3rd Feather, 2nd Memory, 1st Battle

Now to finish Jade Country! I'm so excited b/c next is Outo! Outo will span 5 chapters. Yes, it's a pretty long arc in my fic. There's a lot of character and relationship building in that arc. I won't update until the end of the month b/c of SAT prep and schoolwork, which will take half of the month, and the other half I'll be spending writing the actually chapter.

Black Mokona: Disclaimer: Tsubasa and xxxHolic belong to CLAMP. Only Selena and any original plot belong to Icy-hime!

Icy: I wish you'd drop that nickname...

Kuro: Now you know how I feel.

White Mokona: Enjoy and review!

Recap

"How can you guys be so calm?! One of your number is missing, right?"

"If you think just by looking at the kid that he's calm, then you're blinder then a bat." Kurogane said.

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"Chains?!" she gasped. "where am I?" she wondered, looking around. There were 5 beds in her small chamber. She was chained to the bed opposite the door. She look above the bed she was chained too and saw something. She gasped, her heart speeding up. "The Hime?!" she exclaimed. Then she realized it was not so. "...or, her picture anyway." That's when she herd small footstep outside her cell's door. She silenced herself, crawled over to the door, and looked out the window. What she saw shocked her. All the missing children were walking past her door in a zombie-like state, their feet bare and muddy, dressed only in their night cloths, down a winding flight of stairs.

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Nihon

Princess Tomoyo hid her contraband inside her cloak, the sword humming in anticipation for her use. As she walked, her vision blurred and the scene changed. She saw a girl, a bit younger then herself, with short light brown hair and emerald eyes chained to a rickity bed, dressed in pale pink. She was obviously captured. Then she saw the dirty-blond-haired girl she had met before, Selena, hiding somewhere dark, studying magic in secret by oil lamp. And then she saw the marketplace once more.

"Tsukoyomi-sama, there you are!" one of her guards said, running up to her.

"We were very worried about you." said the other.

"Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine." Tomoyo said pleasantly. But her mind whirled. Selena is a goddess, like me. That must be why I've met her. And the other chained girl must be the 3rd goddess. Selena-chan is already studying magic, so I should start my warrior studies soon. And I know just the konoichi to help me. A sly smile crossed her perfectly carved lips. No one knew how cunning their princess truly was. I will be caged no more.

Sakura looked at the children in confusion now. Where is everyone going? Sakura tried to open the door, only to find it locked to her dismay. She stood on tiptoe and saw through the dor's window that the door was barred. Sakura turned around to the bed she was chained to.

"It's a really old bed! Maybe..." The princess began to pull with all her might. Slowly the foot of the bed she was tied to began to crack, the sound thunderous in the black silence. After a few minutes, the foot's peg cracked and Sakura was went flying down to the ground on her back. "It broke!" she exclaimed in delight, holding the other end of the chain. She now took sheets from the bed and tore them, tying the ends together to make a noose. She then proceeded to the door to try to lift th beam that sat over her door. After several frusturating attempts, and just when the desert princess was losing her patience, she was able to lift the beam away. It's unlocked!Without a moment's hesitation, Sakura opened the door, making sure to hold the long chain that was still attached to her off the stone ground. Everyone's acting as if they're half asleep! But where are they going? Sakura continued to cautiously follow the children. As she turned another corner, she found herself looking into a large hall filled with a myriad of children's toys. There were wooden rocking horse, jump ropes, hoops, jacks spilled everywhere, and the like. From the base of the stairs, there was a path cleared through the toys, leading up to a picture of the golden-haired princess. The children were heading for the painting.There are so many pictures of the princess. I wonder if I'm in the castle... (A/N: Not to be mean but: DUH!!) But...the castle's supposed to be in ruins!A little boy at the front of the line pushed the painting to the side, reviealing a small hole behind it. The child then proceeded to crawl into it. A crawl hole?!

"Wait!" Sakura cried, running forward. The group of children turned their heads to her at once. They stared at her for a moment, eyes blank and unfocused, before walking towards her. Sakura screamed.

As we walked back to town, I continued to wonder about the conversation in my head. Was that really Sakura? Is she okay? Is Tomoyo a goddess too? Is that why she came into my dreams?

"We came all this way and found nothing!" the leader yelled, cutting off my thoughts. As the trees thinned and the town came back into view, we were greeted by the site of Mr. Grosum soaking wet.

"Ah! It's Mr. Grosum!" Fai exclaimed happily.

"The guy's dripping wet!" Kurogane exclaimed.

"How true! But with no great amount of snow falling, how did her get that way?" Fai leaned on a low-hanging tree branch.

"Maybe he fell into the river that runs in front of the castle?" Kurogane speculated.

"He's looking at us." I warned. "Keep your voices down."

"Since hearing the legend, no one goes to the castle unless they have a good reason!" the leader shouted. If he doesn't stop shouting, I'm going to hit him. (A/N: I'll join you. He's making me rape the '1' key again. Kuro's bad enough. Kuro: HEY!!!)

"Which means..." Fai started. He then waved at Mr. Grosum.

"...He must have a good reason." I finished. Syaoran stared intensely at nothing in particular for a moment.

"There's something I want to check out.-

Nihon

Tomoyo had hidden her sword in her dowry chest that was filled with silks, bone china, gold and jewels. The chest itself was carved with twining flowers and made of Sakura wood. The wood itself was virginal white with a faint undertone of gold. She was walking over to the training ground where she knew Soma would be at this time of day. The princess was nervous; Soma was loyal and kind, but completely dedicated to her mistress, her sister Amaratsu, in more ways then one. She had been unfortunate to discover with Kurogane when they had been young teens. Both people in question were still scarred. Tomoyo's determination, though, was strong. She came to her destination and saw Soma, talking with the new rectuite about what will happen.

"Soma!" Tomoyo called. The female ninja looked in her direction. She said something to the ninjas and then came over to her princess.

"Is there something wrong Tsukoyomi-sama?" Soma asked.

"Walk with me."

We were back at the Mayor's house, at Syaoran's request. The leader and Kurogane stood while Syaora, Fai and I sat on the couch.

"You want to know which child vanished and where?" the Mayor asked.

"Yes I want to know if these inccidents were recorded." Syaoran replied.

"Our town doesn't have a police force. We protect the town ourselves." the leader boasted. "If anything happens, we report it to the Mayor."

"I've recorded everything since the first child vanished." the Mayor confirmed.

"May I see the record?"

"Why?"

"I have a feeling it could help us find the children" was Syaoran's reply. The Mayor handed Syaoran the record. The main then showed us out. Syaoran read the record as he walked.

"Don't you dare lose that; it's our only town record!!" the leader yelled at Syaoran. Syaoran walked down the stairs, across the font lawn, over a small rock, and out the front gate, all without looking up.

"Okay." he finally replied. The leader staired with an open mouth.

"Quite reading while you're walking!" the leader yelled in a panic. Suddenly, Syaoran fell on his face, though making sure he didn't let the book touch the snow. I laughed.

"Earlier, he did the same thing on his horse." Fai said.

"I can do that too." I commented.

"Seriously?" Kurogane asked. I nodded. "Weird..."

"I must say that I'm worried for Sakura-chan and the children." Fai said quietly. I nodded, somber. My eyes prickled with tears. Sakura please stay safe. Kurogane walked over to Syaoran and picked him up by the back of his collar, his feet dangling in the air.

"I'm sorry" Syaran said.

"Don't rush things. When you do, you miss something very important." Kurogane advised.

"Right." Kurogane set him down and procceded to walk. Mokon popped up from his coat collar.

"Kurogane; the handsome and wise." Mokona praised.

"Shut up." Kurogane muttered. I turned my head from Kurogane's direction and saw Syaoran looking through a window. I looked through the window as well and saw a little boy laying on a bed Dr. Kyle stood over him. They were talking. The boy held a toy rabbit.

"Dr. Kyle seems to be a very busy man of late." Fai commented, coming to stand next to me.

"This town never had a doctor until 2 years ago! He not only helps the sick and wounded, but he also plays with the kids and watches over them!" the leader boasted. "He's a great doctor!" Sounds like he's a kind person.

Appearances are deceiving. Light doesn't always equate to good. I stated. The thought had been in my voice, but I knew it hadn't been my thought. Was it the Goddess? But how can that be if I'm the goddess? I shook my head. I saw that the little boy was leaning out of the window, pointing at the sky Dr. Kyle was talking to the mother of the child.

"A blackbird." the little boy said, pointing to the sky. His eyes were unfocused, as if in a trance. I turned to the direction to where the boy pointed, as did Syaoran. The sky was empty.

"Are you sure we should do this?" I asked Syaoran.

"You saw the little boy point. The culprit is Dr. Kyle." Syaoran replied, shifting through papers. We were in Dr Kyle's office, trying to find his medical records. We were doing this in secret. Syaoran had sent Kurogane, Mokona, and Fai to the woods to find the machine that slowed the water down. Before leaving, Fai had somehow opened the door. I now had suspicions that he could pick locks.

"You told us that. But why? And how did you figure it out? I thought it was Mr. Grosum." But I knew I was lying. I had felt, ever since yesterday, that something was off about the doctor.

"I can't tell you yet. I have to be sure." Then, both Syaoran and I herd the front door open. "Shit." I hissed. Syaoran grabbed the records and shoved them in my arms.

"Hide in the closet." he whispered, frantic.

"But-!"

"Go!" he hissed, pushing me to it. I quickly went into the closet. It was a tight fit. There were jars of herbs and ointments in it. I left the door open a crack. Dr Kyle opened the door to his office and spotted Syaoran.

"What are you doing here?!" he asked, panicked.

"Please forgive me. I hurt my hand and was hoping to find something to help." Syaoran lied, not a trace of fear on his face.

"Let me take a look at it." Dr. Kyle said, sitting onto his stool. Syaoran drew up a chair. Dr. Kyle turned his back to the door and to me. Syaoran's eyes went from me sideways to the door. He was telling me to go. I quickly took my leave, slipping out the door just before Dr. Kyle turned around with rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. My heart was pounding as I went up the stairs to Syaoran's and Kurogane's room, as planned. Kurogane and Fai were there. Mokona was sleeping. They had the other materials with them; the toy from the child we saw today, a small white cloak, and two pices of wood that was the size of the child, with small handles at the end. Children's shoes were on the other end of the sticks.

"So?" Kurogane asked.

"Syaoran was right; it was Dr. Kyle." I replied.

"Such a shame, too." Fai said. "I liked the guy."

"Is there anything on my shards?" I asked. Both men shook their heads.

"Sorry Selena-chan." Fai said, "Nothing." I sighed. Mokona had obviously woken up because it came bouncing to me and landed in my arms. I cuddled it, using it's white fur to hide my tears.

Nihon

"But, hime-sama, you don't need to learn the art of the sword. You have plenty of protection." Soma argued after hearing Tomoyo's request.

"Please Soma-chan, you're the only one I can trust with this." Tomoyo pleaded.

"Are you doing this because Kurogane is gone?" Soma asked. Tomoyo flinched inside. That was exactly why she wanted to do this; he was the only one she trusted with her safety, not even Soma.

"No." Tomoyo lied, hoping that the kunoichi wouldn't detect it. Soma sighed.

"You're not going to change your mind, are you?" Soma asked. Soma knew that, when she wished to be, Tomoyo was just as bad in the stubbornness department as Kurogane, maybe worse. Tomoyo shook her head. "Alright. I'll train you. In secret. But I won't treat you any different then the other recruits, okay?" she asked. Tomoyo nodded. The princess knew her pride was a small price to pay compared to the benefits.

We were waiting by the edge of the woods, the castle towering in the gloom. The river had been slowed, as per the plan. Now we were waiting for our kind 'doctor' to show. He appeared, following our decoy. Syaoran stepped forward.

"What's the matter Dr. Kyle?" he asked. His voice was kind but his eyes cold. Just like what I saw during breakfast when we were given the book. Dr. Kyle took down his hood.

"I was worried for the child, so I followed. You said that everyone was going to watch Mr. Gorsum-" He cut himself off as he saw Mr Gosum stand beside Syaoran. "Mr. Grosum! What are you doing here?!"

"Mr. Gosum isn't the culprit. The fact that he was wet was proof."

"We looked everywhere for the children. And I went time and time again to the castle, I just couldn't cross the river. So I tried to construct a device to cross, but...." said.

"You fell into the river." Syaoran finished. "The real criminal would have already known how to cross." Syaoran took out the record we had stolen from Dr. Kyle. "This is your record book, where you wrote down when you checked up on the children. And this..." he held up the Mayor's record. "...is a record of when each child went missing. For each child, you would visit them a day prior to their disappearance."

The townspeople wanted me to do those check-ups!" Dr. Kyle argued. "Such coincidence-!"

"You asked the first child to disappear to come by your office for his yearly check-up. And after that, as more and more children disappeared, you did a 'check-up' on the remaining children, saying it was for their 'peace of mind'. It was only today that I figured out how you did it; you used hypnosis therapy, didn't you?" Syaoran paused. "Today, the child you were treating came to the window and pointed at the sky, saying he saw a blackbird. But the sky was clear of birds. You had implanted a hypnotic suggestion to his that, on snowy nights, they would chase after imaginary blackbirds. The snow would cover any tracks they made." Dr. Kyle looked into the river.

"Then where are the children?" he asked, his voice calm and neutral.

"Probably in the castle; you had stopped the river to let them cross."

"But how did he stop the river?!" Mr. Grosum asked.

"This book." Syaoran said, pulling out the copy we had gotten from the Mayor. "It's the history book I borrowed from the Mayor. There are several pages missing. The were removed in a way so that you couldn't tell that they were missing. The same thing was done to your own book." Syaoran pulled out the 3rd history book. "This one belongs to Mr. Grosum. It contians all the pages. Mr. Grosum wasn't exactly available to us."

"There was animosity between me and the townspeople, so you assumed that they wouldn't come to me." Mr Grosum said.

"The missing pages refer to the rooms and passages under the castle. It also has information on the underground waterway system. And where there are waterways, there are devices to control the water. It was Selena-san who reminded me of that." Syaoran said, looking at me. I was standing with Kurogane and Fai. I smiled shyly at the compliment.

"We found the spot where Syaoran said there would be a device and we stopped the water. It was hidden and old, but it was still in working condition. There are even signs that it has been recently used!" Fai finished cheerily. The leader had also come with us and now stepped forward. Dr. Kyle was looking at the ground.

"Doctor! It isn't true, right?! Say you didn't kiddnap the children! Say that they're lying!!" the leader yelled, tears of passion (A/N: You all know what I mean. Not in the homo way) in his eyes. There was silence. And then the 'doctor' began to laugh. He DID do it! And he took Sakura!! I felt my hands ball into fists. No one screws with me and gets away with it!It was interesting how, even through I had know Sakura for only about 2 weeks, I already loved her like a sister. Fai placed his hand on my shoulder.

"That sure throws a wrench into my plans, doesn't it?" Dr. Kyle said, all kindness gone from his face. "To have some vagabonds (A/n: I love that word. Tehe~!) come in and ruin the plan that I had been working on for months! When all I wanted was to get what I want and leave!"

"Doctor!" the leader cried in horror.

"So it wasyou?!" Mr. Grosum exclaimed.

"There is something I want in that castle, but only a child can reach it." Dr. Kyle explained.

"You kidnapped the children for that?!" Mr Grosum roared, outraged.

"'Just for that'? You can only spout such idiotic words because you know nothing!" Dr. Kyle then spun around and began to run.

"Wait!!!" Mr. Grosum shouted. Something came shooting out of the cloak that had fallen to the ground and landed on Dr. Kyle's shoes. It sparkled with light. Dr Kyle ran into the water, seeming to walk on to of it. "He's walking on water!"

"No." Syaoran said. He jumped down to the edge of the river, where the edge of the bridge slopped down as rubble. "His footprints are glowing. There's a rock path beneath the surface."

"So that's where the rest of the bridge went." I said Fai walked forward and picked up the fallen 'child'. It had been Mokona in disguise.

"You played the child Mokona?" Fai asked.

"It's one of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques: Super Disguise!" Mokona exclaimed.

"What'd you throw at the doctor?" Kurogane asked. Mokona jumped from Fai and went up Kurogane's coat arm.

"Syaoran asked my to grind up some of the scale we had found the the lake country and throw the powder at him." Mokona explained. All of us looked to the castle.

"Let's go!" Syaoran said. Everyone ran across the bride, following the glowing footprints across. When we entered the castle, we saw the destruction of time.

"Hyuu~! There's almost nothing in here that isn'tin ruins." Fai said.

"Thre's a staircase!" I pointed.

"The castle's ruined only above ground. If the children are in this castle, they're underground." Syaoran said. The glowing path led down the stairs into the dark.

Sakura was covering, her eyes closed tight, anticipating pain. but there was nothing. She cautiously opened her eyes.

"I've been waiting for you." a kind, soft voice said. Princess Emerald appeared.

"Emerald-hime!" Sakura exclaimed. Princess Emerald looked behind her to the hole in the wall, sadness etched on her face. "In there?" Sakura asked. She walked forward and peered through the hole. She saw several children, chipping away at a crystal column with stones. When chunks of the crystal fell, other children carried them away. In the center of the column, where the width was the least, was Sakura's feather, glowing in the presence of its owner. "My feather!" Sakura exclaimed. The little girl the desert princess had seen when she had come to town broke through and took out the feather from the collom. The feather, though, was still encased in crystal. She took the feather, came out, and held the prize out to Sakura.

"This is yours, isn't it?" Princess Emerald asked. "I was able to save the children with this power 300 years ago. But now that I'm dead, no one can see me. These children were brought her to dig out your feather. And there was nothing I could do to stop them." Princess Emerald smiled "But you saw me, and came here."

"This underground is huge!" I said as we ran. Fai stopped for a moment.

"Look at all the beds." he said. It was true. Through the window, I could see several beds lined up inside.

"The footprints have ended!" the leader shouted. Everyone stopped. Syaoran stooped down.

"He noticed and took off his shoes." Kurogane said.

"There are other footprints here." Syaoran said.

"The children?" Mr. Grosum asked.

"He probably didn't have time to erase these." Fai commented.

"They lead this way. Syaoran said, pointing to a long winding staircase going down.

"The let's go!" I yelled as I ran down the stairs as quick as I could.

"Please return these children to their homes." Princess Emerald asked.

"Of course." Sakura replied, finally taking the crystal-encased feather from the little girl. Sakura was sitting on the ground, her feet hidden underneath her wide skirt.

"Ms. Sakura!" someone called. It was Dr. Kyle.

"Kyle-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, since she didn't know how else to adress him.

"Everyone's been looking for you. Please come this way." he said, holding out his hand. Sakura hesitaed. Instinct was telling her to be careful. "What's the matter? You could get injured walking about barefoot. If you come this way-"

"How do you know I'm barefoot?" Sakura asked. She tightened her hold on the feather. Dr. Kyle looked at her in surprise before chuckling darkly.

"These children, my workers, can drive a man to dispare. They took your shoes and even chained you up, yet you escaped." he said. "Noe give me that feather!"

"Don't let him have it!" Princess Emerald yelled, throwing herself in the man's path. But alas, she was only a spirit now and had no effect.

"Princess Emerald!" Sakura shouted.

"I didn't put you under hypnosis. Do you think you see ghosts?" Dr. Kyle mocked at the end.

"No!!" Sakura screamed, getting up to run.

"I brought those children here to dig that thing out! It's been in that hole for 300 years. Whatever was surrounding it was too hard for me to dig out myself On top of that, only a kid could have fit into that hole. It couldn't have been ice, because it never melted. I had no choice but to do what I did. But..." Dr. Kyle grabbed the chain that led to Sakura's ankle and pulled it hard, causing said princess to fall. "Now it's withing my grasp!"

I herd Sakura scream. I ran faster, Syaoran right next to me. Dr. Kyle had grabbed a chain that was attached to Sakura's ankle. Sakura held the feather that was withing a crystal

"Sakura-hime!" Syaoran called.

"Stay back!" Dr. Kyle said, pulling out a dagger and holding it to Sakura's throat. We all stopped. "All I need is this feather and this town, no, this country will be mine! After all, 300 years ago, with the feather's power, the princess created this underground world to save the children."

"The golden-haired princess kidnapped the children, didn't she?" the leader asked.

"If she wanted to kill them, then why would she build all these rooms?" Dr. Kyle asked.

"Now that he mentions it, there are a lot of rooms filled with beds and toys." Fai said.

"They were for the sake of the children." Mr. Grosum said in realization.

"But right after she got the feather, the King and Queen died!" the leader argued. Sakura looked up and stared at something.

"No, that's wrong." she whispered. Everyone looked at Sakura in confusion. She was silent for a minute. "So when the legend said that no parents were able to hold their children in their laps again...!" Sakura exclaimed to the thin air.

"Who's Sakura-chan talking to?" Fai asked. I wondered the same thing.

"I don't have time to listen to a woman's nonsense!" Dr. Kyle said, raising the dagger to strike. "Give me the feather!"

"No!! Don't!!!" Syaoran shouted. Dr. Kyle began to plunge the dagger into Sakura. Syaoran ran forward and sent himself flying into Sakura, knocking them both away from the weapon and Dr. Kyle. Unfortunately, the tip of the dagger had grazed Syaoran's left shoulder.

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura exclaimed. Suddenly, the whole place shook.

"What's that sound?" Fai muttered.

"An earthquake?" Mokona speculated.

"No!" Syaoran yelled over the defining noise. "That's-!" A wall behind us cracked and a thick, quick stream of icy water began to spill in.

"Whaa!" the leader yelled.

"Water?!" Mr. Gosum exclaimed. Syaoran shortened the chain on Sakura' ankle to almost nothing by kicking it with his heel to the ground.

"I think the device that was holding the water back just broke." Syaoran said, running over to us.

"Yes. It was old. I doubt it could have held out for a long period of time." Fai replied.

"Watch out!" the leader yelled. the roof was beginning to fall in chinks. One suck chunk was now falling into our group. It separated Sayoran, Sakura and Dr. Kyle from the rest of us.

"Get the children uboveground!" Syaoran ordered. "Don't worry about us; we'll get out!"

"But-!" Mr. Gosum began to protest.

"Let's go." Kurogane said, beginning to gather the children around him.

"Yep." Fai agreed, starting to gather children as well. "Let's get out of here."

"What?! But your friends!" the leader protested.

"If he says he'll get out, he'll get out. That's how Syaoran is." Fai replied. Everyone began to go back up the stairs. I brought up the rear. We cleared the first of three flights and were running down the connecting hallway when more of the rood collapsed. And this time it separated me and 7 children from the rest of the group.

"Selena-chan!" I herd Fai exclaimed.

"Shit!" Kurogane cursed.

"I'm fine. I'll find another way out!" I yelled to them through the stone wall.

"But you're trapped from both sides!" Kurogane argued.

"I'll be fine. Now go!"

"No one orders-!" Kurogane began but then was cut off by Fai.

"Right." I herd their footsteps begin to fade. I swallowed. Now what do I do?!

Go down the corridor to your left. It was the voice from before. I couldn't help but wonder who it was. But my gut told me to trust it.

"Come on kids." I said to my small group. "We need to go this way." They followed, running along side me en mass. The corridor turned right then, and I followed. It was a dead end. Or, not quite. There were stairs, but the were flooded with water. Now what do I do?!It was hopeless. I was going to drown.

Close your eyes and walk foward. Don't open them until you feel air again. I swallowed hard and then turned to the children.

"Alright Everyone, hold hands." They obeyed. "Now, we're going to continue to walk forward, and no one open their eyes or let go of eachother's hands until they feel air on their face again, alright?" They all nodded sleepily. I went to the back of the line. "Let's go." Everyone closed their eyes and began to walk into the water. When I was near the edge, I closed my own eyes and walked down the steps into the water. It wasn't cold; it was warm! And I could breath easily. Strange. Am I doing this?! But how?I continued to walk forward, still afraid. After 5 minutes, the ground sloped upward. We were almost home fee.

Just a bit farther...Something seemed to grab my leg I gasped and opened my eyes. Water began to flood into my mouth. I pushed the child that was in front of me to the surface of the water before I began to sink from the weight of my dress. Everything in my body seemed to slowly freeze. I fell slowly. Everything seemed to slow. At least the kids are safe. At least everyone else is safe. Maybe this was the reason for my journey; to be sacrificed to save others. Maybe Storyteller lied and I'm not the Goddess of Magic. Yha...I'm just dreaming. Or, if this is real, at least I'll die peacefully. My feeto touched the bottom of the river and I sakn to my knees. Then I simply floated there, my lower legs anchoring me. My face was turn downward. Fai...Kuro...Sakura...Syaoran..Mokona...Tomoyo..Watanuki...sorry. An apparition seemed to appear in front of my then. I couldn't tell who it was, only that it was female. The apparition took my face in its hands, put its lips close to mine, and breathed. I felt air come into my lungs and then stay there, hidden. Then the apparition disappeared.

The whole castle had collapsed. Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan were safe, but Selena-chan was still missing with the kids she had been with. I was afraid.

"I'm going to search the grounds." I said before running where my gut told me to. Kuro-pin followed. I was suddenly very afraid; what if she was dead. Up ahead, a herd several voices calling for help. It was the group of children that had been with Selena-chan. all were awake now and frantic.

"What happened?" Kurogane asked.

"The lady who was helping us is drowning!" a little boy shouted.

"She pushed me up before she drowned! I don't want her to die!" a little girl added, tears on her face. I threw off both my coats and hat and, without a second thought, jumped into the fridged water. I swam down fast. The river wasn't too deep, but it was enough to make me feel like my body was freezing over. I saw her at the bottom, kneeling, almost as if she was praying. I grabbed her arm and pulled her up, struggling under her weight, caused by her cloths. After several agonizing minutes, when I thought that I too would drown, my head broke the surface. Kurogane helped pull us up along with Mr. Grosum.

"I-I need a knife!" I choked out, still breathless. Mr. Grosum produced a small dagger from his pocket. It was the same one Dr. Kyle had held. I took it and quickly cut down the back of Selena-chan's dress.

Everything was black and warm. I wondered where I was. I felt someone lightly touch my cheek.

"Guess she's sleeping." a familiar voice said. It was Watanuki. But then it felt as if I was being pulled away from the warm place with the familiar friend and was being forced into a cold place with unfamiliar people. Something was in my lungs. I turned my stiff head, coughed whatever it was out of my lungs and fell unconscious once more.

I had missed many thing while I had been out. But now, several hours later, we were going back to the castle for a final time. Sakura had wanted to see Princess Emerald once more. Mokna had filled me in that, according to Syaoran, Sakura could see spirits and hear the cries of the lonely.

"No." Skaura whispered, looking around the empty woods. "I can't see her anywhere!"

"Yuko once told the Mokonas...that, when a spirit isn't restless anymore, it moves on." Mokona said from where it perched on my shoulder.

"You mean to the next world?" Kurogane asked. Fai took off his hat in respect.

"I think the one most restless about the children was the golden-haired princess." Fai said. "But, didn't Princess Emerald tell you that someone was constantly watching you Sakura-chan? Is that a warning?"

"That was the other thingI wondered about; how did Dr. Kyle know about the feather?" Syaoran asked.

"Yha. I mean, we never told him, right?" I said.

"And it was never mentioned in the history books." Syaoran added. "I had asked Mr. Grosum about it, and he said that there was no oral tradition that mentions the fate of the feather either."

"So, it seems that as we travel, someone is trying to interfere." Fai concluded. And I have a gut feeling that person knows about the Goddesses too.I looked one last time at the sign that had the name of Spirit painted on it. The word 'Spirit', through, wasn't there. Instead, there was a picture of a bat. A shudder ran through me; I had seen that symbol before, and it ment something very sinister.

The man in the monocle was looking at his looking mirror. The waiter from the tavern that had served the inter-dimensional travelers and told them the legend was on it. "The feather that fell in Jade Country is now in the hands of the Princess of Clow." he reported. "There was also another person. A female with dirty blond hair and blue-gray eyes." the informant added.

"I am irritated at how little I am able to effect event. However, since that power I seek will allow me to do so, I find it a bit ironic." The man put down his goblet of red wine. "But...this other girl. I wonder if she is who I think she is. It would explain why I cannot see her with the others." The looking Mirror now showed the group preparing to depart from the snowy world of Jade. It only showed the ninja, the ex-mage, the princess, the boy and the small white creature. In the snow next to the ex-mage, the man could see a set of footprints. But there was no body to match.

"Now, on to the next plan."

In two separate wold, two different people slept. One was male, the other female. Both saw the image of a bat and woke with a start. The girl, a princess, shivered in revulsion at the dreamed symbol. The male put on his glasses and looked around his dark apartment, confused. He couldn't remember what he'd seen, but he had a feeling it was important. He would ask him employer tomorrow about it.

Now you all know that FWR knows about the goddesses. Why can't he see Selena? You'll find that out in Infinity! Muahaha!

No seriously, you'll find out then.

Mokona: Puu! We're in a new world! Sakura trees line the streets and everything seems peaceful. But there are these things that attack people at night. It's really scary! What are these creatures? What types of jobs does everyone get? What does Yuko send us? Why is Sakura bleeding? And why is Fai on the rooftop? Find out next time on Tsubasa: Frozen Reflection in Chapter 14: Welcome to Outo Country! Mokona can't wait to read!

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