A Million Days

Shattered

I climb back in, my single eye shining with glee. "Let's see," I muse, my eye dancing as two humans struggle in my gigantic fists. Mabel and Dipper Pines, I finally have them. And soon I'll have the world. "Who should I kill first? Eeenie.... meenie... minee, YOU!" I say gleefully as I bring one closer to my face.

"NO!" Sixer screams. "Don't..." he says, and I'm rather surprised at the mixed emotions that come with defeated-sounding voice. I should be happier. "I'll do it," he says bleakly.

"You made the right choice," I say simply, but I'm celebrating on the inside, already debating on what I'll do to the Earth and it's occupants. I shrink down, floating over to sixer. I hold out my hand, and he stares at it, horror shining in his eyes, even as he shakes it, flames enveloping it. "It's... a.... DEAL!!!" I say excitedly, beginning to laugh as I rush towards sixer, who screams.

"Wow," I remark cheerfully as I stroll through Ford's mind. It's vibrant and cheerful as I stroll along a boardwalk somewhere in New Jersey. "Sucker for the old times, eh Fordsy?" I tease, and I laugh. Each slat of wood on the dock is a memory, and I peer at each one as I float along. Pain slices through me as I stare at a memory of us building the portal. What is this? I wonder as my chest tightens. It's an uncomfortable and painful, and I wish it would go away. I quickly think of something else, and it vanishes as though it'd never been there. It's been a long time since I've felt pain, but that felt... different.

I finally come across the right one. "There we go!" I say cheerfully, diving in. I gasp. Sixer was smart. Tried to forget this memory. It was like swimming through ink, propelling me backwards. I finally pushed my way through, coming across the corroded memory. It's colors were faded, and you couldn't make it out in some places.

"Field of Magnetism," Sixer was saying. He was talking to himself, seated at his little table. His eyes were wild and haunted, and I could tell it was right after I betrayed him. "I can't let Bill find out," he was saying. "It would endanger everyone. I tried to-" the man's voice became inaudible, and I felt my heart lurch. I had to get the information. "I don't know how much longer it will last though. It needs-" all of a sudden, the corroded memory began to crumble around me, and I watched Ford's face shatter like glass and fall into a black void.

"NO!" I scream, pounding my fist against the memory. Ford's having this memory be destroyed even as I speak. I have to get out, otherwise I'll be trapped and fall into oblivion. "NO!" I shout again, even as I float out of the memory. "NO!" I rush down the boardwalk as memories corrode and die even as I stare at them. I never realized Stanley Pines had the guts to kill his brother. I almost have to admire it. But it won't save them. It'll make it so much worse.

I hurry out, and Ford falls limply, his skin ashen. His eyes are closed, his breathing ragged. "How... dare you..." I say quietly, burning scarlett. Stanley stares at his brother, the memory gun falling out of his nerveless hands. He begins to tremble, tears pouring down his cheeks. He's not looking at me.

"Whatever," I hiss, throwing the memory gun away. "I think killing your brother is enough of a punishment for you," I snarl.

"K-killed?" Stanley sputters, and he's seems to age before my eyes, going pale. He drops to his knees, closing his eyes. "Killed?"

"Yes," I spit. "I think you turned it up a little too high."

Mabel and Dipper Pines stood there, their eyes wide with horror. They looked like statues, but they were unfortunate enough to still be alive. They're in shock, and Mabel looks small and fragile. She's always been short, but what she lacked in height she made up in personality. "Grunkle Ford?" Mabel says. It finally registers, and she begins to cry, big, sloppy tears. "Gr-Grunkle Ford..." She says miserably, burying her face in her brother's shoulder.

"It's okay," Dipper soothes quietly. He doesn't look at the limp body on the ground, just hugs his sister tightly, and I can tell he's trying not to cry. He's trying to be strong. "It's gonna be okay," he manages to choke out.

I brush off an imaginary speck of dust off my tie. "Well, glad that's taken care of," I say, as though the plan I've been making for a millenia hasn't come crashing down around me. I snap my fingers, and Dipper disappears. Mabel lets out a yelp. "What'd you do?"

"Oh, he's fine," I say, flapping a gloved hand at her, avoiding her question. "Mostly. But he won't be if you don't cooperate."

"O-ok."

"Good." I nod, satisfied.

Someone shrieks, and my heart skips a beat and then pounds. Stanley is trembling, his eyes wide and glassy. "St-standford," he mumbles. "Stanford isn't here, he should be here. The sky isn't right. Where's Stanford?" He starts to laugh, a bone-chillingly desperate laugh that makes me shudder, and I wonder if that's what my laugh sounds like. "Stanford isn't here!" He says, almost hysterical now. "Where's the journal!?" He shouts, all the while still laughing. He sits, and slowly the laughter turns to sobs.

"Gr-Grunkle Stan? Grunkle Stan!" Mabel runs over to him, dropping to her knees and hugging him. "Grunkle Stan, it's o-okay," Mabel whispers, her tears falling into the old man's beard. "It's okay."

"Where's Stanford," the old man sobs. "I don't see him."

"H-he's on the Stan-o-war," Mabel lies, her voice shaky, and her eyes full of guilt. "H-he's sailing the oceans to find you, and soon you'll go on a great adventure."

"No," Stanley said quietly, his eyes confused but full of dread. "He's not. The sky isn't right. This isn't right. It's all wrong."

"I know," Mabel said, her voice choked with tears. "I know. But we're going to fix it, ok? We're going to fix this."

And then I snap my fingers, and Mabel's gone, too, leaving only Stanley, whose eyes are full of quiet anguish.

A/N: So okay, this started out a lot darker than I would've thought. Originally I figured that Ford would survive, but since I did like, his whole mind differently from the show, I figured it had to be that he was dying. He died because Grunkle Stan erased everything, not realizing that um... he would die. And that whole thing with Grunkle Stan was basically him having a nervous breakdown. So I guess I'm thinking things will get less dark from here, so sorry if this chapter made you uncomfortable, because like, WOW was that dark... Anyway, if you did like this chapter, please consider giving it a vote. Thanks so much for reading! Have a wonderful day!

Thanks, a geek.