Title: Vessel
Author: Shadow Arashi
Character: Kanon + a tiny bit of Saga for writing purposes
Theme: #6 Labyrinth
Warnings: Angst and disturbing images… I think? Takes place while Saga and Kanon are still trainees in Sanctuary and before Saga get the Gemini Cloth.
Disclaimer: Me don't own Saint Seiya or any of the characters used in this story. I only borrow them and give them back in 'relative' good shape. ;;

Vessel

My concious like a cloud
of evil beyond compare
helpless to its burning wrath
enslave to its need
a neverending labyrinth
of chaos hate and grief

The Sins Of Thy Beloved - Partial Insanity

"Saga, what is it like to train inside the Gemini Labyrinth?"

The young apprentice raised his head and glanced at his twin, forgetting the book he was busy reading a minute earlier. His younger brother was looking down at him from his spot in the tall almond three he loved so much, eyes gleaming in curiosity, all the while still managing to pick almonds from the branchs surrounding him. Saga closed his book and leaned against the old three with a sigh.

"It's… hard to describe and even harder to explain. Nothing is like it is supposed to be. Everything is either distorded, twisted or seems all wrong. You can't rely on your eyes to guide you, you have to use your others senses which is why my master makes me train here in the first place I guess. I have to admit it is also a bit frightening…"

The blue hair boy concluded with a smile. The other child looked surprised for an instant before his expression became thoughful.

"Frightening? What's in there to be scared of if you are with your master?"

"This place is dangerous Kanon! That's why I never go there by myself, in case you don't remember the Gemini Labyrinth was designed to keep intruders out and protect Sanctuary. My master told me it is actually a converging point betweens dimensions, which is why it is dangerous for anyone who is not familiar with this kind of attack or who is not the Gemini Saint himself. If you are not carefull you can get lost between dimensions and never come back!"

Kanon frowned a bit, thinking over his twin's words. He had been curious about this labyrinth ever since his brother had started training inside it but never had the chance to see it himself.

At this, his expression fell a bit. This only serve as a reminder that he would never be a Saint like Saga, unable to fight along side with him to protect their goddess. Twins were commonly seen as bringers of bad luck in Sanctuary and it was only thanks to the generosity of Saga's master that Kanon had been allowed to stay, as long as he hide his presence. The younger twin found it unfair but didn't protest, too happy not to be separated from his brother to complain.

But now his naturally curious personality was getting the best of him and he was growing restless, pushing to try and get involved as much as possible in the training of his brother. After all if he couldn't follow in his footsteps, the least he could do was to learn as much as he could from him. Kanon had the secret hope that this way, he could also be gifted with abilities he could use for the good of people like Saga one day, even though he didn't really believe it. But his hope kept him from thinking about what his future would be otherwise.

The child shook himself, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind and deciding to drop the topic for now. Saga opened his mouth as if to say something but suddenly, the stern voice of his master calling stopped him, causing his eyes to grow wide. The twins hadn't notice the late hours and now the older Saint was looking for them. The younger of the pair jumped down next to his brother and broke into a run, quickly followed by his older counterpart as they hurried to reach the Gemini Temple where they almost collapsed into a tangled mess; the older man watching them with amusement and an obvious tenderness.

The next day the two children went to their activities as usual, all thoughts of the Gemini Labyrinth having seemingly disappeared from the youngest child's mind. The incident could have stopped here with no further consequences but the following events would show that unfortunately, it wasn't mean to be…

-----

A few day later, the night found Kanon wide awake and siting on his small bed, lost in his thoughts.

Glancing at the sleeping form of his twin a few feet away only confirmed his decision. He wanted to see the Gemini Labyrinth, at least once. He didn't even wish to beat the legendary illusions of the ancient temple and go throught it, only to see it, even from the doorsteps.

Something inside him was drawn to the mysterious temple in a most illogical manner Kanon himself didn't really understand. But the child was too young to realise this and only knew one thing; his growing desire to step into the Gemini Temple. So far he had always been confined to the small house he shared with his brother and his master, but a part of him kept wanting more.

The young child couldn't ignore this longing any longer now and his choice had already been made. Tomorrow he would take the opportunity that his brother and master would be training on the other side of Sanctuary to see the sacred temple. Tomorrow he would answer this call he had been feeling more than he heard it for the last months. With his mind finally settled, Kanon closed his eyes and let sleep come to him.

-----

"I have to leave now Kanon, will you be alright by yourself?"

The younger twin sighed in exasperation at his brother, missing the concerned expression on Saga's face.

"I'm not a baby Saga! I can manage on my own for a whole day so don't worry about me, just go or your master will come looking for you and you don't want that happening right?"

Saga looked dubious but accepted the gentle reproach, but not before hugging his brother once before leaving. Kanon stood still, feeling a bit akward in the embrace. His brother wasn't use to show him such heartfelt demonstration, Kanon himself being the more demonstrative of the pair. Upon seeing the surprised look on his twin's face, Saga's cheeks turned to a slightly pink color.

"If you say so, I trust you brother. It's just that… I have a weird feeling."

"What, you mean as in a bad feeling?"

"I don't know, I just feel wrong somehow… Just be careful, please?"

Kanon nodded, acknowledging the need to reassure his counterpart as a part of himself stinged. If he didn't know better he would say his twin knew what he had planned for today, but that was impossible. Once Saga was sure his message had gotten through he ran out of the small house to join his master, not wishing to lose anymore time and unknowingly leaving the younger child doubting himself.

"Stop, this is not the moment."

Kanon whispered, more to calm his mind than anything else. He would never get another opportunity like this, he had to do it now. After all what harm could he do? It's not like he was going to stole or hurt anything. If everything goes well no one would ever know.

His resolution now firmly burned into his mind, the second child of Gemini took a deep breath and stepped out of the house.

-----

On the other side of Sanctuary, a young apprentice felt the uneasy sensation he had felt tugging at the back of his mind suddenly grew sharper…

-----

Slipping by the guards unoticed have been almost annoyingly easy. He thought his heart would stop more than once, that he would be caught and so bring shame to the two most important people of his life but the view offered to his wide blue eyes was definitely worth it.

Confusion, mystery, power and something else, something that was… otherwordly.

This was what he felt as he stared in awe at the larges pillars of the Gemini Temple. Finally, he could see them to his heart's content. He had never been given the opportunity to really approach the imposing and mystic Temple and it's mere presence send countless little jolt of pure energy through his body, making his blood sing as if answering to a tune only he could hear.

Kanon stepped quietly into the sacred place, eyes unfocused as if in a trance.

Slowly he walked through the main room, scanning every part of his surrounding. His whole body was tingling with the raw power contained in the cold stone edifice, warming him with a soothing blanket. Now that he was inside he could see the famous illusions Saga had mentionned. They were slowly appearing one by one, turning the place into a distorbed chaotic universe, universe that would have been trapped in stone by an insane deity.

It was incredible. He had never felt such a powerful sensation before, not even from his brother or master. A part of him wanted nothing more than to dive into this raw energy and bath in it while the other part wanted to hide, the endless energy paradoxically making his hairs stand on ends both in pleasure and fear.

Kanon suddenly stopped and shook his head, a cold, chilling spasm ran through his small frame. Something was wrong. He never trained like Saga, and while his master had told him he had some… possibilities, he had never really shown any signs of having a cosmo like his twin. So why was he feeling all this now?

He was sure of it now, something had drawn him here, just as effective and powerful than a siren call. And he wasn't so sure he wanted to find out what had called him to this strange and creepy place.

/Child…/

"What the! Maybe I should have listened to Saga."

The child shivered, but was it due to the murmuring voice calling or his fear of punishment he didn't know. He spinned around briskly, suddenly possessed by the strong desire to leave the Temple, only to stop dead in his track.

The exist had disappeared.

Kanon stared at the spot where the exist should have been, unbelieving. He quickly pushed down the surge of panic this new event bring and concentrate, taking a deep breath as he closes his eyes as he tried to remember what Saga had told him about the Gemini Labyrinth, pushing the voice out of his mind. This Temple was ruled by illusions, so the fact that he couldn't see the exist didn't mean it had vanished into thin air either. It was probably hidden by the Temple to confuse intruders.

Feeling slightly more confident Kanon focused on his objective, until the faintest touch of something leathery against his skin distracted him.

Opening his eyes quickly the child looked around him but couldn't identify the origin of the soft caress. Putting a hand against his chest, Kanon decided he had been too shaken by the Temple's hostile atmosphere and was starting to imagine things.

The sound of soft laughers echoing all around him quickly wiped away that possibily.

Almost screaming in fright the blue haired child hugged himself reflexively and started panting soflty with panic. Eyes darting around him once more, Kanon cursed himself again for his curiosity. He was getting ready to call mentally his brother, no matter the consequences, when a bright light caught his attention. Slowly and with a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, Kanon turned to face this new event and his expression changed to one of awe.

The air itself seemed to be shred to tears by the mysterious light, power beyond his imagination restructuring the very space as something that looked like a hole appeared into the air. Kanon could feel the energy behind this and realised with a start that this was a dimensional gate. He had heard his brother speaking about it enough to identify it as such.

/Don't be scared child, and approach./

The young twin jumped. He had heard this voice before, it was the same voice from earlier and it was coming from the light.

/Don't worry, you have nothing to fear. I just want to see you… it's been so long since anyone came to visit me…/

This caught Kanon's attention. Whatever was calling him didn't seem like it was going to hurt him after all; the voice seemed so gentle… how could he have been wary of it? The spell worked once again as he stepped cautiously toward the dimensional gate, his curiosity getting the best of him.

He was only a few feet away from the hole when it started to widen before his stunned eyes and a single, wispy tentacular thing made of the darkest smoke slipped out of it.

Kanon stared in confusion at the foreign object, unusure of what attitude he should take. The voice had told him not to worry… The smoke curled on itself as more of it slipped out of the hole, before suddenly lashing onto his right arm, pulling a scream out of the terrified child. Never mind the voice now, Kanon was beyond scared and struggled against the incredibly strong grip, feeling his panic raise to alarming levels just as the sound of laughers started again.

/Child… a sweet child… just for us… so naïve…/

"Wh- what?"

The shock froze his body, leaving his mind in total confusion.

/The power is strong in you, child… so close to our 'master' and yet… who are you? I feel the mark of the Gemini on you but… you are not protected by it, are you/

"What are you talking about?"

He whispered, glancing at the smoke still holding his arm with tears in his eyes. All he wanted was to go home, shock, despair and uncomprehension taking its toll on him, numbing his mind in an attempt to protect his young soul from the horror unfolding before him.

When he raised his head, he almost hurl as more tendrils of smoke came pouring out of the dimentional gate, latching onto him and bounding him in place. He started to struggle like a mad man, his mind almost reaching its breaking point.

/Don't you know? You are the one who called for us… or maybe we called you hehehehehe… you have such exquisite power inside you… and no protection! You are a god given gift child./

"I don't understand, just leave me alone!"

Kanon cried, before his whole body tensed as a tendril sneaked its way under his tunic. Every touch of the fool creatures burn and made horrifying images assault his mind, bringing him closer to the edge of insanity every time.

/We are the beings that lurk behind the veil of time, space and dimensions. We obey to the master of Gemini but we are hungry… and you are the perfect prey. We can see in your soul the power you own, you could control us one day if we let you… this shall not happen, so we will be the one controling you as you feed us/

"NO!"

The child's mind finally snapped as he trashed against the filthy tendrils, quickly joined by more hands, limbs and various body parts. He was experimenting fear and pain beyond what his young soul could take, the malicious beings using his innocence and inexperience of his own powers against him. The tendrils started to drag him toward the dimentional portal and Kanon fought even more viciously before being tackled to the floor.

Then his mind went blank.

The beings laughed as the child slipped into unconsciousness, making their work easier. But an incredible burst of cosmo suddenly exploded around the prone form, making the dark creatures shrieked in horror as they were threw back.

/What? What is this… two energies, is this child actually protected by Gemini

The things wondered, awestrucked by the aura flaring around the small body.

/Wait… are we seeing… two cosmo! One is definitely Gemini but the other, it seem to be almost… like the sea/

The creatures were lost at this new turn of event, something that prove to be a fatal mistake. Two blue eyes slowly opened, glazed and unseeing as stars and waves seem to live and die in their depth before focusing on the beings around them, long blue hair floating gently, carried by the golden aura streaked with blue surrounding the child.

"Go away."

The words came as a whisper. The result was an blinding explosion of light.

The barriers sealing Kanon's power had been broken, along with his soul.

-----

"KANON!"

Saga shoot, ignoring his master who was running behind him trying to reach him.

Saga had suddenly started screaming while training a few minutes ago and had ran off at top speed, ranting about his twin. Their master was smart enough to realise the extend of the bound between the two brothers and right now, he was deathly scared. He was scared of loosing them, as he know that the loss of one would destroy the other completely.

The master of Gemini hurried to catch up with his apprentice, inwardly cursing and praying at the same time.

Saga quite briskly stopped howling and disappeared behind the wall of their little house, startling his master. When he finally found them Saga was craddling Kanon against his chest, the younger twin grasping his brother's clothes with desperate strenght as he buried his head in his neck.

The master of Gemini kneeled next to the boys and gently caressed the silky hair, hoping to sooth the trembling form. Both boys seemed to be fine, Saga crying tears of relief in his counter part's hair. He didn't want to take any chances, even thought Kanon appeared to be unarmed and scanned with attention the younger of the pair, noticing wounds that weren't there when they left this morning.

Frowing, he turned to Saga and was stunned to see the haunting, lost look on his face. He obviously didn't understand what had happened to his twin and was looking at him for help, but how could he told him he was as lost as he was?

"Kanon, are you alright?"

The boy nodded shakily, still holding onto his brother and for a brief second he thought he had sensed something around the boy. It happened so fast thought he shook it off as the after effects of his worrying for Kanon.

"What the hell happened to you?"

He whispered. Kanon didn't answer him, neither did Saga. Looking back toward the intimidating figure of the Gemini Temple, he thought back of the sudden activity he had felt from his Temple and a bad feeling twisted his inside.

/Please don't let it be what I think it is./

He prayed silently.

Later that night, the two boys finally fell asleep in each other arms with their master by their side to guard them. None of them noticed the aura glowing soflty around the pale body, or the twisted, otherwordly little smile on previously innocent lips.

OWARI

Author's notes: This was definitely fun to write. I have been wanting to write something dark and twisted for a while now, but the basic idea came to me while I was listening to some dark, heavy music with the 30 themes list on a corner of my computer screen. My brain went boom as I thought it would be interesting to explore another approach of the famous Gemini Labyrinth and its dimentions possibilities. In my story the Gemini House is a converging point between dimensions, allowing creatures from different worlds to use it as a gate. Usually the Gemini Saint control them but here Kanon isn't really a Saint, he wasn't supposed to be one at all but still hold great powers. It attracked the creatures, which in turn lured Kanon to the Temple. But things didn't happened as they expected as Kanon blow them to pieces with his powers and went crazy. Now at least we know why he turned bad. ;; Also Im' French and my spellchecker wasn't working when I wrote this so please be kind >>