Whoa! Important chapter! Lots of important things are discussed!
Also, there is a reference to the real life Journal 3, but it's not a major spoiler, and it's at the very end anyway.
Also also, I actually made myself a little depressed when I was writing this chapter. Angst!
Bill is intentionally OOC. Of course, at this point you all should know how I'm perceiving Bill's backstory.
Chapter Five: Vagueness is Coming
Gravity Falls, Oregon, 1981
The plain blue background of the DreamScape put a smile on Stanford's face. It didn't happen every night, but he wished it did. He loved when his Muse visited his dreams. Sometimes Bill Cipher would enlighten him on something in Gravity Falls that he had yet to find. Sometimes Bill would grace him with stories and knowledge from other dimensions. And, sometimes they would simply relax and let their imaginations take them where they would. Literally anything could happen in the DreamScape, and Ford was eager to see what his Muse had in store for him tonight.
Slivers of silver light spiraled in front of him until they morphed together, and the familiar triangle appeared in front of him. "Hey, Sixer," Bill greeted. "Long time no see."
It had been a while since Bill's last visit. "I'll say," Ford agreed. "What have you been up to, anyway?"
Bill grunted and pinched his eye. "Let's just say that if I hear the words 'time' and 'baby' together tonight, I am going to throw a horrible tantrum that your human eyes cannot physically see without melting out of their sockets." Ford just stared. "Don't ask. Just-Just don't."
"Er...fair enough." Ford cleared his throat. "So, do you wanna do?"
"Actually, there's something I need to discuss with you." Ford didn't like the dark tone Bill's voice suddenly took on. "You see, I managed to get a little peek into the future, and I think you'll be interested in what I saw." Bill turned his back and floated away slightly. He'd always had a flair for the dramatic. "In my vision, I saw a man with a power so great that it poses a threat to an entire dimension. Maybe even the multiverse itself."
"What?" Ford gasped. "Can-Can one man really possess a power that great?"
"I do not know all of the details, Stanford. I can see the future, but the vision isn't always clear. This particular one was a bit fuzzy. All I know is that this man does currently exist somewhere in your dimension." Ford visibly paled. Bill turned around. "Don't get your pants in a knot. He won't do anything that affects you directly for, like, another decade or two."
"That doesn't make me feel better." Bill just shrugged. "Who is this man, Bill?"
"Unfortunately, that was one of the fuzzy parts. I couldn't see his face, nor did I catch his name. What I did see, however, is the person who will save the multiverse from him."
After a moment of Bill simply staring at him, Ford said, "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Who is it? Who's going to stop him?" Bill didn't respond. In fact, he actually seemed annoyed. And, frankly, Ford was starting to feel the same way. "Well?"
Bill flew uncomfortably close to Ford, and his eye rolled back and turned into a makeshift screen. On it, a man with gray hair and cracked glasses - probably in his sixties, early seventies at most - stood with his hands clenched and shaking. He seemed oblivious of the shimmering golden flames swirling around him, a sick juxtaposition to the solemn blackness of his clothes and the angry red of the blood that may or may not have been his own. Silent tears dripped down his cheeks. Ford was almost overwhelmed by man's feelings as though they were his own, bringing tears to his own eyes. So much pain. So much grief and anger and betrayal and pain. No human being should ever have to feel such sorrow.
Ford stepped back in utter shock. The man was older but...there was no mistaking him. "It...It's me…"
Bill's eye returned to normal. "You once asked me why I chose you out of all geniuses in the world. While your intelligence was definitely a factor, the truth is that I sensed that there was something unique about you. I didn't know what it was back then, but I know now exactly what I was sensing. You have a great destiny ahead of you, Stanford Pines. But, fear not. You will not have to face it alone. A day will come in the future when you will meet the beings who will give you the strength to face this destiny." Ford didn't get a chance to relax, because Bill's next statement brought back the lost anxiety. "But, sadly, many lives will be lost along the way."
Ford swallowed hard and clenched his fists to keep them from shaking. "How-How many?" Do I know any of them?
As if reading his mind, which he might have been, Bill said, "I do not know. But, I do know that some of the beings you love will be lost, as well as those who are strangers to you. I'm sorry I cannot tell you more." Bill turned away again, his color darkening with his mood. "And, I'm even more sorry that I cannot help you through it."
"W-What?" Ford's heart stopped. "What do you mean? You-You're not one of those lives...are you?"
Bill didn't answer. Instead he said, "There's something I've been keeping from you, but I can't hide it any longer. A few decades ago, I developed a special elixir, which was meant to cure physical injuries. Maybe even prevent new ones. As a test, I slit my own wrist and drank the elixir. My wrist healed, but I blacked out and woke up with my lab a total mess. I simply passed it off as a bad batch and started testing different chemicals to see if they worked any better."
"And, did they?"
"No. They didn't. In fact, the more I tested, the more I wanted. Soon, it became an addiction. A hard addiction. It's changing me, Stanford. I can feel my mind growing weaker as the days pass. And, soon, I fear that I may be completely gone."
"No… No, there...there has to be a way…"
"There isn't. I've tried everything, but nothing works. It's gotten to the point where I can't even enter your dream without a shot of it." Bill finally faced him, and the sadness in his eye made Ford want to look away but at the same time made him unable to. "So far, I seem to be without any erratic behavior in the Dream and MindScapes. But, in my own dimension... It's getting harder to hold on. I've even had to...cut off ties with the woman I love for her own protection. And, I-I think it best if I do the same with you."
What? "Are you seriously telling me there's nothing we can do?"
"Ford-"
"I'm not going to break our deal, Cipher-"
"Atbash."
Ford blinked in confusion. "I-I'm sorry?"
"In my dimension, the men take on the women's last names after courtship. Now that I'm - What do humans call it? - divorced, I'm Bill Atbash. It happened a long time ago. I'm just still used to calling myself Cipher."
Ford's heart snapped in half. "I'm not breaking our deal. 'Until the end of time.' That's what I said."
"Have you already forgotten what exposure to the portal did to your friend?" Ford flinched. "I didn't think so. I...I don't remember giving you those blueprints, Ford." Ford couldn't breath. "I don't know if I was under the influence or if it was a blackout caused by my own madness or both. But, it wasn't me giving you those instructions." Bill sighed. "For your own protection, we need to break our deal."
Ford gaped out him. How could he think that? They weren't just a Muse and his apprentice. Bill had it himself countless times. They were friends. Ford wouldn't turn his back on Bill (like he did with Stanley). "William, listen to me. We are not breaking this deal. You've helped me so much. Please, let me help you."
Bill stared at him for so long that Ford feared he would say no. Then the Muse laughed bitterly and shook his head. "Sometimes, I swear you're more stubborn than Stella." Ford didn't need to ask who that was. Bill had mentioned his wife - well, now ex-wife - before, though Ford had never met her (and wouldn't for another year). "I think you're gonna regret this, but okay. But, just in case, I advise you to look into your third journal later. While we were talking, I used your body to give you a warning. Maybe it'll change your mind."
The lump in Ford's throat was almost too big to swallow. Keeping his voice from breaking was a struggle. "It won't."
"Stanford, I wanna strike one more deal with you." Ford hated the finality of his words. "You have to promise that, when the time comes, you'll face your destiny and save the multiverse. With or without me."
Ford's hand shook as he held it out. "Of course I will." Even though he had absolutely know no idea what he was suppose to do nor did he plan to do it without his friend by his side.
The familiar blue flame light up Bill's hand, which shook Ford's hand, setting the deal in place. "I should go," Bill said, tightening his hold on Ford's, even with the flame gone. "Goodbye, Stanford Pines."
"See you soon, William Atbash." Goodbye sounded too final.
Ford knew he had fallen asleep in his bed, but he woke up at his desk, his third journal closed in front of him and his glasses on his face; that last one was because he had accidentally slept with them on again. He squeezed his eyes shut to prevent his tears from escaping. They fell anyway. He didn't care. His talk with his Muse didn't make him feel elated or eager or even relaxed like it usually did. Instead, he felt hollow, worthless even, like he should have known something was wrong and done something about it.
You lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?
Let's just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party!
The night that Fiddleford left, Ford had demanded answers from his "Muse." At first, Bill played it off like some effed up plan. Then, the creatures behind Bill left, and he'd told Ford what had really been going on. He'd mentioned getting mixed up with some interdimensional criminals and promising them freedom. He hadn't gone into detail, but it sounded like he never had any intention to do harm to Ford's dimension. When questioned about Fiddleford, Bill brought up all the horrors that Fiddleford had witnessed in Gravity Falls, saying that getting sent into "The Between" - the space between worlds - was what had made him snap. Ford still felt guilty. He believed that Bill didn't mean for any of this, and he still believed that. He was even starting to understand. Back then, Bill had mentioned giving them something that "seriously screwed with their heads." The elixir, Ford realized. Bill must have tested his elixir on those criminals, who might have even been friends of his.
"I'll save you, Bill," Ford whispered, sniffing and wiping his eyes and nose on the sleeve of his pajamas. "I'll find a way."
I used your body to give you a warning.
Did he dare look? He didn't want to look, to see the extent of Bill's madness. And yet...he owed it to Bill. Maybe if he looked, he'd be able to gauge how much time his friend had before...before…
God, he didn't want to think about it.
He forced in a few deep breaths, but they did nothing to calm his racing heart. He opened the journal to the most recent page. What he found churned his stomach and made his breathing shallow with horror.
The two pages before him were covered almost entirely with heavy black scribbles. Hasty and jagged sketches of eyes littered the pages, and in red ink were strange symbols and three sentences: "My Muse was a Monster" "I was a Puppet" "F was Right"
Ford's stomach barely held out until he reached the toilet bowl.
ZOO GSV KILNRHVH R NZWV, QFHG GL OVG BLF WLDM. BLF YVORVEVW RM NV, YFG R'N YILPVM.
Here's a hint for the code: it's lyrics to the Evanescence (love that band) song, Lost in Paradise. There are actually a lot of their songs that fit this chapter.
One more thing: I forgot to mention earlier that your episode ideas can be for Ford's story (A-plot) or for Stan's story (B-plot).
Review!
