Chapter 17
Sorceress Myst: Welcome back everyone! Someone asked if Xavier was an alien and my answer is ...kinda, if you mean a foreigner. Syria is an Arab country in the middle east and-HEY! (Apprentice Jed's spell makes her disappear)
Apprentice Jed: W-where did she go? What did you do Fagtron?
Fagtron: I dunno…you were the one casting the spell.
Apprentice Jed: But you were the one who tickled me!
Fagtron: …Hey! Were did master go?
Apprentice Jed: …(stares blankly at her) …She went to Disney World.
Fagtron: REALLY! (suddenly breaks down crying) TAKE ME WITH YOU MASTER!
Apprentice Jed: (To herself) Okay…calm down…She's a sorceress so she should be okay…
Fagtron: (Stands up and looks around) …Hey, where did master go?
Apprentice Jed: …
Apprentice Jed: Alright, first we need to start the story and then I'll call Sorceress Celine and the others and start a search party. Fagtron say the disclaimer.
Fagtron: Yes master! …Wait…you're not master! I'M CONFUSED! …Hey, where did Earl the girl and Joy the boy go?
Apprentice Jed: (Sighs) Sorceress Myst does not own CCS or any of its characters except for the ones she made up. Now on with the story!
Fagtron: …WAIT A MINUTE! I remember now! Huh? Where did master go?
"Siti?" Xylona cried as she sat up. The High Sorceress narrowed her eyes at her.
"You dare call me your grandmother? I am High Sorceress Dimitri Shaheen. I have no granddaughter named Xylona, only Mysty and Onica and they are both dead," the elderly woman said as she used some spell to force Xylona back on the ground.
"Xylona!" Sakura shouted worriedly before she took a few steps toward her. The High Sorceress' eyes softened when Sakura kneeled next to Xylona.
"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Card Mistress. Do not worry about her, I would never hurt the innocent. I was only putting her in her place. The poor confused girl had mistaken me for her grandmother."
Xylona's whole body jerked in reaction. Everyone, even Eriol cast sympathetic glances at her. Despite the pain Xylona must be feeling, Eriol had a few questions that needed to be answered, so he cleared his throat to change the subject.
"I have a question, O honorable High Sorceress."
"You may ask, but first, please stand everyone," she requested. All but Xylona obeyed.
"Where are all the wandering souls?"
"The new master of the Relic of Zebas summoned them. They are all walking amongst the living now," she answered with a grim expression on her face.
"He did what? But how?" The idea of such a feat never even came across Eriol's mind.
"The Relic of Zebas is almost as powerful as my own magic, I had quite a hard time containing its power when I was alive. You may have some difficulties containing it yourself," The High Sorceress warned as she turned away.
"We already tried to take on the Relic of Zebas and failed. We need your help if we have any hope in winning. Will you help us?" Sakura pleaded while bowing respectively.
"I am sorry, I cannot help you. I am unable to walk upon the Earth unless someone has summoned me properly."
"The fact that the relic summoned every soul but hers must mean that it is afraid of her," Syaoran sighed and then shook his head, "Damn, so close and yet so far…"
"Syaoran! Watch your mouth, "Sakura scolded, "You're beginning to get Xylona's mouth."
"Sorry…"
"Isn't there any way you could help us?" Tomoyo asked from the back.
"Aside from my blessings, no, I cannot. If only my successor was here to inherit her legacy, then in that way can my power help you. But unfortunately, as Miss Pendragon had said so many times before, she is dead."
"Xylona only changed her name. She is still Mysty, your granddaughter," Eriol surprisingly said in Xylona's defense.
"…That may be true, but I refuse to recognize anyone who would change their name because they were embarrassed by their family."
"I wasn't embarrassed," Xylona muttered as she slowly sat up, "I changed my so I could survive." No one moved or said a word as she stood up and walked toward the High Sorceress.
"I was a coward. I had changed my name so the relic couldn't find me and when that didn't work, I hid behind the Card Mistress like a child. But if there was anything that embarrassed me, it was being Mysty because she had a selfish, childish dream to someday walk the earth as a normal human. But since the death of my former life I had found that there has to be someone out there with power to protect the innocent from those who are corrupted. It's because of that revelation that I am most proud to be born a Shaheen. I never had forsaken my family, I had forsaken myself and I don't care if you are going to recognize me as your granddaughter or not. I have brought this problem to my friends so now I am going to do everything I can to help Sakura …with or without magic."
"Just watch, now she's going to call herself Xylona Shaheen," Eriol taunted under his breath to Syaoran.
"You be quiet Hiiragizawa!" she snapped as she faced him for a moment. Everyone sweat dropped at her outburst.
"For someone who calls herself a coward…" Sakura started to say.
"She has a lot of bravado considering she just yelled at a sorcerer who is now more powerful than her," Syaoran finished.
"Even though Xylona isn't as super cute as Sakura is, I'm glad I was able to get that cool speech recorded!" Tomoyo squealed as she held up her camera. She didn't have her camera before, which quickly became suspicious to Eriol.
"I thought you lost your camera…" he whispered to her.
"I thought so too, but when I looked down, I found it right beside my feet."
That was something too convenient. Eriol figured that she must have been wishing that she had her camera and her powers made it materialize. Or the camera could have been lying around here and Tomoyo may have unconsciously summoned it to her. If that was the case, then it meant that she had telekinetic powers. A relieved sigh from the High Sorceress pulled Eriol out of his thoughts.
"I am glad to hear those words," she said gently as she placed her hands on either side of Xylona's face, "Go help your friends, but take this with you…my granddaughter."
A flash of light then surrounded them briefly. When it was over, the circlet was on Xylona's head and the red jewel slowly bled into a brownish amber color. A golden staff then appeared in Dimitri's hand before she gave it to Xylona.
"This will enable you to fight with the spirits," she whispered in Xylona's ear as she began fading away.
"Siti, where are you going?" She inquired worriedly.
"I have completed my task and now I can truly rest in peace knowing that the Earth is in good hands now," her voice echoed as she completely faded away.
"So Xylona is the High Sorceress now?" Tomoyo inquired with a little bit of worry in her voice.
"Don't worry, she should be okay now. The circlet gave her powers back and will give her enough energy so she doesn't have to terrorize us with her caffeine highs," Eriol reassured before Xylona faced them with an evil smirk.
"You forgot to mention that my powers were enhanced. And while I'm thinking about it, this is for cheating on our bet." She snapped her fingers and magical winds picked up to knock Eriol to the ground.
"Does anyone else realize that a complete psycho now has near unlimited power?" Syaoran asked the girls as Xylona cackled like a madman trying to take over the world.
"Yeah, but with Xylona and Tomoyo's new powers, we will defeat Eiryn this time," Sakura answered with a brilliant smile.
"Um, I think he was talking about Xylona," Tomoyo corrected with a sweat drop.
"Oh…"
"You're making me sound like a bad guy!" Xylona whined when Eriol peeled himself off the ground, "Will it make you feel better to know that Sakura can still beat me up if I get out of line?"
"Not really," Eriol muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.
"So…how do we get out of here?" Sakura wondered. Everyone began staring at Xylona, causing her do a victory pose.
"Leave it to me!" she shouted and then added in a meek voice, "…I guess."
"Are you saying that you don't know how to get us out!" Tomoyo cried in disbelief.
"Uh, kinda," was Xylona's response as she raised the staff in the air.
"We're doomed," Syaoran and Eriol muttered in unison.
Xavier kneeled down to catch his breath before he glanced up at the radio tower. Thanks to the Manacles of Kazan, he was able to transport from Syria to Japan in less than five minutes, but it almost depleted all of his energy. Even though the manacles were not as strong as the High Sorceress' circlet, Xavier knew he could have a chance in defeating Eiryn. But if he lost all of his energy, he would loose his soul to the manacles.
"Xylona, please be alive," he pleaded under his breath as he stood up. He knew Eiryn was there, he could practically see the evil energy surrounding the tower. A tiger-like figure with wings blocked his path before he could make a move towards the tower.
"Kalie!" he called out in surprise, "What are you-"
He stopped when she growled at him. He then noticed that there was some small silver object in the middle of her forehead. Xavier figured that it must have been controlling her. Suddenly all of the guardians, except Diablos appeared before him. It seemed that all of Sakura and Eriol's guardians had the same object on their foreheads.
Xavier raised his arms in defense when it looked like they were about to attack.
"Stop!" a voice commanded from above, "Go patrol the town."
The guardians flew away obediently as Xavier's gaze slowly traveled up the tower. There was Eiryn accompanied by two identical girls. Both of the girls looked like Xylona, but one of them had blonde hair.
"I'll take care of him," the dark haired Xylona said. Eiryn only nodded his head before he and the blonde Xylona vanished.
"X-Xylona?" Xavier stuttered as the dark haired girl began attacking. He was easily able to evade the projectile spells, but couldn't bring himself to counter attack.
"I'm flattered that you know who I am even though we never had the chance to meet," she sneered. He couldn't believe what was happening. There was no way this woman was Xylona-his Xylona.
"You can't be her! Who are you?"
"I am the real Xylona Pendragon. I was the one who was supposed to be your bride until the imposter took my identity."
"Um…Xylona? This isn't Japan," Sakura replied while she glanced at the nearby sand dunes and the great sand colored wall.
"At least she didn't get us killed," Eriol muttered under his breath for only Tomoyo to hear. She giggled in response as Xylona's blushing ceased immediately.
"…I heard that…" she grumbled dryly, "Anyway, why do we need to go to Japan?"
"Because that's where Eiryn is," Syaoran answered in a slow, sarcastic tone. The way he said it was enough to get Xylona angry, but she puffed out her cheeks and glared at him for a few minutes before adopting a cheerful yet wise look that most smart-alecks use.
"And then what? Fight him without a battle plan and get our butts kicked? I transported us to Syria so we can get more information on the relic and my now traitorous guardians."
"I really hate to admit it, but…" Eriol paused and took a deep breath to say something that was most likely going to leave a bad taste in his mouth, "…Xylona is…right. Ugh! …We need more information if we want a real chance at winning."
"It's a great idea and all, but how are we going to get inside?" Sakura inquired before Xylona got the chance to yell at Eriol for only giving her half a complement.
"Duh! The front gate silly!" Syaoran rolled his eyes before turning the clueless Xylona toward the mentioned front gate.
"She means how are we going to get past them?" he explained. There were several soldiers guarding the gate and three of them were heading their way.
"Who goes there?" One of the guards bellowed.
"It is I, the High Sorceress. I have come to see His Majesty," Xylona answered as if it was second nature. The guards didn't seem to believe her until they caught a glimpse of the circlet.
"You're…Lady Xylona, Prince Xavier's intended, correct? Make way! Let the High Sorceress and her guests through!" the leader ordered without waiting for the answers to his question.
They were then escorted into the city and led through empty streets. The only other people present were the merchants who were hiding in their booths. The silence was giving everyone an uneasy feeling as they cautiously inspected their surroundings.
"The threat of the relic has spread this far?" Syaoran wondered in amazement.
"Seems like it," Eriol confirmed, "I wonder what it is like in England? Or even the Americas if they were to believe that a powerful magic force is going to take over the world."
Tomoyo decided to lighten the mood by changing the subject towards Xylona. Neither she nor Sakura knew that Xylona was engaged, they only thought she was just dating him.
"Sakura, that guard said that Xylona was Xavier's fiancé," she whispered quiet enough so only the girls could hear.
"Yeah," Sakura then turned to Xylona accusingly, "I thought you were just seeing him. How come you didn't tell us you were engaged?"
"Um…You never asked?" she squeaked, looking clearly uncomfortable from the conversation.
"Even so…why would you keep such information to yourself? Not every girl gets to marry a prince," Tomoyo scolded, capturing the boys' attention.
"What do you mean by that! Sakura is dating the future leader of one of the most powerful clans in China and you," she pointed at Tomoyo, "…are dating……an over obsessive freak show exhibit."
"Yes, thank you Xylona. I always wanted to be remembered as an over obsessive freak show exhibit," Eriol muttered in a monotone voice while glaring at Xylona.
"Oh alright," she sighed, "A powerful reincarnation of the first Card Master, Clow Reed."
Before anyone could say another word, they arrived at the palace, and the guards left. Almost immediately after they left, another man in robes and a turban appeared.
"Welcome home, High Sorceress," he bowed, "Due to unfortunate events, only you may see His Majesty. Your guest can explore the palace if they would like to."
"Uh, sorry guys," Xylona said sheepishly as she faced them.
"That's okay. You go on ahead," Sakura encouraged as Syaoran snaked an arm around her waist.
"We needed a break anyway," he added.
"This would be a good time to teach Tomoyo some spells," Eriol suggested, earning an excited look from her.
"Really? I can't wait!"
"Okay then. But I hope her training consists of spell casting and not staring at each other dreamily and making out," Xylona taunted.
Eriol was going to tell her off like he usually does, but instead thought of a new comeback, "I feel sorry for your future husband with your lack of romance."
"W-what?" she blushed before turning to the man, "Sorry for the delay, please show me the way."
"Wow, that shut her up," Sakura commented as Xylona disappeared around a corner.
"I'm beginning to wonder if she even loves Xavier," Tomoyo said with a sad face.
"No, that's not it," Eriol started while gesturing the area where Xylona was last seen, "Despite her out-going nature, she's the type who prefers to keep her love life private. I think it because she is such a tomboy that makes her uncomfortable to talk about things like that."
"Well, as fascinating as her life is, why don't we split up and explore? It's too hot to be standing out here," Syaoran suggested before walking off, followed closely by Sakura.
Meanwhile, the king's advisor led Xylona all the way to the king's room. But before he touched the door knob, he faced her.
"I must warn you," he began in a whisper, "His Majesty was terribly injured…"
"Because of my guardians, right?" she guessed solemnly.
"Yes, I'm afraid so…I'm sorry, milady, but I have pressing business to attend to elsewhere, so I must take my leave."
He opened the door for her and closed it when she was inside. The king's bedroom was gigantic with dark red colored walls. One side of the room was nothing but glass and revealed the city outside. Matching red velvet curtains covered the window but was held back enough to allow some light in the room. On the other side of the room was a large four poster canopy bed where the king was lying. Xylona took a few steps closer, then stopped. He looked like he was dead with the pale skin and tightly shut eyes, but his light breathing proved otherwise.
"Come closer, my child…" he called out weakly, earning a startled jump from her. It took all of her willpower to bite down a surprised scream.
"I-I'm so sorry for what my guardians-" she began to say as she approached only to have her apology waved away.
"No, it is not your fault. I should have known better than to stand between a worried family. Although they care about other humans, nothing means more to them than their mistress and each other. They care so much for the well being of their youngest sibling that they would join the wrong side to save them. But fear not High Sorceress, once they see you are alive and well, they will come back to you."
"You knew all along that I was related to Dimitri didn't you? How did you know?"
"You never told us your real name, but I knew who you were. You look so much like her…"
"Yes, but apparently I'm not the only one," she replied, remembering her sister and the original Xylona.
"But it is not only how you look that resembles her, but how you act. You are both the same."
Thinking back on her father's stories, she found that the king was right. Dimitri ran away from her problems just like she did. Dimitri despised her power just as much as Xylona despised hers. They both eventually accepted their power and returned to fulfill their responsibility.
The king coughed before he finally opened his eyes, "Have you seen Xavier?"
"No, I've only arrived recently. Why? Is there something wrong?"
"It is just that it has been a really long time since I have last seen him. Quite unusual behavior for him. Could you please go find him for me?" he requested before he broke into a coughing fit. Xylona held her hand above his throat and concentrated some magic there until the coughing died down.
"I will find him at once, your Highness. Please rest while I do so."
"You do not have to call me that. 'Father' would suffice, my daughter."
"Jeez, Xavier and I aren't even married yet and he is already calling me 'daughter'," she muttered once was outside and had closed the door.
"Syaoran, could we rest a little bit? I'm getting tired." Sakura said as she leaned heavily on his arm. Syaoran glanced around and found a stone bench. He then helped her walk over to it and sat down with her. Sakura's eyes immediately fell shut once her head leaned comfortably against his shoulder.
"How could she be this tired already? She hasn't been summoning cards lately," he thought as he gently rested his head on hers, "Maybe it's from being exposed to so much foreign power from Xylona's transportation spell or maybe…"
He figured it was post battle stress. They were separated back there and they didn't know if their friends were still alive. He remembered when he woke up all alone and in pain. He was too worried about Sakura to care about himself so he started searching for her without rest. He should be more tired than her.
"I'm glad you're alright," he mumbled in her hair.
"I'm glad you're alright, too," she replied in a quiet voice before her breathing deepened and she snuggled closer to Syaoran.
"Hey guys!" a familiar voice shouted from down the hall. Syaoran snapped his head up to look for the source while being careful to not awaken Sakura. He soon found Xylona running towards them.
"Shh! Quiet, she's asleep," he whispered.
"Sorry, have you seen Xavier?" she asked in the same tone he was using.
"No, haven't seen anyone at all."
Xylona groaned before running off. Syaoran was surprised by the worried look on her face.
"Like this?" Tomoyo asked as a floating object flew to her, confirming Eriol's suspicions.
"Perfect! It looks like you do have telekinetic powers."
"This is fun," she giggled as she put the object back where it belonged.
They had covered casting elemental and non-elemental spells, casting defense and shield spells, and found out what power she possessed. She learned every lesson quickly and now Eriol needed to test her abilities. An almost evil smirk appeared on his face as he thought of a fun way to test her.
Tomoyo, noticing the smirk, realized he was plotting something because she always made the same look when trying record Sakura's actions without her knowing, "Eriol? What's wrong?"
"I just had a great idea. We are going to have a mock battle. We will only use our special powers and our weakest elemental spells. The first one to pin the other down wins."
"Okay, but go easy on me, I'm still new at this."
"Don't worry, my dear," he purred before he threw a ball of frozen water at her. She easily blocked it with a small fire shield. Thinking quickly, Tomoyo spotted two stone benches and used her special ability to pull them in front of her so she was hidden from his sight. She then conjured up a small fireball and threw it over the barrier and ducked back down. She was in for the shock of her life when she heard an explosion, followed by the crackling sound of flames. She couldn't have possibly used a spell that strong. When she dared to look, there was a raging inferno.
"Eriol!" she screamed as she moved the benches out of her way. She only took three steps before she felt someone push her against a wall and pin her there.
"I win," Eriol whispered in her ear. In the blink of an eye, the flames were gone and all that was left were the stone benches.
"No fair!" she cried against his chuckling, "That was an illusion!"
"I could say your makeshift barrier wasn't fair either," he teased as pulled back slightly to look at her face. He chuckled again at her pout. She huffed and faced the other way.
"Would a kiss make you feel better?" Her eyes traveled back to his face and a small smile slowly became visible, "Maybe…"
He didn't hesitate to capture her lips in a chaste kiss that quickly turned passionate. His hands let go of her shoulders and wrapped around her waist while she moved her arms to behind his neck.
"Oh! I don't believe this!" an angry voice called out from behind, effectively ruining the moment, "You said you were going to train her, not that! Ugh! And in front of the altar of Kazan!"
Both Tomoyo and Eriol broke apart, took one glance at Xylona and then switched their gaze to the mentioned altar on their left.
"We're sorry, Xylona," Tomoyo apologized as she gently pushed Eriol away.
"Uh, for the record, we were training and no, we didn't destroy anything," Eriol explained before Xylona could go on a tirade of questions.
"Oh really! Why are there benches thrown around in the middle of the shrine and where are the Manacles of Kazan?" she inquired sharply.
"Um, I'm responsible for the benches…sorry," Tomoyo said sheepishly.
"It's not like you don't go around destroying sacred place," Eriol defended, "And what are these Manacles of Kazan?"
"Read the sign…and by the way, your house is not a 'sacred place' and I swear it was Ruby who destroyed it," she muttered under her breath while pointing at the sign behind Tomoyo.
"Huh? It's in Arabic," Tomoyo said as Eriol learned colder to get a better look.
"Let's see…'Here on this altar lies the Manacles of Kazan. The manacles can greatly increase both the physical strength and mental powers of any magic user. The only drawback is that if the magic user's energy is completely drained, then their soul would be trapped within the manacles. Once on, the manacles cannot be removed until the intended task is complete.' …Okay, well these manacles were not on the altar when we came here."
"Are you telling the truth?" she queried frantically.
"It's true, I haven't seen them either," Tomoyo replied.
"Now I understand…" Xylona mumbled as she walked away.
"What is it now?" Eriol asked in an irritated voice form her strange behavior.
"Xavier hasn't been seen in over five hours and the manacles are missing," she explained before disappearing yet again around another corner.
"Then that means…" Eriol trailed off.
"Xavier took them? But why?" Tomoyo wondered.
"He's going to fight the Relic of Zebas on his own. We will need to get to Japan fast if we are going to save him."
Sorceress Celine: Uh-oh, looks like Xavier is in trouble. Why are there now three Xylonas in the story? What is Eiryn planning now? Will Sakura and the others be able to save their guardians? Find out in the next chapter… (Everyone exceptApprentice Jed enters the studio)
Apprentice Jed: Well?
Sorceress Celine: Nope, not even a trace of her red hair.
Sorcerer Noah: Uh-uh, my orb can't sense her at all.
Servo: I wish I was gone… (He points to Fagtron who is clinging to his leg)
Fagtron: Where did master go?
Servo: SHE'S GONE FOREVER AND IS NEVER COMING BACK! (Fagtron starts crying)
Sorceress Celine: So what do we do now?
Apprentice Jed: …Let's throw a party! (Sorceress Myst reappears behind her) Ah! You're alive!
Sorceress Celine: Whew! We were getting worried. Sorcerer Noah wouldn't shut up about how worried he was. (Sorcerer Noah blushes)
Sorceress Myst: (Blushing too) It's nice to know how many people care, but did you really think a mere spell would get rid of me so easily. (Fagtron lets go of Servo and clings to Sorceress Myst)
Fagtron: Master! I thought you were gone forever! How was Disney World?
Sorceress Myst: Ooookay. Now let's go throw that party before I think about throwing who ever cast that spell on me into a pit with Fagtron and her Pyromaniacs tribe
Sorcerer Noah: Sounds good to me. (Everyone walks off except Fagtron)
Fagtron: Huh? Where did master go? Wah! I'm all alone! Oh well! (Pulls out a prune slurpie and starts drinking it)
Sorceress Myst: (From far away) What are you doing Fagtron? (Fagtron explodes and then comes back out of thin air) …oh no…RUN EVERYONE! FAGTRON HAS A PRUNE SLURPIE!