Previously on Gravity Falls: The Zodiacs:

"DON'T!" Mabel called out.

But it was too late, as Sebastian shoot the ice at Waddles in a fit of rage; but then, something strange happened: Emily quickly rushed up towards the blast and in an instant, a shield made out of water formed on her arm, blocking the ice and deflecting it back at the stunned Sebastian, knocking him down to a nearby wall and leaving him in a daze. The unexpected occurrence left the trio dumbstruck by what they witnessed.

"...What just happened?" Wendy finally asked, as she and Dipper turned their attention to Emily, who seemed to realize what she had just did seconds ago.

"Umm...oops?" Mabel ran up to Waddles catering her beloved pet, not even caring about what Emily just did.

"Guys…" Dipper began. "I think we have stumbled ourselves into another mysteries of Gravity Falls."

The Zodiacs

A Gravity Falls Story

By Allenfairytail

Season 1: Water War

Episode 2: Bridge of Riddles

Everyone just stared at what had just occurred right in front of their own eyes: Sebastian had just let his temper exploded and unexpectedly formed an ice the size of a snowball and shot right at Waddles; even more amazing, Emily ran towards Waddles out of pure instinct and formed a water shield on her arm, deflecting the attack right back at Sebastian.

"What…just happened?" Mabel asked, still a bit shock, as she clung onto Waddles.

"I don't know, but maybe we should ask her," Dipper replied, motioning his arm towards a nervous Emily.

"Wait, um, let me explain…" Emily was at a lost. She didn't know what to say and was afraid what they will do next.

Before she knew it, Mabel immediately went right up to her with a smile on her face, using her one free arm to enthusiastically shake Emily's hand out of sheer gratitude.

"Thank you, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

"Um...you're welcome," Emily awkwardly answered, but was secretly happy of Mabel's thanks.

"So where did you get your super duper powers?" Mabel started to ask. "Did you came from outer space after your homeworld was destroyed? DId a mermaid gave you one after you saved her life? Are you one yourself? Or how about-"

"Mabel, give Emily some space!" Dipper interrupted, before facing Emily. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Emily then took a deep breath, but before she could offer an explain, she was cut off by someone muttering out loud.

"Ow, my head! What hit me back there?"

The moment Sebastian started to stir up, Dipper, Mabel and Wendy felt it was the right time to confront him, especially after his earlier action, as they made their way up to him and gave him a serious look.

"Um...yes?" Sebastian didn't know why the trio were staring at him.

"How could you attack Waddles like that with your super power?! Thanks to you, he might be traumatized for life!" Mabel angrily shouted, before showing a shakened Waddles in his face. The moment Sebastian heard those words coming out from her mouth, his eyes widen in shock and realized what she was talking about.

"I'm sorry, okay!?" Sebastian shouted apologetically. "I wasn't going to harm him, honestly! I was just trying to scare him away when he wouldn't stop trying to get the pastries from the boxes!"

"That still doesn't change the fact that you used your power at him!" Dipper countered. "You could have done it differently."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." Sebastian sighed in guilt.

"Maybe you and Emily can tell us how you pulled it off," Wendy suggested, before she looked around her surroundings. "But not here. We don't want to attract too much attention."

"That sounds like a good idea," Emily agreed.

"Wait a minute, I can't do that! I still have to help my-" Sebastian's protest was cut short when Mabel grabbed his hand and dragged him, forcing him to follow her, Dipper, Wendy, Waddles and Emily to who knows where, leaving the few boxes behind, just as Miranda showed up from the back.

"Sebastian, what's taking you so long?" she called out, only to see some abandoned boxes of pastries instead, much to her surprise. "Now where did he go?"

At Dipper's insistence, the gang headed to the nearby forest not far from where they were and upon arrival, he, Mabel and Wendy looked around, trying to make sure that they, along with Waddles, Sebastian and Emily, were the only ones around. After only a few minutes, the group relaxed with peace and relief.

"That…was a close one," Dipper commented.

"No kidding, Dipper," Mabel agreed.

"What the freak was that for?!" Sebastian shouted at them. "I have loads of work to do back at the bakery! How am I going to explain to Miranda about my absence?"

"Your welcome," Dipper deadpanned.

"Don't be disappointed, Dipper. He's just stressed out, that's all," Wendy attempted to prevent another argument, before facing Sebastian. "Anyway, as I was saying, you and Emily needed to tell us how you did it."

"Emily?" he asked incredulously, before he turned to see a teenage girl he didn't recognized before, who simply waved her hand back at him. "Oh, so that's her."

"Oh yeah, I thought it wouldn't be an adventure if you and Emily weren't involved," Mabel happily explained, irking Sebastian, while Emily wasn't bothered by it. Then, an idea came to her. "Say, how about we sit down and you guys tell about yourselves? That way, we won't bother Dipper and you can tell all about your colorful pasts."

"That...might not be such a bad idea," Dipper agreed, surprised by his sister's suggestion. "Since we're already here in the forest, I'll just look into this journal and learn more of what we're looking for."

"Alrighty!" Mabel shouted enthusiastically.

With that, Dipper pulled out Journal #3 from his side and opened it, checking any entry about his earlier discovery, while Wendy and Emily, along with Mabel, Sebastian and Waddles, sat on a bunch of discarded logs, as Mabel began to nudge on her crush's side, much to his annoyance.

"So tell us about your powers and yourself already," Mabel eagerly demanded, her excitement overriding her politeness, as she continued to madly nudge him.

"I would if you stop nudging me like that."

"Come on, Sebastian, I'm just being playful."

"Mabel…"

"...Have it your way then," Mabel reluctantly relented and stopped nudging on Sebastian's side.

Satisfied to hear this, he took a deep breath, before offering Mabel the history behind his powers and himself.

"It all began a while back, at least a few years ago. I came from Texas, where my dad once ran an automobile business and my mom would helped him out. But because of the arrangement, my two older sisters and I were left to take care of ourselves."

"Wow, that's rough," Mabel commented, before she realized something. "That still doesn't explain how you got your neat powers."

"I'm getting there," Sebastian assured her, before resuming where he left off. "I discover my powers a year ago, when I was swimming with a few other people and decided to make a bet to see who could outswim the other. We were so caught up with our competition that I accidentally activated my powers, propelling myself to the other side of the pool in seconds."

"No way!" Mabel gasped, before another thought occurred to her. "What about everyone else?"

"I had an awkward time trying to explain what they actually had saw. It took me a long time before I managed to convince them that the sun was probably playing tricks with their eyes. Fortunately, they fell for it and we didn't talk about that incident for the rest of the day."

"Wow, that is pretty lucky."

"It was, but on that day, I learned how to be careful from now on and not draw too much attention to myself. The last thing I want is to put my family in danger because of my carelessness and just thinking about it bothers me a lot."

Mabel continued to look at Sebastian, her enthusiasm replaced by sympathy after hearing his backstory. She didn't expect her crush to put himself in a situation that put a lot of stress in his mind.

"Don't worry too much about it," Mabel attempted to reason with him. "Sure, the idea of your powers freaking out everyone is understandable, but you gotta loosen up and have fun, like knitting sweaters!"

"Knitting sweaters?" Sebastian didn't know what Mabel was getting at.

"It's a great stress reliever!" she exclaimed. "But enough about that. Let's talk about you. You still didn't explain what else you can do besides shooting an ice ball."

"It's still new to me," Sebastian admitted. "I'm still trying to figure out what else I can do."

"It's cool," Mabel accepted his explanation, before she started to giggle at her own pun. "Get it?"

"Yeah, I get it."

While Mabel and Sebastian started to get to know each other, Wendy and Emily were having a similar conversation of their own

"So Emily…" Wendy began. "Please tell me about yourself."

"Well, there's not much to talk about," Emily claimed.

"Come on, Emily, I'm sure you're an interesting person," Wendy insisted.

"I don't know," she remained unconvinced, prompting Wendy to think long and hard until it hit her; she just hope it might do the trick.

"If it'll make you feel better, I once compete in lumberjack games."

"You were in lumberjack games?" Emily asked, much to her surprise

"Believe it or not, they ended up being useful, but I'll talk about that another day," said Wendy. "Now you give it a try."

"...Alright then," Emily agreed, taking a deep breath, before telling her new friend about herself. "I use to live in Wyoming and I was the youngest out of four kids, but I spent most of life in California and…" Emily stopped in her track, much to Wendy's curiosity.

"What's wrong, Emily?"

"...Let's just say that living in California wasn't the best moment for me. My dad and I never gotten along and my mom..." Emily stopped once more the moment she brought her mother up, causing her much discomfort.

"It's alright, you don't have to say it if you don't feel like it," said Wendy, putting her hand on Emily's shoulder with genuine concern.

"Thank you, I really needed that," Emily was glad that she didn't have to talk too much of her past. The memories of those days were still painful for her.

"Let's talk about something else then," Wendy suggested. "Like, tell me how you were able to form a shield out of water."

"Sure, I can talk about that," Emily accepted, as she began her explanation to Wendy. "It was two years ago at the beach and I was doing some wakeboarding with a few friends. We were having such a good time that neither of us didn't notice an oncoming boat heading our way, coming closer towards me. By the time I saw it, I panicked and in that instant, I formed a water shield around myself, just as the boat hit it, sending me to the lake. I was really lucky when it happened or I wouldn't be here."

"Yikes!" Wendy was surprised that Emily was caught in such a predicament. "What about your friends though?"

"When I swam back to shore, they got off from the boat and asked me what happened. I told them that I let go of the handle when a nearby boat came by. I didn't tell them about my powers because I thought they would freak out. Anyway, we mind our business afterwards. Sorry if it's not much of a story."

"No sweat, Emily. It was better than having no story at all and thanks for sharing about yourself," Wendy assured her, enough to put a smile on Emily's face.

"Guys, I think I found it!" Dipper shouted, prompting the four to stop what they were doing and turned their attention to him, as they gathered around to see what he was looking at his journal; On one of the pages was a picture of a bridge that looked centuries old, with woods holding it in its place.

"Is that...a bridge?" Emily curiously asked.

"That's right," Dipper replied. "It also happens to be a part of one of Gravity Falls mysteries and we're going over there to solve it!"

Confused by his last claim, but also curious, Sebastian inspected the illustration of the bridge much closer. His eyes widen when he saw it for himself.

"This bridge is…old and on the verge of collapse. We can't cross this! What if someone got hurt?!"

"I agree with Sebastian here," Wendy inclined. "Crossing a very old and damaged bridge is very dangerous."

"But we gotta cross it!" Dipper convinced. "We just have to walk slowly through the bridge closely and carefully."

"Are you sure, Dipper?" Mabel asked with concern.

"I'm sure of it!" he exclaimed. "Now come on, let's get going!"

Reluctantly, the group followed his lead, despite their misgivings, as they began the long trek to finding this mystery bridge, unaware of what was waiting for them.

It was at least several minutes and the gang weren't so sure if they were getting closer to their destination or not. Fortunately for them, the journal also acted as some sort of map for them, as DIpper followed the trail as intently as he could, wanting to make sure that they weren't getting lost. Slowly but surely, they approached a rickety old bridge from a distance; it crossed over a very muddy river and there seemed to be no way around it.

"Looks like we found your mystery bridge," Mabel said to Dipper.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Sebastian voiced his opinion.

"Remember what I said earlier: we'll just walk slowly on the bridge as closely and carefully as we can, find out what's on the other side and we'll be back in town before you know it," Dipper reasoned with him.

"You're the boss," Wendy simply said, with Emily nodding her head.

Once everyone came to an agreement, Dipper lead his friends to their destination once more, marching with confidence. But upon their arrival, though, they heard what sounded like a deep but rough voice speaking out of nowhere.

"Who dares to cross my bridge?! Speak now or leave at once!"

"W-What was that?!" Sebastian fearfully asked.

"I-I don't know!" Emily replied, just as fearful as he was.

"Looks like we'll have to wait and find out for ourselves," Wendy said like it was nothing.

On cue, someone, or something, was coming underneath the bridge, making big stomps with each step, before he stepped out of the shadow, allowing the group to get a full glimpse of the being; he was twice the size of any humans, with blue skin and huge muscles, horns protruding from his head, with wild green hair on it, as well as the right horn missing half of it, four eyes on his forehead, fangs hanging loose from his mouth, claws on his hands, ten toes and wearing what looked like a loincloth made out of tiger skin, carrying a steel-like bat on his back.

Based on his expression, he was very grouchy and quite ill-tempered, displeased to have some visitors in his presence.

"What brings you over here? SPEAK!" he angrily demanded.

The group remained silent, still unsure how to respond back, though Sebastian and Emily are astonished to see something so...supernatural right in their faces. Dipper, on the other hand, quickly flip over a few pages, before he founded an entry about this mystery monster.

"Let's see…what matches what I'm looking at…here! According to this journal, Oni are part of a class of monsters called yokai that are normally associated to Japanese folklore. Oni are also monstrous in nature that are associated with natural disasters, diseases or unpleasant things, sometimes attacking and even devouring humans if necessary."

Dipper looked up at the Oni, then back at the entry, before arching an eyebrow in confusion.

'What the heck is an Oni doing in Gravity Falls anyway?'

"No way…an Oni?! Here!?" Sebastian panicked as he is aware of Japanese mythology and folklore. "You sure it's not a troll?!"

"Silence! How dare you call me a troll!" the Oni shouted in fury. "If you want to cross my bridge, you'll have to answer my riddles or I'll have you for dinner tonight!"

"Don't worry, let me handle this," Mabel said with confidence, much to Sebastian's surprise, as she started to approach the Oni.

"Mabel, what are you doing?!" Sebastian shouted in fear. "Get back here!"

But Mabel ignored his pleas, however and made her way to face the Oni, as she took a deep breath before speaking up as loud as she can hear.

"Look foureyes, we came here all the way to find out what's on the other side and if you have a problem with it, then deal with it, bub!" to make sure she meant business, Mabel threw her fist up the air and waved it angrily back at him.

"...Really?" Sebastian questioned her sanity and action. What happened next took him and the gang by surprise.

"You're quite brave, little girl and for that, perhaps you and your friends could accept my challenge…" the Oni began. "Answered three riddles and I shall allow you all to cross. But fail any of them and I shall make feast upon you."

"See, I knew what I was doing," Mabel told her friends, before Dipper approached his sister, grabbed her arm and dragged her back with them for her own safety, just as the Oni spoke once more.

"Riddle number one: Make Mount Fuji take three steps. How?"

Almost immediately, everyone began to ponder in silence, looking for the answer for the first riddle. Dipper was the most determined of them all, however, his thoughts filled with many possible solutions, or at least, he hoped so.

'How do you make Mount Fuji take three steps?...I know, it should...no wait, that wouldn't make sense. Of course, it has to be...that doesn't make any sense either. Think Dipper, think!'

"Walk three steps," stunned by this, Dipper, as well as everyone else, turned their focus on Sebastian, no doubt the one who answered the first riddle.

"That's it? Walk three steps?" Dipper asked incredulously.

"Correct!" the Oni answered, somewhat amused by the response. "Three steps are three steps, who ever walks them."

"...That doesn't make any sense!" Dipper objected.

"Yes it does!" Mabel disagreed, even though she had no idea what any of it meant.

"Silence!" the Oni spoke up, silencing the twins and their friends, before resuming where he left off. "Riddle number two: Why is it not our tongue we speak with?"

Once again, the group were deep in their thoughts, looking for the correct answer to this bizarre riddle and once more, Dipper was trying to find the right solution to it.

'This is going to be a tough one...maybe it's just...nah, that's wrong...how about...nope, not there. What is the correct answer?'

"Say something," Wendy told everyone, hoping one of them would have a clue. Though even she was taken by surprise by what happened next.

"Correct!" the Oni praised her. "Silly question. Just show that you're speaking."

Dipper was aghast by this; he couldn't believe something as simple would have been the correct answer. What kind of riddles was he and his friends playing? They sound quite ridiculous. He was expecting something challenging, not confusing.

"Final riddle…" the Oni began. "The principle of Zen is complete freedom. Why?"

Once he finished his riddle, everyone were lost in their thoughts once more, especially Dipper, as he was trying to make sense of the last previous riddles. If they were as absurd and strange, the last riddle might as well be surreal.

'Alright Dipper, try to make some sense with this riddle,' he thought to himself. 'Whatever the answer, find it right away before-'

"Ooh! Ooh! I think I got it!" Mabel suddenly shouted. "Walk around and sing!"

"Mabel!" Dipper yelled at his sister with horror.

"Correct!" the Oni proudly spoke, impressed by the group's efforts. "The why of Zen is a principle of everything, don't bother."

"Wait, what?" Dipper deadpanned. "Who writes these things? They make no sense," he muttered, completely baffled at what just happened.

"Just as I promised, you are allowed to cross the bridge whenever you like," the Oni informed the group, much to their relief. For once, it was nice to encounter something supernatural that at least honored a promise.

"...That's it, I give up," Dipper expressed his disbelief by throwing his arms up in the air.

"Alright, we did it!" Mabel shouted with joy.

"I'm just glad we got luck on our side," Wendy commented.

"Let's save the celebration when we get to the other side," said Sebastian.

"Before he changes his mind," Emily added.

With that in mind, the group crossed over the other side of the bridge, curious and intrigued on what they'll discover once they made it through. What they discovered was not what they expected.

"Uh, guys?" Wendy spoke up, causing everyone to turn around to see her and Emily standing in the river. "The water's shallow."

"I don't think it even goes up to my ankles," Emily noticed.

"...You mean we went through all that for nothing!?" a chagrin Dipper shouted.

"Well now you know!" Mabel exclaimed, ignoring her brother's annoyance.

"Anyway, now that we're here, what is that we're looking for?" asked Sebastian, changing the subject.

"Let me check the journal and find out," Dipper replied, as he opened it up to check the entry once more, hoping if it could offer some answer.

Miranda couldn't believe her luck, as she found herself unloading baking supplies, baking the pastries and handing out them on her own. It doesn't help that it was opening day, forcing her to pick up the pace than she normally would; she didn't even have a chance to take a break. Thankfully, though, her decision of baking early in the morning before opening hours and planning ahead of time did help her to some degree, giving Miranda some room to breath and a long needed break, as she stepped outside in the back for some rest.

'Where the heck is Sebastian?' she thought to herself. 'When he gets back, I'm going to get some answer right out of him.'

As she continued to wonder what became of her brother, she failed to notice two small figures hiding behind the dumpster, eyeing on the bakery shop with serious intent, waiting for the moment to strike. Unfortunately for Miranda and the rest of the bakery, that time was now.

Well that's one way to get past the Oni; solving riddles that don't make any sense whatsoever! Heh, be glad that it wasn't the Sphinx that was on the bridge from the Percy Jackson series. That would have been a much different (and difficult) story. Anyway, things are getting interesting as the gang goes deeper into the forest while trouble is brewing elsewhere and Miranda will learn that sometimes you don't find trouble; trouble finds you. What will it be? Keep reading to find out in Chapter 3!

Anyway, with that in mind see you next time and please review! Ciao!