Author’s Note (A/N): I continue to apologize for the lateness. It will get better as soon as I can manage it.
Previously:
Sakura was recaptured by Altarrin and the rulers have learned about these weird Dark Prophecies. These Dark Prophecies seem to contradict the Light Prophecies as one says that a foreigner will bring destruction to the Realms and the other claims that the foreigner will save the Realms. Lloyd joins up with the rulers and so, this chapter begins…
by Shadowpheonix
“Lloyd, I’m glad you care about Sakura. We need more people on our side. Do you know why Altarrin is so strong? Do you know any secrets to his power?” Matriana asked as she paced across the clearing.
“I have no idea. He’s just always been like that. I can’t tell exactly what type of energy he uses, though I do see him use it. Why?”
“I just need to know how we can defeat him. If he’s the Summoner, then I think he must have come from a significantly more powerful Realm. There’s no way he could have created the Spirits if he had just used energy from the normal Power Spheres. The only conclusion I’ve come to doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“What conclusion is that?” Sigma asked from the edge of the clearing.
“Well, the only conclusion that I’ve come to is that he uses the Golden Sphere as his source of magic,” Matriana replied.
“What’s your reasoning behind this?” Tyrell asked, behind Matriana at the edge of the clearing.
“Well, think about it. The only way we were able to defeat the Spirits was with the Golden Sphere. Therefore, they must have been created by something equally powerful, if not more powerful. The only thing that we know of that has so much power, is the Golden Sphere. So, he must have used the Golden Sphere to create the Spirits.”
“However, you think that this doesn’t make sense because it took us, or rather you and the other old rulers, a tremendous amount of energy to be able to even barely touch this other Sphere. So your question is, how he does it, right?” Shadow cut in.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I need to know. And if he does wield Golden energy, then there’s nothing we can do against him.”
“And so, we turn to the Prophecies. If I’m right, then Sakura is the only hope of our world. Lloyd, can you tell me exactly what the Dark Prophecies say?” Shadow asked.
“No. I already told you that I don’t know exactly what they say. I only have bits and pieces of it that Altarrin has let me in on.”
“Wait. Tell me again what you do know. Try to be concise,” Matriana asked.
“Alright, here’s what I know. From what I’ve learned, there will be a person that comes from another world, something outside of the Realms. This person will, with the Spirits, open a gateway to another world, also not of the Realms. Then, someone, or something, will come forth and destroy the Realms, leaving them open to be remade in any way this someone or something sees fit.”
“Well, that doesn’t necessarily point at Sakura. We’ve got three others with us that aren’t from the Realms, don’t we?” Tyrell said.
“We have four people and four guardians. However, don’t the Dark Prophecies say something about wielding magical cards?” Sigma asked.
“Yes, they say that the foreigner would be able to wield magical cards and summon from them numerous beings to do his or her bidding,” Lloyd replied.
“Shadow, can’t you use cards like Sakura’s?” Solana suddenly asked.
“Yes, but so can Li,” Shadow replied.
“But you’re from the Realms, so it doesn’t apply to you. Li’s with Sakura, so if it’s him, it doesn’t matter anyways. So, which one is it? One of them has to save the world while the other destroys it, losing his or her life. Anyone have any ideas?” Matriana asked.
“I’m almost positive that Sakura will save us, but until I see the Dark Prophecy, I can’t be sure that it’s Li that will destroy the Realms. Lloyd, do you know where I can find a copy of the Dark Prophecies?” Shadow asked.
“Sorry, but the only copy I ever saw was with Altarrin, and he always keeps it on him. So, if you want it, you’ll have to take it from him.”
“Well, now that we’re done talking, let’s do something!” Candice yelled, breaking her long silence.
“We haven’t heard any of your ideas. You must have some thought about all of this,” Sigma said, looking for more opinions.
“If you ask me, we should just leave everything to the Prophecies. They’re going to inevitably happen anyways,” Candice said gruffly.
“That’s not necessarily true. The Prophecies, whether large or small, are simply there as guides. They may predict the future, but only if the future decides to take action. I believe that it is our job, as the rulers, to make sure that the Light Prophecies come to pass, and hopefully, prevent the Dark Prophecies in the process,” Matriana said enthusiastically.
The other rulers, except Candice, nodded in agreement, and decided that they should follow Altarrin. Suddenly, Shadow asked, “Where’s Eriol? He, Meiling, and Tomoyo, with the guardians, have to be around somewhere.”
“That’s a good question. The last I saw of them was back when we first started out. Could they have gotten lost?” Sigma suggested. “This Realm does change from time to time, right?”
“Not when I’m holding it in place. This Realm hasn’t changed since you reached my castle, Sigma. If they got lost, it’s because they chose to.”
“Wait, they’re not the only ones missing. I haven’t seen any sign of Abner since I dropped him off. I don’t think he would just walk off and leave us here,” Solana said, concerned for Abner’s safety.
“Why does that name sound so familiar? I know I’ve heard it before, but not as a ruler’s name. I just can’t quite remember…” Lloyd said, trailing off.
“Sigma, what did Abner do before he was a ruler?” Tyrell asked, suddenly interested.
“Well, when he became ruler, I was about ten. He was a pretty young ruler and I was pretty young when he became one. I really don’t remember, but I’m sure he must’ve done something to earn him the status of ‘ruler of the Light Realm.’”
“What about you, Candice, do you remember?”
“I’m younger than Sigma by a couple years, and my memory’s not that great. Most history books would record something like this somewhere,” Candice replied.
“Why are you so interested all of a sudden, Tyrell?” Shadow asked.
“I don’t know. I seem to remember my father saying something about Abner before he died. I’m not sure what, though. Also, I love mysteries and history. If there’s a blank in history, I always try to fill it in,” Tyrell replied.
“Well, good luck. Now, we have some missing people, but I’m sure they’ll be alright. Abner can take care of himself, as he’s the oldest ruler here and has the most knowledge, and Eriol has all four of the guardians with him. So, our first priority is to rescue Sakura and Li from Altarrin and bring them to safety. Then, we can worry about everyone else. Any ideas on how to rescue them?” Shadow said.
“None here. Do you know where he is?” Solana asked.
“I know the general direction he’s in. However, we need some way to rescue Sakura from him. We can’t hurt her or Li. Either one of them could be the most important piece to the puzzle of these prophecies,” Shadow said, stressing their need to be careful.
“Alright, we’ll need to come up with a miraculous plan. Otherwise, there’s no way we can win,” Matriana said, beginning to pace across the clearing again.
The rest of the rulers sat and thought for a while, all realizing that they had precious little time, knowing that each second they wasted could be the second that Sakura or Li died.
“Eriol, what are you planning?” Suppi asked, hovering behind Eriol.
“We’re going to investigate. Now that I’ve been near Altarrin, I’ve felt his aura. I don’t quite understand it, so we need to go investigate.”
“How does this aura feel?” Suppi asked in his normal voice.
“I don’t know, but it’s not like anything I’ve felt before. The closest that I’ve felt is Abner’s aura, so I guess I’d describe it that way,” Eriol replied, showing his uncertainty for once.
“Are we there yet?” Nakuru whined.
“Why aren’t you two in your true forms?” Keroberos and Yue asked, staring at them disapprovingly.
“Ahh, why do we need to do that if the two of you already are?” Nakuru said in a relaxed voice.
“You shouldn’t let your guard down. You never know what might happen here,” Eriol lectured.
“Fine, if it’ll make you happy, I’ll change back to my true form,” Nakuru said, glowing and changing into Ruby Moon.
Suppi did the same, changing to Spinel and they all walked on in silence for the next few minutes. After a while, they saw a bright flash of light in the distance and made for it.
“Eriol, do you know what that was?” Spinel asked.
“I have no idea, but I felt Altarrin’s aura there,” Eriol said, walking alongside Yue.
“Well, let’s hurry!” Ruby yelled enthusiastically.
Ruby flew ahead of the rest of them, causing everyone to run to catch up. “Ruby, wait up!” Keroberos yelled.
“Why? We’re almost at where the light was!”
“You know better than that, Ruby. What’s gotten into you? It could be a trap!” Spinel cried, blocking Ruby’s way.
“I don’t care! I’ll do anything that’s more exciting than this!” Ruby yelled, her arms glowing a deep red. “Get out of my way!”
Spinel hurriedly flew from in front of Ruby, leaving Eriol to face her.
“Stop, I, as your master, command you,,” Eriol said in a soothing voice. Ruby turned a deep purple before changing forms back to Nakuru and floating gently to the ground. The group, excluding Nakuru, stopped where they were. They all gathered around Eriol, wondering what happened. “We’ll stay here for now. I don’t trust our luck to go any further,” Eriol said.
Eriol took out his staff and stood over Nakuru’s unconscious body. The staff shone a deep red as he passed it over her, muttering something under his breath. A moment later, Nakuru was outlined in the same red glow and seemed to suddenly relax.
“Ruby Moon, return to your true form!” Eriol commanded.
Nakuru quickly transformed back into Ruby Moon and groaned awake. “Wh-where am I?”
“Something happened to you earlier. It almost seemed like someone took control of you. Are you alright now?” Eriol replied.
“Yes, I’m fine. What are we going to do now?”
“We’ll set up camp for now. After a little bit, we’ll continue towards where the light was,” Eriol responded.
After a little while, they set up a makeshift camp with a tiny fire and some logs to sit on. Later on, when they grew tired, each one of them went to bed. Eriol was placed on the first guard.
Altarrin led Sakura into a dark cave and down a flight of rocky stairs. The inside of the cave smelled of rats and running water could be heard deep inside the cave. Moments later, Li grabbed Sakura by the wrist.
“Li, snap out of it!” Sakura yelled as Li shoved her into a cold cell.
“You may as well give up, Sakura. You’re mine now, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it!” Altarrin yelled as he and Li left.
Sakura sat in her cell, all alone. I can’t let this happen. Li… How can you do this? I know you’re still in there somewhere. You have to be! For the next few hours, dark thoughts ran through her mind: thoughts of Li, hurting her no matter what she did, not realizing what he was doing. Soon, she fell asleep and had dreams of the same sort. A few hours later, Altarrin returned and pulled Sakura from her cell.
“It won’t be long now, Sakura. Now, put this on,” he said, handing Sakura a large half-golden, half-silver ring.
“Wh-why?” she asked, recognizing the Ring for what it was.
“To ensure that you don’t escape. You can either put it on willingly, or I will force it on you,” Altarrin threatened.
Sakura took the Ring in her hands, holding it for a while and unsure what to do with it. “How do I put it on?” she asked.
“Use it as a bracelet. I’m sure you’ll look great with it!” Altarrin barked, laughing a malicious laugh. “If you even think of trying to escape, you will feel more than just my whip!”
Sakura put her arm through the Ring which immediately shrunk to fit her wrist. “Ow!” she yelled as it clamped down.
“You know, Sakura, I have a strong urge to punish you for escaping last time. Tell me, how would you like to be tortured?” Altarrin laughed behind his dark helmet.
Sakura shrank back into her cell, cowering in fear of what might happen. “Please, please don’t,” she whimpered.
“If you don’t choose, I’ll torture you with every method that I can think of!” Altarrin threatened.
Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t say anything. At that moment, Lloyd ran into the room. “Altarrin! They’re coming to attack us! If you don’t do something, they’ll get Sakura out!” he yelled.
“When I get back, Sakura, you better have a choice. If not…” With that, Altarrin ran up the rock stairs and out of the dark cave.
“Lloyd, please, help me. You have to help me save Li!” Sakura said in a loud whisper, desperate for any help she could get.
“Quiet, you worm. You belong to Altarrin now. If you even think, for a single second, that I would help you, you’re dead wrong. Get back in your cell!” Lloyd commanded.
Sakura turned to walk into her cell when she suddenly felt an aura form around Lloyd. He unleashed a bolt of electricity and hit Sakura in the back, thrusting her into the cell. As she landed on the cold, rock floor, she began to weep, losing all hope.
“Sakrua!” Lloyd whispered, opening the door a little. “I’m going to leave the door slightly open. Flee when you can, but you better time it right. And make it look like you escaped by yourself!”
At this, Sakura turned to Lloyd, and a new optimism filled her. “Thank you,” she murmured, filled with hope and joy. “But what about Li?”
“I can’t do anything about him. Shadow and everyone else will be east of here. I’ll lead Altarrin west and hopefully you can get away. Be careful!” Lloyd said under his breath. “I told you to get in your cell!” he yelled, slamming the metal door without latching it. When he left, the door was slightly ajar, leaving Sakura with a way out.
Thank you, Lloyd, she thought, taking out Fiery and preparing to use it. A while later, she heard Lloyd’s voice from above.
“Altarrin, they’re attacking from over there, where the clearing was. I stayed with them a while, tricking them into believing I was on their side. But, now that I’ve left, they might guess, so we have to go quickly.”
“Alright, I’ll go. You, stay and guard Sakura. We can’t risk losing her again!” Altarrin yelled.
At that moment, Sakura released her staff and melted part of the door before using Through and Fly to get out of the cave. Quickly, she flew to what she thought was west, judging by where Lloyd was and the direction in which he was waving. A moment later, a unseen force grabbed her and pulled her to the ground.
“Aaahh!” she yelled, fearing that she had been captured again.
“Shhh!” Candice hissed, as Sigma released Sakura from the chain of Earth energy he was using to bind her.
“Looks like Lloyd’s plan worked. So, he does have what it takes to hide people’s magical auras from his former master. He’s pretty strong for a self-taught sorcerer,” Matriana said, impressed.
“I don’t understand it. My father knew every person in our Realm that could access the Power Sphere, and he gave me that list. Since he died, I’ve continued the list, striking off those that are dead and adding the ones that are new. However, I never saw Lloyd’s name on it,” Tyrell said.
“So, he uses Thunder energy. Well, you only find people when they’re over ten years of age. Perhaps he left your Realm before then,” Sigma said.
“Sakura, come here,” Shadow said, leading Sakura off into the woods.
“What is it, Shadow?” Sakura asked as she followed.
“I know this must be hard for you, with Li on the other side, brainwashed, but I need you to fight against him. I’m sure you can get through to him somehow. Can you do that?”
“I… Fight Li? But… How can I… I can’t…” Sakura said, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Sakura, look at me. Sakura…” Shadow said as Sakura fell into his arms and cried.
“This isn’t… fair… I… don’t want to… to fight. Why, Shadow?” Sakura asked between sobs.
“I need you to. It’s the only way Sakura. You don’t have to hurt him. All I need you to do is be there and attack him with something. Use Windy, just bind him like you did with Yue,” Shadow suggested.
“H-how do you know about… about Yue?” Sakura asked, calming down a little.
“Are you still surprised when I know something about you? You should be used to it by now,” Shadow said, smiling at Sakura.
“Ok, I’ll do it. So long as I don’t have to hurt him,” Sakura said, filled with determination.
“Good, then we shouldn’t have much of a problem getting through to him. Oh, Sakura, there’s one other thing,” Shadow said as they headed back towards the other rulers.
“Yes?”
“When this is all over, I promise both you and Li will be alive. I will protect you with my life.”
“Thank you, Shadow,” Sakura replied, smiling again.
“Shadow!” Sigma yelled. “Come listen to this!”
Shadow walked over to what looked like a long, thin string of rock. “What’s this?”
“Tyrell, Matriana, Candice, and I made this to try to listen to Lloyd and Altarrin. It’s not very clear, but we can make out some of what they’re saying. It seems that Altarrin came back after not being able to find them and Lloyd told him that Sakura escaped. Here, listen,” Sigma said.
Shadow bent down and put the end of the odd string of rock into his ear.
“Ishe didstendn’t knowsts thasts shesh’d be able to escape,” Lloyd said on the other end.
“Well, now we’re going to have to find her again!” Altarrin yelled.
“There, I fixed it so you can hear it better. You guys listen, I’ve got some preparing to do,” Shadow said as he gave the ‘string’ back to Sigma. Sigma took the string and pressed it to his ear, listening closely and marveling at the clarity of what he heard. Meanwhile, Shadow walked back into the woods and motioned for a few of the rulers to come with him. “Ok, we need to start preparing. The sooner we end this, the better it will be. Maybe we can prevent this Dark Prophecy from being fulfilled.”
“How do you want us to prepare? I’m sure we can set up a few traps, but otherwise, I don’t have any other ideas,” Solana said.
“Well, let’s start by making a pool of our energy. We’re more effective when we do that. After that, let’s set up some traps and move everyone into the forest where we can easily hide. It shouldn’t take Altarrin more than ten minutes to get here, so we have to work quickly,” Shadow replied, already taking hold of the Dark energy and building an energy pool with it.
The other rulers did the same and soon, they had a large pool of energy deep in the forest. Then, they set to work building traps throughout the forest and hid everyone in the trees. “Remember, no one is to attack unless you are attacked first. We don’t want to let him know where we are, and we want to lead him as far from Sakura as possible. Make sure you don’t hurt Lloyd as he is on our side,” Shadow said moments before Sigma saw Altarrin not too far off in the darkness.
“Shadow, Altarrin’s near. He’s less than a mile from us!” Sigma whispered as he dropped back into his tree.
“Ok, everyone be quiet. When he gets here, remember where Sakura is and whatever you do, don’t point him in that direction!” Shadow said.
At that moment, Sakura gave a shrill scream. All the rulers except Candice, who was told to keep watch, ran to Sakura to see what was wrong. When they approached, they saw Sakura lying on the ground with a hand around her wrist.
“Sakura! What’s wrong?” Shadow asked.
“It hurts!” she yelled, crying.
Shadow loosened Sakura’s grip on her arm to see what she was talking about and found the Fire Ring clamped down on her arm. “Get Candice!” Shadow yelled as the Ring started to glow a bright red.
Moments later, Candice appeared and stared at the Ring in horror. “What am I supposed to do? The only way I can get rid of that is with the help of all the rulers and we’re missing Abner!”
“Well, you have to try!” Solana yelled, holding Sakura close.
Candice nodded and turned to Sakura, pulling some energy from the pool the rulers had made earlier. She fed this energy through her Anti-ring and into the Fire Ring. After a few seconds, the Ring loosened and fell off of Sakura’s charred arm.
“Good job, Candice,” Matriana said as Candice collapsed in her arms.
“Sakura, are you alright?” Sigma asked, helping Sakura up.
“I’ll be fine in a bit,” Sakura said, leaning on Sigma’s arm.
“Leave her here for now. She’s too weak to get up at the moment,” Shadow said. “You didn’t break anything falling out of the tree, did you?”
“No, I’m fine. I just need some rest. Thanks for helping,” she said before falling asleep.
After Shadow was sure that Sakura had fallen asleep, he turned to the other rulers. “This is bad. Altarrin had the Fire Ring, which means he’s probably collected a few of the others by now. He’s also taken my Anti-ring from Sakura so he can find the Dark Ring. If this continues, he’ll be able to summon all the Spirits and we’ll have a hard time keeping Sakura safe,” Shadow said.
“What do you think we should do?” Solana asked.
“I think we need to go find the other Rings before he does. If not…”
“Fools! I already have them! And now that I have your Anti-ring, Shadow, I can get the last one!” Altarrin yelled, sending streams of energy at all the rulers and knocking them into trees. Only Shadow and Sigma were unaffected by Altarrin’s attack as they were prepared with an energy shield.
“Altarrin!” Sigma yelled, creating a large earthquake and cracking the rock beneath Altarrin’s feet. “You won’t get her this time!” he yelled as a large slab of stone materialized above Altarrin and pushed him into the crack.
“Stay on guard!’ Shadow yelled as the other rulers were freed. “He’s still around.”
The conscious rulers all pulled from their Power Sphere to refill the pool of energy and pulled from it. A moment later, Altarrin erupted from the ground next to Sakura, grabbed her, and took to the air.
“Extalidor!” he yelled as a large black pegasus flew to him. Moments later, he and Sakura disappeared into the darkness in the east.
“This is getting repetitive,” Matriana said. “Every time, we save Sakura, then he takes her back, and we go after her again. When is this going to end?”
“This will end when we have Sakura here with us. Safe. Until then, we have to go after her if we want the Realms to stay in one piece. If you have any ideas about keeping her safe, I’ll listen to them,” Shadow retaliated.
“When did you become the leader of this group? Why should we do anything that you say?” Candice asked, embracing the pool of energy.
“You don’t have to do anything I say. If you’d like to run up to Altarrin and politely ask him to hand over Sakura, be my guest. If you don’t like my plans, don’t follow them and try your own, but remember, if Sakura falls to him, it will be your fault. If the Realms get blown to pieces, it will be your fault,” Shadow said, turning his back on Candice.
Candice grew infuriated and unleashed all of the pool’s energy at Shadow, hoping to catch him off guard. Seconds before the energy hit, Shadow leapt into the air and landed after the energy had collided with a tree, setting it on fire.
“I never said you had to stay with us, Candice. If you prefer to work alone, go ahead,” Shadow said, walking out of the burning forest as more trees caught fire.
Sigma followed Shadow out with Matriana and Tyrell. Solana stayed with Candice, pulling her arm in vain. “Candice, we have to get going!”
Well, this chapter is less late than the last one. I think. The chapter, I believe, was supposed to be posted 4/30/05. Anyhow, I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. I’ve decided to just point out a few things that you can think about and hopefully you’ll know the answer to the challenge soon.
1) What’s going to happen to Sakura now?
2) Great, Candice and Shadow are fighting. Somehow, that seems to me to be a bad thing.
3) Where’s Abner???
4) What was that bright light that Eriol saw? The rulers didn’t mention it…
Well, that’s all of that. The challenge is still the same. Basically, who is Shadow, what does he want with Sakura, why does he do what he does, and… hmm that’s it.