Chapter 7: Divine Intervention
Seiya and Isaac heaved Nachi onto the nearest bed in the medical bay; the lights flickered on, indicating that Tatsumi had been successful in turning the power back on.
Saori, her practiced reserve forgotten for the moment, dumped the contents of the trauma kit onto the next bed along. "I've never heard of anything like this…" she muttered, sorting through the various medical instruments.
"Of course not…" Isaac replied. "Like most everything to do with the Saints, it falls outside of the normal world."
Seiya stared down at his twitching, growling comrade. "I'm guessing…when the black marks spread to cover his whole body, he'll die."
"We probably don't have more than a couple minutes, at this rate," Saori said. "Well…any ideas?"
"Possibly." Isaac stepped forwards, raising one finger. "The damage is spreading internally, so…it might be carried in the blood. Bleeding him might work…"
"He'll probably bleed out first!" Saori protested. "That's barbaric!"
"True…but there's another aspect to it. Black Pegasus' residual Cosmos is constricting Nachi's, diminishing it at the same rate his body weakens. If we can give Nachi's Cosmos a focal point, it might be able to expel Black Pegasus' along with some of his blood."
Seiya gave a blank look. "How are we supposed to do that?"
Grim-faced, Isaac lunged, jabbing his finger into Nachi's left shoulder, before making another stab into Nachi's right side just above the waist. Imbued with his superhuman strength, his finger tore easily through the unconscious Saint's flesh, and oily, black blood streamed out of the two holes. "The fate of a Saint is linked to their guardian constellation…Nachi's is Canis Minor," he explained. "By making incisions at the points of Canis Minor's two main stars, I've opened the floodgates…it's now up to his own Cosmos to expel the evil, and keep him alive."
Seiya turned away, pacing across the room, muttering under his breath. Saori, meanwhile, glanced around at her companions. No-one's looking… She slipped her hand down onto the bed, touching Nachi's head with her fingertips for just a moment; a faint glow passed down through them, and Nachi's breathing became a little less laboured, some colour returning to his skin.
Isaack spun in a slow circle, frowning. I thought I sensed an intense Cosmos nearby…but it's gone now… He shook his head. I probably imagined it. It's been a stressful day…
The next morning…
"Looks like he's going to pull through," Saori said happily, emerging from the medical bay and approaching her two remaining Saints.
"That's great!" Seiya enthused. "When will he be up and about?"
"Too early to say," she replied. "But I'm glad he's safe, at least."
More than 'great'… Isaac gave Saori a sidelong glance. I'd have called it 'impossible'. At the rate he was losing life-force, I didn't think Nachi was strong enough to make it. Maybe I just underestimated him, or… His eyes narrowed slightly. …maybe he had help. This, and a couple of previous incidents, were starting to all come together to form a bigger picture; he still couldn't quite grasp what that picture was, though.
"Anyway," Seiya was saying, "what now? There's only two of us still able to fight, and there's still five of them…they have Jabu, they have June, they have the Gold Cloth…they know where we are, and we can't even start looking for them for fear of splitting up…"
"I…don't know," Isaac admitted. "There's not much we can do, beyond waiting for their next attack—and that doesn't sound too enticing either."
"I believe that wait is over…" Tatsumi entered the room, bearing a letter. "We have mail. From, er…from Shun."
"Let me see!" Saori snatched it from his hands, tearing the envelope open; the others crowded around.
To my fellow hellspawn,
Your friends are alive. At least, you'll have to take my word that they are. They will cease to be if Seiya and the replacement Cygnus—and nobody else—fail to meet us on the docks, midnight tonight.
I should finish this with some kind of threat or gloat, I suppose. But I don't really have the energy right now. I think I've said all I need to anyway.
Regards,
Shun.
Saori's hands had gripped the paper tighter and tighter as she read, and as she finished she tore it fully in half.
Seiya shook his head. "It's not the real him…I'll make him remember."
"Do we go?" Isaac wondered. "They'll probably just use the hostages to make us easy to kill, then when we're out of the way, kill them too."
"We have to…" Seiya said. "We'll think of something by then. Everything else aside, this is the only time we'll know for sure where they are…"
A lithe figure crouched on a rooftop, watching Seiya and Isaac leave through the Coliseum's main entrance. I'll wait until they reach the docks…they'll be too busy to notice me.
"I knew the other Shadows would be defeated, you know…do you want to guess why I spared you that fate?"
"I could not begin to understand the workings of your mind, Lord Shun."
"I have a special task for you…not difficult, but important nonetheless. I will shortly be drawing out the remaining Saints. They're the ones that mainly concern me at the moment, but I may as well save some time, and they will of course be leaving the Coliseum undefended. Do you think you can kill two humans for me? An old man and a spoiled rich kid…"
"It will be my genuine pleasure, my lord."
The Shadow hunkered down lower. Just a few more minutes…
"Jabu.
"Jabu! Wake up!" The whisper grew more intense.
"Eh…?" Jabu's eyes lazily rolled open. "Where—"
"Speak quietly!" June hissed. "They think we're still out."
He nodded, tried to bring his hand up to rub his face, felt resistance and heard a metallic clink.
"Black Andromeda's chains," she explained, rolling over partially and showing she was similarly bound. "Probably not impossible to break…but without him noticing…" She tilted her head towards the other end of the room. "…somewhat harder—I've been trying."
Jabu looked over in the direction she'd indicated, taking in their surroundings as he did so—some kind of dockside warehouse. At the other end of the room, the two lengths of black chain snaking across the floor and leading up towards a large crate, atop which sat a softly-muttering armoured figure, facing away from them. A small pile of metallic objects rested next to the crate, and Jabu realised with a start what it was—their Cloths. Well, I guess it makes sense they'd take them…aheh, glad I didn't get captured last week, when I totally forgot to wear my civilian clothes under my Cloth…
"You feel that?" June asked.
He looked back at her. "Huh?"
"Seiya and Isaac," she explained. "Their Cosmos is getting closer…Shun must be using us to draw them out."
"…yeah, I sense them…" His face grew serious. "If we haven't escaped by the time they get here, we'll be used against them."
She nodded. "At the speed they're going…we can't have more than two or three minutes before they arrive."
"Okay, so…plan, uh…plan…if I really focused my Cosmos, I could probably break free, but it'd take me a minute or so."
"Same here. But he'd sense us, or even just hear us, and put a stop to it well before we were done. So…one of us needs to keep him busy while the other frees themselves…"
"…then the free one takes over so the other one can break free, and then we double-team him, get our Cloths back and meet up with the others," Jabu finished. "Sounds easy when you say it like that. But how do we decide who does what?"
June smiled. "I admit rock-paper-scissors would be rather difficult right now."
"Well, you're stronger than me, so you could break out quicker…"
She considered this. "Honestly…I think your Cosmos has the potential to burn far brighter than you realise. And this is just the kind of situation to bring it out—it wouldn't take you as long as you think. With that said…" She stood up, careful to avoid making a sound. "…I am faster than you. I'll be able to hold him for longer." She took a deep breath. No Cloth…still tired from earlier…half the number of available limbs I'm used to…sure, Jabu, it 'sounds easy'. "So…whenever you're ready."
"Shun!" Seiya called. "Get out here!" He and Isaac wandered between decrepit, abandoned buildings, under billboards advertising long-forgotten products, through side-alleys and even over the odd stream.
"I don't see anyone…are we even in the right place?" Isaac muttered, as they jumped the fence into a construction site. "Just saying 'the docks' isn't very specific..." Just as he said this, however, a spotlight burst into life, highlighting the two of them against the evening dark.
"Lord Shun doesn't need to concern himself with scum like you!" came a shout from the darkness.
"We'll be more than enough," said another, from a completely different direction. The effect, combined with the glaring light, was extremely disorienting. "Although I doubt we'll even have to fight…assuming you care about your friends."
"What about it?" Seiya snarled.
"Easy," Isaac cautioned.
"First, we'll prove they're alive," came the reply. "We'll send for Black Andromeda. Then, you'll let us kill you, or the two of them will die instead."
"Foolish!" Isaac snapped. "Why would we agree to that? You'll just kill them afterwards anyway!"
"And yet, that's the deal. Would you prefer we just tell him to kill them now? Because—"
"Question!" Seiya shouted, interrupting whichever Black Saint it was. "Is that a few Cosmos over there? Kinda feels like a fight's going on. Not sure if you have prisoners anymore. That tends to make it a bit hard to ransom them."
"Damn it…" growled one of them. "Regroup! Now! Subdue the prisoners!" There was a scuffling of feet, and the Black Saints sped off towards the warehouse, Seiya and Isaac only a moment behind them.
The moment Jabu began flaring up his Cosmos, Black Andromeda's head snapped up. He jumped to his feet, tugging on the chain leading to Jabu and trying to disrupt his efforts, but June jumped in to intercept, stamping her foot down on it before the force reached Jabu. "Sorry, your opponent is me," she declared.
"Move!" he growled, now yanking on his end of the chain attached to June's wrists, but she planted both feet firmly on the ground, growling as she slid across the room towards him, but staying upright.
He frowned. Probably more useful as offensive weapons… He sent a small pulse of Cosmos down both chains, severing them and withdrawing both to him for use in further attacks, leaving only the lengths around their hands. "Well…it makes no difference to me…if you want an early death, then come!" He jumped down off the crate, lashing out with both lengths at June. She dived forwards, twisting in the air to avoid them. At this speed, one hit from those could be deadly… She rolled, rising quickly and ducking under one of the swinging chains, weaving in close and making another leap, swinging a leg up in a wide arc and smashing an upwards kick into his chin. "Eeyaaah!"
"Guh—!" He gave a choked cry of pain, flying backwards, but managed to recover in mid-air, flipping over so he landed upright. June touched down in front of him, pivoting her whole body and making a spinning kick—this time he was ready, easily blocking and throwing a series of rapid punches into her stomach. She winced, not having moved to dodge—she'd instinctively tried to guard with her hands. Thinking fast, she pushed off the ground, bringing her other leg up so she now had one clamped around each side of his blocking arm, and heaved her whole body backwards, putting her Cosmos behind it and flipping both of them over, slamming him down into the floor, his Cloth ringing from the impact. Not giving him time to catch his bearings, she pitched forwards for a headbutt, aiming lower at the last second to avoid his Cloth's headpiece, the resulting jarring impact drawing another pained yell from him.
Spewing profanities, his nose broken, he kicked her off, staggering forwards to punch her across the face before almost collapsing, then backing off warily as she recovered her balance. "You'll…regret that…" Fine…I'll just go for the killing blow right— His train of thought ground to a halt as he spied Jabu at the other end of the room, instantly realising what was going on. Damn it…I've been played! "I won't let you!" he shouted, launching one of the dark chains again, this time aiming it straight for Jabu, who, June saw, was so focused on his task there was no way he'd notice in time.
She darted forwards as the chain flew past her, catching it between her teeth and heaving backwards; with a great effort, and some assistance from her enemy's surprise, this succeeded in pulling Black Andromeda off his feet and reeling him in towards her, where she rammed her knee into his oncoming stomach. He made a series of interesting wheezes and squeaks before sinking to the ground, where he stayed.
There came an explosion of light and noise from across the warehouse, and Jabu sprung to his feet, having finally freed himself, broken chain-links clattering to the floor around him. "Damn, but that's tough, whatever it's made of…uh, right! Don't worry, I'm coming—" He almost started to sprint, but slowed to a jog upon seeing the situation. "Uh…did you just…beat him?"
"Guess so," June replied, shrugging.
"But…uh…without your…and you had your…I mean…ugh…times like this I feel kinda useless…"
"Speaking of which…" June gave a grunt, holding up her freed hands as the chains fell away, suddenly coming loose. "I guess when he fell unconscious, they lost their power."
"Yup," Jabu groaned, slouching over to fetch his Cloth. "Useless." Just as they began to re-armour themselves, though, something sent a shiver through them. "Uh…that's a lot of people heading this way…"
June nodded. "Seiya, Isaac, and the other three Black Saints, yeah." She held up her mask—she hadn't been wearing it when they'd been attacked by Black Dragon back at the Coliseum, but she'd had it with her, so they'd put it in the pile with the other Cloth pieces. Chewing her lip and staring at it for a couple of seconds, she finally gave another shrug and tossed it away, fastening on her headband instead. "Let's go meet them."
"Right!" Jabu pounded a fist into his open palm. "I gotta beat somebody up today!"
"You'll certainly try."
"Ah, shaddup."
The three Black Saints skidded to a halt as they approached the warehouse—June and Jabu emerged to block their way in, tossing Black Andromeda down at their feet. Just as they took this in, Seiya and Isaac caught up with them, jumping down from the rooftops and helping the other two Saints surround their enemies.
"I guess we can forget the rescue mission, then," Seiya said, grinning.
"You can that," Jabu agreed.
Isaac took a step inwards. "You're not escaping this time."
"Wasn't planning on it," Black Dragon spat.
"Sure about that?" June asked, laughing. "Most of you can't handle us one on one, and the odds aren't in your favour this time."
"True. Perhaps someone should even those odds." The voice, soft yet menacing, spoke from above. All eyes turned upwards, settling on the brightly-glowing figure perched atop a construction crane—Shun. "Hello again. Always a pleasure."
Saori paced incessantly, wringing her hands to the point of pain. "Tatsumi…I can't stand this! If one of them dies—"
"I know it's hard," her manservant reassured her. "But worrying won't improve their chances…I'll make tea, all right? Steady your nerves." He trotted out of the bedroom—and was immediately hurled back in the door by a great impact, cracking the plaster as he hit the wall and slumped, moaning, to the floor.
"Tatsumi!" Saori cried, running over to him and checking—alive, though barely conscious. "Hang in there…" she managed, her voice cracking.
Shun's final Black Phoenix clambered through the doorway, the opening barely accommodating his bulky, armoured frame. "Tch, he survived. I wasn't paying attention…"
She shrank back slightly. "Y-You…monster…what did he ever do to deserve—"
The Shadow paused at the full sight of her. He'd been sent to execute a spoiled heiress—but this young woman looked dressed for a workout (not that he knew, but she'd taken Isaac's suggestion on practicality), and besides, the depth of anger in her eyes was…unsettling. He shook his head. "One thing at a time—you'll get your turn!" He swooped in at superhuman speed, tossing her over his shoulder into the hallway and rounding on his first target.
Saori landed in a whirl of confusion and pain, struggling to find her bearings and using the wall to help herself stand. Right…while I keep my power contained, I am a normal human…no way I could stop him. Tatsumi would probably prefer it this way—he'd tell me to run and not risk revealing myself. But…to hell with it. I'm not losing anyone else. She took a deep breath, letting something within rise to the surface. "Don't you take another step!" she barked.
"Eh?" Moments from delivering the killing blow, the Black Phoenix paused, turning back towards her. A Cosmos?! Who the hell is she…? His eyes narrowed behind his visor. "Whatever. I guess you're first after all. Ah, it's a real shame to have to destroy something so beautiful, but you know how it is; business before pleasure and all that." He rushed at her again, aiming his fist straight at her throat—where it stopped, held back by a force vastly beyond his own. Saori hadn't moved a muscle, and merely remained glaring at him. A moment later, his gauntlet cracked, then crumbled away entirely; then an ethereal flame sprung up around his hand, searing it, causing him to spring away, clutching his smouldering limb. "Wh-Wha…?"
The next second, her hand was at his throat, and the fiery, judging eyes seemed to fill his entire field of vision, boring into his soul. "You despicable…" she whispered—then, keeping a firm hold of his neck, she jumped.
After a brief, terrifying blur, the Shadow regained his wits to find them both high over the night-lit city, Saori having crested the arc of her jump, the pair of them now rapidly descending. The wind roared past them, but her voice was still perfectly audible as they fell. "When you wake up, you leave this place," she said; the strained formality of her speech was somehow far more threatening than any curse she could have yelled. "You never even think about returning. I never want to see you again, and if you should prey on the defenceless or the innocent even once more in your life, I will find you. Do I make myself understood?" He gave no vocal response, desperately trying to prise her fingers away from his neck. She nodded. "I think I do."
Tatsumi awoke to a thunderous noise, lurching to his feet and dragging himself to the door, throwing it open. He was confronted with Saori, bruises forming on her face and shoulder, radiating a strange light. Behind her was a huge crater in the road, at the centre of which lay a black-armoured man, twitching slightly.
She entered the Coliseum, helping Tatsumi into a chair, then gave a sigh, letting the glow die down; as her Cosmos faded, she began to feel the injuries more. "I'm sorry," she said. "I should've noticed—"
"You are not the one…who should be…saying that," he wheezed. "I failed…to protect you…milady. I humbly apologise."
"Given what we know, I'm not sure if there's much in the way of protection that you can offer me," she teased.
"And yet…that is my duty. To you…and your grandfather."
"And I appreciate that. I'm just glad it wasn't worse…" She glanced back over her shoulder, trailing off. "…Shun's reappeared. He's confronting the others." She made fists, turning towards the door. "I should—"
He stood, putting a hand on her shoulder. "No…not yet. Even what you did just now was risky—you're still not in full control."
"And letting them risk their lives without my help, that isn't risky?!" she cried, shoving his hand away.
"Miss…" he pleaded. "You know that this is not the endgame. If Sanctuary were to detect you before your power matured…"
"Yes…" She sank against the wall, nodding. "Yes, you're right. That would be far worse." Seiya…Jabu…June…Isaac…Shun. It's up to you all to come through this. I'm counting on you…
My plans for the story arcs following this one are starting to coalesce…anyway, next chapter the final battle with Shun and the Black Saints begins! Sorta…
Also, just for reference, currently Isaac is a bit stronger than Hyoga was at this point in canon (since he was the better of the two during their training); and Shun is about as powerful as Ikki was at this time. "Wait, what?!" you cry. "Shouldn't he be much weaker or much stronger, depending on the status of his hidden power?" Yes. Strange, isn't it? The answers will be revealed…eventually…
