The Forgotten Zodiac

((I'm on my period and everything huuurrrrttttsssss))

The Phantom smiled a bit, then approached Sylas calmly. The human recoiled from him, too, but the Phantom put his hands over Sylas' chest. Slowly, his own ribs began breaking. The snaps were easy to hear, and blood blossomed on his coat. But he pulled away in satisfaction as Sylas looked down at himself in confusion.

"What did you make me drink," He grabbed L'arc by the collar within seconds of this "What did you put inside me?! Why do I...feel..." He trailed off, slumping and going mostly limp.

((IT IS WEIRD THAT I AM ON MINE TOOO BUT I AM OKAY BECAUSE I STARTED NOT TODAY SO I AM FINE BUT I EMPATHIZE GREATLY))

L'arc, hoping he had done right, scooped Sylas into his arms. He looked up at the Phantom wanting to express gratitude, but the words died in his throat. Instead, he said, "C-come with us. Gabe's a healer." He stood with Sylas in his arms and looked back to Verolen. "You okay over there?" he called.

((MYEAAAHHHHHHH))

"Fine," Verolen Jr. stood and brushed himself off. He was bleeding a little, but he would be fine.

"Oh, good. Talos..." The Phantom smiled a bit. "Help me stand, please."

"Yes, sir. I apologize for...attacking your son." The demon sighed heavily.

"I forgive you. Don't worry." He smiled as Talos hurried over and helped him stand. "Let's find a way out of here, shall we?"

Before long, they were on the surface again and hurrying back towards the others. L'arc went ahead with Sylas on Fredrick, while Verolen lagged behind with his father and Talos.

Aries was waiting for them just outside the camp. "L'arc! L'arc, you're okay. Good. Sylas...what happened to him? Is he bleeding?" She pulled the human off the horse. "I don't see any wounds..."

"...the Phantom helped us out," he said. The words felt awkward on his tongue, but they were the truth. "And I gave him the potion. Verolen, the Phantom, and Talos are on their way here," he said.

"Oh...the potion. Did it work?" Aries frowned. "He's not moving...and barely breathing. Are you sure he's okay?"

"Hey, hey! What's going on?" Rush approached with a small frown. "Everything good?"

"Sylas is--"

"You gave him all the potion, right?" Rush frowned. "All of it?"

"H...half," L'arc said. "The rest... um..." the forest king trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. "Why?"

Rush blinked at L'arc, then sighed heavily. "If I told you to make him drink all of it, then I meant it, didn't I? Now he'll just forget everything. Grade A amnesia. It took off the hypnosis, that was the main focus of it, but if he didn't drink all of it, we still have the problem with what he's forgotten...hopefully the spell will set it straight. I mean, it should. If it doesn't, I can just make the part of the serum that I need." What's his condition now?"

"He's not really moving..."

"Sedative to keep him from running amok when he remembers. Bring him over here, I'll perform the spell." Rush nodded.

L'arc hefted Sylas into his arms again and took him over to Rush. "I'm sorry," he said. "I mean, I... thought it'd be okay," he said. "Did I mess up?"

Rush smiled a bit. "It's just an...inconvencience. He'll be okay, really." He started drawing figures out on the ground with sticks. He pushed them into the ground, then made an outline for  L'arc to lay Sylas on. "I need...hm." He looked around, then picked up more dry sticks and stuck them vertically in the ground. "Okay then. Lay Sylas down on that outline and use vines to secure him. The sedative should hold, but...you know. Just in case. I can't have him moving."

"All right," L'arc said, sitting Sylas down on the outline and taking a step back before securing him down with vines. "That good?" he asked.

Gabe, meanwhile, had given the crown to Verdi to hold for a while, and was using his burned hands to draw small runes in a little dusty patch.

"Yes, yes. That's good." Rush nodded and got started.

"What are you doing, Gabe?" Aries asked, looking down at what he was drawing. "More runes? Are you practicing a spell?" She smiled.

"I'm trying to remember the healing one," Gabe said quietly. "For my hands," he said, showing her the red scorch marks on his palms. "The kind of hurt a little, but I can't... remember the spell," he said.

"Oh." Aries blinked. "Where's your book? Didn't you have a book? Oh...did you leave it in the room?" She bit her lip. "Maybe Rush can..." She trailed off, looking up at the Chimera. He was chanting something in a different language entirely, and definitely looked preoccupied. "Hm. Well...think really hard. Try to remember, yeah? What would you do if I were hurt? You'd think and think until you remembered. I know you would." She smiled.

Gabe nodded, staring down at his hands. "It's... it's not too bad," he said, but Aries could detect that faint husky tone the boy took on when he was trying not to cry. "I'll just wait for Bermuda to wake up. He'll wake up, right?" he asked.

Aries sighed. "I...I don't know, Gabe. I just don't. I hope he does...come on. Let's go soak your hands in the lake, okay?" She stooped and picked him up, carrying him to the water source.

Gabe looped an arm around Aries's neck, staring at his hands. "It... it don't hurt bad at all, mom," he said. He wiggled out of Aries's arms, saying, "I'll follow you, I'm too big to carry."

"It doesn't matter. If we don't take care of it, it'll only hurt more." Aries nodded, setting Gabe down. "We'll make it better. Of course we will."

"It'll go away on its own after a while," he said, trotting after her. "I didn't want to say anything because the others were hurt more... are you hurt, mommy? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, Gabe. I'm not hurt." Aries smiled slightly, but in truth, her throat burned from smoke inhalation, her hair was singed in several spots, and she had a nice burn on her ankle. But she ignored it and kept walking, for Gabe's sake.

"Mom, are you lying?" Gabe asked a moment later, though quietly. He looked a bit confused and betrayed that he wasn't worthy of the truth.