On Pheonix Wings Ch. 1 - Of Postponed Sacrifices
By Elaine

*~Brazil*~

There were many things in life that Sean didn't understand. Life had never been easy for him but the last hour had been incredibly...taxing... he had been running the whole time, his feet carrying him to a destination he wasn't sure about. He didn't know where he was going to or why he was going there, but whenever he stopped to catch his breath, the undeniable sense of urgency had forced him into starting again. His feet pounded across the dank, dirty tiles of the alley floors.

He recognised the place. It was the bad part of town, the part the well-off would never allow their children to go. A place most people wouldn't go to either unless they were heavily armed, which Sean unfortunately wasn't. Several dilapidated buildings stood scrunched closely together like sick, dead trees, waiting for the next wind to topple them all over. He had spent his childhood in these parts. All he remembered about it now was the desire to leave as soon as possible. Wasn't it ironic that he was running through there now, probably heading for the center. The center of Brazil's version of H*ll on Earth. How wonderful...

It wasn't until the moon was at it's fullest and the whole city was shining with it's glow that Sean was able to stop. He leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, and tried to prepare himself for whatever was coming. Vaguely, he wondered how he could prepare for something he knew nothing about. He didn't have to ponder that for long. Before his eyes, shadows started to appear. At first he had thought the moon was playing tricks on him. But the shadows continued to materialise. Soon, the whole place was teeming with figures flitting about. They swirled themselves into definable shapes and danced into a slightly ovalish circle. Watching them was mesmerising. He found stopping himself from joining them was near impossible. Yet something stilled him everytime he was about to. He supposed it was the same force that had brought him here.

The dancing soon ended and a harsh, crackling voice started to chant in an indefinable language. Other voices joined in and the chant rose higher and higher into the night sky. The sound swirled around in the air and thickened, almost choking him... then the chant stopped, the ringing of it's sudden departure hung in the empty night and slowly the moon turned a bloody dripping red. Warning bells went off in his head. Something wasn't right here... a few shadows materialised a few inches away from his hiding spot, holding a struggling figure bound and gagged. Sean squinted at it.

They carried it to the middle of the circle, and unbound it. Sean could see the faint definitions of a girlish figure. It was hard to see now, the light was so red. He rubbed his eyes feverishly and opened them just in time to see the knife poised above her. The force that had brought him here jumped into action. Before he could take another breath he had plunged into the mess of shadows, fighting his way to the center... the next moments were blurred.

He could hear himself breaking bones and spilling blood but it didn't feel like him anymore. He was disconnected, listening on as the forces took over his body yet again. He heard his feet pounding once again on the gravel, a sob coming form something in his arms, the screams and howls of voices behind him.

And then those faded away too and all was dark...

*~Tokyo, Japan*~

Sakura walked home, her frame slightly sagging under the weight of all the books in her backpack. College was tough, college was pain, college was evil. Repeating the three lines always seemed to get her to her dorm quicker, though why she ever wanted to get there was a mystery even to her. Nobody there understood her, all her room mates were interested in was studying and boys. Boys and books. Boys and books. All through her life, that's all the girls ever talked about. Boys and books. Never the glory of the fight, never the fluidity of the katas she had seen done, never the wonders of the qi. Nope, just boys and books. And makeup. She hated makeup. Almost as much as she hated college, and school and books and all that other stuff that made her days h*ll.

It will change... it will change...

Sakura spun around and was greeted by only a small gust of wind. "Who's there?"

It will change... it will change... the wind seemed to whisper.

She was starting to feel slightly frightened. She pulled her jacket closer around her shoulders.

It will change... and you will wish it had all stayed the same...

Sakura broke into a run.

~*Canton, China~*

Now that he thought of it, it probably wasn't fair. How could the child in front of him possibly compete with his skill? He was, after all, a champion, an experienced veteran while his opponent was a mere boy. He had faced so many challenges in his lifetime while this boy had faced...at most ten...ten unexperienced children, just like himself...it was all too easy. Too easy to bring down the winning blow. Too easy to watch the boy fall. Too easy to declare victory. All too easy. He stood in the middle of the ring, an old but incredibly powerful white haired man. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered with this whole thing...there were so many other ways to earn money...to make a living. Perhaps it was to hopefully find someone worthy, after all...he had been defeated before. He smiled, it seemed strange how his defeats seemed to bring more joy than his victories.

"That was great, Master Gen!" his enthusiastic grandchild cried, "When I grow up, I want to be as good as you are!"

He ruffled the boy's hair affectionately before leaving. His grandson did not know how many years it had taken to get this skilled. He did not know how many trials, how many tribulations he had forged through in order to be what he was now. He needed some quiet time...He knew it had been too easy. Then why did he feel so tired? He wondered how old he was, perhaps it was his age that made him so weary. Perhaps it was. He held his hands up before him. They looked so weak, the wrinkled, blotched skin covering bony, frail hands. How many more years before they would act the way they looked. Another fifty? Another ten? Perhaps only another five? He heaved a sigh, it didn't matter. He had far outlived his lifespan anyways. He should have died, a long time ago.

A long time ago. He closed his eyes as a sudden wave of memories flooded him. Perhaps, perhaps the fighting was an escape. One could not fight and remember at the same time, no matter how good they were. And there was so much he didn't want to remember. So much he would rather forget. It had taken him so many years to start a new life, to be able to push back all he had felt before. And he didn't want to remember any of it...

The gentle cawing of the crow caught his attention.

"It is time again," it said, in a slightly feminine voice.

Gen stared. Maybe the boy had got a punch in, maybe he was hallucinating. After all, one usually only met talking crows in the deep carresses of gentle dreams.

"Have you forgotten me already, Gen?" the crow asked.

"No..." Gen couldn't stop the word from escaping his lips. His throat suddenly felt very, very dry. Talking crows only existed in his past life. The one he had struggled so hard to leave.

"Good, our Lady calls...it would do well for you to answer her,"

"No, it can't be..." he whispered. The Lady could not be calling. He had served his duty, he could be left alone.

"You can not ignore her, no matter how much you try," The crow said. "Answer them, they need you once again,"

"No..." it came out like a wail. He couldn't go. He had struggled so hard. He had tried so fiercely to forget..."Choose someone else! I have suffered for the lady enough, I have fought for them against the darkness and I-, I will not fight for them anymore-"

"It is what you were born to do," The crow's voice sounded sad, as if it had not wanted to ask this from him. "Do you think you can shirk from your destiny?"

"No," Gen sighed. He supposed he couldn't. He looked down at his withered hands, they were so old, "But I am so tired,"

"You will only be more tired," the crow responded morosely. It turned one unblinking eye to face him and for a moment, the world stood still. "You know what to do..." it flew off. And all was normal again.

Gen stared at it's retreating form and sighed. "Yes, I do..."

Sometimes in life, one feels he has lived too long and looks forward to dying. And usually, those people are the ones that are forced to stay alive. Life was never fair...

*~*~

Sean woke up from the horrible nightmare. He had dreamed that he had been running through the night, trying to escape hordes of monstrous shadows. He gulped down a lump in his throat as he recalled the vivid images...the blood red moon... the silhouetted dance... the sacrificial girl.

"Oh good, you're awake," Someone next to him said.

Sean turned his head and nearly choked. A woman, dressed in purple scarves and a girl wearing a bloody smock sat cross legged next to his half prone form. The moon, the dance, the girl... the girl was sitting right next to him...

"I'd like to thank you, you stopped something very disastrous from happening last night..." The scarved woman smiled down at him.

The skin on the back of his neck tingled. The moon...the dance...the girl...the shadows... the sacrifice...

"And because of you, Tara here has been saved..."

The girl in the bloody smock blushed and hid her head. He blinked his eyes in confusion. Why? Flashbacks of running through the streets wondering where he was going suddenly returned to him. What? He cleared his throat and tried to say something. "ur... ug..." Uck.

"I would suggest you don't try to speak. You have been exhausted by the nights events...that is partly my fault, I suppose. I should have given you more of a warning before I threw you into that kind of situation..."

"Lady," The girl whispered. It was the first word he had heard her say. "I believe he is...confused... perhaps you should explain about..." she pointed to herself and then gestured around the room. He stole a glance to where she was gesturing. He couldn't see anything special...

The woman nodded. "Have you heard of the Seven?"

He shook his head apprehensively. No.

"It's...it was a mythological group of people sworn to protect the world," She waited to see if he had anything to say. He didn't. "...Three of the Seven were the children of the sun, chosen to destroy the enemy. Three were the children of the moon, chosen to purify the land..."

Sean thought that through in his mind. Three from the sun...three from the moon...that made...

"The seventh was the messenger," She gestured to herself. "The child of the Earth,"

"Every five hundred years, there is a flux of power. Chao's portal opens onto the world... And the seven are called to push him back before he can destroy everything," The girl sighed. "We were able to delay his entering last night. I was supposed to be the starting sacrifice, the first tear in the portal..."

"ug?" Sean cleared his throat a couple of times. "Who wants to open...*cough*...portals...?"

The woman stared at the floor for a moment before answering. "Chaos promises, and delivers, a lot of power into his follower's hands. Many find that power to much to resist. Others go there to escape from pain, to exact revenge or..." She seemed unable to continue.

"Whatever the reason, many are on the side of the dark and will willingly open the gates for him to pass through," Tara inerjected smoothly.

Sean nodded, that made sense. He lay back against the sheets. Then something occured to him. "What does all of... this...have to do with...me?"

The woman took one of his hands in her own. She had incredibly smooth fingers. "You are one of the seven, a child of the moon,"

Huh? Him? NO way! Sean stared at the woman increduously.

"I could show you...I could show you the Ancient one, the last original child of the moon," She replied in answer to his doubts. "If I was wrong, you will be transported back here immediately,"

"Er..." Ancient one? Original child? One of the Seven? The information was coming way too fast for him to think. He was a child of the moon. Someone else used to be the child of the moon, that meant... "Who's she?" He asked, pointing to the girl named Tara.

Tara blushed again. "I'm just one of the priestesses of the sun, I...I am of no importance, except as "their" sacrificial lamb..."

The woman in purple smiled slightly. "We have come here to take you back with us. You are one of the Seven, and we need you now more than ever,"

"Now...hold on a second, lady... I don't think I want to go with you just yet..." Sean replied. "I just got through one really rough night and now you're pushing all this mystical stuff on me... What can I gain by going with you?"

"Ah, but what can you lose? There is nothing for you here..." she sweeped her arms across the barren room. "If you are still not convinced when you see... what needs to be seen, then I will take you back here and you will be as you used to be," She walked to the door, "I suppose You don't have to decide right now, we will be back later..."

"Wait...I don't even know your...name..."

"A Rose is a rose by any other name," the woman quoted. "So you may call me Rose,"

A moment of indescision. A fraction of a second. And the boy who's name was Sean stumbled after her. Only later would he find out how close the Dark had been at that moment. How if he had slept in his own bed, in that small room of his, he would not have been able to wake up. Whether to wait or whether to go. It seems like such a small small thing. Yet, it is those choices that make up our lives, that channel the flow of our destinies.