ஜ 2nd Rise of the Phoenix ஜ

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[Finally... Finally he made back to his reality properly. Finally he was able to reach the Sanctuary of the previous Holy War and reunite with Shun and Athena. As he had been welcomed by his brother and the Pegasus Saint, Tenma, of that era, Ikki had decided to himself to forget all about the Plane. About that other Shun who was living a different ending of the war, of those Gold Saints that survived what should have eliminated them and of the other people he met. It wasn't a matter of influencing other realities or them influencing his, he was in the past, they had to be careful with what they did there. He knew it well, they couldn't take more risks than what they were taking already. They could help, they could fight, but not interfere. What was bond to happen had to happen the same way as it would as if they weren't there. No matter how much they wished to change it.

No matter how much he wanted to create a burning inferno and shield Tenma. They weren't allowed to interfere. They, who had traveled to the past to fight for a small chance of saving Seiya, had to stand back and watch how Hades, incarnated in the body of Tenma's childhood friend, killed him.

Honestly, he's not sure if the hand he placed on Shun's shoulder was meant to stop the younger one from interfering... Or to anchor himself in place.

And as if seeing the Pegasus Saint die wasn't enough there was that other thing... That Specter with black flames and a face too similar to his own. When he had seen Tenma and after seeing Sasha, he had wondered about it. About if there were other Saints wearing faces similar to theirs and what it could mean. He didn't expect the man who would wear his face to be a Specter protecting Hades with a firm will. It was like a bad joke. A terribly bad joke he didn't want to talk about.

And so, when they returned to the Sanctuary he left the report to the Dohko and Shion, avoided his brother like many other times in the past... And returned to the Plane. Trying to keep his Cosmos concealed and silent, instead of letting it roar in frustration and confusion as it wanted to do. He couldn't step far from the Sanctuary without a motive, it wasn't safe, and the place was filled with people... People who didn't hesitate to reach out for others. He wanted to be alone. He needed time to compose himself. They had done the right thing, letting Pegasus die, no, letting time follow its normal course, it was the right thing. Not bothering to even try to recover their corpses, letting them be buried in rumble and lay under Hades' temple. Just another two corpses that were out of reach to even be mourned, like many others.

In a distant part of the Plane, trying to get away from everyone and everything... The Phoenix roars and his fire explodes for a second. Eventually, though, he will probably end crashing his bones in the bar. Getting drunk isn't an option, but nursing a drink may help somehow.]

Comments

[holmes-fanatic.livejournal.com]

[Conan's in the bar, at one of the out of the way tables. He's got his elementary school homework in front of him. The book report doesn't need much of his attention, and his thoughts are on the new rash of disappearances. No clues, nothing -- Satoshi's plan seems like their only chance.]

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[Ikki notices the kid and is about to ignore him, before at the end he approaches him even if just for a moment.]

You come here to do your homework?

[holmes-fanatic.livejournal.com]

[Conan blinks, startled out of his thoughts.]

Ah -- not all the time, Ikki-san! Actually, this is the first. Things -- are kind of busy at home.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

Did something happen again?

[He asks 'again' but it may not be related to the Plane after all. He mostly asks because he has no idea how much time has passed here since he finally left. But it must not have been too long if the kid still remembers him.]

[holmes-fanatic.livejournal.com]

Another murder. And -- more people are missing.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

... I see.

[This is what happens when one thinks that things can't go worse. Now he can't help but wonder if his reality has been affected as well, wait, it may just be something from the boy's world.]

Is it only at your place?

[holmes-fanatic.livejournal.com]

The murder was definitely just our world, I think. Nothing mysterious about it in the end.

[Too plain. Too understandably tragic.]

The disappearances are other people's worlds as well.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[That sounds almost strange. Almost, because Ikki doesn't think there can be much mystery about most murders. Even in the case of people disappearing and then appearing dead, the mystery was in them disappearing, not the murder itself.]

So it's like a repeat of what happened the other time?

[Ikki frowns, did people from his reality vanish as well? Having been on a mission and being a stranger to the place made it hard to keep track of those things.]

[holmes-fanatic.livejournal.com]

Just like the last time. No reason for the disappearances, no clues -- only time.

[lamb_of_gold]

[It's hard not to hear the Phoenix, and likewise it's hard not to feel the anger in it, and to that end, Mu leaves Ikki alone for some time before finally ducking into the bar, and slipping behind the counter.]

What has upset the Phoenix so?

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[He had expected them to not be there, in the Plane, to not hear or sense him and thus to not ask. Of course he couldn't be that lucky.]

Why do you ask?

[Can he really say anything? No, he shouldn't. They have their problems, he has his and being upset over something he had no control over was stupid. Childish. He knew he couldn't change things, he shouldn't change things no matter what. Wanting to do so was childish and he stopped being a child a long time ago.]

[lamb_of_gold]

Should I not be curious when someone as unflappable as you reacts thus?

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[Unflappable. If only he really was that way. It's easy to keep the image, though, when he only acts when others aren't looking or far away from them. He wasn't unflappable when Hades possessed his brother. He wasn't unflappable when Pandora died in front of him, neither when Esmeralda did. He wasn't unflappable when his brother was sent to Andromeda Island. He was just strong enough to hold it down until no one was looking. He had thought that he had got far enough in the Plane for it but obviously he was mistaken and he was unlucky enough to have a Gold Saint around to take notice.

There's a long silence as, once more, he considers his options. He could still refuse to tell, to let them know, but that's still a risk, isn't it? What if they end in his reality for some reason and act, not knowing any better? He supposes that just telling them to keep distances isn't enough without a reason. If he was in their position... Ikki sighs, anyway he told the Shun here already.]

Pegasus has been in a comma since the end of the Holy War in which he was stabbed with Hades' sword. Though the sword was removed its curse is still there, slowly killing him. Athena, Andromeda and me have traveled to the past Holy War, the one in which Shion was still a Gold Saint, to try to destroy Hades' sword and save Pegasus.

[He stops, that's clearly not what got him upset, but he figures that if Mu wants to ask anything that's a good moment.]

[lamb_of_gold]

[Did Shun ever mention something like that? Mu wants to think so, but it's ultimately moot...]

That's quite the ambition. Shion and I very recently saw the end of that war...

[He stops and thinks, and one particualr moment springs to mind.]

I could tell you of things to come, if you wish.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[Ikki snorts.]

Maybe it is, but it's not a type of ambition we haven't had before.

[Defeating forever the lord of the Underworld was one, for example. Even defeating Saga was quite an ambition back in the day.]

... If you want to. Start from after the Pegasus of that time is killed at his hometown. We just returned from that mission.

[Inwardly he begs for Mu to not be surprised by that event, for him to know about it, for it to truly have been something they couldn't interfere with. It's hard to discern those things without knowing what's about to come after all.]

[lamb_of_gold]

Very true.

[There's silence as Mu debates how much he should tell Ikki. In a case like this, forewarning may not be the wisest course of action.]
He will not stay dead long; of that you can be sure. More importantly, sometime after the death of the Saint of Cancer, an assault will be staged on Hades' castle. If things go to plan [and Shion isn't an idiot], you will have a chance to destroy Hades' sword before the war ends.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[There's the briefest pause in Ikki's movements at the first words Mu says, but he refuses to show any emotion or question it. Neither he asks about Unicorn.]

Good. If that's the case Shun and me would better withdrawing from helping any more and wait for that assault.

[It would make it easier to not interfere, that way. They mostly went on that mission because they didn't know if it could be a good chance or not.]

[sosweet]

[Can't help but feel the flaring Cosmo on the Plane, such wrath coming from the Phoenix. It meant no good news.

Even so he appears in the Astral Bar, leaning against a wall with crossed arms and wearing his Cloth and white cloak behind him.

He doesn't say a word... there's no use if Ikki decides or not to talk to Saga.]

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[By the time he sits at the bar, Ikki's mood it's almost at its normal status quo. Anger and hate swirling around him, but with a muffled intensity, hiding the pain under the flames. He ignores Saga at first, he doesn't want to talk... But he neither wanted to return to the Plane at first.

His body moves on its own, while his mind still refuses to acknowledge it until he's besides the Gold Saint, moment at which he scolds himself. Still, he refuses to say anything. Ikki's never been good at reaching out, after all. He has always reacted to things around him, rarely acting on his own without an external push.]

[sosweet]

[Saga's used to that taciturn attitude, so he doesn't move from his position.

Though he finally decides to break the ice.] So the situation has gone badly, I assume.

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

Not really.

[Technically it's true... He wants to think so at least. Things have gone the way they should, without interference, without alteration of the flow of time... It's not a good path but it's how it should be, right?]

They have just become irritating.

[Clearly an understatement and even without having felt his previous outburst Saga should see through it.]

[sosweet]

[No wonder. He does. Saga shifts a little to.] When doesn‘t it?

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[Indeed, when aren't things irritating? But that level of irritation has nothing to do with how things are now. Because no matter how irritating it was before, he still could do something, but now he can't and he has to be the strong and firm one to remind that to Shun as well.]

You would be surprised... At least before there was always something that could be done.

[sosweet]

[He approaches Ikki silently and sits next to him, crossing arms and a leg to be more comfortable.] Care to explain? [Ikki may not say a thing about what he was implying. It‘s his decision of telling him or not.]

[uccellodifuoco.livejournal.com]

[No, he doesn't want to explain. Ikki scowls and seems to be suddenly interested on something at his opposite side from where Saga is. Silence stretches before he speaks, his voice is low he won't repeat himself if Saga misses it.]

The past can't be changed. Not the big events, they have to happen the way they happened for things to eventually lead to the present we know. That's all.

[Saga will have to ask more if he wants something more clear. Or he can think and make a guess, he's an intelligent man and Ikki doesn't think he has to explain all the details to him.]