From Sweethearts to Soulmates [A Stanford Pines x Reader]

Chapter 18

My head was throbbing as my eyes edged open. Everything was aching, my legs most of all. I guess being frozen in a curled-up position isn't great for the old joints. I heaved myself into a sitting position, trying to will feeling back to my toes.

Then, my heart jumped into my mouth. The lumpy stone was starting to sharpen up in my blurry eyes. I was standing on the townsfolk, my friends, a massive throne of human agony.

So, why did I sit atop it?

I finally got the sense to stop freaking out and start looking around, and my eyes landed on something that made my breath stop. A golden statue in Ford's likeness towered over me, less so as I stood up, poking at his frozen nose.

I decided to call out for someone, anyone who could help me. "Hello?" Mistake of the century.

"Ah, look who finally decided to join us! How'd ya sleep, Moonstone?" My blood ran cold as Bill rose up from the seemingly endless abyss, his giant eye pinning me to the spot.

"Us?" I said aloud, desperately trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Oh, right! I forgot!" He clicked his fingers with the same devilish 'smile' I'd seen in my nightmares.

The statue beside me began to lose its gold colouring, leaving behind a very angry Ford. He looked about ready to start yelling but stopped when he saw me. I sprinted up to him, throwing my arms around him. "Did he hurt you?" He asked, checking me over for injuries.

"No, no, I'm ok. Did he hurt you?" He started to tear up.

"Who cares!?" I laughed.

"I do." I pecked his cheek then turned back to Bill. "What do you want from us?" He rolled his eye.

"If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I want to liberate this dimension and you-" he pointed at Ford. "are the only thing stopping me." Ford prepare to get defensive, slowly pushing me behind him. "Oh, Fordsie! Pushing her behind you won't save her!" I was lifted from my spot as I fought to keep myself in place, eventually losing the battle and floating beside Bill.

He snapped his fingers again and my vision began to tunnel, Ford yelling in protest as Gold overtook him once more.

When I managed to jerk awake again, I was face down on a plush rug, wrists chained behind my back. I could hear Bill and Ford talking, as well as a piano playing in the background, as I struggled onto my knees to get a better look at the pair.

"Quit the games, Cipher! If I'm still alive you must want something from me."

"Ah, sharp as ever, Fordsie. As you may have noticed...I've recently had a multi-dimensional makeover." He spun around to show off his new form and I ducked out of pure instinct as he turned his attention back to Ford. "I control space, matter, and now that that dumb baby's out of the way, time itself!"

We were lifted from the floor and dropped again as Bill had an existential crisis. My teeth sung as I hit the carpet and I counted myself lucky that I hadn't accidentally bitten my tongue off in an attempt to muffle my cry. "But I wasn't always this way." His eye turned into a hologram of a 2D world burning. "You think those chains are tight? Imagine living in the second dimension, flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams. I liberated my dimension, Stanford, and I'm here to liberate yours. There's just one hitch." Then came a hologram of him pushing against a bubble surrounding the town, he seemed angered. "As it turns out, my weirdness can't escape the magical confines of this town. There's something keeping me in." Ford's eyes seemed to light up in wonder.

"Incredible! Gravity Falls natural law of weirdness magnetism. I studied this years ago!" Bill turned back to him, intrigued.

"And did you find a way to undo it?"

"Of course." If I could've moved my arms I would've face palmed. "There's a simple equation that could collapse the barrier. But I'd never tell you!"

Bill began to project his holograms again. "Listen, Ford, if you just tell me that equation, finally your dimension will be free." He dragged his finger through several major cities, drawing a smiley face on the planet then taking a bite of it, flying past his friends, and cutting to Ford standing in the middle of his own galaxy. "Anything will be possible. I'll remake a fun world-- a better world! A party that never ends with a host that never dies! No more restrictions! No more laws! You'd be one of us. All-powerful. Greater than anything you've imagined! And all I need is your help." Ford scoffed.

"You're insane if you think I'll help you." Bill let out an amused laugh. "I'm insane either way, brainiac! But have it your way. I'll just fish around and get that equation directly out of your mind!"

His physical form turned to stone, but I could still hear a vague echo of his voice ringing in my ears. I realised he'd entered the mindscape. He was still in the room though because Ford was still talking to him. Or rather, taunting him. "Not so fast! You know the rules, Bill. You may be able to haunt my dreams, but you can't enter my mind unless I shake your hand and let you in." He said, wriggling his fingers for dramatic effect.

Bill appeared once more, and he did not look happy. With a snap of his fingers, Ford had chains around his neck and legs. "You're making this so much harder than it needs to be. Everyone has a weakness, tough guy! I'll make you talk! It's only a matter of time." Ford screamed.

I opened my mouth to beg him to stop, to sell my own sanity for him to stop hurting my husband, but Bill's gaze snapped towards me. In an instant, I was flat against my stomach once more, unable to sit up as the chains continued to tighten around me. "Aww, did someone wake up from their nap?" All I could do was groan pitifully before he clicked his fingers and I passed out yet again.