Disclaimer: Saint Seiya belongs to Masami Kurumada, Toei Animation and Shueshia.
The truth about Aquarius Camus
The gold saints gave their life for Athena at the Wailing Wall. They burned their cosmos to the maximum and perished. But now, a mysterious force has brought them back to life in the cold lands of Asgard. One by one, the saints fell into the white Asgardian snow, thanks to the power of that strange force. The force… of Toei Animation.
Aioros was the first to revive, and he was followed by the rest of the gold saints. Aquarius Camus, one of the most beloved saints by the female fandom, and known as the Ice and Water Wizard, even though he has never used a water attack in his life, revived in the northern lands of Asgard.
"¡Argh! ¡My head!" exclaimed the Aquarian when he regained consciousness after descending on a bunch of sharp rocks which almost brought him back the Underworld for the hundredth time.
He was completely disorientated. He realized that it was not just his head; all his body was in pain. He tried to stand up but he fell once again, so he stayed like that for minutes, just lying on his back, looking at the cloudy Asgardian sky and trying to understand what happened.
"Along with the rest of the saints, we destroyed the Wailing Wall. The explosion was so big that it destroyed us too. I should be dead. May this be the cold hell known as Cocytos?" He couldn't help to think about all the possibilities in his mind. But the pain was so real, the snow smell felt so lively, that it was no doubt he was alive. "Maybe Athena gave us life this time", he thought and he reminded that one time when he was revived by the hand of the Underworld God, Hades.
While the sky was clearing, he started to feel better and he was able to stand up and walk. He was wearing his training clothes, and he found his cloth inside its Pandora Box just a few meters apart from his position. He took it and guided by the stars, he addressed himself to the south. "If this is Earth, I'm sure there's going to be someone around who can tell me where I am", thought the French.
The cold and lifeless landscape reminded him to Siberia, the place where he used to trained. After walking a few hundred meters, he saw the lights of a small town. He was still weak, but he was better compared to the previous moments.
"A village!" he exclaimed. "Without a doubt, this is Earth" he said and started walking faster to reach it.
"Not so fast, Aquarius Camus!" a voice screamed to him from beyond, in the opposite direction of his steps.
Camus turned over to hear it. He didn't recognize it, but its furious tone put him in alert.
All of the sudden, the snow began to fall and the wind started to blow, combined with his headache, it was impossible for him to distinguish who was that person.
"I'm sorry, Camus, but Toei doesn't require your services this time. We have to get rid of you so you don't interfere" said the voice. The man was getting closer, slowly, to the blue-haired.
"What? Toei?" asked Camus to the mysterious man. He certainly heard the rumors: it has been said that Toei is the evil force that hides behind the actions of every single god who tries to conquer the Earth. But they also said that this force was the one who created the saints and their cloths, and there's a god who is above it; the one who controls the threads of the universe. "That's pure legend. Tell me, who are you?" Camus demanded to the young man approaching him.
He was wearing a red armor, matching his fire-red hair. He looked graceful and decided, and he was holding a sword in his right hand. "A saint?" thought Camus looking at the cloth.
"He he he, I'm Eikþyrnir Surt, Asgard God Warrior" he answered with a malicious smile.
"What? A god warrior? Asgard?" the Aquarian tried to process this information so he could act in consequence.
"It's logical that you feel confused. By the time the god warriors appeared in this show, you were already six feet under. And you should remain that way!" he exclaimed and he started to burn his cosmos.
In front of that guy, standing in such a dangerous situation, the protector of the eleventh temple of the zodiac started to burn his cosmos too. Although the situation troubled him, his face didn't show any kind of worry.
"Hum, you always with such a long face," said Surt and added "are you going to attack your dearest, dearest childhood friend?
"Friend? What kind of stupid things are you saying? I don't know you, god warrior, but I'm starting to understand what's going on, and believe me, I won't hesitate in order to finish whoever cross my path."
"Oh? So you understand the situation. So, tell me, what do you think is happening?"
"Just about a moment ago I detected the cosmos of my fellow saints, all of them scattered around these lands of Asgard. I also noticed an evil presence direction south. So one thing is clear: the gold saints must fight together in order to destroy that horrible presence. I'm aware of the god warriors and Asgard. What remains a mystery is the reason why the gold saints were revived to fight. But if these are Athena's orders, I won't hesitate. If you get in my way, that means you're my enemy. So I'll say it once again: I'll finish you without a doubt. Having said that, I'm the kind of person who thinks before the battle. If you want to say something, do it now."
Surt burst into laughter like a child. Aquarius Camus was exactly the way Toei's writers told him: a cold good-looking dude with an overwhelming intellect. Ah, and of course, a guy who likes to talk a lot.
"Wonderful, Aquarius Camus" said the Asgardian while he was trying to stop his laughter. "It's exactly like you said. Looks like you were the one who wrote the script, my dear buddy. But… there's an error in your theory…"
All of the sudden, a cold freezing blast attacked Camus from the back. He was so focused on his battle against Surt that he didn't notice there was someone else nearby the scene. The freezing air made him fall. He was still weak because of the effort made at the Wailing Wall, so he couldn't stand on his feet. But he did listen to a voice that clearly said "diamond dust" right before the impact. Surt came closer to him and said:
"I'll say it once again: Toei doesn't need you. We are tired of this cold, hard and calculating guy. The man that gave his life for his pupil, so he could become stronger and protect Athena. The man that received, one by one, all the attacks of his fellow gold saints, in order to accomplish his mission. The man that gave his life for Athena and the Earth at the Wailing Wall. The man that always thinks before he acts. The man that is kind with his fellows and his pupils even though he doesn't show it. The man who gave wise advices to these pupils so they could turn into real men. The man that wouldn't doubt for a second and give his life to accomplish his duty as a master and as an Athena's Saint. No, we had enough of that Camus. We revived him many times and he always ends up dying and the fans are always flooding in tears. This time, we want a Camus that no one would ever miss once he's death. A new innovative Camus. So, let me introduce you to the new Aquarius Camus: a sentimental and naive guy, full of contradictions, who is carried away by his emotions in battle, someone that puts his life and his past above Athena, the Earth and his duties."
While the red-haired was talking, the other person was coming closer. Camus tried to stand up after the impact.
"But… that's…" the Gallic stammered.
"That's right! Meet Aquarius Camus, your replacement."
The real Aquarian stood up and watched him. "It's me", he thought. He noticed that the false Camus took the Aquarius cloth, which flew away during the attack.
"I don't know what kind of trick is this, but I won't hesitate to destroy you" said the real Camus.
"Well, I'm not supposed to tell you, you know, the terms of agreement with the producer forbid me, but whatever… This is my friend Camus," said Surt pointing at the false ice wizard. "He's nothing but a snowman I created. Toei gave him life, just like Pinocchio! At first, I told them I preferred Lymnades Kasa, but that greedy marina wanted more money that we could afford. Without a doubt, his performance would be excellent! Anyway… from now on, he's my childhood friend. He supposedly killed my sister a while ago, so he feels like he owes me. So he decided to use his new life to help me and protect me. And that means to kill every gold saints here in Asgard. What do you think?" the god warrior asked to the real Ice Wizard.
"That's stupid! I've never heard such a bad plot in my entire life" answered the Aquarian.
"That's what I told them," the redhead continued, "but with the low budget the producers gave to this show… that was the best they could think. Well, enough with the chat, you really like talking."
"You're the one who's been talking all along, you moron" Camus said and added: "That's enough. I can't waste my time with you."
The false Camus, also known as slender Camus, went forward and started to burn his cosmos. All of the sudden, the Aquarius cloth wrapped him.
"Impossible! The cloth!" the real Camus, also known as canon Camus, couldn't believe it.
"I've told you, Toei doesn't need you. The will of the cloth is Toei's will. It will wrap whoever Toei wants" said Surt. He remained a few steps back.
"Toei this, Toei that, I'm tired. You'll see." The canon Aquarian also started to burn his cosmos.
Camus against Camus. Aquarian against Aquarian. It was a true Thousand Days' War.
"Ha! You won't defeat my Camus" said Surt, smiling once again. "His personality it's not the only thing that is different from you. He got something you don't, and that's the key to his victory."
Slender Camus put his hands together and raised them to the sky. He was about to execute the Aurora Execution. Canon Camus did the same. The clash of techniques was about to happen.
"When an Athena's saint decide it, no matter how strong the enemies are, we always reach the miracle."
"Wrong!" the Asgardian shouted. "You said once that, in a battle between two crystal saints, the one who's closer to the absolute zero will win. I'm sorry for you, Camus, but my Camus has something you don't: the absolute zero! Tell him, my friend!"
"Let absolute zero consume you and wait for death to devour you again!" the false Camus exclaimed. "Aurora Execution!"
The canon Camus was completely confused. How dare they? To give the power of the absolute zero to a disgusting replica, while he had to use an air less cooler than that. He responded to the attack, but he couldn't counteract the Aurora Execution of the impostor. His power impacted him. He flew away a couple of meters, and he fell to the ground with his arms and legs completely freezed. He had the same headache he had at the beginning of this story.
Surt and slender Camus came closer. This Camus started to build him a Freezing Coffin.
"As you can see, my friend Camus is stronger. So you have nothing to worry about. Just rest here in the Freezing Coffin for the entire show. If Toei needs you, we'll ask Dohko his sword and bring you back. There is going to be a long line full of people interested in defrosting you. Anyway, your replacement will be melted by the summer. Just hold on a bit, if toys sales are good, you'll be out like nothing happened. Do not expect any kind of love from the audience after this though. I hope you're ready. Rest in peace, Aquarius Camus."
Slender Camus finished the coffin and confined the real Camus there.
And so the story of slender Camus begins, one of the most hated characters ever created by Toei. And we are talking about the same company who created the steel saints and Wolf Haruto.
The false Camus and Surt walked away from the ice coffin and kept talking like two good friends, ready for their great adventure.
THE END
This is my first fic in English. Orthographic errors are possible. I apologize for them and I hope you enjoy the fic. Reviews are welcome.
