A/N: Evenin', all. So...a LOT'S been going on in my life recently...namely I've been having driving lessons with my uncle. I haven't crashed into anything, so so far I think I'm doing okay. Though I don't know how often I can go up to his place to practice-both he and my mom want me to take the bus there, but I'm not that familiar with the transit system here. And my brother's not much help either-I wanted him to go with me tomorrow so I can figure it out, but he has work, so he can't come. And he kept trying to explain to me about how and where to go-yeah, bro? I have a learning disability-I can't process this information -_-
Also, the Canadian student we've been housing for the last couple of months left yesterday. It's kinda weird having the house to ourselves again since he's been with us for so long-heck, the guy came to a Christmas party with us. I was honestly getting used to having him as a member of the household; he was a pretty cool guy.
Pierce-Heh, that IS a pretty funny story XD And yeah, Gideon's Chara.
Ghost Man-Hmm, there's an idea...might end up having to use it later.
XXPay4XtraShippingsXX-I totally agree-particularly because of the strained relationship between Stan and Ford, like Toriel and Asgore's relationship. I am going to have a LOT of fun writing their confrontation later in the story...
Well, enough of that. On to the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I already have a lot of my own characters to play with, I can't in good conscience claim to own any from Gravity Falls or Undertale.
"Here it is. The Barrier that keeps us all trapped underground."
Without Ford's help, Pacifica's heart stopped beating for a second. The barrier was a LOT different than she expected. Well, to be accurate, she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't this.
A doorway seemed to stretch out infinitely in front of her and the king of the Underground, flashing between black and white. No, flashing wasn't the right word. It was pulsating.
Almost like it was alive…
"I would advise you turn back now." Ford said suddenly.
"Huh?" Pacifica looked up at him in surprise.
"If you have any unfinished business…if there is anyone you need to make peace with-you should go back and get it finished now."
Pacifica felt like she'd swallowed a watermelon. Her head moved on its own, shaking. She still wanted to shout, to SCREAM at him that his adopted great-niece and nephew were being held captive by an evil demonic flower thing and needed his help, but words failed her. That was the power Ford had radiating off of him.
A shaky sigh escaped his throat.
"Well then, I suppose this is it." He turned to face her. "Are you ready, human?"
"N-no." Pacifica just barely squeaked out.
"…me either."
As Pacifica watched, seven strange cylinders rose out of the ground on either side of King Ford. For a second she thought he was going to attack her-until she noticed that each cylinder had a glowing heart floating with it. A human SOUL.
Well, all except for one…
"I am truly sorry." Ford moved his cape aside, revealing a weapon. A blaster of some kind.
Finally, Pacifica found her voice again.
"Wait! I don't want to fight! D…!"
Ford didn't give her a chance to finish. He blasted her, and every nerve in Pacifica's body screamed out in pain as she flew backwards. She weakly tried to pull herself up as Ford walked over.
"Dipper and Mabel are in trouble!" She managed to cough out, and Ford's eyes widened.
"The skeleton twins?"
Hearing the goat man refer to the twins so dismissively caused something in Pacifica to snap.
"'The skeleton twins'?!" She glared at him with newfound courage and defiance. "THAT'S YOUR GREAT-NIECE AND NEPHEW YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! Or I guess, they're your brother's, since he's the only one of you two that actually seems to care about them!"
"You know about Stanley?" Ford looked dumbfounded for a second, then he shook his head, giving her a hard look. "You're trying to distract me." He pointed his blaster at her again, but Pacifica just kept glaring at him.
"No, I'm NOT! And I'm NOT going to fight-or run, anymore!"
All fear from before was completely gone as Pacifica slapped the blaster out of his hand. She looked the king of the Underground dead in the eye as she spoke.
"Ever since I fell down here, almost every monster I've seen has wanted to fight me! I get it! Monsters have had a bad history with humans! But I'm a kid! A kid! I couldn't hurt anyone even if I wanted to! And the only ones who seem to realize that are your brother and the twins!" She looked him dead in the eye.
"Did you know that Dipper wants to be your apprentice? Which, given what you did to him, is pretty darned amazing! Not that it matters, now that he and Mabel have had their souls taken by Bill Cipher!"
"Bill Cipher?!" Ford gasped in genuine horror.
"Yeah! That creepy flower cyclops…"
"He is no flower." Ford put his weapon away, shaking his head and sighing. "Oh, I wish you'd told me that sooner…"
"Huh?" All the anger left Pacifica's face, and she looked at him in surprise.
"A demon." Ford looked grim. "I met Bill many years ago, when I first became king. I was young and naïve. Naïve enough to trust him when he said he could help me to become a great ruler. I never told Stan about him-or Gideon."
"Hold on. What does Gideon have to do with all of this?" Pacifica asked.
"Gideon fell into the Underground a few years after I'd made my pact with Bill." Ford looked past her, as if looking into the past. "I was doing pretty well for myself, with Bill's guidance and Stan's help. When Gideon fell into the Underground, I saw an opportunity. A chance to unite the human and monster worlds again. I decided to teach Gideon our ways, train him as my apprentice. I also decided to cut all ties with Bill. As far as I was concerned, I didn't need his help anymore. That was the second biggest mistake of my life-after trusting Bill in the first place. He went to Gideon-something I didn't find out until it was too late."
"Until he made a deal with Bill." Pacifica guessed. Ford nodded.
"I don't know what Gideon's life was like before he fell into the Underground, but apparently it was bad enough for him to hate all of humanity. Bill preyed on him, fed Gideon's hatred-until they came up with a plan. A plan to merge-so they could go back to the surface and destroy all of humanity together."
"Bill made him…kill himself." Pacifica gasped as the realization sunk in.
"A human soul and a monster soul. Together, they could cross the barrier, and return to the human world. Being a demon, Bill could've just possessed Gideon. But he manipulated things-just so he could hurt me as much as possible."
Pacifica felt like she was going to be sick.
"Things didn't work out quite the way Bill had planned…" Before he could stop himself, Ford had a flashback.
"Gideon?" The younger Ford gasped, running over to the broken and bleeding body of his would-be apprentice. "Gideon!" He picked the little boy up in his arms…and he opened his eyes.
Eerie yellow eyes with thin black slits for pupils.
"YOU!"
"Hey, Fordsy!" Bill's voice came from Gideon's mouth. "Did you miss me? Admit it-you missed me!" Ford glared at the demon.
"It was you! You influenced Gideon!"
"Well DUH!" The demon rolled his eyes, letting out a cough.
"But why?!" Ford demanded. "Why attack the humans?! And why drag my apprentice into it?!"
"Well, to hurt you, of course!" Bill laughed cruelly. "And to teach you a lesson." He gave him a cold look. "This is what happens when you trust humans, Stanford Pines. Did you really think you could just make up with the humans like that?! To tell the truth, it didn't take a lot to manipulate this kid."
"What?" Ford gasped.
"What, Gid never told you?!" Bill cackled. "He was never a fan of the humans, despite being one himself! That's really something, huh? Humans are so despicable that even one of their own hated them!" He laughed a little more, then started coughing.
"BILL!" Ford shouted, and Bill gave him one last weak smile from in Gideon's body.
"If I were you Fordsy, I'd ditch the pipe dream. Go back to running your kingdom-if you even CAN anymore! And don't worry-once the Underground falls, I'll be more than happy to take over for you."
"You FIEND! I'll never…!" Ford couldn't continue. Gideon's body went still in his arms as Bill left his body.
For a long time, Ford couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He just knelt there, the dead body of his former apprentice in his arms.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Bill was right." Ford said back in the present. "After losing the closest thing I'd ever had to a son, I was overcome with grief. I didn't know what to do-but I knew I couldn't afford to lose anyone else I cared about. But more than that, I couldn't let anything happen to my people. So I didn't take any chances. More humans fell down here over the years-and I didn't take the same chances I did with Gideon." He looked down guiltily. "One by one they fell, and one by one, I faced them, gathering their souls. Of course, Stanley couldn't stand it. My twin brother, my biggest supporter, tried to fight me himself, but I couldn't bring myself to fight back. So he left the kingdom in disgust." Ford sighed. "Dipper and Mabel were the only ones I ever let go-but not before I did horrible things to them. Unspeakable things." He closed his eyes. "I wouldn't blame them if they were scared of me. But I can't do this anymore. All this, and I have nothing to show for my work but years of regret and broken relationships. I just want to be with my brother again. I want to live in peace with him and the kids."
And like that, Pacifica's fear of Ford was completely gone. He wasn't an evil monster like she'd thought. He was truly sorry for everything he'd done, all the people he'd hurt. He never actually wanted to hurt anyone, he was just doing what he thought was right.
Like she'd been doing her whole life with her parents…
Ford opened his eyes again, looking at Pacifica. A determined look crossed his face.
"And now you say that Bill has them?"
"Yeah-I saw him get Mabel just now!" Pacifica answered desperately. "You have to believe me!"
"I believe you." Ford said. He straightened himself up, picking his blaster up again. "If he's here, then we don't have much time. Just stay close and…AUGH!" Ford fell forward from a blast, and Pacifica let out a gasp, moving out of the way.
"King Ford?!"
"Well well well, if it isn't my old pal!" The cycloptic yellow flower grew up from the ground behind Ford, laughing triumphantly. "Oh Blondie, you never disappoint! I knew you'd lead me right to Fordsy here, given the right leverage!" Ford gave Pacifica a pained look, and she shook her head fervently, tears filling her eyes.
"No! I…I didn't mean to!" As she watched, Ford's body disappeared before her eyes, leaving nothing but a white heart.
His soul.
The other souls, the HUMAN souls, broke out of their containers as well, floating over to Bill, along with Ford's soul, and two others Pacifica recognized.
"Dipper…Mabel…"
"You really haven't learned anything at all, have you?" Bill taunted. "It's like I said-in this world, it's kill or be killed!"
"STOP IT!" Pacifica screamed. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
But it was too late. The evil little flower absorbed all nine souls, and Pacifica noticed his appearance starting to warp and become distorted. Though that might just have been her tears.
This evil little creature had basically killed her friends, taken their souls, and now, thanks to her, he had Ford's soul too. She was doomed, THEY were doomed-the whole Underground was doomed…
"Heh heh, kinda tickles!" Bill laughed, his voice starting to warp as well. "I can feel them w͔̥͎̻̗͔̺ͮͦͯr̟̦̥͖̩̤̊ͨ͐ͅi͎̱̖̼͍̯͓g͇̯̜̬̰̳̈̐̋͊ͣͮ̾ǵ͔͓͒͢ͅḽ̥ͯ̕ī̓ͨ̍̊͆͛҉̹̗͈͔̯n͋͜g̦̦͖̘̓̆̉ͭ̑͝ ̤̟̤̙̣̳͇ͤǎ͎̻͈̯̺̆ͦ̋ͯͤ̓r̺̖̖̤̣͋̓̐̏õ̒ͦ̌ͥ̐ù̟̠͕̯̩̓̇ͤn͑̈͆̉͋̽͝d͖̔ͩͮ̌̃ ̻̘͇̳͊̄ͩ͡ǐ̾̔̇̐n̉͏̻͍̘̰̜̞s̗̫̬̜̏ͨ̏̔̉ͬ͋i͕̲d͓̻̮̭̊̀̔̉ͪ̃̚è͚̠̳ͥ̑ ͍̗̠̹̘̅̅̐̀̽̌m̴̺̤͓̓e̶̥̮̣͋ͨ͛ͭ̒͊!̨͔̥͖͌͋͊ͩ̾͌"
Pacifica couldn't answer. She couldn't speak at all. All she could do was cry. She dropped her stick, burying her face in her hands.
Dipper, Mabel, what have I done?! I didn't mean for this to happen!
"Aͨͩ̎̓w̩̙͙͕͔̼ͬw̴͍̘͈͛ͧ̎̊̅ͫ͌ͅ,́͏̭̙̻̮ ͕̦̝̱̟̝̳̅̈́ͧ͢f̜͔̯̣͉̾͊ͮ̑͊̆ͫ́ͅë̷̙̳̣̩̟͇̖́̌͊é̛̺̟̭͎̽̂̌ͩ̏̀l̸͉̣̮̩͚̓ͧ͑̆̊̀͌i̔̅̅͐͂n̜̰̺̟̻̻͛ͥͫ͆ͩ̔g̲̜̹̼͛̑͛ͬ̔͒ ̈́͛l̴͙̼ͨ͑ͭ͊̾e̪ͨ̌̽͋́f̨̳͑̏t̲͚̟̗̖̺̫͌ͮ ̦ͭ̎ͥ̋o̫̟̮̦ͦ̓̽ͪ̾̇͒ư̺͎̈ͦ̑ẗ̶̹̩́ͧͩ?̧͔̿͊̈̎̚" Bill asked as his appearance continued to warp. "D̠̬ͪ̐̒̒̈́̒̂o̜̗̖̮̓͌́n̫̲'̲̝̈͆t͉̰̅̄ͦͯ͋̑ͧ͢ ̫̝̩͆ͬ̊͞ẁ̑̏̎̉̉͐͏͔̮͕͎̻o̦͔̜̗̝̔͊̈ͩ̃͋̄ṟ̙̣̼͚̦̒̉ͣ͗̿̃̚r͉̪͙̜͇̰̟̀͜y̞̰̯̗̝̮ͧ͂̓̌͑̐-̄ͦ̀̊̍I̳̥̙͉̜̎̆̉ͅ ̱̗͓̣͇̑̈́̓̾̂̕s̷̞̝̞ṱ̢̻̠̜͚͒͆̊̚i̢̖̇̒̓̏͆̆ͬl̵͓͓͈͚̺̫̾͑ͪͩͨ̓̉l̘̙̯̩̞̭̭ͪ́ ̟͍̥̩͚̣͋͝ne̟͖͌͗̒́e̞͔̬̠̹̰͎̊d̷͇͍ͪ̂ ̫̪͇̫́͒̽̽̽͌ͧ͝o̯͙͔̰͚̾͛̈́͌͆̔ͅn͓̼͚ͧ̉̅ͣͭͮͥẽ̛̅̒̽̿̓ ̜͊ͬm̷̳͈̞̦̞̻̊̍̎̿̐õ̟̬̿͌r̰̺̜̼̳̹͖͊̌ͨ͐̅͌̚͞ë̬͆̀̽̓̾͂ ̴͚̯̖̼̈ͧ̒̋̔s̳o̡̥͈̪͊̑ͬ͆u̮͔͋͆ͧ̎͗͘l̸͕̲̫̳̖̺̓͌̄̏ͪ!̊͐̉ͧ͋ A̷̘̲̠͍͙̓ń̳͚̳̬̞͎͋̆̆̚ḏ̰̲͎ͩ̈͗̓͒ͮ̔ ̖̠̺͠l͎̎͗͛ͮ͞ͅo̜̰̝ͫ̒̆͒̓̊̊́o̷̟̤̙̭̩̣̝ķ͓̝̝̫͔̌̔͆ ̥̯̦̭͔̖ͩ͒ͪ̌ͪ̉̓a̮̮̝͓͎͛͛t̙͓̯̬̩͖͕͋̿̽́ ̢̠i̸̱͙͙̰̤̎ͦt̜ͧ̇͗ͨͥ͊ͯ ̤̬̝̯͇̜ẗ̡̗̩̞́̓̑̿ͤ̈́̇h̷̰͔̦̞̓ͤ̀́ͯͯͩỉ̮͙̰̼̰̼͙s̨̭̰̦̋̊ͣͦ̏ͯ͗ ̳͎̖̓͗̿͋ͬ̚w͕̩͇ͮ̊ͯ͋a͓͇̝̝͕̘ͬͥ̿́ͅÿ̓̾̔̉͑̓ͅ-̺̙ͯ͟ỷ̟̠̞̤̫̬͈o̩̘̬̞̲̙ͪ͑͒͛u̖̍͢'͖̭̩͚͈̤͓̉̈́͌ͥl̴͖̔͋͊͛ͦͥ͊l̽ ̑ͨg̪͉͖̖̥̩ͦ̃͌̓͆ͭ͘e̼͕̤̘̺̖͒̉ͦ̉̒͗͌͢ͅt̶̼̖̯̲͈̩̋̔͗̎ͬ͛ ́̚t͖̯̗̍͐ͤ͞o̱ͭ͗̑͂ͦ ̯̗ͥ́̊b͇̯̦̼͕̩͖ͣͩͭ̈͗ë̫̄̂̽̈̚ ̂ͩ̽͂͏w̜̞͐̋̀͞i̫̜̳͇̫̞ͬtͮ̊̓̏̆͡ĥ͙̗̑ ̹́̉͐͆͊y̖̺̱ô̹͖̞̹͔̇̽͛̽̃u͚͕͈̬ͬ̿ͫ͢r͖͍͙̉̏͆̽̆͐͡ ̙̄͒ͤ̃̑̀̄f̯̹r̴̘͔͎̺̺̣̖ͤ̽͌iͥ̆̐҉ę͍͇̈ͪͥ̆n͎̫͇̜̞̱̼̿̆ḏ̆͘s̯̜͂̆ͮ ̊ͫ̉́ͬạ̙̳̹͓̍ͣ̓ͦ͛͠g̣̩͔̠͒ͥ̉̾ͦå̜̮͈ͫ͂ͪ͗ͪ̚i̴̺̝͍ͬ̽͑͊ͧͥͅn̻̱̠̋̇́̐̕!̠ͫ̎̍̇̂͝ ̌ͫ͏̮͕̤͈Hͪ̔̊͋ͫuͪ̄mͩͤ̍ͤ͗͏̰͚̣͉̜̳a̒͏͍̪̬̼n͓̟̘̓ͪ̾ͧͫ̽s̵̭͕̽̓ͦͅ,̥̜͈̭͎͎̑ͤͪ̿ ̖̦̣̥͉͔̼ͫ̒m̉͡o̺̙͈̬̖͉͊͂̃̇̅̑n̜̫̹̦̥̅ͪ̏̊ͫ̆s̴̺̫̠̘̪͐ͨ͗̀t̢̹͖͙̓ͪͦͧͩ͑e̖̗̰̺̊r̰̦̟̘̯̺̖͆̄ͨ̐͛͞s̨̖͚̪̘ͩ,̒̽͛͋ ̼̮͚̗̹̖͛ͮͣͥ̆̑͑e̲̫͚̎̐̋v̲̤̙̹̜͗͛e̴͖̜̐̓ͩͤr̮̫ͧ̈ͨͪͧͯÿ͗ͣͨ͏̫̣̝tͭ̍̈́̇͌̑̚͏͓̣̣ȟ̒ͮi̫͈͎̦̝̺̦n̨͆ǧ̶ͪ̔͒͊ ̟̱̘̠̮̏͠i͚̖̲̖̙̫͓n͖ͅ-͏͚̙̮b̰͉̜̯̖̖̮͒͐̅̐̓͂̚e͜t̛ͧͬẉ͙͈̭̫̃̍ẽ̮̺̬͉̲̌̃͡e̱̯̦̋̈ͥ̆͂ͧ͜n̵̥̰͍̱͚ͤ,͍̫͋̋ͭͯͅ ̼͐ͬͧ̔́̎y̫̠̋̐̏̒̉ō̑͑ͮủ̸̘ͫͪͪ͌̈́̚ ̨͎͙̬̿͊c̻͍̉̊ͬ̌̑̊͞a͒̇̊̏ͥn͚̯̪͕̄ͪ ̣̔ͣ͆̂̀ͯ̓à͈̝͔̲̮͚̓̎̓̒ͥͅl͚͑ͭ̏̽́̓̂̕ḽ̮͈̠̼̰͎̆̎̐̋ͭ͊ ̜́ͥ̔l͔̩̥̂ͬ̋̾̇̇͌i̟͚͙̗̙ͮ̄ͦ͌̌v͎̱̜͎͉è̴̪͚̖͍̪̅͋̐ͅ ̞̇͆̽ͮ̅p̷͗̓͐ͯͫ̊̂e͗̂ȧ̠ͧ͛̃c̪̱̩̦̲̣̔ͩ͡ͅẻ̈ͭ̓̍ͯ͝f͙̍͒̅̐u̳̘͔̹͒ͫ̍͢l̡̹̲̙̚ḷ̑̔̑̚ͅy͔̤̯͎̘͙̝ͥͬ̃͆̇̓ ̵̣͒̀ͩ̽t̟͌̅͛ͥ͊o͙̰̩̬̫̩̟ͦ͌̓͂̔ͣ̔͜g̙̮̖̣̦̘ͥ̐͛̒͢e̖͈̼̳̲͛̾̃ẗ͔̗̻̺͖̝́ͯ̔̀̅ͧ̀ͅẖ̗̱̘͖ͥe̞͇r̘̘ͨͦ͋̑ͪͨ͡.̡͚͇̩͕͕̙̜.̶̫̳̝.̠̺͉̇ͭi̛̺̦̔̽͌̀ͮͅn̤̱̳̪͎̅̆̑͊̏̏ ͓̬̎͌̄̐͑͊o̍̒̑̀̈́̋҉͈b̈l̶̄ͧͫͮ̉̽ḯ̠̹͍̝̩͐͠vͫ̀i͙ͭ̏̀ͅo̖̲͓̰̮͠ṉ͚͈̘̱͆ͪ͊̈́̚!̢̹̲̥̳̩̍̅ͮͣͅ"
At these last two words, Bill's voice deepened considerably, and Pacifica finally dared herself to look at him.
Bill turned red, like before when Pacifica met him in the ruins, his form twisting and reshaping as he grew bigger. His petals fell off, disappearing into flame as he formed into an enormous, one-eyed pyramid with three pairs of yellow arms, legs, and a giant top hat and bow tie. His body was divided into three sections, with two mouths, one of which had the third pair of arms growing out of it, three tongues, and jagged yellow teeth.
Pacifica wasn't sure whether or not it was her imagination, Bill's presence, or something else, but everything turned red and black.
It's all over…
A/N: Ooh...not good. Not good at all...
It was fun using Zalgo text again-I haven't done that since Rewritten Pastas. I just hope it's not too hard to read. And yeah, I kinda combined Ford and Bill's story from the original Gravity Falls with Asriel and Chara's from Undertale-I think it fits. Since Bill wasn't an Asriel expy before I obviously had to come up with a somewhat different backstory for him. And yeah, I know it's kinda weird thinking of Ford and Gideon having an almost father/son relationship when they didn't even interact in the original show but hey-fan FICTION, remember?
And also, Nightmare Bill as Omega Flowey was pretty obvious. Funny story-I've actually seen a comic a couple times on Tumblr that had Bill and Flowey showing off their nightmare forms to each other. So yeah, that's also kinda where that came from XD
So, what will happen now? Will Pacifica survive and save the skeletwins and Ford? Or is she-and the whole Underground, doomed? Stay tuned, and review to find out!