Intrinsically Linked (BillFord)

Weirdmageddon was finally over. The streets had debris, buildings totaled, and people were hurt. But it was over. Ford sat in his lab writing down what had happened. He would have to do scans of the surrounding area to ensure no lasting damage to the space-time continuum remained. Bill was finally gone, erased from Stanley's mind. No longer would he plague the minds and safety of him and his family. That crazy triangle demon had let his hubris get the best of him. A slip-up, a mistake. Something Ford never thought he was capable of. It didn't matter now, as he would likely never see or hear of Cipher again.

It was then that Stanford suddenly felt a tugging in his chest. What was this feeling? A heart attack? No, he thought back to when he first met Bill. He had been so charming, so amicable, so attentive. The perfect muse, the perfect partner. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away, but the tugging only became more intense. Wait, this isn't normal, it felt physical. Before he could think of any other logical explanation there was suddenly a pop behind him, followed by a myriad of pained cries and yelling. Stanford grabbed his weapon from its holster and spun around,

"HAVE YOU FINALLY COME FOR MY EYES" but there was no eye demon or whatever he had been expecting. Beyond all belief or even possibility, there floated Bill. He was muttering nonsense and gripping what would be his head, his eye shut tight. Ford stared in shock. How was this possible, and how was he maintaining this form outside of the mindscape? He wasn't the pyramid shape he had taken during weirdmaggedon. But instead the typical flat triangle. The seconds felt like hours as Ford stared him down and waited. Eventually, Bill slowly turned his large eye towards him, filled with anger and betrayal. How dare he feel betrayed, what else did he expect? Then, he suddenly burst,

"You! You ruined it! You ruined everything! The portal, my plans, the party! We could have ruled together, but instead, you abandoned me for that dumb family of yours!"

Ford felt rage bubble up inside of him, one that quickly melted away the confusion and shock. The hand on the trigger shook as his other balled up into a white fist.

"How DARE you. You somehow come back after certain destruction and try to blame me for all of this? You put my family in danger! I ought to see if this gun does anything to you."

Bill glared harder, "Well I'm not sticking around to find out! Have fun being a sucker!" Bill tried to zoom away, towards the elevator but only managed to go a few feet before being stopped. A red string was suddenly strung between the both of them. Ford felt that pull again. Was this the explanation? Bill looked shocked, looking around for what had stopped him before finally looking at the string, and following it with his eye only to see it was connected to Ford's chest.

"No, no no no NO. WHAT DID THAT AXOLOTL DO TO ME" He tried to grasp at the string but it faded whenever his fingers came close. Ford looked on in slight confusion. What was this string connecting them, what was the "axolotl", and why would it connect them like this? He passed one six fingered hand through the thread, as if trying to gague its make. He's seen and heard many things over the years, and only heard common folk legend about red strings and connection. As he pondered over this Bill

suddenly tried to break again, pulling on the connection more and more, to the point it started to become painful.

"I will not be forced to stay here!!! Not with YOU." Stanford took a step back,

"Stop that! It's not going to work!" Bill didn't listen, he didn't want to listen. He struggled for a moment more before floating to the ground, looking at his hands.

"What kind of cruel punishment is this."

Ford scoffed. He knew he needed a punishment, but was less than thrilled he was being made a part of it. There was some banging from upstairs before the elevator activated and Stanley stepped out, in his typical mystery shack attire,