3. Trial By Thunder

	Prince Ryan looked around the large cave room.  The pedestal 
with the Imperium Golden Crystal floating above it was still in 
the center of the room, surrounded by the skeletons of the Three 
Lights.  Around the outside of the room, however, there were only 
eleven statues, an empty space where Saggitarius had stood.
	Seiya’s ghost spoke to him.  “We must place you back in the 
Astral Plane in order to return you to the world you know.”
	“Do I have to stop the army from destroying the village 
again, or can I just go through the portal in the chief’s hut?”
	“Neither,” Yaten’s ghost said.  “Whatever test you are given 
will reflect who you are now, not who you were the first time.”
	“But I’m still me,” Ryan protested.
	“Yes,” Taiki said, “but what it means to be you has changed.”
	Resigned, Ryan said, “fine, lets just get this over with.”
	As they had done before, the Three Lights surrounded Ryan and 
linked hands.  The flash of light was the same as before, but the 
Astral Plane was much different.
	Ryan stood on a flat boulder halfway up a tall, steep, rock 
strewn hill.  The sky was black with clouds and Thunder rumbled 
in the distance, but Ryan could see clearly through the darkness.
	They sky opened up and a bolt of lightning rushed toward him, 
his eyes arcing with their own electricity, splitting the bolt 
when it was inches from his head, so that it struck the rocky 
terrain in a circle around him instead of electrocuting him.  He 
had wanted to run, but his instincts had taken control of him.  
He looked at the nearly perfect circle the lighting had made 
around him on the boulder.
	“I can do that?” he asked himself.
	“Apparently so,” Seiya answered.
	Ryan looked around.  “I have to go up there,” Ryan said, 
pointing to the top of the large hill.
	“How do you know?” Yaten asked.
	“I just do,” Ryan said.  “It is my destiny.  Besides, this 
place wouldn’t put me on a hill if it didn’t expect me to climb 
it.  That’s just how it works.”
	He started up the hill, struggling over the boulders in his 
path, until he reached the plateau.  Unlike the last hill he had 
to climb, the opposite slope was nowhere to be seen on this one.  
He found himself staring out across a frozen lake, stretching for 
miles along the plateau.
	“More ice,” Ryan muttered.  He put his foot on the ice to 
test it and heard a cracking sound.  “Damn,” he said, turning to 
walk along the edge of the lake.  The clouds were now sending 
lightning bolts everywhere, but Ryan changed his internal 
electricity a bit, making himself repulsive to the bolts.  He 
assumed Saggitarius’ knowledge was kicking in again.
	He saw a tent on a large patch of snow covered ground.  “A 
haven,” he said, crunching closer to the tent.
	“Not so fast,” said a man emerging from the tent.
	“You,” Ryan said, recognizing the face of the rogue soldier 
who had advocated destroying the helpless village.
	“Come on out, boys,” the man said.  “We have a chance to 
properly thank the good General for saving that village.”  In a 
moment, all five of them were standing in front of the tent, 
grins full of malice.  They formed a line, the lead rogue in 
front, and there was a flash of light.  Standing before the 
startled prince was a giant with five bodies.
	“I am Geryon-2,” he said, “and you don’t stand a chance 
against my power.”
	“Wanna bet?” Ryan challenged, his eyes began to crackle with 
electricity and he grinned mercilessly.
	“Saggitarius Power, Make Up!” he yelled, raising his ring to 
the sky.  A crackling ball of electricity descended from an 
opening in the clouds and enveloped Ryan.  The power was 
conducted through his veins as if they were wires.  When the 
sphere of electricity subsided, Ryan was transformed.  He had 
whitish metal boots, gloves, belt, and and a piece of armor that 
covered his shoulders and chest.  On the chest plate, there was 
an electric-yellow symbol of Saggitarius: the double arrow.  
Between the chest and shoulder plate and the gloves and belt, 
there was a shiny electric-yellow fabric, armored but flexible.  
What he didn’t expect was that the khakis he was wearing before 
he transformed were still on.  Apparently the armor didn’t 
include new pants.
	Geryon stepped toward Senshi Saggitarius and punched downward 
to crush him, but the Stellar Senshi jumped under Geryon’s legs 
and rolled to safety behind him.  The Senshi turned over and 
kicked Geryon in his achilles tendon with his steel boot.  Geryon 
went to his knee, but not before Saggitarius kicked his other 
tendon, this time sideways, snapping it.  Geryon howled in pain 
and swatted behind him.  The lucky hit sent the Stellar Senshi 
flying into a tree.  The collision dazed him for a few moments, 
enough for Geryon to lift a large boulder.
	“Oh no you don’t,” Senshi Saggitarius said.  He concentrated 
and stretched out his hands, one in front of the other, both in 
fists at eye level, as if he was using them to scope Geryon.  		
“Saggitarius...”
	He pulled the closer hand toward him, pulling an invisible 
string back, holding the frame of the now appearing bow in the 
stationary hand.
	“Lightning...”
	The arrow, crackling with the electricity that was reflected 
in his eyes, was knocked and ready to be fired.
	“Arrow!”
	He let fly the arrow, sending it straight at Geryon’s heart, 
the trail of light glimmering in its wake.  Geryon’s eyes lit up 
as the arrow entered him, sending out beams of light.  More 
lights shot out of various parts of his body, and more, and more, 
until he was nothing but a ball of light, dazzling and blinding 
Senshi Saggitarius.
	When he could see again, there was nothing left of Geryon but 
a glittering shower of dust.  He released his power and a swirl 
of mist took his armor back into the ring.
	“Let me guess,” Ryan said.  “The portal is in the tent?”
	“You are not only familiar with the ways of the Astral 
Plane,” Seiya said, “but you are also a master of it.”
	“Come on,” Ryan said.  “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that one 
coming a mile away.”
	“I think,” Seiya replied, “that Saggitarius had an extensive 
knowledge of the Astral Plane.”
	“Yes,” Ryan said.  “I understand it now.  I can get into, 
through, and out of the Astral Plane whenever and wherever I 
want.  If you told me who the other Senshi were and what there 
powers would be, I could tell you the challenges they would face; 
or tell you the powers if you told me the challenges.”
	“Impressive,” Seiya said.  Ryan responded by walking through 
the portal.

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