WARNING: Violence, blood, severe injury, death.
First Aggression
It was noon at the Kido Mansion; the Bronze Saints, Tatsumi, and Athena were all on high alert. Wearing the Cloths, June and Shun patrolled throughout the front area, looking out for the gate and front walls. Seiya, Shiryu, and Hyoga patrolled the vaster gardens, a more likely source of an infiltration, and so they covered a broader area. Waiting on Marin's arrival, tranquil wouldn't come so soon unless Jabu and the others came back from Jamir; unbeknownst to them, that was unlikely to happen any time soon.
From a corner in the living room, side by side with the entrance hall, resounded the notes of a piano. Athena was the one who gently and expertly played it, bored from the lack of a day's work, dressed still in black, white, and navy office garment she put on for her usual duties, silver droplet earrings dangling off the earlobes.
Seiya and Shiryu rendezvoused at the center of the garden, beside the ornamental fountain that marked lines of flowers, plants, and vegetables. Athena's music seemed to make Pegasus feel drowsy, clashing with the tension. "Aah, should we be this careful anyway? If the enemy was going to attack, they would've done it already!" he bemoaned.
"That's a naive assumption," Shiryu responded. "We were pretty stationary until recently, so they might interpret it as us preparing for something."
Seiya lied on his hands and stretched with a groan. "I hope the others get back from Jamir soon so we get some rest."
"Hey, this is what it feels like to be on patrol in Sanctuary. We're expected to do this."
"Yeah, whatever," he said with a shrug. "Complaining won't get me anywhere." The notes kept reverberating in the skull, as if calling him to bed, and he yawned from the inescapable effect. Any song sounds like a lullaby when one's so exhausted. "Terrible sleep last night, man! I kept thinking about this whole Marin thing."
"Are you anxious?"
"A little bit. I don't want to get her in trouble."
"From the sounds of it, she's very strong, so you shouldn't worry so much." Shiryu looked at Hyoga, who walked back from checking the corners around the woods and the house. "Nothing?"
"All clear," Hyoga exclaimed.
Seiya groaned, relaxed the arms, then asked his friends: "I gotta go to the bathroom. Will you two be fine a couple minutes without me?"
"Go ahead, we'll keep things safe while you're gone."
"Alright, I'll be right back."
He decided to go in through the large glass door of the living room rather than the one behind the hall, since it was open and he would be able to watch Athena playing the piano more closely. Apart from the breeze's soft thump and the flowing fountain, the strings vibrating in harmony were all to be heard that day, which to him felt rather refreshing. In another situation, this would've been the perfect day for him to rest, but alas, he thought.
To him, stopping and admiring her playing was worth it. To those outside, a sense of unease grew, as if carried by the perfume of flowers or the leaves taken aground from their branches, things that otherwise would've made them feel safe.
Seiya left the living room and went to the kitchen, aiming for the guest bathroom near it, and as he did so, said discomfort worsened. In the next room, Athena looked down at the keys and shut her eyes, purposefully missing a chord to make it dissonant. In anticipation, she got up from the stool and quit playing. At that prompt, Pegasus stopped and looked around, noticing a rising Cosmos from a place so far unclear.
"What the…?" Another window became victim of a Saint in that room, although this time the one who crashed loudly through it was Ophiuchus Shaina. Having prepared as best as he could, Seiya just barely glanced her strike away and dodged, those long dark nails passing hair widths from the neck.
Hyoga and Shiryu looked back from the gardens and prepared their own Cosmos. "That was in the kitchen!" the latter said.
However, Cygnus saw the passing of a shadow beneath their boots, and he looked up to see the outline of a cloak far high above. "Watch out!" he warned his friend, but witnessing that the speed it descended unto them was greater than expected, he intercepted the foe by striding in opposition.
The two velocities collided and exploded in a great bang, and the Saints slid across the stone tiles and then the grass, Hyoga with a knee down, and the other one only straightening a leg back. The cloaked opponent was Misty, and he went forth once more to try and fatally connect with his target, however, Hyoga was able to parry his attacks through fierce effort alone. As impressive as it was for a Saint of his rank, it wouldn't be viable in the long term.
After only two seconds of battle, another Silver Saint cut through the air out of the trees, and it was Centaurus Babel, going for a kill once he saw Cygnus in a precarious position. Shiryu predicted that, slammed his flames and fist away with the shield, then pounced him off balance with a shoulder. When he proceeded with a heavy punch of his own, Babel bounced away, and Misty followed suit to run in a perimeter around the two.
Hyoga and Shiryu stood side by side, failing to keep track of the Silver Saints' blinding movements. With the insights he gained from fighting Ikki, and with the experience sparring with Camus, Cygnus knew very well what not to do in that situation. "Shiryu, don't try to run after them! Just foresee their attacks!" he suggested, and Dragon nodded.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Tatsumi shouted desperately, and he ran downstairs to hide in the quarters, not having found his miss. He had seen with his own eyes the presence of two other Saints who prepared to engage Shun and June, the remaining Silver Saints sent to slaughter them.
With the back to his friend's, Shun lifted both ends of the Andromeda Chain and burned Cosmos, while June whipped the floor in excitement for a fight. "Who are you?" the boy asked both invaders.
Asterion saw no reason to chat. "Lady Athena sends her regards to you, traitors!" he shouted and thus advanced at June, whereas Moses went for Shun.
"What?" Shun babbled in confusion, screaming right after, "ROLLING DEFENSE!" The chain spun and trembled around himself and Chameleon, being just fast and strong enough to cancel the enemies' insane momenta. Moses almost touched his face with a knife-handed swing, but June didn't give Asterion the time to swing at her. Taking advantage of the situation created by her ally, she rotated with a flying kick against the man's face. "June, no!"
He sent the circle end of the chain to keep Asterion busy, so the Rolling Defense fell limply to the floor, leaving him open and distracted to Moses for a split instant. Chameleon did pepper Asterion with fast swings, most of which he avoided by leaning, jumping, and parrying with the intent of a counterattack.
Moses took the chance and slammed Shun square in the stomach, then gave him a backfist to the side of the face. Andromeda had no option if not to use the circle and hold Moses' wrist stuck, then send the square end to pierce him anywhere in his body. Unfortunately for him, it was an extremely experienced fighter he faced, and the chain was punched off swiftly at the very tip.
Lacking support, June was overwhelmed by Asterion's speed. Once a gap came, he lunged forward with a punch and yelled: "MILLION GHOST ATTACK!" The first hit was shocking on its own, but Asterion followed with so many hits after that it was almost as if he split into multiples. The final strike was a kick so tremendous it threw June flailing through the front door, bursting the lock to pieces. She ended with her back to the wall, later fallen with the armor, shield, and spears that decorated it, mask tilted partially off the face.
"June!" Shun called and took another hit to the face. He used the push to roll aside and pull the circle chain back for a defense, but Moses swung an arm forward and sent it off like before, booting Andromeda's body up and back so that he fell helplessly on the stairs to the mansion's entrance.
Moses paced to him with a smile, raising Cosmos to frightening levels. He jumped high in the air, prepared for a high punch, then yelled: "SPOUTING BOMBER!"
Thereafter a series of five almost concurrent bangs came from within the house. When the three at the front blinked, the situation had entirely changed. In Whale's throat and exposed inner elbow were two of the spears that had fallen with June, having hit with enough strength to stop his attack. Asterion looked on with shock, mouth agape. They had been launched so violently that leftover light marked their path, sending one of the strongest Silver Saints he knew to the ground. As the weapons had pierced all the way through the flesh, he naturally rolled to the side, coughed, and began to drown.
"W-what was…" A giant Cosmos emerged from behind the busted front door, piquing his escalating fears. "No way in hell that Bronze Saint is this powerful!" When he ran in past Shun, he witnessed the unspeakable.
An angered Athena stood beyond that wall, two hands to her side, hair and earrings shaking about with the aura she carried. Passing light distorted with a gold shine around her shape. June, with one of her arms in deep pain, flipped in front of her and whipped Asterion's foot so that he stayed away, mask put back to its respective place; although she stumbled after, she seemed ready to continue fighting.
"You said you do this in Lady Athena's name… you have no idea how wrong you are!" Chameleon told him.
Shaina and Seiya had an exasperated fight on one end of the house. Despite having become stronger since their first duel, he was unable to keep up, especially with her strikes being so enviably accurate and well-planted. His blood splattered in lines whenever her claw-like nails scratched through exposed clothing and skin, soiling the utensils and surfaces near them.
Ophiuchus flowed around the place effortlessly and relentlessly, and as such she boosted him to the floor like a dummy with a harsh strike of a leg. Seeing her pointed nails hanging in the air, Seiya predicted what was about to come and flipped away as quickly as he could. "THUNDER CLAW!"
He got hit by part of the lightning and spiraled back to a counter. Appliances blew up with pieces of plastic, glass, and acrylic spreading. "Damn it, Miss Shaina…" he groaned and got up to get a better chance at any future defense, as unlikely as that was. Long, thin streaks of blood dripped from his neck and arm, marked by her scratches and exacerbated by the Thunder Claw.
Foolishly, Pegasus swung a punch once she came closer, and she dodged so inhumanly with full control over the knees, throwing herself back, finding support on her hands, and sticking a foot from below to his chin. Seiya was flung back once more, so she twirled herself standing and scratched his jaw and neck, forcing him to guard the head with both arms.
She covered him in the harshest and fastest of punches until he was all the way against the counter again, and this time Seiya rose his Cosmos to the maximum, spending a last resort. "Grrr… PEGASUS METEOR FIST!" he exclaimed.
The extremely quick strikes traveled along the kitchen to break wooden drawers and launch puffs of flour to the air. Shaina, however, knowing he could use that technique better than she could reliably dodge, merely tossed her body up to the high ceiling and landed behind him.
Both turned and walked to prepare for oncoming advances, Pegasus more carefully than Ophiuchus. "That will not work again," she said.
"Miss Shaina, the Pope is the traitor, not us!"
Denying a reply, she strode up to him with the sharp nails, and although Seiya dodged again, he tumbled and lost balance in the process. Shaina predictably explored said failure and jabbed his abdomen so hard he curled forward, making it natural for her to follow with an elbow to the back. Since he paralyzed with the pain, she pushed him to the ground with her weight and placed a boot onto his shoulder.
Seiya moaned and coughed painfully, and he knew then that he was about to die, but, with unmistakable imposure, Athena's Cosmos blazed from the hall. Ophiuchus turned upon sensing it, yet kept the boot properly in place so that her fallen foe wouldn't stand.
"That's Athena's Cosmos," Pegasus claimed. "You're being sent to hurt the one you should protect!" Shaina looked down at him and pressed her foot so that he'd be quiet, claws raised in sequence. He no longer took that sight with fear. "So this is it. Somehow I don't feel bad dying by your hand."
Taking in his face, some emotion seemed to spark through the woman's soul and urge her to say a word, though she resisted and pressed the boot further. Instead, she subtly raised that menacing mask and focused on her duty: merciless violence.
"Agh! Miss Shaina, wait… before you do it…" he pended, and although she kept that pressure, it seemed to cease increasing for the time being, "… I committed the sin of seeing your face, but I can't erase the image from my head. We used to know each other, didn't we?" Shaina insisted on her silence. "That's all I ask of you." After several seconds and as if by magic, she relieved all pressure off his shoulder, and Pegasus breathed without issue. "Miss Shaina? Did we? Please…"
Tired of entertaining this, she kicked him aggressively across the head, a sideways hit risky enough to kill ordinary humans. The potency was enough for Seiya to spit drool and be knocked out unceremoniously.
Back in the gardens, Hyoga and Shiryu still struggled in battle. Cygnus did as he planned, precipitating any defense at Misty's approach and following with icy punches, which were dodged by simply skipping afar. In the other hand, Dragon could never find a way to strike back at Babel, who forced him to kneel back with a heavy fist to his shield, lest he fall over.
While Hyoga continued raining ice at Misty, Centaurus circumvented Shiryu at high speed to take him by surprise.
"AIR SHIELD!" Misty yelled, and the next attack, which was sure to reach him, funneled out as his hands vibrated. Some sort of transparent, glimmering blockade pushed the winds and cold off, then disappeared just as briefly.
From the side, Babel synchronized that with another move: "FLAME VORTEX!" However, at that moment Shiryu reappeared and diverted the Saint's hand off center, so the great explosion it generated sliced in between Hyoga and Misty. Both jumped back to avoid the flames as they grew in size.
With Cosmos still burning, Centaurus continued throwing ember at Shiryu, who defended with undeniable trouble. Misty erupted from behind the lingering fire and exchanged more blows with Hyoga, whose effort to keep up was as strenuous as it was in the beginning. Whereas Cygnus had to put as much brawn into every move as he could, his enemy was more graceful, meeting his hands and feet with nothing but a single arm.
At some point Misty slid one of Hyoga's palm strikes up and stepped in with the other hand to his chest, pushing him back a meter. The latter gasped for air and couldn't maintain the tactic in that state, bracing for a connection which came with Misty skipping through the sound barrier and slamming him harshly with both hands. Hyoga grunted and stayed upright for some distance before falling to his rear, hands behind the body as to not fall flat.
Shiryu could also no longer follow his friend's instructions against Babel, who filled the sight with red hot attacks. With only one hand, Centaurus punched the same spot thrice, each time harder and faster than the last, and it ended with plumes of fire that shook the ground beneath them. That broke right through Dragon's defense, thanks to sheer brute force, and smashed him across the face to twist him in the air and onto grass.
Misty raised the palms up and grinned at Hyoga, preparing a move to end their fight once and for all. "I knew you were going to be a problem, so I'll make sure you're dead before I go to the others," he told him. However, all of them were interrupted by the gigantic Cosmos radiating from within the mansion, and stopped to gaze in wonder.
"Misty, that Cosmos..." Babel commented.
"That can't be… a Gold Saint?"
"Even for a Gold Saint…"
Turning back to Hyoga with furor, Misty swore: "That's the Cosmos of the Sagittarius traitor they tell us the story of, yes? He won't be able to survive the onslaught of five Silver Saints at once."
They made the mistake of giving time for the Bronze Saints to stand, which only offered them the opportunity to continue fighting at their previous pace. "That's Lady Athena's Cosmos!" Shiryu told them. "You are the only traitors here!"
"Lady Athena!" Misty cackled. "Our Lady is in her chamber, in her temple, guarded by the Pope."
"That's the lie he wants you to believe."
"Do you expect me to instead believe a lowly Saint such as you?"
"Don't bother." Hyoga assumed the swan's stance and heightened his own energy to continue the endeavor against that Silver Saint, saying: "Reasoning with these types is useless."
"I'll show you reasoning!" Offended by that insolence, Misty jumped in once more, and so the four reignited the conflict. Like before, it didn't matter how well Dragon and Cygnus held up, the Silver Saints' speed was much too extreme for them to counterattack, so they knew to be fighting a losing fight. Without assistance, they would surely die sooner or later.
Inside, Athena still had hopes that Asterion would avoid ending up like his colleague and either run away, or admit her identity. Her Cosmos, however, didn't seem to be enough to fully convince him, although it was enough to rouse strong doubts.
From outside, Shun came and had the Silver Saint surrounded. "Stand down! That right there is the real Lady Athena. You're being lied to by the Pope!" he said, hopes as vain as those of his goddess.
It wasn't the two rookies around him which made Asterion apprehensive, but that woman they protected. He had paradoxical feelings for a supposed Athena behind the Pope, and a supposed Athena behind a low-ranking Saint. It was unsurprising that he erred on the side of caution, sticking to his loyalty under Sanctuary's power structure. "So you have a false idol," he argued, "I don't care how hot her Cosmos burns, I will end this at once!"
"You idiot!" June shouted, but she didn't have time to talk if she wanted to survive. Unable to keep up with Asterion's movements, she received a punch to the temple, yet managed to awkwardly grab his foot from a standing spinning kick. Chameleon pushed a palm to his stomach and flinched him, so Shun sent the square chain after him.
Asterion couldn't believe he had to struggle, even if a little, against such clueless fighters, so he was chased around the hall by the Andromeda Chain and June, both too slow to catch up. In response, Athena generated a series of fast blasts that shot the iron shield by the wall towards the Silver Saint, who then ran along the wall and dodged with a clumsy back flip; the metal did scrape the bridge of his nose and made a hole through the structure, whose wallpaper ripped under his boots.
June leapt in and whipped at his face, and he responded to machine-gun her with punches. The girl floundered, but before he did a final blow, Shun's chain grabbed his fist. Asterion's expected reaction was to then go for the other Saint, but a medieval great sword pierced ground in front of him with another series of Athena's energy bursts. He still managed to sneak a kick to Shun's chin from that position, however, the distance meant the move slipped off ungainly, so Andromeda only fell nearby.
Intent on killing whom he thought to be a false idol, Asterion jumped close to her with a fist, but the fallen Shun held his fist with the circle chain once more. Calmly, Athena brought her two hands to the height of her waist, fingers close but only touching softly at the top.
"Stop! She's the true Athena!" Shun said, and then he sent the square end over and over again, each and every time deflected by the foe's gauntlets. "You're making a mistake!"
Athena looked him in the eyes, Cosmos yet raging and a star-like shine now inhabiting her palms. "Is your duty ultimately to me or Sanctuary?" she asked.
Asterion had not to think of the answer: "My duty is to the true Athena and no other!"
"Then lower your fist."
He gritted the teeth, slapped Shun's chain like a pesky fly, and growled in anticipation to launch a strike. Before that could be concretized, she so casually brought her hands to the height of his right chest, and the shine in it filled the hall with a flash. As vision returned to those present, Asterion's immaculate Cloth had been blown off in the area, a hole opened deep through one of his lungs, and thereafter a muffled sound of an inverted pop struck their ears.
There had been nothing he could've done to hinder power capable of so easily crumbling a Silver Cloth, he knew, and with that severe injury, he wouldn't survive very long. The man looked at Athena with stupor while falling to his knees, then to the side trembling.
Athena shook the head negatively in lament and knelt tidily in front of the fallen fighter. She wished there were a safer manner to stop him, but seemingly aware of something, she could not allow him leeway to hurt her or the Bronze Saints. "What is your name, Saint?" she asked, and he gasped for air.
The Silver Saint couldn't think sharply then; whether that was his Lady or not, the woman offered him kindness in death, going as far as seeking his identity so that she would not be responsible for the killing of another stranger. When he was able to speak, it came out with no tone and little intensity, how hurt he had been: "Asterion."
"Asterion, I see you wear the Hound Cloth. I am Athena, but a traitor has sent you to kill me. You were fooled."
"I… couldn't know." He tightened eyes and tears dropped from their corners; crying, the Saint huffed more frantically for air he couldn't keep. When Athena lifted him off the floor with care and rested his head on her shoulder, he was absolutely certain, surrounded by that unimaginable power. "It's… you. I couldn't… know. Forgive me."
"You are not the one to blame, Asterion. You were used, but you remained loyal to me in the end. I can see it."
"Moses… Moses died… before seeing… you."
She breathed out deeply and her voice almost broke. "I know, I know." June and Shun were standing and approached with pity above them, so Hound took their sight one last time. "These Saints will avenge your lives, whatever may happen." He widened the eyes and shifted uncomfortably in the goddess' shoulder, suffering more by the second. With a deathly breath, he stiffened first, then gradually fell limp in her embrace to never move again. Athena shut his eyelids and laid him down to rest, so that he at least seemed peaceful after such claustrophobic last instants.
Outside, the fight against Misty and Babel raged on. Shiryu parried the enemy's strikes with hard punches of his own, then filled an incoming uppercut with Cosmos. "ROZAN RISING DRAGON!" Surprisingly, Centaurus didn't predict that and was thrown up into the air, some skin ripping and releasing clouds of blood behind him. Nonetheless, that didn't do close enough to stun him, and he came back down in a speed much greater to do a fiery stomp that engulfed both of them. Shiryu skipped back and knelt, face protected by shield and gauntlet.
On the other side, Misty was the one on the offensive, progressing as gracefully as he defended, an arm resting behind his back while the other did all the work. Hyoga mostly dodged and at times parried, the clashing of their gauntlets the loudest thing in the gardens. With a step forward and a straight-armed stream of ice, Cygnus was avoided by Misty as much as turning his body sideways. The palm strike that came as a counter only didn't launch the man too far because he grabbed onto the assailant's arm, so that both slid together slightly.
That didn't help things, as Misty followed by relaxing the hand and then extending it back to the chest he had just struck, and the potential he released forced Hyoga to move back and cough. Although the Silver Saints wished to go for their fatal blows, two Cosmos came from the house, one of them being the largest they had ever sensed.
Who appeared was the Andromeda Saint, but the owner of that absurd Cosmos was a young woman dressed like a fancy secretary; Misty could not believe his eyes. "That's no Gold Saint," he observed.
Athena waved a hand and the large sphere at the top of the garden's fountain was detached by a disembodied bang, to then be released at near light speed between Babel and Shiryu, all to halt the first's offensive.
Centaurus jumped back and his ally prepared to fight a much more challenging foe than Cygnus. "Asterion and Moses are dead! Give up now! You are attacking the wrong people," Shun yelled at them. That wouldn't be too far a shot, since they hadn't sensed the energy peaks they would've expected from them, and neither had they felt anything else from Shaina's position. If anything, it became clear that they were the ones in a dire situation.
"What? How can these kids beat two Silver Saints?" Misty spoke in disbelief, but Babel wasn't so intent on testing that claim.
"Misty, we have to retreat!" the other said.
"Says who?"
Athena continued marching to them, her pace only hampered by her heels. "If you have come to harm a fellow Saint, I shall do to you as I did to the others. If you leave, however, I shall not hunt you down," she said with authority.
Misty furled the brow and scoffed. "Is this serious? Who do you think you are, sweetheart?"
"Lower your voice! DIAMOND DUST!" Hyoga had had enough and took a chance that seemed feasible, albeit fruitless.
"AIR SHIELD!" his opponent repeated, and the rigorous winds of the Diamond Dust were diverted by an even larger shield than the last time. Despite this, it was impossible to ignore Athena's encroaching Cosmos.
Babel quivered at the thought of ending up like his allies, and knew a better strategy was required. "I'm… I'm retreating!" he told his partner.
"But what about Shaina, you coward?"
"If she's not already dead, she can take care of herself!" So he jumped away, and Shiryu didn't dare hunt after him; he was better off not fighting that man after all.
Misty was brave to stand alone against that woman — or it was curiosity, if not plain idiocy. When she came at an arm's length, she raised her fingers already expecting the same he had done with Cygnus, but the Air Shield he was in the process of generating crumbled into worthless transparent crystals following a dull thud, the place thus filled with warm winds.
He shook at that as well and instinctively backed off. It was obvious that, if it were in her interest, she would've smitten him right then and there. "I don't know what treachery this is, but you won't get away with it." There was confusion in his eyes and tone, but the only certainty remaining is that he had to escape if he wished to live, so he turned around. "You won't get away with it!" After repeating himself, he launched off through the sound barrier and disappeared in the distance, leaving only shock waves behind.
June had stayed inside to check on Seiya, and she knew straight away that whichever fight had happened in the kitchen was over, if the silence had anything to say. "Seiya?" When she entered, the absolute mess was the first thing she noticed. "Woah… he'll be the one cleaning this up," she murmured, and then his fallen body was visible beyond the central counter. She ran in fear that her friend had been killed, but it was apparent that he still breathed despite the bleeding. "Seiya!"
The girl set the whip aside and checked his heartbeat just to be completely certain they didn't have an emergency in hands, which made her question the Silver Saints' goal. "He's out cold. I thought they were here to kill us," she thought. Once Seiya began to groan and shift on the floor, she tapped him on the cheek lightly a few times, whispering: "Hey, Seiya. Seiya, how are you feeling? Seiya!"
"Sh-sheesh…" he slurred and pushed her hand away "… I'm awake, quit it." Then he sat up briskly, holding the aching forehead. "I really need to pee and my head hurts. Aah, it's like my fight with Shiryu all over again!"
"What happened to the Silver Saint who attacked you? Are they around?"
"Didn't you see her?"
"I don't think so."
Seiya sighed and tried to regain the blurred memories from their fight. "I know her from Sanctuary. I think she spared my life."
The Bronze Saints had to admit, they were thankful not to have to battle those enemies until the end, especially without Athena's presence. Apart from the strongest of them, there was little they could do to hold said opponents back, and without any prospect of Jabu and the others' return from Jamir, they couldn't even count on overwhelming the enemy with numbers.
If waiting was all they had, things only got worse with Mu's trip to Sanctuary. At that point he had already reached its outskirts, and once more he had fingers placed deep against Ban's chest, using telekinesis to keep the heart from enduring tissue death. Geki took the Lionet Cloth stacked on his own, however, the young man still suffered to breathe after the long trip.
"This might be the last time I have to do this to you. We are nearly there," Mu told him after finishing, pulling the hand back and continuing to walk through the steep hills.
"Let's keep going," Jabu told the others, so they followed.
They wound up and down the startling heights of the range that served as a buffer to Sanctuary's entrance. Mu always led the way, and the others didn't dare stray from his path, as it wouldn't be difficult to get lost.
Jabu looked around and admired the greens and grays of the place, but also took in its size and complexity. It made sense that such a sacred and strategic region lied somewhere within it. "So you say there's a portal around here that takes us to Sanctuary," he mentioned.
"Indeed," Mu confirmed.
"Do you have any idea who built it?"
"The ones who built your Cloths, that being the ancestors of my people."
"Oh! Is that how you know how to repair them?"
"In part. That was the only knowledge passed down this far in time, and most of what we know with regards to the nature of the Cloths and Sanctuary has been lost. If we do not teach each other the ways, Cloths could be irreparably damaged."
"That would be terrible."
"Hence why my master taught me, and why I am in the process of teaching Kiki," he said, and Kiki smiled brightly back at them.
Ban was particularly inquisitive about how Mu learned the miracle he enacted on him every time his health worsened. "And how can you fix my heart like that?" he asked.
"Fixing is the wrong way to think of it, but to answer your question, I have spent my youth extensively studying an assortment of disciplines, medicine being among them."
"I guess I'm lucky we found you."
"You are. You are also lucky that Marin noticed the signs; they could have gone unnoticed until it was too late." Ban gulped when he heard that.
"Marin — that amazon scared us going up the mountain," Jabu recalled.
Mu corrected him: "It is best to call her a Saint."
"She's still an amazon as well, isn't she?"
"The way I see it, Sainthood subsumes her status as an amazon."
"Regardless, I suppose she isn't a Gold Saint."
"No, Marin is a Silver Saint," said Mu, "and she climbs Jamir that easily because it is her job. She traverses difficult terrain in short amounts of time, and thus serves as the top courier in Sanctuary."
Jabu pumped his fist in determination. "That's it, we need to train! Seeing Saints like you two made us feel worthless in comparison."
But Mu shook his head, calmly explaining: "You are Bronze Saints, it is expected, but you still serve an important purpose. No matter how strong you become, never forget that." The five of them nodded in agreement.
When they came down to a plain part encircled by towering mounds, they saw its stony walls were populated by many natural passages. Mu knew exactly which cave to enter judging by its position and shape, and he took them in, navigating the darkness without trouble. It went far in, going deep black for many a step, then becoming strangely brighter once they reached a given depth.
Dim colorful lights danced in the distance, and the closer they were, the more surreal they seemed. Like neon effluvia rising to the ceiling, they illuminated the place in parts; what emitted the most light was the structure that appeared in the distance. Contained within an open chamber of the cavern, a Doric portal had been erected, but instead of flowing into a typically physical building, it bore a deep corridor of stars and nebulae amid its pillars.
"Look at that! This is stunning!" Jabu exclaimed.
Ichi was transfixed like the others, saying: "So this is the entrance to Sanctuary."
"When crossing the portal, keep a steady pace," the Gold Saint suggested. "Yhere is an astronomically tiny chance that a sudden shift in velocity dashes you to pieces while inside — not something medicine can fix."
The boys seemed tense, but Mu and Kiki kept on calmly going towards their destination. Soon they walked past the pillars, and they could see reflections appear from five directions. Entering the corridor meant all sound was ripped from the air, and it was a wonder they still breathed; freezing cold air caressed their skins, and soon the mirrored images began to multiply and intersect. Jabu was amazed by a blue sphere of erupting flames that seemed to loom larger and larger from the right, but his attention was soon taken by a minuscule gate lying at the other end.
That tiny portal began to grow at an accelerating rate until it was right in front of them, and so they passed through it. When they came to realize, they were on a round podium enclosed by yellow curtains.
"We're out!" Jabu observed. He curiously looked back and verified that the other end of the portal was installed right in the middle of this large podium, so they walked down the stairs and went through the curtains to appear on the grounds of Sanctuary. The whole exit was built within a massive, round, Doric pavilion, and the curtains were to keep the mesmerizing sight of the gate from constantly catching people's eyes. "We're finally in Sanctuary!"
He took in the breathtaking sight of the Ecliptic Temples in the sky, and then the colossal statue built at its very back, watching over the lives of all those inhabiting that wondrous place. The arms and clouds weaving between the stars above hinted at this preposterous structure existing somewhere in a spiral galaxy.
It was a busy time at the grounds, with soldiers, amazons, cultists, trainees, artists, workers, and a few Saints moving from place to place. Many homes populated the urban midst, visible thanks to torches and lamps; most of them were built around small courtyards, and it was incredible for the visitors to imagine that some people lived most of their lives in that place, like an extension of the lives of those who existed ages before the Ancients themselves. Jabu could no longer hold back his enthusiasm: "Amazing!"
"Come on, do not fall behind," Mu said. "It is no good to get lost here; the place is bigger than you think. Ban, I will show you to a healing temple."
Everyone continued after him. They took not too long a walk, but were then at a quieter district. Sure, the amount of people was still sizable, but they were mostly silent and it was nowhere close to the center's population. To Sanctuary denizens, temples of all kinds deserved quietude.
There they saw a building at the top of some wide stairs with entwining ramps at the right, and its architecture was typical, although a sculpture at the top proved it was no ordinary place. A golden ornate rod had a green serpent wrapped around its diameter, clear sign that it was a site of healing for the ill.
Mu signaled to Ban before walking up the stairs. "Leave your things to your friends and let us head inside," he ordered.
Ban undressed the duffel bag and left it with the others. "I hate hospitals," he muttered to them.
"Based on the outside, I don't think it will look much like an ordinary hospital," said Geki.
Jabu waved and said: "We'll see you soon, Ban."
"See you guys later." So the two walked up and disappeared beyond the pillars at the top, leaving them to wait for the time being.
"This place is crazy," Jabu commented while looking around some more. "Can you guys believe it?"
Geki felt a tinge of jealousy, commenting: "And to think that Seiya got to stay here for so long."
"What a lucky bastard."
"How do we plan on training while here?" Nachi asked.
"I have no idea, but I think Mu will be too busy to help," said Jabu.
Kiki was reminded of Marin's words when they were back in Jamir, and suggested: "You guys could ask Miss Marin. Didn't she say something about an apprentice? I bet she trains people."
"Oh, true!" Jabu imagined how powerful he'd become being guided by someone like her. "But she seems pretty busy too, having to deliver those letters and whatnot."
"It feels like something serious is about to happen," Nachi pondered.
"I'm sure that if something is going on, we'll find out one way or another, since we're also Saints."
"I hope so. Wouldn't want to get caught in a war I don't understand."
Jabu shrugged and concluded they had no choice after all. "Anyway, it seems we have to train by ourselves, boys, just like we did in the mansion. No big deal."
"At least for the moment." Nachi took in the sight and wondered if there were Saints in plain clothes, as Mu himself was. "I get the impression that there are many people who can teach us something new here."
"Ah, man, we really are in Sanctuary!" Jabu sang once more, admiring the stars with further excitement. It was still hard for him to believe they ended up there by chance.
It was afternoon in Japan, and the Bronze Saints convened in the living room with Athena to share thoughts on the latest invasion. Seiya was receiving bandages from the goddess, who tried to make them as discreet as possible with the deep scratches he had received to the jaw, neck, and arm; a sore reminder of his first fight with Shaina. June had also taken off part of her Cloth to check on her arm, but it seemed no worse than a subluxation.
Shiryu leaned over the back of the couch and looked at his friend's wounds. "I hate to admit it, but we didn't stand a chance against them," he said.
"You are right. If not for Lady Athena, we would be dead right now," Shun agreed. "Our duty is to protect her, and we failed."
"Our situation isn't sustainable."
Athena gave them a kind smile as she continued to care for Seiya. "I prefer not to fight if at all possible," she said, "but when push comes to shove, I use my Cosmos accordingly."
"Either way, we have to become stronger against enemies like those," spoke Shun.
June nodded and shifted herself at the edge of the couch and said: "Whenever we let Lady Athena fight, there's a chance they could hurt her. That's exactly what the Pope wants."
"Those Silver Saints remain loyal to me," Athena argued, having finished the bandaging. "They know not that it is the enemy they serve."
Seiya interjected: "But not even your Cosmos was enough to convince them!"
"Was it not?" She seemed angered all of a sudden, and the young man assumed he committed a mistake by speaking like that. "As Asterion died in my arms, he learned his mistake, he asked for forgiveness!"
"Oh…" Seiya turned his face down and away "… I hadn't seen that part."
A long sigh escaped Athena's lips, so she stood and walked to the open glass door, watching the state of her garden. "The others also felt that something is not quite how the Pope told them. I saw it in their eyes as they escaped."
Pegasus turned to her again and was reminded of his own situation: "And then there was Shaina."
"Shaina?"
"Remember when I said my master had a colleague, another Saint? She was the one who attacked me."
"So there were more than four attackers," Shiryu realized.
"Yes, she was the fifth. I fought Shaina before that and knew I couldn't beat her, but when she had the chance to kill me, she didn't take it."
Shun hummed and tilted his head, asking: "What do you think changed her mind?"
"I'm not sure. Before she knocked me out, Athena's Cosmos caught her by surprise, but she kept beating me up anyway." Seiya rolled eyes slightly. "To be fair, that's sort of in her nature, which is what makes it the most surprising that I'm alive."
"At this point we have to trust that Old Master will guide Marin to our location," Shiryu said after leaning off the couch's back. "She has to arrive as quickly as possible."