how we saved the world •a zodiac story•

he knows a guy

Sagittarius sat in the back of the pickup truck that Vega drove. She was unsure whether or not it was legal to hang your legs out of the bed of a pickup, but take a guess about how much she cared. She cared more about her hair in the wind and the sweet fresh air of northern California. She thought it best to savor the bearable temperatures and clean air before entering Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Pisces lectured Vega but he wasn't listening, "How did Leo start driving?"

Vega looked around as if he suddenly realized he was no longer behind the wheel. His face read the exact same confusion as hers, "Huh... I guess he just asked?"

Her posture fell and she groaned. At the very least, she was glad Gemini wasn't here to add to the chaos. They were going almost 90mph and for nearly everyone in the car, it was concerning. Taurus demanded that Leo slow down but he simply told her not to worry.

Somehow that worked. She sat back, almost unbothered by the ungodly speeds he traveled at. Pisces tapped on Taurus' shoulder with a somewhat concerned expression.

"So, uh... you and Leo are uh?"

"Together?" She chuckled softly, "Yep, it's not been easy... since... well, you know how he can be."

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

Taurus smiled, concealing the conflicted feelings about her boyfriend, "He's got a mouth on him, that's for sure. I suppose it's a skill he's gain from not being gifted a virtue."

Pisces pondered on that, she always knew Leo was more than the sum of his parts, even without having a virtue. She wondered if Leo resented the Keeper for not gifting him. All the other Zodiacs had virtues, hell, all celestial objects had them.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of Leo with an exhilarating gleam in his eyes. She sat back in her seat and sighed. Pisces, for some reason, couldn't wait to see Cancer and Scorpio. Scratch that, nothing sounded more delightful than seeing all the Zodiacs together.

She missed Capricorn's serious attitude and Gemini's rambunctious behavior. Aquarius' peculiarities and Cancer's calming presence. Just imagining them here and now made her apprehensive.

Leo spoke up, "It's cool that the Keeper needs our help!"

Pisces question was answered, he seemingly held no grudge against the Keeper. But still, it wasn't like him to just let it slide. He continued, "I was thinking if I help her with this, I'll finally be worthy enough for a virtue, like you guys."

Pisces heart seemed to fall apart and her stomach dipped way down, the speed making her somewhat nauseous. Leo wasn't one for lacking esteem of himself. For as long as she could remember, the stakes never ended with him.

"L- Leo?" She questioned.

"What's up, Pisces!" He smiled happily.

"I don't think the Keeper sees you as unworthy..."

His smile faltered and a serious expression formed on his face, "There has to be a reason, Pisces. I've never heard of the Keeper not gifting anyone. There's something wrong with me and if I restore the Heart, the Keeper will reward me." he looked sorrowful, "And maybe even give me answers why I wasn't gifted in the first place."

He sensed her discomfort with his words and reassured her with a soothing tone, "Don't worry Pisces, I'm still happy. I'm proud of who I am... I'm still a celestial. Like you guys."

She gave a weak smile. Taurus patted her back, "I swear, nothing brings that boy down."

Vega studied the landscape and scoffed. He never visited earth much. Mainly because big egos are a huge turn-off for him and egoism is earth's number one export. He laughed at the humans, usually. He was amused that a species so weak and defenseless had so much to flaunt. Humans disgusted him in a way. They thought they were gods. The way they built cities, statues and worshiped the minuscule star that weighed their vessel in the balance.

Now, he understood. The immaculate vacuum of space is barren and overwhelming. Here on earth, it seemed life was inescapable. In that, he saw the tremendous irony. If space had what earth had, he would also build statues glorifying its beauty.

Vega's reverence, however, was cut short but his face implanting itself into the dashboard, too quickly for him to activate a force field. He couldn't complain, however, when he learned they stopped, he saw a queasy Sagittarius whose legs were where the sun, did indeed, shine. Small bolts of blue, white, and yellow omitted from her fingertips, and her brows bent downwards into an outraged glare, causing the bolts to become more apparently electrical. He then realized the car had stopped moving, and it was Leo who causes Sagittarius to activate the bath-tub-blow-dryer mode.

"What the hell?" she said in a low voice.

Leo ignored her and joyfully took a deep breath as everyone examined the territory. They stopped in a parking lot of a 7-11. It wasn't unbearably hot so Vega guess they were exiting Northern California.

Aries spoke up, "What are we doing? It takes almost a week to get to New Orleans and the tank is full?"

Leo smirked, "There is no way we're driving to New Orleans with this junk."

Vega frowned.

Sagittarius, still angry, queried, "Just what do you suggest then, Pussycat?"

Leo tried to ignore the last remark and sarcastically bowed, "I want the world to end."

Aries' eye twitched.

"Obviously I know a guy who has a transportation virtue!"

Taurus files her nails, "That is both a terrible plot device and not obvious whatsoever."

"Taurus, my love, that was sarcasm." He took a deep breath, "I will ask him to take us to Gemini and you can thank me for saving Libra extra driving time."

Libra, whom nobody noticed, was occupied being carsick behind a tree. She was mentally fist-pumped.

"Who is this guy?" Pisces asked.

"His name is Eris. He's the spirit of... Eris. A bit of a creep- but it gets the job done."

Aries had one more proposition, "What if he says no?"

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

Leo shrugged, "Simple. I know how to get what I want."

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Author's Note
if these seem extra crack-head its because I write this before I go to sleep when my creativity peaks.