Ye-llow! How are you all? Well, once again, your reviews have inspired me to meet the dead line. Yay! I love all you reviews, and thank you immensely for them.
Now, please pay attention to this chapter, because this is where the case of the plot will be revealed, as well as part of Syaoran's powers.
For those of you who are waiting for an update on 'Stuck in a Moment', I'm hoping the next chapter is up for Monday.
Disclaimer: I only own what's mine. (I know, lame, but that's life.)
****Syaoran's Apartment, Still At Four AM****
"Now, who are you?" Eriol asked calmly and patiently. Well, as patiently as one can expect from someone who has had but three whole minutes of sleep for the past 2 days. Not to forget, he was magically drained after their little life spell. After Sakura's not-so-quiet realization, Eriol and Tomoyo had woken up (Meiling and Keisuke were oblivious to the commotion, still sleeping) and hurried to Syaoran's room, where they found Sakura and Syaoran gaping at a somewhat… peculiar character. She had black hair and eyes that would be called gray, were she human. But since she was not, it didn't sound too odd to accurately describe them as silver-colored. Her features weren't beautiful, nor particularly attractive, but her face was pleasant to look at. All in all, she seemed a quite decent, pretty 'person'.
Until she opened her mouth, that is.
"That is for me to know, and for you to find out." The apparition's answer was me by four glares. "Okay, okay. I get the point. Gee, no sense of humor whatsoever." She paused to compose herself. "I'm a messenger." She seemed oddly familiar to Syaoran, and silence enveloped the room as he tried to figure out where he had seen her before, while the other three mortal occupants of the room waited for a follow up. None came.
"And…?" Tomoyo trailed off.
"And what? Oh! You're referring to what am I? Well, you should've said so from the beginning!" she exclaimed. "I… can't tell you."
"What?" exclaimed Syaoran. "What do you mean 'you can't tell us'?"
"Exactly that: I can't tell you. Kami, grumpy AND slow; a nice combination."
"Can you tell us why you appeared in my dream?" Sakura asked.
"No."
"Can you tell us who were the other persons were?" Sakura inquired.
"Nope."
"What can you tell us, then?" asked Sakura, the ever-patient, again.
"I'm a messenger."
"And you came here, at four in the morning, for the sole purpose of annoying us?" Eriol asked, his voice heavy with sarcasm.
"No, I didn't; that's just an added bonus." Syaoran was still pondering over where he had seen her before. Suddenly it came to him: in Arielle's lair! She resembled the witch greatly, but lacked the extravagant beauty of Arielle... yet, she resulted familiar all the same. Could this messenger be in league with Arielle? Syaoran didn't even waste time in pondering over it; he immediately summoned his sword from his pendant, and took a fighting stance, startling Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura.
"Okay, that's it. What do you want?" He demanded. Sensing the threat in his voice, Eriol decided to join in, calling on his Sun baton.
"Hey, what's with all the aggression all of a sudden?"
"Don't play dumb; you know Arielle." Syaoran wasn't sure how he knew this, but he was sure of it.
"You remembered. Good." Syaoran knew not what she meant by that. The grin in the goddess's face diminished significantly. "Now we can get on with the show." She sat, floating in midair in a most perturbing way. Seeing neither young man made any motion as to put their weapons down, she said, "You can drop the weapons now. I mean no harm. Honest!" Syaoran and Eriol weren't convinced by this 'persuasive' speech. "Okay, keep them. Just do me a favor: sit down and hear me out." Her tone was no longer sarcastic, and she sounded honest enough, so Syaoran and Eriol, along with Sakura and Tomoyo, complied.
"I'm a goddess—"she was interrupted by Eriol.
"No! Really? I never would have known!"
"Shut up and listen, Wonder Boy. I'm who you mortals refer to as 'Lady Luck'. Only, I don't bring luck, neither good nor bad. Why? Well, because luck doesn't exist. In fact, the whole concept is ridiculous. Humans make their own fortune; there is no outside element involved. Now, synchronicity, that's another thing. Coincidences, that too. That's what I am in charge of: mapping out the lives of mortals."
At this point, Syaoran interrupted her. "So we're just being shuffled around by you goddesses? Are you telling me that I don't really have a choice concerning my life, that it's all planned beforehand?"
"No, that's not what I said. Of course your decisions affect the outcome; what fun would life be if everything was already set? No, what I do is present opportunities. Let me put it this way: When you arrive here, we—all the bunch up there in Limbo--- already know what your potential is. So, we have to figure out what would be the best way for you to use it. That's when I come in; I make sure that the right opportunities are presented to you, so that you can reach your full potential. Whether or not you take those chances is up to you. So, in the end, everything you have and do is up to you.
"For example, all those actors that were discovered in bars and stuff. My job was to make sure that the director and the actor were in the bar at the same time, but it was the actor who ultimately decided to speak to the director, to convince him to give him a job."
"I don't get it." Tomoyo said. "If that's your job, and humans aren't controlled like puppets, then what's the job of the Fates?"
"They deal with the few humans whose potential is too great to be left to chance. You guys for instance; do you really think your fate would be left up to me, when I have to deal with the life of the other 6 billion people on the planet? It's with people like you that the Fates occupy themselves. You're not too many, 30 per generation, at the most. That's why the Fates came to you when you died, Xiao Lang. You're somewhat of a priority up there."
"What I don't understand is," Sakura said, "why are you here then, if Syaoran is the Fates' concern? Not that we aren't happy you're here." she quickly added, not wanting to hurt Lirael's feelings. "I was just wondering."
"Well, that's what I was going to explain. I came here to explain to you what is going on, who is Arielle, how to get the Cards back, who are you actually, Li Xiao Lang. As the last of the Three, it is my duty to make sure you're ready."
"Last of the Three?" Syaoran repeated, confused. She pretended no to hear him, and kept talking.
"Now, I can only tell a part of the story. Why? Well, in part because it is not for mortal ears, and mostly because I don't know all of it. Besides, I could never tell the end of a story that hasn't been finished. But I can tell you this.
"In the beginning, there were but three goddesses, meant to keep the balance in the forces. There was Sabriel, who wielded white magic. She was pure, light, a giver of life and hope, yet naive and quick to trust others, always looking for the good side in everyone. And there was Arielle, wielder of black magic, clever and witty, the most beautiful of the three, confident and persuasive. Oh, she wasn't evil. She might not have been as pure as her sister, but her nature was good. It only happened that she used the powers of the darkness. Then there was Lirael. She had a little magic, white one, and what humans have come to call telekinetic power. Yet, she held great wisdom, and looked over mortals and goddesses alike. The three of them existed in peace, their powers being only that, powers, not defining their natures. Besides maintaining balance in the forces, the duty of the Fates was also theirs.
"Now, if you are to understand this tale, you must know one thing: in humans, there is no good and evil. Every human is born good; it is his or her intentions that can be good or bad. So naturally, every single human that was born with magic had white magic. Occasionally, one of them would perform deeds so evil, his or her nature would change, shifting his magic from white to black. But these beings were minimal.
"Eventually, the power of light grew so enormous, that the delicate structure of the universe was in danger of collapsing. It was then that Arielle's power began to increase, until her powers alone equaled all the power in the side of the light. Thus, balance was brought to the universe once again, and everything was harmony. But only for a while.
"Have you ever heard about how absolute power corrupts everything? Well, that applies to dark powers, as the three of them soon found out. All the darkness inside of Arielle soon took hold of her spirit, poisoned her soul and her nature shifted: she was no longer good, but evil. It wasn't her fault, really, but in the end, it didn't matter whether she was evil because she chose to or because she didn't have a choice.
"Immediately, she began seeking more and more power, trying to satisfy her thirst for it. Wise as they were, the other two didn't see this until it was far too late. A great battle took place, Sabriel and Lirael against Arielle. The two good sisters didn't stand a chance, and they knew it, but they fought bravely all the same. The fight went one for thirteen days and nights, until the three of them dropped unconscious from the lack of energy and as a result from a particularly potent explosion. Lirael was the first to wake up, and seeing her other two sisters still asleep, she devised a plan. She created a sphere, from a material known only to her, and trapped her sisters' magic in them.
"Now, you may be wondering how is this possible. Well, goddesses exist, but they aren't technically alive. As a result, they don't have a life force; their magic exist inside of them as only that, it does not come from a life force. But anyway, Lirael trapped the magic of her sisters in the sphere. Inside the orb, the magic reacted to each other, innately reaching a balance between darkness and light. Lirael proceeded to hide the sphere.
"When Sabriel awoke, she found that there was but a drop of magic left inside of her. Sabriel took the news hard, but joined her sister in hoping that when she woke up, Arielle would be back to her normal self. When she woke up, Arielle was enraged. The change in her nature was permanent; if it had once been fueled by the power of darkness that resided in her, it now took its force from the hatred that she now felt for her sisters. Summoning the little magic she had left, Arielle cast a curse upon the other two; a curse to which no one, not even herself, knew the consequences to, so terrible it was.
"Right then and there she left Limbo, and traveled far away. Sabriel left too, in the direction opposite her sister had gone, blaming Lirael for the whole ordeal. And Lirael was left alone. She, too, was mad at her sisters, but someone had to make sure the world didn't turn into complete chaos. The balance in the forces had already been taken care of, thanks to the sphere, but she still needed someone to watch over mortals. So she took what little magic she had and created three beings: the Fates. Afterwards, she also left, to someplace unknown.
"Now, why am I telling you this? Ever since the incident, Arielle has been collecting light magic, absorbing and converting it into dark magic. Or so we thought. It wasn't until a few decades ago, that we realized her true intentions: she's been collecting light magic for several millennia. We do not know what she wants it for, but we suspect she's going to try and break the seal that holds her powers inside the sphere.
"But we can't do anything to stop her, even if we managed to gather enough goddesses to rival the power she now commands. Why? For the same reason Sabriel ad Lirael were doomed to fail all those millennia ago: because she has dark magic, and we have light magic. Because it is life's nature to create, and death's to destroy. Light magic can stop dark magic, it can even contain it for awhile. But it cannot destroy, never destroy it. And Arielle has to be destroyed this time, for this is the last encounter. If she wins, then that'll be it. All conscious life will be either deleted or enslaved, civilization wiped out of existence as if it had never been. A fate worse than death: oblivion.
"And that's where you come in, Li Xiao Lang."
****Dramatic Pause Yadda, Yadda, Yadda…****
"You are really something, a true wonder. We still can't figure out how it happened, our why it did. But I'm probably driving you crazy with all this foreshadowing, am I not? Well, here's the deal: you have dark magic."
"What?!" Syaoran exclaimed, shocked.
"My cute descendant is evil?" Eriol asked, astonished. "I'm so proud of him!" he couldn't help adding. His little joke went unnoticed by the deity, however.
"He's not evil, per say." She answered. "Not yet, anyway."
"What do you mean 'not yet'?" Syaoran asked, but Lady Luck pretended not to hear him.
"Ever since you were born, your magic has been dark. No one ever noticed, though, because of your ability to control the elements. Since controlling forces of nature is something both dark and light magicians can do, no one ever suspected it. But if one really focuses on your aura, one can feel it. It's a really strange sensation, a sort of signature I cannot describe. The nature of your magic is the reason why you never had a shot at getting the Clow Cards, why you have never been able to create matter like Clow and the Card Mistress. Yours is a different sort of power, one which can attack, one that can destroy and re-build, one that can even control others' minds.
"That is why you're so important. You alone have the power to beat Arielle, to destroy her. You are the only one who has both the ability and the power. You're the only one who has a chance. Only dark magic can destroy dark magic; yet only good can destroy evil. So I came to ask you, Li Xiao Lang: will you take advantage of this ability? Will you try and annihilate Arielle?
"It's going to be difficult, and dangerous. Much more dangerous than anything you've ever done before. Not only is your life, along with that of millions, on stake. It is your very soul that will be put in jeopardy. But are you prepared to risk it?"
Syaoran didn't have to think twice about it. Nor did he need to feel Sakura's hand take his own (although, it was certainly comforting) "Yes." He answered at once.
"Good. Very good." The deity smiled, a true smile, with no trace of mirth or sarcasm. "Now, the specifics. According to what the Fates have told me, Arielle has now enough power to break the seal, thanks to the energy she got from the Sakura Cards—"
"What?!" Eriol interrupted. "What happened to the Cards?"
"Err… well," Sakura said uncomfortably. "Arielle kind of… absorbed them. I'm really, really sorry. I tried to stop her, but I just couldn't."
"I 'm sure you did, Sakura." Eriol said. "But pray tell, why hadn't you mentioned this before?"
"I had other things in my mind." Sakura answered simply, giving Syaoran's hand a light squeeze. "Earlier, you said you could teach me how to bring the Cards back. Can you,…er…?"
"Call me Lorelei, if you must."
"Lorelei." Sakura tried the name. "Can you tell me how to bring the cards back?"
"Yes, I can. But you really don't need my help. You just need to re-create them, as Clow did all those years ago. It will be very power-consuming. But for some one with your magical reservoirs, it will be a breeze. And I'm sure Clow Junior will be thrilled to assist you. But as I was saying, Arielle has enough energy to break the seal. She won't do it now, however. She'll wait for the full moon; its only then that the seal is accessible. You see, the seal is in another dimension. I can't tell you where, for I don't know. One of you can, though… I think."
"And what should we do?" Tomoyo wanted to know.
"We?" Syaoran repeated, confused.
"Yes, sill." Sakura said. "We."
"You didn't think we would let you go and keep al the fun to yourself, did you, my cute descendant?"
"Thank you, guys." Syaoran said. "And don't call me that!"
"How touching." Lorelei said sarcastically. "But what you do," Lorelei said in a sing-song voice. "is up to you."
**** Still In Syaoran's Room****
Twelve hours later, Syaoran lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Lady Luck was long gone and the apartment was in peace once again. The four exhausted teenagers had fallen asleep without remembering, though Syaoran suspected their visitor might have cast a spell or two, and then just transported them to their respective beds as soon as she was done talking. All in all, Syaoran was grateful; there was no way he would have had fallen asleep, despite how tired he was, after hearing what she had said. He had awoken not five minutes ago, and he suspected his friends were going to remain asleep for a few more hours.
Syaoran's mind wandered back to what the goddess had told him. He was unique, a true wonder, she had said. He had been born with dark magic, instead of white one, but he wasn't evil. That gave him an advantage over Arielle. Or so it seemed, because hatred tends to cloud one's senses and judgment, making them more prone to errors.
But he was nervous all the same. Also shocked. It was a bit… unsettling to learn that he had never had a shot at getting the Clow Cards. True, he didn't envy or resented Sakura for getting them, but it was disappointing to know that, no matter what he could have done, he would've still failed. But he didn't linger in that much. The past was one thing, and Syaoran was careful in trying not to let it cloud the present.
A new question occupied his mind: what was he going to do about Arielle? He had given Lorelei his word that he would try and beat her, and he wasn't planning on backing down any time soon. He had to find a way to beat her… to beat her to the sphere! That was it! He had to reach the orb before her; then he could stop her before she had a chance of becoming all-powerful.
But that still left a small problem: where the heck was the orb hidden? Lorelei had said that one of them knew where to find it. Well, it wasn't him obviously. Tomoyo? No, he didn't think so. She didn't have any magic. Eriol? Could be, but not likely. If he knew, he would've said something then. Sakura? No, she… wait. What had that dream been about? Darkness, a temple, glowing eyes… and a floating globe! That was it! Sakura's dreams were the key to finding the sphere. With a dash of luck—well, not luck, but… whatever. Hopefully, she would see enough in her premonitions to lead him to the orb. Full moon was another two weeks away, give or take a few days. He would be able to take the time to find out exactly what having dark powers meant, and how to use them. What good was a weapon if he ignored its use?
Syaoran yawned, as sleep began to claim him again. Boy, dying could be really tiring! Letting his worries and plans slide to the back of his mind, Syaoran closed his eyes, and slept again.
****A Whole Day And a Half Later****
"Why didn't you wake me up?!" screeched the voice of one angry Meiling, reaching every room in the apartment and penetrating Syaoran's sleep-blurred brain.
"Shhh! Don't yell, Meiling! Syaoran is still sleeping, and I don't want him to wake up yet."
"Kawaii! Sakura-chan wants Syaoran-kun to rest!"
"Cam-girl, you are one peculiar person."
"Thanks. I try."
"But as I was saying… Why didn't you guys wake us up?"
"Yes, I mean, it's not like visit from a deity is an everyday thing…"
"Well, why didn't you wake up? Sakura made enough racket to wake the whole building up, for goodness sake!"
"Eriol!"
"Sorry, Sakura. But it's true!"
It was then that Syaoran reached the kitchen, dressed only in the long, boxer-like pants he slept in. He walked slowly to the stove, pouring himself a big cup of coffee. He then dragged himself to the table, and sat down, looking dead tired. "Good morning." He grumbled.
"Good morning, sweetie! How was your sleep?" greeted Sakura, as she gave him a kiss.
"Kawaii!"
"Not long enough." he muttered back.
"Not long enough, Wolf boy says!" Keisuke exclaimed, walking towards Syaoran and putting a hand on his shoulder. "My dear friend, you slept for around two days!"
"Two days?" Syaoran asked distractedly, taking a big sip of coffee. "Felt more like two minutes."
"Okay, now I'm worried." Sakura said. "What's wrong, honey?"
"Kawaii!" Tomoyo chirped happily, taking out her camcorder and pressing it to Sakura's face.
"Okay, who let her take caffeine?" Meiling asked.
"It's nothing." Syaoran answered Sakura. "I'm just tired. Don't worry." He drank the rest of his coffee, then stood up. "Say, what time is it?"
"Around nine AM." Eriol answered. "Why?"
"I'm off to train. I'll se you guys later." He left the kitchen, and Eriol spoke as soon as he did.
"I wonder what's wrong with him."
"You heard the man: he's tired." Meiling answered.
Out of the blue, Sakura asked, "Did anyone else notice his eyes?"
"Yes." Keisuke answered. "They were still there."
"Grow up, will you?" Meiling chided.
"They seemed different. I don't know why." Sakura ignored the other two.
"Now that you mention it…" Eriol answered. "No, I didn't."
"Perhaps you're just imagining things, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo told her.
"Yes, you're probably right." Sakura stood up, walking towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Meiling asked.
"To watch Syaoran train." She answered, leaving the kitchen. Watching Syaoran train was one of her favorite activities. She loved the clear precision of his movements, the swiftness of it all. Quietly, she opened the door to the training room and tiptoed in. She sat down, her back against the wall. Already, she could see a thin film of perspiration covering his body, as he continued the series of defense and attack movements. He hadn't even taken time to change out of his pajamas. Sakura had to say, she had one hot boyfriend.
She sat there for the good part of an hour, just watching and thinking. And as she did, and idea came to her mind. She pondered over it, and the more she did, the more she liked it. Finally, she decided to talk to Syaoran about it.
It was around that same time that Syaoran finished training. Reaching for a towel, he wasn't very surprised to see Sakura waiting for him.
"Feeling better?" she asked.
"Much." And it was true. Syaoran couldn't exactly tell what it was, but there was something very exhilarating about training. Already, he felt more rested.
"Good. So, what are we going to do today?"
"I'm not sure. Why?"
"Well, I was thinking it would be a good idea to discuss this whole thing, see what we'll do."
"You're right. Perhaps we should get started on the whole Card business, don't you think?"
"Sure."
"But I think I'll go get a shower first. I feel like I haven't taken a bath in over four days."
"You haven't." Sakura laughed.
"Right. See you later." He kissed her before jogging of to his room.
"What was that for?" she called after him.
"Nothing!" he yelled back.
****To Be Continued.****
There it is: the first chapter of Phase 2 of 'The Legacy'. I know it's a bit on the boring side, but I had to get all this talk and explanations out of the way. And I know some of you don't like the WAFF at the end, although I can't figure out why. But anyway, this WAFF in particular was necessary, because some of the stuff will be essential in the future. I hope you'll forgive me.
And I also hope you'll all be good little readers and review this fic. I really want my reviews! Please! To make up for the boring-ness in this chapter, I'll offer you a deal: If the reviews reach between 70 and 75, I'll have the next action-filled chapter up by Friday. Sounds fair?
Thanks for reading (and reviewing!)!
Kirjava-chan