Chapter 21
The Aloof King
"Hey," Kurogane grumbled. "We don't have a lot of time- I know it's hard, kid, but we've gotta keep moving."
"Which way do we go from here?" Fai asked, making it a point not to look to the ground.
Syaoran pointed straight up, not trusting himself to speak, then pointed directly in front of him - the door was there, a fact Fai confirmed as he stepped over and closer.
A moment of silence passed, until Syaoran managed to pull himself to his feet and begin walking, shrugging the princess' hand off his back, keeping his eyes hidden under the fringe of his bangs.
"Are we not going to do anything about..." The magician asked, looking to the prone form laying on the ground.
Kurogane shook his head. "There's no time. Besides, carrying it would just slow us all down."
Fai looked back at the form laying prone on the ground, then back up to the princess and Kurogane. The princess nodded.
"Take your magic back. We'll need it," She whispered.
Fai nodded, and reached down, flinching at the grotesque way he'd need to reclaim his own eye. Everyone else made it a point not to watch, Syaoran trudging slowly toward the exit, Sakura watching the other teenager carefully, her eyes watering, but her look determined not to let the tears spill, Kurogane watching the doorway.
In mere moments, it was over, and he pulled the eyepatch from his face, blinking his crystalline blue eye, then closing it partly to allow it to adjust to the dim lighting. He stared at his hands, turned them over, but no other changes occurred. Half his magic apparently wasn't enough to turn him back from a vampire. He reached back down, and pulled the feather from the young boy's body, offering it to the Princess.
She sighed, and accepted it, stumbling as it merged with her chest, and the magician caught her before she could fall to the ground. Slowly, he led her to the section of wall Syaoran had disappeared through, and they found themselves at the foot of what appeared to be a nearly endless staircase.
Fai silently offered to assist the princess up the stairs and she accepted though she knew he was barely able to stand himself, watching Syaoran the entire time as he stood at the base of the stairs and stared straight up them.
"Are you ready for this fight?" Kurogane asked, his deep rumble of a voice shattering the pristine silence.
Syaoran took a deep breath, and turned to look back at them. His expression was perfectly blank, closed from the world. "I've fought him once before, I know how powerful he is, and indeed he is incredibly strong... magically, at least- I never even got close enough to test his physical abilities, but he does carry a sword so I assume he knows how to use it." He looked back up the stairs. "If I had my choice, I wouldn't take any of the rest of you up there with me, but you're coming, aren't you?"
Kurogane shook his head. "This is the guy that killed my parents. I'm not letting him get away without taking a piece out of him. Hopefully more."
Fai stared at the stairs, tracing their trail as they wound far into the distance with his one eye. "My brother... my king... the curses... it's his fault."
"It's his fault about the feathers as well," Sakura stated. "He started this whole scenario, it's up to us to finish it."
Syaoran watched them all again, searching them all with his amber gaze. "This is a trap, you know. He's incredibly familiar with all of our powers, all of our fighting abilities. We're in his world, we're surrounded by hispower. We're at a severe disadvantage."
"Even so, we're going to do what we must," the magician said.
"Because we have to stop this..." Kurogane continued.
"Because enough has been ruined for whatever it is he hopes to do," Sakura stated.
Syaoran nodded, and turned for the staircase. He set one foot on the bottom step, and took a deep breath. "The dream must end."
-
Hours it seemed, they climbed the staircase, and it ended with them in a long hallway, lined with doors.
"He's trying to exhaust us," Kurogane said, and looked at Syaoran. "Take it easy, kid. Don't push too hard."
The brunette nodded assent, carefully prying open one of the doors to peek inside. Empty.
Door by door they checked, until Kurogane finally came upon one that led to yet another upwards twisting staircase.
"You know," Fai said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile despite the serious circumstances. "I do fear we're going to be very tired of seeing stairs before this adventure is over."
The staircase led to another long hallway, though this one contained only one door, and by the time they had reached the door, all were breathing heavily from their exertion, their legs weak from so much climbing.
"I hope for his sake that door doesn't lead to another staircase," Kurogane growled.
Syaoran shook his head. "The magic's too strong behind it. That may be it. Is everyone prepared? This is going to push you all to your limits, and possibly beyond." He sighed. "I only wish Eriol could've come with us..."
Everyone nodded to him and he turned toward the door, taking deep breaths, fighting off the weariness tugging at the edges of his consciousness. The door opened of its own accord long before they reached it, and they stepped through to find Fei Wong Reed himself sitting on his throne, staring disinterestedly into his viewing portal.
His cold blue eyes turned from the round object to the ragtag group standing before him, specifically at Syaoran, leading them all, sword held at the ready.
The wizard stood, his long black robes adorned with his bat emblem rustling, the only sound to accompany the travelers recovering their breaths after the long climb to the top.
"You've killed my precious creation," He said, voice as impassive as the clone's as he stared at Syaoran.
The young man narrowed his eyes in response. "I said once I'd protect Sakura... the Princess. Even if that meant from the one she loved most."
"You'd even save her from herself? How about from you?" Fei Wong Reed reached into the folds at the front of his cape. "Were I her, I wouldn't trust your protection. We see how well you guarded... the other Sakura..." And from the folds he pulled a long, pink wand, the top of which adorned with a pair of wings and a star in the center of a circle. Blood spattered the star, the handle, and seemed to be gathered at the bottom end as though dipped into blood like a quill.
Syaoran's face fell, and suddenly he looked like the bottom had just dropped out of his reality.
"Stay strong, kid," Kurogane stated, stepping forward, his own sword at the ready. "If you let him into your mind, you've let him win."
Fai stepped up on the other side of Syaoran, hand at the ready to cast a magic spell. "And he's not the only one protecting the princess. She's got Kurogane and I as well."
"A mad, murderous ninja and someone willing to throw away their own brother's life to save themself," Fei Wong stopped, turning to look at them. "I wouldn't trust either of you... and yet she does, foolishly."
"We've been through too much together for me not to- I've seen them all at their weakest and strongest moments," Sakura retorted, voice strong. "I've watched them change... and I know... I know what's in their hearts."
"They are weak and petty... but you would not believe me, would you? You might think you know of their true selves, but you will be proven wrong; that you know nothing of these men, and what you don't know will be your downfall. I will show you, when they break, folding under my strength, my truth, that you trusted the wrong people," Fei Wong stated, and drew his sword, throwing the wand to the side.
Kurogane snarled at the sight of it, readying his sword, glaring the sorcerer down. "So it was you..."
"Of course," Fai stated. "Though its rare for a puppet master to appear so quickly. Have you run out of toys?"
Fei Wong laughed then, a harsh, superior bark, and smiled at them all. "No, for I possess the two most powerful puppets of all, though one seems to have severed some of his strings... However, why should I use them if I know I can merely end this under my own power? I don't have time to play games."
"Nor do I," Syaoran retorted. "So let's end this."
"First, I must take my prize... well cultured, I see, though perhaps not fully ready. It will have to be enough," The sorcerer said, and everyone turned to Sakura as she cried out, some invisible force lifting her into the air. She began drifting toward him, but a moment later, whatever had grabbed her was severed by a strong gust of power, white and green wind wrapping around her form and pulling her back to the group of travelers. She hit the ground and stumbled backward, right into Syaoran.
"She's staying with us," the young man stated, holding his sword across them both, supporting the princess' weight with his left arm.
"So you have grown much more powerful than the last time we fought," Fei Wong Reed said, not sounding surprised. "But you cannot fight me forever." He raised his hand, and a single character flashed red.
Syaoran let the princess go, and she caught herself as he leapt in front of everyone, summoning a barrier of wind to stop the attack. Fire hit the shield, spraying in every which direction, blown about by the wind, until it finally dispersed and the attack ended. The wind shield also fell, and Syaoran was left panting, trying to regain his breath after that one attack.
"You know his attacks?" Fai said, placing a hand on Syaoran's shoulder to steady him.
The young man nodded. "Yes, I can read it to know what's coming, but I can't tell how powerful it's going to be."
"Much like how it is with my magic," Fai said, readying his hands. "What else can you tell me?"
"He's a master of Clow Reed's magical properties: Clow blended Eastern and Western magic- elemental magic and spells not based in elements, and so his repertoire is large. I... unfortunately can only lay claim to the Eastern portion of Clow's magic; most of what I know of the Western half are defensive things... binding spells... spells used for finding things... and even of the techniques of the Eastern magic I can use, only four elements are in any way powerful: Lightning, Wind, Fire, and Water. I can't use Earth, Metal, or Wood to much of any effect," Syaoran whispered to the mage, trying not to let Fei Wong hear any of it, though he knew their opponent was already aware of his weaknesses.
"And yet, from your explanation, it sounds like this 'Western' magic you speak of is much like mine," Fai replied, and Syaoran nodded. "Therefore, you fight with your best elements, and I will fight with my magic. Together, we might just be able to match him as between us we can channel both sides."
Fei Wong held his hand out, and symbols poured from it, turning about to wrap around his form, circling slowly. One suddenly grew larger, throwing itself out in the front, glowing yellow.
"Move!" Syaoran commanded, and everyone jumped out of the way as thunder cracked and the air buzzed with electricity and a lightning spell crashed between them all, blowing a hole in the wall behind them.
"He's just playing..." Kurogane grumbled, slowly shifting his position to the side, strafing in a circle to get towards the sorcerer's blind spot. He was caught by a wind from seemingly nowhere, and thrown effortlessly back to where his companions stood. The ninja growled and reclaimed his feet.
"We need to punch a hole in his magical defenses..." Syaoran noted, backing up slightly. "Physically is where we can win this fight."
A stream of characters struck out like a snake, and Syaoran raised his sword to deflect it. The letters wrapped around the blade of his sword and forcefully ripped it from his hands, sending it flying to the ground. The ribbon-like energy whipped back for Syaoran, and he met it with a fierce lightning attack. It hesitated for a moment, then broke right through the lightning, wrapping around the young man's throat and lifting him off the ground. He kicked and flailed, wrapping his hands around the burning magic, and attempting to pry it free.
Fai drew several characters and sent them to Kurogane; they wrapped around the ninja's sword, the blade glowing green, and he brought it down onto the ribbon. Sparks flew, and he growled with effort, until finally his sword broke through the bonds between the letters, and Syaoran fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"I see you finally realize the hopelessness of your situation..." Fei Wong said, mockingly.
Kurogane growled and charged, Fai behind him, casting a spell to aid his charge. The wind picked up again, but this time the ninja sliced right through it, again and again, until he finally hit the barrier of letters circling about the sorcerer. He brought his sword down as though to cut through it again, but it deflected him, violently, letters lashing out, piercing through his skin and body, picking him up and sending him backward until he the ground and stumbled, bleeding from numerous small, but deep stab wounds.
And suddenly Syaoran was there, leaping over the ninja's prone form, trying to take the sorcerer by surprise. For a moment, it looked like it would work, until the symbol for lightning appeared, right near Syaoran's torso, and with a violent flash of light, he too was cast aside. He landed gripping his stomach, fighting the violent, involuntary shaking of his muscles from the sudden electrical surge.
Again and again they charged, again and again they were deflected, coming away more exhausted, more wounded than before, and Fei Wong seemed to be none the worse for wear.
"Retreat now," the man stated, summoning up another stream of characters. "And you will all live- I am only after one thing..."
Syaoran stood, glaring the sorcerer down. "Bringing someone back to life..." He grunted, nearly falling back to his knees. "Is impossible! Even if you go back to the moment of their death, something will always happen."
"What would you know of these things, Xiao Lang?" the man said, the tiniest hint of anger touching his voice.
"I know... I know very well that the universe must remain in balance," He squeezed his eyes shut against another wave of muscle contractions, before staring down the older man before him. "And bringing someone back, defying their ultimate fate, it can't happen. Everyone... everyone will die one day. Death is a part of life. One day you will die, Fei Wong, for even if you can travel back in time using the princess' wings, time will continue to march on for you. I'll die some day, as will everyone else here. It happens, why try to fight it? Are you so weak you can't move on, can't accept and lay to rest the pain in your heart?!"
Fei Wong curled his lip at the young man, displeasure evident on his features. "You know nothing, Xiao Lang! Nothing! My dream will not only be able to bring those gone back, it will make me immortal!"
He looked at the princess. "Those wings... they won't make her immortal. They might extend her life span, as Fai's magic has, as your magic has, but they too will fade one day."
"And the power will be lost... will become useless... when I could easily make it so much more..." the older man said, looking up toward the sky.
"Wrong. Magic is inheritable, you've seen that," Syaoran retorted. "You are proof of that; I'm proof of that; Kinomoto is proof of that."
"But none of us," Fei Wong said. "Are as powerful as Clow." He waved his hand, and sent another attack at Syaoran. The fight was on again.
The young man avoided it once, once again, and then it caught him and threw him down. Another attack was sent out, and he raised his shield, this time being joined by several of Fai's letters, strengthening the shield. It held against the attack well, and as they both faded, Syaoran was running back for his sword.
Fei Wong frowned, tossing out attack after attack, which were either dodged or deflected by Fai and Syaoran's combined magics, until the young man had his sword once more.
He rolled out of it almost out of Fei Wong's peripheral vision, and the man turned toward him, putting Fai out of his range of vision. The corner of the magician's lips upturned, and he began preparing for an offensive spell.
Syaoran ran again, trying to turn the sorcerer's back to Kurogane as well, and the ninja, reading his intent, began slowly edging toward the mage. Another magical attack, another combined magical defensive, barely weathering the cripplingly powerful attack. The amber eyed young man stopped this time standing over the discarded star wand. Fei Wong's eyebrows edged up, almost as though surprised that had been his original destination.
The teenager picked the staff up, and paused as he felt the blood on the handle, tacky, gooey, but not yet fully dried. But... his heart throbbed in his chest. He could feel nothing from the staff. He knew it was hers, there was a residual signature of magic in it, but the magic didn't play over his arms, didn't twine with his, it sat stagnant and cold.
Slowly, Syaoran could feel his own heart absorbing that frigid signature, until every beat was slow, painful, sent freezing pain through his body.
"What... what did you do, Fei Wong..." He murmured, clenching the staff against his chest.
"I was... going to use her against you, force you to fight your beloved, but it seems as though... my secondary puppet has proven to be just as ineffective at his job as Xing Huo..." His hand came up with a snap, and Fai let a sharp cry as he was taken by surprise. Vines and branches erupted from the ground, wrapping around the mage's arms, stopping him in mid-spell, then around the rest of him, lifting him high into the air, and then began pulling outward. Again Fai cried out.
"You," Kurogane growled, deep voice suddenly lower, more gruff, like an animal's growl. "Stop."
Fei Wong Reed smiled and twisted his hand. Fai screamed.
Kurogane growled again, a feral snarl escaping his lips as he charged. Syaoran watched him, brown eyes dull, observing as the ninja, not magically protected, was rebuffed violently, and thrown to the ground before magic continued to lash into him.
"Syaoran-kun!" The princess' voice echoed in the room, temporary snapping him from his distraction. "Help them! You're the only one who can!"
He watched as the Ninja regained his feet, and rather than charging the sorcerer, he ran for the vines keeping the mage hostage, hacking away at them with his sword. But for every one he hacked through, two more sprang up and wrapped around the magician.
Syaoran took a deep breath and looked from the trapped mage to the guardian sorcerer, deciding his plan of action. Finally, he gathered his magic, his symbol swirling to life around his feet.
"RAITEI SHOURAI!" he yelled, and the lightning crashed into the wood binding the mage. Many of the branches broke, allowing Fai's hand just enough room to move, sketch out a quick spell. Almost immediately, the branches began to unwind, and the magician began to descend.
A glimmer caught Syaoran's eye and he turned to find Fei Wong holding his sword out, the handle hovering a few inches above his hand, the tip pointed at Fai. Power surged through the room, and it quickly overtook Fai's, the branches beginning to once again bind him. Syaoran frowned, and sent another lightning attack at the binds, blowing several of them apart, but like before, for every one he destroyed, two, three more grew in its place, until the magician was mostly buried under the twisting, writhing mass of branches.
Then the sword flew, screaming through the air at the little bit of Fai's upper torso exposed. Panicking, Syaoran did the first thing that came to mind - he summoned a blast of wind magic. The wind hit the sword, knocking it off course, but it still hit with the sickening sound of muscles and tissues cutting through the mage's stomach.
Fai screamed in pain, and Kurogane followed with a bellow of rage, his fury guiding his blade into a brutal strike against the branches. Syaoran turned from them, and attacked the sorcerer instead. The older man obviously saw it coming, but he did nothing to stop the mindless charge, even as the sword began to cut into his shield, cracking bits and pieces of the letters surrounding him, even after the boy screamed the incantation for his lightning attack and even more cracks formed in the defense.
Then, he moved, a single motion of his hand, and Syaoran was sent violently into a wall again. The young man recovered in enough time to watch as the sword was pulled from Fai's stomach, returning to its owner. Blood leaked from the corner of the mage's lips, and he stared for once angrily at the man holding him against his will.
And then the branches convulsed, twisting, cracking against each other, and Fai screamed, and suddenly everyone realized the cracking wasn't just the wood, it was his bones as the wood pulled on it.
The mage's cry faded into nothing, punctuated by the organic ripping and popping of his body being ripped brutally in half, then dropped carelessly to the ground.
-
A/N: Now watch as the one with no home to return to will return to nowhere and call it home.
It wasn't Christmas that delayed this chapter's coming. It was me being sick. Blegh. I'm better now, though, so on with the show!