Chapter 17
'project clow'
Eagerly it comes together, falling into place, forming the picture.
Swelling power, the final snap of completion.
He is finally whole.
Not far from the end, now.
Len's footfalls seemed to fill the empty white corridor, the only sound in the eerie quiet. The bemused lab tech wasn't at all sure what was going on: first the alarm started blaring, then the security barriers came down, then the alarm turned off and the doors retracted. He thought it probably must have been some kind of security drill, and that it would have been nice if Rino or someone had told him beforehand.
But it was strange, how empty the hall was. He should have run across a pair of soldiers by now, and uneasily the tech wondered if something was wrong after all. He should go back to his lab – but no, he really needed to report this. That girl's fingerprints were all over the discarded water bottle, that girl that supposedly wasn't even on the ship. Len figured that meant she was on the ship, and that this was probably important information to someone like Rino, if he could just find him.
Len pressed the access button next to a door, it slid open, and chaos came bursting through. It was so fast he didn't even have the chance to think about running, and in his surprise he tripped over his own feet and fell back against the wall. One of the satellite guard flew past him and hit the floor with a dull thud; stunned, Len watched the blur of bodies swirl in the hallway. The satellite guard was fighting someone, a figure in black that moved too fast for Len to see properly.
He whipped around and the soldier closest to him was yanked bodily off his feet, and thrown into another man preparing to fire. He twisted and something silver flashed through the air, a knife hilt sprouting from the chest of the man who'd picked himself up off the floor. Dead, the man slumped over.
Oh god, he was killing people. Trembling, trying hard to not breathe, Len pushed himself awkwardly up to a standing position and started inching along the wall. The man in black kicked both guns in rapid succession from the others' hands before they could recover their balance, spinning into the motion and kicking right into one's chin with the other foot. The final soldier tried to tackle him before he could land properly but in one smooth motion the intruder dropped to the floor and rolled back, pushing up with his legs and throwing the guard against the far wall. Len perked up at the sound of running feet; backup was on the way.
He took another careful step to his left and then froze at the feel of something sharp and metal pricking him under his chin. The guy was holding a sword to his throat.
"Don't move," he ordered coldly, and without another glance at Len drew a gun and shot both soldiers as they appeared in the doorway. Breathing just a little hard, he holstered his weapon and turned his glare on Len, who was too terrified to even blink.
"Now then," he said crisply, his voice hard. "I'm looking for a girl, short hair, green eyes. I assume you know who I mean. Where is she?"
"Y-you mean the subject?" Len quavered, and the intruder snarled a little.
"Her name is Sakura. Tell me where, now."
The point pressed up a little harder and Len gulped, sure that he could feel blood welling up. "I d-don't know! I'm just the lab tech, I swear I don't know. I've never even seen her!" Sure that he was going to die, Len closed his eyes and trembled. "She's classified, everything about her is classified, I don't know anything. I don't have the clearance to go any further than my lab."
He didn't die. The stranger growled something and clutched his shirt, yanking him away from the wall and pushing him none-too-gently back the way he'd come.
"Start walking then. Take me to your lab."
The sharp point of his sword pricked Len in the small of his back and he quickly moved forward, hands raised though the man hadn't even ordered him to do so. Together they hit a brisk pace and Len led him obediently up the passage and around the bend. Maybe he ought to try and lead him somewhere else – but to where? His steps faltered and the sword prodded him impatiently, communicating zero tolerance for any resistance. Len gulped again and walked faster, and they'd almost made it when agent Rino came striding around the corner ahead, gun raised at the ready.
The intruder stopped short and so did Len, still very aware of that sharp sword at his back.
"Found you," Rino snarled, gun pointed straight at Len's head. "Drop your weapons and get down on the ground!"
The stranger's voice was cool from behind Len. "Tell me where the girl is."
"I'll shoot."
"You have until the count of five to answer me."
Rino inched closer, adjusting his grip on the gun a little. "Grady, get down on the ground."
The sword pressed a little harder through his shirt in warning. "Move and it'll go right through your lungs," the intruder promised. The human shield quivered but didn't move.
"I don't care how fast you are, you can't draw your gun faster than I can pull this trigger."
"You don't think so? Five."
"You're not bulletproof. Surrender now."
Len's heart thudded uncomfortably in his chest, very aware of Rino's gun aiming right at him. Surely he wouldn't try to shoot the man through him, would he?
"Four," the intruder continued, tone perfectly even. Len was starting to think that it perhaps too late to pass on that information about the stowaway girl, and also he was thinking he ought to have stayed in his lab.
"Three."
"And just what do you have to do with the subject?" Rino questioned. "Are you the mysterious savior at Crossworlds?"
"Maybe. Two."
"I was wondering about that. Three policemen dead without even a fingerprint, and now you've managed to invade a top-security satellite and get this far. You're good."
"I know. One."
"So who are you? A bodyguard, a hit man? Did Kinomoto hire you -" The gun shot right over Len's shoulder and he jumped; Rino hit the wall behind him, bullet hole between two blank and staring eyes.
"Don't insult me," the intruder muttered. "Come on, we're wasting time."
Gaping in shock, Len allowed himself to be prodded further up the corridor. He'd killed him, the head of their security force, it had to be over now. Whoever he was, there wasn't anything left to stand in his way. Automatically he punched the buttons on his door's access panel, and stumbled into his lab. This was it; far as he was authorized to go in the satellite. He cringed when the intruder pushed him further into the room.
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Maybe. Now which way?" There were a few doors that led from the lab and Len quickly pointed to the far one, the one that led to a certain passage he never entered.
"There- I think. I don't have clearance to go there, nobody does but the guard – well, there used to be more doctors working here but they're gone now -"
"What's all this?" He swept an arm to indicate all the articles stacked neatly along Len's countertop, the individual items in their sealed plastic bags. His sword was gone, and in a detached sort of way Len wondered where he'd hidden it.
"Objects from the apprehended ship, I -"
"What the hell?" Indignantly he snatched one from the stack of clothing and ripped it open, yanking out a dark green shirt. "You took my shirt! She made this for me, it's my shirt. Mine. You got that?" He brandished it petulantly at Len, who nodded quickly in agreement. Then, much to his astonishment, the stranger set his gun down on the counter and proceeded to change shirts.
"Goddamn government, even takes my shirt," he muttered, and uncertainly Len backed away. The man was obviously crazy as well as dangerous, and the tech just prayed he wouldn't bother himself with killing him once he'd found the subject. How he knew her or why he'd come for her Len still didn't know, and quite frankly he didn't care. His only objective was getting out of this alive.
He'd backed up to the wall as the intruder pulled on his new shirt, and bumped against the sealed door leading to the cold room. It was only accidentally that he glanced through its small window, and he yelped.
The stranger had his gun up and pointing at Len in a heartbeat. "What, what is it?"
"He's gone," Len said stupidly.
"Who's gone?"
"The man… that was…" The man that was dead. Bewildered, Len looked back at the empty gurney inside but there was no mistake; the body had vanished. Forget the intruder; he must be going crazy. "Nothing," he mumbled. The stranger raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue it, instead crossing the room to try the door.
"It won't open. It doesn't even have an access panel on this side, you can only get through one way -" He stripped something off a small object in his hand and slapped it against the door as Len spoke, then took several steps back.
"Better duck."
"What?" The door exploded and Len screeched, covering his head with his arms at the last moment. When he looked up again, he was at the edge of the opening and peeking around warily with gun in hand.
"You don't have a clue what's been going on here, do you?"
He looked back in time to see Len shake his head, and uttered a quiet 'hmph'.
"Get out."
"What?"
"Get yourself down to the dock and get off this satellite, and take anyone else that wants to go with you. If I see you again, I'll kill you."
He edged around into the corridor and disappeared from view. Len hesitated only a moment, then fled in the other direction. This was a project he should have never been a part of. Time to get out while he still could.
- - - - - -
Li was counting, as he moved quietly and quickly down the hall, mentally adding up the bodies he'd left in his trail. The security commander made twenty, surely a small research satellite wouldn't have any more than that.
He almost rounded a corner and threw himself back just in time, before a volley of bullets sprayed the corridor wall.
Unless they upgraded since Kinomoto took his sister back, of course. Li swore and fired off a few shots, but they had better cover and returned bullet for bullet from the recessed doorways. Not in the mood for wasting time in a stand-off, he tossed an explosive down the hall. When it exploded a second later, he sprinted forward and into the cloud of smoke, attacking anything that moved. He landed a few solid kicks and punches before his screen dissipated and he saw the gun barrel aiming for him; he threw himself to the side and the bullet bit into a door's access panel instead, spitting out a fury of sparks. Li kicked the gun out of its wielder's hand before he could shoot again and emptied his last clip on him. But there were more of them than he'd thought, still four left, and he couldn't dodge all their bullets. Li opened his palm to the sputtering panel and yanked his arm back, concentrating his will on the meager sparks. Amplified by his sheer adrenaline the electricity flowed through the air and struck them all at once, the most powerful lightning attack he'd ever created.
White fire exploded in his vision and he was thrown back against the door with vicious strength. Already damaged by the bullet to its lock, he felt it give way underneath him. Both he and it hit the floor with a thud, and Li swallowed a groan. That had taken rather more out of him than he would have liked, especially coming on top of all the combat since his docking. The bounty hunter's cut on his ribs had begun to throb, too.
Li closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. There was no sound, but he had the peculiar feeling that he was not alone. Someone was watching him.
Stiffly he sat up and turned slightly, so that he could see the room he'd fallen into. It was on the big side, but cramped with computers and electronics that he didn't like the look of. A quarter of it had been sealed off behind a thick transparent wall, creating something like an enclosure.
Or rather, a pen.
The huge golden lion sitting on the other side of it returned his gaze unblinkingly, studying him with what could almost be a curious air. Li felt his breathing even out as they regarded each other, too nonplussed to do anything but stare. What was a lion doing here?
"You must be Hope," the lion said, finally breaking the silence. Li blinked. The lion talked?
"What?"
"She told me about you, said you'd be coming." Casually the lion stretched and yawned, baring his menacing feline teeth. "From the way she described you, I kinda thought you'd be bigger."
Li blinked again. "What?"
"So, you gonna let me out of here or what?" The cat nodded impatiently at the door set into the pen wall, and Li finally stumbled to his feet.
"But- what are you?"
"What am I?" the lion repeated indignantly. "I have a name, it's Keroberos!"
"How long have you been here?"
"Too long! Since Sakura created me- or recreated me, anyway." Li approached the pen warily, fascinated but desperately trying to understand how this creature fit with all the rest of it. What was it Sakura had said?
"You're… the sun she was talking about," he finally realized. "That she brought to life."
"Yup!"
Li looked around, but the room was empty of any other life. "Where's the moon?"
"Eh, don't worry about him," Keroberos snorted. "He can take care of himself. Now c'mon, let's go. He's already taken her to Clow's circle, and we don't have a lot of time."
Li nodded and checked his pocket explosives; only one left. He stripped it and slapped it against the thick door.
"You might want to get back."
"Wha- hey!" Just before Li shielded his face with an arm he witnessed the spectacle of Keroberos sprouting gigantic wings from his back. Tent-like they folded over him in protection, and then the door disappeared in a cloud of acrid smoke. The great cat coughed and hacked loudly, beating his great feathered wings to clear it away, and glared at Li with an injured expression. "What are you trying to do, kill me?"
With graceful ease he sprang through the mangled hole and Li shrugged. "You were the one that said to hurry."
In response he snapped his teeth just inches away from Li's hand, who withdrew it quickly. Both of them looked up at the shout, coming from beyond the smoking doorway.
"He's gone in the lab! Move in!"
Li swore again. "You're kidding, there's more?" Wearily he patted his waist though he knew he was out of explosives and ammunition; he had nothing left but his own magic to attack with.
"They stocked up after she was brought back," Keroberos explained. "And don't worry, I've been waitin' to do this for a long time." The lion sucked up a lungful of air and then opened his jaws, spewing flame out of the room and into the passage. Li could hear the surprised and agonized shouts as soldiers scrambled out of range.
He whistled, rather impressed. "Nice."
"Hop on, we're goin' for a ride."
Li had barely placed his hand over the ruff of golden fur when Keroberos bolted forward, and he was forced to cling tightly, wrapping his arms around the neck and adhering himself to the back of the giant cat. The white walls and astonished soldiers blurred past them, obscured by golden-white feathers, and Li hung on for all he was worth.
"So what is Clow?" he shouted, remembering the cat's earlier comment.
"Okay, you have got to stop saying that; it's not 'what', it's who."
"Who?"
"Yeah. And Clow was just about the most powerful sorcerer this galaxy's ever seen. He created me and my counterpart, from the essence of all the suns and all the moons in the universe. He left us and his magic locked away in his seal, only the Monster figured out how to make Sakura unlock it for him."
Li's grip on Keroberos tightened as they soared around a bend and straight through another secure door, the barrier no match for the flying cat's strength and velocity.
"And who's the monster?"
"Dunno, not like he ever introduced himself to me. Only Sakura knows."
"I'll change that."
"Hang on. We're almost there."
- - - - - - -
Alone in his private darkness, Touya listened to the sound of his shallow breathing. It was the only noise he could hear but it was no more than a whisper, fading away like the rustle of tree leaves when the breeze has died. He could see them, in his mind, soft and green under the sunshine and guarding their field of wildflowers. Like a scattered rainbow at his feet they bloomed, so beautiful to look at though he couldn't quite touch.
He never could quite touch her, after all, no matter how hard he tried. Wild and free of the world that he lived in, she would never belong to him alone.
I did my best, he tried to tell her. I love you.
The sound was gone and now the picture dimmed too, darkness obscuring the trees and flowers and sister. Slipping into unconsciousness again, and this time he would probably not wake up.
Silence.
The door opened with a violent slam, jarring Touya right back into his harsh reality. He winced at the sharp breath that cut into his lungs and then tensed in expectation. Smith wasn't finished with him after all, he'd come to hurt him again, no please no more –
His sluggish senses finally caught up with his mind, and he realized something unexpected. It was not Smith that had entered the room.
"Who is it?" he whispered, his raw throat protesting speech. There was no answer and his heart thudded nervously in his chest. The other presence in the room moved silently, but Touya could sense it coming closer. His breath quickened and he tried to marshal the effort to move, but his battered body had been through too much to struggle anymore. A cool hand touched his cheek and he flinched.
"It is the worse cruelty of the universe that you should have to suffer like this," the new arrival said softly. "It hurts me just to look at you."
Touya's heart skipped a beat, for just a second he thought he recognized the voice. But no, that was impossible.
"Who are you?"
"She ordered me to flee her side and find you, so that together we could rescue her. A disguise was necessary to hide, he was never meant to be more than a temporary form. I never intended to fall in love with you."
The hand stroked his cheek gently and Touya didn't move, a desperate hope flaring inside him though he knew it couldn't be true.
"And it hurt so much, to know that revealing my true self to you could invite your hatred and fear. But always I watched you through his eyes…" The voice faltered, and so did Touya's breathing. "I love you so much…"
He did know this voice, he'd heard this voice say those words before, and Touya didn't care if it was impossible.
"Yuki?"
"Not quite." Gently the hands lifted his head off the floor, cradling him, and fingers worked the blindfold knot free. White light blared harshly and he squeezed his eyes shut, then carefully opened them in a squint. A blurry world of white resolved, white light and white walls and white clothing. Hair the color of snow in moonlight fell over him like a curtain, and he tilted his chin up.
A pair of exotic and glittering eyes returned his gaze, from a face that was familiar to him. They were not the eyes he knew but there was a soft and tender look in them that he did know, with perhaps just a trace of fear.
As if Touya could ever hate something like this.
"Oh my god," he breathed, "you're beautiful."
The eyes shone with relief and love and he lowered his face to Touya's, all hesitation. But Touya did not turn away, watching him expectantly, and he did not resist when unsure lips met his. The kiss, yes, it was definitely Yuki. In a way he didn't know, they were one and the same.
"She's ordered me to get you out," he murmured, when he had pulled away.
"She?"
"My master, she who brought me to life."
He could only be talking about one person, of course, and Touya numbly uttered her name.
"Sakura."
A slight nod was his response before shifting his position, gathering Touya carefully into his arms. "She says that you have taken care of her long enough. It's time to repay the favor."
- - - - - - -
Keroberos came to a stop so suddenly that Li nearly tumbled right off his back. There was no need to ask; this was the only door to be seen and ceruleum notwithstanding he could feel something powerful dwelling on the other side.
"We're here," the beast rumbled, glaring hard at something beyond the door. Li raised a hand to it and could feel her, tantalizingly close after so long. Sakura… "This is it, kid, the most dangerous kind of power you'll ever face. Are you ready for it?"
"I came here to save her and I will."
"Well, I gotta admire your spirit." Kero opened his mouth and blew flame on the door's access panel, frying it to a crisp. "This is where we part ways, so good luck."
"You're not coming in?"
The feline growled unhappily. "She says I can't, I have to go back. The guy called up reinforcements from planetside not long after you got here, and they'll be coming up on the satellite soon. We'll take care of 'em, you just worry about her." He outstretched his wings in preparation to take off and then stopped, throwing one last look back to Li. "Oh, and if you don't mind, could you… kill that guy?"
"I'll see what I can do."
The creature took off in a swirl of feathers, and Li was alone again. Time to see the core of this mysterious project Clow, time to meet the Monster at last. Time to be with Sakura again.
His sword activated in his hand and he kicked the door in.
- - - - - - -
It was, in contrast to the sterilized white hallways, so dark at first. The room was small and round, though only to his senses and not to his sight, walls hidden in shadow. His vision adjusted and before anything else he saw her, sitting, chin on one drawn-up knee.
She smiled, and repeated the very first thing she'd ever said to him.
"Hello."
Green eyes, bright and beautiful, shone with delight and helplessly Li smiled in return. Really, what else was there to say?
"Hi," he answered softly. He took a step closer and noticed the other one in the room, standing directly across from him with Sakura in between, standing tall and his arms crossed. An ordinary looking suit over an ordinary build; shadows obscured most of his face. The part of him that had melted under Sakura's smile hardened again, and without taking his eyes off the man he pushed the door shut.
No mercy, no escape.
It was the Monster that spoke first. "And here you are," he observed, voice detached and appraising, "the missing piece of the puzzle at last. The answer to my questions."
"I could say the same for you," Li said coolly, and wondered if that mouth didn't twitch in an approximation of a smile.
"Let me think now, I never forget a face." Fingers tapped against a jaw and then snapped. "Oh yes, I know who you are. You're Li Syaoran, wanted for several murders and theft of government information – among other crimes – and currently listed at… 15,000 siyong?"
Li's grip tightened on his sword hilt, but he didn't raise it just yet. If the man was armed then he would already be pointing a gun at him.
"Lately you've been nosing around my pet project, bothering me, but I never imagined you would get this far. I wonder how that happened?"
Again Li said nothing, but took a careful step to his right. The Monster took a corresponding step to his right, though the unhurried action didn't seem motivated by fear. Eyes still masked in shadow regarded him speculatively.
"Oh I see. Clever boy, he lied and told me they took you on at Crossworlds. He didn't say Tyrinthia because he knew you'd been seen breaking into the federal base there. For a man that claims to hate you, Kinomoto has certainly gone to great lengths to protect you." Li's eyebrows lifted slightly in disbelief, but he didn't speak. "And so, after all your determined assaults to uncover project Clow, you stumbled onto Sakura herself. What a remarkable coincidence, that you of all people should meet her, though I suppose you couldn't appreciate that. Do you know, Li Syaoran, just why you were so compelled to find project Clow? Do you know when we first met?"
Li could hear the touch of mockery in his voice, even if he couldn't quite see his eyes, but it didn't matter that the face wasn't clear. He'd seen it before, after all, it was enough to recognize.
"I was ten years old. You set those men on me."
The immediate reply might have surprised him, a little. "That's right," he affirmed. "A test, provided so our equipment could measure the precise data of your magical signature. I remember smiling as I watched you, sure that we'd found the right candidate at last. You were, in fact, almost her." He gestured to the girl between them, rocking back and forth with knees hugged to her chest. "Only her brother came as close to Sakura as you did."
"For what?"
"For this." The Monster indicated Sakura again, and Li finally placed the source of the room's dim lighting. It wasn't any ordinary patch of floor Sakura was lolling around on, but a circular sheet of translucent crystal, so large it took up most of the room. A faint glow clung to it, and now that he was looking Li realized he recognized this too. It was the symbol, that she'd shown him in the dirt and in his mind, each individual pane forming a piece of the picture. "To solve this relic and unlock its power, power that even your precious Li family couldn't dream of matching."
Li believed him. With a sense of dread he watched Sakura rock forward onto her knees and pout at a particular section. Something about it was not right, between the crescent moon and the edge, it didn't have the same neat symmetry as the rest of the symbol. He realized why when she placed her hand on a small pane and slid it closer to the sun, then followed suit with another. The entire thing was a puzzle and she hadn't finished it yet, though if his memory of the image was anything to go by then she was pretty close.
"Sakura." She looked up and flashed him a brilliant smile, looking quite untroubled. "Sakura, don't. It's not a good idea."
Her hands never stopped moving even as he spoke, and she uttered a tiny sigh of contentment when a piece finally slid into its proper place.
"You can imagine the difficulty of solving such a complex puzzle, without even knowing what the proper solution looks like, but Sakura has done rather well." The Monster spoke proudly, gazing tenderly upon his young prisoner. "It's taken her just under three years to come this far."
She was concentrating on the puzzle again. Li took another step closer to her and held out his hand, keeping one eye on the Monster all the time.
"Come on, Sakura, let's go. We're going to get your brother and get out of here."
"Brother is gone," she chirped, and traced a finger along the edge of the crescent moon. "Angel came, and flew away with him. Bye-bye." She linked her thumbs together and flapped her hands, in an approximation of a bird. Li wondered if that meant he was dead, but then, she didn't seem all that upset. In any case, there wasn't anything Li could do for him now.
"Well then, come on. Time for us to go." She made no move toward him and he reached forward, ready to pull her to her feet if he had to. Something in the symbol stirred and he almost jumped back, flinching before the roiling sensation of chaos. His dream of the beach flashed through his mind: Sakura, waist deep in oblivion and out of his reach, not moving as the water rose around her.
The Monster smiled thinly.
"You feel it, do you? I did wonder what its effect would be on another sorcerer, not that I would have ever risked it. Clow's circle is meant for Sakura alone, I know this; after years spent studying his ancient texts and sophisticated computer analysis I know she's the one. You simply wouldn't believe the amazing powers she's exerted since she began to put this together – I remember one day, she made everything in the satellite float. When the mood hits her, she can even fly."
"She hates this picture. She's afraid of it."
"Oh, I doubt that. She would happily live and sleep here if she could, it's always with extreme difficulty that I can tear her away. And now that we're so close to the end, I'm sure she won't leave it until finishing."
Li exhaled slowly. So that was it, he'd brought Sakura here because she'd refuse to budge on her own. Again he edged closer to the symbol, willing himself to step onto it, and cold sweat broke out on his brow. Terrifying memories of his brief insanity in the desert held him back; it was too much. He couldn't.
"Sakura," he tried again, "please. I know you like to finish puzzles, but this one isn't safe for you. Just come here, and take my hand."
She smiled sweetly, but did not move. A dry chuckle made him tense up.
"Were you laboring under the delusion that she would choose you, over all that power? Just who do you think you are, Li Syaoran? You're a criminal, a murderer, who just happened upon Sakura in that claptrap of a ship a few days ago. No doubt you interested her, being another candidate for Clow, but I assure you Sakura is well out of your league. You have no place with her."
Li seethed. "Maybe, but I love her anyway. And she loves me."
"Absurd," the Monster said lightly. "Sakura is not capable of loving someone in her condition."
"I guess that shows how little you really know about her."
"I know everything about Sakura," the Monster contradicted. "I am the one who brought her here, who oversaw her modification at every stage, who introduced her to Clow's circle and her destiny." Li could see Sakura working on the puzzle again, in his peripheral vision, could hear the pieces sliding into place.
"You don't know what you're doing. You don't know anything about this circle and what kind of power it has, you can't control it or her."
"On the contrary, I've researched Clow's texts exhaustively and am very familiar with the sort of powers we're about to harness. Sakura is about to change the worlds and that's something that I gave her, she owes it all to me. In her world I am God."
"She calls you Monster. She gets nightmares about you."
"And what makes you think that?"
"She told me. She's told me a lot, actually, about how you rewired her brain to solve this puzzle, and the life she created from putting together the sun and the moon in it, and how very much you scare her. She says you hurt her."
The Monster's eyes flashed with annoyance. "Sakura is very precious to me. From the beginning I have kept her safe and protected, I've given her everything."
"You took everything. You kidnapped her, you skewed her mind! Why? What is it all for?"
"For you," the Monster snapped, startling Li. Sakura had good momentum now, she was moving pieces around even faster. "You and the other one billion sorcerers in this system, throwing around your magic and special powers however you like. There's nothing to check your power, it's wild and unregulated, a disaster waiting to happen. Over the years I've been quietly eliminating some of the more powerful families, like yours, but it isn't enough, it isn't total control." Another character fell into place, another of the criss-crossing lines between sun and moon. "With the power of Clow's circle it will be a problem no longer, no sorcerer – or even sorcerers working together – could hope to stand up to its power. Even hiding won't be a possibility."
"Because Sakura knows everyone," Li muttered stiffly, and he nodded.
"And thanks to my D.C. puppet's legislation," he paused and glanced at his watch, "which should be passing into a law right about now, they won't be in any position to fight back. Any wild animal is difficult to hunt, but herd them into a pen… and slaughter is effortless."
Li felt sick, but he kept his chin high and his voice steady. "Too bad you forgot to count me in your plans."
Sliding, clicking, falling into place. "And what makes you think you can do anything to stop me?"
"Well for starters, I'm going to kill you."
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Li. I've already asked that question, and Sakura told me you will not. Sakura is never wrong, and she is incapable of untruth. You have no choice in the matter."
Li hesitated and glanced back at the girl on the floor, but she wasn't paying attention to either of them, concentrating on her project. Stop it, Sakura, don't finish it.
"I don't need Sakura's permission." He took another step around the edge of the circle and the Monster mirrored his action, keeping her between them. "The night that I kissed her I promised I would protect her from you, and if I have to put a sword through your chest to do it then that is what I will do."
"It won't happen."
"We'll see."
Li raised his sword in preparation and tensed, ready to fly at him.
"One more!" Sakura sang out, and Li almost stumbled over his own feet. Sakura beamed and pointed to the crystal mosaic; the image was essentially complete. There was only the gap that a two-dimensional puzzle like this needed, in order to slide pieces around, and Li wondered at its place – directly between the sun and the moon and not on the edge like he would have thought. And its shape looked like… a star?
"Well done, Sakura," the Monster congratulated. "You really were so close, after all, when your brother took you away from me. To think we might have finished a year ago!"
"Sakura, don't do it," Li pleaded. "It's a bad idea, don't finish the picture. You don't have to do it."
"Don't listen to him, Sakura, he's only jealous of your power. Go on, finish it up."
She trailed her fingertips along the hairline cracks between each pane, tracing a path from the edge of the sun's rays to the curve of the moon. "Have to let the lines weave the picture," she mumbled.
"No you don't!" Li argued, panic brushing the edge of his mind. "Sakura, I'm asking you. Please, just get away from that thing, and come here." He held out his hand as close as he dared, struggling to ignore the lurking turmoil.
"You won't stop her. She is compelled to finish it."
Her fingers brushed over the final pane to be pushed into place, her expression uncertain. Li swallowed and gripped his sword hilt with white knuckles.
"Sakura, if you don't come here then I swear I'm going to come in there and get you. And I don't care what happens."
That seemed to get her attention, and she shook her head anxiously. "You saw it better than I thought," she reminded him.
"Then don't finish it. Come here."
She whimpered and he thought of the coffee mug she'd reconstructed, her mindless drive to finish it. This had to be a thousand times worse. "Sakura, please."
"Sakura," the Monster murmured in warning, at almost the same time.
Looking torn, she lowered her cheek to the smooth crystal and made an unhappy noise in her throat. It scared Li the way she stared so longingly at that final piece.
"It's up to you, Sakura," he tried. "He can't make you. You can choose not to."
She didn't look at him. "Can't stop it have to let the lines weave the picture."
"You understand your problem, Mr. Li," the Monster gloated. "You're trying to argue against the future. Sakura has already seen that she will finish it. And Sakura is -"
Her fingertips pressed against the surface and she…
"-never -"
…pushed it back…
"-wrong."
…into its place, before Li could even react. The gap was definitely a small five-point star, and its outline lit up with a solid gold glow. The glow threaded its way out through the weaving lines of the circle, lighting up the picture as it went, creeping to the edge. Li saw the satisfied smile spread across the Monster's face, and a warrior's desperation took over.
He didn't care what happened. Anything was better than letting him win. And so Li shut his eyes and stepped forward, and promptly fell off the edge of reality.
- - - - - -
The chaos slammed into him; all the joy and heartbreak, love, hatred, victory, and grief of the universe grabbed a different part of him and ripped him apart. Wild, untamable power cascaded over him, drowning him, happily devouring him. It was more than any human mind could ever survive and of course he didn't – his sanity was gone before he even remembered he was supposed to fight for it. For the second time in his life, Li went mad.
And then it all stopped, as suddenly as it had begun. Trembling violently, panting for breath, Li opened his eyes and found himself looking directly into hers. There was something unusually calm about her gaze as she leaned in a little closer; somehow he'd come to be sitting on Clow's circle and she was at his side, hands resting lightly on either side of his face.
Hello, Syaoran.
It felt strange to hear her speak his name, though she hadn't actually opened her mouth.
"Sakura," he exhaled shakily, pushing his hands against the surface to sit up straighter. His sword had retracted to its amulet form, its cord wrapped painfully tight across his palm with red marks to show for it. The symbol underneath them was glowing brightly now, so much so that the crystal panes weren't even visible anymore. Li had the stray thought that they had never really mattered at all, it was the lines that formed the picture and housed all the power. Beyond the edge of the circle he could see nothing at all, the Monster and the satellite had disappeared behind a black storm of winds. "What happened?"
You were silly, and didn't listen to me, she chided. But it's all right, I've got you.
"You finished it," he murmured, when he remembered. Something about her was different now, the way she spoke… Her eyes were so lucid. "Are you -"
It isn't finished yet, she corrected, and nodded briefly to the small star between sun and moon. That's mine to fill. I'm the final piece.
"And what happens then?"
She shrugged a little. The end.
"What's 'the end'?" Li asked suspiciously.
You know what it means.
The gentle tone in her voice frightened him, and Li covered both her hands in his, gripping them tightly.
"I don't want it to be the end." Her understanding smile triggered a knot of panic in his stomach.
You really do fight so hard, don't you? But you can't fight this, Syaoran, I've already seen it. I finish the circle and then it is over, there is nothing more.
"You sound like you want to die!"
Her smile faded and she looked away from him, at the maelstrom whipping around Clow's symbol.
So much noise. All the time, in my head, never any chance to rest. I'm so tired of it. I just want it to be quiet.
"I don't want you to die. I love you."
Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she returned her gaze to him. I was really happy when you first said that, because I love you too. She glanced at the shirt he was wearing and smiled again, briefly. I don't know why I didn't see you coming, there was always something different about you. But I loved you the moment I met you, because you had the promise of something better.
"If you love me then don't leave me," Li pleaded. "Don't make me live without you."
Her eyes glistened, reflecting the gold pattern around them, and he realized they were filling with tears. I have to. I can't go back now, once I began Clow's circle there could be no turning back. I've seen this, it is the end.
"You're wrong," Li stated flatly, and she looked surprised. "It's not the end if I don't let you go. I won't let you die, Sakura, you'll have to kill me first." His grip on her hands tightened to prove his point, and a pair of tears slipped down her face.
Let me go, Syaoran, I know it has to be this way. I am never wrong.
"Well I think you are. Why did you ask me to come? It wasn't to save you from him, not if you think you're going to die anyway. You brought me here to save you from yourself."
I don't know why, she protested tearfully. But I saw you here with me and knew you had to be here, it's all happened just as it should. His project ends here, thanks to you and Meilin, everything is like I saw it. I am never wrong.
"Did you see this? Did you see me turn away and let you die, after everything I promised? Because I won't, I refuse. You can't make me, and I don't care how powerful you are."
Her hands were so small and frail in his, but with an amazing flash of strength she pulled them free. Perhaps it was only to prove he couldn't stop her, because she didn't back away. Instead she threw herself against him in a desperate embrace, shoulders shaking with the force of her tears.
I don't want to die, she cried. I love you. But I know this is the edge, the lines end here, there's nothing more for me. I can't see anything more!
Li held her close to his chest, feeling her heart beat in time with his. We're the same, she'd once tried to tell him, the government took everything from us. Could they get it back?
"No, Sakura, it isn't death. It's just your freedom."
What?
"You can't see anything more because this is where your foresight stops. Other people can't see the future, don't you remember what you were like before? When it was only your thoughts in your head, when every new day was a mystery?"
Her sobs quieted as she considered his words, he could almost feel her trying to think back.
I… remember. A little.
"You were happier then, weren't you? Don't you want to go back?"
Yes, she sighed. I want to go back.
"Do it, then. Finish the picture, step off the edge."
But I don't know what will happen… what if it is death?
"What's this, scared of it after all?" Li dropped a kiss on her tangled hair. "So let me come with you, we'll do it together."
Together?
"I was a potential candidate, after all, I might be able to help. Keep me with you, and I will not let you die."
She turned her face up to his, eyes shiny with tears but charged with desperate hope. Li dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her, softly, a reminder of his promise to protect. And she responded to the kiss with faith.
They rose together, never breaking touch, hands sliding along arms until they clasped each other's securely. Li was the one that led her to the waiting star, heart thudding in his chest. She hesitated only briefly, took a deep breath, and stepped onto it.
The outline of the star underneath promptly exploded outward, pushing the sun and the moon to the edges of the circle. She cried out and threw her head back, eyes closed, hair flying furiously in the wind. Li flinched but did not let go, refusing to cower before the rich power he could feel through their linked hands.
It didn't swamp him; instead it was forced out beyond her circle. The storm roiling around them redoubled its strength, and Li realized he could feel it through her. With a morbid fascination he felt it rip through the ceruleum satellite around them, tearing it apart and taking anyone left inside with it.
She was right, Li didn't get to kill the Monster after all. His own project did the job.
Sakura's fingers laced through his squeezed painfully, her terror ringing soundlessly between them. This was it.
Don't let it beat you, Sakura. Die now, and I will die with you.
Another surge of magic swelled within her and Li closed his eyes, unconsciously bracing himself. Something snapped loudly; he felt the completion of the circle beneath him.
And then everything was very quiet.
- - - - - - -
There was something almost muffled about the silence, after the screaming winds and her chaotic blur of fear. He couldn't even hear his own breathing. Fearfully Li opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw were the stars.
There were so many, brilliant pinpricks of light shining everywhere: over and around them, and under them through the star of Sakura's circle. The two of them were drifting suspended in a translucent bubble, and not so much as a scrap remained to be seen of the Clow satellite.
"Sakura."
The angel before him opened her eyes, tranquil and emotionless, looking at first him and then the stars surrounding them. Feathered white wings unfolded around her, in contrast to the infinite black; in a frothy white dress and draped with pink ribbons she finally looked the magical girl she was.
"It's so quiet," she whispered.
"We're floating in space," Li pointed out, as if such a miracle was commonplace. She shook her head.
"No, it's quiet. The noise… it's gone. I can't see the picture anymore." She closed her eyes again and exhaled shakily. Li said nothing, allowing her to enjoy this moment without interruption. "I'm free."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Hope." Li blinked, perplexed, but then she opened her eyes once more and the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen washed over her face.
"You are the one that saved me."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
It is not over.