In beginning any tale with the "interesting bits," there is inevitably some regrettable loss of detail and characterization. For instance, one thing is not immediately apparent about the character of Syaoran is his rather remarkable ancestry. The God of Wine and God of Love did not just happen upon a child in need of a home one day, nor would they have been especially disposed to take one in out of the kindness of their hearts (a harsh truth, but considering the mindset of the God of Love at that time, not an especially surprising one). No, Syaoran's story involves much more goading and arm-twisting on the part of a higher ranking deity.

At the time of his birth, there were many rumors flying around the small kingdom he hailed from that any issue of the king would grow to kill his father and marry his mother. Where or why these had started is still a matter of some contention, but most can agree that it was a lot of superstitious nonsense stemming from the fact that the king really did not like children. Moreover, while Syaoran's mother might have been the Queen, his father was certainly not the king (though it is unlikely his fate would have been much different, had this been known).

Ruling over the gods without a partner is lonely work. And Yuuko did not suffer loneliness gladly.

And so it was that Syaoran was born the son of two Queens. Between the two of them, he was spared a bloody end and given a new start in the home of two gods who, over time, grew to love him as their own.

(Which isn't a bad start for a demigod, considering how badly things went for poor Perseus.)

There are certain privileges that come with being family, and chief among these is the right to curse their name loudly when they do not return home from the capital on time like they promised and plot creative ways to punish them when they do bother to turn up. Kurogane has made good use (some might say "abuse") of both of these privileges in the past twelve hours, and while the thought of making the kid scrub the wine presses clean with only a chisel and paintbrush (or better, the latrines with only his bare hands) is appealing, any sort of pleasure he might have been deriving from these machinations is quickly banished to the shadowy parts of his brain by the rising sun.

As the sunlight creeps over the fields, it fails to reveal any teenagers struggling to make their way home before their fathers kill them (or any teenagers passed out with their loincloths on their head for that matter – which might have at least been funny once it was finished being infuriating). Kurogane's rage subsides to a sickening worry – or is at least tempered by it – as he stares out over the horizon. Unlike Fai, he hasn't be able to rest, secure in the knowledge that boys will be boys and boys will piss off their fathers. He's too well aware that boys tend to be idiots and idiots tend to be killed or run off the road or arrested and held in solitary confinement while their parents waste away with worry and-

Fuck it – he's going toOuto.

The kid has their only horses, but there are other ways for a god to travel, and bringing Syaoran home safely outweighs any sort of risk of outing himself as an immortal. It'll be more efficient if there are two of them to search, however, so it's back into the house for now to wake Fai and fill him full of enough wine to produce a moderately functional god. He casts a long final glance over the fields and turns back to the door.

"It's five in the morning, do you know where the son of Yuuko is?"

Kurogane freezes with his hand on the door latch. He hasn't heard anyone approach, nor should anyone around here know about-

"Yue."

He steps back from the door to where he can get a better view of the winged messenger god's likeness at its side. The statue itself has seen better days – it's been here as long as they have, which is to say nearly a century – but the face has suddenly taken on new definition, and somehow manages to look even more judgmental than usual. Kurogane sighs as it cranes its neck up for a better view at him.

"Well, do you?"

"No," Kurogane growls, "I don't. I don't suppose you're here to tell me?"

"No," Yue lifts an eyebrow peevishly, "I am here to summon you to Mount Edonis for an audience with Her Efficaciousness, Yuuko the Great and Mighty. Keeping track of that brat was your responsibility."

Kurogane curses loud enough to scare away the larks gathering to search out their breakfast. Nothing good has ever come of meeting with that witch of a goddess and, considering the circumstance, he has little reason to believe that this time should be any different. He fixes his grip on the door handle. "Let me just wake him."

"See that you do it quickly," Yue taps his foot impatiently, "I haven't got all day and this marble is terrible quality."

Kurogane slams the door shut behind him. This has all taken a turn for the worse very quickly.

It should be noted, as it was not in the last bit of narration, that Yuuko is fiercely protective of her children and unforgiving of those who would do them harm.

She is also, however, fiercely proud of them, and not about to let a good opportunity for them to show off and carve their names upon the tablets of history go to waste.

At this time of morning, the sunlight spilling into the halls of Mount Edonis is almost blinding. Situated high about the cloud line, there is little obstruction for the morning sun, and the high-pillared arches invite its rays in to be scattered across the polished marble floors. It's an effect intended to dazzle and disarm audiences to the high gods, but at the moment it's only managing to give Kurogane a massive headache.

Fai shades his eyes from the glare. For all Kurogane might be suffering from the light, he is suffering the after-effects of a night spent at the bottom of a barrel. There had been no time to stop off at the store house – he'd simply been shaken awake and a pitcher of water dumped over his face to ensure the job was done. Kurogane had shouted something about messages and suddenly they have found themselves swept off their feet and dumped at the foot of the mountain.

The climb to the top had been enough to sap them both of the will to argue, which was probably the point.

"Wait here," their winged escort says shortly, "Her Bombasticness will arrive shortly."

The chamber they've been lead to is as ornate as it is large, with fantastic sculptures intruding into what might have been barren spaces and rich fabrics draped to catch and cut the light into shadows. There's a decided lack of furniture, but that's to be expected – no one sits to greet the queen.

And speaking of the queen-

"It's been quite a while, boys," she says, waltzing in with the air of one who own not only this room, but the whole of creation. "Hopefully this meeting will be more pleasant than our last?"

"You tell us," Kurogane grumbles, "You're the one who summoned us here."

"Now, see, this is a very poor start already." Yuuko circles the two of them with an appraising look and reaches out to lift Kurogane's chin with her index finger. He averts his eyes from her stare. "I've been back on this mountain for less than a day, you know. I haven't even had time to sit down to a decent meal or indulge a drink or six. And do you know why?" She tilts Kurogane's chin further back. "Hmmm?"

Kurogane twists his head to the side with a grimace. "I will find him. I swear it-"

"Oh, I know where he is," she says airily and skips over to Fai. "How are you darling?" she asks, laying a hand across his shoulder, "You look terrible."

"I've had better days," Fai says truthfully, "But, if you know where Syaoran is-"

"I thought it might be instructive for you to see as well. Let's review the events of yesterday afternoon, shall we?" she beckons the two of them to a large pool of water surrounded by a bed of colorful stones at the center of the room. She fills a cup and passes it off with a wink to Fai, who accepts it gratefully, before stirring the surface of the water with a fingertip. "Watch carefully."

The ripples in the water part, leaving a pristine surface that glows with a golden light. At the bottom of the pool, the events from the day before surge by at a rapid pace: a stolen kiss and burning barge, an unimpressed messenger of the gods, and a promise that strikes like a knife into Kurogane's heart to hear. The night comes and goes, and Syaoran appears again, this time bidding farewell to his friend and taking off on foot through the Great Forest of Rekort.

Kurogane stares in disbelief. He's already fighting back the urge to throttle Yue for taunting him when he knew full well where Syaoran had been, but now he's faced with explicit evidence that his son has disregarded every single thing he has ever taught him and is quite possibly an idiot on top of that. If he had any inkling the little brat was capable of this, he would have-

"Where is he heading?" Fai asks. It's the obvious question, but one that Kurogane is not certain he wants the answer to. "There's nothing in Rekort Forest apart from dark magic and evil spirits."

"Isn't there?" Yuuko lifts an eyebrow, "I think you might be surprised." She plucks a well-worn stone from the bed around the pool and casts it in. The picture in the basin is thrown into disarray as ripples chatter across the water's surface; when it clears once again, the scenery has changed to a thatched hut in the middle of a dark wood. It looks abandoned apart from the smoke pouring from its chimney, but not at all like the sort of sinister dwellings one usually found in Rekort.

"What is it?" Kurogane demands, "Some hag's hut?"

"In a way," Yuuko smiles, "Though they would probably not appreciate being called such." She flicks her finger across the water's surface and the camera changes again to show endless rows upon rows of shelves in a darkened chamber. "This is the Library of Rekort," she explains, "One of our better kept secrets, I must say. It has held all of our knowledge and our secrets since the dawn of time."

"How does he know to go there then?" Kurogane asks.

"He doesn't," Yuuko answers, "Right now he has taken the advice of a local oracle and is heading into the forest in hopes of stumbling across an old seer who lives just beyond the border of the woods."

"Will he find them?"

"I don't know that she's still alive, to be honest," Yuuko frowns, "I haven't heard from her in years. A shame – she always had the best wine…"

"Then why-"

"Because," Yuuko says forcefully, "It may have escaped your notice for the past nineteen years, Kurogane, but Syaoran is a demigod and my son on top of that. Whether or not he finds the seer is irrelevant. Once he is deep enough into that forest, he'll be pulled toward the Library."

"Is there something dangerous in the library?" Fai asks. He leans in toward the pool to get a better look. The room is too dark to make out specifics, but it's clear enough that it not only books that line those shelves.

"Oh, rest assured that every dangerous thing in creation has a home in that library," Yuuko grins, "And several less dangerous, but still unpleasant things as well." She dips her finger into the pool again, and this time brings up the image of a face neither of them have seen in one hundred years. Both men turn their heads immediately to the side, lest they be turned to stone immediately. "Don't worry," Yuuko laughs, "It's perfectly safe to look at in reflection. Oh, Fei Wong my dear, the years have not been good to you." She flicks a few drops of water onto the reflections eyes. "Not that you ever were much to look at."

"The head is there?" Fai asks, finally understanding, "So he'll succeed?"

Kurogane feels an enormous weight lift from his chest. Curse her for toying with them this way! "You could have just said so from the beginning!" he growls.

"It's possible that he'll succeed, Kurogane," Yuuko agrees, "Provided he survives the trials of the library's keepers. But please don't mistake this for a good turn of events."

"What?"

"I'm not in the habit of doing things for no reason," she continues, "Everything here has a cause and effect, just as young Syaoran discovered yesterday when he destroyed the tribute to the Largos. Now, without food, it will sack the shore until it is sated and take that girl as recompense."

"Unless Syaoran succeeds," Fai says, "In which case…something bad will happen."

"Correct," Yuuko snaps her fingers, "At least one of you is bright enough to keep up."

"Hey-"

"Here's the problem," she splashes the water again to bring up the image of a great black sea monster, flanked by countless tentacles and in possession of a single blue eye in the center of its body. "The Largos is more than a monster that needs to be appeased. It is the Destroyer – one of the ancient titans who maintains the balance of all things on this earth."

Fai wrinkles his nose. "That thing?"

"Oh shush, he's adorable," Yuuko insists. Once Fai has relaxed his sneer, she continues, "But he will be affected by the head of Fei Wong just the same as you or I would. Should he be turned to stone, well…" She snaps her fingers and suddenly Kurogane and Fai find themselves standing knee-deep in compost. She snaps again and the heap tops itself off with a layer of tree branches. Again and broken shards of ceramics fall into place.

"I get it," Kurogane growls before she gets around to dropping dead animal carcasses on them, "Without the Destroyer, nothing that is spent will disappear. It will just keep building up and building up without anywhere to go."

"At least until we manage to create a cosmic garage of some sort," Yuuko nods.

Kurogane rolls his eyes. "What do you want us to do?" he asks, "Your little henchman was the one who put this idea in his head!"

"And Yue is very sorry," Yuuko pouts, "He's already apologized and everything." She heads to a table at the side of the chamber and rifles around its cluttered surface. She eventually locates a scroll, which she carries gingerly back to the pool. "What I need from you is very simple," she holds out the scroll toward Kurogane, who stares warily for a long moment before accepting it, "I need you to find the Creator."

"What the hell is the Creator?"

"The other of the ancient titans that maintains the balance of all things on earth."

"You don't know where the Creator is?" Kurogane scoffs.

"I lost track of her!" Yuuko waves this away.

"You are awful with your pets."

"Oh, don't mistake them for pets, Kurogane," she laughs, "Chances are, they think of you as their pet." She claps her hands together, "Now the last place I saw her was in the underworld, so you'll need to-"

"Hold on," Kurogane cuts her off, "Why do we have to do it? Why don't you just send your pretty boy messenger?"

"Oh no, they don't get along," Yuuko says seriously, "That would be a disaster. No, Kurogane, I am sending you to do this firstly," she holds up one finger, "Because your duties as they boy's guardian have not yet come to an end. Secondly," she adds another, "Because I have just spent six months in the underworld and I am in no fit condition to do it myself. And finally," she waggles all of her fingers in front of Kurogane's face, "Because this is all your fault, O Great God of Love."

"What?"

"While I certainly appreciate that it's taken you the better part of a century to relax enough, your unfocused experimentation yesterday created a shockwave of infatuation between anyone unlucky enough to be standing too close to another."

Kurogane's mouth drops open.

"Not that it hasn't been entertaining, mind you," Yuuko laughs, "It's been awhile since I've seen a threesome that included both a priest and a used chariot salesman. That was one for the record books…" She straightens her face. "The point is, were he not head over heels for that girl, the sacrifice would not have been lost and all of this might have been avoided."

"Head over heels? But he doesn't know her!"

"Oh, that hardly matters. Especially not for a teenager," Yuuko rounds on him, "You've not been the greatest god of love, Kurogane, but you've at least been consistent until now. I would suggest you learn how to control your power, now that you seem to be on the verge of figuring out how to actually wield it. And you'd do well to figure out what comes after infatuation if you don't want a giant mess on your hands."

"I-"

"I know you will," she cuts him off, "Fai?"

Fai, who is still staring into the viewing pool, startles at the sound of his name. "Sorry," he smiles wanly and scratches his head, "I got a little lost there."

"So I see," she frowns, "You'll have to trust Syaoran to do his part in this."

"Oh," Fai clears his throat, "Yes, certainly. And we'll do ours as well."

"Yes…" Yuuko's eyes narrow on him, "And when all is said and done, perhaps the two of you will return to Mount Edonis and share of some of our wine."

"Of course," Fai bows deeply.

"Right then," she claps her hands together and moves to escort them from the chamber, "Once you've found the Creator, bring her to Outo. She should be able to calm the Destroyer."

"Should be?" Kurogane stops in his tracks, "You mean will be."

"Well I daresay that depends on you," Yuuko smiles and whacks him on the back. Kurogane protests, but starts moving again. "Good luck boys. If you follow Yue back down to the base of the Mountain, he will arrange for transportation to the underworld. Please remember to keep your arms and legs inside the cart at all times and if you experience turbulence on the way down, just remember that you'll be landing in the world of the dead shortly, and there is guaranteed to be something more frightening just around the corner! Oh!" she snaps her fingers loudly, "That scroll will get you in, but don't forget to ask Clow for the toll for the return ferry!" With that she gives them a hearty shove back into the hall and slams the door behind them.

"She gets worse every time," Kurogane mutters.

The descent into the underworld is about as unpleasant as Yuuko describes, though do keep in mind that most of those making the journey are newly dead, and therefore their days aren't about to get much worse.

Where the halls of Mount Edonis had been stupefyingly bright, the entrance to the underworld is proving to be suffocatingly black. Surprisingly, this has much the same effect as the dazzling light, except instead of fearing wrath from above, one starts fearing wrath in the form of something oogey climbing up one's leg. There is no shortage of oogey things littering the shores of the River Infinity – that much is certain – and it's only gotten worse now that they've ferried to the far shore. The stink clawing at their noses grows more pungent with each step toward the great black gates.

Kurogane grabs Fai's arm, pulling them both a halt as they reach the gates. He can hear arguing coming from just beyond, but can't make out exactly what the words are, or who they're coming from. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah," Fai nods and tiptoes closer to the gates, "I'd been told there was a guardian, but I wasn't expecting him to be so busy-"

"What kind of a guardian?" Kurogane asks. He creeps closer to the gate as well – the last he'd heard, one of Yuuko's god-forsaken pets was the only thing guarding the gate between the souls of the dead and the world of the living. While he supposes that it's possible she's taught her pets to speak (it sounded asinine enough to appeal to her), this sounds like an full on argument between at least three sentient participants, and it only seems to be getting more heated as they draw nearer.

"Kuro-fancy?" Fai mutters beside him.

"What?"

"I think…I think they're fighting over who's scored higher at table tennis."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm quite serious." He skips the last of the way up to the gates and motions for Kurogane to follow suit. He cranes his ear toward the black bars. "It's definitely table tennis."

Kurogane sighs and plods over to where Fai is standing and cups a hand around his ear to listen. And sure as day, there it is.

"You bounced outside the line, so it doesn't count!"

"It does so – besides which, you hit the net on your last serve and I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't say anything because it didn't happen!"

"It happened! I'm standing right by the net!"

"You're not even playing – shut up!"

"It doesn't matter if I'm playing, I still hold the high score. AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You do not!"

"I do! I scored 400,000 on that last round! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"The game only goes to 11 you idiot!"

"I'm not an idiot, you're an idiot!"

"Well you're ugly!"

"Your mother's ugly!"

"Don't talk about our mother like that!"

"Um, excuse me," Fai calls out tentatively. Immediately, the arguing ceases and they find themselves standing in the shadow of a gigantic, snarling, three-headed…cat-bear? With floofy white wings.

"Who goes there?" all three heads demand in unison.

Kurogane claps a hand over his eyes and groans. "What the hell is this?"

"We are Keroberos! Guardian of the gate of the underworld. State your business!"

"Give him the scroll, Kuro-beau." Fai nudges him forward.

"Right." Kurogane holds out the scroll Yuuko gave him earlier. "We're looking for Clow. Yuuko sent us down here."

The leftmost head eyes him up. "Are you dead?"

"What?" Kurogane sputters, "Do I look dead?"

"You smell dead," the middle head answers.

"I don't think that's him," the rightmost head says, "I think it's you."

"You don't know what you think."

"Well I know what he thinks he thinks."

"I don't care what you think he thinks he thinks-"

"Besides, if I stink, you stink-"

"OI!" Kurogane shouts.

Three heads round back on him. "State your business!"

"We need," Kurogane says, attempting to speak through gritted teeth, "To see Clow. We have passage papers from Yuuko."

"But are you dead?" the leftmost head demands again.

"We're immortal," Kurogane seethes.

"This is Kurogane, God of Love, Lust, and Beauty," Fai supplies, "And I am Fai, God of Wine and Ecstasy."

"Why does the God of Beauty stink?"

"I told you it's not him."

"Can we stay on point?" Fai begs, "Please?"

"Of course," the middle head says, "We've heard your case. And we refuse you entry."

"What?" Kurogane snaps, "What do you mean, you refuse us entry?"

"Did you stutter?"

"I didn't hear him stutter."

"No, I don't think I stuttered."

"He didn't stutter," all three heads sound in unison and cock incredulously to the side.

Kurogane pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why," he growls, "Are you denying us entry?"

"Because," the middle head answers, "Only the dead may enter here."

"Are you deaf?" Kurogane barks, "We're both gods. Sent by Yuuko herself. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Faionysus the Twice Born cannot enter here."

"What? Why?"

"Because he neither fully dead nor fully god."

Kurogane looks dubiously at Fai. He's certainly immortal enough to have driven him insane for nearly a century now – surely he would have noticed a little thing like that?

Fai frowns, "I suppose that is true, in a way."

Kurogane balks.

"But," Fai continues, "That was nearly 7000 years ago. On my twenty-fifth birthday I was taken into the pantheon as the god of wine. Since then I've been as full a god as anyone."

"This is stupid," Kurogane decides. He stomps up to the gate and kicks at its locks. "Worry about him all you want, but I've been keeping his immortal ass in line for longer than you've been standing guard here. So I'll make you a deal." He smacks the flat of his boot against the support bar of the gate and draws out a long, tortured whine, "You can either open the gate, or I can tear it down."

Sudden understanding flashes onto the faces of the three headed beast.

"That's why he stinks like death – he was the god of war."

"The god of violence."

"He'll kill us all."

"That won't take much, we only have one heart."

"Don't tell him that."

"Yes, keep that quiet."

"And open the gate."

"Yes, open the gate."

"Certainly."

"It's about damned time," Kurogane smirks triumphantly as the locks fall away from the gate and one door creaks slowly inwards.

"Well done, Kuro-charming," Fai breathes and heads for the entrance.

Kurogane grips his arm and pulls him back in line with himself. "Don't get too far ahead of me," he growls, "Just in case."

"I'll be fine, Kuro-crushing-my-arm," Fai shirks away and smiles breezily. "Let's go find this Creator, shall we?"

"Yeah…" Kurogane eyes the path sprawling before them with a growing uneasiness. He doesn't like this – not one bit. Keroberos steps to the side to let them pass. From the looks on its faces, it's obvious it doesn't like this one bit either.

It is a little known fact that Keroberos can be easily tamed by feeding it its favorite food, which happens to be vanilla pudding. It's too bad for our heroes in this case that pudding will not be invented for another three thousand years.