Disclaimer: I don't own SS characters.

Chapter Seven

Sabotage

The next day…

It was seven o' clock in the morning.

Camus was inside the library to rearrange the books there. What a very odd and eccentric person Hades was…he suddenly ordered him to arrange the books starting from the alphabet Z. Camus really couldn't get his way of thinking. He, of course, had nothing to do except obeying him. Hades demanded Camus must finish it before nine o'clock. Afterwards he would order Saga and Kanon to serve him.

Some minutes later, the Aquarius heard knocks on the window glass, as if it was hit by a woodpecker's beak. He turned his head, then spontaneously dropped the books he'd held. He was so shocked seeing who it was sneaking through it.

"Hyoga!" he gasped.

"Sensei, let me in," Hyoga said. His voice was a bit unclear because of being obstructed by the window glass.

Camus soon marched at the window and opened it. "What are you doing here?!" he snarled in almost-whispering voice. "You will get big trouble if—"

"I can look into my own self, Camus, I can tell whether I'm in danger or not, so don't prevent me visiting you," said Hyoga coldly.

Camus was about to reply, yet he soon decided it was useless. After murmuring the word "youth", he finally opened the window and let his student get in.

"I'm worried about you," Hyoga said after he'd been inside. He looked at his teacher hungrily as if he hadn't seen him for hundred years.

"Hmm…," Camus only said. His eyes a bit softened when he picked the books he'd dropped and started ordering them.

Hyoga approached him, then helped him ordering the books. They worked in silence for some moments, until Hyoga broke the silence.

"Ow," he frowned his head. "Here in this shelf, I'd kept the book my mama gave me. The title is 'The Wrinkles of Time'. Now it's gone…is somebody borrowing it?"

Camus suddenly dropped his books again.

Soon he picked it up and put them in the shelf. But seemed like he did it carelessly because he made more books fell on the floor.

Hyoga looked at Camus puzzlingly. His master looked a bit nervous.

"Aiolos," Camus said, mentioning the first name that popped up in his mind. "Aiolos borrowed it."

"Oh, ok," Hyoga replied in relief, then continued arranging the books. "It's ok if it's Aiolos who's borrowing it, he won't be careless in treating the book. I'm worried because there's my mama's handwritings inside it, you know."

"I see…," Camus murmured without looking at Hyoga.

Silence then. As time went by, the handsome Aquarius often took glances at his student. He saw that Hyoga looked so gloomy.

"What are you thinking of?" asked Camus finally.

"The things are no longer the same now," answered Hyoga quietly.

Camus smiled slightly. "This won't last forever."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm just sure," said Camus. "I don't know why. I'm just sure."

Hyoga gazed at his master steadily. Smile slowly appeared on his face. Camus had been successful in making his feeling better.

Oh…how he loved this man…he really really loved him—maybe his love towards him was even bigger than his love towards his deceased mother. The incident in Atlantic Pillar proved it, when Lymnades Kasa had disguised as Camus instead of Natassia. Meant that it was Camus who happened to be the most important person in his heart.

"Sensei…"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember how you were 200 years ago?" asked Hyoga, without knowing why he chose that topic.

"You mean Degel?"

"Yes. Degel. You."

Camus slowly stopped ordering his books. He turned around and looked at Hyoga. "I…don't remember much," he said then as he lent his waist on the shelf. "Sometimes I dream about him, though."

"About Degel?"

"Yes," Camus smiled slightly. "About Degel." Sounded like he wanted to stress that he and Degel were two different people.

"What do you dream about?" asked Hyoga.

"He cupped a woman's cheeks with his hands."

"A woman's cheeks?"

"Yes…."

Hyoga was silent for a moment, trying so hard to imagine a resembling-Camus man touching a woman's cheeks.

"Her name is…," said Camus, a bit frowning his forehead to recall his dream. "Seraphina."

"Seraphina?"

"Hmmm."

"Does she reincarnate this year?"

"I don't think so, Hyoga," Camus answered, continued ordering his books. "Looks like she wasn't a saint. I don't think she reincarnates."

Hyoga looked at his teacher. Whoever she was, she might be a person who once was special in Degel's heart. Otherwise why he was willing to touch her cheeks?

The fifteen years old young man's eyes turned gloomy once again when his gaze on Camus got deep and deeper. His master was never willing to make even slight relationship with woman. Hyoga even had a feeling that Camus would never dare to have any girlfriend, moreover wife; he had vowed that he would only dedicate his love and care to his student, to his adopted son: Alexei Hyoga.

"Have you eaten?" Camus asked, finally brought Hyoga back to the present.

"Umm…no…," Hyoga answered quietly.

"Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen. Hades and Rhadamanthys haven't got out of their rooms in these hours," said his teacher.

Hyoga nodded, he then followed his master to exit the room.

Then something unexplainable happened when they stepped in the corridor: Hyoga's eyes widened as he saw very huge and sharp chandelier above Camus suddenly broke from the ceiling.

"SENSEI!" he only had barely a second to prevent his beloved teacher from being killed by the chandelier: he pushed Camus so hard with his body till both of them fell down and thrown on the wall. The chandelier meanwhile knocked on the floor, producing an extremely deafening sound.

Camus and Hyoga looked at the chandelier in shock. But Hyoga knew he didn't have longer time to be in that state, as he saw that the ceiling was cracked and begin to collapse. Hyoga instinctively hugged his teacher so tight, letting himself to be a shield to protect him from the ruins of the ceilings. The blond felt pains as the ruins showered his heads and his body, but he didn't care, as long as Camus was safe in his arms.

After the shower of the ruins ended, Camus soon released his son's hug in extreme panic. "Are you alright, child…?"

"Yes, I'm alright…," answered Hyoga, although he tried to restrain the pains in his whole body. "It must be him…," he stood up rapidly, then ran with his lame legs to head to Rhadamanthys's room. Camus soon stood up as well and ran after him. "Hyoga!"

Hyoga kept running heavily; he didn't care though the Gold Saints he passed looked at him in wonder. In his mind now was only a name, and how to sink the owner to the boiled water.

When he had arrived in front of Rhadamanthys's room, he directly snapped open the door very harshly. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE CHANDELIER?!" Hyoga's voice thundered.

Rhadamanthys, who was drinking a glass of liquor, turned his head and looked at Hyoga in interest. "Welcome to my room, Cygnus Alexei," he said calmly. "Do you want some liquor?"

"I ask you, what are you doing with the chandelier?!" shouted Hyoga wrathfully. At the same time Camus arrived beside him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," responded Rhadamanthys after sipping the liquor.

"The chandelier in the corridor near the library broke from the ceiling!" snapped Hyoga. "My teacher almost be killed!"

"Oh…," said Rhadamanthys lightly as he looked at Camus. "I see that your master is fine. Or is it just my eyes?"

"It was you, wasn't it?!" Hyoga shouted.

Rhadamanthys laughed slightly. He thought that this inhilarious moment was really hilarious. "Why? Did I have to do that, Cygnus Alexei? Is your teacher that important to be killed?"

"Don't you dare calling me 'Alexei'!" Hyoga was so ready to punch the ex-specter's nose with his fist. "Only my mother and my teacher who're allowed to call me that!"

"How touching…," Rhadamanthys smiled evilly.

Camus grasped his student's shoulder. "Hyoga," he said coldly, yet very calmly. "No matter how loud you shout at him, it'll be useless."

"Right, Sensei…there's no use talking to a specter who's so desperate because he doesn't have any friends…," burst Hyoga.

Rhadamanthys's expression suddenly changed drastically hearing it. His smile totally vanished.

"HELL you said I don't have any friends!" he snapped.

Hyoga and Camus blinked hearing it. They wondered why Rhadamanthys was so confronted with the insult…

"Because you don't have any friends!" Hyoga then yelled (after he blinked seeing how odd Rhadamanthys reaction was). "Where're the others?! Where're Aiocos and Lune and Minos?!"

"They're not here because it was only ME who's faithful to lord Hades!" Rhadamanthys snarled.

"I think they're not here because they're so sick of you," replied Hyoga. He didn't know whether it was right or not, he just burst out. "That's why you feel so bored—no friends, no entertainment…the only entertainment left for you is destroying a chandelier!"

Rhadamanthys stood up, his fist contracted. Camus soon marched between his student and Rhadamanthys, trying to cool down the situation.

"Wyvern," said Camus in a low voice. "Please don't tell Hades Hyoga is here."

His statement made Hyoga startled…he'd never thought Camus could beg like that…

"Please," repeated Camus.

Rhadamanthys responded by looking at Camus's eyes in great revolt. The eyes that cold yet full of love, full of compassion towards his student… He looked at Camus the same as Hades did the days before.

But then he smirked and jeered.

He finally found a way to fight back.

"Fine," Rhadamanthys said coolly. "I won't tell him. But I want to start, let' say, a game with you, Aquarius."

Camus didn't reply.

"I have a question," smiled Rhadamanthys sadistically. "Do you remember…Unity?"

Hatred suddenly filled Camus's veins and blood…now was his turn to look at Rhadamanthys with revolt…with loaths. He hated him…he realy hated the specter after he mentioned Unity's name.

Yet Camus didn't remember who Unity was.

He suddenly hated Rhadamanthys after the specter mentioned the name, yet he couldn't recall who Unity was.

"No," Camus answered. "I don't remember."

Rhadamanthys laughed in amuse. "Ok. But I'll still wait for the correct answer, Aquarius."

Camus looked piercingly at Rhadamanthys for some minutes before saying, "Let's go, Hyoga."

When the teacher and the student had been outside and headed to the kitchen, Hyoga never stopped gazing at his master.

"Shi…Shihyou…"

"Yes, Hyoga?" asked Camus. Hyoga was relieved hearing Camus's voice had turned normal.

"Who is Unity?"

"I have said I don't remember."

"I've heard that name before," said Hyoga thoughtfully. "I'm sure someone had ever told me about him. Ah yes…," Hyoga clicked his fingers. "Isaac."

Camus stopped his steps.

"Isaac?" he whispered in wonder.

"Yes. He'd ever mentioned something about a man named Unity, but I myself don't remember what it is."

Camus was frowning. Did Unity have relationhip with Isaac…?

But he couldn't think further as Hyoga said other topics that sounded more urgent.

"We've got more troubles," said Hyoga nervously. "The first is the collapsed ceilings. I'm sure Hades will reduce your salaries again and ask you to fix the ceilings with your own deposit. Second," he looked even more nervous than before, "Now's Saga or Kanon's turn to wear the pendant."

Now was Saga's turn, Camus was sure about it. Saga would never let Kanon wearing the pendant, as he loved his brother so much and he didn't want Kanon to be possessed by it.

So it was Saga who would wear it.

And Camus could picture clearly about what would happen with him…

"Camus!" suddenly there was a call.

Camus turned his head and saw some of his fellows marched at him. "What happened?" Milo asked anxiously. "What happened with the ceilings?!"

"All messes up!" gasped Aiolia. "The corridor near the library…Hades will surely put a blame on us, especially you, Camus!"

Camus took a deep breath, then walked to the library with impassive look. "Leave this house soon, Hyoga," he said.

"Camus, where are you going?" Mu yelled.

"Go to the library to continue my job, then face Hades and explain that the ceilings had collapsed," he said straight to the point. "I'm not afraid of him, it's not my fault. Someone has sabotaged this house."

His fellows looked at him desperately when he was disappeared in the next corridor.

"It's Rhadamanthys," groaned Hyoga. "I'm sure it was him who's plotted this mess!"

Nobody has any strength to reply him.

Xxx

An hour later in the Gold Saints' room…

Everybody looked at Saga in anxieties. Saga was standing in the middle, holding the pentagram pendant. He looked pale, yet there was toughness in his feature. He was ready to deal with what happened after wearing it.

"Saga, pelase," begged Kanon for the thousandth times.

"I'm ok, Kanon…"

"The pendant recognizes weakness," said Aiolos. He looked straight to Saga's eyes. "It'll affect your brain, Saga. I'm sure your personalities will shift multiple times when you wear ir: from angel to devil, then to angel again, then turns to devil again…it'll play with your brain until it's satisfied and ends its wickedness."

"I know," Saga's eyes were empty. He almost could imagine it: his eyes would turn to red, then blue, then red again, then blue again…

"Saga," Aiolos approached Saga and held his shoulders. "Let Kanon wear it…"

"No!" snapped Saga. "I won't ever let it choking my brother's neck!"

"But you will turn ABSOLUTELY horrifying when your personality shifts, Saga!" Aiolos snapped back. "You'll be more evil than Hades!"

"It won't last forever, it'll stop, won't it?! Hades has said it won't possess us in long term!"

"And you believe him?" replied Shura. "Who could guarantee that Mu's case wasn't a luck?! Who can guarantee the pendant won't hypnotize you for the next two hundred years or something—SAGA!"

All widened their eyes in horror when Saga applied a gesture to encircle the necklace around his neck.

"Saga, don't be stupid!"

"Wait, Saga!" a voice from the door.

Everybody turned their heads, and they saw Camus standing at the door, slightly panting.

"Hades," said Camus to Saga and Kanon after silence for some moments. "He asked both of you to meet him at the ruined corridor."

"Why?"

"I don't know," answered Camus.

Saga and Kanon looked at each other, then Saga nodded. He was about to wear the pendant when Camus said, "Without pendant."

"What?"

"Hades asked you to meet him without wearing that pendant. I myself don't know why."

All finally took relieved breaths.

When Saga, Kanon, and Camus had arrived in the troublesome corridor, Hades was gazing at the chandelier that had broken into pieces. He stood in the middle of the ruins, looked so impressive with his classic tuxedo and his pale yet very handsome feature.

"You have come," said Hades as he raised his head and looked impassively at Saga and Kanon. Hades's cold and empty eyes then moved to the twins's chests. "Where is the pendant? I have asked you to wear it, haven't i?"

The twins startled and automatically glanced at Camus. "Wh…we thought…," the twins stammered…

…but soon they understood…

Hades looked at Camus penetratingly, while the later looking back with endurance.

The next incident happened so fast: Hades took off his own pendant, then slashed Camus's upper arm with its sharpest point.

"CAMUS!" Saga and Kanon directly gasped in shock, while Camus himself unconsciously gasped in pain as thick blood dropped heavily from his upper arm. Hurt…it really hurt…the pendant's sharpness really resembled Excalibur…

"What I ordered Aquarius to do is: call the Geminis and let one of them wearing the pendant until they arrived at this corridor," Hades said shrilly. "I will ask them to take the necklace off after they meet me here, because I will ask them to fix the ceilings and I do not want my precious pendant to be worn when they do the worthless work, as it is only allowed to be worn when they serve me! But seems you take my trust for granted, Aquarius. Your salary is reduce seventy five percents."

Saga soon encircled his hand around Camus's shoulders while Kanon torn his cloth and used the scrap to cover Camus's wound.

"Why did you do this…?" Saga asked Camus in almost broken voice.

Still frowning his head on the pain he felt, he looked up at Saga with slight smile. "Because you mustn't wear the pendant, Saga."

Saga hugged his youngest junior touchingly, while Kanon looked at him in huge thankfulness. Probably it was the first time they could see how soft the coldest saint's heart was.

The view wasn't even slightly heartwarming for Hades. His eyes were full of hatred when the twins and Camus standing close to each other in that position…he tried so hard to fight against the urge to slit their throats with his beloved pendant…

"Have you finished?" asked Hades. His voice was colder than absolute zero.

Saga and Kanon turned their heads in rage, but Hades didn't care.

"Aquarius, leave this place now," ordered Hades. "And you, Geminis, fix the ceilings soon. You must finish it before three pm, otherwise your salaries will be reduced until ninety percents," then he left the corridor, his robe was rippling.

xxx