Chapter 3 – The Legend

In a large villa on the banks of the Loire River, France

Autumn in France was even worse then in Japan, Eriol Hiiragisawa noted to his minor displeasure. He didn't particularly detest the cold but magician or not, too much cold tended to sap the energy out of him. Retreating to the fireplace, he sat on his usual chair, staring into the steady flames of the fire. Lying oat his usual place was Spinel Sun, his cat like guardian, reading another book which he had probably dug up from his collection of magical books. His other guardian, Ruby Moon was nowhere to be seen. Eriol shook his head slowly, wondering what mischief his moon guardian was up to this time. The last time he let that troublesome girl-wannabe out of his sight... he shook his head, not wanting to remember the damage done by the resulting fire. Thank heavens he was a magician or that little magical fire could well have burnt down the tiny village by the Loire River. He debated on getting up to look for her but decided against it. He had more pressing matters to think about.

Spinel Sun looked up from his book, noticing the deep reflective look on Eriol's face. Lately his master had been more preoccupied than usual, hiding away in his study for hours at length. He almost looked...worried...which was very unusual for the reincarnation of the greatest sorcerer in human history. Closing the book with a small sigh, he made his way to his master's shoulder.

Eriol closed his eyes, feeling the slight weight of Spinel Sun on his shoulder. He heard Ruby Moon enter the room quietly and sighed softly as well. He knew his guardian well enough to know when she had done something troublesome which he probably had to go clean up later.

"Eriol, I uh..." the moon guardian, in the form of Nakuru stammered out.

"Its okay, sit down." Eriol said, almost without thinking. She stared at him in surprise. Opening her mouth to protest further, Eriol silenced her, lifting a palm. She sat down obediently. When her master was in this state, it was better not to question him, she had learnt.

Eriol opened his eyes, staring at his guardians. He could feel something in the air, a deep magical presence for some time now. What frightened him was what he saw in Clow Reed's memories. That was not all. Whatever this was, it threatened the entire magical balance of the world. Getting up, he walked over to a small globe which he had obtained from Clow Reed's collection. The globe was an ordinary globe, identical to all other except for a bunch of red lines which ran around the entire world, crisscrossing countries, continents and oceans. Running a finger over one of the lines, he traced it through the spot he was standing at the moment, over France. Ley lines, magical circuits which distributed and regulated energy throughout the world. He had learnt from Clow's books that there was a lot more to magic than his. A lot that had yet to be learnt...

"The Circle of Magic," Eriol muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. "The guardians and keepers of magic in the world." Clow Reed himself was afraid of this circle, whatever it was. And what he feared, Eriol himself also had a reason to fear. He spun the globe again. Something was after the pieces of Clow Reed and by reasoning, whatever it was would either target him or... His finger stopped on Japan.

"Nakura, go in my study and get me this," he sketched out a pendant with a large star shaped diamond hanging from it. The moon guardian ran out of the room, door slamming behind her. Eriol glanced out the window at the gray autumn sky. He had to act fast before Clow Reed's greatest fears could come to pass...


Tokyo Tower

Long auburn hair billowed in the wind as a slim figure stood on the marrow ledge at the top of the Tokyo Tower. Below, the blinking city lights fanned out in all directions, like the night sky. The night was chilly, cloudless and moonless. Faint sounds from the city below wafted up towards the silent figure, who was just standing there like there was no danger in that act whatsoever. The tight fitting black suit she wore was similar to the ones worn by ninjas in the olden days. Slung over her back was a long, thin double edged sword, wrapped in the same shade of midnight black. Her silver eyes were blank, expressionless. Her mouth, face and expression showing no emotion, except for a faint hint of boredom.

Extracting a piece of chalk from a pocket somewhere in her suit, she drew the seal of the Circle on the metal surface of the tower. Touching the seal, she chanted out a spell in a monotonous voice. The seal glowed with energy, then faded slowly, bit by bit. From another pocket, she pulled out two photos, one of a young girl with light brown hair and emerald eyes. The other was a boy with darker brown hair, brown eyes which glared at her from the picture. She ran her fingers over the pictures, memorizing the feel of their auras. The magical seals she had placed at numerous locations in the city were meant to inhibit if not nullify different styles of magic. Since she did not know what type of magic either used, she had to put up thrice as many seals to be sure. It was just like the Circles to give her vague information to work on.

Flicking her fingers, the photos burst into flames, its ashes blowing away in the wind. She stared at the city, debating to herself what to do first. She decided to go after the boy. After that she could return to finish off the girl. Stepping of the tower, she did not seem to mind the fact that she was hundreds of feet in the air. Nevertheless, she landed on the ground lightly, as if she had just stepped of a two feet ledge instead of a thousand feet tower...


Tomoeda Junior High

"YAY THE FIELD TRIP IS TODAY!! I'MSOEXCITEDAREN'TYOUTOMOYO???!!" Sakura danced around Tomoyo who was calmly smiling back. Today she was going on a field trip along with her class to the Tokyo Museum. She didn't particularly like history but she was glad for the excuse to skip classes. Smiling happily, she proceeded to greet everyone in class. Tomoyo shook her head, still smiling. Sakura may have graduated from elementary school but she still acted like a kid sometimes. Still, this was Sakura she was talking about and some things just never change, she thought to herself while watching Sakura trip clumsily over a book into the arms of Kai. Tomoyo's smile dropped at that. There was something about the new kid she didn't particularly like. She watched as Sakura stammered an apology and straightened up with an embarrassed smile. Worries put aside, she strode down to join Sakura and her friends as they chatted happily about what they were going to do for the day.

"Ne Kai-kun, ever been to the museum before?" "Kaiiiii-kuunnnn, wanna join us later at the museum?" "Kai....." Kai stood at the center of the commotion, several students crowding around him. A bemused smile on his face, he was trying to keep up with the flow of questions as a small battle ensued for his attention.

"BLONDY!!" a deep voice roared from the door. Several heads turned in surprise, including Kai's. Standing at the doorway was Raven, clearly angry over something. "I'll teach you to mess with my hair!!"

Student closer to the door were now backing up, clearly afraid of the scary looking monster that had appeared. Others were pointing and whispering rather loudly,.

"Ne, isn't that the new janitor?"

"What does he want with Kai-kun?"

"Ooh, he looks so scary with that face.."

"Is his hair dyed pink??! That looks ridiculous."

"I think it looks cute on him."

Kai took the opportunity to escape, slipping between two student who were gaping at the distraction. He barely took two steps when a broom came flying towards him. He barely dodged it, the shaft of the broom passing a mere inch from his head. The broom crashed into the wall and fell to the ground as several students stared incredulously at it.

"Tch, missed.." Raven muttered. Kai had somehow made his way through the students and was now standing in front of him, the same silly smile plastered on his face. Raven had never felt the urge to beat the crap out of anyone this much before. He barely restrained himself, reminded that he would get fired if he beat up a student.

"Aww? Raven-kun doesn't like his new hairstyle? And to think I put so much effort into it." Kai put on a pouty face, mischief written all over his face. "I think it suits you ne?" he was about to run his hand through Raven's hair when a large hand held his. Raven stared at him, cold blue eyes sending shards of ice at the blond who simply smiled back.

"Ooh, Raven looks so cool with that look on his face," Kai cooed, nearly sending the angry teen over the edge. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back and slammed the door shut before he could do anything he'd regret later. Muttering curses, he stomped off to find a way to wash off the pink dye.

After the small incident, the class packed themselves into several buses. Chatting happily, they arrived at the museum in no time. Sakura pressed her face against the window, admiring the view. Getting off the bus, they were divided into two groups. Group A, Sakura's group, left for the new wing of the museum while the other group, Group B, headed for the older wing.

"Ooh Sakura," Tomoyo squealed in delight, "Look, doesn't that costume look adorable??" she said, pointing towards one of the exhibits. Sakura, who was staring at a large portrait of an ancient hero, turned around to stare at the exhibit.

"Ahehe Tomoyo-chan, you do realize that those are clothes meant for slaves right?" Sakura said, pointing toward the sign at the bottom of the exhibit. Tomoyo blinked, looking at the sign for the first time.

"Ahh...but still, doesn't it look great?" she stared, enraptured by the simple white design which was nothing more than a piece of white cloth.

"You know," Takashi piped in, "In ancient times, whenever there was a famine, slaves were often used as..."

"Yamazaki Takashi! You had better not be filling their heads with nonsense again!" a large textbook appeared out of nowhere, hitting him squarely on the head. Chiharu stomped up to Sakura, who was staring at Takashi wide eyed, knowing what he was about to say.

"Sorry Sakura, I kinda let my eyes off him for a second and he goes around blabbering stories again." Chiharu smiled apologetically at Sakura before grabbing Takashi, who was still lying on the floor, by the collar and dragging him off.

"Its true, after they're killed, the slaves return to haunt the descendants of the family which..." he was silenced when the textbook was shoved into his mouth, gagging him.

"What a cute couple," Tomoyo piped out, hands clasped. Sakura sweatdropped. After entering junior high, Chiharu seemed to have grown closer with the ever blabbering Takashi. She had stopped choking him every time he started telling stories however, because he had pointed out once that she was 'pressing rather hard against his back'. She looked so red after that that they were afraid she was going to burst but all she said was...

"BAKA TAKASHI!!"

…before stomping off. After that incident, she had resorted to throwing stuff at him, often her history textbook which was thick and rather heavy. Sakura smiled wistfully at the squabbling couple. Of course, neither had the guts ask the other to go out. Still, nearly the entire class knew that they both had it for each other and most of them (including Sakura) secretly lent their support.

"Wait Takashi-kun, is it really true? Did they really..?" Sakura waved after Takashi who was being dragged off. Now it was Tomoyo's turn to sweatdrop. Along with everyone who happened to be nearby. Only Rika looked about as horrified as Sakura. Kai stood by the side, smiling at the scene. He had just escaped the clutches of his little fan club and was bound to be found sooner or....

"I SEE HIM!!" a voice chorused out, followed by the clattering of feet. Kai groaned and took off again. He had a small feeling this was going to be a long day.

The first part of the trip passed by quickly. After a quick lunch at the museum cafeteria, they resumed the tour, which now brought them into the older section of the museum.

While the tour guide droned on in front about the Edo Period, Sakura chose instead to stare wide-eyes at the large life sized mannequins of an ancient samurai. Sword upright, it stared menacingly at Sakura. Tomoyo stood next to her, wishing that she'd brought along her video camera. Alas, the museum did not allow cameras inside.

"And here we have the history of the Heian Period. This was the time where..." the tour guide was tuned out by Sakura. She had just spotted a small doorway between two exhibits but when she asked the guide, she merely got a warning not to open the door. She stared at the door, feeling a strange feeling sweep over her, a familiar old feeling.

"Tomoyo-chan, I feel something," she whispered, "Feels like a Clow Card but..there's something strange about it. I'm going to go check it out." Tomoyo nodded, peering around the corner to make sure the group had passed ahead of them. Turning back, she nodded again to Sakura, who was trying the handle of the door. No matter what she did, it wouldn't budge. She fingered the key to her Star Staff, which she kept hanging on a chain around her neck. Not that it would do any good, her cards were back home, in her drawer. She stared at the door, willing it to open.

"Having problems?" a smooth voice came from behind. Sakura whirled round, nearly tripping herself up in the process to see the smiling face of Kai.

"Ano...no not really," she furiously tried to come up with an excuse but Kai didn't seem too interested at what they were doing. Instead, he reached for the door and tested the lock. Pulling a pin out of his pocket, he stuck it in the keyhole and...

Click The door swung open to his satisfaction.

"Ah be careful now," he warned her in a cheery voice, "I'll go make sure no one misses the both of you." he skipped off before either of them could say a word.

Sakura stared after Kai, trying to piece together what had just happened. Did Kai just open the door for her? How did he open the door? Did he know? Questions spun in her head, but there were no answers. She peered in the now open door at a flight of stairs leading downwards. Forget Kai, the door was open wasn't it?

Taking a couple of steps down cautiously, she itched to unlock her staff. However, she couldn't risk it if anyone were to see her doing so. Still, she felt open and vulnerable without it. Tomoyo, who was right behind her, gripped her hand reassuringly. Swallowing her fear, she went down the remainder of the steps, reaching another door. The feeling was stronger now, it was literally pulling her towards it, drawing her magic with its own power.

Sakura reached out and twisted the knob gently. The door swung open slowly, revealing a darkened interior. Tomoyo then noticed the small sign on the door which read:

Magical Artifacts of Ancient Japan

Restricted except to authorized personnel

She touched Sakura's hand lightly but her friend didn't notice her. Tomoyo looked at Sakura, noticing that her friend had a faraway look in her eyes. Concern gripped her heart and she shook Sakura gently, trying to pull her out of her slight trance.

Sakura took a step forward, unaware of everything around her. There was a soft voice in the back of her head. Calling her...pulling her... She tried to push away the voice but it kept nagging her at the edge of her consciousness. She found herself walking into the room. Her vision blurred, the only thing she could see was a small box laid on a table at the far end of the room.

"Sakura!!" Tomoyo whispered urgently. She didn't feel good about it at all. Now she was tugging at Sakura's arm but she just continued walking deeper into the room. She let go of Sakura's arm and stood in front of her friend, desperately trying to pull her out of the trance. "Sakkuuurraaaaa......"

Sakura did not notice any of this. She reached the table, staring at the book which was covered with numerous symbols and drawings. Reaching out, she touched the symbols, feeling the shiver of magic through her veins. Opening the book, a card floated out onto the table. Sakura recognized the design of a Clow Card but..this one was different. The aura coming from it was not of Clow Reed and the card had a slightly different seal on it. The card itself was a dull gray instead of gold. Reaching out, she touched the surface of the card and....

The seal on the card broke, snapping Sakura out of her trance and sending her backwards with a cry. The card shot into the air, levitating under its own power. Sakura, turned to face the card as it flew into her hand. Images from the past flew by in front of her at blinding speed. Clow Reed...his descendants...her mother...her father... Several other images of people she didn't know flew by. Then she recognized the next picture... Eriol Hiiragisawa...Syaoran...and finally, the last frame...

A splitting image of her stared back, determination in her eyes as the images ceased and all that was left was darkness. A circle appeared, a five-pointed star in it. Standing at the five points of the star were five figures, five faceless shadows. Then her vision clouded and there was only darkness.

"Sakkuuraaaaa...."

A crackling sound....why did it sound familiar?

"Sakkuuuurraaa....SAAAKKKUURRAAA!!"

That voice.... Tomoyo-chan.... What is that crackling voice in the background?

"Sakura wake up! We have to get out of here before the fire reaches us!"

FIRE!! Sakura's eyes flew open in horror. The darkness of the room was replaced by the yellow-orange glow. In front of her, Tomoyo was shaking her shoulders desperately. Flames licked at the table where she had been just a minute ago.

"To...Tomoyo...." relief spread over her best friend's face. Pulling herself to her feet with Tomoyo's help, she realized she was still holding on to the card. Turning it around to see the front, she saw the name for the card for the first time... 'The Legend'

"Come on, we really have to get out of here..." Tomoyo literally dragged Sakura out of the room, up the flight of stairs. Ember flames licked at the wooden steps behind her as they emerged choking into the corridor above. Sakura moved automatically, her mind still frozen in shock. With surprising strength, Tomoyo smashed the fire alarm and immediately, the high pitch shrill filled the museum. Running down the corridor with Sakura in tow, she realized that the fire had burnt ahead of them, cutting them off from the entrance.

"Tomoyo-chan..." Sakura croaked as smoke started to fill the corridor. Regaining her senses, she realized that the only way out was through the other end. But that way was the room where the fire had started. In that case, there was only one way out.... Holding Tomoyo's hand, she dashed back down the corridor, hoping that there was a fire exit somewhere.

"Mihara.....Sasaki.....Yamazaki...." the teacher called out names one by one getting a reply from the students which had gathered outside after the fire alarm sounded. One by one she went down the list till she reached two names...

"Kinomoto....Daidouji...." she called out, earning silence in response. The rest of the students looked around worriedly. None of them had seen both of them for a while now. Murmuring among themselves, they failed to notice that Kai had also vanished, a second after Sakura's name was called out.

"I see it!" Sakura cried out, noticing the fluorescent sign above the fire exit. Choking on the thick black smoke, she stumbled towards the sign. It was then that her friend went limp, collapsing onto the floor with a thud.

"Sa...ku...ra.... Go on ahead...." she pleaded as her best friend knelt down next to her. The look of determination in her eyes told Tomoyo that it was no use trying to persuade her out of it. Stars began to swim in front of her eyes as she struggled to maintain her consciousness. She felt herself being literally dragged along the floor. The last thing she saw was the green sign of the fire exit in the distance before she fainted.

Sakura pulled Tomoyo along with all her strength. The thick smoke made it hard to see where she was going and she tripped over several pieces of a half burnt exhibit. Just a little more....I have to hang on just a little more... The fire exit loomed in the distance, her last hope of saving them. Her head swam as the smoke she had inhaled began to take its effect on her. Struggling with all her might to remain awake, she pulled on Tomoyo's limp body. Another exhibit crashed down in front of her, sending bright embers in all directions. Sakura bit back a cry of pain as the superheated air blew past her skin. She took another step then wavered, her body unable to move any further. I'm sorry...Tomoyo.... She toppled forward slowly, her world going black as a pair of strong hands grabbed her arms. Turning around, she saw blond hair framing a worried face before her eyes shut.

"Sensei!! Someone give me a hand..." the entire class turned to see Kai emerge from a small fire exit, smoke and flames billowing out from behind him. In his arms was Tomoyo and flopped over his back was Sakura, both of them unconscious. Scrambling quickly, the entire class ran to help, fueled by their concern. In the distance, the wailing of sirens could be heard as the dark black smoke from the fire wafted slowly into the air. Having been relieved of his load, Kai sank to the ground, exhausted. The thick smoke was beginning to take effect on him as well. Staring back at the burning museum, he wondered what the both of them had done to start the fire. He could feel the magic, fueling the fire. He turned to stare at the Mistress of the Cards. She looked tiny and frail but he had seen the look of determination in her eyes a second before she had given in to the flames.

The firefighters were arriving now but Kai knew they didn't have a chance against the magical fire. This fire could only be put out by... He felt a familiar surge of energy surround the fire and smiled to himself. Looking up, he spotted a familiar black figure standing at the edge of the building...before vanishing again. The fire, having been cut off from its energy source, began to die out, casting an orange glow into the evening sky.


A/N ----- is too tired to write notes. refer to previous chapter =P thanks for any support so far =)