The Zodiac Empire

Chapter 5 - Elephants in the Freezer?

AUTHORS NOTES: The song above is "Innocence" by Avril Lavinge. Put it there cuz I think of this song every time I think of Naito and Alsen's sibling relationship.

""What is this...?" a frosty-haired boy asked, curiously examining a four-wheeled, gleaming white board, imprinted with the design of a winged serpent.

"It's a skateboard." replied a blonde girl.

"What does it do?"

"You ride on it. Here, let me show you." she stood on it with one foot, using her other foot to kick off. A magenta-haired girl hugged the big eyed boy from behind as they watched her ride in circles around the room. "See? Now it's your turn." she hopped off, handing it to him.

"Wow, this is fun!" he exclaimed as he rode around the room before jumping into her arms. "Thank you, thank you! This is the best birthday anyone could ask for!"

"Are you sure you should be thanking her?" he looked up to see that he was now hugging a girl in black. A wolf spirit emerged from his wand on his own and lunged at her, but froze in midair.

"No!!!" he watched helplessly as the spirit's body began melting like ice cream that sat out in the heat too long. He freed himself from her embrace, and she scooped up the spirit's melted form with two cups, handing one to him. She wrapped her arm around his and pressed her body against him, raising her cup in the air. "Let's have a toast, shall we?" He pushed her away from him and swung his fist at her with so much might, it knocked her head right off her neck, rolling to a stop at his feet. He clasped his hand to his mouth when her face began to change shape, her hair changed from black to magenta, and both her eyes became cerulean.

"Why..?! Why did you this? Everything is your fault!" her head shouted at him, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"No, no, no!!! Not you too!" he picked up her fallen head, cradling it in his arms as he rocked back and forth, wailing like a baby. It began to snow and her head froze into a block of ice. He wiped his tears away, took a deep breath and rubbed his palms together before he stripped off his clothes and dived into the frozen depths of the ocean. His ancient corpse waited for him at the very bottom. He shut his eyes and pressed his hand on the corpse's head, and instantly, he was sucked into his old body. A titanic winged serpent emerged from the ocean and flew as fast as he could back home. When he got there he was met with the sight of an entire legion of elephantine monstrosities, raising their hammers in the air triumphantly. They each wore necklaces, strung together with all the wizards they mercilessly slew. He roared at the top of his lungs, surging his entire body weight at their queen's head and sending a thousand tons of snow crashing down on her. Then he was pummeled by hundreds of hammers all at once. He slithered away the second they thought he was down, instantly regenerating. With a flap of his wings, a tumultuous storm of frozen winds blew all but two of them away. He coiled his serpentine body around both of their necks at once, choking them to death. Still boiling with insatiable anger, he shot an endless barrage of ice beams out of his eyes, ripping their bodies apart.

"What a mess...here, I'll help you clean up."

"You...again?" he looked up and returned to his human form. A girl in black stood with her back to him, digging two holes in the snow with her shovel. She dragged the two destroyed bodies over to the holes. But those were human bodies. He brought his hands to his face, contorted with shock and terror at the sight of his sister's bodies destroyed so mercilessly.

"Get your hands off of them! What did you do?!" He grabbed the girl in black by the shoulders and spun her around to face him. But the face looking back at him was his own. He gasped and staggered back.