The Final Cycle: A Zodiac Story

𝕏𝕏𝕀𝕏

"Before?" Aries used a finger to tap his chin in thought. He was surprised that stubble was there, but refused to let it distract him from the task at hand. He went over the last day he remembered, and the further he strayed from his first memory of waking up, the hazier it got. We... had to do something for training... but what? He swallowed, attempting to suppress his alarm. "Um... I... I don't know..."

Before either of them could panic any further, Phil made a calming gesture with his hands, before putting one on Pisces's shoulder. "Hey, hey, that's fine," He said, addressing them both. "It'll come back soon. You might just need to give yourself a minute. It's not really that important, anyway."

Somehow, Aries didn't believe him. He had to ask that for a reason... something happened. Unconvinced, Aries said, "Sure," Adding a shrug, he continued, "I'll just wait. Maybe something will trigger it."

That clearly wasn't the right thing to say, because somehow, Pisces managed to look even more sickly. Her eyes bulged and Aries watched her swallow with sudden alarm. He didn't miss Phil's shudder, either. "Come on, Pisces," He said with a gentle grab of her hand, brushing off his clear discomfort. "Let's give Aries some space. You too, Capricorn. You definitely need some rest."

...Capricorn?

Aries turned his head and noticed Cap for the first time. It seemed as though Cap noticed him for the first time too, slowly blinking and leaning against the wall. There was something wrong about him - first of all, what was he even doing in Aries's room? - something unfocused and muggy. Aries' lips turned down as he watched Cap struggle to even move.

The more he watched, the more his frown turned into a snarl.

Capricorn did something. Aries felt that sensation of hatred bubble in his gut. "Aries," Phil started, ushering a steadily more frantic Pisces out of his room.  "Hey, Aries-"

Aries got out of bed, taking steps closer and closer to Cap, all while ignoring Phil. In a normal circumstance, Aries most likely would have stayed true to his word and simply relaxed. But, his anger was starting to bubble into a low, menacing growl. His fist opened and closed as he attempted to piece that day back together.

Only when Capricorn looked at him with dumbfounded eyes did everything fall into place.

Ah.

The memory of the emotion came before the memory itself. Frustration, anger, rage, fury. He felt himself shake, causing Phil to mumble a low curse under his breath. Aries remembered an ominous presence, and its desperation to simply numb him into nothingness. He managed to put more pieces together, realizing that that presence was Pisces and that she was only acting out of fear. So who...

More memories were rolling in, and his hands were getting itchy to punch someone. Something... someone kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing until he couldn't take it anymore and just snapped. He remembered changing and shifting and wanting to kill someone.

"He did it," Aries said stiffly, the last part clicking together to reveal the whole puzzle. It was Capricorn who berated him, Capricorn who sent him flying over the edge, Capricorn who he wanted to kill. "He pissed me off..."

Cap blinked once, staring at Aries as if he had lost 50 IQ points. His entire demeanor was slower than molasses, even his breathing. It was him... This small, stupid-looking asshole has made my life damn near insufferable for my entire life...

Lo odió...

Lo odió.

¡¡Lo odió!!