Why, Hello and welcome to my little world of weirdness!

I state for the record that, while I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the wonderful characters that will grace this story . . . they are all CLAMP's, always have been, always will be! However I do lay claim to a few of the original characters, for example . . . I own Hei-ying, and his false form, Tomodachi Yukito, I own Mystrasa Kyree, and Carolyn and Amanda Reed, I don't own The Dragon, Saurian because he is on loan from my very good friend, the ever intangible Blue Goo.

In This Tainted Soul . . . There Lies Hope . . .

By Dr Megalomania

Part Eleven: Shown Angel

"What can I do?"

Eriol sighed and rubbed his eyes, his pale face marred by the dark circles under the usually bright lavender grey eyes; to the others he simply looked very tired and worried. Tomoyo's eyes crimped unnoticed, she knew the truth, the truth about Eriol's tiredness. He was still recovering from the shock of losing such a precious descendant. He glanced at her, as he sat back in his favourite chair and then looked up at Touya. Touya sighed heavily and patted the back of Eriol's chair, "Kaijuu, there is no *one* answer."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Eriol sat forward, "I don't know what is coming for you, your cards and the guardians."

Sakura tapped her staff in her hand angrily, "I will not relinquish my cards, nor my guardians or any one of my friends. I will not *tolerate* another one of Clow Reed's enemies attacking them for some *petty* row."

Eriol let out a sharp sigh and pushed himself out of his chair, "You think Clow purposely sought out enemies for his *amusement*?!" He walked away, anger evident in his stance, "I do not *want* attacks on my guardians either . . ." He fumed as he paced back, "And I can not tell how much it angers me to think that anyone has power over my guardians."

"I want my cards back!" Sakura trembled with a deep rage, "And I intend to get them!"

"I. Do. Not. Have. Your. Cards!" Eriol spat angered, Touya sighed and rubbed his temples. He slid into Eriol's seat easily, and raised his hand, "Quiet."

Eriol seethed silently, and Sakura paced to the window, shaking her head. Tomoyo clasped her hands in her lap and looked around, the argument had been running in circles for an hour, the four guardians were stood behind her couch, making it clear that they took neither side. Syaoran was sat beside her, he stood, and spoke quietly, "This is getting us nowhere . . ."

"I agree!" Sakura said sharply over her shoulder. She glanced at Syaoran as he tiled his head reproachfully, she sighed and pressed her forehead against the cool glass, she stared first at her reflection, her emerald green eyes the clearest. She was so angry, so frustrated and yet there was nothing she could do. She stared past herself, it was raining, the town of Tomoeda soaked by the strange weather. Sakura frowned, whatever had her cards, whoever, was doing this. They were making sure Sakura knew that they were there. Sakura closed her eyes, and felt a tear roll down her face, "I can feel them . . . *barely*, but I can feel them . . ." She turned and pressed her small back against the cold glass, "And I will get them back."

Sakura opened her eyes to find Eriol leaning on the window beside her, he looked at her, promise and sincerity in his face, mourning and grief held in his eyes. "We *will* get them."

A silence descended heavily on the group, each deep with in their thoughts, until a voice broke it, "Who was he?"

Sakura blinked, "Hoe?"

Her brother sank back in his chair, staring at the table thoughtfully. "Describe to me again, the person or creature you saw . . ."

Sakura shook her head, "I told you I can't remember anything . . ." Eriol put his hand on her shoulder, silently urging her to try, Sakura closed her eyes, "Something about the Clow book definitely."

"You mean the Sakura book." Tomoyo said quietly, Sakura looked at her, and shook her head. The green-eyed sorceress sat beside her dearest friend, "No . . . The Clow book." She held up her hands, "On one side there was the front . . . the other the back . . ." she stared at her hands trying to imagine what she had seen, "Seal Beast . . ." She closed one hand, "The Appointer . . ." 

Syaoran knelt in front of her, "Keroberos . . ."

Sakura nodded slowly, and closed the other hand, "Hidden Angel . . . The Judge . . ."

"Yue . . ." Spinel fluttered over, "But did you say 'Hidden Angel'?"

Eriol nodded, "She said 'Hidden Angel' . . ." He leant back against the armrest of his favourite chair, "Why?"

Spinel fluttered onto Syaoran's shoulder, "You have studied all of Clow's books?"

"My family have done for many centuries . . . The phrase 'Hidden Angel' has never been read."

"My point . . ." Spinel shook his small head, "The phrase 'Hidden Angel' isn't *in* any of Clow Reed's books . . ." He glanced at Sakura, "You are using a term Clow Reed never used in terms of his books . . . Are you sure it's 'Hidden Angel', not 'Moon Angel'?"

Kero fluttered over and landed by Sakura, it was hidden angel, "Wasn't it?" Sakura nodded, staring at him, Kero shook his head and glanced at Eriol and Touya as they slouched thoughtfully in the Master's former chair. "Oh . . . You said you sealed him . . ."

Touya and Eriol blinked at Kero's whispered accusation. Kero jumped up and transformed quickly, he landed on the table lightly and whispered again, "You said you sealed him away *forever*."

Touya and Eriol looked at him, their faces blanking. They glanced at each other, and then shook their heads, "We don't know what you are talking about."

"'Course you don't . . ." Kero swallowed heavily, "Clow always hated talking about the past . . ."

"Kero-chan?"

Kero tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling, typically Clow Reed, it had Suns and Moons painted all over a deep blue, "The phrase you are referring to is incomplete . . ." He looked at her and smiled mockingly, "The version you just said. It's incomplete."

Sakura nodded, "There *is* something else . . . isn't there?"

Kero's eyes were wet with tears as he glanced at Yue, he shook his head, "Little one, I do not want you here . . ." He turned his back on Yue and jumped off the table, "You will not hear this . . ."

"I am no longer a child Keroberos; you will not protect me from this."

"I can try." Kero turned instantly, climbing back onto the table, and eyed him strangely, "If only for this small moment . . . I can try."

Yue shook his head obstinately, "Our Mistress is in danger, my life pales in comparison to hers . . . I am bound by my pledge . . ." He stood behind Sakura and folded his arms, "I shall not leave her side . . ." Kero shook his head, he continued to shake it for a long time, quietly breaking. Yue moved forward quietly, he was in shock, he'd never known Keroberos to be so . . . disturbed. "Keroberos . . . Trust me to be who I was created to be . . ."

The winged lion hung his head, and allowed Yue to wrap his arms around him. Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes, she'd never seen this amount of affection from Yue, she slid off her seat to knelt by the table as Kero wept. "What is it, Kero-chan?"

"I don't want to tell you . . ." He shook his head, his voice thick with emotion, "I don't even want it to be an *option* . . . but . . ." He raised his head, "Seal Beast . . . Front cover, a winged lion contained behind a chain of gold . . ." He sniffed, his deep voice breaking quietly, "The Appointer . . .?"

Sakura nodded, and stroked his paw, "What else? Hidden Angel? What does it mean?"

"Hidden Angel . . . Back cover, a crescent winged Moon, under the sign of Clow . . ." Kero leant towards Yue and smiled weakly, "The Judgement Maker . . ." He shut his golden eyes tight, and drew a deep breath ". . . Between them, lies the Shown Angel . . . A star . . . and a red, red rose . . ." Sakura blinked, and started to nod slowly. Kero opened his eyes, and cried softly, "No . . ."

Ruby stepped forward, and asked fearfully, "Keroberos . . . What does this mean?"

"Clow Reed was a liar . . . and a coward . . . he said he *sealed* him." The lion looked at Eriol and Touya, "Didn't have the stomach, did you?! Hmmm?" He pulled himself away from his Mistress and brother, "Couldn't handle putting down one of your own creations . . . no matter how unstable that creation was? No, of course not, the great powerful Clow Reed could fix any problem with a flick of his *wrist*!"

"I don't care for your tone, Keroberos!" Touya and Eriol snapped. They glanced at each other, and Touya motioned to Eriol to deal with the discussion, the dark haired youth ran a hand through his hair and slouched back in the chair. Eriol stood, "What are you talking about?"

"You . . ." Kero blinked, "You honestly don't remember, do you . . .?" Eriol glanced at Touya who shook his head, Kero stood up, and jumped off the table lightly, "Clow Reed never liked talking about the past . . . I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he didn't share it with you."

Spinel Sun transformed and padded over to Keroberos, "Stop talking in riddles, and tell us the truth . . ." Kero shook his head, still too angry, Spinel sat beside him as they gazed out the window, "Please . . . if it is something important---"

"Clow ignored the Law Of Triad."

"HE WHAT?!" Syaoran leapt to his feet, and ran over quickly, "What was created? What the hell did he do?"

"Wait! Wait!" Tomoyo called out, "What is the Law Of Triad?"

Ruby stepped forward, towards her Master, "It's like the Law Of Gravity in magic . . . it must always be obeyed!" She threw up her hands, "And Clow Reed, the world's most powerful magician ignored this?!" She suddenly fell quiet as she looked from Kero to Yue, "Oh, no . . . no . . . by the Moon, no . . . Clow created a third guardian . . ." She sank to her knees by Eriol, and whispered in shock, "Clow Reed created a third guardian . . ."

"I don't remember any third guardian!" Yue stood, "I don't remember anything of the sort . . . there was no third guardian!"

"Yue . . ." Kero looked up at him, and swallowed, "Yue . . . there is no third guardian anymore . . . because Clow sealed the first." He shook his head, "Yue . . . you are the third guardian . . ."

Mystrasa lay back in her bed, and stared up at the canopy above. She smiled in the darkness, and raised her hand; the twelve Sakura cards flew into her hand instantly. Sitting up, Mystrasa picked up her spectacles, they were twisted and older than she, they were Clow Reed's old spectacles. She smirked as she slipped them on and stared at the cards. They burnt brightly and defiantly, glowing hotter until she could smell burning flesh, "Think that will hurt me?"

The cards intensified their glowing.

"Aren't you pleased to see me again, cards?" She held them up to her face and smirked, "I am Clow Reed, your Master . . ." the cards stopped their glowing in shock, she took them into her other hand and held up the burnt flesh. "Saurian . . ."

The cards watched in horror as the tiny dragon slithered on to the bed and started to nibble and chew at the charred flesh. Kyree smiled at them, "Understand now . . . This form has no meaning, no future, no purpose other than restoring me to my true self . . . she can die, she *is* dying . . . but I don't care . . . I'll just keep coming back as long as it takes to get what I want . . ." She smiled as Saurian wrapped himself around her shoulders once more, Kyree shook her hand quickly, the skin regenerating quickly. "I want nothing in this universe except what is mine . . ." She snorted with black humour, "Namely the universe . . . but I'll settle for making the magic world once again the only thing of concern, and retrieving my title as the world's most powerful magician . . ." She rolled out of bed, and plucked the Sweet card out of her hand. "Each of you . . ." She murmured as she cast the spell, "Will become my cards again . . . until then . . ." Mystrasa's black eyes narrowed as she smirked, "Until then . . . you shall remain in limbo . . ."

Sakura sat on the bath's rim; she looked at her silent Moon guardian as he sat on the floor. Yue, amazingly, had been violently sick, and had retched what little he and Yukito had consumed earlier. He'd locked himself in the bathroom, upset and sick, and refused to allow anyone to see him in this state. Sakura had used the Though card, determined to help her guardian. "Why can't you tell me about why it's so . . ." She jumped up quickly as Yue lurched towards the toilet again. As he coughed and sobbed agonisingly, Sakura pressed her head against the small of his back, "Oh, Yue . . . it's okay . . . I'm here now . . ."

"You arrogant bastard . . ."

Eriol didn't even lift his head from his knees as Syaoran continued to berate him. "I don't remember anything about a third guardian."

Syaoran shook his head, "Clow Reed created a third guardian and you don't even remember it?"

"Nothing . . . nothing . . ." The blue haired magician closed his eyes, trying to block it all out, "Nothing!"

Tomoyo put her hand on Syaoran, and was surprised to find that he was shaking with anger. "Easy Syaoran-kun . . . Clow Reed isn't here . . . just his reincarnation." Syaoran sighed sharply, expelling some of his anger. He nodded, and moved away, Tomoyo knelt by Eriol and slid her hands under his chin, "You'll make yourself sick this way . . ."

Ruby sat by Touya, "What about you . . . anything?"

"Nothing . . ." He glanced at the door, "Nothing at all . . ."

Out in the hall, Spinel sat with Keroberos, "You should not be so harsh on your former Master . . ."

"He ignored the Law Of Triad . . . He *forgot* it . . . and I didn't realise it until a few years before he sealed us . . ."

Spinel nodded, "I know, I know . . ." He sighed, "But now there is nothing to be done about it . . . The other guardian . . . He was the first or second created?"

"First."

Spinel's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Then you are the second?"

Kero nodded, "Younger by ten years . . ."

"A decade . . ." Spinel shook his head, he fell silent as he remembered some forgotten thought, "And a decade is missing from Master's memory . . ." He glanced though to the sitting room, Ruby was pulling her hair out of it's usual tight style.

She gathered the hairpins in her lap and massaged her head, "Why would he do this thing?"

"Greed." Syaoran suggested harshly, "Some magicians find it a power trip to have control over so many creations . . ."

Eriol raised his head weakly, determined to at least defend himself, "Clow Reed was not a selfish man . . ."

"Really?!" Syaoran snorted with distain, "Then why is it he left his family? Turned his back on his responsibilities?"

"Had he not, the Clow cards would never have been created . . ." Eriol shook his head, "And besides his family pushed too hard on him . . . had he stayed any longer---"

"I must bow to my family's decisions at times . . . Clow must have been taught that the good of the clan comes first!"

"Really?!" Eriol's eyes narrowed, "Then what are you still doing here in Japan and not in China, heading up your precious clan, married to Meilin?!" The two glared at each other furiously, Syaoran conceded the hit, folded his arms and nodded his understanding, Eriol sighed, "We cannot fight between ourselves at such a time!"

Touya nodded in grim agreement, "It's what whoever did this wants . . ." He sat forward and wrung his hands together, "They want our self-destruction to come about and then they will come and pluck up what scattered pieces they want and crush the rest underfoot." 

Syaoran shook his head, "In any case, we must remain strong for Sakura's sake."

"Indeed . . ." Tomoyo turned to Eriol, "Can you do it?" The blue haired boy stared at her for a while, then began to nod slowly, raising his hand to touch her cheek, "And for you . . ." He murmured hoarsely, "I can do it for you too . . ."

Tomoyo pressed her face into his hand, and whispered, "Arigato . . ."

Eriol smiled weakly, he looked at Touya, who was gripping the armrests very tightly. He could feel the taller boy's worry, worry for his love. Touya had his eyes shut tight, "Yue . . ."

She dipped her hands into cold water, squeezing the cloth, letting it soak up the water. She turned slightly and took in the sight of her Moon guardian. Yue hung his head, and murmured weakly, "I am sorry you must see me like this, Mistress . . ."

"Sa-ku-ra." She whispered gently, "My name is Sakura." She knelt before him and pressed the cloth against his cheek, "You're very hot . . . and it's a Half Moon tonight . . ." Yue shuddered slightly, rolling on to his side.

"I don't feel very well . . ."

Sakura smiled warmly, and stroked his hand, "I'm here . . . let me take care of you . . ." He sat up and pressed his hand against his mouth, "Are you going to be sick again?" He nodded, Sakura stood and tried to guide him to the bowl before he retched again.

Sakura rubbed his back in soothing circles again, "Shhh . . . shhhh . . . Take it easy . . . I'm here Yue, I'll always be here . . ."

Kero pawed at the door again, wincing at the sound of his brother being sick. He looked up, as Touya paced swiftly into the hallway. Kero shook his head, "Leave him be!"

Touya balked, "He's sick . . . he needs to---"

"He needs to let this all out!" Kero growled quietly, "He just found out what he really is."

"You had no right to tell him!"

"Oh . . ." Kero nodded sarcastically, "Now we remember?!"

"No!" Touya fought to keep his voice in check, "I don't . . . I don't remember anything . . . All I know that Yue is in there and he needs my help!"

Kero hung his head, "I'm sorry Touya . . . it's hard for me to separate Clow from you right now . . ." He stepped aside, "Yue's put a high strength field between us . . ."

Touya blinked, "But Sakura got through . . ."

"That's because the force of Sakura's love is her greatest source of energy." Kero smiled slightly as he looked up at the tall boy, "You don't know how many times you have been saved by her love . . ."

Sakura looked at Yue's pallid features as he lay in her arms, she wished she could call for help. Yue had passed out when he tried to rise suddenly. The Moon guardian's eyes fluttered slightly, and he stared at her wretchedly. "It's why Clow never loved me . . ." he murmured, "All these years . . . I never knew . . ."

"Yue, shush now . . . you'll make yourself sick again." Sakura looked up, she raised her hand and held it to the door, "Open."

Yue's pupils glowed dimly as he resisted, he didn't want anyone else here, anyone to see him like this . . . soiled, and shattered, curled up in his Mistress' arms like a lost child. Sakura frowned, not realising that her guardian was fighting her command, she closed her eyes, and concentrated harder, //Yue needs help . . . more help that I can give him . . .// she spread her fingers more, "Door, open."

Yue gave a small cry, so very quiet Sakura almost missed it, she blinked, and frowned worriedly as her Moon guardian lapsed and lose consciousness again.

The door swung open unexpectedly, and Kero and Touya bounded in first. The large lion lapped at Yue's face, "Yue, my little one, my little one . . ." He frowned as he took in Yue's pale, weak features, the lion shook his head, and buried his nose under the angel's chin, "You had me so worried, please, please never do this again . . ."

Spinel fluttered into the living room again, causing all to look up, "Yue's sick . . . he needs to stay here tonight . . . with your permission Maste—" Spinel landed on the wine red chair's armrest, and peered at his Master, Eriol was so very deep in thought. "Master?"

"Don't bother . . ." Ruby Moon observed quietly, "He's thinking . . ." She poured a small amount of tea into a saucer and put it in front of Spinel, her dark pink hair falling around her shoulders as she leant over to check Eriol's eyes again. She sighed and nodded to Spinel, "Drink up . . . I have a feeling the night is going to be a long one . . ."

Ruby stood and handed a cup of tea to Tomoyo. Tomoyo nodded her thanks and turned to Ruby, "Do you know anything about this other guardian?"

Ruby sipped her drink slowly, her normal loud personality shelved as she thought deeply, "No . . . I don't, and I don't like the idea of it . . . Three in magic creations, spells, even curses is completely irregular . . . it creates a Triad."

Tomoyo looked at Syaoran who was nodding, "What does that mean?"

He looked at her, "An imbalance of true power . . . one corner is always either on top or always on the bottom . . . that corner will always be unstable. If Clow created a third guardian, it would always be the most instable of the three . . . normally, such a spell would double back on itself, such as Chinese magic it would create a fourth base in an effort to stabilise, in Western I believe it destroys the third completely . . ."

"That's true . . . but since Clow's magic is a mixture of the two, the third wouldn't be destroyed," Spinel sat up, "It would *be*, it would continue to exist and remain so, but always completely unstable without the support of a fourth element or a reduction in the rest of the spell . . ."

"Yue's not unstable . . . he's fine, but Clow chose to destroy this other guardian . . ." Tomoyo mused quietly as she sat next to Ruby, "Have you ever even heard about him?"

"Not a peep . . ." Ruby looked at her brother, "You, Suppi?"

Spinel hummed as he shook his head, "I've read every book in Eriol's library, never have I come across a single mention of this third . . . or should I say, *first* guardian." He turned to Syaoran who had taken to the window again, "What about the books Clow left to the Li's?"

"In the first few books Clow left about the cards, there's a mention that the Cardcaptor would require the protection of the appointer and the counsel from the adviser." Syaoran sighed and shook his head, "However in his later books, the two roles merge, and there is no more reference to the adviser." He sighed and looked out the window, his family had studied and written about each of the books Clow Reed had left with his family, every generation had their own views about how the cards would be released but Clow had left cloying suggestions that he knew that the Cardcaptor would be female and not from the Li's, they ignored this and trained their children strongly.

Clow had never left any books with the Reed's or at least that's what Syaoran assumed, contact with the Reeds was tense at most. The few remaining members had been very angry that the Li's had been chosen, and the Reed family were even more angry to find out Clow hadn't chosen one of their number to be reincarnated in. Once one of the most powerful families in the western sphere of magic, the Reed's had been devastated by the two world wars, and by the death of belief in magic in the west. The family were dying out, but the Li's made no motion to assist. The two families had still blamed each other for Clow's sudden departure, when as a young man, Clow had appeared to disappear off the face of the earth after his parents and his favourite uncle had died suddenly. Both families at first thought he had been kidnapped by the other, and then it was revealed that the young magician wanted nothing to do with the magic world, both families blamed each other for this, and thus, even to this day, rarely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary.

Syaoran sighed, personally he was glad for this, he had met a few of the Reeds as he was the new clan head of the Li's; however he found them to be arrogant, still believing that they were the most powerful family. While the Li's had planned and ordered the family, insisting each family member produced at least one offspring, the Reeds had chosen to live their lives as long as they could, and the only children that were produced were when outsiders had married into the family, and had insisted on having their own branch of the family. // And now they are all gone . . .//

He turned away from the window, and sat beside Tomoyo who had started to sew again, she was still making adjustments to Sakura's new robes. As the purple haired girl knelt beside her, Ruby looked at her Master, "I wonder what really happened to the first guy . . . I mean did Clow kill him . . . did he kill himself?"

Tomoyo looked up quickly in revulsion, "Why would he---?!"

"Because there was Three . . ." Eriol murmured in answer, "Too many to support . . . He was unstable because Clow made a mistake . . . and then he . . . he . . ." Eriol sighed, and shook his head, "I can't remember . . ."

//Who was he?//

Touya was infinitely glad for the collar of his robes, the wind blew hard against his back, and his neck was protected from the harsh cold. //Pity there was nothing I can do about the hard driving rain though . . .// he reflected. He stared out across Tomoeda, wondering if any out there shared his deep thoughts.

"There's always one person . . ."

Touya turned, Eriol dipped his head in greeting, and moved to stand beside him, "Always one person . . . will share your very thought at any one time . . ." He folded his arms and stared out, "Who was he?"

"No mention in our books, no mention from the cards . . . His symbol existed on the book was replaced; his purpose passed to Keroberos, and Yue retains no memory of him."

"Ten years . . . his death must have been at the same time as Yue's birth."

"No . . . there is about two years worth of memory missing from Yue, after Yue's birth." Touya sighed, "What can we do?"

Eriol shook his head, "The only one thing we can do . . . we must combine our powers, Sakura's also and use the Return . . . or perhaps better yet . . . the Dream . . ."

"Why not the Return?"

"Clow doesn't want us to know, this dark secret of his has been carefully hidden . . . he would be able to block the Return . . . but not the Dream card . . ." Eriol growled quietly, annoyed by Clow's little deception. Never had he felt apart from Clow, but yet . . . he shook his head, ten years of missing memory, and the revelation of such a dark turn in Clow's life hurt. He turned to Touya, "We, you and I . . . and Sakura will combine our powers and ask what new threat threatens us . . ."

"Will we have enough power?" Touya looked at him, "I still can't call out my staff yet . . ."

Eriol smiled despite himself, "You still aren't trained enough to call it forward with your own will . . . you must use an incantation." Touya frowned and pulled out his key, he stared at it, a small silver key, like Eriol only where the Sun held prominence, the Moon sat easily. It was linked to a chain, and he'd found it easy to link to his robes. Eriol suggested that this was because Clow had intended Fujitaka to be the reincarnation that used his magic on a daily basis, which was why it was so handier that Eriol's. "Try an incantation . . ." Eriol stepped back as he gave Touya room.

The taller magician nodded, and held out his key as he had seen Sakura do so many times, "Oh key of Clow . . . Reveal thy true form to me . . . Under our contract . . . Release!"

The key clattered to the roof tiles as Touya let go of it. Eriol shook his head, "The incantation must be from your own heart . . . just as you called this staff into existence . . ." he paced away slightly, and pulled out his key. A whispered incantation, and Eriol's golden staff stretched into existence, he smiled at Touya, "Try again . . . You must clear your mind of everything . . . And you will feel the magic within . . ."

Touya closed his eyes . . . and opened them as he felt the rain and the wind suddenly stop.

"Clow . . .?"

Touya turned, he was in a room, a study . . . //Clow's study . . .// he looked down, a small lion was staring up at him, joy written across his features. "Kero . . .?"

The small lion cub frowned, "Kero sounds like a frog . . ." He leapt to his feet, "I am Keroberos, the guardian beast of the seal!" Keroberos giggled slightly, as he pounced up on Touya, "Grrrrr!!"

"Keroberos!" Touya blinked and look at the door, a prim and very proper looking angel stood there, he looked almost exactly like Yue. Touya fought to keep his mouth closed as Keroberos growled, "It's still my time to play!"

The angel hovered for a few seconds, before setting his feet down on the plush red carpets, his jade eyes narrowed, "It is never time to play . . ." The black haired angel looked at Touya. Touya stared back, as the angel ushered Keroberos out of the room. When they were alone, he looked up at Touya. "Master Clow . . ."

Touya blinked . . . and stared into the warm pink of Sakura's cloak. "Oniichan?"

Touya lifted his head, Sakura stared at him in worry, he looked around. Ruby Moon held his hat tightly; she glanced from him to her Master. Touya lifted himself a little more, to see Eriol sprawled out in Syaoran's arms, Spinel sighed, as he covered his Master with his wings. Ruby looked to the skylight, "Prepare some hot drinks, they're waking up . . ."

Tomoyo nodded, and disappeared from the window. Touya sat up slowly; his head still a little light. "He was identical to Yue . . ."

"Who was?"

Touya looked at Ruby, "The other guardian . . . Yue was based on him, the first guardian was Yue's template . . ."

Yue opened his eyes; Keroberos' head was leant heavily on the pillow beside him. The lion stared back, "Are you okay, little one?"

"Why---" Yue swallowed, and grimaced as his dry throat threatened to close again, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Clow asked me not to."

"Why?"

"Because it would have destroyed you and we loved you more than anything else in the world . . ."

"What about the other . . .?"

"I don't want—"

"Please."

Kero blinked slowly, "he was a bastard, a hateful, cold bastard. He hated me, he hated you, he hated everything but Clow. I don't know what happened between his creation and mine, but Clow somehow sent him insane . . ."

"What was his name?"

"I swore never to speak it ever again." Kero growled, "He almost killed the both of us . . ."

"Why?"

"Because Clow had come to love us more than him!"

"Clow would never . . ."

"You're right; he would never stop loving any creation of his . . . except Him." Kero raised his claw and pushed a lock of hair from his little brother's eyes, "Do you remember your first birthday?" Yue shook his head, "No . . . You can't because he was there . . . You remember your second?"

Yue nodded, "Barely . . ."

"Indeed . . . Well, that's because you started to recover then . . ." Kero sighed, "He tried to kill both of us, and Clow finally agreed to seal him away . . . into a card form, locked in a book . . . forever and always, the only way he could be released was if Clow, or his reincarnations wanted his release . . ."

"Sakura . . . She's seen him, hasn't she?"

Kero's golden eyes crimped, "I think so . . ." He moved closer, resting a paw on Yue's shoulder, "Little one . . . I tell you now, he will not succeed this time . . . If he comes for you . . . I'll-I'll kill him, I'll kill him myself, and this time there will not be any sealing, no card, no book for him, he will be killed for sure."

Yue's eyes widened, "I've never heard you speak so Keroberos, what did he do?"

The lion shook his head, "He tried to kill you . . . tried to reduce the spell by himself . . . he didn't realise that he was the unstable factor . . . " Keroberos closed his eyes, "Sleep now . . . Let us deal with all of this in the morning . . ."

-----------------------

And Now It's time for Leave It To Doctor Megalomania!!!

Hei-ying: [all smug like] Go on. . . tell 'em!!

DrM: [quiet] I don't wanna . . . it's a scary and it's freaky!! [Edges away from Hei-ying] And it makes me even more scared of you!!

Hei-ying: [Sidles up close and puts hand on DrM's knee] Yes, my darling, but then . . . I want Yue . . . [acts like Two-Face from Batman] I want him *dead* . . . [nice Hei-ying] I want him . . . [Evil Hei-ying] Dead.

DrM: [edges further away from Hei-ying] Yep, and if no one calls that even more scary then I dunno what is . . . [Sighs] Okay, so I got a very nice email from a reader, '-Crem', anyway . . . [Eyes Hei-ying] I'm watching you! . . . anyway, interestingly it appears that Hei-ying's name is actually a word. . .

Hei-ying: [pouting] Doesn't have any impact if you don't tell them the full story!!

DrM: I'm getting there . . . [Sighs] Anyway, the full story behind Hei-ying, one day I was trying to draw Yue, and he went wrong, very wrong, and our darling Hei-ying---

Hei-ying: [grins] ME!!!

DrM: --was born . . . Anyway, I did what I usually do with all original characters and give them the first word that springs up into my head, usually this is a made up word, and 'Hei-ying' I thought was a completely made up word, hence the putting it down as a 'named after an uncle' bit, so anyway . . . now I get this email, asking me if calling Hei-ying, 'Hei-ying' was intentional . . . because . . . and here comes the scary bit . . . 'Hei-ying' apparently means 'Shadow' in Mandarin – wait, that's probably not the right spelling - Chinese. . . . Now . . . considering I don't know a word of Chinese, and all the CCS DVDs are in Japanese, I have no idea why . . . or indeed how, Hei-ying's name seems to fit this fanfic so very well . . . [Squeaks and dives behind a pillow] I find that particularly scary!!!

Hei-ying: Ah, ya Wussy Guppy . . . [shakes head] well, while DrM is busy hiding behind a pillow like the wussy guppy she is, I'm going to go see if I can scare any little old ladies and steal candy from little babies! [Grins sweetly] Please R&R!!