Chapter Four: My Life Is Your Faith In Me
Hoo-boy ... sleepy. It's late, and I've already taken my night medication (yeah, I take antidepressants four times daily, three different prescriptions, zippity-doo-dah) but I can't sleep, since MAD TV is on. Hee hee ... the center of the earth skit involving that crappy boy band is hilarious. Anyway, this is the part of the story where events deviate from the ones portrayed in the game. Plus, from here on out it's got a bit of Chris-bashing, so Chris fans should leave now. Just so y'all know, Chris is one of my least favorite characters (the others being Augustine, Thomas and Gillaume). I dunno why I don't like her ... there's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way.
"My God ..." Crys murmured. She and Jacques headed toward the now-burning village only to find Zexen knights slaughtering the Karayan people. Jacques grabbed his crossbow and set an arrow; Crys gripped the handle of her naginata and leapt into the fray.
"Damned ironheads ..." Jacques growled through gritted teeth, shooting a soldier right in the throat; he'd reloaded and shot again before the minute was over. Crys slashed through the armor of the knights, felling several, but stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of Chris Lightfellow.
"You," she snarled. "I'm not letting you go this time!"
"What are you talking about?!" the knight captain demanded. "We've never met!"
Ignoring her enemy, the girl leapt forward and knocked Chris off her horse, which immediately took off. As she prepared to deal the finishing blow, however, the knight's sword came up and slashed her across the stomach. Shrugging off the pain, Crys stabbed her opponent just below the collarbone. "Stop it!" Jacques shouted, grabbing Crys around the middle and dragging her backward. "She'll kill you!"
For the first time in her short life, she listened to good advice. As Chris Lightfellow struggled to sit up, the two left the village. "There's nothing we can do now," Jacques said softly as they watched it burn from a distance. He carefully bandaged Crys' shallow wound and then sat down beside her. "I know you're angry Ð"
"LIVID," Crys corrected quietly, rubbing her tender stomach.
" Ð but you have to realize that there are limits to what you should do in situations like that. What if you got yourself killed? How would your family feel?"
She fell into silence. "Hey, where were you two?" Ace's voice demanded from behind them. The rest of the team approached with Aila following close behind.
"We were in the village for a while, but ..."
"Say no more, Sasquatch, say no more. I understand that things got too heated for you two ..."
"You JERK!" she yelled angrily. "God, that's not how it was at all! Jacques dragged me off because he was convinced that stupid broad Chris was gonna kill me!"
"From the look of it, she got you pretty good," Joker remarked.
"Oh, shut up. I got a good hit in, too!" She paused. "What's she doing here, anyway?"
"I guess we're taking her along," Queen answered.
"After she attacked us?!"
"Calm down, Sasquatch. That was all a misunderstanding."
"Oh, yeah, because you made up some stupid story ..." Joker murmured.
"Shut up, old man ..."
"If you are QUITE finished, I'd like for us to head back to Caleria," Geddoe interrupted.
Suddenly a thought crossed Crys' mind. "Uh, Mr. Captain ... I have a question," she began sheepishly, staring at her hands as she began to fiddle with them nervously. "Since the ironheads have been running around attacking everyone, and you didn't get an official summons from Caleria ... could we possibly go to my hometown? I mean, it's, like, right in between Karaya and Great Hollow, so ..."
Geddoe shrugged. "I don't see why not."
She looked greatly relieved. "Oh, thanks so much! I'm really worried about everyone."
"About your 'papa' in particular?"
"Knock it off!"
"Oh, God ..." Queen mumbled. "Let's just leave before they get into another one of their huge fights. ***
After a great deal of traveling, they finally reached the home of what remained of the Syaoran clan Ð Kai's Deep. Over the days Crys and Aila had become fast friends, which wasn't that surprising to the others, considering they were closer in age. Jacques and Crys had become noticeably closer as well, which was a perfect opportunity for Ace to torment them some more.
"Thank God no one attacked!" Crys said with a sigh of relief as the reached the top of a nearby hill. "Oh, and Ace, don't say a word about my papa, okay? I can't help it if he spoils me rotten."
As they approached the front gate (the small village was surrounded by a 7-foot stone wall) a young man came running toward them. "Crystelle! Crystelle!" he cried out, stopping at Crys' feet.
"What's wrong, Kousei?" She looked alarmed.
"It's ... it's Father. He's been throwing a fit since you've been gone. He's so worried about you! When he heard Great Hollow and Karaya were attacked Ð"
"Hey, don't worry. I'm here now, so he'll calm down."
As they advanced into the city, Kousei escorting them, several people stopped to give Crys warm welcomes. "Gee, you're pretty popular," Joker remarked.
"Yeah, I'll be taking the throne as soon as I turn eighteen or earlier, if Papa kicks the bucket - God forbid Ð and so they're really nice. Well, then again, they're nice to my brothers and my papa too, so I guess it's just the family thing."
"The people look so happy!" Aila commented. "Your father must be a great ruler."
Crys laughed. "Yup, that's my daddy. Everyone loves him."
"Crys?" a deep voice asked from behind. The group turned to face a man with greenish hair tied back in a ponytail and a five o'clock shadow (basically, Ryouji Kaji from Evangelion - I picked him because he actually looks like my dad). "Crys, it IS you!" He dashed forward and embraced her with such force he nearly knocked her over.
"Are you her father?" Geddoe asked.
"No, I'm her boyfriend."
"He's lying, we broke up," Crys said with a straight face.
"Yeah, I'm her father. You must be Captain Geddoe. Nice to meet you." He turned back to his daughter. "Oh, Crystelle, honey, I'm so glad you're safe! I was so worried about you, darling! My precious angel! My little princess!"
Ace shook with stifled laughter; Queen and Joker gave him death glares. Jacques smiled (mildly) at the spectacle of the father and daughter while Aila and Geddoe looked mildly amused. "My goodness! Your clothes are ripped ... and what's that bandage around your stomach?! You weren't hurt, were you?"
"It's nothing, Papa! I'm okay, really!"
After nearly ten minutes of Marquis Li Syaoran fawning over his daughter, he invited the team to the "palace" (which was simply a building resembling a Shinto shrine) for tea. As they spoke, Crys put her naginata away in her room and changed out of her clothes.
"I heard the Karaya and Lizard clans were attacked," he said gravely, pouring tea for everyone (he didn't believe in servants).
"Yes, sadly," Geddoe replied. "The chief of the Lizard Clan was assassinated, and many Karayan lives were lost." Aila looked down at the floor.
"I see. My little girl wasn't too big of a burden, was she? She tends to be rather selfish ... which is entirely my fault, because I raised her like that. She always gets her way ... I just can't say no to that cute face of hers!"
"She was a big help and never asked for anything in return," Geddoe said quickly. "I had no idea she'd had an upbringing other than a common one. I didn't even know the Syaoran leader was royalty."
"Please, we're the white trash of royalty. We don't believe we're any better than anyone else ... but still, I've spoiled my little angel beyond repair."
"I'm not spoiled, Papa," Crys said from the doorway that led to the hall. She'd since changed into something other than her samurai gi Ð she now wore a long scarlet Chinese-style dress with slits up the sides over black baggy-ish pants and combat boots. Jacques (and, not surprisingly, Ace) looked at her with interest.
"Anyway, I'm sorry to say that my daughter cannot continue traveling with you. She'll be eighteen in a few months, so she has to begin preparations to take the throne."
"Is that true, Crys?" Queen asked.
The girl looked like she'd lost her best friends. " ... yeah. I really want to go with y'all, but ... "
"Her journey stops here," her father finished for her. Noticing the sorrow in Jacques' face, he quickly continued. "But, Crys, honey, why don't you escort them to the mountain shortcut that leads east? That will give you time to say your goodbyes."
"Right ..." she said sadly.
"It's awful that you won't be with us anymore," Queen said as Crys led them through a mountain path toward the east.
"I know ... but it's important that I take the throne."
"Why won't your brothers do it? Come to think of it, we didn't meet all of them," Aila added.
She shook her head. "Kousei's the only one that sees the light of day. The others, Kaida and Bryant, are pretty much shut-ins, they're so antisocial. They're somewhere in the village. Besides, my brothers can't take the throne because they all failed the test to receive Tetsaiga."
"What's Tetsaiga?"
"Dunno. It's our family's treasure, though, and only those chosen to take the throne can receive it. On our eighteenth birthdays we have to enter the heart of the shrine and stand before our ancestor Ð the God of War and Courage. Evidently Papa has Tetsaiga now, but I have no idea what it is."
"Tetsaiga ..." Geddoe murmured.
"This is where I have to stop," Crys said after awhile. "I'm gonna miss y'all a lot." Jacques, who was standing next to her, noticed her eyes were tearing up. His hand found hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. Geddoe looked at Queen, who nodded. They prompted the rest of the team to give them a moment or two alone.
"I ... I'll come back to see you very soon," Jacques whispered. She leaned her head against his chest.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"I really don't care about taking the throne that much ... I wish I could be with you instead." She paused, then laughed sadly. "I sound like that dumb broad from that God-awful play, huh?"
Jacques simply planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Crys looked up at him, and they were about to kiss when Kousei rode up on his horse. "Crystelle! The Zexens are attacking!"
"Ironheads?!" she demanded. Kousei, who held the reins to her steed, the gray stallion Sleipnir, nodded gravely. She leapt onto Sleipnir's back and rode at full speed toward the village.
"The Zexens ... " Geddoe said quietly.
"Those damned ironheads aren't going to kill anyone else!" Aila cried out, grabbing her bow. "We have to help!"
"Agreed ..." Queen growled.
The 12th unit followed as fast as they could only to find Kai's Deep entirely engulfed in flames. Memories of the Karayan tragedy filled Aila's mind, and Queen gasped at the cruelty the soldiers were exhibiting toward the villagers. Drawing their weapons, they fought hard until they reached a nearby hill where the knight Salome was fighting Crys' father. "You'll not have my child!" Li shouted angrily, raising his katana to attack. "I don't care whether or not she's the one Ð she's my daughter, and nothing will change that."
"We're giving you this chance to surrender peacefully," Salome warned. "I won't hesitate to kill you if need be."
Li lunged forward, but Salome's years of experience quickly felled the Syaoran leader. As Li fell to the ground with a sickening thud, Salome rode off in search of Crys. "Papa!" her voice shrieked as she came up behind the team. Kousei, however, was nowhere to be found. She was at his side in an instant and knelt beside him, gently grabbing his right hand.
"I ... I wish I could've explained the truth about you ..." he choked out, reaching his other hand to caress his beloved daughter's cheek. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at his wound - Salome's sword had stabbed all the way through his heart.
"Hang on, Papa," she urged, voice cracking. "You'll be okay."
"Crys, honey, your brothers ... are dead. You're the last Syaoran left alive, so ..."
"Papa, don't say that! You're still here with me!"
He laughed, but began coughing up blood halfway through. Queen looked him over briefly, then shook her head. "He's beyond my help," she whispered to Geddoe. "All the magic in the world can't help him now." The older man nodded.
Li turned to Jacques. "Take good care of my little girl, okay? She's ... my precious angel, you know ..."
"I-I will," he stammered in reply.
"Get out of here ... before they kill you. You are ..." His voice trailed off and his arm grew limp.
"He's gone," Geddoe remarked grimly, putting a heavy hand on Crys' shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"We should help the survivors get out of here," Queen said quickly to the team. She wanted everyone to leave Crys to herself, perhaps with Jacques there to console her.
Crys put her father's hand over his heart and lifted her head, eyes full of fire. She frowned and grabbed his sword, Jessou, from his side and was on her feet instantly. Before anyone could stop her, she took off and leapt down the steep hillside. "H-Hey!" Ace cried out, reaching a hand after her.
Crys dropped eight feet with her father's sword drawn, slicing a Zexen soldier (who, unfortunately, was standing directly below her) nearly in half and landing gracefully afterward. She charged into the battlefield, Jessou cutting through the armor of the ironheads with ease. "The fool girl ... what is she doing?" Joker demanded.
"The only thing she CAN do ..." Jacques replied quietly, grabbing his crossbow. "I do have to stop her from getting herself killed, though."
"Why? Because you promised her father?" Aila asked.
Jacques nodded. "Is that the ONLY reason?" Ace taunted.
"Yes, that's the ONLY reason," the younger of the two shot back.
"This is NOT the time, you two!" Queen shouted angrily, drawing her sword. "We have to help her!"
Crys spun a full 360 degrees, slashing through the armor of two soldiers in the process. She turned quickly and nearly beheaded another and immediately bent her knees slightly, preparing for her next attacker. She'd killed another seven soldiers before they formed a huge circle around her.
"Stop where you are, Syaoran!" Salome commanded. She instantly stopped in her tracks and turned to face the speaker. The knight rode up slowly on his brown mare. "You're Li Syaoran's youngest, are you not?"
"Who's asking?!" she snarled, readying her father's sword. The fifty knights surrounding her followed suit, but Salome held up a hand to halt them.
"My name is of no importance. I suggest you throw down your weapon and surrender, young one. We may decide to spare your life if you cooperate."
"My ass you will!" she retorted. "I'll kill as many of you as I can for what you did!"
"You'd throw your life away for revenge ..." he murmured sadly, shaking his head.
"Just as fast as you'd kill hundreds for the benefit of your own damn country!"
"That defiant spirit ... you're just like your grandfather." He smiled faintly. "He'd be proud, could he see you now. You're a fine warrior, a true Syaoran. Had you not refused my offer or killed so many of my soldiers, I'd have let you live for that reason alone - but since you have, you must be eliminated."
"And I'll take as many of you ironheads with me as possible!" she growled. Salome gave the order for his knights to attack, and they began to close in.
As Crys prepared to trade in her life for vengeance, Jacques used his newly-affixed Blinking Rune to appear behind her. He wrapped on arm tightly around her neck and the other around her waist and whispered a few words in a foreign tongue. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
A safe distance away they reappeared, and Crys watched her beloved hometown burn before her eyes. Within an hour the Zexen army pulled out, deciding that she could not be found in the village. Crys wouldn't let anyone stop her from preparing graves for her family and friends.
Geddoe and his heavy-hearted team helped her care for the survivors and bury the victims; however, she was reluctant to let them assist her with the preparation of her family's graves. Finally she accepted, and they dug resting places for her father, Kaida and Bryant. Kousei's body had presumably been reduced to ash.
The sun was beginning to break the darkness of the pre-dawn sky when she finished saying a few ancient prayers for her father at his resting place. Jacques stood close behind her, deeply concerned. "I'm sorry things had to turn out this way, Papa," she whispered. "I couldn't save you ... or anyone else, for that matter."
"Crystelle ..." Jacques said softly as he stepped up behind her.
"Hm?" she asked cheerfully. She'd turned to face him, smiling ear to ear. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just worried ..." he said with a slight frown.
"I'm fine!" She turned and began to head back to toward the wreckage of her hometown. As she brushed past Jacques, though, he grabbed her wrist firmly yet gently. She turned fiercely toward him.
"You don't have to pretend anymore."
Tears welled up in her eyes and she tore away from his grasp, storming off into the village.***
"That kid has a lot on her plate," Ace remarked as the team prepared to leave less than an hour later.
"That's why it's a good idea to leave without her," Geddoe said slowly, securing his sword to his belt.
"Without saying goodbye?" Aila asked, amazed that they were leaving her behind.
"She's ... had enough goodbyes to last a lifetime," Jacques answered quietly.
"But I thought of all people you'd want to say goodbye," Queen protested.
"Leave him be," Joker said to her. "Crys, too."
They left moments later; Crys was still tending to the survivors of the massacre. They had just reached the top of the first of the Kai hills when a voice shouted after them. "Wait! Wait for me! WAIT, I said!"
The team turned to see an angry Crys running up the slope toward them. "Jesus Christ, y'all are SO rude! It's just so mean to leave without saying goodbye!" she panted as she came to a stop at their feet.
"What happened to your hair?" Aila gasped.
"I cut it," she replied matter-of-factly, running a hand through it; it was now as short as Queen's. "It's a Syaoran custom, y'know. When one chapter of your life ends and another begins, you cut your hair with Jessou."
"Your father's sword?" Geddoe inquired.
"Yup. Jessou, King of Blades, is one of our family treasures. Tetsaiga is the other one."
"What are you doing?" Ace asked. "Aren't you supposed to take the throne?"
"It'll be there when I get back," she replied, giving him her trademark "God, you're stupid" glance.
"But we're going all the way to Caleria!" Joker protested.
"Yeah, and I'm going with you."
"If you're going, you'd better be prepared. You need your naginata," Geddoe pointed out.
"Don't need it. I have Jessou."
Crys had indeed abandoned her weapon for Jessou. She carried the scabbard at her belt, along with a smaller hunting knife and a pouch full of spell talismans. "You never said you could use magic," Joker said after noticing said talismans.
"It was on a need-to-know basis." She began walking past them.
"How so?"
"You didn't need to know," she answered over her shoulder. He smiled; he liked that saying, having heard it out of her once. It was proof that she was getting over the horrible event.
Jacques smiled warmly, the first real smile the team had seen out of him since he'd joined. Crys gradually fell into step with him as the team headed through the hills toward the mountain path. "It better not've been your idea to leave without telling me," she said accusingly.
"Don't worry, it wasn't."
Her frown melted into her sad smile Ð the one that made Jacques want to change the world so that it couldn't hurt her. "I'm glad I got to see you again. I would've been SO pissed if I hadn't caught up. Luckily, I knew where y'all were heading, though."
As they hiked through the mountain path, Jacques' hand found hers and clasped it tightly.
Okay, I know it's clichŽ, but next time's the obligatory fluff chapter. R and R, no flames, please. I'm quite sensitive.
Hoo-boy ... sleepy. It's late, and I've already taken my night medication (yeah, I take antidepressants four times daily, three different prescriptions, zippity-doo-dah) but I can't sleep, since MAD TV is on. Hee hee ... the center of the earth skit involving that crappy boy band is hilarious. Anyway, this is the part of the story where events deviate from the ones portrayed in the game. Plus, from here on out it's got a bit of Chris-bashing, so Chris fans should leave now. Just so y'all know, Chris is one of my least favorite characters (the others being Augustine, Thomas and Gillaume). I dunno why I don't like her ... there's just something about her that rubs me the wrong way.
"My God ..." Crys murmured. She and Jacques headed toward the now-burning village only to find Zexen knights slaughtering the Karayan people. Jacques grabbed his crossbow and set an arrow; Crys gripped the handle of her naginata and leapt into the fray.
"Damned ironheads ..." Jacques growled through gritted teeth, shooting a soldier right in the throat; he'd reloaded and shot again before the minute was over. Crys slashed through the armor of the knights, felling several, but stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of Chris Lightfellow.
"You," she snarled. "I'm not letting you go this time!"
"What are you talking about?!" the knight captain demanded. "We've never met!"
Ignoring her enemy, the girl leapt forward and knocked Chris off her horse, which immediately took off. As she prepared to deal the finishing blow, however, the knight's sword came up and slashed her across the stomach. Shrugging off the pain, Crys stabbed her opponent just below the collarbone. "Stop it!" Jacques shouted, grabbing Crys around the middle and dragging her backward. "She'll kill you!"
For the first time in her short life, she listened to good advice. As Chris Lightfellow struggled to sit up, the two left the village. "There's nothing we can do now," Jacques said softly as they watched it burn from a distance. He carefully bandaged Crys' shallow wound and then sat down beside her. "I know you're angry Ð"
"LIVID," Crys corrected quietly, rubbing her tender stomach.
" Ð but you have to realize that there are limits to what you should do in situations like that. What if you got yourself killed? How would your family feel?"
She fell into silence. "Hey, where were you two?" Ace's voice demanded from behind them. The rest of the team approached with Aila following close behind.
"We were in the village for a while, but ..."
"Say no more, Sasquatch, say no more. I understand that things got too heated for you two ..."
"You JERK!" she yelled angrily. "God, that's not how it was at all! Jacques dragged me off because he was convinced that stupid broad Chris was gonna kill me!"
"From the look of it, she got you pretty good," Joker remarked.
"Oh, shut up. I got a good hit in, too!" She paused. "What's she doing here, anyway?"
"I guess we're taking her along," Queen answered.
"After she attacked us?!"
"Calm down, Sasquatch. That was all a misunderstanding."
"Oh, yeah, because you made up some stupid story ..." Joker murmured.
"Shut up, old man ..."
"If you are QUITE finished, I'd like for us to head back to Caleria," Geddoe interrupted.
Suddenly a thought crossed Crys' mind. "Uh, Mr. Captain ... I have a question," she began sheepishly, staring at her hands as she began to fiddle with them nervously. "Since the ironheads have been running around attacking everyone, and you didn't get an official summons from Caleria ... could we possibly go to my hometown? I mean, it's, like, right in between Karaya and Great Hollow, so ..."
Geddoe shrugged. "I don't see why not."
She looked greatly relieved. "Oh, thanks so much! I'm really worried about everyone."
"About your 'papa' in particular?"
"Knock it off!"
"Oh, God ..." Queen mumbled. "Let's just leave before they get into another one of their huge fights. ***
After a great deal of traveling, they finally reached the home of what remained of the Syaoran clan Ð Kai's Deep. Over the days Crys and Aila had become fast friends, which wasn't that surprising to the others, considering they were closer in age. Jacques and Crys had become noticeably closer as well, which was a perfect opportunity for Ace to torment them some more.
"Thank God no one attacked!" Crys said with a sigh of relief as the reached the top of a nearby hill. "Oh, and Ace, don't say a word about my papa, okay? I can't help it if he spoils me rotten."
As they approached the front gate (the small village was surrounded by a 7-foot stone wall) a young man came running toward them. "Crystelle! Crystelle!" he cried out, stopping at Crys' feet.
"What's wrong, Kousei?" She looked alarmed.
"It's ... it's Father. He's been throwing a fit since you've been gone. He's so worried about you! When he heard Great Hollow and Karaya were attacked Ð"
"Hey, don't worry. I'm here now, so he'll calm down."
As they advanced into the city, Kousei escorting them, several people stopped to give Crys warm welcomes. "Gee, you're pretty popular," Joker remarked.
"Yeah, I'll be taking the throne as soon as I turn eighteen or earlier, if Papa kicks the bucket - God forbid Ð and so they're really nice. Well, then again, they're nice to my brothers and my papa too, so I guess it's just the family thing."
"The people look so happy!" Aila commented. "Your father must be a great ruler."
Crys laughed. "Yup, that's my daddy. Everyone loves him."
"Crys?" a deep voice asked from behind. The group turned to face a man with greenish hair tied back in a ponytail and a five o'clock shadow (basically, Ryouji Kaji from Evangelion - I picked him because he actually looks like my dad). "Crys, it IS you!" He dashed forward and embraced her with such force he nearly knocked her over.
"Are you her father?" Geddoe asked.
"No, I'm her boyfriend."
"He's lying, we broke up," Crys said with a straight face.
"Yeah, I'm her father. You must be Captain Geddoe. Nice to meet you." He turned back to his daughter. "Oh, Crystelle, honey, I'm so glad you're safe! I was so worried about you, darling! My precious angel! My little princess!"
Ace shook with stifled laughter; Queen and Joker gave him death glares. Jacques smiled (mildly) at the spectacle of the father and daughter while Aila and Geddoe looked mildly amused. "My goodness! Your clothes are ripped ... and what's that bandage around your stomach?! You weren't hurt, were you?"
"It's nothing, Papa! I'm okay, really!"
After nearly ten minutes of Marquis Li Syaoran fawning over his daughter, he invited the team to the "palace" (which was simply a building resembling a Shinto shrine) for tea. As they spoke, Crys put her naginata away in her room and changed out of her clothes.
"I heard the Karaya and Lizard clans were attacked," he said gravely, pouring tea for everyone (he didn't believe in servants).
"Yes, sadly," Geddoe replied. "The chief of the Lizard Clan was assassinated, and many Karayan lives were lost." Aila looked down at the floor.
"I see. My little girl wasn't too big of a burden, was she? She tends to be rather selfish ... which is entirely my fault, because I raised her like that. She always gets her way ... I just can't say no to that cute face of hers!"
"She was a big help and never asked for anything in return," Geddoe said quickly. "I had no idea she'd had an upbringing other than a common one. I didn't even know the Syaoran leader was royalty."
"Please, we're the white trash of royalty. We don't believe we're any better than anyone else ... but still, I've spoiled my little angel beyond repair."
"I'm not spoiled, Papa," Crys said from the doorway that led to the hall. She'd since changed into something other than her samurai gi Ð she now wore a long scarlet Chinese-style dress with slits up the sides over black baggy-ish pants and combat boots. Jacques (and, not surprisingly, Ace) looked at her with interest.
"Anyway, I'm sorry to say that my daughter cannot continue traveling with you. She'll be eighteen in a few months, so she has to begin preparations to take the throne."
"Is that true, Crys?" Queen asked.
The girl looked like she'd lost her best friends. " ... yeah. I really want to go with y'all, but ... "
"Her journey stops here," her father finished for her. Noticing the sorrow in Jacques' face, he quickly continued. "But, Crys, honey, why don't you escort them to the mountain shortcut that leads east? That will give you time to say your goodbyes."
"Right ..." she said sadly.
"It's awful that you won't be with us anymore," Queen said as Crys led them through a mountain path toward the east.
"I know ... but it's important that I take the throne."
"Why won't your brothers do it? Come to think of it, we didn't meet all of them," Aila added.
She shook her head. "Kousei's the only one that sees the light of day. The others, Kaida and Bryant, are pretty much shut-ins, they're so antisocial. They're somewhere in the village. Besides, my brothers can't take the throne because they all failed the test to receive Tetsaiga."
"What's Tetsaiga?"
"Dunno. It's our family's treasure, though, and only those chosen to take the throne can receive it. On our eighteenth birthdays we have to enter the heart of the shrine and stand before our ancestor Ð the God of War and Courage. Evidently Papa has Tetsaiga now, but I have no idea what it is."
"Tetsaiga ..." Geddoe murmured.
"This is where I have to stop," Crys said after awhile. "I'm gonna miss y'all a lot." Jacques, who was standing next to her, noticed her eyes were tearing up. His hand found hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. Geddoe looked at Queen, who nodded. They prompted the rest of the team to give them a moment or two alone.
"I ... I'll come back to see you very soon," Jacques whispered. She leaned her head against his chest.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"I really don't care about taking the throne that much ... I wish I could be with you instead." She paused, then laughed sadly. "I sound like that dumb broad from that God-awful play, huh?"
Jacques simply planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Crys looked up at him, and they were about to kiss when Kousei rode up on his horse. "Crystelle! The Zexens are attacking!"
"Ironheads?!" she demanded. Kousei, who held the reins to her steed, the gray stallion Sleipnir, nodded gravely. She leapt onto Sleipnir's back and rode at full speed toward the village.
"The Zexens ... " Geddoe said quietly.
"Those damned ironheads aren't going to kill anyone else!" Aila cried out, grabbing her bow. "We have to help!"
"Agreed ..." Queen growled.
The 12th unit followed as fast as they could only to find Kai's Deep entirely engulfed in flames. Memories of the Karayan tragedy filled Aila's mind, and Queen gasped at the cruelty the soldiers were exhibiting toward the villagers. Drawing their weapons, they fought hard until they reached a nearby hill where the knight Salome was fighting Crys' father. "You'll not have my child!" Li shouted angrily, raising his katana to attack. "I don't care whether or not she's the one Ð she's my daughter, and nothing will change that."
"We're giving you this chance to surrender peacefully," Salome warned. "I won't hesitate to kill you if need be."
Li lunged forward, but Salome's years of experience quickly felled the Syaoran leader. As Li fell to the ground with a sickening thud, Salome rode off in search of Crys. "Papa!" her voice shrieked as she came up behind the team. Kousei, however, was nowhere to be found. She was at his side in an instant and knelt beside him, gently grabbing his right hand.
"I ... I wish I could've explained the truth about you ..." he choked out, reaching his other hand to caress his beloved daughter's cheek. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at his wound - Salome's sword had stabbed all the way through his heart.
"Hang on, Papa," she urged, voice cracking. "You'll be okay."
"Crys, honey, your brothers ... are dead. You're the last Syaoran left alive, so ..."
"Papa, don't say that! You're still here with me!"
He laughed, but began coughing up blood halfway through. Queen looked him over briefly, then shook her head. "He's beyond my help," she whispered to Geddoe. "All the magic in the world can't help him now." The older man nodded.
Li turned to Jacques. "Take good care of my little girl, okay? She's ... my precious angel, you know ..."
"I-I will," he stammered in reply.
"Get out of here ... before they kill you. You are ..." His voice trailed off and his arm grew limp.
"He's gone," Geddoe remarked grimly, putting a heavy hand on Crys' shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"We should help the survivors get out of here," Queen said quickly to the team. She wanted everyone to leave Crys to herself, perhaps with Jacques there to console her.
Crys put her father's hand over his heart and lifted her head, eyes full of fire. She frowned and grabbed his sword, Jessou, from his side and was on her feet instantly. Before anyone could stop her, she took off and leapt down the steep hillside. "H-Hey!" Ace cried out, reaching a hand after her.
Crys dropped eight feet with her father's sword drawn, slicing a Zexen soldier (who, unfortunately, was standing directly below her) nearly in half and landing gracefully afterward. She charged into the battlefield, Jessou cutting through the armor of the ironheads with ease. "The fool girl ... what is she doing?" Joker demanded.
"The only thing she CAN do ..." Jacques replied quietly, grabbing his crossbow. "I do have to stop her from getting herself killed, though."
"Why? Because you promised her father?" Aila asked.
Jacques nodded. "Is that the ONLY reason?" Ace taunted.
"Yes, that's the ONLY reason," the younger of the two shot back.
"This is NOT the time, you two!" Queen shouted angrily, drawing her sword. "We have to help her!"
Crys spun a full 360 degrees, slashing through the armor of two soldiers in the process. She turned quickly and nearly beheaded another and immediately bent her knees slightly, preparing for her next attacker. She'd killed another seven soldiers before they formed a huge circle around her.
"Stop where you are, Syaoran!" Salome commanded. She instantly stopped in her tracks and turned to face the speaker. The knight rode up slowly on his brown mare. "You're Li Syaoran's youngest, are you not?"
"Who's asking?!" she snarled, readying her father's sword. The fifty knights surrounding her followed suit, but Salome held up a hand to halt them.
"My name is of no importance. I suggest you throw down your weapon and surrender, young one. We may decide to spare your life if you cooperate."
"My ass you will!" she retorted. "I'll kill as many of you as I can for what you did!"
"You'd throw your life away for revenge ..." he murmured sadly, shaking his head.
"Just as fast as you'd kill hundreds for the benefit of your own damn country!"
"That defiant spirit ... you're just like your grandfather." He smiled faintly. "He'd be proud, could he see you now. You're a fine warrior, a true Syaoran. Had you not refused my offer or killed so many of my soldiers, I'd have let you live for that reason alone - but since you have, you must be eliminated."
"And I'll take as many of you ironheads with me as possible!" she growled. Salome gave the order for his knights to attack, and they began to close in.
As Crys prepared to trade in her life for vengeance, Jacques used his newly-affixed Blinking Rune to appear behind her. He wrapped on arm tightly around her neck and the other around her waist and whispered a few words in a foreign tongue. In the blink of an eye they were gone.
A safe distance away they reappeared, and Crys watched her beloved hometown burn before her eyes. Within an hour the Zexen army pulled out, deciding that she could not be found in the village. Crys wouldn't let anyone stop her from preparing graves for her family and friends.
Geddoe and his heavy-hearted team helped her care for the survivors and bury the victims; however, she was reluctant to let them assist her with the preparation of her family's graves. Finally she accepted, and they dug resting places for her father, Kaida and Bryant. Kousei's body had presumably been reduced to ash.
The sun was beginning to break the darkness of the pre-dawn sky when she finished saying a few ancient prayers for her father at his resting place. Jacques stood close behind her, deeply concerned. "I'm sorry things had to turn out this way, Papa," she whispered. "I couldn't save you ... or anyone else, for that matter."
"Crystelle ..." Jacques said softly as he stepped up behind her.
"Hm?" she asked cheerfully. She'd turned to face him, smiling ear to ear. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just worried ..." he said with a slight frown.
"I'm fine!" She turned and began to head back to toward the wreckage of her hometown. As she brushed past Jacques, though, he grabbed her wrist firmly yet gently. She turned fiercely toward him.
"You don't have to pretend anymore."
Tears welled up in her eyes and she tore away from his grasp, storming off into the village.***
"That kid has a lot on her plate," Ace remarked as the team prepared to leave less than an hour later.
"That's why it's a good idea to leave without her," Geddoe said slowly, securing his sword to his belt.
"Without saying goodbye?" Aila asked, amazed that they were leaving her behind.
"She's ... had enough goodbyes to last a lifetime," Jacques answered quietly.
"But I thought of all people you'd want to say goodbye," Queen protested.
"Leave him be," Joker said to her. "Crys, too."
They left moments later; Crys was still tending to the survivors of the massacre. They had just reached the top of the first of the Kai hills when a voice shouted after them. "Wait! Wait for me! WAIT, I said!"
The team turned to see an angry Crys running up the slope toward them. "Jesus Christ, y'all are SO rude! It's just so mean to leave without saying goodbye!" she panted as she came to a stop at their feet.
"What happened to your hair?" Aila gasped.
"I cut it," she replied matter-of-factly, running a hand through it; it was now as short as Queen's. "It's a Syaoran custom, y'know. When one chapter of your life ends and another begins, you cut your hair with Jessou."
"Your father's sword?" Geddoe inquired.
"Yup. Jessou, King of Blades, is one of our family treasures. Tetsaiga is the other one."
"What are you doing?" Ace asked. "Aren't you supposed to take the throne?"
"It'll be there when I get back," she replied, giving him her trademark "God, you're stupid" glance.
"But we're going all the way to Caleria!" Joker protested.
"Yeah, and I'm going with you."
"If you're going, you'd better be prepared. You need your naginata," Geddoe pointed out.
"Don't need it. I have Jessou."
Crys had indeed abandoned her weapon for Jessou. She carried the scabbard at her belt, along with a smaller hunting knife and a pouch full of spell talismans. "You never said you could use magic," Joker said after noticing said talismans.
"It was on a need-to-know basis." She began walking past them.
"How so?"
"You didn't need to know," she answered over her shoulder. He smiled; he liked that saying, having heard it out of her once. It was proof that she was getting over the horrible event.
Jacques smiled warmly, the first real smile the team had seen out of him since he'd joined. Crys gradually fell into step with him as the team headed through the hills toward the mountain path. "It better not've been your idea to leave without telling me," she said accusingly.
"Don't worry, it wasn't."
Her frown melted into her sad smile Ð the one that made Jacques want to change the world so that it couldn't hurt her. "I'm glad I got to see you again. I would've been SO pissed if I hadn't caught up. Luckily, I knew where y'all were heading, though."
As they hiked through the mountain path, Jacques' hand found hers and clasped it tightly.
Okay, I know it's clichŽ, but next time's the obligatory fluff chapter. R and R, no flames, please. I'm quite sensitive.
