https://archiveofourown.org/works/23729677/chapters/57199303Ā ahhahah sorry for not having anything the other day :p
Ford had rushed to the bunker as fast as he could, wracking his brain for the location of the metal tree. Once upon a time, Ford could locate it with his eyes closed, you couldnāt just forget that kind of location. It was probably that practice from his earlier years that allowed him to relocate it thirty years later.
Ā After some trial and error, Ford, at last, managed to find the metal tree. It was recognizable as the paint that had been talentedly painted onto it was chipping, revealing the metallic structure beneath it. He was lucky Fiddleford had suggested putting it a good distance away from the Shack, Ford at the time hadnāt seen a point to it as his cabin had been built in the middle of the forest for a reason. Now, with Stanās choice of career, the grayed man could appreciate his assistantsā foresight.Ā
Ā Setting the demon down gently on the grass next to one of the nearby bushes, Ford looked around, reaching for a rigid rock roughly the size of his fist. With a trained accuracy, he threw the rock at a singular, lone branch, knocking the aged thing at an ungodly angle.
Ā Waiting for the passageway to open up, Ford went to pick up the snoring creature once more, descending down the old and decaying wooden stairs, breathing in the old, musty air that collected down in the underground.Ā
Ā It was surreal, being back down there after so many years. The room had long grown covered in rust, a far cry from the pristine shine Ford had always attempted to keep. Everything looked incredibly dusty and-
Ā Why did it look as though someone peeled off a poster over on the wall?
Ā No matter, he just needed to get past the security trap now and take care ofā¦ theā¦Ā
Ā ā¦ It wouldāve been the inevitable, heād have to deal withā¦. Shifty at some point or anotherā¦Ā
Ā Wait, no, didnāt Dipper mention freezing him in the cryotubes?
Ā Just in case, Ford shifted the body in his arms, causing a yawn reminiscent of a mewl to fall from the small body, and grabbed the gun, holding the body in one arm and the gun in another.
Ā Worst come to worst, he could drop the body and shoot the shapeshifter before he even realized what happened.Ā
Ā Heading behind the big drawers of rations, he clicked the small, red button with the head of his gun, immediately deactivating the security trap and causing the circular door to open quite abrasively, ripping the map covering it off the wall.Ā
Ā Eh, he could fix that later.
Ā The first thing Dipper could recognize waking up was the cold, hard floor beneath him.Ā
Ā He couldnāt help but feel weirdly stiff, but he mentally shrugged it off, thinking it was just because of his odd sleeping placement. Speaking of whichā¦why was he laying on the floor of theā¦ Bunkerā¦? Dipper wearily forced his chin onto the arm he was resting his head on and wearily looked around, eyes half lidded. Yupā¦ definitely the Bunker. Oddā¦ just odd. It smelled just as unappealing as it did weeks earlier. Musty and damp. Not exactly his preference.Ā
Ā Man, it felt just as eerie here as it did last time, the weird and old grays, dirt walls, humidity, the smell of herbs, the white chalk-
Ā ā¦ White chalk? Herbs? That was peculiar, especially because of the various patterns they were in. The chalk was surrounding his limp body, even beneath him, though the lines didnāt smudge even as he shifted himself to get a better look. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he saw the intricacies of the circle that confused him. It looked chaotic and sorta random but it was easy enough to tell everything was planned, and planned well at that.Ā
Ā It made him feelā¦odd, unpleasant, like he was being restricted or held captive. It was triggering his paranoia, pulling him shakily up onto his feet, slipping at a point. Trying to get out of the circle had proven futile, as when Dipper tried to find an exit, an invisible wall stopped and knocked the kid to the floor. A flare of pain in his head and wings-
Ā The two things protruding from his back were as black as midnight, being more similar to bat wings than Dipper was comfortable with admitting. He worriedly reached for the wing on his right andā¦ they felt soft, strangely, and as panicked as the boy was about this, frankly, confusing and terrifying development, he let his curiosity get the better of him, as it often does, and experimented.Ā
He hesitantly stuck the wings out, surprised at how natural they felt. It was as though he had them his whole life, which was cause for concern, of course, but at least he didnāt need to learn how to control some new appendages.At the very least, thereās that.
Ā Sighing, Dipper got to his feet again, more stable this time around, and prodded the invisible wall that enveloped him. Once his finger touched the barrier, it rippled much like a pond would when disturbed with a rock, just to a lesser magnitude.Ā
Ā What was he going to do?! What could he do?!Ā
Ā The inevitable pacing started again.
Ā Something mustāve happened during Weirdmageddon, how else could he have wings? That just wasnāt possible under any normal circumstances, maybe Ford could help fix that? Heās been to dozens of dimensions, surely heād know of some kind of cure? Yeahā¦ yeahā¦ he would just have to have faith in his uncle for now.Ā
Ā What even happened during Weirdmageddon? The hazy memories of holding hands and pain coming to the forefront of his mind. They were just vague thoughts and trying to examine them was like grasping at straws! It was incredibly worrying and it only served to unnerve him even more! Someone obviously dropped him off here, and used some sort of rune or ward to restrict him, whoever did it could be a huge threat! They know where the secret Bunker was, they know runes and wards well enough, and they mustāve wanted something with Dipper-
Ā His breathing was starting to get uneven as he began to hug himself, pausing his pacing.Ā
Ā If only Mabel was here-
Ā Mabel! She must be worried sick!Ā
OhGodohGodohGodohGodohGodohGodohGodohGod-
Snap out of it, Dipper! Panicking gets you nowhere, cāmon now!
Ā Inhale. Exhale. Letting go of himself shakily, he tried to take a more logical approach than just thinking of questions he couldnāt answer.Ā
Ā With all the power he could muster with his prepubescent voice, he gave out the loudest yell he could for attention.
Ā The only answers he got from the dark cavern was his own voice, echoing off the walls.
