Master Daidalos sat on his wooden chair at his desk. The contents of the manila folder were carefully placed in two piles. One pile had two pages, and the other had thirty-eight. He shook his head. It was all he could do. What was the point of sending all of this to him? He now had two pages with Shun's picture on the front, his physical appearance and family history. The other pile was all censored from top to bottom with a big black marker, especially over the child's combat and cosmos history. In fact, he could tell that whoever did such a thing didn't want him to know those parts due to the dual layer of black ink bleeding through the paper.

It was almost as if they were ashamed of the boy's history. When he shook the child's hand, he could feel no calluses that came with even a child's orphanage training schedule. He saw not one scratch on his body or the faintest hint of a past scar. The Master looked down. There may not be words on his combat skills but by the tiny size of the box indicated that either not a lot of care or not much information was written down. The Cosmos section was even smaller. In fact, it looked as if it was just one word. He had two guesses on what it could be: Good or None. He was leaning more toward the latter.

In the end, it was all guesswork. If he happened to survive the first month, then he would have the right to examine what his skills were first hand. If he died then so will the matter.

At least he had confirmation that Shun was, in fact, a boy, thus one less mask to craft, but one more headache about having a co-ed cabin. But such fears can wait. This was an age of innocence, and unfortunately, this child had all the red flags to indicate he won't make it past thirty days.

He turned back to the small pile of known information. Shun's features were so delicate that it was hard to believe that the image was taken a couple of months before him coming over. He examined the picture further. There was something off about it. It was then he realized that it was the same orange hooded shirt that Shun was wearing when he came here. However, he noticed that where it was cut off, there were parts of what looked like white lettering on it. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite tell what it could be. Then there was the chance that it was all in the Japanese characters in which case he wouldn't be able to read it at all.

He rubbed his temples. He was looking far too deeply into this. He was so frustrated by the pointlessness of what the Kido Foundation sent him that he was attempting to nitpick with what little there was in the Family History Section. That one line was far more perplexing than anything from the big pile. The top two lines were normal by Trainee standards since nearly everyone was an orphan.

Family

Mother: Kai Amamiya [DECEASED]

Father: [UNKNOWN]

Then there was the line on Shun's sibling:

Brother: Ikki Amamiya [DECEASED]*

His blue eyes shifted toward the footnote.

*Pending- Tokumaru Tatsumi

It was a strange footnote and oddly enough, the man who put it in there personally signed the sheet with a black pen as if he was proud of it. "Pending," he whispered it. He shook his head once more. "They make it sound like the boy's brother was floating between life and death."

O|==========|O

Love You, Kill Me

Part One: The Chain Gang of Andromeda Island

Chapter Two: First Steps

O|==========|O

Shun threw on the light blue trainer and pants. His sweaty hooded orange shirt and khakis were carefully folded by the side of his bed. He wasn't quite sure where to put them at since they needed to be washed. He stretched his arms, feeling his body breath for the first time since coming here.

It was still pretty hot in the room, but he felt a lot better. It was very loose around the chest areas but snug around the right spots to keep it from impeding any movement. The sleeves were a little long and reached a little past his elbows, but he really liked the color. Besides, he could always roll them up. Shun took his hands and ruffled his green hair a bit, attempting to dry the sweat from it. He then heard someone knocking at the door. "Hello? Can I come in?" a voice rang out. Shun ran over and opened the wooden door.

June, the masked blond girl from earlier, walked inside holding several light pink chains in her hands. "The Master said you'd be in here. I'm so glad you decided to stay!" she chirped as she placed the massive wad of metal and links on the floor by her bed.

"Uh huh!" he watched her sit back on her bed before lying down. She lifted her mask at an odd angle, keeping her face hidden from view but enough to vent a little air on her face. Shun looked at her. She looked like she was going to throw up earlier. "Are you feeling better, June?" He asked as he walked over to her mask to lift it up and check to see if she was pale. "Are you hot?"

June's hand snapped his wrist but then politely pushed it away. Shun blinked as he cautiously backed off. June laid her mask back over her face. "I'm alright, now. Thanks for asking."

He felt a little embarrassed. Did he do something wrong? He searched around the room before pointing to the water pot and cups. "Would you like some water?"

Usually, a quick trip to the desert didn't bother her, but she was in such a hurry to get away from the meeting that she forgot to get her leather water satchel back. "Water does sound good." Shun smiled and rushed to the pot to gather some water for her. Underneath her mask, she raised an eyebrow. It was a little odd that he would try something so disrespectful as to pull off an Amazon's mask himself. Most of the time, she'd only have to deal with it when the Ekdromos, or the infantry, come over for Spring Training.

Go ahead, little girl… kill me. Ah… can't do it, can you? Nah… you're too weak…

You could love me… we have another night before we leave for Sanctuary….

It's not a coincidence that after she told the Master, they shipped out the next day with one less door guard.

But Shun didn't seem like the type of boy to try something like that. Shun was at least head shorter than she was and with the ferocity of a dandelion. The Master didn't think he was too bad either.

He was a little emotional and very nervous. I don't blame him after what Saul told me what they did to him at the harbor. When he wasn't crying, he seemed like a very kind boy. I think you'll like him.

Shun held out the water for her. He gently placed it in her hands and politely smiled as he watched her sit up, tilt her mask and take a big long drink.

June finished her cup and handed it back to him. She placed her finger by her chin, "Shun, I'm an Amazon," Shun's green eyes stared blankly. He didn't seem to know much about the blood contract, and it didn't hurt to ask. "Do you know what an Amazon is?"

Shun thought about it for a moment. In class, he knew that Tatsumi talked very briefly about Amazons. His description of them was that they hated men and to fire an arrow better, they cut off their right breast. But she seemed quite kind to him, and if she hung around the Master as Saul had said, she must not be a man hater either. Not only that, but both of her bumps seemed perfectly intact or at least what little there is there was, "not really."

It was a fairly basic fact but she didn't mind. She's heard some idiotic things over the past three years including one person asking what month Andromeda represented in the Zodiac.

June scooted over and patted a spot for Shun to sit at. He came over to her right side and squeezed his body as if he had no room and looked innocently at her.

June angled her body at him and placed her hands on her lap. "An Amazon is just a girl who wants to train as a saint. Does that sound familiar?" The boy nodded but only a little bit. He still had a look of confusion on his face. "Tradition states that only men can become a Saint. Women may also attain the role of Sainthood by rejecting their feminine gender and role. We actually have a creed that must be memorized:

Sealed my memories of when I was a daughter,

Prevents me from being a sister,

Can only be removed when I become a lover,

Should the man not hold my heart,

My eyes will reflect a killer.

"Therefore, if someone saw our face, like what you almost did, we would have to kill them if we didn't love them."

Shun flinched. That sounds so horrible! "Why would you kill them if they see you? My brother said that Daddy didn't love Mommy, but she didn't kill him, and everything is still okay." He then shied away from her. "But then again, she isn't an Amazon." He then looked away. He wasn't really good with debating.

Ikki, on the other hand, was a master at it. Although every time he won, Tatsumi would throw him in the discipline room. He may not be able to argue, but he did know that if you make a mistake, you should apologize for it. He cupped his hands and looked straight into her mesh-covered eyes. "I'm sorry for trying to lift your mask up. I don't want to force you to love me or kill me."

She reached over and patted his shoulder. "It's okay, I figured that you didn't mean to. Although I will admit, I think it's an outdated rule that made sense back during the Dark Ages of Ancient Greece but is only enforced today due to tradition." She tilted her head. "Is your father still alive?"

Shun shifted his eyes, "I don't know, I hope he is." He always wondered if he'll come back one more time just like the last time before he was born.

The room was oddly quiet. June wasn't sure what to say. It was painful to talk about family at a Training Ground when everyone was an orphan. It was probably for the best that they changed topics before they talk about something that made them both uncomfortable. Her eyes hunted for something else to talk about. She then spotted the familiar brown leather bound book that the Master leaves out for the new trainees. "Shun have you read the rule book yet?"

"Not yet. I was busy trying on trainers," he widened his eyes and raised a finger. He almost forgot. "Oh, I wear a size Kappa for the top, and Iota for my pants."

"Oh good, we got plenty of those. I'll make sure to get you more by tomorrow morning." She reached down from under her bed and produced a piece of yellow chalk. She had a small white square on the wall that she used to make notes for herself as well as little reminders. She wrote down the sizes next to two other sets of letters. She then stood up and headed to Shun's bed. "We should cover the rules though, they are very important here. We have some time before the Pretest Introduction starts."

She lifted the book but turned to the familiar wooden blade that was lying outside its container. She placed it back in what she nicknamed, Pandora's Shoe Box. "Shun, you should try to keep this thing closed. Don't leave it open in here." She took her hand and slammed the top on it. She went back over to Shun, sat down, and began to unravel the hemp string of the book cover. "If you have any questions, just ask me, and I'll help clear them up."

Spica and Leda sat together on a bed. Leda held his Wooden Sword in his right hand while Spica kept his in his box. They arrived this morning and were told that a third student would be coming much later. After hearing an unfamiliar voice earlier, they could only assume it was them. They were told to remain in here until after their meeting was complete since it was possible that the child may have to leave right away.

"I know I told you already, but I'll remind you again, Spica. While I do admire your loyalty to your brother, you must understand that on this island, there will be times of combat in which I will pit student against student. There is only one Andromeda Bronze and…"

"But a Maiden told me that this place had so many cloths that some were transferred to other countries. Now that I'm here can't I go after one of those?"

"It does, but we shouldn't talk of other cloths now, should we? I mean, you came here to try for the Andromeda cloth and therefore you should continue the path of Andromeda unless the stars dictate another road for you."

Spica slowly nodded in agreement. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" the Master asked.

"That hardly anyone survives the first test here."

"Yes. However, that is what the wooden sword is for. Rather than take the awful risk of dying in a test, you could, if you choose to, give the wooden sword to me, and you can leave this place."

"I can't believe he actually gave these to us," Leda grumbled, interrupting Spica's thoughts.

Spica shrugged his shoulders and chucked the box on his table. "Leda, why are you so worried? I mean, if this turned out to be as bad as the Maidens say it was, then we have a free ticket out of here!" Spica stood up and stretched his arms before readjusting his dark blue trainer. He turned his grayish blue eyes toward his sibling. "Seriously, this is a good thing."

Leda swung his wooden blade around the air and twirling it around as if he had a pencil in his hand before returning it to his own box. He then reached into his rose colored hair and adjusted his white bandana around his head, so it wasn't pressing against his thin sharply angled eyebrows. "I don't think so."

Spica cocked his blue hair and turned to Leda. "What do you mean? You heard Maiden Merope; trainees who survived were made Saints instead of guards."

Leda swung his feet, stood up before Spica and poked his index at him. "IF you survive." He pulled it away and threw his hands on his hips. "If getting off here was that easy then why does this place hold the second highest first-month trainee death record? That doesn't make sense!" Leda watched his brother head back to his bed and laid back down. Spica had a bad habit of 'not giving a shit' anytime he couldn't think of an answer.

Leda tilted his head toward the door. When the sound of two high pitched voices grew louder, he ran to the door and cracked it open. "The girls look like they're heading out. Come on," he reached down and pulled Spica up. The two ran in unison as they headed for the unofficial meeting point. Right next to the Master's hut was a small bonfire area. Five huge rocks were placed around with two trainees already claiming the two on the far left.

Spica looked over and pointed to the green-haired and clearly "unmasked" child. He snickered before Leda smacked him. Spica rubbed his arm, but he didn't care. "You said it, not me," he ragged as he claimed the rock next to June.

Leda claimed the last rock. He eyed the only other competition on the island. The other trainee didn't even look like he could do a push-up. He was much smaller than the rest of them while his doe green eyes looked like some stupid plush doll that little Japanese girls carried around. Suddenly, everyone turned to the back, and he followed suit.

Master Daidalos exited his hut and headed for the bonfire to initiate the Pretest Introduction. "Welcome everyone. I am pleased to see that you had all decided to stay at my home, and I hope you will continue to persevere until the day that one of you will take the sacred bronze cloth of my dear daughter, Andromeda or any other cloth that this Island holds."

Spica's elbow knocked against Leda's. Leda just sat there and kept his focus on the Master as he strolled over to a water pot to the side. He carried it closer to the others while June got up quickly to gather several cups, a pitcher and a ladle. After filling the pitcher and filling the cups to pass around, he went to the biggest rock and sat on it; resting his thick armguards on his blue plated thighs.

Before he'd go over the details on their pretest, he always asked the students to introduce their names, their orphanage, other languages and maybe a fact or two about themselves.

Shun was surprised that Leda and Spica were also Japanese since their Greek was exceptional. Although he could speak it correctly, they not only matched the speed but the dialect as well. His was still a little choppy. Apparently, they were both from the House of Tenma, a Sanctuary sponsored orphanage, and it showed. Leda had a thinner frame than Spica, but Spica seemed to better built. They were pretty big too with Leda being taller than even June. They were both brief and sat down quickly.

June was next. Some of it, she already told him, but he still listened. June was born in Ethiopia but had lived on the island all of her life. She was on her third year but chose the nine-year, rather than the six-year, path to become a Bronze-Level Trainer that allowed non-Golds and Silvers, like the Crystal Saint, to train and find owners for Cloths. Much like any future Saint that is stationed in Africa, French is required, but she picked up Spanish from the Master. After hearing the two other trainees, for some reason, Shun was paying more attention to June's pronunciation. Unsurprisingly, her Greek was quite good when compared to Leda's and Spica's. It also sounded quite pleasant and almost musical as she introduced herself. She took a drink and then pointed over to the gloriously round fifteen-foot high rock with her cup and free pinky. "Don't forget, that is my Sunning Rock, and if you push it, you bring it back!"

Spica slowly raised his hand and stood up. "What's a Sunning Rock?"

Shun nodded in agreement. That's what he wanted to know as well.

"It's where I meditate, perform some training exercises and stretch on. I refer to it as my Sunning Rock because chameleons like to sun themselves. It takes great balance due to how round it is. However, everyone tries to push it, so please, if you could, don't." She gave a sharp nod before she sat back down on her rock.

Leda, Spica and Shun all began to stare at the perfectly round Sunning Rock and then at the steep hill that led from the Living Area straight down to the beach below. It was so round and shiny that it resembled a giant marble. Spica raised his hand again. "Can't we do it just one time?"

"No!" She then gestured over to Shun.

Shun looked around. "Could you go ahead, Master? I'm not ready yet."

The Master obliged and stood up. He was picked up in Argentina and was transferred to the Gift of Aaron, the Sanctuary sponsored orphanage of Italy. His Greek was unsurprisingly the best of all of them even if he slowed it down. Shun already knew he spoke French and Spanish. He then found out he knew a little bit of Italian to get around and recently picked up some Somali due to the increase in pirates around the area.

Like all Silvers, he received three years of universal training at Sanctuary under the House of Taurus. Spica asked what he did there. "Seven days a week, for four hours straight, I trained or rather I was smashed around by the biggest, strongest, and all around nicest Brazilian you would ever meet," his face twisted in pain as he began to recall all the times he was thrown into the air, and choke slammed into a crater. "There were many days that I really wished I was a Virgo back then."

"Why is that, Master?" asked June. She thought he was quite proud of his tough Taurus blood.

He shrugged once more, "I guess it was because you get to sit under a peaceful tree all day."

Leda placed his hands on his hips. "That sounds boring."

Shun felt like he hadn't said much. "Is it a nice tree?"

The Master thought about it. "Yes, I've heard it is quite nice. Supposedly, if you die as the Virgo Saint, you get to sit between two trees instead of one."

Leda rolled his eyes at the Master's sarcasm. The Virgo Saint was probably stupid if all he did was sit under a damn tree all day, meditating.

Shun looked up as he thought of the Master's words. The Virgo Saint was probably wise if all he did was sit under a beautiful tree all day, meditating.

The Master looked at the sky. Shun didn't have a turn yet, and if they don't leave soon, they'll be caught in the below freezing temperatures of the night. He quickly finished off with telling his students that he received his Cloth when he first came to the island but had to work up to wearing the whole thing. "Shun, you hadn't said anything yet, why don't tell everyone a little bit about yourself?"

He was a little bashful at that moment. Even after the Master's long history, he still wasn't sure what to say. Everyone's Greek seemed far more fluent than anything he heard at the orphanage, and if he was a little more sociable, he could be considered one of the better speakers of the language. Maybe he could tell them about how Shiryu, Jabu and he were all on TV? Gosh, everyone's eyes were gazing on him.

Then there was the other thing that bothered him even more so after the Master spoke. No one talked about their families; even Leda and Spica whom June already mentioned were related. He thought that maybe he could tell them all about his brother. It's as if life for all of them started the second they became orphans of the Sanctuary except for June. It was almost like she was actually born into the path toward Sainthood.

Perhaps it wasn't the time to tell them about Ikki? He could always talk about it later; it isn't like any of them were going to leave the place soon. "I'm Shun, Shun Amamiya. I'm from the Kido Orphanage, and I speak Greek, Japanese, and English." It was a lot shorter than what he originally planned, but he didn't mind. His butt came down and just as his seat made contact with the smooth rock surface, Spica raised his hand.

"What's your Greek name?"

Shun held his position until he lost his balance and fell on the rock before getting straight back up, "my what?"

Leda looked up. "Your Greek name, my old name was Hayato Ishida," he then pointed to Spica, "and he was Hisato but you give it up to show you are truly dedicating yourself for Athena's cause and beliefs."

Shun shrugged. Was his name that bad? "But, I like my name, my Mommy gave me my name," he held his hands together. None of the other kids at the orphanage changed their names, and the Master made no mention of this. "Do I have to give it up?" Shun felt his blood grow hot at the thought of losing his name. "It's the only thing I have of her," aside from the pendant. However, it was still just a material object. His name, on the other hand, was something that his mother personally picked out for him out of love.

Luckily for him, June shook her head no. "You don't have to, but it's often looked down upon." It was one of those practices that much like how a woman must give up her feminine identity to become a Saint, most Saints outside of Greece would give up their old names to show loyalty to Greek tradition.

The Master continued. "It has died down since the number of International Saints outnumbers those of Grecian birth. However, the purists would often give trouble to those who hold non-Greek names saying they lacked devotion to the culture and Athena. Of course, none of us have to worry about that over here now, do we?"

A collective nod followed before Shun stood up. "I will keep my Japanese name," he spoke proudly before he timidly faced his teacher. "Is that alright, Master Daidalos?"

"Shun, why are you asking me? You just made the decision yourself," he dryly pointed out.

He almost slapped himself. He so used to Ikki confirming things for him that it carried over to the island. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he grabbed his own fingers and started to pull at them before planting himself back on his rock.

"Don't worry about it, if you keep your name that's fine, if you change your mind, that's fine too. Is there anything else you want to tell us or should we go on to the details of the Pretest?"

Shun shook his head. "No, that's it."

"Very well," he turned to June, and she quietly got up. She headed back to her hut and brought back half of the lightly glowing pink chains that she had collected earlier. Master Daidalos raised his hands, and all of them stood up. He reached over and grabbed a long line of chains and held it before the trio. "As part of your Pretest, you will be chained together for one month starting tomorrow. However, to give you a feel of what that is like, I want you to take a walk with me wearing them tonight. Stand in a line, present your arms and spread your feet so that June can attach all of you together."

Shun, Leda, and Spica looked at each other as they did what they were told. June carried her chain over. She grabbed Spica's right arm and Leda's left until Master Daidalos grabbed her shoulder.

"June, I don't want the brothers next to each other. Switch them."

June nodded once and pulled Shun into the middle. She then wrapped the chain around Leda's right and Shun's left. She took the chain and started to squeeze the links until they fused together.

"How?" Shun replied as he brought his hand and Leda's up to his face to get a closer look. It was almost as if she created a set of cuffs as he stared at the twisted little wad. "June what…" Shun didn't have time to finish.

"She just used her external Cosmos, something like that is not that hard," muttered Leda as he rolled his eyes and pulled Shun's hand down.

Shun thought it looked neat.

O|=====|O

The Master grabbed three containers of water attached to the sides of his hip guards and placed each one around their necks in case they got thirsty. "The way to the Elysium Cliffs is fairly simple. We'll be following the edge of the desert." Master Daidalos examined their chains, taking his thumb to correct any air bubbles. After that, he headed over toward a sandy path. "Follow me. Since there are three of you, walking in unison will be much harder than those who attempted this in the past. If you all try to be considerate of one another, find your pace then you should have an easy walk." June ran by his side, and the two headed to the desert. The trio looked at each other and attempted to move.

June and her Master kept turning back with each little bicker that the boys made. Leda on the left was too far forward; Spica wasn't fast enough while Shun looked like he was being dragged on one side and pulled on the other. Shun whimpered as he started to hop on his lead foot while Spica's hand made him elevate his other arm and leg from the ground.

He felt as if he was being stretched all over the place and sometimes Spica would stop for water and Leda would move on forcing his body to scrunch up briefly before being twisted around and pulled from the other side. He couldn't even reach for his water when he needed to, and right now after fifteen minutes, he was becoming terribly thirsty. He thought the air was dry around the living area, but it felt like his skin was drying up with every step and layers of his throat were peeling away every time he swallowed. He feels bits of moisture under his chains. He didn't want to complain, but he really didn't have a choice. "Leda, please, can you slow down?" cried Shun as his wrist was starting to bleed from the fiery redhead's pace.

June walked a little slower and began to concentrate her cosmos to speak to her Master telepathically.

"Master, shouldn't we stop for them?"

"No. If they wish to survive, they'll need to deal with these issues themselves."

The Master continued to move forward. June ran in front of him causing him to slow his pace.

"Master, you said you'd show some leniency. You said yourself that you've never attempted this test with three before."

"I did, and I am a man of my word. However, the only task I am asking of them right now is to walk from point A to point B. I don't think I'm asking much out of them right now. What will happen when it becomes more complicated later?"

June turned back as Spica stopped causing Shun to jerk toward him while half his body was being pulled by Leda. She reached over and grabbed his wrist. "Please? Master, I'm tired of students dying on us."

Death was always the hardest thing to deal with when one chooses the path of finding others for the cloth. He looked down with his gentle blue eyes.

"...June… If it makes you feel better…"

She smiled under her mask. The only way he knew this was that she always tilted her mask oh so slightly to indicate to others that she was.

"It does…"

He stopped and turned his head toward the bumbling trio. "June, fix their chains, I'll have a talk with them."

She jogged over as Spica and Shun hobbled over beside Leda. She checked their chains and shook them a little after she noticed Shun's was twisted up quite a bit. Shun was crying as he was attempting to pull his hands at the water and desperately tried to get the drink that he craved since leaving the bonfire area.

Master Daidalos spent a little time, absorbing what he saw and turned his bright blue eyes toward the one causing the trouble. He approached Leda and leaned over to his ear. "If you wish to live past thirty days, you may consider showing a little respect for your brother and comrade; less haste, more speed."

Leda sighed before bowing his head, "yes, Master Daidalos." He took out his water and drank as Shun and Spica were guzzling down their satchels.

The Master then moved to Shun. "Shun, you're the middle man. You dictate the pace. They walk when you do. They don't control you; you control them, step up and take charge."

Shun wiped his face and nodded quickly. "Yes, Master."

He then moved toward Spica. For a boy who liked to talk a lot during the introduction, he expected him to be the communicator of the shy trio. "Spica, for Athena's sake, please warn the others of your actions prior hand, you'll fall less."

Spica turned away and drank his water. "Yes, Master, whatever you say!" he spoke in between guzzles.

As they stood there, a small cloud of dust began to fill the air. The Master and his chain gang all turned toward the Nebula Temple. Out of the opening of the shiny, round, black half-sphere was sand that was being thrown outside. The boys all began to huddle together, not knowing if there was a stranger in the building or an oversized cat in a litter box. June ran to the door before leaping to the side to dodge a sizeable flying stone.

"June, get back here, we need to keep going," the Master shouted. June went back to his side, and everyone moved on. The Andromeda Cloth probably felt their presences and was trying to garner attention. However, they were on a strict time schedule to get back before night, and the Princess must wait.

As the group continued, Master Daidalos and June had to stop numerous times whenever their little chain gang lost their pace. What should've been a simple one hour walk to the Elysium Cliffs took more than two and a half. However, they have improved. They attempted to stay in a line, and while they kept getting off pace every third step, it did make the walk a little more comfortable.

The group finally arrived at the location. On the ground was the symbol of Andromeda carved beautifully into the ground. There were five equally flat oval cliffs all in line with the exception of the last one: it was round. Two cliffs on either side stood about twenty feet away. On one side of the two cliffs were several crosses at each side with a strange pattern. In the beginning, the crosses were placed in pairs. The first one had quite a few pairs, after that the second and third only had a couple. However, it seemed like the one in between the fourth and fifth one had the most sets. With one cross at the very end labeled "Talus." Beside each one of these crosses was a round rock with a pink chalk flower next to them.

The Master turned toward Shun's sad face. The other two were looking at the test; Shun looked as if he was reading the names on the crosses. "Is this as far as they went?" the little boy muttered.

The Master calmly answered "yes, but be grateful for your short stature, Shun, for my height permits me to see beyond your line of sight, for every row represents a year. Beyond that row are rows and rows of those from my time as King. Beyond the tenth row are rows and rows of those who bore the weight of my Cloth before me." Shun saw a memorial and him, a cemetery.

Before Shun had time to reflect on the Master's words, his teacher walked past them and stood before the first ledge and placed his hands on his hips. "Before one's training can begin, a Pretest must be initiated. Every training ground has one, for example, in Siberia, one must carry the cub of a mother polar bear and avoid her warm maternal mitts for ten minutes."

Leda raised his hand. "Do they still have Himalaya?"

June shook her head. "No, they freed her recently. The new bear they have is called Pokey. The Crystal Saint said that Pokey is FULL of love for her cubs!"

"Kids, can I finish?"

Leda and June bowed their heads. "Sorry, Master."

"Thank you," Master Daidalos then pointed out the wooden pole that June forced into the ground earlier. "At the very end, are your offensive ends for your training, and as part of your pretest, you must retrieve them as a group within a month. Between each of the four cliffs is five feet. The last one is eight. Before you ask, yes, I'm sure most of you can do it alone." his hand dropped, the Star end rolled off his arm a little. "However, that is not the point of this exercise. You all will work as one, and you will either die together or live together. You will either live another thirty days or maybe six years." He raised an eyebrow than placed his hands to his sides. "I strongly suggest aiming for the second option."

Spica reached over and wiggled the chains enticing the group to follow his lead and approach the ledge. The all slowly knelt down to look how high they were. There were actually strange streaks on the sides along with a small brown-stained ledge where several claw marks crisscrossed.

"Careful guys, we actually lost one group doing that on the first day!" June cried as she came up, took her whip, encircled Shun and pulled all three of them back, dragging their bottoms on the ground. She released her grasp and quickly rolled her weapon back up, "if you wish to know, it's exactly fifty feet."

Spica turned toward the Master. "Are you nuts?"

The Master quietly shrugged. "Fifty feet, five feet, if you fall and hit the ground before collecting your chain end I'll still fail you. I suggest the only measurements you should preoccupy yourselves with are the distance between the gorges and not how deep they run in between. For this test, I want to see what you all are capable on your own as well as how you work together and how you will prepare," he then eyed Leda, "how you treat each other starting tomorrow, from the time you get up to when you go to sleep. When the day comes for you to perform your Pretest, I will not be on the Elysium Cliff, but June will be a witness on test day. Remember that." he then softened up a bit. "This concludes your introduction," he walked up to them and clapped once sending a shockwave toward the boys.

Instinctively, Shun shut his eyes and turned his head away. The chains shattered. All the sharp metal shards that would've flown at the children's faces suddenly transformed into harmless iron marbles and merely plummet from their arms and legs and tumbled to the ground. They bounced a few times and then fell like rain into the depths of the Elysium crevices below, lightly illuminating the sides of the gorge with a gentle rose hue. His eyes shifted back and forth from the falling, fading drops of light to the speechless expression of Leda and Spica. Now he understood why Leda brushed off June's demonstration of her cosmos; that was nothing in comparison to the Master's, and he wasn't sure if that took any effort from him at all.

The Master went down on one knee until his eyes were at the same level as the three children. "Today, you three had just experienced a few hours of what it will be like for the next thirty days. Tonight, you will have time to contemplate whether or not you wish to endure this long pretest. Don't forget, I only need at least two to perform it. I'll be in my hut, and perhaps we can talk about it. Tomorrow, June will reattach whoever chooses to stay, and the rest may present their wooden sword. It's your choice."

Leda looked up. "Master Daidalos, will we do any other forms of training?"

The Master shook his head. "I," he paused "will not be training you instead, starting tomorrow. I will be doing nothing but observing all of you."

Leda folded his now free arms. "That's weird; why can't you train us at least part of the time? Is being chained up that much of a problem?" It was odd that a trainer would wait thirty days for a test and thirteen more for the break. Besides, he could even just give verbal history lessons.

June turned her head away. "Leda, don't question it. Besides, why are you upset that you'll get a lot of free time for a while?"

The Master felt the need to provide some answer. "Leda, I use to do it, but three years ago, I stopped. I have my reasons that I cannot disclose. Besides, if you all intend to do this test, you will need the extra time to practice."

Shun scratched the back of his head and looked at his wrists. The top layer of his skin was sore to the touch while small cuts were present around them. He wondered if he'll have hands by the time thirty days was up.

O|==========|O

Chapter 3: Be as Two, Move as Three

The boys ponder on how to pass the pretest with Spica and Leda wondering if they should keep Shun or not or convince him to leave the island.

Have you ever felt the true power of your Cosmos?

O|==========|O

Author's Note: Wow, I honestly didn't expect the response I got from the first chapter. I was anxious that no one would want to read it since the first chapter was relatively long. I want to thank everyone who took the time to tell me what they thought of the story. I was going to release Chapter 2 much later but thanks to the responses and a Level 3 Snowstorm that kept me inside all day, I got done with it a lot sooner than expected. As I said, I appreciate it when people tell me what they like and don't like it since it makes preparing the next chapter easier. Chapter 3 is written, but again, I try to proofread it and tweak anything that doesn't feel right.

Jenny D.

Grammar Update: 04/02/2019