Here is Chapter 14! I put a lot of work into this chapter so hopefully you all enjoy it as much as I was challenged while writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls.

"Binding a ghost to you is easy, if you're not a weak-minded meat bag who can't take a bit of pain," Bill told him as he tapped on Dipper's head with his cane to make sure he was still paying attention. They were once again seated in the classroom, having a lesson that Dipper wasn't really focusing on - though he should have been. He hadn't been back out into his actual mindscape since their lessons had started, and part of him wondered if his mindscape had changed at all over the course of his and Bill's arrangement. He looked up at the demon as he forced his focus back onto the glowing triangle, his brows furrowing.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, Pine Tree, you've got a pretty good grip on the basics of elemental manipulation, so I think you'll be fine with a little bit of blood magic," Bill said, rubbing his hands together, as if the thought of Dipper being in pain entertained him.

Dipper leaned back in his seat, face scrunching up. "Aw, gross, no, you sick bastard. Can't we do it some other way?"

"Probably! But this way's much more fun for me."

Dipper slouched in his seat, fiddling with the textbook laying open on the desk, expression full of discomfort.

"Look man, I dunno if I'm ready to do something like that...I mean...can't I just practice some more of this elementary maniples or whatever?"

"Elemental manipulation."

"See, Bill, I don't even know what it's called," he complained, throwing up his hands. "How can you be so sure I know how to even do it?"

"I thought you were smart, kid," Bill said, sniggering at the angry scowl crossing Dipper's face. The demon rest an arm on the desk, his one eye staring lazily at his apprentice. "Look; you don't just create magic out of nothing. You turn it into one thing from something else." A ball of fire appeared in Bill's hand. "This, mere seconds ago, was someone's nightmare. Now it's fire. The same consequence works for you; except usually when you're casting you turn the air around you into this, because, y'know, it's an abundant resource." He explained it slowly, as if he was talking to a two year old. He juggled the fire around in his hand, before passing it off to Dipper, who held it carefully in cupped palms.

"I know you said you can't see magic in the mindscape, but you should be able to feel the difference," he continued.

Dipper looked at Bill, then let his gaze flicker to the fire, just staring at it for a long time.

"It...tastes different," he finally said, looking at Bill. "Your fire tastes like sweat." The fire went out in his hands.

"Uh huh. That's because it used to thrive on fear induced activities."

Dipper nodded slowly, understanding dawning on his face. "Oh! So that's why my magic is all...light and clean." He straightened up in his seat, leaning forward slightly. "And that's another thing; I can see it, taste it, and feel it, but...can I smell it? Does magic even have a smell?"

"You'll find that magic itself doesn't have a smell like it does a taste, but magical creatures have specific scents."

"Will I ever be able to smell them?"

"No. The only reason your eyesight got the way it is now is because I'm using you, and I need full '20/20 vision', as you meat bags would say - most humans actually function at about 14/20." Bill shrugged, adjusting his top hat on his head. "Doesn't explain how you got lucky enough to see magic, but eh, you must have the cosmos on your side or something." Bill didn't seem bothered by his ability, but Dipper couldn't really judge. If their positions were reversed, he knew he would have been extremely jealous.

"Anyway," Bill stressed out the word. "A little bit of blood magic will be easy. All you need is a couple of drops. It's the symbols that'll be the hard part for you. If you can write the correct alchemical symbols, a simple binding on a weaker ghost will be easy. Or should be. If you can't - you'll have to find another way into the Manor."

Dipper stared at Bill, then down at his hands. When he looked back up, his face was set and determined.

"Okay; I'll do it. I still don't know why you want me to do this, but I'll get it done...for the magic practice."

"Yeah, kid, you're doing this for the 'magic practice'," Bill made air quotations with his fingers. His eye was full of glee. "Stubborn, aren't ya?"

Dipper scowled with annoyance, but didn't deny Bill's insinuation towards his motives. His eyes slid over to the blackboard as different symbols were sketched upon it. He recognized the triangle symbol for fire, but not much else.

"Study them, memorize them, and then you can use them. These five are all you'll need to bind a ghost to you - one that isn't very powerful, but I trust it's enough to do the job."

Dipper studied each symbol carefully, tracing them in the air with his finger. Blue fire appeared in the air where his finger moved, outlining the symbols in front of his face. When he thought he had them memorized, he dropped his hand and glanced at Bill.

"So...what do I actually do with them?"

"You'll need to first find a ghost and trap it in one of these." The chalk drew a perfect pentagram on the board. Dipper's expression tightened uncomfortably.

"Okay, Bill I don't know about-"

"Before you bite my head off kid, let me explain. In alchemy, it's used as a form of protection. It'll keep any supernatural force on the physical plane trapped inside it. From there, you'll put these symbols at each point of the star. All you need to remember is to put the symbol for fire at the top, and the others won't matter."

"O...kay?" Dipper scratched the back of his neck, trying to remember every detail of what Bill was telling him. "Is...will I need to say anything?"

"The worlds will come to you, Pine Tree. Just let it flow - stop thinking. Seriously. I can almost see smoke coming outta your ears."

Dipper's brows furrowed. "But that doesn't make any-"

"Sweet dreams, Pine Tree!"

Dipper choked as he bolted upright in his bed, gasping for air as he looked around himself frantically. Mabel was staring at him from her bed, hugging Waddles to her. His sharp eyes picked up the way she was frowning at him, eyes wide with worry.

"Mabel?" He said tiredly, running a hand through his hair.

"Dipper..."

He waited for her to say something else, but she just looked away, picking at the blanket on her bed with one hand as she hugged Waddles closer with her other arm.

The silence was deafening.

"...It was just a dream, Mabel. No big deal," he eventually said, guessing what she was thinking.

"It's..." She drew in a shaky breath. "It isn't that...It just...you wouldn't sit still and you kept whispering to yourself and it was just weird." She picked at a loose thread on her bedspread, pulling it out of the blanket and making the material around it pull together. "It wasn't like you."

Dipper blinked at her, then laughed. It was faker than he intended it to be. "Don't be silly, Mabel, it was just a dream."

"I couldn't help but worry!" She burst out loudly, squeezing Waddles hard. The pig snorted at her slightly. Mabel's voice dropped to a whisper as she said, "I thought...I thought maybe..." She took a deep breath. "I thought maybe Bill was back."

Dipper stared at her for a long time. Then, his eyes widened, and panic struck through him like lightning.

Shit shit shit, how do I get out of this one?!

"Well...it wasn't him, Mabel. I haven't seen him since I talked to you about it - like forever ago. Maybe he gave up?" He was proud of himself for not letting his voice quiver or break.

"It doesn't seem like him. That poop head always finds a way to come back."

He rubbed his arm awkwardly. "Heh. Yeah...I guess I just have to cross my fingers and hope he doesn't this time."

He could tell Mabel wanted to believe him - could tell that there was something in the back of her head stopping her.

"I feel like I don't even know who you are anymore," she admitted in the quiet.

His breath caught in his throat, his stomach flipping over. It hurt. It hurt to hear her say something like that to him. How could she...how could she not know who he was?

"Oh, Mabel...of course you know who I am," he said in a hushed tone as he slipped out of his bed and walked over to her. He sat down on the bed beside her and Waddles, pushing the pig's noise and making him snort. "I'm your little brother - as you so constantly remind me. How could you think something like that?"

She shrugged slightly. "We never hang out anymore. You know...just hang out - without monsters or research getting in the way. I miss that, is all. You're always off doing your weird booky nerd things and..." She trailed off with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Dipper."

"Don't be sorry, Mabel. This is my fault," he said quietly, swinging his feet back and forward against the edge of her bed. "I've been so caught up in my own obsession that I've forgotten about one of the most important people in my life, and that she wants to spend time with me."

She seemed to shake off her melancholy in only the way she could do, beaming at him in the darkness. He felt a sharp finger hit him on the nose.

"Bap."

"Yeah. Bap." He gave her a poke in the cheek, making her laugh.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just being a dumb dumb, Dipper."

He slid off of the bed, pulling their makeshift curtain from the window. The sun was already rising, and he gouged the time to be about 7:00 am.

Ugh. Bill you ass. You coulda let me sleep a little bit longer. Sweet dreams, my ass.

He flicked on the lantern, and she winced at the blinding light, then looked up at her brother. Dipper smiled kindly, tipping his head to the side slightly.

"It's still early - we could make the Stan's some face-shaped omelettes?" He said. "And then we could go to the mall or something?"

A huge smile brimmed across her face and she jumped out of bed. "Let's do it, Bro-Bro! I'll get everything ready!" She raced out of the room. Dipper followed her at a slower pace, letting out a relieved breath as he walked.

That was a close call - she could have figured me out.

I can't let that happen again.

The omelettes, according to Grunkle Stan, were delicious and beautiful. Stanford had scoffed them up as if he'd never seen food before, so Dipper assumed that he thought they were fantastic as well.

He breathed a soft sigh, letting his magic protect his sense of taste from the rancidity of the shack.

"So, Dipper, how're things with you?" Stanford asked him as he sat at the table, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork. Dipper looked up at him, blinking.

"What?"

"I said; how're things with you?"

He didn't miss the implications behind his words, and fought the scowl trying to flash across his face. He settled with staring at Stanford dead in the eye instead.

"They're fine."

"Really? You been doing much lately or-"

"No. I'm fine. Things are fine." His voice was a little firmer this time, a little bit colder. Grunkle Stan hunched his shoulders down, and Mabel fiddled with the food on her plate, seemingly not noticing the tension that was almost audible. Dipper leaned back in his seat, a smugness flashing across his face as he realized he had his opening. "What, sir, do you not believe me?" His eyes flickered over to Mabel, who beamed at him when she saw him looking, before he looked back at Stanford. The man eyed Dipper with distrust and anger.

Imbecile.

He knew he had him pinned. If there was one thing he had in common with the man, it was Mabel. Neither of them wanted to hurt her, and he was certain he had the upper hand in this scenario. It wouldn't sit well with Mabel if she thought their great uncle was accusing him of being up to something.

Stanford backed down from his claim. Grunkle Stan glanced uncomfortably between them, but then continued to eat his food as if there was absolutely nothing wrong.

Dipper pushed his plate away, sliding out of his seat. "Mabel and I are gonna go out into the town today. Don't wait up."

Mabel pushed her empty plate away, getting up. Her expression was bright, but he could tell that in the back of her mind, she was still worrying about him - could see it in the way her eyes would dim just a little bit every now and again.

He'd have to erase that worry, or she could become problematic. He didn't want her involved.

He shook himself from his thoughts as she let out a cheerful, "Yeah! Grunkle Stan, Great Uncle Ford - is that okay?"

The two Stan's looked at each other, then looked at Dipper, then finally at Mabel and nodded together. "Don't do something stupid - I'm not paying for anything you two break," Grunkle Stan grumbled.

"No promises!" Mabel called, following Dipper as he walked out of the kitchen. She fell into step with him as they left the Shack, walking down the wooden steps.

"So why are we going into town, anyway? I get that it's to hang out together, but we could always do that at the Shack."

"I found this neat ritual thingy in one of the books I've been reading. I want to try it out."

Mabel looked confused as they walked down the path away from the Mystery Shack and into town.

"So...why the mall?"

"Well, you know how last year we found that ghost in one of the unused stores and never exorcised it? What was his name? Magno? Marco?"

"Sure do, Dip-Dop. And it's Marcus," she said, eyes taking on that dreamy quality he always assciited with boys. "He was a pretty dreamy ghost. I could have touched that blonde hair all day...if, you know, I could even touch him. Heheh. If only..."

"That's...too much information, Mabel," he said, face scrunching up. "Anyway - I want to test a binding ritual on him. That way, he'll be stuck with me until he gets exorcised."

"Why would you wanna do that?" She didn't sound very approving - in fact, she sounded downright against the idea.

"It's just to see if it works or not. Most of the stuff in the book I'm reading hasn't worked yet, so it's more of an investigation than anything else. Besides, I can unbind the ghost when I done. Easy peasy."

"His name is Marcus. Call him Marcus," she said, but was slowly nodding, as if she understood what he was going on about (though he wasn't sure she did. She had that look in her eye that she got whenever she was thinking about boys). Dipper sighed softly, shaking his head at her.

He turned his attention to the trees and colors spinning around them as they walked the path to town, letting his thoughts wander. He didn't really focus on anything, just picked his way through his mind lazily, until he came across a particular question that irked him.

Is Bill watching me right now?

A part of him felt like he was - but he couldn't be too sure. He touched the side of his eye briefly before dropping his hand back down to his side.

"Hey Mabel?" He asked abruptly.

"Yeah, Dip?"

"You...do trust me right? I mean...ignoring what you said to me this morning, of course. I only ask because...well...I get the feeling that Ford doesn't, you know?"

Mabel stared at him, looking a little bit hurt. She punched him hard in the arm. "Of course I do, dumb dumb! You're my best friend!" She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I just worry about you sometimes is all. That's why I said what I did to you...I'm sure it's the same way for them and you're just reading it wrong."

"Heh...yeah..." He rubbed his arm slowly. That punch really hurt.

They walked the rest of the way into town and to the mall in silence. Dipper felt a little bit better, knowing she still trusted him. He didn't know what he would do if she stopped having that optimistic confidence in him - that want to believe in him.

Probably burn down the shack. Ha.

Dipper glanced up, brows furrowing.

"Mabel, are those your friends?"

She perked up excitedly, spotting them the same time as he did, racing away from him without a second thought. They were playing a claw machine outside of a toy shop, and Mabel was quick to interrupt them, voice loud and going a mile a minute. He wandered over to them.

"GRENDA MAD," Grenda shouted angrily, punching the machine as the claw dropped the toy monkey it had been holding.

"Hey guys!" Mabel shrieked excitedly, grinning. "How's it going? Seen any cute boys lately, Candy? Grenda, how's Marius?" She asked all of her questions as if she hadn't seen her friends in twenty years.

"Good specimens are very hard to come across at the moment," Candy said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I suggest a butterfly net."

Mabel laughed goofily. "That would soooo work! Hey, Dip - wanna come boy hunting with us?"

"Eh...no...I'm good," Dipper said awkwardly, stepping away from his sister and waving his hands at them in a 'no no, I'm not doing that' gesture. He rubbed the back of his neck. "But uhm...you and your friends should totally catch up - I have to go to the bookstore anyway. We can hang out later, if you want to?"

His sister nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah! Thanks Dipper! I'll see you later. Okay?'

"Okay."

Mabel gave him a little wave as she and her friends disappeared inside the toy shop, squealing excitedly.

Dipper let out a heavy sigh, then straightened his back and headed away to the empty store beside the book shop at the other end of the mall. When he got to the shop, he glanced around himself and began to fiddle with the doorknob, trying to get it to unlock. With a scowl, he realized it wasn't going to budge, so he wrapped his fingers around the knob and ripped it straight off as magic coursed up his arm. A grin replaced his angry expression as he pushed the door open and then shut behind him.

With his palm pressed against the door, he managed to twist the air around him and force a new lock onto the door.

It only took a matter of moments for the ghost to appear before him. Dipper could see a white mist twisting around the no corporal being, masking him in a more terrifying image.

"GET OUT OF- Uh. Hey Dipper."

The ghost calmed down when he saw it was just Dipper, laughing as he dropped the facade. He was probably only a little older than him, and looked like a spawn of Sev'ral Timez (cue girly Mabel screaming).

And, most importantly, he was as stupid and gullible as they came.

Perfect.

"Sup, man."

"What are you doing here?"

Dipper shrugged, fire leaping into his hand before disappearing, leaving only a single piece of chalk in his hand. He threw it up, catching it lazily.

"Oh...you know...wanted to see how you were doing. The usual," he said nonchalantly. He was pretty confident he could do this without the ghost being any the wiser.

A light snigger left his mouth.

Dumb ass.

The ghost looked surprised, hovering closer to him. "Since when did you learn magic, dude?"

Dipper glanced at him, a smirk toying across his lips. In the back of his mind, he knew this was not how he should be taking the situation - that he should be more alert, that he wasn't acting like himself, but right now he didn't give a single damn. His mental state was already pretty questionable, so why bother questioning it any further? He was going to enjoy this is - morals be damned.

"Since this summer. Do you want me to show you some of the stuff I've been learning?"

"Woah, really? Awesome!"

Dipper bent down, breathing out slowly as he began to draw a circle. He was very careful, making sure there were no gaps. He glanced at the ghost, seeing that he was hovering above the circle, but not outside of it.

Good. He hoped he stayed like that.

Very quickly but carefully, he drew the star in the centre of the circle, then jumped out if the circle.

"Oh - hey, Uh, Dipper, this doesn't feel right," the ghost looked squeamish and uncomfortable.

"Good." A wicked smile flashed across his face. "That means it's working."

He started sketching each memorized symbol outside of the pentagram at each point, making sure the triangular fire symbol was at the top point. After making sure each symbol was perfect and drawn correctly, he stepped away. The ghost started banging aggressively on an invisible barrier, panic in his face.

"Dipper, man, what the hell! I thought we were friends?!"

"We are friends, Marcus. That's why I picked you."

"Picked me for what?!"

Dipper smiled at him with what he thought was a kind smile. The magic around him stirred, churning wildly. He saw the way it swirled around the pentagram, keeping the ghost in. He saw the way it moved around himself, indulging him with the sweet taste of sugar, searing his tongue and burning through him.

Understanding fell over him. Like the snap of someone's fingers, he began to get what Bill had meant by just letting it flow. He relaxed, feeling his mind let go as pure power rushed through his body, forcing him down to his knees. He felt the wild grin spread back across his face, saw his hands fall flat on the floor. He felt the way the ground rocked unsteadily under him, like an earthquake, and smelt the fire quaking from under his palms. He saw the way it blossomed out across the ground in an unnatural blue glow, encasing the empty shop. He felt the laugh burst from his mouth, heard the maniac in him loving the feeling of pure energy, pure power.

He sounded just like Bill - was acting just like Bill.

For some reason, that really tickled his funny bone.

"Alligavit, unam tenere. Sanguine usque ad mortem, ad mortem usque sanguine. Usque facinus patratur, malles," he chanted lowly through his laughter, keeping his palms pressed to the ground.

Woah, since when did I know Latin?

Awesome.

The words flowed from his lips, not ceasing as the pentagram glowed.

He held one hand up, a knife appearing in the other in a bright flash of blue. Unease washed over him, but was ultimately forced back as the giddiness inside of him took hold. He only briefly hesitated before slashing the knife across his palm. He hissed with pain, holding back the pained sounds threatening to rip from his lips. He let the blood drip out onto the floor in front of him, swallowing a gasp.

"A...Alligavit, u-unam t-tenere. S-Sanguine usque ad m...m-mortem, ad mortem usque sanguine. Usque f...facinus patratur, malles!"

The room exploding in a glow of bright blue light. He shielded his gaze from it, letting out a sharp yell as he was thrown back against the wall.

The light slowly faded, and the ghost was left hovering on the floor, stunned as he looked at the destroyed pentagram. He looked at Dipper, and Dipper looked back at him.

"...what the hell was that?" He demanded of Dipper, who didn't reply. He picked himself up off the ground and walked over to the ghost, who shrunk away with narrowed eyes.

"You're acting weird, Dipper Pines. Where's Mabel? I don't trust you."

"I'm okay with that. It's not like you can do much to stop me," he said as he kneeled down in front of the ghost. "Now; I have a job for you - and you're going to do exactly as I say. Got that? We're on the same page?"

The ghost didn't look pleased, crossing his arms and reluctantly nodding.

Dipper shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood back up, the little smirk toying across his mouth again.

"Northwest Manor. Go haunt it. No violence against the occupants - but do make sure to damage their belongings."

Marcus slowly got up, furious and hateful, but his semi-visible body dissipated in the air. Dipper only knew the resentful ghost was going out the vent because he saw the lingerings of his snow white magic going out through the gaps.

And then he was alone.

His hand erupted in blue flame again, leaving a bandage in its places when it vanished. He wrapped it tight around his palm and tied it off. He didn't know any healing magic - he was too scared to try shutting the wound with his magic in case it hurt, or made it worse.

He cracked his knuckles, heaving a large sigh as he looked around him.

God. This place is a mess now.

Dipper straightened his shirt out carefully before going back to the door and unlocking it. He stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Things so far, we're going okay. Better than he had hoped for.

Now...time to find Mabel.

Whoo! Chapter 14 finished! Hopefully you all enjoy reading it and I can't wait to read your reviews. Things are really starting to pick up now.

Next time; we take a visit to Northwest Manor!