Vincent felt everyone was talking about him in his next class. No one would directly talk to him or Will, but seemed to whisper his name to each other. The story got around quick that Vincent had managed to save the snake from whatever celestial powers caused it to be an Aspected.

His last class of the day seemed to drag. He wondered if Lloyd would have gotten him to into trouble somehow with the other head teachers. He began to feel that was right when his class ended and Evans was waiting outside for him. Will said he would catch up with Vincent later to avoid getting in the way.

"News spreads quickly through Apsis. I'm sure you already know that."

Vincent nodded. Evans leaned against the hallway wall. He watched other students walk by. "It's easy for a Libra to whisper news and it reach everyone in no time. Though it might get modified a bit by a Scorpio or a Gemini, it's the Leo's and Taurus who will usually keep the story straight," Evans explained to Vincent. Vincent wasn't exactly sure if that attributed to everyone under those Signs, but he felt he could trust Evans' opinions.

"You've done something no one has seen before in the history of Signed."

Vincent felt his face grow red. He shrugged and looked to the floor. "I was just trying to defeat it like I had seen you or Cole do before."

Evans nodded. "I get that. But now, the game has changed. You've got all the heads and hunters questioning their actions."

"Is it so bad to not defeat them how I did?" Vincent asked.

Evans shrugged. "That can be up to everyone who does it. But there is something I need to tell you. Come with me." Evans pushed off the wall and led Vincent through the crowds. Vincent wondered where Evans was taking him. They began to go down a hallway that was empty. Vincent hadn't noticed the classrooms down this way yet.

"What hall is this?"

"This is an older hall. It really isn't used much anymore. Only for a few labs in the Crystal department."

"So why are we coming down this way?"

Evans pointed to one of the classrooms at the end. "Some of the textbooks in here."

Evans unlocked the door with a set of keys he had on his side. Dust fell from the doorframe as he opened the door. Vincent could already smell the old books and papers that were in the room. They all held an old and dusty smell. Evans walked inside and turned on the light. The classroom lights buzzed and flickered a few times before settling on.

The head teacher moved to the back of the room that was lined with bookcases that Vincent was surprised were still holding up. The wood looked cracked and about to fall apart. Evans thumbed through the books until he settled on one and pulled it from the bookshelf. He tossed the book onto a desk between him and Vincent.

Vincent edged closer to the desk. He read the book title. It just read *Aspected* on the cover. Vincent picked it up and wiped the dust off. He opened the book and almost couldn't believe the first thing he saw. He saw what looked to be a person, of sorts, but they were horrifically transformed with elements that seemed to represent certain Zodiacs.

"What is this?!" Vincent exclaimed.

"That is an Aspected. Just like the animals and insects and whatever creature you might have seen or heard of today. Some Signed have been effected this way."

Vincent couldn't look at the picture anymore. He closed the book and put it on the desk. "So what you're saying is that Hunters have also been hunting Signed too?"

"They aren't Signed when they are like that. They are Aspected. But now you see the issue. If there was any chance to save these people, you bet Apsis was in headstrong towards researching that matter. Nothing brought any luck, so the Hunters kept doing what they had to do. They eventually started to capture and bring them to the forest here. We've been able to protect the world if we can keep them in one place."

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"Why next to the school?" Vincent asked. He was glad to hear that if there were Aspected people out there, they weren't being killed anymore.

"The forest holds special forces for anything Zodiac. Aspected have gathered here for generations. It's partly why the school is here. Not only can we keep a close eye and research the beings, but we can keep them from getting elsewhere and also have a school where it can't be found."

Vincent sat down on one of the chairs. Dust bellowed up around him. He couldn't imagine trying to face an Aspected as a person. The beasts were already terrifying enough.

"I don't want you to mention I showed you this information. The other heads will probably want to talk to you about how you did what you did. I'll be in the observatory. Need to do more research."

"This isn't just some prank right? This doesn't feel real," Vincent told his teacher.

Evans gave a weak smile in return. "Well sorry to make everything more complicated for your new school. I'm sure everything will turn out fine, but I felt you should know. There is a darker side to being Signed."

Vincent watched Evans pick up the textbook and put it back on the shelf. The young teacher than gave him a nod and took his leave. "I am really sorry things have turned around so quickly. I had hopes that this would be a normal school life for you, Vincent."

Vincent shook his head. "I'm sure it will be. Thanks for being there to help."

Evans smiled and then left the dusty classroom. Vincent took a few seconds to gather himself. The image of the person was still in his head. He knew that there had to be something to do about it.

He decided to pull the textbook out again and rip the picture out of the text. He folded the page and slid it into his satchel. Vincent wanted to get Theresa's and Will's opinions on the matter.

Upon leaving the classroom and the old hallway, Vincent was greeted by Lloyd Argo. "We've been looking for you Mr. Wolfe. The head teachers would like to see you now."

Vincent nodded. The Ophiuchus head was intimidating up close. He's eyes seemed to pierce right through Vincent. "Where are they at?"

"The same room from last night. I do hope you remember how to get there."

Before Vincent could answer, Lloyd vanished into the shadows of the hallway nearby. Vincent could see its element in practice more. He wondered what he and other Signed were capable of. He was glad that Will showed him around a bit, so he actually remembered how to get down stairs.

Vincent hurried downstairs to avoid wasting any of the head teachers' time. After a great day so far, Vincent felt like the meeting last night was the distant past. Becoming friends with Will helped him forget his nervousness and loneliness coming to the academy.

The meeting room door already made Vincent begin to feel nervous. The head teachers all seemed to hold so much power. Even though they gave him a heartfelt welcome, he still felt they were wary of his Sign. He was beginning to hope that it wouldn't be long before potentially others with the same Sign would appear.

Vincent entered the room. All twelve of the head teachers sat in their chairs like the first night. Evans was missing.

"Ah, welcome Vincent," Bran told him as soon as he entered.

Vincent nodded and moved further into the room. He sat down in the chair in front of the large table. All the teachers stared at him in silence for a few seconds.

"We do apologize that not all of us could be present. There were some important matters that required Mr. Litwin's attention," the Libra head stated as she let out a sigh.

"Apparently the observatory is more important than our students," Lloyd muttered. A few other of the head teachers gave him a sharp glance, but didn't say anything.

"We wanted to tell you that we find it interesting what you displayed in your first day of combat training," Bran explained. "It's quite a feat of skill to perform something like that. It's unheard of between all other Zodiacs, but we may think that could be for a lack of trying."

Vincent nodded. "I was just doing what felt natural."

All the head teachers also nodded. Bran continued, "We know you haven't been here long, so you might not know all our practices and skills. But I just wanted to bring you here to assure you, we did not aim to destroy the Aspected. We use them for defensive combat training and study."

Vincent nodded and shrugged. "I didn't know about them until yesterday, so I thought they were just monsters."

"In a lot of ways, they are. There is a lot we don't know, but thanks to you, we can further research into how celestial powers effect them. That might require your help in the future, but for now, please resume your school life as you have so far," Bran explained. Lloyd didn't look to happy about it. Vincent nodded and stood up.

"I hope your day has been a great first day at Apsis," Bran added.

"It has, thank you," Vincent replied with a smile. He wasn't lying. Meeting Will and Theresa was great. The classes were interesting and informative. It was the kind of school Vincent had hoped of being at.

The heads all smiled in return and let him leave. After he closed the door, he let out a sigh of relief. That was quicker than he expected. He wondered if that's why Evans didn't show. They seemed to be hiding something. But Vincent believed Evans and the other heads. He knew they weren't killing the Aspected people anymore, probably thinking there was truly a better way. All Vincent knew now is he needed to see what research the observatory had.