NOTE: This fanfic is placed right after Hades is killed and it is my own very weird creation. To understand it better I have to warn you I made a few changes in the storyline. The battle with Hilda did happen in my fic but the battles against Eris, Abel (Apolo in some versions) and Lucifer did NOT take place. Also, as in the manga, Hyoga was trained by Camus, Crystal does NOT exist in my fic ( My sincerest apologies to all of those who liked him! ^_^;). Finally I would like you to forgive me if this story turns out to be a total flop, but it is my first serious attempt at writing a fic so I’m quite inexperienced. Anyway, have fun and read on!
 
 

                                                GAIA’S HIERARCHY

Prologue:
Chants of the awoken

SHUN:
I watched in silence as Saori cradled Seiya’s limp and and lifeless body, sobs tore through her and her tears
soaked his empty face. This is my fault, I thought silently and I cringed as I heard the temples around us begin to crumble. As I watched the Goddess cry I found myself both regretting and loving her pain. For a moment I feared  that the grasp Hades held over my body had not been severed, but somehow, deep down I knew that was not why I felt this hostility towards whom I was supposed to protect: This is her fault, her doing, said the voice within me, and I knew it was the truth.

Hades...

His name made me shudder in pain and fear...and longing...
No this was all wrong, it had not been Hades who possessed me, he would never hurt me.
 My Niisan touched my shoulder gently, made me turn to face him.
"Are you all right Shun?" His voice was soft and his midnight-blue eyes were clouded with worry and pain.
Only then did I realise what was truly going on, Seiya was dead because I hadn’t been strong enough to resist the power and temptation to finish what I had started so long ago. I looked at my Niisan in surprise,
I was not whom I had thought I was! I was... Who was I?

Lim...my name is Lim

"Shun?" Hyoga’s voice sounded distant and yet familiar, as if I had heard it a thousand times before this life.
That stopped me, before this life... When I was Lim and he was-
"Oh God, no! Please...NO!" I cried out in both fear and dispair as I sank to my knees. Arms held me carefully as I sobbed uncontrollably. Saori lifted her face to look at me.
"It’s all right Shun" She said feebly, "Hades is gone"

Gone! my mind screamed, But we haven’t even found him! the creature that possessed me was not Hades!
I leaned into my brother’s trembling body and sighed. Seiya was dead, but I was alive and as long as I lived
I would never make the same mistake twice, I would never allow somebody I loved to die because I hadn’t been strong enough to protect him. Never again!

Saori’s saddened voice interrupted my reverie: "We should go back to the world of light" Her golden cosmo enveloped us all as we were pulled out of the falling temples and into our own world. Hyoga gazed at Seiya in silence and then turned to me, he knew what I was thinking, what I was feeling. I stood up slowly and smiled at him weakly, *He can’t die Hoyga-san* I mind-whispered to him.
In the distance I heard Shiryu crying softly, he loved Seiya like a brother and now he was alone without him. We were here, it was true, but it had always been obvious to everybody that he would choose that impulsive little warrior a thousand times before any of us.

I concentrated, trying to find the centre of my power to draw Seiya back, I was Lim, Hell belonged to me as much as it did to Hades, the real Hades, not that sorry demon that had used Lim’s thirst for vengeance as an excuse to claim to be a noble God and try to destroy MY planet. The time to kill Athena would come, but it was not now, Seiya had to live for Shiryu and for this Earth; if there was anybody who could control Saori and keep her from remembering what I knew, it was him.

Hyoga sighed and walked towards me, "What is wrong Shun-chan?" I stared at him in silence, I had been so sure he remembered too! It had to be him! The sky-blue eyes, the sunbrowned skin, the golden hair...The rosary!! Then it hit me, I couldn’t let him know. He won’t bear it if he remembers, he’ll die.
"Look around you and tell me what’s wrong!" I answered hotly "Our brother is dead and you are asking ME what’s wrong?!" He bowed his head and I saw tears fall down his cheeks, he looked at Athena cradling her fallen Pegasus and then transferred his gaze unto me. :How do you plan to bring him back?:
I gasped for he had read me perfectly. Why was he crying then? Did he remember?
"How did you know?" I asked aloud dreading his answer.
"You are Andromeda, you would rather die yourself than let a loved one die. if the possibility of sacrificing your life for another came up you wouldn’t hesitate" His eyes were hard and his stance denoted resolution.
:Whatever you plan to do I will do it with you, we will ALL go back together: I could feel his pain, not only for Seiya, for me too.

Something inside me broke, I had to be here to protect him the day he awoke like I had on this forsaken day, I had to be there for him for I sensed that Terran and Akaren would not find him for a long time. I had to be possessed and abused before I remembered anything, who knows how long it will take them to do so... if they are still alive.

Davos... you won a long time ago, but now I’m here and I will make you pay for doing this to us.

Yet as I concentrated and called my power to perform the resuscitation a brilliant red light blinded us all, when I managed to open my eyes I was confronted by a steel-grey stare.
 The stranger before me had shoulder-length glossy black hair, a pale complexion and a hollow look in his metal coloured eyes; he was clad in a strange golden-white cloth and held a sword in his left hand. He most certainly did not look friendly. Then, without a previous warning he flared his blood-red cosmo against me and threw me to the floor. I cried out in pain aware of my friend’s looks of horror and dispair.
The stranger’s voice rose to my ears "I cannot allow it! Do you hear me! The cycles end here! You are not supposed to remember anything or I will kill you!"

So, Lim’s past would haunt Shun too. I eyed the stranger trying to find anything in him that appeared to be familiar. The elfin face did ring a bell somewhere in the back of my mind.

"What do you want with us stranger!" Ikki growled in fury at seeing me threatened by this akward man. Shiryu got up and faced him steadily, they would not let me be hurt , not after Seiya had died in front of their very eyes. Hyoga remained as he was, regarding the newcomer with a hint of curiosity. His calm detachment unnerved me, he was acting as if the whole situation amused him! I turned once again towards the stranger an got up facing him steadily. Only then did I notice that his ears where long and pointy, like an elf’s. I knew this creature, I had fought him before...when I was Lim, yet his name eluded me.
Saori whimpered in pain and confusion, "When will this end..." I heard her whisper into Seiya’s shoulder and let out a sob.

He spoke to me again, saying in his deep cold voice what I did not want to hear: "Go while you still can Lim, you must not remember the past. I do not wish to kill you, but the cycles always end here; should you use the knowledge you have recovered..." His voice trailed off. I finished the sentence for him.
"I would put Davos in severe danger"
"No" He cut in abruptly. My friends only stared at me in wonder, not understanding a word of our conversation. He continued "Davos can deal with you quite easily, but you would prove to be a pest, and besides, what could you do? You are the last of your kind after all"
My mouth dropped open, the last one, I was alone? "There must be others..."
"No Lim, this is the last cycle for you are the last one of your kind, as is your friend over there who looks at me so fascinatedly. The last ones Lim, or should I say Shun?"

I shuddered and turned to look at my beloved Niisan who was now torn with fear for my life and total confusion. So, I was the last Black Angel wasn’t I? If I had regained my memories now it was for a reason,
Davos had to be defeated, Athena had to pay for her mistakes and Gaia’s hierarchy had to be restored.

"No, I am both Lim and Shun, but you may call me Shun...Nyall"
He was obviously startled at the fact that I had remembered his name, but that only strengthened his resolve to kill me. "You cannot destroy Davos" He said, a hint of anger filtering into the metallic orbs of his eyes. "To do that you would need all of Gaia’s team Shun, ALL of it: Gold, silver and bronze saints, the Marinas, the God warriors and the Specters. you hardly get along with your fellow bronze saints and you expect to be able to unite all of your planet’s warriors into one big fighting force, against an enemy only you know exists? You who has just been possessed and has slain a friend? Not to mention all the other warriors are dead too"

I bit my lip and lowered my gaze. He was right, wether I was Lim again or not would not affect the outcome of this battle.

Hades...

Hades head once long ago promised to protect me always, where was he now?
 We had lost.
"Whe have lost" I whispered faintly and Nyall nodded and lifted his sword, ready to end my life and thus vanquish Davos’s last chance of being defeated. I was the last one...

This was the last cycle...

:Forgive me Hyoga-san, but I shall not be there for you if you ever awake:

Hades...

Hyoga looked up at me, all the calmness faded from his face and I saw him understand, I saw him remember me...

"LIM!!" He cried in anguish and in a burst of silver light Nyall was propelled into the air and fell a good
30meters to our right. "Hyoga?" Was Shiryu’s incredulous whisper as he looked at the Angel that stood before me, white feathery wings slightly folded behind his back and on his forhead a pale white snowflake with a brilliant golden upsidedown triangle on top was tattooed.

In the distance the gold cloths began to chant.
 
 

HYOGA:
I had watched as Shun fought with the stranger in silence, the scene was so achingly familiar, yet I did not know from where...Then the man who Shun said was called Nyall raised his sword, ready to kill Shun, ready to kill...

Their conversation slowly began to make sense to me and as it did I felt emptier and emptier, Terran and Akaren had deserted me when I was the young prince who would have reigned this planet, if Athena handn’t interfered.
All of Gaia’s team would be needed to defeat Davos, and even that may not be enough. But I was ready to forgive all that had taken place so many years ago if it meant I could save this Earth...MY Earth.

:Forgive me Hyoga-san, but I shall not be there for you if you ever awake: Shun’s mind voice jarred my thoughts bringing me back to the here and now. This man , this elf was going to kill...

Lim...

I cried out his name in fear and threw my energy at Nyall who flew into the air with a high shriek of pain. I felt something bloom at my back.

My wings...

Yes, I recognized that weight and the odd burning on my forhead could only be the mark of my family-line,
I was the Gaian prince once again
"Hyoga?" I heard Shiryu utter my name with a mixture of horror and fascination.
I was the Ruler of this Earth...

I was Nikolai.

Saori got up, leaving Seiya’s body in Shiryu’s arms. She faced me steadily, a small frown on her delicate features, fists clenched, eyes devoid of any emotion and spoke with a voice full of anger.
"Whoever you are I command you to leave Hyoga’s body NOW!"

Did she not have eyes to see me? The sudden hate I felt towards her was so strong I had to bite my lower lip to keep back my growl of fury. She was responsible for all this, the cycles were her fault, our endless fights were her doing, she had destroyed my Earth once; she would not do it again.

 Karenhath...

The name came into my mind all of a sudden and I felt all my strength abandon me, my beloved had died in front of my eyes, like Seiya. Thinking of him calmed me somewhat, I had to let go of this feelings, this revulsion towards the human race that had suddently seized me.

What is more important:  revenge or your planet? The voice of my heart dampened my anger. Yes, I could forgive them all as long as I could get my planet back, as long as Karenhath’s death had not been in vain.
I could forgive my dear Terran and Akaren as long as I could destroy Davos this time. I sighed and spoke up: "It’s me Saori: Hyoga."
I knew my voice sounded hollow but that was not something I could change. Self-discovery was not always an agreeable experience. Shun looked at me with an unreadable expresion on his face, he feared for me.
I wondered why this had happened now, why regain our memories now that aeons had gone by?

I felt Nyall’s cosmo grow behind me, he was determined to kill me and Lim at all cost, to protect his Lord from our wrath. I felt tears stain my cheeks, I didn’t want to be alive! The memories were too painfull, too fresh in my mind to bear. I wanted to save Gaia yet I longed for the death Davos’s messenger promised to give!

What is more important Nikolai?
Gaia...

I gathered my cosmo and let it shine around me making me look even more unreal as my wings contrasted with the pale silvery sheen of my energy and my birth-mark glistened with a golden hue on my forhead. It didn’t matter if the human race had turned against my own kind, they were inhabitants of my planet and I had to protect them. Saori took a step forward towards me, she had felt my energy and though it was unacountably stronger that what she expected she recognized it as Cygnus’s energy. I will try to forgive you goddess of my nightmares, for the only way to make you pay is by forcing you to undo your wrongs alive, death would only save you from the darkness to come.

Nyall threw me a vicious glare, his eyes growing dark with hate. Yes, he had loved her too and he had... HE had...
"YOU KILLED HER!! SHE LOVED ME AND YOU KILLED HER!!!" I screamed in fury. She had been his friend, and he had been hers, but when it came to loving one of us she had chosen me and the shame and pain of rejection could not be dulled by the passing of time, he had only learned to hate me more as years went by. Now he too lived again and yearned for the pleasure of killing me himself, a privilege Davos had stolen from him the last time we had met.

I faced him and readied myself for his attack, still he did not move. Abruptly, he turned around and walked towards Ikki and Shun. The proud yet battered Phoenix stiffened in surprise and Lim bowed his head in quiet acceptance.

No, they couldn’t give up!

:Lim! You can’t surrender! Not now!:

He looked at me, his eyes brimming over with tears "I’m sorry" He mouthed.

"NOOO!" And as my scream filled the air my power broke loose and I lost consciousness.
 

SAORI:
I had never felt such power, and his eyes! They were piercing my brain, looking into my heart with a mixture of both pain and compassion. As if all this were my fault and he was still forgiving me. his energy reached into the very core of my being making an odd feeling of nostalgia blossom within me. Nostalgia and pain and...Guilt.

Nyall opened his mouth to scream but was cut off by the sudden burst of cosmo that slammed into his chest-plate cracking it. I sank to the floor beside Shiryu and watched in awe as all around me little spheres of light began to descend from the sky, there were so many! And they were so beautiful! Then I grew aware of the fact that these spheres had energies of their own, but I was to tired and to hurt to care. At this point Hyoga had disappeared into his silver-blue cosmo and the spheres were surrounding him.

One of them left the circle and hovered above me and Shiryu, I knew that cosmo...

:Saori-sama...:

"Seiya?!" I got up trembling as Shiryu lowered the body onto the ground. The pinpoint of brilliance descended upon Seiya’s body and in a flash of blinding white light it was in. Colour returned gradually to his cheeks and he opened his warm brown eyes to look at me.

:The only way to win is for us to do this together, I will forgive you and when you remember your past I will be there waiting for you:

Hyoga’s mind voice touched me as he spoke to the souls that had gathered around him. Shun raised his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. he walked towards us and spoke to me calmly:
"Lady Athena, it is time to change the cycles, this will be the last time we will fight this lie. Today is the first day of the rebirth of Gaia’s hierarchy."

I nodded and so did Seiya. Shiryu looked past Shun into the dimming glow where Hyoga stood. As if obeying some silent order the spheres began to float away, each in a different direction, to find their bodies.
Hyoga fell to the ground in silence and lay there. We all walked to him and, at first, failed to notice Nyall’s absence but when we did we ignored it.

His wings had disapeared and the tattoo on his forhead was barely visible. Shun cradled him in his arms and gently wiped the sweat from his face. Seiya knelt beside them crying and repeating over and over again as if hypnotised.
"Forgive me, Nikolai. Forgive me"

Then I heard a song, not a usual melodious voice but the harmonising tune of a creature I did not know capable of making such a beautiful sound. Twelve specks of light surrounded us singing a song that tasted of joy and long awaited relief. The twelve Gold cloths materialized around us bathing us in their golden auras.

*Be thankfull* They sang *Our princes have awoken! Sing with us and rejoice!*

Their powerful energy teleported us away and the last thing I heard was their voices singing to the Earth and telling it to be thankfull for the return of hope. They were awake now too and at that point I did not truly understand this, but I would soon get to know Earth’s cloths in their true splendor.

They were chanting...and their voices united became a lull too sweet to refuse.

 When I awoke the Earth had changed for good.
 

End of "Chants of the awoken"