#it's marin from saint seiya in case you wonder whos that

[bas-writes]

more of the doujin because look at my wife she's so 😳

bonus: she comes with a sandwich

#it's marin from saint seiya in case you wonder whos that #and aiolia with her #no they are not canon #bas mumbles

[tokiro07]

Saw the live action Knights of the Zodiac (which I will be differentiating from the Netflix version by referring to it as The Beginning going forth), and while I had fun, it was bad in exactly the ways I expected

Which is to say, pretty much the same way that the source material is

While there was actual fight choreography, which was an immediate plus that almost made me forgive every other bad decision I knew was coming preemptively, the overall story was just as vapid and underdeveloped as every other adaptation of this story so far

I do think that for the sake of conveying the first arc in a two hour film, trimming everyone aside from Seiya, Ikki (Nero), Saori (Sienna), Mitsumasa (Alman) and Marin was the right play; dealing with Shiryu, Hyoga, Shun and whoever else on top of an already decently sized cast would have diluted an already watered down story. The problem, though, is that other characters were either added in (Vander Guraad, just like in the Netflix KotZ) or had a lot of extra attention given to them (Cassios, again just like in KotZ, and weirdly Tatsumi/Mylock, who was kind of the best character when he had no right to be), and in both cases used up screentime that should have been reserved for Seiya, Saori or Ikki

If they were going to put so much focus on Guraad, who this time is a woman despite being literally the same character as in KotZ, then I think it would have been prudent to use her as a device for developing Saori more. We’re told that when Saori was a baby, she was being cradled in Guraad’s arms and then randomly unleashed such a concentrated blast of Cosmo that it destroyed Guraad’s arms and necessitated Cosmo-life support to keep her alive. While I have no idea why such a thing was necessary even in context, it would have helped a lot to actually see this event happen, and see it early in the film. Seeing the transition from motherly figure to would-be executioner would have made for a much more compelling plot than seeing an evil businesswoman pursuing a young girl for nebulous reasons and only finding out later that the girl is her daughter who we’re told near mortally wounded her one time

It also would have built up Saori’s fears of losing herself to Athena much more effectively. When we’re formally introduced to Saori, Mitsumasa basically says “oh, by the way, Seiya, let me introduce you to my daughter, the reincarnation of Athena” and she’s just like “hi, I’m Athena or whatever” then flops down in a chair in the background as if she’s actively trying to leave the frame but knows she isn’t allowed to. It’s only in the next scene when she has a random Goddess Attack that Seiya even believes conceptually that magic is real, and then all at once accepts that Saori is Athena and that he’s a Saint, though he mopes about that for a little bit because he doesn’t like being tied down by destiny or whatever

Saori and Athena are usually pretty indistinguishable in most Saint Seiya media, unlike Julian or Shun who get outright possessed by Poseidon and Hades respectively, so seeing Saori worry about the possibility of having her personality subsumed by Athena is a pretty interesting angle. Even ignoring the possibility that she would be a threat to the world, which is kind of an odd decision for the writers to make anyway in my opinion but I’ll get to that later, analyzing that anxiety would do wonders for Saori as a character, as she usually comes off pretty flat. Seiya also tells her that she has the right to choose between being a goddess and a petty jerk in the climax of the film as she is losing herself to Athena, but the thing about that is that she’d never been a petty jerk to Seiya earlier in the movie. She was aloof in the very beginning, then tried to relate to Seiya and comfort him about destiny not being set in stone, packed him a lunch (that he lost before he got to eat it, which I think is devastating for whatever relationship the writers were going for) and then got kidnapped when he couldn’t use the Pegasus Cloth properly. That’s literally every interaction they had, and he never called her a petty jerk or made any value judgments on her whatsoever, at least not to my recollection. Seeing more of who Saori normally is and what she had to lose, and what she did lose because of her divine powers, would have done wonders for both her and the film, but alas the plot is more important than the people in it

Similarly, Seiya has very little personality, as usual, and even manages to have less than KotZ which at least showed him picking up litter after he misses a trash can to show that he’s carefree, but responsible and respectful. Here, he’s...determined, as shown by the fact that he never gives up during a fight, and he’s...skeptical of mysticism and fate. That’s...pretty much it. There is a little bit of overlap there I suppose when the only thing he gives up on in the film is breaking the rock during Marin’s training, thinking that it’s impossible, but honestly it came off as inconsistent with his usual blind determination than being a nuance in his two major character traits. I think I would have liked to see more casual interactions between Seiya and anyone else in the cast, whether it be with Seika/Patricia in the flashbacks or Saori or Marin in the present so that we can see again what kind of person he was vs. what kind of person he became, what he lost when Seika was taken and what he retained. They even try to play that angle too, with Marin asking Seiya who he’s trying to save and his vision cycling from Seika to Saori to ultimately his younger self cowering in the closet. The innocence of his youth or the powerlessness he felt as he watched Seika be ripped from him is potentially a strong motivator for him, but because we know effectively nothing about who he is as a person, we don’t feel the weight of the realization that he still feels like he’s that helpless kid, or how that motivates him to save Saori after he had been so badly beaten and even allowed Mitsumasa to die

Speaking of Mitsumasa, he had one scene where he comforted Saori after a nightmare vision of Athena killing Seiya, but that was the only real fatherly moment we got to see from him. The rest was just exposition, all tell and no show. We learn that he abducted countless children to feed their Cosmo to Guraad to keep her alive, which I guess is meant to be in place of him gathering orphans to become Saints, but again we don’t really feel a sense of betrayal or anything because he wasn’t established as being all that great of a guy in the first place. We didn’t have much reason to think he was bad or anything, aside from association with Guraad, but he went from neutral to dubious rather than endearing to nuanced. His argument with Guraad about how they should believe in their daughter was one thing, but again without seeing the threat she poses that made Guraad turn against the family, we don’t have a strong sense of what Mitsumasa is having his faith tested against. And then he kills himself pointlessly, failing to take out literally any of the opposition that hadn’t already been beaten by Iron Chef Tatsumi (who again, is usually supposed to be completely ineffectual, so while I had fun seeing him get to be cool for once, he really had no business being in the first place)

As I said earlier, Guraad also didn’t really feel like a mother to Saori, she just felt like a bad guy who had heard of her, whereas the Guraad of KotZ at least talked to her and Mitsumasa in a way that gave me the sense that they were at one point a family and that he regretted that their lives had come to this. Somehow Guraad is a much more believable gay man than straight woman, which I think is particularly funny since KotZ only hinted at Mitsumasa and Guraad having such a relationship whereas in this version he explicitly refers to her as his ex-wife. Again, seeing their happy life prior to the tragedy, the choices that they made and regretted afterwards, and their separation when compromise was no longer an option would have made their dynamic and Guraad’s presence as the villain (and ultimate decision to give up her plans because of her lingering affection for her daughter) much more believable and resonant as a story

Ikki, of course, also fails to resonate at all because we’re somehow told even less about him than anyone else. He uses the Phantom Demon Fist all of once, not even on Seiya, which would have been a good opportunity for analyzing his anxieties or even been a good way to reveal that Mitsumasa was involved in Seika’s disappearance, and we never learn his motivations for wanting the Sagittarius Cloth or killing Athena. He seems to believe that Athena is a threat to the world, but honestly the idea that Ikki is trying to save the world through unscrupulous means is extremely counter to the Ikki from any other iteration. Ikki is motivated by two things: vengeance and protecting those he cares about, and the interplay between those two ideas is probably the most interesting thing about early Saint Seiya (trying to get revenge on Mitsumasa by killing all of Mitsumasa’s children, including his own beloved brother Shun, who he believes he’s mercy killing because of their tainted blood at Mitsumasa’s hands). Without either of those motivations being clearly established here, he’s clearly trying to be a nuanced villain with noble goals, but he just comes off as a random mook who happens to be stronger than anyone else present. If we had either taken out Guraad’s failed parental storyline or Cassios’ desire for revenge against Seiya (for...leaving the ring during a fight?), then time could have been dedicated to developing Ikki’s personality and motivations, but instead we learn nothing of relevance about him aside from the fact that he is the Phoenix Saint

We also learn nothing helpful about the Saints, where the Cloths come from, what they do, how Sanctuary works, we just kind of vaguely learn about their existence and Cosmo, which is a personal point of umbrage for me. While the visual of Seiya and Ikki’s Cosmo spirits wearing the Cloths was really cool, the Cloths themselves clearly aren’t meant to be rearrangeable into statues, robbing them of a lot of their identity. The Phoenix Cloths feather trails were prehensile and able to shoot the feathers as projectiles, that was pretty inventive, but it only comes up when Ikki is attacking Guraad, not even during battle with Seiya, so it was also just kind of a waste. I wanted to see an interesting take on the Cloths and Cosmo or have the Saint Seiya world clearly established to show newcomers what’s cool about the franchise, but despite those things being my favorite part, they were sadly little more than footnotes and MacGuffins. I do think it was interesting that the Pegasus Cloth had two levels to it, covering just his chest and arm at first and then covering his full body, but man that was a drastic jump between two scenes without establishing that there was a way to...I don’t know, use the armor better?

I see why this movie isn’t performing super great, at least not stateside, but I can’t help but feel that part of it is because IT’S NOT PLAYING IN MOST THEATRES!!! AND THE ONES IT IS PLAYING AT IT ONLY HAS LIKE ONE SHOWING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GOD DAMN DAY PER DAY!!! I had to drive half an hour to a theater at the tail end of the hours of operation because that was the only time I would be able to make and use my AMC account rather than paying 30 bucks for me and my wife at the ritzy local theatre, and honestly I’m glad we did it that way cus if I actually paid for the tickets I’d probably be even harsher

To sum up, the action was fun, and some of the visuals were surprisingly inventive, but like every other adaptation, The Beginning fails to capitalize on the original work’s potential and instead acts as if the premise alone can carry it without actually putting in the work to properly develop the characters or setting. I wasn’t bored, which is a win, I’m just disappointed that I got what I was expecting: the original but worse (again)

#saint seiya #knights of the zodiac #saint seiya the beginning #toki watches saint seiya

[thrudgelmir2333]

Things I'd put in Poseidon's Sanctuary

This was originally written for the following Reddit Thread by Successful_Put872. I just had a bit of fun with it, even came up with sea monster aquariums, so I thought I'd share it here, too.

What locations or places would you add to expand Poseidon's underwater fortress?

This is just me tossing a couple of ideas I discussed on chat in 5 minutes, but I would put:

Temples to important figures of Poseidon's family; such as Amphitrite, Triton, Arion and perhaps even fellow Olympians. Life in ancient greece was polytheistic with populations paying tribute to various gods depending on the need. Even if you are a Mariner, chances are you're not gonna pray to Poseidon for your opponents to be struck with Phobos' fear. Moreover, you can tell from Krishna that Hinduism and Buddhism are a thing down there, too.

Massive coral reefs and trenches in the terrain. Poseidon's sanctuary's floor is drawn to emulate the bottom of the seabed but inside a pocket of oxygen, so you can imagine all sorts of natural wonders being in it, like big stretches of reefs and abysses like the Marianna Trench. It adds geographic character.

Gardens, palaces and more temples; The Sanctuary of Poseidon is supposedly habitated by Poseidon, his generals and their soldiers, who in case you haven't notice, are kind of ostentatious people. They would love nothing more than surround the Pillars, their barracks and their palaces with fields and architecture displaying the splendour of Poseidon's rule. Oh, and you just know Caça would insist on having a brothel somewhere around.

Architectural wonders and freaking Fresh Water; Speaking of splendour, it makes perfect sense for Sanctuary's Poseidon to have things like really long stairs leading to the bottom of a dry trench, roman-style highways leading to the Main Breadwinner from all other corners of his Sanctuary, aqueducts/canals for fresh water (cause they live at the bottom of the sea so that's probably important).

Stables; Poseidon is the God of Horses, too, not just the sea, and Saint Seiya has shown that Saints do like riding around, so it makes sense for there to be big horse stables on the scale of alike that of the Persian Empire. Pastures, naturally, would be on the surface. It's probably not a good idea to have horses eat seabed grass.

A massive Earthquake machine; Speaking of things Poseidon is a god of, why not just have a big broken earthquake machine somewhere in his Sanctuary? He could use it to kill humanity or something, like Moleman. You can totally picture that might have been his approach in a previous Holy War and Saints might have just broken it and taken the one part that makes it work back to Athena's Sanctuary.

Sunk ships and submarines; just have famous sunk ships litter the fields. Why not? Put something missing from the Titanic in the North Atlantic pillar, or just have some Russian nuclear submarine rammed straight into the membrane separating the Oxygen pocket from the ocean waters. At the very least, that would be funny to look at.

Statues, Halls and Monuments; Just include a shitload of monuments to famous Mariners, Poseidon figures or something. Put them everywhere. Have Shiryu reach the Indic Ocean pillar and see some kind of big fuck-off Colossus dedicated to Prince Chrysaor.

Giant Aquarium filled with sea monsters; Come on. How the hell is this NOT a thing? There's a whole freaking manga about Mariners being published and they don't think of this? Don't even bother with silly sharks, but give Poseidon a big fuck-off extinct sea monster, like that carnivorous Sperm Whale discovered in Peru, and put it in an enormous aquarium right behind his throne. He can use it to intimidate fools and impress the ladies. Ladies love sea monsters.

Hydrotherman Vent Oracle: Have an Oracle building somewhere in it, and the way the Oracle has prophecies is she gets high off the fumes of seabed hydrothermal vents. Maybe if Poseidon hadn't invested in one, someone would tell Julian kidnapping Saori was a terrible idea.

Scale material Mines: Have giant mining networks extracting stardust, orichalcum and whatever the Mariners need to fix their armors. And idk, have some enslaved Muvian doing the work for them. Poseidon sunk their continent so they probably wouldn't help him willingly.

Seabed Catapult Cannon: Have a giant cannon to shoot people out of the ocean bed into the surface, like in the game SOMA. I can totally picture Sea Horse Generals building such a thing just to punish officers. You look at Baian the wrong way, and he won't even bother with his dumb technique; he'll just load you into the barrel

A Zoo Park; Yes, that's right. And no, this isn't about Io and his stupid powers. People love animals and the freaking generals have to stay down there in the seabed. Just have a park with normal animals in it, birds, whatever the mariners need to have a sense of normalcy down there. And you know Poseidon would love a pet lion. Fish are boring unless they're sea monsters (See point 9).

See, if you just stop for five minutes to think about it, you can come up with all sorts of fun stuff. I didn't even think too hard about these. You gotta wonder how little thought was put into Poseidon's Sanctuary, then, both when Kurumada was coming up with it and when they decided to "Soul of Gold" it with Rerise. But I guess eight pillars and a palace would drain anyone's imagination...

#saint seiya #os cavaleiros do zodiaco #los caballeros del zodiaco

[regina-del-cielo]

A Reunion of Two Brothers

Hello, everybody! remember this one shot I wrote sometime ago? Well, the AU it was set on, the ‘Aiolos Survives AU’, has decided to ruin my life until I developed it a bit more.

And what better scenario than the meeting of ‘not-so-dead’ Aiolos and Aiolia, thirteen years after the Worst Night Ever™ in Saint Seiya?

The action follows, mostly, the events of episodes 37 and 38 - with due modifications for the sake of the AU. I am assuming Aiolos and Seika, and Aiolia and Marin to be couples - Seika is, obviously, quite older than in canon, and Seiya never had the suspect of Marin being his sister in disguise. Also, having been raised by Aiolos, Saori/Athena is very much aware of herself.

There will be some notes at the end for language quirks. That said... grab a snack and enjoy, it’s long! 

It was supposed to be easy.

To a Gold Saint, getting rid of a bunch of Bronze boys, of traitors, was a matter of snapping fingers.

One blow, clean and merciful, and they wouldn’t even know what hit them before exhaling their last breath.

That was what Aiolia kept telling himself, on his way to Japan. They were traitors, and death was the sentence – but nobody said it needed to be slow or painful. It was a good thing the Pope had been persuaded so easily on giving the mission to him. He would deliver the punishment swiftly – not like Milo.

Milo would delight in seeing them suffer. In hearing them beg for the pain to stop. His normally cheerful friend became heartless when it came to betrayal - he would make them pay with a slow death for all the comrades that had lost their lives against them.

Aiolia knew that he would never be able to look at Marin in the eye if he let such a thing happen to Seiya.

His jaw clenched at the thought of Marin’s pupil. He’d grown fond of the boy – his raucous, impulsive, mischievous ways, softened by a natural cheerfulness and goodness of heart had reminded him of himself before – of the child he’d been. He’d tried to be for Seiya what Aiolos had been to him – a model to imitate, someone to look up to. Seeing him win the Pegasus Cloth, despite all the odds being against him (on both physical and psychological sides) had made him feel like he’d finally done something right.

But then, Seiya had gone back to Japan. And everything had come crashing down in a spiral of suspects and recriminations. The air, at the Sanctuary, was thick with tension and distrust: people avoided each other, glances were thrown over shoulders before speaking – always in low tones. Laughter was forced, the smiles were strained. Everybody seemed to be tiptoeing on the edge of an invisible ravine, whose dark depths no one dared to look at, no matter how much it pressed on their chests to do so.

Aiolia was familiar with the feeling – he’d hoped to never experience it again, especially not after gaining Leo. But now, with the fear of an intestine war becoming more and more real with each passing day, and the ever-increasing number of losses on the Sanctuary’s side, the equilibrium they all had somehow regained after was dangerously close to being broken.

It was time for a clean cut. Seiya and his friends needed to die.

Just like Aiolos had.

He hadn’t expected to find Shaina.

She didn’t have her mask on and, out of respect, he’d averted his eyes from her face while speaking. Her Cosmos was crackling with something akin to panic – and her whole body language spoke of concern and protectiveness. She was trying to hide Seiya behind her, while also stating that she would kill him herself.

Seiya was wearing civilian clothes, and his Cosmos felt confused and cranky – Aiolia registered a limp on one of his legs, and the general soreness that any Saint had learned to attribute to an excessively intense training. His numerous fights must have started to wear him out – if he knew him, it had probably not even occurred to him the need to rest.

He immediately quenched the flicker of sympathy for the younger man. If Seiya was tired and worn out, it would make his job easier. That was the only thing that mattered.

If only the boy would stop trying to catch his eye and plead his cause… Didn’t he understand how difficult it was for him already?!

He only needed to raise a finger to incapacitate Shaina. He watched her fall on the ground like a broken doll, and steeled himself for his next move. He threw Seiya down with a mere shift of his Cosmos, hoping that he would take the hint and stop making his case worse, but the boy had never been one to refrain from saying when a thing didn’t sit well with him. He’d always been very vocal in his protestations, and it seemed that he still hadn’t grown out of it – strategical silence was probably the only thing that Marin hadn’t managed to get through that thick skull of his.

“I can’t believe that you, of all people, would think me a traitor, Aiolia. You know me better than that! Are you really going to obey the Pope without question? Did you really believe I would disregard everything Marin has taught me, all that you have taught me, as soon as I set foot outside of the Sanctuary?”

Aiolia’s stomach twisted uncomfortably. Did Seiya think he hadn’t stood awake at night thinking about the same things? That he liked the idea of killing someone he’d seen grow up, that he’d learned to consider a younger brother, the beloved pupil of the woman he held so dear in his heart?! This wasn’t just about him, damn it!

He saw a flash of understanding dawn in Seiya’s dark eyes. “Or maybe – is it because of what happened to your brother? You think that since he was declared a traitor, you shouldn’t trust your own judgement on anybody else if the Pope says otherwise?”

Every single muscle in his body tensed. He had to take a couple of breaths to keep his Cosmos from flaring up in anger.

“My brother was a traitor” he said, his voice harsh and low. “and I must clear his name! I promised myself that I would bring the Sagittarius Cloth back at the Sanctuary, no matter the cost, to repair my brother’s actions. And trust me, Seiya, I will do it!”

Seiya scoffed. “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but we don’t have the Sagittarius Cloth. That thing has a life of its own, you know. And in any case, I’d doubt it’d let you take it, if that’s your reason. Marin told me you loved your brother, and yet you didn’t even wonder why he acted in a way so unlike him – did it ever occur to you that he may have had a very good reason to run away from the Sanctuary with a baby in tow?” He shook his head. “I thought better of you, Aiolia.”

Aiolia narrowed his eyes, bristling. This was getting ridiculous. Seiya had the gall to look disappointed in him?!

He watched as the boy took off his shirt, challenging him to fight. He allowed himself a mild surprise in seeing that he didn’t even try to summon Pegasus.

“There’s no need to show off, Seiya. You have no chances against me.”

“I’d like you to let me decide if I have a chance or not, Aiolia – Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken!”

“He’s not going down without a fight”, Aiolia thought. “I wish Marin hadn’t taught him so well”.

The Ryu Sei Ken wasn’t as strong as the one he’d seen defeat Cassios, all those months ago – he could see every single blow in slow motion. He’d almost hoped that he’d gotten stronger, after fighting against the Silver Saints.

“It is useless, Seiya – the power of a Gold Saint is like nothing else in nature. Your attacks reach sound speed, and what is that to my own, that move at light speed? There’s no hope for you.”

Seiya looked baffled and genuinely scared – but only for a moment. Aiolia saw courage – temerity, he’d rather call it – overcome his young features again.

“If I have no hope, I might as well do my best, don’t you think?” He said, before charging again.

“Enough”, Aiolia thought. “Goodbye, Seiya.”

“Lightning Bolt!”

                                                        -oo-

His blow had hit home too early.

That was how he knew that something had gone wrong – and then he’d registered the sight of Shaina’s body, bleeding profusely, the back piece of her Cloth in shards, collapsing in Seiya’s arms.

He took a step back as if recoiling from a vicious snake.

Seiya  fell on his knees, brought down by the girl’s weight and his own shock, calling her name; his voice seemed on the verge of breaking with every new word.

Aiolia watched, guiltily, as Shaina whispered something at Seiya, who held her gently, the Cosmos of Ophiuchus flickering like a dying candle, but with still enough strength to latch itself at Pegasus’.

She had sacrificed herself for him. The mere fact that, as weakened as she was, she’d been able to bodily interfere with an attack she shouldn’t have even been able to see was remarkable. He tasted bile in his throat, knowing that he, a Gold Saint, supposedly one of the most powerful men on Earth, hadn’t been able to stop himself from hitting an innocent.

He couldn’t accept such a thing. Not even for the sake of the mission.

“It’s a sign” a voice in his mind murmured, “Seiya’s hour has not come yet. If you insist on going against the Fates, it will only get worse. Go away, while you still can.”

Aiolia had never been superstitious, but he trusted his instincts. And when he saw Shaina’s body grow limp in Seiya’s arms, they started screaming at him that this was all wrong.

He kept his voice even while turning away. “I’ll spare your life today, Seiya, in honour of Shaina’s sacrifice.”

He took two steps.

Then, burning rage thickened the air around him, the surrounding trees creaking under the invisible pressure of Pegasus’ Cosmos expanding like a star on the verge of exploding.

Seiya’s voice reached him like an approaching thunderstorm, deep and threatening.

“No thirteen-year-old should sound like this”, he thought.

“How could you, Aiolia?! Why didn’t you stop your fist? You saw her jumping in front of me, why did you not STOP?! You call yourself a Saint, and yet you hit a woman? I’ll never forgive you for this - I’ll punish you, or I’ll DIE TRYING!”

Aiolia didn’t answer. He kept giving his back to Seiya, eyes closed, no muscle moving. He deserved every word. He knew he did. He reveled in the pain each word gave him, in the way Seiya’s voice made his heart ache.

He felt, even without seeing, the moment Seiya took his attacking posture. When he felt the shift in the air signalling that the younger boy was launching himself at him, he only turned slightly.

Enough for one of Seiya’s fists to collide with his cheek.

The pain on his mouth was dull, despite the drop of blood that trickled from his lip. Seiya’s rage and desperation had made his fist less effective, but that didn’t matter. The purpose had been reached.

“Are you satisfied now, Seiya?” He whispered, opening his eyes to see how Seiya’s face was lined with tears, his warm brown irises burning. He watched as his words and behaviour finally registered in the Japanese boy’s mind, bringing confusion on the surface over all other emotions.

“What…?”

“You have every right to be angry. I assure you, I didn’t see Shaina throwing herself in front of you. It was a horrible mistake. Please, forgive me if you can.” He added, walking towards the young woman’s unconscious form, lying on the grass.

He raised a hand over her, and gathered his Cosmos on his palm; he let the healing power of Leo shower like golden rain on Shaina’s body, focusing on the wounds inflicted by that same Cosmos only moments before. A few breaths later, he felt the stars of Ophiuchus regain strength and steadiness, enough to keep healing their ward by themselves.

Relieved, he took her gently in his arms. “I’ll take care of her, Seiya. Don’t worry, she’ll recover soon.” He said, before moving away from the Pegasus Saint again.

Seiya just stared at him, befuddled, for a few moments. Then, his face cleared, resuming a determined expression.

Sensing he’d understood, Aiolia regained some of his previous sternness, to warn him.

“I will come back to finish what I was meant to start, Seiya. You disobeyed Athena, rebelling against the Sanctuary.”

Seiya’s Cosmos positively frizzled with frustration under the boy’s skin.

“Ugh! For the millionth time, I did not disobey the Goddess, Aiolia! It is the Pope who’s in the wrong! Do I have to tell you in Latin?!”

“Don’t test your luck, Pegasus. I’m sparing you for now, I won’t do it again. I will follow the order I was given.” Aiolia replied, turning his back to him and walking decidedly towards West.

“If you value your life, Seiya, for all that is holy on Olympus, please stay silent until I’m gone!”

He had no such luck.

“No way, Aiolia! Come on, man, I know your intentions are good, but I can’t let you align with that usurper! He’s bad news, he manipulated all of you! Come back!” Seiya insisted, apparently hell bent on making him stay and reconsider.

Aiolia breathed hard through the nose, hoping to remain calm and keep going. “How did Marin not lose her patience with him?!”

“If you’re worried about Shaina, I can assure you, Pope Shion won’t hurt her.” He said, without stopping his walk, not even turning around to address him.

Three Silver Cosmos, simmering with hostility and impertinence, flared up from the thick of the trees all around them. Aiolia stopped immediately as male voices addressed him in a tone that grated on his nerves at the sheer audacity of it.

“Leo Aiolia! Give Shaina to our custody and keep fighting Pegasus! We’ll take care of that runaway chit!”

Aiolia grit his teeth. “Show yourself!” He bellowed, although the voices and the energies were familiar to him. As three figures appeared from the nearby bushes, he clutched Shaina tighter to his chest. There was no way in Hades he’d let them hurt her – she had nothing to do with the whole business!

He immediately recognized the Cloths of Canis Major, Heracles and Musca. He stiffened: those Silver Saints were only a couple of years younger than him, and their masters had been some of those that most delighted in harassing him when he was a child.

He didn’t like where this was heading. Not a single bit.

“Were you following me by the Pope’s orders?” He asked, as Seiya raised his arms in a defensive position.

“Of course! And I can easily see now why he asked us to…” Canis Major replied, snickering. “You are, after all, the flesh and blood of a traitor – it’s not unthinkable that you’d behave in the same way. Apples never fall too far from the tree, huh?”

Aiolia had a hard time stopping himself from growling, but his upper lip still curled to show his teeth.

“How dare you?! You’re badmouthing one of your superiors without reason – you’d better watch your tongue! A Gold Saint never goes back on his word!” He seethed, barely keeping his Cosmos in check.

The Silver Saint didn’t seem fazed by the threat.

“It may be so, but why didn’t you finish off both Ophiuchus and Pegasus, then? Were you just acting out of generosity? Were you not given the exact order to get rid of all the traitorous Bronze Saints?” He asked again, mouth twisting in an oily smirk that made Aiolia’s hackles rise.

“What are you insinuating, Canis Major?!”

“Nothing! But now, if you may, we are going to take care of the task!”

Aiolia watched, helpless, as Heracles, Musca and Canis Major played with Seiya like cats with a dying mouse, throwing him back and forth across the clearing, even arguing over who should end his life permanently.

The Leo Saint was gritting his teeth so hard his jaw ached – he was thoroughly disgusted by the spectacle those three were making , but knew perfectly well that if he tried to stop them, he’d find himself in a worse conundrum than ever. He’d either prove their point in showing himself aligned with the traitors, or he’d have to kill Seiya in front of them – both options were equally terrible in his eyes.

But why, why wasn’t Seiya summoning Pegasus?!

And then…

…he felt his Cloth hum softly against his skin.

He looked around, trying to understand what had arisen Leo. She reacted in that way only when another Gold Cloth was near...

“Has Milo followed me?” He wondered.

As the three Silvers decided to launch Seiya in the air and play at who would hit him first, he sent a sliver of Cosmos around, to try and ascertain to whom the new energy belonged. It didn’t seem like Milo’s, but then who…?

He barely had the time to register the shocked exclamations of the three Silvers when he saw Seiya’s body emanating a Golden Cosmos.

But it wasn’t his, it… belonged to something else. It belonged to the shape taking solid form just above their heads.

His eyes widened. He would recognize that shape everywhere.

That was…

Sagittarius.

And it was disposing itself on Seiya’s body. Out of its own volition.

“What in Athena’s name is going on here?!”

                                                         -000-

Aiolos had just been returning to the Graude Foundation’s headquarters from visiting Seika when he’d felt a Silver Cosmos approach Seiya. He’d obviously worried at first – seriously, the sheer ability of that boy to attract trouble even when laying ill at the hospital! – but then he’d noticed a certain… hue of distress in that Cosmos, as if its owner was having an internal conflict on what to do. He’d checked the situation for a couple of minutes, but when Seiya didn’t even once raise his own energy to defend himself, he decided to give the boy some credit and let him handle whatever was happening by himself.

“You can’t mother them forever, Aiolos. They’ve developed more experience in a month than you did in the last thirteen years…” He thought wryly as he reached his Goddess in the control room.

“Is something the matter, Aiolos-san?” Athena asked, smiling gently at him when he bowed in front of her.

He smiled back. “I actually don’t know, Anissa. Seiya seems to be dealing with… an unwelcome visitor in a most peculiar way.”

Athena’s delicate eyebrows raised in wonder, before focusing her Cosmos as he’d taught her to check on her Saint. Aiolos saw her expression clear in understanding a moment later.

“Oh – it is the Ophiuchus Saint. She’s not going to hurt him, no matter how much she tries to convince herself that she should.” She said, her voice taking a slightly mischievous tone that Aiolos had heard directed at him more times he liked to admit. The significant look she gave him soon after confirmed his suspicions on where her thoughts were directed.

The Sagittarius Saint’s eyes widened. “A lovers’ spat, my lady? With all the problems we already have?”

Athena chuckled daintily, a delicate hand raising to cover her smirking mouth. “Don’t sound so surprised, my dear Saint! As if you were completely oblivious to the matters of the heart!”

Aiolos tried not to blush. His young Goddess had become far too good at teasing him as of late…

And then he felt it, unexpected like a punch in the stomach.

A golden Cosmos.

The Lion.

He gripped on the commands’ plank for support so hard that the metal creaked in protest under his fingers.

“Aiolos?!”

Athena’s voice had grown alarmed, but it took him a moment to register that she’d jumped on her feet and was looking straight in his face, her teal eyes wide with worry.

“Anissa…” He murmured, his voice feeling almost disembodied. “Saga has… has sent a Gold Saint.”

Athena’s face paled, before she schooled her features in a neutral look, her mind already trying to come up with possible solutions and implications.

Aiolos felt an idiot for not having thought about it – of course Saga would use every weapon at his disposal to get rid of them. And since the Silver Saints hadn’t been able to defeat them, why would he not send one of the Twelve Generals? It made perfect sense…

“Can you tell if he’s someone we could reason with?” Athena asked, her wringing fingers the only sign of distress on her countenance.

Aiolos swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.

He knew that Cosmos.

Not just because it was of his same rank, or because he recognized the constellation.

He’d known that Cosmos since the first day it had sparked. He had cared for it, nurtured it, like a small fire to be protected from the wind and the rain.

And now, that little spark had grown into lightning and flame, into the very essence of the Sun.

“It’s… it’s Aiolia. My brother.”

Athena’s eyes filled with a sudden understanding, then with sadness. “Oh, Aiolos…”

He tried to steel himself into some semblance of composure. There wasn’t time for sentimentality, not at that moment.

“If he has retained any part of the gentleness of heart he possessed as a child, then yes, he is someone we could bring on our side, Anissa. But we must tread carefully – Gold Saints are quite different from Silvers. They are the nearest to the Pope; I have no idea how much influence Saga had on them in these years – and we’ve always been taught how to be leaders, not just to obey to orders. I remember that we were described as the nearest a mortal could come to the Gods without being possessed by a divine force… persuading one of them is no easy task, my lady.”

He felt like he’d rambled, but Athena seemed to be considering his words quite seriously.

“That same independence of mind you described could also be an asset in trying to convince them of the rightness of our actions, don’t you think?” She mused, her head tilted to the side.

Aiolos made to answer, but his attention was caught by Aiolia’s Cosmos raising in response to Seiya’s.

“Zeus Soter, is he going to fight a Gold Saint face to face?!”  the man wondered, positively astonished.

“Seiya must be out of his mind… he doesn’t even have the Cloth!” He exclaimed, exchanging an alarmed look with Athena. “My lady, shall I go and help him?”

Athena hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head. “I have every faith in him. And you know how good he is at persuading people with endless chatter…” She said, trying to sound more convinced than she truly felt. Even as her visage remained mostly unperturbed, Aiolos knew her well enough to understand that she was getting seriously worried. “Let’s keep checking the situation – if it worsens, we’ll warn the others and see what else we can do without revealing your identity.”

Aiolos held his tongue, knowing that his inclination would be to just charge ahead and defend the younger Saint, but he knew they had to stick to the plan if they wanted to keep their advantage on Saga.

The Saint focused back on the two – wait, three? – Cosmos near the hospital. The Silver one – Ophiuchus – flared up all of a sudden at the same time Aiolia’s charged up for an attack. In the span of two breaths, the weaker Cosmos had a steep falling in power, and the golden one literally contracted itself like a deflating balloon.

While the battle was at an apparent impasse, he searched deeper inside Aiolia’s Cosmos, to understand his behaviour.

He found almost immediately the traits he remembered from the days at the Sanctuary: his baby brother’s impulsive streak that made him go play with Milo on the edge of a ravine for the mere purpose of giving him a heart attack, his natural sense of justice, his sweet cheerfulness… it was all there, but was now shaped into a new maturity, and wrapped in an iron-hard discipline.

Aiolos felt tears of pride press against his eyelids – his little brother had grown so much…

Then, he registered something else in Aiolia’s Cosmos.

Guilt. Grief. And a dark, thick undercurrent of anger, sadness, and betrayal. It was well controlled, but still edged deep in his energy, like a rotting feeling he had felt for too long a time to know how to let it go.

An icy cold feeling ran down Aiolos’ spine.

Blessed Hera, was it…?

“What has happened to him while I was here?!”

He felt Athena jump in surprise at his side, and a mere second later he understood why – the stars of Pegasus were blazing. Neither of them had ever felt Seiya get so angry before.

And Aiolia… he wasn’t reacting. He had lowered his Cosmos to minimum levels, and now all Aiolos perceived was his brother’s conflict, overwrought by one single thought.

I deserve this.

He was… resigned!

Seiya’s anger was spent in a matter of minutes, apparently deflated by Aiolia’s lack of reaction. Then, the Lion’s Cosmos raised again, now with a new softness, soothing like a protective balm, as warm as a mother’s caress.

The Ophiuchus Cosmos, that had basically disappeared in the background in the meantime, slowly regained strength, revived by Leo’s gentle ministrations.

“He is healing her…” Aiolos whispered, his voice low and awed.

Athena smiled solemnly. She looked every bit the pleased Goddess she was supposed to be.

They remained silent as both Leo and Pegasus seemed to have abandoned any idea of fighting.

“He’s going away.” Aiolos said, almost cringing at his own voice, who seemed almost too loud for his surroundings.

“He must have persuaded himself not to hurt Seiya…” Athena surmised, her shoulders relaxing – before tensing again.

There were other three warriors. Silvers, judging by their power – and apparently hell bent on fighting.

Aiolos cursed in Greek under his breath.

He felt his brother grow angry  at the newcomers. He’d probably expected to be alone – which was the usual protocol for missions involving Gold Saints.

But no, this anger ran deeper… an old grudge? He didn’t trust them?

Nonetheless, Aiolia didn’t seem inclined to intervene in the subsequent fight between Seiya (who still hadn’t summoned Pegasus!) and the Silver warriors.

“Anissa, please. Seiya is already weakened, he can’t make it alone against four adversaries of a superior rank.” He insisted, his weight already shifting towards the door.

Athena frowned in thought for a second before taking her decision. “Warn Hyoga and Shun. Tell them to reach Seiya at the hospital. And… send him Sagittarius.”

Aiolos stared at her in bafflement. “My Cloth?” He asked, hoping she would elaborate.

She nodded. “A Gold Cloth shall protect him perfectly well against three Silver Saints, and seeing Sagittarius on his side may help persuading Aiolia of the rightness of our actions.”

The Greek considered the matter for a moment – it made sense. After all, no matter what they had told Aiolia when he had run away, he wouldn’t believe it possible for a Gold Cloth to act against Athena’s wishes, right? Especially not Sagittarius…

He nodded and closed his eyes, sending his Cosmos outwards, to connect with his Cloth.

“Toxotis” He called with his mind, searching the vicinities.

The answer was surprisingly swift. She wasn’t as far away as he’d thought.

“Yes, my ward?” The disembodied voice of his Cloth’s Cosmos replied.

“Please, I need you to help Seiya. He’s fighting against three opponents and has no protection. Go to him and aid him in his battle – lend him your power, Toxotis.”

The Cloth didn’t answer for a second, as if considering the idea.

“Are you giving me away, young archer? Is little Pegasus your successor?”

He frowned slightly. He hadn’t thought about it – Seiya was a Sagittarian, so he was the only one among the boys who could, potentially, wear his Cloth, and he’d proved his worth more times than ever…

…but now was not the time to think about successions.

“Consider this an emergency loan, Toxotis. The Fates willing, I intend to keep wearing you for a long time still.”

If energies could smile, he was pretty sure his Cloth was in that moment.

“Very well, then.”

He felt Sagittarius hum at the back of his mind, his own Cosmos protesting under his skin to be let out and connect with his Cloth’s, but he kept himself in check – not yet, he told himself.

Athena and him checked on the Cloth’s travel through time and space, until it exposed itself on the battlefield, causing surprise, consternation and something that neared panic in the Silver Saints.

Sagittarius only had to release some pent-up energy to defeat them.

Aiolos searched for Aiolia’s reaction, finding astonishment, incredulity and – good heavens, he was outraged!

“Hades be damned – I hadn’t thought he would get angry at seeing Sagittarius worn by somebody else!” He thought, anxiety gripping his chest at the idea of what dangers Seiya could be facing for his decision.

He glanced at Athena, and saw that she was frowning. She hadn’t expected that either.

“It seems that now he’s more determined than ever to act according to Saga’s orders…” She whispered, biting her lip slightly.

“And Shun and Hyoga are on their way there…” Aiolos added, feeling the Cosmos of Andromeda and Cygnus moving fast towards the clearing. “This is not good.”

“No, it’s not.” Athena agreed, before taking a deep breath and seemingly steeling herself into resolve.

She turned towards Aiolos with a determined look.

“You told me before that Gold Saints are described as the nearest a mortal can come to the Gods without being possessed by a divine force. Wouldn’t that also mean that it would take a God to sway them from their propositions?”

“Not any God, my lady. Just…” Aiolos’ eyes widened in understanding. “Just you.”

“Even with the Pope in charge, we are only subject to your command. If you were to speak personally, no Saint would dare question you.” He continued, understanding where Athena’s thoughts were veering to.

“Aiolia probably thinks that he’s acting in my name, since the Pope’s role is to relay my orders. If I show him that he is, actually, disobeying me, he would stop. Is it not so?” She concluded, her eyes brightening in determination.

“Indeed it is.” Aiolos thought about it, all the while cringing at the way Aiolia’s Cosmos was clearly getting overcome with his anger, all at the expense of the younger Bronze Saints. “Do you intend to… expose yourself to him?” He asked.

“Yes. I will tell him the truth, omitting only the fact that you’re still alive, and reveal my Cosmos to him. That should do the trick.”

Aiolos fidgeted. He knew he was to stay hidden until the very last moment, but…

He took a deep breath and decided to speak his mind.

“Anissa, I… I intend to escort you, of course, but… I think Aiolia needs to know that I’m alive. This isn’t just about the plan and the war… he’s my brother. He deserves an explanation for why I disappeared from his life all of a sudden. And you must also consider the option that, despite all, he may still not believe you. Do you not think that my presence could be needed for him to be shown the truth?”

He watched as his Goddess pondered the objection and its solidity. He saw a flicker of concern – human concern – flash across her bright eyes, before settling in a look of serene decisiveness.

“Let’s compromise. You’ll come with me, but stay hidden. I’ll try to convince Aiolia by myself – but, if things go as you fear and he doesn’t believe me still, you may show yourself. Is that all right with you?”

Aiolos sighed. He hadn’t expected to obtain even that much, so he nodded and escorted his Goddess outside – he would bring her at the hospital at light speed, for he could already feel things getting out of hand on the battlefield and they couldn’t lose any more time.

“I’m coming, Aiolia.”

                                                            -oo-

The expansion of Sagittarius’ Cosmos was powerful enough to annihilate all three Silver Saints at once. Aiolia looked as Seiya floated gently back on the ground, as if the Cloth itself was moving his body, not the other way around.

Seiya looked even younger with a Gold Cloth on. The wings enveloped his form, but the bulk of solid gold made him look like a child wearing his father’s clothes.

“He shouldn’t be wearing it” He thought, a sudden feeling of possessiveness clawing at his chest. “It was my brother’s – and if he can’t wear it, then nobody should!”

He’d looked for it for years – since he’d been strong enough to fight and wear his own Cloth. He had built his entire life around finding Sagittarius and bringing it back where it belonged, the Sanctuary, in the hopes that then, finally, his brother’s soul would rest in peace, as much as a traitor’s soul could…

And now here it was, summoned by who knows what, protecting another traitor from his punishment.

Aiolia felt mocked. By destiny, by circumstances, by Seiya, by Sagittarius, even!

Now that he had it at reach, there was no way he was going back to Greece without it. Even if this meant tearing it off from Seiya’s body with his bare hands!

He moved to a corner and laid Shaina gently under a tree, as far away as possible from the line of action. She was still unconscious, but her body was healing. She would be fine.

He turned. Seiya was still on his feet, frozen in the same position as before, only his eyes following  his every movement. Aiolia tried to gauge his emotions by his Cosmos, but Sagittarius seemed determined to overwhelm and hide Pegasus’ presence.

“It’s protecting him” he realized, feeling as if he’d swallowed a stone. “You belong to Athena, Toxotis. Why are you defending someone who defied her?!”

“That Cloth comes with me, Seiya. You’re not worthy of wearing it!” He growled, the turmoil of his emotions seemingly in tune with the thunderstorm brewing up over their heads.

He drew strength from the electricity in the air and sent a Lightning Bolt in the boy’s direction.

The weather and his own anger fueled his attack, that destroyed several trees on its path and illuminated the surroundings with blinding light.

But when it dispersed, Seiya wasn’t there anymore.

“What the hell -?” Aiolia cursed, his eyes raising to see the younger Saint floating above his head, the wings of Sagittarius wide open to catch the wind.

He was flying!

From what he could garner of Seiya’s expression, the boy looked just as incredulous as he was. Then, he watched as he flipped on his back, starting his descent head first – and aiming a Ryu Sei Ken at him.

Aiolia was able to dodge a few of the first, but then they became faster and blurrier – all coated with Sagittarius’ aura – and he got hit.

The brunt of the attack sent him flying against a tree, that cracked under the pressure of the impact.

He gasped for the shock while Seiya returned to the ground, apparently elated at having actually hit a Gold Saint.

“So that’s the game you’re playing, Toxotis? Powering him up so that he can actually hit me? Very well then!” He thought, rising up with no particular effort, a strange sort of resentment weighing on him, his Cosmos crackling and fizzling from every pore of his skin.

“Don’t bring your hopes up, Seiya… if you think you’ve suddenly become invincible, you’re more naïve than I thought – I’ll show you what a real Gold Saint is capable of!” He said, glaring at the boy and taking his cape off his shoulders.

“Lightning Plasma!” He roared, throwing his glowing fist at Seiya with the whole weight of his body.

Seiya had barely the time to let out a scream of agony, before ending up on the ground, panting and unable to move from the shock.

Aiolia loomed over him, a bad taste filling his mouth at the sight of Sagittarius without a scratch even after his attack, Seiya being more out of breath than actually hurt.

“It takes years to learn how to use and control a Gold Cloth – you wouldn’t think yourself such a prodigy, would you?” He jeered at him, before raising his fist again.

“Prepare to die, Seiya. That is the Pope’s command.”

“Damn it, Aiolia, stop following the Pope’s orders so blindly!” Seiya wheezed, his voice low and scratchy but still obstinate as ever.

“Pope Shion is a just man who devoted his life to Athena – all Saints ought to obey to him, do you not get it?!” He growled back, his jaw clenching. “The one who holds power over the Sanctuary can be nothing but a creature of justice!”

Seiya looked on the verge of protesting and Aiolia was ready to silence him forever – when a sound of running feet and a male voice, calling Seiya’s name, burst into the clearing.

Aiolia turned around and saw two boys, around Seiya’s age, wearing civilian clothes, rushing towards them.

He recognized the Cosmos of Andromeda and Cygnus – other two traitors, then.

“Seiya, are you alright? What’s going on here?!” The blond boy – Cygnus – asked, looking confused. His companion looked even more baffled at seeing their comrade wearing the Sagittarius Gold Cloth.

They hadn’t even noticed him. Had nobody taught them to always check their surroundings before entering a battlefield?!

“And one of them is even Camus’ pupil!” Aiolia thought, while Seiya tried to warn his friends to go away, because they couldn’t fight against him. “Speaking some sense at last, Seiya…”

The other two Saints’ eyes finally zeroed on him, and widened in astonishment. “A Gold Saint?!”

Aiolia smirked – their faces would be hilarious, on another occasion. He turned back to his target.

“You first, Seiya – I’ll deal with them later.”

He barely had the time to end his sentence that the newcomers charged at him.

“For Zeus’ sake, are you all mental in this damned place?!” He thought, exasperated, as he raised his left forearm to stop their attack with a wall of air.

“How dare you attack a Gold Saint from behind, especially without your Cloths? Calling you only imprudent would be a compliment!” He grumbled, not even angry at such a display of impulsiveness.

“And these people actually defeated most of the Silver Saints… who even thought them ready to be bestowed  a Cloth in the first place, I wonder!”

Cygnus jumped on his feet, his ice blue eyes blazing. “We’re not afraid of you! And for a friend we’ll do this and much more!”

Andromeda backed him up with the same determination. “Whatever is your power, Gold Saint, we’d risk our own life to save Seiya’s!”

Aiolia blinked, taken aback by such a strong feeling of friendship.

“Your devotion is a noble sentiment. I must say I admire it.” He replied, his voice softer. “However, I have orders to follow.”

“What orders?” The blond boy asked, his voice harsh.

“Orders given by Athena, through Pope Shion’s mouth.” He declared, straightening.

Seiya, at his feet, propped himself on his elbows, suddenly revived in his determination. “Wait, Aiolia – you’re acting under a mistaken assumption, you’ve been manipulated!”

He glared down at the boy. “You’re saying this just to save your life – you’re a coward, Seiya!”

“I’m telling the truth, Aiolia! I have the proof of it!”

“What?!”

“He’s right! Athena hasn’t been on Sanctuary’s side for years now!” Cygnus interjected.

“BULLSHIT!” Aiolia snarled, having reached the limit of his tolerance. “This is absolute bullshit! Athens’ Sanctuary is the place from which justice is born, and has always belonged to Athena Promachos. The Pope speaks in her name!”

The Andromeda boy spoke up, his tone gentler than the other two, but his words cut even deeper. “The Pope doesn’t speak in Athena’s name anymore, because it is not Shion sitting on Athens’ throne. It is an usurper that gives the orders now.”

“No… no, I won’t keep listening to such blasphemies! You are traitors, you have no right to speak of the Goddess. I’ll shut your filthy mouths forever!” Aiolia seethed, his fists closed so tightly that he was sure his nails were drawing blood from his palms.

“You’re making a mistake!” “You have placed your trust in an evil being, Gold Saint!”

“Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT!!!”

“ENOUGH!”

He sent them flying with a burst of Cosmos, not even bothering to channel it in an attack. His vision was edged with red, and he barely had control over his stars.

“Shun! Hyoga!” Seiya’s distraught voice barely registered in his conscious, just as the fact that, somehow, his raw explosion of power hadn’t killed the two unarmed boys.

“May it serve as a lesson to you – offending the Pope in that way!” He spat, before turning towards a raising Seiya, still unsure on his feet.

“Athena’s trust is placed in Pope Shion. And now, Seiya, I’ll finish you!”

Leo purred against his chest like a sated cat.

A soft, golden pink light emerged from the trees, clearing up the skies above them, and an unmistakable feeling of peace and serenity enveloped all the living beings in the surrounding area.

A Cosmos, the likes of which he’d never felt before, seemingly expanding to the very ends of the galaxy, flowed like silk in the wind, filling every space like water, covering the Saints’ bodies like a lovingly warm blanket.

Aiolia lowered his arms, feeling small and humbled as never before. His mind could barely grasp at the notion of such a Cosmos even existing, and the way his Cloth had reacted to it, like a raging beast tamed by a gentle touch…

He turned towards the source of the light, trying to understand who could possess such power…

…and from the bushes emerged the tiny figure of a girl, wearing a white dress, long hair falling silkily down her back, and the most stunning pair of teal blue eyes he’d ever seen. Her face, still so young, held a maturity far beyond her age.

“It can’t be…” He whispered, suddenly feeling as if all strength had abandoned him.

The girl walked slowly towards him, then spoke to him in katharevousa Greek, her voice soft and calm.

“Aiolia, Gold Saint of Leo. The one you call Pope Shion, the man who sits on Sanctuary’s throne, doesn’t belong to Athena.”

“What -?” He stammered, taking a step back.

With the corner of his eye he saw Seiya go down on a knee and speak to the girl. “Saori-san, you can’t stay here, it’s dangerous!”

“So…” He murmured, more to himself than to others. “This is Saori Kido!”

                                                     -000-

They had reached the clearing just in time to feel Aiolia’s Cosmos spiral out of control. He was enraged, clawing at his enemies with blind fury – Aiolos had never felt something like this, even less coming from his baby brother.

“What have they done to you, adelphos mou?”

“Anissa” He whispered when they stopped only a few paces away from the battlefield. “Take care – your appearance may surprise him long enough for you to try and speak some sense into him, but his emotions are fleeting. Don’t stay in his line of attack.”

Athena smiled up at him, her expression reassuring. “Don’t worry, Aiolos. Most of his anger comes from his confusion – having the time to explain will be enough. Stay here, now. I know you’ll protect me if the need ever arises.”

He nodded, letting go of the pale arm he was still gently holding from their travelling, and took a step back, hiding behind one of the trees that had resisted the battle’s devastation.

He watched as Athena took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and moved forward, her pace determined but calm. Her divine Cosmos soon started spreading around, calling for harmony and peace.

Aiolos immediately felt Leo and Sagittarius react to her presence – they both hummed gently in response; Sagittarius even reached out to him, through the privileged and intimate connection that all Saints had with their own Cloth.

“You have come at last, my ward.”

“Yes. Thank you for helping Seiya.” He replied with his mind, smiling.

“Little Pegasus is stronger than you think. Will you not come forward? The lion cub misses you.”

He winced. “No. Athena needs me to stay hidden. Stay where you are for now, Toxotis. Let Anissa deal with this her own way – and keep Seiya in place, please. He’s done more than enough for today.”

Sagittarius grew silent, but he could feel her skepticism. Nonetheless, she sent him a signal of assent, before breaking the connection.

He knew the moment Athena had come into Aiolia’s line of sight – his brother gasped and the Cosmos of Leo calmed down, as if falling asleep. He could still feel his surprise when he heard Athena’s voice speak to him with the formal Greek used at the Sanctuary in solemn occasions.

He felt a sudden, unbearable urge to see him. It had been thirteen, endless years, since he’d laid eyes on his baby brother – and now he was here, literally ten feet away…

Moving stealthily, he neared to the edge of trees, taking care to remain in the shadows, and directly behind Athena.

She shifted her weight to her left while speaking, probably with the purpose of reaching Seiya on the other side of the clearing, and finally, he saw Aiolia.

Good Gods, he was so grown up.

It was like looking in a mirror, although with slight differences.

Aiolia had grown to become almost as tall as him, and they had the same muscular built – but his posture was so majestic, like a king’s. Leo fit him like a glove, and the fist-sized emerald that adorned his headpiece brought out his eyes, giving them a feline expression.

They were as impossibly green as he remembered them, and almost as wide, although they now fit on a much more virile face than the one he recalled from his memories. His childishly round features had reassembled into a strong jaw and high cheekbones, a proud brow and a strong nose – although his lips had remained as plump as before, the perfectly shaped cupid bow of the upper lip that had made so many maids coo at him when he was a three-year-old still present to soften his traits. His tanned skin contrasted with the short, warm honey curls surrounding his face – were they still as untameable as before, still as impossible to brush?

Aiolos gripped a nearby trunk with both hands, mostly to stop himself from rushing out of his hiding place and hugging his brother. He felt his eyes water at the thought of all the time he had lost with him, of all the things he wanted to say to him – how proud he was of what he’d become, how sorry he was for having left him behind, how much he’d missed him, that he wouldn’t leave him alone anymore…

Athena’s soft voice broke through his muddled thoughts, focusing his attention back to her tale.

“I know it is hard for you to believe it, but it’s true. The man you call Pope is an usurper, the true traitor of the Sanctuary, the real threat to the world’s peace.”

Aiolia’s face showed his shock, but then his eyes took a hard edge and his voice – goodness, it was so deep – resonated bitterly in his reply.

“So… I should believe that my commander is a traitor by your word, you who set up that disgusting farce of a tournament, manipulating young Saints for your own selfish wishes, stirring up a civil war between those who should defend the Earth?”

Aiolos sent not-so-nice thoughts at deceased Mitsumasa Kido for having even planned such a preposterous thing like the Galaxian Wars.

He heard Athena sigh sadly, before she spoke again, a new determination in her soft tones.

“Let me tell you a story, then, Aiolia.”

She started walking towards and around him, making him follow her with his eyes.

“Thirteen years ago, when I was but a newborn, I was brought away from the Sanctuary by your brother, Sagittarius Aiolos.”

Aiolia startled. “Aiolos? But…”

“Bringing me away, he saved my life. You see, just after my birth, Pope Shion had appointed him as his successor, considering him to be the most valiant among the Saints – thus assigning him all the responsibilities of protecting the Sanctuary.”

Aiolos bit his lip – Aiolia hadn’t known of his being chosen as the future Pope, because the announcement was meant for the day baby Athena would be presented – the day that had never come. He wasn’t surprised that his brother looked positively astonished at the thought.

“My brother… the future Pope…?” He heard him whisper, incredulously.

Athena continued, still moving, unperturbed by Aiolia’s interjections.

“But the night before the official announcement could be made and my presence revealed to the whole Sanctuary, something terrible happened. Pope Shion was murdered and the usurper, that now sits on his throne, slandering his name and memory by wearing the sacred garments and acting in his stead, walked into the room I was sleeping in at the Thirteenth House, and tried to kill me too.”

Aiolos’ stomach clenched with the memory – he still had nightmares about what had happened that night, and even though he’d told Athena this story in almost the exact same words, it still hurt hearing it spoken.

Aiolia was paralyzed by what he was being told – his Cosmos frozen in disbelief.

“Your brother sensed that something was wrong – and arrived just in time to stop the dagger from hitting me – he protected me from the usurper’s attacks, until during the scuffle he saw his face, previously hidden by the Pope’s helmet.”

Aiolos clutched his right hand – he still had the scar where his fingers had closed around the dagger; he had to swallow to keep in check the icy feeling that still enveloped him remembering Saga’s face in that instant – transfigured by madness and fury and murderous desires…

“Having been discovered, the usurper attacked Aiolos again, and called out for him to be caught – he declared him a traitor, who was running away with the newly incarnated Goddess, and had to be stopped. People believed him, for he wore the Pope’s garments and nobody suspected him of not being Shion.

Aiolos could do nothing except pick up his Cloth and run – as far away as he could, to keep me safe.

He fought against his own comrades, trying not to harm them more than absolutely necessary to escape, gravely injuring himself in the process. Finally, he reached the outskirts of the Sanctuary and was able to find refuge among some old ruins near Athens. There, he met Mitsumasa Kido, who was touring the area, and gave me and his Cloth into his custody, begging him to take care of me and protect me from those who wished me harm.”

“Mitsumasa, who raised me as his own grand-daughter, scoured the country far and wide for orphaned boys, to train them and send them all around the world to become Saints, so that they could protect me and, one day, bring peace back to the Sanctuary. Not all came back, but those who did,” she gestured towards Seiya, Shun and Hyoga, now behind her. “are indeed valiant and faithful warriors, worthy of the name of Saints and of the Cloths they were bestowed.”

“The usurper has kept quiet for many years, disguising himself as Shion, but the Galaxian Wars gave him an excuse to start behaving as is his nature – as a tyrant, who only desires power for himself, with no care whatsoever for Earth’s safety. He sent many Saints against us, who died thinking they were doing the right thing – their deaths grieve me greatly – and then you have come. But now the time is right, Leo Aiolia. I won’t be hiding anymore, for the time has come for the usurper to be punished – and for me, Athena Promachos, to take my place back in the Sanctuary and protect peace on Earth, as is my right and duty.”

Aiolos felt a surge of pride in seeing Athena’s small chin raise slightly at the end of the story, in what would be called defiance in a mortal. She knew her role in the world and was ready to take it – she would be a fine commander, he was sure of it.

Aiolia seemed to be barely breathing. His eyes were fixed on Athena’s petite form like a tiger’s on its prey, his mind obviously trying to frantically process all that he’d been told. Aiolos could understand how hard it must be for him – Shion murdered, an usurper in his place, his brother not the traitor he’d been told he was, his Goddess in front of him when he thought her to be at the Sanctuary…

“Shura said – said he’d killed him… the Pope told us the babe had been recovered… it can’t be… how can you know so much…?” He heard him stammer, his Cosmos whirling with confusion and – was it panic?

“No, it can’t be true!” He moaned, shaking his head frantically. He was more desperate than angry, now.

Aiolos knew that was supposed to be a good sign, but for the life of him he couldn’t bear to see his brother so distraught.

Athena spoke again, ever so gently. “If you still think we are the enemy, Aiolia, then go on – we’ll defend ourselves, as we’ve always done. But – if you believe me, then please, side with us. We will defeat the evil that poisons the Sanctuary – but I’d prefer it to be sooner, without seeing yet another life in the line, rather than later, with you as our adversary.”

Aiolos watched as Aiolia bit his lower lip, the light in his eyes trembling with uncertainty. Absentmindedly, he unlatched the faded red piece of cloth that covered his right wrist – his tenia. He hadn’t worn it as a headband since arriving in Japan, but now, without even thinking about it, he brought it to his forehead, and tied it on the back of his head.

After endless moments of silence, Aiolia finally spoke, his voice trembling. “Can you… can you prove me that you are truly Athena? By stopping my attack without being hurt in the process – can you do that, Miss Kido?”

Aiolos’ jaw fell open.

His brother had just asked the Goddess to do WHAT?!

“You’ve got to be kidding me” He thought, completely thrown off at the sheer blasphemy of the suggestion.

Seiya seemed to share his opinion, since he used a nearby tree to raise and protest. “No, Saori-san! Don’t do that!”

“Surely, Anissa, you wouldn’t need to do something so-”

“Very well, Aiolia. I’ll stop your attack, if that is what you need to believe me.” She said, opening her arms wide to become the easiest target possible.

“...have you all gone mad or what?!” Aiolos thought, dismayed and incredulous. “Am I the only sensible person left around here?!”

“I am ready, Leo. Don’t be afraid to give your attack its maximum power.” Athena continued, unperturbed.

Aiolos brought his hand to his eyes, groaning under his breath. “I can’t believe it!”

“Aiolia! How can you ask a girl to bear the brunt of your attack?! Have you gone mental?!”

“Zeus bless Seiya and his chivalry!” Aiolos thought, feeling suddenly grateful for Seiya’s strong belief that girls weren’t meant to be hit, even if they could kick his ass with a hand tied behind the back.

He wasn’t completely worried about Athena – he knew she just needed to shift her Cosmos to render any attack useless, but seriously, the disrespect of hitting the Goddess, even while doubting her identity, was inconceivable!

“I need to know if this woman is our Goddess, Seiya!” Aiolia answered, his voice laced with guilt – it was comforting knowing that he didn’t like it either.

“You need to know? And how come you didn’t ask the Pope for proofs, huh?!” Seiya replied, sarcasm making his words even more cutting.

Aiolia almost shrank under the accusation. “I have to obey the Pope, Seiya, don’t you understand?!”

“No, adelphos mou, he doesn’t, because he’s only obeyed his heart and Athena – all of us should have.”

“Aiolia!” Athena called, bringing his attention back to her. “I am asking you to do this – don’t hesitate!”

“Cunning woman” Aiolos thought, suddenly struck by the irony. “with this turn of phrase, you’re making him actually obeying the Goddess!”

He saw Aiolia bring his fist back and summon his Cosmos to deliver a Lightning Plasma.

“But right now, Anissa, I think it’s time I disobey for once. I won’t watch as my brother brings such shame to himself and to Leo.”

He took a deep breath and stepped forward, emerging from the bushes behind Athena and Seiya, in full view.

And for the first time after thirteen years, he spoke to his brother.

“That’s quite enough, Aiolia. Lower your arm.”

                                                        -oo-

It seemed that everybody was making it a point to destroy all the certainties he had built over the years to keep himself together.

First Sagittarius, siding with the people he’d been ordered to kill.

Then Seiya and his friends insisting over and over again that they were in the right.

Finally, Saori Kido, that slip of a girl with an unbelievably immense Cosmos, telling him that story of betrayal and escapes, the story of the horrid night his life was destroyed, asserting that she was Athena, that Shion hadn’t been alive for thirteen years, that Aiolos had actually saved her and that they’d all been obeying the real traitor.

By the time she was done, he’d felt like he couldn’t be sure even of his own name.

A small corner of his mind, tightly latching on what was left of his rationality – not a side he listened much  to in general, he was loathe to admit – was wondering how could Saori Kido know so many details about what had happened in the Thirteenth House and during Aiolos’ run… even admitting that it was the truth, she was a newborn when it happened, she couldn’t have direct memories of it, could she?

But at this point, it felt like grasping at technicalities. He would think about it later, now he had to clear his mind and…

…and what?

Saori Kido was asking him to side with them. To leave behind everything he’d been taught to believe in to take the leap and rely on her.

Worse even, Leo seemed more than eager to agree.

“It’s her, my cub. You can’t mistake her Cosmos. She’s here in front of us! Toxotis knows too. That’s why she was protecting little Pegasus…”

“Please, Leon, don’t make this even harder on me!” He thought desperately.

His Cloth had purred sadly before breaking the connection.

He knew she was right about the Cosmos – it wasn’t something one could fake, especially one of that size. But still, accepting that she was Athena would mean…

…would mean that he’d been wrong all his life.

That he had betrayed his brother’s memory, in believing him guilty.

He asked the Kido girl to prove herself by receiving his attack without being damaged. Athena, being a superior being, wouldn’t be fazed by a mortal’s Cosmos, no matter how powerful.

He’d expected Seiya to be outraged at the request.

He hadn’t thought that Saori Kido would accept without batting an eye. Even encouraging him to hit her with all his might.

He didn’t like it one bit, but he had to.

He raised his fist, grudgingly gathering up as much Cosmos as he could in his state of emotional turmoil, and aimed at the girl.

Aiolia heard the rustle of leaves, but didn’t register it – until a head of brown curls barely kept in place by a red headband entered his line of vision, immediately followed by a male voice.

“That’s quite enough, Aiolia. Lower your arm.”

All air escaped his lungs, as if he’d been hit by a Great Horn at full force in the solar plexus.

Every cell in his body froze, every muscle paralyzed by shock.

His mind went blank.

His eyes zeroed on the figure that had just emerged from the trees, just beside the Kido girl – who’d turned to stare at it with a look of mild surprise. He saw the tall, broad-shouldered man clad in jeans and a simple polo shirt standing in front of him, but his mind could do nothing with the information.

He was around thirty, maybe younger – he was muscular, healthy, barely taller than him, decidedly European in looks despite them being in Japan. Tanned skin, regular and virile features, unruly, chocolate brown curls kept short but still framing his face. A faded red headband tied around the temples.

His eyes acknowledged that his face was eerily similar to his own – the lips, the cheekbones, the jawline, the shape of the eyes - while still being unique and different.

His ears heard the deep, soft tones of the voice that came through that mouth. Registered his flawless Greek, spoken as only a native could, with an accent that only a fellow Greek would pick up, an accent he himself had.

And nobody had irises of quite that shade of azure.

Like a cloudless summer sky.

He tried to articulate a sentence, a word, a sound, but his vocal chords seemed to have vanished, together with all his bones.

He didn’t notice that he’d obeyed the request – he wasn’t entirely sure he was actually in control of his limbs – until he saw the man take another step towards him.

“There’s no need to hit her. You know she is our Goddess, Aiolia. You have recognized her the moment you felt her Cosmos.” He said, his voice even, his eyes gentle, a soft smile gracing his lips –

He still has dimples.

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning, apparently waking him up.

Everything rushed together in his head – his appearance, his way of speaking, his posture, his smile, his eyes –

“Aiolos?” He mouthed, almost without emitting the actual sound. Articulating the name was enough to make him feel like his whole body had been filled with rocks. He was rooted to the ground, far too aware of gravity pulling him down.

He watched as the man – Aiolos – smiled again, this time wider, his eyes shining of an affectionate, tender light he remembered from before…

“Ne, adelphos mou” was the answer.

Simple, straightforward. Like him.

“He should be dead – everybody told me he was dead!”

“But they never found the body. Nobody saw him dead – not even Shura.”

“I should have felt his Cosmos! In thirteen years, I should have felt it once!”

“He was protecting Athena by staying hidden – wouldn’t you have done the same?”

His thoughts, objections and rebuttals were racing back and forth in his head, and he wanted to shout them all at – Aiolos! – but he knew he had no voice to scream. He was able to exhale a “You were dead… they told me you were dead…” with a tone he hardly recognized as his own – it seemed to come from somebody else, from outside of him.

Aiolos – his brother, Aiolos, his brother! – sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly, his smile sadder. “I know – I’m terribly sorry for that. I had to stay hidden, to protect Athena. Trust me, there was not a day in which I didn’t miss you.”

A weight settled heavily on his chest – it was crushing his heart…

“You have grown so much, Lia mou…”

No one had called him Lia mou after that night. No one had ever done so… except for him.

Aiolia didn’t notice he’d fallen on his knees until he saw Aiolos do the same in front of him.

He didn’t notice clutching his brother’s body like a lifeline until he felt Aiolos’ arms enveloping his own.

He didn’t realize that the inconsolable wails and sobs he heard came from his own throat until he registered Aiolos’ voice whispering softly in his ears, like he used to do so many years ago every time he had a nightmare.

Aiolia buried his face in the crook of his brother’s shoulder, his whole frame trembling uncontrollably, thirteen years’ worth of tears running down his cheeks, wetting his neck and Aiolos’ shirt – his hands grabbing fistfuls of that same shirt on his brother’s back.

“Shh, Lia mou, shh… I’m here, adelphos mou, it’s fine, it’s fine. I’m here now, I’m here. Shh…” Aiolos whispered, his voice muffled by Aiolia’s own curls being pressed against his mouth, and every word was punctuated by a kiss on his brother’s head.

“Aiolos, Aiolos, Aiolos…” was all Aiolia could say, over and over, as if only saying his brother’s name like a chant could keep him rooted to that embrace, in fear that if he stopped, he would wake up and Aiolos would disappear again…

But it was him, alive and in flesh, his instincts screamed at him, in elation. The smell of his skin, the warmth of his body, the texture of his hair under his fingers, the tenderness of his touch, the colour of his eyes, his Cosmos!

His stars roared with joy at connecting with his brother’s ones, finally free to escape the confines of his skin to touch a comrade. Thirteen years without ever feeling it had left him starved for that warm, comforting presence, made of fire and light like his own. They connected, molded and fused, eliciting a humming sound of pure and unadulterated happiness from Leo and Sagittarius, that resonated all the way to their constellations and back, the universe itself rejoicing on the reunion of two brothers.

An instant later, Athena’s Cosmos enveloped them in a cocoon, adding her own tender joy and blessing to the general feeling. Aiolia felt Aiolos’ smile against his hair, and his tears dampen his Cloth’s headpiece, but he didn’t mind a single bit.

Finally spent, Aiolia and Aiolos stood silent, still enveloped in each other’s arms.

It was the younger brother that broke the silence.

“…I think I drenched your shirt.”

Aiolos threw his head back and laughed out loud, like he hadn’t done in years, the booming sound echoing all through the woods. Aiolia couldn’t stop a wide smile from breaking out on his face hearing it.

“It’s quite fine, little one. I’m afraid your Cloth is suffering from dampness too!”

It was Aiolia’s turn to laugh – his came out more like a giggle, and hadn’t he been so unbearably happy, he would have felt an idiot.

They helped each other raise, maintaining the contact – there was no way in Olympus Aiolia would let go anytime soon – then both turned towards Saori – no, Athena – who had been patiently waiting for them, arms clasped primly in front of her, her eyes twinkling with happiness.

She directed her gaze towards Aiolos, and Aiolia was surprised to see her smile take a teasing turn. “Sagittarius Aiolos, I remember quite distinctly of telling you to stay hidden.”

What baffled him even more was Aiolos’ easy smile and nonchalant answer: “I’m sorry, Anissa, but certainly you wouldn’t expect me to not intervene in a situation such as that?”

Athena chuckled. “Fair point, my Saint, fair point.”

Aiolia whipped his head from his brother to Athena and back, wondering what he had just witnessed – his brother could tease the Goddess? And she responded in kind?

“Man, I have quite a lot to catch up on, apparently.”

Aiolia took his headpiece off and bended on one knee, lowering his head in respect.

“My Goddess, please forgive me for doubting you. I am at your service.” He said, his voice solemn and earnest as it hadn’t been in a very long time.

“There is nothing to forgive, Leo Aiolia. I knew your heart was in the right place from the start.” She replied, and he could feel a smile in her voice. He released the breath he didn’t know he was holding, feeling awash with relief.

As he rose, they heard Sagittarius emit a high note, before separating from Seiya’s body and reassembling into its resting form at Athena’s side.

Seiya turned to Aiolos, smiling amicably. “Thanks for that, Aiolos-senpai. I don’t think I would have made it this time without your Cloth’s help! Where was it, anyway?”

Aiolos shrugged. “Somewhere in the vicinity. But really, Seiya, had you called for Pegasus I think you would have been fine in the end… Why did you not summon it, by the way?”

Seiya’s face grew blank.

Aiolia watched with amusement as Aiolos’ expression twisted in bafflement at Seiya’s obvious ignorance on the issue, just before he groaned loudly. “Oh for Zeus’ sake, Seiya, you know you can summon your Cloth no matter how far away you are from each other, don’t you?”

Seiya sagged his head in his shoulders. “I didn’t think I could do that!” He grumbled, defensively.

Aiolia didn’t even fight the smirk that tugged at his lips. “You know, Seiya, I’m pretty sure that Marin taught you this… or was it one of those lessons you fell asleep on?”

He didn’t expect Aiolos to laugh. “He did? No wonder he reminded me of you!” Then, his gaze fixed on him, speculatively. “By the way, who’s Marin?”

Seiya’s countenance brightened mischievously. “Oh, just the Aquila Saint, my master – you know, she and Aiolia are such good friends!”

Aiolos raised his eyebrows, an interested smile dancing on his mouth. Aiolia felt a traitorous blush raise to his cheeks as he glared at Seiya, who looked far too smug for his own good.

Unexpectedly, it was Athena that intervened. “Just like you and Ophiuchus Shaina are, Seiya?”

Seiya blanched. Aiolia sent a grateful look at his Goddess, who was looking quite pleased with herself.

“If you call ‘making my life hell’ and ‘trying to kill me for months’ being friends, Saori-san…!”

“You saw her face, Seiya, what did you expect?” Aiolia interjected, shaking his head at his young friend’s naiveté. “A girl as proud as she is wouldn’t have accepted the option of loving you so easily – although really, considering how much she ranted and raged about you, I’d be surprised if there’s one rock back at the Sanctuary that hasn’t figured out what she felt for you already.”

Seiya fidgeted uncomfortably. “You do realize that she’s unconscious over there, right?” He said, irritated.

Aiolia sobered and nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. But she’ll be fine, trust me.”

He felt Aiolos’ hand tighten around his forearm as he smiled at him. “Your healing skills are impressive, brother. I’m proud of you.”

Aiolia felt another wave of tears, happy this time, gather in his eyes, but swallowed them back and just smiled back at his brother – he’d cried enough for today.

“So… what are we going to do now?” He asked, his strategical thinking kicking back now that his emotions were stable once again.

Athena and Aiolos exchanged a glance before his brother spoke. “I think we should discuss this in a more comfortable place. Let’s go back to the hospital – Hyoga and Shun can get patched up and Seiya will finally get his much-needed rest!”

Seiya groaned quite spectacularly, causing another bout of hilarity to run through the small group.

Aiolia felt his heart swell with a happiness he didn’t remember feeling ever before.

“I could get used to this.” He thought, as he picked up Shaina to bring her with them, while Seiya and Aiolos helped Hyoga and Shun on their feet. He met Aiolos’ eyes, and his brother smiled softly at him.

Nothing had been easy about this mission. But it had turned out to be the best thing to happen in his life in a long, long time.

There would be another battle to fight: the usurper - who was he, anyway? He must remember to ask – would have to be defeated, and they would have to persuade the others – he already felt exhausted at the thought of trying to convince Shaka – but with his Goddess and his brother by his side, he would face it all.

Tomorrow.

For now, he would enjoy this gift the Fates had bestowed him.

“At last, all will be well”.

Notes!

I went with the manga timeline to explain what happened with the whole ‘Saga Debacle’. It seemed the only one that made sense;

Anissa (Ανίσσα) and Promachos (Πρόμαχος) are epithets of Athena - the first means ‘lady, mistress’, the second ‘first in battle’. Soter (Σωτήρ) is an epithet of Zeus, meaning ‘saviour’.

Toxotis (Toξότης) and Leon (Λέων) are, respectively, the names of Sagittarius and Leo in modern Greek. Since I assume that Greek is the official language of Saints, they probably call their Cloths by their Greek names.

Gold Saints refer to their Cloths as ‘she’. Much like sailors do with ships.

Adelphos mou (Αδελφός μου) means ‘my brother’, in modern Greek - although in this context it’s more like ‘brother mine’. Ne (written Ναι) means ‘yes’ in the same language.

The tenia (ταινία in ancient Greek) is the headband worn by priests and competition winners in Ancient Greece and symbolized the favour of the Gods.

Katharevousa Greek (Καθαρεύουσα) was a form of modern Greek created ‘artificially’ at the start of the Nineteenth Century deriving most grammatical structures from the Attic dialect of Classic Greek, unlike the dimotikì who retained all simplifications and mixing elements that had occurred through the years of Ottoman domination. It was the official language of Greece up until 1976, but was used mostly in documents and formal occasions - people mostly spoke dimotikì, even more so now. Since the Sanctuary seems to be very attached to old traditions, it wouldn’t be surprising if they kept using this formal version of modern Greek, especially in solemn occasions - and Aiolos taught it to Saori/Athena.

#saint seiya #my fanfiction #saint seiya AU #Aiolos survives AU #get ready for the wave of FEELS™ #sagittarius aiolos #leo aiolia #pegasus seiya #saori kido #Athena #ophiuchus shaina #cygnus hyoga #andromeda shun #the Aiobros