Whee! ^^ Chapter sixteen is part one of the battle. Since it's a battle, not much romance-y, you see? Hehe. And for those who keep asking me why I don't much sappy crap, well... it's cuz me so bad at it. *winces* That, and there IS a second genre this fic is, and that's action/adventure. I've been trying to keep it so my story is accurate with what subjects I place it as. ^^\/ FUN!
fire_blade: Eh... it wasn't fast enough of an update, was it? T_T
Aore: Wheee! Someone who understands the fun part of taking my time to get the couple together. \^o^/ Aore, you're so cool.
hOsHi HaNaZaKaRi: Yeah... Eriol's mainly the one who's suffering... Gyah, I'm so horrible. *cries*
starlight princess: It's out! ^^ Not that anything's solved... (Oops. You're not supposed to know that right now!)
Queen of the Storms: ... I really like your penname. That's so tight. Hehe. But where's the fun of having her understand things right away? *Grins* And remember, she came to this world searching for Syaoran, meaning she wasn't entirely looking at Eriol since the beginning, ne? ^_- Let's just torture her a bit more...
RuByMoOn: I love those scenes, but I stink at making them. _ That's kinda why I do so few...
liz: Awww... you read the rest of my fics on these two? THANK YOUUUU!! Hehe. I've been such a fan of them for over a year by now, encounting. They're a great couple to write about, yesh.
0010: Oooooooo!! Roast marshmellows on the flames... *laughs* That's a great idea!! *grins* To tell you the truth, I love getting flames. Hehehe. It's so fun to hear some of these people shout at me, thinking they're actually getting through to me... *sighs in pity* If they only knew...
Gigicerisier: O_O... wow... you're really angry at my fic's Sakura. Hahaha. Well, I like prolonging things, like getting the couple together. ^^ It's the fun part of my writing. Maybe that's why my fic is so long... *realization hits* Oh, man!!! T_T Next time, shorter fics.
Kimmy and Lizzy: Quan and Kaniana are Eriol and Sakura's Names, the way they identify each other as having that bond and soul mate sort-of principle. ^^ (It's explained in chapter 11 by Dtarna. It's somewhere there...)
Mindy: Awww... that's for all those compliments. *smiles* Umm... about the mailing list thing, I don't keep one anymore, b/c I realize how bad I was at updating and how ppl quickly lose interest in my fics. _ Wahhh...
Moon Smurf: MOON SMURF!! *glomps her* hehe. Long time to talk, ne? O_O Thanks for the yelling comment, too... I guess... *laughs* Whee! Get back on internet soon, kay? ^^ Glad you enjoyed this chapter.
Chapter Sixteen: The True Salvation (Part 1 - Hidden)
Night 33 - Shadow World
Syaoran eyed the working site, then averted them towards the palace silently, the sword in its full form as it was gripped within his hands tightly. He, Tgaeh, Yue, and Tomoyo were crouched behind a stone wall. Natir and Eurena were in their readied positions from wherever they were. When the signal would be given, they would rush for the palace, while the rest of the party who had joined with this plan will keep the soldiers distracted should any decide to chase after them.
Tgaeh had left Sharhn with Brache, telling them to stay with thoes who were encouraging tonight's actions.
"If you go, I'll never recognize you as my brother again!" Brache had cried to him. Tears were welling in his eyes, surprising Tgaeh to many depths.
"What... Why? Why do you hate this so much, Brache? Why, when you never cared before? When Sharhn and I were the least of your secretive priorities?"
"Because! If you do this, it'll just be like mother and father! You won't come back alive, you know," he said harshly. "You won't. You'll die just like that."
Tgaeh sighed, shaking his head. "For a young boy as you... those are very horrific thoughts. I cannot allow this to go on any further, Brache, and you must understand this. Mother and father knew what they needed to do. They knew they had to take action, or we would never be able to come out of this. We would stay as slaves forever. They failed, but that does not mean we can't try again. Now, I need you to watch over Sharhn. She is young, and needs family there alongside with her-"
"I hate you!! You don't get it, do you?! Do you want to leave me and Sharhn here, after mom and dad both died as well? You're not coming back, you know. You're not!"
"That's some beautiful faith you have in me, brother." Tgaeh then turned around, and started to walk off, stopping just once. "Even if I DO die, it is for everybody here who wishes for freedom, and has dreamed of it for as long as they can remember. If I don't do it for them, then who will? If we don't start to take action, we'll always stay in this position. But, I WILL come back." With those words, he left.
Hand clenched in fists on his sides, Brache shook his head. "You're not," he whispered in an uneven and rough voice. "You're not!"
It had not been the best way to part, but this was not the time for Tgaeh to concentrate on family arguments; he would save that for later. He silently fingered the metal dagger in his hand, watching it glitter unevenly with the stars in the night sky.
The soldiers were surrounding the site, right on schedule. As they stood there for moments, something started to shimmer around the area, flowing and wavering to and fro. The illusion was being placed up, signaling that the process was starting. Tgaeh bit his bottom lip nervously and turned to look at Syaoran.
The teenage boy shrugged his shoulders, eyes darting from the site to the castle constantly. "When will Eurena and Natir contact us?" he whispered in a low voice. "I'm getting a bit restless because this is making me more than just a little bit nervous." He frowned slightly, turning to check on the silent Yue and Tomoyo once in a while.
"There is nothing we can do without the first word from the two of them. They are the only ones with connections to everything that occurs within the palace. Natir is also pretty trusted by his fellow workers, so he should not have any problems. And since the evil one Dtarna sent Eurena personally out to fetch you, there must be a level of trust for her as well. All in all, they are the ones that we have to listen to for now, because they know these rules better than we do."
Syaoran nodded his head, sucking in a deep breath. Suddenly, they saw a flicker of light in one part of the castle, followed by two more just seconds apart. "That's the signal!" Syaoran said in a much louder voice. His grip tightened onto his sword, feeling his magic surge within his body and expand. Two scrolls were at his fingertips as he stood up, head turning to look at the others near him.
"Let's go!" Tgaeh informed. "Order Red moves towards the right, Order Green keeps going forward. The rest of us will sneak in as planned. Remember! Don't force them away from our paths, because they'll suspect something. Let one or two of them come our way, but stop them before they truly notice anything. Now MOVE!" Tgaeh began to run, when he noticed Syaoran staring at him. The rest of the rebels had made their ways to their given actions. "What?"
Syaoran shook his head. "It's nothing," he smiled. "Come on. We have a world to take back from the hands of a dictator." He looked at Tomoyo, Yue, and about four other people with their group. Tomoyo, for some peculiar reason, was holding onto a large bag, with Yue there guarding her. They were starting to get up, and he nodded his head. "Eurena and Natir are waiting for us," he told them. "It's time to get this over with."
The rest of them nodded their head, and they retreated from the stone wall to dash towards the castle.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Night 33 - Shadow World
Sakura packed up her items into her bag as she glanced at Eriol in between. He was silent. Again. She raked her fingers through her hair, pulling onto a few strands nervously each time.
"Sakura." The voice caused her to jump, and she guiltily saw that Eriol had noticed that as well. "I was about to tell you that we're departing now."
"I-I know," she murmured, head bowed slightly to avert her eyes away from his saddened-yet still beautiful-face. "I know. Let's move on."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Night 33 - Shadow World
Quickly ridding the few guards by the opening to the palace, Syaoran's group continued up the long flight of stairs. Already, the could hear the commotion down below, the small uprising causing just enough of a distraction that they needed. Suddenly, Syaoran's eyes noticed about a dozen soldiers racing towards them from the left and behind. He stopped, and saw the rest of his group hesitate. "No!" he shouted to them. "Go on!! I'll be more than enough for them now." He grinned and nodded his head. Tgaeh responding with a thumbs-up, and gestured for the rest of them to continue on.
Syaoran then turned to fully face the soldiers, holding onto his scrolls. "Oh... no, no, no, no..." he chuckled. "You had a HORRIFIC advantage over me before, but that is over!" He threw the first scroll in the air, chanting and ended with the word, "WIND!!!" A large breeze picked up in front of the descendant of Clow Reed, enveloping the soldiers in front of him as they all rolled down the stairs. He next turned to his left, noticing that one person was just about a few yards away. He ducked down when a spear swung towards him, then used the hilt of his sword to slam against the head of the bahrrn. The soldier immediately fainted, and Syaoran proceeded to use his second scroll.
"EARTH!!!"
The ground beneath the second group of bahrrns started to shake violently, and bits and pieces shot up like pillars. Syaoran's eyes widened at the effect. "Wow," he murmured. "I didn't know I could do that." Many of the struggling bahrrns decided to run for it, and the only ones who stayed were either fainted, or moments later decided to follow the fleeing soldiers. Syaoran then continued to run up the stairs, stopping by the tall doors. He stared around at the group of people. "Is everybody fine?" he questioned. Most nodded their head, so he turned to look at Tomoyo. "Tomoyo?" She smiled with confidence. "We're all ready."
Tgaeh nodded his head. "Open the doors!" he shouted.
The next moment, at the crack of an opening, Syaoran felt his breath rush out of his lungs. He gasped, falling to the ground. The magic! I forgot how strong it was!! He shut his eyes, struggling to get back up onto his feet, a faint voice calling out to him. His mind felt as if pounds of lead were placed upon it, a burdensome torture consuming him.
"Syaoran! SYAORAN!"
His eyes shot open, and he turned to look around. There, in front of Syaoran was a hand. He grabbed it, and found himself eye-to-eye with Tgaeh. He whispered a quick thanks, wiping his brow even though there was no sight of sweat. "The others," Tgaeh told him grimly, "cannot face this sort of power." At those words, the two glanced around to see that practically everyone in their Order had fallen. "They've fainted, and I believe we should leave them here." "But Tomoyo-!" he started.
"I'm... right here," the girl gasped aloud. She was standing next to Yue, whose wings have expanded out to slightly envelop the small female. "What... what is this place?! It's killing me to just stand on my feet..."
Muttering a few curses, Syaoran brought out another scroll. "SHIELD!" he shouted, only to watch seconds later as his parchment exploded into tiny scraps. "We can't do anything to lessen the intensity. The only thing we've got is to just run in there for a confrontation."
"Would it not, though, be a better idea to fight in an environment to our advantage? Not hers?" Yue asked.
"In a way, we do not have a choice," Tgaeh told him. "She is now expecting us, and we will never get a second chance at this. I say we go in to face it head-on! This is what it's about: fighting against them in their own territory. If we win... we would have shown them just how much we are against this, how our strength has overcome this world. If we defeat Dtarna, then that is all that we'll ever need." He stopped for a second, and gave them a long smile. "Then my brother and sister will live easier. They'll have a good life, and so will I. We have to do this. We have to do this NOW."
Syaoran nodded his head. "I agree. Come on, Yue, Tomoyo," he whispered. "It's time to go home."
Tomoyo turned to look at her friend, and then at the winged man who sheltered her slightly from the impact of the magic. "Yes, Yue," she agreed. "Let's go fight. I may not be able to do anything, but I do believe that we need to do this now. It's sad to see how tortured these humans are..."
Sighing softly, the guardian of the Card Captor nodded his head. "Very well. Move forward, friend of Clow Reed's descendant. I can argue about this no further."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Night 33 - Shadow World
They entered the palace and walked right through the center of the first floor. Immediately, the four of them noticed that Eurena and Natir had taken care of most of the people there, with a lot of the workers laying on the ground, unconscious. Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. At least they had less to worry about at this current moment.
"They are over there," Tgaeh pointed at the top of the end of a staircase, and the four of them rushed ahead.
"We must hurry," Eurena shouted to them, and turned around to begin to lead the way. "This way-"
"No need for that, I do believe," a new voice entered. Syaoran's eyes darted towards the left of the end of the hallway by the staircase, and sucked in a deep breath. He held his sword in his hands warily, clenching it until his knuckles turned white. Standing there with confidence clearly marked upon her face, was Dtarna. She was not wearing the most elaborate and exquisite clothing as before, but instead just a simple pale shirt and dress. In her hands, she held a smooth staff. The top had a large sphere and vine-like pieces snaked down until they reached the end of the staff. "Because you took so long to come see me, I decided to take the action into my own hands," she smirked.
"You're going down!" Syaoran shouted.
Suddenly, she turned to look at the four who entered the palace, and waved her staff straight towards them. A large gust of magic shot out and they flew off the stairs, back down towards the first floor. Yue held Tomoyo in his arms, and his wings broke his fall just inches before they made impact with the ground. Syaoran and Tgaeh, on the other hand, felt the full collision as they crashed.
Dtarna then turned to gaze at Natir and Eurena. The bahrrn had cautiously moved to stand in front of his wife. "I thought you knew better than that, Eurean, Natir," she murmured, eyes turned to slits. "You have been here almost right after you were born, and followed me up until now. How can you betray me in such a way?! Especially with such a group who has lost to me before! This people cannot win against me, Eurena. Come back to me, and I will possibly overlook the sins you have made in these last few weeks." When she noticed that the rest of them were attempting to move once more, she threw another blast of magic at them.
Quietly, Eurena moved past Natir to face the one leader she had always followed her entire life. Then, she got down on one knee and bowed her head down. "Leader Dtarna..." she began. "It is true that you have known me ever since I could remember. I have done everything that you asked me to do, including going to Earth to fetch the young man. I have watched as others suffer and we live our lives to the fullest. Natir has also been loyal to you and done as you had wished for him to. All this is true."
Dtarna smiled at those words.
"But..." Eurena continued, turning her head to look up. "I can do this no longer, master. Have you seen your people cry? Have you seen them pray each and every night? Have you seen how you attempted to tear apart that boy from Earth from his love? Have you seen the determination of many who wish to see you fall? Have you see how many spirits you broke? The people in Lyrra are not happy, master! You cannot allow the world to continue on like this!" She then stood up and took Natir's hand into her own. "I am sorry, but I will fight you. I have been feeling this uneasiness for years already, because I do not believe in the evil that you will continue to do upon this world. And besides that, you remember the prophecy?" she murmured. "Eons past before our savior comes. But when thee does, justice be done. The time has come, master. You will step down."
Dtarna's eyes flashed in anger, her body shaking with unspoken emotions. "You..." she growled. "Eurena, how DARE you truly go against me and speak of such foolishness! That passage was made long after I held rule over the Shadow World! You have no right-"
"You KILLED Laok and Trikilne!!! I was there, master! And you," she choked, "you... killed them!"
"Laok... and Trikilne?!" Tgaeh shouted from below. "How... how!"
Dtarna jerked her head to look down at them. "You stay out of this, little one. You know NOTHING."
Memories disappear as thee enters our world
New thoughts replace and all unfurl
Tgaeh ignored the threat, and ran back up towards where the three people were, ignoring how the strong magic was trying to strain him down. Dtarna attempted to throw another attack at him, but this time, as if an obsession possessed him to move forward, he held his place, falling to his knees. Yet seconds afterwards, he moved again. When she attacked once more, another person entered, standing in front of Tgaeh.
"S... Syaoran!" he gasped.
Wincing, the teenager attempted to throw up another shield. "Keep going, Tgaeh! Yue and I will try to keep her magic distracted." He then took out a second scroll once the shield had shattered again. "Lightning!!!" he shouted, and was surprised at how the magic had almost hit Dtarna this time. She turned to stare at him.
"You!" Sighing, she shook her head. "I do believe that I have realized what an annoyance you are!"
"Hey, you wanted me in the first place!" he shouted back.
"Yes... why do you want him of all the people in the world-" Eurena began to ask, when Tgaeh zoomed past her. He grabbed Dtarna by the collar and shoved her against a wall.
"Tell me! Why do you know Laok and Trikilne specifically?!" he demanded. "You killed that entire movement without a second thought, bitch! How would you know them specifically?!"
"What does it matter to you?" she gasped, struggling against his strong hold on her. She began to move her staff once more, but he jerked it out of her hands and threw it down the stairs.
"They were my mother and father!" he screamed.
Eurena's eyes widened at those words, staggering. Dtarna also became speechless. "You..." she whispered. Then, finally realizing the position she was in, Dtarna threw magic once more at him, and he backed away. "You... are the child of Laok and Trikilne?" she asked, and then laughed. "Oh, they fooled you well, little one. They fooled. You. Well."
Parents knew but spoke no words
For fear of death, and of the hurt
The group began once more to attack her, but she just shook her head and held a hand up, as if to stop them. "Okay, okay," she chuckled. "Let us stop fighting for a moment, and allow for me to tell you a tale." When Syaoran held his sword up, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop it!" she said, exasperated. "I have nothing that I need to do with you, anymore. I can just kill you with one hit, but I have decided, instead, to explain a few more things to you. Do you truly wish for me not?"
Silently, Syaoran slowly walked to Tgaeh, and stopped, his eyes never leaving the woman.
Dtarna walked over to the railing of the second floor, and stared down below at her staff. The next second, it reappeared at her hand. "You all keep saying that I defile this world. That I am the devil of the civilization in Shadow World. But you want to know something? You want to hear something that will probably cause even more surprise?
"If it were not for me, then there would not even BE civilization in the Shadow World," she smirked. Next, a small beam appeared from the tip of the staff and shone on the ground. From there, a large throne-like chair appeared, and she sat down casually.
"Liar!" Tgaeh shouted, starting to move forward before Syaoran jerked at his arm to call him back. "You are a liar!"
"Before time, before anybody realized it, there was me. I had powers that humans such as you would never understand. That was millenniums ago. I started on Earth, in a primitive world where magic was one everywhere. Yes, this was on Earth, the planet where if one has magic now, the majority would not be able to comprehend such a thing. Though it was abundant during my time, I grew bored of the planet. What excitement could there be for me?
"I wanted to leave Earth, and find a world which I can call my own. A world which I can live in and have people worship me. During this time, I found the portals which led to other dimensions, and took my time to discover its secrets, to learn how to control a pathway towards a specific place. Later on, a handful of others followed me as we entered another world. This place: a world of its own that parallels that of Earth. Beautiful. It used to be known as Hantshi Firn, a phrase that means 'Paradise Life'. Now it is Hakgon. Shadow World."
Thee who comes has lost thou past
Magic hidden, will be cast
"The reason that this world is so full of humans is because some were able to escape me as my powers were trying to used to this world. They realized how I wanted slaves. How I wanted eternal workers. How I needed power, and needed a lot of it. There were able to escape me in about five hundred years' worth of time, and created cities of their own.
"Your parents, little one, were followers of mine," Dtarna concluded. "They left me, but came back about two hundred years ago. The magic we have help preserve our life, and they looked just as they did when I killed them. You believe your are only a teenager? Think again."
Tgaeh's eyes widened at those words, hands clenched into fists. "That... can't be..."
"Of course, I wouldn't let them join my side again for what they have done, so they became workers of mine. Their magic had diminished, and they worked in the sun as you have. You are nothing, just as Laok and Trikilne are, were, nothing. The most likely thing they did was erase everything that you've ever known. Of course, when there was that uprising, they jumped at the opportunity to take me down. Idiotic fools. They gained a sense of morality that I stomped on quickly-"
"YOU LIAR!!!" Tgaeh shouted, running up to her, bringing out a dagger to attack her with.
Forever drops of freedom rain
Through all of Lyrra, prison drained
"She's not lying..." Syaoran whispered. "She's not lying at all!! Tgaeh!!" He rushed up to the attacking boy, but before he could do anything, Dtarna had gotten up from her chair, and moved to block with her staff at where Tgaeh had strike down. She responded by shoving her staff forward, yet he dodged sharply towards his left.
Yue flew up towards the ceiling of the palace, and shot his hand down with the icicles aimed straight towards Dtarna. She quickly lifted up a shield, causing Tgaeh and Syaoran to fly back. Eurena cringed as she brought out a small knife, but Natir stopped her in her tracks. Tgaeh was already struggling to get up, and he rushed forward once more.
Before he could touch the shield, Syaoran got in front of him and shoved his sword down into Dtarna's guard. Beams of lightning shot out at the reaction of the movement, and Dtarna held her hands up to protect herself. Syaoran cringed at the strength of the power, but held his sword there anyway. Slowly, he turned to look at Tgaeh, and smirked. "I told you," he shouted over the noise that was occurring, "that you got the prophecy wrong!"
Tgaeh narrowed his eyes in question. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not the one that they're talking about in the prophecy. At least, not that one you're thinking about." The shield shattered, dispersing to leave Dtarna without any other protection. With that, Syaoran ran forward and brought his sword down at the ruler of this world. She exchanged blows with him with her staff, but jumped back to move away from Syaoran. Yue shot down once more, and she held a hand out towards him, shooting a dark electrical energy towards him. Yue evaded the attack, but the aftershock caused him to slow down in his speed. At that moment, she changed her staff into a sword, and smirked. Her head was tilted slightly, as if to invite for them all to come at her again.
"I do not understand, Syaoran!" Tgaeh yelled to him.
Finally, Syaoran turned around. "Fine," he said. "I'll give you one clue. I'm not the one the prophecy speaks of as the hero. I'm the wizard watch. Make a guess as to who the wizard is watching over at this time."
Thee brings with thou a wizard watch
Followers approach, for all shall march
Tgaeh's eyes widened at those words, as well did many others, including Dtarna. "WHAT?!" she screeched, moving forward. Syaoran moved to stand in front of Tgaeh as she did. "Are you telling me that I have been going after the wrong person all this time?!"
Syaoran shook his head, a smile still playing on his face. He still held his sword out towards her, in case she was going to do anything. "No... I'm just saying that this prophecy might not actually be happening if you didn't try to bring me here to kill me in the first place. You're the one that gave him a wizard to watch over him."
With each word that came out of his mouth, Dtarna's expression grew even more shocked. At the temporary moment of her stupor, Tgaeh dashed past Syaoran.
"Wait! Tgaeh!" he protested.
He quickly kicked the sword of her grasp and listened as it clattered down the hallway. Dtarna screamed, hatred in the tone of her voice. She turned to glare at him as he suddenly had his dagger pointed straight towards her throat, the tip just a few millimeters away. Tgaeh was slightly taller than Dtarna, and his eyes bored into her. His lips moved up into a triumphant smile, when she threw her arms at him. The dark energy pushed Tgaeh back once more towards the stairway, and she motioned the sword back into her hands.
Tgaeh struggled to keep his feet stable on the ground, and watched as she advanced towards him, shield placed up. Syaoran attempted to penetrate it once more, but the aftershock blew him back. Natir threw a knife straight towards it, but it clattered to the ground, having no affect.
Dtarna grinned, a wild expression upon her face. "So you're the one that's supposed to bring everybody in Lyrra to freedom, eh?" she whispered. "Let's see you try to do that in hell!!" With those words, she swung her sword towards Tgaeh, happily watching as a bright ball of power flew towards him.
Eons past before our savior comes
But when thee does, justice be done...
*~*~*~*~*~*
There will be ONE moment in the next chapter to make up for this one. Actually, the one in the next chapter isn't all that great, either. (Spoiler: Eriol gets hurt. *laughs head off*) I'm having quite a difficult time here trying to find a way to end the story. Just two chapters left!! Give me inspiration, people!! *hugs certain devoted readers happily* I'm trying to get through writer's block for you guys, mainly. *smiles* Actually... I don't know who my devoted readers are, except for those who continuously review... =( Well, thank you, invisible devoted readers, too!!! ^^ *glomps them as well* Review now?