A Cherry Blossom's Death
OMG! Nooo way! Second last chapter UP! ::squeals:: Things are finally looking up! It's kinda sad though…it's almost finished…unless I do a sequel. ::Looks around eagerly::…anyone want a sequel? Yes…sequel?! Anybody? lol.
::snorts:: are you kidding? Me own CCS? Yer, pull the other one.
Final Showdown: Part b (::sniffz:: Part B!!! and then the final chapter and…and…::bursts into tears:: WAAAH!)
~ * ~ * ~
For the longest time, Li Syaoran never took his eyes off the deadly girl before him as she scowled at him, then straightened her face in a cunning smile.
"You're mine Li Syaoran!"
For a tiny millisecond, he hesitated, wondering if he could ever hurt the girl he loved most of all. But he never backed away from a challenge, and this one was the biggest challenge of all. @ Sakura, I hope you forgive me @ He withdrew his sword, then positioned himself in a defensive stance. He'd let Seria begin the battle. Without missing a beat, instead of using her magic to conjure something up to hurt him, she dove toward him with a sword of her own, aiming for his heart. Syaoran just managed to block it in time, and thrust out his sword to keep Seria's own blade from piercing flesh. He pushed her sword away and she jumped back, then began her attack again. They were a blur, attacking and deflecting each movement, analyzing each other's attacks. It was a battle that neither of them wanted to lose…and neither would give up.
~ * ~ * ~
@ Okay Meiling, you can do this@ she assured herself, running down the hall through the rooms. First she had to find where Seria had kept Eriol, but her magic wasn't trained enough to sense him without Syaoran. And it seemed like Syaoran would be busy against Seria. @Deep breaths@ she cautioned herself, careening around a corner. @ You can make it @
Too bad she was only half-assured.
~ * ~ * ~
With an enraged battle-cry, Seria plunged forward again, her eyes fierce. He dodged her attack and just managed to keep from falling to the ground when he lost his balance as he ducked away. She noticed it, and grinned again. "You'll tire soon enough." He raised his arms over his head and brought the sword down, but she managed to block it. Syaoran swallowed. In this position, Seria had the upper-hand. She could easily bring her sword toward his heart and kill him, and she seemed to notice it too, but somehow he knew that she didn't want her fun to end just yet. "Hmmm…" Seria muttered. "I'll make a proposition. No weapons, got it?" She tossed her sword aside and Syaoran breathed heavily, letting his own sword hit the ground. "Magic and battle skills only…" he breathed.
She nodded and beckoned for him to make the first move this time. He dived at her with a spinning kick and she jumped up, so that he was kicking thin air, then came back down on him and kicked him between the shoulder blades.
"oof!" he groaned.
"Give up already!" Seria snapped. "You know you'll never win." She came at him with a punch, which he quickly deflected with an arm, then hit her stomach and she shot backwards, but recovered quickly, swiping away a loose strand of damp hair. "Not bad."
Jumping backwards, Syaoran called upon the fire elements and a blast of burning flames shot toward the unsuspecting girl. He thought he had won, but thinking quickly, she sent water to extinguish the flames, and amid the smoke Syaoran could just make out her form. He coughed and rubbed his eyes to see clearly, but when the smoke had finally cleared he couldn't see her in the room.
"Surprise, surprise," came a whisper from behind him, a hand darting out to encircle his neck. Syaoran clawed at her arm, but her head-lock was too strong. He tried to kick her in the shins but she was too quick and took a step backward, while still holding onto his neck. Syaoran couldn't let her win. Not after everything that she had done…but what could he do? He couldn't get out of her grasp. @ Hurry Meiling!@
~ * ~ * ~
Meiling found her hands pressed against an invisible barrier, searching for a way to get through. Damn, damn, damn! She could make out a flickering of candles and a still form…that //must\\ be Eriol! But…there was no way in…except to 'walk-by' and she had only ever seen Syaoran and some of the Elders do it. It could only be mastered by the most experienced of magic-users, and as Seria had said, she could barely even control her own power.
The situation was getting even more crucial by the minute and there was nothing she could do but stare at Eriol's form. He must be hanging on to his last threads of life…
@ C'mon Meiling. You didn't go this far to stop now! @
Without knowing what exactly she was doing, she shut her eyes and willed herself to focus only on the barrier and her becoming one, just like Syaoran had told her. She felt her power coursing through her veins, her head pounding furiously. She wasn't supposed to do this, and she knew it, but she had to at least try! Her magic was only low-level…the strain would get to her soon enough…she just hoped it wouldn't be too soon. Droplets of perspiration dripped down her forehead and neck and she squeezed her eyes tighter. There was only one thing that mattered right now – getting through the barrier to Eriol. If she couldn't or didn't, then there would be nobody left to help Syaoran with the battle…
She just had to! With the last amount of strength that she could muster, her magic burst through her and engulfed her in a wave of power, and she opened her eyes again to see that she had made it. Meiling took a moment to make sure the room stopped spinning, and then she gazed around her in amazement. She had done it! She had actually gotten through and…
Her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to the floor, exhaustion hitting her with a full blow…but Eriol…she had to help him…
She dragged herself across the dusty floor to his still form, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. As she found her way up to his body, she shook him gently. "Eriol…please…get up…we need you…please…"
Then the room began spinning again and her head hit the floor…so tired…
~ * ~ * ~ *
"Eriol…please…get up…we need you…please…"
The voice brought Eriol out of the crashing waves and jolted him to reality. He was weak and he felt like all the energy had been zapped out of him, but as he opened his eyes he realized that the situation was dire. If Meiling was here…then Syaoran must be too…and that meant Seria…
He struggled to get up and breathed a sigh of relief. If Meiling had waited a second more then the ritual would have been fully completed. Eriol frowned. How could Meiling have gotten through the barrier? She had no magic of her own…
Watching her exhaustion all over her face, he sighed. He was almost tempted to leave her here and let her rest, but he knew that they would need as much help as they could get if they were going to defeat Seria once and for all.
He summoned as much of his magic as he could afford to use, and spread his hands out over the tired Meiling, magic radiating from his fingers. It took her a few more moments until her eyelids fluttered open. "Syaoran needs our help…" she murmured, sitting up. Eriol helped her up and let her arm rest, slung around his shoulder so that he could support her. Even with the magic that he had woken her with, she was still pretty beat. There was no way that she could help him with the barrier. Eriol was more experienced, and he managed to reach the other side without using up all of his remaining energy. "Come on," he urged, helping Meiling down the hall. "We have to help Syaoran…he's getting pretty beat up…"
Upon hearing this, Meiling quickened her pace and tried to remember where she had left Syaoran and Seria, leading Eriol to the room.
"Do you think we can defeat her?" Meiling questioned anxiously, but her voice was drowned out by their footsteps pounding against the floor in a hurried pace.
~ * ~ * ~
Syaoran tried to get out of Seria's grasp but all she did was laugh. "Fun's over, Li…now we get to the serious bit…"
Syaoran shut his eyes. This was it. This was the end…
His eyes snapped back open as he heard pounding footsteps and then Seria cursing profusely. "So you actually made it Meiling. What a surprise."
Seria's eyes narrowed. "And…Eriol. You're lucky she managed to get through. It's a wonder to me how such an inexperienced girl as she could have done so…"
Eriol growled and clenched his fist. "You let go of Syaoran right now, Seria! You've done enough damage!" Syaoran's face was turning an unusual shade of purple, and Seria only made it worse as she wrapped her arm around his neck more tighter. Why hadn't he seen it? All his training was supposed to enable him to sense any movement around him. He cursed himself for being less cautious; he should have been on alert, but he'd really thought he'd got her with the fire.
"Are you crazy?!" Seria laughed. "Now that you're free, Syaoran would do great for the ritual…" Syaoran must've looked stricken because Seria let out another laugh. "Don't worry Li…we'll take care of you…or rather your dead body that is…"
He shot Eriol and Meiling a pleading look, and Eriol thought quickly.
"Get out of the way, Syaoran!" Eriol cried, sending a shower of sparks to zap at Seria like tiny needles pricking her sides. It wasn't much, but it didn't have to be. They just needed her to let go of Syaoran.
Seria managed to hold onto Syaoran until the zaps became more forceful, and she let go of his neck swiping the tiny sparks away with her hands. Syaoran stumbled forward, but managed to control his balance and he ran to Eriol and Meiling's side. "Are you ready guys?" Eriol asked, as the sparks finally died down. "There's only one way to defeat her…and that's together…"
~ * ~ * ~
"There's only one way to defeat somebody with as much power as her…" Eriol said from the corner of his mouth as Seria played with a tiny sizzling sphere of power in her hand. "We have to form the complete triangle…and lucky for us there's three of us."
Syaoran shook his head and frowned. "No way! Using the triangle means that even if we tried, we couldn't bring Sakura back from the dead…isn't there another way?" Meiling sighed and looked at her cousin. She too had hoped that they wouldn't have to kill Sakura. She had held some animosity for the girl but death was another matter. "I agree with Eriol, though." Meiling said. "There is no other way to do this…I'm sorry…"
Eriol nodded. "Would you rather have Seria make Sakura do things that she wouldn't want to do? Would you rather the world be annihilated by one single fourteen year old girl? No normal teenager should ever have to deal with so much thirst for revenge."
After a moment's silence, Syaoran nodded; although his heart was telling him to disagree with Eriol and Meiling, his head knew that he shouldn't be so selfish as to make the world suffer from his own choice. "Okay…"
~ * ~ * ~
Seria tapped her foot impatiently. "I want action!" she whined. "But if you're not willing to give it to me, then I guess I might as well dispose of you…"
Syaoran took a deep breath and resumed his fighting with Seria. Both of them were skilled at their magic but Seria was more powerful, and Syaoran hoped that both Eriol and Meiling would get half the formation ready without making Seria suspicious. Seria dodged many of his blows, and Syaoran just managed to do so as well. Finally, Syaoran saw an opening and kicked her backwards. She stumbled and Syaoran quickly ran to the last end of the triangle that his friends had managed to make. He felt one last pang of regret, then saw Seria getting up and knew there wasn't much time. It was now or never.
"Please forgive me Sakura!" Syaoran cried, as all three of them stretched out their arms and through their fingers emanated a fierce light which shot from their hands to Seria, who couldn't block the blow this time. A long, strangled wail tore apart the night, then everything cleared and Seria lay on the floor…dead. Syaoran's eyes filled with tears. He had hoped to save Sakura, and he had ended up killing her…
Both Meiling and Eriol exchanged a glance, and then a familiar voice echoed and re-echoed throughout the warehouse…
"Ashiteru…"
~ * ~ * ~
There! Done! One last chapter to go and it's only a short, tying-up-loose-ends chappie. I'm sooo proud! Please R+R and I hope you liked it! I made it especially long just for you guys! Well…a paragraph more than usual is long right…?
OMG! Nooo way! Second last chapter UP! ::squeals:: Things are finally looking up! It's kinda sad though…it's almost finished…unless I do a sequel. ::Looks around eagerly::…anyone want a sequel? Yes…sequel?! Anybody? lol.
::snorts:: are you kidding? Me own CCS? Yer, pull the other one.
Final Showdown: Part b (::sniffz:: Part B!!! and then the final chapter and…and…::bursts into tears:: WAAAH!)
~ * ~ * ~
For the longest time, Li Syaoran never took his eyes off the deadly girl before him as she scowled at him, then straightened her face in a cunning smile.
"You're mine Li Syaoran!"
For a tiny millisecond, he hesitated, wondering if he could ever hurt the girl he loved most of all. But he never backed away from a challenge, and this one was the biggest challenge of all. @ Sakura, I hope you forgive me @ He withdrew his sword, then positioned himself in a defensive stance. He'd let Seria begin the battle. Without missing a beat, instead of using her magic to conjure something up to hurt him, she dove toward him with a sword of her own, aiming for his heart. Syaoran just managed to block it in time, and thrust out his sword to keep Seria's own blade from piercing flesh. He pushed her sword away and she jumped back, then began her attack again. They were a blur, attacking and deflecting each movement, analyzing each other's attacks. It was a battle that neither of them wanted to lose…and neither would give up.
~ * ~ * ~
@ Okay Meiling, you can do this@ she assured herself, running down the hall through the rooms. First she had to find where Seria had kept Eriol, but her magic wasn't trained enough to sense him without Syaoran. And it seemed like Syaoran would be busy against Seria. @Deep breaths@ she cautioned herself, careening around a corner. @ You can make it @
Too bad she was only half-assured.
~ * ~ * ~
With an enraged battle-cry, Seria plunged forward again, her eyes fierce. He dodged her attack and just managed to keep from falling to the ground when he lost his balance as he ducked away. She noticed it, and grinned again. "You'll tire soon enough." He raised his arms over his head and brought the sword down, but she managed to block it. Syaoran swallowed. In this position, Seria had the upper-hand. She could easily bring her sword toward his heart and kill him, and she seemed to notice it too, but somehow he knew that she didn't want her fun to end just yet. "Hmmm…" Seria muttered. "I'll make a proposition. No weapons, got it?" She tossed her sword aside and Syaoran breathed heavily, letting his own sword hit the ground. "Magic and battle skills only…" he breathed.
She nodded and beckoned for him to make the first move this time. He dived at her with a spinning kick and she jumped up, so that he was kicking thin air, then came back down on him and kicked him between the shoulder blades.
"oof!" he groaned.
"Give up already!" Seria snapped. "You know you'll never win." She came at him with a punch, which he quickly deflected with an arm, then hit her stomach and she shot backwards, but recovered quickly, swiping away a loose strand of damp hair. "Not bad."
Jumping backwards, Syaoran called upon the fire elements and a blast of burning flames shot toward the unsuspecting girl. He thought he had won, but thinking quickly, she sent water to extinguish the flames, and amid the smoke Syaoran could just make out her form. He coughed and rubbed his eyes to see clearly, but when the smoke had finally cleared he couldn't see her in the room.
"Surprise, surprise," came a whisper from behind him, a hand darting out to encircle his neck. Syaoran clawed at her arm, but her head-lock was too strong. He tried to kick her in the shins but she was too quick and took a step backward, while still holding onto his neck. Syaoran couldn't let her win. Not after everything that she had done…but what could he do? He couldn't get out of her grasp. @ Hurry Meiling!@
~ * ~ * ~
Meiling found her hands pressed against an invisible barrier, searching for a way to get through. Damn, damn, damn! She could make out a flickering of candles and a still form…that //must\\ be Eriol! But…there was no way in…except to 'walk-by' and she had only ever seen Syaoran and some of the Elders do it. It could only be mastered by the most experienced of magic-users, and as Seria had said, she could barely even control her own power.
The situation was getting even more crucial by the minute and there was nothing she could do but stare at Eriol's form. He must be hanging on to his last threads of life…
@ C'mon Meiling. You didn't go this far to stop now! @
Without knowing what exactly she was doing, she shut her eyes and willed herself to focus only on the barrier and her becoming one, just like Syaoran had told her. She felt her power coursing through her veins, her head pounding furiously. She wasn't supposed to do this, and she knew it, but she had to at least try! Her magic was only low-level…the strain would get to her soon enough…she just hoped it wouldn't be too soon. Droplets of perspiration dripped down her forehead and neck and she squeezed her eyes tighter. There was only one thing that mattered right now – getting through the barrier to Eriol. If she couldn't or didn't, then there would be nobody left to help Syaoran with the battle…
She just had to! With the last amount of strength that she could muster, her magic burst through her and engulfed her in a wave of power, and she opened her eyes again to see that she had made it. Meiling took a moment to make sure the room stopped spinning, and then she gazed around her in amazement. She had done it! She had actually gotten through and…
Her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to the floor, exhaustion hitting her with a full blow…but Eriol…she had to help him…
She dragged herself across the dusty floor to his still form, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. As she found her way up to his body, she shook him gently. "Eriol…please…get up…we need you…please…"
Then the room began spinning again and her head hit the floor…so tired…
~ * ~ * ~ *
"Eriol…please…get up…we need you…please…"
The voice brought Eriol out of the crashing waves and jolted him to reality. He was weak and he felt like all the energy had been zapped out of him, but as he opened his eyes he realized that the situation was dire. If Meiling was here…then Syaoran must be too…and that meant Seria…
He struggled to get up and breathed a sigh of relief. If Meiling had waited a second more then the ritual would have been fully completed. Eriol frowned. How could Meiling have gotten through the barrier? She had no magic of her own…
Watching her exhaustion all over her face, he sighed. He was almost tempted to leave her here and let her rest, but he knew that they would need as much help as they could get if they were going to defeat Seria once and for all.
He summoned as much of his magic as he could afford to use, and spread his hands out over the tired Meiling, magic radiating from his fingers. It took her a few more moments until her eyelids fluttered open. "Syaoran needs our help…" she murmured, sitting up. Eriol helped her up and let her arm rest, slung around his shoulder so that he could support her. Even with the magic that he had woken her with, she was still pretty beat. There was no way that she could help him with the barrier. Eriol was more experienced, and he managed to reach the other side without using up all of his remaining energy. "Come on," he urged, helping Meiling down the hall. "We have to help Syaoran…he's getting pretty beat up…"
Upon hearing this, Meiling quickened her pace and tried to remember where she had left Syaoran and Seria, leading Eriol to the room.
"Do you think we can defeat her?" Meiling questioned anxiously, but her voice was drowned out by their footsteps pounding against the floor in a hurried pace.
~ * ~ * ~
Syaoran tried to get out of Seria's grasp but all she did was laugh. "Fun's over, Li…now we get to the serious bit…"
Syaoran shut his eyes. This was it. This was the end…
His eyes snapped back open as he heard pounding footsteps and then Seria cursing profusely. "So you actually made it Meiling. What a surprise."
Seria's eyes narrowed. "And…Eriol. You're lucky she managed to get through. It's a wonder to me how such an inexperienced girl as she could have done so…"
Eriol growled and clenched his fist. "You let go of Syaoran right now, Seria! You've done enough damage!" Syaoran's face was turning an unusual shade of purple, and Seria only made it worse as she wrapped her arm around his neck more tighter. Why hadn't he seen it? All his training was supposed to enable him to sense any movement around him. He cursed himself for being less cautious; he should have been on alert, but he'd really thought he'd got her with the fire.
"Are you crazy?!" Seria laughed. "Now that you're free, Syaoran would do great for the ritual…" Syaoran must've looked stricken because Seria let out another laugh. "Don't worry Li…we'll take care of you…or rather your dead body that is…"
He shot Eriol and Meiling a pleading look, and Eriol thought quickly.
"Get out of the way, Syaoran!" Eriol cried, sending a shower of sparks to zap at Seria like tiny needles pricking her sides. It wasn't much, but it didn't have to be. They just needed her to let go of Syaoran.
Seria managed to hold onto Syaoran until the zaps became more forceful, and she let go of his neck swiping the tiny sparks away with her hands. Syaoran stumbled forward, but managed to control his balance and he ran to Eriol and Meiling's side. "Are you ready guys?" Eriol asked, as the sparks finally died down. "There's only one way to defeat her…and that's together…"
~ * ~ * ~
"There's only one way to defeat somebody with as much power as her…" Eriol said from the corner of his mouth as Seria played with a tiny sizzling sphere of power in her hand. "We have to form the complete triangle…and lucky for us there's three of us."
Syaoran shook his head and frowned. "No way! Using the triangle means that even if we tried, we couldn't bring Sakura back from the dead…isn't there another way?" Meiling sighed and looked at her cousin. She too had hoped that they wouldn't have to kill Sakura. She had held some animosity for the girl but death was another matter. "I agree with Eriol, though." Meiling said. "There is no other way to do this…I'm sorry…"
Eriol nodded. "Would you rather have Seria make Sakura do things that she wouldn't want to do? Would you rather the world be annihilated by one single fourteen year old girl? No normal teenager should ever have to deal with so much thirst for revenge."
After a moment's silence, Syaoran nodded; although his heart was telling him to disagree with Eriol and Meiling, his head knew that he shouldn't be so selfish as to make the world suffer from his own choice. "Okay…"
~ * ~ * ~
Seria tapped her foot impatiently. "I want action!" she whined. "But if you're not willing to give it to me, then I guess I might as well dispose of you…"
Syaoran took a deep breath and resumed his fighting with Seria. Both of them were skilled at their magic but Seria was more powerful, and Syaoran hoped that both Eriol and Meiling would get half the formation ready without making Seria suspicious. Seria dodged many of his blows, and Syaoran just managed to do so as well. Finally, Syaoran saw an opening and kicked her backwards. She stumbled and Syaoran quickly ran to the last end of the triangle that his friends had managed to make. He felt one last pang of regret, then saw Seria getting up and knew there wasn't much time. It was now or never.
"Please forgive me Sakura!" Syaoran cried, as all three of them stretched out their arms and through their fingers emanated a fierce light which shot from their hands to Seria, who couldn't block the blow this time. A long, strangled wail tore apart the night, then everything cleared and Seria lay on the floor…dead. Syaoran's eyes filled with tears. He had hoped to save Sakura, and he had ended up killing her…
Both Meiling and Eriol exchanged a glance, and then a familiar voice echoed and re-echoed throughout the warehouse…
"Ashiteru…"
~ * ~ * ~
There! Done! One last chapter to go and it's only a short, tying-up-loose-ends chappie. I'm sooo proud! Please R+R and I hope you liked it! I made it especially long just for you guys! Well…a paragraph more than usual is long right…?