Shooting Star - Cancer
#3 of Shooting Star
Shooting Star - Cancer
Cancer (the crab) is one of the most difficult zodiac signs to understand. Cancerians can have many different personalities. Most Cancerians like to be at their home, and enjoy large families. You seem unsociable to some people, but you enjoy chatting and gossiping as much as anyone else. You tend to day-dream very often and can be found in a state of fantasy. You enjoy art, writing, and drama, but acting may not be a career for you because of your tendency to overact. Cancer is the sign most likely to believe in the zodiac, as well as other psychic happenings. You make a loyal friend and are also very patriotic.
New Characters
Paula - Age 20, Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, unofficial leader of her group of three. She and the others were very popular in high school and expect everything to go their way.
Taylor - Age 20, Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, Considers herself more of rival to Paula, Taylor continuously tries to one-step-up Paula.
Amanda - Age 20, Red Hair, Green Eyes, The least assertive of the three, she sometimes has flashes of genius (although they're sometimes taken advantage of by Paula and Taylor).
Cancer - Age ??? (Appears 25), Bright Red shell/hair, Dark Brown/Black Eyes. Special Power: Cancer has a limited range of telekinesis (within her arm's reach). She is able to grab eight things at the same time (two in her hands and six using her 'invisible arms')
The Emperor stood with the orb in front of his right eye as he kept watching everything Aries had witnessed. He kept replaying the part in which Castor and Pollux revealed that they couldn't change back into Gemini. "He's no good to me if he's split up" he said under his breath. "Let's see how long they'll last..." The Emperor hid the orb from sight as a figure clad in a silver robe entered the room.
She kneeled before the Emperor. "You summoned me, my Lord?"
"Yes. Aries has failed in retrieving Gemini."
"Is that so?" she asked with a bit of surprise.
The Emperor grinned. "Yes, and I want you, Cancer, to take over his duties and bring back Gemini at any cost."
"What about the young master?" Cancer asked for a confirmation on what took priority.
There was a slight pause. "Darrius is safe at moment. He'll be safely brought back once the threat of Gemini's presence has been lifted."
"I understand. When do I leave?"
The Emperor revealed the orb. "In one week. Once I've regained my energy I will lend you it to get to Earth." He turned his back to her. "Now I must rest, I am feeling tired now." Cancer bowed her head as the Emperor walked off to his private quarters, not realizing he had a wicked grin on his face.
Back on Earth Harkin was finishing up his lecture for the class. A sigh of relief was heard throughout the room when he finally was done. Most of the class picked up their stuff and left. Ryan and Sarah were still packing up their things when a group of three girls from their class they never really talked to walked up to them.
"Hey you two" the apparent leader of the girls said. "Hi, I'm Paula. We were just wondering how long your cousin is going to be in town."
Ryan and Sarah looked at each other. "We're not sure" Sarah said. "They said they would be staying until they resolved some problem they had."
"Oh!" Paula and the other girls got excited. "So that means they could be here for a while, huh?"
"I guess you could say that..." Ryan answered, not liking where this conversation was heading."
One of the other girls, Taylor, stepped forward. "So, like, what's he into? What kind of girl is he interested in?"
Ryan and Sarah let out low groan. "Don't know" Ryan said. "This is the first time we've ever met them. They're not from around here."
"Oh!" The last girl, Amanda, said excitedly. "You mean they're not from this Country?"
Ryan and Sarah quickly glanced at each other. "You could say that..." Sarah said.
The three girls were getting more excited. "It's obvious that I should be the one who asks him out." Paula said. The other two girls went silent.
"Why should it be you?" Taylor asked. "I saw him first last night; I should be the one to ask him out!" Ryan and Sarah took this chance to start edging way from them.
"Don't fight girls!" Amanda said. "He has a twin brother, remember."
"Good point, Amanda." Paula said. "I'll ask one out and Taylor can ask the other out."
"Hey!" Amanda shouted.
"Don't worry, Amanda" said Paula. "You can have the third cousin."
"He seems kind of young though..." Amanda was considering the idea when she started to turn around. "Hey guys, how old are-" Amanda went silent when she realized both Ryan and Sarah were gone. The three girls looked glanced around the room and saw no sight of them.
"That was frustrating" Sarah groaned. "Why do does three always have jump up whenever a cute guy shows up out of the blue?"
Ryan raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "You think of them as cute, do you?" Sarah eyes widened and her face turned red when she realized that she had actually said that. Ryan tried to hold in the laughter.
"Yeah, their 'human' forms are but you and I know what they actually look like."
"Yeah, so you think their real forms are grotesque, huh?"
Sarah became more flustered. "Would you shut up!" Ryan's eyes widened a bit in surprise, he realized his teasing had gone a little too far. "I still don't know what to think of the three of them, alright?" Sarah took a deep breath and calmed herself down. We are treating them as our guests, and I'm alright with that, but the three of them are still a mystery to us."
"Yeah..." Ryan said. "Like what happened with Pollux earlier." They both remembered how Pollux just up and left the classroom without warning. "What do you think that was about?"
"I don't know" Sarah sighed.
"Should we ask him?"
"No, he probably won't even tell us." Sarah groaned. "Could we talk about something else now, please."
There was slight pause between them before Ryan spoke up "So when should we show them how to ice-skate?"
"Ice-skating, yes!" Sarah smiled. "How about tomorrow?"
"Uhh..." Ryan was staring past Sarah. "I don't think tomorrow would be ideal..." Ryan pointed in the direction he was looking. Sarah turned her head towards what he was pointing at; the lake. They noticed that a large section of the lake had been roped off and many people were standing near a large hole in the ice.
"Do you think someone fell in?" Sarah asked with worry.
"I don't know. The ice usually isn't that fragile... it would take an enormous force in order to cause the ice to be cracked that wide open."
"They're not going to let anyone on the lake for a while now..." Sarah sighed. "I guess we're going to have to postpone the ice-skating lessons..."
Back at the dorm Pollux and Castor were lying down on the sofas. Their bodies were recovering from the many bruises Aries had inflicted on the two of them. It was the physical pain that was causing them distress however. "It can't be true..." Castor said.
"It makes sense, Castor" Pollux groaned. "I don't want to believe it either..."
"There's just no way Pisces would deceive the three of us like that!" Castor snapped at Pollux.
"Then how do you explain the Emperor's recent actions!?" Pollux snapped back at Castor.
"What about my father?" Darrius slowly walked in, yawning. His appearance caused Castor and Pollux to jump off the couches and dismiss what they were talking about.
"It's nothing, young master." Pollux said. "You should get some more rest."
"That's... no fun" Darrius yawned as he talked. "Yeah... I guess..." Darrius yawned again as his body's fatigue overpowered his mind's willingness to stay awake. He walked back to his room.
"How long do you think he'll be like this?" Castor asked Pollux with concern. "Since he's not eighteen yet his body regains energy at a slower rate. He could be like this for days, even more than a week, and that's just enough energy to keep him awake..."
"His birthday is in about six weeks..." said Castor. It probably would have been better if we had left after that..."
"We can't undo what's happened to Gemini. Perhaps the Emperor or maybe one of the others will know how to fix this."
"Perhaps... but I'm getting this weird feeling..." Pollux raised an eye-brow. "I can't explain it but it feels like..."
"It's happened before?" Pollux finished. Castor nodded his head.
"If it's true, then why can't either one of us remember when it happened?"
"With how old we are... it wouldn't be surprising if we forgot a few things."
"Yeah..." The two of them were silent. Neither one said anything and it was only when the door opened and in walked Ryan and Sarah that the silence was broken. Castor and Pollux decided it to keep everything they were talking about a secret not only from Ryan and Sarah, but Darrius as well.
Trying to be courteous, Sarah asked "Are the two of you hungry? We could make some lunch."
"That would be much appreciated" Pollux said as Sarah walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah! I worked up an appetite" Castor added in out of earshot of Sarah, but perfectly clear for Ryan to hear.
"So what did you do while were gone?" Ryan raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
Castor blinked as he tried to think of something "I went exploring and found a place called 'Sta-di-um'" Castor tried to pronounce the word he had never seen before.
"The stadium?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah! The stadium. After watching some of the humans run around the track I decided to join in..."
"How did you do?" Ryan asked.
"I was fast, but there was this one guy who kept running circles around me."
"Were you surprised by that?"
"Oh no! I knew from the beginning I couldn't outrun him: Castor was grinning as he continued to lie by telling the truth. Pollux was a little annoyed by how much he was telling, but eased up when he saw Ryan was buying into all of it. "When I was done I wanted to return here, but..." Castor glanced over at Pollux, who got the message.
"That's when I knew he lost and went to retrieve him and bring him back."
"So that's why huh...?" Ryan rubbed the back of his head remembering back to when Pollux left so suddenly. "I guess that makes sense..."
"Come on, Ryan!" Sarah shouted from the kitchen. "I'm not doing all of the cooking!"
"I'm coming!" Ryan yelled back. He started walking off towards the kitchen when Castor spoke up one more time.
"So when are we going ice-skating?" Castor was filled with excitement while Pollux just shook his head, already having been on the ice enough.
"Sorry guys," said Ryan. "It's going to have to wait for a while. Apparently something made a giant hole in the lake. "It's going to be some time before it seals up and it opens again." Ryan disappeared into the kitchen.
Castor's ears went to side realizing the reason for the hole was. Pollux glanced over at Castor and said in his mind "Remember, don't mention anything to them." Castor responded by sadly nodding his head. A small smile appeared on Pollux, relieved to be free of having to step foot on the dreaded ice... at least for the time being.
A week later Darrius was starting to have to sleep in less and less. That morning for breakfast he woke up fully rested and entered the kitchen with Castor and Pollux without their illusion activated. They had forgotten to activate so many times that Ryan and Sarah didn't mind seeing them as they were in the morning anymore. Ryan and Sarah were trying to serve something different every day, but they only knew so many things to make for breakfast. So far pancakes had been the trio's favorite breakfast food and that was what they were making.
"Smells good!" Castor came in with his eyes closed and his muzzle held high, taking in the scent.
"Good morning" Pollux said.
"Morning" Darrius said following him.
Ryan and Sarah said good morning with their backs turned to them as they started to fill the plates. Sarah took three plates and placed them in front of the trio while Ryan took two plates and handed one to Sarah as the both sat down. "Are you feeling better, Darrius?" Ryan asked. "Are you still sick?" Pollux and Cancer told them that Darrius was sleeping so often because he was sick.
"Oh yes, I feel much better now."
"That's good, but..." Ryan focused his eyes on Darrius, not particularly paying attention to an area specifically. Darrius tilted his head in confusion. "The roots of your fur seem to be turning white..." Darrius brushed back a bit of his fur and saw that the roots of his fur were turning white. He smiled involuntarily at the thought of regaining his energy.
"Maybe his winter coat is growing in" Sarah suggested, partially joking.
"Yeah, that's what it is" Pollux said. Castor and Darrius just smiled to agree with him.
"What's a winter coat?" Castor asked in his mind.
"I don't know. Just go along with it." Pollux replied.
"So all three of us are going with you two today?" Darrius asked. He had heard what it was like from Castor and Pollux, but never had the chance to go due to him always sleeping.
"If you really want to" Ryan said as he wiped his mouth. "If you're still feeling sick you could always just continue to rest."
Darrius shook his head. "No way! I've had to sleep almost all day for the past week; there's no way I'm spending lying in bed all day again." Darrius had so much a lot of pent up energy that he felt he wanted to at least get out of the dorm. No more questions were asked as they finished up breakfast and soon started their walk.
It had snowed a couple of times in the past week and the snow completely concealed the grass on the ground. As they passed the lake they saw that the hole had finally sealed up, but was still sealed off by the school. Pollux smiled, Castor frowned, and Darrius looked over at the lake, curious as to why the two of them were staring at it so intently with the looks on their faces. Darrius had forgotten about the whole ice-skating idea since Castor told him about it a week ago.
Along the way, when they were only three minutes away from their class, Chris joined them. "Looks like the whole family's here today, huh?" He tried to make his between Ryan and Sarah. Sarah saw this coming and closed the distance between herself and her brother, causing Chris to settle for a spot at the end next to Ryan. "You think it's a good idea for all three of them to be coming? Those three hot girls are still on the prowl for them"
"Do you even bother to remember the names of the girls you flirt on? Especially the ones who are the same class?"
"You know I'm not interested in those types of girls who think they should get everything they want just because. I only flirt on them for fun."
"Well, if you could..." said Ryan. "Flirt with them after class to make sure they don't get through to our cousins. Hopefully your 'natural charms' will cause them to go in the opposite direction as us."
"Because you know they won't listen to the two us when we tell them to stay away from them..." Sarah said as she groaned, not looking forward to be being pestered by them again. "It was easy when only one came..."
Darrius listened to what the three of them were talking about. "What are they talking about?"
"Don't know" Castor said. "Every time class ends one of them stays behind while the other brings us back as fast as they can. Do you have any idea as to what's happening, Pollux?"
"I don't know, but the way they're talking about it is starting to get me worried..."
"It's going to be a little bit difficult getting them out this time" said Ryan. "But I'm counting on you to step up your flirt with them."
"No problem!" Chris smiled as they arrived at the front of the building. The three girls hadn't arrived yet so they were able to take the seats in the way back of the class. They knew that those three almost always arrived last, and everyone in the class preferred to sit in the back in hopes to not be called on by Harkin. Their hopes were realized when the other students started packing up the back of the classroom and Paula, Taylor, and Amanda showed up right before class started and were forced to take the seats closest to the front. To their dismay, however, they saw the three of them smile excitedly when they looked in their direction.
"This is going to be a long class today..." Sarah sighed. Ryan nodded his head as Harkin walked into the classroom and set down his work bag. Class began.
A half hour later Harkin had something projected on the screen for everyone to write down. He had stopped talking and everyone around Darrius was taking notes with the exception of Pollux and Castor. "Is this all they do?" Darrius whispered to them. He received a nod from the two of them. "Do they find this entertaining?"
"No master Darrius" Pollux said. "The purpose of this isn't for them to have fun; it's to learn new knowledge from one who possesses it."
"But this seems so boring... Isn't there a way to have fun while learning?"
"We asked them the same thing" Castor said. "They just laughed for some reason..." Castor tilted his head, trying in vain to figure the reason.
"In any case" said Pollux. "It's rather interesting hearing the humans' perspective on what the galaxy holds... even if there are some flaws."
"Well forgive us for not having the ability to traverse across it" Ryan whispered. A smirk formed on his face, causing the three of them to realize they weren't as quiet as they thought. They decided to keep quiet for the rest of the lecture.
It was during the last half hour of class that the door opened, catching the attention of everyone in the room. In walked a girl wearing a grey hoodie that was till covering her head. Her face was shrouded to all the students by the hood as she walked up to Harkin. "Excuse me, I'm thinking about joining this class next... um..." the girl took a moment as to try to come up with the right word. "Next semester, and I was wondering if I could have a preview?"
"I'm sorry, but the class is almost over" Harkin said. "You're welcomed to come back tomorrow if you want."
"Oh... but I'm only going to be in town for today. I'm kind of on a tight schedule..."
"Well... I regret that you won't get that much of an experience, but you're welcomed to spend the rest of the time here."
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome. You can take a seat right there in the front, but please, if you would take off your hood while you are in here."
The girl seemed reluctant to do so, but soon did as she was asked. "I understand." She reached grabbed a hold of her hood. The whole class was watching as if they were watching a soap opera; waiting for the stranger to reveal her true face. She pulled back the hood revealing short, bright red hair to the class. She turned around and showed off her most unique feature; her eyes. The color of them were so dark, it almost appeared as though she had no irises. She looked around the room and focused on the direction of Ryan, Sarah, and their 'cousins'. A faint smile appeared on her face before she took a seat.
"I think she had a crush on one of you" Chris said as he looked down the line.
"Oh god, it better not be another girl after our cousins..." Sarah groaned. "Three's enough!"
"I don't know Sarah..." Chris said. "She might have been looking at you..." Chris was grinning before Sarah tossed her pen at his face. "Ow!" Chris said as he ran he wiped his hand across his face. He saw black ink on his fingers. "Looks like I've been marked by you, Sarah." He leaned over and picked the pen that she threw at him off of the ground. "I'll be sure to treasure this pen until you throw another at me." He smiled.
"Don't tempt me!" Sarah said before Harkin cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention from the previous distraction."
Sarah took out another pen and started writing down the last part of Harkin's lecture. The girl who had walked in would occasionally look back at them, particularly at Castor and Pollux."
"Do you know her?" Darrius asked. Castor and Pollux tried to focus in on her, but the distance and the number of students between them prevented them from doing so. They both just shook their heads to answer Darrius.
"Doesn't sound like we'll be seeing much of her, though" Castor said. "She's only here for today."
The moment Ryan and Sarah dreaded had arrived; the time when Harkin ended his lecture and dismissed everyone. Ryan and Sarah had expected the three girls to get up and try to come to them, but they just stayed in their seats and stared back at them, smiling. The students around them were leaving the room, only Ariel had approached them.
"Figuring out how to escape this time, huh?" She asked as she stood by Sarah. "You know... maybe sitting in the very back of the classroom wasn't the best idea"
"We were trying to prevent them from sitting close to us..." Sarah said.
"But now they're waiting by the only exit..." Ryan finished off. "Didn't think they would learn that fast."
"So does that mean flirting is out of the question?" Chris asked, not really caring which way the situation went. "Because I could still try to distract them if you want."
"It won't work this time, Chris" Ryan replied. He groaned "Looks like we're going to have to..." Ryan cut himself off as the sound of footsteps drew closer. They looked and saw that the new girl was approaching them. As she got closer Castor and Pollux saw the shroud surrounding her fade to reveal that she was one of them.
"Cancer's here?" Castor asked in his mind.
"She must have some news regarding our situation." Pollux responded.
"Why hello there!" Chris stood up and intercepted her. "It pains me to think that such a lovely girl as you is only going to be here for-"
"Oh knock it off, Chris!" Ariel interrupted him. "Doesn't she seem a little old for you?" Her words didn't seem to bother Cancer, but she was getting annoyed by how Chris was standing in her way. She saw that in his right hand was a pen, the same one Sarah had chucked at him. In the next moment the pen was plucked out of Chris' hand and thrown across the room without Cancer lifting a finger.
"Sarah's pen!" Chris shouted as he chased after it. Paula, Taylor, and Amanda saw the opportunity and started to approach their targets.
Cancer made it to the top with the three girls following. She looked at Castor and Pollux in the eyes and said "Could we go talk somewhere privately."
"Listen you..." Sarah started. "I don't know who you are but-"
"Alright" Castor and Pollux said in unison. Their response shocked Ryan, Sarah, Amanda, the three girls, and even Chris who had heard the whole thing as he picked up the pen. Darrius was just confused, he was unable to see through Cancer's illusion and saw her as nothing more than another human.
"Hey!" Paula shouted behind her. "You just can't come in here and ask out the same two guys that we want to!"
"Yeah!" Taylor and Amanda said.
"What is going on?" Sarah asked Castor and Pollux, frustrated.
"She asked us to talk with her" said Pollux. "We might as well oblige..."
"So are you saying that everything we've been doing for the past week was pointless!?" The two of them were silent. Sarah threw her hands in the air and started to pack her stuff, shaking her head and grumbling as she did. "Sorry for trying to look out for you three!" Sarah grabbed her stuff and stormed off, Ariel quickly went after her. Ryan started packing his stuff so he could follow her.
"Would you please take Darrius with you, Ryan."
"Sure." Was all Ryan said. Darrius just sat there, not understanding what was going on. When Ryan started to leave, Darrius followed him out of the classroom with Chris not far behind. The three girls who were after Castor and Pollux just stood there, pissed off at the new girl.
"Listen you!" Paula said. "You must not know how this college works, because when you piss me off you are going to pay!"
Cancer rolled her eyes and placed her hand on her head from the headache she was getting listening to her. She turned around and looked at Paula. "Would you just shut up you annoying girl!" Paula, Taylor, and Amanda's mouth dropped.
"That's it!" Paula said as she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. "Start texting girls" she said to Taylor and Amanda who proceeded to take out their cell phones. "Spread the word to make sure this girl doesn't leave here unscathed!" The three of them started to type text messages. Cancer put her hand against her head. The three phones beeped each time a button was pressed and all three of them were texting very quickly. Cancer had both of her hands on her head and clenched her teeth as she experienced a very painful headache. Cancer approached Paula and snatched the phone out of her hands. "What the hell are you doing!? Give that back to me!" Taylor and Amanda stopped texting and looked at what was happening.
"I said shut up!" Cancer shouted as she tightened the grip on the phone her right hand, crushing it and shattering the screen on the floor. The room was silent. Paula mouth was wide open in shock, either from the fact her phone was broken or by the fact the girl in front of her crushed it with her bare hands. Cancer opened her right hand and let the crushed phone fall to the ground. She gazed over at Taylor and Amanda who immediately closed their phones and hid them from sight. "Get out of here, now." Cancer said impatiently to them. Taylor and Amanda slowly nodded their heads as they dragged Paula out of the classroom with them.
"Forceful as always, Cancer..." Pollux sighed.
"Hey, I'll even admit those three were annoying!" Pollux smiled, reassuring Cancer. She just turned around and stared at the two of them.
"Follow me" was all she said as she started walking away. Castor and Pollux wasted no time getting up to follow her, passing by the few remaining students who just silently stared at them as they left.
"So how's Aries?" Castor asked as they followed Cancer down the hallway.
"Thanks to the two of you he's still recovering" Cancer's face turned into a glare that she hid from the two of them.
"Really?" Pollux asked. "I didn't think his injuries were that severe..." Pollux closed his eyes remembering what had happened to Aries a week ago.
"I haven't seen him" Cancer said. "But the Emperor said he was covered with cuts everywhere on his body... and they were very deep.
"What!?" both of them said in unison, causing the few students in the hallway to look at them in confusion. They ignored them and just continued to follow Cancer. "Our sword never once came into contact with him!" Castor said in a voice only that only Pollux and Cancer could hear.
Cancer remained silent as they turned a few corners. The further they went less students they saw. They were soon in the very back of the building and were standing in front of a large set of metal doors with the words 'Planetarium' engraved on them. Cancer clutched the handle of one of the doors, causing it to bend slightly as she opened the door.
"Why are you bringing us here?" Pollux asked as they followed her in. Inside was a large room with many rows of chairs going in a circle around the entire room. The domed ceiling appeared as though it was night to them. Pollux and Cancer gazed up in amazement as Cancer walked to the very center of the room.
"I stumbled across this room as I was searching for you" Cancer said as she looked up. Pollux and Castor snapped out of their awe and looked over at Cancer. "I liked how quiet it was in this room compared to the noise of when all of those humans were talking in the hall."
"That still doesn't answer my question as to why you have brought us here." Castor remained silent.
"How did you find us anyways?" Castor asked.
Cancer turned around and reached beneath the hoodie to reveal the same glass necklace that Aries had worn a week ago. "This thing does more than just allowing us to travel. It also allows us to track you down."
"Then why didn't Aries come and find us?" Pollux asked.
Cancer closed her eyes. "I don't know. Aries was always a little reckless..."
"He seemed to be enjoying himself when I found him" Castor thought back. "I guess he just wanted to have some fun before he came after us."
"The fool should have made a surprise attack on the two of you instead of fooling around. Unlike him, however, I don't intend to fool around..." Cancer snapped her finger and the illusion surrounding her faded.
"Didn't Aries tell the Emperor that this is some kind of mistake!?" Pollux shouted.
"The only mistake you made is when you kidnapped master Darrius!" Cancer reached down to her sides and grabbed a scimitar in both hands.
"We did not kidnap him!" Castor shouted.
"Quit lying!" Suddenly six more swords appeared from behind her and floated in midair, three on one side, and three on the other.
"Using eight swords from the get-go, huh?" Pollux said as he and Pollux snapped their fingers and drew their swords."
"It's only fitting that I don't show the two of you any mercy!" Cancer charged at them. The two jumped to the side onto the seats and immediately jumped again as the swords swiped down on them.
"We're at a disadvantage in this closed room." Castor said in his mind.
"That was probably Cancer's plan, but we can't leave or we might risk exposing ourselves to other humans."
"Got a plan?"
"Not right now... let's just keep our distance from her and ourselves."
Castor and Pollux started running on top of the chairs as Cancer stood still, trying to decide which of the two to go after. "Scared to fight me, huh? Gemini never had a problem sparring with me."
"To be fair," Castor said. "You weren't fighting for your life then."
Cancer chuckled. "I guess I'll start with the smart-ass first." Cancer charged at Castor, who just continued to keep his distance as she started to chase after him. "She continued to chase him around the room, slowly closing the distance. "You know it's boring if you don't put any effort into this."
"Tell me about it" Castor said as he smiled in her direction. Cancer saw that he wasn't look at her, but looking past her. She quickly glanced around and saw that Pollux wasn't in sight. She quickly turned around and blocked Pollux's sword with two of her own.
"Now!" Pollux shouted in his mind. Cancer turned her head and saw Castor thrusting his sword at her. Two more of her swords blocked his sword. The two of them were trying to force the swords to give way.
"Normally this would resort in a stalemate..." Cancer said as she started to grin. "But I still have four extra swords" Castor and Pollux furrowed their brows as Cancer swung her remaining swords at the two of them. They pushed themselves off of her as her blades made shallow cuts on both of them. Cancer smiled as some of their blood dripped off the tips of her swords. "I guess that's a start."
"Damn it!" Pollux said in his mind. "We aren't going to get anywhere if it continues like this!"
"If only there was some way to get rid of some of those swords..." Castor said as he noticed a few drops of blood falling to the ground from his body. "Perhaps we could..."
"Whatever the two of you are planning won't work" Cancer said, interrupting Castor and Pollux's conversation. "I chose this room for its size and open space. There's nothing you can hide behind and nowhere to run. It's the perfect place for me to fight you." Castor and Pollux clenched their teeth as Cancer smirked. "The Emperor said to bring you back one way or another, so I decided to punish the two of you before I drag you back to him." All of her swords shifted as she prepared to make another charge. Castor and Pollux went into a defensive stance. Before anyone moved they heard the door to the Planetarium open. The three of them looked up at who had entered.
Sarah charged out of the classroom in frustration. She quickly made her way out of the building to get some fresh air. She took in one long breathe before she let all of it. She started to walk home when Ariel came out of the building. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Sarah sighed. "I'm just under a lot of stress right now."
"I can imagine" Ariel said. "Finals are three weeks away and you've had to spend all of your time studying and keeping your cousins out of trouble."
"Yeah..." Sarah said silently. She turned around and saw Ryan running up to her with Darrius following closely behind him.
"Are you alright?" Ryan asked.
Sarah sighed again as she said "I'm alright, Ryan. I just can't stand all the extra stress from having to make sure our cousins stay out of trouble."
"Sorry if we're causing you trouble..." Darrius said with a sad tone.
"It's not you specifically" Ryan assured him. "It's all of the girls that went to get in their pants."
"What does that mean?" Darrius asked curiously.
Ryan bit his lip. "It's nothing that you need to know about."
"I just don't understand why the heck that those two would accept her invitation so quickly." Sarah said. "It's not like they know anyone around here."
Ariel chuckled. "Maybe she's from the same place they come from... wherever that is..." Ariel said it is a joke, but what she said caused Ryan and Sarah to glance at each other.
"Ariel, could you please walk my cousin back to the dorm?" Ryan said as he handed his key over to Ariel.
"Um... alright" Ariel said.
"And put on a movie of his choice when you get there" Sarah said. She's invited Ariel over enough times that she knows how to where all of the movies are.
"No problem, I might even stick around to watch."
"That's fine" Sarah said.
"Is something wrong?" Darrius asked.
"No" Ryan said. "We're just going to go back and get them to come home. We'll be coming back shortly."
"Alright. Don't take too long." Darrius and Ariel walked off.
"Why did you want Darrius to go back?" Sarah asked.
"Before I left the classroom Pollux told me to bring him with me. He obviously didn't want Darrius to go with them."
"Do you think what Ariel said could really be true then?" Sarah asked. Before Ryan could answer Paula, Taylor, and Amanda barged out of the building with their faces showing fear. "What's wrong with the three of you?" Sarah asked as they passed her and Ryan.
"There's something wrong with that new girl!" Taylor said frantically. Ryan and Sarah looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.
"She crushed my cell phone with just her right hand!" Paula said. "She did it so easily too!"
"She's doesn't seem human!" Amanda said. Ryan and Sarah bit their lips.
"We need to get out of here!" Taylor said frantically. "What if she decides to come after us!?" The other two agreed with her and started to run off. Sarah couldn't help but smile from the sight of that.
"Well it's obvious that girl isn't normal..." Ryan said. "She just might be like our guests."
"If she can do the same things as them then it's possible that she can disguise herself as well. The only question is, if it's true, is her being here a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I guess we better find them and find out." Sarah nodded her head in agreement. They both made their way back to the classroom. Inside only a few students were still around including Chris who was texting on his cell phone. "Hey Chris."
"Oh hey, Ryan. What are you two doing back here?"
"Never mind that. Did you know where our cousins went?"
"They left with that crazy girl. I don't know where exactly they went, but they took a right at the door."
"Thanks" Ryan said as the two turned around and left the classroom as Chris went back to texting. "The nearest exit is the one we came in through, so they must still be inside of the building. Any idea where they may have gone?"
"She said she wanted to go somewhere private, where no one would normally go..."
"The Planetarium" they said together. They made their way down the hallways that were practically empty until they found themselves at the set of metal doors they had entered twice since they started college. Ryan grabbed hold of the handle, which he noticed had an odd deformation on it, and pulled it open. They opened the door to find three sets of eyes on them.
"What are the two of you doing here!?" Pollux asked frantically.
"We were worried about the two of you" Ryan replied back.
"But this is dangerous!" Castor said.
"So these two humans are your accomplices, huh?" Cancer said.
"Accomplices!?" Sarah was taken back. "Listen here! I don't what the hell you're talking about, but you are the main reason I'm so frustrated today!" Sarah started to shout.
"Would you stop yelling" Cancer.
"Why!?" Sarah continued to raise her voice. "Does it bother you!? Does it bother you when someone just comes along and annoys the hell out of you!? Because it definitely annoys me!"
"I told you to shut up!" Cancer yelled as she dropped the sword in her left hand and started rubbing her head."
Sarah looked around and saw a podium that a speaker would stand. She flipped some switches and picked up the microphone. "You want me to stop!?" Sarah voice echoed loudly throughout the room.
"Yes!" Cancer yelled as she dropped the sword in her right hand and continued to rub her head, trying to make the pain go away.
Sarah looked over at Castor and Pollux and saw bits of blood dripping to the floor. "Well too bad! First you frustrate me in class and now I see you've injured our guests!? I'll let them decide when I should stop!" Sarah continued to shout into the microphone.
Castor and Pollux just stood there and watched Cancer collapse to the floor. She was suffering from a headache so painful that the swords dropped one by one. "Sarah can be scary at times, huh?" Castor said in his mind.
"Maybe... but she's also very clever." Pollux smiled. The two of them walked up to Cancer and kicked away the swords out of her reach. When all eight were gone they looked at Sarah and signaled her to stop what she was doing. Sarah nodded her head and turned off the microphone and speakers.
"Are you alright, Cancer?" Pollux asked. She was groaning on the ground as her head continued to ring.
"I don't need your pity" Cancer said as she propped herself onto her knees. Her arms went to her side as she just stared at the ground, defeated. "Go ahead and rough me up like you did with Aries; I deserve it for failing to fulfill my duty."
"We didn't do anything to Aries and we're not going to do anything to you" Castor said.
"We don't fully understand what going on back home, but like we said; we didn't force Darrius to come with us, or go without the Emperor's permission." Pollux sheathed his sword.
"Then why did you come here?" Cancer asked as she continued to stare down at the ground. "The Emperor has said that you were never given permission to leave the planet.
Castor and Pollux looked at each other with sad faces at realizing the reality that they wished wasn't true. "We have an idea as to why all of this was caused..." Castor said with regret. This caught Cancer's attention and she finally looked the two of them in the eyes. "It's true that the Emperor never gave us permission in person..." Castor struggled to get out the next part.
Pollux noticed this and decided to finish the sentence. "But we were told by Pisces that the Emperor had given us permission. Cancer's eyes went wide. All four of them saw this and were slightly startled by it. "Is something wrong?" Pollux asked.
"I need to get back immediately" Cancer said. She quickly got up and picked up each of her swords to sheathe them. She turned around and looked at Ryan and Sarah. "Is there a place outside where I won't be spotted?"
Ryan pointed towards the set of doors that they entered through. "You'll come to a set of door that leads to a courtyard. It doesn't get crowded until nighttime."
"Thank you" Cancer said quickly as she made her way past them.
"Hey wait!" Castor shouted. "Aren't you going to tell us what's going on?"
"No time!" Cancer said as she barged open the doors. Castor and Pollux couldn't accept that and quickly followed after her. Ryan and Sarah tried to catch up to them.
When Castor and Pollux exited the Planetarium they saw that the doors that Ryan was talking about had just closed shut. They quickly pushed them open and saw Cancer grasping the glass necklace. Silver flames started to form around her as she turned her head towards them and said "I'm sorry for the trouble." She was then completely enveloped in the flame and lifted off the ground. Cancer continued to rise until she suddenly shot through the sky and disappeared.
"Great" Pollux groaned. "We don't know what the hell is going on; we don't even know if the others are going to come and attack us either."
"Um... Pollux" Castor said.
"What!?" Pollux shouted as he turned towards Castor. Castor was pointing his finger to side. Pollux's expression changed dramatically when he saw that Castor was pointing at Ryan and Sarah, who were still staring off at the sky. Pollux's anger turned into worry. "Please don't tell Darrius about any of this."
"Could you at least tell us what's going on?"Asked Sarah, who seemed to be coming down with a headache of her own now.
"Seems like we're going to have to come clean to them now Pollux. Don't you think so?" Castor looked at Pollux who just sighed. He rubbed his eyes.
"I guess there's no point in keeping secrets from them now."
"How about you tell us on the way back to the dorm" Ryan said. "I promised Darrius that we would be back soon."
"Alright" Pollux said as both he and Castor snapped to activate their disguise. They began their awkward walk back to the dorm in which they would tell Ryan and Sarah everything that's been happening since they arrived a week ago.
After the long journey Cancer arrived back at the palace. She hastily made her way to the main hall. Along the way she passed Capricorn. "Hey Cancer." He said. "Want to play a game?" He was holding a deck of cards in his hand.
"Not now, Capricorn!" Cancer said as she walked past him.
"Someone's in a bad mood..." Capricorn said as the cards retreated into his sleeve.
Cancer opened the doors to the main hall. It was empty except for the Emperor sitting on his throne reading a book. The doors closed behind her and the Emperor's eyes glanced up to meet hers. "I see you failed to bring back Gemini..." The Emperor shut the book and stood up.
"Emperor, I believe that Gemini has been framed. I think that-"
"Before you say anything else, hand me the necklace." Cancer nodded her head and tossed him the necklace. He caught it and turned his back to Cancer. He looked into the orb to witness everything Cancer had seen witness while she was on Earth. He grinned and turned around. "You were saying?"
"I believe that Gemini has been falsely accused because of Pisces."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "That's a serious accusation, Cancer. What makes you so sure of that?"
"Given the circumstances at the time when they left the planet, it is very possible that Pisces convinced them to leave to Earth.
"I'm amazed, Cancer" the Emperor smirked. "I'm amazed that you've managed to discover the truth."
"What!?" Cancer gasped. "How can you take it so calmly? Did you already know!?"
"Of course I did! I've known all along that it was because of Pisces that Gemini and Darrius are now on Earth."
"Then why are you sending us to hunt Gemini down!?" Cancer said as she stood up.
"Because if I told the truth then it would cause my plan to become much more difficult."
"Plan? What plan!? What really happened to Aries!?"
The Emperor took one step towards her and suddenly appeared right in front of her. Cancer jumped back in surprise. "Aries just seems so powerless since he came back" he said mockingly. "Something I believe will be happening to every one of you sooner or later."
Cancer started to breathe heavily. "You're going to perform the forbidden ritual..." The Emperor smiled and showed his teeth. "How did you even find out about it!?"
The Emperor started to laugh. "It doesn't really matter, does it? You're about to end up like Aries in moment anyways..." Cancer tried to turn around to get to the doors, but was cut off by him. She jumped back again. "There's nowhere to run." The Emperor smirked. Each step he took forward cancer took one back.
"Stay back!" Cancer shouted as she unsheathed all eight of her swords and pointed each one towards the Emperor.
He raised an eyebrow in reaction, but he continued to walk forward. "Interesting... you would raise your own swords against me?"
"You don't deserve the title!" Cancer shouted as she continued to slowly walk forward until her back pressed against the wall. All eight of her swords were still facing towards the Emperor. It was then that he finally stood still.
"It looks like you have nowhere to go now..." Cancer responded by having each sword cover create a barrier around her. The Emperor grinned a wicked toothy grin again. "You seem quite aware of what's forbidden, don't you?" He slowly got closer to her. "So of course you know about what would happen if you were to cause any harm to one who has noble blood, right?" Cancer's eyes widened in fear when she saw the Emperor raise his right paw and deliberately directed it towards the tip of one of her swords. "I'm kind of curious to see what actually happens... are you?" He paw came closer and closer to the tip.
"No!" Cancer gasped as she directed her swords away from him. Almost immediately she found her throat being grasped by him.
"Oh well... This is what I really wanted anyways." He held up his other paw and started to draw white aura from Cancer's body. She screamed in agony as all of the swords dropped to the ground. After a few seconds the Emperor released his grip and watched as Cancer slid to the ground. She tried to get up, but she couldn't find the strength to. "I'm now one step closer to achieving my goal..." He trailed off when he heard the door behind him open. He turned his head to see who it was.
"It seems that Gemini's trust in you is all but gone, Pisces" he smiled as she just stood at the entrance and said nothing. The Emperor chuckled. "Take Cancer to the dungeon."
"Yes, my Emperor" She walked over to Cancer and got her on her feet. She supported her out of the room. When the doors shut the Emperor looked into the glass orb again.
He watched it near the end where Cancer had arrived back from Earth. Someone had seen her when she came back. "Capricorn... Looks like you're going to Earth next."
Three chapters down, 9/10 to go!
I guess it's pretty obvious who they're going to encounter next time
For fun, can anyone guess the cell phone game in which I took the names: Paula, Taylor, and Amanda?
The next one will have to wait a while, though, because I have to get ready for three finals in two weeks.