Welcome back! It's time for chapter seven! I'm not really sure where this story is going at the moment. I've got a few chapters planned ahead already, but it'll take some time before I actually get to those chapters.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and lets get to the actual chapter!
PS: I make up some stuff from here on in to add some depth to some of the characters that we don't usually see, and I also add things in general that aren't there originally.
Chapter Seven: Fight or Flight
Shun paused a moment, blinking in the hot sun and stroking Sarai's head gently as she had insisted he do for a few moments. He smiled a little gently as the children ran past, laughing and waving as they continued their game. There were children like that near the Sanctuary. They would be in fear now of Arles. Many people would be. They didn't have the memories of Saints. They thought that the Saints were evil. The thought made him a little sad. Because he knew what it had been liked before. Shun had regained his memories. But here in Heaven, he couldn't do anything about it. He had to wait and watch. And it made him sad.
Still, they had been here nearly a week, and they were making headway. Their powers were returning. As Shun grew more comfortable with his powers and used them more, the more powerful everyone's became. They were becoming powerful foes and strong allies. They didn't have the power yet by any means to fight Titans, but they certainly had some power. Sooner or later Hera would be reborn, and then their powers would truly grow. For now though, all they could do was wait and hope that all of their friends would be alright.
Fenrir had seemed especially worried for some reason. Shun looked up at him, then motioned for him and Lunar to join them. Fenrir sighed and did, slowly sinking to the ground beside Sarai. Lunar laid down on his other side. Fenrir began to pet both wolves nervously. Shun looked at him a moment more, then he sighed.
"What is it Fenrir?" Shun asked. "What's wrong?"
"Just," he sighed. "I'm starting to get worried. Before I came here, and before Sorrento came here, we were both attacked. We managed to escape, though I don't think our friends know if we're safe or not. But what worries me is that we were attack. I don't want any of them to be worried about me. I wasn't particularly nice to any of the God Warriors or Lady Hilda. A few of them even said they hated me before I had to leave. I feel really bad that they do have to be worried. I can't deny that after I regained my memories I remembered how fond I was of all of them. And a few of my wolves were hurt too. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them died. I just...I don't know what to do."
"It'll be alright," Shun said. "Why don't you try and see. Look through the eyes of one of your wolves. I'm sure they wouldn't spook. Then you could see what was going on."
"I don't know," Fenrir sighed. "What if they really are mad at me?" Shun looked at him a moment.
"You weren't this worried about what people thought of you before you and I met," Shun said.
"Yeah," Fenrir replied with a faint smile. "You changed me. But...could you come with me? I don't really want to see it alone. I'm scared of what I might find. Just, use your telepathy to come with me."
"I can," Shun replied with a small smile. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
"I hope so," Fenrir sighed.
Fenrir relaxed suddenly as he began to use his power. His eyes began to glow, the same color of his pupils cast in a pale light around him. Shun felt his mind touch his, and he joined him, relaxed a lot as well. Then Fenrir guided him through the various paths of the world. Soon Shun found himself looking through the eyes of a wolf. This one was much smaller than Lunar or Sarai, and it was laying on its side on the floor, curled up in blankets. It gave them both a small gentle whine of greeting, but mostly sounded very pained. Shun could feel Fenrir's sadness as he heard the sound.
But as soon as the wolf made the sound, a young woman came around the corner quickly. She knelt down and began to stroke the wolf's head gently to get it to relax, and they could see tears in her eyes. Fenrir stiffened slightly, and Shun knew that he recognized her. She had long sliver hair and icy blue eyes. She was beautiful, and wore long blue robes, a black crown type thing, and had a silver scepter in her hand. And yet she instantly had knelt down and began to stroke the wolf's head. Soon a man appeared. He paused when he saw that she was with the wolf again. He was a tall man with long silver hair and golden eyes. His armor was a blue color.
"Lady Hilda," he said. "Is everything alright?"
"I don't know Thor," she replied sadly. "He's hurt badly. But he just suddenly started trying to get up. I don't understand. What could make him like this? Hush little one. It's alright. Lay still."
But the wolf, whose name was actually Shadow, was determined to share with Fenrir everything he knew. That was how deep his love ran for the God Warrior. Even when Shun sensed Fenrir trying to reassure the wolf and tell him that everything was alright he wouldn't lay back down. Slowly he stood and began to walk, leaving behind his bed. Hilda quickly grabbed him, but he whined and managed to struggled free. He looked up both Thor and Hilda, then turned and began to lead them somewhere.
"Shadow? Shadow where are you going?" Hilda asked.
The wolf simply continued to run on, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure that they were still following. Shun noticed instantly through the wolf's eyes how beautiful this temple was. Almost like a castle, with ice crystals everywhere. It was a wonderful place, though he wasn't sure what the wolf wanted to show them. Even Fenrir seemed a little confused at first. But the wolf kept going through the halls.
Shun felt Sarai shift beside him, and he thought Lunar might have done the same. They were watching everyone carefully. Shun knew it was highly improbable that they would get hurt here, but they were still both being very cautious. He wondered when Sorrento and Annette would return from where ever they had gone.
"Where are we?" Thor asked. "I've never seen this part of the caves..."
"You wouldn't," Hilda replied. "You know that parts of the caves are only meant for the God Warriors that claim them? This part is Fenrir's caves. And only those people that he allows can pass this point. It seems however that he wants us to see something. But why Shadow?"
"Perhaps it's because he's the only wolf we found alive," Thor said. "I know that he's sad about that. But maybe he really needs to show us something."
"What though?" Hilda asked. "I don't understand. I know that Fenrir always has such a hard life. But.. I don't understand what happened. He was just suddenly attacked. There was nothing we could do. And I couldn't even help his wolves."
"That's not true," Thor said gently. "You helped Shadow. I'm sure Fenrir's fine."
"But we weren't exactly kind to him," she said sadly.
"And he wasn't kind to us," Thor replied. "None of us had our memories yet. We've calmed down, and I'm sure he has too."
"But what if he's hurt?" Hidla asked, pausing and looking at him.
"I'm sure he's fine," Thor assured her. "Most people have fight or flight instincts, and Fenrir's more of an animal than most people. For whatever reason he chose flight instead of fight. But if I know him, he'll come back ready to fight."
"But to fight what?" Hilda asked. "I don't want to risk all out war. All of the gods are reincarnating at the same time. Why is that? I don't understand."
"Perhaps he knows," Thor replied. "But we won't until he's ready to show himself. I have a feeling that we've forgotten something important. Something that we all should know. Not just us either. God Warriors, Saints, Angels, Mariners, and Specters. We've all forgotten something important."
"What do you think it could be?" Hilda asked.
"I don't know," Thor sighed. "Maybe it has to do with...this mysterious enemies that keep appearing. Why is it that no one sees them? Or in the other case, we did see the one trying to attack Fenrir, but no one can remember him. Who are they? What do they want? And why can't we remember it?"
"They can't remember?" Fenrir asked.
"Strange," Shun said. "Everyone in the Sanctuary was like that too. Is someone messing with everyone?"
"I don't know," Fenrir sighed. "It seems weird. But Shadow really wants to show them something. I can't think of what though."
Shadow seemed not interested in their conversation though, and growled a little impatiently at the two of them. Shun paused a moment though. He thought he felt Sarai bristle and begin to growl as well. He wasn't sure since he and Fenrir were seeing and feeling everything through Shadow's eyes. It was difficult to tell exactly what was going on now. But he knew that he felt uneasy suddenly.
"Fenrir," Shun said. "I think something's wrong. We should go back."
"Hang on," Fenrir insisted. "Just a little longer. I have to know what's going on."
Shun however wanted to continue to protest. He could feel the chains of Andromeda beginning to move without him moving them. He knew that soon something was going to go down. And whatever it was he didn't like it and neither did Lunar or Sarai, who had both now planted themselves firmly between the two friends and whatever was coming that had made him nervous.
"What is it Shadow?" Hilda asked. "Are we nearly there?"
"Come on, he looks anxious," Thor said.
The two of him followed the wolf farther into Fenrir's domain. The walls began to sparkle different colors too, like the northern lights. It was beautiful. Hilda turned a corner, with Thor close behind her, and she paused, gasping. There were many wolves here, all of which were somewhat injured. They paused and looked up at the two of them, though they panted reassuringly. They wouldn't dare attack.
"You're all alive?" She gasped, tears falling down her face. "Thank goodness. I was so worried!"
But Shadow wasn't done. He grabbed Hilda's sleeve gently in his jaws and tugged on his sleeve. Confused, she followed him farther inside. He turned and moved farther in, sure that they were following close behind. Soon they came to a cave that stood apart from the rest. Inside there was an ice wall, where there was a mural, frozen forever in time. It depicted the God Warrior Alioth Epsilon, the Saint Andromeda, the God Thantos, the Angel Eagle, and the Mariner Siren. There was also a gate where shadows were escaping onto the earth.
"Look," Hilda gasped. "It's Andromeda's Prophecy!"
"I didn't know something like this existed here," Thor said quietly.
"But what is this?" she asked. "Why does this thing seem so sad?"
They all looked again. It did indeed seem sad. Eagle's wings were broken. Siren's songs no longer played. Fenrir's snarl was gone. Thantos stood guard over a crumbling world, and Andromeda was locked away in chains.
"It's a warning," a voice said from the shadows. Shun felt Fenrir bristle and Shadow snarled. "Of what could come to pass if the Guardians were stopped."
Everyone whirled around to face the stranger. He wore all black armor, and it looked as if it was engraved with thousands of tiny words. He carried a sword at his side, and his face was cruel. His eyes were coal gray, and his hair was black. Even from so far away, Shun knew that he was a terrible enemy. Shun felt a thrill of fear run through him. Thor stepped forward to shield Hilda.
"You," Thor snarled. "You were the one who attack Fenrir! What are you doing here?"
"What did you do?" Hidla demanded. "To Fenrir? To us?"
"Fenrir escaped me," the young man said. "Though not for long. And I have done nothing to you. It's this armor. Whenever you see me you can remember me. But as soon as I step out of sight then I am wiped from you mind."
"What do you mean if the Guardians are stopped?" Hilda asked. "What's going on?"
"Don't you remember Andromeda's prophecy?" he asked. "He warned that one day they would return. The Titans. And we are their army."
"An Army of Titans?" Hilda gasped.
"Yes," he replied, cocking his head slightly. "But you seem to be remembering everything. You're not forgetting what I tell you. It must be this place. Fenrir's influence is strong."
"Who are you?" Hilda asked.
"We are the children of earth that serve under the Titans," he replied. "Our job is to return to them what the Olympians stole. You of all people should have understood. You and your god Odin. And yet you chose to side with them. Still, we must press on. My name is Jayden of the Titan power of violence. And I am here to end this ridiculous revolution before it begins."
"Stop," Thor growled. "Leave now before I must make you."
"What did you mean that Fenrir hasn't escaped you for long?" Hilda asked. "What have you done?"
"Nothing much," Jayden replied with an amused chuckle. "He was just trying to hide. We found him though. Him and his companions. They were trying to hide from us where no one else can come. But we know the secret passage ways of that place. There is no where safe for them. We already have our forces there now."
Shun froze, and he knew that Fenrir had as well. Shun listened very closely. He could hear screaming. Sarai and Lunar were trying to protect them. People were running around in chaos. It was nearly impossible to tell what was going on. They had to leave now.
"Stop," Hilda gasped. "No! You can't do this!"
"It's too late," Jayden replied. "They can't escape our force now. Soon we will overtake them. They can't hold out forever. We will capture Andromeda and kill the others. There is no escape for them now."
"What?" Hilda asked. "Why Andromeda?"
"Because he is the key to our salvation as well as yours," Jayden replied. "Soon now the time will come."
"Enough," Thor growled. "I'll destroy you!"
Enraged, Thor leaped forward to attack Jayden, and the link was suddenly broken as Fenrir pulled away. Shun blinked in the sunlight and gasped suddenly as his mind reeled to understand what was going on. But Fenrir had heard everything he needed to know. He bristled and leaped forward to attack as well, joining his cosmos with Lunar's.
"Wolf Cruelty Claw," Shun heard him cry some where out of sight.
Shun leaped up as well, readying to attack. Then he saw them. They all had armor like Jayden's. They were all in the Titan army. They weren't just attacking the two of them either. They were attacking the Angels and the people who lived here as well. The Angels were striving to try and insure the safety of the citizens of Heaven. Sorrento and Annette weren't here. They had left to try and contact Thantos. Now Shun and Fenrir were facing the soldiers pretty much alone. Sarai leaped over to Shun's side, snarling at the nearest opponents. She was slightly injured, but determined to continue to fight until she was sure that the danger had passed. The Nebula Chain of the Andromeda armor clanked rather violently, telling him to be careful.
Shun bristled as well, ready to be in a fight at any moment. In a few seconds he felt Fenrir's back brush against his, and Lunar leaped into the center as well. Fenrir snarled, almost like a real wolf, and Shun's chains prepared to attack even without his consent. But as they looked around they knew they were in a terrible situation. They were surrounded by about ten young men. And from what they knew of these guys, that would be more than enough to take them.
"Just give up," one of them laughed. "You two were so busy that you didn't notice the damage we did. Now you're surrounded. Give us the Andromeda Saint and we might let everyone live."
"Like hell you would," Fenrir snarled. "We know your kind. You'll just kill everyone."
"So I take it you won't comply?" another asked. "You're outnumbered heavily. You can't hope to beat us. You'd rather die this way? Very well, we can manage that." he looked at one of the young men beside him. "Grab him."
They both paused, confused for a moment. But then Shun felt something grab his leg a moment too late. He let out a startled yelp. Instantly strange tentacle like appendages appeared off of the armor of one of their enemies, wrapping around his legs, his arms, his waist and torso. At about that time though Fenrir had turned around. Sarai instantly leaped forward, trying to break the strange tentacles. But the others had all leaped forward to kill his friends.
Shun wasn't really sure what happened. He just reacted. He didn't want Fenrir, Lunar, or Sarai to die as much as they didn't want him to get captured. His cosmos flared and the Nebula chain instantly began to attack any foe within reach. And it had quite a long reach. Startled, the stranger that had grabbed him pulled him to the ground hard, trying to keep him at bay. But the chain seemed to understand that he was willing to attack, and it was beginning to move independently of his will now, sending bolts of lightning through his foes, not just the small bursts of electricity from before, but a lot of it now. Still though he was struggling to free himself, and he was losing that battle. There were enough of the tentacles now that he was beginning to find it harder and harder to move.
"Shun," he heard Fenrir cry somewhere, sounding terrified.
Several more of them ran over, grabbing his chains. Again, a bad idea. They were shocked even worse than they had been before, flying away screaming. More of them ran over, trying to hold him down until the one that had caught him had secured him enough that he couldn't move. Shun found it harder and harder to try and struggle to get away, even when Sarai leaped into the mix, snarling and attacking, burning her cosmos, which was very much like his, to try and free him. With a small little growl of frustration Shun tried again to free himself as Sarai and his chains distracted everyone for a while, including the stranger trying to catch him.
Fenrir managed to break away for a moment. He ran over to Shun, looking for a way to free him. He was bleeding heavily from somewhere above his right eye. But he was determined to find a way to him Shun out of this. He grasped a few of the tentacles, managing to pull them loose. But then one of the others ran up to attack him, and he was forced to start fighting again.
Shun burned his cosmos, and several people surrounding him got blown away from the force of his attack, Nebula Scream. If his armor had been off it would have been a lot more effective. But as it was, it still made them wary of him. Sarai turned then and attacked the young man that was still struggling to subdue Shun, and Shun heard him yelp. Suddenly he was freed from his attack and he pulled out of the tentacles, turning to face their attackers. The Angels and humans had been forced to flee. They didn't know what was going on. They were probably wondering when the battle was going to end.
Shun burned his cosmos again into a bigger blaze than he had ever before tried. Sarai leaped over and joined him, adding her cosmos to Shun as well. Suddenly, everyone seemed to pause.
"Nebula Storm," Shun cried.
His attack his all of their foes at once, striking them with wind and lighting and sending them spiraling up into the air and crashing back down to the ground again. Fenrir took advantage of the momentary confusion to run back to Shun, Lunar close behind. Both of them and Sarai were injured and breathing a little heavily. But they seemed relieved that Shun had managed to escape. Sarai had dispatched the unfortunate young man trying to catch him with a single bite to the throat after Shun had hit him with his chain. They all turned to face their foes, bristling to attack.
"What?" one of their foes choked out. "How can this be happening?"
"We are not easily beaten even while we are alone," Fenrir growled. "Why did you think you could beat us now? When we are together? We are strongest when our powers combine. That is why Hera chose us!"
"I don't understand," another said. "You two are nothing alike. How can you fight so well together?"
"Because we understand what it truly means to be strong," Shun said. "Unlike you, we can't be defeated because we are determined that our group will not be destroyed by someone like you."
"We can't leave here like this," one of them growled. "Our orders were to capture Andromeda and kill the rest. If we come back empty handed we're as good as dead anyway!"
"Then I suppose you'd better give up now," a voice said from behind them. They both froze and gasped at the sound. They knew that voice. "Because you're either dying then or now. Your choice."
Both Fenrir and Shun turned and looked over their shoulders suddenly. Slowly, regally, Sauske walked up. The large young man was tall and had broad shoulders. He had a proud face, long black hair and deep blue eyes. He wore a dark black surplice that shone like the moon with two enormous wings. He looked up at the young men in front of him. His eyes were severe and threatening. The young men paused a little, shuddering under the gaze of the reincarnated form of Thantos.
"Thantos," one of them gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that you would be trying to hurt my friends," he replied. "So I came to make sure that didn't happen. I knew they could handle themselves pretty well. But I still can't forgive you for this."
"What about Sorrento and Annette?" Fenrir asked. "They're still out there! What if they got hurt?"
"I think they're fine," Sauske assured him. "I didn't hear anything about them or feel their cosmos burn. They were looking to contact me but I think they got sidetracked by Poseidon. I'm sure they're fine."
Fenrir and Shun both let out small sighs of relief. Then then turned back to their attackers. Their foes seemed extremely nervous now, and they backed away slightly.
"Damn it," one said. "Now all five of the Guardians have gathered. We have to escape. Fall back! Fall back!"
They turned and ran, and Sauske let them, though Shun could tell by looking at him that he did so with loathing. He turned instead to Shun and Fenrir, looking over both their injuries silently. They both remained still and silent under the god's gaze, knowing it was simply better. After a while he sighed and seemed satisfied that they weren't going to die at least.
"They'll return," Shun said. "They said that I was the key to their salvation as well as everyone else. I don't know what they meant by that, but this will put them off for a while."
"Yeah, a while," Fenrir sighed. "But soon they'll come back. We thought we might be safe here for a while. But it seems we were wrong. Our powers have gotten stronger, but not that strong yet."
"Come with me to the underworld then," Sauske said simply. "It's nearly impossible to sneak into the underworld. Besides, most of them don't have the Eighth sense required to survive there, while we do. We can grow more powerful there. I don't think anyone else will mind either. Hades especially won't mind you being there Shun. You know how uh...fond he became of you."
"He's still going on about that?" Shun gasped.
"Yes," Sauske replied with a small smile. "Shouldn't you be happy to be favored by a god? Love is love, no matter what."
"B-but..." Shun stammered, flushing red.
"What am I missing?" Fenrir asked, confused a little.
"Don't worry," Sauske replied. "You'll see soon. Come on. Everyone here will be worried about what happened to the two of you. But we'll have to leave. Come on."
Sauske motioned for the two of them to follow as he opened the same small portal that he had came here through. They looked around. They had caused a huge mess. Everything was smashed up and broken. There were several dead foes surrounding them. All of the others had gone. But the two of them knew they had to escape. They turned and followed Sauske into the portal, even the two wolves. And they left Heaven behind them for the Underworld.
I am going to add a little boy x boy in this one. But those of you who don't like that, don't worry. It won't be very bad. The most they'll ever do is kiss and hug. It's more of an innocent love type thing, so it won't be bad.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. I'll continue it on soon.