Syaoran's Angels

Chapter 33: Full Circle (Part 2), We are forever

Rika's did not even blink as Heilang's voice rung through the air around her.

'Heads up, they're coming.'

The assassin merely flexed her hands, razor sharp claws gleaming in the dull light. And then she stood still, waiting.

The trap had been set.

And now all they had to do was wait for the victims:

The Angels.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'Heads up, they're coming.'

Lara smirked and began stretching her limbs slowly, smiling in satisfaction as she felt their strength and flexibility.

"Pretty good for a just-out-of-coma woman," she noted wickedly, "Maybe this magic stuff does have its uses."

She smiled, relishing what was to come next.

As soon as the Angels arrived, they would be in for a shock of a lifetime and then?

She would have her revenge.

"Sakura," the rogue Angel snarled, "You're mine."

The ex-Angel paced the room, her movements liquid and deadly.

Just like a predator.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol smiled bitterly as he heard Heilang's voice warning him about the Angels. He glanced around all the crumbling walls and gaping black holes, despair filling his soul.

"Tomoyo…" he whispered.

He paced the chamber he was in, every instinct in his body telling him to run but he didn't dare, he knew that Heilang was still watching him waiting for any signs of disloyalty or rebellion… but he knew that the dark mage couldn't watch him forever… as soon as the ritual started…

And then…

What would he do?
Eriol sighed and smiled bitterly.

"Come what may," he whispered.

The time for choices was over, all he could do was ride out this storm and hope for the best.

His shoulders slumped.

"I can't help it," Eriol whispered trying to reassure himself, "It's not my fault. I'm trapped… I can't stop any of this…"

Never before had those words sounded so hollow and false.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"This is so Indiana Jones," Sakura noted glancing around at their surroundings.

"Great, all we need now is a boulder to come crashing down on us," Meiling muttered dryly.

Tomoyo smacked her on the back of the head lightly.

"Hush!" she warned, "Do you really want to give Heilang any ideas?"

Meiling shook her head hurriedly as Sakura smothered a giggle. Small points of multi-coloured light danced around them thanks to the Glow card, shedding some light on their shadowy surroundings.

They walked on for a few seconds down the long winding hallway, senses on high alert for the slightest hit of danger.

Meiling suddenly froze.

"This is too easy," she whispered looking around slowly.

Sakura and Tomoyo turned to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked frowning.

"Oh come on after the whole jungle of death thing this is way anti-climatic."

"Maybe he's tiring?" Tomoyo suggested hopefully.

"Right, and Santa Claus is going charge in here with his red sleight and help us defeat him along with the Easter Bunny and an army of leprechauns," Sakura drawled.

Tomoyo glared at her.

"All I'm saying," Meiling cut in again, "This seems like a trap."

"And ding, ding, ding," a voice said from the shadows behind them, "Girl gets a prize!"

Tomoyo and Sakura whirled around only to be struck in the chest with two hammering blows. They were flung backwards crashing into Meiling, all three of them hitting the ground, hard.

Meiling flipped back up onto her feet only to be tackled from behind, strong hands encircled her waist as she find herself being flung off to the side. She crashed into the wall, ancient stones crumbling beneath the impact. A strong kick blasted her through the already weakened wall. She landed painfully on the side, rolling over with a low moan as someone stepped through the hole in the wall and stood over her, watching her calmly.

Meiling looked up into a pair of dull brown eyes.
"RIKA!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo felt someone grab her arm, whirling around she tried to punch her attacker with her free hand but her blow as blocked expertly.

"WAH!"

She was thrown across the narrow hallway hitting a wall that collapsed under her weight allowing her to sail through the stone partition. She landed in a rain of shattered stone and powdered dust, hitting hard rock ground. Wearily, she crawled to her feet and looked around.

Through the gaping hole in the wall, she could see out into the hallway she had been in before but now she was in some kind of giant chamber. Flaming torches adorned the damp walls, throwing meagre light onto her surroundings, flickering fire painting hideous shadows onto the rough surfaces.

"Ouch," she whimpered trying to crawl back through the hole again.

The hole instantly sealed shut, solid rock forming over the gap as Tomoyo gaped at her now non-existent escape path.

"Great, just great," she looked around for the mirror and smiled as she saw it lying several metres away, reflective surface gleaming in the torch light.

She reached out for it but a foot shot out from the shadows and kicked it away, sparks flew as silver grinded against rock, the mirror hit the far wall and stopped. Tomoyo looked up.

"Eriol," she whispered.

He looked down at her calmly.

"Tomoyo."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura watched in horror as she saw first Meiling the Tomoyo being attacked by shadowy figures. Both of them were hurled through different sections of the wall, disappearing into dark abysses as she watched on helplessly.

"Well, looky, looky," a familiar voice drawled, "Alone at last."

Sakura glared at the woman.

"Lara," she spat.

"Sakura."

"Hey, how's that coma?" Sakura forced a honey sweet tone into her voice, "Relaxing? I can see it's done nothing for your looks."

"Bitch," Lara snarled.

"Or your manners," Sakura continued.

Lara leapt at her grabbing her arms before Sakura could react, the rogue Angel swung her around slamming her against the passageway wall.

"Come on Sakura," Lara whispered leaning close to the Angel's ear, "This is too public. We need to go someplace private where we can sit down and have a little girl-to-girl chat."

"Sorry, I don't swing for that team," Sakura snapped.

"Pity," Lara smiled into her face as she grabbed her again, "It seems like you have man troubles."

With a wicked smirk, she hurled Sakura at the opposite wall. The stone façade instantly disintegrated under the blow as Sakura sailed through the hole and into the dark chamber behind.

"Or maybe that's got something to do with the fact that you're a pathetic whining loser," Lara finished stepping through the hole herself.

She watched Sakura as the Angel slowly crawled to her feet.

"Well, here we are again," Lara smirked, "Girl to girl, one on one."

She threw a punch at Sakura.

"Don't hold back on my account," Sakura snarled blocking the blow.

Lara smirked as she kicked at the Angel, Sakura danced out of her reach.

"You and me, bitch?" Sakura smiled into Lara's furious face, "Let's rumble."

The two women leapt at each other and the final battle began.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fire and crystals lashed Spinnel but the dark guardian ploughed straight through the multiple attacks, roaring loudly, mindless with rage.

Yue was flung backwards as Spinnel hammered him with a blast of magenta energy, the dark beast turned to Kerberos but the winged lion jumped to the side narrowly dodging the high-powered attack.

The beam exploded on impact, thick black smoke blanketing the battlefield as Ruby Moon looked around wildly, trying to see past the smog. A black shape hurtled towards her.

"TAKE THIS!" the guardian screamed firing a blast of ruby crystals.

Spinnel roared and disintegrated her attack with a burst of energy. Ruby Moon leapt into the air as Spinnel shot past underfoot tearing the earth with his low wicked talons. Ruby Moon rained a barrage of crystals down on him trying to damage his wings but the beast whirled around and blasted them away with his energy attack. Ruby Moon had to swerve sharply to the left to avoid being shredded by Spinnel's attack, she retaliated firing her crystals again but Spinnel casually swatted them out of the air with his paws, his sharp claws shattering the barrage into useless shards.

"Oh man," the winged guardian groaned.

Spinnel opened his jaws again, preparing for another blast of purple energy but was stopped as a tongue of flames slammed into his side shoving him violently away. His claws dug into the earth as he studied himself, wings flaring. Glaring off to his left, he hissed loudly at his attacker.

Kerberos roared and unleashed another blast of flames but Spinnel took to the air, the fire splashing harmlessly against the ground incinerating dirt. The dark panther roared with fury and blasted Kerberos but the lion mere rolled away, the energy striking a tree nearby reducing it to glowing embers.

Yue leapt back into the fray, his ice blue crystals ripping through the air with deadly accuracy. The barrage peppered Spinnel's side but with the dark guardian whipped his wings around using them as a shield as the crystals shattered harmlessly against the blue-black surface.

Yue gritted his teeth in frustration and strengthened his attack, Ruby Moon and Kerberos soon joined in unleashing their own magic until one continuous beam of crystals and fire struck Spinnel head-on. The dark guardian howled in pain and fury before firing his own attack by at them.

Magenta energy slammed into fire and crystals, both sides of this titanic battle struggling as they tried to overpower the other. A sphere of energy was growing where the two attacks met, wobbling dangerously as all of them continued pouring power into their attacks.

The sphere began flickering, its instability increasing with each passing second, but neither side was willing to up.

The inevitable happened.

The energy ball hit critical mass, exploding with a loud bang. The very air itself ionised as shockwaves blasted all of the combatants away, Spinnel was sent sailing off into the air as the three others guardians were dumped onto the ground, their wings no match for the crippling aftershock.

A dead silence descended onto the jungle as Spinnel hit the ground.

Four figures lay motionless on the dirt as a gentle breeze danced off their still bodies and disappeared off into the depths of Laotian jungle.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol threw something at her, instinctively Tomoyo's hand shot out and caught it deftly, blinking stupidly at the object she held in her hands she looked up staring at Eriol not quiet understanding what was going on.

"En guard," Eriol whispered unsheathing his sword.

He pointed the edge at Tomoyo and moved into a classic fencer's stance waiting for the Angel to move. Tomoyo stared sadly at the sheathed sword clutched in her own hands.

"Are we going to do this?" she asked sadly.

"Yes," Eriol replied coldly.

Tomoyo slowly rose to her feet, pulling her own blade free and throwing the sheath off into the shadows.

"En guard," she said wearily raising her own sword.

Eriol darted in, Tomoyo parrying his blow away deftly. She whirled around blocking Eriol's next blow before dancing around his next jab.

"We don't have to do this, Eriol," Tomoyo pleaded even as she defended herself against Eriol's next attack.

"I think we do," Eriol snapped back going in with an overhead swing, "Stop defending and fight me, damn it!"

Tomoyo ducked under his blow spring lightly to the side before jumping back up and swinging her sword around at neck-height forcing Eriol to back away before leaping up into the air and hitting her with a flying kick. He stumbled backwards as Tomoyo landed nimbly and waited for him, a sad expression on her face.

"I'm going to win," she said sadly, "That's how this is going to end. But you can walk away…"

"Sorry," Eriol snapped charging at her, "I don't think so. You know what will happen if I walk away?"

His sword smashed into Tomoyo's. For a few seconds they stopped talking, the only sound filling the air was the loud tang of metal hitting metal. Tomoyo leapt up into the air as Eriol swept his blade at her knees, she tried for a mid-air overhead blow but Eriol deftly blocked her strike. She landed, whipping her sword up and around feinting another overhead strike before trying to slash at his sides. Both times Eriol's sword was there to stop her blows. She quickened her pace, foot moving quickly as she came in with a flurry of wild swings and slashes, Eriol's sword moved just as fast as a quick rattle of metallic tangs filled the air. Seeing an opening, his right foot lashed out catching Tomoyo just above the knees. With a small cry, the Angel stumbled away nursing her injured leg.

"Heilang fries me, if you defeat me he'll fry me," Eriol snarled viciously at her, "It's a lose-lose situation for me."

Tomoyo parried his strike.

"I can help you," she pleaded, "Eriol, please… don't."

"There's no other way," Eriol snapped, "I rather go down fighting."

"I can help," Tomoyo tried again, "I've got magic, powers…"

Eriol laughed bitterly, neatly sidestepping one of Tomoyo's thrusts.

"You've got powers? Compared to Heilang, you're nothing," Eriol's voice broke, "Do you know what he's going to do to you if you reach him? Do you?"

"Jeez, do you think he's going to kill me?" Tomoyo drawled sarcastically, still fighting fiercely, her sword a constant silver blur.

Eriol laughed, his voice a pale mockery of humour.

"He's not going to kill you. He's going to rip you apart," Eriol snapped, "He's going to make you pay."

"Why are you telling me this?" Tomoyo demanded.

Eriol lunged towards her as Tomoyo blocked him, their sword-blades tangled, cross-hilts locking together as they strained against one another trying to force the other down. Eriol stared at her through the crisscross of blades.

"Because I love you."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura cracked Lara across the face with a wild right hook before taking a nasty blow to the stomach. Pain roared through her body as she keeled over, Lara taking advantage with a vicious two-fist club down on her spine. Sakura hit the ground as the rogue Angel grabbed her throat lifting her up with shocking ease.

Blue eyes stared into green ones.

"Up, up and away," Lara taunted throwing Sakura across the chamber.

She hit the far wall, rock crumbling under the impact, weakly she brought her Star wand up.
"Thunder card…" she began.

Lara charged at her, slapping the wand away.

"Nuh uh," she wagged a finger at her, "No magic."

Sakura screamed in pain as Lara's fingers closed over her wrist and viciously twisted it. Grabbing the wand from her stunned hand, Lara rammed the magical artefact into the wall; it stuck fast with half its length buried into the rock.

"No magic," Lara taunted, "What're you going to do now?"

"Hit you," Sakura spat back.

She head-butted Lara in the face driving the blonde woman backwards before leaping up and hitting her with a leaping double kick. Landing neatly, she whip-kicked the woman in the chest following up with a spinning backhanded fist to the face. Lara stumbled backwards, nursing her sore jaw.

"You got some new moves," she admitted grudgingly.

Sakura pasted a sweet smile on her face. "
"You've gotten slower, hmm… maybe it's got something to do with your advancing age."

Lara narrowed her icy blue eyes at the Angel.

"I remember that comment when you're lying bleeding and broken on the ground."

"Nah, I don't think so. The ground's too dirty," Sakura laughed, "I think you'll look better on it, I mean it's got the same ugly, old, worn quality to it."

Lara leapt at her with a snarl, Sakura's head snapped back as her left fist slammed into it. She followed up with a right hook but Sakura ducked, throwing herself into a forward roll under the blow before springing outwards untucking herself and lashing out with her legs, kicking Lara behind her left knee. The rogue Angel howled with pain as she stumbled to her knees. Sakura instantly launched into a cartwheel nimbly flipping over Lara's head. She landed nimbly ending her move with a spinning power kick to the ex-Angel's chest, Lara was sent flying. She hit the ground painfully as Sakura smirked.

"See? Old, ugly and worn. Perfect match," she taunted.

Lara slowly crawled to her feet.

"That was just the warm up," she snapped.

"Oh goody, cos I'm all warmed up."

Lara leapt at her again this time feinting to the left, Sakura lashed out at her but missed as Lara dodged to the right and struck her in the chest. The blonde haired woman began dishing out punishment with lethal force and sadistic glee.

Sakura's head whipped from side to side as Lara's fist hammered into her. With a vicious grin, she threw Sakura against the wall driving the air from her body before beating her ruthlessly in the stomach.

"You like that?" she snarled, "You like that huh?"

Lara threw a punch at her head but Sakura managed to duck just in time. Sakura expected the rogue Angel to at least flinch in pain as her fist slammed into the wall but was shocked and stunned as Lara's punch left a decent sized hole in the solid stone. Lara pulled her fist free from where it was half-buried inside the wall. She held it up allowing Sakura to see the lack of bruises and cuts.

"I've been supercharged," she smirked.

"Well damn," Sakura murmured.

Sakura struggled uselessly as Lara grabbed her again, she threw the Angel across the room with a flick of her wrist, laughing loudly as the Angel crashed onto a mound of broken rocks and various other debris piled in the centre of the room. Slowly sashaying towards Sakura as the girl lay moaning amidst the rubble, Lara began laughing.

"Well, looks like lil' Sakura is in a spot of bother," she drawled bending down so she could grab Sakura's chin.

She roughly jerked the girl up so they were staring at each other, eye to eye.

She smirked into those emerald irises.

"Any last words?"

Sakura glared at her.

"Go to hell."

Lara laughed and shoved Sakura back down into the debris.

"Your wish is my command."

With that Lara threw the final punch.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling brought her legs up and over, whipping them around kicking Rika in the stomach. As Rika stumbled backwards, she expertly flipped back up onto her feet. The Clow sword became a blur of ruby and gold as she twirled it around her fingers before whipping it around and bringing it up in a defensive stance.

Rika recovered, behind her Meiling could see the hole in the wall, which she had sailed through just seconds ago. She gaped as she saw the gap seal itself, solid rock smoothing over the break until the wall was made whole again.

"Okay, stuck in a dark room with a clawed psycho," Meiling muttered, "This ought to end well."

She charged at Rika swinging her sword around, the assassin ducked under the blow before launching into a semi-cartwheel grabbing her ankle with one hand to steady herself as her other leg shot out catching Meiling in the chest. The Angel flew backwards, her back slamming into a wall as she lay there gasping for breath. Rika casually strolled over towards her, Meiling tried to stab Rika in the leg but the assassin sidestepped the lunge before lashing out at Meiling's hand with her foot kicking the sword away. The metal blade skidded over the rough ground before coming to a stop at the far side of the chamber.

Meiling sprung away from the wall, tucking into a roll as Rika swiped at her with her metal claws. She felt razor blades shred the back of her shirt, just nicking the skin as she sped past. Freeing herself from the roll, she lashed out, leg sweeping Rika to the ground. The assassin fell hard but was still able to block Meiling's next kick with her arms.

Both women leapt up, launching into spin-kicks. Meiling's eyes widened in shock as their feet tangled, locked together, both women strained trying to overpower the other. Ruby eyes stared into blank ones as they struggled. Suddenly Meiling leapt into a flip, kicking Rika in the head with her other foot. Rika stumbled backwards, their deadlock dissolving. Meiling jumped up, bracing one foot against a wall for extra leverage as she leapt up and kicked Rika in the face.

She quickly followed up with a battering of kicks and punches but Rika struck out, slashing at her leg before whirling around and backhanding Meiling across the face leaving three glancing gashes on her cheek. She ducked, ramming her head into Meiling's gut before springing free from the tangle and throwing a one-two crescent kick to her chest.

Meiling flew backwards, hitting the ground and tumbling several times before hitting the wall.

Rika lunged in, claws swiping. Meiling dodged to the left. Rika's claw shot past her glancing off the stonewall, sparks flying on impact.

She dodged again, Rika's claw embedding itself into the wall just inches from her head. Rika's eyes widened, the only outward sign of emotion thus far from the assassin as she tried to tug her claws free.

But it was stuck fast, the stonewall refusing to relinquish its hold on the metal blades.

Meiling grinned up at her.

"What's new pussycat?" she drawled.

She ducked under Rika's other arm and whirled around punishing the clawed assassin as the woman tried to free her claws from the wall. Meiling took full advantage of this, hitting Rika with a one-two-three combination kick aimed at her leg, back then head.

Wordlessly Rika pulled her hand away from her glove leaving the claws behind, still embedded deep in the wall. She whirled around punching Meiling in the face with her unglove hand before leaping up into the air and twirling around hitting Meiling with both feet.

The Angel hit the ground as Rika landed nimbly, charging forwards and jabbing her remaining claw at her. Meiling rolled, the metal claw hit the ground but Rika was ready for her this time grabbing Meiling by the throat with her other hand and pinning her down.

Meiling struggled helplessly as Rika raised her gloved hand and stared calmly down into her eyes.

The claw came down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"That's bull!" Tomoyo screamed springing free from the tangle.

She began hammering Eriol with wild swings and thrusts, the man was hard pressed to fend off the blows.

"You don't mean that!" Tomoyo raged, "You liar! You filthy liar!"

She punched Eriol across the face before leaping into a back flip kicking him twice in the chest before landing in a crouch and spinning around, her sword ready to slice his stomach open. Eriol hurriedly backed away, blocking her swing weakly.

"I'm not lying," he yelled.

Tomoyo leapt up swinging the sword above her head in gleaming arc, Eriol ducked as the blade zipped past overhead. Tomoyo kicked him again but Eriol rolled with the blow, absorbing the impact before springing up onto his knees and blocking her next strike.

"I swear I'm not lying," he said softly looking up at her.

Tomoyo was trembling from head to toe, her emotions almost overwhelming her. Hurriedly blinking back tears, she gritted her teeth and fixed a glare onto her face.

"Liar," she hissed, swinging the sword again.

"CLANG!"

Eriol parried her blow.

"What can I do to convince you I'm not lying?" Eriol demanded.

"Give up," Tomoyo spat, "Stop fighting me."

Eriol wavered as Tomoyo slowly backed off, her sword still held up in a defensive position. Eriol closed his eyes, cool reason fighting with fiery emotions.

His slowly lowered his sword until the tip gently touched the ground.

He opened his eyes again.

"Okay."

Tomoyo slowly moved towards him as Eriol held out his sword to her. She stretched out her hand to take it.

'I knew you couldn't be trusted,' a menacing voice boomed through the air.

Tomoyo looked around wildly as Eriol blanched.

"Okami Noir," he whispered.

'I knew you couldn't be trusted so I came up with a contingency plan,' Heilang continued venomously as Tomoyo desperately tried to locate the source of the voice, 'ACTIVATE!'

Eriol gasped as his sword flashed once with purple light, his eyes glowed and turned dark with power as Tomoyo gaped at him. His whole body went rigid as tendrils of dark energy crawled up and down the length of his body. The energy slowly faded as Eriol's body relaxed again.

"Eriol?" Tomoyo asked quietly.

The man's head snapped up to look at her.

"Bitch," he snarled.

Tomoyo's eyes widened in shock as he swung at her, she tried to dodge but was caught unawares, the sharp blade ripping a superficial cut along her left arm. Grimacing in pain, Tomoyo steadied herself bringing her sword up again.

"Hello, lover," Eriol drawled, casually twirling the sword around in his hands.

"Eriol?"

'Lover boy's gone,' Heilang's voice appeared again, taunting her, 'It's this a nice little scenario, Angel? Killed or be killed.'

"You sadistic bastard," Tomoyo snapped, her eyes still on Eriol as he stalked towards hermenacingly.

'Thanks.'

Heilang's voice disappeared as Eriol charged at her again. She parried his blow before springing away, backing off as she searched for any traces of emotions in his dark eyes.

All she saw was fury and hatred.

"Eriol, please," she tried again.

The man snarled at her with mindless rage and attacked again.

"CLANG!"

Tomoyo ducked a swipe before darting in with a quick thrust.

"CLANG!"

Eriol deflected her.

The battle raged as the two lovers fought, their swords mere blurs as they clashed over and over again. A short reprieve came as Tomoyo ducked and rolled under one of his lunges before leaping up, blocking an attempted back-stab before twirling around and facing him once more.

Eriol practically roared at her, his face contorted into a demonic countenance, his breathing harsh and uneven. Tomoyo wasn't faring much better herself, she could feel the first poisons of fatigue invade her body slowing her down.
But still they fought.

Eriol tried an overhead swing but Tomoyo blocked him, locking her cross-hilt against his preventing him from pulling his sword away. She kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to double over in pain, freeing her sword she kicked him again in the head sending him sailing across the room.

Eriol hit the wall, debris raining down on him as he fell however he recovered almost instantly bounding across the room again. His movements were quick and agile, Tomoyo was hard pressed to fend him off as he hammered away at her defences. Tomoyo gritted her teeth and tried to keep up, weariness shooting up her arms especially her injured left one. Eriol tried to swipe at her legs but Tomoyo instantly blocked it.

They back off, each of them breathing heavily.

Tomoyo opened her mouth again to plead with Eriol but the man leapt at her before she could even say a word.

They traded swings and blows, neither penetrating the other's defences. Eriol swung from the left with a wide arc, Tomoyo's sword instantly coming up and deflecting the swing.

She was totally unprepared as he whirled around with amazing speed and whipped his sword across from the right, tearing into her uninjured arm. Tomoyo's sword lowered for a fraction of a second and Eriol struck, swinging at her at neck-height.

Tomoyo hurriedly ducked, weaving under the blow before straightening and whipping her sword around. Eriol blocked it, bringing his superior strength to bear as he forced her sword down, cross hilts locked together. Tomoyo struggled but the man was unnaturally strong.

"Argh!"

He struck her across the face. It felt like she had just been hit with a tonne of bricks. She stumbled backwards, tripping on her own feet and hitting the ground back first. Eriol immediately leapt at her, flipping the sword around until its point was aimed downwards at her. He tried to stab her through the chest but Tomoyo rolled away, lashing out at his ankles as she moved. Eriol stumbled as Tomoyo grabbed her sword and leapt up striking at his unprotected side.

Eriol tried to jump back but the sword bit into his ribs releasing a thin trail of red. He barely noticed the wound as he slashed at her.

She deflected the blow but Eriol kicked her in the chest. Pain roared through her body as Eriol kicked her sword hand, jarring it.

Tomoyo hit the ground again as Eriol advanced, brutal blood lust gleaming in his eyes.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura whipped her head to the left as Lara's fist sailed past shattering stone as she hit a chunk of rubble. Snarling in rage, Lara tried to hit her again but Sakura managed to dodge it, Lara's fist slamming down in the pile of debris again.

"Hold still!" Lara snarled.

Sakura head-butted her, forcing the ex-Angel back before grabbing a chunk of rock in her hand and beating her across the face with it. Sakura gasped as the piece of stone crumbled to dust revealing Lara's unbruised skin.

"How?" she whispered softly.

Lara grinned down at her and pushed back her red leather jacket revealing the red blouse and black jeans she wore beneath. She pointed down at the thick black belt binding her waist.

"Heilang gave us gifts," she smirked.

Sakura followed Lara's fingers down onto her belt and more specifically at the silver buckle she wore. A purple gem, probably an amethyst, glittered there in the meagre light, a splash of purple against the silver plating. Even as Sakura watched on, light blazed from the gem. Lara laughed and covered it up with her coat again.

"Eriol got a magic sword, I got super strength and Rika…" Lara shrugged, "Who care what that little freak got."

"Eriol?" Sakura was confused, "Who's he?"

Lara merely smirked at her. She lunged at Sakura again but Sakura ducked under her swings. Lara stumbled onto the pile of debris as Sakura backed away hurriedly not wanting to fight with Lara until she fully understood the extent of her magically boosted powers.

Lara laughed and slowly rose to her feet, grinning viciously at Sakura. She hooked her feet under a clump of rock and kicked it up into the air. In a blindingly fast move she spun around her foot lashing out and smashing into the rock, sending it flying towards Sakura. Sakura tried to dodge it but it struck her in the chest, shattering on impact.

She fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping in pain.

Lara laughed and sashayed over towards her.

"Well, you look like death," she sniggered.

She knelt down and grabbed Sakura by the neck.

"So Angel, wanna see what heaven looks like?" she asked with a nasty laugh.

With that she hurled Sakura up at the ceiling. Sakura winced, bracing herself for the pain of smacking into rough stones with painful force however she found herself sailing upwards and upwards. Twisting around in mid-air she gasped as she saw that the ceiling of the chamber was unbelievably high, stretching up into the darkness until the light failed and one could see no more. A veritable jungle of thick vines dangled down from the ceiling and it was on one of these that Sakura clung to avoid hitting the ceiling or coming down to earth with a resounding smack.

She clutched her vine tightly and looked down at Lara who smiled up at her.

"Hello, monkey," she called, "Tiger's coming up to play."

Sakura gaped at the ex-Angel as with a single leap Lara managed to gain enough height to grab onto another vine. Quickly she clambered up the woody length, darting towards Sakura's height. The Angel shook herself, galvanising herself into action as she realised she had several seconds before Lara reached her. With a small grin, Sakura loosened her grip allowing herself to slide down the vines; she lashed out hitting Lara's arm causing the rogue Angel to fall.

Lara snarled in fury grabbing onto another vine just in time. Once again she scrambled up the creeper heading towards Sakura, but this time as the Angel lashed out to kick her, Lara leapt to the side grabbing on another vine and swung around kick Sakura in the chest.

Sakura flew backwards still hanging onto her vine. Her back hit the wall painfully as Lara looked on, laughing. Glaring at the rogue Angel, Sakura pushed off from wall using the extra boost as she swung towards the blonde-haired woman. Lara leapt away onto another vine as Sakura sailed past, the American Angel nimbly leapt onto the same vine as Lara but higher up. With a smirk, Sakura let go falling right on top of the ex-Angel. Lara lose her grip as Sakura grabbed on tight. She watched as Lara hit the ground below painfully.

"What's wrong Lara?" Sakura taunted, "Arthritis bothering you?"

Lara growled at her and leapt up again, grabbing onto a vine. Sakura scaled hers hurriedly, putting distance between them. At this height, the vines were not only growing vertically down, they were growing in a mass criss-cross forming complex networks. Gingerly, Sakura stepped down onto a mass of vines. It wobbled under her weight but held.

Sakura smiled as she realised that this jungle of vines presented a whole new battlefield. She waited for Lara to come up.

It didn't take long.

The rogue Angel practically charged up her vine but Sakura was in position. She backhanded her before swinging her around and slamming her against a curtain of growth. Lara cursed loudly before shoving Sakura, she flew at Sakura with a flying kick but the Angel jumped down a gap in the net of vines, Lara sailing past overhead. The rogue Angel hit the wall, bouncing off nimbly and grabbing onto a nearby vine swinging across as Sakura popped up again only to be struck in the back.

"Me, Tarzan. You, moron," Lara called out wickedly.

"Jeez, you're right. You do have that ape-monkey look going on," Sakura snapped back steadying herself.

Lara leapt down from her vine trying to body slam Sakura but the Angel jumped down the gap again, grabbing onto a horizontal vine below. Lara hit a safety net of creepers as Sakura swung herself around flipping back up through another gap and kicking out at Lara as she landed.

Lara roared with fury and swiped at her but Sakura darted off, practically bouncing along the vine-floored battlefield. Lara charged at her but Sakura leapt up grabbing onto a vine and swinging out of harm's way. She grabbed onto another way, swinging around and kicking Lara in the back sending the ex-Angel sprawling.

"Actually if I remember correctly Tarzan wasn't didn't stumble around getting his ass kicked," Sakura drawled still clutching onto the swinging creeper.

"Laugh now," Lara spat crawling to her feet, "But when I get through with you… words will not describe how you will look."

"Hmm… just like words cannot describe your outfit?" Sakura asked sweetly, "Can you say trailer trash?"

Lara narrowed her eyes as sniggering Angel.

"I'm going to tear you apart."

"Pace yourself, grandma," Sakura shot back.

Lara leapt up, grabbing onto a vine and swinging towards Sakura, the Angel tried to scramble up the vine to avoid her but Lara flung herself across the gap in a flying tackle. The vine snapped under the combined weight of both women sending them tumbling down onto the carpet of growth below. The net of vines wobbled dangerously under the sudden impact as Sakura leapt free from the tangle, Lara closely following behind. She grabbed Sakura, whirling her around and punching her viciously in the stomach.

Sakura doubled over in pain as Lara kneed her in the face. She went for another blow but Sakura leapt into a full back-flip double-kicking Lara before following up with a spin kick to her chest. Lara's arms flailed around wildly as she tried to regain her balance. Sakura took several steps back, watching her every move. Once the ex-Angel steadied herself, she smiled viciously at Sakura.

"Nice try, Sakura," Lara snarled, "Close but no cigar."

Sakura smiled at her.

"Lara?"

"Yes?"

"You're an moron."

Sakura charged at the ex-Angel ducking under her vicious right hook. Her hands shot out and ripped the silver buckle away from Lara's belt before she cocked her fist back and punched Lara in the kidneys. The rogue Angel howled with pain and stumbled backwards as Sakura straightened, smirking victoriously.

The blonde haired woman looked up slowly, her eyes wide with shock.

"Telling me the source of your power? That was one of your mistakes," Sakura snapped, "But you're biggest mistake? Was messing with me in the first place."

She palmed the buckle in her hand and slammed it against the wall, the purple gem shattered with a flash of light. Lara's eyes flashed with the same colour as she staggered backwards breathing heavily.

"And now? We're even."

Sakura smiled as she cracked Lara across the face.

"So who do you think is going to win?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling lashed out with her right hand and caught Rika right in the eye. At the same time her leg snapped forwards kicking the assassin in the arm forcing her to let go of her neck. Rika fell backwards as Meiling rose to her feet ready for more.

Bouncing lightly on her feet, Meiling took up a boxing stance as Rika climbed to her feet, blank eyes watching her opponent emotionlessly.

Meiling pounced forwards, some fancy footwork helping her side-step Rika's clawed lunge as she threw a one-two jab at Rika's stomach. Both struck as Rika doubled over, Meiling swung back for a powered up uppercut that connected with brutal force. The assassin's head snapped backwards as Meiling bounced back, it took several seconds for the woman to recover but she retaliated with deadly force.

Gleaming claws slashed the air as Meiling ducked only to kneed in the face, an elbow crashed down onto her neck before Rika sliced her check with a glancing blow. Meiling blocked Rika's next swipe before punching the woman in the face, forcing her back. Slapping a hand to her bleeding cheek, Meiling gritted her teeth as Rika blinked at her.

"You're fast, I'll give you that Josie."

Rika blinked at her again.

"Get it, Josie?" Meiling looked for any reaction from the silent assassin, "Josie and the Pussycats? Comic book character?"

She was met with dead silence.

"Okay, so I guess you've never heard of her," Meiling drawled.

She peered at Rika who stared back at her.

"Jeez, tough crowd," Meiling muttered, "My dry wit is so under-appreciated."

In reply Rika lunged forwards, swiping at Meiling with her clawed hand, Meiling ducked under the swing before ramming Rika in the stomach with her fist. Rika stumbled away as Meiling jumped up with a one-two kick to the assassin's torso but Rika grabbed her foot on the second blow and dumped her on her back. Meiling turned the fall into a roll before springing up again.

"Nice try, Hello Kitty."

Rika stared at her as Meiling sighed.

"Boy, tough crowd."

The assassin came in swinging with her right hand, the only clawed one she had left, Meiling ducked and weaved again as Rika unleashed three slashes in quick succession. Meiling tried to swing at her with a right hook but Rika grabbed her arm with her left hand and twisted it viciously.

"Agh!"

Meiling grimaced with pain as Rika swung at her again with her right. Meiling twisted her body against Rika's blocking the swing with her shoulder before snapping her head to the left, head-butting Rika in the face.

She snatched her arm away from Rika's grip before grabbing her right wrist, forcing the clawed hand down before punishing her with vicious barrage of punches to the side of her head.

Rika's head snapped from side to side as Meiling continued to punish her but if the women felt any pain at all, there was no outward sign of it.

"What the hell," Meiling muttered as she continued to beat Rika into submission.

By now Rika's face should've been a bloody pulp but there wasn't even a bruise marring her pale skin. Realising that her punches were having no effect, Meiling hurled Rika at the wall before kicking her in the gut.

Brushing off the blows as if they were nothing, Rika stood up again. Meiling watched on in horror as the bruises dealt to her earlier in the battle faded away leaving unblemished, unbroken skin behind.

"What's with the instant healing?" Meiling wondered backing away as Rika calmly strode towards her.

A flash of light caught Meiling's attention. Her eyes flew to Rika's neck, a flash of silver making her realise that the assassin was wearing a necklace. It was a slim chain of silver with a rough diagonal pendant. Set in the centre of the pendant was a purple crystal that flashed with light once more as Meiling cocked her head to the side, wondering what it was.

"Okay, something that glow-y and shiny?" she muttered to herself, "Got to be magical and got to explain the super-heal."

Rika lunged at her, slashing the air again. Meiling sidestepped the swipe before cracking Rika across the face. The woman stumbled backwards before looking and staring at her, the bruises on her face already healing up.

"Not good, not good," Meiling whispered, "Got to destroy the necklace."

She charged at Rika throwing a quick jab at her stomach as her other hand shot out. Rika recovered almost instantly, narrowly missing Meiling's arm with her claws as the Angel was forced to retreat.

"Damn, she's gotten faster as well," Meiling growled, "Super speed and super healing. Why do you throw in heat-vision and ice-breath as well?"

She suddenly remembered Tomoyo's warning about giving Heilang ideas and decided to shut up and concentrate on the task at hand.

"Okay, first things first," Meiling whispered to herself, "Disarm her. Get rid of that claw."

She leapt forwards but had to jump back hurriedly as said claws slashed the air narrowly missing her face.

"Easier said than done," Meiling muttered darkly.

This time it was Rika who attacked first, Meiling had to rely on pure instincts as Rika unleashed a flurry of slashes, kicks and punches. She was too damn fast.

Meiling gasped in pain as she dodged one swipe only to jump right in the path of another. The razor sharp claws sheared through the sleeve of her shirt, biting deep into her arm

"Oh man," she moaned clutching her bleeding wound.

Rika pressed on slowly driving the Angel backwards. Meiling dropped to the ground under one slash before lashing out with her foot.

A sickening crunch filled the air.

Meiling was unable to suppress a small smile of satisfaction as she heard the sound of cartilage popping in her opponent's knee. Rika immediately hit the ground, her eyes glazing over with pain as her knee bent an unnatural angle.

Meiling popped back up, kicking Rika in the chin. The assassin fell backwards onto her back as Meiling leapt at her trying to grab her necklace but the woman's left arm shot out defending her neck. Her uninjured leg snapped up kicking Meiling in the back and forcing her away.

Meiling watched as Rika crawled to her feet, she gulped as she saw the madly mangled knee began repairing itself. Cartilage and muscle was made whole again as the joint properly reinfused itself together again.

"Not cool," Meiling moaned.

Rika leapt at her with a flying kick that connected with her chest. Meiling was sent tumbling, rolling head-over-heels before slamming to halt against a rocky wall. Rika came at her, slashing with her claws.

Sensing her opportunity, Meiling grabbed her wrist before she could yank it away and twisted it viciously, bone crunching under the brutal treatment. At the same time her other hand shot out and ripped the necklace away from Rika's neck. She dropped it onto the ground before viciously stamping on it, shattering the crystal.

Purple light flashed as the crystal broke as the same light appeared in Rika's eyes. For the final blow, Meiling threw Rika into the wall still grabbing onto her wrist. The assassin's head smacked against the hard surface, she would've fallen over if Meiling had let go of her arm. She ripped the clawed glove away, hurling it off into the shadows before pushing Rika against the wall once more.

The Asian Angel backed away as she felt a victorious smile unfurl across her lips.

"Whoops, no magic. No claws," she beamed at the assassin, "What are you going to hit me with now?"

In reply, Rika tore off her jacket with her left hand, her right hand badly mangled from Meiling's vicious twist. The black leather jacket fell to the ground as Meiling backed away uneasily not liking Rika's calm demeanour.

Her eyes widened as Rika revealed her final weapon: a semi-automatic rifle strapped across her back. Pulling it free, Rika calmly aimed the barrel of the gun at her, her blank eyes not even blinking. Meiling was already in motion as Rika pulled the trigger.

Meiling threw herself behind a stone pillar as bullets flew. Metal slammed into rock as Meiling grimaced.

"Maybe I should've let her keep the magic," she muttered.

The firing stopped as Rika let go of the gun however it was bound to a strap hanging around her shoulder so it was still within easy reach of her good hand. She picked up her leather jacket again and calmly put it on.

Meiling risked a glance around the stone pillar and frowned seeing the move.

"What…" she began.

She got her answer as Rika pulled a dark round object from her jacket. Pulling the pin out, Rika hurled the grenade at Meiling's refuge and watched calmly as the stone structure disintegrated in an explosion of smoke and fire. Meiling threw herself free from the blast escaping any major harm.

However she was now out in the open.

She glanced at her Rika, eyes widening with shock as the assassin grabbed her gun again, aimed it at her and prepared to fire.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

She was on her knees, Eriol towering over her as he prepared to deal the final blow.

"Eriol…" she began.

He swung his sword down at her with brutal force. Tomoyo gritted her teeth as she raised her sword, barely fending off the blow.

"Please," she tried again.

If Eriol heard her, his face didn't show it, he swung at her again. Tomoyo could feel stinging pain travelling up her arm as she blocked him again. In quick succession Eriol slashed at her three times, Tomoyo blocking him at each turn however each time the blade got closer and closer to hitting her.

On the fourth swing, Tomoyo threw herself to the side rolling away as the blade smashed into the ground. She jumped up slashing at Eriol but the man was ready for her, deftly deflecting her weak blow.

By now Tomoyo was breathing heavily, fatigue setting in. Eriol on the other hand seemed perfectly fine.

He came at her with a wide left swing, Tomoyo ducking under the blow. She tried to slash at his knees but his sword slid in the way, metal hitting the metal with a loud clang. Gritting her teeth, she twisted her sword around his, slamming both blades down into the ground. Her arm shot up and punched him in the face as he staggered backwards. Freeing their swords Tomoyo whipped it around scoring a shallow cut across his belly.

Eriol roared in rage and charged at her, body slamming her into the wall. He punched her hard.

"Argh…" Tomoyo let out a low moan as her head cracked into the wall.

Her vision went grey as the world around her spun wildly, through blurry eyes she could see Eriol stepping back and raising his sword until its gleaming point was aimed straight at her. With a roar, he charged forwards intent of impaling Tomoyo through the chest.

Tomoyo spun around, the sword edge slicing through the back of her shirt, nicking skin before slamming into the wall. Metal screeched against rock, as about a quarter of the blade became embedded into the stony surface. Eriol tried to rip the sword free but it was stuck fast.

Tomoyo whacked him across the face forcing him back before clutching her sword and charging at him.

A powerful roundhouse kick slammed into the side of his face forcing him to his knees, she swung at him but Eriol ducked. She kicked him again snapping his head back before swinging the sword at him again.

The man rolled out of the way, his foot shooting out and catching Tomoyo above the knees. With a cry, the Angel fell as Eriol jumped up.

He kicked her in the stomach with vicious glee before kicking the sword out of her hand leaving her defenceless. He reached down, grabbing her by the collar and lifting her up roughly. He punched her in the stomach, the force of the blow sending her flying up towards the ceiling.

"Ah!" Tomoyo gave a cry of pain as she smacked the ceiling hard before crashing down back to earth.

Now flat on her stomach, Tomoyo was helpless as Eriol kicked at her. Tomoyo ducked but his heel came swinging back clipping her on the jaw. The kick hammered into her sending her rolling away.

She crawled to her as Eriol charged at her, summoning the last of her strength she flipped over him kicking her in the back as he blew past. He crashed into the wall as Tomoyo ran to her sword picking it up.

Now feral with rage and fury, Eriol whirled around and snarled at her, his eyes now completely black. Tomoyo backed away as Eriol stalked towards her growling dangerously. Her eyes darted around the dark chamber hoping to spot some other kind of weapon but there were none. Until her gaze happened to fall on the Eriol's sword, which was still embedded deep into the wall.

She gaped at it remembering how the sword had flashed when Heilang's voice had commanded something to activate. Her lips curled up into a smile as her eyes darted back to Eriol.

She slashed at him forcing him back before ducking under his arms. She whirled around kicking him away before rushing over to his sword. With a cry she swung her sword around with all her might.

Sharp blade ploughed through metal as Tomoyo felt something broke under the blow. The mangled cross-hilt of Eriol's sword fell to the ground as the whole sword flashed with purple light, she whirled around just in time to see Eriol fall to his knees. She slowly walked over to him with measured steps, sword held at the ready.

Eriol looked up at her, his eyes back to their normal dark blue.

"Tomoyo?" he whispered gently.

Tomoyo stared back at him for the longest time.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lara fell as Sakura leapt at her kicking her in the face. The woman fell backwards flat on her back.

"Jeez, Lara… feeling your age?" Sakura smirked as she began pounding the woman with powerful blows.

Lara snarled in anger and grabbed her arm shoving the Angel away. Slowly she crawled to her feet grabbing onto a nearby vine for support.

"You bitch," Lara snarled.

"Sticks and stones won't break my bones, Lara," Sakura shot back, "But I bet they'll do a hell of a job on yours."

She kicked at Lara again but the ex-Angel blocked her blow.

"You think you're going to win," she spat.

"Actually, I know I'm going to win."

Lara glared at her.

"You can't kill me."

"And why not?" Sakura demanded narrowing her eyes as she backed off a little.

"Because then you'll never know the full truth," Lara smirked at her.

"About what?"

"And how your mother died."

"You betrayed her."

"Yes," Lara laughed, "But you'll never know what her final words were… how she died… if you kill you'll never find out."

Sakura stared at her as Lara laughed again.

"Come on, Angel. Don't you want to know how mommy died?"

"I know how she died," Sakura said slowly.

She glared at Lara.

"She died a hero."

Grabbing onto a vine, Sakura swung towards her and kicked Lara in the chest sending the ex-Angel flying. The woman flew through the air, smacking into the wall before falling back onto the floor of vines. Sakura casually landed balancing herself perfectly as Lara scrambled to her feet.

"Please," Sakura rolled her eyes, "The good old let's-taunt-the-good-guy-about-parent/spouses'-death ploy? What were you trying to do? Get me so pissed off I'll make so fatal mistake?"

She stalked towards Lara cracking her across the face again, the ex-Angel fell sidewards.

"Lara, you're an idiot," Sakura smirked, "And where did you get that idea from anyway? Watching old action movies or from 'Villains for Dummies'?"

She waited for Lara to crawl onto her knees before swinging at her with an uppercut, the net of vines wobbled dangerously as Lara hit the floor of creepers again.

Sakura crouched down and pinned the ex-Angel to the net of vines as she continued to grin down at her.

"This is for Mom."

"CRACK!"

She punched her in the face.

"This is from me."

"CRACK!"

"This is from Tomoyo."

"CRACK!"

"This is from Meiling."

"CRACK!"

"And this? This is for everything you've ever done in your life."

"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

By now Lara's face was a messy pulp of blood and torn skin, Sakura continued to whale on her as she unleashed all her fury at the helpless rogue Angel.

"You're not going to killing me like this," Lara managed to choke out even as she coughed out blood, "You're a white hat. You're not going to kill me when I'm down and helpless."

Sakura glared down at her.

"You deserve to die like this," Sakura snarled, hitting her again, "I wonder how many times you've beaten someone to death. Have you ever done it in your 'Kill Room'? Yeah, I remember that."

Lara's hands shot out and grabbed Sakura's fist, her head whipped upwards and head butted the Angel driving her back.

"I've done it a hell of a lot of times," Lara snarled, "And now I'm going to do it to you."

She pounced on Sakura, batting her hands away before nailing the Angel in the face with vicious right hook. She swung in with a left hitting Sakura again.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance," Lara growled, "Because now you're the one that 's going down."

Sakura stomped down on the floor of vines with all her might. The whole network of ancient growth wobbled dangerously as Lara continued to beat Sakura into submission. Sakura stomped down again and the vines gave way.

Lara looked around in shock as the vines ripped free from the walls. With the anchors gone, the whole network began to collapse. The vines beneath their feet fell away as both women sailed through the widening gap.

Sakura's hand shot out trying to grab onto a trailing vine but it slipped out of her grip. Now in freefall, both women tried to halt their vines, desperately trying onto a vine but they were falling too fast, the rough plants slipping out of their grip each time.

"YES!" Sakura cried finally managing to snag one, her twisted the trailing plant around her arm as her sailed down.

Her arm was almost pulled out its joint as her fall abruptly stopped. Sakura dangled there in midair gasping for breath as leafs and roots from the crumbling network above rained down on her. Below her Lara had grabbed onto one as well and was trying to scramble up its length to her but the ancient plant snapped in half unable to take the ex-Angel's weight or her thrashing movements.

Sakura could see Lara's wide blue eyes and gaping mouth as she fell the final ten metres to the ground. An audible crunch filled the air as she landed awkwardly. Gulping, Sakura looked up at her vine but it seemed strong. Gingerly, she began to climb down making sure her movements were smooth and slow. Once she reached the end of it, she let go falling the final two metres down bending at the knees as she landed to absorb the fall.

She landed right in front of Lara. For a few seconds she crouched there waiting for the ex-Angel to move but the woman lay still. Cautiously walking over towards her, Sakura nudged the body with her toes.

No movement.

Carefully she rolled the woman over and hissed seeing the unnatural angle of her neck.

Lara Williams, the infamous rogue Angel was dead.

"Bitch," Sakura whispered.

She spat on the ground before turning around and walking over towards her Star wand, which was still embedded in the stonewall. Working it free, Sakura twirled it around and summoned a card.

"THUNDER CARD!" she called, "BREAK THROUGH THE WALL! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

Thunder clapped and a bolt of lightning crashed in the wall, which she had sailed through originally. Black smoke filled the air as the lightning bolt punched through the stone leaving behind a gaping hole. Sakura walked quickly towards it and crouched down to climb out of this dark chamber.

She shot a final glance behind her.

Her emerald eyes took in the sight of Lara's body lying spread-eagle on the ground as vines rained down around her.

She turned back around and climbed out of the chamber leaving behind one dead body.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling leapt to the side as line of fire tore into the ground. Rika calmly tracked her movements, each twitch of her fingers unleashing a barrage of bullets. Meiling raced around the chamber desperately trying to avoid being cut down by a hail of howling metal.

She ducked around another stone column as Rika fired at her. Bullets slammed into stone as the column began to crumble under the assault, broken chips and dust falling onto the ground. Rika calmly pulled another grenade out from her jacket and lobbed it at Meiling. The Angel hurriedly leapt away as the bomb slammed into the column gouging a chunk out from the stone in an explosion of fire.

Rika continued firing at her again.

Meiling was running out of columns to duck behind. She rolled behind another one as Rika threw another grenade at her. This time Meiling darted out and leapt into a spinning roundhouse kick, her foot connected with the green bomb sending it flying backwards. It exploded in mid-air, the concussive waves shoving both Meiling and Rika backwards with incredible force.

Meiling slammed down into the ground as Rika hit a wall. The Asian Angel tried to peer through the smoke as her hand scrabbled around wildly for a weapon.

It hit something cold.

Frowning in confusion, Meiling looked down.

The Clow sword.

Meiling smirked as she clutched the blade and leapt back up onto her feet, sword held at the ready.

"Now, we're going to have so fun," she whispered wickedly.

She waited patiently as the smoke began to clear. Rika was already up on her feet, the gun aimed straight at her, barrel gleaming.

She squeezed the trigger.

"FIERY CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!" Meiling cried.

A wave of intense fire lashed at the bullets, melting the artillery in mid-air. Rika stared calmly at the fiery sprite as Meiling smirked back at her.

"Whoops, guess that gun is basically useless now," she taunted.

Rika pulled a grenade out from her jacket and pulled out the pin. With deadly precision she lobbed it at her opponent's direction.

"FIERY! NO!" Meiling yelled as the Clow spirit leapt forwards.

But it was too late.

The fire-fuelled sprite released a gush of fire trying to incinerate the bomb but it only compounded its effect. The Fiery card was snuffed out as a powerful explosion rocked the chamber. Meiling was blown backwards again as the Fiery was forced back into its card form flying back to her.

Rika calmly raised her gun again.

Meiling reached blindly for another card.

"FREEZE! STOP THAT GUN! RELEASE AND DISPEL!" she yelled.

A beam of blue energy struck the gun encasing it in a solid block of ice. Rika let go of her gun, allowing it swing by the strap around her shoulder before leaping out of the way. The Freeze card's beam struck the wall leaving behind a glittering patch of frost. Retracting the ice spirit, Meiling leapt at Rika with a wild swing, still clutching her sword. Rika ducked before grabbing her frozen rifle and whacking Meiling across the face with it.

The Angel stumbled backwards as Rika leapt into a small hop launching into a spinning roundhouse that knocked Meiling to her knees. She tried to kick her again with another spin kick but Meiling rolled under the blow, leaping up and striking Rika in the chest with a snap-kick.

The assassin stumbled backwards as Meiling backhanded her before slashing at her again, Rika spun away bringing her frozen rifle up to meet the blow.

Metal bit into ice as Rika spun the rifle around knocking the sword free from Meiling's hand. She leapt forwards double-punching Meiling in the chest before leaping up and high kicking her in the chin.

Meiling flipped backwards landing gracefully, bouncing off the wall for a flying kick that struck Rika's chest.

The assassin hit the ground as Meiling leapt up again, intent on crushing Rika to the ground as she came down with a flying kick. Rika rolled away as Meiling's foot hit the floor, pain shot up her leg as she fell to her knees. Rika lashed out kicking Meiling in the back sending the Angel sprawling forwards as she leapt up.

She grabbed Meiling by the shirt, kneeing her in the stomach before dragging her up to her feet and backhanding her in the face.

Meiling spun away as Rika charged again for another blow.

The Angel ducked under Rika's haymaker, hitting the assassin the stomach. She keeled over as Meiling hop-kicked her in the face.

The assassin stumbled backwards almost falling over but Meiling grabbed her by the arm and threw her across the room.

She crashed into one of the pillars, hitting the almost crumbling structure hard. Rika slid to the ground but slowly picked herself up, ready for more.

Meiling grinned at her.

"You shouldn't have thrown those grenades," she smirked.

Rika looked up. The pillar already badly damaged by the grenade that had hit it earlier was beginning to crumble fast. A huge crack travelled up the length of the stone as Rika tried to jump away but the pillar fell right on her crushing her beneath its weight.

"BOOM!"

Meiling looked on as a chunk of the ceiling fell as well burying Rika beneath an avalanche of stone. Dust smothered the chamber as Meiling backed away hurriedly, her eyes barely making out dark shapes falling through the smoke.

It took several seconds for the dust to dissipate but once it was clear, Meiling carefully sidled up to the wreckage.

A stone fell away from its precarious position perched on top of the wreckage revealing Rika's face. The assassin's eyes were closed, a trail of blood leaking out from the corner of her mouth. A peculiar dent in her forehead told Meiling that the woman's skull had caved in under the barrage of heavy stones.

The Angel stood there, staring down at her destroyed enemy quietly. Finally and with a small shrug, Meiling turned around walking over to her sword and scooping it up.

"EARTH CARD! DESTROY THE WALL! RELEASE AND DISPEL!" Meiling cried.

The wall instantly crumbled under the magical card's assault, Meiling retracted the card before walking purposefully towards the gaping hole torn into the stone. Not even shooting a final look behind her, Meiling stepped out of the chamber and into the hallway, one step closer to Heilang.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Her sword wavered.

"Eriol?" she whispered.

Eriol blinked at her, looking around in confusion.

"What happened?"

Tomoyo slowly lowered her sword.

"Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

Tomoyo stared at him.

"Oh god," she whispered.

Her mind was in turmoil.

What should she do? Her heart was in conflict with her cool mind. She knew she should just kill him. It would be safer for her…

But.

"Eriol?"

She decided to go with her heart.

"Yeah?"

She bent down and kissed him softly, her sword falling out of her hands.

"Get out of here before it's too late."

She turned around and walked towards her mirror, picking it up she turned around and aimed. Firing a beam of pale energy at the wall. The attack tore a hole in the stony surface.

She turned back to Eriol.

"Tomoyo," he said softly, his eyes overflowing with tears, "I love you."

"I know."

The Japanese Angel crawled through the hole in the wall throwing one last helpless glance behind her before stepping out in the hallway. She hurried down the dark passage.

"Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo whirled around as her friends emerged from the shadows.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked seeing her friend's tear-stained first.

Tomoyo shook herself, angrily wiping her tears away.

"I'm fine."

"What happened?"

"I fought," Tomoyo said dully.

"Me too," Sakura fell silent, "Lara's dead."

"So is Rika," Meiling said grimly.

They stood there, lost in thought.

"Come on," Tomoyo said urgently pushed past her friends, "There isn't much time left."

They hurried down the dark hallway.

"Do we know where we're going?" Sakura demanded.

"There's only one way to go," Meiling reminded her, "In case you haven't realised this hall is a one-way road."

The American Angel shrugged as they continued to race down the dark passageway. Finally they came to a set of immense stone doors that towered under their heads, two immense columns stood on either side, grotesque carvings of demons and ghouls adorning their crumbling surfaces.

"I guess this is it," Meiling said staring up at the door.

"Ready?" Sakura asked quietly.

"As I'll ever be," Tomoyo murmured.

"Okay, count of three Tomoyo bust that door open," Meiling growled, "One… two… three!"

With a cry Tomoyo aimed a blast of energy at the door, the stone façade immediately crumbling under the blow. The immense door fell inwards, hitting the ground with a loud bang, its stone surface cracking from the impact.

The girls froze.

Behind the doors lay an immense chamber, high domed ceiling cupping four towering walls. Five immense pillars supported the roof, the ancient stone structures forming the corners of a pentagon drawn into the rough floor. Within that pentagon stood four flaming torches supported by bronze tripods, the flickering flames providing meagre light to chase away the dark shadows. In the centre of the dome, at its highest point, a hole had been cut into the ceiling allowing a single beam of sunlight to strike the centre of the room.

In that halo of light stood Heilang, his eyes crackling with power, dark tendrils of energy dancing across his skin. He turned around and grinned viciously at the girls.

"Feng! Shui! Tu!" he cried, "Let the three become one!"

The three swords were suspended in the air around him, energy crackling along their blades. Tomoyo fired a beam of energy at Heilang but a dome of black light flickered into existence absorbing the attack.

"Feng! Shui! Tu!" Heilang continued, "Power of the earth! Power of the sea! Power of the sky! I SUMMON THEE! Ancient gods and divine spirits, I call upon you now, in this darkest hour, let your most unholy son receive the cursed darkness. The power. The power that is beyond all that is hoped and dreamed. COME TO ME!"

Heilang raised his hands as a bolt of black lightning crashed down from the ceiling, striking his chest. Energy flew from his fingers striking the three pieces of the tri-sword linking them together in a crackling circle, connecting them to Heilang.

"I call form the blade of the Tri-sword, let land and sea and sky join. Let me wield that power! Ancient gods and divine spirits, hear my plea!"

That was a flash of light so intense that it blinded the girls, crying out in pain they backed away shielding their eyes as best as they could. Once the light finally faded, the girls looked up into Heilang's victorious face.

"Here it is the tri-sword," Heilang snarled, "The final key to the resurrection of the Void!"

He held the blade aloft. All three Angels could feel the primeval energy rolling off the metal in heady waves. The blade of the sword was strange. It wasn't like a normal sword. It was as if three separate pieces of metal had been warped and shaped together, beaten and heated into place. The edges weren't straight but twisted however it was still deadly sharp. Heilang pointed the blade at them.

"I lied," Heilang smirked, "This is not the final key."

"What is?" Meiling demanded.

"You girls are."

The Angels gasped in shock.

"What?"

"You see, if you weren't here I wouldn't be able to free the Void card," Heilang laughed, "Isn't it ironic? See prophecies are tricky things, in order to open the fourth book. The book of Heilang, I need to drain the magic from the other three books. And I won't be able to do that if you three weren't here."

"How?" Sakura whispered.

"How? Easy. Like this," Heilang summoned his magic as dark energy crackled along the tri-sword's blade.

The three girls jumped away as beam of dark energy shot out from the sword but it was useless. The single beam split in three, each veering off in different directions tracking the Angels' every movement. Sakura was first to be hit, the blow throwing her against the wall.

Meiling tried to defend herself, slashing the air with the Clow sword but the blade went straight through the beam as though it was made of air. It struck her in the chest.

Tomoyo fired a beam of her own but the dark beam summoned by Heilang sliced right through hers without a pause, slamming straight into her before she could even blink.

Dark tendrils of power wrapped themselves around the girl, lifting them up into the air as Heilang laughed. More and more energy were poured into the attack as the energy increased forming spheres around the three Angels.

"So mote it be," Heilang whispered lowering his sword.

The crackling energy slowly died away revealing three opaque spheres of darkness, from one globe a beam of pink energy shot out hitting the tri-sword. From another a ruby beam of energy emerged and from the third, a beam of dark blue. Heilang laughed as he raised his sword, all three beams striking its surface. The energy travelled down the blade and into his body as the dark mage harnessed the magic of the chosen tree.

"Cursed darkness bring to me the fourth book. The book of shadows, chaos and death! The book of my namesake! The book of Heilang!" he commanded, his voice guttural with power.

A roaring black vortex opened before him, the energy it expelled distorting the very air itself. Heilang reached inside and pulled a dark object out, raising it up into the air in triumph. With a flick of his wrist, he sealed the portal shut.

Reverently, he placed the book onto the ground.

"With the powers of the earth, the sea, the sky, the elements, the spirits and the dreamland flowing through me, I command thee to open," Heilang whispered, "I who command the power of the earth, command you…"

"OPEN!"

The earth rumbled as the sky roared with fury. All around the world, seaside cities were battered as the sea seethed and raged tossing up massive waves. Lightning and thunder raced across dark skies, hammering the rumbling earth with battering monsoons. Earthquakes shook the very foundations of the world as plants began to wither and die.

Even as rain pounded the earth, raging infernos burst into life racing cross woodlands and fields alike, burning in woods, in forests and in cities. It ravenous mouths devoured all in its paths, the lives it destroyed meaning nothing to it. Hurricane winds battered the weak human structures that stood before it, tearing entire buildings down as it unleashed its wrath.

The whole world was tearing itself apart.

But in the dark spheres that Heilang had entombed them into, all was quiet.

And in the silence, the Angels dreamed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura looked around, she was home.

"What the?" she whispered, "What the hell?"

"DING DONG!"

She jumped in shock looking around wildly trying to make sense of what was going on.

"DING DONG!"

Where was Heilang?

Where was the temple?
Why was she here?

The questions were cut off as the doorbell ran again. Cautiously Sakura moved to the door.

"Who's there?" she called.

"I'm selling cookies!" a feminie voice called back.

Frowning in confusion, Sakura opened the door. A young woman about the same age as her stood there, smiling at her politely.

"Would you like a cookie?" her intense purple eyes drilled into hers.

"No…" Sakura said slowly.

The young woman's grin fell, she raised her hand and ran her long fingers roughly through her short light-blue hair.

"Please?"

Sakura shook her head again.

"Fine," the blue-haired woman huffed, "I'll just go next door and see if Goldilocks wants any. She'll get everything and you'll get nothing."

The woman shuffled off as Sakura stared after her, baffled.

"What is going on?" she wondered closing the door.

"DING DONG!"

The doorbell rang again.

"What the?"

Sakura whirled around and yanked the door open.

"Look, I don't want any cookies."

"Cookies?" Xiaolang looked at her in confusion, "What cookies?"

"Xiaolang?" Sakura was confused, "What are you doing here?"

"Umm… don't you remember?"

"About what?"

"Today's the day."

"What day?" Sakura was confused.

"We're getting married."

"HUH?" Sakura cried, "But… wha.. now.. I… we haven't even dated!"

"But you're all dressed up," Xiaolang told her smiling appreciatively, "And by the way you look beautiful."

Sakura looked down at herself and sure enough she was dressed in a full-blown, white lace wedding dress. There was even a veil hanging over her face.

"What the…" she began.

"Fine," Xiaolang sighed, "If you don't want to go. I'll just get Goldilocks. And she'll get everything."

"Xiaolang… wait!"

But the man was off disappearing down the hallway.

"This is really confusing," Sakura muttered closing the door and turning back to her apartment, "What is going on?"

"You don't know do you?"

Sakura slowly turned to her left.

"MOM?"

Nadeshiko stared at her sadly.

"It's coming Sakura."

"What is?" Sakura asked, "Mom, what is going on?"

"It's coming."

"What's coming?"

"The fall."

"Right…"

She moved towards her mom but someone got there before her.

"Now, why is it that you always hurt the ones you love?" a familiar voice drawled.

Sakura stared into a pair of emerald eyes.

"You."

"Me."

Psuedo-Sakura pulled out a gun and shot at Nadeshiko, the woman crumpled as blood splattered Sakura's wedding dress.

"You're gone."

"I'll always be here."

Dropping the gun, she pointed at Sakura's chest.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling shot up in bed.

"Okay…" she said slowly looking around at her darkened bedroom, "Why am I here?"

She got up out of bed and padded to the door, outside she could hear voices. Still frowning in confusion, she opened the door and stepped out into sunlight.

"Okay, did I install a park in my hallway?" she wondered aloud as she felt green grass brush against her feet.

There was a narrow stone path cutting through the lush grass field leading into a clump of trees, Meiling felt compelled to follow the path so she did so stepping off the grass and onto the rough stone.

Along the path she walked, constantly looking around. Everything seemed normal, bright sunlight, a gentle breeze and happy families all camped out under trees. All of them waved at Meiling as she walked past.

"What's going on here?" she muttered seriously freaked.

The sunlight above dimmed as she walked in the trees. She pushed through the scrub until she came to a clearing. A child's playground had been set up: a slide, swings, monkey bars… but strangest of all was that fact that almost everyone she knew was playing there.

"Hey! It's Meiling!" Tomoyo called as she slid down the slide.

"Hi, Meiling," Sakura was playing on the swings.

"Mommy," Lily ran up to her.

"Hey, Lily," Meiling scooped up the young girl as Tomoyo walked over to her.

Tomoyo reached behind her back and pulled out a bunch of sweet-smelling tiny white flowers.

"These are for you."

"What are these?" Meiling asked smelling their scents.

"Gypsophila paniculata," Tomoyo smiled, "Aren't they pretty?"

"Oh they're so pretty."

"Yeah, but they're so fragile," Tomoyo shrugged, "They die pretty easily."

As if on cue, the white flowers turned brown.

"Whoa," Meiling murmured.

Lily began tugging at her hair.

"Yeah?" Meiling glanced at the small girl, "What's wrong, baby?"

"I've got a secret."

"What secret?"

Lily leaned in to whisper in her mommy's ear.

"Artemis and Freya are coming to play," she murmured, "But Pluto and Hades are coming too. They want to chase the little girl."

"Right," Meiling muttered, "Cryptic clues…. Ooo… my favourite."

Lily leapt down from her arms and ran off with Tomoyo to play in the sandpit but Sakura was already there scraping a hole in the sand.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" Meiling asked looking towards them.

"I'm playing," Sakura said distractedly, the bulk of her attention on the sand.

"Playing what?"

"I'm digging."

"Right… why are you digging?"

"To make sure it's nice and deep, I think it should be six foot deep," Sakura frowned, "I want it to be nice and comfy."

"Right."

"I'm playing also," Tomoyo grinned at her, "But I don't like digging holes. They're dark and scary."

"Since when were you afraid of the dark?" Meiling demanded.

"Sometimes the thing you have to be afraid of is from within."

"Uh huh," Meiling muttered.

Tomoyo and Sakura leapt up.

"I know!" Lily beamed up at her, "Let's play house."

Just then Meiling's hearing caught the sound of thudding.

"What the?" she turned around and just at exactly the same time, a white horse burst from the bushes.

"Daddy's here," Lily cheered.

"Hello," Marcus smiled as he brought the horse to a halt right in front of her, "And where are you going, pretty lady?"

"A horse? Can this get anymore lame?" Meiling wondered.

Marcus leapt down from the horse and strolled over to her. He leaned forwards and kissed her softly on the lips.

"We've kissed," he whispered as he pulled away.

"And now you're married," Sakura began crying.

"It's so pretty," Tomoyo whipped a camera out of nowhere and snapped a shot.

Meiling stared at all of them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo awoke with a start.

"Wake up!" a voice snarled.

Tomoyo jumped as ruler slammed down near her head, confused and dazed Tomoyo looked around. She was sitting in what appeared to be classroom, all around her sat people she knew: Meiling, Sakura, Kiyone, Xiaolang, Marcus, Fujitaka…

She realised that someone was standing over her.

She looked up.

"Are you awake now?" Nivaline demanded.

Tomoyo was confused but she slowly nodded. Nivaline gave her a warm smile.

"Good," Nivaline bounded up to the front of the class and pointed to a blackboard sitting on the wall.

"Can you tell me what this says? Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo looked at the blackboard and realised that there was something written there in thick white chalk.

"Forty-five?" she said slowly.

The class began laughing, Nivaline glared at them.

"HUSH!"

The class fell silent.

"No, Tomoyo, it's four and five. Repeat after me… four and five."

"Four and five," Tomoyo repeated.

"Very good," Nivaline smiled at her, "I'd like to give you a gold star but you can't since you're so naughty inside."

Now Tomoyo was more than confused.

"Okay, class. What does the four mean."

Sakura raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"It's the reason."

"Very good," Nivaline cooed, "Yes, four is the reason."

"For what?" Tomoyo asked.

"Raise your hand, first. Disruptive students are bad students."
Tomoyo raised her hand.

"Yes, Tomoyo?"

"Four is the reason for what?"

Nivaline smiled at her.

"It's the reason for the return, silly," Nivaline teased, "It's also the reason why it's wiped clean."

"Right…"

Nivaline turned back to the class.

"Now… what does the five mean?"

"It's the reason," Fujitaka replied.

"Right."

Tomoyo raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"For what?"

Nivaline laughed.

"Tomoyo, you're being forgetful today," Nivaline shook her head, "Five is the reason for everything."

"Huh," Tomoyo nodded as if she understood.

Nivaline smiled at her before turning away from the blackboard and grabbed a book from a nearby shelf.

"Okay, does anybody know the title to this book?" she asked.

Kiyone raised her hand.

"Goldilocks and the three bears?"

"Right."

"But miss!" Marcus called, "The title's wrong."

Nivaline smiled.

"Very good, Marcus. It is wrong," she moved over to the man, "You get a golden star!"

"No fair!" Kiyone whined, "I answered a question as well."

"You're right. In fact everyone gets a gold star except for Tomoyo," Nivaline shot a glance at her, "Because she's so naughty on the inside."

"What?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The black book rose into the air as Heilang pointed the tri-sword at it. A beam of black, pink, red and blue energy struck the cover as the dark mage concentrated.

The three Angels were still trapped in the dark spheres, feeding him their magical energy as Heilang manipulated them for his own dark purposes.

"I command you as the true son of the dark master that created you to open!" Heilang bellowed, the beam of light intensifying, "With the darkness in my veins and heart, I command thee open!"

Foul black smoke began to fill the chamber.

"I command you!" Heilang cried, "Darkness commands you! OPEN!"

The book blazed with light as Heilang laughed in victory.

"Finally, it is mine! My destiny!"

Slowly, inch-by-inch the cover of the book creaked open. Dark light began spilling out as Heilang reached out with his hand.

"Finally, you are mine."

He reached inside the book and ripped something free from its pages.

"You are mine," Heilang whispered staring reverently into the dark object he held in his hands, "Void card."

The world began to weep.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nadeshiko stumbled to her knees as the Limbo quaked again, the screams of demons and the soprano cries of Heaven booming in the air around them.

"All hope is lost," Nadeshiko whispered, "It's too late."

"No, it's not," Mini-Meiling grinned.

The woman stared at her.

"But the Angels… my daughter… they are trapped! How can they fight him when they're trapped?"

Mini-Meiling continued to beam at her.

"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," she remarked lightly, "Watch."

Nadeshiko frowned in confusion as Mini-Meiling began to glow with divine light.

"It has truly begun."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fujitaka glanced out his window as fat raindrops pounded down onto the roof.

"Hmm… what's with the crazy weather?" the man remarked stepping away.

He turned on the T.V. and was instantly assaulted with instant bulletins informing him of all the disasters occurring around the world:

Floods in Asia…

Firestorms in Europe…

Earthquakes in America…

Hurricanes in Australia…

And strangest of all, blizzards in Africa.

"Maybe we should've listened about all those greenhouse gas emission warnings," Fujitaka whispered horrified at the extent of the damage some of those regions had suffered.

He looked out the window again and wondered if he should call his daughter, to find out if she was all right. Making a quick decision, he moved over to the phone.

But he never got there.

A horrendous pain filled his chest as he fell to his knees. Fujitaka began coughing violently, migraines assaulting his head. Finally the pain just got too much to bear and he passed out, slumped across the cold floorboards.

His body lay still there for several seconds before his mouth opened just the tiniest of fractions and a puff of white mist escaped. The ethereal wisp lingered here and there before gathering itself into a tiny ball. It began glowing, the light growing in strength until it disappeared in a flash of white light.

Its destination?

Laos.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol felt pain shoot up his battered body, gasping in pain; he scrabbled against the rough wall for purchase. He had taken Tomoyo's advice: he was trying to leave this temple as quick as possible however his duel with the Angel had left him severely weakened.

As pain roared through his body, Eriol moaned clutching his head. Every single nerve in his body felt like they were on fire.

With a final whimper of pain, Eriol collapsed onto the ground. His mouth opened and a wisp of white smoke emerged, it twisted and turned in the air before it froze. Suddenly it streaked down the dark hallway heading towards the direction Eriol had come from.

Suddenly another wisp of smoke appeared before it in a flash of white light, the two puffs slammed into each other twining themselves together before hurrying off down the dark passageway as one wisp.

White light began pulsing along its ethereal surface as it burst into the chamber where Heilang stood triumphant. It saw the scene spread out before it with invisible eyes and made a conscious decision.

White light blazed as it began fulfilling its purpose.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura glared at her doppelganger.

"You are not me," she snarled slowly.

"Is that so?" Psuedo-Sakura smiled, "Silly girl, soon you'll learn."

She spun around.

"Talking about learning. I think it's time."

"For what?"

Psuedo-Sakura shot her a playful look.

"Magic."

She disappeared, fading away into thin air as someone stepped out from her bedroom.

"What the… Yue?" Sakura stammered in confusion.

The guardian gave her a little bow. His usual outfit of white and blue was gone replaced by a neat tuxedo complete with a red bowtie and cummerbund. He pulled off his top hat and presented it to her, pointing at its internals.

Sakura peered inside.

It was empty.

Yue spun it around in his hand before placing it on a nearby coffee table and reached inside. His arm instantly came back up, his hand holding something tightly. Yue showed it to her.

"A cobra."

The guardian nodded, his hand disappearing back into the hat. He pulled something else up.

Sakura stared at what Yue was holding: an ivory mask, designed to fit over the whole face.

"A mask?"

Yue nodded again.

"It's very Russian," a voice said from behind her.

Sakura jumped and whirled around.

"Chelsea?" she gasped.

The young woman nodded before pointing at Yue.

"Watch. Learn."

Sakura turned to look. Yue was already in the process of pulling another object out. He palmed it in his hands and showed it to her.

It was a piece of charcoal.

"Charcoal?"

"It's very black," Chelsea murmured, "Full of hatred and despair."

Yue snapped his fingers and the charcoal burst into flames. Sakura's emerald eyes gazed into the small red fire and a sudden urge came over her to touch it. She reached out with her hands.

"Don't touch it," Chelsea whispered.

Sakura looked at her.

"You've been burnt before."

Sakura glanced at her hands, they were blistered and some of the skin was peeling but she felt no pain.

"What is it?"

"Fire… warmth… heat… energy… hatred… revenge," Chelsea looked at Sakura, "You've been touched by revenge before haven't you?"

Sakura remained silent remembering her battle with Alicia and Lara.

"Yeah."

"Funny thing about revenge. It never goes out," Chelsea whispered, "It burns and burns and burns but it never dies. It never goes out."

Sakura whirled around as Yue threw the burning charcoal at her. She screamed in pain as fire brushed her skin, flames devoured her body as she thrashed wildly trying to put it out.

"It burns and burns and burns," Chelsea repeated.

And the flames never went out.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"What?" Meiling stared at them, "I'm not married… I mean we've only just dated a couple times."

"Really?" Tomoyo cocked her head to the side, "I could've sworn there was more."

"Okay, there was more but marriage?'

She found herself talking to stone. Her friends, Lily and Marcus turned to stone right in front of her eyes. She stared at the statues now standing before her, now understanding what was going on.

A harsh wind blew through the trees and the statues crumbled, stone powdering into dust that was swept away off into the blue, blue sky.

"Come back!" Meiling screamed, "What the hell is going on?"

"Sometimes, all it takes is a mistake."

Meiling whirled around and glared at the speaker.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Oh, you've never met me. I'm Nadeshiko Kinomoto."

"Sakura's mother?"

"That I am."

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, this?" Nadeshiko gestured at herself, "I'm not this. This is merely a guise."

"Right… okay what are you doing wearing that guise and being here?"

"I've come to warn you."

"About what?"

"Mistakes."

"What mistakes?"

Nadeshiko moved towards her.

"Sometimes even with the best intentions mistakes happen. Sometimes they're small… sometime they're not."

"I got this memo in kindergarten so if you want to rehash old stuff please leave," Meiling snapped, not amused.

Nadeshiko merely smiled at her.

"But what happens if you make a mistake? A big one? A one that changes everything?"

"What kind of mistake?"

Nadeshiko ignored her as she walked over to a clump of bush and held out her hands. Something crawled out from the foliage and settled onto her palm, Meiling stared at the creature.
It was chameleon.

Even as she looked on, the lizard's skin began changing colours.

Red.

Blue.

White.

Yellow.

Silver.

Gold.

Black.

"Change," Nadeshiko whispered, "Can be brought on by many things. Fate. Mistakes. Accidents."

Meiling glanced around her and to her shock she saw the trees were morphing, changing shape into something else. Right in front of her eyes, a clump of bush turned into a small bear that ambled off into the shifting forest.

"Change is peculiar," Nadeshiko continued staring at the chameleon in her hands, "It can be for the better or for the worse. Something that can seem bad maybe good whilst something that seems good can be bad. Curious, is it not?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because change is coming. Minor ones at first then the big one. The storm," Nadeshiko placed the chameleon back into its bush, "It's happening rather quickly."

"When?"

Nadeshiko smiled mysteriously at her.

"Two by two."

"Huh?"

The woman suddenly frowned.

"Oh, dear it's changing."

"What?"

"The ground."

Meiling looked down and realised that the solid earth beneath her had turned into a shifting quicksand. With a cry, she tried to free herself but the hungry mud just sucked her in further.

"A single mistake," Nadeshiko looked at Meiling as she sunk up to her neck, "Don't make it. It will hurt everyone."

She sighed.

"But do it because it will be for the better."

With that Meiling's head sunk beneath the mud and everything went black.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Back in the real world, trapped within the dark spheres Meiling and Sakura's body began thrashing wildly as they died in their dreams.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Don't pretend you don't know," Nivaline smiled, "You're naughty and bad."

"Huh?" Tomoyo was confused, "Me?"

"Oh dear, miss," Meiling called out, "I don't think she knows."

"Hush, stop interrupting," Nivaline frowned at the girl before turning back to Tomoyo.

"Don't you know?" she asked.

"Know what?"

"About yourself."

Tomoyo was confused again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Don't use that tone with me!" Nivaline snapped.

Tomoyo sighed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked sweetly.

Nivaline nodded.

"Do you know who you are?"

"I'm Tomoyo."

"And?"

"I'm a female?" Tomoyo was not sure what Nivaline wanted for an answer.

"No, not that."

"I'm an Angel?"

"Really?"

Tomoyo frowned up at her.

"Why do you question that?"

"Are you sure of your answer."

"Yes."

"Really?"

"YES!"

"Oh dear, you really don't know," Nivaline sighed.

"Care to inform me?"

"It's not always about the outside," Nivaline pointed out the window.

Tomoyo glanced outside at the perfect blue sky. Nivaline knelt down and touched Tomoyo in the chest.

"Sometimes the danger is from within."

"What's within?"

The scenery outside darkened as heavy storm clouds raced across the sky.

"Come," Nivaline dragged her up, ignoring her previous comment, "Let me show you."

They raced down the classroom heading down towards the back of the room. Tomoyo frowned as she saw a fish tank lying on a nearby table. A big black fish was zipping across the surface, swimming around frantically with wide open eyes.

"What's wrong with the fish?" Tomoyo wondered.

Nivaline glanced at what she was looking at.

"Oh that?" she smiled, "It's just trying to get out. Here."

She handed Tomoyo a mirror.

"Look inside, tell me what you see."

Tomoyo grabbed the mirror.

"Just be warned, you might not like what you see," Nivaline said suddenly.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"I've got a zit?"

"It's not always about the outside."

Tomoyo peered into the mirror and saw…

Darkness.

Rage.

Fury.

Lust.

With a cry, she dropped the mirror. It hit the ground and shattered, glass flying everywhere.

Nivaline put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. You'll have some fun first," Nivaline murmured, beaming at her.

Tomoyo looked up at her, suddenly she felt cold fingers wrap itself around her neck.

"Oh dear," Nivaline sighed, "It's gotten out."

Tomoyo fell forwards as the cold fingers began choking the life out of her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The three Angels thrashed in their imprisoning spheres as their dream selves died. Their pain was felt keenly by Heilang as their energy continued to be drained into the dark mage, the man laughed in ecstasy as he felt each girl weaken.

"I've got the card and the Angels," Heilang crowed, "Boy, am I feeling happy!"

The mysterious mist blazed with light as Heilang noticed it for the first time.

"What the?" he growled at the mist, "What the hell is that?"

The mist began changing, its shape stretching as it formed a rough human silhouette. White light filled in the shape as Heilang narrowed his eyes and pointed the tri-sword at it. He unleashed his magic, fully expecting his power to rip through the mist however to his shock the crackling energy fizzled out as it hit an invisible barrier.

"What the?" the dark mage roared in fury, "What are you?"

The light disappeared revealing the figure's face. Heilang's eyes widened in shock

"Clow Reed!"

The semi-transparent figure smiled softly. Heilang was right in one aspect, it looked like Clow Reed but it was not him. It was a mere spectre of the mage, a leftover shadow from an ancient time with only one purpose in mind.

Clow Reed's spectre raised his hands as streams of white fire lashed out at the dark spheres imprisoning the Angels. Heilang's eyes widened in shock as he felt the constant drain of their energy first flicker then vanish altogether.

"NO!" he blasted the ethereal figure again but his attack struck an invisible barrier that absorbed the force of the blow.

The white fire streaming from the spectre's hand struck the dark spheres with deadly force, tearing into the darkness with pure white light. The Angels were freed from the dark magic, the white fire streaming around them bringing them back to consciousness.

Sakura blinked.

"What the?"

She saw Clow Reed's spectre and gasped in shock.

"Clow Reed?"

The spirit nodded, smiling mysteriously. The fire gently lowered the Angels to the ground.

"HOW?" Heilang roared.

Sakura's eyes widened as she realised something.

"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," she whispered.

She stared up at the Clow Reed's spirit.

"You are the one."

The phantom nodded as the other two Angels came to.

"Whoa, what's with the Casper?" Meiling gasped.

"It's Clow Reed… or a ghost version of him… he freed us from those wacky dreams…" Sakura frowned, "Did you have them?"

"Oh yeah," Meiling muttered, "Freaky as well."

Tomoyo nodded in agreement. Clow Reed's phantom smiled at them before vanishing in a flash of white light. Heilang roared with fury.

"Damn you, Clow Reed!" he snarled.

"That's ironic. You arch-nemesis who's been dead for a couple centuries comes back to thwart your plans… how do you feel?" Tomoyo taunted.

Heilang glared at them.

"You'll wish he never helped you."

"Oh and why's that?" Meiling demanded.

"Because of this," Heilang held up the Void card.

The Angels eyes widened in shock.

"VOID CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline awoke with a start.

Where was she?

Slowly she sat up in bed, every single part of her body throbbing with pain. She looked to the side and noticed the medical equipment she was hooked up to.

"Hospital," she sighed, "God, I hate this."

She glanced to her right and noticed there was a window. Through it she could see the dark sky outside as it flashed with lightning, heavy rain pelted the glass as Nivaline froze.

She looked around wildly until she noticed there was a bed next to her. An old woman laid there, hooked up to what seemed like a whole pantheon of machines. On her beside table there was a colourful vase containing a bunch of bright flowers that practically glowed in the dim light. As Nivaline watched on, the brilliant petals began to brown and curls up as the stems drooped.

She realised what was going on.

"Oh god."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A ghostly young girl with sad blue-purple eyes burst from the card. Her long grey-brown tresses fell to the ground as the two wings adorning her hand flapped frantically.

"Void card! Be one with me!" Heilang cried.

The dark spirit whirled around and seemed to fly into the dark mage, the man's eyes turned pure black with power as energy crackled along his body. The girls gasped as an oversized spectre of the Void card appeared over the man, her faint outline superimposed over his thrashing body.

"Die," Heilang snarled, his voice not even human.

He slashed the air with the tri-sword unleashing a wave of dark energy that struck the girls hard. They flew across the room, hitting the walls with devastating force. Sakura was the first to crawl onto her feet.

"SHIELD CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A dome of blue protective energy sealed over the tree girls as Heilang laughed and slashed the air again.

The Shield card stood no chance as the dark energy sliced straight through the barrier and struck the girls again.

"He's too strong," Sakura moaned as she crawled to her feet again.

"Screw the defensive, let's hit him!" Meiling snarled, "FIERY! WATERY! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A roaring inferno and a surging tsunami sprung forwards crashing into Heilang, the man dispersed the two elements with a flick of his wrist. A blast of black energy sent both spirits back into their card forms.

"Oh man," Meiling groaned.

"Wait," Tomoyo summoned her cards, "SLEEP CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

Heilang laughed and destroyed the spirit before it could even move.

"Not good, not good," Tomoyo muttered.

He sent another blast of dark energy at them, the spectral Void spirit above him frowning in concentration. The three Angels leapt out of the way as the beam crashed into the wall punching right through the solid stone as if it was made of air.

"What's the new plan?" Tomoyo yelled.

"RUN!" Sakura screamed as Heilang attacked them again.

The dark energy tore another hole in way as all three girls summoned defensive cards.

"DASH CARD! GRANT YOUR SPEED UNTO ME! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

"WINDY! TAKE ME UP INTO THE AIR! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

"ILLUSION! SILENCE! HIDE ME FROM SIGHT AND HEARING! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

Heilang laughed at the girl's pitiful attempts.

"That's not going to help you," he crowed as he fired a blast of Sakura.

Thanks to the magical speed-enhancement of the Dash card, she was able to dodge the blast but it was still a close call.

Heilang blasted up at the ceiling where Meiling was sailing around on a stream of cold wind. The Windy dived down taking its mistress with it as the energy punched through the roof disintegrating stone on impact.

"FREEZE CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A beam of cold energy struck Heilang but the mage easily overpowered it with a blast of darkness. He unleashed his full force on the Freeze card, easily forcing it back into its cards.

"Is that all you've got?" Heilang laughed, "Why don't you Angels just lie down and I'll make it quick!"

"THUNDER CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A bolt of lightning struck Heilang in the chest but it barely phased him. He struck the card with a blast of dark magic destroying it in one blow. Sakura gulped as he turned his black eyes on her.

"DIE!"

"JUMP CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

Sakura leapt up high into the air as the energy beam destroyed one of the pillars. A huge hunk of ceiling collapsed as its support disintegrated.

"STAND STILL!" Heilang roared, "Just die, you god damn bit…"

He gasped in pain as an arrow slammed into his shoulder. Sakura and Meiling stared at the wound.

"Tomoyo," Sakura whispered.

Heilang ripped the bolt free and threw it onto the ground, stomping on it viciously.

"Oh so one of you is hiding, how cute," he drawled, "It's not going to help you!"

He began to fire randomly all over the chamber, searing beams striking the walls and ground recklessly. Sakura leapt away as a beam struck the ground where she had just been standing seconds ago. The American Angel rolled away before jumping up as Heilang turned his attention to her. His lips curled up into an unpleasant beam as he began firing at her.

"WAH!"

Sakura was hit with a concussive wave as a blast of energy sailed past striking the ground. She was shoved violently away as Heilang whirled around her, sword held at the ready.

"Dodge this," he snapped sending a blast towards her.

Out of nowhere, a flash of green-yellow light struck the beam stopping it in its track.

Sakura gaped at the frozen energy as she leapt away.

"How?"

"Angel…" Heilang called out in a singsong voice, a wicked smile on his face, "Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

The green-yellow light disappeared as the energy slammed into the wall missing Sakura by a mile.

"Little girl wants to play hide and seek?" Heilang barked, "Fine, she can hide and I'll seek her out and tear her apart."

He raised his hand as a ball of dark energy gathered in his palm. He threw it on the ground in front of him. The energy surged and whipped itself around forming a roaring vortex, Heilang barked out a word and something burst free from the portal.

Sakura gulped at the monster.

It was big and bulky and vaguely resembled a black pit-bull. Spines grew along a ridge on its back, sharp horns jutting out from its squat head and haunches. Its paws were clawed and its fangs were massively oversized for its small jaw. The black creature sniffed the air wetly before bounding over towards what seemed to be an empty corner.

"TOMOYO!" Meiling cried, "WAVE CARD! STOP THAT THING! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A wave of water appeared from nowhere slapping the black beast away. Heilang glared up at the flying Angel.

"Back off!" he snarled, "Jeez, do I ruin your fun?"

He gestured his hands towards a rough pile of debris and smirked up at the Angel.

"Wanna play slap?" he taunted.

Meiling watched as the dark energy whirled around the broken stones. Chunks fused together forming squat fingers as others joined to form a rough palm. Meiling gulped as more rubble flew towards the energy. The rocky hands grew and grew until they could easily wrap their fingers around her waist, she watched in horror as the two hands flexed their fingers experimentally.

"Oh man."

Heilang laughed as his two creations flew up at the ceiling towards Meiling, fingers outstretched ready to grab the Angel.

The dark dog beast had gathered itself again, bounding towards another empty patch of ground. A blast of pale energy betrayed Tomoyo's location as she blew the demon back.

Heilang turned on her instantly, powering his sword up again but Sakura struck first.

"SNOW CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!"

A blizzard of ice and wind struck Heilang staggering the man but he quickly recovered slicing through the howling wind with his sword before blasting the Snow spirit back into its card. He glared at Sakura.

"Awww… poor little Angel feeling left out?" he cooed, "Don't worry, I'll make you a whole new playmate."

He threw a ball of black light at Sakura. It hit the ground and exploded, disgorging a new creature out as the ball collapsed.

Sakura stared into the monster's blood red eyes. Its face was horrifically disfigured, a demonic countenance sitting on a seemingly frail body covered with black strips. It raised its taloned hands and hissed at her, revealing long yellow fangs.

"That thing is a demon," Heilang smirked, "It's ancient but don't worry it doesn't show its age. It's been waiting for centuries for a moment like this so it's a little… shall we say… ravenous?"

A truly evil smile appeared across his face.

"I'm sure you two will make good friends."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock as the demon pounded its chest before charging at her. He leapt at her sailing through sunlight before landing right in front of her and punching her in the stomach.

She sailed away hitting a wall.

Heilang laughed at the sight and turned back to his black beast only to find out that it was fast asleep knocked out by the Sleep card.

"WAKE UP!" he roared lashing the monster with a blast of dark magic.

The beast instantly leapt up roaring viciously as it sniffed the air again, it was off darting off towards wherever Tomoyo was. Up in the air above, Meiling had tried restraining the two stone hands with her Wood card but found to her horror that they were incredibly strong tearing the vines away as if they were made of paper.

She tried again, binding the hands tight in a mass of vines but once again they just tore through the woody barrage.

Meiling gritted her teeth and wondered what to do next.

"Windy duck!" she yelled as the hands flew towards her.

The Windy dived down as the hands sailed past overhead. They crashed into the domed ceiling, punching two immense holes into the rock.

Meiling's eyes widened as she realised what card she should use.

"Of course! Earth card! Destroy those hands! Release and dispel!"

A burst of green light struck the hands as they began shaking violently. The dark magic binding the stones together began to give way as Meiling cheered in victory.

"Alright!"

Heilang looked up and growled in fury as he saw his stone hands were being destroyed.

"CHANGE!" he commanded blasting the quaking hands with black magic.

The stone instantly exploded into flames as Meiling urged to the Windy to sail away. Fire consumed the hands before twisting together, changing into a new shape. Fiery wings spread out wide as a small narrow head formed, two white slits served as eyes as this new creature opened its tiny beak and gave a fierce cry of rage.

"A phoenix," Meiling whimpered, "Oh man."

The fiery bird dove at her as the Windy dodged, Meiling could feel intense heat sear her skin as it blew past.

"WATERY! RELEASE AND DISPEL!" she cried.

A gush of water struck the bird driving it back but the phoenix merely flapped its wings generating a gust of searing hot air that evaporated the water with shocking ease. It opened its fiery beak and blasted the Watery card with a jet of flames, the sprite screamed in pain as fire seared its watery body. Meiling hurriedly returned the card before retreating, watching the fiery avian warily.

Hidden by the Silence and the Illusion card, Tomoyo dashed around the room hurriedly as the black dog-beast Heilang had summoned continued to track her, barking ferociously as he caught her scent. Tomoyo frowned as she ran, what she needed was to cover up her scent.

But how?
"Erase card," she whispered, "Erase my scent! Release and dispel!"

The spectral jester appeared in front of her as the Illusion card expanded to hide the spirit as well, the Erase swept his cloak over Tomoyo before disappearing again. The black beast immediately stopped and began sniffing the air slowly. A look of confusion came over its compacted face as its head moved slowly from side to side trying to track down the Angel.

Heilang growled in fury as he realised that his black beast was now useless.

"Argh!" he snarled in frustration as he pointed at the confused beast.

With a shout of fury, he destroyed the beast with a wave of his hands. Tomoyo smirked victoriously as she watched on.

But a cry of pain drew her attention. She glanced at Sakura and realised her friend needed help, bad.

The ancient demon Heilang had summoned had grabbed the Angel in chokehold, slamming her against the wall with vicious glee. Sakura swung her Star wand around weakly clobbering the monster in its bald disfigured head but doing nothing to weaken its hold on her.

Tomoyo swung her mirror around and fired. Heilang saw the beam seemingly emerge from thin air and instantly locked on her position.

The mirror's energy struck the demon's arm as it roared in pain dropping Sakura to the ground, weakly the Angel crawled to her knees clubbing the monster in the stomach before jumping up and punching it in the face. It stumbled backwards as Sakura raised her Star wand.

Heilang unleashed a burst of energy at Tomoyo. The Japanese Angel jumped away as the attack disintegrated another column.

Up in the air, Meiling gave a cry of surprise as a section of ceiling bereft of support began to collapse. An avalanche of debris smacked into her as she fell off the Windy card, plummeting through the air before hitting the ground painfully with a low moan. The phoenix immediately destroyed the Clow spirit with a blast of fire before whirling on the hapless Angel.

"NO!" Tomoyo summoned the Arrow card to her again and fired an arrow at the phoenix.

The silver arrow struck the phoenix's fiery body as it gave a shriek of pain. Sakura tried to unleash her own attack but was tackled away by the deformed demon. They hit the ground in a tangle of limbs, rolling away as Tomoyo attacked the phoenix again. This time the arrow embedded itself into the phoenix's eye, with a final desperate cry the bird exploded showering the room with flames. Sakura gasped in surprise as a spark of fire struck the demon as it raised its taloned hands to strike the final blow, it instantly went up in flames as Sakura raised the Star wand again.

"THUNDER CARD! RELEASE AND DISPEL!" she cried swinging the wand at the burning monster.

A bolt of lightning jumped from the tip of the wand to the demon, fire and lightning surged through the monster as it fell to its knees thrashing wildly. With a final cry, the demon exploded, burning chunks of flesh hitting the walls.

In the stunned silence that followed, Meiling crawled to her feet slowly as Tomoyo dissolved her Clow cards revealing herself. The three Angels hurried towards each other silently before whirling around as one facing off against the dark mage as Heilang smiled at them.

He began clapping.

"Very good, girls. Using my own monsters to destroy each other," he wiped away a fake tear, "Just perfect."

His eyes hardened.

"Try this on for size," he raised the tri-sword as energy pulsed along the blade, "Strike!"

The three Angels leapt away as a intense crackling stream of black energy burst forwards, Heilang merely tracked their movements slashing out with his sword as the stream of energy whipped around.

It struck Meiling first flinging her away before clipping Sakura, the Angel spinning around from the force of the attack. Tomoyo was the last to go, the energy crashing into her side as she tried to flip away.

Heilang laughed as all three Angels hit the ground with a gentle thump.

They lay there, deathly still.

"I shall look upon my enemy," Heilang whispered as the energy crackling along the tri-sword dissipated.

The air shivered with power.

"I shall look upon my enemy and my terrible gaze shall send them… TO THE DARK PLACE!"

His eyes flashed with light as the girls' bodies were struck by an invisible force flinging them against the wall. Heilang laughed as the Angels fell to the ground, their eyes snapping open simultaneously revealing glazed pupils.

"So mote it be."

And the earth began to die.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline jumped as the window shattered, rain instantly pelting in with vengeful force. Outside lightning crashed drown from the skies and even as she watched on in horror, one stray bolt struck a nearby building.

It instantly went up in flames, devouring red shooting up the building seemingly unaffected by the storm that raged around it.

Dark magic surged through the air as Nivaline grasped her chest in pain, the increased power thrumming around her making it hard for her to breath.

"Angels…" she managed to choke out.

The ex-Angel collapsed back into her bed as the fire raging outside leapt to the next row of buildings.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nadeshiko gasped in horror.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Mini-Meiling frowned.

"The black wolf sent them to the bad place," the little girl said sadly.

"The bad place?"

"The place of shadows and darkness."

"How do we get them out?"

"We can't," Mini-Meiling sighed, "It is up to them."

Suddenly she began smiling.

"Umm… why are you smiling?" Nadeshiko asked worriedly.

"Because I'm going to help them."

"How?"

Mini-Meiling began glowing, Nadeshiko watched on in fascination as the girl began changing. The light faded away revealing a new figure, Nadeshiko backed away in shock as a mirror image of herself appeared before her.

"I'm going to talk to them," Nadeshiko's copy said calmly.

The face changed again into someone Nadeshiko had never seen before.

"Make them realise that they have to look within," the woman said calmly.

She changed back into Mini-Meiling.

"What's within?" Nadeshiko asked still unnerved from the sight of the little girl shape-shifting into her face.

"The power," Mini-Meiling grinned, "Sorry, Mommy Nadeshiko, I've got to go."

"What are you?" Nadeshiko whispered, "Are you god?"

"Nope," Mini-Meiling shook her head, "I'm just a little girl."

She gave the woman another cheeky grin before disappearing in a flash of white light. Nadeshiko stared at the spot where she had been staring.

"A little girl…" she repeated, "Who can shape-shift at will and teleport."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Right, I believe you."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling felt darkness and shadows assault her body, tearing through her like fire. She was lost, tumbling down a dark tunnel for what seemed like eternity.

Everything was so cold…

Where was she?

It was too cold…

Couldn't think…

Couldn't move…

Couldn't breath…

Meiling closed her eyes and gave in.

She gave up to the darkness.

Suddenly warmth spread through her body.

A soft voice whispered in her mind.

It sounded familiar…

Mini-Meiling…

'You must not give up, older me. You must not give up or the black wolf wins. Look inside, the power lies within. The power to destroy the black wolf. You are the world's shiny hope, give up and the world goes with you. Look, older me. Find it.'

Meiling frowned.

Power?

What power?

Then she felt it. Her mind brushed against something, something strong, ancient… primeval.

It was the pulse of the ocean as it battered the land with waves and tides.

It was the nurturing flame giving life and warmth.

It was the roaring inferno that destroyed everything in its path.

It was the spark of life in dormant seeds before it burst into life.

It was the movement of the lands as they grinded and shook.

It was the earth.

It was life.

The power surged through her, waking something deep within her that stirred and moved. She could felt her heart beating, beating in perfect synchronisation to the pulse of the earth.

Meiling tried to take it all in, tried to understand but it was beyond her. Something beyond her own mortal body.

Something…

Her eyes snapped open and she was back.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura was drowning in a sea of shadows. It flooded her lungs, choking her with vileness and hatred.

She tried to swim but her limbs were dragged down, grasped by syrupy fingers that refused to submit.

She was dragged down deeper and deeper, sinking into the darkness.

Her breathing slowed.

Her heart slowed.

Her mind slowed.

Everything was slowing down… shutting down.

Sakura closed her eyes and let herself go.

Let herself die.

'No.'

"Mom?" she whispered.

'Listen… listen…you must try. Try to stop this. Find it in yourself. You are part of it as it is a part of you… and then and only then can you stop what is to come.'

"Find what?"

'The power.'

Sakura gasped as power surged through her body. Her heart began to beat again, picking up speed with every passing second. But it was more than that… more than her… something beyond herself. Something…

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

That was the sound of rain beating down on the earth.

Her breathing quickened as well.

Shhh…

Shh…

Shh…

That was the sound of the wind whistling through the azure sky.

Tears fell down her cheeks but they were more than that.

They were the morning dew settling on green grass.

Sakura began to weep as she felt the power grow within her. The power of the skies: the roar of thunder, the cold death of ice and snow, the pure joy of sunlight… it was all there.

And it was all within her.

The shadows bled away as Sakura flung out her arms and let the power blaze from her body.

She had been human.

But now she was something more.

With a single breath, she breathed in all the powers of the majestic sky and she was alive again.

She opened her eyes and smiled.

Heilang was going down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo walked alone in a land of darkness. She had been walking forever yet she remained still, forever in the same place.

Forever in the shadows.

There was no sense of time.

No sense of direction.

She was lost, stumbling along, fumbling away in the dark. She tripped over something and stumbled awkwardly to her knees, she tried to get up but fatigue roared through her limbs. She fell forwards, hitting the ground hard.

She was so tired…

She wanted nothing more than to just close her eyes and give in.

Give in to sleep.

Give in to death.

'Tomoyo…'

A gentle hand touched her cheek.

'Tomoyo…'

Tomoyo looked up.

"Mother?"

'Tomoyo, when all is dark know that within you burns the eternal flame. This flame will guide you to the light and destroy the shadows once and for all.'

"What flame?"

'The flame of past, the present and the future. It is the fire that burns in all man's heart. The fire from which we are born and the fire in which we'll return to once we died. The eternal flame.'

"I don't unde…"

'Shh… don't speak. Close your eyes. Look. Feel. Find.'

Tomoyo closed her eyes and did as her mother bid, searching within herself.

"There is nothing here," she said weakly, "Nothing… there is no fla…"

She gasped.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god."

In her mind's eyes a roaring inferno burned, the red flames leaping up into the sky and beyond.

But she knew it was not fire.

It was something more than that.

It was the hopes and desires that dreams weave.

It was death in all its majestic fury.

It was life, maternal and nurturing.

It was passion.

Hope.

Love.

Life.

It was life.

The eternal flame, that so easily gave and took.

Tomoyo Daidouji, wielder of the Clow mirror, holder of the third book, the book of Yue Gong Jian Shou, she who commanded the cards of the spirit and dream realm was now something even more.

She no longer commanded the spirits.

She was one with the spirits.

She saw life and death and knew that those were not absolute beginnings and ends but a cycle. All who entered the fire was reborn and made anew. And now she passed through this great fire, this burning symbols of life and death itself and in a blaze it destroyed who she once was.

And she was made whole.

Fire surged through her body destroying the shadow lands around. She stood up, tall, proud and strong.

Tomoyo opened her eyes.

She was alive.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Heilang gasped in shock as the three Angels stood up, power blazing from their bodies.

"How?" he gasped, "How did you… the shadow land…"

"I am the earth," Meiling said calmly, her voice strong and powerful.

"I am the sky," Sakura whispered.

"I am life and death," Tomoyo said dreamily.

They all looked at Heilang and their eyes seemed not to look at him but through him. Piercing through flesh and right into his corrupted soul.

"But you were supposed to be… trapped… forever," Heilang stumbled backwards as light continued to shine from the three Angels, "You were defeated."

"We are forever," the three said as one, "We are the light that chases the shadows. We are the hope that defeats despair. We are the solace in times of sorrow. We are everywhere, in the hearts of the people. You cannot hope to defeat us."

Meiling suddenly grinned at him, a vicious look coming into her eyes.

"And we are the ones that are going to kick you ass," she smirked, her voice reverting back to normal.

Heilang's eyes widened in shock.

"NO!" he pointed the tri-sword at them firing a blast of energy.

Sakura raised her hand.

"Shield," she whispered.

A bright wall of shimmering blue light burst into existence, the energy crashed into the barrier and fizzled out.

"How?" Heilang gasped.

"You underestimated us," Tomoyo smirked, "And now you're going to pay for that mistakes, interest and all."

"NO!" Heilang raged, "THIS CAN'T BE!"

He charged at the girls swinging the tri-sword around. The spectral outline of the Void card, superimposed over his body, shifted with his movements. Meiling raised her Clow sword.

"Sword card," she whispered.

The Clow sword glowed with power as Meiling stepped forward.

"CLANG!"

She easily parried Heilang's wide swing, sparks of dark energy flew as the Clow sword hammered into the crackling tri-sword blade. Heilang swung at her again but Meiling deflected the blow, trapping his blade before punching him in the face. She whirled around, kicking him in the chest before jumping forwards and slashing his arm.

The dark mage howled in pain as the blade ripped a bloody gash across his skin.

"NO!" he roared.

He pointed at Meiling and battered her with a blast of dark energy. The Asian Angel stumbled backwards.

Sakura raised her hand.

"Shield," she commanded.

This time instead of a wall of blue energy appearing, a metal shield appeared. It looked exactly the same as the one depicted in the card's picture, a gold and white shield shaped like an elegant wing with a glowing red ruby affixed in the centre. It flew to Meiling, fixing itself onto her arm as it glowed with pure white light.

Meiling raised the shield and deflected the dark energy away. Heilang roared with fury and swung the tri-sword at her.

Meiling brought her shield arm up and the blade swung in the metal, bouncing off as it struck its smooth surface.

Tomoyo raised her hand.

"Shadow. Dark."

A pool of black liquid appeared before Tomoyo's feet as a cloud of darkness formed over her head. As one the two cards surged forwards towards Heilang. The dark mage smirked as he saw the incoming attacks.

"You are a fool," he snarled, "Have you learned nothing from before? Those cards are rooted in the darkness like I am. I can control them with ease!"

He raised his free hand and pointed them at the cards.

"To me," he whispered trying to control them as he had done in the airport.

Tomoyo struck, she felt Heilang's magic surge through the two spirits as she flung her own magic outwards. Their two minds clashed as they both struggled to gain control of the two cards.

Heilang tried to withdraw but Tomoyo's mind snapped down on him like a steel trap trapping his magical self as the man struggled to break free. Meiling swung her sword at him as Heilang blocked her.

With his physical body forced to engage Meiling and his magical self locked in battle with Tomoyo, Heilang was hopelessly outnumbered and Sakura took full advantage of that.

She raised her hand.

"Light," she whispered.

Instantly streams of sunlight shot through the gaping holes in the shattered dome ceiling, they flew to her gathering in a ball of pure light in front of her. Sakura began exerting her will onto the light as Meiling and Tomoyo continued to fight Heilang.

The man tried to blast Meiling back with magic but Tomoyo held fast, she could feel his magical body struggling against her bonds but she refused to let go binding his magic down with her own as Meiling continued to hammer away at him.

Sakura continued to shape the ball of light.

Meiling kicked the man. A pained look coming over his face as a similar one emerged on the spectral Void card. He slashed at her but the shield came up, deflecting his blows. With a growl of fury, he tried to charge at Tomoyo trying to destroy the Angel so he could free his magic but Meiling was there, ready for him.

She kicked him again, swinging back with a wild left arc but Heilang was an accomplished swordsmen, he rolled away as Meiling's blade cut into the rough stone ground.

He slashed at her but the shield came up, blocking him again. With a howl of fury, he swung again but Meiling parried his blow ramming him in the stomach with the shield knocking the air from his lungs.

Sakura concentrated as the ball of light began to change. It narrowed, forming a long shaft as one end began to narrow into a point.

She had remembered how the Void card had been defeated before.

And now she was repeating history once more.

"Almost there," she whispered, forcing the light to change as she willed.

Slowly but steadily, the light responded.

It was almost done.

Tomoyo felt her grip began to loosen on Heilang's thrashing mind but she clamped down, exerting the full force of her will on his.

She refused to give way.

Heilang tried to force his way free but he was severely hampered unable to completely focus as Meiling continued to fight with him. With a growl of frustration, he struck at her but the shield blocked him.

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

It was done.

Floating before her was an arrow.

An arrow made of light.

"Meiling," she murmured.

The Asian Angel heard her even though Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Duck."

Tomoyo realised what her friend was doing and let go of Heilang's mind. It rushed back at him, slamming back into his body.

The force of the return sent Heilang staggering backwards as Meiling kicked him once more before jumping out of the way

With a growl of victory, Heilang raised the tri-sword and brought it down unleashing a terrifying wave of dark energy.

It rose to the roof, a tsunami of crackling darkness that threatened to engulf them all but even in the chaos the Angels stood firm.

Sakura glanced down at her arrow of light.

"Strike."

The dark wave came crashing down on them with deadly force.

It struck the Angels.

Heilang laughed and laughed and laughed.

He laughed even as the dark wave smashed into the ground.

It ripped through the rocks.

It pounded the Angels with dark energy.

It tore at the walls.

It burned.

And writhed.

And thrashed.

And destroyed.

And killed.

And the light arrow sliced right through the darkness.

He never saw the golden arrow shooting towards him.

Never realised what was happening until it was too late.

It slammed into his chest.

Golden light devoured Heilang as the Void card shrieked in pain.

The dark mage began to burn.

White fire devoured his skin as he screamed.

Screamed with pain.

Screamed with rage.

Screamed with fury.

He screamed and he screamed and he screamed…

Until it ended.

He fell to the ground as a flurry of darkened ashes.

The arrow faded away.

The dark energy dissipated.

And the Angels stood tall.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

All around the world, everything stopped.

The sea stopped.

The fires stopped.

The earth stopped.

The storms stopped.

Everything calmed down.

Everything went back to normal.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling blinked.

"We won."

Tomoyo was gaping at Heilang's ash remains.

"We won," she repeated faintly.

Sakura was beaming.

"WE WON!" Meiling cheered loudly.

"Not yet," Sakura said softly.

Everyone stared at her.

"Huh?"

"That," Sakura pointed at the Void card.

The spirit was floating in the air, her movements slow and tortured. Her eyes were glazed over with pain as a steady stream of blood flowed freely from a gaping wound in her chest.

"Oh god," Tomoyo whispered, "The curse."

"We've got to do this," Sakura said determinedly, "We've got to finish this… once and for all…"

Meiling nodded.

"No matter what it takes," Sakura finished.

The three Angels stared at each other.

"Let's do this," Tomoyo muttered, nodding decisively.

All three girls faced the injured Void card.

"Void card!" they called raising their talismans as one, "RETURN TO YOUR POWER CONFINED!"

Three beams of different coloured light struck the spirit. The Void raged and howled as pink, red and blue light encircled it trapping it in a sphere of rainbow colours. It began to shrink as a faint rectangular outline emerged around it.

The three girls concentrated pouring more power into the sealing. With a final roar of fury, the Void card disappeared.

The girls were forced to look away as a brilliant flash filled the air.

Once it had faded, the girls looked up.

A single card floated before them.

"It's done," Tomoyo murmured softly, a great sorrow entering her voice, "It is done."

The card began glowing with black light.

"The curse," Sakura whispered.

Meiling backed away slowly as the Void card continued to blaze with black light. Crackling energy burst forwards in an intense beam as the Angels braced themselves but it never struck.

Meiling felt something burst from her jacket.

It was glowing card.

The Asian Angel gasped as she realised it was the mysterious unnamed card her mini-self had given to her.

It flew forwards right at the incoming beam of dark energy.

The Angels watched in stunned silence as the glowing card struck the beam, the dark energy immediately splintered into crackling tendrils as the glowing white card pushed against it. The energy ricocheted off flying straight back towards the Void.

It struck the dark card with a bang.

The card was torn asunder.

The three Angels could only gape as the Void card was torn apart by its reflected attack. Five glowing lines zipped across the surface of the card as the energy reached critical mass and exploded with deadly force.

As the smoke cleared, the Void card came back into view.

It hung in the air for several more seconds before falling to the ground.

It hit the stone with a sharp peculiar sound, as if it was made of glass or crystal. The Angels stared wordlessly at the fallen card.

It had been shattered into five separate pieces.

The glowing card that had saved them from the curse flew back towards Meiling, the Asian Angel held up her hands as the card settled into them. She glanced down at its surface as the light dissipated.

"The Love card," she whispered, reading its name.

"So…" Tomoyo began slowly, "Do we still like each other."

Sakura shrugged.

"Yeah."

The three Angels stared at each other.

"We did it," Meiling whispered.

"Yeah…" Sakura said slowly, "We did."

"OH YEAH!" Tomoyo leapt forwards and grabbed her two friends into a massive hug, "WE DID IT!"

They began laughing and crying uncontrollably as they celebrated their victory. However they were cut off as the temple rumbling dangerously, a chunk of stone fell form the ceiling and struck the ground, shattering on impact.

"Let's do the victory dance after we get out of here?" Sakura suggested.

"Oh yeah."

The three girls ran out of the chamber as it began collapsing.

The five shattered shards of the Void card glowed with power as an avalanche of stones fell.

They soon disappeared under the rubble as the walls began collapsing.

The Void card had finally been defeated by the chosen three.

The prophecy was complete.

And in the Limbo, Mini-Meiling smiled sadly as Nadeshiko cheered beside her.

"Silly Mommy," the young girl whispered softly to herself, "It has only begun."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The three Angels sailed out the entrance of the temple with almost no time to spare. The structure continued to collapse as they raced away eager to get away from the wreckage. Once the rumbling had finally stopped the three girls turned around and surveyed the damage.

"Nasty," Meiling whistled appreciatively.

"You have problems," Sakura muttered.

"ANGELS!"

The three girls whirled around.

"RUBY MOON!"
"KERBEROS!"
"YUE!"

The three guardians landed.

"What happened to Spinnel?"

"Oh, he vanished in a puff of black smoke awhile back," Kerberos grinned at them, "You did it!"

Yue frowned.

"How did you avoid the curse?"

Meiling held up the Love card.

"This."

"What is that?"

Ruby Moon smacked him.

"Oh, just shut up and enjoy the moment," she scolded, "YOU DID IT!"

"WE DID IT!" the girls cried back just as energetically.

From behind a clump of trees, Eriol smiled as he watched the girls celebrate. His eyes lingered for a few seconds on Tomoyo's face before he turned around and began walking off into the Laotian jungle.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA