by C. S. Cooper
She sat there, alone and immobile in the wrecked shop. She gripped the Star Wand, but could not find the energy to stand and move. Every sound she heard from outside drained her more. She clenched her eyes closed and prayed that the battlefield would just go away.
It did.
Sakura opened her eyes and found herself in a familiar field of stars. She stood up and looked around. She didn’t see her mother, fuelling a cold floe of disappointment. She looked up and found herself gazing into the face of a man she’d seen in Eriol’s mind.
“You’re Clow,” she gasped.
The bespectacled man of Chinese descent, with long hair and a flowing blue robe, nodded kindly. He held out his hand, and Sakura shook it absentmindedly.
“Thank you for looking after my little kids,” said Clow’s voice, though the man’s lips did not move. “What do you think of them? My Kerberus and Yue.”
Sakura stammered a moment, before blurting, “I love them! Of course, I do! They’re such wonderful people! And the Cards too!”
“You sacrificed much for them,” said Clow. “No one could be more grateful than I.”
Sakura clenched her hands around the Star Wand. She trembled with indecision and fear.
“Do you rue the day you found them?” asked Clow.
“No,” replied Sakura emphatically. “But I didn’t do it so that I could kill monsters. I’d rather just use it to help people in difficult situations.”
“Sounds to me like this battle is right up your alley, then,” said Clow.
“I’m not strong enough!” cried Sakura. “I couldn’t break that barrier, so I can’t stop Moonface from controlling those monsters. If I were as strong as you, I’d be able to do it. But I’m not you, Clow!”
Clow crouched to her level and stroked her dusty hair out of her face. He wiped away a tear and said, “Of course, you’re not me. I am Clow, and you are Sakura. You have a different power from mine.”
“It’s not enough,” retorted Sakura.
“It is more than enough, if you know what to look for,” said Clow. “Do you not remember what Feiwang Lee said?”
Amid her haze of rattled nerves, Sakura recalled standing before Xiaolang’s father. There was an altar, with Clow Reed’s nameplate sitting separate and solitary from the others.
“He stands alone on this wall because he stood alone in life,” Feiwang had said. “Do you stand alone, Lady Kinomoto?”
At that moment, Sakura thought about the people with whom she had entered this battle. Nathan, Astrid, Maka, and Soul were all such nice people, once she got to know them. And Xiaolang was the love of her life.
I’m not alone, she concluded, though it was blatantly obvious.
“Because of that, young one, you stand more powerful than I could ever have hoped to be,” proclaimed Clow. The man grinned. “You have one more weapon, don’t you? Your ultimate, unbeatable spell.”
A fog of indecision still billowed in her mind, yet a shining light had started to shoo it away. With a deep breath, Sakura opened her eyes and returned to the wrecked shop. She stood, her Star Wand in hand, and the Cards waiting at the ready.
“I’ll definitely be alright,” she said.
* * *
Maka darted around the behemoth, slashing Soul’s scythe blade against its knees and tendons. It did slow the beast, but only by a small amount. Any cut she, Xiaolang, or Astrid made sealed too quickly.
“Maka, let’s go all out,” said Soul.
Maka gauged her surroundings and retorted, “It’s too tight here. We’ll end up damaging most of the buildings.”
Astrid had been listening over the radio. She dodged a swipe from the behemoth and landed on a rooftop nearby to catch her breath.
“You sound like you got an idea,” she said. She turned to see a bunch of minions charging her and she quickly decapitated them. Whenever one of them died, she heard a ping from Centrepoint, signalling the re-spawning of her slain enemy.
They’re like Moonface, she thought.
“Soul thinks he and I should resonate and use a Witch Hunter attack,” said Maka into the radio.
“I’ve heard of that technique,” panted Xiaolang as he magically upended a car on a prone minion’s head. “Would be enough to put the behemoth out of commission long enough to do something about Moonface.”
“Trouble is, there’ll be a bit of collateral damage, and Soul and I need time to charge,” said Maka.
From her vantage point, Astrid looked out over the city skyline. About three streets south, she saw an open area.
“Druitt Street, two streets south,” she said. “Go there, and charge up. Coyote and I’ll lure it there.”
“Copy that,” replied Maka. She then raced down the road away from Centrepoint. The behemoth saw her and moved to chase her, only to have Astrid pluck out one of its eyes. Xiaolang slashed through its cheek with his sword. The beast’s attention locked right on them.
Maka pole vaulted over a stack of ruined cars, dodged panicked bystanders, and sliced through minions. She caught sight of the Druitt Street sign and saw a three-lane wide road between two antiquated-looking buildings. She smirked with excitement as she raced to the centre of the street and faced north.
“I’m in position,” she announced into the radio.
“Hold it, right there!” snarled an Australian man. Maka swivelled and saw a jittery police officer, his gun aiming right at her head. “Drop the weapon and put your hands on your head.”
“Get as many people as you can away from here,” retorted Maka.
“Drop the weapon!” screamed the terrified man. A minion suddenly pounced on him, and he shrieked as the gold-scaled monster bared its fangs. Maka hooked the scythe blade into the creature’s sternum and hefted it off the man. She brought it clear over her head and smashed it into the asphalt. The monster disintegrated before the befuddled man’s eyes.
“I’m not your enemy,” yelled Maka. “If you’re a man, you’ll do something useful, like evacuate everyone. Get them as far away as you can!” The confused man looked back up at her, and then glanced at the evaporating minion. The message must have gotten through. He nodded resolutely and scrambled away, barking orders into his radio.
Maka sighed, and focused on her resonance with Soul. Another roar interrupted her, and she saw a dozen minions coming at her. She swung the scythe around to destroy most of them, and the ones she hadn’t seen, Nathan swooped out of the air to promptly eliminate.
“What’s the story with the tower?” asked Maka.
“Shaula put a force field around Moonface,” said Nathan. “It looks like he’s controlling all these things.”
“Shaula’s not there?” asked Maka. Nathan shook his head as he caught his breath. “I can’t sense her either. It’s as if her signature’s coming from every single direction.”
“Wanna resonate again?” asked Nathan.
“We’re supposed to focusin’ on chargin’ for a Witch Hunter attack,” Soul interjected.
“Witch Hunter?” asked Nathan.
“It’s gonna be cool,” said Soul, his grin reflecting in the sheen of his scythe blade.
“Where’s Sakura?” asked Maka.
Nathan shook his head and sighed. Maka scoffed with dismay and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“I knew she shouldn’t have come along,” she moaned.
At that point, Astrid and Xiaolang appeared around a corner, two streets to the north. In hot pursuit was the behemoth, and it was angry. It cleaved through buildings and crushed the asphalt road with its footfalls. Astrid and Xiaolang leapt over the upturned cars and debris, and reached the others before the behemoth fully emerged around the corner.
“Ready with the Witch Hunter?” asked Astrid. Maka nodded, her eyes focused on the advancing monster.
Xiaolang noticed his girlfriend’s absence, and inquired. Nathan was about to tell him to go take her home. Suddenly, a soft ping echoed through the streets, and one of the behemoth’s arms exploded. It howle
d in pain, and with its good arm it lunged for the thing that had attacked it. That winged pink blur shot southward. It flew over their heads and landed on an upturned car behind them.
“Sakura!” exclaimed Xiaolang. “Are you alright?”
“Definitely!” replied Sakura. She glanced at Nathan with a grateful nod, and then looked expectantly at Maka. The blonde smiled, and then turned to the behemoth. The monster broke into a run. When it was two buildings away, Sakura unleashed Gale on its legs, tripping it. It hit the ground hard and slid the rest of the way, uprooting the road like paper mache.
Maka stepped forward, her mind honed to the deadliest edge. Soul’s reflection looked outward from the scythe blade and winked at the rest of the group.
“You’re about to see a real Soul Resonance,” he said.
Then he and Maka let out a unified roar. His blade turned silvery blue, and grew to over ten times its normal size. The light mesmerised every onlooker, who gasped as Maka brought the gargantuan blade down, right through the behemoth’s head. The monster’s body curled upward, spurred by its lingering momentum, until its neck snapped and its body completely detached from its immobilised head. It landed with a crash behind the group, disintegrating in an unceremonious puff of blue smoke.
Soul assumed his human form and stretched, while Maka stood tall. Nathan, Astrid, Xiaolang, and Sakura marched forward and stood in formation.
Moonface was frustrated, and his minions expressed that aggravation with a ruckus of howls and shrieks. They stomped and champed at the six heroes, who just stared back at them, their weapons cocked and ready for battle.
Chapter 21: The Battle of Sydney
Puffs of blue smoke burst from the Centrepoint aerie. They began to spread outward through the skies. The six warriors could see they were avian minions.
“That ain’t good,” said Soul.
Before Astrid could react, she heard a crackle over her radio. An Australian male voice, deep and businesslike, blared through the earpiece.
“This is Inspector Andrew Goodyear of the Sydney Police Force to on-ground units, please identify yourselves,” he said.
Astrid glanced at the others, who shrugged.
“This is Astrid Rachelle,” she replied to her radio. Eying the army heading out from Centrepoint, she continued, “No time to explain. Suffice to say, we're the only ones in a thousand miles who can handle these monsters.”
“We have army and air force incoming,” replied the Inspector. “You’re saying I should send them home?”
“We could use the help,” said Sakura.
Astrid chewed her lip as she looked around. She could see there were still confused and terrified civilians too near to the tower.
“Inspector, we need an evacuation of the Sydney business district,” she said into her radio. “Relay this to the army and air force: do not engage hostiles. Get as many people away from Centrepoint Tower as possible. Leave the beasts to us.”
“And who are you supposed to be?” asked the Inspector.
“Allies,” barked Astrid.
The Inspector sighed, “Support is inbound. Ten minutes.”
Astrid tapped her radio off and looked at the team.
“Okay, here’s what we do,” she began. “We can’t touch Moonface, so we need to stall him. Sakura, your domain is the sky. Clip the wings of anything you see.”
“Got it,” chirped Sakura.
“Nathan, Coyote, you’re with me,” said Astrid. “We need to get as many people out of these buildings as possible. Kill everything attacking them, and get them out through the underground.”
“Understood,” said Xiaolang.
“Maka, you have the more accurate soul perception, so find Shaula,” Astrid ordered. “Find where the signature is the strongest. Soul, boost her range any way you can.”
“Done,” said Soul.
“Maka’s our ace in the hole! I want a body on her at all times. Got it?” yelled Astrid.
Everyone nodded resolutely.
“Lovin’ it,” bellowed Nathan, placing his hand in the centre of the circle. “All in!” Everyone threw their hands into the middle and grunted with determination.
Moonface’s army flew out of the sky and charged them. Sakura raised the Guard Card, while Xiaolang blew the attackers out of the air with a fire blast. When the attack was repelled, Sakura summoned her wings and bellowed, “Go!” She then shot into the air and went to work on the airborne monsters.
Soul transformed into a scythe and Maka raced forward with him in hand. She swirled the scythe and relieved the incoming minions of their heads. Nathan, Xiaolang, and Astrid followed closely.
Xiaolang noticed people in the antiquated building to his left, and departed the group. He drew a paper charm and roared, “Fēnghuá zhāolái!”
A gust of wind wound its way through the entrance of the building and tripped up the minions trying to block the entrance. He leapt over them, stabbed the lead minion, and placed himself between the horde and the terrified civilians. He was as a green blur, his sword glowing white as he brought it through the necks of the monsters.
Xiaolang turned to the befuddled civilians.
“Are you alright?” he asked. A few nodded, too out-of-breath to speak. “It’s dangerous on the streets. Go down through the underground. Understand?”
“You some kind of superhero or something?” asked a boy in his mother’s arms. His eyes were alight with amazement.
“No, just a helpful guy,” said Xiaolang. He heard howling from the upper levels of the building. He roared at the civilians, “Go! Now!”
He wasted no more time, and launched himself with a windblast onto the second floor. The minion nearest to him met a quick end, and the others turned and cocked their heads in confusion. They snarled with animalistic shrillness and charged him from all sides. He drew a paper charm.
“Léidì zhāolái!” he roared. Half the monsters thrashed and squealed under the electric barrage before exploding. One survivor tried to tackle him, but he back-flipped out of its grasp and then lunged forward to embed his blade in the creature’s exposed back. He’d dug the sword in with such force that he couldn’t pull it out before the next minion attacked. He diverted the minion’s punch, and retaliated with an elbow blow, which did nothing against the mechanical creature. It picked him up by the shoulders and threw him through a shop front.
Xiaolang scrambled to his feet, tripping over a finely dressed mannequin. Out the corner of his eye, he saw a terrified shop owner and a few customers, huddled behind the cash register. One of the shrieking minions flew through the air at him, bearing its glimmering teeth. He crouched to the side and caught it by the neck. He wrested it around and made a shield of it. The second one found itself chewing into Xiaolang’s hostage, which melted with a howl.
The second minion shook its head like a dog with an itchy nose. Xiaolang grabbed the supine mannequin and used it as a battering ram against the creature. With a roar, he pushed it out of the shop. He tripped it backwards, and cartwheeled over it toward his sword. With a yell, he wrenched his sword out of the floor and cleaved the beast’s head in two. Then he raced back into the shop and ordered the terrified women to get to the underground.
As the women scurried away, Xiaolang looked down the length of the open-plan building. Minions swarmed along its immense length. He drew a few more paper charms, and raced down to engage the beasts.
* * *
Blue plumes of dust, heralding the defeat of avian minions, wafted from above like snow. That much made Astrid feel a little more confident they could hold off Shaula’s soul charging. The more of these things they killed, the more people could escape. And it would be only another eight minutes before they had army support to get the people out of harm’s way.
This is the first time I’d ever relied on normal human authorities for this, Astrid mused as she vivisected a low-flying avian minion. She flipped in mid-air and stabbed through four more minions.
“No sign of the
behemoth,” Nathan yelled from across the street as he wrestled with a minion twice his size but half his strength.
Astrid sighed with relief. With her mechanical limbs, she hurled a truck at a quartet of minions. She turned to Maka and asked, “Anything?”
Maka dodged the blows of a large minion, and then sliced along the length of its arm. She embedded Soul’s blade in the back of its head. As the thing collapsed unceremoniously behind her, Maka held out her free hand like a dousing wand. Soul resonated with her to boost her range. And yet, she still felt the consistent reading in every direction.
“She wasn’t as hard to find last time,” said Soul.
“She’s obviously enhanced her soul protection spells,” growled Maka as she axed another minion.
“Keep trying,” said Astrid.
A sudden smashing of glass and shrill cries drew their attention. Astrid looked up to the building nearby. She could see children cornered by minions on the upper floor. She exchanged glances with Maka, who dealt with another minion before hopping onto the roof of a wrecked car. Astrid raced at her, used her mechanical limbs to jump onto the handle of Maka’s scythe. Maka then catapulted her upward to the window.
Astrid rolled through the cracked window, into what appeared to be a bookshop. She slashed up the spine of the nearest minion. She then lobbed the disintegrating corpse at another, disorienting it while she maimed the third.
“Go! Down to the basement!” she chided the kids. A brave adult edged into the action to whisk the kids away.
One of the minions launched Astrid through a stack of bookshelves. She quickly dug herself out from under the heavy pile of books, and raised her blades to shield her from the minion’s onslaught. The creature swatted the blades aside and brought its fist down on her head. Astrid darted through the monster’s legs, brought her blades through its kneecaps, and then sliced the thing’s head off. She moved on to the other minions blocking the exit.