AN: Weekly update, back with ch 14. Three more until this arc ends. Yay for 18 reviews and 1500 hits. Much more than I expected. Thanks to my beta yuuwatase719, and thanks to these reviewers for the last chapter.
Shadow-Wolf-Storm
AngelEmCuti
Fiasse
Yipee for loyal readers and reviewers, and here it is.
Dark Fate ch 14
Xiahua groaned in pain as she began to wake. Her shoulder ached from the blow she took yesterday from the duel. I lost... She began to stir and acknowledge her surroundings. She was back in her room in the Dragon Master's house. It took a bit before her vision regained focus, so she stared at the ceiling as she slowly regained her vision. Slowly she saw a pair dark brown eyes staring at her.
"So, you're awake." Fanli stated. He had been sitting by her side the whole time she was out, but he wasn't going to admit it anytime soon.
"Ye- Yes... how long have I been asleep for?"
"Two days."
"EXCUSE ME!?"
"Not enough for you?"
"Two days??"
"You used up a lot of magic in our duel. Hell, you're lucky to be alive by pushing your limits so far. Summoning that phoenix twice in three days must be a killer."
"I am strong enough."
"...what are you trying to prove?" Fanli murmured quietly, looking at her scrutinizingly.
"Huh?" Xiahua swallowed, wishing the Demon Master wasn't looking at her in such a fierce way.
"Don't act innocent. Why do you have her weapon? Why are you trying to kill me if you know I am many times more powerful than you are? You're trying to prove yourself."
"Are you done interrogating me? It's not like I have more secrets than you do, Meng Yan. What's with the new name?"
"I moved on from the past, so should you. All of this isn't really even YOUR business. It's Xiahua's."
"How dare you! What do you mean? You-"
"Killing me won't bring her back. In fact, killing me will wipe out her last bit of existence in this dimension. This is NOT even your business anyways."
"I-"
"Get your rest. Training resumes tomorrow. The demons aren't going to be waiting around."
Fanli left the room, leaving Xiahua in her silence. He isn't evil or cruel... then... why?
"Mia!" A little girl ran up to her slightly older sister. "You're back!"
"Hey meimei (little sister), how's life among the Lin clan?"
"Sooo boring without you jiejie! (big sister)"
"Don't worry, in a few months, you will begin your training, just like jiejie!"
"It's not fair, you are only a year older than me! Why can't I start now and travel with you?"
"Patience young flower. Your time will come."
"Don't call me young! How long are you staying?"
"Not long, I need to return to the Meng clan."
"To your boyfriend?"
"Hey! You're too young to discuss such things?"
Xiauhua started laughing and running, taunting Mia. "Sister has a boyfriend, sister has a boyfriend!"
"Come back here!" Mia chased after her sister. That was the last time Xiahua ever saw her...
A year later
"What happened here?" Xiahua arrived horseback to a demolished village, what once was the great home of the Clan of Dreams, was now a graveyard. Xiahua's heart dropped to her stomach as it dawned to her. No, no... NO! She leaped off her horse and ran to the graves.
"Mia? MIA??" She ran through the maze of the dead, searching frantically. Please don't be here, please... She stopped at a gray tombstone, and let out a scream of misery and despair.
Here lies Lin Mia.
A friend, a loved one... a savior.
The light of my life, who will always live on in me.
It can't be true... but... A golden bow laid on top of the tombstone. No... sister's treasured weapon, the Lin clan Bow of Dragons... She made a move towards the weapon, and it flew into her hand. She yelped in surprise, but quickly regained her composure. Sister... This bow has chosen me... to avenge your death!
The nightmares still haunted her, the tombstone of her beloved sister... the pain she felt. She thought she finally understood her purpose in life. Fate wanted Xiahua to avenge her sister, her life's meaning, to kill that monster... But now? What am I going to do now?
Only two weeks left until Christmas, will she like my gift? Syaoran stared at the beautiful platinum necklace he made. It was created by pure dragon magic, the best metal from Blade, and incredible amounts of protection spells surrounded it. It can never be stolen, the wearer will always be protected by a powerful barrier, it can be used as a power source and much more. He invested weeks of his time and nearly killed himself with the project. To top it off, there was a beautiful stone embed into the platinum. It shined in the light of the day, and at night, it illuminates the room. A dragonstone... it has two uses, a stone of great power and beauty... and...
"SYAORAN! Help me with the compass again!" Meilin yelled from across the yard. Syaoran sighed as he concealed the necklace. He can still feel the power of the stars tingling in his hand.
"OK, focus your energy on the compass...
"Imperial king of gods, Your divinity watches over the four corners Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Thunder, wind, lightning, Whirling blade of light, I summon thee!" Blue light emitted from the lazin board, "Seek out dark forces!"
To everyone's surprise, the compass did not point at Fanli. Instead a pointed to somewhere in the city... "I think it is pointing to Tsukimine Shrine" Eriol commented. Everybody groaned in response.
Crap! Not there!
"What should we do Syaoran?" Sakura asked the "leader" of their merry band.
"We will investigate it tomorrow. Charging in blindly would be idiotic. We used up a lot of energy training today. Tomorrow." Li ordered. "Brace yourselves, we always have trouble there."
"I can't find this dang thing! I know it is around, but I can't locate it!" 4 AM, and everyone was scattered all over the shrine, investigating the new dark aura there. It was a tricky one since no one could seem to detect or sense it. It's like when Xiahua was stalking me.
Fanli hated it when he can't find something. "This is like deja vu!"
"What, still pissed that you couldn't find me last time?" Xiahua approached her sworn enemy, with a smirk on her face. "Despicable, a master of dark magic and you can't find one thing?"
"Shut up."
"I don't see what she saw in you..."
"Syaoran, how are you doing over there?"
"Dang it, Meilin, use the compass and seek out that presence again!" Syaoran yelled to his cousin, irritated by how he can't track this strange force.
"Hai! Imperial king of gods, Your divinity watches over the four corners. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Thunder, wind, lightning, Whirling blade of light, I summon thee! Seek this dark force!" A flash of light. "This way!"
"Regroup and follow Meilin!"
Like a swarm, everybody came running from all over the shrine, regrouping in front of an old tree.
"What? This tree again?" Sakura yelled out. Too many things happened at this tree back during the Cardcaptoring days. The Return... the talks with Syaoran... it is enough of this tree for one lifetime.
"Looks like there is so magic left in it." Yue commented. He was amused that this tree contained so much power of the moon, yet... why couldn't he identify it? It is different yet the same. This tree is quite interesting.
"Why is there so much dark energy emitting from it?" Fanli wondered out loud. It doesn't feel like a demon, yet... something was familiar about the aura...
"Is this it?" Xiahua was looking forward to some demon killing, and exhibiting her disappointment. "Stupid tree!" She gave the tree a big kick. A surge of power exploded from the tree, giving a certain dark magic user chills down his spine.
"Everyone get away from the tree now!" Fanli screamed.
"What?" The order came too late. The tree gave a shudder, and a dimensional portal opened.
"Idiots! Get out of there!" A giant gust of wind formed a vortex, grabbing a few members of the team into it. "Oh shi-"
"Well look what the cat dragged in." Fanli gave a quick shudder and checked his surroundings. Touya, Yue, Kero, Spinel, and Ruby Moon were still here. That meant Syaoran and the rest got sucked in. "Eclipse! Show yourself!"
"What's your rush?" A man in white robes appeared. He had white hair, and was very pale, he would camouflage in the snow if he didn't have black stripes on his clothes and hair.
"I want my friends back, and if I have to cut you down to get to them, so be it."
"I think your friends will be the least of your worries. The power of the moon is strong tonight, I am unaffected by these so called 'happy emotions'." Eclipse gave a loud chuckle as a dark light wave surrounded him. When it vanished, a tiger took Eclipse's place.
Fanli gave a smirk, and nodded to remaining team members as they prepared themselves for a fight. "Here kitty kitty."
"Meilin? Tomoyo?" Sakura yelled in the darkness. Syaoran was right next to her, yelling his lungs out.
"Hello? Anybody?... Great, where the HELL are we?"
"Imperial king of gods, Your divinity watches over the four corners Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Thunder, wind, lightning, Whirling blade of light, I summon thee! Find Syaoran!" The compass temporarily shot out a light, but it went berserk, pointing at every direction at once. "Dang, too much interference."
"Well duh, this place reeks of evil." Xiahua said condescendingly. Why do I have to be trapped with this weakling?
Meilin stared in the dark, casting a fire ofuda for light. Why do I have to be trapped with this idiot?
"Touya! Move!" Touya moved out of the way just in time as Eclipse teleported right behind him. Eclipse gave a mighty roar, shaking the ground and trees, and dived at Fanli. Yue aimed his bow and fired a shot at the beast, but the arrow couldn't pierce its skin. Fanli did a backflip, dodging the blow, and retaliated. "Demon Fire Storm!" A tornado of flames snared the tiger, trapping the beast with spiraling flames, but it didn't last long. Eclipse quickly broke out of its firey prison, and made a move to attack Fanli again. He managed to evade the tackle, but Eclipse followed the first attack with a barrage of white orbs of light that exploded at contact, sending Fanli flying. He did a flip, and landed on the ground facing the tiger, sword ready. Touya and the guardians landed behind him, unable to damage the beast. They needed a plan.
"Kero! Spinel! Get behind him! Ruby and Yue, hit him from the sides. NOW! Touya, we're going head on!"
The four guardians flew in the air, surrounding Eclipse, while the two boys charged in at the demon.
Syaoran held out an orb of light (courtesy of Origin) as the pair walked through the labyrinth. The walls were stone, and had carvings of some ancient language on them. I have a bad feeling about this... it feels like a demon...
"Syaoran?" Sakura's voice was filled with nervousness and fear. All her childhood fears of ghosts were flowing in her mind.
"Don't worry, Sakura. I will protect you. I won't let anything get to you. Dark forces, ghosts, demons, anything... okay?" Syaoran gazed at his terrified angel. She looked as if she was going to cry, but finally managed to smile. He was about to smile back when he heard two loud screams in the darkness.
"Meilin?? Xiahua?"
"What the hell are these things?" Xiahua fired an arrow through a head of a dark figure. It groaned but still trudged forward towards the girl. Dozens followed. "Multiply!" Another arrow was fired, which split and became twenty. They pierced and went through the masses of dark forces, but they kept approaching them.
"Haven't you watched horror movies before? Those are ZOMBIES!" Meilin drew out her sword and two ofudas. "Raitei, Kashin, SHOURAI!" Arcs of lightening and bursts of fire slammed into the heaps of undead, blasting a few of them into pieces. The zombies kept moving forward. "Fuuka Shourai!" A blade of wind sliced a few zombies in half as Xiahua kept firing her arrows. The zombies were unfazed, and dragged their bodies towards the two girls. The pair kept backing up, attacking as the moved, until they heard moans behind them.
"S we're surrounded!" Xiahua spun her bow and sliced a few heads off. She winced as she smell the pungent odor of dead guts and as blood and body parts covered the ground.
"I REALIZED THAT! Kashin shourai!" A wall of flames formed to cut off the pursuing zombies.
"Good job, now WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THESE GUYS!"
"One thing at a time!"
"Dracoshield! Stop these monsters from pursuing us!" A wall of light appeared in front Tomoyo as an army of undead as they collided into the aura of light.
"Power of the sun, show these creatures of the dark your light!" Eriol sent a wave of light out from his staff, it passed through the zombies and they quickly disintegrated."Good job Tomoyo, let's keep moving, we can't be the only ones trapped here."
"Wow, the freak for once is right." Syaoran and Sakura approached their two friends. "Meilin and Xiahua are here too. Not sure if they are the only ones, but we should find them first."
"That sounds like a logical plan." Syaoran turned to face Sakura and Tomoyo.
"Of course, I will be point, Eriol you take rear. You two stay between us. If either of us gets into trouble, call the other and go help. Got it?" The two girls nodded. "OK let's move. And don't panic."
The pack moved through hallway after hallway, each as dark as the previous. Dang, I can't sense anything. I can't even sense if there is a demon at work! There is a powerful... ? That's it! There are two demons, maybe more, at work... but which?
"This is the Pyramid of Earth." Eriol muttered. "Amazing."
"Come again?" Sakura asked, her face filled with confusion.
"This is Quake's Pyramid of Earth. I knew I saw those runes before! Built by the Demon Lord of Earth, this pyramid is a death trap for treasure hunters. No one knows exactly what is hidden here, but it is supposed to be something all humans crave. Each engraving is the tale of each person who journeyed in here."
Well, that eliminates one of the demons, the other must be... Syaoran heard a loud thump and turned to see that Sakura tripped.
"Hehe... stupid clumsy me. Can't see in this dark."
As innocent as always Ying Fa... wait... can it really be that simple?
"The Demon Lord of Darkness and Demon Lord of Earth... what are they again?"
"Rayearth, I call upon thee, come forth in your wolf form!" The blazing wolf materialized in front of his master, howling at the tiger.
"Rayearth, it has been a while." The wolf glared and growled at Eclipse before rushing the demon, leaving a trail of flames behind him. Eclipse roared and charged, and the two beasts collided at full force. They clashed as they attacked with magic and fangs, neither giving their opponent the edge. Lucky for Fanli, Eclipse was quite distracted with Rayearth, so Eclipse was caught by surprise when he was hit dead on by an orb of dark magic. Eclipse roared in pain as the darkness tried to consume him, but he managed to break free, but was severely weakened in the process.
"Time to bind you to my side." Eclipse was pissed, as he gave one last mighty roar, and ran, vanishing in the dark. Fanli swore and set a barrier around the area. No way is Eclipse going to escape him. "Time to catch the kitty cat. Split up and tell me if you find him! We need his power to reopen the portal for the rest of the guys!"
There's too many of them! Meilin arms were sore from cutting down zombies. How long have we been fighting? An hour? A day?
"MEILIN SNAP OUT OF IT!" Xiahua was already in a state of panic. The zombies just kept coming, the air now reeked of blood, making it hard to breath. The ground was slippery from the body parts and blood, and the wall of fire was starting to collapse. We are going to die, we are so screwed...
"Origin! Shine your light!" A flash of white light, followed by the howls and moans of zombies, then nothing.