Author’s Note (A/N): Yes, I know this chapter is late. Scroll to the bottom if you want the apologies. Other than that, enjoy the chapter and then read the apologies (or just not read the apologies and pretend like the chapter is on time)
Lloyd went over to Sakura’s side and helped rescue her. Sakura was rescued by Shadow and Tyrell, but then Li was taken under Altarrin’s control (Gee, that’s not good). Then, Sakura was taken prisoner again and Lloyd goes to rescue her (this is actually chapter 18. The other was chapter 17). Eriol seems to be separated from them and he sees some flash of light and feels Altarrin’s aura from it before Ruby goes crazy. Sakura is saved again and recaptured. On to the new chapter!
by Shadowpheonix
“Shadow, what are we going to do now? You’re the only one that knows where Altarrin is. You must have something planned!” Solana said despairingly.
“Sorry, nothing this time. We need someone to tell us exactly what Altarrin’s going to do. Where did Lloyd go?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t show up when Altarrin did. Let’s check the trap that we set for him,” Matriana suggested, making for the entrance to the forest.
“He’s not there, don’t bother,” Tyrell replied. “I don’t feel his Thunder energies over there. I think he may not have come, or maybe, he already knows where Altarrin was heading and made for it already.”
“Well, that doesn’t help us any. I need to know exactly what Altarrin plans to do!” Shadow said, rather frustrated.
“What about Eriol? Whatever happened to him?” Sigma asked. “I’m sure he has some information after being gone for so long.”
“If you’d like, you can go look for him. I don’t think he knows anymore than we do at the moment. As for me, I’m going to start planning our next attack. Altarrin’s still a lot stronger than us.”
“Well, we’ll leave you here to plan. The rest of us will do something productive!” Candice said, leading the other rulers away from the forest.
“Candice, wait!” Solana yelled after her. “What are we leaving to do?”
Candice stopped to think for a while, not really having a plan other than getting away from Shadow. “We’re going to look for Eriol. If anyone wants to come with me, they’d better hurry!” With that, she walked off again, followed by Solana and Sigma.
“Well, I guess that’s the best plan we have right now. Shadow! Don’t leave the forest if you don’t have to. I’d rather not have to look for you later,” Sigma said.
“Alright. I’ll be right here thinking over some strategy that might work. Why aren’t the two of you going?” he asked Tyrell and Matriana.
“As much as I’d like to go instead of sitting around and thinking, I really don’t think it will help any to find Eriol. Besides, why do we need four people to find him?” Tyrell replied.
“Whatever. If you guys want to stay, you guys can stay. Until we come up with something, I don’t plan on attacking Altarrin, though Candice might.”
“What did you say about me?” Candice yelled, a few feet off.
“I said that you’d probably attack Altarrin without a plan,” Shadow replied.
Candice turned her back on Shadow and stalked off with Sigma and Solana. “Stupid Shadow!” she mumbled.
“He’s not so bad. It really could be worse,” Sigma replied. “Anyways, I’m sure Eriol’s nearby. He can’t have gone too far.”
“No, but we did,” Solana said. “I’ll take Zephyr and another person with me. Who wants to come?”
“I don’t,” Sigma and Candice said at the same time.
“Oh, come on! It’ll be easier if we have two people searching from the sky!” Solana cried indignantly.
“That’s fine with me,” Sigma said, cutting a platform of rock from the ground and getting on top of it. “Coming, Candice?”
“That, I’ll do. I’m sorry, Solana. I just don’t like riding on pegasi. I prefer solid ground under my feet. Or a dragon,” Candice said, taking Sigma’s hand and stepping up onto the platform.
“Fine…” Solana whined, taking to the air. “I’ll go south, along the way we came. You two go slightly to the east or west.”
“Alright,” Candice replied. “Let’s go, Sigma.”
“Sure. Just like old times, right?” Sigma replied.
“It has been a while since we’ve done this. I think the last time you transported any of us like this was back before the war,” Candice said, deep in thought.
Sigma stayed silent, remembering everything that had happened in the war, but particularly the last battle. After a few minutes, he refocused himself and started looking for Eriol on the ground. “I’ll look off on this side. You take that side,” he said, looking off into the east, towards Solana. “Solana! Go further to the east!” Sigma instructed.
Solana turned off to her left, heading a little more southeast. For the next few hours, Sigma, Candice and Solana searched for Eriol. Suddenly, Sigma spotted Yue a few feet under him and let himself down. “Candice, there’s one of the guardians. I’m sure he knows where Eriol is,” Sigma said.
As Sigma lowered himself to the ground, Yue spotted them and immediately formed a bow and arrow in his hands, nocking the arrow and drawing the bowstring to his ear. When he saw who it was, he let the arrow and bow disappear and turned to lead them to Eriol with a nod.
Sigma and Candice got off the floating platform and walked behind Yue until the reached Eriol. “Eriol, where have you been?” Sigma asked when he saw Eriol on the floor.
“Everyone disappeared as soon as I walked out of the castle. I couldn’t find anyone so I just walked along until I saw a bright flash of light and felt Altarrin nearby. And now, I’m here,” he replied.
“What about Meiling and Tomoyo? Where have they gone?”
“They’re not with you?” Eriol asked.
“No, they’ve disappeared too. Shadow says that he’s been holding the entire Realm in place for the past few days. I wonder how you, or they, for that matter, got lost,” Sigma thought aloud.
“Well, either Shadow’s lying, like I think he is, or he’s so pathetically weak that he can’t hold his own Realm the way he wants, also like I think he is!” Candice said, growing angry at Shadow.
“I don’t think Shadow was lying to you. When you guys disappeared, I felt Altarrin’s aura. Actually, it wasn’t exactly like his aura. The aura seemed to be a blend of Altarrin’s and Abner’s. Another thing I realized since the attack on Shadow’s castle is that Abner’s aura is a lot like Altarrin’s and I don’t understand it. Perhaps Altarrin originally came from the Light Realm, but I don’t think that’s why.”
“So, you’re saying that Altarrin somehow separated you from everyone, which probably means that he’s the one who separated Tomoyo and Meiling as well. Is there some reason that you trust Shadow so much?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to explain. You see, the aura around him, with his odd version of the Clow Cards accounted for, is very familiar, but yet not. I think perhaps he’s shielding his aura from me, but I know that it’s familiar as a friend, not an enemy. Other than that, there’s no reason,” Eriol replied.
Candice stood for a while, not sure exactly what to think. After a while, she sat down and pondered what Eriol said.
“What did you say about a bright light?” Candice asked as she stood up.
“As I was walking, I saw a bright flash of light and felt Altarrin’s presence. When I started heading towards it, Ruby, my moon guardian, started acting weird until I cast a protective spell over her. This time, I knew it was Altarrin’s aura that I felt, but I can’t explain the flash of light,” Eriol said halfheartedly.
“I see. Is there anything else unusual that’s happened?”
“No. So far, that’s all. However, we need to look for Tomoyo and Meiling. Do you have any news concerning where they might be?”
“No, but we do have some interesting stuff to tell you. First off, we saved Sakura, but then Altarrin recaptured her again. Second, it seems that Sakura has already found the cards described in the prophecy. We also found out about the Dark Prophecies which tell about a foreigner who brings destruction to the Realms. But, more importantly, we’d like to know what you make of the cards that Sakura has. According to Shadow, they seem to disrupt the magic of Clow and in order of Sakura to even use her magic, she needed help from the Dark magic that Shadow taught her to use,” Sigma said, expecting Eriol to have some answer.
“I’ll have to see these cards. Without that, there’s not much I can do. Still, we need to find Tomoyo and Meiling first.”
“Chances are that they’re captured. Anyways, let me get this straight. When you were separated from us, you felt a presence like Altarrin’s?” Candice asked.
“Yes. It was actually a mix between Abner’s and Altarrin’s. Don’t you feel that Abner’s and Altarrin’s auras are eerily similar?”
“No. I’ve never felt an aura from Altarrin except when he’s using his magic, but then, his aura isn’t one that I’ve felt before. Abner’s aura is always present and is the aura of someone who uses Light magic and energies a lot.” Sigma began to pace back and forth, flinging little pebbles through the air as he thought. “But you can’t be suggesting that Abner’s on Altarrin’s side?”
“Well, I think I know why you don’t feel their auras. It seems that you, and the rest of the rulers, only feel a person’s magical aura and can identify them that way. In other words, if I start using Light energy, then my aura, to you, would feel like Abner’s. However, I feel a person’s actual aura, along with Sakura and Li. Their magical aura still exists; I just don’t look at it. In answer to your other question, I don’t know. I don’t think he is, but I’m not ruling it out either.” When Eriol finished, he got up and walked away from the two rulers, beckoning his two guardians to follow him. “Yue, you and Keroberos go with them. We need to start looking. It will be easier if we split up to search.”
“Yes, however we need to get back to Shadow with some of this information. I’ll go back and tell him, then start looking afterwards. Candice, you go look. I suppose you’ll have to walk,” Sigma said, embracing the invisible Earth Sphere’s energies. He carved out a piece of stone and stepped onto it, making it hover a few feet above the ground.
“That’s alright. If only I knew where Flame went. I’ll call to him, and if he doesn’t arrive in the next few minutes, I’ll walk,” Candice said. “Eriol, whatever happened to Phyre?”
“I left him back at the castle a while ago. If you can call her too, please.”
“No problem. Bye, Sigma!” Candice said, waving as she pulled on the energies from the Fire Sphere. She sent out invisible streams of Fire energy in every direction, calling for any of her dragons within a two mile radius. Moments later, Phyre appeared on the horizon and landed next to Eriol, lowering its head and folding its wings.
“Well, there she is. I’ll wait a bit for Flame before I start walking. I’ll be fine, so you can go now.”
“Ok, I’ll see you back at Shadow after we’ve found everyone. Can you tell me where he is?”
“He’s over there. Just go in a straight line that way and you’ll find him. He should be right outside a burning, or burnt, forest,” Candice said, pointing to the northeast.
“Thank you. I’ll leave you now,” Eriol said, flying off with Phyre.
He’s a quick learner, she thought. He already has Phyre listening to him. Well, off to find Sakura’s two friends.
Meiling groaned awake and turned to Tomoyo. “Tomoyo? Where are we?” she asked, waking up her sleeping friend.
With a small, painful groan, Tomoyo woke up and looked around. “I don’t know. The last thing I remember is… is getting ready to go with all the rulers out to find Sakura.”
“Me too. I wonder what happened,” Meiling said, getting up and helping Tomoyo up.
“Ow!” Tomoyo yelled as she stumbled onto Meiling.
“What’s wrong?” Meiling asked in a frantic voice.
“I think I twisted my ankle. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t. Here, let me help you.” Meiling got under Tomoyo’s left arm and helped support that side of her. “Come on, let’s move while we can,” she said, helping Tomoyo limp along.
After a long while, Tomoyo asked to stop, and the two of them sat down for a while and talked. A moment later, they set out again, having no plans other than to go in a straight line until the find something.
“I wonder how long we were asleep,” Tomoyo thought aloud about half an hour later.
“I’m sure it wasn’t too long. Are… are you worried?”
“A little, but I know Sakura will make it through. She always does,” Tomoyo replied.
After that, the two didn’t talk for a long while. The stopped periodically and continued on as soon as they had enough strength. A few hours later, Tomoyo tripped on a slab of stone.
“Tomoyo! Are you ok?” Meiling asked concernedly.
“I’m fine. Just give me a few minutes,” Tomoyo replied. The two of them sat on the strange slab of stone. Suddenly, the slabs shone brightly and Tomoyo disappeared.
“Tomoyo? Tomoyo! Where are you?” Meiling asked hysterically. After a few minutes of searching, Meiling found no trace of Tomoyo and sat down, tears creeping up on her.
“Hey! You’re one of Sakura’s friends, right?”
Meiling shot up, looking around for the voice.
“I’m over here,” the voice said as Abner stepped out into the open.
“You, you’re Abner, the Light Ruler, right? Don’t sneak up on people like that!”
“Sorry. I saw your friend disappear a few seconds ago. Do you have any idea what happened?” Abner asked thoughtfully.
“No, but can you help me get her back, please?”
For the next half hour or so, they two of them worked together to try to figure out what happened to Tomoyo. After a while, Abner sat down and thought about the slab of stone while Meiling continued digging around the stone, hoping to find some clue.
“Just give up for now. Get some rest. You can look again later, but there’s no use wearing yourself out now. Besides, I’m sure she’ll turn up sometime,” Abner said, lying down to sleep.
After a few more moments of searching, Meiling decided to go to sleep and start searching again tomorrow. As she dozed off, she saw Abner slowly get up and pace around.
“No! Get away!” Meiling yelled, suddenly standing as a veiled man threw her into a cage with Tomoyo. “Tomoyo! What are you doing here?”
Tomoyo stared back at Meiling with vacant eyes, seeing her, but not. “Come in, Meiling,” she said monotonously.
“What’s wrong?” Meiling asked frantically. The veiled man had disappeared and she was free to go, but something kept her. Something…
“Come.” Tomoyo’s voice took on a mystical tone as she said this, echoing through Meiling’s head.
Those eyes. So deep… Must follow the eyes… I must…
“T-Tomoyo,” Meiling said in a trancelike tone.
In the distance, Meiling heard maniacal laughter and vaguely saw the veiled man come up from behind her, tie her arms together and drag her through the dirt. Nothing mattered; only those deep, dark eyes that didn’t belong on Tomoyo’s face.
Those eyes…
Moments later, she was flying through the air, riding a dark, black pegasus. The world sped by in a blur and, in the distance, she could hear the veiled man talking and herself answering.
They landed and Meiling got up, following the veiled man, unable to control herself. She stepped into a cold, dark cell and dimly noted the presence of rats about half the size of her foot. The veiled man’s soothing voice called to her and she answered. Moments later, she was lying on the floor, falling deeper and further from reality.
Those… eyes…
Tomoyo walked carelesssly through the empty hallway, surrounded by prison cells. She found Meiling’s cell and stepped inside, walking over to the seemingly asleep girl.
“Our master calls,” she said in quiet, almost whispering, tone.
Meiling got to her feet in a swift, lucid movement. The two of them walked up the stairs, staring blankly ahead, their feet taking them where they were to go without any thought. As they approached the top, a man wearing a black cloak and veil commanded them to hurry and they obeyed.
“What is your objective?” the man asked.
“We will capture the victim at all costs. We are insignificant, so long as the Great Concordat is fulfilled. We will bring the one you seek,” Tomoyo and Meiling answered simultaneously.
“Good, then go!” the man commanded, turning in a blur with his cloak swirling behind him as he walked off.
Tomoyo and Meiling turned and headed northwest, away from the veiled man. Creatures scrambled out of their way as they approached, and the air seemed to stand still where they were, even if around the wind shrieked ferociously. Soon, they arrived at a castle, crumbling in parts, but well maintained in others. They walked past it, not seeing any connection between it and their target.
Hours later, they continued to walk, stopping only when their bodies could not go at a sufficient pace without some sustenance. Finally, they arrived. A clearing with a few stumps set neatly around what used to be a campfire stood before them. They walked to the middle of the clearing, disappointed at not finding their target here. Moments later, they found tracks leading to the east and some to the northwest.
The two follow the tracks to the east for a while until they suddenly disappear next to four large, four-toed, feet. At that, they turned around and followed the other tracks, leading to the northwest. Soon, these tracks ended the same way the others did and the two continued on in that direction, heading in a straight line and never changing their course for anything.
After half an hour, they spotted a large dragon headed for them and stopped walking. Atop the dragon was a woman with flaming red hair, calling out their names.
“Tomoyo, Meiling! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” the woman said as they landed.
“Candice, do you know where Sakura is?” Tomoyo asked, suddenly in her normal voice.
“Yes, but we don’t know exactly where she is. She’s been captured by Altarrin again, but we’re working on getting her out. Anyhow, where have the two of you been?”
At that moment, Candice got off her dragon and stared into Tomoyo’s soulless eyes. “Tomoyo, something’s wrong with you. Wake up!” Candice yelled.
“I’m sorry you had to notice,” Meiling said in a hollow voice, suddenly behind Candice. Meiling emitted a potent aura and Candice was flung five feet away, into a tree.
“You won’t be needing your dragon anymore,” Tomoyo said with the same hollow voice.
The two of them produces an odd, glowing rope and tied Candice’s hands to the tree before extending the same aura over the dragon, forcing it to do what they wanted.
Eriol flew over the land, scanning every bit of it with his sharp eyes. Kero and Yue followed him and searched the ground to the north while Ruby and Spinel searched the south. After hours of searching, they turned to the northwest and decided to head towards Shadow, having not found anything.
“Eriol! Come on down!” Sigma cried as Eriol approached the burnt forest.
Eriol directed Phyre downwards and dismounted. “Has Candice returned yet?”
“No, I think she’s still out searching. Tomoyo and Meiling haven’t shown up either,” Sigma replied, leading Eriol to the rest of the rulers.
“What did Shadow say when you told him about Abner’s aura?”
“He didn’t say anything. He just nodded and turned to stare off into the distance,” Sigma said. Then, he lowered his voice. “Tell me what you feel from Shadow,” Sigma whispered.
“I really can’t. I just know, somehow, that he’s not our enemy. Well, at least not mine. I know I’ve felt his aura, or something like it, somewhere before.”
“That’s alright. Well, make yourself comfortable; this is as close to a bed as your going to get,” Sigma said, pointing to a patch of short, soft grass.
“Thank you, but I don’t want to sleep right now. I need to talk to Shadow for a while.”
“I don’t think he wants anyone talking to him. He seemed kind of… distant the last time I spoke with him. If you want to try, he’s over there.”
“Thank you. Please watch for Tomoyo and Meiling and let me know if they arrive,” Eriol said, walking off in Shadow’s direction.
“No problem. Good luck with Shadow,” Sigma replied as he turned back to his post.
Eriol walked for a few more minutes before spotting Shadow sitting on the edge of the blackened forest.
“Hello Eriol,” Shadow said without looking.
“How did you know it was me?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t? Tell me something, Eriol. Who do you think I am?”
“You’re Shadow, the ruler of the Dark Realm. Why do you ask?”
Shadow continued to stare off into the distance, seemingly ignoring Eriol. A few moments later, he got up, turned to Eriol, and held out The Fiery.
“You must be curious, by now, as to where I got these,” Shadow said. “Do you have any idea?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter. They were made by Clow, if altered by you. You are their rightful owner, and therefore, I am not worried. Now, can I ask a few questions?”
Shadow stared back into the distance, listening for Eriol’s question.
“Where do you come from, how did you get here, and who is Sakura to you?” Eriol asked.
“You know that I won’t answer those three questions. I’ll let you puzzle them out. Maybe you’ll get them before I let Sakura know,” Shadow said, sitting back on his log. “Is there anything else?”
“No, that’s all,” Eriol said, tuning away. He’s very strong if he can hide his aura from me so well.
Eriol decided to go wait for Tomoyo and Meiling, hoping they would show up soon.
“Eriol! That’s Flame up there!” Sigma cried as Eriol approached.
Eriol quickly ran up to Sigma and saw Flame. Immediately he felt the aura of Meiling and Tomoyo and was relieved. “Meiling and Tomoyo are up there,” Eriol said, waiting for them to land.
Moments later, the dragon landed in front of them and the two girls dismounted. Eriol stared at them for a few minutes before he noticed a strange aura coming from them and a missing Candice.
“Is something wrong, Eriol?” Sigma asked, noticing Eriol’s sudden severity.
“There’s something wrong with them, and Candice is missing. I feel a strange aura coming from them.”
“I’m sure your just imagining it. They look perfectly fine to me. Candice probably just leant them Flame for a while after landing somewhere. She used to enjoy walking a lot more than riding,” Sigma said.
“Still, I think it’s a good idea to be careful. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Don’t worry about that. Here in the Dark Realm, I never let my guard down,” Sigma replied.
“Hello, Eriol,” Tomoyo said as they walked up to him.
“Hello. Tomoyo, is there something wrong?” Eriol asked.
“No, why?” Tomoyo said in an innocent tone.
“It’s nothing. Where are you going?”
“We want to talk to Shadow about Sakura. Candice lent us her dragon and told us that Sakura was recaptured again,” Meiling answered as they continued on towards Shadow.
The two girls walked past Eriol and headed straight for Shadow. Suddenly, Eriol asked, “How do you know that’s where Shadow is?”
Tomoyo turned around and stared at Eriol through suddenly soulless eyes as Meiling continued on towards Shadow. “I’m sorry you had to notice, Eriol,” Tomoyo said as a cold aura surrounded her. Instantly Eriol’s staff was in his hand and he formed a shield around Sigma and himself before chanting a few words in attempt to knock Tomoyo out. Tomoyo continued her attack despite Eriol’s constant attempt to render her unconscious.
“Tomoyo, you’re in there somewhere!” Eriol said, struggling to keep his shield up.
“Yes, I’m right here,” Tomoyo replied, bombarding Eriol’s shield with still more power. A few seconds later, Tomoyo broke through Eriol’s shield and unleashed a stream of energy at him and Sigma. Moments before it hit, Sigma created a large, rock barrier in the energy’s path, successfully blocking the attack.
“Eriol, do you know what’s going on?” Sigma asked as he created a large, transparent dome of pure gold around him and Eriol.
“Someone is controlling her, but I can’t tell who. Whoever it is, they don’t use any magic that I’ve seen before.”
“This is weird. It’s even different from Altarrin’s magic and you own. Tomoyo didn’t have any magical powers before, did she?”
“No, she didn’t. Whoever, or whatever’s controlling her is using it though her. There should be some flow of energy from Tomoyo back to the person that’s controlling her. The only problem is I can’t find it at all,” Eriol said.
“Well, we better think of something fast,” Sigma replied, straining under the effort of keeping up his shield.
“I don’t have any idea what to do. Sigma, can you see the stream of energy?”
“N-no,” Sigma said, the pressure of maintaining the shield slowing his speech. Moments later, he gave in to the pressure and the shield collapsed, exposing them to Tomoyo’s blast of energy and blowing them ten feet away. As Eriol lost consciousness, he cast a small, tracking spell around Tomoyo, making sure he could find her again.
Well, this is another one of those really late chapters. It’s all my homework’s fault. At the moment, I’ll be writing slowly, but… oh… say 2 weeks later, I’ll be back to my old writing speed, if not better. Summer vacation!!! Anyhow, I’m sorry for how late this chapter is. The next chapter will probably be up in about 2 weeks because of my stupid finals. Until then, enjoy this chapter and think a about the following:
Altarrin’s aura is like Abner’s? Well… that doesn’t seem too good…
Where did Tomoyo disappear to, and how did she manage to disappear?
Where was Abner when Meiling was captured by whoever captured her?
Who’s controlling Meiling and Tomoyo? If it’s Altarrin, then who are they after? It seems like they’re after Sakura, but then they can’t be working for Altarrin… hmm…
Wonder what’ll happen to Shadow when Meiling arrives. Tomoyo seems to be pretty strong if she can take on Sigma and Eriol single-handedly…
Well, now for the condensed version of the challenge. Who is Shadow, what does/did he want with Sakura, what’s he hiding, what’s really going on… etc.?