Aries, Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Gemini, and Cancer all stood outside the cabin in silence. Watching as the sun glinted off the windows and on the glittering lake. Finally, Aries broke the silence by clearing her throat. "Let's go."

  They all turned to her and saluted, "Yes Ma'am," Cancer shouted, making everyone cringe at his volume. They then looked at Scorpio, who held the GPS in his hand.

"Leo has been staying in the same spot since we found the GPS, meaning he is probably trapped or enslaved somewhere." He paused for a second, "Our best guess is that Capricorn and the others are with him too." All of them were just praying that the others were all together and safe, for now.

  They began walking into the forest after casting one last glance at the cabin. They had gotten past Aquarius's fence and Scorpio's force field when Gemini went up and pulled Cancer aside. They continued to walk at the side of the group, receiving a few curious looks,

"Stop eavesdropping Aries," Cancer said just as Gemini opened her mouth to speak. Aries jumped at the sudden mention of her name and cursed silently to herself for getting caught, of course, he could read her mind. She reluctantly left them alone and trudged back to where the others were marching.

"I have something to confess," Gemini said slowly, "I'm not really sure how to tell you this but..." she paused, hesitant to continue.

"I feel the same way," he said nervously when he realized she was having trouble continuing her sentence. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at her, an adorable blush creeping up to his cheeks. She looked at him, her gaze laced with confusion. He tapped his head gently and her mouth formed a circle in an 'oh' manner before she shook her head,

"I feel so violated right now," she said jokingly,

"Remember, vulnerability isn't a bad thing." He grinned boyishly before starting to talk again, "And if you feel violated by that then-"

"Since we both feel the same way I presume we can join the others again," Gemini interrupted loudly, her face turning into a tomato. Cancer winked suggestively at her and leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek.

"Whatever you say," he replied before grabbing her hand and pulling her back to the group.

  A shout from the front of the group caught their attention as they saw Scorpio a little ahead of them. They joined him at a cluster of trees that seemed to be a lot closer to each other than the rest, forming what looked almost like a wall. "I think this is it." The edge of the force field Orion and Phoenix had placed to keep them contained. He walked forwards and touched the cluster of trees, "Ow!" He exclaimed when his fingers came in contact with the wood, "I got a splinter."

"Why don't we just go around the trees?" Gemini asked before heading toward where the trees didn't clump together. She was pulled back by Cancer,

"Remember what happened last time we crossed the force field?" He sent a sidelong glance at Pisces and everyone shuddered at the disturbing memory. Scorpio turned to the others,

"I'll need you guys to back up so I can try and open the force field long enough for us to get through." Everybody nodded and backed up a few steps, not willing to get hurt. Scorpio stood in front of them and held his arms out. Lightning began flashing in between his fingers.

  They began smelling the reek of burning wood. A large hole began forming in between the thicket of bark. As soon as it was large enough for a person to climb through, the others began piling through as quickly as possible so that it wouldn't strain Scorpio too much. Everyone was on the other side of the fence apart from Scorpio when his arms began to shake from the pressure. The hole started to close as Cancer shouted,

"Come on Scorpio! The hole is closing." Scorpio let his arms drop to his sides and lurched blindly towards the group. The gap was now only large enough for someone to squeeze through. His foot was still in the opening as it closed and he yelled in pain. They saw smoke and the smell of burning flesh hit them like a wave. Taurus held her hand over her mouth, her face turning slightly green as Cancer and Pisces rushed to him and yanked him forward, causing his eyes to tear up slightly. They all fell to the ground and Scorpio held his ankle in pain.

  The trees were now complete again and Pisces came up to him. He gently removed Scorpio's hand and Scorpio obliged. The flesh had been burnt in and the flesh was almost black. Pisces sucked in a breath at the seriousness of the damage but placed his hand tenderly on Scorpio's injury nonetheless. Scorpio flinched but did not move his foot as he felt a soothing warmth spread through his ankle.

  Pisces's eyes were closed as sparks flew from his hand that was placed on Scorpio. He was using his powers. Soon enough, Scorpio's ankle was fully healed. Scorpio struggled onto his feet and placed his foot tenderly on the ground, feeling no pain. He simply nodded in thanks to Pisces before walking off, but Pisces's smiled back, he knew that Scorpio was grateful.

  Taurus was walking at the back of the group when she suddenly tripped and fell, her eyes suddenly turning misty, as though she was looking through a foggy cloud. Nobody noticed immediately as they continued walking. However, a few seconds later Pisces turned to see her on the ground, her eyes glazed. Panic flooded his mind as he ran over and knelt beside her, taking her face in his hands. "This can't be happening again, come on Taur. Please," he looked back at the others who were still plodding ahead and was about to call out to them when he felt her shudder against him, her skin cold against his.

  He turned to her and watched as she blinked a few times, adjusting to the sight in front of her. Pisces sighed in relief, he kissed her forehead, "I got," then her cheek, "so scared," other cheek, "that something," the tip of her nose, "had happened to you!" She watched him with her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds in silence, his eyes wandering over her face and eventually settling on her eyes. He didn't know what came over him at that moment, but he bent forward and placed a kiss on her lips, soft and tentative, lingering for a bit longer before he pulled back to see her reaction.

  He was scared he had been too forward, after all, she didn't know him that well. She probably thinks I'm a creep. She'll hate me forev- His thought process was cut short when she smiled shyly but held his gaze, leaning forward and kissing him again. Taurus could feel herself melting into a gooey mush inside, her surprise at her boldness mixing with the happiness.

  They didn't mention it as Pisces pulled her to her feet and they joined the others, who still hadn't noticed their absence, but as they intertwined their fingers, Gemini caught them from the corner of her eyes and chuckled, nudging Cancer slightly, "I guess we're not the only ones," she whispered to him, squeezing his arm softly.

"Breath Spray," Taurus said out of the blue. Everyone turned to her and she let go of Pisces's hand, "I had a vision. I saw somebody holding a breath spray, and then I saw a lever, made of bark?" She shrugged it off, "probably nothing." They all raised their eyebrows questioningly before turning around and walking onwards. Aries made note of it, Taurus's visions were always helpful.

• • •

  They had been trudging for quite a while. The GPS had led them the opposite direction of the school and further and further away from the cabin. The woods were thicker here, in fact, they were more like a forest now. The sun seemed to be setting now as the little bit of light that was able to make its way to them through the small crevices were also beginning to fade out. "We can't stop, they might catch us," Taurus said to Cancer and Pisces, who were beginning to drag their feet tiredly.

  Scorpio suddenly halted, making everyone run into him and fall down. Gemini groaned and held her head. Scorpio turned around and started talking, ignoring the fact that they were all on the ground, apart from him. "It says that Leo is right here." He looked around, but they were surrounded by trees that stood menacingly over them, as though listening in to their conversations. Aries walked over to a small tree that was considerably shorter than the others and ran a hand down its trunk. Her hand stopped halfway down and she frowned, wrapping her fingers around whatever was blocking it and pulled down, it was a lever.

  There was a loud grumble and the ground began shifting under Taurus's feet, causing her to shriek and hop sideways into Pisces's arms. A large portion of the ground gave way to a metal door, which then also opened, leading to a dark stairwell. Scorpio looked down before motioning for the others to follow him and took a step, shining his flashlight in front of him. Aries pulled him back harshly, "Listen." They all turned their ears towards the opening and jolted as they heard dozens of thunderous footsteps racing towards them. Aries placed herself in a fighting stance as the first guard appeared, "I guess we're going into a fight our way in."

• • •

  Surprisingly, there had only been three guards, and using their general fighting skills and their powers, the small group had been able to easily take the guards down.

  Gemini stood still and watched as one of them ran towards her, his eyes suddenly widening in fear. He suddenly stopped and began shaking with fear, although there was nothing there. He looked around and in a blind panic, he ran in a random direction. Aries appeared in front of him, shedding her cloak of invisibility, and kicked him in between his legs."Hm, I guess my powers do come in handy," Gemini said to herself, looking at her hands, which sparkled with magic.

  The second one was surrounded by Scorpio and Pisces as they took turns at swinging punches. The guard was unable to shield himself from both of them and was easily taken out.

  Cancer knocked out the final guard with a powerful swing of his arm and looked back at the others, who stared at him in awe. He looked at them proudly, trying to hide his aching knuckles behind his back and struggling to stop himself from whimpering in pain.

  Scorpio placed a force field around the guards so they couldn't move and walked back to the staircase. "Now we can go," Taurus said and began descending the stairs without even sending a second glance at the others. Aries shrugged and followed her, joined by the others.

~~~~~~~~~~

A/N SO. Where do you think this mysterious staircase leads? As you may begin to realize, this story is slowly coming to an end! I hope you guys are enjoying it and, happy reading!

Don't forget to vote and comment!

Yours truly,

Zodiac Lover No.1,

Leslie