A/N: Really long chapter for you all to enjoy this time. I'm glad that ball has finally started rolling and I can finally get to writing all the fun parts that I had been wanting to write for months now! xD Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this update.
Masooma spent most of the day by Tsubasa's side, helping him through various exercises to keep his body from growing weaker than it already was. Occasionally, though, she would give instructions to Syaoran to help him through something while she'd leave for a little while to run an errand or two. Fai came and went with her, following her around like a little puppy. The blond would comment on one thing or another at times, but most of the time he would just sit on one side of the room and watch Masooma as she worked on him.
Her fingers felt soft and warm whenever she helped him exercise and it would always cause him to remember the way his Sakura's hands had felt warm and soft against his skin, while that woman who had posed as Sakura had had such cold hands… why had he never realized that they were not the same? Drugged or not, he should have been able to tell them apart. Even their kisses felt different. Sakura's were always sweet and pure and filled with so much love, but that woman's… they were icy and harsh. Cruel, even.
He should have realized it. The way Sakura had taken care of him, so gently and lovingly while he had been in Clow. And every time she had tried to help, he had only pushed her away. So consumed by the betrayal and his anger and fear that he failed to even realize it had never been Sakura in the first place. Her soft pleas that it wasn't her who hurt him, that it wasn't his teacher and mentor who betrayed him…he never believed any of it. He didn't even pause to think and consider the possibility that he might have been tricked somehow. After all, she was his soul mate. How could she have betrayed him? It just wasn't possible. Why had he never considered it?
His father tried to talk to him several times throughout the day when they were alone, but Tsubasa did not have the heart to reply. Masooma had decided to take a different approach to it all. He knew she could tell the guilt was eating him up, but she usually tried to distract him by telling stories from her youth while she remained by his side. Once or twice, she even managed to bring a small, grudging smile to his lips, though he'd be back to beating himself up the next minute.
He should have realized it wasn't them. He should have known it wasn't her.
-0-
Council Members Balkoon, Malisto and Shahala approached Nixon sometime before sunset, expressions frosty and auras angry. Their magic seemed agitated beneath their skins, causing the Oracle to draw away from the men he was helping to lay traps with and move to their side.
"Is something the matter?" he asked.
"After discussing matters with the, ah, more experienced council members we have decided that we do not trust you enough to handle this situation on your own as you have previously requested." Balkoon replied.
"You are the one that led us to being discovered in the first place," Shahala accused, anger causing her aura to turn a shade darker.
"We feel it would be best if you left the defenses to us."Malisto stated remorselessly. "You have helped us enough already."
"And I suppose you have a plan in mind." He responded coolly, quirking a brow at the trio.
"The Essence is rightfully ours." Shahala declared, "Our ancestors used its power to build magnificent cities. Of course the war caused us to go into hiding, but if the hunters have decided to bring matters to our doorstep, it would do well to show them our true power."
"You plan on breaking the seals holding the Essence in place?"
"With the seals no longer holding it back, we can use its power to crush the hunters and take back our rightful place in the world." Balkoon said calmly. "We have hidden away for far too long."
"Releasing the seals would cause the magic to dissipate back into the world." Nixon pointed out.
"Not if we were to absorb it first." Shahala sniffed disdainfully. "Magic is our birthright. The Essence is nothing but magic."
"The Shaman will not let you do that." He shook his head.
"The Shaman is merely an avatar of the Essence." Balkoon was nearly grinning, "He can be unsealed as well."
"And once that magic is released, we can use it to break the seals."
"And with the way you are now, you think you can beat the Shaman?" he asked, a new plan forming in his head even as he spoke the words.
"He might be too powerful for any one of us to take on by ourselves," Malisto admitted, "but three powerful council members will surely be able to put the Shaman in its place."
"And if you don't succeed?" he could tell the council members were irritated by his calm responses to them declaring they did not need his help, but Nixon could care less about what they thought. The seals placed on the Essence! Why had he not thought about it before? "Does the rest of the council know of your plan?"
"Those children don't know any better." Shahala said condescendingly, "Handing complete control of the city's defenses to a foreigner like you, of all people. They still have a lot to learn."
"And why worry about failure when we know the plan will work."
Stomping on the urge to tell them that the Shaman was far too powerful for them to handle on their own, even with the three of them using their magic in combination, Nixon merely inclined his head with a smile.
"If that is what you wish, who am I to stop you from trying?" he said, moving out of their way. He knew it was a bad idea to let them try, but…he had sworn to protect them all. He had sworn to protect her. And he'd be damned if he failed because a few power-hungry fools made things difficult for him.
The three council members walked past him without another word, Shahala clearly pleased at having one-upped him, but Nixon said nothing. His smile took on a twisted edge as they disappeared down the tunnels that led to the Essence. He would protect Masooma and Fai and Fai's new family. He would protect them no matter what lengths he had to go to. He would protect the city, too, because it had been a home to him for many years now. He would kill in cold blood if he had to, but he would protect them.
Merely half an hour later, three auras far beneath the city were snuffed out of existence, but the Oracle did not let himself feel any remorse for what he had done as he continued working on the trap with the guards.
-0-
Masooma left a little before sunset, Fai following after her like every other time, leaving Tsubasa alone with his father once again. As the spirit massaged healing oil into his muscles, he finally asked Tsubasa to share whatever it was that was on his mind. He remained silent, though.
Tsubasa, please, say something. He pleaded, fingers suddenly going insubstantial as his form began to flicker.
"F-Father?" Eyes widening in surprise, he tried reaching for the older man as he began to fade. The minute his fingers touched the spirit's, Syaoran was reabsorbed into Tsubasa's body. Reaching inside him, he could feel the older man's presence, but somehow…it had gone back to the way it had been before Sakura had torn his father out of his body. Alternate waves of hot and cold travelled through his whole body, breath coming in short pants as he tried to reach the spirit and failed again and again.
It was like…like Syaoran had gone back to being a memory all over again. Unbidden, tears began to flow from Tsubasa's eyes. He had vanished back inside him. He had lost his father again…
"Tsubasa?" Masooma was entering the room with dinner, though alarm clearly showed on her face as she hurried over to his side, "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, quickly setting the tray on the bedside table, "Where's Syaoran?"
"H-He… He vanished." He replied, on the verge of a panic attack.
"Vanished?" She questioned, soft fingers touching his arm as her magic began to weave through him. He knew she was using a spell to make him relax but by now, he had come to trust her enough not to try and fight back.
"He's back inside me." He said, a little calmer than before, "like…like he was before we came to Magihidusi. He's a memory again."
"But that should not have happened," she frowned, slowly searching through his head for the spirit and failing just like Tsubasa."The Essence should have remained steady enough for Syaoran to remain here indefinitely, unless…"
"Unless?"
"I felt some disturbance in the Essence a little while back." She answered, frown deepening as she sat there. "It's possible that…"
"Masooma-san?" he questioned hesitantly, her magic having calmed him down completely by now, letting him think everything over in a cool manner.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this tonight." She mumbled, biting her lip in a worried manner as she glanced in his direction. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to completely face him, both her hands holding on to his as she strengthened the calming spell by a fraction."Remember how I told you that Nixon and the others went to rescue Fai from the Complex?" Seeing him nod, she continued, "well, as it turns out, they had been unable to get Fai outside the Complex to attempt a spell back to Magihidusi, so Nixon cast the spell right from inside the building. And…the hunters know where we are."
Despite her magic forcibly keeping him calm, Tsubasa found his breath hitching in response to the witch's declaration.
"They…they're coming here?"
"Yes." She nodded, "Tomorrow afternoon or evening at most. But don't worry," she added quickly, "Nixon and I have been working on some spells and the city's population will be moved down to the catacombs, except for the guards, of course. But you will be safe there. Once we beat the hunters back out of the city, I'll bring you back up."
"But what about Fai-san? And the…" he gulped uneasily, "the others?"
"Fai won't know anything." She shook her head, "but he will be down there with you. Kurogane has offered to help me and Nixon, and Princess Sakura will be down in the catacombs to watch over you and Fai."
"Sa-Sakura-him... Sakura will be down there?" he repeated dumbly. He'd have to face her tomorrow. No matter what, he'd have to see her tomorrow and…
"I know you didn't want to see her yet and I'm really sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but we don't have much time and this is the only solution we have for now." She said hurriedly, "Sakura knows how to fight, so she will be the one guarding you and Fai down there."
Tsubasa had no idea Sakura had learnt how to fight, but then again, there was a possibility the princess had been learning in secret in order to surprise him when she had mastered her weapon. Thinking about Sakura with weapons made his mind flash back to the image of her with a scalpel in hand, eyes rimmed red and face blotchy with tears as she had screamed at him to tell her of a way she could regain his trust. And he had cruelly told her to kill herself.
His one true love and he had… oh, God. She probably hated him now.
"Tsubasa?" he must have remained silent for far too long because she was now looking at him in concern, still keeping contact with his hands to maintain the spell.
"She must hate me." He said automatically, without even meaning to share his thoughts. His father had begged for him to tell him his worries, but Tsubasa had remained quiet and now he was going to spill his guts in front of this woman. "She asked me to tell her of a way I would believe her and I…I told her to commit suicide to prove her innocence."
Masooma's grip on his hands tightened though she did not say a word. "I should have known it wasn't her. I should have realized that I was being drugged. After all…Sakura is too sweet and kind and caring and…she would never have done those things to me but I…I never believed her." He said bitterly, "she must hate me now. Even I hate me."
"Isn't it funny how the princess is worried over the exact same thing?" Her words caused him to shoot a surprised look in her direction."I was talking to her earlier, and she was worried that you hated her far too much to ever trust her again or even glance at her. And now here you are agonizing over the same thing."
"She…She's worried I hate her?" he gasped, feeling weak because until recently he had hated her. Now… that hate had been replaced by something else, but it…it wasn't quite love just yet. Or maybe…that was because despite what he had been put through, he did still love her. But that part had been buried so deep inside him that it was invisible to an outsider. And as much as it hurt him to admit…"There might have been a time when I did… hate her, I mean, but…"
"But now you're confused?" Masooma asked softly.
"I don't know what I…I'm a complete mess and I need to time to figure everything out, but I have to face her tomorrow and I have no idea how I will do that." He confessed weakly, "I don't think I'll be able to look her in the eye. In fact…I had hoped I would have a few more days before I would have to see her or Kurogane-san. The last time we spoke I told her to die!"Masooma's spell was not nearly enough to contain his panic in its entirety, though it did tone it down a lot. "I'm not ready to talk to her. What am I even supposed to say to her?"
"Nothing." The witch replied, "You don't have to say anything to her. Just…just give her a smile and it will be enough for her. Besides…she'll be busy with Fai most of the time, so you don't have to talk to her at all. Just the assurance that you have started to forgive her will be enough to last her a while."
"She truly is an amazing woman." Tsubasa said quietly after a few precious seconds had gone by. "I wish I could tell her I still love her, but it's so hard. I keep telling myself I should have known it wasn't her who did this," he indicated his body here, "to me, but…how am I to differentiate her from that woman when my memories keep showing me Sakura's face? I know it's not her, but I still feel the rage and the hatred I had felt then. I still feel the fear and the hopelessness and her betrayal. I just can't…I can't put it all behind me and pretend I'm fine. And this hurts her a lot, doesn't it?"
"She can understand, though." Masooma stated. "She knows how hard it is for you and she does not blame you. She's hurting now, but she refuses to give up on you. She's willing to wait for you, Tsubasa."
"Am I even worth waiting for?" he asked in a small voice.
"Sakura believes so." Masooma said, "The question is, though… do you have enough faith in her to believe she is right?"
Tsubasa said nothing to that, pondering over her question for a little while before finally looking up to meet her gaze with a small smile.
"Thank you."
Ruffling his hair with a tiny grin of her own, the witch replied with a simple "No Problem."
"Why did my father vanish if the Essence was supposed to keep him here indefinitely?" he asked.
"I felt some disturbance in the Essence earlier." The witch answered, "It is possible that the disruption caused the spell holding him in the real world to vanish. But maybe once this deal with the hunters is over and done with, we can try to spell him back."
"Can you do that?"
"I'm pretty sure Nixon knows of a way. He was the one that gave Sakura the spell the last time."
"I see…Did you leave Fai-san with one of the others?"
"He's sleeping in my room." She responded, her expression growing sad at the thought of the blond, making Tsubasa want to comfort her despite all the things that were wrong with his own life. She was suffering too, after all. But she did not let her own troubles affect the way she took care of Tsubasa. In fact, if it had not been to help him get his self-pity under control, she might not even have told him half the things she had. Even now, she merely sat there, lost in thought with a pained look on her face that made Tsubasa' heart go out to the older woman, but she did not say anything to burden him any further.
"Fai-san is a very strong person," he said, unable to come up with anything else as he gently touched her arm.
Turning that sad smile towards him, she shook her head. "Doesn't stop me from worrying about him. Just like it doesn't stop you from worrying over Sakura, or her over you."
"I wish I could help you…fight them off I mean," he admitted quietly.
"You need to concentrate on getting better first."
Heaving a small sigh, he looked away. "Yeah, I guess I do."
-0-
Even if the general population of the city had not been informed about the upcoming attack, a general restlessness was prevalent throughout the city that night. Those who knew kept working on ways to secure the city throughout the night, working in shifts to catch up on sleep and keep the work going on at the same time, Sakura, Kurogane, Masooma and Nixon amongst them, though the witch had the added responsibility of checking up on both Tsubasa and Fai every couple of hours. Fai slept without trouble and Tsubasa did pretend to be asleep everytime she went to check on him, though they both knew he was not really asleep.
Masooma never stayed with either of them for long, though.
Knowing that most of the hunter technology was built using cerellium, they all knew magic would not be the most effective way to trap them or fight back, but just because it would not be the most reliable thing, due to the city's ancient origins and the strength of the magic that permeated the air, they knew it would not be as useless as it might have been on the surface world. It had been decided that while Sakura would be heading down to the catacombs with Fai and Tsubasa, Kurogane and Nixon would head to the tunnel system that housed the Essence and be the last line of defense because they all knew there was no way at least one or two of the top hunters would be held back from that place. Meanwhile, Masooma would remain near the pyramid and fulfill her guardian duties which required her to act as the first line of defense for the city. She knew Nixon hated the idea of having to leave her alone to fend for herself, but for some reason, he did not offer much opposition to the idea when she gave it.
The look on his face let Masooma knew that he had a plan and from all the years she had spent knowing him, she knew that a Nixon with a plan was one of the worst enemies one could ever hope to encounter. There was a chance they might make it out of this alive yet.
Morning arrived far too quickly for any of their liking. Masooma fed Tsubasa as usual, helped him clean himself up, wash his face and change into fresh clothes, keeping up an inane chatter if only to keep herself from having to think about the possibilities of what the future might hold for her if they were to fail to defend the city. Death at best and excruciating, maddening torture at worst. Soon after that, Masooma was helping the others direct the citizens to the catacombs, Fai sticking to her side as though glued in place, refusing to let her out of his sight for even a second. Even in his current state, he could tell something was not quite right.
She had decided to let Tsubasa stay in his quarters until the very end, prolonging his inevitable meeting with the princess as much as she could because she knew he was rather apprehensive about having to see her so soon. But even so, the time was drawing near when she would have to take the brunette down to the safe-room as it had been dubbed by the guards. Sakura looked questioningly towards her a few of the times she saw the princess flutter about, but she did not give much of a response other than to offer her a smile with a shake of her head.
Slowly making her way through the now-deserted city( except for the occasional guards patrolling to make sure no one was left behind), Masooma walked back to her quarters, retrieving Mokona from the cushioned shelf it was sleeping on before finally walking to Tsubasa's room, Fai still not having left her side. She gently knocked on the door before pushing it open and approaching the brunette who looked like he was being lead to the gallows.
Helping him into the wheelchair, she finally began walking towards the catacombs, neither of them saying a word the entire journey. She heard his breath catch in his throat when he finally caught a glimpse of the princess halfway across the safe-room, helping an aging woman move a few things to her liking.
"It'll be okay." She said, squeezing his shoulder in a comforting gesture as the jade-eyed princess noticed their presence and hurriedly made her way towards them.
"Good morning Masooma-san, Fai-san." She greeted them once she was within earshot, her gaze darting nervously towards Tsubasa as though unsure how to act around him. Seemingly deciding on something, she added, "and you as well, Tsubasa-kun." It sounded wrong and rather stiff and formal from Sakura's lips and Masooma felt Tsubasa wince in response to the princess's greeting though he did reply with a 'you as well, princess.'
"I brought Mokona down here as well," the witch said, handing the dimension hopper to the princess, "though I'm pretty sure it won't be of much use to any of you in this state. But it was best to bring it here rather than leave it in the pyramid."
"Thank you, Masooma-san," the girl said, taking hold of one of her hands as she took the magical creature with the other, "for everything."
Masooma knew the princess was saying it in case they never had another chance to talk. Though neither of them was willing to acknowledge it, it was still a fact that some wouldn't make it out of this ordeal alive. And Sakura was doing what little she could to at least have no regrets at a later date.
"It was no problem," she smiled at the auburn-haired girl before turning her attention to Fai. "Fai, you are going to stay with Sakura for a little while, okay? I need to help Nixon with some work but I'll be back soon."
"Fai go with Masooma-chan." The blond responded, furiously shaking his head as he caught hold of her now Mokona-free hand.
"No, Fai, I want you to stay here with Sakura and wait for me, alright?" Masooma said, gently trying to free her hand from his grasp.
"Fai won't leave Masooma-chan alone." The blond argued, "Fai promised never to leave Masooma-chan. Fai goes with Masooma-chan."
"Fai-san," Sakura spoke up before Masooma could respond this time. "I need your help with something near the back of the cave. Can you please come with me?"
"Little Kitty needs help?" the blond said, cocking his head to one side inquisitively.
"Yes. There's this spell I want you to look at." And with those words the jade-eyed princess was drawing the blond away from Masooma and Tsubasa.
"Well, time for me to get going then, I suppose," Masooma said in a tone of forced cheerfulness as she grinned at the brunette before hurrying out of the cavern system.
She never promised to see him later, hoping to have one less broken promise that way if things ended badly.
-0-
Sakura tried her best to keep Fai occupied and away from thoughts about the amber-eyed witch and she succeeded in doing so for a little while. Long enough for Masooma to slip away unnoticed, but Fai seemed to have been worried about the witch in his own way because he started asking for her not long after that. It was rather hard to keep the blond distracted as she made him help her with the elderly citizens of Magihidusi. It had been decided earlier that every able-bodied wizard and witch that knew how to fight would be asked to help defend the city. Those that had families were allowed to take up posts near the safe-room as a last line of defense, while those who had none had volunteered to help the guards all over the city and the complex system of tunnels that led to it.
The elderly, the children and mothers were all led here along, with those that were sick or unable to fight. Magihidusi was by no means a small city, and the population reached well over a thousand at the very least. So it wasn't surprising in the least when there were a lot of people vying for attention. The air was palpable with the fear of having been discovered, but the people had trust in their warriors and Guardians- it was not common knowledge that Nixon was no longer one- so there were none who were outright panicking. Though it was still a little heart-wrenching to see mothers clinging to their children in tiny huddles and the elderly watching her and the other supervisors move around through crinkled eyes sunken in age-lined faces with a calm sort of acceptance of their fates.
Sakura ended up leaving Fai with a small group of children, instructing him to keep the children entertained since everyone knew how much Fai loved kids, before she herself made her way towards Tsubasa. The absence of his father had been nagging at Sakura ever since he had arrived. She had been hoping to talk to the spirit about what had happened between them and maybe even apologize for it. Fear flashed in Tsubasa's eyes for a fraction of a second when Sakura called out his name and it hurt to see him like that, just like every other time, but then he looked away, lowering his head in shame and Sakura briefly wondered if maybe he had come to realize the truth by now.
"Something you wanted to ask me, Princess?" he asked in that polite manner of his and she wished so much to hear him call her by her name alone.
"Oh, yes," she said instead, "I was wondering where Syaoran-san was. There was something I had to discuss with him."
"The spell holding Father in the real world vanished last night," he responded sadly, "Masooma-san said that Nixon-san might be able to redo the spell once all this is over, though. You might have to wait until then to speak with him."
"I see." She replied a little weakly. In the brief moment of silence that followed, Sakura stood there a little awkwardly, watching the brunette as he picked on a loose thread in the hem of his shirt, refusing to meet her gaze at all. He had gotten a little better than when they had brought him here and it made Sakura feel a little jealous of the witch who had succeeded in helping him where she had failed. It was rather obvious that Tsubasa trusted Masooma a lot more than he did her. His hair was cut and his wounds were healing rather nicely, the bruises and the burns and the cuts having begun to fade back into his flesh, though there were a few that left their marks in the form of scars. But he looked healthier, his body a little fuller even though he still looked a lot like death warmed over. But at least his cheeks had begun to fill out and his skin no longer clung to his bones like a walking talking skeleton.
All in all, it was quite clear that Tsubasa was healing, both physically and mentally.
"So, umm…" she cleared her throat awkwardly, "it's…it's good to see you're getting better, Tsubasa-kun."
"Yes, Masooma-san has been helping me a lot." He replied with a nod, still not quite meeting her gaze though he did finally look at her. "And you…" his eyes widened in shock, "you have scars on your face." He blurted out, making Sakura feel rather self-conscious about the wounds she had received from Fai during one of his fits.
"Fai-san…he, um…he was having a fit and accidently hurt me." She replied, hurriedly turning away from him, if only to hide the marks from his gaze.
Unknown to her, Tsubasa lowered his head in shame at his lack of tact. "Ah." Was all the sound he made in response.
"He's getting better now," she added hurriedly, wanting him to know that she was trying to help their friend. That she wasn't a bad person. That she…that she still cared about the people she held dear. "Kurogane-san and I have been trying to help him. Masooma-san and Nixon-san too."
"That's good to know…"
Sakura hated this distance between them. This masked politeness and this awkward small talk. Why couldn't things have been the way they were before? How she longed for that familiarity, that love, that easy brush of skin on skin, those light touches of their hands that conveyed all their feelings to the other.
"Yes. I think I should go and check on Fai-san again," she said, beginning to take a step back as she looked at where she had left him with the children. "He keeps on asking about Masooma-san, and…" she trailed off, heartbeat quickening as she noticed the blond wasn't there. Hurriedly scanning the rest of the area, she found her body going numb as she realized he wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Sakura-…Sakura-hime?" she heard Tsubasa say in the distance.
"He's gone." She whispered, eyes still frantically searching around for the wizard. She raced towards the children he had been with earlier, Tsubasa wheeling his chair right behind her, though he did seem rather out of breath by the time he got to her.
"The man that was here, do you know where he went?"she addressed the children's mother, who had been sitting only a few feet away.
"He said he had to find Masooma-chan." The woman replied in a slightly confused manner. "He went that way." She added, pointing towards the exit of the safe-room and Sakura felt as though the earth had slipped right out from underneath her feet.
Fai had gone after Masooma. Even as she tried to wrap her mind around this information, loud explosions shook the entire cave, marking the beginning of the battle for Magihidusi. The woman's daughter shrieked in fright as she launched towards her mother while Sakura whirled around to face Tsubasa.
"I have to bring him back!" she cried urgently, handing the unconscious Mokona to Tsubasa before summoning her swords.
The brunette appeared rather conflicted as he finally met her gaze for the first time in so many days and something passed between them in that moment.
"Be careful." He said, reaching out to touch her but apparently thinking better of it and withdrawing his hand to rest on the sleeping dimension hopper. Despite the severity of the situation as dust and debris rained all around them from the ceiling, Sakura felt a tiny flutter in her stomach. Flashing him a grateful smile, she turned on her heels and sprinted towards the exit tunnel that was being spelled shut by the guards stationed outside.
A/N: So Nixon is not above getting people killed to get what he wants. Syaoran has been reabsorbed into Tsubasa's body and is once again nothing more than a memory. Tsubasa and Sakura had a cute yet awkward sort of moment between them and you all finally found out who vanished! And that too when the attack has just begun. Will Sakura be able to get to him in time? Will Nixon succeed in his plan? Will Masooma be able to fight the hunters? Will the clones ever regain their bodies? Will Tsubasa regain the use of his legs? And last but not the least, will Fai ever get his sanity back? I'd love to hear your thoughts on all these questions so feel free to drop me a review and tell me what you think ;)