Fic: not meant for peace
Title: not meant for peace
Who: Athena, for the most part
When: After Hades
Word count: 1640
Disclaimer: Everything comes from Kurumada's imagination, we just play with the toys.
Warnings: not particularly happy with this one, but just realized it's been sitting in my computer for months, so out of my chest it goes.
Not meant for peace
The war was over and, for the first time since the cycles started, the warriors were alive to celebrate. Athena had brought them back to life, and the future extended clear of danger before them.
Years passed and life went on. Unlike other times, there were enough able men and women in the ranks, so there was no need to rush to bring in new blood, and the choice of candidates for cloths was made more carefully than ever before. With better materials, masters found the old training techniques unnecessary, and they had the experience that their predecessors had lacked: older, wiser masters made for a trainee´s life that -when not easy- did not resemble the cruel realities of old.
Athena was pleased.
She sat in her throne and walked around the grounds, and she grew even more pleased. The men and women she had grown to love had been spared terrible deaths that had been the fate of most of her warriors in the past.
And so in peace and hope five years went by. Shiryu had asked for permission to attend a nearby school, and against all odds had convinced Seiya to go with him. Jabu, Shun and Aldebaran had created an unlikely partnership and were now owners of a small but prosperous business. Hyoga had taken up his own place in the village and when Athena had finally accepted his dinner invitation she had been pleased to meet the dark-eyed girl who had found the way into his heart. Others had found new corners of their lives as well, in nature, knowledge, society and even love, and Saori was pleased beyond words that they were managing to build lives for themselves around their duties.
Their duty to their goddess still came first, of course, and the side of hers that was Athena demanded that all her warriors would gather frequently under her roof. Then she would walk among their ranks holding her staff, pleased at the sight of her faithful on their knees, aware of who she was. It was after such a ceremony that she realized something was not right.
~~~~~~~~~
She was sure they all kept in prime shape, and of course the physical aspect of their training resulted now and then in minor injuries, it could not be avoided. But Hyoga’s bruises were taking too long to heal, was he overexerting himself?
From that moment on, misery had rolled in unstoppable. Hyoga’s bruises were the first sign of the uncanny wave of disease that took hold of Athena’s saints. Seven years after the last battle that had won them peace, twenty of her saints were gone. Different types of cancer had taken the lives of those who had defeated gods and their armies. The laugher of Aiolia would not be heard again in the arenas, and Aphrodite’s roses died when his hand was no longer there to care for them. Shun and Ikki were gone as well, and Saori wasn’t sure if it was disease or sadness that had finally taken away Phoenix’s last breath.
And even among those who had tested clean when Hyoga’s rapid fall into disease and death had compelled the goddess to order a full medical inspection of her men, many were sick already.
The human doctors were unable to explain the incredibly fast cancers that attacked several unconnected parts of the body, and were even now thoroughly perplexed at how quickly they conquered and claimed otherwise healthy and strong young men and women.
And when Seiya cried at Marin’s funeral, only ten days after her test results came back positive, Saori made up her mind to find her answers elsewhere.
~~~~~~~~
Past incarnations of Athena had been more inclined to mingle with her divine kin far more than Saori, and she was now thankful for the memories that filled in the shortcomings of her own experience.
The gods had been indifferent, and then despondent. What was to them if a handful of humans were dying? There were millions more anyway, and if these dying humans were the ones able to defy the gods, that made them all the less enticing to the divine ones.
Finally, Athena managed to settle her claim beyond the god who could not refuse her questions. Asclepios had avoided her for long, but she finally met his eye against a rocky slope, pinning him between the mountain and her own divinity. She reminded him of his human origin, and he could not refuse her blue eyes for long.
Asclepios had taken a seat on the rocks, and started talking. Slow, careful and only half intelligible words that Athena listened to without looking into the minor god´s face. When he stopped talking and walked away, the goddess didn´t try to stop him. He had said what everybody else must have known but refused to tell her. She bowed her head in thought, and finally assented. It was just what she herself had known all along, but she had refused to look in her heart to look for the answer she had so thoroughly avoided to acknowledge.
~~~~~~~~
Back in Athens, among the humans she so loved, she headed straight for her rooms and refused to see anyone. Shiryu got sick, and Mu´s name was soon added to the list of those who were gone forever. Still, the goddess did not come out of her cloister, not even to attend the burial of her beloved Aries saint.
At last, unannounced, she took her staff and walked out into the common grounds of Sanctuary. Young and old, her faithful lined up to see her pass, and knelt to acknowledge her. Until the one she had been looking for called out her human name. Athena ignored Seiya´s cries and kept on walking until she reached the arena, turning to face the arrival of her favorite Saint.
He wore his formal clothes, and Athena was not surprised to know he had just attended Shaina´s final rites. For a moment, she just looked at him, not listening to his words. But Seiya´s voice kept rising, as his words became more passionate. He demanded to know of the answers she had learnt, he shouted his right to know, and all around them heads nodded.
- You have to tell me!
~~~~~~~~
Those were his last words. Or at least, she thinks so. Now, looking back, Athena isn´t entirely sure whether he said that or something else. Not that it matters. The Pegasus Saint had grown too proud, all of them had. When her staff lightened up and the thunders of her anger fell on Pegasus and others, some of them had actually tried to fly away, a few had even dared to raise defensive stands!
She smiles at the memory. That boy, Kiki, even had time to build one of the walls his kind was famous for before she directed her staff at his heart, piercing the ridiculous defense without effort. She was certain his death had been delayed long enough for him to hear the dying cries of the youngsters he had tried to shield against her rage.
Others had managed to take a few steps before being brought down, and by the time she had lowered her staff, their half-burned bodies were scattered in the arena like wasted flies. If she closes her eyes, she can still see June´s dead hand reaching for the whip, where her hip had been before the attack.
But there is no time to dwell in the happy memories of the past. There is work to be done, and the faithful await. She passes the Kyoko on her way out, and Camus bows his head respectfully, taking off the mask that hides his face from everybody but her. She hears Shaka´s words echoing in the ranks as she nears the colliseum, and she is pleased by the stern, commanding tone. Nothing remains of the idle pleasantries from the past, she has made sure of that.
As she takes her seat, she eyes the two boys who stand, barefooted, in the arena. One of them is going to die, and the other one will be one step closer to attaining one of her clothes, she can´t remember which one. They stand very straight as Shaka reads out the rules and the formal announcement. Ah, the Pegasus Cloth. Very fitting, that.
The fight is unremarkable, and it drags on until one of the boys makes a mistake big enough for the other to land a killing blow. She barely nods towards the winner before taking her leave. It doesn´t matter anyway. She´s not pleased and the boy will be dead within the day, if Camus is smart enough to pick up the signs from her. Otherwise, she´ll order him killed tomorrow herself.
These are warriors she´s crafting here, after all. They will become the best killing machines she can procure herself with, and she will not stop at a few unremarkable deaths. She was still taken aback that it had taken a conversation with a minor God to remind her of things she should not have forgotten. Her warriors were dying because they were not supposed to be alive. They had outlived their purpose and, just like the snow melts into dirty water when its time is past, the cycle decreed by Zeus had imposed itself.
Everybody knew it couldn´t be otherwise. And she had forgotten what everyone knew, out of stupid human love and compassion. She had been shamed among the Olympians, and for what? Love for them?
Athena shakes her head, in disbelief. There must have been something else, although since she allowed her divine nature to rush back in after her visit to Olympus; those times seem blurry and unreal. It can’t have been love, they’re just humans after all.
Who: Athena, for the most part
When: After Hades
Word count: 1640
Disclaimer: Everything comes from Kurumada's imagination, we just play with the toys.
Warnings: not particularly happy with this one, but just realized it's been sitting in my computer for months, so out of my chest it goes.
Not meant for peace
The war was over and, for the first time since the cycles started, the warriors were alive to celebrate. Athena had brought them back to life, and the future extended clear of danger before them.
Years passed and life went on. Unlike other times, there were enough able men and women in the ranks, so there was no need to rush to bring in new blood, and the choice of candidates for cloths was made more carefully than ever before. With better materials, masters found the old training techniques unnecessary, and they had the experience that their predecessors had lacked: older, wiser masters made for a trainee´s life that -when not easy- did not resemble the cruel realities of old.
Athena was pleased.
She sat in her throne and walked around the grounds, and she grew even more pleased. The men and women she had grown to love had been spared terrible deaths that had been the fate of most of her warriors in the past.
And so in peace and hope five years went by. Shiryu had asked for permission to attend a nearby school, and against all odds had convinced Seiya to go with him. Jabu, Shun and Aldebaran had created an unlikely partnership and were now owners of a small but prosperous business. Hyoga had taken up his own place in the village and when Athena had finally accepted his dinner invitation she had been pleased to meet the dark-eyed girl who had found the way into his heart. Others had found new corners of their lives as well, in nature, knowledge, society and even love, and Saori was pleased beyond words that they were managing to build lives for themselves around their duties.
Their duty to their goddess still came first, of course, and the side of hers that was Athena demanded that all her warriors would gather frequently under her roof. Then she would walk among their ranks holding her staff, pleased at the sight of her faithful on their knees, aware of who she was. It was after such a ceremony that she realized something was not right.
~~~~~~~~~
She was sure they all kept in prime shape, and of course the physical aspect of their training resulted now and then in minor injuries, it could not be avoided. But Hyoga’s bruises were taking too long to heal, was he overexerting himself?
From that moment on, misery had rolled in unstoppable. Hyoga’s bruises were the first sign of the uncanny wave of disease that took hold of Athena’s saints. Seven years after the last battle that had won them peace, twenty of her saints were gone. Different types of cancer had taken the lives of those who had defeated gods and their armies. The laugher of Aiolia would not be heard again in the arenas, and Aphrodite’s roses died when his hand was no longer there to care for them. Shun and Ikki were gone as well, and Saori wasn’t sure if it was disease or sadness that had finally taken away Phoenix’s last breath.
And even among those who had tested clean when Hyoga’s rapid fall into disease and death had compelled the goddess to order a full medical inspection of her men, many were sick already.
The human doctors were unable to explain the incredibly fast cancers that attacked several unconnected parts of the body, and were even now thoroughly perplexed at how quickly they conquered and claimed otherwise healthy and strong young men and women.
And when Seiya cried at Marin’s funeral, only ten days after her test results came back positive, Saori made up her mind to find her answers elsewhere.
~~~~~~~~
Past incarnations of Athena had been more inclined to mingle with her divine kin far more than Saori, and she was now thankful for the memories that filled in the shortcomings of her own experience.
The gods had been indifferent, and then despondent. What was to them if a handful of humans were dying? There were millions more anyway, and if these dying humans were the ones able to defy the gods, that made them all the less enticing to the divine ones.
Finally, Athena managed to settle her claim beyond the god who could not refuse her questions. Asclepios had avoided her for long, but she finally met his eye against a rocky slope, pinning him between the mountain and her own divinity. She reminded him of his human origin, and he could not refuse her blue eyes for long.
Asclepios had taken a seat on the rocks, and started talking. Slow, careful and only half intelligible words that Athena listened to without looking into the minor god´s face. When he stopped talking and walked away, the goddess didn´t try to stop him. He had said what everybody else must have known but refused to tell her. She bowed her head in thought, and finally assented. It was just what she herself had known all along, but she had refused to look in her heart to look for the answer she had so thoroughly avoided to acknowledge.
~~~~~~~~
Back in Athens, among the humans she so loved, she headed straight for her rooms and refused to see anyone. Shiryu got sick, and Mu´s name was soon added to the list of those who were gone forever. Still, the goddess did not come out of her cloister, not even to attend the burial of her beloved Aries saint.
At last, unannounced, she took her staff and walked out into the common grounds of Sanctuary. Young and old, her faithful lined up to see her pass, and knelt to acknowledge her. Until the one she had been looking for called out her human name. Athena ignored Seiya´s cries and kept on walking until she reached the arena, turning to face the arrival of her favorite Saint.
He wore his formal clothes, and Athena was not surprised to know he had just attended Shaina´s final rites. For a moment, she just looked at him, not listening to his words. But Seiya´s voice kept rising, as his words became more passionate. He demanded to know of the answers she had learnt, he shouted his right to know, and all around them heads nodded.
- You have to tell me!
~~~~~~~~
Those were his last words. Or at least, she thinks so. Now, looking back, Athena isn´t entirely sure whether he said that or something else. Not that it matters. The Pegasus Saint had grown too proud, all of them had. When her staff lightened up and the thunders of her anger fell on Pegasus and others, some of them had actually tried to fly away, a few had even dared to raise defensive stands!
She smiles at the memory. That boy, Kiki, even had time to build one of the walls his kind was famous for before she directed her staff at his heart, piercing the ridiculous defense without effort. She was certain his death had been delayed long enough for him to hear the dying cries of the youngsters he had tried to shield against her rage.
Others had managed to take a few steps before being brought down, and by the time she had lowered her staff, their half-burned bodies were scattered in the arena like wasted flies. If she closes her eyes, she can still see June´s dead hand reaching for the whip, where her hip had been before the attack.
But there is no time to dwell in the happy memories of the past. There is work to be done, and the faithful await. She passes the Kyoko on her way out, and Camus bows his head respectfully, taking off the mask that hides his face from everybody but her. She hears Shaka´s words echoing in the ranks as she nears the colliseum, and she is pleased by the stern, commanding tone. Nothing remains of the idle pleasantries from the past, she has made sure of that.
As she takes her seat, she eyes the two boys who stand, barefooted, in the arena. One of them is going to die, and the other one will be one step closer to attaining one of her clothes, she can´t remember which one. They stand very straight as Shaka reads out the rules and the formal announcement. Ah, the Pegasus Cloth. Very fitting, that.
The fight is unremarkable, and it drags on until one of the boys makes a mistake big enough for the other to land a killing blow. She barely nods towards the winner before taking her leave. It doesn´t matter anyway. She´s not pleased and the boy will be dead within the day, if Camus is smart enough to pick up the signs from her. Otherwise, she´ll order him killed tomorrow herself.
These are warriors she´s crafting here, after all. They will become the best killing machines she can procure herself with, and she will not stop at a few unremarkable deaths. She was still taken aback that it had taken a conversation with a minor God to remind her of things she should not have forgotten. Her warriors were dying because they were not supposed to be alive. They had outlived their purpose and, just like the snow melts into dirty water when its time is past, the cycle decreed by Zeus had imposed itself.
Everybody knew it couldn´t be otherwise. And she had forgotten what everyone knew, out of stupid human love and compassion. She had been shamed among the Olympians, and for what? Love for them?
Athena shakes her head, in disbelief. There must have been something else, although since she allowed her divine nature to rush back in after her visit to Olympus; those times seem blurry and unreal. It can’t have been love, they’re just humans after all.