Forward:

I'm FINALLY back! Sincerest apologies for taking such a long hiatus, but it'll be the last one, because THIS IS IT PEOPLE. The final chapter to all this insanity is upon us. It boggles my mind that I posted the first chapter of this fic a year ago. Thank you guys for sticking with me and giving me the encouragement and support to keep going. I used to have a bad habit of not finishing the stories I'd start, but this ends that pattern for good.

I put a lot of love (and occasional horror) into this last instalment, so I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. And remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE!

CHAPTER 17

"Ughhh."

Consciousness came to Bill like a dense cloud of fog, prying open his eyelids caked over with sleep. He wondered with a dull pit in his stomach how long he'd been out for.

The demon reached up to stretch out Stanley's withered arms, but immediately discovered that he couldn't move them. Curiously, he glanced downwards, only to find that he'd somehow been wrangled into a straight jacket...

Perfect.

He groaned with annoyance as he tried in vain to wriggle out of it. It would take some time to figure his way out of this one - Ford and the various other rejects had ensured he was good and tied up. It didn't matter anymore, though - the grand finale, the punchline to this cruel, pointless joke, was all in Ford's six-fingered hands now.

As the veil of sleep began to lift from his appropriated brain, he started to deduce where they had shoved him in the house. He was on some kind of bed, the plush fabric beneath him soft against his stubbled cheek, and dim moonlight filtered through a rectangular stained-glass window above him.

He laughed bitterly to himself - it was Stanford's old bedroom. Bill had spent plenty of time in there, back when he'd had the othertwin to possess. Damn metal plate had to make everything more complicated than it needed to be...

Stan's gravelly voice suddenly began to ebb through his thoughts. Bill groaned, for a moment even regretting the decision to split his presence like this between Stan's conscious and unconscious mind. Stanley's sobs and occasional screams, however… those made it all worth it.

Bill startled at the sound of a key jiggling in the door, and tried to wriggle himself into a sitting position as the door squeaked open inch by inch. Looming by the doorway, bathed in silhouette, stood Stanford, his glasses shining opaquely in the moonlight.

"Sixer! Come for a little midnight rendezvous?" Bill smiled cheekily, squinting against the light as he suddenly fell back down onto his back with a grunt. Ford didn't react as he walked with purpose towards the demon, his footsteps creaking on the splintered wooden floor as he approached the bed. "Ha, quiet tonight, are we? I get it - you're gonna miss your good ol' pal Bil-agh!" Bill choked out as Ford yanked the demon to his feet by the back of his straight jacket. Ford practically bristled as his hand grazed the back of Stanley's neck, his brother's skin ice-cold to the touch. Bill smiled. "Jeez, IQ, you're in a real hurry to get rid of me, huh? What time is it anyway?"

"Almost midnight," Ford answered gruffly, glancing down briefly at his cracked watch face before pushing Bill towards the open door, the yellow light of the hallway feeling terribly ominous as they moved closer and closer towards it. Ford pushed the thought out of his head and he gave Bill a hard shove. "Time to go home."

Stan's bloodshot eyes stared into infinity.

How long had he been watching his brother's life unfold before his eyes? Minutes, years… he couldn't tell the difference anymore. The only thing that he knew was real was the pit in his stomach slowly consuming him, opening like a chasm beneath his trembling form...

The things he'd seen, the things Ford had been forced to live through, played out like a psychedelic nightmare before Stan's unblinking eyes. Swirling colors and the smell of sweat overloaded his senses as he watched his twin scamper from dimension to dimension. Days and days of Ford's life passed without eating, or sleeping, while avoiding the jaws of creatures far too big to possibly exist. Years of his brother's life passed in moments, leaving their scars on the battle-weathered man. Stan finally realised with horror why Stanford never took off his clothes around him, the fabric concealing scar tissue that Stan was never meant to see.

It was too much, Stan's eyes filling to the brim with tears. He couldn't bear to watch his brother suffer any longer. He couldn't bare to listen to Stanford's cries, or look into that terrified, wild stare...

This was hell.

"HAD ENOUGH YET, STANLEY? WANT TO SEE YOUR BROTHER CLAW HIS WAY OUT OF XANTHAR'S SEVEN-LAYER STOMACH? SURE WAS A DOOZY!" Bill shrieked, his manic laughter booming through Stan's head like cannonfire. But if this was war… he refused to break.

Stan grit his teeth as he stared into the gateway. This was his future now, an endless pool of regret and guilt… it was all his fault…

"NO, NO, NO!"

The portal suddenly flashed to life in a brilliant spark, and Stan squeezed his eyes shut as bright red embers flew throughout the room. The air seemed to sigh as the portal flickered out, and the entire room plunged into darkness.

"Stan! Stan, over here!"

Stanley slowly opened his eyes, seeing stars as he blinked. For a moment, he thought he'd heard something, like the voice of an angel...

"STAN! Hang on, I'm coming!"

Stan's eyes snapped open at the sound of it. It almost sounded like… Ford.

But it couldn't be.

He was alone. They were both very much alone. And Ford had been alone for such a long time before that, it was unbearable to think about...

"STANLEY! Can you hear me?"

His incredible, strong, resilient, brave brother...

"I'm… sorry…" Stan began to sob, his breath quivering and sticking in his throat as his body went limp under the weight of his sins. "All of it… everything you had to live through… all MY faul…" he stuttered as a hard SLAP met his cheek, snapping him out of it.

"Stanley! Get a hold of yourself!" his brother's voice bellowed, and Stan turned his head to face his brother's hardened eyes. The eyes of a warrior, the eyes of a killer… the eyes of his best friend.

"F-Ford? That y-you?" Stan's voice quivered as he finally managed to form words. His memory began to return in flashes, Bill's stronghold on his mind finally cut off. "What are you d-doing here? How are you here?"

"Stan, I've been here this whole time, remember?" Ford spoke hurriedly, and Stan gasped as his twin suddenly disappeared and reappeared like a chameleon before him. It was the dream version of his brother that he'd created back when he'd had full control of the place. Back when they'd made their plan… the plan, right! How could he forget! "Stanley, can you stand?"

"Y-yeah, I think so… a hand might be nice, though," Stan admitted as he finally managed to crack a wry smile, extending a hand towards his imagined brother. Ford smiled back.

"Gladly," he responded softly, grabbing his creator's palm firmly and slowly helping Stan to his weary feet. Stanley wobbled, coughing as he balanced uneasily.

"Something's happened to Bill on the outside, huh?" Stan probed as he looked about at the darkened room and the flickering portal, to which Ford gave him an honest shrug.

"I know about as much as you do, but I think you're right about that," Ford speculated, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "What I do know is that we probably don't have a lot of time before Bill wakes up. You remember the plan?" Stan nodded, his resolve steadier than his balance as he cracked his knuckles gleefully, one by one.

"Let's give that demon a show he'll never forget."

The metallic anti-chamber of the lab was ice cold as Bill was escorted inside by Stanford, red warning lights flashing periodically throughout the room and casting blood-stained shadows on the walls. Wendy and Melody stood stiffly by the glass window as Bill and Stanford passed them, Bill shooting them a wide, toothy grin as he and Stanford walked through the door and into the main part of the lab. The metal chair gleamed under the lab lights, looking about as appealing as a trip to dentist with a mouth full of cavities. Then again, the pain might be a pretty fun...

"We'll be conducting a polygraph test first," Ford said quietly, almost more to himself, as he began to focus on the equipment before him, flicking a green switch, and then a red one. "Before we start, I need to ensure that Stan's safe, and that you're telling the truth about him." Bill rolled his yellow eyes as he was pushed down into the chair. He didn't struggle as Ford pulled a repurposed seatbelt across his chest, grimacing only a bit as Ford tightened it with a sharp pull. Patience.

"Ford, I'm getting an incoming call on the video chat," Melody called out from behind the glass in the anti-chamber. Bill raised an eyebrow. "Should I put it through?"

"Yes, yes, just one moment," Ford waved away as he furrowed his brow, entering a code into the small console beside the metal chair. The helmet hovering above Bill slowly began to lower down onto his possessed head, the cold alloy pressing down firmly against Stan's skull. "Alright! Go ahead!"

Bill squinted as a small television screen that was mounted up on the wall crackled to life in black and white static, before breaking into soft color and sharply coming into focus. Before a webcam sat Dipper and Mabel, staring unflinchingly into Bill's chartreuse eyes.

He smiled.

"Well, well, well! Pine Tree! Shooting Star! To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing YOUR sweaty, teenage-hormone-laden faces?" Bill exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.

"Hey! Mom says this is PERFECTLY NORMAL!" Mabel exclaimed, pointing her finger angrily at the screen. Dipper put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Easy there, sis, don't let him rile you up," Dipper said, glaring daggers at the demon as he crossed his arms. "I hope you're ready for a good old fashioned exorcism, Bill." The demon throatily chuckled.

"Oh, I sure am, Pine Tree! I'll exorcise that old geezer just like I threw you out into the cold recesses of the mindscape!" Bill cackled, Dipper and Mabel both narrowing their eyes at the demon, unflinchingly. Bill took it as a challenge as he narrowed their beloved Grunkle's eyes as well, continuing, unblinking. "But I'll do you one better! Once I throw Stan outta this rotting fleshbag, I'll do what I shoulda done with you and throw this body off of the water tower!" The room was stiff as Bill whistled out the sound of Stan's body plummeting to the earth and *kerplatting* on the ground.

"Ooh! Ooh! Then Mr. Pines could inhabit the Mr. Mystery statue! It'd probably be the best attraction yet..." Soos wondered aloud. Everyone's eyes turned to the large man in stunned silence, jaws agape.

"Soos, what is wrong with you?!" Wendy exclaimed in shock, to which the room broke out in a chorus of angry, horrified chatter all directed at Soos, who immediately sulked under their collective gaze. He tried desperately to defend himself as the room grew louder and louder...

"Everyone, quiet!" Ford yelled, and everyone fell silent. "This is exactly what Bill wants! He's trying to turn us against each other so we're distracted!"

"Distracted? What are you talking about?" Bill asked innocently with a shrug of his shoulders as the polygraph machine let out a high pitched whine. Ford stared slack-jawed at the demon's arm sticking out of the straight jacket. Bill squeezed his eyes shut with a knowing smile, the machine starting to smoke before... POP! Ford ducked for cover as screws and pieces of metal flew throughout the room, the polygraph machine destroyed and on fire beside him.

"Dang nab it!" Fiddleford exclaimed as he ran into the room with a fire extinguisher. Dipper clenched his fists as Mabel's head plunked down on her desk with a thump.

"Everyone stay calm!" Ford commanded, and patted down his hair, briefly realizing it was on fire as well. "Fiddleford, go and man the controls. We go ahead as planned..."

Once the fire was doused, McGucket unceremoniously dropped the extinguisher by his feet and scurried back into the control room, giving Ford a thumbs up from behind the glass. Ford adjusted his glasses with a glare at Bill, before snapping on his pair of six-fingered rubber gloves.

"As everyone here knows, today we will exercising Bill from Stanley's mind via this machine behind me - the Artificial Gateway," Ford spoke, the machine whirring gently behind him as Fiddleford monitored it from behind the glass. Ford pointed to the helmet that was lowered onto Stanley's head, and to a small glass tube connecting the helmet to the rest of the machine. "This tube here behind me is constructed from what I like to call 'spirit-tempered' glass. It allows the human eye to see a spirit, or a being that resides in the mindscape, passing through the inner chamber, which I have magnified on this screen to my right." Ford pointed to a large television screen, which turned on to show a close up of the empty glass tube.

"This is where the extraction will occur," Ford continued, pointing to the tube. "Bill simply needs to walk through the artificial pathway in the helmet to the end of the tube, where a small portal will be activated. This portal is what's referred to as the 'doorway' that was damaged in Stanley's mind, which I have artificially reconstructed here. As well, as you've all been briefed upon, as per my deal with Bill…" Ford paused, clearing his throat and letting out a small sigh, "the portal will lead back to Bill's dimension in the multiverse." The room was stiff. "As… uncomfortable a decision as that is, I can at least assure you that Bill's expressed complete disinterest in affecting any section of the multiverse near us ever again. However we may feel about the morality of this, I must abide by the promise I made him for the release of my brother." Bill rolled his eyes, trying his best to sit through this garbage…

"The entire process should take about ten minutes, so it will go by relatively quick," Ford spoke again, turning to Bill. "Once the machine is activated, you should see a portal appear at the end of the tube. That will be your exit point." Bill closed his eyes, letting out a strained sigh. It was almost time.

"So what you're saying is," Bill started with a wry smile, trying not to laugh from the sheer stupidity of it all. "You're going to go against everything you've fought for in your pathetic, mortal life JUST to get your brother back, and everything is going to go exactly according to your plan? That I'm going to stroll into the mystery portal that you haven't let me inspect for myself, and that I'll be perfectly fine?" Ford chuckled awkwardly, trying not to sweat.

"Well, yes, I think I just established that…" he spoke as Bill bit his lip, fighting a laugh that threatened to escape Stanley's lips.

"Oh come on, Sixer! It doesn't take a brainiac like YOU to figure out what's going on here! I mean, it's insulting that you would believe that I would believe this crap!" Bill finally laughed. Everyone in the room looked around awkwardly, Ford swallowing hard. "I mean, this is just ridiculous! And you can ALL drop the act, by the way. Unless you're lying to them, IQ, but I don't think that's really your style..."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Bill. You know we have a deal, and I'm abiding by that..." Ford started, beads of sweat gathering at his brow.

"Don't play games with me, Sixer," Bill cut him off, narrowing his eyes. "We both know you're too smart, and too pathetically moral to let me go out and wreak havoc on the multiverse again. That so-called portal is just a dressed up KILLING MACHINE, so why don't you save us all some time and just admit it!"

"That's enough, Bill!" Ford bellowed, leveling with the demon for a moment as the room collectively held their breath. "We want the same thing - for you to get the hell out of my brother's mind! As much as I'd love to crush you into fine particulate matter, that portal is completely safe, just as I promised you it would be! I'm not playing around with my brother's life, Bill. We've come this far. You have to trust me!" he pleaded, his voice quivering for a moment. Bill noted it, and shrugged, giving in. He'd toy with his food a little longer - that's what this had been all about, wasn't it?

"Fine, Sixer. I'll play along," Bill said ominously, before Stanley's eyes slowly drooped closed, and Bill finally exited Stan's consciousness. Ford let out a heavy sigh.

"You're sure this is going to work, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asked quietly, his hands shaking on the desk. Ford nodded.

"I'm sure of it. Have faith, son," Ford assured him, trying his best to seem self assured and confident. Dipper nodded back, not entirely convinced, but when was he of anything? He had to believe in Ford, and in Stan too…

"Look! Bill's on the screen!" Mabel called out, pointing to the monitor.

Sure enough, with a flourish of his cane, Bill walked into the tube and filled it with glowing yellow light. He looked around for a moment, the cavern long and intimidating. Bill narrowed his eye - he didn't like this one bit. He tapped his foot impatiently as Ford got to work, the man almost managing a hopeful smile as the other end of the tube began to vibrate, then softly glow white. Finally, in a flash of color, a swirling vortex opened at the end of the tube. It was roughly shaped like a door, aside from it's bright green and yellow flickers and slowly shifting shape, which reminded one of toxic waste more than a standard block of wood. Ford pressed a small button at the end of his control panel, turning on his mic so he could be heard inside the passageway.

"Testing… can you hear me, Bill?" Ford asked anxiously. Bill rolled his eye.

"Unfortunately," he responded, and seemed to look back towards the entrance of the tube. His eye curled upwards in a smile. "How about you, Stanley?"

The room gasped as a battered Stanley stumbled into the passageway, a leash around his neck. Holding the end of it was one of Bill's goons, a newly reincarnated Eightball, looming over the man. As they reached the demon, Eightball handed over the leash to his master, crossing his arms as he stood watch over the prisoner. Bill eyed his bodyguard with confidence - there wouldn't be any punching from Stan today. Bill laughed as he gave the leash a good yank and Stan lost his balance, stumbling to the ground.

"Grunkle Stan!" the twins cried in unison. Wendy, Melody and Soos rushed into the main room to get a better view of the monitor, jaws agape at the bruises and cuts on Stan's face and body.

"Ford, you've got to stop the machine!" Wendy exclaimed. Ford seemed frozen, fear paralysing him, until he clenched his fists as hard as he could muster.

"What are you doing, Bill?! Stan's supposed to be safe inside the mind! We had a DEAL!" he yelled, his face contorting in anger.

"I've just brought a little insurance with me, that's all!" Bill replied nonchalantly with a shrug as Stan hesitantly got to his feet, shooting his brother a desperate look through the glass. "You INSIST that the portal is safe, so I figure my crash-test dummy over here can take a little moonwalk, and then I'll just yank him back! If Stan's still alive, we're in business! I mean, you shouldn't have any problemwith this, since it's completely safe, right, Sixer?" Bill's eye curled smugly, like a cat with a freshly killed mouse in it's teeth. Ford stared him down, his fists shaking. Stan looked to Ford, terror in his eyes as Eightball grabbed Stanley squarely by the shoulders and inched closer to the portal. "I'm ready when you are, IQ! Why don't we do it right now? All it takes is a little push-"

"Stop! Don't… don't push Stan in," Ford acquiesced begrudgingly, finally giving in and cursing himself.

"Something wrong?" Bill asked innocently, leaning on his cane. Ford looked back to his team, to his family… He had no choice…

"I need to make a modification before a test can be run…" Ford stumbled on his words, trying not to crumble before the demon, "because, currently… Stan wouldn't survive..." He gulped, and hung his head. "No one would."

Bill burst into a roaring laugh, and in his joy he gave Stanley a good kick to the ribs. Stan groaned as he clutched his stomach, glowering at Bill as he tried to stay standing, spitting out blood.

"You leave our grunkle alone!" Mabel yelled, on her feet and staring Bill down with fire in her eyes. Dipper's head was lowered, and he glared at Bill from under the brim of his cap.

"Don't think you've won, Bill," Dipper said. Bill's pupil dilated in pleasure.

"Oh, I knew I'd won since I overheard your little conversation with Fordsy back in the lodge!" he finally admitted, the satisfaction absolutely consuming him as the twins and Stanford loudly gasped. "That's right, boys and girls! I've known about your little mousetrap from the very beginning! You might have foiled my plans to get you two brats out here, but that doesn't matter anymore. All I really wanted was for you all to be here, together as a little family, so you could all watch me do THIS."

Bill dropped the leash.

"Bill, NO!" Ford cried out suddenly as Bill gleefully stepped past Eightball and with the ball of his foot, pushed Stanley into the doorway.

Ford's eyes welled with tears as he watched his brother hit the mirage portal, and burst into flame. In a flash of light and heat, Stan was gone.

Ford fell to his knees.

The tube filled with bright, hideous yellow light as Bill laughed and laughed, looking around at all the shocked and tearful faces in the room. He barely managed to *snap* away his guard into thin air as he lapped it all up. Their grief was like cotton candy to the demon, melting in his mouth and oh so sweet!

"You idiots!" Bill howled, clutching his sides. "You stupid, naive, IDIOTS! After EVERYTHING, after WEIRDMA-FREAKING-GEDDON, did you actually BELIEVE I would fall for that?!"

"No, but you're about to fall right into this."

"WHAT?" Bill exclaimed, his eye bulging at the sight before him.

Standing in triumph at the skull end of the tube stood Stanley Pines, wearing a victorious smirk, and alive as ever. He cupped his hands around his mouth as he stood clear of the main section of the tube, and looked to his brother on the other side of the glass.

"FORD, DO IT NOW!" he yelled.

In one swift motion, Stanford yanked down a lever hidden behind the control panel, and Bill screamed like a frightened animal as the rug was quite literally pulled out from under him. The false floor of the tube pulled away to reveal a hidden bottom, into which Bill tumbled and landed flat on his face. He cried out in fury as he flipped over, turning as red as the hottest of embers,screamingout Stanley's name in fury before the false floor closed over him, concealing the demon in the glass drawer below.

The room erupted in cheers.

"Good show everyone!" Ford cried triumphantly as he wiped his brow, looking to each smiling face in absolute relief. It had been quite a performance to say the least, and to have asked everyone participating to act to their fullest abilities had been quite the feat as well - they probably deserved some kind of award! Not to mention there had always been the possibility that something could have gone wrong, but once again, Bill met every one of their expectations of him. Once again he'd underestimated them, and once again the pitfalls of his own hubris had been his undoing. For a chaos demon, he certainly was a creature of habit.

Ford paused as the helmet on his brother's head started to beep loudly. He smiled broadly - he knew exactly what was finally about to happen. He looked to his twin as Stanley's spirit body disappeared from the glass tube, fading back into reality. More beeping, until it finally stopped, and Stan's red nose began to twitch.

Slowly, Stanley Pines opened his weary eyes, finally back in his own body again.

"GRUNKLE STAN!" the kids cheered in unison, tears streaming down Mabel's face and secretly down Dipper's as well, wiped away with a bashful sleeve. Soos practically tackled the man, still held down in the heavy chair, crying more than anyone.

Stan simply sat there and smiled, soaking in all the happiness in the room and completely and utterly exhausted. His head was pounding as he looked from face to face of every person in the room that he loved, all of them clamouring to congratulate him or ask him question after question. Ford looked to his brother from across the room, immediately sensing the 'help me' message in his twin's eyes. Stanford parted the sea of people as he started to shoo them away, with some help from Melody to wrangle back her sobbing fiance.

"Stan's been through a lot, everyone, give him some space," Ford spoke gently as they started to quiet down, turning to one another and holding each other close.

The machine was still gently whirring, beeping softly as it monitored Stan's vitals. There was also the occasional bang from Bill attempting to break the shatter proof glass in the tube. Stan glanced for the first time to the monitor, showing Bill repeatedly trying to shape shift, grow or shrink, and throw himself against his confines like a small child throwing a temper tantrum. Stan laughed heartily for the first time in what seemed like forever. For having caused all the madness and damage that he had, it seemed ridiculous that a box would confound Bill so much.

Ford approached his brother slowly, leaning over him to release the seatbelt. With a small pair of scissors, he cut away the straight jacket as well. Stan let out a relieved sigh, stretching out his withered arms, before pulling Stanford into the tightest hug his exhausted body could manage. Ford seemed surprised for a moment, before he squeezed his brother back. A tear fell down his cheek as he held Stanley close.

"Welcome home, brother."

EPILOGUE

Dipper grinned as his camera clicked, capturing Grunkle Ford's six-fingered hand turkey in all its glittering glory. Mabel beheld her handiwork proudly, reaching for her blue-haired troll pen.

"One down on the six-fingered bucket list!" she proclaimed as she proudly checked off the item on a sprawling checklist. Ford laughed as he wiggled his fingers.

"This is the most festive my hand has ever looked! Thanks Mabel, sweetie," the man said as he tousled the young one's hair, Mabel giggling as the hand turkey left glitter in her hair.

"This camera is amazing, thanks again, Grunkle Ford," Dipper said as it spat out the hard copy of the image. Ford had invented a polaroid camera that could produce moving images, truly capturing a moment in time. Dipper waved the photo out in his fingers as the image slowly came to on the paper, moving like a short lived video and looping as if the subjects were happily stuck in time.

"Dinner's ready!" Melody suddenly proclaimed from the kitchen, briefly appearing at the doorframe with her apron covered in gravy stains. "Everybody come to the table! Wendy, Soos, help Stan downstairs!"

"Already on it!" Wendy called from the staircase, one of Stan's arms draped over her shoulder, the other arm on Soos' shoulder as they slowly helped the man down the stairs. Stan rolled his eyes as he came down the steps.

"Ugh, I'm not a hospital patient, you two! You don't have to help me with everyt-whoa!" he exclaimed as he stumbled on the stair for a moment before Soos caught him by the arm. Stan let out a gruff sigh. "Nevermind."

Waddles squealed happily as he ran in circles around the dinner table, finally settling down at Mabel's feet as everyone found their seats. Wendy had helped her dad build the Pines family a new dining room table, long enough to seat everyone comfortably in the middle of the living room. It was rough, but beautiful, bits of dark brown bark rounding out the jagged corners of the wood - very fitting for the Mystery Shack.

The table quickly filled up with a huge wild turkey caught by McGucket, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, bread rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce, and a beautiful pumpkin pie. The kids happily cracked a couple cans of Pitt Soda while the adults happily cracked their cans of beer. Wendy looked over her shoulder as she sipped on her 'cola' that had mysteriously been opened away from the table.

"Everyone! Can I have your attention for a minute!" Ford announced as he tapped on his wine glass, preferring a nice Riesling instead with his meal. After all, he hadn't celebrated Thanksgiving in over thirty years. "I'd like to make a toast. Will everyone raise their liquids of choice?"

The table laughed as everyone held up their drinks, looking towards the eldest twins seated together at the end of the table. Stanford cleared his throat nervously, before looking towards his brother, Dipper, Mabel, Soos, Melody, Wendy, McGucket, and even Waddles, letting out a happy snort from the ground. Ford smiled. He took a deep breath and began.

"For more than thirty years, I didn't have a family," he started. "I was an arrogant young man, believing I could accomplish anything and everything on my own. That belief got me into a lot of trouble, as I'm sure you all know." Everyone laughed, including Ford, and he continued. "I didn't think I needed a true friend like McGucket, who told me the truth when I needed to hear it," he said, looking to his old friend, "or a brother who wanted nothing more than to be there for each other and support each other through thick and thin." He looked to Stan, putting his free hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let alone all of you! I can say without a doubt that this, being here with all of you, with my family, is the greatest accomplishment of my life."

"Soos, are you crying again?" Wendy whispered from across the table as Soos buried his head in his sleeve.

"I… I just have gravy in my eye!" he cried, Melody patting him on the back while she shook her head. How on earth did she find such a sensitive, good natured guy?

"I'd like to say something too," Stan said as he slowly got to his feet, holding onto his chair to support his weight. He raised his beer can up as he looked to his brother. "I wouldn't even BE here if it weren't for this genius over here. This guy had to deal with the biggest jerk in the multiverse in MY body, and find a way to get me out of the weirdest, most terrifying place I could ever imagine - my own mind." Everyone laughed. Stan let out a gruff cough. "It wasn't a joke." Ford laughed loudly as he held his glass high, looking to his brother with a warm smile. "I guess what I'm trying to say is thanks, to all of you, but mostly to my amazing brother. There's no place I'd rather be than here with him, and all of you. Happy thanksgiving everyone!"

"Happy Thanksgiving!" everyone said, clinking their cans and taking a drink.

"So, whatever happened to Bill?" Dipper asked curiously as he looked to his six-fingered grunkle. Ford smirked.

"I'm glad you asked," he said, looking like he'd been waiting for that question to pop up all night. On the table sat a few centerpieces, one of them being a vase of sunflowers the twins had brought from California, an expensive vase from McGucket's newly acquired mansion, and the last being the unsuspecting beanie of Stan's, sitting in a perfect dome on the table. Ford leaned over and plucked it off the table, and everyone gasped. Under the beanie was a spherical snow-globe shaped container, similar to the one the rift had been kept in, except that inside of it was a glowing, yellow demon slumped against the glass. Bill suddenly noticed the light pouring into his new home and perked up, looking around at all the people staring at him.

"Where am I this time? Are you… are you all eating dinner? Oh, this is just perfect," he murmured, crossing his arms as his eye creased into a frown. "I've sunk so low as to be a freaking centerpiece! Shooting Star! Pine Tree! You two at least must agree that this is completely demeaning!"

"Aw, he's adorable!" Mabel chirped, tapping on the glass. Bill snarled, holding his hands up to where his ears would be.

"HEY! Do you have any idea how LOUD that is in here?" he cried. "Then again… keeping doing that Shooting Star! I'm sure the glass will be just fine!"

"Hands away, Mabel!" Ford said, grabbing the dome and bringing it up to his eye level as he glared at the demon. "We can't afford an accident, even though it's highly unlikely. The glass on this dome is the same type that the gateway tube was made of - spirit-tempered and highly crack resistant. Still though, we must be careful."

"Where are you going put him?" Wendy asked. "On the other side of the world? Underground? At the bottom of the Mariana's Trench?"

"All good suggestions, but I have a place that's even safer than that. I'll tell you more after we eat though, I'd hate to see Melody's beautiful meal get cold!"

"Here here to that!" she agreed with a laugh, and at that they all dug in. Bill looked about frantically.

"Hey! I want to know too! What idiotic place are you going to try and stuff me?" Bill begged of them, everyone at the table collectively ignoring the supernatural yellow nightlight on the table. "You think you can just IGNORE me? Question Mark! Spectacles! Fez? SIXER?"

Stan smirked as he happily put his beanie back over the snow globe where it belonged, effectively muffling Bill's voice completely. He and Ford looked to each other and clinked their drinks in celebration.

The dinner was perfect, filled with laughter and delicious food. Mabel even snuck some mashed potatoes and carrots under her chair into a little bowl for Waddles, who happily scarfed it down. Wendy and Soos arm wrestled over the last bite of stuffing, Dipper, McGucket and Ford became wrapped up in a debate over the gravitational influence on dark matter, and Stan and Melody listened intently to the hilarious and equally strange tales of Mabel's various love-interests in her class.

Stan's eyes were starting to feel heavy, an irritating side effect of being out of his body for so long. It was hard to stay awake for long periods of time as his mind and body recovered from his ordeal, which was only just a few days back. His whole family had been insistent on him getting ample rest and taking it easy, regardless of how much he protested. He yawned, trying to keep it under wraps, but it was too late. Ford was already looking over at him with concern.

"It's just the turkey, I swear!" Stan said defensively as he gobbled down more mashed potatoes and let his eyes close for just a moment… two moments…

"I'm going to get my brother up to sleep everyone, I'll be back soon," Ford said as he slung his brother's arm over his shoulder. Stan tried to shove him off, but he was too tired to manage the small motion. He groaned and accepted his sleepy fate.

"Aw, already? We haven't even had the cupcakes I made yet!" Mabel protested. Dipper leaned over to whisper to his tired grunkle.

"Trust me, you don't want one. There's glitter glue in the frosting," Dipper shuddered. Stan laughed as he looked to his family.

"Looks like that's it for me, everybody. Happy Thanksgiving and all that junk," Stan yawned as Ford helped him to his feet.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Stan!" the room echoed.

"Go get some sleep, ya old codger," Wendy winked, before looking to Stan's turtle-necked brother. "Ford, do you need any help?" Stanford shook his head with a smile.

"I'll be fine, enjoy your meal. I'll be back in a little while," he said as he escorted his brother to the stairs, and the two disappeared up the creaky staircase.

"You know, some coffee could be all I need!" Stan said as they came to the top of the stairs. "Maybe some tea, or one of those crazy energy drinks with the wings…"

"Stan, it's okay that you need rest. Bill put a lot of stress on your body by inhabiting it, not to mention what your spirit body must have gone through," Ford murmured as he looked towards Stan's bedroom around the corner. Stan paused.

"Yeah, about that," Stan started, unsure how to finally bring this up. "Bill, uh… showed me some pretty crazy stuff while I was in there. Some stuff about… you." Ford stiffened, his eyes looking owlishly big as he turned to his brother, both of them stopped in the middle of the hall.

"Exactly what 'stuff' did he show you?" Ford asked, fear marking his eyes. Stan's head was low as he remembered.

"Things that happened to you on the other side of the portal, after I… after what happened in the lab all those years ago," Stan said, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threatened to fall. He'd had enough of all the crying, even the sappy, happy crying that came with being back in the real world. "I didn't want to see, not without you, but Bill wouldn't let me look away. Even when my eyes were closed…"

"Stan…" Ford started, unsure of what to say as he held his brother close for a moment. "I… I'm sorry I couldn't tell you myself. I should have… I should have told you on the boat, but I didn't want to think about the past anymore. I'd missed out on so much time with you, I wanted to be experiencing the present to my fullest ability. I hope you can understand." Stan sniffed, nodding.

"I do, it's just… everything Bill showed me was just awful. Terrifying, and disorienting, and so dangerous… I had no idea the hell you went through because of me."

"Don't say that, it wasn't your fault, Stan," Ford assured him as they moved into Stan's room and sat down on the bed. "And besides, not everything in the last thirty years was bad! What exactly did Bill show you?"

"One scarring experience after another, like a never ending horror film," Stan recalled. Ford chuckled as he shook his head.

"Sounds like Bill only showed you what he wanted you to see," Ford said, rummaging through his coat and pulling out a journal Stan had never seen. It was plain looking - tan on the outside, and unmarked. Ford opened it, and Stan's eyes widened in wonder as a kaleidoscope of colors and images exploded from the pages and filled the room like a massive hologram. Stretched across it were what looked like memories - lush jungles, and aliens, and galaxies speckled with stars. Stan was speechless. There came the damn tears again.

"I had some incredible experiences too, and I wouldn't have seen any of it if it wasn't for you," Ford said, smiling as he looked at his stretches of memory from the thirty years travelling the multiverse. "I want to share it all with you, the good parts that is. Sounds like you had your fill of the bad. It'll only be adventure and mystery and wonderment from here on out, brother." The twins looked to each other and smiled.

"Nothing would make this old man happier," Stan said, attempting to fight another yawn but losing the battle. Ford chuckled.

"Time for bed," he laughed as he closed the book. "The stories will have to wait until the morning."

Stan chuckled as he took off his glasses and set them on his bedside table, fluffed his pillow briefly, and slid under the covers for a good night's rest.

"So where is Bill going to go?" Stan asked sleepily, the question still lingering on his mind. Ford smirked.

"I figure our demonic prisoner needs the best guards a scientist like me can find, and there's no better guards who understand Bill's capabilities like the Huldufolk," Ford smiled. Stan's face lit up. "They can keep him deep underground in a place where no humans will venture, and keep a watch on his abilities to disturb dreams. Plus, since he'll be incapacitated in the dome, they should have no problem with hosting him in their inner sanctum, since his energy will be trapped in the glass. We'll make it a fair trade - they guard Bill, and I'll supply them with more inventions to improve their city." Stan shook his head in disbelief as he squished his head into the soft pillow beneath it.

"You're a genius, Sixer, have I ever told you that?" Stan said as he cuddled into the blankets. So warm…

"Ha, once or twice," Ford laughed as he stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Make sure to save some turkey for me, will ya? And some potatoes…" Stan drawled through a yawn. Ford nodded.

"Will do," he assured him, flicking off the lights. He looked to his brother, cozy and warm under the blankets and surely on the edge of sleep. The adventures they'd have together would surely outdo everything he'd seen in the farthest reaches of the galaxies.

"Goodnight, Stanley," he smiled, and he shut the door.

END

Author's Note:

*trying not to cry* Well, that's all folks! Thanks for coming on this crazy ride with me. I feel like this may only be the beginning for me as writer. I may write a few more short stories in other fandoms. An FMA, SNK, or even YOI one may be next, but who knows :)

I feel like now may be a good time to plug another project of mine that I'm quite passionate about. I'm a girl of many talents, and my dearest project is my band. Yep, I'm in a band too! If you like the drive and satire of old punk/indie bands then you'll love it, and it'd mean the absolute world to me if you followed our journey. You can start here with our first lyric video - www DOT youtube DOT com SLASH watch?v=-932khh4ToE

Thanks for reading everyone, and maybe I'll see ya next time :)