Sides of a Mirror

31- Courage In Spite

Celeste looked up in surprise as piercing shrieks echoed from the courtyards. As she shot up from her seat, Ophiucus and Noctis raced in, fear and urgency written on their faces.
"He's back! Umbra, he... He attacked us in the gardens. We barely had time to run before-!" Ophi's knees buckled. She fell to the ground, Noctis barely catching her by the arms before she hit the floor. Noctis reached and pulled a small vial from Ophiucus' belt, pouring the contents into her mouth. Ophi sighed and stood up, now less shaky. Shimmering purple mist drifted from Celeste's palms, and she raced out with them.
The Zodiacs, opposite and not, were chained to the ground with smoky shadows. A figure, undistinguishable by the shadow mist around them, glared at the children with cruel black eyes, somehow glowing with a red sheen behind the inky dark. The fog around them cleared, and a man in dark gray armor emerged, holding a blade caked with dried blood, as well as having a face half covered by tangled locks of jet black hair. He spotted Celeste and the others behind her, scowling momentarily before the cold, deranged smile crept back onto his face.
"Miss me, Celeste?" His voice was taunting, almost singing. Celeste clenched her fists to contain her long buried hate that was just now resurfacing.
"Umbra." It was a low, fury filled growl. Noctis glared at Umbra, hand reaching for his sword. The other man cleared his throat, stepping aside to reveal a blonde haired woman standing behind him.
Noctis' blade clattered to the ground and he made a strained choking noise. A bloodied but very much alive Stellae looked at them with dead eyes. The gash in her stomach was still visible, streams of blood still leaking down Stellae's dress. Celeste heard Cancer, Pisces, Gemin, and Libri each make a strangled or screeching noise. Capricorn and Caprice both gripped the ground, their minds bombarded by the horrified thoughts of the others, and rightly so. Caprice in particular whimpered, terrified.
Tears pooled in Celeste's eyes as she gazed upon the undead form of her sister. She seemed mindless, her mouth shut and face expressionless. Ophiucus was gripping her arm like a lifeline, silent sobs wracking her small body. Umbra flicked his hand and Stellae disappeared. He held a dark red stone in the air, the gem the color of dried blood. It crumbled to dust and a sickening light flashed in Celeste's eyes.

Ophiucus stated right through the light, trying to discern the shape that wound emerge. As soon as it cleared, however, she wished she had not, for it was another one of her friends killed in the assassination. The first Aries, a scar ripped from his forehead, across his left eye, and to his jawline. His eyes, one a bright red, were now dull and darkened. One of his horns was severely damaged, cracked and with chunks missing from it. Ophiucus  flinched as he pulled out an equally broken axe, scores across the wood and chips along the blades. Umbra whispered in his ear.
"You know what I told you..." Aries flinched away from him, but made no protest. He hesitated, glancing at Celeste, who was on the ground almost unconscious, before shaking his head and stepping threateningly towards Ophiucus. She stared right back at him, eyes carrying a message she couldn't send otherwise. Tears still fell from her face, glittering in the sunlight, sparkling like dewdrops. Ophiucus unconsciously gripped the small fragment of the stone given to her. Aries froze when she did so, eyes going straight to the hand on her collarbone.
"Where did you get that?" His voice was strained and somewhat panicked. Ophiucus grasped it tighter, her voice ringing out strongly as she drew power from the stone.
"It was given to me by Celeste, so I could remember you. I have the ones for the others too." Umbra glared at Aries, growing increasingly impatient with each passing moment. Ophiucus, not flinching away, spoke again, except in a voice that echoed slightly with that of a deeper register, her left eye becoming a pale scarlet as she raised her chin to the sky, "Courage, Virtus. You value courage, Aries. I speak through she, and I implore you, Sign Of the Ram. I fear, I know, therefore, I am." Ophiucus continued to stare at Aries, and he backed away, hands over his eyes and his breath shuddering. Umbra growled, eyes glowing coal bright. He stepped towards Ophiucus, only to find himself at the wrong end of Aries' axe.
The first Aries' eyes were bright again, smoldering with courage and controlled fury. When he spoke, his voice rang loud around the courtyard. The binds on Aries and Aren loosened, and they stepped beside him. He smiled.
"Call me Virtus for now." He turned his gaze back to Umbra, "And you. You will pay for treason against the Royal Family, and on charge of murder." Flames rippled down his arms and to his hands, igniting the axe grasped within them. Aries summoned hers as well, the blade already flickering at the edges, and Aren formed his; a long brass staff with two spearheads at the ends. The whole structure was etched in crimson runes, which glowed softly as he raised it in the air. Umbra, unfazed, took out two other stones, one dark gold and the other burnt amber, and crushed them. This time, however, Ophiucus was prepared, and grasped her two slivers of the stones. Her left eye now had the three colors; red, gold, and amber, swimming in her iris. Streaks of the colors had also appeared in her hair, shimmering as she moved. Umbra hissed, abruptly cut off as an arrow sliced the skin across his throat, leaving a deep but non lethal wound. Iaculat shifted his bow once again, curbing the arrow into the winds. Fiduciam tackled Umbra from behind, claws digging into his back. One by one, each of the previous Zodiacs were summoned and freed, until Umbra was facing a very one sided battle. He screamed in rage, shooting the crumpled queen a withering look before vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. Each of the first Zodiacs also vanished, one by one, each leaving behind a small token with an inscription on the front. Aries read her around, as well as Aren.
"I fear, I accept, therefore, I am."