Dragon's Eye, Phoenix' Wing

Chapter 1

The country had prospered greatly through that year and so had the economy. There was a joy in the air that Van had treasured. After all the years of coming darkness and the threat of destruction, peace had come at last.

At least now the days bore a sincere sign of brightness. Now the term " Good morning!" is no longer ironic. There was no longer a sad aura about Gaea. There was a happier one now. Bright and joyful-

Rustle.

The time of many dangers had long passed but Van was accustomed to standing his guard when faced with the unknown. He didn't bother to draw his sword, heck, it might be simply one of the deer. The dragons had all been slain and they are nothing to worry about, and without them nothing could actually harm him.



In truth the child knew what this place was and was not afraid of it. He knew what it had gone through and what kind of period it was now. He knew who the man was, knew what the meadow was, and knew that the man was slightly alarmed. He didn't care though, he wanted to get out of the thick trees and into the fresh air.

When he stepped out of the bushes he took some time to study Van. He watched and wondered when Van would relax and that tense aura would turn into curiosity. Deciding he did not want to be interrogated, the child ran swiftly past. Briefly he wondered when he would return to Earth again, then he decided he did not want to anyways. He had no friends. No family. What's the use?



Van caught the strange boy by the arm. He wanted a good look at him. The boy had dark brown hair and a fair face, with golden eyes that glowed. It turned dark brown for a minute before shining brightly again.
" Who are you?" Van asked.

He saw a flicker of trouble in the golden eyes and they darted back and forth in alarm.
" What is your name?" For some reason Van felt drawn to the boy, as he had been drawn to Hitomi who had gone back to the Mystic Moon. The pull towards the child was different, though.
" Syaoran." The child answered softly. " Li Syaoran."

The boy wihdrew his arm.
" Where did you come from?" Van blinked. That was a strange attire. The memory of Hitomi came back to him. " The Mystic Moon?!"
" It shouldn't be that strange." Was the boy's queer reply. " Gaea is linked to it."
" But why?" Van asked.
" A will. A wish. A wind." Syaoran answered, before running off.
" Matte!" Van cried. " Have you heard of a girl named Hitomi?"
" She is coming when I go." Was the young child's answer, before the boy disappeared.

Van was stunned.



It really was odd, now that the boy thought of it, how peaceful the place is now, after so much blood and pain in the past few years. He picked up a flower and twirled in in his hands aimlessly. He could very well die off here.

A rustle.

Syaoran turned around and frowned. There are snakes here?

He held out his hand and the snake crawled on obediently without harming him. Syaoran smiled sadly.
" You and I have been through a lot." He said to the snake. " Lost everything to gain the one great thing that is least important to us."

The child let himself fall to his knees and leaned back against the tree trunk, petting the snake.
" If the humans see me with you they'll know I'm a demon." He said simply. " I'd rather die out here than in prison, right precious?" He chuckled. " Gollum. Hah." He let the snake down, who circled him, unwilling to leave him.
" Come along lassie." He said to the snake. " It would do us both good to separate now before things get serious."

After some coaxing the snake left and the child was alone.

For a moment all was still. The child looked up at the sky and then closed his eyes, tears leaking out. For the first time, in a long while, the boy allowed himself to cry. But the people in Gaea wouldn't care. He didn't want them to care. There was no point in bringing despair to the people who had only just found joy.

Why did he feel so hopeless in such a wonderful place?

Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes. And it wasn't because of him.



Van looked around at the throneroom, secretly proud. Fanelia had been hard to set up again but he had done it and the country was blooming.
" Your Majesty." Said the priest of Machnat. " The Gods call for another offering..."



" Hitomi!" Hitomi turned at the sound of her name. Her best friend ran up to her.
" Hitomi! Good heavens! I was looking everywhere for you!"
" Huh? Why?"
" Sensei wants you to go to him. I hope you didn't do anything rash! Not after all the days you were absent!"

Hitomi flinched. It was several months after she got back. Van and she sensed each other from time to time but these days she was just too busy. She had no time for trouble!

She suddenly stopped. A vision! But on Earth? Why?

" Syaoran-kun!" a girl called, her auburn hair waving as she ran up. " Syaoran-kun, I was looking everywhere for you!"
" I noticed." Said a boy, whose eyes were golden brown. " Why did you come here?"
" Oni-chan told me." The girl was suddenly quiet.
" I knew he would." Answered Syaoran. " That baka could never keep his mouth shut."
" Don't say that!" The girl protested. " If Oni-chan hadn't told me-"
" So he told you. What then?" Syaoran interrupted. The girl was silent.
"It's not the same anymore!" Syaoran turned away. " It's not like your stupid cards can bring them back and wala, everything's back to normal. Things have changed."

The girl stood there for a moment.

" What are you going to do now?" She asked.
" I don't know." Syaoran answered. " I don't know."

There was a scene change. Hitomi found herself in a dark room with moonlight streaming from the windows. She saw a young boy, his golden eyes glowing in the dark rise up from bed. He suddenly screamed and began crying uncontrollably. Footsteps were heard.

" Syaoran?!" The door opened and another boy with glasses came in, followed by the auburn haired girl and a dark haired girl, all in pajamas. " Syaoran, what's wrong?" The boy asked.

But Syaoran could only sit there and cry. The boy rushed over to him and wrapped his arms around him. Hitomi saw that Syaoran was trembling.

" Syaoran, Syao-chan, don't cry. We're all here. Everything's alright, just tell us what scared you. I know you're scared of something. We're here to protect you. Syaoran? Syao-chan? It's alright. It's alright, just tell us what's the matter..."

For a long while the boy could do nothing but keep crying, with the other boy holding him. The girls sat by his bedside and also crooned and soothed him, and gradually the sobbing child calmed down enough to point one finger at the wall while huddled against the other boy's body.

" Oh..." The other boy blinked. " It's only a shadow, Syao-chan..."



Hitomi then saw a city of houses and mansions, crumbling into dust by some odd light. The destruction was so like that of Gaea that she shivered and nearly screamed. She thought of the boy shivering at night and knew instantly that his family was among the demolishment, and a single tear escaped from her care and trickled down her cheek.

The scene changed. The child, Syaoran, was on the phone, speaking in a strange language, probably Chinese. He slowly hung up and sat down heavily on his bed. The window was open and the curtains waved with the wind, and she noticed a shiver go along the child's body. Hitomi longed to take the boy into her arms and comfort him the best she could but for some reason she couldn't move. She saw how the boy's eyes had become dark brown and held a dead expression.

Then she saw the child suddenly pick up the phone and dial furiously. She heard the faint sound of ringing, and a rough voice answer.
" Moshi moshi? Kinomoto residence."
" Help me." She heard the boy suddenly sob. " Onegai!"



There was a scene change again. This time, there was a tall boy standing outside in the hall, ringing the bell. His face held an expression of perplexity and concern. She noticed that he was younger then she was; he was around seventeen or eighteen, and Hitomi blushed at the thought that he was very handsome.

The tall teenager's expression turned into one of relief when the door finally opened, but it quickly changed to horror. Hitomi nearly cried out herself. Syaoran changed within the last few minutes. He was pale and his eyes flashed fire.

Hitomi followed the two into the room and she saw Syaoran sob and cry about something, and he started trembling all over again. The other boy was almost hesitant, but he finally wrapped his arms around the younger boy and crooned to him. Then he reached out hand out and dialed a number and waited.
" Yuki-san, it's me, Touya. I think we have a serious magic case here."



Hitomi woke out of her daze when she saw the sensei looking at her queerly.
" Ah, Hitomi, are you alright?" The teacher asked.

Hitomi jumped, then groaned inwardly.



Lord Chid was now twelve years old and had made his country extremely prosperous. He had grown tall for his age and wise. Allen Schezar and Van often came by from time to time, such as now.

The young sovereign was especially pleased today because of the new gift he had been given in the morning. It was a very young dragon-indeed, only about an wrist thick and very snake-like. The dragon was emerald green all over except for its tail, which was shiny gold, and the thick and beautiful mane, which was also gold. Its eyes were golden brown and often glowed golden light, especially when it raised its mane and hissed.

It had a very delicate face, smooth and tender, probably because it was so young. Two golden horns stuck out from its head, along with two long antennae like hairs. It had very small teeth but they were very sharp, and tiny claws. It moved about with grace even though its snout was tied shut and its neck was chained to its cage.

Lord Chid planned to show the tiny dragon to Lord Van, and perhaps have it in a battle, if the warrior that brought it to him was truthful. A battle, perhaps, because the warrior claimed that the dragon was immensely skillful and Lord Chid did hate all dragons, small or large, as was with all who live in Gaea. Then perhaps, as a representation of his country, Asturia, and Fanelia, he could give the dead dragon as an offering to the gods, for never have in all of Gaea lived a dragon like this.

Lord Chid knew what he was doing. The dragon knew even better, and more than once the witnesses have seen the tiny dragon glow with green light, as if beginning an attack. They thought it was because its snout was tied, so it couldn't. That was partly the reason, but the dragon wasn't trying to attack.



Lord Van and the Lord of Asturia arrived one after the other on two separate days, Van after Asturia. There was really no reason to visit other then to reinforce the connection of peace. Chid's country was a beautiful one and had held the treasure of Atlantians, so it was a great kingdom indeed.

From time to time Van had received faint visions of houses burning and sobbings of a strange voice, but he thought it was simply because of the past. The past was haunting but he wasn't one who would cringe back in the face of fear, and with Hitomi gone safe and sound he certainly wouldn't hold back now.

Hitomi. How he longed to see her again. He wondered what happened to Hitomi; she stopped contacting him about a week ago and Van was worried. Looking at the pendant Hitomi gave him, Van smiled. He looked at the pendant that was given to him. He thought of all it did for both him and Hitomi.

Van almost laughed when they brought the dragon in. The dragon was nowhere near hideous and it was almost laughable. But he held back his laughter because the dragon was beautiful and that could not be debated.

Several minutes later it was clear that the dragon was no laughing matter. Chid had challenged Allen to combat the dragon. Naturally Allen humored the young lord and accepted unseriously, but soon found that the young dragon was a fierce opponent.

Van had keen eyes and could see that the dragon was nowhere near angry because twice he saw the chest glow and twice the dragon stopped it. When Allen and the dragon separated and they fell into stance, Van saw that the young dragon was trembling all over and there were slight hints of whimpering.

Allen noticed it too, because he saw that the dragon was very precise in its attacks and defenses but was moving so quickly and randomly that he knew it was because of terror. He noticed that the dragon was thin and long and did not stand on ground much. It had no wings, so he could not imagine how it was able to hover in the air, but hover it did and with great skill. Silently Allen thought it would be a great pity if the dragon were killed-it was such a small thing, and through all the combat the dragon had not once attacked at his neck, where it would have been fatal. All of the attacks were at his hand and that was the hand that held the sword.

Gritting his teeth, the young knight sliced forward and he saw a blur. He whirled around and got into a fighting stance, but did a double take. Where did the dragon go?



Van saw the whole thing and nearly choked. It was the same boy! What was his name? Syaoran? What kind of devilry is this?

The child was trembling and gripping a golden sword very tightly. He was glaring at Allen, who was so shocked he lowered his guard. The boy didn't attack though, instead waiting for the other to make the first move.

Van decided to end this.

" Well, this is a new phenomenon, don't you agree, Lord Chid?" He asked. " No wonder the dragon was so strange. He must have come from the Mystic Moon!"
" Indeed!" The Duke of Asturia agreed. " No wonder he was so young. That child must be about ten. Come here, little boy."

The dragon was not a foolish dragon and neither was the boy. Syaoran glared at Allen without moving, his senses alert for any chance of escape.

Van stood up and that immediately caught the boy's attention.
" Syaoran." He said. " Li Syaoran. I trust you remember me."

The boy studied Van but didn't move.
" Put that sword away." The lord ordered.

There was a brief pause and Syaoran seemed to regain his senses. He sheathed his sword and stared at Van, waiting.

For what? Van wondered. He seems to know that I mean him no harm. He's no longer trembles. It's obvious he knows what I plan to do before I know myself. What is he waiting for?



Hitomi didn't feel like sleeping that night because she had a feeling that she'll be seeing that boy again. She had slight visions of a dragon, a baby dragon at that, but she wasn't sure if it was her imagination or if it was from Gaea, as some of the visions had been.

She went to sleep anyway because she was going to have a test tomorrow and she really needed a good grade. She tried to dream of Van.

" I don't know!" Syaoran cried. " I don't know who they were...they just came for me and I ran as fast as I could-"
" Hush." Said a white-haired being. And Hitomi called him a being because he doesn't feel human. " It's alright. Just calm down and tell me everything."
" They were tall." Syaoran whispered to the being. " I was...I was walking in the park because I couldn't sleep, and-and-and-"
" Slowly now. Take deep breaths."

" There were about five of them."
" Who were they?"
" I don't know. Powerful magicians, maybe."
" What kind of aura did you feel?"
" Ancient and powerful."
" What did they look like?"
" Tall. Demonic. Big glowing eyes."
" Do you have something they might want?"
" Iie. I had nothing. I don't know, Yue! I think they killed my family, but-"
" Don't say that." Yue was holding the child close and was making soothing sounds while asking. " Don't say that, shhh, everything will be alright. Just tell me everything...slowly..."



" They are WHAT?" The white haired angel asked. It was a different scene. There was the same boy that wore glasses.
" Dragons." The other boy said. " Dragon Gods. I don't know why they're looking for Syaoran, but it appears they didn't get to him because there was another group that stopped them. If I'm not mistaken, they're the Phoenix Gods."
" Is that bad?" The auburn haired girl asked. " I mean, are they evil?"
" Oh, they're definetely not evil-if they are we would be long gone by now! But it seems that they have reached some sort of disagreement and Syaoran was somehow caught in the center of it all. Since we're linked to him, we're caught in it as well. I don't know what could possibly be wrong-Phoenixes and Dragons were always so friendly with each other."
" Are they that powerful?" asked a voice. Hitomi saw that it came from a moving stuffed animal.
" Of course they are! They're the spiritual gods." answered the boy with glasses. " Quite frankly they know and control everything that is here. I don't know why they're so interested in Syaoran though..."
" Well, maybe because he's some sort of...god himself?" Yue suggested.
" What the heck are you talking about?" Asked the golden stuffed animal. " That's impossible!"
" By no means." Answered a tall lady standing beside the one with glasses.
" What do you mean?" The auburn haired girl asked. " What do you mean, Kaho san?"
" I mean," Kaho answered, " That Syaoran may very well be a god, for why else would they care so much?"
" But we don't know if they even care." The girl answered.
" Sakura's right." The boy answered. " He might be a center of curiosity."
" Then why would the Phoenixes stop them?"
" Perhaps because they have other things to do, Kaho." The boy answered.
" Why would they kill his family then? It's the entire clan, mind you." Touya jumped up. " There is some kind of strategy going on here. They're forcing him to remain where he is so he has nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide."
" If that's the case, we're in big trouble." Answered the boy. " However, since we have no quarrel with them yet we are safe for now. I just hope they mean no harm to him."


Van studied the boy closely and noticed that the child had calmed slightly. He was clenching his fists tightly and he noticed there was a wound on the boy's left leg, because he put most of his weight on the right and the other was slightly bent. The boy was waiting.

Van didn't know what the boy was waiting for but decided to take his chances. He held out his hand cautiously and reached slightly for the boy.

Syaoran responded by cringing back and turning back into a dragon. He flew up to the ceiling until an arrow was shot. The young dragon gave a terrible screech and fell back, and Van caught him, noticing he had become a boy again.

" Who shot that arrow?" Lord Chid demanded. It was someone of Asturia. Allen glared at the man. Van however, was nursing the suddenly frightened child.

" It's alright." He said, studying the arrow to see how it could be pulled out, then decided that it shouldn't be pulled out at all. The child was starting to cry, to his surprise, whimpers of terror and fright.

" Now at least we know he can't escape." Allen knelt down beside Van. " And he knows it too. What a smart child."

Briefly Van wondered how Allen knew that.

The boy had quieted and was blinking at Van questioningly. Van ignored the look and turned his head over to glance at Lord Chid.

Millerna hurried over, knowing that she was called, and bent down to her knees to inspect the wound. Syaoran had calmed down and watched her with his suddenly dull eyes. He did not faint.

" Hurry! Get him on the table, and I will need some knives from the blue bag..."



" So...if they do want to hurt him, what are the odds of us winning?" Sakura asked.
" Well...not very high." The boy with glasses answered. " You're only a Card Mistress. They're immortals. The only way to survive is to run then. That's why it's really important that they are doing this out of good."



" Syaoran!" Cried the angel. " Syaoran! Look out!"

Hitomi wanted to scream the same thing, but too late, for the child already fell from the high building. Hitomi saw that people had crowded along the streets and were all crying and shouting in horror. But the boy did not fall. He swooped up by some unknown wind and then dived diagonally down.

Regaining his wits, Hitomi saw the angel spread his wings, and with one great swoop he flew over the heads of t he crowd and up. Syaoran had went back up again and was going up at a fast pace, when suddenly the wind seemed to gave out and he fell straight down into the angel's arms.
" Yue!" The child cried as he crashed into the angel's outstretched arms. Yue flew up to the building and Hitomi found herself at the rooftop, with the angel holding the child tightly. Yue stared at her, and Hitomi thought he could see her until something passed through her.

It was a Phoenix God, no doubt, because he was dressed in gold and red. He was standing very still along with about eight other Phoenix gods, some in white, some in black, some in purple and bright yellow, all studying the angel that had come to save the frightened child.

It was obvious to Hitomi that the god did not want to hurt the child or the angel either. It was also obvious that Yue thinks that the god did want to hurt the boy and was on his highest guard. Shouts were heard from below.

" Yue! Yue, Syaoran! Syaoran-kun! Are you two alright?" The voice belonged to the girl.

Hitomi looked over the building and saw Sakura, pink staff in hand, ready to draw a card, and beside her the boy with glasses, his own staff in hand, ready to aid in whatever way he can.

" What do you want?" Yue asked.
" The child. He is our child." The god answered simply.
" Nani?!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and seven shadows passed by, in front of the gods. Hitomi knew they were dragon gods because they dressed in gold and green and blue. There was one in red though, but that wasn't enough to disprove it.
" Stay away from our child." Said one of the dragons. " He is ours by the blood of Li Shenti."
" He is ours by the blood of Li Yelan." The Phoenix answered.

What the heck is going on? Hitomi asked. Is the boy both a dragon and a phoenix?



Van looked into the friendly and warm room to find the child both awake and staring at him. Van blushed for some reason, and closed the door behind him softly, while Allen ventured forward towards the child.
" How's our little dragonchild today?" Allen joked, sitting down beside the boy on the bed. " You've taken some punishment the other day."

Syaoran glared at Allen for a brief moment before sneezing, totally ruining the effect.

Van chuckled and sat in the chair beside the boy.
" Millerna told me you were a good boy." Allen continued. " Screamed not once even though the operation was painful. How did you do it?"
" Stop teasing him Allen." Van laughed. " You ought to know first of all, this child's from the Mystic Moon. Remember how Hitomi was?"
" Hitomi was a girl." Syaoran suddenly blurted out, and Allen started at how innocent but sad the voice sounded, even though at that point it was said flatly.
" How did he know?" Allen asked Van.
" For one thing," Van answered, " he's a dragon. For another, remember how Hitomi was?"

This time Syaoran decided not to tell Van that he was partly wrong, otherwise he'll get to answer more questions.

Van patted the boy's head and Syaoran did not respond, really.
" Tell us," Van began, " How did you end up here?"
" I wanted to." Syaoran answered hesitantly.
" How did you know of Gaea?" Allen asked. " Did Hitomi tell you?"
" I didn't know her-I mean," Syaoran fell silent. He was suddenly mad. Van smiled at that.
" Then how did you know of this place? Hitomi didn't at first."

But Syaoran wouldn't answer that question.

The door opened and Merle peeked in.
" Mreow!" She cried as Mr. Mole went by, and shut the door in his face and locked it. Syaoran jumped up and nearly cried out. Merle scampered over.
" Is this the dragon kid?" She asked. " Very young."
" Is this the catgirl?" Syaoran countered, vastly annoyed, because he knew who she was. " Very rude."

Merle got angry and swiped at his face. Syaoran turned into a dragon and, despite his wounds on his stomach and left leg, he managed to dodge.
" Merle, behave yourself." Van told the girl strictly. " Syaoran, it's alright. She's always like this."

Syaoran couldn't tell Van that he knew that already because in a dragon form he couldn't talk. He only sneezed again, much to his chagrin, and waved his body on the wall, ready for another attack.

Merle blinked at the dragon in front of her.
" Weird dragon." She muttered. She went forward to poke at it. Syaoran bit her finger.
" MREOw!" Merle cried, jumping back, then she hissed. This means war.

Van and Allen were too amused to stop either of them. Syaoran remained on the wall and Merle on the floor, ready to pounce. The little dragon blinked at Van and suddenly turned into a boy, landing on the floor lightly, but fell forward because of his leg.

Van and Allen hurried over to help the child and Merle sat on her back legs, completely confused.

" We now know that those two are inseparable." Allen laughed.

Van looked at Syaoran. Maybe he can tell me more about how Hitomi is doing. He thought. He started to comment on the relationship between Syaoran and Merle and that of Hitomi and Merle.

But something made him stop. There was something in Syaoran's eyes, now that he looked at him. Something that halts laughter and silences jokes. Something dark and sorrowful. It was then that Van realized, despite all the efforts of Merle, Syaoran was a sad child.