Chapter
Six:
Syaoran opened his eyes and blinked.
He was dizzy and his head hurt like hell. He tried to focus but it only made
his headache bigger and so he shut his eyes, wincing. "Meilin."
He heard someone shuffle close by
and then two cool hands touched his face, smoothed back his hair. "Xiao Lang?
Are you awake?" came a feminine voice from above, sounding worried.
He nodded, not wanting to open his
eyes. "Just barely." He responded and he lifted one of his own hands to his
forehead, rubbing at the pain wearily. "What happened? How long have I been
out?"
Another voice came from above, a
soft masculine voice. Eriol's voice. "You've been out for a few hours." He
answered.
Syaoran frowned upon recognizing
Eriol's voice. "Eriol?" he questioned and he peeked his eyes open as if
uncertain he had actually heard the voice. "What are you doing here?"
There was a small pause from the two
people above him. Then came a third voice and he was beginning to lose track of
who was where and what they could all possibly be doing there. "Syaoran, do you
remember what happened? At the party?" Came Tomoyo's sweet voice, sounding
every bit as worried as Meilin.
Party?
Syaoran inhaled, breath catching as
he grimaced. And he slowly remembered. Yes, there had been a party. His mother
had invited other Clan Heads without his permission. Perhaps he had taken in a
bit too much alcohol to be facing this headache now. Or maybe…
Or maybe he had fought the man who
had killed Sakura and was now Master of the Cards.
His eyes flew open and he suddenly
sat up, inhaling frantically. All around the world swam and spun and he saw
several blurry forms before his headache attacked angrily. With a groan he fell
back to the bed, hand grasping his temple.
"Xiao Lang! Be careful!" Meilin cried,
hands pressing down on his shoulders. "You can't be getting up like that-"
"Yue-san! Keroberos…" Syaoran
uttered through clenched teeth. "Where are they?"
There was a small pause and then
came a low masculine voice, smooth but hesitant. "We're here." And it was
Keroberos who had spoken.
Syaoran opened his eyes, sitting up
once more and he glared at the Guardian, seeing two of him. "Where's Sakura?"
he growled, shaking his head to clear the images. Behind the cat-like creature
stood Yue, arms crossed over his chest, long white wings nearly touching the
floor.
Keroberos didn't blink at the
question. "Sakura-chan is dead." He answered and while there might have been
remorse he did damn good covering it up.
Syaoran stared at him for another
moment, jaw clenching. And then, very slowly he lowered his gaze and managed to
sit up fully. Meilin was at his side, looking worried and Tomoyo was on the
other side of his bed, hands clasped before her chest. Eriol had drawn back to
stand with Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun. Now both sets of Guardians seemed to face
off, one pair on one side of the bed, the other pair opposite them.
Keroberos came forth, tail swinging
lazily behind him. And he paused beside Syaoran, looking up at him.
"Sakura-chan died a long time ago." He said softly, sorrow slowly crossing his
face.
Syaoran looked at him, turning his
head in his direction. And his lips parted, trembling the slightest bit. "Did
she suffer?"
Keroberos looked like he didn't know
how to answer the question. Meilin reached towards her husband, hands clasping
his shoulders but he persisted, face slowly turning frantic.
"Did she suffer?" he
demanded.
Yue came forth then, his presence
ominous. "She did suffer." He replied blankly.
Syaoran stared at him, pain crossing
his face. And then he bowed his head, lifting his hands to his face.
"But," Yue continued, "Towards the
end she was no longer aware of anything. She went away quietly one day." He
looked toward Keroberos and the Guardian had turned away to face the window.
"Cherry blossoms." The
feline-looking Guardian murmured, gazing at the trees outside. "It has been a
long time since we've seen them-"
"Why didn't you help her?" Syaoran
cried, lifting a murderous glare at them both. His brown eyes flew to Keroberos
and there were tears there, blurring the soft irises. "Why didn't you save
her?"
"She was no longer our master!"
Keroberos answered angrily, voice rising. His frame stiffened, rage making him
tremble suddenly. "We are to follow the one who owns the cards, he who becomes
worthy! She was no longer Mistress of the Cards!"
Syaoran stared at him in disbelief,
and he began to shake his head slowly.
Keroberos backed away from his new
Master, looking away. "In the end it was better she passed. We had a new master
and we followed the new master. That's why we're here, why we were made."
"Listen to yourself." Tomoyo
suddenly whispered and everyone in the room turned to look at her. Tears had
risen in her eyes as well and now she stared at all of them, blinking incredulously.
"Just listen! This was Sakura-chan!" she shook her head. "Even if
she wasn't the Mistress anymore, didn't you feel anything towards her?"
Eriol came forth, standing between
the two groups as they stared at each other. "This is getting us nowhere." He
said quietly, ever the voice of reason. He looked from one set of Guardians to
the other. Nakuru and Spinel Sun sat silently, not having said a word since the
beginning. "No matter what we say now, or what brings it up, Sakura-san is
dead." He said and he didn't even want to look at Tomoyo but he did catch her
turning away, hands lifting to her face. He hesitated, eyes coming to rest on
Xiao Lang. "It's over." He said softly, and in his eyes was all the sadness he
had lived with for the passed five years.
Xiao Lang stared at him, attention
focused on him and only him.
"There's a bigger problem now and
it's not even a problem, really." Eriol continued. "You are Master of the Cards
now. You have to revive the cards under your name and you have to sustain Keroberos
and Yue. Nothing else should matter above that."
Silence fell over the group,
awkwardness also clouding the room.
Syaoran looked to the side, passed
Meilin's figure and he saw the Dark Cards on the small night table beside the
bed. He reached passed her, taking them into his hands and staring at them. The
Clow Cards. The Sakura Cards. His, now. He flipped one over and it was Time,
the old figure's form cloaked in his robe.
"Tell me about the mage." He said
softly.
Keroberos paused, having started
pacing sometime in the silence. And slowly he looked at Yue, the Judge in turn
looking right back at the Guardian. "What do you want to know?" Keroberos
asked.
Syaoran rubbed his fingers over the
glossy card, tips stroking Time's robes. "A name, maybe?" he murmured. "How do
I get to him?"
Yue lifted his head, stubbornness
seeming to make a home on his face. "We don't know his name." He replied. "We
actually don't know anything about him."
Syaoran lifted his head quickly,
glaring. You're kidding me." He stated flatly.
Yue's expression held firm.
Eriol cocked his head thoughtfully.
"You're both hiding something." He whispered, looking from Yue to Keroberos.
"You're…protecting him?" And it came out sounding like a confused question. He
studied the two Guardians, baffled.
"We aren't." Keroberos corrected.
"What one Master does has nothing to do with the new Master."
"It does if Sakura died by his
hand." Syaoran growled.
Keroberos growled right back, the
sound rumbling in the room. "Our former Master didn't know anything about
Sakura-chan. We told him nothing. The only reason Sakura knew about Clow Reed
was because we had to explain to her what she had done in setting loose the
cards and what she had to do to get them back. You filled her in the rest of
the way because of your lineage. Sakura never knew anything about Clow Reed's
personal life, nothing as to how powerful he truly was. She didn't need to
know. Our former Master didn't need to know about Sakura-chan and so he didn't."
Keroberos broke off, eyes glittering. "We've preserved her memory in us."
Syaoran stared at him wordlessly,
not knowing what to say to that.
"But we do have a problem." Yue
said, causing everyone to look at him. His gaze was blank, as usual. "Our
former Master knows how to find you and he'll want us back. He won't stop until
he comes back for us and the Cards. And if he retrieves the Cards, he'll have
us."
"Why did he come back?" Tomoyo asked
quietly and she turned to face them again, wiping tears tracks form her face.
"If he had the Cards already and we didn't know the first thing to finding him,
why did he come back? He had what he wanted."
Yue looked at her. "Did he?" he
questioned.
"What else could he have wanted?"
Meilin asked angrily.
The entire group slowly turned to
face Syaoran as he said very softly, "He wants me." He was still touching the
card but now he was thoughtful, gaze distant. "He wants me to suffer, it was
the first thing he made known when he arrived at the party."
"Why?" Meilin asked and she looked
at Yue and Keroberos once more. "Why is he doing this?"
When no one answered Syaoran pushed
away the covers, slowly rising from the bed.
"Where are you going?" Meilin
demanded, lifting her hands to stop him.
Syaoran side-stepped, circling
around the group. They watched him, backing away even, as he paused close to
the door. With a soft inhalation he held forth his hand, clutching the cards in
the other. Light slowly streaked outward, a small display at first but then it
exploded from his palm and he took hold of something in his hand. His sword.
"What are you doing?" Meilin asked,
voice shrill. "Xiao Lang!"
"I'm going to get rid of that damn
staff." He muttered and he held up his sword, staring at it closely. "Release."
Black light burst as well from in
front of him, slowly taking the shape of the cursed staff. He pointed his blade
at it, frame stiff. No more of this. No more wanting the mage dead. No more of
his crap. He was going to get rid of any reminder of the man.
The staff blinked, light flashing
and it suddenly shrank, folding in on itself. Syaoran glared coldly, feeling
the power in him and feeling the immense energy it took. He had always
respected Sakura but now, as he forced himself to merge the two weapons, he
suddenly respected her all the more.
You surprise me even now…
An orb of light surrounded the
object the staff had become, a key just like Sakura had owned but black,
twisted with hate. What a cold heart he must have had to deform the key to such
an extent, Syaoran reflected. He pulled the key toward him, straining, and his
sword clashed with the key, orbs of power flashing, light streaking. With a
clenching of his jaw he forced the two together, ignoring the energies that
collided and ricocheted.
"Be reborn under my power." He whispered
as the light grew. "I am your new Master."
The key continued to emit bursts of
power but now the orb protecting it faded away, the key phasing into the hilt
of the sword. They merged, glowing and radiating warmth. And Syaoran suddenly
felt something, a strange shiver in his stomach. And he could only describe it
as Sakura. It was as if he heard her laugh, heard her speak softly, felt her
compassion. And with it came a strong silence, a simple patience. Sparks of
intelligence. The presence of Clow Reed, he knew.
And unexpected rage. Hate. Dark
anger and a coldness.
The mage.
"I feel…the passed Masters." Syaoran
uttered, no longer aware of the flickering of light before him. He blinked,
wanting to hold onto it all, especially the warmth that was Sakura. But it
slipped away, coalescing into one mass and exploding outward, consuming him. He
grimaced, feeling something slam into him and when he woke again he was on the
floor, rear sore from his hard fall.
"Xiao Lang!" Meilin cried. And she
was at his side, grasping him. "Are you ok?"
But Syaoran was looking at his
sword, eyes shining. "I did it." He whispered and he glanced at her, a smile
forming on his face.
In his hand, in the hilt of his
blade was the key, engraved into the heirloom. And it shown gold and white, the
black metal gone from its face. He looked at it again, feeling utterly drained
but so very much alive.
"You're too weak to revive the
cards." Yue advised him, not having moved a bit from his spot.
Syaoran shook his head, eyes still caught
on the sword. "No." he said softly. "I feel strong enough to take on the
world."
"You're not." Yue disagreed. "I feel
the strain. It's already hard for you to support yourself much less us." He
glanced at Keroberos who nodded. "We should take on our false forms. At least
in doing so we can support ourselves for the time being."
Syaoran frowned at them, suddenly
realizing. "False forms?"
Yue folded his wings in on himself,
figure hidden from them. Light shimmered behind the confines of the wings, flashing
upward across the ceiling and across the walls. From his side Keroberos did the
same, sitting on his rear and hiding his form behind his wings.
The group stared as the light slowly
flickered out, wings vanishing to leave behind two very familiar and sorely
missed figures.
"Y-Yukito-san!" Syaoran uttered,
eyes wide. He slowly stood, grimacing, with Meilin's help and faced the
pale-haired young man who was at the moment blinking and looking disoriented.
Beside him, a small stuffed animal-looking creature took to the air, circling
the room with a happy yell.
"This feels so good!"
Kero-chan cried, touching down on Tomoyo's shoulder and smiling at her
cheerfully. Tomoyo smiled right back and took him into her hands, hugging him
tightly.
Tsukishiro Yukito looked around,
expression one of confusion.
"Yukito-san! Are you ok?" Tomoyo
asked, hands still clasping Kero-chan.
He looked at her slowly, hand
lifting to scratch the back of his neck. "I think so…" he said uncertainly. And
then he nodded, to himself no doubt. "It happened again, didn't it?"
Tomoyo came forth, looking sad.
"Yukito-san. You were away for a while." She said carefully. "For a really long
while."
He gazed at her, silent for a
moment. And as if somehow aware that things were not as they had been he asked
quietly, "Touya is gone, isn't he?" His eyes shifted from her to Syaoran and
whoever else he seemed to recognize. "Touya and…Sakura-chan?"
Tomoyo nodded after a moment's
hesitation.
He inhaled, hand dropping from his
neck and then he forced a cheerful smile nonetheless. "I don't know how I knew
but I knew. And I'm sure they went away for a good reason." He nodded also,
head bowing.
Tears rose in Tomoyo's eyes again
and she floated forth, taking one of his hands with hers. "You'll see Touya-kun
again, Yukito-san. I know you will." She soothed him quietly.
He looked at her. "I know I will,
too." He said, squeezing her hand. And he laughed, breaking the awkwardness.
"But maybe after I eat. I am hungrier than ever."
Syaoran came forward a step, letting
his arm fall at his side with the sword in his grasp still. "How about you all
go get something to eat while I speak with Eriol for a moment?" he suggested.
Eriol looked at him with a frown but
agreed with a glance.
Syaoran turned to Meilin. "Help them
with dinner downstairs." He asked of her softly.
She gazed at him, obviously wanting
to be part of the talk he would have with Eriol but a moment later her eyes
widened. "Help them with dinner?" she echoed. "Meaning, I'm allowed to
set foot in the kitchen?"
Syaoran paused to rethink it
quickly.
But she was already skipping out.
"Come on, everyone! I get to cook!" she cried and she motioned happily
as she left the room.
"Way to go." Nakuru groaned,
following her out.
Syaoran shrugged helplessly and then
motioned toward Kero-chan. "Wait, Kero-san. I need to talk to you as well."
Tomoyo handed him over, dragging
Yukito with her as she left the room. "We're just going to get you something to
eat and tell you everything that's happened…" she said as she led him out.
Syaoran closed the door behind
Spinel Sun who was the last to leave. And then he turned to face Eriol and
Kero.
"What's this about?" Eriol asked.
With a nod, Syaoran came close and
pulled forth a black-backed card. Turning it to face Eriol he said in a quiet
tone, "Can I modify this?"
Eriol looked at the Lock Card that
faced him and then back at Xiao Lang's face in confusion. "Modify?"
"Change it a bit. Make it stronger."
Xiao Lang explained. "I'm going to face him again, I know I am. And next time I
don't want him escaping. I'm going to take care of him then and there or die
trying. So I want to know if I can modify this. Not only allow it to work as
Lock but as a magical Lock as well. Like a trap." He said. "The next time I see
him he's not going to use that spell to get away."
Eriol nodded in understanding. "When
I originally made the Cards they were simple things. A past time, almost. But
they can be modified." He hesitated, eyes on the card once more. "You just have
to be strong, magically powerful, to change it."
"Into a Trap Card, maybe?"
Eriol nodded again. "It can be
done."
"Why am I here again?" Kero-chan
asked, flying up to Syaoran and inquiring.
Syaoran looked at him and smiled
mischievously. "You're going to help me make this a Trap Card by telling me the
extent of the mage's power." He answered simply.
Kero-chan paused, looking from
Syaoran to Eriol. And then he nodded. "All right." He said quietly. And then he
puffed his chest up, "After dinner!"