Candy was humming as she walked with one of her best friends in the whole world. Grenda listened closely with her pet lizard on her shoulder. When Candy finished, Grenda guessed, "Off the Rails?"

"Yes!" Candy cheered as they were starting to leave the forest and walk on the main road. "Your turn!"

"Okay, okay, um…" Grenda gave it a moment's thought and started to hum a tune. Candy paid close attention to this one, but she didn't recognize it. Grenda then whistled the exact same tune in case it would help her friend remember.

"I… I don't know." Candy said.

"It's the Silver Ladies theme!" Grenda answered.

"Oh, my parents never let me watch that show."

The two young teenagers walked up the porch of the Mystery Shack and knocked on the door. They expected to hear a faint squeal of delight and running feet, so they were a little worried when they didn't hear that. Was Mabel not home? Or was she sick? Did she forget that they scheduled a playdate with Waddles, Everest, and the lizard Harry? Candy knocked again in case maybe their friend didn't hear the first knock. There was a moment's pause, but then faint barking could be heard and it sounded like a big dog ran up to the door and was scratching it.

"Everest?" Grenda called and opened the unlocked door Everest ran out of the house and to the girls, who nearly fell on their butts due to the weight of the big Saint Bernard, but he stood before them, barking for their attention. "What's wrong boy? Did Dipper fall down the Bottomless Pit?"

Candy poked her head into the house. "Mabel? Hello? Anyone home?"

Everest stood behind the girls, at the edge of the porch, and growled, the hairs on the back of his neck standing. "What's gotten into Everest?" Grenda asked.

"Dogs are very intelligent." Candy said and knelt next to the protective-pet. "He must sense that something is wrong."

Waddles came running, too, oinking like crazy, and he jumped into Grenda's beefy arms. Rather than being protective, he nuzzled his face into Grenda's arms and hid in fear, trembling. "Something's bothering Waddles, too." Her eyes widened. "Wait! Didn't Mabel say something about…" She was interrupted when they saw a beam of light hit the sky.

"BILL!" The teenage girls screamed and ran into the Mystery Shack to prepare themselves for war.

Stan forced himself not to let his eyes remain closed for long. He looked hazily for anyone and found Ford lying next to him, hurt and tired. Stan wielded all his strength to crawl towards him. "Stanford," He muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm…"

"Not so fast!" Bill said and raised his hand. Ford and Stan both floated and fought with all their might to break free, but they were helpless. "You two have been pains in my side long enough! I've been waiting a long time to end you two and I think I'm gonna enjoy this!"

"N-No!" Mabel cried as tears welled up in her eyes. She reached forward but collapsed due to the lack of strength. "Please… Grunkle…"

"It's okay, pumpkin." Stan struggled to say, but he managed to pull a half-convincing voice. "It's okay."

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that." Bill taunted, but then out of nowhere someone punched him in the eye, making him drop the old men. "OW! MY EYE!"

Stan and Ford were falling, but were caught and put down softly. They looked up weakly and awed at the creature before them. At seven feet-tall, an unusual man stood before them. He had thick black curls that were loosely kept back with a ponytail. He had tanned skin, one brown eye and one green eye, and four arms. He wore a long cloak that flew in the wind, thick boots, a white tunic, and black pants. His frame was not as thick as the Stan twins, but it wouldn't be fair to call him thin.

Bill shook himself clear, regenerating his eye, and he growled. "WHAT?! You again!"

The strange four-armed man clapped his palms together and touched the ground. A dome-like shield protected them from a laser from Bill's eye and the strange man called, "Get everyone out of here!"

Ford shook his head to try to clear it of pain and he swiftly picked up Mabel, but he swayed on his feet and nearly dropped her. He growled through gritted teeth as he looked up at the battle taking place. The strange man was using alchemy to shield them from Bill, but the three-sided demon was very powerful. The four-armed man looked back at the crowd of portals and yelled, "BRACE YOURSELVES!"

He stood in front of the ten, spun and made his cape swirl, and in an instant they were all gone. Bill screamed with fury and shot a beam out into the sky that brought down a passing airplane. "Forget it! I have bigger fish to fry! If I wanna make sure they don't complete that stupid zodiac, I'm gonna need help from my friends on the other side."

His eyes ached. On second thought, everything ached from being still for so long. No time passed as well as all time passed. Stan couldn't remember what he was doing or why his body hurt or what was going on, so he sat up quickly when the lack of information suddenly dawned on him.

"Take it easy," A voice said firmly and Stan looked around the room. "I just healed you, do not break yourself again."

Stan recognized this place; it was Hephzie and Ahllen's forge, the place with all the gems to make weapons. He suddenly realized that he was lying on a table and his family and everyone who was part of the zodiac was doing the same throughout the room. Tending to a knocked-out Ford, was the strange four-armed man that had saved them. "You," Stan said and swung his legs on the edge of the table. "Who are you?"

"A friend." The strange man said, his back to Stan as he poured a drop of some sort of potion on Ford's forehead. It was purple and instantly dissolved.

Within seconds, Ford began to wake up, his energy and health in full-power. The old scientist fluttered his eyelids and focused on the ceiling. "You okay, Sixer?" His brother called.

"Y-Yes, I'm…" Ford's eyes landed on the sleeping kids and he sat up quickly. "What's going on? What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing," The strange man said and moved to Dipper, a hand over his chest and another holding the bottle. "I gave them a graft for dreamless sleep. This will ensure a full recovery and safely from Bill Cipher."

Ford relaxed, noticing how much better he had felt and that the nap he had was the best nap he had in a long time, probably in his whole life. "Thank you. What's your name?"

"Zicon." The strange man poured a drop of the potion on Dipper's forehead, smiling at his birthmark, and he moved on to Mabel as the boy woke up.

"Well, thank you again for helping us." Ford said as Zicon woke Mabel up. "Am I correct to assume you're not human?"

"In a way." Zicon said and moved onto Pacifica.

"I don't understand."

"You will soon enough."

Mabel rubbed her eyes with her fists and looked at Zicon as he woke Pacifica up gently; she peered at him. "Do I know you?"

"You could say that."

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked. "What are you?"

"Not a force to be trifled with." Zicon said as he awoke Wendy. "That is all you need to know for now."

Pacifica looked around. "What is this place? Who is this weirdo?"

"This is Hephzibah's forge." Ford said. "How did you know about this place? Did she show it to you?"

Wendy sat up quickly and said, "Whoa dude. Thanks for the save."

"You're welcome. Let the others rise and I shall give you more satisfying answers." Zicon said and woke Soos up. Then Robbie, then Fiddleford. They all looked around and finally noticed that there were only nine of them.

"Where's Gideon?" Mabel asked.

"He is still in the clutches of Bill Cipher." Zicon said and put the potion away in one of the desks. "He will be inside the Fearamid, which is much more heavily guarded than last time and requires an updated battle strategy to enter."

'Why bother?" Stan growled and crossed his arms over his chest. "That little scumbag betrayed us! He willingly worked for Bill just for power! After everything we've done for the little troll!"

"I understand your anger, but being unwilling to cooperate and forgive will spell out the doom for all." Zicon said seriously. "Bill is actively on the hunt for every one of you, to kill you so the zodiac will never be completed."

"But if he already has Gleeful, why not kill him and break the zodiac?" Ford asked.

"He must have made some sort of deal that, at the very least, preserve's Gideon's life." Zicon theorized. "A deal cannot be completed if one is dead."

Mabel shivered over the idea of something happening to her make-over buddy and she stood up. "We have to do something! Maybe we can use the Shacktron to invade the Fearamid again."

"Perhaps," Zicon said and walked to a wall of the cave. "But first, if you are to use the zodiac and use it to end Bill's reign, you need to know how it all began."

"Wait, what?" The nine said in unison.

Zicon clapped his hands, touched the walls and a hole opened, leading to a passageway. "This will lead us to the ancient caves. Come, you have much to learn."

The nine got up and followed with the Pines leading the way. Mabel skipped so she was next to Zicon. While Dipper and Ford pulled out flashlights, Zicon flicked his wrist and a ball of fire appeared in his top-left palm. The girl grinned up at him and said, "Hi! I'm Mabel! So you have four arms, huh? I bet you're an awesome juggler! Can you do other cool tricks? What's your favorite color? Do you have a favorite animal?"

Zicon chuckled down at the spirited young lady. "Yes, actually I juggle well. I am also a musician and can play nearly everything, and my favorite color is green and all animals are my favorites."

"Cool!" Mabel grinned up at him.

"Where exactly are you taking us?" Pacifica asked. "And why do we need to know about boring history or whatever."

"Learning about history is the best way to ensure it does not repeat." Zicon said wisely.

"I still don't understand." Dipper said. "What are you? Who are you?"

"You ask irrelevant questions."

"Aw, c'mon dude." Soos pleaded. "Are you some kinda anime-dude?"

"I know a good chunk 'bout 'em now, n' this fellur looks nothin' like 'em." Fiddleford insisted.

"Hush," Zicon said softly. "Here we come." They walked up to a bigger cave and looked around. The humans gasped to find the ancient caves with drawings on them. Pictures of Bill and the zodiac surrounded them and spiders and gemonites scurried across the floor, away from the light.

"I've been here before," Ford awed. "This is where I discovered the zodiac and read the inscription aloud to summon Bill."

"The natives who lived here hundreds of years ago once lived in these caves to hide from bigger anomalies." Zicon shared. "They would build huts under the falls and retreat here if trouble came. There is said to be an ancient place that holds all the secrets of the past. With Weirdmageddon upon us again, it may come to life to tell you a story."

"Come to life?" Robbie repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wait and see." Zicon said with a sly smile. He pulled out a piece of white chalk from his cloak and began to draw an alchemist's circle on a blank piece of wall. He then clapped all four hands, touched it, and the circle disintegrated and revealed another cave. Zicon gestured to it and said, "Enter."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Mabel asked.

"I cannot."

"No," Stan said firmly. "There is no way we're going in some cave like that."

"Yeah, how do we know this isn't some trap to kill us?" Robbie questioned, standing behind Soos.

"I would go if I can, but I am forbidden." Zicon sighed tiredly, annoyed by the little cooperation he was receiving. "She only wants the representatives of the zodiac to enter."

"Who's she?" Ford asked.

"Enter and see." Zicon pressed. When no one moved, he sighed again and said, "Do you know what this place is? This is a sacred place long forgotten, but in your language it is translated to The Lake of Memory. Every memory made in the Fallen has been stored here, an endless library that lives beyond the mind. Enter, and a grand story will be revealed to you."

"But where are you going?" Dipper asked.

"I have important work to do." Zicon started to leave, walking down the tunnel Ford can remember taking a long time ago. "Ignore my instructions if you wish, or heed my word and see The Truth. As I have."

"The Truth?" Wendy repeated.

"Wait! Zicon!" Mabel called, but the strange man left them.

The nine peered into the tunnel. It appeared dark and long, but Mabel took in a deep breath and started to walk, quickly followed by her family and then Soos, Wendy, Robbie, Pacifica, and Fiddleford. The tunnel went on for some time, but then it opened to a beautiful dome-like cave. As they entered, old drawings came to life, glowing beautiful colors and echoes of old voices and songs flew in the air.

The humans gasped as they watched herds of deer gallop across the cave, children running around the playing, couples dancing, flowers blooming, they even saw fragments of their own memories. Fiddleford smiled at a memory of him and his son relaxing on the lake and Mabel laughed as Dipper was seen hanging out with the Manotaurs.

"This is amazing!" Mabel cheered and danced.

"Cool!" Wendy admired as she saw her great-great-grandfather chopping wood for the Northwest Manor.

"So, how do we find the right memory in the joint?" Pacifica asked. "What are we even supposed to be looking for?"

Ford held his cleft chin. "Zircon said we need to learn how the zodiac came to be, how this whole thing began. This memory will be very, very old. Nearly forgotten." He touched the wall and gasped when all the drawings and memories changed. Now, every memory was his memories that had been made in Gravity Falls. Shifty hatching, the carnival with Fiddleford, building the portal, returning home, hand-turkeys with Mabel and Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons with Dipper, hugging Stan after he lost his memories. Ford pulled his hand away and his memories were replaced with others.

"Cool!" Mabel cheered and touched the wall. Now her memories clouded the painting. Meeting Sev'ral Timez, dancing against Pacifica at the party, using her grappling hook, playing mini-golf with Dipper, hugging Waddles. She removed her hands and the other memories returned. "Neat-o!"

Wendy touched the wall briefly, but she swiped it like a touch screen. The memories shifted, like a screen, and showed a collection of memories involving hippy-vans, peace signs, mullets, and bright colors. "Ugh. The seventies."

"Wait a minute, dude." Soos did what Wendy did, swiping the cave-wall, and the memories shifted again. This time showing soldiers coming home, families struggling to buy food; they had uncovered memories from the 40s. "This is how we see old memories! It's like being a creep and looking at your crush's old posts."

"Dipper'd know all about that." Mabel sneered and punched his shoulder.

"Shut up." He said through gritted teeth.

"So if we…" Soos swiped again and again quickly. Memories of the pioneer days and old times flew by in a whirl. Then the memories glowed bright and Soos stopped to shield his eyes.

The light dimmed after a few seconds and all of the memories were gone. On the wall, standing alone, was a girl. A Native American. She looked about Wendy's age, with long hair tied in a single braid, a feather pinned in her hair. She wore a short dress made of deer skin and had a tattoo around her left ankle. She opened her eyes and smiled, waving at her guests.

Mabel grinned and waved back. "Hi! I'm Mabel! Can you see and hear us?"

The young woman chuckled. "Yes."

"Who are you?" Dipper asked.

"My name is Alona, and let me show you how I discovered the zodiac…"