The Guardians
Chapter 8: The Makings of Uprising Evil
By SilentLight
Dawan was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She had tried every spell she knew, until she was on the verge of losing herself, but to no avail. The Darkness still grew, in its quiet little corner, a menacing presence that reeked of the promise of worse to come. Emotionally drained, because her love - yes, she finally could come to terms with that - her love was so close, yet so far. She knew where he was, yet dared not approach; for fear of letting loose the Evil within her. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift. Inevitably, her awareness was tugged to the place within her heart.
"You've finally come," came a raspy voice out of the darkness Dawan found that surrounded her.
"Come where?" questioned Dawan, trying to remain calm even as she stepped ever so closer to hysteria.
"Why, inside yourself, of course," mocked the voice, and suddenly Dawan could see. Her heart. A land where others would call Paradise to one side, and the other, a barren land, where nothing grew or lived. Dawan was standing on the side of Paradise, while before her on the Hell side stood her replica.
"You. You are the Darkness," breathed Dawan, as that realization brought another fact to her suddenly frozen mind. "That means."
'That you are I, and I am you," finished the replica, smirking. "You did not realize that all in your family with the Power had that Other Side as well, hmm? Oh, I forgot, you had no relatives left to tell you. And even the almighty Clow Reed and Sakura did not know, because they were not one of us."
"So. what happens now?" asked Dawan weakly, shaken by that knowledge of her family history.
"I like all you hate," said the replica, stepping closer to Dawan, as more of the Paradise was overcome by Hell, "and I hate all that you like."
That had an implication that even Dawan could understand. "No! . Not him."
"Yes, my dear Dawan," hissed the replica, as she got close enough to lay her freezing palm on Dawan's cheek, "he. shall pay."
*****
Meanwhile, at the peak of the mountain where Alan had finally captured the Light and Dark Cards, he was facing the Judgment by not one, but two Judges, Yue and Ruby Moon. Both wore sober expressions, while Spinel Sun and Keroberos watched helplessly beyond.
"I know that I am to face the Judgment," Alan's tone was puzzled, "but why are there two Judges?"
"Because what you are fighting for is more than just the Sakura Cards," answered Yue indifferently.
"Are you ready, Cardcaptor?" asked Ruby, from her seat beside the solemn moon guardian.
"Yes." Alan summoned his wand, and took a battle position.
"Very well." Yue drew in a deep breath as Ruby stood. "I am Yue, the Judge of the Judgment of this candidate who wishes to be Card Master, and the Guardian of the Sakura Cards."
"I am Ruby Moon, the Judge of this Judgment of this candidate who wishes to protect the Lady Dawan, and the Guardian of her Heart." Yue was shocked at this untimely information, but the situation warranted no questions.
Together, the guardians intoned, "Let this Judgment begin."
*****
Dawan lay in an abyss of darkness. No light save that which emitted from her, but it did not illuminate. Staring into the Darkness made the shadows of monsters dance and tease, and not for the first time in her life, Dawan hugged herself and let the familiar tears flow.
*****
"Thunder!" summoned Alan, and the Card hit both Moon Guardians, stunning them. "Firey!" and fire surrounded them in a wide berth, creeping inevitably closer.
"Shield!" called Ruby, and they were protected from the onslaught of fire.
"Ice crystals," summoned the expressionless Moon Guardian Yue, and flicks of freezing cold ice bombarded the rapidly summoned Shield. Alan thought quickly, and an idea came to him.
"Silent Card, release!" The solemn Card emerged, and surrounded the two moon guardians with a pale glow, before dissipating. The Moon guardians tried to speak, but the Card had taken their voices.
"Watery, Freeze! Release!" They were drenched, and frozen. Alan, waited, his breath freezing in the cold air. No more attacks came.
Keroberos and Spinel came loping back to Alan, who hugged Keroberos tightly, and asked, "Is it over?"
"Yes, Card Master," came the cool voice of Yue, as the Freeze Card returned to Alan. "This Judgment has ended, and this candidate, Alan, is worthy of being Card Master."
Ruby spoke next. "This judgment has ended, and this candidate is worthy of being the protector of Lady Dawan's Heart," atoned Ruby, smiling gently. She stepped up to Alan. "Search in your heart, and discover your heart twin." The words were barely out of her lips, when an enormous explosion resounded about the encompassing mountains. A look of panic ran through the five, and they all flew back to the mansion.
They found the mansion in great disarray, with shattered glass where the windows had broken under the force of the explosion. Stepping carefully about the shattered glass, the Card Master and his Guardians went in of unspoken accord to find the power source.
Alan made his way through the empty and damaged house. His leather-clad feet made no sound upon the carpet that wound through the corridors. Noticing a door left ajar, he crept silently closer, and peeked in. The room was full of books, obviously a library, and seemed empty. But the heavy stench of Dark Magic was wrought inside, drawing him like a moth to candlelight. Slipping through the door, Alan threaded his way through the maze of shelves. Unnoticed, the door clicked shut behind him.
Alan felt oppressed by the Dark Magic, but continued bravely in his search for the beautiful lady that the Guardians called 'power source'. On a shelf behind him, a pair of devilish red eyes blinked, and pointed up, as if their owner was grinning widely.
Alan rounded a corner, and saw the beautiful lady lying in a heap surrounded by books. At the same moment, the Guardians had gathered outside the locked library, and any attempts to destroy the door had been absorbed by the shield that protected it. Cursing silently, Yue fumed, but there was nothing they could to do help the humans trapped inside.
Alan gently lifted the lady's head onto his lap. She did not open her eyes, and her breathing was shallow. Alan laid down his wand, and smoothed her brown hair from her face. "Dawan. Are you all right? Wake up, Dawan."
Dawan opened her eyes, and saw Alan's emerald concerned ones. A wave of relief washed over her, followed by anxiety, and she struggled to sit up. "Alan."
"Lady Dawan. How do you feel?" asked Alan, as he helped the power source to a more comfortable position. But she gripped his arm tightly, and refused to let go.
"Alan. You must leave. Immediately. Stay with the guardians. They will protect you. You must go," emphasized Dawan, urging him towards the library door.
"But. Lady Dawan, you must come with me," protested Alan, shrinking his wand, and attempted to help the power source. Attempted, because she refused to budge.
"Go, Alan, leave!" she cried, even as the Darkness finally overwhelmed her. And this Darkness had no intention of letting the Card Master leave.
"And now. you shall die."
~ Combined two chapters. Coming up: Finale. ~
Chapter 8: The Makings of Uprising Evil
By SilentLight
Dawan was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She had tried every spell she knew, until she was on the verge of losing herself, but to no avail. The Darkness still grew, in its quiet little corner, a menacing presence that reeked of the promise of worse to come. Emotionally drained, because her love - yes, she finally could come to terms with that - her love was so close, yet so far. She knew where he was, yet dared not approach; for fear of letting loose the Evil within her. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift. Inevitably, her awareness was tugged to the place within her heart.
"You've finally come," came a raspy voice out of the darkness Dawan found that surrounded her.
"Come where?" questioned Dawan, trying to remain calm even as she stepped ever so closer to hysteria.
"Why, inside yourself, of course," mocked the voice, and suddenly Dawan could see. Her heart. A land where others would call Paradise to one side, and the other, a barren land, where nothing grew or lived. Dawan was standing on the side of Paradise, while before her on the Hell side stood her replica.
"You. You are the Darkness," breathed Dawan, as that realization brought another fact to her suddenly frozen mind. "That means."
'That you are I, and I am you," finished the replica, smirking. "You did not realize that all in your family with the Power had that Other Side as well, hmm? Oh, I forgot, you had no relatives left to tell you. And even the almighty Clow Reed and Sakura did not know, because they were not one of us."
"So. what happens now?" asked Dawan weakly, shaken by that knowledge of her family history.
"I like all you hate," said the replica, stepping closer to Dawan, as more of the Paradise was overcome by Hell, "and I hate all that you like."
That had an implication that even Dawan could understand. "No! . Not him."
"Yes, my dear Dawan," hissed the replica, as she got close enough to lay her freezing palm on Dawan's cheek, "he. shall pay."
*****
Meanwhile, at the peak of the mountain where Alan had finally captured the Light and Dark Cards, he was facing the Judgment by not one, but two Judges, Yue and Ruby Moon. Both wore sober expressions, while Spinel Sun and Keroberos watched helplessly beyond.
"I know that I am to face the Judgment," Alan's tone was puzzled, "but why are there two Judges?"
"Because what you are fighting for is more than just the Sakura Cards," answered Yue indifferently.
"Are you ready, Cardcaptor?" asked Ruby, from her seat beside the solemn moon guardian.
"Yes." Alan summoned his wand, and took a battle position.
"Very well." Yue drew in a deep breath as Ruby stood. "I am Yue, the Judge of the Judgment of this candidate who wishes to be Card Master, and the Guardian of the Sakura Cards."
"I am Ruby Moon, the Judge of this Judgment of this candidate who wishes to protect the Lady Dawan, and the Guardian of her Heart." Yue was shocked at this untimely information, but the situation warranted no questions.
Together, the guardians intoned, "Let this Judgment begin."
*****
Dawan lay in an abyss of darkness. No light save that which emitted from her, but it did not illuminate. Staring into the Darkness made the shadows of monsters dance and tease, and not for the first time in her life, Dawan hugged herself and let the familiar tears flow.
*****
"Thunder!" summoned Alan, and the Card hit both Moon Guardians, stunning them. "Firey!" and fire surrounded them in a wide berth, creeping inevitably closer.
"Shield!" called Ruby, and they were protected from the onslaught of fire.
"Ice crystals," summoned the expressionless Moon Guardian Yue, and flicks of freezing cold ice bombarded the rapidly summoned Shield. Alan thought quickly, and an idea came to him.
"Silent Card, release!" The solemn Card emerged, and surrounded the two moon guardians with a pale glow, before dissipating. The Moon guardians tried to speak, but the Card had taken their voices.
"Watery, Freeze! Release!" They were drenched, and frozen. Alan, waited, his breath freezing in the cold air. No more attacks came.
Keroberos and Spinel came loping back to Alan, who hugged Keroberos tightly, and asked, "Is it over?"
"Yes, Card Master," came the cool voice of Yue, as the Freeze Card returned to Alan. "This Judgment has ended, and this candidate, Alan, is worthy of being Card Master."
Ruby spoke next. "This judgment has ended, and this candidate is worthy of being the protector of Lady Dawan's Heart," atoned Ruby, smiling gently. She stepped up to Alan. "Search in your heart, and discover your heart twin." The words were barely out of her lips, when an enormous explosion resounded about the encompassing mountains. A look of panic ran through the five, and they all flew back to the mansion.
They found the mansion in great disarray, with shattered glass where the windows had broken under the force of the explosion. Stepping carefully about the shattered glass, the Card Master and his Guardians went in of unspoken accord to find the power source.
Alan made his way through the empty and damaged house. His leather-clad feet made no sound upon the carpet that wound through the corridors. Noticing a door left ajar, he crept silently closer, and peeked in. The room was full of books, obviously a library, and seemed empty. But the heavy stench of Dark Magic was wrought inside, drawing him like a moth to candlelight. Slipping through the door, Alan threaded his way through the maze of shelves. Unnoticed, the door clicked shut behind him.
Alan felt oppressed by the Dark Magic, but continued bravely in his search for the beautiful lady that the Guardians called 'power source'. On a shelf behind him, a pair of devilish red eyes blinked, and pointed up, as if their owner was grinning widely.
Alan rounded a corner, and saw the beautiful lady lying in a heap surrounded by books. At the same moment, the Guardians had gathered outside the locked library, and any attempts to destroy the door had been absorbed by the shield that protected it. Cursing silently, Yue fumed, but there was nothing they could to do help the humans trapped inside.
Alan gently lifted the lady's head onto his lap. She did not open her eyes, and her breathing was shallow. Alan laid down his wand, and smoothed her brown hair from her face. "Dawan. Are you all right? Wake up, Dawan."
Dawan opened her eyes, and saw Alan's emerald concerned ones. A wave of relief washed over her, followed by anxiety, and she struggled to sit up. "Alan."
"Lady Dawan. How do you feel?" asked Alan, as he helped the power source to a more comfortable position. But she gripped his arm tightly, and refused to let go.
"Alan. You must leave. Immediately. Stay with the guardians. They will protect you. You must go," emphasized Dawan, urging him towards the library door.
"But. Lady Dawan, you must come with me," protested Alan, shrinking his wand, and attempted to help the power source. Attempted, because she refused to budge.
"Go, Alan, leave!" she cried, even as the Darkness finally overwhelmed her. And this Darkness had no intention of letting the Card Master leave.
"And now. you shall die."
~ Combined two chapters. Coming up: Finale. ~
