Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa CLAMP owns them
Pairings: Slight Kuro x Fai and Slight Ashura x Fai
Notes: And that's all she wrote. Fianlly finished I know this was maybe a little rushed and is around twice as long as the other chapters.
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"Welcome back Fai D. Flowright"
The group had no sooner ended their match than Mokona had already whisked them to the next world, a cold and deserted world.
"Mokona doesn't know why we're here…" The creature muttered from it's post on top of Syaoran's head.
"…I just got the urge to come here…"
Sakura smiled sadly at the little white ball before glancing around the area the group had landed in.
The houses were lifeless and a cold wind swept through the cracks and holes, blowing the fresh snow across the ground leaving faint patterns behind.
"Oi…Mage…" The ninja was the first to notice that the mage hadn't moved or even attempted to speak since they'd landed.
"Celes…" The magician muttered all colour draining from his face. "Celes…"
"Celes?" Sakura questioned tilting her head as shifting around as if looking for a non-existent sign.
"That's where we are…Celes…my world…" Fai had started staggering forward and running his hand over several of the broken down buildings.
"It seems Ashura-ou is awake..."
"It seems that he wants to flee again. Should we bar the place?"
"No. We have what they need."
"Mekyo!" Mokona pointed in the vague direction that seemed to have the least snowfall. "Mokona sense a feather over there."
"Over…t-there?" The mage stuttered going a paler colour, if it was possible. "That's the castle."
Syaoran nodded and started walking, following the snow white creature's directions.
Sakura gave Fai a sympathetic look that told him all he had to know. 'We wont make you come but I'd prefer if you did.'
"Oi. If you're that scared don't go…but we're going all the same. King or no king." Kurogane brushed past the smaller male, leaving him to stay if he wanted.
Fai sighed deeply, loudly. "I guess…they'll find out…"
"Ashura-ou! Ashura-ou!" The male stopped running as he skidded into the grand hall, which was luckily empty.
"Ashura-ou! He's here."
"Who's here?" The monarch looked up from the various papers he had on his lap, "Calm down and tell me again, Fai."
Fai took several deep breaths before attempting to speak again.
"That man, Fei Wang Reed. He's here and waiting for you."
"Thank you Fai. Now I think I saw Chii wondering about looking for you in the library, please go tend to her." Ashura smiled lightly as he rearranged several pieces of paper.
The mage nodded and dashed back out of the hall, his footsteps echoing for several metres.
"You may come in, Fei Wang Reed."
"Ashura-ou. I've come with another proposition." A tall man stepped into the hall, followed by a young girl who was holding several papers.
"Your mage could be of a great help to me and my research into magic. I propose to use him to find this dangerous girl."
The castle had several thousand steps, which Fai kept repeating during the whole walk up the twisting staircase. Mokona had decided to go to sleep in his warm hood during the long, steep walk.
Sakura was struggling behind with Syaoran helping her over some of the gaps where the steps had fallen away.
"How does this thing stay in the air?" The young boy had muttered over half way up the stairs.
"Magic." Fai had replied simply and somewhat coldly. He remembered running up the stairs just to slide the whole way back down on the slope at the edge, which was a fair while ago.
He wasn't there to play this time, and he certainly wasn't going to mess up this chance.
"Fai-san, are you sure your king is awake. Maybe he's not." Sakura called out from a few paces behind.
"He's awake. Chii is dead. Yet here we are going into a castle painted in blood and bad memories." The mage had snapped back irritably as he tried his best to avoid running straight up those steps and back to his former king.
"No one said you had to come." The ninja caught the slim pale wrist of the magician and tugged him back, "No one forced you into this. You can turn back right now."
"What and miss you finding out about my past? I wouldn't miss that for the world. After all your getting what you want, me to stop lying." Fai hissed as he jerked his wrist free.
"I'm sure you'll just love to see me squirm. That's what you want me to do isn't it."
Another wind swept up underneath the stairs, a cold yet somewhat amused laugh carried on it. The very sound sent shivers up the blonde's spine and back again.
"What was that sound?" Sakura nervously looked around, looking like a scared cat, "Where did it come from?"
Mokona seemed to have noticed the steps had ended and glanced up out of its furry white bed.
"Mokona has a bad feeling…"
"Fai…are you sure you want to go through with this? If this doesn't work…"
"Ashura-ou I'm very sure. It's only a simple spell and I'm sure it'll work, it might come in handy at some point." The smaller male tilted his head smiling.
"How can you have so much trust in something like this?" The monarch questioned as he glanced over the several spell books in the room.
"I see no reason to not trust it. Besides it'll work…I'm sure it will and then you can get what you want. Then everyone will be happy." Fai grinned slightly.
"Fai…you're way too trusting you know that."
The entrance was just as he'd left it, covered in blood and several soldiers' bodies. It seemed that Ashura-ou didn't want to clean up someone else's mess, then again it would seem stupid to clear up a deserted world.
"Fai-san…why are there bodies lying around?" The desert princess asked from her place behind the brunette.
"Because Sakura-chan…there was a war…" Fai smiled sadly, if only he'd died then. If only.
"Fai D. Flowright…" The wind had picked up again carrying the cold voice with it. "…It's nice to see you again."
"Ashura-ou…" The mage glanced up at the doorway where the snow king was standing. He seemed different than when he'd been sealed.
"Where is Chii?"
"Where's your eye." The king questioned back, smirking at the face the blonde pulled.
"You set her up and knew she'd be destroyed. Why?"
"Why don't you tell us what you did to Fai-san!" Syaoran stepped forwards in front of the thin male with Sakura slightly behind him.
"Me? I did nothing." The raven haired male glanced over at Kurogane and smirked lightly, "I take it he hasn't told you yet.
"Told us what?!" The ninja glanced at of the corner of his eye at the magician.
"I told you that you'd find out…" Fai muttered quietly, head hanging low.
"Fei Wang Reed tricked us didn't he?!" Fai yelled across the stone hall surprising several servants.
"He used my magic to destroy things, to alter things for his own reasons!"
"Fai please calm down. You don't want your magic to get out of hand." Ashura smiled lightly down at his magician.
"We shall get back at that man in due time."
"He's turned half of our town into zombies! They're working for him and destroying innocent homes!" The blonde shook his head frantically, "If you wont do anything...I will!"
"Fai don't!" The monarch called after his old friend but didn't seem to succeed in stopping him.
"Fai, I have only one thing to ask of you." The king shook his head sadly, "Why did you do it? Why did you seal me away? Why did you flee?"
"I did it to save you…" Fai muttered from under his hair.
Sakura looked surprised with Mokona while Syaoran and Kurogane looked rather confused.
The one he'd spoken such ill about he was running from to save him.
"What?!" The ninja gripped the pale man's coat shaking him roughly, "Your running for a stupid reason like that?!"
"You don't understand…" The magician added.
"I don't understand?! Well then you better damn tell us!" The warrior snapped.
"You want the truth?" Fai laughed lightly and gave his king a quick glance to see if he was still looking, "Fine."
Several bodies were in every street being eaten by starved people and wild animals, the smell sinking into the bricks of the houses. The stench was almost suffocating, all because of that one incident.
He'd been used. His own magic used to destroy lives of not only people in his own country but in other worlds as well.
Time altered. Things messed around and now he had seen the result.
A boy locked away while a clone lived his life. A girl without her heart and a boy had lost his family.
All because of him…all because he'd been 'too trusting'.
The previous king had been right, he really was bad luck. Now his magic was out of control because he'd gotten angry, all those years of practising that fake smile. The smile that made sure his magic never went too far. All of that was gone now.
Here he was standing on top of the tower, blue lights swirling around running through the streets below, flowing into the very castle below his feet.
"Fai…you could have stopped it. You didn't even try." Ashura smiled kindly at the magician who was now standing alone. His friends all staring at him in shock not quite believing what they were hearing.
"I couldn't…That's why I sealed you. That's why I ran. I knew you'd never understand. I knew you'd just shake it off!" Fai yelled clenching his fists and shaking slightly.
Sakura and Syaoran took several steps back, keeping their eyes fixed on the mage in front of them.
"I knew you'd just act as if it was nothing! As if I'd done something right!" The blonde snapped.
The magic twisted through the streets wiping out anything and everything with a heart beat. Going through them like a bullet, leaving a hole in their corpses and blood splattered again the walls.
"Fai! Stop it!" Ashura gripped hold of the blonde's arms holding him still. "Call it off Fai."
"I can't…" Fai smiled sadly, he would have laughed if it wasn't such a serious matter.
"I give it about an hour before it reaches inside the castle's protection. I'm going to save you…Ashura-ou…"
"What are you talking about?!" The king almost regretted those very words as magic swirled around him.
"Fai, don't do this!"
"I'm sorry…" He turned his head as the magic grew higher around his king.
"Unfortunately…I couldn't come up with an answer..." The wind picked up again carrying the cold laughter back towards the group.
"How long have you been awake?"
"A few days. Why?" Ashura questioned breathing harder than he was a few moments ago.
"I thought so…the curse I set upon this land will come back…come back to take you. You and only you shall go." Fai stated making sure he got the point across that no one else would be taken.
"I guess I'm getting what I deserve. Its only fair I go where they went is it not?" The monarch smirked lightly pulling a feather out of his pocket and letting it float gently on the breeze.
Mokona handed it to Sakura who seemed to tense up, possibly not wanting to fall asleep.
"That is what you wanted is it not? For her not to see." The dark haired man grinned tilting his head.
"I always said you were too trusting…I said you were too fragile to be in the war…I guess I was wrong."
Fai ha transported the sealed coffin to the bottom of the pool. He'd read through every book in the libraries of the palace and country and yet found nothing on reversing the curse.
"Chii?" The girl seemed to be getting more and more worried about him everyday.
"I'll be going away Chii...I need to find something and I doubt I'll find it." Fai ruffled her hair as he rose up from his seat on the marble floor.
"You want Chii to do something?" The girl questioned.
"Yes…something important…" Fai smiled and something caught his eye from the window.
An elderly woman was using magic for some reason in the snow before disappearing in a flurry of snow.
The magic hit fast and harder than he'd expected it to hit. His former king was thrown back, like many of the other people he'd seen, blood painting the last few snow covered walls in the red liquid.
The monarch turned despite the pain to face the ninja, "Treat him better than I did." With that he collapsed staining the white ground. He still managed to smile.
"Why were you afraid of him coming?" Kurogane asked after a few moments of silence.
"If he'd left this world the curse would have followed. If I ran and kept moving he would have been able to find me to bring me back. That way thousands would be saved by him just staying in this world." Fai crouched down and dusted several inches of snow away.
"I didn't want him to follow and kill thousands on his way."
Kurogane smirked slightly, "You thought of all of that? How very thoughtful an Fai-like of you."
A small chirping came from Fai's pocket from where the small bird had been staying. It flew up and chirped something before fluttering off into the woodland.
"Mokona, would you do us all the favour of getting us out of here?" Fai asked leaning against Kurogane.
"Mmm." Mokona nodded smiling as best it could at the older males before jumping high into the air.
As the group left the remaining snow swept away uncovering a grave stone carved into the courtyard.
Fai D Flowright
Magician of Celes
Lost to the wind but never to be forgotten.
Artic Phoenix…