Just wanna say thank you for all of those who had given reviews for the last chapter^^: Special Thanks to AsraStar, Tsukiakari no Astraea, and Fantasy-Magician.
Disclaimer: I don't own Saint Seiya,Saint Seiya belongs to Masami Kurumada and Toei Animation.
~Chapter 2: Fourteen Gold Saints Reunited~
Mu donned his gold cloth,and together with Aldebaran and Kiki,marched up the stairs leading to the Pope's Temple. All Twelve Temples were empty. It really seemed that all of the gold saints had attended the meeting.
"Who do you think the enemy is this time?" Aldebaran suddenly asked, still running up.
"I don't know..." Mu answered, "but they say our enemy's quite strong."
Kiki didn't react. He knew who were their opponents. He knew what was going on,but he felt the urge not to tell his master. Somehow it felt best to let him know only when Athena tells him herself.
"Kiki?" Mu called,deep concern in his eyes.
Kiki snapped out of his thoughts. "It's nothing,Mu-sama..."
Mu didn't look to convinced. However,he stayed silent. When finally they arrived in the Pope's Hall, the meeting was just about to start.
"Is everyone here?" Athena asked.
There were several nods for an answer.
The goddess took a deep breath. "I'm sure everyone knew that there is an upcoming Holy War," she started, "and in this one,all available saints are going to participate."
"All available saints?" Aiolia asked,and immediately regretted asking that particular question when he realized that Athena was trying not to talk about her bronze five. The goddess' face darkened.
"Yes..." she said,her voice trembling, "Se...Seiya and the others will not be joining this battle. Seiya,he...still lost his memory...as for Ikki, Shun, Shiryu and Hyoga..."
Camus flinched hearing his student's name. The Aquarius never saw him again after the Wailing Wall incident, and he hoped the Cygnus was okay. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
"They suffered major injuries... also a third-stage coma," Athena continued, "...so...this battle relies only on you. Our enemies this time was beyond your previous ones. They are...the Titans...who as we speak, are gaining more and more power to take over our world-"
"What? B...but...we killed them right?" Shura bursted, "it was...seven years ago,when we were still about fourteen..."
Athena sighed. "I think killed is not the appropiate word to describe the Titans. They were defeated, yes, but they did not die...no...they CANNOT die...they are immortal."
Shaina's face turned pale. "But...Athena...th...that means...even if we defeat them this time, they would rise over and over again, right? Does that mean we can't win,no matter what?"
Silence.
"...Yes..." Athena finally said, "which is why we will be fighting alongside Hades' spectres, also Poseidon's Marina."
"WHAT?" all saints shouted together.
Athena didn't repond. She had to admit,the idea itself sounded ridiculous. She,herself,never thought she'd see the day when she would make deals with Hades and Poseidon,who tried multiple times since the age of myths,to kill her. Speaking of which...
"I hope you are aware that the one who revived you was Hades. He had revived all of you,and as a form of gratitude we shall help him defeat the Titans. Afterall,we really have to stop them in the first place, so I agreed on this deal. Hades,Poseidon and I are going to find a way to seal the Titans permanently."
Deathmask scoffed. "Hah! You revived us only because there was another war, didn't you? If this war didn't exist, you wouldn't have revived us ,is that true? You only had us resurrected because you NEEDED an army. You only gave us another life because you didn't want your little Seiya to get hurt anymore. Am I right, Athena?"
"Shut up,Deathmask!" Aphrodite hissed, "don't speak to her like that!"
"What? Am I wrong? Face it,Dite! She's using us! And don't give me that we-are-Athena's-saints-and it-is-our-duty-to-protect-her crap! I'D RATHER DIE THAN FIGHT FOR HER AGAIN! SHE DIDN'T EVEN CARE WHEN WE SACRIFICED OURSELVES TO DESTROY THAT F$%* WALL!" Deathmask shouted.
Saga lost his patience. "THAT'S IT!"
"It's alright,Saga," Athena said, "Deathmask is right. I have been foolish. My attention is always distracted to Seiya...for that, I apologize-" she paused for a while because her eyes started to get watery, "-but...just so you know the truth...I revived you not only to fight,but I also revive you to live. When this is all over you can restart...live as normal people...never shedding blood ever again...I never meant for all of you to keep on fighting...," then she forced up a smile, "my wish...is to refrain all of you from suffering the same fate as Seiya...and I deeply appreciate it when you, my gold saints, sacrificed for me, putting your lives on the line for me, to destroy the Wailing Wall...Thankyou...all of you..." then she smiled once more,and disappeared behind the curtains.
Silence.
No one dared to say a single word. Done. Their meeting ends like this.
"I think you overdid it, Deathmask," Shion finally said, looking at the Cancer saint.
All eyes landed on the crab.
" Really? I was just telling the truth," Deathmask said flatly.
"BUT YOU CAN'T JUST LASH OUT AT HER LIKE THAT!" Saga exploded, "SHE BROUGHT US FROM OUR DEATH! CAN'T YOU AT LEAST PRETEND TO BE GRATEFUL?"
"SHE TREATED US AS IF WE WERE A PACK OF WAR MACHINES!"
"SHE DIDN'T MEAN IT, SHE SAID THAT HERSELF!"
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THAT BUNCH OF CRAP, ARE YOU?"
"WATCH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING! SHE'S OUR GODDESS!"
"A FAKE ONE, IF YOU ASK ME!"
"WHO SAYS I'M ASKING YOU, YOU...YOU-"
"NOW WHAT? ARE YOU GOING TO LECTURE ME? YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO!"
"YES, I DO, I AM FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN YOU!"
Deathmask was about to answer again, but he immediately didn't when a punch landed on his cheek. "That's enough for now, don't you think?" Milo said, a dangerous edge on his unusually calm tone.
Shion took a deep breath. "Look, I know Athena mainly focused on her bronze saints, but...please. Just this once, I ask all of you to cooperate. If we cannot get along among ourselves, then cooperating with Hades' spectres and Poseidon's Marina is clearly impossible, which states it clearly that defeating the all-powerful Titan is beyond our imagination."
"Fine. Now what should we do?" Saga asked, still looking angry.
"All we can do now is wait. Wait for Athena's next order, and pray that we will emerge victorious in this Holy War," Shion said, as wise as ever.
There was a chatter of agreement, and soon the saints seperated, going by pairs or three by three.
~Aiolia and Marin~
The female saint walked over to the Lion.
"Hey," she said.
Aiolia blushed. "Hey."
"Ironic,isn't it? We were finally together again but at a time like this. I...I will lose you again..." Marin said, her head resting on the Leo's shoulder, "there must be some way to avoid this war."
"If there was such a way, then I won't be resurrected," Aiolia said, chuckling.
The female saint giggled. "I'm happy that you are," she said, holding his arm tightly.
Aiolia smiled warmly at her,and looked up at the sky. There's no guarantee that he would still be alive after this war. Their enemies were the Titans, for heaven's sake! Despite getting help from two other armies, this is going to be one hell of a war...
~Aldebaran, Mu and Shaka~
The Taurus, Aries and Virgo sat together at the Temple of the White Ram, drinking tea and chatting.
"It's really funny how we can relax like this while a war is coming, don't you think?" Aldebaran said, smiling.
"Yes, but we ought to be grateful for it, even if it's just for a while," Mu said, a sleeping Kiki in his arms.
While the two friends chatted, Shaka stayed quiet. How could they,he thought, how could they be so calm, when the Titans are invading? A lot was happening in Shaka's mind right now. He felt uneasy, a feeling he rarely had. Yet he wondered why his friends did not seem to worry about anything.
"How do you do that, Aldebaran?" he finally asked, looking at his Taurus friend with his eyes closed.
"How do I do what?"
"The Titans are attacking, Earth is in danger and yet you can still laugh...don't you feel worried?" the Virgo asked.
Aldebaran and Mu smiled. "Of course I'm worried," Aldebaran said, "but today is today, tomorrow is tomorrow. Until the battle starts, all we can do now is pray and spend all our time left together."
"Indeed, the Holy War makes us anxious, " Mu continued, "but there's no use worrying. Rest for today, and tomorrow we shall protect the Earth with our lives. Imagine what kind of peace we will bring when we defeated the Titans."
Shaka didn't answer. He knew...he knew, but... still...he couldn't help it. He looked calm and elegant on the outside, but his mind was spinning. Neverthless, his friends were right.
Life is full of suffering , life is full of worries, but beyond all that...is a never-ending peace...
~Deathmask and Aphrodite ~
"Hey, wait Masky!" Aphrodite called as the Cancer saint stormed downstairs to his temple.
"What, Dite? Are you going to scold me again?"
"I didn't say that."
"But you are going to."
"Whatever."
"If you don't have anything important to say right now, then you might as well GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!" Deathmask snapped. He had had enough. ENOUGH of this nonsense! Now his best friend is going to lecture him? NO. NOT A CHANCE.
Aphrodite sighed. "I just wanna say...I pretty much agree what you said earlier."
"If so, then why did you interfere?"
"Because anyway she'd our goddess. I mean...okay, she favors Seiya and all but...she gave us life again..."
"Yeah, TO BECOME WAR MACHINES!"
"You liked fighting."
"But that doesn't mean I like being USED!"
"Face it, Masky. You're actually very happy that she resurrected all of us, right?" Aphrodite smiled slyly. He knew, that aside of his attitude, Deathmask is actually quite shy in expressing what he felt, especially after he, along with Saga, Shura, Camus and Shion were revived to 'take Athena's head'.
The Cancer saint didn't react. Damn that fish, he thought, he thinks he knows everything. There's no way that he was going to waste his time listening to a crossdresser's blabbering!
"What's the matter? Is it true?" Aphrodite smirked.
The Cancer glared at him. He stayed silent, because he didn't want to think about it anymore...or because his friend was right...?
~Saga and Kanon~
"Come on, bro!" Kanon said, "you look as grumpy as an old geezer! Cheer up, for once!"
"Cheer up? Cheer up, Kanon? This is a very critical moment, and yet you're telling me to have fun?" Saga snapped.
"Wh-I was just trying to make your day better!"
"Well it didn't work."
"Can't you at least PRETEND to be grateful?"
Silence.
"Don't mock me, Kanon," Saga finally said. His voice had turned dangerously quiet, "if you don't want to end up in Another Dimension, then just keep quiet."
"Yeah. I'll keep quiet," Kanon said sarcastically. Geez! His brother really need to get some anger management!
Saga exhaled. "Look...I'm sorry, okay? I just...I'm not sure about all of this."
"About Deathmask or about the Holy War?"
"Both."
" I can understand that you're worried about the Holy War but about Deathmask...I really don't get it... Well yeah he overdid it but there's no reason for you to EXPLODE like that, Saga... You really gave me a heart attack, I thought that you were turning into Arles back there."
For the first time in this day, Saga laughed. Kanon couldn't help smiling, either. The tension in the Gemini Temple decreased almost immediately, and the atmosphere was much calmer.
Gradually Saga's laughter stopped. He looked at his twin. "Are you THAT worried?" he asked, smiling.
Kanon blushed. " I never said that I'm worried!"
"You're so lame when it comes to lying."
"Hey!"
Saga chuckled, and it pained his heart when Kanon thought that they were only able to laugh like this for a short while. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? The Titans might attack any minute!
Staying out of this war is not an option, comimg back alive...you can say, is impossible...
~END OF SECOND CHAPTER~
A/N: This is it...I'm sorry if it isn't much for a second chapter because I'm running out of ideas ^^ Also sorry for focusing only on some of the gold saints...I really wanted to write about Milo and Camus but I just don't have any more ideas that suited them . The next chapter will be better, promise!^^ Please review, I wanted to know how I'm doing in this chapter ...
