Title: The Bright End of Nowhere
Prompt: Ghost in the Machine
Parts: (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five)



Fai attempted to grab onto Kurogane’s waist again as the cycle was thrown into the air but he couldn’t hold his grip and in moments found himself hurtling through open space. He was thrown backwards through one of the blocked shop doors, the wooden boards splintering against his back, and landed hard against the ground. He felt a spike of pain as one arm twisted under him and he lay there for a moment, dazed. Dimly he thought he could hear Mokona yelling his name from somewhere. There was the sound of something heavy moving along the ground.

With a wince of pain Fai pulled himself into a sitting position. He had hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs and small sharp stings of pain were radiating up and down the wrist and hand that had been pulled underneath him. Fai dragged himself to his feet and staggered to the doorway.

Where the motorcycle had been moments before, there was only a giant hole in the ground.

“Kuro-rin!” Fai called out as he pulled his gun off his belt, shaking his head to clear away the fuzziness. He was dimly aware of blood running down his face and reaching up to touch the mask he felt a thin spiderweb crack running down the center of it. Fai allowed himself a small sigh of relief that it had at least not been cracked in two.

There was a sharp turn ahead of him blocking his view but Fai was certain that he could hear something beyond it. Fai tried to walk towards the sound, well aware that his steps were unsteady and weaving. The giant eye that had appeared in front of them seemed to be staring straight at him and Fai kept his head turned away from it.

A scream from above was the only warning he had to jump out of the way moments before something dropped down from the sky above him, claws tearing through the ground where he had been moments before, and Fai found himself face to face with a reaper about the size of a large horse. It appeared to be in the form of some kind of large bird of prey, its gray-black wings wide with sharp jutting feathers that might have once been a shining silver but were now dotted with rust. Its claws dug through the ground as if it was nothing more than soft earth beneath them as it snapped its beak with enough force that Fai didn’t doubt it could easily snap his arm if it managed to get hold of him. Its eyes glowed with an abnormal orange light. Glancing upwards, Fai could just make out the gaping hole in the roof where it had entered the building.

Fai tried to raise his gun, wincing again as pain shot down his hand and wrist. His hand was shaking noticeably as he placed a finger on the trigger.

The reaper screeched at him, its voice hollow and deafening, and Fai barely had time to dodge and shoot as it went for him again. The laser blast sliced harmlessly past the side of the creature’s mouth, barely scoring a line in the metal. The creature stamped its feet and the hatchway on its chest fell loosely open, needle-tipped cables dangling uselessly from it.

—The long shadow of the tower stretched above him and everything was cold and dead—

Fai shot at it again, biting his tongue to keep from crying out as his hand throbbed with pain. This time the shot hit where he’d intended, shattering straight through one of the reaper’s shining orange eyes. It screamed again and darted up into the air, disappearing into the hollows of the ceiling. He could hear its wings shuffling in the darkness but in the dim light he couldn’t make out its location at all. Even so, he had the distinct feeling of being watched.

Fai immediately looked around for cover. Standing there in the center of the floor he was the perfect target, but there was nowhere reliable to hide. Without any other recourse he ran for the spot where the hallway turned sharply to the left, hoping to find Kurogane. He had not lost hold of the map and they weren’t far from the tunnels. As long as they could get outside and force the reaper onto open ground they could at least make a stand together.

Fai rounded the corner and skidded to a stop.

In front of him was an enormous reaper at least three times the size of the one he had just been fighting. This one had no wings, only a hulking back full of sharp spikes and a tail that waved around like a wrecking ball. Its shape seemed to be a mix of a giant lizard and some sort of digging machine, its claws long and curved, easily able to dig up giant chunks of the ground with each wide swipe. Its head swung about on a long neck, jaws opening and closing spasmodically with enough force to crush metal and stone beneath them.

There was a flash of light and the machine roared as it fell back, black oil seeping like blood from its shoulder. Kurogane stood on the other side of it, light sword flickering in his hands.

The reaper raised one of its clawed legs and slammed it down where Kurogane had just been, but the ninja was far too fast for it and the sword flashed out again. The blade sunk into the base of the monster’s foot but didn’t manage to go through enough to separate it from its body and Kurogane was forced to dive back to avoid the next blow. The creature’s claws just missed Kurogane’s shoulder and Fai could hear the ninja give a muffled curse as he reached up for his mask as if to remove it.

“I’ll find that person for you, and I will--”

“Kuro-sama, don’t!” For a moment Fai thought Kurogane hadn’t heard him and he raised his gun, not certain even what he was aiming at. Kurogane’s hand dropped away from the mask and he raised his sword to deflect another of the reaper’s blows. Suddenly the reaper’s body reared up and slammed downward into the ground, tearing through tile and metal as easily as a mole through soft earth. The force of its movement threw Fai’s still-shaky balance off and he fell backwards onto the ground as the monster disappeared into the enormous hole it had just dug.

“Fai!” The call came out of nowhere and then Mokona was beside him, shaking his shoulder. “Fai! Are you all right?”

“I-I’m okay.” Fai petted the white creature with his good hand as he sat up. “Where’s the motorcycle?”

“Over there.” Mokona jumped onto Fai’s shoulder as he rose and moved towards where the cycle lay in an abandoned heap in the corner. Fai stumbled over to it, face darkening. Kurogane had apparently been unable to completely avoid the reaper’s initial attack, as there were several deep slashes along the side of the cycle and a clear fluid was leaking from one of the cables along the back. They had lost one of the packs and the other was torn and slightly squashed.

“This is why you can’t have nice things, Kuro-sama,” Fai said with a thin smile as Kurogane walked over towards him. To Fai’s relief the ninja seemed mostly unharmed.

“Will it still work?” Mokona asked in hushed tones as Fai ran a hand over the leaking cable.

“I have no idea,” Fai said honestly. He had not let go of his gun and he noted that Kurogane still had his sword at the ready.

“That thing’s still here,” Kurogane said quietly as he moved to stand in front of them.

“I know,” Fai replied coolly. “There’s another one above somewhere.”

“Can we get to cover?”

“If it was just the one above, maybe,” Fai said. “But the one below will still be able to follow us. We can’t risk letting it into the tunnels.”

“Then we’ll just have to get rid of it,” Kurogane said and Fai could almost hear the feral smile. Somehow he felt himself relax.

“This place is too cramped,” Fai said as he pulled the cycle upright. “Climb on, Kuro-sama. I’ll drive, this time.”

“With that hand?” Kurogane asked, and Fai was glad that the ninja couldn’t see his rueful smile. Of course Kurogane would notice something like that.

“I’ll manage,” he said with forced lightness. “You need to be free to fight, right? Let them chase us for a bit. We need to at least force them out where we can see them if we want to bring them down. Mokona, you’d better hold on to the map for me for a moment.”

Fai settled himself into the driver’s seat and waited for Kurogane to climb on behind him before grabbing onto the handlebars and starting the engine. The cycle was making a worrisome clicking noise, but the engine still seemed to be starting fine. In moments they were off at the fastest pace Fai dared to go.

“Mokona, does the map give you any idea of where the nearest exit might be?” Fai asked the navigator tucked close against his chest. Mokona wiggled itself forward, pulling out the map.

“Fai should be heading in the right direction,” it reported.

“Good,” Fai said as the ground began to shake beneath them again. “Because it looks like we’re about to have company again. Hang on tight, Kuro-sama!”

He didn’t even wait for a reply before leaning forward and pressing his foot down on the accelerator. The motorcycle suddenly put on a burst of speed and he heard Kurogane curse behind him as the ninja grabbed tightly at the bars to keep from falling off.

“I warned you,” Fai laughed and Kurogane answered with something sharp that Fai couldn’t even hear over the wind in his ears.

“Fai, behind you!” Mokona was prodding him insistently and Fai risked a quick look back. Behind them, the ground was being torn up in giant chunks as something just beneath the surface chased after them at impossible speed.

“Mokona, any sign of the exit?” Fai asked breathlessly, narrowly avoiding slamming the bike into another wall.

“The map says it should be just around this turn!” Mokona reported. Fai pressed on the accelerator again and slid the cycle sharply around the nearest curve, then just as suddenly forced it to a stop so quickly Kurogane was thrown forward against him.

“What are you--” Kurogane started to complain and then quieted as he saw what had caused Fai to stop. The exit they had been heading towards was completely blocked by rubble.

“Mokona, are there any explosives left in the pack?” Fai asked. Mokona quickly scrambled into the remaining pack, digging around.

“Any time now, pork bun!” Kurogane snapped. The sound of the underground reaper approaching was coming closer.

“Here!” Mokona’s head peeked back out of the pack, holding onto one small marble.

“Be ready to throw it when I say,” Fai said, starting up the cycle again and aiming straight for the blocked exit.

“Are you insane?” Kurogane groused from behind him. Despite the annoyance in his voice, he didn’t sound particularly worried.

“Maybe,” Fai sang happily. “Mokona, now!”

Mokona tossed the marble into its mouth like a piece of candy and then with a great gust of air sent it spinning forward towards the blocked door. It hit right in the center of the rubble and suddenly debris was flying everywhere. Fai pulled the cycle hard to the side, nearly turning it horizontal as they slid forward and through the now-opened exit and back out into the darkened streets.

“That worked better than expected,” Fai said brightly. “So, what now, Kuro-rin?”

“We need to get it to come above ground,” Kurogane said, glancing backwards. “I can’t kill it if I can’t see it.”

“Your wish is my command, Kuro-tan.” Fai abruptly swung the cycle back around, aiming for the doorway they had just come out of. The thin line of destroyed rubble that marked the monster’s underground progress was coming nearer and they were on a crash course with it.

At the last possible moment Fai veered wide, swinging around so that he just missed the building as the reaper burst from the ground, obliterating the wall in front of them. Chunks of metal and concrete slammed into the ground around them and it was only Fai’s quick reflexes that kept them from getting smashed. He swung the cycle into the nearest alleyway, accelerating once again. Behind them the monster quickly gave chase, smashing through anything in its path without even slowing down.

Fai burst out of the alleyway into what had once been some kind of roadway. Bridges and overpasses criss-crossed the area above them and Fai kept the motorcycle close against a twisted metal railing. The reaper came quickly along behind, its enormous claws tearing up the roadway as it went.

“Above!” Mokona’s cry was the only warning Fai needed as he turned the cycle hard to the left moments before the flying reaper that he had nearly forgotten about swooped down from the sky, claws digging up the roadway just inches from where they were. Its claws dug uselessly at the railing and it screeched, taking to the air again.

“Well, at least they’re both where we can see them now,” Fai said happily to Kurogane, who grunted in reply. “Any other ideas, Kuro-sama?”

“If I can get above the big one I can get at it with my sword,” Kurogane said. “The hide on that thing’s claws and body is too thick to bother with, but if I can get a good shot at its neck this sword should be more than enough.”

“Then we just need to get rid of our friend above,” Fai said, swinging the cycle again to avoid another aerial attack. He aimed the motorcycle underneath a half-collapsed bridge as the bird struck again, its claws slicing into the rock as they slid safely beneath the bridge. Fai took advantage of the momentary safety to slow the bike and take stock of their surroundings. The bird machine had taken to the air again and couldn’t be seen, but the other reaper was still smashing wildly through the road just behind them.

“Ah,” Fai said quietly, a smile spreading over his face. “Kuro-rin, I think I’ve got a stupid idea again.”

“What else is new?” Kurogane muttered. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. “So? Let’s go.”

“That’s my Kuro-rin,” Fai said. “Hold on as tightly as you can, but don’t let go of the sword. Mokona, you’d better duck back inside my cloak where its safe. This might get a little messy.”

Without waiting for a reply, Fai gunned the engine again, sweeping the bike out from under the collapsed bridge. Almost immediately the bird reaper swooped down again, claws closing just inches away from Fai’s head as the magician deftly swung the bike around to head back the way they had come. The bird reaper was close behind them, the wind screeching like a banshee as its wings cut through the air.

The second reaper swung its enormous head to face them, jaws opened wide. Fai’s eyes narrowed as he pointed the bike straight for it, increasing the bike’s speed as much as he dared. In a single clean movement he swung the bike into a hard right, turning it onto what had once been an off ramp leading up to another bridge. In a flash they had swept right past the giant reaper, running parallel to where it stood.

From above there was another screech and Fai glanced up to see the bird reaper diving straight for them. Fai bit his lip and swung the bike over the bridge railing, landing straight onto the giant reaper’s back. At the same moment its enormous tail swung over their heads, slamming into the bridge where they had just been and hitting the bird reaper dead on, smashing it to bits.

“One down,” Fai said cheerfully. “Kuro-sama, your turn!”

They were still on top of the giant reaper, Fai doing his best to steer around the spikes that dotted its back as he sped straight towards the monster’s head. Just before they reached the neck he pulled the motorcycle hard to one side, sliding straight off the its back as Kurogane leapt from the bike, light sword in hand.

“Hama Ryo-jin!” Kurogane swung the sword down. There was a burst of light as the blade sliced straight into the reaper’s neck, cleaving straight through the metal as if it was nothing more than normal flesh. The monster’s body fell into a broken heap as Kurogane landed on the ground a few feet away, breathing hard. The sword was flickering noticeably in his hands.

“Cool, Kuro-tan!” Fai yelled appreciatively from where he and Mokona waited with the bike a few feet away, waving one hand in Kurogane’s direction. The other stayed clamped fixedly on the motorcycle’s handlebars.

“Cool, cool!” Mokona added, applauding helpfully as it clambered back onto Fai’s shoulder.

Kurogane glared at them and placed the sword back on his belt as he approached the cycle.

“All right, move. I’m driving now.”

“It’s no problem, Kuro-sama,” Fai said breezily. “I can take it from here.”

Kurogane’s hand clamped down on his right wrist and Fai was glad his mask hid the wince of pain that crossed his face. His hand was noticeably white underneath the mesh gloves and it was shaking slightly.

“Can you move it?” Kurogane’s voice was cold and Fai didn’t even need to see his face to know what expression the ninja was making.

“Not sure,” he said honestly, because it really was no use when Kurogane had that tone of voice. “It would’ve been bad if I’d lost the grip while we were moving around, right?”

Kurogane snorted and reached over with surprising gentleness as he started to pry Fai’s fingers off the handlebar, and even so Fai couldn’t stop the small whimper of pain from escaping his lips. His hand was shaking badly by the time Kurogane pulled it fully off the handlebar and Fai clutched it close to his chest.

“Idiot,” Kurogane muttered as he took Fai’s place in the driver’s seat. “White thing. Where are those tunnels or wherever the hell we were headed?”

“Not far,” Fai answered as Mokona pulled out the map again. “I think we’ll be fine now, Kuro-sama. We should keep moving.”

“Shut up,” Kurogane snapped. “I want to take a look at that hand of yours first.”

“I’m fine,” Fai tried again.

“I didn’t ask you,” Kurogane said, already starting the motorcycle again as Mokona jumped onto his shoulder and began to read out directions. Fai sighed and leaned forward to rest his head against Kurogane’s back.

They drove off in silence and were quickly swallowed up by the darkness.

—

“Not broken, but it might as well be,” Kurogane proclaimed darkly.

They had finally reached the safety of the tunnels. Unlike the earlier subway tunnels, these were located directly beneath an old building that had once been some kind of factory and had been created to transport goods rather than people. The walls were lined on either side by clusters of support beams and both the ceiling and floor were made of the same rusting gray metal. The air within was cold and stagnant, and unlike the extensive open subway tunnels from earlier, being inside these tunnels felt like being trapped inside a giant storage locker. As soon as they had gotten deep enough inside that Kurogane had felt they were safe from any patrolling monsters he had stopped the cycle and finally dragged Fai off of it to take a look at his injury. Removing the gloves had revealed that Fai’s hand was already covered with quickly spreading bruises from the wrist up.

“Ah, I thought so,” Fai said with a forced smile. Kurogane had removed his mask as soon as they’d gotten off the bike and had practically had to tear Fai’s off to get the magician to remove his. It was enough trouble dealing with the stupid fake smiles as it was, not being able to see Fai’s face at all only made things worse. “How does the bike look?”

“Scrap metal,” Kurogane said with a snort. The motorcycle had begun making the weird clicking noise again as soon as they’d started it up and the sound had only gotten louder the longer they’d driven on it. By the time Kurogane had slowed it to a stop it had begun emitting some kind of foul-smelling black smoke. “We won’t get any farther on that.”

“Do we still have supplies left?”

“One pack,” Kurogane said. He glanced over at where Mokona was digging inside their one remaining pack. “Well?”

“Mokona found bandages!” Mokona reported, pulling them out triumphantly.

“Not too tight,” Fai said as Kurogane began to wrap his injured hand. “I still need to be able to shoot the gun.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Kurogane snorted. “You can’t shoot that with one hand. If anything attacks us, I’ll take care of it.”

“But your sword’s not working so well, right?” Fai was smiling still, but his tone was sharp. “It was flickering when you killed the big reaper.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“Mokona,” Fai called, ignoring him. “Are there any other swords left in the pack?”

“Just these.” Mokona rolled over the hilts of two swords, along with what looked to be the sole remaining battery pack for Fai’s gun.

“We’ll have to make it last,” Fai said with a shrug. “You’ll have to be careful with your sword from now on, Kuro-rin. We’ll be in trouble if it dies before we can find Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun.”

“Can we make it?” Kurogane asked, eying him sharply.

“Your guess is as good as mine, Kuro-sama,” Fai said with a shrug. He pulled out the map with his good hand. “It looks like these tunnels lead us near to where we want to be. As long as nothing’s collapsed we should be able to follow them right to the citadel.” He placed the map back inside his cloak and reached for his mask. Kurogane grabbed his injured wrist to stop him, ignoring the pained wince he received in return.

“Leave it off.”

“You need to put yours back on too,” Fai said, meeting Kurogane’s eyes with a steady gaze. “We’re not safe down here, either. Little Brother has eyes everywhere.”

“Like the one we saw back in the building?”

Fai’s face seemed to grow slightly paler but his serene smile didn’t waver.

“Something like that. You don’t want it to recognize you, Kuro-rin.” He reached for the mask again, staring down at the hairline fracture that ran straight through the center.

“You keep saying crap like that,” Kurogane said darkly, “but those other people you were with, most of them weren’t wearing masks. Why is it so important?”

Fai paused, not looking at him.

“Mokona,” the magician said at last, “why don’t you go take a look at the tunnels ahead? Make sure they haven’t collapsed.”

Mokona glanced quickly between Kurogane and Fai and then nodded, hopping away into the darkness.

“It ate you, right, Kuro-sama?” Fai ran a hand along the three thin scars that striped Kurogane’s arm. “It remembers. That’s why we have to be careful, that’s all.”

“Don’t give me that crap again,” Kurogane snorted. “When I almost took the stupid mask off before, you started yelling. You don’t usually do that. There’s something more than just worrying about being recognized. And those things back there, they didn’t even try to eat us or whatever the hell you’re calling it. They were trying to kill us.”

“Little Brother hasn’t been acting right since Mother was destroyed.” Fai shrugged. “Time runs differently in different worlds, Kuro-pi. For all we know, Sakura-chan’s feather didn’t reach here until just that moment. If the feather has resonated with it then even a machine can act in ways it wasn’t made for.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It only takes in dark things, Kuro-rin,” Fai said slowly, eyes hooded. “That’s all it was made for. Edras Agra said it was made for that, and that only. Even when Mother and the other Little Brothers went out of control and destroyed this land, they kept doing that, taking in the dark things, processing and discarding the rest. Even then, it shouldn’t really remember. Dark things, dark thoughts, memories…that should be only data, not something it can recall, not something it can…change from. But if the feather changes that….” He shook his head as if trying to shake something away. “If it starts to collapse under the weight of what it remembers, then everything these people have told us about its reactions won’t be relevant anymore.”

“And what the hell is it remembering?” Kurogane asked, ignoring the sudden flash of fire and blood that cut through his mind. “It had you too, right? What the hell did it remember from you, that you’ve barely taken that damn mask off since I found you?”

“Nothing you really need to worry about,” Fai said, cheerful smile suddenly slicing its way back onto his face like a red scar in a darkened sky. “It’s really nothing big, Kuro-tan.”

Kurogane grabbed his arm again, pulling the sleeve back to reveal the old bandages.

“You didn’t answer before,” he said slowly. “How long did it have you?”

Fai’s only answer was a calm, steady gaze and a cool smile as he pulled the cracked mask back on.

—

Sakura sighed and rubbed at the bruises on her arms as she stared hopelessly upwards. Despite her best attempts she was still trapped in the cage, unable to escape.

“You should just wait here.” Sakura glanced up as the bird flew back into the cage, perching on her knee. “It’s safest if you stay here.”

“I can’t do that,” Sakura said, biting her lip. “Everyone’s probably looking for me. I need to find a way out. Can’t you help me?”

“I want to keep you safe,” the bird said, its small orange eye staring up at her unblinkingly. “Don’t you want to stay where it’s safe, with me?”

“I’m sorry,” Sakura said sincerely. “If I could wait with you I would but I really have to find Syaoran-kun and the others. They might need my help. Even if it’s safe here, I can’t feel safe if I don’t know where my friends are.”

“I have a friend too,” the bird said earnestly. “He’s just like me. He’s all alone too, except for his wish. I’m going to help him grant his and then mine will be granted too, and I won’t be alone anymore.”

“You’re alone?” Sakura held out a finger and the bird hopped onto it. “What about all the others up there? Aren’t they your friends?” Above her she could see hundreds of small dark forms hopping amongst the wires and cables that covered the ceiling above the cage, tiny birds and mice and all manner of small animals, all made of silvery metal just like the bird in her hand.

“Those are all me,” the bird said. “This entire structure, this is all me. I can make myself look like all of this. I don’t know why. I used to just be one small thing, but then I found out that I could make everything move the way I wanted it to if I just tried. All I had to do was send it some of my information and I could make it a part of me. Now half this city is all part of me. But even though there’s lots of me I’m still all alone. My mother and all my brothers are gone. That’s why I’m waiting for my friend. He’s different than anyone I’ve met before, just like you are. I’m sure that he understands me, even though I don’t understand me. I don’t think I was always this way, but I can’t really remember.”

“So you’ve lost some of your memories?”

“Something like that. It’s not really lost…it’s just that the things I remember are all flat. Numbers in sequence…surges of power…data, data, data, all quantified and stored, strings of code and numbers, numbers, processes that never stop...” The bird seemed to shudder in her hand. “It’s like I was asleep, and now I’m not. I remember other things, though, thoughts that aren’t mine. They don’t process right, not the way they used to. I can’t turn these thoughts into numbers. I can’t recycle them. I made more of myself because I thought it might help, but it doesn’t. I’m still all alone, I’m still all wrong.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” Sakura said, placing a hand gently on its head. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling lonely. It just means you want to have someone by your side, that’s all.”

“I can’t process that,” the bird said. “I know there were others like me once, but I can’t connect to them anymore. They were taken from me. I need to get them back, so that’s why you have to stay here.”

“I understand it’s important to you,” Sakura said. “But I really can’t stay in this place forever. I have something I’ve lost too, that I need to get back.”

“You’re all bruised,” the bird noted. “Why are you trying so hard to get out? Don’t you want to stay here and be safe forever?”

“Because there are people waiting for me,” Sakura told it, getting to her feet again. “Isn’t there someone you want to see, no matter what?”

“I’m looking for him right now,” the bird said, suddenly intent. “When I find him we’re going to grant my wish.”

“It’s just like that for me,” Sakura said, starting to climb to the top of the lamp again. “I have someone I need to look for, and because of that I can’t just sit around. The people who are important to me might be in danger.”

The bird hopped off her hand and sat at the bottom of the cage, staring up impassively as Sakura balanced precariously on the top of her stack. The bars were still there above her, just out of reach.

“This time for sure,” Sakura said to herself. “This time, I’ll make it.”

Sakura took a deep breath and jumped.

Her hands closed over the nearest bar and she swung helplessly for a moment, gritting her teeth with effort as she willed herself not to let go of the bar. Slowly and painstakingly she began to pull herself through the top of the cage, arms shaking, just barely managing to squeeze through the hole between the bars. Sakura fell flat on her back at the top of the cage, breathing hard.

“Did it!” Sakura cheered quietly for herself as the bird hopped beside her.

“So you’re out,” it said curiously. “But what are you going to do now?”

Sakura pulled herself into a sitting position and took stock of her surroundings. Wires and cables surrounded her like a giant spider web, and there was no sign of any sort of doorway or exit.

“I can show you another safe place,” the bird said. “If you won’t stay in the cage. It’s even safer than here, and there’s another person like you there. Another one of me is watching him, to be sure he doesn’t wander into anything dangerous.”

“Another person like me?” Sakura said urgently. “Syaoran-kun? You know where he is?”

“Is that the friend you’re looking for?” the bird asked.

“That’s one of my friends. Is he all right? He’s not hurt?”

“The other me thinks he looks all right, but we can’t really tell how humans are,” the bird said. “He still has his face. We haven’t eaten him yet, because he’s also needed. Do you want me to take you to him?”

“Yes, please,” Sakura said. She wasn’t sure exactly what the bird meant by ‘still having his face’ and ‘eaten,’ but if Syaoran was here then she definitely had to find him.

“This way, then.” The bird darted forward into the tangle of cables and Sakura had no choice but to follow.


--Part Four--