(Here we go again.)
Concept: Andromeda's history is full of betrayal and pain, but it can't last forever.
Disclaimer: I do not own Saint Seiya or any of the included characters. They all belong to Masami Kurumada.
Shun isn't sure what to think when the messenger comes to the training grounds. They're not seeking her out, that much she is sure of, but there are others nearby who they could be looking for.
The foot soldier moves towards the sparring ring Shun is standing next to, and calls out.
"Pegasus Seiya, Dragon Shiryu, Cygnus Hyoga, Phoenix Ikki, Unicorn Jabu. Lady Athena requests your presence." He says.
Shun bites her lip. It's not like she expected to be called, but it stings all the same.
Ikki scowls at that, ever the indignant one when it comes to Shun being excluded. Much as she appreciates it, it doesn't help when Ikki gets like this.
Stifling a sigh, Shun presses a hand to her older brother's shoulder.
"Go on," She says, "I'll be fine."
The corners of Ikki's mouth curl downwards, and he looks like he's about to protest, but Shun smiles and shakes her head.
"Reda and Spica should be here for their training in a few minutes, I'll join them. Wouldn't be the first time."
(She knows that won't help. Ikki doesn't like it when she works with her old training partners. But he can't change the way things are.)
(Saori is not Sasha, but she is no kinder to Shun for it.)
"Watch yourself." Ikki finally says, and turns to walk away.
"We'll see you in a few hours, Shun." Seiya adds.
Hyoga and Shiryu follow without saying anything. They are men of few words to begin with, and they know there's nothing they can do for Shun.
Jabu glances back, a frown curling his lips as he stares at the Andromeda Saint.
(Shun tries not to flinch as she meets his eyes. It still hurts to see him dart up to walk next to Ikki.)
(That used to be her place, a long time ago. Just... not anymore.)
It starts with Sinon. He is nothing special. Nothing special, that is, until he is taken from his parents to train to become a Saint of Athena.
It's not easy. The training. The responsibility. Not that anyone expects much from a mere Bronze Saint, but Sinon puts everything he has-everything he is-into his duty a Saint.
When the battle against Hades is over, Sinon watches from the background as Athena lays praise upon those who fought the hardest to protect her and the Earth.
Pegasus Soren.
Dragon Hakuryu.
Cygnus Seiryu.
Sinon watches as Athena names these three young Bronzes to her new Vanguard, listens as she assigns them new responsibilities. Sinon is neither bitter nor jealous. He does not envy his fellow Saints their new roles.
But he sees those who do. There are those among the Silver Saints who don't approve of Bronze Saints being given such an honor.
Sinon keeps a close eye on those ones.
...
The battle against Poseidon is a hard one. After the losses in the battle against Hades, there are too few Saints to effectively fight against the god of the seas and his Mariner army.
They make do.
Sinon stands before the ruler of the seas, stands beside the Vanguard and a man by the name of Phoenix Hiryu, and cannot help but wonder if this is the right choice.
In the end, they defeat Poseidon too.
As he kneels beside Hiryu, listening to Athena declare him a member of her Vanguard, it feels as though something inside him slots into place, like something is so very right.
Sinon does not understand. He simply accepts.
He does not miss the bitter stares that follow him.
Sango does not consider himself particularly special at first, but he knows from an early age that there is something that he is missing.
That changes when the Saints come to find him.
Meeting the others is like finding that missing piece of himself.
Dragon Mizuchi.
Cygnus Hali.
Phoenix Suzaku.
Pegasus Tsubasa.
These four are the pieces that he has missed for the first twelve years of his life.
They are, at first, rough around the edges. But they fight. And they learn.
It seems perfect...
Until it isn't.
...
It should have been a simple mission. Sneak into the underworld, and try to find out if there is a reason for the Holy Wars. If there is a reason that Hades insists on fighting.
Then they find Persephone's body, hidden in the Elysian Fields. He doesn't mean to touch her, but one of his companions bumps into him, and his fingers brush her shoulder. The burst of Cosmo that hits him is enough to alert every Spectre in the area.
Their subsequent flight from the underworld ends at the gates to Hades, where Sango grits his teeth and stands his ground. He orders his companions, a pair of Silver Saints, to go without him.
He isn't surprised when they don't hesitate to follow his command.
That he falls before the might of the Spectres is no more surprising.
The next time his name is Shaun. His brother is Nero, and they are both Saints.
Joined by Cygnus Magnus, Dragon Long, and Pegasus Tenma, they form Athena's Vanguard.
Or at least, they should.
He doesn't understand it at first, the whispers. Then he meets Lady Athena for the first time, and her gaze turns cold when she looks at him.
There's something that might be pain in her voice when she declares that he will not serve with the rest of the Vanguard in this life, that he must prove himself worthy of his position, if he wishes to continue to serve as he has in the past. He is given no explanation, as though expected to simply understand.
He silences his brother's protests himself, before Nero's fiery temper gets the him in trouble as well.
Instead of asking, he researches. Sanctuary has an extensive library open to all Saints. Shaun goes there, finds the report of his last mission in his past life. It proves quite the task, but he does it eventually.
The Saint of Andromeda betrayed us. He alerted Hades' Spectres to our presence in the underworld.
It hurts to read. Of course, Shaun supposes that it could look like the accident was deliberate, but he couldn't have known what making contact with Persephone's body would do.
Unless you was working with the Spectres from the beginning. A nasty voice comments in his head.
Shaun bears the cruel words and distrustful stares without complaint. He doesn't entirely blame them, even if they are wrong.
In his last moments, as he stares down the tip of Poseidon's trident, Shaun's last thought is that he hopes that Lady Athena will remove him from the Vanguard entirely. It would be easier-and less painful for them all-to find someone new.
...
Shaun wakes up in the Underworld, Hades staring down at him with a look of curiosity on his face.
"You are the one who disturbed my wife's rest two hundred years ago?" Hades asks him.
Shaun hesitates. "I am." He answers the god of the Underworld.
"In that case, I have an offer to make."
"What kind of offer?" Shaun asks warily.
"The kind that, if you accept, with end the war between myself and Athena for good."
Shaun has to think for only a moment. In the end, the choice is an easy one.
"What do I need to do?"
Hades smiles, and begins to speak.
The next time, the Saint of Andromeda is a girl. Most take this as a sign that the past member of the Vanguard was removed from his post and has been replaced.
They're all proved wrong when Shun begins to regain his-her, really-memories, and begins talking of things that she wouldn't know if she wasn't Sinon's newest reincarnation.
Surprisingly, Lady Athena-her name is Saori in this life-lets Shun train with the other members of the Vanguard.
They have a new member. Unicorn Jabu. Shun learns that the Unicorn Saint during the last war, Unicorn Yato, was named to the Vanguard after Shaun's death. It is painfully clear that he is meant to be her replacement.
It's not quite so bad this time though. There are still the stares and the comments, and Shun is regularly excluded from matters involving the Vanguard, but it doesn't matter. She has her brother with her, and when the time comes, she will fight alongside him like she always does.
Then comes the mysterious summons from Lady Athena. The other members of the Vanguard leave to answer the summons, and Shun is left with her old training partners from Andromeda Island, Bootes Spica and Pisces Austrinus Reda.
Working with her old training partners is nothing like training with her brother and friends. Since Shun is a member of the Vanguard, she's acknowledged as one of the strongest Bronzes, and Spica and Reda use this as an excuse to fight her two-on-one. Reda is spiteful and jealous-and unafraid to admit it-and Spica follows the older Bronze's lead with little hesitation.
It's not like Shun can't fight them both at the same time and win, but she doesn't see the point in beating them into the ground repeatedly. They'll never learn anything like that.
Today is not my day. Shun reflects as Spica takes another potshot at her with his chains. Of course her old training partners are especially nasty when no one is there to see. Or, at least, when Ikki isn't there to beat them into the ground the way he does to anyone he thinks is being unfair to Shun.
Not that she doesn't appreciate her brother's protectiveness, but he goes overboard more often than not.
With a flick of her chains, Shun deflects Spica's attempt to hit her, and wraps both his chains up with one of hers. She just has to beat them this time, and then she can take a break and eat something.
It's as good a motivation as any.
Of course, it's never so easy for Shun, so of course Reda gets the drop on her, tying up her remaining chain with one of his own, and using his second chain to hit her Out of options, Shun braces herself for the inevitable impact as she's thrown backwards into the wall behind her. It hurts just as much she's expecting, and knocks the wind out of her.
"Wow, way to lose." Reda sneers at Shun. The Andromeda Saint simply pulls her chains away from her opponents' and nods at them.
"Nice tactic." She acknowledges them lightly. As usual, her refusal to rise to the bait catches Reda off guard.
You'd think he'd get the message by now. Shun thinks as she walks to where the pack with her water and lunch is sitting and sits to eat.
"Who is that down there?" A voice catches Shun's attention as she bites into the bread she'd brought with her this morning.
Looking up towards the top of the training ground, which is basically a large pit with seats like steps leading down into it, much like the colosseum, Shun freezes.
Staring down from the top of the training ground are Lady Athena, two of the Gold Saints, the rest of the Vanguard, and a woman Shun doesn't recognize. But what truly catches Shun's attention is the person standing next to Lady Athena.
Hades.
Okay. I know this one ends kind of abruptly, but what did you think?
This is another one I that I have more ideas for.
See you next time!
