Athena & the Sins-1

"Scythe Merlin and Elaine are here for their session with you." Yang called out from the top of the stairs.

"Alright, send them down mom." Scythe called back cleaning out some stuff from under her bed. "Oh man, my old time portal spell board, I had forgotten I had it." She exclaimed propping it up on full display. "I wonder if it still works."

"What are you doing down here?" Merlin questioned, coming down the stairs, with the Fairy Princess flying beside her.

"Nothing much." Scythe smiled. "Just doing some spring cleaning in my basement suit."

"That's an interesting design for a magic circle." Merlin smiled.

"Did you create it yourself?" Elaine questioned.

"I did. I haven't used it since I brought Shimura back from the past, may her soul rest." Scythe sighed.

"An' you're cleaning in your Argonaut form, why?" Elaine questioned as Merlin examined the board with the spell circle branded into it.

"It's easier for me to do." Scythe exclaimed.

"This is some intriguing work you've done Scythe. It looks like quite the intricate design and detailing." Merlin complimented.

"Thanks, took me about six months to complete. I had to make sure everything was just right before I could use it." Scythe smiled walking into her on-suite bathroom. "Let me get changed into my hero costume real quick, and then we can begin."

"So how are you adjusting to dorm life? Will you be heading there soon?" Elaine questioned.

"Yeah, I'll be heading to the dorms tomorrow morning. Mom says Aunt Ruby will…"

"Hey Scythe, I'm coming down." Ruby's voice called from the top of the stairs, interrupting their conversation. "Hey Elaine, I'm sorry, but Harlequin won't go down for his nap, and Elizabeth is just wanting to eat. I don't know what to do. Blake's keeping an eye on them right now." Ruby exclaimed greeting them.

"Oh dear. It'll be fine. Just be sure to keep an eye on them and they'll go to sleep when they tire." Elaine said.

"Kay." Ruby said, before running back up the stairs.

"As I was saying, Mom said Aunt Ruby will be there to keep an eye on me since she's going to the dorms as well. It's too bad mom isn't going though." Scythe said coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her hero costume, consisting of a black titanium based carbon fiber mesh undershirt, with a breastplate similar to Pyrrha Nikos's, scarlet red with gold trimmings, only instead of being made of metal, it was made of the same fiber her undershirt was comprised of, in fact every part of it was comprised of the material, with form fitting black pants, and combat heeled boots.

The vambraces were simple in design, black for the fabric, and white for the metallic parts on the back of her forearms and hands, that were magnetically attached to the fingerless gloves under them. The top was sleeveless and left her back from the shoulder blades up, exposed, allowing for her to spread her wings if she needed to. The attire was finalized with a red sash tied around her waist, just like how Pyrrha would tie hers, with a new addition to it.

"Looking good as ever in that costume. What's with the metal plate on the sash though?" Elain asked referring to the metal plate of the 14cm-x-7cm metal plate on the cloth of her sash tied around her waist.

"Oh, that's a new addition. It's where my emblem is going to be." Scythe smiled. "I haven't engraved it yet. But I'm wanting to put the emblem on it soon."

"I can help with that." Elaine said, poking the metal plate with her finger, before sharp small gusts of wind cut smoothly into the metal, engraving the tribal Fairy Tail emblem on Scythe's back, into the metal. "There we go. Saved you a few yen."

"Thanks." Scythe smiled.

"I wonder what would happen if I were to do… this." Merlin said, catching their attention just as she poured some of her magical energy into the circle, causing it to light up.

"Merlin stop, no." Scythe said, pulling the pregnant sorceress back and away from the circle before it lit up, and the room flashed with a purple glow, before it died down, leaving Elain and Merlin baffled at what had just happened, while also questioning, what had happened to Scythe, as the bored with the time travel circle crumbled to ashes.

"Oh dear. That is not good. Not good at all." Elaine said.

"You think?" Merlin questioned. "What the hell are we going to tell Yang?"

"Tell me what?" The blonde brawler asked, coming down the steps.

~Lake Penace Forest Area~

"Oh man, what the hell was that?" Scythe question picking herself up and looking at her surroundings. She saw that she was no longer in her room, but surrounded by a forest area with a lake nearby. "Where the hell am I?"

There was a loud rumble, before Scythe looked up and found a giant red monster standing in front of her, a sickening smile on its face, looking ready to tear into her flesh at any moment.

"Aw shit." She groaned before the demon backhanded her, and sent her flying into several trees.

~Britannia just outside the Kingdom of Liones~

"So what's the first thing you're gonna do after the report debriefing?" A giant of a woman in tan armor question her companion riding on her shoulder. "I'm gonna take a nice long nap."

"Drink booze and get too drunk to notice I'll be naked." The man said.

"C'mon Ban you seriously think anyone wants to see that?" She asked.

"Not really. But you gotta remember who you're talking to Diane." Ban said removing his helmet, revealing his silver hair.

"True." Diane sighed removing her helmet, before she noticed something. "Hey wait a minute."

"What's up?" A man in short bronze armor asked.

"I'm sensing something coming from Lake Penace, Captain." Diane stated.

"I can sense it to." A woman in purple armor stated.

"Alright. Before we return to the Kingdom, we're going to check out whatever that thing is." The Captain said. "Well more like I'm gonna assign Diane to check it out. I'm sure it's nothing she can't handle."

"Roger that Captain." Diane said, as she began to run, with Ban falling off her shoulder.

"Hey wait until I jump off first." Ban said, jumping to his feet in a huff.

Diane ignored him and went running to Lake Penace, not really finding anything special or mysterious there. But that changed when she saw part of the trees were on fire, acting quickly, and using her helmet, Diane scooped up water from the lake, and splashed it all along the trees, dousing them quite effectively before she began looking around the charred area, before she stopped in her tracks, and spotted a red blob of a creature with striped goat horns, beady red eyes, and a figure struggling in its clutches.

"Let me go you damned monster." The child screamed slamming her fists into the creature's claws, as it brought her closer to its mouth to bite down on it. "No stop, don't." She cried out.

"Hey Ugly. Put the kid down." Diane shouted, running to the demon, and slamming her hammer into the side of its head, splattering its brains and inside around the forest.

Scythe had been sent flying through the air, and was expecting to land on the ground, before she landed in the hands of the giantess who looked at her with concern filled eyes, being the last thing she saw before blacking out.

It was some time later before she woke up again, and found herself lying on a bed filled with feathers and a comforter as well. She felt pain throb through her head as she forced herself to sit up.

"Whoa, easy there." A young boyish sounding voice said. "You gotta be careful. Your brain got knocked around in that noggin of yours when Diane destroyed that red demon. Though she did say it looked like you put up a pretty good fight against it."

"Y-yeah, I did." Scythe said sitting up before clutching her side. "Damn, I forgot that my side got punctured by one of its claws."

"That's another reason why you should be careful." The boy said. "My name is Meliodas, Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. Sorry but I kinda hand our residential mind reader take a look at your memories while you were out. Only the Sins know your true nature and how you came to be in our world. I'm surprised that you made friends with Merlin though."

"I can't fault you for that. Given how I look, it's natural for you to be suspicious of me." Scythe said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "But, for the public, let's say my looks are the results of a magic accident my parents caused while I was learning potion making."

"Ni-shi-shi, that sounds like a reasonable argument. So you think you can stand?" Meliodas smiled.

"Yeah. Where are we going?"

"To the King's Throne Room. He wished to speak with you when you were able to move." Meliodas said.

"So where are my clothes?" Scythe asked covering herself up with her blanket.

"Oh, don't worry about that. King Bartra already had a change of clothes ready for you." Meliodas said as two hand maidens came into the room holding the clothes.

"You've got to be kidding me." Scythe groaned.

~Throne room 15 Minutes later~

"Do I have to wear something so frilly?" Scythe groaned wearing a light blue frilly ball gown dress. "An' these heels are not that easy to walk in. Who expects an eight year old to wear heels?"

"Stop fussing around with your dress, this is required of someone from the royal family." Meliodas snickered.

"Wait what did you mean by that?" Scythe asked.

"Ni-shi-shi, you'll see in a minute, also is there any name you'd like to go by? King Bartra doesn't know your name yet." Meliodas asked.

"Well, if you know everything about me, then you probably know the hero name I went by in my world." Scythe said.

"So you're wanting to go by the name, Athena, is that it? Very well, I'll have Gowther notify the others." Meliodas exclaimed. "One more thing. King Bartra is able to see visions of the future through his dreams, and I do believe you were in his latest vision."

"Good to know." Athena stated. "Whether it's good or bad, remains to be seen."

After that, the two of them stopped in front of the doors to the throne room, and they walked in as the doors opened, revealing six armored figures standing in the throne room, with an elderly man sitting on the throne in royal garbs, with a crown on his head.

"Hello there young one. I am King Bartra, welcome to my castle." He said standing up and walking down the tree steps to his throne.

"Thank you your highness. My name is Athena, and I am grateful for your hospitality." Athena said. "Um, may I ask, why I am here?"

"You're quite polite for someone your age. I'm sure Meliodas has told you about my magical ability, foresight, correct?" Bartra questioned, to which Athena nodded. "Well, my latest vision showed me something special, and for that I wish to adopt you into my royal family. You'll be one of my daughters."

"So that's what you were talking about." Athena said, turning her head to look at Meliodas who was whistling innocently.

"I see he's already told you about being part of the royal family." Bartra sighed.

"Your highness."

Athena and the Seven Armored beings, including the giantess she recognized, turned to the door to see two figures coming in, both of them wearing Holy Knight garbs, one with short silver hair, and the other with long brown hair, both of them sporting a bit of stubble. The brown haired one holding wrapped parcels.

"Dreyfus, Hendrickson, I assume Zaratras sent you with the report?" Bartra stated.

"Yes sir, but forgive my bluntness. We must know what the meaning behind you adopting this inhuman looking child, actually is." The silver haired knight said.

"Watch it." Meliodas warned.

"Hendrickson, I have faith our king knows what he's doing. An' also, that was not very nice to say about the young miss when she's standing right in front of us." Dreyfus stated.

"Indeed it wasn't." Bartra said.

"For your information Hendrickson, she only looks like that due to an accident in her parent's magic lab when they were teaching her how to make potions." Meliodas exclaimed.

"Forgive me your highness."

"The report?" Bartra asked.

"Ah yes, we were unable to actually open the strange objects that were on the young Miss's person when she arrived. Her armor and clothing were easy enough to fix, according to the forge master, but her weapons… leave us a bit baffled." Dreyfus said, opening the parcel to show Athena's weapons.

"That's because you most likely don't know how they work." Athena stated, grabbing the dual weapons. "Allow me to show you."

"By all means." Bartra exclaimed.

Athena took a deep breath in and spun the short blade open with a zen-roll, all the way around her wrist, and she was well practiced in this to.

"Incredible." Bartra said.

"Opening them isn't all that complex, did you even bother with trying to remove the safety latch?" Athena asked, pointing to the bit hanging off the hilt of the weapon.

"I told you that's what was keeping it shut." Dreyfus said turning to Hendrickson.

"In any case…" Athena said, closing the weapon. "I have a few conditions before I think about accepting your offer your highness."

"An' those would be?" Bartra asked.

"First off, I want to wear my clothes, as in clothes I actually like, none of this frilly gown nonsense it just isn't my style." Athena stated.

"Kid's got spunk." Ban smiled.

"Second, I'd like it if I could cook every now and then. I'm quite good at it, and I've got a natural eye for the freshest ingredients." Athena exclaimed.

"Those two can be done, easily. Anything else my dear?" Bartra questioned.

"I'd like to be trained under the prowess of the Seven Deadly Sins." Athena stated. "I'm a natural born fighter, and I was raised so far to use my power for good, and help people, not to mention I can be a very valuable asset on the battle field."

"Hmm… I see your point… Very well, I will allow you to train under the Sins." Bartra exclaimed.

"Thank you. There is nothing else, and if my conditions are met, then I accept your offer to become part of the royal family." Athena stated.

"Excellent." Bartra stated.

"That being said, can I get my original clothes back please? I'd like to get out of these heels." Athena questioned, causing the others to laugh.

~Seven Deadly Sins Base~

"Three cheers to the new princess of Liones." Ban shouted out raising a mug to celebrate Athena's admittance to the royal family.

"Here-here." Meliodas smiled as they hit their mugs together.

"So Athena, I gotta ask, why that name?" Merlin questioned.

"Well, I like it, and it suits me better than the name of a weapon." She said drinking from her own mug. "Man, it's good to be in a Kingdom where there aren't any age restrictions on drinking."

"So, who are you wanting to learn under first?" King questioned.

"Well, I was thinking Diane. I was hoping I could learn to control my earth magic like how she does. I can already cover my body in metal the same way giants use Heavy Metal, so I figured I'd learn from her first." Athena exclaimed.

"Hmm? Well, I'm not very good at teaching. If I were to give you a proper instructor it'd be a friend of mine… but unfortunately she's not around anymore." Diane said.

"I'm sure you'd make for a great instructor." Athena smiled.

"Well if you're sure." Diane said. "Merlin, do you have any books on giants and how we use our magic? I think that reading them might give Athena a better insight of how we connect with the earth."

"I have a few on my bookshelf in my lab. This actually works out perfectly, I'm needing both her help as well as Ban's in my lab tomorrow." Merlin stated.

"Hmm? Are you needing more of my blood for this?" Ban asked.

"Indeed I am." Merlin stated.

"Then I'll just fill an empty booze bottle with it and you won't need me for much else after that." Ban sighed getting up and grabbing an empty Vanya Ale bottle. "I'll be right back."

"Is he gonna be okay? I mean the bottle isn't very big but it's not exactly small either." Athena stated.

"He'll be fine. He's immortal, his nickname is Undead Ban for a reason." Meliodas smiled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Athena exclaimed. "Strange to think his nickname is the same as his hero name where I'm from."

"So anyways, what's this One-for-All power you possess?" Meliodas questioned.

"It's a power that manifests itself as my strength, refined by one person, then passed down to the other." Athena stated. "In all honesty I don't even know if I'm capable of passing mine down, since I got it genetically."

"Seems like your power is pretty strong as it is." King said.

"I know, but I can still improve myself." Athena smiled.

"So, is there anything else you can do?" Escanor asked, now sitting as a twig of a man in normal clothes.

"Hmm…" Athena thought before entering her Argonaut form with a smirked, seeing their surprised looks. "Does this count?"

"You're just full of surprises. I'd love to do research on you some time." Merlin said.

"Sorry nope, I've already been treated like a lab rat once, and I'm not in the mood to do it again." Athena stated.

"You mean that Chisaki guy from your memories right?" Ban asked returning to the table, handing Merlin the bottle now filled with his blood.

"Yep." Athena stated.

"I still find it horrible someone would tear a child apart like that and not even feed them." Diane said.

"That's what you're concerned about with what happened to her? She wasn't fed? She was torn apart and pieced back together multiple times, I'd say that Chisaki guy deserves death." Ban exclaimed.

"I'm just saying that I didn't like any of it." Diane argued.

"Alright enough. I'm fine now, so there's no need to argue like that." Athena chuckled.

"You heard the Princess." Meliodas smiled.

"Pardon the interruption." A man wearing Holy Knight Armor, with long silver hair said coming into the room.

"Yo what's up Zaratras?" Meliodas asked as Athena hid under the table before popping back up, out of her Argonaut form.

"The King has ordered me to come and retrieve Lady Athena and escort her to her bedchambers. You seven should get some sleep as well. You're being sent out on a mission to fight against a Troll Queen tomorrow." Zaratras said.

Athena hopped down from her seat and walked over to Zaratras before she was stopped by Merlin.

"Take this with you." Merlin said, handing her the bottle of blood. "Use your control over time, to revert it back to what it used to be, alright?"

"Got it." Athena said before running off to follow Zaratras to her new bedchambers.

"Your sisters are waiting for you in your chambers. Your room is connected to Princess Elizabeth's, while the others are just down the hall." Zaratras instructed. "Princess Elizabeth is two years younger than you m'lady, so she'll be counting on you if she has a nightmare."

"All right." Athena said as they reached what would be her room.

Zaratras opened the doors to show her room was quite spacious, fully furnished with a desk, queen sized bed, dresser, book shelf, and a full length mirror.

"Kinda barren isn't it?" Athena asked.

"Well the King doesn't really know the type of things you like, so it's to be expected." Zaratras chuckled.

"It's fine. This is more or less what I expected. Though the size of the bed wasn't what I was expecting." Athena stated.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it in time." Zaratras smiled. "Now where could your sisters have run off to?"

"Under the bed." Athena stated putting the bottle on the bookshelf. "Their scents lead from on top of the mattress to under it."

"Wow that's amazing." A girl with violet hair said poking her head out. "Your sense of smell is incredible." She smiled as two more heads poked out from under the mattress.

"Thanks. You must be Veronica." Athena smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well." Veronica smiled.

"You must be Margaret." Athena said walking up to the girl with indigo colored hair. "Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure sister." Margaret smiled giving her a hug.

Athena returned the hug before the youngest hugged her, and she looked down to see the silver haired girl smiling at her.

"I'm Elizabeth. It's nice to meet you sissy." She smiled.

"Nice to meet you to." Athena smiled.

"Now that you've all gotten to know each other a bit, I'd say it's time you all went to bed, you've all got a big day ahead of you tomorrow with your studies." Zaratras smiled.

"Alright." Athena said.

"Can I stay with sissy?" Elizabeth asked, still holding onto Athena.

"I'm fine with it." Athena smiled.

"Okay, good night then." Zaratras said as the handmaidens came in to help Athena change into her sleepwear.

"Oh no not another gown." Athena sighed. "I'm gonna have to make some sleepwear that I actually feel comfortable in."

"Sissy is silly. Your hair is pretty to. Three colors." Elizabeth smiled.

"Of course you'd think that." Athena chuckled. "I'm gonna have to talk with Bartra about my wardrobe again."

~The following day~

"Sire are you sure about this?" Dreyfus asked.

"I am. You said she's in the forge didn't you?" Bartra questioned walking down the hall.

"Yes, the forge master reported her being in the forge when he first came to start up his work." Dreyfus said. "He said that she was working on something extraordinary."

"What of Zaratras? Where is he?" Bartra asked.

"He's most likely still looking all over the castle for her your, Grace." Dreyfus exclaimed. "Hendrickson should be telling him that he need not search any further."

"What is that girl thinking going into the forge?" Bartra questioned as they reached it.

Bartra slammed the doors open, and what he saw made his eyes widen. Standing there, in the center of the room stood a mannequin with black armor vambraces, shin guards, thigh guards, and a shoulder guards, all fit for a woman holy knight. Though the woman working on it didn't look like a child at all, more like an adult version of Athena, dressed in a white tank top and a pair of pants, with her skin and the clothes, stained with the blackness of soot and charcoal.

"Excuse me." Bartra said taking her by surprise, causing her to jump off the stood she was sitting on and land on her rump before her Argonaut form reverted back to her child form.

"Oh uh… hi." She chuckled nervously.

"What exactly was that?" Bartra asked.

"That was my Argonaut form. I can temporarily accelerate my age and depending on the situation I'm in, it can last for a full day. But if I'm in a fight, five hours at max." Athena explained picking herself up, and dusting off her pants. "I was actually just in the middle of calculating how much I'd need to pay the forge master back for the materials I used. I didn't use much, I just used the furnace, which takes coal, and I also used his hammers and other tools, so I guess three bags of coals?"

"Then how were you able to make the armor if you didn't use any ore?" Dreyfus questioned.

Athena held out her hand, and it turned obsidian black before a metal pole, 12cm long, protruded from her hand, and she peeled it off like a scab.

"My magic allows me to control all elements, including metal. I call it, One-for-All." Athena said. 'Better than explaining what Etherion Godslayer Magic is.'

"Incredible." Bartra said. "Did it hurt when you peeled the metal off your skin?"

"No, it actually kinda tickled. I can also do this." Athena said, making a clump of pure ruby gemstone sprout from her hand, and peeled it off as well. "It's a little more painful with gemstones, but not by much."

"Amazing." Dreyfus exclaimed.

"I'll just leave this here." Athena said putting the rub on the forge master's desk, and pushing the mannequin out of the forge. "Now I just gotta make the torso part and I'll be all set."

"Set for what exactly?" Bartra asked.

"My first training session with Lady Diane when the Sins return." Athena stated.

"By the way, Lady Merlin stopped by your room and dropped some books off." Dreyfus said.

"Thanks. Now I'm gonna get cleaned up." Athena smiled.

"That girl." Bartra laughed. "She reminds me so much of my late sister."

~Two Months Later~

"Hey sissy." Elizabeth smiled coming into the room. "Sir Meliodas and the others are back, you wanna go say hi to them?"

"I'd love that Lizzy." Athena smiled hopping down from her desk and going with Elizabeth to the tower where they knew the Sins would be at.

In the time that she has been at the castle, she's really gotten to know and be attached to Elizabeth. It was unclear why, but Athena just felt a warm fuzzy feeling inside of her whenever they were around each other.

"So what do you think they brought back for us from the job?" Elizabeth asked, holding Athena's hand.

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter to me either way. I can't wait to show Lady Diane what I've been able to do just from reading those books." Athena smiled before an alarm sounded.

"Hey what's going on?" Elizabeth asked.

"I don't know. But we should hurry." Athena said putting Elizabeth on her back and making a run to the tower.

As soon as they were within the walls, they found two of the Sins running towards them, looking surprised at what they were doing there.

"What are you two doing here?" Meliodas shouted.

"We heard the alarm, what's going on?" Athena shouted back as they stopped in front of each other.

"You can't be around us. Something bad has happened, and the blame is being pinned on the seven of us." Meliodas stated.

"Sir Meliodas." Elizabeth said, sounding confused.

"Everything will be all right. I promise." Meliodas stated.

"Captain we should leave." Merlin stated.

"We can help, follow us." Athena exclaimed turning around to lead them away.

"There's two of them fire at will." A guard shouted from the corridor far behind Elizabeth and Athena.

The sound of a highly strung string being released echoed through the air, and Athena screamed in pain feeling an arrow pierce her left shoulder. The pain caused her to stagger, and fell causing Elizabeth to hit her head and pass out.

"Elizabeth." Athena said moving to be by her side. "C'mon little sister wake up."

"Captain…" Merlin began seeing Meliodas shaking with anger.

Meliodas was unresponsive, as he directed his attention to the guards that had shot Athena with the arrow.

"They're still there." One of them shouted.

Merlin raised her hand and silenced them by sending the two away from their sights, before she put a hand on Meliodas's head, and her eyes glowed purple for a moment before she and Meliodas both vanished.

"Elizabeth, Elizabeth please wake up." Athena cried her right arm at her side as she shook Elizabeth with her left.

Athena stopped shaking Elizabeth and held out her left hand, producing a black ball of air and holding it towards Elizabeth's head, healing the damage that had been done.

'She still has a steady heartbeat, but she's not out of the woods. She needs healing, otherwise she could die of brain damage.' Athena thought as the tears continued to roll down her face. 'I won't let her die. I won't.'

"Athena." Dreyfus shouted running to them. "What happened here?"

"One of the stupid knights shot me with an arrow without even stopping to think before firing at Meliodas and Merlin." Athena stated. "I had Elizabeth on my back at the time, and she got hurt. I'm trying to heal her as best as I can right now. I'm almost done."

At this point, Athena had been losing a lot of blood, and was on the verge of collapsing from the blood loss, but forced herself to stay awake, until the damage done to Elizabeth was gone.

"Please, the royal physicians can help her from here, you need to stop." Dreyfus said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't, she got hurt because I faltered, so I have to make it right." Athena stated as the light of her healing magic began to dim.

"That wasn't your fault, it was the fault of the two who shot you." Dreyfus said. "Please forgive me your majesty."

Athena couldn't question why he said that, before he chopped the back of her neck, knocking her out.

It was some time later that Athena woke up, her right arm was bandaged, and she had a wet cloth on her forehead before she sat up, flinching as she felt pain in the back of her neck, and gripped it slightly. She noticed she was dressed in her sleepwear, a pair of short and a tank top she crafted herself.

"Athena."

She looked to her right and saw Bartra looking at her with a mix of concern and relief on his face.

"I'm so happy you're awake." Bartra sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like Diane just took her giant hammer to the back of my neck." Athena stated.

"Dreyfus does feel bad about that, but you didn't leave him much choice. If you had continued, you would have died instead of Elizabeth." Bartra stated.

"How is she, is she okay?" Athena asked, leaning towards him, before flinching, feeling the pain in her right arm.

"Easy, easy now." Bartra said. "Elizabeth is just fine. Whatever you did with your healing magic helped her tremendously. She's going to make a full recovery, don't worry."

"That's a relief." Athena sighed taking pressure off her arm.

"You've lost a lot of blood. You'll need rest." Bartra stated.

"I'll be fine. I've lost my entire arm and after it was reattached I still won the tournament." Athena said.

"My you are a stubborn one aren't you?" Bartra laughed. "I suppose telling you to rest is out of the question. We'll be holding a funeral for Zaratras tomorrow, you're more than welcome to join us. I know how much you enjoyed having him as a teacher."

"It can't be true, can it?" Athena asked.

"What do you mean my dear child?" Bartra asked.

"The Sins couldn't have killed Zaratras, he told me once that they were the ones destined to protect us from the Ten Commandments, so it doesn't make sense that they'd turn on the kingdom like this." Athena stated.

"All the evidence points to them being guilty." Bartra stated. "However I do believe that they were framed, I'm just unable to prove it as of yet. So don't give up hope, I have a feeling that in time, all will be made clear."

The sound of the bedroom door opening was heard and they both turned to see Elizabeth opening the door and peeking in.

"Well hello Elizabeth, shouldn't you be in bed resting?" Bartra asked.

"I… I wanted to see how sissy was doing." Elizabeth said, coming into the room, holding her favorite teddy bear.

"Come here Elizabeth." Athena smiled.

Elizabeth ran to the bed and attempted to get up before Bartra helped her up, putting her beside Athena.

"You were worried about me, weren't you?" Athena asked.

"Yeah. I was told you helped me and it hurt you. I'm sorry." Elizabeth said, as it looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey." Athena smiled putting her forehead to Elizabeth's, getting their eyes to meet each other's. "You didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault you were hurt in the first place, I was just cleaning up my mess. Besides, even if I hadn't been the one to hurt you, I'd still do it all over again, just to keep you safe. I promise you as your big sister, I'll be there to protect you, even if I'm the one to get hurt. After all, that's what a big sister is for. C'mon, why don't you sleep with me tonight?"

"Yeah." Elizabeth smiled softly.

"I'll leave you two be. I have to make a public announcement to the people." Bartra smiled. "One more thing before I go Athena."

"Hmm?" Athena asked, tucking Elizabeth into the bed.

"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you this, but please take it easy if you decide not to just lay in bed to recuperate." Bartra said, before leaving.

"Whatever, I'll train as hard as I want even when injured." Athena said pulling the covers over herself.

"Sissy, please don't. Please just relax and rest." Elizabeth said, hugging her.

"All right, I won't push myself too hard." Athena sighed. "I can never say no to you."

~10 Years Later~

"You're always pushing yourself too hard in your training, Athena." Elizabeth said, walking alongside her elder sister.

"Please, how long have you known me Elizabeth?" Athena chuckled, walking next to her sixteen year old sister.

"Ten years, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised you'd act this way. Let's just hope the reason Father called us to his chambers wasn't so he could scold you about pushing yourself too far." Elizabeth sighed shaking her head at her eighteen year old sister's antics.

"It probably is." Athena chuckled.

"You're the youngest person in our kingdom to ever become a Holy Knight, not to mention you've moved up the ranks through your hard work and diligence faster Grand Masters Dreyfus and Hendrickson ever did. I'd have thought you'd be more responsible with your training habits than this." Elizabeth stated, putting a cold cloth on Athena's shoulder as they walked.

"What can I say? I'm just eager to get stronger is all." Athena smiled as they reached the King's chambers.

"Father, it's Elizabeth and Athena, may we come in?" Elizabeth asked.

"You both may enter." Bartra said.

Athena pushed the doors open, and walked in with Elizabeth finding King Bartra sitting in his chair thinking.

"We came as you requested father." Elizabeth said.

"What is it you wished to speak with us about?" Athena asked after shutting the doors to Bartra's chambers.

"Did you make sure the door was properly barricaded?" Bartra asked.

"Uh… yes father, but what is this about?" Athena questioned as Elizabeth went to his side.

"Please father, tell us what's troubling you." Elizabeth said.

"Open this door." A loud voice echoed from outside the door as loud banging could be heard coming from it.

"What the hell is going on?" Athena asked, gripping her weapons to keep at the ready.

"There's no place left for you to run." Another voice called out.

"Your majesty."

"Now your highness."

"What is going on father?" Athena questioned.

"Elizabeth, Athena, you two must flee." Bartra said, gaining their attention.

"We can't escape alone, you have to come with us father." Elizabeth said.

"She's right, we're not leaving you." Athena stated.

"I will be fine my children." Bartra exclaimed.

"Yes but…"

"Go, before the Holy Knights find you, and brand you as traitors." Bartra exclaimed.

"Father…"

"Listen to your father, and obey his wishes, you silly girls." Bartra shouted. "There's a secret passage behind my throne. Now go. Protect each other, and bring back peace to the Kingdom."

Athena shut her eyes before she steeled her nerves and went to Elizabeth's side, dragging her away from the throne as they both left, going through the secret passage just before sparks of electricity shot through the door, and the door burst open.

Athena tried her best to ignore that angered voices coming from behind her, but in her heart she knew she had failed to actually do anything to stop them. All she could do now, was protect Elizabeth and make sure the two of them got out of there safely.

'Father, I promise you I will come back and set the Kingdom right, we both will. We'll find the Seven Deadly Sins, and restore the Kingdom to its former glory.' Athena vowed.