Back again! I'm really enjoying this story. It's a lot of fun to make. So anyway, I'll continue to write on and hopefully everyone will enjoy.
Thanks! And let's continue!
Chapter Six: Unseen and Unheard
"Look," Sorrento called encouragingly to the struggling Andromeda Saint. "We're nearly there. All we have to do is walk a few more feet up there and then speak the words. Then we can enter Heaven and you can rest a while."
Shun only managed to nod a little to tell him that he understood. His head felt like it was splitting open now. The memories in his head suddenly seemed to be determined to resurface at once, and it hurt. Fenrir was part carrying, part dragging, part helping the boy walk along now. Lunar walked at his side, worriedly casting glances at the boy. And the other wolves were on edge. Their pack member was hurt. They were going to tear apart anything that came near that they thought could prove to be a threat to him.
But there was nothing. In a few moments they had climbed to the top of the mountain. Fenrir nodded to Sorrento who sighed. He closed his eyes a moment and then called out in the same ancient language that Shun and Annette had been speaking to one another earlier.
"Guard of the great gates," Sorrento criend. "Please hear my cry! Show us your door so that we can pass through into the realm of Heaven!"
For a moment they were met with only silence and the howling of the wind. Then suddenly, a door blinked into existence in front of them. It was a large stone gateway that led onwards. It was a powerful thing, made of white stone and carved with ancient runes of protection. A white mist seemed to float within the arch of the gate. Slowly, Sorrento stepped forward. Fenrir followed him with Shun into the light and silence fell suddenly. Shun felt an odd sensation suddenly, of being watched. But they stepped through unhampered.
Light flooded into Shun's eyes and he blinked in the day light. The wolves all followed them out through the gate and the doorway closed. Beautiful gardens of all kinds of flowers stretched out before in orderly rows. Animals darted in and out of the trees. A few children saw them and nervously watched them from behind a bush. They had never seen armor like this before, though the gate keeper had let them through. They were still unsure though.
"We made it in," Fenrir sighed quietly. "We can relax a little now."
"Excuse me," Sorrento said gently to the children. "Do you know where Annette is? We would like to speak with her?"
"What do you want with the Lady Eagle?" one of the children asked.
"We're friends of hers," Sorrento replied. "She'll know who it is once you tell her."
The children watched them, unsure, but then they turned and abandoned their game and ran off to go find Annette. Fenrir helped Shun over to a large tree and sat the boy down against it. Shun sighed and buried his head into his knees as he sat there, wishing the pounding in his head would just go away. Again, the wolves settled themselves nervously at the side of the boy, and Lunar stood near Fenrir, looking over everything with interest.
"Well, we're here alright," Sorrento sighed. "And Annette isn't going to be happy with us. You know she told us to leave things be for now."
"I know," Fenrir replied, bristling slightly. "But we couldn't just leave Shun there where Arles was. Who knows what Arles would have done to him. I'm just glad that we managed to save him. From what I heard, Arles is a terrible man."
"I'm just glad that Shun has a chance to rest now," Sorrento replied, glancing at the boy. "He hasn't been doing good for a while now. It seems all of his memories are trying to resurface now. At once. It's got to be painful."
"Do you think it means that our enemy is getting closer now?" Fenrir asked. "Andromeda has always been our leader. If his mind is reacting so violently for apparently no reason, then something must be happening to force it to happen."
"I hope not," Sorrento replied with a sigh. "We're not ready. Our powers haven't fully awakened yet. And most of the gods haven't gotten ready for any battle. If anything were to happen now, we'd surely be defeated."
Fenrir nodded, knowing very well that it was true. Shun couldn't fight now. Sauske couldn't leave while Hades had yet to be reborn, though he said it would be very soon. Annette wasn't ready by any means to fight at all. And he and Sorrento weren't ready either. Their powers hadn't been developed yet. It would take more time yet before they could become strong enough to actually fight the Titans. And even then they probably couldn't win in a fight against one, only keep them at bay long enough that the Titan would remember their names. Until Hera made her appearance, their powers would be too weak. And yet now it was the only defense the world had. A thin one at that.
"What are you two doing here?" a woman's voice called, annoyed. "What did you do now?"
Shun looked up at her. Her armor was a pure white, and beautiful. Over her chest two wing like structures protected her, and a metal belt and small white shorts underneath covered her underneath. On her back where her shoulder blades were covered by armor, two enormous white wings were unfurled. She also had white boots that went up to her knees, and a small cloth of white extended from her belt nearly to the floor, opened in the front to reveal her legs. On her hips were two swords. Her eyes were a deep emerald green, and her hair hung long down her back, over her wings, and was a bright red color, nearly that of blood, but somehow happier. On her right hand was a white glove. She was one of the most beautiful women he had seen.
"Annette..." Shun said quietly.
The Angel froze abruptly, because she recognized his voice. She looked up at him, completely surprised. She could tell that his memories were coming back, so he was in some pain. The children watched the young warriors, though they could tell she knew them. But then she looked, completely infuriated, at the Mariner and the God Warrior.
"Why did you bring him here?" She demanded. "I told you to wait!"
"There wasn't time," Fenrir replied, bristling a little, though not in an angry way, only defensively. "If Arles would have done something, what then?"
"You feel the same way," Sorrento said. "You know that we needed to help Shun. So we did. What's done is done. Now we just have to prepare."
"But think about his friends," she cried indignantly. "Think about them! They'll be terrified that something happened!"
"We both left in the same way," Sorrento replied calmly. "If anything, that will give everyone the hint that we're trying to regroup."
"It'll be fine Annette," Fenrir said. "Just be a little quieter alright? I don't think any of this yelling is helping Shun's head any."
Annette glanced at Shun and then sighed. Then slowly she walked over and knelt down in front of the boy, gently laying her hand against his head. Then she closed her eyes and slowly began to pour her warm cosmos into him. The boy paused a moment, surprised, and then he felt himself relax a little as the pain began to ease a little. Shun closed his eyes, trusting her touch and glad that the pain was easing a little at last. Annette gave the boy a gentle smile, but then still turned to glare at Fenrir and Sorrento angrily. The two of them just kind of watched her with the "please don't kill me" face and nervously glanced around. Eagle wasn't their most powerful warrior, but she could be very dangerous when she was angry.
"A little better now?" she asked Shun gently.
"Yeah, thanks," he said quietly.
"Sure thing," she replied with a smile. "Just take it easy okay? It shouldn't last long."
"If Sarai was here she could help," Fenrir sighed. "But we don't know where she is."
"She'll probably contact Shun eventually," Sorrento said. "She has the same telepathic abilities as us. Who knows. Maybe she'll find something."
"Hopefully, it won't be any bad news," Fenrir said quietly.
Annette sighed, a sad and tired sound. Fenrir and Sorrento looked at her, and Shun looked up at her as well. He didn't have all of his memories yet, but his instinct told him that something was wrong. Slowly, Sorrento laid his hand on her shoulder. She gave him a worried smile and then turned to the children, who were still watching them with some interest now.
"Do you think you can leave us for a while?" She asked them gently. "We need to talk. Go play in the gardens alright?"
The children nodded and then ran away, giggling and laughing in their happy way. They all watched them a moment until they were sure they were out of ear shot. Annette sighed again and sat down by Shun. Sorrento and Fenrir soon joined them on the ground. They all looked up at the vast expanse of sky above them, the inky blue of the sky. They were above the clouds now, but it was beautiful none the less.
"What is it Annette?" Fenrir asked quietly, stroking Lunar's head distractedly.
"There's so much that is wrong right now," she said. "All of us have come back, but the world's already in chaos. And the gods. All of them. Hera, Zeuz, Athena, Poseidon, Hades: they're all becoming gods at the same time. That's never happened before. It worries me greatly. It's as if they sense it too."
"Perhaps they do," Sorrento replied. "Perhaps our signs have finally shown them what we're trying to say at last. I think our friends are beginning to suspect now, with everyone that's suddenly gone missing."
"Some of our friends didn't really believe in us, or what we're doing," Fenrir said sadly. "They think we're fools."
"But they won't soon," Sorrento replied. "Soon everything will begin to happen and they'll see that we're truly here to help them. But it might take a while."
"Yeah," Fenrir sighed. "And there's a good possibility that we'll die against the Titans."
"If that happens," Sorrento said. "then we'll just have to make sure they won't bother anyone until we can return. But we have to have faith that we could beat them. If we couldn't have that, then how could we help anyone? Everyone will die if we don't believe it."
"And how are we supposed to say that we believe it?" Fenrir asked, bristling slightly. Shun glanced at him. He didn't know why, but he knew that he had to say something now.
"Just have faith in everyone," Shun said. "It'll be alright. Maybe we've been trying to do this alone for too long. Maybe it's time we had some help."
All of them paused and looked at him. They looked a little surprised, and yet suddenly that seemed to comfort them for some reason. Shun sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He wondered how everyone was. Shura would be worried. So would Reda, Spica, and June. And if his master had heard about it he might be worried too. Then again, he might actually suspect or know what was really going on. He was very smart and knew many of the stories of Andromeda. He possibly knew what was going on.
Shun paused then however, because he felt a mind brush his. It was a familiar mind, a kind and gentle one. But it startled him. He opened his eyes and jumped a little, and all of the others looked at him in surprised. Shun waited as he felt the mind brush his again, as if nervous. Once it was sure he wasn't going to spook again it gently entered into his mind. It was a female mind, and foreign. It was very intelligent, but it didn't speak with words, only signals. However, Shun found he could understand the strange language.
"Shun?" Fenrir asked.
The mind insistently tugged on his, trying to get his attention about something. To show him something. Shun paused a moment, and then stopped fighting and let her tug on his mind. Suddenly he saw the Kido mansion. From the outside. It had been many years since he had been here, but he recognized it. He was about his normal waist level off of the ground, and the eyes looked down once to regain their footing as she walked. Shun saw large white paws. A wolf?
"It's Sarai," Fenrir sighed. "She's trying to show him something."
"But what?" Annette asked. "I've never seen her so keen to get his attention. Even his eyes look like hers. They're pink now."
"Shun, what's going on?" Sorrento asked.
"I don't know," Shun replied, though he didn't sound scared. "I can't see you guys anymore. I think I'm looking through her eyes."
"She's never done that before," Fenrir said thoughtfully. "I wonder what's going on?"
"I think it has something to do with my friends," Shun said. "The ones who didn't join Arles. Yeah I can see them. And my brother too. And my master. What is he doing there? I don't understand what's going on."
Sarai paused, completely silent as she watched them all through the window. She was hidden from their view, though Shun could tell Ikki felt like he was being watched. He kept glancing out the window in her direction. Everyone else was talking. She tensed, very slightly, but Shun could see it. Fenrir pulled Shun up onto his feet, and they all watched him carefully as he watched the scene from thousands of miles away. There was silence a moment, and then Sarai's ears flicked. They were just strong enough to hear what was being said inside of the room. Shun could hear it through her ears.
"What is it Ikki?" Saori asked.
"I feel like we're being watched," Ikki replied, glancing out again. "I don't think we have to worry about it though. I feel like it's...gentle? But I feel like there's something else going on. Something bad."
"The Sanctuary's been very quiet here lately," Albiore said. "I don't understand it. What's going on?"
"Do you think Arles is planning something?" Seiya asked.
"I don't know, but we may find out soon," Ikki replied.
"Do you think he's planning something?" Shiryu asked.
"What else could be going on?" Ikki asked. "He's been trying to kill us for a while now, and suddenly it's gone quiet."
"I understand your point," Hyoga sighed. "But why would he need to kill us?"
"Who knows?" Saori replied. "No one can understand what that man's thinking."
Shun paused as he watched, because Sarai bristled and let out a low growl. No one inside heard her, but she inched closer towards the window and looked inside. There were two Saints inside, both of whom Shun knew. One was a Sonota Saint, the Flame Saint. He had wild yellow hair and black eyes and he was wearing orange armor with a helmet that looked like a flame. The other was a Silver Saint. He had brown hair and eyes and had large maces attached to his armor. Sarai snarled, this time loud enough that Ikki heard. But he suddenly turned and looked behind him. At the same time Albiore sensed the presence of the two approaching Saints and stood, bristling. Ikki and Albiore both saw them.
"What are you two doing here?" Ikki snarled.
The two saints stepped out and looked at the group of friends. Ikki bristled more, so Shun knew that these two Saints were powerful, because Ikki was fairly powerful himself. His master stood and bristled as well. He was hurt a little bit. Shun could see that. But not enough that he couldn't fight. And he knew that soon a fight would break out. He could sense it in the quivering muscles of the wolf he was looking through.
"Ikki, we thought you might be here," the Flame Saint said.
"Yeah what of it?" Ikki snarled, bristling.
"We've come on behalf of Lord Arles," the Cerberus Saint said. "to kill the Wolf Saint. If you want to live, I suggest you leave now."
"Like hell you are," Ikki snarled.
"You really think we'd just step aside and let you attack our friend?" Seiya growled.
All of the Saints bristled angrily, both sides staring each other down, waiting for the others to make a move. Slowly, Albiore shifted so that he was in front of Saori, protecting her from the fight that was only moments away from breaking out. But the Flame Saint simply chuckled darkly.
"We were chosen because this little group of yours can't defeat us," he said. "We'll kill you all if we have to. Even with that Silver Saint here, you don't have the fight power to attack us and win."
"Just give up now and we might spare your lives," the Cerberus Saint said.
There was a nervous silence for a few moments. Ikki knew of these two and everyone else could tell that they were both extremely powerful. They simply watched one another. But then Shun felt a wave of resentment from Sarai towards the Flame Saint, and in the next instant, he drew his fist back to attack.
"Fire Screw," he cried.
Suddenly flames leaped up onto the walls, bathing them in fire. Shiryu was close behind though, and the flames were still out. However, the battle was starting then, and the attacks began flying left and right. It was hard to keep track of who was who or what was what. It was a frenzy. Shun felt a little nervous as he watched. He felt Sarai ask him a question, asking what she should do. The Flame Saint and the Cerberus Saint launched forward again to attack. He confirmed her question, and he felt her access his cosmos. Everyone inside paused and looked around, but Albiore froze. He knew that cosmos very well.
"Shun?" Fenrir asked, nervously. "What's going on?"
"I have to help them," Shun replied. "I can't do much. But I have to help."
"Be careful though Shun," Annette replied. "You can still be hurt if they find your cosmos."
"But Sarai will probably look after you," Sorrento replied.
Shun felt his head nod, though he saw no change through Sarai's eyes. She hadn't nodded. At about that moment, she began coaxing him to attack. She was asking for his help. She needed him to burn his cosmos to be able to use his power. At last, he did.
"Thunder Wave," he cried.
He felt the right chain of his armor snake out from his arm in a snakelike pattern. Soon it was lost, and he saw it appear through Sarai's eyes. It shot through the window and into the room, attacking the Flame Saint and sparking violently with lightning. Then it retreated just as quickly back outside where Sarai was, awaiting orders.
"What the heck was that?" the Flame Saint gasped.
"That was Thunder Wave," Albiore gasped. "One of the Andromeda Saint's moves. It can travel through space and time itself to attack any enemy! Shun must have sensed this some how!"
"That's impossible," Cerberus gasped. "The Andromeda Saint is no where close by! He can't see us to attack!"
Shun burned his cosmos again, and his chain instantly responded. It shot through the window again, and through Sarai's sharpened senses he sent it forward to attack. It hit the Flame Saint in the jaw and then snaked around and hit the Cerberus Saint. Then it retreated again, sparks still flying through the air. They looked around nervously, but since the chain reappeared in different places every time they couldn't be sure from where it was actually coming. Shun knew he couldn't do much more than this, but the others were slightly emboldened by the surprise attack and leaped forward as well to attack. Chaos erupted for a few more moments.
Then suddenly Shun understood that something was going to go wrong now. He heard Saori scream, and there was confusion for a moment. The Flame Saint had cornered her, and he was getting ready to attack. But before Shun even had the chance to attack again, Sarai leaped in through the window, burning his cosmos, and attacked. She hit the surprised Saint hard, and he screamed as lightning coursed through his body from Sarai's claws and Shun's cosmos. She snarled at the Flame Saint as he stood and looked at her in surprise. Her hair stood on end and she showed him her fangs. Albiore paused when he saw her, and Shun could see through her eyes that he instantly recognized her.
"A wolf?" the Flame Saint gasped. "I've never seen one like that! It's like there's a whole galaxy in her eyes."
"Yes," Albiore said. "A whole galaxy. Or to be precise, the Andromeda Galaxy."
There was a few moments of silence as everyone processed what he had just said. But Sarai wasted no time. She leaped forward to attack again, driving the startled Flame Saint backwards. His cosmos flared again as she attacked, and he added the Thunder Wave to the attack again. The chain snaked around her and then hit Cerberus again. Then Ikki took over and used his own attack.
"Flight of the Phoenix," Ikki cried.
A harsh and hot wind picked up, blowing into the two Saints. The Cerberus Saint gave out a startled yelp as he was taken up into the air and fire swirled around him. For the most part though, the Flame Saint was unharmed. But Ikki was one step ahead of him though.
"Phantom Devil," Ikki cried, using his most devastating attack.
He never even touched the Flame Saint, but Shun could tell through Sarai's senses that it was all over for him. He stood there for a moment with a terrified look on his face. Then he grabbed his head and screamed. Suddenly he fell over and simply died. Ikki gave the Flame Saint a disdainful look, and then they all turned to look at the Cerberus Saint.
"Leave now," Ikki said. "You're comrade can't help you anymore."
"No," he cried insistently. "To leave would be to disgrace Arles. I will stay and fight until I die."
Sarai took that as an invitation. She snarled and leaped forward again, burning his cosmos, and Shun sent the Nebula Chain over to join her in her attack. Both struck him hard, but he grabbed the chain. Nearly everyone gasped. Shun however felt himself smile a little. He had no idea the pure damage that could do.
"I would let that go if I were you," Albiore said simply.
The Cerberus Saint paused, looking at him with a slight confusion. But then the Nebula Chain reacted violently and shocked him. He screamed and quickly dropped the chain, and it retreated slightly. The Saint grabbed his injured hand and scowled.
"The Nebula Chain is one of a kind," Albiore explained. "It can attack and it can defend. The Andromeda Cloth has an enormous cosmos attached to it, so it can both defend well and attack with ferocity. But the Andromeda Saint is even more dangerous with his Cloth removed. The Nebula Chain can reform even if broken if given enough time. And whenever it feels the touch of a hostile force it produces several thousand volts of electricity to repel the attacker. It's a living thing. It can defend and attack without its user even using his cosmos to move it. And it also warns the Andromeda Saint of danger. It's a truly powerful and one of a kind Cloth."
"I don't understand," the Cerberus Saint growled. "How can he see us to attack?"
"That wolf," Albiore said. "She is linked closely to the Andromeda Saint. Some people even say that she is Andromeda reborn to help the Saint that represents her."
Shun paused when he heard that. Could that possibly be true? But he felt a wave of satisfaction from the wolf. He wondered at it a moment. But then he decided that it was very possible that this wolf was Andromeda reborn. People said that myths could still walk the earth in one form or another. So why couldn't this be Andromeda? Sure, the woman in the myth was a very kind person, like her Saint always was. But if she was reborn as a wolf she would have first lived a very different life. She would have become savage. And yet still could remain strangely gentle.
"That's crazy," he cried. "How could something like that be possible?"
"Do you see now?" Seiya asked. "We're stronger than you think. All of us."
"Cerberus," Albiore said. "You and I trained together in the Sanctuary. You more than anyone know what I can do. Without the Flame Saint to distract me, I will not hesitate to kill you. So what will it be? Will you leave now, or do I have to fight you?"
For a few moments, the two Silver Saints simply stared each other down. No one moved. No one seemed to breathe. Sarai gave him a single snarl to tell him to back off. The Cerberus Saint glanced at her for a moment, and then he simply turned and walked away silently. Sarai continued to remain bristled and snarl after him. And only when she finally turned her back on the door and the Andromeda Chain truly become completely still since it couldn't sense danger any more, did Albiore relax as well.
"Why would they want to kill Nachi?" Seiya asked. "It doesn't make sense."
"Perhaps Alres thought he knew something about Shun," Ikki said. "That's the only thing I can come up with."
"Yeah," Nachi said, reaching down and laying his hand on Sarai's head. She tolerated his touch. "But why would she come? I'm sure Shun didn't send her. I don't think he knew this was going on. So why would she come here. Why would she just end up here?"
"I think she sensed something," Albiore said. "Or someone. Perhaps she felt she needed to come. She sensed some sort of danger. But who would it be that would be powerful enough that she would call Shun to help her to defend them?"
Shun felt Sarai ask him something in his mind. He paused a moment, thinking. But then he decided that it was probably best that all of them knew as well. He confirmed. She ran past Nachi and over to Saori. Everyone paused as she did. And Sarai stared up at Saori for a moment, simply watching her. Slowly, Sarai inclined her head once, and then rolled over, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. The whole time she was watching Saori, panting at her. Slowly, Saori reached down and stoked the wolf's stomach, and Sarai panted happily. Everyone paused a moment, staring at Sarai. So Shun burned his cosmos gently to get their attention as well. Albiore gasped suddenly and seemed to realize something.
"They're trying to tell us something," he said. "And what they're saying..." he looked up at Saori in surprise. "Could it be?"
"What is it Albiore?" Saori asked, a little nervous.
"The wolf of Andromeda only submits to one other name besides her Saint," Albiore said. "The same name that the Andromeda Saint is under. Saori...I think you might be Athena."
There was silence in the house then. Everyone was staring at her, or at Sarai. She stood, wagging her tail at Saori, then she nodded to Albiore so that he could tell he was correct. Shun pulled back on his chain so it would return to him, and Sarai turned and followed it outside and then through the portal that led towards him. She released him. Now he was standing there staring at the portal from this side, and she leaped through, panting at him. She walked over and sat at his feet, panting at him. Lunar wagged his tail at her playfully.
"Everything alright Shun?" Fenrir asked.
"Yes," Shun replied with a small smile. "It's fine. And I think several others now know who Athena is."
"So then she has reincarnated?" Sorrento asked.
"Yes," Shun replied. "And she is a very dear friend of mine."
"And Sarai's here as well," Annette said, petting the wolf's head. "That's good. Now we're nearly all here. All except Thantos. But he's still a young god too. It won't be long though before he appears though."
The small group all looked at each other. There was a lot of history between them. And now with their greatest task in front of them, it looked like they might actually be facing an opponent that would kill them. Still, they had to do what they must. And though the day was ending, a new one would begin shortly. Shun just hoped that he had the strength to do what had to be done.
So that's chapter six. This story's really fun to make. This chapter helped me to introduce one of the main characters and it also helped me to create some suspense to the battle between Saori and Arles that will take place mostly outside the main arch of the story. Not a lot will happen in here, except for some mentions of it. Also, I'll probably have a few chapters where the Mariners, God Warriors, and members of the Underworld might have some spotlight. But mostly the story will take place in Heaven for a while.
Thanks for reading! And enjoy the story as I continue. ^^