Chapter 9: Escape

Ford sits on the floor of his cell, flicking open the lighter he had taken form Stanley when they were fighting before this whole interdimensional mess started, it making small clicking sounds as he did so.

Rick sat on the floor by a different wall, his flask in hand and was drinking what seemed like an endless supply of alcohol. The man barley spoke, him just drinking away and randomly passing out. Sometimes he'd wake up say something about "Beth" and fall back asleep.

As the more Ford clicked the lighter the angrier he got. Magum had tricked him, he tricked him to keep Layla for some reason. She was the daughter of the scientist that made a deal with Bill Cipher, but if Magum hated Bill and wanted to rule the universe and multiverse, why would he make a deal with the triangular demon?

"H-h-h-h-hey, sci-fi," Rick mutters from his side of the cell. He had his flask in hand and was offering it to Ford. "W-w-w-w-want some?" he asked.

"How the hell do you have that much alcohol in that damn thing?" Ford exclaims, him actually taking it.

"Eh… stole it from one of those shops in these dimensions." Rick replied nonchalantly, giving a shrug. Ford had taken a swig of the flask, him making a scrunched up face. Rick laughs, "Yeah, pretty strong right? Strongest in the multiverse."

"How did you get here anyway, Rick?" Ford asks him. "You said Dr. Bartek stole your research… so…?"

Rick glances away, taking his flask back and putting it into his lab coat. "I knew Dr. Bartek when I was a teenager, like an apprenticeship of some kind. I was working with him about this so… I memorized a few things about seeing how to find the secret portals to other dimensions and pocket dimensions.

"He didn't like it that I was getting ahead of myself thus getting ahead of him… what scientist wanted to be beaten by a fourteen-year-old at the time? I sure the hell wouldn't…" Rick finished. "Between what I've been doing, I'd come back to these dimensions to get my research back, and if I found Bartek on the way… well, I'd punch him." He actually didn't stutter at all, probably because he was trying to be calm and not alert anyone.

Ford then leans on the wall. "I got here because I built an interdimensional portal… then I fought with my twin brother and I got knocked in on accident…" he then whispers.

Rick scoffs, "H-h-h-hey! I-I-I-I didn't ask f-f-f-or your l-l-l-life story here!" he then gets up and walks to the bars, tapping on them for them to make a clang. "I g-g-g-gotta get out of here… I got a daughter at home that'd I'd l-l-l-like to see…"

Ford nearly falls over to the side. "You have a daughter?" Ford shouts in disbelief.

Rick raises his unibrow. "O-o-o-oh, I can't have a k-k-kid?!" he shouts back. "Yes I h-h-h-have a daughter! Her n-n-n-name is Beth!" he then goes into his lab coat pocket and takes out a small folded up photograph. He shows it to Ford, the picture being a baby blonde girl with a pink bow in her hair.

"She's cute…" Ford comments, actually thinking that the little girl was adorable.

"Yeah, thank God she don't look a d-d-d-d-damn thing like me." Rick laughs. He then puts the photo back. "A more than enough reason for me to get out of here…"

Ford then clicks his lighter again, a small spark coming from it. It had been out of fluid weeks ago, but the sparks could still be used for a fire.

A fire…

"Hey, Rick," Ford says softly, trying to not be too loud.

"W-what, Sci-fi?" Rick replies, his voice annoyed.

"Do you have any paper on you and some kid of spray…?" Ford then asks.

Rick fully turns around from the bars. His eyes went to the lighter in Ford's hands, then a devious grin crosses his features. "Oh, I got something…" he quickly says as he goes into his lab coat once again and grabs his flask. He also managed to get what looked like a birthday candle. Why he had a candle, Ford couldn't guess the reason.

"What's your flask-" Ford began to say but he abruptly stops. "Oh… I see your plan here."

"A-and I see y-y-yours!" Rick comments excitedly. "Okay, y-y-y-you cause a ruckus, a-a-a-and I'll light the candle and drench t-the poor b-b-b-bastard with the alcohol and throw the f-f-flame at him." He then belches. "We j-j-just gotta make sure h-h-h-he opens the door."

Ford nods and begins banging on the bars loudly. "Hey! Hey! I want my one phone call here! Isn't that what you're supposed to do?" Ford screams. Rick scoffs behind him as he was clicking the lighter to try to light the candle. "Hey! Uh… bug face! Oh… that's a terrible insult is it… that's just your natural looks…"

Rick then mutters, "Maybe I should've been the one to do the distraction…"

It didn't matter who did it, one of the guards was coming over. The monster did indeed have what Ford called a "bug face", it looked similar to a praying mantis. Like according to plan it unlocked the door and was approaching inside. However, Rick cursed under his breath, him not quite getting the candle lit.

Ford had to buy him some time. Without thinking, he just socked the creature in its mandible, causing a sickened crunch. The monster screeched loudly and dropped its weapon and even the keys. Ford makes a dive for the weapon, it looked like a futuristic rifle that was black with intense bright, glowing green accents on the weapon. Rick then finally throws the alcohol onto the creature, even though his candle wasn't lit, and Ford pulls the trigger.

A bright blue ball of plasma shoots from the gun, it hitting the alien creature in its chest. From the alcohol it bursts into flames, causing sickening snaps and crackles as the flames burned its exoskeleton. After within minutes, the body of the guard falls to the ground, crumping within itself, its body cracking apart into pieces on the floor.

Rick tosses the lighter back to Ford, who caught it with one hand. The man then runs and grabs the keys and keycards from the guard and makes a run for it.

"HEY! RICK!" Ford screams in anger and he chases the odd man. He followed Rick, who got stopped but another guard, but he managed to kick the creature's legs to cause it to fall to the ground and grab its weapon, shooting it point blank into the creatures head. He continues to run.

Rick manages to get to a door that required one of the keys and he struggles for a moment to find the right one. This gave Ford time to catch up to Rick, him panting as his adrenaline started to decline.

"Hey, what the hell was that about!?" Ford demands, using a free hand to gesture angrily.

"T-t-t-told ya, Sci-fi, I g-g-gotta get home." Rick tells him, once again his voice just sound like he didn't care. He then finds the right key and the door slides open, him running through it without giving Ford a chance to even reply. Ford follows.

The room the entered was massive, it a sparkling white, giving the illusion that everything was sterile and clean. Tables littered with odd looking gadgets and mechanical parts. Rick had found a safe in the corner, thinking that's where the research about the portals would be. He busts it open using the weapon he had taken from one of the guards and searches through the documents. Rick finally pulls out a stack of papers and goes to one of the tables.

"That's… the research...?" Ford gasps.

"Yep." Rick was already using whatever scrap metal he could find and was building something that looked similar to a gun. He used a lot of white, the main part looking like a solid black, the handle slanted in a forty degree angle in the shape of cylinder. It honestly looked like he was building a handheld vacuum cleaner. Rick adds a screen and some kind of dial, then he finally adds a tall dome with some kind of energy in it, it glowing a bright lime green.

"Don't you think… that was a little too easy?" Ford points out. "I mean… why would Magum leave something as big about the technology to portals in plain sight, and Layla told me her father puts his research in ciphers…"

Rick raises his completed invention. "Well, one, these are actually my notes from w-w-when I was with Bartek, I-I-I-I paraphrased a lot of it, which i-i-is probably why they have mine out, they th-think they can read it. M-my paraphrasing is my o-o-own code." He then gestures to the tables, now Ford looking closely seeing it as failed experiments.

"And why it was so e-e-easy to get…" Rick continues with a shrug. "I don't have a clue, Sci-fi."

"Oh, but I have an excellent explanation." A lowly, slithery sounding voice says behind them. Slowly they both turn around, seeing Magum in his translucent glory, a sinister smile on his face.

"Magum!" Ford screams, his face contorted with anger. "You lying, double crossing, bastard!" Ford then raises his gun, aiming for Magum.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Stanford Pines?" Magum smoothly asks, his grin widening. He then snaps his fingers, someone appearing next to him. That someone was Layla.

Layla was stripped of her black trench coat and whatever dark shirt and pants she had been wearing. Her outfit was replaced with her wearing a metallic looking bra and matching panties, her skin completely bare, and her wearing knee high metallic colored boots. She looked highly uncomfortable, her body covered with long lines of thick scars from the years of on the run and fighting for survival. Her jet black hair looked a lot longer now that it was cleaned, it going down to past her waist, it being the only sense of a shield for her.

"Damn, Layla Bartek, gotta say, puberty did you right and you got hot." Rick whistles, giving her a glance over.

Ford was the complete opposite and averted his eyes, his face a deep crimson as he tried to not stare.

"Rick Sanchez!?" Layla screeches. "You're here too!? GOD DAMN IT!"

Rick give a grin and clicks his tongue. "Can't get rid of me, Layla!"

"Aren't you married, Rick!?" Ford yells at him. "And you have a daughter yourself!"

"Oh, what sane woman married and bred with you!?" Layla adds in disbelief.

Magum then snaps his fingers in anger, red fire surrounding both Ford and Rick. "Enough of your annoying human banter!" he snarls. He then puts a tight hand around Layla's forearm and makes her stand in front of him. "Do you still want to shoot, Stanford?"

Ford lowers the gun, his gaze was still averted. Even if had been looking dead on to the two he still would've lowered it. He then drops it, raises his hands, and kicks the gun to Magum. Magum then snaps his fingers and the crackles into dark red flames.

"I made it so easy so I can see what Bill Cipher was dealing with," Magum then says in his smooth tone. "I may not like that damn triangular bastard, but he and I stroke a deal.

"He lets me keep Layla if I deliver you, Stanford, and a completed portal device."

Rick then interjects, "W-w-w-w-wait a sec!" he raises his arms in a stopping motion, the portal gun still in hand. "You're giving up power, power over the entire universe and multiverse, complete domination, for a chick?!" he then gestured to Layla. "The girl is hot but, damn! W-w-w-what your d-d-d-d-demonic boner is t-t-t-taking the b-b-b-blood from your brain?!"

Layla makes an odd sound, her definitely uncomfortable. Ford gives an odd glare at Rick. Even Magum was giving Rick a strange look.

"H-h-h-hey, th-that's how I'm married, damn it!" Rick then snaps. "Being a man sucks with th-that kind of shit!"

"Give me the portal device, Rick Sanchez." Magum orders, holding out a hand. His veins and arteries showed his blood flowing, it looking almost like sand flowing down from an hour glass.

"And y-y-y-you can go screw yourself!" Rick shouts as he then goes into his lab coat with his free hand and grabs a small looking plasma pistol. He then aims at the light fixtures above Magum's head and pulls the trigger multiple times. The lights go out, but Magum's translucent body glowed in the dark. His normally blank white eyes were now glowing a furious red.

With Magum distracted by Rick, Ford manages to slither away into the dark, hearing the blast and the light beams of Rick's gun. With the small amount of light he saw it being reflected off of Layla's clothing. Slowly, he makes his way to her, and when he does he grabs her left hand. A hard slap to his face causes him to groan.

"Ford!?" Layla hisses.

"Yeah… ow…" Ford replies, using his free hand to rub his face. "We got to get out of here, we got to help Rick-"

"No we are not helping him!" Layla growls. "He is a complete asshole! Besides he's fine!"

Rick then blasts the portal gun behind him, a huge green circle hitting the wall. The room become illuminated with a lime green light, the portal swirling with a dark green. With the light, Ford makes a grab for Rick's paraphrased portal notes, and stuffs them into his trench coat.

"See ya, Magum!" Rick jeers a laugh as he slowly backs up into the portal. "Say hi to Bartek in hell for me when ya get there! And that damn flying tortilla chip too!" he makes a final blast at Magum with his laser pistol, Magum deflecting it with his fire. Rick steps through the portal, it closing just as Magum got to it.

The room was dark once again except for Magum's glowing form. Enraged, he looks around, trying to find his prize and the package to Cipher.

But they were both gone.

He screams with a furious rage, the room around him bursting into intense dark, red flames.


Ford and Layla managed to get out of the building, both panting from their running.

Before they had left Ford had snagged some of the scraps of metal and parts that Rick had been working with before along with the weapon Rick had taken from the guard he had killed. Once the two were outside, Ford shrugs off his trench coat and gives it to Layla, his gaze still averted from her.

Layla takes it and puts it on, feeling instantly warm. "Thanks…" she whispers as soon as they were in the alleyway that ford had his stolen vehicle stashed.

"Yeah… no problem." He replies to her absently, him trying to think of a plan on what they should do next.

"Why… weren't you looking at me before?" Layla then asks him curiously.

Ford turns his head to her with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?" he questions.

"I mean, Rick was staring, but you weren't." she points out.

"Because that's rude." Ford says simply. "A woman shouldn't be forced to wear something like that. She should only do it if she feels comfortable herself or do it by her husband."

Layla gives a laugh, "You're very old fashioned aren't you?"

"Grew up in New Jersey raised by a phone physic and a tough pawn shop owner. Dad was a little strict and Ma always made sure my brothers and I were respectful to women." He tells her. He gets on his transportation device and starts the engine.

"You did mention about you being a twin before…" Layla recalls, her getting onto the back of it, wrapping her arms around his waist to support herself.

"Yeah… I have a younger twin brother…" Ford barely whispers, his voice taking on a sad tone. He then starts driving, him at a decent pace so no one would chase him thinking he had something important.

Layla was silent for a moment before asking, "What's his name?"

"... Stanley."

"So… you two are Stanford and Stanley Pines?" Layla laughs, her being baffled.

"Once again, that was from my dad." Ford explains, rolling his eyes. "He's not a very creative man… I mean, he did give my older brother the name 'Sherman'. It could've been worse."

Layla was silent once again for a few minutes. They drove in silence until Ford finds the one building he was in for when he spent the night alone. He stops the vehicle and turns it off, Layla removing her arms from his waist, it now feeling a cold without the warmth of her arms.

They get inside and Ford sets up a small fire. He unrolls his bedding stuff and offers it to Layla, who gives a soft smile and sits on the blankets. She puts her hands up to the small fire to warm herself up.

"We'll find you some new clothes tomorrow." Ford interrupts the silence. "That can't be comfortable."

"Well… the clothing is actually comfy, it's just… not my taste." She tells him. Then she asks Ford, "Does your twin brother have polydactyl too?"

"No." Ford's answer was short and curt.

"So… definitely fraternal twins then…" she assumed.

"Yes." Again, short and curt. "But… we look eerily similar still. As kids all Stanley had to do was put on my glasses and one of my coats to hide his hands and he could pass as me." He adds softly, a smile playing on his lips in the memory.

"Are you two close?" Layla asks him gently. "He must be worried about you…"

"We were close." Ford says sourly. His tone suggested he didn't want to talk about it.

Layla blinks her electric blue eyes a few times. "Oh… okay. Um, I'm just gonna go to sleep… you can wake me in a couple of hours and I'll take over…"

"Okay."

"Night, Ford."

"Night, Layla."

"Oh, and Ford?"

"Yeah...?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Layla…"


A/N: Hello everyone! I tried to make this chapter longer and exciting! Tried is the key word here. Like I said, this story is a little harder to write than "Cipher's Reign" and "After Cipher's Reign".

Also... there may be a short story in the future specifically about Layla, but only if you guys are interested.

Thanks for reading as always!

~Skye Hendersen~