Zodiac High

Chapter 91

Aquarius POV: Until Midnight
    "Fine. You have until midnight to decide," Calilla or rather Aapeli says.
    With that, Calilla disappears. I walk back into the ballroom, looking for my friends, but I have no luck. Lucky for us, no one knows what is going on, except for the twelve of us, and that the chance dances ended as we disappeared. At least, we should still gain the approval of the Elders.
    I hear Taurus scream my name. I follow the noise to see Taurus surrounded my the rest of our friends. They all have glum looks on their faces. They have all been given the same wager as I have. I rush over to Taurus. We embrace. She cries into my chest.
    Through the tears, she asks, "What are we going to do?"
    "I don't know," I answer as I hug her tighter.
    "We need to focus," Aries states breaking up the mourning, "There must be something we can do. Pisces, where are our books? They might have an answer to our problem."
    "Now, don't laugh at me: They're hidden my dress. Give me a minute," Pisces states as she pulls all four books from underneath her dress.
    "I couldn't just leave them in our quarters. They felt too important to leave," Pisces continues as she passes out the four small books. She keeps the largest one for herself.
    "Alright, there has to be something in here," Sagi states as he begins to skim the pages of the Atlantis book.
    "What happens if we can't find anything?" Cap asks in distress.
    "We give our lives to protect Atlantis. Cepheus and our other friends must continue fighting Aapeli. I know they will," Sagi comforts.
    "Didn't Cepheus say that the crystals are their own source of life?" Gemini asks.
    "He did say something like that," Cancer agrees.
    "Well, if the crystals are a source, does it mean that it has it's own lifespan?" Libra concludes.
    "We need to get Cepheus. He knows more about the crystals than we do. Leo, Virgo, can you guys go find him?"
    "We sure can!" Leo exclaims as he takes Virgo's hand and as they run back into the ballroom.
    "Let's keep looking for more information. Maybe there's another way out of this," I conclude.
    We hastily look for answers in these books, but we come up with nothing. I look at the big clock tower that rises above the castle. We have fifteen minutes left.
    "We're back!" Virgo exclaims as they present Cepheus.
    "Both Gemini and Libra are right. The crystals do have a lifespan, and a long one at that," Cepheus confirms.
    "Is there a way we can use that to our advantage?" Taurus asks as she stops crying.
    "Yes, but it's extremely painful," Cepheus responds.
    "How does it work?" Scorpio ask, wanting to know more.
    "It's kind of like what happened in Hyacinthus. But, instead of destroying a crystal, we can transfer its lifespan with yours. However, this will only work if you've bonded with a crystal already. That process alone is very time consuming," Cepheus explains.
    "Time is the only thing we don't have," I interject.
    "But, our necklaces have fused with the crystals we were given. What if we are already bonded to them?" Pisces reasons.
    "I think that you are," Cepheus states.
    "Good. Then we can begin the trade off," Aries states.
    "I'll go first," Aries continues.
    "Alright. Give me your necklace. And I'll perform the trade," Cepheus states as Aries hands him his crystal.
    "Alright, this might hurt a bit. Try not to scream. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Cepheus states as he begins.
    "Take what is human and replace with what is crystal. Give what will be taken and keep what is lost," Cepheus states as Aries begins to writhe in pain. He is trying his best not to scream. Gemini looks mortified. As soon as Cepheus finishes, Gemini rushes over to Aries.
    "Aries, Aries! Can you hear me?" Gemini screams in distress as she sits down next to his lifeless body.
    Thankfully, Aries starts to shift. His eyes flutter open as he says, "That wasn't too bad. It was much better than giving ten years."
    "Thank Orion! You're alright!" Gemini adds as they embrace.
    Everyone turns to Cepheus as he hands Aries his crystal. It is glowing in a vibrant red light.
    "The crystal now holds your life. Once you give Aapeli the crystal's, you will fall into an almost death-like sleep. I will keep your life safe. I will give my life before I give them to Aapeli. And once Aapeli leaves, I will restore your own lifespans," Cepheus promises.
    Soon after that, one by one, we all exchange our lifespans for a crystal's. I trust Cepheus, but I worry about Aapeli. Will he fall for our trick? Will he figure it out? What will happen when we 'die'? Nonetheless, we have no other choice. We must keep Atlantis safe. We can't just let all these innocent people die. The big clock tower strikes midnight as we all bid each other farewell.
    "I promise I'll see you soon. Stay as safe as possible," I calmly state to Taurus as we share a kiss; it could be our last for all we know.
    I walk to where I had left Calilla and wait for Aapeli to show up in her body. He does show up, right on time.
    "So you've made your decision?" He asks snarling.
    "I have. I will give my life for the people of Atlantis," I confidently answer.
    "I am so pleased to hear that! I will begin the extraction," Aapeli states as I feel every fiber of my being, being sucked out of me. I cry out in pain. My senses are in overdrive. They are competing with death itself. Soon than later, my heart rate begins to slow as I look one last time at Calilla. She too is writhing in pain. Aapeli must be satisfied with my lifespan to leave her. With my last bits of strength, I smile. I know that Atlantis is now safe.