Chapter 14: Sneak Attack
Manchester, England: 12:27 P.M.
"West wall reporting. All operations are running smoothly. Everything clear. Over."
"South wing reporting. Everything's smooth and solid. Over."
"North wall reporting. No abnormalities here. Over."
"East wall reporting. Everything a-ok. Operation is in the green. Ov—"
BOOOOOOOOOM!
"What the hell was that?"
"East wall, this is east wall! We're being breached! We're being breached! Requesting back-up ASA—"
"Ok, that's enough of that."
"ARG!"
"...? East wall! East wall respond! EAST WALL! COME IN!"
"Geez, is that what you guys call your employees? Man, I can just imagine how much you take true worker values."
"W... who the hell are you...?"
"Oh, you'll find out in due time, pal. Just sit back and watch the magic!"
click
That was the sound of a communicator shutting off in the hands of Drake White, who looked up to see his surroundings. He found himself inside a steel building, the wall behind him a smoldering crater from the explosive he laid out a few seconds ago. Around him, soldiers in black uniforms were knocked unconscious, either through the direct explosion or through Drake's fists, who had just swiftly invaded the base. In particular, the person who his left hand was holding by his shirt was the one who owned the communicator he just shut off, and, in conjunction to the headset device in his right hand, Drake merely smiled while dropping them both.
"Drake! Come in!"
The White boy twin blinked and tapped into his shirt, turning on his own personal communicator.
"Drake White, here," he sounded back. "I've successfully entered the base through the east end. Ready to proceed with the mission."
A good quarter-mile away from Drake's location, hidden in the foliage of the green trees that surrounded the Shadowloo base, sat a camouflaged helicopter, a small satellite dish hanging off the left side, and inside sat the members of T-5 of Delta Red: Rachel Tyler, James Reid, Morris Ellington, and Jeice Williams, Rachel manning the on-board communications while monitoring Drake's progress through a small camcorder in his shirt.
"Geez, I still can't believe he did it," Jeice murmured, sitting to the right of Rachel and observing the mission the Whites were going through. "Those two really do have the blood of their mother, that's for sure."
"Alright, Drake," Rachel said, keeping focused while holding a hand on her ear to smoothly talk to the young operative. "You're to keep up the distractions while moving towards point A-7 of the enemy base. This is the information section of their base. You're to meet your sister there ASAP."
Back inside the base, which was now heavy with warning sirens, the blond nodded.
"Roger that. I'm on my way now. Over and out."
Drake then shut off his communicator and proceeded on with his end of the mission.
"Noel! Come in, Noel!" Rachel called over her communicator, looking at the other monitor on the copter's HUD next to Drake's. "Do you read?"
"Yes, Noel here," came the voice of the other twin, who was currently slowly creeping through the corridors of the base, avoiding being scouted out. "Everything's running smoothly on my end as well. I infiltrated the base through the south side and am working towards the information room right now."
"Are you maintaining a low profile?"
"The stealth procedure is doing just fine," Noel reported, turning towards another corner where several Shadowloo soldiers were passing by on their way towards the increasingly deafening sirens. "I must be getting close to it. The sirens are fading out."
"Yes, you're right. It should be in the corridor next to your left," Rachel responded back.
"On my way there. Tell my brother to be careful."
"Oh, don't worry about me, sis!" Drake responded, dodging an attack from an officer and retaliating with a swift backhand, knocking him clean off his boots. "I'm having a wonderful time knocking these guys silly!"
At the moment, while Noel was sneaking through the base, Drake was fighting his way through, his path littered with resistance from Shadowloo... and loving every second of it. One after another they came at him, and at the same rate he was knocking them down with all sorts of moves, occasionally using some special attacks to send them away in a blaze. Honestly he was barely thinking about it all, instead just letting the attacks flow seamlessly... It was really second nature to Drake...
"Let's go! Let's go!" he shouted, dashing through two others with a Shotgun attack. "You guys are barely making me sweat!"
Meanwhile...
"The coast's clear... I'm going in guys."
Noel could see her target so clearly from her observing spot in the opposite corridor. Not too far away from her rested her destination; the only computer-locked door in the vicinity... Taking a few more moments to make sure no one was spying on her, Noel boldly went in, swiftly approaching the door, her sights right on the keypad next to the door...
"Noel, standby," Rachel spoke through her communicator. "I'm going to crack the encryption code."
"Alright, just do it soon," Noel whispered. "I don't want to be spotted."
Rachel nodded and then turned to Morris. "You know what to do."
"You got it," Morris answered back. In the T-5 sector, Morris was specialized in computers, which meant that he was the sector's security cracker. Instantly he took his station to the left of the helicopter and got the specifics on the lock on the door, and instantly began to hack it from there. It took no longer than 5 seconds to come up with the combination set on the door...
"0991-3114-5332" he reported to Rachel, who repeated it to Noel slowly, the White girl punching in each digit as it was called. Once she finished, the door shot up and open, Noel swiftly slipping in while it closed behind her. Instantly, Noel gasped in awe at the room, which was definitely a huge computer database all in itself. The walls in circular form, were filled with computers all active, while the sides were littered with the huge Shadowloo signature winged skull.
"Where to now?" Noel asked.
"The computer in the center of the room should suffice. Just move to it and Morris shall take it from there."
Noel confirmed and as she got close, the four standby members of T-5 all checked out Morris's screen, Morris in turn already hacking into the Shadowloo information base with lightning speed.
"This is it..." James muttered to the others. "Its time we know what the heck these bastards are up to." Jeice nodded in confirmation, just as Morris's eyes widened...
"Everyone... Read this..."
The others did, Rachel the one reading it out loud for Noel to overhear...
"'The new Shadowloo shall reach its ultimate goal of world domination through accomplishing all of our objectives with 100 efficiency. We have been held back for far too long. It is time for our movement to begin. We have been rebuilt from the ground up... New personnel, new goals, and new ambition. We shall not be denied. This world will collapse in our hands...'"
Rachel then skipped some and got to the point quite a ways down in the document...
"'Our primary objective: Overpower the world's defenses however means fit. This shall be accomplished in either of our secondary missions...
Secondary objective 1: Threaten the world's government by means of the Psycho Drug, being shipped to all corners of the globe...'"
Rachel, now sweating lightly, noticed a side article on screen and pointed to it wordlessly, making Morris click on it...
"'The Psycho Drug; Shadowloo's personal undercover means of world domination. Found in a purple powder and submitted through small pill capsules, the Psycho Drug's effect is immediate on a human being. Once inside the system of a man or woman, it overrides all thought and command, reducing the individual into a mindless shell of him/herself focused on nothing but bloodshed and destruction. It has been mixed unknowingly with other drug smuggles for the past 4 months, slowly spreading through the entire globe.'"
Then, Morris went back to the main objective and Rachel continued on...
"'Secondary objective 2: By abducting skilled warriors and politicians from around the world to serve our goal, we're guaranteed the necessary force to crush all our foes, no matter what their shape. Wither they're forced to or willingly serve us is none of our concern. Either way, it shall empower our numbers dramatically. Recently, our list of politicians has reached 55 percent, and our warrior list has recently updated to a solid 45 percent.'"
"Morris," Jeice interrupted Rachel, "Get a copy of those lists. Those whom haven't been captured by the likes of Shadowloo we need to protect no matter what. If we know what they know, then we can pick them off easily."
"Roger," Morris replied, instantly printing out the vital copies they need from his station's printer. As he did so, Rachel continued.
"'Secondary objective 3: Our most important task out of the listed... Our strength in Shadowloo comes with our strength in our leader... The more valuable fighters we get, the more power that fuels the numerous bases along the world, and with that, the more power Miss Raven has at her fingertips. Our powerful leader is already far surpassed in any other force out in the world thus far, and with each victim the more the gap builds between Shadowloo and the rest of this world. Soon, we shall be ready to strike, and when we do, there will be only force left in the world. Us.
Article written by: Second in command: Senior Vega Fabio de Carna
First Lieutenant of Shadowloo Armed Forces: Leonardo Vulpus
Article date: May 11, 2002'"
Once everything was done, the entire helicopter fell silent, unable to believe what they just read to an extent. Inside the base was no exception; Noel just stared at the computer screen in front of her in blind shock, unable to move. Only her mouth did.
"Does... that mean that they captured our mother so that she could be part of their army?" Noel asked the members of T-5. Before either of them could answer, someone else did...
"Yes... Yes it does..."
Noel's blue eyes grew to the size of beach balls as the voice who spoke the words echoed in her mind. Slowly her head rose up; just as she found out that something black and made of steel was put in front of her eyes, making her freeze. As her eyes focused on it, she gasped as she found out that it was the business end of a shotgun... A REAL shotgun... and what made everything even more scary and absolutely surreal... was the fact that the person holding it was... was...
"No..." was all Jeice could say, the others utterly shocked to realize what was showing on their monitor.
"What's going on over there...!" Drake shouted out, who was now speeding his way thought the metal corridors of the Manchester base, avoiding trying to fight anyone head on. By the tone of his voice he was beginning to tire... "What's the big shock!"
Then, the words Noel said in the communicator, her voice absolutely lost, were enough to stop Drake in his tracks.
"Mother..."
"WHAT?"
Drake couldn't believe what his sister just said, and he wasn't there in person to see it. Noel was... Surely enough, positioned perfectly onto the computer monitor in front of Noel, was their mother. They couldn't mistake the golden blond hair done in twin braids, those blue eyes, and that scar on her right cheek for anything...
Still, the shock of suddenly seeing Cammy again was too great for Noel... and just like that, she could feel her eyes water... Cammy's, however, stayed cold and calculating.
"What's a brat like you doing here..." she spoke, her tone unforgiving. "You have 5 seconds to speak, spy."
"Mom... Mom, don't you recognize me...?" Noel said, holding back her tears. "It's me, Noel... I'm your daughter..."
"Daughter...?" Cammy responded. Instantly she cocked the barrel of the gun, making Noel's heart jump to her throat. "That doesn't compute to me. I don't have a daughter."
"Yes... Yes you do..." Noel pleaded, her voice now almost breaking up from her emotions. "Please... listen to me... I know you can still remember me... Don't do this... Don't shoot me... Please..." She then closed her eyes, her voice crawling into a whisper. "Don't do it..."
Cammy didn't move. She knew her orders well and clear... Protect the base no matter what... However...
Her expression didn't change much, but her voice lessened some. "Noel... That name... rings a bell..."
The others at the helicopter looked on in silence as the scene unfolded in front of them. Cammy kept her weapon at Noel's head, right between the young girl's eyes, ready to fire at any moment, but even James, the rookie of the sector, knew that if Cammy wanted to kill her own flesh and blood, even if she didn't know that herself yet, she would've have already. That was her nature, to be quick to the point when it came to her objective, wither if she was with Delta Red... or if she was with Shadowloo...
...and through Cammy's eyes, this scene was odd. She didn't remember anything off the bat now that she thought about it... All she cared for was completing her missions... but now that she thought about this... she could feel it...
"Noel..."
Slowly she dropped her gun from her daughter's eyes, Noel looking up in time to notice that Cammy's expression softened some. For reasons unknown to either of the Whites, everything seemed to be coming back to the legendary operative... so quickly... So many memories... that the woman didn't realize she had...
Yet still... a part of her still belonged to her assignment... The moment Cammy put the gun away, she spun while squatting on the monitor and her leg connected with Noel's cheek. Before Noel knew it, her body slammed up against the right wall of the room, dazed. As she put a hand on her head and shook it clear, Rachel's voice came out from her communicator.
"Noel! Come in!"
"Ow..." was all she responded with. Before Rachel could respond, Jeice sat next to her in the helicopter and spoke to Noel.
"Listen to me. Don't go soft on your mother. She's part of Shadowloo. Since the room's sealed off you're going to have to take her down before she takes you down."
"What? I... I can't fight my mother!" Noel strongly protested. "That's crazy!"
"Yah!"
Noel gasped and instantly dashed to the side to avoid a vicious attack from her mother. Immediately Cammy kept on Noel, the young White trying her best to dodge her blazing attacks.
"Hey!" Jeice shot back. "Don't grow soft now! When you joined Delta Red you were ready to do anything to save your mother. If that means that you have to fight her, then you'd better take every opportunity to knock her back to her senses."
The words clicked in Noel's mind, and just as Cammy threw a sledgehammer blow with both fists to the side of the head, Noel put her left arm up and stopped the attack cold. From here the two stared each other down, Noel's eyes matching the intensity of Cammy's. Then she threw her mother off and then spun as quickly as she could...
"Cannon..."
...throwing her leg into her mother's stomach...
"SPIKE!"
...and spun again, this time launching off the ground for a kick to the chin. Unfortunately Cammy guarded the entire move, and because of that, Noel's momentum was thrown off. She flipped backwards in the air, and she knew she was in trouble...
"Here's a real Cannon Spike! Yah!"
Unlike Noel, Cammy shot straight up, her body flaring with Psycho flames, and she put her daughter on blaze on contact. A shrill cry escaped the girl's throat as her body fell hard on the electronics below, the monitor and nearby equipment breaking and short-circuiting on contact. Groaning, her body sprawled out over the mess she created, the young White barely got the chance to open her eyes and catch her mother jumping into the air... and then streak down with another kick, burning in her own flames once again, her Cannon Strike attack. Thinking as fast as she could, Noel willed her body to flip backwards, just avoiding her mother's attack, her boots on the wall, and sprung off, taking Cammy by surprise by tackling her. The moment they hit the floor, Noel sat on top of her mother, and made a mental note...
I'm so going to get grounded for this... Forgive me, mom.
...before raising her right fist up and striking her mother hard against the face. Once... Twice... Thrice... alternating fists in-between blows. Cammy surely felt each blow for Noel held nothing back anymore, yet inside, the daughter was kicking herself for what she was going... After the 10th one, the Shadowloo doll somehow managed to block the next attack, countering with a hard shot of her own. Noel was taking by surprise and found herself dismounted off her mom, but quickly regained herself, just as her mother stood up...
"Enough with these games..." she said. Instantly Noel noticed a charge of energy from her mother... and she recognized the posture... Even though she never seen it... deep down inside her mind... She knew the move that was coming out... well before Cammy shouted out the name...
"SPIN DRIVE SMASHER!"
The instant Cammy shot forwards in her powered up Cannon Drill, Noel's body reacted like second-nature, stepping forwards... and just before Cammy could connect, a blinding flash filled the room, and Noel barely teleported away from the super art. Knowing that she didn't connect, Cammy tried her best to cancel, but by the time she did, she was already in the air... unable to move... Noel, who appeared towards the end of the wall, knew this was her only chance...
...and Cammy was just barely able to spin around while in air to see her daughter take to the air herself...
Shit...
"Let's END this!" Noel shouted, and instantly her body shot at Cammy, connecting as hard as she could into her mother's stomach, popping her up farther into the air. Noel then bounced off her surroundings, repeating her homing attacks four more times until the last one ramming Cammy in the back and having her body laid out in air, Noel hovering above her, almost touching the ceiling... The young Delta Red operative then targeted herself...
"YAAHH!"
...and shot straight down, her body flaring with Psycho flames of her own, her kick nailing Cammy critically in her vulnerable stomach. Noel's attack kept hitting quickly as she drove her mother down to the floor, not stopping until finally the two met ground once again, both her boots snuffing out the flame on her mother's now unmoving body...
Back in the safety of the woods, the Delta Red sector all watched on in silence as they viewed the scene that just happened. The room was damage due to the fight that ensured, and right in their monitor they can see the end result; Noel standing over her mother, her face hidden by her blond hair, which became messed up due to the rough nature of the battle... and Cammy just lying on the floor, merely breathing... After a long while of silence, Rachel was the first to speak through the communicator.
"Noel...? Can you read me...?"
The only answer Rachel and the others in T-5 got was the sound of electricity sparking from the shattered equipment in the side of the room. After 5 seconds, the tactical operator tried again.
"Noel. Please respond."
It was then that Noel's head went up a bit, her face showing once again and her blue eyes hardened.
"Noel here..."
"Are you ok? Are you injured?"
Noel then looked back down at her mother, whose eyes were closed, almost as if she was in a peaceful sleep despite her tattered body, and muttered, "Not as badly as my mother must be..."
"You... really don't know your mother that well, then..."
The others, including Noel, gasped at the voice that rang out, and everyone looked on in astonishment at the fact that Cammy's eyes opened up, slowly but surly... Although she didn't get up, Cammy merely turned her head over to her daughter, and Noel knew, just by looking at her... That look in her eyes...
"Mother..." she said quietly, holding back a tear in her eyes. "You're back..."
Cammy didn't say anything in response, instead merely sitting up and allowing her daughter to drop to her knees beside her and hug her deeply. After that time of emptiness without her mother, Noel fully welcomed the warmth of her mother's embrace... and she truly loved the fact that they weren't fighting each other anymore... Once the two broke away from that sign of affection, Cammy still held her daughter in her hands, looking at her with a questionable look on her face, and asked an odd question...
"What are you doing in that uniform...?" Noel's mother asked quietly.
"We... Drake and I... joined Delta Red... so we could... save you..." the young girl responded. "That woman in red separated you from us... not too long ago... but..."
Cammy closed her eyes and sighed. "That woman... I... I remember now... She caused all of this... That case of... amnesia... Me being in this silver uniform... and you two being like this..." She then shook her head. "Raven..."
Noel stood silent as her mother began to stand up at her daughter's side.
"I don't know why... but the moment I saw you... everything hit me so hard and fast... Raven... somehow must have erased my memory again..." Cammy sighed.
"Again...? You know her...?" Noel asked.
"In a way, yes... but now is not the time to talk about this... We have to get out of here, now."
"No problem about that..." Noel then tapped into her communicator once again and spoke to Rachel. "Hey, guys... Make room... and tell my brother to meet back at the rendezvous point pronto."
On board, James and Rachel were smiling big from what just happened. "Excellent work, Whites. Looks like we got our original golden girl back," Jeice said confidently. "Nice having you back at the winning side, Cammy."
Cammy then looked down at her daughter as the two made their way out of the data room, the daughter supporting her mother over her shoulder... and Noel's heart warmed up seeing the smile on her mother's face.
"Trust me, you have no idea how happy I am to be back..."
--------
Kyoto, Japan: 12:31 P.M.
"No... No... I... I don't believe this... I can't... No... It's just..."
Sakura couldn't find the words to express her surprise, shock, distort, and sadness... As she stared at the scene in front of her eyes, numerous emotions overflowed her body... and every one of them rendered her unable to move any part of her body... except, miraculously, her mouth. Her brown eyes were utterly frozen on Saya's body, which stood defiantly with the unconscious Bao over her shoulder despite her size, her green eyes sharp at staring down her school teacher. All the others in the room were just in remote surprise, but this was way personal to these two... What made things worse... was that as time went on, Saya slowly emitted a smile on her face.
"You are my student, Saya..." the cherry blossom muttered in utter disbelief. "You... you don't belong with Shadowloo... You really don't... Doushite...? (Why...?)"
"Shut up!"
"LOOK OUT!"
The moment Saya shouted out, she threw her free hand out and instantly threw out three Rays of Light, each one pinpointing on her school teacher. Being too stunned to block, move, or anything, Sakura almost ate each one... if Darrell hadn't jumped in front of her and blocked the attack with one arm, buckling down to keep his wife safe. In turn, Sakura gasped, her body now regaining itself, and taking a startled step backwards, just realizing what happened.
"Da... Darrell..." she stammered, Darrell in turn not taking his serious eyes off Saya's.
"You do realize... this isn't the same Saya we know, right?" he asked, holding his pose.
"What do you know...? You're so right about that," the Shadowloo soldier replied, flapping at her short blond hair. "I'm not your precious student, anymore, Sakura, and you know nothing about me. I've been working with Miss Raven from the start of this whole operation."
That quote alone was enough to strike Sakura deep in her heart, and it felt as if she was just stabbed there by Saya's words.
"No...! No, you're lying to me!" Sakura yelled back, her voice heavily hurt as it flew through the studio. "Shadowloo must've did something to you... You wouldn't..."
"As I said before, you know nothing about me," Saya said coldly. "Miss Raven took me under her wing and she taught me all that I know. I don't need your petty lessons. The only reason I did all that I did was to uncover all the information I needed from your fighting style so that I can finish you off for the good of Shadowloo. I'm amazed at how easily you were fooled into believing that I was actually your #1 fan! How pathetic...! You don't deserve to be the World Warrior champion if you're so gullible!"
Each and every word kept wounding Sakura's heart, and it got to the point that the only thing that escaped her mouth was a weak squeaking noise in an attempt to respond. Everyone in the room knew; at any moment she might just start crying, as much as she didn't want to.
"You... wretch...!"
"Nn...?"
Saya then turned to her side just in time to see an infuriated Jan staring back at her with fury in her dark eyes, both of her fists clenched heavily.
"How... DARE you do this...! My sensei told me so much about you the other night in how she gave her heart out to you and she had very high hopes for you... and now you just turn your back on her like this and hurt her so viciously...! I won't forgive you for this!"
Saya herself didn't respond at all, her eyes just merely on Jan with a very indifferent tone in her eyes.
"Sensei...?" the blond doll spoke back. "Are you serious...? Sakura doesn't deserve to teach anyone how to throw a punch. Despite her age, she's still a weak girl in the inside. She hasn't grown up at all from a mere schoolgirl... and you're a bigger fool for looking up to someone like her."
"Meinu! (Bitch!)" Jan furiously shot back. "I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"
"Jan, don't."
Jan instantly looked over to Darrell, whose eyes still gave Saya an evil glare.
"You're injured... and you don't realize this yet, because you're still young... but if you fight her like you are now... you're going to lose."
"Nani...?" the black-haired gasped. Darrell instead stood up straight, facing up with Saya squarely.
"I'll take this fight..." the flamethrower said in a low tone. "She's no longer a friend of ours... She's now our enemy... just like any other part of Shadowloo... and I'm sure if even Sakura wished to have a go with her now, she'd show mercy on her... She might not say it now, but you can tell... her heart still goes out to Saya..."
Darrell's right hand then crossed over its opposite shoulder, igniting an ember on two fingertips...
"However, MINE DOESN'T!" he barked loudly. "Being betrayed like this is something I'm not going to take lightly!"
Saya then smiled larger than she ever had before. "Would you really try to attack me and risk hurting your precious Bao in the process...?"
That quote sparked in Athena, Kensou, and Malin's minds, their attention growing even more alert at the situation. However, that just further ticked Darrell off, his eyes hardening even more.
"You might know Sakura well enough to hurt her without even touching her..." he said... "But you're an idiot if you think that threat's going to stop me from trying to get to YOU!"
And with that he shot forwards, his hand now glowing with bright flames, ready to take on Saya head on. The Shadowloo doll quickly moved out of the way of Darrell's flaming punch, but that didn't stop him from keeping on her. Just as he began to attack again, Saya kicked out towards his head but Darrell narrowly dodged it and rammed his other fist into her side, making her gasp and almost drop her captive, but she instead stumbled back against the left wall of the studio, her eyes a bit shocked.
"You brute...!" she spat back at Darrell.
"You know, I'm really getting sick of being called that!" was the firefly's strong reply, the quote only driving him more into his actions. Instantly he spun once and threw his leg out for a hard roundhouse kick that Saya narrowly avoided, but quickly she found her back to Mei-Ling...
"Please! Get Bao away from her!" Athena cried out, Mei-Ling heeding the call and tried to grasp the little member of the Psycho team...
"I don't think so...!" Saya yelled, ducking so that Bao was just out of her reach, and took the time to try to do a leg sweep, despite carrying another person on her shoulder. Reacting, Mei-Ling jumped up slightly to avoid it, but that left her open to Saya's free elbow, and it knocked her back once her feet touched the ground.
"YAH!"
Still, she moved again, avoiding yet another attack from Darrell, Saya finding herself in the middle of the room, which found itself surrounded by the other fighters in the room. From here, Saya didn't move, taking the time to view her surroundings...
(Rock Howard and the Psycho Soldiers are guarding the door... Everyone else is on the sides... No way out... Except...)
The blond then turned her head around towards the window, where Sakura was blankly staring at her... and smirked...
(Bingo...)
Darrell and Rock, and practically everyone else in the room noticed this... and instantly Darrell raced to pick her off the moment she moved towards Sakura and the closed window, Jan and Athena shouting out, "Sakura! She's coming your way!"
Sakura, little known to everyone else, knew this fact very well... She could tell Saya's intensions by the look in her eyes...
"Move outta my way or I'll plow right through you!" the Shadowloo soldier demanded, her free fist out and glowing with her ki threateningly.
"Block her off, Sakura!" Darrell yelled at his wife, just a few step behind Saya. At first it actually seemed as if Sakura was going to stop her, for she braced herself, ready to pick Saya off... but just as Saya came within a body and a half's length of her... she looked at her eyes once again...
Those green, determined, uncaring eyes...
Just as her body began to move into an attack position, intending on throwing her ki-powered fist into Sakura...
And at that moment, Sakura knew...
I can't do it...
Just as Darrell cut to the left to try to dive at Saya from the side, Sakura threw her own body to her right, just avoiding Saya's attack, which instead of finding her face, it hit the glass window, shattering it on impact...
Perfect... was the only word that went through Saya's mind... looking back just in time to see Sakura collide with Darrell before her body began to drop from the 30 story window to the streets below...
All the other people in the room stared on in shock as Darrell's closed eyes opened, his mind confused on what just happened. He instantly shook his head and blinked a few times, recovering from his disorientation... and found Sakura on top of him, her face buried in his chest...
"Sa... kura...?" was all that came out of his mouth, just as Sakura looked up and into his eyes, hers extremely saddened...
"G... gomen na sai... I... I just couldn't... do it..." was all she could stammer... and then instantly everything came back to Darrell. Carelessly he pushed Sakura off of him and shot over to the broken window, jerking his head out and downwards just in time to realize that at the 24th story, Saya was standing on a small black jet... looking back up to him with a evil smile on her face, patting the unconscious Bao on the back with her free hand...
"Looks like I got my prize!" she shouted back to him... For a moment he didn't respond... but slowly his face grew distorted and he grew a nasty snarl on his face...
"KONO! (DAMN YOU!)" he bellowed, raising both his hands outside, growing bright in his flames. "Tadajao kanai zo! (You'll pay for this!) I swear you will!"
"Darrell!"
Just before he could launch a volley of flames down towards Saya, arms grabbed him from inside and pulled him back in, restraining him the best they could. Down below, Saya only smiled as she boarded inside the Shadowloo jet, allowing it to take off without a trace...
"NO! LET ME GO!" the firefly demanded, trying to fight off the ones who were holding him back on the wall right next to the sitting Sakura, namely Mei-Ling, Rock and Kensou. The cherry blossom looked on at the scene, unable to do or say anything to her enraged husband. All she could do was stare at him in this state... and in her mind, she couldn't stop apologizing to him.
I'm sorry... I'm really am, Darrell... I just... couldn't...
"You gotta stop! It's no use! She's gone!" Kensou responded, the four individuals struggling for another few moments before...
slap
...a hard hand smacked him across his left cheek, stopping him on a dime. Taking deep breaths, he looked up to find out it was Fen who smacked him back to earth.
"I'm sorry..." she said, "but I had to do that..."
For a while, no one in the studio spoke, everyone letting things sink in. Darrell then closed his eyes, the next time they opened they rested on his wife... who was still staring back at him with heavy sorrow...
"Sakura..." he whispered, the others letting go and letting him drop on his knees next to her. "Gomen... About all of this..."
"It's ok..." she sniffled, Jan standing over them both as she watched firsthand as her sensei held back her tears. She knew how badly she wanted to cry, but somehow she had the strength not to. Jan herself couldn't believe what just happened... and she wished she wasn't hurting so badly... She would've helped catch Saya along with Darrell... She really would've...
"I really wish I could've helped..." she said in a low murmur. "I wish I wasn't so stupid to fight Rock... If I would've known..."
"Jan... It's alright..." Sakura reassured, wiping the small tears that streaked down her face. "I guess... I guess I'm not cut out for this after all..."
"Now don't you say that..."
Sakura looked up in time to see Athena approach them. It was hard for her to not start grieving on losing Bao, but somehow she did. "You've done so much over the years... You've overcome so many obstacles... and this one... although it's tough now... I just know... You can get over it, Sakura."
"Yeah, Athena's right," Fen added. "Although I don't know every single accomplishment that you've did, you're without question the strongest woman in the world now... Saya might not truly understand that, but we all do, and that goes well beyond beating Kairi and having a mere trophy or title."
Sakura wordlessly stared back at the others that were now giving her support, and inside her world began to brighten... but it wasn't until Darrell gave a slow yet firm nod that she took a deep breath and, along with her husband, stood up, breaking a light smile.
"Yes... Yes, you're right..." she responded. "I have to face up to all my challenges... no matter what they are..."
"That's the warrior's spirit," Mei-Ling cheered her on. "Just like my father would've told me."
"Don't worry yourself about Saya, sensei," Jan said with a confident tone. "In due time we'll knock her back to her senses. You just wait and see."
"Saya..."
The cherry blossom then closed her eyes, reflecting on all that she did with the blond... and all that happened just a few moments ago...
Then her eyes opened, her pupils growing determined and set on the goal in front of her...
"Don't you worry," she said, her voice returning to the youthful, charismatic Sakura that everyone in the world knew and loved. "I'm going to bring you back to earth, no matter what."