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Resolutions... - 7 : Point of no Return.

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





"Strange, I'd have thought there'd be someone in the House of Scorpio..."

Adrian looked back down at said House, clearly puzzled. Liz shrugged, standing up and moving her left arm tentatively.

"It doesn't hurt too much. I guess I'll live..."

She grinned at Adrian.

"It's just llike you to regret we didn't meet anyone ! As if we needed the fights... Just be glad we seem to be in luck for the time being..."

As we resumed climbing the endless Stairs after a well deserved rest, I checked the Chain on my forearms. It was at rest.

As if we were completely safe.

I looked up at the House of Sagittarius, convinced we'd find it empty as well, and felt more than a bit uneasy. All that had happened in the House of Virgo had had a purpose, there was no doubt about that. And yet, until now it seemed perfectly meaningless. Sighing, I focused on my steps, dropping the matter.

We'd know soon enough.




Aries Mu put a knee down on the floor to retrieve the two Horns of the Taurus Gold Cloth and sighed, smiling. It seemed this Cloth had a particular curse on it, and he as well. He took his time examining the damage very carefully, and finally nodded satisfyingly. At least the cuts were clean, so the repairs wouldn't be too difficult, or take too much time. Right now though...

He had other things to attend to.

He let his cosmo touch the Cloth in a brief apology, and the living being didn't react. It could wait, and it would. Many would have smiled, or even openly laughed, had they felt Aries Mu's action, but he didn't care. No one alive really knew the Cloths, fully understood what they were.

No one but him now.

He cautiously set the Horns down beside the Taurus Gold Cloth, and straightened. He had to leave. For a very brief moment, his thoughts turned towards the purse of precious stardust he had been given in payement, fearing its contents would be put to use very soon.

Hoping nothing more would be required.

Cloths could die, and when that happened...

Taking his mind away from the past, Aries Mu focused his cosmo, and left the House of Taurus.




"Come on guys ! We're almost there !"

Rika and Kristin chuckled at Steve's words, breathing heavily, and Sionna retorted :

"Sure, we're almost there, but there's still an awful lot of those damned stairs to climb !"

Fortunately, time had passed, and the sun was now low on the horizon. The heat had become bearable again. I tried to focus on that instead of on the ache in my legs. There hadn't been anyone or anything to bar our way since the House of Virgo, and that had allowed us to rest a bit, which had been more than welcome and needed. We all seemed to be all right, wounds weren't bad, and it looked like our little group had managed to keep its cohesion. Mark seemed to be okay, even though there had been some awkward moments right after we had left the House of Virgo. They had passed. None of us had forgotten, or were likely to forget what had happened, just as we'd never forget the why of it, and the price Mark himself had paid. Moreover, Virgo Shaka's central place in the matter was justification enough. Cryptic and frustrating, compassionless the Gold Saint might be, but he wouldn't have caused all that for fun.

He had had a reason, and, knowing the character, it must have been a very powerful one for him to divert his attention to mere human beings.

Then, came what was for all of us the bottom line.

We were friends.

At last, we decided to resume ascent, and started on our way. Above us was looming the dark shape of the Temple of Athena, and before it, the last House.

The House of Pisces.

We were halfway to the small temple when I heard the chimelike sound of the Chain moving on my forearms, warning of danger. I looked up, didn't see anything, and was about to decide to wait until I told the others, when my eyes caught sight of something almost indistinct flying in the air.

Fast, so fast it was nothing more than a faint blur.

Coming right at us.

I dodged, throwing myself on the side and yelling :

"Ware !"

Something brushed past me as I fell on the hard stone of the Stairs, and landed right behind me. I looked at it, and my heart skipped a beat. Everyone of us had the same delicate object lying half a step behind the place where we had dropped down.

On the Great Stairs were lying eleven magnificent red roses whose petals almost shone with the light of the setting sun.

Slowly, I stood up and turned to face the House of Pisces. On the edge of its square wa standing a tall human shape on which the sunlight was reflected so brightly it was impossible to discern any detail, so brightly it hurt the eye to see. We stood frozen there until the sun disappeared behind the high peaks, revealing to us the lonely figure waiting for us.

The breeze gently took in his long jet black hair, and then faded as quickly as it had come, as if it hadn't dared disturb the awed silence that had claimed the place. The man standing before us was smiling, holding one of the wonderful red roses between his teeth. To say that he was beautiful would have been an understatement. He was tall, lean athough obviously not frail, every feature of his face or body perfect, and the Gold Cloth he was wearing fitted him like it would have no other person living in this world or any other. A distant part of me thought I should have known that Pisces Aphrodite would never have allowed anyone else to even touch his Cloth. Although I had never actually seen him, I was absolutely certain I knew who was sstanding up there waiting for us.

Kyri.

He observed us for a while, unmoving. Silent. Then I distinctly saw his eyes glinting with what couldn't be anything else than amusement, and he turned away from us, walking back towards the House of Pisces, his lean, perfect frame exuding one thing, one feeling beside power.

Supreme arrogance.




The torches lighting the House of Leo were almost extinguished, plunging the inside of the small temple in quasi obscurity. This wasn't inconveniencing Aries Mu in the least, although darkness seemed out of place for this House. Leo Aioria liked to keep the inside bright, and it seemed fitting it should be that way even when he wasn't there.

Aries Mu looked quickly around him, and at once found his reason for coming here. He walked a few steps, and stopped, watching in wonder.

The Leo Gold Cloth was guarding the one who had worn it for a time.

The young man had been propped against a column, maybe to make his last moments the last painful possible. There was dried blood on his chest, a lot of it. Aries Mu acknowledged sadness and guilt, then reported his attention to the Gold Cloth itself.

The damage was over a relatively small area, but it was the heart of the Cloth, and that was almost ruined. To have managed to inflict oneself such a wound... Aries Mu sighed softly. The Gold Cloth could be repaired, and it was the only thing that truly mattered. He'd attend to that later. He started to stand, when he suddenly felt something and froze.

Life.

He looked at the young man more attentively, and once again felt life pulsing through him. Gently, he let his cosmo brush the prone shape, and his eyes widened in wonder.

Not only was the young man alive, but moreover he was mending. The Goddess alone knew what kind of power or miracle it had taken to achieve this. The wound had been lethal, a simple glance had sufficed to ascertain that. And yet...

Smiling despite himself, Aries Mu gathered the unconscious young man in his arms, bearing him up as easily as a bird's feather, and left the House of Leo with his burden.




Laughter, unearthly pure, rang clearly in the air around us as we stepped into the House of Pisces.

"So, you decided to come..."

Kyri faced us, his eyes shining with something akin to delight.

"Bravery, or stupidity ?..."

He waved negligently.

"Not that it matters, both often amount to the same thing anyway..."

In a lazy, elegant move, he donned the helmet of the Pisces Gold Cloth, and concluded with a charming smile :

"Shall we begin ?..."

Without waiting for an answer, he sketched the movement of throwing something towards us, and at the same time power radiated from him.

"Please, partake in the ecstasy brought by the Royal Demon Roses."

I tensed, instinctively searching for something that might protect us, knowing there wouldn't be time to run.

Out of nowhere, hundreds of magnificent red roses swept on us.

Too late.

Rika's eyes narrowed, and she cast :

Mamori no Kaze !

The wind veered the flowers off course, and none touched us. I sighed in relief, feeling weak in the knees. That had been a very close one. Had one of the thorns drawn blood, or had we breathed the roses' perfume...

We'd have died.

"Very impressive trick, congratulations..."

Kyri bowed shortly, as if in appreciation, and then flashed a knowing smile at Rika :

"I wonder how long you can maintain your wind shield though..."

He shrugged lazily.

"Don't worry, I'll wait. I have all the time in the world..."

I shot a quick glance at Rika, and gritted my teeth when I saw the drops of prespiration on her neck and the grim expression on her face. He was right, she couldn't keep this up for long. For the moment, the wind was envelopping all of us in a protective cocoon, but it couldn't last. And when it failed... To attack would have required abandoning the shield, and then run to reach Kyri, which was the same as running towards death. None of us would reach him alive.

Damnit to all the hells.

The Chain moved along my right forearm, and I absentmindedly looked down at it.

Its arrowhead edge was pointing right at the man wearing the Pisces Gold Cloth.

I bowed my head, biting my lower lip. I had no choice in this. None. No matter what the consequences might be, it was trying that or die. I looked at Rika and told her :

"I'm stepping out of the shield."

She shook her head.

"Don't try. I could use the other spell..."

I cut her off grimly.

"I think we'll need that one if ever we survive this fight. The rest of the Stairs..."

Her eyes widened in sudden understanding, and she nodded. Lai's hand squeezed my left arm.

"Luck to you... Take the halo, maybe Micheal will be bothered enough to help..."

I chuckled at that, and mimicked stealing it from over her head. The, I stepped away from the shield.

I distantly felt something stinging my left side. the perfume of the roses all around me was intoxicating.Gritting my teeth, I gripped the arrowhead edge of the Chain, hard, and focused on Kyri. I should have waited until there was nothing else but him in my mind, but I had no time, the roses' poison was already taking hold of my body. I released the Chain, invoking :

"Thunder Wave !"

It cut through the air in a broken line, like lightning, and I fought back the overwhelming need to fall down on the floor. With difficulty, I forced my mind to keep focusing on the enemy. I had to...

Kyri's eyes met mine, and he smiled.

The Chain abruptly stopped as it was about to reach him.

Right before a beautiful, utterly black rose he was holding in his left hand.

Cold struck the pit of my stomach.

Fear.

I'd never thought he'd control...

"Too bad you were unwilling to let the perfume of my red roses intoxicate you. The Black Roses are much more violent, and sadly less refined... But then, to each his own, maybe they suit you better."

I didn't even feel anger at the gibe. All I knew was that I would be dead within seconds if I didn't find something to protect me. Still smiling, Kyri negligently threw the black rose towards me, and I felt the aura of power emanating from him, dark.

Unable to react, I watched, horrified, as the Black Rose started circling around the Chain slowly, lazily.

Devouring it.

Others popped into existence beside it, and scores of black roses circled the Chain's rings, destroying it utterly and using it as a guideline to reach me.

Piranhian Roses.

Suddenly, I snapped out of the trance that had paralyzed me and ran.

Away from Rika's shield.

Nothing could stop the Black Roses, nothing but something I didn't possess.

I hadn't run three steps when the first Black Rose struck me. Dimly, I thought I wasn't far enough, and then pain exploded through my whole body and I fell in a slow motion while the Black Roses were devouring the Andromeda Cloth.

And killing it.

When it died, as it had once in the past, I heard myself crying out in grief.

My soul bound to it.




The garden whisked out of existence as Aries Mu neared its center, and, in the same time, he tensed. The House of Virgo was plunged in darkness, which was fitting. Aries Mu bowed his head and allowed sorrow to brush his heart.

Mourning the passing of a Cloth.

He set down the young man he was still carrying with him, carefully, and walked towards the sculpted lotus flower, telling the other Gold Saint. :

"My thanks for allowing me to let my charge rest here..."

Virgo Shaka's face lit with the hint of a smile, but he didn't say anything, as usual. Suddenly, the both of them tensed.

Feeling...

Aries Mu closed his senses to what he had just glimpsed, caring nothing if that might be considered taking sides, and his eyes widened in surprise as he felt Virgo Shaka do the same. But then, it could be the other felt content with the common place justification that it was after all natural to feel the cosmo of the true owner of a dying Cloth flaring violently in reaction. What was happening had been forbidden by the Goddess herself, but it could be argued that denying the deep bond between one's Cloth and oneself was impossible.

So, instead of acting to prevent the breach of orders, the two Gold Saints didn't do anything.

They simply waited.




Wake up.

There should have been only silence.

Open your eyes.

I should have been utterly alone.

Don't let go.

I would have denied the voice, but I couldn't.

Please.

I wanted the comfort of darkness, but...

Open your eyes.

I obeyed, and through a haze of pain, I saw. The floor of the House of Pisces.

Bodies.

Something that might have been grief struck me, and I closed my eyes again.

They'll die, and you as well.

I wished I could laugh, and scream. Curse this voice.

I was already dead.

No.

No matter what it was saying, I knew, I remembered.

The Black Roses.

Killing the Andromeda Cloth.

Devouring it.

Hurting...

It's not your fault.

What ?

Open your eyes.

I did, and saw a young man wearing a Gold Cloth, leaning back against a column of the House of Pisces.

Watching the prone bodies lying before him.

Waiting.

Feel.

I tried, and the voice became a presence. So close... Something burst into flames within me, brighter and harsher than the heart of the sun.

Bitter and sweet.

You ?

I belatedly realized the thought had escaped me. Suddenly, darkness had lost its attraction, silence wasn't desired anymore.

I wanted to live.

Yes, hold on.

The voice was warm and gentle, soothing. I felt safe.

Feel.

I did.

Heartbeats, weak, but...

They were still alive? And I was lying on the floor, unable to even lift a finger. Watching as death was slowly embracing us.

There is a way.

My shoulders trembled slightly, reviving a pain I almost didn't feel. Sorrow and shame were warring within me. Rising. I closed my eyes, thinking :

I can't.

The presence shimmered, started to fade, and suddenly came back, as if he had had to fight to remain. Softly, his voice replied :

No, but I can...

There was a trace of strain in the voice, faint, but it was there. As if it was getting harder to reach me. Nevertheless, the words touched my mind, and cold invaded my heart.

We shared a bond.

Fear, and something else. Even if what he was suggesting was possible, the action had irreversible consequences.

No.

I couldn't...

I know. Believe me I know...

Take a life.

He wouldn't even have a chance to defend himself, he would be swept away. And he would die. What the voice was asking...

It will claw at your heart as long as you live. But there is no time, and no choice.

I swallowed down the sobs that were rising in my throat, savagely. He knew. It was what he felt with every waking and sleeping moment of his life.

We both had lived with lines clearly drawn, lines we wouldn't step beyond. Until something more important than oneself and one's principles blurred the lines. One had to look at oneself, and choose. If one knew who one was, one could reach a decision, know what one truly wanted. I could feel my own inner contradictions, and accept the consequences of what being true to myself would be.

The lines wouldn't disappear, they would only shine brighter.

And remind me of the price one had to pay for being merely human.

Then, open your heart.

I dropped the walls shielding my self, and felt.

Touch.

Gentleness.

Embrace.

His presence envelopped me, and comforted me. Then, power rose within.

Bright, so bright and strong it would have consumed my soul if not for him. This was too powerful, it couldn't be human, it...

Oh yes, it is.

I suddenly realized I was standing up, a blinding light radiating from my body. The pain was very far away, locked. He was the one feeling it, not me. I straightened, and faced Kyri.

While the power within kept rising.

Kyri's eyes widened, and he asked, with the slightest trace of annoyance in his voice :

"Stubborness may be a useful trait, but in this case it's stupid. Haven't you had enough ?"

I felt cosmo rising in him, and understood how much the one whose spirit was linked with mine had been right : there had never been any choice. Never. The truth was cruel, but still it remained the truth. I bowed my head, and felt tears running down my cheeks.

His and mine.

Grief for the life that was about to fade.

I looked up, and released control to the presence within me.

My right hand rose, focusing the power that had been accumulated during the brief time it had taken me to stand up. And was still growing, even now. My mind shied from it, from something that was far beyond its ability to apprehend and conceive. While tears were still running down my cheeks, I heard my voice invoking :

"Nebula Storm !"

The blast struck Kyri, and my eyes saw the Gold Cloth shatter under the impact. Something that might have been disbelief or pain flashed in Kyri's eyes, and then he was swept away and hurled savagely against a column, held there by the Storm.

Suddenly, the air was full of red rose petals, and the furious wind chased them away, cleaning the atmosphere of the House.

It is done. I must leave now.

I nodded, fighting the urge to ask him not to go, and thought :

I owe you, more than can ever be repaid. Thank you.

The presence embraced me.

You owe me nothing. Simply remember, and be true.

With that, Andromeda Shun left me, and I abruptly found myself alone. Utterly, completely alone. All around me, the Storm was abating, I couldn't smell the deadly perfume of the roses anymore... In front of me, Kyri's body fell to the floor, ever so slowly. The Pisces Gold Cloth had been smashed, destroyed by the Storm.

Kyri's eyes were closed.

I fell down on my knees among the bits and pieces of what the Black Roses had left of the Andromeda Cloth, and looked at my hands.

With these, I had taken a life. I had killed. I couldn't hide myself behind Shun, I had agreed, I had been a willing part of this. I looked woodenly at the body in front of me, unaware of the tears streaking my face.

Feeling empty.




The man sitting on the throne of the Holy Chamber gritted his teeth as he felt the power engulfing the House of Pisces. His hands clenched on the arms of the throne chair, the knuckles white as he felt the life of the House's Guardian fading. He shook his head slowly, refusing to feel sorrow, his mind seeking understanding.

Something had happened.

The intensity of the power that had been released... It went far beyond what any of his oppponents could have done, and yet nobody had interfered.

He would have known.

Damnit !

Eventually, he sighed, forced himself to relax, and calmly reassessed the situation. They had won through the last House, but the price had been high. The Sacrifice he had planned for the House of Leo had taken place elsewhere, but it was likely it would serve his purpose just as well.

He smiled crookedly behind his mask, watching the still pool of blood red wine on the floor, and thinking that Kyri would have laughed at the strange, dark elegance of his fate, and sat back in the throne.

Waiting.




Lai's eyelids fluttered open, and she looked at me.

"Ariane ?"

I nodded silently, and belatedly remembered to stop shaking her shoulders to rouse her. She stared at me questioningly for a while, then sat up, gathering strength to stand. I helped her as best I could, and she held on to me for a minute or two, still unsteady on her feet. Eventually, she gained a surer balance, and her eyes quickly scanned the hall. She froze when she saw Kyri's body, and slowly turned towards me.

"What happened ? We thought the Black Roses had killed you."

I said in a voice devoid of emotion :

"The Andromeda Cloth took the full force of the attack and died, protecting me. I passed out because I was linked to it. As for Kyri..."

I smiled wryly.

"I killed him."

She started at that, and I distinclty heard her sharp intake of breath as my words reached her. There was a long, awkward silence and finally she shook her head.

"The roses are gone, the air is free of their perfume... Only one thing could have done that : the Storm. I thought you couldn't use it."

I laughed shortly.

"I can't, right. I had help."

I shut up, and she waited for me to say more, which I sure didn't feel like doing. The silence stretched on, until at last I told her without facing her :

"Can you see to the others ? I need to think."

From the corner of an eye, I saw her right hand reaching out to touch my shoulder, hesitating, and finally retreating as she wisely decided I'd be better left alone. She turned away from me, and went to the others' side. I had no doubt they'd be okay very soon, I had been able to deduce from the lack of further wounds that the Black Roses hadn't touched them.

I squatted down, took a fragment of a ring from the Chain and looked at it thoughtfully, revolving it slowly between thumb and forefinger.

It was dead.

I straightened, and walked over to Kyri's body, watching it with what could have been called morbid fascination. He looked peaceful, it could almost have been thought he was merely sleeping. The Gold Cloth had shielded him, or his body would have been torn to pieces. That wasn't something he'd have appreciated, if he had been even a bit like Pisces Aphrodite.

For sure.

I laughed silently, dropping the fragment of the Chain. It made a ringing, echoing sound when it hit the floor, cutting through the low voices of those who were waking from the coma the red roses had plunged them in. They were lucky Rika's shield had held long enough.

Really lucky.

I sat down beside the corpse, leaning my back against a column and trying to feel something.

Anything.

Remember, and be true.

That was what he'd told me. I remembered all right, but...

"You shouldn't stay there, really..."

I ignored the voice.

"It's hurting you. Please, come away Ariane. It's not your fault, you had no choice."

I looked up sharply at Steve, my hands clenched into fists. Angry. I smiled icily, replying :

"No, I had no choice you're right. But I sure as hell am responsible, and..."

I shook my head, looking at him, Sionna and Mark who had walked over to me.

"Hell, he's dead, dead ! Can't you understand what it means ? He's not waking up, he's not coming back when it's over ! All this for..."

Sionna sighed sadly.

"For something that's likely much more important than we know. It never was a game, never..."

I shivered, hearing the anger mixed with grief in her voice.

"He chose his death, nothing obliged him to do this. He'd have killed us all..."

Yes. I knew that, but still... Mark laid a hand on Sionna's left shoulder, shaking his head.

"Leave her alone. When she's done feeling sorry for herself, she'll move from there."

Anger became fury, and I stood up to confront the three of them without realizing what I was doing. Then, I froze.

Mark was right.

He was absolutely, completely correct. I had been busy focusing on my own small self, contemplating how miserable I was feeling but shying away from the true heart of the matter. Shun had told me to be true, and by that he had meant to look at grief, sorrow and shame right in the face, and embrace them.

Accept them.

But to do that hurt, and I had been afraid. I smiled bitterly, shaking my head, and eventually faced them.

"I'm sorry. Thanks for caring Steve... You're right Sionna, this never was a game..."

No, not a game.

Not a dream, but its shadow, as Aries Mu had warned it would be.

I stared at Mark steadily, adding :

"Thanks for forcing me to snap out of it."

He shrugged, replying gently :

"Don't mention it. Welcome back, and thank you for what you did."

I sighed wearily, walking back with them towards the others.

"I didn't do anything. Andromeda Shun did. How is everyone ?"

Steve smiled.

"Fine, we didn't breathe the roses' perfume for too long."

From some reserve of strength I didn't know I had, I managed to force a smile on my lips and replied :

"That's very good to hear, very, very good."

I looked at Kristin, Rika, Roy, Liz, Adrian, Lai and Nathalie, and saw in all their expressions a mixture of grimness, cold anger, grief and shame that hadn't been there before. Like a fool, I had focused upon myself, unheeding of the fact that they'd see and feel the same things I had, and be hurt by them as deeply.

The shadow of a dream, indeed.

I slowly shook my head, forcing the emotions back as the others were doing. Now we could finish ascending the godsrotted Stairs, and at last reach our goal. We'd have time for guilt and regrets, for tears and grief afterwards. Provided of course that there would be an afterwards.




Night had fallen over the Sanctuary. A dark, moonless night. the constant noise of the insects had died, and silence alone was ruling over the place. Even a casual onlooker would have been struck by the strong, eerie feeling the sight triggered.

An old, very old site that was set in the middle of looming mountain peaks which seemed to be guarding it.

Keeping ancient, forgotten dreams locked away.

For eternity.

Suddenly, something rippled through the air, like an inaudible bell chime, and broke the seal of timelessness that had seemingly imprisoned the place. From the sixth small temple along the Great Stairs leading up to the heart of the sanctuary, to the sacred altar of Athena, a radiant light started shining.

Impossibly bright.

So impossibly bright it chased the night away.

A shiver went through the air and the mountains themselves, and then the light dimmed. And faded.

Silence and darkness reclaimed their domain, but the feeling of the place had changed.

It was simply waiting, patient.

The lock had been removed, but the door couldn't be opened yet. It required only one more thing, but that had to be provided. A small, simple thing.

Resolution.

End of Part 7.


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