Author’s Note (A/N): This chapter came along quickly. Not too much action exists here. Mainly a boring chapter. Enjoy.
Sakura was taken by Altarrin along with Tomoyo, Meiling, and Li. Because Altarrin has her friends, Sakura can’t do anything against Altarrin. This led to… Well, you read it, right? Shadow said Sakura would be alright and Eriol promised, along with Yue and Kero, that he’d come back for her.
by Shadowpheonix
I have to save them. I will save them! Sigma though, running towards a large powerful force in the Realm. What would anyone with that much power want with a bunch of kids? Sigma continued to run towards the energy source when five dark figures appeared in front of him. Immediately, he formed an axe and prepared for the worst.
“Eriol, look! It’s Sigma!” Kero said.
“So it is. Hello, Sigma. Where’s Meiling? Wasn’t she with you?” Eriol asked, noticing Meiling’s absence.
“She fell under the control of someone. Then she ran off, beating even my strongest magic. Have you seen any of the others?”
“Well, we found Shadow’s castle. From what I can gather, he’s allowing people to visit Sakura. I sent her a small tracking disc which allows me visual access wherever it goes. I had Keroberos and Spinel deliver it to Sakura for me. They were caught, but Shadow let them pass.”
“Where is that brat? I’m going to teach him a thing or two. Why would he send creatures after the ruler of another Realm?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll come with you,” Eriol said.
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go save Sakura. I need to talk to this Shadow kid,” Sigma said, leading the way.
They walked for fifteen minutes before arriving at a large castle. Sigma and Eriol approached the castle to knock on the large door. “This one’s real,” Eriol said. A black-haired boy came to the door.
“Sigma, it took you a while to get here, didn’t it?” the boy said mockingly.
“You’re Shadow, right? Tell me what’s been going on. What have you done with Sakura?”
“You come up to my front door, armed, and you expect me to just answer your questions?” Shadow asked.
“Oh, look, you have Eriol with you. Decided to show your face, Hiiragizawa? I thought for sure you’d continue to hide behind the four of them.”
Eriol didn’t show any sign of frustration. Instead, he simply said, “Pleased to meet you, Shadow. So, where’s Sakura?”
“You gave her a tracking device. Don’t you know?” Shadow asked.
“I assume she’s in her room, through what was that window,” Eriol said, pointing to a second-story window.
“She’s not there, Eriol,” Kero whispered in his ear. “I can’t feel her anymore. She’s gone.”
“What have you done with her?” Yue asked threateningly.
“She left on her own accord,” Shadow responded.
“Liar! Sakura wouldn’t leave after we promised to return for her!” Kero yelled, changing to his true form.
“Answer our questions truthfully, you rat!” Yue yelled, forming his bow.
“Patience. Come in. There’s no point in fighting me on my own ground. You’d only lose. Come in, and I’ll tell you the entire story.”
Sigma turned to look at the five figures behind him, beckoning them to come inside. “We don’t have a choice but to trust him right now. Eriol, be ready.”
The five of them walked into the castle with Shadow. “Would you like something to eat? I have cake and other sweets if you’d like, Kero.”
“I won’t accept anything from you! Not until you give back Sakura!” Keroberos yelled, ready to destroy Shadow whenever he had the chance.
“Fine. Anyone want something? Tea, maybe?”
All five of them chose not to eat or drink anything, fearing that perhaps the food or drink was poisoned. They walked to a large table with a teapot in the center. “Please, sit down.”
Sigma found a seat and sat, pulling Earth energy close to him in case Shadow tried anything. “Tell us, Shadow, now that we’re all seated. Start with why you made that fake castle, and how.”
“I made the fake castle to keep you away from the real one. As for how,” Shadow said, taking out his Create Card and showing the group.
“Clow Cards? That’s impossible! There was only one deck of Clow Cards ever made, and Sakura has the only one! How did you come by them? And why do yours look so odd?” Keroberos asked.
“That’s not important. Any other questions? I really have to get back to my planning. I would invite you to come with me, but you wouldn’t want to. After all, you don’t care about saving Sakura,” Shadow said.
“Who are you to say that? We are her guardians. We have been commissioned to protect her! You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Yue yelled, growing angry.
“I know who you are. Look, I don’t have Sakura with me right now. If you want to know why, read this,” Shadow said, thrusting an envelope at them.
Sigma took the letter and read over it quickly. “You’re lying. What could the Summoner possibly want with her?” Sigma asked, passing the letter along to Eriol.
“Is this the Summoner that you told me about earlier, before we left?” Eriol asked.
“Yes. I don’t see what he could possibly want with Sakura.”
“Well, it’s true, whether you believe it or not. Now, Sigma, I’m calling the Council again. Are you going to attend the meeting? I have to know how much food to prepare.”
“Are you crazy? You’re not part of the Council! Do any of the rulers know that you rule this Realm?”
“No. Do any of the rulers other than me know where Altarrin is? Do you know who the ruler of the Wind Realm is right now? I’m not the only one that has taken a throne since the war ended.”
“Fine. I’ll be there. I’m sure Eriol would like to as well,” Sigma replied.
“Yes, I would,” Eriol said.
“So, what are you waiting for? I thought we were going to call the Council,” Sigma said.
“Do you have any idea why Matriana and I were the only ones you could reach on the orb? No one else still has theirs. If we’re calling the council, we have to go through each individual Realm to do so. Sigma, I want you to go to Solana. She’s the ruler of the Wind Realm now. She’s about twenty-one, if I remember correctly, and chances are, she’ll be riding her pegasus, Zephyr, through her Realm. Wait for her in her castle. Her maids and servants will happily receive you until she returns.
“Eriol, can I entrust you to find Candice? She rules the Fire Realm. She’s about Sigma’s age and has been around since the War of the Eighth Power Sphere. She’s got a large temper and breeds dragons with her free time. She doesn’t generally wander from her castle, but if she’s not there, wait at the front door for her. Here,” Shadow said, handing both Sigma and Eriol an envelope. “Give them to the rulers I send you to.”
“What about you? Aren’t you going to do anything?” Sigma asked.
“I’m going to stay here and plan an attack. I’ve already called Matriana with the orb. She’ll be joining us shortly.”
“So, you’re just going to sit here while we work for you?” Sigma asked incredulously. “How did you ever become the ruler?”
“Because I can single-handedly defeat all six of you sitting here right now. If you’d like to test that theory, we can. I’m growing impatient. Just go and do what I’ve told you. I’ll control the shift of the Realm when you get back. That way, the castle will be right next to the Portal. Go!”
With that, Shadow disappeared, leaving Eriol and Sigma to stare at each other for a moment or two. “Well, let’s go. We don’t have any choice but to trust him. He is the ruler of this Realm. I can feel power pulsing off of him. Perhaps it’s those – what did you call them? Clow Cards? – that I feel the power from. Either way, he does have a lot of power. I’ll go find this Solana, and you can find Candice. She’s not too bad as long as you don’t anger her.”
“Alright. Keroberos, Yue, you two stay here. I’ll go with Spinel and Ruby.”
“What can we possible do here? We may as well come with you,” Keroberos replied.
“Aren’t you gone yet? The Portal is right outside,” Shadow said, walking out of the kitchen.
“We’re going, give us a few seconds to prepare.”
“Will you take Yue and Keroberos with you? I’m sure they can help with something,” Eriol said.
“No, I don’t need them here. They’ll be more helpful with you. I’ll be going now. I’ll only hold the Realm the way it is for another five minutes or so,” Shadow said, walking down an unlit corridor.
“Alright, let’s go,” Eriol said.
“Sure. I’ll send you off to the Fire Realm with the Portal first. Then I’ll go off to Wind afterwards.”
The six of them walked out of the castle together and stood in front of the Portal, as Sigma recited the incantation for the Fire Realm.
“Heated road,
Treacherously hot,
Blaze a path,
To Fire’s hearth.”
The surface of the Portal shimmered for a while before returning to its normal, fun-house mirror-like form. “Safe journey, Eriol,” Sigma said, bidding Eriol goodbye. After Eriol stepped through, he turned back to the Portal and recited the incantation for the Wind Realm.
“Path of air,
Calm yet strong,
Lift open a way,
To where Wind starts.”
Once again, the Portal’s surface shimmered and returned to normal. Well, here goes, Sigma thought, stepping through the Portal.
He calmly walked into the Portal, used to the freezing effects of its surface. Once on the other side, he turned to the floating castle in the bright Realm. He stood on a tiny piece of land, floating in nothingness. Other, smaller pieces of land floated around beside him. How am I supposed to get through this Realm again? Sigma wondered. Suddenly, he remembered his ability to move earth, no matter how little, and tapped into the Earth Sphere, gripping at the tiny amount of Earth energy that existed in the Wind Realm. He gathered enough energy to move a rock, just big enough for him to stand on.
This Realm is such a hassle. Earth energy just doesn’t work as well here, Sigma thought, discontent at the size of his rock.
Sigma stepped onto the rock and smoothly guided it towards the castle which was no more than a mile away. This shouldn’t take too long. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he fell off the rock. Slowly, he approached the floating castle.
“Hey!” called a voice from behind him. “You must be Sigma! Pleased to meet you! I’m Solana, the new ruler of this Realm!” A young girl, looking about nineteen or twenty, with long, blond to brown hair flew towards him on a pegasus.
“Yes, I am. Is there no easier way to travel through this Realm?” Sigma asked.
“Well, you could always ride the currents. If you step off the rock, you’ll find yourself floating at a near constant height. The Wind energy in this Realm keeps you from falling through. It’s why the land masses that we have here stay in place. Anyways, you could always just ride on Zephyr with me. Here, get on!” Solana said cheerily.
Sigma stared at the pegasus for a while before deciding it was better than his little rock. He straddled the pegasus and was unsure of what to hold onto. “Umm… What am I supposed to do to keep from falling off?”
“Put your hands around my waist,” Solana said. “Ready?”
“I suppose so,” Sigma said. The pegasus flapped its giant wings and darted forward, towards the castle.
“We should be there in about three minutes!” Solana yelled over the loud wind.
Sigma felt uneasy about flying. I rule the Earth Realm! Why am I flying? This is just not right, he thought, hoping the flight would end soon.
Solana laughed in front of him, obviously enjoying the feel of wind on her face. “Go, Zephyr! Faster!” she laughed.
She acts like a little ten year old. I guess I’ll have to put up with it. We’ll need her help if we’re to do anything. If we really are facing the Summoner, we’ll need all the power we can get.
The pegasus came to a stop, landing on the small strip of ground. “Good girl, Zephyr. Here,” Solana said, handing it a block of some unidentifiable substance.
“You do have a floor inside, right?” Sigma asked.
Solana laughed childishly for a few seconds before saying, “Of course!” She led Sigma inside and let him to a small table in what looked to be the guest room. “I’ll be right back. I know you have something important to tell me, but I’m needed for a little moment. Ask for anything you need. My maids will be happy to serve you.”
“Thank you,” Sigma said, glad to be back on some semblance of solid ground, even if it was mostly transparent. Sigma reclined in his chair and took the time to observe the wonderful clouds above his head and the odd structure of the castle.
The castle had solid, stone walls, but a glass ceiling, or none, as far as Sigma could tell, and glass floors. The castle was but one story tall, and had stairs that led up to the roof of the building. This is crazy. Who could possibly live in such a place? I couldn’t stand being here for more than two hours!
Lost in his thought, he didn’t notice Solana until she stepped in front of him. “Enjoying the clouds? I had the glass room and floor put in for just that reason. It’s a lot of fun to watch the clouds. The floor is nice too. There aren’t any clouds, but it’s a nice scene. It’s just so… peaceful. You know what I mean?”
Sigma stared at Solana for a few seconds. Of all the places Shadow could send me…
“Oh, I’m sorry. I always seem to go off and talk about the nice weather in this Realm. Anyhow, I got a weird message that you were going to be here. It was from some kid named Shadow. He said it was important and that you’d arrive soon. So I decided to take Zephyr out to find you. So…”
“Oh, surely you know about the Council, right? Shadow needs to call the Council so we can… discuss some things. I’m here to invite you to the Dark Realm, where the Council Meeting will be held. As a ruler, it is your duty to attend,” Sigma said, giving Solana Shadow’s envelope. “Here, Shadow said to give this to you.”
“Thanks. When’s the meeting?”
“As soon as you can manage. You can take whatever you need to with you. I’m sure Shadow has extra rooms in his castle.
“Alright. I’ll go. Will you be staying until I do?”
“Yes. I’m going to escort you back. Have you ever been to the Dark Realm?”
“No. I heard that it’s very dangerous, so I decided not to visit. I think I’ll be fine with Zephyr and this Anti-ring. I heard that Wind wielding people weren’t particularly welcome there. Their powers are supposed to be weakened considerably. I never found the reason for this. Do you know why?”
“It’s simple really. All the elements fall into the category of Light, Dark, or somewhere in between. When you go to either the Light or Dark Realms, these alignments are taken into account. Wind is the only all Light element, while Earth is the only all Dark element. Fire, Water, and Thunder or Lightning all fall in between. Fire is more Light than it is Dark, Water is more Dark than Light, and Lightning or Thunder is directly in between.
“Other than these alignments, there are others. For example, my power’s, Earth, are weak here in the Wind Realm because Wind is naturally strong against Earth just as Earth is against Wind. Fire and Water face the same Dilemma. Thunder, or Lightning, faces a peculiar one. It’s weak in Fire and Earth, but stronger in Wind and Water.” Sigma looked at Solana as he finished, expecting a reply.
“Hmm… That explains a lot about the Realms. I wish I had more previous knowledge of this. I feel like I owe you something for answering my questions. Do you have any that I can answer?”
“Well, there is one. Tell me exactly how these air currents in this particular Realm work.”
“Alright. The air currents are like roads. They’re very strong and are able to lift things into the air. Every inch of this Realm has a different air current. The currents will lift you about a foot higher than the land, and you can navigate them by… swimming, in essence. Here, I’ll show you,” Solana said, leading Sigma out of the castle. “Watch as I step over the edge of the castle grounds.”
Solana took a step over the edge and was lifted up about a foot. She made swimming motions and pushed herself through the air. “All the currents right next to the land masses will lift you about a foot above the land mass. Further away, they can either go up or down. You just have to know what it is by living around here.”
Solana ‘swam’ away from the castle and fell a few feet. “See? Now, if I go over here…” She turned to her left and ‘swam’ through the air. Suddenly, she rose six feet above where Sigma was standing. “You just have to know where the currents that take you higher are. Pegasi, however, have an interesting ability to completely ignore these air currents. They can fly as low, or as high as they want, along with most other creatures in this Realm.”
“Thank you for the explanation. You can come back now. We need to leave soon,” Sigma said, taking mental notes of what Solana said.
“Ok,” Solana said, ‘swimming’ back to the castle. “I’ll go pack now. Try it out for yourself; it’s fun. Oh, one last thing about the currents. Don’t go too fast towards a land mass. You may end up under it, if the previous current was under it, or you could end up way above it. There aren’t any above land, so you’ll end up falling flat on your face. People have died like that in this Realm. They were in too much of a hurry. Anyways, I’ll go pack my stuff now.”
“Alright. I’ll give this current riding thing a try. It doesn’t look too hard,” Sigma said, looking over the edge of the ground. Cautiously, he took a step over the edge and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was floating about a foot above the ground. Not too hard after all, he thought, landing back on the castle grounds. She better be quick. If I’m not mistaken, Shadow hasn’t sent anybody off to the Thunder or Light Realms yet. He should send Solana off to light. She’ll do well there.
Eriol landed on the other side of the Portal and found himself in an extremely hot world. I should have brought a fan with me, he thought. He turned to see Yue and Keroberos come through the Portal, along with Ruby and Spinel. “We’re supposed to find Candice. You two should probably change forms. It will be easier for you if you’re smaller in this heat.
Keroberos and Spinel changed back to their false forms while Eriol surveyed the landscape. The land was bumpy and extremely hot. Steam rose through cracks in the earth, distorting images that lay beyond it. In the distance and above their heads, volcanoes erupted and lava flows covered areas of the land. Off to his right, Eriol say what looked like a castle about two miles off and decided to head for that.
“Eriol, we can’t just walk there. The heat will kill us,” Kero said, already complaining about the heat.
“I’m prepared,” Eriol replied, releasing his staff as he did so. His staff glowed a deep red and created a cool, protective shield around each individual. “There. We’ll make it,” Eriol said.
The five of them set off towards the castle, walking within relatively cool domes of air. After an hour or so of walking, the party, even with the shield, felt the effects of the harsh climate.
“It’s a lot farther than it looked,” Kero complained. “Stupid steam. Can’t you get us there faster, Eriol?”
“Just keep walking. It’s not too much further.”
Half an hour later, the sweat-covered party arrived at the front of the castle. Eriol stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” came a voice from inside.
“My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa. I was sent by Shadow, the ruler of the Dark Realm, to come invite Candice, the ruler of this Realm, to the Council Meeting,” Eriol responded.
“Oh, Eriol. You’re here already. I though for sure I would have to go search for someone fainted on the ground,” came a reply.
Eriol stared blankly at the door and recomposed himself before it opened. The door opened a minute later and a tall, flaming red haired woman stepped out to pull them inside. The inside of the castle was much different compared to the outside. While the outside was full of tall, black towers, the inside of the castle was covered in vibrantly colored wallpaper. Pictures hung on every wall, each a picture of a serene place with some form of running water: rolling hills next to a streambed, flat plains slowly melting into the beach which in turn transformed into the ocean.
“Welcome,” the woman said. “My name is Candice. I rule this Realm and I heard you were coming. I’ve prepared cool drinks for you and I expect you’ll enjoy your stay. I heard you had something important to tell me. Well, what is it?”
“I’m here to invite you to a Council Meeting that is to be held in the Dark Realm and Lord Shadow’s castle. This was entrusted to my possession by Shadow to be presented to you,” Eriol said, handing Candice the envelope.
“So, Shadow is inviting me to a Council Meeting. One of those hasn’t been called since a little more than twelve years ago. Well, as a ruler, I have to go. Alright, which dragon do you want to ride?”
“Excuse me?” Eriol asked, hiding most of his surprise.
“I have fifteen dragons. Which one would you like to ride?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any experience with dragons. Perhaps you can choose one that would suit me,” Eriol replied politely.
“I see. Well, come with me. I’ll show you the tamer dragons. You can choose one that you like and keep it as a gift,” Candice said, leading Eriol out the back door.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I could accept a gift of such magnitude,” Eriol said.
“Nonsense,” Candice said smiling. “It will help you get through this Realm when you come back for tea after we solve whatever mess needs to be solved. You will, of course, return for tea, right?”
“Of course I will. I shall accept your gracious offer then,” Eriol said. Well, this is a very interesting twist. Clow was only able to study one dragon in all his life. Well, I guess I’m going to continue that research as well… “Thank you again for the dragon.”
“Alright, here we are. Take your pick out of these five. Flame here is mine. Which one would you like?”
Eriol stepped up to each of the five dragons and picked a golden scaled dragon with red wings. “Excellent choice. That’s the strongest of these five dragons. Her name is Phyre. Here, you mount a dragon just behind its wings. Dragon’s prefer to be ridden bare-backed rather than saddled. However, if you require a saddle, I’ll provide you with one.”
Eriol hopped onto Phyre and held her reins. “I think I’ll manage. Suppi, Kero, you two can ride here with me. Yue, Ruby, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can ride,” Eriol said. He released his staff and repeated the spell he used last time. “This should keep you cool until we reach the Portal. Candice, don’t you need to pack anything?”
“I’ve already packed. I always have whatever I’ll need packed on Flame,” she replied. “Let’s go.”
The two dragons took flight and tore through the air. Yue and Ruby kept up with the dragons and the party arrived at the Portal about fifteen minutes later. “Well, we’re here. Let’s go meet this new ruler, Shadow,” Candice said, dismounting from Flame.
Eriol dismounted from Phyre and recited the Portal incantation for the Dark Realm.
“Shrouded path,
Hiding danger,
Unveil the way,
To the shadow!”
Yet again, the Portal’s surface shimmered for a few seconds before resettling. The six of them, along with Phyre and Flame, whom somehow fit through the Portal, stepped through and vanished from the Fire Realm.
Well, another one of those random Chapters of Knowledge. This was meant to be an enlightening chapter and was finished in about half a day. So… if it’s really bad, please let me know… I’ll fix it. Anyways, the only thing I have left to say is the usual.
The Council’s being called again! This hasn’t happened in a whole 12 years! Wonder if they’ll all get along…
Shadow seems intent on saving Sakura. Does he really have a plan that will work?
So far, Solana and Candice have been convinced to come to the Council Meeting. What’s going to happen at the meeting? What about the other Realms?
And finally, the challenge once again. Sigh… No one’s ever going to solve it.
Challenge to the readers: Here is a challenge for all you mystery fans: What's up with Shadow? Why does he claim to care so much about Sakura, but show it in such an odd way? What's does he really want with Sakura? Be the first to email me the correct answer to this question, and I’ll post your name at the end of the fic.