Chapter 13A: Lionheart III
THE CUPID GAMBIT II
"Marin..." he crawled to his feet and swung his arms around her nice and tight with one arm clutching over her shoulder blades while the other turned downwards around the back of her waist and edge of her hip. Normally she would pull back a bit out of embarrassment, but today she seemed to sink a bit more into his loving grasp. He was still regaining his strength, the soreness slowly subsiding. This was paradise, the balm in the hell that he now calls life. "Sorry, I'm a bit sweaty."
Perhaps it was the horror of seeing him so helpless or maybe, the way his trainer and hair clung to his body, the low voice or the husky sweaty scent. She finally reciprocated his welcoming gesture and leaned her head over and caused a slight nuzzle. "It's okay." She felt a bit bold. "That's the best part after you're done with your training."
Her voice was musically sassy. It was the right touch of spunk while still being caring. That was when she took her hand and stroked the side of his face, embracing the slick wet cheek. He shaved. Like all Golds, he liked to look his best before he looks death straight in the eye. He watched her tilt her head in happiness. Since Amazons couldn't do facial expressions, they melded head gestures and sign language as a means to communicate how they feel. But although it stirred him when she would perform such signs to symbolize a smile, it felt like it was not enough and his imagination could only carry him so far. He wanted to reach over and just slide his finger right under the rim and give it the pop that would reveal her face.
He knew her face would be so beautiful. Many Saints, he and his brother included, had rough hands from the endless training. However, she always took care to wear several bandages over her fists and black leather training gloves and while she was not vain, it left her with fingers that felt like silk. If she worked that hard to maintain her training yet retain the femininity of her hands, he could imagine her face being just as well taken care of.
But there were things to take care of. His brother's cosmos is missing and Deathmask was still at their feet, unconscious from the blow he took from Marin.
Beneath the mask, she could see the great divide in his face. She's seen it many times. Anytime she thinks it was the moment, something would trouble him whether his status as the brother of the traitor or just the dark memories that he would keep to himself would just flash in his mind. Normally, she would give a little protest, but this time, it was very legitimate. "Are you alright?" It was a bit generic, but it was enough to pull her hand away and allow him to switch to something else.
"Yeah." He swallowed as he continued resting his hands on her, but at a more easy grasp as if he wanted to pull away but couldn't. His eyes traveled downwards behind her when something caught his eye. He had a feeling Aiolos fired three times, yet he only felt the force of two Shadow Arrows, but right in the ground was a single gold arrow with an anime sticker and a note wrapped around it.
He reached down and easily pulled it out, now that his body wasn't being riddled with paralysis. His thumb slipped under and broke the adhesive of the white lion sticker. While he originally thought it was silly for his brother to keep the stickers that Athena would paste all over his bow, it definitely made it easier to get the notes off his arrows than twine.
It was the note that Saga said he was going to leave in his Inner Chambers for Aiolos to find. On the bottom of it were symbols that were drawn in blood, a map on how to go through the side entrance tunnels. He guessed that his brother wouldn't carry a writing tool on him and had to improvise. That was when things started to make sense of what he was supposed to do.
Sanctuary, defensive wise was divided into three: The Vanguard for the front to prevent enemies from entering, the Rearguard in the back to protect the Goddess and Pope, the Center Guard for the middle where those in the front could use the tunnels to retreat into the back or those in the back could quickly move to the front. It used to be in the House of Virgo before it was blown up during the First Holy War, and later changed to one at his House and the other in Capricorn.
The way the plan would work was actually an old hunting strategy that his brother had attempted to teach him when they would go hunting for boars. One would approach from the front and draw attention while the other struck from the side. He would always get stuck at the waiting on the side part since his aim was poor back then and his patience was worse. He would rather just punch the pig and scoop up the bits. It all tasted the same.
This time the prey was Saga. His brother, Aldebaran, Mu and Athena were in the front. All eyes were on them and he would sneak from the side with direct access.
But there was something else. He gazed at the splatters on the note.
Marin watched him give an awkward smile before he shook his head in disbelief. "What is it?"
Aiolia sighed. "My brother left me a message within Saga's message."
A male lion will die alone without his pride,
and because of your failure and insolence,
you too will join your brother.
You have been warned.
His eyes zeroed in on each letter that had a drop of blood. "We are a coalition, brother," he muttered, deciphering it with ease.
Marin pulled her chin in confusion. "I don't understand."
Aiolia stared at the note. As a Leo, he, of course, was privy to every lion nickname and piece of trivia out there on Africa's prized symbol. "A coalition is similar to a pride, but it comprises of only a band of orphaned male lions, typically brothers." As twin stars, Gemini knew how to bring people down while his brother knew how to bring them up. "Goddess, you are so stupid and cheesy," he shook his head, playfully berating his older sibling as if he was there as he held the note and walked outside to check the sky. He took a deep breath to see that Sagittarius was still there, despite the sky still having some shade of light blue and being thankful that it was late enough that he could at least see some of the stars that made up the Centaur.
He placed his hands on his hips. Now that he knew where to go, the question was opening up the passage. Even though he was a guardian to a door, it didn't mean he had access. Only the Pope, it's candidates, and those with special connections could do that. His head turned toward the batch of arrows at Marin's sash. He pointed over toward the set.
The two had always been so in sync in thought, that she immediately knew what he wanted to try. Aiolos told her to hold onto them and now she saw why. She pulled them out and placed them in his grip. She watched him bunch them up and wave it over the special glyph to try and mimic Aiolos cosmos. To her disappointment, while it did light up ever so slightly, it was clearly not enough.
Aiolia gritted his teeth slightly in frustration. It was so close to activating, but he needed to gather just a little more. Perhaps time had caused some of the cosmos to fade off or that AIolos planned on shooting more arrows. That was when he reached down into his pocket and pulled out the old pendant. Perhaps he was too ashamed to wear it for a long time, but he just couldn't part with it easily. It was made with a special stone and so anyone who meditated it for three days straight could infuse a part of their cosmos in it permanently. Wherever he went, his brother was there.
Ironically, it was given to him because he was upset when Aiolos couldn't sleep at his House anymore and had Galan watch over him.
He wrapped the jewelry around the arrows and placed it close enough for the glyph to light up and caused the door to open.
His eyes gently stared at it and for the first time in a long time, things just felt right and an old weight that had been suffocating him for so long was gone. There was a bit of pride and even his old confidence.
The sadness that would pull in his heart was somewhat lifted.
He felt rejuvenated.
He felt purpose.
He pulled the pendant off the arrows and slide it back around his neck before he tossed the arrows aside and outstretched his hand to Marin to which she graciously accepted.
They ran inside hand in hand, as if they were children exploring some new cove or secret in the landscape of Rodario.
But they weren't kids and at the end was not some strangely formed stalactites or the remains of a Surplice from the last Holy War, but a very real and dangerous foe.
Normally this place would need a ball of light cosmos, but the silvery glow of Marin's Cloth illuminated the passageway comfortably to at least allow them to see where they were going.
The tunnels themselves were lined with stardust to avoid detection, but even then, they kept their speed low, no more than Mach 1, the top speed of typical foot soldiers just in case some danger was awaiting them. Even at that pace, for many, it would be difficult to run while holding hands, but they have been doing it for a long time and their steps were in sync with each other. While the stardust will make it impossible for them to read the cosmos outside of the tunnel, on the other hand, it made it difficult for others to spy on them. "So when did my brother include you in the plan and why were you holding his golden arrows?"
She shifted her eyes beneath the mask. She was about to explain herself. "Quite a while. We snuck some hidden messages in some letters about my newest trainee, Seiya. It actually helped that your brother knew how to write in hiragana and I am the go-to person for translating anything in Japanese in Sanctuary."
Aiolia raised an eyebrow. His brother did pull out a letter with her talking about how much she loved him at the house. Why wouldn't they continue to exchange dialogue past that? "They didn't grow suspicious?"
Marin shrugged. "He mixed in some bad haiku to impress me." She watched Aiolia raise a brow.
"Like what?" he asked curiously, hoping he didn't borrow any of his old writings that he was too embarrassed to expose to the world.
The view looks so nice
You and I walk side by side,
Let's have fun, and run!
She recited, listening to him chuckle. "Would you like to hear the one where we ride bicycles?"
"No thanks." It was nice to know his brother could ensure him that the love poems weren't serious while injecting a bit of self-deprecating humor on the side.
It did cause him to clutch her hand a little harder and small steps were large victories when it came to him. "Anyways, he knew how you would feel about me coming here, but he still wanted me as a backup and told me he would send arrows that showed where they were at. But, he sent a last-minute quick message through the cosmos to 'be ready and to keep the arrows'. So I just did that. I ran through the first two Houses, he then sent me an arrow to show which side of the House of Gemini to enter and when I saw the blood on the last arrow, I hurried over to your Temple."
"I'm glad you did!" That was the one thing that he was fearful of. Even if all Deathmask did offer him a way out, situations like that were fairly unpredictable.
She nodded at him. "Me too. Anyways, I know he wanted to reach Pisces beforehand, but I guess something happened at his House."
The words felt a little drained at the end. Even hearing them stirred a bit of fear and that burning sensation of anger crept back in his heart once more. "If Aiolos cosmos isn't being blocked in the Pope's Chambers, I don't care how he feels about it, I'm going to fucking kill Saga," he spat.
Marin wasn't blind to these times, but it was rare he was open with it in front of her. It could either mean he was willing to open up to her or he was just so angry that he didn't care. But he of all had the right to hold such hatred. "He's caused so much pain."
"He's the devil," he muttered before he sighed. He stopped running and paused to pull his hand away from her and drew both palms to his face. "Goddess, I don't understand why he's so obsessed with trying to save him." He shrugged. "What exactly is there to save?"
He phrased it in a way as if he expected her to answer. But like many things, she tried to be honest. "I don't know. I honestly never met him face to face or shared any conversations." She knew he would be upset, but it must be said. "But, many said the same thing about you," she watched him pass a painful gaze. "But I'm your friend and I don't care what they say. I am grateful for the healing treatments your brother gave me when my head was injured, but the only reason I am here is for you." She paused for she didn't want to say it, in fear of giving him the wrong idea, but she had to. "That's what friends do."
His gaze softened once more. He did feel some shame about what he nearly became. He lashed out far too many times, he killed a soldier over simple name-calling and of course it all looked quite bad with his Cloth being placed in the Pope's Chambers. It was not just the fact that the Cloth was his, but people questioned why including him.
Even though his opinion on Saga himself has not changed and the man deserved a spot in the icy river of Cocytus, he understood what she was trying to get to. Plus it was Aiolos. His brother treasured the bonds he made despite what they have done. Galan was proof of that. "Yes, they do," he agreed.
The area was quiet with just the two of them. The way she turned her head and gazed despite having no expression was enough for him to walk over and just kiss her. The secret subconscious whispered that this was a good time to make his move. It won't take long, maybe a few beautiful seconds to just slide his hand and press his lips against her to show how much more their friendship was. Something so quick and tender and perhaps a little linger.
It was an image that permeated his dreams many times, where he would slide his hand over her shoulder and discard her clothes as she hungrily did the same to him. He would be gentle like caressing the petals of a lily. Roughness should be left in battle, tenderness for the bedroom. But who knows, he's never been with another woman or a brothel and had no desire and he sensed she did the same with him.
But this was reality and it was so hard for just as there had been dreams of him making love to her, there had been equally violent ones too where he was striking one of the taunting soldiers in the face and Marin's face would show and a mass of scarlet blood and hair would flutter around him before he shot up screaming.
He was a man in love, but he was also a man drowning in anger and fear and just like before, fear would conquer his desires for romance. Perhaps the old saying was true that a Gold Saint will face the depths of Hades, the mountains of Zeus but truly cower in the bed of Aphrodite. "We should keep hurrying," he spoke before he at least took her hand and the two continued their great run.
The tunnels dated back a long time and were the last remaining artifacts of the first Temples. The old graffiti, written in ancient Greek still remained and untouched, only for the fact that it was an ancient piece of history that should be preserved no matter how vulgar it was. In a way, it was like how things are now. The First Gold Saints were seen as perfect beings that the little children of Rodario would beg for stories and their parents would inflate everything from their looks to their mannerisms and the literal writing on the walls was proof that they were just as human as the modern Golds.
The odd part was actually not the writing, but rather the life that grew within it. Myrtle, or at least a variation of the sacred flower of Athena, grew inside despite there being no sunlight. Supposedly it grew in the continent of Mu before it sank and that seeds traveled along with the clothes and belongings of the Lemurian refugees and flourished inside ever since.
Except for the occasional pause to ensure they followed the correct symbols when the paths diverged, to prevent them from running into some nasty trap, it was far faster to move at Mach 1 through them than it was at lightspeed along the normal path. But that was perhaps due to the design of the path of the Twelve Houses themselves. The stairs ascended and descended in a way that forced the traveler to alter their pace quite often. The stairs would zig-zag in a way that lengthens the time to get from one spot to the other as well as force those who were going around the corners to slow down or risk literally running off the balconies. Combined with the necessary confrontations of the Houses and Golds themselves, it was no wonder that seeing the Pope was practically an all-day affair.
Aiolia could tell they were already below the House of Scorpio. In the couple of times that his brother brought/snuck him through, the one part he remembered the most was the rows of skulls. It was very difficult to know what the real First Scorpio was like since like all his descendants, they simply killed who the Pope wanted to be eliminated. Traitors, deserters, or whoever the Pope didn't like. It didn't matter how weak or dangerous they were either. But one thing that could be said was that the First Scorpio assassinated a lot of people to the point that he decorated this section with the proof of his deeds.
It was sickening, but back then that was the life in ancient times. Sanctuary was hard now, but back then it was described as insanely brutal. Hell, for some, it was still that type of life. While he could never bring himself to go to Galan's corpse, he knew people stole pieces from him.
The thought twisted his stomach and caused his free fist to tighten. Saga better hope that his brother was there or else no one will be there to stop his fist from passing through his face.
Once they were past the piles of macabre, it was clear that they were over at the section that was close to Sagittarius. He stopped his progress. "This was the last place he made contact with you?"
Marin turned to him. "Yes, but," she shook her head no. "Aiolia, don't try it. If you walk out of here to check, they will know someone is in the tunnels. They'll send the other Golds and our one chance at reaching Saga will be gone."
Aiolia shut his eyes. She was right. While the tunnels made it easy to reach the Pope or allow others at the top to escape quickly, the Rearguard all comprised of Saints who could eliminate their enemies easily in the tunnels. Capricorn could wave a hand and burn everyone in it, Aquarius could freeze everything, and Pisces could just fill the place with roses and poison everyone to death.
But he was so worried. He couldn't feel his brother's cosmos in the tunnels and his brother couldn't do the same. It was all based on trust that he will make it too. He grabbed her hand and once more they ran.
They moved along when he stopped and immediately threw his hand against Marin's mask and pushed it in to seal her lips tight. He could tell by the lack of her resistance that she could sense it too. Leo narrowed his blue eyes. It figured that Shura, of all people, would have the area being patrolled despite how empty it was ninety-five percent of the time. He eased his hand and stared.
Marin closed her eyes. "I sense twelve, it seems like a lot for such a small area. But the stardust on the walls is making it hard to read," she spoke through her cosmos.
While there was a lot of Stardust, a Gold can have greater control over how he focused his cosmos. He narrowed it down and like a snake shifted it through and began to gather a more accurate estimate. "Yes, there's a lot more, twenty-eight, they are foot soldiers. I can tell since I can't find any sort of alignment among them. They are all at least a bronze level, but no more than silver." He drew his hand. "If we take them out, we have to do it quickly. If any of them so much as makes contact we're fucked." Cosmos may not be able to come in or out, but he wouldn't doubt if Shura had them take something to bypass that. A radio or even a tele-camera. It wouldn't be the first time when technology circumvented the once ironclad securities of Sanctuary.
Marin nodded. "I can take the front-"
"-and the back is fine for me." Aiolia finished with a smooth transition. It was a traditional Gold and Silver team-up technique. Golds were faster, but things got tricky when it involves being gentle aka not killing others especially at lightspeed. Silvers were slower so they needed to be given a shorter distance to travel. The idea was the two would go from a frontal assault to surrounding the group. It was simple and basic, but fairly effective.
"Keep your blade in its place, fists will do. I'll take who I can along the way and you just clean up as we go," he spoke as his hands went back and forth squeezing the other to warm them up while giving a slight neck crack on either side to prepare his body. He took a step forward and leaned down, while Marin moved in from behind, doing the same before leaning down.
Her eyes shifted a moment. "He's got a nice butt," she thought to herself. The view was the best part of the maneuver. But her gaze quickly returned back to around the corner. They had to focus and a mistiming could either cause her to move first and be slammed into him at lightspeed or her being too late and the two being detected.
They both took a moment to listen. The chit-chat was unimportant. Most of it is comprised of the typical of not being paid enough, the House of Aquarius being too fucking cold, and that the lunch served didn't settle right in their stomachs. Aiolia gave the finger signal and the two-shot forward.
There wasn't much room, but the Leo shot forward, slamming a hand onto one guard after the other, sliding in between the groups and giving a quick pop to the backs and helmets, leaving fist-sized indentures on each one of them. The hard part was the soldiers who were sitting on the ground as if they were on break, but that was where Marin came in and gave them a few solid kicks while carefully combing for anyone left conscious. Once the Leo reached the back he doubled back and got any he missed. It was a tense two seconds, but anyone that could contact Shura was knocked out. Marin did a quick count before the two continued the run.
The air went from dry and cool, to humid and freezing. It was obvious at what part of Sanctuary they were at now. The walls were covered with drops of water that had seeped through the cracks of Aquarius and have frozen, melted, and refroze to the point that it resembled cold layered wax. The curls on Aiolia's head that were once damp with sweat were now tight and hard. He tried to run his hand through, only to get flakes of frost.
He envied Marin. Cloths, no matter how much or how little they covered, were good at keeping one's external temperature at a comfortable level. Despite having the equivalent of a metal bikini and spandex, not that he would ever complain, she ran the frigid path as if she was jogging on the beach. He, on the other hand, was fucking freezing, made obvious by the fact that both of his hands kept returning to the same bare spot between his leather gloves and trainer.
He paused at the light glint and Marin followed his lead. "Hold on," he spoke as he came up to it. His eyes noticed that familiar row of three long, thin icicles that reached the ground.
"What is it?" she questioned. Her hand reached up but paused when she felt her wrist being gently snatched.
"I've seen Camus stare at things like this. We had a Frogs of Aristophanes meeting at his House when Milo was getting his House a deep clean. Part of his hall runs on top of the tunnel here. So he has these tall icicle pillars that connect below."
Marin drew a hand to her chin's mask. "So let me guess, if something disturbs it below, he'll see that the icicle above would be gone."
"Yes. He usually says it is a passing rat or a careless soldier or noble. But I know he will check on it regardless. As long as you don't touch any of them, we should be okay," he spoke as he moved forward while wedging in between two spots. While it was a fairly easy task, there were so many icicles that it slowed their progress to a dreadful pace. Not only that, but it was fucking cold. Only Camus was capable of coming up with something so simple yet effective and had the French man not explain how it worked, he and Marin would delightfully smash through each one, unaware of the danger it would bring them.
Time
Oh, the time this was costing them. It was taking them longer to cross through the House of Aquarius section than it did to get there from the House of Leo.
The more time that they waste, the shorter the window became for all of them to meet up.
When The Event happened, Aiolia didn't feel his brother, because he shut him out. Sure he was concerned about Aiolos when no body was found for the first night, but after that, he disowned him and slowly it grew worse until it became a habit to replace any smiles he once shared with violent images of him being torn apart. Shamefully, he developed a sense of poetry through it and stupidly, he wrote it in the one thing that he could express it, in his prayer journal. The idea was that no one but Athena was allowed to see it and unfortunately, she did.
He burned the book afterward.
"Shit!" Aiolia cursed as his mind shifted back to the present. He drew his hand to his frozen hair. "You've got to be kidding!"
Marin passed a cloud of foggy breath through the small opening at the lips of her mask. "Surprised he didn't do that earlier." She folded her arms in equal disdain as several icicles were lined up at the exit with gaps that were less than half an inch apart. If that wasn't bad enough, less than a foot away, they could see where ice melted and bits of roots from the House of Pisces began.
Aiolia was not shocked. "This is Camus. He put it here because the person would waste so much time going through the first time and when they reached this, they could either waste more time going back or crash through. If they were legit, they would be let go, if not, they would either be frozen by Aquarius or poisoned by Pisces."
The Amazon approached the bars of ice. They had come this far and she wasn't going to allow a few popsicles get in the way of the monster who turned her best friend's life into a living hell for the past five years.
So she pulled her katana out. Before she had nothing but a kendo stick and when her tenth birthday came, Aiolia gave it to her, knowing her passion for samurai culture, told her she was deserving of steel. He had Mu forge her one from bits of scrap pieces of stardust and rare metals. The result was a blade that never dulled and seemed to withstand her swings even at Mach 5. While her intention in bringing it was to provide a tool that Aiolia could shove down Saga's throat, her capricious mind was at work and a far more utilitarian use could be provided. She filled the blade and its scabbard with her light blue cosmos.
Once she brought the leveled horizontal blade up, Aiolia could see what she was going to do. If she used her cosmos to melt the ice and insert the blade in, it would hold up the ice from the top and they could just crawl right underneath without triggering the icicles from above. But he could tell that despite her mastery, Marin's cosmos was not burning as evenly as it needed to make the plan work. He walked over behind her and slipped his hands over hers and gave an ease burn of his own to even out the cosmos within the blade.
It should've been an easy task. The sword was straight and he could easily eye the mixture of yellow and light blue flames of cosmos. But it was a bit difficult to concentrate. His head leaned against hers, warm breath passing through his lips, lightly tickling her ear. She could easily see him just drawing his hands over her body, his mouth tenderly leaving warm kisses against her neck. He turned his head and the way the side of his cheek brushed against her nape made her believe he was ready. Instead, like before, he pulled away. But that's alright. She could tell even if he was behind her. Those moments that were once a source of embarrassment were now quiet cues of desire.
His thoughts did match her imagination. He was doing this to keep the two of them alive and for Marin's idea to succeed. But she was pressed tightly against him, her hair was soft and pleasant and his arms brushing against the edges of her bodice, even if all he felt was the warm metal of her Cloth.
Her bare neck, the edge of her cheek that was not covered by her mask, her ear were all exposed and so close. But as those who point out, beneath his brash nature was a hopeless romantic. If both of their hands weren't occupied and they didn't face the dangers of two Gold Saints coming out and freezing and poisoning them, perhaps it would've been the moment.
Instead, they both focused on inserting the blade in the spot, using two ledges as a way to hold the weapon up.
They were safe now, but still, he couldn't step back. This was so hard, his tongue paralyzed as if another one of his brother's shadow arrows was rooted in his palate. It was clear that any hope for him to initiate anything wasn't happening today. But if she could just whisper to him to kiss her or whatever she desired he would gladly submit to the request. But his eyes shifted toward her hand as she took her finger and with a deep breath knocked the ice under the blade and breathed a sigh of relief when the ice on top held steady. His eyes could see the slight drops above the blade, the heat of the cosmos clearly continuing to slowly melt the icicles a bit. If they must go, they had to do it quickly.
Her hand quickly knocked the rest out and the two carefully crawled beneath it.
Not long after, the cold air shifted to from the extreme frost to warm and humid as if entering a greenhouse despite being underground and despite being right next to each other. Aiolia, even took a moment to toy with the sensation by standing at the border by stretching his right hand toward Pisces until sweat dripped and pulling it back toward Aquarius where his bodily fluids seemingly froze like little pearls on his skin before he waved it back, causing them to scatter once more upon the roots that inched every crevice of the walls.
It was so hard to believe they were up here this quickly, and while it felt good, it also came with a lot of anxiety. He still didn't know if Aiolos would be up here and his hopes that he would leave some sort of sign whether it be a stray arrow, a message on the walls, or another dumb Hello Kitty sticker began to wane. He and Marin may have the advantage of the shadow, but Aiolos' group had the strength with Aldebaran, Mu, and Athena on his side.
Aiolia stopped once more at a strange glass door on the side. It was clearly built within the passage and judging by the symbol of Athena it was important. But he could tell that based on how long each section in each House was that it was definitely not the way to the Pope's Chambers. He closed his eyes and used his finger to draw an imaginary map with his mind to figure out exactly what could be near it. "Star Hill," he whispered.
Marin turned her head, the words despite being a quiet murmur echoed in the passage that was otherwise absent of sound. "Star Hill?"
Aiolia nodded. "My brother talked about it quite a bit."
"Oh, I already know. Star Hill is not too far from the Amazon Village. We all know. It is a large mountain of stardust and it serves as the place where the Pope can read the stars."
The Leo nodded politely. "Yes, it was also a part of my brother's training as a Pope Candidate to acclimate his body to its effects. Anytime he and Saga came back from it, I and Kanon would refer to them as zombies." It freaked him out the first few times they did it since afterward, Aiolos wouldn't wake up until three to seven days later.
"So who guards it? I've seen the same soldiers parading around it and they are just fine."
"I asked my brother the same thing. Apparently, stardust doesn't have quite the same effect for foot soldiers with low cosmos, but the giants are totally immune to it. The trade-off is that the giants have a terrible time awakening their cosmos to the point that it's nearly impossible. But there are a few who have including a Saint, and they are fucking dangerous." Giants were huge and easily made Aldebaran a dwarf in comparison. The few he met could easily pick him up by the waist with one hand. While he and the others had to work several hours a day to build up their physiques, a giant's muscles grew like how a Dragon Saint grew hair. Punching into their fists was a nightmare. He could give a solid strike into their palm and while it would break the wrists of the unfortunate soul who couldn't catch it right, because the surface area was much wider, it could easily absorb it much like how an egg wouldn't crack if it landed on a pillow.
Aiolia walked up to the glass door and gazed at the silvery mountain. There were a lot more on patrol than he would remember. They were heavily armored too. The stuff they had was bulky, uncomfortable, but highly protective. It was meant to be worn during the Holy War or in the presence of a strong enemy. It was very suspicious back then when he first noticed it and it still is now.
It made him wonder if Saga was hiding something there. He could see by the way Marin's gentle head tilts that she was equally curious. But they had to ignore it for now. Reaching the Pope's Chamber was the priority and whatever he was hiding, whether it be a weapon or some random corpse, will have to wait until afterward.
That was when a cloud of powdery dust started to cloud their reflections. His blue eyes widened before he grabbed a sleeve from his trainer and ripped it off no matter how futile it was. "Does he know we're here?" he spoke through the cosmos to avoid having to open his mouth as he snatched her body and attempted to light speed the two of them the rest of the way before stumbling after thirty and slamming clumsily against the uneven stone while rolled a bit.
She drew her arm to examine the fine pink dust. She helped him up, his right hand dripping blood from a sharp rock. "He must be getting it set up and some of it is seeping through the openings." She felt him grasp her and quickly let go before he tried again this time at Mach 4 and getting about seven meters before he fell down once more.
His vision was growing hazy. In the open air of a field, it wouldn't be so bad. He could put some distance, burn the pollen, or his punches could send it somewhere else. In the small tunnel, despite it not being as focused, every movement caused it to circulate around and the moisture from the House of Aquarius was causing it to stick to them, giving skin and clothes a light pink hue as if Aphrodite was using his demon rose technique endlessly. The longer they were in, the thicker it became. While Golds can recover far faster than other ranks, the poison still affected them the same.
His breathing was growing more ragged, his chest tightening, his eyes were struggling to stay on track as they darted a bit. He knew he shouldn't have tried lightspeed. But the horror of her in this was too much for him to bear. He then spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "Marin, go…" he muttered, unable to focus and speak through the cosmos. "Get out...back...get back to Aqua…" he muttered trying to provide a coherent sentence to tell her to save herself before giving up and just waving his hand and darting his finger to the direction they came in. The Pope's Chambers were at least two hundred meters and at this point, he will be lucky to move two meters.
She kneeled in front of him. His blue eyes slowly paled his breathing more laborious now. She could feel the grasp he had on her hands wane yet clutching her as if every moment was precious. His eyes seemed a bit confused yet he was clearly trying to mouth something. She would prefer to hear those words out loud as she pulled off her mask and stuck it straight on his face.
Almost immediately, he felt his vision returning and the haze revealed the soft features that he dreamed of. Her wide chestnut colored eyes lovingly locked onto him, her plump lips produced a wide smile as if she had waited for this moment. He did too...
... but not like this.
He grabbed the edges of the mask before her hands held onto the sides to hold it in place. It was difficult, fearing that if he wasn't careful, he'll crack it in half. "Marin!" he spat.
"I'm fine." She spoke as she assured him.
But he shook his head no before leaping backward out of her reach before he pulled it off and light sped back over and forced it back on her. "Marin, I won't let another sacrifice themselves for me!" he cursed. Before he could get away, she immediately grabbed his wrist. "MARIN!" He barked furiously.
"AIOLIA!" She snapped back that matched the lion's rage before she slapped her mask back on him. "I'm a Pisces!" she felt his hand loosen.
"Pisces…" he muttered finally realizing she was not showing the same effects that he was dealing with earlier. But not being born under a sign didn't make a person immune to a poison unless, "...you...are the backup for Pisces?" he asked, his eyes lost in her soft smile. Every Gold needed someone that could accept their Cloth in a hurry in case the worst occurred, and typically it was a Silver.
She nodded. "Just a little. Not where I am completely uneffec-" she pauses as she grasped her head before he moved in to grab her body before it could strike the hard rock. "But...I won't die from this." She felt him draw her so close, his arms wrapped around her while a single hand cradled her gaze toward the blank mask on him. "I can practically fall asleep here. I've done it before." She brought her hand and slicked it around his neck and into his blond curls. Her stomach tightened. She knew they were close and she will pray to every star for him to come back to her. "Go, my love. You have something you need to finish."
The name felt just right. Mellow and warm as if it brought them both comfort for him to hear and for her to speak. He could tell that she was struggling to stay awake, but it was clear her breathing was fine and her words true… almost. "Two," he corrected before he lifted the mask and brought his lips to hers. "I have two things I have to finish," he murmured over the kiss he was giving her, his words spaced in between the love that she reciprocated back. He could feel his lungs tightened, but he powered through.
He didn't want this moment to end, a desire made more difficult as a nervous hand took advantage to slip under her top. She paused for a second causing him to pull back a little, afraid that he was too quick with his advance. Instead, a slight pleasurable gasp followed before she too felt a bit more daring and pushed against him with a desperate grind that he happily reciprocated. His head felt hot, a combination of the moment and the poison. He wanted more, teased by the wealth of sensations despite still being fully clothed. However, the increasing numbness in his body and the mission destination far, he threw the mask back on with one and the other gripping her backside.
Marin too panted a bit, before her fiesty grin flashed at him. "That's three times I've saved the Nikolopoulos brothers." Her head rolled as she tried to stay awake, but the taste of his warm mouth still lingered sweetly. "You owe me big when you come back," she murmured before her eyes finally shut.
He held there, his hand stroked her soft hair while his thumb gently ran over her smile once more before he laid her down. "Marin…" he muttered. It was a name that gave him the strength he needed in times of darkness.
But there was another that once did the same, and while it was tainted for a long time, it still mattered. Perhaps Marin occupied his heart now, and while the bond of brothers shifts in time, it will always matter for it was family. He looked at his pendant and then at her beautiful peaceful body. "You should be safe here. I have to help my brother. He will need me, but I will return." Ironically, the poison that flooded around to kill intruders, will be a deterrent to protect her.
He turned his head to the path ahead. He had to keep his speed near normal now. Even with the mask, it wasn't shaped for his face. He noticed that the higher speeds caused a slight dizziness, with lightspeed causing a lot of problems. He had to be patient, but that was never his strong suit. He didn't want to reach there, drained and paralyzed and his timing had to be perfect if the two brothers were going to survive the Pope's Chambers. As he moved, kicking up the pink dust that covered the rock-like snow, he couldn't help but feel grateful.
"Mother, Father, thank you for protecting me, Athena, thank you for believing in me. Kanon, wherever the hell you are, come back and we can go fishing by the river again. Galan, thank you for your sacrifice. Milo, Camus for offering a hand when others gave me hate, Marin…my love, Aiolos... Lucas…."He paused. He didn't know what to say since it seemed he covered it all…. But that's what brothers do. Instead, he smiled. There was no possibly way he could make it here without the Amazon's mask. "You combined a suicide mission and trying to hook me up with Marin in one plan. I guess Saga's not the craziest person in Sanctuary," he laughed. This was his brother. If he went all sappy and someone heard him, the Sagittarius wouldn't let him live it down. But his face weakened. "Please be up there," he muttered as he continued his run.
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Date: November 3-10 (Maybe the writing binge will continue?)
Chapter 13B: Young Men! To You We Entrust Athena
What happened during the exact same time of Lionheart III at the House of Sagittarius?
Date: ?
Finale Chapter: ?
Author's Note: While I like to mix different story beats together, I felt with it being the last Lionheart part to just have it all in one piece. It also works out better for the Aiolos side of this time since his section faced the same dilemma where it works better as one continuous piece.
My writing binge has continued and I was able to finish this a week ahead of schedule.
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Thirteen Days of Prompts: There are only four more slots left. What will happen is that I will write thirteen prompts for December in November on anything you want. I will accept suggestions until either the last is full or at the end of October. As you can tell, we are almost at the end of this fic (finally) so whether you have a general Saint Seiya request or had an idea and want me to write it, feel free.
Update: Only two slots left.
Feedback is valued or just a normal review is fine too.