Yes! Only two more exams left! *grins* I've been working on this piece for quite a while now and there's still so many things that I need to cover but I decided to divide this chapter into two parts since this is already over 4000 words long. And I'm only halfway done! Seeing as I've been keeping you people waiting for more than a month I think, I decided it's time for an update. That and there were two very persistent reviewers who kept on asking for an update.
Oh speaking of reviews, Shattered Secrets has crossed the 200 review mark! So this chapter is dedicated to all my faithful readers and reviewers. Keep your comments and criticism coming. Any advice to help me improve further would be appreciated a lot as well.
By the way guys, I don't mind anonymous reviews at all but if you want me to reply to any questions you might have, please leave a signed review or send me a PM so I have a way of getting back to you, okay?
Now, without any further ado, enjoy!
"Sakura will be able to find him." A voice tinged with weakness and exhaustion had the three of them reeling towards the previously unconscious pilot.
"Fai," Tomoyo spoke, her voice uncharacteristically hard and chilly.
"Where did you send her?" Touya was immediately on the blond, his hands clutching at the collar of the blonde's soiled shirt. Fai opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a rather harsh coughing fit.
"Touya, you're choking him," Yukito warned quietly, putting a restraining hand on his friend's shoulder. Shooting the pilot a contemptuous look, Touya let him drop back onto the makeshift bunk.
"She's… She's with her… employer." Fai managed to get out between his harsh coughs, doubling over in pain as they worsened. Touya spotted flecks of blood landing on the blonde's jeans before he covered his mouth with one hand.
"Fuck… this hurts like hell." He laughed bitterly, pulling his hand away once the fit subsided, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the crimson staining his hands.
"You shouldn't push yourself." Tomoyo instructed quietly, her tone still apathetic and somewhat distant. Touya spotted hurt flash in the pilot's now blue eyes, but he masked it quicker than the hunter could have said Kaijuu.
"I know that no matter what I do or say," Fai addressed the medic, not daring to meet her gaze as he lowered it to stare at his hands resting fisted atop his knees. "It will never make up for all the things that I did. And I know…" harsh coughing rattled his chest as blood dribbled through the finger covering his mouth. "I know… that what I did to Syaoran is inexcusable…. I won't blame you if you decide to run me through with your blades as… I am sure you are very close to doing right now."
"You're right," she spat all of a sudden. "You've been lying to us all along. We trusted you! We trusted you and you… you betrayed us!" She nearly shrieked but managed to keep her composure somewhat. "If we didn't need you to find him… I would have let Kurogane kill you without a second thought."
"I know." He rasped, still refusing to look at her, "you have every right to want to do so… but…"
"But what?" she snarled.
"I'm not as heartless as you're making me out to be, Tomoyo." He responded quietly.
The sharp slap that echoed in the small cabin actually made Touya cringe. The hunter sneaked a glance at the pilot, who was holding a hand to his face where the medic had hit him, before turning his attention back to the lavender-eyed woman.
"You… You bastard." Tomoyo hissed, breathing hard as she glared at him.
"I deserved that," he finally raised his eyes to meet her furious stare, blue eyes awash with regret, guilt, and sorrow.
"And that." He added when the palm of her other hand connected with his cheek in another resounding clap.
"And I definitely deserved that one." He wheezed, trying to struggle back to his feet as Kurogane towered over him, arm still outstretched from where he had punched the blue-eyed magician. When the heck had he gotten inside? Touya wondered in bewilderment as he watched the red-eyed captain lift the blonde off his feet by his collar.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" The ex-captain hissed venomously. "I should just snap your scrawny neck in half right where you stand. We can find the kid on our own."
"Then why haven't you, Kurogane?" Touya found himself taken by surprise at the challenge in the blonde's tone.
"Bastard, the minute we have the kid back, I'm tearing you apart, limb from bloody fucking limb."
"I don't…" Fai began to cough again, blood staining his pale lips as he almost doubled over, "…care what you plan on doing to me…" another cough interrupted his words, "all I care about right now… Is getting Syaoran away from those bastards…" he coughed up more blood.
"Why do you care?" The words were out of his mouth before Touya could stop himself. "You're the one who did whatever it was that happened to the brat, wasn't it?"
"I had no other choice back then…" the blond responded, wiping his bloody mouth with the back of his hand, "but now," he added softly, casting what could only be interpreted as a meaningful glance in the direction of his former companions, "I'll make them regret what they did." Before any of them could react, the pilot traced a spell in the air in a move so fast his hand appeared nothing but a blur of skin and crimson. Touya could only gape in shock. His spells took on the form of words. Just how strong was this guy? Touya felt a sinking, sucking sensation in the base of his gut before his surroundings turned black.
'I don't have the energy to sustain the spell for long. Please, they have to know why I did it.'
As the voice echoed all around him, Touya opened his eyes to their widest, straining to pick up a shred of light. In the distance, he could see a small blue orb, pulsating weakly, almost flickering out of existence but stubbornly holding on. For a minute Touya considered not listening to the voice, thinking about Sakura and how he needed to find her. But he knew that if the magician exhausted his reserves while trying to sustain what was no doubt a very powerful spell, he'd die or be incapacitated for a very long time at the very least. And then he'd have an even harder time finding his little Kaijuu. So the hunter merely closed his eyes in response, frowning in slight concentration. His aura flared out, just as color and voices and light filled his surroundings. Touya heard the pilot sigh gratefully.
'Thank you.'
Touya opened his eyes to find himself standing in a snow-covered yard. To his right was a tall, elegantly built structure of icy-blue stone. Looking at it closely, Touya realized that the stone was in fact ice. But the structure built out of it appeared resilient and sturdy. A man with skin as pale as the snow on the ground emerged on top of the balcony some thirty feet above him.
"Where the heck are we?" He heard Kurogane growl a little ways behind him.
"I don't know." Came Tomoyo's equally confused reply.
"The queen has given birth to twin princes!" the pale-featured man spoke in a booming voice. Touya could almost feel the magic used to make his voice sound that high. "Rejoice, my fellow subjects. The gods above smile upon us. May good fortune be with us."
All around him people erupted into loud cheers.
"Mage! Where the fuck are we?"
Touya could feel the blond struggling to maintain control over the spell, so he decided to answer for him, knowing that the other was incapable of doing so. "His memories."
As if on cue, the scenery around them shifted to that of the inside of the ice castle, for the grand building could not have been anything else. The ceiling was high with tall glass windows, lighting up the room, hovering chandeliers with glowing orbs of orange fire placed in strategic places casting beautiful shades of gold to play over the silvery blue surface.
Two boys, twins from the looks of it, no older than three years of age, played in the center of the room with stuffed creatures that Touya had never seen in his life, but had heard of in plenty of stories his mother used to tell him as a child. Ice Phoenixes. A fair-haired maid with long golden locks and pink, plump lips watched the two children play fondly.
"I wish it would fly." One of the twins sighed sadly as he dropped his toy on the floor and began to struggle to his feet, almost tripping over the thick, fur-lined robes he wore.
"These are just toys little brother, only the real ones can fly." His twin spoke seriously and Touya resisted the urge to smile as the younger of the two twin stuck out his tongue playfully.
"Oh, yeah? Well, I bet Mama can make it fly."
"Mama can make a lot of other thing fly too." the older twin replied, sounding years more mature than his current age.
"I wish I could too."
"Fai, Yuui," the maid that stood a little distance away, addressed the twins as she walked up to them. "It's time for dinner. Let's go, you two."
"Coming," the younger twin sang as he jumped to his feet. "Will Father and Uncle be joining us for dinner as well?"
"That is what I was told," the maid responded with a gentle smile as she picked up the toys that were strewn about the room and began arranging them on a floating rack in one corner of the room. The walls glistened prettily, reflecting her silhouette as she moved in front of them. The older twin gave a startled cry all of a sudden, doubling over on the floor as he clutched at his sides.
"Fai!" The younger twin cried out in alarm as he rushed to his brother's side. The maid, having heard this, dropped the toys and raced over to the fallen blond. "Fai!" His brother seemed hysterical as he watched the little boy on the floor with tears brimming in his eyes. "What's wrong with him? Why won't he say something, Anika? Fai!"
"Y-Yuui…" the little boy rasped as softly as a pale blue, pulsating light seemed to envelop him, smoky tendrils reaching out towards the younger twin.
"A mage…" the maid gasped softly, her wide eyes fixated on the plush toys hovering several feet above the ground as the pulsating blue light danced off of the icy walls. Touya felt their surroundings shift once more.
"Oh, Sister-in-law, what delightful news this is." Touya spotted the pale skinned man that had announced the princes' birth grin jovially at a beautiful blond woman with skin just as fair as the moon at night, hair the shade of spun threads of gold, and eyes a warm, comforting color of honey brown, "My older nephew has magic in him. What more good luck can we ask for? The gods must indeed be feeling merciful to have blessed us with them."
"Yes, it is wonderful news indeed." The woman smiled. Her voice was soft and melodious as she spoke the words, her gaze shifting towards the small blonde hiding behind her knees in a shy manner. "Fai, come greet your Uncle."
"H-Hello, Uncle." The boy bowed timidly, quickly ducking behind his mother.
"Hello, my dearest Nephew!" The man boomed heartily as he swooped forward and grabbed the blond in a tight hug. "You have made your uncle very proud."
"Thank you, Uncle."
"Now, where is that other nephew of mine?"
"Uncle!" A golden blur tackled the older man's knee with a delighted cry. Touya's surroundings morphed and the hunter found himself standing in an exotic-looking garden. There was snow covering the ground everywhere ,and the trees that surrounded him appeared to be made out of brittle-looking glass ,but the crystalline branches swayed in the slight breeze, pale blue colored leaves rustling in the gentle wind as purple blossoms with the tips of their petals flaming beautifully floated to the ground all around her. He spotted one of the twins crouching behind a tree, giggling softly as he watched the scene unfold before him.
"It appears as though we may have to cut our meeting short today, Brother." The hunter heard the queen's soft voice and it was then that he was made aware of the presence of the petite woman standing a few feet away from him .A blond man was walking out of the trees with the other twin seated on his shoulders.
"That's alright, Sister-in-law. I'll just bring my nephews to the fair down in town for a while, if you don't mind."
"You mustn't spoil them so, Brother." She reprimanded lightly, shooting a disapproving glance towards the twin seated atop the man's shoulders, who merely grinned back cheekily. It appeared as though they had yet to notice the other child's presence. "These two have yet to complete their assigned punishments."
"Aww…" the boy pouted childishly, "But Mama, I was only trying to prove to Yuui that the eggs would not break if dropped from the tower. It's not our fault that the grumpy old cook was just walking past when we tipped the basket."
"And the bag of flour that fell and nearly broke his neck was just an accident?" She quirked a brow, making the blond lower his head sheepishly.
"Yes?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Touya saw a blue aura envelop the twin that was hiding behind the trees. Wisps of translucent magic began plucking the flaming petals out of the air before they could fall, twirling them around the three present in the garden in gentle circles.
"Fai, I thought we forbade you from using magic outside your classroom for now?" The queen looked disapprovingly at the twin sitting on her brother-in-law's shoulders.
"But, Mama, I'm-" The boy started only to be cut off by his uncle.
"Oh, relax, Sister. Let the boy have some fun."
"You really shouldn't be encouraging such behavior, Brother." The queen sighed. "Fai, stop this instant before your magic goes out of control. You still don't have full control over it yet."
"But, Mama, I'm not doing it." Fai cried out, shaking his head in denial. Touya took note of the younger twin still hiding behind the trees, peals of laughter spilling from his lips as he struggled to stifle them.
"Fai." The queen warned. "If you don't stop right now, I won't allow you to go to the fair with your uncle."
Hearing this, Yuui sobered up, immediately darting out of the trees with a panicked look.
"Mama, don't punish Brother. It wasn't him."
"What do you mean, Nephew?" the boy's uncle asked cautiously.
"It was me." the younger twin grinned widely, "Look! I can do what Brother can do." And then he closed his eyes, translucent wisps of magic slowly starting to twirl the petals around the four in circles.
"Yuui, that's amazing!" Fai exclaimed in delight.
"Another mage…" the prince murmured, his features growing paler than the snow surrounding them as he slowly set Fai on the ground.
"Mama, isn't that great?" Fai laughed happily, "Now Yuui can come to lessons with me too."
When he received no reply, Fai frowned as Yuui called his magic back, noticing something amiss with the scene as well.
"Mama?" Fai called hesitantly.
"What's wrong?" Yuui questioned softly, walking up to the queen who stood still as a statue, tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?"
"What have I done?" She whispered in horror before collapsing on the ground in an unmoving heap.
"Mama!"
The memory changed again. It seemed as though some time had passed since the last memory, seeing as the blonde twins huddling silently behind a large tapestry appeared older.
"My lord, we cannot let things proceed in this manner." It was the boy's uncle, kneeling before a dark-haired man with eyes blue like the sky on a clear, sunny, morning, although right now they were clouded by frustration and helplessness. "It pains me to say this, but those twins are a curse."
"Brother, they are my sons." The man spoke quietly.
"And this is your kingdom that is dying." Their uncle argued.
"Valeria has faced droughts before."
"But never for this long. Or of this magnitude."
"…"
"You know of this curse just as well as I do, little brother." The twins' uncle sighed. "One with magic is a blessing but if they both wield it, the fields shall grow barren, the sky dark and the land frozen. They possess too much magic. If we don't do something about it soon, we all shall perish."
"I can't order the slaughter of my own flesh and blood!"
"Hideki, they shielded their aura from even our strongest seers, without even knowing what they were doing. Just imagine what else they could do. We cannot let this go on. We have been keeping Yuui's magic a secret for over three years now. But how long do you think this façade will last?"
"Brother, please…"
"All I ask of you, Your Highness, is to reconsider your decision."
The scene around them flickered before revealing the grand throne room yet again. However, unlike last time, the room was packed with people, all dressed in black or silver, solemn expressions set on their faces as a translucent crystal coffin came into existence before them. Inside lay the brown-haired ruler of the kingdom, clearly dead.
"The curse has taken our beloved King from our midst." The boy's uncle spoke in a solemn tone, casting a narrow-eyed glance in the direction of the twins standing behind the sobbing queen.
The memory flickered once more and Touya found himself standing in someone's sleeping chambers. Quickly he cast a glance around him, but he was unable to spot the twins anywhere. However, knowing it was a memory belonging to one of the two, he knew they were around somewhere.
"Sister, I implore you to reconsider Hideki's decision. His stubbornness cost him his life. I do not wish to lose you in the same manner."
"No." she shook her head. "I cannot give them up like this."
"Would you rather fall victim to their curse, same as your husband?"
"Why must you be so cruel, Brother-in-law?" the queen whispered brokenly. "It has not even been a day since I lost him. And yet you come to me to convince me to give up all that I have left of him in my life?"
"I only have your and this kingdom's best interest at heart." The man bowed his head.
"Then please, I beg of you, let me at least mourn for my husband in peace." She cried out. "I swear I'll make a decision regarding the twins in a one moon's time."
"That is all I wanted to hear, Your Majesty. I apologize for intruding like this." With a sweeping bow, the blond man turned and left.
"Mama?" The closet door creaked open and one of the twins hesitantly stepped forth. "Are you going to order our execution because we are bad luck?"
The scene morphed into black just as the queen threw her arms around the child, pulling him close to her. The memory changed to that of a dark room.
"Yuui?" A soft voice called out in the darkness. "Do you hate me?"
"…"
"Sending Fai away was the only option left." The queen's silhouette was visible in the partially-opened door to the room. "I couldn't let them lock you two away in the valley of sinners."
"Living like this isn't any better." Yuui replied quietly from somewhere in the darkness.
"Please forgive me, Son." The woman said, silently stepping inside the room. There was a snap of fingers and a soft glow lit up the room, the figure of the younger twin thrown into sharp relief against the sheets of the bed he lay in. Sweat beaded his brow, his features drawn, pale and sickly. "I know of the pain you are going through. Magical twins share a bond like no other. For them, separation is the worst torture imaginable. "
"And yet…" he coughed, turning his back to the woman.
"What would you have had me do, then?" The boy's mother cried in defeat, slumping heavily on the ground. "Kill you both?" Touya did not even seem to notice it as the scene shifted to a different memory.
"The people long to see the sun." It was the boy's uncle once more that was speaking. Raindrops pattered heavily against the frosted windows of the throne room. The queen sat at the throne, her spun-gold hair pulled back in an intricate design at the back of her head, the beautiful jeweled crown resting at the crown of her forehead. Yet she looked tired, exhausted, and fatigued. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them, and her face seemed to have lost the ethereal glow it had once possessed. The hunter caught brief sight of a flash of blonde out of the corner of his eye. The child was eavesdropping again.
"As I long to see my son," the queen answered softly. "But we can't all have what we want, can we now, Brother?"
"My queen, several members of the council feel it might be in the best interests of this kingdom if we were to-"
"No." she cut in sharply.
"But, your majesty-"
"I said no. I respect you as my late husband's older brother," she said. "But I'm afraid this is something that will not agree to."
"Your Highness-"
"They have already forced me to part with one of my children. No one can dare make me lose another." The memory turned fuzzy before morphing into something different as the blonde boy, now nearly thirteen years of age, walked away from the throne room, unnoticed by the other two occupants.
"I'm telling you. It's their curse that's gotten to her Highness as well." Touya heard a woman dressed up as a maid say to another. "Her Majesty is withering away right before our eyes."
"And yet there is nothing we can do about- Oh! Y-your Highness." The woman nervously bowed towards the blonde prince.
"Is Mother awake yet?" Yuui asked quietly, giving no hint of having heard the two gossiping women.
"The royal healer just finished his visit fifteen clicks ago." She replied quickly.
"Thank you." He inclined his head towards them once before calmly walking down the hall.
"He couldn't possibly be planning on cursing her Majesty already." The maid said in worried tones once she thought he was out of earshot. "Her Highness collapsed during the weekly hearing yesterd…" their voices drifted away. The blonde stopped outside a pair of grand, ebony-carved doors. Biting his lip, he hesitated for a while. He raised his hand, almost about to push the door open before deciding on the alternative as he turned away and started walking in the direction opposite to the one he had come from. The memory changed.
Raging winds whistled angrily all around him, the merciless drops of rain pounding against the secluded rooftop like bullets. Lightning flashed across the sky, its eerie, deadly-blue glow casting ghostly shadows all around him. He spotted a mop of dirty blond somewhere to his right, but the light was gone before he could have determined what it was. Despite the thunderstorm, however, he could somehow hear the panicked voices of the servants bustling about inside the castle.
"He's done it!" one woman cried hysterically. "His curse is complete!"
"She's gone!" screamed another, "The Queen is no more."
Touya thought he heard the young prince scream in agony but for some reason, the teen's cries were the only ones drowned by the crashing thunder as the cacophony of the grieving subjects inside the castle only grew louder. And then the memory changed.
"The only way to rid us of this eternal curse is to get rid of its source!" the voice that yelled this sounded suspiciously like the tin's uncle. "Even when separated, those twins have managed to take our beloved rulers from us. They've even taken our livelihood from us. Citizens of Valeria, there is only one thing that we can do now. We must get rid of that wretched being that damns our very existence!"
The cries of approval grew loud even though he could not see the crowd. The blond crouching behind a rock formation simply bit his lip as he turned away from the once grand castle. Above him, the sky wept like it had done now for many, many years. "I'm really sorry things turned out this way." A dark haired man stepped out of the shadows as he approached the blond. His bluish-grey eyes took note of the small satchel the boy fourteen year old had slung over one shoulder.
"Is that all you need?" he asked turning around to lead him.
"Yeah," the teen responded softly, lowering his head as the sounds of the crowd were drowned out by the storm. "I don't have anything left there. I really appreciate your helping me out."
"It's the least I could do for your mother." The man shrugged, "she was a good friend of mine." They walked down the slippery gravely path for a while before turning around a cluster of trees. They similar to the flaming trees Touya had seen in the garden where Yuui had revealed his magic but they were far away from the castle itself.
"Do you have any what you're going to do once you get off this planet?" the man asked weaving his way through the trees without even looking where he was going. But from the way he held himself, Touya knew the man knew perfectly well where the two were headed. The teen remained silent for a long time, his fingers absently playing with the satchel before his eyes hardened in determination.
"I'm going to find my brother."
Aaaaaaand there. All done! For now. *yawns* well, I'm off to get my well deserved nap. Since tomorrow is an easy exam so I'm planning on taking it easy as well and actually get a good night's rest. So till next time.
-Nims