Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Saint Seiya Fan Fiction ❯ The Intense Clash of the Gods ❯ Tale 71 ( Chapter 71 )

In the recesses of his mind, Minos was sure he was hearing the stewardess say something along the lines that the flight would soon be landing in Athens. Of course, the fact he was sitting next to Hilda, who he was watching a zombie outbreak movie with, caused the words to be quieted against the roar of the flesh-eating undead.

"So what would you do if there was a zombie outbreak?" Hilda asked, the movie suddenly turning itself off as the last of the protagonists was cornered by one of the unthinking hordes. The plane must be landing, and she took her headphones off.

"Well..." Minos said with a coy grin, "I got my string... probably get a live-action puppet show." He was only half-joking with the line.

"Shall we?" Hilda asked as she stood up.

"Certainly... but we'll have to wait for most of our luggage."

"Good point..." Hilda sighed, knowing what they had brought along. "But we better get going anyways..."

"Yeah."
_
"Time spent repairing the Sea Dragon Scale..." Pandora sighed as she pointed to the three figures in front of her on the desk, "Twenty minutes. Time spent repairing the Alcor Zeta God Robe was about the same. Fortunately, Fenrir's Robe only had twenty-eight small holes punched in it... that took about a quarter of the time to finish up. And Isaac..." Pandora said with a grin as she stared at the four members of Team Pentrine across the table, "Yours didn't get damaged at all!"

"Good..." Isaac answered, "If it's okay with everyone, I'm keep it on me, however. You know... Hyoga..."

"Good point," Charybdis answered. "I never thought he was that cracked..."

"Something must've happened to him... or something didn't happen to him..." Isaac answered as he grabbed his Scale and started walking out when Charybdis grabbed his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Out," Isaac answered. "I have a hunch... and I need to go to Siberia for it."

Charybdis looked at him for a moment before sighing. "Fine. But you're not going alone... especially since you don't have Combat Awareness."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Fenrir said. "When do we leave?" He noticed Isaac had no objections to him coming along.

Charybdis grinned. "Right now, actually..."
_
One World had a very great perk to it... no need for arranging travel from place to place... and before Fenrir and Isaac knew it, they found themselves standing in the icy and bleak region of Russia. In contrast to the inhumanely frigid nights on Death Queen Island, however, they didn't mind it too bad.

"So..." Fenrir said as he looked around, "What are we looking around for?"

"A boat, under the ice," Isaac answered. "If my hunch is right... then there's going to be two people down there too. One a woman... the other a Gold Saint."
_
"So..." Cecil asked as he walked down the street with Charybdis, the woman wearing a white blouse and green slacks, in contrast to his black T-shirt and blue jeans. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Charybdis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, we've got three days before the semi-final match... which is probably up against that 'Gods Team'... although we won't know until the other rounds are done. I must admit... the one advantage about having a double-dose of rounds let us have a few extra days off... and I need to pay a certain Gold Saint a visit."

"Who... Kanon?"

"No... but I think she might like a visit from you too."
_
"Give me another... dammit..." Shaina said as she sat at the bar, a number of men looking at her warily... the bartender himself a little appalled by her complete disregard for her health.

"Don't you think you've-"

"If you finish that sentence... the way I think you will... I'll kill you," Shaina drawled... waving around before collapsing forward onto the counter.

Algol, Jabu, Ichi, and Ban were all hospital-bound... critically injured by Charybdis and Isaac's actions. She herself hadn't been too hot, although her Gold Cloth had cushioned some of the more painful blows. Her team was out of the running now... and what chance at getting a little respect at Sanctuary was good and gone now...

"Bartender, give me a beer..."

"Uh... I can't to mino-"

"He's with me, I'm of age, so do it," came another strong female voice, Shaina turning to see the two members of Team Pentrine that had humiliated her sitting there.

"You still need to give back my helmet and Fenrir's headpiece," Charybdis said as Shaina snorted at them.

"I'll do it when I'm damn good and ready..." she answered. "I'd like to at least have some memory of my fifteen minutes of fame, at least for a while."

"Huh... so the 'Shadow' Gold Saint is not viewed positively by her peers?" Cecil asked, looking down at the beer in his hands. Crossing his fingers, he downed some of it... downright choking on his first sip of it.

"I don't need this," Shaina said as she got to her feet and staggered backwards, Charybdis stepping in front of her.

"I'm sure you do," Charybdis responded. "You just are convincing yourself otherwise."

Shaina scowled at her, pushing the Mariner away, although Charybdis just used One World and grabbed her neck from behind.

"I've still got Gram... and I'm not afraid to use it," Chary said as Cecil looked at her in surprise. Shaina still didn't seem surprised at all, and Cecil spoke up.

"Chary... let me handle this..."

Charybdis and Shaina both turned to the Alcor Zeta God Warrior. "I can handle this on my own... I hope."

Chary sighed, shaking her head and walking away as Cecil looked at Shaina. She stared at him before staggering forward a step. "Sit down, will you?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk, that's all."
_
"You sure this is the place?" Fenrir asked as he and Isaac walked around the Siberian countryside, finally reaching an area where there was nothing but ice underneath them for a solid twenty feet.

"Not sure... I'm not the one with Combat Awareness here, am I?" Isaac answered.

Fenrir sighed, closing his eyes. "We're looking for a boat, right?"

"Yeah... with a dead woman in it."

Fenrir nodded and pointed behind Isaac. "Fifty feet below the surface."

Isaac sighed in thank as he smashed through the ice with a single punch... She was down there. Isaac really couldn't even believe he was about to do what he had decided on since yesterday night. Hyoga was, in a sense, dead. He was so consumed with sorrow and pain... it truly devastated Isaac. The first time they had met, Isaac had once chastised Hyoga for wishing to be a Saint so he could have the strength to visit his dead mother... if only to finally say goodbye.

Seeing him nearly die the process, but be determined to do so anyways, had changed Isaac's perception of it. Hyoga had loved his mother very much... a kind of love that showed he would be willing to tackle any obstacle for his beliefs. He had also seemed more... mentally healthy in those early days. Hyoga had declared he would live his life and be happy, as his mother had wished him to be... those rare visits he had planned merely a way to pay respect to his mother whenever he felt it necessary.

But after seeing him at Sanctuary... Isaac knew something wrong had happened. He wondered if Hade- no, Shun, knew something of the situation.

"Fenrir... no matter what your moral objections are to what I'm about to do, I humbly request you do not try to stop me."

"What?"

"Please... just promise."

"Sure... I guess..."

Isaac placed his hand in the water, slowly creating a chilly path that trailed down to the ship where Hyoga's mother, Natassia, remained. He knew what he was doing was cold and uncaring... or at least part of him was trying to adhere to friendship and say that it was. Isaac knew better... this was something that would no doubt hurt Hyoga far less in the long run.
_
Elsewhere, in Sanctuary... the Aquarius Saint realized what was about to happen... as if the words of his mother, words of warning and danger were echoing in his ears.

Hyoga... save me...

"Mother..." Hyoga said as tears streamed down his right eye as he vanished, teleporting to his most sacred place.
_
"There..." Isaac said as he picked up a large piece of ice, looking down into the waters. "I... I just can't believe I'm about to do this..."

"We all have to say goodbye," Fenrir sighed. "Three years, three years I lived the high live in Asgard. Then I watched everyone I ever cared for be killed by a bear or run away scared... only to be protected by a wolf that was in fact a man just keeping me alive in case the Odin Robe was needed. It hurts... but now isn't the time to second guess yourself."

Isaac nodded, jumping up in the air and flinging the gigantic block of ice into the water... Fenrir knowing full well that the vessel under the waters... as well as the decaying body of one Natassia Camus, were completely crushed by the action.

A scream... a scream like that of a wild animal suddenly rang out... only a few hundred yards away, and Fenrir and Isaac turned to see Hyoga charging at them, his Gold Cloth on and his fists clenched.

They had taken away his mother... his Natassia...

"YOU!!!!!!" Hyoga screamed, attacking at Isaac, although Fenrir quickly knew exactly where the Gold Saint was, even with lightspeed movement, and kicked him away. Hyoga slid on the ice, looking at them in rage as Isaac showed no sorrow or remorse for what he did.

"Hyoga..." Isaac started to say... "What... what happened to you...? When I knew you before... you-"

"THE WORLD HAPPENED!" Hyoga screamed as he got back up. "The cruel and merciless world... that took away everything I cared about... my friends... Shun, you, my mother... EVERYTHING! AND THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME GOING WAS FINDING COMFORT IN MY MOTHER'S ARMS!"

Fenrir's jaw dropped as Isaac couldn't believe what Hyoga had just said. Did he mean...

"One Gold Saint having a superiority complex to hide her own feelings of shame and being ostracized... a second that snaps at the slightest insult towards the Pope... and the third suffering from an Oedipus Complex..." Fenrir coldly stated. His God Robe quickly formed itself on him as Isaac's Scale followed suit. "I wonder how messed up the others are. Let's get going, Isaac."

"Yeah..." The Kraken Mariner turned around and walked away with Fenrir, ignoring Hyoga's screams as he dove into the water, checking on his mother's remains... finding nothing amidst his searching. "Hyoga... grow up, dammit."
_
The first Temple of the Gold Saints, the Aries Temple, had been busy as Shion worked on repairing the countless cloths that had been damaged during the initial battles of the tournament... the armors damaged by the members of his team, "Team Primary Gold" and the other Gold Saint-exclusive team, the "Gods Team", were quite thoroughly ruined.

But when he heard his master speak up, he stood at attention. "Shion."

He turned around, seeing the grinning image of his master, Libra Saint Dohko Kido. "Master Dohko..."

The long-lived Libra saint smiled as he walked past Shion, gesturing for him to follow.

"Shion... it has been a long time since he has set foot here... and since your battle with him, the Griffon Specter has built up a large reputation."

"I know, Master."

"Don't you think..." Dohko said with a grin, "That we should pay him a visit?"