"Woo-hoo, the second chapter, we're on a roll here! This is part of the reason why the first chapter got delayed! And I should've published this earlier, but I got lazy!"

*sighs* "Yes, my lady..."

"Well, let's not waste time. Below are some helpful notes. And remember, text that looks like this is not actually part of the story, but are my own *funny* notes. Don't get them confused and read them as part of the story. If I ever use it for a different purpose, I'll let you know."

"So! *claps* Let's get the ball rolling!"

Updated Accents for Characters:

Vinh - Slight Vietnamese accent, but it's so tiny you don't even notice it's there. ('Less you have supersenses, of course)

Barry - British accent

Dracaena - Half British accent. Like, half British and half English.

Liesel - German accent.

Evon - A bit of a french accent, not too heavy but it's still there.

Mason - Slight Chinese accent between his American accent

Dorian - Argentinian/Hispanic accent.

Nadia - Slight Chinese accent

[NOTE: For the sake of efficiency and not too much repetition, I'll be referring to the group as 'the zodiacs', even though they don't know they're the zodiacs yet. Thank you for understanding!]

"Three... two... one..."

"A Chinese Zodiac Applyfic, Act 1, Scene 2!"

"ACTION!"

-----------------------------------------------

There was really nothing else the group of 13 could do except dutifully their two guides (more like kidnappers) into the building. If possible, the inside was even more grand and beautiful than the outside-but also a lot more chaotic.

There was a sleek silver-and-glass-and-crystal front desk and a lobby, a plush star-specked rug in the middle. The walls were ever-shifting universes, screens with pictures flashing quickly on them on the walls. A chandelier made out of what seemed to be real stars hung from the ceiling.

Oddest of all, little... creatures scurried back and forth everywhere. They were all rather short, all with star-spangled skin and tufts of silver, gray, or white hair. They were dressed in rather lovely starry frocks and suits.

"What are they?" Nagini asked with a sniff.

"Star Helpers," Ea replied, waving at one. "Cute, aren't they?"

Shouting filled the area as they made their way to the front desk, Star Helpers running here and there, some carrying files while others had tools clutched tightly above their heads. 

"They aren't... slaves, are they?" Liesel asked slowly, frowning worriedly.

Ea looked horrified. "Oh, no, never!"

"They choose to help us," Cal said, patting Liesel's shoulder. "And they like it, so don't worry."

"I hate slavery," Ea said, shuddering. "Nasty. I almost participated in the Civil War, you know, but Emp stopped me." He let out a regretful sigh.

"And thank goodness he did," Cal grumbled. "I don't ever want to even imagine what kind of havoc this idiotic river would've caused." 

"Well, come now, you would do the same wouldn't you-" 

The pair started bickering again and the zodiacs turned their attention to the Star Helpers, catching parts of their shouting as they ran back and forth.

"Animal 2-D escaped from its cage again! Can we have an animal talker get it back ASAP?"

"Ugh, another disaster from January! Tell them we need it to be prepped by next month or earlier, the year's almost over-"

"Tell Spring that florals are out for April this year! We want rain, rain, RAIN before blooms! And make sure he doesn't overdo the je ne sais quoi, last time that happened over a hundred of us were in a lovesick haze for months..."

"No, no, this report needs to be filed in 'Celestial Accidents,' not 'Superhuman Happenings! Get that fixed!"

"We need the ultraviolet cameras for Sun's photoshoot this afternoon, somebody get those from June-or were they in July last?"

"STOP GETTING NIGHT AND DAY'S HORSES MIXED UP! THAT'S THE FOURTH TIME THIS MONTH! At this rate, they'll fire you all!"

"There was an explosion in Area 19! Reports say it was a teenager who blew up the army resting there-can somebody go there for damage control?"

As they finished that sentence a nearby screen flashed to a new report. Apparently, some teenage boy had reportedly 'blown up' the army who was 'protecting a national landmark of utmost importance' with 'supernatural abilities' recently.

They reached the front desk, where a handsome young Star Helper was sitting. He was dressed ina starry blazer and had a pair of rimless half-moon glasses perched on his nose. His hair was a mess of tousled white.

"Hey there, Zeta!"

The helper looked up at Ea's enthusiastic greeting, and immediately smiled widely. "Ea! And-" He gasped. "Calli-Cal! You're here! I haven't seen you in forever!" 

"Same here! Tell me, how's Geminorium these days, still complaining about how February's chocolate-making expenses are way over budget?"

"Oh, more than ever... and I think he's switched to lamenting about how expensive and hard it is to choose presents for all his friends for Christmas." Cal and Zeta promptly started talking animatedly away.

For the first time, the zodiacs saw a flash of irritation cross Ea's calm face and a moment later he intervened. "Anyways... we'd love to stay and chat, Zeta, but we need to report to Emp. Duty calls!" 

Zeta's eyes widened as he took in the thirteen people accompanying the two. "Oh my. Oh, yes, of course, very sorry for holding you up!" 

"It's no problem at all."

He pressed a button and on the far right an elevator dinged and its doors opened. "Right that way."

"Thanks!"

Zeta smiled and waved as the zodiacs passed and got replies ranging from completely being ignored to a cheerful wave and a grin back. 

"C'mon, squeeze in." Cal waved for them to step in and the zodiacs squeezed in. Colt whimpered. "I hate this." 

Liesel muttered something in German and shrank away from physical contact. "This isn't permanent, is that?" 

"It'll only be a few minutes," Ea reassured them, looking for the buttons. 

There were 12 buttons, one for each month and floor-each a different color, too. January was silver, February white, March black, April green, May yellow, June a luminous glowing color, July indigo, August blue, September a dark brown-black, October red, November gold, and December a colorless glass button. 

But the one Ea reached for wasn't any of them. He touched the empty space above and whispered something under his breath. The area shimmered before a new button surfaced, labeled: 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑. It was swirling with all the colors of the rainbow. "Bro, that's sick," Dorian commented.

"Yes, it is. Now brace yourselves." Ea said, then pressed the button. Instantly they shot upwards. There were several mingled screams, shouts, and, of course, curses. Ea and Cal were the only ones who were calm. Barry clapped a hand over his mouth and groaned softly. "I think I'm going to be sick..." Meanwhile, Dracaena started to say her prayers to herself. The quickest one to calm down was Ryuu, who was scowling as he held a hand over Rita's mouth to muffle her very detailed threats. "I will murder you for this," he said to Cal, glaring. 

"Why?"

"I hate it when people raise other people's heartrates for now reason!"

"Why are we going to fast?" Evon called to Ea, voice cracking as the elevator seemed to go even faster.

"We're going to the highest floor," Ea replied, as if this were perfectly normal, "And this place is huge."

The shouts were ignited with more intensity again as the elevator suddenly swerved violently to the left, then seemed to go sideways and upside down. Chaol fell into Evon and shoved the latter away, looking just about ready to murder everyone within a ten-mile radius. "Why the F*CK does this goddamn elevator go sideways and upsides down?!"

"It's magical, duh!" Cal replied right as Mason yelled, "Haven't you ever read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

Nagini opened her mouth, probably ready to scream about how a goddess like her shouldn't be stuck in this elevator which seemed more determined to make at least one of them toss their breakfast with every passing moment, but at that moment Rita broke free from Ryuu and her roars drowned out Nagini. "BLOOD! BLOOD! SHOW ME BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF SINNERS AND THE DEVIL'S CRIES FOR MERCY! ONCE THIS MOTHERF*CKIN CONTRAPTION STOPS I SWEAR I WILL (***disturbingly detailed threats***) THEN (***more disturbingly detailed threats***) AND ONLY AFTER THAT SHALL MY HATE BE DIMINISHED, BUT-"

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open. Rita instantly hopped out, laughing loudly as her attitude changed completely. "Ahaha! That was a close call, peasants! Any second later I would've properly pruned all your limbs like I do with bonsai trees! Ahahahaha!"

Her laughter seemed to shake everyone out of their shock of the quiet landing, (and her apparent bloodlust) and it took less than a microsecond for them to scramble out of the elevator. Rita strode on ahead, the rest of the zodiacs lingering a bit behind, some on slightly wobbly legs.

Nadia poked Ryuu, her brows creased. "You deal with that every day?"

"Yep," Ryuu replied offhandedly. "You get used to it." Nadia could only shake her head in disbelief.

Chaol ran to catch up with Rita. "Okay, I take back what I said earlier. You have to teach me how you prune limbs... I always thought it was hard to do..."

Ea and Cal were the last to step out. "Well now, wasn't that fun?" Ea asked cheerfully. 

All of the zodiacs looked at him with equally horrified faces. "NEVER. AGAIN."

"Ahaha..."

Vinh turned to Colt and counted down on her fingers, 3, 2, 1.

On one, Nagini started talking. "I can't believe you made somebody like me go through that living hell! What the f*ck is wrong with your elevator?!"

Called it, she mouthed, and Colt muffled a laugh.

"Anyway..." Cal interrupted Nagini's rant. "Let's get a move on." The zodiacs passed through the grand halls-the walls looking like they were made out of ice, captured snowflakes moving slowly inside, or starry galaxies on another side. They were hung with portraits-people who they didn't know or met. "So, um..." Barry asked quietly as they passed by another room filled with what looked like weapons made out of lightning-Star Helpers inside, organizing them. "What... is this floor, exactly?"

"And how rich are you people?" Evon marveled, touching the gemstone-embedded walls. (Yes, the gems are real.) 

"Hm... this floor is kind of the center point or the command center, if you may," Ea replied. "There's a lot of stuff here. A lot of celestial deities live on this floor-Cal and I do, anyway, and so do his sisters."

Cal shot Ea a quick warning glance, then answered Evon's question. "And as for how rich, well, we may sound pretentious, but the literal being of wealth lives here too-she can produce limitless amounts of money. Most of this-" He waved a hand at their surroundings, touching a nearby diamond, "-is just for show, anyway. In this harsh world, any kind of beauty is appreciated." 

"Please do not try stealing anything!" Ea chirped, and Mason stopped in the act of trying to pry a jewel off of the wall. Dorian muttered something that sounded like, "Toldya they'd notice."

"Sorry," Mason said sheepishly. "I just wanted to see if I could." 

"Don't sweat it, kid," Cal said, ruffling Mason's head. "Even people who live here are tempted to try and take some sometimes."

"I bet you have some amazing food here..." Vinh changed the topic subtly, her tone semi-wistful. 

"I thought you couldn't eat beef," Chaol briefly stopped talking to Rita about torture to ask. 

"I can," Vinh clarified, "But I refuse to."

"Weird."

"Well, you might be interested in the food, but I'm interested in the fashion," Dracaena declared. "I bet you have everything! Even corsets, even though they went out ages ago!"

"We have food and clothes and much more, all of which you can check out later," Cal promised them. "Don't slow down."

"Time up here passes slower than time down on Earth does," Ea chimed in. "Which gives you plenty of time to explore to your heart's content. Although word to the wise, I've been here for over three thousand years and I'm pretty sure I still haven't finished exploring this place top to bottom." He received some quizzical stares in response and shrugged, like 'Oh well.'

Ryuu was the only one not swiveling his head around to look at the glory and splendor around him. He had a hand clamped firmly onto Rita's arm (probably in case she lost her temper again) and listened in to her and Chaol's conversation with a blank, borderline bored expression-occasionally adding in his own thoughts. "I don't get it," he commented idly. "What's so great about all this fancy stuff?" 

"That's right, you're blind," Colt said. "I keep on forgetting about that. Well, see-"

Nagini cut in. "Money is power," she said loftily. "Money is fame, it is what allows you to live. Therefore, it is power. Money gives and takes." 

Liesel frowned. "Yeah. I think you've actually said something useful, for once."

"Thank you, I-wait, or once?!"

"We're here." Everyone fell silent at Ea's announcement. They were standing in front of a pair of large double doors made from beautiful wood. Elegant carvings decorated them and small flecks of-diamond?-glinted. All of a sudden, the zodiacs kind of... pressured. Even the ones with a strong will, like Chaol, Nagini, Ryuu, and Rita felt the palpable pressure.

Ea noticed this and smiled warmly at them. "Don't fret. I promise you-who you're about to meet is one of the best people I know, if not a bit childish at times. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

Evon, noticing how Barry and Liesel were shaking just a tad, offered them his hand to hold. Barry hesitated, before holding, and Liesel did the same after a few more seconds more. Rita clung a bit tighter to Ryuu. 

Cal knocked on the door. "This is-" he hesitated a bit before continuing. "Must of Epic Poetry and Inspiration, Calliope, with Ea the god of fresh water and the thirteen zodiacs to meet Emperor Wang-Xi-Yue-Lu."

Okay, say WHAT now?

"He's got to be joking," Dorian whispered to Nadia, who just shrugged. 

There was a slight pause before the door seemingly spoke. "You may enter." With a resounding groan, the doors swung slowly open. Ea gestured for them to follow him and they stepped into what looked to be a grand throne room. 

Just, sort of.

Ringing the room and holding up the ceiling partially were twelve columns, each carved into one animal from the Chinese zodiac-Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse... so on. The walls were gilded with probably real gold. Brilliantly woven tapestries and portraits lined the walls. There was one of Cal, and one of Ea, along with several others of people and creatures they didn't know. There were real plum blossom trees growing out of the ground, supporting the ceiling, small glowing lights hanging from their delicate branches. The ground (the floor) was inlaid with golden talonprints.

In the center of it all was a giant blue lotus. The group stopped in front of the lotus. "Emp. Emmppp. We're back," Ea called out.

Immediately the lotus spun languidly around to reveal a handsome young man, looking to be about 16 or so, with bright eyes and long dark hair falling down his back-but he looked ageless. For all they knew, he could either be in his early teens or late twenties. He was sitting on a throne made out of what seemed to be fluffy white clouds and was dressed loosely in white robes trimmed in silver. When he spotted them his eyes lit up. "Ah! Ea! Cal! You're back! With-KYAHHHHHH!" 

The zodiacs flinched at his loud screech. He hurriedly covered himself up, face flushing to the color of a tomato. "Darn that door! Now I've embarrassed myself in front of my future superiors... wahhh..."

"Calm down, we're not going to judge you or anything," Dracaena rolled her eyes, just as Cal said, "My Grace, I don't think these people are going to judge you for being unprepared..." 

"Ah! Then, okay." The male smiled cheerily, and snapping his fingers he was instantly redressed properly in brilliant scarlet red robes trimmed and decorated with gold. "There, much better."

"Pardon if I'm overstepping boundaries," Vinh spoke up, "But what the hel- I mean, heck is going on? Who are you? Who are they? Why are we here?" 

The male smiled, adjusting his robes. "Well, that's going to answered easily enough. My name is Emperor Wang-Xi-Yue-Lu, but you can just call me Emp for short." 

"Wait-" Colt put together some facts. "So you're the 'Emp' they kept talking about?"

Rita crossed her arms. "Are you the one that ordered for us to get kidnapped?"

"Geex, slow down with the questions, yeah?" Emp laughed. "All in due time. First, though..." He nodded towards Ea and Cal. "You may formally introduce yourselves-and return to your preferred or normal forms."

"Gods, finally." A shimmer ran down both of their bodies. A moment later, Ea was no longer dressed in a ratty police uniform, but instead in a pale blue button-down shirt and loose black-gray pants. He stretched. "A-h-h-h-h! Much better!" He bowed shallowly. "Ea, Mesopotamian god of fresh water. Nice to finally formally meet you!"

All the zodiacs could do was blink at him. "Called it," Ryuu said.

Cal, on the other hand, had changed into a large gray hoodie and matching pants. Emp frowned. "Calliope, since when did you like sweats and hoodies?"

"Wait, CALLIOPE?!" The zodiacs all shouted-partly in surprise, partly in disbelief.

"Ah... right." Cal nodded at them, smiling a little. "Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry and Inspiration, at your service."

There was a beat of silence before Dorian yelled, "Ha?! That door was right?" 

"Not the door, dimwit, he introduced himself!" Chaol hissed at him.

Vinh frowned. "I thought the Muses were all female-" 

"They are!" Cal-or Calliope-snapped. Clearly, this was a sore subject for him. Ea laughed and ruffled Cal's bright red hair. "Awww, is my little chibikko getting touchy over his gender again?"

"Don't call me chibikko, dammit!" Cal ground his teeth. Emp chuckled.

"I don't get it," Nadia said bluntly. 

Ea tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, to put it in a nutshell, chibikko here-" 

"I said DON'T CALL THAT ME THAT!"

"-Has the spirit of the actual Calliope inside of him. Most of the Muses today-that is, his sisters-are reincarnations of the original Muses, which is why they're all female-"

"-Excluding Erato," Emp chimed in.

"-Well, Erato is also a special case," Ea amended. "But Erata takes care of most things now that he's found the love of his life."

"Y'know, y'all are weird," Mason told them as Cal yelled at Ea to stop stretching his cheeks and ears, "But I like it!"

Nagini sniffed. "I just hope that we can hurry up and purify everyone." She cast a scornful look at the dirt on Vinh's face and the worn state of Evon's clothes

"Right, right. We'll get cleaned up right after," Emp said dismissively. "But first, explanations."

The general population of the zodiacs sighed in relief.

"This place," Emp spread his arms around them. "Is the Care and Organization of Supernaturals and Deities-C.O.S.D. for short. We are a group of supernaturals that work on maintaining order in the worlds-especially between non-powered humans and powered ones. Every single mythological figure you've heard about-they all are with COSD and if not living here, then we know where they are. I," he said with a hint of pride in his voice, "Am the vice-commander of COSD. Yes, it is as stressful as a job you imagine."

"Who's the commander, then?" Colt asked curiously. 

Emp's smile faded. "Our God is. About three months prior, he was... unexpectedly taken away." Cal scoffed. "'Taken away'. As if somebody in his level of power would be taken that easily! There is a reason why he's our leader."

Ea hesitated, then put a gentle hand on Cal's arm. "It was a devastating loss to us all," Emp said sadly. "Our God... he was the one that created COSD, so long ago... he found most of us and gave us a family. He gave us a reason to be supernaturals, other than to be pampered and worshipped by humans. He was the one that brought us all here. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here today. Losing him... it was like the very heart of this place was carved out." There, Emp hesitated-it was brief, but in the space of that moment Liesel-the only one who saw-saw a face of somebody who hadn't recovered all the way yet. "We put all our operations on halt and nothing happened for an entire month while we grieved-and we took out most of our emotions out on Earth and the galaxies, I'm ashamed to admit. Do you perhaps remember, about two, three, months back, when for a month everything was... erratic or wacky?"

"Oh yeah," Dorian said suddenly. "Now that you mention it, it was. It was like June-or July, and a blizzard started in the middle of the hot summer day. Literally like, it was scorching sun and sweat one minute, the next blistering cold and whipping wind and snow."

"In the Atacama Desert, I heard there was a hurricane," Vinh recalled. "The Dead Sea turned into solid sugar."

"All of Mount Everest's snow vanished overnight," Dracaena chimed in. "Many monstrous, unhuman creatures devastated cities in Asia and Canada."

"I saw that in Africa, all the poor African-Americans living there suddenly became white and super rich," Mason said thoughtfully. (NO RACISM WAS INTENDED BY THAT COMMENT.) "And all the volcanoes in the Ring of Fire exploded-even the dormant ones, and at the same time, no less!"

"There was a massive tsunami on the coasts of both California and Japan," Liesel piped up. "I remember seeing it on TV. Over half of California was reduced to nothing but un-livable rubble and ruin. Japan nearly pulled an Atlantis and sank into the sea."

Ea nodded. "Those tsunamis were my doing. Thankfully I got ahold of myself before I could've caused more damage."

The zodiacs stared at him. "You did that?" With his kind smile and disarmingly gentle good looks, Ea didn't look like he'd hurt a fly. 

Emp nodded too. "Those were not our proudest moments, but we couldn't help it. It was and would be like if you just lost the most precious and important thing in the world to you. And what you just listed wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. COSD handles nearly all natural phenomenons you can think of-if we go out of hand, so does everything else."

"Ah, I remember now," Rita spoke up. "That was the one day the gang actually managed to beat me. You definitely remember that kind of thing when you've had a winning streak against gangs for a long time. It became blisteringly hot in one second, then icy cold the next. Our powers got mixed up. I lost my sight, hearing, and smell, Ryuu gained all three in triple. Forest fires up in Vermont destroyed most of the state. Avalanches in the Sierra Nevadas destroyed most of the states around them. Crime rates in cities rose by 80%, and they all got away with it. People with powers suddenly lost their abilities and powerless humans gained them. A casino appeared in the sky-it's still there, in fact, and business is booming. Among other crazy happenings. That month was eventually known as 'The Month of Mystery', of MM, because nobody could figure out what was going on, and was not considered as one of the twelve months. And then once that month was over, everything was back to normal. Everything was fixed."

(Note: Just imagine every single crazy universal reversal and switch-up and ta-da, it happened in that month.)

"Yes-unfortunately, because so many people were affected, we did not perform a memory wash like we would usually do, as that would take too much time and the backlash from removing such a prominently memorized period of time from millions of people would be huge," Emp said regretfully. "Since then we've all been searching actively for our God, but so far, no luck. Then Cal and Ea came up with the idea to look through the Library of Hallucinations."

"Inside, the books kept there know everything about everyone and everything," Ea explained. "So naturally, we would turn to it to help answer our questions. However, we usually don't go-actually most of us avoid-going to the real library, because, like its name suggests, it is full of hallucinations-illusions of your darkest moments, fears, past, that will ensnare anyone within its trap. Those who cannot resist the hallucinations are trapped forever."

"Intense..." Liesel, who worked part-time at a library, murmured.

"That sounds... yeah, what she said. It sounds intense," Chaol furrowed his brow, thinking. I wonder what it would show me...

"Does that mean, if I get inside, I can read and learn what will happen to me?" Nagini asked with a touch of eagerness in her voice.

"Yes and no," Emp told her. "You cannot read your own story-or fate, but you can read the stories of other people. Even our God has a book there, and even though none of us know if we'd succeed in finding it, the Library did provide help." A happy and slightly fond smile ghosted his lips. "The moment we stepped into the Library, a certain book smacked us in the face..."

《 THREE WEEKS PRIOR 》

"This is going to turn out weirdly, I just know it," Cal announced. 

"It was your idea, y'know," Ea grumbled, tripping over his own feet when Cal leaned closer and breathed down his neck, saying in a sultry voice, "Or was it, Ea?"

Said person promptly turned red as a tomato. "T-T-That's nonsense! It was you who suggested it to Emp-!!"

"Quiet, both of you," Emp ordered. He was at the front, striding ahead. "The Library of Hallucinations will not take kindly to your flirting."

They quieted down as they approached a pair of large double doors. (Note: details are at a minimum to prevent spoilers.) "Don't be afraid," Emp said, noticing how Cal's hands trembled as he moved to open the doors. "The Library does not mean you any harm."

Cal squeezed his eyes shut, his hands clenching into fists. "I know, but..."

Ea grumbled something under his breath, grabbed Cal's hand, and pressed a swift kiss to his temple. "You don't have to be afraid, because I'll be here with you."

A blush spread over Cal's face and he nodded mutely. A quick flash of disapproval and worry flashed across Emp's face. (NO, he's not jealous, he made that face for another reason that will be explained late, Author's word.)

"Let's move," Emp said instead. "Time waits for no one." He pushed open the door and they stepped in. There was a moment of tense silence.

"So..." Ea spoke up. "What's supposed to happen-MMPH?!" A book had zoomed out of the shelves and smacked him in the face. 

"Oi, sh*tty river, you alright?" al asked, helping Emp peel the book off. A surprised-looking Ea nodded slowly. "Yes..." Despite that, though, there was red book-shaped mark on his face.

"Did this library know how idiotic you are and decided to hit you?" Cal joked. 

Emp looked down at the book. "Maybe... not. Look." He pointed at the title. 𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂𝐒. The book was gilded with gold and had a starry cover, the circle of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals sealed on the cover in real gold. 

"Think it means something?" Ea asked, peering over Emp's shoulder to peer at the pages curiously. They saw pictures of the zodiacs over the generations, then the newest ones, just pronounced six months ago.

"I... think so," Emp said slowly. He flipped through the pages. He looked at them with wide eyes. "I think the Library is telling us that we need to get the zodiacs' help with this issue."

"But it's only been about six months!" Ea protested. "Zodiac protocol requires one full year of waiting, or..." Beside him, Cal put a hand on his shoulder.

Emp heaved a sigh. "Yes, I know what might happen if we don't wait more, but we have to. Our God's life might be weighing on this, and his life is not to be taken lightly. And besides, the Library practically flung this in our faces. I'll bet that they agree." 

As if on cue, another book flew out and smacked Emp in the face. It was the book titled "Yes."

Cal smirked at the expression Emp was making. "Okay then. Guess that's decided. Who's going to be their Earthly guides, mentors, and also pick them up?"

"Oh, that's easy," Emp said casually. "You and Ea will, of course."

Both of the said people choked. "W-What?! No way am I relying on that sh*tty river!"

"Well, who in the right mind would listen to a chibikko like you, huh?!"

"Haaaa?! Who are you calling chibikko, you mangy-"

"All right, all right, settle down," Emp said, but his eyes were glinting with amusement. "You are already quite close, no? So it should be easy enough for you to combine your respective talents and be quite good mentors."

The two of them side-eyed one another. ". . ."

"No buts," Emp said decidedly when neither said anything. "In fact-" A third book hurtled out of the library and hit Cal in the face. The book's title was, "Hurry up and agree and go already!"

(What kind of library has books with titles like that? THIS LIBRARY DOES.)

Ea and Cal groaned. "Fine... if the Library says so, I guess I can handle a little of him..."

Emp smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. "Then it's decided. Ea and Cal, you two will go down and find the zodiacs. I'll stay here and prep COSD." 

The two of them nodded and started for the doors, arguing all the way about what method they should use to get the zodiacs. Before leaving, the three bowed and thanked the Library. Emp pushed open the door. "Then... I look forward to seeing what this generation's zodiacs will bring us."

《 BACK TO PRESENT TIME 》

"And that's the story of how we recruited you," Emp finished. (Obviously, he left out some details. You know what I mean.)

Ryuu laughed. "Sounds like this library has some sass, hm?"

"You bet," Ea sighed. 

Emp pulled them back on track. "Right, but anyway... you know that I am the current vice-commander of COSD. Well, in reality, it was the zodiacs that held the highest rank aside from out God."

Mason's eyes gleamed. "So, technically, we're your superiors?!"

"In the future, yes," Emp corrected. "For now you're just a bunch of kids who have no idea what they're doing."

"Hey! It's not like we knew about this earlier!" Vinh protested indignantly, speaking for all of them. 

"Actually... six months ago, you were all chosen as zodiacs," Emp admitted sheepishly.

"WHAT?!" (There is a lot of that happening recently, huh...)

"But as zodiac protocol goes, after the Race of Choosing, we submerged your memories of the race," Ea jumped in. "Over the course of normally a year, the power of the zodiacs gets absorbed into their chosen zodiacs' bodies-slowly to make sure nothing... happens, or goes wrong."

"But in this case, we've had to cut off six months," Emp spoke again. "Don't worry, it just means a tad bit more training."

"Training?" Dracaena asked in a slightly suspicious voice. "What kind of training?"

"If it's climbing mountains and balance, then I'd ace training for sure," Liesel announced confidently. 

The side of Cal's lips quirked up into a slight smile. "Really? Well, you will have to be doing some mountain-climbing..."

"You'll be practicing your powers, fighting, and reading a ton of books and scrolls," Ea deadpanned.

"Don't scare them off before we even begin!" Emp said in exasperation.

"Sorry..."

"Anyway, now that we've explained the basics, it's time for the Unlocking." Emp closed his eyes and held out his hands. "I, Emperor Wang-Xi-Yue-Lu, give my permission to unlock the Zodiac Seal, for the Chinese zodiacs to step into their full power."

A swirling rainbow-colored Chinese zodiac circle appeared above their heads, outlined in gold. Gold mist spilled from the circle. "ꪖཞꫀ ꪗꪮꪊ ડꪊཞꫀ?" A mysterious voice spoke. It boomed and reverberated over the room.

Emp replied firmly. "Yes. For the life of our God."

"ꪖꪶꪶ ཞⅈᧁꫝ𝕥."

The mist abruptly swirled around them then vanished partially. The circles above each of their heads glowed a bright gold, then seeped into different parts of the zodiacs' bodies-the head for Vinh, Mason, Nadia, and Dracaena, the heart for Chaol, Barry, Liesel, and Ryuu, and the body for Evon, Nagini, Dorian, Colt, and Rita. The mist vanished completely, and the circle above them descended down and also flooded into them. The moment this was finished, a wave of energy exploded outwards from them, felt by everyone and everything in the building and in all the worlds-letting them know that a new generation of zodiacs had arisen. The bodies of the zodiacs glowed for a moment, a burst of energy rushing through them, before everything faded away.

Emp smiled at them. "Welcome... zodiacs." From the side, Ea and Cal were smiling at them too.

"Cool," Barry breathed, patting himself for his camera before realizing it was gone.

"This means boosts, right?" Dorian asked. 

"Physical and ability-wise?" Liesel modified his question.

"Yes," Emp laughed. He was obviously excited. "However, for confidential reasons, Rita has gone through surgical and magical operations to give her superhuman capabilities." She nodded, confirming his statement as the others made noises of unfairness.

"What? Why does she get a magical upgrade when I don't?" Nagini asked indignantly. "She's not even famous! Or has any temples!"

"Like he said, confidential purposes," Rita said, but her voice was serious.

"That makes sense," Ryuu sighed. "No wonder... I always suspected that."

"What do you mean by superhuman capabilities, exactly?" Evon asked curiously. Rita ticked off a few examples on her hand. "Well, let's see. I can run at the same speed as a car, maybe faster, without any strain. I can deflect bullets with my bare hands. And, uh..." She trailed off at the horrified expressions the others were giving her. "What?"

"Ahem, moving on from that," Emp coughed politely, most likely so that everyone else wouldn't try and look deeper into that issue, "You each have more abilities you don't know about yet."

"Oh, I love this part," Ea whispered to Cal, who sighed in exasperation.

"Activate Arms Inventories," Emp commanded. With a flash of blue light a glowing blue screen appeared in front of each zodiac, the zodiac they were appearing largely at the top. White letters written boldly into four selections were underneath:

SPECIAL ABILITY ▶

SKILLS ASSOCIATED WITH ZODIAC ▶

INVENTORY ▶

SETTINGS, NAVIGATION & INFORMATION ▶

"Cool," Dracaena swiped on the screen repeatedly. "This is like, giving off total apocalypse vibes."

"I don't think I want to know what you mean by that..." Barry murmured, looking at his screen.

"There should also be instructions on how to activate them," Emp said. "Try out your new abilities-AH!"

Ryuu, naturally, had got it first and had immediately flipped a coin at Emp, the coin turning into a mini heat-seeking missile mid-air. 

Emp sighed and with a wave of his hand made the missile disappear. "Why'd you have to get it so quickly and target me first?"

Rita frowned. "Honestly, why'd you go with the missile? I thought I told you the nuclear bomb would work better!"

"But Rita, heat-seeking missiles are easier to assemble and memorize," Ryuu said, examining the coin which had reappeared in his pocket. 

The zodiacs stared at them. Note to self. Let's not piss them off.

The next person to get it was Liesel, who concentrated, then yelped when she got lifted off the ground and was surrounded by a glowing red ram. "Woah!" She lost concentration and starting falling as the ram disappeared.

Barry, who was the third to figure it out, immediately thrust out a hand. A glowing white portal appeared below Liesel, who fell into it, then reappeared safe and sound on the ground. (Sorry I was gonna make him leap and catch her but both of them have got issues with that kind of stuff so... so I went with the portal.)

"Thanks," Liesel said. Barry nodded. Vinh rushed over to inspect her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Wow, what was that?"

"Are you my sister?" Liesel retaliated, giggling.

Chaol turned into a large white tiger, then back. "Huh. Before I was only able to transform partially... but this is cool!" He looked genuinely excited for once.

Nagini tried out half-transforming, her bottom half turning into a long slithery shark tail, then promptly fell over. "Somebody help me up!" she yelled from the floor. Dracaena took out her phone, snapped a photo, then helped her up. "Did you just take a photo of me without asking?!"

"No. Probably your imagination," but Mason was laughing. Nagini glared at him. "You!"

Mason held up his hands innocently. "What, me? No, it's not like I just used my Special Ability to mess up your own abilities!"

Colt high-fived him, grinning, and the two boys performed a weird boyish handshake.

"In case you're wondering," Nadia told Dorian, who was staring at them, snapping her fingers and making a huge ax fall in between them, "This is, yes, considered normal."

Evon shrugged. "I mean, I grow feathers when I'm nervous, so..." Even as he was saying that, feathers were indeed sprouting out of his hands again, from the excitement and slight nervousness he was feeling-along with a hint of anticipation.

Chaol took one look at his feathers and snorted, smirking. "Chicken."

"Kitten," Evon sniped back, referring to how Chaol's arms and legs were still in tiger mode. And his zodiac overall.

Dorian yelped as Rita dissolved into a swarm of butterflies, then turned back into a girl on top of his shoulders.

"This is fun!" She chirped, turning into a bunch of mongooses and chasing a terrified Nagini around next. (RIP)

"HAI STOPPPPP~!!!" They stopped experimenting at Ea's cheerful call for attention. Emp, although he was enjoying their experiments, did need to give them the rest of the information. "Now that you all have officially become zodiac trainees..." Emp displayed a picture of a fancy-looking school. "You will all be enrolled in and attending Lunar Calendria Private High School, a school built especially for training and growing other gifted young people like all of you. Your living quarters have already been arranged, and I'll be your guide-"

"Actually," Ea interrupted him, "You can't. Remember, you have your duties to attend to." 

Emp frowned "Can't the Muses take care of-" 

"They're off helping out there are well," Ea cut in again. 

"But I'm usually the guide, and I know Earth the best-" 

Cal was the one who shook his head this time. "You can't, Emp. It's too dangerous. If an ability-detector-type ability wielder happens to come across you, and recognize your power, you would be detained and that would be a pain."

"But I can shield-"

Cal gave him a warning look. The zodiacs exchanged glances. Why would other people recognize his power...?

Emp groaned. "Fiiiine. Who do you think I should call, then?"

"How about asking the Months?" Cal suggested. "Not all of them are too busy at the moment."

Immediately Emp brightened. "Oh! Yes! Perfect!" He snapped his fingers and his screen appeared again. he typed in something, then said, "Connect me to Yellow May, male, please."

After a few moments of dialing, the line connected and they heard a male voice scream, "PEIDIWCH Â BAM ME, EMP Rwy'n FUSNES AC NID YN Y MOOD AM EICH SH * T!!!" before the other person slammed the phone down. 

"Damn," Liesel whistled quietly, afterward looking kind of embarrassed. "That's one angry dude."

Ea laughed. "Sounds like May's in quite a twist, eh, Emp?"

Emp huffed, blushing. "Fine, I'll check his sister." He dialed again and this time it connected quickly. A nervous-sounding female voice spoke. "... Um... hello... Emperor-sama, do you need something...?"

Emp brightened. "May, hi! Can I ask you a favor?"

"A favor? Of course..."

"Great, do you have time to guide the zodiacs down on Earth?"

"W-well, are you sure you want me to do that?" May stammered. "O-of course, if Emperor-sama wishes for it, then of course..."

Emp blinked. "May, tell me the truth. Are you doing something else right now?"

There was a long pause before May sighed. "... Y-yes. General-sama asked me to write out new war plans for Universe 7's battle... B-but, um! With my ability, it should be done in, er, thirty minutes or so? Maybe longer..."

"It's quite all right, May, you don't need to push yourself," Emp said kindly. Ea mouthed the words, I'm getting her a typewriter someday, I swear. "Don't forget to rest sometimes."

"A-Ah... thank you, Emperor-sama," May said "Even though I can't help right now, um, you could check in with October! I think one of them have time for what you want them to do..."

Emp immediately brightened. "Really? That's great, thanks, May!"

"O-Of course, Emperor-sama..." The call left many questions in its wake. Huh? War? Universe 7? WHAAAAAT?

Emp ended the call and started dialing another number. A moment later a tired-sounding female voice spoke. "Emp, what do you want? I'm trying to get some rest and relaxation before my month rolls around and I have to go into action again... that is, get swept up in never-ending activities again." 

"Sorry, October, this'll be quick! Do you or your brother have any time to spare to perhaps quickly guide the zodiacs down on Earth?" 

October hummed thoughtfully for a moment then said, "My brother is coming to see you about something-probably new song files-as we speak. Check with him." The moment she hung up, another young man who looked around Ea and Cal's age strode in. He was quite handsome, with brilliant red hair sort of covering his mysterious ruby-red eyes. He was dressed smartly in a red coat with a gray scarf wrapped around his neck and was clutching a folder of files in his hands. He froze when he saw how many people were inside the room. 

Emp beamed. "Ah! October! How are you?"

"E-Emp," October stammered, "Why... are there so many... people?!"

"Oh, they're the zodiacs," Emp said cheerfully, "Anywho, perfect timing! First, though, what'd you come here for?"

"Ah, right..." October fidgeted nervously as he approached Emp. "Here are the files for my new songs..."

At that moment Rita gasped loudly. "Wait~ I know you! Aren't you that super-famous songwriter and singer, Red OcTober?"

October flinched. "... Yes..."

Rita shrieked so loudly that everyone had to cover their ears. "Gods, Rita, don't-" Rita cut off Ryuu's complaint with her (slightly overwhelming) sunny enthusiasm. "I love your songs. They're so awesome! I can't believe we're meeting in person..." she swooned.

Mason also gasped. "Oh-I think I've heard of you too! You wrote and sang Red October- Red as the blood that falls when you cut me open, Red as the lilies that symbolize death-" Rita joined in. "Red as the fruits you gave me when I was sixteen, Red as the blush I had when you first smiled at me, Red as the anger I felt every time we fought, but in the end, we're just living through a Red October..." They finished and struck a pose. Ryuu sighed. "Oh, geez..." Although his lips were twitching; he had to admit that he had loved that song too.

Liesel clapped enthusiastically, some others joining in as well as the two bowed. Ea laughed. "That's one of the C.O.S.D.'s favorites too! Didn't think it was also that popular on Earth."

October was bright red in embarrassment as he hid behind one of his files. "It was inspired by Calliope, not me..."

"I only helped you find inspiration," Cal said. "The rest was all you."

Rita skipped up to October and took off her hat. "Can you please sign here?" Flustered, October signed the inside of Rita's hat and she put it back on, grinning. "Thank you so much!"

"Fangirls gotta fangirl," Dracaena said wisely, stopping Nagini from another rant. Nagini closed her mouth. "True."

"Ahem..." Emp coughed politely, but he was grinning as well. "October, do you have time to guide these zodiacs through everyday life?"

October flinched again. "I suppose so... it could be interesting, after all." He frowned. "But why can't Ea or Cal do it?"

"We'll take care of the miscellaneous caretaking," Ea said brightly. "But you're the most suited to help them with other Earthly stuff since you've been there a lot. Also because you're famous!"

"Won't that be worse, then...?"

"Come on, Occie," Ea wheedled. "It's just for a few hours, then chibikko and I will take over from there!"

Cal smacked Ea. "I hate it when you bring out your puppy eyes. And don't call me chibikko, for the last time, dammit!"

"Aww, but it's so fitting, how can I resist...?"

Emp rolled his eyes. "Geezus, stop it with the pet names already, it makes me sad about the fact I'm still and probably forever will be single. So you all are good about it?"

The zodiacs looked at one another, then at October. "I mean, why not?" Colt said for them all. Nagini sniffed. "I do recall hearing one of his songs on the radio. If he's famous, that'll be good enough for me."

"I'd love to have him as our guide~" Rita chirped cheerfully.

"I-I suppose so..." October gave in at their hopeful faces.

Emp smiled. "Then, if we're all in agreement..." He spun a finger and a gust of wind, water, earth, and fire whirled around them, lifting them off the ground. "I'll send you to Earth right away."

Ea and Cal waved. "See you soon!" Ea called, beaming at them. Cal grinned as well. "Make sure to tell us everything that happens!" 

"Don't get corrupted!" was Emp's loving piece of advice.

The zodiacs waved at them before the gust increased to a roar. When it spun to a stop, the zodiacs were gone-magically teleported down to Earth again.

"I wish you luck and success... zodiacs."

- - -

BLOOPER:

"... Emp, did you mention that they're going to find us for training after school?"

". . ."

"... You forgot, didn't you?"

"SH*T-"

------------------------------------------

I'll let y'all in on a little secret: I wrote most of this in my notebook during class/school, then copied it here. Why? 'CAUSE I HAD TIME AND I HAD IDEAS, PEOPLE, THAT'S WHY. But seriously, that's part of the reason why this chapter got written so fast and why Ch. 3 is already in the making.

And wow, this chapter ended up a lot longer than I'd anticipated too. Huh. Though I feel like the ending was kind of rushed.

- - -

Longer Explanation on C.O.S.D

Basically, it's like this giant place where all kinds of mythologies and beliefs smash together into one. For example, we've got Ea, who's a Mesopotamian god, and Calliope, a Greek... uh. Muse. Then we have deities too, who embody different abstract aspects in the world. Like October, who is, obviously, October. Each floor is named after a month and has a different purpose; they also have the months living there as the spirits. There is one female and one male spirit for each floor. (Ex: October rules over Red October with his sister) I plan on including a lot of other people from COSD, including Norse mythology, Egyptian, Christianity, etc. However, I probably won't mention any big gods from the well-known mythologies. Like, I'm not going to introduce Thor in my own take, 'CAUSE DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE- moving on. That's why for Greek I chose a Muse, because there aren't any bigshot portrayals of them. I made Cal male 'cause why not? Though it'd be a fun twist. ;) Meanwhile, Emp isn't really one god, he's just supposed to be a Chinese emperor... somehow he ended up being the 'CEO' while their 'God' is gone. For this story, it's the Chinese mythology people that are more prominent in COSD. (Also, I won't include the regular zodiacs in here... well, maybe a little... because I created this book SO THE CHINESE ZODIACS COULD HAVE THE LIMELIGHT. I'm contemplating a crossover between our group right now and the book genre peeps...)

COSD is focused on maintaining balance in the world and between the supernaturals. Because so many supernatural people live there, they actually end up managing practically every single natural phenomenon you could think of-earlier with January? They were prepping for what Earth's January would look like. The seasons, how the months appear to us... they handle all that stuff. The gold/money deity who's providing all their expenses? We'll meet her later, but she's the one that has to constantly decide what kind of money she'll gift upon humans. And among a tonnnnn more things. For (In) this case, other water gods helped fill in Ea's role and Cal's loving siblings promised to help him out.

I will try and include at least one mention of a figure from at least ten types of mythology.

[NOTE: Even though you know Cal's true identity now, I'm still going to call him Cal since it's easier to write and to say. If you don't want that, speak now or be forever silent.]

- - -

FUN FACT: My favorite part of this entire chapter was the part where Mason yells, "Haven't you ever read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" I'm extremely proud for coming up with that by myself for some reason.

FUN FACT 2: I got through the entire 'Dear Evan Hansen' soundtrack THREE. TIMES. While writing this.

- - -

And, just for fun, here's a 'lil pic of what I imagine October to look like:

He's adorable. ^o^ (No, that is not blood behind him for those of you wondering.)

Now, Notes:

#1. Everyone, just give me a bunch of random powers. They're going to be attending a school for people with superpowers so yup, gonna need powers. I will choose from the powers which are going to be the ones that I want the zodiacs to have a showdown with.

#2. Please make a list of common school subjects for me. Which subject(s) would your zodiac excel at/love? On the flipside, which subject does your OC hate/does the worst at?

#3. Any of the months you particularly want to see? We have October, May, February, and November on the list already.

#4. At school there are ranks (duh). The strongest male is the King, the strongest female is the Queen, the second-strongest male is the Jack, and the other strongest person but doesn't necessarily participate in the ranks is called the Ace. (can be female or male) Do any of you specifically want your OC to challenge the current King/Queen/Jack/Ace to a battle for the title? (You can finalize your choice after Chapter 3, where more information will be given)

#5. At the end of most of the chapters will be notes, which are basically just notes and questions I'll ask you to help with the most accurate character writing and choices as possible. 

#6. So that means... if I write any questions regarding your OC, you must answer (or not) if you don't want me to take control and make assumptions you might not be happy with.

#7. Any specific mythologies you would like me to mention? And how am I doing with character appearances, I'm not being inbalanced in who talks and gets mentioned, am I? (I'm trying but there's always a hole somewhere in there...)

That's all for the notes! Thank you for reading, and see you (hopefully) soon in Chapter Three, where our darling zodiacs will get to experience the glories of high school. 

[On that note, I personally have not experienced high school yet, so it might be a bit off. Forgive me for that, but for those of you who do know what high school is like, it would be nice if you gave me some pointers on how it's like. And no, you cannot say things like 'It's hell' or 'It's full of homework' or etc. I mean like, school procedures and extracurriculars, etc.]

Oh, but before you leave, here's something I thought would be fun. For the sake of easier writing, I've kind of categorized the OCs into categories and depending on the situation choose who to talk, etc.

DO NOT TAKE OFFENSE, THIS IS MY OWN TAKE ON YOUR OCS.

The shy ones (that end up being super friendly): Liesel, Barry.

The extroverts and joking people: Colt, Mason, Dorian. (Ultimate. Destruction. Trio.) They're good for a bit of comedic relief when things get too serious.

The well-rounded characters: Dracaena, Vinh, Chaol, Evon, Nadia. They're good for any type of situation and can be used easily.

The *only* two ships (among who we know currently): ***** x **** and ******** x ******. Censored because spoilers. (Any ships you have right now, or ship requests?)

My OCs: Ryuu, Rita, and *****. Censored because spoilers.

And finally-

The Queen of Arrogance: Nagini. She's there to add a bit of comedic relief and is very real.

Like I said, this is just how I categorized them so it's easier for me to choose who to talk and etc., there are no slams against your OC. Tell me if I got something wrong.

**LE PAUSE WHILE AUTHOR HYSTERICALLY SCREAMS BECAUSE AUTHOR HAS COMMITTED A CRIME THAT SHOULD BE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH: FORGETTING NADIA-** (overduelibrarybook89, to compensate, we give her ATTENTION next chapter. But still. KILL ME NOW PLEASE-)

Once again, thank you for reading, and see you in the next chapter! ^O^

-awakened-angel-chan