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Description
                                                                                     Tsubasa Shadow Chronicles

                                                                                       Chapter 12: Past Phantoms

Night has fallen again and like the past few nights it was snowing. At this late hour no one would be out in weather like this but a small cloaked figure holding a stuff animal quietly opened the front door of the house and left town. The figure followed the path through the forest till they reached the castle. The figure walked up to the end of the remains of the broken bridge before stopping and suddenly collapsing into nothing but a empty cloak much to the shock of the other cloaked figure following what he thought was a child.
"What's the matter Doctor Kyle?" the named figured turned to see it was Syaoran who spoke with Shadow standing not far from him, both looking at him with no expression or emotion.
"I was worried for the child so I followed! You said everyone was watching Mr. Grosum so-" Doctor Kyle said trying to explain himself but stopped when he saw a familiar man step up next to Syaoran and Shadow. "MR. GROSUM!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"Mr. Grosum isn't the culprit, the fact that he was wet was proof of that."
"We looked everywhere and we couldn't find the children and I went time and time again to check the castle, but with the flow of the river I could never cross. I tried to construct a device to cross but," Mr. Grosum explained.
"In the process, you fell in the river," Syaoran said, finishing his sentence before turning back to Doctor Kyle before saying directly to him. "The one who did it knows an easier way to enter the castle." he held up two books as he explained. "This a record of the children who vanished, kept by the Mayor. And these are the medical records kept by Doctor Kyle. For the days prior to each child's disappearance, you, Kyle, made a series of house calls."
"The people of the town wanted me to visit! Such coincidental-" he tried once more to explain himself but Syaoran continued.
"You asked the first child who disappeared to come by your office for a proper diagnosis. And right after that as the children started to disappear you did a checkup on them, saying it was for everyone's peace of mind. You used hypnosis therapy, didn't you? I heard what the child you treated today say, 'A black bird.' but the sky the child pointed to was clear of birds. You implanted a hypnotic suggestion in the child. On snowy nights when their tracks will be covered, the children chased imaginary birds and vanished on their own"
"Then where have the children gone?" Doctor Kyle quietly asked, looking down to avoid looking at them.
"I'd say to the castle. You stopped the river and crossed." right when Syaoran said that the river suddenly slowed down till its waters became calm and still.
'They found it.'
"How did it happen? How did the river stopped?!" Mr. Grosum asked in shock and disbelief when the river stopped.
"This book." Syaoran said as he held up a history book. "It's the history book of this country that I borrowed from the Mayor. He said that you borrowed it as well." opening up the book he showed a part in the book that if one looked carefully could see that several pages had been carefully torn out, something Shadow had noticed and pointed out to the others the night before. "There are several pages missing, but these pages were removed in a way so one would never noticed while reading." he then held up another copy of the history book. "This is a history book that Mr. Grosum owns and contains all the pages. Even though Mr. Grosum was not too well disposed to us we stopped by his place after I visited your office today."
"There was high tension between myself and the townspeople so you assumed no would dare come to borrow my book." Mr. Grosum added.
"The missing pages refer to the underground sections of the castle. There's a large network of passageways and rooms dug in a area under the castle and the book also has information on the underground waterways. If there are waterways then one should be able to divert the water from the river."
"Well, did the water stop?" behind them Fai and the others, including the militia man, came up. "We found the spot Syaoran said it would be and would stop the water. It was hidden and incredibly old, but the mechanisms still worked. It's a machine that stops the river from flowing, and there were signs that it was used recently. I imagine there's a similar device inside the castle." Fai explained. By then Doctor Kyle covered his face with his hand and his body shook.
"DOCTOR!! IT ISN'T TRUE IS IT? THEY SAY THAT YOU KIDNAPPED THE CHILDREN!! SAY IT'S A LIE!!" cried out the militia man, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Doctor Kyle didn't answer as his body shook more before he broke out into an almost hysterical laughter.
"That certainly throws a wrench in my plans, doesn't it?! To have some outsiders walk in and prove that I was the one kidnapping the children when all I wanted was to take what I came for and leave!"
'So the good doctor finally shows his true colors.'
"Doctor!!"
"Was it really you who did it?" Mr. Grosum asked even though they already knew the answer.
"There is something in the castle I want, but it's in a place I can't reach . Nobody but a child can get it."
"You kidnapped the children just for that?!" shouted Mr. Grosum in pure anger, looking ready to attack at any second.
"'Just for that'? You can spout such idiotic words because you know nothing about me!!" Doctor Kyle said before running off the edge of the broken bridge.
"WAIT!!"
As Kyle passed by the cloak Mokona, who was hiding underneath it, threw a glowing powder on his shoes. As for the Doctor instead of falling into the river he was running across the water towards the castle entrance.
"He walking on the water!"
"No, he isn't." Syaoran said as he climbed down the broken bridge next to the water's edge at a path to see isolated glowing spots appeared where Kyle had stepped. "There's a rock path just beneath the surface." Sure enough just below the water's surface a rocky path can be seen and accessible now that the river's flow has stopped. Fai and Maria picked up Mokona, the cloak, and wooden poles Mokona had used while Mr. Grosum and the militia man were over with Syaoran and Shadow.
"Mokona, you played the child?" Fai asked.
"It's one of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques! Super Disguise!" Mokona answered as she burrowed into Maria's cloak.
"What did you throw at Doctor Kyle?" Maria asked quietly asked.
"Syaoran asked me to do that too! We took some pieces of the scale of that glowing fish Syaoran saw in the last country we were in, and ground it into dust."
"Let's go after him!" Syaoran said as he started across the rock path, the others not far behind him, following the glowing trail into the ruins of the castle.
"There's not much that isn't ruin, huh?" Fai commented as they looked around the rubble and what was left of the castle.
"There's a staircase!" Syaoran pointed to a staircase that lead below. "The castle's mostly collapsed above, if the children are here they're underground!" They followed the staircase which started to wind around for a while till they reached a hallway with many doors on each side.
What are all these rooms for?" Kurogane asked as they raced down the hall.
"Look at all the beds!" Fai said when he looked through an opening on one of the doors to see several beds in it. They reached the end of the hall to another staircase but at the bottom the trail had disappeared.
"The footprints ended!" pointed out the militia man.
"He noticed and took off his shoes," Kurogane said when he saw Shadow hold up the discarded shoes before tossing them aside.
"There are other footprints here," Syaoran said as he crouched down to the ground to inspect the footprints, which were much smaller than Kyle's.
"The children?" Mr. Grosum asked.
"He probably didn't have time to erase them," said Fai.
"They lead this way!" Syaoran pointed to another set of staircase, as they hurried down Shadow heard a voice cry out.
"NO!"
'SAKURA!' Shadow raced down the stairs past everyone and entered a large room where the missing children were and in the middle Sakura was on the ground holding on to something that looked like a block of ice close to her, her right ankle was shackled and Doctor Kyle held the other end of the chain. He was about to attack when Kyle noticed him and pulled out a knife and held it against Sakura's throat.
"Stay back!" Kyle said, the threat being clear. Shadow growled but didn't move.
'If I time this wrong she'll be the one to pay for my mistake.'
"Princess Sakura!!" Shadow looked out of the corner of his eye to see Syaoran and the others arrive, but when they saw the situation they stopped short.
"All I need the feather and this town, no, this whole country will be mine to control! After all, three hundred years ago Princess Emerald built an entire underground town and saved the children using the feather's power!" Doctor Kyle said.
"The Golden-haired Princess kidnapped the children and killed them in the castle, didn't she?!" said the militia man.
"Oh? If she wanted to kill them why would she need a room like this?" they took a brief look around the room to see it was filled with toys and play sets.
"Now that he mentions it, I did see rooms with a lot of beds back there," Fai said, thinking back to the rooms they passed.
"They were for the sake of the children," Mr. Grosum said when he realized they had all been wrong about Princess Emerald's intentions for the children.
"But right after she got the feather, the King and Queen died!" protested the militia man. Shadow noticed Sakura look to her right and said.
"No, that's wrong. They died in a accident" this caught everyone by surprise but what really confused them was that Sakura seemed to be talking to someone. "So when it said no parents were able to hold their children in their laps again..."
"Who is Sakura talking to?" Fai asked, though no one seemed to know. Suddenly Doctor Kyle snapped.
"I HAVE NO TIME TO LISTEN TO WOMEN TALKING TO PHANTOMS!!" he screamed as he lifted the knife before brining it down towards Sakura. "GIVE ME THAT FEATHER!!"
"DON'T DO IT!!" Syaoran screamed as he rushed towards them, at the same time Shadow launched himself at Kyle. As Syaoran grabbed Sakura and pulled her out of the way Shadow kicked the knife out of Kyle's hand before landing in front of them. Suddenly the room started to shake as a loud roar ringed out.
"What's that sound?" Fai asked.
"An earthquake?" Kurogane suggested.
"No! That's the sound of-" Syaoran tried to say when a portion of the wall burst under the pressure of a huge wave of water
"WAAAA!!"
"WATER?!" while he had the chance Syaoran used the heel of his foot the break the chain off the shackle around Sakura's ankle so it wouldn't get caught again.
"The device that stopped the water must have broke!" Syaoran said.
"Yeah, it was very old. It couldn't hold the water back for an extended period of time," Fai calming explained as more water broke through the walls.
"WATCH OUT!" huge slabs of broken stone fell in the middle of the room, separating Syaoran, Sakura, Shadow, and Doctor Kyle to one side of the room and the others and the children on the other side with the stairway that led out.
"Get the children above ground!! Don't worry about us, we'll get out! You go on ahead!!" yelled Syaoran.
"But-" Mr. Grosum tried to protest.
"Let's go," Kurogane said as he picked up two children up unto his shoulders.
"Yup, let's get out of here," Fai agreed as he picked up a child. Maria nodded in agreement as she guided the children towards the staircase as they seemed still be in a hypnotic trance.
"But you're friends are in danger!" protested the militia man, not believing that the others would just calmly leave while the other members of their group where still in danger.
"If he'll say that he'll get out, he'll get out. That's how Syaoran is and Shadow may not realize it himself yet but he won't let anything happen to them either."

                                                                                                           *****

On the other side of the room Shadow saw Doctor Kyle pick up his knife as he tried to make his way towards them through the rising water and felling derby.
"Kid, get the Princess out of here. I'll hold him off while you two escape." Syaoran and Sakura looked at him in shock but before either of them could protest. "I read and memorized the same diagram as you, I'll be able to find my way out. Both of you go now while the water is still low." Syaoran nodded before taking Sakura's hand.
"Let's go!" he pulled Sakura to a section of the wall and pushed into it to reveal a hidden pathway.
"There was a door here?" Sakura asked.
"Shadow and I memorized a diagram of the castle! We should be able to get to the surface through here!" he explained as he lead her through as Sakura took one last look at Shadow before losing sight of him. Once they were gone, Shadow turned his attention back to Kyle as sparks of Chaos Energy crackled around his hands.
"You're not getting past me!" Kyle stopped a few feet from him but to Shadow's surprise he wasn't shocked that he could talk or at the sight of the Chaos Energy, instead he let a dark smile appear and even laughed.
"You really haven't changed despite everything you went through, you're still try to protect those close to you." Shadow was shocked at this.
"We've met? You know me?!"
"I've known you since before you could even stand, even farther back to when you were nothing more than an idea, but of course you don't remember me or anyone from your life before, do you?"
"Where did we meet?! And what do you mean back to when I was just an idea?!"
"Sorry, but I can't tell you anything for right now I have a feather to retrieve!" Kyle suddenly moved to the side. Shadow moved to intercept him but a burst of water exploded behind him, the force of t sended him flying across the room against a pile of broken stone and as more water broke through more rubble fell on top of Shadow pinning him to the ground as the water started to cover his head. "But I will leave you with this! Don't trust humans, for they were the ones who took everything from you because of your dormant power!" with that said Kyle left the room and went through the door Syaoran and Sakura went through in pursuit of the feather.
"GET BACK HERE!!" he yelled only to allow water to enter his airway.
'CHAOS SPEAR!' he unleashed a Chaos Spear on the stone that was pinning him, causing it to explode into pieces allowing him to sit up and clear his airway. "You're not getting  away from me!" Shadow dashed after him but the rising water was slowing him down.
"I hate water!" he finally manged to reach the doorway and push himself through to see Syaoran and Sakura trapped at the end of the hall because of a wall of fallen derby and Doctor Kyle making his way towards them. Syaoran kicked at the wall, opening another doorway but at the same moment the ceiling above the entire tunnel collapsed.
"NO!!" using his Chaos Energy he flew past Doctor Kyle, grabbed Syaoran and Sakura before using his signature move that he knew he might not live to regret using.
"CHAOS CONTROL!!"

                                                                                                         ******

"HEY! NO ONE'S COMING OUT!! AND THE FLOW OF THE RIVER IS GETTING FASTER!!" the others have made it outside and across the rock path before the river flow started up again. The castle was starting to collapse and the river flow was getting faster, but there was no sign of Syaoran or the others.
"IF THE RIVER FLOWS ANY FASTER NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO CROSS! ARE YOU SURE THOSE THREE WILL COME OUT?!"
'Where are they?' Maria wondered as she, Fai, and Kurogane stood by the edge of the broken bridge. She knew they would do everything they could to get out but they were trying to get past not only Doctor Kyle but the collapse of the castle and the force of the river. 'Please let them be okay.'
Suddenly up the river a bright light shone for a moment before disappearing as a loud splash was heard.
"There." Kurogane said as a another splash appeared right in front of them. Kurogane reached down and grabbed an arm.
"Phweet! You all made it!" Fai happily said. Sure enough Syaoran gripped Kurogane's hand as he held onto Sakaura while Shadow had a arm around each of them. Kurogane pulled them up as the militia man asked.
"What about the Doctor?"
"I don't ...know." Syaoran said as he tried to catch his breath while Shadow shook his head. Doctor Kyle was too far away to get caught in Chaos Control, Shadow had no choice but to either leave him behind or leave them all behind.
"But the fact that he isn't chasing you," Fai said as they looked at the castle just in time to see it completely collapse. "That means he shared the same fate as the castle."
'No one could survive that.' Shadow hit the ground in anger and frustration. 'My first chance of finding out my past has literally been crushed!' Shadow then looked around to see the children was safe and unharmed as well as Syaoran, Sakura, and everyone else. 'But at least everyone else made it out safe.' Shadow saw the ice block that contained Sakura's feather suddenly melt, allowing the feather to merge with Sakura. 'And at least one of us got a memory back.' Suddenly he felt like he was being detached from this world or maybe he was being closed off from his body, he couldn't really tell.
"Shadow?!" he thought he heard someone say his name but he couldn't be sure for it sounded so far away, though he did wondered why the world seemed to turn on it's side. The next thing he knew all he could see was the white of the snow before it faded into black and with the fading white his thoughts went with it till nothing was left but an empty void.

Description
                                                                                     Tsubasa Shadow Chronicles

                                                                                       Chapter 12: Past Phantoms

Night has fallen again and like the past few nights it was snowing. At this late hour no one would be out in weather like this but a small cloaked figure holding a stuff animal quietly opened the front door of the house and left town. The figure followed the path through the forest till they reached the castle. The figure walked up to the end of the remains of the broken bridge before stopping and suddenly collapsing into nothing but a empty cloak much to the shock of the other cloaked figure following what he thought was a child.
"What's the matter Doctor Kyle?" the named figured turned to see it was Syaoran who spoke with Shadow standing not far from him, both looking at him with no expression or emotion.
"I was worried for the child so I followed! You said everyone was watching Mr. Grosum so-" Doctor Kyle said trying to explain himself but stopped when he saw a familiar man step up next to Syaoran and Shadow. "MR. GROSUM!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
"Mr. Grosum isn't the culprit, the fact that he was wet was proof of that."
"We looked everywhere and we couldn't find the children and I went time and time again to check the castle, but with the flow of the river I could never cross. I tried to construct a device to cross but," Mr. Grosum explained.
"In the process, you fell in the river," Syaoran said, finishing his sentence before turning back to Doctor Kyle before saying directly to him. "The one who did it knows an easier way to enter the castle." he held up two books as he explained. "This a record of the children who vanished, kept by the Mayor. And these are the medical records kept by Doctor Kyle. For the days prior to each child's disappearance, you, Kyle, made a series of house calls."
"The people of the town wanted me to visit! Such coincidental-" he tried once more to explain himself but Syaoran continued.
"You asked the first child who disappeared to come by your office for a proper diagnosis. And right after that as the children started to disappear you did a checkup on them, saying it was for everyone's peace of mind. You used hypnosis therapy, didn't you? I heard what the child you treated today say, 'A black bird.' but the sky the child pointed to was clear of birds. You implanted a hypnotic suggestion in the child. On snowy nights when their tracks will be covered, the children chased imaginary birds and vanished on their own"
"Then where have the children gone?" Doctor Kyle quietly asked, looking down to avoid looking at them.
"I'd say to the castle. You stopped the river and crossed." right when Syaoran said that the river suddenly slowed down till its waters became calm and still.
'They found it.'
"How did it happen? How did the river stopped?!" Mr. Grosum asked in shock and disbelief when the river stopped.
"This book." Syaoran said as he held up a history book. "It's the history book of this country that I borrowed from the Mayor. He said that you borrowed it as well." opening up the book he showed a part in the book that if one looked carefully could see that several pages had been carefully torn out, something Shadow had noticed and pointed out to the others the night before. "There are several pages missing, but these pages were removed in a way so one would never noticed while reading." he then held up another copy of the history book. "This is a history book that Mr. Grosum owns and contains all the pages. Even though Mr. Grosum was not too well disposed to us we stopped by his place after I visited your office today."
"There was high tension between myself and the townspeople so you assumed no would dare come to borrow my book." Mr. Grosum added.
"The missing pages refer to the underground sections of the castle. There's a large network of passageways and rooms dug in a area under the castle and the book also has information on the underground waterways. If there are waterways then one should be able to divert the water from the river."
"Well, did the water stop?" behind them Fai and the others, including the militia man, came up. "We found the spot Syaoran said it would be and would stop the water. It was hidden and incredibly old, but the mechanisms still worked. It's a machine that stops the river from flowing, and there were signs that it was used recently. I imagine there's a similar device inside the castle." Fai explained. By then Doctor Kyle covered his face with his hand and his body shook.
"DOCTOR!! IT ISN'T TRUE IS IT? THEY SAY THAT YOU KIDNAPPED THE CHILDREN!! SAY IT'S A LIE!!" cried out the militia man, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Doctor Kyle didn't answer as his body shook more before he broke out into an almost hysterical laughter.
"That certainly throws a wrench in my plans, doesn't it?! To have some outsiders walk in and prove that I was the one kidnapping the children when all I wanted was to take what I came for and leave!"
'So the good doctor finally shows his true colors.'
"Doctor!!"
"Was it really you who did it?" Mr. Grosum asked even though they already knew the answer.
"There is something in the castle I want, but it's in a place I can't reach . Nobody but a child can get it."
"You kidnapped the children just for that?!" shouted Mr. Grosum in pure anger, looking ready to attack at any second.
"'Just for that'? You can spout such idiotic words because you know nothing about me!!" Doctor Kyle said before running off the edge of the broken bridge.
"WAIT!!"
As Kyle passed by the cloak Mokona, who was hiding underneath it, threw a glowing powder on his shoes. As for the Doctor instead of falling into the river he was running across the water towards the castle entrance.
"He walking on the water!"
"No, he isn't." Syaoran said as he climbed down the broken bridge next to the water's edge at a path to see isolated glowing spots appeared where Kyle had stepped. "There's a rock path just beneath the surface." Sure enough just below the water's surface a rocky path can be seen and accessible now that the river's flow has stopped. Fai and Maria picked up Mokona, the cloak, and wooden poles Mokona had used while Mr. Grosum and the militia man were over with Syaoran and Shadow.
"Mokona, you played the child?" Fai asked.
"It's one of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques! Super Disguise!" Mokona answered as she burrowed into Maria's cloak.
"What did you throw at Doctor Kyle?" Maria asked quietly asked.
"Syaoran asked me to do that too! We took some pieces of the scale of that glowing fish Syaoran saw in the last country we were in, and ground it into dust."
"Let's go after him!" Syaoran said as he started across the rock path, the others not far behind him, following the glowing trail into the ruins of the castle.
"There's not much that isn't ruin, huh?" Fai commented as they looked around the rubble and what was left of the castle.
"There's a staircase!" Syaoran pointed to a staircase that lead below. "The castle's mostly collapsed above, if the children are here they're underground!" They followed the staircase which started to wind around for a while till they reached a hallway with many doors on each side.
What are all these rooms for?" Kurogane asked as they raced down the hall.
"Look at all the beds!" Fai said when he looked through an opening on one of the doors to see several beds in it. They reached the end of the hall to another staircase but at the bottom the trail had disappeared.
"The footprints ended!" pointed out the militia man.
"He noticed and took off his shoes," Kurogane said when he saw Shadow hold up the discarded shoes before tossing them aside.
"There are other footprints here," Syaoran said as he crouched down to the ground to inspect the footprints, which were much smaller than Kyle's.
"The children?" Mr. Grosum asked.
"He probably didn't have time to erase them," said Fai.
"They lead this way!" Syaoran pointed to another set of staircase, as they hurried down Shadow heard a voice cry out.
"NO!"
'SAKURA!' Shadow raced down the stairs past everyone and entered a large room where the missing children were and in the middle Sakura was on the ground holding on to something that looked like a block of ice close to her, her right ankle was shackled and Doctor Kyle held the other end of the chain. He was about to attack when Kyle noticed him and pulled out a knife and held it against Sakura's throat.
"Stay back!" Kyle said, the threat being clear. Shadow growled but didn't move.
'If I time this wrong she'll be the one to pay for my mistake.'
"Princess Sakura!!" Shadow looked out of the corner of his eye to see Syaoran and the others arrive, but when they saw the situation they stopped short.
"All I need the feather and this town, no, this whole country will be mine to control! After all, three hundred years ago Princess Emerald built an entire underground town and saved the children using the feather's power!" Doctor Kyle said.
"The Golden-haired Princess kidnapped the children and killed them in the castle, didn't she?!" said the militia man.
"Oh? If she wanted to kill them why would she need a room like this?" they took a brief look around the room to see it was filled with toys and play sets.
"Now that he mentions it, I did see rooms with a lot of beds back there," Fai said, thinking back to the rooms they passed.
"They were for the sake of the children," Mr. Grosum said when he realized they had all been wrong about Princess Emerald's intentions for the children.
"But right after she got the feather, the King and Queen died!" protested the militia man. Shadow noticed Sakura look to her right and said.
"No, that's wrong. They died in a accident" this caught everyone by surprise but what really confused them was that Sakura seemed to be talking to someone. "So when it said no parents were able to hold their children in their laps again..."
"Who is Sakura talking to?" Fai asked, though no one seemed to know. Suddenly Doctor Kyle snapped.
"I HAVE NO TIME TO LISTEN TO WOMEN TALKING TO PHANTOMS!!" he screamed as he lifted the knife before brining it down towards Sakura. "GIVE ME THAT FEATHER!!"
"DON'T DO IT!!" Syaoran screamed as he rushed towards them, at the same time Shadow launched himself at Kyle. As Syaoran grabbed Sakura and pulled her out of the way Shadow kicked the knife out of Kyle's hand before landing in front of them. Suddenly the room started to shake as a loud roar ringed out.
"What's that sound?" Fai asked.
"An earthquake?" Kurogane suggested.
"No! That's the sound of-" Syaoran tried to say when a portion of the wall burst under the pressure of a huge wave of water
"WAAAA!!"
"WATER?!" while he had the chance Syaoran used the heel of his foot the break the chain off the shackle around Sakura's ankle so it wouldn't get caught again.
"The device that stopped the water must have broke!" Syaoran said.
"Yeah, it was very old. It couldn't hold the water back for an extended period of time," Fai calming explained as more water broke through the walls.
"WATCH OUT!" huge slabs of broken stone fell in the middle of the room, separating Syaoran, Sakura, Shadow, and Doctor Kyle to one side of the room and the others and the children on the other side with the stairway that led out.
"Get the children above ground!! Don't worry about us, we'll get out! You go on ahead!!" yelled Syaoran.
"But-" Mr. Grosum tried to protest.
"Let's go," Kurogane said as he picked up two children up unto his shoulders.
"Yup, let's get out of here," Fai agreed as he picked up a child. Maria nodded in agreement as she guided the children towards the staircase as they seemed still be in a hypnotic trance.
"But you're friends are in danger!" protested the militia man, not believing that the others would just calmly leave while the other members of their group where still in danger.
"If he'll say that he'll get out, he'll get out. That's how Syaoran is and Shadow may not realize it himself yet but he won't let anything happen to them either."

                                                                                                           *****

On the other side of the room Shadow saw Doctor Kyle pick up his knife as he tried to make his way towards them through the rising water and felling derby.
"Kid, get the Princess out of here. I'll hold him off while you two escape." Syaoran and Sakura looked at him in shock but before either of them could protest. "I read and memorized the same diagram as you, I'll be able to find my way out. Both of you go now while the water is still low." Syaoran nodded before taking Sakura's hand.
"Let's go!" he pulled Sakura to a section of the wall and pushed into it to reveal a hidden pathway.
"There was a door here?" Sakura asked.
"Shadow and I memorized a diagram of the castle! We should be able to get to the surface through here!" he explained as he lead her through as Sakura took one last look at Shadow before losing sight of him. Once they were gone, Shadow turned his attention back to Kyle as sparks of Chaos Energy crackled around his hands.
"You're not getting past me!" Kyle stopped a few feet from him but to Shadow's surprise he wasn't shocked that he could talk or at the sight of the Chaos Energy, instead he let a dark smile appear and even laughed.
"You really haven't changed despite everything you went through, you're still try to protect those close to you." Shadow was shocked at this.
"We've met? You know me?!"
"I've known you since before you could even stand, even farther back to when you were nothing more than an idea, but of course you don't remember me or anyone from your life before, do you?"
"Where did we meet?! And what do you mean back to when I was just an idea?!"
"Sorry, but I can't tell you anything for right now I have a feather to retrieve!" Kyle suddenly moved to the side. Shadow moved to intercept him but a burst of water exploded behind him, the force of t sended him flying across the room against a pile of broken stone and as more water broke through more rubble fell on top of Shadow pinning him to the ground as the water started to cover his head. "But I will leave you with this! Don't trust humans, for they were the ones who took everything from you because of your dormant power!" with that said Kyle left the room and went through the door Syaoran and Sakura went through in pursuit of the feather.
"GET BACK HERE!!" he yelled only to allow water to enter his airway.
'CHAOS SPEAR!' he unleashed a Chaos Spear on the stone that was pinning him, causing it to explode into pieces allowing him to sit up and clear his airway. "You're not getting  away from me!" Shadow dashed after him but the rising water was slowing him down.
"I hate water!" he finally manged to reach the doorway and push himself through to see Syaoran and Sakura trapped at the end of the hall because of a wall of fallen derby and Doctor Kyle making his way towards them. Syaoran kicked at the wall, opening another doorway but at the same moment the ceiling above the entire tunnel collapsed.
"NO!!" using his Chaos Energy he flew past Doctor Kyle, grabbed Syaoran and Sakura before using his signature move that he knew he might not live to regret using.
"CHAOS CONTROL!!"

                                                                                                         ******

"HEY! NO ONE'S COMING OUT!! AND THE FLOW OF THE RIVER IS GETTING FASTER!!" the others have made it outside and across the rock path before the river flow started up again. The castle was starting to collapse and the river flow was getting faster, but there was no sign of Syaoran or the others.
"IF THE RIVER FLOWS ANY FASTER NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO CROSS! ARE YOU SURE THOSE THREE WILL COME OUT?!"
'Where are they?' Maria wondered as she, Fai, and Kurogane stood by the edge of the broken bridge. She knew they would do everything they could to get out but they were trying to get past not only Doctor Kyle but the collapse of the castle and the force of the river. 'Please let them be okay.'
Suddenly up the river a bright light shone for a moment before disappearing as a loud splash was heard.
"There." Kurogane said as a another splash appeared right in front of them. Kurogane reached down and grabbed an arm.
"Phweet! You all made it!" Fai happily said. Sure enough Syaoran gripped Kurogane's hand as he held onto Sakaura while Shadow had a arm around each of them. Kurogane pulled them up as the militia man asked.
"What about the Doctor?"
"I don't ...know." Syaoran said as he tried to catch his breath while Shadow shook his head. Doctor Kyle was too far away to get caught in Chaos Control, Shadow had no choice but to either leave him behind or leave them all behind.
"But the fact that he isn't chasing you," Fai said as they looked at the castle just in time to see it completely collapse. "That means he shared the same fate as the castle."
'No one could survive that.' Shadow hit the ground in anger and frustration. 'My first chance of finding out my past has literally been crushed!' Shadow then looked around to see the children was safe and unharmed as well as Syaoran, Sakura, and everyone else. 'But at least everyone else made it out safe.' Shadow saw the ice block that contained Sakura's feather suddenly melt, allowing the feather to merge with Sakura. 'And at least one of us got a memory back.' Suddenly he felt like he was being detached from this world or maybe he was being closed off from his body, he couldn't really tell.
"Shadow?!" he thought he heard someone say his name but he couldn't be sure for it sounded so far away, though he did wondered why the world seemed to turn on it's side. The next thing he knew all he could see was the white of the snow before it faded into black and with the fading white his thoughts went with it till nothing was left but an empty void.