Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ The Intense Clash of the Gods ❯ Tale 42 ( Chapter 42 )

A/N: In all honesty, until the day I actually started writing the start of the story arc after “Goddess and Hakkeshu”, I never planned on making his arc. That being said… I am very glad I did… if only to have some non-Pentrine fun. Whoo! And by the way, any comments or questions would be appreciated. I am a review-starved writer, especially at this point in my career, and would like some actual input.

 

Don't wanna know why, Everybody ready get it on!

The upraised fist shows that I'll never give up!
I'm devoted to my duty almost like a psychotic soldier...
That raised flag doesn't mean that there's no danger,
Here comes the war against those that don't fear a god...

Hold your arms out to the grieving voices...
Please, save them!
It's never to late to make a last stand...
In the Fire! Break her down!
The bells of a dark tower calls...
Show them this isn't just a foolish game!

In the Fire! Break on through!
Show them just what they're up against...
Their foolish dreams will end here,

Don't wanna know, Everybody ready get it on!

Charybdis stepped out of the shower, looking at her hair... she really needed to put a bit more style into it to keep it out of her eye. When it had been completely soaked during her fight with the Hakkeshu, it had clung to her face and out of her eyes... but that wouldn't always happen. Taking the singular clump of hair that was still modestly long, she gelled it into an elaborate "hang-down" angle to the left side of her face. Nodding to herself, she thought back to her upstart victory over the Hakkeshu and especially Shinji.

The bathroom door, banging due to Cecil, however, caused her to speed up the process and get out the door in a few moments, letting the God Warrior take his turn. As usual, Fenrir and Isaac were still sleeping soundly in their beds.

Upon Cecil coming out, he had a bite to eat with Chary as they discussed their most recent battle.

"It was hard... definitely..." Cecil mused. "But we pulled through, like every other time. We've got a knack for that... like really having a knack."

"Too true," Charybdis responded, looking up to see Isaac and Fenrir stagger down the stairs like the living dead. "Oh, you're awake too. Sleep well?"

"Modestly..." Fenrir answered. "Nothing like fighting a girl that nearly punches a hole through your heart, then fight a goddess, and finally single-handedly destroy a gigantic pillar that some armies couldn't scratch in one blow to completely drain you."

"Slept fine," Isaac answered as he sat down at the table. "How's Julien doing?"

Chary shrugged. "Well, trying to get back to living a normal life, but considering the Coronas are there to protect him, I really don't think we need to be here. That and whoever was behind all of this probably has decided to leave Mina alone."

"Am I interrupting anything?"

They all turned to see Minos standing there, and they noticed finally that his hair was a tad longer than it had been during his battle against Freya.

"Uh, no... just didn't expect you so early," Chary stated.

Minos pulled up a seat and looked around. "I... I really hate to have to bring this up... but have you ever heard of a Kamui?"
_
"It wasn't too long ago, really..." Kanon explained as he and Rei rode on an airplane to Greece. "The monster, Typhon, attempted a takeover of Sanctuary with his army of Gigas. The Saints scrambled to defense, and on the frontlines of the battle stood two Gold Saints and five Bronze. The Golds being Aiolos Talos, now Pope of Sanctuary, and my brother... Saga Kastor Slate."

"He died, didn't he?"

"Yes... died a hero taking a million Gigas with him." Kanon looked down, remembering finding the countless bodies scattered around, and in the center... his brother, dead.

"It... must have been painful for you," Rei said, looking at him. Her voice still maintained a general monotonous tone, but there were hidden meanings and accents in the words she spoke.

She certainly wasn't just an assassin of Nerve anymore, most likely she was haunted by her actions more than anything else."

"Yes... it was. But I wasn't the only one to lose somebody. Those five Bronze Saints had been known as the Bronze Five due to their incredible strength and the fact that they all were borderline Gold Saints in regards to power... Seiya Miho, the Pegasus Saint; Gou Shiryu, the Dragon Saint; Shun Phonis, the Andromeda Saint; Ikki Phonis, the Phoenix Saint and Shun's older brother; and Hyoga Camus, the Cygnus Saint. They were the ones that confronted Typhon along with Aiolos... in the heat of the battle, Shun's nature he already knew of, being the reincarnation of Hades, caused his blood that had been spilt on his and the other Bronze Saints' cloths to make the cloths hyper-evolve.

"The result were Kamui... armor that gave more godly power to a mortal than even the Odin Robe. With their power, Typhon was killed... but at the cost of Seiya, Gou, and Ikki's deaths. Shun decided to finally leave Sanctuary and serve his duty as Hades, and Hyoga was promoted to Gold Saint. Aiolos became the new Pope since Pope Arles had died shortly before that, and the Kamui were stored away... until now..."
_
"Traditionally," Minos finished up, "Any time a Kamui user has died, the armor is placed away until that generation's reincarnation of Athena was found. At that point, there is a great celebration, the high point of this being an epic tournament with the Kamui as a final prize. Now... I haven't been back to Greece since... since four years ago, so I don't know who's Kamui it was. Lord Hades doesn't say a word about that at all, either. But these armor are dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Why not just let this all slide though?" Isaac asked. "Sanctuary's done this before... you said so yourself. So why get involved?"

"Because these Kamui would be dangerous in the wrong hands." Minos stood up, staring out the window. "The Phoenix Kamui... granting its user immortality, the Andromeda Kamui that is armed with the legendary Andromeda Chains... weapons that were already renowned for their power when it was a Bronze Cloth, the Cygnus Kamui that grants its user the power to destroy heat and effectively bypass the conservation of energy, the Dragon Kamui with its nearly indestructible plating, and the Pegasus Kamui... that I pray we'll never discover what it can do..."

"I'm assuming Sanctuary, with its 88 Saints and innumerable foot soldiers is deemed not trustworthy for these Kamui?" Fenrir asked. Minos nodded. "Then why would a Specter of Hades be trusted with all of this too?"

"Pandora Boxes," Cecil responded, looking first at Fenrir and then at Minos. "You want us to enter so we can win them and place them in Pandora Boxes."

Minos grinned. "You're quick on the uptake. That's the plan. Normally I'd want to team up with some Specters... but Radamanthys and Aiacos are still on leave, and the tournament, titled the 'Galaxian Wars', will begin in one month, meaning Lune will go on leave too. In all honesty, I don't trust some Specters... we've had more than our share of rotten apples. Malphas was the absolute worst... but together I think we've got a chance at winning this. I mean, you four... you guys have handled things I could never have done when I was your age."

"Thanks," Isaac said. "I assume you're going to have some wonderful training program for us to do in the meantime."

Minos laughed once happily. "You're expecting it... this is good. And since we are going to be facing off against probably the toughest Saints around, I don't want to risk anything... so we're going to train hard at the most brutal local on the entire planet... Death Queen Island!"
_

"Just a little more to the left, please!" Elly asked as Fenrir shoved the bookshelf a little more in the desired direction. "Whew... thanks!"

With the end of the flood came, for many people, the need to move furniture back down to the first story... not exactly easy if you happened to be a frail girl.

Yet Elly Aponi Desrin had found a knight without armor (or so she thought) in the more-than-willing Fenrir... who had ulterior motives for the meeting.

Specifically, Minos had arranged transport to that "Death Queen Island" place for 8 o'clock, and Fenrir felt he actually owed Elly an appropriate "I'm going" that would not leave her in tears or think ill of him.

Of course, he actually had to think it up first.

Sitting down on the last step in the staircase upstairs, Fenrir caught his breath and noticed Elly was sitting next to him, practically staring holes through him.

"Yes?" he asked.

"No, I'm just thinking how much a contradiction you are and all..."

"What?"

"Well, with all due respect, you can be a pessimistic ass and you act as such nearly all the time. Yet at the same time, you pretty much do whatever you think will make a hopeless situation better. Makes no sense, really."

Fenrir shrugged. "You almost have a point there. Except I act like that because I KNOW how much life can really suck. But it's never gonna change if we spend our time whining about it rather than getting up and doing something about it, right?"

"Plain and simple, makes sense too. Your parents must be really proud of you."

"Yeah, they probably are," Fenrir answered in all honesty. "I'm definitely not the son they had in mind, but I doubt they'd ever be ashamed of me."

"You don't know?"

"They're..." Fenrir started to say, remembering the rather scarring sight when he was three of a bear literally ripping them apart in front of his eyes. "They're back home... last I checked... what about you?"

Elly shrugged. "Been here my whole life. Some kids here end up getting adopted, some are stuck here until they graduate from school and can carve something out of nothing, but I stay just to help out the younger ones. I was really motivated by that girl that did that when I was really young here, Seika Miho."

"Why isn't she here now?"

Elly suddenly looked down at the ground, deathly silent.

"She died. She was killed a couple of years ago on a trip to Greece for some reason she didn't tell anyone about. I felt if she wasn't going to be a caretaker for others here, somebody else had to."

"I'm... sorry."

"I'm sur-"

"I really am," Fenrir spoke up, looking at Elly. "Believe me when I say this... good men and women die every day. They die in painful ways and it just isn't right. I know from experience."

Elly turned to him. "Your parents?"

"..."

"Oh..."

Fenrir was about to kick himself for screwing up, but that would no doubt blow any chance of recovery. Instead, he stood up and looked around. "I'm sorry for saying that, I really am. But she'd be proud of you, it's not easy to live, defining yourself by the success of the people you care for."

Elly looked up, seeing Fenrir holding out a hand.

"Come on, let's take a walk or something."

"Thanks, Fenrir."

They walked out of the orphanage, Fenrir hoping the weather wouldn't be too bad. He doubted another terrible flood, but there were certainly other forces of nature out there to worry about.

"So..." Elly started up again, "Any news about Mana and the others? That certainly was fortunate that you, Isaac, and Cecil found them."

"Well, some serious bumps and bruises, but nothing they won't be laughing off in a few weeks, I'm sure."

"Mana's a great friend, isn't she?"

Fenrir smirked, screaming on the inside, YEAH! DECIDING TO HELP OUT ONE FRIEND TO KILL ANOTHER AND IN THE PROCESS, THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD!!!!!!!! BFF material right there, alright! "... She sure is. Too bad Julien's house somehow ended up exploding..."

"Oh, that's not a problem," Elly answered, grinning mischievously. "I heard Mina's letting him stay at hers and she's going to be sleeping at Mizuki's."

Most likely sleeping WITH Mizuki, Fenrir's Mystery Science Theater 3000 mind answered. "Well, that's what friends are for and everything."

"So... did you find that person you were looking for?"

"What?" Fenrir said, looking at Elly in a confused manner.

"You said a couple of days ago that's what you were trying to find somebody. Did it work out?"

"Uh... yeah, but they're fine. To be honest, I really can't do much for them with Isaac and the others that they already have done."

"So what're you gonna do then?"

Okay... Fenrir thought, Tightrope time. They were walking along a stream in the park, this had to be done perfectly... a pathetically small window of opportunity that Fenrir knew he couldn't Wolf Cruelty Claw his way out of...

Well, he could try, but the result would be pretty bloody...

"Well, to be honest... I'm going to be leaving for a bit... hopefully no more than one and a half months and-"

SMACK!

"Then why the hell come and say goodbye in the first place?" Elly said, turning to look at Fenrir, a red mark on his cheek where she had struck him.

Don't panic. Don't get pissed. You screw up here, and you're dead, Fenrir. Just like a fight... kinda...

"I'm sorry..."

"I understand that, but then why do all of this?" Elly said, beginning to sound like she was sobbing, her face looking down at the ground.

"Because it's like a promise!" Fenrir answered, not exactly sure what to do with his hands here. If he waved them around, he'd look like he was angry with her. If he put them on her shoulders, it would sorta be like comforting her, but also sorta stupid.

Instead he just stared down at the ground, his arms hanging limply.

"It's..." Fenrir continued, his voice much more subdued, "It's like a promise that there's gonna be a reason for me to come back... that's all."

"And what if this is just some sick way to play with a girl's heart?"

"Your friend is trying to be a cop. All she needs to do is steal some crack from an evidence locker, plant it at the house we stayed at, and you've got grounds for going after me. Worst case, she goes rogue, tracks me down like a dog, drags me back here, and you cut my throat out." Fenrir promptly mentally kicked himself.

Morbid remarks like that were not what a girl wanted to-

There suddenly was a sharp pain on his head as Fenrir was dragged forward by the strands of hair that hung down between his eyes. He suddenly realized he had been pulled into a kiss by Elly and was returning her actions in full...

SNIP!

He blinked as the sound, looking up to see a pair of scissors that had cut said strands of hair.

"ELLY?!?" Fenrir said afterwards, the girl smirking mischievously.

"DNA... in case I have to take you up on that offer... and if that's the case, I'll be seeing you when you get back, Fenrir Volsung..." She smiled once and began walking away, Fenrir shaking his head in shock.

Why'd he have to fall for a girl that had a subtle, occasionally noticable sadistic tendency like himself?