Back again! Well apparently I liked this story so much that I decided, what the heck? I'll make another chapter for it. So here we are. In this chapter we'll learn a bit about Shun's past as well as what his training was like on Andromeda Island. Because let's face it. They never really told us much in Saint Seiya did they? Or if they did I don't remember since it's been so long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Two: Stars Tell All
Seiya paused a moment as he paced the floor. The tournament had concluded for the day. And yet he was now extremely nervous. He couldn't think of why though. He paused a moment, looking off in the general direction of the Sanctuary. Arles hadn't been the Pope there when Seiya had won the Pegasus Cloth from his training there. He had just suddenly sprung up, and no one seemed to question him. Ikki had returned from Death Queen Island, spiteful and hateful of everything. And nearly a year ago, they had lost all contact from Andromeda Island. What on earth could have happened there? What had happened to little Shun? Seiya had never been very nice to the boy at all. But he knew that Shun was a sweet boy. It made him nervous to think that he could have been hurt. Or worse. Dead.
Seiya shook his head. No. He didn't think the boy was dead. He didn't know why, but he was sure that he wasn't dead. He didn't know if he was hurt or not. And he got the feeling that, whatever had really happened, the boy was in danger. But not dead. Seiya sighed. All of the other Saints that were fighting in the tournament felt the same way. Something was off. They didn't know what, but they felt nervous for Shun. Why Shun, out of the hundreds of boys that had been sent off to Andromeda Island, they didn't really know. Perhaps it was because he was the one that they knew the most. After all, none of them had really known Reda or Spica or any of the others.
But things were getting interesting to say the least. Ikki had reappeared again. He seemed really nervous for some reason. And this time Saori had managed to convince him, by some miracle, to come talk to her. That's where he was now. He was outside the room where they were talking, guarding one of the many doors that provided any escape for Ikki. As Seiya had begun to realize, Ikki had suddenly turned from a fight animal to a flight one. He wasn't sure why, and Ikki simply wasn't telling any of them. But he seemed to be telling Saori. Either that or he had killed her and was waiting for one of them to come in so he could kill them too. Seiya hoped that wasn't the case. He felt that Saori was really important too, though he couldn't think of why.
Seiya was a handsome young man. His hair was brown and cut short, and his eyes were brown too and reminded people often of a horse. He was strong and well muscled for his size, and every move he made was confident. The Pegasus armor was silver, but had gold and red on it as well. Out of all of the Bronze Saints gathered, he seemed one of the most impressive.
Seiya sighed and began to pace again, trying to rid his mind of these thoughts and think of something, anything to distract him. But he couldn't think of anything. It was then however, that he heard a door open somewhere. Seiya froze.
It was silent in the house. Nothing stirred. But someone had either gone out or come in. Who could it be? The servants weren't supposed to be here, in case a fight broke out. Even Tatsume had been forced to leave. He couldn't think of who could have possibly tried to leave except Ikki, and he wouldn't be on this side of the house because Seiya hadn't seen him open the door that led into Saori's office. This small section of the house was broken away from anything else. It was alone. So someone must have come inside.
Seiya bristled as he waited. But his wait wasn't long. Soon, and exhausted and hurt Silver Saint staggered around the corner. The Saint looked up and saw him, panting. Seiya paused, watching him. This man certainly didn't seem to be a threat at all. His eyes told Seiya that he was just as nervous of him as he was of the older Saint. The Saint had blue eyes, and he was older than Seiya, but not by much. His hair was blonde and his armor shone a bright blue-silver color in the light. For a moment, the intruder said nothing. Then at last he spoke.
"I am Cepheus Albiore," he said. "I am one of the three teachers of Andromeda Island."
"Andromeda Island?" Seiya gasped. "What happened? Why are you so beat up?"
Slowly, carefully, Seiya came over to the Saint. But he really seemed to be no threat at all. Seiya threw the young man's arm over his shoulder and helped him to stand off the wall. Albiore had little strength left, and he leaned heavily into Seiya's side. But he wasn't much taller than Seiya, so the boy had little trouble hoisting him up.
"I'm sorry," Albiore replied. "There was nothing I could do against him. I'm not sure how many survived."
"What?" Seiya gasped, feeling his heart plummet into his stomach. Icy tendrils of fear and grief touched his heart at the thought.
"I'll explain everything," Albiore replied. "But I must speak to all of you. You're the only ones who can possibly put an end to this."
"No, you need to go to a hospital," Seiya protested. "You're hurt badly."
"I'm being hunted," Albiore replied. "If I go to a hospital then I'll die for sure. I can't die, do you understand? I must help my students."
Seiya paused, watching the young man as he shuddered in pain. His loyalty was strong though. Even while he stood here, possibly dying, he pushed on. His love for the young men and women he had trained made him continue to fight even when he should have given up hope. That was a rare gift, and one that Seiya hadn't seen in a while. At last, the Pegasus Saint nodded, and the Silver Saint sighed.
"Thank you," Albiore replied. "Now I must tell all of you. Everything. You must understand all the knowledge I have to give you."
Seiya nodded again, and then slowly helped Albiore towards the double doors. There was silence inside, an awkward silence. But Seiya knew he had to break it, no matter what he found behind those doors. Albiore shuddered in pain as he stepped forward, but he was resolutely silent. Slowly, Seiya opened the door.
Ikki wasn't there anymore. All of the other Saints had gathered as well. Javu, Ichi, Nachi, Geki, Shiryu, Hyoga, Ban, and now him. Javu was a reasonably sized young man with brown hair and dark green eyes. Ichi had some sort of white hair style that was strange and had black eyes. Nachi was shorter and had black hair and black eyes. Geki was a large young man with dark purple hair and brown eyes. Ban was a nearly as large young man with short brown hair and brown eyes. Hyoga was an icy young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Shiryu was a tall young man with long black hair and blue eyes. And Saori was a beautiful young woman with long purple hair and blue eyes. Saori was standing by the window, where the eyes of all the other Saints were watching. The window was open. Seiya and Albiore said nothing, and no one turned to look at them.
"Ikki's gone," Saori informed him, distracted. "He seems to have finally calmed down now, and it seems that somehow I reached him. He isn't as angry now. Maybe he'll calm down after a while."
"Saori," Seiya said suddenly. "There's someone here who has to say something."
Everyone turned to look, perplexed. And they paused at what they saw. They'd never seen this young man before, though he certainly seemed familiar from somewhere. Albiore paused a moment as well when he surveyed them all. He didn't want to frighten them and destroy his only chance of getting rid of Arles. No one moved for a moment.
"Who are you?" Saori asked not unkindly.
"My name is Cepheus Albiore," he replied. "I've come from Andromeda Island."
Those words seemed suddenly to awaken the Saints from a dream. They all winced as if they had been struck. They had lost all contact with Andromeda Island nearly a year ago. They had all been worried. But now to see this young Silver Saint so beat up, it made them nervous.
"What happened?" Saori asked. "What's going on?"
"A Gold Saint attacked us," Albiore replied. "The Gold Saint of Pisces. He uses poisoned roses to fight with. We didn't stand a chance, and that Saint liked killing. It's impossible even now to tell you how many bodies we had to bury after that."
There was silence for a moment. Dread and grief was settling on all of them. Their icy tendrils were snaking their way through all of their hearts. It seemed suddenly as if all of the air was leaving the room suddenly.
"Please, you must tell us what happened," Saori gasped. "Why would he do that?"
"Arles ordered him to," Albiore replied. "I thought at first was because I was teaching my students to fear Arles. I knew even then that Arles was evil. I knew I had to impress upon my students that he couldn't be trusted. But if that was the case he would have tried harder to kill me. And he wouldn't have attacked the students who couldn't even defend themselves from the attack. I soon realized that there was another reason."
"What reason could there possibly be that would make him hurt so many innocent people?" Shiryu demanded angrily. Albiore watched him sadly for a few moments.
"Andromeda's Prophecy," he replied. There was silence for a moment.
"Andromeda's Prophecy?" Saori asked. "What's that?" None of the Saints seemed to know what it was either, until suddenly Seiya spoke up.
"It's a Prophecy once spoken by the Andromeda Saint," Seiya said. "I heard it about it in the Sanctuary, though no one told me the Prophecy itself. The Andromeda Saint had always been such a gentle and quiet Saint. I don't know what it's about, but I know that the Prophecy shocked everyone. They hadn't imagined it would come from him, or that something like that could ever come to pass."
"Correct," Albiore said. "It was something that no one expected. But it is said that Andromeda is the Saint of sacrifice. One day, when he finally revealed that he could fight, Hera gave him a gift. It was a rare gift. A power that few could match. And after that he began to see visions from the future. As to what this gift really is, none now remember it. Hera and Andromeda won't tell, and no one else knows. But it was this that began these events long before now."
"Why would Hera give him this power?" Hyoga asked.
"No one truly knows," Albiore replied with a small sigh. "But it was a power that was feared none the less. Soon after though, the Titans stirred within Tartarus. It wasn't enough to mean that they were escaping. Still, it frightened everyone. It was then that five guardians were set in place to guard Tartarus. From the Army of Hades came Thantos, the god of death that guards Tartarus. Being so close to the evil place, he was expected to fight them. From the Army of Poseidon came the Mariner who wore the Scale of Siren, who was chosen for his powerful attack of the mind that could hopefully stop the Titans. From the Army of Zeus came the Angel who wore the Wing of Eagle, who was chosen for her all seeing eyes. From the God Warriors of the Norse Myth came the God Warrior who wore the Robe of Alioth Epsilon, who was chosen for his fierce nature. And from the Army of Athena came the Andromeda Saint, who was chosen for his gentle nature and ability to read situations. As you can imagine, the other armies didn't understand why Athen had chosen this young Saint. But they were all chosen, so Hera bestowed on all of the others powers of their own to guard the Titans."
"This is all real?" Seiya asked. Albiore nodded. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with Arles and his attack of Andromeda Island?"
"That's just it," Albiore sighed. "It doesn't make sense. You see, 300 years ago, something sealed all of the guardians away. All five of them suddenly vanished and no one knew to where. Their armor was sealed away at different points in the globe. And the Andromeda cloth was sealed on Andromeda Island, where no one could win a cloth. The Island is largely inhospitable, full of volcanoes and rock as far as the eye can see. People still live there of course, and the creatures that lived there killed off many of the trainees if the training didn't. But slowly, overtime, the gentle cosmos of the Andromeda Cloth eased the tension there. More and more people began to survive there. I myself was born on that Island, though I won my Cloth elsewhere."
"And Arles feared this?" Saori asked.
"Yes," Albiore replied. "Because he knew Andromeda's Prophecy. And suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the students began to excel against all the odds. They didn't just survive. They thrived. Some were lost along the way. That was a sad part of our training. And the Island began to change some of them. They became spiteful and mean. But we kept an eye on those who remained kind, even with all of this stress. There were twelve of them. Of these, we all chose four. I chose three young men and one young lady. Their names were June, Reda, Spica..." he paused, looking up at all of them. "and Shun."
"Shun?" Seiya gasped. "He made it?"
"All four of them made it," Albiore replied. "All of them were Saints, though two were Sonota Saints. June became the Saint of Chameleon, a Cloth that had been sealed there since its first Saint died on that god forsaken Island. You see, I always thought there was something weird about her. She and Shun had never met. June had been born on that Island and Shun had come from Japan. But the instant they met they became fast friends. The reason for that, I think, is the past of those Saints. The Chameleon Saint didn't exist until around the 17th century. She was often mocked for not being a true Saint. But she met the Andromeda Saint and over time, through many battles, the two became friends. But that was last the last anyone had seen of them. They disappeared suddenly. They vanished. Obviously both died at some point. But both Cloths were found sealed on Andromeda Island. By who or why, no one knows."
"So the Chameleon Saint returned?" Shiryu asked. "What about Andromeda?"
"You know him well," Albiore replied. "His name is Andromeda Shun."
"Shun?" Hyoga gasped. "He became a Saint?"
"Yes," Albiore said. "And once Arles heard about it he grew scared suddenly. I didn't know why. I still don't. But he sent Pisces Aphrodite to destroy us. Shun disappeared that day. I think he's in the Sanctuary. And here recently the Pisces Saint returned and tried to kill me again. He captured my remaining students and took them to the Sanctuary. I barely managed to escape."
"Why would he want to take them to the Sanctuary?" Saori replied. "Just what exactly did that Prophecy say that would make him so nervous?"
"I know it," Albiore told them. "I learned it. But if you hear it, you cannot ignore the warnings that are now being put forth. Something is happening, something terrible." There was silence for a moment.
"Tell us," Saori replied. "I think we'd better be ready for whatever is going on." Albiore nodded.
"Then listen well," he said. "It goes like this:
When the dead Island breathes
and Saints are reborn in the sea
a forgotten message will again be said
as the guards return from the dead.
Those who guard the darkest door
will return with bad news in store.
Listen well to he who is of night:
for he knows the where to find the light.
Know the call of the sea:
for he who comes knows of thee.
Feel the breath of the air:
for she will bring news of despair.
Know the rattle of the chain:
for he sees it all again.
Feel the fangs of the beast:
for he understands the price at least.
And all you must heed or pay the price,
for those who do not hear will die.
When they return the door will break
and onto the earth will their prisoners escape.
Our most feared enemy will return
and in their hands the world will burn.
Alliances be forged or fall in silence
for none can survive alone in defiance.
Powers of gods must now combine
the armies must gather and strike.
Without it we breathe a bitter perfume,
for we know the world is doomed.
And all by Andromeda's Chain be linked,
for those of that Island are the last of the free.
With that, Albiore fell silent and allowed them to digest the information he had just told him. He knew it could be a lot. At last though, Saori looked up.
"The guardians will return," Saori replied. "And it's a warning. It says their prisoners will escape."
"So the Titans will escape?" Javu gasped. "They're going to come here again?"
"And Andromeda was warning all of us that we needed to form alliances or fall," Shiryu said. "How terrible must the Titans be?"
"But what does this have to do with Arles?" Seiya asked. "Shouldn't he want to get rid of the Titans too? They're evil."
"Arles doesn't think that way," Albiore replied with a sigh. "He's scared. ' those of that Island are the last of the free'. He's scared that he'll be overthrown. He likes his power too much. So he wants to keep an eye on any Saint that comes from that Island."
"That's crazy!" Seiya gasped.
"He isn't of his right mind," Albiore agreed.
"But why did you come to us?" Saori asked.
"I must save my students from Arles," Albiore replied. "That Island is hell. You learn to love those you know are kind and that you can trust. But you are the only ones who can possibly do it. I can't. I'm too injured. But there's something about all of you that tells me that you can make it. You have to destroy Arles. That you know. He causes so much pain and suffering. But please, you have to help me save them."
"We will," Seiya promised. "They're our friends too. We'll stop Arles. Because he has to be stopped."
"You have our word, we'll do what we can," Saori said. All of the other Saints nodded in agreement. Albiore sighed a little in relief.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Seiya yelped a little in surprise as suddenly Albiore feel unconscious and went limp. He was really badly hurt. Gently, Seiya lowered him down to the ground. Saori slowly came over and laid her hand on the side of his face, watching him for a moment.
"He really seems to care for them a lot," Shiryu said.
"Are we really going to trust him?" Hyoga asked. "For all we know he could be another one of Arles' spies."
"I think we can trust him," Saori said. "There was no deceit in his eyes. Only sadness. Besides, he came to us out of all the Saints in the world. We should do what we can to help him. Javu, tell Tatsume to get the foundation's doctors to treat his wounds as discreetly as possible. We don't need his location to become known when he's so injured."
"I will," Javu replied, running off to obey.
"To think," Saori sighed. "that it was little Shun who became the Andromeda Saint. I wouldn't have thought it possible. But now he's in trouble. We have to help him."
The other Saints all nodded as well, glancing at Albiore. This man was the only clue they had to Shun's mysterious past right now. Whatever had happened on that Island seems to have changed Shun, for good or bad. And they knew that soon they'd have to find out which.
There's the second Chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Now you know what's going on. This chapter will help to set up the storyline for later chapters. So please stay tuned and enjoy. I'll work on this story more and more as time goes on. ^^