Omg im so very sorri dat I didn't update sooner!!! Wow. . . its been almost 3 months!! once agen, im sorri. . . but my teachs have been stricter den eva n is pilin more work n tests on me. N my afta-skool sports doesn't really leave me much time 4 nethin else. . . *sighs* da only reason I have time ta work on dis fic is cuz its spring break rite now. ^^ so im tryin ta post up at least 1 more chap durin dis free time. Muiii. . . I wish it wuz summer already. I miss summer. . . o btw, dis chap includes a major fite scene. Hehe. . . hope u enjoy it.

Richard- dat wuz a cliffy. . . like all da otha endins in dis story so far. Eheheh. . .

Richard- thx. Dat wuz my goal 4 da fite. N erm. . . sorri ta disappoint u but u sound nuthin like a eng teach. Lol.

Mesmer- ok. . . now U sound like an eng teach. Lol. But dats aite!! I need sum1 ta point out my mistakes n criticize me lightly. . .^-^u yes. . . I no I have lots of grammatical errors. . . but I haven't really been lookin em ova n correctin em. Ive been tryin ta finish da chaps as fast as I can. Yep I no bein descriptive is good. But I think im bein a lil too descriptive sumtimes.

Cherry blossom- heyz, thx 4 readin my fic. Appreciate it. O ull find out hu da ally is rite now, when Im dun w/ shout outs.

Danielle ngo- thx 4 da review.

Crystal-chan- haha c I tol u syao isn't dat bad. . . n if saku wasn't so dense den where will all da fun b?? n sure ill tryta make dis chap longer n have more s+s moments.

a/n: erm. . . cherry tenshi wheres ur review??? Man. . . r u seriously DAT busy?? -_-u bah. . . ehz wellz, I guess 1 chap w/o ur review wont hurt. . . o n im really tired rite now so dis chap is not gonna b really well written. O n uh. . . u guyz r gonna hate me 4 wut imma do ta saku. . . but ill make up 4 it!!! Promise!! So don't kill me.

Chapter 13

"Freedom Comes at a Price"

The group stopped abruptly and eyed the masked man who helped them out. Syaoran placed himself in front of Sakura, his sword out, ready to protect her in case the guy tried anything. Slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves, the mysterious man removed his mask and revealed himself.

"Eriol?!" Fuh Lung questioned incredulously.

"Who else did you think it was?" Eriol grinned.

"Of course it's Eriol," stated Syaoran dryly, sheathing his sword, "he makes it a habit to pop up unexpectedly and thinks it's a great joke."

"So how have you been?" asked Fuh Lung, "I haven't seen you in a long time."

At that, the three boys begin talking and forgot about their escape and the girls. Meiling stood there speechless, gaping, wondering if they were out of their minds.

"Are you guys crazy?! We're in a life-and-death situation and yet you're standing here chatting like hens?!" shouted Meiling.

The three boys blinked and stopped their conversation to look at her.

"Oh, oops I forgot." Eriol chuckled sheepishly. "It's just that we've never had to run for our lives looking for a way out of here. Anyway, follow me."

Eriol led the way as the rest trailed along behind him. Since the path was really narrow, only two of them can walk side by side. Syaoran stayed close to Sakura to make sure nothing would happen to her while Meiling had to walk next to Fuh Lung. They weren't exactly happy with the arrangement and glowered at each other every five minutes. (a/n: ah. . . da beginning of a beautiful relationship. . . ;p)

Out of nowhere a high-pitched ringing sound broke the silence of the labyrinth, making them all freeze. The boys' eyes widen as they recognized the sound.

"Shit, they've found the bodies!" Syaoran exclaimed, "We have to make a run for it if we ever want to make it out of here alive. All the exits will be sealed soon."

At that remark, the group began making a run for the exit down the winding passage. Abruptly Syaoran pushed Sakura into a corner and Fuh Lung did the same to Meiling.

"Hey, what -'' Meiling began protesting but was cut off by a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" Fuh Lung hissed, "Can't you see that there are guards passing by?!"

They stayed that way until Eriol motioned for them to come out of hiding. It wasn't until then that Fuh Lung lowered his hand away from her mouth.

"Sorry. . ." Meiling apologized meekly, blushing at her outburst.

Seeing that the stubborn girl had apologized, Fuh Lung wore a complacent smirk.

Unfortunately, not all the guards had past by as Eriol had thought. One of the guards saw them and an alarm arose. Thus began their desperate run for freedom.

When they were about one hundred meters away from the exit, a band of about ten masked men jumped out from the shadows, their weapons drawn. Seeing this, Syaoran quickly wrapped a kerchief over Sakura's nose and mouth and Fuh Lung did the same for Meiling. Then the boys put on their masks just as white powder, the same one Fuh Lung had used on Meiling, came flying at them from every directions. Thanks to the kerchief, they didn't get knocked out unconscious. But the powder was the least of their problems since by now they were surrounded by guards on both sides; four behind them, facing Eriol, and six in front of them, facing Fuh Lung and Syaoran. Since the passageway was narrow, only two guards can advance at the same time.

Eriol, Syaoran, and Fuh Lung made a circle outside the two girls, swords drawn and ready to fight.

"Geez, Syaoran, why is it that every time I decide to pay you a visit, you're always in some kind of trouble and need me to get you out of it?" joked Eriol. (a/n: man, even at a time like dis he jus hadda crack a joke. . . -_-u)

"Shut it, Eriol!" Syaoran growled.

Afraid that someone was going to get hurt, Sakura let out a small whimper. But Meiling, however, had a look of defiance in her eyes and showed no visible sign of fear.

~`*~Syaoran's P.O.V.~`*~

A guy came charging towards me so I got into a fighting stance and held my ground, hoping that Sakura and Meiling wouldn't get hurt. He brought his mace up and swung it down towards my head but I brought my sword up and blocked just in time. Then, still blocking his mace, I kneed him in the stomach and he fell. He attempted to trip me but I jumped and drop-kicked him. What a weakling, he couldn't even last against me for five minutes. I prepared to bring the tip of my sword down into his stomach as he laid there but then I heard Sakura shout at me.

"Li, no! Don't kill him!" she begged with those pleading eyes of hers.

Of course how could I resist such a pair of eyes? So I knocked him out with the handle instead. As soon as I finished dealing with him, another guy came charging up and took his place, making a futile attempt to capture me. . .

~`*~Fuh Lung's P.O.V.~`*~

A yell distracted me and I looked back to see that it had been Sakura. Suddenly Meiling's leg shot out and I quickly ducked.

"What are you crazy, woman?!" I shouted at her.

"It wasn't you I tried to kick," she scoffed, "it was the guy behind you. You know, you should really pay more attention to your opponent.

I looked back and saw the guy Meiling kicked was unconscious. She grabbed his sword and looked at it thoughtfully.

"Thanks," I smiled at her.

"Let's just say we're even," she grinned and joined Eriol in fighting the four guards.

~`*~Eriol's P.O.V.~`*~

A minute after Sakura yelled, Meiling came up beside me, helping me fight them off.

"Thanks," I nodded appreciatively.

She nodded in acknowledgement and got ready to fight the remaining two guards, getting in a fighting stance much similar to Syaoran's.

A guy charged towards me with his staff raised and since I wanted to get this over with quickly, I ducked when he swung the staff, grabbed it out from his own hands, and knocked him unconscious with his very own staff. Then I proceeded to watch how good this Meiling actually fights.

~`*~ Meiling's P.O.V.~`*~

This stupid guy with his chain came charging towards me and he swung the chain at me. Of course, that was a dumb thing to do. I held the sword vertically out in front of me, tip pointing down, and let the chain wrap itself around the handle. When I made sure the chain was fastened onto the sword, I drove the sword down hard into the ground, making it stuck there. The idiot had no idea what I was doing and was still holding onto the other end of the chain. I then jumped onto the chain and balanced myself on it, running towards him atop of it. When I got about ten feet away from him, I jumped up off the chain, doing a back flip, and did a round-house kick. He staggered back and dropped his chain. He tried to punch me but I leaned back and dodged the punch. Smirking at his slow reflexes, I did a spinning kick, and then quickly followed it with an uppercut. He got lucky and managed to duck, missing the uppercut, and kicked me in the stomach. As I got caught off guard, he took the time to his advantage and twisted my arm behind my back, using his other arm to choke me. Fortunately I was able to free myself my stomping on his foot and then jabbed him in the stomach with my elbow. He loosened his hold on me and I manage to do a back flip over his head and landed behind him. When I landed, I quickly did a back kick. After that I grabbed his arm and flipped him. He took a hard fall and let out a grunt. The idiot, he didn't know when to give up and attempted to get back up on his feet. Tired of fooling around, I gave him a blow to his pressure point and knocked him out cold. Dusting of my hands, I heard a clap behind and saw Eriol applauding me for my so-called fight.

"You fight very well," he complimented.

I performed a mock bow and grinned smugly. "It was nothing. That guy was a weakling."

~`*~Sakura's P.O.V.~`*~

I watched in horror and fear as the battle raged on in front of me, as well as behind me. Every time I saw someone take a blow I winced, even though they were our enemy. It didn't matter to me, they were humans too. As Syaoran finished off another guard, one more took his place and they began fighting. That leaves three more to go. Since Syaoran was busy fighting a guard, he didn't notice the guy in the shadows with his bow drawn, an arrow aimed at his chest. I saw him release the arrow and went white.

"Li!" I cried, "Watch out!"

I desperately flung my arms onto his neck and placed my body in front of his, pushing him back. In doing so, I took the hit for him; the arrowed pierced my back as I cried out in pain. Everyone saw what happened and Syaoran dragged my limp body back behind Fuh Lung to where Meiling was while Eriol took his place in fending off the reminding guards.

"Sakura?" I heard Syaoran say, his voice quivering, "Sakura, don't die on me!"

His concerned face and voice was the last thing I saw and heard before drifting off into the welcoming darkness. . .

~`*~Normal P.O.V.~`*~

"No, Sakura!" Syaoran cried, "Why did you do that for?! Why did you block the arrow for me?"

Meiling was surprised that he called her by her first name but decided that right now would not be a good time to point that out.

"Oh, poor Sakura, she's been through so much. . ." Meiling whispered.

Syaoran kneeled beside her, stroking her cheek and hair, mumbling the same question over and over. Pretty soon, Eriol and Fuh Lung together finished off the rest of the guards and joined Syaoran and Meiling. Eriol kneeled down beside Syaoran to check her wound.

"This is not a deeply punctured wound. But I'm afraid that he had coated the arrow with poison. She'll survive, but only if we get her out of this place now and get some herbs to treat her wound with," Eriol told them.

"Alright then," Syaoran nodded, "we're getting her out of this horrid place right now."

Syaoran broke off the top of the arrow carefully as to not penetrate her gash any deeper and slowly picked her up. Her head rested comfortable against his strong chest as he ran towards the exit with her in his arms.

This exit was different from the one he came in from. It had steps instead of a ladder so he didn't have to climb. Also, there was a secret button he had to push to open the door. Since there were many entrances, only a few people knew the trick of opening or closing a door. Eriol happened to know where the secret button was and pressed it. The opening of the door welcomed in fresh air and nearly blinding light while letting them out.

As soon as they got out, they ran straight into the woods in hopes of losing the gang if they were being followed. Once they were sure they were a safe distance away from the exit, Syaoran gently laid Sakura down on the soft dirt.

"Eriol, go find the herb, quickly!" he ordered, "Meiling and Fuh Lung, I need you guys to go find some firewood for tonight."

Eriol nodded and hurried off without a minute's hesitation while Meiling and Fuh Lung did the same after giving each other a glare.

Syaoran placed Sakura's head on his lap and stroked her hair, all the while mumbling, "It'll be alright, Sakura. . ." over and over again, thinking that she's still unconscious.

"I know it will. . ." Sakura whispered softly, barely audible, startling him, "I've got you here to protect me. You won't let anything happen to me, right?"

"No, no I won't, I promise. . ." (a/n: aaah dis is soooo mushy n cheesy!! )

Sakura smiled and slowly opened her eyes.

"So can I call you Syaoran now?"

"Huh. . .?"

"You called me Sakura, so does this mean that I can call you by your first name now?"

"Sure. . ." Syaoran chuckled.

At this, she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.

YAY IM DUN IM DUN IM FINALLY DUN!!! w/ dis chap newayz. . . wow it took me a week ta finish dis. . . o hey dis chap is kinda longer. n OMG DERES NO CLIFFY!! *gasps* I must b feelin nice. . . bro: *monotone voice* wow it's a miracle. . . now go eat. Me: aww. . . fine. . . welps, cyaz pplz!! ^^