Notable OCs: Pegasus Lance's Saint Generation, Civil War Saint Generation, WWII Saint Generation, Hades' Dark Princes, the False Specters, Maidens of Athena, Priam's Black Saints; Cyrulian Refugees; Genbu Atlae; Patrician Mariners, Shamballa Muvians;
Notable Original Concepts: Mount Olympus Training Ground, Sanctuary Court, Teos Cloth, Athenian Empire mythology, Isle of Gardens, Stardust Prison, Hades' Dark Princes; Desert Beyond, Sanctuary Town Layout & Buildings; Kido Mount; Pact of Seven; DQI Geography; Shamballa;
Recurring/Cameo OCs of Jenny DeVic: Mrs. Schafurwatt, Cyrus
Recurring/Cameo Concepts of Jenny DeVic: Great Bodyguard Legend, Golden Line Heritage, Sanctuary Orphanages, Andromeda Island's Geography & Tests, Sanctuary Nobility, 88 Knights Festival
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Author Notes:
-This chapter has been betaread by EpicElly;
-A note to my other Beta-reader Jenny DeVic, who is currently recuperating from health issues. Stay well, Jenny.
-I will cease doing future chapter descriptions from this point forward. They're frankly not very productive and they increase the amount of time I spend doing the finishing touches of every chapter. They also run contrary to the reality that I spend a lot of time doing slight change to chapters up to the moment of final publishing.
-Also, wanted to make a note, the story has offically surpassed 50,000 reads about two months ago, currently nearing 51k. Thank you.
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1966 (Eleven Years Earlier),
Rural Japan
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"Mom, mom, look who I found!" Shinta yelped in Japanese, bringing her the huge stag beetle he discovered in the garden. "It's the one that was in the garden yesterday. Doesn't it look so cool?"
Sitting in her chair on the lawn, the black-haired German woman sighed, seeing her blonde son covered in branches and foliage. "Shinta, were you running after it through the park woods?" Her pale, ringed fingers gently combed Shinta's golden hair to clean it of dirt, making the boy flush in embarrassment. "I told you not to do that, already, didn't I? What if you got lost and taken by a stranger? You could even get seriously hurt."
"Y-yeah, but he flew away when I tried to catch him." Shinta excused himself, ashamed. "I don't have a net like Fukita and I didn't want to lose him like last time, so I ran after him. And then I had to catch him in the trees, so I got all messy like this."
Anesidora cupped Shinta's hands and lightly squeezed to push the large insect crawling into her palm. She peeked between her fingers and saw its long pincers open and close, prodding her hands for an exit. How did Shinta capture such a huge specimen with just his hands, and without hurting it no less? Its two fangs looked like they could chop a child's finger right off, and yet Shinta just took it to his hands like it was an innocent mouse.
He really was just like his father, sticking his hands into all kinds of danger without thinking about it. She handed Shinta the insect. "Well, don't do it again, okay? Especially on your own. You might fall into the river and drown. Then your body would puff up like a balloon."
The boy gulped, startled. Mom had such a terrifying way to talk about things sometimes. "I-I won't. By the way, mom, Mister found me and took me right home, so you didn't have a thing to worry about."
Anesidora turned her purple eyes up at the man that had arrived with her son, now waiting patiently at her gate step for permission. "I noticed."
The man held the small gate at the entrance to their garden, knocked lightly, and spoke in broken Japanese. "Hello, Annie. May I?"
Shinta giggled. "See, mom? He knows your old name and everything, so he's a friend, right?"
The woman stiffened, seeing the tall, dark, attractive figure that had ruined her life talk to her like it was just another pleasant Saturday. Standing up, she pulled Shinta close and hugged him tightly.
Shinta widened his eyes, feeling suffocated against her round chest. "M-Mom! What's wrong?" He glanced at the stranger, wondering what he could be thinking at this. The last thing Shinta needed was adults thinking he was a momma boy, too. "C-Come on, this is so embarrassing!"
Against his protests, the woman kissed his head, but then released him. "Go to your room, Shinta." She gently pushed him inside the house. "Put your friend in the vivarium we built, okay?"
"Um, okay, mom." He spared her a look, wondering why she was acting strange, then to the man who accompanied home, but they both seemed fine. Shinta then rushed inside and up the stairs.
When she was sure her son was gone, she turned to the visitor and switched to the Greek language. "Come in, Akassius."
Nodding, the Gemini Gold Saint entered the lawn, sticking to its main path and keeping a respectful distance from her house. "Thank you for switching the language. I was never good at Priam's home tongue. He tried to teach me a few things back in the day but… it just never took root." He scratched his cheek, darting eyes away. "I don't think I can handle all the different scripts they have."
Anesidora Heinstein huffed. "Well, that's a shock. You always seemed quite able at juggling everyone's problems at the same time." She put hand on her door as if to head to the kitchen. "Can I get you something? I don't have coffee, but there's tea.""
Akassius irked anxiously, sensing the tense tone, and spoke with caution. "No, thank you, Annie. I won't be here very long. How have you been, by the way?"
Pulling her chair away, the Heinstein cadet came out to face him. "For being under house arrest in a country I did not grow up in? I am doing very well, thank you. Everyone here has been very polite to me, even if they think it's strange that I do not ever leave this house. It's been a while, Akassius. You look… good."
The Gold Saint buckled, but nodded. "Thank you."
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly at his famous statuesque visage, still as championing as ever despite his earlier fold. "I assume the family is well, too?"
Again, the Gold Saint nodded. "Yes, them too. Galarian is getting ready to enter his Training Ground, actually."
"Well,…everything is wonderful at the Steiner Household, then." Her pale fingers laced together and her lips curved up tensely. "It's such a shame. For a while, I was hoping your absence meant my husband had finally put an arrow through your head. And that your body had fallen off a window and been eaten by wolves. Then dear Cecilia would know the pain you caused breaking up my family."
The stoicism in Akassius finally cracked into an anxious frown. The polite darkness in Annie's tongue had, in more peaceful prior years, been an entertaining and charming quirk, the kind of thing that caught everyone off-guard at just the right moment to make them laugh along with her. He had sometimes wondered if that was a trait of growing up specifically as a Heinstein or just a cultural artifact of her home country.
However, when armed against you, it acquired a sharp, malicious quality, like a witch's curse being kissed into the winds. The assurance she meant well was gone and you would swear the Gods themselves would manifest her darkest desires against you in the very thread of your fate. Rather than a poke at his sensitivities, all Akassius now felt was the veiled hostility of a scorned woman who desired nothing but his end and the end of everything Akassius held of value.
The irony was gone, but the darkness was very much still there. All directed at him. And justly so.
"I'm sorry none of us have been able to check up on you recently. Things have been moving very quickly as of late in Sanctuary." The war hero began. Her constant glare made every word he voiced out of his mouth feel like a choice between life and death. "Is Shinta doing well? I could understand from what he was telling me that he just finished pre-school?"
What an absurdly normal question to ask. Anesidora breathed out and did her best to be civil, but the circumstances... "That's right. He's currently enjoying his summer vacation and is excited for his fifth birthday coming soon. Hopefully he'll get to see it. I want him to be as happy as possible before he's sacrificed to your Goddess."
Irking, Akassius stepped up. "Anesidora… you know it's not like that."
But the woman squinted at him, unimpressed.
The gall this man had, coming to her door, to a mother, as if he did not intend to kill her son once he was done with her husband.
"You're right, Akassius; a sacrifice would serve a purpose." She took a breath, harnessing all the dignity of the Heinstein Family, and turned face away from the most powerful man in Sanctuary in disgust. "This that you'll do to him is just an execution. Something to make the cowards of Sanctuary like you feel a bit safer and more self-righteous about their tyranny. But if it makes you feel better, I will preten-"
"Annie, we've finally beaten Priam." Akassius cut in, getting to the point of his appearance before they lost track of it in another argument. He saw her eyes widen. It was a brisk revelation, but Akassius meant what he said with things 'moving quickly as of late'. "We trapped your husband in the Atlantic Ocean and I defeated what was left of his army. The Sagittarius and Pisces Cloths are now back in Sanctuary. The war is over."
…
The words finally sank into Anesidora, turning her glare into a wide stare. Priam… was done? Now? After three years?
Feeling her head light, she gulped and closed her eyes, picturing the worst. "A-Are they alive? Aeneas and… and my husband?"
Akassius only lowered his head, averting his eyes in shame. "Kirin… defeated Aeneas. As for Priam, the last time I saw him, he was falling to the ocean after I took the Sagittarius Cloth off of him. None of us swum after."
A frank sob pierced through her restraints. Anesidora covered her eyes with both hands, picturing a horror she couldn't face all in her head. "O-Oh, dear God! N-NO!"
"He fought bravely until the end, Annie." Akassius tried to assuage. Even a warring man like him knew this was nonsense to say to a grieving widow, but it was all he had. "Even trapped on that rock, Priam was a true Saint of Athena, who refused to lay down his arms. Thanks to his courage resisting us, the battles he fought with us have allowed countless Saints to elevate themsel-"
Predictably, the woman launched herself at him, hammering her arms on his hard chest as strong and viciously as she could. Even the Gold Saint was taken aback, faltering briefly under the assault. Akassius tried to hold her back, but even he relented with the look of hate in the Heinstein's face, evocative of a demon of Hades himself.
"You filthy MURDERERS! DO YOU THINK THAT MAKES IT ANY BETTER?! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY HUSBAND AWAY!" Anesidora screamed at his face, trying to hit him again. Her fists lunged viciously enough that she could graze the bastard's face through his arms. Before long, however, weakness and tears began to set in and her assault slowed until her arms were both firmly gripped by him. She collapsed on him, her chest ripped apart by pain. "Y-You killed my husband! YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND! I should tear your damn throat OUT! I should K-KILL YOU!"
"Anesidora, stop. Shinta might hear you!" Akassius urged, holding her as gently as he could manage. He irked, amazed at her strength. Let no one say Anesidora Heinstein was a weak woman just because she had no Cosmos. "Please, Annie."
But anger only gave way to despair and a distraught heart. Unable to hurt the man who killed her spouse, Anesidora collapsed face into his chest instead, sobbing and wailing in powerlessness. After years of being apart, of fearing for his life, Kyosuke was gone. He was really, really gone! She was alone in this world, and there was no one left to protect their son.
The black-haired Gemini glowered, distraught at the pain clear to even the blind in her. Never, even in Akassius' angriest moments at Priam, he ever desired to hurt his family like this, much less Anesidora. Now all he could do was hold Annie and beg her for forgiveness.
He raised her to her feet and, reaching into pocket, he offered her the handkerchief Cecilia gave him once. "Here."
Recovering and cleaning her eyes with it, Anesidora looked up at the window of Shinta's bedroom, fearing he may have been alerted by the shouting. Taking another deep breath, she relaxed and distanced herself from Akassius, but gripped her chest with the pain in it. She too out a box of cigarettes from under one of the garden vases and tried to use her lighter, but her shaking fingers couldn't get the damn thing to spark.
Approaching her, the Gemini cupped it and burned his Fire cosmos, making his fingers warm with embers. He burned the tip, acting as a lighter.
"T-Thank you." Feeling the damn thing finally on, Anesidora nodded and took her first breath of smoke in five years.
"My old Fornax Saint abilities do have their uses." Akassius tried to joke. Understandably, he saw no effect on her. Still, her persisted. "Annie… I know there is no place in your heart to forgive us. However, there was just no other way this war could have ended. We've always known that."
She exhaled the cloud out and felt her numb body tingle, feeling all the forgotten sensations of her habit reignite after seven years. She looked at the damn, ugly thing in her fingers with disgust. Anesidora had stopped smoking when her belly first began growing with her little Shinta. Quitting had been one of the hardest things she ever had to do, making her once scream at Priam that she'd rather train to get the Cosmos than go another day without nicotine. The pack she kept was more of a remembrance than anything. Now here was the relapse, after half a decade of abstention.
"I'm a better man of war than I am a friend, I will admit it." Akassius lamented, powering through her painful silence. "I don't ask forgiveness for myself, but for Malta, Kirin, Paris and everyone else who got involved in this, Anesidora. People who still love you despite it all. I ask…for the greater good. For the healing of everyone."
"The greater good, you say…" The quiet, furious tension exploding in her almost made her fingers snip the cigarette in two. "What do people who solve their problems with murder know about the 'greater good'?! I never wanted a dead warrior for a husband! I wanted a father to my son. And you tell me ridiculous things like he 'fought to the end', and to forgive your accomplice friends, as if that makes the loss in my son's life any better?! Her angry eyes looked away, tearing again. "All those times you people called my husband weak and a coward…I'd rather a thousand times Priam had been! He'd still be alive that way! And your stupid friends would be guilt-free!"
The Gemini reeled, firm in his beliefs, but ashamed. In this paradox of feelings, there was nothing he could say to any of Anesidora's accusations.
"Instead, you all punished him for doing what you Saints are supposed to; defend justice and love. And then, when it's all over, you come here and ask me to make it all better for you?!" her chin raised at him, brimming with dignity in spite of the redness in her eyes. "Well, Akassius… you can tell Malta, Kirin, Paris and everyone else that no, I don't forgive any of them! Because if there is one thing that I absolutely will NOT let you people have… it's the satisfaction of thinking that murdering my husband was all for the greater good! Me and my son will burn in this world together, like witches, to set all your minds at ease, but you and your ilk can rot in hell!"
Taking the handkerchief with her other hand, Anesidora cleaned her eyes one last time. She tried to think of all the moments they shared together before it all went to hell, but it just revived all the pain she thought was buried already. The Gemini Saint floundered, feeling the darkness only a hurt mother could curse someone with fall on his entire body.
Breathing in and closing her eyes, the gothic woman felt a wash of relief in her chest. "…Thank you for letting me say that, Akassius. I am ready to meet my fate now." She eyed him, her purple iris now completely void of the light that previously flared in them, and she presented her wrists for him to shackle them. She could resist, but Anesidora deeply feared they might make her spend her final days without seeing her son. "Shall we go? Just… please, let me be with my son in these final days. Don't take him away from me like you took my husband."
The Gemini Saint, however, lowered her hands with his own. "Put those down, Anesidora. You're not going anywhere near Greece. And neither is Shinta."
The woman froze. "W… what?"
"You didn't let me finish earlier. Like I said, your husband's war cost us many Saints, but also pushed others to elevate themselves above their potential. One of these new Saints of the new generation is Priam's own student, Gardnia." Akassius recounted. "He has now become the new Cepheus Silver Saint."
The math processed itself in Anesidora's head from what she learned of the Saints when in their circle. "Cepheus… that means…"
"The Master of Andromeda Island, yes. The island where the Andromeda Cloth resides." Akassius confirmed. "An extremely powerful self-sealing Bronze Cloth, that could shackle even the darkness of a resurrected Specter."
…
Anesidora's cold heart began beating fast. Did she really hear this? Was Akassius really there telling her this or had despair, after three long years, finally driven her mad? Was Akassius really implying to her that… that…
The Gemini Gold Saint turned to face away. "Your husband suffered many scars in this war to protect you, Anesidora. I suspect that even if he had lived from this last battle, the burns I inflicted on him would mark him for the rest of his life. Now that he's gone, I thought I would be returning to Sanctuary finally free from my own sort of pain, but… I couldn't help but feel all I've done is repeat once again what I've down to my own brother!"
Anesidora trembled, split in twain. What was Akassius saying? Was this the truth? Was he just trying to get her to surrender Shinta without screaming or fighting? Or was he really, actually, finally offering her child the one hope he could have? "I…"
Tears formed in Akassius eyes, that he cleaned right away with his arm. "When we returned home, I was made to walk Sanctuary Town in Triumph. They called me a hero! But all I could think of the whole time, even as the Pope put laurels in my head, was how I failed to keep us together! How my murders saved no one! And then…" He looked up, black eyes reddened. "…then Gardnia appeared in it, showing me his new armor. Vowing to me that he would be a better Saint than Priam. That he would be loyal to the end. And when I saw him in that thing, I knew that, despite all those flowers thrown at me and all the Black Saints I had defeated, I had truly and undeniably failed. I had allowed hopelessness to defeat me."
The Heinstein fell to her knees, crushed by the sensation of hope suddenly swelling in her. It burned her chest from the inside and made her breathe in panic. Her eyes cried.
Gently, Akassius got down and held her shoulders. "Annie…I lost faith that I could save your family, but I was wrong. Now I see a path to save Shinta, and I swear I will never, ever lose faith in our dream again! So please! Believe me just one final time! I will save Shinta! I will bring him to Sanctuary, make him a Saint of Andromeda and lock away this terrible tragedy forever! And then,… then when that armor accepts him, and I know it will, even Arles will have to see that the darkness inside of him will not harm anyone ever again!"
The implications of what Akassius suggested earlier finally settled themselves in her mind. Anesidora felt a crushing weight in her chest suddenly crack from a heat birthing inside. A heat she hadn't felt since the last time she kissed Kyosuke goodbye.
"Mom, is something wrong?" Shinta called in Japanese, peeking through the door. "I heard yelling and saw you fall! Were you crying?"
Standing up, Anesidora smiled, cleaned her face and went to hug her son. "I-I am okay, Shinta… Dear God, I am. Come here." She kissed Shinta again.
"M-Mom, I told you to stop that!" the embarrassed boy protested. "M-Mister, my mom doesn't just hug and kiss me all the time, I swear!"
Akassius got on his knee to face him and tried to speak the little he could of the boy's language. "Don't worry, my boy. I've got a son a bit older than you. He's blonde just like you, too. His mother fills him with hugs and kisses all the time. Sometimes I swear she loves him way more than she loves life."
Shinta laughed, showing his little teeth. "Really? That's funny."
The Gemini Gold Saint held his small shoulder carefully and smiled. "Listen, Shinta… do you know who I am?"
Shinta hummed, trying to think. "Are you my daddy? I never see him." He chirped. "That would be really cool, cause it would mean I'd have a brother, too, right?"
Akassius laughed somberly, feeling the fantasy of the idea in his mind. He remembered the brief moment when he first met Anesidora that he felt attracted to her. Priam and Annie always seemed so happy together, something he and Cecilia could only ever seem to fabricate to others in their political union. He loved Galarian very much, but sometimes he wondered what kind of family he'd have if he had spoken to Annie of such feelings.
Or even if he'd have a kid like Shinta, and be in Priam's shoes during the war. "N-No, I'm sorry, not at all. I am… a friend of your father. I am also a Saint of Athena, just like him. Listen, Shinta… your dad was a very brave and strong guy. It's a tough path, but wouldn't it be great if you were just like him?"
Shinta made a confused face. "Mm, you mean being a Saint, too? I guess so? But mom says Saints are people you pray to from long ago? Besides, people get strong so they'll hit other people, right? I don't want to do that."
The two adults shared a look, surprised at the boy's summation and principle. They also had a lot of catholic programming from Anesidora to de-train in him, if they wanted him to understand Sanctuary.
"That's right, Shinta, they do. But, hey-" Anesidora urged, seeing a path to save his life that she should seize no matter what. She smiled and combed his face again. "-you know… if you grow up to be really brave like your dad, you can inspire other people to be nicer, too! And do great things with their strength other than hitting people like your school mates hit you."
The boy looked like a lightbulb suddenly lit up in his head. "In…spire… that means to make people follow your example on their own way, right?"
Anesidora nodded, proud of her son. "Uh-uh! And your father used to do just the same! He inspired a whole bunch of people to follow him and try to make a better world, just by being kind."
"Oh, I see!" Shinta chirped. Dad sounded like a really cool guy. "Then, why is he away? Because of that?"
"Y-Yes!" Anesidora summarized. An idea flared to her as to how to convince Shinta to embrace this wholeheartedly. "Also, you don't have to hurt people if you don't want to. You can just train to get this really cool power armor, like you see in cartoons!"
This above all seemed to excite the young boy. "Oh! Like Astroboy?!"
"Y-yup!" Anesidora confirmed, beaming. Who would have thought those strange cartoons of the boy in briefs would help her save Shinta's life? "But listen, Shinta… this is a dangerous path. They will take you away. They'll give you a teacher, too, but no matter what, you must promise me you will always be very careful and do everything your teacher says, okay?"
"Take me away? B-But mom! I'll miss you!" Shinta protested. His eyes teared up. "I-I don't know anyone out there. I'll be all alone!"
Gently, Anesidora took his Yours Ever pendant and kissed it. "Don't worry, Shinta, just keep this with you at all times, okay? And whenever you feel alone or scare, pray into it. I promise I will hear you."
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"… will be a dangerous path, Shinta. Remember your promise to your mother that you will never take the pendant your mom gave you out, and always keep your hair like this."
"Hello, Shinta. I am Cepheus Gardnia, a Silver Saint of Athena. I am a friend of your godfather. Welcome to Andromeda Isla-"
"-hey, momma boy. Do you ever take that thing off your neck? Why don't I sell it for you so we can bu-"
"-but you know, Shinta, you suck up to Master all the time, but he will kill you if you don't raise those scores, ah, ah!"
"Shinta, why are you crying? What? Who said that?! It was-"
"You did such an incredible thing?... Listen, Shinta, never take that armor off, or that enormous cosmos of yours will be released."
"Welcome to the Bronze Saint Order, Saint Shinta. You'll be teamed up with Pegasus Lance."
"He saw you using your deeper Cosmos, uh? Don't worry, Shinta, I'll talk to Pegasus. Just don't tell him about-"
"-an admirable sentiment, but one that does not benefit me. Now show me some blood. Kill that cur!"
"Do your best. I love you. Goodbye."
"I'm saying you are NOT who you think you are! I'm saying you're like me! A Dark Prince of Hades! The Celestial Absolute Star of this bead!"
"I am your faithful worshipper, Prince; Terrestrial Insidious Star, Reaper Grim."
"Please be okay, Shinta…"
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Present,
Virgo Temple,
Hospice
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…inta….Shinta!"
"Bro,….ake up!"
Shinta's eyes slowly opened, letting light into his world. "W-Where am I?" He saw people standing above him wrestling each other.
"Out…way,… baran!" someone urged, then shoved their finger into Shinta!
The Andromeda's pupils sharpened, feeling the injection of adrenaline from the Scorpio Saint's finger. He shouted and raised up suddenly, smacking Milo's head with his own.
"O-OW!" they both yelped.
Aldebaran groaned and practically tossed Milo aside. "You idiot! Look at what you've done! This isn't a medical TV drama!"
The Scorpio Saint pointed his finger, still rubbing his head. "H-HEY, he's up, that's all that matters! How about 'thank you, Milo'?!"
"W-What happened?" Shinta wondered. Slowly, as his head became less sore, he remembered the white light after he enacted Kha. "We were in the test… did I…"?
Aldebaran and Milo both became somber, sharing a look. The Taurus Saint was the first to answer. "Buddy… I'm sorry. You lost. Saint Noah is the new Virgo Saint."
A sunken, distraught feeling came over Shinta. "I…I lost?" After all the hard work, all the anticipation, and even the minor miracle he pulled? Slowly, he stood up with Aldebaran's help. He felt his body in one piece, but the Andromeda Cloth had been removed from him and placed in the corner. It looked scorched and crackled all over, like someone hit it with sledgehammers before setting it on fire. "I failed the test. I can't believe it…"
"You were this close, man!" Milo assured, squeezing fingers together. "But that guy totally cheated! The nano-second you made your move and it became his turn, he casted Lance's shield technique all over you out of nowhere!"
This made Shinta's attention snap. "That's right! Saint Noah used the Pegasus Barrier!"
Milo boxed his hands together. "It caged you together with Galan's Lightning Bolt just as you were about to launch it back at him, making it blow up on the walls against your face! He could have killed you! Man, that's not how you play dodgeball at all!"
"You could argue that it's how you play volleyball, though, which is the comparison the other guy made. You block your opponent from tossing it over the net." Aldebaran thought to himself, remembering Saint Noah's earlier comparison. As much as he loved Shinta, he needed to be realistic. "It doesn't matter, Milo. Both of them agreed to the rules and you could argue that, if he really wanted, that Saint could have won much sooner by using that move on round one. The entire time you were complaining he was handing Shinta hints, remember?"
Milo stiffened. "I-I… I guess! But I still don't like it!" If anything, to Milo, it made it feel all the more humiliating. He folded his arms. "Man, why are you defending that guy? I thought you were Shinta's training partner!"
The Taurus bellowed. "I am. Who says I ain't torn to pieces over it?" Aldebaran held Shinta's shoulder to comfort him. "But Master Daniel taught the both of us that a loss is a loss, especially if the other guy is giving you a hand the whole time. It doesn't matter how you spin it as being unfair or not. Shinta knows that as well as I do."
The Andromeda Saint, taking this all in, felt his shoulders sink. He sat back in bed. "Aldebaran is right, Milo. Saint Noah was helping me the whole time and I still didn't foresee their strategy." His eyes softened, distraught. "I hate to admit it, but… this defeat really is completely on me."
Aldebaran gawked. This sadness was not the result he intended. "H-Hey, buddy, it's not the end of the world, either!" he patted Shinta's shoulder. "Look, all things considered, you did a fantastic job! Had it been any other opponent, you'd have wrecked them to pieces. Ya just got… unlucky. I'm sure even Shaka and those two rhyming weirdos he came with know that."
Shinta shook head. "I know, but I still really wanted to win. Not just because of myself, but… because of Lance and my Master. Now… I kind of don't know what to do." No matter how he looked at it, Shinta felt like he just disappointed pretty much everyone he admired and had been given faith on this matter. How was he going to find his road forward now? "Where is Saint Shaka and Saint Noah?"
Hesitantly, Aldebaran pointed out the door. "They're with Mu at the Hall of Innocence. They're, uh… helping Saint Noah into his new Gold Cloth."
Without a beat, Shinta rose back up and headed out.
"O-Oi, Shinta, where are you going?" Milo asked, worried. "Look, man, you're still hurt! I just hit you with a freaking Scarlet Needle, too!"
"Saint Shaka put his trust in me. I should ask for forgiveness. Also, I'm going to congratulate Saint Noah." The Saint stopped, holding the door handle and ignoring the painful burning in his chest. He breathed out and turned to smile. "It's strange. Other than the needle, for some reason, but I feel really okay. You said that big attack from Saint Galan went off, right? Yet I don't feel hurt at all beyond the shock of getting knocked out. Did one of you heal me?"
The two Gold Saints, however, shook head. "Wasn't us."
Shinta held lip. "I see… then it must have been…"
The two Gold Saints then saw him head downstairs, completely dumbfounded.
Milo scratched his head. Even after knowing Shinta for the better part of two years, he still couldn't get used to these moments. "Man, what a boy scout. I could never be like that. If I lost the Gold Cloth like this, the first thing I'd do is spit in the other dude's shoe."
Competitive as he was, Aldebaran couldn't entirely disagree. "Master Daniel always said one day Shinta would be rewarded by the world for that spirit of his. I just wish that day had been today."
"What do you think he's going to react like when he hears it was that Triangle guy that healed him?" Milo asked. "To me, that would be extra humiliating."
{======================|A3|======================}
Hall of Innocence
{======================|A3|======================}
Finishing locking the last part of the Virgo Cloth on Saint Noah, Mu jumped down the little bench he had been standing on. "There. All done."
The white-haired Gold Saint surveyed himself, feeling surreal. "The Gold Cloth… I am really wearing it. It's finally happened!" Before Noah indulged in celebration, however, the newly-minted Gold Saint turned to the two young boys. "Thank you for helping me put it on. Do I look good?"
Mu grumbled and looked Noah up and down. "Really cool, I guess." His cheeks puffed. "But it's no big deal! It's Shaka's Cloth so anyone would look good in it."
The aforementioned boy was by Mu's side and he flushed. "Mu, please, be nice to Saint Noah, too. Even if he beat Shinta, he did so fair and square and deserves our respect as the new Gold Saint."
Even without Shaka mentioning it, the reason for the distaste was obvious to Noah. The new Virgo had handled children for so many years, after all.
Smiling as gently as Noah could, the Saint got down on their knee as best they could manage. "I'm sorry I took your friends' place, Mu. We can still be friends, right? Especially since we'll be fellow Gold Saints." Noah laid out his hand in a gesture of offer. "I'll tell you what; I'll buy everyone ice cream to make up for it after the games, including Saint Shinta! Will that get me at least a second chance with you guys?"
Mu's lips quivered a little bit.
Sensing he needed a little more push, Noah used the secret weapon. "I'll make it chocolate? What do you say?"
Proud Muvian he was, he couldn't say no to a sweet. "Mm. That's a better start than Saint Galan, yeah." He pointed at Saint Noah's leg. "How does it feel, by the way? Does it hurt to knee like that?"
Noah hummed curiously, confused, then perked up. "Oh!" They chuckled and knelt down, holding their prosthetic. "Like a dream, Saint Mu. Thank you for touching it up. The Virgo Cloth makes me feel like I'm standing on clouds, so I even forgot about it."
Mu turned to Shaka. "Phew! That's a relief! I was really surprised when this person's leg came off earlier when they were changing! That was scary!"
Shaka groaned. "Mu! I said, be polite! Saint Noah must have sustained a serious injury in Athena's service to have lost it like that."
Noah turned their head, sensing Saint Shinta arrive. "Saint Andromeda, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
The green-haired Andromeda widened his eyes, taking the sight of his rival in the Cloth he worked so hard for. Shinta had to admit, it sat on Saint Noah like a glove. With that benign smile of his, it reminded Shinta of those beatific images of Buddhist monks back in his home country of Japan. It just sank even deeper how Shinta was definitely not who the Cloth was meant to go to, that day.
He harnessed every bit of his spirit not to show the pain he felt over it. "I-I'm… feeling good. Lighter than before, even. I have to imagine Saint Galarian took good care of me with the Golden Touch."
"Actually, Shinta," Shaka made sure to mention, waving hand at the Triangle Saint.
Shinta widened his eyes, and turned to the white-haired Saint, stunned. "It was… you?"
Noah, however, looked displeased at the attention. "Ah, well, I wasn't going to say anything…"
"Why not?!" Shinta questioned. He wasn't offended, just stunned. "Why do such a thing?"
"It was the least I could do, after the way I won. I understand you might feel that I… cheated a bit." Noah fessed up, sighing. "I did make it seem after Black Hole Crusher that I was all out of moves I could use. That was a bit underhanded."
Shinta, however, disagreed with this as well. "No, that was not underhanded at all. Saint Noah cast the Barrier move as soon as I activated Kha. It was both his turn and his right to counter me any way they wished. In fact," the more Shinta thought about it, the more obvious it all seemed that, from the beginning, Noah had him totally outmatched "I know Lance's technique and how fragile it is. Lance is usually only able to cast it at short distances and only against certain unconcentrated attacks. But the fact that Saint Noah boxed me in from a distance like that, so precisely and with such perfect timing and execution, even as I employed a move as esoteric and miraculous as Kha, shows that Saint Noah's control and understanding of the Cosmos VASTLY surpasses my own."
Noah frowned self-consciously. He hated to see Saint Shinta like this over his own fault. "I understand that if you are upset. Becoming the Virgo Saint, however, was my personal dream and, for a moment, I feared you may actually take it. Maybe you hate me, Saint Shinta, but I couldn't afford to lose this test any more than you."
It tore Shinta apart to admit it, but "I was only barely able to cast the technique, while Saint Noah was ready from the get-go to have to counter it. And then they even had the grace to heal me, with the Golden Touch at that…" Part of Shinta felt that this was his chance to press on it, but his better nature prevailed. "Well, Saint Noah, you didn't ever really lie to me. Besides, the during the fight, I realized something important."
Noah widened their eyes curiously. "Is that so?"
The green-haired boy nodded and smiled embarrassedly. "I was not ready at all to become the Virgo Saint. I really thought my training at Andromeda Island prepared me for controlling the Cosmos, but the entire test, I was awestruck by the incredible things you were doing with it. I could never dream in a million years of stopping an attack with anything but my chains, much less… imaginary meta-attributes." Saying this out loud, it made Shinta feel like a mere student of the Cosmos face-to-face with an esoteric master of it, which was extra embarrassing. "I now know I have a lot to learn yet. If I had won… I think I would be taking the place of someone who deserved Shaka's Cloth a lot more than I did."
There was an impressed stare from both Saint Noah and Shaka, who both shared an amazed glance at Shinta's words.
It frankly made Shinta a bit self-conscious. He scratched his green-dyed head. "I-I am not that humble, I swear! I just… was really overwhelmed. I can't help but think the better Saint won."
Mu held his arm. "I'm sorry, Shinta. I wish you had won, instead."
Shinta smiled, held the Muvian boy close "Aw, it's okay, Mu. Me too." and headed for Shaka. "Saint Shaka, I'm sorry I disappointed you, as well. You were the one who first gave me a chance to earn this Cloth."
The blonde boy hummed. "I did wish things turned out differently, yes. But you demonstrated incredible growth today, Shinta. I'm satisfied with your progress and I think better paths are ahead of you yet. If you forgive me mentioning him your Master, Saint Gardnia, would have been proud, too, I'm sure. Saint Lance as well."
Shinta's eyes teared up, but he smiled.
By contrast, for some reason, Noah tensed at the mention of Lance. "Everyone, could I steal Shinta from you all for a bit? I'd like a private conversation with him."
{======================|A3|======================}
Coliseum,
Dungeon Floors
{======================|A3|======================}
The secret passage in the brick wall opened, allowing the trio to emerge out of the dark tunnel coming from underground. The two Gold Saints sat their shackled, head-bagged prisoner on a bench and Saga got to work fetching the rest of the things they needed to take Daemon Lucifer to the Pope.
"Phew…" Aiolos sighed, feeling fresh air and daylight. "I never knew there was a tunnel to take from the Stardust Prison to here. And so long, too. We must have had to cross all of Sanctuary's eastern mountains, from the Green Hole to here."
Saga pulled the chained Daemon Lucifer up, sitting the Specter on the pillory stand. The Specter had a bag over his head to conceal his face from Coliseum workers for the moment.
Aiolos saw his friend close the medieval apparatus on Lucifer and then pick up a cloth. He had to glower. "Saga, is that really necessary? Look at that thing…It's degrading. And a blindfold, too? He's already wearing stardust shackles."
The Gemini Saint firmly locked all the pins into place. "It's just a precaution, Aiolos. We can't let anything go wrong today. The Pope wants him secure, but recognizable to the audience. Besides, he's done more than enough to deserve it. Haven't you, Daemon?"
The Underworld Prince, however, only gritted his teeth under his head bag.
It frankly disturbed Aiolos. "The entire time he attacked us five months ago, all the guy did was talk about how superior he was to everyone around him. Now we take him out of his cell for the first time and he has been quiet as a rat."
Saga squinted in concern. He thought the Daemon Specter would at least throw some toxic commentary about Kanon, but there wasn't a single peep. "Yeah, I noticed the same. I don't believe the imprisonment muted him, though. The Pope seemed to think he was speaking just fine that one time he went to visit him, remember?"
"Not only that, but what did Lord Akassius and his friends come to see at the prison? We never saw them on their way out, either, somehow." Aiolos pointed out. The moved forward and passed by the desk where the guard logging entries into the floor would usually sit at, if he wasn't watching the games. "There was only one person on that floor with Lucian, that one prisoner at the end of the hall, but they had absolutely zero cosmos to speak of. Who could it have-"
Suddenly, as Saga removed the head bag to replace with a blindfold, Lucifer tossed himself against the wall and the benches, seemingly trying to shatter his pillory. The startled Gold Saints rushed in, holding him, but the Specter wrestled them off and practically tackled the desk, knocking all of its log books and pens to the floor
"Damn it! W-What gotten into him?!" Aiolos screamed, wrestling with the Specter's torso. "He was calm so far!"
Daemon Lucifer thrashed, his mouth wide open as if to try to speak, but only empty breaths came out. He crawled forward and his fingers reached out wildly from the pillory holds, as if to attempt to grab something, perhaps one of the pens to use as a stabbing weapon or lockpick.
"D-Damn it, Aiolos, do you still think the pillory is excessive?!" Saga questioned, holding the Specter still and raising him back into place. He noticed that even during this struggle there were no sounds out of Lucifer of grunts or shouts; only silent thrashing. "U-Ugh, I don't know why Lord Akassius came to the Giudecca Floor, but maybe he muted him or something! You know this guy is nothing but provocations and manipulations! If he's acting like this without being able to talk…"
"Dear Athena, maybe now that he's here at the Coliseum, it finally dawned on Lucifer he's about to pay for his crimes." Aiolos guessed. At least, it was the most human thing he could imagine someone feeling in the Specter's shoes. He frowned sadly. "Maybe I'm too much like Shinta in some ways, but I can't help but feel sorry. Saga says it isn't certain this is going to be an execution, but… it's the Coliseum, after all."
{======================|A3|======================}
Greece,
Kastoria Province, Steiner Manor
{======================|A3|======================}
"Another Dimension!"
The rift in the decorated room's air opened itself like a large tower gate and the three figures in caped leather armors walked out, carrying a fourth one wrapped in bandages and shackles. Closing the gate from the realm between dimensions behind them, Akassius Steiner took the man over his shoulder and dropped him to the sofa.
Cecilia Steiner awaited them, her blond hair held up in a bun and her frilled dress billowed around her. She watched them enter through the portal and beheld their act. "Is it done, husband?"
The sweating Gemini nodded. "It is. He may not look like it anymore, but this is Priam we have here. Please call someone you trust to ready him for travel. We cannot keep him here."
"We've done it… we took him from there!" Malta pointed out, shaking. It seemed obvious to say, but now that they were out of the passage into the physical world, they collectively stared at a breathing, panicked Priam. The former Aquarius felt sick and held his stomach. "W-We freed Kyosuke!"
Kirin held her head. "Dear Goddess… there's no going back from this. We are traitors now, just like he was." She covered it completely in shame and began to panic. "All our years of sacrifice… now permanently stained. If Shura saw me right now, he'd disown me as a Master, for sure!"
"Calm yourselves! This is no time to lose your nerves!" Akassius alerted them, holding their shoulders with firmness. His authoritative voice alone instilled a bit of stability in their Cosmos from the criminal act they just committed. "This is all far from over yet. Priam is not yet free! He won't be for a long, long time. But now the dice have finally been cast! From this moment onward, the three of us must commit without hesitation to our new path!"
Roused by their leader's words, the former Aquarius and Capricorn Saints nodded.
"Did you prepare alibis?" Cecilia asked.
The Aquarius Saint collected himself. "The statue of ice I left at the prison should keep everyone fooled for a while, Cecilia. It's a good thing Priam was being bounded so excessively. Everyone will think it's a real person in those chains."
"Yeah, but for how long?" Kirin wondered. She looked around. "If that thing doesn't melt, sooner or later, the Pope will come see him and realize he's talking to a fountain figurine! And this is going to be the first place they'll come to ask how to find Priam! What do we do?!"
"You only need to act normal for the moment, 'Achilles' and 'Odysseus'." Cecilia advised, her experienced, calm voice leaving little doubt in her certainty. Even if she was repeating Akassius' words, it felt good to have a second voice affirming them. "You three have the admiration of everyone in Sanctuary for the moment. No one will think of suspecting my husband, including Arles."
The couple shared a reassured look. Cecilia had never given them bad advice in their lives. Malta nodded, while Kirin further asked "And what of the ceremony?"
"Arles won't check on Kyosuke for a while now." Akassius responded. "Traditionally, warriors honored in a Triumph are supposed to march behind those they defeat, but after the incident with Marianne Solo's Triumph, when Jellyfish Wolff got loose and attacked her, they changed the procedural rules for these ceremonies."
The red-haired Malta recalled the incident. "That's right. That's when he hurt the Muvian, Atlae, instead. Akassius must have anticipated this, then."
"This means our suspicions are correct, and the Triumph is a ruse, likely even a trap for the Pope's enemies." Akassius continued. "The details of which, however, we won't fully know until it's done."
"His Holiness the Pope will also be far too focused on the incoming Holy War, which means we have time to manage this situation if we keep our wits about ourselves." Cecilia concurred. Already, the two former Gold Saints seemed more at ease. It was a good thing that by now the noblewoman was used to handling this group's wayward emotions. She smiled. "Count yourselves proud. The hardest thing you've had to do is over now."
"It's good to know you two have thought of every contingency, like always, but where do we take Kyosuke to, then?" Kirin pointed out, glancing at the walls anxiously like they were closing in on him. "What if he's confused and runs away, like he did at Andromeda Island?! He's not going to believe we had a change of heart. We've spent the last 15 years chasing him around the planet!"
The Steiner husband gestured calm once more "I understand your fears, but don't worry. Malta, Kirin, we are taking him to Peloponnesia right away." This alarmed the two former Gold Saints immediately, but Akassius pressed on. "We will keep Kyosuke in my private chamber in that fortress, the one Commander Ionia made during the renovations. No one will dare to search that place for any reason, especially him."
"You want to take him right to where the war will begin?" Malta questioned. He sounded less frantic than Kirin, but still justly concerned. "Akassius, that place is swarming with thousands of hoplites. And we need to treat Priam. He is not in good condition. He has endured a terrible ordeal and will need someone to heal his wounds and change his bandages regularly."
Cecilia interceded. "Please, listen to my husband. Peloponnesia is the safest location for Kyosuke. I've also been told Ophiuchus Iaso was sent there to help the medical teams. Find him. We can trust that one."
The other two exchanged a skeptic look. Ophiuchus Iaso? The famously skeptic Silver Saint who liked to conjecture on what the Gold Saints were doing?
"I know what you two are thinking, but trust Cecilia's choice, please." Akassius begged, holding their arms and looking into their eyes. "Young Iaso is not an ally of the powerful in Sanctuary, not to mention he is bound to honor his patient's well-being by his oath to his armor. He is one of the few in Sanctuary that both fits the profile of who we can trust this secret with and can heal Priam's terrible wounds."
"I hope you two are right, Akassius, because otherwise we are joining Kyosuke in the chopping block." prayed Kirin. She hoisted Priam over her strong shoulders. She charged her cosmos and searched the direction of the Saints of Fort Peloponnesia in the cosmos. She felt him breathe harshly on her shoulder and felt a deep sorrow in her chest. "Priam, hold on. Your nightmare is almost over."
With a booming beam of light, Kirin disappeared from the meadow, taking the worst criminal in all of Sanctuary with her.
The red-haired Malta breathed out. "He looked so much worse than I thought he would. I hope Saint Iaso can truly heal him."
"Yes. Arles has raised a brutal servant to carry out his deeds. Kaiser's son has every bit of the power his father had, if not more." Akassius confirmed, narrowing his black eyes. "What truly worried me, however, is that Shion's agent may have inflicted more than just physical wounds on him."
Cecilia held her mouth. "Kaiser's son… you mean, Leon? It was him?! HE is the Pope's assassin?!"
The former Gemini nodded, equally revolted. "I'm afraid so, my darling. The Triumph being held right now would surely be in his honor, if it wasn't a ruse. He might be the Pope's most dangerous and loyal agent as of the moment, and the biggest threat to Priam's life."
The noblewoman gulped. Sometimes, she wished they had snuffed that boy's life when he first breathed in Athena's blood. "…This must be all in the name of having him back by the Pope's side, then. Akassius, be careful. Leon may be Galarian's friend, but he's also the biggest threat to your plans. Especially if he's the one that has finally taken down Priam for Sanctuary."
"We won't let him get in the way." Malta assured, his blue eyes narrowing determinedly. "Not when we've finally reached this point, Cecilia."
"I will support you however I can, but just remember, you two; all of this will be for nothing if we lose this incoming Holy War to Hades." Cecilia recalled, her blue eyes tensing. "You cannot lose focus on that, either. Saving Priam will be for naught if the Gods of Olympus eradicate mankind."
Akassius held her hand and smooched it, smiling reassuringly. "We have not, darling. Our time is finally coming. Just have faith in us."
The Aquarius Saint had another question "Akassius, what will we do about Shinta? By now, if he's not lost his test, he's sure to have become the new Virgo Gold Saint. Do we bring him to his father?"
"We will let Priam decide, once he is capable of it. It's his son, after all." Akassius directed. "My hope, however, will be that Shinta can become the missing piece in our family's Virgo slot… since we can no longer have Helena."
Malta's blue eyes observed his friend, admiring how, even in a moment of momentous treason such as this one, that was going to change their lives so much, Akassius still had his eyes solely on the goal of everyone's betterment. Even though the three of them were about to put all the good will they've ever had in Sanctuary on the line, the thing they sacrificed so much to build up, Akassius seemingly wasn't letting any of this rock him, shake him or distract him from picking the most sensible move for all of them.
It was easy for many to see him as stoic in all this. To see him as a statue of solidity, an Atlas lifting all of Sanctuary about their shoulders. But Malta knew Akassius had to be shaking on the inside as well, though. His biggest source of strength, after all, was his love for his 'junkyard gang'. There was no way the former Gemini wasn't pulling every single bit of his strength to not lose focus in all of this.
Yes, more than friends, more than a gang of thieves that met each other in the world's lowest place among dirty diapers, plastic and rotten food, they were a family. And Akassius just proved, with this decision to save Priam, that above all a family deserved to be in one piece.
As such, the former Aquarius desperately wished to help him, to contribute the little he could "Speaking of the Zodiacs we have lost, Akassius… Considering one of them is Cancer, I think it's time I tell you two about something important."
The former Gemini turned, humming curiously. "Speak."
"When I failed to stop Rhadamanthys from breaking our siege at Heinstein Castle… I was visited by a Saint at the hospital. Pegasus Lance." He revealed, getting Akassius' full attention. "And he told me he had plans to put an end to this Holy War himself."
Cecilia widened eyes, connecting the dots. "Pegasus? You mean… the Cancer Gold Saint the Pope brought to our house?"
The gears of war turned in Akassius' mind at this. "Is that so, Malta?... Tell me everything he told you."
{======================|A3|======================}
Chapter 103
Third Arc
Episode 26
The Triumph – Part 4 of 5
{======================|A3|======================}
Coliseum
{======================|A3|======================}
Leo Galarian entered the Papal Balcony, finding the Pope in his chair with Leon standing close-by. "Your Holiness."
"Galan, come in, come in." Arles invited, his hand waving at a chair nearby. "You're just in time for the Hell Gauntlet's mid-rounds. Saint Aguilon has been doing extraordinarily well."
Taking a seat, Galarian saw Leon's grandfather slam yet another challenger on the Coliseum floor and cringed, swearing the poor man's head almost went inside his neck. "I am… happy to announce we have a new Virgo Saint officially armored."
"Excellent. And?"
Galarian groaned, seeing Leon's expectant smirk. He took out a small parcel of coins and tossed it at the smug bastard's hands "And I lost."
The Pope turned to them, stunned. "Excuse me?!"
"Saint Leo Galarian means that Saint Noah is your new Virgo Saint, Master." Leon concluded, quickly counting the drachmas before pocketing them. "I am not surprised. From my personal analysis, the Pact picked quite a wildcard, one that was sure to have a few aces in their hand. It would have been strange if Saint Andromeda had won so easily."
Shion wasn't sure if Gold Saint appointments was proper for the two friends to be gambling on, but regardless. "Mm, poor Saint Shinta. Despite my favorable opinion of Saint Triangle, I was rooting for him. I know him better, after all."
"And it would have been easier for you to replace him back with the Shaka boy one day, correct, Your Holiness? You have to admit; the Pact threw quite a wrench in your plans." Leo Galarian thought to himself. However, the Pope wasn't the only party supporting Saint Shinta's candidacy, for some reason. "And in my father's."
"But alas, if the better Saint has won, that is for the best of all of Sanctuary." Shion concluded, sounding just a bit saddened. "Saint Shinta is capable and will certainly find a more fitting path for himself. I have not lost my faith in him, yet."
"You may be right your Holiness; he was very close to getting Virgo." Galarian made sure to mention, more directed at Leon's stupid smug face than the Pope. The part that stunned him in particular was when Andromeda casted Nebula Storm. "I think that if his intel on his adversary had been slightly better, Saint Shinta could have prevailed."
"Yet, intel is just as part of combat as physical strength or the ability with the Cosmos, Saint Leo, is it not?" Leon counter-argued, pretending to be speaking to the air. While on mission, Leon never carried out an attack until he learned everything he could about the target. "We cannot afford to have a Virgo Gold Saint that misjudges Master's enemies just because they don't look like a threat."
Galan growled. "Yet, for those who've earned their Gold Cloth already; there's no disadvantage that a high enough explosion of cosmos cannot fix." he countered right back, refusing to surrender to this cocky bastard. He smiled, seeing a blow had been delivered to Leon 's smug smirk at the mention of his lack of Gold Cloth for the moment. "And in my opinion, Saint Shinta had Saint Noah beat on that."
Leon almost had to laugh."Is that-"
"That's quite enough, you two." Shion gently interrupted. Nostalgic as it was to watch these two long-time friends spar, Shion would rather not get caught in the middle of an argument between two of his most powerful current servants. "What matters is that we have a new Virgo Gold Saint in time for the Holy War. It is a happy occasion for Sanctuary, regardless of who could have won."
Leon chuckled "Yes, Master."
"I've also run into Saint Gemini and Sagittarius on the way here, your Holiness." Galarian mentioned. "Saint Aiolos is minding the prisoner, while Saint Saga went to brief the Silver Saints on Operation Marathon."
"Excellent. Leon, I want you to prepare for the main event of the Triumph. The main event should be early in the afternoon." Shion instructed. He had a foreboding feeling he may need to expediate Operation Marathon sooner than intended, too. "As for you, Saint Galan, you will stay here with me until Saints Saga and Aiolos finish their responsibilities. We only have a couple of ceremonies before our 'Guests' arrive, after all."
Both Galarian and Leon answered in unison. "Yes, your Holiness."
Shion nodded and relaxed, enjoying the rest of Aguilon's matches. Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly, even if he'd rather Shinta had conquered the Gold Cloth. His hand rested over the cloth-covered Cloth Box by his chair's side apprehensively., All things said, when counting with the page of the Book of the Dead, fate had delivered unto him quite a lot to forge peace with.
Soon, the dice would be cast.
{======================|A3|======================}
Coliseum,
High Security Entrance
{======================|A3|======================}
Marching inside the Coliseum with urgency through what was known as the Soldiers' Gate, an entrance barred to civilians, Crateris Suisho and Pegasus Lance joined the many soldiers and Saints gathering in the war room of the Coliseum, where Saint Gemini would soon speak to the troops about the incoming, but yet unnamed operation that would take place after the Triumph. The two took position close to the front, near the Silver Saints, and Lance could turn his head to see many familiar faces were present.
"Cynthia. She was called too." Lance realized, spotting the masked Amazon at the end of the row. The Cassiopeia was flanked by a group of other masked girls she brought over from Aretias. His red eyes searched more. "I don't see Iaso or Nam, though. They must already be at Peloponnesia or directing some other effort. Kastiel is nowhere in sight, either."
The Crateris Saint studied the room as it got more and more packed. "This is looking like a bigger operation by the minute. I wonder how many Saints did Lord Gemini call?"
"Half the Bronze and Silver orders, from the looks of it, Sui." Lance guessed. "But if the Pope is right and there is a spy in Sanctuary, then this must all also be part of Saga's plan to transport Teos to Peloponnesia."
"Oi, Suisho!" a foot soldier captain greeted, leading his men inside. "What's up, man? You got called too?"
"Yup. Mindarus, right?" Sui responded. The captain seemed pleased the Silver remembered his name. Sui recognized him from one of the many missions he took for Sanctuary. "I'm going to be one of the coordinators, in fact, now that they upgraded my security clearance."
The guy whistled. "Who would have thought? Someday they'll make you a Gold Saint, man, mark my words." He looked around. "Where's your sister anyway? I haven't seen her around for this?"
Suisho hummed, displeased. "I don't really know. But you know Yushira; she treats every obligation like a joke. She probably tossed the summoning letter to the trash and went to goof off in Aretias."
Lance grumbled. "She's actually training really hard right now…"
The captain laughed. "It figures. Hey, maybe she's abusing the Aretias loophole, if ya know what I mean."
Completely oblivious, Lance perked up. "The what?"
Suisho grumbled, displeased. "The Amazons run a tight ship, Mindarus. If Yushira was missing missions just to go make out with some girl, they'd have her walk the Hercules Road with her mask for it."
"Yushira is gay?!" Lance gawked. He had no idea. He had a feeling she was a bit tomboyish, sure, but that didn't mean a thing, did it? He thought back to all the interactions with her and how this changed the meaning of them, but for the life of him he couldn't think of anything that would have hinted at this.
He grumbled. When put together with how everyone thought he and Shinta were a couple, perhaps Lance's radar for gayness just ran on potato batteries.
"Yeah, makes sense. Fucking gross, man, but still…" Mindarus admitted, tucking helmet and stunning Lance further. "No offense, just asking because… well, the guys always kind of wanted to bang her. She's always hanging around us with that Crane Cloth, after all, showing all that skin. It's just disappointing tha-"
"You better fucking go!" Lance suddenly asserted, startling them. He narrowed his eyes. "The Gold Saint is about to come in. Do you really think you should stand around here chatting?"
Alarmed, the foot soldier captain raised hands in spirit of peace. "…Fine, whatever, Pegasus." Mirandus confessed, hand on hip. He side-glanced Pegasus. "I'm thinking this might be my last job for Sanctuary, anyway. I'm joining the Legion after this. Not gonna fight a Holy War with a bunch of faggots by my side."
Lance couldn't believe this. "What a piece of shit! So on top of being an asshole, you're jumping boat to some Pact member when we need you the most?! No wonder we can't get a handle on who's spying us! Sometimes I wonder why *I* fight with these people!" He waited till the guy was off to talk to Sui. "What the hell, man?! You just let him talk about your sister like that?! Why do I have to be the one cutting in on that guy?!"
"You don't. It's not your problem, Pegasus." Sui argued, impassive, by now used to the outrage Lance demonstrated to his indifference. "Yushira should be here to defend her own reputation, not screwing around somewhere else like she is and depend on you to do it. I can't help if people feel safe talking about her the way they do, if this is how she acts as a Saint."
A cold sweat formed in Lance's head. "Goddamn it… yes, you can! You speak up to the fucking guy or punch him!" This sort of thing is what made Lance not feel too bad when people called him out for having a short fuse. Blowing up on people for mild offences was better than not-at-all for grotesque ones, as far as he was concerned. "N-Nevermind. It just stuns me how you treat her sometimes, just because she's… goofing around."
"Mm, you should see what I do to Skeletons on my ship that I catch 'goofing around'." Sui thought, grinning. He still had pleasant memories of that time he got to throw one inside the ship's barrel firing test. He saw the Gemini Gold Saint enter from the door and stood up, like everyone else. "Lord Gemini!"
"Lord Gemini!" others greeted, almost in unison.
Lance watched Saga climb to the small podium in front of them and nod. "Welcome, everyone. I see we've gathered enough numbers. I know today you would all like to be with family and friends at the games, but duty to Athena calls. His Holiness the Pope has tasked us with a mission of vital importance."
One hand raised.
Saga sighed. Already there were interruptions. "Yes? Just this one question and we're starting."
"Um, are we going to war?" the soldier asked.
There was a common murmur in the room. Even Lance sweated anxiously, knowing the answer but fearing for what everyone would react to it like.
The Gemini Saint shook his head. "We are not. This is just a high priority escort operation. We are calling it Operation Marathon." Casting his cosmos, Saga projected a map of Europe on the wall behind him with an illusion. He then manipulated the image to make the cities of Athens and the Fort of Peloponnesia in Austria light up. A golden arrow then moved from point A to point B, going through several marked checkpoints. "And just like at Marathon itself, our job is to ensure our target reaches Fort Peloponnesia. Simple enough, right?"
A soldier behind Lance rose his brow and whispered aside. "(What the hell? That's it? All these guys so we can play mailman?)"
"(Psh, must be some Golden Ring boy.)" a buddy answered. "(Some rich guy probably doesn't want their son getting hurt in the war and is having us carry them to the fortress like a baby.)"
"We believe the Specters are not only aware of our intention to transport this 'cargo', but that they plan to intercept us." Saga continued. The one arrow in Saga's illusion suddenly split into seven, all going through different paths to Austria. "Because of that, we will divide you all through seven different teams through different routes, each carrying a false cargo. Each route will only be informed to you after the ceremonies by me, personally, and you are to depart on it immediately."
Lance hummed, intrigued. "Seven teams? And all cut off from each other's routes? Nice, Saga! That way, even if there's a spy, he won't know what to inform the Specters of!" He looked at the crowd again and realized Saga casted a pretty high net among the soldiers and Saints with mission intel. Everyone was either Saints of high security clearance like Suisho and Cynthia, or loose-loyalty soldiers like the Mirandus guy. "Saga must have brought over both people of trust and people he suspected to be the spy here. Best case scenario, the Teos Cloth stands a higher chance to reach Peloponnesia safely. Worst case, we find out who the spy is by which route gets leaked."
"I will now go to the technical details of the operation. Pay close attention, and we'll all get back to the games that much sooner."
{======================|A3|======================}
Virgo Temple
Balcony
{======================|A3|======================}
"For starters, I want you to know that you really impressed me today, Saint Shinta. I'm not lying when I say that, for a moment, I thought you really might have become the new Virgo Gold Saint." Virgo Noah confessed, closing the balcony door behind them.
Shinta looked out, seeing all of Sanctuary Town down below them. "What a view from here. This is where those False Specters were holding Shaka hostage. From this spot, I bet they thought they had this entire place under control, until Lance barreled his way through like he usually does." He saw the stairs leading up to the Temple and could imagine himself in the past, fighting up them under a rain of arrows. "Perhaps, if Saint Noah had been here instead of us and Shaka, the Specters would have had a much harder time reaching the Pope? I wonder why someone so close to mastering the arts worthy of this place was so far away from Sanctuary until now? And why Shaka was picked before him?"
"Saint Shaka spoke to me while you were out." Noah confessed, resting his arms over the balcony edge. "I got the chance to ask the other Saints at the Hall of Innocence all about you, what you were like, what caught his eye about you in the first place…I wanted to get a full picture of what kind of person you were."
Shinta gulped, feeling in the spotlight. "Really? I-I'm really not that interesting." Still, a part of him wished to know what Saint Noah concluded. "What did they say?"
The white-haired Saint laughed. So, was Shinta interested or not? "Nothing but praise towards you. You're very popular in these parts, Saint Shinta." Noah acknowledged, chuckling. It didn't shock Noah in the slightest, after that demonstration of Shinta's qualities. Only someone very in tune with their Cosmos would be able to manifest Kah even a little bit. "But they also confirmed to me you're the first person who managed to befriend Red. I wanted to talk to you about that."
Shinta felt puzzled. "Red?"
The Gold Saint nodded their head and hummed nostalgically. "That's right. Pegasus Lance. That's… his original name. Or rather the one put on him by those people in Athens."
The Andromeda Saint gawked. "R-Really? Ah, he never told me! Did someone really just call him that because of his eyes? That's so silly." Shinta was aware most Saints, unlike himself, picked Saint Names to begin their Paths of the Cloths, and suspected Lance was the same case, but he never wished to pry, especially with how clammed up Lance was about some of the things in his past. "The technique you casted to defeat me, it was Lance's as well! Did you teach him? He's used it many times over the years, but in the form of circles instead of triangles."
"You mean Barrier? Ah, did he really?" Noah asked, amazed. They chuckled, shaking their head. Noah remembered, indeed, using the technique in front of Lance a couple of times. "Wow, I can't believe he remembered it…It must have come as a real shock to you when I used it, then. I can only assume Lance must have learned by observation, because I didn't teach it to him. Controlling cosmos in a geometric fashion is very difficult for initiates because of the precise control it requires, and Lance had barely tapped into his powers when we were together. After finally unlocking cosmos he must have,… well…"
"-decided to honor you?" Shinta guessed, laughing. He could tell already Saint Noah didn't enjoy bragging.
Noah scratched their head, looking embarrassed. "I didn't want to assume, but yes, ah-ah."
"He was the same way with his follow-up teachers." Shinta explained, to set Noah at ease. He couldn't talk about Dohko and the Rozan techniques directly, though. "Usually, he comes up with his own moves, but Lance really loves his current Master and tried to learn some of his techniques, for example. So, the fact he did the same to you, Saint Noah, tells me he must have really believed in you. Lance acts like he doesn't care a lot, but when he loves you, he really shows it."
Noah nodded, feeling touched, "I see." But the new Virgo Saint then frowned, full of regret. Noah still remembered all of Lance's words of admiration. "But… I don't really deserve it. Maybe in Red's head, I do, but he has always had a star-eyed admiration for me, even after all these years. I'm really not half the person he thinks I am…"
This sounded like complete nonsense to Shinta. "Does Saint Noah really think that? But Lance almost never-ever admires anyone. Heck, it took so long for him to just 'like' me." Shinta recalled, sweating, remembering those first few weeks where Shinta feared the wrong thing out of his mouth would have earned him a punch to the face.
The new Gold Saint lowered their head, sorrowful. He could tell what Shinta was thinking just by looking at him. "Red says I inspired him to become a Saint, like me, but that is my job, Saint Shinta. I am paid to collect children for Sanctuary to train into cannon fodder. There is nothing special in what I have done with him." The Saint's green eyes met Shinta's, resolute in their self-condemnation. "If anything, I wasn't brave enough to shield him from what Sanctuary was about to do to him; leaving him in Mount Olympus. I now realize I should have fought harder to be his Master. It would have saved him a lot of anguish I never wished on Lance."
Doing the math in his head of the years, Shinta quickly calculated the meaning. "It's so strange. Why couldn't he have become Lance's teacher, instead of Saint Kastiel?"
"Could I ask you something? How has he been doing?" Noah wondered.
Shinta clenched his fists, beaming at the chance to cheer the Gold Saint up. "He's been doing awesome, Saint Noah! He's even-" But then staggered. "Wait, I can't talk about how he was the Cancer Gold Saint, or even saved Sanctuary with the Teos Cloth. Or how he was trained by Saint Dohko! Shoot." By Athena, Shinta now realized there was a lot of good things Lance had done that couldn't be mentioned to the public. It was no wonder he was still treated unfairly in some circles.
Noah wondered if there was something wrong, with how quiet Andromeda got. "Saint Shinta?"
The Andromeda Saint shook head and continued. "I-I mean, he's become the Pegasus Saint, of course, but he's also gotten his Gold Rank Pin from the Cancer House and has been making amazing new friends, like Saint Suisho! And then there's miss Olivia!"
Noah widened their eyes. "Who?"
Shinta nodded excitedly. "She's his girlfriend, a star reader AND the Equuleus Saintia! They go super well together and really care about each other. When I met her, I was so happy, I couldn't put it to words."
The Virgo Gold Saint couldn't help but gawk happily. "Wow, Red. You've really come that far?" The last time they met, Lance had just gotten off his horrendous experience at Death Queen Island. Noah was sure at the time that, if nothing critical was done, Red was doomed to the path of the Black Saint. Noah beamed, truly amazed. "Thank Hera. That is such a relief. You really took my homework seriously, didn't you, Red? I couldn't be prouder of you."
Seeing Saint Noah was really pleased, Shinta pointed at the Coliseum far below. "Saint Noah, we should go see him right away! I'm sure he'd love to meet you again! I bet you two would have tons of things to catch up on!"
The idea, however, seemed to make Noah recoil, his lips curving down. "I'm sorry. I can't."
Shinta gawked. "I don't get it. Why not?"
The Virgo Saint laid out their arms, showing off the armor. "I'm the Virgo Gold Saint now, Saint Shinta. From this day onward, I am not allowed to go in and out of the Zodiac so easily. In fact… With the Holy War about to come, I may have to disappear from Lance's life for a while now. I would appreciate it, too, if you were with him, that you do not disclose my identity as the new Virgo Saint."
This made sense, even if it was disappointing. "Of course. With me being in-the-know with everyone, I completely forgot Gold Saints can't treat their identities carelessly. For a while, no one in the Bronze and Silver Saint Orders knew what Lance was up to, either, when he was the Cancer Saint." Something nagged at the Andromeda, especially with this 'Master' talk. "Saint Noah, could I ask you something? You seem to be very important to him, but Lance never told me about you?"
But the Virgo Saint looked unsuprised. "I know. I asked him not to."
Again, Shinta staggered. "W-what? Why?"
The Gold Saint laced their fingers on the balcony, fidgeting thumbs and glowering. "Regardless of my Cloth, Saint Shinta… I am not someone a young boy new to Sanctuary would want to be seen with, especially among other young boys competing for a Cloth. Goddess bless him, Lance seemed willing to shout to the heavens I was the one who brought him to Sanctuary, but that would put him, under no uncertain terms, in danger with the other children." The Gold Saint then hummed. "Saint Shinta, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but… I am not normal."
The Andromeda Saint paused, bewildered. Not normal? How so? Saint Noah looked perfectly normal to Shinta. All he noticed out of the ordinary was the he seemed a bit in between the-
…It then finally struck Shinta. "R-Right, of course. Saint Noah, after all, looks even girlier than me. No, even more so; he must not be fully a man." He recalled the distance with which Lance treated Shinta initially. "I'm fully a guy and yet Lance always kept me at arm length early on. He always seemed so embarrassed to have me around, especially when the soldiers said awful things about it. Saint Noah must have predicted the same would happen with his name associated to Lance and taught him to feign distance from guys like us."
"The last time we spoke, he was in a bad spot of his life. Lance had just gone through a horrible tragedy and wanted to give up on making friends." Noah revealed to Shinta. The stunned look on Shinta told Noah he wasn't familiar with this story. "I'm glad it all came to pass."
Although touched, Shinta still had an important question. "I have to ask, though, Saint Noah… Why did you come with the Pact? Did you really want to become the Virgo Saint that badly?"
Noah widened their eyes. "…The Pact?" Then covered their head. "Right, as the Andromeda Saint, you probably know of Cetus and his…behavior."
Shinta had to nod. It was his primary reference to what the group backing Saint Noah was really like, and the King of Lalibela made Shinta murder his own teacher against his will.
The Virgo Saint folded their arms. "I confess I was surprised when they approached me initially, too. I had made my intentions to one day contest the Virgo Cloth clear to the Muvian Elder, but… that was only out of necessity for letting me study in Shamballa. I never expected she would one day carry me to task on it."
{======================|A3|======================}
Noah lowered the book on symbology, stunned by the suggestion. "You want me to contest the Virgo Cloth?"
The old woman in robe and hairpin nodded, smirking. "It's what you've always desired, correct? Well, I have spoken to the other members and the Pact is finally willing to support you. With their names behind you, any hesitancy Sanctuary could have over your gender will be all but eliminated."
The Triangle Saint paused, pensive. Something was definitely afoul. The Pact could definitely give Noah the push the Triangle Saint needed to make their dream come true, but it was also full of people that would sooner put someone like Noah in a circus show than defend as a Gold Saint. This sudden change couldn't be out of the kindness of their hearts.
"Are you hesitating now?" Yuzuriha questioned, unimpressed by Noah's apparent lack of decisiveness. "You seemed very convicted of your ambition when you first told me about it. Or do you think you cannot win?"
"No, ma'am Elder. With all due respect, I merely suspect the Pact's intentions." Noah politely countered, speaking as gently as possible. "Do you intend to make me a puppet of the alliance? Because if so, you will be disappointed."
Yuzuriha scoffed. "Don't lump me in with the others like that! No, my intentions are aimed towards the good of Sanctuary and the Muvians." She turned face, ashamed. "Unfortunately, I no longer trust the Pope's intentions with the naming of his Gold Saints. All I want is to ensure the new Virgo Gold Saint is someone fully equipped to perform their duties, even if the person doesn't match Arles' plans for the future. I would rather have someone in that Temple that I can count to come to our aid rather than someone being raised to some kind of Holy War masterplan of his he can't disclose with his allies."
Noah recalled the recent string of incidents where Sanctuary dwellers had failed to protect Muvians, such as the False Specter attack on the Muvian villages. "…I see."
"And it just so happens it would also be someone with reason to listen to the Pact…" Yuzuriha added, smiling slily. "Well, like I said, we aren't all like Cetus, but there's still things we'd like you to do that are surely within your moral boundaries."
{======================|A3|======================}
"I am no friend of the Pact, Saint Shinta. I've seen them do too many truly awful things in the name of their alliance to 'contain Sanctuary'." Noah assured. The Saint beheld the Temple that now belonged to him. "But for a long time, it has been my ambition to become the guardian of this Temple. I simply didn't want to look the horse in the mouth at this unique chance to make my dream come true."
"A dream to become a Master?" Shinta guessed.
Noah smiled meaningfully. "Well, perhaps. Like I told Saint Galan at the Leo Temple, this place's previous occupant also meant a lot to me. Perhaps the same way I mean to Red. Or what your Master meant to you."
The Andromeda Saint felt ever more mystified, however. "That makes sense, but if it was your dream, why did you help me so much? I could have beaten you? Or gotten you in trouble with your sponsors?"
Seeing his understandably expectant look, Noah scratched their head. "W-well, I may have felt a kinship with you, somewhat. Perhaps… I'll let you in on a secret, Saint Shinta. It has to do with why I had asked Saint Galan to change the rules." The Gold Saint paused, then smiled with an idea of how to explain it. "Have you ever heard of the rumors regarding the Pope? About how he was born with an incredible super power?"
Shinta knew exactly what Saint Noah was talking about. "Right, people say Lord Shion was born with the unique ability to talk to any Cloth he wishes, not just the ones he is bounded to." And nodded. "I have. And that he can even read the future on the stars better than anyone else."
"Well, I am no Pope, but I may have…well…" Noah's eyes turned away anxiously. "I have an ability of my own I don't usually tell others about. Even Red."
Excitement filled Shinta. "You do?!" He covered his mouth, embarrassed at Noah's alarmed look. "Oops. I'll be quiet. Please go on!"
When Noah was sure no one was coming in at the shout, they continued. "Have you ever seen a Maiden do a star study on a Saint to determine their Cosmos? Basically, the same way the Pope can perceive the true spirit of any Cloth he lays eyes on…I can see the true cosmos of any person by just looking at them."
"The true cosmos of any person?" Shinta wondered. Suddenly, for some reason, he remembered that strange moment Noah seemed to stare at him prior to protesting the duel's rules. "Was that what Saint Noah was doing earlier to me? Some kind of reading on me?"
"No one ever believes me, because it doesn't translate well to something others can understand. However, it's made me especially well-suited for my job, because it means I can find children with potential with the Cosmos by just looking at them." Noah confessed. In fact, it's what aided Noah in discovering Lance initially. The Virgo Saint laid out hand to Shinta. "When I saw you, I could just tell at the time that you were the kind of person who really didn't like what was going to happen with the test. There was barely any malice to you, even with a Gold Cloth on the line, and tour cosmos was all over the place, like you were desperately searching for a way out. I couldn't let Saint Peacock and Lotus push you around with a mean test like that."
This made sense to Shinta, that someone's cosmos would be jumping up and down in times of great nervousness. "Oh, okay. Then, what do you 'see' in me now, that I am relaxed? Am I just normal?"
…
Noah's eyes tensed, perceiving the shadows around the younger boy again. The same Noah saw in Shinta when they met at the Hall of Innocence. It all gloomed around the Andromeda Saint, flowing, contorting and pulsating like a heartbeat. The shape of flames and embers emanated from its release and heated the air in a manner only Noah could feel it, while a pair of black wings hovered out of the young Saint's back, jutting out like steam machine hisses, blocking any path around the smiling Saint with walls of fire.
The new Virgo Gold Saint reeled, feeling standing before him not the sacrificial spirit of an Andromeda Saint, but a burning mass of cosmos cladding itself all around Shinta's body, taking the intricate shape of a carefully carved armor, dense with the desire to make everything purer by fire. It had curved plates, golden outlines on black paint, two massive wings of black feathers and a pointy headpiece like a small angel. It fit perfectly, like a glove, around Shinta's slender body, adapted to every single trait of him, and turned the otherwise harmless looking boy into a terrifying visage of what he truly was to the eyes of the Cosmos.
Even the experienced Saint Noah was astonished. Shinta couldn't be a Skeleton, couldn't be a Terrestrial, couldn't be a Celestial and couldn't even be a Judge. The darkness was so clear to Noah that the Virgo Gold Saint deeply believed that they would have to meet Pandora Heinstein herself to come face to face with this level of pitch blackness. It was so intense, Noah had been sure it was a mistake when they first met, and that the boy's true spirit would become apparent once the test was done.
Yet here it was now, still there, even as Shinta's spirit relaxed completely. Still burning. Still made of ash and hot breezes, instead of the gentle touch of Andromeda.
And then there was the Nebula Storm…
Shinta blinked, a bit worried by the Virgo Saint's silent stare. "S-Saint Noah?" he tried to laugh it off, but it really felt the same as the look he got when they first met. "Are my bandages bleeding or something? Don't just get quiet like that. What do you see?"
Awakening, Noah chuckled in embarrassment and patted Shinta's arm comfortingly. "Nothing. I see a sensitive young man full of potential who should be proud of himself. That's all."
The Andromeda Saint hummed, awkward. This was the kind of thing Master Gardnia used to tell him came across as 'patronizing', when Shinta said it, like when people were hiding something under a compliment. Still, he made an effort to accept it, nodding. "Thank you, Saint Noah."
Looking unwell, Noah then departed. "Saint Shinta, forgive me, but I must now rest. You really did a number on me during the test. Besides, half the Gold Saints are currently out of the Zodiac, performing various tasks, and I've been asked by Saint Shaka not to leave the Temple for the moment so as to maintain the barrier blessings. If at all possible, you should go be with your friends, and enjoy today's Triumph."
Shinta nodded. "Alright. In any case, I wanted to say, despite everything, I'm really glad to have met you." He was sad that he lost the Virgo Cloth, but thanks to this talk, he now felt it was at least in good hands. Shinta laughed. "It's sometimes really tough to find anyone in Sanctuary with things in common with me."
Noah smiled. "Likewise. May we meet again." Watching Shinta depart, Virgo Noah collected themselves "By the Goddess. What is this terrible evil power hanging over this boy? Perhaps it is somehow fate, then, that a powerful sealing armor like Andromeda found itself on this boy's shoulders? Or perhaps… has someone directed him to it?"
{======================|A3|======================}
Coliseum,
Soldiers' Hall
{======================|A3|======================}
The Gemini Gold Saint spent the next thirty minutes going through minute bits of how everyone would travel to Austria, including the time where they were all supposed to get ready, to where they get their transports, to the equipment they were expected to take. The entire time, the most burning questions, however, remained unanswered. These were, namely, what they were protecting and what teams would be formed, and to which route. For Saga, time flew by, as he loved going through all the steps of the operations he planned, but he could tell just looking at the audience that they were getting bored. Many of the foot soldiers were yawning, while some of the Saints looked impatient, including Pegasus, as Saga tried to go through how he planned the exact horsepower of each vehicle they were taking to maximize discretion while minimizing travel time.
As such, he decided to wrap it up. "That should about cover it." Gemini concluded, turning the projection of light off with his Cosmos. "I will now speak with each individual team leader I have in mind to give you the group listings."
Getting up, the Saints and hoplites began forming pockets of friends and colleagues to speak with the Gold Saint, who began pulling aside each Silver Saint to speak with in private.
"Can you believe it? Saint Gemini is having us mobilize this much to transport a single 'target'." Suisho pointed out, amazed. "What could it be? Or who? Maybe it's the boss of the Specters that attacked us and we are ransoming him back to Hades?"
"Before that talk with Shion earlier, I might have believed that, but no, the item has to be the Teos Cloth." Lance immediately concluded. It was all moving so fast. He supposed Shion and Saga needed a safe way to carry it to Austria, and they couldn't just have Lance wear it because it could suck him dry of Cosmos before he even got close to the fighting. Lance's heart beat fast. "Then… this is a point of no return! I'll likely be unable to leave Peloponnesia once we're there! I need to coordinate with Cerah and Yushira about this, then, or they'll get cut off from me! But how do I-"
Sui squinted, wondering what bug bit the Bronze Saint. "What's wrong? You have that I-cant-take-this-waiting face you got when you were searching for Knight Girl on those maps."
"Saint Suisho?" the Gemini Gold Saint asked, approaching them and handing the Silver Saint a document. "You'll be leading team 7. You'll find the details of the route inside."
"Very well, sir." He opened the dossier and read it as quickly as his Saint senses allowed it. Aiacos grinned, seeing it was a diversionary route around the Carpathians, over Poland in the Soviet Union, and going back southwest through several chokepoints in the Czech Republic into Austria. "I should be able to take care of this route by myself, and it would be relatively simple to warn Rhadamanthys to station Skeletons in the other routes. In the meantime, I should go meet the heads of the other teams and plant the trackers I brought from Myu." He tried to share the dossier with Lance. "Here, Pegasus, this will be our pa-"
But the Gemini Saint put hand between them. "You're not going together."
The two Saints widened eyes. "What?"
Saga eyed Lance. His own face was concealed by his mask, but he tried to pass a physical signal to the Pegasus to stay alert with a grave nod. "Saint Lance here will be in team 3, with Cassiopeia Cynthia. Scrambling the teams will be part of our diversionary efforts in Operation Marathon."
Aiacos gritted teeth. "NO! I'm almost one hundred percent certain at this point that the real item will be with Pegasus' group! I have to stay close to him!" But smiled. "Very well, Saint Gemini, though I kind of wish Pegasus and I could stick together. We make a good team."
Lance felt fear rise within him for different motives. "(S-Saga, what's wrong? Do you suspect the spy is on one of these teams already?)"
Saga held back from glancing at Suisho. He had no evidence yet, but something told him the squeaky-clean record of the guy, combined with his efforts to ingratiate himself with Lance for no apparent reason and the fact he only recently got entrusted with this security clearance level, all left the Gemini unease. "(It's just a precaution. You understand, don't you?)
"(Y-yeah, of course. I was just taken by surprise.)" Lance turned to Sui. "Sorry, man. It will be weird to work with someone else, for sure."
Aiacos growled to himself. "This will make things harder, but don't think this will stop me, Gemini!" Suisho smiled and held Lance's shoulder firmly to encourage him, secretly planting Myu's tracker he brought to Sanctuary right on his neck. "It's no problem at all. Good luck, Pegasus. You've worked with Cynthia in the past so you should be fine. I'll go ready my team, then."
"Good luck." Lance wished, feeling a bit apprehensive about the sudden separation. He scratched his neck, feeling his collar suddenly itching him as the underworld moth burrowed into his clothes and bit him. "O-ow, damn it." He scratched his neck. "Must be some kind of allergy."
"Ready for this, Pegasus?" Saga asked, relaxing now that they were finally on their own. "Don't take it the wrong way that I changed your partner, hopefully? It's not just the Underworld spy I am concerned about, but also the recent situation with Perseus Acrisius."
A lightbulb went off in Lance's head. "RIGHT! I completely forgot about that, Christ!" Seeing the Gemini tense up, he tried to speak low. "S-Sorry. Saga, is it confirmed that Cetus was involved with that?"
The Gold Saint shook his head. "We aren't sure yet, but it's a strong possibility. You should be very careful. Part of the reason I am putting Cynthia with you is to make Cetus hesitate to target you directly. He is going to be in Sanctuary today."
Lance stiffened. "He is? Then that means the Azrael guy might be as well!"
"We will have your backs as much as possible, but as you know, we can't mobilize our entire Gold Saint order out of the Golden Zodiac. At least six, and ideally seven, Gold Cloths need to stay in their Temples." Saga reminded him. It had been a hard lesson they all learned from Daemon Lucifer. "The last thing we need right now is another False Holy War scenario, where the Specters manipulate us into leaving a path of lightspeed open in the Golden Zodiac. For the moment, however, you can count on me, Aiolos and Saint Galarian to help."
The Bronze Saint let out an 'oh'. He had completely forgotten about this need to keep the armors home, too. "Of course. And I'm guessing Aphrodite and Mephisto will handle Sanctuary Town and Palaestra, while the rest stay in the Temples?"
Saga shook head. "Deathmask will stay at Palaestra. Aphrodite has actually requested to follow Operation Marathon."
The strange initiative in the Pisces took the Bronze Saint by surprise. "What? Really? How come?"
The Gemini folded arms. "I was hoping you could tell me. As you know, Aphrodite is one of the toughest members of our generation to get to volunteer for anything. I thought that, as his mentor, you could have had something to do with it?"
"This can't have anything to do with me asking him to keep an eye on Olivia, can it?" Lance wondered. But how would protecting his girlfriend lead Aphrodite to conclude he needs a closer eye on a Sanctuary operation? "Sorry, Saga, I'm just as stumped."
The Gemini Saint waved hand at it for the moment. "In any case, Saint Dohko has been gracious enough to let us keep the Libra Cloth since he sent it to us during the False Holy War. That will help maintain the barrier blessings, which will give us the flexibility we need for this operation."
Lance exhaled, amazed. Everything seemed to be in proper place, then. "Nice job, Saga. Once again, you sound like you got everything under control."
The Gold Saint put his hand on his hip and turned face, his exposed mouth smiling cockily. "I do my best for it, you know? Still, Pegasus, remember, your team will be carrying the you-know-what, since you're the only one who can use it in emergency. As such, the whole point of this operation will be riding on your team above all."
Lance reeled. "(Then it IS the Teos Cloth!)" He nodded firmly. "You can count on me. That thing is getting to Peloponnesia even if it kills me!"
The Gemini smiled, wishing he had a hundred Bronze Saints like this. "Good to know."
"Saint Gemini, I'm here." Cynthia greeted, joining them. "I was told I'd be with Pegasus? I was a bit surprised. Hi, Lance."
"Hey, Cynthia." Lance greeted with a wave, smiling. Now that he thought of it, he was kind of lucky; if there was any Silver Saint he'd want to team up with other than Sui, Cynthia would probably be it. She was pretty much the only person other than Shinta, Suisho and Yushira he had any experience working with. Still, this also meant she'd be in the path of most danger. "Sorry that you drew me. People have told me recently I tend to attract trouble."
She shook her head. What kind of thing was this to tell Pegasus? "It must have been Nam, then. That senseless dolt. Pay it no mind, Pegasus. It will be great to work together again. As for the trouble part, I feel pretty safe; we did stop a whole group of Specter raiders together, didn't we?"
Pegasus widened his eyes, recalling the battle at Alexis' village. "Oh yeah, that's true!"
"I took it into account too when scrambling your teams." Saint Gemini added. "Saint Cynthia seemed to be the most compatible with you, Pegasus. Her style of combat is close to that of Saint Andromeda and you seem to have a productive past. Not that you left me many other choices."
The Pegasus's face flushed. "S-Sorry."
Cynthia laughed at it. "Don't worry, I get the feeling Pegasus has changed a lot since then, Lord Gemini. Thank you for everything." She assured. She saw the Gold Saint nod and depart. "There he goes. You're probably used to seeing Gold Saints by now with that training you did at Cancer, Pegasus, but even after all these years, I still feel out of my element next to all of that gold. The last time I saw a Gold Saint this close was when Lord Gemini came to our help, remember?"
"I do, but overtime you learn they're just normal people, Cynthia." Lance assured. "Just, you know… they can blow up the planet if they want."
She folded her arms and laughed. "Well, isn't that relatable! Speaking of Saints that don't get spotted too often, though, did you hear of it, Lance? Saint Noah is in town."
The Pegasus almost dropped to the floor at this. "Wait, what?! Really?!"
She nodded. "Yup. I was just with Nam and he told me you two are friends? I don't know Noah very well, but Nam thought you should know he popped by the MMC."
Lance put hand through hair, baffled. "Y-yeah, I appreciate it. I'm just… really surprised." He frowned, wondering why Noah didn't come to see him. "Maybe if he's here at all, then it's because of the war and the kids being moved into Palaestra or something. It's probably best if I don't drag him into danger either. Still, I'd like to show Noah that I am better now than back at Death Queen Island…"
Noticing Pegasus seemed upset, Cynthia pointed her thumb out the door. "We can go look for him if you want? We have time before the ceremonies are done and we have to prep for Marathon. I'd like to meet him too. Everyone I hear talking about that guy always has different kinds of stories to tell."
Lance waved his hand. "That's alright, Cynthia, thank you. I actually promised Olivia I'd be with them at the afternoon events. And she's already pretty mad at me for being so late."
The masked Amazon chuckled and tilted head. "Awh, aren't you the sweetest boyfriend? Yeah, don't keep your girlfriend waiting, then. Especially since you might not see her for a while, once we get started. One more thing before you go, then. We need an extra person on our squad. Lord Gemini has found a third person to go with everyone except Team 3. I was thinking of Yushira, but may the Goddess forgive me, I can't find that girl anywhere today. Got any recommendations?"
Another lightbulb went off in Lance's head, this time one with girlish curls and a black crow armor. "I do, actually."
{======================|A3|======================}
Afternoon,
The Coliseum
External Halls
{======================|A3|======================}
Cerah Heloise gawked, hugging her Knight-Girl plushie anxiously. "Y-you want me to be on this 'Operation Marathon' team, Saint Lance?!"
Lance nodded, accompanying her and Olivia. He had found them having lunch together near the Coliseum after he left from the military brief and now the trio were heading back together to the Coliseum for the afternoon games. "That's right. I figured Operation Marathon would be the perfect chance for us to practice working together for our own operation. It will also give us a good motive to move you to Peloponnesia right away. I do warn, though, this will be a point of no return. I know it's very sudden, but once we get involved in this operation, we won't be done until the Specter threat is beaten back."
Cerah gulped, while Olivia tensed. Lance couldn't blame them. This was the moment all their words of support for the cause would be put to the test.
Unsurprisingly, though, Cerah steeled herself and nodded. "I'll do it. Y-yes, without a doubt! This will be a good way for me to enter the battlefield, even, without people suspecting why I'm there."
Olivia held her arm. "Are you sure, Cerah? There is still time for you to back down from all of this." She softened her eyes. "Remember… this will no longer be fighting just one Specter or two. This will effectively be you joining the war."
Though her face paled, Cerah shook her head. "I know, miss Olivia, but in truth, this is no different than from when miss Yushira and I fought to help against the False Specters. I was even more scared back then. And I don't intend to go back on anything I promised Saint Lance and Saint Dohko." She narrowed her eyes. "As sure as there is a nasty dragon tattoo on my back right now, I will be helping Saint Lance with everything I got!"
"I see, thank you. I'll let Cynthia know a Saintia is joining us, then. First things, first, Cerah, I need to ask; what's the status on the training you're doing under Master?" He insisted to know. "I ask because we may have to go quickly retrieve the Dragon Cloth."
"The Dragon Cloth?!" Both girls asked.
Lance nodded. "That's right. Master actually anticipated this, back when I first brought you to him."
{======================|A3|======================}
Two months earlier, shortly before Battle at Andromeda Island
Rozan China
{======================|A3|======================}
"What?! You want me to take the Dragon Cloth to Sanctuary?!"
"Ah, you always repeat things back to me like that. Sometimes I wonder if I speak too much in this soft, sexy way of mine." Dohko confirmed, guiding Lance to the lake. "Since you severed your pact with Seiryu, Cerah is our most likely new Dragon Saint, and we don't know when we might need her to put it on. Yushira has the Crane Cloth, but if Cerah is joining your quest to the Underworld, too, Lance, then Saints will see her in the frontline. And she'll need a reason to be there other than having the Cloth of the Zodiac Knights that are supposed to be criminals or dead."
"But won't she need years of training for it?!" Lance asked, appalled. He agreed with Dohko's logic, but the Dragon Cloth wasn't something he saw Cerah being ready for. "You always told me it took years to prepare for it. Has she even executed the Shoryuha?! Without performing the ritual-"
"-she won't fully bond with the constellation, I know. Thank you for reminding me of my own lessons, student." Dohko mocked him, rolling his eyes. "For Athena's sake, give me some credit, Lance! Have you forgotten by now that the tattoo has already appeared on Cerah? Surviving drinking the Waters of Life has already bonded her with Seiryu's stars just as well as reversing the waterfall would! And besides, she has already been extensively trained in basic Saint arts. All I'll be doing with her is the same I did to you; help her grasp the 7th sense she awoke. Cerah is more than ready to put the Dragon Cloth on, if she just harnesses the strength for it."
The Pegasus Saint sweated, feeling stupid. "That's true…"
Reaching the pond, Dohko ignited his green aura and executed his masterful uppercut technique. "SHORYUHA!" With a magnificent explosion of Cosmos, a draconic burst reversed the waterfall and split the lake open almost biblically, revealing the bottom of the deep lake where a metal box was found. Jumping in at heightened speed, the Master quickly retrieved the box and brought it ashore before the water had time to collapse around him. "There…"
Lance observed it. He had seen the box before, when encountering Seiryu in the lake, but never the actual armor inside. "So, this is the Dragon Cloth, the one you wished I could wear?"
"It would look much better on you than that ridiculous horse hat, I promise you that!" Dohko retorted. He smirked. "Although, with the upgrades Mu gave Pegasus, I'm pretty satisfied my student will no longer embarrass me by proxy."
Lance squinted, annoyed. "I'm sorry my path of the Cloth is so inconvenient to you, Master."
"You ought to be. It's not my fault Sanctuary sent you to Pegasus first, you know?" Dohko then held the box somberly. It was the first time the object was breathing open air in a long time. Dohko still remembered the last time he saw Shiryu wearing it, at the end of the Lost Canvas War. He never imagined its next carrier would be some small girl, much less a Zodiac Knight. "But now it is time for young Cerah to take up the mantle of its last owner. I will have my Dragon Saint student I always dreamed of, but I have to admit, I never thought it would be a scrawny little western girl who can't even do a backflip."
"Master!"
Lifting the huge box up, the Master dropped it in Lance's hands, nearly making him fall over the weight. "There. Hide it somewhere in Sanctuary, before you head to your friends in Ethiopia."
The Pegasus struggled to balance himself, holding up the box. "Where am I supposed to keep this huge thing?!"
The Master shrugged. "I don't know, throw it in the Sanctuary Town Lake or something. Figure something out, student." Dohko suggested. "If you can't even scrounge up a hiding spot for this, how do you think you'll survive in Erebus?"
{======================|A3|======================}
Lance grumbled, annoyed. He ended up doing exactly that; tossing the damn thing in the waterfront just as he passed Greece on his way to Ethiopia to fight Atlae. The Cloth had been at the bottom of the lake for nearly two months now. "Cerah won't be able to parade her Corvus Cloth around, but she needs to let others know she has the presence of a Saint in this war, even if she just carried the box around. Most of all, if she can put it on, it will help the most."
"I s-see. Then if I want to become a Knight ready for this crusade…I must put on the Dragon Cloth!" Cerah smiled and puffed her small chest to appear bigger and more confident, like a blowfish. "The training has been going super well! Saint Dohko is insanely strict, but he's been teaching me how to perfect the use of the 7th sense! I can use it almost at will now, but I still need to focus a lot for it to really pack a punch. I don't know if I deserve to be called a Dragon Saintia, but… but I've been working super hard to be prepared."
"It's true. Even her grades at the Academy have been improving." Olivia mentioned, surprising Lance and making Cerah flush. Their PE teacher had been especially impressed, calling Cerah 'the only student in this damn princess school worth a damn'. "Whatever your teacher is doing, it's working. I've never seen a Saintia raise her grades this fast."
Lance held his jaw pensively, studying Cerah. If she was going to be the Dragon Saint, what she'd need the most was physical strength, but Cerah was easily the weakest of the group. Had Master been tackling that, too? "Mm, you do look… one percent beefier than when I dropped you with Master, I suppose. Did he put you on his diet?"
The blonde girl flushed, grabbing her spindly muscle arms. "Yeah. He has been making me eat so much protein I thought my pee would turn blue." Then held her belly self-consciously. "Plus, I put on, like… a million pounds."
Olivia rolled eyes. "Cerah, you put on five pounds. That's all." She put Cerah's hand away from her stomach. Half the academy would murder to know the secret to Cerah's rock-hard core. "You've been a Saintia for four months and already you're anorexic? Unbelievable."
"Master did say Cerah looked like the type that adapted super-fast. That must mean both for good and bad." Lance quipped to himself. "Whichever the case, we'll pick up the Dragon Cloth once Saint Gemini calls us.
Cerah nodded, alert. "Right!"
"What about Yushira? How is her training doing?"
Cerah stiffened. "S-She, well… she's still been having trouble."
Lance tensed. Now was not the time for this. "… What kind of trouble?"
{======================|A3|======================}
With a shout, Yushira swerved the katana in the air, slicing the air with such cosmic force that currents broke apart and twisted into continuous slashes. The blows struck the rock, making the arrow shake. The Crane Saint watched, holding her breath, to see if the object would dislodge itself.
The shaking came to a stop. The arrow staid the same.
The masked girl screamed in frustration and slammed the sword into the ground, fissuring it. "THAT IS IT! I can't do this! AGHH!"
Watching it all after her own practice, Cerah glowered, wondering when Yushira would finally get the breakthrough she needed. This was about the twenty-seventh different thing Yushira had tried to dislodge the arrow without moving her feet from the circle, like Master Dohko had instructed, with nothing but that cool sword of his. And that didn't include the various air slash patterns Yushira had attempted, which failed about as hard as this last attempt. Cerah
The Crane even once tried to trick Master into revealing the secret by goading him to do it himself, just to show how cool he'd look. Saint Dohko happily did so, seeming just excited to show off some of his awesome moves to his two new students, except he did it so quickly and so skillfully that it just looked like he magically took the arrow off the rock before putting it back in. It didn't help one bit. Cerah would have been amazed, if her friend's training wasn't on the line.
The Corvus Zodiac Knight was struggling to find suggestions herself. "I'm starting to think Saint Lance is right about Master, and he really did prank you with this test. How would you do this? Air currents made with the sword don't seem strong enough to dislodge the arrow, but anything else you try that is stronger will just break it."
Yushira breathed fast, covered in sweat. "I-I don't know…I feels like a dang Chinese finger trap! I've tried everything!" Heck, just that day she must have swung the damn sword a million times. She couldn't stand the sight of it anymore. Her hand shook on the thing and she wished she could toss it to the lake. Still, she tried to grip it firmly to try one more thing or two. "M-Maybe if I swerve it another way… or if I twirl it to create a twister…or I…I…"
The Amazon then lost her balance, exhausted, and began falling to the side.
Cerah gasped. With a rushing slide, she caught her friend and held her mask up to her face. "Miss Yushira!"
"W-What happened?" The Crane asked, wheezing. Everything in her head felt blank suddenly.
Cerah helped Yushira sit and got her the water bottle. "You almost passed out just now. You need to stop and rest."
The Amazon nodded and drank a bit through under her mask, but cursed nonetheless. "D-Damn it… No, Cerah, if I don't do this…Saint Dohko is going to kick me out, for sure! Lance will kick me out of the team, too." Turning her face away from Cerah, Yushira shook and sobbed. "D-Damn it, I want to be able to do this! I want to be of use! But I don't know how!"
Cerah felt her eyes weep, seeing her friend in pain. She wasn't sure why it was so important for Yushira to want to be involved in this project to the Underworld, but it was hard watching her giving so much of herself to this basic test and still get nowhere. The young girl would pray that night for her friend's success, but it seemed like the Gods weren't listening for the moment.
{======================|A3|======================}
Lance gritted his teeth. He could relate pretty well to the frustration of Master's tests, but "This is no good… I feel bad for Yushira, but we don't have much time left until the Holy War breaks out. I may have to go see Yushira after all this."
"She is doing her best, I swear!" Cerah promised, waving arms up in a defending manner. "I've never seen miss Yushira as serious about something as this, Saint Lance! Besides, Master Dohko says she has the talent, but is failing at grasping the point of the test."
"That doesn't exactly set me at ease." Lance thought to himself. "It will only be once we're in the frying pan that we'll know for sure if all this training is even worth it. So, if Yushira can't hack even that…"
"If I may, Saint Lance?" Olivia interceded, getting their attention. "Saint Yushira is being trained in the Tiger Path of Rozan, correct?"
The two Saints gawked. "R-Rozan?! Um, NO!" Lance lied.
Cerah shook head, trying to laugh it off. "It's not Mount Rozan at all, miss Olivia! No, no, no. Can you even imagine how crazy that'd be, if we got Libra Dohko himself to train us?"
Olivia squinted at them like they thought she was stupid. "Please, you two. You've both been going to China back and forth to prepare for a mission to invade the Underworld! Pray tell, what famous Sanctuary Master in China guards the seal to Hades?"
But Lance scratched head and looked away, feeling a lead ball of guilt in his stomach. "…Olivia, it doesn't matter. I can't say to you that it's him."
The Equuleus Saintia, however, smiled. "Don't worry, Saint Pegasus, I understand. I know you'd get in trouble with the Gold Saints if you did. But this is about Yushira's well-being, right? How about we play a game where we pretend for a bit I already know?
Lance smiled. "I like that, sure."
Cerah chuckled, relieved. "Okay, miss Olivia. Let's. What, um… do you think is happening in this pretend situation?"
The Equuleus continued her prior thought. "As I was saying, I am a Wind element user myself and it sounds to me like Saint Yushira isn't failing the training at all."
Lance's red eyes widened, hopeful. "What?! How so?"
Olivia raised a finger. "If Cerah is right, she is being made to project attacks of Cosmos through a mundane sword, which isn't easy to do. Saint Yushira is a Silver Saint, after all, and she should have more than enough talent to not only do that much, but overcome any Saint test she sets her mind to. Besides, I don't believe with everything on the line a celebrated Master like Lord Dohko would waste time. If she's having THIS much difficulty, then the point must be the difficulty itself."
"The difficulty itself?" Lance thought about it. His experiences were mostly with training fire and lightning, so he had to trust Olivia's knowledge on it.
Olivia held back her enthusiasm, unsure if she could guarantee anything. "Well, I don't know your teacher very well, Lance, official matters aside, but it sounds to me that he may be preparing Saint Yushira with the attempts to pass the test, rather than seeking the solution itself. Most people don't realize, but the Wind element is very difficult to master because it's all about controlling gaseous forms of force. It being called 'wind' at all is an underestimation of what the element truly represents."
"It's not just that." Lance added, thinking about the manner with which Dohko was having Yushira do it. "I think Master may also be training her in sword fighting itself. When I trained under him, Master was an adept of having me learn weaponry and attacks by repetition, step-by-step. Basically everything I did in that house, from house chores to cooking, involved some kind of extra difficulty to teach me a tool or a martial trick."
"So, by having miss Yushira do an impossible test, Master Dohko is making her practice both the sword and the Wind element thousands and thousands of times!" Cerah concluded. It made perfect sense to her now. "Wow… he's really smart!"
Olivia nodded and raised a finger. "Not every lesson is direct, dear junior. Sometimes, the best Master is the one that teaches you something even when you don't pass a test."
"That… actually sounds exactly like the kind of lesson Master would give. How did I not see that? Geez, Olivia is smart." Lance realized, exasperated. He lost count to amount of secret kung-fu lessons Dohko loved to pretend to hide in doing the most mundane things, like picking up sake at Arlia.
Cerah gulped. "This is it, then… our crusade to the Underworld is close!" A swarm of butterflies filled her stomach. "I offered to go myself, but… now I feel really scared! I've been training like crazy under Saint Dohko, but are we really ready for this?!"
"I'm not a fan of Cerah being involved with the military so soon, but I agree this will be the preparation needed for what you three will be doing later." Olivia confessed, looking resigned. "With the Dragon Cloth and this 'Operation Marathon' matter, Cerah will have a good excuse to be at the frontline."
Lance glowered. "I'm sorry, Olivia."
The Saintia shook her head and smiled at him. "Don't worry… this is Holy War, after all. It's a time for all of us to be brave." She held her jaw. "Still…why didn't Sanctuary team you up with Saint Suisho?"
Cerah perked up. "That's right! Saint Sui would definitely-" She saw Saint Lance clam up, though. "W-Wait, is something the matter?"
Harnessing his courage, Lance explained what he could. "Do not react to this loudly with all these people around… but Saint Gemini is being cautious about things. He believes there's a Specter spy in Sanctuary."
The short, blonde girl widened eyes. "What?! Who?!"
"Dear Goddess, really?" Olivia whispered, covering her mouth. "That's horrible!" Yet, her mind thought back to all the strange coincidences in Specter attacks. "But this… this would explain a lot, like how Worm Raimi infiltrated the Academy. Cerah, Saint Gemini might be right about this."
"This is why the new mission the Gold Saints have for the lower ranks is something to be done only with someone I can count on having signed up for Anabasis, like Cerah. Absolutely no mistake could be made. Even if Sui is innocent, who knows who could be spying on him."
With this in mind, the memories of all the attacks they suffered in the past six months made the two girls shake and reevaluate everyone they ever shared a secret with. Cerah in particular reeled, wondering if she was in a position to identify the spy if she happened to lay eyes on them. Her mind went through all the Specters she knew, but unfortunately, most of the True Specters she got to meet were either her teacher, Lucian, or extremely recognizable and obvious spies, like mister Charon and Rhadamanthys.
"Saint Lance, don't worry, I'll do the best I can on this, too!" Cerah offered, clenching her fists proudly. "As a Zodiac Knight AND as an unofficial student of Saint Dohko, I'll go to hell and back with you on this! A little mission to take an item to Austria is nothing!"
Lance nodded. "Thank you, Cerah. I'll let you kno-"
"I'm going, too!"
Lance froze, recognizing the voice behind him. "Fuck!" Even just seeing Olivia's startled look of recognition spelled it out to him. He turned around and saw, indeed, his green-haired best friend standing right there. "H-Hey, Shinta. You're back from your test already-"
"Don't change the subject, Lance." The Andromeda Saint narrowed his eyes, just arrived from the Golden Zodiac. "I heard you talking. You're going to the Underworld during the war, right? Well, I'm coming with you!"
{======================|A3|======================}
Sanctuary Town,
Third Acropolis Forum
{======================|A3|======================}
Accompanying his lord in disguise through Sanctuary's capital, Papillon Myu's antennae twitched under his large hat, detecting the signal of the Underworld Moths given to Lord Aiacos.
"One…two, three, four, five and six. Excellent." He smiled and turned to Lord Rhadamanthys, who sat at the street bar with a glass of whiskey and ice. "We have Sanctuary's personnel 'bugged', your Honor. We'll be able to follow our targets now."
Sipping from his drink, the blond Specter pretending to be a mere dweller of Sanctuary town grinned, feeling his blood warm at the prospect of murdering these profligates. "The second they leave this town, let me know. None of them will make it to Heinstein Castle alive."
"Not a word of thank you?" Aiacos asked, arriving by their side. He took a seat by the two Specters and ordered a beer. "I'm letting you in on MY mission, after all, when you should be readying our armies to crush Peloponnesia."
The Wyvern tensed his unibrow into a glare. "I don't need lectures on land armies from a cloud boat captain. My forces know what to do on their own. I don't train them as softly as you do yours. Isn't that right, Myu?"
Papillon Myu retreated a step at this and irked indecisively. It was actually quite hard to say which of the two Judges was the real taskmaster; Lord Aiacos more often than not had his subordinates burned their own colleagues alive in the ship's furnaces if he found even a dirty smudge on the hull, while Lord Rhadamanthys took personal pleasure ripping you limb from limb if you missed your training quotas. Everyone saw what he did to Raimi after the Worm Specter's foolish assault on the Saintia Academy, too.
"And this is no alliance between us. I intend to take the glory of this mission all for myself!" Rhadamanthys assured, sipping more whiskey. Licking his lips, he curved them up maliciously, anxious for the moment where all of Aiacos' arrogance would come crashing down and his hard work fell on Rhadamanthys' lap. "When I'm done, the Emperor will know by the end of this that all the efforts you took years to build up could have come to a close instantly if the mission had been entrusted to me."
"Really? Yet, you don't even know what we're after, you fool." Aiacos accused, receiving his drink. He took the first drink straight from the bottle, which Rhadamanthys took notice of with a sharpening of his eyes, likely perceiving it as a Saint habit. The Garuda Judge ignored it. "Why don't you go back to Heinstein? You're useless to Lord Hades here. You'll run through all these Saint teams and have no idea what item to secure."
"I am here because you don't know what the Gold Saints are capable of." Rhadamanthys pointed out. He had been the one that the Emperor invited to witness the battle between Lucifer and the Gold Saints, not Aiacos. He saw how deceptively coordinated they could be under the Gemini Gold Saint. "You're underestimating how willing they are to amass their forces on you, behind their dictums of warrior honor. They are definitely planning to back up these Silver Saints from a distance. Have you forgotten they hide their sins' filth behind a guise of warriorship? Or have you gotten drunk in their culture and believe Saints really are incapable of dishonor? Maybe the future Hypnos read in your cards has something to do with that."
Aiacos growled and almost jumped out of his seat. "I'll show you just how loyal a Specter I still am, the-!"
"Ladies, ladies, do not fight amongst yourselves." Minos begged, also showing up. He held Aiacos gently to sit him down, then took a seat himself. He smiled lovingly at the maid who came to pick his order. "Tea, darling. Ice cold and black, like oolong."
The woman beamed with the beautiful man's attention. "Of course! Right away, sir."
By contrast, Aiacos gritted his teeth at the Gryphon. "Speaking of useless presences."
"Don't you have harlots to go torture?" Rhadamanthys joined in, frowning in disgust. "This is a mission for the knights of the Underworld, not its magistrates!"
The Gryphon Specter laughed, seeing Myu retreat ever further from the triumvirate of envy between his superiors. "Why, funny that you'd mention it; I'm just finished dropping off my new two princesses at Heinstein. And am back here just in time to share in the triumph with you, fellow Judges. Why don't we ALL work together and enjoy the spoils of Aiacos' hard work? Also, Rhadamanthys-" His green eyes tensed and the sharp shine of the Judge's wires was briefly visible in the light. "Never call my princesses 'harlots' ever again… or the Underworld will have its first eunuch Wyvern. Got it?"
Rhadamanthys stood up from his seat,. "Not if it gets its first gryphon with a broken neck!"
The tension was such that half the people in the bar turned heads, even those previously distracted with their own affairs.
The barmaid with Minos' tea arrived. "I-Is there trouble here, sirs?"
Fearing the two of them would cause a scene and truly ruin his hard work, Aiacos interfered. "Nothing to see here, miss, my friend is just a bit… you know." The folks of Sanctuary Town hesitantly relaxed and went back to their drinking and chatting and the maid gave Minos his drink. Aiacos held Rhadamanthys down to his seat again. "Enough, now! If you two must worm your ways into MY mission at the last minute, then at least have the decency to follow my lead and not blow all our covers! I get enough of bickering children from dealing with Saints of Athena!"
Minos hummed tensely, but nodded, just happy he was getting his crimson tea. He stirred it. "Fine, fine… what is the plan, then? We simply wipe out these courier groups using Myu's lovely tracker bugs? That seems simple enough."
"Yes, but I recommend we have the Celestial Specters strike the red herrings and draw the attention of the Gold Saints, while the three of us focus on the main target. I should be able to free myself from my team once we're in Poland." Aiacos added, relaxing now that the two of them seemed more cooperative. "That should be fine with you both? You'll get plenty of Saints to kill that way, in the meantime."
The Gryphon smiled. "Oh? But that's no fun! I was hoping we could race separately to the item!"
Aiacos lightly slammed his beer on their table. "No! This isn't a game! We put our differences aside and make sure the item is secured! And the only way to do it is to deliver a decisive blow, before the Gold Saints even know what's happening!"
The Wyvern Specter narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Aiacos. He detested Minos' coyness and would normally admire a comrade that thought of the collective, but this was Aiacos they were talking about. He was probably just afraid that the most minor of errors would cost him the reward the Emperor promised him.
Aiacos, however, sensed his indifference. "If you play along, Rhadamanthys… I might even tell you all about the remnant Zodiac Knights in these parts."
The blood in the Wyvern rushed suddenly at this, making Rhadamanthys' golden irises sharpen. "Zodiac… Knights?! Plural?!"
Aiacos smiled, feeling the air darken and the Wyvern's fingers cringe on the table and whiskey glass. "Yes, like the one that attacked me in Switzerland, Aquila Daese. Something tells me she might be around this time, too. You wouldn't want to miss the chance to put a permanent end to those disgusting traitors, would you?"
Feeling manipulated, Rhadamanthys gritted his teeth and made a conscious effort to simmer down. Aiacos was promising him nothing solid, after all. But he could play along. "Mph, fine. We'll do things your way, Aiacos. I'll order Sylphid's squad to eliminate the other teams."
"And I'll get dear Atlae to help with those pesky Gold Saints." Minos added, drinking his tea. "It should be simple for him… a transformation here, a giant punch there… and poof, open road to our target."
Feeling these two wild cards were finally more cooperative, Aiacos relaxed "It seems we can work together, after all. And if we do, nothing can stop us." and raised his beer. "To Lord Hades."
The other two grinned and held their tea and whiskey to it. "To Lord Hades!"
{======================|A3|======================}
Coliseum,
External Halls
{======================|A3|======================}
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just looking for you guys and headed for you… and heard all of that." Shinta confronted the group, pining the Pegasus Saint in particular. "I didn't imagine it, Lance? You and miss Cerah are going to the Underworld? Well, I'm coming too!"
Cerah blinked, finally recognizing the person that just entered the conversation. "Hey, wait…you're the Saintia that miss Olivia introduced me to."
Lance sweated. "Cerah, he's not a Saintia."
The Zodiac Knight looked befuddled, then widened her eyes, putting it together. "Oh my goddess! Saint Shinta is a m…." She turned fully red and bowed. "I am so sorry! Holy moly, I can't believe I… I mean, I'm sorry! I'll just shut up!"
Olivia held her face, seeing the Andromeda Saint quiver embarrassedly and not know what to say. "Poor Saint Shinta. I think everyone makes that mistake with him. And Cerah making it, too, with whom he seemed to be… interested in."
The Pegasus Saint couldn't believe the timing of Shinta's appearance. He also noticed he was still in his Bronze Cloth "I'm guessing the test at the Virgo Temple didn't go well." He didn't a response, though, which told miles about how mad Shinta was. Carefully, he held up his hands. "Listen, Shinta, I'm not sure what you heard, but-"
But the Andromeda Saint cut him off with a shake of his head. "Don't do 'that' to me, Lance. I'm not deaf! I know what you guys said!" He frowned gravely and even looked around, horrified that they'd be yapping about such a thing within earshot of anyone else. "You're… going to attack the Underworld? All on your own? I don't believe you!" He grumbled, embarrassed. "I mean… I sort of do, because it's totally what you would do after the times Specters have attacked us, but…"
"S-Saint Shinta, If I may, it's not that simple, please." Olivia begged. What a terrible situation. Lance hadn't told his best friend at all about any of this? "Even I was shocked when I first learned! But when you hear Saint Lance out-"
"And even miss Olivia already knew?" Shinta pointed. It made Olivia reel, realizing she just made things worse. He lowered his head, feeling humiliated. He really liked her a lot, but Shinta couldn't help but feel hurt that, somehow, she had heard of it first. "Lance, why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"
The Pegasus Saint tensed his jaw. He recalled Kastiel's revelation about how he worked with Shinta. "…You want to be direct? Then let's be direct; it's not like we tell each other everything, is it? Like how you met my so-called 'teacher'!"
Olivia and Cerah perked at this, not in the know. Who was Saint Lance referring to?
But Shinta reeled, knowing exactly who Lance meant. "Y-you…!" he glowered, gulping. "I see. So, you learned about that."
"He told me so himself, damn it!" Lance roared. He hadn't had much time to process this revelation himself since he left Rodario with Sui, but now that he thought of it, it was plenty to get mad about. "I was just with him, trying to get him to tell me about Atlae! Imagine my face when I learned you two were working together and you didn't tell me shit!"
Tentatively, Olivia tried to ask. "Saint lance, what is this about? What's going on?"
Shinta tried to explain. "It's a long story, but… it's about Lance's Mount Olympus' teacher." He turned back to his friend. "Lance, I didn't tell you, because-"
Lance waved hand and answered sardonically. "Oh, Shinta, no need to explain it! I'm sure what must have gone through your head; that I'd flip a table or something if I knew you entrusted your kids to him!" The Bronze Saint slapped his own thights, exhasperated. "Well… yeah! You're fucking right. But I'd take it like a man, especially with the circumstances you were in! But you didn't tell me, did you?! For months! And you ask me if I don't trust you?!"
The Andromeda Saint lowered his head, ashamed. He never meant to hurt Lance's feelings. His fists clenched, however. "You're right to be upset at me, but this is… a whole other level! You know that! Are you really-"
"Yes, I am going to the Underworld! I have it all worked out with Master Dohko, Saint Malta and even the bastard who led the attack on us at the Zodiac." Lance referred, making Cerah perk up at the association with her first teacher. "We have a plan, Shinta. And we're carrying it out!"
Olivia also irked. "I guess the cat's out of the bag with Lord Dohko, then…"
"Me, Cerah and someone else are heading down there and destroying their Palaces, so Hades and his murderers won't even think of waging war on us ever again!" Pegasus continued, completely missing the secret he just let out. "Do you disagree with that, Shinta?!"
The green-haired Saint opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. "…I don't, Lance, but…"
The Pegasus Saint exhaled. He hated being frontal with Shinta like this, but he needed to make clear what was going on so no misunderstandings were made. "I didn't tell you, because I don't want you involved. Like you said, this isn't a spat between me and my teacher; it's an attack on the underworld, so I kept it to myselfnNot because you're weak, or that I don't trust you, but because I knew you'd want to help me and I care about you being safe. This isn't your fight. It's mine… and Cerah's."
Cerah and Olivia stood quiet, both unsure what best to say. Simultaneously, the two girls felt it was probably best to say nothing, feeling like the two guys in front of them needed to first make their feelings clear about the matter. Still, they both had to wonder how one would work this situation out. Certainly, Saint Shinta would understand Lance meant no ill by keeping him out of the matter. It was a super serious issue and it was crazy enough that Lance himself was heads-deep into it, after all.
Yet, Shinta had issue to take, looking stunned. "This isn't my fight?... How does that make any sense, Lance? I am a Saint of Athena, just like you." Shinta worded, fearing what Lance would say if he knew the Grim Specter accused him of being a Prince, just like Daemon Lucifer. "I am also a friend of the Gold Saints that you and I fought together to protect when the False Specters came by. How could you tell me this new fight isn't mine, too, then?!"
The two girls gulped, feeling the tables turned on Lance.
Shinta continued. "I may not like violence, but let's stop pretending I am some kind of frail person that should be kept away from the fighting! I am not!" Shinta asserted, standing up physically to Lance. "I have long decided I will no longer stay in the sidelines waiting for you or someone else to sort things out in Sanctuary; Saint Cynthia has made me cross that line long ago! And when you run into Genbu Atlae, who is going to protect YOU from him?!"
Lance staggered, not expecting this angle. "What?! Noone will have to! Next time we fight, it will be diff-"
"STOP IT! You don't know that!" Shinta accused, stunning all three of them. Lance in particular had never seen him step up like this. "You always do this, Lance! Every time there's something dangerous to be done, you always shove everyone aside and rush ahead all on your own, like you think THAT will protect anyone! You thought the exact same with Daemon Lucifer, remember?! And you almost died more than once, right in front of everybody! You may not like to admit it when we're not just sparring around for the kids, Lance, but… but I am far stronger than you are!"
The three people in front of him dropped their jaws. Cerah in particular widened her eyes, discovering just how extensively Lance had battled her teacher. Between wondering how he survived that experience and what he'd do to Saint Shinta for saying these things, she wasn't sure what to get her head through first.
Shinta slumped his shoulders, disappointed in himself. He really, really wished he didn't have to say this. He didn't want to humiliate Lance, especially in front of miss Olivia. He could barely believe he finally had the courage to do it to Lance's face. "Lance, you're my best friend, but I don't need you to protect me. The one who needs to be protected is you."
The Pegasus Saint growled, shaking like a volcano. "Y-You…son of a…!"
Panicked at the sudden fight, Cerah tried to step in. "W-Wait, mister Shinta, please hear me out." Seeing the Andromeda turn to signal willingness to listen, she held her chest. "I'm sure this all comes across terribly, but it's not that Saint Lance sought me out instead of you. I was the one who practically forced my way into this group! So did miss Yushira."
The Andromeda Saint widened eyes, appalled. "So, there's another person in this, too?!"
Cerah gawked. "Oh, crapsack!"
"CERAH!" Lance roared at her, throwing arms up. "Goddamn it! I could throw you off the building righ-"
"Don't you put this on her!" Shinta defended the Knight, stunning them all as he practically shoved himself between Cerah and his best friend. "You're telling me there's a third person who got to know about this before I did?! Is there anyone else you're keeping this secret with but not with me?!"
The Pegasus Saint gawked. "I..um…No!" He gritted teeth. "Damn it, and Yushira is someone else who forced herself into this!"
Olivia nodded. "There really isn't, Saint Shinta. Other than Count Malta, Saint Lance was considered Saint Suisho for a bit, but decided against it."
The Andromeda Saint held head. "Okay… I u-understand."
Lance tried to hold his shoulder, worried that he'd cry. "Come on, Shinta, listen to me! I wasn't doing this to make you feel-"
The Bronze Saint held up a hand politely to stop him. "I don't want to hear it!" And practically bared his teeth. "Lance, don't you see?! That's exactly the problem here right now. For as long as we've known each other, you've always made up reasons for yourself to push me aside from your affairs! And why?! Because… because you won't allow yourself to be helped! Especially by me! It never matters how much I prove I can fight by your side, you always look at me like a 'little brother'."
"Isn't it because you've always wanted that?" Lance countered. "You sure seemed safe enough early on, treating yourself like that!"
The Andromeda Saint widened his eyes, stunned. Did Lance really think this of him? "Yes, I did! I was starting out as a Saint when we met. You had six months of experience on me. Of course I looked up to you. And I still do. But Lance, I'm a Master now." he pointed out, making Lance recoil with the sheer obviousness of it. "I want your opinion on things, because I respect you. But… you never learned to respect me back, did you?"
A cold sweat formed in Lance. He felt suddenly unable to form a coherent argument.
"Poor Shinta. I don't blame him for these terrible feelings." Olivia thought to herself. This was just one of those tough situations where everyone's best intentions ended up clashing with one another's. And she could empathize with that hill in life where, even if people admitted they admired you, they never trusted you to take care of yourself. "After all, I lost count the amount of times Leon did the same to me. Right to even when he left."
The Andromeda Saint lowered his head, looking distraught. "That look on your face pretty much settles it, Lance. At least you don't lie to me about it. I was about to come tell you that, well… things didn't work out so well with you-know-what, but I thought it would be fine because part of why I wanted to do it was to prove to you I had become a real Saint. But now…what's the point? I see things could have gone wonderfully and you'd still do this to me. I wish… you'd just forget already this way you look at me. Because it really hurts…"
The trio watched the Andromeda Saint turn and depart.
…
Lance held his face, losing sight of the Saint in the Coliseum crowd. "Fuck my life! How did this happen now, of all times?!"
The Equuleus gawked, seeing him just standing there. "Lance, what are you doing?! Go apologize to him!" Olivia urged to him. She couldn't believe he was just letting poor Shinta walk out like this.
"Olivia, he wants to come with me to the Underworld!" he hushed back, fearing who else could be hearing. "What am I supposed to do here? I don't want him down there with me!"
Again, her jaw dropped. "What?! I can't believe you! And you think he wants you down there?!" Her blue eyes softened. "Or… or that I do?!"
Cerah saw Saint Pegasus freeze at the pain in Olivia's words. Nervously, she tried to give her two cents. "Excuse me, Saint Lance…I don't know your friend very well, but…Do you really have the right to say what you did?" She staggered, seeing the angry red look he turned at her. "I-I mean, don't yell at me, but I just think that he made a lot of good points. And looking at him, he seems really strong! And he's even a Master? I-I just don't understand what the issue is. Is it that he can't be trusted? Or that Saint Dohko isn't preparing him?"
Lance opened his mouth to talk, but Cerah's questions painted a really dumb portrait of what Lance was thinking. He retreated. "I… well, no, but…"
Olivia shook her head, stern. "It doesn't matter if he should go with you or not! He's really hurt right now! Shinta thinks you want him out of your way, Saint Lance!" The Saintia felt she could tip his cheeks off. For the first time since they met, Olivia felt frankly mad at her boyfriend. This was so much like what Leon used to do to her! "Go apologize to him. Now! Or I'm dumping your butt right here, right now! Or do you think I want a boyfriend who abandons his friends?!"
Alarmed, the Bronze Saint felt his hesitance melt away and rushed off. "WAIT, don't! Damn it, I'm not abandoning him! S-Stay here, you two, I'll go talk to him!"
Cerah saw the Pegasus Saint disappear up the stairs to the Coliseum tops like lightning. He wasn't even burning Cosmos, too. "Um… miss Olivia, you wouldn't really,… you know?... Dump him?"
"Mm?" She turned to Cerah, astonished. "What? Goddess, no, not in a million years. I love that guy to death." Olivia wasn't proud of it either, but sometimes harsh measures were necessary. "But let that be a lesson to you if you ever get a boyfriend, too, Cerah. Sometimes, even when it's clear as day, you need to set a fire on your guy's butt to get them to get over themselves and do the right thing."
{======================|A3|======================}
"Hey, stop! Listen to me, goddamn it!" Lance urged, catching up with Shinta in one of the halls leading to the top floors, where less people were found. He panted, surprised at how much Shinta had distanced himself. He must have paced out really angrily. "S-Shinta, will you give me a break?! Look, I'm sorry I didn't let you in on things, but look me in the face and tell me, if you were in my boots and if you knew Specters were after me, you'd involve me in something like this!"
But though he paused to listen, Shinta continued to be unimpressed. "Lance, don't you understand? That's not the point. If we were in each other's shoes, yes, I wouldn't put you in danger, but I also wouldn't keep you from it if it were important to you. You'd be the first person I'd tell about it, in fact. And by all accounts, I should be marching up to the Gold Saints and telling them you are about to do this! But I don't want to do that, I want to help, because I know this… 'project'… is something you have every right to want to go do!"
Lance growled, frustrated. What should he do? "So, I'm just supposed to bring you along, down to fucking hell?! Because… because you're on some journey of self-discovery after that Specter creep tried to ambush you?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Shinta asserted, narrowing his eyes. "And don't act like what you're doing is any less stupid, because it isn't! I'm not the one that fell into a coma fighting these people on our own territory!"
"Goddamn it, I fell into a coma shielding YOU!" Lance wanted to screamed. Olivia's threats in particular made him simmer down in terror of the idea of going back to her with his best friend still upset because of his stubbornness. He held his head, feeling bent like a pretzel by circumstances.
He saw Shinta give him a long, studious, skeptic look. "You act like you do these things because you care so much about me, Lance. I believe you do care, but not that's not the reason you're doing this!"
"Shinta! What the fuck!" Lance hushed, palming his face. Gods, he now realized he had to catch Shinta up on that whole Zodiac Knight thing, too, if he let him in on Operation Erebus. "Shinta… those Seraphim Specters or whatever are clearly after you, remember?!"
"And that's exactly WHY I want to go!" Shinta countered. "It's like you've always said; problems will only go away if we fix them ourselves! And if we're separated during what you're doing, they'll just pick us apart, Lance! We survived in Andromeda Island because we reunited and worked together, not because they drove us to two different halves of the island!"
Once again, Lance found himself checkmated. "G-Goddamn it, Shinta, stop making this so hard! Don't you see I'm just worried about you?! I won't be able to do this if I'm concerned about you all the wa-"
"YOU stop it!" Shinta shouted, shoving him with his hand! The Bronze Saint's eyes wetted. "You're worried about me?! Do you have any idea how worried I've been lately?! You fell into a COMA, Lance! And then you got up and went right back into doing missions like it didn't even matter to you! If it wasn't for me knowing Saint Suisho was by your side, I'd have gone crazy! Stop acting… like you're alone in everything! You're NOT! Not anymore!"
A shamed silence took over Lance, who felt powerless to speak back. Was he really being the stubborn one here? He remembered Adriana was pressing him hard to find a potential replacement for Suisho, and now with his suspicions about him on the rise, Lance felt his rational side tugging at him to do the obvious thing and sign up the one Saint that's fought by his side from the beginning of his career. Cerah laying it out like there was really nothing wrong with the case Shinta presented also made it seem even more of a ridiculous question.
Shinta himself was stunned at the resistance Lance still put up to anything that involved putting faith in others to protect themselves. He recalled Saint Noah's words, about how the last time the Triangle was with the Pegasus Saint, Lance had just experienced a terrible tragedy and lost the faith in making friends. A tragedy Lance was yet to share with Shinta but that, at this point, Shinta could only imagine was at the heart of why he acted so insane and reckless if it allowed him to control the safety of everyone involved.
"You always feel like you have to shield everyone, don't you? I used to think that was always so brave of you, and part of me still does, but now…" Shinta then narrowed his eyes like he was facing a stranger. "Part of me, Lance, knows you're just controlling people. I don't know who you lost, or who failed you, to make you think no one else can save themselves without you, but I am not them!"
…
Guilty chuckled, appearing right next to Lance. "Got you there, friend."
The Bronze Saint rubbed his eyes. "Go away. This doesn't concern you."
"Don't like the salt on the wound? Hurts, doesn't it? To be shown you've been dreaming?" Guifi asked, taking off his mask. It revealed a burned version of the last time Lance saw his bare face. His skin was half gone and his lips were burned out, just like his Master's had been, leaving only a beak of teeth on burned flesh. The stench became suddenly evident, as if the mask had been suppressing it. "It's a feeling you don't forget. I haven't. 'Remember it well, when I stood at the shrine of my constellation and thought I could save everyone too. Save Nina."
"She was never real! You were being tricked, you idiot!" Lance sneered at him. "She was the Phoenix all along! Playing fucked up games to make you turn into her puppet! Don't you understand that?!"
"Why? 'Because you scream it at me?" Guifi Taitano mocked, scoffing. Without lips, it came out like a pained gasp. He shook head. "No, heart beat the same for her. My choices were the same. 'Would still want to be reborn. Reforged. Be with Nina. Even if a puppet. Even if a lie. 'Might have even been long dead without her."
"You SHOULD be dead!" Lance roared at him. He gazed on what became of Guifi and felt his stomach turn. "It would be better than you being… THIS!"
Guifi paused, then closed eyes, seeming disappointed. "Mm, shows where your mind's at…Rather I be dead than remind you of me. Still the same selfish prick you were then, I see. Still think that you're protecting others, but really just protecting yourself." He put the mask back on, making the smell of rotted, burnt flesh vanish. "Maybe when that crow and that crane you accepted in your journey mean the same to you as little prince Andromeda does, you'll send them home, too?"
…
Shinta continued. "I know you're worried about me, Lance, but, for the Seraphim…they are MY business, not yours. Lance, I need to find out who I really am."
Lance blinked, awakened from his trance with Guilty. "Even if it gets you killed?! And even if it doesn't…"
The Andromeda Saint shook his head. "I'm not like you, Lance. I'm not afraid to look at what's under the rocks. And you don't have the right to stop me from doing it, either. All my life, all I've ever wanted was to inspire people to be better and make everyone else around me happy. It's part of the reason I decided to become a Saint. Didn't you have your own when you came to Sanctuary?"
The Pegasus Saint held his tongue, once again trapped. He did. In fact, Cynthia told him his inspiration was in town that day.
"But I can't do that if I don't face the fact that they know something about me!" Shinta argued his frustration out, avoiding mentioning the specifics of the frightening accusations Reaper Grim made. "Lance… I'm sorry, but this is more important to me than anything else. Even you. Especially now that I know that I am no longer going to be the Virgo Gold Saint. If you still refuse me… I'll just follow you guys anyway."
The Bronze Saint of Pegasus rubbed his eyes. He felt so stupid. It was so obvious to him that the right thing was to keep Shinta out of this affair, but was he really just neglecting to let Shinta deal with his own problems?
He held his forehead. "I can't believe I'm doing this… but alright, Shinta. You win. I'll tell Adriana you're my fourth member. If you're coming along, I'd rather you stick close to me."
Shinta sighed out, relieved, though not entirely happy. "I'll be ready for this, I promise. But Lance… I really wish this didn't have to happen. I can't believe that, after everything that's happened, you still see me as a child."
The Bronze Saint felt no answer he could give to this.
"Well… let's change the subject, okay?" He tried, instead. "I guess you ran into a much tougher opponent at the Virgo Temple than either of us thought, uh?"
Shinta widened his eyes, having completely forgotten about it. He scratched jaw and smiled. "A-Ah, well… we actually ended up not fighting per se, but the other person still completely trounced me."
"Trounced you?" Lance asked, stunned. "Shinta, I've seen you summon a bolt of lightning from the skies to smash Atlae to the ground, and you don't even have lightning cosmos. Who the fuck 'trounced you'?"
The Andromeda Saint gulped, remembering Saint Noah made him promise not to say. But after everything he just threw at Lance's face, he felt kind of bad he was keeping a whole new secret. "I'm bound not to tell. All I can say is that… I'm okay with what happened. The other person really proved they were a much better fit for the Virgo Cloth than I was, to the point I don't even feel ashamed I lost to them. I will find my own way, Lance, don't worry, but above everything, you'll see no complaints from me on the new Virgo Saint."
The Pegasus hummed, hand on waist. "Really? How can that be?! Wasn't this person from the Pact? I refuse to believe those pieces of shit suggested a better Virgo Saint than you. Now I feel like I have to know who it is. Maybe I'll ask Saga-"
"DON'T!" Shinta interrupted, holding him. He retreated at Lance's stunned eyes. "I-I mean, Lance, really, the person doesn't want-
"Make way, make way!"
The duo turned their heads, seeing the crowds outside from the Coliseum's large arcs. A path was opening up between the crowds to allow a trio of well-guarded men through.
Shinta shivered, spotting a familiar blonde face between them. "That's…"
"The Pact!" Lance confirmed, spotting Cetus as well.
{======================|A3|======================}
Entry Halls
{======================|A3|======================}
"Dear Hera, everyone's frightened. So, these three are members of the Pact of Seven?" Olivia thought to herself, studying them as they turned every neck in the hall into rubber. "I've never felt such a malicious concentration of Cosmos in my life! Are these people really our allies?!"
Just aesthetically, she had never seen a more threatening trio of people either, and Olivia had come across with human traffickers and Specters. The giant guy in Roman armor alone surely could cause everyone in Sanctuary to stop and turn, and not just because of their size; the man's enormous body, standing easily twice the height as everyone else, radiated a crimson brim of energy that gave everyone the weirdest feeling that a thousand swords had been drawn in the room, like Ares himself was present in the Coliseum. Meanwhile, the much shorter monarch in blue armor next to him had the kind of rapine look in his golden eyes that made you take heed, denouncing nothing but malicious intentions. Olivia was sure that, if Saint Shinta was next to them, the Andromeda Cloth chain would be pointing straight at him.
The Saintia turned, as well, but to see Cerah shaking and red, her eyes terrified. "Uh? Cerah, what's wrong? You're…"
The blonde Zodiac Knight retreated her step, practically crushing her Knight-Girl plushie with her arms with her anxious squeeze. Her green eyes fixed not on the giant Roman man, or the king in the blue armor, but on the goat-armored warrior the formed the third end of the troika of malice. She felt her heartbeat grow faster and hotter. A terrible sensation overcame her; a feeling of sickness in her stomach as the smell of metal and blood ignited in her nostrils out of nowhere. Cerah felt transported, taken to long lost memories of her body hidden under the weight of armored corpses pressed on back, while a powerful pull to run out of there as fast as she could tingled her legs.
Every sense in her laser-focused on the armored man oblivious to her presence, fraught with a paradoxical feeling of both fighting and flight. Without having ever seen him, Corvus Cerah knew this man. Without having ever clashed with him, Corvus Cerah felt she knew his sword.
But how?
"Azrael… my former owner." Corvus mused, shining in her neck. "It's been a long time. Mm, mm, look at him, wearing Serpens as if it were Aries. What an indignity to impose on a fellow Cloth, even a Bronze one."
"Serpens Az…rael." Cerah felt herself say, stunning Olivia. The name had just popped into her head somehow, along with the knowledge the armor he wore was morphed.
The older Saintia held her shoulders, seeing her green eyes were like glass. "Cerah, what are you saying? Talk to me."
"He's really fallen down from quite on high, hasn't he?" Corvus mocked. "I remember like it was yesterday when he entrusted me back to the Castellan of Crow's Nest, all done with my Path. I taught him everything I could and made him a great Paladin, the greatest there had been in generations! Everyone said he would bring the dawn of a new era for the Zodiac Knights. That he'd put an end to their decline. They weren't wrong…"
Olivia gulped, seeing the girl half-possessed by some unknown force, staring off. Her Cloth Stone was certainly shining inside her shirt, but was it that powerful over her friend?
"You remember, don't you, Cerah? Who he really is?" Corvus asked its carrier, delighting in the sensation of her feelings slowly boiling up. Even if she was a mere toddler during the Topaz Purge, the blood of the Zodiac Knights would remember it for her; "You were there, after all… to hear the last song of Saint Lionet Roland."
The blonde girl took a step forward, hair rising with cosmos. This was the man she must destroy! For every Zodiac Knight whose back he stabbed! Her face twisted into hate never before seen in her and her hand reached for her Cloth Stone to produce a weapon. "SERPENS AZRAEL!"
Feeling Cerah's cosmos about to explode and eyes turning in their direction, Olivia immediately clamped down on her friend, holding the girl. "CERAH, DON'T-!"
"HEY, JACKASS!"
The Pact trio stopped, turning head along with the crowds. Startled out of her trance, Cerah simmered down, allowing Olivia to relax her hold as well. What was going on?
Coming down from the stairs to the upper walls was Pegasus Lance, followed by Andromeda Shinta. "Didn't you hear me?! I'm talking to you!"
Menelaus narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell…?!"
Cetus widened his with pleasure, seeing the two familiar faces. "Oh! Look who it is. My two favorite Bronze Saints!"
Azrael turned face, aback with offence. Surely the rat wasn't talking to him-
"Yes, YOU!" Lance confirmed to the silent Azrael, pointing finger. "With the fucking goat horns and the sword! Where are you going in such a hurry?! How about you and I have a little talk about a common acquaintance of ours?!"
The three Pact of Seven members, namely Serpens Azrael, Auriga Menelaus and King Cetus, stood there, still, wondering just what insanity had crossed the Pegasus' head, who was pushing his way through the crowd to cross their path like this.
"O-Oi, Pegasus, what are you doing?!" someone asked. "Do you want people to get killed?"
"Do you know who you're talking to?!" another Sanctuary dweller shouted after them.
Lance brushed them off. "Get off me! If you don't want to get involved, go watch the games!"
"Please, everyone, listen to him! We will be done here, soon." Shinta urged, trying to move through the attendees with much more gentleness. Many listened to his advice and departed, but many others couldn't move, fearing what chaos would ensure.
Reaching the trio, the Pegasus eyed Azrael. "Not answering?! You're Serpent Azrael, right?!"
The man's slitted, green glare sharpened inside his visor. "… I am Castellan Serpens Azrael, yes. And who in damnations are you? Some kind of armored gerbil?"
"Oh, but he's a member of your Order, Azrael." Cetus mentioned, smirking in delight at the situation. "He is Pegasus Lance. The little runaway horse I told you about?"
"The one Aguilon smashed into the Coliseum arena a year back?" Auriga Menelaus asked. The giant chuckled, spotting the fervor in Lance's eyes at it. "I thought he had his brains bashed in. What, is the old man getting weak?"
"If he's Pegasus, why don't you rid me of him, then, Cetus?" The intrigued Zodiac Knight looked Lance up and down again, but while he indeed notice the Cloth Box's identity, he failed to spot any reason why he should care. "My Eye of Serpens would have certainly noticed him by now, if he mattered in any way. And his constellation falls under your purview, after all..."
"I'm here to talk to you, goat man, not that murderous freak over there. He'll get his later!" Lance cut in. He ignored the slitted glare it earned him from Azrael. "I'm only going to ask it once! What the fuck do you know about Genbu Atlae and why is he with the Specters?!"
Azrael's cobra eyes widened. "Atlae…?! Genbu?!"
Seeing this, Shinta urged everyone to leave. "P-Please, everyone, move on to the stands! This is Saint business. Nothing will go wrong here, I promise. We just need five minutes alone with these gentlemen."
Hesitantly, the rest of the crowd moved away. The pact was looking ticked enough already that even the most reckless of the gawkers began truly fearing the Menelaus' battle axe would seriously start swing at necks. Slowly, the hall began emptying.
Cetus, on the other hand, observed the Bronze Saint curiously, wondering if the brazenness with which he just leaped in front of them for answers was a sign he had grown in power since he 'flicked' the Bronze Saint at Andromeda Island. What punishment, the monarch wondered, would the Pegasus Saint give him an excuse to dish out? He smiled in excitement. The monarch couldn't wait to find out.
Composing himself, Azrael hissed at Pegasus "You have no idea what you're doing right now, do you? It would have been better if your friend kept all those people around. I'd have a harder time explaining to the Pope why I turned you into minced meat in a can." He approached Lance, something that made Cetus' eyes shine with excitement at the idea of a potential bloodbath. He stood taller than the Pegasus, despite being far from the biggest member of the pact, and the sword on his back looked ready to cleave the air down on the Saint's head in an instant. "I've always been taught that Pegasus Saints had a carrot for a brain inside their skulls, but this? This amazes me. Tell me, Pegasus, what makes you think you have 'any' right whatsoever to demand anything from me, let alone answers to stupid questions?"
But Lance was prepared. "Because I'm a Saint of Bronze. Just like you! So don't give me this higher-than-thou bullshit you people in the Pact give everyone around you! I know you're no more important to Sanctuary than I am!"
At this, Menelaus laughed out loud in a furious manner, echoing his bellow through the halls. "HA, HA, HA, HA! The balls on this kid! Hitting Ace right where it hurts!" While detesting the indiscipline, embarrassing Azrael gave Pegasus a brief pass in the Legate's book. He shoved the Serpens lightly. "Look, Ace. He thinks he's people, like you do. Isn't that cute? I think that's earned him a minute of your time?"
Noticing the tension in the air, Shinta held Lance's shoulder. "(Lance, please, don't take it any further!)" He gulped, seeing the glare on the goat-armor guy. "(They might actually start a fight, and their cosmos is way bigger than they let on, you know that!)"
The Bronze Saint nodded. "(Don't worry, I got it under control.)"
Trying to ignore Menelaus' cantankerous laugh, the baffled Azrael folded his arms, thinking.
His head then raised and the Castellan laughed along, too. "…Wait a minute. I get it now! You're Patroclus' successor, aren't you?"
Lance widened his eyes, out-of-the-loop. "Patro-who?!"
"What? 'Patroclus'?" Menelaus clicked his tongue, resting an arm over his axe handle. The bull mask's dark eyes studied Lance. "That can't be, Ace…He doesn't look like a faggot bitch crying to Helena's tits about everything to me. Besides, Patroclus would sooner jump off the Traitor Chasm than talk to you that way."
"Need I remind you that Patroclus also had a tendency to bite off way more than he could chew, when he didn't know what he was up against." Azrael commented. It earned an agreeing huff from Menelaus. "I also know the Pope has had to recently dismiss a new Cancer Saint for failing to defend the Temples from the False Specters. This Pegasus must be the one."
"He is." Cetus confirmed. His golden, rapine eyes met Lance's with a pleased smirk. "I had the pleasure to vote his dismissal myself."
Andromeda widened their eyes, alarmed at their deduction of Lance's Gold Saint identity, while Lance gritted teeth, reminded of the kangaroo court that was his dismissal from the Gold Cloth.
"But his attitude has nothing to do with poor Patroclus, I'm afraid. Pegasi will be Pegasi, after all. This one, for example, thought he could get in the way of me educating my Andromeda Saint. Needless to say, I had to teach him a valuable lesson." Cetus argued, eyes turning away at their sweet memories together. Then he turned to the Andromeda Saint, his mouth gaining a wicked curve to it. "Speaking if which, hello, there, dear Shinta, by the by. It's been a while. I have to get all my news about you from Semele these days. You haven't been… avoiding my city,… have you?"
Shinta reeled in horror, clenching his fingers around Andromeda's chains. The last moments he spent with his teacher flashed through his mind.
Lance held his friend back and faced the monarch "You stay the fuck out of this, you evil freak!" Since he insisted on talking, Lance couldn't help but give Cetus a piece of his mind, too. "You'll get your turn with me someday, don't you worry! Don't think for a second I will EVER forget what you did to Shinta! One day, I'll make you pay for it! Mark my words!"
The armored king widened his eyes, amazed.
Besides him, Shinta gasped, noticing something was shining at Azrael's feet.
Lance turned back to Azrael, ready to punch him in his stupid goat face if he kept stalling. "But today I'm here to ask this guy for answers!" He stepped to face up to Azrael. Lance didn't notice it. "So you tell me what you know about Atlae RIGHT NO-"
"LANCE, WATCH OUT!"
"Round Table!"
A series of blinding, golden waves of cosmos from every direction came over all of them, making the two Bronze Saints scream and stagger back together! The waves sharpened and solidified, forming armored, headless bodies exactly like Azrael's stopping their swords, axes and halberds just short of every exposed inch of Lance and Shinta's bodies. The two Saints stood still, paralyzed by terror by how instantaneous the formation of execution formed out of nothing but cosmos.
To onlookers like Olivia and Cerah, it was a stunning, terrifying sight, like an army of headless knight statues had appeared out of nowhere and pinned the two Bronze Saints with their large, sharp weapons, all in an instant, like the knights of Arthur summoned to their king's aid.
Azrael, who hadn't even moved an inch, narrowed his eyes at the Pegasus. "What were you yelling at my face again, Pegasus? Something about making me talk?"
"W-What the fuck?! Where did all these guys come from?!" Lance wondered, feeling dozens of sword edges threateningly pressed against his limbs, neck and torse, drawing bits of blood. "T-this is… Lightcraft?! Just like Cerah's powers?!"
Shinta was even more stunned, seeing even links of his chains pinned to the ground by some of the clones. "One person casted all of these so fast?!What kind of incredible cosmos control is this?! It's even higher than Saint Noah's techniques!"
Menelaus laughed out loud, their huge lungs easily filling the hall with mockery. "Nothing funnier than a rookie Bronze Saint learning just how out of depth they are! Azrael, just cut them to pieces, will ya? I want to go watch the last matches from Aguilon, already!"
The Serpens Saint, however, directed his clones to withdraw their weapons and disintegrate back into light particles, which retreated into his armor like a bath of gold over his Cloth. He grinned at the pale look in their faces. "No, my point's been made, I think. No need to anger the Pope by butchering his little pets. You'll mind your words from now on, Pegasus… won't you?"
"Argh, you're making me miss the matches, Azrael. And I don't like that." Menelaus tapped his fingers on his axe handle, itching to make it swing down on the two Bronze Saints. It's head lowered down on them, sniffing their stifled fear through the mask's nostrils. "If you don't kill them, Ace, I will! Or are you going to make me give you answers, too, Pegasus?"
Shinta and Lance held their necks and arms, horrified by how close they came to be sliced and diced to pieces by this guy. The duo could do nothing but be silent, trying to process what kind of ridiculously powerful guy was this in front of them. They knew Cetus by his side was strong, but this guy, too?! And what did that say about the huge one behind them?! Who the heck was this person was to give off this outrageous energy?! It was comparable to Saint Daniel's.
Lance gulped, realizing he must have truly made his first horrible mistake. And he hadn't even left Sanctuary yet.
"S-Saint Lance!" Olivia called, followed by Cerah. The two of them were only observing while the crowd left, but after that Iron Maiden technique, they knew they had to interfere. "W-What are you doing?! These guys…!"
"They know about Atlae, Olivia! It's what me and Sui uncovered just now together!" Lance quickly explained to her, still keeping his cosmos up. "I'm not letting them past me until I get to the bottom of this!"
Cerah studied them. The terrible feeling she was getting earlier from this guy continued. "Serpens Azrael? How do I know his name? Why did I think of attacking him just now?!"
Azrael, too, narrowed his eyes at Cerah. "What? This girl… She looks familiar?"
In turn, finding Olivia's face familiar, Menelaus also retreated, freeing Lance and Shinta from the oppression of his huge shadow. Their orange eyes inside their bull masked zoned in on Olivia. "He, he, he… I know you. You're Aguilon's granddaughter."
Olivia sweated and stepped back. Lance stepped protectively between them, guarding Olivia with his arm. "W-Who are you?"
The minotaur-armored figured played with its battle-axe, swinging it back and forth on their spiked shoulder pad like he wanted to put it to use. "You wouldn't know me, girl, but I grew up looking up to your grandfather. He was a role model of mine, of sorts, and a dear friend of my Master."
Intimidated by the man's huge presence, even as the granddaughter of a giant, Olivia scurried her mind to try to identify this person. "But… the only giant grampa knew in these parts was mister Daniel, who turned out to be the Taurus Saint! Then this person was trained by…"
"Ace, I've changed my mind." Menelaus announced, surprising the young Bronze Saints. "Why don't you answer some of their questions?"
The Aries widened his eyes, feeling suddenly outflanked. "What?! Stay out of this, Menelaus!"
"No, I think you should answer, too." Cetus joined in, not the least amused for once. "This is all about the Muvian that sunk my island, correct? Why don't you give them the kindness, Azrael? They'll behave…"
Azrael growled, though it didn't seem to impress the gigantic minotaur too much. He glared down on this Bronze Saint. "You want to know who Genbu Atlae is, Pegasus? Fine. I have no clue."
"What?! Bullshit!" Lance gawked. He narrowed his eyes. Even Kastiel wouldn't lie about this. "That can't be true! You're fucking lying!"
"Believe whatever you want. I could care less." Azrael only reinforced. To him, the Muvian was just a beacon to guide Talos Ithaca to Shamballa, one that conveniently factored into his plan by accident. While his association to Yuzuriha was notable, in the end Atlae did not factor into Azrael's concerns except as proof of how much Sanctuary was ceding ground to its enemies. He barely even cared that Arthur Solo's daughter was having an affair with him. "I don't know who told you of what happened between the two of us, but to me, that Muvian is nothing but a useful idiot who got in the way of Athena's justice."
Lance widened eyes. "A… useful idiot?! Athena's justice?!"
"Yes, he fell under the manipulation of Ithaca of Delphi." Azrael lied. Before he gave the impression otherwise, however, he clarified. "You wouldn't know that pathetic Mariner, since the Houses have been doing their best to distance themselves from him. He is the true responsible for the tragedy at Shamballa two years ago, when he planned to sabotage the new alliance between Muvians and Mariners by staging a terrorist attack."
"And what, you saved the fucking day from him?!" Lance questioned. "And Atlae was just a patsy?!"
"I did." Azrael bragged, raising chin gallantly. "And yes, he was. But make no mistake, Pegasus I would have sliced Atlae to pieces on the spot and burned the remains for the simple association with Ithaca,… if it hadn't been for Arthur Solo's daughter and Aquila Daese!"
…
Lance's whole world also came to a stop. "What?! Aquila... Daese?! But…!"
Cerah felt Saint Lance's eyes land on her and she shook her head. "(I-I don't know anything either, Saint Lance! I'm just as shocked!)"
The look on the Bronze Saint's face made Azrael smirk. "Oh, your contact didn't tell you? Because I've been telling the Pope for years who stood in my way that night Ithaca of Delphi allied himself to Black Saints and tried to destroy Shamballa to ruin the friendship Arthur Solo was building with them. His own daughter, Marianne Solo, lost her ship trying to stop Ithaca!"
"Daese?! A Black Saint?!" Lance and Cerah simultaneously thought.
"But I know for a fact she's been yapping about him to Sanctuary, how I am responsible for the tragedy of her career." Azrael mocked. It made him want to laugh, for more than one single reason. "But she and her terrorist, Black Saint, Muvian friend are the ones that tried to stop me from serving justice that night! Goddess forbid, however, if Arles has to admit to Sanctuary he doesn't give the Pact enough leeway to do their work!"
Cetus shook his head. "The daughter of a Patrician? Defending a Muvian? Disgusting. What is this world coming to?"
Menelaus laughed. "Sounds to me like she was doing sweeter things with him than that, Cetus. But it does explain quite a lot."
The Mariner wasn't the part that Lance was focused on at all, though. He stepped back, overwhelmed by the information. "Daese was at Shamballa? And she knows Atlae?! And fought this goat guy?! And is a Black Saint?! Is that… why she's been gone all this time and no one in Sanctuary knows her?! What is going on here anymore?!"
"Daese… what have you been doing?!" Cerah wanted to scream. These were the battles that had been keeping her sister from being with Cerah again? She stood behind Saint Shinta, hiding from the Serpens glare. "Terrorism? Mariners? Muvians? I-I don't understand anymore what's happening!"
"I've met Marianne Solo! She is the one I helped host the triumph for! She asked me if she deserved the Delphinus Cloth!" Olivia recalled, bewildered. The Equuleus Saintia prided herself for being able to sense people's nature and Marianne Solo seemed like nothing more and nothing less than someone utterly dedicated to her family. "Her, helping a terrorist?! That can't be!"
"The Muvian Atlae is nothing but a cog in their plans; a useful fool that took the side of Mariner terrorists against Sanctuary and his own people." Azrael continued. It was true, in a sense, as he did take on Talos to save Ithaca. "He escaped Shamballa with the very 'weapon' that Ithaca of Delphi tried to use to destroy Shamballa and, from what you tell me, has put it in the hands of the Specters now. A shame I couldn't cut his head off when I had the chance."
Lance irked, recalling some of Atlae's words.
{======================|A3|======================}
Neither of us benefit from either Athena or Hades winning. Hades may seek to end all life, but Athena seeks to control it. I understand your path, Pegasus, so why don't you understand mine?
Besides, I don't have a choice. The Genbu Surplice is the only thing that can help me.
How are you going to succeed where I failed, Pegasus, when you can't even beat me?
{======================|A3|======================}
Azrael chuckled. "From the look on your face, it seems you now understand the level of depravity you're really dealing with. And that you and I are far more on the same side than you assumed. I do hope you find him, Saint Pegasus, so you can end his sorry existence. Perhaps he wasn't content with getting the power of the 'weapon' that Ithaca of Delphi uncovered, and sought to immortalize himself as well as a Specter?"
"Or probably because, like all Muvians, this Atlae is a tech-dependent coward, helpless without the knowledge of his forebearers." Menelaus added, his voice derisive. "I bet the second he got his hands on this 'weapon', he was unable to control it, and ran screaming to Hades for help."
"The 'weapon' must be that Talos form of his!" Lance concluded. He looked Azrael top to bottom and felt again how terribly evil his cosmos emanated, full of resentment. It was different from Cetus' bloodlust but still unnerving in its own way. He even saw the chain in Shinta's left arm move nervously near Azrael. "But then… that means this goat guy tried to save the world from those Black Saints and Atlae? No fucking way. I believe that even less! Shinta's chain is rattling like crazy near him!"
Azrael rested his gauntleted hand on his hip "I sense skepticism in you? You think someone like me couldn't have been the hero that day, correct? But perhaps you should evaluate who you judge from the surface, because I was. I am, after all, the last of the Zodiac Knights and the rightful Gold Saint of Aries of this Sanctuary, unlike the child you met in Jamir. It's only expected I be the first to protect justice."
Cerah widened her eyes. "L-Last of the Zodiac Knights?! This person?!"
"Rightful Saint of Aries?! Yeah, right!" Lance hissed. He recalled all the help Mu gave them. Even putting his upgraded armor aside, not only did Mu risk his life defending Jamir against Papillon Ainsel, but without the boy's teleportation, Lance would never have caught up with the False Specters in Sanctuary Town. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are to say that, but I was at the False Holy War, and YOU were nowhere to be seen! The real Saint of Aries, however, was! So why the hell should I believe you saved the fucking world from-"
"Ask 'Achilles', then." Azrael added, smiling smugly at the shock this inflicted in Lance. "'He' was with me that day and was witness to everything. We fought Ithaca's 'weapon' side by side. I'm sure you'll believe 'him' perfectly."
"What?! He means Kirin, Shura's teacher." Lance didn't get to know the guy very well, but every encounter he had with Kirin gave Lance the impression that Shura's Master was a strait-laced, no-nonsense person that would never deceive people. His teeth clenched. "FUCK, how many people have known about that Muvian bastard this whole time?!"
The Serpens Saint breathed out in contempt. "Our talk hasn't gone your way, it seems, Saint Pegasus. It's unsettling to know that the children occupying the Golden Zodiac aren't the only incompetent, brash hero-wannabes that Arles has populated the Zodiac with. Now-" He stepped closer to Lance, letting his heavy armor clink menacingly, and allowed Lance to gaze at his serpentine eyes through his visor. "-quit wasting my time and move out of the way. Before I cut one through you."
Carefully, Olivia reached for Lance's shoulder. "Saint Pegasus, let's stop, please!"
Not wishing to worry her, he held her hand. "Okay, Olivia." And stepped back from Azrael. "Alright, fine! You can go!"
The Serpens laughed. "Thank you for your permission, fellow Bronze Saint. I hope you've gotten what you wished out of it." His serpentine glare landed on Olivia, who shivered. "Wait, you… Menelaus said you're Aguilon's granddaughter. That means you're the one with the Sapphire Stone, aren't you?"
The Saintia recoiled, raising her hands in guard. She tried to speak defensively to not escalate. "T-That's right, I'm the Equuleus Saintia. And this is the Cloth my mother gave her life to recover to Sanctuary."
Pure disgust at the sight of the stone around her neck made Azrael's eyes sharpen. "Recover? To Sanctuary?!"
Foreseeing bloodshed, Menelaus chuckled. "Mm, mm, mm. Oh no, little Olivia. You should have picked better words…"
The green brim in Azrael seemed to increase. "Another theft… Just like Aquila. Listen to me well, Saintia, that Saphire armor is a Cloth of the Zodiac Knights, not of your fake order of pretend-Valkyries. A sacred object which that cow, Partita, tried to steal on top of the one she already had."
Utter shock filled Olivia's face. And then, a burning rage. "W-what did you call my mother?!"
"I called Partita a cow. And a thief. Would you like me to say it again, Saintia?" He invited, unflinching. Azrael narrowed his eyes, already expecting such things from her. "But Partita always wanted things that didn't belong to her, didn't she? First the Aquila Cloth, then Kaiser, then a seat at our table, and then Equuleus, too. No wonder she died the way she did; stripped naked of her armor in the gutter like the common harlot she was."
Lance irked, stepping between them. He had never seen Olivia this angry. "Olivia, w-wait! Don't listen to hi-"
"My mother was a HERO!" Olivia screamed, launching herself. Lance stood in her way and she practically tried to claw over him to get to Azrael, swinging fist in the air. "She fought and died to save saints in the war! THE ONE THAT YOU GOLD SAINTS STARTED BETWEEN YOURSELVES!"
Shinta and Cerah recoiled at a fury neither had ever seen in Olivia.
Menelaus laughed. "Look at her go! She has Aguilon's loud side, after all."
"Everyone has a loud side, Menelaus." Cetus mocked, thinking of his little pets back home. "You just have to find the right button to press."
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO HER!" Olivia continued, raging, almost overpowering Lance to get to Azrael. "YOU'RE THE REASON SHE'S DEAD!"
But Azrael added on. "How dare I? I'll say more. Your mother was a third wheel, an intruder into our circle that bewitched Kaiser and wore the Eagle Cloth in open affront to me and the Zodiac Knights! Every day she flaunted it in my face I hoped to rip it out of her body and leave her naked in the street! She got the end she deserved; beaten and cut to death by honorable Knights." Serpens Azrael pressed in, unimpressed by her sudden rage. "And know this, Saintia; just like the Knights took the armor off her body that night, one day that stone will also be back around the neck of a Zodiac Knight's. In fact, you'd be better off giving it to me right now. It would save me the trouble of giving you the same fate your mother suffered for stealing it, later."
Even Lance widened his eyes at this now, his fire aura igniting. "WHAT?! Who the fuck do you think you're threatening?!"
Olivia's blue eyes narrowed and her cosmos burned as well, combining her winds with her boyfriend's flames. "YOU…YOU BASTARD! WHY DON'T YOU COME AND SHOW-"
A brutal, blunt shockwave triggered by Azrael bashing the air with the back of his hand blasted Lance and Olivia together, sending them flying back! The two Bronzes screamed, feeling like a gigantic hammer of dense lead struck them head one, rattling every bone in their bodies.
Corvus Cerah screamed at the sight of her two friends sent violently flying through the air!
Speeding in with Cosmos, Shinta caught them before they hit the wall, braking their impact. "I got them!" He felt his back hit the wall with their force and grunted, absorbing the blow but saving his friends from injury. He eyed the three Pact members with terror, realizing how powerful they were. "Are you two okay?! L-Lance, miss Olivia, stay here, please! This isn't a fight we can win!"
The back of Azrael's fist smoked with hot cosmos. He lowered hand. "Hm, hm. Nice reaction. I was sure they'd be a splatter on the wall after that. I'd listen to your Andromeda friend, you two. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. You, in turn, should take care not to lose yours."
The blonde Corvus Saint gawked, witnessing the impossible. Better than anyone she knew how strong miss Olivia and Saint Lance were. They were combining their cosmos and the Azrael guy STILL sent them both flying with a half-hearted backhand!
And then his attention turned right to her. "And you…" He looked back and forth between Cerah and the three Bronze Saints he just pummeled. "I forgot you were there, quiet like a lizard. Who are you? You're not a Saint like them. Are you going to waste my time, too?"
The blonde girl yelped, stepping back. She felt transported back to those horrible moments, when Gryphon Urial was about to land his attack on her, or when Alraune casted his hanging technique on her neck. This time, however, the sensation was coming from 'this' man, from whom she felt some strange, mysterious connection to her deeply buried past, like a hook on her mind was being painfully reeled in by his mere presence. Terror paralyzed her legs, making her lose sensation in her body, and a sensation of being pulled towards him made her senses spiral out of control.
Menelaus laughed at her short size, feeling like Cerah's whole head could fit in the Legate's crushing hand. "She looks so adorably fragile …Maybe she's the Iraklidis girl's little pet?"
"She appears to be Golden Line, too. That's always a good sight in Sanctuary, these days. Reminds me of Cynthia when she was young like this…" Cetus noticed, looking pleased at the sight of her hair. "Would you like to come with me to my castle, miss…? What's your last name, little girl?"
Face to face with the three monsters, the Zodiac Knight buckled, feeling no strength in her remain solid. It was like being stared down by a trio of dragons just like her teacher, both in cosmos and in the terrifying armors they wore. Serpens Azrael's stare in particular was penetrative, giving Cerah the horrible sensation of being a helpless mouse cornered by an enormous, tongue-prodding cobra getting ready to wrap itself around her.
Gulping, Cerah stepped out of the way. She watched, heart in throat, as the three Pact members moved past her to head for their private places in the Coliseum stands. As they did, however, and even as Menelaus and Cetus lost interest, disappointed by her docile reaction, Azrael's glare stayed on her, trying to decipher the mystery of her identity.
When he brushed closest to her, Cerah felt it again; the overpowering tug of her ancestors. Something deep inside her knew the truth of who this horrible person in a facsimile of the Aries Cloth was. Something deep inside her remembered Saint Roland's final song and yearned her to reach for the gladiator barrels with decorative weapons in the hall, or forge one entirely out of her Corvus Cloth, so she could deliver the Knight's justice on this traitor.
Yet, her heart palpitated with terror his whole way through, knowing that, if she tried, all those Lightcraft clones would emerge and tear her to pieces, like they almost did with Saint Shinta and Saint Lance.
Corvus' wing closed invisibly around her. "It's alright. Now is not the time, little Knight." It pressed over her gently, making her back down from Azrael. "Step down. Hide in the treetops. You're still too tiny a bird to catch this particular snake."
Her fists relaxed and Cerah breathed, feeling the terrible, humiliating emotions fluxing through her subside, somehow. She dropped to her knees, smashed by the horrible sensation of terror in her. The sensation began flooding out of her, dripping down her Saintia skirt.
Sensing the smell, Azrael shook his head and marched on. "No… it can't be. Cetus is right; she must just be some Golden Liner." His eyes glanced one last time at Cerah, imagining how spectacular it would be if the feeling he got earlier was correct, but alas. "A real Zodiac Knight would not have hesitated to fight me here and now… especially if they had one of my former Cloths."
Lance, Olivia and Shinta rushed to Cerah. Olivia in particular hugged her. "Cerah, are you okay?!"
The blonde girl nodded, but felt a bit shocked that she had actually wet herself just now. "Y-yeah, I think so. But I really need to go to the bathroom, please. I-Is there one in the Coliseum?"
Olivia held her, realizing what terribly embarrassing thing happened to her. "Saint Lance, we should go!" She smiled at her friend and guided her out with the group. "Come on, Cerah, let's clean you up."
….
Meanwhile, observing the situation from afar, a figure of pink hair retreated to the shadows. "This is unbelievable. I need to speak with Lord Solo right away!"
{======================|A3|======================}
Having brushed close with death, the quartet of young Saints moved through the halls, heading for the side of the Coliseum. There was an air of tension as all four slowly processed how close they came to be annihilated without mercy. How all the provocations that Azrael threw at them had to go unanswered. As Gold rankers, all of them, the four Saints had grown slightly unaccustomed to feeling this powerless, and yet…
Halting before the stairs that would take them to the stands, Lance checked back on them. "Is everyone okay?"
Shinta nodded, looking frightened. "Y-yeah, just a bit shaken up. The important thing is that no one got hurt."
"I'm sorry I got you all involved in that." Lance apologized. "It wasn't my intention to make such a mess. But I needed to confront that guy about Atlae. I never expected he'd attack Olivia's mother like that."
Olivia glowered, holding forehead. She was supposed to be the levelled one. After all her talk of doing the right thing, what did Lance think of her now? "It's my fault. I lost my temper. I can't believe I…"
"H-Hey, don't worry, Olivia." Lance assured, holding her gently. "I'd have punched that guy a thousand times harder for what he said to you. I'm just glad you're okay."
The black-haired girl's lips curved up. She kissed his lips to reward him, elated by his words. "Thank you. Still…" She recalled what they got out of all of that. "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like we got much out of him from all that risk. The connection to the Mariners is surprising, but… Marianne Solo, involved in all this? I just don't believe it."
"That's not true." Lance realized, sharing a complicit glance with Cerah. "We also learned Daese was involved… and that she's a Black Saint."
"You know Marianne Solo, miss Olivia?" Shinta asked. "I never heard of the name."
The Equuleus Saintia nodded, though with a reserved frown. "Only barely, Saint Shinta. I was at her Triumph ceremony and the two of us spoke a little. She was quite a big deal two years back for her efforts to bridge the gap between Muvians and Mariners, and the young age with which she defeated a whole Ghost Saint faction. People talked about her like she might be the first woman to become as powerful as a Patrician, among the Mariners."
"She was that big a shot?" Lance asked, amazed. "How come I never heard of her, then?"
"Marianne Solo's discrete personality aside, her family has fallen on hard times, recently." Olivia explained, looking somber. For a while, it had been nothing but horrible news on the Marathoner about the Solos' fortunes. "Shortly after the Triumph, miss Solo's battleship sunk in Shamballa, which I suppose we can assume is connected to Atlae and his monster, and Arthur Solo suffered a heart attack. After that, it's been one tragedy after another for the Solos. Mariner politics are like sharks in the water. When they smell blood…"
Having dealt with Adriana's circle, Lance could imagine. "Olivia, could you then somehow get in contact with this Marianne? If she recognizes you, maybe she will give us the time of the day and tell us more about Atlae?"
Olivia held her lip. "Mm… that's not a bad idea. Perhaps we can think of something…How about…"
While the couple discussed their next move, sitting down on a bench, Cerah held her arm. "Why was I the only one who didn't do anything? All I could do was watch. Even miss Olivia tried to defend her honor and Saint Shinta came in to catch them like a real Saint. Is this how powerless Yushira feels right now, too?" She covered her face, ashamed that miss Olivia had to come help her in the bathroom to switch clothes. "I even… even wet myself! Like a little child! I can't believe it! I'm not worthy of accompanying Saint Lance, much less wearing the Dragon Cloth!"
Seeing her mood, Shinta held her shoulder and smiled. "What's wrong, miss Cerah? You're not upset about what happened?"
Tearing up, the blonde girl sniffed. This hadn't happened to her since she left the Underworld "O-of course I am… I'm supposed to be a Saintia, not a scared little child. Everyone was being brave against those people, Saint Shinta, especially you! But I…"
The Andromeda Saint hummed; his feelings all mixed up by the compliment she threw in. Yet, what terrible standard was this that miss Cerah was holding herself up to? "Everyone down there was scared. Especially me and Lance." He argued, surprising her. Shinta tried to think of what to say. "I-I'm surprised I didn't do something embarrassing, too."
The Corvus, however, scowled, turning away, and sunk her head into her knees. "You don't have to lie like that to me, Saint Andromeda. You stood up to them, while all I did was shake and cry and… that."
"Boy, do all Saintias really push themselves this hard? Or just miss Cerah?" Shinta wondered, stunned, having no idea this was a Zodiac Knight he was talking to. To him, anyone in the sight of guys like those three would be frightened. Freezing up was nothing to be ashamed of. Shinta understood, though, that, a bit like Lance, miss Cerah was probably not the type to be comforted by that. The Andromeda Saint glowered. "Did you notice the shorter man with them, miss Cerah? The one dressed like a king?"
Cerah wracked her brain. Between Azrael and the giant bull guy, the third man who commented on her golden line looks didn't really stick to memory. "I think I did, but…"
"I don't know what history you have with the Serpens Saint, but… but that other one is the worse of the three, by far." Shinta guaranteed her. Predictably, it seemed to perk Cerah's attention. He sat with her, frowning. "A long time ago, he made me do something against my will so horrible, that….right then, on the spot, I wanted my life to be over. I was completely powerless to stop it. I don't think I ever truly hated anyone in my life, even the Specters, but him… he made me feel it."
Cerah gulped, sensing the tension in Saint Shinta. She was mildly familiar with the principles of Andromeda Saints, so for someone to get one to hate you, you'd have to be a real monster. What horrible thing was this that had been done to Saint Shinta?
Now that she thought of it, with all the back and forth, Cerah hadn't noticed yet who this person really was that sitting next to her. The Andromeda Saint, that everyone in school talked about, and he was friends with Saint Lance! And he wanted to join their quest to go down to the Underworld. That was amazing in itself, but Cerah now wondered if he was someone she could relate to, as well. He definitely seemed to understand what she was going through. Maybe she could talk about a bit more about what bothered her?
"So, it's okay if you're feeling complex things about someone that did you harm." Shinta assured. His lips quivered. "Even someone like me has weaker moments… where I could have done something more to help others. Especially against murderers like these."
"I don't think I know what Azrael did to me, Saint Shinta." Cerah cut in, wiping her eye. "But… but when I saw him, somehow his name popped into my head and I felt that… he had done something unforgiveable that I can't remember! Something he could do to me! What does that mean?"
The oddly specific feeling she was describing made Shinta widen eyes. "I-I'm not sure, but… maybe your Cloth remembers?"
Cerah gawked. "My… my Cloth?"
Shinta nodded. "Hm-hm. You don't share thoughts with it, yet? Cloths have wills of their own and they can tell you things in your head. When I met Lance, he had no idea about it, either." The Andromeda laughed, remembering how frightened Lance was when Andromeda's chain lashed out on its own like a snake. He had never seen Lance quite as spooked by anything as that. "Maybe the armor remembers Saint Azrael and it told you to watch out around him."
Reaching for her Obsidian Cloth Stone, Cerah held it in hand, amazed. She tried to feel if she sensed a will or voice inside, but it just felt like holding a dead rock to her. She recalled all the strange things that happened to her in the past, where she just made decisions like take Anastasia's things in her house without realizing it. Could it be connected?
"You might need a bit more training in that area. No one starts knowing how to do this. You kind of have to learn how to decipher what they tell you a bit. They feel a lot like your own thoughts." Shinta reassured. He laughed, remembering the one exception that Saint Noah brought up. "W-well, except for the Pope. Also, you have a Cloth Stone like miss Olivia. Those are really cool, but I don't know if they work the exact same way as the ones in boxes like mine."
"Saint Shinta, could you teach me, then?" Cerah begged, holding his hand. Even if just to understand her armor better, this sounded like an incredibly important skill. "I don't have much to pay you in return, but please, I need to be as ready as possible for helping Saint Lance in the Underworld!"
The Japanese boy gawked, turning red at her touch. "A-Ah, w-well…!" He scratched head. Was this a chance for him to get to know the Saintia better? "I can help you try and talk to it, sure. Y-you don't need to pay anything, though. Especially if you're going to be in this group."
Cerah gasped. He'd do it?! How incredibly cool was this Saint? She hugged his neck in excitement, making the Saint turn bright red. "Thank you so much! You're awesome, Saint Shinta!"
The Andromeda yelped, feeling horribly nervous with her embrace. "A-Ah, of course! Anytime…"
Meanwhile nearby, Lance continued to discuss with Olivia their next move. "So, you can't get into contact with these Solo people so easily?"
Olivia shook her head. "Like I said, the Solo family has been reclusive for the past two years, Saint Lance, which matches the timeline of what Saint Serpens said happened with Genbu Atlae."
Lance snapped his fingers. "No, wait, I got it! My friend Adriana!" he recalled. "She can definitely get in touch with them! AG knows all sorts of rich bags! I'll bet anything you want, Olivia, she can get this Marianne Solo to talk to us, too! And if we can get to her…."
Olivia finished his thought. "Then speaking with Arthur Solo, the Head of Houses, should be within the realm of possibility!"
"There's no need for that." A strange, older voice spoke out.
The quartet turned attention, seeing a pair of people arrive at their side. A young, pink-haired man of Latin-American complexion pushed a wheelchair holding in it an aged, cerulean-haired, short-bearded man appearing to be in his mid forties. A light armor of teal bronze decorated with finned dragons was worn over his torso and shoulders while a stark, blue look of Mariners was seen in his eyes.
Olivia felt her breath cut, recognizing the immensely important figure. "Y-You're…!"
"Allow me to introduce myself." The man in the wheelchair spoke, holding his chest. "I am Arthur Solo, Head of Houses of all Mariners, Patrician of the Solo family and guardian of the Sea Dragon Scales. And you, Pegasus Lance and Equuleus Olivia, are the ones who confronted Azrael, aren't you? Only someone with either a reckless heart or a courageous spirit would do that. I suspect you have both in spades and, for that, we should speak."
Lance folded his arms "You want to speak to us?! What could you possibly want from us?"
The Head of Houses raised his chin. "…I want you to save Atlae."
Lance gawked. "WHAT?!"
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Underworld
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Aunt Anesidora held her mouth, amazed. "She is beautiful, Eva… Can I hold her, please?"
Mom nodded, elated. "Of course. Just be careful, Annie. She is so tiny and frail."
The baby girl giggled, taken into the arms of her aunt for the first time. Fear afflicted her at first, but the familiar sensation of the person and the gentle rocking quickly soothed it out.
"Don't you worry, Eva. My baby boy was the exact same when he was born. I thought if I so much held him wrong, he'd…" The aunt yelped, feeling the baby grab her fingers to get her attention. "Oh, hi, little gal! You don't want us talking about boring stuff, do you? Who is the prettiest thing in the world? It's you!"
Mother was in awe. "Gosh, if mom saw you this way, Annie…"
The aunt scoffed. "Bah, she never believed I'd stay with Kyosuke for too long. A 'passing flare', she called it. She wouldn't believe I'd make a better mother than her, either, even I rubbed it in her face." Her purple eyes turned to Mom. "But you're going to be an even better one than me, Eva. I know it."
But Mother quaked, her lips quivering. "A-Annie… I'm scared. The timing is all wrong. Frank and I hadn't… 'been together', at the time. To this day I don't know who made this pregnancy happen. What if…"
"You're not Pandora's mother, Eva. I know it." Aunt had said. She must have either been completely wrong or shamelessly lying to ease mother's fears. "You must have just… had some kind of delayed conception. That's all. I'm the black sheep of the family, after all. Pandora will definitely appear through my line, not yours."
Mom laughed. "I thought you said you wanted no more children. That even Shinta was unexpected."
Aunt smiled warmly. Pandora imagined that, at the time, all Aunt wanted was to ease her sister's fears. "It's still early. I might be Pandora's grandmother instead. If he grows up to be anything like his father, my son will be a stud for the ages, you know? He'll have a million beautiful women after him." Her lips curved down, thinking of Shinta's fate, then she handed the baby back to her sister. "Do you know what to call her, yet?"
"Yes. I was thinking of-"
GSSHHHH!
"Na-ah-ah." Hypnos' voice whispered in the cosmos, twisting her memories. "No need to remember things inconveniently…"
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Standing at the balcony, Pandora breathed out. Somehow the memories of her first moments in life were engraved in her heart, reminding her of the progenitor that the cruel, cruel world that robbed Pandora of. Soon, however, she would get to exact justice from all of it.
Harpy Valentine emerged from the castle's corridors and bowed. "Lady Pandora, Myu's messages have carried through to us. Their Honors, the Judges, are ready to deliver the master stroke of Lord Aiacos' plans. Sylphid has also finally mobilized the troops out of Caina. They are climbing out of the castle as we speak."
The raven-haired young teenager smiled, laying her hands on the castle tower battlements to watch the pouring out of row after row after row of Skeleton Soldiers. There were no group marks on their banners, for Skeletons owed no territorial or regimental allegiance, only unflinching loyalty to the Specters, the Judges and Lord Hades. Instead, they showed only promises of death and judgement to sinners. An unending display of symbols of the end for the humans that dirtied Hades' desired world every second of every day. Every single one of them now marched towards the fields of Peloponnesia, where the limits of her brother's blessed barrier took more and more ground from the filth.
"Finally, the time of my brother's peace over the Earth has arrived." Pandora celebrated, elated at the sight of so many men loyal to her Hades' vision. "And then when silence engulfs the Earth…"
Harpy raised his eyes at this. "Milady?"
The young teenager turned. "You know the plight the Heinstein have faced, don't you, Valentine?" She'd learned by now to confide in her new knight, since Lucifer left him to protect her, so she supposed she could be upfront about what was in her heart about this war. "For two centuries after the fall of the sacred Lost Canvas, my family was persecuted and kept in a golden pen by Sanctuary. All for the mere suspicion I'd be born amongst them. My own mother lived in misery and pain for most of her life with me, fleeing from the Saints, begging them for mercy. It wasn't until I opened the box imprisoning Lords Hypnos and Thanatos that she finally saw freedom from their hounding. A woman of my mother's status…living like a caged animal!"
"Unforgiveable, lady Pandora." Valentine reflexively agreed.
Pandora raised her eyes at the stars. She still remembered the stains of blood in her parent's faces—GHSS-
-GHSS-- Pandora raised her eyes at the stars. She still remembered the look of utter peace in her parents' faces, when the soothing darkness the little girl released from the box freed them from their lives.
Damn you, Sanctuary. How could you have kept such bliss from them?! "It was then I realized, Valentine, that life, this abstract concept Athena is so fond of protecting, is just a cage she put us in to control us. She chains us with our sinful existences, and teaches us to fear rightful judgement, but only the judgement of Lord Hades' can make mankind truly reach Elysium!" Pandora argued, infuriated at her species' blindness. Her lips tensed. "Even my own cousin, who was kept from the blessings of Specter-hood by these Saints, has become a slave to Sanctuary. I saw him battling Lucifer's forces with my own eyes!"
"How far will Sanctuary go, just because the Greeks and their slaves fear your brother and what he offers mankind." Valentine added. "They know they are sinners, and so stave off the justice of the Gods by hiding under Athena's faulds."
"Exactly. But now the dawn of a new era is arising! Soon, all of mankind will earn the cleanliness of judgement Athena keeps from them!" Pandora then waved out hand. "Ready the Taraxippoi, Valentine!"
"The… Taraxippoi?" Harpy asked. Pandora was referring to the headless horse carriage, pulled by Lord Hades' Stallions, which was used to safely transport the sister of Hades in extraordinary missions, often to enemy lands. "Where do you intend to go?"
She huffed. "Where else? To Sanctuary! It is time, after all, to pull the veil over humanity's eyes and show them the brief respite earned two hundred years ago from Lord Hades' justice has come to an end. It is time to declare Holy War!"
"W-What? So soon?! But…are we really…?!" Nervous, the Specter still nodded. "V-Very well. Allow me to accompany you, then, as your Dark Knight, just to ensure your safety."
Pandora chuckled. Even in the event of her being harmed or dying, what did it matter? Victory over Athena was guaranteed. "Oh mother… if only you knew how happy I'd be to be who I am. You wouldn't have feared a single bit. But now you're in Elysium, with my brother. Now you know all your fears were for naught." She took out her family pocket watch and opened it. The hands were frozen still. They had been since the day she first released Lord Hypnos and Thanatos from their box. "In the name of the Heinstein Family, I swear I will make that evil Goddess and her sinful slaves pay for keeping Lord Hades' truth from us."
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Chapter End
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Next Chapter: Chapter 104 – Third Arc – Episode 26 – The Triumph – Part 5 of 5
Release Date: February 25th
