fire_blade: Wooow. ^^ Over and over again? Hee! I feel special!
W.Kathy: E+S is great stuff, man! I wish I had discovered my love for this couple sooner. Hehe. S+YY is good, too!
Kos-Mos: Hehe. The romance genre came after the action/adventure genre. I love putting plots and working on them instead of focusing on the couple all of the time. For me, a gradual thing is what I'm best at writing. But yesh!! XD E+S moments will happen!
Kimmy & Lizzy: Hahahahaha. I tend to find myself do that, too, if I review for every chapter on a fic I like. You guys are great! ^^\/
Aore: Angst = fun is one of my philosophies!! Yesh... only two more chapters left. I've worked on this fic for over a year, and it's finally coming to an end. *sighs* Thanks for your inspiration! *grins and glomps Aore* I was never meant to be a cheerleader, either, nor will I ever consider attempting to try. Hehe.
poppy: It will end w/ E+S. I'm too cowardly to do a sad-ending for this story by now. T_T
Mindy: *nods head* Poor Eriol. But making it sad is kinda... the fun part! Yeahhhh~~!!! Whoo!!! *jumps up and down*
TrAiToR-149: From what I've heard now, NOBODY can see Tomoyo and Syaoran together. *laughs head off* That's about the most common complaint I get about this fic. That... and the lack of updating. Bleh... Well, when I read the manga and watched a bit of the anime, it seemed as if Tomoyo could read Syaoran better than Sakura could ever have even tried. She knew what he was going through and when he began to develop feelings for Sakura, so it seemed that she knew how to understand his emotions. My point of this fic is just E+S. Everything else... is everything else. ^____^
Lil Moon Witch: I'm sorry it took so long to update. T_T But a longtime reader?! \^o^/ You're WONDERFUL!
TiarellaCordifolia: I am... a dedicated SLOW author to my dedicated readers. But I love my dedicated readers. *smiles sweetly* Does that make up for it? *grins*
FireKitsune: I've updated! Was that chapter nice? Really? Awwwww... Thank you!
christyvo: Good writer? *embarrassed* I know so many others who are better than me... You're so nice!
Kousagi-chan: I've updated! I've updated! Please read! Pretty please! ^^
Lunargirl018: ... oops. An S+S fan entered. WAHH!!! T_T Poor you! (No wonder you didn't review after chapter one... *laughs*)
starlight princess: O_O It's out! It's out! Hehehe. Hope you like this one as much as you liked the previous one.
Calle: Hehe. I actually took up some of your advice. ^^ It'll work out great, since soooo many people don't care much for Syaoran/Tomoyo. After all this time, I STILL don't understand him when it comes to making an alternative couple. *laughs head off* Why Syaoran/Meiling but not Syaoran/Tomoyo? Drkdemon is quite confuuuuuuuused. (I love dragging out the 'uuuu' in that word. Whee!) I adore long reviews. Reading yours was fun and DID help! *thumbs up* Good job!
Moon Smurf: YOU ARE BACK! I've missed you! Talk to me right when you get a chance, you hear?! At least it leaves you with loads of fanfics to read. ^^ Think about all the ones that got updated! (Unless it's one of those that update once a year... how cruel!! T_T) Eriol, unfortunately, WILL be hurt. (NOOOO~~~!!!!!)
Shy-Lil-Dreamer: *gasp* I'd NEVER forget about this fic! (It's the only one I'm working on these days... *hides in embarrassment*) It just... takes me a while to get the next chapter out, that's all. Hee!
(If I missed anybody... I'M SORRY!!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!)
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Seventeen: The True Salvation (Part 2 - Future Given)
Night 33 - Shadow World
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.
The next moment, a circular, pale wall surrounded Tgaeh and the black energy neutralized itself into nothing. The boy blinked, confused at the idea that he was still alive to consider what had just happened. He looked down at his hands, then back up again, when a new voice entered the scene.
"I do believe that we have finally reached out destination." All those who stood at the current moment turned their heads to glance at the newcomers. There, standing right at the opposite end of the large room, was Eriol and Sakura, both in casual wear. He held his transformed staff in his hand, obviously having used his own magic to protect Tgaeh from the blast. Sakura was a few feet behind him, eyes wide at the sight of her friends once more.
Sakura... Syaoran whispered within his mind. He wanted to reach out for her, to grasp her familiar hands in his own to comprehend that she was truly there. He began to take a step towards her.
"Eriol! Sakura!" Tomoyo cried happily, running from Yue's protection to her friends. She was about to reach them when Eriol's eyes widened and swung his staff in a circular movement above his head. Immediately, Tomoyo's body lifted in the air as a power source shot past her and hit the wall. Slowly, Eriol then lowered her to the ground in front of them. The rest of them had begun to attack Dtarna once more.
Sakura gathered her friend into her arms. "Oh, Tomoyo," she breathed happily. "It feels like an eternity since I last saw you and Yue and everybody else! I've missed you all so much."
Tomoyo herself was smiling, glancing for a second at Eriol before her attention moved back to her dearest and oldest friend. She released Sakura moments later, knowing they had little time to waste, fishing in her pockets for what she knew Sakura needed at the moment. Finally, she shoved the items into Sakura's hands, which consisted of the cards and her key. "I know that you've really been missing these."
Grinning, Sakura mumbled the words she needed, and cried out "Release!" as her final word. The key changed into her staff with wings on the sides of a circle with a star in the middle. The feel of her magic back within her grasp gave Sakura a feeling like no other. The power that surged back through her, the familiar emotion of connection with her cards, all that came flowing back into her like a lost memory. She watched as her cards almost glowed with a liking to be back within her grasp. After that, Sakura nodded her head to thank Tomoyo and ran into the battle. The dark-haired girl then turned to look at Eriol, who gave her a tight smile, before he left as well.
Eriol... he doesn't look at Sakura the same way as before, Tomoyo realized. What happened between the two of them? There's a tense barrier encircling them both.
"AHH!!!" Natir shouted, clutching his arm in pain as it bled freely from a deep gnash that Dtarna made. Instead of releasing magic from her weapon, she used it to cause a physical wound. He backed away from the battle, Eurena following to tend to her loved one.
"How is it?" she asked, concern showing in her face clearly. "Can you move it?"
He shook his head. "Do not watch over me. Take care of Dtarna first."
Eurena's lips moved to a tight line. "The rest are here to take care of the job. You come first, now and always."
Sakura swiftly took a card out, calling for her own magic to appear. "Fire!" she shouted. The next moment, a ember-colored spirit shot from the card, running straight towards the fight at the top of the stairway. Yue, Tgaeh, and Syaoran moved out of the way as it expanded its element to attack Dtarna.
She responded with a defensive spell, then summoned her own power again to counter against the fire. Just as the card was debilitating, Sakura took out both Windy and Water. She was about to summon, when Eriol grabbed her arm to stop her movements. Syaoran saw what was happening, and rushed down to the two of them at the end of the stairway, allowing Yue and Tgaeh to take over once Fire will disappear.
"You should not waste energy so quickly, Sakura," Eriol told her. "Doing two cards at once - the two powerful element cards at once - will take away much of your stamina."
She glared at him, jerking her arm away. "Don't tell me what NOT to do, Eriol. I'll be just fine with my own decisions." Yet as she said those words, Sakura slipped the two cards back into her pile, deciding on another card.
"Sakura!" Looking up, she saw Syaoran running towards her. She almost dropped her items, seeing his face looking at her with unhidden apprehension. "Sakura, you're here!" He wrapped his arms around her as she took in his recognizable scent. It had been weeks since she saw him, and now she realized how much her heart had ached for him. Eriol watched the two, attempting to hide the pain that began to surge inside of him.
"Syaoran, we can exchange words later. Right now, we need to take care of this situation."
He nodded his head. "Eriol and I will continue to fight up there with Tgaeh and Yue. You stay here and try to throw up whatever you can at her, okay?"
She started to protest, when Syaoran interrupted her once more. "We need you more for fire power than to have you physically up there with the rest of us. Take care of it! I trust you will." With those words, he ran back up the stairway with Eriol slowly following behind.
Suddenly, Eriol turned to give Sakura one last glance. "You," he whispered, "will always be a part of me. Your Name is yours." He then lowered his eyes and turned back around, mouthing the words I love you, more to himself than to her. Eriol then ran up to confront the lady who he held questions for.
Sakura wearily stared at the back of Eriol, speechless once more from what he had said. When she glanced back up, she realized that Yue had fallen, injured. He can barely take another hit, she cried to herself, seeing her guardian in such a condition. I need to make sure the others can keep her occupied so that Yue can rest. Her fire card had returned to its sleeping form a long while ago. Sakura began to shuffle through her cards, and fished out one she considered to look helpful. "Power! Lend your strength to Syaoran! Release!"
The next punch that Syaoran let loose on Dtarna sent her flying back against the wall. Staring at his hand in disbelief, he turn to give Sakura a thankful smile. Dtarna fell to the ground, the wall behind her now decorated with a large crack from where she made contact with it. Before Tgaeh, Syaoran, or Eriol could advance closer to her, she swung her sword across the air, giving her time to get back up. She then sent out another blast of magic.
"Shield! Release!" Sakura screamed, able to protect both Tgaeh and Syaoran as Eriol conjured up his own.
This sort of attack went back and forth for the next few hours, and Sakura could feel the prolonging minutes work their exhaustion on her energy. Over and over again she had used her cards. Dash. Water. Sword. Jump. Fly. Anything that came up as a good use when the moment came. She began to notice that her shield's power was becoming more delicate with each time she conjured it up. Yue had truly fallen, with Tomoyo tending to him. The soldier she did not know was also placed near them as a woman watched over him. The only ones left were Syaoran, Tgaeh, and Eriol against Dtarna. Yet even then, Sakura could see that Syaoran was almost at the end of his rope of endurance.
"P-p-power!" Sakura managed to get out before she suddenly felt her feet give way beneath her. In shock, she attempted to get up, but found it as hard of a struggle as keeping her staff in its current form. When Dtarna noticed the chance in attacking the open Sakura, she immediately took advantage of that. She gathered her energy together and threw her hand out towards the fallen girl. As it inched closer and closer to her with each half-second that passed, Sakura could only watch. Her staff dropped to the ground, feeling herself give up and accept the attack.
Before the intervention.
"No! Sakura!" Eriol cried, leaping down the stairs to cut off the magic and Sakura. In midair, he felt the putrid energy stab into his physical body, attacking his limbs as the cackling power ate at him. He shut his eyes tightly closed and screamed in agonizing pain. Flinching and cringing, he fell down to the floor, collapsing.
Eriol... Eriol... A flashback of what had occurred before began to run through Sakura's mind. The blood squirting out... His body falling... The arrow piercing through his flesh and clothes...
"S... Sakura..."
"He is not dead. Now come. Let us go."
The touch of his blood upon her hands. The pain that tore within her at the thought of him being dead, dying... The way the smell lingered on her hands as she was carried off. The rain pouring down, drenching his fallen figure. Her desperate and broken screams for him as he never reacted to her words while she was forced to leave him behind...
No... I can't... Eriol. Eriol! "ERIOL!!!!" Sakura shrieked, running towards his unmoving body. She felt herself inside wrench in pain at the sight of him. Kneeling down in front of her, Sakura jerked her head up to glare at Dtarna, eyes beginning to overflow with heated tears. Teeth clenched, she reached back for her staff and held onto it so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. Sakura automatically drew out a card, not even looking to see if she was correct or not in getting what she wanted. "FIRE!!!" she screamed, releasing the magic to shoot straight out towards Dtarna.
Dtarna immediately raised up a shield as she battled against the element. Yet, unlike the previous time when their fight was short-timed, this one lasted longer. Suddenly, her shield broke as Fire surrounded her. She could feel her skin burning, raw injuries forming as she recoiled from the heat. Dtarna feebly placed up another shield, then transferred herself out of the ball of fire as quickly as she could.
"You're NOT getting away!" Sakura shouted as she stood up, anger still burning within over what had happened to Eriol. Yet still, she recalled Fire. "NOBODY does that to him and gets away with it!" She took out another card once more without looking and threw it into the air with the incantation. "SNOW! RELEASE!"
Large icicles began to form in the air, attacking the woman relentlessly. "Ugh!" Dtarna growled, glaring at the angry teenager at the bottom of the stairs. Even then, while she was dodging the power, she had to smirk. It seems that anger does inflame the beast within you to arise, child. It inflames and eats at your energy. Something tells me that this will not last as long as you think it will, and I will NOT fall as quickly as you intend for me to.
"WATER! WIND! RELEASE!" The unexpected attack by two element cards at the same time broke through to Dtarna. She fell back, the weak barrier she conjured at the very last minute lasting only temporarily. Sakura's eyes blazed in anger, shocking both Tgaeh and Syaoran to just stand there and watch as the female took her ire out on the ruler of Lyrra.
Sakura... Syaoran thought, marveling at her immense force. I've never seen her fight like this before, especially with her compassion towards anybody, even to her enemy. How... How can the attack on Eriol cause something like this to occur?! What is happening?
"AHHH!!!" Dtarna shrieked in pain when the two elements ran through the barrier and sliced an injury onto her upper right arm. She clutched onto the bleeding wound, hissing through her clenched teeth. Just when the magic began to attack her again, Dtarna felt pure fear finally enter through her body and expand. She took in a quavering breath, then screamed out one word, something that she did not comprehend at all. "HAETH!!!"
The name snapped straight into Tgaeh's mind as he jerked his head to stare at the leader of Lyrra in shock and utter confusion, when something entered his mind as well. His breath became irregular in its intervals and he fell to his knees.
"Tgaeh?!" Syaoran asked, concern in his voice.
Tgaeh clutched his head with one hand, eyes wide. He was suffocating in the realization, suddenly understand what had just occurred seconds ago. Finally, the Name ran true through his veins. Fiaun... Fiaun. That is her Name.
She heard the mere whisper of it in someone's mind, bringing her back up to the surface to continue fighting. Who?! she wondered in amazement in her mind as she drew up a shield to give her time to stand back up. Dtarna, using her left hand, brought the sword up to parry against the elements as she got up to get a better stance. Already, her thoughts turned back to Sakura. An... unexpected turn, even I must admit. The capability to fight with such vigor and hate... that boy. He means much to her. Dtarna felt one side of her lips pull up to smile against the pain. I should have just killed him right then and there.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Night 33 - Shadow World
Suddenly, through all the attacks that Sakura was making, a familiar voice began to wake. "S... Sakura..."
The voice tore through Sakura's anger, cooling it to the point where she could acknowledge the voice. Then again, this was not exactly the first time he had been able to do so. She still remembered when his voice comforted her through her sleep after he brought her out of the caves. This time, though, the tone was ragged, forced out through with the usage of quite a bit of strength. She turned her head sharply down to stare at him. Eriol... she whispered within her mind.
He began to reach a hand up to her, when he stopped and laid it back on the ground next to him, defeated. "Sakura... stop this," he murmured. "I can practically see your aura seep out from your body."
She hastily wiped away whatever tears she could with her sleeve, sniffing. Then, she gave him the only excuse she could come up with at the moment. "She hurt you," Sakura said softly, though enraged emotions dripped from all three words. "I'm sick of seeing people... hurt you." She was amazed at the amount of passion she felt at the current moment.
Eriol was about to say more, when his eyes closed and he laid his head back down, unconscious once more. Seeing that happen, Sakura shook her head in grief as she watched his body sleep. He was still alive, thank God, but... those words he said to her at first took the entire fighting spirit out of her. Sakura was confused, helpless, and wanted her questions answered. She wanted to know what she really thought at the current moment, kneeling by Eriol's side, barely remembering Syaoran. Yet when he flickered in her mind, she was brought back to what her current relationship status is.
Syaoran... I love him. Sakura kept telling herself. I love him. I love Syaoran. We're going to get married when we grow up. We'll have children. We'll be with each other forever. Nothing can change that. Nothing can change that. Nothing can-
Sakura's Water and Wind card suddenly gave a shriek of defeat, waking her back to the physical world once more, one that was in need of her assistance. Syaoran was knocked against a wall, struggling to get up. His friend was shouting some sort of warning towards her.
Yet it was too late.
Dtarna was dashing quickly towards the Card Captor, just a few feet away from her, sword in view as it was about to come down to announce her death. It began to take its path down towards Sakura, when somebody else got in the way of Dtarna's strike. There stood Tgaeh, sword straight through his chest, his heart, immediately beginning to eat his life away. "Fi... aun..." he whispered, falling to the ground.
Her hands went up towards her mouth in shock at the revelation that appeared. Fiaun... my Name. He discovered my NAME! Suddenly, she realized what he was, this son of her friend from lifetimes ago. This young boy... who dared to rebel against her with others. He feared no death, yet it came searching for him anyway. Shaking with fear, Dtarna knelt down beside him. His burning face consumed her mind, taking her over as she could see the blood overflowing in his mouth and running down his chin. She took one of his hands into her own unstable one. "You... you..."
He smiled up at her. "Take... the sword..."
Her eyes darted from his to the sword, and back again. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her fingers around the hilt, then pulled it out without blinking, hearing his tearing cry of pain reverberate in her ears. Finally, she felt the tears come. Tears from the pain of discovering something after it has been too late. Tears of centuries of frustration and centuries of being alone. "You are the one," she whispered. "The one whose Name I should have searched for in the beginning. Instead, I slay you. I kill the one who I am destined for. Oh, dear Gods," she whimpered.
Tgaeh was breathing heavily, sweating from the force he was using to keep himself alive for these last few minutes. "Our punish... ment... I suppose," he whispered. "Mine... for taking... so long... to react. Yours... for your... doings. We... cannot be. At least... no in this... lifetime."
Dtarna bent down to give him a small kiss on his forehead. "My one... My dearest... My Haeth."
His expression turned to one of cynical laughter. "Yours? Yes... I suppose so..." he choked out a small laugh before his eyes gradually closed, body then going limp. It was now when Tgaeh was gone from the physical world.
*~*~*~*~*~*
She stared at the sword next to her, next to the dead body. So this was how easily this sorceress could be broken. This was how she now fell. Haeth... Haeth... Haeth... Haeth... she cried in her mind, moving her lips to repeat his name without sound as time passed by.
Sakura, still angry at the death she saw in front of her, brought another card out from her deck. She was about to call the magic out when somebody shouted to her. "Sakura! STOP!" Looking up, she saw Syaoran running down to her, his face filled with grief and anguish. "Please, Sakura... we've had enough killing for one day," he said, voice cracking as he took her hand into his own. "Tgaeh is dead. Her soul mate is dead. Let her be. We defeated Dtarna."
Looking into his tear-filled eyes, Sakura shook her head. "No. No..." she said. "He saved me. He saved me... and now... I have to. I have..." She found herself at a loss for words.
Syaoran took her into his arms, clutching her tight against him. "She lost her soul mate... she lost him. All she now contains is his Name. What sort of gift is that?!" he murmured, the bleak expression on his face telling all of how he suffered from this as well. Yue and Tomoyo finally walked closer to them. Eurena was helping Natir down the stairs slowly.
To lose the one whose Name you know... brings such a tear within the soul, Sakura realized, staring past Syaoran's shoulder down to Dtarna. Tgaeh was his name, wasn't it? He... this is what he meant to her, and she never realized it until it was too late. Too... late... No. I can't accept that. What I have now is all I need. I'll be safe. I won't be hurt. What I have now has been the best for the past years... it should have no negative effect on me. With that thought, she clung to Syaoran as he held her. Sakura shut her eyes in the fear within her, the doubt she felt about all she knew before she entered this world. Before all of this occurred. "Don't let go of me, Syaoran," she whimpered. "Please, don't let go of me."
Suddenly, there was a clattering behind Syaoran, bringing them all back up to the surface. Dtarna was crying once again, but this time, Eriol was awake. The sword was clenched in his hands, causing it to bleed profusely. He was breathing hard as he turned to look at her. "You cannot take your own life. Not when you have so much to repent for, to make right. That is especially true for what you need to do for the people you ruled over for so long."
Sakura's eyes widened at the sight. "You tried to commit suicide?! Idiot!" she shouted, being restrained by Syaoran. "You don't take the easy way out! This only helps you, not those who you've tortured for so long!"
Eurena picked Dtarna up, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry, master... Dtarna. This is it."
Eriol then felt a soft hand touch his own. He looked up to see Tomoyo kneeling down next to him. She slowly moved his hand open and took the sword out. Eriol winced at the pain he felt, attempting to not scream when she began to move his hand. "Thank you... Tomoyo."
She glanced into Eriol's unreadable eyes. "Will you be fine for now?" she asked him in a soft voice.
He nodded his head and gave her a warm smile, one that made Sakura's inside churn, to her surprise. "I'll be fine for now." Watching Eriol, Syaoran turned to stroke Sakura's head absentmindedly.
Tomoyo then turned to look at Dtarna. "Your rule is over," she whispered.
Dtarna, the Efhnir, the slave runner, was defeated.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Whew! Finished that up. ^_____^ One more chapter left! Please comment, b/c I don't do replies to those given to my last chapter, since there won't be a new chapter for me to reply back to you guys on. Hehe. You get it? And I love replying back to your comments! Thanks to everybody to reviewed before. ^___^ I got loads to read. Stay for the VERY last installment on this fic! (I've enjoyed this one so much... *sighs happily*) See ya!