"So that's why you never came out of the basement..."

(Y/n) (L/n)'s Perspective

┻
△

When the next day came around, I was helping Ford do damage control in the basement. Though I wasn't some genius like him, I knew a thing or two about portals, wormholes, and vortexes.

Surprisingly, the basement was rather dark, but Ford explained that it was so the power could go to the portal rather than the less important things. Most of the light came from the cracks in the shacks platform. It was nice to see a caterpillar crawl by, or that goat stick his head in.

I was unwiring the control to the portal when I suddenly heard Ford's frightened voice.

"(Y/n)! Look out!" I pulled my head out to see a cycloptupus practically flying my way. Grabbing the closest item to me, I slapped it away with what turned out to be a panel. The creature crawled into the elevator. I ran to help Ford, but after he went in, the doors closed.

Biting back my panic, I grabbed a jar for the creature to be contained in. Only for mere moments later, a peeved off Ford and a fried cycloptopus exited the elevator. I took the creature from him and placed it in the jar, watching as he took off his unique gloves.

"Are you alright?" I asked with a frown, he just looked so distraught and angry, it upset me. Bill was right, after all, I did care about him.

"No... I had to reject Dipper because Stanley wants me to keep away from the children."

"Why?"

"Because I asked him to leave at summers end. This is my house, I didn't think that was so unreasonable." Ford grumbled. My frown only deepened, I did not wish to argue with him, his brother seems to have done so much for him... but at the moment that didn't matter. Everyone was in their own worlds at the moment, but I just had to know...

"Do you want me to leave as well?" I asked, knowing I may not be welcomed, a part of me wondering how he even felt about me. He was a stubborn man after all... and I have offended him a few times before. But when I saw his face soften, I wondered if my thoughts were wrong. Perhaps he did care beyond the fact I saved him first.

"What? No. You don't know anything about this world. I wouldn't just throw you out." He stated, lifting my chin so he could look me directly in the eyes.

"Thank you, Ford, I appreciate it." I answer with a smile. "I believe most of the wires have been removed from the panel. However simply unplugging the portal will not completely shut it down. More vortexes and portals may open. But if there truly is a shell containing everything, then it should be relatively simple to contain."

"Oh... about that." Ford grumbled awkwardly, walking over to a shelf and revealing a small container holding the matter of the portal inside. "I found this while you were resting. I was going to tell you but I seem to have gotten distracted."

"This is just as we feared." I sigh, putting my hand above it and closing my eyes, a gentle glow coming from my body. "I cannot destroy this. It must shrivel on its own. But this container may not keep it contained forever."

"I know. But with all this cleanup, I don't have the time to get the proper container. It's safe for now and out of harms way. That's all that matters." Ford replied, putting the container away once more.

"We should start the deconstruction process right away, to avoid an adverse effect with the vortex matter." Ford nodded in agreement and the next few hours were spent breaking down the portals blueprints in order to safely dismantle it.

A few days had passed since our discovery of the rift. We had successfully taken apart the portal as well as done a few tests on myself to make sure there wasn't anything wrong. The rest of our time seemed to be me begging Stanford to rest with me. He had barely slept a wink in days, whereas my adjusting body needed rest more than once a day.

"Stanford, if you do not rest, I will make you rest with me." My voice announced threateningly. "I do not need you fainting, especially when holding delicate items—"

A loud thud caught both of our attention. Quickly, I jumped up from my seat and stood protectively in front of Ford.

'A dog', I'd think Bill would call me as I shamelessly stood guard beside him every time we were together. 'Just the thought of him beside you would make your tail wag, Cypher Skull.'

When Ford took off, I barely skimmed his coat before he went off to find the source, creeping closer I saw it was only Dipper. One of Ford's relatives, his nephew I believe. To think I was trying to protect Ford from his nephew.

Just listening to their interactions made my heart beat faster. Stanford looked so excited by the sight of a die he had spotted on the ground. It was apparently a game of some sort. One that I certainly couldn't be a part of. And though I longed to, I knew I may be putting Dipper at risk if I didn't figure out if there was anything wrong.

So as I listen to the two ramble, I slink back into the shadows into another room of the basement, continuing to work as I wondered how things will work out in the long run.

"Stanford." My voice came out harsher than I meant for it to. I watched as he scribbled problems and traps about a sheet of graph paper. "Put the graph paper and pencil down and come lay down."

"No, Im hosting on more campaign before the afternoon and Dipper is a marvelous player. If I can just finish this dungeon, I can see just how truly brilliant my nephew is." Ford explained, his smile still caught on his lips. Perhaps I would've let him, due to that wonderful smile of his, but those bags beneath his eyes told a different story.

"Fine. You leave me no choice." Effortlessly, I lift the chair Ford was in and slightly struggle to carry him over to the mattress before dumping him onto it. He began to shout his protest, but I locked myself down on his thighs while keeping his arms at his sides. "No. You are going to stay here with me. If I have to continue to restrain you as so, then so be it. You need sleep."

The shadows from the room stopped me from seeing his dark blush as he grumbled for a minute before giving in. After hearing his agreement, I stayed on top of him, now laying down.

"H-hey...! I agreed to stay down, you can get off." Ford responds, clearly sounding flustered.

"Stanford you were stuck in a new place for 30 years, I know you learned how to lie and defend yourself. So if you want to get up, you're going to have to fight me." It wasn't dark enough for me not to see that adorable pout on his face as he gave up. When a breeze rolled into the basement, it blew out the candle and the world was finally complete darkness. "Besides, you made nothing but gibberish on that paper. Only two things on that page was legible. You can finish it in the morning when you can think clearly."

Silence filled the room, eventually I moved off of him, having gotten my point across. He didn't move at all besides his chest as he breathed in and out at a steady, yet strangely fast, pace.

"In the morning, I will leave for an hour or so. My body's adjustment is taking longer than it should. I'm certain your world will have something that could provide assistance to me." Stanford shot up, but I was quick to push him back down with my arm.

"You are not going in those woods alone, what if you got hurt? You don't even know what's out there!" Ford objects, looking over at me.

"Sometimes I think you forget that I am a demon." I sigh, a small smile on my lips. "I can handle myself. If you'd like, you can walk me out."

Silence followed once more as my eyes closed. Peace washing over me as I use my magic to scan my body once more.

"Alright. But if you get into trouble, you come straight back and tell me."

"Goodnight Stanford."

"Goodnight (Y/n)"

▽
┳

┻
△