A/N: I did in fact read the manga and watch the anime version of TRC in early chapters, but that was a long time ago and I don't feel like doing research just for this XD I've already deviated quite a bit from the main arc, what's a few inconsequential worlds, right?
Syaoran and Dimension-Hopping
Chapter 3
At the end of the jump, Syaoran had enough time to notice they were in some kind of forest, before he passed out.
He woke up finding himself arranged near a campfire. Kurogane was sitting with his arms folded, scowling, while Fai and Mokona were chattering quietly about nothing in particular. They all looked his way when he moved.
"Wa, Syaoran-san, that one knocked you out in a bad way," Fai stood to walk over to him. "How are you feeling?"
He felt drained enough to forget about Yue for a moment, but only a moment.
"Must he call his parents at every opportunity?" Kurogane sneered. Syaoran ignored him.
"Big leap?" Yue asked, sounding stronger than Syaoran expected.
"Are you alright?"
"Xiaolang, stop worrying about me. Unlike you, I have people I can rely on if there is any trouble."
All Syaoran cared about was that the guardian was alright. "Please tell me that you guys can get me from here. I don't know how many times I want to chance fate. This last one knocked me out."
Yue hesitated. We were trying before you called. It still appears too far. Sakura is currently sleeping now, since it is nighttime."
Great. Not that Syaoran imagined she would be able to provide more insight were she awake. "Maybe we should transfer you to someone else, temporarily."
"No one here has the power to do what Eriol did five years ago. He split his magic after he conducted the procedure and gave half of his magic to you. You are the only one who has enough magic to orchestrate the transfer."
And I'm also not there. Figures.
"Just stay safe," Yue sounded calm. He was actually quite good at staying calm; the only time Syaoran remembered Yue ever losing his composure was when he had been fading after the Final Judgment, culminating to that fateful day when Eriol revealed himself to Sakura and her guardians. "Do not worry about me. If something happens to you, all the magic you save will be for naught. Just stay safe, take care of yourself, and I will take care of things from here. You forget, my child, that I have walked this world for thousands of years before you were even born. I am better equipped to handle dilemmas than you fear."
Hearing him say that made Syaoran feel much better. Even though he knew Yue was saying that mainly to convince Syaoran, he could not argue that his guardian had a point. Surely someone who was thousands of years old had a few tricks up their sleeves.
"Alright. I'll call later, when something changes. Love you, Dad."
"Mm," Was all Yue replied, but somehow that wordless grunt meant more than any words he could have used.
"So what's the story with you and your father?" Fai asked conversationally as the group began to pack up camp. Mokona rested on Syaoran's head as he helped douse out the fire with dirt and they wandered out to a main road. The world they had landed it was definitely populated, judging from the constructed paths that could not have been formed by chance or the simple press of constant migration, but the woods were silent save for some murmurs of wildlife, and there were no signs of sentients to be seen.
"It's a long story," Syaoran replied, senses seeking for the same presence he had felt at the Hanshin Republic. Mokona was turning on his head to the same direction as the tingle.
"Hm…" Said the little creature, "There is…something. Hm."
"I can't put my finger on it either," Syaoran murmured, "And at the moment, I'm not sure I want to risk depleting my magical reserves in a confrontation."
"We should still take a look around, seek civilization," Fai pointed out, "We're kind of low on food, and who knows, maybe this world has a brew that can fill you up instantly."
"What, like a videogame potion?" Syaoran raised an eyebrow.
"…A what?"
Right. No cell phones and no videogames. Obviously there was never a Square Enix where he came from.
"When we get to my world," Syaoran told him, "You can hang around and I can take you to an arcade."
Fai blinked. "What's an arcade?"
Oh God.
The court wizard grinned, perhaps catching his thought, and Syaoran allowed himself a chuckle.
"Are you two done?" Kurogane interrupted.
Syaoran turned. "Right. So follow trail toward that direction," He pointed where he sensed the presence, still faint and rather difficult to locate, "And hopefully we encounter some form of civilization beforehand where we can stock up on supplies, or something."
"Sounds good to me," Fai nodded, while Mokona also agreed.
"So you never did explain what is going on with your father," Fai nudged him as they walked.
"Hm?" Syaoran blinked. "Oh, it's a long story."
"Well you said that. We're not really doing much here."
Kurogane was walking slightly ahead. He would have gone faster, Syaoran was certain, except he needed Mokona who was riding on Syaoran's head, and Syaoran was not quite recovered enough from his fainting spell to race anyone.
"I guess," Syaoran frowned, not entirely eager to divulge his life's tale to his eccentric companions. Five years ago, he would have told Fai to mind his own business. Now, Syaoran had matured enough to realize that the best deflection was a soft one. "In my world, thousands of years ago, there was a sorcerer named Clow Reed who created a set of magical cards."
"The cards that came out of you when we were at the Dimension Witch's?"
"Yes," Syaoran allowed. "When he died, the cards were sealed in a book, which was eventually passed down to my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Fai raised his eyebrows. "I see."
Syaoran was not sure what he saw. Did people from his world have girlfriends? Ugh, I don't even want to know. "Anyway, the problem was, Clow Reed also created two guardians to take care of the cards as they're passed down. One of them was Yue. Unfortunately, his magic was moon magic, which…" Does Fai's world have a moon? "Well, he needs a secondary source of magic, because his own magic isn't sufficient to boost himself. When my girlfriend inherited the cards, she was supposed to support him, but she was really young…only ten, eleven years old, not fully matured yet. So…I ended up supporting him instead, since I have magic to spare." That was the short of it, with many parts missing, but it should suffice for Fai.
"Intriguing," Said the fair-haired man. "You call him 'Otou-san', however. Why is that?"
Syaoran did not feel like elaborating. "Because he is."
One advantage to dealing with a person from another dimension was that Fai had no idea whether he was supposed to accept this answer as reasonable or not. A further inquiry could potentially lead to an even longer-winded explanation that the wizard clearly was not certain he wanted to hear. He appeared to withdraw at this, letting silence fall.
Unfortunately, Syaoran forgot about Mokona.
"Yuko-sama said that he adopted you."
Syaoran made a face. "How did she know? I mean, not how did she know," It was clear that Ichihara was a powerful sorceress, if even Yue knew of her despite being from a different world, "But why would she bother finding out about me when there are hundreds of other worlds out there?"
"Hm, not sure," The creature chirped thoughtfully. "She was always kind of interested in you, and in Kinomoto Sakura."
It was stated innocently enough. Syaoran managed not to reveal too much of his alarm.
"Any particular reason why?"
"Well, of course!" Mokona hopped up and landed on Syaoran's head again. "Not every five-year-old human child can survive a year on the run!"
Fai always gave the impression that he took nothing seriously, but at this his gaze became especially penetrating. Syaoran avoided it, mostly because he was focused on schooling his own features.
"Eh, it's…" It was a big deal, but if he admitted that, it might invite more questions. "I don't remember much of that time. Five's pretty young."
An outright lie, and he had a feeling Fai caught it, but the fair-haired man was kind enough not to point it out.
Ahead of them, Kurogane suddenly stopped. He froze in the same place long enough for them to catch up, looking around him and listening intently.
Syaoran stretched out his senses. He wondered if Kurogane was also schizophrenic, because he did not sense anything—but then he heard something.
Mokona leaped off his head just as he heard a hiss of an dart. He whirled around and caught the tiny projectile before even realizing he had been attacked.
Fai made an impressed sound. "Good catch."
"Watch out!" Kurogane pushed Fai out of the way as another dart sailed through the air. It imbedded itself into the trunk of a tree.
Syaoran dashed for cover. He pulled on his magic to test how much he had, then decided against using it. For now, he was going to see if he could not come out of this battle without it.
The branches rustled, and a man's voice, rough but young, resonated as if coming from all around them.
"Chitter chatter in the wilds. Nature welcomes only the silent. Those who break the quiet, pay a price."
Then a figure landed in front of Syaoran and attacked.
Syaoran still trained after the Clow Cards, but more for health than anything; Eriol's magic made self-defense a little bit of a moot point, so he had focused more on retaining flexibility and strength rather than quickening his reflexes. Fortunately, he always had a quick mind, and in the battle-calm that fell over him as he faced his enemy, the reflexes he did have responded to his will quickly enough for him to avoid the worst blows. His assailant was clad in dark green, but what was worrisome was that in his movements, there was magic imbued, an aura Syaoran could only faintly sense, but potent enough to be very dangerous. Frost spells that could freeze his limbs upon contact, poison that would lace his blood with fire, dark impulses meant to subdue him to unconsciousness. He ended up dodging instead of blocking, flipping back in retreat. A flash of poisoned blade warned him that he needed to end this quickly.
He had passed out earlier and Yue had been fine. Maybe he could afford a spell or two to get these people off his back.
Master Time, Yue had told him once, And you master everything.
The guardian had neglected to tell him that the Time Card was under the influence of the moon. Figured that the trick he instructed Syaoran to pull was also a trick he utilized himself. Syaoran admitted he should have known better, but he was still a little miffed about that sometimes. He could not tell the guardian so without hurting his feelings; Yue had been devastated when Syaoran lost and Sakura won instead, but sometimes Syaoran did find himself irritated by that oversight, usually when he lost track of time and was nearly late for something.
Final Judgment notwithstanding, freezing time was a useful trick to get one's bearings, and Syaoran summoned the spell using his basic moon magic. A wind was blowing through the trees, and he felt the air slow under the influence of magic—
Only to feel the spell whisk out of him, as if sucked through a vacuum.
What?
Unnerved, he fell further back. The assailant was launching more attacks now, and this time his magic carried some of Syaoran's aura.
What the—he stole my spell! Syaoran ducked under a swipe. Well, two can play that game, buster!
He had never stolen anyone's magic before—that sort of thing was quite dishonorable, and ever since gaining Eriol's magic, Syaoran never exactly needed anyone else's. He could not afford people stealing his magic now, though. Yue's life was at stake, not to mention his own. Surely it could not be that hard—
A shadow swept overhead. Another assailant. What kind of bandits would fight so well? These people were trained. Syaoran dodged and retreated further as yet another attacker joined the ranks. He was being isolated from the others.
He was isolated from the others.
There were too many of them at once. Desperate, Syaoran kicked. Normally, kicking was a poor move, especially a high kick, but his assailants were not expecting it and one of them caught his foot full in the throat. That had to have hurt, though Syaoran did not give it much mind; he had lost his balance and to compensate, he threw himself down onto his hands to get more control of his momentum. This, however, put him in a position facing away from his attackers, and even as he began to turn around, he felt two latches on his aura, and his magic proceeded to drain.
No. He tugged back. That's mine. The drain froze, but the latch did not release.
Suddenly, a swell of aura burst through the connection, alien and toxic.
Oh—
He could not even swear in his head. The feeling was awful, much like when Sakura sent her cards over to the Dimension Witch, except this time the magic did not travel out of him. Instead, it stayed in his core like a festering infection. He crumpled to the ground, limbs shuddering.
Oh Dad, I'm so sorry…Sakura…I can't believe—
"Ishimatte!"
It was the same rough but young voice. Darkness was swirling over Syaoran's eyes, and it was difficult to grasp what was going on around him.
"…Ida-sama."
Footsteps crunched on the twigs littering the forest floor. Syaoran felt like his insides were trying to consume themselves. Ugh, even going through what I've gone through, this doesn't get easier. It was like every old injury he ever acquired was flaring up all over again.
A hand grabbed him by his hair, twisting so that fire laced along his scalp. His head was lifted and he blearily opened his eyes.
"Well well well, what have we here? Amber-eyed youth from the Unknown lands," A chuckle, "The prophecy does not disappoint. Not a bad-looker either."
Syaoran's stomach dropped like a cold stone as he recognized that face.
Raw terror had a way of making everything stark and penetrating. Even now, Syaoran had nightmares about some random event or another that had occurred when he had been hunted for being a member of the Li clan. He would love nothing more than to forget that horrible year ever happened, to just jump from being with his family, happy and blissfully ignorant, to being with Yue and feeling safe and loved again. Yet even though they happened less frequently, from time to time, the intervening months insisted on invading his subconscious visions. It was as if they simply refused to be forgotten. A scar that refused to go away.
One of the harshest memories he ever had was in the beginning, when the Li clan was first attacked. His mother had told his eldest sister, Fuutie, to gather the rest of them to somewhere safe. Just as Xuehua collected Syaoran, he saw the entrance explode, and in came a young man.
Li Yelan was a powerful sorceress. She was the direct descendant of Clow Reed and highly respected by the rest of the clan. Though she could not compare to Yue's extensive knowledge of magic, Syaoran always knew, and Yue later confirmed, that Yelan was not one to be trifled with. This man engaged Yelan with a fluidity of a master, and Syaoran knew he survived the encounter because later, he chased the frightened boy across Hong Kong. The man's face use to wake Syaoran up screaming in the middle of the night, clinging tearfully to Yue who would assure him that no one was coming for him, that the guardian would fight off anyone who tried, and nothing was going to come between the two of them because they had each other and that was stronger than anything else in the world.
He never found out this man's name. Syaoran had never seen him in the flesh, ever since meeting Yue.
"He's the one?" One of the other assailants exclaimed, while the man Syaoran kicked in the throat was coughing and gasping for breath.
"We better kill him." A sword flashed as it slid silently out of its leather sheath.
"Iie," The fingers in his hair tightened as the other hand reached out to touch Syaoran's face. "I have a better use for this one."
"But—"
"I said, iie!" The man growled in warning. "Are you defying my orders?"
"…Iie, Ida-sama."
"Yoshi…fate has smiled upon us today. Tie him up and take him along."
With that, Syaoran's hair was released. It dropped to the rough dirt. His limbs were still trembling from the shock of the festering magic within him.
Footsteps approached, and rough hands grabbed him. Something welled up from his stomach and he retched. Blood splattered, coppery and diluted with acid. His handlers did not gentle at this, and Syaoran barely had time to blink at the mess before a cloth bag was pulled over his head.
Do these people just carry bags around for this purpose? His snarky side thought, as he fought to suppress the panic swirling in him. One good thing about the sordid magic in his core was that he was in so much pain that he could not even summon the breath to scream.
"What about the others, Ida-sama?"
There was a pause. Syaoran's stomach clenched again. Blood and acid smeared on the cloth that then brushed over his face. He was heaved to his feet, but his legs would not support him. Someone cursed, and he was lifted again, but this time a thick arm wrapped around his middle and swung him onto a burly shoulder.
"Bring them," Said Ida. "They might prove useful. We can always kill them later."
So they're not dead, Syaoran had the mind to think, But they didn't get away. He wondered what became of Mokona, and what Ida's goons made of the creature.
His stomach clenched again. This time it seemed to go on and on, blood and saliva, and then dry heaves.
Eventually Syaoran stopped noticing.
