Chapter 4
Magick
Surprisingly enough, though the top of the mountain where they'd been trapped had been buried in nearly three feet of snow, the city had only managed ankle-deep accumulation and only to the knees where it drifted.
They arrived back at their hotel room long after night had fallen and weary and cold, they checked their injuries briefly before retreating to bed and sleep. For once, it was a night without dreams for the two teenagers.
Morning arrived, and with it, the final re-awakening of Mokona, an event that helped to lighten the somber mood. Unanimously, they decided they would wait a few days before even beginning to gather resources for another trip into the mountains, and settled themselves in to take it easy until then. Sakura stayed in the hotel room for most of the time, and Fai and Syaoran took turns staying with her while the other went with Kurogane to gather food or information from the surrounding city, an act which surprised Fai.
"You know," Fai said suddenly after he and Kurogane had stepped out to get dinner for the group. "After what happened, I'm still surprised he's as willing as he is to stay close to her. He seemed for so long to make it a point not to get close."
"I told him not to," Kurogane replied, voice firm. "Because I know what kind of problems this is going to cause if his heart keeps leading him down this path."
"Well, it's not like he can really help himself," Fai replied thoughtfully.
"If what you're trying to say is 'he can't help it because half of his heart was once a part of his clone's', then you're wrong, Fai," The ninja stated, shifting the bag of food items he carried on his shoulder. "That, if it plays any part of it, plays a small one. Remember, he did live through the eyes of the other Syaoran for seven years, saw what he saw. I think that, more than anything else, affected his heart."
"He's in love with her..." The magician mumbled to himself. "But... she's..."
"Her situation is more complicated," Kurogane stated with a nod. "I believe, if anything, Sakura is the one who 'can't help what she feels', seeing as how thisSyaoran and the other Syaoran are so very alike."
Fai shook his head, opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then thought better of it and closed his jaw again. "I guess you're right."
They turned a corner, and walked into the hotel.
The two teens were sitting across a table from each other, a game board of what looked like Go between them, and Mokona sitting to the side like a referee, observing the game carefully. No words were being spoken as Sakura stared determinedly at the pieces, while Syaoran sat back, looking somewhat awkward.
It was also quite obvious hewas winning, if the ratio of his pieces to hers was any indicator.
Sakura frowned, and placed another piece down, then sat, back smiling in satisfaction.
Syaoran laughed softly, and looked over the board again. He placed a piece down without needing to think on it too much, and Mokona made a sound.
"Hmm. It looks like Syaoran wins this match," the small white creature stated.
Sakura blinked and turned to Mokona with a surprised look etched all over her features. "What?"
Mokona pointed to the board. "Syaoran wins, there's nothing left you can do to stop the black from taking over the board."
The princess sighed and slumped back in her chair.
"Wow," Fai said, startling all three of the room's occupants. "I think that may be the first time Sakura's lost a game. Don't tell me all that good luck's starting to wear off." He smiled at her, and she turned slightly pink.
"Well... actually..." Sakura started, but didn't get the chance to finish as Mokona jumped onto Kurogane with a happy squeal of "Food!"
The next few days went by quickly, and finally it seemed everyone had become the victim of restlessness, as they decided to begin making preparations for climbing the mountain and investigating the strange goings-on with the weather, and if their mutual hunch was correct that Sakura's feather had something to do with the whole thing.
Sakura had stated, simply, she was coming as well this time. All three of the males tried to talk her out of it, but she was fixed in her opinion, and stubbornly followed them out the door. They had no choice but to allow her to accompany them.
And then they were off, trudging up the mountainside, confident and determined that this time, whatever was controlling the freak snowstorms wouldn't be able to get the better of them. Early morning saw the forest quiet and still, with the night's chill clinging stubbornly to the rocks long after the sun had risen. As before, when they reached a certain point on the mountain, the temperature began to drop dramatically as clouds swirled into existence overhead.
Still they continued on.
Even as the wind began to howl, forcing Sakura to grab hold of Syaoran's arm to keep her balance. There was no chance of losing Mokona this time- it was tucked safely in Fai's jacket. Snow began to add into the storming winds, reducing visibility to the point where it was hard to see one's own hand in front of their face. The group crowded closer together, keeping physical contact to ensure none were lost and kept behind Kurogane as he carved a path through both snow and wind.
Something erupted from the snow, using the wind to speed its travel as it dove right for the group. Kurogane, Fai, and Syaoran all managed to duck out of the way, their heightened senses allowing them brief foresight. Sakura wasn't quite so lucky, even as Syaoran pulled her down, whatever had come from the snow bounded off her shoulder, shoving her backwards and causing her weight to pull Syaoran with her. The young man spun around and barely managed to grab the fluttering end of Fai's coat. This, however, didn't quite stop them as the deep snow gave way beneath the magician's feet under the sudden pressure, and for a moment all three looked like they were going to be taking a painful trip down the side of the mountain. At least until Kurogane grabbed both Fai's arm and something- a rock or root- in the snow, anchoring them all in place.
They barely got a chance to sigh in relief as something elseburst from the snow, and this somethingwas much larger; and it brought an entire avalanchewith it.
Kurogane was forced to let go of what he had been grabbing, and the snow buckled dangerously. If they didn't move, and soon, they realized, they'd be a part of their own avalanche.
The gigantic beast barreled down the mountain, seemingly running on top of the cascading snow.
Syaoran acted this time, heaving with all his strength and pulling Sakura up before forcing her to grab a hold on Fai as he himself let go of the magician's coat. He ran to the side of the group and forward, now the only swordsman with both his hands free as he stood a bit in front of Kurogane, drawing his sword from his left hand.
"You think you can handle that thing, kid?" Kurogane bellowed over the wind. Syaoran nodded curtly. "And what about the avalanche?"
Syaoran threw a look over his shoulder. "I'll leave that one up to you." Then he was off, running up the hill to meet the barely visible monster as it careened down the slope. Blinding light flashed, briefly illuminating the monster's scaly hide and the silhouette of Syaoran, as it converged and hit the monster dead in the chest.
Something that wasn't the wind howled in the distance, and the ground shook, only partially because of the incoming avalanche.
No one even heard Sakura's distressed cry as the battle before them was lost in an even more powerful gust of wind, along with a new, thicker flurry of snow. Kurogane, sword drawn, stood upright, and Fai adjusted his grip until he was holding on to the back of the larger man's jacket. The wall of snow loomed closer, and Kurogane drew back his sword, saying words that were lost in the ruckus of the noise around them.
Then the snow was suddenly upon them, a massive wall of pure white that threatened to consume them like the hungry beast it was. Kurogane brought his sword down, violently, and Sakura flinched. A rush of power and wind seemed to surround them, and the princess noted this wind was blowing in every direction butthe one it had been previously.
Emerald eyes looked up the mountain, to see Kurogane feet apart, bracing himself against a the wall of snow that seemed to split in half just a scant few feet in front of him. She looked to the side, and saw the thick river of snow rushing past. If she stuck her hand out, even a little bit, she'd be able to feel it as it went past. Mesmerized, she continued to watch it, even as the flow subsided and eventually stopped. Fai tugged on her arm, and she looked up to see him jerk his thumb uphill, toward Kurogane who was already beginning to disappear in the blizzard.
She nodded in return, and, holding onto the magician's arm, began the upward trek alongside him. It only took them a few minutes of walking before they found the corpse of the giant monster that had caused the avalanche- a massive hole was missing from its chest, and its purply-blue blood ran in a near-stream through the snow and down the mountain.
Syaoran was nowhere to be found.
"Where do you think he went?" Sakura called over the wind. A wind, she noticed, that wasn't quite as strong as before.
Kurogane looked uphill. "He's probably headed towards the source." He pointed up the mountain, through the thinning fall of snow, towards what looked like a vortex of clouds emanating from the peak.
Fai nodded and they continued walking, sidestepping the ogreish creature laying on the ground and towards the swirling clouds. As they walked, more bodies of the goblin-creatures littered their path, and it brought a genuine sense of unease to the group. The betrayal of the Syaoran they'd all known before was still fresh in their minds, the wounds still not fully healed; but despite that, or perhaps because they pressed on. These weren't humans that had been massacred, and with what seemed like ease. Hewouldn't do this to them... would he?
The bodies piled thickest near the entrance to a cave, where it looked like an entire squadron of the greenish creatures had been sent out to try to deal with the lone swordsman, and all had been slain by his blade, and, from the scorch marks, his magic as well. The group entered the cave and picked up their speed, now unhindered by the wind and with a growing sense of urgency.
The cave entrance opened into a massive room, one lined with candles and lanterns, where spells written in a language no one understood hung from scrolls on the walls. There was a strange device in the center, one with a glowing center and from which the clouds apparently originated from. Syaoran stood, partially to the side of the machine, back turned to them.
"Mekyo!" a muffled voice sounded from Fai's jacket, and Mokona popped its head out. "Sakura's feather is in there!" And it pointed at the device at the center of the room.
The group breathed a sigh of relief, and Syaoran turned back at the sound to see them. Slowly he turned toward them, a self-satisfied smile spreading across his blood-spattered face.
And then he opened his eyes: One amber. One crystalline blue.
The group gasped and tensions spiked as Fai and Kurogane both jumped in front of Sakura, only to be stopped by a sword crossing their path from somewhere to the right.
"Don't," a voice sounded, and it was the otherSyaoran standing to the right of the two men, halting their progress.
The clone let his smile remain, even though his eyes remained cold and empty. "This feather is mine."
"You'll have to fight meto claim it," the real Syaoran replied, voice firm, edged with tension.
The clone nodded, turning his multi-colored eyes from his doppelganger to the two men and Sakura, peering from behind their backs. As his eyes met hers, his eyebrows inched up slightly.
"You'll have to fight us as well," Kurogane stated, readjusting his grip and catching the clone's attention.
The brunette head shook. "I'm not going to fight you." His fingers rose, a bright light appearing between them as he sketched a spell in midair.
"WAIT!" Fai yelled, but it was too late as he, Kurogane, and Sakura were suddenly forced backwards, only to arrive just outside the cave's mouth. The magician frowned and tapped on the entrance, his hands sending blue ripples through an otherwise invisible forcefield. "He trapped us outside."
Kurogane muttered a curse under his breath and looked around. "At least the storm stopped."
Indeed, the snow had stopped falling, and the wind had calmed to little more than a persistent breeze, though the clouds continued to swirl overhead.
Fai sighed and leaned against the rock face. "This is one of the strongest barriers in my magical repertoire. And... since I gave up my magic to give Kurogane his mechanical arm, none of us have the ability to crack it."
"So... what do we do...?" Sakura asked, and her voice was shaking and thick with unshed tears. They all looked to her, expressions sympathetic- she'd been looking for him,and now here hewas, but he'd trapped them outside while he had what might've been a fight to the death with his other self.
Kurogane looked to the cave entrance, red eyes dark with anger. "We wait until the fight is over."
"I hope the "Syaoran" we're with now is the one that comes out with the feather..." Mokona said, softly. "At least he's been giving them back to Sakura. Not that I want anything bad to happen to... the... other one." It trailed off, looking confused.
So they sat, and they waited, for hours it seemed while able to hear or see nothing of the battle inside. Then hope struck in the form of a single sunbeam able to pierce the cloud covering and illuminate the ground. This was followed by another, and another, and the four companions looked up to see the sky clearing- the maelstrom coming from the peak of the mountain nonexistent.
"Someone's got the feather. Guess we get to see which one," Fai noted, voice tired. He stood up fully, and looked toward the entrance of the cave. "And the barrier just went down."
Long, breathless moments passed as the four gave their undivided attention to the deep, black cave. Finally, the shuffling of feet could be heard, steps uneven- whoever it was had an injury to one of their legs. Finally, into the light emerged a battered Syaoran, hands clenched tightly around the glowing form of a feather. He raised his head slowly, his right eye swollen by what appeared to be a sword slash over it, but beneath the partially ajar lid, a flash of brown could be seen.
His eyes were the same color.
The entire group relaxed, and Kurogane stepped forward to steady the teenager as he wavered, exhausted. Arms shaking, he raised his hands toward Sakura, holding the glowing light out as an offering to her. The ninja stepped back as Sakura stepped forward, and she placed her hands over the ones holding the feather, smiling slightly in relief. The feather drifted into her chest, adding another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of her memory, then Sakura fell backward, slowly, and Syaoran, exhausted, fell with her.
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A/N: I like it! This fandom is generally mild mannered and nice, so it has seemed. Ergo, those of you waiting patiently for an update can now get one! This is because I like you. :D
The first three chapters have been retouched upon, a few more slight edits made. They're probably as good as they're gonna get until I decide if I'm going to rewrite anything. Anyway, until a later time.