A/N: It certainly says something when you've taken enough of your sweet time to write a story that the beginning is a completely different style then your current one, ne? ^-^; Rewritten for the muse's pleasure, here's chapter two!

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Unnoticed by the three, a piece of civilization dotted the land by the lake, a mansion, stately and seemingly well kempt. However, it was known to all that lived in that area that it was abandoned… and most likely haunted. Little did anyone know that what truly inhabited was something even darker and more harmful.

Power. Being feared. Control. These were the primal desires that motivated him. To vigorously study all of the known forms of magic in the world, to create a new type of magic, to formulate a plan that would destroy many… and leave them only half dead.

He had already perfected the technique of trapping souls in objects, cards being his primal choice. They were all the souls of beasts so far, the easiest to overwhelm. After their capture, his magic warped them, bringing out their strongest and most useful traits: Speed, leaping, and flying.

He would not stop at this, though. No, he still had much farther to go, using the human intelligence and turning it to the use of magic. However, a single matter still needed to be attended to in order to make the plan complete, perfect. Any army needed second-in-commands, those who were more intelligent, more powerful, superior to the masses. He couldn't manipulate mediocre creatures into these potent servants; they would need to be magical to begin with. 

The magical creatures of this realm were fading, running away or becoming dormant with mankind's spread across the world with all of their noise and destructive ways. Only a few were brazen enough to show their faces occasionally, most commonly trolls and dragons. Trolls were ugly, and none too intelligent either. The dragons were long gone, east and west, very suddenly, it seemed to the mage, and had often speculated what caused the sudden extinction.

Then there were, of course, the creatures of the New World. He had often heard the fantastic stories that his peers had told of the beings and spirits that ran rampant across the land, much as they might have across the entire world before mankind even first appeared. He had vowed to go there to experience it for himself. Now, it seemed to be his only option.

As he was brooding over this dilemma in his study, he heard a distinct 'ITTAI!' from the outdoors. Walking out of his massive house and toward the lake he made it just in time to see a figure with enormous wings dive down to the lake and glide over it. He watched in amazement of the cat-human's grace and agility as it banked around and snatched something out of the water and climbed back up to the sky to two other winged creatures with great and effortless speed. He was able to make out another human figure and a cat before the cat-human dumped water on them, sending them in a rage after her.

He blinked, slightly stunned at what he had just seen. Never, in all of his knowledge of the world's magic had he heard of such creatures, much less seen them. Their speed and agility in the air rivaled that of the dragons themselves!

'Were they created? No, I have never heard of their existence, even so, they wouldn't be allowed to run riot as they were…Could they have come from…the New World…why would they abandon it? ' His mind worked furiously as to ascertain their possible origins. Then he realized that they could be the very answer to his dilemma.

"Perfect," he murmured to himself and took off after the eastward group to learn more of them.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Damn, they're fast," thought the sorcerer as he came panting up the hill through the forest. "I thought they'd be on the move all night." He had tried keeping up by teleportation, but found their path far too eccentric to predict, and he was swiftly exhausting his energy store. So he chose to run instead, hoping that they would slow down at that time. But it was not meant to be. He was in good shape from his training and all, but this was just ridiculous!

He slowed when the outcrop of rocks where he saw them land (at last) came into sight and stopped completely when he saw a figure clad in loose white pants and a light purple tunic with billowing sleeves collecting scrap pieces of wood. The area in the back of the shirt between two white wings was covered with incredibly long silver hair. This was unquestionably one of the creatures he couldn't make out in the sky earlier.

The boy bent down to gather another piece of wood, and suddenly the mage found himself staring into a pair of purple feline eyes that glowed through the after-day light. He stood there, staring like a schoolboy, entranced by the man's beauty. He took a tentative step forward.


The previously peaceful being immediately leapt up into the air, glaring down at him, and began to form ice crystals in his hand. Alarmed, he stepped back, preparing a counter-spell…


~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"SHIT!"

Temichica and Cerberus madly dashed about as rocks and debris scattered all around them from the destroyed bolder. Far off, Yue's attack yell came echoing through the silence that followed the explosion. Instantly, both took off towards the shout. They raced into a burned clearing, with Yue flying over a black haired human.


"Yue! What- AUGH!!"


Temichica's inquiries were silenced by a renegade burst of energy from the man, forcing both winged creatures to fling themselves on the ground. Behind them, a tree burst into flame upon contact with the energy. The flames lit the twilight filled battlefield, revealing Yue to be singed and burnt in testimony to the magician's accuracy.


Yue drew back an ice arrow, just as the man started gathering more energy in his hand. Cerberus immediately responded by shooting a column of fire from his mouth, forcing the man to use his attack to block Cerberus'. At that exact moment, Yue let loose of his arrow, hitting the man head on and knocking him to the ground. Cerberus let a triumphant shout.

Both however, were stunned and dismayed when the magician simply stood, smiling, and pressed his hands together. At that instant, both Yue and Cerberus were slammed together in midair and crashed to the ground. Both groaned and struggled to get up, only to find themselves trapped against the earth. Still smiling, the mage walked up to the two writhing figures on the ground.


"It was unwise of you to guard yourself like that from me tenshi," he murmured to Yue. As he pressed his hands more tightly together, causing both of his victims to cry out In pain, he searched for their half-cat companion. Not finding her and choosing to pursueher later, he turned back to his prisoners.


"As you shall both learn, it is best to give me what I want, instead of forcing me to take it from you."


"I beg to differ," growled a dangerously low voice.


The man whipped around just in time to see Temichica, eyes alive with battle rage, exploding out of the growth, shooting two lightning bolts straight at him. He screamed in agony, as the electricity numbed his brain, and pressure lifted off of Yue and Cerberus. They immediately took advantage and took flight.



With a snarl of rage, the man halted the brothers in mid-flight and sent them hurtling towards their sister instead. Dodging the attack, she watched in horror as her only family was slammed viciously into the ground.

That did it. Now she was mad.

Eyes dark with pure blood wrath, Temichica turned to strike at her adversary, but no one was to be seen. Only silence filled the destruction-created clearing.

A/N: Gaaahh… it's so…short! .