Chapter Eleven
POV: Lilacheart
* "You stand shoulder width apart. That's the basic stance," Icestar was saying.
We were out in the backyard, in front of her deer target. I had asked Icestar to teach me a bit more about archery after that battle when I'd needed the skill and had made a lucky shot. (An EXTREMELY LUCKY shot, as Icestar had reminded me constantly.) It was nice of her to take time out of her day to come to my place and teach me. I knew I'd have to pay her back somehow, and soon, or it would get on my conscience.
But until then, the least I could do was listen. I stood shoulder width apart, analyzing the bow in my hands. Icestar, obviously, had lent it to me. She had her own personal choice of bow in her hand.
"Okay, since you're right handed, that's the hand facing away from the target."
I adjusted my position slightly, nodding. I analyzed the arm guard I was wearing. Getting whipped with the bow string hadn't been pleasant, and this arm guard was to prevent that. I remembered reading about it in the Ranger's Apprentice. As I thought about it, I realized it was sort of strange that everything I knew about archery was from the Ranger's Apprentice.
A new piece of equipment that I hadn't considered was the archer's glove, which Icestar provided for me. It was so the string didn't sink into your three fingers (index, ring, and middle) too much, she had said. Considering that I always seemed to grip things too tightly, injured myself when the opportunity came, and overall messed up a lot, it seemed like a good thing to have.
"Your thumb goes over your pinky," she continued. I nodded, doing so. She helped me nock the arrow, and then adjusted my fingers on the bow as she explained. "The middle and ring finger go under the arrow, and the pointer finger over. Hold the bow and the string."
I stared at the bow in my hand, nodding at the nocked arrow and the bow pointing at the deer target.
"Pull back with your drawing arm, extend your bow arm, and just let the string go. It'll hit the target, or miss, if your aim is bad—"
"Which mine probably is."
"Probably."
Icestar was always honest. Personally, I liked that, and got a bit of amusement from it, too.
"After that, you just load your arrow again and repeat."
"Okay." I drew back and released. As the arrow flew, I lowered the bow. It fell under the target. Icestar retrieved it for me.
"Don't lower your bow next time," she said. "It throws off your aim."
I noted that and muttered, "O-Oh, I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "Eh, I was the one who forgot to mention it. Anyway, ground rules, no pointing this bow at anything you don't plan on shooting. That's just dangerous. In battle, just do as I taught you and you should do just fine. Don't expect to make any more extremely lucky shots, though."
"Can I fly with the bow and arrow, too? Do the ground rules count in the air?"
She obviously tried to look unamused, but a small twitch in the corner of her mouth gave her away. "Yes, they do," she said, a forceful tone to her voice.
I nodded. "I know, I was kidding."
"That's it, for now. If there's anything else in particular, let me know, I'll help you out." She gave a light shrug.
"Can you do my homework?"
"Not a chance. Besides, we don't have homework."
I smiled and laughed slightly.
"I need to head off," she said.
I cocked my head. "Where to?"
"...To Rabbit's. I need my revenge."
I blinked. "Do you need help getting there?"
"How can you help?" she asked uncertainly.
I shrugged, and said, "I can fly."
She shook her head. "I doubt you have the strength."
"Actually, if you grabbed hold of my wrist, it would be up to you." All I'd have to do is pop my shoulder back into place later. "Besides, it's easier then walking, and it'll probably be more of a surprise if you either fall through the roof or don't have to walk by the window and get seen."
She laughed slightly, then said, "If it helps me sneak up on her, I'll take it." She picked up her bow.
"Do you want the one you lent me back?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Keep it, for now, but I'll take it back when you no longer need it."
I held out my hand, and she grabbed my wrist. "This is so going to dislocate my shoulder," I complained, but before she could decide against it, I beat my wings as hard as I could, into the sky. The moment I was airborne, I could see Cooro flying up as well.
"Need help?" he offered.
"Please. I'll give you an apple for your troubles."
"Done!" He held out his wrist to Icestar, and when she took it, we flew her to Rabbitfoot's.
"Quiet down here, Cooro. We're helping Icestar sneak up on Rabbit."
He nodded.
"Where do you want us to put you?"
"In her backyard," she said, a cheeky grin on her face. I giggled. Cooro didn't get it, but he helped me place her gently in her yard.
"Why do you still have your bow and arrows?" I asked.
The grin on her face made me worry.
"Just don't kill her, alright?" I took flight, Cooro right behind me.
"For the life of her, I hope Rabbit can run fast," I whispered to Cooro.
"Yeah, me too."
We landed by Sheila's house. We had decided to keep Cooro with someone mature, like Sheila, or otherwise he would get into a lot of trouble. I winced and rubbed my shoulder. It was definitely out of place. I knocked on the door with my opposite hand. Sheila opened it and smiled. "Cooro told me he was going out for a walk."
"I flew because I saw Lilac flying, too!" he said enthusiastically.
"Why—" Sheila began.
"Surprise attack."
"Icestar?"
"Icestar."
"Come on inside, you two," she invited.
I reluctantly shook my head. "I've got to head back, otherwise Mokona might blow something up, whether or not it's with Fai, Kurogane, or Syaoran's help..."
Sheila got the note. "Before you go..." She grabbed my shoulder and my arm, and forced them together. With a pop, it snapped back into place. I nearly cried out, then sighed with relief. "Thanks, Sheila."
She smiled. "No problem. Hope your house is okay."
I laughed, then added quickly as I unfolded my wings and turned to go, "Cooro needs an apple. I told him he could have one of he helped me out."
"I keep a store of them now," she assured me. I smiled and took flight.
Slowly, I landed back by my front door. Taking the key out of my pocket, I put it in the lock and opened it. Soundstorm was out talking to Wolf, Squirrelflame, and Rubystripe. I had a feeling it had something to do with Rabbitfoot's marriage.
First a proposal, and now an assassination attempt via Icestar. Poor Rabbitfoot.
Slowly, I pushed the door open. "I'm home!" I called. As the words left my mouth, I noticed that there were papers scattered all over the floor. It looked a bit like a tornado had come through the room.
"...I should just walk away right now," I muttered. I walked inside and shut the door behind me. "Syaoran?" I called. Too late, I remembered I should've called him Syaoran-kun.
"Lilacheart-san, welcome back. How did the lesson go?" he asked, looking up from the papers he was reading. I noticed he looked fairly embarrassed. He was sitting on the sofa nearby.
"It went fine. What happened here?"
"Mokona found your binder, then fell down the stairs. I'm sorry. I was going to clean them up, but I started reading them. It's strange, a lot of these papers seem like something out of a science fiction book. Are they papers from your English homework?"
I gently took the paper he was reading out of his fingers. I read through it, and as I did so, my eyes narrowed. "...This...this is my homework, all right...but this is my science homework. This stuff isn't fictional, it's real, Syaoran-kun."
"You remembered the honorific this time," he said with a light smirk.
I nodded, smiling a little. "Still, I'm surprised you thought this was fake..."
"Well, it seems a little far-fetched."
"While I agree with you, book characters falling from the sky seemed a bit far-fetched until it happened. Particularly Amaterasu, though. I mean, she's a goddess."
He looked thoughtful, then nodded lightly. "I guess." Slowly, he frowned. I noticed he seemed a little worried. "Does having me in your house bother you?"
"No, no, no!" I said, shaking my head violently. "I don't think it's truly sunk in that you're actually Syaoran yet, but I enjoy having you around!"
He gave a light smile.
I continued, "Having all these characters around...it's just amazing. I'm sure everyone in the county would agree with me."
Finally, he nodded, though he seemed confused. "Why wouldn't it have sunk in yet?"
"Well, I mean, we've made so many jokes around book characters! I mean, you guys have merchandise based off of you! You have voice actors! Cloudy has pretended to marry Fai to Starry! Fai's voice actor calls him Kurger-burger! Cloudy has even tried marrying ME to YOU!"
"...Wow, that's a bit disturbing," Syaoran said, suppressing his laughter.
I laughed nervously.
"I have a wife?" came an amused voice from around the corner.
"...You were eavesdropping, Fai?" I asked under my breath, turning to look at him. I saw a livid Kurogane next to him, too.
"WHO calls me WHAT!" he shouted.
Syaoran hurriedly pushed me towards the door. "Run!"
"Why, this is my house—" I began.
Kurogane unsheathed his sword and charged at me. I squeaked and sprinted out the door.
I don't know how far I ran; I was half frightened, half extremely amused. I didn't fly, because I doubted Kurogane was literally going to try and kill me. I also had the feeling that if he wanted to catch up with me, he would've. However, I managed to stay a good deal ahead of him, so I decided that he wasn't trying.
The running finally stopped when we made it to the park. Only because someone leapt out of the bushes and smashed right into Kurogane.
"What the he—" he began, as he realized he had a teenager clinging to his neck.
I burst out laughing. "Thunder, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Glomping Kurogane, what else?" she responded, giggling.
I was doubled over in tears by this point.
"And why would you be doing that?" he asked in a warning tone.
"Because you're just awesome," she said.
"Ninja's don't like receiving tackle hugs," I said as I tried to breathe.
"But that's not my problem, is it?" she asked playfully.
"Oh, it is now," he hissed.
She let go and ran for her life, only to get knocked over by Mistsong. "Kurogane's mine!" she yelled.
"Stop it, you two, I'm about to pee myself!" I yelled, falling to my knees, and wiping tears away from my eyes.
"Someone has no dignity," Kurogane grumbled, shooting an accusing glare at me.
Thunder took out her meat hook and the two chased each other down the road.
"...Um...Kurogane—" I began.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he sighed, sheathing his sword and following them.
Slowly, I managed to catch my breath. I straightened myself out and stretched my muscles. I turned around...and got pushed out of the way by a frantic Rabbitfoot. Icestar was behind her, an arrow nocked in her bow.
"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" I asked, but she ignored me they ran into the park and disappeared around a tree.
Syaoran and Soundstorm appeared from around two separate corners. Syaoran looked a bit irked, while Soundstorm looked just plain amused.
"Has anyone noticed there are a lot of random spazzes running around town today?"
"...Are you calling me a spaz?" I asked.
"...Yes."
"...Yeah, I've noticed to."
A loud scream filled the air. I recognized it as Rabbitfoot's. There was a long silence, then hysterical laughter echoed throughout the park.
"...She's fine," I decided, turning to look at Syaoran. "Is something wrong?"
"...I was on your computer, reading through your roleplay transcripts."
"...There's a reason those are in a locked file. How did you—"
"Mokona."
"...Ah."
"Anyway, I know when you thought I was fictional, you liked to beat the heck out of me, but you have got to stop making Fei-Wang Reed my FATHER. That's something I'd have nightmares about!"
"...Who is your father?" I asked.
He opened his mouth to respond, but as he did, I noticed about four shapes walking towards us.
"...Actually, hold on." I dashed off, leaving Soundstorm and Syaoran to talk to one another.
As I came closer, I recognized there was a wolf limping beside the three figures, and one of the three was holding on unconscious girl.
"Spirit! Ammy!" I yelled, running as fast as I could. I was completely frantic. What had happened?
—
POV: ?
I carried the limp girl in my arms, the brown-blonde haired girl, Kayla Reed, beside me, helping me out. I hadn't known her long. I had only known the ones surrounding me for about...three hours.
I'll backtrack here.
—
We had all been dumped by the river, though I'm unsure as to how this had happened. I had been the first to wake up. Surrounding me were three others. One was a brown-haired girl wearing a furry winter coat. Instantly I wished I was wearing one, too. Wherever we were, it was freezing. There was a girl with blonde-brown hair, wearing dusty, muddy clothing. Her hair was matted; it looked like she hadn't been in a house for a long time. I felt bad for her, and I wondered what had happened. There was also a young boy, just a kid, about twelve. He was wearing a cap and tightly gripping a strange device I couldn't identify.
I stood up, dusted myself off, and tried to remember what had happened. I recalled that I had been looking for my friends, fallen asleep...and woken up here. I shook my head. I guess I'd have to put that aside for now, as much as I didn't want to.
I took a step forward, walking towards the boy. I wasn't sure if any of them were hurt, but if I wasn't, chances were they weren't either. Still, better safe than sorry. And if anyone was hurt, I would want to check on the youngest one first. I was also curious that maybe they knew what was going on.
Gently, I grabbed his shoulder and lightly shook him back and forth. A small, light green ball slid out of his opposite hand, and I grabbed it for him. He groaned, rolled over, and sat up. He didn't appear to be injured, maybe just a little tired and confused, like I was. He looked around, and his eyes widened. He blinked. "...What?" he finally whispered.
"Hey," I greeted quietly.
Only then did he seem to notice me. He turned around. "...Where am I?" he said nervously.
"...I don't know," I admitted. Then I added, "You dropped this." I held out the small ball he had dropped.
He looked up at me, then tentatively took the ball.
"What is that?" I asked, glancing at the device.
"...It's my racquet. I play tennis," he muttered.
I didn't get it. "Tennis?"
"...You don't know what tennis is?" This seemed to surprise him.
"N-No, but you don't have to explain, I just want to work things out."
He nodded agreement. "Who are these people?" He was looking at the other two who were 'unconscious,' only now I had the feeling they were only sleeping. Which was good, because I had been worried they were all hurt.
"I'm not sure, but I'll see if I can wake them up." I turned around and walked over to the girl with the matted hair. As I walked towards her, her eyes shot open.
She blinked, then looked around.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know."
She looked at me.
"What's your name?" I asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed my arm and turned it over, looking at my wrist. I waited their patiently, unsure of what she was interested in. "...You don't have a barcode," she finally said.
"...A what?" I asked.
"A barcode," she repeated.
"I...I'm sorry, but I don't know what that is." I was sure I sounded idiotic.
"Lucky you," was all she said before sitting up.
I turned around, unsure of what else to say to her. I walked over to the other girl, but she was already awake. "Good morning," she said, before I could say anything.
I blinked, then asked, "Do you know where we are?"
She shook her head. "No, but I've been here for three days." Her eyes clouded with worry. "I hope Aang and Sokka are alright..."
"Are those your friends? I'm looking for my friends, too," I murmured.
"I hope you find them," she said.
I offered her my hand, and she took it. I pulled her up to her feet. "My name's Katara," she said. "Who are all of these people?"
"...I don't know them, but they're just about as clueless as me."
"So I'm not alone in this whole mess, then," Katara sighed.
I shook my head. "No."
"What's your name?" Katara asked.
I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, there was a large explosion. I swung around. We all did. "What was that!" the 'barcode' girl asked.
"I don't know," Katara answered nervously.
I ran towards the sound of the noise, the other three behind me. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but it certainly wasn't what we found. There were about twenty green, bladed creatures that I had never seen before, surrounding a girl and a white wolf. The white wolf had red patterns on its fur, and was carrying a weapon. The girl was unconscious beside it, and the white wolf was bristling angrily. There were also about 10 injured green creatures around the twenty others. I bit my lip.
"What are those?" the kid asked.
I shook my head.
"They look like trouble," the barcode girl admitted.
I nodded. The girl and the white wolf were being herded away by the green creatures.
"...I think we should help them out," Katara finally said, and it didn't sound like she could be swayed.
"Then we need a plan," I said. My mind was involuntarily building one. I was a bit worried, though, because the plans I came up with often got me killed.
No. Seriously.
"Do you have any ideas?" the barcode girl asked.
"I'm not sure," I muttered. "Do any of you know how to fight?" I hated asking this. My friends were all great fighters, one was even a user of magics. I didn't fight.
"Yes," Katara said, nodding. "I'm a waterbender."
"I'm psychic," the barcode girl offered.
"...Nope," the kid said. "All I can do is hit a ball with a racquet."
"...That might actually be good enough," I said, smiling a little bit. Then I added, "Katara, what's a water bender?"
"It means what it says." With that, she stood up , looked around cautiously, to be sure the creatures were gone, then headed to a small patch of snow. I was surprised when it suddenly whipped into the air.
I smiled, at the same time thinking, I probably should've known that.
A tree branch snapped, and I turned around. It whipped into the barcode girl's hand.
"Perfect!" I said, smiling. "I think this is what we can do."
I walked over to Katara, the other two following. "What's your name?" I asked, glancing at the boy.
"Um...Ryoma," he said.
I nodded. "Ryoma-kun, you can smash that ball of yours in front of the creatures. Katara-san and—"
"Kayla."
"Katara-san and Kayla-san, you can come around the opposite direction and attack them by surprise."
They nodded.
"What about you?" Ryoma asked.
I bit my lip. I'd never fought. Usually, if I tried, someone would hold me back and say that I could help just by being there and supporting.
"...I'm not really good at anything."
"Actually, your plan was pretty good," Katara put in. "It makes sense."
"I can't waterbend," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I can teach you later, unless you're a firebender, or earthbender."
I wasn't sure what to say to that, so I shrugged. "Maybe." Then I turned towards the direction the creatures had taken the girl and ran. Katara and Kayla went around, following my plan to come in from the opposite direction. I hoped that they would at least know when to come in, because I hadn't mentioned anything like that.
We stopped at a small pool-type area. It was surrounded by the green reptile creatures, and there were little slugs jumping out of the water. Neither me nor Ryoma knew what to say to that. I noticed they were trying to shove the wolf's head into the water.
"You ready?" I finally asked.
He nervously nodded. "What happens if they go after me?" He sounded scared. I felt bad for him. He was only twelve.
"Then I'll help you," I promised. "I'm not much of a fighter, but I'll buy you time. We're not planning on fighting these things, we just have to the girl and the wolf out."
"Why, do you know them?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Not really, it was Katara-san's idea. Besides, it just...seems like the right thing to do."
"...Agreed," Ryoma finally said. He stepped out, threw the ball into the air, and whacked it, as hard as he could. I liked the sound it made, for some strange reason.
The ball hit one of the creatures in the back of the head. I burst out laughing. It wasn't the best idea, but it did get everyone's attention. They all turned around, even letting go of the wolf, and ran towards us.
A water whip smashed one of the creatures in the back, causing it to trip over. Kayla threw the large, broken off tree branch at the creature standing closest to the unconscious girl before darting towards her and picking her up. Another creature ran towards her, only to get hit in the head with a tennis ball again.
"Nice aim," I commented. Ryoma smirked.
Katara smashed another creature out of the way with a water whip. Another one of them sneaked up behind her.
"Look out!" I yelled.
As it brought its blade down towards her head, it split down the middle and fell to the ground. I nearly lost my lunch, until I noticed the wolf we had rescued holding a paint brush, wagging its tail.
"I don't think this day gets any stranger," I heard Ryoma say.
"Nope!" Kayla agreed. Katara, seeming a bit shaken, darted towards us, about fifty of those creatures on her heels.
A small bomb was dropped in front of us. I had no idea where it came from.
Let's get out of here! I heard a voice say in my head. I glanced down at the wolf, who was looking up at me. I cocked my head, and it nodded. We darted off as the bomb exploded.
Ryoma turned around. "Made made dane!" he yelled, before following us.
I didn't know what that meant, but I could probably ask him later.
I don't know how we got away, but the wolf seemed to know what it was doing and where it was going, so we all just followed it. We finally stopped by a forest, where we sat down to rest.
Thank you, the wolf said.
I smiled and rested a hand on her head. Or at least, she sounded like she was a girl, anyway. "Do you know where we are?" I asked her.
You're in Wands and Worlds County. You're not the first to get dropped here. Far from it.
"Were you just dropped in here unexpectedly?" I asked.
"Who are you talking to?" Ryoma asked.
"The wolf," I responded.
He blinked, then shrugged. "I'm not surprised anymore."
Yes, I was. The girl over there is a resident here. I know the way back to town, but we should rest first. She shot a look at the girl Kayla had put down.
I nodded. I was exhausted, so I wasn't going to complain.
Also, someone might recognize you back in town. Apparently, we all have books written about all of us.
"...No, I don't," I said uncertainly.
Yes you do, the wolf said. Suddenly she sneezed.
"Someone's talking about you," I giggled.
It's not funny, she whimpered.
We stopped talking after that, just resting for a little while. After about ten to thirty minutes, the wolf stood up. If we're missing for too long, they'll start to worry. Come on, we should get going.
—
The town was in sight, now, though it was dark and cloudy. There were kids running around, enjoying themselves. I silently wondered if my friends were here, if the small group I was with weren't the only ones just dropped here.
I stopped walking when I saw a girl with brown hair, a long t-shirt, jeans, and covered in recovering wounds running towards us. As soon as she cried out "Spirit! Ammy!" I knew the girl Kayla and I were carrying was her friend, and so was the wolf. Kayla and I put the girl down and allowed her to rest against the wolf.
"Your name is Ammy?" I asked her.
Amaterasu. They call me Ammy.
I nodded. The girl skidded to a stop, kicking up snow.
"S-Sorry...holy foo." She stared at all of us. But mostly me. Her face lit up, and she seemed so enthusiastic, it was almost cute, though I couldn't understand it. "I know all of you!" she cried.
I glanced at Amaterasu, who was looking at me in a "What did I tell you?" sort of way.
"Katara from Avatar, Kayla Reed from the Barcode Tattoo, Ryoma Echizen from The Prince of Tennis..." Her gaze stopped on me. She didn't even say my name, she just spun around and yelled, "Syaoran!"
My eyes widened and I grabbed her shoulder. "Syaoran-kun's here?" I could feel myself getting excited.
She looked over her shoulder and nodded, a huge grin on her face. "Yeah, he is! So are Kurogane-san, Fai-san, and Mokona! Sorry if I forget honorifics, we don't usually use them in the county."
I was so excited that I wanted to run towards the town. Katara smiled. "Are those your friends?" She asked. I nodded quickly.
The girl regained her composure and turned to look at us. "It's nice to meet you, Sakura-san," she said to me, nodding in greeting. "Is Spirithunter alright?"
I glanced at Amaterasu, who nodded.
The girl got to her knees and scratched Amaterasu behind the ears before standing up. "Let me get Kurogane-san, Fai-san, Syaoran-kun, and Emily."
She ran in the other direction, about ten times faster than she had come.
—
POV: Syaoran
"Soundstorm-san, I'm not in love with Lilacheart-san, why did you tell your brother that?" I asked as I watched Lilacheart run towards the people in the distance.
"It's fun to tease her," she said, giggling. "And it's just teasing. We all know you love Sakura."
"A-Ah...!" I whimpered, taking a step back. She laughed hysterically at my embarrassment.
I looked up as I heard Lilacheart yell, "Syaoran!" I took a step forward, unsure of whether or not to go and see what was wrong. I began to walk slowly towards them, only to have Lilacheart come dashing back and nearly crash into me.
"Get Fai-san! If you see them, get Emily and Kurogane-san, too! And Mokona!" She darted off without another word.
I glanced at the figures in the distance, then turned around and headed towards her house. What was she so excited about?
It wasn't that far, just about three minutes. I pushed the door open. "Kurogane-san? Fai-san?"
"Kurogane is still out," Fai said, walking towards me. "Is something wrong, Syaoran-kun?"
"Lilacheart-san wanted me to get you. I think something important happened, but I'm not sure what. Bring Mokona."
He blinked, a bit uncertain, and then nodded. "Mokona's in my pocket, sleeping."
I noticed Mokona's eyes opening, and it cocked its head.
"She mentioned Emily-san, too, so I'm not sure if it's good. Mokona, Lilacheart-san wanted something."
Mokona nodded. So did Fai, and we both made our way back down the street. We found Kurogane trying to pull Thunder and Mistsong off of him.
"Did we miss something?" Fai asked, laughing behind his hand.
"I think Kurogane-san has a fanclub," I sniggered.
"Continue laughing and you die," Kurogane grunted.
"Lilacheart-san wanted to talk to you, Kurogane-san."
"Do we have to fight her for Kurogane, too?" Thunder asked.
"Everyone knows she likes Syaoran," Mistsong said.
"I'm right here," I sighed.
Kurogane pulled the two of them off him and stood up. "Okay, let's go."
Suddenly Lilacheart came running back with Emily behind her. "Can you tell us what's going on?" I asked, a bit worried. "Did someone get hurt?"
"Spirithunter and Amaterasu. Ammy says they're fine, but it's better safe than sorry." She seemed excited.
"That's not a good thing."
"I'm still trying to work out how to break the good news to you."
Fai smiled. "Lilac-chan, you like to make Syaoran happy, don't you?"
"Yeah!" she said, excitedly hopping up and down slightly. "He's the coolest!"
I felt myself turning red in the face. "I-I'm only human..."
She just laughed. Finally, she took a deep breath. "One of the newcomers was Sakura. I know you guys have been worried about her, but she's fine."
"Sakura!" Everything I was worried about disappeared. I sprinted forward, followed by Kurogane, Fai, and Lilacheart, and Emily.
As I came closer, I knew Lilacheart was definitely right: Sakura was here. It wasn't that I had doubted it, but...It was so good to see her again.
"Syaoran-kun!" She ran into me and caught me in a giant hug. I wasn't embarrassed. (Not until about five minutes later, that is.)
"I was so worried about you!" I whispered to her.
She nodded. "I was looking everywhere for you guys. How did you get here?"
"I don't know. We've all been at Lilacheart-san's house."
"...Do we actually have books written about us?"
"Yeah, actually, it's kind of weird."
Lilacheart heard this and laughed.
Thunder and Mistsong stopped behind Lilacheart. "There goes that shipping," Mistsong said, sounding dejected.
"Hey!" Lilacheart yelped. "Don't make me sic a POed Icestar on you!"
"...What would happen if Trihorn showed up?" Thunder asked.
"We're all gonna die!" Soundstorm yelled.
"What are they talking about?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Who knows?" I responded.
Finally we stepped back, and Sakura hugged Kurogane and Fai. Mokona glomped Sakura. "Sakura!" it squeaked happily. I turned to look at the others who had come with Sakura; the three of them were just staring. Two were smiling, while the other, who was just a kid, was looking a bit confused.
"Your friend Sakura is a pretty good strategist," said the long, brown-haired girl in the winter jacket.
"...Did she nearly get herself killed again?" I asked nervously.
She shook her head. "Your friend, Spirithunter? I'd say the plan saved her from those green creatures back there."
"...Green creatures?" I glanced over at Soundstorm and Lilacheart, who exchanged a glance.
"Hork-Bajir," they said nervously.
"There was also a pool—"
The girl was cut off when Lilacheart swore suddenly. "This is bad."
"Why?" I asked, unsure.
"A Yeerk pool. Did either Ammy or Spirit get their heads anywhere near it?"
"They were trying to put the wolf's head in, but it kept biting off their fingers."
She looked for something to say, but finally just settled for, "Owned."
"Who are all of you?" I asked.
"Katara."
"Kayla."
"..."
"Ryoma-san," Sakura supplied. "By the way, Syaoran-kun, what's tennis?"
I shrugged. "I think it's...um...I actually have no idea."
"Tennis is a game where you hit a ball back and forth with a racquet," Lilacheart said.
"Say 'what she said,'" Soundstorm whispered.
"Stop being a bad influence on Syaoran!" Lilacheart whimpered.
I laughed uncertainly.
"It's a twin thing," the two said at the same time.
As the two went and introduced themselves to the newcomers, and told them where they were, I decided to explain some of the situation to Sakura.
"This is Wands and Worlds County. Apparently, characters from alternate worlds are considered fictional here, and we're written about as if we don't actually exist."
"That's strange," Sakura said. I had to agree with her there.
"Problem is that there are also the...er...not so good people here as well."
"...Like the clone?" she asked uncertainly.
I nodded. "Yes, he tried to kill Lilacheart-san."
Her eyes widened in complete shock. "Then how is she—"
"She grew wings. It has something to do with completely different world logic, or something like that. +Anima."
"That's...weird, and interesting," Sakura admitted. "I'm glad that no one here has been worse than just hurt."
I nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Mokona went boink in my palm. Kurogane and Fai noticed this and walked over to us. "What's up with Mokona?" Fai asked.
"I don't—" I began.
A symbol suddenly appeared beneath our feet. "Mokona, what's going on!" Sakura shouted.
The Wandies all turned around.
"Where are they going?" Thunder asked nervously.
Lilacheart looked at me. "I don't know," I mouthed, a bit nervous.
Mokona leapt into the air and spread its wings. A light surrounded the four of us, swirling until we were obscured from sight. We were all too familiar with this: Mokona was going to switch worlds.
The real question was why?
It inhaled us all, and everything went dark. That's when something unusual happened. A spark of lightning suddenly flashed in my dark vision.
And then there was a loud crash. Pain flooded through me, and I cried out. I could hear Sakura, Fai, Mokona, and Kurogane, too. I could feel lightning surrounding me, electrocuting me, over and over again. I tried to breathe; this technically failed.
When the pain stopped, I could feel myself falling. I couldn't open my eyes, and I couldn't work out what had just happened. The fall stopped abruptly, but it didn't hurt, and it certainly didn't feel like I had hit the ground. I struggled to open one of my eyes and saw Lilacheart, her wings unfurled.
"Does that always happen when you try to change worlds?" she asked uncertainly.
I shook my head lightly, looking around, trying to figure out where everyone else was. There was a small water platform underneath Sakura that was slowly lowering her to the ground. Fai was falling slowly, but I wasn't sure why. I couldn't see Kurogane or Mokona.
Lilacheart landed on the ground lightly, and that's when I spotted Kurogane and Mokona. Mistsong and Thunder had both caught Kurogane, though they had been sort of squashed flat in the process. Ryoma had caught Mokona. I was sure that if he was used to hitting and catching what Lilacheart had called a 'tennis ball,' catching something bigger than that would be easy, and Mokona was clearly bigger then a tennis ball.
The whole thing, apparently, was not only witnessed by those at the scene, because it seemed like half the county was here, now. Sheila, Magicyop, Riskay, Whisperheart, Ivyflower, Squirrelflame, Jadepool, Lakestorm, Dawnstripe, Icestar, Icetail, Rabbitfoot, Moonglow, Coalfang, Cloudwind, Starsight, Silentstorm, Rubystripe, Crescentmoon, Forestpelt, Foxwhisper, Kennen, Goldenslash, Sevenclaws, Copperrose, Lostpaw, Sparrowheart, Sunstreak, Quailfeather, Minou, and the two hundred and fifty one other members who will likely be complaining that I forgot them.
Kayla slowly lowered Fai to the ground, and Katara brought Sakura down gently and leaned her against a tree. "What just happened?" a girl named Brambleflower cried.
Everyone was talking all at once.
"What happened?" Lilacheart asked me.
"I don't know. Mokona tried to change worlds, and then everything hurt." I probably sounded drunk, but I was a bit out of it.
"Why did you guy try to leave?"
"...We didn't try, Mokona just did."
She nodded, and walked over to Ryoma, still carrying me.
"Mokona?" she asked.
"Mokona felt like it was being called," it whimpered. "Mokona...felt like it had to go..." It burst into tears. "Mokona's sorry!"
Lilacheart grabbed my wrist and placed my hand on its head. "It's fine, Mokona," I muttered. "Just...who was—"
"Yûko."
I sighed, and my eyes fell shut. "If it was Yûko, why didn't she call you via the black Mokona?"
"...It hasn't been possible these past few days. Mokona's tried, it can't communicate with Black Mokona."
"I think we're all closed off to the outside world," Minou sighed, who was right behind us, slowly shaking his head.
"I certainly don't want to be the one to find out if that's true," Coalfang muttered.
"What the heck is that?" yelled Foxwhisper. This completely diverted our attention from the world changing dilemma. We all turned around to see what she was talking about. I felt Lilacheart tensed. I found that I couldn't force my eyes open. "What's going on?" I asked her.
"...How many Hork-Bajir is it when it looks like there's a green tidal wave in the distance?" Her voice cracked twice in that sentence.
As I managed to force my eyes open a crack, I realized a 'green tidal wave' was an understatement. It looked someone had planted grass in the snow. The dark clouds looked even more ominous, and it almost looked like it was night. However, I knew it was only late afternoon. I tried to get up, but a spark appeared on my arm and jolted though my body. I groaned and didn't try that again.
"Do you think those Hork-Bajir could've chosen a worse time?" Sunstreak asked when she saw this.
"We could all be injured," Lilacheart suggested.
"True."
"...I need a chair," Lostpaw said slowly. There was a ripple of nervous laughter.
"Do we all have our weapons on hand?" Sheila asked.
There were some yes's and some no's.
"Lilac, Katara, Kayla, Thunder, Misty, Ryoma. You guys should get Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona out of here. I don't think they're in any condition to fight."
I heard Kurogane grunt in disagreement, and I had a feeling he was trying to sit up.
"Kurogane!" Sheila snapped.
"I'm not sitting out!" he hissed.
"Yes, you are!" Sheila insisted. "You're not fighting in your condition!"
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"And who said I have to listen to you?"
"We did!" I actually laughed when I realized that every single Wandie had said this in unison.
There was no way for Kurogane to argue with that.
"Actually, Thunder, Misty, you stay here. Cmoon, it would be easier for you to evacuate Kurogane. You can all come back to battle when they're safe."
"We can take them to my house," Lilacheart said. "Losty, we'll bring back a chair."
"Bring your bow and arrow with you, Lilac," Icestar said. "This would be good practice."
"I will."
"And no one from the Tsubasa group is fighting this battle."
I was reluctant to agree with that, but the Wandies had made it pretty clear with Kurogane that what Sheila says, goes.
"Come on, I'll get you out of here," Lilacheart whispered to me. I didn't respond. I heard the sound of Sheila and Magicyop giving battle commands as I was taken away from the scene.
—
* Special thanks to Iceclaw on W&W for the in-depth archery info included in this chapter.