Re-Broken
Disclaimer: I love CCS... but I don't own it. :( Oh, and I don't own Phantom of the Opera either.
- A change in writing style/time/place/whatever (will notate in () which one if necessary)
Rating: T
Summary: A new enemy is trying to break Sakura's spirit in order to weaken her enough to steal her cards from her. Everyone around her seems to be turning cruel... and the only solace she can find is in the arms of the man she never expected.
Pairings: Syaoran/Sakura, Sakura/Eriol
(Chapter 14.5: Poisoned dreams)
Syaoran faced the cards head-on. With all of his new skills he evaded them and countered them with practiced ease. Toro and Rika watched from the sidelines, wondering if the young man could take them all down on his own.
Still, even if he could there was the whole problem of him not being able to seal them back under their original names. Only Sakura could do that, and who knew where she had gotten herself to...
(Dreamworld)
Safely across the chasm of lava, Sakura walked onward, her surroundings becoming more vague and distorted as she went. Eventually, she realized she had no idea which direction she was even walking in, much less which one would take her back the way she had come. Well, this was just great. How was she supposed to find Eriol's spirit if she couldn't even find herself!
On that note, she spotted some shadowy figures off in the distance and decided that heading towards them would be better than her previous plan. As she got closer, her heart pounded faster. Gathered together in this strange world, the spirits of her friends were all grouped together. Each and every one of them smiled brightly at her and beconed her to them.
"Everyone..." Sakura teared up a little. She was glad to know their spirits were still intact, even if their bodies were not.
"We've missed you Sakura." They answered as one, raising their arms towards her and motioning for her to join them in a group hug.
She stepped forward, wanting nothing more at that moment than to be reconciled at last with her lost friends and be at ease that somehow, they would make it out of this.
"Sakura don't."
Sakura blinked as she fould herself being held back by two of her best friends. "Tomoyo! Meilin!" She cried happily as they restrained her.
Tomoyo smiled and shook her head, "You mustn't become sidetracked by the things you see here. If you are not careful you will never escape this place." her friend cautioned.
"Yeah, you really have to watch your step around here. Whatever you do, don't do anything that seems too easy or straightforward, because it's probably a trap." Meilin agreed.
"But... these people are my friends just as much as you are... why would they want to hurt me?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"We are your best friends Sakura... we care for you much more than them." Tomoyo said sagely. "But even we cannot remain in control of ourselves indefinately. This place does things to your mind."
"You will never want to leave." Meilin added.
"So... what should I do? Just ignore them?" Sakura asked in despair.
"Shhh, you mustn't get worked up Sakura-san. They will be free of this place as surely as us, as soon as you finish your quest here. Then you can crush them with hugs all you want." Tomoyo reassured.
"You know..." Melin muttered quietly, something odd shifting in her tone. "She doesn't have to finish the quest. This place isn't so bad when you get used to it."
Sakura stared... what was Meilin talking about? Just a moment ago she'd been agreeing with Tomoyo...
"Sakura, RUN." Tomoyo said releasing Sakura's arms and flying through the air to tackle the chinese girl to the ground. Meilin was a much more experienced fighter than Tomoyo... but the distraction of having to pull Tomoyo off of her was more than enough to allow Sakura to escape.
"Good luck." Tomoyo whispered quietly.
Sakura ran until she couldn't run anymore. She looked around, but it seemed she had not been followed. She decided to try and get her bearings... figure out where she had gotten herself this time.
Immediately, she realized she recognized where she was. It was Clow Reed's house! She'd visited it only twice before using the return card, but there was no mistaking the sprawling mansion with its maze-like gardens and single cherry tree out front.
She also realized that it was dark out, but that she didn't seem to be having trouble seeing. Further observation was interrupted when she heard a distressed sound. She listened quietly, realizing the sound was of a young child crying. She navigated the maze as quickly as she could, diving in between the roses and high vined walls until she reached the source of the sound.
A boy no older than five sat curled against one of the vined walls, wedged in next to a water fountain. He was turned away from her for the moment, but as she drew closer she could make out his dark blue hair.
It... couldn't be...
"Hey there little guy..." Sakura chirped, startling the youngster. She held her arms up in surrender as he dived behind the fountain to get away from her.
"W-who are you? S-stay away from me!" He warned frightfully as he cowered where she could no longer see him.
"My name is Sakura. Please don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." She promised, as she leaned over to try to get a better glance at him.
Slowly the little blue-haired head poked back out. Comically large glasses rimmed his frightened grey eyes as he stared at her, sniffling quietly.
There was no mistaking him now. Sakura resisted the urge to coo and make baby noises, but it was no easy task. Chibi Eriol was just so... CUTE!
"There you go, come on out and tell Sakura-onee-san what's the matter." Sakura coaxed, holding a hand out to him. He shied away from her outstretched fingers, but didn't hide again.
"I... was playing *sniff* a-and 'tou-san said don't go far, but I didn't listen... and now it's dark... and I can't see good... and... and... wahhhh." Chibi Eriol sobbed unhappily.
Sakura fought the urge to just sweep the adorable youngster into her arms and hug the tears out of him. Obviously Eriol didn't trust her, she supposed that made sense since she was a stranger and kids were generally wary of people they didn't know. Especially in the dark.
She wondered idly why she was even talking to a 3 year old Eriol... but then remembered this was a dream world and just about anything was possible.
'Help him, Sakura.'
Sakura jumped, startled, who had said that? She glanced around as the toddler sobbed.
Suddenly she saw a vision of Clow Reed. He smiled and waved his finger over his lips. She nodded, confused.
'Help him.' Clow repeated, seeming to telepath the thought straight into her mind.
Feeling silly, but deciding that trying was better than doing nothing, she thought back to him as hard as she could.
'WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?'
'Not so loud, Sakura-san.' The apparition smiled, rubbing his head.
'Sorry!'
'You are seeing Eriol as he was before I made myself known to him. You remember what happened outside of the play?'
'In... the real world?'
'Yes.'
'Yes...'
'Eriol's spirit was shattered, much in the way yours would have if Syaoran hadn't saved you at the last second. In this place you will find those pieces. You must bring them together. This piece in particular holds great significance for Eriol, as it holds all of the power Eriol possessed before I sealed it to make room for my own.'
Sakura wasn't sure she had any idea what Clow was talking about. Seals? Eriol's power? She sensed however, that she didn't have the time to ask all the questions she needed answered though, and decided to focus on the more pressing matter. Eriol's pieces...
'Ok, so how do I get his pieces back together?'
'In this place you will find the spirits of the Sakura Cards... some of them are still loyal to you and will aid you while you are in this realm. Some of them have captured the pieces of Eriol's spirit and will not relinquish them unless you pass their individual tests. When you discover them and convince them to rejoin you, you may either keep them here with you or you can send them back to the real world to aid Syaoran in his battle against them. Choose wisely, you will need their aid as well to free Eriol, as well as yourself, from this place.'
'Syaoran! I had almost forgotten... is he alright?'
'He will be fine as long as you do not fail in your task. You must free all of the spirits of the cards, you must get the pieces of Eriol's spirit back together, and you must get both your own spirit and his back to the real world or all will be lost.'
'But no pressure.' Sakura thought to herself glumly, not meaning for Clow to hear her griping... though he did anyways, winking at her devilishly as his apparition vanished from view.
'Right... Eriol's pieces...' She summoned up a smile and held her hand out to the boy once more. "Come on then, I'll help you find your way." She said to the little boy, whose tears had finally slowed.
Chibi Eriol stared at her a minute then slowly crept out from behind the fountain. "H-how are you going to help me? It's so dark out..."
Sakura realized the answer as she took the little boy's hand. Smiling quietly, she held her head up high. "Well that's easy... I have more than enough light to shine the way."
Immediately the glow that had been surrounding her flowed outward, the mansion and its gardens vanished as if they had never been there, revealing a long silver chain winding its way from Chibi Eriol's small leg to a sinister looking throne. Sitting upon the throne, grinning at her like a cat about to pounce on it's prey, was a person so shocking Sakura had to do a double-take, rub her eyes, and pinch herself to see if it was real.
It was her! Except that it wasn't... the auburn haired woman was scantily dressed in a red and black ensemble that Sakura was pretty sure she herself would NEVER wear...
Sexy Sakura grinned at her from her place upon the throne, "Leaving so soon? Hmmm... not without passing my test you don't."
This was officially a nightmare... Sakura thought as she stared at her, uh, reflection. She stood her ground though, she wasn't about to leave young Eriol in this woman's clutches, even if she did look like Sakura!
"Hmph" Sakura uttered quietly, then shrugged nonchalantly. "I was going to say something like, I'm here to steal Eriol from you and you can't do anything about it... but now that seems kind of pointless."
"Oh?" Sexy Sakura blinked curiously, swirling some wine into a glass she was holding. "And why is that, my dear?"
"Well I don't think it counts as stealing if you are taking things from yourself."
The other Sakura blinked again, then her grin widened. She set her glass down on the armrest and rose to her high-heeled feet, clacking softly against the marble as she walked up to Sakura. She reached forward and set a single crimson fingernail against the underside of Sakura's chin, observing her. "And, you truly believe... that I am you?" She asked curiously.
Sakura wavered under the stare of her reflection's eyes and shuddered. "Well..."
Sexy Sakura laughed and lowered her hand, leaning backwards to give Sakura a bit of space. "You may as well get this test right, darling. I promise you the others you will face here will not be so forgiving."
Sakura blinked, surprised. This... was a test? And this girl, she knew about the tests? Sakura fought the urge to deny outright what her reflection was saying... since that was obviously the wrong answer. "B-but..." her eyes flickered to her reflection's clothes... how could this person be her!
The other Sakura took a few more steps back and looked bemused. "Everyone has a dark side, darling. What makes us human is that we are not perfect, after all."
She walked over to Eriol and ruffled his hair. The boy shuddered against her touch.
"B-but... how can I be something that Eriol is afraid of?" Sakura asked in dispair.
Sexy Sakura laughed, "Oh, he is not afraid of me, Sakura dear. At least, not in the way that you think. I am unknown to him... at his age he doesn't understand the things I convey with a single touch... but trust me dearie, as he gets older he will not only understand this part of you, but be more than willing to give in to your dark side."
Sakura glanced at Chibi Eriol for conformation, but then remembered that the young boy could not possibly know whether his older self would agree or disagree with this comment.
"Alright then... I guess I do believe that you are my dark side." Sakura stated firmly.
The other Sakura nodded, then she disappeared, replaced by the images of The Dark and The Mirror, who bowed apologetically. The Light appeared next to Sakura and smiled knowingly.
"Sorry we had to put you through that mistress." The Dark said softly.
"We never really believed you had given up hope." The Mirror agreed.
"How silly we were to believe that... when you've had it all along." The Light commented, reaching into Sakura's pocket and pulling out the only card Sakura had ever created herself...
And the only card currently not facing Syaoran!
Sakura stared at the girl enshrined in the card and her breath skipped a beat. She'd had The Hope all of this time? She thought she might have to hit herself on the head for not realizing that sooner.
Beaming happily she shook her head. "No, it's alright... I understand! Please don't berate yourselves." Sakura smiled.
"What will you do with us now?" The Dark asked quietly.
Sakura looked thoughtful, remembering what Clow had said. "Well... I don't think I'm going to need you Dark... nor you Mirror. So you both can go back to aid Syaoran. Light, I know you don't like being separated from her... but I need your help here."
The Light shook her head regally, "I know we will eventually be reunited, mistress."
Dark nodded her agreement.
"Alright then, go ahead."
The two cards vanished, their essences streaking overhead until she could no longer see them. The Light returned to her card form, and the shackles around Chibi Eriol's ankle vanished.
"Arigatou, Sakura." Chibi Eriol cried happily.
And, although his voice was high-pitched and childish, Sakura suddenly heard the strange overtones of one who had known what had been happening all along and had been just feigning ignorance.
Sakura stared at the boy, who cowered sheepishly. "You knew?"
Chibi Eriol didn't look up. "That you are Sakura? Of course! I have seen you in my dreams plenty of times!" he chirped.
Sakura's head reeled... she vaguely recalled dreaming of Syaoran, Kaho, and Eriol before she had met them... but Eriol had been dreaming of her? Clow had said that this Eriol hadn't met him yet... which only meant one thing...
Eriol had known of Sakura before Clow had given him his own memories of her, and given him the special instructions to find her.
What did it mean?
~Rozu
