Nathaniel:

I flew downtown. No cars were on the streets, no people roamed around the city. It was long past the legal curfew time. I was literally the only one on the street. Mike, my eldest brother, set the curfew time years ago. He and my other brother, Luke, are the most demanding people you will ever meet. They are off in Francium now, spending more time there with the ladies then they did actually commanding the war. They came up with the brilliant rules that restricted our personal freedoms as a way to keep everyone in line to keep a revolution off their hands. I don't want a revolution either, but if push comes to shove, I would never side with them. All I could hear was the echoing sound of myself crying and the wind rushing past my ears as I flew past the buildings and shops.

Why would dad do this to me? All I asked for was to be a doctor ever since I was six. Dad agreed it was a great idea. Azun helped me plan my way through school so I would graduate at the age of thirteen and get my part of the power at fourteen. From there on, I could make my way to becoming a doctor. It would have taken a lot of work, but would have been worth it help all those people, to be a Zodiac hero like everyone before me.

I landed on the ground and tucked my wings behind me. They weren't so good for walking around. They got in the way a lot. I needed something to tuck them away so I could look mostly normal as I walked and not knock over garbage bins.

I made my way down a few shops till I arrived at my brother Vestry's mechanical store. He was mostly a mechanic, but he doubled as a collector of things and antiques. Vestry would be the one to have anything that would help me.

"Vestry?" I called out. The shop was dark but I knew he would be here, he never left the shop.

"In the back." I heard his voice. "Shop's closed."

"It's Nathaniel." I called.

Dang it, I forgot that wasn't my name anymore. I had to come up with something better. Simon would be a good name, I would rock at the Simon says game. I want something more classy and old school style. Maybe something that sounded cool, like Enzo or Aros. Nah, I will think of something eventually.

"Hey there, bro." Vestry came out from the back.

He had on some old stained overalls and a vest. I spotted a wispy beard on his defined chin. His greasy black hair was combed over to one side of his head, and his skin was dark brown but his eyes were bright green.

"What brought you here? The rebels aren't meeting for another few weeks, it's dangerous to be here. Luke knows I am part of the rebel forces against dad, and if he ever knew where my shop was... wait! Shouldn't you be out enjoying your gift?" He set down a screw driver. "That's all you have been talking about."

"I need something." I got straight to the point, I only had three days. "Something to help me win a war, ultimate power but I need it to be travel size."

"That's quite a request." Vestry wiped oil from his hands. "May I ask what it is for?"

"It's kinda personal, but it has to do with me being in military."

"You?" Vestry laughed. "You in the military! You've got to be joking! The military is where people die, and I know if you saw someone die you would mature."

Maturing to a Zodiac is a big deal. When you reach a certain age or have a dramatic event in your life, your brain sends signals throughout your body. Like everyone normal would mature mentally, Zodiac's mature physically as well. Basically, I would become immortal if I matured right now.

"And they want to send an immortal fourteen year old into a battle field?" Vestry gasped.

"Vestry, you know I am not even close to reaching maturity." I declared. "Why are you saying that I would matured?"

"You would matured in war, Azun did." Vestry replied. "Have fun being fourteen forever, enjoy the acne."

I remembered Azun's story he told me of his first time at war.

"I was young, seventeen years of age when dad sent me into battle." Azun retold his story late one night. "I dreamed of bringing glory, just like Mike and Luke did before me. Neither of them matured, so I thought I had nothing to fear."

"They were good generals, right?" I asked.

"Yes." Azun smiled. "Brilliant in all arts of war and perfect in forming a strategy. I was less like them, but nevertheless I went to war. I wanted to please my father more then anything and prove I was more then a dirt bender."

"But you are." I smiled. "You can talk telepathically."

"Only to you." Azun rubbed my head. "Anyways, I had my men on the grounds of the planet Luke told me to attack, everyone was ready with their guns and I had my unique weapon, a double-sided Scythe. But, Thaniel, if there is one principal I want you to learn from this, it's that you have no control of life and death. That's why I keep journals." He pointed to his bookshelf, lined with pages he was written, thousands and thousands of pages filled with his thoughts and history.

I nodded, saying that principal over and over again in my mind.

"Luke knew it would be an ambush." Azun looked away. "I didn't know I leading my men into a massacre. I witnessed their deaths firsthand. Luke told me about it later, he knew I would fail, he thought it would make me stronger but it didn't. I matured in that battle. I promised myself I would never go to war again."

"Oh Azun." I hugged my brother.

"I made every mistake." Azun whispered to me. "This is why Dad hates me, he never believed what I told him about Luke. Dad thinks I am a failure but it was Luke giving me a bad job that caused me to fail. Now I am seventeen and a half forever. History books have that battle in it, and every child on Malison knows I failed. Nothing is more horrible then knowing that everybody thinks you're a failure."

"You're not a failure." I tried to persuade him.

"But I am." Azun wiped away a single tear.

Now, I have learned the story in school. Nothing was written down correctly. It makes me wonder what else in my history book is wrong.

"I haven't ever received a zit in my life." I told Vestry.

"We all hate you and your perfect skin." Vestry huffed.

"You hate me?" I cried, not seeing the joke.

"No!" Vestry ran over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I was being sarcastic. I think I've got something that can help."

"Really?" I gasped.

"I still don't think you will survive the army." Vestry stated as he walked towards the back. "I didn't."

"You didn't even go into military!" I argued. "Azun said that you didn't."

"Azun is right, as usual." He ran around into the back and came back to me with a frame and a coat. "That's when we came up with the rebellion idea. Azun somehow provides a lot of money for this organization, he won't tell me how he got the cash. It was just Azun and I to begin with, then Dustan, Jasper, Aspen and you joined."

"I know." I said. "Then Aspen ratted everyone out and now you have a death sentence hanging over your head."

The frame was gold and rusty, very old. It could have been a mirror, there were shiny bits of pieces still in the frame. The coat was newer, tan and big. I think it might have once been a long coat.

"This is the mirror that the twelve shattered pieces came from." Vestry told me. "It's called The Mirror of the Echoing Demon-Angel. It still has a bit of each of the powers left. You can take it if you want, I will also give you all of my power."

"No!" I said. "Not your power, it's yours!"

"I don't need the gift of healing." Vestry said. "It does me no good when I work with machines. You can use this to become the greatest doctor Malison has ever seen."

"I don't understand." I whispered. "How can I use all this to help me?"

"With the power of all twelve parts you can win the war." Vestry said. "Bring peace so we all can be what we want to be."

He gave me the mirror. I know that Dad disagreed with him becoming a mechanic over fighting in his war a while back. It looked like now we both have something in common.

There was a bit of glass in the corners still. I felt like the mirror was going to break in my hands, it was so old and dusty. When I ran my fingers across the edge, they came back covered in dust to reveal the golden frame lying underneath, sparkling in the low lights.

"I also saw that you're having a bit of trouble with your wings." Vestry gave me the coat. "Use this to cover them, it will work."

I put the coat on, my wings tucked under the armpits inside the coat. I looked normal now, except I was a fourteen year old boy wearing an old man coat. But at least now I could travel on land more easily.

"Hold onto my hand and the mirror." Vestry commanded me. I did as he said.

"Bring together the missing pieces." Vestry chanted a spell. "Of this mirror and of my piece, give to flight all that you hold inside."

I remembered that Vestry went to Ratov, the magic planet, for a short period of time to learn tricks. The mirror glowed bright gold. I saw a stream of gold fly from the mirror and into my chest. Vestry's power left him and came to me. The streams didn't hurt when they flew inside me, they were warm and comforting. When all the pieces came together in my chest, Vestry let go of my hand and took the mirror from me, placing it on a counter.

I lifted up my shirt to see a small golden glow flickering in my chest, where my heart would be.

"You now possess all the power that the twelve have and will eventually have." Vestry covered to mirror with a blanket.

"That's it?" I asked. "This seems to simple. You just had the mirror and chanted a spell that was literally like three lines."

"It is that simple," Vestry laughed, "that's why nobody has ever thought of it. Don't tell anyone about this till you get to the battle field, especially don't tell dad I did this."

"Why not?" I asked. "He would be proud of you and me."

"He won't." Vestry assured me. "Trust me on this. Just go and win that war, then you can come back home and be a doctor and live your life and whatever you do, do not mature."

I gave my brother the biggest hug I had ever given him. He wrapped his arms around me tightly. This may be the last time we ever see each other for all I know.

"Thanks." I told him. "Thank you so much!"

I ran out the door, taking off my coat and tying it around my waist. My white wings expanded around me. I took off into the air, I had tonight and two more days to figure out how to use my power before I would leave to war.

Three days till I was either a hero on the big screen or a body in a hole.