Ford wasn't ready to open his eyes yet, his mind racing as he felt a bright light encompassing him. What was waiting for him in his brother's mindscape? What traps would a wrathful and very much alive Bill Cipher have set up for him? Would he try to threaten Stanley? Was Ford even ready to face his enemy, his torturer, again?

Ford took a deep breath as he slowly and surely opened his eyes… only to find that he was still in the bedroom, the bright light only that of the moon.

What?

He blinked a bit in confusion, taking in the technicolor confirmation of reality. The very real journal page, slightly crumpled, fell from his hand to the hardwood floor.

"I don't understand. It didn't… it didn't work?" Ford questioned, scooping up the journal page and double checking the incantation line by line, again and again. Maybe he'd said something wrong? He recited the incantation again, this time keeping his eyes open. Stan's eyes should have started glowing blue, but nothing was happening...

Ford angrily balled up the paper and threw it at his feet. What the hell was wrong? Was Bill preventing him from entering Stan's mind? No, he didn't have any control over that… anyone could freely follow a demon into the mindscape with the incantation, it was beyond Bill's control… unless…

"No…" Ford breathed to himself. "All the signs clearly point to… but why else wouldn't I be able to enter in after him?" Ford's mind was racing once again for a solution, but it was late, and as his body forced a loud yawn out of him, he could tell this was going to be a losing battle. Defeatedly, he blew out the nine candles and piled them back into the box, leaving no trace as he quietly left his brother's room. Ford glanced back at Stanley, the twin's sleeping figure lit by the otherworldly waves of green light that danced outside the window.

He would try again tomorrow. He shut the door.

"...and so I said to Helga, a fish can't go fishing, now can it?!" Arthur exclaimed, to a quiet uproar of laughter around the table. The couple had prepared a full spread for breakfast, the table covered in plates of freshly baked breads, jams, pastries, fruit, and a tall carafe of steaming coffee. Ford, sitting across from the innkeepers, poured himself a second cup of the delicious brew, drinking it black and almost draining the cup in one drink. He hadn't slept much that night - his mind had been preoccupied with other things.

"Stanford, would you like some fresh eggs? The chickens have been so good to us lately, you won't believe how big they are!" Helga offered. Ford laughed and shook his head.

"I'm too full to even conceive of it!" Ford insisted, pointing to his full belly. "I'm sure Stan would be more than happy to take you up on that offer, though. And speak of the devil…" The three of them turned to the kitchen entranceway to see Stan stroll in, quietly taking a seat next to his brother and saying a quick, polite 'good morning' to the innkeepers. Ford raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so quiet in the morning, Stanley. I, uh… take it you slept well?" he asked, perhaps a bit too curiously. Stan paused before nodding, stretching out a bit in his chair.

"Best sleep of my life," Stan responded, Ford picking up a strangely cold vibe from his brother. Stan balked a bit at the sight of his twin. "Whoa - bag check for my brother's eyes, am I right?" The innkeepers both chuckled a bit, while Ford was trying to figure out if that was meant to be kind-spirited or not.

"I'm just glad you finally got some sleep last night," Ford finally said, reaching for the carafe again, which was verging on empty. Arthur quickly swept it up, heading for the kitchen to fill it up again, but not without noticing that Ford had almost drained the entire container by himself.

"Stanley, your brother was telling me that you might be interested in some fresh, oversized eggs from the chickens?" Helga suggested, trying to break whatever tension had suddenly entered her kitchen. Stan nodded enthusiastically.

"Sounds amazing!" he answered. "Honestly, I'm so hungry I could eat my brother!" The couple laughed, and Arthur offered Stan a cup of coffee, who politely declined. Ford poured himself another cup.

"You ought to go easy there, Stanford," Arthur said gently. "You have too much of that and you won't be able to sleep tonight either!" Ford chuckled awkwardly in response as his brother suddenly leaned over to whisper something to him.

"Hey, Ford, can we step out for a few minutes so I can talk to you?" Stan asked, a bit ominously. Ford nodded, both brothers excusing themselves momentarily from the table while the sound of the fridge door creaking open was permeated with the innkeepers' hushed whispers. Stan and Ford made their way over to the staircase, the tension hanging strangely thick for this early in the morning. Ford turned to his brother earnestly.

"Stanley, is everything okay? Are you… feeling all there?" he asked gingerly. Stan shook his head.

"I'm fine, Ford. No nightmares, no weird thoughts… I just have a question to ask you," Stan said, reaching into his pocket. "Do you wanna explain why I found this in my room this morning?" Stan opened his palm to reveal the balled up piece of journal paper Ford had thrown to the floor last night. Stanford cringed, smacking himself upside the head for forgetting something so stupid. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Stan, listen, I'm sorry…" Ford started.

"I don't wanna hear it!" Stan stopped him. "You weren't even gonna tell me, were you?" He looked hurt.

"Stan, I didn't think you needed to know quite yet…"

"Oh, really? So when exactly were you gonna tell me that, number one, you practically drugged me last night in order to, number two, enter my brain without asking?!" Stan hushedly exclaimed, the sound of cracking eggs in the distance.

"I didn't have any other choice!" Ford answered him forcefully. "Don't you think I would have told you if I could have? And it doesn't even matter anyway because it didn't work!" Stan's brow furrowed.

"What d'ya mean it didn't work?" Stan asked, dropping his guard a bit. Ford adjusted his glasses, taking a seat on the foot of the stairs.

"I mean that when I attempted the incantation, nothing happened, Stanley. Listen, I'll try to explain this simply - to start with, there's nothing in Bill's power that can…"

"Stanley! Your eggs will be ready soon!" Helga chirped from the kitchen. Stan groaned a bit.

"Just a couple minutes!" he called, turning back to his brother. "I hope by simply you mean quickly." Ford sighed exasperatedly.

"There's nothing in Bill's power that can prevent the incantation from working - it's an ancient right that demons like him are governed by. Anyone is free to follow a demon into an invaded mindscape to prevent the demon's chaos. Are you following so far?" Ford asked quickly.

"They can't stop the thing from happening, yeah, yeah, go on," Stan said. Ford continued.

"With a cease in Bill's… activity, I figured he'd gone into hiding, and therefore I concluded that last night would be the perfect time to strike. With my knowledge of the mind, I could find him and finish him off myself without having to get you involved… and I'm sorry I betrayed your trust, but I figured it was the only way to make sure Cipher wouldn't see it coming," Ford explained earnestly. Stan's expression softened a bit, and he gave a small nod. "What I didn't expect was what happened next. I attempted to use the incantation after you were asleep, but nothing happened. I stayed up for hours searching the journals and racking my brain for any logical answer, but I've only come up with one plausible explanation as to why I couldn't follow Bill into your mind... I don't think there's a demon to follow in there, Stan," he explained, his brother's eyes widening. "I don't want to conclude this definitively until we absolutely know for sure, but I think you might actually be alone." Ford smiled, catching his breath a bit before turning to his brother for a reaction. Stan seemed uncharacteristically pensive, though.

"You know I'd be the first person to throw a party at the idea of not having a demon in my head, but... you don't think this could be some kind of con, do you?" Stan asked skeptically, leaning on the stair railing. "I mean that's what he does, right?"

"I'd certainly considered it," Ford responded, "but none of the information you gave to me would suggest that there could be any other possibility than the one I ended up with. But you know me and foresight…" Ford trailed off, his eyes skimming the floor. "That's why I want to be cautious for now, at least until I'm sure that Bill's gone."

"Stanley, you asked for eggs!"

"Coming, coming!" Stan quickly covered as he and his brother rushed back into the dining room. The two of them sat back down at the table, Helga presenting Stan with the two biggest fried eggs he'd ever seen. He eagerly chowed down, while Ford picked at the berries left on his plate and made light conversation with Arthur. Ford glanced over to his brother, who shot back an easy smile, thankfully. Ford breathed a sigh of relief. He just hoped, for both of their sakes, that he was right about all of this. I mean, what else could it be?

It hadn't taken long to shape up and ship out on Ford's long awaited quest, and Stan's newest candy addition, chocolate-covered black liquorice, was safely and eagerly tucked away for his personal mission too. Helga had kindly offered to give the twins a ride up the road to the head of the valley, from where they could set out on their own. The air was crisp and a bit warmer than it would be back at home at this time of year, Stanley noted. Wasn't it called Ice-land?

"Come on, Stanley, keep up!" Ford called out to his daydreaming brother, the snow-teased valley now well underfoot. A slight layer of ice crunched under their boots, concealing the wilted wild flowers of summer, while small patches of snow marked the field leading to the waterfall they were seeking.

"Hey, you'd be the one dragging behind if you were lugging all this instead of me," Stan replied, heaving the backpack of Ford's supplies onto his opposite shoulder. Ford stopped for a moment, turning around.

"We can swap out if you want, Stan, it's fine," Ford offered, but Stan shook his head. "Really, I'm more than capable…"

"You heard the doctor before we left, poindexter," Stan argued. "No heavy lifting for you, your heart can't take the stress. Not after the electricu…"

"You don't have to say it... I know," Ford stopped him, shutting down an unpleasant memory before it grabbed hold of him. "On another note, could you pass me the 'weirdometer?'" Stan chuckled as he swung the bag around onto one arm and zipped it open, reaching around for the compass-like device.

"I still can't believe my dumb name for it actually stuck," Stan commented. Ford shrugged.

"It's succinct, accurate, kinda catchy..." Ford listed off as Stan passed him the device. "And, plus, I really like it." He shot his brother a smile before turning his attention to the wildly fluctuating needle on the small machine. Ford started pointing the device in a few different directions, spinning the dials and adjusting the frequency knob, until suddenly it emitted a short beep, the needle settling on a final location. Both brothers grinned as they started out towards the base of the falls.

"So…" Stan said, starting up the conversation again. "What kinda elves are we talkin' about here? Tiny, mythical ones? Santa ones?"

"No, no, no pointy ears or gift making," Ford answered with a laugh. "The Huldufolk are a bit like old-timey people, but shorter - kind of like children. 'Huldufolk' literally means 'hidden people,' and it's for a reason - they're only visible to certain, 'spiritual' people. Luckily for me," Ford continued, pointing to a pair of special tinted goggles and a headset attached to his belt, "I get to bypass those requirements!" Ford looked over to his brother.

"I suppose you don't have two sets of those things, huh?" Stan asked, sounding a bit disappointed. Ford frowned, shaking his head.

"Sorry, Stanley - the parts I would've needed to build a matching set were eaten by that possessed shark on our first diving trip," Ford said. Stan remembered that one all too well.

"R.I.P. incredibly-realistic-looking fish-camera," Stan murmured, taking off his hat. "It's swimmin' and taking pictures through its fake little fish-mouth in fish-camera heaven!"

"Anyway…" Ford continued, smirking at his brother's dramatics. "When I'm done doing a sketch for the journal, I'll call you over and pass you the goggles so you can meet them! While I'm interviewing them, though, it'd be great if you could take some fake water samples to bring back to the inn!" Stan looked less than enthralled with the idea.

"I guess I can take some pictures for the kids while I'm at it. I bet they'd really be eating up this beautiful, weird nature thing, especially Mabel," Stan chuckled. "It'll be nice to get home and see the kids for Thanksgiving. I actually miss the little skamps." Ford smiled.

"It's strange to think that I have some semblance of a family to return to for the holidays," Ford said, a sad smile etching his face and catching in his eyes. "You're going to have to remind me how to celebrate Thanksgiving - it's been a long time since I had turkey… or at least what you'd call turkey in this dimension." Stan pulled his beanie back on, chuckling awkwardly as he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"It's been awhile since I've had a proper Thanksgiving, too," Stan admitted, kicking a rock in his path. "Soos' Abuela usually invited me over to their house, but I always felt too, I don't know, embarrassed, to accept the invite. I'd say I was celebrating with some poker buddies, or that I had new attractions to work on at the shack… Usually I'd go downstairs and try to get something of yours to work, just to remind me that you were there." He swiped away a quick tear, not giving it much thought as he chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get all sappy on ya." Ford shook his head.

"I don't think it's sappy… well, maybe it is a bit," Ford joked, playfully shoving his brother, who shoved back a bit harder as the two of them laughed and staggered along together, getting closer to their target. "And Christmas! And Hanukkah too! That's going to be something…"

"There some kind of terrifying Christmas demon in Gravity Falls that I should be aware of?" Stan asked, half serious. Ford laughed. "Did they have anything like Christmas in the dimension you were in?" Ford was taken a bit off guard by the question. Stan never asked about the time he'd spent on the other side of the portal, and for now, Ford wanted to keep it that way. It was just one question, though - harmless enough.

"Not really, but you don't have anything like Zorboglaz over here," Ford remarked with a smug smirk, crossing his arms to his brother's instant amusement. "You would love Zorboglaz, Stan." Stan looked more than intrigued.

"We should celebrate it before we go away again! Invite the kids!" he offered. Ford cringed a bit, adjusting his glasses.

"It's not exactly kid-appropriate, if you catch my drift," Ford hinted. Stan shook his head and Ford paused, putting the right words together. "It's sort of like St. Patrick's day's wild, satanic cousin." Stan's eyes bulged.

"And that's just one holiday…" Stan trailed off, instantly lost in fantasies of the most crazy, messed up parties he could imagine. His younger self was so jealous. Ford looked to his brother, a hungry look suddenly in his twin's eyes. This had been a mistake. "You've been holding out on me, bro! Any other crazy..." Stan stopped as he noticed his brother was looking away. He wondered if he had struck a nerve or something. Without warning, Ford stopped in his tracks. Stan hesitantly stopped too, turning worriedly to his brother.

"Did I say something?" Stan asked. Ford paused, before finally shaking his head no. He breathed out a long, slow breath.

"Stan… I promise that one day I'll tell you about everything that happened to me on the other side of that portal, but I don't want to glamorize it, or give you the wrong idea," he said, shaking away thoughts that he'd successfully kept at bay for several months now. He paused before continuing. "Do you know why I had sleeping pills with me, Stan?" Stanley hadn't really stopped to consider it, and slowly realized what the answer probably was.

"I'm guessing… you didn't take 'em along for me, huh?" Stan asked quietly. Ford shook his head, looking out towards the horizon, vividly blue and cloudless.

"After I got back home, after you helped me get home, I was in shock for a while. In truth, I'd been in a suspended state of shock for thirty years… but after you almost lost your memories, and the kids had been so close to... I can't even say it," Ford stopped himself, taking a moment. "I'd lie awake for hours thinking about it all… about what had happened to me while I was on the other side, about what you must have gone through in all that time, about how the kids were possibly going to deal with everything they'd been through with Weirdmageddon… I'd wake up in the middle of the night with flashes of Bill entering my mind. I was afraid to sleep, even though I knew it was irrational." Everything was so clear now to Stan - why Ford had been so concerned, why he'd done everything he could to help...

"So you got a prescription," Stanley murmured. Ford nodded solemnly.

"A rather large one at that. I never told you, but… for the first six weeks or so out at sea with you, I was taking them pretty regularly. Then, as most things do, it got better with time. I started needing them less and less. I had enough left that I could have given them to you when you were having… difficulties, but I didn't want to push you too hard. I knew it would only make things worse if I was suddenly offering you meds." Stan nodded, understanding exactly what his brother was saying. If Bill had been in his mind back then, an offer of sleeping pills wouldn't have gone over too well. Ford had shifted his attention to the icy soil beneath them. "I should have told you about all of this earlier, instead of dropping all of this on you today, and I'm sor…" Stan cut him off, both hands landing on his brother's shoulder, and Ford turned to face his brother. This time, Stan was gonna be there for Ford, and not the other way around.

"Look, bro - I'm not gonna tell you that you should have told me anything. That was your business, and everyone deals with their own problems in their own way," Stan said. "We trust each other, right? I mean, I trust that you know how to handle any of this supernatural stuff better than I do. Can you trust me that I've been through enough of my own shame not to judge you for any of yours?" Ford slowly nodded, a small smile marking his tired face. "Now listen to me - we've got some weird little gnomes, er, elves, to catch, and I didn't get dragged all the way out here just to waste our chance to meet 'em! So let's get going, huh?" At that moment, Ford couldn't help but think that Stan would have made a wonderful drill sergeant if he wasn't so anti-establishment - when it counted, he could get you on your feet again, and stronger than ever. Ford nodded, pulling out the weirdometer from his pocket and sniffling back 'sappy' tears.

"You're absolutely right," Ford stated, wasting no more time as he quickly dialed in the signal again. It emitted a loud and promising beep. "And we're close - let's not waste our chance!" And with that, Ford ran off towards the cliffs. Stan grinned as he ran to catch up with his brother. Funny... how he was the one running to catch up now.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I can just imagine Stan yelling off after Ford, "And no more sad stories until at least March!"

And it's true... That was the last of some much needed conversation between the brothers about a lot of things that've been building - their trust issues mostly. The pen has a mind of its own sometimes, and it seemed to lead to a more talk-y chapter this time around. Next time... not so much.

I've also realized that, similarly to online dating, I should probably respond to your comments instead of just creepily reading them and smiling to myself! Your comments are such a joy to read - please keep your theories and thoughts coming! And this time I'll actually respond to them! Lol

See you next week... (maniacal laughter)