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Resolutions... - 5 : Sacrifice.

A Saint Seiya fanfiction by Ariane Kovacevic, AKA Fuu-chan.





"I definitely don't like this place..."

I turned towards Rika, who was grimacing at the sight of the dark inside of the House of Cancer.

Dark, but in a way that had nothing to do with the other Houses.

In this realm, Death had reigned.

Sionna nodded.

"It's even creepier than I had thought it'd be. Yuck."

I had a relieved sigh as we walked through the exit of the House and felt the sunlight on our faces. Luckily, our dear opponent had had the good grace not to use it. Oh, I was quite sure he hadn't spared us that out of the goodness of his kind little heart. He had had at least two reasons :

He could never have forced anyone into that role, and also...

It would have lacked finesse as well as interest. Deathmask had been quite straightforwardly evil, and unworthy of the Gold Cloth which had abadoned him in the end... It wouldn't have been fun.

"All right, four down, eight to go !"

I chuckled when I heard Steve's words, and burst out laughing outright when I saw Adrian raising an eyebrow in a very comical fashion, as if saying :

Hey, you stole my line !

On impulse, I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sun, and stared at the Stairs resignedly. The sight was more than daunting, but at least I supposed it'd serve to make me lose some weight...

Once everyone had regained their breath, we resumed our slow ascent. My eyes locked on the House of Leo, and something like anguish, or fear wrung my heart.

The House of Leo...

If ever it were to have a Guardian...

I shivered in spite of the infernal heat, and felt a lump in my throat, refusing to consider the possibility.

Praying fervently we'd find it empty.




Behind his mask, he smiled.

Now, it would truly begin.




Inside the first House, Aries Mu turned towards the upper levels of the Sanctuary, unable to help himself. For a fraction of a second, a blinding golden light radiated from him and faded, letting the shadows rule alone again over the small temple. He bowed his head and then looked up, fierce determination written on his face, almost imperceptibly marred by another emotion.

Sorrow.

He should have gone from this place, he should have returned to the mountains of Tibet and waited there. After all, he could watch from there as well as from here. His part was done for now...

And yet, here he remained.

Held back by the words of a girl who didn't care for anything or anyone in the world.

Or so she wanted it to appear.

My Guardian Angel.

He shook his head, smiling despite himself. Although the concept was alien to this realm, it was strangely fitting.

Sighing inwardly, he focused his mind and resumed watching.

He could do no more.

No less.

No matter how reluctant he was to witness this.

This, and its consequences.




I stopped as we stepped under the roof of the House of Leo, desperately wanting to turn back while it was still possible to do so.

Inside the small temple, the shadows were dancing to the tune of a torch lighting the columns and the walls. Sure sign of the presence of a Guardian in this place.

And that meant...

A hand brushed my right arm, and I turned towards Roy.

"I know, but it may not happen this way, we may not be bound by the events of the past..."

I looked woodenly back at him, unable to detach myself from the certainty that we would be.

Our enemy wouldn't miss that for anything in the world. He had had to be waiting for this, it fitted his ideal so perfectly...

"Which events of the past ?"

Adrian sighed, then told Steve :

"You see, Leo Aioria was a Saint gifted both with terrible strength, and the kindest and most generous heart. In short, he was human, in the noblest sense of the term. Because of circumstances I have no time to elaborate on, he was turned to serve evil, manipulated by the one who had usurped the head of the Sanctuary. But when he confronted the Goddess Athena, events forced him to to believe her claim, and he came back here to face the one who had made him fight and try to destroy what he should have cherished more than his own life..."

Liz added coldly :

"To make it short, when he reached the highest level of Sanctuary, he was trapped by treachery, and a double curse was set upon him..."

Before she could end the tale, steps resounded in the hall before us, and a ghostly shape appeared among the shadows. I tensed, looking down at the Chain, but it was still moving slowly, aimlessly. Feeling danger...

But no enemy.

I stepped back, an awful certainty closing its claws upon my soul.

The light of the torch reflected on his Gold Cloth as he walked towards us, and at last we could see him clearly.

"Oh gods..."

I raised my hands to my lips, horrified, as the key piece of the puzzle fell into place. Shaking my head, I whispered :

"Doug..."

Steve and Kristin exclaimed in the same time :

"You mean he's our Kazuhiko ?!"

The hint of a smile full of sadness came to Doug's face as he said :

"Names are insignificant..."

Something unreadable shone in his eyes.

"You shouldn't have come. I am the Guardian of this place, and I may not let anyone go through..."

He shook his head sadly.

"I kept hoping you'd turn back before reaching this House, I kept hoping..."

He concluded wearily :

"But it was stupid I guess. Please, go away now. Go..."

I turned away, unable to watch the plea in his eyes, knowing what it meant.

Knowing...

Rika stepped towards him, saying resolutely :

"We can't do this Doug. Even if we had no other reason, we must find Mark."

Surprised flashed in Doug's eyes.

"Mark ? He isn't..."

He interrupted himself abruptly, then resumed, his eyes suddenly devoid of emotion.

"It doesn't matter anyway. Turn back now, or face the consequences of your choice."

Steve sighed angrily.

"Listen Doug, you're not making sense. You knnow all of us, we're friends. You'd fight us ? Hurt us ? Knowing we're friends and we'd never have an evil goal ? You don't have to stand against us, why should you do something you obviously don't want to ?"

Doug chuckled sorrowfully, gesturing helplessly.

"You don't understand..."

He stared at us steadily, and I felt despair engulfing my heart when I saw the look in his eyes.

Doom.

He added softly :

"You can't understand. The strength, the force of both Will and Duty. My feelings do not count, I *have* to carry out my mission."

Steve stepped towards him, asking in a strange voice :

"Even if it means fighting us, even possibly killing us ?"

Distantly, I noticed that Steve's body was tense, anger radiating from him like a fire.

No, that emotion went far beyond anger...

Doug nodded slowly, replying :

"If need be, yes."

Suddenly, I saw the twin sabers in Steve's hands, and belatedly remembered he had been able to keep them since they hadn't been part of the Taurus Gold Cloth.

And now he'd use them.

And lock...

Destiny.

He rushed towards Doug, saying grimly :

"Then let's fight."

Lai cried :

"Steve, don't !"

Too late.

We watched numbly, helplessly as Fate's cruel and merciless arm struck, unable to do anything to prevent it.

In a slow motion, the twin blades described a shining arc towards the ceiling, dancing in the shadows, then went down.

And the circle was completed.

Golden light blinded us, and once it was possible to watch again, we saw Steve lying against a column, apparently unharmed, his sabers out of his reach. Then we saw Doug, slowly wiping a few drops of blood from a cut on his left cheek.

His eyes...

Mad.

In a lazy, feline move, he turned towards Steve and smiled.

"So, you dared..."

I wanted to turn around and flee, but I stayed where I was, unable to take my mind away from the thought that nothing could be done to prevent tragedy from reenacting itself. So I kept on watching as a golden aura radiated from Doug.

Brighter.

And brighter.

Suddenly, I saw a movement from the corner of my eye, and turned to see Liz dashing towards Steve, who was slowly getting to his feet. I looked at her, unmoving, wondering what it was she was hoping to accomplish.

Get killed as well ?

She put herself before Steve, facing Doug, and held up her left arm, grim resolution written on her face. At the same time, Doug's smile widened, baring his teeth.

"Futile..."

Power rose in him.

Wild.

Violent.

And he struck, invoking :

"Lightning Bolt !"

The myriads of light rays rushed at Liz and Steve, and I looked away, refusing to see.

"Ariane, look ! Look !"

Kristin was pulling urgently at my left arm, and I reluctantly obeyed.

Goddess !

I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief. Liz had used the Dragon Shield, and it had held. Both she and Steve were alive.

Alive...

Suddenly, I saw blood dripping on the floor from Liz's left arm, and I distinctly heard a ringing sound as half of the Dragon Shield litterally exploded. Kristin's fingers squeezed my arm, and the right edge of the Chain pulled at me, stretching.

Its sharp arrow head showing me the face of the enemy.

Doug pursed his lips, and smiled again. I nodded inwardly, acknowledging reality, and ran towards Steve and Liz, Kristin and RIka on my heels.

No time to think.

We half pulled, half dragged the both of them with us, behind the more than relative safety of a column. Steve asked urgently :

"You okay Liz ? Your arm..."

She was holding it gingerly against her body, her face an unreadable mask. She sighed, whispering between clenched teeth :

"I don't think it's broken, but Aries Mu sure won't be happy to see the state the Dragon Shield is in..."

She stared at Steve steadily.

"Next time, don't rush before you've heard the whole tale."

He bowed his head.

"I'm so terribly sorry Liz, I..."

He shook his head helplessly, unable to find the right words, and asked instead :

"How did this happen ? Why did he turn into this... this wild thing ?"

I smiled sadly.

"Because of the second part of the curse. The first part simply imposed on him to defend and guard this House, regardless of who would request permission to go through. That left him with memories, feelings, and his personality. So when we came in, he knew us, but had to forbid us passage..."

Liz threw a quick glance on the other side of the column, then continued :

"Yeah, but the second part is far worse : if ever someone were to strike at him and draw blood, the full curse would come into play, engulfing him in a cruel, burning rage, a bloodlust that could never be quelled until he had killed, taken a life with his own hands."

A long, ominous silence followed Liz's words, and at last Steve said :

"Then... There's nothing we can do... He'll kill any of us who tries to approach..."

I closed my eyes, trying to keep my mind away from the logical conclusion, and failing.

We had to kill him.

Or one of us had to die.

Sacrificing himself.

But either way...

"Pegasus Ryu Sei Ken !"

Reflexively, I looked on the right to see Adrian launching a foolhardy attack against Doug while Nathalie, Roy, Lai and Sionna were dashing towards us. Doug smiled contemptuously, brushing the attack aside as if it had been a mere pestering fly, and purposefully strode towards the offender.

Adrian didn't wait for him, running to hide behind the column closest to him and shouting :

"I'll distract him ! try and find a way out of this !"

A way out...

Lai knelt beside Liz, looking worriedly at her friend's wounded arm, and Liz flexed her fingers to reassure her that it wasn't too bad. Sionna nodded.

"We heard the explanation. It looks like we're trapped, but that's assuming we must follow the same sequence of events as the one that occured in the past. Can't we find a way around it ? Are we bound by that ?"

Roy shrugged.

"In theory we could try to sneak away or overpower him, but there's no way we can manage that."

Nathalie shook her head incomprehensively.

"Why not ?"

I smiled bitterly at her, replying :

"For the same reason that we couldn't even turn back anymore, or exit the House and try to go around it : he won't let us, and we're no match for him."

Liz nodded.

"I agree. I can tell you from firsthand experience that he has almost full mastery of the Cloth. There's no way we can master him or run past him. None."

Nathalie shifted her position, apparently lost in thoughts, then sighed.

"What you mean is that either we manage to put him out of commission, or we send one of us to his or her death, and then we'll be able to continue... Or we do nothing, and wait until he comes for us... Admitting he hasn't killed Adrian first..."

I nodded reluctantly, and suddenyl Nathalie pointed towards the Chain.

"What about that ? I thought the weapon had powers beyond imagination, can't you use it to restrain Doug, the time for us to run through this House ?"

I chuckled sadly at her words, feeling inadequate.

Hopelessly inadequate.

I told her :

"The Chain can restrain him. I can't. I don't have the power, I'm not Andromeda Shun. In the House of Taurus, we were two to hold Steve, and it worked only because he hadn't sufficient mastery of the Taurus Gold Cloth. Here... I'd drop on the floor drained of energy without accomplishing anything if I tried."

And yet, maybe Kristin and I would have to try. There didn't seem to be any other solution. Letting anyone sacrifice himself, simply wasn't an option. I'd be damned before I let that happen.

Nothing was worth that.

Nothing.

I struck the floor with my right fist, angry with myself. Furious. I couldn't free my mind from the trap we were in. I couldn't see beyond it and think.

"Hell, I refuse to be bound like this !"

I struck my fist against the floor once again, hardly feeling the pain in my knuckles. There was a moment of silence, and then Nathalie said thoughtfully :

"If there is no way out we can find, maybe it's time I tried to use Aries Mu's gift..."

We all looked at her, surprised, and she smiled.

In her right hand, she was holding a magnificent feather, pure white.

Rika asked her :

"Do you know what it's for ?"

She turned the feather around, watching it attentively and replying :

"I don't exactly *know*, but I can guess..."

She stood suddenly, stepping beyond the protection of the column and facing Doug, who had apparently grown tired of chasing Adrian around, and was coming towards us.

"And we don't have time for doubts anyway..."

She winked at us.

"Wish me luck."

Power rose around Doug as he got ready to strike her, and we all stood, coming to Nathalie's side.

There was no sense in hiding anymore.

She joined her hands together, holding the feather horizontally between forefinger and middle finger, and closed her eyes. Doug smiled at us, asking :

"Are you ready to die now ?"

His right arm moved to strike.

Nathalie fell soundlessly on the floor.

A cry of pain resounded through the air.

Coming from Doug.

Kristin and Sionna knelt beside Nathalie, supporting her and she whispered weakely :

"I'll be all right..."

Another cry tore the air, and I looked at Doug, my heart wrenching in sympathy.

The cry was sorrow.

Anguish.

Despair.

He was hugging himself desperately, head bowed.

Eyes haunted.

Sionna asked Nathalie :

"What happened ?"

Nathalie looked at Doug for a long time, silent, then said grimly :

"As I thought, the feather allows me to write and shape the reality of this realm even as we move and exist in it. I can influence events, maybe even change them..."

She shook her head.

"But not this. The binding is too tight. The only thing I managed was to get through to Doug, beyond the cruel predator that has overcome him. What you see... is the result."

Steve nodded, watching the still stricken Doug.

"Then now's the time to go, run out of this place..."

At the same time, Adrian left his own column and ran towards us.

Light flared in Doug's eyes.

Beyond madness.

In the blink of an eye, he struck, sending Adrian flying, and walked towards us.

I stared emptily at him, seeing death. Once again, his right arm moved, and he smiled.

He fell on his knees, in a slow motion.

Blood running from a gaping wound in his chest.

Dripping noisily on the floor.

He was still smiling.

It was only then that I realized he had struck himself. For us, he... We stepped towards him, and he shook his head weakely.

"Don't, please. If you do, the beast within will try to harm you.There's nothing you can do anyway..."

The echo of his blood dripping on the marble pavement was resounding in my head, endlessly.

He was dying.

Dying.

Tears burnt my eyes, and I fought down the overwhelming urge to scream my refusal to the world.

"No way..."

We turned towards Rika. Her jaw was set, her fists clenched in desperate resolve.

"No way I'll let this happen, no way you're dying, Doug..."

She closed her eyes, and I saw two single tears running down her cheeks. Her lips moved slowly as she cast :

Healing Wind

Wind rose in the House, gently lifting Doug from the floor, and spirits of air circled around him.

Closing the terrible wound.

Healing.

Once they were done, Rika stepped back, breathing heavily, and smiling. Steve went to her side and supported her, and she told us :

"He'll be okay, in time. I can't do more, but at least I'm sure he'll heal."

Lai hugged me suddenly, laughing :

"You see, it turned out okay !"

Steve left Rika in the care of Kristin and Sionna, and went to Adrian, helping him up, half supporting him and half dragging him. We all walked slowly towards the exit of the House, leaving Doug's unconscious body under its guard and smiling at each other in a bemused way. A distinct part of me had observed everything with anger and scorn, and was now voicing its opinion, taking advantage of the shock brought by the events and the temporary void it had created in my heart.

Yes, it had turned out okay, but only through the craziest chance. It was only pure luck that had allowed this not to end up in blood. We hadn't won.

And I knew.

Sooner or later, we'd come to a confrontation from which there would be no escape.




The young man leant back his head against the hard material of the throne, and laughed.

They had reached beyond the House of Leo.

He had expected at least a life to fade as price of that passage, but somehow they had avoided Fate itself. Well, not somehow.

The feather.

The Aries Gold Saint had meddled in what was not his business, committing himself to a side for all his self-proclaimed neutrality. Ah well... That wouldn't be forgotten. Anyway, he had known about the feather, and he hadn't taken action.

They were better players of the game than he had credited them to be.

So much the better.

They still had quite a way to go before reaching him.

And lessons to learn.

End of Part 5.


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