Chapter 46: Brothers

'How often can one say that they are close with their family or would do anything to protect them? How often can one say that they have reconciled with them after years of not seeing them or would love to reestablish the bond they once had after disappearing for so long? How many actually can say that? With the apocalypse on the verge of beginning, Ford revisits some regrets about Stanley that he wishes he had more time to right!'

One-shot Inspiration: Welcome To The Black Parade by Chemical Romance

~(Ford's P.O.V.)~

Previously

"Finally after all of these years! You're finally here! Brother!" Stanley happily spoke to Ford.

Ford stomped forward and punched Stan in the face!

"Ow! What the heck was that for?!" Stanley whined as he grabbed his cheek.

"This was an insanely risky move!" Ford growled. "Restarting the portal! Did you not read my warnings?"

"Warnings, schmarnings!" Stanley scoffed. "How's about a thanks for saving you, I don't know, from what appeared to be a sci-fi side burn dimension?"

"Thank you?!" Ford continued, his expression in a clear scowl. "You think I'm going to thank you after what you did THIRTY YEARS AGO?!"

"What I did thirty years ago? Why you ungrateful-" Stanley retorted as he tried to punch Ford, but Ford grabbed him before Stan's fist could come in contact with his face. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're family!"

Currently

As I stand face to face with the greatest threat to humanity with young Dipper since being thrown into the portal, I can't help but to think about how Stanley and I use to be. Thirty years, thirty years ago is when our relationship took the biggest plummet imaginable. Brothers have an unmistakable bond that no one can break, yet I broke it! I was so focused on being a success that I didn't think how it all affected my brother. We're twins, we were the best of friends growing up, inseparable, but thanks to my need to be on top and allowing our father to insert what he felt was best for us, I selfishly separated us! This is all of my fault!

After entering the house from a failed interview with the West Coast Tech College Board admissions team, Stanford was tightly gripping a peanut toffee wrapper. He was everything but happy!

"Can you explain what this was doing next to my broken machine?"Ford questions as he held up the wrapper to Stanley.

"O-ok, that was a mistake!" Stanley defended himself. "I might have been horsing around-"

"That was no accident Stanley!" Ford raged. "You did this because you couldn't handle me going to college on my own!"

"Look, this was a mistake!" Stanley continued." Although if you think about it, maybe there's a silver lining. Huh? Treasure hunting?"

"Are you kidding me?"Ford continued raging." Why would I want to do anything with the person who sabotaged my entire future?!"

Ford then shoved Stan onto the couch when their father came charging into the room, having overheard Ford's complaint about his machine.

Filbrick then throws Stan outside!

"You ignoramus!" Filbrick, the twins father, yelled to Stanley." Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother's coattails. Well this time you cost our family potential millions and until you make us a fortune, you aren't welcome in this household."

He then threw a duffel bag at him!

"What?! Stanford, tell him he's bein' crazy!"Stanley begged.

Ford , who was watching out his window, closes his curtains.

"Stanford? Don't leave me hangin'!" Stan continued." High six?"

Filbrick slammed the door on Stanley.

It all started with my motion machine, my greatest invention yet! While I wanted to do more for my family with my scientific knowledge and high IQ, I pushed Stanley aside and just thought about myself. I didn't see the fury that bubbled up inside him when he got the news of me going to a college far away, he didn't like the idea! Yet I let our father encourage my future, which didn't seem so bad at first, but when I later realized what it did to our family, our brotherly bond, it was too late to fix it. Stanley resented me for it and I couldn't blame him in the least.

He didn't want to break the bond since we've been through so much together. Protected each other from bullies, had the greatest adventures in our home town, and even after seeing him again, I coldly wanted to put him out of my life once again. That is the biggest regret I have currently and wish I could take it back!

"Okay, Stanley, here's the deal. You can stay here the rest of the summer to watch the kids." Ford reasoned. "I'll stay down in the basement and try to contain any remaining damage, but when the summer's over, you give me my house back, you give me my name back, and this Mystery Shack junk is over forever. Ya got it?"

"You really aren't gonna thank me, are you?" Stanley asked with a frustrated sigh. "Fine! On one condition: you stay away from the kids. I don't want them in any danger cause as far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I have left!"

Stanley begins up the stairs, stops, starts to look back to Stanford, but decides against it and keeps walking.

I should have given him the thanks he was looking for, but couldn't. I wanted to be right just as I did thirty years ago. Stanley had every right to try to protect the children from me and turn his back on me because ever since I arrived in this dimension, trouble pretty much follows me everywhere. The kids aren't affected much, especially younger Dipper who is fascinated by what adventures and dangerous anomalies that leap out in this town, and Mabel, well. She's one kind soul to wonder and doesn't mind much either. A free spirit like her, she really reminds me of myself in a way, but I would do anything and I do mean anything to protect these children with my life! While Stanley and I haven't seen eye to eye since my return, I haven't honestly given him the time of day so he could explain himself, just like thirty years ago when I turned my back to him. He is right about me, everything he said. I am selfish, stubborn, and only think about myself. He motioned that the children are all he has family wise, but if we live through this apocalypse, I will make sure we are brothers again, something I should have done long ago. I love my brother and should have never let my pride get in the way of that! I created a huge mess, something I would have never admitted to previously, but can't deny it now!

"That's it?! You finally wanna see me after ten years, and it's to tell me to get as far away from you as possible!?" Stanley fumed.

"Stanley, you don't understand what I'm up against! What I've been through!" Ford reasoned.

"No, no. You don't understand what I've been through!" Stanley shot back." I've been to prison in three different countries! I once had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car! You think you've got problems? I've got a mullet, Stanford! Meanwhile, where have you been? Living it up in your fancy house in the woods! Selfishly hoarding your college money, because you only care about yourself."

"I'm selfish? I'm selfish, Stanley?" Ford argued back. "How can you say that after costing me my dream school?! I'm giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life and you won't even listen!"

"Well, listen to this: you want me to get rid of this book? Fine, I'll get rid of it right now!" Stanley shouted.

Stanley took out a lighter, sparked it, and held the journal over the fire.

"No!" Ford shouted as he grabbed the journal back from Stan. "You don't understand!"

"You said you wanted me to have it so I'll do what I want with it!" Stan retorted as grabbed it back from Ford.

"My research!" Ford shouted as he tackled Stan, then ran for the journal, but Stan tripped him. Ford then ran after Stanley, "Give it back!"

Ford pushed Stan onto some of the buttons for the portal.

"You want it back, you're gonna have to try harder than that!" Stanley challenged.

The portal then powered on.

"You left me behind, you jerk!" Stan continued fighting as he tried to pull the journal away from Ford. "It was supposed to be us forever, you ruined my life!"

"You ruined your own life!" Ford retorted as he kicked Stan into the side of the control panel, branding the symbol onto his back. Stan screamed and fell to the floor. "Stanley! Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! Are you alr-"

Stan punches Ford, who stumbled backward and tripped over the lever. Stan followed him.

"Some brother you turned out to be!" Stanley scoffed." You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well then YOU CAN HAVE 'EM!"

Stan shoved Ford back into the portal light and he started to get sucked into the machine.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, what's going on?" Stanley urgently questioned. "Hey, hey, Stanford-"

"Stanley! Stanley, help me!" Ford begged as he was being pulled into the portal.

"Oh, no, what do I do?!" Stan questioned once more.

"Stanley! Stanley! Do something! STANLEY!" Ford shouted as he threw Journal 1 at Stan and disappeared into the portal.

A flash of white engulfed everything. When the light faded, Stan was lying on the floor.

"Stanford?" Stanley called out as he looked for his brother.

Ford's glasses hit the floor.

"Stanford, come back! I-I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" Stanley shouted as he ran to the portal and pounded on the side of the machine.

The portal powered down with his brother on the other side of the gateway!

Stanley was only doing what he could to preserve my good name in this town when he turned my house in the Mystery Shack. All of my experiments turned into tourist attractions, my good name used so no one would wonder about me or even think I was dead, and my house, who knows what could have happened to it if Stanley hadn't done what he did, despite my not approving of it. He was doing the right thing by me and I was too blind to see it! He was the only one I could trust with the journal I archived my mysteries in so I should have trusted him more than I did!

"What are we going to do grunkle Ford?" I hear Dipper ask me. I practically hear the determination in his voice of wanting to defeat Bill once and for all! "We can't let Bill win!"

"The gateway between worlds has opened!" Bill proudly cackles. "The event one billion years prophesized has finally come to pass! The day has come! The world is finally mine!"

"Not in this lifetime corn chip!" I heard from behind me, that voice belonging to my brother. Turning around, I notice Stanley approach me with a grey duffle bag, my duffel bag.

"Stanley, what is this?" I question as he hurriedly opens the bag and pulls out three ray guns that I invented after returning to this dimension.

"Doing what I should have done after getting you back." Stanley replies as he tosses me and Dipper a ray gun. "Listen Ford, we're brothers and nothing can break that bond. What happened between us thirty years ago is the past, but what matters right now is that we defeat Bill together as brothers. I know we haven't seen eye to eye since you returned, but it's never too late to try. So what do you say?"

Staring into my brother's eyes, I can see the sincerity that lies behind them and the reconciliation that I never gave him. While I made a mess of things before, I won't let that happen again! Stanley, Mabel, and Dipper are all the family I have left in this world and I'm not letting anything break that bond! Second chances like these don't happen often so I can consider myself extremely lucky!

"Let's do it Stanley!" I agree as I turn my ray gun on to charge it. "Dipper, go find your sister and bring her back as quickly as you can! Use the ray gun if necessary! Stanley and I will handle this!"

The young lad pulls out his walkie talkie while nodding to me. He then runs off into the forest to search for Mabel.

"Bill is going to wish he never met us!" Stanley voices as he begins charging his ray gun.

"The Pines twins are a force to be reckoned with!" I confirm.

Ok, I can explain. I let this entry go unposted for the longest time and let this fanfic collection linger in the archives for the longest time having wanted to post the AU one-shot first. However since that became an impossibility to write, I put it to the back of my ideas for now until I can get a better grip on it. So my apologies and I will do my best to update this more often from now on! :)

So after a long absence, please don't forget to,

Review Please!