Chapter Text
Ford gripped the ship’s wheel tight in excitement. He’d picked up a very strong anomalous reading at sea and chased it for two days straight, hardly taking time to eat or sleep. Stan had offered to take over, but Ford couldn’t rest for more than an hour without his hand on the wheel. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his brother per se, he just didn’t want to lose whatever was giving off such strong signals. Stan had given up on him completely hours ago, choosing instead to sleep the night away. Ford honestly didn’t know how he could sleep in the face of such excitement but he appreciated not being hovered around. Stan was often too motherly for his own good.
As the sun rose above the horizon, Ford was able to make out docks and buildings in the distance. They were sailing through the Gulf of Mexico right now and the signal was coming from somewhere on the Texas shore. He was sure they must be close now, at most a day’s travel away from finding the source. He could barely contain his excitement, they couldn’t reach a dock fast enough.
----
Stan lay on his back, staring up at the cabin ceiling. He hadn’t slept a wink the whole night. Despite leaving his brother to his own devices early into the evening, damn his unhealthy obsessions, he just couldn’t convince his brain to rest. He’d been remembering more and more lately, the sea air and adventure doing more good for him than anything else. But with each new memory came a resurgence of old feelings, overwhelmingly current and real, and it was hard to separate past from present. Most days it felt like his brain was working double time, living out two lives at once.
Just recently he’d started to regain more memories from his past as a grifter. He’d learned pretty quick that these were some of the most painful experiences to relive, physically and emotionally. He’d gotten into a lot of shit back then, and lately he’d begun to wonder how he’d survived as long as he had. His past self had almost no sense of self-preservation, the only thing that mattered to him was making a fortune to prove his father wrong.
He’d thought he was almost done with remembering his grifter days, but when he had settled into bed after abandoning Ford, something that could only be described as a fireworks show went off in his head. Memory after memory exploded into his mind, years worth of experiences relived in seconds, his conscious mind tossed to the winds. And the strangest thing was that they all centered around one specific person, an abrasive yet alluring man, a person Stan could barely stand, yet couldn’t get enough of.
Stan narrowed his eyes at the ceiling and fished around the new memories for a name.
Rick... he thought. And closed his bloodshot eyes. His name was Rick.
----
Ford finished tying up the boat and dusted his hands off. His handheld anomaly sensor, a new invention made specifically for their travels, beeped steadily in his pocket, reminding him of his mission. Stan hadn’t come up from the cabin yet, although Ford was sure he’d woken him while throwing a backpack of supplies together. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed they were docked yet, although he couldn’t fault him for wanting to get a few more minutes of rest. Living life on the sea was hardly an easy job and Stan often insisted on doing most of the heavy lifting.
Regardless, he was impatient and ready to chase down the anomaly so he climbed back on deck, the steady beeping urging him on. Throwing open the cabin door carelessly, he rushed over to Stan’s bunk and made to shake him awake. He stopped in surprise before he could, not expecting to see Stan lying on his back and staring upward vacantly. His eyes were red and bloodshot and he looked like he hadn’t slept a wink.
When his brother didn’t notice him after a few awkward seconds, Ford loudly cleared his throat. Only then did Stan give a soft jolt and met Ford’s gaze. Concern for his brother curled uncomfortably in his gut, almost killing his earlier excitement. It only lasted a few seconds before the beeping of the sensor snapped him out of it. Stan could sleep for a week straight after they discovered this anomaly, Ford rationalized, but they couldn’t afford to waste their chance now.
“Good, you’re awake,” Ford crowed. He held out a full backpack for Stan to take and took the sensor out of his pocket, the beeping louder out in the open. “Take this, we’re going the rest of the way on land.”
Stan seemed to almost be frozen for a few seconds before he lightly shook his head and pushed himself up, grabbing the bag from Ford’s hand. “On land? Where are we?” He asked, confused.
“The coast of Texas. The anomaly shouldn’t be too far away but I packed enough supplies for a couple days just in case. Besides, who knows how long we’ll have to stay and study it.” His fingers twitched excitedly and his eyes unfocused, trying to imagine what they might find. He snapped back to reality as quickly as he had left it and grabbed his brother’s hand, hauling him upward. Stan staggered slightly, taking a moment to find his footing. Ford felt a flash of concern again but stubbornly let it fade away. They weren’t going to miss this chance.
----
Stan leaned back in the seat of the cheap rental car and watched the scenery zip by. Ford was bent over the steering wheel, his eyes flicking between the sensor, a map he held in one hand and the road. Nothing could distract him now, he was on the hunt. This was just as well for Stan because he was still trying to sort out his memories from earlier. He’d never experienced reliving them that fast before, they’d become a big jumbled mess in his mind. Everything was twisted and muddled, completely indecipherable from each other. Every once in a while a clear picture would jump to the forefront of his mind, like fingers trailing up his spine and gentle kisses tracing up his neck, or a frantic car chase ending with anxious laughter and desperate touches. But there was so much more he could barely make out. And intertwined throughout was something Stan felt like he needed to remember, something very important that didn’t belong. It was different from the rest of the memory fragments, an irregularity within his mind. Like an extra puzzle piece for a finished puzzle. The more he tried to grasp for it, the more it danced away and evaded capture. He didn’t know how to catch it.
One thing was for sure though, the more he was able to untangle from the mess in his mind, the more he missed this newfound person, Rick. He wondered where he could be now, how they could lose each other if their feelings felt so strong. He felt like tearing apart the galaxy in search of him. The longer he sat in the car the more stifling it got. They were focused on the wrong anomaly, they should be searching for Rick Sanchez instead.
He was jolted out of his reverie by a loud yell of excitement from Ford. "We're close! This is it," He exclaimed happily and yanked the steering wheel to the side. The car skidded and moaned in protest, sending them down an almost invisible side road. Stan clutched the sides of the seat, gritting his teeth as the rental made a series of concerning noises as it bumped along the dirt path. He hated letting his brother drive.
They continued at a breakneck pace for several heart stopping minutes until Ford suddenly jammed his foot on the break with no warning. Stan lurched forward against his seat belt and cried out in surprise. Ford took no notice and wasted no time in turning off the car and climbing out the door. Stan took a moment to catch his breath, watching as his brother triple checked the sensor and started off into the bushes. Groaning, Stan pushed his door open and jogged to catch up. He knew if he waited too long Ford would just leave without him.
Stan followed Ford as he led him in a winding path deeper into the wilderness. There was hardly a spare moment to return to his memories but they weighed down on him all the same. He needed something to distract himself.
“How close are we now?” He asked.
Ford hummed softly, his eyes glued to the sensor. “Very, very close. I can’t be sure but I think we’ll be coming up on it any minute now..” He trailed off and quickened his pace, ducking under a stray tree branch. After a couple more seconds of silence he murmured thoughtfully, almost to himself, “I wonder what it’ll be. Could be a ghost, but it’d have to be pretty powerful to be giving off such a strong signal. Maybe a cursed ghost? Someone cursed to be haunted by a ghost? No, I think not. Maybe some kind of mythical creature then? What legends does Texas have?” Ford scrunched his face up thoughtfully.
“I hope it’s a ghost, we haven’t met nearly enough ghosts at sea,” Stan piped up.
“Probably not, I’ve already ruled out-” Ford began, but stopped when his sensor let out a beep louder than all the rest. He stopped dead in his tracks and held out an arm to stop Stan as well. Ford wasted no time in turning it off and he held a finger to his lips. Slowly he crept forward, aiming for a cluster of bushes in front of them. Stan followed after, but he was significantly less stealthy than his brother. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched under his foot, no matter how lightly he tried to step. Stan could see his brother getting more agitated the more they moved, but before anything could happen one of the bushes rustled loudly. The twins froze and icy fear crept over their hearts, the potential danger of the anomaly becoming all too real.
Slowly, Ford took a much smaller and less powerful version of his Quantum Destabilizer out of his bag and held it out in front of him. He took a couple creeping steps forward and Stan tried to follow suit, wincing when he loudly broke a stick underfoot. They stopped dead in their tracks yet again and watched helplessly as the bush rustled again. Ford tightened his finger on the trigger and aimed, ready to shoot if the situation called for it. He silently prayed it wasn’t a ghost, he didn’t know if the gun would work on it.
A small, brown blur shot out of the bushes, headed straight for them. Ford dove out of the way and Stan stumbled backwards, watching as whatever it was hurdled toward him. At the last second it darted out of his way and came to a stop a few metres away. Both Stan and Ford turned shocked faces toward a simple rabbit, sitting back on its haunches and twitching its nose curiously at them. It paused for a few moments more before turning and darting away into the foliage. The twins stood slack jawed for a moment before breaking down into relieved laughter.
“God, who would have thought, huh?” Stan gasped, out of breath. “After all the monsters we’ve fought we almost got matching heart attacks from a damn bunny .”
Ford snickered and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I almost shot it with my Quantum Destabilizer ! Poor thing wouldn’t have known what hit it.”
Stan titled his head back and tried to get a hold of himself. “Okay, okay. What about the
actual
anomaly though? Did we scare it off?” He paused for a moment and smirked, "Maybe it was the bunny."
Ford pulled out the sensor and quickly studied the read out. “Nope, still here.”
“Wow, it must be deaf,” Stan chuckled. “Alright, let’s catch us a monster.”
Together they crept toward the bushes again, emboldened by the harmless altercation and caring less about being stealthy. They rustled around in the foliage for a while, trying to find whatever was giving off the signal.
“Maybe it is a ghost,” Stanley volunteered. “It would explain why we can’t find the damn thing.”
Ford shook his head and pushed a few branches aside. “No, I don’t think so. Keep looking.”
Stan sighed and continued searching, confident they wouldn’t find anything. A glint of metal caught his eye and he picked up what looked to be an old tape measure. He grabbed it and studied it carefully. Something about it seemed oddly familiar.
“Ford, come check this out,” He called.
He heard his brother’s footsteps coming up behind him. “What is that? Junk?” He asked curiously.
“I don’t know, I just found it lying on the ground here. But… I can’t quite place my finger on it but it feels like I’ve seen this before. Recognize it?” He passed the tape measure to Ford and watched as his twin studied it carefully.
“Not at all,” Ford concluded and passed it back to Stan.
Stan’s attention was drawn to Ford’s pocket as he noticed a soft light emanating through the fabric. “Hey, is your pocket supposed to do that?” He asked.
“Do wha-” Ford started, looking down. As he saw the light he made a mad grab for the sensor and yanked it free. Its screen was brightly lit with a blue glow, illuminating the underside of Ford's face. With a surprised noise he pointed it at the tape measure, and shock was plain on his face.
“What?” Stan asked, baffled by Ford’s reaction.
“This is it! The anomaly!” Ford exclaimed, his voice tinged with disbelief. Stan could see how fast his brother's brain was working, he was fully immersed in the mystery. He knew if he didn't do anything now, Ford would drop everything and fall into an obsessed spiral. With a deft movement he snatched the tape measure out of his twin's hands and quickly shoved it into his jacket pocket. Ford lurched forward and made a futile grab for the thing but Stan easily evaded him.
"Stanley. Give it back." He growled angrily. Stan simply ignored him and turned back toward the car, making sure Ford was too far away to swipe the tape measure off him.
“Where’s that map of yours? If I remember correctly there should be a good restaurant nearby.”
----
Ford slowly grabbed the edge of Stan's coat and pulled it onto the diner table, reaching for the anomaly that lay inside. He pulled out the tape measure and turned it over in his hands. It baffled him how this mundane object could be what was sending out such a powerful energy source. How could this dented tool contain more power than most anomalies he’d met in his entire life?
He heard Stan’s heavy footsteps coming up to the table and then the tape measure was snatched from his hands.
“What did I say about agonizing over this hunk of junk?” Stan growled.
“Leave it until after supper,” Ford grumbled, repeating the stern words Stan had drilled into him before they entered the diner. He hated being treated like a child. “Come on Stanley, you can’t tell me you’re not curious.”
“Oh I’m curious alright. But I’m also hungry. You know, most adults learn that you need to take care of your basic needs pretty early in life. Kinda concerning that a genius like you hasn’t reached that step yet.” He shoved a plate of food over to his brother, and sat down heavily across from him. “Trust me, this place is top notch. I used to come here all the time before I was banned from the state. You can’t beat this food.”
Ford looked around the place as they both dug in, it certainly looked like it had seen better days. It had the classic greasy feel to it that seemed to be a basic requirement for all diners and a weird smell permeated the building. There were hardly any customers, and the ones who were there looked dirty and down on their luck. He had to give them props for the food though, the taste did not match the vibe this place was giving off. He could understand why Stan used to like it so much.
The minutes dragged on, as he continued eating, the bliss of good food began to wear off and the curiosity set in again. He could barely take his eyes off the tape measure on the corner of the table. Each bite felt like it was taking an eternity.
Stan caught him staring at the tape measure and exhaled loudly through his nose. “It’s not like the thing is going anywhere,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. “Why the big rush?”
Ford gritted his teeth and reached for the tape measure. “Do you not find it unbearable to not know why? ”
Stan grabbed it before Ford could, holding it out of reach. “Not really, no.” He paused and squinted his eyes at it. “Although I wish I knew why it feels so familiar. Maybe I’ve seen the symbol before?” He turned it over slowly in his hands. “I feel like I’m missing something important. Something from my past…” He trailed off and squeezed his eyes shut, his forehead creasing in concentration.
Ford seized the moment and snatched the tape measure from Stan’s hand, scrambling out of his seat and rushing off. “I’ll just be in the bathroom!” He called back to his brother.
"Godammit Ford, get back here!" Stan yelled after him, but Ford could tell his heart wasn't in it. He doubted his brother would chase him into the bathroom just to get it back, and he only wanted a few minutes to analyze it anyway.
Ford pushed open the bathroom door with his shoulder and absent-mindedly got into a stall. He turned the tape measure over in his hands a couple more times before sitting down on the toilet seat. It was finally time to do some serious investigating. First, he pulled the tape out as far as the cramped stall would allow.