Yay, I finally got this chapter up! Hopefully, the next one will be along soon.
I capture the castle
Chapter VII
XX
Again, it had happened again. Even after he told himself that he would become stronger, even after he had turned away from other people, even after choosing loneliness over the warmth of company, it had happened again.
The sudden blast from the look-alike demon tore up the floor in a mushroom cloud of dust and rushing wind. Kurogane stepped back; forced to shield his eyes from the rising dirt.
Just like his mother. Just like his father. It had happened again. Someone had gotten hurt trying to protect him. Again.
The wind from the blast tore at him, threatening to rip him apart if he did not retreat. He could hear the kid crying, "Fai-san! Fai-san!"
XX
"W-what is this?" Sakura tentatively touched the cold metal. It was smooth and shiny and looked brand new, without a speck of rust or dirt or even a thread of a spider's web on its hundred-year-old form.
"A Solar Magnet," Chi replied, moving as fast as she could in her net-like form to Sakura's side.
Sakura walked around the large construction, trying to grasp just how it worked whilst Mokona hopped from beam to beam. The Solar Magnet was an impossible weave of ice-like metal and translucent blue crystals. She tried to the trace the bending beams that curved around each other but got lost somewhere amongst the dozen others. To her, this 'contraption' was no more than a bizarre statue and yet, somehow, she could feel the low hum of power surrounding it.
"Fai told Chi," the net-like thing paused, recalling just what Fai had told her, "he told Chi that it was created with the feather."
"My feather?"
"Fai told Chi that it will bring the sun's blessing to Celes, that it will help the people, that it would stop them suffering."
Sakura ran her fingertips along the metal construction. "That sounds wonderful, just like something Fai-san would think of," she breathed.
"This was Ashura-ou's idea," Chi said and Sakura turned her shock gaze towards her. Ashura-ou, the king that seemed to hate Fai so much, had thought of such a kind and benevolent idea. Sakura wondered what had happened between the two, something big, something unforgivable.
Inside the darkness of the circular chamber, the lines of a magic circle, dark and brooding, lay dormant beneath her feet. Sakura pushed back a stray strand of hair and knelt down to trace the dark lines.
"The sun will bring a blue sky," Chi murmured, as if suddenly remembering something important.
"I see," Sakura's fingers ran across the shallow carvings. She had no idea why she understood the situation so completely, she just knew. This dark chamber was full of magic, dark, oppressive magic that seemed to smother her, drown her in its shadow. "So this is what is causing the epidemic," she murmured, her words slipping from her mouth before she could even comprehend what she was saying. "The Solar Magnet has been draining the land. Over a hundred years have passed and now the land cannot cope any more. Now the people are beginning to feel the illness of the land."
Chi remained silent, neither confirming nor denying Sakura's conjecture. Perhaps she did not know.
Sakura turned towards the net-like creature. "What do you want me to do, Chi?" she asked. The chamber seemed darker by the minute.
"Chi would like you to destroy it."
XX
The cloud of dust parted and then settled onto the floor. The blue flames roared brighter. In their cold glow, Fai was on the ground behind a translucent shield of shifting colours and Ashura stood in front of him, between the wizard and the now lifeless demon.
Syaoran stared incredulously from the dead creature, to the king, to his wizard. When did Ashura-ou move? He had not seen anything past the demon's sudden attack. No, more importantly, why had Ashura-ou moved?
"Fai-san!" he rushed towards the kneeling wizard. "Fai-san, are you alright?"
Fai stumbled to his feet, swaying dangerously. He hesitated; even he was unsure if he really was okay. "I'm fine," he smiled after a moment to check that he was 'all there.'
Together, they both glanced inquisitively at the king that had protected Fai.
The shield vanished. The flames darkened.
"Do not take this the wrong way. It would just be an inconvenience if you were to die right now," Ashura spoke solemnly before a sudden smile contorted his features. "I am surprised though, you could have handled this thing easily. You were the one who made it after all."
Fai's eyes widened.
"Ma - " Syaoran began.
"Made it?" Kurogane finished for him, though he looked less shocked than the boy did and more murderous.
Fai stood still. Ashura-ou had told them, he had revealed the last part of their deal with Fei Wong Reed.
Ashura-ou wore a thin smile. "I know that we were meant to give all the demons we created to Fei Wong Reed, but your behemoth was so impressive that I just had to make a copy."
"You…gave him demons?" Kurogane stuttered. His anger and outrage blocking the smooth path from his throat to his mouth.
"That was the second part of our deal," Ashura-ou said casually, though he seemed fully aware of the implications of his story, "to create blueprints of demons that could easily be replicated by Fei Wong Reed."
Kurogane clenched his teeth together. "Do you have any idea what he did with the designs for those demons you created?" he growled.
"It was none of our business, but I can guess," Ashura-ou flicked a strand of hair from his face, his lovely face; beautifully carved with crushed hopes and betrayal.
"Kuro - " Fai whispered.
"I suppose that you could have guessed to," Kurogane turned his smouldering expression towards the mage. His eyes were bright with the intensity of anger and hurt but his voice remained low-key and dangerous. "I suppose that you knew what he was going to use those creatures for," he whispered.
Fai opened his mouth to speak but, for the first time in his life, the words would not come to him. His words had left him, betrayed him, leaving him helpless and hurt.
"Fai, it seems that you are cornered," Ashura-ou smirked and held out a condescending hand towards the wizard. "Come, let's complete what we set out to do."
With gritted teeth and eyes dancing in hurt, Fai swatted the hand away. "What you set out to do!" he yelled. "I didn't want to be a part of this! I knew that nothing good would come of it but I was loyal to you and you were so enamoured with the idea of a true blue sky!"
Ashura-ou's mood dangerously darkened. "If you were loyal to me, would you have sent me to sleep? If you were loyal, would you have ran?"
The ninja's fists curled. How? Fai was stupid and wise beyond his years, he was immature and strangely serious, he was always happy and always lonely. Fai was…he was…
Fai was important. Just as the kid and the princess and even that stupid pork bun was important to him, Fai was too and yet the wizard was the one…the one who had created it. He could not believe that he had been so worried over the wizard's saftey just moments ago.
You're hopeless, Kurogane! No matter how much you try to be alone, you need people. You need people to protect.
Was this how Ashura-ou felt? Did he feel this feeling of betrayal? This consuming anger and raging hate and, above all, the drowning hurt. He had not even been aware that he was capable of feeling such hurt. Why? He was physically fine so why did he feel so much pain?
"Kuro - " Fai's eyes searched painfully for the ninja. If his eyes could convey anything, it was his absolute desperation. "Let's stop this," he pleaded the silent ninja, "let's stop this now."
"Why? So that you can run away again?" Kurogane snapped. "I always knew that you were a coward but never one so selfish and pathetic!"
"Well, I suppose that there's a first for everything," Fai murmured, his voice lacking all humour.
"The feather!" Syaoran cried, reminding everyone of the most important matter at hand "Please, I don't know what happened in the past or what you plan to do now, but please return Sakura-hime's feather to me!"
Ashura-ou regarded the boy with a cold stare. "Boy, do you know what it feels like to swim against the tide? To be so caught up in something that it is all you can do to keep from drowning?" he spoke in a near whisper, almost inaudible but for the absolute silence that fell upon the men. "I will not, cannot stop, not here. It is unfortunate, but I need this feather just as much as you do."
Syaoran's fists clenched, his eyes reflected the fire of his determination. "I will ask you one more time, please give me the feather!"
"I am sorry, boy," Ashura-ou turned and retreated from the chamber at an extraordinary speed.
"Ashura-ou!" Fai made to run after his king but a sudden voice halted him in his tracks. It was light and feminine and definitely did not come from within the crumbling darkness.
"Chi?" He murmured. It was Chi's voice he had heard, right? No one else could communicate with him in that way.
"Fai-san?" Syaoran turned to the mage questioningly.
Fai spun around so suddenly the boy took an involuntary jump back. "Syaoran-kun, quick! Sakura-chan is - "
XX
As he entered the chamber, most of the wizards were already on their way out. They bowed to him before passing. Ashura gave them a brief nod as he entered.
His wizards in their white robes and swirling ice blue coats hurried across the spacious chamber. Ashura passed these without a moment's glance as his footsteps echoed across a floor of translucent ice.
He searched the crystal pillars and marble walls, scanning each figure as the wizards passed him. Everything was so blue and white that they were almost completely camouflaged against the backdrop of the chamber.
Ashura made a mental note to change the uniform of his wizards.
"Ah!" he heard a familiar voice hailing him and turned his gaze towards the source of the voice. "Ashura-ou!" Fai waved him over.
Ashura smiled at the energetic blond. How someone could have so much energy after the wizard's council was beyond him but he graced the young man with his presence anyway.
"Ashura-ou," Fai was practically bouncing with energy, "what have you been up to?"
"The usual," he shrugged.
Fai's ceased all bubbly bouncing to narrow his eyes at the king accusingly. "You've been meeting him again, this Fei Wong Reed person, haven't you?"
"I know that you don't like him but think about this objectively, this deal will benefit Celes."
Ashura tugged at his cloak. He should have known that the young man would see through him. The blond was frighteningly astute a times, though why he, the king, should feel any kind of guilt was beyond him, what he did was his own choice after all.
Fai pouted, placing both hands firmly upon his hips. "If it was just for the benefit of Celes then it wouldn't be a problem but I feel as if there's another reason for your involvement with him," he said in a manner that reminded Ashura of a mother hen clucking angrily at one of its chicks.
"A blue sky," Ashura murmured so softly that Fai could only just catch his words.
"What?" he laughed. "A blue sky? Isn't that weird?"
"I think that it would be beautiful," the king shook his head, turning the full force of his gaze towards his loyal subject, at the wizard's crystalline eyes. "Imagine it," he breathed, "a blanket of heaven above you as blue as your eyes."
To Ashura's affected sighs, Fai simply laughed again, his laughter pealing across the vastness of the chamber. "I never knew that you were such a dreamer, Ashura-ou, how romantic!" he giggled as hints of pink tinged the king's cheeks.
Ashura straightened and coughed away his embarrassment. "In a few years it will no longer be a dream. Soon, Celes will be a land cradled by the earth, kissed with the warmth of the sun, and blessed with a true blue sky."
XX
Destroy the Solar Magnet, Sakura stretched her neck upwards to the peak of the device, how could she destroy something so large and strong? Chi seemed to think that bringing down a giant construction was easy but all that she had were her bare hands.
"How…" she began, wondering if she was expected to tear it down with tooth and nail when she heard the frantic pace of footsteps racing towards her.
"Sakura!" Mokona cried and she spun around just as something came hurtling into the chamber.
At first, he seemed as shocked to see her as she was of him, but that surprise dissipated in an instant and was replaced by a blank look.
Sakura backed away, further and further away from the king's emotionless expression. Her back hit the wall and still her stared at her with unreadable, impassive eyes.
"I will never let anyone take that dream away from me!" he snarled.
Chi's net-like form moved towards the king. "Ashura-ou!" Sakura could hear her say.
The king flung his hand towards the net, without touching it, and flung it outside the chamber, beyond its doors.
"Chi!" Sakura tried to run towards her. Perhaps she was in a panic. Her feet seemed to be moving much faster than she thought possible. No, it was magic. The king's magic gathered her up like a baby and flung her outside. She screamed at she skidded across the floor, right into Syaoran's arms.
"Sakura-hime!" he cried, drawing his sword in case the king decided to follow them out and attack.
However, instead of swooping upon them, the king held his hand again and the double doors to the chamber rumbled shut. A dark red circle shimmered upon the doors, suddenly appearing as deeply and passionately as blood upon snow - a sealing circle.
Kurogane cursed and mumbled something under his breath whilst Fai simply seemed resigned to whatever hitsuzen was going to throw at them next but Sakura's eyes were for the boy whose arms were holding her so protectively and the flaming sword by his side.
Perhaps it was only the reflection of Hein's flames but there was an intensity Sakura had rarely seen burning in his eyes.
Just a few more chapters left, please bear with me. It may seem crazy nowbut I plan to tie up most of the loose ends by the next chapter. Thank you very much for reading!