Dancing the Shadows

Proem

Proem
 

Let us sing to praise Kalliope, Zeus' daughter

Who gave us the voice you the epic to tell

Of all the glorious battles and the slaughter

Fought by great Athena's heroes in the hell.
 

Let us worship the honey-voiced heavenly Nine

Raising their hymns to Olympus' wonderous height;

Apollon's lyre adding his music divine

While eternal Zeus listens in raptured delight.
 

Let us admire the Muses' dancing afar,

Joyfully, playfully near the Helicon's wells,

Before we are singing of the next Holy War

With the Queen who in terrible darkness deep dwells.
 

A horrible battle and bloodshed awaits,

But honour and glory for the fighters is great.

Let us praise the heroes who bravely fight the fates

And uphold the banner of Athena the war-maid.
 

Kalliope with her beautiful voice of gold,

Urania the heavenly, Kleio who praises,

Give us the words the epic tale to unfold

Which lies before you as the song slowly raises.
 

Hear now the tale of the terrible Shadow Knights

Who, clothed in glorious shining crystal armours, came

And challenged the Goddess of Wisdom for her rights

On behalf of the Queen of Night and darkest fame.
 

* * *
 

"I hate it," Iris thought when she spread her pristine white wings to fly westwards from the heights of the Mount Olympos to the gates of Hades. Her golden hair flew in the cosmic currents that bound the realms of the Gods to their creation.
 

Why had Hephaistos and Ares to quarrel again? And of course the reason was Aphrodite, like most of the times. This time Zeus had decreed they should swear peace by the powerful binding Oath of Styx.
 

Of course this meant, she, the angelos, the messenger of the Gods, was sent down to Hades' Realm to obtain a measure of the holy water in her golden cup. She was slightly peeved -- actually she was Hera's personal messenger, but Hermes who was supposed to run around for Zeus was nowhere to be found at the time.
 

Iris hated to dive down into the cleft of storms that guarded the entrance to Hades' Realm. Even she was pushed about by the powerful hurricanes. Moreover, currently the underworld was in severe uproar, now that the mighty King Hades was sealed away once again by reincarnated Athena and her holy Warrior Saints.
 

Iris wondered why Zeus allowed Athena such deeds. But then, Athena was Zeus' favourite daughter since the beginning, and Hades had played wrong by trying to conquer the Earth Realm which wasn't his to rule.
 

Poseidon had suffered a similar fate only a short time ago, and Iris wondered whether this was actually a plot by Zeus to obtain the rulership about all the Realms himself. She had to talk with Hera about this, maybe the Queen of the Olympus would like to spoil her dear husband's newest plans.
 

It was a bit awkward nowadays that the Gods weren't allowed to walk the ground of the Earth Realm in person anymore. Zeus' decree said that they had caused enough havoc in the ancient times when they regularly did this. Now it was required to find some human body to assume a human form on Earth to be allowed to walk among the humans and try to steer their fates. If a God should not heed this interdict, he or she was due one year in the Tartaros under the watchful eyes of the three hundred-armed giants. That is, if he was caught...
 

Iris was pretty sure that her messenger colleague Hermes never obeyed any command if he could get away with it. Unfortunately he was so cunning that he usually could... After all, Hermes had even stolen Apollon's cows when he was but one day old and still in his swaddling clothes.
 

She herself wouldn't dare to oppose a decree made by the ruler of the Gods, but then, she wouldn't want to be reincarnated in a frail human body either. Which God in his right mind would? Okay, Athena, but the perpetual virgin wasn't exactly in her right mind anyway.
 

Suddenly the storms abated and Iris reached the everlasting greyish dark depths of the Hades. Kerberos greeted her by barking from his three heads. Around the hut where it was housed, aconite grew in great amount, growing wherever the hell hound's spittle touched the ground. She ignored the monstrous beast and went on.
 

Poisonous yew and black weeping willows sacred to Persephoneia lined her way through the pale dusk to the mist-hung shores of the Acheron where Charon waited for her.
 

The shore was crowded with myriads of desperate souls who hadn't been buried properly and couldn't give the ferryman the payment he was due. Now they would err here until the end of time, for Charon never took anyone in his decaying ship of sewn-together tree bark who couldn't pay him properly.
 

As messenger, Iris was exempt from the payment, of course, and Charon greeted her rather unenthusiastically. He was still peeved that he had been defeated by two of Athena's boys when they came down into the Hades realm only a short time ago. But of course the underworld and its minions were eternal, and so Charon's ethereal body was recombined to ensure the ferryman's job was continued without pause. Sometimes he wished he could stay dormant for a longer time to have a little reprieve from his boring duty.
 

In silence, Charon ferried Iris over the underworld river, past the magnificent palace of Styx that was erected under the high rocks where the sky was held by silver columns.
 

Of course the physical Earth needed no such support, but there was still the ethereal image of the Beyond that was the world of the Gods and that was still ruled by the olden laws.
 

When Charon let her get off his bark, Iris spread her wings and flew farther, towards the river Styx. From here she could see the City of the Dead where the souls of the dead lived a shadow life like they did when they were still alive, only that the waters of Lethe had wiped their memories and passions and so they were truly only shadows of their former selves.
 

Iris kneeled down at the shore of the Styx and spoke the ancient formula that allowed her to fill her golden cup with the sacred waters of the much-hated Goddess, before she returned to the river Acheron.
 

Strangely enough, Iris had the impression that the icy grey world of the Hades seemed even more oppressing today than during her last visits. She wondered whether this was caused by the reactions to Hades' renewed imprisonment. Anyway, everything looked a little different again. Each of the continuous Holy Wars between Hades and Athena usually led to the destruction of the physical representation of the underworld, and when it was re-formed, there were light changes in appearance.
 

Suddenly poisonous green and purple flashes emanated from Hades' imposing dark castle. One of them barely missed Iris' feathery wings and scorched the hem of her rainbow-coloured robe.
 

With a shriek, she spilled some drops of the holy water before she safely landed on the ground. Charon, who had watched her approach, grinned at the angelos.
 

"What was this supposed to accomplish?" Iris cursed angrily.
 

"Wanna know?" Charon folded his arms. "Then you have to pay me for the information."
 

"You greedy old bastard!"
 

"Thanks for the compliment," he smiled. "What about your golden bracelet?"
 

"Okay, okay..." Iris was curious, after all. She gave the ferryman one of her bracelets.
 

"You see, Persephoneia is still really furious that her Hades-darling has been imprisoned by the obnoxious little brat Athena again. I guess she plans some revenge on her, then one of her advisors told her it's a bad idea to go against Zeus' favourite daughter, and she fried him."
 

"I see. So it's nothing new after all. -- And for this piece of worthless information you wanted my bracelet? You usurer!"
 

"Well, you don't think I could earn my living from the coins I am given by the dead? Too many people don't know the ancient rites anymore. Ever wondered why there are so many wailing souls on the other shore? Who am I? The welfare? -- And I refuse to take credit cards!"
 

"Well, I have to bring this back to Mount Olympus now." Iris pointed at the golden cup. "These idiots Ares and Hephaistos fight again for Aphrodite..."
 

"Hephaistos? Hm... I saw him here quite often in the last times..." Charon frowned. "Damn! You should have given me your other bracelet for this additional piece of information!"
 

"You'll get some more jewellery if you tell me something of real interest."
 

"I fear I told you too much already. The Queen certainly won't be amused that you know that she calls her beloved 'Hades-darling'." Charon grinned wryly and ferried her over.
 

"Well, be seeing you!" Iris looked warily up to the raging storms, then she sighed und flew upwards to Mount Olympus again.
 

Continued in Chapter One: A Message Boding Ill

A Message Boding Ill

Chapter 1: A Message Boding Ill
 

Back in the past when the Gods were alive

Men were no more than playthings to their whim

Though it didn't take long for boredom to arrive

And the Gods disappeared beyond the world's rim

("Loneliness", S.Quest)
 

* * *
 

"And you really think we should watch Masters of the Universe in the cinema?" Hyoga asked.
 

"Sure. It's said to be the movie of the year," Seiya replied.
 

"But this doesn't say anything about its quality," Shiryu cautioned. And of course, he was pretty sure that Shunrei wouldn't like it.
 

"We'll only know if we watch it," Seiya shrugged.
 

"I'm sure it's pretty brutal," Shun said, who abhorred senseless violence.
 

"Nonsense! The movie is funny. It's even for children!"
 

"Hm, but this means we won't be able to convince Ikki to join us," Shun said sadly.
 

"We wouldn't be able to convince him anyway -- or do you know where he hides right now?" Hyoga pointed out.
 

"He would only spoil us the fun," Seiya suspected.
 

"But he's my brother!"
 

"Ours, too," Hyoga reminded him.
 

"Brother or not, he doesn't have to come along all the time," Seiya said.
 

"But Shunrei will accompany us," Shiryu decreed.
 

Seiya and Hyoga rolled their eyes, but decided not to comment on this.
 

But then, Hyoga thought, he might ask Eri out again. She was cute, blonde, good-looking and since she was rid of the influence of the Goddess Eris', she was very nice again.
 

"I want to go now," Seiya nagged. "We don't have the time to collect any girl-friends before the next showing is due."
 

"Shunrei will be furious if I go out without telling her where I am headed."
 

"Can't you do anything without her consent anymore?" Seiya sighed.
 

"My Old Master told me to watch out for her and vice versa."
 

"How boring..."
 

"Not at all." Shiryu smiled soulfully.
 

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to settle down with one girl so soon when there are so many other cute girls around," Hyoga said with a grin.
 

"Let's get going now," Seiya demanded. "I wouldn't want to know what Shunrei would do to Shiryu if we had to wait for the late showing..."
 

"You're right," Hyoga grinned. "But I hope we won't have to pay your ticket again."
 

Seiya pulled out a bank note. "Nope, folks. Not today!" They walked into the direction of the movie-theatre.
 

"Oh, did you get some more pocket-money by Saori this time?" Hyoga teased.
 

Seiya gave him a deadly look. "And where do you get your money from?"
 

"No comment."
 

"I knew it!" Seiya said. "I'm sure you borrowed it from one of your girl-friends!"
 

"What girl-friends are you talking about? I'm a dedicated single," Hyoga claimed, echoing the words of his Master Aquarius Camus.
 

Shun looked open-mouthed at him. He still hadn't dared to ask June out for a date for fear of being rejected, but Hyoga didn't seem to have any such worries... It was somehow unfair.
 

They went to the box-office and bought tickets. To their amazement, they still had five minutes before the movie started and so they managed to get in while the lights were still on. Shun bought a large portion of popcorn for them all, and Seiya wondered again how Shun managed to keep his money together so well that he always had some to spare.
 

As he had just enough for one of the cheapest tickets (he really should talk to Saori about their monthly allowance), they now sat in the first row and waited for the movie to begin.
 

The lights dimmed and the begin of the monumental music almost threw them out of their seats. Desperately, they held their ears.
 

"Why do they have to turn the volume so high?" Shun asked with a pained expression.
 

"Hey, we survived Saga and Poseidon and Hades -- we won't be killed by a movie soundtrack!"
 

Shiryu looked doubtfully at Seiya. Obviously he had already forgotten that he was only alive right now because the Great Mother Gaia had decided to bring him back from the dead along with the other Saints so that they could justify themselves for the deeds done in Athena's name.
 

They adapted to the noise and even enjoyed the movie after a while. It was one of those childish super hero flicks from the United States about some guy called He-Man who had to fight a devilish opponent who looked like a skeleton in cloak. After their serious encounters with truly evil Gods, this was some nice, light entertainment.
 

The movie slowly came to its end when finally the fight for the cosmic key which allegedly opened dimensional doorways came to its conclusion. The key was activated and within spectacular sound and light effects, a colourful dimensional opening appeared on the screen. The sky began to blur, and suddenly a blue and red energy spiral appeared that filled the screen.
 

As they didn't expect anything bad, the Saints were totally surprised when suddenly the special effects turned to reality, and a powerful Cosmo sucked them to a mysterious somewhere. They whirled around within the colourful energy spiral, until they abruptly fell down to the ground.
 

After the incandescent colour eruptions, they felt almost blind in the gloomy place where they found themselves now. The ground was black, porose stone and covered with decaying black moss. Still dazed, they began to stumble to their feet, only to be greeted by a tall man with dark green curls who held a golden staff in his hands. They were so stunned that they didn't react when they were lightly touched by the staff and immediately fell asleep.
 

* * *
 

"There are only four of them!" The black-clad woman frowned at the man. She had long, wavy, scarlet hair that was held by a black tiara, and her turquoise eyes shone angrily.
 

"Well, I didn't promise to bring your Mistress a certain number, Lady Hekate," the man laughed. "Be glad that I brought some of them."
 

"Well, let us carry them into the Castle," Hekate said. "They have to be properly caged before they wake up."
 

"Well, you can do as you please. My job is over for today." Hermes gave her an insolent smile and his bright yellow eyes sparkled mischievously before he disappeared.
 

Hekate made an obscene gesture in the direction where he had stood, before she raised her powers and let her prisoners float deeper down into the gloomy demesne. Fortunately she was the Goddess of Witches and Demons and her powers were enormous, even when caged in this human body.
 

When Persephoneia learned of her husband's current defeat, she immediately prepared for a new war that should revenge and free him. And as the new war was meant to be held in the world of the humans again, she decided to do it according to the rules set by Zeus. After all, then he couldn't complain when she triumphed over Athena and sealed her away this time when it was done the proper way.
 

Thus Persephoneia sought out human shadows from the City of the Dead, cleansed them from the last remnants of their former selves and returned them to life by her powers to give them to her minions as hosts. Hekate wasn't exactly satisfied with this solution, but as it was the will of her Mistress, she had to cope with it.
 

Finally she reached the City of the Dead where the shadows dwelled. Hades' black palace towered over the bleak city, and Hekate brought her prisoners to the monumental castle. It had been completely destroyed in the former fight, but Persephoneia, who had just returned from her visit to Demeter, decided to rebuild it. As Queen of the Underworld she refused to live in a heap of rubble, and her mood had been truly murderous when she undid the destruction, using her powers.
 

Persephoneia would certainly want to torture them for their audacity to seal up Hades, but until then she had to keep them safe. Hekate directed the unconscious forms into the dungeons of the castle, where an immense storage room held cages of adamas, the undestructible grey metal that Gaia created for the punishment of Uranos.
 

Each of the boys was put into one of the cages that hung from the ceiling, before Hekate sealed the adamas prisons with a powerful spell.
 

* * *
 

"Seiya!" Athena shouted in horror. Not again... This was the second time she felt his Cosmo disappear and it hurt as much as the first time.
 

What had happened?
 

Frantically, she searched the vicinity for a sign of his sparkling Cosmo, then the farther regions -- to no avail. And moreover, not only Seiya's Cosmo had disappeared, but also the Cosmos of Hyoga, Shun and Shiryu.
 

"Saori-san!" Shunrei's voice was filled with terror, but still her knock sounded timid when she tried to make herself known at the door to Saori's suite in the spacious Kido Mansion.
 

Deeply worried, Saori opened the door to let the petite Chinese girl in. "You felt it, too?"
 

Shunrei nodded and tears streamed from her huge dark eyes. "Something bad befell my Shiryu."
 

"Not only Shiryu. Seiya, Hyoga and Shun were affected as well."
 

"Oh Goddess," Shunrei sobbed. "Wasn't it said that with the victory over Hades all of us could lead a peaceful normal life now?"
 

"I hoped so as well," Saori sighed. When she looked at the upset girl, she was aware that at least she had to be strong enough to uphold a certain dignity. After all, she was the reincarnation of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Just War, and thus she should be able to handle situations like this.
 

"But what could have happened?" Shunrei looked at her and her gaze betrayed the desperate hope that Athena would know and she was able to solve everything.
 

"I don't know," Saori said wearily. Even after the battles against Saga, Poseidon and Hades, she was still a teenage girl whose body housed a Goddess' soul, but this didn't say anything about her personal experience. She didn't dare to confide in Shunrei or anyone how much she longed for someone to tell her what to do, to solve things for her. But Grandfather was dead, his soul dwelling among the stars, and he hadn't been there to give her advice for a long time now.
 

"But... Aren't you the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena?"
 

"Wisdom? Maybe. Infinite knowledge? Certainly not."
 

"So how can we find out what happened?"
 

"Well, I will check if the men in the command center manage to dig out something that leads to an answer." Saori led Shunrei down into the basement of the Kido Mansion where the large information center was located. Here all kinds of news and information were collected and evaluated by the most state-of-the-art computers available and a crew of erudite specialists.
 

As most of the time, one of the Steel Saints was there in the info center. The boys were very good with computers and thus Athena allowed them to stay here and try to help the team.
 

"Daichi," Saori called the young boy with the shock of green hair who surveyed one of the monitors. He was the Earth Saint and the youngest of the three, and when he heard Saori's voice he looked up and beamed at her.
 

"Ojou-sama!"
 

"Could you please check all peculiar occurrences that happened in Tokyo during the last hour?"
 

"Of course." His fingers flew over the keyboard with a speed that was certainly superhuman. "Anything special I should be looking for?"
 

"Well, the Cosmo of Seiya, Shiryu, Shun and Hyoga vanished and I would like to find a possible reason for this."
 

"What?!" Daichi looked at her in shock. "Their Cosmo simply vanished?"
 

"Exactly." It was more and more difficult for Saori to uphold a composed manner in the face of Seiya's disappearance, but it would be highly unbecoming for her to break down in front of her underlings. She was the one who was in command and who had to lead the others. Shunrei, on the other hand, almost drowned in her tears while she worried about Shiryu. Saori wished she could let her tears run as freely as well, but she had to be the one the others could look up to.
 

"I just got a note that there was some 'whirlwind' in a movie-theater downtown and several persons are reported to be sucked into it."
 

A deep frown creased Saori's forehead. "A whirlwind? Are you sure it's not some kind of advertising gag?"
 

"I'm not sure. You see, Seiya talked about going into some new fantasy action movie all the time the last days -- he pretty much got onto my and Sho's nerves with it -- and it seems that exactly that movie was shown in said cinema."
 

"A whirlwind..." Saori repeated thoughtfully. "I wonder what might have caused it."
 

"Aliens?" Daichi suggested. He was an avid science fiction fan and knew every important novel. "You know, aliens do alien things..."
 

Athena gave him a withering stare. "That's nothing to joke about!"
 

"Sorry, ojou-sama..." Daichi tried to look appropriately serious. He was sure that Seiya only tried to get some privacy away from the Goddess. Certainly he wanted to spend a nice vacation and thus hid where Saori couldn't find him for a couple of days, just like the Phoenix Saint always did.
 

"But we have to find them!" Saori crashed her fist onto a table.
 

"Indeed," Shunrei sobbed. "My poor Shiryu!"
 

"Well, why don't you send someone to that cinema to check first hand what happened?" Daichi suggested.
 

"Good idea." Saori rubbed her hand and called for Jabu, who lived in the mansion like the other four of the less successful Bronze Saints.
 

When the Unicorn Saint got Saori's order, he felt somehow ambigious about it. Okay, it was great that Saori actually remembered that he existed, but that it was only to investigate Seiya's disappearance nagged at him. Nonetheless, it was Saori who ordered him, and he would do everything for the subject of his undying adoration.
 

The movie-theater was crowded with police and press, and it was no simple feat to appear innocuous and still try to find out something of use, Jabu discovered, but he would be successful for her.
 

In the meantime, Saori called Tatsumi, the other Steel Saints and the remaining Bronze Saints into the command center to design a plan to find Seiya and the others.
 

"Ojou-sama," Tatsumi began, "it might be a good idea to call some of the Gold Saints from Sanctuary. With Seiya and the others gone, you are virtually defenseless."
 

Nachi, Ichi, Ban and Geki exchanged sulky glances. It was so mean -- they were Bronze Saints, too, but Athena never accepted them truly as such.
 

"That's a good idea," Saori nodded.
 

Finally, Jabu returned. "I sensed residual traces of a truly powerful, strange Cosmo," he reported. "But there was no trace of a gateway anymore and even less a direction where it might have led."
 

"But we have to find out where it led, or it's an act of futility to start a rescue mission," Saori exclaimed.
 

"I only hope that Shiryu is still well, wherever he is now," Shunrei sniffed.
 

"I wonder whether it was some accident or a planned abduction," Tatsumi mused. "If it turns out to be the latter, we might get a ransom note that tells us more."
 

Saori began to walk up and fro. What was she supposed to to now? Ah yes, the Gold Saints... Maybe one of them knew what to do. She concentrated and sent a message to Leo Gold Saint Aiolia, whom she trusted most of them all.
 

* * *
 

Aiolia was sneaking into the kitchen to find out what Marin cooked for him today, when suddenly Athena's Cosmo reached out to him and a message formed in his mind. He was to teleport to Tokyo right away to assist in the search for Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga and Shun, whose Cosmo had mysteriously disappeared.
 

"Sorry, Marin, I won't be able to sample your delicious lunch today," he called while he grabbed the box of his Cloth.
 

"Aiolia? What's up? Where are you going?" Marin looked out of the kitchen. Even here she wore her mask, lest one of the other Gold Saints might visit. Her face was only Aiolia's to see.
 

"Athena called. She told me that the Cosmo of Seiya, Shiryu, Shun and Hyoga disappeared."
 

"What?" Marin concentrated. Indeed, she couldn't find any trace of Seiya anywhere on Earth. "I will accompany you."
 

Aiolia looked at her. Athena's call was meant for him, but then, Marin had been Seiya's teacher for several years, and her tone had this decisive finality he knew so well that said she certainly wouldn't be convinced to stay here, no matter what.
 

"Okay. But hurry."
 

"Sure." Marin fetched her Cloth box and returned to the Leo Saint who immediately homed in on Athena and teleported them both to the Goddess.
 

They materialized right in the middle of Athena and the others.
 

"You asked for me, Athena?" Aiolia greeted her. "Please tell me what exactly happened."
 

Saori told him what they had found out so far, which wasn't much.
 

"Hm." The brown-haired Leo Saint frowned. "I'll be right back..." He teleported to the cinema and investigated the place personally, too, before he returned. It hadn't taken more than a couple of seconds. "The Cosmo residues seem to stem from a divine power," he reported, his voice slightly worried.
 

"A divine power? But who could it be?" Saori wondered.
 

Aiolia wrinkled his forehead. "You vanquished Poseidon and Hades, not to mention several other minor Gods and Goddesses -- I think it's quite likely that you prompted someone among the remaining Gods to challenge you now."
 

"But why did he or she abduct four of my Saints?" Athena asked in utter confusion. She was used to be the target herself.
 

"Well, maybe they want to send you a challenge that way," Aiolia mused. He was slightly peeved that this unknown power started by kidnapping a couple of Bronze Saints when there were now twelve Gold Saints around at Sanctuary. Okay, eleven and half, when he acknowledged the fact that Mu was now the Master of Sanctuary and had passed on his Cloth to Kiki. But then, probably the enemy had been afraid to take on the Gold Saints so that they only dared to attack the Bronze Saints.
 

"They are to give me Seiya back," Saori demanded haughtily.
 

"And I want my Shiryu back," Shunrei added.
 

Aiolia lifted one eyebrow. No takers for Hyoga and Shun? Ah well... "I will find them for you and bring them back," he promised, and in the same instant he wished he hadn't spoken that rashly. After all, he didn't have the slightest clue where to begin.
 

"Athena, I suggest you return to Sanctuary now," the Leo Gold Saint said. "I fear for your safety if you stay here. As long as you remain in your temple, any attacker would have to take the route of the Twelve Temples, and we Gold Saints stand there to protect you."
 

"And how am I to gather intelligence there? Here's my command center! It may be true that Athena stayed in her temple all the time in the past, but I have been reincarnated in a time where information is of greatest importance, and I intend to use every advantage I can get."
 

Aiolia frowned deeply. "Still I think it would be safer..."
 

"I will stay here."
 

"As you wish." Aiolia bowed his head. "I will protect you wherever you are."
 

Athena gave him a radiant smile, when suddenly the ground began to shake violently. The lights flickered and the computer monitors went dark for a second, before the emergency power supply cut in.
 

"An earthquake!" Tatsumi shouted over the noise. "Take cover!"
 

Everybody tried to find a safe spot somewhere, and as it befit his role as Saint of the Goddess, Aiolia protected Athena with his body.
 

When Jabu realized that Aiolia had been faster, he sighed inwardly. Obviously it was his fate to be only second best, whatever he tried. It was getting really frustrating.
 

Only seconds later, the earth quietened. Anxiously, Saori peered upwards to a ceiling light that hung only half in its socket and threated to fall down.
 

"Are you alright?" Aiolia helped her to her feet.
 

"Yes, Aiolia. Thank you. -- This was no ordinary earthquake. I'm sure you felt the surge of a powerful Cosmo, too..."
 

The Saints nodded.
 

"Look!" Tatsumi pointed to a scroll of parchment that lay on the floor. It was sealed with golden wax and shimmered in an unearthly blackish light.
 

Aiolia activated his Cosmo, but didn't sense any direct threat. As highest ranking Saint, he decided to pick up the scroll and looked to Athena. The Goddess nodded impatiently, and Aiolia opened the message.
 

"What does it say?" Saori asked curiously.
 

"Hm. It's written in Old Greek," Aiolia reported. Fortunately it was required that all Saints learned to read Old and Modern Greek. "It says:
 

My dearest Athena,

thou wilt pay for sealing mine beloved husband away for another two centuries. As first step I shall make thee suffer the loss of the one closest to thine heart.

Kisses, Persephoneia
 

That's all."
 

"Pardon?! She must be joking..." Athena paled.
 

"I'm afraid that's what is written here on this scroll."
 

"So this means Persephoneia kidnapped Seiya?"
 

"She or her minions," the Leo Saint nodded. "We may have killed the Specters of Hades, but it seems his Queen has a certain following, too."
 

Saori looked thoughtful while she tried to recapitulate the genealogy of her divine peers. "Indeed, there were ample amounts of minor Gods and Goddesses who had one or the other problem with the Olympic Gods. Unfortunately we only have two choices: either wait until they show themselves and fight them here, or carry the battle into the Hades again. I'm convinced Persephoneia brought Seiya and the others into her domain."
 

The Saints exchanged apprehensive looks when they remembered what had to be done to enter the underworld realm.
 

Continued in Chapter Two: Journey through the Twilight World

Journey Through the Twilight World

Chapter 2: Journey Through the Twilight World
 

Death brings all tumbling to the ground

Reality stalks without reason

Without profound intend

Men fight

Their bleached minds

Narrow minded spit

Transferring thoughts into words

Giving movement sound

And who will silence the violence all around?

(T.Willcox)
 

* * *
 

"There has to be another way," Athena said. "The last time we didn't have enough time to work out a proper plan, but this time I refuse to take only desperate means."
 

"We could walk the path of Orpheus or Herakles," Marin suggested. "They entered the underworld via the main entrance."
 

"Unfortunately this entrance is located at the Western end of the world, and we know by now that the Earth is a sphere, and not a disk," Saori pointed out.
 

"There is one Saint who can open a doorway to the forecourt of the Hades," Leo Aiolia said with a mien as if he had bitten into something very unpleasant. "But I'm not sure we should entrust him with such a job."
 

"Do we have another choice?" Athena wasn't satisfied with this solution either, but it was true -- no one else was able to open a door into the bleak twilight world that lead to the entrance of the Hades. "I will call the Cancer Saint."
 

"What? Do you really want to call DeathMask?" Shunrei squealed. She hadn't forgotten that the cruel Cancer Saint had tried to kill her to torture and weaken Shiryu. She couldn't understand why Athena hadn't stripped him of Cloth and rank once and forever after the Saints had been returned to the living by the power of the Great Mother Gaia.
 

"I don't see another way to free Seiya and the others than to place my trust into DeathMask's powers," Athena said. She concentrated and sent out her Cosmo to order the Cancer Saint to report to her at once.
 

Only seconds later, DeathMask materialized in the command center, proudly bearing his Cancer Gold Cloth again. It had been a severe shock for him when his Cloth abandoned him during the fight with Shiryu, and he vowed this would never happen again, even if it meant he had to follow Athena's wishes once in a while.
 

Shunrei tried to hide behind Aiolia, who was the only person she deemed to be able to protect her against the vile assassin.
 

DeathMask looked around and admired the high-tech command center. When he discovered the mortally frightened Chinese girl, desperately hiding behind the Leo Saint, he couldn't help himself and said "Booh!"
 

Shunrei squeaked and clutched her arms around Aiolia.
 

"DeathMask, behave!" Athena ordered angrily.
 

"If you insist," he sulked and shot her a defiant look. It was demeaning, it almost sounded as if she had ordered a dog to heel. He still thought that it would only have been a mercy-kill to terminate the annoying brat. "Why did you ask me to appear here?"
 

"You will open a gateway to Hades for Aiolia and yourself, and then you will enter the underworld realm to retrieve Seiya and his friends who are held prisoner there."
 

DeathMask grimaced. It was more than likely that 'Seiya and friends' meant the Dragon Saint was on the list of the guys to be rescued, too. But if someone deserved to suffer the worst agonies of the Tartaros, it was certainly Shiryu.
 

"I think we should take Camus and Shura along, too," Aiolia pondered. Actually, he disliked admitting that he probably wouldn't be able to handle the situation himself, but then, he was not stupid, and the world of the dead was a terrain he was very wary of -- Gold Saint or not. "They spent a considerable time down there and we need every little advantage we can get."
 

"Okay. Anyone else?"
 

"I will accompany them, of course," Marin said. "You guys don't stand a chance if the opponent is a woman..." She gave Aiolia a peculiar look.
 

"I will join you, too," another female voice declared. Shaina, who also dwelled in Tokyo at the moment, immediately went to Athena's headquarters when she, too, sensed the disappearance of Seiya's Cosmo. Before the others could acknowledge her, DeathMask replied to Marin.
 

"Pah. I don't mind whether the enemy is male or female. Only a dead opponent is a good opponent."
 

Athena shook her head and wondered whether it really had been a good idea to keep DeathMask among her Gold Saints. But then, currently there was no suitable candidate around who could assume the Cancer Cloth with all its implications. She sighed.
 

According to the scriptures that she had discovered in the vaults of the Kyoukou's temple, most of the Cancer Saints had been more or less unstable due to the nature of their Cosmo abilities. Always living between the world of the living and the dead put a severe strain on these Saints and more than one of them had gone mad and thus had to be killed for safety reasons. No, she wouldn't put another boy or girl through the ordeal as long as she had a living and more or less sane Cancer Saint on this position.
 

"Good", Athena nodded towards Shaina. The Ophiuchus Saint had saved Seiya repeatedly in the past (although initially she had been out for his head). Then Athena concentrated and her Cosmo flared brightly golden when she called Capricorn Shura and Aquarius Camus to attend. This left eight Gold Saints back in Sanctuary, but two of them -- Pisces Aphrodite and Gemini Saga -- were on probation, just like DeathMask, and Kiki was still in training. Kiki... Well, she should better start calling him Phrixos now, as this was the name he had chosen when he assumed the Aries Cloth.
 

It didn't take long for Camus and Shura to arrive, and when they materialized in the command center, it occurred to Saori that it might be a wise idea to ask Mu to install a psychokinesis blocker here, too, like the one in Sanctuary that hindered any teleports as long as she (or the Pope) was in her Temple and powered the wards with her Cosmo. It was nice that her Gold Saints could appear here right away at any moment, but the thought of her enemies being able to enter the same way was disconcerting.
 

Shura and Camus bowed their heads, before they became aware of Aiolia's and DeathMask's presence. They exchanged an astonished look. Why could Athena have need of four Gold Saints -- and one of them Cancer DeathMask?!
 

Before they could greet Athena, she nodded at them. "I thank you for arriving so fast. I need you for a special mission. You are to enter Hades' realm and rescue Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga and Shun who were abducted by Persephoneia, Hades' wife."
 

Camus frowned deeply. Enter Hades' realm? If he was truthful, his last visit there had been more than enough for him, especially the time when he and the others had to 'live' a meaningless, dull existence in the City of the Dead among the other shadows until Hades decided to reanimate them as his Black Gold Saints. He'd rather never return there again.
 

"Hades' wife Persephoneia?" Shura asked. "Why haven't we encountered her during the last battle?" He only remembered a certain Pandora whom they met when they allegedly brought Athena's corpse down into the underworld.
 

"Well, according to the myths, Persephoneia spends only part of her time in the underworld and the other with her mother Demeter among the Olympic Gods," Aiolia explained impatiently. He wanted to get this job done as fast as possible.
 

"And how are we to enter the Hades?" Camus wondered. "The last time it was a pretty final solution, if I may remind you."
 

"That's where DeathMask comes in." Athena told them their plan so far. Its only drawback was the fact that it wasn't so much of a plan in the first place.
 

"So let me get this straight," Shura summarized. "You want us to follow into Orpheus' footsteps, only bringing back Seiya and the others instead of Euridyce? This plan has only one major drawback: I can neither sing nor play the lyre!"
 

"I have the utmost confidence in you," Athena gave him a charming smile.
 

"Why couldn't I have listened to reason and become an engine driver as was my dearest wish before I encountered this guy who spirited me away to become a Saint," Shura muttered.
 

"That's because there's no railway down to Hades," DeathMask told him with an insolent grin.
 

Shura shot the Cancer Saint a withering gaze. If that guy hadn't been needed right now he might have decided to try whether Excalibur could be used to carve crabs, too.
 

"Okay, fellows, let's get going," Aiolia decided. They should go now before Shura and DeathMask got into an open fight. Not that he would cry a single tear for the death of the latter. Well, maybe they were able to lose the Cancer Saint in the underworld, he thought. They'd only have to make it look like an accident. "DeathMask, open that gate to the forecourt of Hades!"
 

DeathMask looked darkly at the Leo Saint and the spikes of his Cloth seemed to spark embers. "Who am I to obey your orders?" He would open the gate at his convenience.
 

"DeathMask, please," Athena said, slightly ennervated. If these tensions went on, they wouldn't need Persephoneia to kill each other off. She made a mental note to let Sanctuary's talent scout look out for a new Cancer Saint after all. Just in case.
 

"Okay, okay..." DeathMask concentrated and opened the doorway. Warily, the other Gold Saints and the two women stepped through to find themselves in the threatening, bleak landscape where their nostrils were attacked by sulfurous fumes and their minds by the air of desperation and hopelessness that accompanied the long row of dead souls on their final journey to the Mount Yomotsu.
 

"Welcome to my world," DeathMask said and grinned at the uncomfortable looks of his companions.
 

* * *
 

"Iyaaahhhh!" With an angry shout, Ikki materialized right in front of Athena. One of the tail feathers of his Phoenix Cloth smoked dangerously.
 

Athena made a step back, but a control panel stopped her. "It smells scorched," she observed.
 

"I'm so sorry," Ikki retorted acidly. "I just came to tell you that there's a new danger ahead!"
 

"Is that so?" Athena sighed. "We already noticed. But thanks anyway..." She told him of the abduction of Seiya-tachi.
 

"What? Shun abducted?" Ikki exploded. He wasn't in too good a mood anyway, and this just did it. "It seems I have to go into the underworld and take it apart piece by little piece again -- and if it is only to get my hands around the neck of this f*cking Volcano God Typhoeus who dared to blow my personal volcano up right under my feet!"
 

"Ahm, Ikki, I'd prefer you stay here," Athena said cautiously. "After all, the rescue team is already on the way."
 

"And what hinders me to follow them?" Ikki growled.
 

"The fact that you can't open a doorway that leads into Hades' realm."
 

Ikki walked back and fro like a caged animal. "You seem to have a point here. But it doesn't mean I have to like it."
 

"Hm. Typhoeus..." Athena wrinkled her forehead. "I thought he was supposed to suffer eternally in the Tartaros for trying to challenge Zeus? I really wonder why he should appear right in this particular time if it wasn't for Persephoneia's vengeance crusade. Ikki, so why don't you try to catch this Typhoeus guy up here? I have the distinct feeling that blowing up Canon Island wasn't the last of his deeds in the Earth Realm. Furthermore we have to figure out who else belongs to Persephoneia's troops."
 

"I agree," Ikki said grudgingly. Unfortunately he didn't have the slightest idea where to begin.
 

* * *
 

Persephoneia followed her favourite servant through the dark and gloomy depths of her palace, into the muddy dungeons that were only partly illuminated by sickly green luminous fungi and moss. A winding staircase led down into the most feared prison of Hades' Castle, the hall of the adamas cages, where the prisoners were kept who awaited Hades' special treatment.
 

Somehow Persephoneia contrasted strangely with the dusky surroundings -- for thousands of years she had kept her youthful appearance that once had given her the name Kore, girl, and since that time she favoured the long, flowing white robes and golden jewellery that showed her divine heritage. At the moment, her vividly pink hair was caught in two long braids and the colour clashed with her dangerously sparkling orange eyes.
 

She made a little jump to avoid soiling her golden sandals in a puddle of muddy water.
 

"Hekate, why did you have to put them into these terrible dungeons where one can't even teleport into?" she complained.
 

"Didn't you want them to be kept secure, my Queen?" Hekate sighed. Persephoneia's moods were infamous.
 

"Well, for the beginning. But as soon as I decide to torture them, I want them to be within easier reach."
 

"But the cages of adamas can't be moved from there," Hekate cautioned. Athena's Saints were known to be powerful, and she didn't want to take any risks with them.
 

"I have confidence in my Shadow Knights," Persephoneia shrugged. "They will keep them safe as well."
 

"Whatever you wish, my Queen." Hekate bowed her head and ushered Persephoneia along. It was far beyond her why the Queen had to wear these impractical white gowns and sandals even here. Okay, usually she kept to her palace where she was pampered by her servants and Hades as long as he was there... Actually, she was a spoiled brat, immortal and far too powerful for her own good. Hekate sighed once more. But someone had to look after her, and she had promised Demeter to do so while the girl spent her time in the underworld. Secretly, of course, as Persephoneia hated people who tried to tell her what she had to do.
 

"I hope it isn't much farther," Persephoneia nagged.
 

"No, it isn't, my Queen. Only some more steps."
 

"I hope so," Persephoneia said haughtily.
 

Finally, they reached the dungeon. Hekate led the way into the hall. It was a vast room, slightly less gloomy than the staircase, as bluish green burning torches shed an eerie light that overpowered the glow of the fungi. Next to the black-clad woman, Persephoneia shimmered in pristine white and looked slightly out of place.
 

"So here they are." Happily, Persephoneia clapped her hands and looked to the grey cages that hung about one meter over the ground. The ceiling of the hall was about five meters high, and the cages were fixed to adamas hooks up there. If one pushed them, the cages would swing like pendulums, but they were spaced far enough from each other that they would not clash together. Four of them contained unconscious teenage boys. "Athena's mighty Warrior Saints... But they look like children!"
 

"At first I was surprised, too," Hekate nodded. "But when I remembered Hermes' deeds right after his birth... They may still be dangerous. In a way, they are Zeus' children, too."
 

"Yes, and they imprisoned my beloved husband! I'm not amused at all." Persephoneia approached one of the cages. "Although they are somewhat nice to look at. This one has a nicely athletic body." She pointed at Shiryu, before she turned to Shun. "But this one looks more like a little girl than a dangerous warrior."
 

"They all don't look overly dangerous," Hekate mused. "But the reports tell differently."
 

"Do you know which of them is their leader?" Persephoneia's gaze darkened. "I'm still beside myself with rage that I wasn't around to help my beloved husband when he was attacked by these brats. Hekate, will you help me convince Mom that I don't have to spend eight months up there with her? It's utterly boring and I don't want to leave my Hades-darling alone for so long."
 

Hekate sighed inwardly. She had had this conversation for the last three millennia, if she remembered correctly. Or was it four or five? Demeter just didn't want to believe that Persephoneia had come to love Hades dearly during the time, and she still insisted that 'her little girl' joined her for two thirds of the year. Hekate ignored the complaint, as usual. "I think this one is the leader." She pointed at Seiya.
 

"Hm. What do you think -- shall we torture him first or last?"
 

"Well, why don't we wake them first and decide later?"
 

"Good. Please do so!"
 

Hekate closed her eyes and an eerie dark violet Cosmo glow surrounded her. The Bronze Boys began to stir.
 

"Where...? What...?" Hyoga tried to stand up, but the ground rocked beneath his feet.
 

"Look, this one is nicely built, too," Persephoneia commented with glee. "I'm sure they will keep quite a while when I subject them to the torture."
 

Hekate examined the boys and nodded.
 

"Where are we?" Seiya groaned and rubbed his temples. The last thing he remembered was sitting in the cinema, then a whirlwind of powerful energies and then nothing.
 

"You are within Hades' Realm," Hekate announced.
 

"In the underworld again? Are we dead?" Seiya wondered in dread.
 

"Not yet," Persephoneia purred and showed him two rows of pearl-white teeth.
 

"Where am I?" When Shiryu stirred, he asked the inevitable question, too. Shun was also awake by now and stared at the women out of his large, bluish green eyes.
 

"Maybe I should introduce us first," Hekate said, ignoring Shiryu. "Meet Her Majesty Persephoneia, rightful Queen of the Underworld and wife to King Hades, ruler of the Demesne of the Dead. I am Lady Hekate, first counsellor of the Queen."
 

"Hades?! I thought we killed him," Seiya said puzzled. When a murderous gaze from orange eyes almost cut him in two, he became aware that it hadn't been the smartest comment he could have made.
 

"Fortunately he's one of the immortal Gods, son of Kronos and brother to Zeus and Poseidon, you insolent whelp," Persephoneia hissed. "But it's because of you that he's imprisoned for another two hundred years if I don't manage to do anything about it!" Angrily, Persephoneia gave the cage a push so that it spun around. Seiya held fast to the bars.
 

Hyoga and Shiryu exchanged an uneasy glance. Hades' loving wife was obviously out for revenge. As the two women still concentrated on Seiya, Shiryu powered up his mighty Cosmo and tried to break the bars of the cage. When the grey metal didn't give a fraction of a millimeter, he looked at his hands in shock.
 

Now Hyoga tried his luck and attempted to attack the bars with Diamond Dust, followed by Aurora Thunder -- to no avail.
 

"Forget it, little boy. The cages are made of adamas, the indestructible metal birthed by Gaia when the world was still young," Hekate explained.
 

The Bronze Saints exchanged another meaningful glance. Somehow their outlook wasn't exactly good. But they had faced other desperate situations and still prevailed, Seiya told himself. They were Saints of Hope, and they would master this crisis as well.
 

"What do you intend to do now, my Queen?" Hekate asked.
 

"I'm hungry. I shall eat something and then return to begin to take my revenge on them," Persephoneia decreed.
 

Hekate sighed for the umpteenth time. Sometimes, Persephoneia was a real pain. This meant climbing up all the stairs again, just that her Queen could eat some tidbits, before they had to climb down once more. Maybe imprisoning the Saints farther upstairs wasn't so bad an idea after all.
 

When the Queen of the Underworld and her advisor had left, Seiya and friends began a fervent discussion.
 

"We have to escape," Seiya said.
 

"Nii-san will rescue us," Shun stated.
 

"We shouldn't be so sure of this," Shiryu cautioned.
 

"Indeed. We have to break free on our own," Hyoga inspected the grey bars. He couldn't believe that this adamas was truly indestructible. "Nothing is indestructible," he encouraged himself and concentrated to direct his most powerful attack at the bars, Aurora Execution, which had been bestowed on him by his Master Aquarius Camus. But even this blast of purest cold didn't weaken the mysterious metal.
 

"Iecks, this is cold," Shun complained, whose cage was just in the direction of the Aurora Execution blast.
 

"Sorry, Shun," Hyoga said with a wry grin.
 

When the attacks of the others didn't affect the cages either, they looked crestfallen.
 

"It seems we have a problem," Hyoga summarized the situation.
 

"Maybe it's best to hope for Ikki to arrive after all," Seiya tried a weak joke.
 

* * *
 

The Gold Saints, Shaina and Marin looked around and Camus' gaze appeared to be even darker than usual. He didn't like it a tiny bit that he was at DeathMask's mercy here and now. But he wasn't alone with his sentiments.
 

"So where exactly do we have to go?" he asked the Cancer Saint.
 

DeathMask pointed in the direction of the mountain. "This is Mount Yomotsu. Whoever falls into the crater will never return. You might call it the shortcut into the underworld."
 

His nasty grin made Marin shiver. As mere Silver Saint she would never have a chance against him if he wanted to get rid of her. But then, fortunately she wasn't alone here. Shaina's gaze was impassive as ever, even though she did not to wear the traditional facemask of the women Saints anymore. This had caused quite some shock among the Saints, but Shaina stated that by now about every Saint had seen her bare face anyway, and it would be a bit tedious to kill them all.
 

"Some distance beyond the mountain, though, begins another way into the realm of the dead. It's an inhospitable, swampy area, which I haven't fully explored either, I must admit." DeathMask grimaced. Floating or teleporting was too dangerous in the limbo with its shifting energy patterns and he hadn't wanted to soil his Cancer Cloth with the slimy, rotting mud of the swamp that eventually gave way to the River Styx. It was said that another way lead to just the same area, a cave sacred to Artemis, which was located in the south of the Peloponnes, but he, DeathMask, knew this entrance best.
 

"A swamp?" Shura's voice conveyed his disgust. He really prefered things orderly and clean. "If I had the choice I'd be out of here as soon as possible."
 

"But we don't have it," Aiolia said gruffly. "Okay, let's go. -- After you, DeathMask!"
 

The Cancer Saint laughed at his colleague. "Are you afraid to have me in your back, kitten Aiolia?"
 

"Better safe than sorry, crab." Aiolia ground his teeth. As soon as they were out of here, he would challenge DeathMask to a duel, he vowed. It was a long time overdue, and even if it took a thousand days and nights, he would erase this smug grin from the Cancer Saint's face.
 

To cut further discussions short, Shaina simply went after DeathMask, and Marin, Aiolia and Shura followed suit. Camus trailed along as rearguard.
 

The farther they progressed, the more treacherous the ground became. First only their feet sank into the greenish black mud, but it didn't take long until they sank in to their knees. Well, all of them, but Camus. The Aquarius Saint used a small portion of his powers to freeze the swamp beneath his feet, and so he was the only one to pass the area on dry feet.
 

"Is this mud path truly the only way?" Shura nagged. He only hoped he'd get this obnoxious slimy, rotting soil from his boots when this was over.
 

"Well, you could have jumped down the crater," DeathMask grinned evilly. It would have been a pleasure for him to help Shura on the way.
 

"Haha." Shura looked back to see how his colleagues fared, and when he became aware of Camus' little trick, he stood there, arms akimbo. "Camus, would you please explain why you haven't walked in front?!"
 

"I didn't want to have DeathMask in my back," the Aquarius Saint said matter-of-factly. "And as you were so eager to follow him, I didn't see a reason to push to the front."
 

"You're a dead man when we're out of here," Shura growled.
 

"This may very well happen anyway," Camus said somewhat melancholy. "After all, we're about to enter the underworld again."
 

Suddenly they noticed that the river Styx spread out in front of them. The plain they had passed was crowded with desperate lost souls who hadn't been buried the proper way and now weren't allowed to cross the Styx; grey, harrowed forms that walked forever along the shore of the river of dead. The blackish water was partly hidden by stinking white mists that wafted towards the shore.
 

"So we're at the threshold into Hades' realm now," Camus said. "But I didn't expect such a horrible stench!"
 

Marin grinned under her facemask. For once she was truly thankful that she wore it as it filtered out most of the stench that filled the air, and this was one of the few times Shaina regretted her decision to give it up.
 

Slowly, a boat of rotten treebark neared the group. It was steered by a sinister figure in a dark, hooded robe.
 

"What do you want?" Charon asked them, his deep frown hidden in the shadow of his hood. These persons were definitely alive, a fact that promised nothing but trouble.
 

DeathMask took a step forward and sank even deeper into the mud. "As you seem to be the fabled ferryman Charon, you are to ferry us to the other side of the Styx!"
 

"Why should I do this? You belong to the realm of the living. The underworld is not your place to go."
 

"I have been dead already -- several times even -- I don't think you can refuse me the passage!"
 

"But I do. Go back and return when it's your time to enter the realm of the dead."
 

"And what about Orpheus? According to the legend you ferried him even though he was alive!"
 

"Well, he could sing like a God."
 

DeathMask grumbled something unintelligible. "And what about Herakles?"
 

"He was strong enough to win his passage."
 

"Pah. I'm a Gold Saint of Athena -- you bet that I'm at least as strong," the Cancer Saint growled.
 

Camus sighed. This discussion led nowhere. He went nearer the shore, still on solidly frozen mud and stuck his finger into the river Styx.
 

"Prove it!" Charon demanded.
 

"I have already killed one guy called Charon," DeathMask told the ferryman with an evil grin. His Master, Eridanus Silver Saint Charon, hadn't survived to see him attain the Cancer Cloth; he had thrown him into the pit of Yomotsu during his Test of Cloth. "Feel free to become number two on the list."
 

"The other one was a mortal. I'm not." Charon shrugged.
 

Aiolia, Shura, Shaina and Marin followed the discussion with interest. Camus was otherwise occupied.
 

DeathMask and Charon continued to argue for another fifteen minutes, until Camus' voice came somewhere from the middle of the river. "Would you please stop this petty bickering and come?" the Aquarius Saint asked exasperatedly.
 

The others including Charon gaped at him.
 

"You didn't expect me to enter this wreck of a boat, did you?" Camus asked, one of his elegant eyebrows arched quizzically, while he stood on a solid ice way that spanned the river. "Now hurry, we have a task to accomplish."
 

"I knew it would come handy to include you in this mission," Aiolia grinned and stepped onto the ice bridge.
 

"But... You can't..." Charon stuttered. This was unprecedented. No one could cross the River Styx without his, Charon's, consent!
 

Continued in Chapter Three: No Boom Tomorrow - Boom Today!

No Boom Tomorrow - Boom Today!

Chapter 3: No Boom Tomorrow - Boom Today!
 

The doors blow open.

"You've arrived!

Now why do you kill, bring diseases and plight?"

I sigh.

Silence - Cold icy air

Black manic stare

Wait! - A reply

"No, not I!

It's a lie, it's a lie

I wouldn't do these things

It's she, she's sin!"

("The Packt", T.Willcox)
 

* * *
 

Ikki was glad that he was able to teleport like the Gold Saints and so he teleported from one active volcano to the next, to see whether he would encounter Typhoeus somewhere.
 

The God of Violent Storms and Volcanoes was a bit elusive, though.
 

Ikki tried to concentrate on the energy flows of the Earth. He never understood exactly why he of all Saints seemed to be attuned to the flow of the Earth currents, but it was not his nature to worry too much about it. Probably it was a property of the Phoenix Cloth which had some kind of special status among the other Cloths anyway.
 

Suddenly there was an eruption of forces that felt wrong, out of tune with the natural flows; like the one he had felt when the volcano at Canon Island was blown up.
 

Ikki concentrated and teleported into the vicinity of the disturbance. He knew at once where he was - the evenly formed cone of the Mount Fuji with its sprinkling of white snow against the clear blue sky was beautiful like any print or postcard.
 

Unfortunately this picture of solemn peace turned into a blasting furnace when the top of the mountain suddenly erupted, first spitting out dark grey smoke and rocks, before bright yellow flames and glowing orange rocks turned the area into a violent show of volcanic powers.
 

Ikki's mien darkened. He wasn't exactly religious, but the desacration of the holy Fuji-san by some minor Greek God infuriated him nonetheless. Who were these Greek Gods anyway, always to meddle in the lifes of the humans? They didn't have the slightest respect.
 

He closed his eyes and called upon the Phoenix power. He would challenge Typhoeus and he would vanquish him!
 

«I waited for you,» a voice spoke directly into his mind. The thought had the feel of flowing magma interspersed with the cold raging of a hurricane. Typhoeus, who else?
 

Ikki homed in on the location of the thought-sending and teleported into the God's back (he hoped). It might not be wise to tackle a real God on his own, a little voice in his mind tried to tell him, but Ikki brushed the warning away. He had been victorious over Shaka who was known as the Man Closest to the Gods and he and his friends had triumphed over Gods more powerful than this guy!
 

When he materialized, Ikki floated right above the churning molten rock flowing out of the crater. He had calculated correctly, Typhoeus was right in front of him, sitting nonchalantly on the stony rim of the crater, waiting.
 

The God had flowing long turquoise hair and wore a shimmering, golden armour that reminded Ikki a bit of the Gold Cloths, but contrary to them it didn't emanate a warm Cosmo glow, but felt sharp, prickly and cold compared to them... Somehow ...crystalline? Ikki tried to give the feeling a name.
 

Before he lost the moment of surprise, Ikki decided to attack. This guy didn't deserve any warning. "Phoenix Gen Ma Ken!" he shouted and dived at the God from his floating position, his Cosmo flaring and trying to catapult Typhoeus into the depths of some personal hell.
 

When Ikki had passed him and turned around to see the results of his attack, he gaped at the God.
 

Typhoeus still sat on the crater's rim, held his hand before his mouth and yawned audibly. «Boy, I have spent an eternity in the Tartaros,» he sent telepathically. «You really can't shock me by those illusions of some hell you consider to be somewhat frightening.»
 

"What?!" Ikki blinked. Okay, he had had some other opponents who claimed something similar, but no one of them had looked that imperturbed.
 

«Wanna see something really frightening?» Typhoeus' greenish yellow eyes flared once, and an icy whirlwind took Ikki and threw him right into the crater where the magma boiled in a reddish orange light.
 

Now it was Typhoeus' turn to gape at Ikki, when the Phoenix Saint emerged with roaring wings of burning Cosmo out of the firy grave. "Gosh, the roast turkey is tougher than I thought," Typhoeus muttered to himself.
 

With a cry of rage, Ikki thrust himself at Typhoeus again...
 

* * *
 

The earth shook again. In her command center, Saori and the others tried to avoid falling ceiling plates and tumbling furniture.
 

Saori wondered whether it had always been that bad when some other Gods attacked her domain. The last times she hadn't been around to experience the effects on the Earth, after all, she had been unconscious or in other dire straits.
 

Obviously Gaia hadn't been wrong to chastise her for the punishments the Earth had to take during her quarrels with the other Gods. This was the first time she felt the effects herself, and she didn't like it at all.
 

"Ojou-sama, are you okay?" Jabu asked in worry and helped her up from the ground.
 

"Yes, Jabu. Thank you." Saori straightened her dress. Maybe she should look for something more practical, she thought. The long skirts were definitely in the way. She looked at Shunrei who stood in a corner and tried to overcome her fear. The Chinese girl's light blue silken tunic and trousers combination wasn't the worst choice.
 

"Ojou-sama," Daichi called out in alarm. "This earthquake was a side effect of an eruption of Mount Fuji!"
 

"Mount Fuji? But that's only 100km away from here. There are people in danger..." Saori felt hopelessly overtaxed. She knew she should do something, but what? When Hades challenged her, he had sent out his Specters to attack the Saints, and the actions had seemed clear. But this time her most important warriors were prisoners and she had to assume all responsibility to solve the situation.
 

Saori wondered whether she should kill herself again to get into the Hades, but then she would leave the world unprotected once more. And it wasn't sure if it would work another time. No, this time she couldn't leave her friends here to worry alone. She had to trust in Aiolia and the others to free Seiya-tachi, while she tried to give the ones around her confidence.
 

Shunrei still stood in her corner and looked at the partly damaged control center. She hated to be useless baggage and admired Saori who seemed to be so calm and composed. But then, Saori was a Goddess, while she only was an ordinary girl. If only she could do something to help! But all that was left to her was pray for the safe return of Shiryu and his friends. She really hated herself for that. But then... Maybe it was time to do something about it when this was over.
 

"And you are sure we can't do anything?" Jabu looked at the violet haired girl he admired and loved, even though he knew she would never return his feelings. All because of this accursed Seiya... But no, he shouldn't think like this, after all, Seiya had sacrificed his life and everything to serve her, while he, Jabu, only stayed behind and wasn't allowed to do anything of importance. It was not fair!
 

"No, Jabu," Saori said wearily. "Aiolia and the others are en route to Hades. We have to have faith in them."
 

"Of course." Jabu sighed. How could he compete with a Gold Saint when he wasn't even able to compete with Seiya who was a fellow Bronze Saint? But he wanted so much to prove that he was worthy, too!
 

"But we have to do something," Daichi urged. "Why don't we call in some more of the Gold Saints? After all, Persephoneia is a Goddess, and we should be wary of her."
 

"But we can't leave Sanctuary unprotected," Saori frowned.
 

"Why not?" Daichi wondered. "You are here, so the Gold Saints only protect what remains of their temples, and that's mainly rubble anyway after the last battle."
 

"We have called in stone masons to repair the temples," Tatsumi pointed out. "Although it will still take a while until they look like new again."
 

"Hm. You have a point," Saori admitted. "We could send another team to that cave sacred to Artemis in the south of the Peloponnes, where another entrance into the Hades is located according to the ancient scriptures." She only hoped the old writings were correct in that respect. With DeathMask gone, there was no other Death Saint available since Eridanus Charon was killed and Ara Lethe took her life after her lover's demise from DeathMask's hand.
 

Saori made a mental note that Astreya had to find a sufficient number of new candidates to fill up the depleted numbers of her Saints. Unfortunately, Triangulum Silver Saint Astreya, Sanctuary's talent scout, claimed that there were fewer and fewer suitable kids around who were fit for training, but somehow Saori couldn't believe this.
 

"And who should go?"
 

"I will send Milo, Aldebaran and Aphrodite, and I think should ask Dohko to join us here in Tokyo. He is the most experienced active Saint after Shion retired to Jamir to take care of the Cloths. This leaves..." She counted them by her fingers, "Mu, Shaka, Kanon, Saga, and Aiolos at Sanctuary and ready to assist if need be here."
 

"Mu isn't an active Gold Saint anymore," Daichi reminded her. "You yourself agreed to his election as new Kyoukou."
 

Saori suppressed an expletive. Of course. Unfortunately, Phrixos was still too young and inexperienced to be sent on any mission on his own. But then, Aiolos was also back at Sanctuary, and he could be trusted. Which couldn't fully be said of Saga and Kanon who currently shared the Gemini Cloth.
 

Gaia's intervention had been welcome when she resurrected Seiya and the Gold Saints 100% loyal to her, but that the Great Mother also resurrected Saga, Kanon, DeathMask and Aphrodite had been less fortunate.
 

Admittedly, during the Hades War they had ultimately fought on her, Athena's side, but DeathMask's wanton cruelty made him at least a dubious choice for a Saint, Saga's personality disorder could turn him into a loose cannon at any time, and Kanon had once manipulated a God - who said he might not consider it a valid career option again.
 

And then there was the matter of Saga and Kanon as twins -- they both were attuned to the Gemini Cloth, but rightfully only one of them could be the Gemini Gold Saint, but to make things more interesting, they had decided they would share the Cloth for now.
 

Saori inwardly shook her head when she remembered how they had asked for an audience together and then Saga told her with a broad grin that he liked the idea of having six months of vacation every year while his brother served as Gemini Saint and vice versa. This Cloth-sharing was unheard of, but then, why not? And if they misbehaved, she could still order Milo in his function as Sanctuary's Nr.1 assassin to take care of the problem and make the way free for a new Gemini Saint.
 

«Milo, Aldebaran, Aphrodite, Dohko -- attend!» Saori sent out a telepathic call. To send Aphrodite along with Dohko, Milo and Aldebaran should work, as the latter three were 100% on her side and this left one less questionable Saint back at Sanctuary.
 

Without hesitation, four shooting stars went on their way from Sanctuary to Tokyo, the Gold Saints' burning Cosmo tracing a glittering line over the firmament.
 

When they appeared before Athena, they sank to one knee in deference.
 

"Be greeted, Lady Athena," Dohko said formally. Even though he appeared to be younger than Milo, Aphrodite or Aldebaran, his far greater age gave him a more or less uncontested leading position among the Saints. "Why did you call us?"
 

Athena briefed them on the current situation, and Dohko nodded wisely -- which looked a bit odd with his youthful body and within minutes the three others were en route to Tainaron in the South of the Greek mainland, where the entrance to the underworld was located in a sacred cave on the peninsula Maina, while he stayed by Athena's side in Tokyo.
 

* * *
 

Camus, Shura, Aiolia, DeathMask, Marin and Shaina ran over the frozen path that Camus created on the river Styx. Finally they reached the other side, and Aiolia grinned at the Aquarius Saint.
 

"This was a real stroke of genius!"
 

"Well, I prefer to find a way to get things done, and it appeared as if DeathMask's argument with Charon just went nowhere."
 

DeathMask gave Camus a dark look. He would have achieved the goal, too, if he had gotten a little more time.
 

"I have the impression the layout of the underworld changed a bit from the last time we were here," Shura observed when he looked around. At least he didn't recognize any of the landmarks.
 

"Well, we just have to get to the place where Persephoneia dwells, and I assume she will reside in that castle over there." Camus pointed to an imposing dark building that stood clouded in mist in a considerable distance.
 

The path in front of them split into three ways that seemed to lead roughly into the direction of the castle. The Saints exchanged thoughtful looks.
 

"I think we should split&quot, Aiolia suggested. "That way we should reach our goal faster than if we stick together and maybe choose a wrong way."
 

"Sounds fine with me," DeathMask said. He felt more comfortable on his own anyway. The others agreed.
 

"Okay, Marin and I will take the path to the right" Aiolia pointed into the direction he had chosen for himself. Camus and Shura looked at each other, nodded and chose the left path. They immediately went on their way.
 

This left Shaina with DeathMask, a fact she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about, but at the moment it couldn't be helped.
 

The Cancer Saint immediately took the lead. He was a bit annoyed that he had to take the female Silver Saint along and hoped that she wouldn't get into his way if he got into a fight. He prefered to make his kills alone.
 

The path wound through gloomy vegetation at first, then they arrived at a stairway that led underground.
 

They made their way through shadowy corridors that were dimly lighted by faintly greenish glowing fungi, and DeathMask vented his annoyance at the situation by killing whoever servants or other personnel got in his way.
 

Shaina sighed silently. Maybe they should have tried to get some information from the hapless creatures first, but she decided not to argue with the Cancer Saint about this. He might decide she was in the way, too, and get rid of her as well as DeathMask wasn't known for an understanding or merciful nature. Inwardly she bristled with anger as she hated having to restrain herself in such a way. But for now they had a task at hand, and that was saving Seiya and his friends, so she had to bear with it, like it or not.
 

When they turned into another corridor, a majestic woman stood right in front of them. She was tall and wore a Crystal Armour of deepest black under a likewise coloured cape that contrasted perfectly with her long, wavy blood-red hair and milk-white complexion.
 

"Well, well, whom do we have here?&quot, the Shadow Knight said and her voice had an edge of steel. "I'm not amused that you decimate the servants of Our Majesty Persephoneia in such a callous manner."
 

"I am Cancer Gold Saint DeathMask," he said with a dangerous sparkle in his deep blue eyes, "and I doubt your name is of major interest as I intend to kill you right here and now."
 

"Big words for a little human." The woman smiled at him, but her aquamarine eyes showed no mirth. "Behold Hekate, she who is the Goddess of Witches and Demons."
 

Shaina thought it was prudent to stand back a little. If DeathMask thought he was able to pull this through - well, she couldn't stop him anyway. She wasn't as confident, especially as she had heard how easily he had been defeated even by Aries Mu during the Hades war. She decided to wait for a better opening to launch her own attack.
 

"So what? I will let you experience the true power of the Cancer Saint!" DeathMask put on a feral smile, pointed his finger at the Goddess and unleashed his Sekishiki Mei Kai Ha, a wave of shimmering Cosmo energy that should send her soul on a journey of no return.
 

Hekate narrowed her eyes and a faint barrier shimmered around her in a weird translucent shade of black against the darkness of her Onyx Crystal Armour. The Sekishiki Mei Kai Ha was simply absorbed by the veil of darkish energy, and the Cancer Saint stared at the woman in utter disbelief.
 

Shaina was impressed and congratulated herself on her restraint. Obviously there was a more sophisticated tactic needed to vanquish this enemy.
 

Hekate made a step towards DeathMask, and he discovered horrified that he couldn't move anymore. Frantically he tried to get out of the grip of Hekate's mental powers, but the woman simply smiled and closed the distance, until she could touch the side of his face with one of her slender, pale hands.
 

"You dared to lift your hand against a Goddess, little one?" She tucked a reluctant strand of her scarlet hair behind her ear.
 

DeathMask struggled to say something, but it seemed that he was all paralysed. Suddenly he had the feeling as if the woman in front of him sifted through his memories - from the earliest recollections of his childhood to his training in Sicily, then the moment he won his Cloth at that terrible price...
 

Hekate smiled. "An interesting life you had, little one. I think killing you wouldn't be half as amusing than giving you a fitting punishment." She still held him with just her gaze. When she went through his past with her powers, she had discovered that an important part of his had been forcibly suppressed by an attack he had suffered during his Test of Cloth. "You were made to forget your humanity," she said conversationally, "which resulted in your acting unchecked of any common human morals. I'm really curious how you will deal with your deeds when I undo the Wave of Oblivion which took away your humanity."
 

Shaina listened fascinated. Wave of Oblivion? She faintly remembered that this was the major attack of the Ara Saint, but she only heard about this in the history lessons at Sanctuary. In her time there hadn't been an Ara Saint. But she was very intrigued about the information that DeathMask had been taken away his humanity - now his callous acts and cruelty were at least understandable.
 

When Hekate drew a pentagram of black energy onto his forehead, DeathMask wanted to evade the cool touch of her fingers, but he couldn't move a muscle. Never before in his life had he felt that powerless, not even when Wyvern Rhadamanthys took him and threw him into the abyss. At that time at least he had been able to struggle.
 

"Unweave," Hekate finally whispered, and the black pentagram flared in dark violet and seemed to sink into DeathMask's skull. He wanted to scream, but he was completely paralysed. Yet he felt how tendrils of energy painfully wormed their way through his brain loosening connections and reweaving lost paths.
 

If he hadn't been frozen under her gaze, he would have sunk to his knees from the onslaught of long lost emotions. A wave of self-reproach washed over him when finally feelings of remorse and guilt were allowed to him again.
 

Hekate prepared to savour his anguish, when a telepathic call reached her. Persephoneia insisted that she join her. The black clad woman sighed and let go of the Cancer Saint who couldn't help but collapse into a miserable heap onto the floor.
 

"I'm sorry, I can't keep you company any longer as I have more urgent matters to attend." Hekate made her exit, and nothing of her remained but a shimmer of violet darkness that dissolved within scant seconds, too.
 

'Damn', Shaina thought, 'this was just too fast.' She was annoyed that she never got an opening to launch an attack at the Goddess - but then, even DeathMask hadn't stood the slightest chance against her. Speaking of DeathMask... The Ophiuchus Saint frowned when she looked at him still cowering on the ground. He hid his face behind his hands and shook violently.
 

"DeathMask?" No answer. Shaina's frown deepened, and as she didn't wear her face mask anymore, her impatience was clearly visible. This was neither the time nor the place for him to break down and dissolve into some misplaced self-pity, she thought angrily. "DeathMask!"
 

"Leave me." It came out as a hoarse whisper.
 

"Certainly not! We have a job to do," she hissed. "Now get up!"
 

"Leave me!" DeathMask didn't know how to cope with the torrent of remorse he suddenly felt for the cruelties he committed. "Maybe I should just end it here and now..." His voice was barely audible.
 

When she heard that, Shaina virtually exploded. "You despicable coward, will you snap out of it?" Her Cosmo flared crimson red in anger as she launched her attack at him. "Thunder Claw!"
 

DeathMask was caught totally by surprise when Shaina's attack connected, and it was mainly thanks to his Cloth that he escaped mostly unscathed except for a minor scratch on his cheek. But the assault did manage to break the spell of depression as hot rage replaced his self-loathing for a moment, and he struck back with a powerful punch that catapulted Shaina into the next wall where she left a visible imprint before she slid down to the ground.
 

DeathMask looked at his fist in horror, when the first impulse of anger abated. Shaina panted and struggled back to her feet. She should have seen that coming, she thought wryly. Fortunately her Saint training had left her with quite some stamina and a robust constitution.
 

"But I can't..." DeathMask's inner struggle was even visible on the outside as his eyes mirrored the violent emotions battling inside of him. He looked at his hands.
 

"You idiot crab," Shaina hissed. "I will not allow you to take the coward's way out like Saga did, and if I have to die to beat some sense into you. You are needed for this task as you are the only person who can open a gate to the forecourt of underworld at will." She assumed her attack stance again, well knowing that she didn't have a chance against DeathMask if he fought in earnest. But she had a higher goal - she had to see to it that Seiya could be saved, and she was well prepared to give her life for this goal if need be.
 

"But there's so much blood on me..." For the first time in his life, DeathMask felt revulsion when he thought about the thousands of faces of the dead that formerly adorned his temple.
 

"Yes, and that is supposed to be news to me?" Shaina retorted acidly. "What is done, is done. You think there isn't blood on me? The only difference between you and I is that I haven't enjoyed it as much as you did."
 

DeathMask looked at her as if he saw her for the first time. The fury raging in her bright green eyes was genuine, and it seemed that she really meant business. She was quite impressive for a female Saint, he had to admit with a grudging respect.
 

"So what will you do now? We have an important job to accomplish." Her voice held an undertone of steel.
 

DeathMask closed his eyes and nodded wearily. "I think I'm okay," he claimed. Of course he wasn't, but he would cope for the time being, he thought.
 

"Good." Shaina relaxed and the crimson glow of her Cosmo faded. "But be sure I will kick your sorry butt if you don't pull yourself together."
 

"I wouldn't even think of this if I were you," he growled back. True, he might be wounded to the core, but that didn't mean he would allow this Silver Saint to take advantage of his state. It was bad enough that she had been a witness to his momentary lapse, but he swore to himself that he would never again show such weakness in front of anybody else. Normally he should have killed her for having seen it, but right now he realised that he just couldn't do it - and he didn't like this fact at all. If there was one thing he abhorred, it was weakness.
 

"Now this sounds a little more like you," Shaina commented half relieved and half apprehensively. No matter what had happened to him, she would have to tread very carefully with him now as she just couldn't fathom how he might react. She scrutinised him, and even though he tried to put on his usual nonchalant mien, his deep blue eyes were clouded with a deep running pain.
 

Nonetheless they continued on their way, and Shaina hoped sincerely that Hekate's attack hadn't destabilized DeathMask so far that he would be useless for the upcoming fights.
 

Continued in Chapter Four: Shadows Walking the City of the Dead