7.
"We were just so amazingly naïve." Seika would sigh, later," Thinking we could take Them on! How they must have laughed."
"I don't think that they laughed. I believe they were genuinely worried that someone so close to Godhood was capable of saying: 'No!' turn his back on all that Power and walk away. For time uncounted the Gods had danced their Deadly Menuet with the Saints, but now a Half-God had broken free."
"Very poetically put, Shun. I would have called it an age-old Slugfest. Beat the crap out of each other, last one standing is the Winner and the new Champion: Winner takes all. Good thing we won in the end. "
"Did we? Why does winning allways seem so much like losing, then?"
Of course everything went wrong.
Somewhat reasured about the 'Pink Bunny', Hyoga had left Jakob in Miho's care, (" That proved to be the perfect hidout : they had forgotten all about me, and if they had remembered, they would never have thought of looking for either of us in such a 'den of iniquity', where people came to have a good time, one way or another.
Imagine :dancing, drinking, gambling… such immorality! Such total depravity!Kkilling people is soooo much better." "I don't like it when you are being bitter, Miho. It's over now.""No it isn't .It never will be.") and had contacted Shun.
They had agreed to meet, at the rocks. Shun, incapable of thinking ill of anyone, had told Shiryu. And Shiryu, incapable of thinking of anything else but doing his duty, now that he no longer had Sunrei, had told Athena.
Hyoga and Shun had barely exchanged a few words when out of the blue appeared Ichi, Geki, Jabu, Asterion …and the Mighty Goddess herself, all in full Cloth.
The Cygnus Saints knew he didn't stand a chance, if he were to put up a fight, which he didn't intend to anyway. He shot a reproachfull glance at Andromeda, and saw to his relief that his halfbrother was just as astonished as he. It comforted him to know that Shun, at least, had not betrayed him. Then he berated himself for having thought so : Shun would never knowingly betray anyone.
"On your knees, Cygnus!"cried Ichi, obviously enjoying the situation and out to get his own back.
Shun opened his mouth to protest, and Hyoga sent him a mental warning which he hoped would not be 'heard' by the telepath Asterion: "Don't interfere, whatever happens, or you'll find yourself in the same mess as I am in. I don't want that on my conscience as well."
Shun's mouth snapped shut.
Hyoga knelt before Athena. It was the only thing to do.
The Goddess looked down on him, sternly.
Then she smiled.
"That was the worst : the condescencion. She kept going on about how she understood my pain, how I had to let go of it. How she needed me."
He looked her squarily in the eye, then.
"But I do not need you."
"That must have caused some consternation. Oh boy, I wish I had been there. Probably the first time in a long while - probably the first time ever - anyone ever said a thing like that to her. But you really crewed up there, Hyoga. Big time.Of all the answers you could have given it wasn't the most diplomatic one! You should have grovelled. Or buttered her up : tried that famous Russian charm."
Hyoga had been neither charming nor diplomatic then : he quite frankly accused Athena of lying.
"This was supposed to have been the War to End All Wars. We defeated Ares, Poseidon and Hades; we saved the world three times over and we all thought we could be at peace for a change."
The Goddess did not grow angry at his words, nor did she reproach him for having said them : she merely looked at him mournfully, and replied in a sad voice: "I hoped so too, once. I truly believed we could lead the life of normal people of our age, and oh! How I wished it to be so! Yet such is not for us. We are the Guardians of the World, Hyoga : Constant Vigilance is our Sacred Duty, to which we are pledged."
Speaking in capital letters was rapidly becoming a habit to her.
"Remember your Oath, Hyoga. You know how I abhorr fighting …."
"Yesd, that is why you let us do it for you." said Hyoga hotly, "How can we ever hope for the fighting to stop if you insist on training new Saints? Those children deserve a life…"
"So they do, yet Earth has to be protected."
"At the cost of their happiness?"
She sighed again.
"Oh Hyoga, I had so hoped that you would find happiness in the fulfillment of your duty! It will steer your life, give you a pupose. Sanctuary is your home. We are your family. After all, you are an orphan, as are all Saints…"
"Orphans, yes : no-one needs them, no-one misses them, who cares if they are put through hell?!? And if some
die, one can always replace them. Orphans are expendable. Was Seiya?"
The question sounded like a reproach, and Athena felt it. The grey eyes grew hard.
"Seiya was a true Saint, the truest there ever was…you, obviously, are not. Know this, Hyoga : from now on I expect only the strictest obedience from my followers. There are too few of you as it is : we can not afford to make any more mistakes. You will go back to Siberia, with a number of children. You willl train them. Or you will die : I will not have any renegade at large! Is that understood? Then the choice is yours."
"At least now you are being honest!"
Athena turned to Shiryu :" Dragon, you know what to do."
Hyoga laughed.
"Dream on! Shiryu will never raise his hand against me…"
His laughter was cut short as Shiryu's fist landed in his stomach, making him gasp for breath.
More than pain raged through him : Shiryu had betrayed their friendship! Shiryu, who had sacrificed his eyesight in the battle against Medusa to save his halfbrothers, who had been the first to make the sacrifice of his life during the battle of Sanctuary! Shiryu, always so calm and quiet, almost as withdrawn as he himself was. From the very beginning he had sensed some kind of inner peace within his half-brother. He did not do so now, and understood the reason at once : the love of Sunrei had brought the Dragon Saint this inner peace, and with the one he had lost both.
Another blow, this time in his face, made Hyoga reel backwards. He tasted blood on his lip.
"When did it become so easy, Shiryu?"he asked, wiping his mouth.
The Dragon Saint made no other answer than to raise his fist, yet before he could strike again, Andromeda's chains zoomed through the air, circled round Cygnus, tightened and threw him to the ground.
"Down before Athena, and beg for mercy, you traitor!" Shun cried.
"I had to make them all believe I was on their side. With Asterion scanning everyone's mind, I thought it better if you believed it too. I could see the hurt in your eyes when Shiryu hit you, and I just knew that you weren't going to put up a fight anymore : you had had enough of killing those you loved. So I had to make you : it was touch and go : for a moment there I believed I had pushed you over the edge instead."
The betrayal of Shiryu had been bad enough; seeing his favourite brother turn against him as well all but broke Hyoga.
"Let him go, Shun. " said Athena, her voice surprisingly gentle," It must be his decision."
The chains feel from him, and Hyoga looked up, into his Godess eyes, so full of compassion. She held out her hand.
"Be my Saint, Hyoga."
He smiled, and lightly touched her fingertips.
"I am no Saint" said he.
Not even Asterion saw it coming.
End of part one.