Kyo sat cross-legged as Sakura stood behind him. Sweat ran freely down his face as she unwrapped the talisman and placed it in the palm of her left hand. In her right she held the LIGHT and the DARK, those two cards that were always to be used in sync. Her eyes glowed blue as she began the incantation; the sapphire in her palm matched their brilliance. Kyo fought the urge to run, to escape, knowing it was the CAT inside of him that wished him to flee. A lifetime spent with its will imposed on his own, he had to deny every instinct he'd ever had, and he needed to focus on his trust of his friends. He groaned suddenly, a deep clenching pain in his stomach, where the CAT resided, had him clutching his sides in agony.
"Kyo!" Li shouted above the angry roaring in his head. "You can do this! Deny the CAT, you are NOT him!" Energy swirled around Li's hands, the barrier he'd erected shimmered as the magic of the amulet swirled around, trapped by his protections. Kyo shuddered, pushing at the claws that threatened to cut his insides.
"Ignore that bastard Kyo! You can do it!" Meilin cheered as the energy shunted from the two in the middle rushed through her and deflected through the shield back to Li.
Sakura shouted the last of the chant, her hand, clutching the sapphire now, brought the gem down to rest on the back of Kyo's neck. The glow transferred itself, flowed around Kyo's body, and into it before he'd had the time to blink as the warmth spread. The CAT stilled, the pain ceased, and Kyo breathed heavily.
"Its trapped, but its not dismissed. Take some time Kyo, calm your self. Then we'll proceed." Sakura, too, panted heavily as she sank to her knees. Her forehead rested on Kyo's back as the strength left her neck and arms. Kyo sat still, allowing the use of his back as a pillow until she could gather her powers again.
"Sakura, refresh your energy from the power I'm sending through the spell. The shield can take it, trust me. Just like I showed you." Li still held the barrier erect, but he smiled at them both. He had the training and the capacity that Sakura still lacked. Though she'd been getting steadily better, he knew he was the one this venture counted on the most. He kept the people not involved in the curse away, a little magic barrier a mile wide kept wanderers from the woods that night. And his magic barrier around these three people he cared for deeply kept the world safe in case something went wrong.
Sakura smiled as the shield around her fed her strength. She whispered a thank you, and got to her feet.
"Kyo, lets finish this."
"Hai." Kyo agreed, bent his head again, and shuddered as a sudden cold brushed his neck.
"You are not welcome here." Sakura stated as the CAT tried to exert itself.
Who are you to tell me where I can go?
"I am the one who speaks for this boy." She replied, refusing to be intimidated. She had stared down Yueh when he tried his best to forsake her right, She defeated Clow himself when he pushed her to her breaking point. The angry soul of a CAT would not bring her down.
Leave me be, I have much yet to do.
"You can do nothing but cause pain."
I have a destiny, you may not disrupt my revenge. The angry words echoed through all their minds. Meilin shivered as the CAT tried to push her away.
"Your revenge is tearing apart so many! You have no right to toy with people this way!" Meilin shouted angrily, not only thinking of Kyo, but of all the others also. She pictured Yuki sitting miserably in the rain, denied the comfort he needed. Then the fearsome hope in his eyes after Meilin had kissed him.
"Sa…ku…ra…" Kyo whimpered at the CAT growled deep inside his stomach. It was trying everything in its power to dispute Sakuras claim. It slashed out, but not at Kyo…
"You will leave him!" She shouted deflecting the black energy the CAT had expelled and shooting it toward Meilin, who didn't feel the pain of it, but shuttered at the force, "He is no longer yours!" The energy shot from Meilin toward Li, who gathered it all with a grunt and shot it back, clean, to Sakura.
He IS mine! MINE! it growled its hatred as the beads around Kyo's wrist began to glow.
"He is under my protection!" Sakura enforced, the sapphire suddenly going hot in her palm as she shoved her power through to confront the curse.
He is MINE! His soul belongs to ME, not YOU witch! The beads grew brighter, so bright that Kyo had to close his eyes.
"Sakura!" Kyo shouted as the twisting in his stomach shot up through his arm and down into the beads. "He's trying to jump!" He could feel his limbs going limp at the CAT started to pull him into the beads with it. "It hurts!"
"Don't worry Kyo!" Sakura prayed the boy could hold onto himself for just a second longer.
"LIGHT AND DARK ANSWER MY PLEA
OPEN MY EYES SO I MAY SEE
THE TWISTING OF THE THREADS
HOLDING THESE TWO INTWINED
SO THAT I MAY CUT
THE TIE THAT BINDS!" she shouted into WIND, her eyes glowing as the LIGHT card shone brilliantly onto the curse to reveal its weakness, and the DARK card sat beneath the threads to pinpoint the two that would separate the CATs hold on Kyos body and soul.
"SWORD CARD! Give me the power to CUT the shackles of the CATs imprisonment!" She called out, flinging her staff to the side and shearing through the threads as the wand became a thin bladed sword, and shattered the connection as Kyo slumped, unconscious, to the ground.
Sakura watched the light that was the CAT as it fluttered around, trying to release itself from its self-imposed cage in the beads that still encircled Kyos wrist. With an intense distaste for the bracelet Sakura eased it off her friends hand. She felt it try to jump into her, but she was ready for it. Heraura flared brightly, in effect blinding the CAT until it had no choice but to retreat. It bounced off Kyo again, Li's shield having shifted to include the young orange haired boy.
"You can stay in those beads forever, CAT," Sakura growled,"or you can join the other curses in the jewel. Pick now, because I can guarantee that after I'm done enchanting this bracelet the only contact you'll have with anything is as a perfectly harmless, poorly made, bead bracelet."
