Sere:I'm back!!!!
Ikki:Gods have mercy….
Dice:*happily helping Elektra and Shun dye Saori's clothes strange and grotesque colors* It won't be that bad, Ikki-kun, just don't tick nee-san off
Sere:You talk like you've seen me mad before, Dice
Dice:I haven't, but I know perfectly well what an authoress is capable of from watching Meg and Alex fighting
Shun:*twitch twitch* Please don't mention Alex
Sere:*rolls her eyes* It's a long story, let's just say my aunt, Megpie the Great, is a torture specialist, and her older sister, Alex, specializes is angst and death, so it's not pretty when they team up. I asked Alex to write a big death scene later on in Crucified Heart, and Shun's already had to live through it…
Dice:Say anymore and you'll give away the surprise, Sere
Sere:OF course, Shun-chan, will you please do the disclaimer for me?
Shun:Of course, Fates Twisted Child does not own any show/book/movie mentioned in Crucified Heart. Elektra, her brothers, and the Neo Gods belong to Sere, Dice, Meg, and Alex.
Sere:*blinku* Shun-chan, you do realize the Neo Gods don't come in for a long time, right?
Shun:Of course, but I know you are going to forget when they do
Sere:-_-;; and you're supposed to be the nice one…
Shun: ^_^
"You can die at any time, but it takes a lot of courage to live."--Kenshin, Ruroni Kenshin A very good quote for any of the Bronze boys, especially Shun and Ikki
BANG!
Ikki and Shun ducked as a very loudly swearing Hyoga went sailing over their heads. The brothers looked at each other, sighed, and went back to their chess game.
CRASH!
They lifted the chessboard as Seiya went sliding across the table on his back. They set the board down and Shun moved one of his pawns forward.
BOOM!
Shiryu crashed down through the ceiling right after Ikki slid the table out of the way. The dragon saint scrambled to his feet and ran after Seiya and Hyoga.
"How do you put up with this?"Ikki asked tiredly as he pulled the table back in front of him and took Shun's pawn with his queen.
"You get used to it after a while." He took Ikki's queen with his knight.
CRACK!
Shun's eye twitched as Kiki went flying into the table and sent the chess pieces all over the huge room. Kiki giggled, jumped up, and flew off in the direction that Seiya, Shiryu, and Hyoga had gone.
"Let's go for a walk,"Ikki suggested through gritted teeth.
"Good idea,"Shun said with remarkable calm.
The brothers got up, walked across the room, making sure to step over Seiya and Hyoga, who were wrestling on the floor, and Shiryu and Kiki, who were rolling on the floor laughing, and out the front door.
"How on earth do you live with those four?"Ikki asked tiredly as they headed towards the beach.
Shun shrugged. "Just avoid them when I can, live with them when I can't."
Their feet automatically carried them to the beach like a magnet. The sun hung low in the sky, covered by a gray mist of clouds, a telltale sign of the storm that had passed through the previous night. The beach was littered with bits of wood, seaweed, and other odd scraps that had washed up with the waves.
"That storm was awful,"Shun muttered as he kicked a small piece of wood out of the way.
"I pity anyone who was caught up in it,"Ikki agreed. "even a saint would have trouble surviving that."
Shun nodded, then looked up at the sky. "Didn't the news report say that an old shipping barge went down near here?"
"Yes, only the captain survived,"Ikki said as he stared out at the ocean, which seemed more than ready to swallow them up.
"What the…"
Ikki looked back at his younger brother. The Andromeda saint was walking towards what appeared to be a large pile of seaweed and wood. Ikki walked over and knelt down next to it. Upon closer inspection he spotted what appeared to be a large patch of pink seaweed.
"Since when is seaweed pink?"Ikki asked. Shun detected a hint of laughter in his voice.
Shun pushed away some more of the seaweed, and something wrapped around his hand. Shun yelped and tried to jump back, but whatever held his hand was strong. Ikki calmly took Shun's arms and inspected the thin black cords wrapped around his hand.
"They're harp strings…."Ikki muttered. His hand followed the strings and eventually came into contact with something soft. Human skin.
The harp strings unwrapped themselves from around Shun's hand and retreated back into the mass of seaweed. Ikki and Shun looked at each other, then quickly began to move away the seaweed and wood.
"Where on earth are those two?"Saori asked tiredly.
"Can't we just eat without them?"Seiya whined as he poked at his steak, which had long since become cold.
Shiryu examined his own steak, which seemed to be attracting flies. "I hate to say it, but we're all hungry, and it could take Shun and Ikki hours to get back."
Hyoga, Seiya, and Kiki nodded quickly. Saori let out a sigh and opened her mouth to say "Fine." When the door in the front of the mansion banged open with such force that she quickly forgot what she was about to say.
"What the hell was that?"Seiya asked as he jumped to his feet and ran out of the large dining room.
Saori, Hyoga, Shiryu, and Kiki jumped up and followed him. They stopped just in time, almost running into Seiya. He was standing in the doorway of the large living room of the Kido mansion. Inside, they could see Ikki and Shun, both of whom were soaked to the point that their hair lay completely flat, talking. Ikki was holding what appeared to be a body in his arms, though all they could see was bright pink hair and a copper colored arm.
"What's going on?"Saori asked, pushing her way in front of Seiya.
Shun turned to look at her, obvious worry flaring in his gentle eyes. "We found this girl on the beach. She must have washed up during the storm last night."
Saori approached Ikki and examined the girl in his arms. She had long pink hair, which seemed to reach at least to her ankles, and copper colored skin. A few scars traced randomly around her body, and a black tattoo shaped like a harp stood out brightly against her skin.
"She's got a fever,"Ikki mused. "but nothing else. Not a scratch on her."
Saori touched the girl's forehead and a long black cord shot from her arm and wrapped around Saori's wrist. Saori tried to pull her hand back, but it only resulted in the harp cord cutting into her flesh.
"Wha…what is this?"Saori asked, panic rising in her voice.
"We don't know,"Shun explained. He put his hair next to the harp cord protruding from the unconscious girl's skin. It loosened its grip on Saori, then released her and returned to the girl's skin.
Saori rubbed her wrist. "Put her up in one of the spare bedrooms, and keep an eye on her. I don't like those harp cords."
Shun and Ikki nodded, then walked towards the stairs. Saori turned back to her other three saints.
"I don't like it,"Seiya muttered. "that harp cord was creepy."
Saori nodded. "There is no ill will towards the saints that I could feel, but she seems to harbor and extreme dislike of the gods, primarily Artemis and Athena."
"Then why would you let her stay?"Hyoga asked.
Saori smiled. "There is a good air to her, something trustworthy. I believe she may be linked to some of the saints now at Sanctuary."
"Are you saying she could help us?"Seiya asked.
"Perhaps,"Saori looked back up the stairs as Ikki and Shun vanished. "those harp cords are what interest me, though, and that tattoo. The god Apollo was associated with the lyre, a type of ancient harp, and she seemed to have great control over that harp string that attacked me."
"So lately, I've been wonderin
Who will be there to take my place
When I'm gone, you'll need love
To light the shadows on your face
If a great wave should fall
It would fall upon us all
And between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own"
"She sings almost as well as Aiolos."Aiolia smiled.
The boy next to him smiled, his dark purple hair falling in his face. "Yeah, too bad he can't see her now. He always said she'd be great."
"I won't be surprised if she lives up to him one day."Aiolia mused. "She's far stronger than most of our brothers. And having the eight of us to learn from has helped greatly."
"You know our father wouldn't permit it."
"Yes, but I also know Elektra and Kitsune don't follow rules as well as most of us do, Kage."
"Too true."
"If I could, then I would
I'll go wherever you will go
Way up high or down low
I'll go wherever you will go"
Aiolia looked back. Two identical children were sitting on a tree Brach, one was singing perfectly in tune with the radio in front of her. Both had spiky pink hair, light copper skin, and, if you had been able to look, red starburst eyes.
"I look forward to seeing what happens."Kage mused next to him. "Elektra and Kitsune are so different, and their paths no doubt will be as well."
"I can only pray she does not completely follow in Aiolos's footsteps,"Ailoia muttered.
"She won't."Kage said knowingly. "she's stronger than that. Gods willing, she will be there to see the return of Athena, and so will we."
"And maybe, I'll find out
The way to make it back someday
To watch you, to guide you
Through the darkest of your days
If a great wave should fall
It would fall upon us all
Well I hope there's someone out there
Who can bring me back to you"
Sere:Done, done, and done!!
Dice: *sweatdrop* that was slightly random
Sere:it'll make sense soon enough. All of Elektra's dreams will play a part later
Chibi:*runs in with Birdy and Ivory in tow* Mommy!! Can we play with the chibi saints?!
Sere:*sweatdrop* *grabs her faithful laptop and types something. The chibi saints appear around Chibi, Birdy, and Ivory* There you go, and no trashing the house!
All chibis:OKAYZIES!!! *run off to play in Elektra's garden*
Elektra:Sere, do you have a death wish?
Sere:No
Ikki:Then why did you just summon up all of our chibi forms?
Sere:They're your chibis, take care of 'em
Saints:EXCUSE ME?!