The Mystery of Ford's Past

SUMMARY: Ford tells Dipper a little bit about his time in the portal; Dipper says something odd that worries Ford.

MAIN CHARACTERS: Stanford Pines and Dipper Pines

WARNING! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "Beyond the Portal" CHAPTER 28 THEN THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS! If you haven't read it, maybe give it a shot?

The sky was a dark navy blue, only decorated with the amazing stars of space, the constellations glowing with Orion, the Big Dipper, and other major ones.

When Ford had helped Dipper get out of the lab in Dr. Bartek's basement, Stan and the others were already walking on ahead. Stan had looked back, it looked like he was sad about something, but he continued walking with Mabel, Pacifica, and George, giving Ford and Dipper distance.

Dipper was silent on the walk back to the Shack, him keeping his gaze to the sky. His eyes of course kept going to the Big Dipper, him rubbing his forehead where his birthmark was. Once in a while he would glance at his great uncle, seeing the man that he looked up to with hunched shoulders and his head hanging low.

"How… how did you even learn about this?" Ford asked suddenly, the silence broken.

Dipper thought for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. Ford had been so angry before that Dipper was at Dr. Bartek's home, he didn't want to get yelled at again. After pondering for a moment he takes a deep breath. He tells Ford on how in history class it was mentioned it was the anniversary of a famous missing case from almost fifty years ago. Dipper mentions that of course it would peak his interest and would want to organize a "Mystery Hunt" to try to solve how exactly they disappeared.

"I did research on Dr. Bartek… apparently he was a stem cell researcher, something that wasn't common back then… why he came to Gravity Falls is unknown really. But, no records talked about the girl except that she was a missing person from her after the discovery of Dr. Bartek being in Oregon for his experiments." Dipper was saying, them getting closer to the Shack. "It was George's idea to go into the thick part of the woods by the mountains, where the body of another missing person was found."

Ford stops walking, his head still low. He was taking every word that his grandnephew was saying as if his life depended on it. Slowly, he turns to Dipper, the young teenager looking surprised to his great uncle look so defeated.

"Let's… head to my lab… it's be more private for me to talk to you." Ford then hoarsely states.

The two go inside the Shack and head to the vending machine door that led to the lab in the basement. Ford didn't even punch in a code, he just pressed a button his watch and it swung open. Once in the basement Ford sat down at his desk chair, him looking through his documents to find something. Dipper sits in a folding chair that was no doubt probably brought by Stan to sit with the scientist to keep him company.

"Grunkle Ford…?" Dipper lightly called out, feeling like Ford was losing himself in his mind.

Ford takes a deep breath and finally turns around in his chair. In his hand was a piece of paper, the kind that Dipper saw Mabel use for sketching. The old scientist then hands out the paper and Dipper receives it gingerly.

The paper depicted a highly realistic drawing of a woman with long, black hair that resembled feathers. In the picture she was smiling lightly, as if she was caught being amused by something. She was wearing a long black trench coat and a turtle neck sweater, her having knee high boots and black pants. In all honesty the drawing looked like a photograph.

Dipper then thinks to himself how in the world Ford drew this so perfectly. In the corner of his eye he saw dozens of balled up papers thrown about. It must've taken Ford a long time to draw this picture, to get the details as perfect as he could. Once of the most distinctive features of the picture besides the hair and the eyes was that the left hand was missing a thumb and pinky.

"I met her the night after I went through the portal…" Ford began, Dipper jumping at the sudden presence of the man's voice. "Bill had just announced that he put a bounty on my head, he wanted me dead or alive, and it didn't matter to him. I got immediately got recognized and I had to run… but when I ran by a building I was pulled aside by her…"

"How… did she get there?" Dipper then asks him, truly curious.

"Dr. Bartek... he was influence by Bill and… another demon… to make the portal. In order to get away from police investigation, he sent them two there," Ford explains, his voice monotone. He wasn't putting any emotion into his words, like he didn't want to relive it. "He also… put a metal plate in her head without any anesthetics… she was only sixteen years old."

Dipper stiffens at that. The girl was just a year older than himself when she was thrown into a different dimension. He could only imagine the horrors that awaited that poor girl.

"She had survived for sixteen years before my arrival," Ford continues, his expression softening slightly from a fond memory or two. "At first it was like total opposites… she would get drunk most of the time and she was one of the most sarcastic people I have ever met. But, she knew her way around the many dimensions, and she could fight pretty well.

"She was with me actually when I got my infinity die," Ford gives a small smile, Dipper does too, the two remembering their real life edition of playing Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons, and Ford could honestly say it was the first time in years that he felt like he had a friend. It even inspired the man to look at the additions that Dipper had made to his journal, thinking that boy was so similar to him in many ways, in a way it was like going through time back to when Ford was young and made his theories as a child.

"You and her got it?" Dipper laughed, it sounded a little forced.

"Sometimes Earth objects get fallen into the other dimensions. We have a Bottomless Pit here in Gravity Falls, other places around the world have similar anomalies. So, when people threw their objects, whether it was a nerdy board game, alcohol, car keys, sometimes it would end up in the other dimensions." Ford explains.

Dipper gives a confused look. "But… isn't the Bottomless Pit an endless infinity loop?" he questions, him remembering the time Grunkle Stan got them all thrown in on accident.

Ford uses his hand to make the motion of approximately, his face looking like a mixture of yes and no. "Kind of… but not really," he finally says. "It does have an infinity loop, but also it has a special pocket dimension within it… but in all honesty, I have truly no idea how it works. It seems the more you hate the object it comes back, but if it's something you care about, it will become lost forever. With people… it is most likely a fifty-fifty chance."

Dipper nods, getting the grasp on it. "Okay… so a merchant found it?" he asks, prodding Ford to continue.

"Well, Layla and I went to the merchants to get supplies. I mainly distracted while she stole…" Ford had said it so casually that he didn't realize what he had said, him looking at his grandnephew to see the boy's expression of shock. "Anyway… I saw that this one merchant had DD&MD stuff, and when I saw that… I stole it."

"You pulled a Grunkle Stan and stole!?" Dipper cried out in shock. "Whoa, no way!" The boy then adjust his glasses, him excited at this. He had his full attention to Ford.

But Ford wasn't too excited. He knew how his tale will end.

"Enough with that… I'll tell you more about it another time," Ford tells Dipper, a hand raised. He ignores Dipper's crestfallen face. "Like I was saying, it would seem she and I were total opposites, we would get at each other's throats. But at the same time…" he trailed off, his face turning slightly pink.

"You fell in love with her." Dipper finished for him, it wasn't a question but a statement.

Ford then nods. "I did… yes. She was the first girl I ever kissed, and she was the first girl I ever had se-" He then cuts himself off, realizing once again who he was talking to.

"Sex, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper said in a bored tone. "I know what sex is, I'm fifteen." His grunkle then gives him a skeptical look. "We learn about this crap in school! That and Grunkle Stan is pretty damn blunt about what it is."

Ford face palms himself. Of course his twin brother would tell the young twins about sex. Ford could probably guess that Stan tried to terrify Mabel about it or something because she was a girl. But Ford knew these kids were smart, they weren't stupid.

"Right…" Ford finally says, him feeling a little embarrassed.

"But… something happened… you had come out of the portal by yourself," Dipper then adds. "Did… something happen? You did mention another demon… and for some reason I think I know who you are talking about…"

Ford's expression turns callous. "His name is Magum, he is a psychological demon. If Bill can go into your dreams to influence you, Magum can get to you in the waking world and make you see things that aren't even there. Magum makes you question reality…" Ford's voice was icy, her eyes hardening with anger.

"Magum…?" Dipper repeated, his mouth testing out the word was a foreign concept. "Magum Cerebrum…"

Ford shakes his head in surprise, his anger turning into confusion. "What did… what did you say, Dipper?" he then says.

"ICF RFOSJTEOH VSDFWYST, WLL ICF DFCED RFWYST, AODP WZILIDL UWJ OD VS ROZST? IF AOLL ICF WJQSF MSSH CT DFWJEROZST? DPS HIASF IR APSSL AOLL IJ KY IAJ WUUIFT, TI YIC DP OJM YIC UWJ EDIH KWQCK, RIFT?"

Dipper was speaking nonsense, causing Ford to rush to him and put his hands on the boy's shoulders, gently shaking him. Dipper looked as if he was shaking, his face pale with a sheen of sweat.

"Dipper! Are you okay?" Ford calls out to him, keeping calm but having his voice firm.

The young brunette shakes his head, gasping to catch his breath. He blinks his eyes multiple times as if he had blurry vision. After a moment he gives his great uncle a look of confusion.

"Are you okay, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asks, causing Ford to be taken back.

"You… you don't remember what you said?" Ford slowly asks, his heart pounding loudly, making his blood roar in his ears.

Dipper raises a brown brow. "I didn't say anything, Grunkle Ford," he said as if it were obvious. "Can you continue with your story… you seem to not like the other demon…"

Ford takes his hands off Dipper's shoulders, him going back to his chair. He was trying to figure out what Dipper had meant, it sounding like it was some sort of code, much like Fiddleford McGucket when he was exposed to the portal. Maybe… it had something to do with… He shakes his head, glancing at Dipper, whose brown eyes were wide with curiosity. Ford decides that he will look into it later as Dipper was still very eager to hear the story.

"Magum… had tortured Layla for years before she escaped from him. Mentally, physically, emotionally…" with a sigh Ford continued his tale, his voice trailing off as if he was hinting at something else that had happened. "He was sort of… obsessed with her. We did keep running into him… and the last time I saw him, was when Layla tackled him out a window." His voice hitched at the end, remembering her broken body when it had crashed into the ground.

Dipper's eyes widened. "W-was… d-did she…?" he stammered, his voice wavering.

Ford's heart clench in his chest. Layla had always been extremely pale, but that moment it was such a deathly white. Her electric blue eyes, the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen, were dull as the life had been drained from them. He then lowers his head in his hands, struggling to keep his emotions in.

"She… she died so I can be saved…" Ford cried, tears starting to blur his vision, the tears getting on the lens of his glasses. "I can never understand why… I'm not worth it, I never have been. First Layla gave up her life for me… then Stanley risked our whole dimension to get me home…"

Suddenly, he was being hugged, him glancing up to see Dipper.

"I'm sorry, Grunkle Ford…" the young teenager whispered. "I shouldn't have went to that house… it probably opened up old wounds, I'm sorry I made you feel bad… and I know what you mean about not feeling like you're worth it… sometimes I think that about myself, how you all came for me…"

"It's not your fault Dipper," Ford assures him, appreciating the gesture his great nephew was giving. "It has been on my mind lately… and even had tried to find that house…" His tone then went serious. "And of course you were worth it, Dipper, you're family and we love you very much."

The teenager chuckles darkly, but still slightly amused. "Then you know why Layla did it for you and why Grunkle Stan risked everything, because you were loved."

Ford gives a sad sigh, but he knew in his heart that his great nephew was right.

Dipper then asks something that made Ford's blood run cold, "Do you… sometimes… do things or say things that you can't explain…?"

"What do you mean?" Ford questions. He himself would hear Bill's cackle, or feel like he was being watched. But after reading Dipper's journal… he knew something was up.

Dipper then elaborates, "Mabel and the others… they tell me that I said odd things, kind of similar to what you just did. Sometimes I do things… like laugh at someone getting hurt, or… or… I feel like I want to hurt someone… I don't like it Grunkle Ford… I don't like it at all."

Ford gets up from his chair and returns the hugging gesture to Dipper. "I know what you mean, Dipper… you will get better alright? We'll get through it together as a family. I'm glad you told me what was on your mind…"

Dipper gives a sad smile. "And I'm happy that you told me about the portal a bit… even though I know it really hurt you," he says softly.

"If you have anything else to tell me, Dipper, you can talk to me, okay?" Ford tells Dipper gently. "You did say something odd… and if you can remember anything from it, please let me know."

Dipper gives a firm nod. "I will, Grunkle Ford. And…" he began but stopped for a moment, him trying to find the right words. "And could you tell me more about the other side of the portal… maybe the happier times?"

Ford gives him a small, genuine smile. "Of course I will, but that can be for another time," he replies, him sounding a little happier. "You hungry, kid? I bet Stan and Mabel made dinner already…"

Dipper gives a huge smile, something that reminded Ford of Stanley when the two were children. "I'm starving!" he laughs as he heads toward the elevator. He looks back to see Ford still at his desk looking at his papers. "You coming, Grunkle Ford?" he called out.

"I'll be up in a minute, Dipper," Ford assures him.

Dipper gives a shrug and goes to the elevator, the old thing groaning with effort to function. As soon as Ford saw that the elevator was gone, e glance at his papers where he had scrawled many odd strings of letters, a few of them resembling to what Dipper had said.

"These are ciphers…" Ford barely whispers to himself. "What is Bill trying to tell us…?

A/N: So... who wants to decipher what Dipper said?

Thanks for reading as always!

~Skye Hendersen~