Wow...it's been a while...

I was going to wait and upload the whole story when it's done, but we all know with my gaps between chapters, that would take some time...

Enjoy :)

Diary Entry of Nathala B. Omerson

Tu Lang Li was the first General.

His son, Da Long Li, was the second. Then came TuMa Long Li, and now our current dictator – Xiao Lang Li.

Each had proved more tyrannical than the first. Each on a quest to rid themselves of more compassion than the first in the name of Utopia. But General Xiao Lang Li is probably the worst of his forefathers.

He brought us the walls. He brought us generational punishment, he brought us the citizen test, he brought us fear.

And now, he has brought a son into Utopia.

The rumor is they called his Syaoran.

In Mahr Bretain – we call him 'Ann Nyeg Callam' – The next Calamity.

A fitting name, for the child of the General.

If I ever got m hands on the child…

…I'd drown the bastard.

X x x

Seventeen Years Ago

If there was one thing he wished he could do, it would be to stop trembling.

His whole body shook so frustratingly hard, he even believed his organs wobbled.

A sweat broke out on his forehead. He shuffled nervously in his rigid shirt as his father, the General of the Tomoedan Military stood over him with two menacingly silent grey eyes staring down at him.

"Speak up, boy. I didn't hear you." The General said in a low voice that always terrified Syaoran. The lower his voice, the angrier he was.

Syaoran looked down and shuddered in his thin, ten-year-old, skinny frame. He parted his lips to repeat himself but his throat had gone dry. The fear had zapped any moisture from his mouth.

He shouldn't have said anything. He should have stayed silent. Syaoran was always better off staying silent. His mother was only dead a month, but things had deteriorated so rapidly.

"Speak!" His father barked.

"I…I.." He stuttered as tears began to pool around his eyes. "I…d-on't want t-to go to…to military school." He ended in a whisper.

The General kneeled down so that he was at eye level with his son. Syaoran flinched as he placed a huge hand on Syaoran's thin shoulder. When Syaoran looked up, his father's face was smooth with no trace of rage as he had expected.

"Syaoran," He said, which made Syaoran feel odd that the General acknowledged him so. "If you ever wish to whisper those words to me, or anyone again, then I suggest you go to the cliffs, and join your mother."

With that he stood up and dismissed his son.

Syaoran felt his heart sink, and his fate seal.

His father did not beat him. He didn't have to - Mizuki did it for him. She showed no mercy as he was beat into silence, into submission.

Syaoran had no mother to comfort him now. She was gone. All kindness was gone now.

And Syaoran would questions nothing and follow orders in the name of Utopia…

…until he met Sakura.

X x x

Sakura's breath held tightly in her lungs until the echo of the gunshot rang out into silence.

In the barely lit basement, her numb body struggled to move. She replayed the moment over and over again.

Why did he choose to save me? Should I have left him there? Should I go back? Was that single moment hope for Toya to come back?

Sakura felt a knot in her stomach and it wrung tightly. Her body willed itself to turn around. Her hand was on the steel handrail, her legs positioned to race back up the stairs she just came down from.

The loud static of the radio startled her. She swallowed hard and brought it to her lips.

"Yue?" she rasped into it and waited for a response.

"…are you….n there?" She heard him say worryingly slowly.

"Yeah. Do you have the map?"

"Where's Toya? I lost you both on the camera." He said not seeming to hear her question. "Did he hurt you?"

Sakura squeezed the radio and bit her lip to the point of pain before answering as surely as she could. "No he...he got distracted by Mizuki."

Yue was silent for a moment; he kept his emotion out of his voice. "You have to…keep going. It's only you we can…trust now."

Sakura swallowed again and pried her hand off the handrail. It really was just her now. Her, Syaoran, and the fate of Tomoeda.

On the other end of the line Yue gritted his teeth with the dwindling strength he had left. A cadet dabbed his forehead with a concerned face as Yue's complexion became paler and paler, almost grey. Yue swatted the boy away and heaved himself onto his feet. The two cadets caught either side of him as his leg gave way and he was frighteningly conscious of the blood slowly oozing out of his narrow body.

Yue pointed a finger at the map on the table and the cadets wordlessly unrolled it form him.

"Ok, do you see two gas tanks in front of you?" He asked.

Sakura switched her flashlight on and it beamed towards the two seven-foot-tall tanks.

"Go left of them and then the first right. You should reach it in seconds."

Sakura pushed her feet forward. Almost too quickly, Sakura was met with the sight she had feared for weeks now.

It was not as tall as her mind had thought it would be. But it was fat at the top with clunky bolts holding the sleek grey pointed top together. It stood silent, waiting with the bright silver moonlight brushed against its metal skin through the open roof twenty feet above it. It lay on a slant with its nozzle biased towards the West.

She had never imagined it like that.

Weapons of destroyers…that what teachers and history book had taught her. A monstrosity of the former world created and abused by a lesser civilization.

And yet, one stood here.

In Utopia.

"Do you see it?" Yue asked.

"Yes." Sakura answered and exhaled slowly.

"And?"

"It's…ugly."

"Can you get onto the bridge in front of it?" He said.

Sakura rushed around the glass door and slid the key card in the slot. The glass doors peeled back and before her lay a small metal bridge that reached towards it. Below it lay a twenty-foot drop.

"Ok I'm here now. What's next?" She asked when she stood in front of the control pad. Some dials were blinking at even intervals and others rapidly flickering in a nauseous green.

"Open the square door." Sakura used the screwdriver he had handed her earlier and began to pry the door back. With great difficulty, the door burst open, snapping the screwdriver in half.

"I'm in." She huffed as she looked at the assortment of wired and dials inside. "Wait, why am I in this? All the controls are on the counter." She asked confused.

"Is the timer on?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"Yes," She replied, looking at the blinking digital clock. "it says two hours, so we've lots of time to disable it, right?"

She thought she heard a small sigh from the other end. Yue closed his eyes for a second, wishing it was Syaoran he was saying this to and not her.

"Ok, I have some bad news." He confessed.

Sakura gritted her teeth as an anxious feeling gripped her chest.

"What…"

Yue hesitated. "There is no way to stop it from going off."

Sakura's legs went numb and she fell to her knees. "What do you mean, Yue?" She asked with anger on the edge of her tongue. "So, this was all for nothing!?"

"I didn't say that. We can't disable it, not when the timer is off. Maybe in the former world they could, but the scientists in Tomoeda were doing guess work most of the time, filling in gaps."

"So, what do we do!?" Sakura panicked. "We don't have a password!"

Yue took a second to concentrate. He could feel himself becoming weaker and weaker. His mind was fuzzing as the ragged attempts of a bandage by the cadets tried to hold him together. There was no way to guess the keycode. There were numbers and codes scribbled on the bomb design layouts, but who knew which one was right? And what if there was an attempt limit? What is one wrong code set the bomb odd immediately and engulfed them both?

"Ok," Yue said coming back to her. "We can't stop it. It's going to go off no matter what."

Sakura clenched her hands in fear and panic.

"But we can redirect it." He said.

Sakura loosened her grip on her hair and with shallow breathing she said. "We can? Do you think it's possible?"

"It's our only choice." Yue pointed to the other maps at his feet and the cadets swooped them up and laid the maps on the true Tomoeda on display.

"So, we can change the direction toward the sea? Or an un-populated area." Sakura said. "We need to change the direction to South, more southern than here so it can drop into the sea."

"No, we can't." Yue rebuttled.

"Why not? It's the easiest way to ensure it doesn't hit land or people."

"Because that thing is already at a slant towards the West. If we attempt to loop it back, it might just fall on top on us and wipe out the South. No one has evacuated here."

"Well then what do you suggest?"

"We need to not change its direction too much. It could spin out of control. We need to push it as far out as possible." Yue hunched himself over the desk and grabbed the circumference. He made a wide circle with the rough estimate of the bomb's projectile, his bloodied fingers shook.

"What about further West? Into the barren lands and across the coast there?"

"It may run out of fuel and fall. Even in the Western wastelands, there are still hundreds of people."

"We can't push it to the East, not with the Kaito islands scattered along the Eastern cost. Not to mention the high population there."

Yue nodded but didn't answer, he was almost finished making the circle and when he did, he was faced with a difficult result.

"North." He whispered so low Sakura could barely hear.

"North…?" She repeated.

"About seven miles behind the palace is the North Tomoedan sea. There is a sharp dip in the coast. It should just about…just about make it."

Sakura began to shake her head. "Yue…everyone we know is up there…we can't, we can't risk it on 'just enough'-"

"Sakura." Yue said sharply, the urgency of his injury pushing him to make sure his last deed was to save Tomoeda. "You need to think logically. It's the only spot where it can land in sea."

Sakura's blood ran from her cheeks. North…she couldn't send a bomb up there with the faint chance it lands.

"Almost everyone we know is up there…Madison, Eriol, my dad…Syaoran…If we're wrong, even by a few miles…" He heart pounded with the weight of the decision. A decision she knew she'd have to follow through with.

"I know…"Yue said in a surprisingly soft tone. "You are the one down there. Only you are in the position to make the call."

Sakura swallowed and felt the pressure begin to buckle her. Yue would not mention it if there was any other way. It was either to knowingly kill millions, or save everyone…if the logistics were correct. Her heart pounded.

"Ok." She said as confidently as she could.

"Ok, so do as I tell you."

Sakura followed his instructions word for word until she heard a click from below her feet followed by crunching noises. She retreated quickly back to the safely behind the glass and watched as the platform began to rotate clockwise and stop sharply with a snap.

"I think…I think that's it." She said into the radio. "S=should I wait?"

"We've done all we can," Yue said. "Come back up now. We need to get out of here."

Sakura didn't waste a moment as she took up the stairs two at a time with her heart racing. Toya's fate played heavily on her mind as she burst out of the basement and towards the way she came. As she approached the hallway she kept close to the wall, sliding her hand against the cool surface. She saw two dents is the corner of the wall, Mizuki's two bullets which had just about missed her.

Her hand trembled as she listened intently for signs of life. Her ears pricked at the sound of breathing – no – wheezing. Sakura pressed herself tightly against the wall and peered a green eye to the scene. Her blood froze at the sight of blood seeming to glow a sickening red even here in the dark corridors. A blood trail fell in a slant to where its source panted and wheezed.

Sakura rose and swallowed at the unclear silhouette with its head hung low below its shoulders.

"Toya…"

X x x

An hour earlier

Toya looked down at his sister, who clutched the key card with indecision on her face.

He gave her a subtle nod. Her brows furrowed as she looked from him to Mizuki before breaking into a dash. Mizuki fired two shots that narrowly missed Sakura. Mizuki cursed and took a lunge towards Sakura's direction.

Her path was blocked as Toya, swifter with his newfound purpose side-stepped in her way. Toya had no time to comprehend why he decided to let her go. Perhaps it was his mother's hallucinations.

Mizuki halted and gritted her teeth before her annoyance turned into a mocking smile.

"How noble of you. Although you know the only thing you've achieved is buying her a few more precious moments before death."

Toya smirked and shrugged. "I figured you may want some alone time with me before you die. We don't need any more interruptions."

Mizuki pursed her lips, entertained. "No, we don't."

They began to circle each other in a sort of confined dance. Neither of them seeming to want to take the initiative to draw weapons just yet.

"You could have been something more, you know?" Mizuki said casually while keeping her hand firmly on her gun. "Had I been the one to take you in, trained you, you could have been a leader in Tomoeda. Not a false king of savages."

"Is that why you kept me alive all those years ago? To make me a carbon copy of Meiling?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh Toya, I would have made you so much better than her. Too bad your parents ruined any chance you had of becoming anything great. Had they been good little citizens, I would have made you great. A great tragedy."

Toya restrained himself not to rise to Mizuki's taunts. "Seems I was a great enough threat without your unwanted mentorship. And if I die, at least I die a king of something."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

Toya smirked; his eyes darkened. "You think you're the only one who keeps tabs? How tough it must have been for you, working under the General, slaving a way to fight his wars, keep his people in line and never quite getting the credit you deserved?"

Mizuki's jaw clenched.

"Must kill you to know that this is all you will ever be. And you'll sit there and watch as the General's son takes what's yours. Always the Lieutenant General, never the…well, need I say more?"

"And you will die today a pathetic and failed rebel whose name will be erased and lost in history as I wipe you and the reminder of your degenerate family out of existence."

"You know, I've always wondered…why?" he continued and slowed to a halt, ignoring Mizuki's threats. "Why you didn't kill my mother and me that night. For years I thought it was pity. But then I realised that you don't harbour such emotions. And again, at the Peace Ball, you had your chance. You had me right there and again – you spared me."

Mizuki tilted her head back a fraction and regarded him with growing content. "I didn't feel like a fair fight. You were injured and I was merely being just."

"No." Toya said and his dark eyes glistened. "You haven't killed me yet because you don't want to." He shrugged. "I'll commend you on keeping your Utopia tightly secure. But you almost did too good of a job, didn't you? You grew bored and the General was always going to keep you subordinate. You wanted me to live, you wanted me to come back to kill you. You didn't kill me because I was the only thing keeping you alive."

Her eyes narrowed. "You really do flatter yourself." Mizuki sorted followed by a short laugh.

"Hunting me this past decade is the only think keeping you going. What would you do Mizuki, without me?" He mocked and pushed the dark brown strands of hair from his eyes.

"Oh Toya, if that's true, then you and I are more similar than I could have thought."

"You and I are nothing alike." He said sharply. "I will be more than you ever will once I am in control of Tomoeda-"

"Oh, spare me the dramatics." She laughed. "You care for those savages as little as I do. All of this, all of your plotting and sneaking and scheming is far from noble as you pretend it is." Mizuki laughed. "It's not about justice for you, is it? No. It's about me."

"Now who's flattering themselves?" Toya was taken aback by her words. His fists began to clench.

"You were a scared little boy who got his mommy killed. The guilt must have just crushed you." She smiled with a sickening delight in her eyes to recall such events. "No mother, no cause, father locked up, sister in custody of the state. You had nothing, no real purpose. So, you swore to avenge her. You made that your purpose. How cute. But even if you did kill me, it won't bring her back. Trust me, I fired the shot." Her eyes pierced him now under the moonlight. "And I didn't miss."

Toya's anger began to flair again.

"So, you see, we are actually quite similar. Admittedly, we both do need each other. You need me because without me, you are just that terrified little boy crying over his dead mother."

Toya's growled deep in his chest. Mizuki knew how to trigger him, even after all this time.

"Although there is one thing, we can both agree on." She said softly, almost a whisper. "I will miss you when you're gone." Mizuki sighed with a feigned look of sorrow across her face. "I guess I'll get over that. But I must say, I've enjoyed our little dance over the past decade. But I think it's time that came to an end."

"Yes, I think it is. Should be a fair fight though, shouldn't it?" He replied, eyeing her gun.

They had a stare-off for a moment before they both discarded their guns in favour of fists.

Toya lunged first. He grabbed Mizuki by the shoulders and pushed back with a burst of force. Mizuki was not easily thrown off balance and managed to ground her feet. They came to a halt and Mizuki ducked under Toya's swing.

They grappled back and forth until the exhaustion of repelling Toya's blows began to ware her out. She unsheathed her pocket dagger and sliced at Toya's calf. He let out an exasperated gasp and buckled to his knees. He didn't look down at the blood beginning to pour from the wound.

Mizuki smiled, finally gaining the upper hand. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"I expected more." She said and tucked loose strand of red hair behind her ear. Mizuki's clean composure had unravelled in the fight. Her uniform buttons were ripped. Her hair had come loose and dishevelled and she appeared as wild as Toya had ever seen her before.

Mizuki played with the knife in her right hand.

"I thought this was going to be a fair fight?"

"You should know me better than that by now." She purred.

Toya tried and failed to rise to his knees. Before he could look up, Mizuki was on top of him. He felt his head crack against rubble and glass on impact. She straddled him and held his arms up. Her eyes were deranged with the tiny blood vessels weaving across the whites in her eyes.

"Not our first time here, is it?" She rasped and placed her knife back into its sheathe. She brought her fist down heavily across his face. She punched his twice more until his struggle against her had weakened.

She sat back and looked down at the blood and red across his face. She grabbed his collar and with tremendous strength, she lifted him so that he was sitting facing her. One eye was beginning to swell shut and the other could barely keep itself half open.

They stared at each other on the ground for the longest time. Blood dripped from Toya's wound which were startlingly more serious than the cuts and gashes he had inflicted on Mizuki.

Mizuki's eyes scanned over his face with intensity.

Her bloodied knuckles loosened as a hand stroked his bruising face with a face that had a mixture of sorrow and glee.

"I really will miss you." She whispered and brought her lips down onto his. Toya did not stir nor attempt to struggle against her kiss. She tasted the blood from his lips and felt a bolt of deranged excitement, like a hunter that had finally caught its prey. There was a moment of stillness.

Mizuki's eyes burst open as a shot of pain exploded from her stomach. Her breath caught and she did not scream. She removed her lips and wide-eyed, she looked from his face which now was twisted in dark glee – to her knife which was plunged into her gut.

Had the pain not been too severe, she would have placed a hand over the knife, which Toya had unsheathed in their intimate moment.

Mizuki trembled as gasps of pain escaped her throat.

She backed away from him – clutching her wound. Blood began to spill between her fingers. She pressed herself against the wall and dipped down. Toya brought himself to his feet. It was time to end this.

He took a step forward and Mizuki grabbed her gun out of the rubble beside her.

"I don't lose. I never lose." She said through gritted teeth and pain as she cocked the gun.

"There's a first time for everything." Toya said.

He lunged and Mizuki fired the gun. It only managed to stop him for a split second as Toya threw himself onto her. The gun knocked out of Mizuki's hand and this time, Toya had her pinned.

"I could let you bleed out." He toyed as his hands gripped around her neck. "But I want this to be more…personal." His hands squeezed in tremendous anger and rage. Toya became possessed. He felt all the anger from all these years catch up with him for this single moment. All the pain, all the suffering and hate he felt gripped him with so much intensity he lost control.

He was so angry. Angry at Mizuki for murdering his mother, angry at his father for not protecting them, angry at Sakura for her betrayal, at Eriol for standing in his way, at Yue for not standing by him, angry at every cadet and soldier and easterner and savage and royal he could think of.

But most of all, he was angry at himself. He was ashamed, lonely, furious, heartbroken and …he hated himself. His rage exploded inside of him and his hands left Miuki's neck and formed fists. He brought them high above his head and crushed them down on Miuki's petrified face. Her hand shot up in a feeble attempt to shield her face. Her mouth opened to scream.

He struck her. He struck her again and again and again – not stopping even at the sounds of bone cracking and blood splatter.

He howled and roared as his fists hit to the point where he didn't even know if he was striking Mizuki or the ground below her. Her body convulsed under him but it did not shake him from his rage.

Memories flashed before him of a petrified child in the midst of riots and violence. The fear as his mother's body dropped lifelessly beside him. The shame and silent anger in Fujitaka's eyes when they brought him home from prison. The confusion in a young Sakura's eyes as she looked for the mother Toya had killed.

The anger and the pain brought tears to his eyes as he thrashed Mizuki's unmoving body beneath him. He hated himself. He hated himself. He hated himself.

In the rage of blood before him, a flash of silver graced his mind.

Toya's beating slowed into stillness.

Yue…

He slumped over Mizuki's corpse, heaving. His hands were saturated.

Yue… he thought again.

His heart tightened. The one thing that had kept him from going over the edge for all this time. Yue had never judged him on what had happened, on what he did. Yue was a pillar, someone who stitched his wounds, talked him from destroying himself, and loved him even while knowing everything.

And Toya had rejected him. Toya had made him leave. And when he pushed Yue away, that's when he began to lose him mind.

Worse than that, he had stabbed him.

"Yue…" He said aloud. "Yue…"

There was no reply.

Toya looked down at the aftermath of his work. Mizuki was unrecognizable were it not for the red locks, sticky and matted to the ground with her blood. Her face was beaten unrecognizable, face caved in and stomach-turning.

Toya waited for something…anything that signalled he was redeemed. Redemption did not come to him as he looked down at Mizuki. All these years he thought about - fantasized about this moment. His mother was avenged was she not? Yet he felt no peace or satisfaction.

In that moment, Toya wished for nothing more than Yue and his silent embrace. His unjudgmental kiss. Toya thought he could smell him, but this was just an illusion.

Then, he felt a shot of pain below his ribs.

In his rage, he had suppressed the pain from Mizuki's bullet. But he felt it now. It tore through his body, ripping organs inside.

He pushed himself off Mizuki and struggled to his feet. He slumped against the wall but commanded his legs to move.

Yue… he thought.

He had to reach him. He had to beg for forgiveness. In this moment he felt clarity like never before. He needed Yue, he had to get to him. He must...he must…

Toya's vison became hazy. His legs betrayed him and he stopped. His body slumped down.

He closed his eyes and wondered if this is where death would take him.

X x x

Syaoran's car skidded to a stop.

He had imagined getting into the North would prove much more complicated. But he was astonished to see that the soldiers had abandoned their posts and citizens – Northern, Western or other – were fleeing and rioting over official borders. He had never seen Tomoeda – Utopia – in such chaos.

The North-Western wall had collapsed and widened since the early morning.

He had abandoned his soldiers cap and jacket as to blend in with the rioters. Besides, he still did not know where he stood with the military. Who know how much Meiling and Mizuki turned former comrade's into enemies?

Syaoran turned his head towards the palace, where smoke and bullets seemed to be centralized. Behind the Palace, there was a small military HQ for Royal security. He was certain his father was there.

Syaoran felt his heart begin to beat strong, hard beats with the uncertainty of what was to come. He had not realized how hard he was squeezing his fists until the nails imprinted sharply into his palm.

You have no choice…you must do it. You must do it for her.

X x x

Tomoyo and Eriol finally made it into the Palace dining hall but were greeted with a shocking encounter.

Under the broken chandelier, Nathala stood in the middle of Western rebels. She and the rebels were surrounded and outnumbered by palace guards who had their rifles raised.

The Palace Guards were not military, they were an independent branch who served to protect the royal family.

They were not all alone. Wounded and injured victims of the war were scattered among them with nurses and doctors frantically trying to tend to the serious.

As soon as Eriol and Tomoyo came into view, half the guards had switched their aim to them.

"Release Queen Tomoyo or we shall fire." One of them bellowed.

"Lower your weapons." Eriol fired back and took a step forward.

A warning shot skidded near Eriol's feet but he did not retreat.

"Stop!" Tomoyo interjected with frightened eyes. "There are wounded people here! Put down your weapons!"

"Is that an order, your Majesty?" He asked her.

Tomoyo realized in that moment that miraculously…she may have still had power, therefore, may still be of use. The guards served the royal family, and Tomoyo was not formally de-crowned…or beheaded yet.

"Yes," She said and straightened her back. "Eriol, tell them to lower their weapons, too."

Eriol looked at her uneasy and stern.

"Do you really think here is a time for a fight and a shoot-off?" She said angrily.

After a tense moment, he nodded at Biscon, who lowered his gun in a truce.

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

Suddenly all, including Eriol, a scowling Nathala and an injured Fujitaka, looked to Tomoyo for orders. Tomoyo wanted to look to Eriol, he was a leader, Tomoyo had thought she had played her part. But it seemed that was not finished.

She listened to the screams and cried though the muffled walls on the outside. The battlefield raged on.

"We need to create a neutral territory…" She said, testing how her commands sounded. All looked to her, waiting for her to go on. She looked at Eriol, who nodded, encouraging and supporting her to go on. He gave her confidence to continue.

"If we open up the side gates, we should let refugees in to at least seek shelter until Palace grounds are stabilized.

"From which side of the wall, your Majesty?"

"Doesn't matter. Just no weapons from the outside in. Split yourselves up and keep guard."

They went to action and Tomoyo felt a dizzying power and confidence take over. Eriol gave her hand a subtle squeeze before joining Biscon to regroup.

Tomoyo scanned the dining room with worry as injured and bloodied suffered on the hard Palace floor.

"You, there." She said to a passing nurse who was carrying dirtied towels and a bloodied basing of water. Her blonde waves glued to her pale cheeks with sweat and dirt.

"Your Majesty." She said with a frantic bow. Her light blue eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

"What's your name and tell me the situation with hospitals."

"Shinomoto Akiho, Your Majesty. Tomoeda North General hospital is open, although struggling with the influx of patients. I came from there earlier to transport those on the battlefield over, but it's impossible to get through the fighting now."

Not good. Tomoyo thought and tried not to let the panic display across her face. On the outer perimeter of the Palace there were innocents trying to dodge the war.

"I will order some guards to clear a path for you. If they succeed, will you go with them? It's important the hospitals stay open."

"Of course, Your Majesty." She replied with anxiety creeping into her voice.

Tomoyo didn't blame her. Who would want to venture outside the safety of the wall? As Akiho left with some guards, Tomoyo felt a wave of hopelessness crash onto her. All she could do now was remain strong in front of her people and pray…pray that Sakura and Syaoran had dismantled the bomb-

"Tomoyo," Eriol said, appearing behind her.

"Eriol, we need to disperse the-" Tomoyo cut herself as she heard boots come into the dining hall.

"Syaoran?" She said in disbelief as the guards and western rebels dragged him in and pushed him to the floor. She almost didn't recognise him in his simple civilian clothing and the ash blotting on his skin.

He pushed himself off the ground and felt a rifle's nozzle bury into the nape of his neck. He looked like he'd been through hell and back…and wanted to retun.

"The General's son," The rebel announced and glared down at Syaoran. "He just showed up here, barging in. We could hold him for ransom?"

"Put down your weapon." Eriol growled to the rebel.

"Syaoran," Tomoyo said, stepping forward. "I don't understand, I thought you were South? Where's Sakura?"

Syaoran staggered to his feet and brushed the dirt and ash from his knees. "With luck, she's heading east to get shelter from the bomb. No time to explain, I need to get to the base behind the Palace?"

Eriol stepped forward. "That place is swarming with Military still, it's their last stronghold. Once we've cleared the Palace perimeter and the main battlefield, we can take care of that. It can wait until then-"

"No, it can't." Syaoran said with urgency.

When they both stared at him with uncertainty, he leaned in. "There's another bomb."

Tomoyo's face paled and Eriol's hardened as Syaoran told the about the second bomb and the military's plan.

"How do you know it's definitely there?" Eriol asked.

"Because it's where the General is." He replied with certainty.

Tomoyo closed her eyes and mulled over the nauseating news while trying to see a possible solution in her power.

"What about a full-on ambush?" Eriol said.

"The General would set the bomb off before we even get close. Besides, we barely have enough rebels fighting out there as it is. We can' pull any more fighters away." Syaoran reasoned.

"You'll have to go in quietly, through the tunnels." Tomoyo said and brought her fingers to her temples to think.

"The tunnels reach that far?"

"Yes, but no doubt they'll be guarded."

"Myself and a small group will go with you." Eriol said and didn't look at Tomoyo's concerned eyes.

"Eriol-"

"He's the only one who could get the furthest." Eriol told her. "Assuming the whole military hasn't turned against you?" He said turning his attention to Syaoran.

"I don't know how far the news of my treachery spread. But you're right, if anyone can get to the General…it's me."

Although I'm not sure if even I can stop him…

"In that case, meet me in ten by the tunnel's entrance. I'll round up some men."

Tomoyo wanted to protest, but she knew it was futile…and selfish to beg her lover not to throw himself into danger when the fate of Tomoeda rested on it.

"Tomoyo…" Syaoran said, grabbing her elbow.

Syaoran's eyes blazed with adrenaline…and fear.

"If something happens…" He began. "If I get to my father but something happens...Will you…Sakura…"

Tomoyo placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "I'll make sure she is safe." She smiled softly. "But…let's make sure it shan't come to that."

Syaoran tried to return her confidence, but just nodded weakly. The thoughts of not returning to her, of letting Sakura down…it turned his stomach, he couldn't think of it. He had to return to his wife.

"And Syaoran," She called as he turned away. She looked at him in the eye, "You are more than the man your father ever gave you credit for. I know that, your men know that, and so does Sakura. Remember that."

Whatever issues Tomoyo had with her father, Syaoran's was another altogether. If Syaoran failed, it would more likely be fear, than bullets.

Syaoran paused and let her words fall on his ears. His amber eyes flickered towards the ground for a moment, before he nodded and left, his spine a little straighter.

He would put his issues with his father to rest. And he would return to Sakura, with his demons slayed.

Or at the very least, a bullet through the General's head.

X x x

Diary Entry of Nathala B. Omerson

Let the slaughter me if they wish.

They can't slaughter the rage of the watchers.

X x x

"Toya!" She screamed and fell to her knees before him.

Sakura dropped the radio and clutched his shoulders, shaking him in desperation. "Toya no! Wake up! Toya, wake up!"

A small moan came from his lips.

"Toya, Toya please. I'm begging you please!"

An eye hazily opened and struggled to land on her face. A half smile crept on his face. But it was not a smirk, the one she was use to which would send chills down her spine. It was sincere, one of relief.

"Thank God." She said with relief washing over her. "Thank God. Come on, let's go. You need to get to a hospital."

Toya grabbed her arm. He began to shake his head.

"Sa…kura…" He breathed and moved his hand from where he was clutching his wound.

Sakura's stomach knotted at the sight. The wound was deep...fatal.

"I don't think…I'm gonna make this one...sis…"

Tears began to prick in her eyes. She noticed his bloodied and bruised fists. She looked to her left and saw a body lying there. Most of its head was beaten inwards and Sakura thought she'd get sick. The red hair sprawled out like twisting tentacles gave away the identity.

She bit her lip and placed a hand on her chest. Fingers softly touched her chin and brough her face up. Toya was smiling, there was something reassuring about it.

"Why…are you…crying?" He asked in the softest voice she has ever heard coming from his mouth.

Sakura cried harder and placed a hand on his wrist, leaning into his bloodied hand. Tears spilled over her eyelids.

"B-because…" She sobbed. "You're my big brother…and I ….and I don't want you to-to go…I don't want you to die…"

His thumb stoked her cheek and his face fell solemn.

"You've done…just fine…by yourself. "He wheezed." …and I know you'll be just fine…without me."

Sakura began to shake her head but unable to produce words between her tears.

"I…see it now." He said. "You. You're just like…mom. You have her strength…her kindness…and courage." A smile spread on his face. It fractured her heart. "I…always wanted to have that… she would be…so proud…" He coughed and took a moment to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, Sakura... I wasn't there…for you…when you needed me."

Sakura took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "Don't be sorry, Toya. I only ever wanted you to be happy. I wanted…I wanted you back to…to how you were…"

The lump in her throat chocked her. All she wanted was to have Toya back. The brother she knew was still in there, the one that she never gave up on…but not like this. Not when he was about to leave her.

It was then – seeing Sakura, her warm touch that felt something wash over him. Perhaps this was what he was searching for. He felt lighter, or perhaps that was the blood loss. All this time he had obsessed with his mother's death, perhaps he could have found forgiveness in his last act – by protecting Sakura.

Toya smiled; he knew he hadn't much time left. He lifted his hand with difficulty and pointed towards the radio.

"Yue…"

Sakura lifted it and pressed the button for him.

"Yue…" He said with as much strength as his weakening body would allow him.

On the other side of the mic, Yue thought he was hallucinating Toya's voice. But then he heard it again.

"Yue…"

Yue's eyes, heavy – opened themselves. He looked towards the radio perched at the far end of the table. He had sent the cadets away a long time ago. He had refused to go with them. Not until Sakura was out.

It was him; it was Toya's voice.

Yue could not move, he was too weak, lost too much blood.

"Yue…I don't have much time left."

Toya laughed a short laugh. "I always make things…difficult…for us…don't I?"

Yue felt a new adrenaline hit him and he pushed himself off the table and crawled towards the radio.

"I just wanted…to tell you…how sorry I am. I died a long time ago…but you…you saved me. You loved me…when I was at my worst…and I let you down."

Yue's hand grabbed the radio. Pain shot through his body but he ignored it. "Toya." Yue groaned in pain but pushed forward. "Shhh…save your strength."

"I was just so…so angry…at everything…about what I did…about mom. I thought…if I could kill Mizuki, I could…make things right…I thought I was doing…what mom would have wanted…"

Yue's chest tightened. The weakness in Toya's voice petrified him. "I know, I know, Toya…"

"I told you that we'd be together…eventually…I let you down."

Tears streamed down Yue's cheeks. He could not bring himself to speak, even if he wanted to.

"And I'm sorry." Toya continued. "It took so long…to realise what you meant…to me. What you still mean to me…please...forgive me…I love you…always…"

Toya's head tilted up. Sakura looked at him with mouth agape. But Toya was not looking at her, he was looking past her, at something she could not see.

A smile spread across his face. If it was merely a hallucination, Toya would welcome it in his final moment.

Nadeshiko stood among the rubble with a hand extended towards him. Toya didn't know if he was moving, but he felt himself drift towards her. He felt a warmth he had not felt in years, and he willingly let himself be embraced by it.

Sakura held onto his hand until the last breath left him. She leaned forward with her body shaking and took him into her arms. She looped her arms around her neck and sobbed loudly, not caring if nearby soldiers would find her. Her fists weaved into her brother's hair and she shook with shock and oncoming grief.

It was not meant to be this way.

"Sa..kura…" She heard Yue say.

"Yue…" She cried. "He…he's gone."

In his fading consciousness, Yue felt a severe pain stab through his heart. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe – and maybe even how to think. His hand slipped from his side and dangled from the side of his chair.

"Yue?" Sakura said in quieter voice.

His pale eyes flickered from the ceiling down to his wound. His pain dulled and he felt an emptiness begin to fill him. His love was dead, and he feared he may have taken a part of him too.

Yue gathered the last of his strength to do one final thing before the world decided to take him.

"Sakura," He managed to say into the radio with a calmness. "You need to go, now."

Sakura swallowed and looked at Toya's still body. A chill shuddered up her spine at the silence around her. "We can't just leave him."

"We don't know if that bomb will explode. Please, Sakura, you have to get out of there. It's…" Yue paused. "It's what Toya would have wanted."

Sakura looked into the vacant stillness of Toya's eyes, almost expecting his slumped head to nod.

"I'm coming to get you." She said and rose to her feet.

"No!" Yue answered and looked down at his sweater, blood drying into the gaps in the thread. "No…" He repeated in a calmer tone. "I'm…I'm with the cadets." He lied. "They're taking me further South. There's a bunker near here for safekeeping. You just go east. It's safer there. I'll meet you after."

Sakura bit her lip. "But Yue-"

"Sakura, there isn't time. I'm leaving now. And Sakura…" He trailed off, knowing it may very well be the last time he spoke to her. And it would be lie.

"Yes?"

"...take care…"

Sakura heard the radio dial in dead. She called his name a few times, but she was met with silence. A bang followed by footsteps echoed in the distance. The sun had gone down and Sakura clenched her jaw. She brought her eyes to Toya one last time.

She could not bring herself to verbalize parting words. So instead, she planted a soft kiss on his forehead – letting strands of his hair tickle her nose and his scent linger there. She wiped away a tear before with great strength – she departed.

She was protected under the guise of night when she broke through the front doors and into the courtyard. Fresh air bore into her lungs.

Two cadets turned around in shock and raised their rifles. When Sakura came to view, they lowered them.

"Ms. Kinomoto, we've been looking for you!"

One of the cadets hopped into the jeep while the other opened the door for her. "Lieutenant Colonel Li instructed us to bring you to the East where some refugees are seeking shelter. We can be there in forty minutes."

"No." Sakura said threw herself into the passenger seat. She had watched one man she loved die in this war, she wouldn't watch another do the same.

"We're heading North."

X x x

Two chapters left...