AN: Sorry for the late update. School is a bit-... er I mean a bit difficult. Spending hours on homework... Well, this chapter is... different. It acts like a transition chapter, you delve into Yan's history a bit within the last 30 or so years, you'll get to meet the two new guys and another new character, and the next chapter will start the fight ). In the meantime, you have this very, very different chapter, with different styles of writing. Most likely a one time only... unless you guys like it this way. Be sure to check out the TheSakuraProject fandub on YouTube, I'm part of the editting, made the opening sequence P. Thanks to fiasse ( You better be fixing your story ) ) , AngelEmCuti, and Eri Nikaido for reviewing!

Ghost Town Games: The Opening Game

Chess is divided into three significant parts: The opening play, the midgame, and the end game. In the opening, you develop your minor pieces, castle your king early, and attempt to hold the center squares. The opening goes by quickly, and is the key point of getting control in the midgame...

"Why are we called here?"

"To prepare for war..."

A few weeks later... Sunday

"Wolf activity is at an all time high-"

"People are vanishing-"

"Strange weather disturbances-"

"Jeez, there is only bad news these days." Touya switched off the TV set in the hospital break room. "This is messed up."

"Look on the bright side Touya." Yukito walked in, reviewing a clipboard. "It can't get much worse."

"Don't jinx it." Touya grumbled.

"Why are you such in a bad mood? Is it because of Sakura's trip tomorrow?"

"Ugh, don't remind me... a week with her and that BRAT. If she gets hurt I'll..." Touya grasped his necklace with his axe pendant.

"Why are you worrying? They can handle these new Dark Forces just fine."

"From what I heard, they have been only coming one at a time. What if they come in groups?"

"Relax... oh dear, here comes Nakuru..."

"TOUYA!!"

"ARGH! Nakuru! GET OFF!" Yukito sighed, this is going to be a long day.

BANG! BANG! DemonNight head shot KeroSun. DemonNight head shot SpinelSun.

Yan glanced away from his computer screen to watch two stuffed animals slamming their heads against his bedroom wall. "You know, for two beings who spend their days eating and playing video games, I expected better."

"Argh, best... what number are we on again?" Kero roared, scratching his small teddy bear head. Kero, Spinel and Yan were playing Team Fortress 2 together, and frankly, Yan was kicking their butts.

"Best 367 out of 733." Spinel yawned.

"Yeah... that..."

"You have a week to practice without me, so you better spend it wisely." Yan disconnected from the server, and closed his laptop.

"Oh yeah, your ghost town trip... I wonder how Sakura is going to handle it. She hates ghosts." Kero chuckled as he discussed the quirks of his mistress. His chuckle came out quite weak though, that happens when you lose 366 games in a row of anything. Yan pulled out two duffel bags, one he dumped a few clothes, his laptop, some computer equipment and other electronics. The other bag...

"Erm... kid? What's with..." Kero was flabbergasted, at loss for words, so Spinel finished the statement. "... all those weapons?"

Guns, varying from sniper rifles, pistols, sub machine guns, assault rifles, and shotguns somehow managed to cram into the bag (Kero suspected magic had a hand with it), along with grenades and other various explosives. Yan however, showed no emotion, and acted that packing for a war is perfectly normal for a school trip.

"Just playing it safe."

"But... that's a bit unnecessary for you isn't it? You are the Demon Master after all. You remember your magic right? Sword of Time?"

"Who says this is for me?" Yan zipped up the bags, and dumped them by his door. "Other people need to protect themselves you know. Not everyone has magic."

Kero's eyes grew greatly, to size of small plates. "You mean..."

"Enchanted weapons, mythril core, silver inner layer for those demons and various dark forces, and iron for magic auras. Standard counter-paranormal issue."

"Where did you get all of this? This definitely isn't legal. I don't think Dark Forces will ..." Spinel inquired.

"Had a hundred years of running around. You pick up a few items here and there." Yan whistled as he exited the room, leaving two very intrigued-and confused- stuffed animals. "And who said this is just for the Dark Forces?" The black bag filled with weapons had two words on it- "Unknown Soldiers".

THUD! An arrow hit a bulls eye. THUD! THUD! THUD! Three more hit the target, one after another. A group of boys were astonished on how their challenger was ANNIHILATING them. Not just beating the living crap out of them, but beating it out, stuffing it back in, and beating it back out again over and over. Lily gave them a smirk as she walked to them. "And you say a girl can't do archery? Sexist bastards."

The boys were unresponsive. They were too shocked at their defeat.

"Jeez, how rude... well, later idiots." Lily strutted out of Tomoeda High's archery range. Last week, the archery team rejected Lily since she was a girl (apparently, they did NOT meet Mizuki Kaho), so she challenged them, and put them in their place. "Oh crap, look at the time, I need to pack! Ugh, great... hm?"

Something hovered near the edge of her mind. Something quite familiar.

"Hello mother."

"Hm, I need to pack this, and this, oh can't forget this..." Tomoyo bustled back and forth in her room, stuffing stuff into her luggage. Sakura was getting light headed from all the stuff she was packing. "You know Tomoyo, we are only going to be there for a week..."

"You can never pack too much Sakura! Ooh, must not forget my new cameras!"

"Cameras? As in plural?" Sakura asked in horror. One camera was bad... but more? Oh the horror.

"Of course! I have permission to set up cameras all over the ghost town! They will pretty much catch everything! Except for the bathrooms of course! They will be linked to my new laptops! Of course, I will be holding one myself..."

"Hoe..."

"Hyaah!" Eriol swung his katana at lightening speed at Syaoran's head, and the attack was met with Syaoran's jian. Meilin followed Eriol's attack with a sword strike of her own, combined with some magic. "Wind come to my aid!"

Blades of air struck at Syaoran, but he easily blocked it with his magic. "Come on, strike together!" Their training session was Eriol and Meiling versus Syaoran, who outclassed the two of them combined. Blows continued to be launched, none of them even got near Syaoran, who did not even bother to strike back. "Ugh, Syaoran, you're holding back!"

"Come on Meilin, this is not my training, you guys need to MAKE me work harder. Come on! Again!"

"Mother."

"Lily." Lily glanced behind her, and saw nothing but air. "Why the veil?"

"I must not be seen by... others."

"What do you want?"

"What I always expected from you, to kill the Demon Master."

"Not going to happen."

"He's not an ally. Once he regains all of the Demons, he will destroy the world."

"Bull."

"Huh, you trust him? How foolish."

"He proved himself to be more trustworthy to me than you ever did."

"I see his deceitful lies blind you. Lodestones can be destroyed. Books don't hold any information. Why hasn't he destroyed any?"

"What?"

"He collected three lodestones, but only deactivated them. He knows how to destroy them, with hellfire or soulfire. He's planning to use them again. Once he is at full power, even the Dragon Master can't stop him."

"How can I trust you, the matriarch of the Lin clan? You've sent assassins on a simple mortal-"

"Her father held a lodestone, we had to get to it and destroy it. The Demon Master is only protecting the girl to take the stone. He's been consulting with the dark soldiers."

"Right..."

"Listen to me, he needs to be killed, and only you can kill him. He's biding his time. Waiting for the demons to be under his command. That must not happen. Kill him. He can't be trusted." She vanished, leaving Lily alone with her doubts.

The next day

"Everyone! On to the buses!" The students clamored into the buses, chatting excitedly. This was the trip that most of them were looking forward to. A real ghost town. In the back of the bus, if you listen really carefully, you can hear teeth chattering. One guess who they belong to. Our good ol' heroic Card Mistress.

So let's look at the bus and summarize the trip. Sakura and Tomoyo sat together in the back, Sakura was panicking while Tomoyo was trying to calm her down and film her kawaii-ness at the same time. Syaoran and Eriol sat together, both meditating. Lily and Meilin were playing a game of chess, but Lily seemed a bit distracted. The bus was very large, with two floors, so most of the people sat on the second floor or the back of the first. The first few rows were dead empty... except for lone Yan. Tapping away on his laptop, which was connected to his cell phone. He seemed... strange.

Now, let's skip all the way to their arrival...

"Welcome to Shen, deserted for over three hundred years, rebuilt, destroyed again in WWII, and recently redone with modern technology!" A cheery girl greeted Well, for a ghost town, it was quite a surprising view. There was a large beautiful hotel built right next to the town. One of those five star ones that rich people go to. There were forty or so floors, but each floor was two blocks wide.

"I wonder who built this..." Sakura mused. Her question was quickly answered. Two men approached the group of students, both were tall and handsome, one had brown hair and tan skin, while the other was pale with black hair. They were both quite young, maybe in their early twenties.

"Welcome! I am Mr. Lycan and this," The brown haired one pointed at the other man. "Is Mr. Pyre. We own this hotel chain, and own this ghost town. As your hosts, we hope you are comfortable here, and will have a safe trip." As the two men walked away, Syaoran felt something... unique.

Kid.

Tian? Long time no...

They're not human

What?

One's a werewolf, the other is a vampire!

WHAT?!

Keep an eye on them.

Well, this is interesting...

"Wow this room is huge!" Sakura, Meilin, Tomoyo and Lin entered their suite on the eighth floor, and frankly, its gigantic. A large living room with a sofa and wide screen TV, a very nice computer, and four seperate bedrooms and bathrooms. "And the boys are right across the hall! This is so perfect!" Meilin squealed.

Tomoyo took out her laptop and a small hard drive, and began setting them up. "Gotta get this system started up, then we have to check out the hotel! We get this whole day to enjoy ourselves!"

Across the hall...

"Eriol? What do you know about vampires and werewolves?" Syaoran yelled from his bedroom. The guys were unpacking their bags in their individual rooms.

"You talking about Lycan and Pyre?"

"How did you know?"

"Their auras, and their names. Lycanthropes are werewolves, and vampyres are well.. vampires."

"Can they be trusted?"

"Beats me. I was lucky enough to never have to be in their business."

"Hm where did Yan go?"

On the roof.

"Dang, this is high." Yan stared down to the ground. He could feel a strange aura stirring up all around him, yet it doesn't feel like a dark force. Something is not right here. Something is biding their time... waiting... preparing for the checkmate.

At the pool

"Ah, this is the life." Meilin sighed as she laid back in the pool. The gang was hanging out at the pool (except for Yan... where did he go?) "We should get a pool... Oh look, its queen bee."

"Shouldn't Yan be babysitting?" Eriol chuckled, he just can't stop making fun of Yan's predicament. "She's unwatched."

"But we aren't." Syaoran pointed at the end of the pool, where Lycan and Pyre was watching them intently. "What's with them... what are they planning? And where the hell is Yan?"

"So... this is it. The famous burial ground." Yan stood at an empty wasteland not too far from the ghost town. "Where a great lance general and his army was buried a thousand years ago..."

"So you know the story then?" The guide from earlier approached him. "Supposedly the general had incredible power, and combined with a legendary lance, he was unstoppable. He supposedly came to life three hundred years ago and destroyed the town. This place is supposed to be cursed." She talked in a cheerful voice, despite the depressing topic but her tone quickly took a U turn right into morbid and dark. "He was supposed to have the power that rivaled the demons."

"Hmph, you don't say... Full moon tonight eh? I guess you'll be busy." Yan kept his face straight, but the guide was shocked. "What's your name kid?"

"Jade, but I don't think you have any right to call me kid."

"I am over a hundred years old, judging by your aura, you are in your early twenties. You're not even half of Lycan's age, and I call him a big kid now. Don't worry, you'll have a long life ahead of you, if all of hell doesn't break loose first." Yan looked at the darkening sky. "Temptation is at its height when the moon is full, I only know a few who can resist it. Watch yourself tonight. Dark presences are at work." With that, he walked back to the hotel, leaving Jade alone to stare out into the wasteland. Strange guy...

Dinner - restaurant

"There you are! Where have you been all day?" Meilin demanded as Yan sat at their dinner table. They had been eating for a half hour before he decided to show up. He replied with an ambiguous shrug, and just closed his eyes. "Out for a walk."

"For the whole freaking day??"

"It was a nice walk." Meilin sighed in defeat. This boy, out of all of them, infuriated her the most. "You, Yan Meng, are IMPOSSIBLE! Really!" She gave one last huff, as she gulped down her water.

"Hey you girls aren't easy either." Yan opened one eye, and glared at her. "I suggest you guys get a good night sleep. Tomorrow will be quite busy."

Later that night...

Yan booted up his computer screen, logging onto a private server. He entered a long and complicated password, and a new window popped up. A chatroom.

Night logged in.
Drack logged in.
Lobo logged in.
Drack: Ah, Night... up for a nice game of chess?
Night: Why not.

A board popped up.

Drack: Pick your color.
Lobo: Hey! Don't leave me out!
Drack: Fine, fine... bughouse?
Night: Whatever, I will beat you both.

Two boards popped up. Drack and Lobo took one side, Drack white, Lobo black. Night took the other. Timer was set to 10 seconds per move. The game began.

Drack moved his queen bishop pawn two spaces forward (1. c4 English opening), which Night replied with his king knight forward (1. ... Nf6), while on the other board, Night played his king night forward. Both games steadily became more and more complicated, no captures from either board, until finally, Drack traded a pawn. The war finally began. Night checked Lobo, and retook the pawn. Lobo dropped the pawn to cover the check, but Night countered by dropping a pawn to attack the pawn. Drack began to pummel down Night's kingside, in hope to make a weak spot to exploit, but Night avoided and deflected them all. A rain of knights and pawns fell upon the boards. Two minutes later, a message popped up.

Checkmate. Team Night&Night checkmated Team Drack&Lobo

Drack: Ah, aggressive as always. Brilliant combination.
Night: Enough. What's the status.
Lobo: My forces have mobilized.
Drack: Mine as well.
Night: Excellent, how many do you currently have here? I already met Jade.
Lobo: Hm, Jade is our youngest. She is part of the new team I brought.
Night: Rookies? You brought newbies? Really?
Lobo: I think they'll suffice. "If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."
Night: Sun Tzu? Really? Whatever. Drack?
Drack: They are ready, my best team.
Night: Good. Be wary.
Night logged out
Drack: Such a strange boy...
Drack logged out.
Lobo: "In war, truth is the first casualty." Aeschylus. "Mankind must put and end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." John F. Kennedy. Mark these words, Night. Remember them well.
Lobo logged out.

Jade stood in front of the hotel, staring out into the night sky. The moon was full, the inner voice of temptation was strong. She sighed as she walked back in to the hotel.

"Jade, there you are."

"Lycan."

"I heard you met the Demon Master."

"I still have my doubts. He really is a strange kid."

"Strange? No doubt. Kid, not really. I remember him when I was a "kid", he hasn't changed one bit. Still just as freaky. Could never understand him."

"Dark forces are in motion..."

"Stop talking kid, and let it out. You're not strong enough to pent it up." Jade simply shuddered, her blue eyes cold. "'War does not determine who is right - only who is left.'" Burtrand Russell."

"Why do you have so many war quotes?"

"War is a complicated thing... necessary to preserve peace... why... In a state of chaos, war ends and restores order."

"Hey, how did you ever... befriend Yan." Jade inquired. Lycan closed his eyes and sighed. "That... is a long story. Back together when we were part of a special force... the Unknown Soldiers."

April 26, 1986 Coordinates 51° 23′ 22″ N, 30° 5′ 56″ E 12:10 am

Chernobyl plant, Ukraine

I glanced around my surroundings. Four other men were on board, locked and loaded. Our faces concealed with dark helmets and body armor. One was standing, looking out the window, shuffling a deck of black blank cards. One sat next to me, while two other sat across from me. It was dead quiet on the transport copter, except for the repetitive howling of the wind. We are equipped with similar weapons on our bodies. An assault rifle attached to our back, two SMGs attached to our legs, grenades locked into our belt. I poked the guy to the left of me, and took off my helmet. "Hey, name's Bill Lycan. Seargent. American divison, USA west. You?"

"Drack Pyre. Europe, Transylvania. Lieutenant." He took off his helmet. His dark eyes resembled the dark night sky, and were filled with strength. A vampire. Dang. He kept his words shorts yet smooth and calm. I wish I can pull that off. I turned to the other two sitting across from us. I could smell their human blood. "You guys?"

Both of them took of their helmets. One had brown hair and eyes, the other black hair with green eyes.

"Xiao Lang Li. China. Private."

"Ken Amamiya. Japan. Corporal." I stared at wonder at the team. Never had such a various team has been formed. But this mission was not usual. Everyone was busy, only the few that were not dispatched on missions were here, on this helicopter. Li looks quite anxious, wonder why. "Got a girl at home?" He looked up, and nodded. "Yea, my wife. Yelan. And two daughters. Anyone else?"

"My sis." Amamiya replied distantly. "Nadeshiko... Man I hate this job... She hates to see me hurt... I hate seeing her cry..." The silence grew awkward, I had to change the subject.

"So, who do you think that kid is?" I tilted my head at the teenager that stood alone.

"Don't call me kid." The teenager growled, his voice cold and brittle, as if he hasn't talked for a long time.

"Well, then who are you?" This guy was getting on my nerves. What's with him?

"Yan Meng. Global. SpecOp." I heard Li give a low whistle. Global? this must be big.

"A spec op?" Drack raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Why send one of you? If this was all that important to send a Global unit, why not pull all stops on lower priority missions? Why just you... sir."

"Cause I'm an expert." He turned to face all of us. I can feel sweat pouring down my back. Just having him look at me gives me the chills. "Listen up. Our destination is the Chernobyl Power Plant. We detected a strong disturbance. We don't know the cause, but demon, or demons, have crossed. We're going in, and taking them out. If they get loose too long, the damage can be catastrophic. The region's team was sent in an hour ago, and we lost contact with them half an hour ago. We have a job to do. Lock and load. Kill any demons, find the team." Hoorah. Demons, hm, don't deal with them often. I checked my assault rifle, making sure its fully loaded. Our technology was ages ahead of modern tech. I felt the helicopter lower, and hit the ground. I could smell the wet mud out there. My enhanced sense can be both a blessing and a gift. I really hate that smell. Need some nice pine fresh, or something. Maybe cinnamon. Meng nodded at us as we hit the ground. "Let's go."

Our mission was quiet at first. No one was outside from our LZ to the nuclear plant. Then... we entered hell. I was a fresh troop... I didn't see that coming. None of us did... except for our team leader...

I took point as I entered the entrance. It was eerily quiet. The entrance room was clear... the floor was flooded. It was dark. As I step in, I felt bile building in my throat. It's all blood.

"Oh.. my..." I've seen blood before... but this was beyond reality. A lake of blood. Blood smeared on the wall, yet no bodies. "Crap, we're late. Move, move!" Yan broke out in a sprint, and we followed. Every step splashed blood. I heard constant dripping from various locations as we ran down hallway after hallway. Yan lifted his hand, and signaling us to halt. He aimed his rifle down the hallway. It was dark, but a slight motion could be seen. A shadow was down the hall, and judging by its aura, it was not human. "Weapons free."

Our five rifles came to life as bullets rain down the hallway. A deafening roar echoed down the hall. The shadow vanished, moving in deeper and deeper. "Follow." We ran down the hallway, upstream a river of blood. I could hear its every step running away from us... then it began to get closer. Faster.

"Move! Its charging at us!" I dived to the side, my body landing into the river of blood, as the beast flew over us. Its razor sharp teeth nearly grazed my armor, along with its black claws, its red eyes shined in the darkness. Its red skin was covered with cuts and and veins. It was tall, with two white horns on its forehead, and a long sharp tail. It landed a few feet away from me, and turned to face me. I could see every little detail, every little cut, every bit of darkness. Flames emerged from its hands, I pulled my rifle and fired. The beast flinched, and threw flames at me. I felt a hand grab me and pull me out of the way.

"Move!" It was Ken, dragging me with his left hand, while firing his SMG. "Crap, its running!"

"Pursue! Delta formation!" Meng emptied his rifle at the fleeing monster, and ran after it.

It was a nightmare. Really. All that blood... the horror. We followed the demon into a reactor room... Things just kept getting worse.

I entered the new room, a faint glow from the reactors. I scanned my rifle across the room.

"Clear!" A dark aura filled the room, along with the rest of the team. Drack and Meng went deeper into the room, but Li began to act a bit strange. He just stood there in the entrance of the room.

"Li? You OK?" His eyes were glazed, empty. "This power... it feels-" Yan grabbed Li and threw him out of the room. I tensed at the action. "Hey! What the-"

"Huh? What happened?" Li shook his head frantically. His voice was filled with confusion. "I don't remember-"

"Stay out of this aura. You're a Li right? Part of the Li clan? Yea, you guys are power hungry people. Your inner instinct is thriving for the power, even though its your polar opposite. Just guard the door."

"Got it sir." Li was worried. I would be too. Losing yourself is a bad thing.

"Sir? I think you should see this." Drack's voice came from the middle of the room, the center of the aura. I followed Yan, while Ken stayed back with Li. "What... the hell... is that?" An orb of darkness, a black void... with screaming dark magic. Yan even looked worried. "We need to get out... now." The ground began to shake. Demons poured out of the portal. "NOW! Everyone back to the LZ! NOW!" A circle of magic surrounded him, and Meng unleashed power throughout the room. "We have five minutes until this reactor will blow, taking these bastards down." Yan threw a grenade and fired at the swarm. "GO GO GO!"

We began to run. Fast. Ran like we never ran before. The floor shook with every step. We were trapped in a middle of a meltdown. Yet time seemed to slow. No, time did slow. The drops of water fell slower, it was a strange phenomenon.

"Get on board! Move!" We piled onto the helicopter, and it took off. Demons poured out of the entrance, the helicopter gunner fired its heavy missiles, blasting the first wave to smithereens. "Go! Go go go go go!" The helicopter flew quickly, and a blinding flash filled the sky. We were going to make it. We were going to make it... and then everything went dark.

Flashes of light passed in my eyes. I hear the pilot screaming. I felt my body dropping. Ken grabbed my arm. More flashes of light. A seas of fire. Then it went dark again.

I groaned as I opened my eyes. My head ached as I looked around. The helicopter crashed... we are screwed. I dragged myself out of the helicopter, pain screaming throughout my body. I looked to see the surroundings. Ruins. Nothing but ruins. Howling wind echoed throughout the air, blowing radioactive dust.

"You ok?" I looked into the sky to see Yan. I nodded. "Good... come on, get up." Yan lifted me up, and we walked into the storm. A dusty wind blew with us, giving me a slight boost. I saw Li and Drack ahead of us. "What happened to Ken?"

Yan's eyes grew dark. "We lost him, along with the pilot." The memories of what happened seem to flash in my mind. I remember Ken grabbing out for me. I almost fell out of the copter, but flames consumed the pilot, and the copter spun out of control. Then, Ken was gone. Into the sea of flames.

It was a nightmare. High Command sent a transport to pick us up, beaten and injured. We lost two men today. Two good men. I slept most of the way back, but I picked up a few things here and there. Li was talking to Yan about his power hunger. Li made Yan promise him: To eliminate him if he ever loses control. I never heard his response... I woke up in an infirmary, with Drack and Li. Yan left, but it wasn't the last I saw of him. I heard he went to give his condolences to the Amamiya...

"Huh, he really is a strange kid. So what happened to the Unknown Soldiers?" Jade asked. She was being strong, resisting the moon.

"They are still here... busy with other jobs." Lycan stared at the moon, and lost himself in his thoughts. "So, Sakura, the Card Mistress is the niece of of Ken... I have to meet her... I owe him..."

It has been said that it is darkest before dawn. Oh, how right that was. No matter how far light travels, darkness will await it. Darkness gathered around the town of Shen, waning and growing. Step by step, the shadows of the world pushed in and attacked.