The Zodiac Spirit Guardians

The Dead Will Rise

"Since when have you been ornery?" Miyazu's tone now contains amusement that irritates my every bone as he whips my confidence back at me. I not only want to smack the smirk off his face, but also annihilate him from this planet. I don't care about who he used to be because the old me already mourned his death. She doesn't need to live through seeing this mess of a man.

Anger boils my blood and brings me closer to the girl I need to be, I can feel it. I need it and I want it. I welcome the fury with open arms as it widens my black hole. The greater the darkness, the stronger the power. The frightened girl clawing at the door to my mind is taken away to the dungeons, locked in her cage to be forgotten about and left behind to rot there. Fear is weakness. Destruction cannot afford apprehension, even if it devastates everything in its path.

"Why haven't you stopped talking? If you really wanted to kill us, you would've done it already." Ezra adds in as my cynical sidekick. "Unless you think there's a chance-"

"This isn't some cartoon or fantasy." The features on Miyazu's face contort into anger, "This is your reality. Whether or not you die here, I'm not going to explain anything to you. I owe you nothing." Bitterness is the only emotion I take from his rant.

He reveals several daggers from his long sleeves. The tips of the blades glow with liquid that changes color in the light. The only reason a blade's edge would be wet is either from the blood of a battle or for use of poison. I assume Miyazu's weapon of choice is toxic daggers and he has a small army of dragons, the odds are constantly stacking themselves against us.

A Plan starts to formulate in my mind, but not before all my Zodiac spirit guardians transform into their second bodies at once. Except for Rayce who clings to my side to protect me. A cold chill spills over the trees into the field as we all hunker down for battle.

My fingers find Rayce's thin hand and I bring him closer to me, "They'll need your help." I whisper directly to his ear, because my voice is too shaky to speak any louder. He nods once and a gigantic smile spreads like butter across his lips. I could've sworn I had just told him to fight for his life, but he looks like I've just given him a piece of candy. He skips over to join the line of guardians. Watching them makes me feel like a mother desperately hoping for her children to survive a deadly task.

It's strange for me to feel like a mother when I'm more like a lover with her harem of men fighting to save their lady's life. I shake that image out of my head, not sure why such immature things would reveal themselves at this awful moment. My mind must be lost in a sea of confusing emotions. Subconcious me, clearly, would grasp for any form of life preserver, no matter what it looked like.

Kappie and Ezra stand firmly in front of the others with katanas at their sides. Haruka wields his dual blade scythe next to Steele's enormous axe. They each carry an expression of determination and anger toward Miyazu, knowing good and well that they have a chance of dying today. I can see the desperation for each of them to say something to Miyazu, but only rustling leaves make noise in the wind.

Rayce, on the other hand, spins in a pirouette and transforms into his second spirit guardian body. I don't spot a difference with him aside from the chainsaw sword he now carries. He throws it into the air and watches it flip around above him. His eyes sparkle with wonder and childish excitement. Then I spot an unusual flicker of light that reveals his second spirit body as a literal second body. There are now two of Rayce, reminding me of the platinum gemini symbol on his right forearm. His replica catches the sword and creates another one identical to it out of thin air. They stand side by side with their chainsaw swords like a circus act ecstatic to perform.

I understand why the other guardians rarely allow him to change bodies. Two of Rayce is a nightmare to them. My pupils stare in awe at the purely identical replica of the gemini guardian. In any other situation I would investigate the impossibilities, but not now. I can only pray I'll get another chance later.