Case #7-The Twelve Zodiacs, Part 7

"Alright, here I am," I say, as I stare at the entrance of the East Woods before me. After leaving Evelyn behind after our fight against Cancer, the bigfoot, I made my way over to the East Wood where Cancer told me that the powerful, terrifying leader of the Twelve Zodiacs is, and the man who claims that he can grant them one wish…Sagittarius.

"Alright, here I am," a voice says, and I turn and peer over it where I heard the voice, seeing Agent Sniper standing there, dual revolvers in hand as he peers up at the East Woods before him.

My eyes widen.

Sniper's eyes then widen as he turns to face me as well.

"SNIPER?!?!?!"

"REAPER?!?!?!"

In the blink of an eye, I draw my sickle-sword as Sniper aims his dual revolvers at me, and the two of us leap back from one another.

"Hold on, I'm not your enemy right now, Reaper," Sniper says.

"Then why are you aiming your guns at me?!" I cry.

"Why are you naming your sword at me?" Sniper asks.

"I take it you spoke with Raiden and Circe?" I ask.

"If by the foolish Witch and Wizard that stormed our headquarters, then yes," Sniper answers.

"Why aren't you with anyone?" I ask.

"I left my partner behind, she had to do some thinking," Sniper answers. "You?"

"Same here." I stare at Sniper for another moment, before sighing then lowering the blade of my sickle-sword. Sniper then lowers his dual revolvers as well. "You're here for Sagittarius?" I ask.

"I'm here to protect this town," Sniper answers.

"So what, are we supposed to team up now?" I ask, causing Sniper to raise an eyebrow at me.

"Of course not!" He spits. "I'll take care of Saggitarius without your filthy help!" Swiftly, Sniper lifts a revolver again and fires off a plasma bullet at me, causing me to quickly raise my sickle-sword up and use my blade as a shield to block.

"I thought you were on my side!" I snap. "I asked you guys to team up to defeat the Zodiacs?!"

"We may not be enemies for this mission, but we're still enemies for life!" Sniper shouts as he fires off a volley of plasma bullets at me out of both revolvers, forcing me to dash to the side to dodge.

"Dude, chill out!" I snap as I charge Sniper while swinging my sickle-sword towards him. Sniper brings his dual revolvers up in a cross to block, and our metal clashes, my sickle-sword against his two revolvers. "Is this going to happen every time we meet?!" I snap.

"Until I kill you, yes!" Sniper roars as he snaps-kicks me in the chest, causing me to stumble backwards. Sniper then aims both of his revolvers at me and fires another volley of plasma bullets my way, causing me to hop to the side in order to dodge.

"I can't eat a soul now," I grumble to myself as I duck to the side to dodge another volley of plasma bullets. "Not when I need to conserve my strength to fight Saggatarius."

Swiftly, Sniper slides out the cylinders of both of his dual revolvers and slides in six plasma bullets into each revolver, before snapping the cylinders shit and aiming the guns at me.

"Six Shooter!" Sniper shouts as he fires off another volley of plasma bullets at me. Using my sickle-sword, I manage to chop through four of Sniper's plasma bullets, but the final two blast into me, piercing me in the stomach, and causing me to stumble backwards as I spit up a glob of blood.

"Fight me at your full strength, Reaper!" Sniper roars as he fires another volley of plasma bullets my way.

"I don't have time for this!" I snap as the blade of my sickle-sword begins to glow blue. I then swing my sickle-swords outwards, slashing through Sniper's volley of plasma bullets.

"Fight me Reaper!" Sniper shouts as he aims one of his revolvers at me. "Plasma bullets…awaken!" Sniper shouts as he fires off a plasma bullet at me, which begins to grow larger and larger, forming a giant drill, which flies towards me.

"Soul Hunter!" I shout as I swing my sickle-sword outwards, it's blade glowing soul-blue. Mine and Sniper's attacks collide in a burst of blue energy, and first, we're evenly matched. Mine and Sniper's attacks push each other back and forth, struggling for dominance.

At last, Sniper's awakened plasma bullet pushes past my sickle-sword and blasts into me in another explosion of blue energy. When the burst of blue energy subsidies, I find myself lying on the ground.

"Dammit…" I grunt as I push myself back up to my feet.

"You're right, Reaper," Sniper says as he turns around to face the East Woods. "We don't have time for this." Sniper then begins walking towards the East Woods, but before he can enter for good, Sniper's face slams into an invisible wall before him.

"OW!" Sniper yelps as he takes a step back and clutches his nose, blood spewing from it.

"What the Hell happened?" I ask as I stand up for good.

"It's like…there's an invisible wall in front of me…" Sniper softly answers as he sticks a hand out, but instead of being able to stretch it out, Sniper places his hand to the invisible wall before him. "Like a hall of mirrors."

"Let me see this," I say as I make my way over to the East Woods, stopping next to Sniper. Slowly, I lift my hand and stick it outwards, but rather than being blocked by some invisible forefield, I simply stick my hand outwards.

"Are you…sure that there's something here?" I sarcastically ask as I raise an eyebrow at Sniper. I then take a step forward, entering the East Woods.

"What the-?!" Sniper cries as he sticks a hand out again, but just as before, it's blocked. "Dammit!"

A huge grin spreads across my face. "See ya' later, Sniper!" I cackle as I turn forwards and stroll into the East Woods, while waving my hand at Sniper behind me

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, REAPER!" Sniper snaps as he bangs his fists on the invisible wall in front of him, in a futile attempt to break through.

And so, I enter the East Woods, on my way to face Sagittarius for good.

***

"Alright, now where is this dude, Sagittarius?" I grumble to myself as I stroll through the East Woods, my hands folded behind my head. And then, I spot a clearing in the woods before me.

"Alright!" I cheer as I rush towards the clearing, and then, once I reach the large opening in the woods before, I find myself standing in an old, run down village that looks as if it has been abandoned for years.

"What…happened here…?" I ask myself as I wander through the village, observing the moldy, worn-out wooden structures and buildings around me.

"How rude. I had sent my subordinates to retrieve you, and here you are, coming right to me," a voice says, and I turn to where I heard the voice, seeing a man with short, spiky black hair and bright blue eyes with white pupils. He's wearing a black dress shirt with bright green tiger stripes and a dark green tie. As for his lower half he's wearing black dress pants tucked into brown leather boots with golden trim, as well as matching gloves, matching belt, and a matching sash going across his chest. He looks like he can be a little older than me, maybe nineteen, or so.

Sagittarius.

"Who are you?" Are sarcastically ask.

"I think you know who I am, Zach Reaper," Sagittarius smirks. "And I know who you are."

"Yeah, I gathered that," I snort as I roll my eyes at Sagittarius. "You said my name."

 "No, I know who you are," Sagittarius continues. "I know more about you than you do yourself."

"What do you mean by that?" I growl.

"I've been keeping tabs on you," Sagittarius smirks. "You are the son of Grim Reaper, afterall."

"So that you can kill me, just like you did the other Reapers?" I ask.

"Nah," Sagittarius answers. "I'm not gonna kill you."

"You're not?" I blink. "But I'm a Reaper."

"Are you sure?" Sagittarius, and then, I notice his eyes.

They're blue…like the color of souls…

"Y-your eyes…" I stammer, as my own purple eyes widen. "They look like…a Reaper's…"

"And your eyes don't look like a Reaper's at all," Sagittarius smirks. "You must take after your mom."

"Are you…a Reaper…?" I tremble.

"I am," Sagittarius answers as he reaches behind his back and draws a black bow. But rather than a bow's usual limbs, this bow has curved, jagged scythe-like blades for its limbs, resembling my sickle-sword and my dad's scythe. The bow has no string, either. "-But I don't know what you are."

It looks like a Reaper's bow.

Sagittarius then aims his bow at me, and a glowing purple string forms between the limbs of his bow which he pulls back, creating a glowing purple arrow as he does so.

"Is that…Soul Energy…" I gasp.

Sagittarius smirks.

"EZRA REAPER'S ARROW!"

"A…Soul Technique…?"

Sagittarius then releases the glowing purple string of his bow, letting his arrow fly. Swiftly, I draw my sickle-sword, but before I can block, Sagittarius' arrow flies into me in a blast of purple energy.

"I've never heard of this Soul Technique," I sneer. "And trust me, I've seen 'em all. Trying to find one that'll work for me."

"You've never seen this Soul Technique because it isn't in any of the books," Sagittarius replies as he raises his bow and knocks back a second glowing purple arrow. "Oh, and you should give up. No Soul Techniques will work for you."

My entire body begins trembling. "But why…I whimper. "YOU'RE A REAPER, SO WHY ARE YOU KILLING OUR CLAN?!"

"You should feel the same way I do…" Saggittarius growls. "I suppose Grim never told you about what your people did to us…!"

Sagittarius fries his second arrow towards me, but this time I bring my sickle- sword up to block. I let out a grunt as I struggle against Sagitarrius' arrow, which slowly pushes me back. And then, with a roar, I swing my sickle-sword towards the ground, knocking the arrow away and causing it to dissipate.

"Hmm…" Sagittarius approvingly nods. "No one has ever been able to block one of my arrows. None except the Twelve Zodiacs, at least. Hence why I recruited them. Not even other Reapers could block my attack."

"Well I ain't joining ya'!" I snap as I bring my sickle-sword up again.

"Don't worry," Sagittarius replies as he knocks back another arrow. "There are only twelve constellations."

Sagittarius fires off another arrow towards me, but this time, I use my sickle- sword to slash through it. I then charge Sagittarius while swinging my sickle-sword towards him, but before I can slash Sagittarius, he brings his bow up and counters by strike with his bow's bladed, jagged limb, and our two blades clash.

"You're not bad," Sagittarius smirks.

"So you can use that thing in a real fight, eh?" I smirk back.

"But you're not good either," Sagittarius continues, causing my eyes to widen as he uses his free hand to knock back another arrow. Sagittarius fires his arrow at point blank range, not giving me enough time to block. Sagittarius' Ezra blasts into me, causing me to stumble backwards.

"Rake Reaper's Cutter!" Sagittarius shouts as one of the limbs of his bow begins to glow purple. Sagittarius then rapidly swings his bow towards me again and again, sending multiple ranged projectiles of crescent-moon shaped energy flying towards me.

Swiftly, I bring my sickle-sword up then slash through Sagittarius' projectiles in order to counter. I then try to take a step towards Sagittarius, but he swings a couple more purple blades towards me, prohibiting me from taking another step forwards.

"Damn, I can't even get close to him!" I exclaim. "But…I have an idea!"

I raise my sickle-sword high in the air above my head as I clutch it tightly between both of my hands. The blade of my sickle-sword then begins to glow purple.

"Soul Hunter Shockwave!" I shout as I swing my sickle-sword downwards, slamming it into the ground and piercing the earth, sending cracks spreading across the ground. My purple soul energy then busts out of the cracks like a shockwave, causing Sagittarius' eyes to widen as he's forced to jump backwards in order to dodge.

"Impressive," he smirks. "You actually managed to make me dodge. No one has ever done that, except-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I reply, cutting Saggitarius off. "No one except for the Twelve Zodiacs has made you have to dodge an attack. Hence why you recruited them.

"Zion Reaper's Katana!" Saggitarius as one of his bow's bladed limbs begins to glow purple then stretch outwards, forming a katana blade.

Saggitarius then charges me, and slashes his bow's blade towards me, and I'm too busy recovering from Saggitarius' previous attack to counter. But before I'm slashed by Saggitarius' bow, a voice calls out: "Duck, Reaper!" A volley of bullets then fly out from behind me, blasting into Sagittarius, and causing him to grunt in pain as he stumbles backwards.

I turn around, where I see Agent Sniper approaching from behind. "Sniper?!" I cry. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to kill him…" Sniper growls as he aims a revolver at Sagittarius. Furiously, Sniper then spins towards me and jabs that same revolver into my chest. "And I'm here to kill you, too!" He snaps. "Taunting me like that…what were you thinking?!"

"You're the one who tried to kill me while we're supposed to be teaming up!" I cry.

"I told you, we are NOT teaming up!" Sniper snaps as he throws his hands into the air in frustration.

"Um, excuse me-" Sagittarius begins to say as he raises his hand.

"SHUT UP!" Sniper simultaneously snaps as he turns towards Saggitarius, before immediately beginning turning back to one another, and continuing our bickering.

"How did you get throught he forcefield amway?!" I cry. "It was keeping you out!"

"I don't know," Sniper answers. "I just kept pushing, and pushing, and then eventually, I broke through."

"Interesting…" Sagittarius smirks as he rubs his chin. "That barrier is meant to keep out anyone who isn't a Reaper, or…well…I won't spoil what the other race that can pass through the barrier is. I ain't your dad, Zach," Sagittarius continues, causing Sniper and I to turn our attention back to him. "But after both Zach and I passed through the barrier, it must have been weakened enough to allow Agent Sniper to enter."

"You know who I am?" Sniper growls.

"Of course I do," Sagittarius answers as he points to Sniper's left eye. "I'm interested in that."

Sniper tenses up and clutches his eye patch, which I've come to realize is a tell that he's distressed, through my many battles against him.

"SO GIVE IT TO ME!" Sagittarius then shouts as he fires off a couple more glowing purple arrows at Sniper and I. Swiftly, Sniper uses his plasma bullets as I use my sickle-sword to counter Sagittarius' attack.

"Is Sagittarius…a Reaper?" Sniper asks as his eyes widen.

"Yeah," I answer. "At least it seems like it."

"Damn…" Sniper says to himself. "Now there are two of them to kill…"

 "Hey!" I snap as I peer up at Sniper. "Now's not the time for that!"

"I'm a Reaper, alright!" Sagittarius shouts as he fires a few more arrows towards Sniper and I. "But I don't know what that wannabe over there is!"

"I don't suppose he means me," Sniper comments as he draws his dual revolvers and charges.

"And I don't know why he would mean me!" I reply as I draw my sickle-sword and follow Sniper.

Sniper and I duck and wave through Sagitarrius' arrows, until we're upon him, Sniper fires off a volley of plasma bullets at Sagittarius, but he dodges them. I swing my sickle-sword towards Sagitarrius, but he dodges that as well.

"I don't suppose that you want to team up?" I ask Sniper with a smirk as Sagitarrius dodges another swing from my sickle-sword.

"With you? Never," Sniper answers as fires another volley of bullets at Sagittarius.

Swiftly, Sagitarrius reaches up and grabs one of Sniper's revolvers and my sickle -sword, dragging us in close before head-butting me and snap-kicking Sniper, sending us tumbling backwards and landing on the ground in a cloud of dust.

"He's kicking our ass now!" I cry as I hop back up to my feet.

"Speak for yourself," Sniper replies as he pushes himself off of the ground as well. "I haven't gotten serious yet."

"Neither have I," I reply, and Sniper and I charge Sagittarius again.

"I'll make you a deal, Reaper," Sniper says as the two of us continue charging towards Sagittarius. "I won't try to kill you during this fight, and I won't team up with you. But if you can kill Sagitarrius before I do, then I won't hunt you for the rest of the week."

"Only a week?!" I cry. But then, my lips curl up into a smirk. "Deal."

Swiftly, Sniper slides out the cylinders of both of his dual revolvers and slides in six plasma bullets into each revolver, before snapping the cylinders shit and aiming the guns at me.

As for me, I stick a hand into my messenger bag and pull out a soul, stuffing it into my mouth and swallowing. "Mummy Soul!" I shout as a burst of blue energy escapes from my body, causing Sagitarrius' eyes to widen.

"I see…" he says to himself under his breath. "So that's what they do…"

I swing my arms towards Sagittarius, sending filthy, grayed mummy bandages flying towards him. Using his bow, Sagitarrius manages to slice through some of the bandages, but there are too many to keep up with, and eventually, I manage to tangle Sagitarius up in my wrappings.

"Sniper!" I shout.

"I said we're not teaming up!" Sniper snaps as he fires off a volley of plasma bullets towards Sagittarius, who, with his arms and legs boundy, grunts in pain as he's forced to take Sniper's attack.

"The Hell was that, Reaper?!" Sniper snaps as he shoves me.

"I'm just trying to not get killed out here!" I snap as I shove Sniper back, and the two of us begin bickering again.

Sniper shoves me to the side as he fires off a volley of plasma bullets towards Sagittarius, and I shove Sniper back as I swing my sickle-sword towards Sagitarrius, who manages to dodge both of our attacks.

"You'll never hit me if you two aren't working together!" Sagittarius laughs as he fires off another arrow towards Sniper and I. Sniper hops to the right to dodge as I hop to the left, causing the two of us to smack into one another.

"What are you doing, I'm going this way!" I snap.

"You're on the right side, you should jump right!" Sniper snaps back.

Sniper and I are too busy bickering to pay attention to Ezra's arrow flying towards us, which blasts into the two of us in a burst of purple energy, causing Sniper and I to grunt in pain as we fall to the ground.

"This…is getting hard to watch," Sagittarius sighs.

"Alright, that's it!" I snap as I push myself off of the ground. "Sagittarius is too strong for either of us to take alone!

"Yes, Reaper," Sniper replies.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we gotta team up here, Sniper!" I exclaim.

Sniper sighs. "Yes, Reaper."

Sniper and I fix our eyes on Sagittarius as I ready my sickle-sword and he aims his dual revolvers at Sagitarius.

"LET'S GO!"

I charge towards Sagittarius as Sniper fires off a plasma bullets towards him, which whizz right over my head as they fly towards Sagittarius.

"You get in close, Reaper, I'll back you up!" Sniper orders.

"As much as I hate you telling me what to do-!" I begin to say as I swing my sickle-sword towards Sagittarius, who uses the bladed limb of his bow to block. "-I love the idea of you being my backup!"

Sagittarius and I grunt as we struggle against each other's blades. "Now that they're synchronizing their attacks, this is getting tricky…" Sagittarius grumbles to himself as he hops backwards to dodge Sniper's plasma bullets.

I swing my sickle-sword as well as my razor-edged mummy bandages towards Sagittarius over and over again, forcing Sagitarius to step backwards again and again as we have a medieval-style duel between our two blades. During our bout, Sniper continues firing plasma bullet after plasma bullet at Sagittarius, forcing him to retreat.

"Rake Reaper's Cutter!" Sagittarius shouts as one of the limbs of his bow begins to glow purple, which he swings towards Sniper and I, sending multiple ranged projectiles of crescent-moon shaped energy flying towards Sniper and I.

In response, I swipe my arms towards the air, sending my mummy bandages flying upwards and wrapping around the mighty branch hanging from the three above me. Using my mummy bandages, I swing into the tree, dodging Sagitarius' attack.

As for Sniper, he aims his dual revolvers at Sagittarius and fires off bullet after bullet at the leader of the Zodiacs, and Sniper's plasma bullets and Sagittarius' Rake Reaper's Cutter attacks cancel each other out.

"Let me at 'em!" I cackle as I leap from the branch above Sagittarius as I swing my sickle-sword down towards him.

Swiftly, Sagittarius' eyes widen as he retracts his bow from Sniper and looks up to face me, bringing his bow up as he uses its bladed limb to block my sickle-sword. This gives Sniper the opportunity to fire off another volley of bullets at Sagittarius, who counters by grabbing me by the shirt collar and spinning me around so that I'm facing Sniper. I grunt in pain as Saggitarius uses my back as a shield to soak up Sniper's bullets.

"Oops, this is the one time when I didn't mean to shoot you, Reaper," Sniper apologizes.

"Don't worry, that didn't hurt," I grunt through grit teeth.

Sagittarius then tosses me backwards, sending me flying towards Sniper, before firing another volley of arrows at us. My back slams into Sniper, and then Saggitarrius' arrows blast into us, causing us to grunt in pain.

"Stay out of my way, Reaper!" Sniper then snaps as he fires off a volley of plasma bullets at me.

"What the Hell, man?!" I cry as I bring my sickle-sword up to block, using its blade to repel Sniper's bullets, which forces Sagittarius to leap in between the two of us in order to dodge.

"Just when I thought that they were working together…" Sagittarius sighs.

A huge grin spreads across my face.

"That was pretty ballsy of you, Sniper," I smirk. "What if I didn't block?"

A small grin spreads across Sniper's lips, as well.

"Then that's all you would be worth," he replies.

I raise my sickle-sword up as its blade begins to glow purple. "We got you right-!" I begin to shout.

Sniper aims a revolver at Sagittarius. "-Where we want you!" Sniper finishes.

"WHAT?!" Sagittarius cries.

With a roar, I swing my sickle-sword towards Sagittarius, while Sniper fires off a plasma bullet at him, which begins to glow blue and grow, taking the form of a giant drill.

"SOUL HUNTER!"

"PLASMA DRILL SHELL!"

Sagittarius looks back and forth between mine and Sniper's attacks as they continue flying towards him. "If these hit me…I'm dead!" He cries.

"WE'LL END THIS FIGHT HERE!" Sniper and I simultaneously roar.

"No…" Sagittarius softly says to himself as his entire body begins swirling with purple energy. "I've come too far…to let it all end here!" Sagittarius looks back and forth between Sniper and I one last time.

"EZRA REAPER'S SUICIDE BOMBER!"

With a roar, the purple energy swirling around Sagittarius' body explodes outwards, causing all three of us to howl in pain as they're wrapped up in the mighty purple blast. By the time that Sagittarius' attack subsides, Sniper and I are lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Sagitarrius stands above us, panting heavily.

"I've…won…" he pants.

"Dammit…" I weakly grunt to myself.

I hear a small groan come from next to me, and I weakly strain my eyes over to Sniper, where I see his trigger fingers begin to twitch

"Sniper…?" I weakly croak. "You still there…?"

"Yeah…" Sniper weakly croaks back.

"Remember what we said earlier…about not using our full power…?" I cough.

"I do…" Sniper coughs back.

"Well…I think it's time to use it."

Slowly, Sniper and I struggle to push ourselves off of the ground. "You're still standing…?" Sagittarius weakly smirks. "It's all over now, in that state, you can't win."

But Sniper and I keep pushing, and alas, we stand up to face Sagittarius again. Soaked in blood, panting heavily, bruised, and battered, yet still standing, nonetheless.  I don't know what's giving Sniper the strength to stand, but as for me, I'm fueled by wanting to learn the secrets behind this Reaper that I've never heard about. As well as why I can't use Soul Energy. Sniper and I fix our eyes on Sagittarius.

"REAPER DRIVE!"

"GARUDA'S EYE!"

I reach into my messenger bag and begin gobbling soul after soul. A burst of blue soul energy escapes my body, and I feel my body grow stronger from the power of the souls I consumed. Five more souls then fly out of my messenger bag and hover behind my back in a star-shaped pattern, as purple flame-like energy then bursts from my eyes and sickle-sword as well, as if I'm using my Soul Sight.

As for Sniper, he swiftly reaches up and rips off his eyepatch, revealing the pigmented dark green eye underneath with a red cross-shaped pupil.

Upon seeing Agent Sniper's hidden eye, Sagittarius's scowl turned into a face of absolute pleasure and excitement, like a little kid in a candy store. "So you do hold the Eye of Garuda!" Sagittarius exclaims. "I have been looking for that eye for many years now, and to think that its holder will just come to me? It's hilarious!" Sagittarius looks to the sky and stretches his arms out, letting out a huge, bellowing laugh. Once he stops laughing, Saggittarius peers down at Sniper with a satisfied smirk.. "It's just so ...PERFECT."

"Sniper...what the Hell is that eye?" I ask.

"When the one who has Garuda's eye uses its power, time almost seems to slow down to them," Sniper explains. "The eye also grants its user increased perception skills as well as the ability to see further and better than any other creature, so Garuda's eye is also just an enhanced eye in general. For those reasons combined, Gardua's eye is the perfect weapon for a fighter who uses ranged weapons."

 "Such as my bow, and hence why I have been looking for that eye," Sagittarius smirks. And then, he aims his bow at Sniper and knocks back an arrow. "And now that I've found it…you will forfeit that eye to me!"

Sagittarius fires off arrow after arrow at Sniper and I. I swing my sickle-sword outwards, using a shockwave of Soul Energy to blast the arrows away. As for Sniper, he ducks, weaves, and dodges Sagittarius' arrows, perfectly dancing through the attack, which doesn't even manage to scratch him. Sniper then swiftly lifts his dual revolvers at Sagittarius, and fires off a volley of plasma bullets out of dual revolvers, twelve in total. Sagittarius attempts to dodge the attack and counter with his arrows, but Snipers's plasma bullets fly towards Sagittarius, as if he knows where he's going to be before he gets there. Sniper's bullets blast into Sagittarius, causing him to drop to the ground and clutch his bleeding chest.

"I thought that you Supernatural Investigators were all human?" Sagittarius smirks at Sniper while panying.

"We all are…" Sniper answers. Except for me, that is. My mom was human while my father was a divine spirit who took a human form to have a child with my mother. And so, I can use a little bit of magic, though my magic isn't all that strong and I don't have much of it, so firing off my Bluffed Bullet is about all I can do. But, other than magic, my father granted me another ability…his eye, Eye of Garuda, which can see seven seconds into the future."

"See…the future…?!"

"Nice pea shooters," Sagittarius smirks as he fires another arrow at Sniper, who manages to dodge the first one. But Sagittrius fries off arrow after arrow towards Sniper, and eventually, there are too many to dodge. One arrow manages to pierce Sniper in his thigh, causing Sniper to fall to the ground, clutching his bleeding leg.

"You humans really need to stop meddling in the affairs of supernatural creatures! I'm trying to talk to this wannabe Reaper!" Sagittarius cackles as he struts over to Sniper, kicking the Investigator in the chin and knocking Sniper onto his back. Sagittarius then stomps on Sniper's right wrist so that he couldn't aim his revolver at him. Sniper aims his left revolver at Sagittarius but Sagittarius quickly kicks the revolver out of Sniper's hand. "Now what are you going to do without your plasma weapons, little Supernatural Investigator?" Sagittarius mocks.

Sniper doesn't reply. Instead, he forms a gun shape with his disarmed left hand, and fires off a small, weak bullet of dark green energy at Sagittarius, which causes Sagiittarous' eyes to widen as he stumbles backwards. "That attack didn't hurt you, it merely caught you off guard," Sniper comments as he pushes himself off of the ground. Sniper then fires off three more bullets at Sagittarius, causing him to stumble backwards again.

"BLUFFED BULLET!"

"But now you have no more bullets to defend!" Sagittarius cackles as the bladed limb of his bow begins to glow purple again. "Rake Reaper's Cutter!" Sagittarius shouts as rapidly and frantically swings his bow towards Sniper and I again and again, sending multiple ranged projectiles of crescent-moon shaped energy flying towards Sniper and I.

A dark green sphere of energy begins forming between Sniper's palms. "Bluffed Bullet!" Sniper shouts as he thrusts his hands towards Sagittarius, which takes the form of a large basket-ball sized bullet flying towards him.

"What?!" Sagittarius cries. "He can use magic?!"

Sniper's magical bullet then flies through Sgaittariu's Rake Reaper's Cutter, pushing straight throught he attack, before blasting into Sagittarius in a cloud of smoke. And then, through the smoke, that's where I appear. Once the smoke has settled, I let out a battle cry, and Sagittarius' eyes widen as he spins around, only to be met with my glowing purple sickle-sword flying to his face.

"Soul Hunter!" I shout as I swing my sickle-sword towards Sagittarius, and before the leader of the Zodiacs can react, my attack crashes into him, sending Sagittarius flying backwards.

"Awakened Bluffed Bullet!" Sniper shouts as he begins charging up another sphere of dark green energy between his palms, before thrusting it towards Sagittarius, firing off an extra large bullet of energy which begins to grow and expand, taking the form of a powerful drill like Sniper's awakened plasma bullets. Sniper's magical drill blasts into Sagittarius in a burst of green energy, causing him to howl in pain as he drops to the ground.

"Did we…win…?" I pant as I lower my sickle-sword.

"I'd imagine not…" Sniper pants as he lowers his revolvers.

And as we suspected, Sagittarius begins to stir.

"OUCH!" Sagittarius yelps as he pushes himself up to his feet and cracks his back. "You two really did a number on me-" Sagittarius continues as he cracks his neck. And then…a smirk spreads across his lips. "So maybe it's about time I get serious."

Mine and Sniper's eyes widen. "He was still…holding back?!"

"Bluffed Bullet Volley!" Sniper shouts as he thrusts hand after hand towards Sagittarius, firing off magical bullet after magical bullet.

"Soul Grenade!" I shout as I reach into my messenger bag and begin drawing soul after soul which I lob towards Sagittarius, and explode upon impact, like bombs.

"Ezra Reaper's Assault!" Sagittarius shouts as he aims his bow up to the sky and fires off an entire platoon over glowing purple arrows, which soar into the air for a bit, before curving downwards, falling like meteors towards Sniper and I.

"You've created multiple Soul Techniques?!" I cry.

"Usually, Reapers only create one Soul Technique," Sagittarius replies. "But I've been on my own for a whole, so I've needed to make a few of my own techniques to survive. I didn't have a dad to teach me, unlike you and Grim."

Using his all-seeing Garduda's eyes, Sniper manages to dance and weave through Sagittarius attack. As for me, I use my sickle-sword to block and slash Sagittarius' arrows.

"Alright, this is getting annoying," Sagittarius grumbles as he lifts his right knee high into the air, before stomping it forwards, kicking up a cloud of dust and forming a crater in the ground. Saggitarius clutches his bow tightly with both of his hands, as its bladed limbs begin glowing with purple energy.

My eyes widen.

"No…way…"

"GRIM REAPER'S HUNT!"

With a roar, Sagittarius charges towards us, his bow taking the form of a HUGE jagged, purple crescent-moon shaped projectile of Soul Energy, which tears up the ground and the trees as it flies, sending shockwaves of air pulsating throughout the entire forest.

"Let's go, Reaper!" Sniper roars.

"Right!" I replied.

Sniper brings his palms together, charging up a small sphere of dark green energy between them. Sniper then raises his hands above his head and begins bringing them apart, even a sphere of energy growing larger and larger as his hands separate. Sniper then lowers his hands and chambers them again. "AWAKENED BLUFF BULLET!" Sniper roars as he fires the GIANT sphere of dark green energy towards Sagittarius, which begins rowing even larger and larger as it takes the form of a powerful bullet-shaped drill as it flies.

As for me, I bring my sickle-sword up as its balde begins to glow purple. The purple angry pulsating around my blade then begins to grow larger and expand, taking the form of a giant scythe. "SUPER SOUL HUNTER!" I shout as I swing my giant sickle-sword into Sniper's bullet, causing his bullet to rocket forwards at blinding speeds, my purple energy swirling around the bullet and mixing with Sniper's own magic, strengthening his attack.

"AWAKENED SOUL BULLET: DEMON HUNTER!" We roar at once.

Sagittarius continues charging Sniper and I with his Grim Reaper's Hunt, as mine and Sniper's Demon Hunter continue flying towards Sagiitarius. And then, once our powerful bullet is upon Sagittarius, he lets out a roar and swings his bow's bladed limb towards our bullet, and Sagittarius' Grim Reaper's Hunt and our Demon Hunter collide in a mighty explosion of purple and dark green energy, the most powerful burst of angry I've ever seen, and sending everything around us, fromt he earth, to the trees, to the run -down village flying away due to the shockwaves of air pulsating from our attack. Sagittarius stands in the center of a mighty carter.

Sagittarius roars, and Sniper and I roar, our two attacks struggling for dominance.

"I won't…LET IT ALL END HERE!" Sagittarius roars. And then, in oen final swing…he slices through our attack.

Mine and Sniper's eyes widen.

Sagittarius' Grim Reapers Hunt then dissipates as he raises his bow up again. Purple Soul Energy then explodes out of Sagittarous' body, taking the form of a huge cross-bow shaped turret of Soul Energy, with Sagittarius' bow as the trigger.

Sagittarius then knocks back a giant Soul Energy arrow.

"EZRA REAPER'S ARROW MEGA!"

Sagittarus then lets his arrow fly, and the arrow streaks through the air towards Sniper and I at blinding speeds, taking the form of what may be the strongest attack that I've seen to date.

"Sniper, we gotta move!" I shout as I bring my sickle-sword up, but nothing happens. Instead, I drop to the ground on my knees. "DAMMIT!" I cry. "I'm…out of energy…"

Sniper then begins his palms together, but nothing happens as well. "And I'm out of magic…" Sniper grunts as he joins me on the ground.

Slowly, I strain my head up to meet Sagittarius Arrow Mega, which is mere seconds before blasting into Sniper and I.

"Is this…it…?"

Sniper's Arrow Mega then blasts into Sniper and I in the largest explosion of Soul Energy that I've seen to date. Sniper and I howl in pain. By the time of the explosion of Soul Energy subsidies, Sniper and I are lying on the ground in a pool of our own blood.

"Sniper…"I weakly croak. "Are you…there…?"

No answer.

"Sniper…?"

"I was going…to kill you…" Sagittarius weakly pants, and I slowly strain my eyes up, watching as Sagittarius wobbles over to me. "But…it wouldn't be fair if only I have to suffer." And then, as my vision goes black…I watch as Sagittarius falls to his knees.

That was the last thing I saw.

***

"What...happened?!" I cry as I shoot up in bed. I then look around, seeing that I'm lying on my bed in my room surrounded by Gasper, Raiden, Circe, Koga, and-

"ZACH!" Evelyn cries as she springs up and throws her arms around me.

"ACK!" I recoil.

"So, sorry, you're hurt!" Evelyn cries as she lets go of me and sits back down.

"This reminds me of my fight with Crimson…" I grumble as I rub my back, causing Crimson to look away in shame.

"But unlike your fight against Crimson, there wasn't anyone to show up and clean up your mess," Koga replies, drawing my attention over to him.

"What happened to Sagittarius?" I ask.

"By the time that we found you, he was long gone," Crimson explains. "And judging by the lack of footprints, or a blood trail, or anything, it looked like he just… disappeared, like the way Cancer did."

"I see…" I reply as I sadly look down.

"So how are you feeling, Zach?" Gasper asks as he floats in above me.

"Surprisingly…fine," I answer as I crack my back.

"Fufufu," Circe snickers as a devious grin spreads across her lips. "All thanks to me, that is!" She proudly booms.

"What did you do to me?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow at Circe.

"I tested a highly experimental healing antidote as well as my special moss, and it seems like it worked!" Circe proudly explains as she places both hands on her hips.

"You what?!" I cry.

"Sorry, Zach!" Raiden pipes up. "We tried to stop her!"

"What about Sniper?" I then ask. "Is he going?"

"Sniper?" Circe asks.

"Agent Sniper," Evelyn explains. "The Supernatural Investigator after Zach and the rest of us."

"Well…not you," Koga chimes in.

"Shut up!" Evelyn snaps.

"Why do you care about how Agent Sniper is?" Crimson asks.

"Well you seem to care a lot about Agent Kardos," I reply, causing Crimson to frown.

"Around the time that Circe and I found you, Agent Kardos and Agent Hexley found Agent Sniper," Raiden explains. "Agent Kardos was also carrying one of the Twelve Zodiacs for some reason, but she didn't tell us why.

"And then, Hexley grabbed Sniper and dragged him away," Circe finishes.

"Weird…" I mumble to myself as I sit back in bed.

But then..my eyes widen and I begin trembling.

"Zach, are you…okay?" Evelyn asks.

"I think you know who I am, Zach Reaper. And I know who you are."

"You don't look like a Reaper at all, you must take after your mom."

"Oh, and you should give up. No Soul Techniques will work for you."

"Ezra…" I sadly say.

"Hmm?" Evelyn asks. "Did you say something?"

"Ezra Reaper," I repeat as I look up at everyone. "Just who is he?"

"Huh? Why are you asking m-" Evelyn begins to say, but she's cut off by the voice behind her.

"Everyone, I'm sorry, but I am going to have to ask you to step out," a voice says, and all six of my friends turn around, seeing that they're faced with the Grim Reaper, himself leaning against my doorway with his arms crossed.

"R-right…" Evelyn sadly replies.

"Is it…that important…?" Koga asks.

"Aww, but I wanna know too!" Circe pouts.

"I have a feeling…that whatever they are going to talk about isn't for our ears," Raiden adds..

"Come on, guys, let's go," Crimson orders.

My dad stands up and takes a step into my room, allowing for Crimson, then Koga, then Circe, and then finally, Raiden to pass through. Gasper floats away as well. As for Evelyn, she stops in my doorway before turning back to me.

"Zach…?" She sadly asks.

"Don't worry, Evelyn," I reply with a small smile. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Right…" Evelyn replies with a sad smile and a nod, before turning and exiting my room for good. I then hear some footsteps, symbolizing my friends making their way to the living room.

I take a deep breath in…then out.

"Dad…?" I softly ask as I peer up at my father, who frowns, and peers back at me.

"Am I…adopted?"