Pursuit of the Zodiacs

by Walsh, Nathan

  Leo grabbed Goliath’s arm to sink his jaws into. However, Goliath moved quickly and caught him halfway by the neck. The two wrestled. Amazed at what they had experienced, both appeared evenly matched in strength.

  “Enough!” Natenal stepped in between the two and knocked them both to the ground.

  Goliath rose back up to one knee. “My apologies, Natenal. My anger bested me once again.”

  “Ha-ha! Pitiful. On your knees like a town whore,” Leo mocked.

  Tempting as it was to retort, Goliath clenched his teeth for a moment before heading back into the circle.

  Grenad spoke, “I say we terminate him where he stands. I see no reasoning with this man. Once they come with their Scroll, I doubt he will even put up a fight. I believe he already accepted his origin of evil.”

  Goliath added, “I agree.”

  Natenal said, “No Grenad, we must stick to protocol. We are to warn him of the Scroll written in Lucifer’s blood. His fate will be decided on how he takes the news. Our judgments from here on must be pure and just.”

  Goliath interjected, “Forgive me, Brothers. But it would be dishonest if I said I had high hopes of him taking the news well.”

  “Let me go. I shall have a word with this man. If he does not comply, I will rid the World of him myself. Enough time has elapsed.” Natenal approached Leo, and they exited the scene, Leo staggering somewhat in his drunken state.

  “If words won’t convince this man, maybe a good challenge might be of some use here, even if there is the possibility of death,” Natenal mused to himself.

  Leo entered an alley as a beggar approached Natenal. Off in the distance, Japanese authorities pursued Grenad and Goliath, eager to discover the reason why a man had been beaten half to death in the street. Grenad and Goliath moved through the crowd in hopes of losing their assailants. They pressed a button on their Special Hybrid Masks and its form changed.

  Natenal ordered, “Stop! Go no further, Leo.”

  Leo answered, “I told you assholes I’m not interested in what you have to say or any great news you wish to share with me. The only ones I answer to are those from the Dark Covenant.”

  Natenal asked, “So you know who you are and what evil spawned you?”

  Leo scoffed at Natenal. “Vengeance is what spawned me. Once the alliance is formed, we will avenge our predecessors.”

  Natenal took off his robe to reveal his Special Sword with an unusual curve and Immortal writing in blood along the line of its blade. However, he left his mask on in case of onlookers. Grenad’s assumption proved accurate. There was no reasoning with this man. Leo served his purpose. All he had been doing was just waiting for the call.

  Natenal said, “It is settled. Death is your choice.”

  Leo brushed Natenal’s threat aside. “Another unfortunate soul. Your Superior doesn’t seem to give a damn about any of you.”

  They engaged. Leo sobered up quite a bit and charged Natenal. He swiped at him with his powerful paws, but missing each mark. Natenal capitalized and delivered chopping blows, challenging everything, including Leo’s indestructible mane.

  After the initial foray, they both stood a safe distance apart. Natenal analyzed Leo further.

  Leo spoke, “Hmm, don’t bother. It’s pointless. I can’t be cut.”

  Leo roared. With his black wings, Natenal covered up and braced for impact. Not only did the fire threaten to incinerate everything in its path, but the force of Leo’s deafening roar spawned a massive Earthquake, shattering the very foundation of the city street, storefronts and several surrounding buildings. From dumpsters, to cars, street lamps and even stray animals, he cleared the vicinity. People nearby stopped celebrating and fled from the chaos. Unable to withstand the turbulence, a section of the street collapsed and a sinkhole consumed Natenal.

  Leo pronounced, “And it is done.”

  “Is that so?”

  Surprised to hear Natenal’s voice, Leo searched for his adversary. He set his eyes upon a battered Natenal, whose wings still sizzled from the heat. Damaged during the melee, he no longer had his mask. Leo was the first to witness Natenal’s true gift.

  Natenal’s voice sounded ominous as he said, “Behold, the face of God.”

  Leo’s indestructible mane broke into pieces along with fragments of his flesh.

  Leo knelt down. “So much power.”

  Too late for atonement, excruciating pain followed. The defeated Zodiac walked away in disbelief only to collapse dead in the street seconds later.

  Before anyone else could see his true self and meet the same fate, Natenal covered his face and departed.

  Chapter 18

  QUEEN OF HEARTS

  Virgo and her followers, Zodon, Karz, Rufus and Dynamo, entered a city in England under martial law. They entered it illegally after curfew.

  Their government admitted the existence of extraterrestrials following the crash of an alien spacecraft on public lands. It was as if it had been deliberate for the World to witness. Governments could no longer feed their people lies, and had no choice but to disclose the confidential information. Lawmakers and politicians took it upon themselves to resign, and some were even arrested and awaiting trial after reneging on oaths. In addition, this also gave the governments an opportunity to order martial law as a safeguard against a potential future threat … something they’d been trying to institute for a while; but, until the crash, had no excuse big enough to pass the legislation.

  All of England awaited a possible search team from an outside interstellar source to find and retrieve the missing pilots of the unusual spacecraft. The town prepared for the worst. They underwent panic, excitement and curiosity as the World anticipated the arrival of more aliens.

  Moments after exiting their Gateway, Virgo and her group are spotted by eight soldiers on patrol.

  “Hey! Hold it right there! You know the law, come with us quietly!” A soldier ordered.

  Virgo said, “You dare speak to me in that manner?” She ordered her men to eliminate the threats.

  Laser fire pierced the soldiers’ flesh. As some fled, Zodon and Karz chased them down and, with their melee weapons, beheaded them. The soldier’s primitive mercenary weapons proved no match.

  Virgo continued, “Come along. We’ve wasted enough time. We must go.”

  “Yes, Empress,” Zodon said.

  Virgo added, “Speaking of Empress, the Queen is impatient and is expecting our arrival. Word has it she knows of Scorpio’s whereabouts.”

  They entered an awaiting limousine.

  Karz noticed Virgo looking markedly ill. “What is it?”

  Virgo responded, “It’s nothing, it must be the side effects of transitioning to the Earth Realm. I’m sure it will pass.”

  One mile into the drive, Virgo opened her door and vomited outside the moving limousine. Her heart glowed a weird color. The others were confused. This had never happened before. Virgo grimaced in pain while holding her heart. The luminescence radiating from her heart escaped through the openings of her hand. After staring into the rearview mirror, the driver lost his sight and struggled to park the car. The light affected everyone. They could only stare for so long before having to shield their eyes, as if staring directly into the Sun itself.

  After the limousine came to a complete stop, Virgo’s entourage assisted her. One of them handed her a bottle of water to drink. The driver, meanwhile, hastily exited the vehicle, ran around to Virgo’s door, and opened it further for her.

  Virgo said, “One of the Zodiacs has fallen.” She continued to vomit.

  Dynamo inquired, “Empress? Are you certain?”

  Virgo sat back down in the limousine. “I’m afraid so. Based on the severity of the pain, I predict that the Zodiac who fell was a Ruler of one of the top five Houses. This loss should not be taken lightly. Mosqidou has made their mark, and they must pay.”

  Meanwhile, Ozias and Pharisees safely returned to the hideout and unified with Timius, Abdeel, Irisan and their Guide
.

  Abdeel said, “I have yet to receive word on my Brother.”

  Pharisees said, “Fret not. I’m sure he escaped the Judgment Realm before it was completely overrun with Lucifer’s remnants. But I can’t help but think who else is benefitting from the emission of death’s clutch. Death seems to be at a halt until order is instilled there.”

  Timius replied, “What? Did I just hear you correctly? The Judgment Realm is under siege?”

  Irisan stated, “This means death is lost.”

  Justus added, “And should I mention that Witch is still alive?”

  Pharisees spoke, “Now that I think about it, death is not entirely lost. Lucifer seems to only have an interest in capturing us and retrieving the Zodiacs if they are ever sent into the Judgment Realm. Others, well, they’ll just become wanderers or ghosts until order is restored.”

  Abdeel pointed, “Clever move by Lucifer. If any of his Zodiacs were to fall, death would not come to them. But, he would have to capture and escort them out of the Judgment Realm as well before they meet judgment. Let’s hope it’s restored on time.”

  Ozias pointed out, “But, if or when order is restored, you will perish as well, Pharisees.”

  Pharisees had already come to terms with that reality. “I’m afraid you’re right, Ozias. I’m sure the Guardians of the Realm will come to claim the dead soon. You should get some rest, Ozias. Have Irisan tend to your wounds. Sagittarius did quite a number on you.”

  Ozias said, “Yes, his gift is unique. He can enter dreams and inflict death upon those unaware.”

  Pharisees replied, “Interesting, he can enter an unconscious mind; and Virgo, as I discovered, can enter one’s conscious mind. They must never meet. I’m afraid those two would be unstoppable together.”

  Justus asked, “Virgo?”

  Pharisees answered, “Yes. She seems to be the whore of Lucifer himself, and her gifts are great. One glance from her, and you’re rendered a helpless as a child, so beware of her telekinetic capabilities. By the time I pried Abdeel from her clutches, he was almost as incompetent as a mule.”

  Abdeel, embarrassed, replied, “Thanks for sharing that, Pharisees.”

  “I meant no disrespect, Brother. But there’s a good chance that she knows our whereabouts and our current strategies,” Pharisees replied.

  Unsettled, their Guide spoke, “Great, just what I need. I must relocate.”

  Pharisees asked, “Any luck from that psychic?”

  Justus added, “Correction: ‘Witch.’”

  Timius replied, “Justus, your quarrel with that woman is over. Despite your differences with her, before her death, we did get some informative insight about the next Zodiac’s location.”

  Ozias queried, “Death?”

  Justus answered, “Yes, that Witch tried to kill me and had to be eradicated.”

  Abdeel said, “Alright, let’s stay focused. Pharisees could be right. We must relocate to Rome. The Reader stated that’s where Aries is hiding.”

  The lights went off in their hideaway. Everyone went quiet. The Guide enabled his emergency lights. His security cameras detected hundreds of Demons outside the safe house. Pharisees recognized the forerunner leading the attack and pointed him out on one of the surveillance cameras. “The one with the red markings on his arms is the one who led the attack back at the Judgment Realm.”

  Each hid by a window with weapons drawn.

  “Are you certain of this?” Ozias whispered, crouching next to a window ready to engage.

  Pharisees said, “Quite certain, my Brother.”

  Their gifts alone couldn’t match the numbers gathered outside their hideout.

  Abdeel said, “Quick, Timius, how long will it take to make a Gateway out of here?”

  Timius answered, “There won’t be enough time. They will have breached by the time I’m halfway through.”

  The Guide said, “Quick! Come quietly and follow me.”

  With his automatic weapon in hand and loyal guard dog by his side, the Guide led them to a well-hidden secret chamber door in his library. Pharisees’ fear regarding Abdeel’s dilemma with Virgo had come to pass. The Demons knew all corners of the safe house. As they entered the chamber, they heard glass shattering and footsteps as the Demons breached the front door.

  The balcony windows of the library shattered, and they heard more footsteps. The Guide opened fire with his automatic special weapon. His bullets contained holy water. The water exploded on the Demons, burning away vast swaths of flesh upon impact.

  This slowed down the Demons enough so The Pursuers could make their escape. Pharisees teleported from Demon to Demon, delivering headshots with his laser weapon while Timius used his punishing flying guillotine axe. With the push of a button from its handle, it blasted toward his enemy. The golden chains attached to it allowed it to return to its host by another push of the same button. He incorporated the guillotine axe with his Dimension Spawning Gift that contained a black hole in its blade, delivering his victim’s head to another Dimension. Irisan stood on the second floor balcony of the library piercing the flesh of Demons with her poisoned tipped arrows fired from her crossbow. Justus brutally levitated his challengers into the slicing force of Abdeel’s water assaults.

  The Guide yelled, “Come on! Let’s move!”

  But, before the others could react, more Demons appeared. They came from the same secret chamber door of the library. As they slaughtered one battalion group, more emerged to take their place, as if they came from the cracks of the walls.

  The fight took more of a toll on Pharisees than anyone else, as it brought back memories of his apprehension in the Judgment Realm.

  Irisan landed hard onto a desk from the balcony. Her body, thus knocked unconscious, was retrieved by the Guide.

  As Pharisees warned, the Demon with the red markings on his arm stood on the balcony where Irisan had fallen. He shouted above the den of battle, “Relinquish your weapons and suspend your gifts! You are outnumbered and completely surrounded!”

  The fighting ceased, and The Pursuers awaited words from Abdeel, the Archangel currently in charge of the group.

  Timius whispered, “Where is Ozias?”

  Pharisees answered, “Worry not. He hides in plain sight. I witnessed him shapeshift into one of them to evade capture.”

  Abdeel, seeing the increasing numbers of Demons, yelled, “We’ll die before we kneel before you, Devil!” He spoke to Timius. “Timius, we’ll provide cover while you make a Gateway out of here.”

  The fighting commenced. The Pursuers heard the Devil in charge of the invasion shout “A reward to whoever brings me Abdeel’s head!”

  Jacob and Mileck, reached out to the Dark Graduates, and an Alignment was called into session. The Dark Graduates consisted of Representatives from all parts of the Universe. This was not the first time the Dark Graduates had to be Aligned. Similar events in the past had called them together.

  Noah, Chairman of the Dark Graduates, greeted everyone in attendance and officially called the Session to order.

  Jacob announced to the Dark Graduates, “I’m just going to get right to it. The Pursuit of the Zodiacs has begun.”

  Jordan, a Dark Graduate and a Representative from the Planet Venus, stood up in front of the multitude in the Council and spoke, “Again? My people are still in the process of rebuilding from the last one!”

  Before Jacob could comment, the entire room broke out into arguments between Representatives and Council Members. Many had suffered great losses ever since the last Pursuit of the Zodiacs decades ago.

  Noah spoke, “I will have order in this hall! I will not stand here and allow infighting amongst the Dark Graduates. We prevailed in the first Pursuit. We will prevail in this one! We must go over what went wrong with the last Pursuit and what we can do to prevent any unfortunate mistakes in the prosecution of the one now under way.”

  After getting the attention of everyone in the hall, Jacob opened the floor for discussion. The first to s
peak was Noah. “Upon a Zodiac’s death, without warning, their Ruling Planet undergoes a violent period that causes catastrophic events. Not much can be done about that, but we can do something about the illegal gun exchange between these time-traveling merchants. They’ve profited the most from these wars. Illegal time-travel soared to an all-time high. We’ve put a few to death, but the damage had already been done before we knew what took place. We must secure all borders. We cannot allow the exchange of Super Weapons between the black market merchants and People of the Future.”

  Naum, the Representative from Planet Jupiter, spoke next. “What about the Children of Time? I’m reminded of the great service they did for us during the last Pursuit.” Others agreed with his sarcastic remark. He continued, “The Children of Time are the ones responsible for time itself. How they allowed these criminals to go rampant through time is preposterous.”

  Noah broke in, “Whoa! Let’s not blame the Children of Time for what happened. They’ve detected every breach. It’s not their fault we failed to apprehend all of the offenders.”

  Genesis, the Representative for the Planet Uranus, spoke, “Forgive me, but we are drifting away from the issue at hand. God has made his decision. This Pursuit will go on whether we agree to it or not. We must prepare for the worst and let His will be done.”

  Aru, the Representative for the People of the Sun, added, “That’s easy for you to say, Genesis. Your people took the smallest hit during the last war. My people will never be the same after that damn Pursuit. I demand that we set up a meeting with the one who sanctioned this Pursuit of the Zodiacs.”

  “Are you mad? This means you are already insulting His judgment. Our job here is to abide by His rule and make sure countless lives are not lost in the process,” Genesis said.

  Aru responded, “Your logic shows cowardice. We already insult His judgment every time we meet here. He should be here clarifying his actions.”

  Both Aru and Genesis’s forces arose from their seats and argued.