AN: Just a oneshot that has been staying on my laptop for a two years or so. As you can see, I finally finished it! YIPEEEE!
This is one of my favorite mangas so I was bound to write a fic about it. Hope the ending wasn't to horrible or the story itself.
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the manga/anime Saint Seiya, also known as Knights of the Zodiac.
Tidbit: Since this fandom is more liked in French, so I may translate this story one day. If someone wants to give it a go before I do, then please contact me. There will be no sequel whatsoever.
Summary: They are both on opposite sides. Both have siblings that, due to Fate, are the leaders of the opposite camp. Chance brought them together, Destiny helped them realize a plan so desperate that they did not know if it would work. An Enemy bridges two times and the Future is as blurry as the Present. Who is an ally? Who is an enemy?
Can an alliance between two camps in a long feud truly happen?
Read, see and review.
Word-count: 14, 154 words in total.
Future chibi Gods
The girl finally found him. Her master was in the midst of enemy territory. At least, for the moment, no one would kill him.
With great care, the teenager grabbed a bag filled with baby products that was laying there on the table — the baby's caretaker's no doubt — and gently lifted her master from the crib. Until the moment he would awake, she would raise him to the best of her abilities.
Quietly, she turned around to leave the one-room cabin. Whoever the owner was, she knew he (or she) would come back soon. Besides, she had another baby to take care of … her own little sister.
As she approached the door, a baby's wail was heard just on the other side as the doorknob turned. Tensing, she placed herself in the middle of the room, ready for the person to come in.
It was the occupant of this house that walked through the door and he was holding her baby sister!
The boy — no, he was slightly older than her so than the man — was startled by her presence. Shielding her sister from her, he prepared himself for an attack. The only thing stopping him was the baby in her arms.
"Who are you? What are you doing with my brother?" The man demanded.
"Your brother? I can ask you the same thing for my sister." It was then she noticed the box on his back. How she did not see it before, she wondered, for it's color was bright gold with the gemini symbol on it's flank. "A golden saint!" She hissed in muted horror. How could her master share the blood of a Saint? Preposterous!
The man readied himself for an attack. "Once again, who are you and what are you doing with my brother?"
"Your brother is the future incarnation of my lord Hades. I am his humble servant Pandora. Now, will you answer what you are doing with my own sister?"
"She is the incarnation of my lady Athena. As for I, I am the Golden Gemini Saint."
They looked at each other, staring hard at their natural enemy. Finally, as if by some invisible signal, their forms relaxed as the tension bleeded from between them. The news of each others siblings' purpose was a bit shocking.
"Athena's reincarnation?" echoed with "Hades' reincarnation?" in the air. They both understood what was at stake here.
The man gestured to the girl, nearly a woman, to sit on a chair next to her as he strode towards the opposite chair.
"It would seem that we have a problem." Thoughts and images churned in his mind and he sought to regain his balance. He knew his mission's perimeters: to find Athena and kill Hades before he could grow old enough. He fulfilled the first objective, but how could he do the second?
"Master of the understatement, don't you think?" This was a disaster. If she had known what would happen, she would have fled with her sister somewhere safe, her destiny be damned.
"Look, we both have to serve our masters and protect our siblings. I don't know about you, but Karan is my only family left. I swore at my mother's deathbed that I would take care of him at all cost."
Her eyes softened. His situation was parallel to hers. "It is the same for Alessa and I. So, what do we do? I know that the Saints will protect my sister, but then, in the distant future, I will have to fight her and destroy her as my Lord commands. The same can be said for you. Us specters will die before your brother gets harmed, but then you will be force to fight him sooner or later. Not to mention the fact that we want to be in our respective siblings lives. Do correct me if I am wrong."
"No, you are exactly right. But what can we do?" Time ticked by in the night as the try to come up with a solution. For now, Pandora and Karan were safe in the Saint's home since nobody in Sanctuary was yet aware that he had returned from his mission.
Finally, as if graced by Athena's wisdom, the saint proposed a possible yet incredible solution. "We could both run away from our duties. Take our siblings somewhere and raise them as family together. Then, maybe, if the gods awake, they wouldn't want to fight each other since they have a family-bond. Without the interference of the other warriors, they wouldn't feel oblige to fight each other. It would also allow us to watch over our Lord and Lady without fear for our biological sibling."
She pondered on it, trying to find fault in the logic. "It could work." She slowly began. "But where could we go? We do not only have to hide from the Saints but also from the Specters. If one of them is aware of our whereabouts, the other will be aware very soon. Moreover, we barely know each other. How would we know if living together could be possible?"
"That's easily arrange. My name is Korban of Gemini, blood type B, born on May 29th, favorite food is spaghetti, favorite color is orange and most treasured possession is my brother. You?" Korban extended a hand.
She chuckled slightly and shook it. "My name is Adelina Contiello, blood type O, born on June 13th, favorite foods are anything with chocolate, favorite color is dark purple and my most treasured possession is my sister."
"Now that thats out of the way, let try to think of a possible place to hide. Nowhere near the sanctuary, so Greece is excluded and not in the country that Hades' castle is."
"Which would be Italy then."
As they tried to think of something, dawn started to appear outside as both babies stirred awake. In tandem, the two warriors worked together to feed the babies, burp them and place them in Karan's crib so that they may sleep at the moment.
"Listen," began Korban, "it's been a long night for both of us. Why don't you sleep here while we think of a solution. Right now, nobody knows that I've found Athena and who my brother is. Let's pretend, for the next couple of days, that you are someone that I met during my travels who will take care of Karan while I'm away. This way, we can think of something."
Adelina smiled timidly, tiredness showing through her eyes as she relaxed. "Thank you. But won't I be imposing?"
"Nonsense, Adelina. In a way, the others would think that I have finally found someone and that I can be more devoted to my search since I won't have to worry about my baby brother. Why don't you take the bed tonight while I'll take the floor." Seeing that she was about to protest, he raised a hand to stop her. "I am due to see the Pope in a couple of hours so it would be terribly rude on my part to let you sleep on the floor while the bed will be free later on. Which reminds me, where are you staying so that we can get the rest of your stuff?"
She pointed towards a bag next to the door. "I was about to leave as soon as I had taken Karan. Is it normal for him to be all alone at night? I've been watching him for the past week and while somebody takes care of him during the day, she usually leaves two nights out of three."
Korban's face took a thunderous look. "No, it is not normal. But it will help us for the pretense that you are staying with me. The girl is a friend of mine and I thought that I could trust her."
"Then you won't mind if I give her a piece of my mind?" If anyone had done the same for her sister, she would have been more livid than livid. Her connection with her Lord also helped influence her feelings of anger towards that mere mortal who couldn't take properly care of a child.
"Go right ahead the next time you see her." He went towards a chest where he stored spare blankets in case one of his fellow knights got to intoxicated and couldn't go back to the Sanctuary.
"I'll see you later if you don't wake up before I leave."
"Of course. Good night Korban."
"Good night Adelina."
— X —
Only five hours passed before Korban left for his trek towards the Sanctuary. He wasted a couple of minutes staring at Karan. If he hadn't rushed home, he may have missed Adelina and never see his baby brother again. It motivated him further to make sure that nobody suspected who his guests were.
As he approached the gates, sentinels warned the Pope who was arriving. It didn't take long for the Gemini Saint to pass through the gates and start the long climbing of the stairs. Luckily for him, the others were either away on missions, training somewhere else or sleeping.
It was still a peaceful time so there was little to no chance of an attack. Less of a chance in the future if all went according to the plan the two soon-to-be-former-enemies have cooked up together.
Seeing the Grand Temple, Korban accelerated his pace. He was wondering what the women in his cabin was doing. Right now, they were in the same boat and he somehow trusted her to stay in the same place when he returned. Just as she trusted him not to betray her.
Adelina was a beautiful women but not in the standards of universal beauty. The little he saw from yesterday gave him buckets of information. The first image that he saw, when he had entered his home, was how noble she looked. Pale ivory skin, long brown hair that was braided and attached to a green ring at the end, blue-green eyes that held the knowledge of hardship. She was average in hight, but nonetheless graceful and determined. He did not miss the fact that she had shielded Karan with her body as soon as he had entered, just as he did for Alessa.
Standing before the double doors that led to the throne room, the Gemini Saint cleared his mind so that he may have all his wit with him. He was about the first treason of the many to come. But his goal was noble and he was sure that the Goddess Athena would be by his side.
He waited before he was signal to enter. In the room stood Grand Pope Santino with the Leo Golden Saint Levon. The Grand Pope gestured Korban to come closer. "I was expecting you tomorrow in the afternoon. What bring you home so quickly?"
Kneeling, the Gemini Saint hoped that the little white lie would work. "I recently met someone during my travels in Italy with whom I fell in love with. She is an orphan and needed work. Since I'm still in the stage of wooing her, I offered her a job of taking care of Karan. We arrived last night and luckily too."
"Why is that Korban?" Levon wondered. He liked little Karan and would hate for something to happen to him. He and Korban were best friends since they joined sanctuary, he was put down as Karan's guardian in case anything happened to Korban.
"It would seem that Lily, the girl that was suppose to take care of Karan, hasn't been staying more that two nights out of three at my house. Karan was all alone when we arrived there, wet, hungry and crying." Seeing Levon's angry face, the Gemini Saint added. "Don't worry about him, my younger brother is alright. But I pity Lily."
"Pity her? Why should you? She left a child on his own without any surveillance! And at night too!" Levon couldn't wait for his next outing with the rest of the Saints. That girl wouldn't know what hit her.
"Adelina is going to take care of that. You should have seen her angry face once she realized nobody was there. Which is why I would like to go back as soon as possible, before a murder occurs."
"Just give me a brief summary of your mission. I'll expect a more detailed written report later." Santino demanded. He too held a special spot for Karan. After all, Korban would sometimes bring him to the Sanctuary and show his baby brother to every person he could see.
"Sir! After going through every square of Italy, I have the bad news to announce that the rumors about Athena being there are false. A young girl that could match the description did live in the Pollino mountains, however, due to a sickness, her whole village was wiped out. No survivors could be confirmed at the present moment."
"I see. Thank you Korban. You may go back to your brother and this girl, Adelina was it?"
"Yes sir. Adelina Contiello."
"You may also join him Levon. I hope that the others will have better news."
"Sir." Both Saints rose at the same time and left the chamber.
"So, let's go meet this mysterious girl who has captured your heart, Korban."
Korban wish that he could find a way to warn Adelina to play along with the scheme that was about to be put to the test for the first time.
— X —
As the two Saints approached the small village where the Gemini Saint lived, they could see a small crowd being gathered around the cabin. Raised voices drifted towards their hearings, high pitched ones that were those of women. With one glance, they broke into a slight jog.
The crowd, catching sight of owner of the home, clad in his armor with another Saint with him, parted to let him through. "What's going on?" Demanded Korban.
One of his neighbors, an old man, informed him that the neighbors were woken up once again, by Karan's cries, only to be surprised that another baby joined in and the singing of someone that wasn't Lily.
Wanting to know what was going on, he and some other neighbors went and saw this stranger taking care of the babies. Being the curious and well-intended people they were, they started to ask her questions. Not only did she responded with satisfaction, but she also did her duties as a good host and invited them in to sit their weary bones down.
Two hours later, Lily came up to the cabin, whistling and skipping in happiness, only to be greeted by some harsh choices of words from Adelina. Not understanding why she was being treated as such by a stranger, she argued back. It's being going on for a couple of minutes before Korban came back.
Levon, while listening in with a distracted ear, was looking very please at Adelina's verbal cut-down of Lily while keeping her tone calm and dignified. Seeing that Lily was about to strike the other girl, who was unable to defend herself, due to having two babies in her arms, he started forward to intervene only to be overcome by Korban who had already stopped the hand from transcending.
"Lily." He warned. "Why are you making a spectacle of yourself?"
"But Korban," she whined, "this, … this crazy-women is taking care of your brother and proceeded to insult me as soon as a I arrived at your home to take care of Korban."
"This crazy-women, as you put it, is Adelina. I met her during my travels and she agreed to take care of Korban as long as she can take her younger sister with her. We were both incensed when we arrived last night only to see Korban all alone. Would you mind explaining yourself?"
"It was only one night."
"Can anyone confirmed that?" Looking at his other neighbors, Lily saw that everyone was shaking their heads. "As you can see, this was not the first time you left my precious younger brother all alone. Don't worry, I won't be needing of your services in the future and you can expect a "warm recommendation" from me for anyone who need your so-called babysitter skills."
Lily fled in tears as the rest of the village gossiped as to what had happened. Approaching Korban, Adelina brought Karan for him to take. "Welcome back. I didn't know if you would be back for lunch or not but there is food if your hungry."
"Thank you Adelina. This is my friend Levon. Will there be enough for him to eat with us too?"
Levon smiled as he brought his hand up in greeting before kissing delicately the wrist. "Pleasure to meet you. Levon of Leo and Karan's guardian if something were to happen to him."
Keeping the same composure, she answered pleasantly. "Pleasure. My name is Adelina Contiello and this is my younger sister Alessa. Come on in. I hope you guys like crêpes since that's what I made."
"Crêpes will be perfect, thank you."
Both men entered the one-room filled with the delicious smells of crêpes and béchamel sauce along with the mixture of thyme and rosemary. Carrots and sweet peas would sometimes join the concerto of aroma and the warm whiff of apple pie joined in soon after.
"How did you make all that in such a short time?" Levon wondered.
"Well, while I was talking with the neighbors, I thought that you may be coming back for noon since you only came back yesterday. The wives were awfully helpful in giving me advice on how to improve my recipe during my cooking. You wouldn't know the reason why, would you?"
Korban blushed slightly and answered while rubbing the back of his head. "I can't cook to save my life so they help me by preparing some dishes and I would do some heavy work in exchange."
The babies began to fuss a bit and Levon was treated to the scene of Adelina taking care of both of them while humming a song. The best part was his best friend utterly smitten look as Korban watched Adelina do her work. Some teasing opportunities were to arrive. If all went well, then the Gemini Saint would have a family to go home too. A family composed of his siblings and — hopefully — his own children later on.
When comparing the two of them, he could see that they would go well together in the physical sense already. Korban's light copper hair and dark brown eyes complimented Adelina's dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. While Adelina had pale ivory skin, his friend had a tanned look from being outside for a long time. He was tall while she slightly shorter than him. Both held grace when they moved around, and both held the same shining light when their eyes laid upon their younger sibling.
All that he hoped was that their personalities would work together of else, their love could be doomed from the start. The Lion Saint sent a small prayer to Aphrodite and Eros for the couple to be together.
After eating well, he bid his goodbyes and left to go back towards the Sanctuary. He had some gossip to spread among the Golden Saints so that they can make sure that the couple would be a couple and stay as a couple.
Seeing his friend walk away, Korban turned towards Pandora's incarnation. "Thank you for not attacking Levon."
She bustled around while cleaning. "I only hate Saints since you guys want to kill my Lord Hades. If making friends with Saints will protect him, then I have no problem. So, what's the story you gave the Pope?"
"That you are a young woman that I have fallen in love with and that you are going to take care of Karan while I am away. As for Athena, I said that a girl that could have been her died in a village wiped out by a disease in the mountains of Pollino."
"Understood, I'll stick to it. Now, let's get to work on planning our great escape." The table was cleaned apart from a couple of rolls of paper and writing utensils that laid. The children were asleep for their nap in the crib, curled around each other with Karan protecting Alessa. The two older teens stared a bit in wonder and joy.
The scene in front of them only reinforced their vows to want to protect them and raise them together.
Sitting down in front of each other, they started to list the possible locations where they would be safe.
The next couple of days would be crucial for the future to be created on the way they wanted.
— X —
"No, no, no! I refuse to go!" cried out a red-headed boy.
"Really Kiki. It's nothing bad, just your annually check-up." Mu tried to reason his apprentice. "The Sanctuary's doctors are either sick or retired and the Princess has graciously contacted her own personal doctor for you to do your check-up here in Sanctuary. So stop acting like a spoiled brat and come on or we'll be late."
Seeing that Kiki was about to teleport himself out — forgetting that it was impossible due to Athena's shield —, Mu grabbed the red-head by the collar and started to drag the young boy towards the entrance.
By some bizarre twist of fortune, the three out of four doctors for Sanctuary had all become sick and the last one had retired for the past six months. Seeing the urgency of having a doctor at Sanctuary, Saori had flew from Japan her personal physician that she had been seeing for seven years. The physician in question agreed to stay in Sanctuary as long as the family could join as well. After all, they didn't know how long she was going to stay
Grand Pope Shion agreed after Saori told him that the doctor was trustworthy.
So the doctor was due for today, and the first thing on the agenda was for Kiki to have his check-up with up-to-date shots to boot. If, and only if, the Golden Saint of Aries could bring his apprentice to the room. Something easier to say then to do, what with the flaying of arms and the telekinetic powers straining against their buckling bindings.
Finally, after much struggling, huffing and numerous failed escapes, Mu and Kiki were in the waiting room with Saga and Shun. The last two had, somehow, been roped by the amor-repairer into bringing in the wayward Atlante kid. As they waited for the doctor to finish with the last patient, Mu, already highly tensed from stopping Kiki from leaving the Cabin, jumped as the a running sound was heard coming towards them. Two children came running in while laughing and chasing one another. They stopped once they saw that the room was occupied.
"I'm sorry. We didn't know that there will be someone else here." The boy broke the silence.
Shun responded kindly. "That's alright. We were a bit late in bringing Kiki here." He indicated the red-head that was doing a majestic pout.
The girl came near Kiki. "You don't have to be afraid of the doctor. Doctor Foras is one of the nicest person you could ask for." Seeing that Kiki wasn't going to get out of his pout while continuing on the subject, the girl talked about something else. "My name is Alessa and this is my twin, Karan. What's your name?"
The knights were startled. The children didn't look like twins. Saga, especially, was suspicious since he too had a twin. The only possibility was that they were fraternal twins, but that was a bit extreme since the boy was vastly different then the girl. While one had light copper hair, the other had light brown hair, both had slightly tanned skin but one had a more Mediterranean look then the other, the boy was slightly taller than the girl, … all small differences. But the biggest one of them all was the eyes. Karan had dark brown while Alessa had blue-green.
"Mine's Kiki." Came the reply that broke the musing of the adults. "You guys don't look like twins."
Mu despaired at the impoliteness of his student. Sometimes, if it wasn't embarrassing for a knight to do it, he just wanted to face-palm.
Karan laughed. "That would be normal. We aren't really twins. We aren't really related by blood. My older brother and her older sister are together, raising us as a family since both of our parents are dead. The irony is that we are both born on the same day, April 1st, which would make us an Aries."
That would explain the physical differences. But still, they must have been really young for the children to introduce themselves as twins.
The door opened as a guard left, his right arm in a cast. "Thank you very much Doctor."
A female voice came through the door. "Take good care of yourself. I will be expecting you in six weeks for a check-up."
"Yes ma'am." The guard saluted the knights with his un-injured arm as he left the room.
A women, looking a lot like Alessa, walked into the waiting room. "Kiki of Aries?"
"That will be my student." Mu replied. "Come on Kiki."
The young boy still wasn't moving from his spot from where had been forced. "No, I won't."
The women laughed. "I see. You are exactly like Karan when it's his time. It must be a Ram trait, right Sir Knight?"
"Come on Mom. I'm not that bad." Said boy whined. "It's Alessa who is worst then I am."
"No I'm not."
Diffusing an argument before it could begin, the doctor intervened. "Exactly as I said, it's a Ram characteristics for younger kids. It's normal that Kiki would be afraid to see me. After all, I'm a complete stranger." She approached the young boy. "Come on. I don't bite."
"I don't know. You can be pretty mean when you want to." Another voice joked, before Kiki could reply.
"Papa!" The two children exclaimed as they ran towards the newcomer. He crouched down as they leapt into his arms. Alessa continued, once she and her brother were firmly seated on their dad's side. "We thought that you wouldn't arrive until next week."
"That was suppose to be the plan. But my boss let me leave early and told me that I would still have my job once this was over. I still can't understand why, at the mere mention of Miss Kido's name, he gave me an unlimited sabbatical." Seeing the occupants of the room, the man introduced himself. "Korban Foras, Adelina's husband. If I had a free hand, I would shake yours, but I think you can see the circumstances."
"Not a problem." Saga told the man good-naturally. "At least I know know whose face to place on the names of the new occupants at Sanctuary. Golden Saint Gemini Saga, pleasure to meet you." The Golden Saint missed the slight tremor of surprise from Korban at the mention of his title. Shun, however, did not. Yet, he thought that Korban may have old rumors about Saga before his redemption.
"Bronze Saint Andromeda Shun." The youngest adult introduced himself.
"And I'm the Golden Saint Aries Mu."
"A pleasure." Korban turned to his wife. "Is your day nearly over or should the kids and I go home?
"Only one more person and we can all go home." She turned back to Kiki. "Come on. It will be over before you know it."
Seeing that his possible allies were occupied and that he was outnumbered five-to-one, Kiki finally agreed to do his check-up. True to her words, the examination went quickly. A very happy Kiki left the room as no shots were to be administrated until next year. Alessa and Karan were playing together happily, not to far from their dad whom was having a lively discussion with the three Saints about pacifism versus aggressive negotiations.
Seeing his wife, Korban smiled as she walked towards him, before kissing her on the forehead. Turning back to three man, Korban told them as he shook each of their hands. "Gentleman, it was a pleasure talking with you. I hope that you will come to out little home-warming party that will be on Friday night."
"Of course." Saga told the couple. "It would be foolish to not be on the good side of the one who will be healing us."
They all laughed lightly. Then, going in separate directions, they went back to their respective Temples/Homes.
So far, the Foras seemed like a nice family. But somehow, Saga and Shun felt that something was amiss with the couple. Saga got the impression that he should, one way or another, know Korban, while Shun sensed something like kinship with Adelina. But not as a knight, but rather from Hades point of view. The green-haired man will be having a chat with the vessel-made body of Hades.
— X —
Three months passes ever since their first encounter. Three months in which Adelina met every Gold Saint who just happened to "pass by and see the person who was taking care of Karan". Korban had left twice for about a week in the search of Athena hence the visits of the other Saints.
When she wasn't taking care of the children, Adelina would search through the books of the Underworld's Great Libraries — taking as many as she would dare when Korban was watching the kids — in search of a solution. Only one appeared that was both suicidal and ingenious.
The solution? Time travel. One of the most unusual, impractical and difficult to achieve things possible. Defying the laws of physics was easy for a Saint and a Specter, but the "how" was the most difficult problem.
One night, Adelina literally stumbled across the solution. And she meant it. After putting the children to bed — Korban had somehow made Yvan, the Cancer Saint, carve a new crib for Alessa, Adelina wasn't going to ask — she nearly fallen to the floor if the Gemini hadn't caught her.
"Are you alright Adelina?" Korban asked the italian woman.
"I am, thank you." She may have started to warm up to the guy, but he was still the enemy. Traditions were hard to break after all even if he acted more like a little kid then a Saint — or what she perceived as one."I tripped on some…" She looked at the book. The cover had a title in ancient Greek, something she knew as Pandora's incarnation. But it wasn't the title itself that was interesting, but what was on the cover itself. The sickle of time … Kronos' symbol. But of course, the solution was so simple! Pray to the God of Time himself. She had heard about this book but had never actually seen it.
"Adelina? What's wrong?" The Greek asked her, slightly concerned at the woman's silence.
"I think that I have found the way for us to go back in time." She showed him the book. "I don't know how it came into out possessions but I am thankful that I tripped over it." Skimming the pages, her face brightened. "Here we go. If this wasn't fate that I don't know what is."
Putting the book in Korban's hands, she pointed at the section that was interesting. "If this book wasn't made for our situation, then call me a chicken."
"Chicken." The Saint joked. He evaded a mock swipe from the young woman in front of him.
"Be serious." She scolded him. He grinned at her in that endearing childish sort of way. "Anyway, do you know which god is in this book?" Seeing the blank look, she sighed dejectedly. "Kronos, that's who."
"The titan?"
"No, that's Chronos with a C, I'm talking about the one with a K, the God of Time and Space. This book is one of the rare three books about how to invoke him."
"And what got you so happy with the passage you have given me. I'm not sure if you noticed, but it's in Ancient Greek and I don't read that."
Adelina flushed, embarrassed. "Sorry, I assumed that you did. To sum up, the ritual here doesn't need a sacrifice like the others I scanned through."
"Where's the catch?" Came Korban's interruption.
"Something that will make you laugh: the cooperation of two enemies who can manipulate dimensions."
Pregnant pause. Then. "I still don't get it. I mean, I know that I am one of the manipulators of Dimension, but I haven't heard of a Specter who can."
Snort. "Of course you wouldn't have. It's a well-guarded secret even if you could have found out about it through logic. At the very least, Athena would have since she is the Goddess of Wisdom." Seeing the Saint's puzzled face, Pandora's incarnation tried not to sigh out loud. "Alright, answer me a question, where is the Underworld?"
"Underneath the Earth, right?"
"Yes and no. You see, the location is underneath the Earth, but then, we wouldn't have enough space for the nine circles of Hell, Elysion and other prisons. Not to mention we host thousands of billions of souls with very few who agree the reincarnate unless a hundred years has past minimum. Hence, the Underworld is actually in another dimension. With me so far?"
"Yes I do. So, every Specter can jump between dimensions even if they don't know it?"
"You got it one. Next, in order to move large portions of the army, as well as being the strongest, the three Judges and I can manipulate dimensions like you."
The teenager could hear the lightbulb ping as the Saint in front of her finally got why the ritual was ironic. He stated. "The ritual looks like it was tailored made for us, isn't it? Since I'm a Saint and you are Pandora, we can manipulate space, therefore time, right?"
"Yup. Now, the only thing we have to do is plan "when" we will be, "what" will we do and "how" should we join the past."
"That's the easy part. The most difficult part is done. I'll take care of supplies and the History part while you'll make double-check for the supplies and think of a cover story for us. Does that sound good?"
"Of course. How will you take care of the History part?"
Korban grimaced slightly. This wasn't one of the proudest traits in a Gemini Saint. "I think you heard about the double personality of most Gemini Saints, right?"
"I may have heard one or two rumors concerning that." Translation: it was one of the most known rumors in the Underworld. It was well known that if you see the reverse colors of the Gemini Saint, than run as fast as possible from his Yami personality.
"Yeah, well, one of my predecessors, Gemini Saga, during his brief stint as the Grand Pope, copied down every single event that passed during the two hundred years before he came as well as the present ones." Seeing her skeptical face, he pursued on. "He was trying to limit to a maximum his evil personality, hence copying down something as boring as historical events. Seeing that it worked, he taught his apprentice to do the same as it continued down for every Gemini Saint. We have about over six hundred years of history. Somewhere in there, we could find a good period to live."
"Well, since you have the advantage, I'll leave it to you."
"Alright." The young man jumped up and down like a child. A drastic contrast with the more 'serious' personality that she had been talking to for the past three months. "I'll find us a nice period, so no worries."
"I won't. If there is one thing that I am sure is that concerning your brother's and my sister's wellbeing, you will do everything in your power so that they are happy."
They both grinned at the common trait that they shared. Wariness and distrustfulness could be bypassed by two enemies if they shared a common goal.
That night was the first of many nights before they left their time. But before that, they had some planning to do in order to not arrive blind and empty-handed into a past that they didn't know.
— X —
For the next couple of months, the Foras made a place for themselves in the midst of Sanctuary's life. While Adelina soon had some help from the apprentices, her reputation as a good doctor made it easier for those who were injured to go to the Healing Cabin. Easier for some, but even more deadly for others.
It should be noted that her reputation as a deadly hunter for the injured surpassed even the fame of Specters. If there was even a whisper of an injury that the young women believed to be true, and that the culprit hadn't come for it to heal, than woe it be the poor injured fool. Somehow, the memo didn't reach the five Divine Saints, Milo, Aiolia and Aiolos — the last two whom mainly forgot most of the time. It was becoming an usual occurrence to see one of the eight Saints tiptoeing around Sanctuary with Doctor Foras, channeling a bloodhound, marching after them.
Alessa and Karan could be seen most of the time with Kiki. A deadly combination that was worst than Milo on a sugar-rush. Not one day passed without minimal two Saints being victims of two to three pranks. Milo got hit the worse since he tried to retaliate, enrolling the aid of Aiolia and Aiolos in his prank war. Weirdly, the Golden Sagittarius Saint was one of the only adults that the children would listen to as well as being a prank-rival.
The list of adults they would listen to wasn't quite short, but the list of the adults that they would absolutely listen to could be resumed to five names: Mu, Adelina, Korban, Shun and Saga. If either of the older men, plus woman, ordered them something, the children wouldn't even question the orders and do so obediently.
Despite that, Saga and Shun still felt as if something was wrong with the family. Especially the children. They felt familiar, yet, they couldn't be at the same time. Talking with each other about it brought out a duality with the informations that they perceived.
Karan had the aura of a Gemini, like any Saint family members that are linked. Yet he felt like Shun, that is to say, like the host of Hades. The worse part was that only Saga and Shun could feel it since they had a close link to the information. Kanon and Ikki confirmed what their sibling felt but they weren't a hundred percent sure.
Alessa had the aura of a Specter, or someone linked to a Specter. Most likely Pandora, Hades had told Shun when both men met up and talked. On the other hand, Saga felt as if the young girl was Athena incarnation. He should know after trying to kill baby Saori, not something you would forget easily.
Looking at the parents, the two Saints felt a sort-of … kinship with each of them. If Saga wasn't the current Gemini Saint, he would have thought that Korban was the Gemini Saint. Yet, the way the man acted, one wouldn't have thought that he had the training of a Saint, except for the few times where the brunet would 'accidentally' do something that echoed with Saga's personality. As for the missus, Ikki and Shun thought that Pandora was near them a couple of times. How could that be possible since Sandra — the current incarnation of Pandora — would visit them from time to time?
Something wasn't right with this family, yet it wasn't something bad per say. They weren't menacing, they weren't doing something that would endanger Sanctuary or Athena. Alessa had even worked for Saori as her personal physician for seven years. The Graude Foundation wouldn't have let some person with bad intentions be the personal physician of their President.
On top of that, nobody except for Saga and Shun actively felt that there was something wrong. Ikki and Kanon agreed after their brothers pointed out the thing. Athena and Hades didn't feel something wrong with the new family. On the contrary, they felt something right with the family.
That was food for thought at the very least. What the future would bring might give them clues about why the Saints felt something different with the doctor and her family.
Little did they know that the future would give them the answers they were looking for.
— X —
The past few months were calm except for the suspicions of Andromeda and Gemini.
Then, a new enemy appeared. One that was supposedly to be asleep for another two hundred years or so: the titan Chronos! In less than a couple of weeks, Saints would disappear after loosing their battle. No one has returned to confirm whether the prisoners were dead or alive. Saori felt her Saints alive yet many clues from the battleground pointed for them to be dead. The major clue was that no Cosmos of the fallen Saints couldn't be felt. As if they were dead!
Poseidon and Hades rushed towards Sanctuary for a War Council in order for the Grand Alliance to fight against this enemy.
The Grand Alliance was a Peace Treaty that the current Athena, the current Poseidon and the current Hades have devised in this time and age. Since Saori proved to be superior in power — not to mention that Hades previous host was loyal to Athena and Julian Solo had a business empire to run — the only thing that could be possible was the treaty that would end at the next incarnation of the gods.
Chronos' forces clashed against Marinas, Specters and the rest of the Saints at Sanctuary. The Alliance fought hard but were defeated by the Titan's army. The Holy Lands of Athena were invaded by the Monsters, the Titan's name for his warriors, and everyone was imprisoned in the dungeons of the Tartarus in the uncharted part in the Underworld.
Chronos, in a rare show of clairvoyance, had taken every Saint, Specter and Marina alive in order to sacrifice them to the Royal Eclipse. A complete Eclipse that would cover the world in darkness for forty-eight hours and that would appear every ten thousand years. The phenomena in itself was unheard of for mere mortals, but the Titan had saw it many times and used its powers to overthrow his father Ouranos the day he had fought him.
The Defenders of Earth had fallen for the first time against those of Evil. The only lining of hope was if the warriors could find a way to escape from dungeons before the Eclipse. If they could not, then their lives would be sacrificed to boost the powers of the Royal Eclipse thus the world would be dominated by the shadows until the next Royal Eclipse. On top of that, if the opposing faction does not have the same number of lives to sacrifice as Chronos did, then they wouldn't be able to host the power of the Eclipse. In other words, it would never happen.
Each cell held ten prisoners each, mixing everybody ranging from apprentice to warrior from every faction. Only one cell held the three incarnations of the gods, their powers bonded as well as the Karan and Alessa. Next to them was a cell that held Sandra, Saga, Shun, Shion, Kanon, Sorrento, Aiolos, Seiya and the Foras.
Adelina looked furious at where the guards had left. She was mumbling something that her husband was the only one to catch. From time to time, a wince would cross his face at a particular word that would be uttered, probably a curse. Seeing that she wasn't going to stop soon, Korban did the only thing a desperate man/husband/head of family would have done in his position. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that this would happen."
He hadn't know that he spoke slightly to loudly, making his 'neighbors' hear what he had said. They perked up to gain some information on the strange sentence. Saga and Shun creeping as near as possible to be at the forefront in order to obtain a bit more insight on this strange family.
Adelina's response was equally weird in itself. "It would mean that either we caused a butterfly effect or that it was something that was forgotten. In any case, this isn't your fault since you did determine the best possible time." Her voice was calm and soothing when she talked to her husband. An inkling of darkness behind her voice that grew when she said. "It is Chronos' fault and he will wish that he has never crossed paths with me."
"You mean us. Don't think that I will let you take revenge on your own. So, you seem to know the territory."
"That would be normal, after all, this place was charted two hundred years ago and is now considered as Pandora's domain, just like the Judges have their own. "
Sandra looked startled. "I'm sorry, what?" She demanded, cutting in the 'private' conversation. "I wasn't aware that Pandora had her own territory. I wasn't even aware that this part of the Tartarus had been charted and certainly not during the last Holy War."
Adelina winced slightly at the slip of the tongue. "Sorry, it will be then. But forget that, the bottom line is that I know the territory and can navigate through it. Hence, I can find an exit if need be."
By her lord, seven years down the drain after a slip of the tongue.
"It will be then?" Echoed Shun. "Adelina, what do you mean by that?"
Saga chimed in. "Not to mention a lot of little things that are contradictory. For example, Korban, you and Karan both have the aura of a Gemini Saint. At the same time, Karan feels like Hades. The same could be said for Alessa, except, she feels like Athena, while you, Adelina, have the aura like Sandra here."
"These are only the few major things that Saga and I have noticed." Shun continued on smoothly. "We knew that you wouldn't hurt Miss Saori so we didn't say anything. But now, …"
"… things have changed and you need answers, right?" Karan interrupted.
The couple looked at each other. Then, surprising everyone in the cell, they started to communicate with each other using Cosmos, very familiar Cosmos to boot. They had seemed to reach a conclusion since Karan began to explain what was happening.
"You are right, there is something that Adelina and I have been hiding from you guys. It concerns our siblings as well, but they just grew up in this life without knowing every details. We can give you the cliff-note version now. When we get out of here, we'll tell you a more detailed version. Will that do?
The Sagittarius Saint was the first one to agree. "Unless you guys are our enemies as well, the cliff-note version will be perfect. But you better give us every details later on."
"Thank you Aiolos." The Italian woman looked both relieved and grateful. "First of all, let us reintroduce ourselves, shall we? My name is Adelina Contiello, the future incarnation of Pandora, four hundred years in the future. Please to meet you."
"I am Gemini Korban, the Golden Gemini Saint, four hundred years in the future. Happy to meet the author of the Gemini tradition." The Greek added cheekily while looking pointedly at Sage. Adelina restrained a sigh. Four years of marriage with Korban and he still acted like a child from time to time. At least it proved that they weren't completely in danger, her husband would have not joked at a time like this.
Four hundred years in the future? Weirdly, it would fit the bill, but time-travel hadn't been created so far and was, technically, impossible. Kanon was the one who voiced on the question as to how it had been down.
"Seriously? You guys focus on the technical aspect instead of asking questions like who are the children or as to why we came to the past?" Surprisingly, it was Sandra, the current incarnation of Pandora, who said that while wondering as to how did the Underworld loose to Saints who had more brawn then brain.
"I think that they are in shock and prefer to ask something improbably before gaining the brain cells that they lost." Adelina mocked gently, knowing her counter-part's thoughts since she had the same soul. "Simply a mere ritual found in the Great Library of Persephone. The most laughable thing is that the ritual in itself didn't need any sacrifices or anything big, just two enemies, who could control dimensions, who have to work together. Shocking isn't it?" She laughed gently. "At the time, Korban and I were desperate. We had been tasked to find the reincarnation of our respective gods. The Fates were cruel since we found out that our respective siblings were our enemy." Shun winced slightly at a similar memory. "We were lucky to be the only two to know and we tried to devise a plan to raise our only family safely."
"At first, Adelina lived in my home as a guardian for Karan. The excuse was that I found her while looking for Athena and fell in love at first sight. Nobody in Sanctuary was aware that I had already found Athena, nor that Pandora was living near her with Hades. Our goal was to live and raise our siblings together so that they wouldn't be enemies in the not so distant future. Hence, the whacked-up plan of time-travel that surprisingly worked."
Saga could accept all that. He was even admiring the courage that these two people had. However, one important question still remained to be answered. "What did you mean 'Happy to meet the author of the Gemini tradition'? I wasn't even aware of any tradition I could have set."
Korban smiled slightly. "Do you remember copying down history of the last Holy War?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, when you realized that it will also help your apprentice hold back his other half, you taught him to write down the current history, and voilà, the Gemini Temple holds about six hundred years of history."
Kanon laughed, nudging his brother. "I knew that you were a nerd deep down."
"How do we get out?" Saga tried to change the subject. He would get back to his brother later.
"If we get a good distraction, I could open a dimension and get out."
"Why not now?"
"Because He is coming." Alessa whispered loudly. The chibi goddess looked terrified. She could feel the evil aura coming towards them.
"He won't harm you." Her 'brother' answered fiercely, moving her behind him in a more protective gesture. It wouldn't help much, but it was still something that he could do.
The He in question was Chronos, the Titan, coming up the rows of cells up until the cell that held the three gods plus two children. He was tall, taller than Aldebaran, the Taurus Saint, with long, darker than night, slightly curly hair, redder than hot coal eyes and paler than a ghost's skin. He watched closely his prisoners, the dancing glee in his eyes was perfectly clear for anyone who was in his line of sight. "Well, well, well. What have we hear? Three of the most powerful gods in this time period." He licked his lips, sharp pointy white teeth would peek out. "What else do we have here? Two gods from my own time period."
The kids looked frightened at the revelation. Korban shouted out. "How did you know?"
The Titan laughed icily, turning towards the cell. "You little fools, once you opened the portal in time, it was simple child play to follow you."
"You mean that you couldn't beat your current warriors so you had to run backward in time to find a more weaker period." The cruel laughter coming from Adelina rivaled the Titan's. "You are just weak."
"Yet, who is the one behind the bars? Not I."
The Specter laughed. "Behind the bars for now. But do you expect it for long? Never mind who we are. We may have disappeared when were young, but we are the best."
"Talk! Only talk."
"Is this talk, then?" The future Gemini Saint swished his hand left to right and produced a key from thin air. "What do we have here?" He mocked laugh. "Why, the key to our freedom." He swished his hand back right to left. "Now it's gone somewhere to free some of the prisoners in this prison. Try to find your only key now." His copper hair started to grey slightly and red tinge appeared in his brown eyes. "And what do we have hear now? Why, the copy of the key right here! Poof! It disappeared again. I have each and every cell have your only key to free everyone. And here I thought it would be even more difficult to escape. Thank you for giving us an easy way out." His laughed mingled with his wife's.
Adelina disappeared suddenly to reappear in the cell where the gods were held. She hugged her children while brushing their hair gently. She put her head near their faces and whispered something in their ear. The children nodded and ran towards Saori, Julian and Hades. She disappeared once again to appear in front of the Titan with Korban right next to her. "Never come in between me and my children. You just made one of the biggest mistake that you should never repeat. But wait! This won't happen again since you will be imprisoned back into the Tartarus." She hissed. No one harmed her children, no one.
The Titan smirked cruelly, inwardly wondering as to how the woman in front of him got out of her cell. "If you can beat me that is. But you want to know the best part? In this part of the Tartarus, there is a little extra feature that Gaia created in her womb. You see, in order for any Titan to gain enough power to break free from this prison, she made sure that one object per Titan in which over the majority of their power is concentrated in it. On top of that, the rightful owner of the power can't use it but someone who he intimately trust."
The future Gemini Saint asked the million dollar question. "Then how did you get out? Who would you trust?"
"I didn't. I only made, let us say, certain arrangements to create a small opening and slip out of prison. The only thing that I really needed was a diversion which you provided by opening a time-portal. My thanks to you. And the best part is, you can't fight me here, in my own territory."
"Ah, but you see, that is where you are wrong." Adelina told him, appearing right next to Korban in order to evade an attack from Chronos. "This is my territory. I know the layouts, I know the weaknesses, the strong points and the traps. You were held in the cells without knowing about the prison itself."
"What about the fact that you can't access your armors?"
"Who said that we can't?" Korban shot back. "Answer me this, how did we use get the key and got out of the cell if we can't access the majority of our powers, hmmm?"
"You don't mean …"
"That's ri~ight." Adelina sang, she showed her wrist where a silver chain dangled. At the end of it was a golden box with a gemini symbol on the sides dangling from it.
Korban smirked as well while showing something on his belt-buckle: a black-and-silver scythe. "Time to play. Let us show you why we are known as the best. Why we were able to punch a hole though time and space." He put his right arm in front of him and a trident took form. A very familiar trident that many recognized as the favorite weapon of Pandora. "The love for our respective siblings can transcend all animosity between enemies. Take this : DIVINE PUNISHMENT."
Chronos was hit with the full force of the flames that escaped from the trident. Before he could regain his center, Adelina lunched her own attack. "GALAXIAN EXPLOSION" as she put her two palms together before the miniature galaxy that was created exploded.
Even hit, the Titan still stood tall. "Let's see you withstand this. CHAOTIC BLACK HOLE." The Specter and the Saint got caught in a black hole. The only reason they got out was due to some divine cosmos that surrounded them, boosting their power to teleport out of the hole.
The couple appeared in front of the children that were out of their own cell. The current divinities had summoned their own armors while swapping their main weapon. Athena had Poseidon's trident, Poseidon had Hades' helmet of invisibility while Hades had Athena's scepter.
All of the sudden, the Titan realized something. He looked around to confirm his suspicion. "No! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Indeed, every cell was emptied except for the Gods, the 'Foras' family, Saga and Shun.
"Alessa and Karan should have made sure that everyone leave quietly through another time hole. So mind telling me what you are doing here?" Adelina asked the five others, completely ignoring the Titan's tantrum.
"As if we'll late you take care of our problem." Athena answered.
"Besides," Hades continued, "even if he was from your time, it is our duty to fight him in this time-line. Shun and Saga are here that you go as well."
"As if we can let our warriors fight in this personal war." Poseidon finished. It was a rare occasion for the gods to fight personally instead of doing more of a Cold War.
"Go my knights. Adelina and Korban have opened a portal to somewhere, take it with them and we'll join you soon enough." Athena's order were shift and sharp as a whip and blade. Her knights would not be able to disobey her, despite the feeling that they wanted to.
"My lady," started Korban, "the portal will close in five minutes regardless if we wanted to or not."
"Understood."
The three knights and specter ran to a black hole in the far back of the jails. On the other side was the Mediterranean sea near a landscape somewhere in difference was, it wasn't where they were in Greece but when.
— X —
Even if they had found a way as to how implement the plan, it took another three months before they could really put it in place. Two of those months were due to Korban who had to leave on another mission. It was a miracle that they had had three months free.
When she found out that her ally was about to leave her for two months, Adelina trembled interiorly, while putting on a brave face to Korban and wishing him well. She even helped him pack his bag to take her mind of what could come.
But nothing happened. Well, nothing if you counted the Grand Pope summoning you the next day right after the Gemini Saint left. The Specter couldn't even sleep that night, to afraid that her cover had been blown, and watched the dawn come with the two children in her arms. She loved them both equally, knowing that even if she died, they would be safe. But just in case, she wanted one last memory of them.
Her fear was for naught since the only reason she was summoned was for Pope Santino to welcome her officially and get to know her a bit more. He also officially presented her to the other Saints that had just come home while inviting her to a brunch. All of this to make her feel more welcome. She didn't know if she should be pleased by the open arms welcome or worried that they trusted a stranger to easily. The answer came from Gregory of Scorpio. The simplified version was that Korban rarely trusted people and was an excellent judge of character, despite the fact that he mostly acted like a child.
Gregory was a peculiar saint. Born in Greece, he had the classic brown curly hair, that were long and well maintained enough to make any woman jealous, brown eyes and tanned skin. For some reason or another, he took a shining to her. Barely five minutes after the presentation before he was by her side to get to know her better. He talked a lot, telling bits and details about life in Sanctuary. All while, she noticed, not telling her completely about Sanctuary. That didn't mattered much, only that she had gained a friend.
The next two months passed by quickly. While taking care of the house and the children, Adelina simultaneously prepared the papers that would be needed, clothing and back-up stories that would be needed. All while hiding the preparations from Gregory who came nearly every day to drag her and the children outside to have fun. They would be sometimes joined by Raphael of Aquarius and Levon of Leo. Or Helena of Eagle, Levon's girlfriend, would come to talk with her, sometimes even as going as far as to babysit the children so that Adelina would have a night out.
All in all, those two months passed by quickly, ending on a sour note with Korban coming home wounded. The young woman didn't even know why her heart faltered when she saw the young man un the doorway, bandaged, dirty and still slightly bleeding. She thanked the gods that the children were both asleep before she forced the warrior to sit down on one of the chairs while she went to get the first-aid kit. "What happened?" As she started to clean the wounds, making mental notes as to what should be done next.
"I ran into some complications on the way home."
"Specters?"
"No, something else. Definitely not Specters or Marinas. I did hear something about Chronos."
The last word was the equivalent of a cold shower. Chronos and poison do not mix at all. "I'll heal you as quickly as I can, than I'll go to see Pope Santino so that he can hear your report."
"I'm strong enough to go see him." Korban protested. "The Pope cannot come here when I can go."
"No you are not." Her words told him that he shouldn't protest. "There is some poison in the wounds. See those discolorations? That is where the poison is. While I'll go warn the Pope, I will ask Gregory to come and look at your wounds. You should not move at the moment. I believe that this type of poison acts slowly if you remain immobilize. You used light speed to come home didn't you? Making your journey faster while your cosmos slowed down your blood stream. That is the only reason you are still alive at the moment." Seeing that he was about to argue with her, she cut in. "If Chronos is involved, then the poison is something dangerous that I do not have the training to heal yet. I'm telling you that you have to tell the Pope since Chronos is more dangerous than even Athena. If his warriors are on Earth, than somehow, he has escaped. Sanctuary must be prepared just in case."
She finished tiding up the wounds before giving him an extra glare to make sure that he stayed there. Taking a shawl due to the coldness outside, the brown-haired woman practically ran to the doorway of Sanctuary. She on the verge of begging the guards to wake the Pope while she went to see the Scorpios Saint.
Used to seeing her for five months, they let her through to the steps of the Twelve Temples, while a messenger-pigeon was dispatched to the Grand Temple in order to wake Pope Santino. She ran as fast as she could. The poison wasn't to dangerous as long as Korban didn't move, but better be safe than sorry. Fortunately for her, Gregory met her half-way, armor on, fully awake. Taking her bride style, he carried both of them back to the Gemini"s home.
Korban hadn't moved from that short time. Seeing the wounds with the discoloring, Gregory started to take a closer look at them. "You were right getting me quickly. This type of poison can kill a gold saint if you had let it until morning." Adelina shot a look telling at the other Saint.
"I heard that you sent me a message?" Pope Santino was at the doorway.
"Yes sir, Chronos seems to be around. I just had an encounter with what I think are some of his warriors. They were clearly talking about him, but I can't confirm it."
"Do you know anything about this Adelina?" The older man was wondering as to why Adelina looked panicked when she asked for him and Gregory.
"As you may know, I come from a village near the Pollino mountains. The Ancients would tell story about Chronos' rule on Earth. Warning us about his warriors and a poison that could kill even a Saint. They said that even the war between Hades and Athena wasn't even a fraction as to a war that would come against Chronos. As soon as Korban mentioned his name and I saw a possibility of poison, I knew that I was way over my head and needed the expertise of the Scorpio Saint to heal as well as you to hear Korban's report."
"You did well. Gregory, can Korban be transported to the Healing Cabin?"
"Better not, my Pope. He can move to his bed, and he will have to stay there for a couple of weeks while I try to find the antidote. Since it is still in the first stage, no lasting damage will be there. I'll even take a look in the Scorpion's library to see if one of my predecessors know a remedy."
"Understood. Adelina, a word outside please."
They both went outside the hut while the wounded was being healed by the healer. Pope Santino started right away. "I wasn't to sure in the beginning, but now I am certain. You are a Specter, right?"
She could not lie. Even if her mind was screaming to, she could not. "I am. But I do not wish to harm Sanctuary at the moment, nor to spy."
"Then why are you here?" It was a valid question.
"About a year ago, I was given the mission to find the reincarnation of my Lord Hades and kill the Goddess Athena if I find her. Five months ago, I finally tracked down my lord. However, the moment I was to take him away, his brother came home."
"Karan is Hades' vessel?"
"That is correct."
"And Alessa?"
"Athena's vessel."
The silence was eloquent. "I see. So Karan lied to me when he said he couldn't find Athena."
"Not really. It is true that we are the last two survivors of the village wiped out in the Pollino mountains. Besides, Alessa doesn't know yet that she is Athena, just like Karan doesn't know about him being Hades. Korban and I want to protect them, even if it means hiding from both camps. Our siblings are our life."
"What were you planning to do?"
"Run away to raise them as a family."
"You love him." He stated. Adelina paused, wondering about it.
"I do not know if I love him. He has grown on me, with the little that I truly know about him. So yes, I may like him at the moment, but I do not know if it is love."
Santino realized that she did love his Gemini Saint. The same could be said from the Saint to the Specter. "Do you need anything else to run away?"
Her eyes widened. "You won't do anything?"
"Why should I? Athena's main goal is peace on Earth. To obtain it, her fight between Hades must be put to rest. What you and Korban are doing is something that I can support. Besides, I believe that I am not the only one who knew where you are and what you are doing." He stared at something behind her.
Turning around, her eyes grew into saucers of fear, skin blanching paler than a ghost, she dropped on one knee."Lord Minos, Lord Eaque, Lord Rhadamanthys" The three judges, in civilian clothes, stood before her.
"Rise Pandora. We were already aware of what you were doing five months ago." Minos told her to belay her fears.
"Did you really expect to not notice your absence for the past five months? Nor the frequent visits to the library?" Eaque was the one to speak next. "But something was wrong in the Tartarus and we could not call you since an alliance between the Underworld and Sanctuary would be advantageous to fight the Titans if the need be."
"They came to see me yesterday and explain the situation." Santino revealed. "That was the moment I was sure you were a Specter. So, what do you need for Korban and yourself?"
She took a moment to regain her bearing. "For now, Korban and I have everything in hand. I will consult him and tell you later if in need."
"Very well. Now, I wish you a good night and expect a full report in two weeks time as to your plan. Lord Minos, Lord Eaque, Lord Rhadamanthys, your are welcome to come see me when you wish to discuss a possible counter-attack. If it is Chronos we must fight, than we have much to do."
"Grand Pope Santino." The three judges bowed their heads. Heading back to the shadows, they disappeared back to the underworld.
"Thank you, Grand Pope Santino." The young woman said. "I bid you good night and will be in front of you in two weeks time." She went back into the cabin. She sat in a chair while waiting for Gregory to finish healing Korban. Plans within plans changed the original plans.
Looks like they would have a bit more work to do.
— X —
The vast land of Sanctuary looked the same to the recently released prisoners. The only difference was that the air seemed cleaner and the cosmos more livelier. Another fact that pointed that this wasn't the same Sanctuary that they knew was the 'friendly' welcoming committee at the gates.
Well, half-friendly would be the term. There were Saints and Specters mixed with the regular guards on top of the gates. In the front stood the Grand Pope in full regalia, with one of the Judges next to him and two small children in front of them.
Each of the ex-prisoners were brought to the Healing Cabin where they were taken care of by there respective holy grounds' physicians. Most of the Marinas were a bit busy securing the seas hence why they weren't so visible in the Sanctuary.
For the warriors of the past, this land was completely different from what they knew. Three sanctuaries, working hand in hand without so much of a whisper of complaint. However, looming clouds of wars rode upon the winds of despair.
Even with this alliance, no one was sure that they would be able to win against a Titan. To top it all, the alliance in itself wasn't at full power since it had been a long time since the enemy sanctuaries had banded together. To much bad blood between them. Especially concerning the underwater domain.
The Underworld and the Sanctuary both were 'obliged' to work together since the happiness of their divinity depended on it. The water warriors did not have that same condition.
Saori, Julian and Hades appeared in the courtyard a week later, caught in a time dilation due to the fact that they jumped at the very last possible second. It left them just barely enough time to mount a defense against Chronos' attack.
Fighting in a future time with past warriors was a strange thing indeed for many. In some aspects, the warriors of the past were weak in the physical aspects, while the warriors from the future seemed to lack intelligent battle plans. Weaknesses turned to strengths, which was much better than the previous prognostics.
For many months, the war against the Titan raged on. During those long months, a stand-still seemed as the only possible solution. Chronos' warriors never seemed to be able to die, while both avatars of Hades kept the warriors of the Alliance alive as well.
Finally, while searching the libraries to find a solution, Pope Santino fell upon a slim brown book in the midst of the Archives. However, the book couldn't be opened. It wasn't glued in any way, shape or form, yet it kept it's secrets. Bringing it to the incarnated divinities and similar counterparts, he was surprised that they couldn't open the book as well.
By pure chance, Saga and Korban walked in the room to deliver their report on the battle from Europe. The book glowed slightly before the Gemini symbol appeared on it's covers before flying across the room towards the pair. Needless to say that it was baffling for all.
Another fortnight past before the Gemini Saints 'cracked the code' on how to open the book and reveal it's secrets. Nothing specific was in it, just simple writing. Simple writing from Saga. It wrote of a simple ritual on how to confine Chronos once again. Only two Gemini Saints could do it and the price was their memories of all the information concerning said ritual.
They read it twice to be sure before Korban made a duplicate of the book with his cosmos. "You must have hidden the book in Pope's archives sensing that it would be needed later. So I'm giving it to you the copy and I'll burn the original."
Saga agreed with the argument. "I think that's why Pope Santino and the Judges weren't to surprised when you and Adelina cooked up that half-baked plan. They knew that it was going to happen through one form of writing or another."
"It was a shock, I can tell you. Grand Pope Santino knew it was going to happen during the next two hundred years, give or take, but he wasn't sure when exactly it would happen nor whom. Adelina told me that the Judges were expecting something like this with their long memories. That was also the reason why things got blurry." He smiled slightly, remembering how his wife looked when she re-told what had happened. "To tell you the truth, we were scared of what would have been perceived as a betrayal by the others. I'm glad that it won't be the case."
Saga nodded. He wished that he had the luxury to forget his own traitorous actions under the influence of his double. They left the room to gather the items needed for the ritual.
"You know, when I first started my training, I didn't expect to do so many rituals." Korban joked trying to lighten the mood a bit. "I thought that I would be using the power of my fists or my cosmos to do the right thing, not magic."
"Believe me, that isn't the worst part for me. The simple fact that we are the only ones that can re-seal Chronos is giving me the shivers. I can't say that my track record is the most spotless."
The future Gemini mock-swiped the older one. "That's where you're wrong. I know for a fact that it's thanks to you that us Gemini Saints no longer have to suffer from the constant whispers of our dark sides. We have a more balanced training. Not to mention what you did for when twins are competing for the Gemini armor."
"What do you mean?" The first time he and Kanon were forced to fight, it had been hell. The fact that Kanon had to hide was even worse. If he had somehow aggravated the situation, then he had really messed things up.
"I mean, since the twins both passed the same type of training, that means they are both strong, right?"
"Of course."
"So why waste a resource and eliminate the weaker twin? That's what you and Kanon's story have done, you imposed a new system so that the 'weaker twin' is the hidden bodyguard of the Grand Pope or of Athena. For any twin, actually. They still work in the shadows, but they have a future where they make a difference."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Let me give you a concrete example. Two hundred years ago, we were at war against Eris, the Goddess of Discord. Her warriors had breached the perimeter and passed all twelve houses. One of them, I think he was the warrior of the Adder, was about to bring the then re-incarnated Athena to his own Goddess. What saved her was Maer of Gemini's brother, Myr. He waited for the perfect moment before not only saving Athena, but also killed the enemy." Korban took a deep breath. "So you see, you must have erased all your bad actions that you did under your double's influence."
They stopped walking in the corridor leading to a Ritual room, staring down at each other. "You really think so?"
"I don't think so, I know so. Right now, you feel guilty, drowning to know how to relieve yourself of it. You spent half of your life known as the best of all Saints, then, you spent the other half and more committing actions that weren't under your own free will. Even now, you struggle about something you may have done, but you strived to not only fix it, but to make sure that it wouldn't happen again. You made sure that your apprentices, and the apprentices of those apprentices were safe from that same imbalance that you and your brother suffered. For you, it may not seem much, but for many others, it has changed our life for the better. Have a little faith in yourself. Things will turn out for the better if, and only if, you forgave yourself."
"That is a pretty speech to cheer me up. But it won't change the facts of who I am: a killer and a sinner." Saga strove off towards the Room.
Korban sighed, a Gemini was a stubborn person, but put two of them together, sparks will fly. He would make him see reason even if it was only subconscious. He marched quickly after Saga. First they had a ritual to do, then he would talk some sense into his predecessor.
— X —
The ritual was easy enough. The only problem was that the two participants completely forgot what happened during it. What the two Saints could remember was bright lights, eery voices and something so frightening that they couldn't even remember what it was.
The fuzziness of what had happened made them still dizzy as they laid in the Infirmary. The war had been won. For now, Chronos wouldn't endanger the Earth, would it be in the Past or the Future or really the variable Present. The two Saints could relax and recuperate nice and slowly. Around them were their other self and family.
Somehow, during those seven years that they were in hiding, Korban and Adelina had really fallen in love with one another. What at first started as an act, ended with a true love. It made a lovely romantic story. It also made a wonderful alliance between the two Sanctuaries. One that was reiterated approximately four hundreds years ago in the form of Kanon and Rhadamanthys. The two of them were at the bedside of Saga with Aiolos, Saga's boyfriend.
Family stayed with family. It would seem that the two Gemini Saints were suppose to be linked with the Underworld to keep their sanity. Not to mention, to commit great things. But, nobody would really remember.
Time would erase what had happened in the memory of mankind. Just to be sure that the time continuum could be preserved. The only ones to remember would be the ones whose reminiscences would stay, even if it would still be blurry. That is to say, the deity themselves, such as Athena, Poseidon, Hades and the three Judges.
When the Saints of the Past returned to their time, they were glad to have seen the possibility of a Grand Peace across the world. The Ultimate Dream of the Utopian Future. That they could just get a glimpse of its beginning was perfect, in spite of the fact that they wouldn't get to live in it. They were glad that they were the ones who helped bridge the gap before it could be formed.
After all, who wants Eternal War with a Fatal Price every time?
— X —
"Did you make sure that we packed everything we need?" Adelina asked for the hundredth time. She was a bit flustered and tried to reign in her nervousness in the best way she could: being a bit to much overbearing and a checklist.
Korban didn't hold it against her. After a couple of months of living together, he had started to knew her a bit better. Behind that icy exterior of a prestigious person, was a golden heart for those that had gained her trust. "Yes I did, just as I did the past five minutes ago and those before that. Calm down, everything would be alright."
He put a hand on her shoulder to make her sit down. "Come on, I'll make you some tea. You'll feel much better just after that."
The Italian sighed, expelling all the tension residing in her shoulders. "You're right. I'm sorry how I acted earlier. It's just …"
"… we are about to attempt something that has never really been documented? That our respective bosses were aware of that possibility and gave us their blessings? Or that nobody else knows about it and could get the wrong idea?"
"I don't know, maybe all of the above?" She gave him one of her small smiles when Korban brought her a cup of hot tea. Smelling the fumes, the smile grew. It was lemon and honey, her favorite with just the right amount of sweetness as she liked it.
"Don't worry. We can do it. Besides, we now have the most important things with us." Korban sat down in front of her, his own cup of bitter lemony tea, no honey, with him. "Look at it this way, we now have permission to raise our only family left, without any interference or panicking about a potential death threat."
"I guess you are right." Adelina sighed again. "Just one more detail so that I can have a bit of peace of mind."
Well, as long as it was one last thing, than Korban would gladly comply for the beauty. "Sure, what do you want to know?"
"Do you remember where you and I are going to work as well as why?"
"Sure, I'm going to work as a Security Guard for the Solo Foundation, while you are going to get hired as a doctor for the Grande Foundation. They were, and still are, the top two companies on the market. With their power and technology, we can be on the lookout from anyone that could figure out who we are."
Both of them shared a look.
It looked liked everything would be fine. In three hours, they would go and do what they must. There bags were packed and shrinked through dimensional uses — Adelina was amazed at that little trick of Korban —, their papers were forged and the money as well. All that was left was the waiting.
In the room next to the kitchen, small cries were heard. Without a word, without a look, the two older teenagers got up to take care of their siblings. Adelina had gone to the kitchen to get the bottle ready while Korban went to get the two babies.
They may be enemies, but one thing was a certainty, the love of their siblings could transcend any negative feelings. For them, they would travel through time and space to make sure that they live a good life.
Meaning of the names:
Karan = Pure
Alessa = Defender of mankind
Adelina = Noble
Korban = A gift devoted to god
Santino = Sacred
Levon = Lion
Gregory = Vigilant
Ivan = God is gracious
Raphael = God has healed
Fora = time (in Greek)
Gaia: The Earth itself. Married to Ouranos, who is the Sky, and mothered every Titan and monster. In her womb is the Tartarus.
AN: So, what did you guys think of that little oneshot? Good? Bad? Horrible?
A little review would be nice to know. No sequel shall be made.
EXTRA: Here's a different scene as to how the Saints met the Foras'.
Saori loved this time of the year. Springtime represented the birds singing, the flowers and trees were blooming and today was even better since it was "Bring your kids to work" day. The young teenage goddess loved days like these were mankind would bring out the best of them.
"Ready for the grande lottery, my lady?" Seiya, the Pegasus Saint, asked as he entered the room.
"Yes, Seiya." The lottery in question was the yearly lottery where children (with their parent) get to be with high-classed personnel. It was something Mitsumasa Kido put in place in a way to bring good promotion for himself. As President of the Grande Foundation, he was the n°1 prize for the kids.
This year, all of the bronze saints proposed to be the tour guides with all of the Gold Saints except for Shaka, Dohko and Deathmask. Each Gold Saint would be paired with one Bronze Saint if a child demanded it (not that the children would know about this little detail).
The pair entered one of three Ball Rooms (the biggest one) filled with many children while their parents stood on the side smiling in happiness. Laughter and chatter filled the room in a cacophonic pandemonium.
Journalists stood at the very back with their cameras to transmit live this event. It was a very big publicity coup after all.
Stepping up to the mike, Saori waited for the silence. Once she gained it, she began her speech. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to the annual lottery of "bring your kids to work" day. At the entrance, each child received a number. I have its twin in the glass bowl beside me." She gestured next to a medium-sized chrystel bowl half-filled with pieces of paper. "The prizes will be some of the Saints who will be your personal tour-guide for the rest of the day. One-by-one, they will come up and I will pick randomly the number of the winner."
Murmurs of appreciation or wonder interrupted her before dying down.
"Our first prize will be the Bronze Pegasus Saint Seiya." Clapping, hollering and cheering greeted the teenage boy as he stepped next to Saori. Daintily, she put a gloved-covered hand into the bowl and picked up a number. "Number 4657, please come up on the stage."
A small red-headed boy walked boldly towards the stage as he crossed through half of the room.
Smiling, Saori checked the ticket before motioning him to step near the mike. "What is your name young man?"
"Paul Loftman, miss. I'm six years old."
"Please to meet you Paul. Tell me, which parent works for me and where?"
"My dad works as a scientist for the Grand Foundation, miss. In the department of renewable energy."
"That's a very big job. Well, congratulation on having Seiya as your personal tour guide for the day. Please bring him back in one piece, won't you?" She winked as he giggled at the joke.
The boy went to stand with Seiya on the right side of the stage. He was beaming in happiness to be in the presence of his idol. The sixteen years old Saint wondered ominously if he had a fanboy next to him.
Saori took the stage again as she presented Nachi of Wolf, Ichi of Hydra, Geki of Bear, Jabu of Unicorn and Ban of Lionnet who were all greeted with a more subdued, but still large, applause. Ikki, Shiryu and Hyoga were greeted with the same rank of success as Seiya.
Some children would bring their siblings with them to share their success. Others would come up alone either with swagger or timidly. But each and everyone of them were equally happy about being chosen for the grande privilege of having a Saint for a day.
"Next up is Shun of Andromeda." Saori declared. Picking up a piece of paper, she read out loud. "Number 1313."
Two children jumped up and down for joy. The first child, a boy, dragged a girl with him. It was a bit weird since they didn't look like siblings. The girl had dark brown hair which contrasted with the boy's light copper. She had blue-green eyes, while he had dark brown eyes. They both looked to be about the same age as well. Maybe fraternal twins?
Saori took the ticket that the boy held out for her to see. "And what are you names?"
The boy stepped up first while his sister timidly followed behind. "My name is Karan Foras. I'm eight years old. This is my sister Alessa and she is seven."
"A pleasure to meet you both. Then tell me, who is the lucky family member that have you both as his or her child?"
"Our dad works as a security guard for you ma'am." Came the timid voice of Alessa.
Shun smiled gently towards them as he motioned for the three of them to join the side of the stage.
Saori then went on for the final part of the lottery. "Now, out of all our winners, I will pick randomly a number and join them for the day." In a smaller chrystel bowl, she placed all ten numbers in it. Daintily, she took out a piece of paper. "And the winner is … number 1313." The siblings cheered loudly.
Bowing towards the audience, Saori closed the ceremony. "Thank you all for coming here. Please enjoy the rest of the day."
Amidst the clapping of the room, Athena's incarnation left the room for a side one with her Saints, the winners of the lottery and the family of the winners.
She quickly spoke a few words with each and every family members of the winners except for the Foras since she would be spending the day with them. Once everyone left, she turned towards Karan. "So where do you want to go first?"
The boy turned towards his sister. Their father, Korban Foras, stood at attention a couple of steps back from his children while watching them proudly. The two children looked at each other as if they were communicating with each other silently. The boy nodded as if he acknowledged something. Turning to Saori and Shun, he asked. "Can we see the labs first?"
They nodded while smiling. As Saori started to leave, Karan darted towards Saga. Looking up to the older man, he said. "Will you come with us as well?" He tugged on the Gemini's hand.
"Why would you want me?" The Gemini Saint asked in surprise.
"Because you feel like my dad." Mr. Foras looked up in surprise. It wasn't good if Karan could sense his aura from Saga. "I know that Alessa will feel safer if another saint came."
Double bad! Saga wasn't even in his armor which would imply that his family had knowledge on the Saints of Athena. It could be passed off as a fluke, but to much information given could reveal who they are. It looks like he would have to have another talk with his 'son'.
Not wanting to dispute that logic, Saga joined the group for the tour. He stored the little tidbit of information for later. Not many people would know about Saints, especially children, and they wouldn't especially be able to sense Saints unless they already had something in them. The fact that the Security Guard had the same aura as him could be because of many things. All of them improbable or preposterous or downright ludicrous.
Everything went well, but as always, something bad had to happen.
It all happened when the group of 'winners' were gathered for a photo when some insurgents surged on the ground. They snatched four children, two of them being Karan and Alessa. The Saints couldn't intervene because of the hostages. They could try something but were at risk at exposing the secret of the Saints, Athena and all the rest.
The parents of the hostages were furious as the terrorists started a list of impossible demands from the Foundation. Things that Saori would gladly give in exchange for the lives of the children, if it wasn't for the very short time frame that was given.
The mere mortals that were part of the Security Team tried to circle the terrorists. Korban in the lead as his children was part of the group. An opening had to be made for them to intervene. An opening that could be made since the group made a terrible mistake with the hostage they choose.
Catching the eyes of his children, he made a discreet signal that they understood.
Alessa started to burst into tears as she cried out. "Papa, papa. Please get us out of here." She wiggled so much that her captor's grip was becoming loose. All of the sudden, one of flaying elbows accidentally hit something very precious to all men.
Following her lead, Karan hit the same spot on his own captor while pretending to join his sister. The man joined the pained cries of his comrades.
The two freed children jumped to the two remaining hostages that were held. Using the two men on the ground as springboards, they placed a well-aimed high-kick on the terrorists head which caused them to be sufficiently disoriented.
The four children ran towards the Security Force which represented safety while the insurgents were to confused at the change of situation to act. Said Security Force met them half-way to subdue the terrorists. Korban in the front as he gave a violent punch to knock out each and every one of the men that dared to lay a hand on his children.
The press lapped up this little performance. Their papers will be selling like loafs of bread with the double noise of the attack and of the lottery. As the terrorists were rounded up in flashes of light, journalists pressed a sea of microphones around either the hostages or the ones that rescued them.
Karan and Alessa had the biggest group of all. The little girl pressed herself against her older brother's back in a failed attempt to hide while their father tried to disperse the people around his children.
A loud screech rang in the courtyard as a women arrived on a red motorcycle. She ran towards the two 'heroes' who rushed towards her as they saw her. All those present could see the resemblance between the women and the girl. If Karan looked quite similar to the guard, it was the same between this mysterious women and Alessa.
The women wrapped her arms around the children as her dark blue flowing skirt hit the dust when she kneeled. She pressed the children tight to her chest as a litany of soft words escaped her lips. Nobody could hear her, but everyone could guess that she was saying her thanks to whoever she believed in for the safety of her children.
She stopped hugging her children only to check if they were alright. Once she was assured that that was the case, she stood up, brushed the dirt of her skirt, took the hands of Karan and Alessa and went towards her husband who greeted her with a small kiss on the forehead of reassurance. He put Alessa on his hip while she did the same for Karan.
The rest of the Grande Foundation's Security Force dispersed the still-to-curious crowd.
