7 — THE BLACK SAINTS
The crowd at the Coliseum was in full euphoria at the triumphant appearance of what appeared to be a new fighter. The effects left everyone static in the stadium in the face of a twist in the Tournament story; the entire crowd was on their feet to better see the new challenger.
A mad rush in the production booth, the commentator Adam asking the directors for any information about the new participant, anything, because that was completetly out of the script he had; Stacey was paying close attention to what was happening around them, also tried to seek more information for the broadcast.
"It's here, we got it. Go, Adam!" Stacey said underlining a paper scribbled by hand and letterhead.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" came Adam's voice, excited over the microphone. "I must ask you all to bid a warm round of applause for the wonderful Phoenix Knight!"
The two looked at each other excitedly. The audience in the stands went wild as the camera focused on that imposing figure leaning on the Golden Urn in his absolutely marvelous Cloth; it had a silvery glow and orange parts reflecting the fire from the pyres around it, which gave the impression that the warrior's body was burning with fire. From the top of his back to the ground fell floating fire feathers. Its hair caught in dreads opened like her feathers through the back.
"Phoenix?" Jab asked himself in the center of the arena.
"The Chain has never been so tense..." Shun said worriedly trying to contain his Cosmo as one who holds a ferocious bull. "It's the first time I've seen this happen. The Cosmo coming from this Saint is frighteningly hostile. No… it's not just hostile, but something much worse. It's pure hate, Jab!"
"But who is this Saint?" Shiryu asked, seeing that Shun's Chains were very agitated.
"The Chain is at its limit. It can't stay defensive, it will attack!"
"Don't attack Shun..." asked Alice. "Phoenix is..."
Too late, as Shun could no longer hold the Chains at its place and it streaked across the audience and into Phoenix's hands.
"What did you say, Alice?"
"Shun…" she began. "Phoenix is Ikki!"
And Shun looked back at the Phoenix Saint, confused.
"Ikki? Shun, so… Is it your sister?" asked Jab.
Shun remembered when he and his sister had parted so many years ago, sent to different Islands by the Foundation for the purpose of becoming Saints. Ikki was a fearless young girl and asked Shun to stay strong for all those years, as they would see each other again. And just like Seiya, all he wanted most was to find his sister again. And there she was.
"My sister… Ikki! So she… is alive!" said an emotional Shun.
But there was still enormous hostility in the Phoenix figure and the Chains were still tense.
"Shun… Ikki is not the same person." Alice warned beside her.
"She's my sister..." Shun said.
Phoenix, beside the Golden Urn, finally moved and the fire from the four pyres near her increased in strength and began to circle around her body. That same fire then materialized as a huge bird embracing Phoenix and, at the command of her fist, spread its wings giantly to come down with a razor edge fly low across the audience, crashing hard on Shun's left shoulder, destroying his Bronze Cloth.
Shun went to the ground and Shiryu went to his support, shocked.
"That's crazy, she was able to attack from that distance." she considered.
"She didn't even think twice about attacking her own brother." said Alice on guard.
"No. My sister was strong, but she was also kind. The one over there has only hate in her cosmo!"
"Shun... This is no longer the Ikki you knew!" said Alice ruefully.
Shun had his eyes fixed on that mysterious figure; he also dared to look at one of the screens so that he could see more clearly, but despite a scar he didn't recognize and the style of her hair, there was no doubt that that face brought a great deal of longing in him. Yes, she was his sister.
"Shun, you haven't changed a thing." said Phoenix's voice echoing through the speakers, a menacing and all-too-familiar voice. "You keep crying too much. I'm already full of your tears! You will be the first on to die, get ready!"
And, from where she was, she jumped out surrounded by the fire of the pyres and hit Shun again in the face with a flying kick before anyone could do anything. Shiryu went to the rescue of Shun again, who stopped in the chains of the arena with an expression of pain far greater than the one he felt where he had been hit. He couldn't believe he was being attacked by his sister.
"Ikki, why are you attacking me, what happened to you?"
"I have nothing to say to you." she snapped, plotting a new blow when she was interrupted by Jab.
"Hey Hey hey. I'm the one fighting Shun. Get out of here!" he said holding the Phoenix's arm, who just looked deep into the Unicorn's eyes for him to let go.
Jab set up the guard and Ikki threw a seemingly simple straight punch at Jab, but there was nothing simple about it. Time seemed to slow down and as it approached, and Ikki's fist grew impossibly to the point of reaching his entire body without being able to dodge, despite the slowness. In protecting himself, however, Jab had the horrible result of seeing his arm ripped off by Ikki's force; the exposed bone put him in immediate shock, and from all sides that giant fist came to tear his body apart in a merciless and cruel way.
Still alive and horrified, Jab saw the pieces of his body scattered around the arena.
He fell to his knees in torment.
"Jab! Jab! What's happening?" said Alice, as Jab looked catatonic in the Arena, suffering from the illusion that had taken hold of his mind. "What have you done to him?" she asked.
"His mind is shattered."
"Shattered? But we didn't even see him get hit." Shiryu said on guard.
Ikki then turned to Saori's cabin and Alice immediately left Jab catatonic to stand in front of her on guard.
"Saori!" cried Phoenix.
"No!" Alice threatened, but Ikki ignored her completely.
"I will never forgive you! Nor you, nor your bastard of a grandfather!" she made her cosmo ablaze and launched her fist to slay Saori Kido, but Alice jumped in front of her and was hurled into the dome being hit by Ikki's hateful fist. The Dolphin Saint shattered the concrete roof and tumbled farther outside the central arena.
The audience, oblivious to all of this, seemed to be absolutely fascinated by the unfolding of the dramatic events.
"How stupid." she said as she saw Alice fall forward and Shun with Shiryu surround him in the Arena. "What are you planning to do? A girl who has just come back to life and a crybaby like you, Shun? Don't make me laugh. Do you want to attack me together? I don't care."
She made Shiryu fall from the Arena with a flying kick and threatened Shun to finish her brother; but before he could do anything, a voice rang out from the speakers.
"Wait, Phoenix!" the light went out again in the Coliseum. "We already have what we came for." said the voice again.
The audience could see that, beside the Golden Urn, the only place lit up in that new darkness, there was another Phoenix Knight, but dressed in an all Black Armor; the foot resting on the Urn and the eyes hidden by a visor. Beside him appeared three other shadows wearing identical armor. The Black Phoenix then kicked the Urn, which flipped off its pedestal to bounce down the grandstand steps and finally tumble to the battle floor. Open. And empty.
"Goodbye, Shun." said Ikki, and the entire Coliseum went completely dark again.
When the lights returned, the audience saw that the Black Phoenix and Ikki, who until then had been in the center of the Arena, had disappeared, as well as the Golden Armor. And after a heavy silence, the audience actually applauded effusively as the event's closing music began to play over the sound system.
"And what an unforgettable night, my friends! Stay tuned for the upcoming battles in the Galaxian Wars! Will the Knights be able to recover the Golden Armor and fight for it? We'll see! See you later, Stacey."
"See ya, Adam. Bye guys! A good return home to you all!"
Shun jumped out of the Arena and ran straight to the access tunnel with Shiryu on his heels.
"Where are you going, Shun?" she asked.
"I'm going after my sister, she's close by."
Shunrei, however, placed herself in front of the two, blocking their way.
"Shiryu, you just got out of the hospital. You can't fight." she warned.
"Shunrei..."
"I'm sorry, Shiryu. I have no time. I need to go after my sister." Shun stepped forward and left them both behind.
"Shunrei… the Old Master said that this is my place and that I should be here. Maybe he was talking about the Gold Cloth. And besides..."
"Shiryu…"
"Shun also helped Seiya save my life. And if I can help him in any way, I would like..."
"Ah, Shiryu." Shunrei closed her arms and her face was that of someone who had known the girl for a long time, even foreseeing what she was thinking. "Just be careful, please."
"Always, Shunrei."
And Shunrei let her leave knowing that she might not be able to keep that promise.
Shiryu was leaving the locker room for the indoor environment looking for Shun when he saw a familiar face, he was wearing pajamas and with ridiculous sneakers.
"Seiya, you should be at the hospital."
"You too, Shiryu. Where's Shun?"
"I lost sight of him, but he's going after Phoenix."
"I don't believe Phoenix is Shun's sister. When I saw it on TV I had to come running."
"Be careful, Seiya, you're in no condition."
"That's for the two of us, then. Hey, listen!"
Outside of the Coliseum, ecstatic people were talking about the events with great excitement, but the noise became even more frantic as someone super famous seemed to have appeared in the street; the light from the flashes left no doubt. It was Shun out there.
When Seiya and Shiryu looked through the columns on the second floor of the Coliseum, Shun was on top of some of the traffic jam cars and, using his chains, climbed onto a platform of a building under construction immediately in front of the Coliseum. Shiryu and Seiya, more discreet, dashed into the area and climbed the stairs to Shun.
They found him surrounded by his Chains, his eyes focused but his face wet with tears.
Seiya didn't even cared about the Chains and entered the Andromeda Nebula to hug his friend; the Chaings did nothing.
"Shun…"
"I'm going to find my sister and find out what happened to her, Seiya."
"We're here with you."
"My Chains can detect the enemy's Cosmo and it reacted to my sister during the fight. I think it can tell us which direction they went."
"What were those Saints with Ikki?" Seiya asked. "They also seemed to wear Phoenix Cloths."
"They were the Black Saints." Shiryu said. "Warriors with the power of a Saint, but instead of using it in the name of justice, they do it out of greed and their own desires. They say that it is people who have been banished and exiled or even warriors who have not been given the honor of becoming a Saint who are looking for another way to use their powers."
"Why are they with Ikki?" Seiya asked.
"We'll know when we find them, let's go!" Shun said, having guessed with his Chain the direction in which they were. "Guide us, Nebula Chain!"
The three descended the buildings towards the city's wharf, where many ships were anchored and many sheds dotted the pier. There was a huge noise of helicopters flying over the city, as if bandits were on the loose.
In a port complex, Shun was sure that his sister and the Black Saints were nearby, so he, Seiya and Shiryu split up to cover and find which of those sheds they were in. Shun and Shiryu went across the floor, while Seiya ran across the curved roof of the semi-detached sheds.
A golden glow escaped one of them and Seiya was sure where Ikki was.
From above, he jumped on a crane in front of the shed to get some momentum and broke down the locked gate. Seiya fell right in front of Ikki and, upon seeing her wearing the Gold Armor, he spun in a strong flying kick throwing her to the back of the shed.
The Gold Armor separated from Ikki's body and spread to the ground.
"Take the Gold Cloth!" Ikki ordered and the Phoenix shadows took, each one a part of the Armor, and fled with them through the door that Seiya had thrown open.
Ikki came towards Seiya and, taking advantage of his confusion, knocked him down easily, also fleeing to the opposite side of her shadows. Seiya got up and left the shed to see Shun approaching.
"The Black Saints have the Gold Cloth, but Ikki has gone to the other side."
"Ikki!" Shun called from afar, but she continued her escape without noticing her brother.
"Come on, Shun, we can get her!"
"No, Seiya." Shun held. "The Black Saints ran for the other side and if my sister is after the Gold Cloth, then we have a better chance if we get her back. She will definitely have to come after us."
"Oh, Shun… right. Let's go then!
Shun and Seiya returned to the fugitives with the Gold Cloth and soon found Shiryu fighting a Black Phoenix.
"They broke up! Go, I'll take this one!"
And so the three parted on the pier to get the rest of the Gold Cloth.
"Why, you should have asked for help if you wanted to get the Cloth!"
"I don't need anyone's help." Shiryu said. "I already have your part. You can go back to the hole you came from."
"I'd rather die than come back a loser!" said the Black Phoenix and attacked Shiryu, only to receive the Dragon's fist and go to the ground defeated.
Shiryu simply took the part he had, ran off to help his friends and left the Black Saint suffering.
Seiya, in full pursuit of a Black Saint, was surprised to be hit by him as he entered an alley. Since he was being hunted down and losing the race, the opponent chose to knock Seiya out by surprise and he was left on the ground still suffering from his injuries from his fight in the Tournament. Very dizzy and bleary-eyed, he saw the Black Saint walk away.
He staggered to his feet and ran back to him. When he reached a parking lot close to the city streets, he saw that the Black Saint was on the ground, defeated.
"Seiya, you should be in the hospital!" It was Xiaoling scolding him.
"It's good to see you too, Xiaoling." Seiya replied, catching his breath.
A Black Phoenix in full flight was sure he had escaped his pursuers, only to find himself surrounded by chains. As he tried to jump and evade that capture, the chains simply moved on their own and pulled him back to the ground. Andromeda Shun was in front of him and caught in the air the part of the Gold Cloth that the Saint had let slip.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of hurting you."
"Damn it…"
"Tell me… Why has my sister changed so much? What happened to her? Answer me and I'll let you go."
"Your sister? Is Phoenix your sister?" he laughed mockingly. "I'm sure she's no longer anyone else's sister."
"What do you mean by that?"
"As you can see, Phoenix is now burning with rage and we understand exactly how she feels. That's why we fight by her side." he suffered under the chains. "You want to know what happened to Ikki? Why, but it's all your fault, who sent her to that Hell on Earth. The Queen of Death Island, where we trained, is a place where you can only survive if you hate everything and everyone. You were the one that made her change."
The Saint fainted in front of him, but the words stayed within Shun. His chain withdrew and he reflected alone guiltily on his sister's sudden change. Images from seven years ago flashed in his mind and they were fresh, because actually during those seven years he always thought about it when he remembered his sister.
For seven years ago his sister decided that she would take his place at the training ground. That Foundation had adopted them when they lost their parents and sent them to train on islands far from home; it was Shun who should have gone to the Queen of Death Island, but Ikki revolted so she could be sent in his place.
Was it really his fault?
He felt it was.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: I loved playing with the commentators completely lost with the Phoenix apparition, to precisely root the events not only among the main characters, but also throughout the show that takes place around them being broadcast worldwide. I also chose to make Alice sacrifice herself for Saori to start this very strong relationship between the two.
NEXT CHAPTER: HOT BLOODED YOUTH
After the battle at the harbor, Seiya again wakes up in the hospital and reflects on his fate.