A/N: Only one more chapter to go people. A big thank you to everyone who's stuck by me for this long. You guys are awesome. :) To treat you all for your awesomeness, I have decided to include a bit of SxS fluff in this chapter for you guys. Enjoy~
"Syaoran…" She whispered, shaking in fright at the thought of his death. His amber eyes blinked up at her questioningly for a moment before a smile transformed his face.
"You came." He said happily, reaching up to touch her face with cold fingers as the rain slowly began to let up.
"Of course I did," she gave him a weak smile in return, wishing that she could stop crying now. "You didn't exactly give me much of a choice." She added, helping him sit up.
"Don't cry," Syaoran whispered, gently wiping away the tears from her cheeks as he brought his other hand up to hold her face. When new tears took the place of the ones he had wiped away, she shrugged out of his hold, averting her gaze as she angrily tried to wipe them away.
"S-Sorry…" she mumbled, "I don't know why I'm crying." She felt the brunette grab her wrist in a firm hold before forcing it away, once again cupping her cheeks and wiping away the tears with his thumbs. Biting the inside of her cheek for a moment, she tried another attempt at a smile, once again not having much success. "It's just that…you could have died…and I-" her next words were cut off when Syaoran closed the gap between them, pressing his lips against hers. Her hands reached out to grab hold of his shirt, drawing him closer as he deepened the kiss.
It might have just been a few seconds later or maybe lifetimes had passed by the time Syaoran drew away. Sakura opened her eyes to find him with the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face.
"Thank you." He said.
"Y-You're…" Clearing her throat, she finally managed a wry grin, "don't mention it."
A pink glow started appearing on the horizon as the storm clouds began to clear away, heralding the dawn of a new day.
"Mother loved to watch the sunrise with me." Syaoran said a little wistfully as he gazed out into the distance. Leaning against his shoulder, she followed his gaze, watching as the orb of fire began to rise higher and higher. She could have stayed that way with him forever had it not been for Syaoran tensing up suddenly, reaching out for his sword as he jumped to his feet. Fearing a return of his soulless self, Sakura summoned her own weapons to her hand as she glanced at him warily.
"He is angry." The brunette said, a faraway look in his eyes as Sakura's tattoo began to throb painfully again. "And afraid."
"Who?"
"Fei Wang," came the reply as his gaze sharpened, a look of urgency adorning his features, "he will escape."
"Not if we can help it," she replied, tightening her grip on the knives as she felt around for the magical thread that had connected her to Fai. There was no way they'd be able to make it back to the palace in time without their hoverboards. But the blond magician was currently connected to a near-limitless amount of magic. Surely he could transport them to wherever the bastard was in time.
Fai? She called out into the darkness, feeling the magic hum in response to her words. She wondered why the blond wasn't answering when she 'felt' a nod from the magic to continue. Could he not speak to her? Maybe their connection wasn't so strong anymore since she had dropped it at the end of the soul-returning spell. Fei Wang is trying to escape. I don't think we'll be able to get to wherever he is in time. Can you transport me and Syaoran?
The magician's response was in the form of a warm stream of lightning-blue magic suddenly whirling around them, forming words in a runic script she was sure she had not seen the mage use before. When neither her nor Syaoran's magic leapt to their defense, she decided it must be a spell to transport them to their next destination. The runes spun around them both in a circular pattern, going faster and faster until there was nothing but the sharp blur of the runes going around them. The magic closed up around them, enveloping them in a cocoon that appeared to be a mix of the lightning-blue magic that belonged to the pilot and the icy blue of his twin. It tugged at the back of her mind that she was missing something important, but then they had already appeared in the Hong Kong Palace throne room and her attention was drawn to the giant magical circle glowing on the floor, in the middle of which stood the monocle-wearing, cleft-chinned Fei Wang Reed. The man gave a howl of rage when he saw them appear, an offensive spell immediately shooting their way, forcing Sakura and Syaoran to dive out of the way in opposite directions.
"You may have reclaimed my puppet, but you are very much mistaken if you think the two of you are enough to take me down." He said in a gravelly voice.
"That's why you're running away like the coward that you are, isn't it?" she shot back as she got to her feet. Across from her Syaoran seemed to be regaining his bearings as well.
"If you are itching for a confrontation that badly, Princess," Fei Wang drawled out, "then I won't deny you your last wish." And with those words, he summoned a sword bigger than any she had ever seen. From the way the man held it, it was obvious he knew exactly how to use it to make each blow a fatal one. Nodding wordlessly at Syaoran, Sakura charged, magic trailing in her wake as she concentrated her power into the blades of her knives. On the other side of the room, Syaoran was doing the same. Their final confrontation had begun.
-0-
Touya could feel his muscles scream in protest even as he charged at the hunter. Having masqueraded around as a magic-less low-level grunt in the hunter ranks, Touya had never really had a reason to use his magic in combat for any period of time, though he and Yukito made sure to train in the secret tunnels underneath Clow Castle that only the two of them knew about to keep themselves from getting rusty. But even with all that practice, suddenly being up against an opponent that actually knew their way around mages was putting Touya's limits to the test. Still, he couldn't help but feel pride at the fact that he had managed to injure his opponent much more than he had been hurt. But he was still irritated by how long it was taking him to get rid of the persistent bastard. Maybe once he had knocked him down, Touya could actually spare a few minutes to catch his breath?
Yukito and Tomoyo were both holding their own and Kurogane, surprisingly enough, was still going strong against Kyle. The cerellium armor and weapons used by the hunters made it a little difficult for Touya to actually land a strong enough spell to take his opponent out, but it was still pleasing to know he was wearing the hunter down. Keeping his eye out for the smallest misstep on part of the man he fought, Touya prepped his magic to take advantage of the split second whenever the chance presented itself. He knew the other man was wary of him, if the distance he kept between them was any indication but even so, Touya was slowly but surely gaining the upper hand. Metal flashed and clanged in a discordant symphony as he let off a low-powered spell as a distraction every now and then. Blocking and parrying the blows, giving back as good as he got; Touya began pushing the hunter back, sparing a glance towards his companions to check on their conditions. Satisfied to see Yukito still keeping the upper hand against his opponent and Tomoyo somehow managing to stay on equal footing with hers, Touya turned his attention back to the hunter he faced.
Deciding that the best way to catch the man off guard would be through an illusionary spell, Touya slowly began to weave one around the area where they fought. Shrinking it to affect only the man he fought, Touya rigged it to go off when he was close enough to take out the hunter in a single blow, giving him the split-second advantage he needed to kill the man. Unaware of Touya's trap, the hunter raced at him, his double broadswords aiming to decapitate the prince. Touya made no attempts to dodge the incoming attack, bringing up his sword in an offensive stance and waiting for the last possible moment to set off his trap spell. The hunter was close enough for Touya to see the expression on his face morph from determined to shocked as his retinas were blasted with simultaneous flashes light, intense as several thousand-watt flash bulbs, going off in his face. The man stumbled with a startled yelp as Touya finally lowered his stance to pass under the broadswords, keeping his sword steadily in position long enough for the hunter to run himself through with it. A breathless gurgle formed and died in his opponent's throat as Touya pushed his shoulder into the hunter's sternum, straightening up enough to throw the man over him. If the sword attack had not been enough to end the man's life, the crunch of his neck breaking was enough reason for the prince to finally let out a relieved breath.
The adrenaline still racing through his blood ensured he could not feel the true pain of the injuries he had sustained as he looked around for his childhood friend. With a well-timed tripping spell aimed at Yukito's hunter, Touya helped his best friend get rid of his opponent, the spectacled man in turn helping Tomoyo take out the hunter she fought. Panting and struggling to regain their breath, the trio finally turned their attention to the only pair still left fighting.
"It's a pity to see you fighting so hard," Kyle seemed to be taunting the red-eyed man, a slight hint of desperation in his tone that Touya wasn't sure the captain would be able to pick up on while still dodging those deadly curses left, right and center. "Knowing you've failed to protect your precious little family and trying so hard despite that. I feel like I should put you out of your misery." Lucky for the captain, Touya was glad to notice, Kurogane had failed to rise to the bait, an angry expression flashing across Kyle's face as the timed trap-not quite unlike the one Touya himself had used mere minutes ago- went off without Kurogane being in its range. The anger was quickly hidden behind a mask as the bastard tried a different approach to get a rise out of Kurogane. A new spell wove itself into the air around the duo as Kyle began to speak again. "He begged for me to kill him, you know. Right as we began the procedure to tear his soul from his body."
Touya saw Kurogane's mistake only a heartbeat after he made it, but that was enough for Kyle to land a near-crippling blow on the captain. A hex cut into the captain's right bicep, taking that arm out of commission altogether. Tomoyo made a move to help him but Touya stopped her before she could step in. He could see Kyle weaving a new spell and her entering the fray would do nothing more than get her killed.
"Wait, don't go in just yet." Surprisingly enough, the medic did not question his orders, even if she did look like she had half a mind to slug him across the face and rush in anyways.
"The pathetic brat bawled like a little baby," Kyle taunted Kurogane, not giving up on his unrelenting attacks as Touya tried to make sense of the spell the hunter was casting. It was familiar in the way the magic was acting, but since it was still a work in progress Touya wasn't quite sure what the final purpose of the spell might be. At least, not until… "The brat begged for his family, his real family, to save his worthless life." Touya inhaled sharply, figuring out the spell just moments before the bastard could finish casting it. Yukito's gasp of shock let him know his friend had figured it out as well, but even as the man hurriedly began to summon a protective barrier around the four of them, Touya was already moving into position towards the exact spot he knew Kyle would land in when the spell finished. Because the man was so focused on distracting Kurogane while still completing the necessary rune work to get the bomb-slash-instant transportation spell to activate, he did not notice Touya's movements.
It was with vicious satisfaction that the former prince sank the blade of his sword into the bastard's back, returning Kurogane's grin when the captain stabbed the bastard in the heart. Protected behind Yukito's wards, Touya marveled as the air around them suddenly went up in a literal ball of flame. Had his friend not realized what the man was planning, they'd all have been dead right alongside the now-skewered hunter.
-0-
Very early into the fight, Sakura became aware of the numerous protective wards around the bastard that protected him from physical assaults. Even all her attacks supercharged with magic were sliding off of the man like water off a fish. It was damn near impossible to even get close to him, let alone actually land a blow. All her offensive spells had the same result. From the familiar, icy blue aura that was woven into the spells surrounding the bastard, she could tell it was mainly Fai's magic embedded in those wards. But unlike the magic that had come to her aid in the powergrid station, this magic did not leap out to help her. Beside her, Syaoran did not seem to be having much success either as his sword strikes met the invisible spell barrier.
Fei Wang merely stood where he was with his giant sword, calmly observing their attacks with a nearly-disappointed look on his face. After five minutes of relentless attacks, Sakura backed up a little, panting for breath as she scanned the wards for a weakness, Syaoran doing the same.
"I thought I had had you trained a lot better than this," Fei spoke in that deep, gravelly tone of his as he shifted his stance just a hint, making Sakura eye him warily even though he did nothing further. "It would seem the Valerian twins were not quite the geniuses they were made out to be. But then again," he continued almost lazily, "I should not fault you two for your weaknesses. For all the power you wield, you do not have the brains to put it to the correct use." The skin on Sakura's shoulder began to prickle, heat rising from the tattoo that was burned into her skin by the very bastard that now stood before her. "Maybe I should take that burden off of your shoulders." The cursed mark continued growing hotter and hotter until she fell to her knees with a sharp gasp, blood flooding inside her mouth when she bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Yuuko's counter spell began to activate, but the sheer amount of magic pulsing through the deeper tattoo caused the containment spell to shatter, finally making the green-eyed girl scream in pain as fire licked her insides. She was only distantly aware of Yuui's magic brushing the edges of her mind, offering a slight amount of comfort. But in the face of the agony she felt, it was like a drop of water in a volcano. She could feel Fei establishing contact and trying to take over her mind as she struggled not to surrender. Unaware of what was happening on the physical plane of existence, Sakura put all her energy into pushing back against the magical influence in her mind, taking comfort in the fact that if she was unable to move, hopefully so too was the bastard responsible. It wasn't until the icy-blue of Fai's magic was added to the mix that the princess felt she was beginning to lose herself, her conscious being backed into a tiny corner of her mind. Just as she had nearly lost all hope, however, the magic belonging to Yuui that had been skirting at the edges of her mind suddenly burst forth.
Sakura was just about to freak out over the immense amount of magic clashing inside her head when she heard Fei Wang scream in rage. Her fear of being burnt from the inside out from the excessive magic were somewhat allayed as she was suddenly slammed back into the physical plane of existence. The Bat Lord looked across the hall towards them with something akin to fear in his gaze for the very first time as she felt the previously impenetrable barrier surrounding him shudder and give way just a little. The burning in her cursed mark had all but faded away, making Sakura wonder if- she dropped low to the ground, rolling out of the way of Fei Wang's sword as the man finally moved in to attack. Despite his large size, he was quite an agile opponent, making Sakura release her experimental line of thought in favor of staying alive.
The Bat Lord faltered for a moment, giving Sakura an opening to slash him across the face, internally cursing when he somehow managed to dodge out of the way before she could claim an eye. However, the pain that flared up in the bastard's eyes told her that though her physical strike hadn't done much damage, he was still fighting off something that stemmed from inside him. Looking across the room, she could see Syaoran glowering at the man with an intense look on concentration on his face. Whatever wordless magic the brunette had done to give Sakura her chance had drawn the Bat Lord's attention to him, for the man was racing towards him with an enraged snarl. Syaoran gracefully brought up his gold-hilted sword to block the incoming attack, smoothly transitioning from spell attacks to parrying physical blows as Sakura tried to catch her breath for just a moment.
Projecting all of her hatred into a single, wordless spell, Sakura experimentally reached through the mental link she had felt open up between herself and the Bat Lord through the curse mark. He must have had those tattoos specifically designed to be linked directly to his mind, because the minute Sakura had reached across, the man gave a pained cry, faltering for the second time, giving Syaoran the opportunity to slice through his biceps. Syaoran must have had done the same thing before her because Fei Wang shifted his attention back towards her with a growl.
Sakura danced through Fei's attacks, getting as close as she dared before trying to attack through their mental link once again. Syaoran seemed to have gotten the same idea as her, for the man actually staggered back a couple of steps this time. Sakura let up on the attack long enough to follow after him, channeling her magic into her knives as Syaoran moved in from the other side. Something must still have been attacking the Bat Lord's mind for he kept on screaming, the sword slipping from his grip altogether as he collapsed on his knees, the previously-protective magic now turning on him in a visibly physical attack as Sakura sank her knives through his throat at the same time that Syaoran gutted him with his sword. Though they pulled their blades out almost immediately, blue magic continued to tear him apart. It was almost painful to watch as Yuui and Fai's magic ripped into him but Sakura let it be, for she knew the man deserved every shred of pain he got. She did not realize she had been trembling until Syaoran put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side, holding her firmly against him as he kept his gaze fixed on the pathetic heap writhing on the floor until the magic finally let the bastard die.
A/N: I did try to make the fight as clear as possible but if there is anything that you guys find confusing, feel free to point it out or ask me in a review and I'll do my best to include a small explanation in the final chapter and if that is not possible, then I'll add it in the author's note at the beginning. Once again, a big thank you for sticking with me this long. I hope you enjoyed the update.