Chapter 12: A Bond of Trust

Ford had taken her to a bar for what he called a "pick me up".

Gladly, she took every scrap of alcohol.

What she hadn't expected was Rick Sanchez making a second appearance. He had implied that somehow that Layla had her father's research, and rightly she was furious about it. Why would she have her father's research if she was looking for it?

But when buttons were pushed by Rick, of course it infuriated Layla to no end. She had admitted that she had held onto the false hope that her father was still good, just being influenced by demons. He had always been a terrible person, the demons just had enhanced it, so the false hope she had of course was just a child's dream.

Ford of course had to stop the crossfire, something that Layla could tell was almost like a natural thing for him. If Layla had to guess it was that Ford was bullied as a child for his hands, something that she honestly didn't understand why he was made fun of for something completely out of his control, and that his twin probably got in fights with bullies while Ford played referee. Once Ford had broken up the fight between Rick and herself, Rick suggested going to a place where he knew someone so he could build something.

It was an old, tall building that was clearing used for technological research. Of course Rick was completely plastered, and it didn't help that Layla was as well. She had taken drinks with her from the bar, her chugging them down like sugary pop and throwing the bottles to the side.

As Rick worked on his little project, Ford let off his usual snide remarks to Rick being drunk while working.

"Maybe you should be sober before you tinker with things," Ford had suggested plainly.

"A-a-a-and you c-c-c-can shut the h-h-hell up!" Rick retorted, him throwing a piece of scrap metal against another.

Layla couldn't help but giggle drunkenly at the two bickering. It had almost felt like a… a normal thing that could happen.

Ford finally then noticed how drunk Layla was. He gave himself a face-palm as he muttered angrily, "Are you serious…? Next time I won't take you to a bar, Layla. She had felt her balance go off, her ending up leaning on him, something that she had done on occasion before, but his reaction was different. "L-Layla…!?"

"M-m-maybe you should l-l-l-lighten up, S-S-Stanford," she giggled at him as she got yet another bottle of alcohol that she had stolen from the bar to show Ford.

"Y-y-y-yeah, get w-w-wasted, Sci-Fi." Rick then mumbled as he continued tinkering with a small black device on the table. "I-I-I-I-I'm g-g-g-gonna build you two you're o-o-o-own portal gun, t-t-that way you can escape Magum."

Ford scoffed, "I think one of us adults should be sober in case something happens!"

Rick then rolled his eyes. "W-w-w-whatever, Sci-Fi, b-b-b-be a l-l-l-little bitch all y-y-y-you want," he muttered.

"I'm not arguing with you, Rick," Ford then stated as he gently pushed Layla off of him gently so that she could stand on her own. However, she just leaned back on to him.

"B-b-b-besides, Sci-Fi," Rick continued. "I know the p-p-p-" He then belched in midsentence. "P-person that owns this place… w-w-w-we should be fine." He then started putting the metal pieces together.

As Ford tried to walk away, Layla seemed to be glued to him. She couldn't really explain why she felt that she needed to, but she could tell in her drunken state that she wanted to. Ford was annoyed with her, so he had dragged her to a small room to where she could sober up.

"Now lay down and sober up a bit, Layla," Ford ordered sternly.

"O-o-o-or what, Ford?" Layla then taunted drunkenly. She had tried to sit up from the couch she was forced on, but she ended up falling back down.

"Ugh… I don't know… I'll lock you in here," the dark brunette grumbled. He then pinched the corners of his eyes in annoyance.

Call it liquid courage, she ended up grabbing his hand and yanking him down next to her. Ford had yelped in shock, but she didn't care. All she wanted to was sleep, and the only time she slept peacefully was when she was near him. Once he was next to her she leaned on him, her eyes getting heavy as she fell asleep.

She didn't know how long she was asleep, to her it felt like a lifetime as she felt herself sober up, but what woke her up was the sound of Rick's yelling.

"H-h-h-hey, lovebirds!" the drunk scientist screamed, causing Ford to jump and Layla jumped and collapsed onto the floor, her heart pounding in her chest a million miles an hour. "I-I-I-I g-g-got the portal g-g-gun to work f-f-f-for-" a belch in midsentence. "-ya guys."

"Rick!?" a screech ripped through Layla's throat. She was surprised to see him there, and his statement about her and Ford made her want to blush a deep red and to beat the hell out of Rick. Lovebirds? Really? "What the hell are you talking about!?"

Rick rolled his eyes in annoyance. "W-w-w-w-well, sorry your d-d-drunk ass didn't p-p-pay attention," he stuttered drunkenly.

Layla could barely hide her blush, she felt that she had to get out of there. "Whatever," she scoffed as she pushed her way past Rick to leave the room. She stood outside the door for a few minutes, listening in on Rick and Ford.

"S-s-s-s-so, you and Layla?" she heard Rick say to Rick in an almost teasing way.

"What!?" Ford exclaimed in reply. "N-n-n-no, it's not like that, we're friends!" she heard him stutter. Was it out of nervousness?

In a way it almost made Layla's chest ache. But that's what they were, friends. They were nothing more, and nothing less. But is that what Layla really wanted?

Remember the last time you tried to think with your heart… it caused you years of pain and misery.

Rick then sarcastically replied to Ford, "Right, and JFK was just 'friends' with Marilyn Monroe…" He then mentioned giving back Ford his lighter, something that Layla knew was important to Ford.

That was when Layla walked away, not really wanting to hear anymore. As she walked through the hallways of the research facility, her boots clicked on the ceramic tiles, echoing in the seemingly empty building. However, she felt as if eyes were on her. It gave her an unpleasant feeling, it was almost like she was secluded to be all on her own.

Layla's pace picked up, her heart pounding. She then heard Ford's voice echo her name, her trying to get to him.

"Layla? Layla, if you're hiding, it's not funny." Ford called out, his voice bouncing off of the walls.

Hiding? Why would I be hiding?

"Ford?" she called out. There was no response. But he had sounded so close when he called out… "Stanford?" she called out again, but there was still no response.

Something isn't right…

What she heard next made chills shiver down her spine.

She heard Magum's taunting laugh, something that she heard many times before. Her heartrate picked up, her running through the halls as she heard Ford grunt in pain as there was a loud crash. She knew that Magum was using his telekinetic abilities on Ford, hurting him.

I have to find him… I have to find him…!

She then heard Magum's silk fueled voice taunting Ford, "How about that deal now?"

DON'T DO IT!

"You can take whatever deal you have and shove it up your ass!" Ford shouted back, his voice sounding pained and breathless.

An odd sensation filled Layla. A rage. A rage she had never felt before up until now. The sudden rage of someone she cared about being hurt by the monstrosity that was Magum.

She screamed, whatever it took to try to relieve that rage that was inside her. Layla screamed again as she finally rounded the corner and saw Magum standing over Ford, his hand outstretched to use his telekinesis to keep Ford to the ground.

"Leave him alone you psychopath!" Layla screamed fully in rage, her face feeling hot. She had grabbed a gun that she had pickpocketed from some poor sap at the bar, and she aimed it at Magum. Without a moment's hesitation she pulled the trigger, a blue plasma of light being released from the chamber of the gun and struck Magum in the square of his back, the blue light illuminating the dark hallway.

Magum turned around, his normally white soulless eyes now a demonic black, red flames starting to consume him.

Layla's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, a sudden fear consuming her. She had to run. So, that was what she did, she turned tail and ran like a coward. But, hopefully it gave Ford enough time to recuperate.

Her heartrate caused the blood to roar in her eyes as she ran, her breathing in gasps mainly from the panic of Magum was after her. From the years of running she could run and breathe normally, but with the panic she had felt constricted and her body not fully getting the oxygen it needed.

There was a sudden green light and hum, something that momentarily blinded her, causing her to slow down slightly. It was enough hesitation for Magum to lift her from the ground with his telekinesis and throw her against the wall, her grunting as her back collided with the wall. She crashed to the ground, her trying to reach for her gun but when Magum tried to pick it up she managed to trip him and crashed to the ground.

Layla grabbed her gun securely and got on top of the demon, her trying to strangle him long enough to put the gun to his head. She managed to get the barrel to his head, but Magum kicked her in her stomach and she flew off, her feeling the wind knocked out of her, and the gun slipped out of her hand as she fell to her side in pain.

"I can't get into your mind, Layla," Magum commented to her, his tone taking on an almost sad tone. "I never could… Dr. Bartek put a different alloy of metal to hide his secrets in your pretty little head of yours."

"Well, Dr. Bartholomew Bartek is dead!" Layla then countered, her then suddenly remembering the figure who had helped her, it tapping the side of its head. Did it know something that she didn't? Even Magum implied that there was something, something that she was enraged about when Rick mentioned it. "So, you'll never get his research!"

Magum cocked his head to the side. "You're still going to try to protect him after what he did to you?" he said to her, his voice laced with taunting. "He never cared for you, he basically said that outright to your face, and you're going to sit here and still protect him?" as he spoke his voice got angrier and angrier, scarlet flames licking across his hands.

"I'm not protecting him," Layla whispered. "I'm protecting my world!"

Out of the corner of her eyes she had noticed that Ford went to raise his gun to Magum. Layla noticed with a slight flick of his eyes Magum stopped Ford in his tracks with telepathy.

"I do have to say, Stanford," Magum lowly growled. "I'm quite impressed on how far you have come in these dimensions. But… I'm afraid you are no longer any use to me… I can just let you rot out there and Cipher's henchmen will find you. As long as I have the portal research, I can spread my power across the whole multiverse.

"Bill thinks he has an advantage… he thinks he is all so powerful… but he forgets he doesn't have a physical form, that it was stripped from him long ago. I, however, am a being of flesh and energy, I can easily take over while he is in this weak state!"

Layla wanted to help Ford, but a sudden green light distracted her. It was a birhgt green circle in the middle of the wall, inside spiraling with some kind of energy. Rick stepped out with guns in his hands, a smirk on his face.

"S-s-s-sorry," Rick sarcastically began. "But I had come to the party with n-n-no presents…" he then raises a gun to Magum. "But I got some now!"

Magum had been surprised at Rick's sudden reappearance that the hold on Ford was weakened. Ford managed to pull the trigger and the plasma blast hits Magum in his neck. Magum roared in anger and pain, him about to use his hand flick Ford away when another beam hits him, this time from Rick. Then another from Layla.

LEAVE US ALONE ALREADY, YOU BASTARD!

As Magum tried to hurt one person, the other would shoot, him becoming extremely frustrated. As red flames erupted from him in anger, Rick made an escape through his portal as Ford ran to Layla and grabbed her hand.

Layla felt a sudden blush on her face, but luckily for her it was still dark in the room as Rick's light from his portal evaporated.

Ford pulled Layla down the hallway where there was a window to the outside. They didn't have time to stop as Magum was on pursuit, his physic energy causing the walls to fall apart and surround him like some kind of shield.

Guess he finally got sick of being blasted everywhere.

Layla then finally noticed that the window was coming up fast, her feeling uneasy. "Ford?!" Layla gasped in horror when she saw him give some kind of smirk.

He's crazy!

"You said not to trust no one, and I'm a firm believer on that…" Ford panted, Layla hearing his breaths coming in gasps. "But… you'll just have to trust me on this one."

Oh, he's not really thinking of jumping out is he!?

The idea of jumping out a window was making her uneasy. She had jumped out of windows before, but they were only one or two stories high.

Ford then sprinted faster, forcing Layla to pick up her speed, her legs already starting to burn. Ford then put up an arm to shield his face and he braced himself for the impact of the window, Layla's eyes widening. His forearm crashed through the glass, the two humans tumbling out the window. The ground was coming up fast, Layla screaming and gripping Ford's hand tighter. Layla had always been uneasy with heights, but if she was in a controlled situation made by her she was fine. But, as the ground came up faster and faster, she found herself panicking.

Just as she had closed her eyes to brace herself to hit the ground and die, she felt like she was surrounded in water. She opened her eyes and saw that in fact that she was in water. Her hand was still tight around Ford's, his free hand holding up a small black device.

The two swam up to the surface and both gasp for air. They let go of each other's hands and swam toward the shore. Water, or whatever liquid it was, dripped off their clothes. Layla felt as if her whole entire body was made of lead, her legs feeling like jelly underneath her.

"Good thing Rick made that, huh?" Ford commented, him sliding some sort of small black device in his soaked coat. He then looked back into the water. "And hopefully Magum doesn't get to us…" he put a hand to his head. "It was like some kind of pressure… like I felt that he was in my mind and messing with me…"

"But you're okay?" Layla asked him, her worried. She didn't realize how much Magum was messing with him. But then again… Bill had done so as well in the past. Having two demons in your head can ruin anyone's psyche.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" he retorted gently. "You had disappeared."

Layla cocked a black eyebrow, confusion settling in. "No… you're the one that had disappeared." Layla stated, her remembering how she had felt the world being empty around her. "Rick gave you your lighter and suddenly it was like you vanished." She kind of gave it away that she was eavesdropping, but she didn't care.

Ford then raised an eyebrow himself. "Wait… what? That makes no sense…" he gasped in shock and realization. "It must be part of his powers…"

"He is right about one thing…" Layla then whispered. "The mind is a terrible thing…" Even if Magum can't get into her mind or read it, he was still there from the years of torture he had done to her. Her entire psyche was practically ruined because of that demon. She then threw her arms around him, her noticing that his face blushed red. "But… I'm glad you're okay, Ford." She felt her own face blush.

Layla could tell that he was uncomfortable at the gesture, but slowly he put a hand to her back. After a moment's hesitation he returned the embrace. "I'm glad you're okay too, Layla." Ford gently says.

Layla felt herself make a small smile, her wishing that she could feel that safe for the rest of her life.

Within couple of hours the two had found themselves a cave, a small fire with pitiful kindling providing a small amount of light and warmth.

They had taken off their trench coats, hanging them to dry, and took off their boots. Layla felt disappointed that she just got these clothes and now they were soaked and smelly. If she was by herself she normally would have taken off her shirt and pants as well to dry, but of course with Ford there she couldn't do so.

Ford sat by the fire, tinkering with the small black device that Rick had given him. His brown hair was drying quickly, it starting to poof out and curl in certain areas. He had looked through their food rations, but had declared that they were waterlogged. He had asked Layla if she had ever been in that dimension, but she admitted that nothing looked familiar.

The dark brunette finally gave a huff and tossed the black device to the side, him putting his hands to the fire. He still had his black sweater clung to him, water still dripping off of it. Layla assumed he kept it on because of her, maybe thinking along the lines that if she couldn't take hers off then he wouldn't and suffer a wet sweater with her.

Layla sat the opposite of Ford, trying to be as close to the fire as possible to dry her sweater without her getting burned. She noticed that his brown eyes would linger on her more than usual, often staring at her waist and sometimes up. Layla tried to ignore his stares as she wrung out her long, black hair of water. She tried to untangle it with her fingers, her realizing just how long her hair was again.

I should cut it again…

"You doing okay…?" Ford asked her gently, breaking her thoughts.

Layla looked up from her untangling. "Yeah… I'm doing okay," she replied. "But what about you…? Magum was really messing with you." She knew what Magum could do with his abilities, and sometimes she counted herself lucky that she had the metal plate in her head. But now she felt terribly guilty that she got Ford into this situation, forcing him to get the metal plate, thinking that he would be protected. It protected him from Bill, but not Magum…

Ford then threw a twig into the flames absently, the flames reflecting off his glasses and his eyes. "It is what it is," he finally said after a few minutes. "The metal can make sure Bill won't get into my head but Magum has full access," he continued, tapping his head in the process. "He mentioned he can't get into your head though…" he pointed out.

"My father must've used a different of metal that Magum can't read," Layla murmured softly, her guilt settling in again.

Ford then glances away from the flames, muttering mostly to himself about Magum and Bill. He was trying to figure out who her father made a deal with first.

"Well, we will never know," Layla butted in bitterly. "I shot that fricken asshole in the face." She was blunt and emotionless, but she didn't care. She felt like she needed a drink, and she knew a perfect place to get one. Layla got up from her spot, her toes squishing in her socks from them still being wet. Inside her coat in a deep pocket she had a bottle of her favorite liquor. A small smile spread across her face as she saw that it was her absolute favorite.

"How the hell do you keep a bottle in your coat!?" Ford shouted in bewilderment.

She gave a scoff as if it were obvious, "Same way I put everything in my coat, I have pockets." She then popped the cap off of the bottle and took a long swig. A combination of sweetness and bitterness with a hard hit of alcohol hit her throat, something that took a few years to find that it was her favorite. She then passed the bottle to Ford. "Here," she softly said.

Ford glances at the bottle, his brown brows furrowed with worry. "I don't think that's a good idea," he told her. He eyed the forced bottle of liquor in his hands, Layla able to tell that he was debating whether or not he wanted to have any.

She then gave him a mischievous smile. "C'mon Stanford, live a little!" she laughed as her smile big.

"I won't be living if I'm dead from being attacked by some interdimensional monster while piss drunk!" he retorted angrily.

"Just a sip then?"

Ford then finally gave in and took a swig of it. His brown eyes widened as he coughed and started gagging from the alcohol.

Layla felt her face blush a red, her laugh filling the cave as she saw his grimace from the alcohol. She couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol or something else, but she was grateful that she was drinking. "Yeah, it's a little strong," she laughed as she took the bottle back from him and capped it.

"Yeah…" he replied as he gave her a hard glare. He continued to fiddle with some small black device and threw it angrily to the side. "I knew that Rick shouldn't have built this damn thing while he was drunk!" he shouted as the device hit the sand of the cave.

Layla sighed. She could tell that he was a little mad at her. Maybe she should've told him that it was a little strong. "This dimension can't be totally empty… there had to be a town or something," she finally said.

Ford got up and grabbed his court, him shrugging it on. Layla could still see some water dripping off of the coat.

"Where are you going?" Layla asked in surprise.

"Like you said," Ford began. "This dimension can't be totally empty. "So, we should look around and find something."

As he talked Layla had got up and grabbed her damp coat and boots. Quickly she shrugged them on and out of the corner of her eye she once again saw Ford's stare linger longer than normal.

"What?" she questioned, knowing full well what "what" was.

"Uh, nothing!" Ford exclaimed a little too quickly. "We should get moving."

The two humans left the cave, the skies dark overhead as thunder rolled over head. Rain fell, the same type of liquid that the two had landed in when they first arrived in this dimension. The effort of drying their coats was useless, the rain soaked them through once more. Layla felt herself shiver from the chilling wind that began to pick up. In the distance there was a light, and when there was light there was civilization.

Once they arrived to the source of the light, it was like a large merchant town. Stands, stalls, and tents were set up everywhere, creatures of many kinds trying to sell their wares. It was a jackpot for supplies, guns, food, and new clothes… whatever they wanted and needed.

As they passed a stand that was selling what looked to be some of the most state of the art guns, Layla expertly snatched them. Quickly she handed one to Ford, his glance to her telling her that he thought she was crazy. Give or take that could be true.

"What is this place…?" Ford then asked, him taking on their new surroundings. Despite the suddenness of being given a new, he quickly hid it on his person. It was such a movement that Layla could tell was not practiced, but as if he had observed it from someone, and it wasn't here. As Ford looked around Layla snagged a few food items, her stomach growling on just how hungry she was. "Layla!" he hissed at her.

"We don't have money, Ford," Layla hissed back, her expertly putting food in the deep pockets of her coat. "We have to steal." She had stolen many things over the years, everything was taken to survive. This was no difference.

"You sound like my brother…" she heard Ford grumble.

As they walked past a stand, Ford suddenly stopped to take a look at. His eyes were widened with some kind of excitement, and Layla knew that it was different. What was he so excited for? She then looked onto the table and noticed a collection of various dice and boards with terribly tacky artwork.

"Oh, no…" she muttered, putting her left hand to her head. She recognized that terrible game from when Rick was staying at her house. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons.

"Are those thirty-eight sided dice!?" Ford exclaimed excitedly, his voice cracking slightly, Layla seeing just how much child-like wonder he obtained so suddenly. In a way, to Layla, it was kind of refreshing given to his strict personality. "Does that mean you have an Earth game called Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons!?"

"Are you serious, Ford?" Layla growled. But then, she couldn't help but giggle as she saw his brown eyes practically sparkling like a small boy's.

As Ford chatted up with the merchant, Layla took a few things from the nearby stands. Some were otherworldly jewels, so she definitely took those. They could be useful to sell in other places. Once in a while Layla did buy things from small "Mom and Pop" shops as she felt bad for stealing from them.

Suddenly she heard Ford ask how much the game was. She snapped her head to his direction, thinking that he was about to do something stupid.

"One thousand blarfnorbs," the merchant replied to Ford's question.

Ford then asked confusingly, "Is that… a lot… or…?"

Layla then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the side. "What are you doing, you huge nerd!?" she whisper-yelled at him.

"What? It's a good game…" It sounded like he was really disappointed…

"Do you know what a blarfnorb is!?" she then demanded.

"No…"

"Well neither do I! So it can't be good!" She ended up walking away, hoping that statement would just make Ford leave the nerdy board game alone. Layla walked over to a different stand that was selling different coats and boots, and she was tempted to take the boots. Nothing to her was worse than wet shoes.

As she was about to snag something when all of a sudden Ford came running by her. Before she could react to anything he had grabbed her left hand and continued on running, forcing her to get a move on.

"What did you do!?" she screamed angrily at him. Did he really steal that stupid game!? "Did you steal that that stupid, nerdy board game!?" she then demanded.

"No!" he shouted back defensively, trying to weave through stands to avoid the plasma blasts that were being shot at them. "I stole an infinite sided die…"

"A WHAT?!"

Suddenly, Ford crumpled forward, almost taking Layla with him crashing to the ground. He looked dazed and confused, but Layla saw a burning hole in the back of his leg. The wound was about the size of a baseball, the hole going straight through muscle and bone, blood pouring profusely from the wound.

"Oh my God, Ford!" Layla shouted in panic at the sight of the wound. "S-stay calm okay…? I'll get us out of here…" She didn't like the sight of blood. It made her nauseous and uneasy. Ever since Magum the sight of blood reminded her of him, and they were unpleasant memories. But, she had to get Ford to safety and to treat his leg or he will bleed out. And her panicking wasn't going to help.

Ford then groaned, "What're you…?" He had then looked at his leg, finally seeing the wound. It was like just seeing it brought all the pain and sudden panic to him. "Oh my… oh my God… I-I don't f-feel well…" he shakily said, his face paling to a deathly pale.

"FORD! Don't pass out okay!?" Layla ordered as calm as she could, but her voice was still shaky. "You're going into shock!" All the memories of looking in first aid and CPR books from her father's bookshelf came flooding back. What she needed to do was stop the bleeding, and if she couldn't do it with direct pressure or pressure points she'd have to use a tourniquet.

But she couldn't do anything with those merchants blasting at her!

They were surrounded by guards and merchants alike, them all pointing their weapons at Layla and Ford. She grabbed the new gun that she had stolen earlier and aimed ahead of her. Sadly, she knew this kind of situation quite well, except the only difference was that there was a dying man that needed immediate medical attention.

Her electric blue eyes narrowed as she aimed, the plasma rifles around her sifting into a more attack position. With no more hesitation she pulled the trigger, the blue plasma blast shooting from her gun as it hit square in the chest of a guard, sending it flying, spreading its blood.

Layla managed to get to Ford and used a free arm to drag Ford to safety, her blasting with the other. Her plasma blasts hit the guards, their blood splattering on each other, acting as an acid and eating through their skin. The screams filled Layla's ears, but she didn't care, she had to get Ford to safety.

"You're going to be okay, Stanford, I got you!" she told him, trying and failing to stay calm. Adrenaline filled her veins as she managed to lift Ford enough to drag him quickly. She had managed to get him behind a large thing of crates, trying to hide and be safe so that she could help him. After a moment of making sure that they weren't being followed, she tried to calm her breathing. She glanced at Ford, and she noticed how deathly pale he was, him almost looking like a sheet of paper. Her eyes went to the wound on his leg, seeing that the blood was nothing but a trickle now. "Oh, no! Oh no, no, no, no…!" she stammered in panic, fear gripping her heart. "Oh no, Ford!"

She tried to find anything to use as a bandage, but of course being in an alleyway there was nothing. The only thing that could be used as a fabric was… clothes. So, she stripped off her sweater quickly after shrugging off her trench coat, her not caring if she was only in her black bra, and began to rip strips from the sweater, the ends loose from the yarn unraveling. She then began to use the strips to go above the wound sight, finding a metal pole near the wall of the building and tied it to the fabric. The last step was twisting the pole, cutting off circulation between the heart and the wound.

"Ow..." Ford groaned weakly. "That's a little… tight…" he then hoarsely whispered.

"It's supposed to be, dummy," she retorted lightly, trying to make a joke. Her heart was still racing from the situation, she was surprised that she even remembered how to any first aid. She may never have been properly trained but she had read enough books to teach classes a hundred times over.

Ford then weakly went inside his trench coat pocket, taking out a small black box. Slowly, he popped it open and inside was a die, its sides changing shapes and different symbols showing up every couple of seconds. For a second one symbol looked like Magum…

"At l-least I got it…" he whispered, his brown eyes barely focusing on anything. "… now… hopefully B-Bill or M-M-Magum will n-never find it…" His eyes then fluttered shut and his body went limp, his breathing shallow.

"STANFORD!"

Layla had managed to get Ford to what looked to be an abandoned warehouse, his body nothing but a deadweight.

She tried to get him as comfortable as she could, having his head propped up on whatever she could find. He was still very deathly pale, his pulse feeling weak and faint. It felt as if a hand was gripped over her heart, feeling constricted. What if he didn't make it through? The thought of that made the constricting of her heart tighter.

I don't want to be alone again…

For most of her life she was alone. Her mother was killed by her own father, leaving her alone. As she grew up, sometimes she would be outside talking to the strange creatures of Gravity Falls, thinking of them as almost like imaginary friends, since her father of course deluded her saying they weren't real. Of course when Rick had come to stay with her and her father, she might've thought of him as a friend if he hadn't been such an asshole except on her sixteenth birthday.

She had grown so used to Ford's company, so used to his small gestures, his snoring, the way he pondered while thinking about something… just everything. Just him being around improved her morale, the loneliness seemingly evaporated. It felt like she was able to trust him, something she thought she would never do again.

Layla didn't want to be alone again, not after having the comfort of a friend by her side.

She then took a rag from a bucket and rung out the excess water, the liquid feeling cool to her skin. A side glance with her eyes and she could still tell that Ford was still a stark white, his brown hair matted to his head. Gently, she put the cool cloth to his forehead, his eyes suddenly fluttered open with a soft groan escaping him, his brown eyes trying to focus, his glasses crooked on his face.

The moment his eyes opened Layla couldn't help but feel tears in her eyes. She didn't care how awkward it was, she threw herself on top of him, wrapping her arms oddly around his torso, tears falling freely. She felt so happy that he was awake, her body shaking with sobs. Layla then felt a tentative hand go on the small of her back to comfort her.

After a minute or two, Layla composed herself and then hovered over him. She had a smile on her face, still happy that he was alive. But, a sudden anger built up in her. "You…" she barely whispered, but then she let the rage take over, seeing Ford flinch. "You… IDIOT!" The woman then slapped him across the face, it wasn't hard, but it was enough to startle him. "Why would you do that!? I… I thought you were going to die…" She felt the tears once again.

"I'm sorry…" Ford apologized, his voice sounding sincere. "I didn't mean to make you worry…" After Layla had got off he tried to sit up, him hissing in pain.

"No, Ford!" Layla chastised. "You shouldn't be moving, you're still bleeding from your wound!" Barely… She added silently to herself.

Ford gasped, "W-wound?" He looked down to his leg, seeing that Layla's purple sweater was wrapped around his leg, the blood soaked through. "Oh…" he then whispered. He looked between his leg and Layla, Layla suddenly feeling uncomfortable and gripped her trench coat tighter around her. "Oh, you're shirt, Layla…"

Layla still hadn't gotten a replacement sweater after bandaging Ford. It didn't feel right to leave Ford while he was unconscious where there was a high possibility of him dying.

"I'll get a new one," she assured him, tightening the coat. "I was waiting until you woke up so I can get some healing ointment."

Ford raised a brown brow. "Healing ointment?" he questioned her. "Why didn't you get it before?"

Layla's face blushed a deep red. "I-I had to make sure you didn't die…" she then stammered. "Now that you're awake… I can go get it. These parts of the multiverse have extreme medical advances here…" Layla leaned on the wall, recalling of some talk from the passerby shoppers at the bazar.

The room they were in was the warehouse that she had managed to drag Ford into. After getting him stable she had walked around the facility, her discovering that it was one of her father's old slaughterhouses.

Bodies had filled rooms, rotting tissues and muscle long ago decayed. Bones littered across the floors, them no longer intact but splintered into unrecognizable shapes. It had made her sick to her stomach seeing that before her, her body practically wanting to reject the DNA that was half of her father's.

It didn't get better when she had found a blue journal.

Inside was heavily detailed entries about the victims. How they were plucked from nearby cities around Gravity Falls, or in northern California, taken by families that had "Missing Person" reports scattered across the country. Each entry was worse than the last, and few mentioned how demons attacked those with weak and dying souls and combined into worse monstrosities.

"I… I also found this…" Layla finally said, grabbing that blue book that rested to her left side. "It's a journal… and… a very detailed one about his victims. My father seemed to send his failed experiments to these dimensions, testing out his portal. He met a few of them here… them bleeding and dying as their bodies started morphing into demonic creatures. Demons like to prey on weak souls… so they preyed on the victims… causing them to become bloody demons themselves…"

It looked as what Layla had explained was being processed in Ford's mind. After a moment he glanced around. "So… is this one of the alcoves?" Ford guessed.

"No… this is a warehouse. But my father seemed to… continue his experiments here." Layla explained. The raven-haired woman then moved from the wall and grabbed an extra blanket that was lying around and threw it over Ford to keep him warm. "I'll be back, okay?" she told him, her voice wavering slightly. She then took the gun from her side that she only used just a day before. "I will be back…" she said again, this time a little more confidently, trying to reassure herself. As she strode her way to the door, she made a final glance towards forward, noticing his worried, brown eyes behind his glasses. "W-what?" she stammered.

"Just come back, okay?" he told her, his eyes looking warm, a small, but sad smile on his face.

That was what did it for her, she knew that was when she knew she had feelings for him. He was sweet and caring, and always very concerned for her. Despite him not liking her drinking he always took care of her while she was drunk.

Layla then gave a brilliant smile as she ran back and crouched to give Ford an embrace. "I will come back!" she said to him, her confidence skyrocketing. After her quick embrace with him she left the warehouse, determined to get the ointment for him.

I will come back… for him.

The large research hospital was scrubbed clean and a stark white, almost blinding.

Layla had managed to find articles relating to a hospital with a sample of a new drug that could heal skin tissues, bones, and muscles. She thought it was perfect for Ford's injury, so she had to get it.

She had waited until closing hours, where there were only guards. The article had stated that the doctor was a top researcher was going to be out of town due to traveling to a different city for a press conference relating to the drug. There were two samples one of the drug, one was with the doctor and the other was inside a vault within the building.

And I'm going to get it.

Her black boots clicked against the white floors, her nose filled with the smell of sanitizer cleaner. She had never been to a hospital before, so around her it felt odd, it felt too clean. It seemed like her black boots would make stains on the white, but they left not mark.

Layla had found a service desk and snatched a map, a while avoiding a security guard's flashlight. Quickly, she raided the desk she hid behind, looking for a flashlight herself. She found a small one that was in the back of a drawer, it caked with a thick layer of dust. The raven-haired woman poked her head above the desk, seeing the guard walking away. With a click of the button on the flashlight, a small beam illuminated a small spot in front of her.

With the newfound light Layla searched the map, looking for the doctor's office. From her personal experience with her father, Magum, and even Bill, what was most important was kept where they mostly worked. The route to the doctor's office was crystal clear, she just had to make her way there without being called.

Luckily her clothing was black, including her hair, so she blended with any shadows. The problem was everything was white, so in any light she stuck out like a sore thumb. As she made her way through the halls, duking into shadows and open rooms, she found a room filled with extra clothing. She managed to find herself a sweater that would fit her, a dark navy blue. Feeling comfortable, she left the secured room with a sense of hurry.

Her body smacked against something large and almost hairy. When she looked up to begin to fight her way out, her mouth went agape a filled her veins with icy fear.

In front of her was a large, almost humanoid spider.

The body was large and hairy, a dark brown that looked like the very Earth's soil, eight legs protruding from the body. The torso was human, long and slender, it appeared to be female as there was development in the breasts. However, the head, was nothing but pincers and multiple black, beady eyes.

Her heart pounded in her chest, the palms of her hands tingling with numbness. She hated spiders, she absolutely hated them. Ever since as a child being in the old, dirty cabin, she hated the fact that the spiders ran free, crawling everywhere… the walls, the ceilings, and her body. As a child she had terrible nightmares of being stuck in a web with no means of escape.

The eight legs clicked along the floor towards her. Normally, she would run away or fight back, but at that moment she was frozen with fear. Beady eyes stared into her soul, them blinking slowly, as if observing her. The numbness spread to her legs and she collapsed onto her back, her gasping with surprise. A shadow came over her, the body of the monstrosity over her.

"You are breaking and entering, human," the spider monster informed with a raspy sounding voice. "That is a violation of Alpha-890 Law-43."

"I-I-I-I-I don't know w-w-w-w-what that i-i-i-i-i-is," Layla stammered, her fear causing the blood to roar in her ears. "Pl-please, I just need to h-h-h-help my f-f-f-friend… he got hurt, and I need an ointment that c-c-c-c-can heal him…"

"Wait a minute…" the raspy voice interrupted. The beady eyes blinked multiple times, observing. "You're that human doctor's daughter… you're the daughter of Dr. Bartek…"

"H-h-h-how do you k-k-k-know him?" Layla inquired, her voice shaking.

One of the legs then touched her, pinning her down to the floor by Layla's chest. The wind felt like it was pushed out of her lungs, making her feel like she couldn't take a breath. Layla couldn't struggle, the fear in her veins keeping her frozen in place.

The pincers were then dangerously close to her face as the voice shouted, "How do I know him!? He is the one that did this to me!"

Of course he did…

"Why take it out on me!?" Layla then screamed, the mention of her father once again turning a person into a monster heightening her confidence and the fear dissolving. "He's the one that did it! Besides, that bastard is dead! I killed him myself!"

"A daughter killing her own father…? How interesting…"

"It doesn't matter! I don't agree with his thinking!" Layla shouted angrily. "Why are you even in this research facility anyway!?"

The spider woman then released Layla, her finally able to breathe normally. "They are researching a way to reverse this." The creature then went to a nearby wall, seeing a red button and pressing it with one of the spider legs. An alarm began to blare loudly, causing Layla to cover her ears. "I suggest you leave, or you'll get caught," the spider woman snickered.

Layla, with all fear of the spider drained from her, jumped up and began running. Remembering the route that she needed to take to that doctor's office, she dodged guards that were swarming around her, guns raised. She ended up taking her own gun out, ready to fire if needed.

I have to get that medicine…! Ford could be dead by now for all I know!

Her breaths became gasps as her panic started to rise, it felt like she was going in circles as she had to make a wrong turn to avoid a plasma blast. A few times she was grabbed behind, but she managed to twist her body to get out of the grapple, her doing a fan kick to get them away from her and for them to crash to another guard.

Eventually she made her way back to the original route, but she was suddenly stuck in something sticky and couldn't move. She lifted her foot off the ground, seeing that her boots were covered in some kind of webbing. Panic rose in her chest, realizing that her childhood nightmare was coming true: Her being stuck in a web.

"You really think you can escape?" the spider woman rasped, her legs clicking on the white walls, a thick webbing incasing the path behind her. "I think it would only be justice if you suffer just like your father's experiments!"

"You think I haven't suffered!?" Layla screamed in despair. "Ever heard of the demon Magum? That's who I've been dealing with for years!"

"Magum…?" the spider woman hissed. "No, I have not heard of that one… you are making it up!"

"WHY WOULD I DO THAT!?" the raven-haired woman screeched. "Why would I make up being tortured and… and…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word. Tears stung her eyes as she put a hand to her neck, the first of many wounds for dealing with Magum. She had to get out of the webbing, she just had to! No more self-pity, she took her gun and blasted the webbing around her and the web under her boots, them disintegrating into flames.

"You little-!"

"I don't give a damn!" Layla shouted as she then aimed the gun at the spider woman. "Consider this me releasing you from your suffering." Layla pulled the trigger and the plasma blast hit square in the human torso of the spider woman. The creature screeched painfully as a combination of thick purple and red blood poured from the wound, the legs beneath her buckling.

Layla didn't have time to see if the creature was dead or just injured, she had to get that ointment. She continued down her route, the alarms still blaring around her, but she tuned them out. She will not let herself be distracted, she needed to help Ford before it was too late. As she rounded a corner she punched a guard in its jaw, its helmet that covered its features cracking. Layla ignored the pain in her hand and continued running as the guard was distracted.

Finally, she had made it to the doctor's office, her running into the door practically. Frantically she tried turning the knob, but of course it was locked. In the past she would have lock picked it, but she had lost those tools long ago and there wasn't enough time to find a substitute. Layla aimed her gun at the door knob, aiming for the locking mechanism and pulled the trigger. The door creaked open and she rushed inside, slamming the door behind her and began to barricade it so the guards had trouble getting in. It was fine for now, but when she had to leave it would be a problem.

Layla began to search around her, looking for anything that could lead her to a safe with the ointment. First she searched the desk, looking for any secret compartment or button. Nothing was there and with frustration she kicked the desk, denting the wood with her boot. During her search it didn't help that the guards were pounding into the door and there plasma shots shooting through any crack that was managing to get through. She could feel that she was running out of time, either she was going to get caught or Ford was going to die.

A plasma blast went through a crack and it would've hit Layla if she hadn't dodged it just in time. The blast hit a picture of a beautiful sunset and the picture came crashing down, the frame splintering. But it was a good thing as there was a safe hidden behind the frame. Layla rushed to it, seeing that it was a fingerprint scanner.

As a child Layla did read a few spy themed books, and one of the books had a similar situation. In one of the books the agent was stuck in a cage that could only be opened by the captor's thumbprint. The agent then took out some kind of powder and tape, putting the powder on the scanner and then putting the tape over the dust. The dust would cover the natural oil that is found on the skin and when the tape went over it, it acted as the skin and activated the scanning mechanism to recognize the print. All Layla had to do was find some powder and tape and she'll get it.

She searched through as quickly as she could, her managing to find a small thing of powder that was used to coat certain metals to keep them in pristine condition. Now she just needed tape… but when she searched she found none. Layla began to feel frustrated, the door almost caving in from the guards. As she stepped forward her foot got a little stuck, her lifting her foot to see that there was still webbing under her boot.

Layla gasped in realization as she peeled the sticky substance from her boot and managed to get a ball of it. It should suffice as like tape… but there was only one way to find out. As quickly as she could she got the powder on the scanner and placed the ball of web over it, pressing down. There was a rapid amount of beeps and something clicked. The hatch opened and inside was a small canister of the ointment.

The raven-haired woman quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into her trench coat. Now that she got it… she had to escape. Her only way out was barricaded and it was almost crashing down, the plasma blasts continually getting closer and closer to her as they began to get more of the door broken. As she stepped back to try to think of a plan, her foot sunk into the floor slightly, another clicking sound activating. She spun around and saw that the desk began to lower, opening a small door.

Without a second thought she went through it, seeing that it was a special stairwell. She descended the stairs with new profound speed. Everything was lit with some kind of torch, the walls made of stone as was the stairs, her boots hitting the stone echoing around her. She had a feeling that the guards didn't know about this as there was no one there, her thinking that it had to be an emergency escape route for the doctor.

As she descended she heard the desk move back in place, sealing her inside. Just as it sealed she heard the door break open, the guards most likely piling in. It may take a few minutes for them to discover the secret door, so it bought her a tiny bit of time. The stairwell made its way to a small cave, her shutting the door behind her. Just to be safe she put something in front of the door, hoping that if the guards did follow her they couldn't get through. She exited the cave, her eyes adjusting to the industrial lights around her, the sky still dark.

Layla took the ointment out of her coat, seeing the bottle reflect the light. Quickly, she put it back and made her way back to the warehouse where she had left Ford.

Please still be alive…!

She entered the warehouse breathless, her heart pounding in her chest and the blood roaring in her ears. Quickly she made her way to the small room where she left Ford. As she got closer she could hear his loud snores, which for once she was glad to hear as it meant that he was alive. Layla entered the room, seeing Ford covered with the blanket she left him, sweat beaded on his face, his dark brown hair plastered to his face.

Ford was still deathly pale, him most likely still slowly bleeding out. Layla rushed to his side, moving the blanket to get to his leg. Clumsily she grabbed the ointment from her coat and uncapped the top, her beginning to spread the pale green substance on his leg. Instantly she was seeing the wound start to close, her body feeling like it would drop to floor with relief.

After a few hours of his leg healing and just as she was beginning to relax thinking that Ford would be okay, he abruptly sat upright, making her nearly scream with surprise. Ford gasped in surprise, the color slowly returning to his face.

"Stanford…?" Layla said to him cautiously, not sure if he was delirious and would attack her.

"Layla?" Ford replied, his confused expression then spreading to a large smile. "You came back! That was fast!" he cried out happily.

Layla noticed his brown eyes looked a bit hazy, as if they were still not completely focused. That and he would never be this happy… She then looked at the tube of ointment with a cocked black eyebrow. "I wonder if this is making you high…" she wondered aloud.

Ford then very clumsily and quite dramatically put a hand to his chest. "What…?" he gasped dramatically. "Never did drugs in my life and I was in school during the seventies!" He then wagged a finger as if he was a parent scolding a child. "That's a no-no!"

Layla couldn't help but laugh at him, her completely amused on how his personality flip-flopped from his normal demeanor. "No… this actually does give you a high… you're high, Stanford," she laughed at him. She then checked his leg once again, only seeing a hole in his pants, the wound fully healed. "Better then you dying that's for sure…" she then mumbled.

"But you came back!" Ford cried out happily again, for some reason he was really excited to see her. "That's great! And I only closed my eyes for a second!"

"Ford…" Layla began. "I was gone for an hour… you were snoring when I came back, and it took at least another four hours for your leg to heal." She made sure to keep her gaze on his so that he had something to focus on. "I'm assuming because of your blood loss that your high is stronger…"

Ford then gave a stubborn huff, "I don't snore."

Layla couldn't help but give him a mischievous smile. He seemed to really dislike the fact that he snores. "Yes you do," she told him seriously. "And very loudly too.

After an hour or so of Ford resting and drinking plenty of water to sober his high, he ended up testing out his leg to see if his strength had returned. A few minutes passed and he ended up going inside his trench coat and pulled out a small black case. Ford opened it and revealed a small die, its sides constantly changing.

"Why did you grab that, Ford?" Layla then asked, her gaze resting on the constantly changing die.

For a moment he had hesitated, but he then explained, "I… I figured with something as dangerous as this that Bill or even Magum shouldn't try to get their demonic hands on it…" His brown gaze never left the die, the changing symbols reflecting off of his glasses. "One of their minions could've stolen it and gave it to them, or rolled it themselves." Ford then shut the case, the die safely contained, and put it back in his trench coat. "Hopefully I made the right choice… I didn't mean to make you worry," he then sighed.

Layla couldn't help but think that maybe he had been right to steal it. Better for him to have something that could potentially destroy the universe. But, it still made her extremely upset that he would just disregard his own safety.

"Hey, it's okay," Layla finally said. "I know in your heart you believed you were doing right." However, she was still angry at him for scaring her and then punched him forcibly in the shoulder. "But, you were still and idiot for doing that!"

"OW!" Ford screamed in pain, his free hand going to his injured shoulder.

"What if I didn't get us out of that situation!?" Layla began hysterically, her beginning to pace around the room. "What if I hadn't found my father's cursed warehouse full of damn dead people in the other rooms!? What if I didn't manage to find a medical facility!?" She felt tears sting her eyes when she thought of the worst case scenario. "What if… what if I had come back and you were dead, Stanford?" Layla had felt her hysteria rise with each passing word, the idea of losing someone she really cared about cutting her on the inside, an almost unbearable pain.

Ford had been nervously scratching behind his head, most likely thinking how much he just put her through. "Hey… I didn't mean-" he tried to say, but Layla was not having it.

"NO!" she screamed, either in anger or hysteria from being so worried about him she couldn't tell herself. "I don't care that you 'didn't mean to'!" She then gave him such an icy look that he went rigid. "You're supposed to be intelligent right, Mr. I Have a Gazillion PhD's?!"

"I have twelve-"

"You should've thought the whole thing through!" Layla insisted. "I could've stolen it while you distracted if you had just told me!" She felt her walls that she had built up for so long begin to crumble, her about to ask the question that she thought she would never ask anyone, "Do you even trust me?"

For years Layla trusted no one due to her father. For years she trusted no one after Magum. But when she did open up it felt like it was a constant attack on her. Her contact Kerum had betrayed her so that he could make an extra buck by turning Ford in. However, this time, it felt like she had really begun to trust Ford, and to her it felt like a little more.

She noticed how his gaze would land on her. His face almost looked confused, like the fact that he was doing it confused him. Her guess what that he probably was never close to a female before, and the thought never had crossed his mind about females when he had his research to do. But each time his gaze lingered on her for more than a few seconds, it embarrassed her, not because she didn't like the gesture, but the face that she did like the gesture from him and the possibility that he found her attractive.

"Of course I trust you," Ford finally replied, honesty filling his voice. "I… I just didn't think it through… that was all my fault." As he said that he finally broke her powerful gaze. "I wouldn't want you to feel guilty if I got myself killed for something."

I trust you…

They both had been firm believers that they were to trust no one. But now finally, they both had something they could trust and rely on.

Layla then went over to him and kneeled down. Her heart raced in her chest, but she didn't care. She then wrapped her arms around his torso, her being on her knees as her head rested on his chest since she was so short. Layla could feel and hear Ford's increased heartrate, in a way it was calming her. She then tilted her head up to see that his brown gaze was looking down at her, what surprised her was that Ford removed a few strands of her black hair away from her face to tuck behind her ear.

"I trust you," he said again, a lot more confidently.

"I trust you too, Stanford."

A/N: Over. 10,000. WORDS! I'm so sorry that this took so long to write and post!

Hopefully there is only two more chapters after this without splitting long chapters. Normally I would've split this chapter into 2, but I figured because of a lack of updates I would keep this as is.

But, now we know how Layla got the medicine for Ford!

I have been getting messages about questions regarding to the fanfictions I write or where they can show me fanart, so if any of those apply to use please refer to the tumblr layla-bartek!

Thank you all for understanding and thanks for all of the support as always!

Thanks for reading!

~Skye Hendersen~