Last time, on Rise of the Zodiacs...
Once the wind stopped, everybody opened their eyes, and what they saw was something that, for whatever reason, just didn't feel right. All thirty and possibly more Lalaloopsies stared, wide-eyed.
The sight was that of a boy with purple skin and emerald-green eyes that bore into each and every one of theirs. He had a head full of spiky red hair with white tips, and he donned a long-sleeved white shirt under a black vest, brown pants and blue shoes streaked with green highlights.
On his right arm, a purple snake that matched its owner's skin coiled around it, with permanently open golden eyes that seemed to be glaring at them all. "Eep!" Trinket cowered behind Dollop Light 'N' Fluffy at the sight of the snake.
"Greetings, citizens of Lalaloopsy Land," greeted the boy, the snake bowing along with him before his tone changed to a threatening one. "You should surrender and plead for mercy while you still can, because once I decide to stop being "friendly", you will forever fear my name: Ophiuchurus!" The majority of the citizens flinched at his change of tone. "Or Ophius or Phi for short," the stranger added casually in a slightly less scary voice.
(Back where we left off)
Everybody nearby who had seen the boy stood there, completely speechless. Murmurs could be heard among the crowd, but this time they were a bit louder and more understandable. However, they were nothing more than simple questions, like "what is he talking about?" and "where did he came from?" and "is he friend, or is he foe?"
Bea Spells-A-Lot, taking a deep breath before getting a reassuring pat on the back by Jewel, took a step forward and thought her question as she and Ophiuchurus met face-to-face. The longer the girl looked at the boy, the more she noticed and realized that, despite only looking slightly weirder than the usual stuff, there was something really wrong with Ophius.
"Who...what are you?"
Ophius and his reptilian companion exchanged looks, the boy laughing and the snake shaking his head in disbelief shortly afterwards. After finishing his laugh, Ophiuchurus gave the girl a glare as sharp as the gaze of his snake companion, giving his answer shortly afterwards.
"Your worst nightmare."
Ophius slightly lifted one of his arms and, raising an eyebrow while wondering what he was doing, Jewel, Bea, Peanut and Crumbs were surrounded by a light blue aura seen by everybody else, right before slowly flying up. Once he had lifted his arm to his fullest, the girls flew a bit higher until they stood in the sky, completley motionless.
They tried to move, but their attempts were futile as Ophius raised them higher, laughing as the girls continued to try and fail to move. Swinging his arm once, Ophiuchurus threw the girls towards the fountain, which broke in pieces on contact with none of them falling on the bruised girls, the spectators gasping in horror while Dyna Might gasped and then narrowed her look in anger.
The water from the broken fountain started to slide off as the girls tried to get up, Ophius lifting his other arm and this time, the water got the light blue aura, forming a big ball of water that Ophiuchurus then threw at the girls, who howled in pain as they got hit by it and fell to the ground again.
Having seen enough suffering from her friends, Dyna Might, with a mixed look of fury and defiance, turned around and pointed at the purple-skinned boy. "Hey! You can't just magically lift my friends like they were rag dolls!"
"You really can't, I tried earlier and it didn't work." added Misty in a sheepish tone. The little addition earned a raised eyebrow from everybody else, Misty looking around and then blushing before scratching her head.
Dyna Might, forming a punch with her hand, went running to a trampoline nearby and jumped on it up until she jumped high enough to reach the sky, moving her punch forward as she fell.
"If you wanna mess with my friends, you'll have to mess with me first!"
As Dyna Might got closer and closer, the most worry Ophius expressed was a single yawn, right before lifting one of his arms and surrounding Dyna Might with a light blue aura just in time before she hit him.
As Dyna noticed that she had stopped and looked around wondering what was going on, Ophiuchurus lifted her, turned her around towards the quartet and then threw her towards them, the collision between the girls and Dyna's punch causing a small explosion that horrified the Lalaloopsies and amused Ophiuchurus.
"I wish I had brought some popcorn."
Once the smoke from the explosion vanished, it was shown that Dyna was laying on the ground with the now even more bruised girls nearby, the superhero getting up and
"I have heard that she, Dyna Might, is supposed to be a super hero?" mockingly said Ophius. "Hehehe, well, looks like your "hero" is nothing more than a mere fraud! If you had ever depended on her at any point before my arrival, then you can count yourselves doomed this time!"
Rosy Bumps 'N' Bruises, along with her pet Bear, came to the hurt girls and Dyna Might's aid as fast as she could, putting them on her ambulance car and driving away to the hostipal immediately. With her and the rest gone, the Lalaloopsies who remained behind now turn back to Ophius, this time with looks of anger.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Mittens in horror.
"They have done nothing wrong to you! In fact, this is the first time they, and all of us, have ever seen you!" added Forest, his pet Beaver nodding in agreement.
The only "response" the girls got was an evil smile flashed by Ophiuchurus as he snapped his fingers. Once he had done that, the thunderstorm, which by this point had remained inactive, became once again active and far more ferocious than before: the wind currents were now so strong, some of the pets were taken by them and the Lalaloopsies had to struggle even harder to not get blown away.
The pets managed to grab on a tree that was still hanging in there...but the thunder striked once again and hit the tree, the pets barely missing it. As Ophiuchurus telekinetically ripped off a tree from the ground, aiming it at the defenseless Lalaloopsies without hesitation.
"No! Please don't do it!" begged Pillow as she hugged Lamb and Blanket tightly.
"Misty, I'm scared!" shouted Tricky, hugging her sister as tightly as she could in fear.
"It will all be fine, Tricky. It will..." the magician loudly gulped as she tried to convince herself that her lies were actually true. "It will all be fine."
Laughing like a complete maniac, Ophiuchurus threw the tree and the Lalaloopsies closed their eyes, waiting for the worst to happen. However, when the tree was halfway there, it was suddenly frozen in air by a cold air current, which literally froze it in midair, which was then followed by some stalagmites rising from the ground and piercing the tree, with a fire-ball falling from the sky and hitting the tree and rocks, burning the tree to a crisp as the stalagmites returned to the ground.
Blaffed by what just happened, Ophiuchurus soon realized such an event could only have been done by one group of people...or dolls, to be exact. Then, just as some lighting was about to stirke the Lalaloopsies, a strong wind current swept them away before the lighting hit, everybody wondering what just happened.
Before they knew it, a group of shadowy figures appeared from the skies and flew down, landing near the Lalaloopsies while facing towards Ophiuchurus. It didn't take long before the shaodws vanished and revealed who they were, angering the boy.
They were 12 dolls, each looking slightly like the Lalaloopsies, but with visible different visuals. One of them was a girl with shoulder length brown hair and black eyes, wearing a white dress and white shoes with yellow highlights, holding a wheat in one hand. Nearby on her side was a small pet swan, which hid behind her legs. "Virgo!" shouted the girl.
Another was a male doll with blue eyes and blonde hair that gave the impression of a mane. He was wearing a white shirt with blue pants and black shoes with grey highlights. Near his side was a small pet lion, which let out a roar of confidence. "Leo!" he shouted.
The next were a pair of twins, one normal female doll and one little brother, which had blue hair and blue eyes, and were wearing the same clothes: a blue shirt with dark blue shorts and white shoes. They had a pair of female monkeys by their sides, one with a blue bow and one with a red one. "Gemini!" the twins stated in unison.
Then, from the skies, a male doll flew down and landed on the ground without a single scratch, getting up and looking at Ophius with defiance. He had green eyes and orange hair, with a pair of hairclips that made them look like pincers, and he was wearing a cyan shirt with black pants and white shoes. On his head was a hermit crab, which snapped It's bigger pincer furiously at Ophiuchurus. "Cancer!" he shouted.
Then, a female doll with long green hair and black eyes flew down, landing near Cancer. She was wearing a green dress with long sleeves and green shoes, holding a balance scale on one hand. Behind her, a pet eagle revealed himself. "Libra." she calmly stated.
From the ground sprung up a male doll with black eyes and brown, messy hair, who landed on the ground and shaked off the dirt he had on himself. He was wearing a brown shirt with black sleeves, black pants, yellow shoes with brown highlights and a blue backpack. From the backpack, a pet bull jumped out. "Taurus!" the boy shouted with determination.
From a small pond nearby came out some water, which slowly went to the dolls and soon took a humanoid shape. It wasn't long before the water materialized in a female doll with yellow eyes and blue hair that looked like tentacles, who was wearing a white dress with blue shoes, and she was holding a pot with a small crack on it. From the pot a small, goldfish pet jumped up to stick his tongue out at Ophiuchurus, going back to the water shortly afterwards. "Aquarius!" shouted the girl.
A loud "baaa!" sound was heard, which made everybody turned to the mountains, where the sound came from, and they saw a male doll with white hair and black eyes standing at the very top. He was wearing a white shirt with grey pants and red shoes. As he jumped down closer and closer to the ground, he was joined with a pet goat, who sprung from the mountain with him towards the dolls, landing safely on the ground near Aquarius. "Aries!" he shouts, turning and pointing at Ophiuchurus.
Some sounds are heard in the bushes, and from there comes out a female doll with purple hair and black eyes, who's wearing a purple shirt with black shorts and shoes. From her head a pet scorpion can be seen, which crawls from there to the girl's arm, showing off his pincer in a menacing way once the girl uses her arm to point at Ophiuchurus. "Scorpio!" she states in a tone of pure anger.
From the lake nearby the pond Aquarius came from, a mass of water with a humanoid shape comes out, which turns into a female doll after walking out. She has long, flowing dark blue hair and blue eyes, and she's wearing a blue dress with white shorts and pink shoes. From the lake, a pair of fish, the girl's pets in fact, come out and hover towards her, orbiting around the girl as she joins up with the male and female dolls. "Pisces!" she states, turning to Ophiuchurus.
An arrow comes out of nowhere, with what looks like a rope connected to the wooden part of it. Everybody looks up and see a male doll with yellow hair, purple glasses, black eyes and a purple shirt and shorts with black shoes swinging down the rope, with a deer jumping from mountain to mountain, following him. The boy jumps just as he hits the ground, landing near the other dolls, with the pet deer soon landing too. "Saggittarius!" he states in a cheerful tone, unlike the previous dolls.
Once again from the ground sprungs another doll, but this time, It's a little, who has pink hair and black eyes, and is wearing a brown shirt with a white skirt and red shoes with pink highlights. Soon after she lands, a pet turtle rises ner her. "Capricorn!" she states.
"We are the Zodiac Dolls!" stated the 12 dolls in unison.
The Lalaloopsies say "oooh!" in amazement, while Ophiuchurus simply frowns along his reptillian companion, right before springing towards the team of 12 dolls. His arms turns into a sword as Cancer went running towards him, telekinetically grabbing some water from the pond nearby and throwing it towards him. Once he gets splashed, Cancer flashes a smug smile as he snaps his fingers, which somehow causes the water to freeze and turn into ice, freezing Ophiuchurus in the process.
Next, wind currents summoned by Gemini and Libra propelled the frozen Ophiuchurus towards a wall made of rock, which had been summoned by Taurus. Once the frozen Ophiuchurus hits, he groans in pains as the ice he's trapped in somehow doesn't break in pieces, but it doesn't last long as balls of fire coming from the sky, thrown by Aries and Leo, hit the ice and melt it, the now wet Ophiuchurus falling to the ground and hitting it face-first.
Once he gets up, he telekinetically lifts a huge rock nearby and throws it at the zodiacs, but Virgo simply telekinetically stops it and throws it back to Ophius, with the speed of impact increased by the wind currents summoned by Aquarius, successfully hitting the boy in the process. Am arrow completley engulfed in flames, shot by Saggitarius, then hits the boy and sets him on fire.
To finish what can barely be considered a battle, Scorpio shots some water at the boy, which sets off the fire around the boy. Once he looks around and sees he's okay, he smugly laughs right before being slapped by Pisces twin fish pets, which then bite his ankles and hold him long enough for Capricorn to summon and throw a small meteorite from the sky, the twin fish releasing him just as the meteorite hits.
A small explosion happens, with the zodiac dolls remaining still in defiance while the Lalaloopsies struggle once again to not be blown away. Once the smokes from the explosion dissipates, Ophiuchurus is seen laying on the ground, groaning in pain shared by his reptillian companion. He managed to get up, however, and a light green ring soon materialized around the boy's waist, his bruises dissapearing and his pain also vanishing before the ring blinked out of existence.
Once that had happened, he crossed his arms and eyed the zodiac dolls, who didn't look all that surprised by his quick recovery. "Give up, Ophiuchurus! You know you can't beat us!" stated the female doll, with the remaining dolls getting ready to attack again in response.
The Lalaloopsies, realizing that not everything was hopeless after all, rejoiced and cheered as Ophius snarled and growled. However, this behavior from him didn't last long as he soon started to laugh with a slight hint of mockery. Once he stopped laughing, he eyed the Lalaloopsies, and then the Zodiac Dolls.
"If you believe this is where your problems end, then you would be dead wrong." spoke the snake, with his golden eyes staring at the Lalaloopsies with malevolence as he finishes. "Literally, if we had the ability to just kill you here and there."
"Did the snake just talk!?" exclaimed the Lalaloopsies, except Wacky, in surprise.
"This day just became more normal than usual!" exclaimed Wacky in shock.
"Indeed, and his name is Serpentus, for your information." added Ophiuchurus. "It's not possible for me to defeat you, Zodiac dolls. But that doesn't mean I can't try again later...or later...or later...and so on." the purple-skinned boy flashed a malevolent smile before materializing a top hat and taking it off, waving goodbye before telelporting away while shouting "Ciao!" in a happy tone.
Once the boy left, the clouds remained but no longer had lighting come down from them. Instead, it started to rain, with everybody quickly closing down and hiding everything under a sheet to make sure it would not be spoiled.
"Follow us, the rain is about to get harder." ordered Virgo.
The Lalaloopsies, after thinking about it for a minute, nodded in response and followed the Zodiac dolls to a nearby treehouse big enough to house all of them together. Without time to remark how convenient it was, everybody got inside and Virgo closed the door.
(Sometime later, at the hospital)
In a room with some open windows, Peanut, Crumbs, Bea and Jewel were resting on four separate beds, each groaning in pain with their injuries covered by some bandages. Dyna Might is in a separate room, with just as much pain as the girls.
Rosy, alongside her trusty assistant Bear, opened the door and went inside, holding some x-ray scan results with a worried look. "Okay girls, I got the results of both yours and Dyna Might's x-ray scan." told Rosy to the bruised girls with a tone of concern. "Dyna Might is gonna be good, she heals pretty quickly after all, but your injuries..."
"Be blunt with us, Rosy, how bad is it?" asked Peanut.
"Well, I have to admit, in all of my years as Lalaloopsy Land's nurse, I have never seen injuries as bad as yours." replied the blue-haired nurse with slight worry, which she soon changed to optimism in order to not make her patients panic. "But, you got nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure that the bandages will do the job just fine. You need to stay in bed for...one or two months, I think."
"One or two months?!" exclaimed the girls in complete shock.
"I think."
"Rosy, don't you have anything that can heal injuries immediately?" asked Jewel with worry. "All of us have to work for the festival, and with that Ophiloki-what's-his-name still out there, we need to get everybody to safety!"
"Sorry girls, this is the best I can do. The type of injuries you sustained from that boy...what was his name, Ophilozulis?...whatever. The injuries you got from him are not something commonly seen in Lalaloopsy land, so this time I wasn't ready for anything." before finishing, Rosy walks to the door and turns off the lights. "Just lay back and relax, your pain will go away quicker, trust me."
The nurse leaves with Bear, and the girls sigh and decide to do as told: lay back and relax. Just as they were starting to fall asleep, however, a shadowy figure came form the window and fell to the ground, the *thud* heard being loud enough to wake up the girls.
Rosy arrived and then turned the lights on, she and the girls looking at the figure to see it was Ace Fender Bender, who looked a bit dizzy from the fall. After a while, the boy got up and shook off his dizzyness. "Hi girls." he greeted.
"Ace?" they all ask in unison.
"Yep, that's me." answered the boy. "How are you doing?"
"Not so good, according Rosy we'll have to stay here for a month or two in order thanks to the injuries we got from Ophius." answered Jewel.
"And before I forget to ask this, what happened to everyone after we left? Did Ophiucho-whatever do something to them?" asked Bea.
"Well, the full story's long, but let's just say that the zodiac dolls saved us from Ophius." answered the redheaded mechanic, taking out a bag from his back as the girls smiled in relief. "Everybody's safe for now on a huge treehouse, and they sent me here to check on you."
The boy then took out four colorful candy balls from the bag, handing one of the balls to the four girls. "Ace, what are these supposed to be?" asked Crumbs.
"I think they're called senzu candies. The zodiac dolls told me to give this to you, apparently they make injuries like yours go away immediately." explained Ace, right before the girls eat the candy.
A moment passed and the girls didn't feel any different, everyone turning to Ace, who was smiling expectantly. The boy simply told them to wait for the effect to happen, and it immediately did no long after: the girls felt a strange trance as their injuries were healed and the bandages covering said injuries, for some reason, vanished to show the healed limbs.
"Wow, I do feel a lot better now, like all my injuries had never happened to begin with!" exclaimed Bea in joy, right before changing to confusion as she grabbed and examined a scarf with the symbol of aries in them, which was handed to each girl-with a different symbol-from the mechanic. "Ace, what are these scarfs with a funny symbol on them you're giving us?"
"They're your uniforms. We're gonna form a resistance against Ophiuchu...Ophilu...whatever the full name of Ophius is with the zodiac dolls!" stated Ace with enthusiasm.
To Be Continued...