"No," whispers Stan, slowly getting to his feet. "What.. what have you done?"
He frantically runs over to the lever in the ground. He pulls on it with all his strength, digging his heels into the ground, but it doesn't move an inch. Stan collapses to the ground, and I think I hear a faint sob.
Dipper comes up behind me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You did the right thing, Mabel. Who knows what he would have done with that portal?"
"Ford," Grunkle Stan whispers from his spot on the floor. "I would have rescued Ford."
Dipper and I exchange a glance. Who, or what, is Ford?
Shakily, Stan rises and turns to look at us. With a sad smile, Stanford Pines declares, "I guess you two deserve an explanation."
[one lengthy flashback later because i'm too lazy to write it]
I put a hand to my mouth and curl into myself. I stuck Stan's SECRET BROTHER in another dimension FOREVER, and undid 30 YEARS of work?
And I could have saved Ford with one literal push of a button.
Dipper has a similar expression next to me. "The author of the journals.. was your brother? And Mabel trapped him in the portal?" Somehow, he turns even paler as the reality of the situation hits him.
Suddenly, I remember something in the back of my mind.
"Soos?"
I turn to look behind me. There is nobody there. He's not in the portal area.
Silently, we search the Shack. Stan even checks the secret room we found- which, now that I think about it, was probably Ford's.
Nothing.
And the FBI is still trying to put Stan away.
The push of a button.
