13 Days Later...
Seiya, Hyoga, Shiryu, and Shun returned to the Kido mansion with graveness on their faces. The battle against Ikki and his Black Saints was their biggest challenge yet. It wasn't only a battle of power but an emotional one as well. Shun took it on himself; had Ikki not gone to Death Queen Island, his heart and soul wouldn't be consumed by hatred and vengeance. They had won the battle, and Ikki even rejoined their side. However, more enemies came and they took all parts of the Gold Cloth except for the helmet. Perhaps to redeem his sins, Ikki sacrificed himself to save the other Saints. Before his demise, he warned them, "Be aware of the Sanctuary."
What does it mean?
They buried Ikki and Hyoga placed his rosary on his grave.
The helmet was the only part of Sagittarius Gold Cloth they had.
What's next for them?
Hyoga was looking forward to return to Siberia where his mother is buried; Shiryu was thinking of returning the Five Peaks to continue his training with his master; Seiya could go find his sister; and Shun could either stay at the Kido mansion or go anywhere he wants.
When they entered the mansion, they found everything amiss.
"Where have you been?" Tatsumi yelled. "They have taken ojou-sama!"
"Who?" Seiya asked.
"Not long after you left," Tatsumi began. "Two hideous individuals came. A woman wearing a mask and a monstrous man in red. Jabu and Geki tried but they were useless against them. They wanted the Cloth and they took ojou-sama hostage!"
He looked at the Saints and saw Shun holding the helmet.
And there was no other part of the Gold Cloth.
"That's all you have?" Tatsumi demanded. "Just the helmet?"
"Tatsumi, calm down," Jabu said. "You are not helping. We have to get Saori-san back."
"Before we do that, can you take a look at this?" Hyoga said, handing them a letter. "This is supposedly from Ikki, but we all know that Ikki can barely write. The handwriting is very fine."
"Are you suggesting Saori-san wrote this herself?" Jabu asked in disbelief.
"That's impossible!" Tatsumi spat. "Ojou-sama stopped writing by hand since she was nine!"
"Really? How lazy is she?" Seiya remarked sarcastically.
"Ojou-sama uses her phone," Tatsumi explained. "If she wants to write anything, it's texting and emailing. This is definitely not written by ojou-sama herself. And where would she get the idea of 'Murder Valley'? She doesn't even know such a place exists!"
"When I was in Siberia," Hyoga said, explaining his reason. "There was a woman named Anya and she was kidnapped. Her kidnapper demanded a ransom and it was later discovered the whole scheme was set up by Anya herself. Before we left to face Ikki, Saori-san's behavior was suspicious."
"What do you mean?"
"The day Ikki appeared she wasn't there-"
"She was ill," Jabu said.
"And yet had the strength to fight against the Black Phoenix-"
"Ojou-sama is well trained in sword fight," Tatsumi said.
"She got that letter and handed it to Seiya. Yet, when we were about to leave, she was trying to stop us. If she didn't want us to go, why did she give that letter to Seiya?"
"What did Saori-san said to you before we left?" Shun asked. Since Saori said it in Greek, no one knew what she said other than Seiya.
"I don't believe Saori-san would have any connection with Ikki or the Sanctuary," Seiya said, not answering Shun's question. "Tatsumi, can you tell me about the people who took Saori-san?"
"A man and a woman," Tatsumi said. "The woman has green hair and wears a mask. The man is large in red armor."
"Wait," Seiya stopped him before he can say anything else.
Be aware of the Sanctuary.
Tatsumi paced back and forth until he saw a strange little boy with red hair. "Ahh! What are you? How did you get in here?"
The little boy giggled and suddenly, Tatsumi was up in the air against his well.
"Kiki, knock it off!" Shiryu said. Instantly, Tatusmi was back on the floor.
"Hi Shiryu!" The boy, Kiki, greeted.
"Kiki is our friend," Seiya explained. "He helped repair our Cloths. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be able to make it back to Tokyo."
By teleporting.
"Okay, enough," Jabu said. "We need to find Saori-san. If she has her phone, we can identify her location. And your friend Kiki can take us to her."
In a dark room, Saori was bounded to a chair.
Her kidnappers wanted the Gold Cloth, and Saori hoped that Tatsumi will not bargain with them. Heck, she had watched the news and was aware that if ransom was delivered, it's very possible that hostage would be taken out by the kidnapper.
Killed.
She sat quietly and tried to think of a plan to escape. But then again, she didn't even know where she is. It seemed like middle of nowhere. No transportation. And her phone was probably running out of battery.
Her kidnappers didn't talk to her much, but it was obvious they could kill her without a hesitation.
"You," her kidnapper came before her. "Seiya will come, and I will have my vengeance. He destroyed my family, my little brother."
Saori looked surprised.
"He defeated my brother Cassius in Greece," her kidnapper went on. "Cassius went mad afterwards, for he cannot live with his humiliation. When Seiya comes, I will make him suffer."
"I guess we have something in common," Saori said.
"What?"
"Seiya could've cared less about me," Saori said. "If you hurt me in anyway, you'd be doing him a favor."
Before her kidnapper could say anything, they heard clashes.
"He's here," her kidnapper said underneath his breath. He went to face them and left his subordinates to watch Saori.
Secretly, using her diamond ring, Saori was breaking her bound.
"Pegasus Seiya."
"Docrates," Seiya said his name. "Cassius' brother."
"You will pay for what you done to him!" In anger, Docrates launched his attack. His attack was powerful and Seiya was blown away. But as always, Seiya never stayed down. Before he could counterattack, Hyoga stopped him.
"Seiya, my master had taught me a technique," Hyoga told him. "It will be useful."
Seiya stayed back and allowed Hyoga to go up against Docrates. Their experience from battle against Ikki had taught them the value of trust and team work. Hyoga held onto Docrates feet and used his power to freeze them, despite the deadly beatings from him.
"Now!" Hyoga shouted after Docrates feet froze like ice.
Quickly, Seiya used his Pegsus Meteor Punch and Shun used his Nebula Chain. Docrates was defeated and fell heavily on the floor.
"We have to find Saori-san!"
The four rushed all over the abandoned building. Finally, they found a room where there was a chair, rope, and Docrates' subordinates. They were lying on the floor, moaning in pain. Based on their actions, it was obvious that they got kicked in the groin or being sprayed by mace. Saori herself was nowhere being found.
"Where is she?" Seiya grabbed one of them and demanded.
"She won't get very far..."