She opened her eyes for the first time in awhile when she sensed the purple getting near. Now it was so close, that when she extended her hand she could feel its gentle warmth. The flash grew closer and closer until it flashed right through her and into her entire being.
With it, a surge of warmth started to spread from her core, working its way outwards. She soon discovered that the warmth was the growth of her former corporeal body regrowing in, even stronger then before. Her heart, lungs, brain, and spinal cord were the first to grow back. Following quickly, the stomach, and digestive tract, liver, and all other organs. Then the nervous system slowly regrew, spreading and creeping out like ivy. This part was largely uncomfortable. Not even the purple flash, that was now more of a purple hue that permeated and extended outward of her body, could not help with the discomfort. Shortly after the nervous system started regrowing, all of her bones started to form and solidify. When everything that was meant to be on the inside of a human was placed correctly back, and into the right order, her flesh and skin began to expand over her old familiar form, morphing back into the woman she was slowly starting to remember.
The memories came slow at first. Yet they intensified exponentially! Memories of her family, growing up as a little girl, going to school...going to high school where her life had started to fall apart. Memories of being on her own too young and struggling to make ends meet. Memories of giving up and not caring. Then all the pain-filled memories of the past that came rushing back, became intertwined with some good ones. Memories of finding herself, deciding what career she wanted, where she wanted to go in life, how she wanted to live. She was Zilah! She had worked so hard to get to a point in her life that she could see a future for herself. Going to work every time she was scheduled, taking upgrading classes online so she could get into university. Zilah had finally gotten to the point where her life experience and her education could get her into a good university on a full ride so she would only have to worry about living expenses.
"But, what the hell does any of that matter now! I Don't know where I am or how to get out of here! I don't remember dying, and this has been way too fucked up to be a dream!"
The last memory that Zilah had before coming to this god awful place, was doing some homework while listening to music. Its not like she had been over worked or overly stressed. In fact, Zilah had been feeling better then she had in years! Because of that it would be an understatement to say that she was bothered by the fact that she couldn't remember how she went from doing homework, to being in this unfortunate place.
On the heels of Zilah's outburst, the gray started to react again. Having an actual body made Zilah more frighten then ever before.
'If the droops and bubbles return, what will happen to me then,' she thought as she despaired for the worst.
However this time, the grey appeared to swirl and ripple around her, like a giant curtain that was on a circular revolving rack, that you just couldn't see. Emotionally spent, Zilah relaxed. She had a feeling that no matter what happened next, she would be leaving this dreadful place. She couldn't explain it, but she was confident, so she chalked it up to her Scorpio intuition.
All of a sudden, it was like the curtain was pulled down, and down Zilah came with it. She began falling, falling, falling, deeper and deeper still.
The curtain was pulled down, and now she could see it in its entirety. She was falling heavy like a rock, into an ocean of giant celestial bodies. The curtain was only gently gliding down after her, like a light and beautiful feather.
'How can I be falling...in space!'
What Zilah couldn't know at this time, was that she wasn't simply human anymore, therefore space wasn't simply space to her anymore. The relationship between the two had changed. One without knowing and the other without caring.
Eventually, the feather that had wrapped her up like a curtain, the one that had kept her prisoner, tortured her, and tormented her, evaporated into billions of tinny particles. The particles came together as a swarm that quickly gave chase in the direction of the falling Zilah.
Feeling helpless, and being oblivious to the swarm, she watched as she saw the most miraculous scenes pass her by. Or perhaps it was she who was passing them by. None of it really mattered to Zilah anymore. Nebula's of gasses, giant asteroids and planets colliding! Comets hurtling through the deepest expanses of space, trailing behind it, breathless tails of fire!This experience had been far too much for someone as small and insignificant to the universe as Zilah. She did't even notice the swarm that was heading right for her, until it had whipped right passed her.
Getting used to falling, Zilah spread herself out horizontally so she could watch to see what the swarm was doing.
The swarm reorganized its self into a magnificent giant door. The faint glow of the marks that swirled and danced into billions of unique markings and glyph's all over its surface were mesmerizing and had an almost drug like affect on Zilah.
Her brain began getting fuzzy again, and all she could think was to be inside that door. Zilah couldn't recognize the door as the swarm, or the swarm as her torturer. The magic of the glyph's had already taken root in her mind, clouding her judgement and forcing her brain into a muddled frenzy. The longer it took her to get to the door, and the more she tried to hang on to her reason, the more frenzied she became.
She switched her position once again, acting on instinct. Her need to get to the door, to be on the other side drove her into nose dive, aimed straight at the door. She couldn't reason to herself how she would get through the door, or what would happen if she hit the surface of the door instead of passing through it. These were not concerns of hers.
If Zilah where able to hold on to her reason, she would have noticed that slightly below the door, relative to the direction she was falling in, was her beautiful home planet. Earth. If she was able to look around still, she would also see a committee of 13 beings, slightly above Earth and to the left, relative to her position. standing there, talking and...watching.
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"How many were picked this time?" Virgo whispered to Taurus. She looked around past the man she was quietly trying to have a conversation with. Hundreds of people were falling through space, as if they were human comets without tails.
"Who knows...but I think Scorpios top pick is in this round."
"Oh...what are they like?" She felt a little annoyed at not getting an answer but her interested was now fully peaked.
"Like a Scorpio!" Taurus's rambunctiousness on that last comment earned him sneers from the likes of Libra, and Leo, and Virgo rolled her eyes and discontinued the conversation. Taurus continued laughing while directing his attention to Cancer. Just then a thought crossed his mind, that made his devilish grin disappear and turn to his famously mysterious friend Scorpio.
"If you wish to say something, speak!" Scorpio had other things on his mind and did not wish to waste precious energy on what ever head-strong logic this meat head had come up with.
Taurus simply shook his head, thinking it better to keep this to himself and save it for the next time he and Scorpio had a chance for some pillow talk. It wouldn't be good to upset his friend who had become moody of late. Taurus knew of the reasons why Scorpio was moody, it just took him till now to fully understand the depth of the situation, and the lengths his friend would go to protect the rest of the zodiac, and their Emperor.
Scorpio rolled his eyes, and continued focusing on the figure in the distance that had just switched from being sprawled out like a flying squirrel, to an all out nose dive. He was quite impressed at how well the ruins and glyph's he had implanted in his main choice's gateway took root in her mind.
'She must be a true daughter of the 8th house! I'm glad I chose someone so compatible with the transformation too. Its impressive, she was able to maintain her entire spirit form while in her 'well of manna'. Incredible! The potential...it would be a shame if she doesn't even make it to the first floor.
At that moment, Leo looked at Scorpio. Her face showed that she understood how he was feeling and what he was thinking of. Anxiety began shooting through Scorpio, that made his long black, braided hair sway from left to right like a tail with its pincer on the alert.
"Is there something the matter, Scorpio?" The Emperor's face became wrinkled with concern.
"No, my Emperor!" Scorpios heart fluttered for a second before he allowed his Emperor's words to put him at ease. His sense of honor and duty made him quite attached to The Emperor of the zodiac. He was, a great and wise being after all. Someone Scorpio had been honored to serve and fight beside in countless battles. Knowing that all of there time together would soon be coming to an end, the emperors concern tasted as sweet as honey to him. His braided hair began to calm until it was still.
" Excellent! Now, the time for selections are almost over. There will only be a few more rounds, so those of you who haven't decided on a main choice, MUST DECIDE!" He put emphasis on the last two words because, really what was keeping them! He was getting frustrated and felt like the kings and queens of the zodiac, were not taking this phase too seriously. After all, the later they waited, the less time their main candidate had to get into the tower, and they would have even less time to conquer it. Without conquering the tower properly, they wont have the skills needed to lead their houses and the galaxy would fall into disarray. Let alone the new dangers that where coming this way.
'This new generation will have it rough,' The emperor sighed to himself.
"I know you are worried, but I believe everything will work out for the best. Just leave everything to us, your Imperial Majesty!" She pushed her fist over her heart and bowed deeply to the man she loved and admired. She was Leo, ever the brave lioness and the leader of the zodiac. The Emperor looked out at his closest friends and allies, then looked back at Leo's confident demeanor. Inside his core shook, but he managed to show this fierce queen a practiced smile, knowing she was doing his best to reassure him.
"Remember the enemy is watching. Be careful in your communications and while safeguarding important information. You'll still need to pass on important knowledge to the floor heads, whether they are your main choice or not. That being said, my influence ends around the surrounding area of the tower, so I will need to rely on all of you and your individual planning to safeguard this phase of our plans. Most importantly, remember to have one and others back, and do your best to stay….I guess I can't say stay safe can I?"
The Emperor looked at the faces of the 12, knowing that the proverbial 'elephant in the room' had jumped to the front of each of their minds.
" How can we trust a traitor?" Sagittarius, who had asked her question as if it where a small matter, merely acted nonchalant as venom and fangs were spit and bared, her way.
" Show some respect for our Emperor!" The lioness could hardly hold herself back.
"Our Emperor is the wisest being in the system! How could you be so ignorant as to think that he would not have factored in a treacherous bastard into everything that we have done so far!" Scorpio wished that Sagittarius wouldn't be so flippant and impulsive.
"Calm down everyone, it was a valid question," the Emperor felt as though things would quickly get out of hand with those two getting on their high horse. "It's a question I can't answer for you right now, or ever. You will all just have to trust in me, as I have put my trust in all of you."
The Emperor fished through his mind for something more encouraging than to ' just have faith', but Libra had interrupted his thoughts,
"It is time, now!"
Feeling relieved, the Emperor quickly opened a doorway that would send each of them off on their own paths. The doorway was magnificent in size and so breathtakingly beautiful, it made the one that Scorpio set up for Zilah look like rough out-cropping. Universes could be seen on the other side, surrounded by places, and beings that defied any humans understanding of physics. Yet not even one of them hesitated to step through the archway .
Before Scorpio made his way over with the rest, he took one last look in the direction of the falling woman he had been admiring. He was just in time to see her feet disappear beyond the shimmering surface of her door. He knew that soon, the magic of the glyphs would wear off, and she would wake to a world much crueler than the one she had left behind. Scorpio shook his head.
' I think that I just dropped, what the humans call a bomb,' he chuckled to himself as he followed through the Emperors gateway.