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The Labyrinth	By : Capitalist Category: +. to F > Card Captor Sakura Views: 10491 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura, nor any of the characters from it, nor do I own Labyrinth. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter 6
‘the beast’

After Li’s sepulchral description of the place, Touya had expected the woods to be gloomy and ominous. But to his surprise, it was actually quite pleasant. The trees were ancient and gnarled, but draped in colorful shawls of tiny arboreal orchids that gave them life and color. Long veils of moss hung from the branches, swaying in the light breeze. The air was fresh and sweet smelling with all the flowers and everywhere, everywhere that he looked there were flitting butterflies. In every size and color imaginable they waltzed over the flowers, like a perpetual confetti display. The puzzle on the door had been a butterfly too, now that he thought about it. One magnificent pink and mauve number fluttered near him and he extended his hand. Delicately it perched on one finger and flapped its wings.
“So much for the big bad beast,” Touya said cheerfully. “This place is amazing. Sakura would love this.”
Li didn’t look nearly so impressed. He ignored the butterflies and kept a wary eye on the shadows under the trees, fingering his amulet in one hand. At Touya’s last comment, though, he looked up.
“Tell me about her.”
“Sakura?” Touya blinked in surprise. “Why?” Li had an unreadable expression in his eyes, and he shrugged.
“Just curious about who you’re going to all this trouble for.”
“Oh.” He flicked his hand a little, and the butterfly launched into the air again. In a way it reminded him of Sakura, pretty but fragile. “Well, she definitely got the ‘cute’ in our family. She’s really short and wears her hair in these little pigtails… people stop us on the street to tell her how adorable she is. It’s disgusting.” He rolled his eyes at the memory.
“It’s spoiled her rotten, if you ask me. She’s completely dependent on human company, can’t do anything on her own. Our mom died when she was just three and I had to raise her, pretty much. She’s so little and helpless.” It had always been a reason to scoff, before. Now his stomach churned with the thought of what could be happening to her in that castle. How could she face this alone, without her big brother to protect her?
“She’s nice, really. Too nice for something like this to happen to her. I don’t think she’s ever said an unkind word in her whole life. She worships me even though I’m a complete jerk to her. And she loves Dad to pieces. Her smile reminds him of Mom.”
Dad. He didn’t know exactly how much time had passed since the Underground, or if time in the labyrinth even passed the same as it did back home. If it did, then it was surely past midnight now. Would their father come home to an empty house, Sakura’s window flapping mournfully in the rain? It was not a pleasant thought, and he had to swallow. He didn’t hear Li’s question at first.
“What?”
“I said, how did she come to be with Yue?” The pointed query hit him like a blow to the stomach, and unconsciously he put his hand over it.
“It was my fault. I- I asked him to take her.”
“You asked him to?” Li repeated incredulously. Touya had to look away from those accusing brown eyes.
“I didn’t mean it! It was sort of an accident.”
“Hmph.” Li hopped over a jutting root and walked a little more briskly. He was rapidly losing sympathy for the outsider. Anyone who could carelessly give up a girl like that to the king probably deserved what they got. A small part of him wondered if he wasn’t just trying to rationalize the peach bumping against his ribs, but he ignored that part. “That’s some accident.”
“It was, and look what I’m going through to fix it. Maybe I never appreciated before how much she meant to me, but I do now and all I want to do is find her, make sure she’s safe, and tell her how much I love her.” Li still wouldn’t look at him and Touya raised his hands in an exasperated manner. “I don’t even know why I said that; in fact, I don’t know why I’m trying to justify myself to you at all. Why are you even asking?”
“Shh.” Abruptly Li halted and threw out his arm to block Touya’s path, his muscles tensing. Something didn’t feel right.
“Don’t shh me, kid, I want to know -”
“Shut up!” Li hissed, eyes darting back and forth. Something was missing. “Where are all the butterflies?”
Without either of them noticing, the horde of colorful insects had melted away. Now the forest seemed unnaturally still; even the breeze had gone. For a brief moment the woods reverberated in the thick silence, and then they rocked with an explosion. Just in time Li threw himself at Touya and tackled him to the ground. On the tree behind them, a deep gouge in the blackened bark sent up a wisp of smoke, right where Touya’s head had been.
“Who dares trespass in my precious woods?” someone howled. “Step forward! And empty your pockets of any sweets!” Li yanked Touya to his feet and half-pushed him forward.
“Run! And don’t look back!”
Touya didn’t have to be asked twice. His skin tingled with danger and he ducked, sprinting as fast as he could over the tangled roots. A brilliant ray of red light shot just over his head and completely disintegrated an entire branch. A few withered leaves wafted back to the ground, all that remained, and Touya ran faster. Just behind him he could sense Li running for all he was worth.
“Don’t run away!” the unseen voice screeched. “Stop where you are!” As an invitation it left a lot to be desired. Touya and Li darted through the trees, occasionally feeling the crackling heat of a near miss before it scorched another tree. The ground was becoming rougher and not so level, broken up with treacherous snaking roots. Touya could swear that one actually moved to trip him and he fell hard, smacking into the unforgiving ground with a grunt of pain.
“Now I’ve got you!” It sounded much closer this time and Touya half rolled over, catching a glimpse of a fearsome panther in jewelled armor, flapping his giant butterfly wings like mad as he flew in for the kill. Without stopping to think about it, Li drew on his sword and stopped by the next tree, already deeply cut by a stray blast. One sure stroke cut the trunk neatly in two and it toppled over, crashing down unerringly on their attacker. He disappeared under the leaves with a plaintive squawk.
Touya scrambled to his feet to catch up with Li, already running again.
“Okay, okay, I believe you,” he panted. “There is a beast. Talk about grumpy.” Li gave him a sidelong glance, a frown in his eyes.
“That wasn’t the beast of the forest.”
“What?” The word had barely left Touya’s mouth when a large and thick root lashed at their ankles and tipped them over the edge of a small slope. Going as fast as they were, both of them tumbled head over heels down the steep bank with nothing to grasp at but a carpet of fallen leaves. Touya hit the ground, again, sprawled across his stomach and he swallowed a groan. His bruised and aching body was certainly taking more than enough punishment tonight.
He pressed his hands against the ground and lifted his head, ready to push himself back onto his feet, and then froze. Directly in front of him, making their way through the winding roots with a sinuous grace, were a pair of long black boots. The boots were attached to two graceful long legs, artfully revealed by a crimson skirt with slits cut up to the hip.
A tightening pressure around his ankles informed him that the trees had got a good hold of him now and weren’t going to let go anytime soon. Still he kept looking up, taking in the sculpted female chest and supple arms, the vast pink butterfly wings, the long mahogany hair. Two bright brown eyes sparkled as they looked him over, with a smile borne of wicked delight.
“Well, well, well,” she cooed, with a shrill voice that set Touya’s teeth on edge. “What do we have here?”
“That,” Li explained wearily, “is the beast of the forest.”

Li’s sword had flown out of his grasp when they hit the ground so hard, and in vain he stretched his arm forward to reach it. The roots had ensnared him by the ankles too, trapping them both. Touya instinctively resisted the thought of lying down at the butterfly girl’s feet, though, and scrambled to stand up before she got any closer. This only prompted her to lick her lips as she looked him thoroughly over.
“Oh my,” she trilled, “what a delicious offering! All for me?” Her fingertips danced lightly up the front of Touya’s shirt and he backed up. “What’s your name, handsome?”
Touya gulped, but before he could think of a way to answer, another loud howl split the forest.
“Where are they? They dropped a tree on me, tell me where they are!” The panther, minus his wings, loped out of the shadows with a murderous air. He snarled when he saw Touya but the girl sidled between them, draping her arms around Touya’s neck. He recoiled, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“Don’t bellow so, Suppi,” she complained. “And don’t glare at him like that either. I like this one.”
“I have told you a thousand times, don’t call me that!” the panther hollered, digging his claws into the earth. “And I saw them first, Ruby! By rights they’re mine!”
“Well, you didn’t catch them, did you?” she pointed out smugly. The one she called Suppi growled something under his breath and his tail whipped back and forth in annoyance. Ruby turned her attention back on Touya, pressing her chest against his and letting her hands start to roam over his body.
“So, where were we? I didn’t catch your name, come here often?”
“Ah, no actually. Just passing through.” Her hands were getting way too personal. Over and over again he pushed them away but it didn’t seem to deter her. “And, ah, I don’t want to bother you any so I’ll just be on my way -”
She let loose with a peal of high-pitched laughter, but there was an edge of menace behind it. “Be on your way? You just got here! You know, I never say this to anyone but I think you would be the perfect mate for me.” She was practically crawling on top of him, and Touya stumbled back into the nearest tree with a slight ‘oof’. She took no notice but started to peck at his jaw with light kisses. Past her hair he caught a glimpse of Li, who shook his head at him frantically. Suppi was a little more forward about it.
“Another one of your ‘mates’, Ruby?” He stretched out on his stomach and yawned, displaying sharp teeth in a casual manner. “Don’t you remember what happened to the last one?”
“He was a weakling,” Ruby sniffed, and gripped Touya’s chin in her hand to face him. “That won’t be a problem with this one at all. I can already taste his power.” She leaned in towards his mouth and Touya managed to wrest a hand free just in time to cover her lips.
“Sorry,” he said quietly, “but I think I’m spoken for.”
He braced his arms against her chest and pushed her roughly to the ground. Ruby fell with a surprised squeal, landing unceremoniously in a tangle of legs and wings. Li looked as though he couldn’t believe what he’d done, and Suppi guffawed with laughter.
When Ruby jumped to her feet, her eyes were flashing crimson. “You – deny me?”
“Nothing personal,” he replied as evenly as he could, though his heart was knocking in his throat. “You’re just a little… heavy for my taste.” Li clapped a hand over his mouth, eyebrows soaring almost right off his face. Ruby inhaled sharply, and even Suppi shut up.
“What,” she said in a soft but deadly tone, “did you say?”
“Eat a lot of sweets, do you? It’s really starting to show.” The air around her crackled slightly, her long hair lifting and streaming out over her wings. “You might want to think about a diet -”
“Enough!” she shrieked, and shot her arm out, palm facing Touya at point blank range. Just in time Touya snatched her wrist and pointed her hand at the ground by Li, before several sharp rubies pierced the earth. Two of them sliced apart the roots around his ankles and Li threw himself at his sword.
Ruby didn’t have a chance to witness any of this before Touya curled her wrist and flipped her right over, hurling her directly into the unprepared Suppi. She crashed into the great cat with a yelp and a loud thud, eliciting another squawk from him, and Li brought his sword down on the roots holding Touya prisoner.
“I cannot believe you did that. You are either the stupidest person I’ve ever met, or the bravest.” Ruby was picking herself up off the ground, trying to brush her hair out of her face, screaming obscenities.
“We’ll decide later. Now, we run.”
“Sounds good to me.”
And they ran, weaving in and out of the ancient trees, pushing their legs to move faster and all the while they could hear the pursuit closing in behind them, Ruby screeching for her partner to catch them and him bellowing that he was doing the best he could. Scarlet laser fire scorched the trees and ground around them and razor-sharp rubies cut into the ground like raining arrows. Touya’s lungs threatened to burst but he was running for his life and so he kept moving, kept himself one precious step ahead of his attackers.
“How do we get out of this place?” he shouted desperately. Li’s strides took him up onto a jutting boulder, and he tarried for just a moment to scan the surroundings.
“I know we’re close, I- aah!” A sharp ruby narrowly missed embedding itself in his skin, merely slicing across his upper arm before it hit the earth. Instantly a streak of red bloomed across his sleeve and he gripped his arm before falling to the ground far below.
“Li!” Touya threw himself on Li’s still body and rolled across the ground, just ahead of a line of rubies stabbing the earth. He wasn’t completely unconscious, but he’d been stunned by the fall and blinked at Touya groggily.
“I see you now!” Ruby shrieked, and Touya had to drag Li back under the shelter of the overhanging rock before any more of her ammunition could find its target. But it didn’t matter, they were surely done for now. He could think of no way out, and yet…
Was that just a dark shadow, under the boulder? Or something more?
“Hang on!” he said encouragingly to the stupefied boy under his arm. “I think I see some kind of tunnel!”
Li shook his head gently, trying to clear it. His left arm hurt terribly and some kind of furious racket was going on, people shouting and someone dragging him across the ground. Where was he again?
…some kind of tunnel.
The words drifted through his mind and too late he woke up, stark terror rushing through his blood.
“No! Wait! Don’t -”
Too late. Not knowing or caring what was on the other end, with Ruby on his heels and her panther friend right behind her, Touya threw himself and Li headlong into the black tunnel.
Immediately they both dropped downwards into infinite blackness, rolling and tumbling too fast to stop down the steep incline. Behind him he could hear Ruby’s scream of thwarted predation, and Touya felt a rush of relief that she did not intend to follow. The relief was quickly consumed by dread as the tunnel widened out and sloped even more drastically. Both of them plummeted with identical screams, and the darkness swallowed them up.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters

Well, Scorpinac, I wouldn’t say you were entirely off the mark… I did base the idea off a wedding dress I saw in a shop once. I thought it was very pretty. As for what it means to Sakura’s and Yue’s future in this story – can’t say! Shh! And yes, Taboo, Yue’s wings are sexy. I don’t know why either, but you can rest assured he doesn’t lose them for even a moment in this entire story.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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The Labyrinth