Killer Instinct: A Zodiac Story

Chapter 19: An Epiphany

The air in the empty corridor stirred slightly, and Gemini and Sagittarius reappeared, landing lightly on the ground. The two of them immediately took note of the lack of guards.

"Guess they're putting out the fire." Gemini said aloud. "Alright, let's go."

Sagittarius nodded. "Stay close so we can teleport back if necessary."

At the current moment, Gemini's and Sagittarius's rooms were empty – aside from the carefully painted illusions of a body beneath the sheets of a bed. Virgo stood watch in his own room, ready to send them a signal in case the guards did come upstairs to speak with them.

Gemini could almost hear Virgo's nervous muttering in his head. In fact, he could actually hear it through the telepathic bond.

"Stop worrying so much. We'll be fine. Also, we can kinda hear you worrying over here." 

"O-oh! Sorry... Er, just be quick. Be careful..." 

Gemini nodded even though Virgo wouldn't be able to see him and painted an illusion of an empty corridor over himself and Sagittarius. Now that he was holding so many illusions at once, he could feel sweat beginning to prickle at the back of his neck. He ignored it and glanced at Sagittarius. "Lead the way."

The two hastily walked down the corridor, their footfalls light and practiced.

"They had a scientist, right? There should be a laboratory somewhere. Maybe they'll have something useful." Sagittarius said aloud.

"Alright. Let's go find this laboratory." Gemini responded.

After quickly scouting out the floor they were on and finding nothing in particular – not even a guard to be seen – they headed up the stairs.

"This is the rooftop..." Gemini muttered as they pushed open the single door that lay before them. The sky was turning a glorious purple-orange as the sun dipped behind the horizon. Gemini and Sagittarius paused to gape at the magnificent blending of vibrant colours.

"The hologram scenarios we did never replicated colours like this..." Sagittarius breathed. "Hard to think this is supposedly home of a tyrannical king, huh? Assuming Ophiuchus is everything Orion told us he would be..."

"We have to pay attention." Gemini shook his head, even though his eyes refused to tear themselves from the view. However, something else caught his eye – barely visible silhouettes that seemed to flicker in and out of view as they hurried over the rooftop of another large building.

"Are those... guards?"

Sagittarius tore his eyes away from the sky to squint at where Gemini was facing. "...what do you mean?"

"Those..." Gemini trailed off as the four silhouettes suddenly paused. "Huh, they don't look like guards... they're quite short. Do you think..."

"They're the twelve Zodiacs – er, the other ones – we saw earlier? Could possibly be, but... what would they be doing up here?"

"We could interrogate them." Gemini muttered. "They've got to have some good information..."

"They could be on Ophiuchus's side and alert him as soon as they see us." Sagittarius hissed. "It's not safe..."

"No." Gemini blurted out the word before he could even think about it. Despite Sagittarius's incredulous look, he kept talking. "I don't think... I don't think they would. It's just a gut feeling, and... and something just tells me..."

"I still think –" Sagittarius began, but Gemini interrupted him. "We really need this information, and I think – I know that they won't... tell anyone. I just know there's something more to this than just them being... Ophiuchus's guards."

He flashed Sagittarius an apologetic look. "We really need to bring something back to the meeting... so I'm sorry about this, but –"

Gemini swept a hand out, just barely making contact with Sagittarius's arm. Within a split second, a strange, heady power overtook him, but Gemini was used to this – he focused and suddenly he found himself standing in front of the four figures he had pointed out earlier. Just as he had expected, they were part of the 'Zodiacs' they had been introduced to earlier – but what he didn't expect was a blast of fire to nearly take his face off within the split second he had teleported there.

Gemini yelped and flung himself out of the way. "W-wait!"

Sagittarius teleported next to Gemini, brow furrowed in anger. "Gemini, you can't just borrow my power and teleport off like that –"

"...it's you." Rin said, lowering her palm. The blue-haired girl wasn't wearing a smile, unlike the previous persona she had presented them. "I don't know how you got here... but leave now. And don't speak of this to anyone."

"Wait!" Gemini repeated again. "We... we know something's up. There's definitely something up with this, and the wildfire, and... you guys have to tell us something!"

"And please don't tell the guards..." Sagittarius mumbled.

Rin opened her mouth, then closed it, her brow still furrowed.

Nero – the dark-haired male that hovered next to them, flickering in and out of sight – crossed his arms. Gemini could almost feel him glaring at them through the messy bangs which hung over the male's eyes. "We're in a rush. It isn't safe out here."

"Please, just... tell us something." So I was right... These guys definitely know something. "We... we don't mean any harm to you. I promise. And we... we really need to know about... King Ophiuchus, Dr. Cetus... anything!"

"...they deserve to know." Destiny – the girl with the short dark hair – finally said, after a long pause. "It's wrong to keep it from them... especially since they're in the middle of it."

"...what." Gemini blinked.

"We don't have time." Brian warned. "We really need to go – now."

Rin was silent for a second. Finally, she spoke.

"You need to get out of here. Don't let Dr. Cetus anywhere near you." She concluded in a single breath. "There's no time for anything else. Everyone, let's go."

"Wait!" Sagittarius held up his hands. "What do you mean –"

"The guards are coming... please go now." Shauna pleaded. "They're right – there's no time for any explanation. Just... stay away from Dr. Cetus... and Ophiuchus... run while you can."

"I think the guards are coming to check on us – there are voices in the hallway. Guys, get back – now!" Virgo's panicked voice suddenly filled their heads. Gemini flinched at the volume – then Virgo's message hit him.

All Gemini had time to get out was a hurried "thanks" before Sagittarius grabbed his wrist, initiating the contact required for Gemini to mimic his teleportation power before Gemini could react. Sagittarius teleported away, the air just barely stirring but leaving no sign he was there.

Gemini focused – before the power could run out – and teleported, finding himself crashing to the ground halfway between his bed and floor. He hit the edge of the bed and nearly knocked over the desk.

The door opened almost immediately after his fall. A guard poked their head in, narrowing their eyes suspiciously at Gemini.

Gemini tried to flash him a carefree smile from his position on the floor and waved. "Hi?"

"King Ophiuchus has decided that your meeting with him will be before the Asteria Festival begins tomorrow, so it will be at five o'clock – an hour before it begins." The guard said monotonously, still watching Gemini skeptically. "He has requested for all of you to sleep now for it will be a busy day tomorrow."

"Yeah, got it." Gemini smiled brightly. "Thanks." The guard seemed even more frustrated by his cheerfulness and slammed the door shut. The click of the electronic lock was audible even from where Gemini was sitting.

Once he was sure the guard was gone, Gemini pulled himself up, chewing on his lip nervously.

Alright, this isn't what I expected to find out when I said I'd go investigate for information... but should I believe the 'Zodiacs'? What do we do...?