Breaking Free: A Zodiac Story

Chapter 3: Rescue Mission

A blue-haired female let out a soft groan as she opened her eyes. Her mouth felt dry and she felt sluggish.

Where... am I? She thought, trying to gather her thoughts. She swallowed a couple of times, wincing at the pain in her throat.

"Cancer?" she heard a soft voice say. She blinked. Why is it so dark?

"Cancer... I'm scared." the voice whispered. Cancer struggled to think. "P... Pisces." She finally said, turning her head in the direction of her voice. She reached out blindly, grasping at thin air.

"Where's Scorpio?" Pisces said softly. Cancer made another grab and finally closed her hand around Pisces' wrist; only to be thrown back by some magic spell with a sharp gasp of pain.

"C-cancer!" Pisces yelped. Cancer could hear the blond-haired girl scuffling around, attempting to search for her. "I'm alright," Cancer whispered, her mind still reeling. She slowly placed a hand on her wrist, delicately running her fingers across her arm until she felt a sharp tingle. She immediately withdrew her hand, hissing slightly.

A wristband... why? Cancer thought, but she already knew. She attempted to lift the small puddle of water she had sensed in the corner of her cell.

Another sharp bolt of pain. What... Why would they create something like this? Wasn't Wateria the perfect paradise for peace? Why would they need something like that? She began to panic. Why are we here? Where's Scorpio? We're not dead, are we?

"Don't use your powers." Cancer said quietly, finally recollecting her thoughts. "And try not to touch your wristband, or just.. don't pull it too hard."

"What wristband?" Pisces said, only to yelp with pain. "Pisces?" Cancer asked, worried for her friend. There were a few moments of silence, then a soft whisper.

"Cancer... I'm scared. Do you think they... Scorpio..."

Cancer tried not to think too much about what had happened to their friend... their protector. The last time she had seen him he had been running away with them. "I'm sure he's fine," Cancer said, finally managing to find Pisces in the darkness. She wrapped an arm around her smaller friend. "Don't worry... I'll protect you for now."

---

"So... a blue-haired girl and a blond-haired girl, right?" Leo asked. Scorpio nodded, clearly impatient. "I don't know where they are. We've never heard of any prison cells as far as we've been living there..."

"Speaking of which, why were they chasing you anyways?" Aries asked, fiddling with a piece of grass. "We... we wanted to take some risks. Explore a little." Scorpio said curtly, clearly not willing to share this information. Aries decided not to press him. "Alright, then. So we... sneak in and attempt to find them, right?"

"Just follow me." Scorpio replied, nodding. "Leo and Sagittarius, you'll be distracting them... don't get caught. Aries, you're with me."

Sagittarius smirked. "Alright, let's go." She nodded at Leo and the two made their way back to the crack in the wall. "Three," she began, glancing back at Aries and Scorpio.

"Two." Leo said, readying a flame in his hand.

"One!" Sagittarius yelled, throwing herself through the gap. She immediately summoned a phoenix and a dragon. "Let's go!"

Aries and Scorpio watched as the two ran towards the centre of Wateria, spewing flames and smoke everywhere. "Please be careful," Aries muttered.

"Alright, it's our turn." Scorpio said. "Remember, nothing too fancy - grab them and get out of there. They won't try crossing the wall. They wouldn't dare."