Disclaimer: I don't own CCS but I sure do own the storyline and original characters!
Syaoran's AngelsChapter 27: Mirror, mirror
"I know where it is!"
Everyone stared at her as she burst through the door yelling almost maniacally.
"What?" Meiling asked, confused and wondering if something had happened to her.
"I know where it is!" Sakura gasped, "The mirror!"
"Where?" Tomoyo demanded.
"The Lake of Balance," Sakura whispered, "I know what it means!"
Silence descended onto the room as everyone continued to stare at her, outside crickets chirped cheerfully as Sakura gazed back at them.
"Well?" Meiling asked arching an eyebrow, "Are you going to keep this suspenseful silence thing up for long? Because this staring competition is getting old."
"Oh right," Sakura took a deep breath, "The Sun Moon Lake."
A confused frown appeared on Diana's face.
"Okay, call me slow or ignorant," she began, "But is there such a place?"
"I've never heard of it," Marcus confessed.
"Me neither," Chelsea agreed.
Even Tomoyo and Meiling were confused as Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Well, girls and boys gather round," she told them tapping her feet impatiently, "Cause here's a crash course in Taiwanese geography, Sun Moon Lake is a lake located in Taiwan at the base of the Chungyang mountain range. And I think that's where the mirror is located."
"Sun Moon Lake?" Tomoyo pursed her lips thinking for a few seconds, "Umm… are you sure?"
Sakura nodded quickly.
"Think about it… lake of balance, in terms of magic, myths and some religious beliefs," Sakura shot a glance at Nivaline who nodded serenely, "The sun and moon serve to balance out each other. Therefore balance… and Yue's other clue the Lake of fire and tides. Fire and sun are often closely related and what causes the tides in the ocean?"
"The moon," Meiling whispered finally realising her fellow Angel maybe onto something, "Sun Moon Lake."
Nivaline nodded.
"All the clues seem to add up," she remarked, "I think it would be fair to say you should go there and investigate."
"So soon?" Diana asked incredulously, "I mean you guys just risked your lives and limbs to battle some evil power… don't you deserve a vacation or something?"
To her surprise all three Angels sighed dreamily.
"A vacation…" Sakura mused, "Man, that would be nice."
"I swear I need one right now," Meiling muttered.
"I promise when this is over I'll take you on one," Marcus spoke up grinning at her.
A faint blush mantled Meiling's cheek as the two gazed at each other, similar looks of love and adoration shining in their eyes as the others stared at them. Tomoyo and Sakura smirked at each other knowingly.
"A vacation?" Tomoyo repeated.
"To where?" Sakura continued.
"A nice beach somewhere perhaps?" Tomoyo added.
"A secluded paradise maybe where no-one will disturb you. Where you can enjoy the ocean and the sunset," Sakura pretended to think a smirk appearing on her face, "Of course you maybe too… busy with other things to notice the scenery."
Everyone cracked up laughing as Meiling sent a death-glare at Sakura as Marcus resisted the urge to blush. Tomoyo and Sakura sent eerily similar grins at Meiling as the Asian Angel fumed.
When the laughter finally died out Diana spoke up.
"So how did you guys defeat the big bad?" she asked curiously.
"Well, we appeared at his headquarters…" Tomoyo began, "Xiaolang, Nivaline, Sakura and Meiling all used magic against him and that seemed to have some effect. I ended up kicking a coffee table at him that sent him flying backwards but he kinda got annoyed and sent this 'ball of death, destruction and doom' at me but then Sakura shot him with this arrow…"
"Wait!" Sakura frowned breaking in, "I never fired any arrow, I thought it was Meiling."
Meiling stared at Nivaline.
"I thought it was you!" she exclaimed incredulously.
"It wasn't me!" Nivaline protested, "It's probably Xiaolang."
"No," Sakura shook her head, "I was beside him the whole time, he didn't fire any arrows."
Tomoyo's eyes widened as she realised what this meant. And judging by everyone's shocked and pale faces they had come to the same conclusion.
"Who fired it?" she asked aloud, giving voice to everyone's unspoken question, "Who fired that arrow?"
The doctor glanced down at his patient.
"What's her status?" he asked.
"Unconscious… bruises, cuts, minor internal bleeding," the nurse recited glancing down at the woman's medical chart, "Has symptoms of over-fatigue… malnutrition…"
"Anorexia?" the doctor suggested still studying the beautiful blonde-haired woman lying in the hospital bed, her skin as pale as the white sheets she laid on.
The nurse shook her head.
"More like she's been running a marathon or something," the nurse corrected, "It seems she just used up all her energy and then some."
"Okay, give her an IV drip and we'll see what happens," the doctor commanded.
The nurse nodded and hurried off to do his bidding as the doctor made a note on the woman's chart before turning around and walking away.
Looking deceptively fragile and weakened, Lara Williams lay prone in the hospital bed, her body slowly recovering.
And when she woke up, there'll be hell to pay.
Hell hath no fury like a rogue Angel defeated.
The morning sun beat down on the expensive silver Porsche as Sakura fidgeted anxiously worried almost out of her mind.
"Are you sure you're going to fine?" Sakura asked for possibly the millionth time.
Xiaolang and the occupants of his car all sighed.
"Yes!" Chelsea replied out of patience, "We're going to fine. Concentrate on your mission, for god's sakes!"
"She's right you know," Xiaolang said gravely, "Be careful out there."
Sakura laughed somewhat nervously not knowing how to act around him especially after that… incident. Zachary and Chelsea exchanged pointed looks as they noted Sakura's discomfort.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she stammered, "Are you sure you can contact Syaoran?"
Xiaolang nodded.
After realising that with their headquarters trashed and the speaker box destroyed thanks to Lara and Sakura's 'little' smackdown they had no way of contacting Syaoran. After several minutes of panicking, Xiaolang (who had woken up by then) informed them that he could tell Syaoran and also get him to start fixing up the headquarters. In response, the three Angels had sighed a huge collective sigh of relief before planning their mission to Taiwan to retrieve the mirror.
"Take care," Sakura told all of them as Xiaolang beamed at her.
"You too," he said sincerely as a faint blush appeared on Sakura's cheeks.
He climbed into the car and started up the engine as Sakura turned to look at her two friends.
"As soon as we lay the smackdown on Spinnel Corporation we'll have you back in no time," Sakura gave them a roguish wink, "Don't worry it won't be long before they're behind bars."
"Just be careful okay?" Zachary warned her.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"I should be telling you that."
"We'll see each other again," Chelsea said gazing up at her friend, "Soon."
"I promise," Sakura replied sending her a quick smile.
Xiaolang started up the engine and the car peeled away from the side of the curb as Sakura sighed.
"I hope," she whispered to herself.
With that she turned around and trudged back into Tomoyo's house.
"Okay, I've got the tickets," Tomoyo looked up from her laptop, which was resting on her coffee table.
"What time?" Meiling asked.
"Seven o'clock tonight," Tomoyo informed them, "Which means we better get some sleep."
Stifling a yawn, Meiling had to agree.
"What time is it?" she asked.
It was Marcus who replied.
"Five o'clock in the morning," he said smiling at Meiling.
Meiling nodded returning the grin as Sakura strolled through the front door.
"Are they okay?" she asked, concerned.
Sakura nodded.
"Yeah, I saw them off. They're fine," Sakura sighed, "Hopefully Xiaolang's got a secure location for them to lay low for a while."
"Speaking of Xiaolang," Meiling had a wicked grin on her face.
=Finally some payback!= her mind crowed remembering all the time Sakura had given her grief about Marcus.
"What?" Sakura asked self-consciously.
"Oh, come on even I can notice that he has a… thing for you," Meiling smirked.
Sakura flushed.
"Him… me? No! A world of no!" she protested.
Tomoyo was trying to hide her smile but was failing miserably as Meiling's eyes began dancing with mirth.
"Sakura and Xiaolang… sitting in a tree…" Meiling called out in a singsong voice.
Sakura's face took on fifty different shades of pink and red as Tomoyo howled with laughter.
"K… I… S…" Tomoyo joined in singing along with Meiling.
"OKAY!" Sakura yelled, "TRUCE! I don't tease you, you don't tease me!"
Meiling thought for a while.
"Deal!" she said sticking out her arm.
Sakura shook it as Tomoyo smirked.
"Oh well, I don't think that truce applies to me," she sniggered.
Sakura glared at her as Tomoyo gave her an angelic smile back.
"Blue-haired man," Meiling muttered remembering Lily's comment from what seemed like a long time ago.
Tomoyo glared at her as Sakura looked on curiously wondering what Meiling had said.
"Okay," Tomoyo cut in hurriedly before Sakura could ask, "Bedtime!"
"Yes, mother," Sakura drawled.
Tomoyo hurriedly walked into her own bedroom as Sakura stared at Meiling.
"What did you say to her?"
Meiling smiled at her mysteriously.
"You just have to find out."
With that she cruised out of the room as Sakura frowned in confusion.
"Did I miss something?" she wondered aloud.
With a shrug, Sakura walked into her own room.
Alicia Ruben groaned as she limped back into her apartment and stared at the mess it was in.
"Who that hell was that?" she growled as she collapsed into one of her expensive leather couches.
It had hurt a hell of a lot falling down five storeys but she had survived… just.
"Ah, the marvels of science and genetic engineering," she mused as she reached for her cordless phone.
She punched in a series of numbers and as soon as she got through she commanded the person on the end in a clipped tone to patch her through to Lilia Faren.
"Ms. Faren?" she asked, the politeness in her voice seeming more menacing than comforting, "We have a problem."
"MOMMY!'
Meiling groaned as the mattress beneath her began to bounce and quiver rapidly, with a muttered curse she forced her eyes open and glared at Lily who was jumping up and down on her bed with considerable enthusiasm.
"Lily," she begged, "Please stop that."
Lily instantly stopped, a sign of Marcus's wonderful parenting.
"What time is it?" Meiling asked stifling a yawn as she forced herself to sit up.
"Ten o'clock," Lily chirped.
Meiling groaned. She had managed to get five hours of sleep but considering what she had been put through the day before…
"Lily, please Aunt Meil…"
"Mommy," Lily corrected with an impish grin.
Meiling was too tired to have the freak-out she normally would have had if she had been told that Lily was calling her mommy now. Wanting to get some extra sleep, Meiling would have agreed to being called 'moron' if it meant she would have some rest.
"Okay, Mommy needs rest," she finished.
Before Lily could reply Meiling's door swung open to reveal Marcus who looked eerily alert for someone who had stayed up for as many hours as she had. Granted, he didn't do battle with the uber-evil of all time but still…
"Lily," Marcus said warningly, "What did I say…"
"You told me don't disturb Mommy," Lily recited with a small pout.
Marcus gave her a look as Lily gave a very adult sigh.
"I'm sorry," she said obviously not meaning it.
"Lily," Marcus's voice became more dangerous.
Meiling watched as Lily seemed to understand her father was being serious.
"I didn't mean to," Lily whispered ashamedly.
"Didn't mean to?" Marcus's voice hadn't gotten any louder but it was obvious that he was scolding his daughter.
Lily remained quiet as Marcus sighed and opened his mouth to speak.
"She wouldn't do it again!" Meiling cut in not wanting to see Lily upset, "She knows she's been naughty."
Marcus shot her a look as Meiling shrugged in response. Lily beamed at her rescuer as her father sighed.
"Fine," he looked at Lily, "But if you don't listen to me when I tell you to do something…"
Lily gulped and shook her head, vehemently denying the idea that she'll do it again. Marcus sighed knowing full well she'll do it again.
"Go to your Aunt Sakura," Marcus instructed smiling at Lily, his love for her obvious to Meiling, "She's awake and you can go play with her."
Practically ecstatic at the idea, Lily bounded out of the room but not before hugging Meiling.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Meiling smiled as Lily leapt off the bed and ran to the door.
"Don't I get a hug?" Marcus asked pretending to hurt.
Lily leapt in her father's arm and hugged his neck tightly before jumping down and racing out into the hallway as Marcus shook his head.
"Softy," he teased.
"Hey!" Meiling protested, pretending to be insulted, "I can't help it!"
"Oh god," Marcus groaned, "She's got you wrapped around her little finger."
Meiling blushed as she stammered something under her breath, not knowing how to react to that statement. Marcus laughed.
"Well, I guess I should leave you to sleep," he turned to leave.
"No," Meiling surprised even herself at the firmness in her voice.
Marcus slowly turned around, unsure of where this was going.
"Stay?" it seemed almost a question rather than a command, "Please?"
A brilliant smile suffused Marcus's face as he nodded and with agonising slowness walked to the bed. Gingerly sitting down on the edge of mattress, he leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around Meiling bringing her tightly against his body.
"I love you," he said simply.
Meiling smiled as she leaned up to kiss him.
"Me too," she said softly.
She pulled Marcus down onto bed as their lips met once more.
Sakura shot a wondering look at Meiling's close door wondering what was taking Marcus so long to get out. Lily was sitting at the kitchen counter beside her happily munching down on her bowl of cereal oblivious to the fact that her father was still in Meiling's room.
A wicked grin spread across Sakura's face as she realised what might be going on.
"So, Taiwan," Diana said slowly from her position at Tomoyo's stove.
Bacon sizzled nosily in the frypan as Diana moved them around vigorously, her attention half-focused on her friend.
"You know for once I would like to go one of those places for a vacation rather than a dangerous mission," Sakura remarked idly taking a sip from her glass of orange juice, "Great locations but the whole 'I-maybe-killed' thing really puts on damper on things."
"Putting it mildly," Diana noted dryly.
Sakura shrugged as Diana turned off the gas and turned to Sakura.
"Bacon?" she asked.
"Thanks," Sakura nodded as Diana slid some onto a plate and handed it to her.
"So how are your missions usually?" she asked curiously sitting down on the other side of the counter.
Sakura sighed as she speared a piece of bacon with her fork.
"Usually we deal with your good old fashioned crime lords/mob leaders/drug dealers/terrorists but now with the whole magic angle," Sakura popped the piece of bacon in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, "We could be dealing with the Loch Ness Monster for all we know!"
Diana smiled impishly at her friend.
"On the bright side sure the hell beats dealing with Belinda on a bad hair day!"
Sakura laughed.
"Do you remember her expression at the reunion when Dan called her a cow?" Sakura giggled.
Diana burst into laughter.
"Oh that was priceless!" she chortled, "And remember back at high school, that time she…"
The kitchen was filled with joyous laughter as the two friends continued to reminisce about a time when their greatest danger was dealing with the cheerleading Harpies and not dealing with the awesome might of Spinnel Corporation.
Tomoyo woke up in a dark place, looking around at her bleak shadowy surroundings she realised where she was and sighed.
"God damn it," she moaned, "Yue! This better not be more cryptic clues cause I'm sick of them!"
Her voice echoed through the darkness as Tomoyo waited, crossing her arms as she tapped her feet impatiently.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The sound of her feet tapping against the hard ground resounded through the shadows as Tomoyo growled under her breath wondering what mystical message Yue had for her now.
'Thump, thump, thump."
She continued tapping her feet as she sighed and wondered how long this was going to take.
"Thump, thump, thump, THUMP!"
Tomoyo jumped as a sound larger than any she had created roared through the air, rending through the darkness.
"THUMP! THUMP!"
Whatever it was it was getting closer as Tomoyo tensed, staring into the darkness in vain trying to see what was coming.
"THUMP! THUMP! THUMP…"
As quickly as it had appeared the sound died not leaving behind an eerie silence. The stillness freaked Tomoyo out more than the sound had, every single instinct in her body screamed at her telling her to run for her life.
"THUMP!'
A final thump shattered the silence as Tomoyo jumped, her heart hammering against her chest as she looked around desperately trying to figure out where the noise was going from.
"Fox…"Her heart tried to break free of her chest again as Tomoyo whirled around. A hooded figure appeared before her, wearing a long flowing cloak that shimmered with every imaginable shade of purple starting from the lightest shade of lavender possible to the velvety black-purple of the night sky. It made Tomoyo dizzy just to look at it as the figure continued to glide towards her, the fabric of the cloak moved causing the colours to shift and shimmer like light refracting off a fast flowing river of purple water.
The figure's face was obscured by the darkest of shadows as Tomoyo shivered looking into the darkness and realising that this figure couldn't possibly be human.
"Fox…""Who… what are you?" Tomoyo whispered.
"I am the Shadow card, a Clow card," the figure said simply, its voice a mere faint hiss, "I've come to warn you and remind you."
"Of what?"
The Shadow card remained silent for a few minutes before speaking up again.
"Two terrible guardians will stand in their way, one shall be drawn from the Wielder,
drawn from the past sands of time," The Shadow recited.
Tomoyo gasped remembering it was what Yue had told them in London.
"What does it mean?" Tomoyo whispered.
"The mirror is guarded," the Shadow hissed, "By a terrible guardian, terrible because not only is she strong and powerful but she is…"
"She is what?"
"You."
"What?!?" Tomoyo gasped, "How…"
Her eyes widened as purple light burst from the Shadow's card cloak and washed over her, through the brightness of the light Tomoyo could still see the dark oval that made up the card's face it seemed to become bigger and bigger in her vision as she fell to her knees.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as images flashed in her head.
A pair of amethyst eyes glowing with fury and malice… a gleaming trident … an veritable army of snarling monsters, each of them taloned and fanged… blood… so much blood… an ancient temple made from dark stones and rotting wood… blood oozing from its walls… blood… it was everywhere… a river… rushing towards her… covering her… it was everywhere… in her mouth… her nose… choking… drowning… blood… she was drowning in blood!
"ARRRRRRGHHHH!!!" Tomoyo screamed as she sat up hurriedly tangling herself in her bed sheets.
She looked around, terrified but slowly relaxed as she realised she was in the safety of her own room. She shivered as she hugged herself tightly trying to forget the coppery taste of blood in her mouth… trying to forget the warm crimson liquid splashing against her skin…
"TOMOYO?!?"
The door flung open revealing a concerned Sakura and Diana. They stared at the ashen-faced Japanese Angel as she stared back at them, her eyes wide with fear.
"Tomoyo… are you okay?" Sakura asked cautiously.
"No…" Tomoyo whispered, "It's not okay."
Meiling had a decidedly smug look on her face as she settled into her seat. Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged amused looks. The look had been on her face when she had emerged from her bedroom with Marcus, the two of them still in lovey-dovey mode, and it had remained intact throughout their drive to the airport and boarding the plane.
"Oh god, if your afterglow was anymore thicker I would've need sunglasses," Sakura muttered.
Even that wasn't enough to spoil Meiling's good mood as Sakura and Tomoyo shared surprised looks.
"He must have been good," Tomoyo noted.
Sakura nodded.
"Damn good."
That caused Meiling to snap out of her happy mode and shoot a death glare at them as her fellow Angels cracked up laughing.
With a jolt, the airplane took off and they were on their way to the find the third talisman.
Nivaline seemed to be almost gliding through the air as she elegantly entered through the door of L.A. hospital's Intensive Care Unit, ignoring the various other patients lying inside the ward she spotted the person she had come here to see. Nivaline hurriedly walked over to the bed and smiled down at the injured woman lying between its sheets.
"How are you?" she asked softly.
"Felt like I've gotten the crap beaten out of me," Kiyone moaned back obviously still in pain, "You?"
Nivaline shrugged.
"Can't complain," she said with an impish grin.
"Where are the girls?" Kiyone asked slowly trying to sit up but stopped as pain roared through her body.
Nivaline placed a gentle hand on Kiyone keeping her down as she opened her mouth to reply.
"They figured the location for the third talisman and are currently heading there right now," Nivaline explained.
"Think they can do it?" Kiyone asked concerned, "I mean isn't it supposed to be guarded and all?"
Nivaline nodded gravely.
"Trust me, I think there's nothing those girls can't do."
Kiyone shrugged.
"Here's hoping."
Nivaline regally nodded her head.
"Here's hoping," she agreed.
"Psuedo-Me better not appear again," Sakura groaned as they stepped through the gate and into Taipei International Airport.
Meiling snorted.
"Here's hoping," Meiling rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Yue would probably sic her on them not matter how many times they wished he wouldn't.
"So where now?" Tomoyo asked glancing around the crowded airport.
"We head for Sun Moon Lake and hope something comes up," Sakura explained optimistically.
Tomoyo smiled weakly, she hadn't told her friends about her dream/nightmare not knowing for sure if it was really a message from the cards or just her imagination going wild.
=No point in freaking them out for no reason= she rationalised.
They strolled out of the airport only carrying backpacks filled with spare clothes and some of Tomoyo's high-tech gear. Flagging a taxi, the girls piled in as Sakura gave the driver instructions in mandarin.
The driver nodded and pulled out of the airport taxi stop entering the stream of cars that slowly meandered its way towards Taiwan's busy freeways.
Glancing at the traffic, Meiling sighed.
It was going to be a long, long ride.
"How about a little sing-a-long?" Sakura grinned impishly sending a subtle smirk at Meiling knowing full well this would grind on her nerves, "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall…"
Meiling resisted the urge to strangle her friend to death.
This was going to be a long, long, long ride.
"Ninety-eight bottles of beer…" Sakura continued to warble deliberately singing horribly off-key.
Meiling growled.
And it had just gotten a hell of a lot longer.
Ninety-six bottles of beer later, they finally pulled up in front of the one of many hotels that ringed the shores of Sun Moon lake.
In her eagerness to get out of the taxi, Meiling had jumped out even before it had properly stopped. Sakura smirked as she handed the taxi fare to the driver with a decent tip as Tomoyo gracefully exited the car. Grabbing her bag, Sakura got out of the taxi and stood with her two friends behind her the taxi drove away as the three Angels admired their new surroundings.
"It's beautiful," Meiling whispered awe admiring the way the afternoon sun sparkled off the pristine waters of the lake, the tiny ripples in the water refracting the light creating a kaleidoscope of colours.
Sakura nodded in agreement as Tomoyo remained silent remembering her dream and the creepy visions that had accompanied it.
"Blood," she whispered shivering remembering the feeling of drowning in a river of blood.
"'Moyo?" Sakura's concerned voice broke into her thoughts, "You okay?"
Obviously distracted, Tomoyo nodded as she continued to stare unseeingly at the lake's surface. Unnoticed, Sakura and Meiling exchanged worried glances.
"Tomoyo, what's wrong?" Meiling asked with a small frown on her face, "Why are you zoning out on us?"
Tomoyo remained silent as she looked at the mountains that formed a backdrop for the Sun Moon Lake. Somehow the lush emerald landforms seemed ominous rather than beautiful and inviting.
Tomoyo shivered again.
"Something's here," she whispered to herself, "And it's waiting for us."
Taiwan, 1644
It was a turbulent time to be in the island of Taiwan, China's Ming dynasty had been shattered and overthrown by the emerging Qing dynasty but that did not stop a band of loyal Ming followers to advance across the seas to the beautiful island nation and try to claim it for the glory of their almost-dead dynasty. The Dutch that controlled Taiwan tried to fight off the new invaders but the Chinese forces were slowly winning particularly in the P'enghu Islands.
"DIE!" a beautiful smoky-grey haired woman roared in fury as she leapt at the hapless Dutch troops.
They fired at her with their rifles and although the bullets ripped through the beautiful woman's flesh she ploughed on through the barrage of ammunition. The troops screamed in terror as her face began shifting, from the smooth beautiful face of a tempting woman to the façade of a demon. Burning amethyst eyes tinged with blood red, glared at them as her mouth curled back cruelly to reveal a mouth brimming with long yellow aged fangs. Her fingernails became wicked talons as she opened her mouth and screeched, a high-pitch shrill ripped through the air and into the men's ears bringing them down onto the knees as they writhed in agony trying to block out the strident scream.
"DIE!" the demonic woman screamed as she lunged at them.
A long gleaming trident punched through the air and bit into the first man's chest unleashing a gushing river of blood. Overhead the sky was dark with nary a star in sight, an ominous signpost for the evil taking place beneath the sinister heavens. Another man fell as the woman reached forwards and broke his neck with a flick of her wrist, possessing infinite power she flung a man through the air shattering his body against a hard stonewall. She tore through the squadron of troops with dangerous ease when the last body fell to the ground, she roared with pleasure and sank her fangs into the dead man's neck gulping away at the oozing blood.
"Tamaya!" a voice cried.
The woman whirled around snarling in rage, she stared at the man who stood before her.
"Who the hell are you?" she roared.
"I am Yue," the man said calmly.
Tamaya was forced backwards as brighter light, purer that anything she had ever seen before spilled out from the man's pristine white clothes. Two almost translucent feathered wings burst from his back as he held out his hands, something clutched in them.
She could just make up a mirror with a smooth shiny surface glimmering like a calm lake's surface exposed to the sun's rays. Silver wrought into intricate shapes of snarling mythical creatures edged the pane of circular glass, the metal seemingly glowing with an internal light.
"You don't belong here," Yue said calmly.
"Who the hell are you?" Tamaya snarled, her feet slowly moving apart betraying her next move.
Yue watched coolly as Tamaya lunged at him.
"Time!" Yue whispered holding out his hands.
A bright flash of vivid yellow-green light flooded the area as Tamaya froze in midair. She tried to move, to roar in rage but she couldn't move a single muscle. Her amethyst eyes, the only part of her able to move glared at the angelic man standing before her with murderous rage.
"Tamaya Hiragizawa!" Yue thundered, his voice filled with dangerous power. Overhead the sky roared and wept as wind whistled through the area swirling around the frozen demonic woman.
"I banish you from this world," Yue continued, his voice getting louder with each word he spoke, "AND INTO THIS MIRROR!"
He held up the mirror and Tamaya's eyes widened in shock. A beam of pure white light laced with a tint of light blue burst from the mirror and struck her body. Tamaya had no time to react as her body convulsed wildly as crackling skeins of blue and white energy cocooned her body and yanked her with indescribable force towards the mirror.
With a final ominous crackle of energy, the light and Tamaya were sucked into the mirror. Yue smirked as the mirror gave one final throb of light before the energy died away completely. He peered into the mirror's surface and watched calmly as Tamaya's face appeared. She snarled at him but could do nothing as grey smoke raced across the clear surface of the mirror obscuring her face before the glass became completely opaque.
"A terrible guardian," Yue murmured to himself, satisfied, "Has been find."
With a flap of his wing, he leapt into the air before turning into a blazing comet of white light that shot up and disappeared into the dark night's sky.
In the forested hills surrounding Sun Moon Lake, Yue landed the mirror still clutched in his left hand.
"Arise from the earth!" Yue cried suddenly holding up his right hand at a seemingly tranquil clearing in the forest.
With no warning at tall, the ground rumbled fiercely as birds sleeping in the trees, awoke. Startled into the flight, they leapt into the cool night sky screeching in terror as they flapped towards safety.
Ignoring them, Yue concentrated as a beam of blue light pulsed from his hand and struck the ground. The damp moss-covered ground cracked open forming a dark fissure as the earth bulged upwards.
Slowly a stone covered roof poked out from the trembling ground as Yue focused harder. Following the roof four immense stonewalls covered with elaborate carvings rose from the earth, with a final shudder the earth became still as Yue cocked his head to the side studying the ancient temple that had just burst from the ground.
With a flick of his hand, two imposing doors set into one of the walls flung open revealing the gaping darkness within. Walking up to the temple, Yue climbed up a short flight of uneven stairs before passing a series of tall columns that were sunk into the stone platform the temple rested on as though they were silent sentinels guarding Yue's hidden secret.
He strolled into the darkness of the temple as Yue held up his free hand. A glowing blue crystal appeared as he held up his hand, bright light burst from the crystal illuminating the temple and chasing the darkness away. He walked up along a long strip of frayed crimson carpet that led up to a stone pedestal centred in the middle of the temple. Two points of silver glimmered under the glare of his crystal as Yue stopped in front of the stone plinth, set into the stone were two holders wrought from silver into the shape of two taloned eagle claws. With great care, he lowered the mirror into the holder.
With a loud clank, the claws closed clutching the edge of the mirror tightly as Yue smiled.
"It is done."
With that he whirled around and walked out of the temple. Ten seconds later, the temple sank beneath the earth again burying the mirror along with it… burying the third talisman along with it.
Present day
"So we have no idea where it is," Sakura sighed, "It's just one problem after another isn't it? God, I hate Yue!"
Sitting inside Tomoyo's hotel room, the three Angels or rather Meiling and Sakura since Tomoyo was lost in her own thoughts were lamenting the fact that they had no further clue about where the mirror actually was.
Meiling shrugged.
"What are you going to do about it?" she asked, "The way I see it if Yue wants us to know something he'll beam a dream-message to us."
Sakura laughed as Tomoyo remained silent.
"That's true," she shot a sidelong glance at Tomoyo.
"You okay?"
Tomoyo nodded wordlessly as Meiling yawned loudly.
"I don't know about you but I'm tired," she stifled another yawn as she glanced sleepily at her friends, "Bed?"
Sakura nodded.
"Sounds good," she leapt nimbly off the bed she had been sitting on and made her way to the door as Meiling got up as well and followed her.
"Goodnight Tomoyo," she said cheerfully before leaving the room and heading off to her own.
Meiling smiled at Tomoyo.
"Sweet dreams," she chirped before disappearing out into the hallway.
Tomoyo stared at the closed door and sighed.
"I wish."
Yue appeared in front of her.
"Wonderful," Tomoyo sighed, "Another dream-message. Can we please the skip the river-of-blood thingy? Cause that thing comes with smell and feel-o-vision and that's just plain creepy."
"Always with the jokes," Yue commented raising an eyebrow, "Okay we'll skip the blood and move onto the important thing. I'm here to show you the location of the mirror."
"Great," Tomoyo beamed at the moon angel, "Where is it?"
"Here."
Tomoyo had no time to react as Yue's arm shot across the short distance between them and touched her forehead. A ball of white light burst from the palm of his hand and sank into her skin like water soaking into the sands on a beach. Tomoyo's head was flung backwards as white light burst from her eyes and open mouth.
"AWAKE!" Yue roared.
Sakura shot up in bed as a strange noise filtered through her door. Glancing around in the darkness in confusion, it took her several seconds to realise she was in a hotel in Taiwan. Stifling a yawn, Sakura concentrated and realised the strange noise was actually someone knocking at the door.
"What the?" she blinked blearily before slowly getting out of her bed.
Cautiously she approached the door not knowing who was on the other side. She grabbed the doorknob and slowly twisted it open.
With a loud cry she flung the door open trying to startle whoever was on the other side as her whole body jumped into to a fighter's stance ready to take on any perceived threat.
She froze.
"Tomoyo?" she asked.
Her fellow Angel merely stared at her as the dim lights in the hallway glanced off her eyes exposing opaque silver ovals deprived of any irises or pupils. The hair on the back of her neck rose as Sakura felt the invisible waves of energy rolling off her friend's body.
"Tomoyo?" she whispered cautiously stepping out into the hallway.
Tomoyo merely held out her left hand and made a small 'follow-me' motion, it was only then did Sakura realised that Meiling was standing behind the Japanese Angel.
"What's going on?" she asked shooting a worried frown at Tomoyo as she directed her question at Meiling.
Thankfully Meiling seemed to be impervious to whatever had affected Tomoyo.
"Don't know," Meiling replied with a shrug, "I woke up when she knocked on my door and I followed her here."
Tomoyo ignored their conversation and turned around slowly before walking away at a quick pace. Meiling and Sakura exchanged confused frowns as they jogged after their friend.
"Tomoyo," Meiling tried to rouse her friend from her strange state, "Tomoyo! Yo! Wake up!"
Tomoyo ignored her friends' attempts to wake her up as she walked straight out of the hotel door ignoring the woman manning the reception desk.
"Going for a night walk?" the woman asked with a friendly smile, "The lake is really beautiful under the moon's light."
"Thanks," Sakura shot her a fake smile as she followed Tomoyo out the door and into the cool night air.
As though she was sleepwalking Tomoyo seemed oblivious to everything around her as she walked straight along the edge of the lake and headed towards the densely wooded hills. Still wondering what was wrong her, Sakura and Meiling followed her at a short distance as Tomoyo weaved her way through the trees. Although they had no idea where they were going thanks to the dark, the girls had a distinct feeling they were moving uphill.
"Are we moving up or is it just me?" Sakura asked as she stumbled over an exposed tree root.
"We are," Meiling confirmed as she kept a careful eye on Tomoyo.
Tomoyo stopped as the two other Angels froze.
"OPEN!" she yelled suddenly.
Meiling and Sakura leaned over to their left and right respectively so they could peer around their friend's body and see who she was talking to. Sakura frowned.
"Why is she talking to a cliff face?" she asked.
Meiling snorted.
"As if I knew."
Before they could say another word, a bright flash of silver light flooded the woods. Sakura and Meiling both gasped in surprise as Tomoyo stood watching the steep rocky surface of the cliff patiently.
As the three Angels looked on, two in shock, the other with unnatural calmness, lines of glittering silver appeared on the rock's surface. Shielding their eyes from the intense glow, Sakura and Meiling could just see past the glare of the lustrous light and realised the glowing lines were forming a rectangle across the surface of the rock. Slowly the light died down as plumes of smoke drifted into the air as though the lines had been scorched into the stone.
Silence descended onto the clearing as the two Angels froze wondering what was happening.
"Is something supposed to happen now?" Meiling asked to no one in particular.
Before Sakura could reply a strange sound ripped through the air, a huge crack zigzagged across the surface of the cliff starting from the ground and shooting up the rocky façade until it reached one of the scorched lines etched into the rock. A pulse of silver light burst from the lines again as part of the cliff shattered creating a perfect gaping rectangular hole in the rock.
"Whoa," Sakura gasped.
Ignoring her friend, Tomoyo walked straight through the mysterious doorway in the rock and disappeared through into the darkness. Exchanging looks, Sakura and Meiling followed.
It appeared to be an immense natural cavern of some sort, its contents shrouded by shadows. Sakura and Meiling's footsteps echoed through the cave as Tomoyo stopped again.
"Illuminate!" she barked.
"Foom! Foom! Foom!"
Meiling and Sakura jumped as silver flames burst into being piercing the darkness before dissolving into normal cheery yellow flames that chase away the shadows. Sakura glanced around and noticed the light came from ancient looking torches embedded into the smooth rocky walls, with the appearance of light she could see the cave was circular with stalactite and stalagmites growing from the ceiling and floor like the rocky fangs of a monolithic monster.
"Sakura," Meiling whispered pointing at something.
The American Angel followed her friend's finger and started when she realised there were four stone tablets carved from ancient granite set into cave's round walls. Tiny symbols were etched into the stone.
"Can you make out what they say?" Meiling asked knowing that Sakura was the linguistic expert out of all of them.
"Not from here but I'll get up closer," Sakura replied as she walked towards the tablets.
She cautiously walked up to Tomoyo and when her possessed friends didn't move Sakura walked around her and headed towards the wall. Once close up, she could make out the carvings.
"It's an ancient form of mandarin," Sakura said aloud as she studied the tablets, "This one says…"
Swiftly she translated it and gasped once she realised what it said.
"Oh my god," she whispered.
"What? What is it?"
"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," Sakura read slowly she turned around and stared at Meiling, "It's the prophecy."
Meiling's eyes widened in shock as Sakura moved onto the next tablet.
"And here, the riddle that Yue told us in London," Sakura whispered half to herself, "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."
"What is this place?" Meiling murmured awed.
"It's like all of Clow Reed's prophecies are here," Sakura muttered as she turned to the tablet next to the one she had just read.
"Hang on," she frowned, "This is a new one. I haven't heard this one before."
"What is it?" Meiling demanded.
Sakura cocked her head to the side as she slowly read the tablet.
'The one shall split into two and the two shall never know each other. When the darkness comes, they shall be made whole and their remaking shall turn the tide.'
Sakura stared at her friend.
"What the hell does that mean?" Meiling demanded as Tomoyo remained silent watching their puzzlement with her silver eyes.
Sakura shrugged as she turned back to the tablets and moved to the fourth one.
"And this one," she stared at it, "This one is blank."
Silence followed at the heels of Sakura's comment as Meiling stared at the final tablet in shock.
Why was it blank? And what did the latest prophecy mean?
Her questions flew straight out of her head as Tomoyo moved again.
"Tomoyo?" she asked gently.
Her friend ignored her as she held out her hand.
"REVEAL!" she bellowed power roaring through each syllable of the word.
Sakura jumped as a smaller boulder burst from the centre of the cave. Silver light blazed across the boulder's surface as lines of light emblazoned itself onto the rock. The light died out quickly as Sakura stared at the boulder, which was smoking as though it had just been blasted by flames.
Meiling was shocked into silence as Sakura knelt down gingerly and touched the boulder but immediately winced feeling the heat emanating from the rock. Yanking her hand away, Sakura peered at the now black lines carved into the stone. She frowned as she recognised the symbols.
"It's written in the same language as the tablets," Sakura announced, "It reads…"
She mentally translated the short sentence with ease and gasped as she realised what it meant.
"Sakura?" Meiling asked concerned at what her friend's gasp meant.
"Place the sword here," Sakura read as she stood up and faced her friend, "It will show you the way."
Meiling blinked at her as something clicked in her mind.
"Ruby Moon told me that the sword was pivotal in finding the third talisman!" she cried, "So that's what she meant!"
"Well hurry up already," Sakura urged getting caught up in the excitement.
"Right," Meiling took a deep breath as she gripped the butterfly bracelet strapped around her wrist and concentrated.
"Blade of Clow,
Power of magic,
Power of light,
Reveal the sword,
The force ignite!
Release!"
With a bright flash of ruby red light, the sword manifested itself as Meiling gripped it fearlessly and walked past Tomoyo who stood still staring straight ahead seemingly unaware or uncaring of what was going on. Meiling walked up to the rock as Sakura examined it.
"There," Sakura pointed, "There appears to be some kind of slot or something there. Trying shoving the blade into that."
Meiling nodded as she took a deep breath and held the sword up into the air. With a fierce cry, she jabbed down.
"CLANG!"
Metal hit stone as the sword slid smoothly into the slot. Meiling and Sakura let out twin gasps of surprise as stone blazed silver again, the ruby gem embedded into the sword's cross-hilt unleashed its own wave of red light as the two fused together to form a bizarre shade of greyish-purple.
The gem blazed with light as with no warning a beam of silver and red energy twined together blasted off through the entrance of the cave.
Both Angels stared at each other, their eyes wide with shock.
"What the…" Sakura began.
"Hell?!?" Meiling gasped.
"BOOM!"
The beam seemed to have struck something in the forest as a massive rumble rocked the area. Birds were startled into the flight as animals fled to safety; the girls almost lost their balance as the ground shook again.
"THERE!" Sakura pointed.
Meiling stared in stunned silence as a beam of silver and red energy lunged into the sky forming a solid column of light. With a huge flash of bright light it exploded into a wide funnel of multicoloured light waves splashed against the night sky.
Sakura and Meiling stared at the light show, which was beginning to look like an aurora weaving its way delicately up into the night sky as unnoticed by them, Tomoyo blinked her eyes returning back to the normal.
She looked around in confusion.
"Where am I?" she asked aloud.
Sakura and Meiling whirled around.
"Tomoyo?" Sakura asked softly, a concerned look on her face.
Tomoyo stared at her.
"What's going on?" she demanded, "Where am I?"
"Hey, we followed you here," Meiling retorted.
Tomoyo froze for a few seconds as she remembered Yue's latest dream visit.
"Yue!" she hissed, "I'm going to kill him!"
She sighed and calmed down.
"What happened?" she asked.
"You came here, we followed you and then you created this cave. There are tablets on the walls with the prophecies etched into them and then you caused this boulder to appear with symbols on it," Meiling gestured towards the still glowing stone with the sword shoved through it, "Sakura translated the symbols on the stone and it told us that if the sword was placed in the stone it would reveal the location of the third talisman…"
She pointed to the spectacular ribbons of rainbow-coloured light twisted through the air.
"And voila," she finished.
Tomoyo stared at the waves of light emanating up into the air.
"Where is that?" she asked.
"Don't know but we're going to find out," Sakura turned to leave, "We got to get there quick before anyone else notices."
"Wait," Meiling turned back to the stone, "I need my sword."
As if on cue, the stone and sword stopped glowing but the aurora lights exposing the location of the talisman remained in the air glowing with mesmerising beauty and serene grace. Meiling cautiously pulled the sword out and when it was clear, she nodded to her friends.
"Let's go," she commanded.
The three Angels sprinted through the entrance of the cave and into the woods ignoring the leafy branches that slapped at their bodies and the roots that tried to trip them.
"There!" Tomoyo yelled pointing.
An enchanting fusion of amber, emerald, amethyst, jade and blazing white light filtered through the woody thickets of trees changing their green visage to mere silhouettes. All three Angels ran towards the light as they burst through the woods and ran into a clearing blazing with vibrant multicoloured light. However as soon as the Angels stepped into the light, it dimmed. The spectacular array of lights splashed against the dark canvas of night disappeared without a trace as three girls stared at each other.
"So I'm guessing there should be something here," Meiling said pointing out the obvious.
Sakura and Tomoyo studied the clearing carefully with expert eyes.
"Aside from rocks, dirt, plants and moss," Sakura listed, "Nothing."
"Oh great," Meiling sighed.
"Maybe we're not looking hard enough," Tomoyo suggested, "Maybe it's hidden."
"More 'oh great'," Meiling muttered disgusted.
"Or it could be," Tomoyo glanced up at the sky, "Nope not there so that means…"
She stared at the ground as her teammates followed her gaze.
She was staring at the ground.
"Oh great."
Lilia Faren gasped in shock.
"Are you sure?" she demanded.
'No, I'm lying to you,' Alicia Rueben muttered dryly over the phone.
Lilia rubbed her temples feeling a migraine beginning to come on.
"Great, just great," she muttered, "So you're telling me a woman who was protecting Zachary Yamazaki appeared in your apartment… magically… and hurled you out the window."
'Pretty much,' Alicia growled over the phone annoyed with Lilia's inability to believe her story.
Lilia blinked.
"Strange," she mused, "Very strange indeed. Okay, I'll get on it and research who this woman is but you still have a job to complete."
'Okay,' Alicia sighed, 'Give me a break. I did fall down five storeys and land on solid pavement.'
Lilia snorted.
"Project X-15 equipped you well. You will heal from that in no time," Lilia reminded her, "Just get the job done."
With that she hung up as she bit her lip still wondering who Alicia's mysterious attacker was and more worrying why she was protecting Zachary.
=Perhaps a look in his files may help= she mused.
"William," she yelled punching a button on her desk phone, "Bring me Yamazaki's files."
'I'll get it right now, marm.'
Lilia nodded as she closed the connection. She allowed a small smile to flit across her lips, she had trained William well and was the perfect secretary for her: always obedient, never questioning her orders and best of all, he was tight-lipped and didn't leak information.
With a sigh, Lilia returned to the stack of paperwork on her desk and quickly signed her scrawling signature across a piece of document before filing it away carefully.
She had to get to the bottom of this mysterious woman or Zachary may just get that promotion.
And there was no way in hell she was going to allow that to happen.
The three Angels stared at the mossy, slightly damp ground.
"Shovel?" Sakura asked brightly.
"It would take us forever if the mirror is buried here," Tomoyo pointed out, "We need something quicker and something that would not damage whatever we're trying to unearth."
They thought for a few seconds.
"Nope, no ideas," Sakura gave up with a sigh.
Tomoyo also shook her head as a frown of frustration flashed across her face.
"There has to be a way!" she yelled exasperated.
Suddenly Meiling took a step forwards as she flashed a wicked grin at them.
"Where there's a will… there's a way," she winked, "EARTHY CARD!"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Earthy card (it seemed to her that the Clow cards seemed to be enchanted to appear whenever she needed them) before hurling it onto the ground and raising the Clow sword.
"UNEARTH WHATEVER IT IS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FIND! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"
She struck the card with the tip of her sword as emerald light spilled from the suddenly glowing card surface. Tendrils of sparkling light burst forwards and plunged into the earth as the clearing began rumbling.
A dark fissure zigzagged across the grassy copse splitting the earth in two as the girls watched carefully, apprehensive waiting for the Earthy card to finish. The ground suddenly bulged upwards as something tried to push through.
"What is that?" Sakura gasped seeing the extent of the bulging earth, "It's massive!"
With a final flash of emerald light, the ground gave a mighty roar as something punched through the ground. The three girls stared up at the thing that had just emerged.
"What the?" Meiling gasped.
"A temple?!?" Tomoyo began to freak as she remembered her dream.
Sakura stared at the ancient temple in stunned silence as a gentle breeze rustled the few remaining blades of grass in the dark clearing.
"Should we go in?" she whispered.
Meiling shrugged in response as she transformed the Clow sword back into its bracelet form.
"What choice do we have?"
It was dark within the temple; the air was stale and choking to breathe. Their footsteps echoed through the void as they walked through the decaying threshold, every instinct in their body screaming at them to turn around and run for their lives.
"Big with the creepy," Sakura murmured and she jumped as her voice echoing through the temple its volume amplified by the crumbling walls and ceiling.
Tomoyo's eyes roved around in the darkness suddenly she froze as a small gasp of surprise managed to break free of her throat.
"Tomoyo?" Meiling asked.
Ignoring her friend, Tomoyo walked forwards in a straight line her steps unfaltering and confident as Sakura and Meiling exchanged surprised looks.
"Tomoyo?" Sakura called.
It was as though she was in a trance, her friends' voices sounded as if they were very far away and distorted as she continued towards her destination. And there… there it was… the thing that had captured her attention.
A priceless piece of artefact… it was a perfect oval of pristine glass that age had not ruined and the silver framing the glass was as flawless and unmarred as the day it had been wrought.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, her entire mind seemingly hypnotised by the beauty of the mirror.
And ever so slowly, she reached out with her left hand her finger outstretched trying to feel the mirror to reassure herself that it was here and not some kind of hallucination or illusion.
"Tomoyo…" her friends warningly began but she seemed deafened to their cries.
Gently her finger brushed against the surface of the glass and all hell broke loose.
Sakura and Meiling screamed in pain and surprise as bright silver light flashed through the air, the glare burning their eyes as they blinked furiously trying to clear their vision. They could hear Tomoyo's cry of shock as well as they tried to orientate themselves.
"Finally!" a victorious voice filled with ancient malice and power hissed through the air as Sakura and Meiling stared at each other.
"TOMOYO?!?" they yelled simultaneously running through the darkness towards their friend.
The two Angels skidded to a halt as they stared at the scene spread out before them. Tomoyo was lying prone on the ground as a tall woman with pale ivory skin towered over her smirking at them. Her amethyst eyes pierced the darkness of the temple as she smiled; her lips curling back cruelly to reveal long wicked fangs.
Meiling's eyes widened in shock as she noticed the woman's long flowing smoky grey hair. If those eyes were dulled to become a pale lavender rather that a incandescent amethyst and she was slightly younger…
"Tomoyo," she gasped realising who this mysterious woman looked like.
"I am Tamaya!"
Nivaline woke up with a start. Confused, she looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings her sleep chloroformed mind taking several seconds to recognise where she was.
She glanced down and saw that Kiyone was sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed. With a sigh, Nivaline stretched wincing in pain as her muscles sore from sitting in the same uncomfortable hard chair all day long as she sat by her friend's beside cried in protest at her movements.
With a frown, she cocked her head to the side as she tried to figure out what had woken her.
She reached out with her powers and gasped as she felt the dark power thrumming through the air. She focused on the energy and tried to discern what it was and where it had come from but it was confusing… she could sense it was powerful and frighteningly so and that it was ancient and fuelled by an unholy wrath and… and…
Nivaline blinked.
A thirst for blood?!?
She gasped realising what it was.
"Nosferatu…"
Sakura and Meiling gaped at the woman as she glared at them with deadly amethyst eyes.
"Okay what's with the Tomoyo wannabe?" Sakura demanded breaking the silence.
"Silence, pitiful mortal!" the Tomoyo-ish woman roared, "Bow before the all mighty wrath of Tamaya! I have returned to this world and as I once saw it tremble in fear at my terrible rage so shall I see it again."
"Oh great," Sakura sighed, "A Tomoyo wannabe with a superiority complex… great, just great."
"Be silent mortal!" Tamaya roared at them.
Meiling snorted.
"Lady, bite me," she snapped.
Tamaya smirked at them.
"Oh, I will."
She exploded forwards, a whirlwind of claws and lithe muscles but yet always those amethyst eyes would seem to drill in to their minds, reading their ever internal thought… every secret. Her face seemed to warp, shifting into a ghoulish doppelganger of a real humans; a nightmarish landscape of ruts and ridges exposing long gleaming fangs poking out from under her lips as her brow compressed and jutted forwards.
"Was it something I said?" Meiling asked dryly.
They both leapt out of the way as with a feral cry, Tamaya lunged at them raking thin air with her claws. She landed crouched like a dark poisonous frog as Meiling and Sakura backed away in opposite directions watching her wryly.
She lunged to her left heading straight for Sakura as the Angel raised her hand to block her blow. Tamaya swung with her right as Sakura deftly blocked it but let out a sharp gasp of surprise as pain rocketed up her arm.
"CRACK!"
Tamaya's in-to-out crescent kick caught Sakura under the chin popping her up into the air as the American Angel cried out in pain. She landed heavily on the ground gasping for breath as she struggled to her feet.
"Oh my god, this is like the time with Lara," Sakura muttered remembering the last time a simple blow had sent her flying.
"SAKU!" Meiling charged straight for Tamaya as the demonic woman whirled around and hissed at her.
She leapt straight at the Asian Angel as Meiling nimbly ducked her lunge, the woman seemed to glide through the air as she stretched out her arm revealing long lengths of black and violet silky ribbons tied to the sleeves of her outfit. They fluttered around in an invisible breeze as the woman whirled around in mid-air and hit the wall with her feet pushing off as Meiling gasped in surprise.
"CRACK!"
An almost casual kick pushed Meiling to the ground as the woman glided through the air like a dark demonic bat whilst cackling like a hyperactive witch. She landed gracefully as Meiling flipped back onto her feet with a grunt.
"You honestly think you can defeat me?" Tamaya laughed a cruel smiling flickering across her face, "Poor, pathetic humans bow before me before I tear out your throat and make you beg for mercy."
"What are you a totalitarian?" Sakura demanded joining Meiling, "Well guess what lady, welcome to the new age. Democracy is the way to go now."
"Democracy?" Tamaya snorted, "Human concepts for human fools. I am beyond that… I am beyond you… I am all powerful."
"Well, you're not beyond a bit of pain!" Meiling leapt at her and punched Tamaya in the face.
The force of the blow merely pushed Tamaya's head to the left slightly as Meiling's eyes widened in shock.
"Ow," Tamaya said blithely before grabbing Meiling's arm and throwing her into a wall.
The Angel sailed through the air and hit the rock wall with a loud thump as her whole world shook and rumbled. She fell to the ground with a loud groan as her battered body smashing into the hard stony ground.
"Meiling!" Sakura yelled trying to run to her friend.
In a bur of black and purple, Tamaya leapt in her way and threw a punch at her. The athletic Angel bent her back gracefully the blow sailing over her whole body as Tamaya hissed in surprise. Sakura dropped to the ground before ensnaring Tamaya's leg in a scissor kick toppling the woman over. Both combatants leapt up at the same time as Tamaya threw another wild punch at her, Sakura grabbed her wrist and kicked her exposed stomach twice before throwing her arm away and aiming a high kick at Tamaya's pale neck drawing a choked cry of pain from the demonic woman.
"Bitch!" Tamaya backhanded Sakura in the face.
The mere blow had enough force to knock Sakura off her feet. She spun through the air and landed heavily onto the ground as Tamaya barked with laughter and raised her left foot bringing the heel crashing down onto her ribs. Sakura grabbed her foot in the nick of time before it hit her grunting in pain as the hard heel slamming into her hand, she pushed upwards sending Tamaya stumbling backwards as she nimbly flipped onto her own feet.
Tamaya straightened and threw a punch with her left as Sakura did the same. In a blinding move mirroring each other, the two fighters blocked their opponent's blow with their right arm as they glared at each other straining to break through the other's defences.
"You honestly think you can defeat me? You pathetic human!" Tamaya snarled, her amethyst eyes glaring at her as Sakura glared at the woman's contorted face.
"Well, this human is kicking your butt!" the Angel snarled.
In response, Tamaya let out a feral roar as she surged forwards. Sakura's eyes widened in shock as the woman's mouth opened impossibly wide revealing long yellow-aged fangs.
Like a dark serpent, Tamaya lunged for Sakura's exposed necks. Sharp fangs brushed against the soft skin there as Sakura tried to break free. Tamaya's amethyst eyes seemed to blaze with demonic light as Sakura's eyes was unwillingly drawn to them ensnared by their purple depths. She stood still mesmerised as a triumphant look flashed across Tamaya's face.
She hissed loudly as raised her head slightly before bringing it down.
"Oh come on biting? What are you three?" a familiar voice said behind her.
Tamaya was pulled backwards as Sakura blinked breaking the spell. Hissing and spitting in fury, Tamaya was thrown into the hard wall as Tomoyo glared at her.
Amethyst eyes met pale lavender as Tamaya hissed in surprise.
"Me!" she gasped as the two eerily similar women glared at each other, "How could my descendant be so weak… how can she be human?!?"
"Cross-species racism?" Tomoyo asked lifting an eyebrow, "Wow, never seen that before."
She hit Tamaya with a left as the women roared in pain.
"Well, come on fight back," Tomoyo taunted continuing to hit Tamaya, "I'm human aren't I? Doesn't that mean you're better than me?"
Tamaya lunged at her as Tomoyo ducked beneath her swipes before jumping up and nailing her with her right. The woman sailed through the air as Tomoyo watched calmly.
Tamaya collided into the pedestal holding the mirror as her hands scrambled behind her for purchase. Her taloned fingers touched the mirror as Sakura and Tomoyo looked on.
"AHHHHH!!!" Tamaya screamed in pain as the surface of the mirror flashed.
A sizzling sound emerged into the air as Tamaya continued to scream in pain. Her hand flew off the mirror as she held it in front of her, it was blackened and the skin was blistered and peeling as though it had been badly burnt.
She gasped in shock and pain as Tomoyo and Sakura glanced at each other. Working in tandem, they charged at Tamaya and hit her with two flying kicks. Tamaya fell backwards as her back hit the mirror surface once more.
Flames burst into existence dancing along Tamaya's back as the demonic woman screamed in pain.
"Come on," Tomoyo commanded softly staring at Tamaya's flaming form, "That won't stop her for long. We need to get out of here. Now."
Nodding her assent, Sakura raced towards Meiling and helped the battered Angel onto her feet.
Running as fast as they could they raced out of the temple as Tamaya's scream of pain and fury echoed at their heels.
Cheerful music pierced the still air as Alicia glanced to her right. Resting on a small table beside the sofa her mobile phone let out another peal of cheery music as the assassin leaned over and picked up the phone. Flipping it open, she put it to her ears.
"Rueben," she said calmly.
'I've spotted your target.'
A cold smile manifested itself on Alicia's face as she languidly stretched eagerly anticipating some action.
"Where?"
'Two miles northwest of Santa Barbara is a motel. They're currently staying there.'
"Good," Alicia murmured, "Keep watching them. If they move again, tell me straight away."
Casually she disconnected the call and snapped the phone shut. Slipping it into the front pocket of her jeans she slowly stood up, an eager smile on her face.
"Finally, some action," she whispered, mirth dancing in her eyes.
She walked slowly towards an impressive armoire set into one of the walls of her apartment with measured steps. She flung the ornate glass door open and casually pulled out the false backing revealing a number-pad welded to a hard steel door. She punched in the correct numbers and waited patiently as the red light on the pad flickered to green and with a small beep the steel door slid into the wall with a faint hiss.
A few more mechanical noises rumbled faintly through the air as metal rack shot out from out Alicia's hidden compartment. She smiled wickedly as she studied the various firearms resting on the rack.
"Now what show I use?" she asked cocking her head to the side as if she was simply deciding what clothes to wear for the day, "AK-47? Nah… too quick… plus the colour doesn't really match me."
Her eyes travelled along the extensive number of guns until it fell onto her favourite.
"The sniper," Alicia smiled, "Perfect."
She pulled the sniper off the rack and studied it carefully.
"Bam!" she smirked, "This should be a piece of cake."
They barrelled through the woods pushing through the undergrowth as the dark twilight purple of the night above bleed into a fiery dawn. Glancing up, Tomoyo saw the rising sun and gave a sigh of relief.
"Stop!" she yelled.
Sakura and Meiling came to a skidding halt as they stared at their friend.
"Who the hell was that?" Meiling demanded, getting straight to the point.
"Tamaya," Tomoyo said wearily as she leaned against the rough bark of a nearby tree panting slightly.
"What's with the twin thing?" Sakura asked between gasps of breath.
"She's me."
Her fellow Angels stared at her.
"Past me."
"Oh," Meiling frowned, "Is that supposed to make sense."
Tomoyo sighed.
"Tamaya was me in a past life. It's like I'm a reincarnation of her except for the whole vampire thing…"
"VAMPIRE?!?"
Tomoyo flapped her hands at them giving them the 'I'll explain later' motion as she pushed on.
"Tamaya was a vampire and Yue managed to trap her in the mirror intending to use her to guard the mirror and also to use her as a challenge against us. When I touched the mirror it triggered the spell setting her free," Tomoyo explained, "When I touched that mirror, it was like her memories bleed into mine. I… know her… I know everything about her… it was like I was inside her mind or something."
"Some vamp Tomoyo," Sakura sighed, "And I thought this couldn't get any weirder… so what next? What do we do about her?"
"What do we do?" Tomoyo said grimly, "We kill her."
"Great how?" Meiling asked, "She's a vampire after all so I'm guessing she was powers."
Tomoyo nodded, her knowledge of Tamaya coming into handy again.
"Super strength," she began.
"And I've got the bruises to show that," Meiling muttered as Sakura smirked at her.
"Heightened senses," Tomoyo continued, "She can hypnotise people…"
Sakura remembered the strange numb sensation she had felt when Tamaya had tried to bite her and gulped.
"She has an in-depth knowledge of hand-to-hand combat and…"
"Okay, she's powerful," Meiling cut in, "How do we take her out?"
Tomoyo was silent for a few seconds as she thought about it.
"Beheading," she said finally after a few more seconds.
Sakura and Meiling exchanged incredulous looks.
"Wooden stake through the heart. Burning her alive… exposing her to sunlight," Tomoyo listed, "A cross will drive her off but not kill her same goes with holy water."
Meiling brightened as an idea came into her head.
"Easy then, we get the Fiery card and torch her," Meiling snorted, "And I thought this was supposed to be hard!"
"There's something else you should know," Tomoyo said softly.
Meiling and Sakura stared at her.
"Why do I have the feeling I won't like what you are about to say?" Meiling sighed.
"There's a deal with this challenge," Tomoyo admitted, "When I was knocked out Yue came to me again. He told me that the mirror couldn't leave the temple until Tamaya was dead… then he told me… he told me that we couldn't use magic against her. Well, not necessarily couldn't… we can but that means we set Tamaya free. As long as we don't use magic against her, Tamaya is trapped inside the temple and can't break free but if we do…"
"She'll get loose and we'll never track her down not considering the havoc she'll cause to everyone," Sakura sighed summing up the situation, "Guess Yue wants to test our physical abilities."
"So what's the plan?" Meiling demanded.
"We get ourselves some stakes, sword, crosses and holy water," Tomoyo said grimly, "Some flares maybe…"
"And then what?" Sakura wanted to know.
"We attack at sunset."
Diana Armstrong strolled in through the front door of the law firm she worked in trying as hard as she could to keep up a cheerful façade and not let the worry that plagued her mind expose itself on her face.
"Hey, Di!"
She whirled around and stared right into a pair of cheerful blue eyes.
"What do you want Kevin?" she growled as Kevin smirked at her.
She and Kevin Lacuray worked in the same firm and were often partners on big cases but that didn't disguise the fact that Kevin was, at times, an annoying know-it-all that had a remarkable ability to grind on every single last one of her nerves. Their relationship would jump from friendship to icy frigidness in the blink of an eye but still… they worked well together.
"Boss wants us to work on the Smith case," Kevin informed her handing her a folder.
Diana flipped it open and glanced at its contents as Kevin continued.
"Man, accused of first degree murder," her partner told her.
Diana raised an eyebrow.
"Big case," she noted.
Kevin beamed.
"I know that means the boss trust us now," Kevin smirked, "Or maybe just me but doesn't want to disappoint you so he's letting you tag along."
"As if," Diana snorted, "What's our defence?"
"Self-defence."
"Witnesses? Forensic evidence?" Diana asked as she continued going through the folder keeping track of all vital information.
"None and inconclusive," Kevin supplied.
Diana sighed.
"Oh great," she moaned, "We need to really build a strong case here or we're going to get torn apart in court."
"Don't worry," Kevin winked at her, "I'm on it."
"Now I'm worried," Diana shot back.
Kevin laughed as Diana rolled her eyes and walked away towards her office. Passing another of her fellow lawyer she shot her a friendly smile before opening her door and slipping inside.
Throwing the folder onto the desk and dumping her briefcase onto the floor, Diana walked straight to her phone and picked it up. She punched in several numbers and waited anxiously as it began ringing.
'Hello?' a cheerful male voice greeted her.
"Marcus," Diana sighed talking to the man she now considered her friend, "Any word on them? Sakura? Is she okay and Zachary… have you heard from him?"
There was a short silence as Diana fidgeted nervously, the suspense killing her.
'None yet,' Marcus said shortly, 'But don't worry the girls usually don't contact people when they're on… jobs. As for Zachary… well I think it's better if he kept a low profile.'
Diana chewed her lip for a few seconds as she tried to beat down the worry and concern that welled up inside of her. Suddenly an idea came into her head.
"Hey, you were a lawyer weren't you?" Diana asked.
There was a surprised silence on the other end as Diana smiled to herself.
'Yeah… so?' Marcus asked, a bit taken aback at Diana's abrupt change of subject.
"It's just that…" Diana sighed, "I've got this case. Man accused of first degree murder… he says it's self-defence but there's no witness and forensic evidence was inconclusive…"
'Hmm… that's interesting,' Marcus thought for a few seconds, 'I once had a case like that…'
"Did you win?"
'Of course,' Marcus said smugly.
Diana rolled her eyes at another sign of men's egoistic tendencies but remained silent.
'I built up a defence around…'Diana grabbed a piece of paper and pen and began writing furiously as Marcus told her the details of his case. Lost in her work, Diana's concerns over her friends and her helplessness in not being able to help were soon forgotten as she concentrated on what Marcus was saying.
"Is this really smart?" Sakura asked.
"You got a better plan?" Meiling wanted to know.
"Yeah," Sakura grinned at them, "Run for our lives."
"Not funny," Tomoyo informed her.
Sakura shrugged as they continued trekking through the woods. Tomoyo checked that her weapons were secure as she glimpsed a flash of the dull stone grey of the temple walls through a narrow opening between two immense tree trunks.
Tomoyo felt the cross resting inside her pocket as well as the one hanging around her neck. She checked that the sword they had managed to find in an old antique shop was strapped across her back in a makeshift scabbard and that the handle was within easy reach.
"We need to do this quick, fast and hard," Meiling told them, "We attack her from all sides and remember. Don't. Look. In. Her. Eyes."
"Okay, no staring contests," Sakura muttered, "Check."
Meiling glanced at her two friends.
"Let's do this."
Nivaline was talking furiously into her mobile phone as she paced around the hallway of the hospital. At first she had tried to ignore the strange feeling that had alarmed her so but as the day wore on it had reached feverish pitch. Something was wrong with the world… horribly wrong.
"Elders," she said trying to keep a tone of respect in her voice whilst addressing her fellow Elders, "We need to track this down. Now. It cannot wait."
'We'll try,' an enigmatic voice said softly over the phone, 'Give us time. We'll inform you when we are sure.'
Nivaline's phone went dead as the woman sighed.
"What the hell is going on?" she whispered, "What the hell am I sensing?"
Tamaya lunged at them screeching like an irritated crow as two of the Angels lunged to the side leaving Meiling to take the force of the blow. Meiling sidestepped Tamaya's wild swipe and kicked the woman twice in the ribs. The vampire backhanded Meiling in the face spinning her around before delivering a short snap-kick to the Asian Angel's stomach.
Sakura and Tomoyo slowly inched their way behind the fight trying to come up behind Tamaya as Meiling recovered and kicked the demonic woman away.
The vampire's eyes widened slightly as Meiling reached behind her and pulled out her sword.
"Come and get me," Meiling hissed swaying slightly from side to side like a deadly cobra.
Tamaya lunged at her as Meiling twisted her body to avoid the blow before bringing her sword down in a powerful slash. A bleeding line ripped across Tamaya's back as the vampire howled in pain. She leapt away as Meiling leapt at her, the sword flashing in and out as she jagged at the vampire. Tamaya kicked Meiling's hand away before spinning around gracefully landing a powerful kick to Meiling's chest as she came to a stop. Meiling stumbled backwards but regained her balance quickly as she charged again bringing the sword down in an overhead swipe.
In a lightning fast move Tamaya stuck out her hand and grabbed the descending blade with her bare hands. Meiling gasped in surprise as she strained to break free from the vampire's grip but the woman held fast.
"Pathetic," Tamaya hissed as thin stream of black blood dripped down her arm, "Amateur."
Meiling growled in anger as she flung the sword away knocking Tamaya slightly off-balance. A powerful kick battered Tamaya's hand sending the sword flying through the air before hitting the hard stone ground with a loud tang.
Tamaya threw a left hook at her but Meiling grabbed her arm.
"NOW!" she roared.
Sakura lunged at Tamaya in a flying kick that hit her in the arm throwing the vampire forwards slightly. Meiling smiled wickedly as she felt something break inside the arm as Tamaya roared in pain. The arm was now at an unnatural angle as Meiling dropped the battered limb. A thin splinter of bone poked through Tamaya's pale skin as the vampire roared in pain again.
"Broke your arm," Meiling smirked, "Guess you can't use that one now."
Tamaya smirked at her even as pain flooded into her amethyst eyes.
"Don't need an arm," Tamaya growled straightening a smug smirk flashing across her face, "Got an army."
Sakura, Meiling and Tomoyo stared at each other as Tamaya cackled.
"ARISE MY ARMY AND TEAR THESE MORTALS APART!"
From the shadows a veritable army of pale skin, ripping talons and glowing blood-red eyes surged forwards. The Angels gasped in shock as Tamaya laughed again. A ring of snarling demonic figure each clawed and fanged swiped and hissed at them.
"Oh my god," Tomoyo whispered as the ring of demons tightened forcing the three Angels together back-to-back.
Tamaya laughed as she leapt up into the air sailing over her army of vampires as they hissed at the Angels revealing gleaming fangs. The dark vampire landed onto the ground as she turned around and laughed at the Angels.
"Thought you could defeat me didn't you?" Tamaya smirked, "Now you know better. TEAR THEM APART!"
They leapt forwards as one as Meiling kicked one vampire out of the air but there were plenty more. Sakura ducked a taloned swipe before slashing the vampire across the stomach with her sword, the demon staggered backwards howling with pain as Sakura leapt up and slashed with her sword.
The blade cleaved through skin, muscles and bone as Sakura's eyes widened with shock. The demon's head flew through the air before hitting the ground as its body, headless, collapsed to its knees. Silence descended onto the room as everyone, demon and human, stared at the headless body. With a soft poof, head and body exploded into a cloud of damp dust as an invisible breeze swept through the room spraying the combatants nearby with the demon's dusty remains as the three Angels stared at each other.
"Guess they're not so tough after all," Sakura smirked as the vampires roared in fury and charged at them.
A ruthless smile graced Meiling's lips as she lunged forwards with her sword impaling a vampire with its razor-edge blade. She ripped the sword out before loping the vampire's head off before it had exploded to dust Meiling had already whirled around and faced her next opponent.
Tomoyo danced gracefully around a snarling vampire's swiping talons before kicking the vampire to the ground with a snap-kick to its knees shattering bone and ligaments. It fell to its knees roaring with pain as Tomoyo calmly chopped its head off watching coolly as it disintegrated into dust.
The three Angels were holding their own but there was just too many of them. For every vampire they killed, three more would leap at them. Slowly they were forced backwards standing almost back-to-back as the vampires howled triumphantly, blood-lust gleaming in their burning eyes.
"We can't fight all of these things," Tomoyo whispered to her friends.
"You think?!?" Sakura shot back sarcastically as she chopped at a clawed arm that lunged at her.
"Tomo," Meiling muttered through grit-teeth as she kicked a snarling vampire away, "FLARE ME!"
Without even bothering to turn around, Tomoyo reached into a holster strapped to her hip and pulled out a flare gun. Passing the black gun to her friend, Tomoyo concentrated on beating back the army of vampire that threatened to overwhelm them as Sakura covered for the Asian Angel as Meiling checked that a flare was loaded properly into the gun.
"When I fire, run," Meiling commanded.
Not waiting for a reply, Meiling aimed at the wall of vampires that blocked off their way to the temple's exit and pulled the trigger. A ball of burning crimson light hit the vampires a shower of sparks leapt into the air as several demons burst into fire.
"GO! GO! GO!" Meiling yelled charging straight for the exit.
A clawed hand shot out at her but she hacked it off without even glancing away from her target. She cannonballed straight into another vampire knocking it off its feet as her heels slammed into first its stomach, chest then face as she stepped right on top of it on her way towards the exit.
A snarling face was punched away as Meiling kicked another vampire out of her way. She continued running, kicking and punching everything that leapt into her way. All sense of time and direction were blurred as she head blindly in a straight line.
Suddenly the sound of snarling and growls of fury died away as cool night air brushed against her skin. Meiling blinked in surprise as she looked around her mind trying to register where she was.
She was outside.
Behind her, Sakura leapt through the doorway of the temple landing beside her friend as she gasped for breath.
"Let's never, ever do that again," the American Angel moaned as she stood up slowly.
Behind them the army of vampires roared their wrath as they charged straight for them, the two Angels whirled around immediately, eyes widening as they saw them approach. They both raised their swords bracing themselves for the impact as the vampires leapt into the air.
And hit an invisible wall.
The two Angels blinked in surprise as the vampires were flung backwards. The air framed by the temple doorway seemed to thicken and congeal into a semi-liquid state as more vampires hurled themselves at the sudden barrier. The air seemed to transform into a gelatinous mass trapping the vampires as they roared and battered their fists against the barricade, a flash of azure light blinded the Angels and vampires as the demons were hurled backwards with incredible forced dashing their bodies against the fall wall of the temple.
"So that's how Yue is keeping them trapped in there," Sakura noted, "Nice to know."
"At least we got away," Meiling sighed.
Suddenly they both froze as they realised something. They turned and stared at each other.
"Where's Tomoyo?"
"Ahh… so we got one of them," Tamaya laughed as two of her vampires dragged the prone form of her descendant towards her.
She strolled towards the unconscious Angel as her broken arm began to repair itself. Broken skin and muscles knitted back together as her bones fused together forming a seamless solid as Tamaya laughed.
"Well, honey," she smirked addressing Tomoyo, "Guess what? You get to be my bait."
"We can't go in there again," Sakura murmured staring back into the blackness of the temple, "Not without a plan."
"Well, we need one and quick," Meiling snarled at her, "Or Tomoyo's dead."
Sakura thought for a few seconds.
"What time is it?" she asked suddenly.
"Time?!? Why the hell do you need to know that?" Meiling roared at her, "If we don't hurry up and come up with a plan Tomoy…"
"What is the time," Sakura repeated strong this time.
Meiling sighed and glanced at her.
"Taiwanese time one o'clock," she muttered.
"Good, we have five hours," Sakura sheathed her sword and with a last reluctant glance at the temple began walking away.
Her fear for her friend taking a backseat to her curiosity, Meiling trailed after Sakura wondering what plan she had in mind.
"Five hours till what?" Meiling demanded.
"Sunrise."
Alicia Rueben stopped her car and got up.
"Where are they?" she demanded speaking into her mobile.
'They're heading towards you in a battered blue Sudan. They should be there in five minutes or so.'
"Good," Alicia hung up as she glanced around.
Her car was perched on top of a rocky outcrop looking down onto a long and winding road beneath the baking Californian sun. She opened up her car trunk and pulled out her sniper rifle.
"Sorry," she said coldly as she checked the ammunition, "The hunt ends here."
Tamaya sighed in frustration.
"You know I thought they'd be here by now," the vampire growled.
She glanced at Tomoyo who was now wide awake, the Japanese Angel had her hands and feet bound by dirty lengths of rope as an equally filthy piece of cloth was strapped around her mouth preventing her from speaking. Her pale-lavender eyes glared into Tamaya's amused amethyst ones as she struggled against her bonds.
"You know it's been I don't know… four… five hours now," Tamaya sighed, "Maybe they just abandoned you… not really surprising considering who they're up against. It just shows that they're smarter than they look if they're really stupid they'll come charging in here to save you."
Tamaya sashayed over to Tomoyo and smiled into her furious eyes.
"Aww… don't feel too bad honey," she cooed, "It's not your fault. They can't help feeling scared of little old me. I'm more powerful than anything you can imagine… I'm more powerful than any weapon mankind can forge. I'm…"
"BOOM!"
The whole temple shook as a shower of dust and chipped rock rained down onto the ground. Tamaya looked up in surprise and snarled in fury.
"What the hell is that?"
"You know," Sakura said casually, "It's really nice to know the black market of Taiwan is going strong."
Meiling nodded as she strapped the small block of C-4 she held in her hands to the temple roof. She backed away hurriedly as Sakura waited until her friend was out of range before remotely detonating the block of explosive.
Black smoke and shattered rock sprayed into the air as the explosion tore a gaping hole into the rock roof. Sunlight spilled through the hole as Sakura smiled enjoying the beautiful image the Taiwanese sunrise presented to her.
Meiling attached another block of C-4 onto another section of the roof as Sakura waited. It had taken them three hours to locate an illegal seller of these explosives at first he had been reluctant to sell them to strange foreigners but had wavered upon seeing the stack of cash they had presented to him. Pressing the red button on the remote detonator, another hole was blown into the roof as more sunlight spilled into the dark temple.
Sakura smiled.
"Hang in there Tomoyo," she whispered, "Not long now."
Tamaya's eyes widened in shock as a beam of sunlight lanced through the darkness incinerating a vampire as the golden light caressed its pale form.
Another explosion shook the temple closely followed by another. Multiples beams of light shot into the temples as the vampires wearily backed away from the solar lights.
Tomoyo and Tamaya watched with almost identical looks of surprise as a length of rope fell through one of those holes in the ceiling.
"What the?" Tamaya scowled as a pair of legs was thrust through the hole followed by a torso and arms and finally a familiar face.
"Hiya Tamaya," Sakura smirked, "Good morning!"
She slid down the rope and landed inside the temple still safely inside the column of sunlight as she waved to the vampires.
"Not really a morning person are they?" Sakura smirked, "Oh, come on you'll never get a tan without sunlight."
She reached into her pockets as she continued smiling at the vampires.
"Here, this'll help you," her expression turned deadly calm as she raised the mirror she held in her hands up into the sunlight.
The light bounced off the mirror and struck a vampire burning its flesh as Tamaya's jaw dropped in surprise.
"Meiling," Sakura took out a walkie-talkie with her other hand and spoke into it as she continued to direct sunlight into the army of vampires with her mirror," Tomoyo is in the far end of the temple."
She shoved the communication device back into her pocket as she smiled at the demons.
"Aww… what's wrong can't hurt me?" she smirked knowing full well the vampires couldn't touch her as long as she stayed in the sunlight, "Too bad."
"BOOM!"
Another explosion larger than all of the others before tore through the roof bringing down almost half of the ceiling as sunlight burst into the dark temple. Vampires were firstly buried by the rubble before being incinerated by the sunlight screeching in pain as they exploded into dust.
"See, we were afraid to blow up the whole roof since we didn't know where Tomoyo was and we may have ended up hurting her," Sakura explained smirking at Tamaya, "But now we know so…"
Another explosion tore through the roof destroying more of the ceiling and more vampires as sunlight scorched the demonic monsters. Tamaya dragged Tomoyo into the shadows as more of the brethren died.
"You can't hurt me," Tamaya roared, "Not as long as I have this nice bait with me. Stopping blowing the ceiling up or she dies!"
Sakura smiled at her.
"Oh, don't worry. We're finished with the blowing up."
Meiling leapt down from the roof and landed gracefully onto an immense pile of the debris as she smirked at Tamaya and finished the sentence.
"We want to do the cleaning up hands on."
Sakura held the mirror up again and directed the sunlight at Tamaya as the vampire roared in pain. Sunlight seared her hand as she threw Tomoyo to the ground and dashed away from the sunlight.
Meiling leapt down from the rubble and attacked one of the few surviving vampires throwing it into the sunlight where it exploded into dust. Sakura raced towards Tomoyo as she pulled out a knife.
With two quick swipes she cut the bonds that bound her friend's hands and legs as the Japanese Angel yanked her filthy mouth-gag off.
"Thanks," she whispered.
"What did you think we were going to do?" Sakura asked smiling impishly, "Abandon you?"
"For a second there…" Tomoyo smiled back, "Yeah."
"Aww… no trust. See that's your problem."
Meiling threw the last vampire in the sun and watched it fry as the three Angels turned to stare at Tamaya.
"What's wrong fang-face?" Meiling asked, "Scared?"
"Mortals, you hope to defeat me?" Tamaya roared.
"Oh come on, the whole egoistic thing doesn't really work if you're cowering in the corner," Sakura muttered.
Tamaya laughed at her.
"I'm not cowering," she glared at them as her amethyst eyes flashed.
Demonic light seemed to burn in her purple eyes as the Angels were drawn into staring into them, mesmerised by their depths.
"Come to me," Tamaya whispered her voice merely a mere hiss, "Come to me, humans. Come to me."
Their eyes glassy and unstaring the Angels made a stumbling step towards them, Tamaya's voice overwhelming their minds. They had to listen to her… the eyes… those amethyst eyes seemed to burn in their minds… drilling into their heads…
"Come to me."
They made another step towards her. Closer and closer, they walked their minds numbed to everything but Tamaya's commands.
"Come to me."
They were mere inches away as Tamaya smiled wickedly.
"Come to me and die," she whispered.
"Oh please," Tomoyo said suddenly smirking at her, "Hypnotising? Save it for the tourists!"
She punched the vampire in the face as Sakura and Meiling blinked snapping out of their numbed state. Tomoyo kicked Tamaya in the chest driving her backwards as Tamaya stared wildly at her.
"How? How did you…"
"Not be mesmerised by you?" Tomoyo shrugged, "Maybe I'm special!"
She kicked Tamaya again as Sakura shook herself and reached into her pocket.
"TOMOYO!" she threw something at her teammate.
Deftly the Japanese Angel caught the wooden stake sailing through the air and in one fluid movement shoved the wooden weapon through Tamaya's chest puncturing her cold un-beating heart.
Tamaya stared at her in shock as Tomoyo drove the stake in deeper into the vampire's cold chest.
"You killed me," she whispered.
Her skin dissolved into dust as her muscles shrivelled up. Tomoyo grimaced as the vampire's muscles exploded into damp dust spraying the Angel in the face. A skeleton fell to the ground as Tomoyo let go of the body and stepped away, fine fractures appeared on the bones as they slowly crumbled decomposing into a pile of dust as the three Angels looked on.
With a soft hiss, the skeleton collapsed as the gentle morning sun so dangerous against the monsters they had just defeated bathed the pile of dust, which was all that remained of Tamaya, with its golden radiance.
"She's dead," Meiling said softly as though trying to reassure herself.
"Finally," Sakura muttered.
"You know what that means?" Tomoyo asked turning to face them with a brilliant grin.
"What?"
"The mirror is ours!"
Without another word, Tomoyo eagerly walked over to the pedestal standing in the middle of the temple, which had somehow managed to survive the destruction of much of the temple's ceiling as her friends look on not wanting to disturb this sacred moment. With infinite care, Tomoyo reached out gently and touched the mirror.
She was half-afraid another Tamaya could appear again but when several seconds passed and nothing happened she relaxed and lifted the mirror off the silver claws that held it in place.
Light refracted off the mirror's surface creating a kaleidoscope of rainbow colours as Tomoyo smiled realising that after all the trials they had gone through the mirror was theirs. She stared at it, admiring its beauty.
Suddenly the surface of the glass turned opaque and cloudy as Tomoyo stared at it. From within the smoky depths, an image appeared as Tomoyo gasped falling to her knees as her lavender eyes were drawn to the glass unable to break away even if her life had depended on it.
"TOMOYO?!?" Sakura and Meiling yelled running towards her friends.
Their voices sounded so very far away.
Alicia smiled as a battered blue Sudan appeared in her line of view. From her position of lying on the sandy ground of the outcrop, she could see past the reflected glare of the window but that was no problem. She was expert enough to hit the driver.
She aimed her sniper and waited patiently as the car shot past.
"BANG!"
The recoil jolted her but she smiled as the driver window of the car shattered. The car suddenly veered off the road and slammed into a straggly tree smoke pouring out from its crumpled engine.
Alicia smiled coldly as she pulled out her mobile.
"Ms. Faren?" she asked, "Mr. Yamazaki has been eliminated."
Calmly she stood up and dismantled her sniper before packing in up into a silver suitcase and stowing it up in her trunk. Without another glance as the wrecked car, Alicia climbed into her own started and engine and drove away.
CLIFFHANGER!!! (AGAIN!) Sorry about the massive delay but I suffered a major writer's block! But I'm over that now and here is another chapter (and it's even longer than the last one!)
Next chapter:
When the Angels return to American, Sakura is shocked and horrified to find out one of her friends has been killed. Meanwhile Mr. Noir has figured out Lilia was the one behind the killing and is out for her blood. With nowhere to turn to Lilia turns to the Angels for help but Sakura would stop at nothing to avenge her friend… who has been killed? What did Tomoyo see in the mirror? Find out next in… Alliances
A/Note: A massive chapter with some elements of Buffy in it! Hope you like it! Took me ages to write due to the fact I had major writer's block. Hopefully the next one would be written up quicker… hopefully.
And as always… THANK YOU TO MY READERS AND REVIEWERS! KEEPING ON REVIEWING!
