Get your tissues ready, folks. This chapter is going to rip your heart out
and step on it….
Chapter 26
Sakura's eyes widened as he heard what was happening. The guards all around them were firing. They had no protection, no shielding, and it was already too late to do anything. They were going to die.
…And yet, they were safe. The bullets came traveling like normal towards them, but they all stopped in a golden flash around them. They all just stopped in one spot and a golden spot appeared with each shot. "What the hell?! What's protecting the prisoners?!" The general asked. "You, soldier." He pointed to a guard. "Go check it out." The rest of the guards still had their guns aimed at them. But as soon as the guard approached where the bullets had stopped, a shot of energy sent him flying back. The soldiers all gasped. Sakura walked forward and was suddenly stopped. He felt around. It was like there was an invisible wall. "What the hell is this?" Sakura asked.
The sky grew dark. It was sunrise, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the sky was turning pitch black. They all looked up. There, in the sky, were three silhouettes. It was impossible to tell who it was though. But quickly, a group of blue energy gathered in the sky below those figures. The light grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, it began to slowly move towards the ground. Then in an instant, it struck in a flash. The light flew towards the ground and struck like lighting. All was bright around the barrier protecting the villagers. They could all hear the blood curdling screams, explosions, and tremors around them. When the light died down, everything was gone. The soldiers lie dead on the ground. The prison was in ruin. But the villagers, Gene, Sakura, and Syaoran were all fine. Syaoran asked, "What the hell happened?" Sakura blinked. "I'm… not sure… it looks like something shielded us while it… destroyed the prison… But who could've done this?!" Gene spoke up. "I don't know, but I hope we find out. He saved us all. Come on, let's figure this out later. Let's all go home. Our village is nearby by the ocean."
As the villagers and their new friends walked to the village, three dark figures floated above the ruined prison. "Do you think it was wise of us to help her, Master? Aren't we supposed to be testing the girl?" "Normally, yes. But this is not the way it should be. We must help them defeat Sadin, then our real quest may begin. Then we shall see if she is truly worthy of the title, 'Mistress of the Clow.'" "If that is what you believe, them I will help… Eriol." There was a flash as a long staff with a golden sun and a golden moon on it pierced through the darkness, and the three figures disappeared…
Sakura, Syaoran, and Gene were sitting on a tree stump just outside the village of the archers. It was a pretty average village. Small log houses littered the area. The villagers walked about, some carrying food, some working on constructing new buildings, and some were just exercising. "Thank you two. Without you, there is no way we could have escaped." Gene said to Sakura and Syaoran. "Hey, no problem. If it weren't for you, we'd still be rotting in those cells." Syaoran said. "Well, I still must reward you two for you're bravery. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Sakura smiled. "Well, you know we're the Galactic Heroes. We were on our way here when we were captured. We were hoping to gain access to the Ocean Shrine." Gene gasped. "You've gotta be kidding! You're in luck! We always are around it. Our main supply of food around here is fish, so we're always diving down to spear some. We've developed special clothes that let you breath underwater so we can stay down there all day and hunt! One of our village hunters recently came across what looked like some kind of ancient Greek ruins." "THAT'S IT!" Syaoran shouted. "Well, then I'll gladly lead you to it!" Gene said. "Great! We'll just—OW!" Sakura said as she grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?" Gene asked as Sakura sat down and unwrapped the t- shirt that had been around his arm. "Ugh… the bullet in my arm… it's acting up again… and I still can't move it." Oh dear… this isn't good. There's no way we can let you go down there like that. Not to scare you, but there are some rather unfriendly creatures down there. They would tear you apart. But you're in good hands! As a village of dedicated archers, we're used to seeing wounds like this. We'll take you to see the village doctor. He should get you back to normal within a few days. But first, let's go get that wound cleaned. You can take a in the tributary that dumps into the ocean. It should help clean it and get the dirt out. Plus, there's no salt in the stream." Sakura smiled. "Okay, I've been meaning to take a bath anyways. I haven't in days. I gotta think I smell pretty bad." Gene stood up and pointed in one direction. "The streams down that way. Let me get you a change of clothes, first. I'll be right back." Gene ran off in one direction, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone.
"Umm… Sakura?" Sakura looked up and turned his voice back to his old voice. "Yes? What's wrong, Syaoran?" Syaoran blushed. "Ummm… would you mind if we could go back to our old bodies now?" Sakura looked puzzled. "What's the rush? Don't like being a girl?" Syaoran blushed even worse. "Well, it's not like I have something against girls. And I suppose it's not everyday I get to actually be one…. But…" "But what?" "Well, if you are going to take a bath, you'll be using MY body…" Sakura blushed too. "Oh… I see… I guess… well, alright." He reached into his backpack and pulled out the Key and the Change Card. Sakura tried to release the staff… but failed. "What's wrong with this thing? RELEASE!" Still came no response from the Key. "Umm, Sakura? Maybe I need to summon the staff. After all, I'm in your body." "I guess so. I should have thought of that…" He handed Syaoran the key and the Card. "RELEASE!" Syaoran summoned the staff and threw the Change Card into the air. She changed her voice to Sakura's. "CHANGE CARD! CHANGE US BACK TO OUR FORMER SELVES!" Syaoran twirled the staff around like Sakura did and hit the Card with the staff. A familiar green light surrounded them and died down. When it did subsided, Syaoran smiled. He was back in his old body.
(Author's note: Now all of the pronouns 'he' and 'she' will go back to normal. Syaoran is officially he, and Sakura is she again.)
"Yes! I'm back to normal!" He said. Sakura looked almost disappointed. "Actually, I'm gonna miss being tall…" Syaoran grabbed a cheery blossom from the tree above them and put it in Sakura's hair. "Well, I guess you're going to have to just be the cute one again!" Sakura turned bright red as she played with the cherry blossom in her hair. "Ummm… you really think I'm cute?" Syaoran blushed too when he realized what he said. "Ummm… well… kinda… But didn't you say I was cute when I was in your body in prison? I thought that meant you thought you were cute so…" Sakura giggled. "Syaoran, you'll always be cute, especially when you're embarrassed!"
She quickly sat up and gave Syaoran a quick kiss on the cheek. Syaoran's face exploded in redness. "Oh, umm… err… I uhh… thanks, I guess…" Sakura giggled and blushed. "Aww, you're so cute when you're like that!"
"Hey! I'm back!" Gene said carrying some clothes with him. "I thought maybe you'd want to take a bath too, Sakura, so I brought you… some… ummm. Why are you two so red?" Sakura said, "Well, it's nothing, really…" Gene smiled; he knew what was going on. "Heh, you two make a cute couple." Syaoran quickly jumped to his defense. "We're not a couple! We're just friends! Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Gene laughed. "Probably because you two just look like it. Anyways, you should get down to the stream and clean that bullet wound before it gets infected. There are some walls we've set up there specifically for bathing for men and for women, so you don't have to worry about bathing together… unless you WANT to…" Gene said with a mocking tone. "Ummm… I don't think so." Syaoran said, grabbing his clothes and walking off with Sakura in tow.
About an hour later, Syaoran walked out of the doctor's house, with Sakura waiting for him outside. Syaoran was dressed in a green short-sleeved shirt and dark brown pants with a light brown pair of boots. Sakura wore a light pink and loose t-shirt, blue jeans, and flat leather shoes. "How did it go, Syaoran?" Syaoran grabbed his right arm in pain. He pointed to a bloody bandage around his arm. He lifted it, after days of not being able to move it all. "Well, the good news is, I can move it a little. The bullet was blocking a nerve, but it's not damaged that much. I should regain full control of my arm in a day or two." Sakura smiled. "Well, that's really good news! It means you haven't lost an arm. What could be bad?" Syaoran sighed and a sweat drop rolled down his head. "Well… they had to pull out the bullet with a pair of tweezers… with no painkiller… not one drop…" Sakura shuddered. "Ouch… I'm sorry…" Syaoran tried to smile. "That's okay. Remember, if you hadn't shot that guard, they might have had to pull some bullets out of more than just there. And they say that if you hadn't stopped the bleeding by cutting off the blood with your shirt, I would've bled to death a day ago. I should be thanking you. But I hope this can repay you: We're gonna be staying here for the next few days until my arm heals, so you can rest for a few days. No erupting volcanoes, no giant armies of demons, no swords, no guns, no magic, no freezing mountains, just a nice relaxing time." Sakura's face lit up and she hugged Syaoran. "Ow! Ow! Watch the arm!" Syaoran screamed. "Oh, sorry Syaoran, but thanks! I'm gonna enjoy this!" And she ran off to start her small vacation.
The next two days were very peaceful. Sakura just rested on the beach during the day, ate her fill, and just had fun. She finally had some time off. Syaoran did a lot of the same things with Sakura, enjoying their time together, though he had to be careful with his arm. They could finally rest without worrying about demons sneaking up on them, starving half to death, giant warriors with a blood lust, or any shrines to be destroyed. Tanning on the beach, swimming in the ocean, they even tried a little horseback riding on the workhorses who plowed the farmer's fields. Then the third day came.
They were walking out of their guest cottage, having just eaten breakfast, when they saw the doctor waiting for them outside. The doctor was an old, dark skinned, gray haired, but kindly old man. He spoke in a quiet and shaky voice. "So, Syaoran, how is your arm today? Any improvement? I hope you've been resting enough." Syaoran smiled and whirled his arm around in a circle. "The pain is gone, and I've regained most control. It still feels a little stiff, but it should be fine. I should be able to work with it." The doctor gave a light smile back. "Good, good. Then I'd say you're perfectly fine. You can resume you're quest whenever you want." When Sakura heard that she held onto Syaoran's left arm and sighed. "But I wanna stay here on vacation! It's so much fun!" A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head. "Sakura, have you forgotten about Sadin and what he's done? If we're going to reverse it, we gotta keep going, okay? I don't want to hear any whining about going. You are the one who first accepted the mission from Mia, remember?" Sakura frowned. "Actually, I said we had no choice, you are the one who actually accepted it officially. But speaking of Mia… I wonder how she and Tomoyo are. Kero and Yue too. We haven't seen them since we left the Mage Village." Syaoran looked her in the eyes. "I'm sure they're fine. They can hold their own. Let's just go." Sakura sighed and nodded. They started to walk towards the ocean when they heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Sakura, Syaoran, wait up!" It was Gene running up from behind. He was carrying some sort of blue rags in his hands. "You're going to need these!" He handed a pair of rags to them. "Just wear these on top of your normal clothes and you won't need to breathe underwater, and you can swim to any depth without fear of pressure. It's made of a special material that absorbs oxygen in the water and actually pushes it through your clothes and through your skin into your blood, so you won't really breathe, you just won't need to. Sadly, it won't help you talk. You'll just have to communicate through hand signals." Syaoran held his shirt up. It was made of a fine, stretchy rubber-like substance, but it was about half the size of his normal shirt. "Kinda small, isn't it?" Gene sighed. "Yeah, but what do you expect? If it is going to push the air through it into your blood, it's gotta be close to your skin. Luckily, these shirts should supply you with enough air. And lastly, just make sure they don't come off. It would be catastrophic. And happy hunting. The shrine should be about a half a mile to your right. Well, I gotta go. See ya!" And Gene ran off. They slipped their special breathing suits over their clothes and jumped in to the water. The feeling was indescribable. They weren't breathing, but it didn't feel like they needed to. It was like being on land, only if humans didn't need to breathe to survive.
The view was spectacular. All around them were colorful fish and beautiful coral reefs. Sakura's emerald eyes lit up at the sight. She ran over to the corals and stood in wonder of all the colors. It was even more magnificent than the old exhibits at the aquarium she used to visit. Sakura noticed a strange looking fish floating just in front of her. She reached out a finger to touch it out of curiosity, and the fish puffed up in a cute little ball of spikes. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see Syaoran pointing. He waved his arms to signal her to follow him. The leaped off a small cliff and landed safely on another coral bed. Why was Syaoran so eager to get down there? Then a shadow loomed overhead. Sakura looked up to see the dark shadow of a shark swimming where they stood just seconds before. They now stood in even more reefs. They were covered in sea urchins and starfish. It was very beautiful. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's arm and led her through the ocean depths, otherwise she'd stand around and stare at the fish all day. Eventually, Syaoran pointed out the shrine. It was very similar to the previous shrines. Large pillars covered in seaweed and algae held up a triangular roof. It was surrounded by art and sculptures representing water. Statues of the God Neptune, portraits of the sea, and other such things. At one end, stood the statue. It was a beautiful mermaid with long hair sitting on a rock holding a bowl of light, as usual. Sakura reached into her pants pockets. She kept a magic-absorbing stone and the Clow Cards there. (Luckily, the water wouldn't damage the Cards.) They swam over to the statue, and dropped the stone in. They quickly swam back to the entrance, and watched the statues, pillars, and floor all collapse in a silent rumble. However, they were confused. The shrine was gone, but every time before they tried to destroy one, someone stopped them before they could. Had Sadin run out of guards for his shrines?
…A few moments later, something began to stir under the rubble. A moment later, a huge, ugly fish charged through the debris and lunged at them. They swam to one side and got a good look at it. It was hideous. It had large purple scales and long, pointy teeth jutting out of it's mouth. The fins on the sides of it were claw-like in design. It was the perfect underwater weapon. It turned again and charged towards them, with it's giant mouth open, trying to swallow them. Sakura got an idea. She couldn't talk, so she pushed Syaoran back and grabbed her staff. "RELEASE!" She thought as the staff appeared in her hands. She grabbed a Clow Card and put it in front of her. She thought to herself, "FREEZE CARD! SEND A WAVE OF ICE AT MY ENEMY!" The water immediately in front of Sakura froze, keeping the fish in a block of ice. Syaoran swam next to her and surveyed what she did. He patted her on the shoulder and smiled. She smiled back, but then felt a shiver go down her spine when she got a good look at it. What really horrified her was not it's teeth or size, but it's eyes. They glowed a fierce red, just like the Dragon in her dreams, and the gems on the knife that had cut her face. What did it all mean? But there was little time to worry about that. The ice began to crack, and the fish burst out. Syaoran grabbed Sakura and pushed her to the ground before diving to one side. Syaoran unsheathed his sword and charged. When the fish charged again, he dived again and swung at the fish. However, the sword bounced off the fish's rock hard scales. Syaoran wasn't sure what to do. Sakura came up with another idea. She grabbed another card and summoned it. "WATERY CARD! CREATE A WHIRLPOOL AROUND OUR ENEMY!" The water around the fish began to spiral around and disappear. The fish dropped to the ground as the water pulled away. The fish flopped helplessly on the ground as the whirlpool raged violently. Sakura swam over and dropped the ground. When she was in the open, she could finally say, "SWORD CARD!" As she readied to strike, the fish flopped towards her. It tried and swung it's sharp fin at Sakura, cutting Sakura in the stomach as Sakura gave a sharp howl of pain that even rang through the water, so even Syaoran heard it. Syaoran tried to scream "SAKURA," but he couldn't. He swam forward and watched in horror as the fish swung again. The shirts on her were cut off. She collapsed backwards on the ground. The special breathing suit was torn right off, and her normal shirt ripped off at the stomach. She was holding her stomach in pain. Blood flowed as the three cuts in her stomach bled. That's when the Watery Card gave out and the water poured back in again. Syaoran turned pale in horror. Sakura gripped at her throat, trying to breathe, but she was choking on the water. The fish was swimming upward, preparing for one last run, but Syaoran was more concerned with Sakura. He couldn't believe what he was seeing… it was too horrible.
Sakura was in utter pain. The blood from her wound was turning the water around her red, but he could see her face turning blue. She grabbed her throat and was thrashing about. It was more than he could take. Sakura was going to drown. He swam as fast as he could to her and held her in his arms. She calmed down, but was still not in ease. Her emerald eyes, usually so full of hope and caring were full of fear and sadness. She put her slender hand on his face and moved her lips, though he couldn't hear, he knew what she was saying.
"Good-bye…"
Syaoran's heart smashed into a million pieces as he watched Sakura close her eyes. She no longer struggled. Her head floated gently in the water, very limp. Syaoran let go and her body floated to the bottom of the ocean floor, like an angel falling from Heaven to the ground…
To be continued…
Normally, with Eriol's appearance, this would be a happy chapter… but Sakura is drowning…
……………………But… can she survive? ………
Chapter 26
Sakura's eyes widened as he heard what was happening. The guards all around them were firing. They had no protection, no shielding, and it was already too late to do anything. They were going to die.
…And yet, they were safe. The bullets came traveling like normal towards them, but they all stopped in a golden flash around them. They all just stopped in one spot and a golden spot appeared with each shot. "What the hell?! What's protecting the prisoners?!" The general asked. "You, soldier." He pointed to a guard. "Go check it out." The rest of the guards still had their guns aimed at them. But as soon as the guard approached where the bullets had stopped, a shot of energy sent him flying back. The soldiers all gasped. Sakura walked forward and was suddenly stopped. He felt around. It was like there was an invisible wall. "What the hell is this?" Sakura asked.
The sky grew dark. It was sunrise, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the sky was turning pitch black. They all looked up. There, in the sky, were three silhouettes. It was impossible to tell who it was though. But quickly, a group of blue energy gathered in the sky below those figures. The light grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, it began to slowly move towards the ground. Then in an instant, it struck in a flash. The light flew towards the ground and struck like lighting. All was bright around the barrier protecting the villagers. They could all hear the blood curdling screams, explosions, and tremors around them. When the light died down, everything was gone. The soldiers lie dead on the ground. The prison was in ruin. But the villagers, Gene, Sakura, and Syaoran were all fine. Syaoran asked, "What the hell happened?" Sakura blinked. "I'm… not sure… it looks like something shielded us while it… destroyed the prison… But who could've done this?!" Gene spoke up. "I don't know, but I hope we find out. He saved us all. Come on, let's figure this out later. Let's all go home. Our village is nearby by the ocean."
As the villagers and their new friends walked to the village, three dark figures floated above the ruined prison. "Do you think it was wise of us to help her, Master? Aren't we supposed to be testing the girl?" "Normally, yes. But this is not the way it should be. We must help them defeat Sadin, then our real quest may begin. Then we shall see if she is truly worthy of the title, 'Mistress of the Clow.'" "If that is what you believe, them I will help… Eriol." There was a flash as a long staff with a golden sun and a golden moon on it pierced through the darkness, and the three figures disappeared…
Sakura, Syaoran, and Gene were sitting on a tree stump just outside the village of the archers. It was a pretty average village. Small log houses littered the area. The villagers walked about, some carrying food, some working on constructing new buildings, and some were just exercising. "Thank you two. Without you, there is no way we could have escaped." Gene said to Sakura and Syaoran. "Hey, no problem. If it weren't for you, we'd still be rotting in those cells." Syaoran said. "Well, I still must reward you two for you're bravery. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Sakura smiled. "Well, you know we're the Galactic Heroes. We were on our way here when we were captured. We were hoping to gain access to the Ocean Shrine." Gene gasped. "You've gotta be kidding! You're in luck! We always are around it. Our main supply of food around here is fish, so we're always diving down to spear some. We've developed special clothes that let you breath underwater so we can stay down there all day and hunt! One of our village hunters recently came across what looked like some kind of ancient Greek ruins." "THAT'S IT!" Syaoran shouted. "Well, then I'll gladly lead you to it!" Gene said. "Great! We'll just—OW!" Sakura said as she grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?" Gene asked as Sakura sat down and unwrapped the t- shirt that had been around his arm. "Ugh… the bullet in my arm… it's acting up again… and I still can't move it." Oh dear… this isn't good. There's no way we can let you go down there like that. Not to scare you, but there are some rather unfriendly creatures down there. They would tear you apart. But you're in good hands! As a village of dedicated archers, we're used to seeing wounds like this. We'll take you to see the village doctor. He should get you back to normal within a few days. But first, let's go get that wound cleaned. You can take a in the tributary that dumps into the ocean. It should help clean it and get the dirt out. Plus, there's no salt in the stream." Sakura smiled. "Okay, I've been meaning to take a bath anyways. I haven't in days. I gotta think I smell pretty bad." Gene stood up and pointed in one direction. "The streams down that way. Let me get you a change of clothes, first. I'll be right back." Gene ran off in one direction, leaving Sakura and Syaoran alone.
"Umm… Sakura?" Sakura looked up and turned his voice back to his old voice. "Yes? What's wrong, Syaoran?" Syaoran blushed. "Ummm… would you mind if we could go back to our old bodies now?" Sakura looked puzzled. "What's the rush? Don't like being a girl?" Syaoran blushed even worse. "Well, it's not like I have something against girls. And I suppose it's not everyday I get to actually be one…. But…" "But what?" "Well, if you are going to take a bath, you'll be using MY body…" Sakura blushed too. "Oh… I see… I guess… well, alright." He reached into his backpack and pulled out the Key and the Change Card. Sakura tried to release the staff… but failed. "What's wrong with this thing? RELEASE!" Still came no response from the Key. "Umm, Sakura? Maybe I need to summon the staff. After all, I'm in your body." "I guess so. I should have thought of that…" He handed Syaoran the key and the Card. "RELEASE!" Syaoran summoned the staff and threw the Change Card into the air. She changed her voice to Sakura's. "CHANGE CARD! CHANGE US BACK TO OUR FORMER SELVES!" Syaoran twirled the staff around like Sakura did and hit the Card with the staff. A familiar green light surrounded them and died down. When it did subsided, Syaoran smiled. He was back in his old body.
(Author's note: Now all of the pronouns 'he' and 'she' will go back to normal. Syaoran is officially he, and Sakura is she again.)
"Yes! I'm back to normal!" He said. Sakura looked almost disappointed. "Actually, I'm gonna miss being tall…" Syaoran grabbed a cheery blossom from the tree above them and put it in Sakura's hair. "Well, I guess you're going to have to just be the cute one again!" Sakura turned bright red as she played with the cherry blossom in her hair. "Ummm… you really think I'm cute?" Syaoran blushed too when he realized what he said. "Ummm… well… kinda… But didn't you say I was cute when I was in your body in prison? I thought that meant you thought you were cute so…" Sakura giggled. "Syaoran, you'll always be cute, especially when you're embarrassed!"
She quickly sat up and gave Syaoran a quick kiss on the cheek. Syaoran's face exploded in redness. "Oh, umm… err… I uhh… thanks, I guess…" Sakura giggled and blushed. "Aww, you're so cute when you're like that!"
"Hey! I'm back!" Gene said carrying some clothes with him. "I thought maybe you'd want to take a bath too, Sakura, so I brought you… some… ummm. Why are you two so red?" Sakura said, "Well, it's nothing, really…" Gene smiled; he knew what was going on. "Heh, you two make a cute couple." Syaoran quickly jumped to his defense. "We're not a couple! We're just friends! Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Gene laughed. "Probably because you two just look like it. Anyways, you should get down to the stream and clean that bullet wound before it gets infected. There are some walls we've set up there specifically for bathing for men and for women, so you don't have to worry about bathing together… unless you WANT to…" Gene said with a mocking tone. "Ummm… I don't think so." Syaoran said, grabbing his clothes and walking off with Sakura in tow.
About an hour later, Syaoran walked out of the doctor's house, with Sakura waiting for him outside. Syaoran was dressed in a green short-sleeved shirt and dark brown pants with a light brown pair of boots. Sakura wore a light pink and loose t-shirt, blue jeans, and flat leather shoes. "How did it go, Syaoran?" Syaoran grabbed his right arm in pain. He pointed to a bloody bandage around his arm. He lifted it, after days of not being able to move it all. "Well, the good news is, I can move it a little. The bullet was blocking a nerve, but it's not damaged that much. I should regain full control of my arm in a day or two." Sakura smiled. "Well, that's really good news! It means you haven't lost an arm. What could be bad?" Syaoran sighed and a sweat drop rolled down his head. "Well… they had to pull out the bullet with a pair of tweezers… with no painkiller… not one drop…" Sakura shuddered. "Ouch… I'm sorry…" Syaoran tried to smile. "That's okay. Remember, if you hadn't shot that guard, they might have had to pull some bullets out of more than just there. And they say that if you hadn't stopped the bleeding by cutting off the blood with your shirt, I would've bled to death a day ago. I should be thanking you. But I hope this can repay you: We're gonna be staying here for the next few days until my arm heals, so you can rest for a few days. No erupting volcanoes, no giant armies of demons, no swords, no guns, no magic, no freezing mountains, just a nice relaxing time." Sakura's face lit up and she hugged Syaoran. "Ow! Ow! Watch the arm!" Syaoran screamed. "Oh, sorry Syaoran, but thanks! I'm gonna enjoy this!" And she ran off to start her small vacation.
The next two days were very peaceful. Sakura just rested on the beach during the day, ate her fill, and just had fun. She finally had some time off. Syaoran did a lot of the same things with Sakura, enjoying their time together, though he had to be careful with his arm. They could finally rest without worrying about demons sneaking up on them, starving half to death, giant warriors with a blood lust, or any shrines to be destroyed. Tanning on the beach, swimming in the ocean, they even tried a little horseback riding on the workhorses who plowed the farmer's fields. Then the third day came.
They were walking out of their guest cottage, having just eaten breakfast, when they saw the doctor waiting for them outside. The doctor was an old, dark skinned, gray haired, but kindly old man. He spoke in a quiet and shaky voice. "So, Syaoran, how is your arm today? Any improvement? I hope you've been resting enough." Syaoran smiled and whirled his arm around in a circle. "The pain is gone, and I've regained most control. It still feels a little stiff, but it should be fine. I should be able to work with it." The doctor gave a light smile back. "Good, good. Then I'd say you're perfectly fine. You can resume you're quest whenever you want." When Sakura heard that she held onto Syaoran's left arm and sighed. "But I wanna stay here on vacation! It's so much fun!" A sweat drop rolled down Syaoran's head. "Sakura, have you forgotten about Sadin and what he's done? If we're going to reverse it, we gotta keep going, okay? I don't want to hear any whining about going. You are the one who first accepted the mission from Mia, remember?" Sakura frowned. "Actually, I said we had no choice, you are the one who actually accepted it officially. But speaking of Mia… I wonder how she and Tomoyo are. Kero and Yue too. We haven't seen them since we left the Mage Village." Syaoran looked her in the eyes. "I'm sure they're fine. They can hold their own. Let's just go." Sakura sighed and nodded. They started to walk towards the ocean when they heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Sakura, Syaoran, wait up!" It was Gene running up from behind. He was carrying some sort of blue rags in his hands. "You're going to need these!" He handed a pair of rags to them. "Just wear these on top of your normal clothes and you won't need to breathe underwater, and you can swim to any depth without fear of pressure. It's made of a special material that absorbs oxygen in the water and actually pushes it through your clothes and through your skin into your blood, so you won't really breathe, you just won't need to. Sadly, it won't help you talk. You'll just have to communicate through hand signals." Syaoran held his shirt up. It was made of a fine, stretchy rubber-like substance, but it was about half the size of his normal shirt. "Kinda small, isn't it?" Gene sighed. "Yeah, but what do you expect? If it is going to push the air through it into your blood, it's gotta be close to your skin. Luckily, these shirts should supply you with enough air. And lastly, just make sure they don't come off. It would be catastrophic. And happy hunting. The shrine should be about a half a mile to your right. Well, I gotta go. See ya!" And Gene ran off. They slipped their special breathing suits over their clothes and jumped in to the water. The feeling was indescribable. They weren't breathing, but it didn't feel like they needed to. It was like being on land, only if humans didn't need to breathe to survive.
The view was spectacular. All around them were colorful fish and beautiful coral reefs. Sakura's emerald eyes lit up at the sight. She ran over to the corals and stood in wonder of all the colors. It was even more magnificent than the old exhibits at the aquarium she used to visit. Sakura noticed a strange looking fish floating just in front of her. She reached out a finger to touch it out of curiosity, and the fish puffed up in a cute little ball of spikes. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked to see Syaoran pointing. He waved his arms to signal her to follow him. The leaped off a small cliff and landed safely on another coral bed. Why was Syaoran so eager to get down there? Then a shadow loomed overhead. Sakura looked up to see the dark shadow of a shark swimming where they stood just seconds before. They now stood in even more reefs. They were covered in sea urchins and starfish. It was very beautiful. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's arm and led her through the ocean depths, otherwise she'd stand around and stare at the fish all day. Eventually, Syaoran pointed out the shrine. It was very similar to the previous shrines. Large pillars covered in seaweed and algae held up a triangular roof. It was surrounded by art and sculptures representing water. Statues of the God Neptune, portraits of the sea, and other such things. At one end, stood the statue. It was a beautiful mermaid with long hair sitting on a rock holding a bowl of light, as usual. Sakura reached into her pants pockets. She kept a magic-absorbing stone and the Clow Cards there. (Luckily, the water wouldn't damage the Cards.) They swam over to the statue, and dropped the stone in. They quickly swam back to the entrance, and watched the statues, pillars, and floor all collapse in a silent rumble. However, they were confused. The shrine was gone, but every time before they tried to destroy one, someone stopped them before they could. Had Sadin run out of guards for his shrines?
…A few moments later, something began to stir under the rubble. A moment later, a huge, ugly fish charged through the debris and lunged at them. They swam to one side and got a good look at it. It was hideous. It had large purple scales and long, pointy teeth jutting out of it's mouth. The fins on the sides of it were claw-like in design. It was the perfect underwater weapon. It turned again and charged towards them, with it's giant mouth open, trying to swallow them. Sakura got an idea. She couldn't talk, so she pushed Syaoran back and grabbed her staff. "RELEASE!" She thought as the staff appeared in her hands. She grabbed a Clow Card and put it in front of her. She thought to herself, "FREEZE CARD! SEND A WAVE OF ICE AT MY ENEMY!" The water immediately in front of Sakura froze, keeping the fish in a block of ice. Syaoran swam next to her and surveyed what she did. He patted her on the shoulder and smiled. She smiled back, but then felt a shiver go down her spine when she got a good look at it. What really horrified her was not it's teeth or size, but it's eyes. They glowed a fierce red, just like the Dragon in her dreams, and the gems on the knife that had cut her face. What did it all mean? But there was little time to worry about that. The ice began to crack, and the fish burst out. Syaoran grabbed Sakura and pushed her to the ground before diving to one side. Syaoran unsheathed his sword and charged. When the fish charged again, he dived again and swung at the fish. However, the sword bounced off the fish's rock hard scales. Syaoran wasn't sure what to do. Sakura came up with another idea. She grabbed another card and summoned it. "WATERY CARD! CREATE A WHIRLPOOL AROUND OUR ENEMY!" The water around the fish began to spiral around and disappear. The fish dropped to the ground as the water pulled away. The fish flopped helplessly on the ground as the whirlpool raged violently. Sakura swam over and dropped the ground. When she was in the open, she could finally say, "SWORD CARD!" As she readied to strike, the fish flopped towards her. It tried and swung it's sharp fin at Sakura, cutting Sakura in the stomach as Sakura gave a sharp howl of pain that even rang through the water, so even Syaoran heard it. Syaoran tried to scream "SAKURA," but he couldn't. He swam forward and watched in horror as the fish swung again. The shirts on her were cut off. She collapsed backwards on the ground. The special breathing suit was torn right off, and her normal shirt ripped off at the stomach. She was holding her stomach in pain. Blood flowed as the three cuts in her stomach bled. That's when the Watery Card gave out and the water poured back in again. Syaoran turned pale in horror. Sakura gripped at her throat, trying to breathe, but she was choking on the water. The fish was swimming upward, preparing for one last run, but Syaoran was more concerned with Sakura. He couldn't believe what he was seeing… it was too horrible.
Sakura was in utter pain. The blood from her wound was turning the water around her red, but he could see her face turning blue. She grabbed her throat and was thrashing about. It was more than he could take. Sakura was going to drown. He swam as fast as he could to her and held her in his arms. She calmed down, but was still not in ease. Her emerald eyes, usually so full of hope and caring were full of fear and sadness. She put her slender hand on his face and moved her lips, though he couldn't hear, he knew what she was saying.
"Good-bye…"
Syaoran's heart smashed into a million pieces as he watched Sakura close her eyes. She no longer struggled. Her head floated gently in the water, very limp. Syaoran let go and her body floated to the bottom of the ocean floor, like an angel falling from Heaven to the ground…
To be continued…
Normally, with Eriol's appearance, this would be a happy chapter… but Sakura is drowning…
……………………But… can she survive? ………