"Even if you see 'em comin', you're not ready for the big moments... It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."
-Whistler, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
Chapter 11 Intermezzo
A connection has been severed.
Deep within the Darkness, crimson eyes opened, full of wary interest.
"I see... she failed, then." The Dark Lord mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But after all, it was just the first attempt."
Standing from his throne of shadows, Lord Voldemort looked to the endless multitude of worlds with interest.
"Now... which will be next?"
Reaching out, he touched each world, searching for another.
After all, he had lost one pawn.
And had billions more to go.
Eriol leaned against the doorframe, eyes on the lightening horizon, tinged with streaks of indigo-red, the sun not daring to show its face just yet.
His eyes were tired but his body refused to give in just yet. Not until he made sure.
Just then, something different was on the horizon.
As the light slowly, cautiously rose up from the darkness, they appeared.
They weren't conquering heroes by any long shot, but they were alive.
Harry was piggy-backing Inuyasha on his shoulders, looking tired and ragged and utterly spent, as though he had been defeated in victory.
The half demon's shoulder was profusely bleeding, a brutal wound that Eriol recognized as Yue's arrow's handiwork. He was unconscious.
Robin walked alongside them, her face scratched and blistered from the battle, and her eyes were tired.
Yue had reverted back to his other form- that of his human one, Yukito. The gray haired teen looked crushed and depressed, like a puppy kicked into the rain.
Keroberos was carrying Syaoran on his back, who was carrying the comatose Sakura in his arms. Both carried looks of deep mourning sorrow.
It wasn't the picture of returning heroes. In fact, it looked more like they had just narrowly survived a brutal massacre.
It was defeat. Or at best, a Pyrrhic victory.
But the boy looked beyond, and saw the smallest, tiniest glimmers of hope.
They were wounded and tired and hurting, but still, Eriol smiled.
No one spoke for a while. The silence was thick with unsaid thoughts and deep melancholy.
There was no need for words, not really. They had fought a battle together, bled and wept for the same cause.
Inuyasha stirred, and his eyes fluttered, trying to rouse themselves.
"Inuyasha?" Harry asked cautiously, leaning over the half demon. "Are you awake?"
Groaning slightly, the silver haired boy pushed himself up slightly, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. "Ye-yeah." He managed, sucking in a slow, deep breath. Looking up at the Boy-Who-Lived, he asked, "Did we win?"
Harry bit his lip, and looked away. "In a sense." He replied quietly.
Inuyasha followed his gaze and saw the unconscious Sakura held tightly to Syaoran's chest. The brown haired boy was distraught, pulling her head closer to his chin and not saying a word.
-Tsubaki's curse had relented for just a moment, and he held Kagome in his arms as her bow clattered to the floor. "Inuyasha... I'm sorry..." she whispered, and he knew it was unneeded. She would never purposefully aim her weapon against him-
Inuyasha's face softened and he looked downwards. "Oh." He said helplessly.
"Syaoran... you'd best take her to a bed." Eriol said gently, and tugged the practically dead to the world Syaoran and the literally dead to the world Sakura away, into another room where Yue and Keroberos had been placed.
And so it was just the three of them again, as the door swung shut.
Not one could speak for the moment, a feeling of great depression among the three.
"We won, didn't we?" Robin asked quietly, looking up at the two of them as though desperate for an answer. "I mean, we stopped-"
"We stopped nothing!" Harry snapped, standing up abruptly, fist clenched. With a strangled roar, he smashed his fist into the wall, leaving a small web of cracks in the wood. When he removed his fist, it was raw and a trickle of blood wreathed around it "Voldemort got away, and all we did was beat Sakura up!"
"If we hadn't, she'd have taken us out!" Inuyasha said, not feeling any belief in his own words, despite their truthfulness.
The Boy-Who-Lived rounded on the half demon, eyes blazing with sad fury. "We accomplished nothing here today!" he hissed angrily, staring down the other boy with his emerald eyes. "Voldemort still won. We attacked someone who had no choice in fighting us."
"She's not dead, Harry." Robin murmured, looking up at him pleadingly.
"She might as well be." Harry spat, rounding away from his friends with an angry turn. He let out another angry growl, and clenched his fist. "Is this all we can do?" he demanded of the Universe. "I came here to protect, but instead I have to fight the people I came to save!"
No one said anything. No one could say anything.
"This will never end until Voldemort is dead." Harry said quietly, a sort of revelation he'd already known. "No matter how many worlds we go to, until that bastard is in the grave this will never be over."
Truer words were never spoken.
When Eriol reentered the room, he could tell something had been said, something important and something not for his ears.
He smiled a little, just a tiny bit. "Syaoran is watching over Sakura... I don't think he wants company." He announced, and looked at each of them in turn. "What will you do next?" he asked.
Harry frowned. What more could he do?
"Well, I guess-" the Boy-Who-Lived paused, and suddenly felt a pulsing, deep in his chest, as though his heart was resonating. He closed his eyes, searching out the feeling instinctively.
"Harry?" Robin asked, peering at him curiously.
Unheedingly, Harry passed them all in a daze, summoning the Keyblade with nary a thought.
Inuyasha uncrossed his arms and followed, feeling rather disquieted. The others followed suit.
The pulsing quickened in Harry's chest and his steps pushed him through the shrine, past the still oblivious Syaoran and comatose Sakura, through another set of doors, where a study with a single candle, bright against the dark, lay.
On the desk was a bright pink covered tome inscribed with circles and elaborate, overlapping designs, all of which were mystical. A golden latch kept it closed. It was glowing faintly, and the resonance grew stronger.
The soft light was something familiar to Eriol, but he couldn't quite place where he had ever felt such a power before.
Raising his Keyblade, Harry's eyes opened. The tip of the blade began glowing brightly with golden light that filled the room, deeper and older than Time.
The two lights shined, like responding to like, one power recognizing another.
With a swift movement, the Keybearer thrust the key shaped weapon forward, and a beam of the purest shining light struck the book, which began to glow even brighter in response.
Barely aware of what he was doing, Harry twisted the Keyblade, as though he were locking a door.
For a single, brief moment, the world exploded in a brutal kaleidoscope of lights.
Harry felt himself touching something wonderfully infinite, as though with just a bit of effort, he could grasp the Universe itself-
And the world reappeared to their eyes with a loud, booming thud, as though a great door had swung shut and been locked tight, the book and Keyblade's lights faded, leaving a dazed Boy-Who-Lived and confused friends.
Inuyasha, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. "What the Hell was that?" blunt and to the point, as he always was.
"I-" Harry began, but paused.
"In a few sources, it states that the Keyblade also has the ability to lock the heart of individual worlds, protecting them from destruction by the Heartless."
Zelda's words returned to him now, and he cursed himself for forgetting. "I've locked the heart of this world. The Heartless can't get at it now and destroy it." He explained quietly, mostly basing his idea off of theory. "But I don't get it." Turning towards Eriol, the Boy-Who-Lived stared at the blue haired boy with confusion. "What does a book have to do with the heart of this world?"
Eriol smiled. "That book is the nexus of this world. It is what started Sakura on the road to learning magic, and it is what brought Syaoran and myself to meeting her. In short, it was the catalyst and the center point to events in our world."
An enlightened look spread across his face. "Ah. I see. The heart of a world isn't a heart, but something... key to the world, an object important enough that it is perhaps the center of the events."
"So, I have to find these objects, and seal them." Harry said quietly, more to himself than to Eriol. It wouldn't end this war, but it would buy them some time, until he could destroy Voldemort.
"Do you really think this will stop the Heartless?" Inuyasha asked skeptically, arching a single eyebrow.
Harry looked at him helplessly. "For now, it's all I can do."
"Are you going then?" it was an hour after the sealing, and Eriol had left to check on Yue, who had woken, but wouldn't be in any good shape for a while.
Harry bit his lip. He wanted to go to another world immediately, but with Inuyasha's shoulder in that condition and his and Robin's magical reserves exhausted, going to another world was suicide.
Especially if there were more foes like Sakura out there.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Robin asked concernedly. "Right now, only you and Keroberos can really fight, Eriol. And you're wounded." She added, gesturing towards the red spot on his arm.
"We could take you back to Hyrule, the place we left from." Harry interjected.
Eriol shook his head and smiled. "This is our world. You have struck a great blow against the Heartless, and they will not be at their full strength with the heart of our world locked." He replied serenely. "Syaoran, heartbroken as he is, can still fight. We will stay."
Harry frowned, and looked at the blue haired boy seriously. "Are you sure?" he asked dubiously.
Eriol nodded and smiled a bit wider. "This is a place worth fighting for. But before you go," he began, and each of them looked at him curiously, "There are a few things we wish to impart with you."
A screen door opened, and Keroberos and Yue stepped through. Yue was back in his angel form, but there were bandages wrapped around his forehead.
Inuyasha did not look abashed.
Keroberos stepped towards Robin with a benevolent look on his feline face. "For you, wielder of Fire. I will add my strength to yours, to help rebuild your powers." A warm, fiery light like a hearth drifted from his mouth and drifted towards Robin.
It descended into her breast and the witch felt a spark ignite and become a roaring blaze. Robin looked at the winged lion in gratitude. "Thank you very much." She bowed, and Keroberos inclined his head in turn.
Yue stepped towards Inuyasha, a hint of remorse in his eyes. "I am sorry for our battle." The angel murmured, and the half demon shrugged and gave a "keh" sound. "As a token of my apology, I will do my best to reawaken your sword."
Inuyasha's eyes widened as a royal blue light shimmered on Yue's hands as he touched the Tetsusaiga, which began to pulse slowly, sluggishly, and then faster, like a heart.
Sighing, Yue pulled back, fatigue etched on his face but also a smile. "I have done all I can."
Eriol stepped towards Harry, who looked at him with mild amusement. "None of my powers have been weakened." He said, shrugging.
Smiling, the sorcerer shook his blue head of hair. "While I was checking on Yue, this... urge to create suddenly came to me. The book resonates with it." Reaching into his robes, Eriol revealed a single keychain with a pink encircled yellow star.
The same symbol as Sakura's.
"I call it the Celestial Hope Keychain." Eriol said, and Harry's eyes were drawn to it. "I do not know what it can do for you, but please, take it." He pressed it into the Keybearer's hands
Smiling, Harry took it. "Thank you." He pocketed it, feeling something resonating in his heart.
Whatever this Keychain was, it would prove its worth soon enough.
"And I have one more gift, one that is from Sakura, even if she could not give it herself." From his robes again, he removed an object. This time, the tome that Harry had sealed. From it, he removed a single card, about as long as his hand from wrist to fingers, and pink.
Briefly wondering if pink was a symbol of power in this world, Harry looked at it curiously. Emblazoned in bold letters at the top was the name of the card: "Windy." Harry murmured, and stared at Eriol.
"These cards are what amounted to spells for Sakura. They have wills of their own, but they follow the Card Master, or in Sakura's case, Mistress." Eriol explained without prompt. "Windy wishes to impart her own gift. She was Sakura's favorite card."
The ethereal, soft yellow woman he'd seen earlier appeared in the room, smiling down at him with gentle red eyes. Her arm moved, and she placed her hand forward, palm first, towards him.
Slowly, Harry placed his hand against the Windy card's.
Immediately, a surge of energy ripped through him, and he sucked in a breath. Before he realized it, the knowledge was imprinted in his mind, forever and always.
"A spell..." Harry breathed softly, panting slightly. "She's given me a spell."
The Windy disappeared slowly, zephyrs of yellow wind whispering away back into the card. Without a word, Eriol put it back inside the book and placed it in his robes.
"I have one final gift for the three of you." Eriol said quietly, but he wasn't smiling. "I have the ability to see the future, though as of late, they are mostly premonitions. If you would like, I could attempt to read yours."
Each of them nodded, each of them wanting to know.
Inuyasha stepped forward first. This might be my chance to find Kagome. Eriol looked at him, hard, for a moment.
A minute passed and Eriol frowned, and his brow furrowed as though something deeply disturbing had occurred to him.
"What?" Inuyasha said, uncomfortable with the silence.
"Love is your curse and your salvation." He sighed, and wiped his glasses against his shirt tiredly. "I am sorry, but that's all."
The half demon looked as though he had been struck, and turned his head away quickly. No one dared ask what the phrase meant to him.
Turning towards Robin, Eriol smiled with fake humor "The protector is gone, and only the Hunter remains." He murmured sorrowfully.
Her brow furrowed and her eyes were full of confusion, but she did not speak. "Thank you." She said quietly, and turned away.
Harry felt nothing but trepidation as he stepped toward Eriol, who remarked humorlessly, "It appears the future is grim. But fear not... I hope that these things will not come to pass, my friends." Yet as he turned toward the Keybearer, the worry lines on his face only deepened.
Something ominous was in the air.
"This quest of yours is a great one, Harry Potter. Yet there are greater things awaiting you... if death does not claim you." Eriol's eyes clouded for a moment, and when he spoke again, it was in a much different tone, an ancient prophetic tone. "When you need it the most, true strength lies without and within." The tone deepened and darkened.
"Beware, Harry Potter. The Darkness is hardest to see in the Light, and in victory, all you may have gained is a greater and more terrible foe than before."
The words chilled Harry to the bone. Greater and more terrible... words he had heard before, three years ago- in his third year, alone with Professor Trelawney, in the North Tower.
And on that very night, the beginnings of the Dark Lord's rebirth were set in motion.
Eriol looked incredibly sad, tragically so, for a moment, as though he had witnessed the fall of a loved one. "Though I cannot know whether you will win or lose, Harry Potter, I know only this." His clouded gaze pierced into the Keybearer, and Harry felt a chill.
"In a month, a week, a year, no matter how much time passes or how strong you become, you will fall to your enemy. This you cannot escape."
Harry, unable to cope with what Eriol had just predicted, fled the shrine, stepping out into the morning sun that felt bitter on his face.
Despite his wounds, his magical and physical exhaustion, and the fact that he hadn't eaten or slept in hours, he couldn't hope to sleep.
Having your own death predicted was something of a downer.
The sun beat down on him, as though the Universe had decided it was "Piss On Potter" day.
Sighing, he sat himself down on the stone steps. After a moment, Harry clenched his fist and scowled. "Prophecy or no prophecy, I won't let Voldemort win."
What would come would come. He would meet his end in the way of his father, straight backed and proud, not giving an inch and fighting to the end.
Feeling a small bit of tension leave him, Harry relaxed a fraction, and looked up at the sunlight, beaming and defiant.
And then his world exploded into a whirlwind of crimson and agony.
He was standing in the infinite Void.
"I see you bested my proxy, Potter." The Dark Lord hissed, crimson eyes flickering in the darkness as he appeared, tall and pale and cloaked in shadow.
"Voldemort!" the Boy-Who-Lived spat, and the Keyblade appeared into his hand, blazing forth against the dark, a single defiant spark.
"No need for that, Harry. I simply came to talk." Lord Voldemort said easily, waving his hand dismissvely as he turned away from the teen. "All I want is for you to hand over the Keyblade."
"Never!" Harry hissed, staring his enemy down, and swung the Keyblade.
In a storm of shadows, the Dark Lord disappeared, and reappeared a few feet away, looking at him with an amused smirk. "Really, Harry. Attacking an opponent when his back is turned? You're even more like me than I realized."
"SHUT UP!" the Boy-Who-Lived snarled, and hurled himself forward again, but the Dark Lord raised a hand, and a barrier of shadows rose up and blocked the attack, sending loose bolts of violent power scattering about.
"If you will not submit, then you will be destroyed. There are many worlds, but they share one destiny, boy." Lord Voldemort hissed dangerously, over the crackle of energy. "To be plunged into Darkness."
"NEVER!" Harry roared defiantly, pushing the Keyblade against the Darkness.
"As riveting as your, teenage tantrums are, I am afraid my time here is up. Until next we meet, Harry." The Dark Lord said condescendingly, and the world was shattered by a whirlwind of sound and shadow-
"Harry? Harry!" rough hands shook him and the Boy-Who-Lived's eyes snapped open, then closed, shielding themselves from the sun.
"Inu-Inuyasha?" Harry croaked, glancing up at the silver haired boy, and then looking away. "Robin?"
The orange haired witch looked at him worriedly while Inuyasha stared at him. "Are you alright? You were screaming." Robin said concernedly.
"I-I had a vision of Voldemort. He was talking to me, through my scar." Harry explained, pain evident in his voice.
"What?" Inuyasha demanded. "What the Hell do you mean, talking through your scar? Are you stupid?" he said, looking at him in disbelief.
"It's a special one, alright! I can see things from his point of view, and now I can see visions of him, too." Harry shot back defensively. "I didn't ask for this."
Inuyasha looked dubious, while Robin looked contemplative at this new development.
"Are we going to go then?" Inuyasha said, after a moment.
"Yeah... I suppose we should be heading back." Harry said quietly, and stood up. He reached into the magical bag Zelda had given him, shifting around for the control to teleport back to the ship.
"Are you leaving then?" Eriol's voice rang out slowly, quietly, and he stepped forward, smiling.
"Ye-yeah." Harry said, not quite sure how to deal with the blue haired boy.
"I am sorry for such news. Sometimes, it is better to not see the future at all, and let it come without prior knowledge." Eriol inclined his head. "Despite this, I wish you the best of fortune."
"Goodbye Eriol." Harry said, smiling slightly.
"Don't be gettin' yourselves killed or anythin'." Inuyasha grunted in annoyance, turning away.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Robin bowed deeply.
With a small smile shared amongst them, Harry, Inuyasha, and Robin disappeared in a flash of light.
"Goodbye..." Eriol said softly, and this voice picked up, gaining strength and volume, "I wish you three the best of luck on your journey!"
"Opening hatch doors... depressurizing interior." Gilliam announced, and Harry gave a slow, quiet sigh, releasing his grip on the controls. The trip back had been quiet and subdued, with nary a word spoken.
The Boy-Who-Lived stepped outside of the Outlaw Star with his head down and his face set into an impassive look.
Behind him, Inuyasha was walking with his arms held loosely at his sides, more due to the fact that his shoulder was torn than any sort of relaxation.
Robin was putting on a mask of false cheer, just trying to push on and get the world centered again.
As his feet hit the soft grass just outside Hyrule Castle, however, a voice rang out.
"Harry. You've returned." Kurama's smooth voice was unaffected as he stepped forward, smiling slightly. His eyes drifted towards Inuyasha's shoulder and Robin's falsely cheerful face. "I see you have been through a lot in the past few days. Come inside and rest awhile. You have done enough for now."
Inuyasha grunted and Robin nodded, and they moved toward the gate.
Harry went to join them, but Kurama placed a hand on his shoulder. "Harry. There's something you should see." The fox demon said, his face and voice betraying nothing.
Perplexed, the Boy-Who-Lived nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."
Kurama took him into the castle, the same as with Inuyasha and Robin, but tugged him away, not towards the rooms and infirmary, but towards... the dining room?
"Uh... Kurama. I'm not really in the mood to eat-" before Harry could finish his statement, the fox demon swung the door open, and the Boy-Who-Lived's train of thought stopped cold.
"G-Ginny?"
The redhead looked up from her soup, the spoon suspended in mid air. She stared at him blankly. "I've been told that's my name. What's yours?"
Author's Notes
This chapter was reaching ridiculous lengths (8000 plus), so I cut it into two.
I've made an important change to the story. I've scrapped my plan to use the Shaman King world and replaced it with a different one. Why? Well, number one, I'm more familiar with the new world (no, I'm not telling), and two, it fits better with the story... I think.
Chapter 4 has been altered to tailor to this change. If any of you were looking forward to that world, I deeply apologize.
Secondly, I've deleted my Yahoo group. It's too much hassle and too little gain. I've set up a Live Journal- post comments there. I'll be posting progress reports if I get around to it.
Chapter 12 should be in a few days, since the massive chapter had been nearly complete.