Chapter 6: Welcome to the Wonderland
The foul beast let out a loud aggravated roar as its talons collided with the solid stone floor, causing the cavern to shake profusely. It whipped its head around furiously, trying to locate where the prey had gone. It snarled, noticing a flash of movement. It twirled, now face to face with Fai, Kurogane standing behind him with a shocked hint in his eyes. This small little fact didn't matter to the 'chimera' - it merely wanted to feast upon the flesh of the beings that had entered its cave. A low howl roared through the cave as the beast went to lunge yet again, Syaoran jumping in to catch the beast, the blade of his sword cutting through the rough hide around its neck. The chimera turned to snap at the annoyance, Kurogane swinging Sohi at the creature's face while it was turned away.
Another long howl. This time they had the advantage though. One would distract while the other dealt a blow. This proceeded for what seemed like forever before the beast collapsed dead. Fai lead Sakura over to the feathers, her body absorbing them before she passed out, Syaoran catching her like old times. The air in the cave was uneasy though. Fai was looking at nothing in particular, Syaoran was trying to focus on nothing, mostly because of the smell and Kurogane could only really shake his head. The mage had saved him, but for what reason? Was it that he was just returning the favour? Probably.
"Meat bun, to the next world." He didn't like the silence that had fallen over them. It was daunting and unfamiliar. It gave him a sense of insecurity too. As if he couldn't trust anyone around him.
Mokona complied with a nod, wings spurting from her back as she leapt away from Sakura and Syaoran. Before anyone could have second thoughts they were swept away from the dark cavern.
Very few of their landings had been graceful, most of them making them land in heaps. This landing was no exception. Grunts accompanied the landing; Mokona landing them in a cramped area witched forced unnecessary contact between the group. Fai was the first to scramble away, checking to see if Sakura was alright. She was perfectly fine, still bearing injuries from Tokyo though. Mokona squeaked and clambered onto Syaoran's shoulder. "Mokona wonders where we are!" It was different. Dark and dreary looking with a more sinister feel in the air. There was a group of people down the raod slightly and They walked over to them.
"Excuse me, but we're travellers and we don't know where we've ended up." Syaoran was polite, but nervous as he eyed the strange outfits they wore. Black with plenty of zippers, buckled and chains.
The leader of the group smirked. She gave a small laugh. "My friends you are in Infinity."
Another one of the group had to add in, his eyes covered by sunglasses. "Yeah, best place to be with the chess tournament comin' up."
"Chess?" Fai had heard of the game being on a small board where you moved your pieces in order to claim the opponent's main piece.
"Yeah, only instead of using pieces you use a team of people! This year there is a strange prize!"
"Mokona senses a feather here..." The white fluff ball muttered to Syaoran who nodded almost nonchalantly.
Fai glanced at Sakura as the group waved and walked off. "We'll ask sakura-chan about this when she wakes."
Kurogane scoffed. "I have a feeling that this 'chess' is something unavoidable." Syaoran nodded slowly, giving silent agreement.
A/N: Another short chapter... sorry. And I know you all don't want to hear my horrible excuses on why it's really late. Sorry! But I do have another surprise for you guys (It's also the reason why this was so short and crappy).
The taste of blood was still thick in his mouth as he hunched over, shaking heavily. Tears that were formed in his deep jade eyes kept falling despite how he tried to quell them. He had just accomplished a victorious fight, but he felt no glory in it. No searing pride with the defeat of his enemy. Only a dark emptiness that threatened to engulf him whole like a never-ending vortex. No amount of glory could reverse what was already done; nothing could turn back time despite how much he wished. The once-stable arms that held his weapons were now shaking with grief and the effort to support himself as he tried to settle from his fit of sorrow. Just moments before, he had been enraged; attacking his opponent like a hellfire would've attacked a dried and withered forest. With all his might he had swung his sword and axe with no apprehension, but now that it was all over, the ground-shaking truth had hit him full force; no matter how he looked at it, he had lost. His eyes burned, and long, unruly red auburn hair hung in front of his vision as he finally hauled himself to his feet from the position he had assumed on the floor and staggered over to the crimson pool that was his comrade's life force; over to the broken and fragile body of what was once his best friend.
He fell to his knees at the side of the other, blurred vision scanning over the once white coat and black attire of his companion; the clothing was not torn and gruff, with blood soaking it. Once bright blonde hair was now streaked with blood, making the colour that resembled garnets and blank grey eyes stared back at him with no emotion or signs of life. That was why he had lost; he had lost his one and only friend who understood him and stood up for him. He had lost the only one who had seen him for who he was - not what he was. His hand reached out shakily and slid over the blonde's face, giving a slow downward motion to shut the grey eyes. It was so hard for him to accept this when less than an hour ago, they'd been smiling and talking as if there was all the time in the world...
If you like Tales of Symphonia dawn of the New World I hope you read it! Soon to be released; Friends Until the Bitter End.