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Syaoran's Angels
Chapter 24: Past and Present
Sakura and Tomoyo sighed in exasperation as Meiling began grumbling for about the one-millionth time. It had been bad enough sitting in a small uncomfortable economy flight seat for god knows how many hours but to make things worse Meiling seemed to be have picked up the annoying habit of muttering under her breath at exactly the same moment every time Sakura or Tomoyo tried to get some sleep.
"Stop it!" Sakura snapped finally out of patient.
Meiling merely sent her fellow Angel her infamous death glare.
"Leave her alone," Tomoyo whispered softly to Sakura acting as the mediator once again.
She knew full why well Meiling was so annoyed about this. It wasn't only because of the fact that they were following a very cryptic set of instructions given to them by a mysterious magical guardian. It was because of Marcus, who after spending a day at the hospital was released and Meiling had seemed genuinely delighted at the idea of spending time with him until that was Tomoyo dropped her bombshell about Yue's cryptic instructions. Describing Meiling's reaction as angry would be like describing a hurricane as a gentle breeze. Tomoyo knew Meiling was not reacting out of the though of missing out on quality time with her boyfriend (she wondered when Meiling would start calling him that) but rather the fear of something happening to him and Lily whilst she was gone. Because of this, she had summoned the Elementals and told them quite flatly they were to protect Marcus and Lily and if anything happened to them...
Even the usually calm Earthy card had begun quaking under the glare Meiling had given them.
Sakura fell silent as Meiling continued to stare worryingly out the plane window fidgeting with her hands as Tomoyo and Sakura exchanged worried glances.
"Don't worry," Tomoyo said delicately, "Nothing will happen to them."
"I'm just..." Meiling sighed.
She fell silent as Sakura and Tomoyo waited patiently.
"Scared," Meiling said quietly.
The two Angels stared at her as Meiling blushed vividly as her hands began fidgeting again.
"I'm scared that something will happen and I'll never see them again," the Asian Angel continued softly, "It's silly but..."
"It's not silly. You're just worried about a loved one," Sakura said calmly, " But don't you remember? Didn't Wood and Sand say they took care of Mallus?"
Meiling nodded thoughtfully as she wondered what really happened to Mallus, according to the Wood card Sand had 'taken care' of him. Meiling had a good idea what that meant but she wasn't a hundred percent sure.
"I suppose," she said hesitantly.
"So..." Tomoyo said idly, "When's the wedding?"
"WHAT?!?"
~~~~~
Yue turned around calmly as Kerberos glided down from the sky and landed expertly in front of him. Folding his immense wings, Kerberos cleared his throat and fixed the moon guardian with his fierce amber eyes.
"Yes?" Yue asked placidly.
"Why?" Kerberos growled.
A humourless smile flickered across Yue's lips.
"Why what?" he replied tranquilly arching an eyebrow inquisitively.
Kerberos narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath as Yue chuckled.
"Patience, my friend," the guardian smirked.
"Why did you erase her memory?" Kerberos demanded, "Why did you erase the Fox's memory of who poisoned her?"
Yue turned away from Kerberos and faced the wide watery expanse of the placid lake that dominated his domain. When he spoke, his voice sounded as though it was coming from very far away.
"Do you not see?" he asked, "The wheels of time is turning and slowly, ever so slowly the pieces of the puzzle moves in place. I have need for Fox's poisoner... and her true love. He will play a major role in what is to come."
"What role will he play?" Kerberos growled, "Is he going to harm the three or help them?"
"Harm or help?" Yue sighed and turned back to Kerberos, "Even I can not see."
"And you erased Fox's memory knowing that he may eventually kill her?!? I thought you were her guardian!" Kerberos exploded angrily.
"Killer or saviour, Clow Reed's half-reincarnation is needed alive and well," Yue smiled mysteriously, "Don't you remember?"
"Remember what?" Kerberos demanded.
"Clow Reed's words," Yue replied simply before taking a deep breath and began speaking again, his voice becoming louder with each word that spilled from his lips.
"The one that was one shall split and the two shall never know each other. When the darkness come, they shall be made whole and their remaking shall turn the tide."
Kerberos stared at Yue in bewilderment as the guardian sent him a final mysterious smile before spreading his wings and taking flight, disappearing into the tall mountains of his realm.
Kerberos huffed under his breath and clacked his teeth together in frustration.
"Stupid cryptic clues," he snarled before spreading his wings and taking flight.
~~~~
The wide mahogany door of 152 Kingsley Court, London opened revealing three women dressed demurely in various black-coloured clothing. Tomoyo, wearing an elegant black suede jacket and dress with hints of gold jewellery glittering at her neck and wrists, smiled politely as the butler who opened the door eyed them calmly.
"I believe you're here for the..." the man took a deep breath before speaking obviously fighting back his emotions, "Funeral?"
"Yes, we are," Sakura, said softly dressed in a two piece black-suit, her black skirt swishing in the cold English air as she walked through the door as the butler stepped aside.
Meiling, wearing a simple black dress that highlighted the darkness of her hair and the redness of her lips and ruby eyes, nodded to her friends as they followed the butler down the hallway, the heels of their shoes clacking against the hard marble as bright sunlight poured in from the many tall windows that lined the walls of the corridor.
"This way, miss," the butler opened another door revealing a large room where a cheery fire danced in an ornate fireplace battling the cold outside with its gentle heat.
Clusters of people turned around to regard the newcomers before dismissing them and turning back to conversation, the muffled sounds of their talking filling the air. Tomoyo studied the room and noted the antiquity of the furniture, the rarity of the paintings that hung on the wall and noted with interested that lining the walls was bookshelf after bookshelf of books crammed in until they almost spilled out onto the thickly carpeted floor.
"Myles, thank you," a young woman disengaged herself from a group of people and walked over to them smiling politely at the Angels before turning to the butler, "Can you please..."
Myles bowed courteously to the woman before walking away as Sakura studied the woman standing in front of them. She had light chestnut hair that was styled so that it just stopped at the nape of her neck, a pair of sad brown eyes stared at them through the lenses of the thinly framed glasses that perched on top of her small pixie-like nose.
She sent them a sad smile as her eyes blinked in confusion.
"Excuse me," she asked with a polite smile, "I don't believe I've seen you before."
Tomoyo sent her an apologetic smile as she silently thanked Yue for giving her a lie to work with.
"We're daughters of your grandfather's colleague," she lied easily, "Sadly, they couldn't be here and sent us in their steads."
"Oh," the woman paused for a few seconds, "In that case, I'm Nikki Yanagizawa. George was my grandfather..."
She trailed off as she blinked furiously trying to fight back tears.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Sakura said sympathetically, her emotions genuine, "We heard from our fathers how good a man your grandfather was."
Nikki sent a thankful smile as Tomoyo and Meiling exchanged glances wondering how on earth Sakura had figured out who the funeral was for.
Nikki turned around as someone gently called her name and sent the Angels a small smile.
"Sorry but I really must go," she said politely.
"No worries," Meiling smiled back as Nikki walked away.
"How did you know?" Tomoyo asked turning to her friend.
In response, Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on," she smirked, "Nikki's reaction when she mentioned her grandfather? Wasn't it pretty obvious?"
Meiling and Tomoyo exchanged another look as the Asian Angel shrugged delicately.
Tomoyo sighed as she turned back to Sakura.
"What do we do now?" she asked softly.
Sakura and Meiling shot her an incredulous look.
"You mean you don't know?" Sakura demanded, "I thought Yue told you everything!"
"Well, he didn't!" Tomoyo bristled, "He's the most annoying, cryptic..."
Realising that she was a little too loud for comfort, she dropped her voice down to a whisper.
"Let's just say he didn't tell much, okay?" Tomoyo hissed.
Sakura nodded as the door to the room opened again, Myles appearing this time with a tall ruggedly handsome man who was dressed in a suit that screamed money and sophistication. A silence descended onto the gathering as most of the women stared admiringly at the tall honey-blonde haired man whose emerald green eyes roved around the room, obviously searching for someone.
The three Angels studied the man's face as Sakura frowned in confusion, startled at the thought that he looked very familiar.
But that was impossible... wasn't it?
Sakura bit her lip as she fought to remember where she had seen him before.
She was sure she had seen him before...
But where?
She was startled out of her thoughts as a somewhat high-pitched scream of delighted surprise ripped through the room causing everyone to cringe at the sound.
"Michael!" Nikki practically burst from a crowd of people and ran towards the man as a bright smile lit up his face.
"Nikki!" he said happily, his voice carrying a slight French accent.
Everybody stared as 'Michael' swept Nikki up into a tight hug as she hugged him back fiercely.
Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
"Oh god," she whispered, "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no."
"What?" Meiling demanded her voice barely above a whisper, "Oh no what?"
"It's him," Sakura whispered back as memories began rushing into her head, "It's him. Marseille, I remember now."
"Who?" Tomoyo asked frowning in confusion.
"He's the head of the French Mafia."
~~~~~
Eriol opened the door to his hotel room.
"Ruflac!" he gasped as the Russian mob leader glared back at him.
"One week," the man snarled as he charged into the room pushing Eriol inside before turning around and slamming the door shut, "One week, they'll be dead. That's what you promised me! How long has it been? How long has it been?"
Eriol's mind was working furiously trying to figure out how Marcus Ruflac had find him as the mobster glared at him venomously.
"Well?" he scowled.
Eriol shrugged as his usual calm façade dropped over his face hiding his shock and fear.
"There has been some..." Eriol searched for the right word, "Complications."
"Then fix it!" Marcus Ruflac snarled.
"I can't," Eriol replied calmly.
There was a deadly silence as Ruflac's face seemed to become redder and redder with each eternal second that passed. Eriol was feeling distinctively apprehensive although his face was an unreadable mask.
"I thought you were the best," Ruflac said coldly.
"I am," Eriol replied his voice as frigid as his employer's.
Another silence filled the room as Ruflac's anger faded away replaced by a small sadistic smile.
"At least I thought you were..."
Eriol blinked in surprise at the comment as the other man's smile grew wider and wider with each passing second.
"You're fired."
"What?" Eriol gasped as Ruflac continued to grin manically at him.
"You heard me, you're fired," Ruflac snarled.
Eriol gaped at him as Ruflac smirked at him.
"You're finished Eriol," he sneered, "Once everyone finds out you can't finish a job you've started you're finished. No one will ever hire you again. No one. I never should've trusted you to finish this job, it seems I have to do it myself."
And with that Ruflac whirled around and stormed out of the hotel room leaving a stunned assassin behind.
Suddenly Eriol gasped as he realised what Ruflac had said.
"Tomoyo..."
~~~~~
"What?" Meiling and Tomoyo gasped at the same time as they stared at Sakura in shock.
Sakura nodded as she watched Michael whisper something in Nikki's ears causing her to blush before smile at him shyly.
"Yeah, remember that mission in Marseille a year ago?" Sakura asked.
She was met with blank stares.
"Oh god," Sakura sighed, "Remember?"
Another round of black stares greeted her as Sakura rolled her eyes and resisted to urge to ground her teeth together in frustration.
"You know the Paris nightclub?" Sakura growled, "The simple 'flirt and extract information' mission?"
Meiling gasped.
"You mean the one which ended up with us having to blow up the nightclub?" she asked.
Sakura nodded as Tomoyo's eyes lit up.
"That one," Tomoyo's jaws dropped in shock as her eyes roved to where Michael and Nikki was still hugging, "Uh oh..."
Sakura nodded.
"Big uh oh," she agreed.
Meiling sighed.
"Now what do we do?"
The three Angels turned to regard Nikki and Michael as they fell silent and tried to figure out their next move.
As they watched the couple kiss each other passionately, Tomoyo couldn't help but wonder what complex game Yue was playing.
One thing was sure, next time she saw him she was going to give Yue a piece of her mind.
A sadistic smile lit up Tomoyo's face as she thought about that with relish.
Next time...
~~~~~
Nikki pulled away from her boyfriend and smiled up at him delightedly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Michael chuckled as he tenderly stroked her cheek gently.
"To make sure you're okay," he said softly.
"Thank you," Nikki said softly, touched.
Michael smiled at him revealing perfect white teeth as he looked around.
"Are they your friends?" he asked gesturing with his head towards a trio of young women standing near the door.
Nikki looked past her boyfriend's broad shoulder and shook her head.
"Their daughters of Grandpa's colleagues," she explained, "I've never seen them before until today."
Michael was silent as he studied them carefully.
"Michael?" Nikki asked concerned, "What's wrong?"
When her boyfriend turned to look at her, Nikki blinked in surprise seeing the worried expression on his face.
"What is it?" she asked softly.
"I'm pretty sure I've seen one of them before," Michael said slowly.
"One of your old girlfriends?" Nikki teased.
Michael laughed.
"Why can't you be one of those jealous types?" he asked, "All of the other girls I've been with are always like that."
"I'm not like other girls," Nikki reminded him.
"Mmmm... don't I know it," Michael teased back with a roguish wink.
Nikki giggled and slapped him gently on the chest as a hurt look appeared on her boyfriend's face.
"Ow, that hurts!" he moaned with a dramatic look of pain on his face.
"Awww..." Nikki cooed, "You want to me kiss it better for you?"
Michael sent Nikki a brilliant grin before claiming her lips with his own. Nikki sighed happily against his lips unaware of the fact that the trio of girls they had been discussing about was studying them intently.
~~~~~~
"Okay, this is just plain confusing," Tomoyo said softly.
Sakura and Meiling nodded.
"Are you sure he's the same guy from Marseille?" Meiling hissed.
Sakura nodded her head.
"Positive."
The three Angels watched the man as he and Nikki kissed each other ignoring the jealous looks most of the women inside the room shot them.
"Well, this complicates things," Tomoyo said finally.
"I still don't get it though," Sakura, said slowly, "What are we supposed to do here? We came here but what now? We don't have any idea how this place is tied with the mirror or the third book."
The girls fell silent as they contemplated their newest predicament. They were interrupted from their thoughts as the door to the room opened once again revealing the butler, this time accompanied by a dark-haired man who had an arrogant sneer pasted across his face.
His eyes seemed to light up with malice as they fell upon the kissing Nikki and Michael.
"Michael Dupree," the man snarled shoving the butler ruthlessly aside as he stalked towards the tall blonde-haired man.
Michael sprung away from his girlfriend as he stared at the man who was storming towards him.
"Anthony Collins," Michael said slowly his eyes darting around nervously, "What are you doing here?"
"Revenge," Anthony snarled viciously.
Tomoyo gasped in shock as she recognised the name.
"Oh god," she whispered.
"What? Who the hell is he?" Meiling demanded.
"Anthony Collins, leader of the British cell of the Cobra Mark," Tomoyo murmured slowly.
"Cobra Mark?" Sakura asked, "Isn't that the terrorist group that was operating in Poland a while ago?"
Tomoyo nodded.
"Collins has been linked with various assassinations, thefts, heists, murders and... and... and..." she trailed off when she realise if she was to name all his crimes, she would be here for hours, "Anyway he's here. That means bad news."
"How bad?" Sakura demanded.
Tomoyo merely stared at her.
"Oh."
"Come on out, boys!" Anthony cried his accented voice echoing throughout the room, "It's time for Mr. Dupree to find out what happens when he messes with us!"
"BOOM!"
Loud screams pierced the air as the tall windows lining the walls exploded inwards spraying everyone with broken glass as heavily armed men charged in through the shattered windows.
"Kill them all!" Anthony commanded venomously, "Except for Dupree and his little girlfriend."
A wicked smile lit up his face.
"They're mine," he finished, "And remember kill them slowly. I want Dupree to hear their screams."
More screams pierced the air as each of the heavily armed men holstered their guns and pulled out long gleaming machetes.
"This was unexpected," Sakura quipped as she tossed her fellow Angels an easy smirk.
A wicked smile lit up Meiling's face as Tomoyo rolled her eyes and sighed wishing she wasn't wearing a dress.
Sakura strolled towards the closest thug and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can I borrow that?" she asked innocently as the man whirled around and leered at her.
Deftly she grabbed his arm as he tried to swing the blade at her and kicked him viciously in the knees dislocating his kneecap with a loud crunch. Ignoring his scream of pain, Sakura punched him in the face and dropped him as he fell to the ground, out cold.
"Who's next?" the Angel chirped.
"GET HER!" Anthony snarled, his face going red with fury.
Before anybody could react, Meiling took out another thug with a jump kick that sent him flying across the room. Tomoyo easily dispatched her chosen opponent with a spin-kick to the side of his head.
Nikki stared at these three strange girls as they smirked at Anthony.
"Three down," Sakura smirked.
"I hope you've got more than that," Tomoyo said a wicked
smile dancing across her lips.
"Because we're just getting warm up," Meiling finished.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" a fierce warcry burst from one of the thug's lips as he charged at them.
"HIYA!" Tomoyo kicked the knife out of his hands and elbowed him in the face in one liquid movement eliciting a scream of pain from him as he clutched as his broken nose.
"CRACK!"
A kick to the head finished him off as more thugs charged at them. Meiling leapt into the air and spreading her legs, kicked with all the strength she had sending two of the thugs flying in opposite directions. Landing lightly on her feet, she nimbly sidestepped a wild knife slash and punched the wielder in the chest pushing him violently backwards. Spinning elegantly on the balls of her heels, she whirled around before landing a powerful kick to his chest lifting him several centimetres off the ground before gravity grabbed him of his body and yanked him violently down to earth with a loud thud.
Spotting a brief opening, Sakura lunged at her chosen enemy grabbing him around his waist using her momentum to swing him around with her attached. Letting go she sailed through the air and planted both of her legs into another man's chest throwing him backwards as she nimbly back-flipped and landed with feline grace on her feet.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Anthony roared, "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?"
"How?" Meiling smirked, "We're Angels."
Michael's eyes widened in shock as Nikki gaped at them in surprise.
"Wha... who are you?" she whispered still stunned by these mysterious women.
"Bitches!" Anthony snarled.
The Angel's eyes widened in shock as he pulled something out of his pocket and held it up for them to see.
"Uh oh," Meiling whispered as Anthony pulled the pin and hurled it at them.
"BOOM!"
The grenade hit the ground several metres in front of them and promptly exploded. The concussive waves shoved the Angels violently backwards as Anthony chuckled.
"OOF!" Sakura crashed into a nearby bookshelf the wood shattering under the impact as splinters bit into her back.
"CRACK!" The back of Meiling's head met painfully with the hard marble of the walls as she slid to the ground desperately trying to keep awake
"BAM!" Tomoyo sailed through the air and landed heavily on her pack as pain roared through ever nerve inside her body. She coughed violently as she struggled to sit up only to fall back down again as numbness flooded through her body.
The last thing the Tomoyo heard before slipping off into unconsciousness was Anthony's voice.
"Take her," he commanded, "Oh and Mr. Dupree? My list of commands will come within the hour. Good day to you."
Darkness flooded her senses and the next thing Tomoyo knew she was staring up into a pair of mirthful emerald eyes.
~~~~~
Lilia growled in frustration as she paced around her office.
"I want him dead," she ranted furiously as her secretary William quaked in the corner of the room wishing he was anywhere else but here.
"That bastard! That nasty son of a..." Lilia let out a vicious hiss as she seemed to calm down even though her eyes were still burning with demonic light, "I. Want. Him. Dead."
"Yes, Ms. Faren," William whispered.
"Contact my sources," Lilia commanded briskly, "All of them. Find the most deadly assassin out there and bring him here. I don't care how much it costs, just do it. Oh, and call her up here as well."
William was visibly startled.
"Her?"
Lilia nodded and ploughed on ignoring her assistant's shocked look.
"Check up on Rika," Lilia sighed, "Stupid idiot, imagine getting shot twice! Tell her if she doesn't finish up the job soon, she's dead."
William nodded hurriedly as Lilia nodded curtly to him.
"Dismissed," she said crisply.
Her assistant quickly gathered up his things and left as quick as he could, slamming the door shut in his haste to leave the presence of his somewhat psychotic boss.
Lilia toyed with the idea of firing him for a few seconds but dismissed it knowing that she didn't have the time to re-hire someone.
Plonking herself down onto her expensive leather chair, she pulled out a tumble glass and a flask of brandy and pulled herself a good drink
Leaning back into her chair and sipping the alcohol, Lilia waited for miracles to happen.
Or else she had to deal with that fool Zachary.
~~~~~~
"Good morning," Michael said cheerfully looking down at her.
Tomoyo blinked at him slowly as she tried to move her body.
"Ow," she winced as a throb of pain shot up her arm.
"Careful," Michael suggested quickly steadying her.
"What are they?" Tomoyo demanded looking around wildly, "Where are my friends? Are they okay?"
"We're here," she heard a familiar voice say dryly
Tomoyo looked to her side and saw that both Meiling and Sakura were standing there watching her worriedly.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked worried, "You were the most injured out of all of us. And you're been out for about an hour."
"I'm fine," Tomoyo said grimacing in pain as she sat up slowly, "Where are we?"
"You're inside my safehouse in a secure location," Michael said easily.
"He knows?" Tomoyo asked staring at her friends.
Meiling nodded.
"He knows," she said curtly.
Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock.
"Why?" she demanded.
"Because we need Nikki and he wants Nikki," Meiling explained sighing in frustration, "Obviously Yue set this up for some unknown reason of his."
"Yue?" Michael asked confused.
"Long story," Tomoyo said dryly, "So what the hell happened?"
Michael's eyes seemed to burn with an inner demonic light as his hands clenched into two hard fists.
"The bastard got her," he hissed, "And he's going to pay. Dearly."
"Bastard?" Tomoyo asked.
"Anthony Collins," Sakura clarified.
"Oh."
Fury continued to roll off Michael in almost palpable waves as he began talking again.
"I've just found that the British branch of Cobra Mark is planning to steal a newly created synthetic toxin from right here in London," Michael said slowly, "That's the reason he was here, he must've found out about me also being here by accident or something."
"What are you planning to do with this information?" Meiling asked curiously.
A chilling smile danced across Michael's lips as each girl gulped seeing the promise of death inside his emerald eyes.
"I'm going to kill him."
An awkward silence descended onto the room as Michael closed his eyes and relished the thought of killing his enemy.
"No wait," a quiet voice broke through the voices inside his head as he stared at the speaker in surprise.
"What?" he snarled, "You're going to let him live? This is the perfect opportunity to kill him once and for all. This is..."
Sakura smiled at him wickedly.
"I've got an idea."
~~~~~
Anthony Collins watched dispassionately as the guard walked up to the van door.
"Sir, may I see some identific..."
The ruthless criminal merely drew out his gun and shot the guard in the chest, the silencer on the barrel muffling the sound as the man crumpled to the ground blood pouring from the hole in his chest.
"Let's roll boys," he smirked talking to the rest of his team hiding inside the vans.
The door to the van rolled open as a group of heavily armed men spilled out, their dark clothing blending in with the darkness of the night. Holstering up his gun, Anthony pushed the van door open and staring disdainfully down at the pool of blood forming on the ground, he stepped over the dead guard's body and followed his men towards the glass and concrete building he had been ordered to raid.
"This my boys," he said to his team, "Will be a breeze."
A member of their team up to the tiny booth standing by the side of the driveway, breaking the tiny window dispassionately with the butt of his rifle he reached inside and opened the gates.
"You and you," Anthony barked pointing to two members of their team, "Take the van and hide it nearby we'll need a getaway car."
The two men nodded and climbed into the van and reversed out of the driveway as the rest of the men readied their guns.
"Let's go," Anthony commanded as they strolled towards the building.
~~~~~
"I hate this," Michael growled.
"Don't worry," Tomoyo assured him, "We'll pull it off."
The worry look didn't leave Michael's face as Tomoyo began typing into the laptop that rested on the desk standing in front of her. Her fingers flew across the keys as she hacked into the factory's security systems.
"So remind again what we're hoping to pull off here?" Michael asked.
Tomoyo sighed as she easily by-passed the preliminary security defences protecting the factory's systems.
"Meiling is acting as back-up to Sakura as she tries to enter the factory and steal the toxin right before Anthony's eyes. She will then try to establish some sort of communication with him and draw him out into open with a bargaining deal of some sort," Tomoyo explained, "We're hoping Sakura can either get into his stronghold here in London or better yet trade Nikki for the toxin."
Michael nodded, satisfied.
"Let's hope this works," he said with a sigh.
Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock as a bright red warning sign flashed onto the screen.
"Uh oh," she mumbled typing furiously.
"Uh oh?" Michael snapped to attention," What's wrong?"
"Seems like Anthony tapped into systems beforehand," Tomoyo said grimly, "He set a virus in place to stop anyone else from getting in."
"Can you get through it?" Michael demanded.
Tomoyo shrugged.
"It's a variant of the computer virus known as Doomsday," Tomoyo paused for a few seconds, "I've never seen this variation before. Might take me a while."
"Do you need help?" Michael asked.
"That'll be good," Tomoyo threw a glance behind her shoulder, "But somehow I don't think you'll be the one helping me."
Michael set her a mysterious smile before pulling out his mobile phone from his suit pocket and punching in a series of numbers.
"Gary?" he said, "Get here. Now."
He snapped the phone shut and slid it back to his pocket.
"Help is on its way."
Tomoyo nodded and continued typing as fast as she could.
"Guys?" she said into the microphone dangling down from the headphones she swore.
'Yeah?' Sakura asked, 'What's up.'
"There's a slight problem," Tomoyo said calmly, "Go on without me."
'Okay.'
The line went dead as Tomoyo smiled grimly and settled herself for a long battle ahead.
~~~~~
"Ready?" Meiling asked studying her fellow Angel's face.
Sakura nodded as the two Angels stared down at the surroundings below from their vantage point on top of the factory's roof.
"Ready," she smirked wickedly.
Meiling grimaced as she studied Sakura's clothing.
"God, how can you go out in that?" Meiling muttered.
"Hey, it was the only feminie clothing lying around Michael's safe house at the time," Sakura pulled a face, "Which seriously raises some questions about what kind of woman he likes."
She paused.
"So It's not my fault I like a two-timing boyfriend-stealer," Sakura finished off looking down at her clothes.
She was dressed in a dark crimson leather body suit that hugged her way too tightly for Meiling or Sakura's liking. A pair of black leather boots covered her feet as Sakura flexed her fists studying how her black gloves moved. A lightning-blue wig hid her auburn hair as bright azure contact lenses covered her emerald eyes. Thick purple lipstick coated her lips and violet eyeliner bought out the blueness of the contact lenses as Sakura struck a pose.
"So what do you think?" she asked twirling around with ease.
"You look like some kind of freaky, kinky hooker," Meiling told her flatly.
"Thanks," Sakura drawled back.
Meiling smiled.
"Let's go."
~~~~~
"Good," Anthony noted as the door slid open with a loud hiss.
The various guards inside whirled around in surprise as Anthony smirked at them.
"Good evening," he said as he calmly raised his gun and fired.
The force of the bullet sent a guard sprawling against the wall as blood oozed from the gaping hole in his chest. All around the room similar carnage took place as the guards were ruthlessly gunned down.
Anthony's eyes scanned the room and seeing no survivors, he smiled.
"Next one," he commanded as they walked out of the room.
~~~~~
Sakura walked calmly over to the skylight and kicked out the glass without blinking an eye.
"Down the rabbit hole I go," she murmured to herself with a wry smile as she leapt through the broken skylight and down into the factory below.
Landing with feline grace, she crouched down her senses on high alert. Silence greeted her, satisfied her entry had not been noticed she relaxed slightly before speaking to the tiny com-link hidden in the right cuff of her body suit.
"I'm in."
~~~~~
'Gary' sat beside her typing as fast as she was as they worked together to slowly dismantle the safeguard Anthony Collins had set in place.
"Done," Gary announced.
Tomoyo hit a final button and smiled as the computer virus dissolved revealing the layout of the building's security systems.
"I'm in," Tomoyo announced.
'I'm in,' Sakura's tiny voice came through the headphones.
"She's in," Tomoyo added.
"Good," Michael nodded to Gary who sensing that he was dismissed snapped his laptop shut and quietly left the room, "Where is she?"
Tomoyo glanced at the window that popped up on her screen showing what each of the security cameras inside the building was seeing.
"She's in Sector A47, which is fairly close to where the toxin is being stored, which is Sector F28," Tomoyo explained.
"Collins?" Michael growled.
"D09," Tomoyo brought up the blueprints of the building, "Sakura should arrive there several minutes before he does."
"Good," Michael murmured, a predatory smile appeared on his face, "Make sure she gets there on time."
Tomoyo nodded and began directing Sakura towards the Sector F28.
~~~~~
"CRACK!"
Sakura whip-turned and took dropped another guard with a flying kick that caught him in the shoulder that threw him back violently. Landing on the points of her toes, she whirled around like a ballerina her left foot shooting out to crash into another guard in an atemi strike. He toppled to the ground as Sakura finished off the final guard by throwing a powerful haymaker that sent him toppling to the ground. She leapt into a battle stance every part of her body ready to attack as she looked around at the downed guards. Assured that they were all down for the count, Sakura fell into a more relaxed stance.
"This sucks," she moaned, "This bloody suit is hot!"
'Stop whining and start running,' Tomoyo warned her, 'Anthony is about five minutes away from the room that's housing the toxin.'
"Yay," Sakura muttered sarcastically raising her right wrist up to her mouth and speaking into her com-link, "Running around in this bloody thing. Fun galore!"
'Just go,' Tomoyo told her, amused, 'Clock's ticking. Tick tock, tick tock.'
Sakura rolled her eyes and ran down the hallway following her friend's directions as she wondered anxiously where Anthony Collins was.
~~~~~
"Come on gentlemen," Anthony smiled charmingly at the wall of security guards that blocked the hallway, "Please move out of my way and nobody gets hurt."
In response they raised their guns at him, Anthony sighed and gestured to his team.
"Attack," he said calmly.
In one fluid motion, his team raised their gun and fired not giving the guards a chance to recover.
"BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Down they went in a cascade of blood as Anthony smirked at them.
"Told you to get out of my way," he said calmly stepping over the bloody bodies.
He turned back to the members of his team.
"Come on, men," he announced, "Only a few more hallways to go through then we're there."
His team nodded as Anthony whirled around and walked briskly down the hallway ignoring the carnage that lay behind him.
The rest of his team quickly followed, their guns raised ready and willing to fire.
~~~~~
"CRACK!" Sakura slammed the guard's face into the wall and dropped him as he fell to the ground, out cold.
She raised her wrist up to her mouth and spoke quickly into the com-link hidden in the cuff of her body suit.
"I'm there," she announced.
'Good,' Tomoyo replied, 'You should be able to see some kind of sliding door.'
Sakura looked around and quickly spotted it. Darting over to the white door with the words 'Authorised Personnel Only' printed warningly on it in dark red letters, Sakura spoke again into her com-link.
"Yeah, I'm standing right beside it," Sakura told her friend on the other line, "Now what?"
'According to the blueprints of this building…' Tomoyo paused whilst she read the information that raced across her laptop screen, 'You should be able to see a locking mechanism of some sort to the left of the door. A number pad mechanism to be precise.'
Sakura walked over to it and studied the tiny number pad.
"What's the code?" Sakura asked.
'The code is useless,' Tomoyo informed her grimly, 'It's designed to only work between the hours of 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Any other time it is triggered an alarm goes off.'
"Then what?" Sakura muttered, disgruntled.
'Okay,' Tomoyo took a deep breath, 'Do you have a knife with you?'
Sakura glanced to her right and smirked seeing a tiny pocketknife hanging off the belt of one of the security officers she had taken down just minutes ago. Strolling over to him, she knelt down and yanked the knife free. Walking back to the number pad, she casually flicked the knife open and smiled seeing its keen blade.
"Got one," Sakura announced.
'Good, remove the covering.'
Sakura slid the blade under the covering of the number pad and under a few seconds of straining and pushing the blade in further, a long thin crack zigzagged across the surface of the plastic before the whole covering popped off falling to the ground in long jagged pieces of broken plastic.
"Okay, what next.'
'See the red and green wires?' Tomoyo asked.
Sakura studied the veritable jungle of multi-coloured wires that nested in the exposed number pad and gulped.
"Wait, give me a sec," Sakura poked around gingerly inside until she spotted the two Tomoyo wanted, "Yeah, what next?"
'Cut them.'
Sakura ripped the blade across the surface of two wires and smiled as they instantly shredded.
"What now?'
'Touch the ends of the red and the green together…' Tomoyo continued.
Sakura gently touched the two ends together and jumped as a blue spark leapt between the two. She let out a low gasp as the door slid open shooting up into the wall and disappearing from sight.
'… and open sesame,' Tomoyo finished smugly.
"Thanks," Sakura muttered as she pushed the blade back into the pocketknife and slid it into the folds of her crimson leather suit.
She walked into the room and stopped staring at the computers that lined the pristine white walls of the room, images and data flashed across the computer at a lightning-fast pace throwing small splashes of rainbow-coloured light across the walls as Sakura ignored them as her eyes were drawn to the small sterile metal door that was sunk into the far wall. Confidently she strode towards the door and give the handle a good yank, she opened the door releasing a plume of grey smoke and a rush of cold air. Reaching into the darkness within, Sakura could feel several test tubes inside. Pulling the out and holding up to the brilliant light, Sakura studied their contents. The liquid inside was a vivid acid green and so thick that it clung to the side of glass as Sakura tipped the test tube this way and that way noting how tightly sealed these test tubes were. Putting back into the cooler they had come from, Sakura spoke into her com-link.
"Got them.'
'Good,' Tomoyo sounded slightly tense, 'Anthony is almost there. Get out of there!'
Sakura nodded and opened up a series of small flaps along the arm of her body suit. Slipping the test tubes inside, Sakura closed the flaps and whirled around to get out. Too late did she notice the thin beam of red light that ran across the length of the room, before she could react her foot came down cutting off the beam of concentrated red light.
"Uh oh," she managed to say before blaring sirens and flashing lights drowned out all other noises.
"DAMN IT!" Sakura raced towards the door as it began to slide shut.
She lunged at the door and narrowly passed through it as it slammed shut just behind her clipping the soles of her boots. She landed clumsily on the other side but quickly jumped up and glanced around.
To her horror, more unyielding doors were emerged from the ceiling of the hallway blocking out her exists as they came crashing down to the floor blocking the hallway as Sakura grimaced and whirled around racing towards the door as it began sealing off the hallway.
With a small cry, she leapt at it and slid under the door as it crashed down behind her sealing off the hallway she had just been in. Jumping up, Sakura raced towards another hallway as door after door after door slid down with a faint hiss slowly blocking off more and more exits.
"TOMOYO!" she yelled into her com-link, "Why didn't you warn me about the motion detector?"
'Ummm…' Tomoyo trailed off, 'Sorry?'
"SORRY?!?" Sakura exploded, "Yeah, great help now."
'Just get out of there,' Tomoyo commanded, 'I'm contacting Meiling.'
"Readying the chopper?" Sakura asked as she raced down the hallway.
'Already did.'
~~~~~
"What in the blazes?!?" Anthony growled as the sound of blaring sirens ripped through the air.
"Somebody must have triggered the alarm," one of his men said appearing beside him.
Anthony bit back the sarcastic remark that threatened to spill from his lips and instead turned to the rest of the team.
"It's no good," he said grimly, "We have to turn back."
He gave them a final curt nod before whirling around and running down the way they come. The sound of hard boots slapping against the smooth surface of the floor told him that his men were following.
=Who the hell triggered the alarm?= Anthony wondered as he ran down the hallway.
He had been so sure that the safeguard he had placed on the security would work. Anthony gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his gun.
If he ever find out who triggered the alarm…
"BAM!"
"What the hell?" Anthony was sent sprawling as he ran into leather-clad body.
The blue-haired woman jumped back in shock as she stared at Anthony who was sprawled unceremoniously across the floor. Her bright azure eyes widened in shock.
"Anthony," she gasped.
"BITCH!" Anthony raised his gun to fire but before he could pull the trigger, the woman's booted foot shot out and kicked the gun from his grip.
"Nice try," she
tossed as stood their arms crossed against her chest, "But no cigar."
"GET HER!" he roared.
The rest of his men raised their guns but before they could react the woman was sprinting down the hall, her lightning blue hair streaming behind her as Anthony leapt up to his feet.
"AFTER HER!" he yelled racing down after the woman, his leather coat streaming behind him like a cape.
Down the hallway he ran as the mysterious leather-clad woman put on an extra spurt of speed.
"Oh no you don't!" Anthony snarled sprinting after her.
"Sssssssss…" the faint hiss was the only warning before another obdurate door slid down from the ceiling cutting the rest of his team off.
"We're trapped!" one of them screamed, his voice muffled by the thickness of the wall.
"Fend for yourselves!" Anthony snapped ignoring them as he chased after the woman who had darted around a corner, "TRIGGER THE ALARM WON'T YOU?!? You're going to pay in blood, my dear!"
Intent on his prey, Anthony was completely unprepared when he turned the corner and was taken down by a right hook to the face.
"All talk and no walk?" the woman sneered, "Sorry honey, light's out!"
Anthony staggered by her first blow could only blink owlishly at her as she launched into a back flip. Both of her feet shot out and slammed into his chin hurling him back violently as the woman landed gracefully.
"You want the toxin?" the woman smirked as darkness clawed at the edges of his consciousness, "Tomorrow night, ten o'clock. Warehouse 16, Thames River. Be there or miss out."
That was the last thing he heard before darkness claimed his senses and he knew no more.
~~~~~
Sakura kicked open the wooden door and ran up the long spiral staircase up to the roof. Kicking the second door open, Sakura ran across the flat surface and sighed in relief as she spotted Meiling.
"Have fun?" her friend asked arching an eyebrow, "There's been a lot of noise."
"Don't ask," Sakura growled.
"Toxin?"
"Right here," she opened up one of the flaps and showed it to her.
"Excellent," Meiling nodded, "Anthony?"
"Knocked out but I gave him the drop point," Sakura smirked, "When's it coming?"
"Right about now," Meiling looked up.
Red and white lights flashed through the darkness of the sky as a mechanical whirring filled the air. Strong winds buffeted the two girls as a dark shape appeared above them.
"And right on time," Sakura noted.
A rope ladder fell to the ground as Meiling picked it up and gestured to Sakura.
"You first," she handed the ladder to her as Sakura shot her a grateful smile and began climbing up the ladder.
"Hello, Ms. Kinomoto," their pilot said politely.
Meiling soon hopped on board and pulled the ladder up before turning to their pilot.
"All clear," she announced.
The pilot nodded and clicked a series of switches and buttons.
"Hang on ladies," he told them, "We're jetting off."
And the helicopter flew through the night as the two Angels on board celebrated their success.
~~~~~~
Lilia opened the door.
"Ahhh… welcome," she said opening the door.
The tall African-American woman strolled through the archway as Lilia led her to her desk. Seating down onto one of the chairs and making herself comfortable, the woman faced Lilia as she sat down onto the opposite of her mahogany desk.
"So, Ms. Ruben…" Lilia began.
"Alicia," the woman cut her off.
"I trust your trip was good?" Lilia asked politely.
Alicia Ruben fixed her amber eyes onto Lilia's as the businesswomen gulped and hurried to explain.
"I have a job for you," she said.
Alicia laughed.
"Eliminate Zachary Yamazaki?" Alicia laughed at the shocked look that appeared on Lilia's face, "I'm well-informed."
"Umm… well… since you know…" Lilia finally managed to compose herself before staring Alicia squarely in the eyes, "Will you take the job?"
"Hmmm… take the job and annoy your boss… which is also my boss?" Alicia stared at her, "I'm a killer not a suicidal maniac."
"Oh, come on," Lilia pressed, "With your enhanced abilities, which I might add is due to my supervision over Project X-15… I'm sure it's no big problem to you."
"True," Alicia acknowledged, "And I thank you for that but what's in it for me?"
"10 mill," Lilia said coolly.
Alicia thought for a few seconds.
"Deal," she said getting up, "I'll get on it right away."
"Nice doing business with you," Lilia said standing up also.
"Thanks," Alicia tossed behind her back before walking out of the room leaving behind a triumphant Lilia.
"Zachary is dead," Lilia smirked.
Alicia never failed.
~~~~~
"So what happened?"
"I went, I saw and I knocked Anthony out," Sakura said deadpanned.
"Nice," Tomoyo observed.
"Did he get the message?" Michael asked cutting in as Sakura wearily yanked her blue wig off.
Sitting herself down onto one of the many couches standing in Michael's safe house, Sakura nodded.
"Ten o'clock, tomorrow night," Sakura glanced at her watch, "Well, seeing it's past midnight now… 19 hours to go."
"Good," Meiling said briskly, "Get some rest."
Sakura nodded and stood up, stifling a yawn as she glanced at Michael. Getting the hint, Michael pointed down the hallway.
"First left."
"Thanks," Sakura shuffled over to the allocated door but just before she went inside, she turned to her fellow Angels and Michael, "What are you guys going to do?"
"Us?" Michael smiled grimly, "We scheme."
Sakura shrugged and walked into the bedroom as Michael faced the two remaining Angels.
"See, this is what I was thinking…"
~~~~~
Anthony tamped down his fury as he slowly got out his car, his body still sore from the thrashing that mysterious woman had given him. Luckily he had reclaimed conscious quickly and was able to get out of there before all the exits were sealed. His team wasn't as lucky and were cooling their heels in prison right now.
"Fools," he muttered as he strolled towards the warehouse.
In the shadows several of his men lurked, guns ready. Anthony checked his own gun was in its holster as he checked his watch.
"Bitch better be on time," he muttered as he strolled towards the warehouse.
Its doors were wide open, a gaping maw leading into the darkness within. Scanning the area once more he stepped through the door and into the enemy's lair.
~~~~~
Sakura waited patiently wearing the same disguise she had used the previous night. Wearing the crimson leather body suit complete with vivid blue hair and electric blue eyes, she perched on one of the rafters that ran across the length of the ceiling hidden by shadows as she studied the ground below like a wary hawk surveying her domain.
'Guards outside,' Tomoyo warned her through the com-link she had tucked in her ear.
"Okay," Sakura whispered giving a little nod, "He's here."
'Good luck,' the line went dead as Sakura returned to studying Anthony Collins as he strolled into the dark warehouse seemingly uncaring that he was walking into enemy terrain.
Quickly scanning the rest of the warehouse and sure that he was alone, she leapt from the rafters and landed gracefully in front of him. He took a step backwards but his face was calm, his eyes blazing with arrogance.
"Mr. Collins," Sakura said solicitously giving him a small mocking bow.
"Bitch," Anthony replied calmly his voice betraying none of the anger that burned in his dark eyes.
Sakura sent him a vicious grin as she threw a punch at him. Anthony ducked with amazing speed as Sakura smirked before kicking him in the gut sending him stumbling backwards.
"Tsk, tsk," she tutted as she walked calmly to him, "Language, Mr. Collins, language."
"Where is it?" the Cobra Mark leader snarled jumping to his feet, "The toxin."
"Oh, this?" Sakura asked innocently as she pulled a test tube from her body suit.
She held it up to the light as she smirked at Anthony.
"It's mine," Anthony snarled, "Give it to me before I kill you."
"Nice try," Sakura smirked, "You kill me and you'll never have the rest of the toxin. Or this one for that matter."
Calmly and slowly she dropped the test tube and watched as the glass hit the concrete and bounced once miraculously not breaking. Gently pressing the sole of her boot against the glass, she rolled the test tube across the hard concrete of the warehouse floor. Anthony watched the toxin-filled test tube slowly as Sakura rolled it backwards and forwards.
"Now shall we deal?" she asked smirking at him.
"How much?" Anthony barked.
Sakura raised her eyebrow.
"I'm a very wealthy woman, Mr. Collins," she said calmly, "Money isn't what I want."
"What the hell do you want?" he demanded.
Sakura smiled at him.
"Revenge."
~~~~~
"Damn, give that girl an Oscar," Michael murmured as he and the other two Angels listened in on Sakura's conversation with Anthony Collins.
'It's quite simple, Mr. Collins,' Sakura's voice came in through the speakers as Tomoyo and Meiling listened calmly, 'Two years ago, one of my attempted operations were foiled thanks to the interference of one Michael Dupree. I believe you have his precious whore in your custody, is this true?'
'Yeah, so what?' Anthony snarled, 'I'm not going to give her to you.'
'Her for the toxin,' Sakura said calmly, 'My first, last and only offer.'
There was a pause as Anthony mulled over his decision.
'Fine,' he said finally, 'Meet me in two hours here. We'll make the exchange then.'
'Very well,' Sakura answered, 'Two hours then.'
The sound of Anthony's footsteps were clear as he walked out of the warehouse. Several minutes later, they could hear the distinct noise of a car starting up and then the screeching of tyres as it sped away.
'He's gone,' Sakura reported.
"We heard," Tomoyo replied.
'Oh and Michael?'
"Yeah?" Michael asked as Tomoyo relayed the message to her friend.
'Sorry about calling Nikki a whore,' and with that Sakura ended the transmission as the line went dead.
Michael smiled as Meiling sighed.
"And now the real fun begins."
~~~~~~
Sakura sighed as she stepped out of the car and strode towards the front door of Michael's safe house. The door swung open allowing welcoming warm light to spill out into the cold darkness of the night, a silhouette stood against the light as Sakura gave the figure a small wave.
"So what's the grand plan?" she asked.
Meiling shrugged.
"Your usual you-stall-we-come-in-and-kick-his-arse plan."
Sakura smiled.
"Sounds good enough to me."
Meiling stepped aside as Sakura strolled into the safe house. Tomoyo greeted her as Sakura pulled her wig off.
"So, how exactly am I going to take down the veritable army of armed thugs that Collins is sure to bring with him?" Sakura asked without preamble.
Tomoyo smiled.
"I've got something I want you toss," she said before turning around and walking away.
Sakura shot a look at Meiling who shrugged delicately. They followed their friend into another room where Michael and another man awaited them.
"This," Tomoyo said proudly, "Is our secret weapon."
Meiling and Sakura stared at what was lying on the table beside her.
"That's what I stole from the factory," Sakura said slowly, "It's the toxin Collins what. So what?"
"Actually it appears to be the same but it's not," Tomoyo began explaining, "The toxin was originally designed so that it can be 'programmed' so to speak to hunt down particular chromosomes in a human's DNA. Its original purpose was to serve as a medicine to neutralise any abnormalities in a person's DNA eliminating genetic diseases. However he (Tomoyo gestured towards the unfamiliar man standing beside Michael) has managed to manipulate the toxin so it can be used in a gas form and its effect is also different."
"What does it do now?" Meiling asked curiously.
"It now only knocks out people exposed to it," Tomoyo explained.
"So great," Sakura said disgusted, "I'll have to bring a gas mask."
"Ummm… actually this toxin in gas form only needs to have contact with your bare skin to work…" Tomoyo trailed off as Sakura and Meiling stared at her.
"So how can I stop it from knocking out me… or Nikki for that matter?" Sakura demanded.
"Actually here is the best part, you know how the original toxin was designed to hunt down particular chromosomes? Michael got his expert in this type of field to change the toxin so that is targets the Y chromosome."
There was slight pause as Sakura and Meiling blinked at her.
"Are you telling me this toxin if released will knock out any male in the surrounding area?" Sakura demanded.
Tomoyo nodded.
"For a couple hours, yeah."
Sakura smiled at her.
"Then this should be a piece of cake."
~~~~~
Anthony dragged the blindfolded and gagged girl across the rugged path leading up to the warehouse as she whimpered
"Shut up!" he snarled slapping her viciously in the face as he continued to drag her along, "Shut the hell up!"
He strolled into the warehouse followed by a platoon of armed men as Nikki let out another low whimper. He raised his hand to slap her again.
"Stop," a calm voice said from the shadows, "If you don't stop manhandling my goods this deal is over."
Anthony slowly lowered his hands as the leather-clad woman sashayed out from the shadows.
"Here she is," Anthony thrust Nikki towards her, "Her for the toxin. Hurry the hell up."
Sakura bit back her worry seeing the bruises on Nikki's skin as she reached into the concealed pockets of her jumpsuit and pulled out several test tubes.
"Here they are," she announced holding them up.
Anthony smiled, a predatory sneer dancing across his lips.
"Actually," he said slowly, "I've changed my mind. I've decided I want to keep the girl as well as the toxin. Give the toxins to me or you're dead."
Sakura smiled at him mysteriously.
"Betrayal?"
"You bet!" Anthony snarled, "If by the count of three you don't give them to me, you're dead. One… two…"
"If you want it so much," Sakura raised one particular test tube into the air, "HERE CATCH!"
She hurled it at the ground as with a small 'plish' sound the glass shattered. Acid green smoke poured from the rupture in the glass surface as Anthony stared at the mysterious gas.
"What the hell?" he barked, "SHOO…"
The cloud of green smoke touched him and he collapsed to the ground taking Nikki down with him. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his limbs went limps giving Nikki the opportunity to wriggle away from him. Similarly his team of armed thugs were falling to the ground in the same state of unconsciousness.
"Well that was easy," Sakura commented as the green smoke seemed to disappear but Sakura knew that it was still everywhere ready to knock out any male that approached this area.
She walked towards Nikki who was trying to scramble to her feet but could as her legs were bound together by lengths of tough rope.
"Hey," Sakura said softly as she gently took the blindfold off.
Nikki stared wildly up at the unfamiliar face that looked down at her as Sakura gently peeled off the duct tape that had sealed Nikki's mouth shut. Her nimble fingers made quick work of the knotted ropes that bound Nikki's hands and feet together as Nikki continued to stare at her.
"Who are you?" she gasped, "What happened? Who was that man? Why did they kidnap me? Wh…"
More questions spilled from her lips as Sakura pulled her wig off.
"You're that woman… my grandfather's colleague's daughter," Nikki whispered as she stared at her, "Why…"
Sakura ignored her questions for the time being as she spoke into her com-link.
"I have her," she said.
"Actually," a familiar sinister voice drawled from the shadows.
A pale hand reached out from the shadows and yanked Nikki's hair back painfully as Sakura slowly stood up her contact lens-covered eyes widening in shock.
"I have her."
~~~~~
'I have her.'
"Oh crap," Tomoyo whispered as the familiar voice came in through the speakers, "No! No! No!"
"What's wrong?" Michael demanded frowning in confusion, "Who is that woman?"
"That's Psuedo-Sakura," Meiling said grimly recognising the voice, "And that means a world of trouble."
~~~~~
Before Sakura could react Psuedo-Sakura let go of Nikki's hair and sent her flying with a snap-kick that crashed into her chin. Sakura landed heavily as Psuedo-Sakura smirked at her.
"Nice clothes," she commented, "Change of career? From goody-goody to slut?"
"Go to hell," Sakura snarled as she slowly staggered to her feet.
"That's not nice," Psuedo-Sakura commented before lunging at her.
Sakura sidestepped her right hook and caught her arm before her counterpart could pull it away.
"You're right, that's not nice," Sakura smirked at her, "And neither is this!"
Pulling her counterpart towards her, Sakura landed vicious kicks that hit her stomach aiming right for her kidneys as Psuedo-Sakura unleashed a flurry of curses.
"BITCH!" with her other hand she backhanded Sakura.
It felt like an explosion of pain had roared through her body, Psuedo-Sakura was strong and inhumanly so. Sakura was sent flying through the air as she hit the walls of the warehouse her momentum managing to put a hole in the dull grey plaster that made up the wall.
"Owwww…" Sakura moaned as she crawled to her feet.
Before she could react, Psuedo-Sakura was upon her grabbing her by the arm and flinging her across the room. Sakura was sent crashing into the far wall this times as jagged pieces of plaster ripped into her body.
"Oh no, mommy," Psuedo-Sakura drawled strolling towards Sakura, "My dolly seems to be broken."
Sakura cried out in pain as Psuedo-Sakura kneed her in the stomach. Exerting all of her strength, Psuedo-Sakura lifted her counterpart over her head as Sakura struggled trying to break her doppelganger's iron-vice grip on her as Psuedo-Sakura laughed.
"Oh wait, I think it's still showing signs of life," and with that she hurled Sakura across the warehouse.
Sakura landed heavily skidding across the rough concrete as Psuedo-Sakura let out another peal of laughter.
"Had enough honey?" Psuedo-Sakura smirked.
"What the hell do you want?" Sakura managed to spit out as she climbed unsteadily to her feet.
"I want her," Psuedo-Sakura smirked at Nikki's direction before switching her attention back to Sakura.
"Why? What do you want with her?" Sakura demanded.
"Well, actually I don't want her. I want her dear old grandpa's diaries."
Sakura blinked at her as Psuedo-Sakura laughed.
"Oh didn't Yue tell you?" she asked innocently, "That's what's so important here. And only she knows where those diaries are."
Before Sakura could react Psuedo-Sakura launched into a flying kick. Sakura closed her eyes knowing she was too injured to dodge the blow.
=So this is how it ends= she thought =Funny, though I was always going to go off with a…=
"BANG!"
Sakura's eyes opened just in time to see Psuedo-Sakura being knocked out of the air. She flopped to the ground as blood oozed from a giant gaping hole in her side.
"What the…" Sakura looked around in confusion searching for her rescuer.
"Bitch…" Psuedo-Sakura gasped staggering to her feet, "Why you little…"
"BANG!" the gun went off against as Psuedo-Sakura's body jerked backwards.
"Back off," Nikki commanded her voice surprisingly strong.
Sakura blinked seeing Nikki holding a gun in her hands. Her eyes flicked towards the downed thugs and noticed one of them had no gun.
Nikki must have taken it off him and used it to save her.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Ow," Psuedo-Sakura
climbed back to her feet, "Do you know how much that hurts? Do you honestly?
Really?"
"BANG!"
This time Nikki aimed for her head as a bullet punched through Psuedo-Sakura's skull causing her forehead to cave in. Her emerald eyes were wide with shock and pain as thick blackish-red blood oozed from the gaping wound.
"DAMN!" Psuedo-Sakura howled somehow still managing to speak even though a bullet had just torn through her head, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
White light burst from the doppelganger's body as Sakura looked away unable to take the glare. When the light finally faded away, she was gone.
~~~~~
"Ow," Sakura grimaced as Tomoyo pressed the bandage firmly against her wrist binding it tightly, "Watch out."
"Psuedo-Sakura kicked your arse?" Meiling asked raising an eyebrow.
Sakura rolled her eyes before glaring at her.
"You think?" Sakura gestured to all the bruises on her body, "Where do you think I got this from?"
The three girls fell silent as they regarded Nikki and Michael who were hugging each other tightly whispering to each other. After Psuedo-Sakura had disappeared again, Meiling and Tomoyo accompanied by several of Michael's men had rushed to the scene before transporting back to Nikki's mansion even now the whole building was ringed by Michael's guards.
"So what's going to happen to Collins?" Sakura asked grimacing as she stood up slowly.
"We called the cops," Meiling smirked.
Sakura stared at her.
"He's now in police custody and after he wakes up he's going to be charged with a whole list of 'no-no's that's he's done," Meiling explained smiling wickedly.
Sakura grinned as well as Nikki broke away from Michael.
"So who are you?" Nikki asked staring at them, "And this time I want the truth… please?"
"Umm…" Tomoyo exchanged a look with her two friends who nodded slightly, "Well… see it's like this."
And with that she began explaining the whole concept of being Angels and the whole books/Yue/Psuedo-Sakura/cryptic instructions saga. After she finished, Nikki was standing there a small frown at her face.
"Yue…" she said slowly, "That's Chinese for moon right?"
Meiling nodded.
"Actually mandarin," she corrected.
Nikki nodded.
"He doesn't by any chance look like an angel does he?" Nikki asked casually.
Tomoyo blinked in surprise.
"Actually… he does," she replied slowly, "Do you know anything?"
Nikki nodded quickly.
"Yeah," she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and began explaining, "When I was young my grandpa always used to tell me this story about this 'moon-angel' who spokes to him in his dreams… I can't quite remember the whole story but I know he wrote it down in his diaries somewhere."
Sakura sucked in her breath.
"So that's why Psuedo-Me wanted the diaries," she said slowly.
Nikki nodded before walking up to one of the many bookcases that lined the room's wall.
"This, I think this is it," she pulled out a battered leather-bound book.
She flipped through the pages as she walked back to them. Michael slipped his arm around her as he gazed over her shoulders studying her grandpa's diary.
"Here it is," Nikki announced as she began reading, "The moon-angel appeared against this time hovering above a lake. He spoke to me telling me about shadows and the chosen three, he told me about the mirror in the lake. The lake of balance he said, the lake of fire and tides. It is hidden there. He also said something else to me. Something peculiar…"
Nikki gave a small cry as a silver light burst from the yellow crinkled pages of the diary. She dropped it as the three Angels slowly moved into battle stances preparing to fight whatever had caused this strange glow. The silver light formed a huge beam that shot up towards the roof before splitting into tendrils that shot back into the diary. From the depths of the silvery light, a figure emerged. Two long wings appeared followed by long white hair and cool blue eyes
"Yue," Tomoyo whispered, "the moon-angel."
"Correct," Yue told her calmly as he floated above the still glowing book, "That is what Nicholas called me."
Seeing the girl's puzzled looks, Nikki beat back her fear and shock to explain.
"My grandpa," she whispered.
"Wait," Sakura spoke up remembering something, "Psuedo-Sakura said she'll get Nikki back for shooting her… is she in any danger."
"Not while I'm around," Michael muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"No, Nikki is no longer of importance in this quest. To hurt her will be invoking my wrath," Yue smiled coolly, "Trust me she doesn't want to do that."
There was a small silent before Yue spoke up against.
"The seeds of this quest for the mirror and third book was planted years ago in the mind of a young boy whom I chose to be my messenger to the three," Yue said calmly, "I gave him the clues to the locations and directed you to find them. You have proven worthy of reclaiming these clues but it is not over yet. My challenge still roams this world but you are one step closer to fulfilling the ancient prophecy. The past filled with magic is meeting with the present. It is almost complete, they have almost met in a full circle but not yet… when the circle is complete the final battle shall begin."
Yue looked at the three Angels calmly.
"But I give this warning to you," he continued, he took a deep breath before speaking against. His voice was powerful and haunting striking something deep in the three Angels' minds.
'Two terrible guardians will stand in their way,
One shall be drawn from the Wielder,
Drawn from the past sands of time.
The second guardian,
An ancient spirit,
The mountains are her realm,
And winter is her weapon.'
The three Angels stared at him as he gave them a final smile before disappearing, his body seemingly dissolving into silver light that was sucked back into the diary as it slammed shut.
Meiling growled in frustration.
"Not more god damn cryptic clues," she sighed.
The three Angels fell silent as Nikki spoke up. Turning to Michael, she frowned at him.
"I think you have some explaining to do."
Michael froze as the Angels sniggered.
"I think we better leave," Tomoyo said calmly as she walked out of the room as Sakura and Meiling followed closely.
"Umm… well…" Michael hedged, "It's like this…"
~~~~~
Ahhh… more cryptic clues form Yue… but what do they mean? You'll just have to find out!
Next chapter:
Returning to L.A. with their next clue, the Angels are distracted from their plans as Lilia finds out Sakura survived her fight with Lara. With Zachary is great danger, Sakura is distracted when Lara returns to L.A. eager to finish off their fight once and for all… will Sakura triumph or be defeated again? Find out next in… Rematch.
A/Notes: Just to warn some people, there may be another massive delay in between updates… sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!
And also I'm planning to finish off this story in about 30 – 31 chapters…
