Yang-chan: I'm okay…no…really…yeah…(sniff) All those lovely reviewers! I love you!
Summary:….Ch.1 go to it.
Last time…
" I what? I took her place? Oh yea…Hey Shaoran, to answer your question, Sakura is dead and I took her place. Mhm, oh yea Dream…that would really get them as my allies. OH SHOVE IT!" Dream stopped laughing. " That would only spark the Veprae, and I can't battle them as I am. I need to kill it before they let it lose."
" And if you can't?"
" I'll die trying, Dream. I'll die first."
All for a smile
A Yang Production
Suki tossed and turned in her bed. Her dreams were plagued with whispers…
Let us out!
We will come out!
Our voices will not be silenced!
We'll take you down in order to live!
Suki sat up in bed. The red digital numbers on her clock told her it had only been a half an hour since she had slipped into bed. Dream and the others had crowded into two bedrooms since Suki had used the other rooms for different purposes. A sigh was the only thing that broke the silence. The door opened and she stepped out.
" Sakura…" The voice was filled with sadness. " Sakura…gomen…" Suki, curious as to who was speaking, searched the first floor. The voice however was on the second floor, from the room were Shaoran was sleeping in. His voice was low, almost a murmur now as she looked in. " Sakura…" Her name seemed out of place on his lips. He turned causing Suki to panic.
" Damn you Shaoran!" Each step she took was light, in an effort to not wake him up. A frown now was set upon his lips. Her hand trembled as she reached out to move a strand of hair out of his eyes. In this state, a eerie tranquility hung over him. " eeek!" Her hand withdrew and she fled from the house. Her tears fell unto the earth as she ran across the park. How could she break the news to them without having them break the sleeping darkness in them?
Chirp chirp
Outside the birds chirped happily as the morning sun cast it's warm soothing rays into the room. Tomoyo was the first to wake up. Panic overtook her as she looked around the room. The door clicked open and a robed figure stepped in. Their face was hidden by a hood.
"Ah! You're awake…" the figure said in a kind female voice. " I was sure that Raven would have knocked you out for at least a couple of days. She's full of surprises lately."
" Ummm…" Tomoyo drew the blackest to her face.
" Oh! Don't worry! I won't hurt you! Willow might!" ( At that moment, downstairs, our Blade sneezed into a cup of coffee.) they reached up and pulled down the hood. Two glimmering red eyes looked straight at Tomoyo. Red blazing hair was pulled into two corkscrew ponytails. Soft pale red lipstick was applied to their lips. ( Gem likes red if you didn't figure it out) " I'm Gem."
She's pretty…was the first thing that crossed Tomoyo's mind. " Where…?"
" You're in Suki's home, Sakura-san's old house." Gem placed a tray on Tomoyo's lap. " Eat breakfast. Willow made it for you three once you woke up." Two more trays were placed on the table next to Shaoran and Meilin, covered. Gem softly hummed as she looked over the two knocked out people. Tomoyo made no movement to eat the food that was place in front of her. It was a stack of homemade pancakes, warm syrup, a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, something wrapped in a dark blue plastic. The aroma made her mouth water, but her body did not move.
" It won't kill you, ya know. Willow got up really early to make it for you three!"
" Really?"
" Of course!" Gem smiled. ( In reality Gem forced Blade to make breakfast.)
The pancakes were warm and fluffy in her mouth, the syrup sweet and sticking to her throat. Gem watched in amusement as Tomoyo gulped down the Orange juice.
" You know, there is more where that came from, so eat slowly." Gem patted Tomoyo's head. A blush crept onto her cheeks.
" I'm sorry! Where are my manners!" A laugh pushed away any embarrassment she had. " Don't worry about it. Listen, I need to tell you something." A serious look replaced all emotion. " You three will hear something that you might not like, but don't blame Suki. She just wants what's best for you."
" Huh?" Tomoyo's fork was suspended between her mouth and plate.
" It's about Sakura, and it ain't pretty." Gem walked towards the door and stopped. " Oh, eat the little wrapped square, it will help you." The door clicked shut. Gem walked down the stairs.
"Is Dream still looking for Raven?" Her head loomed around the corner. Blade stood at the kitchen sink washing some dishes.
" Still…Crow went to help out. Baka Suki! She can't be pulling this stunt at a time like this." The scrubbing became harder. " If she doesn't take care of herself, then she'll have even worse health! It's bad enough that she is battling the Veprae!" The dish that Blade was washing shattered to pieces. Blade's head dropped.
" You know Blade, over the years, you still are the same. Everything about you reminds.."
" Hey! Watch it!" Gem winced as she held her hand. A small cut was bleeding, a result of picking up the jagged pieces of the china plate. " Let me see." Blade coxed her to release her arm from the precious grip she had on it. " It's not that bad…"
" But it hurts!"
A gust of air swept into the room as the front door swung open.
" Just listen to me Suki!"
" I don't want to hear it!"
" Dream and I were worried about you!"
" Crow! No! I'm a big girl now! Not that little girl who cried in your arms every night!"
" You aren't acting like a grown up!"
" Cuz you won't let me live my life!"
" Ahem!" A new voice joined into the argument. " Is this a bad time?"
" Tomoyo-san!" Gem sang. " Good enough to be up and about?" Tomoyo nodded. " Sorry about the fight!" Suki glared at Gem. " Well, since you're here, this one here," She pointed to the cloaked figure still picking up the shattered plate, " this is Willow!"
" My name is NOT Willow! It's Blade!" A masculine voice barked.
"This tall one here," Her soft hands rested on another cloaked figure, taller than any of the four, " This is Crow."
" Hello. My, you are pretty." Crow bowed deeply as a male voice came from the cloth that was wrapped around his face, only showing his silver eyes. Tomoyo blushed.
" And the short one," She wrapped her arms around the short one who struggled against her firm, strong hug, " Dream Catcher!"
" Get off Gem!" Something about the voice seemed familiar as Dream got Gem to let go. " I'm sorry we could not get a more…proper greeting. Tomoyo-san, beautiful name." Dream reached out and kissed her hand. " I am pleased to meet you." Oh, yeah, this one was a guy too!
" Suki!" Crow snapped as Suki tried to sneak away. " Are the others awake?" He turned to Tomoyo.
" They are getting there. Both of them are eating the breakfast that Blade-"
" Willow!"
"-made…"
Everyone nodded as they waited for Shaoran and Meilin to come down. A few minutes later, they raced down the steps chatting the whole time. Once they entered the hallway, only silence and stares greeted them. They took the last few steps in silence. Suki had a depressed look on her face as they looked at her, glaring the whole time. Just as they were about to speak Suki fell forward.
" Suki!" The four cried. She was bent over, her arms wrapped around her body.
Let us out!
LET US OUT!
LET US OUT!
The voices repeated the same thing over and over again in her head. Her body was weak as it was, now they were trying to get out. She could never let harm come to the world. Someone was trying to ask her something, but it was muffled. Colors turned to gray as she was losing consciousness, voices slowed down, her very reasoning was off, but one voice kept yelling the same word. "SUKI!"
Dream panicked. " SUKI!" She gripped the carpet underneath her, her eyes shut from the pain and her screams radiating through the house. " Suki!" He knelt down next to her, trying to figure out what was wrong. Her aura flared out, a mixture of all the colors, and around the edges, black. The four drew a sharp breath.
" It's starting!" Dream whispered so only Shaoran could hear. He tried to reach Suki. " Suki! Please! Try to turn down the voices! They aren't as powerful as you! Try! TRY DAMN IT!" Her aura flared brightly for a second or two and died down to a small glimmer. The whole house seemed to sigh as Dream picked Suki up from the ground, her breathing normalized but she was burning with a small fever. As he passed by, his hood fell from his face, and the three could glimpse a head of black-blue hair.
" Crow!" Dream snapped. " Open the basement door!" Crow knew better than to disobey Dream in a time like this, he did as he was instructed. Everyone followed Dream down the stairs. Having never been to the basement before, Tomoyo, Shaoran, and Meilin didn't know what to expect. A low humming reached their ears.
" GEM! Get the lights! Crow! Turn the machine on! Blade! Open the hatch!" Dream barked. Everyone did as they were told. The light blinded them for a second, but their eyes adjusted in time. Dream was climbing a ladder that lead to the top of a long, wide, silver tube. Both Blade and Dream were placing something on Suki's body and Blade slipped a mask on Suki's mouth and nose.
" This might hurt Suki." Dream pulled a IV down and choosing her forearm, stuck it in. Suki, though unconscious, winced.
" It's all go Dream!" Crow looked up. A green liquid was filling the tubeish structure. Suki was gently lowered and suspended in the air as the green substance lapped around her. Machines whirled and beeped around them, flashing colors on the screen and unknown data. Crow was hunched over a screen, his eyes fixed on it and only that. Dream and Blade hopped down and stared at Suki through the small circular window that showed her face. Everything was still as they waited for Crow.
" It's not that bad!" Everyone let out a sigh that they didn't realize that they were holding. " But she'll need to stay in there for a few days."
" Great! I told her to take care of herself! Being out on a cold night in the park with only thin shirt and a skirt! No wonder they tried to break free!" Dream rested a hand on the window. " Suki…please make it!"
Gem noticing the worried look on the Trio's face responded to the question that didn't have to be asked in words, their faces were enough.
" When a Veprae is vanquished, where do you think it goes?" Her back was to them as her words tore their gaze from the weak Suki.
" Into the beyond?"
" Nope."
" They return to the earth to nourish it as positve energy?"
" Wrong."
" They simply vanish?"
" No." Her voice was morbid now. " Suki houses them. All that negative energy is stored inside her body. It conflicts with her being."
The three shakily stood as a feeling of dread swept over them, a feeling that was proven right.
" It's killing her from the inside out. They are eating away at her. Her very soul is struggling and losing. In short, Suki's dying."
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