Work Text:
"Where am I?"
The first thing Ford heard when he woke up was the peaceful rustling of leaves and the steady dripping. It must have been raining. Fresh air tickled his nostrils, and the man, without opening his eyes, inhaled deeply. Then he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ribs and opened his eyes. As much as he wanted to stay in the serene world of slumber, reality swept away the last remnants of sleep from him. Ford suddenly realized that he had no idea where he was now and that he might be in danger, and he would soon pay with his life for his serenity.
The scientist jumped up and sat down, instantly regretting his action, because the change in position made his head throb and spin. Putting his hand to his head, Ford found that it was wrapped in gauze, and there were patches on his face in some places. Sighing, he blinked and realized that the usual weight of glasses was not on his face, and almost immediately panicked. The world was floating around, and it was not clear what was surrounding him.
“It's good that you're awake,” a light female voice came from Ford's left.
Ford turned towards the sound and saw a blurry purple patch of some large creature, and squinted myopically in an attempt to see better. He felt glasses being placed in his hand, and immediately put the life-saving accessory on his nose. The world immediately cleared up. What he saw made Ford freeze with his mouth open.
In front of him sat an incredibly beautiful seven-eyed woman. Her height was under seven feet, and her head and shoulders were covered with a dark blue hood. Her dress was the same color, and there was a large oval barrette or pendant on her chest. The woman was sitting directly in front of a small open window, and the daylight created a glow around her silhouette, like an angel, and the forms, on the contrary, were in shadow. She leaned over to the bedside table and picked up a glass, which she filled from a clear decanter with water. Then she handed the glass to Ford.
Ford couldn't take his eyes off the woman, and reached for the glass on autopilot. In another case, he would have refused to drink what was offered by a stranger (years of wandering through dimensions had weaned him from doing this, because many sought to poison him), but now the man meekly took a sip of the glass, and the cool moisture softened his parched throat.
“Where am I?” Ford asked when his ability to speak returned. He returned the glass to the woman.
“You are in a mountain temple, in the 52nd dimension,” she replied, putting the glass back in its place. “You were pulled out of a two–dimensional dimension, and I've been healing your wounds for a long time.”
Ford remembered now. Before he lost consciousness, he moved into a dimension where the local two-dimensional inhabitants began to chop up his head. It's clear now why it hurts so much. And the bruised ribs were probably left to him as a memento from another, also no friendlier dimension. Ford was definitely lucky to run into some of the less prosperous places. The man thought about the place he had recently visited. A two-dimensional dimension whose inhabitants were aggressive towards him. Couldn't it be?..
“This is not his home,” the woman's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
Ford stared blankly at his rescuer.
“Who are you talking about?”
“About a demon that comes from a dimension that he destroyed himself,” the woman replied calmly. “His name is Bill Cipher.”
Unbelievable. Could this woman read thoughts? And how did she know that Ford needed Bill?
“Who are you?” The man asked in a voice trembling with excitement.
“My name is Jheselbraum the Unswerving, I am the guardian of this temple,” the woman's voice remained even and soft. “I know what you're looking for, Stanford Pines.”
Ford continued to stare at Jheselbraum with wide-open eyes for a moment, stunned by her words. Then he blinked. Many beings in the multiverse addressed him by name (before he introduced himself), and for Ford this meant one thing – they had seen the wanted notice for him, which meant they would certainly hand him over to the Cipher. A shadow of doubt crossed the scientist's face, and he frowned in disbelief. Jheselbraum continued to look at him with all seven eyes, as if she was not rushing him with an answer, and the man smiled faintly from one corner of his lips.
“Like what?”
“You're looking for retribution, you want to destroy Bill Cipher,” the keeper said. “To put an end to the nightmare that your life has turned into after meeting him.”
Ford's incredulous expression turned to shock, and then curiosity. Bounty hunters or police knew him as prey and a criminal with a huge bounty on his head, knew his dark deeds. But no one knew his goals, aspirations, thoughts. And the fact that Jheselbraum described him so accurately encouraged Ford to trust her. Would the enemy treat his wounds after all?
Questions popped into his head, making it feel slightly dizzy again. Ford gave himself a break, finally taking in his surroundings. He was in a small but bright room, lying on a simple bed hung with fabric like curtains. Through several windows, the mountain landscape and overcast sky could be seen, and rare drops flowed down the open wooden shutters and windows. Indeed, it rained recently.
“You... Will you help me?” Ford asked quietly, returning his gaze to Jheselbraum. He felt sleepy. Obviously, the air on this mountain was thin.
Jheselbraum smiled.
“In my temple, anyone who asked for help, certainly received it,” her voice for some reason began to sound as if in the distance to Ford. The guardian touched the man's cheek with her fingers, and an anxious shadow flashed across her face. “However, if you really want to face him again, you will have to protect your mind from him.”
“And how?” Ford asked with anxious curiosity. Jheselbraum pulled away from him.
“I can install a metal plate in your head that will never allow the Cipher to enter your mind again,” at these words Ford's eyes lit up with hope, but the woman continued uncertainly: “But this is a complex operation, and the chances that you will wake up after it are small.”
Ford didn't stop to think. Here it is – the solution he has been looking for for so many years! Just the thought of being free of Bill's power brought back the hope he thought he had lost years ago. He had been in so many dangerous dimensions, he had been shot at so many times that he had lost count. Therefore, the risky operation, after which there is a chance to get rid of Bill at least in his head forever, did not scare him.
“I think it's worth taking the risk,” Ford said firmly, “and I ask you to do it immediately.”
Jheselbraum sighed softly and nodded, silently took out a vial from her pocket, which she then poured into a glass of water, and handed the drink to the scientist. Ford hesitated for a moment whether to take it, but reminded himself that he had insisted on surgery, which meant he had to trust Jheselbraum, so he drank the water to the bottom.
“This is anesthesia, it will help you not feel pain,” Jheselbraum said, and the sound of her voice slowly faded into the ringing silence.
Ford leaned back against the pillows, and his world was plunged into darkness.
***
Ford woke up in familiar surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that his eyelids absolutely did not want to rise. After struggling with them, he was still able to open his eyes, and again everything was blurred in front of his eyes. The man let out a low moan and blinked several times, recognizing the sounds and blurry spots around. This time, he didn't feel in danger.
Ford felt glasses being put on his face, and his vision returned to its usual focus. The scientist turned his head and saw seven familiar eyes right in front of him, looking expectantly straight at him.
“You've been asleep for about four days,” Jheselbraum's voice burst into Ford's empty head like fresh air rushing into a room through an open window. “But I'm glad you're finally awake. The operation was successful.”
The man smiled weakly and gratefully at her, involuntarily reaching for his head with his hand, and found that she was wearing a new bandage. Surprised, he felt the place of the alleged operation. Jheselbraum did such jewelry work that she kept his hair where there was no seam, and only a narrow gauze bandage indicated what was under it. Ford tried to sit up, but his strength had not yet returned to him, so the guardian of the temple helped him rise to a semi-sitting position, putting pillows under his back.
“Th... thank you...” Ford whispered hoarsely, and Jheselbraum gave him a slight smile.
The seven-eyed beauty brought two fingers to his face and waved them in the air in the shape of a cross, and Ford instinctively focused his gaze on them and followed them with his eyes. Then Jheselbraum tapped her patient's knees and elbows lightly, testing his reflexes. Ford, realizing what was happening, grinned, and did not resist. Satisfied with the check, Jheselbraum sat down on a chair at the head of Ford's bed and looked into his face.
“You really are an unusual person, Stanford Pines,” she said. “ I see the face of the man who is destined to defeat Bill.”
Ford hesitated, not knowing how to respond to this. What does it mean? That he would actually be able to accomplish what he had sworn to accomplish? He felt that excitement was beginning to overwhelm his restless mind in waves, and that his head was beginning to feel heavy not only from the weight of the metal plate. A swarm of questions and assumptions arose in his mind again, and Ford wanted to voice them, but Jheselbraum smiled restrainedly:
“You need to rest. I will be happy to answer all your questions later.”
And she sat up and gently kissed Ford on the forehead, which made him feel unprecedented grace and calm. He did not notice how his eyes closed of their own accord, and fell asleep.
***
The next time Ford woke up, he stayed awake longer and longer, and he and Jheselbraum talked a lot about Bill. From her, the scientist learned that the thirst for Cipher's power led to the destruction of his native dimension, and that now he is looking for a more stable dimension for his overlordship. Ford asked a lot of questions, and Jheselbraum satisfied his curiosity by telling him what she knew, and he, in turn, absorbed her words like a sponge.
A couple of days later, Ford completely recovered and began exploring the temple and its surroundings. Dimension 52 turned out to be an extremely beautiful and quiet place, such that any other person would want to settle here for the rest of their days. But Ford remembered that he had a mission, and that he would soon have to leave this island of tranquility. It couldn't help but make him a little sad.
The same mood, as Ford noticed, began to visit his benefactress. Jheselbraum became unusually quiet in his presence, frowning as if she knew something she didn't want to tell the rescued scientist. Over time, Ford was just one hundred percent convinced of this, and bluntly asked the guardian of the temple what else she was hiding from him. Seeing the unwavering determination in Ford's eyes, Jheselbraum finally agreed to tell him.
And now she was leading him through the unfamiliar corridors of the temple that went deep into the building. Ford tried to keep up with her, but Jheselbraum walked at a brisk pace, not looking back at the man. Soon she disappeared through one of the doors, and Ford followed the woman without hesitation. Opening the door, he came across a curtain of cloth, which he lifted with his hand, and entered the room.
It was a round room, poorly lit. Tapestries depicting a baby salamander were hung on the walls (it was very entertaining to find an Earth axolotl in another dimension), and in the center there was a carved table with a crystal ball on it. Jheselbraum stood with her back to the scientist, her arms crossed over her chest, so that her expression was unreadable.
For the first time during his stay in this dimension, Ford had a bad feeling. If Jheselbraum was just another fortune teller, then such palmistry would not end well. He knew this from his bitter experience when, as a child, a fortune teller from the Glass Shard Beach, shouting that he would cause the end of the world, chased him out of her tent, and when already in Gravity Falls, a local witch told him some nonsense.
Before Ford had time to think about witches, fortune tellers, black magic and their interaction, Jheselbraum spoke as if she had overheard his thoughts.
“I am the Oracle, Stanford Pines,” she turned her head slightly in the direction of the visitor. “With the answers you seek.”
Ford froze with interest, not taking his eyes off the oracle. He had heard somewhere of omniscient and all-seeing beings in the multiverse capable of answering any question. Did he have the honor of meeting one of them?
Meanwhile, Jheselbraum moved from her place, bypassing the table in the center. She walked beautifully along the wall, putting her hand on the tapestry with the axolotl, and ran it over the fabric.
“Time, I've unlocked it,” she continued. “ I see the past and future running free,” the oracle went to the table on the other side from Ford and looked into the crystal ball, in which the outlines of some event began to appear. As Ford got closer, he recognized himself in it, but he had something in his hands that looked like a superweapon, striking any imagination. He was definitely fighting someone in the ball, and soon the picture showed that the fatal shot had finally reached the Cipher, and the triangular demon had sunk into oblivion.
“There is the world where I help you get home,” Jheselbraum said, seeing Ford's eyes light up at the picture. “But that's not a world I know.”
This phrase was like a tub of cold water that was poured over a hot head. The image in the ball dissolved into a haze, and the seven eyes of the oracle rose to the man's face.
“What?” Ford asked uncomprehendingly, and irritation began to grow in him.
Jheselbraum looked at him calmly, as if studying him. Her neutral expression took on hard features, and her eyes began to emit a faint glow, like the crystal ball on the table, the haze in which began to take on new forms.
“I see the ghosts of past friendships,” the seeress said firmly, and there was steel in her voice. “I see portrails of betrayal.”
The crystal ball showed Ford it in his youth, along with Bill. For the first time, the scientist saw from the outside how Bill manipulated him like a doll. To his shame, Ford recalled those crazy hours when he allowed the Cipher to possess his body, and all the bacchanalia that they caused in his mind. And then the turning point came back to him when he discovered Bill's betrayal. Burning hatred seared Ford's now armored brain, but at the same time he felt very compromised. His Genius would pay for it, Ford decided at the age of thirty.
Meanwhile, Jheselbraum, as if not noticing the change in his ward's mood, continued to talk, and the crystal ball showed Ford's past very accurately.
“ I see the sacrifice of man,” and a picture surfaced in the crystal ball of Ford holding an unconscious partner in his arms, whom he miraculously managed to pull out of the portal at the last moment. The scientist was scorched by a strong sense of guilt. How is his Fiddleford now? They hadn't seen each other since he left the project, and Ford wanted to believe with all his might that his friend was all right. But the sight of McGucket scared to death by the madness of the Nightmare Realm brought doubt to his soul.
“I see the brothers final stand...” These words reopened an old wound. In the haze of the crystal ball, Ford saw the face of his brother Stanley, and his heart sank. It was only now that he noticed how neglected his twin was then, no better than himself. Memories of that fateful day for both brothers flashed vividly before his eyes. Stanley then refused to take away the first journal, wanted to burn it, and Ford intended to prevent him. They fought, and then...
“I see you on the brink of death,” Jheselbraum continued. Stanley then pushed his brother into the portal, and at that moment Ford was really between life and death. He sincerely thought that he would die, but fate was "kind" to him so much that in the next twenty years or so he found himself with one foot in the grave almost every day.
“I see you draw your final breath,” the oracle's voice was filled with alarm, but this time she brushed away the images in the crystal ball with her hand so that the person would not see it. But Ford wasn't looking. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to cope with the rush of memories, each of which caused so much pain. His breathing quickened, and his heart began to pound in his chest. What Jheselbraum will say next is clearly not going to be encouraging. Suddenly, a bright light forced Ford to open his eyes, and his gaze immediately focused on the ball, which glowed with a blue light, just like the ill-fated portal. The scientist stared into the ball without blinking. There was a portal flickering, and a dark figure appeared in the portal.
“I see a man who gets to make it home alive,” Jheselbraum said in a voice with an unreadable intonation. “But it's no longer you.”
The haze in the crystal ball of the oracle swirled, and the image disappeared, and Jheselbraum's hands withdrew from the surface of the sphere and folded again on her chest. Ford continued to stare into the ball for several seconds, pondering the words of the bright-eyed seer, but doubt and distrust of the oracle settled in his soul.
“This can't be...” The scientist whispered in shock and finally looked up at Jheselbraum. “We've suffered and sailed through the toughest of hells, now you tell me our effort's for nothing?”
He couldn't believe it. No matter what Jheselbraum told him, he would not give up his mission. Many years ago, he sacrificed his opportunity to return home, and all in order to try to destroy Bill. He knew that his chances were slim, but now, after the help of Jheselbraum, for which he would be grateful to the grave, he counted on the great support of his newfound friend, but in fact he received some kind of incomprehensible disturbing prophecy. But he was not afraid of his fate. He was ready to die trying to fight.
He waited for Jheselbraum's answer, but she was silent.
“Didn't you tell me that I have the face of a man destined to defeat Bill?”
The Oracle shook her head.
“I see your house plunging into madness,” she said. “Faces of men who had long beliеved you're dead...” Jheselbraum's voice was getting sadder and sadder, and that didn't make Ford feel any better. “I see your family being haunted by a demon, and that demon with a trail of bodies.”
Ford recoiled from the oracle and backed towards the exit. He decided that he needed to leave this dimension immediately, because the longer he stayed here, the stronger Bill became. The desire to act was stronger than ever.
“Then you understand why it's so important for me to stop him!” the scientist exclaimed.
Jheselbraum nodded at him.
“I see his defeat. But it's no longer you.”
The words of this prophecy rang in Ford's head for a long time when he again set off on a journey through the multiverse in the hope of defeating his sworn enemy.