Chapter Text
Stan pushed himself off of the ground and onto his knees, before lifting his hazy head to look upwards at the source of the nightmarish blue that was now bathing the room. Despite the confused, and quite frankly, horrified shouts of the others, he found himself helplessly staring at the now destroyed yet still glowing portal in utter disbelief as the dust cleared, unable to tear his eyes away from the very machine that had haunted his dreams. His chest tightened and his throat contracted, making it difficult to breathe. Had he really done it? After 30 years of grief?
He felt his heart beat in his throat as he looked on impatiently, an unhinged grin forming on his face as he witnessed a silhouette phase through the wall to another world, from another dimension, back into his. Relieved yet small, unbalanced bursts of laughter seemed to force their way out of Stan's mouth as he watched the figure uncover its protected face to reveal a man that looked almost identical to Stan himself. Stan felt tears start to brim his eyes as his demented laughter grew louder, stronger. Had he truly done it!? The proof was standing mere meters in front of him, so why was he still questioning the legitimacy of this all?
Ford was approaching, having been ready to punch him, if not for the fact that he had been taken aback by Stan's unhinged laughter. It struck a sense of dread into his heart that was already burning bright and hot with unbridled rage, however he quickly pushed it aside, ignoring it. What the-? Was he mocking him? No, he wouldn't have done all of that just to poke fun at him. Not even he was that low. Was he? This conclusion wasn't enough to overtake his anger, however, as he reared his fist...
Stan watched with glassy eyes, seeming not to notice Ford's threatening stance as he approached him with closed fists. He wanted to speak, to say something so badly, but all he could manage was-
"You're actually here....??" He muttered meekly, only to be answered with a punch to the face. He stumbled back, but instead of becoming afraid or enraged, he felt happy. He felt Ford's fist collide with his face, that meant that it had to be real.
Ford snarled at his brother as he returned his arm to a resting position, ignoring that his hand was now covered in blood. His unbridled anger blinded him of this fact. Only did his rage begin to somewhat fizzle out when he watched his twin slowly turn his head to face him, a crazed smile on his face despite the fact that a river of blood ran down his face from his nose.
"You're actually here! I...!" Stan cried out happily, but the twisted joy on his face quickly melted into that of grief as a film of tears coated his eyes, and his smile turned into a sorrowful frown, before he sank to his knees while he started to babble nearly incoherently, causing Ford to step back, caught-off guard. "Stanley, wh-"
Stan shook his head aggressively, "I-I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I never wanted this, I'M SO SORRY!!" He began to hyperventilate as he repeated this again and again, rendering Ford utterly speechless.
Ford's attention was then taken from Stan to two children, along with a man that he could barely identify as human, as the girl cried out in confusion, seemingly towards his inconsolable brother.
"Grunkle Stan, what's going on!?"
Stan didn't answer, though, as if having forgotten that anyone else but Ford was present. He continued to repeat phrases under his breath in between sobs, trembling as he did so. Seeing the children seemed to only put out Ford's raging fire even more.
Ford turned back to his brother, now a bit fearful, "Stanley, what's wrong…?" He asked fruitlessly, stepping back when his brother lifted his head to look at him, his chest tightening as he witnessed something break behind Stan's eyes. An entire foundation that had been struggling to keep stable, crumbling in an instant.
"Don't leave me…"
"W-What are you talking about..?"
Stan suddenly pushed himself back onto his feet, stumbling towards Ford, grabbing hold of his brother's coat before Ford could step out of arm's reach, aggressively pulling him close, "DON'T LEAVE ME!!"
Ford froze in an instant, continuing to stare into his twin's broken eyes, which were now once again filled with fear, forgetting to struggle. "Stanley-!?"
Despite the obvious distraught in his voice, a twisted smile was plastered onto Stan's face as he repeated this simple phrase, his voice rising in volume every time he started over.
"Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me, dON'T LEAVE ME, DON'T LEAVE ME, DON'T LEAVE ME, DON'T LEAVE ME-!!!"
Ford felt Stan's hands grip onto his coat so tightly that his fists shook. Ford stared continuously, wide-eyed and with hitched breath. What the hell was going on!? Despite his confusion, Ford felt himself starting to speak, forming words before he could even think about what he was going to say.
"I…I won't…"
His voice cracked with fear. He felt as if he thought that he might be sick. Was he lying? Was he just biding his time? Or was he telling the truth? He couldn't tell, but he was torn out of his own thoughts as he felt his brother collapse into his arms, Ford barely catching him on time on impulse.
At first Ford thought he had fallen unconscious, that is, until he heard a feeble voice come from his still trembling brother, "...Thought I'd never see you again..." His voice lowered and his words slurred as he began to lose consciousness from exhaustion, "...I was so scared..." He whispered, his body going slack against Ford mere moments later.
Ford felt his heart skip a beat with how limp Stan had gone, but was quickly relieved when he heard a very faint snoring begin to emanate from his brother. He let out a sigh of relief, although this relief was short-lived, once the voice of a young boy broke the silence.
"What is happening!?"
He had a lot of explaining to do…