Me: Sorry for the long wait! I had a terrible case of writer's block!

Syaoran: Oh, there it is! Her all-time favorite excuse…!

Eriol: I was wondering how long it'd be until we heard the sad tale again…

Me: *ignores them* I even considered abandoning the story altogether, but I find myself unable to move on to new projects if I have one unfinished!

Eriol: You know, Li, I think I might even cry at this…

Me: Oh, stop complaining! *focuses her attention on reviewers again* Anyway, I'll be moving a bit faster than usual in these last chapters. Of course I won't rush things, you know I'm unable to do so, but the slowness of this fic is boring me greatly.

Syaoran: Now there's something I never thought I'd hear! Will you pay attention to reviews and put a little more romance and action to the story? When I'm I going to get the chance to do a fight scene?

Me: *frowns* If you keep complaining I may just loose my mind and end this all right here. Badly.

Syaoran: *slightly afraid* You wouldn't dare! She wouldn't dare, right Eriol?

Eriol: I wouldn't put it past her…

Me: Shut up and you won't have to worry about it. Now, to my reviewers: many of you keep pressing for more information about him. Yes, I do understand your frustration on not even having a name, but it is all for a reason.

Syaoran: She keeps saying that stuff, but I'm not buying a word of it.

Me: *glares at Syaoran* In this chapter you may be enlightened about it slightly, but don't worry-

Eriol and Syaoran: -further explanations will be given in future chapters.

Eriol: It's the same story, again and again and again…

Me: *uses the Silent Card against them* Anyhow, I hope you guys like this chapter and thanks a lot for your comments. You truly get me going!

"I'll Say Goodbye for the Two of Us: When the Truth Breaks the Silence"

Part Twenty-Five: "Confrontation"

By cherry blossom

Sakura's POV

Petrified, for lack of a better word, is the best way to describe it.

Now that all my memories had surfaced, now that I knew the horrors he was capable of, the fear mounted to unimaginable scales.

I stood still, paralyzed. We were immersed in the thickest of silences. Because of that, I suddenly became very aware of every change going through my body. I could clearly feel my heart beating fast, irregularly, almost apprehensively at the sight of him. I could feel cold sweat running through my back. I could hear my own ragged, shallow breathing.

"What's wrong, sweet child? Aren't you happy to see me?" he said in mock-care. I didn't answer. I wasn't prepared to face him. Everything was still too raw, too fresh… My lower lip trembled as I gasped for breath. I felt Syaoran tense beside me.

"Cut the crap," he said coldly, and I admired how he didn't seem one bit afraid. Of course, it was probably his fury that didn't leave room for fear. "Who are you?"

"That is not important-"

"It is to me!" interrupted Syaoran. "I want to know whose ass I'm gonna kick."

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Now where are you manners, young one?" he said shaking his head. "I think you need to be taught a lesson…"

Syaoran opened his mouth to say something, but his words got caught in his throat as he was hit by some invisible force. He dropped down to his knees, a hand to his heart, breathing heavily. I panicked.

"Syaoran! Are you ok?" I whispered, terrified. Syaoran was unable to answer, and I could imagine how excruciating his pain must be.

"Please, stop! Don't hurt him!" I cried, while I tried to hold Syaoran close to me, to make him know I was there for him. He only squirmed under my touch.
"Now that's more like it," he said, and in that instant Syaoran managed to compose himself. Scared as I was, it came to me with startling realization that I had been able to speak to him for the first time since we had arrived here. I decided it was better I handled the conversation instead of Syaoran, who was still on his knees, catching his breath.

"W-why are you doing this? Why m-me?" I stuttered. I realized one thing was to let out an impulsive, desperate plea, and a very different one to maintain a conversation.

"Why do you want to know? Wouldn't you prefer it to be over quickly? It might even be painless…" he replied calmly.

"W-what are you planning to do? Why have you brought me here again?" I asked, tears in my eyes. I glanced at Syaoran, who looked very upset about not being able to speak, but still was unable to.

"Oh, Sakura…it is really you who has brought this upon yourself!" My name on his lips…It was too awful, too horrible…

"What do you mean?" I whispered. Was this really my fault, as I had suspected all along?

"This wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't recovered your memories…I was going to kill you as soon as I was finished with you the first time…but for some reason I found myself unable to do so. You had the brightest, most pure soul I had ever possessed before-"

"What do you mean by possessed?" Syaoran finally seemed to recover his voice. He got on his feet, wincing visibly, but radiating determination.

He narrowed his eyes. "I see you haven't learnt much. Perhaps another-"

"No!" I interrupted. "Please, don't!"

He and Syaoran stared at each other with expressions of utmost hate, but then he removed his sight from Syaoran and placed it upon me. I shuddered. It felt like being drenched in cold rain when he looked at me.

"Have you possessed souls before? Is that what you do?" I asked timidly. Even though his answers were freaking me out, I forced my mind to stay cool. I needed to know more things before I decided what kind of approach we should use to end this finally. I could see the corners of his mouth twitch slightly, and a horrible suspicion came upon me: could he read my mind?

I half-expected him to say so the second I formulated the thought, but he didn't. I felt a bit of hope run through me. Maybe, just maybe, we had a chance. I gathered as much courage as I could and looked into his horrible, cold eyes. It was a surprise to see he was surveying me with a look that edged affection, though almost expertly hidden. Affection? If that was correct, then I needed a new approach.

"Why did you let me go the first time?" I whispered, and squeezed Syaoran's hand when I noticed he was about to say something.

"There was no point in killing you. I don't do anything without purpose," he replied. If he had seemed urgent to get things done before, now he appeared to be enjoying the conversation. I could feel Syaoran staring at me, wanting to exchange glances, but I somehow knew it was important that I didn't pay attention to anything but him.

"Why do you need my soul?" I asked suddenly, without even thinking what I was saying. "Don't you have one of your own?" I didn't know where those words had come from. I didn't even notice I was speaking until I heard my own voice. But apparently it was a big mistake.

A sudden change took over him. The look in his eyes vanished immediately, and it was replaced by fury and utmost hate. Strangely, the hate didn't seem directed to me or to Syaoran.

"I don't have to answer any of your questions!" he stated coldly and began murmuring incantations under his breath. I could feel the tension in the air and I instantly knew he was more powerful that I could have ever imagined.

"You don't…" I said softly, sadly. "That's why you take them from other people."

His muttering got harsher and faster, and his eyes unleashed his rage upon me. The air around us began to move, turning into a cold wind. I knew he was about to curse us, or worse. I knew I should prepare myself for attack, get out my cards, get into a stance, do the things Syaoran always told me to do when in battle. But I couldn't. As comprehension began dawning on me, all I could think about was that I had to know more. I had to understand. It was as if a light had been turned on in my head, and now I couldn't stop.

"You are no one," I continued, still holding his gaze, and for the first time I felt something other than fear when I looked at him: I felt an unexplainable sense of pity. "That's why you got so angry when Syaoran asked you who you are."

By then, the wind had turned so violent and strong I was having trouble standing still. He was still murmuring maniacally, his fists balled and shaking with fury. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Syaoran contemplating him with the same mixture of horrified realization and undeniable pity.

"You weren't always like this, were you?" I asked softly, and the wind swept my words away, but I was sure he could hear me anyway. "A long time ago, you weren't very different from what I am…"

Again, the words were pouring out of my mouth without being thoughts previously. I had no idea where all these things were coming from, but I knew at once they were all correct.

"Stop it! I don't have to hear you!" he screamed, outraged. But it didn't have any effect on me. I kept shaking my head in pity.

"I can help you. I can-"

But I never got a chance to finish what I was saying. Once again, I had the sensation of falling into a cold, bottomless pit. As everything went dark around me I could feel Syaoran holding tightly onto me, and for a mere instant I saw a flash of blinding light.

It was the last I saw.

***

Syaoran's POV

Syaoran…Syaoran…

I could hear a voice calling, but it felt so far away. I struggled at the edge of consciousness. It would be so easy just to let go…

"Syaoran!" I felt small hands tugging at me, shaking me awake. I knew in an instant that I had to snap out of it and help her. But my body wasn't complying. On the contrary, it was taking its sweet time. I wanted so badly to react, but it was like being a spectator to an annoying, endless slow-motion movie.

Slowly, steadily, I began recovering my senses. As that happened, I noticed an increasing pain on my chest, just below my heart. A burning sensation, but unlike any other burn I had suffered. It burned with cold…did that make any sense at all?

"Syaoran, please…" she cried, and it was one of her tears on my face, that made me regain my senses completely. The burn had intensified to such an unbearable point I had to bit my tongue not to scream out loud.

"I'm fine," I said tiredly, through clenched teeth. My Sakura didn't buy it for a single second.

"No, you're not!" she whispered harshly. "You shouldn't have taken that long to awake…"

"What are you talking about? I've only been unconscious for…what? Couple of minutes?" I replied dismissively. I made my first attempt at getting up, but failed miserably. Sakura was shaking her head frantically.

"Syaoran, you've been out for an hour minimum! I don't have a watch, but it's been an hour to say the least! Not to mention the time I've been out, which is impossible to discern!" she replied sharply. Her lower lip was trembling badly, and though she managed to hide it by biting it, I didn't cease to notice that her right hand (which was currently on my arm) was shaking too.

"What happened? How did we get here?" I asked, quickly changing the subject. With so much going on, I didn't think it would be wise to let her know about the weird feelings inside me.

"The thing is, Syaoran, I'm not really sure we've moved at all…" she said softly. "I can't see where we are, but I don't feel we're somewhere different than before he…" She stopped in mid-sentence, but I didn't need her to finish it.

I nodded.

"Has anything else happened after that?" I asked, succeeding this time in sitting while she wiped away her tears. The horrible sensation had redeemed a bit, but I was anxiously suspicious it wouldn't keep going that way.

"No…it's been very quiet. I've been trying to wake you, but-"

"Are you sure? What is the last you remember?" I interrupted, not wanting her to dwell on the last subject again.

"A flash of white light," she said at once. "I saw it right after he disappeared, before I blacked out."

I looked at her, puzzled. A flash? I remember as much as him disappearing, and it wasn't with a flash that he did so. So it must have been something else…but what?

"You didn't see it?" she asked slowly. "But it was blinding! It filled the whole room…you must have seen it!"

"Maybe it was after I blacked out…maybe you passed out after I did," I said quickly, but I had the feeling we had gone out at the exact same time. And I knew she was thinking exactly what I was…Her seeing things I didn't wasn't good. At all.

"Well, I don't think we should waste more time on that subject," she said, though a bit reluctantly. "I think the most pressing matter is how to get out of here."

"Did you try anything while I was out?" I asked after I nodded. Surprisingly, a faint blush appeared over Sakura's angelic face as she lowered her eyes.

"I was too afraid to get lost in the dark…I didn't know if I would be able to find my way back to you," she whispered. I mentally punched myself for not waking up when she did. Of course she'd be afraid, you idiot, I told myself. What did you expect?

"It's Ok…it was wise of you to do so…I really don't know what to expect of this place…" I said softly while I lifted her face so that she'd look at me once again. She responded to my words with a small smile and a hand squeeze.

"You know," I continued, trying to ignore the burn that was once again rising in me, "it's weird how I cannot see a thing about the place where we're standing – well, sitting on – but, nonetheless, I can see myself and you with perfect clarity."

Something like recognition flashed in her eyes, but she nodded mutely.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" I asked her.

"The Dark Card," she whispered, and surprisingly I saw a fearful, worried expression cross her face for a moment.

"What is it? All we need to do is use the Light Card and it'll all dissolve into-" I began, but cut myself off when she took my hand an placed it over her neck. At first I didn't know what she intended. The pain inside me seared so harshly, for a moment it prevented me from thinking clearly. But, when our eyes met, the horrible realization came upon me.

"It's gone," she said, and her voice was so soft I had to strain my ears to hear her. "I don't know when it happened, but I have this odd feeling it's been gone for long…"

I opened my mouth, but I was too startled to say anything. I knew immediately, too, that her Key to the Sakura Cards had been missing for a long time.

"I don't understand…how come we never…?" she said, but it seemed her question was directed to herself more than to me.

Indeed, I thought, how could we not notice? Another answerless question to the increasing list. A thought suddenly struck me. How could the Dark Card, if it indeed was what we were facing, act against its Mistress? Unless-

"No," spoke Sakura's firmly. "Not the Dark Card. I know he didn't."

"So this isn't him using the Dark Card against us, is it?" I asked tentatively. Sakura shook her head. "Then what is it?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Something else." I could see she was thinking as hard as I was on the subject.

"Do you still have the Light Card with you?" I asked her.

"Yes, but I can't summon it!" I could hear a note of panic in her voice.

"Calm down, Sakura…" I said gently and placed my arms or her shoulders comfortingly. The moment I touched her, the burning sensation increased to the maximum point so far. I had to use all of my will-power not to let her go that very moment.

She saw me flinch.

"Syaoran-kun? Are you all right?" she asked. I nodded firmly and removed my hands casually, apparently to take my bangs out of my eyes. She was still looking at me fixedly, but it didn't seem as if she shared the same suspicion I was dreadfully contemplating: that, somehow, the horrible burn had something to do with her touch.

"Listen, if we can't use the Cards, we will have to find another way to get out of here," I said quickly, amending my silence. "I say we start walking – together, of course – and see if we can find a way out."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, as if unsure this would work at all, but she didn't object. I knew the plan was lame, but I needed more time to think about what was going on. If we started hunting for that door, we would have to be silent, giving me the opportunity to reflect on my thoughts more deeply.

I slowly put my hand on the small of her back, preparing myself for the horrible sensation that would come upon me. I was more than surprised when it didn't.

"Syaoran?"

I began walking, leading her gently. Sakura's arms were luckily crossed in front of her, and she did not attempt to touch me. As we strode along the thick darkness I pondered on the last events. If my memory was correct (and I was pretty sure it was), the burning had increased every time we had touched. Why was this particular time different?

I distractedly began tracing little circles on her back with my forefinger, purely out of habit. My finger slid across the thin cotton, feeling her cold skin beneath, and I wished I had a jacket to offer her. Suddenly, it dawned me. The fabric! The burn had only increased when our skins had touched! The theory was so simple it had me convinced at once. But there was only one way to prove it.

Reluctantly, I swept her bangs away from her eyes. As I did so, I casually brushed her skin with my hand. I felt the burn immediately. In my opinion, that settled it. Now all I had to do was figure out why this was happening and how to make it stop. Good thinking, Einstein, I told myself ironically. You've obviously left the easiest part for the end!

"Syaoran…" Sakura's soft voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked at her.

"I think I can feel a doorknob."

The answer seemed completely out of place until I remembered the theoretical reason why we were taking this walk.

"A doorknob?" I asked, astounded. Who would have thought this would work?

Sakura nodded. "Shall I open it?" she asked.

"No, let me do it," I replied quickly. I put my hand were hers had been a second ago and, sure enough, felt the shape of a doorknob. I held my breath, inevitably wondering if this was a trap. Sakura was apparently on the same line of thoughts, for she simply announced,

"But we don't have another choice."

I nodded one last time before I turned it, and a bright light came in, blinding us…

***

AN: You don't really think it'll be that simple, do you?