last thing he would want is to have them return home worried about their family and friends in Gravity Falls knowing that Bill was not as gone as they thought. Ford figured he should keep this from Stan as well. Even though he had most of his memories back, he wouldn't want to burden his brother with a potential threat. A hint of pain surfaced now, wondering how Stanley would react if he did know, and saw that his sacrifice had been in vain. His hands clenched the wheel and he let out a sigh.
His sacrifice hadn't been in vain, but it sure hadn't paid off as well as it should have after it caused Stan so much trouble.
Ford had a lot of questions that were still unanswered. He really only had one source, but even the one he could get wasn't very dependable. Still, his curiosity was peaking. If there was even a chance that Bill could still have power over them, he needed to put a stop to it. Before that of course, he would need more to go off of. He knew that if he ever did go back to find Bill, he would be less than obedient to give him answers so easily. Now Ford wondered- had he perhaps overreacted, demanding so many questions at once, and so hastily, from the demon? Of course it was more than well justified to why he snapped at him, however it was possible that because of his approach that Bill would be even more reserved.
Ford admitted to himself that he should have been more patient, but he didn't feel any regret for his anger or any of his other actions. He knew his reaction to seeing Bill again, a new form of him, matched the reaction any other person who had been in Ford's place through his younger adulthood with Bill would have done.
When the family returned to the Mystery Shack, Ford parked the vehicle and they all got out of the car. Mabel waited at the door of the gift shop, waiting for one of the older twins to unlock it. Ford selected the correct key and opened the door, Mabel being the first to enter. She looked beside her to see Waddles on the counter. She grinned and started towards her pig, greeting him after being gone. Stan scrunched his nose at his niece's pig on the counter, but he decided not to say anything on it. He had seen much weirder with Waddles, anyway. Mabel seemed to find it cute how her pet lounged and asked Waddles if he had been waiting for them to return.
Stan snorted and left for the living room, Ford following behind and stopping at the vending machine to retire to his laboratory. Dipper watched the scientist and approached him.
Ford unlocked the vending machine and walked inside, heading down the stairs and closing the door with his watch. Dipper jumped at the door's sudden movement and quickly moved forward to get through before the door shut, not giving his actions much thought. He looked at the door as it shut and put a hand on his chest, sighing. He looked down at the stairs his great uncle descended and quickly followed behind him.
"Great uncle Ford!" Dipper called out, catching up to the author.
Ford stopped in his tracks, surprised by the voice, and looked behind him. He watched his nephew catch up to him and looked down at him.
"Dipper?" Ford questioned with a raised brow, confused on why the boy had followed him. "What are you doing down here?" He kept his eye on him but grabbed hold of the wall rail and continued walking the rest of the distance.
Dipper followed behind his uncle. "Well, I was sorta hoping that I could watch you work today. Maybe I could help!" He said, stepping off the end of the stairs behind the scientist and following towards the elevator. He didn't get a reply and continued. "I've been hoping to get some adventures in, but lab work is cool, too." He added. Ford turned around and put his hand out, preventing Dipper from coming any closer to the elevator.
"I'm sorry, Dipper, but I'm afraid I don't have anything safe going on that would be of any interest to you." Ford started, looking down at his nephew. Dipper's smile faded. "However," He continued, "If I find that I need a little extra help with something that I'm working on, I'll remember to include you." Ford assured with a small smile. He rubbed the top of Dipper's pine tree hat before turning back around and pressing the button to the elevator.
Dipped frowned. "But, Great Uncle Ford-" He tried, but found that him addressing the scientist was of no use. By the time he had started to reply, the elevator doors had already shut, leaving him by himself at the end of the stairs.
The boy sighed, and turned around. He went back up the stairs to the gift shop. He wished Ford would include him in more of his scientific activities. When he reached the top of the stairs, he realized that he couldn't get out.
Dipper groaned and called out for her sister, hoping that she was still in the gift shop. He sighed in relief when the door opened back up, thanking his sister. He walked back into the gift shop and shut the door, sitting down on a barrel beside the counter.
Mabel looked up, noticing her brother's facial expression as Waddles left the room. "What's wrong, bro-bro?" She asked.
Dipper shrugged. "I don't know," He started. "I just wish Ford would do some safer experiments now and then. If he did, I could watch him work once and while without him having to worry about my safety."
Mabel hummed. She shrugged as well. "Well, you know Grunkle Ford likes his privacy sometimes. Maybe it's for the best to leave him be for now. We did just get back to Gravity Falls." She said. "Who knows? He could be finishing up some things first so he can spend more time with us. Or maybe he's stressed out about something."
Dipper raised an eyebrow. "But why would he be stressed?" He questioned.
Mabel snorted. "You get stressed all the time over the weird, nerdy stuff you guys like. I'm sure he does, too." She answered.
"Well it couldn't be anything big." Dipper responded. "Things have been going fine since Bill stopped being an issue." He pointed out. He looked at Mabel for a moment and noticed she didn't seem to have any other ideas to suggest.
Mabel sighed and found herself agreeing with his point. To lighten the mood, Mabel took Dipper's hat from his head and grinned. Dipper extended his arms in attempt to grab it back, only for her to pull away. She laughed. Dipper smiled and stood up. "I'm gonna get you, Mabel!" He warned with a chuckle, running after his sister to get his hat back. At the very least she knew how to cheer him up, even if that meant causing some mischief.
Meanwhile down in the laboratory, Ford paced across the floor. He was just trying to wrap his head around everything, to come up with some sort of explanation to how Bill being alive and in this new form of his was possible. Was it magic? Ford had doubts about that- he wasn't so sure the demon would look so desperate if that were the case. Unless of course, that was his intention. To fool him and make him think that he had no control. It was hard to tell with Bill, not knowing what was true and what wasn't.
Hours passed by, and before Ford knew it, the afternoon escaped him and it was now dark outside. Surely by this time Mabel and Dipper had already been put to bed for the night. He looked through the fortunately saved pages of his journals Stan had copied before successfully bringing Ford back from the multiverse and onto Earth.
Stanford read over every piece of information about Bill he had written down in his youth, and anything else that was even remotely close enough to an answer. An idea. Anything that he couldn't think of or wasn't remembering. There was obviously very little information that Ford didn't already know written down in his journals. Almost everything that he had dedicated time to researching and looking into he still had a good, memorized grip on. Even so, he found himself desperately searching and had no intentions of stopping for rest. The thought had hardly even passed his mind. There were much more pressing matters in his hands.
Ford scowled down at the papers below him, frustrated that he wasn't finding any new clues to what he needed. His search was so far unsuccessful and for a while felt endless. Ford groaned, knowing that the solution he was looking for was no where to be seen in either his journal or a few other books he'd skimmed through on his search. He needed an answer and dreaded how far away one was. There had to be a solution, a reason for all of this. But so far he'd gotten next to nowhere to finding anything. He had no source of information on this, either.
Except for Bill himself, of course.
But no, that was much too big of a risk. He had no idea what Bill was capable of in this form. It was very possible that everything he had been told so far could have been a lie. He wasn't sure that taking a gamble with him was a good idea.
I shouldn't risk it. Ford told himself. He had no idea where Bill was, after all. For all he knew, he could have left town. Not knowing where he was- a likely threat to at least the town- started to worry him. Bill was dangerous, and yet he could be anywhere. If he was able to contain him, that would take a weight off his shoulders worrying about the town and also give him a shot at some information that he hoped to could piece together.
This is a horrible idea. Ford thought. And who would know just how the demon would behave after their confrontation from earlier that afternoon. The way that their conversation had gone surely didn't make anything better. But now he was rethinking his decision. Ford needed to contain him somehow, and needed information. He had to find him. With Bill roaming around town came a chance at danger. If there was something he could do about that, he found himself with no other choice.
I have to find him. Ford finally told himself. I need something. Any piece of information that could lead to a clearer truth. Finding Bill is the only way to one-up him in anything he could be planning.
Bill wasn't one to do things for others. Especially when it didn't involve him receiving something beneficial for himself. The author didn't want to go back looking for him and come off as desperate for information, but all the time he took without trying is time he found himself wasting.
Stanley was sitting outside on the porch with a can of Pitt Cola, just watching the trees as the leaves and branches swayed slowly but surely in the dark sky and the light effect of the wind. He sighed and put a small smile at his face, sinking down on the sofa and getting into a pleasant and comfortable position that he was sure he may just fall asleep in. Finally, a moment to relax after a long day of doing nothing...
Suddenly, someone burst through the back door, the doorknob smacking against the wall beside Stan. He sat up in alarm at the sudden sound, looking around before seeing his brother departing from the shack in a hurry, rushing towards their car.
Stan scowled. "It's the middle of the night," He grumbled to himself, standing up from the couch. He put a hand up to his face. "Hey, what's the deal, Poindexter?" He called out.
Ford opted to ignore his brother and opened the car door. Stan had been through enough recently; he knew that it would be a bad idea to mention how he'd encountered the very demon Stan had lost his memory for- and even more going off to find him in the middle of the night. Stan glared and crushed the Pitt soda can in his hand, annoyed with being ignored. "Hey!" Stan shouted out, causing Ford to look his direction.
The scientist shifted slightly. "It's nothing to worry yourself about," He responded from across their excuse of a driveway. Stan narrowed his eyes at the response. "I won't be long." Ford said, despite being unsure of how long he would take to find the blonde. Regardless, he stepped inside the vehicle.
Stan rolled his eyes and made his way down the porch's steps and walked across the ground to confront the scientist. "Come on Sixer, It's the middle of the night!" He exclaimed, grabbing hold of the car door just before Ford could shut it.
Ford looked at his brother for a moment and sighed as he clutched the car wheel in his hands. "I... I need some more writing supplies." He claimed. "For-for research, of course." Ford explained, hoping that his reasoning was believable. He knew he was bad at bluffing under pressure and cleared his throat. He moved Stan's hand away with a wave of his hand, shutting the car door before he could be asked any more questions on the matter. He could only assume that Stan knew he lied, but he just couldn't tell him- not yet, and certainly not now. Ford backed out of the driveway and headed off onto the road towards town.
Stan clenched his fists and grunted. He knew for a fact that Ford had more than enough supplies in the basement, but regardless he shook his head and chose to ignore the situation for the time being. Whatever Ford was doing was probably something too complicated to explain, something boring. It wasn't any of his concern anyway, so it wasn't really his place to walk in on his brother's work like that- not that he really cared either way. Stanley walked back up to the porch and grabbed his slightly crushed Pitt Cola, walking back inside and turning off the outside light. He yawned and felt it was best to head off to bed for the night.
Bill had left the dark alley after what had happened the afternoon before. He was now back near the apple tree, laying on the same bench and attempting to sleep. He had very little experience with sleep, since it had never been necessary for his body to survive when he had been his regular self, and was not restricted to his current form. The need to sleep was just another curse he saw himself facing. He tried laying on his arms, stomach, on the grass, his side, and even sitting upward. None of these seemed to help him one way or another. He blamed the stress of the afternoon for his failure.
He groaned in frustration and kicked a singular apple that lay on the grass. It rolled at a quick speed and collided with the tree close by. Bill laid back on his side, his head resting on his arms to act as a makeshift pillow. He had, at least, found that when it was night he was at more peace. There was no noise around him, and instead everything nearby was silent, save the apple trees branches gently swaying with the wind. Were the tree not there to make for white noise, Bill may have thought his surroundings to be too quiet. Now though, he felt relaxed and let his eyes shut.
His peace was short lived when a bright light shined on his eyelids, making him flinch in annoyance. He tried turning himself around to escape it to no avail. The light was shining off the white paint of the building that the bench was up against. He groaned at the sudden brightness and opened his eyes to see what that annoying light could be. He heard a quiet engine to his left and turned around once more. Bill sat up, rubbing his eyes with his hands, and looked at the vehicle in confusion. He tried to identify something other than the car's bright headlights, eventually noticing a figure when they came out of the vehicle. Bill raised an eyebrow. It was dark, and the figure was unidentified. The person walked towards him at a neutral pace. As the figure walked towards him, the car lights helped identify the figure of a familiar man.
It was Stanford.
Bill huffed in annoyance and looked up at Ford as he approached him. He glared at the human standing before him. "Back to interrogate me further, IQ?" Bill asked, flinching slightly at the car lights that were still as bright as the sun, still blinding him. "Even I know this is an obnoxious hour to be blinding the town with those car lights." He grumbled.
Ford shook his head at the original question he was asked, ignoring the second comment. "Not quite." He began.
Bill raised an eyebrow at the response. "Then why are you here?" He asked. "Because unless you're here to make yourself useful and help, you can get lost." He said with narrowed eyes. "I already told you, I don't have anything. So if you're trying to be some kind of hero here to stop some evil scheme, just save it. You're much better off leaving me here to die and going home." He stated with a icy cold glare. It pained him, in a way, to admit to such pitiful things about himself. Though he figured it was better to tell things how they were and not be messed with than overestimate his ability and face being pestered. He looked down at the grass that was shining bright with the vehicles lights and ran a hand through his hair.
Ford rolled his eyes. "Don't act so pathetic." He chided.
"The only pathetic thing here is that even after everything that happened earlier, you came back to find me." Bill replied. "What for?" He questioned.
"I... I came back to retrieve you." Ford responded, internally cringing at his decision. Despite knowing that he would probably end up regretting his choice one way or another, he ignored it for now and released a sigh. "You're coming with me." He bellowed in a firm tone of voice.
Bill looked back up at the man, one of his eyebrows raising at the statement. Now he was confused. What'd he change his mind for? After what happened earlier, he has to have a bigger reason for this. Bill pondered the situation, and after a moment his facial expression went back to a glare. "No, no, no..." Bill started, shaking his head to match his response. He laughed, seeing that he was being underestimated in a way that made him look gullible to fall for whatever trick the scientist had up his sleeve.
"I'm not gullible to your little trick. What's the catch here, Sixer?" Bill asked, staring blankly at Ford, not looking away, despite the car lights burning his eyes. There was a short silence between them. "Well?" Bill demanded, standing up with his fists clenched and taking a step towards the other man.
Ford folded his arms, not backing away from Bill. "You're coming along with me to the shack, and then I'll be asking some questions of you." He answered.
Bill snorted at his response. "You think that's how this works?" He questioned, now scowling at the other. "You can't expect me to go along with this solely because you've got questions. Besides, you don't seem to have my best interest in mind." He added, putting his hands on his hips. "What's in it for me?"
Ford scowled at the demon. "Unless you'd prefer to keep living like this," He started, gesturing to the bench behind the blonde. "You'll comply. And for your information, I have several reasons why I shouldn't be taking you. But if you stay here, I won't get my answers, and you'll probably end up dying within the next week." Ford informed, his scowl remaining. "I think you should be a little more grateful." He added.
Bill rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. That's no concern of yours. We both know you don't actually care about that. But anything to get your answers though, right?" He spat.
The scientist paused for a moment. He took a step back and shrugged, his expression neutral. "Your choice." He seemed to reply so simply, without a care in the world. "If I remember correctly, you were the one originally asking for help. My offer seems to be much more beneficial than how things are for you right now." He continued. "But hey, you can't say I didn't offer. " He finished, turning around and making his way towards his car.
Bill watched Ford walk back over to the vehicle and open the door, getting back inside. He shut the car door and didn't bother looking outside where Bill stood there with his hands on his hips.
Bill's right eye twitched, and his glare hardened when the man started the car. As the vehicle backed out of where it had been in the grass, Bill growled and grabbed his head of hair in his hands. He quickly let them go and instead balled them into fists by his sides, stomping as he made his way to the scientist before he got the chance to leave. Bill already knew his decision was pitiful, but he knew that Ford was right- just another thing about this he hated. He couldn't survive for long on his own. He caught up with the car and, still stomping his feet across the grass like a child, Bill swung open the door to the passenger's seat. Ford wasn't surprised by any of this. He reached his arm across the passenger's seat and shut the door the blonde had opened. Bill scoffed at the action and received nothing but a bland look in return. He knocked on the window continuously until it was eventually rolled down.
"What's the deal?" Bill complained.
Ford gestured his head towards the back seat of the car. "You're coming, aren't you?" He started. Bill narrowed his eyes, an expression that was ignored. "Back seat. Now." He commanded.
"I'm not a child." Bill hissed through gritted teeth.
"You're acting like one." Stanford replied. Bill huffed and folded his arms, standing in place to argue with the order. Ford stared at him for a moment before shrugging, rolling the window back up. Bill's eyes widened and he shifted in place.
"Fine, fine, fine!" He blurted, quickly opening the door to the back seat and slamming it shut when he got in. Ford cringed at the noise but said nothing. Bill leaned his head on the door's window and folded his arms. "Happy?" He asked.
Ford glanced back at him but didn't respond to his behavior. "Now use your seat belt." He told him.
"My what?" Bill asked.
"You know, the-" Ford started, but stopped. He sighed, rolling his eyes. Of course the blonde wasn't going to understand some typical things. "The thing beside you?" He started.
Bill looked next to him and caught sight of the seat belt. His eyes lit up and he grabbed it, watching as it extended. He grinned and kept pulling it, watching the belt continue to come out. He looked back at the other and pursed his lips when he looked unamused.
"Now you connect it." Ford continued. Bill narrowed his eyes, not exactly hostile, but confused. Ford adjusted his glasses. "It's on the other side of you." He said, already starting to regret his decision. He hoped all the instructions wouldn't become a regular thing. Bill looked to the other side of him and then noticed the buckle. After a moment he successfully connected it. He grinned all before looking back at the other, to where he went back to looking annoyed, staring out the window and folding his arms.
Ford turned back forwards and genuinely wondered what he was getting himself into. He didn't want to risk putting his family in danger, though didn't know if this was truly a better option or not. But it was too late to change his mind now. He looked in the car mirror at the blonde before finally driving off. So long as he kept him in the basement for however long was needed, surely there couldn't be too many complications. He'd be sure to keep an eye on Bill no matter how long he would be staying.
On the ride back to the Mystery Shack, Bill hadn't seemed to make much noise. Ford had at first assumed that he was being shunned, to which he wouldn't give the behavior any extra attention. However, when he looked into the rear-view mirror, he realized that the demon was out- and looked strangely peaceful at that. Bill had finally gotten to sleep successfully on the way as Ford drove. He felt somewhat uneasy at seeing his former friend turned enemy coming with him to his home. Just the thought of their past together caused him to hold the wheel tighter, clenching his teeth slightly. He knew he would never forgive Bill for everything he had put him and, more importantly, his family through. Despite all their history though, he wouldn't let that get too far in the way of his research. So long as he got the answers he needed, that was what mattered.
There is chapter 5! I want this story to be longer, and to be a project for a good couple of months at least. This is obviously going to be a slow-burn story, so everything along the lines of the story between them is going to take a bit of time. The next chapter will be written within the next few days!
