Shadowdance
Chapter 9
Sakura's dilemma was quickly solved when the teenagers proceeded to create as much catastrophe as frequently as was possible in the span of five hours. This seemed to be a common occurrence, since the adult shadowmasters regarded these events with much frustration but very little surprise. Feeling deeply thankful for their generosity (she could not imagine they would get away with all this unpunished), Sakura began her investigation while the adults were preoccupied.
The shadowmaster system reminded her of an anthill. It was just as dark and just as maze-like and complicated, with special nurseries for the young ones where schooling and nurturing commenced, and every shadowmaster was designated a responsibility reminiscent of a communist society, with the difference being that it actually works for shadowmasters. Had she gone through all the halls herself she would most certainly have gotten lost, but with the Shadow Card and the Void Card cloaking it (she still had no idea what it does, she was just using instinct and a bit of trial and error), she avoided that hardship and instead had the card search through all the rooms undetected.
Four of the five shadowmasters caught up with her half an hour after all the chaos finished ensuing, grins on their faces for a job well done.
" Find anything?" Dan asked.
Sakura shook her head. The card has not returned yet.
" Hm." Teresa frowned.
Sakura looked among them. " Where is Akil?"
" Slaving away under Hunko." Eudidya replied. Sakura had a feeling that was not a real name. " Anyways, noble act, freed us up to check on you. Doing okay so far?"
" Not found out." Sakura muttered under her breath so eavesdroppers would not hear.
" Walls have ears." The boy approved. " Well, keep us updated."
The four of them turned around and suddenly froze. Sakura looked from behind one of them and realized there was another shadowmaster standing in their way.
" Lord Senyan." All of the sudden the teenagers were grave and they all bowed respectfully. Sakura was so astonished she did not think to do the same, which did not matter because she was behind them anyway.
Does he suspect? Sakura thought fearfully. Were the teenagers too over the top with their antics? Is he here to interrogate them? To interrogate her? Did they find Yue and Kero outside the clan area, where they were waiting? With a frightful clench of her heart she realized the man looked very much like Syaoran. Except even at his cruellest, Syaoran never looked so…sinister.
" What have we here," Lee began silkily, " You four have been unusually restless today. I could hear the commotion from my own private quarters.
The tension in the air was practically tangible. In fact, with the shadows that covered everything, it probably was to the shadowmasters. Sakura knew that while the teenagers might have caused a lot of trouble, visits from the Lord of Shadowmasters did not occur often.
" We did not mean it, sir." Lea bowed her head meekly. " It just…happens."
" Just happens, indeed." Lee moved through them to approach Sakura, who by then was trembling in terror. " And I suppose this just happened too," He sneered.
For a good measure, he even placed his hand on Sakura's head. His hand was covered with a glove, and it felt terrible to the poor child.
At this, the teenagers had nothing to say.
" I have had enough of this!" Lee suddenly exploded, jerking his hand off Sakura. " You," He hissed in a menacingly low voice, " Are to return her to her clan, right now, right this instant. And you are to return to receive punishment. And don't even think of escaping because I will send scouts to find you and they will, and if you dread your upcoming sentence you will dread it far worse if you try to escape. Am I understood?"
New panic raced through Sakura's veins. The card! It has not returned yet! She cannot leave without the card!
" But my lord, the light—"
" Should be no trouble for you, as you have gone out before during this time, I heard?"
" But the child." Teresa insisted, proving that the teenagers survived their antics for a reason. The statement made Lee pause, and he looked at Sakura with eyes like that of a hungry hyena.
" I am sure you will take good care of her." His voice was laden with a dark threat, one that forbid any more protestations.
And then, at the worst possible moment, the Shadow Card zoomed back to her, whipping through the room, slicing at Lee's face. It settled in her hand innocently enough and informed her that whatever had happened to Syaoran, the boy is not here.
Sakura looked back up at Lee's malicious eyes and her stomach plummeted. She withdrew the Void Card and released the Ghot. Surprised, Lee was forced to dodge. Sakura yanked at one of the young shadowmasters.
" Come on!" She cried, as the Ghot kept Lee busy. The four shadowmasters bolted for it. Lee suddenly sliced at the Ghot Card with a sword that appeared from nowhere in his hand, and the card returned to her, wounded. The Shadow Lord charged at her and Sakura blocked with her staff. It nearly gave under the dark energy. She wasted no time summoning the Sword Card.
" You are in my domain, Card Mistress." Lee smirked at her, the grin malevolent and black. " Fools, all of you are fools."
Sakura cared very little for the drama. Boldened by desperation, she struck at him, her blow guided by the wisdom of the card. Lee blocked and the shadows around Sakura writhed as if alive and swooped upon her. Panicking, she did not even look at the next card, simply focusing on releasing any random one and hoping for the best.
Out popped the Sweet card, and with an audible pop Lee was transformed into a gingerbread man. Sakura gaped at the results of the spell for a moment. Then, the bread blackened as if molding, before reforming into a dark unidentifiable shape. Sakura knew Lee had broke through as the Sweet Card sailed into her hand.
Soon Lee was standing before her again, and Sakura could hear the other shadowmasters rushing their way. But the Sweet Card gave her an idea. She could not transform the shadowmasters, but she could transform herself. Whipping out the Little Card, Sakura struck it just as Lee slashed towards her. The shadows themselves rose to hide her. She allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. Then she considered her options.
What now? Syaoran was not here, according to the Shadow Card. She had to get out of here.
The other shadowmasters arrived, and she heard their loud voices echoing around in the darkness. It was a different experience, she reflected, being so small. It should be easy for her to get out now, they cannot see nor sense her, now that her aura's signature has reduced as well. The question is how to get out of here.
The Shadow Card knew, it had been all around this anthill of a place. Pulsing a little with magic, it offered to take her.
Sakura agreed. But as she heard the loud voices talk, she suddenly had an idea. She was in the perfect position to eavesdrop. They cannot find her, and even when they do it would be hard for them to attack her. She could always turn them into gingerbread men…
Maybe she could figure out where Syaoran is before she takes her leave.
oO
After Li had lost his temper with Nataku and demanded to know why it was so hard for immortals to fix a problem mortals caused, he and Sakura headed out again, while Ichiro went to help Nataku and the deities, leaving Kero, Yue, Syaoran, and Meiling together with the waterspeakers. Syaoran, feeling a little nostalgic about his old life, wanted to spend as much time as possible with a relative he never had, and Meiling was happy to oblige.
With much incredulity, this time he learned that in fact, though Meiling and Syaoran had been betrothed since they were young, the two of them did not actually know this and had believed it was all Meiling's idea. He was astounded that his other self had agreed to such a thing, and in fact went along with it for at least five years.
" I was crazy." Meiling laughed. " A crazy girl. But hey, it's what makes me interesting."
Syaoran assured her that he agreed.
Then it was Syaoran's turn. He had given her a run through of all the major events, but Meiling was curious about the little things. Was Sakura still good at gymnastics? Was Kero still such a jerk? To which Syaoran had difficulty answering with the guardians present. Meiling was relentless though. For all her growth throughout the years, she was still impatient enough not to consider the position she would put Syaoran with both Kero and Yue listening. At length she finally got Syaoran to admit (and it seemed like she could make Li do whatever she wanted as well)) that Kero had become a lot kinder ever since Syaoran moved away, and that his version of Yue had offered to take care of him, and when that was not possible, had been a kind ear whenever Syaoran needed it.
These, of course, made everyone except Meiling extremely uncomfortable.
Ichiro dropped back. " I don't like the shadowmasters in your world." He declared. " By the way, Eriol called. Hrm." He handed out his phone to Syaoran, who stared at it for a minute.
" Moshi moshi?"
" Hi…er, Syaoran-san. Hm. Which one are you?"
" Uh…I'm the lost one."
" Oh. Good. Can you give me an update?"
Syaoran gave him the update.
" Ah…I see." Eriol paused.
" I am baffled myself." Syaoran admitted. " They are taking so long. It should not be so hard to reverse what the…what the shadowmasters did, should it?"
" That is a tricky question to answer." Eriol told him. " It depends on what they did. Some problems are easier to fix than others. And elementals and shadowmasters are almost gods themselves. They have the immortality and such. But if the prince is not complaining, I would say just sit tight for now. They are probably also keeping track of how much longer you can stay here without merging."
" Merging with myself here?"
" Hai." Eriol replied gravely. " If that happens you will disappear off your timeline. Which means you will never exist."
" How does that work?" Syaoran asked, confused.
" It is complicated." Eriol replied. " Actually, it has a bit to do with magic and how the worlds are ordered, but it actually has mostly to do with very advanced math. The shadowmasters are either very anxious to get rid of you, or extremely anxious to get your firespeakers back. Although I am a bit dumbfounded at their methods. I think erasing you completely would be a bit…well, extreme, for their purposes."
Syaoran sighed.
" I am sorry Syaoran." Eriol apologized. " That was callous of me."
" Iie, it's fine." Syaoran held his head. " Should be used to my situation by now."
" If your world is anything like this, you can always talk to me there." Eriol assured him. " No matter how busy I know I would be."
Syaoran allowed a chuckle to escape. " Actually, I did most of my crying to Yue." He forgot Yue was still there with him. " I should be fine though. I have a lot of friends. It makes me feel so ungrateful that I'm still sobbing about my life." But there was, undeniably, that dark heavy weight on his heart that, no matter what his positive thinking, refused to go away. Meiling looked at him strangely, surprised that he was so open.
" I do hope we do not think so," Eriol told him wisely, " And I say you are not as ungrateful as you think yourself to be. Just your friends' efforts are not enough at the moment, right? There is nothing to feel bad for about that. Sometimes all the friends in the world cannot match the help of time."
" Hm." Syaoran was oddly comforted by that. He felt a twist in his gut as he suddenly remembered, since a long while, how matters had been between him and Chul. He hoped Chul was not still angry…perhaps time could cure that as well?
" Take it easy." Eriol instructed him. " You're not involved in the gate breaking, are you?"
" Iie." Nataku insisted he stay.
" Good." Eriol said strangely. " Try not to use your powers. There is only one thunderspeaker in this world. Right now most of this dimension has not sensed your presence, but flaunting your powers would shorten the time you can safely stay here."
" I never flaunted my powers!" Syaoran protested indignantly. I flaunted qi a few times with the Koreans, but not magic!
" I know." Eriol laughed. " But, just in case you get frustrated." He said goodbye and hung up.
Suddenly there was a loud call about food being ready. Oddly enough Syaoran was the only one who heard it. It took him a while to realize the waterspeakers had been calling out telepathically.
Hey, he called back, How come I can hear you?
Interested, the waterspeakers admitted they did not know, that Ritsuko had been planning to fetch them, but since he heard could he go and grab everyone else so they could all eat?
Syaoran suddenly had a small thing to look forward to back home.
oO
Chul woke.
He lay there for a moment, frantically remembering what he saw last before he woke. Syaoran was staring at him fearfully, for some reason. There was blood all around…whose blood? And when he reached out to the boy, the child backed away, shuddering. There was a loud roaring in Chul's ears, but all was silent in the dream. And all was dark, with Syaoran the only one in the light…or was he the light? Wearing white, and his skin glowing…
Did he see Syaoran through another's eyes? Is that what Syaoran is feeling right now? But as he reached deep inside to sense Syaoran, he found no sense of alarm. The boy was a bit restless and impatient, but not afraid. In fact, the feeling was bordering contentment, the sense of warmth and fullness…
He's eating. Chul knew this somehow. Not certain how, but he knew it somehow. In fact, after waking up he could practically feel the boy's actual hunger. There was also a faint feeling hidden under that, like he was waiting for something.
Of course he is waiting. Chul thought. He is waiting for the portal to open. He wondered if the dream had failed and it was not really a premonition. At the moment he would gladly take that.
" Have a good sleep?" Ritsuko asked when he went downstairs. " Did you learn anything?"
" No." But come to think of it, his connection with Syaoran did seem stronger somehow. " Yes. He is eating."
Ritsuko stared at him. " That's pretty specific." She blinked. " Huh. You think he can sense you?"
Chul actually did not think of that. He closed his eyes and focused on Syaoran's gradual sense of fullness. Without thinking he sent all his hope and worry into that point.
There was a moment with no result, then a bright burst in response, young and fresh, a mixture of surprise, delight, and relief. Then a wonder, uncertainty. Chul sent him a feeling of assurance, and tried to use the sudden connection to establish an even stronger one, one where they could perhaps trade thoughts? Was that possible across dimensions?
But Syaoran was suddenly distracted, and the boy's own feelings receded a bit. Chul withdrew to allow the boy some room.
" Well?" Ritsuko asked.
" He got it." Chul allowed a smile. " He got it, and he sent one back."
" Hm." Ritsuko frowned. " Were you able to do this earlier?"
Chul shook his head. " Was not so sensitive."
The sky suddenly reddened once, and they sensed Nezha's furious aura as it receded. Ritsuko gave him a baffled look, and the two of them headed outside.
The red coloring pulsed, and the children murmured and pointed.
" What the blazes is he doing?" Chul frowned.
With an ear-splitting crack, something bright and hot, like a meteor, fell from the sky and crashed on the ground, exploding. Chul barely had time to shield the young ones. As the smoke dissipated, the older waterspeakers rushed over to the fallen figure.
" Your Highness!" They called, and Chul, after scanning over the children to make sure they were unharmed, followed the other waterspeakers.
Prince Nezha rose to his feet, barely singed, but very ruffled. He glanced up at the sky while dusting himself off.
" Are you alright?" Ritsuko asked.
" I am fine." Nezha grumbled, as the deities emerged from the sky and landed near him, asking if he was alright. " I am fine!" He repeated resentfully.
" What happened?" Chul asked.
" Ugh." Nezha pulled his hair out of his face. Muzha appeared out of the sky and landed next to his brother silently.
" Well?" Chul demanded.
" We do not know." Muzha frowned. " Brother, did you see…?"
" No." Nezha shook his head. " It popped out of nowhere."
" What just happened?" Chul interrupted.
" Something attacked him." Muzha explained. " We did not see what it was."
" Shadow?" Ritsuko guessed. But Nezha shook his head.
" Was black, but was not a shadowmaster. More of a beast. And it had a really sharp horn."
" Their beast?" Chul cocked an eyebrow.
" Shadowmasters don't have beasts." Ritsuko frowned.
" It's not shadow!" Nezha sighed. " I said it was black. Good grief! You!" He called to several of the deities, " Come with me to inspect what is blocking the portal."
" It's guarding the portal?" One of the children murmured. Chul ignored them.
" I did not say guard!" Nezha's firewheels blasted into existence with a puff of fire and he zoomed up incredibly quickly, followed by a group of flustered deities. The air shimmered when a sudden wave of angry heat pulsed down, which was odd in of itself, but Chul did not comment on Nezha's mood.
" Should I go have a look?" He asked out loud.
" I doubt you can do anything." Ritsuko answered. " They ought to handle it. They're gods. About time they actually did something for a change."