A/N: Okay people, so I'm back with another update. I can tell a lot of you would be going 'Finally!' I did after all leave you all hanging on a rather horrid cliffy, did I not? *snickers* right well… I won't keep you anymore and let you go ahead and read. But first!
Be warned that this chapter has yet to be beta'ed. Therefore you might find some stupid mistakes here and there even though I like to think otherwise.
Since I have no other means to respond to anonymous reviews, I'll be doing that over here so you can skip on ahead to the end of the A/N if you're too impatient to find out what happens next, k? ;)
Anonymous: Wow. Killing him off seems like not such a good idea now… sadly, my mind has already been made in this regard and quite a lot of future chapters have also been planned, based on that decision. ^_^;
And as to answer your question about whether I want any of this happening to me… well… I actually got challenged to write something along those lines a while back. It's a collab fic which you guys will get to see sometime in the future so keep an eye out for it. (though knowing me… I'll end up putting notes in pretty much all my updates when I do get around to putting it up.)
Help Me I'm Stuck On TRC ():
Eh? I do? *sweatdrops and goes off to check* yeah… I do. *shot*
*blinks* I don't think I have seen so many 'let him live!'s in one place…. I'll see what I can do about that. :p
asdf ()
actually, my theory behind the spirit's awakening is the essence of the world that everyone is after. Since the clone Sakura (or the real one) have yet to be exposed to that essence properly, (Sakura held a piece of it in her hand when she separated Syaoran and Tsubasa), the spirit that resides in her body is still dormant. In other words, she (the clone) has no idea of what is going on around her.
Hehehe… who knew having awesome writing skills could save one from dying. *shot* damn it! I just got shot! Well, here's your update ^_^ Mokona wasn't one of the ones that tortured him but Syaoran is in what you can say… a self-imposed catatonic state. He recedes within his mind in an attempt to protect himself from harm so that is why he doesn't acknowledge Mokona. He is brought out of it when Sakura brings out the sheers, thinking that she had finally grown bored enough to want to go back to torturing him. I hope that cleared up your questions. If you have any more, feel free to ask.
Enjoy!
Masooma looked over her shoulder as she quietly slid the lock out of place. In a city for magicians, it was funny how in the lower catacombs that were supposedly out of bounds for everyone, there was no magic in place to ensure that there would be no trespassers. Not even so much as a guard… The council was too cocky. One of the reasons why Masooma hated working under them as a guardian so much. Seeing that she had not been followed so far, she quickly slipped inside, letting the door shut behind her. Letting out the breath she had been holding, she leaned against the door for a while, wondering whether if what she was about to do was… no. she needed to do this. It was the only way now.
Even if Nixon might get angry at her for doing so… she knew it was the only way. Straightening up, she held her hands out in front of her, feeling the path ahead of her, since the pitch blackness rendered her eyes useless. She could summon a light with magic but then, that would let Nixon know where she was and he'd be there in a heartbeat and stop her from what she was about to do. Her decoy could only work for so long until he figured out that she was not at her usual haunt. He was the Oracle after all…
Feeling the path ahead of her in the twisted catacombs beneath Magihidusi, she tried not to think of the darkness that surrounded her. It was pressing on her from all sides, making her feel claustrophobic and breathless. But the thought of Fai suffering at the hands of those hunters made her go on. Finally, arriving at her destination, in the spacious antechamber of the cave located directly beneath the main pyramid, she slowed down. A gentle glow lit up the cavern upon her arrival, the tendrils of magic gently caressing her face and bare arms. She smiled softly, feeling the essence welcome its guardian.
She set down the pack she was wearing near her feet and proceeded into the chamber that held the essence, a semi-sentient form of magic, powerful enough to destroy the whole world, yet gentle and meek like a newborn babe.
"Can I mask my aura with yours while I contact a friend? There is someone I don't want to find out my location at the moment." The warm tendrils of magic merely caressed her face in response. "Thank you."
Raising her hand in the air, she let the magic gather around her fingers as she traced the words of a spell she had only once used before.
-0-
Nixon felt his concentration slip, but he managed to keep the spell from breaking. He was the only things currently guiding Syaoran safely through the maze that must be Fai's mind right. If he left the spell on its' own, Syaoran would never be able to get through the layers of memories currently in place to protect Fai's fragile mind.
As he forced himself to focus back on Syaoran, he suppressed the urge to swear. He had just been swallowed up by a memory again. Knowing that there wasn't much he could do but wait until the memory ended, Nixon turned his attention to the thing that had caused his lapse in concentration in the first place and found his blood running cold.
"Masooma, you idiot!" he cursed, quickly trying to search her aura. He could sense her somewhere inside the pyramid. In one of the more secluded areas of the upper levels of the structure.
-0-
He had been walking for hours now, occasionally ending up sucked into the wooden doors when he would be unable to resist the magical pull that the memories behind those doors exerted on him. The cracked ice seemed to have taken a darker hue the farther he went, going from clear to translucent to a now eerie obsidian. Strangely enough though, he was not surrounded in a blinding darkness now that his surroundings had become black since despite there not being a source of light, he could see very well. It was quite hard to describe but that was the way it was. Another thing that had changed from earlier was that there were many tunnels branching off of the main one he was walking in the wooden doors now taking home in those side branches instead of the main stem.
At first it had just been a soft whisper on the non-existant wind inside this endless tunnel but as the walls darkened, it started becoming louder and much more pronounced, the soft sobbing of a child. There it was again. It echoed in the side tunnels but Syaoran remembering what he had been told earlier, did not deviate from the tunnel he started out in knowing that what he was searching for lay at the end. He urged his feet to move faster. He was almost there.
Ghostly swirls of dark mist curled around his feet, adding to the surreality of it all.
I don't want to go.
A wooden door suddenly materialized in front of him. From its worn appearance Syaoran was able to tell that the memory he would have to witness behind it in order for him to make it to the other side, would not be a happy one. He couldn't really understand why he was being made to see them in the first place. It just did not make any sense. True he had been warned not to look behind the doors but it was almost like it wanted him to see them. But… what if he had not been the one to make it in here? What if it had been someone else? Someone with less noble intentions? Surely these memories would prove to be powerful weapons against the blond mage. His deepest, darkest secrets were in here. His fears, his hopes… his everything. If one of the hunters had managed to get in somehow… His mind- already showing how far it had deteriorated thanks to their ministrations- would shatter to nothingness.
So then why?
As his fingers touched the rough wooden surface to push the door blocking his path, Syaoran forgot all about his questions as he became one with the memory once again.
-0-
"Hello Watanuki-san," she smiled softly as the connection established and the bespectacled face of the wishing shop's latest owner appeared before her vision.
"Hello to you as well, Guardian-san," The teen appeared a bit startled but managed to gain his composure quickly. He said nothing else, watching her with a knowing gaze as she seemed to bit her lip in indecision before finally deciding on something.
"I want to make a wish." She said decisively, sealing not only her own fate but the fate of several others who had become tangled with her own during the past few months.
-0-
Syaoran stumbled, managing to catch his footing as a force expulsed him from the memory. Turning to look over his shoulder, he half expected the door to melt into the black ice, an awning crack forming to reach out for him but nothing of the sort happened. All he saw an innocent looking silver mist hanging in the tunnel where he knew the door ought to have been.
Turning back to look ahead, Syaoran found another door blocking his path. Taking a deep breath, he steeled his resolve as he made to push the door. Even though he knew he was violating the blonde's privacy by going through his memories no matter how unintentional that may be, he still couldn't feel self loathing. This was Fai's mind. He was not supposed to be going through all those private cherished moments of his life like this. Even the bad memories, Fai had a right to keep them to himself. He suppressed the urge to smile ruefully. He had been in a similar position with another man in another life. Before he had lost his heart, he had unintentionally ended up going through Kurogane's memories as well. He wondered what it was about him that made him land in such situations.
Before he had been sent here, he had been in the dream world with the Oracle, the blind man having explained to him what had happened in reality. Guilt at what he had done nearly attacked him with a vengeance upon hearing the true story as he realized that he had tortured an innocent man, a man that had landed in his pitiful position after trying to save his son. Before the feeling could overwhelm him though, Syaoran had chosen to shove it away to reflect on later as he had been whisked away to the magician's mind. There was something here he needed to find.
When his fingers were mere inches from the door, the whole place began to quake lightly. A flame-like mist enveloped his surroundings for a brief moment before vanishing to leave behind a smooth, door less corridor.
Syaoran blinked in confusion for a fraction of a second before plowing on. Now was not the time to think. His time in this place was running out.
-0-
Nixon breathed a sigh of relief as he finally managed to regain his grip on the spell. Furrowing his brow in concentration, he started reigning in the various memories that were blocking the spirit's path. Even with his help, Syaoran could only last so long inside the mind of another magician.
Even though a part of him was very well aware of what Masooma was doing at that very moment, he knew he could not go after her. He was the only one protecting the spirit inside Fai's mind. He clenched his fists in anger. What that girl was doing was completely unnecessary. Why couldn't she just sit tight and wait for a while. He was already doing his best to help out. Oracle or not, Fai would seriously have his head when he learnt what Nixon had let the healer do. That girl was definitely going to be the death of him.
-0-
Syaoran hurried along the corridor, very much aware of the sound of chocked sobs that got louder and louder with every passing second. He was close. No more doors had popped out in front of him after the one that had been dissolved in the flaming mist and he had a vague suspicion that the Oracle was behind that.
Up ahead he could see the tunnel opening up.
Good.
He was almost there.
Feeling a bit elated that he had made it to his destination, Syaoran willed his feet to move faster as he arrived at the mouth of the opening. For a fraction of a second all he could see was… nothing. The spirit swirled around to look behind him but the same pressing darkness met his field of vision. The sobs were extremely loud now. But at the same time, they sounded smothered. Like this thick blanket had been placed over his head, not only blocking his sight but also his hearing.
"Hello?" he called out softly but got no response. His own voice sounded just as smothered.
"Is anyone here?" he asked again, this time a little louder but the end result was the same.
-0-
"Are you sure you want to pay this price Masooma-san?" Watanuki's holographic projection asked, eyeing the medic with sadness.
"It will save them, right?"
"There is no guarantee of that."
"But it will improve their chances, no?" she plowed, her tone holding a hint of desperation.
"Yes but," the new shop owner nodded, opening his mouth to continue when the witch cut him off, "Thank you, that's all I needed to know Watanuki-san. I'm willing to pay the price for my wish."
-0-
Nixon clenched his fists, gritting his teeth as he fought the urge to move. He was at the most crucial point. If he left now…
His concentration was pulled back towards the disembodied spirit inside Fai's mind. He had met with another mental block. This one was the last one though if the thing that he feared had not already happened to Fai. Pushing away thoughts of everything else, the Oracle ploughed on. This was the last thing he would be able to help Syaoran with. Everything from here on out, including the thing he feared- if it had indeed happened, the spirit would have face on his own. For all their sakes, he prayed that the brunette was strong enough for what lay ahead as he sent a pulse of his magic through the link that was keeping him connected to the spirit and the mage.
He'd take care of Masooma once he was sure of things at this end.
It was at times like these he wished he could actually use his magic to be at two places at once.
-0-
Syaoran felt a slow burning sensation beginning to spread out from his heart, growing hotter and hotter until he felt like he was on fire. The darkness around him receded as an orange glow took its place and Syaoran was shocked to discover that he was indeed on fire. He opened his mouth to scream but not even air managed to escape his lips. Gasping for air, he fell to the icy floor, a biting cold trying to suppress the fire but not really managing to succeed as the fire flared out. The pain was beyond description as fire and ice waged war on his spiritual form.
As suddenly as it had all begun, the fire and ice went away, leaving him in a panting heap on the floor. The sobbing was all around him but it was no longer smothered. He could hear it as though the person crying was only a few feet away from him. And indeed, as he picked up his trembling body off of the ground and looked around, he noticed a small form huddled a short distance away from him.
"Hey," he made to reach out for the blond curled in around himself only to have his hand impaled by an icicle that came out of nowhere.
"Stay away." An almost animalistic voice growled in warning.
"I'm not here to hurt him." he grit his teeth against the pain, watching in startled fascination as blood flowed down the ice crystal to pool on the ground. Pulling his hand free, knowing that this was not completely real, he reached out again with his other hand only to have it impaled by another icicle.
"Stay away!" the voice growled angrily.
"Why?" Syaoran argued, growling in frustration, "I'm only trying to help him!"
"You lie!"
"I swear." He shook his head, gritting his teeth against the pain as he freed his hand again. Not giving up, he took a step towards the small form on the ground. This time, the icy spike impaled him through the stomach and Syaoran cried out in pain, coughing up blood from his mouth. "F-Fai-san… Please." He felt blood dribble down his chin as he spoke, "I'm only trying to help him."
Fai walked out of the shadows that blanketed everything else in this place and Syaoran immediately noticed the differences in his appearance. His hair hung about his face in a wild manner, their tips partially matted in blood. He was dressed in nothing more than a pair of torn, bloody jeans, his torso bare and covered in dried blood but surprisingly barren of any wounds. It was his hands and face that drew the spirit's attention though. Fai's eyes were gold, slitted like those of a cat's, his canine's long enough to actually peak out from beneath his lips. Every single one of his fingers was tipped in almost two foot long claws.
"Help?" the thing that appeared like Fai, laughed harshly as it raised Syaoran's chin with the tip of a single claw to stare in his eyes, "Like you did by sticking your hand in Fai's chest to crush his heart?"
"N-no!" he gasped, yelling in pain when the icicle that was impaling his stomach seemed to grow in thickness, freezing his insides to ice. "That… that was a misunderstanding."
"You can't hurt Fai anymore." The thing growled angrily, all signs of mirth leaving its pale, blood covered features as it glared at the spirit, "Fai is safe here." It walked back to the form huddled on the floor and picked it up in its clawed hands, cradling the blond to his chest like a mother does it's child. It was with a shock that Syaoran realized that the blond in the creature's arms was Fai but… he did not appear to be a day over four.
"He's going to die." He grit out, feeling the icicle tear at his insides. 'This is not real. This is not real. This is not real.' he mentally reminded himself. "If something isn't done soon, Fai-san will die."
"Fai is safe." The thing growled, flicking it's free hand at Syaoran. The frozen ground below the spirit's feet erupted into thousands of sharp but tiny spikes, cutting through his flesh, making him bleed mercilessly.
"Please. Y-you… have to… believe me!" he cried, watching as the creature turned its back towards Syaoran and started walking away with the four year old. Syaoran had by now identified the thing as Fai's vampire side. Somehow… it had separated from the rest of Fai's personality to form an entirely new entity, with only one goal in mind.
"You know… it's not really… her, don't you?" the vampire froze in its footsteps. The brunette noticed his fists clenching a little and the spikes dug even deeper into his flesh, almost reaching upto his thighs now. "Argh!" he cried out in pain as the spikes rose even higher.
"It's messing… with his head…" he gasped, coughing up more blood as the spike in his stomach expanded some more. "Argh!"
-0-
Nixon cut off the connection as he jumped to his feet. The thing he feared had happened. Fai had developed a split personality because of his different sides. The vampire side of him was aggressive, ruthless and hell-bent on protecting his other, weaker and currently vulnerable side. Unfortunately, there was nothing more that he could for either of them without over-stepping the bounds of agreement to be a guardian… Syaoran was on his own now.
Now if only he could find and stop Masooma before it was too late. A part of him knew though… that it was already too late. She had already made the deal.
A/N: What do you think could have been her wish? And what about her price? Oh, my beta wants to know whether if you guys want to kill me for not revealing Tsubasa's fate in this update. Yes! It is still unconfirmed as of yet whether he lives or dies. So, now my little duckies, what do you feel like doing? According to my beta (who is still in the process of going through the chapter to rid it of mistakes- I'm too impatient to wait so you get this version for now)
"People are going to want to kill you for not revealing what happened to Tsubasa, you know.
What I want to know, though, is how creative they'll be about it." So go ahead and knock yourselves out by answering mine and my beta's questions. I hope you guys enjoyed the update despite my leaving the cliffie unresolved for now. ;) ;)