2-5a: Call of the Elements

He strolled along the sidewalk that lined the water's edge, breathing in the familiar evening air of the park forest. Aside from a new coat of paint along the guard rail, it seemed that very little had changed. The birds and the wind sounded much the same as always, with the trees swaying softly in the slightly-chilled breeze. The gentle lapping of the lake's waters, and the hushed rustling of the leaves, all of it lulled him into a feeling of serenity that he had been wanting to experience for oh so long. So long, in fact, that he had almost forgotten what serenity was altogether. He was effectively experiencing Heaven on Earth in this one single moment.

And now, the only experience that was left, before he could truly be at ease, was to see his angel again.

Of course, there was the issue of that certain family matter that he was supposed to be attending to, the entire reason that he had even been allowed to return in the first place, but surely the gods would forgive him for wanting to be selfish just one more time. Right? Besides, he might even find a helping hand, this way.

He stopped and turned to look out upon the water, watching as a pair of goldfish darted through his field of view. He leaned in against the guard rail, arms crossed, and looked up into the clear evening sky. There it was, finally, the one speck of light that he had been waiting for all evening. Nestled in amongst the few brighter stars that could be seen against the lights of the city's downtown core, it was just barley visible to the naked eye. He smiled as a familiarity washed over him, and he knew immediately who that star belonged to. Or rather, he had always known. In all of his days and nights ever since that specific day, it had never failed to be there when he had required a moment of peace. He closed his eyes and drank in the sounds of nature as they wafted around him gently.

His eyes snapped back open as the serenity of nature's ways was rudely shattered, only to be replaced by an unease within the very trees themselves. There was a sort of taint within the wind as well. He jumped back into the middle of the wide park path, his right hand straying close to his pocket just in case there was a need to defend himself. There was something about that taint in the air, the smell of it, that made him very uncomfortable.

And then he recognized it – the taint of magic. There was a form of sorcery being conducted nearby, powerful and dark in form, corrupted even. It would figure that something of this sort would happen on his very first day back, yet still he cursed his luck that he was to be further delayed in meeting her again – he had waited three whole years for this day, and a few more hours could go damn themselves for all he cared. Or perhaps luck actually favored him, in that his primary reason for having come back to this place was now within reach, for he could also sense a familiarity within the corrupted winds that had begun to pick up in ferocity. Removing a fist-sized black orb from his pocket, he focused his mind into its center, unsealing its energy to release its true form. Within moments he was running down the path with his ever-faithful sword in hand, chasing after the source of the dark taint that had continued to hang in the air.

The breeze that had before been so cool and comforting continued to pick up considerably, quickly turning into something just shy of a hurricane-force windstorm. He braced himself against the strength of it and continued on at a quick jog, making his way towards the King Penguin playground that he remembered so well. He could sense it, there. The dark and corrupted energy that was being carried through the wind, it was centered there. He yet again quickened his pace.

He almost skidded to a full stop as the wind then carried to him a sharp scream of fear, causing his heart to lurch uncontrollably. He knew that voice! A fear filled his own being as he had never known before, his feet flying at a dead run towards the playground, all despite the fierceness of the pounding gales. He prayed to any spirit that would listen to him that he wasn't already too late.

He pulled to a stop just beyond the park's twin sentry guards, watching in horror as a visible aura of magic embedded within the very wind itself shot fast into the sky above, flying almost out of sight. And within the grasp of the swirling, magicked winds above him, a familiar form. His fear broke in that moment, only to be replaced by a all-consuming need to stop this madness before it could all end in tragedy.

"Sakura!!" came his panicked cry, which was quickly followed by the flourish of sword and paper.

"Fûka, shôrai!"

He didn't even wait for his own elemental wind to finish its task of rescue, and instead darted straight into the park. He cast his eyes about for the potential threat, his mind searching where his eyes were not. His inner senses were starting to pick something up, but he couldn't see what – there!

"Raitei, shôrai!" came the second incantation, striking his sword against the elemental charm with an extra ferocity. Bouts of electricity and lightning shot forth from their confines within his spirit, lashing out at the tainted aura that was hovering just above the King Penguin slide. A shriek of rage and pain ensued from the very winds that were engulfing him, a sound that assured him that he had at least stunned his target for the moment. Spinning about quickly to utilize the time he had bought himself, he rushed to where his wind spell had placed the previously flying body.

He practically skidded onto his knees as he came to a stop before her, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her, wanting her attention, "Sakura!"

Sakura looked up from where she was still cowering, fully aware of the tear that was rolling down her cheek but completely uncaring of it. In her fear of the inevitable, within the wind-swept chaos that had engulfed her short moment of flight, she had truly heard him calling for her. It was really him – Syaoran was here, here for her, holding her, and wanting her to respond. Here before her was the very miracle that she had so desperately sought after only minutes ago. Her gaping smile was infectious, and had him smiling back in turn.

An unfamiliar man sidestepped closer to the pair, gaining Syaoran's attention and causing him to also note Tomoyo's presence at the far side of the playground. He looked up as the man – who was wielding a thin, katana-style sword, his stance set against whatever had fallen away from its place above the King Penguin slide – inquired, "I hate to break up this moment, but can we deal with this little demon situation first, please?"

"And you are?" Syaoran asked cautiously, unsure of whether or not he had to protect Sakura from this mystery man as well.

"The name's Reios. You?"

"Syaoran Li," he replied, helping Sakura to her feet before turning to face whatever it was that this Reios was set against, "So, mind explaining what's going on?"

Reios didn't get a chance to reply, as he felt a surge of power flow back into him. Sakura gasped aloud as a similar feeling washed through her own body, and she jumped fully to her feet in response to it. Replacing his katana back into its scabbard, a quick nod from Sakura told him all he needed to know. In a near-synchronized motion they grabbed at their keys, a sharp command reforming their pendants into their respective tools.

Syaoran stared sharply at the silver sword that was now held tightly within this Reios person's grasp. The cross-guard was a fair bit different from his own sword: a dark silver in color with an inverted claw-like, rune-engraved design, as opposed to his own sword's smooth and golden half-circle. Yet that meant little, for what really astounded him was the fact that this Reios character had just performed a transformation spell on a key that he had never even known existed. What was worse, the sword seemed to be glowing with a faint aura of dark and mysterious energy...

Syaoran's questions were again cut short, with a low yet sharp cry of rage flying from the demon as it rose up from the ground near the slide to glare at the four humans before it. The first thing anyone noticed was that the demon had taken on a true physical form: a fully formed female figure with long, pine-green hair and oddly-pointed ears, complete with green-washed robes, as opposed to her ethereal, half-human likeness from before. The demon seemed to realize this as well, the sudden physical limitations placed upon her made very much apparent in each step she took. The four humans al took up a defensive stance, as the demon made her approach.

"I congratulate you for actually having managed to damage my power. However, it is only a form of cowardice, even weakness, that you must so rely on your allies to fight for you," she said, her green-tinted eyes – which were now also whole, and more human-like in appearance – piercing hard into Syaoran's own, "Something which is unforgivable!"

If there was anything at all that Sakura could not stand, it was her friends being considered a burden, "You're wrong! My friends are my strength. They are what give me my courage!"

The demon shook her head in disbelief, that this child before her still failed to understand the greater meaning of the challenges that lay ahead. But then, she was still just a child. A playful chuckle escaped the demon's lips as she exerted her power, levitating into the air again, "Then use that strength, and see if it is of any match against mine. Use those that only hold you back, and cut me down if you dare!"

So, you want to get cut down, huh? Syaoran thought, a plan coming to fruition within his head. He backed off, keeping his voice low enough so that the demon would hopefully not hear, "Sakura, I want you to surround it in a water bubble with Watery. You... Reios? You charge at it so that it doesn't try to interfere, distract it however you need to. Once its trapped inside the Watery, I'll attack. Got it?"

The other two nodded, and without any warning Reios dashed headlong towards the demon, his silver sword trailing behind him as he wound up for a swing. He grinned to himself as the demon took the bait, floating herself away from him to give herself enough time to weave a counter-spell against the charge. But by the time the demon managed to realize that something completely different was going on, it was far, far too late to defend itself.

"Water, become a binding chain! Watery!"

Sakura's chanted command forced the card above her into being, causing the avatar of water to fly up and over the demon's position to splash into the body of water beyond the playground. Within moments, multiple tornados of water shot out of the small lake, each one of them easily piercing through the demon's unprepared magical defenses from several different directions. Each of the spears of water slammed into the demon's physical form, dissipating and reforming until she was completely surrounded within a spherical prison of water. The demon fought and struggled valiantly against her liquid bonds, but found herself completely immobile.

She turned herself about in the water to face the brats that would attempt to defeat her, and spotted the newcomer chanting some sort of spell. When she recognized the elemental charm that he was holding as being the same one from before, she braced herself for an attack that would be painful, yet ultimately futile. Futile, because she still held to the control of the elemental winds around her.

"Raitei, shôrai!"

The blades of lightning came, piercing the air between the young sorcerer's sword and the entrapped demon just as Reios ducked off to the side with a perfect sense of timing.

The wind followed, an unexpected and fierce gust that slammed into Reios from behind, the feeling of a large sledgehammer coming to his mind as he flew head first back into the path of the coursing electricity. Before anyone could react, both man and lightning were merged into a single ball of sparks and bolts, the miniature sun that had formed before them blinding them all as to his fate. Any potential cries of pain and agony were all cut off by the crashing sounds of thunder that it was causing.

Syaoran's mouth gaped wide in horror, as the realization hit him that he had just taken an innocent life.

Sakura and Tomoyo were also in a veritable panic, unable as they were to act against Reios being enveloped into a magic-induced grave. Along with the green-clad prisoner that wore a grim smile of victory, the whole lot of them could only watch on while the white-hot electrical storm made to burn away anything that was left. Yet after an extended moment, Sakura strained her eyes against the bright light show being let off by the arcing, yellow bolts, attempting to peer straight through the blinding display and into its center. Something did not seem right... the magic was taking way too long to dissipate. In fact, the elemental spell seemed to be changing.

"Sky striker, lord of storms..." came the English chant, vocal echoes coming from seemingly all around them, yet Sakura was positive that she had heard it originate from the still-existent ball of lightning. Her hopes rose higher and higher still as the magic began to focus and shrink into a singular point, as though it were being absorbed by something, revealing an unharmed Reios wielding a sword coursing bright with wild, electrical energy. He grinned just as wildly at the demon, a cold rage lingering in his eyes that was just barely covered over with the intensity of the power that he now wielded.

The green-clad demon looked into his soul, through those ice-cold brown eyes, and she knew fear.

"Raiden Call!" he cried, his voice the very example of a feral beast signalling its attack. Stepping back into a stance, he spun into a full counter-clockwise circle, twirling his sword above him in a flourish of spins before coming back around to place the full weight of his body and strength into the strike. The sword made contact with the sphere of water, allowing the lightning within it to leap away from its metallic confines and into the more appealing escape of the liquid around it. For a moment, the demon and the winds both screamed in ear-piercing shrills as it finally experienced the assault of Syaoran's magic.

It's scream was cut off abruptly as Reios's sword completed its cycle, slicing the water prison clean in half. Syaoran remained still to watch the results, though with the expectation of both blood and gore, Sakura and Tomoyo quickly turned themselves away.

Reios maintained his follow-through position, sword held straight out before him, while the remains of the demon behind him collapsed away from the dissipating water and lightning and onto the ground below. Straightening up from his attack, he turned with a grim sense of pride to view the aftermath of his handiwork. Instead, he was stunned to find the demon still very much intact, forcing a thin gasp of shock out of him as he stared at its face-down body. He checked against his memory, but he was certain that his sword had struck true. By all accounts, the being before him should have been split cleanly into two.

The two girls noted the sounds of surprise, and turned back towards the scene. Sakura was the first of the two to approach, eyeing the demon's "remains" carefully for any signs of injury as she closed, and yet she could not find any. Not a single cut nor any a scrape was apparent, let alone any kind of burn from the electrical attack, to say nothing of the gaping hole that should have been where its torso still remained. She looked up to Reios with a questioning look.

He read the look, and replied accordingly, "I don't get it either. I didn't miss, I know that for sure."

Except that he had missed her meaning completely, because she then asked, "But how did you survive getting hit like that!?"

The realization hit Reios of what he had just done, and it literally froze him to the spot as he tried to figure out just that. Being able to launch lines of deadly white light from the tip of a sword was one thing, but surviving a direct lightning strike? And then absorbing that lightning as though it were nothing more than the static electricity off of a sweater, no less. He found his continued ability to remain standing staggeringly surprising.

His answer to these queries came out haltingly, "I, uh... that's a... that's a good question. Any ideas?"

That was not the reply any of them had been hoping for, and varied glances from person to person revealed that each of them was as clueless as the other.

"You were looking pretty good out there, though. Almost as good as Sakura herself!" Tomoyo added in, coming up from behind a blushing Sakura with her video camera in hand, "Did you take acting classes at some point?"

A goofy grin unwillingly setting itself upon his face, Reios scratched idly at his head, "Actually, I did take some drama classes back in grade sch..."

The world around him blanked out. The next thing that he was able to remember was him pushing himself weakly onto his hands and knees, his elbows and two pairs of hands just barely managing to support his weight while he focused hard to remain conscious. Physically, he knew that he was fine, but there was something in a different part of him that felt faint. Exhausted, even. It was like he had spontaneously missed the last two weeks of going to sleep. What he wouldn't have given for a pillow, right about then.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, she and Syaoran both having darted down to assist him right after his collapse. Reios shook off the encroaching darkness, took hold of his senses, and between the efforts of his two helpers eventually managed to get back onto his feet. He shook his head again, more this time to deny any knowledge of what had just happened, though he still felt the overwhelming desire to just fall asleep right then and there.

"I'd be able to tell more accurately if I knew the facts better," Syaoran stated, thinking back to when Sakura was still working on reincarnating the Clow Cards, "but based on what little magic I can sense remaining within you, I'm going to guess that this is your first time using magic in general. Am I right?"

Reios nodded wearily, a murmur of a yes escaping his lips. His theory verified, Syaoran turned towards Sakura to continue, "Then it's similar to when you were converting all the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards. The first few exhausted your magic so much that you fell right to sleep soon after changing them. Probably the effort of absorbing my elemental attack into his sword, however he managed to do it, was enough to drain his mental reserves in a similar fashion."

Syaoran turned back to examine Sakura's new acquaintance more intently, using his senses in an effort to further detect any internal lack of magic on Reios's part. The almost pitiful amount of power that remained to the man was a good enough verification of his guess, "Your power, at first, will be weak and unfocused. However, as you continue to use it, it should become easier to manipulate and control, until your spiritual limitations can grow to handle the strain." Reios nodded to himself as the bits and pieces started to fall back into place again.

"Well, now that we've got that figured out... what do we do about her?" Reios then asked sleepily, nodding his head in the unconscious demon's direction. As though cued by mention of herself, the demon stirred, groaning as she struggled for conscious thought. She rolled over onto her backside with a push of her left hand, unaware of her situation or position, trying to discern why she was lying in the middle of a... children's playground? The darkening sky did little to help her check her surroundings.

A flash of metal fell into view, causing the demon to instinctively freeze into place as Syaoran's sword moved to point at her neck. Wide-eyed and frightened, she sat up on her elbows as she attempted to back away slowly from the eminent danger before her, "Please, stay your weapon! I mean you no harm!"

Reios crossed his arms, though he was forced to lean up against the King Penguin slide in order to support his tired frame. Giving the demon a look of disbelief that said he knew better, he uttered, "I hope you'll forgive me if I don't exactly believe that."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't run you through right now," Syaoran followed up, his voice a low growl, dark and menacing. He pulled his arm back a bit, gaining momentum for a piercing strike, yet his arm was unable to respond to his commands when Sakura's hand placed itself gently on his shoulder. The look he received from her told him not to do anything rash, but he was well beyond that point.

He glared back at the demon below him, "You tried to kill her! Why shouldn't I try to kill you in turn? Answer me!"

A gentle squeeze on his shoulder told Syaoran that he was going too far, but the rage within him was too strong to ignore. This demon, or whatever she was, had just attempted to kill the very person he cared for, and had quite nearly succeeded at that. He would not – and could not – let that go unchallenged. He glared deep into the demon's eyes, searching her soul for an answer that she seemed unwilling to give up.

What he found there was a genuine fear. A fear that she was about to be killed. A fear that something had gone horribly wrong. She was genuinely begging for her life to be spared, if only through an intent gaze. There was also something else, deeper within... regret, perhaps? Regret for having reasoned to attack them, instead of the malice that had been embedded into those same reasons. He smiled inwardly, figuring that Sakura would be able to notice such things before anyone else, though his actual facial features remained as hard as a carved stone. He eventually backed off, lowering his arm until his sword's tip tinged quietly against the ground.

Freed from the threat of death, the demon pushed herself up fully to sit with her legs astride of herself, taking a moment to wipe away a tear that had begun to roll before speaking, "Such travesties that I have incurred, that I would be forfeit of life... truly, I beg your forgiveness, for all I have done against you."

Sakura kneeled down slowly, wanting to comfort the injured soul before her, yet her full awareness of what this one had just attempted kept her at bay. Instead, she just asked, "Who are you?"

The demon looked up at Sakura's genuinely concerned expression, then cast her eyes about at each face gathered near. The air was still tense, hostile even, yet she sensed no further ill will from these four humans. She smiled against her fear and sadness, in awe that they would worry for her even after all she had tried to do, and so addressed her former opponent's question, "I suppose there is much more to explain than just who I am. If you will allow, I would explain my very purpose here."