Author's Note: Sorry for the extremely LOOONG wait. Please don't kill me for the short chapter.
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Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.
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*~* Chapter Eighteen *~*
To the Rescue
Mai-Tai nervously bit her bottom lip. Oh, this isn't good! This isn't good! Stuck in Yukio's armoire . . .
She strained to hear his movements inside of the room. She stifled a gasp as she heard his footsteps getting louder. He was coming her way!
Suddenly the right armoire door flew open, illuminating most it. Mai-tai pressed herself into a dark corner. She sucked in her chest as Yukio reached his arm inside to pull out a housecoat and put away his jacket.
Finally he closed the armoire door and retreated to his bed.
Mai-Tai let out a soft sigh. Now what? I might was well start looking. She began to dig around in the pockets of his jacket until her fingertips touched a chain. Is it . . .!
She pulled out a necklace and brought it close to her face. She could barely see in the dim light, but it had to be Sakura's necklace.
Okay . . . so I've got it, but how do I get out?
*~*
Hours later . . .
Alan glared at two guards as they opened the door to his dungeon cell. "What do you want?"
"It's time, traitor," muttered one of them.
"Time for what?"
The second guard took his arm roughly and hauled him off the ground. "Yukio is ready to use The Chamber."
Already? I wonder if Mai-Tai has given Sakura her necklace yet . . . "And what does this have to do with me?"
"YOU are going to watch." The guards placed thick shackles around his wrist. "Let's go."
The guards led him down into another part of the dungeon, one that was darker and nastier than the one he'd been in.
Alan's eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Yukio facing two giant glass tubes with a mean looking machine in between the two of them. In one tube stood a limp, lifeless person. A girl . . .
"Sakura!" gasped Alan. "What is she in there for?"
"How do you expect me to drain her magic? And don't worry- she's only drugged. She should wake up in a few hours, when it's all over."
"Sakura . . ."
"Everything's ready, my lord," said a man in a long white coat. "We can now begin."
"Good."
Alan could do nothing but watch as the glass split open and Yukio stepped inside the vacant tube. The glass closed around him.
The man in the white coat began to push buttons on the machine. A light fog filled both glass tubes.
"Here goes nothing . . ." muttered the guy. He pressed a flashing red button and took three huge steps back.
Alan closed his eyes as a bright light filled the room. Someone began to scream.
When Alan opened his eyes, the light was gone. But the screaming wasn't. It was then that he realized that Sakura was the one screaming.
She was pounding furiously on the glass around her as her power was slowly drained.
The white coat guy frowned. "Something's wrong . . . she's not supposed to be awake!"
*~*
Sakura began to feel dizzy. She tried to shake the feeling away- she had to get out of the tube.
The bounding was not working. She had to think of something else. But she was growing weaker and weaker. After a few minutes, she could barely think.
With no plan, Sakura sank to the bottom of the tube. She had failed. Yukio was draining her power away and she could do nothing to stop him.
Syaoran . . . I'm so sorry . . .
*~*
Alan could feel Yukio's power rising. This is not good . . . Where the hell is Li?!
As if on cue, an explosion rocked the castle.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" roared a guard in shock. The guards drew their swords.
Before anyone could say anything else, there was a blast right outside the walls of the room. Parts of the wall fell apart, letting in bright rays of light.
Alan grinned as a familiar figure entered the room with hundreds of men behind him. The few guards in the room were vastly outnumbered and put down their weapons.
Syaoran entered the room and turned to the man in the white coat who was cowering in a corner.
"Get her out of there, now!"
"Y-y-yes sir!" He ran over to the machine. "A-a-aborting mission . . ."
Alan sighed with relief as the tubes opened. Sakura fell out onto the ground. Alan went over to her and felt for her pulse. It was still there, but very faint.
"She's alright!" he called to Syaoran.
Syaoran nodded and turned his gaze to Yukio who was stepping out of his tube, a furious look on his face. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!!" he shouted.
Syaoran stepped forward. "I've come to officially challenge you to a duel of a sort. Winner takes all and anything goes."
Yukio glared at Syaoran, looked him up and down, then laughed. "Me? Fight you? Ha ha ha! What a laugh! With the energy I drained from Sakura, I will have no trouble defeating you!"
The man in the white coat timidly spoke up. "Ah, my lord . . . I'm afraid I have some bad news."
An exasperated Yukio turned to the man. "WHAT IS IT?"
"Uh . . . well, because I had to abort the mission and because Sakura resisted, I'm afraid you didn't get much of her magic."
Syaoran laughed. "Well, then, what do you have to say now?"
"That doesn't matter!" bellowed Yukio. "I can still take you on and win."
"Okay. How about we take this outside then?"
Author's Note: Please R+R.
