The Forgotten Zodiac

Obelisk was a huge city. With a population of one thousand, it housed all the humans in the entire world. It was the only safe utopia left. Since the reign of the Dragon King started, this was the only place the humans were safe. They’d formed a sense of community in the underground city; consoling each other over the losses of the so many that were close to them, over the loss of their homes, over the utter destruction of their world. They picked each other up, and tried to convince each other that they didn’t need what was out there, on the surface, anymore. This was where they were safe. This is where they would stay.

Igneous was one such resident of Obelisk. Being orphaned at the hands of the terrible lizard, he’d wandered alone in the world until stumbling upon the caves. It’d been sheer luck that he’d joined up with the other survivors; though, he supposed that’s how anyone made it along these days, through luck. He’d come to rely on it, as he was full of luck himself. Lucky enough to survive the attacks of Borealis when everyone else he’d known died, lucky enough to sneak undetected through city after city with the dragon on his tail, lucky enough to find Obelisk.

The 17 year old boy was currently deep in the city, where he preferred to be. Dim torches flickered, casting their light along the walkways which Igneous was walking on. He bore the complexion of anyone and everyone living in the city; pale skin that showed that he’d not been to the surface in years. The color made his dark hair and eyes look out of place. He was tall and slender; probably too slender to be considered fully healthy, but it didn’t matter. Everyone else looked the same.

Igneous was born under the sign of Sagittarius. With the world as it was, the residents of Obelisk found this fact very important. Borealis would have to be challenged one day, but this could only be done if the other Zodiacs returned. To prepare for this coming, the leaders of Obelisk had divided the city, grouping residents based on their Zodiac sign. The idea was that the Zodiacs would need an army. If the humans were already grouped, each Zodiac could take their group to the fight, and the group would already have a foundation of trust that would be a boon to them. The twelve Zodiac signs, as it was said, were already separated into four elemental groups which life would not be possible without; water, earth, fire, air. Sagittarius was aligned with fire, so Igneous lived in the Fire District. As assumed, there were three other districts, another for each of the other three elements.

Igneous pulled his tattered denim jacket a bit closer, looking up at the walls of the cave. He never got homesick; this, of course, was his home. But sometimes he just wondered… what did the surface world look like now? Was it even still there? Sometimes he wondered if he’d just imagined the whole thing, and Obelisk was really the only real place he’d ever known. But then he’d think on his parents, and know that it wasn’t make-believe. The surface world still existed. And though he would try and convince himself that he was happy enough here, he wanted nothing more than to see it again, restored. He was willing to fight for it.

Borealis would have to be overthrown. They’d need the help of the Zodiacs to do it. Some didn’t believe that they were coming; it was assumed that they were dead, that would be the only reason why they would desert the earth for so long. But somewhere, deep inside him, Igneous new the truth.

He murmured the name over and over under his breath. Sagittarius. Sagittarius. Sagittarius. He’d heard the stories about the Zodiac; they were common now. They gave hope. Sagittarius was free, unrestrained, burning with life and hope and good fortune. Igneous wanted to embody that freedom, let it grow, spread it to the other citizens that had lost hope. What else could he hold onto, but the hope that they would get the chance to fight for the right to their world? That the Zodiacs would be back to help them?

Oh, he couldn’t wait for them to return.

"We're lost..." A small voice echoed along the cave, sounding weak and hurt.
"We are not," A stronger voice, though still somewhat weak and tired, answered. "We're just...wandering."
"Why were there guards?" The weaker voice asked.
"I don't know. But it looks like we got past them okay, at least our illusions still work..."
Further along the tunnel, there were two boys, both of them looking around 10 years of age. Clearly twins, though one of them had black hair and silver eyes, yet the other had silver hair and black eyes. The black haired boy was carrying the silver haired one piggy-back style, and for a good reason.They both were wearing regal sort of clothing, but both of their clothes were tattered and torn and...just a bit bloody. The silver haired boy was dripping blood on the ground, not to mention already getting it all over his twin's back. He looked close to passing out, too. The other of the two was in a bit better shape, thus the carrying of his twin. And of course, it'd be much harder to continue without telling you their names. The black haired boy's name was Quint, and the silver haired boy's name was Quinn. The both of them were indeed Zodiacs, of the Zodiac Gemini. If that wasn't obvious.

Quint stopped. Human...he definitely sensed a human up ahead. What to do...however unlikely it seemed, Borealis' agents could be anywhere. They couldn't afford another bad encounter. Quint took in a deep breath, breathing out gently; he was creating an illusion that would hide him and Quinn easily. To Igneous, it would seem as though nothing were there. Quint started forward again, barely remembering to keep breathing.
He probably would have made it, too, if it weren't for a jutting rock in the ground right by where Igneous was standing. Quint caught it on his bare foot and was unable to stop himself from falling forward, landing flat on his face.
Quint landed roughly, dropping Quinn, who fell to the ground next to him with a cry of pain. The illusion practically shattered, the both of them very visible all of the sudden. Quinn curled up on his side with his knees up to his chest, Quint struggling to his knees.

"NO! I'm going to find them!" Cancer jumped up from the table, knocking the chair over as he did so. "I'm done waiting for them to 'find their way back'! We all know it won't happen!" He stormed out into the city, two broadswords strapped to his legs. He sighed. "May as well start with the worst first."

He strode into the city, straight toward the fire section which would be his least favorite section in the city. "QUINT! QUINN! Hello?!" He shouted this as loudly as he could, which was quite substantial due to his large frame. A few blinds raised to see who was making such a ridiculous noise that late at night, but he ignored them, striding deeper into the city. "QUINT! WHERE /ARE/ YOU? COME ON! QUINN!" He ran along the streets until he stumbled into Igneous. "Excuse me! You seen two boys? About ten? Black and silver hair, hard to remember names?"

“Huh? What on earth?”

Igneous stooped down to the two boys. “Who are you two?” In Obelisk, there were rarely new faces to see… especially in your own district. “Survivors? Good grief, you’re wounded,” he said, reaching his hand out to the two. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here. That monster can’t get you here,” he smiled reassuringly. “I’ll tell you what, you two come with me, I’ll see to it that your wounds are cared for, and then--”

He jolted, looking up as the third person he’d never seen before came running up. “I uh… these two?” he asked, gesturing to the twins. He stood, rather awkwardly, running a hand through his shoulder length dark hair. “They just appeared out of no where. If they belong to you, why weren’t you with them?” he asked, eyeing the man’s swords. He was a bit unnerved by the man’s harsh manner, and by the fact that he, too, had seemingly come out of nowhere.

The man paused. "If they belong... OH! No, not like that. They're my... Cousins. Sort of." He hurried past Igneous, bending down next to the twins. "What happened to you for goodness' sake?! No, don't answer that, we all know it was that freak of dragon." The man dropped to his knees and pushed the swords away, pulling various medical supplies from his pockets. He turned around, motioning to Igneous. "A little help here?"

"Of... of course," Igneous said. "I'm really not trained for this or anything, but I can hold things for you and hand them to you when you need them," he said, holding out his arms for the man to use at his disposal.

"C-Cancer?" Quint stared at the man, shaking his head, looking ready to pass out. "That's...really you?" He sat back against the stone wall, closing his eyes tightly. He opened them again. Cancer was still there. "Thank the stars..." He murmured. "Yes, it was Borealis. We just barely managed to escape..."
"We were lost," Quinn whimpered. He looked up ever so slightly, looking at Igneous with his pain-dulled black eyes. "Do you...not recognize us? I suppose I can't blame you...it's been years..."

"Yeah, it's me." The man smiled, clearly relieved at having found them as soon as he had. "Here, drink." He held out a water canteen, then turned to Quinn. "I'm going to have to clean that, okay? I'd tell you it won't hurt, but it's going to hurt like you can't imagine. Tell me when you're ready."

Igneous blinked a few times, looking between the three. He'd heard how the twins had adressed the man, then looked back down. "Are you... you can't be..." he stammered. "I... I knew you'd come back," he said, looking relieved. "You're... Zodiacs, aren't you?" he asked, hope blossoming in his eyes. "Gemini and... Cancer, was it?" he asked. "Is it really you? Oh, my..." He smiled. "I knew you'd be back..." he shook his head. "But I'm rambling. We need to treat your wounds..."

Quint raised the canteen to his lips, drinking for a long while before helping his twin drink some, as well. "I'm ready," Quinn nodded, moving his legs away from his chest. "Just do it quickly, okay?"
"Yes, it's us." Quint looked up at Igneous again, smiling weakly. "Ramble on, please. It's been a very long time since we've heard a voice that isn't Borealis'."

Igneous grew worried. "Borealis? The Dragon?" he asked. He shook his head. "He did this to you? Good grief, you poor things," he murmured, reaching over to pat Quint's shoulder. He smiled. "If... if it's any comfort, I think the humans in charge have already, uh, ordained a place for you all to stay. I think they built a palace for you all," he said. "You're the first to show up, though," he added. He smiled. "But that's a good thing. When the others see that you're back, they'll have hope again!"

Cancer sat down, removing a different canteen from his side and using the water to wash Quinn's wounds. "Quint, if you're done with the canteen, why don't you give it to- to- whoever this is, and he can start cleaning you up."

"It's Igneous," he introduced himself quickly. "Igneous Clarey," he said, smiling. He reached his hand out for the canteen. "Here, let me help you," he said.

"We'll be alright," Quint smiled a bit at Igneous. "And they have? They didn't have to do that...honestly, I'd just be happy with a bed right now, but...first thing's first," He held the canteen back towards Igneous. "Nice to meet you, Igneous. I'm Quint, and this is Quinn. Together, we form Gemini, but that's a bit of a no-brainer. Thank you for helping us."
Quinn whimpered, tears forming in his eyes as Cancer started his work.

Igneous smiled. "It's... an honor to meet you all," he said. He poured water slowly over the wound, then turned, reaching into his pack to pull out some bandages. With the world as it was, it was best to be prepared for situations like this, as survivors could show up at any time. "I've got these, here," he said, handing a roll to Cancer as well. He winced, looking at the bloody shirt. "We probably shouldn't wrap that dirty thing up next to your wounds," he said, reaching to pull it off. He lifted the fabric over Quint's head, then wrapped the bandages around his torso. "Is that better?" he asked, looking over the boy again to see if there were more wounds. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked again, concern in his eyes. He was glad that Cancer took the more injured one, he didn't think he'd be able to look at the expression of pain on Quinn's face.

Quint made no real movement of pain, too exhausted to feel anymore. "Thank you. I don't think there's any wounds that need more immediate attention...all of that is on Quinn. But, thanks again, for worrying. I'm glad we haven't been forgotten..."

Cancer nearly laughed, rather out of place considering the situation. "Forgotten? Quint, everyone here is here because of that dragon-freak. It'd be quite difficult to forget the Zodiacs."

Igneous sighed. "Though, it seems some people want to just forget," he said. "I think people were getting content with being down here," he said. He smiled then. "But that's all going to change now that you all are back!" he said. "Just wait until they meet you. Quint, Quinn, and... I'm sorry," the human turned to Cancer. "I never caught your name."

Cancer smiled, not at all surprised at Igneous' confusion. "Cancer. I am Cancer and my name is Cancer. Confusing, I know, but you'll get the hang of it." He paused, smile fading slightly. "You said we were the only three here?"

"Currently, yes," Igneous answered. "Unless the higher-ups are keeping you all a secret from us, but I don't see why they would." He stood, offering Quint a hand. "I can show you all the palace, if you like."