Zodiac High

Chapter 84

Capricorn POV: Hyacinthus {Part 3}
I look around the room before I make decision. Only three of us are left: Gemini, Cancer, and me. Everyone else has willingly given ten years of their lives. Cancer's light darkens and a blue beam shine through. Gemini's light darkens as well and a lavender light shines through. I am now the only one left.
Darkness surrounds me as my crystal glows with a vibrant green light. It thankfully shines through. With that, the darkness fades.
"Interestingly, you have all chosen to give ten years. I will begin the extraction and then use the energy to destroy the crystal," Χρόνος states as he appears next to Aries. Silence emerges before it is broken by Aries's scream. He collapses to the ground as he double overs in pain. Each of my friends scream break each new silence. Soon, it is my turn. Χρόνος places his hands on my crystal as he drains ten years of my life away from me. The pain is unbearable. I scream and scream for what feels like forever. I fall to the ground as he removes his hands from my crystal. The pain remains as I hear two more screams. I use the rest of my energy to watch what Χρόνος does next. He places his hands on the corrupted crystal as colors of red, green, purple, and blue surround him and it. Each distinct color is ten years of each of our lives. That thought still fazes me even though I can feel that the ten years have been drained from me. The crystal explodes as the darkness is surrounded by all of our light. My eyes are blinded as it explodes. When I open them, Χρόνος is gone, but his words echo throughout Hyacinthus.
"I will see you again, dear Zodiacs. And next time, I will demand more of your time."
I shiver at his words. What does he mean by next time? Will there even be a next time? What if I don't have time to meet his demands? What if none of us do?
These questions and more fill my head as my head starts to spin. More and more energy leaves my body. I stop hearing the world around me as I fall back to the ground. Then everything goes black.
When I awake, I feel so much better. I sit up and look around the room. I am in a circular room with eleven other beds. Tall, stained glass windows surround the room as walls. They paint pictures of peacefulness and serenity. The floors are a clean white with a large mosaics in it of the same flower that Taurus and Aqua brought back: ZΩH. We must be in an infirmary. But, why are we here?
The last thing I remember is blacking out from the pain. The pain of losing ten years of my life. My entire body still burns with pain.
After a few more days in the infirmary, the rest of my friends and I have an audience with the king. I do not know why or how we have been invited, but I know this will be an opportunity. We are dressed in beautiful Atlantean attire. I and the girls wear long, flowing dressed beaded with jewels from the sea. The boys wear tunics, which shows many of their constellations. We are led out of the infirmary and towards the throne room for the audience. The throne room is dazzled by sea shells, coral, and waterfalls. At the end of the room, an older looking man sits in a marble and gold throne. To his right, an empty chair sits. To his left, Cepheus sits proudly.
We approach the king and bow in his presence.
"Rise, my friends. Welcome to the true Atlantis," The king states as we rise.
"See, father, I told you some of them were the Twelve," Cepheus whispers to his father.
"I am King Narcissus and I thank you for your services in destroying the darkness of my city," King Narcissus states as a smile appears on his lips. He continues with, "Who are the Twelve, the Zodiacs?"
"That would be us, my king," Aries states as the twelve of us step forward. 
"We need your help again. One of our oldest allies, the Babylonians, have left the Band of Empires," King Narcissus states.
"Excuse me, but what is the Band of Empires?" Leo asks.
"It's the peace agreement that stops our empires from fighting, grants us free trade, and condones us to right the wrongs in the world around us. Until last week, it was broken and divided. But, after your sacrifice, we have reunited the Band. Alas, the Babylonians will not join," Cepheus explains.
"That is why we wish to send you, along with Cepheus, as envoys to convince the Queen to join us once again. We fear that just like us the Babylonians have been corrupted by the same darkness. We are sending you, not only as envoys but as scouts and healers. Will you join Cepheus on this mission?"
"We will. But, on one condition, we must bring the rest of our allies. They were key to our success in destroying the crystal," Pisces exclaims as she steps forward.
"May I ask who they are?" King Narcissus questions.
"Of course. I am Perseus, twin brother of Pisces," Perseus states as he steps forward and bows before King Narcissus.
"I am Aphros, the last of the powerful race of ichthyocentaurs," Aphros states as he steps forward. On land, he appears to only be a centaur, but he is so much more.
"I am Arête, the first survivor," Arête states with confidence as he presents himself. With a flash of light, Arête's skin darkens and his hair elongates and turns white. His eyes lighten. Blue swirls cover his arms and neck. He looks like a true Atlantean.
" I am Calypso, the second survivor," Calypso states as she steps forward. With a similar flash of light, blur swirls cover her left shoulder and spread to her neck. Her black hair becomes as white as snow. Her chocolate eyes turn turquoise. She looks like a true Atlantean.
"I am Asterope, third survivor of the Hesperides," Asterope states as she joins Arête and Calypso. In a flash of white light, her hair turns white with blue streaks as her skin darkens and her eyes lighten to sea green. Blue swirls cover both of her hands and wrist. She also looks like a true Atlantean.
"My, my, I thought I'd never see the three of you again," King Narcissus says with tears in his bright blue eyes.
"We've missed the city very much and were happy to return even under the circumstances in which we did," Arête chuckles.
"It's been over a thousand years since we were here. Atlantis has not changed one bit," Asterope exclaims.
"We are native Atlanteans, but ever since we agreed to be the sacrifice, we've been away from the city," Calypso explains.
"I recognized as soon as you stepped into the room, but I had to be sure. I've missed you my friends!" King Narcissus exclaims as he rushes to hug Arête, Asterope, and Calypso.
"I will not allow you three to be sent away so soon. We must celebrate your return before we send you on your way, if that is what you want of course," King Narcissus beams.
"We must go with the Zodiacs, their allies, and Cepheus. It is our duty to protect them and help them along the way," Asterope states.
"I agree. They have saved us from a death at Ladon's claws," Arête exclaims.
"I am sorry to interrupt such a happy meeting, but what happened all those years ago?" Taurus politely interrupts.
"Every hundredth year, a sacrifice must be sent to Ladon to quench his thirst for blood. If we didn't send a sacrifice, every empire would be destroyed by his wrath. The Band sent three people every hundred years to be sacrificed. We are the only ones still alive as we fought Ladon for our lives. We wounded him enough that he would never be able to fly again and terrorize the empires. When Taurus took the golden apple, Ladon was killed by Arête to allow Taurus to get the fruit," Asterope explains.
"That's why you were covered in blood when you returned! Taurus and I always wondered about that," Aquarius announces.
"Exactly! It took so long to wound Ladon enough to fight him to the death, but the three of us did it and just in time too!" Arête adds.
"We apologize for hiding our true identities, but you would have thought we were crazy if we told you," Calypso states.
"We would have if you had told any sooner!" Gemini exclaims.
"I am overjoyed at your return! We will celebrate tonight and send you on your way tomorrow! But, for now, enjoy the palace grounds. Do not go into the city. I want to surprise my people at the good news!" King Narcissus exclaims.

Hello! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you so much for -93k- views!!! As always, new chapter soon. Bye!