Stone and Starfire

Stone and Starfire

Chapter Nine: Have the Wish I Wish Tonight

Final chapter! I'm so proud, even if I don't own this! It wasn't as much of a success so far as Shin no Chikara (my only other crossover) but I'm still really proud! Thanks to all of you who did review, and Lenna, Nelly, and Kyra in particular. You guys rock! And also SyaoranSword, cuz he let me use the ending!

"Huh." Umi stared out the window thoughtfully.

There was a click as my shoulder guard slid on. I watched Fuu nervously as she continued putting my regular armor on.

"What is it, Umi?" Hikaru asked.

"Well, when you had the Test, you went into Mokona's mouth."

"Yeah, it was really freaky."

"What if Sakura has to too?"

"What?!" I yelled. "I am not going in anything's mouth!"

"Except Syaoran's," Caldina said wickedly.

I glared at her, blushing furiously. At the moment, that was severely not funny.

In the past half an hour, everything had changed. I'd snapped out of the near-catatonic state I'd been in and started thinking rationally again. If I passed the Test to become the full Pillar, then maybe I could do something about Syaoran. When he'd been dead, there was nothing I could do–but now, anything was possible.

It still hurt a lot; especially that he didn't remember me at all. But still, it was better than having him completely gone.

"There." With a tug, Fuu straightened up and surveyed her work. "You're good."

"The hour's almost up," Presea said tensely. "Let's get to the Atrium."

"Okay." I sighed, biting my lip. This wasn't the best of situations yet, and it would have made me feel a lot better to know I had Syaoran behind me.

I followed them through the halls, feeling butterflies in my stomach. What if I don't pass? What will happen?

I can't think like that. I'm going to pass. I have to pass.

I have to pass for Syaoran.

The Atrium loomed ahead, and we entered it. The men were waiting, including Syaoran.

Fresh pain nearly overwhelmed my heart, seeing him, but I blinked back tears and reminded myself of what I was here for. I'm going to pass the Test, and then I'll find a way to bring his memories back.

The white light came back, and Mokona reappeared in the hall. /Are you ready, Magic Knight Sakura?/

"I am," I whispered.

/Then pass down my Road and take the Test./ Sheer white light funneled around me–instead of being sucked into his mouth–and I felt myself be transported to another dimension.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a gray, flat world–and I wasn't alone.

"What the–"

Whirling, I saw him standing behind me, looking confused. How did he get here? He shouldn't–he could get hurt–

/This is your Test/ Mokona said for my ears only, vanishing mysteriously.

"What is?" I yelled after him, confused. "What is my Test?"

There was no response.

I could barely look at Syaoran, wondering what I'd gotten us both into now. I wish he'd remember me…I'd give anything just to have him remember me.

Something was coming–I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. Worse, whatever it was, I didn't like it.

I turned to Syaoran. "Shout 'Terronen' and draw your sword," I said hastily.

"What--?"

"Just do it!"

He blinked, then accidentally called his Mashin as I summoned Astrendal. From the inside of the Spirit, I warily gazed around, ignoring Syaoran's jumbled curses in Japanese and Mandarin. At least he's still bilingual…

Something fell from the sky–a monster, but bigger even than Chaos. I drew back, startled and apprehensive, and to my surprise I saw Syaoran shift into a fighting stance out of the corner of my eye.

The beast grinned, showing all of its sharp teeth, and I swallowed. For something wild, it looked almost–almost intelligent…

"Hello," it said, lunging at me.

Oh my god, it can talk.

This is not good! It's smart and it's bigger than I am!

I leapt away and tightened my hold on the sword. "Stay out of this," I yelled to Syaoran. "It's my fight."

"Oh, really?" the monster taunted. "Seems like it's…otherwise!" It swung a giant fist at Syaoran, catching him by surprise and knocking him off his feet.

"NO!" Immediately, I somehow teleported myself over, planting myself between it and him. "Leave him alone!"

The monster opened its mouth, and sheer energy blasted out, sending me flying. When I landed, it was over me, and then a giant, taloned foot came down on my chest, holding me down. My sword was kicked out of my hand, and I watched numbly as the claws came sweeping down at me.

Oh my god, I failed, and now–

Now Syaoran won't get his memories back–

This can't happen–

NO!

"Starfire Inferno!"

Power flared in a silent explosion, and the beast was sent flying. I clumsily got to my feet, glaring at it. It would not win. I would get Syaoran back.

Suddenly, it grinned again, then reached over to Terronen. Its claws went right through the steel with a grating, metallic squeal, and it reached around as I watched in horror, then pulled out a thrashing figure–

And popped it into its mouth.

I stood there, unbelieving. This could not be happening. Surely, Mokona couldn't mean for this to happen again.

Terronen collapsed, then turned into the gold griffyn, weakened.

And it was true.

Syaoran was lost to me for the second time.

It was all I could do to watch as the immense monster swallowed him whole. Then the harsh reality struck me, and I fell to my knees, vomiting.

When I was done, I wiped my mouth grimly and looked at the beast. It stood, grinning at me, and I saw once more in my mind the claw reach in, then pull Syaoran and put him in its mouth–

And swallow him whole.

It had swallowed him whole.

I'm going in after him.

"Astrendal, let me down." My sword went back in the glove jewel; I waited grimly for myself to reappear in the dimension we were trapped in.

When I felt the ground under my feet, I pulled the Key of Star out from under my armor. It hadn't worked in Sendelvon, but this was another dimension. Maybe it would here.

I transformed it into the wand, and when it didn't go back, I used the Jump. The beast loomed closer as I bounded towards it, my jaw set in grim determination. I'm done with putting up with this shit. He's coming back, and I don't care if I have to friggin' sell my soul to the devil. If that's what it takes, then that's what I'll give.

With a leap, I soared up and landed on its shoulder. The giant mouth snapped at me, and I launched into the air over it. The head turned towards me, the red mouth open, the tongue lolling beneath me. I dropped in, diving down its throat. There was a crack as the twin rows of teeth slammed shut behind me, but I wasn't caught.

It was pitch dark. Swallowing back bile, I summoned the Light and the Shield, choking in the vile stench of its breath. Pink power swirled around me, forming a shield filled with air, and light illuminated the soft red flesh of its throat.

I floated down the long tube, trying to feel for Syaoran and finding nothing. Picking up the pace, I traveled for what felt like an eternity but was really only about two minutes. Soon, the passage opened up and I fell into a giant cavern. I'd reached the stomach.

The tunnel of its throat sealed behind me as I gasped. There was no going back that way anymore.

I was stuck until I could find him.

"Syaoran?" I looked around for him. "Syaoran?"

There was no response. Frowning uncertainly, I moved forward. "Is anyone here?"

Then I remembered he didn't know how to use magic. He would have fallen straight down.

Swallowing, I looked at the giant pool of water under my feet. It looked like the beast hadn't eaten anything yet–other than Syaoran–but there was a definite lack of air here and it wouldn't have taken too long for him to pass out…

He had to be underwater.

I took a deep, deep breath and dove out of Shield, dropping like a stone into the dark water. Light was at my side as I opened my eyes and peered through the blurry surroundings.

There was nothing in sight, and I was starting to run out of air. Realizing I couldn't surface–there was no air there–I pulled out Windy and used it to form an air bubble around my face. I inhaled gratefully, then swam on, frantically searching for any sign of him.

I have to find him…

Can anyone stay underwater that long?

I tried to keep my thoughts positive, swimming faster than I'd ever swam before. Light made it easy to see for about twenty feet around me, but no further. "Light, can you try to light all of the water?"

She frowned in concentration, and a warm glow spread throughout the entire cavern, then intensified until I could see every single detail.

Looking down, I saw the floor of the pool was far, far beneath me–fifty feet at the least.

And far-off was a figure, floating limply.

Syaoran!

I have to get to him faster than this–

"Watery, get me to Syaoran!" I summoned the Card and she hurtled me along at a blinding pace. It was more than relieving to be able to use the Cards once more.

The distance was narrowing–and then I was there.

"Windy, Shield!" I seized his arm, and we fell into a dry sphere, instantly clean and dried off.

He was pale and still, looking anything but alive.

"Come on, Syaoran. Wake up."

No response.
"Come on." I shook him desperately. "Don't die. You got through everything else, you can make it through this, oh god Syaoran don't die…"

Yet again, no response.

Now, I'm not exactly sure where I got the idea. Well, actually I am, but I'm not sure why that particular thought popped up in my mind.

It doesn't matter now.

All that matters is that I was sitting there, Syaoran dead again in my arms, trying to think of something–anything. And suddenly, I remembered Rokona's one obsession whenever we–or Syaoran–was in trouble and I didn't know what to do.

'Why don't you kiss him?'

And my last hope occurred to me. He most likely had inhaled water; so there was one obvious solution.

I bent down, fastened my mouth over his, and exhaled, then drew back. Please, I pleaded to anything that would listen. Please, let it work…

He didn't move. Panic nearly overwhelmed me; I breathed into him again and waited; waited for any sign of life; any sign he was alive.

"Please, Syaoran," I whispered. "Please be alive…"

There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And then he flinched.

I didn't dare breathe for what was the longest second in my life.

Then he started coughing. And he was alive.

At that moment, I didn't care that he didn't remember me. I didn't care that we were in the stomach of some giant monster. I didn't care whether I passed the Test for the Pillar or not. All that mattered at that moment was that he was alive.

Eventually he stopped coughing, and passed out again. I caught him as he fell back, feeling his wrist for a pulse. There it was: faint but steady. Something told me he would wake up soon.

I stood. We've got to get out of here… Drawing on my starfire power, I shouted, "Starfire Inferno!"

White-silvery power blasted at the fleshy walls of our prison, and they bent, but didn't break. We were still trapped. I tried again and again, but it didn't work and we remained imprisoned.

I need Syaoran's help…but he doesn't know how to use his magic…

We were fairly well screwed. And I didn't know how long Shield would last; particularly against stomach acids.

Kneeling, I held his hand in mine, determined to at least spend what seemed like the last few minutes of my life with him. My mouth started moving of its own accord.

"I–I missed you," I told him, deciding that as long as he wasn't awake I could at least talk to him. "I missed you so much…and you don't even have a damn clue who I am, but I still missed you…It hurts, Syaoran, it really does. It's my fault you had to die. All I want now is just for us to be out of this. But that's not really an option at the moment, now is it?" I laughed a short, bitter laugh; one full of pain. "I can't believe you're real, and you're back…even if you don't remember anything…" I smoothed the hair on his forehead, trying to hold back tears and choking up, my voice strained. "I-I wish I'd known what h-had to hap-pen…but I didn't, and you didn't, and now look where it's got us…" I closed my eyes in pain, not noticing that the sphere was starting to fill with a strange light. "I went crazy. I wanted to die. And now you're back, and I don't know what I want…" A hot tear slipped down my cheek as fireballs started to play within my eyelids. Something seemed to be happening, but I didn't know what and I truly did not care. "I know you asked me to be strong," I sobbed. "I tried, Syaoran, I really tried…but I–I can't be strong without you…"

And then gentle, shaking fingers brushed my face ever so lightly. My eyes flew open, and I saw he'd woken up, and was staring at me through incredulous, barely open eyes.

"Sa...kura?" he asked unbelievingly. "Is…is it really you?"

"Syaoran?" My body shook with sobs.

He sat up, looking worriedly at me, and I dissolved into tears.

Then a pair of warm arms encircled me, pulling me closer, and I buried my face in his shoulder again. It was too good to be true.

"It's okay," his voice murmured quietly into my ear. "It's okay."

"D-D-Do you–do you–remember–?" I managed to choke out, not daring to lift my face.

"Yeah," he said softly. "Yeah, I do." His arms tightened protectively around me.

"I'm so sorry," I said dully, blearily looking up at him. "It's all my fault…"

"What?" He blinked. "Sakura–"

"You wouldn't have died!" I interrupted bleakly.

"It isn't your fault," he said firmly. "It never was. Sakura, you did what you had to do, and there wasn't anything else you could have done."

"But–but I–I killed you," I said confusedly.

He looked away. "I knew I was going to die."

"What?!"

He shrugged. "Chaos didn't seem like he was going to go any time soon, and letting him destroy the universe wasn't an option. If you hadn't done it, I would have just killed myself somehow. It sucked, but…" He trailed off, looking down at me. "I didn't want to leave you," he said lowly.

We locked eyes for the longest moment, and then our lips met in first a gentle kiss, then a passionate one. Tears still rolled down my face, but they were tears of joy as it hit me that this was really, truly the way it was. I wouldn't wake up and find he was gone again; I wouldn't be alone ever again.

Something white and bright seemed to fill me, like I was holding light within my heart. The darkness around us was stripped away, then replaced by the gray, then by white light. I was shrouded in light and air and cloud. What was happening?

Opening my eyes, I found Syaoran gone, but before I could even begin to worry, Mokona's voice echoed in my mind.

/You have passed the Test./

"Spiffy," I muttered, asking loudly, "Where's Syaoran?"

/He is safe./ Mokona's wings fluttered as he said, /You may make one Wish as the Pillar before joining the Seven./

"A Wish?"

/One thing you want to be reality. However, this can be for either world–not just Sendelvon./

I blinked. One wish? Something I want above all else…

That was easy: I wanted Syaoran to be happy.

Then the idea hit me. It was the one thing that had been plaguing me since the night I'd arrived; the one thing that, when Elan had been telling me I was evil, had nearly sucked me in; the one thing that had pained me most of all.

I smiled. Unless I missed my guess, he wouldn't mind this at all…

Taking a deep breath, I said clearly, "I want Syaoran to be able to marry whoever he wants, not who the Clan wants him to. I want him to be able to make his own choices about what he wants."

/Your wish is not for yourself?/ Mokona asked, somewhat surprised.

My smile widened. "In a way, it is."

/Very well. You may return to Sendelvon now, and when you meet the Seven you may will the burden of supporting the land to be spread out./

He disappeared, and I was floating down. I seemed to fall for an eternity, but then things were coming into focus…

A pair of arms caught me gently, and Syaoran's face came into view, his eyes questioning. I smiled, deciding to wait on telling him until a less interesting time.

This could be fun…

Suddenly, I noticed I was very, very tired…

Syaoran

I caught Sakura as she collapsed against my chest, pale-faced, her eyes closed. She had drained herself again.

All this fainting can't be that good for her…

With a sigh, I picked her up, surprised at how light she was. It was like she hadn't eaten for two weeks straight…

Which, it occurred to me, was probably accurate.

Wincing, I started back towards the palace.

I should have known better than to let Umi take over. I honestly, truly, absolutely should have.

But I did, partially because of the fact that I was not in the mood to fight the Hell-Bitch at the time. And, to my extreme irritation, ten minutes later I was standing outside the door with the rest of the guys, waiting until Umi deemed we were worthy to come in or something.

I'm really starting to get sick of this…

"Look on the bright side," Ferio said dryly.

Talk about déjà vu, I thought silently. "What would that bright side be?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm alive for the second time? I actually have a clue about who I am? I'm not being possessed by the embodiment of all the evil in the world?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Great…"

I glared balefully at the door. I hate doors. Doors and barriers. They're evil.

Doors, barriers, and Eriol…what have they all got in common? They're on a first name basis with Satan, that's what…

"So?" Geo asked expectantly. "You guys were in that Test thing for a while there. Did you…?"

Wearily rubbing my forehead, I sighed, "Get help."

"He already has," Zazu contributed cheerfully. "Three years with a shrink, and it helped him a lot."

I raised an eyebrow. "He's improved?"

"Yep."

That's a scary thought…

Umi came out the door and I straightened.

She whirled to face me and snapped, "No! NOT YET!" then stalked off.

"Shut your mouth," Lantis advised, "or you'll get flies in there."

I shut it weakly and asked, "Does she have some kind of sixth sense or something? Cuz otherwise I think her head's going to start revolving soon."

"No comment," Clef said blandly.

Forget being on a first name basis with Satan, I thought silently. Doors, barriers, Eriol, and Umi are Satan.

The door creaked open again, and this time it was a crimson head that poked out. Hikaru looked around, and her scarlet eyes landed on me. "Quick, get in here before Umi comes back!" she hissed, seizing my elbow and dragging me inside.

I was too surprised to do anything other than follow her, and the door slammed shut behind me.

"Umi's cranky because Sakura hasn't woken up yet," Fuu said worriedly. "We wondered if you knew anything about it."

"Not a damn clue," I said bluntly, walking to Sakura's side and taking her hand in mine. "When's she coming back?"

"I sent her for something in the gardens," Hikaru answered.

"The only problem is that it doesn't grow there," Fuu finished. "But she doesn't know that–and it used to be all over the place until it died. She won't be back for a while."

"Okay." My mouth twisted into a sad smile as I brushed hair away from her eyes. Talk about Sleeping Beauty… I guess it takes one to know one–I'm never forgiving Ms. Mizuki for that…

"Come on, Hikaru." Fuu grabbed her friend's wrist. "Let's go see if Mokona wants to talk to us."

"But wouldn't he–" An elbow in her side made her stop, and she said, "Oooooooohhh… uh, yeah, let's, uh, find Mokona…"

I blinked, then blushed as the door closed, leaving us alone. Well, at least they had tact…

Rokona bounced into the room. "Why don't you kiss her?"

I jumped. "Since when do you speak human?"

She shrugged, her eyes still scrunched up and her wings still tiny as ever. "Since I learned it, that's when. But why don't you kiss her?"

I sighed. "You really should talk to Geo sometime. I think you have a lot in common."

"We did. He says that you'd better not break the bed in here."

I turned about thirty-seven different shades of red. "You know, you could go away."

"I know." She didn't move. "I'm not going anywhere until you kiss her."

I rolled my eyes. "I feel sorry for your parents."

"Ah, Mokona's just as bad," she said with a grin. "Now shut up and kiss her."

"You're obsessed, aren't you?"

"Kiss her, dammit!"

I shot her a glare. "What is that supposed to accomplish, other than giving her 'boy-germs'?"

She grinned. "She'll wake up. If you don't…well, then Sakura's going to be in Naptime for a long, long time…"

I gritted my teeth. "Rokona, you need professional help."

"What are you waiting for?"

With an inner sigh, I bent down and gently kissed her.

And then she kissed me back.

I was pretty damn surprised, but it didn't mean I was going to stop.

When we finally broke apart, she grinned mischievously, and I turned to Rokona. "You knew she was awake, didn't you?" I accused.

She smirked. "Pu."

I was about to lunge at her when she bounced away, going right through the wall. "I swear…" I growled. "How long have you been awake?"

"If anyone asks, I woke up a little after Hikaru and Fuu left," Sakura whispered. "Of course, it wouldn't be entirely accurate."

I smiled at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said softly. Something seemed to occur to her, and she blinked, then smiled widely. "Guess what."

One Month Later

"Who can he marry again?" I asked into the phone.

There was a sullen mutter from the other send as we stood there, grinning wickedly. We'd called one of the Elders, and I got the sense I was becoming very unpopular.

"What? I can't hear you."

"Whoever he wants," someone grumbled.

"Louder," I yelled.

"Whoever he wants!"

"I can't hear you!"

"WHOEVER OR WHATEVER THE GOD DAMN HELL HE WANTS!" My eardrum was nearly shattered and I held the phone at arm's length, surprised but having a hard time holding in my laughter.

There was a click as the phone slammed down in Hong Kong.

"I don't think–" he paused, taking a breath between bursts of laughter. "I don't think–I don't think the Elders like you very much anymore."

"Screw them," I said rudely. "You're the leader, not them, and they can just kiss my–"

"Sakura!"

Touya folded his arms, glaring at me from the doorway. "No more prank calls, monster." Giving Syaoran a glare, he said dryly, "And don't do anything that either of you will regret."

"What?" I tilted my head to the side, confused, as Syaoran blushed. "What do you mean?"

He didn't respond verbally, but he did walk out and slam the door behind him.

I blinked, asking, "What's his problem?" in Mandarin.

"Which one?" he returned. "There's a lot of them I don't even want to go into."

I giggled as the doorbell rang, then sprang to my feet. "That must be them! Come on!" Seizing his wrist, I dragged him down the stairs and to the open door in time to see Touya open it.

"Hey you guys!" I rushed to give Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru a hug.

"Ready to go?" Fuu asked brightly.

"Yep." I slipped on my shoes, and Syaoran and I went out the door as I waved goodbye to Touya. "I'll be back soon!"

"Whatever," he muttered.

I had made some changes in Sendelvon before joining the Seven. For one thing, I had willed away every slave market or anything even related to slavery, and willed the slaves free. I'd banished the monsters everywhere, gotten rid of what Chaos had left behind, and basically cleaned the entire land up. The Seven hadn't been able to do that because no one person controlled everything, but since I was the Pillar…

Then, when everything was taken care of, I had willed the burden of supporting the land to be spread out over everything and everyone, with us Eight being the strongest holders but not having the land rely on us. There had been a snap, and then it was like I wasn't the Pillar at all any more.

And that was it. Everything was done.

The engagement ring sparkled on Fuu's finger as we all piled into her car. Ferio had proposed once all the excitement had died down, and she had accepted. The only problem was that the wedding would have to be held here–so half the guests would not only be from Sendelvon, but they'd have to wear Earth clothes and go by Earth protocol.

It would be a very unique wedding, indeed. And Umi, Hikaru, and I would be the bridesmaids.

A very, very unique wedding. I didn't even want to think about what Caldina would wear. But somehow, I knew we would survive.

"How is this going to work out?" I asked curiously. "Will you live in Sendelvon, or will he live here?"

"Well, see, my apartment's right next to the Tokyo Tower, so we'll live here half the time and there half the time."

"Does he know what Earth's like?" Syaoran asked.

"Some, from what she's told him," Umi answered. "And I think she's snuck him over here every once in a while."

"How'd you—I mean, uh—"

We laughed as she blushed. "Keep your eyes on the road," Hikaru reminded her. "At least get married before you kill us all off."

Soon, we were plummeting through the world-passage and free-falling into Sendelvon's sky. There was a flash of silver and gold beneath us, and Terronen and Astrendal soared nearer, in their animal forms. We'd decided that they should stay to protect Sendelvon in case anything else happened.

Syaoran and I landed on Astrendal as Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru dropped lightly onto Terronen. Despite the Spirits' metallic appearances, they were really just flesh, so it didn't hurt.

I sat up and sat on Astrendal like she was any normal horse—she'd shrunk herself so we couldn't fall off. Her mane flickered in my face, the flames not even warm.

Syaoran's arm around me kept me steady as we descended down towards Sendelvon. I leaned back, glad to be close to him. Sendelvon stretched out around us, the view amazing. It had changed since we'd first arrived. Everything had changed.

There was a slight jolt as we landed in front of the palace, where the others were waiting.

Geo and Caldina grinned and asked at the same time, "Well?"

"Well what?" I asked, confused.

Caldina smirked. "You guys were gone for a little while…"

"Did you…?" Geo finished, looking expectant.

I flushed, realizing exactly what they wanted to know. "NO! YOU TWO ARE SICK!"

Maybe things haven't changed that much after all…

Okay, that's it! No more! All done! Spifferriffic! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T ASK ME TO DO A SEQUEL! Nobody ever paid attention to the sequel of Shin no Chikara, anyway…and even if I could get a guarantee of 1,000,000 reviews, I WOULDN'T DO IT! I HAVE NO IDEAS! STONE AND STARFIRE IS OVER! NO MORE!

…

Any questions? Send 'em to , okay? Lots of love to you people who DID review, and one last word:

Adiosity!

/P>

Caldina smirked. "You guys were gone for a little while…"

"Did you…?" Geo finished, looking expectant.

I flushed, realizing exactly what they wanted to know. "NO! YOU TWO ARE SICK!"

Maybe things haven't changed that much after all…

Okay, that's it! No more! All done! Spifferriffic! AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T ASK ME TO DO A SEQUEL! Nobody

ever paid attention to the sequel of Shin no Chikara, anyway…and even if I could get a guarantee of 1,000,000

reviews, I WOULDN'T DO IT! I HAVE NO IDEAS! STONE AND STARFIRE IS OVER! NO MORE!

…

Any questions? Send 'em to , okay? Lots of love to you people who DID review, and one last

word:

Adiosity!