Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Bronze Saint Generation, Heracles Aguilon Silver Saint Generation, Gemini Akassius' Gold Saint Generation, Daemon Lucifer, Maiden Elisa

Notable Original Concepts: Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos & Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens; Stardust Prison

Recurring/Cameo Ocs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt

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

Author Notes:

-I apologize for the significant delay, but LR22 had production issues related to my laziness and vacation trip.

-Be sure to check out SKD's scans of Saintia Sho and Tivanenk's work on Episode G and Episode G Assassin. SKD's scans is currently your only quality source for that sweet English Saintia Sho;

-Also, OMG, LR just made the TV Tropes site Saint Seiya Recommended Fics list! OMG OAO *explodes* Special thanks to 'Fireminer' for indicating LR for it.

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Please enjoy and review.

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"I don't understand what's going on, everything's in chaos! I can hear platoons outside marching and shouting. There were people fighting in the streets and the Gemini Saint is declaring martial law! I saw soldiers breaking into homes and arresting innocent people and they say that the Pope was injured and the Coliseum was half-destroyed...

and they're saying my teacher is involved? My goddess, what's going on?

They interrogated me. They're interrogating everyone! Nam, Cynthia, Kastiel…everyone I know is being taken to the Stardust Prison and called a suspect, but we're just kids, I don't understand! I sat in a dark room for hours on end, not knowing why, where they held lamps at my face, threw water at me, threatened my family and my friends and told me I was a traitor if didn't start speaking. Speaking what? I… what did they want us to say?! I don't know what's going on! I don't know what my teacher is doing, what in Athena's name got into his head…

…By the gods… why did he attack the Pope?"

-thoughts of Cepheus Guardnia, 1973, during the Third Civil War outbreak day

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Five years earlier (1971)

Andromeda Island

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Having dumped the heavy set of water jugs they would need for the following day of training under the scorching heat of Andromeda Island, eleven year old Shinta, still a trainee running for the Andromeda Cloth, breathed a sigh of relief and massaged his tense muscles after yet another afternoon of tremendously hard work. He was nearing the end of his third year and about to enter a new exciting stage of his training. He had done these chores thousands of times to ensure all his friends in the island and even Master were hydrated enough. It was a big responsibility the Master entrusted no one but him to do so, something that gave him a smidge of a smile despite his arms and legs feeling like bricks.

It had turned night, which meant temperatures were dropping so rapidly that the desert felt like it turned into a tundra all of a sudden. Shinta would have to quickly go to his hut and rest before the sweat on his skin turned to ice.

The bright light coming from the largest hut's curtained windows caught his attention. Was Master still doing the bureaucratic stuff for the Pope he had shown Shinta the other day? Maybe he would quickly give Master a small sip of water before going to bed.

It was when he approached the door that he heard the voices inside. The first was his Master's. "Cyrus, are you sure?"

Shinta's ears quirked. Cyrus was Shinta's oldest colleague on the island, at least among those that had survived to see the Japanese boy reach his third year. Notorious for being one of the rare trainees from America, he had been there from the beginning, giving the weak beginner small extra portions of food and protecting him from the meaner kids on the island that had more than once even tried to reduce competition for the Cloth. Shinta wondered if Cyrus was in trouble again. He was a kind soul but often butted heads with Master who, despite his equally grand selflessness, was obligated to ensure Cyrus didn't give his precious help nor needed nutrition to other students the senior felt sorry for.

"Master, you're the one who's been saying all these things to me ever since I arrived on the island and took the pledge. I signed a blood contract that I would get my Cloth, just like every other student has. Why do you keep asking me to go back on it?"

"Correct, you did sign a blood contract, but I also told you that you could come to me and say you were done with training any time you wanted and I would free you from it."

Shinta stepped back, stunned. Not because he was surprised at the conversation topic, but the exact opposite; he had heard Master Guardnia try to convince Cyrus, the other students and even Shinta himself to leave Andromeda Island before countless times. It was especially prevalent in students with lower scores. Every time they fell below certain numbers in tests or training, the Master would have this strange meeting where he would try to convince you to give up or even become a foot soldier.

The Andromeda aspirant was not sure what to think of it; on one hand, Master obviously seemed to be trying to protect them, as the Path to the Cloth was dangerous to life and limb, but, on the other hand, the persistence and regularity with which he did this bothered Shinta. The fact that Master Guardnia actually had more of these meetings with Shinta than any other student due to the green-haired kid's especially low training scores felt rather humiliating at times, even if Shinta refused the offer over and over again.

He clasped his fingers around his Silver Star pendant and prayed Cyrus would not give up. Even if training was so dangerous, Cyrus was very talented and hard-working, so he should be fine, right? "Maybe I'm being selfish." Shinta thought.

"Cyrus, both you and I know your training will now become more difficult than ever. The scores you've been getting in training are a bit troubling." Guardnia continued, his tone calm and pondered like always, trying to walk his dear students through every lesson. "In your last test you almost died and you said you wanted to become a Saint only to return to your family, correct? It doesn't make sense for you to keep doing this if you won't fight in the Holy War."

This was true; Cyrus had confided to Shinta he had no intention to become a Saint. Cyrus even badmouthed Sanctuary quite often and this antipathy was probably why he helped Shinta so much on the island. Just like Shinta, Cyrus was just another of the countless orphans Sanctuary caught in its net in an effort to ensure the manpower pool stayed full. It made no difference if they left, at least according to Shinta's senior. Cyrus' motivations were part of the reason why Shinta had stayed so strong as well. The frail, pacifist child would probably be dead by now if all he had to look forward to after six years of brutal training on an unforgiving island was war.

Master Guardnia, being so smart, quickly realized this and confided once to Shinta that the reason he looked over Cyrus' support for him was to keep Shinta in the right track towards the Cloth. Master had even confessed he thought the young boy would be dead by now if it weren't for Cyrus.

"But it doesn't make any sense, really." Shinta thought with a beaming smile. "Master Guardnia is so wise and cool I'm sure I would survive anyway. I really don't know why he keeps saying these things…Well, I shouldn't be listening. I better go to bed."

As Shinta followed through his decision, however, more worrisome words were heard from Cyrus. "I know, Master, I've been thinking a lot about this possibility, too."

"You're worried about your sisters, right? You haven't seen them in years and they think you've gone missing from the orphanage when you've really just been taken away by Sanctuary. No one would blame you for choosing to return to them; not me, not your fellow islanders and certainly not Athena."

"But would this really be okay, Master? I mean…"

"Sanctuary knows what to do in these situations. The decision is up to you; if you want to risk your life for the chance to fight in a war you'll likely never live to see we can pretend this never happened, but if you have any doubt… all you have to do is say you want to go."

Shinta stepped away, horrified. Was Cyrus really considering leaving? Oh, no! It was a terrible thing for Shinta to selfishly desire for Cyrus to be away from his family, but he would be very sad to see him leave, especially because of Master's strange bad-talks.

He was fleeing away from Master's cabin towards his own when Master all of a sudden stepped out, alone, and caught him out in the open. "Shinta? What are you doing here?"

The young green-head shook his head nervously. "N-nothing, Master, I was returning from water duty. I know I'm late… I mean…" His defenses crumbled before Master's unconvinced gaze. "Please forgive me, Master, I was taking care of my chores and I overheard talking from your cabin. It wasn't on purpose."

Master Guardnia's expression paled for a fraction of a second, probably from the extreme disappointment that Shinta just caused in him, but the blonde teacher composed himself. "…What did you hear?"

"I-I… I h-heard you talking with Cyrus, but he's not in trouble, is he?" It was then that the Japanese nerve-wreck, as his eyes glanced towards the light of the cabin's innards, realized that the older student was nowhere in sight. "Wait, where is Cyrus? I know I heard his voice."

Guardnia paused for a second, sighed, and knelt next to Shinta. "Listen, Shinta, your friend has made a choice…. Cyrus chooses to return home."

"WHAT?! B-but he… but he didn't even say goodbye! And he was just here! I KNOW he was!" the child protested, teary-eyed. "What did you tell him, Master?! You always do this to us! Y-you're always trying to c-convince me to go away too whenever I can't score enough in training even though you m-made me promise I'd get the Andromeda Cloth. I d-don't understand! Where is Cyrus?!"

"I… took him away with supersonic speed. There was no need for a tearful goodbye. He… made his choice." Guardnia explained, though this only frustrated Shinta further. "I know you don't understand right now…"

"But someday I will?!" Shinta practically shouted. "He w-was my friend! And n-now he's gone. I know he wanted to be with his f-family, but… why is this so sudden and strange, I don't understand! How do you expect me to understand t-this?!..."

Even though Shinta had guessed what kind of 'grown-up' argument Guardnia would use, the Master didn't seem to want to confirm his prediction. In fact, Master seemed a bit down, as well, like he didn't really want Cyrus to leave, either.

It was then that Shinta came to his senses and realized he was out of line. He wiped his tears away. "I-I'm sorry, Master, I didn't mean to yell. I hope Cyrus will be happy."

Guardnia's eyes wavered and his hand rested on Shinta's shoulder to comfort him. "We can talk more about this later, if you want. Right now you need to rest, Shinta." He stood up and pointed at Shinta's hut. "Listen, don't tell the others Cyrus left just yet, alright? I'll forgive you for eavesdropping on your Master's meetings if you respect our secret."

Shinta nodded sadly but assuredly. "Thank you, Master, I'll keep our secret… Will we see him again?" he asked as he headed to his hut.

The Cepheus Saint's blue eyes looked away. "…Of course."

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Located in the rocky, deserted areas of Andromeda Island, the Elysium Cliffs were a group of fifteen-foot tall geological formations of flat, oval tops that had been carved out of the island's history of war and natural catastrophes. They were part of the Pretest that was imposed on every student of the Cepheus Saint, regardless of the Cloth they were aiming for, and their height and position near the center of Andromeda were known for allowing climbers to see every location and detail of the island from the top of their tallest cliff.

That night the wind blew harshly, wiping away clouds of sand that rested on the harsh, unforgiving fangs of stone that students had to leap through, chained to one another, to be admitted as students. There was a sudden blitz from seemingly nowhere and a small shockwave of wind battered even more sand around as none other than Cepheus Guardnia, master of the land, arrived from his supersonic leap across the island.

He had landed on the final Elysium Cliff, which top was larger and round as opposed to all the others. One gruesome similarity it had with all the others, however, were the rows of crosses placed in pairs across its side, graves from students that had failed the leap and suffered gruesome deaths involving fifteen feet drops. Unfortunately, Guardnia was there with a new cross to add to the field.

However, this particular cross was not the result of a death in those leaps. It was not even the result of a death in that area at all. It weighted on his hand a lot more than it should, as a result, perhaps more than the occupied body bag he brought with him.

There was a flick of his wrist and a resulting supersonic blast shattered a piece of rock by his feet, opening a new grave with a coffin he had stored there months earlier, when he first started seeing the signs that this night was soon to come. Cepheus Guardnia carefully emptied the bag's content, that of a young, dead boy whose heart had been stabbed with a golden ceremonial dagger, and gently deposited Cyrus on the cushioned resting place. He locked the coffin's nails, diligently making sure nothing was out of place, that nothing would pop open later and that nothing would disturb the occupier's rest. He then took the shovel and began burying the wooden box to be forgotten there like hundreds, if not thousands of other young lives claimed by Andromeda.

As pieces of dirt and broken rock were moved back into place, his half-dead eyes let out tears of sorrow. Once again he was doing this awful task. Once again he was forced to take a life and hide it away from the rest of his potential victims. Once again, for the good of the island, he was doing the most horrible thing he could possibly think of.

Once finished filling the hole, he patted the displaced dirt a few more times, as if the care he took in priming up Cyrus grave would make it all good. He then staked the cross behind it and carved the poor boy's name on it. Hopefully it would be years before it was seen by Shinta or the others, all who had moved on to other tests of the Island.

He sat on a nearby boulder, hands resting in shovel, staring at the tomb he just made.

Why?

Why this?

And why was he doing it… for the thousandth time?

His forehead collapsed on his hands and, after months and months of holding it after finding out Cyrus was considering saying yes to the 'False Freedom Test', Cepheus Guardnia, Silver Saint of Athena, finally wept.

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Chapter 22

First Arc

Episode 15

The Goodbye – Part 1

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Present Day

Sanctuary Town

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The capital of Sanctuary was in a booming, sunny bustle, with stores and balloons filling the avenues in celebration of the upcoming event. Festivities had been marked that day to celebrate the Saints of Athena on the anniversary of the Holy War with Poseidon, but the theme and the minds of the people were occupied with that year's particular hot news: three of the Gold Saints were going to retire and after years of service, would go public with their true identities.

Visitors from all outposts, villages and possessions of Sanctuary throughout the world were there to witness the very rare occurrence. The Civil War Generation was prominent and a whole trio leaving the Zodiac and coming out publicly was an once-in-a-lifetime event. This was the kind of stuff that would be written in history books and the affluence was so certain that the merchants had filled the streets that morning to meet the huge demand for trinkets, snacks, confetti and all myriads of religious souvenirs and festival games. It was a working day for shops and a big holiday for everyone else, from sailors to farmers and even Sanctuary trainees, who now walked back and forth in the stone-paved streets with excitement and glee on their faces.

Or so it seemed like to the Silver Saints at the MMC building, who now patiently waited for Sagitta Nam to set up his graphic charts on civil unrest.

The blue-armored blonde Silver Saint was equipped for action. He took his pen and addressed his comrades. "Alright, everyone, thank you so much for showing up; we can now begin the meeting. As you know, today is a very important day, correct?" He patiently waited for the audience to nod their heads. "Yes, for those of you who don't know, today, the day of the 88 Knights Festival, to be precise, is the busiest day on the calendar for Silver Saints. People from all over the world of Sanctuary come to see the games at the Coliseum, the harlequins in the streets and all manners of fun activities and sweets. I'm sure you all wished you could take part in them… but we have orders. The Gold Saint retirement ceremony will dominate the schedule and we will be working from dawn to dusk."

There was a general sense of discontentment and discomfort from the people watching Nam.

"Yes, yes, I can tell you are all apprehensive; this is the kind of day when everything can go wrong, like an exploding warehouse, an assassination attempt, bar fights or even some kid dropping ice cream on the Pope's foot. We must all be extra vigilant today, when half the staff has been allowed the day off to enjoy the party, and do our best as members of the Silver Saint Order to ensure the safety and comfort of our citizens and superiors!" Nam announced, inflating his chest.

Cassiopeia Cynthia, who sat in one of the chairs, tilted her head and folded her arms. "Nam… I know you really love protocol, correct speech and doing things by the book and I respect that," her masked faced turned to her classmates, unsure how to put this to her bureaucratic friend, "but there are five people in this room, including you. Every other Silver went to enjoy the festival. We're the only ones who bothered to show up and one of us isn't even Silver–"

"Yeah, I don't know why I'm here either." said Pegasus Lance.

Cynthia continued, "-so maybe you could leave the complex introductions for later and speed things up a bit? We can get a lot more done if you give us the short-version and we pass it on right away to the others," she pointed as the others bitterly revealed how pissed off they were with getting dumped with the responsibility while foot soldiers and other Saints were partying.

Sagitta Nam gulped nervously. He really didn't want to address the fact that 80% of his Silver Saint comrades decided to ignore his summoning completely, but the stamped reality of the empty chairs of the MMC room, complimented by the obviously bizarre presence of the bored Pegasus Saint and the nervous apprentice Lyra Saint only drove in the fact that no one in the whole of Sanctuary seemed to care as much as him about keeping things tidy and organized, which was ironic considering the Pope was known for the obsessive-compulsive bureaucracy of his latest years.

At least Heracles Aguilon, who held a commanding position in the Silver Saint Order, showed up. Nam knew he would whip the guys who skipped instruction into shape in no time, but he just wished the enormous man wasn't slowly crushing the chair with the weight of his body and armor. Their budget was a little on the tight side.

"Look, we need to go over the schedule, and if the four of you are the only ones with enough respect for the call to bother showing up, then goddess-darn it, I will instruct the heck out of you!" imposed the poor Sagitta Saint, trying to look tough in front of the three veterans and the one novice, whose inexperienced eyes widened at the commitment of the bower Silver. He pointed his cane at the schedule. "Now, LIKE I SAID and as you can see, we have a very busy day! We'll have to maintain total civil order and vigilance, some of us will be assigned to head sectors and festivities and others will, and no I'm not joking Pegasus, do bodyguard duty. We have VIPs coming in today from Sanctuary's Allies who wish to take part in the farewell ceremonies, so the danger level is off the chart!"

"Don't these people have their own bodyguards?!" protested the Bronze Saint. "Why would they trust Sanctuary with protecting them if they're so damn paranoid? Also, for the hundredth time, why am I here? I'm a Bronze Saint, remember? It should be my day off as well."

"It's called diplomatic courtesy and you'll be taking a complementary role to as part of their protective forces." elaborated the Silver Saint. "Besides, you've been called cause of your rank. Even if you have a Bronze Cloth, your power level is still obviously Silver-Class. I'm sure you know of this, but most terrorist attacks committed against Sanctuary are done by Bronze-Class threats, which means Silver-Rank fighters have a strategic importance in maintaining safety. We need as many Mach 5 feet on the streets today as we can."

Experienced as he was with the outlaw Black Saints, Lance had to concur. "… Will I get paid a Silver Saint's workday fee then?" he dared to ask, only to receive a stern shake of head.

"I will go further on that detail later on, since you'll have to distribute the specifics to the slackers who bailed, but for now the four of you should know that His Holiness has ordered special scrutiny on providing vigilance and security to the VIP arrival and the Gold Saint ceremonies." Nam turned to Orpheé, who seemed completely lost in the labyrinth color-coded hour slots Nam expected him to uphold. "Orpheé, you've only just received the Lyra Cloth, so you'll be shadowing Saint Cynthia and Saint Lance, understood?"

"Y-yes, Lord Nam." the young Silver Saint quickly agreed. "I'll do my best!"

Nam coughed to his hand.

Orphée gasped, stood up from his chair and walked in front of the classroom to present himself to class. "Oh, that's right. I must introduce myself. My name is Lyra Orphée. I'm a student at the Delphi Musical Institute who has recently won the Lyra Silver Cloth." He tucked his gold-ornamented harp close to chest and nodded head respectfully. "I'm glad to meet you all. I know I am still… six years old-" he reluctantly admitted, feeling the gaze of the three much older Saints, especially the Heracles giant way in the back, making him sweat like a squeezed sponge. "-but my cosmos is strong and I will work hard to not hold the Order back, I promise. Thank you."

All three of them had their separate reactions of reserved thoughts. Lance could not believe his red eyes that someone as soft and nervous as him was getting promoted to an order as professional as that of the Silver Saints. Was this kid powerful enough to earn the title of Silver when most his age would start training? As he noticed Aguilon from the corner of his eye and recalled his brawl with him to get Kentaurus, a bit of distaste punched his gut about how he was technically lagging behind yet another child prodigy.

Was this kid really any good? He was carrying a harp, for Christ's sake. While the armor looked top quality, albeit a little underwhelming in its adapted kiddy form, the Saint himself didn't look like much, being Mu's age but with Shinta's pretty boy looks and Aiolia's inexperience to boot. Orphée said so himself; he was a musical student prior to that day!

Having met and trained many different people, including young talented kids, all over Sanctuary, Cynthia and Aguilon seemed more at ease with the kid's introduction. Cynthia even extended a discrete thumbs-up to motivate the clearly anxious kid, who could not be older than little green-head Shinta when he first arrived in Andromeda Island, triggering a soft spot in her.

Nam shook his head. "Oh no, don't address us like that. You're Silver now, so you're on our rank… well, except for Lance, who you can boss around." Nam heard a faint growl from the Pegasus Saint's direction but ignored it. "…and all the guys in the order that would tease you are…late for our important meeting!" The Silver Saint felt the stress building up so he took a deep breath. Nam then turned to the silver-armored giant man sitting at the end of the room. "Aguilon, how are we with the soldiers?"

There was an imperceptible quirk from Lance, who probably still vividly remembered being completely trashed by the Heracles Saint several months earlier as he had tried to run for the Silver Cloth, when the enormous grizzly Greek scratched his chin and chuckled. "Well, they're as you might expect… lazing around until I get my hands on them. I've already dispatched the Herculean Guard to organize them."

Cynthia tilted her masked head upwards to express being impressed. "Wow, they can handle that on their own? I usually have such a hard time gathering those guys to begin with. Foot soldiers are worse than Saint Pegasus sometimes when it comes to make them listen to you." There was another contained quirk of anger from Lance. They were clearly having fun taking turns poking fun at his temper. "You have your Herculean Guard trained pretty well if you're confident to the point of delegating such an important task. I'm jealous."

"Ah, ah, of course, Cynthia; each of my twelve guards can lead any operation I order them to on their own and then report to me. I didn't pick them entirely cause of their arm muscle."

"See, Nam? We got this." The Cassiopeia Saint argued. "I'll take the two boys with me to monitor the VP arrival and Aguilon will handle the streets. There's no reason to overburden the Order like last year." Nam didn't seem convinced, causing the Amazon to roll her eyes and use his lingo to convince him. "Look, if you're so worried, Aguilon can write up the names of the foot soldiers we draft into this. We'll talk to your superiors and everything else that is needed."

"… I'll need signatures." Nam explained.

"How many?"

He pulled a thumb-thick pile of papers which he loudly dropped on the table. "It's one signature from each of you for each page."

"JESUS effing Christ!" shouted Lance, almost falling off his chair. "This isn't worth the damn trouble! What the hell, Nam?"

"Sanctuary rules; everything goes to the books! I spent all morning preparing paperwork just for the four of you to work as you should. If you want go with another plan, fine, but you have to sign all allocation orders, schedule changes and equipment use."

"We'll waste half the day signing your stupid papers!" the Bronze argued. "This is already a bullshit schedule for us; there's no way I'm also signing-"

A huge gauntleted backhand held Lance back. "Don't lose your temper, horse-boy. I'll handle this." Aguilon walked over to Nam and swiped the papers for himself. "Give me that, Nam, before I have to arrest Pegasus for punching you. I'll talk to the Pope later, don't worry." The towering man turned to Cynthia. "Take the two of them to the streets and make sure Lance and Orphée don't set anything on fire."

"Thank you, Aguilon… I guess this means I can't count on you for help today." she sighed. "I thought you'd like to see who the Taurus Saint is now that he'll be revealing himself." Her head tilted. "Unless, of course… you already know the answer."

Aguilon discreetly glanced at the incognito Cancer Saint by her side, who did his best to play his angered kid part. "Oh, it's fine. I guess I'll ask you later. I waited thirty years to find out, so I can wait another day." He suggested, before heading off, his large steps faintly booming in the room.

The blue-armored Amazon watched the Heracles wave farewell as he disappeared in the corridors and hummed. "Thirty years since he applied for that post and now he isn't even curious to know who took his job. Ha, ha, he definitely knows who Taurus is, already…"

"Cynthia, these are the schedules for you three. You're in charge of your team, okay?" asked Nam, distracting her from the pondering.

"Yes, of course… by the way, Nam, can I ask you something? Do you know where Guardnia will be posted today? I know he's been called."

Lance's red eyes perked in her direction. "Oh yeah, Shinta told me he'd be here. He'll probably want to know as well."

As Nam flipped the clipboard, young Orphée approached the two veterans. "Excuse me… I've heard of Saint Guardnia before. Is he gonna work with us? Who is he?"

Cynthia touched her cheek. "Oh, sorry, Orphée, I keep forgetting you're new to the Order-"

"Yeah, someone ought to explain to me too what this kid is doing here." commented Lance, causing Orphée to quirk his lips in fluster. His thumb pointed at the cyan-haired musician. "I had to fight freaking Aguilon and get my ass beat for a chance at Kentaurus and I still didn't get it, so why is Baby-Faceover here wearing the Lyra Cloth?"

Orphée understood perfectly why Pegasus was confused, though he dispensed the indelicate comparison. It was an obviously unfair situation for the Bronze, especially if he had to battle the threatening-looking giant with his own personal elite squad that just left the room. He would explain, but the more he looked at Pegasus the more he couldn't get his mind off the idea he had seen this red-eyed person before, so his reaction was just a quizzical stare that probably just angered Pegasus further.

Cynthia saw this and took the lead. "You know different Cloths have different requirements for accepting you. Kentaurus wanted you to prove yourself in the field of battle and Lyra wanted Orphée to dominate with the lyre. You failed your test and Orphée passed his."

"Ugh, wish I had known back in the day that I could skip two years of missions and training by taking music lessons!"

The Amazon widened her eyes. "Saint Lance that is no way to treat a super-"

To both their surprise, Orphée stepped forward. "Wait! I assure you, Saint Pegasus, that my trials were just as deadly as yours." Lance widened his indignant eyes. Orphée, however, despite being outclassed in age and temperament, stood up for himself. "You might not respect my path as a Saint right away, but I do not expect you to. You'll see for yourself that I'm just as worthy of being called a warrior as you… unless you think my Silver Cloth's standards are beneath your Bronze's?"

Lance folded his armored arms, gazing down on the shorter musician. "Mm… well, I guess you're not a Shinta, at least."

The amazon chuckled. "Which would be a compliment to Orphée, anyway." commented Cassiopeia, protective of the Andromeda Saint.

Nam finished looking through his assignment registries. "Yeah, Guardnia has been called into town…" he confirmed.

"But I haven't seen him in town, yet, Nam. I thought he'd take part of the ceremonies because I was told he'd hand over the laurel crowns and titles to the Gold Saints for the Pope."

The Sagitta Saint hesitated, staring at her like he wasn't sure how to explain the situation. "Actually… he was called to the Pope for a sudden meeting."

"Meeting? What are you talking about?" asked Lance wondering why the only other Saint who had a larger reputation of going by the book than Nam wasn't there.

Nam showed him a pair of trainee profiles "Yes…It appears Sanctuary has found new candidates for the Cepheus and the…."

"Nam, this meeting here is to discuss the Eighty-Eight Knight Festival and not the matters of Andromeda Island!" spoke Cynthia as she slammed her hand on the table.

This news still staggered Lance, considering he had never seen the Amazon so tense. It was at that moment that he could see the familiar gaze of the two with Nam's eyes trying to hide his emotions while Cynthia's fingers were twisting into a fist that they were having an argument through the cosmos and did not want him to know. "What the hell is going on? Who are these two kids?"

Cyntia sighed. "One is going for the Cepheus Cloth and the other is being claimed by the Saintia Order."

This caught the attention of Lance, who despite his stay in the Golden Zodiac had only barely heard of the secretive order of armored 'maids of Athena' who guarded the more secure parts of the Pope's Chambers and some of Sanctuary's far off possessions. It was nothing new for Sanctuary to build up reserves for the Cloths, even Silver or Gold ones, so the news that the Pope was setting up young recruits as back-up Silvers wasn't exactly what shocked him. In fact, during the Third Civil War training and conscription got so bad that Cynthia's Order started joking they had more Silver Saint reserves than Bronze underlings. The fact that Guardnia was called to Sanctuary despite the divulged news being of him taking part in ceremonies, however, reeked of trouble. It still didn't explain why Cynthia lost her cool there.

"I'm not authorized to tell anyone, but if it helps," Cynthia reached over into her Cloth and pulled out a profile for Daidalos and handed it to Lance who quickly read through the papers.

"Is Guardia in trouble?" Lance mental-messaged her, but only received silence. Guardnia is no slouch so this Daidalos boy must have something special to be picked as back-up. "You don't have to hide the Saintia news from me? I already know about them. Where is her profile? Is she training with him too? Does Shinta know anything about this?" Still there was a long silence.

"Lance, we need to focus on the festival and not Andromeda Island." She spoke as she turned away, clearly refusing to answer any questions. "Trust me…" she whispered.

The Pegasus gave in. "Fine." He could push the matter, but Cynthia was one of the few who didn't treat him like shit and one who he came to respect. He's sure he'll tell her more when the time is right. He looked down and read the background info of the blonde Argentinean boy. "A Dirty War survivor with good grades from both regular schools and Sanctuary's orphanage ones, but says here his behavior was at times… bipolar? Jesus, anyone like that is automatically black listed from training or first in line for the Gemini Temple." Lance thought. He looked at the picture, and mentally filed him under the pretty-boy category that Shinta and now Orphée were under. Why was every fighter in Sanctuary so much more about looks than brawn?

Cassiopeia stared once again at the picture of her young, black-haired replacement. Elda looked like a feisty tomboy girl if her photo frown was anything to judge her by; more suited for the hostility of the Amazon Training Ground than the finesse and primness of the Saintia's fighting school.

"I was told she'd be training under the Cepheus Saint, but the Saintia Order has protested… Nothing about this makes any sense. And what about Daidalos?" she asked, turning her attention to the background info of the blonde Argentinean boy.

"Well, they're the next on the list for Guardnia's Elysium Leap pretests. Hopefully they won't splatter." Nam staggered at the sudden shift of Cynthia's mask towards him. "U-umm, I mean, there's really not much I can tell you other than what's there. Maybe you can find Guardnia later at the ceremonies anyway."

"Alright… thanks, Nam."

"Hey, don't worry about him. Guardnia's our best behaved classmate and he's even got an Andromeda Cloth handover in his record. He's a pretty boy. What trouble could he possibly cause?"

{======================|0|======================}

Taurus House

{======================|0|======================}

Surrounded by his two students and old Gold Saint friends, the enormous blonde hulk of a golden-armored man lowered his head so as to look himself in the mirror and adjust his helmet. This was Daniel's last day as the Gold Saint of Taurus and, therefore, his last day wearing that armor, or so he hoped. Tomorrow Aldebaran would be officially the new Gold Saint of the Second House and all he would do would be sitting in a customized rocking chair in some Greek villa to the south, or in whatever region the Pope would make him a Count of.

It was not typical for Gold Saints to be awarded titles upon retirement since most in history would not fight Holy Wars, but it was far from being frowned upon, too, and after Akassius' rise to dukedom a decade earlier, it was pretty conclusive that the Gold Saints that battled besides him would also be granted similar honors upon their eventual departure from the Golden Zodiac. To Daniel, who tempered his warrior spirit and rose above such petty fantasies long before, being considered of an upper social class was not particularly exciting, but if it pleased the Pope, so be it.

He stepped away and placed hands in waist in a confident pose, looking like a barbarian hero with his large cape and bovine armor. "I think I'm ready…"

"Finally," Capricorn Kirin thanked the gods, having already finished preparing hours before. "I can't believe you made sure to take half the morning to garden the Temple's roof one last time. I understand it's a good relaxation, but -"

"I'm sure all three of us made our own goodbyes in our own manners, Kirin." commented the red-haired Gold Saint, Aquarius Malta. "To be honest… I too couldn't resist one last visit to the alchemy chambers. We spent so many years here after all."

Daniel couldn't help but agree. "Almost two decades, yes, but I was here before any of you. It feels like yesterday I was welcoming you guys to the Zodiac and now…" Daniel chuckled and looked away, moved by his own memories. "…I'll miss this place, despite everything."

Looking back on all the combat, betrayal and death their generation had faced, even the dedicated Kirin couldn't help but feel somber with the giant's words and sympathetically patted his shoulder. He wasn't taking much with him from Sanctuary other than a few cherished weapons, books and photos, so the rest of the heavy baggage he felt on his shoulders was probably all the regret and tragedy they felt.

"Has Saint Aguilon spoken with you, yet? You two have been friends before our generation of Gold knights even met each other." the zealous saint asked. "I wonder, when we reveal our identities, what will everyone think when they find out the Zodiac gardener also guarded the Taurus House?"

"Aguilon will find his moment to wish me luck when he wants. He's not the type to show 'weakness' publically, ha, ha, ha."

Aldebaran couldn't contain tears. "L-Lord Daniel, I still can't believe you're going!" his arm rubbed his drenched eyes and his fist clenched high in the air. "I SWEAR I WILL PROTECT THIS TEMPLE! Not one enemy will get past the new Gold Saint Taurus Aldebaran!"

"Lord Daniel, will it really be okay?" asked Shinta, already wearing his beloved Andromeda Cloth in preparation for the ceremonies. "I also can't believe you're already leaving… Your training regimen was difficult, but I really will miss you."

"Finally, the brute is going away!" the Andromeda Cloth huffed in his mind. "All these months of barbaric training…. are finally over! O happy day!"

"Andromeda, how can you say that?" Shinta protested. "He's my teacher, and he was Master Guardnia's teacher for a while too. How come you don't like the man that taught me and your 'Father' so much?"

"You must be joking! Look at me!" She made her chains rise up to his face, showing off the crack reparations, smudges and brittles. "Look at my precious chains! They are wrecked, battered, broken! How dare he and his stupid, brutish little student both do this… to a Princess like 'me'?! AGH, I hate this place! I want to return to Andromeda Island! Shinta, how could you not defend me! I will punish you for this someday, mark my words!"

Shinta, however, knew exactly how to calm her down. "Yes, Princess, but remember that your 'Father' is gonna be here today. He wouldn't like to see you act affected by this. If you show King Cepheus that you grew up with this experience, he'll be proud of you, right?"

Her chain waved beneath Shinta's chin to indicate her thinking. "Hmm…. Maybe so." Her spear-tipped chain turned sharply at his face. "You're not tricking me, right? He really will be here?"

"YES, yes, of course." He confirmed with a beaming smile.

The tip rotated menacingly as she pondered. "…. You wouldn't be stupid enough to deceive me… or smart enough at that." she pointed out insultingly, making Shinta roll his eyes. She sighed. "I wished I could still read the winds to see what the future held for me, like I did when I was alive… sometimes it's so hard to keep the morale up when your prospect is to be stuck for six months in a smelly temple-sized gymnasium. Reading the future would at least let me now when I would get out."

A thought sprang to Shinta's mind "Wouldn't it also mean you'd know exactly how long you'd have to endure?"

The Andromeda Cloth didn't answer.

Seeing the junior Taurus student apparently lost in thoughts with his pink breasted cloth, which he always thought of Shinta as brave for wearing it, Aldebaran's sadness was suddenly overridden by his sense of Taurus House seniorship towards the older Bronze Saint. He patted Shinta's back so hard the green head yelped and stumbled forward.

"BRO, what are you thinking?! How can you be sad? Lord Daniel has prepared us for this day and now we must rise to the occasion and be true men!" His chest inflated and his tears dried. "We must celebrate his departure by showing everyone the results of our training! We are disciples of Taurus, damn it! We have the hearts of bulls!"

The Bronze Saint gasped, not believing how he just faltered so shamelessly, and nodded. "Y-you're right! Lord Daniel, I'm sorry! I too swear to honor your training." He looked up at the giant with determined eyes. "You took me in and trained when no one in the Golden Zodiac should have. I consider you as much as my Master as Master Guardnia."

A warm, touched smile appeared on the giant's lips. He was glad he would leave behind at least two good things after years of destruction in Sanctuary's name.

"Has it really been over a decade?" someone's voice suddenly called out, a tall man arriving on the room. "Last time I saw you all so sad you were the ones saying goodbye to me."

Everyone in the room turned to the man, the Gold Saints widened their eyes and Aldebaran's jaw dropped.

"Akassius?!" Aquarius Malta called. "You've come!"

The black haired ex-Gemini smiled, meeting his old friends. "Do you three really think I would miss your retirement party? I know people say I'm made of steel, but…"

Shinta blinked, having never heard of this man. "Who is that?"

Aldebaran snapped out of his trance and smacked Shinta straight in the head. "DUDE! How do you NOT know who that is?! That is former Gemini Saint Akassius Steiner! He is Saga's predecessor!"

"OW! Ooh… I'm sorry, I didn't know." He immediately kneeled at the retired Gemini, whose stern stare made him shake and feel like an ant. "Welcome Lord Akassius. I-I apologize, I didn't-"

The imposing man waved his hand calmly. "It is quite alright, Saint Andromeda. I have not been a Gold Saint for eleven years. You are under no obligation to honor me."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kirin "You deserve as many honors as we do."

Akassius disagreed completely. "This day is for the three of you. It is your turn to be honored, not mine. You were not cowards that left Sanctuary as soon as the war was over. You all stayed to repair our home, I did not." He looked up at the Taurus Gold Saint. "You always said peace time was more important than war, remember? You were its protagonists, not me."

"Then maybe for one day we can forget about the past contributions and join arms as brothers again." suggested Malta, unusually emotive in a day that was of great significance to their generation.

Daniel chuckled, surprised. "Malta, I am stunned, are you suggesting we should treat each other like we are not fighting machines without feelings?"

"I'm as surprised at myself as you are… but I think we can make an exception today."

As soon as the heat was off them, Aldebaran bumped his elbow against Shinta, flabbergasted by his ignorance of the hype. "Do you live under a rock?! This is freaking Akassius Steiner, the one guy that might be stronger than Lord Daniel!" he hyped, fanboying over the celebrity but refusing to place him in a higher pedestal than his manly teacher.

Imbued with new wisdom, Shinta stood back and watched with new eyes the four legendary warriors gathering together and exchanging welcomes with Gemini, whom Shinta had truly never heard of but could already sense a tremendous aura of valor, like a walking statue of a conquering warrior, from Akassius even in that room filled with Gold Saints. Was this the man Lance had gone to meet in Kastoria after becoming Cancer?

The sight of the four men of yonder brought other thoughts to his mind. "This really is an important day… I keep forgetting this is more than just Lord Daniel, Lord Malta and Lord Kirin's retirement… this is like the dawn of a new era. I can tell they are so strong and brave. I wonder if everything will be ok without them."

Aldebaran quivered for a moment, secretly sharing similar concerns, but his indoctrinated bravery and optimism chugged it all down. "Of course it will be fine! We'll have Saga, Aiolos, Lance and, most important of all, ME! HA, HA, HA! Besides, Shaka might not be the friendliest person, but he's really powerful too. With a set up like this we are practically invincible!"

The new Taurus' Saint's attitude always brought a smile to his face. He wished he saw the relaxed side of things as easily as Aldebaran. "Yeah, and we still have the Silver Saints too! I guess there's nothing to fear…"

"Hey, what happened to that my-Master-is-so-cool boasting? Isn't Guardnia Silver? And we also have gold-ranked Silvers like Aguilon. OF COURSE it will be fine with them by our side!"

Shinta nodded. "I hope I get to see him before the celebration. There's so much I want to catch up on and I bet he'll be too busy during the laurel handover. I feel like I haven't seen him in years."

Aldebaran smiled coyly. "Yeah, but don't forget to keep that secret safe, you want to impress your teacher and this is gonna blow his mind, but do it at the right time! Even your big brother doesn't know about it!"

{======================|0|======================}

Sanctuary Town's Streets

{======================|0|======================}

As the day progressed the number of people in the secluded city piled up exponentially. There was a jumbling atmosphere in the air as shops were set up, swords were juggled, fire was spit, sweets were offered, memorabilia was haggled and laughter of various ages was provoked for the wildest of reasons. For all these things Sanctuary Town seemed to come alive like a metropolis, with people from all corners of Sanctuary's villages, posts and communities coming to see the three retiring heroes.

Occasionally, in that particular street the three Saints were patrolling, a horsed chariot would trot through, carrying a celebrity or important master along the bricked road, causing particular attention to be focused there by security and passer-by alike.

Lance was in a disgruntled mood; as Nam predicted, trouble was breaking out for no reason whatsoever as cultures clashed, tourists got drunk and children cried, as if the reduced number of guard shifts for the festival was an excuse to go wild on the city. "Pacifist holiday, my ass; this entire town goes nuts the second the soldiers shift gears…"

And just as expected they were already trying to solve another situation. "Look, ya colonist! It doesn't take half a brain to see ya don't know the law on this! I clearly parked my stand here first!" complained the black-eyed Sanctuary Towner, whose shop's figurines lied broken on the ground from the brawl that had just broken up.

"Colonist?! Screw you, ya racist clay-head! I paid a fortune in drachmas to rent this spot many months ago!" complained the merchant from one of Sanctuary's North American communities. "I gotta make full use of the days just to pay that back and like hell I will give up my paid spot on Sanctuary's most lucrative day of the year!"

"For what? Selling popcorn and cotton candy to the kids?! I always get this spot every year! Buzz off, Yankee; I got a real business to run here!"

Orphée stared in shock at the ridiculous situation; was Sanctuary really prone to such pointless feuds like this? "Please, sir, I'm sure we can reach an agreement! There's no need to fight!"

"And now Mozart's little cousin over here is all over my case! Thanks a lot, cowboy!"

"Oh that's it, you son of a bitch!" The two feuding merchants launched at each other. "Prepare to get ass-kicked-"

"Stop it, right now!" Orphée shouted, his eyes narrowing and his fingers dazzling through the harp's strings, unleashing a melody and a burst of strings that tied up the two troublemakers and pinned them against the wall, restrained. "Seriously, what kind of behavior is this? I'm sure you can find enough space to place your stands next to each other.

The native struggled against the strings, but it seemed impossible. "AW, give me a break, kid! This is the corner where all the VIPs pass through! I don't need competition stifling my profits, I got kids to feed!"

Cynthia's hand palmed her mask. Her chains rustled around her wrists in warning. "Reach an agreement or none of you sets shop. There are tons of civilians here and someone innocent could get hurt if you keep fighting." She pointed out, referring to the tons of passing families and visitors attracted to the brawl.

"Or, option three, you both get your ass cheeks kicked." suggested the Pegasus Saint.

"No need for that, Saint Pegasus. I'm sure these two gentlemen can see eye-to-eye."

With a lot of reluctance but plenty of incentive, the two shopkeepers grunted, sighed and nodded, only being freed from Orphée's strings once they agreed to shake hands. The Lyra Silver Saint sighed, wishing he had been able to deal with this by himself or even that people weren't stupid enough to cause such unnecessary trouble.

"That's the tenth fight we've had to break. Is Sanctuary Town always like this? I don't think Sorrento told me about people tackling each other on the street when I was studying at the Delphi Institute."

Red eyes rolled, as Pegasus knew very well what kind of sudden brawls could break out between people at the wrong place and wrong time. Orphée seemed less naïve than Shinta at least, but also betting way too much on people's good will. "What's your problem? You were trained for fighting and you were warned at the MMC about what we were gonna spend our day doing."

"I just don't like people causing all this tussle and bustle! They're adults! Don't they have respect for each other, or even for the law? Someone could get hurt!" Lance contained a laugh. Orphée touched his harp to reassure himself. "Ugh, I thought I would use my harp today to for the festivities, instead I'm using it as handcuffs."

"You're gonna get a lot of disappointments today, Orphée."

The Bronze Saint stared at the instrument. He would be lying if he said he wasn't fairly shocked at the harp's capabilities. What looked like a fruity instrument was actually a deadly, weaponized set of razor-sharp, stardust-laced strings which could deliver a sleepy melody as easily as cut apart the entire crowd around them in a microsecond. He had gulped when the foot soldiers from the first trouble they broke up had just fallen asleep on the ground like rocks and imagined he would stagger a bit as soon as Orphée decided he had enough and turned the next ruffian into a pile of sliced up red mush.

"Let it pass! Let it pass!" a well-dressed postilion shouted as he whipped the horses through the busy streets. The carriage was large, with curtained windows and the figurine of a wooden bull with large horns poached on top. "Duke and Duchess of Crete coming through, please move along!"

"Uh oh, the big shots coming. Let's get off the streets." said Lance before dragging the Silver off the road to a nearby bench, where Cynthia already waited them. "What a freaking mess; if it wasn't bad enough that they turned the avenue into a fair, but did the Golden Zodiac really have to designate this road as a Jet Set highway? Things are hard to keep under control as it is without adding social warfare drama."

"This leads to the Herculean Road, which goes straight for the Golden Zodiac, you know that." reminded Cassiopeia. "There are many important invitations that will get reserved spots in the ceremonies. If something goes wrong here we could have a major incident in our hands."

"… I still think we're an overpowered glorified city patrol, but okay. "

Cynthia turned to Lyra, who also seemed perplexed at what they were doing there. "Orphée, do you know who's going to attend this ceremony?"

The cyan-haired harper nodded. "Nobles of Sanctuary like Lady Cecilia Steiner who gives money to my school, right?"

"That's right, but there's another group of people that will be here today as well who are just as important. I'm talking about Sanctuary's allies; representatives of people like Asgard in the north and the Lemurians in Tibet, as well as the City-States."

Now this was news to both of them. "…City-States? You mean like actual city countries allied to Sanctuary?" asked Lance.

"This is the biggest reason for the preferential treatment and our presence here. We can't have simple foot soldiers escorting diplomats, important elders and princes. These are the chosen delegates of independent powers with historical importance to Sanctuary. Politics are involved."

The disguised Cancer Saint piped down, no longer feeling absolutely ridiculous with that task. Dohko had not told him about this, but then again neither did Shion, the Triangle Saint or the maidens at Heart of Sasha that first took him in to Sanctuary's society. He had occasionally heard from Shinta, however, about a hidden city in Ethiopia that apparently supplied Andromeda Island with food.

The thought of Cloth-guarding islands reminded him of Aphrodite and the Island of Gardens. While he had recovered from the injuries and poisoning, the events surrounding Elisa's treason had only transpired recently and still marked his mind, challenging his already pessimist notions of Sanctuary.

It therefore shouldn't shock him immensely for there to be other places out there with various degrees of isolation or autonomy from Sanctuary, all with their own opinions of the Pope and Saints as a whole. It still stunned him the way he occasionally forgot Sanctuary was a society thousands of years old that would probably still surprise him many times in his life.

The Cassiopeia Amazon noticed the Lyra Saint still seemed down on his spirits. "Don't worry, Orphée, this is just the busy part of day where the 88 Knights Festival is still building energy up. Once things are organized and the Coliseum games begin, you'll see a big difference in people's mood."

The young boy sat on the bench's edge and casually ran his fingers through the strings, letting a short, delicate melody tingle the air. "Hmm, maybe, yeah."

Cynthia noticed he was staring at the kids playing around with the new card collecting game that had become a fad in Sanctuary Town. "Do you miss your friends?"

Orphée's eyes glanced at her and he gulped.

"Oh, no way! Hey, look, its Orphée!" one of the kids shouted, pointing at the cyan haired boy who gasped. The group of children gathered around the Saints, focusing their attention on the musician. "… Look at you wearing that armor! What, did you beg the Saints to give you a toy one to show us up, twerp?"

There was a collective cringe from Cynthia and Lance.

"What?! No! This armor is real! I earned it recently!" Orphée protested. "I underwent the Nocturnal Melody Ritual and conquered this armor's respect with my music! I'm a real Silver Saint!"

The kids laughed. One of them flexed his arm arrogantly. "Yeah, right! Look at this loser! What kind of armor accepts Saints with music? Cloths are for strong warriors like me!" he then pushed Orphée violently. "What, are ya gonna tell us 'Sorry' Sorrento also got an armor with his dumb flute?"

"Umm… no, Sorrento isn't in Delphi anymore… he went away to the Solo Institute."

Another kid showed off a pack of collecting cards in his hands engraved with the head pieces of Athena's Cloths. "See these? These are Saint Cloth Cards we've been trading around. We got almost one hundred percent completion and I don't see ya stupid tinfoil project here. You don't even have a helmet with ya!"

Another turned to Lance to exemplify. "Yeah, check this out! Let's see… retarded-looking horse head with little wings? Ha, ha, this one is so obvious! It's Pegasus!"

Lance groaned and reached for his pocket, where he pulled out a set of cards all engraved with the Pegasus helmet that was given to him by the MMC to hand out to the kids. The rules were that during the Festival they were allowed to go around guessing the Cloth of the Saints and, if correct, the Saint would have to hand them the trading card they owned. What a dumb hobby; how were they gonna play card games without the numbers and sets? Where they just gonna trade them around till they got full albums?

"Awesome! Now this one… ummm" the kids all stared at the Cassiopeia Amazon's blue armor and four-pointed star headpiece with quizzical expressions, unable to decipher its identity. "I don't think I know this one…"

"She's a silver and blue! It's gotta be Sagitta!" one dared.

"Oops, I'm afraid that was wrong. Better luck guessing next year!" said Cynthia, taking the time to show off her cards without revealing the name and storing it in her pocket, out of their reach.

"AWWW! Darn it! You said 'Sagitta'?! Idiot! She has 'Cloth Boobs' so it's obviously a female myth person." one boy screamed. "Now we can't have a full set till at least next year!"

"It's not my fault! How many Cloths are dark blue?!"

"Plenty, actually…" Cynthia made sure to drive in, making Orphée hide his chuckle. "Bear and Cassiopeia, for example…" she suggested, turning her face distractedly. Orphée nearly chocked when the kids were too angry at one another to notice she had just given them the answer.

"Now scram already, ya brats! We're trying to work here!" shouted Lance.

"No, you're not! You three are just standing here looking stupid at the street!" a snot-nosed one observed.

There was a burst of white light and Lance's foot stomped the floor to scare the ruffians off, making them scream and scatter around the city. He wiped away the harmless light show before the entire street called the guards on him. "And don't come back! Stupid kids…"

Orphée tucked his harp. "… Thank you."

"You do realize your Cloth really is the real thing and you could easily smash them on the pavement with it, right?"

The musician looked down. "I don't want to be vengeful like that. It's not worth it." The sound of trotting caught his attention. Orphée's eyes widened in awe "Whoa, Miss Cynthia, look at that one."

The three Saints stared in awe at the new carriage making its way through the crowd. Rather, the crowd made way out of the carriage's way, since its imposing presence threatened to run over anyone who dared to stay in its path. Not only was it pulled by a pair of large, threatening dark horses that looked bred for trampling, but the vehicle itself was gilded, painted and adorned with an astonishing amount of elaborate elegance, sporting chain-patterned gold lacing in the wheels, the carving of mythological scenes involving kings, court and a chained female figure on the sides, a variety of joint and spring mechanisms carefully crafted into the adornments for minimum visibility and, most noticeable of all, an ivory crown of a folding head, which reminded onlookers of white castle walls, topping the carriage like a white city on a mountain.

Following the carriage front and back was a patrol of heavily armed men who resembled an exotic mix of paladins and African warriors; they carried a heavy set of fully-plated armor, a round, black shield in their left arm decorated with golden metal pieces in a sun pattern, a long pike in their right hand meant for phalanx and schiltron tactics and a long, curved sword, similar to a scimitar, belted on their waist plates. A beaky-top helmet with chain mail raining down the neck and an unfriendly looking mask of a bearded, African figure completely hid their identity. The dark skin and breathing, however, indicated their humanity as opposed to the Isle of Gardens' artificial golems.

A blue and white flag waved on the poles, marked with a white castle on a sun, referencing the legendary City on the White-Crown Mountain, New Lalibela, deep inside the sky-scraping rocks of Ethiopia. The driver didn't even spout a word as he whipped the beasts through the streets, expecting everyone to get out of the way with the mere sight of the elite soldiers escorting their passenger.

Lance and Orphée stared in curiosity.

Cynthia went tense.

"Look, mommy, horses!" a child shouted.

"No, Jotham, come back!" the mom shouted.

The Saints gasped, the crowd backed away, the horses whined and raised their paws into the air and the guards went fully alert when the blond six year old child rushed from the crown and tripped on the pavement, falling right in front of the beasts and armed men. The carriage came to a halt as much as the hearts of the crowd. The guards shouted back and forth and the mother rushed in defense of her child, hugging Jotham and pleading.

"Halt! Step away from the vehicle! This is his Majesty's carriage! How dare you endanger it?!" the captain guard yelled, his accent sounding North-African.

"I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt him! It was an accident."

"Oh, goddamn it!" cursed Lance, who rushed along with Lyra to the scene to put himself between the family and the spears. "Hold on, nothing serious happened. It's just a kid! Cool your damn jets!"

Orphée took the mother's hand. "Come on, ma'am, let's get out of here. Things could get dangerous if we dally here."

While the mother and the child needed no second thought in agreeing, the guards still seemed agitated, arguing with the Saint and demanding explanations. "We are here under the protection of the Pope and we are authorized to protect his majesty at any means necessary! Clear the road, Bronze Saint, and let us through!"

"Alright, alright, just give us a damn second, ya jackass-"

"What is going on here?"

Everyone in the street went cold and quiet. No one had noticed in the commotion, but the door of the carriage had been opened and the person inside had stepped to the street, indignant and curious to what was the commotion about. The coach driver gulped and whipped the horses to quiet them down, the guards went into full salute form and the people in the streets took unconscious steps back or hands to mouth.

Lance stared at the figure. He was a mid-height, blonde man with curly hair running down to his chin-height, a faint, equally yellow beard running to his chin and a pair of unnerving golden eyes that looked like they belonged on a predator bird. While his skin was flawless, his demeanor, posture and rigid stare indicated someone with the maturity on its thirties, and the red, kingly mantle he buttoned on his shoulders not only covered a set of hidden, clunky armor but also combined with its white-fur lining to indicate the man's status of extraordinary importance.

"What is delaying us so much?" he demanded to know, narrowing his sharp, cold eyes on the two Saints and the pair of miscreants that was the most likely cause of their stop."

"Y-your…. YOUR MAJESTY!" the captain gasped, kneeling before the man. "A thousand pardons, but these peasants of Sanctuary got in the way of the carriage."

The king did not even give it a moment's thought. "Well, you know what to do. Kill them and let's move on."

"W-WHAT?!" Lyra and Pegasus both shouted.

The crowd gasped.

The captain nodded. "YES, your majesty!" he signaled the guards and there was a collective unsheathing of swords and pointing of pikes at the screaming mother and child. "Alright, move in!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Lance shouted, making his white cosmos explode to that of a Silver-level, catching the King's waving attention.

"Wait, everyone stop!" Orphée demanded, sensing a huge fight was about to break out. His hand fluttered through his harp. "Stringer FINE!" The guards attempted to attack and the Pegasus growled, but a sudden explosion of white light and a burst of thin strings shot all over the place, wrapping around their weapons, limbs and armors before tightening to a full stretch, stopping all of their movements.

"T-thank you, Saint L-Lyra." The mother pleaded, amazed by the young, armored boy's bravery.

"It's fine, just go!" he signaled the mother and son to flee, which they finally gathered enough presence of spirit to do so. Orphée panted. "Is everyone out of their minds?"

The king, who had somehow remained clear of the strings path, stared severely at the musician. "You have a lot of nerve, or ignorance, to interfere with my command, Silver Saint. Free my guards right now… or I will end your life myself."

Orphée sweated nervously, still reeling from the experience of having just stopped what could have become a bloodbath. He sensed somehow the king was not bluffing and feeling something almost supernatural in his eagle stare. Who was this man?

"N-no, Orphée, don't listen to this bastard!" Pegasus warned, struggling against his ally's strings. "I don't know who this person thinks he is but he was ready to have his guards commit murder in the middle of the damn street! Don't think for a minute he won't order his guards to do it again."

"Pegasus Lance is right!" Orphée reassured. Upon hearing Pegasus' name, however, the King widened his eyes slightly. "Why should I let your men free? You were ready to kill an innocent mother and child!"

"Orphée, it's okay, let them go." Cassiopeia Cynthia ordered, finally joining the spectacle. She stood between the Saints and the king protectively. "I'll handle this, don't worry."

Though he hesitated at first, Orphée eventually nodded and dispelled his technique with a note, causing the countless strings to relax, drop Lance and the guards and retreat back to the harp like a ruler tape.

The King chuckled. "Ha, ha, ha, what a pleasant surprise… it's been a few years, Cynthia. I'm afraid, though, that the title your Silver Cloth gives you of 'Queen of Andromeda Island' is just a ceremonial name. You're not actually…entitled to get in my way." His smiled broadened and his eyes narrowed maliciously. "You wouldn't become an obstacle to me, too, would you?"

If there was any pleasantry from Cynthia's part, which Lance somehow doubted based on the pause the Amazon made after the King's comment, it staid hidden behind her mask. The disgust in her voice was clear, though. "Maybe I'm not entitled… but I am still a Silver Saint of Athena sworn to protect the innocent. I won't allow you to play with peoples' lives as you please, King Cetus of New Lalibela."

The mere mention out loud of the king's name seemed to displease him and send the crowd into further nervousness.

"… I think I preferred when you used to call me Master Cetus." he recalled, making her quirk in further disgust.

"Why are you here?!" she demanded to know. "You never cared about Sanctuary's duties for the city-states."

"Three very important Gold Saints will be retiring today, will they not? I have come to honor them with my presence." He explained. "Taurus, Aquarius and Capricorn are admirable men. They accomplished great deeds… like when they helped me keep order in our kingdom in the middle of the Civil War's… unrest there. You remember that, don't you?"

The red-eyes of the Pegasus noticed Cynthia was clearly struggling to stay cool under the king's words. Did they have a complicated past? He would demand to know more if he wasn't disguised as Pegasus.

The King's golden eyes turned to him, however. "I also remember your name, Pegasus. I'm afraid your promotion ceremony, however, was not worthy of my trip to Greece. I'm sure you'll make a great" his eyes shifted ever so slightly to the peasants who were unworthy of knowing the identity of the Gold Saints "grave digger. Hm, hm, hm…"

Orphée gasped loudly, suddenly remembering everything about how he had first seen the Pegasus Saint. His hands covered his mouth as the image of the Cancer-armored red eyed man entering Lady Cecilia's mansion returned to him to prevent himself from accidently spitting out the secret. He stepped back and let the grown-ups handle the matter as he reeled from the shock of knowing a Gold Saint was three steps away from him.

"Don't think for a second the Pope won't know about this!" threatened Pegasus.

King Cetus wasn't intimidated at all by the taller, younger Saint, instead chuckling yet again and waving his hand in permission. "By all means, Bronze Saint, inform the Pope. I'm sure he will be very preoccupied with this, especially when a mere Bronze Saint is the one denouncing me, the rightful King of Andromeda." he mocked, fully aware of the Gold Saint's true status. The topic of the island reminded him of Cassiopeia, however. "Dear Cynthia, you didn't really think I would miss the goodbye of the three Gold Saints that liberated our city from the rebels, right? It would be inconsiderate…"

"Liberation is a kind word, considering they let you on the throne later-"

"I even heard dear Guardnia is going to hand them laurels." He interrupted, closing his golden eyes in reflection of the good old days. "It's simply been far too long; do you think he still remembers me?"

Her chin lowered. "Vividly."

"And what's been this about a new Andromeda Saint that you two haven't told me about?" he spoke, causing her to freeze in place. "I had to find out through my men; my spies; that you would bring him to our city to see the monuments of our beloved myths… and you wouldn't introduce him to me, the King? I would grant you an audience in the blink of an eye. Does he even know that I exist, or that I was the Cepheus Saint before his dear Master Guardnia?"

"Your audiences are better used serving your starving citizens….and don't you bring Shinta into this!" she hissed.

Lance, too, went tense with the mention of his best friend and demanded answers from King Cetus. "What do you know about Andromeda? What is he to you?"

"He's nothing!" Cynthia assured. "Clear the road! The King of New Lalibela will be meeting His Holiness at the Golden Zodiac!"

The people of Sanctuary reluctantly moved back into place as the gears of the festival, fearfully whispering and gaining distance from the scene while King Cetus' guards organized themselves and pulled the horses by reins back into place. One of them called for Cetus, his majesty, after opening the carriage's door.

King Cetus shook his head in fake somberness as he climbed inside his vehicle "I am appalled… and distraught! I thought I would receive a warmer welcome from my little Cynthia after so many years away. You know you are special to me."

Cynthia seemed to prefer not to thank him for the compliment.

The blonde man huffed at her silence. A suspicious smile filled his mouth, however, when a thought came to his head. "Don't worry, I'm not angry… I'll make sure to say hello to Guardnia and maybe, who knows, I'll get to meet this wonderful student of his. I'm sure I'll get along with him just fine."

The Saints stood back and watched as the driver 'yah-ed' the horses and the beasts whined, pulling the carriage away from the scene and into the Herculean Road, where it was soon lost in sight amongst the multitude of visitors.

There was a moment of silence between the three as they recollected their thoughts. Orphée tucked his harp into his chest again, feeling his breaking day as a Silver Saint as the strangest one he's ever had, Cynthia stood there watching the people resume their lives and returning life to the party little by little, seemingly lost in thought, and, finally, Pegasus Lance folded armored arms and stared angrily at everything and everyone, feeling like he had been kicked in the balls.

"What the hell just happened?!" he shouted.

"Nothing… let's get back to work." Cynthia ordered.

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Meanwhile, at the Golden Zodiac

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Standing in some step amidst the hundreds between the Aries and Taurus temple, Cepheus Guardnia, loyal Silver Saint of Athena, stared from the mountain's advantageous height down at the city of Sanctuary Town, where he could see the thousands of people that would soon watch the retirement ceremony. So many souls had come to watch and he had been chosen to hand the laurels. He still couldn't believe the opportunity the Pope gave him in the letter he received all those months ago and had pondered exactly why a lot of times.

His best guess was his impeccable career, at least for a Cepheus Saint. The Andromeda Cloth was a nigh-impossible cloth to win over, so being the teacher of a trainee who actually did it was pretty huge in Sanctuary. Combined with the fact he was probably the only adult trainee of one of the retiring Gold Saints, in his case Taurus Daniel who took Guardnia in after the Civil War, it made some sense the Pope would think of him when choosing who to award the Gold Saint's laurels.

There was also the matter of the two students His Holiness intended to entrust him with; Albiore, now known as Daidalos, who has shown compatibility with Cepheus, and Elda, who not only may become Cynthia's reserve, but also may be part of a strange power struggle between the Silver Saints and the Saintia Order.

He had stared at the two pictures of the children for long stretches of time. Another two innocent souls to be sent to Andromeda Island…. To his care…

"Master Guardnia!" Shinta shouted from afar, rushing in to hug him. "You're here! Ah, ah, I'm so happy! So you really did come to take part in Lord Daniel's goodbye."

The blonde, blue-eyed Cepheus Saint allowed himself a smile at the sight of his star-student, the only one to survive and the only one in quite some time to obtain the ridiculously demanding Andromeda Bronze Cloth. The green-haired boy had not suffered many changes since their last meeting asides from the ones resulting from the rigors of training at the Taurus House.

"Yes, I'm here to see His Holiness. We have something to discuss prior to the ceremony. It's great to see you." His head ruffled Shinta's green hair. "Ah, ah, you grew up a lot."

The Japanese boy beamed with happiness, but no one was more excited than the Andromeda Cloth itself, which waved its scarred chains up at Guardnia in desperation. "F-Father, you're finally here! Now you can take me away from this place back to my temple in Andromeda Island! Look at what t-they've done to me! Those brutes…!"

The Silver Saint tilted his head confusedly. "Mmm, that is quite the damage you suffered, 'Daughter', but you have to stay with Shinta. He's your owner after all for as long as he is a Bronze Saint. Wait… does this mean that-"

Shinta nodded. "It was meant to be a surprise… but I've been working hard and raised my rank. I may not be a Bronze-class for long anymore."

Guardnia stared in awe for a bit at Shinta. "That's…" he blinked and snapped out of it. "That's wonderful! If you raised rank, then-"

"I'll be allowed to return to Japan!" Shinta concluded. "I did it, Master, and it's all thanks to you and Lord Daniel. I almost gave up hope so many times, but… I really did it! Can you believe it?!"

Guardnia hugged Shinta in congratulations. "If I believe it? Yes, of course I do! I… always believed in you, and if you got Andromeda I knew you could get Silver, too."

Happy as he was, Shinta held words. He couldn't afford to let out the real surprise for his Master yet.

"Lord Guardnia?" a papal guard called, having arrived from the Taurus House. "Your submission for an audience has been cleared by Lord Daniel of Taurus. You may proceed to the Pope's Chambers."

The Silver Saint let go of the student and nodded at the guard. "I have to go, Shinta… will you be at the festival?"

"Yes, of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world. It isn't just the day Lord Daniel retires, but also the day when Camus, Shura and even Aldebaran rise to Gold Saints. I'm going to meet up with Miss Cynthia and Lance later on and try to get front row spots."

"Good, I hope you have fun…" Guardnia then hesitated for a bit to leave. He held Shinta's shoulder. "Remember when we used to come to this festival every year with your other Islanders?"

Shinta nodded, but the memory of his fallen friends brought his mood down. "I miss them… especially Cyrus." His finger wiped away a sudden tear in his eye. "You know, Master,… I travelled a lot these past two years, but I never got to see him again. Not in Sanctuary, not in its villages or anywhere else."

"I guess… it wasn't meant to be for you to meet him again."

The Bronze Saint had regrets, though. "But that makes me wish all the more that I got to say goodbye. I just… wish I had that."

The Cepheus Saint looked down somberly. Shinta imagined Master Guardnia, above all, regretted the death and departure of so many children under his care. As if those memories all of a sudden filled him with resolve, the Master took a deep breath, patted his student's shoulder and moved on.

"Have fun with your friends, Shinta. You've come a long way. I hope you get what you desire."

Shinta waved his hand as the Master entered the Taurus House, knowing he would not get to speak with his teacher till all the fuss and buss of the festival was over.

{======================|0|======================}

Laying down stealthily in the rugged, hard ground of a far off rock protrusion on the hill slopes that walled Sanctuary Town, a hooded, cloaked figure used the pair of binoculars and the privileged angle of his position to spy on the entrance of the Taurus House. He saw the Saint of Cepheus being greeted by Taurus Daniel at the entrance with great happiness, and be joined by the two other Gold Saints also about to retire.

His bandaged, scarred hand took the pen and scribbled down the time, the numbers and the code he needed to register about the events he observed as he did this. The encoding was unnecessary, but this was information he would need to preserve for later on and it would be messy if someone were to intercept it in a decoded form. He watched everything, from the streets down in Sanctuary Town, to the Saints at the entrance of Taurus, to the Fire Clock tick-tocking away at the distance. Soon, his time would come.

At last, the Cepheus Saint entered the Taurus Temple. The man narrowed his shadowed eyes, got up, took the box he had stolen and started discreetly climbing down his position.

He had to hurry, or his plan would go to waste.

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Chapter End

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Next Chapter: The Goodbye – Part 2

Description: The Festival continues and His Holiness the Pope meets with Saint Guardnia. Expecting a simple meeting about his future two students, Guardnia is surprised to know Arles III seems to have more profound things to want to discuss.

Author's Note: At long last… chapter 22 is up and done. Now you probably wouldn't believe me if I said life got in the way of its progression considering it took place across summer vacations, but you would be surprised.

Establishment chapters are always very tough for me, I've noticed. Setting up all the plot elements I'm gonna use across a storyline is always a fight and while later on developing them is also challenging, it is not quite as discouraging. This chapter was no exception; the final storyline of the First Arc is hard to pull off, as it talks about what it's gonna be one of the main exploration points of LR; how the life and the Society the Saints live in has shifted and twisted their perspective and obligations.

The False Freedom Test is a concept of LYKM; it consists of a certain test done by Cepheus Albiore on Shun and his fellow islanders (Leda and Spica) on a regular basis following certain rules. Once again, reading LYKM is unnecessary to understand this, as False Freedom will be explained and enrolled in LR properly.

Now some of you may be asking what this Saintia stuff is about… well, it obviously comes from 'Saintia Sho', the latest and greatest SS spin-off, which I also plan to integrate in the story. Elda, the young girl who may become Cynthia's replacement, is the Cassiopeia Saint in Saintia Sho. Those who are not familiar with its plot have nothing to be worried about, as I will do my best to make use of its elements and characters in a careful, concise manner.

Those who ARE familiar with Saintia Sho and are wondering how am I gonna handle Elda and Deathmask in the same story right now… well, I guess it's a good thing LR takes so long to update, right? :p

Once again, be sure to check out Saint Seiya Fan Forum for news on various SS topics for the English-speaking community, as well as Hitagigahara's translations of Saintia Sho and Tivanenk's translations of Episode G and Episode G Assassin.