"The Oracle has seen the twelve united. War is coming to the Nations. We must prepare for battle."
Zodiac is an ongoing epic EXO AU fic, containing elements of Avatar: The Last Airbender and A Song of Ice and Fire. The plot is that Fire Nation has declared war on the other nations, and a group of twelve Shifters (and a dragon) must find a way to stop them. They don't realise that they are the Twelve from an ancient prophecy.
It is co-written by black_goose
and umberela, and can be found here, although you'll need to go through the Zodiac tag to read the rest of the chapters. There is also a Kai/Kyungsoo side-story written by umberela, the first part of which can be found here.
Zodiac contains examples of:
- All There in the Manual: There is an FAQ which gives some details not in the fic, and both authors answer most questions people throw at them via tumblr or ask-fm. Generally of the buttsex variety.
- Alternate Universe Fic: The twelve members have superpowers similar to those in their debut MV, Mama. The fic is set in a vaguely Last Airbender ish universe, but it's not quite a crossover.
- An Arm and a Leg: Kris loses half of his right arm during battle.
- Assassin Outclassin': An attempt to assassinate the four Head Shifters fails. Xiumin boils one of the would-be assassins alive (see Cruel and Unusual Death below), Chen fries another with lightning and Kai kills the last with his shadow ability. Then subverted as one of them actually managed to stab Kyungsoo in the stomach, although Yixing manages to heal him.
- Badass Crew: The Twelve. Each of them is extremely powerful.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Deconstructed with Kai. His ability is seen as evil, and while Kai definitely isn't evil, he himself believes that his power is tainted and the side-story explores this somewhat.
- Black-and-Gray Morality: On one hand, we have the Fire Nation, who want to take over the other three nations. They destroy their own towns, killing their own people in order to brainwash the most powerful shifter into a misguided Roaring Rampage of Revenge. On the other hand, we have the Air Nation, a bunch of class-obsessed purists who have no qualms about ordering the death of a Head Shifter at the hands of his fellow Head Shifters.
- Blood from the Mouth: Invoked in one of Luhan's visions, with Kai. Although the most likely reason is that Kai had gotten a bad case of the Bleeds.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Chanyeol. The Fire Nation convinced him that the Air Nation killed his family and that Baekhyun betrayed him, in order to get him to fight on their side. Although it's really More than Mind Control seeing as nothing magical is involved
- Cast Herd: A mild example. Suho, Xiumin and Yixing are from the Water Nation, Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chen from the Fire Nation, Kris, Tao and Sehun from the Air Nation, Kyungsoo from the Earth Nation. Also Luhan and Kai, from the Air Nation but with special mutated shifting abilities.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Chanyeol and Baekhyun
- The Chosen One: The Twelve, a long-foretold group of super-powerful shifters who will save the world. Naturally, they don't realise that they are the twelve in the prophecy.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Xiumin boils an assassin alive by superheating the water in his body.
- Cry into Chest: Chanyeol sobs into Baekhyun's shoulder when he sees firsthand the destruction that the Fire Nation caused to his hometown.
- Differently Powered Individual: People with superpowers are called Shifters.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Kyungsoo, the Head Earth Shifter (of a sort, it's actually just a title for the Crown Prince/Princess rather than the most powerful Shifter).
- The Empath: Luhan's powers as an Oracle include being able to see people's emotions in their auras.
- Foil: Luhan to Kai. Luhan's powers are seen as blessed and good whereas Kai's are seen as demonic and evil. Luhan dresses in white, Kai dresses in black. Luhan's powers deal with time and Kai's deal with space. Doesn't stop them from being best friends, though.
- Heroic BSoD: Baekhyun when he hears that the Air Nation wants Chanyeol dead.
- An Ice Person: Xiumin can turn water (even that in human bodies) into ice.
- Ignored Enamored Underling: Xiumin has a crush on Suho. Suho is completely oblivious.
- In-Series Nickname: There are several: Chanyeol is called the Phoenix, Luhan is the Oracle and Kai is the Shadow Walker.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: In the prologue, Chanyeol wakes up because it is too quiet.
- Magic Enhancement: Possibly happened with Yixing, who was suddenly able to heal things he wasn't previously able to, after healing Luhan, who had just gone through some kind of as-yet unexplained magical explosion.
- The Medic: Yixing, by virtue of his healing power.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Chanyeol, after he realises that the others are telling the truth and he sees the burns he inflicted on Baekhyun.
- One-Word Title: Presumably it's named for the twelve people of the prophecy, and the thirteen protagonists, as those are the numbers of constellations in different zodiacs.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Kai's dragon, dubbed Troublemaker by fans.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Shifters who push themselves too hard end up with the Bleeds because their bodies are cracking under the effort of sustaining all the energy. Blood doesn't just come from the nose, it comes from the ears, eyes and mouth. Go too far and your lungs will drown in blood, or you'll hemorrhage and die.
- Pyromaniac: Chanyeol, when he was brainwashed.
- The Quest: Originally, eleven of the twelve set out to find the twelfth Brainwashed and Crazy member and try to bring him onto their side. Once they do... well, currently the characters are kind of sidetracked.
- Recruitment by Rescue: Chen, to the Air Nation's side.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Kyungsoo, after the Air Nation Elders order him to assassinate Chanyeol. Although he is a pretty mild, laid-back character, he stands up to the Elders, takes back the Earth Nation's offer of assistance and storms out. He is then joined by the equally furious Suho and Tao.
- Poisonous Person, Blow You Away: Sehun. His power is that he can draw out all the toxins in the air and concentrate them in one giant poisonous cloud.
- Psychic Powers: Luhan, the Oracle. He can see the future and also has Aura Vision. Sometimes his visions of the future manifest in dreams. More intense visions can cause him to black out.
- Survivor Guilt: Chen, the last Lightning Shifter.
- To Be Lawful or Good: The three Head Shifters on the Air Nation's side (Suho, Kyungsoo and Tao) are ordered to assassinate Chanyeol, the fourth Head Shifter. They refuse because he's not evil, just brainwashed. Also because Baekhyun loves him.
- This Is Unforgivable!: The Head Shifters' reaction to being ordered to assassinate Chanyeol.Tao: I do not understand when it became permissible to order the Head Shifters of a nation around, and I do not know when it became permissible to order the killing of a Head Shifter at the hands of other Head Shifters, but I will not be part of it.
- Took a Level in Badass: Luhan, the most unthreatening member of the Twelve, smashes a statue on the head of a mook who was reaching for him. Then follows it up with a Bond One-Liner:Luhan: What? No one touches the Oracle.
- The Unchosen One: Kai, the Shadow Walker. He was born with a mutation in his shifting ability that gave him the power to teleport and also the power to manipulate shadows.. Due to the Air Nation's extreme mistrust of Shadow Walkers, believing that they were evil incarnate, he was branded and kicked out of the nation.
