Lance's Role

by Thrudgelmir2333

A 'shonen' fic that sequels Next Dimension and Lost Canvas. In 1960, the Pope of Athena receives three prophecies from an old enemy that irremediably set the course of his reign over Sanctuary's tragic history and almost two decades later a Saint of Pegasus finds himself put through the unfolding of a new age of violence caused by the Pope's actions. Please enjoy and review.

91. 3A: Return to the East

Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Saint Generation, Civil War Saint Generation, WWII Saint Generation, Hades' Dark Princes, the False Specters, Maidens of Athena, Priam's Black Saints; Cyrulian Refugees; Genbu Atlae; Patrician Mariners, Shamballa Muvians;

Notable Original Concepts: Mount Olympus Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos Cloth, Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens, Stardust Prison, Hades' Dark Princes; Desert Beyond, Sanctuary Town Layout & Buildings; Kido Mount; Pact of Seven; DQI Geography; Shamballa;

Recurring/Cameo OCs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt, Cyrus

Recurring/Cameo Concepts of Jenny DeVic: Great Bodyguard Legend, Golden Line Heritage, Sanctuary Orphanages, Andromeda Island's Geography & Tests, Sanctuary Nobility, 88 Knights Festival

{======================|A3|======================}

Author Notes:

-This chapter has been betaread by (It's Me! EpicElly!);

{======================|A3|======================}

Two Weeks Later,

Indic Ocean,

LPS Chrysaor

{======================|A3|======================}

The sun of the Yemeni waters blazed over their heads and Caça sat at the edge of the ship's bow by the nice shade of the big sails, collecting his fishing gear together. He tossed out his line, watched his bait plunk into the water and relaxed, grinning happily.

Nothing like a good start to a day of sea fishing, with nothing but the sound of the waves around him and the soft spray of the water. If only every day on the Chrysaor could be like this.

A presence stepped next to him. "Good morning."

His sleepy eyes turned. It was the Maiden they picked up at Mogadishu, giving that saintly smile he hated. How could she stand wearing the heavy linen nun drapery in the hot desert coast sun, even if it was the sleeveless Sanctuary maiden model? Its dark colors made Caça feel a fever just from looking at it. At first Caça was excited to have a nice-looking gal on the trip, but now her presence, especially after that painful handshake she gave him, was starting to hit a few off switches in his brain.

He pulled his red and white 'SL Benfica' cap tighter over his eyes. "No, I've only just started. The captain is over there with Atlae by the cabin."

Her green eyes widened and confirmed what he said, spotting the two sitting by the helm, humming. "Oh, thank you. How did you know that I was lo-"

"Lady, you ask about him every day." Caça hissed, fed up. With this girl, ever since they left port, it had been nothing but spiritualist conversations with the captain. Did she forget to bring a deck of cards to stay entertained or something?

Maiden Daisy laced her hands together, flustered. "I'm sorry, you're right." She sat by his side for a while and tried to make an effort to know him better. "You're from the Cabral family, right?"

Caça grimaced unpleasantly. "Was it my good looks that gave it away?"

She shook her head. "Actually, I heard you and Atlae practice music the other day. The Cabrals have famous singers and musicians among them, everyone knows that."

He lost his words for a second, then turned away. "Oh. Yeah. I suppose that would do it." The mariner grumbled, embarrassed. He tucked his fishing rod to look busy.

It didn't seem like Caça was interested in conversation. Still, she tried. "Can you tell me what the captain is doing with Atlae, Mr. Caça?"

The mariner looked at the two of them sitting by the helm, both of their eyes closed. "It's their mental training routine. Atlae is trying to unlock his 7th sense, like the captain, but because the two can't spar hand-to-hand on the boat, the captain does that instead."

Daese studied them. Now that she looked at it, what they were doing seemed similar to old Zodiac Knight methods of astral training. Her people used it to tap into the Light Element or share Lightcraft secrets with. "Why is Atlae trying to get the 7th sense? He's already so strong."

"Cause who on Earth wouldn't want to?" Caça pointed out, like it was the most obvious thing. Before her look, however, he grumbled and gave a more careful explanation. "Okay, fine. Dumb-dumb over there has this idea in his head that he doesn't measure up to his new girlfriend, or that she gets worried about him, or some other bleeding-heart crap. He also keeps sighing they want to be able to see each other as much as possible, and getting the 7th sense is a way for them to meet together more easily."

The fake maiden swooned. "Awh! Poor Atlae!"

The mariner gagged. "Blagh, don't 'awh' it!"

She chuckled at his almost predictably toxic reaction. "Why not? His girlfriend is very lucky he cares that much about her."

"It's got nothing to do with caring about Marianne! He just does it cause Atlae is too stupid to sit still!" Caça argued, refusing to believe in such naïve nonsense, even with Atlae. "If I had his girlfriend, I'd be over the moon, but he somehow managed to turn it into an excuse for more training. Only a giant jockstrap like him could accomplish that!"

What a way to look at it, especially involving your friends. Suddenly Daese got the distinct impression that Caça just had to be this way twenty-four-seven. Even with her being polite to him and offering second perspectives it seemed that he refused to talk of anyone in a nice manner. However, there was an element to the toxicity that was amusing, like watching a cartoon of Donald Duck angrily struggling with a plunger on his butt.

It beat having to deal with Paris, who only cared about how much money he could scam off of you. "But you two are friends, right? Atlae says so."

The mariner rolled eyes. "Lady, Atlae would be friends with Hades himself if he got to meet the guy for five seconds. He has no defense mechanisms whatsoever. Unless it comes to Marianne." He felt his rod tugging and began reeling. "Aha! It's a heavy one! Poseidon has smiled on me today!"

The two saw the fishing line pull out of the ocean waters a massive sand jeep tire covered in seaweed, dripping water and crawling with tiny crabs.

Daese frowned empathetically. "Sorry, Mr. Caça. Perhaps Lord Poseidon isn't feeling too friendly this morning, either."

Caça growled, freed the tire and hurled it right back into the water. When it came to giving him luck, Caça could swear the Sea God hibernated, not merely slept. "Whatever, just leave me be. You're scaring the fish away, most likely."

Daese took no offence, getting up without a fuss. She had met a lot of guys like Caça in both Greece and Priam's forces. It was pointless to beat around the bush just to avoid the fact that, in a place like Sanctuary where male beauty was so glorified, the mariner's unconventional looks, from his pale face to his lizard snout and eyes, could earn you a tough life. It would certainly explain Caça's irascibility, especially around other guys like Atlae and the captain.

But then she saw him click his tongue and whisper away. "(Stuck-up beauty queens… acting all nice to me. Just cause you're under a hood you think you're an angel…)"

The knight stiffened. Now, this was uncalled for. She stared the distracted Mariner down tensely, wondering if she should say something. Daese had no particular vanity, being only concerned with keeping tidy looks about as far as her cultural discipline as a Knight pushed her to, but she had been nothing but polite to Caça so far, so why the hostility towards her, too?

However, getting mad would just endanger her undercover mission. The knight decided to just pretend she didn't hear it and left to give the Mariner the solitude he oh-so desired.

{======================|A3|======================}

Atlae's eyes snapped open and he gasped, like waking up from a nightmare. He held his chest, feeling his heart beating fast. Looking around, he saw he was back on the boat, and no longer in the realm of shared thoughts and Cosmos that the captain had brought him into.

The captain stood up, looking disappointed. "Still not there, Atlae, are we?"

The Muvian shook his head, sweating, and took the captain's hand to get up. He had just been put through the most grueling experience; while apparently just sitting there next to the helm with Krishna, Atlae was actually having his thoughts put through an incredible illusion of the Cosmos, where he fought the captain across the stars. Every move he made in that 'dream' was counterattacked with a lightspeed blow, or perhaps a million of them at once, that he had to block, dodge, counter or in any other way survive through. All in the meantime, Atlae could swear his senses were being put through a tremendous ordeal in the darkness of that mental battle, left with his vision shaking, his ears buzzing and the feeling in his fingers rendered numb.

Worse yet, he felt he couldn't even escape if he tried, trapped in some kind of magical circle until the captain released Atlae's chakras. "I couldn't even touch you. Not once."

Krishna folded arms. "You were past Mach Twelve at some points, I'm sure, but the problem is that you need to achieve Mach Two Hundred Thousand… This training is going to take a while."

The comparison alone made Atlae's mind reel. Was Marianne really capable of such a speed, if only punctually? And Saint Aquarius Odysseus seemed to make use of the 7th Sense to blink away from the area with a mere thought back at the hospital. Atlae had trained in a multitude of harsh ways since he met Master Yuzuriha, from carrying carts full of porcelain over his back on a tightrope to sitting on top of a boiling hot plate for a full day with nothing but his Cosmos to shield him, but this was beyond any of it. With the 7th Sense training, he felt like he was being asked to reach out with his hand across the Grand Canyon, or swim through the Pacific Ocean without his arms.

The captain saw his melancholic expression and hummed. "If only it wasn't for that strange training of yours where you keep cosmos decentralized? Everything I know about reaching lightspeed involves focusing it to the point miracles are made possible, but you and your Turtle School classmates were taught in a way I'm not sure how to work with."

Atlae shook his head. "No, this is my fault, captain. I'm just not trying hard enough." He slumped his head, ashamed. "I know because Master Yuzuriha has the 7th sense, so I'm just… not figuring out the same she has."

Krishna patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Atlae. We have all the time in the world. And Marianne won't care if you can't do this, anyway; so few people in the world can, after all. That's not why you two fell in love."

Atlae smiled reluctantly. This was actually a pretty good way to look at it. He thanked the captain with a nod and left him to work the helm. "But 'I' care. I don't want to disappoint Mari'. I need to help her make the best of our time together before she has to… pick someone else." Walking out, he saw Maiden Daisy looking out to sea. "Miss?"

She smiled. "Good morning, Atlae! Still trying hard in your training, uh? Keep at it, I'm sure you can do it."

The blonde Muvian cheered up. It was so nice to have someone on the ship with the opposite attitude to Caça, for once. Were all Maidens of Athena this supportive? He heard that many of them handled the trainee children in Sanctuary orphanages and Training Grounds, so maybe they were just encouraged to be this way.

"Thank you. I'm… working out some problems, yes." He rested over the ship rail for a bit and chuckled embarrassedly. "It's funny, we were just sitting there on the floor for a few minutes, but it feels like the captain kicked my butt for hours. My whole body hurts."

"That's your Cosmos leaving marks on you." The Maiden immediately concluded. She took his arm and gently pointed out faint bruises that formed on it, making Atlae's eyes widen. "The Cosmos is an explosive power. When you push yourself that hard with it, it doesn't matter if you're physically sparring or meditating under a waterfall; the rises and crashes of energy will hit your body like real punches and kicks."

"Whow! I didn't even see those." Atlae pulled his sleeve down, embarrassed. "Even in Shamballa this didn't happen…"

The Maiden frowned. "I respect your school very much, Atlae, but this is the problem of the Muvian method; it doesn't teach you the limits and dangers of Cosmos. It's good for martial arts, where wisdom with your strength is very important, but it also just keeps you too safe. If you don't practice focusing this power into a single star, how can you really get to know how hot you can make it burn?"

Atlae held his chin thoughtfully. It was tough to argue with this logic.

Daisy rose a finger in lecture. "The cosmos is infinite. Always remember that, Atlae. When you put your mind, body and soul into it, even miracles are not out of reach of mankind. However, if you don't put everything you've got into the task, even the Cosmos will fall short of its true potential." She burned a bit of it to create the image in her hand of a collapsing star vanishing into itself. "And then, instead of a brilliant supernova, all you'll have is a crashing blackhole."

The Muvian scratched his head. The Maiden really sounded like she knew what she was talking about. She sounded so poetic about it, too. "I gotta say, Maiden Daisy, I didn't know Maidens of Athena were so well-versed. Caça told me all you did was take care of Temples and such."

She staggered rather strangely. "Oh, umm…" her eyes shifted. "No, we really are not. I just, um, well…"

What was with the strange reaction, thought Atlae. Did he say something reckless again? "I thought that sounded quite inspired. I'm sorry if I was rude."

The Maiden collected herself and smiled, looking like she realized she was acting silly. "Not at all, Atlae. I just have some… experience other maidens do not. I used to train to fight, not pray."

Atlae beamed. This made perfect sense. "Oh, so you tried to become a Saint instead at one point? Like one of those that wear masks?"

"W-well, sort of." Maiden Daisy dismissed, waving hand. She thought of Red. "Last year, I also had the chance to help someone in dire need to reach the cosmos, as well. They were struggling with it, too. That must have given me some insight on teaching."

Atlae nodded, feeling reinspired. "I'm sure it did! They must be doing well if they had such a kind teacher."

The Maiden's smiled softened sadly. "Thank you. I hope so, too." She looked out to the warm ocean, her mind lost, in contrast, in memories of snowy mountains. "I hope you're doing well, Red… And that you've left Mount Olympus behind. One day, when all this is over, when Azrael is dead, I swear I'll return. To you and to Cerah."

{======================|A3|======================}

The next day,

East Africa,

Ruvuma River Coast

{======================|A3|======================}

The sun rose high behind the growing storm clouds over the African waters and the pair of small destroyers sped southwards at full speed. Salvaged and stolen from old World War II naval armaments, the two metal ships were not impressive in size, but were painted darkly, had a large 35-caliber gun each and several torpedo tubes at their disposal and, most importantly, were crewed by a pack of ecoterrorists with passing familiarity or even outright use of Cosmos. This, alone, made them a threat to any conventional ship regardless of size, which is to say that, as a sea raiding force, they would have been a nightmare for the whole Indic Ocean.

Except for tonight.

A salvo of blasts exploded in the waters around one of the destroyers, making the crew panic. "A-ah! EVASIVE ACTION! Someone get us out of here!"

The captain showed up on deck. He was a tall man of dark skin, long black hair, green coat, leather boots and armor padding over his body stolen from Sanctuary foot soldiers.

With a single roar magnified by the Cosmos, he set the entire ship in order. "QUIT PISSING YOUR PANTS! Man the guns and prepare to counterfire!"

The crew hurried to their positions, crewing the main gun and going to the lower deck to ready the torpedoes. The destroyer tried to curve around, but as soon as the enemy ship chasing them came under range, a powerful shot fired from it cut through the air like a comet and struck their ship's side, rocking it.

The Ghost Saints held on for dear life, almost tossed overboard. "S-SHIT! I don't wanna die!"

Their leader gritted his teeth, seeing the draconic shape to their north come through the dusk's shadow. "It's the Sea Dragon! I knew it; Wolffe has ratted us out! No honor among thieves left these days, I swear!"

"We're outgunned, captain!" the first mate urged, appearing next to him. "If we try to fight, we're mincemeat!"

"I CAN SEE THAT!" the captain seethed. He cursed the sight of the pursuing battleship. "Fucking mariners! Why aren't they on our side?! I thought they wanted to protect the environment, too!"

"It must be that one woman, the Sapphire Dolphin." The First Mate mythologized, remembering the stories that began to be passed around after Wolfe went missing. "The men say she's the one that captured Wolffe after he murdered that Saintia. The Mariners must want to finish what they started. Whichever the case, captain, this is a fight we can't win."

"Captain, orders?! W-What do we do?!" a desperate corsair asked, his hands on the helm shaking as he tried to steer.

He saw the gathering clouds down south and felt the rising winds. "Coordinate with the idiots in the other boat to head down the Mozambique Strait. We'll lose the fish-sticks in that cyclone forming there. They won't dare to bring their pride and joy ship into real toss-and-tumble waters."

"Y-yes, captain."

The Ghost Saint seethed. "Blasted Mariners. Blasted SANCTUARY! This isn't over yet!"

{======================|A3|======================}

On the Sea Dragon's command bridge, Vice-Admiral Marianne Solo, who now wore some of her Cloth arm and shoulder pads over her mariner uniform and cape as a mark of her new distinction from the Pope, observed the instruments with her radar operators.

She saw the ship closer to the coast about to turn, "Alright, time to end this." And laid out her hand commandingly. "Fire mortar 2 on those coordinates!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

There was a sound outside the command room of a gun opening fire into the sky. The image of a dot leaving their position appeared on the radar, indicating the flying cartridge. It headed for the one representing the enemy and then, with a blinging sound effect, formed an X, indicating an impact. The ship next to it immediately ceased whatever maneuver it was about to do.

"Enemy mobility successfully suppressed!" the operator detailed. "Do we open fire again?"

She shook her head. "No, move closer instead, and prepare the flank guns."

Walking up to the main bridge, the executive officer of the LPS Sea Dragon, an impeccably uniformed young Mariner of light cyan hair and clear wine-colored eyes, reported to his superior with a salute. His name was Sorrento, he acted as Marianne's second in command and was a member of the Weyprecht Household, which owned the Siren Scales.

"Impeccable work, Vice-Admiral." He complimented, smiling charmingly. "With but a few shots fired we have the Ghost Saint remnants trapped."

Marianne nodded, seeing the second dot on the radar further south quickly speeding off. "Thank you, XO."

"However, it seems the other enemy ship is escaping." He noted, giving a sly look as if he caught her fumbling something embarrassing. "It must be heading into the cyclone forming down south. It might be too late to capture the entire squadron, but our main cannon could destroy both targets at once. Would you like us to ready it?"

Delphinus Marianne fumed silently. Her crew were good people, but even the officers and the veterans were entirely too anxious to use the Stardust Cannon poking out of the bow's mouth and blow up everything in sight every chance they could. Did they just see it as a toy? It was like dealing with a bunch of young boys in uniform.

She pointed out eastwards. "No, maneuver the Sea Dragon around it, only 6º port, then center course and open fire from the second starboard mid-range gun. Only a single salvo; I want us to conserve ammunition."

Sorrento headed out and issued the orders, "You heard the madam! Six degrees port! Ready the flank guns!" causing the vessel to begin to turn slightly leftwards and beginning to curve around the Ghost Saint ships. The enemy reacted hesitantly at this, but even so fell to the irresistible temptation to drive their boat away while the Sea Dragon's big gun was pointed away from them, towards the south.

A whirring sound of guns finishing loading below her deck was heard and a sailor shouted out. "Middeck arms ready, sir!"

As soon as she was satisfied with the range, she held out hand commandingly. "Open fire!"

Outside, a thunderous sound from the flank gun fired out along with a massive wheeze of flame, unleashing an explosive, mid-caliber projectile that harshly blasted the steel armoring of the enemy frigate, shaking it. Though it failed to penetrate the armor, it rocked the ship rather powerfully to the point it almost tossed the crew overboard, and there was a visible panic in the Ghost Saints, who pulled their ship further away from the Mariners.

Sorrento rejoined her, looking skeptic. "It doesn't seem to have broken their resolve yet, VADM Mari-"

A loud, crashing sound of the enemy's ship running into a thick underwater obstacle interrupted him and the frigate nearly toppled over into the waves. Panicked screams were heard and many of the cruel men in the boat began throwing up their hands in surrender.

She turned. "Please continue, XO?"

"Oh." Sorrento scratched cheek and looked away, flustered. "Never mind, VADM, all doubts have been laid to rest. I'll ready the fusilier squads."

Marianne sat back in satisfaction. "The border between these two countries is marked by a thick reef coast. I made sure of it earlier with a scan order. They drove their ship too close to the ground. We can now capture that ship at our leisure with minimum casualties and ammunition waste."

Though things had gone well, Marianne wished she was at a point where her men would stop second-guessing her so much. She had been in command of the Mariner's pride of the fleet for a while now, after all. With Admiral Vancouver in charge, they never seemed to hesitate to carry out even the most unorthodox maneuvers, but with her it still felt like she had to repeat her every strategic decision to the men to get them to carry it out. Was it that difficult for Mariner men to trust a woman? Or was it just their perception of her inexperience?

Maybe she should consider letting them fire the main gun at some point? Would that work in getting their trust? They did seem to ask it every chance they got. Or was she projecting too much of Atlae into her crew? It felt so ridiculous that she had to work so hard to get others to do something so simple as their duty in a military organization.

Her finger pointed at the fleeing ship to their east. "What's the status on the second Ghost Saint vessel?"

Sorrento took out his radio and asked the command bridge. "Radar operator says they're out of range, VADM. I'm afraid we might not catch up for a couple of days, especially if we try to capture the other ones."

Marianne sighed through nose. That was another week before she could plan her detour to Shamballa. Now that she had, for all intents, tied her feelings with Atlae, Mari' felt a new side of herself in her chest that felt embarrassingly like the kind of excited teenage girl she hated; a side that just wanted to see her secret boyfriend again as soon as possible and sneak behind the bleachers with him in tow. How unprofessional.

Perhaps she couldn't help but feel excited, especially with all the pressure Adriana always put on her to just be upfront about how she felt. Afterall, Marianne allowed very little time for herself to just be a normal teenage girl, didn't she? Maybe if she worked hard enough and captured the Ghost Saint remnants quickly, she could squeeze in a couple of days to go to Shamballa and-

An alarm went off on the ship, sounding a siren! "ALERT, ALERT! UNKNOWN VESSEL SPOTTED!"

Marianne reacted instantly, heading for the command room in the rear, where a group of technicians manned a series of radars. "What's the situation?!"

"We've detected a mass emerging ahead of us, 800 meters southeast, Vice-Admiral!" an operator listed, pointed at a big bright light on his sonar. "It's coming from below!"

XO Sorrento staggered. "That's right on top of the escaping Ghost Saints! Is it a secret weapon of theirs?!"

Then, the cameras showed water around the Ghost Saints exploded upwards! Every mariner on the Sea Dragon gasped at the sight of a massive metal body emerging out of it, cutting off the escaping Ghost Saints! It was round like an orca's head, but enormous like a massive battleship, and its armor was segmented in hexagons like scales with shining membranes. As the water splashed down, what seemed to be like massive metal tentacles trailing behind it became visible resting down on the water. They were easily even longer than the metal core body and gently waved with the water like a giant squid's appendages, rather than a metal construct.

Even the XO had to gasp. "What in Poseidon's name is that?!"

"A monster?!" an operator screamed.

Marianne's eyes widened, having never seen anything like it. "An armored submarine?! It can't be! It's way too big!" The closest thing she had heard that rivalled this was the submarine stolen by Sagittarius Priam during the war. "But even the Nautilus wasn't half this size!"

Immediately, the escaping Ghost Saints opened fire from their big destroyer turret, pummeling the strange ship with a torrent of bright slugs. However, despite packing powerful cartridges meant to shoot through steel plating of oil tankers, the firing just ricocheted straight off a stunning barrier of light exuded by the hexagonal plating.

A deep, frightening siren was then heard from the submarine, like a bombing raid warning. The Mariners watched as the submarine's appendages arrested the Ghost Saint ship, wrapping over it like an actual creature holding a prey. A massive gun aperture then became visible in its octopus beak spot. It opened up, sliding out the large, segmented barrel of a gun. Its metal was black, while plexiglass see-throughs on the flank exposed a mass of rainbow light filling it from the inside, culminating into the gun mouth. The tip began brimming, birthing a swelling fireball aimed right at the frigate.

Terror filled the enemy ship at the sight of it! Ghost Saints were seen jumping overboard into the water as the blazing sun at the tip of the weapon grew brighter and brighter, eventually blinding even some of the Sea Dragon's more sensitive instruments. The Mariners awed, seeing it emanate a huge aurora of light!

Then, with a flash of point-blank firing, the beam struck the steel ship, sounding an echoing shockwave in the air and making the Ghost Saint vessel go up in a blaze of fire that reached as tall as the sky. Tall waves of water struck by the blast rocked the Sea Dragon and sent swimming survivors underwater. Metal compartments and pieces of burning rubble fell on the water, while the tendrils of the submarine seemed completely unharmed from holding the ship it just blew to bits.

The Sea Dragon's command bridge watched as the remains were crushed to nothing by the submarine's tendrils and the ship then submerged again.

"Fuck, it's like a nightmare." An operator commented, watching the flames.

"Mind your language, Mr. Operator. You're in the presence of a lady." XO Sorrento suggested, before turning to Marianne gravely. "Orders, VADM?"

Mari' snapped out of it. "R-Right! Activate the orichalcum engine! I want the Sea Dragon in the air, out of reach of that ship's…. grapplers! Monitor its position with the air-to-ground radar and prepare a squad to retrieve the survivors."

Sorrento hesitated to confirm, looking nervous. "But ma'am!"

"We still have a duty, XO Weyprecht." Mari' enforced. She touched her armored chest briefly, remembering the Saintia who died at Wolffe's hands. "Murderers or not, we can't just let people drown. Especially with that… that unknown submarine vessel in the water."

Another held his earpods. "VADM, we have an incoming communication! It's from the strange ship that just submerged!"

The entire command room turned to him. "What? How do they know our codes?! Patch it through!"

The radio gushed static before transmitting through a voice. "(-) ea Dragon, this is the LPS Kraken speaking."

"LPS?!" The first mate repeated, stunned. Lord Poseidon's Ship was the acronym of every mariner vessel. "That thing's one of ours?!"

"We apologize for the startling introduction. It just seemed one of the enemies was determined to escape." The vessel was then seen emerging out of the water again just ahead of them, presenting its flank. "Would your captain like to meet me at my bridge? We would like to straighten things out."

There was a tense silence in the command room where everyone exchanged unsure looks. One by one, Marianne felt every pair of eyes land on her. Hesitantly, she decided there was only one course of action.

"Delay my last order." She could tell they desperately wanted the Sea Dragon in the air, but Mari' had her own logic about this. "They know our communication codes, so they must be Mariners, or at least someone passing themselves off as such. They are also clearly showing us their belly so we can attack them as we wish. That's a show of trust if I've ever seen one. Besides, trap or not, I want to know what's going on here. That's more important than going home with nothing to report on an encounter like this."

"Y-Yes. Vice-Admiral."

Still, Marianne steeled herself to whatever would lie ahead of her in that submarine. "That doesn't mean I'm stupid, though! Kraken is the Scale of the Gerasimov, after all. I'm getting to the bottom of this right away!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Halting the engine right next to the flank of the strange ship, Marianne had her crew toss the ropes over to moor the two vessels together, but the sailors hesitated, seeing nothing to dock into the mysterious ship. However, a door compartment on the submarine's smooth, round surface opened up and a metal, railed plank bridge railed out, docking into the Sea Dragon's with metal teeth below it that locked firmly into the Sea Dragon's deck. It seemed to invite them in, with no one coming out to greet them

Accompanied by her security head and a couple of guards, Marianne hesitantly accepted the invitation, climbing into the bridge. She turned to her second-in-command. "XO, man the stations. At any sign of hostility, you know what to do…"

Sorrento nodded slowly. Glancing at the submarine, he had to admire the girl's bravery. "Be careful, Vice-Admiral."

As soon as she set foot on the metallic pass way, the grated floor began moving, startling her group! It gently conveyed them inside the large vessel, automatically locking the hatch behind them in the dark.

Marianne stayed calm, while her crewmen voiced anxious gasps. Lights flickered on, eventually, revealing them to be on the inside of a tight corridor. The walls were curved around them, giving a claustrophobic feeling, and covered in pipes of various thickness and complex paths, like the inner veins of a sea creature whose stomach they just walked willingly inside of. The thick hatches were short to save space; which was surprising with how enormous the ship looked from the outside

"I apologize for the empty reception; my crew has orders to stay at their stations. The LPS Kraken is a very high-maintenance vessel, as you might imagine." The announcing system spoke. "Please follow your right to the bridge, Vice Admiral. The red arrows will guide you."

Indeed, there were lines of orange, yellow and red on the wall with different directional arrows. The quartet followed the red one, which took them from tight compartment to tight compartment, towards what they believed was the center of the ship.

Her security chief looked around nervously. Everywhere he saw was gadgets, pipes, tubes and tightly locked hatches. "I don't like this, Vice-Admiral. I don't care what they said, this doesn't seem like a Mariner ship at all! It's more like… some kind of UFO!"

Though she found the comparison ridiculous, Marianne had to agree with the underlying sentiment of fear. She had studied even nuclear submarines as part of her training and those looked simple by comparison. "The construction is too complex, yes, even for a submarine. This must have taken years to develop. But who has the resources and know-how for this kind of technology?"

"This thing has freaking tentacle tails, like a squid monster." One of her guards mentioned. "Did you see how long they were outside, Vice-Admiral? It's like they designed it to make people really think this is some kind of animal."

"It's likely just a part of their propulsion system." Marianne concluded, trying to keep her men cool. There were just too many resources involved for a simple scare tactic. There was also the way it was used on the Ghost Saints. However, a logistical doubt plagued her, especially as she crossed an emergency exit map on the wall that showed the Kraken's rooms and layout, tentacles included "The Sea Dragon has fins, so to speak, but those are made of thin waterproof fabric. But this submarine…Who would build such a mass-intensive set of appendages of solid metal, even on a mariner ship, unless they were trying to show off?"

Eventually, the red arrows took them to a large hatch near the core of the vessel. It opened up from the inside with a loud clunk and two short crewmen of pale skin, brown coveralls and rigidly trained posture welcomed them in.

The bridge was stunning; it was an expansive room, especially when compared to the access corridors, and held multiple control stations, each with an electronic monitor, that surrounded a raised central command post.

It was one Marianne would kill for if she had to be in a submarine; a giant screen with blue lights and multiple camera angles hung above the captain's seat. One flank camera displayed the burning Ghost Saint ships, the center camera presented the coast and the right one showed the Sea Dragon's cannon-filled flank. Even more cameras behind Marianne's head showed the open waters of the Indic, indicating they were all aimed correctly at the ships' surroundings. More impressively were the 'belly' and 'overhead' camera angles that presented on a big round screen on the floor in front of the captain's command mirrored above all their heads on the ceiling, respectively.

The big chair swiveled, revealing a stunningly young man sitting there, no older than Captain Krishna, with a long, green mullet, pale eyes, and soft smile. He wore a more decorated uniform than his compatriots; a blue coverall covered in medals on his upper left chest, most of them bearing the insignia of the northern cross stars.

He stood up and saluted her. "Welcome aboard, Vice-Admiral Solo. May I present myself; Josef Gerasimov. I am the captain of the LPS Kraken. My ship is yours to command."

Immediately, they tensed, especially Marianne. "I knew it! This isn't good. This is the Household my father betrayed to marry mom!" Immediately her eyes searched for the exits she and her men could fight through. "They've fought us for years. Father has always told me Nikolai Gerasimov is a vengeful murderer! But if this was a trap, with the kind of surprise advantage they had, they could have just caught the Sea Dragon and pulled it in sight of their cannon right away. What is going on here, then?"

Indeed, Josef Gerasimov approached her peacefully. Up close he was easily as tall as Atlae, but despite seeming the same age, Captain Josef lacked any of the jovialness of her favorite Muvian's features. He had Bluegrad-blue eyes, a tone known for its paleness bordering on white, like the moon. It was the same as Marianne's mother Seraphina, but unlike the Solo matriarch, his had a stark stare to them of a man habituated to daily threats to his life in Siberia. His hands had many tiny scars in them from punching the ice as part of his training with the Cosmos and his impeccable posture, even for the military, betrayed the infamous discipline the Gerasimov imposed on their children.

He must have sensed the concern in her eyes, though. "Ahem, please, Vice-Admiral, be at ease. I am not an enemy." He looked away with an ashamed frown. "Despite our families' history, that is."

It was finally acknowledged. Marianne tried to adhere, but found herself unable to relax. The circumstances were just too strange. "Captain, what is going on here? What ship is this? What was that… beam weapon? That is not the same technology we use on the Stardust Cannon, I can tell!"

He widened eyes, looking impressed. "Ah, you are as studied as they say! It will all be explained in due time, Vice-Admiral. Perhaps we can start with –"

Suddenly one of the monitors started beeping. The sailor in front of it turned. "Captain Josef, we've detected swimmers off the sinking enemy ship."

Marianne widened eyes. "Some of them survived that blast?!"

"(Welp, those guys are dead.)" One of Marianne's guards whispered.

"(These are the Gerasimov.)" The more experienced security chief said. "(They consider shooting fish in the barrel a sport.)

But captain Josef's response surprised them all. "I see. Send out the pods and retrieve them. I want the prisoners taken alive and sent to Sanctuary safely."

"Yes, sir." The sailor obeyed, before issuing voice commands into a microphone.

Marianne watched as his monitor showed a small crew of the submarine shoot out of the vessel on jet boats and drive to rescue and detain the survivors.

Josef saw how transfixed she looked. He looked away, seeming ashamed. "My decision must have surprised you, I imagine? I often disappoint many who expect… certain things from my family. Moreover, I've also heard you have a personal vendetta over this particular group of Ghosts."

"They murdered a Saintia." Marianne confirmed. She touched the collar of her new armor. "I have her Cloth now, but I did not know her."

"I see. That is appropriate." Josef acknowledged, studying her protection with a look of frank admiration. "I know we made quite the spectacle of sinking their destroyer, but I assure I never meant any cruelty on enemy combatants. I am simply under orders from my family to test the Kraken's weaponry. Including its most… devastating options." He scratched his nose, looking away in shame. "I'm afraid my family make good Mariners in the sense it likes its toys a bit too much."

Marianne hummed, feeling a familiarity with this. While she liked to think the Solos were responsible with their ammunition, some like the Vancouvers and Weyprecht loved to show off their naval firepower.

He offered his hand gentlemanly, presenting it palm-up and untense. "I'd offer a tour of the vessel in a more opportune moment, but for now I can show you the command chair, if you wish?"

The VADM had to widen her eyes a bit at this. It wasn't unusual to show a superior officer around, but the Households were pretty guarded about their trophy ships, and this massive submarine looked like any mariner's dream come true. That the captain was allowing a VADM from a rival Household access to his chair was a gesture of conciliation, at the least.

In fact, when she looked around, she saw the other crewman, many who looked loyal to the Gerasimov, share concerned and disgruntled looks between them at this. Josef, on the other hand, had no hint of it in his inviting smile.

She tilted her head and relaxed. "Perhaps some other time." She finally took his hand to shake it and frowned self-consciously. "I'm sorry, captain Josef. I can't say I have heard of you."

He chuckled. "Well, it's challenging for our two particular families to find common ground at a meeting, isn't it? And it's especially tough to be social with the other Households when you live even further north than the polar bears."

Her mouth cracked into a laugh again, which she covered. She didn't want to appear unprofessional to her men. He just smiled reassuringly at it, which did comfort her a bit.

She cleared her throat. "Captain, what is all this? I've never seen this ship before."

"This is certainly not how my family planned the unveiling of our new pride and joy." He laid out his hands to his men and instruments. "Welcome, nonetheless, to the latest jewel in the Mariner Navy; the LPS Kraken, a fully submergible ice-breaker."

She widened her eyes. There was no way this ship was designed for that! "Icebreaker? Why are you operating so far down south, then? You must have had to round half of Asia to get here!"

"We were conducting exercises to test the submarine's adaptability to warm waters." He explained, pointing at a reading on his screen indicating the 99.988% efficiency status of the barrier they saw outside deflecting the destroyer shots. "This vessel was designed to operate off the Artic, not just in it. For that effect, it makes use of unprecedented shapeable-barrier technology. Let me show it to you."

Marianne recalled the hexagon armor segments she saw on the ship's round hull and found herself excitedly following him to the barrier monitor.

He touched the screen, making it zoom in detail to the status of said armor scales. "While these look like mere hull sheets, they are also barrier projectors. The ship is designed to tilt and angle them to form different shapes. Please, go ahead."

With a finger swipe on the screen, Marianne awed, seeing the projection dance its armor pieces. They only moved slightly, but there were so many of them that it caused ripple effects on the total barrier's shape, mending it into sharper forms more akin to a pushing drill or soft forms akin to an elliptical defense barrier.

Marianne chuckled, in awe. It was actually kind of incredible!

"Just don't click 'Confirm' or the ship will shake quite a lot when the waters shift." Josef added, laughing. "In any case, this allows the Kraken to adapt to obstacles in its way, but also adopt hydrodynamics fitter for ocean-going trips or submersion, depending on our needs. We can go anywhere in the seven seas, VADM, from the Marianna Trench to the port of Amsterdam."

"Amazing! I can imagine that." she had to concede, though the thought of a giant monster octopus ship showing up in Holland seemed like a bad idea to test. Marianne scrolled through the various shapes the barrier took and was amazed to find even an 'underground' drill program, like the ship could tunnel into continents. Even a Gold Saint would have trouble following this thing to such places. "This… is almost too powerful."

"However, the lead designer was unsure how warmer waters would affect the rear, where the barrier is weakest" Josef Gerasimov then gave an exasperated grimace. "He is, well… a particular man, but quite brilliant. The Mozambique channel was an ideal location since we figured we might run into enemies and get a chance to test the guns, too. We just so happened to detect your fighting while doing our exercises."

Marianne held her hand on her hip, tensing with the million-dollar question that came up. "And what is the name of said designer? I want to know who could design such an incredible tech."

Josef's grimace turned into a grave frown. "I'm sure you've heard of him. He is the head of the research and scientific development team at Bluegrad, and one of the top most brilliant alchemical minds in the world right now, even compared to his fellow Muvians. Doctor Gabriel Lantis."

The Vice-Admiral stiffened. "Him?! B-but…!"

Detecting the tension in her, Josef presented a hatch to the side. "Would you like to discuss this further in private? You can bring your security team if you wish."

Marianne looked around, feeling the eyes and ears in the room. "Yes, please."

{======================|A3|======================}

Chapter 91

Third Arc

Episode 19

Return to the East

{======================|A3|======================}

Mozambique Strait

{======================|A3|======================}

Meanwhile,

Pakistan, Karachi

{======================|A3|======================}

Atlae awed as the Chrysaor moored into the port. He had never seen such a huge city.

With a horizon of ever rising buildings, construction sites and mosques, Karachi was easily the largest port they had docked on yet. While the crew saw glimpses of Brazilian cities after moving past Argentina and Uruguay earlier that year, this was a port they were actually stopping at up-close and getting to see the masses of humans moving back and forth, working, shouting, laughing, screaming and even praying. Huge warehouses, countless streets and tons of vehicles sprawled in every direction out of the port and Atlae had to stop and take it in for a bit before helping Caça and the captain carry the load of the ship out.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it, Atlae?" Krishna asked, seeing his flabbergasted look. "We usually don't stop at urban centers like this for obvious discretion reasons, but Karachi grew a lot after the decolonization and Sanctuary was able to establish its own depots in the area without suspicion. We are just one more private business in this booming economy, after all."

"It's… it's so huge!" Atlae gushed. He rushed over to the nearby dock turns to take a look at the big construction cranes. "Look at these!" Then he ran to the access routes where all the trucks carrying cargo were driving out "And look at all those!"

"You sound like a hick out on vacation." Caça mocked, sitting lazily on the crate they just carried out. "Have you never seen a real city before?"

"No! It's my first time!" Atlae declared, amazed. "When I super-sped down India, I was told by Master to stay away from the big towns so no one'd see me use the Cosmos. I mostly went through rivers and the countryside. How does one country have a city with so many people?"

"You'll see folks from all over the subcontinent in this city, not just Pakistan." Krishna added. This had been largely because of the expulsion of Muslims from India, a few decades prior. "There's probably more people living in it than there are Sanctuary-savvies in the world combined."

"WOW!" Atlae gasped, rejoining them. "And people from your country, too, captain?"

Krishna scratched his mohawk, exasperated. Atlae had some awkward perceptions of distances, didn't he? Then again, the Muvian boy was born in Central Asia, where everything felt like entire continents away from everything else but still had people comfortably move between regions.

"Not quite. Sri Lanka is quite a way down south yet, Atlae." He turned and saw Maiden Daisy reading herself to jump off the boat. He rushed over and offered a hand. "Maiden?"

She smiled flattered and took it. "Thank you, captain." Landing on firm ground and shielding her eyes, she held on to him while her balance returned to normal. "Ah, it's been a while since I've been on a boat this long."

"Hopefully it was a pleasant trip?"

Maiden Daisy nodded happily. "It was." But then her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten that morning. "I think I'm going to miss your ambul thyal, though. I've never tasted fish so good!"

The captain looked away flustered. "Ah, don't be so impressed. I've just had a lot of practice with the family's recipes from how much I've had to cook for Atlae this past few months. That guy eats like a tiger."

She laughed. "I saw that, yes. I'd describe him more like a snapping jaw turtle, though." And laced hands pensively. Aside from Caça's occasional quips, the trip had been quite pleasant, hadn't it? When Priam first detailed it to her, she was so worried she'd have to deal with a group of coarse mariner sailors, but captain Krishna was easily one of the smartest guys her age she had met. "I'm glad at least Atlae will keep me company up to Shamballa. Still, I'd like very much to keep travelling together. Maybe some other time."

"Really? Hm, well…" the captain looked away, trying to decipher what she meant without the hypnotic kindness in her eyes confusing his thoughts. "What if… we could arrange that?"

The blonde Maiden widened eyes. "Really?" She composed her hair behind ear. "I mean, I'd like that, yes, but I'd hate to impose. Aren't you heading back to Sri Lanka? You're a school ship, after all."

The captain shook his head. He also smiled at her reaction; so she was receptive after all? "Not at all. We'd have to wait for Atlae to return from accompanying you anyway. I'd just have to talk to a couple of my clients and let them know I won't be here at Karachi. Thanks to Atlae's help, I have a little leeway this year to help a, ahem…" What should he call this maiden? "Help a new friend."

Daese's lips curved up, but a doubt vexed her. She was happy that the captain would come along, but a part of her was starting to feel worse about all this. She didn't like lying to good people about who she was or what she was doing, after all. Especially as a Zodiac Knight, it went against everything she was raised to believe.

But what was the harm? What were the chances Daese would meet Krishna and his crew in the world and the life she led a third time? Besides, most of her job began after they'd say their goodbyes. "I'd love that, then."

Meanwhile, Caça sat and grumbled, watching the two of them chat away. "Hey, Atlae?"

The Muvian lowered the crate he was carrying and wiped his sweat. "What is it, Caça? Have you rested enough to help unload?"

"Nah, I still need five more minutes to finish powering up." The mariner assured, snickering.

Atlae couldn't wait to see how powerful Caça would be at unloading the cargo, with all this charging he was doing. "Then what?"

He pointed his thumb derisively at the captain and the maiden chatting away and laughing. "I was gonna ask if you've seen the way these two have yapped the whole way here."

Atlae studied the captain and the Maiden, who seemed to be sharing more stories of old trips and talking about Sanctuary and such. "I guess? I mean, miss Daisy talked to me too. She's really nice."

"Right. How much?"

Atlae tried to think about it. "Humm… about one or two conversations per day? She's really curious about Shamballa. I guess I would be too if I had a job to do there for Sanctuary."

Caça gritted. "That's just bullshit talk, man. Haven't you noticed? Basically, whenever the captain was free, he was with that nun girl. There's something going on there, for sure!"

The Muvian blinked, looking again. "Really?"

I guess it really seemed like the two were hitting it off. Caça was right that the two spent an awful lot of time together, but Atlae just assumed that the captain had more answers to give her cause he was the more experienced member of the ship.

"So what do you think?" Caça asked, grinning. "Lover or spy?"

The Muvian almost dropped his next crate from how ridiculous this question was. "Spy?! How could you even say that?"

The mariner shrugged, looking dejected. "I don't know, I just find it weird she's going all the way to Shamballa. Those Maidens of Athena are big, vestal prudes. They like their temple palaces where they get to lord over the children about the virtues of Sanctuary and act like anyone who doesn't worship their Goddess is repugnant. They'd never do missionary work like some kind of self-righteous charitable Christian would."

There was almost zero things Atlae could say to this sheer amount of ugly sludge, so he went back to the point as he kept working. "Maybe they're just becoming fast friends. Why wouldn't they? And besides, the captain has been sad about miss Rebecca. Maybe he just doesn't want to make the same mistakes with new friends he makes."

Caça almost gagged with laughter at this. "Right! Atlae, when have you ever seen the cap'n hanging out with the gals?" Caça challenged. And the maiden was a lot of things, but she definitely was not unattractive. "You know, not everyone pussyfoots with their girls like you did with Marianne."

Atlae tried to pretend he didn't hear this and finished unloading the rest of the cargo. Still, he couldn't help but hiss "(At least I have a girl…)"

Caça staggered, almost too shocked to have heard this from Atlae of all people. "What did you say, you little dotted fuck?!"

The Muvian looked away, a bit surprised with himself. "Um, nothing! I said Lord Poseidon would be very upset that you're questioning your captain like this-"

"NO, YOU DIDN'T! COME HERE, YOU BIG FUCKING LIAR!" Caça shouted, pouncing on him. "I'LL TEACH YOU HOW A REAL MAN TALKS BACK!"

Seeing the two throw eachother into the floor and wrestle around shouting, Krishna rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, miss Daisy. YOU TWO, ENOUGH!" And went over to separate them, throwing each a distance away from one another. When the two went at it like a pair of angry cats again, he grabbed both by the heads and slammed them together, putting an instant stop to the fight. "I SAID, STOP! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?! When are you two going to learn to stop fighting like a pair of children?!"

"OWW!" Caça whined, rubbing his head. "What is your head made of, Atlae?! Cement?!"

The captain rubbed his eyes. Maybe bringing Caça along with Atlae up to Shamballa would be a terrible idea. Still, he saw Maiden Daisy unconcerned with it and hated to miss the opportunity to get to know her better.

Maybe things would be okay. How bad could a trip to the Muvian capital go? "Finish unloading everything, both of you, and then come see me at the Chrysaor. Plans have change slightly with Maiden Daisy. And next time I see you two fighting like this, I'll bang your heads into real cement!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Mozambique Channel

{======================|A3|======================}

A surface hatch on the Kraken's top opened and Marianne was guided out of it by Josef. The two stood by the safety railing, a good distance from Marianne's security; enough that they could watch them but not hear confidential information. Looking out, Mari' could see Josef's man drag the Ghost Saints out of the water and into their jetboats and also the distant presence of Sorrento on the Sea Dragon's deck watching them curiously.

The Vice-Admiral was the first to speak. "I always heard the Gerasimov had a strong presence in Bluegrad, Captain Josef. My mother spoke of how, in her youth, there was only one person that the people feared other than the Bluegrad Baron himself; and that was Patrician Nikolai Gerasimov."

Josef sighed, resting over the rail. He seemed tired at the very mention of Nikolai. "Yes, my grandfather is undoubtedly a man fitting of his reputation. They say there isn't a snowflake that drops in Siberia that he doesn't keep tabs on. This omniscience of his extends, naturally, to the entourage of the Bluegrad Baron."

Marianne nodded, having already guessed as much. "So, that is the origin of this ship."

Josef nodded. "There's no use denying it, especially with Doctor Lantis already in the mix. Yes, my grandfather and the Baron have become close allies in the Artic. With the Kraken Scales being kept in such close proximity to the Cygnus and Crystal Cloths, it makes sense for us to seek friendship with the Blue Saints."

Her cerulean eyes narrowed and her arms folded tensely. "I suppose that friendship will impact the ongoing war in Bluegrad with the terrorist groups?"

She saw Josef tense and shift resting on the rails uncomfortably. He looked away briefly, then back. "… Perhaps, yes. I know it's not a comforting thought for the daughter of the man in charge of leading the Mariners to the future."

The Vice Admiral sighed and rubbed her eyes. Not many people other than the ones in her position understood what was going on in Bluegrad yet. The city was one of the seven members of the Pact of Seven, just like the Mariners, the Muvians and Saint Azrael, but it was a distant one. Life in Siberia was extremely hard as it was. The people in the city of Bluegrad, home to the old Blue Saint Order and the place where the guardians of the Cygnus, Crystal and Aquarius Cloths operated, had a harsh history even for a town smack in the depth of the Siberian cold desert.

This was due to a number of reasons.

The first was its isolation; the vast distance from everything else, combined with the rugged culture of its people and the attitude of those who trained under its particular ways with the Cosmos, made the city impenetrable to most outsiders both militarily and communication-wise. It was often said Hades had a better shot of entering baby Athena's crib room to snuff the life out of her than of getting to read the Bluegrad morning paper. This, in turn, had made Bluegrad centerstage of both tyrannies and insurgent movements of all sorts.

An example was during the Priam War, where the Black Saints that fought the Pope had used Bluegrad as one of their final hideouts and bases. Not because Bluegrad sided with them in any way, but because the city was just stubbornly defensive against anyone that shoved their noses into its business, even Sanctuary. This made it the perfect nest for Priam, who in the final years of the war Marianne's dad fought in had basically become desperate for a way to stop the fighting and was searching for avenues to hide in, rather than surrender.

The second reason for its bad history was that Bluegrad had a major curse on it; it was fabulously wealthy. Not in comfort for its citizens or the arts, but in metal, mineral and stardust wealth, especially since the Tunguska meteor impact and other similar astrological blessings over Siberia. The ground underneath the ice of Bluegrad was said to be bursting with the precious silvery dust that made controlling and absorbing the Cosmos possible in weaponry, which in turn made Bluegrad the site of interest to literally anyone on Earth who wished to have power comparable to Sanctuary.

No one counted on how Aquarius Odysseus would discover a way to locate missing Gold Cloths based on cloud patterns and sunlight. Or how Akassius' Gold Saints would stop at nothing, even storming the Zodiac Knight castles and Bluegrad's walls, to root out any stench of Priam's leftover forces. With a ruined Bluegrad in Siberia, Sanctuary had no choice but to make reparations and help restore the city, up to the point of installing the infamous new guardian Baron.

And that Baron had not been popular with everyone, to the point he'd be fighting a war against guerrillas in the snow for almost a decade since. They made the region a very unsafe place, often bombing the Baron's shipments of materials to Sanctuary, conducting assassination attempts, running countryside gangs that ambushed travelers to the area and generally made the training of Cygnus and Crystal Saints impossible. Some people even told stories of some kind of fighter with a never-seen-before mechanical Cloth in it, with a personal vendetta against the Baron.

Needless to say, it was an extremely complicated situation and anyone that collaborated with the Baron against them would get a lot of gratitude from him, including access to his limitless material resources and his famous weapons research team, led by one Doctor Gabriel Lantis.

Her armored arms folded. "Josef, one thing would be to peacefully share sacred grounds, but for your family to have gained access to Gabriel Lantis is… something else of concern. I can't help but wonder if the Gerasimov intend to pull the Mariners into a conflict that is not our own for its own greed."

He rose a brow. "You think we have promised the Baron that the Mariners would help him kill his terrorists, don't you?" The green-haired captain shook head. "I wish I could say that another deal with a devil is the last thing I want for the Gerasimov, Vice Admiral Marianne. However, I do not command my grandfather, he commands me. Even if I disagree with him… I must protect my family."

Marianne couldn't say she didn't empathize. In fact, her sense of duty to support the Solos was one of the things driving her in life. She tried to listen more.

Josef waved at the massive ship they stood on. "If it were up to me, I'd be commanding a simple, but functional cruiser. Instead, Lantis built the Kraken. My grandfather simply couldn't refuse it."

She staggered. "And he didn't think what this 'generosity' would cost us?! Josef, look at this submarine!" she waved hand at it. "It's… beyond anything our architectures could make! This can't have been for free!"

"You're right." Josef rose a finger. "In exchange, we promised Mariner friendship with Bluegrad…or at least the Gerasimov's seventh of it. They are fighting a war with radicals and, as you might imagine… after my exercises I am heading back north to fulfill our end."

Marianne guessed the rest of what he was going to say and squinted. "I see. Whatever their Muvian doctor gave to you, they expected to be used for his boss in return."

"Modern times require modern methods, Vice Admiral. That's the unfortunate reality. None of us benefit from Bluegrad falling to the radicals." Josef looked around at his massive, animalistic submarine, looking almost afraid of the power that was put in his hands. "Have you ever met him?"

"The Baron?" Marianne guessed. She huffed. Most descriptions made the so-called guardian of Bluegrad sound like a mob boss than a good leader. "No, but my father has told me of him. He's not someone I look forward to the mariners calling a friend."

"Actually, I meant Gabriel Lantis." Josef corrected.

Marianne hesitated, but had to shake her head. Lantis was one of those figures like Azrael; where everyone knew they were out there somewhere in the world, doing something incredible or incredibly awful, but no one knew too much about.

Josef nodded. "I see. I have never met a Muvian quite like him. He's brilliant, DaVinci-an, even. And I mean this by Muvian standards. Ever since the baron employed him, Bluegrad has become a technological wonder, with turrets on its walls that can target Saints and machines that sweep stardust straight out of the ice. While all that intelligence can be quite frightening a notion in itself, what worried me most about him when he handed me the keys to the Kraken was how…" He looked away, searching for the word with a grim frown. "…Out of the box he seemed."

Having met Atlae, who was so 'out of the box' himself for both Muvians and Mariners, Marianne had to put her hand on her hip skeptically. "Not all Muvians fit the stereotype, Josef, I can promise you that."

"Is that so? How about one that seemed excited to give this ship to me, a Mariner?" Josef specified, turning back to her.

It made Marianne's eyes widen. She looked at the incredible ship again and wondered if a more Mariner-wary version of Atlae was capable of parting with such a toy. It did feel strange, even she had to confess that.

"I've just never seen that happen." Josef added, folding hands around back sternly. "Sure, any Muvian is happy to have their craft recognized, but in handing a weapon like this? And my Household lives the closest of us all to Shamballa, next to the Cholas. Would you be excited, Vice-Admiral? To give your oldest, most ancestral enemy such an unprecedented weapon? Something that could probably pull the entire Sun Temple right underground?"

Marianne felt a bead of sweat form in her temple, imagining it. "No, I wouldn't. But that just makes me worry even more about why your family accepted this bargain."

He banged his fist on the hull, letting the sound resonate across the hexagonal metal scales. "I spent the first month checking it top to bottom, looking for some kind of bomb or trick in the coding. If Doctor Lantis meant to hurt the Mariners with such a gift, perhaps he's counting on our worst impulses to misuse this ship. As long as I'm the captain, though, I will never let that happen."

The firmness in his vow made Marianne breathe easier. This was all so strange, but at least she was glad the Gerasimov had an heir with a brain and a heart, or so it seemed. Also, she had to confess it was kind of cool to have such a fantastic weapon on their side for whatever next disaster the Mariners had to face next.

She smiled. Perhaps with some effort, she could even work together with Josef to fix things between their families. "Thank you for the tour, captain. And the confidence vote in letting me know all this. Perhaps I should tell father which mechanic to visit next, then."

"I wouldn't stop you, Ma'am, and Doctor Lantis would likely give the Head of Houses a very impressive car." Josef assured, smirking. "It just wouldn't come cheap."

She found herself laughing. "Are you heading back north?"

"Soon, yes. We've gathered enough data and my little brother back home can't wait to ride on the Kraken" Josef confirmed. He laughed and laid out his hand. "You just got your own recently, haven't you? Mine had the biggest look of awe on his face I had ever seen when he first laid eyes on this thing, I swear. He's only two and he already understood this was a ship he could ride and not some metal monster."

She held her chin. "How about a joint operation, then? Could this ship reach Shamballa somehow?"

"Could it?" Josef smirked. "VADM, you saw the underground tunneling option, did you not? The only place the Kraken can't enter is the sky. Proud Muvian he is, Doctor Lantis won't work orichalcum, it seems."

"Showing up with two warships at the Muvians own home isn't my intention, but I'd love to have a second face I can trust to show the High Elder that the Solos aren't the only Household who want to befriend them." Marianne confessed. After what she did to Baian, she doubted the Vancouvers would be thrilled about it, and Sorrento's presence was no guarantee of Weyprecht support, since he was merely her XO. Marianne needed someone with their own guns. She folded arms and eyed him challengingly. "How about it, captain Josef? Is Doctor Lantis the only Muvian the Gerasimov are willing to befriend?"

The green-haired young man stood up straight and stared, pensive. He hummed quietly for about half a minute, letting her guess at his thoughts. "This is about the Solos' efforts to befriend Shamballa, correct?"

"Your family will probably give you trouble, I know, but if you agree I'll let your little brother ride on the Sea Dragon, too." She offered, feeling the clinch when Josef's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Two awesome ships for the price of one; you'd be older Brother of the Year."

Josef paused to consider it. "Poseidon forgive me, but that would make Isaak's head pop, yes." He smirked knowingly at her. "You're as clever as they say, VADM. Why not? I accept."

She cheered silently. "Yes!" And saluted. "I'll see you there, then, captain!"

He opened the hatch to guide her back inside. "Let me take you back to your ship, we can work the details out at your leisure."

{======================|A3|======================}

The Next day,

Kashmir Mountains

{======================|A3|======================}

Having left their boat safely with the Sanctuary people in Karachi and driven up the Indus by car to the mountains in northern Pakistan, the quartet from the Chrysaor now marched up the mountains through trails known only to the people of Athena and the Muvians. Equipped with backpacks, hats and civilian clothes to appear like regular Himalayan mountain hikers, the four presented special passes to the military authorities, given they were entering land that wasn't supposed to exist in modern maps.

Atlae led the group, having gone through these passes when he first left Shamballa, and welcomed them to the high valleys between the mountains that separated India from the Central Asian steppes with a wave of hand. "Welcome to my people's lands, everybody!"

The group awed, seeing wide expanses of grass nestled between the high mountain peaks. After a full day of driving up the muddy branches of the upper Indus, it felt like such a stunning reversal to find so much green, especially at such a high altitude. Caça in particular was flabbergasted, having been raised to believe that the lands Muvians lived on were impoverished steppes with a few villages here and there.

Atlae smirked and guided them down into the valleys. "Pretty cool, right?"

"You were born here, Atlae?" Daese asked.

He shook head. "No, I was born waaaaay up north. So far north that people in Shamballa used to call me a straw-hair,"

"So, what you're saying, Atlae, is that you're a hick even among Muvians?" Caça maliciously joked.

But the Muvian took it in stride, laughing. It beat feeling totally different from everyone else, after all. "I guess I was, because there's so few blondes in Shamballa. You will totally stand out once we're there, Maiden Daisy."

Daese staggered and clutched her yellow curls. Would she? That was not good news at all! She had a mission to fulfill for Priam, after all. Maybe encouraging the whole group to come with was a better idea than she thought, since they'd take attention away from her, especially the Cabral heir.

Atlae saw her mildly upset and tucking her hair in. "Um, don't worry. If it makes you feel any better, my Master is a straw hair, too…" his green eyes shifted. "She just looks less gold and more silver these days."

It didn't, but Daese still smiled to pretend otherwise to him. Atlae was a good kid, wasn't he? It was a wonder he was the product of friendship between Muvians and a Mariner household.

She then looked back and saw Krishna lagging behind, looking dizzy as he climbed over the path they had just crossed. "Captain, are you alright?"

He nodded, though he shook and sweated. "Y-yes, just… not very used to hiking anymore. It's been a while."

Daese saw him getting pale. She took her water bottle and let him drink a little. "Would you like to stop?"

He shook his head, looking mildly better but still groggy. "While you three are making such good progress? No need to, Maiden."

"I'm used to the hills back home, but somehow you have the captain beat, don't you?" Caça pointed out to Daese. He squinted. "You're pretty tough for an Athenian nun."

Daese staggered and waved her hand. "Ah, ah, well, I was raised in mountains back in the French Alps." This was not a lie. Zodiac Knight fortresses, after all, were all located in mountain passes to form sanitary cordons around Hades' domains in Germany. Still, how deceptively sharp was this Cabral mariner? "To me these peaks are like a second home."

Atlae grinned. He liked this girl more and more. "Really? You'll love Shamballa, then! Its super, duper high. Almost five kilometers above sea leve-" Krishna practically collapsed at this, faceplanting right in the ground. "O-Oh. Sorry, captain."

"I think you broke his brain, Atlae." Caça mocked, helping the captain up and seeing him limp "We're the furthest fucking possible from the sea any Mariner should ever be forced to be, and then on top of things the captain eats the least meat out of all of us cause of his weird Indian religion. And then you tell him something like that? Any other genius pieces of commentary? You're lucky he hasn't straight up passed out."

Daese faltered in guilt. Why did Krishna suggest to come if he was going to have such trouble? "M-maybe it was a bad idea to make you all come with me?"

"Yes, it was!" Caça confirmed, merciless. "Atlae, will you find us a damn place to stop at? Before the captain has to get carried out of here via Gold Saint Express?"

The Muvian panicked and rushed to search for a location. He saw a flat-topped mound surrounded by rocks further ahead. "The Sanctuary checkpoint is right there. Maybe we can stop there for a bit?"

"Whatever." Caça marched past him. "You carry the captain. It's your fault anyway."

Atlae nodded and gently lifted Krishna up on his shoulders.

"Let me help you." Maiden Daisy offered, adjusting the captain to rest more comfortably around Atlae's back, arms around the Muvian's neck. He looked so awkward, but the Muvian seemed strong enough to carry even more people, cosmos or not.

She had to step back and admire it. Atlae was perfectly fine, even smiling reassuringly at her like he held a mere kitty in his hands.

She wished some of the guys in Priam's group were this energetic. "Wow, Atlae, you're something else."

He shook head. "I'm just strong. Everyone in Sanctuary is that way." And marched ahead. "Caça is right; If I had been smarter, I'd have convinced the captain to stay in Karachi."

"Caça… doesn't like you and me very much, does he?" Daese suggested, worried the Mariner saw the truth in her.

Atlae shrugged it off with an appeasing smile. "Ah, well, I've never met anyone Caça has liked. Other than Mari', of course."

She followed and recalled their earlier conversations. "Mari'… you mean Marianne Solo, the heir of the Solo family?"

Atlae nodded. "That's the one."

Daese had to recoil again at this. After five thousand years of vicious feuds, it was so wild to see a Muvian be so close to the heart of Mariner society. Heck, just seeing Atlae and Caça work together, even if with some friction, was proof enough that the rumors about the recent odd friendship between the two factions was true.

"The world is going to change, Daese. Guys like Arles, Akassius, Lucian and everyone else can't stop that, no matter how powerful they think they are." Priam had told her. "Ultimately, people will always be guided by their hearts' deepest hopes and dreams. They will get tired of the old ways and they just don't see the world the way their fathers and grandfathers did. They will want peace and justice. And if they don't get it from blood and tears, then time will happily hand it to them."

Watching Atlae, Krishna and Caça coexist seemed like living proof of Priam's words. Even putting Atlae aside, she had heard the Chola and Cabral Households, which the two Mariners respectively belonged to, had deep grievances dating back to the 16th century, stemming from naval powers they backed against one another, so Caça working under Krishna was also a lesser sign of changing times.

{======================|A3|======================}

The Sanctuary outpost guarding the entrance to Muvian lands was located close to the border with the Tajik SSR, nestled between mountain walls. It was a small building maintained by a close-knit group of hoplites and Sanctuary people, plus a couple of Muvians, that had to stay discrete under the surveying eye of local superpowers and rising states but still monitor entrances and exits into Muvian lands.

As people who went long periods of time without any contact with non-Muvians, they received the Chrysaor warmly, taking captain Krishna right to their doctor and welcoming Atlae like an old friend.

"Straw-hair! I remember you! You came through here after the Winter Festival, right?" the outpost head, a hoplite of Asian ethnicity, neck-length black hair and a green military outfit mimicking a Soviet Union officer with its red star on green badge emblem on his chest, greeted.

Atlae nodded. "That's me! I remember you too, sir. You said you didn't believe I rung the bell, because I looked so air-headed."

The young man laughed. "Can you blame me? Tell me, do you even remember my name, Atlae?"

Atlae scratched head. "Um… uhh…" he grumbled embarrassedly. "I'm sorry…"

He shook his head. "That's alright. Half the Muvians in the area don't. I can tell you guys are more about machines and stuff than people. I'm Lieutenant Tsang." Tsang then pointed his thumb at the infirmary. "I just spoke with the doctor. Your friend just needs a bit of rest to adjust to the altitude. Looks like Mariners are especially vulnerable to shifts in atmosphere, uh?"

"Not all Mariners." Caça quipped, still looking perfectly fine. Or at least it seemed so. It was tough for Atlae to tell since Caça was always pale.

After the outpost head left, he turned to ask. "I'm glad you guys came along, Caça but I wish now you had stayed back in the coast if it was going to be so rough on the captain."

"You idiot, don't you get it already?" Caça mocked, folding arms disappointedly. "Captain coming with us ain't about you."

Atlae scratched his head, confused. "Then why?"

Caça saw the Maiden return to their side from speaking with the doctor. "I'll tell you about it later, but I'm just here so I won't sit bored on the boat while you guys visit the big Muvian city." And he faced the Maiden, mugging as unpleasantly as he managed. "So, miss Maiden, how do you like your mission so far?"

The young maiden smiled awkwardly. Atlae couldn't blame her; not with the way Caça spoke to her. "It's been a wonderful experience. I was born among mountains and I've never seen the likes of the ones here. Minus your captain getting ill, of course. I hope he's alright…"

Atlae braced his fists in determination. "He can pull it off, I swear! The captain is even a Gold-Rank, maiden Daisy. I saw him defeat a Specter with my own eyes!"

This seemed to both alarm and impress the maiden, by her widening of eyes. "A Specter?! Where? When?"

"Back in Argentina!" Atlae excitedly retold. "That's where you two first met, right? He came to our rescue against the Papillon Specter called, um…" He snapped his fingers but his brain synapses wouldn't fire. "Shoot, I can't remember."

"It was Papillion Asshole, as far as anyone cares." Caça derided. "That guy almost fed me to his bugs!"

Daisy, looking truly alarmed, held his arms, as if to rock it out of him. "What was his name, Atlae? Was it Ain…" She then held herself back when she saw the way they looked at her. She shouldn't give indications that she might know what the Specter was called. "I MEAN, you guys didn't get hurt, right? Specter sightings are very serious business for Sanctuary."

While Caça squinted in suspicion harder and harder, Atlae merely shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry, I don't remember. I'm kind of terrible with names."

"And faces. And numbers. And letters. Really, any kind of knowledge, Atlae blows at it." Caça quipped, making Atlae turn red. "Lady, what do you care his name was so much, anyway? Aren't Specter names always the same across ages? Like Wyvern is always Rhadamanthys? It was Papillon, what else matters? Check the Lost Canvas War books, if you care so much."

Daisy stepped back, flustered. "Um, well, it's just that, ahem!" And shifted her eyes. "Darn! Why did I say anything?! But the timing of Atlae's story is just too convenient! I'm sure someone ratted our guys out in Patagonia to Sanctuary and I just don't buy Ainsel's story that it was all a big mistake! If we have one of Daemon Lucifer's men in our midst… I don't even want to think about what that means for Priam's group."

Atlae sweated, watching the blood drain from her temples. "Miss Daisy, are you okay? You look as bad as Caça right now."

The mariner punched his thick arm to no effect. "What is that supposed to mean, Mr. Straw-hair?!"

The Muvian took the insult in stride; it was better than constantly being called a dotted freak. "N-Nothing, I'm just worried."

The Maiden tilted her head and laced her hands behind back, speaking as innocently as possible. "Like I said, Specter sightings are serious stuff and I was in Argentina too at the time. It just frightens me that one was so close to me and I had no idea. Who would have thought?" When they seemed appeased, she turned away. "I need to talk to Priam about this ASAP. But first I have a mission to fulfill."

{======================|A3|======================}

Krishna eventually left the infirmary, still guided by Lieutenant Tsang but looking less pale and able to stand on his own. He found the trio waiting for him and sighed humbly. "I'm sorry for slowing you all down. I'm good to go."

"Are you sure, captain?" the Maiden asked, looking genuinely worried. She approached him and touched his head. He seemed firm enough, but still a bit sleepy. "We can stay and rest a bit longer, I don't mind at all."

He smiled and shook his head. "Thank you for the concern. I promise I'm good to go. Atlae, Caça?"

The two snapped to attention. "Yes, captain!"

"Say, you guys are from that new sailing school boat the Mariners have, aren't you?" Tsang asked, leading them out. "I remember Atlae here coming by the first time, talking about how he was going to learn how to sail."

"They sure are." Atlae excitedly confirmed. "We've sailed all around the world in the meantime, sir!"

"Ya have? Mm." Tsang looked curious about this, raising a brow and holding his chin.

Atlae frowned. He seemed concerned with something. "Is something wrong, sir?"

He shook his head and stopped by the border gate. "Ah, well, not really, it's just… I kind of get bored, sitting here in the middle of the continent. Even newspapers from Sanctuary take forever to get here. You guys are the first to visit us in a while. It's just been me, the doctor and my men for the past two weeks. Oh, and the local Muvian folk, too."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Atlae begged. He remembered how isolated he felt living in Shamballa for three years. His letters with Marianne were the only contact he felt he had with the outside world.

"Just change posts, then!" Caça suggested. "What are you doing here in the freaking Himalayas if it bores you so much?"

The outpost head laughed. "Oh, you Mariners don't know the way Sanctuary operates very well, do you? I can't do that! Maybe if I was a Saint, sure, but Sanctuary likes all its hoplites in their proper place, like good little toy soldiers. Frankly, I kind of understand it; it's no good for anyone for people with Cosmos to run around unchecked."

Daese gulped, frowning discretely. Having spent her life on the run from Sanctuary, she knew exactly what he meant. It often felt half the bases Priam made them move out from was because the bureaucrats of the MMC had sniffed a minor irregularity in their patrols somewhere within a hundred-mile radius and her leader just refused to take the chance of sticking around any longer.

"And besides, the nice people in the villages nearby bring us meals sometimes. I think the old Muvian people like the company." Tsang then cleared throat. "Still, it gets boring here and newspaper drama is kind of our best entertainment. I was just wondering if there were any follow-up news on the whole Death Queen Island thing."

Everyone blinked, caught by surprise.

Caça cringed his face in confusion "What Death-Queen-Island-thing?"

Tsang gagged and looked through them all, but only saw confused faces, even from the Maiden. "Oh…. You guys don't know?! Holy shit! That's kinda odd. It was all over the last issue!"

"We were sailing from Mogadishu to Karachi for the past few weeks, so it isn't that strange, Lieutenant." Krishna explained. "And prior to that we were working on a delivery through the Suez route. We haven't had any contact with Sanctuary since the Triumph back in June."

"We passed by the island earlier this year. Everything seemed okay." Atlae mentioned. But the look on Tsang's face reminded him of the one the captain had before he showed him the news of Rebecca's death. "Unless… what happened there? Did something go wrong?"

Tsang staggered at his choice of words "'Go wrong'? Oh, BOY, um, how do I say this? It's not often I'm the one more caught up with stuff. Death Queen Island didn't go wrong, Atlae, that'd be par for the course. It went straight to shit. The whole goddamn place nearly sunk underwater!"

A collective look of shock spread through the four traveler's faces.

"Hold on, I'll get you the paper!" Tsang rushed inside, looking incredibly excited to show it off. He came back with a rolled-up, yellowed-looking newspaper from the previous month. "Check it out! That place is what's left of the Muvian homeland so the folks here keep asking about it, too."

Major Catastrophe at Death Queen Island!

One Bronze Saint dead, along with two inhabitants of the island, over a dozen Black Saints and up to two hundred innocent civilians after a violent insurrection headed by the Master that has almost completely destroyed the island (or what's left of it)!

Yes, folks, we mean something bad even for THIS particular location. The fishing ship Trinity has returned to Sanctuary Town with distressing news. Two Bronze Saint operators (whose names this paper has been kindly instructed by the Golden Zodiac not to reveal) sent to Death Queen Island at separate timings have stumbled on the scene of a shocking mass murder in what the Golden Zodiac believes may have been a macabre ritual sacrifice to the Phoenicids meteor shower.

"It was horrible." Said the captain of the Trinity. "We were supposed to be at a safe distance until (Redacted) Saint called us again, then we got the special distress call on the third day. When we approached the island again, the whole place looked like it was about to explode, tossing lava everywhere and shaking!"

"So everyone is dead?" our reporter asked the captain.

"Yes, except the Saint we escorted there and back, of course. We found Saint (Redacted) by the beach, barely alive and completely delirious, saying all sorts of crazy things, like how the Master betrayed Sanctuary and tried to take over the place for the Black Saints. He was only there for a couple of days!"

"What the hell?! Saint Redacted?" Caça asked. "They can't say which Bronze Saint was on site to stop this?!"

"That's Sanctuary's paper for ya. Ya only get credit if ya got a Zodiac Cloth." Tsang mocked, looking almost amused "It didn't do much, though, everyone and their mother already knows who was there."

"Who was it?" Atlae asked.

"In a minute, check out the rest, first."

Details are still hard to verify, but it's safe to say that the worst training ground in all of Sanctuary has scored yet another terrible mark in its grim history. Already opinions seem divided on the significance of this event. Many are not shocked that the Master has committed such treason and are even glad that the infamously violent man, a boogeyman to many sons and daughters of Sanctuary folk, is gone for good.

"He murdered our dear sister. All because she tried to protect a child from getting dragged by him to his island." A maiden of the Heart of Sasha orphanage in Rodario told us. "Athena forgive us, but that soulless beast deserves to rot in Hades."

"All I had to do to get my kid to act straight was tell him the 'Master' would come get him if he misbehaved." A parent commented to us. "But you know what? My wife's sandals are just as good. Screw that guy."

"I think it's terrible." An older citizen has told the paper. "I mean, where are we supposed to put all the vandals and murderers at? The prison on the way to Rodario can't take them all!"

"It's what's left of our old home. Obviously, we are quite sad." A representative of Shamballa spoke for all Muvians. "We send Sanctuary our deepest condolences over the death of Saint Compass as well as the innocent people enslaved by the Cloth Shadows."

As you know, the Phoenicids meteor shower take place throughout July and are linked with (…)

"That's enough, please!" Krishna asked, raising brow. "What are Cloth Shadows?"

Atlae perked up. "I remember that term. Master Yuzuriha says it's an old word for Black Saints. I guess those guys we met at the island, like Black Dragon, are what it means." Atlae then remembered the young enslaved couple he met on the island. "Everyone is dead… but that means those other two are as well?"

Tsang shook his head, looking grim. "Can you believe Black Saints tried to take it over? The balls on those guys. They captured a whole cruise ship, just hundreds of innocent folks, and get this; that was all so that the Master could sacrifice them all to the Phoenix Cloth. The one guy there supposed to be on our side and he does something like that."

"I can't believe you're entertained by some fucked-up stuff like this, buddy!" Caça hissed.

Tsang shrugged. "Why not? Bad stuff happens all over the world, especially on Death Queen Island. It's just a crazy story like any other, is all."

"Did a boy and girl around my age get rescued?" Atlae asked, his heart beating. The Muvian gritted his teeth. He wished he remembered their names, but it all happened too close to when he got struck with the Genma Ken, so it all felt blocked off by Saint Noah's seal. He struggled hard, thinking to the moment he met them under the pier planks, on the beach waters. The girl said his name, didn't she? He irked, feeling a flash of red light in his head at that memory, before Noah's seal closed it all up.

Tsang frowned. "Sorry, Atlae, but the newspaper said only the first Saint sent there, the Redacted one, lived through the whole thing. He showed up back in Sanctuary from the island saying everyone was dead, so,…. That must include who you're thinking of."

Distraught, the Muvian slumped. Krishna patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Atlae."

His eyes wept. "Why did this happen? That's so h-horrible!"

But Maiden Daisy, of all of them, seemed the most visibly upset, looking at Tsang like he just declared the death of a dear friend. She stepped up to ask. "Please, could you repeat which Saint was on the ground there?"

Caça nodded. "Yeah, you said you'd tell us!"

Tsang laughed, excited to share the final piece of the story. "Oh, that's the craziest part yet! The guy who stopped those bastard Black Saints, that the Sanctuary paper was told to shut up about? It's the same guy who beat up his teacher, Pegasus umm… "he snapped his fingers to trigger his memory. "Lancelot or whatever!"

She widened her eyes and covered her mouth. "Pegasus Lance?!"

Tsang pointed in agreement. "That's it, yeah. Ya know, people say that guy doesn't do any good for Sanctuary, but anyone who stops a whole goddamn Black Saint uprising, and on Death Queen Island, too?! They ought to give him a medal for that, especially with the PTSD it must have given him."

Daese felt all warmth leave her chest with the sheer horror she felt. "Oh no, Red! What have they done to you?!"

"They say he slaughtered ALL the Black Saints AND the Master, that he came back to Sanctuary Town covered in blood head-to-toe, all crazy-eyed and stuff!" The Lieutenant laughed, picturing the scene in his head. "Wish I was there to see it when he got off the docks. The guy is already off his rockets, but then he first-hand witnesses a whole Death Queen Island fuckfest go down? And single-handedly has to stop it? That would make anyone just totally snap."

Krishna saw the Maiden look ever more horrified. He wasn't sure why she was having such a strong reaction, but he grabbed Tsang. "Hey, stop it! Be more considerate, for Olympus' sake! This is a Maiden here!"

"O-oh, sorry, sister." Tsang apologized, realizing he did get a bit carried away. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just what everyone's talking about right now. The way the paper tells it, it feels like a movie."

Even Atlae, who was a big fan of martial fighting, felt sick. "So… everyone we met on that island that day… Black Dragon, the other Black Saints, that couple… they're all dead? Saint Pegasus killed them all?"

Lieutenant Tsang nodded. "That's the story. And honestly, that's Pegasus for ya, too. There's a reason people are afraid of him, even though he's just a shit Bronze Saint. When even the Master of Death-Queen-Freaking-Island isn't enough to daunt you…Well, you know you gotta be a pretty fucked-up guy."

Daese turned away, her eyes humid. She recalled the young boy she met all those years ago. She remembered him sharing his despairs with her, his terror about his future, how he didn't know how he was going to live the next day, let alone get his Cloth.

There was nothing wrong with him. Nothing that wasn't Sanctuary's fault. "Captain, can we please go? I'd like to reach Shamballa soon so I won't keep you all from your work."

"Of course." Krishna turned to Tsang. "Lieutenant, thank you for everything."

"Um, I'm sorry if I upset you. Go right ahead." He signaled the gate guard to raise the barrier. "Good look to you all. Atlae can walk you through the cautions you have to take from here."

{======================|A3|======================}

Hours Later,

Shamballa District,

Mountain Paths

{======================|A3|======================}

The journey continued with the group heading straight into the heart of the Tibetan plateau, following the region's border with Nepal in the shadow of the high mountains. Since it was summer, they didn't have to worry about the snow nearly as much and Atlae was able to find them good routes that didn't go through any mud or twisty paths. Along the way, they'd start seeing Muvian settlements in the protective top of rocky mounds or by thick forests, where they'd stay out of sight of Tibetans. It was clear they were getting closer to the capital of the Muvians with every valley they crossed.

It was getting dark, however, with the sun descending on their backs behind the mountains.

Despite that, Caça noticed the mood in Atlae and maiden Daisy seemed low. "Hey captain, what's up with those two?"

Krishna rolled his eyes. "Caça, for Triton's sake when are you going to learn some empathy? Clearly the story they heard from the outpost lieutenant upset them."

The pale mariner scoffed. "What's there to be upset about? I don't gush about it like he did, but it's like the guy said, bad stuff happens all the time, especially in You-Know-Where Island."

The captain shook his head and marched on, catching up with Atlae. "Hey, kid, are you okay?"

The Muvian nodded. "Yeah, I am. We'll be getting to the city soon. We just need to-"

Krishna saw how slumped he sounded and shook his head. "Forget about that, it's getting late. We're clearly not going to make it there by nightfall. I could probably speed us all up the rest of the way, but let's not have you see your Master again with that frown on your face, okay?"

Atlae grumbled exasperatedly. Did he look that obviously upset? He searched ahead and found a camping spot by the forest. "Okay. Let's stop there, everyone."

{======================|A3|======================}

Having set up tents, the group began working on getting a fireplace started for the night. There wasn't much wood around, so Atlae and Caça had to go out to fetch small lumber that wasn't too humid before the small fire they managed to start went out. Krishna stayed behind to prepare their dinner. Dumping all sorts of sauces, tuna and potatoes into a pan, he cooked everything for the group and served it to their plates.

Daese breathed the aroma in and just the combination of intriguing, spicy smells made her mouth water. She'd been with this gang for almost three weeks and now feared she'd be unable to return to the Black Saints' cooking at their bases. Everyone hungrily devoured their food, especially Atlae who asked for extra servings, as usual.

Krishna handed the rest of the pan's contents to him. "I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't already been traveling with you for a while, Atlae."

Atlae's fork immediately took a big bit of fish drenched in sauce and onion into his mouth. He felt his sadness melt away. "Thank you, captain."

Caça shook his head and went to clean his plate. "That guy could cause a famine in the area."

Sitting again, Krishna saw Maiden Daisy stare at the empty pan. "Oh, I'm sorry, do you want more?"

She her widened eyes, perhaps startled that she had given her hunger off. "O-Oh, yeah, I guess I should have asked sooner."

Without hesitation, Krishna took a bit he had saved for himself away from Atlae's eyes and secretly handed it to her when the Muvian wasn't looking. "Just don't tell my sailor."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Of course not. Thank you. You're just… a really good cook. I can't get enough of your food."

The captain grumbled hesitantly. "Sometimes I wonder if Sanctuary people say that because it's true or because they just aren't used to non-western food."

As she took new gulps of the delicious mix, Daese also felt her distraught over Lance's fate wash away. At least she was sure now that he had survived Mount Olympus, and that was enough. She couldn't do anything to help him at the moment.

She turned to Atlae. "What's your Master's city like, Atlae?" She should probably get some extra information ahead of time after all. "Is everyone as nice as you there?"

"Pah, he isn't nice!" Caça mocked. "He's just a doormat."

The Muvian ignored the mariner and beamed. "You'll love it there, miss Daisy! My Master is super smart. She looks mean but she will definitely help your charity mission."

Daese couldn't help but think "Your Master being super smart is exactly what worries me." The last thing Priam needed was Daese screwing up and getting caught by the High Elder. "That's good to know. I've read Muvians are quite closed off, so I don't want anyone there to think that I'm intruding in their spiritual place, even in Athena's name."

"Captain, are there mariner missions, too?" Atlae asked, curious. "I've never heard of, um, Poseidon Maidens? Is that a thing?"

"No, Atlae. Mariners unfortunately never make an effort to recruit outside their families." Krishna explained, setting his dish aside after finishing.

"There's a good reason for that!" Caça interjected, folding arms arrogantly. "There's no meaning to Mariner blood if anyone can just join by praying to our God. Mariners aren't just faithful to him; we are all the lineages of the Sanctuary of Lord Poseidon."

The Muvian hummed, confused. "But… Sanctuary gathers people from around the world, right? Even to this day."

Krishna's lips tensed. "Yup. And that's why they've beaten us to dominating the planet so badly."

Atlae laid out his hands. "I remember seeing ALL SORTS of people in Sanctuary Town; Greeks, Italians, Brazilians, Japanese… they can't all be descendants from old Saints, right? In any case, it's nothing like Shamballa, miss Daisy. In my Master's city, there's a couple of humans here and there doing business, but otherwise it's pretty much all Muvians."

She tilted her head. "Oh. You must have been treated very nicely there, then?"

The martial artist's lip quivered. "Ah, well… not so much. Like Caça said before, I was seen as a bit of a hick there. Plus, I was in a school for girls, and under Lord Solo's pay, too, so people didn't respect that about me very much…"

Daese went quiet, dazzled by this. So Atlae was prejudiced against? Among his own people? How could that be?

She saw Atlae dance his fork on his plate pensively. "It got tough a few times…Everyone seemed to have some kind of problem with me." But then Atlae beamed. "But it's alright, cause Master Yuzuriha would then show me what real tough was all about with her training, and made me forget all about it! To her, all that mattered was that I did my best and became a great martial artist for my school!"

The Zodiac Knight smiled encouragingly, but stayed quiet. How could such a thing be for Atlae, especially with how smart and advanced Muvians were? Among the Knights, Daese couldn't imagine being mistreated, even if she was from a different Castle. Knights from Serpent's Rock in the east to Foal's Peak in the west saw each other as brothers (and occasionally sisters). All that mattered was that everyone had made their Oath to battle Hades in the name of Athena with every bit of blood in their veins, and the rest was in the details.

This was why, to this day, she still felt the fervor in her veins to avenge her people. She imagined Cerah definitely had to, as well.

"Are you of the Muvians, Atlae? Or do you consider yourself a Mariner, now?" she found herself asking. Perhaps it was rude, especially considering the looks everyone gave her, but this was such an odd case she just had to.

The blonde teenager hummed, looking away with a melancholic smile. "I can't really ever lose my dots, miss Daisy. I doubt anyone will let me forget that, -"

"Especially me." Caça made sure to quip, elbow-bumping Atlae.

The martial artist ignored him. "I think that for all intents and purposes I am with the Mariners, though. Especially after, well, um…"

Daese saw him get red and laughed, guessing he was talking about his secret girlfriend. "I see, say no more."

Atlae reached inside his shirt and took out his turtle shell flute. "However, I still love my Master very much. I want to honor my people as much as I want to honor Lord Solo. Mari's father has always told me one day he'd like my people and his to forget all the old grudges of the past. I guess in the end I'm just a tiny tool for that objective." He then narrowed eyes determinedly. "But I don't mind it at all. Lord Solo is proud of me, and I am proud to help him in that goal."

The secret Knight stared, impressed. She had rarely seen this commitment to doing good for others, even among Saints. Atlae was taking a big risk for his people, too. He'd probably always be seen as someone stuck in the middle of two tribes that hated each other for this. And he seemed very aware of it.

She studied the flute in his hands. He had showed it like it symbolized his bond with his teacher. "Is that from her? The High Elder?"

He nodded happily. "Yup! She gave it along with my blackbelt."

"Do you mind if I look?" she asked, reaching out. Atlae gladly gave it to her and Daese studied the tiny shells and orifices. The Knight hummed. "This is intricate work. Handcrafted too. I feel stardust layers inside, like it was made to be used in combat situations." Daese handed it back. "Atlae, this flute might have been made for great Saints to carry. It might be the most valuable possession you have. You should treasure it deeply."

Atlae's mouth made a circle as he took it back, not aware of this. Krishna also seemed impressed by her knowledge.

Caça squinted again. "How do you know so much about damn instrument crafting?"

Daese staggered "OH, I, umm…"

She felt everyone stare, even Krishna. The truth was that, as Zodiac Knights, Daese's people were known best for shaping and repairing their own Cloths, but also for using the same talent to create jewelry, tools, simple weapons, architecture and, yes, musical instruments. Singing was a big part of Zodiac Knight tradition. Though it was mostly a lot of monks chanting in the temples to Athena, many Knights were proud singers too. Their travelers and scouts loved to chant of the beauty of their promised spouses, castles and mission while on journey, while the Knight's infamous swan song, the "Farewell, My Brothers", had signaled Lionet Roland's demise along with that most of the order, when Azrael massacred them.

Maidens of Athena, on the other hand, were known mostly for gossiping, not singing. She could tell the three mariners were aware of that.

She smiled as convincingly as she could, but it was getting harder and harder somehow. "W-Well, you know us Maidens! Every chapter every now and then has to do a big fundraiser event with the children to keep the lights on. Sometimes we teach them music, too! Not as good as the one in Néa Delphi of course…"

"Uh-uh…" Atlae nodded, brushing it off..

While Caça just squinted like he couldn't read a tiny text. "You stinkin' liar. What are you hiding from us?!"

Daese tucked her legs in her seat, embarrassed. "Unbelievable. It's a miracle Azrael has never tracked me down. Next, I'm just going to pull my Aquila Cloth Stone right in front of the High Elder, for sure."

{======================|A3|======================}

Russia,

Ural Mountains

Serpent's Rock Castle

{======================|A3|======================}

The Lightcraft clone's blade slammed down hard on him as Azrael held a high guard, cracking both edges and sending sparks of light flying everywhere. A counterstrike in the form of a spinning diagonal upward slash was executed by him, slashing the clone's torso in half. He then raised the sword over shoulder to block an attack from behind, span to swing his sword and dug his damaged edge deep into the throat of a second clone, making it gargle and then shatter into countless pieces of light.

He backstepped, sensing the remaining group of four ahead of him. They carried spears and axes, as well as shields, all Lightcrafted to the highest standard. With careful steps, they set up a formation, forming a forward pair of flanks and a rear center guard of spears. Then, like wolves to a cornered fox, they pounced.

The Castellan's cosmos activated, turning him into a blaze of emerald green. He dashed to meet their charge, activating one of his deadliest techniques. "SERAPHIC FLASH!"

Seemingly funneling his body into a thick beam of light shaped like a horned, hissing serpent, Azrael coated himself with a thick layer of stardust-like specks of light cosmos and went for the jugular of their formation; speeding like a flying snake betwixt their axe slashes and spear thrusts. Then, in a choreography of death and flashes, a series of cleaving blows trailing curtains of light cut through each and every one of the clones, across their chests, arms, legs, necks and even heads.

He landed past them with a final downward slash. Azrael rested on his sword's pommel, spent, and the clones behind him shattered into millions of starlight particles.

For a second, the air was filled with these shining petals falling in the air, gently floating. He stared with a burning heart. Helen used to love these. She used to say that every time he made the air shine like this, she forgot the fears in her heart about being a Gold Saint. It made her feel back home, away from the Temples, in the green prairies under the stars of southern Brazil when she first unlocked her Cosmos. The Castellan looked at the sky. He was in the opposite corner of the world, in Russia, where the stars were very different from the ones that made Helen dream of the Cosmos. They were beginning to fade away under the rising morning light.

Realizing the dawn was approaching, he waved the air with his hand. This made the petals suddenly return to him, reattaching themselves to his Serpent Cloth and turn back into its metal. Perhaps it was time to rest. He had been sparring all night. He headed inside the keep and dispelled his Cloth, making it shatter into green starlight that then coalesced on the jewel around his neck.

Sitting at his table in the meeting hall, Castellan Azrael, naked of his armor, held his Emerald Cloth Stone in his hand, contemplating its brilliance under the candlelight. It was a green stone with a slight 's' curve to it locked in a metal circlet. A metal chain going through its tiny ring allowed it to hang by his neck loosely enough that he could pull it out and look at it clearly. The reason why was because Zodiac Knights had to do maintenance work on their Cloth Stones regularly (except for Diamond which was, naturally, much tougher than the rest), but they still were expected to always, always keep their stones around their neck. It was unbecoming of a Knight to take it off even during baths.

His was a beautiful example; a pristine gem holding the Serpens Bronze Cloth. The shadow of a slithering, horned serpent could be seen inside its facets under the right light. Any Knight would be proud to have it. Not only was it a beautiful piece of work, but the wearer was entitled to guard the fortress Azrael currently lived at, not to mention entrusted with the power to see well beyond their natural sight; a necessity given the vast distances of the Eurasian steppes.

Saint Azrael considered it a curse, instead. With such sight, after all, he could see everything he possessed not. Everything that was taken away from him. Everything that had disappeared from his life that he held dear. Moreover, after all these years, that power was yet to help him find where the Corvus and Aquila Cloths were.

The fireplace behind him suddenly raged without timber, birthing flames that turned blue. A shadow formed inside its light that then spoke. "What a rare sight to see you without your armor, Castellan."

The green-haired man's bloodshot eyes glanced at the flames. He recognized the enormous silhouette of the hair and beard in the shadow.

"(Nikolai Gerasimov.)" This was the patrician of the Kraken Scales' Household, based in the large territories of the Artic Sea coasts between Serpent Rock and Bluegrad. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"I thought I should warn you. I've learned just now someone will soon be present in Shamballa that might be inconvenient for you. For us, even."

Azrael stood up. "There is no us. I am a Saint of Athena." He turned to the flames. "And you are just a Mariner. Patrician or not, you are as below the dirt under my feet as the depth of the pacific trench is from the peak of the Everest."

There was a coarse, dragged out laugh from the rasped voice. "How rude. You Knights are all the same; talking eloquently about how much better you think you are than everyone else. A more entitled version of the damn Saints. But even so, we are both men who desire to set things back in order." Nikolai reminded him, "That makes us natural allies, does it not?"

Azrael's hand cringed on his chair head, disgusted at the idea of having anything in common with the gangster in front of him. Men like him being kept around the Pope was the reason Sanctuary was falling. "(I think my idea of order would be quite inconvenient to yours.)"

Ignorant of his thoughts, Nikolai suggested. "Do you disagree?"

"From what I remember, you're not the one sitting on the Mariners' chair in the Pact." Azrael reminded him. "So yes, I do."

For a brief moment, Azrael could swear that his observation made the silhouette of Nikolai's vast hair rise like an angry octopus' tentacles, but then it settled. It made the Castellan smile ever so slightly. There was nothing he loved more than hurting the ego of these pigs, and the hatred between Nikolai Gerasimov and Arthur Solo was well known.

"That… can change. We both know Arthur isn't a good friend to you." Nikolai worded, clearly with a self-imposed calm. "And you have a track record of being able to tell when the music is about to stop, Serpens Azrael, so I know you're a smart man. We don't have to be buddies, of course, … but I figured a gesture for the future could be a good first step."

Azrael squinted. The lack of specificity reeked of weakness. "(You know nothing about what cards I hold, do you? You're just grasping at straws.)"

"As I was saying, I've learned from my grandson that our fantastic Vice-Admiral, Marianne Solo, is turning our fleet's pride, the Sea Dragon, up north to Shamballa."

Immediately, Azrael tensed his jaw. As lord of the tower of Serpent's Rock, he already knew this. However, Marianne was the girl that affronted him at Arthur's manor. The fact that ignorant brat had the audacity to speak to him still made his blood boil.

"She will likely be stationed there for quite a while." Nikolai mentioned. "With all those big guns of her ship…"

"And? You don't think I can see that?" Azrael confronted. He had spotted the massive flying ship making its way through the skies of India that morning. "From my tower, I can see a canoe sailing up the Amur River to Mongolia. I can see the monks praying at the very top floor of the Sun Temple. I could even see the inside of your room right now, and show Sanctuary all the evidence of how you connive with Pact members clandestinely."

The shadow's shoulders shook with the man's laughter. "How frightening…One has to wonder what else have you been keeping an eye on, then, Castellan. Especially after that visit of yours to my dear friend Arthur. Like…. Marianne Solo's wedding aspirations."

The Knight tensed again, realizing Nikolai's objective.

"I have half a mind that my grandson would make a good fiancé for her. It seems the two have already had a pleasant introduction." Nikolai mused. "Should they become friendly partners, that would certainly fix relations between our houses after Arthur so shamefully… abandoned my daughter for that Seraphina peasant. However, what if he says no? I couldn't take another such disappointment from him. That would simply shatter me, like a glacier in the Summer."

"(Then you want evidence of her little affair with her Muvian squeeze toy. I could certainly provide that. I caught the two kissing from my tower after I returned home.)" Azrael concluded.

In fact, he had planned to pursue the information and find out more about that Muvian, but Ithaca's ambush took his mind off of it. Still, Azrael found himself ever more amazed by the petty intrigues of these Mariners. While the Knight was contemplating his grand designs with the giant of Kailash, here was the head of the Gerasimov asking him for paparazzi garbage. This could only have even deeper ulterior motives, especially from an opportunist like Nikolai.

All working with this guy would do, however, was create leverage over Azrael. "(If you think I'm giving the Mariners timber to burn me at the Pope's pyre, you're sorely mistaken.)"

Nikolai saw Azrael pick up a water bucket and about to close the communication line. "WAIT, just listen to me! I know who you're keeping in your castle, Serpens Azrael."

The Zodiac Knight stopped. How did this cur know? He must have been observing Arthur's gestures himself when Azrael captured Ithaca. "… I don't know what you mean."

"Let's not talk to each other with hands behind our backs; I don't know what you're doing with poor sir Ithaca in your castle, Castellan, and I do not intend to level such a thing against you, but I chose this particular way of talking to you for a reason; to show that you can trust me. And that I have something to offer you."

While the fact that the Gerasimov knew Ithaca was in Serpent's Rock concerned him, Azrael stopped to hear. "I have no 'Ithaca' with me. And what could a Mariner possibly give me?"

"Something your magical tower cannot see; the secret to the LPS Sea Dragon's armament." Nikolai offered, finally giving him real pause. "I'm sure whatever your project is, that battleship will be a thorn in your plans. The Stardust Cannon alone could blow away a Zodiac Temple. Aimed correctly… and it could blow away you."

Azrael chuckled maliciously, picturing the chaos the man in front of him would cause for even a tiny bit more power. "Athena save us all! It seems the Mariners have a traitor among their households, giving away their secrets!"

"Some greater than anything you've extracted out of poor Sir Ithaca, I promise you that! All I ask, other than perhaps some of your insights here and there, is that, whatever you do with Sir Ithaca, do not harm my grandson's future bride. Shake on it, Castellan… and this could be the start of a productive friendship. What do you say?"

The Knight pondered over the bucket in his hands. He then scoffed. "I think you've spoken enough for tonight, old man." and hurled it.

The figure in the flames seethed. "You'll regret this, Serpens Azr-"

Splashing the fireplace, Azrael extinguished the flames entirely, darkening the room down to just the candlelight. He didn't have to do this to cut off this kind of communication; slicing the Cosmos link would have been enough. He just liked the dramatic effect of it.

Tossing the metal bucket away, Azrael slumped in the chair by the mirror, disgusted. "Who does he think he is, trying to manipulate me?! I'm a Priam War Gold Saint. I've crossed swords with Akassius himself! I don't need any blueprint secrets to defeat that airship…" But he then held chin. "Still… the presence of the ship might complicate things in and of itself, especially with that girl onboard. If I am to rekindle the flames of hatred between Atlantis and Shamballa, I cannot have that Muvian-Lover going around rescuing Muvians in distress. It must be by the power of Sanctuary Gold Saints alone that the Muvians are kept safely in their pen, not of the Mariners."

Yes, the Sanctuary Gold Saints… like himself.

He turned the dusty mirror on the wall. Even through the layer of gunk he saw himself, wearing a Bronze Cloth Stone around his neck. Immediately his mind pictured the armor inside on his body. The ram shape of his helmet, the horns, the skull mask and the heavy plates of the Bronze Cloth were a poor imitation of his heart's desire; the return to the time he first wore the Aries Cloth. All fake. A copper-green snake made to look like a golden ram.

Azrael remembered the last time he wore the real thing. It was etched into his mind like a deep betrayal.

{======================|A3|======================}

It was seven years earlier, in that very same castle's bailey.

Serpent Rock's towers burned and its walls and keep were covered with fresh blood and beheaded, armored bodies. The front gate had been smashed through and the walls, not yet decorated with the skulls of its old defenders, were instead covered with slash marks from Aries Antenor's broadsword. These were the marks of his final massacre of his own brothers and sisters of the Order, countless killed so he could earn a place back in Sanctuary.

His Holiness stood there, flanked by Aquarius and Taurus, beholding the destruction around them. "So much death…To think that my tenure as Pope would have seen the end to the Zodiac Knights. I think I might carry this terrible night in my heart to my grave."

Azrael's gloved, blood-soaked hand laid out, showing a trio of colorful gems. "The Cloth Stones, as you've asked."

With a signal from the Pope, the Gold Saints of Aquarius and Taurus approached him and took the stones, studying them.

"They're the real ones." Aquarius concluded. "The Ruby is Lionet, the Saphire is Equuleus and the Kunzite one is Caelum. These are the three Bronze ones we were still missing."

Going through them, it wasn't long before the obvious lack of obsidian and diamond was noticed by Ajax. "Where are Corvus and Aquila, Antenor? Those are the two Silver ones, are they not?"

Azrael shook head. "Those were never here. You're going to have to ask Kirin about Corvus. That one stormed Crow's Nest, after all. As for Aquila, you know Kai's wife had it."

Ajax exchanged a somber look with Malta. "Azrael, Aquila Partita is dead."

"The Knights killed her at Foal's Peak and took her Cloth back." Malta lamented, shaking head. "If the Equuleus Knight was here, then so must have been the Aquila Cloth stone. Are you sure none of the ones here had it?"

Azrael tensed. "I've given you every armor I've found! Do you really think I'd miss the Aquila fucking Paladin if they were here?!"

Malta reeled. "We are just aski-"

"If you don't believe me, you can look through the bodies yourself!" Azrael hissed at him. He turned to the Pope. "I've done my part, your Holiness! The Zodiac Knights are purged! Now doYOURS!"

The two Gold Saints stood quiet and gave the Pope space.

But the Holy Father then said the most shocking thing he's ever heard since the war began. "No, Antenor. We need more from you."

Aries Antenor reeled at this as he remained knelt before the Pope, surrounded by the burning bodies of his fellow men. "W-What?! More?! How could you possibly ask me that?! I've given you EVERYTHING!"

"You haven't given us Corvus, Aquila, OR Serpens." The pope reminded him. His masked visage surveyed their surroundings, beholding all the death. "The deaths of all these men and women can't go unpaid, either. In the end, they were still Saints of Athena."

"THE DEATHS?! WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN WHEN YOU ASKED ME TO END THE WAR?!" Antenor cried out, stepping menacingly. "THAT THEY WOULD JUST LAY DOWN THEIR ARMS?! Zodiac Knights fight to the end; it's in our blood! Millenia of combat against Hades made sure of that!"

"That is… most unfortunate." Aquarius admitted, looking away. "But it is not what we demanded, Antenor. We asked for the end of the war, not the death of women and children."

Azrael stepped back, agape in disbelief at them. "Y-You… you cowards!" he turned to His Holiness. "Pope, admit that you sanctioned this! NOW!"

The Pope remained inflexible. Sided by Aquarius 'Odysseus' and Taurus 'Ajax', his silent black mask was the face of an ultimate judge demanding even more retribution for his crimes.

"We must be consistent with the people of Sanctuary, Antenor." Pope Arles spoke. "We have gone through almost four brutal years of civil war. During them, everyone has come to learn which Gold Saints have sided with whom just by who was suddenly absent from the Golden Zodiac after Priam's… assault on me. Nothing short of the total defeat of our enemies and the recovery of the armors held by the Knights will satisfy the people of Athena after our sacrifices. If an Aries Saint returns now, mask or not, everyone will know that the same man who rained stars of death on my hoplites and Saints for forty months has been granted full amnesty, returned to the same position of power without punishment or reparations."

Antenor's fingers clenched in the mud. "Without REPARATIONS?!"

The two Gold Saints saw Antenor grab something large off the ground and toss it at the Pope. Arles staggered and Ajax swerved to shield Arles, letting it bounce off his armored chest with a metallic sound and roll to their feet.

It was the head of Castellan Rodrick, lord of Lionet's Den, one of the nine great Zodiac Knight castles alongside Crow's Nest and Serpent's Rock. At one point, he had been the Lionet Knight and a military instructor to both Priam and Antenor. His dead blue eyes now were fixated on the Pope.

"Does it look to you like I haven't paid reparations?! That man taught me everything I know about the sword! We sang the song of the knights' farewell together! Even if I were deaf, his dying gasps would have penetrated my heart!" Antenor shouted, his green eyes sharpening on His Holiness. "Sanctuary promised me salvation if I ended the war for you! Without the Zodiac Knights, Priam and Aeneas are finished! It's only a matter of time before your Gold Saints catch them too! Now you say you need more?! I gave you VICTORY, ARLES!"

Arles knelt and closed the dead man's eyes. He still remembered this Knight's actions to protect the people of the Caucasus from wars among nations. "Poor Rodrick…I was present at his knighting. He was a valiant man."

"Murdering your own was NOT our demand, Antenor!" Ajax shouted, his large voice overpowering everyone else's. "You've done this to buy your position back as a Saint in the court's eyes, NOT for your salvation! If your honor was your first concern, you could have offered yourself alone!"

The Knight staggered. Ajax was betraying him, too?! "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" His fist shook at him. "How dare you moralize me, Ajax?! You who stood by this masked coward even after Helen's death?!"

The enormous Taurus Saint stood tall. "Don't you dare speak of my daughter's death, Antenor. This war killed Partita, too, or have you forgotten? She's left Kai with two young children to raise! And ALL because YOU dragged the Zodiac Knights into it."

Aquarius 'Odysseus' added in "Do you think Kai and Aguilon are happy about you coming back to the fold after what you've done? A wife, daughter and mother is dead because of you. If they had their way, only your head would roll, Antenor, not those of your entire Order. And then multiply the pain Kai and Aguilon felt by all the people who've lost brothers and sisters fighting the Knights. So, let's not discuss what reparations are owed to whom."

Antenor gritted his teeth. "So you're telling me that turning my back on my Knights,… that slaughtering them and letting the Saints violate their castles, isn't enough to expiate me?!"

"You cannot repent your sins with the lives of others, Aries Antenor!" Arles dictated, his tone firm. "This is not how this works. We must lay the groundwork for peace in the future, or only more tragedy awaits us."

The two Gold Saints saw their former comrade shake more and more in fury. They all knew this was going to be difficult to confront him with, but if people in Sanctuary knew Aries Antenor was back after many of their friends lost their lives and suffered for so long because he aided Priam's war effort, there would be riots in the streets. Another 'Priam' might even be born among the Saints and more innocent people would pay the ultimate price.

Still, Odysseus tried. "Antenor,… No, Azrael, please, we all know you are in pain as well, but this… sacrifice could only ever have been a start of a long journey of redemption. You may not be happy with this compromise, but it is how we can help you!"

Azrael laughed coarsely "A sacrifice he says! Only you could put this to such calculating terms!" He waved his hand around at the piles of bodies in the bailey. "These are a 'sacrifice', says Odysseus, the rational! As if we spoke of an ox offered at the altar of Zeus! Five thousand years of service to Athena against Hades by countless generations of Zodiac Knights have come to an end, because of me, and you call that 'the start of a journey to redemption'! I see, now, that absolutely nothing was learned by Sanctuary over what happened with Priam!"

"What do you think you're implying?!" Arles demanded

Antenor fixed his green eyes on the Pope. "That you're making the same mistake that drove him to punch you in the face in front of all those people in the first place; putting your stupid little political concerns over your honor to your Saints! And the more you call us sticking to our principles 'treason', the more wars will happen! I promise you that!"

Ajax stepped warningly. "Are you menacing the Pope, Antenor?!"

The Pope held Ajax back.

Then he lowered head, tensing. "Aries Antenor… you will officially surrender your Gold Cloth. No longer will you occupy the position of guardian of the first temple of Sanctuary. Please accept these terms peacefully, and we can help you reintegrate into Sanctuary and forget your betrayal. Reject them… and I'm afraid Athena herself alone knows what might happen."

The disgraced Knight gritted teeth and charged his Cosmos, bursting into light. "NEVER! Come and fight me if you wish! I'll make you pry it off my dead han-"

However, at that moment, just as he was about to defend himself against two of his powerful peers, Antenor felt the heavy pieces of golden metal in his body pry off his shoulders, chest, legs, waist, arms and head, dropping to the floor in a cacophony like an indispensable string of attachment between them and their carrier had suddenly been cut.

The Pope sighed. "I'm sorry, but you're mistaken, Azrael. Your Cloth has already abandoned you."

Azrael froze, shaking, feeling his body exposed to the elements. "N-NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"I've done absolutely nothing." Arles assured. He did not need his old talent of speaking to the armors' spirits to realize the truth. "The Cloths of Athena have a will of their own. They decide whether or not you are a worthy carrier. Azrael, did you really think you could go down this path for so long and not be responsible for your actions to anyone but yourself?"

The Knight fell to his knees, causing the armor pieces to distance themselves further, as if magnetically repelled by his presence. "N-No… NO! I worked so hard! You have no right! NO RIGHT!"

Aquarius 'Odysseus' shook head, saddened by this sight. "I'm sorry, Azrael…"

{======================|A3|======================}

The Castellan beheld his reflection, a morphed Serpens Cloth made into the shape of his lost golden Aries. While he had picked to place the horns in the helmet and make them regular sized, the shape was still a clear allusion to everything that was stolen from him.

Unable to stomach the sight of it, he struck the mirror with his gauntleted fist, shattering it to the ground.

Serpens Azrael marched on, going down the stairs, taking one of the torches off the wall with him. One day he'd pay. One day Arles would beg him to take the armor back!

Entering the dark dungeon, he took his keys and unlocked the thick, large door of one of the cells, opening it with a loud creak. He lit his torch and held it up, illuminating his prisoner.

He was gone! The broken chains hung from the ceiling loosely!

"BLAST! Where did he-" But as he turned his torch and the light found the unconscious body on the ground, Azrael realized where Ithaca was. "Ah… there you are. You had me scared for a second."

With his arms stretched out by chains holding him up above the ground, Ithaca of Delphi laid pathetically on the floor, his incarcerated head slumped down.

However, the strong, charming, brave mariner was absolutely unrecognizable; his hair was no longer visible squeezing through his iron mask's neck, most of it having fallen out, his strong muscles had shrunk into thin, starved lines of flesh beneath a skin heavily paled by lack of sun and, of course, his sex organ was gone and his crotch cauterized, his nails ripped out, his fingerprints filed and filth marks littered his thighs. His cosmos was also a mere spark of what it had once been. Upon a time, it was a vibrant ocean, and now it was a pool of dead water. The mark of Ithaca's burgeoning Ki had also tainted it, making it lose even further the distinct sapphire tone to Azrael's 7th sense.

Why, under the right eye, one could easily confuse him even for a Muvian. "Perfect." Azrael concluded. He held the caged face up and saw Ithaca's eyes closed behind the emerald lenses. "Wake up, Mariner. Our time is at an end."

Ithaca's head simply slumped again.

Azrael growled. Taking the destroyed man by the nape, Azrael dragged him out of the dungeon. "Must I do everything myself?!"

{======================|A3|======================}

Ithaca howled in misery, forcefully taken up the castle and then down the stairs to the bailey, practically tossed down every flight of stairs. Half asleep, half dead, the mariner could only stumble and fall, kicked and dragged ever forward by the ruthless Zodiac Knight. Repeatedly he collapsed, feeling no strength left in his arms and legs and completely incapable of focusing the little cosmos that still burned in him.

Yet, Ithaca did not beg for death, Azrael had to recognize that. Or perhaps the spirit to do that was gone as well.

Waiting for him to crawl up a table to get himself on his feet, the Knight's foot slammed Ithaca's chest, bursting him out the main doors into the bailey outside. For the first time in a long while, sunlight bathed Ithaca, blinding him through his face cage's eyes, causing him more pain than relief.

"We are in August, 1974, in case you're wondering." Azrael mocked, watching him squirm and moan at the burning light as he gathered himself. "It's only been four months since you've started keeping me company in my castle. Time flies, does it not?" Azrael knelt next to him and whispered. "Everyone thinks you're dead by now. I could keep you here forever if I wanted. Or maybe I could surprise them, drop you at the Solos house and see if they even recognize you in your sorry shape? Isn't that a nice thought?"

Ithaca wept pathetically; his spirit exhausted.

The Castellan laid out a hand at him. "Yet, despite all that, you've surpassed my best hopes; not only have you survived all your trials, but you've awakened the power that has eluded so many clueless Mariners other than the Cholas; the force of life itself! The 0th sense is yours, Ithaca of Delphi. Your desperate struggle to free yourself from your cosmos-sealing shackles has made you tap into the oldest of all senses."

At this, the Mariner looked up in realization. "…You w-wanted me to awaken this power!"

The Zodiac Knight chuckled. "I certainly wasn't hosting you this long for free. You should thank me, even. Even I haven't accomplished such a feat. You're now a perfect warrior; like a grand Muvian martial artist master. Aren't you proud? You finally see through their eyes, Mariner… just a little bit."

Shaking, the tortured man's hands pushed against the ground to lift himself. He felt tears escape his eyes and drench the inside of his mask. Ithaca realized he was being made into a deadlier and deadlier weapon for this monster to use in his scheme. In fact, he could feel the awareness that this new power gave him, letting him sense Azrael's very pulse from where he stood, along with every worm in the ground beneath his fingers.

Was this what Atlae felt, with that incredible power of his? The very breath of life?

Azrael held out his hand "Lightcraft!" and the gauntlet in it dispersed into bright particles that danced between them, coalescing into a humanoid figure with the silhouette of Seraphina.

If circumstances had been different, Ithaca would admire the precision with which Azrael fabricated people's visages. He was like an artist. Every string of Seraphina's pale blue hair danced with the breath of the wind and even the shine in her eyes was perfectly replicated. The jewels in her dress shined and her smile curved up at just the right level to make her warmth look… human.

The Serpens Saint saw Ithaca energized by the sight of it, his iron mask fixing on her. "Look at you… four months in a hole, your cock ripped out and your heart torn to shreds, and still you salivate over this useless woman. I'd find you all the more pathetic over it, but the genuine nature of your feelings will be useful to me."

"U-useful?!" Ithaca gagged out, finding new depths to the shock this man could inflict in him.

"What do you think I spayed you for? Casual fun?" Azrael's shoulders shook in laughter and he dispelled the illusion of Seraphina, reforming his gauntlet. "Do you have any idea how much that delayed you getting the 0th sense? Sexuality is extremely important for that particular power. I wouldn't have taken it away it if I didn't need to know how deep inside your heart the love for the sight of her reached."

The former Son of Arion reeled. Not only over how he questioned his love for Seraphina, but for how he mocked the very act of disfiguring Ithaca. Every day, Ithaca's diminished status as a man was felt in his spirit, and it had been done out of a childish impulse to test him?!

Ithaca screamed and launched himself at Azrael! His pathetically weak body, however, merely slumped on the powerful knight, who easily shoved him back to the ground with one hand.

"If you're trying to make me pity you,… it's working." Azrael confessed, sounding rather disgusted with his display.

"H-How dare you talk about l-love?!" Ithaca still couldn't help but growl. "G-Giving me lectures on it... as if your heart was even remotely capable of it! You've murdered thousands of your own people… and you're now going to murderthousands of innocent others! And you talk about…. love?! WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF IT, SERPENS AZRAEL?! M-Murderer, liar, DOUBLE a traitor! What h-heart do you have in that chest of yours that you dare say others don't-"

Azrael's foot slammed hard on his caged head, sending him rolling through the bailey's floor.

"Enough with the speeches. I don't like having my ears bled by Mariners who think they're as good as Saints."

Struggling to get back on his feet, Ithaca reeled with the pain shaking through his body. "W-What the hell do you want, then?! Why did you bring me out here? To finally kill me?!"

"I'd just like to chat a little before we leave. You've…" Azrael stopped to think of how to put it. The idea of complimenting a Mariner revolted him, after all. "- mildly impressed me with your resilience. It's made me wonder what's been carrying you all this time. Mariners are all cowards and weaklings after all."

Refusing to give Azrael more excuses to hit him, Ithaca merely eyed him hatefully.

He beheld Ithaca's unrecognizable, emaciated, pale shape. "You must be different from the rest, right? Even before everything I've done to you… and all the things you've done to yourself, too. What would you say that is, Ithaca of Delphi? Perhaps some blood from a better people got mixed into your veins? Could it be you're the product of infidelity as well, just like little Julian?"

The disgusting insinuation made Ithaca irk grossly. Again, he refused to answer it.

Azrael smiled evilly. "Not going to entertain the possibility? It would certainly explain how little your God seems to favor you, would it not?"

At this, Ithaca reeled. It just struck too close to home. In a way, it was true Ithaca had always felt unfavored by Lord Poseidon in a very casual manner, blaming his ill luck with masters before Lord Arthur, and eventually his wild feelings for Lady Seraphina, on an almost whimsical distaste Lord Poseidon probably had for this particular servant of his by the name of Ithaca. For it, Ithaca had always pointed at his own misbehaviors and joviality, uncouth behavior for a proper Mariner, not to mention his willingness to be friend with Muvians, as perhaps the reason he did not fit a mold closer to what Lord Poseidon envisioned for his Mariners.

But then everything kept getting worse, didn't it? He found out Seraphina loved him back, allowing the two of them a chance to disgrace themselves, then Marianne discovered him and cursed Ithaca with the kindness of not revealing it all to her father. Between that, then Seraphina hating him for leaving her and Lord Arthur's unending generosity driving Ithaca further into madness, he could only wonder if this life was a hell only Poseidon could provide; one of repeated disgrace and humiliation in ever more imaginative forms, worse than any of Hades' Prisons.

The feeling of divine abandonment had reached a pinnacle during his time in Azrael's fortress. It was almost by mere chance he was in this man's hands, after all, as if the Gods had guided Ithaca to the nest of that eagle that first alerted the Knight to Ithaca's presence. Then, despite the fact that he felt not once, but twice encouraged by something invisible to break free and attack Azrael, both chances had landed in failure. This in spite of Ithaca's best efforts and they may have, in fact, accelerated Azrael's intentions to have Ithaca awaken this new sense of lifeforce of his.

Now, less than merely bad luck, Ithaca felt truly cursed. Perhaps he was, like the Castellan said, not a true Mariner in more than just spirit. And perhaps poor Julian would be cursed as much as he was for that blood sin?

Reading the realization in Ithaca through his panicked pause, Azrael stepped in and added. "Even if I'm wrong, maybe Poseidon has just come to see me as a bigger instrument to his intentions than you? That is certainly an interesting thought… You Mariners have been such constant disappointments to him, failing to defeat my Goddess war after war, and now you're even breaking bread with the Muvians? There have even been moments in the past where that trident-totting maniac has come to his senses and seen the Saints as the true soldiers of peace on Earth, after all, especially when the need to stop Hades arose. Who is to say, Ithaca of Delphi, that your God… has not totally abandoned you for me?"

The Mariner turned away. What was going on was obvious. Even a child could see it. Serpens Azrael was about to have to relinquish his toy, and he wanted to spend a moment checking if he could break just a little bit more of Ithaca's spirit before the end. Even with all his self-blaming thoughts, Ithaca realized it.

It didn't make what Azrael said any less true, though.

"How does it feel to have no one left on Earth or heaven above to love you?" Azrael hissed. "I certainly cannot imagine, because, as a Saint, as I'm sure you know, my fellow Saints and my Goddess love me, even with all the mistakes I've made. We wouldn't wear our armors if we didn't."

Ithaca's teeth gritted and he waved hand at the skulls surrounding them on the walls. "What about the Knights you killed?! Weren't they Saints as well?!"

"I sang the Knights' song of farewell together with the last wielder of the Ruby Cloth Stone as I ended him and took his armor back for Sanctuary." Azrael perfectly countered. "Do Mariners sing songs of farewell to eachother, Ithaca of Delphi? Do you even weep for your own? Or do you squabble over their inheritance and titles like the pathetic trilobites with feet you all are?"

Ithaca laid down quietly, refusing to answer. To do it would be to confess a truth about his people, after all. And to do that would be to truly die, more than through letting any sword Azrael could forge straight into his heart.

The Knight looked him dead in the mask, making clear he wanted an answer to at least this next question. "Is being a Mariner even worth a shit anymore in this world, Ithaca of Delphi? Or is it all illusions hanging on the fickle mood of a God who does not even love his own?"

Ithaca squinted back. "We all have our illusions, don't we? Mine was that Poseidon's winds still favored me. And yours is that you think you're going to get away with all this. So I'll keep my own, thank you very much. And you can go rot in the abyss with yours."

Azrael nodded. "Good answer. Again, the type a brave man would give instead of a Mariner. How about a last act of kindness? From a Saint to an unloved soul, that is? What do you wish for?"

Ithaca widened his eyes. "W-wish?!"

"Do you want what's about to happen to you to be painless? Or your corpse delivered to Arthur's harlot after we're done? If she will even take it back, of course." He chuckled. "Judging from my last visit to your masters' home… I doubt that. She looked quite happy with her husband."

The Mariner sunk to his knees. This was clearly a final, cruel trick. However, Azrael still prided himself as a Zodiac Knight, clearly. He was very likely making an honest offer, even if it was just to do his duty to give his victim a fair death. Perhaps Ithaca could get something good out of this. He just had to pick something this guy wouldn't turn into another way to enact his tormenting fantasies.

"No, I don't want any mercy. I deserve death and pain." Ithaca acknowledged. "I will walk into my God's celestial halls clean of honor, and join my brethren in the reefs."

Azrael seemed disappointed, adjusting his grip on his blade tensely. "Admirable for a Neptunite. Then what do you wish for?"

"Just the honest answer to an honest question, Azrael of Serpens." Ithaca challenged. "You've spent the last four months making me doubt I ever truly loved anyone; so… who do you love?!"

The Knight laid hand in hip, looking uncomfortable and going quiet. He then chuckled coarsely. "What makes you think there's an answer to that, Mariner?"

"Because you're a Saint of Athena." Ithaca confronted. "And like you said, you wouldn't be wearing that armor if you didn't."

Azrael stared, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

He grabbed Ithaca and carried him out. "You're a stupid man, Ithaca of Delphi. I could have given you some comfort in your miserable life before your final moments…"

But even as he was dragged out the castle to go meet his fate, the Mariner smiled for the first time in months. In fact, he felt like he could carry this grin to his grave, for at last, he saw how truly weak and small the man taking him to it was.

{======================|A3|======================}

Shamballa Plateau

Atlae's encampment

{======================|A3|======================}

She stood there, entranced. It was a tune of loneliness and loss. The notes were slow and softly breathed, speaking of words lost in the wind to someone left behind before a long journey. A deep regret was felt in the note rises, like the flutist punished himself for past hesitations, then carried off somberly into the finale in a melancholic, but accepting descent.

Daese's eyes softened and her hand clenched over chest. She remembered the songs of old her family of Knights would echo in the castles. Suddenly she missed Cerah so much.

Krishna took the flute off his mouth and glanced at her. "Did you like how that sounded? I think I managed to fix the high pitches."

She staggered, startled. "O-Oh, I'm sorry!" She stood up. "I couldn't get any sleep and then I heard you playing the flute."

"No worries, I'm just tuning this up for Atlae while he and Caça are gathering more wood for the night." Krishna looked the flute over again. "I kept thinking about why Atlae was missing the mark so much even though he's been practicing so hard. Turns out there was dust built up on the inside and some of the shells were pressed in too hard. I think no one has used the flute before him for a while and his teacher just didn't think about it before handing it."

"Ah, that makes sense." She saw the space next to him. "Do you mind if I…?"

"Not at all." He scooched over to give her space. He saw how disoriented she seemed. "Are you alright, miss Daisy? You've seemed distracted since we left the outpost."

Daese sat next to him, tucking her legs. She wished she could talk about it; how hearing the way Red was being treated and tossed around by Sanctuary made her sick to her stomach. She looked at Krishna and somehow felt that she could spill all her secrets, up to her association with Priam, and even if he tossed her straight into a cage to be trialed by Sanctuary, she would still feel better.

"You look like you want to say something." Krishna pointed out.

Daese sunk her head, flustered. "I do, I do. I just don't know how." She took a breath and tried. "I'm sorry about the way I reacted at the outpost. That must have looked so strange, right? Your song made me think back to it a bit."

"It's none of my business, Maiden. Anyone would be upset at that story." He ensured, focused on tuning Atlae's flute.

And he left it at that. Still, she felt terrible. The more stoically Krishna assured that nothing bad had been done, the more tempted she felt to just spill it out. She stared at him, picturing what kind of face he'd make if she said she was a Zodiac Knight.

"There's… a couple of people I've left behind in my life over the years, so I could keep to my vows." Daese worded. It was technically true, she just meant her vows to fight for Priam and not any Maiden promise to wear a hood her whole life for Athena or something. "Do you have family, captain?"

"Not direct, no." Krishna confessed. "I was raised by my uncle and cousins. I can't say I know what it feels like to leave them behind, unfortunately."

She perked up. "What about your parents?"

He answered without a beat. "They died in the war. All I remember of them is my dad and uncle arguing about religion."

"Then you're a Priam War orphan?" she staggered. It was just like her and Cerah.

He smirked. "Yes, and so is Atlae, but I'm afraid it's a bit too late for me to join the orphanage you'll be building in Shamballa, miss Daisy. I don't think I'd pass the height bar test."

Daese found herself laughing and combed her hair behind ear. It felt good to smile again.

He huffed to himself, finding her reservedness rather charming. For what could be called a pagan society, there was a lot of catholic influence in Sanctuary indeed. "Lord Arthur was head of the Sons of Arion during the fighting, so I supposed he always felt indebted to my parents' services. When my uncle took me in, helped pay for my education and eventually my business."

"He sounds like a kind man." she realized. "I only know of him because of the Solo Ranch in Rodario."

"The one with the horses, right(*)? Everyone thinks he's like those cattle barons, but Lord Arthur's actually a lot more down-to-earth than most imagine." Krishna then put the flute down. "He made me hope my entire life, in fact, that things were finally changing for the Mariners."

(*) Chapter 41 and 42 – The Two Towers Storyline

"Do you still think they are?"

The white-mohawked captain paused, tensing. After thinking a bit, he answered. "I do, but I think it will be harder than I first thought. It's… the old traditions. Our parents just can't let go of all the history and suffering we've gone through."

"It seems a lot of people our age suffered with our parents' fighting, too, though, haven't they?" She took a stick and played with it in the fire. "It's more than that… it's like now there is a void where they should be… the previous generation, that is." Her fingers tensed on it, nearly snapping it, her thoughts turned to Azrael and the Silver Saint that left Red in Mount Oly mpus. "Only their monsters, their ghosts and their cowards are left, haunting us forever..."

"Is that why the Maidens want to build new orphanages? To repair that suffering?" Krishna guessed.

She smiled, hiding a startle. "Um… sort of, y-yes. It's stereotypical, I know. Everyone says we just exist to recruit soldiers for Sanctuar-"

"It's alright, it's more than what Mariners do." He ensured, staring longingly at the fire. "We certainly never cared about the orphans we created. Not when we're so busy working for the end of human civilization as we know it. That's why I gravitated so strongly to the Solos. Sometimes I think the Saints are right, and Mariners really are the villains of our wars, same as Specters."

She paused, surprised by his introspection. "Well, that's not true! When was the last time that we even fought a war?… Oh, um…-" She then turned red. "I can't believe I'm saying this. I'm a Knight of the Zodiac! To everyone in my family, Mariners were just a spot down the list of enemies of Athena from Specters!" her features relaxed though, seeing his calmness, and remembering their conversations. Captain Krishna certainly didn't seem to froth at the mouth about humans being sinful degenerates. "But I can't help but think… this one is nothing at all from what I've always heard about them."

He kept noticing her vexed stares. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Just stupid thoughts." She excused, waving hand. "Can I ask something? I was raised among singers. I could tell you were putting something of yourself in your music and not just testing the flute out. What was that song called?"

Krishna turned his instrument over, pretending to check it. "Ah, well…I don't really have a name for it." His mind kept flashing Rebecca's face to him. "It was about… regret."

She stared at the pain barely hidden in his face. "Regret of what?"

His eyes met hers. "Of unspoken words. To people you didn't realize you cared about so much."

"Before they're gone?" she guessed. It was the only thing that made sense with how sad it sounded.

He nodded, thinking of Rebecca. If only he had noticed her feelings. "That's right. You said you had a sister, maiden Daisy?"

She half-smiled. There was so much she wished she could have shared with her parents and Cerah, before the Purge. "We are kept apart. It wasn't my wish. What I do would be too difficult for her to follow along with."

He hummed understandingly. It made perfect sense given the Maidens' austere lifestyle.

She tucked herself tightly, staring at the lights of the flames. "We lost a lot when we were young. One day, Lady Athena willing it, I'll take it all back. And then it will all be okay." She then perked, seeing the captain shake his head and chuckle. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing, I just…" He saw the determination in her eyes. It was tough to believe he was talking to a nun of Sanctuary. "Again, I can't help but say I really admire the people of Sanctuary. As a mariner, I often feel I already am everything I can become, but you Saints, Saintias, Amazons…and now the Maidens too are so fierce about your destinies. There you are, talking like you're going to climb Mount Olympus itself to flood the world with your light."

She smiled it away, flustered. "Oh no, I'm just, well,… I had strong parents."

"I'll say; there doesn't seem to be any fear of Hades in any of you." Krishna commented.

Daese took pause at the mention of the Knights' ancestral enemy. "Do Mariners fear him, captain? Do you?"

He scoffed bemusedly, like he found a dazzling irony in the idea. "I have a slot in the coral reefs reserved for me, Maiden Daese, to keep me and my family far away from his cruel clutches. And if Lord Poseidon abandons me? Well… perhaps Shiva will not."

Every pause in what he said betrayed a deep contemplation to the female Knight. "You seem… unsure."

The captain stared off. "I do, don't I? Maybe I do not belong among the Mariners, then."

The words resonated inside Daese's heart, making her heart trigger old desires to escape Azrael's rampage and Sanctuary's persecution. She recalled the shouts of Priam's rebels about how they could not take her and Cerah in, and Lucian's accusations of her being a failure of a Zodiac Knight for relying on a Specter to protect her sister. If it wasn't for Priam's kindness and efforts, so many times she would have felt she and her sister had no place left in the world.

"Maybe my future is somewhere else." Krishna added, lost in thoughts. "With another God or… just with different people."

She sat closer to Krishna, right next to him. "Or just… with someone more like you?"

He widened his eyes, surprised at her sudden proximity. Still, he hesitantly voiced "Yes. I'd like that very much."

Her face leaned closer to his, presenting her open lips. His eyes were so beautiful. She just wanted to stare at them all night, replace the stars and the moon with their shine.

He held her hand gently and leaned into her. Her hair was so soft, like the curly rays of a golden sun. He wanted them to shine in a blaze of light straight into his heart.

The two touched lips, forgetting the world entirely.

{======================|A3|======================}

Chapter End

{======================|A3|======================}

Next Chapter: Chapter 92 – 3rd Arc – Episode 20: Reunion at Shamballa

Release Date: Feb13th, 2024

Description: Atlae and Marianne's groups reunite at the capital of the Muvians, just in time for Azrael to enact his plan with Ithaca. No one in Shamballa has a clue what catastrophe is brewing in Mount Kailash, including Elder Yuzuriha, who has grown convinced the whole Talos affair has quieted down.

Author's Comments:

December was a very rough month on me, health wise. If a series of flus weren't enough, about three weeks back I was knocked out of commission for a week by a very painful gastroenteritis that came out of nowhere. This means unfortunately that progress on Chapter 92 was slowed down repeatedly on what would have been otherwise my most productive writing days.

Today on etymology I want to discuss Sorrento's household name. Weyprecht, a name I still struggle in writing to completely spell correctly, comes from Karl Weyprecht, a man in service of the Austro-Hungarian navy during the 19th century who explored the Artic. He was actually born in Germany, but the thing about Austria, the country Sorrento canonically comes from, is that they don't have a whole lot of naval history compared to, let's say, Sri Lanka, Portugal or even Chile. The nation was picked by Kurumada pretty much for the same reason Eichiro Oda says Brook from One Piece also would have been Austrian; cause they're both musicians.

Anyway, be sure to leave a review or share the story if you enjoyed this chapter, or if you want to criticize it even. Like it on Twitter/Tumblr/Reddit and generally support this project if you enjoy it. You can find me in all those places under the Thrudgelmir2333 name.

See ya \owo