(Authors note: there is some cussing in this chapter, and also some Stanley x Fiddleford.)
'Why didn't I stop yelling, I don't even know why, I guess I was pissed at Fidds for getting a little carried away…..wait what am I saying! He's gone insane, why would he do this to us! We are friends I mean him and me were closer than just Friends.' Stanley internally yelled to himself, as the monster to be known as a Gremloblin picked up his brother in a death tight grip getting tighter, making Stanford wince as he tries to struggle his way out of it only to get tighter and tighter, making the air knocked out of him over and over.
"Ford!" shouted Stan. "Stan…..HELP…ME!" Stanford managed to wheeze out, as Fiddleford backs away from the monster in front of him.
Fiddleford shouted, "What is that thing!"
"Dammit! Fidds you really fucking messed up didn't you!" screamed Stanley, trying to get out of the bonds, but only to give him deeper rope burns.
Fiddleford, filled with guilt for an unknown reason looked down, "I-I did d-didn't I." mumbled Fiddleford under his breath. Stan saw the look at Fiddleford face then turned to his brother, struggling to catch his breath with fear glassing his eyes.
He turned back to Fiddleford and sighed, "Fiddleford…..please untie me! We need to help him." Fiddleford looked up looking at the worry and fear in his face, he almost says yes but his mind tells him to just leave and find the journals by himself and erase what he'd seen and done later, but...
"Fidds please...Trust me." Stanley pleaded, looking at him strait in the eyes, making Fiddleford feel like when they first kissed, a long time ago it seemed, Fiddleford closed his eyes and tried to remember that day he mostly erased everything what happened but that moment.
(1981, November 29th)
"Fiddleford, I think you have packed enough already." Stanford mentions, looking at his overstuffed bag.
"I think we need to be prepared for everything." Fiddleford sighs, looking from his bag to Ford, as he continues to eye his bag. While Stan, walks in beside his brother.
"Can you even carry that all….I mean you're pretty scrawny, even for a nerd." Stan implies, the 'nerd' was his nickname from Stanley, he used to be sick of it but now he rather enjoys hearing it, because he knows it's not mean but more of a loving kind of nickname.
Fiddleford blushed as Stanley roughly pats his back, "I-I can carry it." Fidds insisted, looking up at Stan and Ford who were just a little taller than him.
"Alright whatever, but if you can't handle it don't ask me to carry it." Stan adds, griping his own bag on his shoulder.
"Fiddleford, just put somethings back it's only a little field research." Ford proposed, looking back at Fiddleford.
"Well the last time you said that we were stuck in the forest for two and a half days." Fidds reminded him, Ford just sighed. "At least leave the sleeping bag." Stanford urged.
"Fine, just if we get stuck again and we need to sleep outside I will say 'I told you so'." Fiddleford implied.
Stanley chimed in saying, "Alright you nerds ready to go I'm dying of boredom over here." He adds Standing by the door.
"Yep, what about you Fidds got rid of the sleeping bag." Stanford asks, adding a genuine smile on his face, Ford always loved doing field research almost as much as Stanley, but never that much I guess when you love punching things and that what your jobs lets you do then it's a no brainier.
Stan opened the door and walked outside followed by Ford, Fiddleford took a deep breath and took a step, almost losing his balance over his bag but caught himself and continued to walk out the door.
The trio was walking through the forest a little past noon, it was a little later than normal no one really cared but, Stanford.
"So what is it today, pointdexter?" Stan asks, nudging his brother in the arm, while he snaps out of reading his journal number three. "Oh, um I think if we keep heading east we can find some gnomes." Replies Ford, while his brother raises an eyebrow at him. "Gnomes?" Stan Questioned.
Ford sighed and turned to his brother, "Yes Gnomes, you don't have to repeat it." He replied in a sarcastic tone. "You meaning the ones like the garden ones, right?" Stan asks, walking backwards talking and facing his brother.
Fiddleford walks faster and catches up with them, "T-There not dangerous a-are they?" Fiddleford asks being slightly hesitant.
"Dunno, never seen them before bu-."Ford didn't get to finish his sentence before Stan budding in, "How could they be, if there anything that I imagine their nothing but a pest." Stanley smirked, before joining his brother's side again, as he slightly glares at him for interrupting him.
"Y-Ya I bet your r-right, I guess when you see all scar-."Fidds agrees before finding himself being dragged into the forest, too quick to even yell for help. "What were you saying Fidds?" Questioned Stanford, waiting for a reply, "Fidds?" He asks again, stopping in his tracks, turning around to see where Fiddleford should've been now being empty.
"Stan!" He yells, making his brother also turn around. "Where's the nerd?" Stan asks, trying to act cool in front of his brother, but in reality his insides boil with worry."
"I don't know, he knows better than to walk off!" Ford hisses, as he starts to look in his journal for an answer. "I mean what would take him!" Ford began to panic, brushing his hand threw his hair messing it up then it already was. (He doesn't really care about his appearance that much nor his hygiene.)
"Well what's liv'n around these parts?" Stan Asks, feeling his brother panic going into him as well. "Well what doesn't live here!" Replies Ford, frantically flipping the pages of the journal.
"I Got It!" Ford exclaims. "What, took him?" Asks Stanley, still trying to hide his own panic.
Ford shouted, "Gnomes!"
"What about them? Come on sixer we need to find the nerd and not those little twerps." Stan questions then sighs, pinching his nose between his two fingers.
"What! No the Gnomes, they took him!" Ford hisses at his brother. "Why would they take him? I mean he's not the biggest member in the trio so they wouldn't eat him will they? Wait will they!?" Asks Stan in shock of imagining his close friend being eaten by little gremlins on his watch.
"Well if that is the case it shouldn't matter why they took him, we just need to find him." Stanford lectured his brother, he grunts in agreement. "So where would you think they would take him? Mister Know-it-all about the paranormal?" Stan hisses, crossing his arms and looking at his brother.
"Well, we were going east before, so we need to keep going east until we find a dead end and a clearing between some bushes." Says Ford, like he was doing a presentation at school.
"Where did you get that information?" Stan asks, raising an eyebrow at his twin. "I have contacts Lee, I'm not just some hermit shut in." Stanford snaps, at his twin. "Well then, touchy subject." Stan mumbles under his breath, thinking about all the secrets that his own brother is keeping from him, his stomach becomes a knot just thinking about it.
"Sorry Stan, I guess I'm just worried about Fiddl-."
"Eh, no chick flick moments, I get what you mean." Interrupts Stan, reading his twin thoughts, and giving him a sheepish grin as a reply.
"Just about 2 and a half miles left." Sighs Stanford, as Stanley clinches his fists so tight they almost draw blood.
'Where am I? Why can I only see pitch black? Why can't I move? Am I Dead! Where's Stan and Ford!' Thinks Fiddleford, slowly regaining conscious.
"Where am I?" Fiddleford asks, slowly opening his eyes and wincing at the throbbing pain coming from his head, and tasting the familiar metallic like taste in his mouth.
"Oh, hey sorry about the hitting on the head, you wouldn't stay still and I made a little difficult." Apologizes a small brunette Gnome looking down at Fidds strait in the eyes.
Fiddleford starts to recall what happened to him, he walking with Stan and Ford talking than him getting dragged into the forest by tiny people they tried tying him to the ground but his struggling made it nearly impossible until the brunette Gnome hit him in the head with a rock creating a deep gash in his head making it gush blood down his face, and making him pass out only to wake up now.
"Sorry and about the blood." Apologizes the Gnome again, "Welp, hello I'm Steve and that's Rick, Jim and….sorry what's your name again?" Asks Steve pointing at a couple other Gnome crowding around him, and ends up pointing at a dark gray haired Gnome in the back.
"Shmebulock…senior." Answers the one Gnome called 'Shmebulock'
"What am I doing here!" Shouts Fiddleford, Struggling in the ropes pinning him to the ground. "Let me go!" Fiddleford demands.
"No can do, Fidds w-." "How do you know my name?" Questions Fiddleford, being slightly creeped out.
"Well we have been watching your little 'trio' and we have been planning which one of you would be a good future queen and you seemed li-." Steve said, doing air quotes at trio and became interrupted again by Fiddleford.
"Wait! Queen? I'm a man!" Croaked Fiddleford, becoming entirely flushed after hearing his own voice crack.
"Well you sure were more feminine than the other two, and by far the easiest to grab." Nods Steve, while the rest nods with him.
"First, let me go! Second, that's very rude of you." Fidds hisses, at the Gnomes.
"Sorry, we can't let you go, we need you to be our queen." Steve informed, walking around to the other side of Fiddleford's face. "What h-happens if I d-don't want to be y-your queen?" Fiddleford stutters, trying to turn his head.
"Then we'll eat you...Just kidding you don't have a choice." Chuckles Steve, "Just wait after a decade you'll learn that this is the best thing to ever have happened to you." Says Steve, making Fiddleford struggles in his bonds, as he hears those words.
"STAN, FORD….HELP!" Yelps Fiddleford, before Steve's two small hands cover his mouth.
Stanford and Stanley, continue to walk east until Stan hears a familiar faint voice coming from there left. "Did you hear that, Ford?" Stan asks, as he stops walking and puts his finger in his ear.
"What no, did you hear him?" Replies Stanford stopping a few steps ahead of him. "Ya, I think I did, come on!" Stan urges Ford to follow him into the bushes. "What but we should keep going east!" Adds Stanford, pointing to the trail ahead of him.
"Fine, suit yourself I'm taking a short cut." Stan declared, heading into the bushes.
"Wait! Stan….Dammit." Ford mumbles to himself, before following his brother into the forest.
Stanley takes lead in the mission to find Fiddleford, Stan tried not to think what the Gnomes did or going to do to him, he really tried to repress his feelings for him normally, but with this happening and adding the worry and panic flooding threw his head, it becomes harder to hide it from his brother and not let him see him this way.
Snapping Stan out of his own thoughts his brother speaks up, "Why, all of a sudden are you worrying about Fiddleford?" Asks Ford, holding back a smirk smile.
"What makes you think that?" Answers Stan, rather very quickly, almost giving himself away.
"Well for one, you're walking quite a bit faster than me, second the look of fear on your face." Stanford implied, walking faster to stay up to Stan as he marches threw the forest.
"What, a man can't be worrying about a co-worker." Stan hisses, slowing down his pace.
Ford walks side by side with his twin, "Stan, you can say friend he's not a bad guy….and you can worry about him, I mean I'm worried too."
Stanley sighs and looks down, not replying to Ford, until a large thorn bush in front of them makes a squeaking noise. "Did you hear that?" Whispers Stan, stopping.
"I think it came from that bush." Ford exclaimed, copying his twins whisper tone.
"I'm gonna to check it out." Huffed Stan. "Wait I'm coming too." Replied Ford, putting his arm in front of Stan's chest so he can't continue to walk towards.
"Come on sixer, I could be what took Fidds." Stan implies, looking at Ford.
"Well….I will take that chance then." Ford responded, looking back at Stan, making him nod and turn back to the squeaking bush.
"Just at least stay behind me." Agreed Stan, slowly approaching the bush with Ford following him.
Stan Approaches the prickly bush and tries not to prick himself, and slowly moves the bushes to reveal a small bearded creature being wrapped in thorned vines. All Stanley could do was blink at it, while Ford Was trying to write every little thing about it in his journal.
"S-Should we help it?" Asks Stan, turning to his brother. "Um…..sure maybe it will help us find Fiddleford." Replies Stanford looking up from his journal for a second, Stan gingerly moved the vines off the Gnome and lifted it up out of the bushes, pinching the Gnomes shirt, holding it in front of his face.
"Umm….Can you tell us where our friend is?" Sighed Stanley asking a little aggressively, as the Gnome starts to struggle ans swinging at Stan, holding a tight grip on its shirt. "A little help Ford?" Asks Stan, looking at his brother, while frantically writing. But before he could reply the Gnome manages to bite Stan's hand, making his reflexes react making him drop the Gnome, running away further into the forest.
"Ford, Come on we need to follow it!" Hisses Stan, yanking his twin's arm, to follow him. "What Stan where are we going!" Shouts Ford, managing to follow his brothers pace, after the Gnome.
"Well, if that's a Gnome then we need to follow it back to its home or whatever….I thought it was worth a shot." Answers Stan, still running after the Gnome. "No, Stan that's a great idea!" Exclaims Stanford, finally catching up with Stan.
Stan, chuckles at what his genius twin said, "I so wish I was recording this right now." Stan and Ford stop as they lose track of the Gnome. "Fuck! Where did he go?" Stan ranted, as they were stuck in a meadow of bushes and trees.
A small amount hushed speech, made Stan start walking towards a cluster of bushes to the left of him and Ford. "Ford….I think you might want to get that diary of yours." Stan remarked.
Stanford turned to his brother and grunted, "Stan I told you multiple times it's a journal…and why should I?" Mumbled Ford, striding towards his twin as he continues to stare at the bushes.
"Well, why don't you feast your eyes on this!" Says Stanley, moving some bushes to reveal a small civilization of Gnomes.
Stanford was completely wordless, he only managed to make a couple of stutters of words because of his excitement as he was trying to get it all down on the pages that he detonated for 'Gnome's'. "Ford, come on we need to find Fiddleford." Stan reminded his twin, elbowing him in the arm.
"St-mph!" Shouts Fiddleford, still being muffled by the Gnomes hands, making Stanford and Stan's attention shift.
"Hey let him go!" Demands Stanley, tramping his way to the brunette Gnome, named Steve.
"Oh, hello um…..t-this isn't what it looks like." Says Steve, looking up at Stan and Ford, releasing Fiddleford mouth.
"It doesn't matter, what it does or doesn't look like you still took our friend!" Shouts Ford, looking down at Steve.
"W-Well just to clarify, your friend is going to be our new queen, a-and he is totally fine with it." Steve pointed out, as he tries to make excuses.
"W-What! I'm not fine wi-."
"Again, he's totally agreed to be our queen." Reply's Steve, as another Gnomes hand covers Fiddleford's mouth cutting him off in mid-sentence.
"He clearly doesn't want to be here!" Yells Stanley, pointing down at Fiddleford and looking at him in the eyes, seeing his pure rage in his eyes towards the gnome, making Fiddleford become flustered. "You can't force him to be your queen, with us in the way." Adds Ford.
Steve shakes in rage and explodes, "Gnomes! Attack!"
The Gnomes start jumping up at Stan and Ford, making Stan start throwing punches at the small creatures. "Ford! Go untie Fidds!" Stan managed to say, between the yelling Gnomes. Ford runs over to Fiddleford, before Steve jumps in the way. "You're going to have to get past me if you want him back!" Hisses Steve, but Ford just kicks him away and quickly unties Fiddleford. "Are you okay?" Stanford asks, helping up Fidds.
Fiddleford slightly winces as the blood rushes out of his head and back flowing through his body, "Uh…..Ya I-I think so." Answers Fiddleford.
Ford sees the gash on his head, "We need to clean that out when we get back." Insists Stanford. "If we get back." Sighs Fiddleford, looking at Stan punching his way through waves and waves of Gnomes, making him feel slightly guilty for getting his self into this mess, but it wasn't his fault that Stan was trying to save Fidds for some unknown reason.
"STOP!" Shouts Steve, picking himself off the ground and patting down his beard, making the other Gnomes and Stan stop fighting. "You may have one this battle Pines but we will be watching you." Says Steve, looking at all the injured Gnomes lying on the ground.
"Stan come on lets go." Urges Stanford, Still helping Fiddleford stand up. As they start leaving the Gnomes continue to glare at them.
"Ford's been in the lab ever since we came back, not even coming up to see how you were doing, that's seems a little selfish don't ya think." Says Stanley, look to his left as he sits by Fiddleford, cleaning out his wounds.
"H-He's probably just caught up in his work again." Sighs Fiddleford, blushing when Stan hand brushes his hair, wrapping a bandage tight around his head.
"Ya, I bet your right." Agrees Stan, finishing wrapping Fiddleford's head, and realizing how red he is. "Hey is everything fine in that head of yours, nerd." Stan Asks, leaning back in the sofa they were sitting on.
"W-What ya, it's just funny how you single handedly took wave after wave of Gnomes and coming out of it being unhurt while I barely did nothing and got this." Fiddleford points at his wrapped gash on his head, also leaning on the sofa.
"Ya, not completely 'unhurt' one did bite me on the hand." Revealed Stan, showing his hand to Fidds making a shocked facial expression.
Fiddleford grabs the alcohol that was used on his and grabbed Stan's hand, making Stan become flushed. "We need to clean this Stan, before it becomes infected….we don't know what germs are in those little freaks mouths." Fiddleford, pours the alcohol and hold a rag under his hand catching any liquid that dips down.
Stan winced at the sting coming from his hand, as Fiddleford finishes wrapping it. "Don't such a baby, Stan." Fiddleford teases, making himself become flushed.
"Why do you keep becoming a tomato, whenever I talk to you?" Asks Stan, but thinking he already know the answer.
"Um…well S-Stan…..I g-guess I-I have um…..oh never mind." Fiddleford sighs, and looks down at his knees before looking back up at Stan, but before he can get a good look Stan grabs Fiddleford's face and kisses him passionately on the lips, Fiddleford is shocked they becomes absorbed into him, making both of them turn even a darkener shade of red.
Stan pulls away first and scratches the back of his neck still being completely flushed and looks at the Shocked yet happy Fiddleford. "Sorry, I can't tell you how long I wanted to do that….um I should leave, sorry." Stan apologies again, starting to get up off the sofa, before his arm being caught but Fiddleford's hand, and being kissed back by him.
"I can't tell you how long either." Admits Fiddleford, pulling away before kissing Stan again.
And that was the time they announced their love for each other, only to crumble and fall apart only months later.
(1982, June 16)
"Fidds! Come on snap out of it!" Screams Stanley, As Fiddleford snaps out of his trance, almost on the brink of tears, when he remembers that Stanford's in trouble and Stan's pleading to help his twin.
"Stanley…..I trust you!" Shouts Fiddleford.