WARNING: Blood, violence, death, execution.
Blinding
With all of the Bronze Cloths repaired, the House of Aries no longer heard hammer impacting metal, instead filled with the contemplative quietude of Kiki's developing training. In the central hall, the apprentice waved hands tidily in the air, where a crystalline wall was scantily visible ahead. While in his Gold Cloth, Mu watched from some steps away, eyebrows raised in pride.
"You are learning quickly," the master said, "as expected." At that the boy opened a large smile. "However, you have a long way ahead." Aries came forth with the tip of an index, which he thus used to ever so lightly touch the structure. That quickly it wilted like it was built out of the thinnest cotton.
Kiki stared in awe and frustration. "Master Mu, I was still working on that wall!" he complained.
"Sorry, I could not hold back," said Mu with a chuckle. "I felt that you were holding that up with little if not telekinesis, which is no good, Kiki. Telekinesis should be a complement to the Cosmos, not your main tool." The apprentice nodded curiously.
However, their lesson was interrupted by stately steps coming from the temple's exit, its tone stealing both's concentration. That sounded nothing like Aldebaran's walk, which they were familiar with, and as they had ascertained no Silver Saint had gone up to see the Pope beforehand, it came as unusual.
To their surprise, who came out was Aiolia, fully clad in the Leo Cloth and adorned by the cape, helmet under an arm. Based on the pace, he had a particular place to go. "A-Aiolia!" Mu called in a hurry. The Saint stopped and turned. "It is good to finally see you, as I was meaning to speak to you."
"Why not send a message up?" Leo asked.
"So I tried, but Aldebaran could not find Saga for the life of him, and we have been busy as of late. Where are you headed?"
Aiolia looked away to the entrance, saying: "The Pope has sent me to deal with a problem outside."
Mu became serious, and thought it was right to poke for more information. "Then you must have been to Lady Athena's temple," he said, taking a nod for a reply. "I would like to know if you came in contact with her."
The other Saint stared back at him, this once from the corner of the eyes, distant. "I have not," he merely said.
"Ah, what a shame! The High Priestess has spoken to me, and it has come to my attention the Cult has not seen our Lady in decades, so they would like word on her health."
"That will have to await my return."
"Of course," Mu conceded, "so be careful out there, friend."
"Take care too." Aiolia proceeded to descend the stairs to the Sanctuary's grounds.
The sight of an armored Gold Saint walking the streets was uncommon, and word was sure to slowly spread. But, to Athena's rebels and to Sanctuary's intelligence, this sort of knowledge had to arrive as early as possible, lest it be weaponized against them.
It was the long-haired acolyte — the one who had first accosted Marin in the baths — who saw her curiosity piqued by Leo's crossing of the curtains; as if nothing happened, she kept silent and went blithely to a particular stoa.
In passing, she stared on and completely ignored the image of Jabu and Nachi having a merry chat by a pillar. The girl dissimulated her next move as she stood a few seconds beside Nachi and whispered something into his ear, eyes aimed afar.
The Saints stopped talking so that he would listen. "Are you sure it was him?" Nachi murmured back, and the girl confirmed that. "Thank you." Once she left the same way, he gestured the head to Jabu. "Come on."
The young men went the direction opposite hers. "What was that about?" Jabu questioned.
"A Gold Saint left Sanctuary."
"Oh! Must be important."
In the arena, the place they planned to visit next, Marin watched over the training of many lowly Saints and soldiers. Her most recent stunt was both a smokescreen and a recourse, and although at face value it was impossible to tell those men's alliance, the changing atmosphere in the army was enough evidence that she had stirred some level of chaos.
On one side she was accompanied by Ichi, Ban, and Geki; on the other, a female Saint so far unseen, dressed in a light Cloth with hints of bluish shine. One shoulder was covered by a round and subtle pad, whereas the opposite saw protection from a pointier, curvier one, infixed with a yellow aventurine cut in a svelte form. The cuirass was like a vest under a thin scarf she wore, and over a white tunic that followed the outline of her hips at the bottom, as did the skirt-like protection of the armor in that area, inlet with gemstones following a similar, gentle shape.
The diadem around her blonde, wavy hair was much like a set of petals crowning the side of her head, fronted by her bangs that fell over a pale mask. Had her hair been brighter, straighter, longer, and the bangs shorter, she would've looked a lot like June, and her forward personality aimed at Marin gave further hints of Chameleon.
When Jabu and Nachi noticed from a distance that this girl bothered their new master, and that Marin just stood there stiff and cross-armed, they pondered the resistance they would meet. "Even from here I can tell she's not in a good mood," Nachi commented with an awkward smile.
"Is she ever?" said Jabu.
The girl's voice was stark, yet remarkably feminine, and the tone with which she spoke to Eagle came as nearly disrespectful: "You trained Shaina when she was young, I remember, and she got a Silver Cloth in the end! Then you trained that Japanese boy for years, what did he get?"
"It doesn't matter," Marin almost muttered back, having none of it.
"It absolutely does! Shaina had a point, men are drunk imbeciles. Marin, your fate is to train amazons, you raise us to be killing machines. Stop wasting potential on those guys, they're worthless!"
"They're fine."
"Won't you spend even a day of your week back with us? Just one day!"
"I've got a busy schedule."
"Look! The audacity of abandoning us girls!"
"I'm not."
"Yes, yes you are!"
A tall and wide shadow loomed from behind Eagle, and when the girl noticed, she saw the image of an inquisitive Geki, towering over their height. "Is she bothering you, Miss Marin?" he asked with a scowl.
"Don't worry, Alicia's just insistent," Marin said, "but it might pan out well for her. It certainly did before."
Alicia seemed annoyed by the way Eagle spoke of her, but to no longer force her by means of futile attempts, she sighed exhaustedly and settled down, saying: "At least don't forget we exist, alright?"
"I never do, trust me," Marin said, and the tinge of sincerity in her voice reinforced those words.
Nachi and Jabu finally approached. "Miss Marin, it's good to see you", the first greeted her.
"I have no spare time to teach the two of you, if that's what you came to ask."
A surprised Jabu raised his hands and smiled uncomfortably, seeming as if he entered a negotiation. "Hey, hey, it's alright. We came to visit, is all," he said.
"Yeah, you know how it is. Apprentices grow attached to their masters," said Nachi.
"I wonder why," she responded, and it was even clearer by her attitude that she had dealt with enough for the day. "I don't treat any of you well."
The two chuckled nervously; it was difficult to navigate someone that severe. "Guys like to be slapped around by a woman sometimes, you know?" Jabu said while overstrung, and his friends looked at him like he had a foot for a head.
"What?" Nachi muttered with a gasp.
"Uhm… just joking."
Although Eagle snickered with snide, the others were yet irked by the comment. "A-anyway…" Wolf tried to brush it off and shook his head, expression widening back to sobriety "… we were just passing by. Day's young, square's lively, even the lion's out of its den today…"
Marin got herself out of the soldiers' efforts and subtly stared at Nachi. "Hm," she understandably mumbled and went back to watching the trainees.
"Mhm, so we were wondering what you'll do later today, if you'll be busy," he continued.
"You know where I eat."
He nodded with a satisfied grin. "Good! See you later, Miss Marin." That was all they needed, and so he made his leave.
Jabu waved and left after his friend. "Later!"
The other men went back to watching the organized practice, and only Alicia had her head tilted, experiencing utter confusion by what she had witnessed. "Eeeh...? What just happened?" the girl said.
"The lion has left its den," Eagle replied matter-of-factly.
"Huh?"
At that moment Marin deviated her look to the arena's platform, then came to a further conclusion. "Come to think of it, Dolphin, your insistence might've paid off. I'll have to train you girls after all," she said.
"Oh." The resolution was incomprehensible, but since the result carried out her desires, she preferred to save any further questioning to herself.
In the Temple of Athena, having sent Leo Aiolia on his duty, the Pope lied in the warm bath in one of the wings. The lamps that lit the area were of a faint and inconsistent light, and so most of what brightened the marble above was the reflections on the pristine water, that being when rays weren't cut by vapor on their way back up.
The robes, clothes, and mask he used were visible on a stone seat by the chamber's entrance, and as such, his dry muscles were exposed. Although his awfully long, graying black hair could be seen lying back on the floor, his face was hidden by the failures of the light sources about him, albeit the intense rising and sinking of his wet chest signaled a deep sleep.
Darkness proceeded to envelop the bath in a matter of seconds. Feeling the water chill, the man woke up and stared at the pillars on the other end of the bath, the window amid them exhibiting a distant blackness rather than the surreal sight of the stars. The lamps began to shine again, thereon lacking any disorder, light coming in an unusual, static, parallel fashion.
There was a shadow he came to observe in the opposite end. When his conscious self paid heed to the being, it also realized that thing had been there a long while, and this froze his spine. When whatever that was came forth, his reflex was to shift uncomfortably in the water, but he was acquainted with the revealed figure.
The boy no older than twenty had the soft flesh draped in silky fabric. His skin was fair yet healthily flushed; his light brown hair was intricately tied in many knots on a side, albeit loosened behind an ear on the other; his eyes were lily-white if not for the dark outlines of the iris, and emitted a glow of their own. From the back he spread wings spanning each a length like his own height, feathers pale and stuffed.
Apparently unfazed by the visitor's alien appearance, the Pope awkwardly stood at his sight. "Hypnos! What took you so long?" he asked.
The visitor looked on with serried eyelids. "Hold your breath ere judging my lateness," he spoke, that youthful timbre mellow and tender, and its rhythm tardy no matter the acidity with which he addressed the man. He stepped slowly through the water, almost circling him. "That semblance yours…" a smirk unfolded from the corner of his round lips "… oh, surely you have failed Lady Pandora again."
"Failed her?" the Pope replicated to begin his own defense. "I continue to hold Athena back, but drastic action is necessary. I sent Leo to disperse her guardians, which should give me time to set up defenses. I can assure you of her defeat."
"Wonderful," Hypnos said with a lilt, "thus my aid would come as redundant."
He leaned to step back, but stopped in place when the man predictably protested. "I still require help."
"Have you not spoken as if it were all aforethought?"
"I require Pandora to come to Sanctuary."
Hypnos opened a minute smile at that absurdity. "You cannot hope that Lady Pandora would go on a long trip to Sanctuary," he said before chuckling. "Truly you have gone mad."
The other pressed on, although he expected it to be vain: "I need her. They now question if Athena resides in her quarters, and intelligence informed me Saints might go rogue at a moment's notice. I need Pandora to come and pose as her! With a mask and her Cosmos, this would tranquilize their doubts."
"To fool Sanctuary of Lady Athena's identity…" Hypnos hummed, and the smile in his angelical features had a contrasting wickedness as he approached "… oh, you amuse me. Yet Lady Pandora shan't go."
"Why?"
"Because Lady Pandora would not agree to it."
"Nonsense," the Pope replied. He raised his voice, and this was a sinful reaction in Hypnos' view, who shut eyes at the incoming ramble. "You two are among the gods, and she is not! You two oversee her, and she oversees nothing! Order her, and she has to obey!"
There was both disrespect and ignorance there, and somehow the visitor maintained a weary patience. Nonetheless, when again he parted the eyelids, he countered with a sermon. "Oversees nothing… please, be silent. No longer allow filth so loud, rude, obnoxious to slip out of your mouth. You are wrong, Pope," he said that title with mocking emphasis. "Lady Pandora would not agree to it, for she is bound to an inviolable oath. If a minute she spent away from her diligence, heaven and hell would descend upon her in wrath. You are ignorant; she — she is dedicated, and has lent you marvelous blessings you oft disregard."
"Then what have you visited me for, only to taunt me?"
"Hm, now you admit you require our aid, therefore I may offer it to you."
"I am listening."
"Vouliagmeni, south of Athens," Hypnos announced, "there a portal is situated, a sinkhole the locals hight the Devil's Well. Stay till the new moon and grant it the head of a poppy, so my brother shall greet you. He is to hand you an arrow capable of shackling a most ancient soul in its enchanter's stead. Bathe the edge in your blood and aim for Lady Athena's heart; were it to pierce its intended target, she would not survive the affair."
The Pope chuckled in amusement. "Good, good," he said. "I know the perfect man for the job."
"Then we anticipate your success," the boy concluded.
Hypnos groaned tediously a last instant and spread wings to stir the water below. So much wind blew against it that the Pope was shaken out of the dream, and darkness left as quickly as it entered. Despite it all, the bath was left agitated as if the visitor had been physically present.
The steadily shifting situation in Sanctuary had continued with similar pace, if not one further accelerated, and with the limited resources given to intelligence, there was little they could've done to push back Marin's takeover of the army. All that was needed was influence, trust, and the mere mention of Athena's absence to raise suspicion among recruits and Saints. Seeing that the Pope did not want to worsen their doubts, he retained a small number of Saints acting from the shadows, and prepared to defend against an assault.
Said assault was inevitable, and after word of Aiolia's exit came, Marin was prompt to call for Nachi to prepare. They met in the outskirts of Sanctuary, the young man finally putting the repaired Wolf Cloth to use. While she instructed him, she occasionally gestured with aggression.
"… so whatever you do, do not open this, not even if the enemy threatens you!" she said, and he nodded along. As he wasn't used to being a courier, the etiquette had to be properly explained, or so she thought. "Only rest in hidden spots — high up and under the cloak of shadows is perfect. I'm sending you without a bag so you look less suspicious. Keep that letter stuck under your Cloth very well."
"Understood."
Marin's sigh came with worry, but she knew that time was of the essence with recent occurrences. "Things are risky out there, Nachi. Be careful. Now go."
"Don't worry, I'll see you later, Miss Marin!" He skipped away and, with the blast of air released by his fast exit, her red hair flowed wildly. The woman scanned the surroundings after the sign of a spy, but could see no one.
Crow and Auriga were still in charge of the whole operation over the supposed traitors, but with the extent that Marin's influence pervaded many ranks, there was no more rhyme and reason to their probing. They spent most of their hours collecting information that led to dead ends, watching over the square and the arena while on top of buildings, as they did that day.
"I'm losing track of which elements of the army have come in contact with them at this point," Capella said to an apparently distracted Jamian, who sat against a raised edge of the ceiling, "so we need to start over on that front."
"Ah, does it really matter? Man's just going to count friend and foe when a rebellion breaks out."
"The point is avoiding a rebellion altogether, that's what we're trying to do."
"A bit late, isn't it? With the talks going around and all, I say we brace for it."
Auriga shook his head left and right. "No, he expects us to keep the army loyal…"
Crow's eyes pointed at something happening in the center of the square below, and he leaned aside to pay attention. "Hey, look, look, look!" he hurriedly uttered, pointing towards it. The two had a good sight of Nachi swiftly slipping through the curtains. It was undeniable who it was, with all the stalking they had done in the past months. "That's one of Marin's boys, one of the kids back from the mansion," said the agent.
"He wouldn't go alone without good reason," Capella assumed, and both exchanged stares.
"You thinking the same?"
"He's a courier…"
"A courier for the traitors!" No longer wasting time there, they jumped off the building with little care and slipped through the curtains after him. Whether it would take them a few steps or many kilometers, they made it their goal to stop the Bronze Saint.
The mountain range outside Sanctuary's portal was a great barrier, but for men and women as powerful as the average Silver Saint, little to no effort was required to cross it. At that point Nachi was already running far into the plains with the intent of reaching the first islands towards Turkey, so the pursuers had to up the efforts to reach a prey that especially speedy.
As he had been taught to cycle through the Cosmos in occasional flashes of energy, his extreme velocity was nonetheless limited; this changed when he sensed bursts reaching him from behind. The fact that no one had gone after him or called his name before he left made it clear that he was being chased, and so from that point Wolf gratuitously spent as much Cosmos as he could with the intent of losing them.
Crow bee-lined in that direction, yet Auriga was nowhere to be seen; when Nachi noticed the first Silver Saint behind him, he believed himself to have an edge. Before he could leap to the coast, however, he was intercepted by Capella with a surprising kick. This launched him into the beach and then straight to the rocks outlining it.
The pursuers landed and approached, and the Bronze Saint was already pulling himself up. "That was quick," he said, "but I'd better find a way out."
"A wean like you already in such big trouble, impressive, really!" Jamian yelled sarcastically.
"What do you want from me?"
"Your life."
Nachi frowned, but Capella corrected his colleague, saying: "No, we will let you live as long as you give us the message you are carrying."
"I have no idea what you two are on about," he said.
"Don't take us for fools, boy."
"Ah, to hell with this!" Crow impatiently screamed and shaved off the remaining distance between him and Wolf, who dodged and sought another escape. Again Auriga intercepted him, bouncing off a large rock and slamming him back to the coast.
Nachi twisted in the air and slid over the sandy dirt. When Jamian approached, they traded blows, each move as fast as the last one, either parried or evaded. Somehow when Capella came closer, Wolf succeeded in evading him too, but this meant he was off the other foe's rhythm, such that his next punch impacted him in the abdomen.
Auriga flipped in the air and launched a kick to the head, so Nachi fell back and rolled to his feet, using the momentum to kick forward and jab Jamian, who had no trouble staying off range. At that point his lip and nose already bled, but he showed no signs of giving up.
With Cosmos flowing strongly from every end of the fight, things became more serious. Once Auriga returned, Nachi foresaw the advance and cut it with a strike to the other's face, but there was no escaping Crow's low kick, enough to swipe him crooked.
Somehow he rotated to his feet and, with little equilibrium remaining, parried Capella's incoming shield bash to shout: "DEAD HOWLING!" At that moment a claw-like palm strike fully splattered through the Silver Saint's chest, Nachi's newfound force ripping the man's clothes and bursting exposed skin into a mist of scarlet, which opened swaths of flesh to the air.
Auriga inadvertently fell back, and Jamian was quick to stop the courier's potentially fatal onslaught from continuing, this by removing his tenuous balance with a flying kick and by pushing with a powerful, double-handed strike.
Nachi did not fall and soon regained balance, yet he had to recuperate his breath as well. He went back to strategizing an escape as the safest route, but Auriga got up soon despite the heavy bleeding and bad injuries.
"That explains… ugh..." he groaned as he found strength on an arm, the other holding one of the ugly wounds in unprotected sections of the cuirass and neck. "That's why those squads never came back."
"Something about those kids, isn't it?" Jamian commented with that toxic tone his. "Shame they're on the wrong side."
"Regardless, we will defeat him. Watch out!"
The warning had been unnecessary, as Crow had eyes peeled on the enemy and, once Wolf attempted another escapade, he advanced while his ally prepared to intercept in case of failure.
The two clashed like a blur in the sky, and the force sent both up into the air, gyrating around one another. Jamian used a dirty tactic and grabbed Nachi's hair betwixt the fingers, then forced him down to hit a group of large rocks.
Before Wolf could brake his own fall, Auriga strode from the side and stopped it early with a shoulder strike, the power measured to only push him slightly far. Nachi stumbled and hit Capella's lightning-fast punches in despair. His block got pierced by a heavy fist, and then the Silver Saint used the edge of the shield to beat his temple, continuing with a spinning kick prior to finishing with a palm to the chest.
Giving no quarter, Jamian landed and smashed his back from behind with the bottom of the boot, only to keep him close enough that Auriga could continue attacking with more harsh punches. The beating only stopped when he leapt forward and kicked the young man such that he fell stiffly to the ground.
Wolf tried to crawl; he felt that, had he the time to regain full consciousness, he could fight or run, but the agents had no plan of offering him a chance. They looked down at his bruised and bloodied face, unrecognizable from earlier, and while Jamian grinned disgustingly, Capella seemed to offer him pity.
"There's no reason to hide your treason now," the latter said. "Please, you can be honest at least in death."
"Miss Marin… my friends…" he said, voice failing into a rustle and fingers crawling onto the sand in vain. He couldn't make out that distance, but he did not want to die and abandon his allies without warning. "Lady Athena… I failed you… I failed all of you…" In his state, even crying was out of question.
Jamian shook his head in shame and lifted an eyebrow at his partner. "Hey, better take the kid out of his misery before I change my mind, alright?" Therewith he knelt and covered Nachi's head in pale fingers, settling him back to shush any resistance. He focused great Cosmos and croaked as he did so, then a bluish aura poured around him. From it black feathers popped as if from thin air, and some more grew out of that arm to spread towards Wolf's smothered head.
Before he was fully encased, however, a flash of fire descended from above and landed onto them. Auriga frowned watching Jamian's head be slammed back by swinging flames too fast to keep track of. When he tried to stop the new attacker and keep him from ruining all the hard work they had put into downing Nachi, Capella was slid over the man's shoulder and punched away with a fiery explosion.
The agents and the courier had the sight of an amber Cloth and its owner; it was Ikki, who assumed a fighting stance and demonstrated a fearsome, burning Cosmos to them.
"I… Ikki?" Nachi mumbled, in disbelief that he had somehow survived.
"Can you get up?" Phoenix asked without looking down at his friend.
"I think…" He did as he could to get up, but the sluggish and injured limbs pulsated, slowing him down. Noticing that, Ikki stayed alert and prepared for a handicap fight.
Seeing that Wolf, an already troublesome enemy, now had an even more dangerous ally, the Silver Saints approached each other from the side as a setup. "Who are you?" Jamian yelled at the newcomer.
"Why not present yourself first?" Ikki responded with the same sarcasm Crow took advantage of.
"I am Crow Jamian, this here is Auriga Capella."
"You are getting involved in official business from Sanctuary. We demand you leave immediately," Capella said in utmost seriousness, scoffed by Phoenix's chuckle.
"Official business, how cute," he responded, angering even the more serene spy. "I cannot say I'll remember your types, but I'll be the last face you remember. I am Phoenix Ikki, and was raised with the man you were about to murder without remorse."
"Another Bronze Saint! You shouldn't stick your nose where it does not belong!" said Crow.
"I say the same to you. What is so official that justifies an attempt on my friend's life?"
Quickly changing expression, Crow excitedly remarked: "Ah, he's your friend, right... so you're a traitor too, isn't it? I'll enjoy downing two in a day's work."
"Give up, Phoenix. We're willing to solve this without violence," Capella said.
Seeing that Nachi had finally gotten up, Ikki took in his weakened stance and terrible bruises for a brief second. "Look at him. You have already chosen violence," he asserted.
Capella took a fighting stance, and so did his ally, certain that things wouldn't be fixed any other way. "There is still an alternative, but…"
"Is there?" Ikki said. "Your friend over there seems eager to kill us."
"Not me. I feel no pleasure in a kill," replied Capella.
For a second Phoenix was reminded of his younger brother, but that immediately it was clear that he could not be compared. No matter, Athena helped him understand that he was not one to practice such mercy — that required a purity long lost in him. "There are those who refrain from killing, then those who take great pleasure in it," he explained. "Me? I'm afraid I no longer feel a thing. Killing is merely my routine, and I'll prove it once I take your lives in the coming minutes."
Jamian, feeling degraded, initiated the next wave of attacks. Seeing the enemy speed in, Ikki enveloped himself and his friend in a blanket of fire, which Crow avoided by kicking back, the opposing forces throwing a puff of sand upwards. Auriga, in the other hand, skipped over the perimeter to attack from the other side.
While still gliding, Jamian threw arms up and exploded with Cosmos, getting covered in black feathers and an indigo smoking aura. He clapped the hands harshly and yelled: "RAVEN ROOST!"
His black plumage multiplied and was dispersed in the Bronze Saints' direction at an alarming rate. Ikki sent a punch of fire, and although it burned many a feather, the quantity was such that the periphery had already been flooded, both sky and ground blocked apart from a few steps about them.
Phoenix frowned and noticed that, from the disturbing silence that came, some rummaging was incidentally heard from behind the layers. Nachi also paid attention, although his weakened state obligated him to raise Cosmos in preparation to guard his life.
It was Auriga the first to pass into their limits, and the energy he brought filled the insides in a bright gold gleam. His strike was aimed at Wolf, who took a blow of the shield and lost balance once more. When Ikki thought of turning, he was taken by surprise by Jamian's synchronized entry. Crow cackled and exposed only his face, for his body remained coated in pitch-black feathers, and he attacked by means of a large talon made of pure energy, apparently covering the right hand.
Blocking that by little, Phoenix saw an opportunity to deal with Auriga, who had just slammed Nachi back to the ground. With a stomp and a violent burst of flames, he was able to force Capella out of the perimeter, outside Crow's Raven Roost yet again.
The two thought of chasing after, yet they heard Jamian's hoarse cackle invade the vicinity a second time, as did that descending talon and its dagger-like nails. Nachi was hit once more, falling with a deep cut going through a now exposed part of his chest; Ikki was hit in the arm, therefore he fell to a knee and threw a blast of ember back, to affect the feathers and naught else.
Wolf was slow to get up, but Ikki could not help him, instead following the minuscule rummaging more intently. To break focus, Auriga returned, passing with great velocity and somehow shaking the earth as he did so, and this once he tackled Nachi in full. Phoenix only heard a brief yell muffled as both disappeared in the mass of plumes.
Afraid that time was no longer a resource, he threw caution to the wind and built-up a hefty Cosmos, which generated a burning vortex converging at his core. When he heard the scrounging noise heighten, he screamed and produced a gargantuan blast. From a distance, this both looked and sounded like a genuine bomb, and it was enough to leave the fighters with ringing ears.
Like fuel, the raven feathers combusted and got pushed outwards in that expanding, destructive bubble, and Jamian dropped out of it much faster, the plumage stuck to his stained Cloth also on fire. "AAGH! Bloody Bronze Saint!" he groaned, forcing himself up in the process.
The complaint and accent he heard were undeniable, and Ikki had readied himself to continue. "PHOENIX FLIGHT!" he shouted. For an instant the hellish air got sucked back into the explosion's origin, so Crow looked at it in awe; from it emerged a searing tunnel and the shadow of the Phoenix Saint, who pushed him in that barely standing state all the way to the marble hills.
From the smoke and dust Ikki marched back, harshly handling Crow by the neck, and the foe fought savagely to be released. The Silver Saint had become afflicted with many injuries and severe burns, and few of the surviving feathers had become entirely charred.
To end the struggle, Phoenix closed the other fist and packed it with energy. At the same moment that he released Jamian's neck, he swung in to smash him straight in the face. The impact was stupendous and spilled blood onto the sand far from them, and with that the man fell, although Ikki was one to ensure such an opponent's demise. Another harsh strike resounded, this one spilling more blood than before and drawing a gurgling croak from the Silver Saint. There was no chance he would make it after that.
Denying himself and the enemy further ceremony, Ikki paid attention to the other ongoing battle, that of the powerful Auriga and his weakened childhood colleague. Seeing that Nachi barely held his own, he slammed a foot onto the sand and blasted the entire body in, arriving in milliseconds to deliver a kick, although Capella expertly denied it with the shield.
Wolf dared push on thereafter, and he was yet swift enough to connect a palm to the man's face, but was countered with a boot that pushed him a precious distance back. Ikki took the front and exchanged slower yet tempestuous moves with Capella, each one emitting sparks and flashes from the sheer weight. His new foe was nowhere as fast as the first, but Auriga saw that Phoenix was much more relentless and precise, advancing without error; were Nachi to enter the fight there, his defenses would definitely waver.
The Silver Saint was forthwith in finding a solution and jumped far back once he became tired of parrying. Ikki was about to come back when he noticed the man shone intensely with power as soon as he had found ground. Capella curled his arms, biceps and triceps swelling obscenely out of effort, then the rocks and sand around him started to give in. He screamed, with an aura glowing a holy gold, and therefore he straightened both arms sideways, palms vaguely pointed to the shifting ground. "CONVERGENT COLLAPSE!"
They felt as if the world receded beneath them, and the aggravating tremors pointed at rifts being opened in the bed under the very beach. When the eroding rocks surfaced like giant spikes, the Bronze Saints were ever forced to jump to higher ground, as the entire shoreline saw itself deformed by that ability.
Nachi did decent until he slipped and clung to the side of one of the rising structures, and that's when Auriga preyed on him, sending him flailing to another spike that came close to piercing through. The next offense would've made sure of it, if not for the other's intervention.
Ikki traded punches with the Silver Saint, who at that degree had devolved into the truest of tantrums; not only that, the distractions caused by the never-ending changes in elevation proved too much. Capella eventually had the lead, and barely missed a punch so harsh that his gauntlet crashed right through a heretofore underground pillar, devastating it as if it were gravel, then stomped to bounce the ground below Phoenix.
Pushed up, the Bronze Saint backflipped, cutting a line of fire in the air as he did so. This only kept Auriga back for a split second, since he only had to brush it off with the arms and then cross the sound barrier towards the enemy.
Ikki evaded that by little, although he witnessed that great warrior implode a total of four other formations behind him, everything quaking at the onset of each impact. Auriga thus jumped back, arching in the sky, and landed by clobbering a boot towards Phoenix, who again escaped towards a rising spike. A small crater was split through by the violence, close to getting Capella's leg stuck.
Unexpectedly, Nachi was the next one to approach, but after Auriga easily blocked him, the Wolf Saint took a beating, ceased by Phoenix with a strike to the man's head. Somehow the Silver Saint was able to survive the two at once, every stride making him relocate, yet exertion drained his efficiency and the earth shifted less, such that it no longer endangered his adversaries.
Finally defeating his defenses, Ikki connected with a strike of each hand, then Wolf came with a tiger-like claw before a burst of fire blinded Auriga. Nachi squarely hit him next, spreading more than blood across those long buried rocks. "DEAD HOWLING!" The ancient stone became stained in scarlet flesh, and Capella fell covered by pools of his own blood, face split apart in multiple sections by the aggression.
His helmet rolled down to the depths of the destruction he himself had caused, and he agonized, despite having strength to pull back slightly. Ikki approached with a stern look. "You fought well," he said, "but I cannot forgive you for that cowardly ambush on my friend."
"This… this will not go unpunished…" Auriga muttered amid choking "… Lady Athena will prevail… the gods will… make sure."
"We serve Lady Athena. You are the ones fooled by a traitor," Nachi said, bearing his own difficulties after such an intense battle.
Capella looked on, but he tightened the eyes and suffered more of that deep pain. Ikki rose Cosmos and took a knee beside him to prepare a final blow. "Let us meet again in another life, under better circumstances if at all possible," he wished, then ended the man's fateful torture with a fatal blow.
Not much later, the Bronze Saints took it to themselves to drag their enemies' corpses up the hill beside the shoreline; the view had been absolutely ruined by the battle, and they knew it would be easier for their allies to find them if they were put there. In the end, it was understood that those were Saints regardless of their alliances, and they were to receive proper burial when the opportunity presented itself.
Nachi sighed and wiped off some of the blood dripping from his injured eyebrow. Ikki took another look at him and grinned. "Not to offend, but you are not looking your best, friend," he commented in jest.
"Just had a rough morning," the other responded with a chuckle. "I'm lucky you found me, or I would've been toast right there. What are you doing here anyway?"
"I'm returning from a long trip, and plan to see Athena next."
"So you joined our side ultimately, that's great. Jabu was right in saying you're an incredible fighter. Here, since you're going back..." Nachi reached under the chest plate and pulled out a protective envelope from it "… take it to her. It speaks of the situation in Sanctuary, and that we are ready to rebel."
Ikki chuckled through his nose and took the letter. "Rebel, huh?"
"I-it's serious!" Nachi said, taking that Ikki did not believe in what they were doing. "We will reclaim Sanctuary once and for all!"
"Right, I do not doubt you," Phoenix clarified. "I will keep the letter safe."
"Thank you."
"You go back and treat those wounds."
They exchanged smiles and turned to their respective directions. "I'd better," Nachi said before leaving.
Ikki in fact went up a series of rocky hills and unveiled a hidden cave, dark and damp, as a tiny natural entrance into the mounds. As he passed a few rocks, a pair of round eyes reflected the minimal sunlight that entered the place, and the one who stood up was clearly the slave girl he had freed. "Mister Ikki!" she said.
"You did not peek, did you?" he asked.
"No, I was scared. I heard a very loud bang!"
"I had to go harder than usual, but it was fine in the end," the Saint mentioned as he put the letter under his own Cloth, and when she approached, she took note that his arm bled.
"Why are you hurt?"
"I slipped off a rock and fell — just a scratch. Come on, get up," he prompted her, but she laughed at the thought of such a man falling with little to no control. He furled the brow once she crawled onto his arms. "Laughing at my misfortune now, is it?"
He walked out with her tightly clung to his body to continue their trip. "It's not that, it's just…" she was interrupted by him jumping off the cliff beyond the cave's entrance, and released a high-pitched yell out of adrenaline. Ikki was the one who laughed next.
The two continued traveling far, frequently spending the night in precarious places and eating food he either hunted, foraged, or fished, then to cook whenever possible. After a lot of journeying, they illegally came on board of a cargo ship as it parted, with its final destination being Japan.
They went through forests and hills and eventually entered the city, unbeknownst to them the fact that the Saints had moved headquarters, and when Phoenix found that the mansion was trashed and empty, missing even the Sagittarius Cloth, he left for the district where the Colosseum and the hospital could be found, his next best option.
The Colosseum, too, had been closed, but the hospital still functioned, as it wasn't built only to serve the Saints. To not enter through the front door, Ikki landed in the vast park a road ahead from the building, well forested and with the occasional ponds, paths, and flower beds.
He left the little girl by a park bench, whereon she sit, and gave her a warning: "You stay here and be careful."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"I have to check that hospital up there, and I might have to do some risky jumps, so I cannot be carrying you."
"Okay…"
He turned around, but felt that the warning hadn't been reinforced enough, at least not to a child that young, so he looked back and gazed seriously at her. "Hey, I mean seriously, do not leave that bench no matter what happens," he repeated.
"O-okay!"
Satisfied, he took steps on grass to go straight to the sidewalk, and it wasn't long before his attention was perked by a faint hint of Cosmos from the trees. It approached at a pace he would not dodge from, and although for a split second he evaluated using flames, burning the entire forest down was not in his plans. Instead he slammed the attacker with an arm, a partial failure ensuing. This person was indeed pushed with force, but the same arm scarred by Crow now took a smaller cut.
The little girl jumped in her seat looking at the assailant. She could not feel their energy, but the aura around their bodies betrayed that they planned on fighting. The one who stopped Phoenix, however, was Shaina.
"Identify yourself," she demanded.
Ikki took steps back to prepare for any further moves. "Not before you explain what is going on," he said.
"I said identify yourself." She seemed less intent on bargaining than him.
"Mister Ikki?" the little girl called in distress, but the Saint lifted a hand in her direction in order to shush her, all the while still opening distance as a matter of safety.
"It seems we will come to blows, so I ask that it be far from the girl. She has suffered enough horrors, and I promised myself to give her the peace she deserves," the man said.
Shaina lifted her clawed hand and tensed each finger, saying: "There will be no horror for her to watch as long as you state your business."
With a gulp, Ikki understood he had to assume the risk. He'd have no issue battling, but only if it happened far from that girl's sight, and so Ophiuchus had him cornered. "Phoenix Ikki, as you heard from her. I seek the woman who owns that hospital," he mentioned with a nod.
"I never saw you in Sanctuary, and you do not look to be new meat. I doubt they sent you."
"I passed by Greece on my way here, but have never been to Sanctuary."
"And you know that hospital's owner."
"Indeed, she is Saori Kido, but before I left last time, I heard them call her…" he paused for an instant and said it as it was, as that could reveal whether that woman was friend or foe "… Athena."
"Mister Ikki, I'm scared!" again the girl called.
"It's alright, there is no reason to be," he said in an attempt to soothe her.
Something came over Shaina, and even her cruel heart somehow seemed affected by that fearful, vulnerable tone. She chose to lower her claws too as a way to let the kid feel that nothing bad would befall, despite them keeping their distance. Ikki lowered his fists, and their Cosmos subsided in tandem. "Lady Athena is not here," she said.
"Nor is she at her mansion. I visited and saw the place has been ruined."
"As it stands, it is no longer safe for her to stay there, so she moved locations."
"That makes sense. You know my name now, so may I make your acquaintance?"
"Ophiuchus Shaina," she said, and with the lighter atmosphere, it seemed they were safe for the time being.
"Unless you were one of the girls raised with June, I will assume people from Sanctuary are joining our side now."
"I joined no side," Shaina replied, rising her tone. "I am abiding by my duty as a Saint."
Ikki chuckled and nodded. "Well, of course," he said, enjoying her way of seeing things. "In my case, I would like to speak as if I am doing the same, but…"
The woman took a glimpse of the young girl he seemed to bring under his wing, then turned back to him. "Protecting the needy and innocent is our duty too. You are in the right path, as far as I am concerned," she argued.
"I want to believe you, but…" as he spoke, his voice lowered, apparently so that only the amazon heard him, as she seemed like the type to understand "… since my youth I exhale nothing else if not death. Even days ago, I came by two Saints ambushing a friend, and so I killed them. It is difficult to speak of duty with senseless fights yet in my path."
"Tell me, Phoenix, did those Saints you killed say a word of Sanctuary?" Shaina inquired.
"My friend spoke of rebellion. The two Saints, however, said nothing."
She rushed to the next question: "And their constellations…?"
"They presented themselves as Crow and… the other was Auriga, if memory doesn't fail me. Powerful fighters, if I may say."
Shaina gasped upon hearing that, and worse, to think that the one who stood before her downed two Silver Saints among her elite, the top agents of Sanctuary's intelligence. She said: "Jamian! Jamian and Capella, you have killed them!"
"Crow Jamian, Auriga Capella, right, that is how they called themselves. Hopefully it was no mistake, as I made sure they would stay dead by the end of it."
"Phoenix, regardless of why or how you did this, you might have set us in the right path," she said, breathing out with apparent relief. "They were a problem we anticipated for a while. You must speak to Lady Athena with haste, so come. I will direct you to where she is."
The vacation home saw tranquil days after the last attacks, and with the deteriorated structure in the mansion, the Saints and Cloths had to move in as well. The place was much less spacious and protected, yet the dense forest and mountain ranges encircling it made for a great buffer, meaning they were likely to note an invader's presence long before they were reached.
Having that in mind, the Bronze Saints were quite serene, even with Shaina in charge of scouting the hospital. That late afternoon in particular, Shun and Athena sat on chairs placed by a wall in her new bedroom, a chess table between them. After so long, he was finally without the Andromeda Cloth, instead in a shirt, overalls, and that necklace dangling off his slender neck. The goddess preferred a more casual dress and flats, what she wore since she arrived at the cabin, even though it didn't make her look the part.
The boy seemed baffled at the game between them. "This is impossible," he said after a lengthy time thinking.
"Take your time," she patiently said.
He lazily rested a cheek on his palm and stared some more. Before the awakening, Saori was a manageable opponent, perhaps even worse than him, but now the only person he could beat was Hyoga, an actual newbie. "No, this is impossible. There is no way to beat someone with tens of thousands of years of experience!" he complained.
Athena seemed inquisitive at first, but noticed his mistake and corrected him: "Please, I only learned chess two hundred years ago." Hearing that, the Saint rolled eyes, exhaled, and threw himself back at the chair. She was impossible after all.
Behind the vacation home's living room, connected by a sliding glass door, was a back porch with wooden rails delimiting a depression down to the forest; leaning against it was June, who admired the purplish colors above, sunlight hidden behind the clouds and painting the edges orange.
Jumping between tall trees to reach the house, Hyoga took her attention above before he came down with a bundle of falling leaves. From the dirt he bounced to the railing, then down to the floor beside Chameleon.
"Are your limbs feeling better?" the girl asked.
He nodded, leaned back, then twisted and stretched a shoulder to feel the bones. "They're much looser," he said.
"It must've been terrifying, you know, being turned to stone and all."
"It was bad, but Cerberus' aconite felt worse. The pain lasted longer."
"To think that Shiryu was able to deal with that guy somehow… he's pretty smart."
Cygnus smirked. "I'd say it's more than that," he argued.
He noticed how hypnotized she seemed by the sky, and so he chose to pay attention too, turning to the railing and beholding the view. In those hours the cicadas' song was rather loud, so it filled the outside with a spellbinding hiss impossible to ignore.
"I can't remember how long it has been since I did this, just looking up and taking existence as is, feeling alive," June said.
"Hm."
"It's been this constant kill or be killed, save or watch die… often we don't know if we'll live to see the next week, but right now I feel like I survive for this — to watch the clouds."
"That's a simple existence," said Hyoga.
"Yeah. Maybe I'm too simple."
He turned to her, reassuring that it was fine. "Maybe, but there's nothing wrong with that."
From inside they heard Tatsumi gasp and yelp, so they promptly turned to see. "Hey, what? What are you doing here?" the man said. Deducing more trouble, the two slid the door open and entered; Shun and Athena had the same idea, storming into the living room. "Stay away from me!"
The one who stood in the middle of the room was soon recognized as Ikki, and although Tatsumi seemed terrified at the sight, crawling onto the larger couch, the Saint did nothing but stand two steps from him. "Ikki!" Shun said. They were bewildered that he invaded without catching anyone's attention.
Ikki looked with a malicious grin, studying the ones present before he greeted his brother: "Good afternoon, dear brother."
"I am glad that you have returned," Athena calmly said, "and I suppose you have not forgotten our promise."
He seemed somewhat disappointed that he would not be allowed to play some more, but alas, he did what he lastly could and gave Tatsumi a light push, to which he whimpered in fear. After that, he backed off. "I would never hurt him. I just wanted to give him a good scare for old time's sake," Ikki explained.
Athena smiled. "I am sure he appreciates it. Is that not the case, Tatsumi?" The employee responded with a tiny, hurried nod.
"I see Hyoga and June…" Phoenix observed a while before turning back to Shun "… do not tell me the others are gone for good."
The boy shook his head. "Do not worry, they are alive," he said.
"Seiya has been in the hospital, but should be discharged in the coming days. Shiryu is fine, he is just out on an errand," said Athena.
"Oh, speaking of errands, I almost forgot." Ikki reached under the Phoenix Cloth and pulled the letter he promised to deliver, handing it to the goddess. "This is Nachi's. He said they are ready to rebel."
"That is perfect timing. We should read it with calm later."
Shun took a step forward, asking: "Ikki, you will stay with us, won't you?"
His older brother's eyes met his, and somehow he still found himself incapable of staring without guilt gnawing at the soul. Pensive, he turned to Athena again, reminded of her past wisdom. "We will need your help in the fight to come," she said.
"Not yet," he replied, "I want you to promise me one last thing."
Not many seconds later, Ikki left through the front door to show them why he had sneaked into the cabin in the first place. As he exited, he saw the young girl sitting in a corner of the porch, curious about the flowers beyond the railing. Upon seeing him, she got up and thought of saying something, but Athena's image came in view and she preferred to hide behind the Saint's leg.
When she saw her, the goddess' lips parted in subtle shock, and her eyes spelled dismay once they rose back up to Ikki's. "This…?"
"She is still a bit wary of strangers," he told her.
"Ikki, by the heavens..."
"I went back, as you told me. I do not know if my actions were right, but I visited a place of suffering, and there she was." Like before, his gaze pooled with tears, yet he held them back. He silenced those memories natural to him. "No child deserves to be raised like that. I kept my promise, so I ask this of you; make it a token of our trust. Find her a kind home, and I will fight to the depths of hell in your name, Athena."
Unable to refuse such a righteous request, the woman closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I swear. Whatever happens, I will find her the home she deserves," she promised. Ikki turned to the rescued child and smiled, gently touching the back of her hair to guide her to the forefront. Athena inclined closer and offered a gentle expression. "Hello, sweetheart."
From the corner of the front door, Shun and June spied, and when they had a good look of the kid, they saw themselves overwhelmed by cuteness. "Oooh, look! She's so little!" June whispered exhilarated.
The afternoon continued to fall, from the mountains all the way to the city's downtown. The view at the top of the buildings was as dreamy as the one the Saints had at the cabin, however, an ominous tone somehow lingered in the air. A phone ringed a few times before the call was taken.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Miho?"
"Yes, it's her."
"This is Saori Kido. I hope things are doing well at the orphanage."
"Miss Kido! Things are doing splendid, but it's been a while since I got news from you. How's Seiya?"
"He is… great! Actually, I am calling to ask a favor of you."
"Hm? What is it?"
"It might come as sudden, but I need you to take in a little orphaned girl."
"O-of course, Miss Kido!"
"Oh, and if it will not trouble you, there is something else…"
A golden boot suddenly stepped atop the highest skyscraper in the vicinity, and the cape that followed the wind's harsh course was clearly Aiolia's. Not finding anything of interest below, he put on the helmet and leapt off with extreme Cosmos in the distance, leaving particles of concrete in his wake.