15.
Nastassia was brushing the Goddess' hair with long, steady strokes.
It soothed Her.
Only the Russian girl was witness to Athena's moments of doubt and fears, her inner anguish, her pain.
The days of silly giggles were over. Too often now the Goddess paced her room like a caged tiger, a bundle of nerves, trembling hands crumpling the edges of her chiton to the point where the gossamer silk material tore.
Nastassia knew that she could not help Athena with words of advice or strength of arms. She was only a weak, ignorant girl. All she could do was give Her the comfort of neatly ironed dresses, perfumed baths, body massage manicure and hair care. Under her gentle hands, as she carefully soaped, washed and rinsed the brown locks and towel dried them (the lack of electricity in Sanctuary meant no blowdryers) the Goddess relaxed.
It was a strange thing that one so powerful was so much to be pitied
At once millennia old and only fourteen, Athena carried the weight of a planet on Her fragile shoulders. She could not be the young girl Her body dictated Her to be.
And now Graad had become the object of a criminal investigation instigated by UNICEF, the international children's welfare organisation!
"Seika." murmured the Goddess, drumming her fingers on her dressing table, " It must be. Miho is too young and Sunrei's Chinese, the Japanese authorities would not have listened to them. Drat the girl! I was so sure the memory block was back in place. She has managed to pull the wool over all our eyes, walking around like a zombie while secretly plotting against Me. "
She leaned back.
"The disappearance of the children at Our orphanage must be explained somehow. A plausible explanation… hmmm…yes, perhaps…Jabu! Come to Me!"
The Unicorn Saint instantly materialised at the Goddess' side. He had only been the width of a door away from Her chamber, ever on guard, yet he was eager to practice (and show off) teleportation.
Nastassia gave a little cry. The Warriors of Blue Graad were incapable of teleportation since the majority among them barely reached Bronze levels, and she still had not got used to having people pop up out of nowhere.
The Goddess waved her aside with an impatient gesture.
"Jabu. You are aware of the scrutiny Graad is under, concerning the orphanage? Unfortunately the international community has taken an inordinate interest in what we do. We must ward our true intentions. The Saints have ever laboured and thrived in secrecy."
Jabu muttered something about dratted Gaijins putting their overlong noses where they didn't belong.
"Quite. However, Graad also needs the support of foreign investors. Already some are withdrawing theirs; an unfavourable report on our doings could do further damage."
"I don't understand, My Goddess. The children are being trained to become Saints for the protection of Earth! How can they possibly interpret that as anything else but Good!"
Athena sighed. Jabu had never been very bright.
"Our intentions will be misconstrued. Humanity is ever weary of great leaders, for so many among them will use their power only for conquest and destruction. The Power We have will be seen as yet another threat to the fragile balance of world peace they have maintained for over forty years, minor wars notwithstanding. Moreover, hardly anyone believes in Us. We are seen as a myth, a pleasant fantasy. Rather than tell them the truth we will tell another truth which will be a lie they will believe."
The Unicorn Saint scratched his head.
"Forgive me, Athena, but you've lost me there."
"I was thinking of pointing the finger at Tatsumi. He has a taste for little children, boys, yet with some extra photographs among his vast collection, we can include girls: I propose we hand over a paedophile network for the investigators to sink their teeth in."
Even Jabu, who worshipped the very ground Saori/Athena trod upon, gasped. Nastassia dropped the brush she was still holding. Her mistress turned towards her.
"You think I am callous, don't you? Hard, cold, cruel, ready to sacrifice anyone to My Cause. I have to do it, for Humanity's sake. Such sacrifices are necessary. Each and everyone of my Saints will give their life to save Earth: so will I. Tatsumi will understand, for it is part of the code he also lives by."
Nastassia almost choked on her words as she cried: " What…what does a …a creature like that, a child molester, do in your service in the first place! How can you tolerate someone so...so vile!"
"For the same reason as my Grandfather turned a blind eye to his …ahem…perks. He is useful. It is also why I put up with Asterion and Jamian*, why the Pope kept Deathmask despite his crimes and why I do so now. "
The Russian girl shivered as the Goddess pronounced the name the Cancer Saint had given himself.
No-one had been happy with his arrival in Sanctuary, but Nastassia was absolutely terrified of the man.
She had been told how, against the Wall of Lamentation, he had performed his duty as a Gold Saint with the rest of them, making the ultimate sacrifice for Athena, even though he and Aphrodite the Pisces Saint (thankfully still missing) had previously declared themselves square behind Hades. Nastassia was certain that the opportunistic Cancer Saint gave his loyalties only where his own interests lay. It shocked her that Athena was capable of similar opportunism.
"Naturally the blame must fall fully on Tatsumi. Graad is deeply outraged and saddened by one of her employees' actions and profoundly regrets what happened. Can you arrange this, Jabu?"
The Unicorn Saint grinned.
"I get it! We shall throw the dog a bone!"
"That was Athena's second big mistake. If you throw a dog a bone, he will carry a bone. She thought they would be satisfied with what they were given. Instead, it encouraged them to dig deeper."
"Actually, She had a very simplistic view of how the world functions. Hardly surprising, considering this was her first- and only- time round in Modern Times. Absolutism is no longer seen as a Divine Right, and FreeThinking has cropped up everywhere. And let's not forget she had been raised in the one country on Earth where the Head of State, the Emperor, is still seen by many to be a descendant of the Gods, and where blind obedience is the norm. Even the Soviets have abjured 'Father' Stalin and in China, Mao's little Red Book is no longer regarded as Holy Writ by all. Besides, she had no idea of Britain's involvement as yet. She thought it would be Seika's word against Graad's, and who would believe a young woman who had worked in a bar babbling about Greek Gods?"
"We were lucky someone did."
Nastassia pressed her hands against her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
"I hope you understand that I have no other choice." said the Goddess. Gently She placed a hand on the Russian girl's cheek.
"Dear friend. I am so sorry you had to witness this. Sorry too, that my Sanctuary has not offered you the peace you deserve. One day, when our fight is over, I wish to see you happy…with Shun."
Nastassia blushed.
"My Lady Goddess, I…I thank you but it is too soon to think of…well, anything serious."
Athena gave a little laugh.
"Oh? That was not the impression I got. You two are made for each other! I shall speak with your brother. Nothing should stand between your union."
"Union? But...but…"
"Saints do not have to be alone. Marriage is happiness not solely reserved for ordinary mortals. And there is the future to think of too. Your children will surely make a fine addition to the Next Generation."
"Nothing like planning ahead, is there? She was giving hints like that left and right. Given time, she would probably have drafted up a breeding programme! Shun the Stud, how would you have liked that, little bro'?"
"Not at all."
"Well, she certainly never would have turned me into one of her brood-mares! Much as I love you, Shun, I don't dream of having children yet for a long time. It was disgusting the way she was arranging our private lives, I could have yelled at her and I'd really have been in trouble. I never thought I'd be so glad to see my brother as he burst into the room just then…"
"My Lady, great news!!!!"
Jabu, who had already started at the sound of running feet was livid as the Lord of Blue Graad threw open the door.
"How dare you enter the Goddess' chamber like that?!? "
Taking his Unicorn stance, he directed his horn at Alexer. The Russian saltoed backwards and landed with a loud thud in a most humiliating position. He let out a string of curses, which fortunately only Nastassia could understand, scrambled to his feet and in turn took his combat position, lifting his hand; in it appeared an icicle like a spear, and he moved to throw it at Jabu.
"Stop it, both of you!" cried Athena, " Jabu, calm down. Alexer, I'd appreciate it if you learned to knock before you enter. Now, what is the excitement all about?"
"The Renegade!" triumphed the Lord of Blue Graad after casting a foul look at the Unicorn saint who scowled back, " We have him!"
Only Her dignity kept Athena from whooping as Jabu did, his antagonism momentarily forgotten.
The Goddess rose from her seat.
"This is indeed excellent news. Jabu, sound the Bell. Let all my Saints gather in the Arena! The Renegade will be publicly tried and executed."
Nastassia's heart lost a beat.
"Hyoga! Not him! Oh, I must warn Shun!!"
She gathered together the long skirt of her dress and sped out. Neither Athena, Alexer nor Jabu, still exulting over their success, paid her any attention.
Through the candlelit corridor she ran and through the Great hall of the Pope's Palace. Down she dashed, down the steps of the long staircases leading to the Twelve Temples. Through Pisces, through Aquarius, trough Capricornus she went. Down, down, down, through Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, all empty of their occupants.
At the Virgo temple she made halt to catch her breath.
Shaka was meditating inside, she knew, and he could be very intimidating when roused. Softly, gently, quiet as a mouse she tiptoed through his Halls. The Virgo Saint was indeed in lotus position, drifting some two meters above his throne.
"Oh, don't let him notice…"
"What are you doing here?"
She froze as Shaka's dry monotone of a voice rang out.
"I...I'm just passing."
"You are a disturbance."
A thin hand unfolded and waved at her like one would swat a fly.
She screamed without a sound. An intense sense of nothingness enveloped her. Her suddenly disembodied self struggled and kicked her non-existent legs, and she landed hard on a cold marble floor.
"Oh my God, Nastassia!"
"Shu…Shun?"
Her voice had come back.
She opened her eyes and stared straight into his dear, worried face, and heard him call her name over and over. She smiled to reassure him.
Someone else knelt by her side.
"Don't attempt to sit up. "
Soft, calm and reassuring: it could only be Mu.
"Move your arms, slowly. Can you feel your back? Try to turn your head, carefully, now."
As he ascertained that she had no broken bones, the warm aura of the Aries Saint glowed and chased the icy cold of teleportation from her. He helped her to her feet and with a cry of relief she flew into Shun's strong, safe arms.
"Nastassia, what happened? How did you…Mu?"
"Shaka." said the Gold Saint, without further explanation. It was not needed. Shun had understood at once, and the normally even-tempered Andromeda Saint was seething.
"Relax, Shun, she is fine, a little shaken, that's all."
The Aries Saint sent a thought to his colleague in the sixth Temple.
"Shaka, what are you playing at? Have a care with Athena's handmaiden. "
"She came through my Temple without my permission to be with her lover. I sensed his Cosmos in your Temple where he was talking with you. I thought to speed her on her way. Was I wrong?"
"Yes, you bloody well were!"
Since it was an open sending, Andromeda too caught the thought and went beetroot at the word 'lover'.
"Shun!" whispered Nastassia, oblivious of the telepathic exchange, "I came to tell you something...it is horrible, my brother…" she stopped, staring fearfully at Mu.
"Am I one too many?" asked the Aries Saint mildly.
Of all the Gold Saints in Sanctuary, he was the only one Nastassia was not afraid of. At the time when Alexer was still prowling about he had generously offered his Temple as thrysting place for the young couple, and Kiki had often served as go-between with loveletters to and fro, both enjoying their Cupid role immensely.
Yet no matter how kind and likeable Mu was, he remained a Gold Saint and unswervingly loyal to Athena, and that made Nastassia hesitant to trust him.
Shun made the decision for her.
"Mu's a friend, my heart. Speak freely."
"It's Hyoga!" she blurted out, "Alexer has found him and ...and…oh Shun, he is going to be executed in the Arena!"
"No!" cried the two Saints simultaneously, which showed that Mu's loyalties were not quite so unwavering as Nastassia had presumed.
Shun's thoughts at once jumped to his brother.
"Ikki is in danger! Alexer will have discovered he lied and…we must warn him!"
"Whoa!" cried Mu, "Ikki lied? What has he got to do with Hyoga?"
Again, the pronouncing of the Renegades name was a subtle indication of Mu's remaining sympathy for the Cygnus Saint.
"No time to explain. Mu, if you have any friendship for us, please help now. You are the only one capable of teleporting people and masking it from Shaka and the others. Ikki must be brought to a safe, secret place!"
"That will not be necessary." came the voice of the Phoenix, appearing from behind a column, "I will not be running away anywhere."
"You don't understand! They are going to kill Hyoga!"
"I heard."
"They won't give him a chance to explain himself, you know that! What chance will you have?"
"I won't run." repeated Ikki, "It's time someone told Her Highness a few home truths."
All of a sudden a loud booming resounded through the Temple.
"That will be the Bell calling us to the Arena." said the Phoenix Saint calmly, " Mu, will you teleport Nastassia?"
"No one will teleport my Nastassia but me." said Shun, drawing her closer and scowling and his brother's and Mu's chuckles. They blinked out from the Aries Temple only to reappear a microsecond later among the other Saints, Warriors, Guards and Apprentices thronging into their seats of Sanctuary's great Arena.
Athena, staff in hand, stood on the Pope's tribune, flanked by Saga and Kanon. On her left and Shaka, eyes closed as usual, on her right. Mu hurried over to take his place in the Gold ranks. Deathmask, as was his wont, stayed in the shadows somewhat apart from his fellows. He looked like he planned to enjoy himself.
Jabu took up his customary place one step below the Goddess.
Shun drew Nastassia with him to sit next to Shiryu in the public gallery. Whatever the outcome, she would be safest there. He noticed that June, Marin and Tethys had chosen to be with the other Silver and Bronze Saints**.
Even Sorrento was present.
Alexer stood in the middle of the Ring, hands on hips, overseeing them file in like an Emperor of Ancient Rome his Gladiators, waiting for the last, tiny apprentice to take a seat before he began:
"Friends, Warriors, Servants of Athena! I have come to relate to you of my discovery of a plot so horrendous as your innocent minds can not conceive! Yet one among us is not innocent, and has conceived it! Aye, my friends, Evil is once more afoot in Sanctuary, And there is another Renegade, another Traitor, in the ranks! We must purge this treachery from our midst!"
He paused, noting with sinister satisfaction the cries of dismay (and some of protest and fear) that went through the gallery. Only the Gold Saints remained unmoved.
"You all know of the Sacrilege the Renegade committed, locking Athena in an Ice Coffin; yet such was the might of the Goddess that she broke free of it. For a long time this foul rebel and the women who went with him were have been searched in vain. Where others failed, I have succeeded!"
This time there were cheers all round, and many were uttered in the hope that this would lay off all suspicion of treachery from the cheerer. Shiryu stiffened.
"And I discovered that one of you is in league with the Rebels!"
Another cry went up.
"His name! Tell us his name!"
The gallery was out for blood.
Alexer held up his hands.
"Patience, my friends! Know that this man, (relief among the women), this Saint (even greater relief among Apprentices, Guards and Warriors) already has a past that is as black as his heart (Saga and Kanon stirred, and Deathmask withdrew deeper into the shadows) yet is counted as one of the strongest, most loyal to Athena!
One of the very Saints who have vanquished Hades and returned from Elision!"
All eyes swivelled to the small group of God-Saints.
Ikki remained unperturbed, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded across his chest.
Alexer seemed a little disappointed at the lack of reaction, but continued:
"Like I said, we already knew that the Renegade had dealings with the women Seika, Sunrei and Miho. All disappeared without a trace, yet the last one had a friend, one Minako Asatani, who was brought here for questioning. My friends, the Traitor intervened, aye, before the very eyes of Athena he pretended to search the woman's mind and…"
"He paused once more for dramatic effect, and all held their breath in anticipation. Slowly, he stretched out his arm and pointed at Ikki.
"He lied! The Phoenix Saint is the Traitor!"
Shaka's eyes flew open.
"The lie was cleverly covered by a half-truth: the woman Minako had a liaison with a foreign diplomat, a certain Fletcher-Parks. Indeed, she used to work at his embassy. I say 'used to', for she, too has vanished! 'Why', I asked myself. Fear of us? Nay, for the Traitor had claimed he had blocked her memory of the interrogation. upon returning her. There had to be a reason and what better way to uncover the woman's secrets than to search her lover's mind? That my friends; revealed all!"
He clapped his hands.
"Bring in the prisoner!"
"Mistake number three. Athena should have stopped Alexer's little performance there and then. When people saw the poor man, how he was treated, loyalties wavered, hearts changed, and minds were made up. She lost a lot of support in that instant."
"Mine, for one. I did not become a Gold Saint to torture people. What was more, I was filled with admiration for the man's bravery, facing us. I could sense his terror, yet he stood up to the Goddess herself!"
Two Blue Graad Warriors half carried in a struggling figure and kicked it to the ground in front of Athena. She remained impassive, but Shun thought he could see Mu wince for the briefest of instants.
"This, My Lady, is the lover of Minako. He is the one who has helped the Rebels get away! He had them smuggled out of Japan! I have brought him forth so that you may personally deal with him in front of all, so that this time there will be no chance of treachery!"
Athena stepped forward, he grey gaze filling with tears, yet determinedly fixed on Ikki.
"Why, Phoenix, why?"
A slight smile played around Ikki's lips;
"When did you start taking an interest in motives? However, since you ask…we Saints have fought for Justice to reign on Earth. I have seen precious little of it in Sanctuary of late. That's all."
The Goddess gaze grew cold and hard.
."It is not for you to question how My Justice is dealt."
"Precisely, your Justice. But I forgot, I'm a Saint, I must fight and die for you, not have my say in how you run things. Ever heard of Democracy? You should, it's a Greek invention, it means rule by the people. Now, I may not exactly be people, but he is!"
The Phoenix Saint gestured at the trembling figure.
"Ask him about Justice! I bet he knows more about it, and Democracy, that you and all of us put together! "
The Gallery, in shocked silence throughout this exchange, burst out in cries of rage and curses, accusing Ikki of every crime under the sun and then some. It didn't bother the Phoenix in the slightest.
"Do you hear them, Athena? Those are your servants; They are so relieved at not being accused themselves that they try to outdo each other in accusations as to my person. Listen to the wolves howl!"
He stood up and called in heavily accented English to the man in the ring: "Fletcher-Parks! Do you know who I am?"
The man looked up. Blood was dripping from a head wound, and from his nose and mouth. One eye was rapidly swelling.
"Yes…I know you." He wheezed through broken teeth, "You are the one that saved my fiancée Minako. One of those so-called Saints, but for you would have raped her Soul. You took her home and warned us of the danger. We are eternally grateful…yet you never gave us time to thank you…"
He struggled to his feet. One of the Warriors hit him in the stomach.
"Don't speak! Down, dog!"
Fletcher-Parks doubled up, retching. Yet he remained standing.
"Another sample of your Justice, Athena?"asked Ikki softly.
"Enough! I won't have the man mistreated!" called the Goddess commandingly.
"A little late, wouldn't you say? "
Fletcher-Parks drew himself upright. The frail diplomat had not been trained to be a fighter, nor had he ever been prepared for the violence he was subjected to. And yet with that terrible calm the English have in the face of adversity, he managed to summon all his courage and, readjusting his tie, he spoke, proudly: " I am a citizen of the united Kingdom and a Civil Servant in her majesty's Diplomatic Corps. As such, I represent my Government and enjoy immunity. You have violated that and in my person attacked Great Britain and its people! There will be consequences."
Alexer gave a hoot of laughter.
"What can your Queen threaten us with? Her handbag? Oooh, I'm sooo scared now!"
His laughter was taken up by many.
"No." Answered Fletcher-Parks, curling his lips in a smile at some private joke, "But our Prime Minister might."***
Shun felt like applauding the man.
"Oh, he is so brave!" sobbed Nastassia next to him, " And he will be killed for this. Alexer never forgives people who make a fool out of him."
"He will have a heard time forgiving himself, then." said Ikki.
Athena spoke once more.
"Very well, Englishman. We shall respect your Diplomatic Immunity and grant you pardon. However, we will not return you to your people before you have told us where the Renegade is."
"Who?" asked Fletcher-Parks.
Alexer made to hit him, but Athena intervened;
" Hold, he will not be molested: we have promised. You know of whom we speak, English. He was one of ours, a traitor now. The women you helped were in league with him. Assist us, and there will be recompense; "
"If you tell us all, you shall have you life." Alexer, still furious, hissed at Fletcher-Parks.
A tremor ran through the young diplomat's body, yet he remained calm. " Then I suppose you will kill me, for I know nothing." he whispered back.
Out loud, he called, " If you mean that Russian boy, he has been granted Political Asylum. I have no idea where he is. My role as liaison has been played: others have taken over and I don't even know who they are."
"He is telling the truth." said Ikki, "Though I don't expect you to take my word for it. You will have to question his superiors. The ambassador perhaps? Why not take on the English Government while you are at it? It's ironic, isn't it? Cygnus has found refuge from you among the very people you have sworn to protect. That should tell you something."
"Quiet, Phoenix, I have had enough of your insolence. I shall deal with you later." said the Goddess sternly. Then looking down on Fletcher-Parks, she asked: " One last question! Is it your Government's doing, the withdrawal of so many gaijin investors in Graad?"
"You will appreciate that I am not privy to Britain's decisions, nor would impart with them if I were."
"A diplomatic answer, which is as good as saying 'yes'. Very well, I now know all I needed to know. Mu!"
The Gold Saint stepped forward on hearing his Goddess call his name.
"This man requires treatment. With Aiolia gone, you are the greatest healer among us. See to him, and when he is well again you can send him home, after having blocked his memory, of course."
With a nod, Mu jumped into the Ring and laid his hands on Fletcher-Parks, who flinched, then relaxed as the Aries Saint's beneficent Aura permeated his being.
"I can heal the broken bones." said Mu with his customary irony, " But I can hardly replace lost teeth."
"Leave the healing then" called Shaka "I shall change his memory, so that he will only remember being mugged. It will explain his wounds."
Fletcher-Parks lost his diplomatic composure and began to scream in terror.
"No! No! Please, no, kill me rather, but don't touch my Soul!"
"Silly man, what is your Soul compared to the safety of the world?" asked Shaka.
Mu's startingly green eyes **** met the Virgo Saint's blue ones.
"Do you doubt my capability of performing a memory change?"
In answer, Shaka gave the smallest of shrugs.
A thought - not his own- entered Fletcher-Parks mind as the Aries Saint's hands tightened ever so slightly, and reassuringly, on his shoulders: "Be not afraid; I will not harm you."
Mu swivelled the Englishman round so as to face him.
"I am Mu, Gold Saint of the Sign of arias. My art is all gentleness. You will not suffer."
A thin ray of lightning flashed through the Arena, hitting Fletcher-Parks in the back of his neck, jerking him backwards, then forwards, and the hapless young diplomat threw up all over Mu' before slumping into unconsciousness.
"Shaka!"
The green eyes went bright with fury.
The Virgo Saint gave another shrug.
"If you want something done properly, you have to do it yourself. I admit I did not foresee his … unfortunate… reaction. I will help you clean up your Cloth if you like."
"You are challenging me?"
"If I were, would you take it up?"
The Aries Saint shook his head.
"I sought no quarrel with you, Shaka, nor will I start a pointless battle that will last a thousand days and a thousand nights. Athena commanded me to take this man home, and so I will."
"No!" shouted Alexer, who had been so wild with rage that up till then he had been incapable of putting in a word, " That man's mind contains vital information as to the whereabouts of the Rebels…"
"Silence, Alexer." said the Goddess, " Your zeal is commendable, but We do not wish to provoke one of the Earth's major countries. We serve Earth and its people. Mu, I count on you to further deal with this problem.
And Shaka, you will clean his Cloth."
Then she bend down to speak with the Unicorn: " Jabu, you can go and see to the little matter we spoke of earlier. Be discreet."
Both the Bronze and the two Gold Saints, Mu carrying the still unconscious body of Fletcher-Parks, vanished from the Arena.
"But…but…" spluttered Alexer, hopelessly deflated, "What about Phoenix?"
"I have not forgotten. Ikki!"
"Here we go." muttered that one, " Shun, whatever happens, stay calm and don't interfere. It will be alright."
Deploying his copper-golden wings, the Phoenix Saint sprang in the Ring to face the Goddess.
"So what will it be, Athena? Summary execution according to custom?"
"Why did you do it, Phoenix?" asked the Goddess mournfully, "You were such a True Saint."
Ikki chose his words carefully.
"I have always believed that the only excuse for there being Saints lies in the protection they give the weak and innocent."
"Neither qualification applies to the Renegade."
"So everyone who has a different interpretation of what is just is branded a Traitor?"
"Justice is absolute: there can be no different interpretations."
"I said: 'just', not Justice. It's not the same thing. Hyoga served you well, but he has grown to have other views than yours. Granted, he expressed them rather violently. Yet if you deny him the right to his own opinion, then there is something wring with your notion of what is just…or Justice, come to that. What was all our fighting for, if not for Man to live in freedom?"
A profound silence fell over the Arena. Never before had such words been spoken to the Living Goddess in Her own Sanctuary.
"You have to hand it to her: she kept her cool. It is a great pity she could not be made to see how dictatorial her regime was. And yet she believed she was working for the Common Good."
"All good Dictators do. "
"Oh, absolutely. Athena was a Goddess. She played the game like the rest of them, though with Hades she bend the rules somewhat."
"I wonder, if the War with Hades had run like the previous one and had she sealed his spirit away for another 243 years, with the equilibrium intact Zeus would not have threatened her, and she would not have been so hard-pressed, would she have let her heart speak for her, and listen to us?"
"Oh, come on, stop making excuses for her. Love and compassion she may have had, but do you remember when we were children? How she would order one of us to play 'horse ' for her, not sparing him her riding whip…and remember how she beat Seiya when he refused, 'You are only here because my Grandfather saved you from the Orphanage' she screamed, ' You are no more than slaves and must obey me!' That was the real Athena shining through. Unlike adults Children do not dissimulate their true nature"
"Yes, but children grow up. They learn the difference between Good and Evil."
"Millennia of growing up and still she settled her disputes with a fight. Some adult behaviour that is!"
Ikki smiled.
"Shall I solve the dilemma for you? Here's my answer."
Once more the wings of the Phoenix flashed in redgold splendour.
And broke apart.
All the pieces of the God Cloth separated, flew from Ikki's body to reassemble themselves in the air above him. He lifted his left arm and pointed at the Phoenix. It vanished. There was a short blaze of fiery light, and everyone shielded his or her eyes.
"Your Cloth!" cried Athena, " Raised to God status by My Sacred Blood! What have you done with it?"
"Destroyed it. I shall be the last Phoenix Saint."
"Impossible! You have so often told us yourself, the Phoenix will rise from his ashes. It is the one Cloth that can never be destroyed!"
""Never say 'never'. First, there have to be ashes to rise from. However, at the centre of the Earth where I have sent it its metal will be kept in permanent liquefied state. And who will be fool enough to risk upsetting the balance of the planet by retrieving it from the core? "
The Goddess anger was dreadful to behold. Her incredible Cosmos burn high behind her.
"Ikki! You have condemned yourself! No one has ever committed a crime so atrocious, the murder of one's own sacred Cloth!"
"And good riddance too. Shiryu is forever taking his off in combat, so a Saint doesn't really need it. It's just another weapon in your wars, and aren't you always priding yourself on not fighting with weapons? That's a lie: we saints are your living weapons. Well, no more: not the Phoenix. It is time you walked other paths…."
"Silence!" thundered Saga, his Cosmos just as terrifying as Athena's, "My Goddess, allow me to en this once and for all! I shall created a doorway to another dimension whereto I shall banish this traitor for all eternity, in lonely agony!"
A cruel laugh rang from behind.
"And just how many times have you already used that technique on the Phoenix? It never stopped him coming back either."
It was Deathmask grinning diabolically.
"Your brother's Bermuda Triangle attack won't make any difference either. However, he has never been subjected to the Circles of Hades before. It shall be my pleasure to expedite the Traitor. With your permission of course, Athena."
Without waiting for it, he took a crab-like pose, "I have perfected my Art considerably since last I used it on an adversary." He crooned, "Prepare to meet your Doom, ex-Phoenix!!"
"No!" cried Shun, "Not Ikki, not my brother!"
A hand like a steel clasp held him back.
"You heard him: Ikki does not want you to interfere." whispered Shiryu in his ear, " You would only suffer the same fate. Your brother has made his choice. Think of Nastassia!"
Weeping, the Andromeda Saint shrank back in his seat.
The air around Deathmask began to swirl and throb malevolently.
"By your command, my Goddess."
Athena hesitated…
To be continued.
* Jamian is the Silver Saint of the Crow. He was sent flying back to Sanctuary with one blow from Ikki; one presumes he survived.
** There are 12 Gold Saints, at my count (manga only) 16 known Silver and 10 Bronze ones, plus Kanon. That does not make the full complement of 88 Therefore there must be others that were never mentioned.
*** Britain's Prime Minister in 1987 was the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, known for her absolutely lethal handbag.
****On the cover of my copy of the manga's the Saints are in colour. Nearly all are blond and grey eyed (except Milo who has blue ones). Shura is black-haired, Deathmask brown, young Dokho black, Aldebaran unknown but presumably blond and Camu…red. Athena too is brown-haired as is Marin, Shina, Seiya Ikki and Shiryu are black and Shun is mentioned to be chestnut (not impossible for a Japanese). Hyoga is of course blond. Kiki is somewhat ginger, and I make Mu pepper-and salt, but both he and his apprentice have green eyes.