The Mad Banana Presents:
SAINT SEIYA ALPHA/OMEGA: YOU'RE JUST MY LOVE
(NOTA BENE: For those who have read the prologue and reviewed it, commented it, the Mad Banana would like to express her gratitude. And for this, she is now bringing you the first chapter of the makeup third season. Enjoy!)
Chapter 1:
IT STARTED WITH A KISS!
COME FORTH, PRETTY EQUULEUS!
He suddenly opened his eyes.
Koga got up, groaned, and scratched his head. It seems like he just woke up from a bizzarre dream. How many times did that occurred to him from gthe time that he started to travel around the world?
It has been a year since Koga decided to travel around the world for a little adventure, along with his surprise partner, the former Prince Eden. Since they have restored peace throughout the universe, they have never donned their Omega Myth Cloths, a sign that there is really peace, which is good. But as far as they both remember, their Cloths got destroyed while trying to defeat the god of time, Saturn. So what's the use?
Both are planning to go back to the Sanctuary after travelling for a year, just to have their Cloths fixed by none other than Aries Kiki, just in case. Better to be prepared than dying defenseless.
Koga, who will be turning sixteen in six months, felt like a war veteran enjoying retirement benefits (but of course he's not yet retired per se) but somehow he had enjoyed peace like he haven't had in his life. His childhood was a complete incognito, until Mars came into their lives and learned about his origin. Now, with no real family to turn back, he decided to travel, learn about other people, their culture, whatsoever, and in just a short time he learned the basics of foreign languages and the places themselves. He had not been back to the Sanctuary since then, nor had a chance to write to one of his friends, so he doesn't have much news about them who remained, and especially about her foster mother, Athena, herself.
So he thought it would be great to go back for a little reunion while having his Cloth fixed. After that, he will resume with his travels.
He got up, threw his blanket, stretched a bit, and went to the washroom. For some reason he still looked like the same old Koga whose face still looks idiotically innocent – except for having a more chiseled jaw, firmer arms and shaggier hair by a few centimeters. He may grown a bit mature by about 10 percent but he still remains young and innocent.
"Eden?" he called his partner. "You awake?"
No one answered.
He expected that. He knows Eden better since they started to travel together. About to turn eighteen, but still a man with a few words, and would only talk when needed. But like Koga, he became fascinated with travelling around the world and he learned a lot from the outside of his old castle.
"Eden?" he called again. Something is wrong, he thought, so he decided to go inside his room to check on him.
When he went inside, the bed was empty. That is expected, since Eden always gets up first. He is probably out somewhere jogging, strolling around, whatever. So Koga thought of getting himself prepared too. He dressed up and went downstairs.
Currently they are staying in a simple hotel somethere in the southern part of the Iberian region, and it will be the last day in that place before they head back to Greece. He talked to the receptionist.
"We'll be leaving by around twelve in the afternoon," he said in their language. "Anyway, did you know where my friend went?"
"Ah," the receptionist remembered, "your friend with white hair? I haven't seen him around since this morning. Usually he'll just come here to let us know where he'll be going so you will know in case that you look for him..."
Now that is odd. If Eden is actually letting him know where he goes, why is it just now that he went out by himself?
"By the way," she added, "maybe you wanted to stay a bit longer for the meantime, well, unless you're in a hurry..."
"What's that about?" Koga asked.
"Do you know Alpha?"
"Alpha...?" with the sound of it, it's obvious that Koga haven't heard of that person before.
"Gods, you're travelling and yet you don't know the SUPERSTAR Alpha!? She's an international idol who's currently on a tour and it happened that this will be her next stop!"
But if you will ask him, due to those neverending battles he had faced, he never had a chance to have a normal teenage life: having a crush with an idol, go to a normal school, go to concerts, watch TV, play video games, and even falling in love. So no one could blame him if he doesn't know Alpha at all. Even if he will ask Eden, he'll get the same answer. Nevertheless...
"Does that have an extra charge?" Koga hesitated.
"None at all!" said the receptionist. "For being valued customers, your last twelve hours here will be FREE! Inclusive of dinner and two complimentary tickets to her concert!"
He thought of staying a bit longer when he got curious about this international star. He can even tell Eden about it once he comes back. And free dinner is surely a bonus in their tab, hopefully there won't be any hidden charges.
00000
Speaking of Eden...
The former prince was just standing at the entrance to the town plaza stage where a taupalin of the said international star was hanging for the whole town to see. He has been looking at hit for hours, with paled face.
He couldn't speak, nor curse. His mouth and whole body suddenly became numb upon gazing at the idol's picture in the poster. She has long sky blue hair tied in right side ponytail, has lively doll blue eyes and cute smile. She was wearing a frilly indigo pop dress fastened by a silver and navy blue brooch with a red heart-shaped crystal in the center, and holding a custom-made microphone with a horse's head and wings. The said idol was strikingly cute, yet her cuteness brought both of Eden's dream and nightmare back to life...
Aria...!?
00000
A fit-looking woman in jeans and jacket just arrived at the town plaza. She has olive green hair and somehow gentle looks. She went to the hotel where Koga and Eden are currently staying.
"Excuse me," she went to the receptionist, "do you have these guests: two boys, one with red hair, the other white and a bit taller?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the receptionist answered. "It's their last day today but we suggested to let them stay a bit longer since Alpha will be coming here for her tour."
"Alpha, you say?" she tried to remember. "I've heard that name many times. I've heard she's a famous idol but haven't had a chance to see her live."
"This will be your chance, Ma'am! Since she will be performing here tonight, if you will stay here with us, you'll get a free complimentary ticket."
"Ah, I see, but I'm afraid I'll pass for the meantime and I'm afraid they won't make it to the concert, too. I'm their guardian, by the way, and I learned that they're staying here by one of my associates, so I thought I would come to fetch them personally. Something happened way back home."
"I see. Let me notify them, for a while," and she called the line to their room.
The woman was wearing anxiety on her face. If this is something related to the Sanctuary or the Saints that she wanted to see those two, that means this is probably serious.
00000
A silvery brown ferret ran all the way to one of the caravans in a town plaza. Its nose twitched and jumped at a familiar silvery box with carvings of a little horse. As it settled itself to sleep on top of it...
"There you are, Myron!"
The ferret, which the girl called Myron, suddenly jumped in a surprise, but he stayed at the top of the box.
"Been looking for you for hours, you know that!?" she scolded the ferret. "If by any chance you got lost, you'll stuck here and you'll be dead for sure! And that is my box that you're trying to nest on!"
Myron got scared, and he immediately jumped to the girl's shoulder.
"That's better," she grinned in relief. "Or I'll really leave you here if you don't behave-!"
"Alpha...?"
The girl, who happened to be the famous idol, Alpha, turned around, and from behind a man with long, pink hair, and has weird taste for fashion, approached her.
"I'm here," she said. "I'm just about to go back to rehearse..."
"I think you have to do that later dear," the weird man said, who was probably her manager, and even the way he speaks and his voice is peculiar. "Right now, you have a (quote-unquote) visitor."
"The mayor?" she guessed.
"Er...no. This one's way too cute. But his eyes are scary. An avid fan, maybe?"
"But autograph signing should happen after the concert, right?"
"Yeah, but that one is..."
The said visitor couldn't wait any longer as Eden showed up in Alpha's caravan without even excusing himself, which made the manager a bit mad.
"Hey," he tried to stop him, "outsiders are not allowed! If you want her autograph..."
"Aria..."
Alpha raised an eyebrow when 'avid fan' named Eden called her 'Aria'. While his face seem hopeful but anxious at the same time to know the truth for himself. The idol has no idea at all as to why she has been mistaken for someone else. Meanwhile Myron the ferret suddenly went into alert mode when he saw a stranger and his fur stood up.
"Uhm," she scratched her head, "sorry, but who's Aria?"
Eden didn't say anything. But his face say otherwise: he was mistaken.
"Um," she tried to talk to him in a way that he wouldn't be offended, "I don't know who that is, but you've probably mistaken me for someone else you knew. But if there's anything that I could help, um, you want an autograph?"
"I was mistaken," Eden said. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," and he left.
Eden left an impression to Alpha's manager that "He may be cute, but he's a weirdo," he commented. "Please don't go near those guys if that happens again. Concentrate, sweetie, you have a concert to think of."
Myron agreed by snuggling his face onto her cheek.
But Alpha didn't answer. She was just staring at the cute, yet strange guy who mistook her for someone named Aria. Probably his long-lost girlfriend or sister or any relative that she could think of that can be used as a good plot for a melodrama...
But that is not what she is thinking right now. She saw something at Eden that only she can see.
00000
For the first time in his life, Koga learned to relax. He was having a good continental breakfast while watching the town's Ferris wheel that has not been moving yet. If his friends are with him right now, it could have been the best breakfast party ever (and he's sure that Soma will enjoy it because it's FOOD) but this is still good knowing that he is currently traveling alone.
What just worries him right now is Eden, who is still not back from jogging, strolling, or whatever. Usually he'll be back before breakfast. But it is already breakfast...
"What in the world is he up to right now?" he asked himself.
Just to make sure, he ate the last two pieces of Hungarian sausage in one gulp to go back to his room just to look for him again. He probably got lost - wait, the former prince, Orion Eden, got lost in the middle of a Portuguese town!? That's probably the stupidest thing that Koga could imagine about him.
As he headed back to his room, the woman who introduced herself as 'their guardian' a while ago showed up in front of her that almost made him jump.
He even pointed at her in surprise. "M-Miss Shaina!?"
BOIIINK!
The Ophiuchus Silver Saint Shaina suddenly hit Koga on his head in disbelief. "So this is what the savior of the world is doing as of this moment while the Sanctuary's in the middle of a crisis!"
The poor Pegasus Saint was caressing his head, it really hurts, but his face started to get serious. "What's going on?" he asked. "We're about to head back there but Eden's not back yet…"
"Your mother – or should I say, Athena…"
"What about her!? Was she abducted again!?"
"Don't jump into conclusions, stupid. The truth is…"
"Koga..."
Speaking of Eden, he finally showed up after sensing that Shaina was also there, guessing that something serious is happening at the Sanctuary. But he has other things in his mind aside from that.
"Eden!?" Koga sighed. "Man, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you the whole morning! I even thought you got lost-!"
"I'm afraid we cannot go back to the Sanctuary yet," he said.
"Why?"
"What do you mean 'you can't'!?" Shaina raised his eyebrow. "The Sanctuary is currently—!"
"There will be a concert at six o'clock at Plaza Platero," Eden said. [1]
"So you don't want to go home yet just because you want to see a concert!? We have no time for that, kid..."
"That's Alpha's concert tonight, right?" Koga guessed, and hearing that name again made the former prince's face turn grim. "The receptionist told me. She even gave me two complimentary tickets for us to watch..."
"Please give the other ticket to the Ophiuchus. We need to see that concert."
"Why are you suddenly got hooked with an idol?" Shaina couldn't help but to get curious. "You know why I'm here-!"
"We will definitely come with you, but we need to see the concert. You'll find out later why."
Both couldn't get why Eden suddenly became eager to watch a concert. It would be understandable if this will be his first time seeing one (because it will be his first time) but with such a serious face, both guessed that he wanted to show something surprising to them. For this, Shaina decided to agree and to join the two boys on the condition that they will only stay there for a while or until Eden will be able to point out his main reason for watching a live show...
While this made Koga a bit suspicious about his request. Why would Eden suddenly want to watch an idol that he had never heard nor seen in his life?
00000
"WELCOME to our Soldier of Love world tour! I'm your tonight's host, Etoile, and thank you, beautiful people of Plaza Platero, for welcoming us here!"
The people were all shouting and chanting the idol's name in hopes of seeing her perform right away. Meanwhile it couldn't be more awkward for the three Saints to stay in the patron area since the tickets they got gave them a special area to watch it upfront...
But Shaina seemed to sense something about the host, himself. Have I...seen him before...?
"Tonight," the host, Etoile, who happened to be also the idol's manager from a while ago, continued, "it will be very special, as part of our European leg she decided to welcome you RIGHT AWAY in her opening number! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, mark this day as special indeed! Ah, enough for the introductions..."
And he cued the drummer from behind him to do a drumroll.
"Without further ado, here she is: the brightest star in the Eastern Hemisphere, the voice of a thousand angels, our World Idol! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for...
ALPHA!"
As her name was shouted onstage, her images started to show up in LCDs and holograms, and this also cued the band to start the music. The crowd cheered, chanting her name in unison, waiving their glowing sticks and concert paraphernalia...
The world of three Saints, especially Koga's, suddenly stopped.
As the music goes on, the young idol, Alpha, slowly rose from under the stage area in her cutest indigo pop dress and wearing a mini-hat. She lifted her custom-made microphone with a head of a horse and started to sing:
My hair is burning in the sky,
My body is like a flame!
It's hateful: why have I become like this?
I have become REALLY angry. [2]
The crowd went wild by the time she sang, but the three others remained silent, dumstricken, their faces in shock, especially Koga...
Aria...!?
The eyes. The hair color. The smile. It was an uncanny resemblance. Alpha is just like the twin sister - or more appropriate to call - a reincarnation of Aria, the girl who shared the same fate as him, only showered by the light of Athena and kept by the god of war, Mars, for personal reasons. The one whom Mars had slain for defying him three years ago... [3]
And the girl whom Eden cherished more than just a sister. Is this one of the reasons why he was late?
"I can't believe it," Shaina remembered Aria, who asked her help to destroy the Thunder Core when they went to the Thunder Temple to defeat Mars. "I thought she was..."
"Is this," Koga's golden eyes began to produce tears, "what you want to show me...ha, Eden?"
When he looked at his traveling partner, his emerald eyes were streaming with tears, too, as he was watching Alpha perform. It was like a dream come true for him, seeing his sister smile and wave at the people while singing on stage. Aria loved singing ever since, and he could hear her singing from her room before. But back then, her songs were full of sadness, despair, and longing for freedom.
...But Alpha's song and her singing depicts energy, freedom, passion, and above all, love, way too different from Aria's style, convincing Eden that, despite their resemblance to each other, there is no way that Aria could have been alive. He had even seen in his own eyes how his own father slain her. Yet her face and eyes are, no doubt, that girl's...
So being in love is painful.
Although I want to have that sweet dream,
I cannot allow it, and it's all because of THEM!
Shaina was convinced, too, not because of how Alpha sings or engages to the crowd, but of what she felt on her which she cannot see on Aria, and that is...
Her Cosmo...
But Koga thought otherwise. There's no way she's alive! Is the reason why Eden didn't come back right away!? He had probably learned about it before me...!
"I learned about her when I saw her taupalin outside the hotel," Eden confessed while watching the show. "I even went to their trailer to find out the truth myself, but after meeting her the first time, it convinced me. She looks like Aria, for sure, but her Cosmo cannot be Aria's… it's way too different from this girl. Yet…"
He clenched his fists.
"Why does she have to look like her…? What does Fate want to tell me…? Why do these things keep on hurting me…?"
Despite his oath not to live on Aria's memories anymore to move on, upon seeing that gentle face again onstage, Eden's heart still softens and gets painful that he wanted to get out of the crowd right now and cry like what he did when Aria died. And right now, he couldn't bear the pain anymore as he was sobbing loudly, but the crowd didn't notice his tears as they keep on cheering for Alpha as the song goes on…
As I'd expected, I'll just have to do it, won't I?
I must smash them, and with my own hands, destroy the evil!
I must keep at it, until the job is done!
Awaken, young soldier!
"I'll find out the truth myself," Koga decided.
"Don't do anything stupid," Shaina warned. "Yes she looks like that girl who was raised to become Athena's proxy, but she's way too different from what we have thought. Plus, we still have to..."
"I will not go back yet," he was determined, "until I find out the truth!"
"But Koga-!?"
"After this concert, I'll try to ask her personally!"
"I told you not to-!"
"I need to convince myself! I know that it has been three years! But until I find out the truth, she will still be Aria in my eyes!"
Pegasus Koga is determined to find out more about Alpha, the international idol with the face of Aria, just to convince himself what happened to her three years ago was nothing but a nightmare. Hoping that she survived the attack, he decided to see her after the concert, especially when they found out from someone beside them that they are planning to have their posters sign during the autograph session which will happen at the plaza's backstage. While Eden didn't say anything anymore as his tears won't stop streaming after seeing the face of the girl he once loved, again...
And at that time, Fate has decided to let them take a glimpse at each other, as Koga watched Alpha perform that song, and Alpha, for some reason, glanced at Koga, who was strikingly stood out in the crowd because of his hair as red as the blood of Pegasus, and face glistening due to tears. Without knowing that, at that point, Fate has started to turn her wheel for these two young people...
Among the crowd, someone wearing a cowboy's hat was smiling evily at her.
00000
"I told you NO OUTSIDERS ALLOWED!"
One of the event's bouncers pushed Koga away when he attempted to sneak inside Alpha's autograph-signing session. But since he was not given any special pass to line up nor have a pen and paper for the signing event, now that he's having a hard time dealing with big-muscled men.
"I just need to see her!" he demanded.
"Hey, can't you understand my language!?" the bouncer pushed him more. "No special ticket, or no ID, no entry! Nada! Now SCRAM!"
"You don't understand! I know her! She happens to know me too! Now move or I'll kick you out of this planet!"
"Bring it on, little boy!"
The feisty Pegasus Saint didn't even notice the lined up crowd watching him being pushed by the bouncer over and over and some of them were laughing at him, shaking their heads and pity him, got annoyed and even encouraged the bouncer to beat him to a pulp, and some didn't even care as long as they have their posters signed by Alpha. Meanwhile Shaina was just outside the area, shaking her head, hoping that no one will ask her if he knows that red-haired teen who was currently making a scene or she will definitely disown him.
Seriously, Athena, how did you exactly raise this child...?
Eden was just with her, hiding in one of the trees, still trying to calm himself and cope from the concert.
Alpha was currently signing autographs for waiting fans, while her pet ferret Myron was on her shoulder entertaining them while letting her sign. One of them is the mayor's daughter, although blind, and accompanied by her nanny. Despite her blindness, she still lned up and waited in the queue to get her autograph which caught her attention. But this made Etoile scatch his head.
"I appreciate her effort to do that," he whispered to Alpha, "but isn't she blind? How was she able to see your concert-?"
"It doesn't matter whether they are blind or even deaf," Alpha replied as she handed the poster back to the fan, "as long as they wanted to see me perform or hear me sing!"
Myron seconded her reply with a shrill cry.
Later on it was the blind girl's turn. "Hello, Miss Alpha," the girl greeted. "I heard you sing, and your songs are so beautiful! Your voice too! I bet you're also beautiful..."
"She really wanted to watch your concert," her nanny explained. "Her father almost didn't let her but she insisted. She really likes you, you see..."
"Thank you," she was deeply touched by the girl who was determined at least to hear her live. "What's your name?"
"Beatriz," the girl replied.
"Beatriz? That sounds pretty."
The girl blushed and smiled.
"How would you like to have my next album for free so you won't be lonely?" she offered.
"Really!?" Beatriz squealed in delight.
"You sure about that, girl?" Etoile whispered to her again. "We might lost revenue because of..."
Until suddenly something from outside of the venue caught his attention. He whispered again, telling that he will be right back. Alpha agreed, and he went off. Meanwhile she went back to the blind girl waiting for her autograph and album. She signed the CD and gave it to her. "There you go," she said with a smile. "Enjoy!"
"Oh, she signed her album for you!" the girl's nanny confirmed. Myron reacted again as his confirmation.
Beatriz took the signed CD and kept it to her heart. "Thank you very much, Miss Alpha!" she said. "I will treasure it!"
"Remember if you're sad or lonely," Alpha said, "you could always play that, and always think that the stars are watching you. Okay?"
"I'll remember that!" she thanked the popstar and went off the line with her nanny. She resumed signing their posters and stuff when she heard a noise from the outside barricade, and there...
"Myron? What's wrong?" She noticed her pet ferret who also noticed the commotion, and he suddenly jumped off of her shoulder—
"WAIT!" as she was about to follow her pet, much to the curiosity of the waiting fans, for there she noticed Koga, arguing with one of their bouncers,and the one who started the problem.
"That's..." somehow she remembered him, the one with noticeable blood red hair, from the crowd.
00000
Due to the commotion happened in the venue, Etoile decided to intervene while his headache started to go severe. "Gods," he shook his head while trying to approach the two, "just this morning there's this guy with white hair who mistook Alpha for someone else, and now this little monkey!? I'm starting to get scared on her fans, seriously..."
Koga froze when Alpha's manager mentioned about the guy earlier. "So Eden really came here too to confirm," his hunch is right after all.
When the manager heard that Koga knew the treaspasser before him, "That figures," he sighed.
"Hey YOU!" he suddenly pointed at the manager. "I need to see Alpha, or whatever her name is! I just need to confirm-"
"Yeah I wanna confirm too!" suddenly the man in a cowboy's hat showed up beside Koga, who is also after the idol too.
But when Koga saw him, he just raised an eyebrow. "Uh...who the heck are you?"
"That's IT!" the manager exploded. "I should have told her not to go here or bunches of open stalkers will surely come after her!"
"I'm not a stalker of hers! I'M KOGA! She knows my name-!"
"And I'm Patrasche!" the cowboy introduced himself. [4]
"Seriously," Koga heard his name, "does she really know you?"
"Great," the manager massaged his head, "two weird guys, each with two strange names. We're ending the event right," and he talked to the two. "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but Alpha needs to rest after the signing event. Just save your pens and signboards for her next visit, okay...?
Or I won't hesitate to put both legal and illegal action on you two."
Suddenly the manager's aura hardened that made the two stepped back, especially Koga who felt something strange with him...
He's no ordinary manager, he gulped. He has a powerful Cosmo...!
Suddenly Alpha's pet ferret attacked Koga, which almost startled him. But instead of scratching his face like he usually does when he doesn't like a person, he brushed the Pegasus Saint's face with his bushy tail, crawled around his shoulders and back, smelled his cheek, and later snuggled his little head on the boy's cheek, which gave him a raised eyebrow.
"Whatda..." he was startled, so does Etoile, who scratched his head after seeing Alpha's pet being too friendly on a stranger. "Hey," Koga took Myron off him, "who's your owner? Are you lost-?"
"What are you doing to Myron!?"
Finally Alpha showed up after following her pet out of the barricade, and from there she noticed the two men looking for her: a strange-looking cowboy complete with hat and poncho and with a snug face, and the boy with strikingly blood-red hair in the middle of the crowd...
When they met each other closely for the first time, their senses began to intertwine. The stars suddenly alligned as it began to seal their fate. Both their mouths – and their Cosmos – were speechless.
Koga couldn't be wrong. Everything about Alpha is all the same as Aria, except in some areas: her hair is tied up in a right side ponytail, and her voice is livelier and more human. The way she stared at him is the same as how Aria stared at him three years ago...
And aside from those areas, No... She definitely looked like Aria, but her Cosmo is not Aria's at all... Way too different... Way too...
Warlike...
"Hey, mister," Alpha finally called his attention, "you have my pet."
"T-this?" and he looked at Myron, which brought his senses back. "I'm sorry..." he set the ferret free to let him come to his owner. "H-he just came here and suddenly became too friendly at me..."
"I'm sorry if he startled you," Alpha apologized. "Myron's friendly, but he hasn't been that friendly when he saw you, I don't know," and she looked at Myron sternly. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear? You're scaring people...!"
Myron hung his head, as if he was saying sorry.
"Alpha dear!" the manager, whom she called Etoile, was surprised to see hee out. "It will be one more hour before cutoff, you need to rest, we still have a flight to catch-!"
"What's going on here?" she asked the manager.
"Sorry about that, but never mind them, it's all under control now. They're just a bunch of crazy avid fans of yours-"
"I'm no avid fan!" Patrasche suddenly charged at her. "I'm here to get the Mystic Crystal!" [5]
It was all so sudden that he charged at Alpha without any warning. He might probably be looking for the right timing to do so by letting them banter about her, so no one would notice his true motive. As he charged her, he suddenly froze...
When Etoile, himself, blocked his way and stared at him gravely, that made him flew away a few meters from them.
These made the two young Saints and Shaina gasped in surprise.
How did he-!? Koga was shocked.
This girl's manager, Shaina tried to analyze what she saw. Could he be...
"Excuse-moi?" Etoile stared at the cowboy, "what part of what I've said didn't you understand?"
"Did you overdid it?" Alpha was quite worried about what he did.
"Oh no, my dear, I just told him to stay away."
Meanwhile as Eden noticed how Etoile pushed the attacker away in one look, he decided to show up and invervene, especially when he noticed something strange on the cowboy. Alpha noticed him.
"You're the guy from earlier!" she pointed at him. "Do you know these guys?"
While Myron's fur stood up again as he saw him.
"I apologize for the commotion," he said, "if my friend here scared you. But we honestly don't know the guy who suddenly attacked you."
"I don't understand," Alpha got confused, "what do you want from me? Why are you mistaking me for someone else? I'm tired of being chased by these people because of something that I don't know, so please-!"
"That is why, dear," Etoile assured, "you have to rest after your autograph session and let me take care of these people. Never mind them," and he faced the remaining two boys. "You heard my talent, boys, don't disturb her anymore. We still have a flight to catch tomorrow!"
But "Wait," Koga was not yet done, especially after hearing from Alpha's own lips about being chased. "What do you mean you've being chased? Why?"
"I don't think you have a right to know that, dear," Etoile said in Alpha's behalf. "Now, if you please, if you don't have business with my talent, please leave us alone, or as I've said, I might do something legal and illegal if you don't..."
"Lemme answer you from that part, boy..."
Patrasche showed himself again, grinning and chuckling despite being thrown away in just one look. "You just can't hide yourself from here," he said to the idol. "No matter what you do, the Mystic Crystal has a very sweet smell that can attract Latonians like us..." [6]
Etoile's face looked dead serious as he tried to shield Alpha from him, while she is clutching her brooch in anxiety. Probably Patrasche's words are true...
"What's going on here?" Koga has no idea at all. "What Latonians? What Mystic Crystal?"
"That is what I'm trying to tell you," Shaina showed up, too. "They are the reason why the Sanctuary's in trouble."
Etoile's face changed when he saw Shaina for the first time. For some reason he knows her. He even pointed at her...
"S...Sister Shaina!?"
While she heard him mentioning her name. After seeing Etoile for the first time, she was surprised, too, and she concluded that she had known him ever since.
"N-no way...!" she gasped. "I finally remembered you!"
"M-Miss Shaina," Koga whispered to her, "you know each other?"
"Hey! Hey!" Patrasche tried to get their attention. "Notice me, will ya!?"
And he purposely threw off a strange melon-colored glowing bomb at the barricade, causing the people in queue to panic and caused a stampede. This has alarmed the Saints and the concert staff...
This made Alpha's face in shock.
"You're crazy!" Koga fumed up. "Why did you do that to those people!?"
"There," Patrasche didn't even bother saying sorry, "I thought you won't notice me."
"Why you-!"
"So where am I?" and he looked at Alpha again. "Ah, yeah, the Mystic Crystal. You heard me, princess? You know the drill," and he made another ball of glowing bomb appear in his hand again. "You refuse, they're dead. That's it."
"You're cruel...!" Alpha was shaking.
"Yes I am," he admitted. "So? Please? Now?"
"You dared to hurt the people, Latonian?" Shaina couldn't stand watching anymore. "I'll stop you from here!"
"Geez, lady, you're wasting my time," Patrasche whined. "Stop it. I just need the Crystal. But unless this princess here won't cooperate, of course it will be a greater price..."
"You heard me, Latonian!" she stepped in. "I'll stop you-!"
"NO!" Etoile stepped in, too. "I'll be the one who will stop this weirdo!"
And he emitted a massive colorful Cosmo in his body, which surprised the three tourists. This has alarmed the people in the venue as they started to run for their lives...
Meanwhile this surprised Koga and Eden, convincing that Alpha's manager is more than just having a weird sense of fashion. No way, the Pegasus Saint was stunned, this kind of Cosmo, he is actually a—
"Then DARE to stop me!" he threw the bomb again, but this time, both Shaina and Etoile deflected it with their bare hands and threw it away somewhere without any civilian casualties.
"What-!?"
"I have warned you," Shaina said.
"You dared ruining Alpha's autograph signing event," Etoile said, "and for that we might lost revenue. That's unforgivable, mister!"
"To hell do I care about that!?" and Patrasche emitted another light bomb again. But aside from that, he snapped and out came strange men in brown armor, their eyes hidden but their grins are proof enough that they are with him, ready to annihilate the whole plaza if one of them will dare to move.
This has given Koga and Eden a signal to move. "We'll help you," Koga volunteered.
"Don't be foolish!" Shaina stopped them. "Remember how your Cloths were destroyed during your fight with Saturn!"
"We can still fight without our Cloths-!"
"And then, what? You'll know the feeling of not having any protection once you tried to fight one of these Latonians. They're not the same as who you have fought before, so don't be too arrogant on taking responsibility!"
"But-!"
"She's right," Eden held his shoulder. "At this moment we cannot do anything without our Cloths."
"Eden!?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Etoile joined in their heated conversation, "but if you want to be at least useful, take Alpha and get out of here, okay?"
"Do as he says," Shaina seconded. "For now, that's the best that you can do."
The Pegasus Saint cannot do anything but to clench his fist. This is one thing that he hates the most, and that is by not doing anything at all. Yet fighting with a destroyed Cloth is their biggest disadvantage, and this has given him inconvenience since he haven't used his Cloth for a year now and they were about to go back to the Sanctuary to have it fixed. But right now at this critical moment, both he and Eden are useless.
Is this what they can do after reaching the Omega?
"You're all wasting my time," Patrasche snorted. "I'll just make sure that after I get what I want, I won't let you leave this place alive!"
And he ordered the mysterious soldiers to attack the plaza.
For this, Etoile and Shaina didn't waste time anymore. Shaina took out her pendant, revealing a ClothStone which is different from what she had used before. Meanwhile Etoile took out a pen from his side pocket, revealing a special stone that resembles a paintbrush...
"A ClothStone!?" Koga noticed Etoile's pen. "That means, he..."
"Visualize! PAINTER CLOTH!"
The gem in the pen shone so bright like a rainbow. A shower of rainbow-colored Cosmo filled the area. As the light faded, Etoile was revealed in a Cloth of multicolored oraehalcon sashes especially at the back, a combination of dark silver and neon. His bubblegum pink hair flared with such grace.
"The Colorful Silver Saint of the Canvas Constellation - Painter Etoile - is here!" [7]
Etoile has finally revealed himself as not just Alpha's peculiar manager, but as a Saint of Athena. And to add to their awe, a Silver Saint, that means a rank higher than Koga's or Eden's - he is probably that powerful, as shown way back earlier. But if he is a Saint, why is this only the first time they saw him? And back when Mars brainwashed higher-ranked Saints, he is not with them.
I knew it, Shaina guessed. Painter Etoile, the missing Silver Saint after Camille's disappearance. He may have probably inherited her Cloth for some reason. I think this is the time I'll be able to find out the reason for his long-time absence...
"A Saint, huh!?" Patrasche was not even alarmed. "I never thought that a peculiar talent manager like you's a lowly Saint! That doesn't matter..."
He threw the light bomb at him.
"You'll all die anyway!"
But Etoile didn't move from his place, instead, he stopped it with his bare hand, and he just let it dissolve like nothing was thrown at him.
"Please, dear," he said, "don't make me mad anymore. I already have enough headaches for tonight."
This gave the rest of the soldiers a cue to attack Alpha, who was currently standing there and face still in shock. Koga and Eden moved right away as they kicked two of the soldiers away and shielded themselves for her.
"We need to get out of here," Eden said. "Come with us!"
Alpha didn't answer. Only Myron was giving reaction in her behalf.
"Hey," Koga tried to talk to her, "I know this is not the right time to ask you this, but do you have any idea that your manager's a Silver Saint!?"
"I know," Alpha said, her voice now laced with anger. "And I have already known that fact ever since I became his talent."
"We don't have time to interview her," the Orion Saint pulled the Pegasus Saint's arm. "We have to get her out of here-!"
"I don't need your help."
"This is no time for you to be stubborn. Your manager's risking his life to protect you."
"Did you hear me?" she was shaking. "I said I don't need your help."
With this, Myron somehow sensed his master's anger as he jumped off her and moved to Koga's shoulder instead. As he jumped off, Alpha's brooch began to glow, emitting a different kind of Cosmo that they have never felt before...
Is this, Koga even guessed, the Mystic Crystal that that guy's talking about...?
"WATCH OUT!"
Koga was been too focused on Alpha's brooch when Eden suddenly pushed the two away as another ball of light bomb attacked them. After that, there was a short explosion which both of them failed to see.
"That's just IT!" Painter Etoile was enraged by what Patrasche did, and decided to attack him with all he got. "No one messes up with my talent!"
Etoile focused his Cosmo on his palms and faced them at Patrasche. "VIVID SYNTHESIS!" A splash of colorful Cosmo attacked his series of light bombs, dissolving them in thin air, and the dissolved particles hit Patrasche and was consumed by the particles instead. He winced in pain, but Etoile himself is not yet done.
"IRIS ARABESQUE!" This time he used his kicking prowess against Patrasche as if he was dancing ballet. He was able to hit Patrasche again, this time in his stomach, and sent him flying. As he was about to give him a final blow...
"ETOILE STOP IT!"
Shaina intervened, tried to stop him for some reason. Fortunately he listened but this gave him confusion.
"Gods, Sister," he gasped, "you're letting the enemy live!? He was trying to hurt my talent-!"
"Continue doing that," she threatened, "or the whole town will be destroyed!"
"What do you mean!?"
"If I were you," Patrasche still stood up despite the damage, "I'll listen to her...!"
"But not to you, of course-!"
"He's right," Shaina was shaking in anger. "Look around you!"
He followed, and from there he found several melon-colored light bombs attached to every part of the town. There are bombs everywhere, apart from those soldiers who are beginning to harass the people. One of the bombs placed near the stage just exploded, several seconds after Etoile kicked Patrasche in his stomach. Somehow he was able to figure out what Shaina meant.
"D-don't tell me..."
"Oh, I knew I forgot to tell you something about those bombs," Patrasche grinned. "One direct hit to me equals one bomb. So be careful, okay? Have I told you that you can't do anything even if you defeat me? The whole town will be destroyed, anyway!" and he laughed.
That explosion has started to cause panic in its citizens. Those bombs may have probably set up by the enemy before this happened, thus they were difficult to be detected that easily unless their Cosmo is strong enough, but even if they will be able to see them right away, they still can't detonate it, unless Patrasche will do so. They are all convinced: Patrasche and his fellow Latonians are no ordinary foes. Plus the fact that they didn't know about their true motive aside from finding this so-called Mystic Crystal is just making the situation even worse.
Shaina held to her ClothStone tightly. She should have donned her Cloth a while ago while there was a chance. But this time she won't let it pass. She glared at the enemy and shouted...
"Sting! SCORPIO CLOTH!"
00000
Alpha is safe, at least, saved by Koga, also saved by Eden. Whatever Eden did is surely a gamble. Or at least she thought. She can feel the Pegasus Saint's body pressed against hers...
So are his lips against hers.
Both couldn't move right away. Both lips stuck at each other like lock and key. Both felt each other's breaths. And they don't have a slightest idea when it will the right time to release each other's lips...
Well, good thing, Koga got off first. And it was just then that he realized-
"Oh gods, I'm sorry!"
His face was flushing red like his hair. He was shaking. He never had a direct kiss with a girl in his entire life, what more of an accident. Nope, he only wanted to save her, but not to take her chance of having her first kiss to someone she loves.
Alpha moved back and covered her lips. Her cheeks are also as red as Koga's hair. She was also shaking, and like him, it was also her very first kiss. First, her autograph signing was ruined. Second, she's been mistaken by two strange boys. Third, the Latonians are after her. Now this guy has just ruined her chance of becoming a bride.
"I'm really sorry!" Koga's head is about to be torn apart while he keeps on apologizing. "It's an accident, honest!"
Alpha didn't respond, except for her eyes which became watery. She was in shock because of the kiss that was stolen by her. For this, her anger towards everything rose, without Koga noticing it.
Speaking of which, he didn't even notice Eden who was able to stand up despite the explosion, but this has caused great injury to his left arm. He caught those two in the middle of the scene where therir lips glued to each other when he pushed both of them away from Patrasche's light bombs...
For some reason, he could feel his heart almost skipped a beat due to unexplained pain.
As he was about to approach the two who have just released each other's lips to check on them without thinking about the kiss for the meantime – when Alpha suddenly shone, much to the two Saints' surprise.
Meanwhile Etoile also noticed Alpha who suddenly shone from where she and Koga are, which shocked him. "Alpha, DON'T-!"
But he is too late. Alpha did something that shocked everyone, most especially the two young Saints, out of her anger. "You've ruined my signing session," Alpha said, "and now you want these innocents get involved in something that I don't have in the first place...
Don't you dare stop me from killing you!"
Alpha is fully pissed off, a trait that Aria will never have (and Koga wouldn't imagine her getting angry over having a stolen kiss or it will be scary), as her brooch kept on emitting a strange yet powerful kind of Cosmo that they couldn't comprehend what that is.
"Prepare to die!" she declared. "O sing to me...
EQUULEUS CLOTH!"
All, except for Patrasche, were shocked, especially when she mentioned something that triggered Koga and Eden's memory...
"Equuleus!?" the Pegasus Saint's eyes almost popped at what he just heard. "But is that..."
A sudden flash of blue light emerged from Alpha's trailer when her brooch glowed, and it merged with the light from the trailer, forming the dormant feature of the Cloth that Koga and Eden are both familiar of. As far as they have remembered, after Saturn (the previous owner) restored the Cloth's time from being destroyed, he took it somewhere where it can be used with anyone with enough power to make the owner stay alive. Does this mean that the Cloth chose Alpha? For how long? And how it that happened?
Those are the questions Koga wanted to ask from the idol, as Alpha discarded her idol dress and revealed herself in an undergarment, and the fragments of the Cloth began to move around and cover her. Since she is a female, the way the Cloth was designed is way back different from how the previous owners wore it, plus she wears a light sky blue skirt. As the headgear was attached to her head, she striked a pose:
"I am the voice of the Pony Constellation! EQUULEUS ALPHA! In the name of Athena, I will punish you!"
In the end, Koga, Eden and Shaina found out that Alpha, the international pop idol, is the new holder of the Equuleus Cloth, making her an actual Bronze Saint. If this is really the case, how did she obtain that Cloth and why didn't she study at the Palaestra? There are so many questions that Koga would like to ask her, but for now, they need to deal with the most difficult foe they have faced yet, and Koga would need to prepare himself, too, on how he could make up for the kiss he had accidentally stolen, since now he cannot don his Pegasus Cloth which have not been functioning for a year.
=0=
What, to Koga, is the Omega? Is this something that he needs to possess so he could fight again? Or is this something that he might have possess before he awakened it? How would Alpha, now revealed as the new Equuleus Saint, be the cause of his resolve to fight again and regain the Pegasus' trust? A stolen kiss, the song from the past and a pact will reawaken the sleeping Cosmo...
Chapter 2: SING YOUR HEART OUT! AWAKEN, OMEGA PEGASUS!
(NOTA BENE on the following cited:
[1] Plaza Platero is just a fictional place taken in Southern Portugal. The Mad Banana visioned it as a summery, lively place similar to Tuscany.
[2] Ai No Senshi (Soldier of Love), sung by Yoko Ishida, originally included in Sailor Moon R Image Album Mirai He Mukatte. The Mad Banana decided to use this as Alpha's image song which will be revealed in later chapters the very content of the song.
[3] The story took place exactly three years after Aria's death: Two years for the Omega story proper and one year for Koga and Eden's travels.
[4] Patrasche, for some reason the Mad Banana came up with that name after remembering the Dog of Flanders. Not associated with the dog at all. His Latonian Ranking will be revealed in the next chapter.
[5] The Mystic Crystal is something that the Latonians are looking from Alpha, who, for some reason, has it. The nature will be revealed in later chapters, but it is clear that Alpha didn't possess it in the first place as she didn't know about it, either. Either way, she is still hunted because of it.
[6] The Latonians are derived from Leto, who was first introduced in the story prologue. Just like Pallasites, they swore loyalty to Leto. You will find out more about them in later chapters.
[7] The Painter Cloth exists in Kurumada-sensei's storyline and it was once owned by Camille, Shaina and Marin's batchmate who uses divination as her main technique. In this story, Shaina thought that the said Cloth was missing after Camille's death.
MB: She would like to thank everyone who have read and favorited her story so far, and would also like to apologize if the next chapter took her quite a while to rewrite it from her server. Anyhow, she will try to post more chapters as quick as possible since she had already written most of them beforehand. Please continue to support her story by reading and take time also to review.)