Bearer of the Signs

IX: IOTA

1 DAY AND 3 HOURS AGO...

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK... APRIL 19, 2015... 9:42:56... CENTRAL TIME_

It was an odd place where he woke up. A park, where there were children running about, couples kissing, families eating, it looked normal. It looked like a déjà vu...

"You no longer remember this, Mark?"

Mark turned around and saw a woman sitting with a group of frozen people. She stood upand strode towards him, all that passed by her—birds, people, Frisbees—they all froze and move only after she had surpassed them. She was like a fault in Time.

"Sagittarius, where are we this time?" Mark asked.

Sagittarius smiled upon him warmly, she clasped his shoulders and directed his line of sight to a pair of children, playing.

"Do you see that handsome little boy and that pretty little girl playing over there?"

Yes.

How could he ever forget the face of that innocent girl? The one he'd been searching for... longing for... ever since—

"This moment," Sagittarius cut his thoughts off, "is a warning. To you and your kind, for this moment..." she drawled off, waiting for him to continue.

Mark's eyes widened at the realization.

"Is the moment the Skylars waged war on Starlings."

And the scene before him unravelled, a bright light from a distance, slowly reaching the peaceful park. It was all too fast for his mind to understand... or at least accept. To him it was always like a lie, like it never happened. Like the bright light was never real, like the screams or cries never existed, like the deaths the wars, it all never happened.

And that's what the S.TA.R.S. did, they made up excuses, lies, more lies, that even Mark started believing them himself... that was until he realized she wasn't beside him anymore.

"And... it was also the day Ellie died."

Mark cringed.

"Painful, but the time is coming again for this same occurrence. The age of retaliation is up coming and only two can stop them," she said as she gazed upon the deadly scene before them.

"What do you mean?"

"It was called The Blood-borne Season. Frida must've taught you the legend by now." Sagittarius looked to her Starling and his blank expression made her sigh in exasperation, preparing herself to tell the story.

"It was the same thing in every family. Favouritism. Mother's favourite was her two best children, they were unstoppable, inseparable, they were even the last ones to survive Orion's wrath. They were Capricorn and Aquarius. They were the most powerful between us twelve. But when the time came for us to choose our Starlings; the two were separated from each other. Though there was a time, when their Starlings were siblings, they became invincible.

Nothing could've stood in their way, especially since they could complete each other and become an Ibex. An Ibex is—"

"I know what an Ibex is, and I know why they didn't succeed, I remember it now, you don't need to tell me anymore."

The Sign clamped her mouth shut.

"So are you saying that it's gonna happen again? The Blood-borne Season is coming again? That they possess two Starling Siblings and they could possibly repeat history?"