Chapter 10: Symbiotic

The dimension that Layla and Dipper had disappeared to was filled to the brim with patrons that were a bright pink in color with large antennae and bright green eyes.

Obviously the two stuck out like sore thumbs, but after what had happed they had to leave the bazar as fast as they could before reinforcements arrived. As they walked Dipper looked around to see the new environment, and things began to look like a stained red. He blinked his eyes multiple times and felt them stinging, and even when he rubbed them red still stained surfaces that he saw.

His heartrate increased, and it seemed like with each beat the red became darker like blood old blood. He could feel that his breathing had quickened, him trying to self-consciously make his breathing slower. His pace slowed, the red that he saw seemingly holding him back.

Pine Tree…

"Dipper!" Layla's voice cut through to him.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Dipper screamed as he pushed her away, his body suddenly engulfed with blue flames.

The people that inhabited the dimension gasped in horror and shock as they saw the flames. Layla had fallen to the ground and forced herself up. "Dipper!" she shouted again. "It's me! Layla! Just calm down and really see!"

The blue flames died down, but still quite visible around Dipper. He held his hands in front of him, his brown eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Slowly, the flames sputtered out and Dipper just stood there staring at his hands.

How was I able to keep the flames…? That's Bill's power… not mine…

A slow realization overcame him.

"I need to use Bill's powers…" he barely whispered.

"What…?" Layla questioned, her not understanding.

"I'm saying that I had to be able to use Bill's powers without him taking control over me," Dipper elaborated darkly. "If I can fight Magum without Bill taking over, maybe, just maybe Magum can be defeated and Bill will feel enough at peace to get the hell out of my head."

Layla bit her lower lip. "I don't know if that is going to work…" she softly said.

"I have to try!" Dipper shouted in despair. "He has to leave my head… I can't take it anymore! I feel like I'm losing my sanity!"

Layla flinched at that statement then she slowly nodded. "Okay…" she finally said. A dark looked crossed over her face, something obviously troubling her.

"Layla, what's wrong?" Dipper asked.

"My father had gone insane because of Bill and Magum," Layla stated. "Well, he was already unstable due to the work he was doing, but those two pushed him over the edge."

Dipper once again looked at his hands, both were flame free, but he still felt the tingling sensation of the flames that were once there. He lowered them down to his sides as he gave a sigh. "The thing is," he began. "I don't know where to start…"

Layla ponders for a moment. "Okay… the first thing I can think of is maybe do some research on Demon Soul Bonding. From what I know it's supposed to be a very rare occurrence."

"But… doesn't Magum do it all the time?" Dipper inquired, him raising a brown brow.

"Yes and no," she replied. "He doesn't really bond to their souls. He completely takes it over, killing the soul and within a couple years the body decays and dies."

Dipper flinched. "Sounds awful…" he admitted. He put a hand to his chest, his heartbeat beating steadily beneath his hand. Could Bill consume his soul and kill his body at any time? "So, where do we go to find this information?"

Layla then went to her boot that she kept the picture of Annie in, her pulling out some yellowed paper. She unfolded it and it revealed to be a map with tears and deep creases from age and use. On the map there were multiple red circles and notes in some other language written in the margins.

"When I first escaped Magum," the raven-haired woman began. "I had met someone that told me to go find this one mercenary. He gave me this map and it tells where all natural portals open in this main dimension to go through the sub-dimensions.

"One of these sub-dimensions is so advanced with everything that beings travel the multiverse to get there to learn their amazing ways. They are so far advanced that they no longer speak to each other, it's all telepathic. Regardless of how advanced they personally are, they had a library, a library that dates back millions of years.

"My guess is that these beings were around when the Hierarchy of Demons was a major thing. There had to be some sort of documentation about them and soul bonding." Layla finished.

Dipper felt his pulse quicken. "And… a cure to get rid of it?" he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper and a little breathlessly.

"That's the idea," Layla replied as she folded up the map. "Let's get going."

With the help of Layla's map they followed the instructions to find the portal for the dimension they were in. The portal was supposed to open in some odd alleyway, the two sitting on the ground waiting patiently for the off-timing of the portal to open. It seemed like they were sitting there for hours on end, Dipper almost nodding off a few times.

"So… what's the most interesting dimension you've been to?" Dipper asked casually, him drawing at the filthy ground with a twig he had found.

"Probably the one where everyone was underwater and a mermaid," Layla responded, a fondness in her voice. "Mermaids are very elegant and I enjoyed that one."

Dipper grunted in acknowledgment of her statement. "I gave a mermaid CPR once," he blurted, him immediately feeling his eyes widen. He should not have mention that.

Layla gave him an odd look, one black brow that was turning silver raised. "And how do you exactly give a mermaid CPR?" she asked, a large smile spread across her face as if trying not to laugh.

Dipper's face immediately turned red. That encounter with Mabel's "Crush of the Week" he hated to know end. The merman had been lying on the forest floor, desperate for water as he had been slowly dying. Dipper, who was twelve at the time, couldn't think of anything to do until Mabel said to give Mermando (odd name now that Dipper was looking back on it) reverse CPR.

"Well… reverse CPR," Dipper corrected. "I basically put water in my mouth and performed CPR."

"And… that worked?" Layla laughed. "That seems very stupid."

Dipper gave a shrug. "It's Gravity Falls, Oregon. Stupid ideas work."

"Was she a pretty mermaid?" Layla teased.

"UM…" Dipper's face had turned into a deep crimson just as a small blue light opened before them.

"Let's go!" Layla ordered as she grabbed Dipper by his arm and dragged him through the portal.

The other side was a brilliant white. Everything seemed to glow in a white hue. The ground that was underneath them was white, the buildings, and the clothing, just everything! It looked as if Dipper had stepped into a world made of the ending of that movie about the android wanting to spend a day with his mother again that aliens granted him.

Silver-skinned beings strutted passed them, their golden eyes looking at Layla and Dipper as though they were insects at the bottom of their shoes. Layla completely ignored it, Dipper having a feeling that she was used to that kind of treatment.

"From what I remember the library is in the downtown area." Layla commented as she led Dipper through the streets.

It took a few minutes but Layla had found a large elegant silver building that had statues of books around the building a large symbol of the "All Seeing Eye" embedded front and center of the building. The eye seemed to follow Dipper, him feeling uneasy as it reminded him deeply of Bill.

Inside the building everything was a bright white and silver, causing Dipper to squint against the brightness of it all. Obviously the two stuck out like a sore thumb, and the odd looks from the receptionist confirmed that getting into the library wouldn't be easy.

Layla stared intently at the woman that wore a white dress with golden deigns of books sewn into the fabric, the golden eyes of the woman looking intently back. The woman then finally shrugged and gave Layla a small silver card with golden letters on it.

"We're good," Layla told Dipper. "Let's go in."

Dipper looked between Layla and the receptionist. The receptionist had a card out for him as well and he gingerly took it. He gave a nod of thanks and followed Layla into the library.

"How'd you do that…?" Dipper questioned.

"I've been here once or twice to learn languages," Layla explained, her glancing at the sections of books trying to find the one she needed. "They can read your minds and the intentions that you may have. She obviously trusted me and what I wanted to seek to award us with these passes." A sound of triumph escaped her as she finally found what she was looking for. "Found it!" she declared, her diving right into the shelves to see what books she needed.

Dipper held the books that she continuously placed into his arms, them getting heavier and heavier by the second. He was used to carrying a large quantity of books and it helped that he was a lot stronger since hunting because he had to drag deer back to campsites. Once there was a pile to the point where Dipper could no longer see Layla she instructed him to a table to set the books to.

The older woman began opening each book, her expertly skimming the pages. With each book she left a piece of paper to mark her spot and continue on to the next the book and marking certain spots.

Dipper looked at the pages before him blankly, him not understanding a lick of any of it. He knew Ford had skills of reading other languages, and once or twice he had asked his great uncle to teach him the languages of the multiverse. Ford had said he would but obviously as Dipper looked at the books the lessons didn't start.

"How do you know all of this?" Dipper inquired.

"Almost fifty years in the multiverse does that to you." Layla replied absently as she marked another page.

Once all the books were marked Layla began to recite a few passages. "'Since ancient times the Hierarchy of Demons have watched over their respective dimensions. The Axolotls oversaw the rulings and punished those that broke the ancient rules.

"'Each race of demon oversaw one major dimension, being the guardians of the sub-dimensions. As protectors they have the ability to join forces with someone that inhabited the dimensions to help protect. Although in many ways it is indeed possession the relationship is completely symbiotic. This meaning that the inhabitant of the dimension soul is bound to the demon, the inhabitant having the demon's powers and abilities to an extent.

"'The process of Soul Bonding is extremely rare. Improper precautions leads to the inhabitant's soul being consumed and the body dies. On many occasions the host dies horribly. Soul Bonding should only be done when in dire need.'" Layla concluded as she shut the book. "Sounds fun…" she muttered sarcastically.

"Does it say anything about getting rid of the demon!?" Dipper asked frantically.

Layla went to another open book that she marked the page in. "It states here that the task must be completed before the demon will leave," she informed.

"Are… are… you…" Dipper tried to say but was interrupted with a heavy yawn. His eyes began to flutter and gave another yawn.

"Dipper…?"

"I…"

Blackness.

"So, you know the gig of Soul Bonding now huh, Pine Tree?"

"Bill…"

Dipper stood before the floating triangle, the demon's body glowing in a golden light. They were both surrounded by complete darkness, Dipper standing on seemingly nothing.

"Soul Bonding isn't an easy thing kid, I practically almost killed old Fordsy."

"Why… me…?"

The Dream Demon shrugged. "Call it what you want. Fate. Destiny. Whatever."

"According to the passage that Layla read that a task has to be completed. You had said our souls were bound in that fight in Gravity Falls…"

Bill rolled his eye. "That by the way was extremely fun and painful," he growled sarcastically.

Dipper grimaced at that statement. "Um… sorry…?"

Bill gave a huff in response.

Dipper shook his head as he continued, "Anyway… obviously a threat has arisen and we have work together. The threat is Magum. You want to get rid of him and my family wants to get rid of him. Together we can eliminate the threat. You'll leave my head and be free or whatever, and then finally I can get better."

Bill seemed to ponder on that for a moment. He then finally held out his hand, his hand in blue flames. "Sounds like a deal, Pine-"

"Oh no," Dipper interrupted. "There is no deal. It's symbiotic! We help each other out!"

Bill squinted his eye. "Oh… so, you want to do what the ancient texts say and have some of my abilities?" he presumed.

"I'm not letting you take over my body to kill innocent people again, Bill!" Dipper declared.

"Those guards were going to kill us, Pine Tree!"

"You let me do things my way!" Dipper insisted. "Human life isn't insignificant, Bill! It's almost like saying someone insisted that your race of demons were insignificant!"

"One did, Pine Tree. One that I considered my friend."

"Then we have to work together to get rid of Magum then."

"So… that means you forgive me?"

"I didn't say that. You just need to lend me your powers more for me to have control."

Silence for a moment, Bill just floating there. He then squinted his eye and folded his arms over his chest. "Fine, Pine Tree. We'll… work together. I'll let you use my abilities more."

"Good."

Dipper gasped as he felt being shaken awake suddenly.

"Dipper!" he heard Layla hiss urgently. "Are you okay?"

The brunette blinked open his eyes, him momentarily blinded from the pure white environment. He blinked a few times, trying to get used to the white room again.

"Yeah," he replied softly. "I'm fine…"

Layla gave him worried electric blue eyes. "Was… was he…?"

"There in the dream, yes." Dipper confirmed as he put a hand to his head gently. "I think him and I have an understanding now… I just need to learn how to use the powers properly…"

The older woman bit her lower lip and her eyes darted to the corner. "Well… I know a place that has some equipment for you to train with," she finally said after a few moments.

"Where?" Dipper questioned, him giving her large brown eyes.

"One of Magum's original headquarters."

A heavy door creaked open with effort, grunts coming from both Layla and Dipper as they used all of their strength to open the rusted shut door.

Inside looked like a normal warehouse to Dipper, everything an odd brown/gray color covered in layers of dust. However, once he stepped inside everything was lit up and looked brand new, equipment littering the floor. He had to blink his eyes a few times to try to confirm if what he was seeing was real.

"Wait… what?" he gasped when he finally realized it wasn't an illusion.

Layla took a few steps inside, her hands tracing over a wall with a target that was covered in holes. "Magum kept things hidden very well. That was part of being the kind of demon he is, he can manipulate things telepathically, like a special barrier for these kinds of places," she explained as her steps echoed as she walked.

Dipper saw the pained expression on her face. It looked like she was haunted by visions of the past, her wrapping her arms around herself and looking as though she was going to cry. Suddenly he felt terrible that they were there.

"Um… Layla, we can leave if you want-" Dipper began but was cut off by her.

"No, you need to learn to use Bill's powers," Layla insisted as she walked over to a console. She pressed a button and a machine began to whir loudly, the sound filling the room with a loud hum. "First is target practice. Use the fire."

Dipper gave a firm nod as he walked into a small red square that was on the floor about ten yards away from the target. He took a deep breath as he stared at his hand, waiting for fire to show up.

But nothing did.

Help me out here, Bill! What am I supposed to do?! Dipper frantically screamed in his inner mind.

Concentrate, Pine Tree. The voice of Bill echoed. Imagine the fire there and bend it to your will.

He took another deep breath and looked at his hand again. Dipper imagined the familiar blue flames in a shape of a ball. After a moment or two his hand tingled and the fireball appeared before him.

"Whoa!" Dipper yelled as he moved his hand back, dropping the fireball to the ground. The blue flames sputtered out to a gray smoke, leaving the floor behind charred. "Wow… that was weird!"

Layla gave him a thumbs up with her left hand, which looked odd as she technically didn't have a full thumb.

Dipper began to concentrate more and soon felt blue flames licking up his forearms and he was able to snap his fingers, sending the flames to the targets. If Dipper was honest with himself he would admit that he felt pretty powerful able to use the flames to his advantage. After a few minutes of sending the flames to the targets he felt something heavy in his right hand.

In his right hand was a glint of familiar silver. It was the sword that Bill had summoned so many times when he had possessed Dipper and went on murder sprees. The blade itself was a brilliant silver with a light blue aura around it, the hilt a pure black with gold decorating it. The sword wasn't too heavy, at first it just took him by surprise, and it fit into his hand quite perfectly.

"Wait… didn't you use that at-?" Layla began.

"The bazaar? Yeah… I had used it before too," Dipper finished.

"Do… you know how to use a sword as… you?" Layla then asked him, curiosity in her voice.

"Not… really," he admitted, him taking a few tentative swings with the sword. "But… I guess I should learn."

Layla then led Dipper to a different part of the room where there were powered down robots that looked rusted and dusty. A few minutes later and they started to boot up, their black eyes lighting up to a pure white. They stepped forward, their feet clunking to the ground loudly, as they made their way towards him.

Hesitantly, Dipper lifted the sword. He had no idea if he was even holding it properly, the only time he had ever held a sword as himself was when he and Ford were playing a game for their lives in DD&MD, and even then he wasn't paying attention to know if he was properly holding it.

"Dipper, don't be scared of it!" Layla called out to him as she sat at the control panel.

"I'm not scared of the robot!"

"I'm not talking about the damn robot!"

He then realized that she was talking about the sword. As he stared at the sword, completely ignoring the robot, he did realize that he was scared of the sword. While Bill had full possession of his body so many people were killed by this, scarlet staining the silver. His hand began to shake uncontrollably.

Dipper, I know this is something you prefer not to do… but sometimes… we just have to do things we don't want to.

The words of Stan had echoed in Dipper's mind, the words that Stan had first said when he was showing the young twins how to shoot. At first he didn't want to do so, but now after a couple of years he had appreciated being taught as it had saved his, Mabel's, and other people he cared about in his life multiple times.

Dipper! You can't be afraid of it! Think of it as an extension of yourself!

Suddenly, the sword stopped shaking in his hand. He gripped the hilt tightly and raised it, the robot now dangerously close to him, an arm extended.

An extension of myself…

As the robot reached for him Dipper darted to his left, missing the grip of the mechanical machine by a couple of seconds. With the sword in his right hand he raised it to strike at the robot's exposed flank. The robot then seemed to have activated a defensive mode as it suddenly blocked the strike.

Dipper grunted with annoyance as he darted to the left again and lunged forward, the tip of the sword just barely touching the metal. The robot grabbed at Dipper, the mechanical hands grasping Dipper's neck.

A gasp escaped Layla as she tried to find a button that would deactivate the robot, her electric blue eyes wide with panic.

However, Dipper gave a slight smirk as the sword began to become covered in blue flames. With a flick of his wrist the blade sliced through the mechanical arm, a black oil spewing out and staining the floor, the grip loosening from Dipper's neck. Without a second thought he then thrusted the sword into the chest of the robot, the tip of the sword poking through the robot's back. The glowing eyes of the robot began to dim and soon went pitch black, it finally deactivating with death.

"Dipper!" he heard Layla scream as she ran up to him. She put both hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at her, which looked odd as he was about half a foot taller than her. "Are you okay?! Did it hurt you!?"

"I'm fine," Dipper assured as he rubbed his neck, almost forgetting that moments ago his life was being choked out of him. "That was a lot easier than I thought would be."

Not bad kid, not bad at all!

"You looked like that you have been doing that your whole life," Layla complimented. "Good job."

Dipper trained with those robots for a few more hours, him becoming more advanced with each robot defeated. Once the last robot was defeated Layla shut down the system, the room powering down. The brunette teenager stood next to the last robot that he had defeated, the sword disappearing in blue flames to nothing, him panting.

"That seems to be good enough for now," Layla informed him. "Other warehouses have these kind of things too."

"Okay," Dipper absently replied as he gently kicked a piece of metal to the side. "I still prefer using a sniper rifle though…" Layla was about to reply when her eyes suddenly widened. "Um, Layla…?"

"Shh!" she ordered, her ears seemingly perking up. Cautiously she left the control console and tip-toed around the floor, her hand going to her gun. Her body went rigid as she spun around and ran past Dipper, her grabbing his arm as she passed. "RUN!" she screamed.

Dipper didn't need to be told twice, he knew this woman knew more about the multiverse than him, and possibly even more than Ford. He ran alongside her, him trying to turn his head around to see who or what was chasing them.

"Keep running!" Layla shouted.

However, before Dipper could even ask who was chasing after him he felt his whole body burn. A scream escaped him as he collapsed to the ground, his body and muscles twitching uncontrollably. Dipper managed to glance down, noticing that some metal prongs were sunk into his leg.

"What the – AH!" another surge of the burning sensation went through him.

"Dip- AH!" Layla's high pitch scream joined his pained ones as she collapsed, her body twitching.

Something stepped over to them, Dipper barely making it out as his vision began to blur. It spoke in some language that Dipper obviously didn't know. Before Dipper could demand who they were, a boot kicked him to his face and his vision went black.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the late update!

Here we see Dipper and Bill finally starting to possibly work together!

Thanks for reading as always guys! And thank you for all the support!

~Skye Hendersen~