A/N: these are the girl's Zodiac gear and I tried to find the same for the guys but it was so hard to find anything. I guess I just have to turn to good old description.
"For the good, and the bad, and the ugly,
And everything in between,
You're gonna need somebody,
So let it be me."
~ Nina Nesbitt
Aquarius's POV:
So I was sitting on the arm of a couch, looking around at a few of my classmates when I came to the realization that I was a soldier.
It was sort of odd.
It was a little incomprehensible.
But we were at war. And I was a soldier.
Taurus was stretched out on the couch that I was sitting on the arm of. He was subconsciously tracing his scar with his pointer finger and then subsequently running his hand through his hair. Damn, he had nice hair. And watching him repeat those movements periodically was slightly hypnotizing.
Fuck, I had more important things to focus on. Like war.
It was only 7 o'clock in the morning and the world had turned on it's head. Within an hour of waking up I had fried a robot with lightning and a war had waged. Talk about eventful.
Currently in the living room with Taurus and I was Scorpio, Sagittarius, Gem and Aries. Leo had gotten up a few minutes ago and left without much of an explanation.
"Since we're, you know, about to join a war, shouldn't we see a solicitor or something? To get our will in order?" Aries asked.
"What do you have to put on your will?" Scorpio gave the redhead a questioning look.
"I'd like to leave the stash of Castilla I have at home to Cetus if I die," he explained.
Taurus and Scorpio nodded their heads in understanding, Sagittarius shrugged and Gem and I rolled our eyes. Typical.
Miss Lupus and the Queen had been outside discussing the situation for a little while now. We hadn't been given any updates about what exactly we were supposed to be doing.
Capricorn, Mini, Cancer and Pisces entered the living room, chatting lightly. Mini was clutching her laptop and Capricorn had his arm curled around her waist. He placed a kiss on her forehead before she went to set up her laptop on the coffee table while Cap scooted onto the same couch as Aries and Gem.
Cancer looked at the floor and immediately headed to the couch on the opposite side of the room from Sagittarius and Scorpio. I saw Pisces glance at Sagittarius before following Cancer.
Ah, the Scorpio-Cancer-Sagittarius-Pisces shit show. Sure, I had my opinions of the whole ordeal. Sagittarius was my best friend. Pisces was my best guy friend. Cancer was the sweetest girl I'd ever met.
And Scorpio was rather an asshole.
Of course I couldn't point that out to Sagittarius cause she'd just throw the Taurus thing in my face.
But we were even. Sagittarius was sleeping with an asshole and I had a tiny crush on one.
Goddess, we had poor choices in boys.
"You do you really think someone is gonna die?" Cancer said, looking up from the ground.
"It's a war, of course someone's gonna die," Taurus replied, matter-of-factly.
"I mean, one of us," Cancer clarified.
". . .possibly," Mini whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. Just one word and the whole room went silent.
Leo, Virgo and Libra finally joined us. Now everyone was crowded into the living room. Well, I wouldn't say crowded, it was a very large room.
Libra sat on the arm of a couch next to Aries whereas Virgo and Leo joined Mini on the floor by the coffee table. But don't think we all missed the way Leo went to place his hand on her lower back as they walked. However, he quickly realized how it looked and snuck his arm back to his side.
"Are we actually going to be heros?" Pisces asked. Everyone looked at him but no one had an answer.
"Ophiuchus," Miss Lupus said sternly as she and the Queen came through the back door. We could hear them from the living room.
"Lupus," The Queen matched her tone.
"They are not ready for this," our trainer stated.
"Our nation is not ready for this. But right now we don't have a choice. You heard General Ursa, my Zodiacs are now another man down and we have to act now. I will not lose another Zodiac," The Queen's voice was tight and strained.
Miss Lupus was silent. The Zodiacs were her friends. She agreed.
"Show them their gear and alert them of General Ursa's plan," her majesty ordered. The thirteen of us looked around each other, sitting up a little straighter in anticipation.
Miss Lupus came into the living room, her face hardened.
"So today's challenge is going to be a little more intense than usual," she said.
➰➰➰
"We heard you and the Queen talking when you came inside," I cleared my throat. "What did she mean there's another Zodiac down?"
Miss Lupus sighed. "The Rebellion specifically targeted Pyxis for this battle. They have her held hostage, unconscious."
"But they haven't killed her yet?" Capricorn asked.
"No. Not that we know of."
"So are we going to fight then?" Aries asked.
"Yes. Sort of. Her majesty and I have just been on a call with General Ursa who is at the Queen's palace now. She has a slightly different plan in mind," our trainer answered.
"And that plan is?" Taurus pushed.
"We're splitting you in half. Now that the Rebellion is distracted, General Ursa suggests we take this opportunity to return to the 6th Kingdom and follow up on the lead of the Rebellion's headquarters being underground," Miss Lupus explained.
Underground? Since when did we have that lead?
"There are supposedly abandoned underground catacombs from the civil war at the location that Mini found in the 6th Kingdom. That's why we didn't find any trace of them when we went last night," Virgo filled everyone in who wasn't aware. "They're actually underground."
"I will be taking a team of Royal Guardsmen and half of you back to that location," Miss Lupus said. "A helicopter will be here in half an hour to take the rest of you to Queen's-Ground."
"Who's going where? Have you decided?" Sagittarius asked.
"Actually, yes. Coming with me to the 6th Kingdom will be Gem, Mini, Libra, Pisces, Scorpio and Capricorn. That leaves Taurus, Aries, Aquarius, Sagittarius, Virgo, Leo and Cancer going to Queen's-Ground."
I guess I had Sagittarius and Taurus with me. But what if something went wrong and I didn't get to say goodbye to Gem? A type of anxiety I had never experienced before kicked in.
"You said we leave in half an hour, right? What do we even wear?" Cancer asked. Our trainer sighed.
"Follow me. I'll show you."
➰➰➰
"This gear is a prototype and it wasn't to be shown to you until about six more months into your training, but of course we have a rather urgent matter," Miss Lupus explained as she lead us deep into the left side of the treehouse, somewhere we had never been before.
The hallways were slightly darker on this side, the wood polished in a deeper wash.
At the end of the hallway was a door with gold bolts. It was around ten foot tall and Miss Lupus had to put her back into opening it.
"Your names are in front of your gear," she said as she leaned up against the doorframe, holding it open for us.
I shuffled inside after Sagittarius. To say I was in awe was an understatement. The room was expansive and but well lit, almost empty. Empty, other than the row of glass cases that were lined upright against the back wall. Inside each case was a manikin with an intricate suit on.
The real Zodiacs had gear like this. It was supposed to be state-of-the-art, designed for combat. Each was one of a kind and tailored specifically for its owner.
The glass cases were in the order of our generation. Aries was at the far left and Pisces at the far right.
"Holy fucking balls," Aries exclaimed.
Yes. Holy fucking balls.
I beelined for the case with my name under it. It was near the end, between Capricorn and Pisces. My jaw dropped as I took it all in. Silver with subtle blues and a metallic finish.
"They're made with an unfathomably expensive material that is bullet proof, impenetrable to most knives and the metal details are titanium," Miss Lupus explained.
"How long have you had these?" I gasped.
"Since your stylists first got your measurements for the Spring Moon Ball."
"Wow," Pisces said, standing next to me, gazing at his glass case. His suit looked sleek, a dark navy blue with scale-like detailing all the way down the torso. The shoulders were plated with titanium slates that were angled specifically to make the suit more hydrodynamic.
"Press the buttons under your name to retrieve your gear," Miss Lupus instructed.
I pressed the small black button that was exactly where Miss Lupus said it would be. Two seconds later, the manikin began sinking into the floor, disappearing into a dark hole until I couldn't see it anymore. Next, my gear appeared in a small cubby at the bottom of the glass case.
I took out my gear and rubbed the fabric between my fingers. It didn't feel like anything I had felt before. Something like leather. Like skin.
"Change into them in your bedrooms. If you need help just call. But hurry up, we don't have time for you to be dumb asses," Miss Lupus said.
"Aqua! Look!" Gem said as she showed me her purple gear that was identical to her sister's.
"This is actually iconic," Sagittarius butted in, unfolding her scarlet red suit.
"Well, I never thought about what outfit I wanted to die in, but if it has to be this I'm not complaining," I added. It was supposed to be a joke. But in retrospect, I wasn't really joking at all.
➰➰➰
The fabric felt indescribable on my body. It made my muscles click, like freshly oiled hinges.
I walked downstairs and Capricorn, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Mini, Aries and Libra were already in the living room, dressed in their gear and fawning over it. It was amazing and strange and wonderful and terrifying all at the same time to see my classmates officially dressed as Zodiacs.
Everything became very real in that moment. I felt it hit me, really hit me, that we were going to be Zodiacs. Protectors of her majesty, protectors of our nation. Us, the class of delinquents, we were going to war.
"Aquarius! That looks amazing!" Libra exclaimed. The white color of her gear popped against her skin and somehow it made her move more elegantly than she already did. Aries was finding it hard to keep the drool in his mouth.
"Thanks!" I said. "You too. Well, everyone looks amazing."
Aries's gear immediately drew my attention as it was a bright red. If that wasn't a warning sign for what he could do I don't know what was. It had structured titanium shoulders and sharpened titanium wedges up the shins, all painted in red.
Scorpio looked like he was wearing the night sky. His gear was totally matte black, even the metal plated shoulders and torso. But the suit had no sleeves, and neither did Aries'. I supposed it was so that they would be able to make skin-to-skin contact and use their abilities.
Capricorn's gear was made to match his hair—silver, but with the odd navy blue accent. It was broad shouldered and had a subtle hexagonal pattern down the torso. He almost looked like a soldier in armor.
Cap had his arms around Mini's shoulder and he was rhythmically drawing circles on her arm; it was probably a calming mechanism for both him and her. Watching them I could tell they would be Zodia's next couple obsession, especially after Lyra and Andromeda had passed.
"Yeah, looking good, Aqua. Especially from the back," a voice that made butterflies erupt in my stomach said behind me.
"Taurus, you disgusting pervert," I sarcastically rolled my eyes and spun around to look at him with a lopsided smile.
He looked hot, not gonna lie. All six-foot four inches of him.
His gear made him look like a modern day Robin Hood. It was brown and slightly rugged, but at the same time robust and clean cut. The sleeves extend all the way to his hands where only his fingers were exposed.
"Only joking," he said as I bit my lip and turned back around before he could see the slight blush that touched my cheeks.
Now is not the time, Aquarius.
"Where is everyone? The choppers are almost here," Miss Lupus came into the living room dressed in her military uniform. She walked up to Mini and adjusted the neckline of her gear rigorously.
Cancer and Virgo walked in just that second, both looking badass in their gear. Miss Lupus fussed over Cancer's metal knuckles and then huffed as she re-laced Virgo's right boot.
Next Pisces, Gem and Leo entered the living room. Everyone was here. Everyone was ready for war.
Leo's gear was exactly how you would expect Leo's gear to be. Bold, confident and utterly obnoxious. Whoever designed these really hit the nail on the head. Leo's was grey with heavy gold accenting. Dramatic gold spikes were on the outer calf and forearms. Classic Leo, really.
"People going to Queen's Ground, your helicopter is arriving in T minus 10 seconds so get yourselves together," Miss Lupus announced.
"Hey, who designed our gear?" I asked and Miss Lupus rolled her eyes, because of course I wasn't focused on the things she was saying.
"It was mostly your stylists, but I had some input too. I was more involved in tailoring each suit to the individual. Now, Aquarius, focus. For fucks sake," she sighed and checked her watch. "Come on, Queen's-Ground people outside, the helicopter should be here."
Here we go. Here comes Zodia's next heros.
Sagittarius, Aries, Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Taurus and I headed for the backdoor that opened up to the Grounds.
"Wait," Gem exclaimed, running up to Sagi and I and pulling us into a hug. "You better come back alive or I'll go and kill you myself," she whispered.
"We'll be fine," Sag assured her, hugging tighter.
"Yeah, and same goes for you," I said.
Gem let us go and nodded.
"See you guys in a couple hours then, I guess," she said.
"Exactly, we'll see you in a bit," I smiled.
Would we?
Just as Miss Lupus said, two seconds after we stepped onto the Grounds, a helicopter could be seen approaching us. It wasn't anything like Cetus's gold and glamorous chopper. It was huge and a dark shade of purple. It was a military chopper.
We stayed out of the way, our backs against the base of the treehouse, as the helicopter did a landing maneuver, avoiding the forest trees. The wind churned as the helicopter's skis touched ground and I made it part around us so my hair wouldn't become a tangled mess.
What? I could fight terrorists while still looking good.
The side door of the chopper slid open and General Ursa appeared, gesturing for us to get in. The seven of us ran across the grass and stepped inside. It wasn't quite as cramped as Cetus's, but we still had to sit shoulder to shoulder. I squished into a corner by a window and Taurus slid in beside me. General Ursa handed us all ear muffs as we began to lift off again. The door shut and we were in the air within seconds.
"Alright trainees, the Queen has given the thumbs up for you to go into combat but I know there is still much more training you need to complete, so we're going to try play this as safe as possible. The Zodiacs will be leading any advancements you make. They're waiting for you in the palace gardens, which is the closest they can get to the building at the moment. The terrorist have taken it under siege and the palace is built like a fortress—there is no way in other than through the front doors," General Ursa explained. She was dressed in the same blue and gold military uniform as Miss Lupus, with a bullet proof vest and heavy boots.
"What about Pyxis? We heard the Rebellion has taken her hostage," Cancer asked.
"They have. But we're unsure of what room they're holding her in or her current state of being," she replied.
"So why haven't the Zodiacs gone into combat yet?" Taurus questioned. "They could kill Pyxis at any moment. She's probably already dead."
"We think they're keeping her alive to draw the others inside so they can kill more in one attack," the general explained. "There's three rebels with abilities guarding the entrance, which leaves at least twelve inside with Pyxis. The Zodiacs couldn't go into combat until they had the numbers to give them a fighting chance at victory. The battle doesn't start until you get there."
Well shit.
This is really happening.
This is war.
War is cruel.
People kill at war.
People die at war.
➰➰➰
We spent most of the helicopter ride in silence, just thinking and processing what exactly we were about to engage in.
Taurus was tapping his foot erratically, Sagittarius was staring at her fingers as she folded them and unfolded them, Cancer was tugging nervously at a strand of her hair, Aries kept running his fingers across his neck, Virgo was gnawing at her fingernails and Leo kept pulling her hand out of her mouth.
We were twitchy.
"Aquarius," Taurus whispered out of the blue, close enough to my ear that I jumped a little.
"Yes?"
"Can I tell you something? Before we go into something we might not come out of," his face was scrunched up in thought. He was working hard on how to shape his words.
"Of course."
He touched his scar and glanced quickly around the helicopter to see if anyone was listening. No one was.
"I, uh, just wanted to tell you. . .that. . .," he swallowed. "You've become a really good friend over the passed few months and I, um, really don't want you to die today."
A little anticlimactic if you ask me. But I smiled anyways. He was trying his hardest to be sentimental and it was rather cute.
"I'll try my hardest not to die, I promise, for you," I said as I grabbed his hand and squeezed. Taurus smiled back and squeezed my hand in return, but afterward, he looked at the floor as if he were frustrated with himself.
"Alright Gen. . .—sorry, your generation doesn't have a name yet, does it. Anyways, prepare yourselves for exit. We're approaching the Queen's palace. You'll be departing the helicopter via a ladder," General Ursa explained.
"So we're just gonna casually climb down into combat?" Aries asked skeptically.
"As quick as possible, to minimize risk of being attacked. You're vulnerable while you descend," she said.
"Oh well thanks, that sounds splendid. Is everyone else feeling just peachy about our first time in combat?" Aries joked nervously.
"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," General Ursa assured us.
I wasn't very assured.
"Fucking peachy," the red head grumbled.
"Let's go trainees, the clock is ticking on Pyxis's life," the General swung open the helicopter door and a gust of wind rushed inside. "Go, go, go!"
Leo was first out the helicopter. Virgo followed him, only she nosedived out, completely disregarding the ladder and choosing to fly instead. Aries was next and Sagittarius followed him. I approached the ladder and gulped.
Oh fucking fuck.
"It's okay, Aqua," Taurus said from over my shoulder. "I'll be right behind you."
I nodded and crouched down to grab the first rung. As I did, I remembered what General Ursa said about descending as fast as possible.
I tell you, I have never climbed down a ladder so fast in my life. The whole time my heart was hammering against my chest and I could feel hot blood rush through my ears. Once my feet hit the last rung, I jumped off onto the grass of the Queen's gardens.
Taurus leaped off right after me, followed by Cancer and General Ursa.
We were directed north-west across the gardens to the spot where the Zodiacs were camping out and assessing the rebels guarding the palace entrance. The gardens were ridden with tall manicured bushes that were great walls to hide behind.
Canis, Vulpecula, Ara, Pegasus and Cygnus were crouched behind the bush closest to the palace entrance. Every five seconds, Cygnus would look around the corner to see Draco, who was throwing his signature spheres of sunlight.
Honestly, the whole thing was already chaos. There were, and I kid you not, dishwashers, sinks and ovens flying around the entrance.
"Hey!" Vulpecula took the lead on updating us about what was going on once we made our way to the bush they were hiding behind. Her brown eyes scanned over us as she explained. "The situation hasn't really progressed since we last spoke, General. Draco is trying to engage with one of the rebels but he's making little progress. As far as we know, that rebel has the ability to control anything metal, and he's currently throwing around the whole palace kitchen. The other two rebels at the entrance also have abilities. One is basically a walking stabbing hazard and the other can literally change her state of matter. From solid, to liquid, to gas."
"I'll lead, the metal can't hurt me. I'll melt it as soon as it comes in contact," Aries said and Vulpecula nodded at him.
"I can follow. My exoskeleton means I'm pretty safe from injury," Cancer jumped in.
"Draco and I will trail them," Pegasus said. Draco was already neck deep in contact, as he was currently hurtling balls of scorching sunlight at the flying kitchen appliances.
"Virgo, while the rebels are distracted, I want you to fly around the palace perimeter and look in all the windows to see if you can find what room Pyxis is being held in," Vulpecula said and the blonde nodded. "Everyone else will wait here until these three rebels have been exterminated."
Virgo spread her massive white wings and took off into the air while Aries, Cancer and Pegasus walked out from behind the bush we were hiding behind to join Draco. There was an eruption of noise as they engaged with our enemy.
Sagittarius, Leo, Taurus and I sat with our backs against the leaves, waiting. I looked up at the clouds as I heard Aries tell one of the rebels they were a fucking twat. I tried to get a grip on my hands because they were severely shaking. My adrenaline levels were skyrocketing. It was difficult to control my emotions and the clouds started to swirl and darken because of it.
"Aquarius," Taurus turned his head to me, eyes wild. Scared.
"Yes?"
He pursed his lips. I watched.
"You have become a good friend to me lately and I really don't want you to die but. . .thats not what I wanted to tell you in the helicopter," Taurus looked away from me for a second but I leaned forward, urging him to go on. "I wanted to tell you how I got my scar."
"Taurus, you really don't have to. I underst—"
"But I want to." He cut me off. "If something happens today and I never get to tell you, I think I'll regret not saying it for the rest of my life."
"But what if nothing happens?"
"I don't care. I want to tell you," he said. I looked Taurus in deep in the eyes. I'd never seen this six-foot-four hunk of a man look so vulnerable.
"Okay. What happened?"
"My father was. . .pretty sucky and fucked up in the head. My mom, she made the decision to leave during one of his particularly bad anger episodes. When she told him she was leaving and taking me with her, my father was furious. He decided to leave a mark on me, as if all the psychological torture he put me through wasn't enough. So he wrestled me from my mom, grabbed one of the kitchen knives and slashed my face four times. . ."
"Oh my Goddess, Taurus, I'm so sorry. I—"
"Trainees, on you feet, let's get a move on! Entrance is clear, lets go!" General Ursa yelled. I flinched and Taurus took a deep inhale.
He picked up my hand and squeezed it as we stood up.
Oh fuck, here we go.
"It's okay, I'll be right behind you," he said again, studying the anguish on my face.
"I'll be right in front of you," I nodded.
And then we walked into war together.