Chapter 13: A Love for a Pines
As the next few weeks went by Layla found herself more and more prone to wanting to be by Ford's side, feeling much happier when around him.
She drank a little less, and by little less it meant she didn't get piss drunk. After a few small prods she was able to get a little story from Ford about him and his twin brother as children. He would often tell a few tales of the two as children, him smiling and being happy to tell them.
Which was why it always made Layla angry the way Ford disregarded his brother.
"He's not as intelligent as myself." Ford would say whenever she asked if Stanley would repair the portal to get Ford back.
It seemed to offend her that he would disregard his twin's intelligence. Layla never had siblings herself, she had always wanted on to ease the loneliness of that cabin, so for Ford to not care what his twin was doing really ticked her off. He was lucky to be born into the world with an automatic best friend!
But now it made her wonder what they had fought about in the first place…
Of course they argued about the fact, her being told that she couldn't understand. Not only was he disregarding his brother's intelligence, but hers as well. It also didn't help that they argued in an alleyway about half a block away from Bill Cipher himself trying to recruit new followers.
But when Ford admitted that he shouldn't be saved because he wasn't worth it, Layla had to scream back that his brother though he was. She had wanted to say that she thought he was worth it too, but she was too angry to say it.
Eventually, Layla got sick of arguing and grabbed Ford by his forearm and dragged him away from the now ended recruitment meeting. She felt stoic and angry at the same time, she didn't want to say another word to Ford but at the same time she wanted to scream at him to just somehow forgive his brother.
"Um… Layla?" she heard Ford gently call to her. She stopped and gave him such a blank expression that he looked like he flinched. "Can… can you let go of my arm now, please?"
Layla did as she was told. She then adjusted her goggles to be over her eyes and moved her scarf to cover most of her face, only exposing her freckles and her nose. In a way she was trying to hide her expression from Ford…
"L-Layla?" Ford then stammered, getting her attention. "I'm sorry for yelling at you back there… and it's not because I think that my brother is an idiot, because he isn't… he's smarter than me in a lot of things that I couldn't even imagine… it's just… I'm not worth it. After all I have done, I deserve to be here… you certainly don't deserve to be here." He was rambling, him putting a head behind his head nervously, something that Layla picked up on that it was his habit when confused or nervous.
Layla couldn't help but stand there for a moment, dumbfounded that he apologized. She laughed, not because what he said was funny, but because she was happy that he apologized for screaming at her, something that her father or Magum never would have done. Layla then removed her goggles and scarf, feeling her face slightly warm from a blush, and she gave a smile.
"Well… your brother probably thinks you're worth it… and so do I." She felt her face turn even redder as she attempted to cover her face back up. Before Ford could say anything to her she went along the alleyway and ripped down wanted posters of them.
A couple of hours later after traveling to a different dimension through a natural portal opening, Layla had a basket filled to the brim of things she was going to steal for them. However, she felt like they were going to be caught because of Ford's constant glancing around.
"Ford," Layla hissed when she finally had enough. "Stop looking around like that… you're going to make us look suspicious…"
"We're two people dressed in black trench coats, wearing goggles, and we are wearing scarves," Ford pointed out. "How we are not on the floor being shot at I have no clue."
Layla then slapped his arm. "Well, don't jinx it dummy!" she chastised as she continued to put things in the basket. She had multiple things that resembled fruit, although many were glowing and had spiked thorns that were beginning to grow something that looked like flowers. The raven-haired woman noticed that Ford had wandered away from her, causing her to sigh with irritation. The last time he did that he ended up nearly on his death bed…
As she looked for him, she gently called out his name, all the while taking things for her basket and for her coat. After a few minutes she finally spotted him, although he looked like he was about to fight someone.
Oh, no…
As fast as she could without dropping the contents of her basket, she went to Ford, seeing his brown eyes wide behind his glasses before he turned around as if he had heard something. "Ford!" she had called out, but the reaction she got was what she didn't expect. He had side swept behind him, tripping Layla. With a small yelp she crashed to the ground, spilling her basket and all the things in her coat, getting attention from merchants that she was stealing. Her scarf and goggles fell of her face, some merchants saying that they recognized her from a poster.
"Oh, shit!" Ford gasped when he realized that it was her that he tripped. He then offered her a hand as merchants began to grab for weapons. "I'm so sorry! I didn't realize it was you!"
Layla grabbed his hand and hoisted herself up. She kept her hand gripped to his and began to run, causing him to gasp as he was being tugged, and all her stolen items being left behind.
"Told you not to make us look suspicious!" Layla shouted at him angrily as she led them to an alleyway to hide. She then grabbed the newer gun that she had stolen back when Ford had stolen the die from her holster, it looking futuristic and high tech as it was a sleek grey with blue lights. She popped up from a crate they were hiding behind and took aim, her pulling the trigger and a plasma beam shot out, hitting her target. Ford followed suit with getting his gun out to help fight alongside with her.
"Sorry!" Ford then shouted to Layla as he just barely dodged a red plasma beam that was precariously close to his face. "I got distracted!"
"With what!?" Layla snapped as she shot a merchant square in the chest, dark green blood spewing everywhere. She took it as a distraction and tapped Ford on his shoulder, signaling for them to escape.
As the two rushed down the alleyway, Layla noticed a shimmer in the distance. She knew that it meant a natural opening of a portal. They both sprinted at full speed, making it just in time as they went through and the portal closed behind them, the two humans gasping for breath.
"Mind telling me…" Layla panted. "What the hell happened back there?"
Ford continued to glance around, as if he was expecting something to show up in front of him. "I… I thought I was being watched by Bill…" he then admitted, his brown eyes to looking around with paranoia.
Layla instantly began glancing around too, the paranoia setting in on her as well. "Y-you think we are being followed…?" she then asked, sensing the worry in her voice.
"Possibly…" he informed. "He could've noticed who we were at the plaza. It seemed like he then finally noticed that Layla herself was glancing around. "Layla…?" he then called to her, getting her attention. "Have you… dealt with Bill before?" he then asked her.
"Once," Layla replied curtly. Although her past missions required going to Bill's lair, she never directly dealt with him. It was back home that she did, and after years of memory suppression form her own self and the drugs her father forced in her, she remembered clearly what Bill and her father often did in the basement.
"Layla…"
"I'll tell the day you do, Poindexter." Layla remembered that Ford once said that Bill had entered his mind at one point from being tricked, which was the whole reason why she risked being discovered by Magum to get the plate in Ford's head. There had to be more to the story that Ford wasn't letting on, and he seemed very reluctant to talk about it.
Ford then told her in exasperation, "I told you, I met him and he tricked me!"
"There's more to that… I can tell," Layla insisted. "You're a smart guy, you simply didn't get 'tricked', there was something more to the point where you cut him off and felt betrayed." There just has to be more…
"You want to know!?" Ford snapped, him gesturing his hand in the air in exasperation. "I found his stupid wheel and spell to summon him in a cave in Gravity Falls, and despite the warnings saying not to I did anyway! I was desperate as I hit a roadblock in my anomaly research…! So, I made a deal with him… I let him into my mind where he had full possession over me to aid me, and he told me the portal would be the answer!
"I thought he was my friend! But he used me! That's when I descended into madness… I felt like I couldn't trust anyone… I've began hearing and seeing things… I needed someone… so I invited Stanley and he came to my house. I was so paranoid and worked up that I aimed a crossbow at my twin brother! Bill had me so worked up that I could've killed him! Stanley and I got into a fight, the portal activated, and I'm here now!"
Ford had been panting after his rant, and he had been pacing back and forth. It was as if he just needed to keep moving in order to stay sane.
However, it confirmed the one thing with Layla. Ford had willingly, and knowingly, been possessed by Bill Cipher. What insane things did Ford do as Bill's puppet!? Did he kill people for amusement? "You… let him into your mind!?" Layla then finally shouted in shock, her still not believing that is was so willingly. "W-why… you let a demon possess you…!"
"Now you know why I have trust issues…" Ford muttered darkly. "Well… actually my brother betrayed it first."
"What did he do?" Layla then asked, her becoming intrigued that he mentioned it so loosely.
"Nuh-uh," Ford chastised, pointing at her. "I told you about Bill… now you tell me yours." His brown eyes were narrowed angrily, clearly not enjoying the conversation.
Layla glared at him, her expression hard, her feeling her own eye cold as ice. Finally, she gave a sigh and felt her face slack. "My father let Bill into his mind too… he was possessed. Bill… enjoys killing, very sadistically and inhumane… My father wanted test subjects for his research, but he never had the guts to get them until Bill came along. Even after Bill was done possessing him my father would go and torture his subjects.
"I was little… I want to say about eight years old when I was dragged to one of those… murder baths," Layla's felt her eyes stings, remembering a time clear as day where her father finally decided that lying low in Gravity Falls was too boring and decided to get subjects in town. "Bill suggested to my father that children may be better subjects as their cells were still technically new and fresh… and I witnessed that. I never wanted to believe my father would agree to it, so I just made it seem like Bill was the bad guy. But… it isn't true… it never was."
Layla remembered that child. The child was a sickly little thing, it definitely going through some autoimmune deficiency disease. Her memory became stained red as she remembered that child's screams of pain, her father testing out some kind of serum in it to see if its sickly cells would regenerate.
It made Layla sick to her stomach thinking about it. No child, no person, should go through such torture.
Ford instantly looked sympathetic to her. She could tell that his brain was trying to process what to say to try to comfort her.
"I can assure you…" Ford whispered gently and honestly. "That I have never killed anyone under Bill's control, or has he influenced me to kill anyone without him possessing me. And I never intend to…"
Layla then gave him a look of doubt. "Are… you sure?" she slowly asked, timid. Could it be possible that Ford could be lying to her, or that he simply has no memory of death he caused?
Ford gave her a gentle smile. "Trust me," he said simply, him offering a hand.
Layla felt herself give a smile. She did trust him, and trust went both ways. If she begged for him to trust her before, then she had to trust him on his word now. She then set her into his that was offered, her showing that she in fact did trust him.
They went and explored the dimension they ended up in after going through the portal, noticing that they were in a very large city landscape. The buildings were tall and a stone gray, but instead of being straight up they were built as curves and diagonals. Inhabitants of the dimension, which they looked a lot like the mythical creature Chimera from Greek mythology, crowded the streets busily, often bumping into the two human travelers.
"Have you ever been here?" Ford asked Layla in a hushed whisper, his brown eyes wandering the landscape.
"Once or twice…" she admitted "I don't know my way around though." As another inhabitant went to bump into her she avoids his tail flawlessly. "Whatever happens though… don't get bit by them or bit by their tails." She then pointed at the tails, them having a black ball on the end with beady red eyes with a mouth that occasionally opened to reveal sharp teeth and a wicked purple tongue.
Ford was then intrigued. "Why not?" he asked her curiously, Layla practically seeing the gears turn in his head to try to process the possibilities.
"Because it's poison," she replied curtly, annoyed that he would be so fascinated by it. "It won't harm them, but it will potentially kill us."
"Potentially?"
"You either fight through the poison to survive… or you die."
Ford couldn't believe that. "Isn't there any medicine or antidote for it?" he inquired.
"No." Layla doesn't say another word and continued on slightly ahead of him.
The one time Layla remembered coming to that dimension, it was a quick hop through. Some goon was trying to chase her from stealing from him, maybe money or booze, she couldn't fully remember. As they ran through, she dodged the inhabitants quite well, but when she looked back she had seen the goon get bit by the tail, and the more he ran the slower he got to the point where he had collapsed. Layla had actually gone back to see what had happened, and that was when she discovered the poison. She avoided all the creatures as if they had the plague, her going to a place that was a library, or something like it, and did research on the creatures, discovers that they had a special gland that was highly toxic to beings that were from outside the dimension. There was a small chance of surviving, but it was so small that there was a better chance of Magum treating her like an actual person then surviving.
Layla vowed to never return there if she could help it. She rather not risk getting bit and killed from the poison.
She continued walking ahead, her avoiding the tails with skill. She kept her eye out on any place to duck into for a few moments to fully seen their situation and to find a new natural portal to leave. Just being there gave her the creeps. With a sigh she turned around to see if Ford was still following her, hoping that he didn't end up getting bit and poisoned.
I shouldn't have stormed ahead… especially after that he just recovered from his injury. How could I help him if he got poisoned where I couldn't possibly help him?
Her eyes widened when she saw one of the creatures looming over Ford. She had found it odd that they would just so that, these creatures were quite civilized and wouldn't attack without being provoked, their tails however almost had minds of their own and they just wag their tails like a dog, not particularly paying attention if they hit something or someone. But then she saw the eyes: A glowing yellow with a slit of a pupil.
Bill Cipher.
Layla began running back to Ford, her mentally hitting herself that she would let herself get so far ahead of him. She had to make it back to him in time, she just had to!
Ford had looked confused when his eyes met hers. After a second of confusion he himself turned around, and from where Layla was she could tell he stiffened with surprise. Or fear.
"Hello, Fordsy! I can't believe you're still alive here!"
Ford tried to take a step back, but the tail of the monster Bill was possessing wrapped around him, making him immobile. The scientist tried to struggle, but the grip only got tighter and tighter, making him grunt in pain. The head of the tail was then in front of his face, it opening and closing its moth with audible clinks from its teeth.
"Let's see… should I give you a torturous death or keep you alive until you beg for it?"
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Layla then screamed, her finally making it to Ford and taking her gun out. She shot the Bill possessed monster in the face, a hole made from the plasma bullet forming in the center of its face. The monster screeched painfully, the last moment of life its eyes lost its golden glow as thick golden blood pulsed from its wound. The tail that gripped around Ford was released and he fell to the ground, him painfully yelping as he body crashed into the cement. Layla ran to him and helped him up, but not before the dying beast lashed its tail and hit Layla on her right side. She grunted in pain, but nonetheless continued to help Ford and encourage him to begin running.
As they ran, some of the members of Bill's head henchmen were blocking their path, one of them being a pair of giant teeth that looked like those plastic joke ones. Another was a tall, bright magenta colored being that had a feminine shape to it, its head looking like old gargoyle statues but with one eye in the center and sharp, white teeth; Pink flames licked up its arms and legs, it looking almost like a design to special gloves and leggings, but they were real flames.
They weren't going to get past them…
Ford then grabbed Layla's hand and dashes to the left, going through a door that looked like it led through some type of restaurant. The two ran between the tables, knocking them down, and the sounds of shattering plates roaring behind them. It seemed to slow down the two demons though as Ford and Layla made it through the kitchen and out the back door within a short minute. There was a wall in front of them in the alleyway they exited the building to, so they had to quickly scale it, although it was extremely difficult to its curved structure.
Layla felt an odd stinging from where she was hit, the stinging then turning into hot knives stabbing her. She felt her strength leaving her limbs as she climbed, but she had to force the pain aside to make it to the top. Once at the top the edges of her vision began to blur as something sharp hit her heart, fully immobilizing her as she collapsed, her putting her hands to the side where the stinging originated.
No… no this… this isn't right… the tail…
"Layla!" Ford shouted once he had noticed that she collapsed, him making his way back to her. "What's wrong?!" He then noticed that her hands were covering a spot on her trench coat, so he gently removed them, causing a wave of pain to wash over her, revealing a small hole in the coat. He moved the coat's fabric aside and sees her navy blue sweaert with a small hole but heavy with blood and something else. "I'm going to lift up your sweater slightly to see it okay?" he told her, but he didn't wait for a response as he just lifted the sweater enough to see a small, but highly inflamed wound.
Layla glanced down at the wound, her eyes widening as she saw that she in fact was poisoned.
No… no… How can I let this happen…?
The wound was pulsating blood, but also a thick dark green pus. There was a set of small puncture holes, small green lines slowly spreading from them to get to the other parts of her body. Some lines were already thick and crawling up toward her heart… the running helped speed up the process.
Another pang of sharp pain hit her in the chest. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, every time she took a small amount of breath it was if she was breathing in fire. Her lungs prickled and stung as if the air itself was toxic. Her body burned with such an intensity she felt that she should've been the feminine pyro demon.
"Oh no… oh shit!" Layla heard Ford gasp in horror. There was a shout from behind him, Bill's henchmen starting to scale the building after them. "Shit…!" she heard him curse. Her vision was too blurry for her to even see him in front of her, all she could do was rely on her ears.
"Leave… me… behind…" Layla gasped between her small pants, her eyes were beginning to flutter. Sleep sounded like it was a good idea…
"Like hell I will!" Ford stubbornly replied. She then felt him gently pick her up, her in the bridal carry position, and she found her arms weakly wrapping around his neck. She lays her head to his chest, her soft moans of pain and distress being muffled. The sound of his panicked heartbeat pounded to hear rested ear, and it was almost so soothing that she could fall asleep. She then felt him start running, but she closed her eyes, not sure where they were going.
The burning was pulsating through her body. Layla felt as if she touched something it would be set ablaze. The sharp pains continued in her chest, her heart being attacked by the poison. Just the small bits of breath she managed to give herself felt too much for her body to handle.
I want to sleep…
Layla then felt herself be surrounded by something soft, but it wasn't really comfortable. Fire raged through her, her feeling the sweat pour profusely off her forehead. Her blood practically boiled, if she had to the strength to slice her body open to let the hot blood pour out from her, she would've done it.
She barely saw Ford make his way back to her when she made a soft moan of pain. It burned so much to even make a slight sound… she desperately wanted to scream and cry, but just the small noise she made was enough to make her feel as if millions of hot knives stab at every nerve in her body. His hand had made her way to her forehead, his hand feeling so cold to her… her body shivered involuntarily, the stabbing intensifying.
Layla was left alone for a moment, her feeling as if she was abandoned. She didn't want to die… but if she did she didn't want to die alone.
Please… please come back…
Once again she felt herself be picked up by Ford, her unfocused eyes managing to see his brown eyes wide with panic and determination. He quickly moved, the air feeling if it was slicing across her exposed skin. How was she not cut up like meat and bleeding out…? That's what it felt like to her at least…
Layla was then set down in something soft, her feeling it cradling her. Everything around her was so soft, almost like a cloud. For a moment the hot knives seemed to stop stabbing, she felt as if she was on death's bed, waiting to be taken. Under, over, her sides, all were covered by softness. She couldn't tell what it was, and she didn't care.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she heard Ford whisper to her. "It's my fault… I wasn't paying attention, I should've ran as soon as I seen your face when you looked at me the way you did… just fight this okay?"
Layla then finally managed to force her eyes to focus on him, his blurred form becoming slightly more focused. She felt a ghost of smile play on her lips. "I'm… fine…" she insisted weakly. She really didn't want him to worry over her.
"No, you're not." Ford sternly told her. "You just need to rest a bit… you'll be fine…" his voice sounded strained and panicked. It seemed like one of the few times in his life he truly didn't know what to do. Layla then felt him gently wrap his hands around her seemingly small left hand.
"I'm cold…" she barely whispered as she closed her eyes. Her body was now weakly shaking, the stabbing of heat then becoming so still it was as if all the heat was sapped from her body. She desperately wanted heat… she wanted to be warm. Before all she wanted was the heat to go away, but now that it was gone she wanted it back.
After a moment she felt a sudden warmness around her. Weakly she opened her eyes and saw the Ford was close to her, using his body heat to warm her. "You're… warm…" she murmured, her eyes only half open. It was such a comforting warmth as she felt Ford's arms wrap around her gently, avoiding her wound. "Thank… you… I'm going to… sleep now…"
"Just promise me you'll wake up…" she heard him say.
"I will…" her eyes fluttered shut and she starts weakly snoring.
Her dreams were black and inky. The darkness was thick and suffocating, and she never had felt so alone and cold. Her body seemed to float in the abyss, her body suddenly feeling as if it was being torn apart, her limbs being ripped from her sockets as skin tore like paper, her feeling the blood rain from her to the bottomless pit of the void.
Am I dying? Is this what dying feels like?
Layla had never believed in Heaven, she always believed in Hell though, since she always thought that was the realm that she dealt with. If there was a Heaven, would she go there, or since she had done so much sin that she would stay in Hell forever?
Please… make this pain stop… please… it hurts so much…
And in the blackness, she heard his voice. He heard the comforting low rumble of his voice, telling her that she had a promise to keep.
I have to wake up… I have to wake up for him…
She felt so safe and warm, her small body seemingly clinging to the source.
A small smile was on her lips when she felt a soft touch on her face. She felt herself curl up tighter against the great source of warmth that she was enjoying, her arms wrapped around what felt to her like a large teddy bear. Her eyes fluttered open gently, the electric blue bright and healthy. A soft moan escapes from her hear as she nuzzled Ford next to her, closing her eyes in relaxation.
Her eyes then opened and widened in realization on what she just did. Her face blushed a deep crimson as her eyes darted between Ford and herself. She gave a yelp and with all the strength she had pushed Ford away from her, causing him to fall off the bed that they were on, him landing on the floor with a loud thud.
"OW!" he screamed in pain and shock. Layla then peered over the edge of the bed, realizing that it was pretty high off of the ground, so Ford had taken quite a fall. He was on the ground, rubbing his head with a grimace. He finally looked up and saw her peering face. "What the hell was that for!?" he demanded when their eyes met, his eyes hard.
"Sorry…" she apologized, her face still red.
When Ford got up the bed was up to his waist, he was of average height for a male, so the bed going to his waist proved that the bed was extremely large. There was a noticeable bump on the right side of his forehead, making Layla have a twinge of guilt that she pushed him off. Layla adjusted herself on the bed, getting onto her knees, for once her face equal to his. She put a hand to his bump, watching his face twist into a grimace as he hissed in pain. Another pang of guilt waved over her.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to get you hurt…" she told him softly, her hand still gingerly on his bump.
Ford gave her a sympathetic look, and there was something else in his eyes. Guilt? Sadness? She couldn't pinpoint it. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" he asked her gently, his voice hoarse. "After all it's because of me that you got poisoned… you almost died."
Layla couldn't help but laugh at his worried expression. She had found it sweet that he was so concerned with her. "I'm fine… the good news is that I am immune to the poison now," she laughed. She had closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she contained her laughter.
She then felt his hands on her face, making her blink open her eyes in sudden surprise, but before she could react his lips were on hers, her making a small sound. Her heart raced as she closed her eyes once again as she wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands went to her waist.
After a minute the two pulled apart, both panting and both with hearts racing.
He just kissed me…
Ford's brown eyes then widened with surprised and moved Layla about arm's length away from her; however, his hands were still on her waist. It was as if he couldn't believe that he had just done that.
"I-I-I'm sorry…!" Ford stammered quickly and his voice filled with nervousness. "I-I-I-I wasn't th-thinking-!"
Layla the cut him off by kissing him. He seemed surprised at the gesture, especially when she put her arms around his neck once again and then gripping his dark brown hair. To be honest with herself, she loved the fact that he did it. When she pulled away she said to him, "It's fine… you're actually a bit better when you aren't thinking."
But before Ford could respond they had to leave suddenly as the creatures of the dimension were trying to get into wherever they were hiding, which Layla discovered that Ford had broken into a model home so that she could rest. Layla couldn't fully move still, her body still weak from fighting against the poison. Ford had to carry Layla out the window, him carefully descending and Layla looking over worriedly towards the ground.
Once making it to the ground, Ford made his way to an alleyway, setting Layla down. Layla's legs still felt extremely weak and she wobbled, but Ford kept hold of her hand to help her with her balance. She noticed that his face was blushed a deep red, probably embarrassed about what had happened.
"Well… that could've gone worse…" Layla muttered, breaking the silence.
Ford tried to explain what had happened back there, but when a green light illuminated by them, it only meant one thing. Rick found his way back. Ford accused Rick of working with Magum, Rick retorting that the reason he couldn't go home was because his portal gun was missing an important component to access Earth. Once again Rick tried to imply that Layla had the information with her for some reason, but it wasn't further pressed.
Rick then showed an old, ancient document about Bill Cipher. The document depicted Bill in the center of a wheel, symbols surrounding him. Symbols included a pine tree, a shooting star, a question mark, and even something as ridiculous as an ice bag. What could those symbols mean? In a way… some of them looked oddly familiar…
Ford pointed out that he had seen the wheel before in the caves of Gravity Falls. Rick informed that it was an ancient spell that had the ability to send Bill Cipher back to his home dimension, something that intrigued Ford.
"But… what about Magum?" Ford then asked. "How do you get rid of him?"
Layla had that same question, but before she could give any thoughts on it a familiar, yet chilling voice came from behind.
"You don't, Stanford."
Magum.
Magum stood there behind him with two silver wolves, the pelts a ghostly wisp of shadows and darkness. The vessel was once again a different one that was previously used, this one looking younger than previous ones, but it still had the translucent skin to see the veins and arteries of the body.
"You simply cannot get rid of me."
Magum was once again apparent on trying to make some kind of deal with Ford. Ford, obviously, refused, he had once made a deal with a demon and wasn't going to do it again. For some reason Magum was still insistent on wanting Layla to go back with him.
The thought of that made Layla want to retch. Every night was torture to her, she was not going to willingly go back. She felt a spark of hope and happiness when Ford refused to even have her as some sort of bargaining chip.
Rick had managed to open a portal and send the three through, although Magum did send his wolves after them in the process. While traveling through the portal, their bodies being tugged one way and then the other, the demonic wolves were right with them fighting their all. Rick had landed on his portal gun and managed to break it when the three humans tumbled out, the drunk scientist fighting with a wolf tearing through his coat.
Despite the two having their differences, Layla managed to grab her gun and carefully aim at the wolf. She shot it expertly, the wolf giving a high pitched, painful yelp as it fell to the side. Rick gave a huff of thanks, or at least Layla assumed it was a huff of thanks as he went straight for his portal gun in concern.
Ford was still being attacked by the second wolf, the beast trying to tear at his throat. Somehow Ford managed to get his coat off of him, the coat twisting around himself and the wolf, it seemingly the only thing that was keep the demonic monster from ripping the fragile flesh of his throat. Ford had his arms fully extended out, using all his strength and the twisted coat to defend himself, there was no way he could reach his gun.
"Ford!" Layla cried out in panic as she aimed for the monster. With sharpshooting skills she pulled the trigger and the plasma bullet pierced the wolf in its flank, it becoming distracted as Ford managed to get his gun and pull the trigger against the beast. Ford's coat became riddled with burnt holes, and Layla saw him rummaging through his coat to get the sentimental picture that he had kept of him and his twin as children.
"Is everyone alright?" Ford called out.
"I'm okay…" Layla replied. Or as alright as she could. Every time they dealt with Magum it left a bitter taste in her mouth and made her want to tremble. Of course the demon was truly a monster, but the others haven't dealt with him on the level she had, and just being in Magum's presence was enough to stir up terrible memories.
"There has to be a way to get rid of Magum…" Ford mused, him putting a hand to his chin like he normally did while he was he deep thought. "If there is a way to get rid of Bill, then there is one to get rid of Magum.
Layla began to hum, her searching her memory banks. Where had she seen something so similar to Bill's wheel before? Her mind went back to the journal that had belonged to Magum, one that she tried to read during her years in that room with him but could never decipher it. She remembered one particular page… one that looked eerily similar to Bill's wheel…
Over the years on the run from Magum, Layla had hidden that journal somewhere in one of the alcoves. She didn't enjoy carrying around with her. But, one of the alcoves that she and Ford happened to stumble upon was the one that she had hidden it, so she had grabbed it, meaning to show it to Ford for him to look through it.
Layla explained to both Ford and Rick that she had that journal, her searching through the yellowed pages to find the one she was looking for. After a minute of searching she had found the page that looked nearly identical to Bill Cipher's wheel.
It was a wheel with Magum's true monstrous form in the center. Around the demon were ten symbols, just like Bill had. A few of the symbols were identical: a pine tree, a shooting star, a six-fingered hand, a crescent shape, and a llama. However, new symbols were on the wheel that were not on Bill's: an arrow, a heart, a flask, an oak leaf, and an acorn.
Her electric blue eyes gazed at the page for a moment before showing it to Ford. Obviously, the six-fingered hand had something to do with Ford, it wasn't a coincidence that he had to deal with two demons that were extremely powerful. But one symbol she thought about for what seemed like years.
The oak leaf.
Layla knew her name "Bartek" was a Polish name, she was part Polish from her father's genetics. "Bartek" oddly enough was the Polish name for "Bartholomew", which meant her father's name was the same first and surname, which was odd. A famous tree in Poland was called "Bartek" due to being the oldest oak tree in the country, possibly the world. To stand tall as a mighty oak, that's what the people of Poland believed how a person should be.
An oak leaf obviously belonged to an oak tree, a strong one being called "Bartek". Did the oak leaf have something to do with her…? It couldn't be that easy though… And then there was the acorn, which is a seed to an oak tree. Did someone else that had something to do with her family have something to do with the wheel as well…? So many questions buzzed in her mind, and if only she felt the courage to talk to Ford about, maybe he could spit out some theories on her questions.
"So… he does have a weakness!" Ford exclaimed happily when he looked at the page that Layla had found. "He even has a few similar symbols that Bill has… so that means a few of the same people can defeat Bill and Magum…!"
Two demons can be defeated by the same people…? It couldn't be a coincidence that five symbols are shared…
"O-o-o-o-oh, goody." Rick muttered sarcastically, him picking up the pieces of his destroyed portal gun.
"But… what do the symbols mean…?" Layla asked curiously, her eyes once again going to the oak leaf symbol on the wheel. Was it meant for her…?
"That… with time, we'll probably know." Ford told her, him taking her hand gently. He then gingerly takes the book with his free hand, his thumb in the spine of the book to keep it open. "And now… I need a new coat…" He just had his black turtleneck sweater, his muddy brown boots, and his black pants.
"T-t-t-t-there is a market in t-t-t-this dimension," Rick drunkenly informed him. "G-g-g-go snag one… I'll stay here a-a-a-and fix this." He held a few pieces of his device up, shpwing how cracked and shattered it was.
"We'll bring you something too Rick," Ford called over his shoulder as he and Layla began to walk away down the alley.
"B-b-b-b-bring me a-a-a-a-a small nuclear reactor!" Rick demanded with a slur.
"Um… no promises," Layla responded. What the hell would he need one for anyway…?
Ford kept a tight grip on Layla's hand as the two walked off. He glanced his eyes away, him clearly nervous. The small gesture made Layla's heart pound. Did he regret kissing her earlier…? She wasn't the best person, she would be the first to say that, so did he just do it on the whim or did he really like her?
"Um… like I was trying to say before… about what happened…" Ford began to say but was interrupted with Layla's abrupt stop as she forced him look at her. "Um… what?" he nervously asked, his brown eyes wide.
Layla then stood on her tip toes because of her being short and goes and kisses him. "You're perfectly fine," she told him, truly meaning it. "I'm… I'm actually happy you did that…" she then lowered herself down and grips Ford's hand tightly, her face a blushed pink. "Now… let's get you a new coat."
Ford's face was a bright red, but nonetheless had a big smile on his face, making him almost look like a young boy, something that Layla smiled at. She could tell that she was the only girl he ever gotten close to, so when small things like returning a gesture of affection came up, he was genuinely excited. It almost made her laugh, but she loved his boyish smile.
Layla could never have thought that a simple thing as getting a trench coat would result into learning about Magum's and Bill's history with each other.
Ford and Layla had met a merchant that knew a little bit of Bill's and Magum's hatred of each other, him explaining that they were part of races of demons that were part of the "Hierarchy of Demons". They were friends at one point, both causing major destruction to their worlds, and when it was time for fingers to be pointed, Magum made sure that it was Bill who was stripped of his physical form.
Of course Bill did not like the way their friendship was betrayed, him using his own powers to make sure Magum's race of demons were destroyed. Ever since then, despite Magum not even phased or even dare to care that his family was dead, the two had been going at it for years, both with a similar goal to take over the entire multiverse and the universes within them.
Layla knew that had to have been the power of the Axolotl that stripped Bill of his physical form, it explained why Magum would want to avoid the Axolotl at all costs. The Axolotl was the highest in the "Hierarchy of Demons", despite being creatures that were in fact not demons. From the years of Layla being on her own and learning of the Axolotl, she had learned that the one that Magum always referred to was the last of its kind, the others killed in revenge by Cipher himself.
The "Hierarchy of Demons"… only three survivors: Magum, Bill, and the Axolotl.
There had to be more to why that the Axolotl hasn't been a larger role in everything. How could such a divine creature let this go on for so long? How many dimensions destroyed, how many people killed? There had to be an explanation…
However, Layla couldn't focus on the questions at hand, not while she and Ford had to make their way back to Rick with the newfound information.
Whoops. Didn't get him his stupid nuclear reactor. He'll get over it.
While walking, Ford stopped for a moment, causing Layla to stop as well. When she asked what was the matter, he told her that he had been thinking of an old conversation between himself and his friend back in Gravity Falls. He explained that this friend was married and had a son, and when asked if Ford would ever settle down in life, he scoffed at the idea.
Until he met her.
Ford had admitted that he had loved her, something that she couldn't recall ever hearing from anyone. Layla didn't remember her mother saying that she loved her, she knew that her father never said that to her, and despite all the physical actions with Magum there was no love there.
Layla didn't know how to respond. Did she love him? She had thought she loved Magum, but it was a naïve and reckless emotion-driven action. If she admitted that she loved Ford, would it turn out like an ending to a fairy tale, or would it end just like it did with Magum?
Pain. Misery. Depression.
Layla's mind could go through millions of scenarios of the "what ifs" and go through all the terrible things that could happen to her that had happened in the past. But her eart said otherwise…
She did love him.
But… could she just tell him how she truly felt without feeling that she would be trapped?
As the two humans walked back from the marketplace, Ford told Layla a little more about himself from when he was younger.
Apparently, he was Jewish at one point. But, after studying so much in science, he particularly didn't participate in religion. Ford had mentioned that his brother also tossed the idea of religion away once they entered high school.
"I… I never had a religion…" Layla had sadly admitted. She read about them of course, but it wasn't the same. On her father's side of the family they were dedicated Christians, mainly being part of the Catholics or the Lutherans. Her mother's side however, after much digging if she ever snuck out of her home to go to the Gravity Falls library, they were very mixed when it came to religion. Her mother's mother was Middle Eastern and was Israelite, which meant that there was Muslim and Judaism mixed in with religion perspective. Layla read about each religion, but still never fully understood it, so she gave up on every trying to learn about them to their full potential.
Even though Ford pointed out that Gravity Falls had quite a few Churches, at least one church for every major religion, Layla still didn't understand it really. She had to explain that she wasn't really allowed out of her home, and if people saw her it was like seeing a ghost.
The memory of Colonel flashed into her mind, her remembering how her father screamed at the once human man that if Layla was the "ghost" he had seen in town. That man didn't deserve to be experimented by her father, and he simply didn't deserve to be ruthlessly murdered by Magum.
All because of her.
"What was your mother's name?" Ford then asked gently at one point, him have never asking about her mother before.
"Annabeth," Layla replied. "Annabeth Lyle."
"Annabeth Lyle?" Ford repeated. "As in, the teenaged girl who ran away from home and was missing?"
Layla wasn't familiar with that statement. She knew her mother was much, much younger than her father, her mother almost looking childlike compared to Dr. Bartek. But did she run away from her home only to get mixed up with her father…?
According to Ford, her mother was a famous missing person case. That was something that Layla had no knowledge of whatsoever. She didn't know much about her mother personally, but only the history behind the family that seemed to have left Gravity Falls after a certain point.
Layla began to hum once again, the familiar tune that her mother used to sing to her as a lullaby.
"What song is that?" Ford asked her, causing her to stop humming.
"Hm?" she replied after stopping her humming, not fully paying attention. "What was that, Ford?"
He repeated, "What song is that? You hum it a lot."
Layla's face went crimson. "Sorry… I didn't know I was…" she apologized softly, clearly embarrassed. How many times has she done it without thinking?
Ford then put his hands up in a surrender position. "No, no! I don't mind, it sounds very pretty!" he assured her.
"Pretty…? It's just humming…" Layla said softly, clearly not understanding why he would think so. "It's just a lullaby I barely remember my mother singing to me when I was very small."
"How does it go?" Ford then inquired, a small smile on his face, clearly curious.
Layla's heart pounded. Never in her life had she sung that song in front of someone. But, with Ford there, she felt like that she could, and so she did.
"A star that shines as clear as day, made me wish I can go out and play, but remember the night holds a strange magic air, and this warning to you is to be fair.
"In the shadows there are people who are not what they seem, they'll want to take you down the deathly black water stream, don't take their hand within yours, or forever you'll be put behind the deathly doors.
"A star that shines as clear as day, oh how it made me wish to go out and play, so I took the hand of a shadow that called and beckoned me, and now I feel my soul become free.
"However I could not return in the morn, the sun bright as the star as my family mourn, now I become the shadow that uses the star as bright as day, would you like to take my hand and come play?
"A star that shines as bright as day, it made me go out and play, now do you wish to take that risk of the star, and take my hand to go far?
"I promise that I will bring you back home in the morn, that way no one will cry over you and mourn. But am I what I seem, or will I too take you down the deathly black water stream?
"You can trust me as I am your shadow friend, I promise to let you have fun to no end, I promise I won't take you that far, just to the star that is bright as day so we can pay our devoir.
"A star that shines as bright as day, how I wish I did not go out to play, for the devil shadow had grasped my hand, the devil shadow pulled my soul and it was at his command.
"So heed my warning young soul, please heed it with thole, and do not shake the devil shadow's hand, or forever your young soul shall be damned.
"A star that shined as bright as day, now dim with the shadows I have helped taken with the devil shadow's command that are a dark grey, remember how the night holds a strange magic air, and how even something as bright as a star can take you to the devil shadow's lair."
Once she was done singing her song, it felt as though a weight had lifted. In a way, it was like a story about how she put her trust into someone she shouldn't have. After all these years it finally made sense to her.
Be careful on who you trust.
But… did that mean that she was putting too much trust into Ford? Then again, it didn't seem like it. They both had been helping each other out, him helping her when she was drunk and making sure she was safe when she was poisoned. Layla herself risked her life to getting the ointment to heal his wound.
Trust was the first step into healing her heart. For years she didn't trust anyone, not fully trusting her contact Kerum as she never stayed around long after dealing with him. For years she isolated herself, keeping her inner demons to herself as she drank her life away. Was life really all it was, sitting there feeling sorry about the mistakes you made in the past?
She was a seventeen year old girl that had no real experience with the world, and she put too much trust into the first thing that showed some form of positive emotion. It burned her severely in more ways than one.
Then Ford came along…
Was it fate or destiny that brought Ford and her together? Two people who had sworn to never be tricked into putting all of their trust into one being again?
Layla trusted Ford fully. She could fall asleep next to him at any given time, when before she had to be piss drunk to do so. She felt safe while being with him, something that she hadn't felt in a long time.
At first Layla had thought of Ford as a nuisance. Why did she decide to help him, to save him from being hunted down by Bill Cipher?
I didn't want to be alone anymore…
Was it her heart or her head that made that decision? Was it her heart telling her in some way that it was time to grow up and put the past behind her to finally move forward?
It was time to move forward, it was time to let her heart do the talking instead of her head. It was time to put the past behind her, she wasn't some kid anymore and she had learned her lesson.
It was time to let her heart love again.
They had returned to the alleyway in which they had left an extremely drunk Rick, him nowhere in sight to be seen.
A few of Ford's and Layla's wanted posters littered the ground, some with random doodles on them, and a few with some kind of symbol language over Ford's poster. After further investigating, it was a cipher code that read "RICK WAS HERE" on the upper right corner of Ford's poster. On the back of the poster was a full on message written in English, although the handwriting was shaky looking and practically illegible.
"'Sci-Fi and Layla,'" Layla began to read the message. "'You two were taking too long, probably making out in a corner somewhere, blech.'" That statement made Layla's face blush pink. As if they possibly had time to do that when they were stuck in a Godforsaken dimension! She continued, "'I've gone to look for parts for my portal gun, I'll probably catch you guys later, and if not, bye bitches! This is Dimension 52, a more modern dimension, if you guys go to a shady part of town you can probably hit a place to sleep that's better than a warehouse floor without money. Rick.'"
"So, he just ditched us!?" Ford angrily shouted, his voice echoing off the walls of the alleyway. "What a fricken asshole!"
"Honestly, I am not surprised in the slightest," the raven-haired woman commented nonchalantly. "It was only a matter of time anyway." She began to walk away, holding her head up high with confidence, something she had learned to do over the years. If you looked confident in yourself, then no one would mess with you.
Layla then noticed there was no other footsteps, her turning around to see that Ford was just staring at her. "Stanford?" she called out, seeing him give a small jump. The dark brunette gave his head a fierce shake, him then giving her a blank stare as if he didn't comprehend what she had said. "Are you coming or not?" she then asked him, an amused smile on her face.
"Um… yes!" Ford replied a little too excitedly. "Let's get a move on then, shall we?"
Layla of course had been in multiple cities in multiple dimensions, each one being more drastic looking than the last.
Some dimensions she had been in were beautiful utopias with the bluest of skies and the greenest of grass and leaves. Other dimensions looked as though Hell reigned upon the land, the buildings blown apart as if missiles and bombs bombarded them endlessly. And then some dimensions were in between, a mixture of both the good and the bad, like a normalcy.
Dimension 52 was no different with a mixture of good and bad. The bazar they were in when they spoke to the merchant about Bill and Magum's past was vast and colorful, filled to the brim with multiple goods from across the multiverse. So, the two humans took Rick's advice and went to the more run down part of the major city they were in, the buildings seemingly deteriorating from the inside out. Litter covered the streets, a few dark alleyways filled with snores from homeless patrons.
Layla wasn't scared of the seemingly dangerous part of town, she knew her way in a fight, as did Ford. They walked into stores to purchase, but mainly steal, some food and drink. Of course Layla stole an abundance of alcohol hidden in her coat, her finding a few bottles of her absolute favorite.
Once out of the last of the stores that they shoplifted at Ford had then handed Layla a few stacks of paper. As she read them she realized it was some sort of news. Luckily after searching through her memory banks she was able to translate the language, one of the ones she first learned.
"Looks like there is a lot of gang war in this city," she remarked as she finished translating. "The papers are basically saying don't walk around at night." She then rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, thank heavens we found that!"
Ford rolled his eyes as well, not even trying to suppress a sly grin as he put a hand on his hip. "I figured we needed some information," he informed her.
She then hooked her arm through his, him looking almost caught off guard. "My hero, the nerd!" Layla laughed, almost feigning a fake Southern accent. She then pointed out in her normal voice, "But yes, that is important information, we don't want to be caught in the crossfire."
Overhead that sky was becoming a dark indigo, streaks of yellow from the lights of the rowdy city. Layla read through the newspaper, looking for the crappiest hotel that she could bribe her and Ford a night's stay. There were a few grunts and a few crashes, but she ignored them, her trying to read.
A gunshot.
"What was that?" Layla asked absently, truly not even caring.
"Nothing, Layla." Ford replied almost drily.
A spark of hope filled Layla when she found a perfect place, a hotel-like building that had about an equivalent to a one-star rating. It said the staff was particularly uncaring and would do anything for a lousy tip, even if it meant turning their heads away for some gruesome activities. She then lead Ford to where the address said, her noting that a person was limping behind them with a hand to their knee, blood gushing out.
The building that Layla led them to had looked as if the stones were placed by a child, clumsily and looking to topple over at any given moment. The exterior was a dull grey, random patches of dark brown that poorly attempted at a paint job to cover large cracks that ran up and down. The windows looked as if they hadn't been washed since the moment they were installed, a few of them with flickering lights, many windows boarded up or shattered.
It wasn't the best place, but Layla could bribe the concierge with alcohol if she really had to. With a sigh and a glance at each other the two humans entered the building.
Inside was just as terrible if not worse than the outside. The dark red carpet that decorated the center floor was ripped and shredded, dark stains covering about ninety-percent of it, white strings showing though were the carpet material had been ripped out. Marble tiles were cracked and shattered, leaving large holes that revealed the foundation of the building. Various liquids dripped from the ceiling, a dark grey color and a drop hit Layla on her upturned nose, her almost gagging at the sudden retched stench of it.
No one was in lobby besides them two and a very bored looking concierge at the desk. The concierge was green-skinned and reptilian looking, almost like a chameleon, which large neon purple colored eyes that were looking everywhere but Layla and Ford. There was a sign that was written in the same language as the newspaper and after a minute Layla was able to translate.
"'On break. Will return never,'" she read aloud to Ford.
"So very friendly…" Ford muttered sarcastically in response.
Layla gave him a quick smile and turned her back to him with a flip of her black hair. With her head held up high she strolled over to the desk and began to speak to the concierge with a much higher sounding voice, almost intoxicatingly sweet, in the same language that was written.
"Why, hello there handsome!" she flirted loudly, her own voice making her stomach ache. "So, my friend and I here would like a room. You see, it's a matter of privacy, and you know, a girl like me gotta make her dues in the world right?" She then gave a wink. When the concierge looked at her with bored eyes she then reached into her trench coat and pulled out a bottle of alcohol she had stolen. "Listen, give me a room for the night and this is yours, got it? No disturbing at all." The concierge then held out a scaly hand and Layla gave him the bottle and soon a key replaced the bottle. "Thank you!" she chirped as she strolled back towards Ford, her twirling the key in her right hand.
Ford raised a brown brow. "What did you even say?" Ford asked her when she made her way back to him.
"Eh, nothing much," the raven-haired woman shrugged as she grabbed Ford's hand and made her way to the staircase. She kept her back to him and was pulling him along, her face a little pink. If she could help it she would rather not say that she basically told the concierge that she was a prostitute.
Ford had then glanced over the railing of the staircase, seeing the concierge pop open the bottle that Layla had given him. "You bribed him!?" he cried out.
Layla then admitted nonchalantly, "Not the first time I've done something like that." She then looked at the key that had their floor and room number, her following the signs that would lead them there as Ford muttered under his breath, "I swear, I think you and my brother could be friends." Finally, she found the room and unlocked the door, it swinging open with a loud creak.
Both seemed to have near identical grimaces when they saw what the room looked like. The carpet was a disgusting blue color, it torn just like the carpet in the lobby. Peeled pale green wallpaper was dropping off the walls, revealing that underneath was a pale yellow color with age.
"I think I rather sleep in a trashcan…" Ford groaned as he eyed the place.
"C'mon, it's only for one night," Layla insisted as she set her small pack on the old bed. It was large enough for the two of them, the comforter a dirty looking yellow, she couldn't tell if it was from being old or from just being filthy. Inside her pack was the few blankets and flat pillows she could carry, and she set them over the yellow comforter so she could at least feel a little comfortable sleeping on it.
Ford's voice sounded nervous as he stated, "Wait… w-w-w-why is there one bed?"
"Hm?" she replied, barley looking up. She knew exactly why, but she didn't want to say, so she made up a lie. "I have no idea… maybe the guy just assumed. It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before."
Layla then removed her trench coat and fiddled inside the pockets. She began to pull out the various bottles of alcohol she had stolen, a few were of her favorite. The sounds of glass clinking filled the room, her taking out two shot glasses she had taken as well. After everything was out of her coat she lifted one of the bottles filled with clear liquid.
"Care to have a drink with me?" she asked casually with a sly smile on her face. She expected him to reject the drink, like he always did.
Ford did his nervous habit of putting a hand behind his head to scratch. "I don't know…" he then gave a nervous chuckle. "I think at least one of us should be sober…" he continued slowly, almost in a jokingly manner. He then took the second glass that was on the small table that Layla had emptied her contents onto and handed it outward towards her, waiting for a drink. Layla gave a smile and complied, her pouring the liquid into the glass expertly and then poured herself one. "But… a few drinks couldn't hurt, right?"
The two downed shots as if they were nothing, Ford actually pouring himself another glass. Layla was surprised at this as normally he'd not drink at all or just have one shot. As they both took one shot after another, Ford told Layla a bit about the family pawn shop his father owned, the old man never wanting to give a refund. Layla told him about how she hated spiders, how she became afraid of them because of the cabin being filled with them. Another story of Ford's was how his mother would lie so well on the phone as a phone psychic, a trait that well skipped himself and went straight to Stanley.
"You rarely talk about your parents…" Layla recalled, her words slightly slurred.
Ford glanced away. "Dad was a strict man, was a real money pincher you know? I guess it made sense, as he had extra expenses…" Ford told her, then his face twisted up as if he had immediately regretted saying it. "I didn't… mean that…"
"Your dad took a lot out on Stanley, didn't he?" Layla asked gently, her looking down into her shot glass.
"That's probably why Ma doted on him a little more than myself…" Ford then admitted. "Whenever he felt bad about himself she would perk him back up, and he did inherit her sly tongue. She was the best liar in New Jersey, but when she told us that she loved us… sometimes I thought she was only being truthful to Stanley…" he then hung his head low, the look of guilt crossing his features.
"Hey! You know that's not true!" Layla snapped at him.
"I know it's not true… it just felt like it at times." Ford stated, a sad look taking on his features. He poured himself another drink, although clumsily, and downed the shot. His face grimaces at the taste.
"At least your mom was around…" Layla then bitterly said to him, her voice dripping with venom. "I wish I would've known years ago…"
Her father had brutally murdered her mother. Was it truly because she was born in Gravity Falls and had some kind of anomaly gene that was tied into the town? Or was her father just sick of having the nervous woman around? Layla will never know the answer as the truth had died with her father from when she pulled the trigger.
"I shouldn't have mentioned it…" Ford sighed. "That was selfish of me…" It then looked as though he was debating something. The dark brunette then took a deep breath and asked, "Have… have I told you why Stanley and I had fought…?" His voice was heavily slurred as he watched Layla down another shot. She looked at him with curious, electric blue eyes and shoot her head no. "It's because… back in our senior year of high school… we both… made mistakes…" he then began.
"I did an amazing science fair project, won the fair too. My teachers were so impressed that they invited a prestige college, West Coast Tech, to come to the school and see if I could get in. Stanley… didn't handle it very well. He was always proud of me being smart, beat up any bullies that said otherwise about it and my polydactyl… but I guess he really wanted to go sailing with me around the world…
"Out of anger, and possible fear for the future and sadness, he ruined my project. I didn't get into the school I wanted… I got so mad at him, it was the first time I ever felt like I truly hated him. And at seventeen years old our father kicked him out of the house and gave him the impossible task of making millions on his own before even coming back home. All I did was stand and watch…
"There were so many things that could've been done that night… He could've called home and said he accidently broke my project. I could've tried to have a clearer head and thought rationally. I could've stopped our father from throwing him out on the streets. Maybe… maybe if I would've just talked to Stanley more about that school… maybe he could've went out west with me, have an odd job out there while I got my education so we could still be together…
"And that night I came through the portal didn't go any better…" He then paused for a moment before continuing.
"I was going insane because of Bill… I kept hearing his laugh. I couldn't sleep, I kept trying to stay awake, and that made me begin to hallucinate. It felt like everywhere I turned I saw Bill. My journal entries were becoming more maddening, I was writing in some code that I never seen before… I hid my most recent journal in the woods, I buried my second one, and the first one… I wanted Stanley to take it as far away as possible…"
Another pause, a sadness and almost bitter anger crossed his eyes.
"We fought… he wanted to burn my journal, but I was so caught up that it was my research of Gravity Falls that I attacked him to get it back. During our fight we hit my machinery and the portal got reactivated…
"I hurt him… I kicked him into a scolding hot piece of metal on the side of the console… the symbol there branding into him. I tried to apologize, but he punched me. He told me… he told me that I cared more about mysteries than my family… and now that I really think about it, he was right. He pushed me… and I fell into the gravitational pull of the portal… and I ended up in a different dimension."
Ford finished his story and took the bottle on the side and downed the rest of it without even pouring himself a glass. He wiped his mouth as his face twisted up in a grimace, clearly still not used to the taste of the bitter alcohol. With his brown eyes he glanced at Layla, seeing her expression looking like a mixture of sadness and anger.
Suddenly, Layla stood up, although highly wobbly from her drinking. "THAT'S WHY YOU TWO FOUGHT!?" she demanded, her voice thick with alcohol. "T-T-THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I H-H-H-HAVE EVER HEARD!"
Layla had patiently heard the story and clung to ever word. She couldn't believe that the twins had fought over something that seemed to be so small. Layla never had siblings, so she didn't understand where the anger and bitterness was. Did Ford have the right to be angry with his ruined project?
Of course! But disowning your own twin for a mistake that he didn't mean to do!? Ridiculous!
Ford noticeably flinched from her words. "I know it's stupid…" he admitted drunkenly. "That's why…" he continued with a sigh. "That's why I'm really hoping he doesn't mess with the portal… because I am a terrible brother who put his own, selfish needs above my family. I haven't even spoken to my parents in about six years… and right now they could have died from a car crash or a sickness or something and I would have no idea! My brother is better off without me…"
Layla's felt her face soften as she slid down next to him, putting a hand on his leg. "If he didn't care… then why did he come to Gravity Falls for you?" she asked him.
"I just hope… he'll give up… it's too dangerous." Ford then finally said, him getting up, causing Layla's hand to fall off his leg.
She the stood up after him, her popping open another one of her bottles to take a swig from it. The raven-haired woman then handed out the bottle in offering. She could tell that he was pretty drunk, so was she, but she figured after telling his tale he really needed another drink. Ford took the bottle gingerly from her and took a long swig from it, surprising Layla as she was not used to him drinking heavily.
"I-I-I'm glad you told me, Stanford…" Layla finally said, gently taking the bottle back, she didn't want him to hog it all. "It… must've n-n-n-not been easy to talk about it." She took a drink from it again then set it on the nightstand next to the bed, her feeling her vision blur and her body tingle all over.
He then glared at Layla with unfocused eyes, her feeling the glare burning into her. She the acknowledged the glare and gave him a small sheepish smile and a little, child-like wave.
Layla then laughed at Ford's confused expression as his eyes lingered on her, her feeling that her laugh sounded more natural and higher than her usual lower tone. She knew she tried talking a little lower most of the time, as if trying to sound intimidating, but when she was drunk or really happy she'd talk in her natural tone.
"You're cute when you're confused, you know that?" she told him. Layla enjoyed that he could look confused over the simplest of things since he was so used to be the know-it-all. It was refreshing to see someone so smart be clueless. She saw his face go beet red, which made her grin more.
"Um… I-I'm not really sure about that…" he chuckled.
She then walked up to him with her electric blue eyes fully dilated. Her gaze was upward since she was shorter than him.
"You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." Ford blurted out randomly, his gaze level with hers.
It was Layla's turn to have her face turn beet red. "Oh… really…? I don't like my eyes very much… I really like your brown… they look like melted chocolate, especially when you smile nicely…" she admitted lightly, her tone wavering from her being drunk. In all honesty, she absolutely hated her eyes because of Magum.
"And I like your black hair too…" Ford continued. Despite him being drunk he spoke more confidently, as if it was he really wanted to say but before he didn't have the courage to.
"Really…?" Layla asked in shock, her feeling her eyes widening. She put her hands to her hair, her absently twirling it. "I don't like it much… I'm already pale and this makes me look dead…"
"More like an angel in my opinion."
An angel…?
Before she could reply to that, Ford went and kissed her, causing her to make a small sound. Layla wraps her hands around Ford's neck, tangling her fingers in his brown hair, and she deepened the kiss. The two pull apart for a moment to catch their breath, but as soon as they did they went back to kissing.
"I… I love you too, Stanford," Layla whispered against his lips, finally saying what she felt about him. She loved him… she loved him. She had to tell him, he had told her what felt like ages ago that he loved her, but now she knew fully how she felt about him.
She then felt her body be lowered onto the bed, her noticing the automatic panicked expression on Ford's face. He glanced around and saw the position he was in and nearly jumped away from her, causing her to giggle and laugh at him.
"You are too adorable when you don't know what you're doing…" she laughed at him as she pulled him back into their kiss, her mouth moving against his rhythmically.
Layla knew what she was doing, the last bit of alcohol hitting her system. All she knew was that she loved him and she wanted to show it. In a way it like her first time again, and she wanted it more on her terms then being tricked into freely giving herself.
It was her full on choice, and she was going to go through with it.
A/N: We are literally getting to the end here... The next chapter will be the last. The last chapter will be posted along with the final chapter of "After Cipher's Reign: Short Stories".
This chapter really focused on Layla's feelings. She knew that she had feelings for Ford but was afraid to act on them because of her experience with Magum.
I hope you guys enjoyed another long chapter, because the final one is gonna be short!
Thank you all for reading as always!
~Skye Hendersen~