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''Some brother you turned out to be. You care more about your dumb mysteries than your family? Well, then you can have 'em!'' Stan shoved Ford backwards, immediately regretting it when he sees his brother float up into the air, getting sucked inside the blue vortex.
''Whoa, whoa, hey, what's going on? Hey, hey, Stanford-'' He stammers, reaching for Ford.
''Stanley! Stanley, help me!'' Ford pleaded, wildly waving his arms around.
''Oh, no, what do I do?!'' Stan looked helplessly at his brother. This wasn't supposed to happen.
''Stanley! Stanley! Do something!'' What could he do?
''STANLEYYYYY!'' Stan couldn't just do nothing, so he reached for his brother, jumping up and grabbing him by the ankle. He tried to pull them down, yet before he could feel solid ground again, a flash of white engulfed his vision.
The first thing Ford felt was a nauseating weightlessness, then, a horrific headache. Either from lack of sleep or the absolute soup of nightmares this dimension was.
He was not built for this.
He thinks he's seen every visible color to the human eye all at once, and despite it all, nothing he did could stop it. Not science, not God, not white-hot fear. He knew what it was. Bill. This was his home after all. Still, it was petrifying.
He had never felt anything like the pain Bill made him endure. It hurt so bad he could still taste it. Never heard his lungs scream like that before. Seeing the gigantic, triangular being ahead of him, it felt as if his aorta was being ripped apart and all the light he'd ever once seen spilled across the boundless territory.
Bill was perched atop a throne of optical illusions, flanked by an army of creatures Ford only wished he could erase out of his mind right now. Never again would he question why F built the memory gun.
''LOOK WHO DECIDED TO PAY ME A VISIT!'' Bill's shrill voice echoed through the endless emptiness. ''CARE FOR A GAME OF INTERGALACTIC CHESS? THIS TIME, YOU'RE THE PAWN!'' Before Ford could even process what was happening, one of Bill's lackeys, a 60-foot tall ball of fingers and teeth, released a caterwaul and starting rushing towards them. Ford grabbed Stan, keeping his grip tight around his brother's arm and running(?). Really, he was swimming. He didn't know where he was headed, he just had to keep moving.
Just as the beast begun to gain on him, he managed to hide behind an asteroid.
Still, he couldn't stop. He continued to move until he found a small cave.
Inside, he placed Stan on the floor, checking his pulse. It was steady, yet his twin was unresponsive.
''SIXER WANTS TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK! FIRST ONE TO FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO ME GETS THEIR OWN GALAXY!'' Bill spoke again. Ford needed to leave this place, quickly.
The following events passed by like a blur. He'd met with refugees inside that cave, they helped him, they helped bandage Stanley's burn, they gave him two devices. The universal Translator. One for him, and one for Stan.
When Stan woke up, Ford was sat beside him, something akin to a vigil. Ford spent a lot of time thinking. He'd never truly wanted to see Stanley again, still, he dreamt of boats, beaches, caves and sunburns. He mourned the free-spirited child he knew, and hated the brother he had. He hated Stanley and missed him all the same. Deep inside, Ford knew he was weeping over an empty grave, that Stanley, the real one, gruff and tired, with a mullet and a stained red jacket, stood beside him.
Now, seeing Stan awake, he still hated him. It felt odd. To want nothing to do with someone he so desperately wished to know again. He felt like a kid, teased over his extra digit on each hand. How strange it was to be anything at all.
''Pointdexter?'' Stan waved a hand in front of Ford's eyes, catching his attention.
''What is it, Stanley?'' Ford wasn't a forgiving person. He knew that well, ten years of not letting go taught him that.
''You tell me. Where the hell are we?'' Stan sat up, looking around.
''The nightmare realm. It's, well, it's a world between worlds. We need to leave as soon as possible. A highly dangerous being is after me.'' Ford didn't want to explain anything to Stan, it was bad enough to need to piece together the atrocities Bill had committed in his body, he couldn't muster up the will to verbally communicate how he'd messed up. How he was tricked. How he was tortured. How his own brother had just thrown him into Bill's hands.
''I have no idea what you're talkin about. But if we're supposed to be leaving, what are we doing sitting around? Let's go!'' Stan was always quick to act. In fact, he acted first and thought never. It was endearing as kids, now, it made Ford nearly forget the enemy was Bill and not Stan.
Ford just reluctantly stood up. He knew Stan was right to an extent. The only way out was a dimensional rift, and they surely wouldn't find one if they never left the asteroid.
They swam for a long time, barely exchanging many words. Ford knew if they tried to hold a conversation it'd devolve into an argument quickly. The two just couldn't get over their grievances, no matter what.
Much to their luck, a glowing blue gateway yawned between a field of asteroids.
''That's what we're lookin for?'' Stan paused, eyeing the odd phenomena up and down.
''Yes, now come on!'' Ford grabbed Stanley by the wrist, they didn't have time to waste, and swam towards the rift.
On the other side, they lay upon cushy flowers, ones which spanned endlessly across the land. Stan wasted no time in getting comfortable, seemingly forgetting what dangers could still lurk beyond the visible peace of this world.
Ford wouldn't be so careless- not after what he'd just seen. As he motioned to stand up, Stan spoke.
''M' sorry, Ford. I really am.'' He opened his eyes to stare at his brother. ''I know you still hate me. Honestly, i don't like you much either. Y'know, some siblings get along, we just- this is just who we are. We don't.'' He sounded regretful.
''Is it, Stanley?'' Ford knew Stan was wrong.(Knew was wishful thinking, he thought in the back of his mind, he hoped Stanley was wrong. He did miss his brother. In a twisted way.) They weren't naturally against eachother, until the Science Fair, it was the exact opposite, it was them against the world.
''I ruined yer life. I ruined my life. Now, i ruined them both again.'' Stan sighed, looking around the serene flower field.
''I don't forgive you, but, i won't leave you again.'' Ford agreed with Stanley. And he hated to do so.
''Better than nothing.'' Stan chuckled humorlessly.
''I'm going to scout ahead. You, stay behind and get some rest. Don't touch the bandages on your shoulder, they're for your burn.'' Ford stood from where he was perched among scentless flora.
He didn't enjoy heart-to-heart conversations. He just assumed some people weren't meant for human connections, and he was one of them.
Maybe, with time, him and Stanley could be on more friendly terms. It was a hopeful thought. It was a hopeless endeavour.
That night, Ford slept beside Stan, cushioned by flowers, and he dreamt of boats, beaches, caves and sunburns. He dreamt of birthdays spent in the presence of another. He dreamt of a hopeless endeavour. He hoped it'd come true.