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Love You, Kill Me

Part Five: More Than Mortal

Side Story 10: Gold Saint Resolutions Part Two

Author's Note: Most of this was originally supposed to be in The Big Games chapter and so it revolves around that time period but still goes from past to present.

6_Aiolia/Aiolos: All I Ever Wanted Was Love

7_Dohko: Trail of Tears

8_Aphrodite/Deathmask: Drunk and Evil

9_Camus/ Milo/ Aphrodite/ Deathmask/ Saga: Aurora Executioner 2

10_Mu/ ?: Farewell to the Starry Sky

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6_Aiolia/Aiolos: All I Ever Wanted Was Love

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Aiolia moved through the crowds of soldiers as they lined the outside of buildings trying to get inside. One would mistake these places as ritzy clubs but in reality they were simple pubs. Despite most of them had half a Euro beer, the main draws were that many of the pubs had at least two televisions to satisfy the everyone's fixation toward the World Cup.

With an Army that came from all points of the world, soccer was one of the few topics where it seemed everyone loved and could talk endlessly about and play. It was also a good way to make friends with since soccer allowed people to talk about their countries without having to go into uneasy territory like politics, the economy or war.

If Hades needed a Trojan Horse for the next Holy War, he should put Greece in the Finals.

Aiolia smiled for a minute and frowned. Nothing could ever ruin a moment more than him recalling another of his cursed brother's jokes, even if it was a little funny. He looked down the road. Even if he wasn't in the mood to watch the games, at least the streets were mostly clear.

He looked up and saw a little old woman running a flower shop. Goddess did he hate her, but unfortunately, he had to pass by her store to reach his destination. He forced his head forward with his eyes focused at the little Asian shop.

The old woman raised her head, "don't think I don't see you! You knew! You knew! You knew! Do the Goddess a favor and hang yourself!" she rasped in her dry nails-on-chalkboard shrill.

His head felt hot as he did his best to keep his feelings, a combination of anger and bitterness in check. How embarrassing was it to be the only Gold Saint who was constantly bullied and harassedby foot soldiers and commoners? If he fought them, he'd make them think he was guilty and it was also considered very disrespectful toward his Cloth for him to challenge anyone who didn't know or had a low understanding of the cosmos in a personal fight.

Besides, it felt like anything he did outside of walking to and fro would make him look suspicious. He once had to find directions to the book store and asked an old man feeding pigeons. After he wrote on a sheet of paper, someone sent an accusation that he was conspiring something and ended up having him and the old man being questioned for three hours.

From that point on, he rarely traveled in the town unless ordered or if a certain redhead needed anything.

He moved down the street toward his destination, a tiny store with several signs in both Greek and various languages of Asia. Inside and waved to a four foot high old man on a giant stool staring at a tiny black and white TV while making his way to the snack section.

The old man turned his head toward his regular, "ah, Aiolia, I didn't expect you to come." He reached over and turned the volume down. "I thought you'd be out waiting in line to watch the games?"

Aiolia leaned down and picked up a package of crab-flavored crackers. He had no idea what the characters in the title said but they were pretty good. "No, not this year." It was bad enough for him when foot soldiers were sober, he'd hate to think how an hour in the bar with everyone drunk would be like. He headed over toward the frozen meat section and shifted his eyes a bit. "Koji, where is all the octopus?"

The man made a sad face, "I'm sorry, there was confusion with the distributor and he sent it to the wrong place. Same with the ocean fish. I should have more in stock in three days. I'll be sure to set some aside for you if you come then. If you like it dried, there is some over there by the Aloe Vera drinks." Aiolia flashed him a confused look. Koji the store keeper chuckled, "it's by the green bottles in the pink packages with the fat cartoon penguin with its flippers in the air." He waited for Aiolia to grab a few before coming up to him.

The store keeper than reached to the side where several papers were set aside. "These are all the ones that feature Mitsumasa Kido. Most of the stories on him are about his declaration that his granddaughter will inherit his company now." He watched Aiolia's face brighten as he eagerly paid for it. "Aiolia, why are you so fascinated with this man?"

The Greek looked down. Koji probably thought he was fanatical for buying anything with Kido in it, even if it was a piece of advertisement. "Well... actually I don't know too much about him, but I have a girl... er..." he blushed, "a friend... who is really interested... although I don't know why either."

The old man nodded. "ah... I see..." he rang up the papers and crackers and placed them in a bag. "I was just curious." He handed back the change and pushed the items forward. "Your poor friend is going to have to find a new hobby. Mitsumasa Kido doesn't have long for this world."

Aiolia nodded as he collected his bag and walked out. As he made his way back to Marin's hut, he too began to question why she was like this. Everything he's heard about Kido was that he was the wealthiest man in the world who had lived a playboy lifestyle, well into his sixties. Marin wasn't the type to delve into celebrity gossip and most of the news has nothing to do with the whole one hundred orphan brothers fiasco that was dumped upon them. He knew her better than that.

He first met Marin when he would bring Aiolos some lunch at the place where she was being treated. She was different than, a prime example of a child who you could easily feel sorry for. All of her hair was shaved off for surgery, her scalp was purple from bruising and stitches. When she first allowed to go outside and became more aware of her appearance, she had it hard.

Aiolia, I look like a monster!

Marin, don't listen to them. If they are going to make fun of you because you had an accident than they are stupid.

No, you don't get it. I'm hideous! Everywhere I go, they make fun of me.

Marin, I told you, ignore them. If they do, I'll stand behind you.

You promise?

Always.

Later, as part of the final steps of her recovery from brain damage, Aiolos would check on Marin once a week to insure things were going well with her independent living. When Aiolos died, Aiolia, as per his promise, decided to take up the duty. It was on those days when he sat and chatted with her was he actually free of the harassment of the people of Sanctuary. Although, she did unintentionally annoyed him from time to time by mentioning how grateful she was for his accursed brother giving her her life back and a second chance for Sainthood.

It was strange to him that after he had promised to support her, it was her that was helping him now.

After Aiolia turned the corner, he finally spotted an empty alleyway and headed toward it. He reached the far end, double checked to make sure that no one was coming before burning his cosmos and shooting out of there like a light-speed rocket.

Less than a second later, he appeared in at an old abandoned rock quarry. It was a good spot to reappear due to no one, aside from an occasional drug addict, coming there and that it wasn't too far from Marin.

He rushed over several broken stones before following the side of a large cliff and reaching her home.

He reached her porch and could see she her curvy silhouette in between three curtains that surrounded her front and sides like a small booth called a prayer curtain. At noon, Amazons would go outside and face the sun to offer a prayer to Athena thanking her for the honor of allowing them to serve in the Army. The curtain wasn't required but it did help Amazons who lived in crowded areas to protect the virginity of their face. He stood there as her outlined showed her popping her mask back

He watched as her hand reached out for her mask before her hands reached forward and parted the curtains away. "Marin?" he finally spoke, making his presence known.

The Amazon turned her masked face to him and made a slight tilt of happiness, "Aiolia? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be out coaching the Grecian Owls?"

He waved his hand, "I turned the position down. If they won't let me pick Seiya for the team, then I want nothing to do with it." Besides, he felt a little insulted that he received the offer, not because they thought he we be good at it, but because no one wanted to miss the World Cup. "I was over at Koji's," he reached into the bag and gave her the newspaper as well as Seiya's and her favorite crackers. "There's an article about Mitsumasa Kido in the business section." Marin accepted the items and thanked him. She tucked the crackers underneath her arm and began to examine it. He watched her take the time to read. He watched her take the page and carefully rip it out before she knelt down to further tear around the sides of the picture so that it was a near perfect rectangle. As she lifted and cradled the image, the old man's words came to mind. "So Marin, why are you interested in Kido?"

She turned to him as he gazed at her with curious eyes. He had always been there for her and was someone who always came through. She was sure she could trust him. "Alright, but you must not tell any other Saints, alright?" she whispered wishing he knew how to communicate through the cosmos. He nodded to her before she began to lead him into her hut.

As they went through the room, Aiolia looked around, "where's Seiya?"

"He's watching the others practice with their teams at the Coliseum," she replied. She chuckled a bit. "I tried to take him to a meeting, but he absolutely refused. I guess someone told him about it."

"But he's just a trainee, what meeting would he have to go to?" he asked.

She spun around, "he's going to the meeting. You know, the one that every boy his age should go to?"

"Oh!" he spoke stupidly as he realized what she's talking about. "Gosh, Aiolia actually tricked me. He said there was free food and stuff."

She watched him laugh out loud. It was nice to hear him sound like a bit more proud just as true Leos go. But then his face slowly shifted back, perhaps realizing that he was talking about his brother in a good light. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and his lip tightened, the usual reaction when his brother is brought up. She had long given up on telling him that he needed to forgive. Besides, it was a pointless endeavor when everyone else still hadn't forgotten or the fact that his duty was to stand by and guard Aiolos' tombstone.

In her eyes, such a duty only reminded people of it, like a monument or even a stationary scarlet letter. Even little children who weren't even born when it happened were angry at Aiolia with some mistaking him to be the actual one who caused it. In a way, it was popular to hate the Aiolos and Aiolia and be as vocal about it as possible. Unfortunately, the only suitable thing was to just drop that subject all together since mentioning Aiolos' name made him upset. "Anyways, come this way and I'll show you why Kido is important to me."

Aiolia felt his blood grow warmer as he followed her. Suddenly the sadness of his brother faded back into memory as other feelings aroused. "Goddess, this is her bedroom! She's letting me in her bedroom on a holiday and Seiya is far away... he'll be gone for at least an hour. She has her favorite crackers. Maybe its not as romantic as wine, but its something. Maybe, this is my chance to ask her out?" he thought as he smelled the sweet scent of jasmine that perfumed her room. He looked down and gasped as he immediately sat on the bed and grabbed an old stuffed bear and shoved it on his lap to hide how excited he really was. He looked up as he leaned down and wrapped his hands around the stuffed animal, "its... a cute bear."

Marin nodded, "yes... Saint Asterion gave it to me when I was going through therapy. I named him Pokey."

Aiolia nodded as he looked down for a moment, "nice name."

Marin walked over toward a small dingy carpet and pulled it off to reveal some loose boards. She pulled them out and picked up what looked to be a large photo album before opening it up to reveal various newspaper clippings and magazine articles. "I believe, Mitsumasa Kido, is my father."

This was the last thing Aiolia expected her to say. He thought that perhaps with Kido being involved with the one hundred sons incident that she was researching him for Seiya's sake, but this was far deeper than he'd expect. "Your father? I've heard that he has other children by other women, but how how do you know you are one of them? Did you have any trinkets or mementos that confirm this?" He asked.

She placed her hand on her chest, "because I feel that Seiya is my brother. I remember my brother's face and Seiya is clearly him. We were are both Japanese and from the same area. Seiya said his older sister had red hair. I have red hair. There are very few red-heads in Japan. He also mentioned how his sister chased after him as he was being taken away. I too remember chasing my brother as he was being taken away."

Aiolia was shocked. The amount of passion she spoke of it made even him want to believe her. There was a problem. Even though he was told that thanks to her Japanese blood, Marin had a very youthful appearance. But the fact was that Marin was at least fifteen years older than Seiya. "Marin... isn't Seiya too young? It doesn't make sense. Maybe both of your stories mirror each other, but your brother would have to be in his late teens, maybe early twenties." He watched the color of her hands grow pale. "Marin?"

She shot up, fists clenching tightly. "No! Why are you telling me this? Everything fits perfectly! Why would Athena, our Goddess, bring me and Seiya together? Look into your heart!" she begged.

Aiolia sat there. The brain damage Marin had incurred a long time a go was certainly great. Although he hated his brother, he was grateful that he had healed Marin to the point that she was capable of living independently and successful earn a Cloth of Athena. While Marin appeared normal, he always wondered what elements of her mind and memory were still missing? Now he knew. Why must it be so personal? "Marin... think... you are...at least fifteen years older... Seiya is only ten..." he slowly enunciated. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "I can see you put your heart into this... but... have you ever considered that you maybe wrong?"

Marin jerked her masked face at him, "Aiolia... you don't understand! Seiya has to be my brother! I remember his face... yes... he was waving to me... and I was chasing him!" Tears began to fall from the bottom edge of her mask, "Aiolia... please... if I'm not his sister, than what am I?"

Aiolia turned his head at her. He reached for a clean cloth and began to carefully dry the tears that clung to her delicate neck. Marin, the one person in Sanctuary who supported him was so sad. Nothing could ever break his heart more than to see her like this. This was a delicate moment and one wrong word could either make her hate him forever. Then who would he have? But saying nothing would be just as cruel. It was best to handle this now. "Marin, you can love Seiya like a brother but don't lie to yourself in thinking your his blood sister. If you told him that you were his true sister, I don't think he would take it well and may even hate you. He's stubborn but he has common sense." He placed his hands on her shoulders, "part of being in the Army of Athena is to start over. Maybe Athena is giving you someone you have lost and giving Seiya someone he had lost in return."

Marin nodded as she looked down at the photo album, "you're right. I'm... sorry if I sounded like a raving lunatic." She leaned her head on his chest.

Aiolia looked down as he felt his chance appear. For many nights he had dreamed of this moment. Perhaps it was time to tell her how he felt and that he loved her? Both of them were outsiders and even though they were Saints, what did they have to lose? If something happened, how could they be treated worse than they were now. He was tired of being so alone.

Marin looked up as Aiolia was smiling silly wondering what he was thinking. She turned her head, "Aiolia can I tell you something?" she asked.

Aiolia turned his head, "what is it?"

Marin tilted her mask in happiness, "I was thinking of your words, and I just want to thank you, for being the brother I never had." She spoke as she gave him a hug.

"Brother? What? No!" he thought as he looked down feeling his fantasy die. "Ummm, you're wel-come..." he muttered stupidly. Was this all she saw him as? A brother? He looked around. Wait a minute? He did talk about treating a someone not related by blood like a brother. Did she think that since he lost his brother she associated his words with that and starting over? That's not that love he was thinking about!

There was still time. Neither of them had duties, Seiya was gone. He can still tell her that he wanted to be more than that! Maybe he should kiss her? Would that work?

*KNOCK KNOCK!*

"Saint Marin, we're here!" cried a voice.

Marin stood up as she turned her head, "oh, they're here!" she spoke as she stood up.

Aiolia sat there dumbfounded. "Whose here?" he muttered.

"That was Trainee June. She, Saint Daidalos, and his other students will be staying here for the Trainee Cup for the next two weeks," she opened the bedroom door, "I'm coming!" she called out as she headed out.

Aiolia sat there in disbelief for a moment before he fell back with his hands over his face, "damn it... I was so close... why did she have to consider me a Brother..." he whimpered.

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7_Dohko: Trail of Tears

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A man with a Chinese hat looked down. The tip of his light colored, leather shoes tipped and rubbed against the ground. "Over two hundred years and the road is still the same," commented Dohko before rolled a big stone on the top row of his toes before sending the rock into the air and catching it before doing it once more but higher.

"Coach Raibura, you need to be careful, you could hit someone with that!" muttered Shiryu as he watched the armory foot soldier play around.

"Shut up, Shiryu, let him hit himself if he wants to!" snickered Ohko as he chewed a straw piece between his teeth.

"Don't worry, I got everything under..." suddenly the midair rock went a little farther than expected. He ran a bit before throwing his foot out and catching it with his foot once more. "See?" he said as he balanced it with one foot. He watched the two boys roll their eyes. Dohko, or his current alias Coach Raibura, simply allowed the rock to settle in the dirt on the side. From the boy's perspective, he could guess that they were turned off by the fact that their wise and older than dirt Master had given them an immature foot soldier for their first outing in Sanctuary.

Dohko only had the guise to keep Sanctuary from discovering him while he went to check some things out. For the past two or three months, with the help of a couple of old students, he was able to sneak in false records of Raibura and bribe a few of the officials to let him be the coach for the Trainee Cup games. So far, it seemed his ruse appears to be working. If the checkpoints over at the docks didn't raise any red flags than he can rest assure that Sanctuary doesn't suspect a thing.

"Coach Raibura, are you serious about us staying at a hotel?" asked Shiryu.

Dohko/Raibura looked up and smiled, "yeah! Isn't it awesome! I know its not the best, but there is going to be a television and a balcony!"

Ohko turned his head, "too bad Shiryu. Looks like you won't get to see the wank-walls at the foot soldier barracks!"

Shunrei raised her head. "What is a wank...wall?" she muttered.

"A wall that soldiers wank off to...mmmph!" Ohko spoke before Dohko's took his youthful hand and covered Ohko's mouth before he could get more detailed.

"Ooookay, that's enough of that subject. Let's just find the hotel and drop off some of our things before we go to the Coliseum!" Dohko let go and continued forward at a more hurried pace. The secondary benefit of a secret identity, he got to see how his students really acted when he wasn't around. So far, Shiryu hasn't really changed much, but Ohko was proving to be a bit more entertaining.

Dohko looked up to see a bus full of tourists drive up and open its doors, filling the streets with several people from all parts of the world. He sighed, "Shiryu, Ohko, Shunrei, change of plans. We'll have to walk around the city and take the long way to the Coliseum." He turned as he heard a chorus of disappointed groans. "Oh! Don't say that! Use your heads! You all honestly think we'll get through all those people with a tiger at our side?"

"Ugh, you sound like, Old Master," argued Ohko.

Dohko raised a stern eyebrow. "Yeah well, if I was your Old Master, I'd whack you upside the head with my old cane!"

Shiryu turned his head, "Ohko stop arguing."

Shunrei nodded, "Yes, Old Master would not like to hear if we weren't giving the person in charge of us the same amount of respect as we would give him," she stressed, especially with the fact that she was the only one who knew who Raibura really was.

They took the long path around the the town toward the Coliseum. Just as walking down the gravel path had brought memories so did the familiar scent of the ancient circular building. For hundreds of years, Saints and soldiers trained and died there. So much blood was spilled that it gave the sand a reddish brown color. Before they could go in to practice, Dohko stopped and stared at a strange obstacle course outside of the place.

Shiryu took notice of the foot soldier, "Coach Raibura?"

Dohko raised a finger, "one moment." He should wait until nighttime for this, but his curiosity had gotten the best of him. He ran down toward it, before a strong odor got the best of him. "Goddess!" He spat as he drew his nose close to him. He turned around to see the kids beginning to follow him. "STAY OVER THERE!" He waited until the trio of children halted before continuing over. The smell was something rotten and it didn't take long for him to get his answer. He looked over to see a couple of foot soldiers sitting by a hole with a rope and a hook next to a few other bodies. "Hey, what's going on!"

One of the foot soldiers, a young teen of barely fifteen looked up. "We're trying to get my friend out."

Dohko, his hand still over his nose looked up, "is he stuck?"

The teen shook his head, "he's dead." He grumbled. "Actually he died last Tuesday. He didn't make it over the hole."

"Last Tuesday was six days ago?" thought Dohko. "Who are they?" he pointed as to the three putrid corpses.

"I guess they are others that didn't make it over the hole," he answered.

Dohko felt horrified. "No one even stopped the training to go fetch him?"

The other soldier with the hook and rope darted his head, "fuck no! They just tell you to move along saying it simulated Holy War and that we needed to be more prepared for it by leaving them behind. Fuck them! I'd never leave them in there!" He pulled out a head and handed it to the other soldier. "Fuck Sanctuary... ," he rasped as the other soldier shook his head, signaling it wasn't their friend, before the other soldier lowered his hook down below again.

Dohko walked over to the side and looked down the hole. Inside was a mixture of tangled bodies, some impaled on spikes while others were broken at the bottom. Even if foot soldiers were the bottom of the ranks in the Army of Athena, even they were allowed a day of mourning and a prompt, respectful burial, not being left under the hot sun to decay and pile at the bottom like bits of processed cat food. Even Specters would show more courtesy by throwing a bit of dirt on the dead.

He touched the ground beneath him and focused his cosmos. A large tremor rocked the area as everyone around them went on their knees. A large crack appeared beside the large hole, splitting it further until a steep but climbable path formed. Dohko stood up,causing the tremor to stop. He looked over, "well... look at that, an earthquake occurred and now you can walk down and get your friend. Praise Athena!" he said as he placed his hands on his hips.

The soldier with the hook placed his tool down and began to climb down the crack while the teenage one looked up at Dohko. He wasn't stupid. A strong man and a sudden earthquake was not a coincidence in a place like Sanctuary. "Thank you," he spoke before he headed down the crack.

Dohko looked around as other foot soldiers began to go run down the cliff and began to bring the bodies out of it and laying them on the ground outside. He's heard of the new obstacle course and heard it was created by Gigars himself and approved by the Pope. He looked around at the other obstacles there. Some of the devices looked so dangerous that he wouldn't even send a trained Saint through them. Of course, Gigars was a politician with no military experience and saw even the lowest rank as nothing but toy soldiers and tools that could help win public favor.

The Saint of Libra looked around to see that his tremor unexpectedly damaged several of the devices being used for the obstacle course and would probably take half a year to repair. Dohko smiled a bit before returning back to the others. He walked slowly, trying to erase the look of disgust off his face to something more neutral. "Saga, if this is what is out in the open, I fear to find out what large skeleton is in your closet."

Once inside the Coliseum, the sign of children running around with soccer balls at their feet instead of spears in their hands was enough to put Dohko in a better and more nostalgia mood. After his students put up their stuff and went out for practice he moved toward the top row in the stands to get a better view of the field. He loved soccer. It was older than him and the core of the game play has barely changed with the exception of the fun rule of having live beasts playing too. Hopefully there will be decent referees that showed they cared more than Gigars does for the foot soldiers going through the obstacle course.

Dohko turned his head over toward a young boy with green emerald hair, switching between bouncing a ball with his feet, and bopping it with his head. He stood there and watched as the child accidentally hit the ball too hard with his head causing the ball to pop high into the air toward another group. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a triangle end and a very thin portable chain. The child threw it out like a lasso and catching the ball and jerking it back to his side shouting that he was sorry to the others. "Thoughtful as ever." Dohko muttered.

It was almost surreal seeing the same person that he met as a teenager, now a child, over two hundred years later than when he first met him. He could come up to him and introduce himself personally, but he wondered if that would affect the future and cause a great time paradox that would reset the world with the Specters probably winning?

Dohko placed a hand on his cheek. How odd that he, the supposedly more impulsive one between he and Shion would be the one to be the most cautious? Before Shion died, his Lemurian friend had already began tracking down the child who Shun said would be his teacher and then making plans to kill the vessel of Hades before he could create a third Holy War.

Perhaps it was due to Shion's own experience as Pope and his growing paranoia that humans would be the ones who killed themselves while he remained the same in his secluded spot at the five peaks, oblivious of the changing world. He turned his brown eyes back to the field and watched Shun come up to his Master for some guidance. Dhoko could only take a few seconds of watching the two before turning away. It was too surreal, even for him.

After the Coliseum, Dohko took the children to the hotel and dropped them off. Now began the real investigation and already he was getting nervous after seeing the dead bodies at the pit. The first thing on his list was trying to figure out which towns were hit last since those would have the freshest evidence.

He rushed down the dimly lit streets of Rodario and toward the village square. He looked around until he spotted a large wooden board with the news that had been happening. Dohko's eyes shifted back and forth as he read the text only for him to end with a sigh. "The repairs of the foot soldier quarters are complete... unimportant... new statues to feature the twelve constellations will be erected over here to honor the Gold Saints... unimportant..." He looked down and noticed that the sheet of paper was on top of many past ones. Dohko took his finger and pulled from the bottom and began to check out the news from the past weeks, reading each paper before moving to the next. "Where is it?"

A foot soldier that was stationed there turned around, "What are looking for?"

Dohko turned his head. "I was stationed outside of Greece for a while and I heard some towns had some problems with protesting Sanctuary."

The foot soldier placed his hand on his chin, "oh that... yeah... they stopped reporting on that months ago."

Dohko's eyes widened. "Why? Stuff like that is important?"

The soldier shrugged. "The person in charge of this was asked not to do so since Holy War is coming and they don't want foot soldiers to be demoralized by the lack of support of the other villages." He pointed over toward an empty wooden board, "they even stopped reporting deaths of trainees and foot soldiers." The foot soldier leaned forward, "they said that some of the people in the villages, were really skeleton soldiers or Hades sympathizers and that's why a Gold Saint is being sent to these places." He shifted his eyes, "scary times, huh?"

Dohko gasped, "how do you know? Do they show any proof that this is the case? There are reports that entire villages were slaughtered! Men, women and children, they can't all be a part of Hades' Army!" It was a horrible excuse. He knew exactly why nobody was reporting it. It was because if it was written down, it was proof of what has occurred and could be preserved. If it was left to memory, the event remained in history as long as the people lived at most and generally for as long as they cared.

The foot soldier raised his hand, "stop shouting!" he rasped. "Look... you need to calm down. If they hear you, they may think you are siding with Hades and you'll get us both a trip to the gallows."

Dohko relaxed his shoulders. "I'm sorry." He looked down, "listen... one last question, do you know what town was last visited by a Gold Saint?"

The foot soldier clutched his spear and looked around, "...Nealamas..." he whispered before he jerked his head out, signaling the direction of it as well as his desire for him to leave.

The Gold Saint of Libra was taken aback when heard the familiar name. He quietly turned away, not wishing to burden the guard anymore and headed toward the direction.

Throughout the two hour walk, Dohko resisted the urge to simply use light speed. He wanted to find out what happened to the place, but using such a large amount of cosmos in an empty field would surely get him caught. At least when he was at the Coliseum, with several Saints nearby, he could get away with his earthquake.

His eyes turned toward the fields of flowers in the night sky, watching the white petals sway gently under the moonlight.

Dohko, do you think this is what Elysium looks like?

After the last Holy War, Shion asked him that. He wasn't sure if it was because so many of their friends were dead or the fact that Shun, the Great Bodyguard, had told him that his murder is what will trigger the corruption of Sanctuary. All Dohko knew was that when he tried to tell him, Shion tells him not to say a word. It was just one of those introspective questions that were never meant to be answered, but pondered for eternity, as long as the flowers remained and whenever they travel the roads.

Dohko stopped for a moment. He looked around. Did he pass the village? He swore he should have hit it or at least seen some houses or buildings. He turned around and began to backtrack until he found a path that diverted to the right, but apparently was hidden by the tall grass. He followed it down until he reached the start of a paved path. He looked up and gazed at the surroundings.

The ground was bare with barely the top of the foundations remaining. He looked around the fields and narrowed his eyes to see bits of timber sticking out from the ground as if a tornado came and tossed the buildings aside. However, this was done on purpose. It was an age old trick of making people believe that it was a mere storm that destroyed an area.

The way to figure out if it was a natural disaster were the trees themselves. The fruit trees where a farm should be were reduced to but small wooden cylinders that were leveled to the ground. This was surely the work of a Gold Saint, but which one, he didn't know. Anyone of a lesser power, would've at least left ashes or corpses.

Nealamas, a simple village that had existed for centuries thanks to the protection of the Saints was now eradicated from the face of the Earth by one of them.

The sky began to lighten. Dohko had to go back to the hotel before his students grow worried, but over the next month, he still had several other places to check on. Although he heard of only one other village getting the same treatment, with many others losing one or two people, it didn't excuse the fact that those that remain must live in great fear of being the next.

The sad fact was, he had a feeling he was not supposed to see this and only did so because the Great Bodyguard spoke of it. Ordinarily, he would would go to Sanctuary, but if he interfered with past observation, he would have to wait a painstaking two years before the supposed Rebellion of the Bronze Saints.

Dohko lowered his head, not just out of respect for the fallen village, but in thought, trying to think which Gold Saint would act out an order of what was clearly genocide.

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

8_Aphrodite/Deathmask: Drunk and Evil

During the African Lions vs Asian Dragons game

A/N to avoid confusion

Aphrodite= Dressed as a False Athena

Deathmask= Dressed as a Royal Messenger

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

The man dressed in the outfit of a Royal Messenger grabbed a bottle and pour himself a cup. His eyes shifted as he listened to the crowd cheering. He'll be so glad when the Trainee Cup is over and didn't have to run around the world delivering the results of the games to other Saints. He took a sip and pulled away quickly, widening his eyes.

"What's wrong, too strong for you?"

Deathmask, dressed as a Royal Messenger looked up to see the outline of the Goddess of Athena, but knew better that it was Aphrodite with Saga using his illusion techniques to create a false shell over him and altering his voice to make it more feminine. "Actually, it was. I thought it was wine, but apparently it's something a bit more potent. Its definitely not watered down."

Aphrodite held the side of his white dress as he took a seat right in front of Deathmask. He leaned forward and grabbed his cup, drinking it straight down. "Its not that strong." He spoke as he placed the cup down and rolled it forward.

Deathmask filled the cup and drank it before doing it once more. "I didn't say I couldn't drink it, I was just surprised by it's potency." Deathmask slid the cup back forward. He watched Aphrodite simply pour more and drink three cups this time around before passing the cup back to him. Deathmask looked at the bottle and drank the three cups before leaning back in his chair, "you know... Athena doesn't drink this much."

Aphrodite, feeling quite warm around his cheeks, placed his elbows on the table and came forward a bit, "how would you know? Hmm?" he asked raising a brow.

Deathmask looked down at his cup, "because Athena is pure and chaste like water and daffodils."

"Well," Aphrodite grabbed the bottle and drank straight from it, "this Athena thinks drinking is just fine."

"Our Pope wouldn't like it. Do you really want to wind up like the other four Pisces Saints?" asked Deathmask in a more serious tone.

Aphrodite's rolled his eyes, "Of course not. However, unlike them... the Pope assured me that I will not be killed like them. Obviously, because I was the strongest!" he took his hand and stroked his white rose that he kept behind his ear. Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the other side of the table, "what's so funny?"

Deathmask leaned forward. "You are! Do you really believe that you lived because of your strength? You are alive because Athena is no longer a little child. If he killed you, then he would have to find someone that matched your height, size, intonation and general mannerism. Saga is crazy, but even his dark side has a little sensibility."

Aphrodite shook his head. He knew the other Pisces Saints. The Saint of Pisces was one of the Cloths that had a high death rate and thus the need to provide several back ups. "Actually, the other Pope told me that I was the strongest. However in his words..."

being a Gold Saint requires not just who was the strongest, but those of exceptional character. Don't think I didn't see you belittle the others despite all of you being early in your training. Not only that, but you keep underestimating everyone against you. I can't tell you how many Saints have died over the years because they think too highly of themselves...

Aphrodite held his hands out, "so you see, the other Pope made it clear that I was clearly worthy of my Cloth from the start. Unfortunately, the other Pope was just too stupid to give me the first slot as the Saint of Pisces. Instead I was a backup to the backup, to the other two backups! How dare he! I would never allow my pride to kill me. Years later after he breathed his last breath, I am performing my duty well. A Silver is a body-double of the Pope... or he would be if Saga hadn't killed him... while I... am a body-double for Athena... since Saga killed her. " He raised his bottle, "Thank myself that that old senile Lemurian is as dead as a door nail!" he took a large gulp from it before sliding it across the table to Deathmask.

Deathmask nodded as he poured himself another glass, "I toast to that."

Aphrodite leaned back with his arms folded over each other, "why? Isn't Saga making you do all this clean up work with the villages?"

"He is, but he's also given us the respect that we deserve. Who were the ones that defeated the strongest in the past Holy Wars? The Golds... Who is it that is entrusted with protecting Sanctuary? The Golds. Who is the strongest? The Golds!" Deathmask stood up, "and what do we get? We are the ones who must be humble... we have to be considered equal to the fucking bronzes and silvers and even foot soldiers... the ones who always die first! Saga has transformed our Twelve Houses into a Pantheon. Not only that, but why should we have a little girl run Sanctuary? In the last Holy War, she was just a little baby who cried and shat most of the time. It was only when nearly everyone else was dead that she decided to transform into an adult with her Cloth and still The Great Bodyguard, some guy that he was related to, the Pegasus Saint and a couple of Golds had to do all the work."

Deathmask turned his head and placed his hands on his hips, "and the Lemurian Pope still thought we needed the Goddess for this War," he shook his head. "If killing men, women and children will keep one of us who are clearly more experience in battle. Besides, I only kill the people who object to Saga's rule. They are our enemies, and over time, people will see them as the enemy as well. Once this Holy War is over, people will look back to see us as the heroes who saved the world from Hades, not genocidal maniacs."

Aphrodite nodded, "much like how Alexander the Great slaughtered thousands in Thebes yet everyone knows him as the greatest military commander for creating the largest empire of all time?"

"Exactly!" Spoke Deathmask. "If Alexander can get away with killing over eight thousand Greeks, no one will remember a couple of dinky villages in the middle of nowhere."

Aphrodite closed his eyes to try and sense if anyone was nearby before opening up, "I think you're a little more ambitious... aren't you? Saga did well to kill that Lemurian. He was very good as the Pope in the beginning but is...a bit difficult to approach at times."

"That's true," spoke Deathmask. "That is why it is important that... one of us step up to the position of Pope if the need arises." He took his chair and pulled it besides Aphrodite, he took his head and leaned it against Aphrodite's, taking care not to push against the white rose that Aphrodite keeps in his hair, "some of those that know about Saga, are...getting tired of him. Those that do not know about Saga like Aldebaran, are troubled by the Pope's growing erratic behavior. Personally, I give Saga two or three years at most before the others stop listening to him and then, perhaps another could rise?"

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

9_Camus/ Milo/ Aphrodite/ Deathmask/ Saga: Aurora Executioner 2

Before Trainee Cup Award Ceremony

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

Milo stood in the fields where the servants and other civilians of Sanctuary were buried at. Dressed in simple suit with a tie and still in his undyed blond hair, he watched as Mrs. Schafurwatt plant new flowers over the grave of her long dead father on the anniversary of his death. He offered several times to help her, especially with her complaining about her knees, but she kept on insisting. He waited until she patted the soil beneath the last of her flowers. "Mrs. Schafurwatt, you have done a marvelous job with taking care of this spot. I'm sure your Father is happy from up above," he spoke as he reached down to help her up to her feet before brushing a dead leaf off her side.

She reached for her garden gloves and pulled them off. "Oh, thank you, Milo. I do my best to keep it clean and polished," the old caretaker smiled.

Milo reached over and touched her hand, "indeed! It looks almost brand new, despite it being over fifty years old."

She sighed, before looking down. It was hard for her to believe how many years had passed by. "I just wished he was here."

Milo turned his head, "Edward was a fine man. I'm sure he is looking from up above as well."

"Oh, no, not my husband, but I miss him as equally." She turned forward, "I meant... the Pope. When my Father first died, every year, he would come with me and just like you, would watch me plant my flowers and clean the stone." Mrs. Schafurwatt reached for her thumb and wiped a tear from her eye. "He would always tell me how responsible he was for failing to protect him from the mob. I would reassure him that it was not his fault, but bless his heart, every year he apologizes anyways. Unfortunately, in the last eleven years, he stopped doing it."

Milo turned away. The vast amount of wrinkles and crows feet on her face only accentuated the amount of sadness in her eyes. "He's very busy. Holy War can happen any minute."

"I know, but I wish he would send something to let me know how he's doing. But, if it is something that keeps you alive, than I don't mind him not spending time with me." She turned her head and stroked his curly blond hair. "I do wish you'd stop dying your hair that with that tacky purple."

Milo looked up. "Why? The purple goes well with my Gold Cloth? It compliments it!"

She frowned, "yes but that cheap dye you use weighs it down and makes it... greasy. Without it, it is much softer, I could comb it all day long, " she spoke as she quietly took the a few strands so that her handsome Saint of Scorpio's hair was even on both sides. She pulled away and turned to her watch, "Milo, the finals for the Trainee Cup will start in ten minutes."

The Scorpio Saint reached into his pocket and pulled out an old pocket watch that he got for his tenth, "oh... so it is!" He shoved it back in and turned his head, "shall we depart?"

The elderly woman turned to him, "actually, I'd like to stay a little longer. "

"Very well!" nodded Milo. "If you change your mind, than don't hesitate to direct the chariot toward the Coliseum and I will be sure that you are given a splendid view of the African Lion victory. Until then, I shall attend to my daughter!" he laughed as he vanished in a burst of light.

The caretaker turned to the sky. All was dark as a small streak of light flashed before disappearing, "Milo, I truly wished you weren't joking." She mumbled as she held her hands. It saddened her that he was close to thirty years old yet still acted too much like a teenager. She supposed with Saints being as fit as they were, aged much slowly on the outside. When Saint Paris, the last Saint of Scorpio, died, his mistresses still kept thinking he was twenty, even after she corrected them that he was fifty six. "So much time..."

She turned to Sanctuary. The cemetery had a lovely view. She could see the Clock Tower and the blurry but unmistakeable shape of the Pope's Chambers. She gazed at it for a few minutes before coming to a small decision that she had been thinking about for some time. She walked over toward her Father's tombstone and formed her hands into that of a prayer. She walked over toward a small carriage with some foot soldiers standing by with a the House of Scoripio door guard nearby.

"Where to, Mrs. Schafurwatt?" spoke the door guard as he took her hand and helped the old woman up the step and into her seat.

"To Sanctuary, Javert. But, I would like to visit the Pope."

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

Issac stood at the platform. He fidgeted a bit in his spot, shifting his weight back and forth before looking around the stands and other teams for something interesting. He leaned back to his training partner, "Hyoga, why did all your friends dress like girls?"

Hyoga, equally bored from Gigars' blabbering in front of them shrugged. "Beats me, but at least it makes me look like the normal one for once." The two chuckled before the crowd roared in applause. The two boys joined in the celebration as the moment they've been waiting for finally came, the end of the speech.

Gigars bowed his head as Aphrodite, dressed as Athena, stepped out from one of entrances to the Coliseum floor.

Athena smiled and waved her hand to the crowds around her. Several maidens along the front row took out their baskets full of flower petals and threw them down to Athena standing before them. The Goddess smiled as her hand stroked the white rose that she always carried in her hair.

Two vestal virgins came out, carrying several woven laurels in their hands. The two of them smartly filed over to their Goddess and followed her as she made her way to the winning team.

Aphrodite, gazed at Camus' stone gaze. "Congratulations, Bear Trainer. You've made a fine team," he whispered.

Camus shrugged, "we lost against the Asian Dragons in the last round. We're winners due to circumstance, not because we were the best."

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "No, Camus. You are the winners. Just embrace the moment and celebrate..." he spoke as he placed the the laurel on his head, "you should be used to it by now," Aphrodite whispered before giving a wink.

Camus turned his head as he watched Athena walked up to each of his trainees and other students, congratulating each one. The chance to meet the Goddess up close was one of the greatest honors that a trainee could have and one that he knew that they were all being denied of. At least each of their expressions, even one of the few times where Hyoga looked extremely happy, were all genuine even if the moment was not.

Athena finally made her way to Pokey the Polar Bear. She turned to one of the Vestal Virgins and picked up an almost comically large laurel to go around the bear's shoulders. "If you are wondering why there is one less olive tree in Rodario, here it is!" she held it out smiling as the crowd burst into laughter before walking up to the bear. "Congratulations, Pokey," she smiled as she raised the oversized wreath up. The polar bear's eyes narrowed as it began to show its teeth.

Aphrodite dropped the wreath as he leaped back, narrowly avoiding the bears large swipe. He stepped a bit more only for him to trip on the long white dress and fall flat on his butt. He gasped as the bear charged forward with Camus rushing over and grabbing the leash.

"STOP IT!" Camus gritted his teeth as he placed his hand on the bear's shoulder and using his cosmos in an attempt to calm it down.

The bear's jaw clenched so hard its lips began to bleed heavily. The two ton bear twisted its body, breaking free of the leash before charging forward toward the false goddess. Other soldiers took their spears and shoved it into the bear's sides, only for the action to make the bear even angrier.

The trainees rushed over and stood in front of Athena in an attempt to shield her. Pokey hesitated, seeing Hyoga and Issac, only for her to take smack them away with the back of her paw.

Aphrodite grabbed the white rose from his hair, deciding whether to die pitifully by a wild beast or to throw the rose and admit the sham. "Do something!" Aphrodite shouted at Camus. "Why isn't he using his techniques?" Aphrodite sent a cosmos message, "Stop pretending to be a Bear Trainer and save me!" His chest heaved as Camus tried to grab on to the bear and calm it down.

"LUCKY RABBIT STRIKE!" shouted the Amazonian Bronze Saint as she jumped in front of the Goddess, and uppercutting the bear, shattering its skull.

The Amazon flipped forward to her feet and stepped forward to check on the polar bear. She touched its head to ensure it was dead before she turned around and helped her Goddess to her feet. "Goddess Athena, are you well?" she asked.

Aphrodite looked up. While some Cloths were difficult to tell what constellation they represented, the two super long, ruby red ear coverings on her tiara and the extremely thick gauntlets and foot protection, giving the appearance of paws, "I am, thank you, Lepus Xu... or is it Bunny Sue?"

The Bronze Saint tilted her head in happiness. "Either one works, my Goddess, but the latter is often used by my enemies and fellow Amazons," spoke the Andromeda Island graduate as she brushed a strand of beautiful long black hair in front of her mask.

Aphrodite smiled to hide his annoyance. It was the first time he's met Bunny Sue but for some reason he already hated her. Rumor had it that if she took off her mask, one look from her face could win over the love of any of the Twelve Gold Saints. He wasn't sure how legitimate that rumor was, but on the outside, she just looked like another Amazon with a larger than average bust. He looked around at the chaos that enveloped. "What took so long?"

Bunny Sue turned her head and pointed toward Camus, "he told me to give him a chance to stop the bear... and he told me his true rank..."

Aphrodite gritted his teeth as he pushed aside a few strands of purple bangs away from his face. He walked over toward Camus as he sat beside his bear, with a hand on its head, trying to comfort it in its dying moment. "My life was endangered," spoke Aphrodite through the cosmos.

"It was and the Bronze Saint saved you," Camus communicated back.

"A Bronze Saint shouldn't have to save me when a Gold Saint is by my side!"

Camus turned his head away. "If a Bronze Saint can't beat a bear, they are not worthy of their rank."

Aphrodite narrowed his eyes, "It seems to me you care more about that filthy animal than me, your Goddess!"

Camus paused and closed his eyes, "Yes... you are right. I care more about my bear... than you who pose as my dead Goddess."

Aphrodite's fist tightened before he took his foot and kicked the near-dead animal before storming out. He heard the crowd gasped as their perfect as daffodils Goddess actually use violence against a creature.

With the award ceremony complete, the crowds in the stands began to disperse quickly, eager to go out and be the first to tell their friends of a giant bear attack against the Goddess herself. Issac and Hyoga, bruised from Pokey's initial swipe at them came up to their Master, ignoring the chatter of the audience in the stands around them. They wanted to see if he was okay, but were mesmerized by their typically stoic teacher stroking the bear's head with loving care until it was obvious that it had no more life in it.

Once the crowds were gone, their Master finally stood up, soaked in as much bear blood as when he is out helping Pokey give birth. He gestured his hand over to Pokey's back, and a burst of cosmos left his hand. The two children watched as he froze the bear from head to tail in a solid block of ice.

Camus walked over toward one of the soccer goals and ripped the net out. He carried it over and threw it over the block of ice and began to pull it as if he himself was a beast of burden pulling a sleigh. He will take her back to where they were staying, and arrange for a boat to take Pokey and his students home.

He turned around and watched as Issac and Hyoga had ran around the back to help push the ice block. He's always had good luck with finding loyal students. Thank the Goddess that Pokey held back when the two of them attempted to shield who they thought was Athena. Camus looked up as Deathmask stood over by the exit in his Royal Messenger uniform. "What does he want?" Camus thought as dropped the net and stopped. "Excuse me, are you waiting for someone?" he asked with the flyspeck of a chance that it had nothing to do with his bear attacking Aphrodite.

Deathmask smirked as he waved a scroll in the air, "His Holiness desires an audience with you at his Chambers... now." He turned to two Siberian Trainees, "would you like them to come? I'm sure they would would enjoy meeting His Holiness in person... face-to-face?"

"Really?" gasped Issac as he eyes lit up.

Camus jerked around, "they will not!"

Hyoga's jaw dropped. "Why not?"

"Silence! Stop arguing! Now go and push Pokey's frozen corpse over to the hotel." The two children flashed him a look of disgust as Isaac walked to the front of the cube and pulled the net while Hyoga cussed in Russian and pushed the back. "I'm sorry, this is for your own good," he thought as he grabbed the scroll and followed Deathmask. The two of them headed toward a secret chamber and light sped their way to Sanctuary.

O|==========================HOUSE OF SCORPIO (TWO HOURS LATER)==========================|O

"Welcome back, Saint Milo, how was the Trainee Cup?" asked Javert the door guard.

Milo, still holding a bag of street food a vender gave him looked up. He sighed. "Well, the Lions were disqualified. Apparently the Queen of the Amazons threw a tantrum and both the coaches of the Lions and Dragons threw the towel. Oh well... it was entertaining while it lasted." He dare not bring up the bear fight. He was still trying to work things out with Camus, and him being the one to tell his House may make it appear he was happy that his largest polar bear was slaughtered. Milo tossed Javert the bag of food. "Here, it is still warm. I wish to fill my stomach with Mrs. Schafurwatt's splendid soup."

Javert opened the top and felt his mouth water as a large amount of steam came out. "Thank you, my Lord. Unfortunately, Mrs. Schafurwatt has yet to return to from the Pope's Chambers."

He jerked around, "What!" he flashed right in front of the door guard. "What in the name of the Goddess is she doing there?"

The door guard's eyes turned to Milo's index finger as a long nail began to slide out, "She said she missed him. She said that she wanted to catch up with him! She said they were friends!" he blabbered as sweat perspired around the edge of his helmet and side guards.

"DAMN!" He snapped as he tossed the French man on the ground before dashing out of the House of Scorpio. He had no idea that she had such thoughts! Considering how late he was out and how well known she was among Sanctuary, she probably had not trouble passing security quickly and had probably reached the Chambers at least a couple of hours ago. All he could do was hope either some newbie door guard was giving her trouble or Saga turned her away and she was on her way back.

O|==========================THE POPE'S CHAMBERS==========================|O

"Twelve Houses without so much as a how are you doing?" asked Deathmask as the two of them stood in front of the doors. Camus' eyes barely wavered. "I guess that's just your cold nature," he retorted with his terrible pun. "Come on," Deathmask touched the door handle, "talk to me... you never know if this will be your last moment when Saga's hair is white."

"Someone like you is not worth my time," Camus spoke as he stared hard at the doors, waiting for the Saint of Cancer just let him in.

Deathmask nodded, "I see... so this is about the villages... fair enough... I'm not so ignorant to understand how some would disagree with Saga's method of peace. But you of all people surprise me," His hand pulled the door ever so slightly, "since I wasn't the first one to annihilate an entire village with the powers of a Gold Saint." He grinned as he watched Camus' fist tightened, apparently annoyed by his clever retort before he calmly opened the door and gave him a bow, before Camus purposely took his golden shoulder pad and smacked Deathmask on the cheek with it.

Camus looked up at the Pope's Throne. Standing beside the masked grey-haired Saga was Aphrodite, still wearing the illusion shell of Athena.

"Hands and knees, Saint Camus... you are before the almighty Pope and the Goddess of War and Wisdom?" mock Aphrodite as he stroked the white rose in his violet hair.

Camus looked down and complied. The undying loyalty that he was supposed to have felt too much like a chore than anything else. "What do you want?" he muttered before letting out a sigh, "Your Holiness?"

Saga turned his head, "Saint Camus. I have been eying you carefully over the past year. You seem so unenthusiastic when you address me or your fellow Golds."

"That's just my nature, Your Holiness," Camus promptly replied.

Saga drew a finger near his chin, "there's also the matter about the Cloth of Sagittarius. It has been quite a few years and yet your progress is slow."

Camus closed his eyes. "As I've mentioned long before, I've narrowed it down to the Kido Foundation. However, they are known for their tight security, especially with intelligence. It is a matter that takes time and when I've gained their trust and pinpoint it's location I will enact a plan I've been developing for some time to slip a mole among them."

"IT'S TOO SLOW!" snapped Saga as he slammed his fist on the throne's arm, breaking it off before standing up. "Camus... are you purposely holding back the Cloth of Sagittarius? ARE YOU SIDING WITH AIOLOS!"

Camus bit his lip as he kept his cool. "No, Your Holiness. Regardless of how I feel about Aiolos, I do not delay the Sagittarius Cloth. I am simply saying that to retrieve the Cloth requires a delicate hand and much time," he spoke with great dignity in his voice.

Saga's masked face tilted downward, "It is still too slow. I'm not sure if you're still loyal to me anymore, Albert," he muttered, using Camus' birth name as a means of reflecting that he was not worthy of being a Saint. "I've summoned you here... for a small test."

"What!" Camus stood straight up, his face filled with anger, "how dare you!" he screamed, "I've lived eleven years of my life protecting this farce! I've lied to one of two of my friends for nine years and watched my only other one mutilated at his hands! My bear is dead! My students nearly died protecting that purple haired freak and I've given up thousands of hours to find the Sagittarius Cloth to follow this and still you accuse me that I'm not loyal enough? What more proof do you need! WHAT MORE!" He burst out unleashing years of frustration that he kept bottled up in his heart, feeling his chest rapidly rise up and down. It was suicidal especially with him being surrounded by three Golds but even the most stoic of the Twelve had a breaking point and he finally reached his.

Saga narrowed his red eyes before taking his fingers and filling the air with a loud snap.

Camus turned as Deathmask, now in his Cloth of Cancer, entered the room and made his way toward the Pope's bedroom before coming back with Mrs. Schafurwatt, watching Deathmask dragging the elderly woman first by the arm before she pulled away. Deathmask simply reached out and grabbed her by her thin grey hair and began to drag her to the center of the room and tossing her in the center.

"NO! PLEASE! NO! WHAT'S GOING ON!" She shrieked, her body trembling hard while her make up was smeared all over her face. "Saint Camus! What's going on! Where's Shion! Where is he?" she begged.

Saga pointed downwards, "She saw my face, Camus... If you care about winning the Holy War... you know what must be done."

The old woman screamed as she attempted to stand up only for Deathmask push her down on the ground. She crawled on the floor and grabbed Camus' cape. "Please! Don't let them! I don't want to die! I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" she cried as she stared at Camus' eyes. "Why are you doing this! Gold Saints don't do this! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Aphrodite placed his hands on his hips, "look at him! He hesitates now just as he hesitated to save me when his bear nearly killed me!" Aphrodite turned to Saga. He was tired of Camus and one of his two students could easily fit the role of Aquarius. "I think it is proof that he has no loyalty toward you, Your Holiness. My aim is quite good, I think I can take care of the witness and this obvious traitor in one strike!" spoke Aphrodite as he removed the white rose and faced it toward the Saint of Aquarius.

Camus closed his eyes, reached over and grabbed Mrs. Schafurwatt by the arm and pulled her over toward a door. "Very well... I'll prove my loyalty." He sighed as he listened to Milo's caretaker scream and desperately tried to free herself.

Saga watched the Aquarius Saint drag the woman away. "Camus! Why are you taking her to the balcony?"

Camus turned to him, "I need an open spot, lest you desire your chambers to be covered in ice that is at the absolute zero temperature."

The old woman threw her hands over her face crying hard. "Why! Gold Saints aren't supposed be like this! Why do you want to murder me! I've done nothing! I'm not a Specter! I'm not a Mariner? Why?" she turned her head only for Camus to grab her head and face her forward.

Deathmask raised an eyebrow as he watched Camus stand right before the old woman. A minute passed before his patience grew thin, "just chop of her head. There's no need to go all fancy."

Camus reached the balcony and pushed Mrs. Schafurwatt at where the balcony. "Yes there is!" He took his hands and cupped them together. He raised them in the air and waited until the woman would just stand still and accept her fate. "If you wish to know how loyal I am to His Holiness and the Goddess... I will show you... AURORA EXECUTION!"

Milo shot through the doors just as the attack commenced. He and the others turned their eyes away just as the brilliant signature technique of the Saints Aquarius practically blinded the area. He turned his head to where Camus stood. "...no... I'm too late..." he thought as he ran over to the balcony. Bits of black cloth and bits of flesh that was so frozen that it was purple were scattered all over the place. He ran to the bottom and looked through each cold piece of ice trying to find a face or something.

Camus looked down, "Milo, she saw the Pope's face." He reached over his hands and pulled off bits of stray gray hair that had wrapped around his finger tips. He pulled his cape to his side and began to make his way to the center of the room. "Your Holiness, are you satisfied?"

Saga nodded, "I am. All my doubts have been eased, you may leave a true Gold Saint of... me."

Camus nodded and headed back to the House of Aquarius.

That evening, Milo walked slowly exited the House of Pisces. He sobbed hard as he carried in his cape the shattered remains of the only person that at times he called mom. He looked up to see the dreaded sign of the House of Aquarius. It was once a place that he would spend his free time at, but now he dreaded having to cross it.

He knew that Camus had made it back there, but deep down he was praying that perhaps Camus would have the dignity to stay in the lower levels and leave him alone. Unfortunately, the door open and there Camus poked his head out, watching Milo with his dull eyes. "I didn't expect you to come at that moment," Camus whispered.

Milo's blue eyes turned to the stairs. "I killed your student." He looked to the side to see a little bit of blood had melted and was staining his white cloth. "Now that we are even... now crawl into your igloo and go fuck yourself," he began to climb the stairs and came to the door as Camus stood there, "move!" he snapped.

Camus stayed in his place. He was so grateful that Shaka was in Ethiopia right now. He reached for Milo's head and leaned his against it, "come downstairs... she's not dead."

Milo looked up and immediately followed Camus down the stairs of the House of Aquarius. After reaching the eight floor below, he dropped his cape and ran over. "Mrs. Schafurwatt! Goddess, I thought you were dead!"

"Milo!" rasped the old woman as she sat in the guest bed and hugged her Master.

Milo looked at her appearance before turning to Camus. "How? How did you manage to do this?"

That was a good question. Most of it was a combination of his knowledge of the mountain landscape of Sanctuary, quick thinking, but also a string of good luck. "When we were on the balcony, I used my speed to find a ledge in the side of the mountain. I then searched for a animals and brought them closer. When I performed my technique, there is a blind spot... one that Ivan used on me. The attack struck the goats and in the flash, I placed her in the ledge, ripped pieces of her clothing and shattered the frozen animals on the floor. When flesh is that dead and shattered, it can be difficult to figure out if it is human or not," he spoke as he pointed toward Milo's cape and the various frozen pieces that laid on it. "We will need to find a far away place for her to hide."

Milo gazed at Camus. He walked over and put an arm around him and buried his head against his shoulder, "how could you," he muttered, "I killed Ivan... I should have done something to protect him... but I killed him to save myself...I'm sorry... so sorry," Milo apologized.

Camus looked down, "just because I don't show my feelings..." he took his hand and placed it on Milo's back to ease the emotional outburst, "doesn't mean I have no heart..."

"Milo, I forgive you."

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

10_Mu/ ?: Farewell to the Starry Sky

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

Dr. Asamori walked over to a timer and picked it up. "Two hours?"

Mu finished attaching the last electric clip to the Steel Saint helmet of the Swordfish. "Set it for Two hours and a half hours. The metal for this is a bit denser and its best to play it safe or we risk having to rebuild it all over again," he looked over toward the switch for a machine. With but a bit of telekinesis, he flipped it down to the on position. He watched as the metal of the helmet began to darken and indicate its softness. Mu reached down into his pocket and pulled out a long Lemurian temperature stick and hovered it above it. He stared at the bi-curio liquid to ensure it reached 25B before he turned away from it. He walked over to the Japanese scientist and looked at his face, "you seem tired."

Dr. Asamori rubbed his red eyes before he reached over into his pocket for a bottle of ginseng pills and took one. "A little." There were at least two hundred segments for each Steel Cloth. In order for the molecules in the metal to be a bit unstable and allow the Cloths to couture to any body shape, they needed a certain range of a consistent electrical charge. Unfortunately, because of the massive amount of power needed for just one piece of Cloth, they had to turn off all other laboratory equipment. to avoid drawing too much attention from the Japanese government but more importantly, Sanctuary. "This step... it feels like all we do is wait."

"...and it is not as fascinating as the other parts of the Cloth making process." Mu added. He chuckled, "you are not alone. This step is the reason why making Cloths takes a long time." He turned to the door. "Shall we go for another walk around the lab?"

Dr. Asamori sighed. Ever since they started this step, that is all they've been doing, but it was better than sitting in one spot recording the steps they took and the results. He stood up and the two began to make their lap around the facility, passing by the billion dollar desktop computer that's only function was to calculate the amount of molecules in the metal they used as well as a five by five foot room that was used to project the blue prints of each Cloth in 3D. After they walked by several other machines they came across the special room.

Mu stepped up to the special concentrated stardust tiles he had placed and looked up at the new Cloth of Sagittarius. He sighed, "it looks so ugly and bulky now."

Dr. Asamori agreed. Before the special reconfiguration to hide its Cosmos signature, the pieces were arranged in the shape of a winged centaur firing an arrow. The pieces were covered with small decorative touches and were a lot thinner. The Gold even had various shades too. When they first received it, he was so fascinated by its beauty that rather than go home to his wife, he stayed beside it, scrawling notes and photographing ever piece of it.

After the reconfiguration, the wings were tucked and sealed inside, the metal was more of a dark yellow, the pieces became thick and bulky as if they were meant to cover a military tank and not a person. Not only that, but its resting position was that of a standing man, like a medieval set of armor. It looked nice, but the last version had an artistic beauty to it. "I guess if it protects the person, then that's all that matters."

"It would protect them, but unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to move very well," Mu pointed over toward the legs. "The thick metal in the back doesn't allow much movement. A person cannot reach light speed when the best they can do is walk."

"But if that's the case," Dr. Asamori turned his head, "what will happen when we actually need the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius? Do we have to spend months configuring it back to its old form?"

"Oh, do not fret. I would never disrespect the original blacksmith of the Cloth of Sagittarius by rendering it permanently useless or making it too difficult. I made the process of transforming it back as easy as cooking the delicious instant ramen from the vending machine... just add water." Mu turned around and bowed his head to correct himself, "or rather have it submerged underwater for twenty four hours until the seals we put on it dissolve. I'd hate for a rainstorm or an increase in humidity to de-camaflauge it."

Dr. Asamori looked up and straightened his glasses, "It is fitting. All living things need water." He turned back to the room they were in, "I wonder if the Steel Saint Cloths will have any personality to them?"

Mu looked down. "Hakase, I've been meaning to tell you this for some time. I know the prospects of creating new Cloths is... exciting, but I don't wish to go all the way and... give them life. I'd like to keep them as mechanically dependent. Can you imagine how sad of a life it can be... to always be in the forefront of war, but not as a warrior, but rather the tool, to not have much control over the actions of your current owner?" Mu shook his head, "I will help to make the Steel Saint Cloths effective in countering the cosmos of other Saints, but that is as far as I will go. If the Steel Cloths are destroyed, so be it." He looked up at Dr. Asamori's face and bowed his head, "please do not take insult over this."

The Japanese scientist shook his head. "No of course not."

The two were quiet for a moment before the Japanese man turned to the Lemurian. "Mu, you don't have to answer, but why do Lemurians even create the Cloths in the first place? I mean, you seem so upset over the only war on the continent of Mu between birds and butterflies, yet your people made things that rival even the most advance human weaponry of today." He held his hands, "I don't want to insult you, but you just seem so thoughtful, even with the lives of the Cloths."

Mu placed his hands down, "no, you are not. You are right that we are and always have been a peaceful race, and so the reason for the Cloths were all for peaceful intentions. Centuries ago, before Poseidon created the first Holy War, we had dreams. We were tired of simply exploring Earth and we began to look up into the sky and there we dreamed of not just appreciating the stars but touching them."

"You wanted to explore outer space?" asked the scientist.

Mu smiled and nodded. He took his hands and created nine other balls of cosmos of varying shapes and raised them in the air. He allowed each one to float, glow and orbit around the Cloth of Sagittarius as if it were the sun. "The story that has been passed from the survivors of the sinking of Mu was that what you know as Mariner Scales were to be our prototype space suits. They were to be tough enough for the debris that was in the sky and the material is capable of allowing a person to survive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. The Cloth would be alive in order to provide a means of life support, and the more focused cosmos would be used for propelling ourselves, as well as providing an unlimited power source for a space ship. We wanted to test everything underwater..."

Mu sighed as all but one of his balls of cosmos disappeared, "then Poseidon attacked, stole the Scales. Our race became divided. Many of the Psyche and Nymphs chose to ask Hades for help. To appease him, they stole from us the more advance versions of our space suits that were meant to cover most of our bodies. Hades then twisted them by aligning them with the Evil Stars... and spent the next two hundred years to create Surplices. We chose Athena, and despite how limited we were in material, we did our best to create something that could combat the power of Poseidon's Scales. Part in retribution for the destruction of our culture, but... we felt responsible." He looked down at his lone ball of cosmos in his hand, "at least the people we helped, accomplished our dream, even if it is not the same as how we envisioned it."

Dr. Asamori blinked his eyes and looked up, "that's incredible! I never thought..." he paused.

Mu leaned forward, "what is it?"

The scientist held his hands, "well... this will sound strange but, when I was growing up, one of my favorite shows was something called Star Trek. It was actually about people who did explore space. The aliens on the show, were made to resemble humans partly due to a low budget, but also as a means to... reflect human nature and current issues." He looked up at Mu, "to me... you remind me of that."

Mu smirked a bit, "how strange. My race used to do the same thing and compare how humans were like primitive Lemurians." His smirk became a grin, "part of what keeps Lemurians helping humans, is the pleasure of watching them advance. However, I truly hope that your people will not do anything to destroy all of that." The two stood there quietly before they headed back to the Steel Saint Cloth.

Dr. Asamori turned to the timer, a bit disappointed, "well... we've killed about half an hour of time."

Mu folded his arms. "It feels like every time we do this step, the waiting time gets slower and slower." He turned to the Japanese Scientist, "what was that show that you mentioned?

"Oh, Star Trek?"

Mu nodded.

"Why do ask?"

"Well, it sounds interesting... and your human television shows seem quite fun to watch." Spoke Mu.

"Would you like to watch an episode while we wait? I have the collection in my office and my laptop has a good battery."

Mu smiled. "That sounds lovely! Perhaps Kiki would like to join us!" He created a small ball of light cosmos and popped it, sending a cosmos ping. Kiki, sitting in the corner playing with his Table of Elements blocks hurried over and floated up to cling on to Mu's back like a baby monkey. The trio went into Dr. Asamori's office and turned on the show.

Little did they know, a ghost was watching them. Shion smiled as he watched his student watching the screen with the human and Kiki. Shion turned his head toward a large billboard with several photos of Mu, Kiki and Dr. Asamori, eating food and Mu showing the the scientist various alchemist tricks. After Mu had left Sanctuary, his friends and his birds, he seemed sadder. If Shion would've known how Mu would take his death, he would've at least prepared him better for it. After all, cuts will scar and bones will heal, but betrayal can be forever.

But now, Mu had found someone that could match his creativity. Someone who can almost match his kindness, and most importantly, a person he could trust.

Mu had made a new friend.

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

November 20

Chapter 36: The Oracle Comes Hither

The Andromeda Islanders joyfully take care and train their new puppy. However, Shun must now meet the Oracle and take his test while the Master speaks with the Oracle that had been stalking him throughout the story.

Have You Ever Felt the True Power of the Cosmos?

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

In the last few notes, I kept talking about some sort of curse that keeps happening where I'd put down a date and it would get delayed a day longer for some dumb reason.

This time, it was more on the fact that I didn't start it until November 4th. I was pretty burnt primarily from work and also with the last chapter being around twenty-two thousand words. I knew what to write, I had the outline done from the last submission and I only had to write a few things on the Aiolia part, but I had to go and lay on the couch to rest like every twenty minutes. I delayed the story to November eight, but despite doing a lot of writing, when that deadline came, Mu's part was the only one that wasn't done and I hadn't proofread the thing yet. In fact, I just finished Mu's part a couple of hours ago.

Anyways on the parts themselves...

Aiolia: If you read the first draft of The Big Games, this part was actually in it. I re-watched the episode where Aiolia is sent to kill Seiya and Saori and he's really sad and looks like he's been suffering for a long time. In fact, he looks like he's going to cry any moment and I'm beginning to wonder if I portray him as being too happy in this.

Dohko: In The Big Games, you'll notice that Dohko was a little preoccupied and at one point, he was away from Shiryu, Shunrei and Ohko. This is the background of what he did while in Sanctuary. I made sure to give him his opinion of when he saw Shun. The Obstacle Course that is talked about in this refers to the one you see in the anime (during the Flame Saint episode) where it looks more like a center for torture.

Aphrodite and Deathmask: Ah, Kurumada's two most hated constellations. Interesting fact, I read somewhere that Pisces and Cancer were actually very incompatible with Sagittarius which happens to be Kurumada's birth sign (which may explain why he considers Sagittarius as the best). In my fic, I try to put reasoning as to why people do the things they do but for Deathmask, I really can't justify why he does what he does. Kurumada pretty much made him flat out evil with him bragging about how he killed women and children and hung their death-masks in his Temple. Not to mention what he did to Shunrei. Deathmask is that he does redeem himself in the Hades Saga but before hand, he's a monster, and I just ran with it. I put the author's note in the beginning of this one since in the chapter where the Andromeda Islanders act out the Myth of Andromeda, there was a lot of confusion of who was who.

Camus/Milo: The conclusion to the first Aurora Executioner. Unlike the other Golds who are pretty clear on whether or not they side with Saga or with Shion, Camus is one that had always been a bit of a wild card. Also, I tried to make him appear cold but caring at the same time. Mrs. Schafurwatt makes her last appearance. Sorry Milo, no more chocolate cake for you.

Mu: I'm sad. Mu became one of my favorite characters to write about since his Lemurian culture allows me to get really creative and weird and now this is his last appearance outside of a flashback in the final part.

With that, nearly all of the Gold Saints' plot lines are completed. The only one that hasn't been shown is Shaka but that's because he's the next in line for Shun's test. Some Golds may reappear but will be limited to flash backs in the final part.

I didn't expect both parts to be this long. Ordinarily, the side stories serve as a break from writing the main but now I can't wait to get back to the actual story since many plot threads have been resolved. Also, I hate to say this but this is also the last Side Story.

Not much new Saint Seiya news except that there is a stripper feature in the upcoming PS3 Saint Seiya game. By stripping, I mean the Saints can apparently ditch their Cloths and gain a power boost like in the show. They showed all the Bronze Saints without their Cloths but they also showed Aiolos fighting in his regular clothes. Meaning that perhaps there will be an option where you can nekky up the Golds with the push of a button, but that is just a guess from me.

Thanks for all the reviews and support. If there are any problems, let me know. I've corrected Dohko's name in the last chapter and had him talk about Shun.

Jenny D