Pursuit of the Zodiacs

by Walsh, Nathan

  Ariel logged in on the craft’s mainframe and checked out a star map. He pinpointed a navigational route that would avoid detection from enemy satellites. He was accompanied by Bishop’s top remaining Master Archangels: Exodus, Leviticus and Ezra. They toured back to their Kingdom after having successfully defeated Sabrina and her small fleet.

  “Did you find anything? Plans? Scrolls? Star maps?” Ezra asked as she walked past.

  “No, they must have destroyed everything before we engaged,” Ariel replied.

  “Over there!” A soldier pointed out a skirmish within view from the window.

  “It appears the Dark Graduates are under fire again,” Exodus confirmed as their ship passed the conflict.

  Leviticus added, “Either they are fools to attack the Dark Graduates, or they must know something we don’t. We must forward the news to Bishop at once.

  Prometheus, Lucas, Taurus and Virgo fled the pursuing god. Bishop unleashed an electrical discharge into the halls of the cave. It bounced from wall to wall, hitting multiple fleeing targets. Everyone except for Lucas and Virgo, courtesy of her Virgin Light force field, had been hit.

  Prometheus took the worst of the blast. “Go! Save yourself, Lucas!”

  Stubbornly, he went back for his comrade, but Bishop’s great speed altered his judgment. He sprinted further down the dark cave … past the blood and human remains on the floor, past the encrypted writings on the walls, and past the aggravating thick spider webs that challenged his pace. The kingdom had to be informed.

  The Mover of Suns raised Prometheus in the air with his gift of levitation, where he spontaneously combusted.

  The sound of his cry echoed in the halls of the cave loud enough for his fleeing colleague to hear and understand the message.

  “If there had been at least five of you, maybe you would have stood a chance. If all twelve of you had been in this cave, I would never have entered it at all. All this talk of an alliance is nothing more than dust. You have failed.” Bishop laughed to himself.

  With no escape, they approached Bishop. Stay and look death straight in its third eye or receive death absent from sight. These silent terms presented themselves clearly without the need of speech.

  Taurus took it upon himself to negotiate. “You haven’t killed us yet, so I figure you have brought along opportunities for barter?”

  Bishop replied, “Very clever. Let me guess. You must be Taurus?”

  Taurus answered, “Yes, you are correct.”

  After locking eyes with Virgo, he felt her trying to control his mind telepathically, and he warned her. “Try that again, Zodiac, and I will remove your eyes from your head.”

  Virgo calmly sat down on a nearby boulder, awaiting Bishop’s proposition.

  Bishop continued, “This alliance is not going to work. Lucifer wants me out of his way just as much as I want him out of mine. Regardless of what happens here, Lucifer will fail. You can choose to fall with him, or you can join me. I’ve admired your loyalty to him for quite some time. You’ve done him great service, but with me you can reap real fruits from thy labor and gain Immortality. I will have you as my Master Archangels. You will have thrones and kingdoms for your own. You will command your own armies.”

  Taurus replied, “Hmm, sounds like an official plan to me. Where do I sign?”

  Virgo responded, “You stupid, stupid example to be made of. What makes you think I will ever join an arrogant shit such as yourself? You and your army will be nothing more than wood set ablaze by his mighty Hellfire. You and your army will burn for Eternity with all those who opposed him. We will laugh and fuck to your torment. You will forever regret not putting your ego and greed for power aside to let a true King and leader rule this Universe!”

  Her words held meaning. Bishop motioned to Taurus to step aside. He did so while shaking his head, anticipating what was about to occur.

  Virgo mocked, “As easy as that, huh, Zodiac? You are a disgrace.”

  Bishop yelled, “Silence! So, you are Lucifer’s whore? I wonder how valuable you really are to him?”

  Highly offended, Virgo unleashed a surge of energy from the Earth capable of removing limbs. However, Bishop raised his arm and, with his fist curled in front of his face, split the rushing energy in two. They went in separate directions punishing the walls of the cave. Seconds later, pieces of its foundation began to crumble. Unscathed, Bishop countered with a burst of energy of his own, knocking her unconscious.

  “What now, Bishop?” Taurus asked. Bishop remained silent.

  Bishop said, “Eventually, after some convincing, she will be as loyal to me as she was to Lucifer.” He pointed at Taurus to emphasize his thoughts. “You, on the other hand, were willing to throw away centuries of work. And worst of all, betray your own leader to avoid your own death. Your loyalty seems to blow with the very wind inside this place. Death will soon be a mere illusion when my victory comes. You only stand as an opportunist … a liability. It’s your life that will be forfeited this day, Zodiac!”

  Taurus yelled, “You bastard! Fuck you, you sorry motherfucker!”

  Taurus assumed his true form and charged at the Mover of Suns. Like a Brahma Bull, he penetrated Bishop’s force field and rammed his horn into Bishop’s shoulder. Bishop realized he had underestimated the Zodiac. “Ha! You are strong, Zodiac!”

  Taurus was overconfident, certain that he had lethally wounded Bishop. However, Bishop grabbed the horn, removed it from his shoulder, and threw Taurus hard against the wall.

  The cave wall gave way, and Taurus landed hard outside. Luther and the Nephilim surrounded him. He slowly got up, brushing away the debris from his body. Bishop yelled, “Do not harm him! Luther, go inside and apprehend the other Zodiac.”

  Taurus recovered enough to yell at Bishop. “You Son of a bitch! You cannot do this to me!”

  Bishop replied, “But here we are. Where is your god, Zodiac?”

  Taurus answered, “I thought gods were not allowed to touch Mortals? You are breaking Covenants!”

  Bishop laughed. “Coming from someone serving a Master who’s been breaking Covenants for centuries. Where was your quarrel then? You have the audacity to complain when you’re on the other side of your own injustice!”

  Bishop curled his fist, filled with fire. He threw a punch at the distressed Zodiac. Solid roots emerged from the Earth and seized the Mover of Suns.

  Taurus spoke to an immobilized Bishop. “It seems you are nothing without your Sun, Bishop. You cannot risk the lives of your Nephilim atrocities.”

  The roots thickened and grew stronger, but Bishop ripped and burned them from the ground.

  Taurus charged. The Earth danced as his hooves dented the ground, fire and smoke blew from his fully flared nostrils. Once at a distance, his charge was unstoppable. Neither man nor supernatural being could stop him.

  Bishop released himself from the roots. The Mover of Suns grew in size and used his gravitational pull to pick up an off-balanced Taurus. He threw him halfway across the field and into a Pyramid.

  Pieces of the Pyramid flew everywhere. Bishop hovered over a broken Zodiac. He summoned a miniature meteor from the Sun; and as it hit the Earth, he removed his Sun Sword from its core to deliver a final blow through Taurus’s heart. But a flickering flame caught the corner of his eye, and he had very little time to use the Sun Sword to deflect Hell Rising Fire from Lucifer himself. He was knocked into the rescuing arms of one of his Nephilim Giants.

  Lucifer shouted, “Does this mean our alliance is over, old friend?”

  Bishop replied, “Lucifer, how good of you to join us! We were just finishing up here.”

  Lucifer motioned his minions to take Taurus away for immediate medical treatment. “Is this what you must resort to? Fighting Mortals, Bishop? You know I can fucking care less. But you? I thought you were better than that,” he joked.

  Bishop answered, “Times have changed. Rules were meant to be broken. This same technique has given you an advantage for decades. If yo
u think the battle has been unfair, Lucifer, then restore parity to the battlefield. Why don’t two gods engage in a match for the record books? We both know The Watchers are currently undergoing their protocol.”

  Lucifer emerged from the top of the Pyramid to meet Bishop.

  BACK IN THE CAVE

  The moment he had laid eyes upon her, he was marked for death. Her beauty and authority forced him to sink his four fangs into her. The ecstasy in partaking of her blood overwhelmed him. He forced himself into her while submitting to her kiss-provoking lips. Even in her unconscious state, Virgo was dangerous. A minute did not pass, and her poisons fulfilled their duties. A simple task turned into a losing battle against the flesh. A poisoned Luther vomited blood. He even vomited on her. She lay there covered in his blood. More blood came out of all the orifices of his body. He struggled to make it towards the entrance of the cave, but collapsed before getting too far. The Vampeer, with his final breath, had a vision. “It’s that damn Mosquito that carried the Earth again.” He reached for it, but it escaped his grasp. Luther was dead. Even the Vampeer’s healing ability had not been enough to fend off the poisons generated from this Zodiac.

  One of the Nephilim Giants returned to check on Luther, but found both Virgo and the body of his liberator covered in blood. He didn’t know who was behind Luther’s death; but he heard a loud noise coming from the depths of the cave, followed by a swarm of frightened wild bats flying in his direction. Filled with rage, he moved to investigate the noise.

  As he pursued his mystery nemesis, he shouted to forewarn whoever inhabited the cave. “I will eat of thy flesh, and quench my thirst with your blood!” The one responsible lied unconscious on the ground as he passed her.

  THE INJECTION WAS IN FULL OPERATION.

  The Mosqidou war craft, led by Raphael, completely covered the blood-lit sky, courtesy of the Moon’s new appearance. The lightning discharged from the thunderstorm penetrated the darkness and uncovered their unorthodox formation. The swarm instilled fear in their enemies as they passed.

  Despite its prominence, they soared over a promising Rome. Natenal and his remaining men held their ground. Oseem retreated with his army toward an awaiting Gateway into the Dark Underworld. Soldiers peeled away at the rubble and debris in search of their colleagues. One by one, they emerged out of the demolished church into the street. Raphael greeted them.

  “May God be praised. You had us worried there, Brother!” Raphael joked.

  Natenal responded, “You created a bit of concern on our end too, my friend.”

  Raphael said, “Where is the rest of your group?”

  Natenal answered, “Many have fallen, and a few have gone missing.”

  Raphael commiserated, “I am sorry to hear that, Natenal. May God welcome them home.”

  Natenal replied, “He will.”

  “MOVE OUT OF OUR FUCKING WAY!”

  They crossed paths with a retreating army. Abdeen, Adam, Ecor, Goliath and Daniel’s descendant, Dark Mosqidou, blocked the entrance to the Dimension. Oseem warned Abdeen and his group to move. Abdeen ordered Goliath to close it.

  Goliath grabbed the biggest boulder he could find and carried it across the street.

  Oseem replied, “Very well, have it your way Archangels. Kill them all!”

  They gave Goliath cover as he placed the huge boulder between the Dark Underworld and Earth. He took laser fire under the cover of his pitch-black wings, but healed instantly due to his advanced Vampeer blood.

  Ecor didn’t let anything past him. He pressed for the collection of more samples in the hopes of saving his people from the threat waiting at home. He had his eyes set on Demon blood from Oseem, the Demon Master Archangel himself, but would have to get through his remaining army first. He unleashed the New Generation Dark Mosqidou upon them; and indeed, as anticipated, their gifts stood paramount, raising more questions than answers for their opposition.

  One Dark Mosqidou had the ability to summon poisonous mosquitoes from her body. Once released, the Demons were unable to fend off the swarming insects and died after multiple injections. Half of Oseem’s army perished within minutes of the mosquito outbreak.

  Another member of Dark Mosqidou could take on the form of any victim he sank his fangs into. This skill alone confused his opponents.

  One had the ability to summon a dark storm cloud. It hovered over his opponent, and a peal of thunder would follow. The dark cloud’s gravitational pull would suck his opponents inside and rain the blood of its victims back down upon the pavement.

  Another Dark Mosqidou could levitate the blood within their victim, even stopping its flow, causing an extraordinarily painful death.

  In addition to their gifts, their hand-to-hand fighting techniques were unparalleled. Masters in the Art of Mosquito, they were able to channel the blood of their opponents to sections of the body it did not belong due to precision strikes to various pressure points.

  “With all these techniques within their group, you would think they’d already employed the necessary services to destroy whatever they’ve traveled across time to escape. What exactly are they dealing with there?” One of The Watchers questioned as they recorded the events.

  Another responded, “You are right. What kind of abomination awaits their return?”

  With Oseem’s army broken, Ecor took advantage of his opportunity.

  Nonetheless, Ecor met the end of Oseem’s blade after their short clash. Despite his army being crushed, the Demon Master Archangel’s ranking unfortunately remained the same. “Behold, here lies another pestilence. I donate his Vampeer blood to Lucifer,” Oseem ranted.

  More Mosqidou forces joined the melee; and with death encroaching upon him, Oseem tried eliminating as many enemies as he could. Abdeen confronted him. Oseem surprised him with his own onslaught of fire stirred from True Hell Containers. It knocked him clear into a squadron of his own mercenaries. He ordered them to not to retaliate.

  “Ha! Pursuer you cannot match my Fire,” Oseem continued to rant.

  Abdeen had heard enough. Oseem rushed him, and his patience produced gaps in the Demon Arch’s offense. He let Oseem witness True Fire, evident by its bright color and smell. The torrent was so great from Abdeen’s sword that it caused Oseem’s head to completely disintegrate, at the sight of which his remaining army scattered and fled.

  Ecor crawled to Oseem’s corpse and took a blood sample. The rest of his team gathered around their dying leader. Ecor handed the vessel used to contain the Demon blood to his most trusted colleague. He shared his last words with Dark Mosqidou after delivering the sample. “Go home. Go back to our time and destroy the abomination that awaits. Restore order and save our kind. There’s Power in the blood.”

  They carried his body onboard their spacecraft and bid farewell to their originators, Goliath and Daniel. They returned the gestures and watched their craft depart.

  “The Sky is overrun with them. We must leave this land.” Pisces examined the sky as the rest hid in an underground tunnel they had found while exploring a sinkhole caused by a missile. They were still suffering from the loss of Cancer. They could no longer stand the burden of looking at his dead body, so they gave him a decent burial.

  A Mosqidou craft hovered and scanned the perimeter not too far from where they stood. Its searchlight intruded the tunnel.

  “They are here. We must go,” Pisces warned them as she ran in their direction.

  They ran, but not fast enough. The Mosqidou craft detected them.

  “Aquarius, with our gifts we can slow them down,” Pisces advised.

  Using their combined gifts, they caused the tunnel to collapse behind them. It wouldn’t stop their enemies, but it would slow them down.

  Aquarius spoke, “That should give us a little time.”

  They saw Libra upside down on the ceiling of the tunnel running in their direction. She had been investigating one of the many tunnels ahead, and reported her findings to them. “Dead end. Let’s try another one.”
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  “Damn! We could be down here forever. We have to make it to the waterfront where the People Under the Sea await,” Aquarius replied.

  “People Under the Sea?” Pisces asked.

  Aquarius replied, “Yes, the stories are true. They exist, and I will be more than happy to introduce them to you, Zodiac.”

  Pisces said, “I’ve heard so many stories about them, but never believed they really existed. My Mother was right all along. Shamefully, everyone thought she’d gone mad. This saddens me.”

  Libra replied, “Your Mother was a Zodiac?”

  Pisces answered, “Yes, an Aquarius.”

  Aquarius continued, “Before his death, one thing I remember my Father telling me was that, upon a Zodiac’s mortality, our gifts are passed down to our offspring. They will become whatever Zodiac represents that period cycle, unless that Zodiac already exists.”

  Libra added, “I never knew who my parents were, nor did I know which one was a Zodiac, nor what kind of Zodiac.”

  Aquarius said, “We’ve been blessed to uncover the answers to the majority of our questions. It is time to depart from all this and live normal lives, my fellow Zodiacs.”

  Pisces added, “That sounds good. But we all know, as long as the Zodiacs continue to exist, there will forever be a Pursuit of them … us.”

  Libra agreed, “Pisces is right. We will forever be forced to hide and engage our pursuers. It’s more of a curse than a gift. Our future generations must be subject to these trials. I envy the humans, even though I shouldn’t.”

  Aquarius said, “Even Archangels envy the Mortals for reasons unknown. Maybe Immortality is not all it sums up to be.”

  The bursting of rubble echoed through the tunnel hall. The Mosqidou craft breached the obstruction. This secret underground tunnel could hold a metropolis. Among the many questions that arose during their passage, getting the answers would require another campaign. They kept their questions to themselves and decided to stick with their immediately pressing agenda: finding a way out. The Zodiac trio encountered scientists and engineers heading towards other terminals of the tunnel, as if they knew nothing as to what went on above a war-torn Rome.