Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!
I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the official characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be! I *DO*, however, own Marcibay Hilligans and Hei-ying Reed!! I also own Lord Maduokai, and the three of the dragons, T'listia isn't mine but on loan from one of my favourite reviewers and writers, Tam Chronin! And what the heck . . . I own both of the mansions (The Reed/Hiirawagizawa and the Tsukimine) as well! [Laughs] Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make! And I don't pretend to be able to write any sort of accents so please don't hate me!
"Speaking"
*Stress/emphasis*
//Thinking//
Extended~ [basically odd letters that the characters extend the sound of or in Ruby's case, sings]
In This Tainted Soul . . . Find Redemption . . .
By Dr Megalomania
Chapter Fourteen: Clow Reed, Master Magician
[A/N: Waaaaiiii!! I cannot believe the massive response!! [blushes] Honestly, thank you so much for sticking with me, like I said in the last A/Ns I wouldn't have so, *bows to all who reviewed* thank you very much, I can only hope that the story continues to be up to standard!]
The only sounds in the massive front hall of the Tsukimine Mansion were the muted wails of the wind outside and the slow dripping rainwater from Touya's cloak.
Dark forest green eyes stared down into wide, dark blue, familiar eyes.
Hidden in his false form, Hei-ying stared down from the middle of the twisting staircase, focused on the centre of the engraved magic circle in the centre of the huge hall. The lighting was soft, merely candle light and instantly he was transported to five hundred years ago. His heart stilled, he slowly stopped breathing. A smile twitched at pale pink lips knowingly. A pale hand rose slowly to brush back loose, soft, fine black hair. Pale feet were bare and stark against the dark wood. The neck of the nightclothes had fallen open and the glint of the old magic key shone against the hard bone of the collar and the pale, soft skin.
He let his eyes slide close and breathed in.
There.
The smell of apple and cinnamon tainted the air, tainted the hall . . . tainted his soul once again.
His own lips parted and a breath passed unnoticed.
". . . Clow . . ."
He opened his eyes hoping the ghost was gone, praying to someone, anyone to come along and take care of this so he could hide away. But still . . . there stood the man, Clow Reed Master Magician himself, looking up at him with an expression of gentle bemusement.
"Excuse me . . ." Clow's voice floated back up again, a slight echo in the air due to the size of the hall. "But where am I?"
Realisation of the reality of the situation forced Hei-ying internally to recoil with fear and loathing, but thanks to his severe control over his false form's feature, Tomodachi's only response was the slightest twitch of his left eyebrow. Clow's expression started to change, turning from gentle bemusement to mild worry. Hei-ying almost smiled, how like Clow . . . he never really cottoned on to how serious a situation could be until it was too late.
The young Reed magician took a bold step forward and spoke again, "Please . . . I don't know where I am . . ."
Above him, standing as still as a statue, the stranger looked down at him with impenetrable dark eyes. The coat he was holding was soaking wet, no doubt from being outside and the stranger himself looked a little damp. Absently he wondered what the stranger could have been doing in such a heavy downpour, but his main concern remained on trying to get an answer out of the stranger. With a quiet sigh, the stranger looked away from him and looked to be thinking. Clow wondered briefly if it was because he didn't understand English, that maybe he should try another language. But which? Clow knew quite a few, some he was fluent in, others he only had a passing understanding of. It would take too long to try and ask the stranger in so many languages, plus there was the chance that the stranger might think he was mad.
He pursed his lips and took another step forward, meaning to approach the stranger when the other shook his head to some unasked question and continued down the stairs. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, not so much hesitantly but with some other emotion that held him back.
Finally he sighed deeply and began to walk towards Clow with an expression on his face that told the young man that this stranger had been expecting him.
Clow was surprised to realise that the stranger was no older than he was, the young features of the boy taking him by surprise. His damp brown hair was fairly long and the fringe seemed designed to hide the pale features of young man. His black booted feet came to a stop no more than three feet from Clow and the young magician smiled slightly as the other pulled a monocle from his right eye and paused to clean it.
After replacing it, the young stranger looked up at Clow with dark, forest green eyes.
Strangely, Clow blinked as the soft smell of spring and rain wafted to his nose, he suddenly found himself a little tongue-tied. The younger boy seemed a little wary of him, yet his dark green eyes held such . . . such *age* that Clow wondered if the other was not older than he appeared. The strange young man tilted his head slightly as if he was expecting Clow to speak again, and the magician opened his mouth.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and began to speak.
"I thought I had fallen asleep." He murmured, feeling a little uneasy by the stranger's silent contemplation of him. "I bought this mansion and the last thing I remember is the coach drive here." He paused and looked around again, the bemusement welling up again. "I was told that this place needed some rebuilding inside and out . . . but if the gardens are anything like this . . ." he smiled as he turned back to the stranger, "I see that I won't have much to do . . . now, are you a ghost or am I dreaming?"
The stranger's head began to tilt the other way and a slight frown began to gather on his brow. Clow sighed and smiled a little helplessly, "I saw two women earlier . . . they were very nice and took care of me . . . maybe you should lead me to them . . ." he paused again for the stranger to make some sort of indication that he understood him. The stranger blinked but still nothing. Clow sighed, "maybe it is that you don't understand me . . ." he pointed to himself, "My name is Clow Reed." He pointed away from himself and motion toward the stranger, "and you? What is your name?"
The strange young man with the deep green eyes blinked again, his frown darkening a little more before he glanced down at his arm. The coat he was carrying was now soaking his clothes and making him feel uncomfortable. With a sharp sigh, the stranger looked up at Clow again.
"On the first floor, there is a set of double doors; beyond them is the main library of this mansion. You will find there, three of this Mansion's masters, Master Syaoran Li, Master Eriol Hiirawagizawa and Master Touya Kinomoto. They hold the answers you seek." With that curt reply, the dark haired stranger turned on a heel away from him and moved toward the ground floor's kitchens. Suddenly bewildered by the stranger's curtness and his perfect English, Clow gaped at the other clearly surprised. He glanced up the darkened stairs and raised an eyebrow. "Masters of the Mansion?" He muttered, he turned back to the retreating stranger and pondered aloud, "what does that make you then?"
He looked up the stairs once more and then decided to follow the stranger rather than climb back up the long steps.
"Please, wait!" He called after the young man. "I'm cold, and have no other clothes to wear!"
"There is a fire there." Answered the stranger, just as curtly as before, not even breaking his stride as he held out his free hand and swept the kitchen door open with magic. Clow blinked and, with a quiet chuckle at the stranger's apparent stubbornness, followed after him.
The kitchen was both familiar and strange. It was filled with many of the normal things one would find in the kitchen, but the stove was much different from what Clow had once known. Pots and pans hung from a rack and there was a large bowl filled with apples and oranges in the centre of the large wooden table. A large white box thing hummed quietly in the corner and the sink's large single tap had been replaced with two smaller taps. He paused and looked around, "what . . ." he smiled, "what kind of trick is this?"
The stranger took no notice of him as he bustled around the kitchen. He stooped to push the large wet coat into the small drum of another strange white box thing and flicked a few switches. Within moments the strange little white box thing began to hum and gurgle. Clow stared at it with little concealed curiosity before focusing on the stranger again. He had opened the large humming white thing in the corner and was looking through several boxes of what Clow took to be food. Finally settling on something, the stranger sighed and nodded to a pot above his head. It settled on the stove and the young man poured the contents of the box, a meaty soup (by the looks of it) into the pot. Flicking another switch, the young man lit the stove and glanced over at window. With a near silent sigh he spoke again, "this is Japan." He stared at Clow thought the window's reflections, "Approximately five centuries after the last moment you remember."
"Pardon me?" Clow started as the strange young man pulled open a drawer and riffled through it for something. He pulled out a wooden spoon and started to stir the soup slowly. "You heard me . . ." he said quietly, "This is the future for you . . ." he paused and looked down, "You were subject to a strange spell and, for reasons as yet unknown, you were brought back to life approximately five centuries after your death."
Clow pulled a seat from under the table and sank down slowly, "Honestly?"
The stranger glanced over his shoulder with a stern expression, "My master and his friends will tell you the same thing."
The young magician nodded slowly and put a hand over his lips for a moment as he thought, "And you have one master out of how many?"
"Five. There are five masters living in this mansion." The stranger turned away from the stove and picked up a loaf of bread from the table, he began to cut it with harsh motions as if he was angry. Clow waited a moment, sensing there was more to say and he was unwilling to provoke the strange servant into silence again.
The pot on the stove began to bubble quietly behind them and Clow stood, taking up the spoon and stirring it slowly. After a while the servant began to speak again.
**++**
The rain showed no sign of letting up and Touya felt weary.
"Hei-ying didn't look very happy."
He turned away from the window and looked over at Syaoran who stared at him, warnings flashing in his eyes. Touya shook his head, that's an understatement. "These last few days Hei-ying's mood has been getting worse . . . he's been dwelling on thoughts that would be best forgotten and yet . . ." Touya shook his head, "with the advent of Clow Reed, they are unavoidable." He sighed and raised a hand to knead the knots in his neck. Hei-ying is afraid, very afraid of Clow. He paused, not sure how to explain it properly. "His fear stems from . . . I suppose, the fear of living through everything he has ever lived through all over again . . . I think it may have been partly our fault. In the last few months we have promised him time and time again, there is no chance of all of this happening again and yet . . ." he sighed and shook his head. "Here is Clow Reed, reborn from the dead . . . from Hei-ying's point of view, it is inevitable that Clow's attention shall fall on him once again and he will be sucked back into . . ." he frowned deeply and looked at his friends earnestly, "whatever happened in those ten years. Whatever happened with Kyree. These things remain a mystery and if we don't know what happened . . . how can we ever hope to know what triggers it, what sets it all in motion."
"We cannot assume that Clow will do anything." Eriol said, shaking his head in disagreement, "I think that Fujitaka and I are clear examples that there is more good in Clow than . . . whatever you think . . . Kyree was weak and unstable. Fujitaka and I were, when we were both his reincarnation, we were good people."
"There is not a doubt that you two were stronger than Kyree . . ." Syaoran spoke, "but you cannot assume that you are wholly good."
"What are you suggesting?"
Syaoran shook his head, "Hiirawagizawa, you know as well as I do, no being is perfectly good or perfectly evil. Ying Yang. There is darkness in every saint; there is light in every demon. Nothing in the universe exists without light or a shadow." He paused, "Clow Reed's mistake was that he assumed to divide everything that was good in his soul by two . . . therefore Kyree was created." He glanced at the two, "I mean no disrespect to either of you, or to Fujitaka . . . but there are instances I can think of when Clow's stubbornness, Clow's desire broke through."
Eriol sipped his tea and motioned Syaoran to continue.
"When Clow wants something . . ." Syaoran leant forward, "Clow usually gets it."
"What do you mean?" Touya said, sinking into a third seat.
"First instance. Clow Reed wanted Sakura to be Mistress of the Cards. Even though she failed the judgement, even though Yue judged her to be unfit. Clow created the bell to ensure that she was given a second chance." He raised a hand to stop Eriol, "if he was being fair . . . really fair, why wasn't I given a second chance? Second instance. Eriol . . . you forced Sakura to change the cards."
"Because it had to be done." Eriol protested, frowning slightly. "It had to be done."
"But Keroberos could have told her. Clow could have left instructions behind. Yue could have told her. Sakura would have noticed that her cards were not working as they should have and she would have learnt to change them by herself. You said so yourself once, you wanted to be there." Syaoran sighed, "my final instance is Fujitaka . . ."
"My father died because he met with Hei-ying." Touya nodded as he spoke quietly. He sighed, "My father wasn't homosexual . . . but he was attracted to Hei-ying's false form. From what I gather from Hei-ying, he was almost seduced by him . . . against his better judgement, my father met him and that is basically how he came to die."
"Clow has an attraction to males," Syaoran looked at Eriol, "this is evident in both the cases of Yue and Hei-ying . . ."
"No . . ." Eriol shook his head, "no, it's not about that . . . Clow is attracted to beauty; there was something about Hei-ying, about Yue, about Nadeshiko and about Tomoyo that he was drawn to. But . . ." he sighed, "I do take your point, Clow does push when he wants something, but he's a *good* man."
"I know . . . there's just a weakness to him . . ." Syaoran sat back, he glanced at Touya. "And unfortunately that weakness is Hei-ying . . ."
"He was making such good progress . . ." Touya shook his head, "I don't know what to do except try to keep him from falling too deeply into his memories . . . Tomoyo was right, I remind Hei-ying too much of Clow."
Eriol frowned at this and rested his chin on his fist, staring at Syaoran as the Little Wolf closed his eyes and meditated. "Did he make any more . . ." the Little Wolf bit his lip, "any more requests?"
Touya sat quietly for a moment before he got up and walked over to the window again, he thought about Hei-ying deeply. He wasn't sure how to phrase it, his understanding of Hei-ying's mind was so clear to him and yet he found himself poorly able to express it. "He just . . ." he let his eyes unfocus for a moment, recalling Hei-ying's forever old eyes. "He just asked me not to let him live his life again." He pursed his lips together and turned away from the window, knowing that the other two wouldn't really understand without looking into Hei-ying's eyes at that moment. "I won't let him become dangerous." He nodded slowly, "I won't let him hurt Sakura or Yue or anyone under this roof but . . ." he glanced over his shoulder and looked out, "I can't seal him."
"You may have to if he becomes dangerous again." Syaoran stood, not liking Touya's sympathetic tone.
"No." Touya shook his head, "I won't do what Clow did, that just made it worse!" He looked at the others, "I won't seal him, I won't just put him away like a forgotten toy again . . . Clow's already tried that . . . he tried to forget about Hei-ying, and look where that got us." He walked toward the fire again, "No . . . we either help Hei-ying when he needs us or we kill him outright, I'd rather let him die than seal him again."
"So if he becomes dangerous again—"
Touya snapped his head toward Syaoran; "If that time comes . . ." he shook his head and returned to the window, clasping his hands behind his back, "if that time comes then we will reap the fruits of our negligence."
"I agree." Eriol said and held up his hand to Syaoran, "we should try to remain vigilant in respects to both of them . . . we have to remember that Kyree was a part of Clow as well, he was a good man but she was a part of him . . ." he paused and looked into the fire, "I don't want to dream of it, I dare not even imagine it, but Clow Reed, master magician . . . the most powerful magician of us all . . . may become as unstable as Kyree once he realises that he's trapped in a world that doesn't need him anymore."
Syaoran stepped toward the fire and closed his eyes.
"We have Clow Reed . . . We have Hei-ying . . ." he opened his eyes and turned away from the fire, looking at the others with worried deep brown eyes, we have the angel with whom Clow Reed fell in love with, we have Yue."
"And we have a five hundred year old mystery . . . which if we do not solve, and take care of . . ." Touya turned his head and stared out into the relentless rain, "We risk the sanity of the most dangerous and unstable of Clow's guardians and the rage of Clow Reed himself . . ."
"When Clow wakes up . . . we'll have to be very, very careful . . ." Eriol murmured, "We'll have to tread lightly . . . perhaps keep them apart . . ."
**++**
"The Li clan are still around, but the Reeds are not?"
Hei-ying internally gritted his teeth so hard his jaw was beginning to ache, but still he was careful to keep his false form's back to Clow. His hands were beginning to tremble slightly and the over powering urge to bury the long bread knife in Clow's neck was beginning to wear at his nerves.
"What happened to the Reeds? Where did they go? I mean; did the name just die out?"
With a great amount of will power Hei-ying let go of the bread knife and walked away from the chopping board. He went over to the sink with the intention of getting a glass of water but paused as he noticed the rack of knives nearby. His fingers itched to wrap around the smooth handle of the largest chopping knife. He closed his eyes and breathed, continuing on to the sink.
And that damned smell of apple and cinnamon!
It was driving him insane being in the same room as his handsome creator. Clow's voice . . . still as low and sensual as the last time his master had breathed into his ears, with deep breathy groans. Hei-ying forced his eyes opened as he realised he'd cut himself. The dirty edge of a small sharp knife had caught him; he stared at the blood trickling from his finger.
"That looks bad . . ."
The stranger jumped as he spoke. Clow smiled a little helplessly, he couldn't help that the stranger was so caught up in his own thoughts. With wide dark green eyes, the stranger looked at him silently. "Here . . ." Clow reached over, not really knowing why he did it, and pulled the finger into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he sucked the blood from the stranger, and a moment later was surprised as he felt the cool breath and the warm presence of the young man suddenly come a lot closer. Clow opened his eyes to see the stranger leaning toward him, lips parted as if expecting a kiss. His dark green eyes were half lidded and his expression was half sleepy. It thrilled Clow, who – from his point of view as a seventeen-year-old magician – never had any sort of sexual contact. His dark blue eyes widened and his stomach suddenly fluttered with nervous butterflies. He certainly never expected anything like this when he had run away from his family!
"Don't." The stranger suddenly hissed, his expression turning from dreamy to threatening in an instant. He pulled away, "Don't ever touch me."
Clow blinked with surprise, "I-I-I'm sorry . . ." he stuttered, "I was . . . I was just trying to help . . ."
For a moment, the stranger's expression softened, his eyes that seemed so old turned young and confused and Clow . . . Clow wanted to protect him. Then the moment passed and the stranger seemed to force himself away from Clow, turning away from him to wash his finger, though it had stopped bleeding.
Hei-ying swallowed, silently berating himself.
He couldn't help it. He hated Clow . . . but . . . this Clow didn't know who he was . . . this Clow was still some child inside, he didn't know about him, about Keroberos . . . about Yue, about the cards . . . he wasn't even like the Clow he had once known.
"Are you cold?"
He blinked and turned again, finding himself between Clow and the sink. Clow tilted his head, "Are you cold? You're trembling."
Hei-ying shook his head and looked down, "I'm fine . . ." he sighed, "You must be cold." He shifted and stepped around Clow, pacing over to the closet.
"You . . ." Clow asked quietly, as he sat on a high stool, and gazed at the servant. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Who are you?"
Clow smiled slightly, before shivering. The servant pulled out a box of freshly dried, un-pressed clothes. He pulled out a large evening robe and held it up, "This will fit you until Mistress Hiirawagizawa is able to craft you clothing."
"Thank you." Clow murmured thankfully, as he pulled on the dark green robe, it smelled faintly of the servant. "This is yours." He smiled slightly, "You like green?"
The servant didn't answer and returned to the bread cutting.
"Please, I can't just call you 'you'." Clow tilted his head, and ran a hand through his long black hair. It was longer than he remembered it being, but shrugged that off. "What's your name? Why are you a servant?"
"I am not a servant." The man answered curtly, "My name is . . ." Hei-ying trailed off and bit his lip. "My name . . ." he cursed his weakness as tears gathered in his false form's eyes, behind him Clow's warm, comfortable aura shifted slightly and it was almost . . . almost as if it was just the two of them again. He suddenly couldn't think, when they had been alone Clow hadn't ever really paid this much attention to him. He swallowed hard and dared to glance over his shoulder.
The young magician sat there, a wide, warm, waiting smile on his lips. His dark blue eyes hiding behind half closed lids, glasses carefully balanced on his nose. The white undershirt and the dark green robe didn't really suit him but . . .
. . . suddenly the green seemed to change slightly, shifting more into a dark purple. Clow's favourite colour, the dark blue eyes were focused entirely on him and a slow, sly, sexy smile pulled at Clow's lips. Hei-ying thought his mouth must have been filled with syrup, he couldn't talk.
"My name . . ." he whispered as Clow suddenly got up, sliding from his seat with the grace of a cat. He yawned slightly, he was ready to go to bed . . . and his smile said he would ask Hei-ying to come to him tonight. "My . . ."
Clow was standing next to him, warm blue eyes just for him. His lips parted, any moment the invitation would spill from his lips like fine red wine . . .
. . . like fine red wine, hot, slick blood began to pour. With tears escaping, Clow's eyes bulged; they rolled upwards as he choked on his own blood. It dripped down, staining the white night shirt and joined the blood that oozed from the gaping wound Hei-ying inflicted on him. The dark angel stared with horror and perverse pleasure as he pulled the long meat knife out of Clow's chest and raised it again.
"How could you forget my name . . .?" Hei-ying spoke as if drugged, as he brought the knife down again and slowly dragged it out again.
"Because you've not told me yet . . . at least . . . I don't think so . . ." Clow chuckled quietly as he raised his hand to pull off his glasses and cleaned them on a corner of the bathrobe. "But then I'm terribly forgetful. . ."
Hei-ying blinked. Clow was still sitting where he had been, in the green bathrobe. In his hand, Hei-ying held a glass of water. He stared at the glass and noticed his hand was beginning to shake quite violently. Clow gasped as the stranger suddenly started to shake hard and dropped the glass of water. He got up from his seat and ran around the table to still the poor man. "Are you okay?" He pressed his hand against the stranger's forehead and gasped again, "You've a temperature!"
Dark green eyes widened as pale cheeks flushed and turned ashen.
"You're not well. . ." Clow muttered, pulling the stranger to the seat and setting him down. "I'm going to get some help . . . but what is your name?"
The stranger swallowed. Hei-ying gathered his wits enough to come up with a name, a plausible name. "Tomodachi Hoshi . . ."
"The Japanese way or the English?"
"Pardon?"
"Which one is your first name?"
Hei-ying lifted his head and stared into Clow's concerned blue eyes and was shocked as tears welled up and fell from his eyes. "Oh . . ." Clow's brow knitted with concern, more concern than Hei-ying had ever known him to show. "Please, it's all right. . . you're going to be fine . . . you've just got a little fever." He raised a gentle hand and Hei-ying couldn't help himself, craning his neck to nuzzle the hand slightly. Clow smiled warmly and his aura, that strange mix of sun, moon and star magic, filled Hei-ying. "See? You'll be fine . . ."
"Hoshi." Hei-ying breathed as Clow hugged him tightly, "My name . . . it's Hoshi."
"Very well, Hoshi . . . I'm going to get your master . . ." Clow pulled back and tucked a dark lock of brown hair back behind the stranger's ear. He smiled slightly as he let his fingers trail absently over Hoshi's lips. "You'll be fine . . . Star's friend."
"Thank you . . . Master Reed."
As the young magician retreated to the door, Hei-ying dropped his head again as the room began to spin again. He groaned quietly and lifted a trembling hand to press against his eyes. "Tomodachi-san?" Clow called back in Japanese, and he lifted his head briefly to look at the man. Clow smiled warmly, "Please call me Clow, I hate when people call me Master Reed." And with that the young man was gone.
His hand opened and a knife flew from the rack into his palm. Roaring with weak pain, Hei-ying drew it back and threw it aimlessly toward the door with as much force as he had left.
It bounced off the swinging kitchen door and clattered the floor uselessly.
And with a quiet sob, Hei-ying collapsed and lay on the cold floor, clutching his head with digging sharp nails.
**++**
There was a quiet knock at the study door and the door creaked open slowly.
Touya looked up from the window and frowned, Hei-ying had taken his time but he wouldn't be this hesitant.
"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice called into the room as the door was pushed open more. "Hello?"
Eriol stood, pushing out of his chair with surprise. "Clow Reed?!"
The young man, slightly bedraggled and pale stepped into the room and glanced around. "Hello!" He smiled with a hint of amused surprise. "I assume I've found the right room, I'm looking for . . ." he trailed off for a moment, searching his mind for the right name, "Master . . . Kinomoto?"
Touya stood from the window and paced over. "I'm Touya Kinomoto . . . how--?"
"Ah!" Clow interrupted and stepped over toward him, he was wearing Hei-ying's bathrobe. "It's about your servant, Tomodachi Hoshi?"
Touya glanced at the other uneasily, but nodded, "Yes?"
"He's a bit ill," the magician said with a hint of an English accent in his voice, "He was feeling a little faint in the kitchen and I think he might have a fever." He glanced at the others and their shocked expressions, "He told me about you . . . about the strange spell that apparently brought me to the future."
"What's the last thing you remember?" The blue haired magician asked quietly.
Clow blinked, his glasses sliding down his nose as he thought. "Arriving here . . ." he said, more to himself than then, "Although when I woke up . . . I could have sworn the last thing I remembered was the coach journey . . ."
The brown haired man with the serious brown eyes nodded sharply, "That's an aspect of the spell, you'll start to regain memories over time."
"Oh . . ." Clow glanced between them, "Which of you is Master Li?"
The man with the serious eyes nodded again and bowed quickly, "I am. My name is Syaoran Li, I am Head of the Li Clan."
"Seriously?" Clow's eyes widened, "You look exactly like my uncle, Hei-ying . . . and you are of the Li Clan . . . but . . ." he frowned slightly and turned his gaze on Eriol, "And you . . . are Master . . . Hiirawagizawa?"
"Yes."
"Oh. . ." Clow said quietly, staring at Eriol for a long time, clearly lost in some thought. He blinked though, and looked at Touya, "yes . . . Tomodachi Hoshi, your servant. He's ill."
As the three other magicians ran down the stairs, Clow followed them down with a little more hesitation. He was going to regain his memories slowly, and with new eyes, looked around the hall. The magic circle engraved into the wood was both familiar and strange. If he had lived for sometime after arriving here, then more marks of his would become apparent. He paused halfway down the stairs and let the others tend to Tomodachi. He let his eyes flutter closed and concentrated on what he could feel from the house.
There was power here.
A clear divide of magicks. There were Sun-influenced magic, magicians and other things he couldn't quite put name to . . . and there was Moon-influenced magic, magicians and things again, he could not put a name to. Finally there was a strong source of Star-influenced magic, something he was very unfamiliar with.
Clow opened his eyes and sighed.
What on Earth had he gotten himself into now . . .?
He grinned slightly.
Well, at least it would be more interesting than saving the magic world from ruin.
----------------------
And Now It's Time For LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR WEATHERBYE!!!
DrM: Konni… ichi … [frowns as she reads] wha?!
DrW: It's me!! You requested me! MEEEEE!! [fluffs his long golden hair, adjusts his spectacles and grins broadly as he sit] Well, here we are at the end of another depressing chapter of Find Redemption … I certainly hope MY story doesn't turn out like this, but we are only up to chapter 7 so who knows WHAT will happen?!
DrM: Uh, excuse me?
DrW: So, you want to know ALL about me! I'm a magician, very tall, very handsome, modest, perfect, much more cheerful than our darling Hei-ying… [pauses and pushes glasses up a little more] though I notice, MY darling Hei-ying is MUCH more sane than YOUR darling Hei-ying, Clow!
Clow: But he's still handsome and just so sexy with all his 'I WANT YOU VERY DEAD NOW!', I could never resist that whole twisted blade obsession…
DrW: Oh, I know what you mean, I just LOVE crossbows myself… arrows, bows, it all really does it for me … LegoLUST, Hal-Oh-YEAH-Baby-dear…
Weatherbye's Darling Hei-ying: You bastard! You're lusting over other canon characters!
Clow's Darling Hei-ying: You should kill him for that.
DrM: [waves for attention] uh, Hello?
WD Hei-ying: I would, but I've sworn an oath not to kill…
CD Hei-ying: What did you go do a silly thing like that for?
DrW: Because we're related!
WD Hei-ying: [pokes him] Please stop telling people we are related… You are only very distantly related to me, very, extremely distantly related to me …
Emlyn: [wanders in with Yue]: And that, Yue, is how we know the world is banana shaped.
DrM: [boggles] Emlyn! What are YOU doing here?!
Yue: What's going on here?! [points at all of DrM's original characters] WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!
Emlyn: Megan, dearest … If you will try to work on two stories at the same time… you must expect some sort of cross over … [raises eyebrow at Clow] Oh… it's you.
Clow: [nods tersely] Emlyn.
Emlyn: [nods back just as tersely] Clow.
[Both go to other sides of the room, the two Hei-yings retreat to the window and the two doctors find themselves standing in the middle of the room with one very irate looking moon-guardian]
DrW: [draws DrM aside] Really, you should know better than to let Clow and Emlyn meet each other, you KNOW they fell out over that girl a couple of centuries back!
DrM: [extremely confused] How can they fall out over a girl…? they don't even come from the same universe! Emlyn's a warlock and Clow's a Magician! [shakes head]
[door opens and Gandalf and the Balrog fall out of the broom closet, Pippin and Captain Jack Sparrow step over the snogging pair gingerly and stand by DrM]
Jack: [drunkenly] Well, luv… that's one savvy way to come out of the closet…
Pip: I quite agree, Captain … [glances up] DrM? You're looking a strange sort of purple …
DrM: [growls] that's IT!! [grabs broom and starts shooing away characters back to their universes] Out of my author's notes, ALL OF YOU!! OUT! OUT!! [swats Gandalf] AND YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER! [shakes her fist at Weatherbye] You started all of this, you finish it! Clow, grab your crazy Hei-ying and go back to Tainted Soul! Weatherbye, grab your slightly-more-sane Hei-ying and—
DrW: [helpfully] Molest him!?
DrM: [grows ominously]
WD Hei-ying: Weatherbye, please stop aggravating the Evil Overlord. [links arms and whispers] Behave, and you can molest me all you want. [they exit together with Emlyn]
Clow: Why can't I molest my Hei-ying?
Emlyn: [yelling back as Hei-ying and Weatherbye drag him back to their universe] BECAUSE YER CRAP IN BED!!
DrM: [waves her broom at Jack and Pippin] I'VE GOT A BROOM AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE IT!
Yue: [sits down and massages his temples] What ever happen to the old days when it just used to be obsessed with me?
[Heero and Duo from Gundam Wing come crashing though the skylights]
Yue: [glares at them] Not a word, not a single damn word. [looks at the readers] Please R&R, I'm sure DrM didn't mean for the A/N's to go so crazy … but then, she's not exactly sane now, is she?
[Ahem, legal stuff: Doctor Revira Weatherbye, Ambassador Hei-ying Rael-Ninez and Warlock Emlyn Meadowbank are all original characters belonging to Megan J. Darliquinn aka Doctor Megalomania. Copyright © 2003, Thank you]