Page 39 of Pisces Rising

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, cupping her face in his calloused palms. "Brace yourself."

The moment his hands touched her, Pisces was plunged into a dizzying vortex of sensations and imagery. She tumbled through a maze of dark, twisting portals that seemed to reach into the deepest, most primal depths of Scorpio's psyche. Intense emotions battered her from all sides—lust, rage, cunning, deception all swirled together in a heady, suffocating fog.

Flashes of debauchery and carnal indulgence flickered through her mind's eye, raw and visceral. Just when she felt she couldn't take it anymore, a memory took shape, solidifying around her. She found herself in the shadowed recesses of Star Castle, peering out from Scorpio's eyes as he witnessed Gemini's form warping, twisting until a perfect replica of himself stood before him. He could sense the malicious power, the darker resonance emanating from this twisted doppelganger. This was Dark Gemini, a master of illusion and deception, fully resurrected.

The scene shifted, and Pisces watched as Dark Gemini, now wearing Scorpio's face, sought out Aries. With a cruel smile, the impostor projected a false scene of Pisces and Scorpio locked in an intimate embrace, their words of treachery falling on Aries like an ocean. She watched as Aries simmered and raged, entirely undone by the perceived betrayal.

Another shift, and Pisces found herself observing a confrontation between Aries and her own past self. Confusion and despair leveled her, weakening their bond and fracturing her spirit as Aries accused her of the very betrayal Dark Gemini had staged.

The memories swirled again, and now Pisces was trailing behind the real Scorpio as he surreptitiously followed Dark Gemini. She watched the dark twin shift her form once more, this time taking on Pisces’ own visage. The following glimpses made her want to turn away, to bury herself in denial of what she saw.

Dark Gemini, cloaked as Pisces, sought out Aries’ chambers and seduced him, begging for his forgiveness. She whispered lies in the throes of passion, insisting that Scorpio was the true orchestrator behind the turmoil they faced. She begged Aries to spy on the traitor, to feign a betrayal to lure out the truth. Aries was overcome with grief, but despite his rage, he agreed to her requests as one last act of duty before he severed their bond forever.

All the while, the real Scorpio lingered in the shadows, watching in tortured silence as the scene played out before him. The visions shifted once more, and Pisces witnessed a series of fragmented moments—Aries, now convinced of Scorpio's guilt, subduing the real Pisces under Dark Gemini's manipulations. She watched helplessly as he dragged her past self to the dungeons in chains, her own face a mask of confusion and hurt.

Dark Gemini slipped into the darkness of the dungeon, making her move at last. Pisces could only look on in horror as the Scorpio impostor stole the Cerulean Tear from her weakened body, drawing it out from her very soul.

Then she heard her own voice, desperately begging Aries to see through the lie. She had not betrayed him. When his cold silence greeted her, she begged him not to abandon her, to follow her until he could see the truth. But Aries, still believing he was following Pisces’ earlier instructions, played along with Dark Gemini's ruse.

The memories began to fracture and blur, whispers and shadows clashing as Aries fought against his own darker impulses, torn between potent desire and vague pangs of doubt. He watched, unaware, as Dark Gemini, wearing Scorpio's face, infiltrated Pisces’ mind, fracturing her memories and capturing her soul.

Until finally, when the false Scorpio suggested ending her life, Aries intervened in an attempt to save her, knocking Pisces unconscious and hurling her back to the realm of mortals.

The visions collapsed inward, thrashing away from Pisces’ consciousness as quickly as they had enveloped her. She found herself back in Virgo's observatory, trembling and drenched in a cold sweat as the weight of Scorpio's tormented truth settled over her.

Aries' grip on her shoulders tightened, his concerned features swimming into focus as she gasped for air. "Are you alright? What did you see?"

Her gaze found Scorpio's, and in that moment, she understood the anguish burning in his fathomless depths. He wasn’t a player in Dark Gemini’s game. He’d been a bystander, a captive audience forced to witness the unraveling of their reality while unable to intervene in the unfolding of her destiny.

And Dark Gemini...her depraved betrayal knew no bounds.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Squaring her shoulders, she straightened to face Scorpio fully. "I saw the truth," she said, her voice ringing with conviction. "And now I know what must be done to stop Dark Gemini's reign of deception once and for all."

Aries stared at Pisces with mounting concern, his brow furrowed. When she didn't immediately respond to him, he turned his attention to Sagittarius. "Show me," he demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "I need to see what she saw."

Though Sagittarius was clearly reluctant and on the brink of coming undone, there was no dissuading Aries once his mind was set. With a weary sigh, he reached out and pressed his fingers to the ram's temples, reopening the floodgates of Scorpio's anguished memories.

Pisces saw the impact hit Aries like a physical blow—his entire body went rigid, his handsome features contorting in a frantic blend of rage, horror, and gut-wrenching betrayal. When Sagittarius finally broke the connection, Aries staggered back, his chest heaving as if he'd run for miles.

"You..." he snarled, rounding on Scorpio with blistering fury in his dark eyes. "You knew. You saw everything and did nothing!"

Scorpio met Aries’ wrath with unflustered calm, though his amused arrogance was gone. "And what would you have had me do?" he asked, his tone laced with reason and petulance. "Interfere with the fated dances decreed by the cosmos itself? You know this."

"Don't feed me that destined bullshit!" Aries roared, his power crackling around him like an inferno begging to be unleashed. "You're just a coward who was too craven to act!"

Disgust flickered across Sagittarius's features as he looked upon Scorpio. Even gentle Cancer seemed sickened by the revelation of Scorpio's willful inaction in the face of such treachery. As Aries moved to strike, Cancer set forth her calming tide, watching as it settled on the room. With a growl of frustration, Aries narrowed his eyes on her but took his place beside Pisces.

Scorpio remained unmoved, his jaw set in a stubborn line. "I did what I had to do to gather the truth," he stated firmly. "With Dark Gemini's illusions warping reality itself, any overt action on my part could have played right into her twisted schemes. I needed to observe and wait for the right moment to strike."

"The right moment?" Aries echoed incredulously. "While Pisces was being tortured? While her power was stolen?"

Aquarius shook her head at Aries. “There was no good that would come if he intervened. Dark Gemini couldn’t be contained forever. There is a lesson in this for us all.”

Scorpio tilted his head to thank Aquarius. "While I trailed Pisces’ descent to the mortal realm," Scorpio clarified, his obsidian gaze cutting to Pisces. I was the one who appeared before you as the Scorpion on that beach, trying to guide you back to the truth."

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