Hm...I think you guys know what goes here: Olwen-Cheesecake
does not own CCS, but it is owned by CLAMP. You know, some day I'm going to have
my own anime/manga thing going on, and it'll be this huge group of friends
too-and we'll call our "author" name something like....DAMP? laughs nervously
It's temporary until this stuff really does happen...
Oh yeah, and just so you know-the little "from the author to the reader"
surprise is actually this: THE WHOLE STORY! AH!...All bunched and thrown at you
once and for all-so I can get this stuff over with and begin on a few
more...which I have already begun, but I got to start posting! Ah! giggles
Hey...what happens if I start making manga out of my already started novel
"DeathBringer"...pretty hot huh? It should be amazing Oo...xX! I can see it
now...whoa-awesome action. Watch out you guys! (At a book store near you-the
graphics section-should be up for $13.95 Canadian; under "new arrivals" as
well...it WILL NOT be in the kids' section...This is becoming a long bracket
note, isn't it?) Okay, well, ENJOY!
"This is great-no-fabulous! No-no-uh...excellent-amazing-wonderful!" Takashi exclaimed, excessively.
"Thanks for the vocab. lesson..." Chiharu began, "You've completed you mission, haven't yo-"
Syaoran cut off Chiharu, "That was only the very beginning of the mission."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean!?" Meilin complained, obviously exhausted from the week's hustling and bustling.
Syaoran sighed, "Simply finding the card won't do anything. I'm guessing Sakura's gotta use it somehow and we, together, should try and defeat the emperor."
Sakura thought about what Syaoran was suggesting, "When and where do we use it?"
Syaoran looked troubled by her question. "We need the card to take affect on the world as a whole. The strange part is that there must be a way to do it without traveling into space and doing it."
"The orb."
"Huh?" Takashi blanked out on the group.
"The orb," Sakura repeated. "I can use the card on the orb that the emperor has in his possession. Whatever happens to the orb happens to the Earth itself. It's as simple as that...do you follow?"
Takashi nodded, "Brilliant!" Another excessive vocab word.
Syaoran nodded, "The peasants, led by Takashi and one or two of the girls, will distract the guard while we have a clear path to the orb-or to the emperor, at least. If we can fight off how many ever guards there are around the grand-"
"Sixteen around the entrance of the palace-they're easy to avoid-really. Most of them are on coffee breaks the whole time. There are six guards by the emperor's dormitory area. I'd say it's best to go around daytime." Then Sakura added with even more wisdom in her voice, "He keeps the orb by his bedside under a glass jar, covered by a strong material to lighten the orb's magnificent aura and flow."
Syaoran sighed, "Again with the confidence?"
Sakura glared at him, also jokingly, "I've done it once-I can do it again. Last time I could've killed the emperor. I'm sure they know exactly whom I am by now-searching for me as well."
Syaoran was distraught, "In only a couple of days you've done more mischief than anyone I've known to do in their whole lifetime."
"Of course," Sakura winked.
Meilin cleared her throat, interrupting Sakura and Syaoran's little moment, "Moving on..."
Syaoran glared at Meilin.
Meilin glared back, "Well, we'll never get around to saving the world if you two refuse to come apart and help us round up the peasants."
Sakura rolled her eyes, "We've got a long day ahead of us."
Mamoru had been slightly relieved to know that Sakura had gone back to Meilin's house. He didn't fear their attitudes towards him when he would get back. He had, after all, supported Sakura all they way. She would never turn her back on him-he knew that much.
"Phew! It's hot!" Mamoru heard his previous master's familiar voice come from the house as he approached it. He had gotten lost in thought again. Mamoru hid as Tomoyo opened one of the windows. Perfect. Now I can listen in on-
Mamoru smiled as Sakura's voice rang throughout the house and towards him. Her voice seemed to grab him and he wanted to fall into its greed-he wanted to come forth, but instead he sat back and listened. "Sixteen around the entrance of the..."
An hour passed and, still, Mamoru stood his ground. Once he was sure that the peasants were being organized in different groups of different tasks he decided it was the perfect time to come out and offer his help. No one seemed angry, at first, when he walked into Meilin's house. No one except Syaoran.
"Hello Mamoru, " Syaoran greeted Mamoru stiffly. "Back are you?"
"Uh-obviously sir."
"Sarcasm and sir-ring me..." Syaoran inspected. He gestured Mamoru to move in a closer. He stopped Mamoru's constant movement towards him just an inch from his face. Mamoru could swear he heard Syaoran's teeth gritting as he spoke, "If you ever touch my Sakura ever again, I guarantee you that you'll never see the light of day again. Is that clear?"
Mamoru nodded grumpily, Bastard.
Sakura entered right at that moment, "Oh! Mamoru!"
"S-Sakura," he stuttered.
"I'm so sorry that I left you behind, but you were asleep-and oh! You're so adorable when you sleep, but anyway-I'll need help at the palace, so you stick with me and my little groupie-oh yeah..." Sakura sped through words on and on.
Syaoran's face had turned bright red by now. Mamoru smiled at him sarcastically, with a look that said clearly : "in your face".
"Hello?" Sakura's voice broke the two boys' super-power-glare contest. Sakura began yelling impatiently, "IF YOU GUYS WON'T PAY ATTENTION HOW ARE WE EVER GONNA DO THIS!?"
Syaoran sighed, "Gomen Sakura."
"Hmph."
Mamoru nudged Syaoran, "Nice going."
"WHY YOU-" Syaoran burst.
Sakura gave Syaoran the cold shoulder, "Fine. Mamoru and I will study the procedure. Let's go Mamoru."
"But-but-" TT
"Everyone...positions!" Meilin checked up n the troops and peasants. She was amazed by the quantities of people that had arrived as promised. Not many people did volunteer for such a life-risk and responsibility. "Any last questions, discussions or reminiscences you'd like to share?" Meilin asked the troops, feeling their pain-feeling their desperation.
"God be with us!" Chiharu blurted aloud.
"Religions will not make a difference in war. Perhaps it will encourage you or what not, but all I have to say on that topic is that believing in yourself will do equally as well." Meilin expressed openly.
"Religion is everything to do with war!" Takashi objected. "After all, when American troops go to the aid of people seeking refuge they sometimes must convert them to Christianity. Did you also know that-"
"But there are no third world nations in Obythia." Syaoran commented.
Sakura smiled, "The one thing I'll miss about Obythia: Equality between nations."
Chiharu smiled impatiently, " I don't think this is the time to discuss this type of stuff guys."
Sakura nodded, "Kero...?"
Kero flew into the cellar room and jumped into the bag Sakura was carrying. Sakura sighed and turned to face the troops of peasants that stood obediently behind her.
Mamoru noticed the look of utter determination on Sakura's face. She was desperate to save her people. Oh, how he loved her!
Sakura cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "In all my years that I've been alive I have discovered a few things. People die, they suffer, but hope does not. As long as there is hope, there is faith and that guarantees a victory. If we can manage trusting ourselves and one another, victory can be ensured. It is so simple. Trust. Believe. Hope. Prevail." Sakura paused. "These are four corresponding words. These are words that should never be forgotten."
The troops cheered until Sakura cleared her throat again. What a stupid way of getting someone's attention. "I prepared a small poem for all of you that have come to fight for your right to live. For all of you families and their families. For all of the world-humanity." Sakura flattened the crumpled piece of paper that she had held in her, now, sweaty hand the whole time.
But we will cry.
We will not beg-
So we won't have to die.
We will fight back-
Although innocence will diminish.
We won't stop because they won't-
Won't stop until we're able to finish.
Hunger for money,
Hunger for pride.
Hunger for life-
Hunger that'll never subside.
There will be loss,
There will be pain.
Blood will be shed as a cost-
Only for our own gain.
They destroyed our homes-
WE cowered by night; roamed by sun.
Our reckless condition known-
War has now begun."
"And so war has begun," Mamoru restated the sentence, later that day, as if her were storing it in his memory.
Meilin stared into Mamoru's blue eyes. Unlike Eriol's, they were as clear as a river, but deeper than a sea. They seemed as dangerous as the ocean and as mysterious as any underwater world. He was not perfect, but that was what interested Meilin so much-his imperfections. Meilin was one hundred percent positive no one else had paid attention to this.
Just as any young man would, Mamoru had hair on his arms and legs, but the difficult thing to understand were the scars, burns and bald spots. They were small and unnoticeable, but Meilin wanted to notice. She noticed how uneven his skin complexion was and how in love he was with Sakura. Meilin knew almost every detail, but she couldn't put her finger on the real truth.
"Where'd you get all the burns and scars?" Meilin asked, suddenly without realizing it.
Mamoru looked thoughtful for only a few seconds, "Growing up, I suppose. I don't really remember."
Meilin accepted this answer, but then realized something else. Everyone didn't have that much trouble remembering pieces of their past if they tried, but Mamoru seemed clueless. "I think it's time to take action." Meilin ignored her own wandering thoughts.
Mamoru peered around the corner of the brick house they were hiding behind.
"I guess-there! There are some guards!" Mamoru pointed at the two drunken guards, laughing away as they approached their duty at the front doors.
Meilin grabbed Mamoru's arm and they both jumped out from their hiding place, laughing, as well, though with fake happiness.
Meilin snickered, "Oh! Hello there handsome! Have you seen any silver broaches here?" Meilin began conversationally with the younger, attractive guard. She gestured to her breasts, "It seems to have gone missing."
The guard grinned, "Let me help you check properly." He leaned toward her in his drunken state, only to receive a well-deserved punch from Meilin. Mamoru knocked the other guard down immediately after.
"Let's get there guys out of here." Mamoru began dragging one of the guards.
"Good thinking."
"Why are you so dressed up?" Syaoran asked Sakura as she added the last piece of matching jewelry with her white Spanish-style dress, necklace and bracelet.
"I refuse to defend my people without style." Sakura said seriously as she put on the second earring of the pair of winged hearts.
"Nice earrings..."
"Thanks! Mamoru gave them to me." Sakura said causally. Thee was a knock on the door. "I'll get that," she swerved away from the mirror and towards the door.
Syaoran's eyes were full of steamy, jealous mist, but he engulfed his anger as Meilin and Mamoru entered Sakura's bedroom, clutching four uniforms.
"Does this uniform make me look fat?" Meilin asked Syaoran.
"No," Syaoran rolled his eyes as he marched side by side, with Meilin, Takashi and Mamoru. Sakura was held between them all, where she would seem a prisoner, captured by themselves. They were talking her to the palace-to the emperor.
Syaoran and Mamoru, both, each held one of Sakura's arms. Meilin and Takashi surrounded her rear area, protectively.
Mamoru recorded to himself (freakishly) again, "Impersonation has been committed."
Meilin's ears pricked. She didn't want to know why he recorded events aloud to himself, let alone as a scribe on a piece of paper.
They had reached the front gate. An officer stepped forth to gather information from them.
"State your-" the officer stopped short. His eyes were wide in fear, "You-you-" he tried to say. His eyes suddenly became regular-sized again (if there ever is a regular size for eyes). "I'll inform His Highness at once!" he galloped into the palace.
Syaoran sniggered, "What's his story?"
Mamoru smirked, "We beat him to a pulp."
"Oh," Takashi, Meilin, and Syaoran said simultaneously.
"Emperor!" an officer came, what seemed to be, at a gallop, into the hall. "They've caught her!"
The emperor's face contorted in fear and relief, "Excellent-let them in at once." Whoever them was. He suddenly was amused by the fact that Sakura had been so easily caught by-how many guards? Four. They were standing before him now. One was a woman. Strange. The emperor made a gesture with his hand to the guards, "At ease."
The four surrounding Sakura stepped aside or a bit away from her, but not too far away. They seemed almost protective of their prisoner.
The emperor looked around and realized that all the commanding officials were in the hall with them. They had all received the news and decided to invite themselves in-so be it. They watched the scene before them curiously, wandering whom the captors were and how they had, in fact, captured Sakura. To these officers, history was being made now. In reality, it was the future that was being made-not history.
"All dressed up for you execution? You're quite excited aren't you?" the emperor tried to search Sakura's lowered eyes. "What? Are you too ashamed to retor-"
Sakura's eyes shot daggers at him in response.
Again, that confidence! Even at her execution! the emperor thought with amazement. "What is so amusing?" he asked her.
"Am I so obligated to tell you? I think not." Sakura stated. "You can't make me-"
"Or what?"
"Betrayal isn't very pleasant, but conspiracy is despicable. Be glad you experience none of the kind. Guards-" Sakura nodded at the officers surrounding her. "Reveal yourselves."
The four guards ripped off their uniforms to reveal their own armor under the uniforms. They attacked the other officers in the hall.
Sakura was attacked by ten other guards at this time. She would need her Star Cards, "Sword!" None of the ten guards that had attacked her remained alive. Pity.
"Where is their magic!?" Meilin said as she beat a couple of the officers up at a time. "This is too simple!"
The emperor laughed, "We erode like rocks over time. At each wave, year by year, we lose a little more."
"Takashi!" Sakura called, "Get the orb!"
"No!" The emperor attacked her with some sort of power. Sakura deflected the power with her shield and protected Takashi from it as well. "You'll never-"
"I think I will, " Sakura raced to the emperor's throne and grabbed the orb from his side. She ran to the end of the hall and placed the orb on a stand. "Hope!" She needed to make this work-it had to work on the orb! The orb was resisting, but she was stronger. She could feel even the emperor helping the orb resist the Hope's influence. The orb started to turn pink. This was Hope's visible power.
Mamoru's eyes widened, " And so Hope was freed."
Syaoran was amazed by how simple it was to injure and discourage all of the officers from attacking them.,
The orb was resisting the Hope card's pink shield of power. It slowly succeeded in being engulfed by the shield, but he was afraid Sakura would not be able to hold on to the power for too long. Sakura was holding her wand with all the power she had left in her, he could see that much.
"I can't do it! It's too strong!" Sakura blurted.
The emperor laughed maliciously, almost looking too lazy to get up. "Too weak to obtain the orb?"
Syaoran ran to Sakura's side and held onto the wand as well. Meilin followed his lead and Mamoru did as well, followed by Takashi.
"You guys-I can't-I'm-sorry!" Sakura was sweating in agony and effort to make the card's power control the orb. The pink shield was slowly dying now.
Syaoran managed to let out one last yell, " You have to have faith!"
There was a string blast of pink and the whole room was engulfed by the brilliant light.
The last thing anyone heard was Mamoru's memorable voice, "And so hope overruled."
A.N.: Nothing much to explain here. Another quick and self-explanatory chapter. Except the factor. Usually indicates a change in perspective or a while later. If you want to know one another thing-the part where Meilin notices all that stuff about Mamoru-it it didn't really matter who noticed it. I just needed someone near him, a lot, to portray is in their own perspective, I guess. Thanks again, guys!
P.S.: That surprise thing is cancelled...I was gonna post all the chapters at once, but now I have exams...no time. Hm. I should sleep... R&R! Notify me of any mistakes...and I shall keep stressing this.