Chapter 10

Author's note: Apologies for the long delay in updating; the latest TRC twists kind of threw me off and I got serious story blockage! I've finally decided to just go ahead with what I originally planned, with a few adjustments. But this story will stretch for a few more chapters than I originally planned. Hope you enjoy!

Much, much love to parma-violets and Blatant Subtleties for beta-ing this, and for their brilliant suggestions. If you like this story then you should thank them for kicking me into continuing it, and you should check out "Void" and "Ice Princess", brilliant stories!

Those dreams that on the silent night intrude, and with false flitting shapes our minds delude ... are mere productions of the brain. (JONATHAN SWIFT, On Dreams)

Worlds At Stake

The raven-haired young man with the midnight blue eyes gasped, and leaned against a wall to steady himself. The concealment he was casting on Sakura and Syaoran was taking a toll on him, and when Sakura suddenly cast Dream, she unwittingly rended the delicate fabric between dimensions, bringing them closer to the King of Dreamers. He hadn't expected that, and he rued not taking Sakura's unpredictability into account when he designed the elaborate play for the benefit of the King of Dreamers.

Now he was beginning to wonder if it was wise to think that Syaoran would fall in with his plans. Powerful in his own right, Syaoran could also be unpredictable, especially where Sakura was concerned. He had, after all, pulled out of the tailspin Syao's presence had thrown him into much faster than he and the magician had thought he would. The power of the love Syaoran and Sakura shared was almost terrifying in its intensity.

And now that love was the only thing that the fate of several lives and dimensions rested on. He could feel a breathless silence spanning worlds, and he knew...I cannot afford to fail!

His eyes strayed towards where he had hidden the last feather...No! He shook himself, allowing his considerable willpower to prevent him from succumbing to the temptation of using the feather to bolster his magic. Syao had to win this feather himself; no one else could be allowed close.

Reminding himself of what was at stake, he slowly began to feel for the tears in the fabric of time and space. If Syao ever found out that they had returned to the Witch's world...he didn't even want to think of the consequences if Syao lost himself, became the evil he had been created to be, and destroyed everything they lived for.

But if Sakura and Syaoran succeeded...no, they will! They must!...then everything would be worth it, because he would be only one of the many who would finally be free.

When the magical circle dissolved, Fai, Kurogane, Tomoyo, and the Princess were no longer in Tomoyo's house. Fai watched the magical circle before it disappeared, carefully memorizing its aspects. It was completely unfamiliar to him, and it struck him: why hadn't he seen such circles each time Syaoran had cast a thunder or fire spell in the past? And why hadn't the same happened each time Sakura had used a card in front of them that day in the park with the penguins?

Before he could ponder the question, an intense pain shot through his right eye. Fai stumbled, then lost the battle to stay upright. It was a premonition, and a painful one, at that. He felt soft hands on his shoulders, helping him up, and when he managed to open his eyes again, violet eyes were staring at him.

"Save your strength," Tomoyo whispered. "Protect the seal that protects what is precious to you."

"So you know." Fai smiled. No doubt a certain violet-eyed princess had reached across dimensions again to touch another self and set things into motion.

"I made a promise to protect the one I love most, my sister, my friend," Tomoyo said softly. "And I have paid the price. You, on the other hand, must be ready for the sacrifice, because..." and her eyes sparkled with sympathetic tears. "Be strong, Fai. For all of us."

Fai looked away. Am I merely delaying the inevitable? he asked himself. Is this worth it? And when his gaze fell upon the Princess, he had his answer. No matter what—or who—she is, she deserves to be happy—just as Syao does. After all, they are the same: innocents in the end.

Tomoyo was now standing next to the Princess. They were out in the open, the wind eerily still, the darkness swallowing some shapes and disgorging others

Fai looked around. It looked like they were in a playground, and he turned to Tomoyo, who answered his unspoken question. "It's our grade school playground," she said. She hefted her camcorder, then gasped.

"Look here," she said to Fay and Kurogane, who had picked up the Princess. In the viewfinder, the playground was bright and sunny; where they were, though, darkness enveloped them.

"It would seem that magic doesn't affect your camcorder," Fai said. "That might help us later on. Come, let's be guided by your camcorder." But he was perturbed; only truly powerful magic could affect the senses that way. And it meant that they might be walking into a dream-trap, something Fai had never really understood.

And they stopped when they saw the flashes of light that indicated a furious magical battle going on in the Tomoeda grade school field.

Fai ran forward, fearing the worst, and saw Sakura, Syaoran, and Syao on the ground, all unconscious. Despite himself, he smiled when he saw that Syaoran had Sakura tightly in a protective embrace. Both were touching one of Syao's hands, and from the looks of it, they had gotten trapped in a dream world...Syao's dream.

He sighed.This is never a good thing, and he cast a barrier between him and Tomoyo, the Princess, and Kurogane, so that they would not wander into the scene and be trapped in the dream. Then he bent down to touch Syao's hand. Immediately he was whipped into the dream, and he had to find his way to where Sakura, Syaoran, and Syao were in order to fulfill the last part of the bargain he had made with an unusual blue-eyed young man.

An Unspeakable Horror

Sakura and Syaoran helped Syao stand up, but he suddenly collapsed again, his eyes wide open. He was seeing something again, but this time, he was looking completely horrified. When he grasped their hands, they were swept into his vision as well.

Syao was watching himself, covered with blood, standing over the Princess, ignoring her pleas for him not to leave. They were in a strange place, something like...a womb? He had Hien out, and he was speaking coldly to the Princess.

He saw himself with one blue and one brown eye, obeying the orders of a frightening man with a monocle, collecting feathers, leaving death and destruction in his wake. And once all the feathers were collected, he returned them to the Princess.

"Now take her soul, which has all her feathers," his master ordered "and give it to me. You are the only one her body will respond to." Over her screams, Syao saw the thing-that-had-been-him bend down, cast a spell to extract the Princess' soul, reaching into the area of her chest where the feathers normally entered.

It was too much for Syao, and he was almost hysterical as he charged forward, aiming a blow with his powerful legs. Somehow, he connected with his other self, who staggered back somewhat. But the thing-that-was-Syao traced arcane symbols into the ether, trapping himself and the Princess in an impermeable field, and smirking at Syao's futile attempts to rescue the Princess.

Syao was horrified. Where had the blue eye come from? He was sure he'd seen it before, but where, he was not sure. And since when have I been able to do magic? He didn't recognize the bluish-purple symbols his other self was casting.

Sakura found herself screaming, No, stop, don't hurt her! She clung to Syaoran, his presence the only thing keeping her sane as they watched Syao try over and over to break through the field as the terrifying violation occurred. She had never, ever seen something like this in her life, and something in Sakura was breaking as she heard the Princess screaming, begging the thing-that-had-been-Syao to stop, not to hurt her.

Syaoran kept his hold on Sakura firm. He knew he could do nothing to help Syao, and he tried to shield Sakura from the gruesome sight. She does not deserve to see this! He embraced her tightly, pouring all his love into the embrace, praying she would feel it.

The warmth of Syaoran's embrace helped Sakura stand firm. She could feel his emotions through the link they shared, and she responded in kind, sending him her feelings of love. They realized, at the same time, that this was what made them strong: their love, each other, and the sweetness of the realization helped Sakura and Syaoran block out the horrific scene playing out before them for a few precious seconds.

But the horror could not be ignored. Syaoran closed his own eyes, unable to watch Syao as he wept and desperately tried all he could to stop the horror happening to the one he loved...at his own hand. Blood was running down his fists as he pounded on the field separating them, and when the Princess fell silent, it was his voice that cried out, a long, drawn-out howl of misery and pain.

Syao bent over, his frame wracked with sobs as he touched the edge of the field separating him from the Princess. A bright orb of light floated out of her chest, and the thing-that-was-once-Syao picked her up. Her eyes were open, but they were dull and lifeless. The man in the monocle reached out a hand greedily to take the ball into himself, and the air crackled with the power he had stolen. Then he turned to the thing.

"As we bargained. Her body is yours. Do what you wish; there's a spark of life in her, enough to keep you company for the rest of your natural life," the monocled one said to the thing-that-had-been-Syao. And with a strange tenderness, the thing-that-was-Syao picked up the Princess, stroking her hair and hugging her gently.

The field separating Syao from the thing-that-was-him dissolved, and Syao charged, full of fury and hate. "I AM NOT YOU!" he screamed. "I WOULD NEVER HURT HER!"

Then the scene shifted, to Sakura and Syaoran's surprise. The Princess dissolved, and the thing turned its gaze onto them. They heard its master command, "Take her." It smiled, summoned its sword, then began to walk calmly towards Sakura.

Syaoran felt his bile rise as it stared hungrily at Sakura. Then it attacked, blue-brown eyes flashing. Syaoran only just managed to thrust Sakura to safety and to bring up his sword in time to block a blow that forced his sword almost to his shoulders. The thing smiled a cold, empty smile at Syaoran, as though dismissing him, and looked at Sakura, clearly intending something with her.

Hate surged through Syaoran, and he focused the hate into his attack. This should not be happening! Visions should not be able to affect us! He leapt backwards, pulled out an ofuda, and yelled, "Raitei Shourai !"

Just as he cast his spell, Sakura had also cast hers. Out from her staff flew Wood and Wind, twining together around the odd-eyed thing. It was thrown backwards by the combined force of their spells. And then they heard Syao charge; he brought himself down on the thing with a blow that reverberated across the area they were in. The thing staggered, then began to cast a spell, writing shimmering symbols into the air. It was stopped short when Sakura cast Illusion, and ruined the spell by creating hundreds of copies of the symbols around the thing. By now, Syaoran had reached Syao.

"Together!" he yelled, and looked at both Syao and Sakura, who nodded.

Syao didn't answer. Both boys leapt into the air, one bringing down a sword flashing with the thunder of one of his best attacks, the other coming down with an almighty kick that broke the thing's sword arm, just as Sakura cast Fiery at the thing.

Their combined attacks forced the thing-that-was-Syao to drop Hien, which Syao picked up; an angry red flame burst from the sword, and Syao charged the thing, bringing Hien down in a blow that almost decapitated it. Blood pooled around Syao's feet, and he stared at the thing which he now understood was a future possibility for him.

It was so strange, watching himself die. Will I become this monster? he thought. Will I do that to the girl who means the world to me? Am I capable of being like that?

If this is my future, then it must be true.

I would rather die than hurt her! And if it is my destiny to hurt her...

Then, Syao dropped Hien and collapsed.

And Sakura realized that this was what the Hope had wanted to tell her earlier. Syao had lost all hope; his exhaustion was not physical as he was as strong as Syaoran. His heart was exhausted, and seeing what was possibly his future had almost destroyed him.

Sakura gasped as Syao slumped to the ground. Two symbols, one above his heart, and the other above his eye, began to materialize. She remembered the earlier vision, just as Syaoran recognized it as well. This was the beginning of Syao's little death, the exhaustion of his soul. He was no longer breathing.

"Syaoran," and her voice was quiet but determined. "I want to try something, and I need you." He nodded, held her hand gently, and they both walked over to kneel next to Syao.

Syaoran gasped. The shimmering symbol above Syao's right eye looked like the symbols on his lasin board. Sakura saw it, and her grip on his hand tightened.

"Did you..."

"No. That wasn't me," Syaoran said softly. Things were beginning to fit together, and he was beginning to understand what was truly at stake here. Somewhere out there was another self who had bound something into Syao, and for a good reason—the other self Syao kept seeing in his visions.

And now what they all did might spell the fate of that other self.

"Those are seals," Syaoran said softly. "I don't know the significance of the seal on the eye, but I think I know why the heart is sealed. It may not be his."

"Do you mean he doesn't really have a heart?" Sakura's eyes were wide open, and Syaoran held her hand to reassure her.

"No," Syaoran said slowly as he thought as fast as he could. "But I think his own heart is fragile...I'm sorry, Sakura, I don't know enough to tell you. But I think I know what Syao is now. I think he is not another me in another world, but maybe...a duplicate of some kind?"

"Not like Mirror, I can see that," Sakura said.

"Definitely not. But all created beings, which I think Syao is—and that would explain a lot of things about him—eventually long for their own existence. And he can't have loved the Princess this long without creating his own heart. But he still needs this one," and Syaoran pointed, "because the new heart is still fragile. That's why seeing his future nearly killed him; he knows he's going to do something that violates who he is, deep inside."

Syaoran suddenly gathered Sakura into his arms and hugged her, breathing in the scent of her hair. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. Neither needed to speak; they understood that they were two very lucky young people, and were reassuring each other with their presence. In the span of an hour they had lost their innocence, seeing things that horrified them, but at least they had not been directly involved.

Yet both sensed they had been shown all this to give them a chance to prevent it.

"I want to bind a card to him," Sakura suddenly said, and Syaoran discovered that he knew what she wanted. He released her from his embrace gently.

"You need me to help you." It wasn't a question, but Sakura nodded. So Syaoran stood behind Sakura, and with his arms around her, gripped her staff to share his energies with her.

When his magic flowed through her, both gasped; it was an intimate sharing that strengthened them both, and it was Syaoran who first realized that they now shared a mental link.

Sakura touched the end of her star staff to Syao's heart then she and Syaoran sensed a card fly towards them.

The card that had flown to Syao earlier.

The Hope.

"Are you sure?" she asked the card. It radiated love and kindness in response.

"Thank you. You know this means goodbye," and she choked back some tears.

The card materialized in corporeal form, a pretty girl with wings holding a winged heart. She smiled gently at her Mistress, indicating, yes, she knew. And she turned to Syaoran and smiled as well. In their minds, they heard:Always love each other.

"We will never forget you," Sakura said to the Card, which bowed, and kissed her gently on the cheek before fading back into a card. Sakura then pressed the card over Syao's heart. The symbols began to fade back into his heart and eye, and the card melted into his chest, bonding with his heart.

Finally, Sakura called the last card she needed, drawing on the strength Syaoran's embrace gave her.

"Shield! I call on you to always protect this heart! Leave your protection over it!"

Syao's chest glowed, then a brilliant light settled over him. He began to breathe again

"I hope this works," she said.

A strange aura enveloped Syao, and he disappeared. Somehow Sakura and Syaoran knew he'd made his way out of the vision, and was safe; they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Syaoran turned Sakura around, and kissed her fiercely. He held her tight, and breathed, "Say it with me," his amber eyes gazing deep into her emerald eyes.

"It will be..."

"...all right."

"We'll be all right," Sakura said in a soft whisper.

"Always," Syaoran added.

Their magic circles abruptly burst forth, uniting in a new pink and gold circle with a crescent moon and a star that had eight points of the compass on it. At that moment they realized that they had truly been destined for each other, and the knowledge warmed them both.

Sakura reached up and touched Syaoran's cheek gently. His face had changed in the last hour; in it, he had become a man.

"I love you, Sakura," Syaoran said tenderly, his voice raw with emotion.

"Syaoran, I love you," and tears glistened in Sakura's eyes as she could feel their love so strongly, it was as if her heart were going to burst from what she felt. And when Syaoran smiled, she knew he was feeling the same way as well.

Syaoran kissed Sakura's forehead. "Now we seal our world off," and he pulled out his sealing ofuda. "Except, I don't know how exactly we're supposed to do that." Sakura giggled, and he grinned. "Guess we're gonna have to just figure things out, as usual."

"Not without my help," came a languid voice. Fai was walking towards them, a determined look in his eyes. Seeing the surprised looks on their faces, he smiled at Sakura and Syaoran. "Did you think I was going to miss something like this?" he grinned.

"More like we never expected you here...and how did you get in?" Syaoran asked.

"Dreams that are prophetic, and which trap people in them...they're like slices of reality," Fai said. "All I had to do was touch the main dreamer, and I got in."

"You saw everything?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Fai said, and closed his eyes, unconsciously rubbing at the left eye. "Now. You said something about sealing off a world? I think you'll need my help. And...perhaps something else as well."

None of them spoke as Fai began to explain what they would need for the spell, which would allow Fai, Kurogane, Mokona, Syao, and the Princess Saku to stay in the world, but once they left, would never allow them back in.

Somewhere else outside the vision, a raven-haired young man sighed in relief, and prepared to lend them his strength. Not only have they succeeded with the first part, he thought happily, they've saved Syao as well. Now the future that the other Syaoran showed me in my dreams may be prevented.

And across dimensions, another Syaoran, trapped in a crystal chamber, suddenly found that his magic had returned.

It is finally in motion, he thought, as he concentrated his energies on escaping the prison that had been his home for so many years.

The Princess screamed. Syao had materialized in front of them, glowing strangely from within. He looked exhausted, and clearly had been in a savage battle; blood spray was all over his clothing, and his fists had been scraped raw.

Kurogane quickly checked him over. "The kid's been in a fight, all right," he said as he inspected Syao's hands. "But I see no other injury." He lifted his head, and decided not to say anything else to the Princess, because the knowledge that Syao had probably killed someone might destroy her.

And he was worried. The boy and Sakura were missing, and that troublesome mage had run off and left them trapped inside some kind of shield. Stupid bastard, he thought. Going off trying to protect us without letting me in on the action!

Princess Saku knelt next to Syao, ignoring the blood that covered him. His breathing was shallow, and she began to cry. I don't want to lose him, not now! Not ever!

She pulled him into her arms, her tears falling fast on his handsome face. And for the first time since they started collecting the feathers, she felt her strength welling up from somewhere within her when she touched him. The glow that surrounded him passed to her as well, and then she knew what she had to do.

Not caring that Kurogane and Tomoyo were watching, Princess Saku bent down, and though she didn't exactly know what to do, she pressed her lips against his.

Syao's lips were soft, and Princess Saku wondered, why haven't I ever done this before? This was, after all, the boy who had fought monsters and demons for her sake, sacrificed everything to collect her feathers...I love him! Syao is everything I have ever wanted in a boy!

It no longer mattered who was missing in her memories. Syao was here, he was real, and he would not leave her side, not if he had a choice.

And now she understood that he loved her as well.

She placed her hand behind his nape to pull him closer, and was delighted to feel his eyes flutter open.

Don't call me Princess, don't pull away, don't say you're just a commoner while I'm royalty, just don't...

Instead, miraculously, he began to respond. As they shared their first kiss, Kurogane snorted and rolled his eyeballs while Tomoyo gleefully trained her recorder on them.

Syao was surprised to wake up; he thought he was dead, but finding the Princess kissing him when he woke up...am I in heaven? But her lips were real, and he surprised even himself when he surrendered, and pulled her closer, one arm behind her head, the other around her waist. Somehow they knew just what to do, and when Syao captured her lower lip between his lips, and began to gently tug on it, the Princess sighed, and wrapped her arms around him. Theworlds can go to hell, Syao thought. I love her, and I will never let her go!

They only broke apart when the ground began to shake violently. Still holding the Princess, Syao looked around, and saw that Sakura and Syaoran...and Fai...were missing.

And again, they were trapped.

But this time...and he looked at the Princess, who smiled her beautiful smile at him.

Syao touched her cheek gently. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.

"So did I," she said softly.

"I love you," he said, no longer caring about all the things that had once prevented him from telling her how he felt. "Saku, I have always loved you."

"I know," she said. "And I have always loved you, Syao."

When their lips met again in their second kiss, it was even sweeter. Around them, buildings were shaking, trees were swaying...but in their little bubble, all Syao and Saku knew was the sweetness of their warmth.

It was far from over, but for the two Sakuras and the two Syaorans, the world would stand blissfully still for a few precious minutes.

Author's note: I know this is no longer TRC canon, but dammit, I think those two deserve a chance to be happy, since CLAMP is angsting them to death!