**Disclaimer: Honestly now. I've written it eight times already! I'm
running out of witty things to say for these things, daggummit! Stop
ruining my childhood dreams. Y-Y
Okay, everyone, it's been a long ride, but there's only one chapter after this one, but this is going to be a long chapter. This calls for my Ai Yori Aoshi soundtrack (36 tracks long @.@)! Hang in there!
Wishing Isn't Enough
Chapter 9
"Who are you and what are you doing to Sakura?!" exclaimed Li angrily.
Li's twin and Mei-Lin grinned.
"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, grinning broadly. "You see, you're my reflection. But, I guess in this world, I'm your reflection. Mei-Lin and I come from the Realm of Mirror where we are identical to the people in this world, but our personalities are opposite. There, the good are bad and the bad are good. So, you see, I'm the evil half of you and you are the good half of me."
"We came through that mirror over there," said mirror Mei-Lin, pointing to a large mirror framed with gold and silver symbols, "courtesy the Sakura of the mirror."
"Once we steal all of good Sakura's energy and dispose of all magical people and objects on this side of the mirror, we shall consolidate the worlds and rule over all!" exclaimed Mirror Li, cackling. "Too long have we been oppressed, forced to hide our magic for fear of being shunned from society! Too often have I sought after something that remains indifferent to my existence. But, I'm sure you can relate."
Li sat in silence for a moment, shocked. A fresh scream from Sakura snapped Li back to reality.
"Why are you stealing Sakrua's energy?! What use is she to you?!" cried Li as he struggled against the chains.
"Simple," replied Mirror Li, "we need a cast amount of magical energy to expand the mirror and merge the worlds. She has the most magic on this side of the mirror. I sent you the dreams and was watching you from the moment you stepped onto the airplane. We lured you to Sakura and brought both of you here so that we could dispose of you, Sakura, and the creations of Clow in one fell swoop. Pretty clever, isn't it?"
"I won't let you!" shouted Li. The chains that bound him began to glow a deep red and snapped into a thousand shards.
"Good," said Mirror Li, "I was hoping to have a chance to battle my other self." He drew his sword. "This should be interesting."
Mei-Lin gave Li his sword, Lasin Board, and element papers back. The two Lis faced each other and prepared to fight.
They stood opposite each other and circled, each waiting for the other's attach. Suddenly, Mirror Li sent fire from his sword, breaking the stiff silence. Li countered with water, but was thrown back from the impact of the fire.
Mirror Li walked over with his sword and prepared to stab Li. Li rolled out of the way and hit Mirror Li in the side with the butt of his swords. Lunge after lunge they battled, all magical powers forgotten. Li was just barely holding his own against his dark counterpart.
In an instant, Li was stripped (A/N: Again?! I may have to up the rating of my story. O.o) of his sword (A/N: Oh...never mind). Mirror Li then used the element wind to blow him against the wall. Li slid down the wall, leaving a trail of shining blood behind him. He was so weary and hurt from the intense battling that it was all he could do to look into the eyes of his executioner. Mirror Li raised his sword to finish Li.
"You're better than I expected," said Mirror Li, breathing hard and preparing to stab Li's heart. "Ah, well." He lunged.
'I'm sorry, Sakura. I've failed you,' thought Li, bracing himself.
He suddenly felt a surge of energy. Li opened his eyes and found that Mirror Li had stopped inches from his heart and was wearing an expression of surprise. Li wondered why for a moment before feeling a sharp pain in his back. He was transforming!
'Here, Li, take some of my energy. Good luck!' Sakura's voice echoed in his head.
Li looked down to see that his pants, shirt and shoes were all colored a pearly white. The sharp pain in his back was caused by the emergence of wings. He reached back and felt the fluffy white wings before reaching toward his forehead where a woven white band with a tear-shaped crystal that dangled from it. A few feet away, his sword transformed into a white staff with a white crescent moon on the top. Dangling from the tip of the moon was a golden star.
The staff zoomed into his hands. Li stood up and Mirror Li and Mirror Mei-Lin backed away.
"I'm ready to finish this," said Li, walking toward Mirror Li.
Mirror Li set his face and stepped forward, sword in hand. Li gripped his staff harder. They stood, facing each other once again. The silence was broken only by Mirror Li's heavy breathing.
All of the sudden, Mirror Li lunged at Li, aiming his sword again at Li's heart. Li sidestepped calmly and shot a jet of water from the tip of his staff, sending Mirror Li into the wall. He slumped to the floor and slowly struggled to get up.
Li watched Mirror Li struggle, deciding to send him, and Mirror Mei- Lin, through the mirror rather than kill them. (A/N: Taking the high road, eh, Li?)
Mirror Li got to his feet with his face set in rage. Dashing like a lunatic, looking as though it was his last hope, Mirror Li raised his sword in an attempt to behead Li. Mirror Li ran so fast that Li could barely dodge the attack, causing a gash in his cheek. Blood spattered his pristine white clothes.
Mirror Li turned around for another pass, but, this time, Li was ready. He pointed his staff at Mirror Li and sent a jet of wind at him. Wide-eyed Mirror Li crashed into Mirror Mei-Lin, who was lingering near the mirror and watching the battle, and they flew through the mirror with screams of fury.
Li dashed across the room and smashed the mirror with the end of his staff. Tiny shards of glass flew by Li's face. He turned around and ran to Sakura, who was still lying there amongst the now-recoiling vines. Li picked her up and began searching for Kero. A distinct rumbling came from all around.
'The whole building is caving in! It must be because Mirror Li is trapped on the other side of the mirror now,' thought Li as another rumble erupted.
Large pieces of the ceiling began to fall and the walls cracked as Li looked around for Kero. He spotted Kero lying asleep in a green orb on a disintegrating endtable. Li seized Kero, placed the orb in his bag and began to run for the exit.
He reached the dark tunnel. The darkness pressed all around him, making it difficult to see, but he kept running. Chunks of the ceiling were falling at Li's heels, revealing bits of the underbelly of the penguin slide. The walls on either side were cracking deeper. Just ahead, Li spotted sunlight and sped up. Just inches away from the door, a giant piece of rock fell in front of him (A/N: What bad luck!). He began to send blasts of fire at the giant chunk of rock. The falling rock fell faster behind him and the walls began to cave in, pinning him to the piece of ceiling before him.
Suddenly, just as the hunks of debris were about to crush Li, the fire broke through the rock. Li ran through the opening and flopped down in the sun. He was exhausted and allowed sleep to take him.
***
By sauce and string-beans, that was a long chapter! It doesn't seem like much, but I had to add in a bit more writing and elaborate on Mirror Li's motive (I didn't think the "just because he's evil" motive would work well ^^;;). So, review! I'm off to do some laundry, then I shall return with the very last chapter! Woot!
Okay, everyone, it's been a long ride, but there's only one chapter after this one, but this is going to be a long chapter. This calls for my Ai Yori Aoshi soundtrack (36 tracks long @.@)! Hang in there!
Wishing Isn't Enough
Chapter 9
"Who are you and what are you doing to Sakura?!" exclaimed Li angrily.
Li's twin and Mei-Lin grinned.
"I thought you'd never ask," he replied, grinning broadly. "You see, you're my reflection. But, I guess in this world, I'm your reflection. Mei-Lin and I come from the Realm of Mirror where we are identical to the people in this world, but our personalities are opposite. There, the good are bad and the bad are good. So, you see, I'm the evil half of you and you are the good half of me."
"We came through that mirror over there," said mirror Mei-Lin, pointing to a large mirror framed with gold and silver symbols, "courtesy the Sakura of the mirror."
"Once we steal all of good Sakura's energy and dispose of all magical people and objects on this side of the mirror, we shall consolidate the worlds and rule over all!" exclaimed Mirror Li, cackling. "Too long have we been oppressed, forced to hide our magic for fear of being shunned from society! Too often have I sought after something that remains indifferent to my existence. But, I'm sure you can relate."
Li sat in silence for a moment, shocked. A fresh scream from Sakura snapped Li back to reality.
"Why are you stealing Sakrua's energy?! What use is she to you?!" cried Li as he struggled against the chains.
"Simple," replied Mirror Li, "we need a cast amount of magical energy to expand the mirror and merge the worlds. She has the most magic on this side of the mirror. I sent you the dreams and was watching you from the moment you stepped onto the airplane. We lured you to Sakura and brought both of you here so that we could dispose of you, Sakura, and the creations of Clow in one fell swoop. Pretty clever, isn't it?"
"I won't let you!" shouted Li. The chains that bound him began to glow a deep red and snapped into a thousand shards.
"Good," said Mirror Li, "I was hoping to have a chance to battle my other self." He drew his sword. "This should be interesting."
Mei-Lin gave Li his sword, Lasin Board, and element papers back. The two Lis faced each other and prepared to fight.
They stood opposite each other and circled, each waiting for the other's attach. Suddenly, Mirror Li sent fire from his sword, breaking the stiff silence. Li countered with water, but was thrown back from the impact of the fire.
Mirror Li walked over with his sword and prepared to stab Li. Li rolled out of the way and hit Mirror Li in the side with the butt of his swords. Lunge after lunge they battled, all magical powers forgotten. Li was just barely holding his own against his dark counterpart.
In an instant, Li was stripped (A/N: Again?! I may have to up the rating of my story. O.o) of his sword (A/N: Oh...never mind). Mirror Li then used the element wind to blow him against the wall. Li slid down the wall, leaving a trail of shining blood behind him. He was so weary and hurt from the intense battling that it was all he could do to look into the eyes of his executioner. Mirror Li raised his sword to finish Li.
"You're better than I expected," said Mirror Li, breathing hard and preparing to stab Li's heart. "Ah, well." He lunged.
'I'm sorry, Sakura. I've failed you,' thought Li, bracing himself.
He suddenly felt a surge of energy. Li opened his eyes and found that Mirror Li had stopped inches from his heart and was wearing an expression of surprise. Li wondered why for a moment before feeling a sharp pain in his back. He was transforming!
'Here, Li, take some of my energy. Good luck!' Sakura's voice echoed in his head.
Li looked down to see that his pants, shirt and shoes were all colored a pearly white. The sharp pain in his back was caused by the emergence of wings. He reached back and felt the fluffy white wings before reaching toward his forehead where a woven white band with a tear-shaped crystal that dangled from it. A few feet away, his sword transformed into a white staff with a white crescent moon on the top. Dangling from the tip of the moon was a golden star.
The staff zoomed into his hands. Li stood up and Mirror Li and Mirror Mei-Lin backed away.
"I'm ready to finish this," said Li, walking toward Mirror Li.
Mirror Li set his face and stepped forward, sword in hand. Li gripped his staff harder. They stood, facing each other once again. The silence was broken only by Mirror Li's heavy breathing.
All of the sudden, Mirror Li lunged at Li, aiming his sword again at Li's heart. Li sidestepped calmly and shot a jet of water from the tip of his staff, sending Mirror Li into the wall. He slumped to the floor and slowly struggled to get up.
Li watched Mirror Li struggle, deciding to send him, and Mirror Mei- Lin, through the mirror rather than kill them. (A/N: Taking the high road, eh, Li?)
Mirror Li got to his feet with his face set in rage. Dashing like a lunatic, looking as though it was his last hope, Mirror Li raised his sword in an attempt to behead Li. Mirror Li ran so fast that Li could barely dodge the attack, causing a gash in his cheek. Blood spattered his pristine white clothes.
Mirror Li turned around for another pass, but, this time, Li was ready. He pointed his staff at Mirror Li and sent a jet of wind at him. Wide-eyed Mirror Li crashed into Mirror Mei-Lin, who was lingering near the mirror and watching the battle, and they flew through the mirror with screams of fury.
Li dashed across the room and smashed the mirror with the end of his staff. Tiny shards of glass flew by Li's face. He turned around and ran to Sakura, who was still lying there amongst the now-recoiling vines. Li picked her up and began searching for Kero. A distinct rumbling came from all around.
'The whole building is caving in! It must be because Mirror Li is trapped on the other side of the mirror now,' thought Li as another rumble erupted.
Large pieces of the ceiling began to fall and the walls cracked as Li looked around for Kero. He spotted Kero lying asleep in a green orb on a disintegrating endtable. Li seized Kero, placed the orb in his bag and began to run for the exit.
He reached the dark tunnel. The darkness pressed all around him, making it difficult to see, but he kept running. Chunks of the ceiling were falling at Li's heels, revealing bits of the underbelly of the penguin slide. The walls on either side were cracking deeper. Just ahead, Li spotted sunlight and sped up. Just inches away from the door, a giant piece of rock fell in front of him (A/N: What bad luck!). He began to send blasts of fire at the giant chunk of rock. The falling rock fell faster behind him and the walls began to cave in, pinning him to the piece of ceiling before him.
Suddenly, just as the hunks of debris were about to crush Li, the fire broke through the rock. Li ran through the opening and flopped down in the sun. He was exhausted and allowed sleep to take him.
***
By sauce and string-beans, that was a long chapter! It doesn't seem like much, but I had to add in a bit more writing and elaborate on Mirror Li's motive (I didn't think the "just because he's evil" motive would work well ^^;;). So, review! I'm off to do some laundry, then I shall return with the very last chapter! Woot!