Knights of Zodiaca

AN: And we're back! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters! I really appreciate the feedback! Part of the storytelling in this fanfic is jumping from perspective to perspective. So don't worry if you haven't seen your favorite character in awhile, you will! Anyway, Enjoy. Happy Valentine's Day.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 9

Combining Forces

Scorpio Bay, Water Realm

The sleek black silhouette paced back and forth furiously along the room. Finally, the stone door slid open and the lumbering, sluggish figure of Octavius the octalisk entered into the light.

"General Halo, to what do I owe the pleasure?" the creature's gravelly voice echoed.

"Your little birds aren't enough to support our cause anymore, sir." The panther drawled, keeping his frantic momentum back and forth.

Octavius snickered as he watched the cat's frenetic pace. "Always a charming visitor, Halo."

The cat stopped abruptly and sneered at the creature. "You're not living up to your part of the deal, Octavius."

"If you're worried about Air Realm retaliation, you can rest your furry little head, General. The Vultura gave those women quite a scare," Octavius said flippantly.

"And delivered you a Squim, in broad daylight."

"So? If I'm not mistaken, without my Vultura, I have no way of obtaining my wares. And without anything to sell, I make no profit. And without a profit, your highness doesn't see a penny. I should think this was a step in the right direction."

"The Vultura were released from Aries under a strict ordinance of discretion. Something you've failed to comply with," Halo barked.

"The stipend you pay is merely collateral for our protection. We wouldn't want you to lose everything you've worked so hard for," Halo finished, smirking ever so slightly as Octavius's face dropped into a panicked expression.

"What do I get this time? You've already given me carte blanche when your little mutiny occurs, and I still keep a share of my profits….I don't really see what else you could possibly offer me."

"Perhaps a seat in the royal court?" Halo suggested with a casual shrug.

Octavius's eyes twinkled at the thought. A black market consigliore to the prince would certainly be a step up from a swamp-ridden pimp and mob boss. And besides, whatever repugnant creatures the Panthera asked for next were completely dispensable as far as Octavius was concerned. He had his Vultura back, his winged monkeys, so to speak.

"What do you need?" Octavius urged.

General Halo's large fangs glistened as he smiled wickedly.

Just outside the Geminian Security Point, Air Realm

"Welcome Back, Mr. Cranston," the monotone voice of Einz the hydrobot spoke. Billy tucked his identification back inside his robe and stepped through the security gate. He inhaled sharply as he regarded his alma mater wistfully.

The glorious campus seemed smaller to him this time. Not as vast and overwhelming as it had been during his stay there.

His ability to roam freely was still bizarre. He began trudging down a path with hesitation. He still felt like a stranger, though he knew his accomplishment to be grand, and he knew the Air Realm's acceptance was genuine, he still felt like he was a visitor.

"Maybe splitting up was a bad idea," he said to himself as he scanned the area surrounding him. Zack was nowhere in sight, though he knew he'd probably have to go looking for his companion regardless. Billy furrowed his brow and concentrated on the nearest building, hoping to engage Zack's emotional state with his own. He closed his eyes and listened. Billy had not been given a manual on his ability. He only knew the brief explanation Madeline had offered. He was empathetic, or sympathetic…..he wasn't sure. He understood that he could feel what others were feeling. He didn't know if it applied to everyone, or just the knights he was searching.

But what Billy wanted to understand was, how did that help him? Could he understand people's feelings and then help to a solution? Or did he merely slip into whatever emotional state that person was experiencing? He didn't understand. He never didn't understand something, and his own emotional state was deeply in need of some empathy….or sympathy……whichever it was.

"Are you alright?" A voice asked him. Billy opened his eyes and noticed a young girl, about his age, staring back at him with concern.

Billy blinked a few times and cleared his throat. "Excuse me?" he asked in return.

"Are you alright? You looked like you were about to implode!" The young woman joked, patting his arm.

"Who are you?" he asked her unceremoniously. The woman looked at him confusedly and narrowed her gaze at him.

"Come on, let's get you inside. You look like you should sit down," she directed, heaving his arm over her shoulder and practically dragging him toward the nearest building.

"You're Billy Cranston, aren't you?" the woman asked him as she quickly began concocting some sort of mixture at a nearby table.

Billy nodded weakly as he looked around the room. There were inside a lab of sorts, a science lab. Though the usual Bunsen burners, beakers, and scientific paraphernalia was missing.

"Where are we?" he asked, rubbing his temples. His head was throbbing and his usually composed demeanor was frantic. He couldn't lock down how he was feeling at the moment, like his brain was on overload.

"We're in the Geminian Psych Lab. I'm Tanya Sloan," the girl finally revealed, holding out her hand for a brief second before retracting it. "I thought I recognized you. You look different than your picture," she finished, racing back to the table to retrieve her mixture.

"What picture?" Billy asked simply, he couldn't concentrate. Tanya handed him the tall mug before assuming a standing position in front of him.

"What is this?" he wondered as he lowered his head to examine the liquid inside the mug.

"It's coffee. Excuse the unconventional means of brewing it," she told him, gesturing to a large basin connected to tubes and wires. "We use the coffee for studies and experiments. It's not poisoned or anything! You can still drink it!" she assured him.

Billy's worried expression softened and he gave a weak smile before raising the mug to his lips and taking a tentative sip. It was delicious. Hot, but delicious.

"Your picture's up in the main building. In the trophy case alongside the other award winning students. You look older in person," Tanya blurted out.

Billy grimaced slightly but shrugged away the comment. "I've been experiencing excessive amounts…." He began before his thoughts drifted elsewhere. He stopped for moment, studying the ground as if trying to listen to what his brain was saying.

Tanya watched him carefully, craning her body and head to maintain focus with his eyes before he lifted his head suddenly and stared her down.

"Stop it!" he barked at her.

Tanya's eyes went wide at his command and for a moment, Billy felt the sudden strength to stand and set his coffee mug on the table beside him.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," he explained calmly as Tanya's face remained frozen in shock.

"What are you doing?" she choked out as Billy started approaching her. She backed up slowly, bracing herself against the table she was backing into.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he began, "I understand."

Tanya's eyes shifted from shock to suspicion as Billy grabbed her hands and closed his eyes.

"You are different, Tanya," he spoke. Tanya gasped and relinquished her hands abruptly before spinning on her heels toward the door.

Billy kept his eyes closed, focused on listening to Tanya's feelings.

"What are you doing? I don't know what you're talking about. I'm….I'm a doctor….." Tanya stuttered as she clumsily fiddled with the door.

Billy's eyes shot open as Tanya escaped the lab and started running. He quickly made his way after her, his mind still concentrated on hers.

Tanya wanted to scream, but couldn't. She was fascinated but terrified. She never knew Billy Cranston personally while they attended GU. She heard about him, being a student and an Air Realm native, she had heard his praises sung by her family every day. But she didn't know him and he didn't know her. So how did this boy seem to be reading her thoughts? No, not her thoughts, her feelings. She had thought for a brief moment that he would hurt her. Back when he yelled at her to stop. She couldn't assume what he meant at the time, but now as she found herself running, the situation was more in perspective.

Tanya was a bright girl. A recently graduated GU student with a degree in Jungian Psychotherapy. Her focus after graduation had become on children or childhood, to be exact. The archetypes and symbolism adults link to their childhoods as insight into their present and future personalities.

To say Tanya was quick, was an understatement. In fact, had she understood herself as well as she understood so many of her patients, she'd have figured out her own ability much sooner, and perhaps used it to her advantage.

Tanya always knew she had a gift. A lightning fast chokehold on situations and circumstances. She could assess any scenario placed in front of her and immediately ascertain the outcome and the actions leading up to it.

But what to call this? She assumed it was her steadfast approach to studying and bludgeoning work ethic her parents had instilled in her. Rarely had she gone out and partied over her four years at GU, and never had she experienced any grade lower than an A, Tanya always assured herself that her cerebral reflexes were merely a sign of a high aptitude for learning.

This was true, though the potential she held was never an explored option. After all, she was a scientist. Logical reasoning, however quickly assessed, was what got her answers. Paranormal activity and pseudoscience were not real. There weren't possible, were they?

At this thought, Tanya stopped and spun around, finding Billy a few yards away from her.

"What do want from me? What are you thinking?" She asked him with more nerve than she felt.

Billy's eyes shined in spite of her confrontational approach. "You're curious aren't you?" he asked as he started toward again. Only this time, she didn't run.

Tanya nodded slowly as Billy drew closer. "You know there's something about you, don't you? You've never been able to explain it. You've always dismissed it as intellect. You're nervous. I understand why you're confused. It's confusing. But I have answers for you. But you have to trust me and you have to come with me."

Tanya's face dropped at his last statement. Her eyes suddenly scanning the field they had ended up in.

Billy dropped to the ground and held his head between his hands.

"Tanya you have to calm down. Please," he told her painfully. Tanya didn't understand Billy's reaction. What was she doing that he constantly told her to stop?

"I'm affecting you somehow, aren't I?" she guessed correctly as Billy nodded weakly.

"Breathe…..Tanya…….focus…….one thing," Billy muttered. "Focus on one thing," he directed.

Tanya narrowed her gaze and took his direction skeptically before slowly inhaling a sharp breath and closing her eyes for a moment.

The throbbing in Billy's head stopped and he rose from the ground. Tanya opened her eyes and looked around slowly and methodically before returning her attention back to the boy in blue.

"You need me for something. You're here for me," She told him confidently, though she knew not the reason why.

Billy nodded, "You're afraid of what you'll discover, but you shouldn't be. It's amazing and magnificent."

"You're daunted by it," Tanya interjected. Billy managed a small smile. "Good, I'm glad to see you're relieved a bit more now," he told her simply. "Joking is a sign of comfort."

Tanya smirked and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you," she said finally.

Billy's reluctant smile gave way to full appreciation as he obliged the handshake.

"So," Tanya asked after a moment, "Where are you taking me?" she asked somewhat uneasily, still assessing Billy's motives.

Billy laughed and gave her an affirming nod. "Where ever we're supposed to go. No doubt you'll be able to further ascertain my intentions once we get Zack." He said, hiking his bag onto his shoulder once more.

"Zack is your partner?" She asked somewhat rhetorically, seeing as she already assumed she was right.

Billy's face grimaced slightly, hoping he wouldn't read any disparaging feelings from the young woman regarding the boy in black. Tanya raised her eyebrows in anticipation, anxiously awaiting an affirmation.

Billy held onto Tanya's thoughts a little longer as a mixture of frustration and anger began to settle.

"You don't know who he is, do you?" He asked with a disgusted sense. "He was never here, was he?"

Tanya shook her head and proceeded to surmise the rest of Billy's dilemma. "He was supposed to come find me. For the same reason you were, though I'm still working on the why—"

"Leave the why to me. I'll explain the rest to you on our way out," Billy interrupted as he began heading toward the center of the city.

"You think Zack's in Capricorn?" Tanya stopped him with a firm hand on his arm. Billy glanced over his shoulder and gave the girl a smile in spite of his mood.

"Between the two of us, we'll find him in no time," he said with a nod before resuming his steady tread into the city.

Tanya watched him for a moment before giving her home a quick glance, knowing full well she wouldn't be returning for awhile.

AN: So, is everything clear? Tanya and Billy had an interesting experience discovering one another. Thankfully her powers seemed to allow her a better understanding than most. But not all is resolved yet! We still need to find Zack, and what's happening to our two lovely ladies down in the Fire Realm? Who did Katherine see last time? Where's Trini? What about the other knights we've yet to meet? Stay tuned folks! Please Read and review! Catch ya on the flipside!