The heavy footsteps of the Gold Saints clamored by her ear. Saori's vision blurred and darkened, only the sound of the armor against the stone ground remained...
"Aiolos," a lady in white gown with brown hair murmured his name. "How long have you served by me?"
"Seven years," the Gold Saint Sagittarius replied respectfully; his steps were light but firm. "I started as a Bronze Saint and earned my Gold Cloth a year ago."
"Your brother Aiolia will follow," the lady said.
"Goddess Metis," Sagittarius Aiolos said. "Aiolia is far from ready. He trains hard, but he cannot accept his defeat."
"He is still young," the lady, Goddess Metis, said. "Give him time. I have seen your brother. He has a lot of you in him."
She went to the crib and gently touched the face of the infant. "My daughter," she sighed. "Aiolos, can I trust you?"
"As always," Aiolos replied sincerely. "I will never let you down."
"I'm going to place my daughter in your hands," Goddess Metis said. "Take her to the Sanctuary and gather all my Saints together to protect her. A war is coming, Aiolos. Your mission is to protect my daughter, Athena, and serve her as you have served me."
With her arms shaking, she picked up her tiny daughter and placed her in Aiolos arms. Instantly, Aiolos could feel the baby's cosmo.
"To the Sanctuary, now!" Goddess Metis ordered.
The infant opened her eyes and found golden lights everywhere. She stayed in Aiolos arms as he spread his wings and flew to Sanctuary.
"We must keep our oath to our Goddess," Aiolos said to the Pope.
The Pope nodded. "We will keep her safe. Aiolos, I'm afraid my time has come. Soon, we will need a new Pope to lead the Saints and protect our goddess. I only faith in you..."
A dagger flashed. It was pointed at the tiny infant.
"No!" Aiolos pulled the dark figure back. "Saga?"
The infant remained in her crib as the fight went on between the two Gold Saints. The Pope was on the ground with blood stained his robe. Soon the infant was in the Gold Saint's arm again and together they rushed out of the Sanctuary. Aiolos, keeping his promise to Goddess Metis, refused to give up the infant. By the time they escaped from their enemies, Aiolos was covered with wounds. His life was coming to an end.
By the time two Japanese men found him, he was breathing his last.
"Aiolia...be strong..." He thought of his younger brother.
Her vision was now cleared. The sky was dark and stars were bright.
The pain from her abdomen was real.
The blood stained her dress.
Her cosmo, though, was burning stronger than ever before. Before the eyes of the Saints - Bronze, Silver, and Gold - her cosmo exploded. Silver Saint Ptolemy was blasted away.
With her hands shaking, Saori grabbed the arrow and pulled it out herself. Blood spilled around her, from her wound and from her mouth. Coughing and choking, she tried to find her words.
"Your brother Gold Saint Aiolos...he saved me..." She said. "He's...he's an honorable man...and you are nothing compared to him..."
Aiolia, Leo Gold Saint, was stunned by her powerful cosmo.
With all her strength, she threw the arrow to him.
"Go back to Sanctuary," she demanded calmly. "Stay away from me and mine. I will come when time is right."
"Where is my brother's Cloth?" Aiolia asked again.
"It doesn't belong to you," Saori replied. "Go now, before I get angry."
The Gold Saint turned and began to walk away. Before he disappeared, he said to Saori, "If you are the real Goddess Athena, then come to Sanctuary to prove it. Be aware, there are many battles ahead of you."
Only after he was gone, did Saori realized that she has been holding Seiya's hand all this time.
"Seiya, your hand is fine," the doctor said after reviewing the x-ray image.
"It can barely move," Seiya said.
"Give it a few days," the doctor said. "What happened?"
"Saori-san-" Seiya began but quickly changed his words. "I had an accident."
"How's Saori-san?" The doctor laughed.
"She's okay," Seiya replied, not telling him what happened the previous night. Yes, Saori held his hand so tight that he thought she broke it.
"If Saori-san is able to hurt your hand this much, her eating habit must have changed!" The doctor laughing, knowing Saori's history with eating.
Seiya shrugged.
"The last time she was here," the doctor continued. "Her arm was injured and I can't prescribe her pain medication because of her weight. You know what changed her eating habit?"
"It's complicated."
When he returned to the Kido mansion, Saori was in her room. Her wound was healing on its own, and she insisted on not going to the hospital.
"Seiya, bad news!"Tatsumi exclaimed. "The Gold Cloth's helmet is gone!"
"What?"
"It's gone! I searched all over and can't find it!"
Seiya looked at the other Saints and all looked lost.
"It must be at the Sanctuary," Hyoga said.
"Maybe, or maybe not," Saori said, coming down the stairs.
"Ojou-sama!" Tatsumi said. "You should be in bed!"
"I'm fine," she said though she walked with difficulty. "I don't like staying in bed, boring me to death."
"You know where it is?" Shun asked her.
"The helmet? If it's not here then it's somewhere. The Gold Cloth has the mind and soul of its own. The helmet is useless by itself anyway. When that Gold Saint demanded us to hand over the Gold Cloth, he wanted it all, not just the helmet. Then it means the rest of it is not at the Sanctuary."
"You are not serious on going to the Sanctuary, are you?" Seiya asked.
"I am," Saori said. "Offense is the best defense. They have sent all these...people...here to attack us."
"Actually, you," Seiya said. "You are their target.
"By the way, where's that woman the green hair?"
"Shaina...I haven't seen her. She was gone too after the Gold Saint is gone."
"Good, I hope she never returns," Saori said. "We have to go to the Sanctuary. We can't just hide here being attacked over and over again."
"Should we wait until Shiryu recovers?" Hyoga asked.
"Right now there's only eight of us," Shun said, counting all the Bronze Saints.
"No, ten," Saori said. "Shiryu is still one of us and your brother is alive."
Shun's eyes widened. "What? Where?"
"I can feel his cosmo," Saori said. "He will join when the time is right."
"But what do we know about Sanctuary? And the true power of the Gold Cloth?" Hyoga questioned.
He was right. As of now, aside of their enemies who attacked them, they knew nothing much about the Sanctuary. Seiya was trained there but he was at the very bottom of the food chain. As he could recall, he only saw the Pope once.
"By the way, Tatsumi," Saori said, changing the subject. "What's for dinner?"
In front of her mirror, Saori unzipped her dress and touched the scar on her abdomen. It was almost healed but it still looked nasty.
An invite from the Sanctuary, indeed.
She was Athena, Goddess of War. She had a mother, Metis. In her vision, she saw the Sagittarius Gold Saint. He sacrificed his own life to save her. Her mother had warned the Sagittarius Gold Saint of the danger. She had Sagittarius taken her to the Sanctuary for protection, but an enemy betrayed them. This enemy, Saga, had murdered the Pope and now claimed as the new Pope of the Sanctuary. The Saints, who all served her mother Goddess Metis, were now divided. Those who sworn to the new Pope and those who remained loyal to her.
The truth was before her and she couldn't run from it anymore.
A knock on the door interrupted her thought. Quickly she dressed herself and opened the door. It was Jabu.
"You shouldn't open the door like that, Saori-san," Jabu said. "It could be another enemy."
"I can take care myself," Saori said.
"I know you can," Jabu said. "Look, I'm here to tell you that...I'm leaving here."
"What? To where?"
"I'm heading to Algeria, where I was trained," Jabu said.
"You are leaving me?"
"I am not leaving you," Jabu said as a promise. "We discussed the current circumstance. Seiya is staying here with Hyoga and Shun. They are the strongest of us all. The rest of us, we are heading back to where we trained. This way, we can be stronger and at the same time, learn more about the Sanctuary."
"When will you be back?"
"We will meet you at the Sanctuary," Jabu said.
Saori was silent. The incidents that occurred since Ikki's arrival formed a bond between herself and the Saints. Seeing Jabu go was hard for her.
"I'll talk to Tatusmi," Saori said.
Together, Saori, Seiya, Hyoga, and Shun came to the airport to see the rest of Bronze Saints off. Saori presented Jabu a huge bag of goodies.
"For you," she said. "So you have something to do on your flight."
Before Jabu can show his gratitude, Seiya stepped up and gave him a handshake.
"Lucky you," Seiya said, going through the bag. It had snacks, drinks, and games. "She favors you, who always eagers to be her horse."
"I was," Jabu said with a lowered voice. "But the one who belongs with her is you."
He and the four other Bronze Saints boarded the plane.
As the plane took off, Saori looked at Seiya and said, "Seiya, as fýgoume mazí."
"What?" Seiya asked, unable to hear her due to the loudness of the plane.
"Nothing," she said.