SORRY!! Sorry for the massive delay between updates but do not despair holidays are here for me so I can write more and update more frequently! And thank you for all my loyal readers who have not given up hope!
Disclaimer: Don't owe anything but the storyline and various characters and objects are my creation.
Syaoran's Angels
Chapter 15: Destined Angels
Sakura played absently with the key that hung from her neck as she listened with half an ear to what Tomoyo and Meiling was saying.
"... the location of the book is the Altai mountains in Mongolia," Tomoyo was saying as Meiling threaded the car through the busy traffic as they headed back to the mansion.
"Oh really?" Sakura said distractedly.
Tomoyo exchanged worried glances with Meiling but didn't comment as Meiling pulled the car up beside the mansion. The three Angels got out the car and began walking up to the front door.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Tomoyo asked worriedly glancing at Sakura's bloodstained dress.
"Trust me I'm fine," Sakura reassured him.
Tomoyo was sceptical but didn't comment as Meiling flung open the front door and the Angels strolled in.
"How did it go?" Fujitaka appeared from the shadows and immediately began firing questions at them.
"Mission accomplished," Meiling smirked.
Fujitaka glanced at Sakura and his frown deepened.
"Sakura, are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine," Sakura said vaguely.
She turned to the Angels.
"I'm going to take a shower," she announced walking up the stairs.
"Sakura," Tomoyo called, "Be quick about it. We're going to contact Syaoran soon."
"How's Haddock?" Meiling asked Fujitaka.
"He's fine but he's still asleep."
Meiling nodded as Sakura disappeared upstairs.
"What is wrong with her?" Fujitaka asked concerned, "Sakura seems really distracted and distanced."
Meiling and Tomoyo exchanged glances.
"We really don't know," Meiling said truthfully, "Ever since we left the Ryan Trong's mansion she's been acting real strange."
Tomoyo nodded.
"She seemed really freak about us almost getting shot..." she trailed off as she realised what she had just said.
Fujitaka stared at her.
"SHOT?!"
Sakura eased out of her ruined dress carefully taking out the disks from the hidden pocket. She stared into the mirror hanging on the bathroom wall absently playing with the key that hung from her neck.
"What are you?" she asked the key as though it could answer her.
She glanced at the mirror and stared at her own reflection.
"What am I?" she wondered.
She touched the smooth, unblemished skin of her chest and stomach and remembered how just hours ago it had been a massive wound of torn flesh and skin. She remembered the feeling of the bullets ripping through her body. She remembered the pain and the shock.
She closed her eyes as she relived that moment again.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Flashback
She had just been shot at.
The bullets had ripped through her stomach and now she was lying on the ground waiting for death to come.
It was as though every nerve in her body was on fire, as though needles had been punched through every section of her body.
The world around her was spinning around crazily but strangely Sakura felt very calm.
Her vision was blurring, She could taste the coppery taste of blood in her mouth and she could felt with frightening clarity her whole body slowly going limp and cold. She could felt the blood-soaked fabric of her dress cling against her rapidly cooling skin and thought ironically this was how her mother had probably died. Gunned down by enemy fire.
End of Flashback
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sakura opened her eyes and stared at herself again. But then the key had started glowing and warming up and somehow, due to some weird force she had recovered and healed herself. And then she had disabled all the commandos without even breaking out a sweat.
Hesitantly she took the chain off from around her neck and gently placed it beside the washbasin and slowly got into the shower.
Once inside, she allowed the hot water to wash over her face and body and wished that it could reach inside her mind and sweep away all the confusion and pain inside and wash it down the drain where she would never had to worry about it ever again.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Good evening, Angels," Syaoran greeted.
"Good evening Syaoran," Meiling and Tomoyo answered cheerfully as Sakura remained silent.
"Sakura, what happened inside the mansion?" Syaoran asked getting straight to the point.
Sakura jumped startled.
"What?!"
"Xiaolang just contacted me and said you disappeared."
"Oh..." Sakura took a deep breath and lied again, "One of the commandos carried several canisters of sleeping gas and Meiling and Tomoyo were both in danger so I used them. The fumes must have caused some people to black out."
Syaoran was silent as though digesting that piece of information.
"Very well."
Sakura breathed a small sigh of relief as Syaoran accepted her story.
"Tomoyo, where is the location of the second book?"
Tomoyo took a deep breath.
"Ryan Trong's file seems to indicate that the dig is located in the Altai Mountains in Mongolia however the site is still heavily guarded."
Syaoran was silent.
"Is there any way you can get in?"
"Aside from infiltrating it by sneaking in I don't see any other way," Tomoyo sighed.
"Very well," Syaoran said, "Girls, go to the site and do some reconnaissance work before attempting to break in. Don't try anything foolhardy and leave as soon as the second book is in your possession. Any questions?"
"No," Meiling replied.
"Good. Good luck with your new mission. Goodbye Angels."
"Goodbye Syaoran."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sakura walked into her room and began the relatively simple task of packing her bags. She shoved the few clothes she had with her into her bag, not really concentrating on what she was doing instead she was wondering about the key again.
"Cherry Blossom?"
"Father," Sakura said shortly without turning around.
"Are you okay?" Fujitaka asked tentatively, "I heard about the mission... are you hurt?"
Sakura turned around and stared at him her emerald eyes wide and sincere.
"I'm fine," she forced a smile, "Now can you please leave. I need to rest."
Fujitaka eyed his daughter suspiciously easily figuring out that she was lying. He hid a smile remembering just when Sakura was young she would always use the same wide bright eyes and fake happy tone when she was trying to hide something.
"How did the mission go?" Fujitaka asked conversationally.
"Fine."
"Really, it doesn't seem like it," Fujitaka noted raising an eyebrow.
Sakura sighed.
"Please dad, just leave."
"Are you still angry with me?" Fujitaka asked bluntly.
His daughter sighed and distractedly ran her long fingers though her auburn hair.
"I really don't know," she confessed, "I guess a little but I know why you did it... it's a bit confusing right now..."
Sakura blinked remembering something.
"Dad, do you know what really happened the night mom was killed?"
Fujitaka shook his head slowly.
"No," his voice was quiet and Sakura could detect the faintest trace of a tremor in it, "Not really."
Sakura took a deep breath.
"She was shot."
"I know," Fujitaka said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Kiyone thought that you betrayed her," Sakura said softly.
Fujitaka stared at her, his eyes wide and shocked.
"NO! NEVER! I would never do such a thing!"
"I know! I know!" Sakura said hastily cutting him off, "I told her you wouldn't do something like that. But do you know why she may believe that?"
Fujitaka sighed.
"I really don't know but I know I wouldn't do such a thing like that. I loved your mother," he smiled bitterly, "I still love her."
"I know that dad," Sakura murmured softly.
As if a silent message had passed between them, father and daughter both took a step forwards and wrapped each other into a tight hug. Sakura couldn't hold back anymore and let the tears spilled down her face her father hugged her tightly as Sakura sobbed into his chest.
"I'm ju... just... really, really confused right now," she hiccuped between sobs.
"Don't worry Cherry Blossom. I will always be here for you," Fujitaka promised hugged his daughter tightly to him.
Sakura nodded against his chest and stood still revelling in the safety of her father's arms. He might not have always been there for her when she was young but it was comforting to know that he would always be here for her now no matter what the future held.
No matter what happens in the days, weeks and years to come Sakura would always have her father and that was the greatest comfort of all.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Here's your ticket back to America complete with a fake passport," Sakura said handing the things to her father, "Once you get to America, Syaoran will move you to a secure location. I'll go and visit you when I get back."
"Be careful," Fujitaka warned.
Sakura smiled and nodded.
"I will."
With that Sakura turned around and opened the door.
"Come on! The plane leaves in half an hour," Meiling called.
"I'm coming!" Sakura sighed.
She slipped into the car as Meiling turned on the engine and began backing out of the driveway.
"Well, judging from the way you and your father were talking..." Tomoyo began.
"What is it?" Sakura asked rolling her eyes.
"You're okay with your mother's... umm..." Tomoyo trailed off searching for a polite term.
"Death?" Sakura asked.
Tomoyo nodded reluctantly as her teammate sighed and fidgeted. Meiling peered into the rear-view mirror and noted the sad look on her friend's face.
"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Meiling said gently.
Sakura shook her head.
"No, I think it's better if I get it off my chest..." she sighed before confessing, "It's really confusing right now. On one hand I've accepted it or the other hand I really don't know what to do. I want to hunt down the bas... people who killed her but I don't know where to start."
Tomoyo turned around in her chair and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry with my intelligence..."
Meiling snorted as Tomoyo glared at her.
"And Syaoran's sources we'll find out."
Sakura smiled warmly at Tomoyo as she returned the grin.
"Soooo..." Sakura drawled a wicked smile appearing on her face.
"What?" Meiling asked suspiciously.
"I heard you phoning Marcus this morning," Sakura said innocently sending her a brilliant grin as Meiling glared at her reflection in the rear-view mirror.
"It was just a check-up call," Meiling protested as she made a right turn and pulled into a busy freeway.
"A 'check-up' call that lasted for half-an-hour and included a lot of giggling?" Sakura asked batting her eyelids, "Riggghhhtttt..."
"Meiling?" Tomoyo asked incredulously, "Giggling?"
"Like a schoolgirl," Sakura confirmed.
Meiling glared at Sakura again and wished she could get her hands on her as the American Angel grinned at her and batted her long eyelashes.
"So Xiaolang..." Meiling began.
"Okay! Truce!" Sakura cut in quickly.
Meiling smiled smugly as Sakura glared at her.
"So how did it go?" Tomoyo asked curiously.
Luckily Sakura was saved from answering as Meiling pulled into the airport car park. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and slipped out of the car halting any further attempts by Tomoyo and Meiling to extract information on her.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Four days later
"You know what?" Sakura growled in frustration, "This is getting us nowhere."
Crouched down on the ground beside her, Meiling had to agree. They had arrived at the Altai Mountains four days before and had already located the archaeological dig but instead of infiltrating the dig they had opted to camp out instead spying on the hive of activity below.
"It's guarded pretty solidly," Tomoyo noted scanning the high barb-wired fences surrounding the dig.
The only exit and entrance to the dig was a heavy steel gate, which was always heavily guarded by patrolling guards.
"So its stalemate," Sakura said in disgust putting her binoculars down, "we can't get in."
"Hmmm... so what do we know about this dig?" Meiling asked.
Sakura sighed.
"It's heavily guarded. We can't get in. Oh and did I mention heavily guarded?"
Meiling rolled her eyes.
"Anything else?"
"Well..." Tomoyo began thoughtfully, "There's that supply truck that comes every two to three days."
Tomoyo stopped as Sakura and Meiling grinned at each other.
"Supply truck?" Tomoyo asked with a sigh.
"We could always slip into the truck and smuggle ourselves in," Sakura suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Meiling grinned.
Tomoyo sighed and resigned herself to fate as her fellow Angels schemed and plotted.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Meiling heaved the last log onto the narrow dirt track and dusted her hands off smiling as she studied the large pile of rocks, wood and other material she had scavenged from the mountains stacked across the road forming a formidable barrier.
She smirked as she spoke into the radio she held in her hands.
"Phase one complete."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Mongolian curses filled the air as the truck pulled to a noisy halt. The drivers got out and studied the barrier blocking their way and more curses flew into the still night air.
"Tsk, tsk," Sakura tutted, "Such language."
Like three silent shadows the Angels slipped down the rocky slopes bordering the small dirt track and as the drivers began heaving the logs and rocks away they stole into the back of the truck hiding themselves amongst the crates, barrels and boxes inside.
"That was easy," Sakura noted in the silence of the truck.
"Shut up," Meiling growled as Sakura sighed and settled herself for an uncomfortable ride.
After several more minutes of sitting in the dark, the girls could hear the truck door open as several people climbed in. The whole truck shook as they slammed the door shut. After a few more minutes they could hear the engine being turned on and with a loud splutter the truck began moving again.
It was not the most comfortable truck to be in especially in the back and the road was not the smoothest surface either. As a result the girls felt every jolt and bump as their bodies slammed painfully against the hard walls of the truck or the equally solid crates and boxes that littered the storage area. So it was with great relief when ten minutes later, the girls could hear more shouting and followed by the unmistakable rattling and banging of the heavy metal gate guarding the dig opening allowing the truck to drive through.
"We got to slip out as soon as possible, okay?" Meiling called her voice barely a whisper.
Tomoyo and Sakura nodded even though Meiling couldn't see them but she got the message.
As soon as the truck stopped, the Angels moved slipping through the canvas flap covering the opening. Meiling landed silently on the balls of her heel as she glanced around quickly checking for any signs of life. Luckily it was late and not a soul could be seen.
"All clear," Meiling whispered back to her friends.
She dashed hurriedly across the exposed ground and slipped behind a hastily built hut of some kind as her fellow Angels followed her.
"So we're in," Sakura muttered, "Now what?"
"We search," Meiling said grimly.
"We better split up," Tomoyo murmured, "Thirty minutes and we meet up here again. Okay?"
Sakura and Meiling nodded.
"Let's move."
With that the three Angels slipped back into the shadows.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Stealthily Tomoyo stole throughout the dig noting the positions of particular buildings and tents.
"Now where would they put the artefacts?" Tomoyo murmured as she strolled through the camp carefully staying in the shadows.
She sidled along the rough wooden wall of one building carefully ducking under one window from which bright light spilled out and noises of drunken shouts and laughter could be heard.
"Hmm... this looks promising," Tomoyo stopped in front of large wooden building that stood roughly in the centre of the whole compound.
The windows were all dark and all within was silent. Carefully Tomoyo stepped onto the wooden steps leading up the building carefully testing her weight onto each plank of wood before stepping onto it just in case the wood was squeaky and she definitely didn't want to alert the whole camp to her presence.
Standing on tiptoes she peered into the dark room but she couldn't make out much. With a sigh, she walked over to the door and tried the doorknob.
"Click."
Tomoyo sighed in resignation. It was locked.
"Where's Sakura when you need her?" Tomoyo muttered wishing the American Angel was here so she could pick the lock.
Deciding to investigate it later with Sakura in tow, Tomoyo turned around... and walked straight into a warm, solid body.
"What are you doing here?" a deep male voice asked puzzled, its owner looking at her strangely.
Tomoyo froze.
Uh oh
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Meiling crept through the shadows occasionally peering into several windows but so far no luck.
"Can't they have signposts in this place?" Meiling growled in frustration.
She peered into another dark window and sighed when she saw nothing.
"This is really getting annoying," Meiling muttered rubbing her temples.
Silently, the Asian Angel continued stealing through the camp but her luck didn't improve, as she saw nothing that even hinted where the location of the book was.
"This sucks," Meiling sighed as she leaned against a wall taking a small break.
Suddenly her whole body stiffened as she felt a cold, hard metal blade press against the side of her neck.
The wielder of the blade muttered something in Mongolian to her. Meiling took several seconds to translate the message.
"Where is the book?" Meiling repeated slowly.
She sighed and tried to move but a rough hand on her arm stopped her arm.
"Why don't you tell me," she muttered sarcastically, "Cause I really want to know too."
The blade pressed down harder on her neck as Meiling froze.
"No sense of humour?" Meiling quipped refusing to panic.
Her attacker swore in Mongolian and his other hand let go of her arm hurriedly instead grabbing her neck in a vicious grip slamming her back against the wall as Meiling grimaced in pain and the rough wood of the wall biting into her back.
"Ouch," she growled, "that hurt."
In a blinding move too fast to see Meiling broke free of the man's grip and lunged forwards snapping his head backwards with a vicious kick. The man landed nimbly onto his feet as he glared at her his knife held tightly in his left hand.
Meiling shifted into a fighter's stance and to her surprise the man did the same moving expertly into a crouch every part of his body ready to lunge and attack.
"Well, well, this will be interesting," Meiling had enough time to say before the man lunged at her.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Spinnel contacted us again."
Sakura froze and crept back to the building she had just past. Leaning against the wall pressing her ear against thin wooden walls she eavesdropped.
"What did he want now?" a man demanded.
The woman who had spoken first replied after a few minute's pause.
"He wants the book... now."
"Tell him we can't," another woman snapped, "It's impossible to sneak anything out with so much bloody guards around."
"He said by next week or the deal is off," the other woman growled.
"Damn!" the man growled, "Can't he be more patient?"
Sakura frowned. If Spinnel Corporation had spies within the dig why would they try to steal the location of the dig from Ryan Trong's mansion? She froze as she remember what her father had told her, none of the archaeologists in the camp knew where the location of the dig was. They had been transported here in secret but if that so then the invasion of the mansion meant...
Sakura gasped. Spinnel was running out of patience, they had been planning to invade the dig themselves and seize the book by force. With that in mind, Sakura was even more determined that she wouldn't leave the dig without the book, if they left it here any longer Spinnel would find some way to get it either by spies or by force.
She quickly began listening again as the people inside the building began talking again this time their voices becoming louder and angry.
"Tell Spinnel if he doesn't pay up soon, we'll take the book ourselves and destroy it!" the man growled.
There was a scraping of wood on wood as the woman suddenly stood up shoving her chair aside.
"You tell him," she said frostily, "If you steal the book and destroy it, you're as good as dead."
"He can't harm me," the man spluttered.
"Really?" the other woman snapped, "I seriously doubt that."
Their voices became softer as Sakura pressed harder against the wall trying to pick up everything they were saying.
"Look, we'll stick with our original plan," the woman growled, "We steal the book tomorrow night and get out of here. We'll hold people hostage and threaten to kill them if they don't allow us to go."
"You are bloodthirsty," the man muttered admiration obvious in his voice.
"So what? Our lives depend on this now," the woman snapped.
Sakura had heard enough. She was going to stop these people once and for all. Stealthily she crept around the side of the building until she reached the door. Trying to knob, she was surprised to find it was unlocked. The American Angel rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Amateurs," she said coldly as she stepped into the room.
"What the?" the man yelled seeing her at the door.
One of the women whirled around as Sakura grinned at them.
"Surprise," she chirped smiling wolfishly at them, "I need info and you better give it to me."
With that she lunged forwards and tackled the woman down to the ground.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Who are you?"
Uh oh
Tomoyo froze as her mind worked frantically trying to come up with a lie. The man continued to look at her strangely as Tomoyo grinned weakly at him.
"Hi," she said limply.
"Are you new here?" the man asked curiously.
"YES!" Tomoyo yelled a bit too loudly relieved that the man had come up with a lie for her, "I mean... sorry... yes I am... new here."
The man smiled at him warmly.
"I'm David," the man said cheerfully, "What's your name?"
"My name?" Tomoyo asked hesitantly.
"You have a name don't you?" David asked teasingly.
Tomoyo nodded smiling at him.
"I'm Felicity," Tomoyo lied smoothly, "How do you do?"
"Very well," David grinned at her, "Trying to find your way around?"
"Yeah, I am," Tomoyo sighed, "It's just too big. I don't know anything about this place."
"Want a tour?" David asked easily.
Tomoyo grinned at him.
"That would be great," she replied grinning at him gratefully.
"So what do you want to see? Not this surely," David gestured towards the building they were standing in front of them.
Tomoyo put an innocent look in her eyes and blasted her with her sweetest smile batting her eyelids at the same time, the picture of innocence.
"Why?"
"Because this is the dining hall," David laughed.
Tomoyo allowed a blush to stain her features.
"Oh."
"So what do you want to see?"
Tomoyo pretended to pause and think for a few moments.
"I would really like to see the..." she trailed off pretending to be shy.
"See what?" David urged gently.
Tomoyo sighed.
"I just really want to see the artefacts," she blinked at him innocently allowing just the right amount of sincerity into her voice, "I want to see what kind of things you already find."
"Well then come right this way," David grabbed her hand and led her off to another part of the camp as Tomoyo grinned to herself.
I still got it she grinned applauding herself for her little performance.
She definitely deserved an Oscar for that.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Meiling studied her opponent carefully as she easily fought off his first lunge. Grabbing his left wrist she stopped his powerful thrust with the knife before kicking him in his exposed ribs flinging him away she was surprised to see the man recover expertly
"Nice clothes," she muttered.
The man was wrapped from hard to toe in some kind of black material that made him look like some kind of ninja, there was a slit in the fabric for his eyes, which was now fixed on her studying her carefully. His black boots were made from some kind of soft fabric that made no noise as it touched the ground and the only hint of colour on his clothes was from the black silk vest he wore around his chest, which displayed a roaring dragon and a soaring phoenix created from gold and red thread that captured the faint light from the moon above and threw it back into the night amplifying it making it glow as the man moved.
"Who are you?" Meiling snapped as the man lunged again.
Meiling twisted her body barely missing the man's wide swipe with his knife. She grabbed his left arm before he could yank it away but was caught off guard as the man kicked her heavily in the stomach. The air shot of her body as Meiling grimaced in pain and gasped for breath but gamely she held onto his arm knowing that if she let go he would slice her to ribbons.
She gripped his left arm tightly and shoved her hip into his gut and yanked with all her strength. The man went flying over her shoulders and landed heavily onto the rocky ground causing a small cloud of dust to burst into air as Meiling took a step backwards quickly checking for any wounds but she seemed in one piece.
The man leapt up nimbly yelling something at her in Mongolian.
"Intruder?" Meiling translated cocking an eyebrow, "Coming from you that's a bit hypocritical isn't it?"
The man growled at her and in one smooth fluid motion, he hurled the knife at her. The blade cartwheeled through the air as Meiling smiled coldly.
"Oooo... shiny," she sneered as she caught the knife deftly gripping the sharp blade between her thumb and index figures.
She smiled enjoying the shocked look in the man's eyes as she hurled it straight back at him. The man moved to dodge the weapon but was too slow as the blade zipped back tearing a jagged tear in the cloth around his right shoulder and leaving behind a bleeding wound before thudding into the wooden wall of a nearby building, the whole blade wobbling with the force of the throw.
The man growled in pain as Meiling narrowed her eyes at him.
"End match," she growled taking a menacing step forwards.
Her attacker glared at her before whirling around and sprinting off back into the shadows as Meiling growled under her breath and gave chase.
She tailed him as he sprinted into the narrow street between two wooden buildings. The man whirled around and through the faintly see-through fabric surrounding his mouth Meiling could see the faint outline of a smile.
"Huh?" Meiling wondered as she came to a screeching halt.
Her attacker leapt to the side planting his leg into the wooden wall boosting himself up into the air. His other leg shot up and slammed into other wooden wall boosting himself up further into the air. Alternating his kick and the walls, he soon leapt into the night air and landed nimbly onto one of the building's walls as Meiling gasped grudgingly admiring the man's skill.
"Cool," Meiling murmured as the man sprinted across the roofs leaping from one to another until he disappeared from her view.
Who was that man? she wondered.
Suddenly her ears picked up the sounds of approaching feet and with a long sigh, Meiling slipped back into the shadows.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sakura crashed to the ground using the woman as a cushion against the hardness of the ground ignoring the jarring pain of slamming into the table leg and the choked scream of the woman beneath her she slammed the woman's head into the ground knocking her out cold.
Before the man and the other woman could react, Sakura leapt up and lunged onto the table before launching a flying kick that sent the other woman flying out of her chair and slamming painfully into the wall. She slumped to the ground knocked out cold, Sakura landed nimbly on the other side of the table and whirled around grabbing the back of the man's neck and slamming him into the table in one fluid motion.
"Do you work for the Spinnel Corporation?" Sakura growled.
"Let go of me you b..." the man blustered.
Sakura tightened her grip on his neck cutting him off.
"Do you?" Sakura growled.
"Yes."
"What did he want you to do?"
"A man approached me willing to pay big money if I joined this dig and stole the book and give it to him," the man snarled, "Now let go before I aler..."
"Where is the book?" Sakura asked dangerously cutting in.
"I'm not going to tell you," the man snapped defiantly.
"Where is it?" Sakura demanded tightening her grip.
"Go to hell," the man said viciously, "Let go of me! GUA..."
Sakura get him off slamming his face into the hard wood of the table. His body became limp as Sakura let go of him.
With one last glare at the man, she slipped out of the room and disappeared back into the darkness of the night.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"Wow," Tomoyo muttered under her breath.
"Impressive isn't it?" David asked.
"What is this?" Tomoyo asked looking around.
"Well, originally we thought that this area was what used to be a camp for Mongolian raiders that was covered over in a landslide but as we dug further down we actually discovered this," David explained, "It seems to be some kind of temple that has sunken into the ground."
Tomoyo looked around shocked into silence. David had led her down a long flight of roughly constructed wooden stairs and now they were standing in the centre of some kind of underground building. By some twist of nature, everything was preserved perfectly. Tomoyo could still faintly see glimpses of ancient paintings decorating the walls; many of the pillars holding up the ceiling were still intact whilst others had crumbled to dust. She could make out an altar of sorts lining one wall and turned to David.
"Was this a religious place of some sort?" she asked.
David nodded.
"It appears to be so but it's not any religion we've seen before," he gestured towards the walls, "The paintings on these are actually a story of some sort."
"What do they say?" Tomoyo asked.
David laughed.
"From what we gather it seems to be a prophecy of some sort."
"What prophecy?" Tomoyo urged.
"From what I can remember... it goes something like this..." David took a deep breath and began reciting.
'Three Angels descended from the heavens shall come in the new age,
One shall be a fighter,
The other a flower,
The third a fox, cunning and watchful.
They shall possess the three:
One the sun and the key,
Another the earth and the sword,
The third the moon and the mirror.
Only they can stop the shadow book,
For if it is opened then shadows will engulf the world,
All hope, dreams and love will vanish devoured by darkness,
And evil shall reign for all eternity.'
Tomoyo stared at him in shock, her mind working furiously.
Angels...
A fighter... Meiling.
A flower... Sakura.
The third... that was... her.
But how?
"Do any of you know what that actually means?" Tomoyo asked hiding her turbulent thoughts expertly.
David shrugged.
"Honesty? We have no idea. It's probably just some kind of ancient Mongolian legend."
"And the artefacts themselves?" Tomoyo asked politely.
"Right this way," David said cheerfully as he walked up the flight of stairs with Tomoyo trailing after him, her mind working furiously trying to decipher the ancient Mongolian prophecy.
The three... Tomoyo blinked. It must mean the three books...
The key?
The sword?
The mirror?
What did they mean and most daunting of all, the shadow book? What was that? Evil shall reign for eternity? Tomoyo shoved her thoughts aside as she took a deep breath and pretended to be interested as David led her into another building.
"This is where we put all the things we find," David explained, "There are some really precious ones amongst the other... trinkets. This for example."
Tomoyo snapped out of her reverie as she finally realised what she had been staring blankly at for the last few minutes.
It was the book!
Tomoyo sucked in her breath easily recognising the book from the photo Sakura had shown them days before. She was sure of it this was the book: the second book, the book of Hong Bao Shi Hu Die, the book of the Ruby Butterfly.
"This is really amazing because we have no idea what it is," David was saying, "We studied the text within but it is written in a totally new language to us."
Tomoyo cleared her throat.
"David?"
"Yes?" David asked turning around.
He didn't even have time to blink as Tomoyo's fist slammed into his face.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Sakura sighed.
"So you met this really strange guy that asked you where the book is and menaced you with a knife?" she asked incredulously.
Meiling nodded.
"Wow, this place keeps getting weirder," Sakura muttered, "I discovered some Spinnel spies in this place."
"Spinnel spies?" Meiling looked at her incredulously.
Sakura nodded.
"I tried to get info from them but I had to knock them out when one started crying for the guards."
Meiling nodded and looked around. She glanced at her wristwatch and sighed.
"Where's Tomoyo? She's late."
"I'm here," Tomoyo announced as she appeared behind them stepping out from the shadows.
"Is that?" Sakura asked staring at the thing in Tomoyo's hands.
"The book?" Tomoyo smirked, "Yeah."
She sobered quickly.
"I got some other piece of news as well."
"Okay but tell us when we get out of here," Meiling ordered, "This place is giving me the creeps."
Sakura and Tomoyo had to agree with her and soon they began heading back towards the truck keeping to the shadows. Meiling knelt beside one building and looked around.
"Seems clear," she muttered as she slipped out from the cover of the building followed by Sakura and Tomoyo and crept across the exposed ground towards the truck.
"FREEZE!" someone yell at them in Mongolian.
All the Angels froze.
"Oh..." Sakura swore loudly.
"RUN!" Meiling yelled as they dashed across the courtyard passing the truck and ducking back into the labyrinth of wooden buildings. An alarm sounded through the compound as the sound of hard boots slapping the ground echoed through the whole camp as guards began searching for them.
"How do we get out of here?" Tomoyo hissed, "The gates are probably heavily guarded by now!"
Meiling grinned at her.
"I know a way."
Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged worried glances as Meiling led them further into compound. She stopped in a narrow alleyway bordered by two wooden walls that belong to two separate buildings standing on either side of them.
"And this is supposed to help?" Sakura asked, "This place is a trap!"
Meiling smiled at her before leaping up into the air. Tomoyo and Sakura gasped in astonishment as Meiling kicked one wall of the building launching herself higher. Her other leg gripped the other wall and pushed off sending her higher. Several kicks later, Meiling was perched on top of the building roof grinning down at them.
"Well are you coming?" she asked.
Tomoyo and Sakura shrugged and quickly copied their teammates movement.
"Come on!" she hissed as she sprinted across the roof.
From below came cries of surprise and anger as Meiling swore. Sakura and Tomoyo quickly dashed after her as they heard the unmistakable sound of guns being loaded.
"Uh oh," Sakura muttered.
Bullets tore the roof sending splinters flying into the air as Sakura and Tomoyo ran for their lives.
"THERE!" Meiling yelled as more bullets slammed into the wood around them.
"WE'RE GOING TO LEAP OVER!?" Sakura yelled, "ARE YOU NUTS?!"
Meiling ignored her as she hit the last roof and leapt with all her strength. The Asian Angel sailed off the barbed wires lining the top of the fence and landed neatly on the side as Tomoyo and Sakura looked at each other before sprinting at break-neck speed towards the fence.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!" Sakura yelled as she leapt over.
Ever the gymnast, Sakura did a quick flip in the air before landing expertly in front of Meiling. Tomoyo wasn't as graceful but still managed to land on her feet as more cries of surprise filled the air as the guards aimed their weapons through the fence determined to mow them down.
The three Angels didn't even bother to talk as they sprinted towards the safety of the Altai Mountains wilderness as bullets ricocheted off the hard rocky ground spraying the girls with rock chips.
But it was too late.
They were free.
And they had the book.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
"That was insane," Sakura gasped as they finally stumbled back to their camp.
"But we did it didn't we?" Meiling asked.
"Barely," Tomoyo muttered holding the book up, "I think we better head back to American tomorrow."
"I hear you," Sakura said wearily, "I want out of this wilderness as soon as possible."
Suddenly the calmness of the night was ruined by a soft neighing sound. All the Angels froze.
"What the?" Meiling muttered, "A horse? Out here?"
Cautiously they scanned their surroundings with expert eyes.
"It's probably nothing," Sakura muttered.
"You know she's prob..." Tomoyo began.
"SAKURA!" Meiling roared.
Sakura gave a small gasp of surprise as something heavy and warm slammed into her back sending her flying. Meiling and Tomoyo glanced in horror at their friend as the sound of hoof striking rock filled the calm night air.
"What on earth?" Tomoyo gasped.
They were surrounded. Meiling growled as she caught her first clear glimpse of their attacker. A ring of horses with men perched on their backs appeared from the shadows circling their camp carefully leaving no gaps for them to escape. Meiling glared at them recognising their clothing and the vest they wore. The roaring dragon and soaring phoenix... they were dressed exactly the same as the men she had fought earlier.
"Who are these people?" Tomoyo muttered.
"I fought one of them earlier," Meiling muttered back.
"The book!" one of the men roared in Mongolian.
Tomoyo glanced down at the book she held in her hands.
"No!" she yelled back.
"GET THEM!" the man commanded.
The horses all charged straight for them as Meiling and Tomoyo shifted into fighter's stance but they were outnumbered and the men had the advantage with their extra height. One man kicked Tomoyo in the ribs as she keeled over in pain gasping for breath. Meiling was sent sprawling as one horse rammed into her head.
"MEILING!" Tomoyo yelled as Meiling hit the ground heavily.
She looked up in time to see a black boot descended onto her face. Pain roared through her whole body as Tomoyo felt herself fly through the air.
"Crunch!"
She hit the hard rock ground and all went black.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Oh no! Are the Angels finished? (No way!) But who are these mysterious horsemen and what did that prophecy mean? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter (grins evilly). I will not update until I have 20 more reviews!
Next chapter:
As the Angels wake up realising the book is gone, they track down their attackers and are amazed to stumble upon a Mongolian Temple. A mysterious woman inside the temple makes a pact with them: they can have the Book of Hong Bai Shi Hu Die... but on one condition, they must past an ancient test that tests every skill they possess... find out what happens next in Rite of Passage.
A/Note: Sorry for the massive delays between updates but trust me it has been a very busy few months for me. Exams and homework but finally they're over so I'm free! Free to write!
Oh yeah in the next chapter, another character created by a winner of Syaoran's Angels competition will feature so watch out for that!
