Cardcaptors: A Bold New Realm
Fanfic by Ryan Edgerton, creator of Team Revelation: The Saga
Disclaimer- I don't own Sakura, Li, or any of the other characters from the original Cardcaptors TV anime. I'll make a list of the characters I do own at the end of the fic.
Chapter 1- A Higher Power
Sakura raced downtown, Tomoyo and Li at her sides as per usual. By the look of things and the weird feeling Li had been getting all day, a new Card had shown up. The sky over their heads was dark as velvet, the clouds rolling and crashing together over their heads like violent waves. It was almost like when Sakura had captured The Storm, one of her first Clow Cards, only worse. Not that that said much; she still had a good number of the Clow Cards left to be captured and contained, and trying to guess which one this might be only made her worry more. Her staff in her hand, she and her friends were headed into the center of town, where this crazy weather was the strongest. Lightning flashed, once off in the distance, then suddenly so close Sakura could almost feel the hairs on her skin stick straight up and stiffen with fear.
"This doesn't look good." Li stated needlessly. "If it's one of the Cards causing this weather, I can only begin to guess at the power it might have."
"Whatever it is, you can beat it, right Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, a little nervous herself.
"I'll do my best." Sakura replied, felling just a tad bit unsure of herself.
Not far away, another figure traveled likewise towards the center of the disturbance. His face was hidden beneath a concealing silver cloak, only small strands of his chestnut brown hair poking out of the hood. He moved like a lightning bolt would if given human form; one minute he was here or there, the next he was almost 100 feet away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He moved so fast he could barely be seen; no, there was no way that kind of speed could be naturally obtained. This individual held a power not normally conceived in humankind, a power of extraconspirital origins. Around his neck hung a large silver cross, dangling by a black cord and occasionally bouncing up against the black jumpsuit he wore beneath his hood and cape. His hands were gloved, and his feet bore slick black running boots that flowed as one piece with the black jumpsuit. He too had felt the disturbance before even seeing it, much like Li had, but he knew this feeling and he knew what, or perhaps who, it was who was behind this attack. He had fought creatures such as this a good many times, but rarely if ever had they dared challenge him in this realm, putting innocent lives on the line. They would be stopped, they would be punished for this. He swore it on the Name of everything holy.
"What is it!!?" Sakura shouted in surprise. In front of them, at the center of the storm, was what looked like a giant black pillar of smoke almost too thick to see through. The wind seemed, in some inexplicable way, to scream with a thousand voices from the center of the whirlwind. Voices that were felt, not heard. The tornado of evil erupted forth with huge lightning bolts the color of sandstone dyed purple, blowing away huge chunks of sidewalk and buildings nearby. The sky above their heads was now pitch black, and not even the lightning bolts seemed to provide any illumination despite their impossible size and obvious power. The storm was so fearful Tomoyo didn't even dare lift her video camera she was so frozen by fear. "How am I supposed to fight that?!!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Transform it into it's real form, Sakura!" Li shouted over the winds. He drew his sword. "I'll try to keep it at bay while you get ready to fight!"
The funnel of darkness suddenly spat a massive surge of electricity at the small trio, almost as if responding to their battle strategy. Tomoyo ran for her life as soon as she saw it and was lucky enough to escape nearly uninjured, but Sakura and Li were obviously the storm's real targets. Li reacted, pushing Sakura out of the way of the deadly thunder. The two of them toppled one over the other from the force of the explosion just behind them, their bodies sent flying like rag dolls. When they finally came to a stop, Li's cape had a huge burn in it and his hat was knocked off, Sakura's wand was a good number of feet away and she had a tear down her leg that bled severely.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo screamed in shock. She rushed over to her injured friends, dropping her camera in her rush.
The storm almost smiled in evil delight. One more quick blast of energy and these three lives would be claimed. How foolish these children were, to believe they could challenge such power! The storm knew it was useless for them to fight it. The people of this realm stood no such chance as those of the storm's native universe. In it's mind it could still hear the battle cry of those mighty warriors, the servants of Jeshua who had first cast them down into these realms of physical existence. How weak these creatures were, how helpless. Any living creature with a heart would have pitied the human children, so outmatched and out of their league, about to be destroyed by a force they could not so much as see. If the storm had a heart it would have considered these young ones defeated, letting them live. But the storm didn't have a heart, or a soul for that matter. No, these ones would not be spared. The storm was wallowing, feeding on their pain and agony, almost seeming to drink the blood of the one child as she lay there bleeding by the pint through her leg. But soon, it knew it would have to finish them off so it could secure them as it's own spoil, then go off to find other lives to steal, kill, and destroy. Such was the way of this storm.
Still, it suddenly heard the battle cry of Jeshua's forces louder, more clearly in it's mind. Something about it suddenly seemed more real,... more present,... like the warriors were here... but it knew that couldn't be. The enemy was at bay, having been engaged by others like the storm itself, allowing the storm to rain destruction unopposed. Suddenly, it began to fear. Had the warriors broken through the blockade? Had Jeshua Himself interceded? Or,... what if the Remnant was at work here.
'We must destroy the children quickly, or else we risk losing our spoil!' The storm said amongst itself. It quickly charged up it's energy for a second attack, one that would obliterate these children from the face of this wretched planet. It would no longer delay, else the enemy come upon it and defeat them, sending this powerful storm hurtling into the Abyss from whence it came.
Suddenly, not too far away, the storm heard the battle cry. A ram's horn instrument, a shofar, sounded in the midst of the storm, piercing the roaring winds like a sword. The storm turned,-
-And saw it's opponent.
The storm knew this one all too well. He was mighty, given power by Jeshua Himself. This son of Adam was amongst the warrior ranks of the Host, and the storm knew he would likely fight ferociously, to say the least. Gabor of the Remnant.
Sakura almost felt like she was dying. Every member in her body knew it was fighting an uphill battle to survive. Li stood over her, carefully bandaging her wound with what remained of his cape. Tomoyo stood next to her, clutching her hand and telling her she was going to be alright. But Sakura didn't feel like she was going to be alright. Her vision was blurred, she was lightheaded in way that a person could only feel when they're losing blood like crazy, and she wasn't sure if she could still move her left arm or not. She halfway felt like she was an observer, watching all of this happen but not actually being able to do anything, like watching a movie or something. She couldn't hang on, and she knew it. If she didn't bleed to death, that storm would surely get her, probably Li, Tomoyo, and so many other people, too. Why hadn't it attacked again yet? It could have destroyed them twice by now, and yet it had simply stood there, seeming to get larger and more powerful.
Sakura soon heard her answer.
A deep, reverberating sound, like some ancient instrument rang out throughout the area. She wanted to turn and see what it was that had made such a sound, but she didn't have the energy to, like as if her body was frozen in place. But Li and Tomoyo saw.
The figure in the silver cloak sounded off a blast like a trumpet, blowing into a ram's horn that spiraled like it had been wrapped around a cone. The sound was loud, like the rallying cry for an army in ancient Israel, and somehow... Sakura couldn't understand why,... but it seemed to give her hope, renew her energy and inspire her to keep fighting against the prevalent death.
"Who in the world...!" Li's voice trailed off as he starred in amazement at the bold figure. The silver cloak whipped in the wind, finely decorated and stitched together with both black and white thread, as well as gold. He wore a cross around his neck, it's size and the length of the cord it was strung to making it look like an amulet of sorts. He was tall, Sakura guessed he must be at least fifteen, and even at this distance he seemed to give off an aura of light that was both seen and unseen, like a ghost. He lowered the ram's horn and it instantly vanished, replaced with a small white Card. Sakura couldn't see the Card well at this distance, but she guessed it was like no Card she's ever seen. The mysterious figure placed the Card into his pocket, then turned to glare into the storm.
"You've got a lot of nerve, minion, coming here bent on destroying lives. I know all about your mission and I am here to stop you and your evil plans." He pulled the cross necklace off of his neck and held it high in the air. It suddenly began to glow and change, expanding like a living thing. When the light faded, a beautiful and ornately designed sword was held in it's place, and the figure pointed it straight into the storm. "You have met your match, demons! Yield and withdraw or suffer the consequences!"
The voices of the storm winds grew louder, their meaning indecipherable to Sakura. Apparently, though, the warrior in the silver cloak understood the voices. He raised his sword in a battle stance.
"So be it. You have caused destruction in my Father's kingdom and now you will pay, hell spawn! I bind you, by the name of the Lord of Hosts! The illusion is shattered; reveal your true form!"
A blinding light shot forward from the sword, striking the storm dead-center. It spread, like electricity, throughout the entire storm as the voices of it screamed out; in pain or terror Sakura didn't know, but the sound of it was horrifying. When the light cleared, flying in mid-air where the storm had been was a massive swarm of black shadows, all bearing wings like a bat and tails like scorpions. Tomoyo screamed and Li froze in fear. The creatures didn't seem any more physical than Sakura's Shadow beast did, maybe less so. They screamed in blinding rage, tearing through the skies at the silver warrior who had come to their aid with murderous fury guiding them. Some had swords, axes, daggers, staffs, maces, and other weapons, all made of the same stuff as themselves. Their wings beat at blurring speeds as they closed in on their enemy, who stood there, sword battle-ready. The monsters' red eyes glowed like fireballs as they descended on their foe like a flock of mutant ravens.
Chapter 2- Way of the Remnant
It is said that there is a time for peace, and a time for war. For Gabor, there was absolutely no question what time it was. The flock of darkness sped at him like the storm they had been mere moments before, their dark forms filling the skies like bats. Gabor leapt high into the air as they came close enough to strike, dodging the mass of evil with amazing agility. The demonic foes passed straight through the roof of the building right where he had been standing moments before, then came out, passing through matter like dust, once again when they realized they had been eluded. Gabor landed on another nearby rooftop, grabbing a Card from a small black pouch on his belt and throwing it straight at the demonic hoards. He shouted something in another language, and the Card suddenly and violently erupted into a burning ball of fire mixed with ice and stone, the three-element attack striking square in the midst of the creatures with a massive explosion. Demons vanished on contact, phasing away as if their bodies had suddenly been grabbed by a black hole. The Card re-materialized in Gabor's hand and he replaced it back into the pouch.
"Do this you cannot!" One of the demons who had escaped the fireball shouted. "To us their souls belong!"
"I come in the name of the great I Am, fiend. To you belongs nothing so long as I am here!" Gabor retaliated, bringing his sword to bear. With an amazing leap into the air he sliced at the gargoyle-like creature, sending his sword slicing straight through it's scaly hide. Instead of bleeding or such, the creature suddenly phased out with a scream, such as the others had done. He landed on the ground in front of Sakura and her friends, sword drawn in protection as he spun to face the murderous hoards. "Last chance, scum! Withdraw or be vanquished! Your choice."
The cloud of darkness was still for a moment, then one of them, apparently of a higher rank than the rest, said something in an ancient tongue. The demons flew away into the receding dark clouds until they could be seen no more. Gabor's sword slowly shrunk back into it's cross form as the mass of clouds above began to part and disappear.
Li watched all that had gone on, almost too afraid to take a breath. Now, right in front of him, with his back turned towards him, was the silver-clad warrior that had saved their lives. The figure turned to them, his sword now gone and his cross replaced around his neck. Li got a quick look at the man's face. He was definitely teenage, his somewhat long deep brown hair just barely visible beneath the hood he wore. His eyes were the color of steel, and he had a somewhat square chin that rounded off quite a bit. Beneath his cloak he wore a grey belt and a black jumpsuit, a small square pouch attached on the left side of the belt. Li was almost sure he'd never seen anyone quite like this guy before, and he almost scared Li with the awesome powers he'd displayed just seconds ago.
He knelt down to take a look at Sakura's wound. After examining it thoroughly, he pulled another white Card from his pouch. With a flash of light he suddenly held, in place of the Card, a small bottle of some kind of saffire colored liquid with a small cork keeping it closed. He handed it to Li.
"Use this. Apply it to her wound with a piece of cloth and make sure you clean out every part of the wound or it'll get a nasty infection. She'll need a good deal of bed rest to recover from this, but this medicine should help speed up the process." The figure instructed. Li did as he was told without asking questions, and Tomoyo helped. They bandaged the wound with the medicine-soaked piece of Li's cape, checked her over for other injuries, and then carried her over to a nearby bench. It had been overturned during the storm, so the mysterious figure set it upright so they could lay Sakura down on it. After a few minutes her breathing leveled out and she was starting to open her eyes. Sakura was going to be OK.
"Who are you?" Li asked, turning to face the figure.
"I'll answer your question if you'll answer it too." The man said.
"I'm Li Clow, a Cardcaptor. These are my friends, Tomoyo and Sakura. We were trying to capture that Clow Card when you showed up."
"By now you've surely realized that that was no Clow Card." He stated. Li nodded. "I am Gabor, a friend. Li Clow, you say? Related to the Cardcaptor who made the Clow Cards, by any chance?"
"Yeah. Are you a Cardcaptor?"
"Yes, but not your regular Cardcaptor."
"There's no such thing as a 'regular Cardcaptor'." Li stated. "Each and every Cardcaptor has some unique or special power. What's yours?"
"... Well, let's see if you can't figure it out." He picked up the bottle of medicine, now almost empty, in his hand. He handed it to Li. It transformed back into a Card as soon as Li touched it. "You seem to know a lot about Cardcaptors. Look this up."
He suddenly bounded off, vanishing into the distance at a speed faster than anything Li had ever seen. He was about to chase after the mysterious Cardcaptor, make him explain himself, but he realized in the same breath that he would never catch him. He looked at the Card in his hand. It was pure white, almost no art like border around the picture of the bottle like the Clow Cards had, except for a small, intricate cross in each corner. He turned it over to find that the other side was completely white, not a single piece of scroll work to be seen. 'Weird.' He thought to himself. 'I've never seen a Card like this before..."
Gabor watched from a far away distance as Li looked at the Card, watched unseen as Sakura got slowly to her feet with the help of her two friends, and watched as they made their way back into the big city. 'Headed for home, no doubt.' He thought to himself. If Li really was a descendant of Clow Reed it wouldn't take him long to ID that Card he had given him. Home,... a thought that made him sigh sadly. He had never had a home, not since his parents died and sent him off to a foster home with a lady who cursed the name of God daily like some kind of morning routine. He still found it amazing that God had saved him even in the midst of all that, and had now called him to fulfil this role in protecting this world. Few people actually knew him, knew his full name; people he could call friends. Gabor Judah had always been a loner, had been forced into it actually to save himself from that abusive foster mother that had tried to turn him from being a child of God into a wretch out on the street running hundreds of jobs for her so she could sit at home and smoke Cuban cigars all day. He had lived the kind of life that no child should ever have been capable of surviving, and he had seen the bones of the ones who hadn't get berried in the backyard after some of the lady's crime partners faked adopting the children so she wouldn't get caught. He had berried some of those bones himself.
His life had been miserable, like waking up from a nightmare only to live in one as soon as the sun came up every morning. But even such times of trial and testing as these had had a purpose in the divine scheme of things, for it was in this time that he had uncovered the Cards.
They had been hidden in a floorboard underneath his room, for what purpose or by whom he still had no idea, next to an old leather-bound Bible that's leather was peeling. He had treasured both, and even when the hag-like woman had discovered the Bible and stolen it from him, he had still somehow managed to keep the Cards hidden from her. At one time they had even been right out in plain view and she had somehow not seen them, purely an act of God. He had run away from that place with the help of the Cards, run far far away, and finally come across an abandoned cabin that had everything he'd need to survive just left lying around in it. From there he had begun searching through the book he'd found the Cards in, trying to find out with greater accuracy just what he had. He had no idea at that point that he'd been drafted into a spiritual war like nothing he ever could have imagined.
As for the cross he wore, it was one of the Item Cards that he kept within reach all the time, no matter what. He had named his 'deck' Zion Cards, and had begun training to use them at an early age. All of their powers were bound up by the prophecies of the Lord; in layman's terms, these Cards were Holy. Some were Item Cards that brought forth the item they represented at a word from the one who held them, the word being an ancient Hebrew word he'd found inscribed inside the book, others were Event Cards, like that flaming hail blast he'd used against the demons or a special 'Random' Card that he held onto for dire emergencies only. He also bore seven Creature Cards, very similar to what most Cardcaptors he'd seen use solely, but with a special power that defied earthly thinking. His Creature Cards had the ability to battle demons and seemed almost immune to all of the 'magic' that other Cardcaptors bore. They didn't know that what powers they had didn't come from so-called magic, but interestingly enough from the Card-books themselves; a kind of linking book to a spiritual power source called 'Grey Crystals', which mimicked whatever powers the bearers had in mind at the moment they opened the Card-books. Grey Crystals were dangerous indeed, part of the reason why he never used one, but what's more it that, being of the spiritual realm by nature, Grey Crystals could be either in territory controlled by the armies of the Heavenly Host, or the demonic powers that owned so much of the earth. Therefore, if one of the Grey Crystals was controlled by the forces of the Abyss, then that person's powers are owned by Lucifer and his band of destroyers. The results of such were best visible in the many Cardcaptors who served evil purposes, such as the occult or other such forces of spiritual darkness, simply so they could continue using those Cards that they valued to much.
'Valuable enough to sell your soul?' He thought to himself. A Cardcaptor who depended on a Grey Stone was an easy target for a demonic attack. All Lucifer's hordes had to do was capture that Grey Crystal and 'turn it black', and they OWNED that person and their powers, most of the time. He had met a few Cardcaptors who had had their Grey Crystals besieged and captured, but had still not given in even when they didn't know the Truth. It was rare though, and so many Cardcaptors had fallen that way, becoming Sorcerers and Witches and worse simply to control their Cards. Clow Reed had gone down that path for a long time, he was told, before angelic forces recaptured and freed his Grey Crystal, allowing him to make his own calls. In the end, he had bound his Cards into the Clow book. 'And now they've been released by a bunch of ten year olds.' He shook his head. 'Boy, are they opening a can of worms.'
Li had looked carefully at the white Card, observing it's every detail in detail and making sure to check it against pictures of Clow Cards and other kinds of Cards he'd seen. So far, he'd gotten some close ones, but not hit the mark. What kind of Card was this, anyway? He'd have to figure it out if he was going to get the story on this Gabor guy. He sure talked funny, all that stuff about 'demons, the great I Am,' whoever that was, and that weird word in Hebrew. He'd tracked that word down to a couple of possibilities, but so far he hadn't had any definite luck tracking down either the Card or that weird word. It was really starting to frustrate him.
"Hey, at least Sakura's OK." He told himself. That guy had showed up at just the right time to save their skins, bigtime. That had been almost two days ago, and by today Sakura was feeling like a million bucks and hadn't bothered to hide it. Lucky they had that fight on a Friday afternoon, because if Sakura came to school with a broken leg or something people might start to suspect something. For crying out loud, was he the only one concerned with the security of this little group of theirs?! Tomoyo and her videotaping kicks would get them all in big trouble one day, *big* trouble.
His search having turned up nothing and his magical resources having absolutely zero effect of this Card , he decided to take a rest for a bit before giving it another go. He flopped onto his bed face-first, sighing in frustrated annoyance.
Suddenly, it came to him. Like a bolt of lightning an image flashed through his mind, then disappeared just as quick. He leapt off his bed and began flipping through the pages of the Cardcaptor books he'd been using as references like a lunatic. Finally, halfway through the book, he found it.
"Remnant Cardcaptors, a strange group that has existed since the days of the great Clow Reed's ancestors," He read straight from the book, not caring who heard him. "Have appeared on rare occasions to turn the tide of battle in times of dire trouble, such as the Surro-Terkaan wars and the battles against the equally mysterious races of Darkcaptors and ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors. Very little is known about them, except that they are immune to the magic arts and that their Cards are by far one of the most powerful Card sets of all, rivaled only by those of the Darkcaptors and certain unknown rogue Cardcaptors who seem to have similar powers to the Darkcaptors. Remnant Cardcaptors have never been traced to a specific genealogical line, unlike other Cardcaptor factions, and appear out of nowhere with magnificent powers and almost other-natural weapons." He stopped reading for a second. "Other-natural? What's it mean by that?"
Chapter 3- The Unexpected
"What do you mean 'they got away'?" Necros yelled, infuriated. The hoards of demons that had attacked Sakura and her friends were presently groveling at the high ranking demon's feet. Necros was one demon best described in two words: razor blade. A metal mask covered his mouth and nose, a mechanical replacement for wounds inflicted to him by a mighty ArchAngel. Likewise he had steel-like armor that contoured like spandex to the form of his hideously, almost Cyborg body. Metal shoulder guards like claws reached over his shoulders to attach themselves to his chest armor, giving off the look of a metal hand almost three times the size of his own three fingered claws resting on his shoulder. Attached to those, sticking dangerously straight up in the air, were what looked like several crosses between sword blades and fish hooks, numbering about four on his shoulders, two to each, and two more attached to his lower arm guards, allowing him to slash and hook an opponent with the same swipe, then throw their limp body after he ran them through with his other hand. The ones on his shoulders held no real purpose except intimidation, which they served to do very well. His skin was like that of a Raptor, his oily black hair flowing down his neck like a horse mane. His eyes, one of the creepiest features about him, were the color of purple alabaster smoothed out to perfection with no pupil or iris existing in them. Truly, he would make Freddy Krugger look like a whimp. "I should run you all through for your inability to complete even the simplest of tasks!"
"It was our fault not, master Necros!" One of the demons spoke up suddenly. All eyes turned on the small reptilian creature. "Gabor! Gabor attacked us! We had to flee! He invoked the name of the Lord of Hosts against us!"
Necros was suddenly across the room, holding the small demon high up in the air by it's throat. One of his arm-blades was pressed against the creature's neck, inches from what would probably be a fatal injury. The demon shook in fear, it's eyes almost glazed over.
"Listen up and listen good, scum." Necros yelled. "When I send you out on an assignment and put half of my forces in the line of fire so you can destroy those 'Cardcaptors', you'd better stay and fight until you either win or every last one of you has had his head severed from his body! Do I make myself clear?"
The demons all nodded in agreement, the one in Necros's claws the most enthusiastic of all. He threw the small creature to the ground with a mighty heave, leaving a dent in the black crystalline floor.
"I am Overlord Balera's liaison to Lucifer's council, I can not be seen as being in the slightest bit weak, understand? If word of this failure after all this planning and preparation gets out, it'll be very bad for my reputation with the council. And what's bad for me-" He barred one of his blades.
Suddenly, clapping sounds were heard in the room. All eyes turned to see Phalyn enter.
"Bravo, Necros, bravo." He clapped his hands obnoxiously. "I hear you and your rag-tag band here fouled up. You must admit, it was a long time coming."
"Where did you hear that, Phalyn?" Necros growled angrily at his rival. Phalyn wore the basic armor setup he himself had, only minus the razor blades. Also Phalyn had five fingers on each hand instead of three. His skin tone was like that of mercury, a deep liquid steel color, his hair neatly trimmed in much the fashion most humans wore, and he had elongated upper shoulder struts that gave off a similar effect to Necros's blades.
"Oh, don't worry, I haven't been spreading rumors..." He grinned. "The council knew about your screw-up almost as soon as it happened. I heard they dropped a promotion they had in line for you because of this. Isn't that just too bad?" He scoffed, then burst out laughing. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time! In your face, Necros!"
"Why you little imp! You're nothing but a lowly mercenary, you and the rest of the Vrakil. I'd like to see you destroy those kids with *Gabor* on the loose."
"I'd love to, buddy, you know I would, but I've kinda got my hands full right now. Seems Ryan and the twerp squad are working on a way to rescue Serria, and I just can't let that happen. You know how it is." He said with a smirk. "Business comes first."
"Ha! You'll lose her just like you lost the Borg Sphere. You're hopeless, Phalyn."
"We'll see about that, Necros. How about we make a little bit of a bet." Phalyn said smugly. "First one of us to destroy our targets gets ten choice warriors from the other's forces, permanently. Deal?"
"Ha! You'll have to do better than that."
"OK, loser serves under the winner, permanently. How about that?"
Necros could almost imagine Phalyn waxing his armor for him daily. He knew that wasn't much, but he'd have eternity to figure out what else he could put Phalyn through after he won this little wager.
"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Phalyn." He shook Phalyn's hand.
"Maybe. Maybe it's the biggest mistake of yours." Phalyn chuckled a little bit.
Long after Phalyn had departed, Necros paced around in the dismal black room with a lot on his demonic mind. If Phalyn did end up destroying his targets first, Necros would be in big trouble. A deal made between two of Lucifer's more visible warriors was one he'd be forced to honor, whether he liked it or not. He may have just signed his own tombstone. Or he may have signed Phalyn's. He'd have to make absolutely certain those two kids die, and soon.
But what of Gabor?
He'd been asking himself that question for hours, trying desperately to come up with a foolproof plan. He had so many idiots under his command that foolproofing his plans had become a necessity. Somehow, though, they always seemed to bungle things up anyway. He went over the facts in his head. His target's Grey Crystals were deep within enemy territory, and there was no way he could penetrate that far into the Host's strongholds. So that left him with only a few options: attack them in the physical, or besiege them in the spiritual. The physical was likely to be the more effective approach, but he'd have to watch out for Gabor and find a way to keep his troops from ruining everything. He needed something special,... and suddenly he knew just the human for the job.
Catsy Imatto sat in a dark room of her apartment, a single candle illuminating the darkened space. In front of her were several different kinds of cards, laid out in fans on the floor next to a Dungeons and Dragons game board she had designed herself. Her eyes were shut, her long, fiery red hair streaked with black dangling in small strands in front of her face. She wore a long robe with many patches and designs stitched into it; moons, pentagrams, astrological signs, and such. The cards were extremely varied, ranging from Tarot cards to Magic cards and, their real power unbeknownst to her, special dark colored Cards with pictures of monsters and delicate scroll work decorating the borders and blank sides of the cards. These were a recent acquisition, something she had won from a friend in a battle of psychic powers, and now she sought out her spirit guides to help her find out what these cards that her friend so treasured were and why they were so important to her.
She was in a deep meditative state when the room around her suddenly started to darken. She suddenly heard voices in her head, voices she was not familiar with. She had heard the voices of her spirit guides before, but this time...
... It was very different.
"Who are you?" She called out, snapping out of her trance. The voices were still all around her, some familiar, some not. 'This isn't supposed to happen', she thought to herself. 'The spirits are supposed disappear when I open my eyes; what's happening to me?!!'
"Don't be afraid." One voice suddenly cut through to her, silencing the rest. "You, my dear, have simply reached the next level of oneness with the spiritual realm. My name is Necros, a liaison to the great council of spirits, and I have a message for you." He said, his voice suddenly soft and seductive. "The Cards you hold are no ordinary Cards, Catsy. Your friend was serving the universal mind when she gave them to you, and we have need of you to use them."
"W-w-what? Use them how?"
"These Cards contain great powers indeed, Catsy, powers that you were destined to have. Your oneness with the universal mind has made you strong, stronger than many who have come before you. The next step sits before you." A soft, grey mist slowly appeared around Catsy. She sat up in surprise and shock. "Do not be afraid, Catsy. I am coming here, to you, to teach you how to use the Cards. These Cards are powerful, powerful indeed, for within them they contain creatures, beasts of old that will serve you and obey your commands. You see, the universal mind has an enemy, an enemy we wish for you to fight, so that you may go to the next level and become one with the universal mind."
"Fight, an enemy of the universal mind? How can I?"
"I will give you the knowledge to use the powers inside of you, and teach you to use the Cards with great skill and power. You will become an emissary of the universal mind, our representative. The power you are ready to receive will be more than you have ever imagined..."
"Sounds right up my alley." Catsy said with a grin. The mist slowly disappeared inside her, and her pupils suddenly went dark with demonic possession. "Yeah, I think I'm going to enjoy this..." She stated, picking up the stack of black Cards.
Chapter 4- Alliance
"A Remnant Cardcaptor? Are you sure?" Sakura said. She had the phone straddled in her shoulder as she munched on a bowl of caramel popcorn. "Never heard of them."
"Um excuse me," Kerberus chimed in. "Did you just say REMNANT CardCAPTOR?!!"
"Uh, yeah, why?" Sakura inquired. Kerberus padded over to her on his small, bear-like feet, then fluttered onto her shoulder.
"Oh, no big deal, really, except Remnant Cardcaptors are like THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD! HELLO! IS THIS GETTING THROUGH?!" He screamed into her ear.
"Ok, ok, no need to scream!" Sakura said. She turned back to the phone. "Listen, Li, how about you, me, Tomoyo and Kerberus meet-... OK, no Tomoyo! I get the idea. Meet ya at the park on Fairview and Maiden, around five. Uh, better make it six; I've got homework to deal with. Ok, see ya then." She hung up the phone. "You know, all these people shouting in my ear isn't really helping much. Ok, Kerb, what's a-"
"Don't call me that, Sakura." He said, playfully annoyed.
"Ok, Kerberus," She said something under her breath about everybody being so picky today. "So, what *is* a Remnant Cardcaptor?"
"Besides one of the strongest types of Cardcaptor you're ever likely to meet, nothing much." Kerberus stated matter-of-factly. "Just figured you might wanna know. By the way, what brought Remnant Cardcaptors up?"
"Li thinks that guy that saved out tails a few nights ago might have been one. Said he hasn't ID'd the Card, but he's pretty sure."
"How sure?" Kerberus probed.
"Hey, has he ever been wrong before?"
"There have been times..."
"Ok, give the guy some slack. So he didn't know the answers to my last exam, so?"
Kerberus gave her a 'you've *so* got to be kidding me, right?' look.
"Well he didn't!" Sakura stated. Kerberus rolled his eyes.
"Ok, there's a few surefire ways to tell if he was one of the Remnant Cardcaptors, who by the way have been extinct for centuries." Kerberus stated. "Firstly, did he carry a big sword that transformed out of a cross?"
"Yeah? How'd you know?"
"Standard equipment for Remnant Cardcaptors, but that doesn't clinch it. Not just yet." Kerberus looked Sakura straight in the eye. "Well," he suddenly admitted, "It *almost* does. At any rate," He looked Sakura square in the eye again. "What else was he carrying?"
"A bottle of medicine and a fireball Card, I told you that already."
"I know that!" Kerberus sighed. "I mean what else was he carrying? And definitive creature Cards?"
"Not that he showed us."
"Ah, *that* clinches it!" Kerberus stated. Sakura gave him a questioning glance. "Remnant Cardcaptors usually prefer to use their swords in fights than and creature Cards. Houston, we have a problemo."
"C'mon, he saved our lives. He's on our side, Kerberus."
"Today he's on your side, tomorrow maybe not. Such in the way of mysterious Cardcaptors." Kerberus said, trying to sound ancient and mysterious.
"Yeah, whatever Kerb." Sakura waved him off.
Gabor had been following the two children around for the past several days, using a special Card of temporary invisibility to hide himself while he guarded them in secret. He knew Li was on the right track with the Card he'd given him, and as soon as they discovered he was definitely a Remnant Cardcaptor he'd see if he couldn't forge an alliance with these two. After all, he always seemed to be short on allies. That's what happens when you're a loner and a roamer. Suddenly, while following Li to a park on the west side of town, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Gabor, we need to talk, my friend." Kai stated. Gabor spun to see the mighty ArchAngel, his friend and mentor, standing just behind him. Kai had golden armor that contoured to his body, as well as a long white cape that flowed behind him. He gave off the impression of an ageing man, his trim beard and mustache flowing together as one with his white hair. Around his head was a golden headband with a set of gold wings arched outward in front of his forehead.
"Kai! You ever heard of knocking? You scared the living daylights outta me, and you know I can't stay invisible if I can't focus! He's gonna see me any second now!" He pointed to Li.
"I didn't see a door nearby, and don't worry, you are still quite invisible. At any rate, there's something in the works that looks to be the work of Necros and his minions."
"Again? Aw, geeze, Kai! Don't they ever learn?"
"Of course not. And this isn't the regular attack setup, either. Necros is withdrawing his forces all across the board."
"Massing them for an attack, huh? No sweat."
"Normally, we'd consider this an idea opportunity to attack before they can, but I have reason to believe they're planning something special. When I said he's withdrawn all his forces I didn't say to where. They're massing just north of here, mostly centered on a building right next to the Church my forces helped found a few weeks ago. They wouldn't dare be so close to a place of prayer and worship such as that unless they're up to something desperately. They're up to something, Gabor, and it wouldn't surprise me if Necros wants us to know that."
"So what do I do? Maybe that crackerjack warrior of yours, Peter was his name, right? Maybe Peter and I can get in there and show those demons who's boss."
"Peter has a lot on his plate right now. We're trying an important operation that may help us rescue a key factor to defeating Phalyn and a new overlord who's taken up residence. You're not going to get too many reinforcements this time; you're mostly on your own."
"So, what do I do from here on in?"
"I'll tell you that as I find out myself. In the meantime, keep following those two Cardcaptors. Necros wants them out of the picture pretty badly, and you need to find out why."
"I'm on it, Kai. Leave it to me."
Kai vanished in a flash of blue and white lights, and Gabor, after checking his invisibility Card, raced off after Li.
Catsy pulled out a large case that took up the all the space under her bed out. Opening it revealed a large collection of swords and daggers of many different kinds and shapes. Ninja swords, toothed swords, S curved swords, single-edged swords, double edged swords. She stopped when she got to the double edged swords.
"Yeah, one of these should work best. And I'll take a pair of these along, too." She said to herself, grabbing a pair of small, easily conciliable daggers and a long, trim broadsword. She grabbed the sheath for it, and strapped it over her back. She now wore a set of long, black, high-heeled boots, a smooth dark green miniskirt, long black rubber gloves that went all the way up to her elbows, and a loose forest green tank top. With the sword strapped over her back she suddenly resembled a character from Xena. She grabbed a Card off of the top of her bed, and with a dark flash she suddenly bore a pure black cloak and hood that covered her face. Another Card unveiled an amulet that glowed the color of fire. She smiled mischievously. She was really starting to enjoy this.
She walked over to the room's sole window, starring out into the setting night sky.
"Where are you, you little weasel? Come out come out wherever you are..."
"He's definitely a Remnant Cardcaptor. I've ID'd this against every Card in the books and this isn't any known kind." Li stated, in his Cardcaptor outfit. Sakura was likewise in hers.
"Yeah, Kerberus said so too. Any idea how we can contact the guy?" Sakura asked.
Suddenly, there was a sound like rushing wind right nearby.
"I'm right here." The silver warrior stepped out of the night. Li ans Sakura gasped in surprise. "No need to ne alarmed, I'm on your side. And by the way, you're right, Li. I am a Remnant Cardcaptor, one of the last. Hopefully not for long, though."
"Gabor? How did you do that?" Li asked.
"A temporary invisibility Card. It's part of my 'deck'. Listen, we need to talk." Gabor stated, pulling his hood off to reveal his full face and long, Chestnut hair. "You guys have stirred up a can of worms. You've got some enemies in high places who want you out of the picture, permanently."
"Hey, look." Li looked Gabor right in the eye. "We can handle ourselves. You're not the only powerful Cardcaptor here, buddy."
"Listen to me. You're dealing with forces not of this earth, and they're not gonna be effected by anything short of superpower Remnant Cards."
"I don't think so. We're-"
"-You're nothing if you're dead, Li. Remember the storm that nearly killed you and Sakura."
"We could have handled it. We just needed to use our Cards quicker, that's all."
"Li, listen to him." Sakura pleaded. "He obviously knows what he's talking about."
"Listen, the fact of the matter is that we need to work together if we're gonna keep those demonic scum-bags at bay."
"That's something else I wanna know." Li stated, looking Gabor in the eye. "What are you talking about, 'demonic'. What is that supposed to mean?"
"Never read the Bible, huh?"
"As a matter of fact, no. Why?"
"Because that's where Remnant Cards get their power."
Li broke down laughing.
Sakura gave him a 'Why are you doing this?! You're embarrassing me!' look.
Chapter 5- Forces Collide
The next day at school, Sakura was busy telling Tomoyo all about their meeting with Gabor, while Li was busy starring off into space.
"...And he gave us his phone number and everything. I mean, how often is it you get a chance to hang out with a Remnant Cardcaptor?" She said excited.
"According to Kerberus, you didn't even know what a Remnant Cardcaptor was until a few days ago." Tomoyo said with a mischievous grin.
Sakura got a sweatdrop.
"Yeah, well, whatever." She said. The teacher stepped into the room. "Hey look, Tomoyo! We've got a substitute teacher."
"You know what that means..." Her classmate smiled, on the edge of evilly.
"No homework!" They whispered at the same time.
Catsy stood on the roof of the church next to her apartment, a black Card in her hand. A small crowd of people was crowded around at the sides of the church, gazing up at her intently and whispering amongst each other while waiting for the Police to arrive.
"It's show time, ladies and gentlejerks!" She shouted. The Card in her hand began to glow. "Prepare for the greatest Pyrotechnics display in the world! Ha HA!"
The Card grew even more, phasing and stretching outward until it formed into a huge werewolf-like beast with fur the color of fire and skin like coal. The people screamed and backed away as Catsy laughed her head off at the fearful pedestrians.
"Ok, Flarewolf, let's give these people a real fire show! Burn this building to the ground!" She and Flarewolf back flipped in unison off the roof, landing where so many people had been standing mere moments before. Flarewolf immediately began to hit the building with a stream of fire from it's mouth. Catsy turned in the direction of a bunch of people who were running away, screaming in terror. "This oughta get his attention."
Gabor sat alone in his small one-room apartment, watching the events unfold on TV. This girl with the Cards was trouble, and he knew it. Plus, knowing the way Necros and company operated, this girl warrior was probably packing Darkcaptor Cards, which didn't make his job any easier. That demon scum was starting to get on his nerves.
"He's after me, and I know it." Gabor thought out loud, or seemed to be until Kai showed up behind him. "He gets me outta the way and those Cardcaptor kids are his for the taking."
"Your instincts serve you well. Remember though, you are at a technical advantage in this situation. No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Kai stated. "The time to act is now. You cannot let her destroy that church. I'll guard the Cardcaptors."
"I'm on it." In the blink of an eye Gabor was wearing his cross and full Cardcaptor outfit. "She won't get away with this attack."
"Oh no you don't!" Catsy shouted as squads of firemen raced onto the scene. She pulled out another Card. "Let's see you put out a fire when you're frozen solid!"
She threw the Card out of her hand into the midst of the firefighters. As if thought activated, the Card exploded into a fierce ice storm, freezing solid not only the firefighters, but the fire engines and all the nearby ground as well. Catsy laughed loudly in delight.
Suddenly, the ice began to vanish. Catsy starred in disbelief, the church still slowly burning down behind her. Flarewolf sniffed the air, then let out a howl of fierce intensity.
A sudden blast of wind blew away the flames that were consuming the building, and Catsy instantly turned to track the source. A small white dove-like bird flew in mid-air, hovering. It's wings seemed to glow like light reflecting off a mirror and it's eyes almost gave off the impression of it being a bird of prey. Black lines formed in it's feathers created an upside-down V shape from it's eyes to the back of it's head and it had a similar mark on it's chest flowing between it's two wings and fading off as it reached the edge of each wing.
Nearby, like some kind of a phantom of the opera, stood Gabor. He was battle-ready with his sword at his side. In his left hand he held a glowing white Card.
"I was wondering when you'd show up. C'mon, I'll take you down, 'God boy'!" Catsy challenged.
"Don't you know that greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world? Necros and his like are using you and as soon as they're done with you they'll destroy you, too."
"You narrowminded fool." Catsy scoffed. "But enough talk, 'Tuxedo Mask'. Now we fight. Attack him, Flarewolf!"
"Valconair, hold that thing at bay while I deal with our resident sorceress." He brought his sword to a battle position as Valconair swooped and darted at the fast and agile Flarewolf, dodging blasts of fire from it's mouth. Catsy made the first move, pulling out her own sword and leaping high into the air over Gabor's head. The two swords clashed in a brilliant shower of sparks as the two warriors slashed, swiped, blocked, parried, dodged, and fought with one another for their very lives. They both moved like lightning fast blurs, and if it hadn't been for the special powers each had access to they may not have even seen their opponent. Firemen scattered away from the battle scene as the two combatants sliced the air with their swords.
Catsy suddenly leapt high into the air, throwing out a Card that suddenly turned into a shower of energy spikes. Gabor dodged, but barely. He retaliated; as soon as Catsy hit the ground sending out a Card of his own. The Card turned into a swirling blast of white energy, and as Catsy dodged it exploded into a shower of electricity. The two squared off, swords ready and a Card in each person's hand.
"Let's just get all the Cards out on the table right now, OK? I'll go first." She challenged, sending out a swarm of Cards. Most were strange creatures, some appeared to be nothing but oddly figured energy clouds, and a few almost looked human.
"If that's the way you want to play, let's play." Gabor reached for his Cards as well.
"Sakura, have you seen the news?" Tomoyo questioned on their way out of the school building.
"No, what's up?"
"Sakura!" Li ran up from behind them. "There's trouble downtown, by the new church. Gabor is fighting some lady in black. I bet she's a Darkcaptor!"
"A what?" Sakura questioned.
"Darkcaptors are rivals to Remnant Cardcaptors. Gabor is in trouble, bigtime!"
"Let's go! There's no time to waste!" Tomoyo said as they rushed out.
"Oh no. Not you." Li stated, stepping in front of Tomoyo. "I got a good look at what the news crews were taping and believe me, they're getting enough footage. You'd better stay here."
"No way! Sakura, tell him I can tag along."
"Well, this could get really messy..." Sakura stated.
"Ok, fine. I know when I'm not wanted. You two go off and save the world without me. See if I care. Besides, I've got homework to do."
Tomoyo turned and walked away.
"No she doesn't." Sakura stated.
"No time to worry about that, Sakura." Li stated. "We've gotta get up there, STAT!"
Chapter 6- An Enemy
Nightmare charged at Cobra, the smoke-colored horse doing it's best to stomp and kick the wood-snake with it's diamond-like hooves. Meanwhile, Shine, a white phantom that was very similar to Sakura's The Shadow Card, fought skillfully with a cloud of energy that Catsy called Jolt, the strange cloud sending out bolts of lightning like a machine gun would send out bullets. Valconair dodged a swipe by a black Minotaur with a flail, the two deadlocked in combat. These were the only three creature Cards each of them had left that could stand and fight, the others having been defeated earlier in the battle. People watched at a distance as Catsy and Gabor struggled viciously with one another, neither seeming to gain any ground.
'Now would be a really good time for Kai to show up with reinforcements.' Gabor thought, dodging a leg swipe from Catsy. If Necros was behind this, it was definitely his best-planned offensive yet.
Reinforcement did come, but not at all in the form Gabor expected.
'Oh no, not them! Not now!' He thought, seeing Sakura and Li on high-speed approach. He dodged a wide swing from Catsy, then tried to get in a thrust with his sword. Quickly blocked.
"Well, who do we have here?" Catsy mused as Sakura and Li got within hearing range of the battle. "Aw, how cute! Some little kids want to play with us! Buzz off, brats, before I disembowel you both!"
"We're not scared of you!" Sakura shouted. Li drew his sword in agreement.
"You should be, kids. Believe you me, you're outta your Pokemon League." She dodged a swipe from Gabor. "Why don't you two fashion disasters just go home and play with your little Game Boys, Ok?"
"Sorry, but We're Cardcaptors and we're here to kick your butt!" Li challenged.
"Oh, are you now?" She back flipped onto a nearby balcony. "We'll just see about that, kiddies! I'll get you, and your little dog too!" She pulled a Card from a pocket inside her cape and threw it straight at them.
Gabor was able to push the two kids outta the way just in time as the Card transformed itself into a huge boulder that would have crushed them both. They watched as the boulder hit the sidewalk and kept rolling, headed straight for a collision with a mass of buildings.
"You two want to help?" Gabor said. They nodded. "Use your Cards to stop that boulder while I deal with this troublemaker!"
"Right!" Sakura grabbed her wand, pulling out The Shadow, and touched it with the tip of her staff.
Gabor shot back into action, pulling out the hailstone Card he'd used once before and throwing it straight at Catsy. She countered with a Card of her own, one that suddenly formed a black energy shield around her, dispelling his attack. Sweat dripped off his forehead by the ounce. There had to be a way to stop her!
He was running out of useable Cards, and out of ideas. The thought suddenly came to him to use his Random Card, but he had seen what that thing could do the first time he'd used it, and he'd vowed never to use it again unless there was no other choice. Right about now, there seemed to be no other choice.
He pulled the Card from his pouch. It was now or never.
"What'cha got there, an ace of spades?" Catsy laughed a deep evilly laugh.
"Yeah,... somethin' like that." He replied, then threw the Card straight at her. She pulled out another shield Card and activated it, but seconds later both she and the shield and all her creatures were gone. Simply gone. He leapt for the Card as it fell to the ground, grabbing it in his hand just in time to see 'Dispel Opponent' fade away on it's face. He sighed a deep sigh of relief. Last time he'd used it, it had destroyed every living thing for miles. He thanked God from every part of his soul that the Card had used something stable this time.
"What happened?" Li rushed over to Gabor. "Where'd she go?"
"Who knows. We'll probably see the likes of her again, though." He held up his Random Card. "Don't ever get one of these. They're stress factories."
Sakura suddenly ran up to join them.
"How'd it go, Sakura. Were you able to stop that boulder?" Gabor inquired, putting away his Random Card.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I brought this back for you." She handed him a black Card with the picture of a boulder on it. "Somehow, I guess she left it behind."
"Something like that. Did you have it wrapped up with The Shadow when she vanished?"
"Yeah, I did." Sakura thought for a second.
"That must have blocked the 'Dispel Opponent' effect from my Random Card. At any rate, I want you and Li to take this Card home and make sure it's a Darkcaptor Card. I need to know everything about who I'm up against here."
"Right. I should have this thing ID'd in no time flat." Li stated.
"I'm glad you're so confident of yourself, Li. Wish I could say I was right now." He looked at the smouldering remains of the church building, just enough of it left intact to be rebuilt and repaired. "I was fortunate this time. I need to be more prepared for my next confrontation with her, whoever she is."
Catsy had re-appeared deep in the jungle, which jungle she had no idea, but she was discovering that there were many more varieties of mosquito than she had ever imagined. She had located her The Nightmare, The Jolt, and The Predator Cards, still in creature form, fighting a similar battle against the mosquitoes that she herself had been fighting. She returned them to their Cards, then activated a DarkShield Card that kept the mosquitoes at bay for a while. 'Bugs,' She thought to herself. 'The one thing nobody seems to be able to fight effectively. Not even me.'
She got her bearings, and after a few hours located a native fishing village. She'd scared the (censored) outta those villagers with her Cards, and they ran off screaming like babies into the forests. She'd grabbed what spoil she'd need to make it outta this place in one piece; some food which mostly consisted of fish, which she hated, a compass, and some rudimentary maps that would help her find the nearest city. When she did, she thought, she'd make sure to hijack the first plane headed towards Tokyo and then really show that jerk who was the best Cardcaptor of them all. She'd make absolutely sure he didn't survive, and even if he did, she'd make his life a living hell.
-----
The Characters I own:
Gabor, Remnant Cardcaptor extreme
Catsy, the Demon-controlled Darkcaptor
Ryan, leader of Team Revelation (briefly mentioned)
Peter, Spiritual Superwarrior (briefly mentioned)
Serria, member of the Shadow Six, in love with Ryan (briefly mentioned)
The concepts I own:
Remnant Cardcaptors
Darkcaptors
The Surro-Terkaan wars (briefly mentioned)
ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors (Briefly mentioned)
Cardcaptor concepts I own:
The Flarewolf
The Valconair
The Nightmare
The Cobra
The Shine
The Jolt
The Predator
Who owns everything else:
Cardcaptors, Li, Sakura, Kerberus, and Tomoyo are property Clamp
Kai, Phalyn, Necros, and Balera (briefly mentioned) are property of Eternal Studios and ArchAngels: The Saga
If anyone wants to create a sequel to this fic, the only condition is that you send me the sequel before distributing it.
I personally don't know a lot about Cardcaptors, so don't flame me if it turns out Cardcaptors: A Bold New Realm is nothing like the TV show/anime/magna ( I never could spell that right), ect...
E-Mail me at Arch-Angels@juno.com
And now for a word from World Wide Message Tribe:
There is a God 2000 years ago he left heaven and came to earth He was called Jesus Christ, He was born in poverty in a place called Bethlehem He grew up in a place called Nazareth - little more than a bunch of caves He never did any of the things usually associated with greatness but for 2000 years he has been setting people on fire I wanna be a Heatseeker
Do You Wanna Be A Street Preacher? Are You Gonna be a Heatseeker?
This Jesus didn't only claim to be God He proved he was God He proved it by speaking the most amazing words any man has ever spoken He proved it by performing the most extraordinary miracles He really did put his hands on blind eyes and they could see, on deaf ears and they could hear He really did speak to a dead man and the dead man came back to life But most importantly he really did die on a cross and after 3 days rise from the dead and conquer sin and death once and for all He walked around for 6 weeks and then went back to heaven and left behind his Holy Spirit and said, "Go - go into all the world and preach the good news" I wanna be a Street Preacher
I'm overflowing with a passion like fire, Not Moving back but moving for the Messiah I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be, like a warrior preacher, Put on the armor like a true Heatseeker, Put on the peace it's good news So we can win the battle and we can't lose You see me fighting in power - getting louder Speaking life to the crowd Oh mighty God make me a preacher A Heatseeker - A Heatseeker.
Fanfic by Ryan Edgerton, creator of Team Revelation: The Saga
Disclaimer- I don't own Sakura, Li, or any of the other characters from the original Cardcaptors TV anime. I'll make a list of the characters I do own at the end of the fic.
Chapter 1- A Higher Power
Sakura raced downtown, Tomoyo and Li at her sides as per usual. By the look of things and the weird feeling Li had been getting all day, a new Card had shown up. The sky over their heads was dark as velvet, the clouds rolling and crashing together over their heads like violent waves. It was almost like when Sakura had captured The Storm, one of her first Clow Cards, only worse. Not that that said much; she still had a good number of the Clow Cards left to be captured and contained, and trying to guess which one this might be only made her worry more. Her staff in her hand, she and her friends were headed into the center of town, where this crazy weather was the strongest. Lightning flashed, once off in the distance, then suddenly so close Sakura could almost feel the hairs on her skin stick straight up and stiffen with fear.
"This doesn't look good." Li stated needlessly. "If it's one of the Cards causing this weather, I can only begin to guess at the power it might have."
"Whatever it is, you can beat it, right Sakura?" Tomoyo asked, a little nervous herself.
"I'll do my best." Sakura replied, felling just a tad bit unsure of herself.
Not far away, another figure traveled likewise towards the center of the disturbance. His face was hidden beneath a concealing silver cloak, only small strands of his chestnut brown hair poking out of the hood. He moved like a lightning bolt would if given human form; one minute he was here or there, the next he was almost 100 feet away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He moved so fast he could barely be seen; no, there was no way that kind of speed could be naturally obtained. This individual held a power not normally conceived in humankind, a power of extraconspirital origins. Around his neck hung a large silver cross, dangling by a black cord and occasionally bouncing up against the black jumpsuit he wore beneath his hood and cape. His hands were gloved, and his feet bore slick black running boots that flowed as one piece with the black jumpsuit. He too had felt the disturbance before even seeing it, much like Li had, but he knew this feeling and he knew what, or perhaps who, it was who was behind this attack. He had fought creatures such as this a good many times, but rarely if ever had they dared challenge him in this realm, putting innocent lives on the line. They would be stopped, they would be punished for this. He swore it on the Name of everything holy.
"What is it!!?" Sakura shouted in surprise. In front of them, at the center of the storm, was what looked like a giant black pillar of smoke almost too thick to see through. The wind seemed, in some inexplicable way, to scream with a thousand voices from the center of the whirlwind. Voices that were felt, not heard. The tornado of evil erupted forth with huge lightning bolts the color of sandstone dyed purple, blowing away huge chunks of sidewalk and buildings nearby. The sky above their heads was now pitch black, and not even the lightning bolts seemed to provide any illumination despite their impossible size and obvious power. The storm was so fearful Tomoyo didn't even dare lift her video camera she was so frozen by fear. "How am I supposed to fight that?!!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Transform it into it's real form, Sakura!" Li shouted over the winds. He drew his sword. "I'll try to keep it at bay while you get ready to fight!"
The funnel of darkness suddenly spat a massive surge of electricity at the small trio, almost as if responding to their battle strategy. Tomoyo ran for her life as soon as she saw it and was lucky enough to escape nearly uninjured, but Sakura and Li were obviously the storm's real targets. Li reacted, pushing Sakura out of the way of the deadly thunder. The two of them toppled one over the other from the force of the explosion just behind them, their bodies sent flying like rag dolls. When they finally came to a stop, Li's cape had a huge burn in it and his hat was knocked off, Sakura's wand was a good number of feet away and she had a tear down her leg that bled severely.
"Sakura!" Tomoyo screamed in shock. She rushed over to her injured friends, dropping her camera in her rush.
The storm almost smiled in evil delight. One more quick blast of energy and these three lives would be claimed. How foolish these children were, to believe they could challenge such power! The storm knew it was useless for them to fight it. The people of this realm stood no such chance as those of the storm's native universe. In it's mind it could still hear the battle cry of those mighty warriors, the servants of Jeshua who had first cast them down into these realms of physical existence. How weak these creatures were, how helpless. Any living creature with a heart would have pitied the human children, so outmatched and out of their league, about to be destroyed by a force they could not so much as see. If the storm had a heart it would have considered these young ones defeated, letting them live. But the storm didn't have a heart, or a soul for that matter. No, these ones would not be spared. The storm was wallowing, feeding on their pain and agony, almost seeming to drink the blood of the one child as she lay there bleeding by the pint through her leg. But soon, it knew it would have to finish them off so it could secure them as it's own spoil, then go off to find other lives to steal, kill, and destroy. Such was the way of this storm.
Still, it suddenly heard the battle cry of Jeshua's forces louder, more clearly in it's mind. Something about it suddenly seemed more real,... more present,... like the warriors were here... but it knew that couldn't be. The enemy was at bay, having been engaged by others like the storm itself, allowing the storm to rain destruction unopposed. Suddenly, it began to fear. Had the warriors broken through the blockade? Had Jeshua Himself interceded? Or,... what if the Remnant was at work here.
'We must destroy the children quickly, or else we risk losing our spoil!' The storm said amongst itself. It quickly charged up it's energy for a second attack, one that would obliterate these children from the face of this wretched planet. It would no longer delay, else the enemy come upon it and defeat them, sending this powerful storm hurtling into the Abyss from whence it came.
Suddenly, not too far away, the storm heard the battle cry. A ram's horn instrument, a shofar, sounded in the midst of the storm, piercing the roaring winds like a sword. The storm turned,-
-And saw it's opponent.
The storm knew this one all too well. He was mighty, given power by Jeshua Himself. This son of Adam was amongst the warrior ranks of the Host, and the storm knew he would likely fight ferociously, to say the least. Gabor of the Remnant.
Sakura almost felt like she was dying. Every member in her body knew it was fighting an uphill battle to survive. Li stood over her, carefully bandaging her wound with what remained of his cape. Tomoyo stood next to her, clutching her hand and telling her she was going to be alright. But Sakura didn't feel like she was going to be alright. Her vision was blurred, she was lightheaded in way that a person could only feel when they're losing blood like crazy, and she wasn't sure if she could still move her left arm or not. She halfway felt like she was an observer, watching all of this happen but not actually being able to do anything, like watching a movie or something. She couldn't hang on, and she knew it. If she didn't bleed to death, that storm would surely get her, probably Li, Tomoyo, and so many other people, too. Why hadn't it attacked again yet? It could have destroyed them twice by now, and yet it had simply stood there, seeming to get larger and more powerful.
Sakura soon heard her answer.
A deep, reverberating sound, like some ancient instrument rang out throughout the area. She wanted to turn and see what it was that had made such a sound, but she didn't have the energy to, like as if her body was frozen in place. But Li and Tomoyo saw.
The figure in the silver cloak sounded off a blast like a trumpet, blowing into a ram's horn that spiraled like it had been wrapped around a cone. The sound was loud, like the rallying cry for an army in ancient Israel, and somehow... Sakura couldn't understand why,... but it seemed to give her hope, renew her energy and inspire her to keep fighting against the prevalent death.
"Who in the world...!" Li's voice trailed off as he starred in amazement at the bold figure. The silver cloak whipped in the wind, finely decorated and stitched together with both black and white thread, as well as gold. He wore a cross around his neck, it's size and the length of the cord it was strung to making it look like an amulet of sorts. He was tall, Sakura guessed he must be at least fifteen, and even at this distance he seemed to give off an aura of light that was both seen and unseen, like a ghost. He lowered the ram's horn and it instantly vanished, replaced with a small white Card. Sakura couldn't see the Card well at this distance, but she guessed it was like no Card she's ever seen. The mysterious figure placed the Card into his pocket, then turned to glare into the storm.
"You've got a lot of nerve, minion, coming here bent on destroying lives. I know all about your mission and I am here to stop you and your evil plans." He pulled the cross necklace off of his neck and held it high in the air. It suddenly began to glow and change, expanding like a living thing. When the light faded, a beautiful and ornately designed sword was held in it's place, and the figure pointed it straight into the storm. "You have met your match, demons! Yield and withdraw or suffer the consequences!"
The voices of the storm winds grew louder, their meaning indecipherable to Sakura. Apparently, though, the warrior in the silver cloak understood the voices. He raised his sword in a battle stance.
"So be it. You have caused destruction in my Father's kingdom and now you will pay, hell spawn! I bind you, by the name of the Lord of Hosts! The illusion is shattered; reveal your true form!"
A blinding light shot forward from the sword, striking the storm dead-center. It spread, like electricity, throughout the entire storm as the voices of it screamed out; in pain or terror Sakura didn't know, but the sound of it was horrifying. When the light cleared, flying in mid-air where the storm had been was a massive swarm of black shadows, all bearing wings like a bat and tails like scorpions. Tomoyo screamed and Li froze in fear. The creatures didn't seem any more physical than Sakura's Shadow beast did, maybe less so. They screamed in blinding rage, tearing through the skies at the silver warrior who had come to their aid with murderous fury guiding them. Some had swords, axes, daggers, staffs, maces, and other weapons, all made of the same stuff as themselves. Their wings beat at blurring speeds as they closed in on their enemy, who stood there, sword battle-ready. The monsters' red eyes glowed like fireballs as they descended on their foe like a flock of mutant ravens.
Chapter 2- Way of the Remnant
It is said that there is a time for peace, and a time for war. For Gabor, there was absolutely no question what time it was. The flock of darkness sped at him like the storm they had been mere moments before, their dark forms filling the skies like bats. Gabor leapt high into the air as they came close enough to strike, dodging the mass of evil with amazing agility. The demonic foes passed straight through the roof of the building right where he had been standing moments before, then came out, passing through matter like dust, once again when they realized they had been eluded. Gabor landed on another nearby rooftop, grabbing a Card from a small black pouch on his belt and throwing it straight at the demonic hoards. He shouted something in another language, and the Card suddenly and violently erupted into a burning ball of fire mixed with ice and stone, the three-element attack striking square in the midst of the creatures with a massive explosion. Demons vanished on contact, phasing away as if their bodies had suddenly been grabbed by a black hole. The Card re-materialized in Gabor's hand and he replaced it back into the pouch.
"Do this you cannot!" One of the demons who had escaped the fireball shouted. "To us their souls belong!"
"I come in the name of the great I Am, fiend. To you belongs nothing so long as I am here!" Gabor retaliated, bringing his sword to bear. With an amazing leap into the air he sliced at the gargoyle-like creature, sending his sword slicing straight through it's scaly hide. Instead of bleeding or such, the creature suddenly phased out with a scream, such as the others had done. He landed on the ground in front of Sakura and her friends, sword drawn in protection as he spun to face the murderous hoards. "Last chance, scum! Withdraw or be vanquished! Your choice."
The cloud of darkness was still for a moment, then one of them, apparently of a higher rank than the rest, said something in an ancient tongue. The demons flew away into the receding dark clouds until they could be seen no more. Gabor's sword slowly shrunk back into it's cross form as the mass of clouds above began to part and disappear.
Li watched all that had gone on, almost too afraid to take a breath. Now, right in front of him, with his back turned towards him, was the silver-clad warrior that had saved their lives. The figure turned to them, his sword now gone and his cross replaced around his neck. Li got a quick look at the man's face. He was definitely teenage, his somewhat long deep brown hair just barely visible beneath the hood he wore. His eyes were the color of steel, and he had a somewhat square chin that rounded off quite a bit. Beneath his cloak he wore a grey belt and a black jumpsuit, a small square pouch attached on the left side of the belt. Li was almost sure he'd never seen anyone quite like this guy before, and he almost scared Li with the awesome powers he'd displayed just seconds ago.
He knelt down to take a look at Sakura's wound. After examining it thoroughly, he pulled another white Card from his pouch. With a flash of light he suddenly held, in place of the Card, a small bottle of some kind of saffire colored liquid with a small cork keeping it closed. He handed it to Li.
"Use this. Apply it to her wound with a piece of cloth and make sure you clean out every part of the wound or it'll get a nasty infection. She'll need a good deal of bed rest to recover from this, but this medicine should help speed up the process." The figure instructed. Li did as he was told without asking questions, and Tomoyo helped. They bandaged the wound with the medicine-soaked piece of Li's cape, checked her over for other injuries, and then carried her over to a nearby bench. It had been overturned during the storm, so the mysterious figure set it upright so they could lay Sakura down on it. After a few minutes her breathing leveled out and she was starting to open her eyes. Sakura was going to be OK.
"Who are you?" Li asked, turning to face the figure.
"I'll answer your question if you'll answer it too." The man said.
"I'm Li Clow, a Cardcaptor. These are my friends, Tomoyo and Sakura. We were trying to capture that Clow Card when you showed up."
"By now you've surely realized that that was no Clow Card." He stated. Li nodded. "I am Gabor, a friend. Li Clow, you say? Related to the Cardcaptor who made the Clow Cards, by any chance?"
"Yeah. Are you a Cardcaptor?"
"Yes, but not your regular Cardcaptor."
"There's no such thing as a 'regular Cardcaptor'." Li stated. "Each and every Cardcaptor has some unique or special power. What's yours?"
"... Well, let's see if you can't figure it out." He picked up the bottle of medicine, now almost empty, in his hand. He handed it to Li. It transformed back into a Card as soon as Li touched it. "You seem to know a lot about Cardcaptors. Look this up."
He suddenly bounded off, vanishing into the distance at a speed faster than anything Li had ever seen. He was about to chase after the mysterious Cardcaptor, make him explain himself, but he realized in the same breath that he would never catch him. He looked at the Card in his hand. It was pure white, almost no art like border around the picture of the bottle like the Clow Cards had, except for a small, intricate cross in each corner. He turned it over to find that the other side was completely white, not a single piece of scroll work to be seen. 'Weird.' He thought to himself. 'I've never seen a Card like this before..."
Gabor watched from a far away distance as Li looked at the Card, watched unseen as Sakura got slowly to her feet with the help of her two friends, and watched as they made their way back into the big city. 'Headed for home, no doubt.' He thought to himself. If Li really was a descendant of Clow Reed it wouldn't take him long to ID that Card he had given him. Home,... a thought that made him sigh sadly. He had never had a home, not since his parents died and sent him off to a foster home with a lady who cursed the name of God daily like some kind of morning routine. He still found it amazing that God had saved him even in the midst of all that, and had now called him to fulfil this role in protecting this world. Few people actually knew him, knew his full name; people he could call friends. Gabor Judah had always been a loner, had been forced into it actually to save himself from that abusive foster mother that had tried to turn him from being a child of God into a wretch out on the street running hundreds of jobs for her so she could sit at home and smoke Cuban cigars all day. He had lived the kind of life that no child should ever have been capable of surviving, and he had seen the bones of the ones who hadn't get berried in the backyard after some of the lady's crime partners faked adopting the children so she wouldn't get caught. He had berried some of those bones himself.
His life had been miserable, like waking up from a nightmare only to live in one as soon as the sun came up every morning. But even such times of trial and testing as these had had a purpose in the divine scheme of things, for it was in this time that he had uncovered the Cards.
They had been hidden in a floorboard underneath his room, for what purpose or by whom he still had no idea, next to an old leather-bound Bible that's leather was peeling. He had treasured both, and even when the hag-like woman had discovered the Bible and stolen it from him, he had still somehow managed to keep the Cards hidden from her. At one time they had even been right out in plain view and she had somehow not seen them, purely an act of God. He had run away from that place with the help of the Cards, run far far away, and finally come across an abandoned cabin that had everything he'd need to survive just left lying around in it. From there he had begun searching through the book he'd found the Cards in, trying to find out with greater accuracy just what he had. He had no idea at that point that he'd been drafted into a spiritual war like nothing he ever could have imagined.
As for the cross he wore, it was one of the Item Cards that he kept within reach all the time, no matter what. He had named his 'deck' Zion Cards, and had begun training to use them at an early age. All of their powers were bound up by the prophecies of the Lord; in layman's terms, these Cards were Holy. Some were Item Cards that brought forth the item they represented at a word from the one who held them, the word being an ancient Hebrew word he'd found inscribed inside the book, others were Event Cards, like that flaming hail blast he'd used against the demons or a special 'Random' Card that he held onto for dire emergencies only. He also bore seven Creature Cards, very similar to what most Cardcaptors he'd seen use solely, but with a special power that defied earthly thinking. His Creature Cards had the ability to battle demons and seemed almost immune to all of the 'magic' that other Cardcaptors bore. They didn't know that what powers they had didn't come from so-called magic, but interestingly enough from the Card-books themselves; a kind of linking book to a spiritual power source called 'Grey Crystals', which mimicked whatever powers the bearers had in mind at the moment they opened the Card-books. Grey Crystals were dangerous indeed, part of the reason why he never used one, but what's more it that, being of the spiritual realm by nature, Grey Crystals could be either in territory controlled by the armies of the Heavenly Host, or the demonic powers that owned so much of the earth. Therefore, if one of the Grey Crystals was controlled by the forces of the Abyss, then that person's powers are owned by Lucifer and his band of destroyers. The results of such were best visible in the many Cardcaptors who served evil purposes, such as the occult or other such forces of spiritual darkness, simply so they could continue using those Cards that they valued to much.
'Valuable enough to sell your soul?' He thought to himself. A Cardcaptor who depended on a Grey Stone was an easy target for a demonic attack. All Lucifer's hordes had to do was capture that Grey Crystal and 'turn it black', and they OWNED that person and their powers, most of the time. He had met a few Cardcaptors who had had their Grey Crystals besieged and captured, but had still not given in even when they didn't know the Truth. It was rare though, and so many Cardcaptors had fallen that way, becoming Sorcerers and Witches and worse simply to control their Cards. Clow Reed had gone down that path for a long time, he was told, before angelic forces recaptured and freed his Grey Crystal, allowing him to make his own calls. In the end, he had bound his Cards into the Clow book. 'And now they've been released by a bunch of ten year olds.' He shook his head. 'Boy, are they opening a can of worms.'
Li had looked carefully at the white Card, observing it's every detail in detail and making sure to check it against pictures of Clow Cards and other kinds of Cards he'd seen. So far, he'd gotten some close ones, but not hit the mark. What kind of Card was this, anyway? He'd have to figure it out if he was going to get the story on this Gabor guy. He sure talked funny, all that stuff about 'demons, the great I Am,' whoever that was, and that weird word in Hebrew. He'd tracked that word down to a couple of possibilities, but so far he hadn't had any definite luck tracking down either the Card or that weird word. It was really starting to frustrate him.
"Hey, at least Sakura's OK." He told himself. That guy had showed up at just the right time to save their skins, bigtime. That had been almost two days ago, and by today Sakura was feeling like a million bucks and hadn't bothered to hide it. Lucky they had that fight on a Friday afternoon, because if Sakura came to school with a broken leg or something people might start to suspect something. For crying out loud, was he the only one concerned with the security of this little group of theirs?! Tomoyo and her videotaping kicks would get them all in big trouble one day, *big* trouble.
His search having turned up nothing and his magical resources having absolutely zero effect of this Card , he decided to take a rest for a bit before giving it another go. He flopped onto his bed face-first, sighing in frustrated annoyance.
Suddenly, it came to him. Like a bolt of lightning an image flashed through his mind, then disappeared just as quick. He leapt off his bed and began flipping through the pages of the Cardcaptor books he'd been using as references like a lunatic. Finally, halfway through the book, he found it.
"Remnant Cardcaptors, a strange group that has existed since the days of the great Clow Reed's ancestors," He read straight from the book, not caring who heard him. "Have appeared on rare occasions to turn the tide of battle in times of dire trouble, such as the Surro-Terkaan wars and the battles against the equally mysterious races of Darkcaptors and ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors. Very little is known about them, except that they are immune to the magic arts and that their Cards are by far one of the most powerful Card sets of all, rivaled only by those of the Darkcaptors and certain unknown rogue Cardcaptors who seem to have similar powers to the Darkcaptors. Remnant Cardcaptors have never been traced to a specific genealogical line, unlike other Cardcaptor factions, and appear out of nowhere with magnificent powers and almost other-natural weapons." He stopped reading for a second. "Other-natural? What's it mean by that?"
Chapter 3- The Unexpected
"What do you mean 'they got away'?" Necros yelled, infuriated. The hoards of demons that had attacked Sakura and her friends were presently groveling at the high ranking demon's feet. Necros was one demon best described in two words: razor blade. A metal mask covered his mouth and nose, a mechanical replacement for wounds inflicted to him by a mighty ArchAngel. Likewise he had steel-like armor that contoured like spandex to the form of his hideously, almost Cyborg body. Metal shoulder guards like claws reached over his shoulders to attach themselves to his chest armor, giving off the look of a metal hand almost three times the size of his own three fingered claws resting on his shoulder. Attached to those, sticking dangerously straight up in the air, were what looked like several crosses between sword blades and fish hooks, numbering about four on his shoulders, two to each, and two more attached to his lower arm guards, allowing him to slash and hook an opponent with the same swipe, then throw their limp body after he ran them through with his other hand. The ones on his shoulders held no real purpose except intimidation, which they served to do very well. His skin was like that of a Raptor, his oily black hair flowing down his neck like a horse mane. His eyes, one of the creepiest features about him, were the color of purple alabaster smoothed out to perfection with no pupil or iris existing in them. Truly, he would make Freddy Krugger look like a whimp. "I should run you all through for your inability to complete even the simplest of tasks!"
"It was our fault not, master Necros!" One of the demons spoke up suddenly. All eyes turned on the small reptilian creature. "Gabor! Gabor attacked us! We had to flee! He invoked the name of the Lord of Hosts against us!"
Necros was suddenly across the room, holding the small demon high up in the air by it's throat. One of his arm-blades was pressed against the creature's neck, inches from what would probably be a fatal injury. The demon shook in fear, it's eyes almost glazed over.
"Listen up and listen good, scum." Necros yelled. "When I send you out on an assignment and put half of my forces in the line of fire so you can destroy those 'Cardcaptors', you'd better stay and fight until you either win or every last one of you has had his head severed from his body! Do I make myself clear?"
The demons all nodded in agreement, the one in Necros's claws the most enthusiastic of all. He threw the small creature to the ground with a mighty heave, leaving a dent in the black crystalline floor.
"I am Overlord Balera's liaison to Lucifer's council, I can not be seen as being in the slightest bit weak, understand? If word of this failure after all this planning and preparation gets out, it'll be very bad for my reputation with the council. And what's bad for me-" He barred one of his blades.
Suddenly, clapping sounds were heard in the room. All eyes turned to see Phalyn enter.
"Bravo, Necros, bravo." He clapped his hands obnoxiously. "I hear you and your rag-tag band here fouled up. You must admit, it was a long time coming."
"Where did you hear that, Phalyn?" Necros growled angrily at his rival. Phalyn wore the basic armor setup he himself had, only minus the razor blades. Also Phalyn had five fingers on each hand instead of three. His skin tone was like that of mercury, a deep liquid steel color, his hair neatly trimmed in much the fashion most humans wore, and he had elongated upper shoulder struts that gave off a similar effect to Necros's blades.
"Oh, don't worry, I haven't been spreading rumors..." He grinned. "The council knew about your screw-up almost as soon as it happened. I heard they dropped a promotion they had in line for you because of this. Isn't that just too bad?" He scoffed, then burst out laughing. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time! In your face, Necros!"
"Why you little imp! You're nothing but a lowly mercenary, you and the rest of the Vrakil. I'd like to see you destroy those kids with *Gabor* on the loose."
"I'd love to, buddy, you know I would, but I've kinda got my hands full right now. Seems Ryan and the twerp squad are working on a way to rescue Serria, and I just can't let that happen. You know how it is." He said with a smirk. "Business comes first."
"Ha! You'll lose her just like you lost the Borg Sphere. You're hopeless, Phalyn."
"We'll see about that, Necros. How about we make a little bit of a bet." Phalyn said smugly. "First one of us to destroy our targets gets ten choice warriors from the other's forces, permanently. Deal?"
"Ha! You'll have to do better than that."
"OK, loser serves under the winner, permanently. How about that?"
Necros could almost imagine Phalyn waxing his armor for him daily. He knew that wasn't much, but he'd have eternity to figure out what else he could put Phalyn through after he won this little wager.
"You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Phalyn." He shook Phalyn's hand.
"Maybe. Maybe it's the biggest mistake of yours." Phalyn chuckled a little bit.
Long after Phalyn had departed, Necros paced around in the dismal black room with a lot on his demonic mind. If Phalyn did end up destroying his targets first, Necros would be in big trouble. A deal made between two of Lucifer's more visible warriors was one he'd be forced to honor, whether he liked it or not. He may have just signed his own tombstone. Or he may have signed Phalyn's. He'd have to make absolutely certain those two kids die, and soon.
But what of Gabor?
He'd been asking himself that question for hours, trying desperately to come up with a foolproof plan. He had so many idiots under his command that foolproofing his plans had become a necessity. Somehow, though, they always seemed to bungle things up anyway. He went over the facts in his head. His target's Grey Crystals were deep within enemy territory, and there was no way he could penetrate that far into the Host's strongholds. So that left him with only a few options: attack them in the physical, or besiege them in the spiritual. The physical was likely to be the more effective approach, but he'd have to watch out for Gabor and find a way to keep his troops from ruining everything. He needed something special,... and suddenly he knew just the human for the job.
Catsy Imatto sat in a dark room of her apartment, a single candle illuminating the darkened space. In front of her were several different kinds of cards, laid out in fans on the floor next to a Dungeons and Dragons game board she had designed herself. Her eyes were shut, her long, fiery red hair streaked with black dangling in small strands in front of her face. She wore a long robe with many patches and designs stitched into it; moons, pentagrams, astrological signs, and such. The cards were extremely varied, ranging from Tarot cards to Magic cards and, their real power unbeknownst to her, special dark colored Cards with pictures of monsters and delicate scroll work decorating the borders and blank sides of the cards. These were a recent acquisition, something she had won from a friend in a battle of psychic powers, and now she sought out her spirit guides to help her find out what these cards that her friend so treasured were and why they were so important to her.
She was in a deep meditative state when the room around her suddenly started to darken. She suddenly heard voices in her head, voices she was not familiar with. She had heard the voices of her spirit guides before, but this time...
... It was very different.
"Who are you?" She called out, snapping out of her trance. The voices were still all around her, some familiar, some not. 'This isn't supposed to happen', she thought to herself. 'The spirits are supposed disappear when I open my eyes; what's happening to me?!!'
"Don't be afraid." One voice suddenly cut through to her, silencing the rest. "You, my dear, have simply reached the next level of oneness with the spiritual realm. My name is Necros, a liaison to the great council of spirits, and I have a message for you." He said, his voice suddenly soft and seductive. "The Cards you hold are no ordinary Cards, Catsy. Your friend was serving the universal mind when she gave them to you, and we have need of you to use them."
"W-w-what? Use them how?"
"These Cards contain great powers indeed, Catsy, powers that you were destined to have. Your oneness with the universal mind has made you strong, stronger than many who have come before you. The next step sits before you." A soft, grey mist slowly appeared around Catsy. She sat up in surprise and shock. "Do not be afraid, Catsy. I am coming here, to you, to teach you how to use the Cards. These Cards are powerful, powerful indeed, for within them they contain creatures, beasts of old that will serve you and obey your commands. You see, the universal mind has an enemy, an enemy we wish for you to fight, so that you may go to the next level and become one with the universal mind."
"Fight, an enemy of the universal mind? How can I?"
"I will give you the knowledge to use the powers inside of you, and teach you to use the Cards with great skill and power. You will become an emissary of the universal mind, our representative. The power you are ready to receive will be more than you have ever imagined..."
"Sounds right up my alley." Catsy said with a grin. The mist slowly disappeared inside her, and her pupils suddenly went dark with demonic possession. "Yeah, I think I'm going to enjoy this..." She stated, picking up the stack of black Cards.
Chapter 4- Alliance
"A Remnant Cardcaptor? Are you sure?" Sakura said. She had the phone straddled in her shoulder as she munched on a bowl of caramel popcorn. "Never heard of them."
"Um excuse me," Kerberus chimed in. "Did you just say REMNANT CardCAPTOR?!!"
"Uh, yeah, why?" Sakura inquired. Kerberus padded over to her on his small, bear-like feet, then fluttered onto her shoulder.
"Oh, no big deal, really, except Remnant Cardcaptors are like THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD! HELLO! IS THIS GETTING THROUGH?!" He screamed into her ear.
"Ok, ok, no need to scream!" Sakura said. She turned back to the phone. "Listen, Li, how about you, me, Tomoyo and Kerberus meet-... OK, no Tomoyo! I get the idea. Meet ya at the park on Fairview and Maiden, around five. Uh, better make it six; I've got homework to deal with. Ok, see ya then." She hung up the phone. "You know, all these people shouting in my ear isn't really helping much. Ok, Kerb, what's a-"
"Don't call me that, Sakura." He said, playfully annoyed.
"Ok, Kerberus," She said something under her breath about everybody being so picky today. "So, what *is* a Remnant Cardcaptor?"
"Besides one of the strongest types of Cardcaptor you're ever likely to meet, nothing much." Kerberus stated matter-of-factly. "Just figured you might wanna know. By the way, what brought Remnant Cardcaptors up?"
"Li thinks that guy that saved out tails a few nights ago might have been one. Said he hasn't ID'd the Card, but he's pretty sure."
"How sure?" Kerberus probed.
"Hey, has he ever been wrong before?"
"There have been times..."
"Ok, give the guy some slack. So he didn't know the answers to my last exam, so?"
Kerberus gave her a 'you've *so* got to be kidding me, right?' look.
"Well he didn't!" Sakura stated. Kerberus rolled his eyes.
"Ok, there's a few surefire ways to tell if he was one of the Remnant Cardcaptors, who by the way have been extinct for centuries." Kerberus stated. "Firstly, did he carry a big sword that transformed out of a cross?"
"Yeah? How'd you know?"
"Standard equipment for Remnant Cardcaptors, but that doesn't clinch it. Not just yet." Kerberus looked Sakura straight in the eye. "Well," he suddenly admitted, "It *almost* does. At any rate," He looked Sakura square in the eye again. "What else was he carrying?"
"A bottle of medicine and a fireball Card, I told you that already."
"I know that!" Kerberus sighed. "I mean what else was he carrying? And definitive creature Cards?"
"Not that he showed us."
"Ah, *that* clinches it!" Kerberus stated. Sakura gave him a questioning glance. "Remnant Cardcaptors usually prefer to use their swords in fights than and creature Cards. Houston, we have a problemo."
"C'mon, he saved our lives. He's on our side, Kerberus."
"Today he's on your side, tomorrow maybe not. Such in the way of mysterious Cardcaptors." Kerberus said, trying to sound ancient and mysterious.
"Yeah, whatever Kerb." Sakura waved him off.
Gabor had been following the two children around for the past several days, using a special Card of temporary invisibility to hide himself while he guarded them in secret. He knew Li was on the right track with the Card he'd given him, and as soon as they discovered he was definitely a Remnant Cardcaptor he'd see if he couldn't forge an alliance with these two. After all, he always seemed to be short on allies. That's what happens when you're a loner and a roamer. Suddenly, while following Li to a park on the west side of town, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Gabor, we need to talk, my friend." Kai stated. Gabor spun to see the mighty ArchAngel, his friend and mentor, standing just behind him. Kai had golden armor that contoured to his body, as well as a long white cape that flowed behind him. He gave off the impression of an ageing man, his trim beard and mustache flowing together as one with his white hair. Around his head was a golden headband with a set of gold wings arched outward in front of his forehead.
"Kai! You ever heard of knocking? You scared the living daylights outta me, and you know I can't stay invisible if I can't focus! He's gonna see me any second now!" He pointed to Li.
"I didn't see a door nearby, and don't worry, you are still quite invisible. At any rate, there's something in the works that looks to be the work of Necros and his minions."
"Again? Aw, geeze, Kai! Don't they ever learn?"
"Of course not. And this isn't the regular attack setup, either. Necros is withdrawing his forces all across the board."
"Massing them for an attack, huh? No sweat."
"Normally, we'd consider this an idea opportunity to attack before they can, but I have reason to believe they're planning something special. When I said he's withdrawn all his forces I didn't say to where. They're massing just north of here, mostly centered on a building right next to the Church my forces helped found a few weeks ago. They wouldn't dare be so close to a place of prayer and worship such as that unless they're up to something desperately. They're up to something, Gabor, and it wouldn't surprise me if Necros wants us to know that."
"So what do I do? Maybe that crackerjack warrior of yours, Peter was his name, right? Maybe Peter and I can get in there and show those demons who's boss."
"Peter has a lot on his plate right now. We're trying an important operation that may help us rescue a key factor to defeating Phalyn and a new overlord who's taken up residence. You're not going to get too many reinforcements this time; you're mostly on your own."
"So, what do I do from here on in?"
"I'll tell you that as I find out myself. In the meantime, keep following those two Cardcaptors. Necros wants them out of the picture pretty badly, and you need to find out why."
"I'm on it, Kai. Leave it to me."
Kai vanished in a flash of blue and white lights, and Gabor, after checking his invisibility Card, raced off after Li.
Catsy pulled out a large case that took up the all the space under her bed out. Opening it revealed a large collection of swords and daggers of many different kinds and shapes. Ninja swords, toothed swords, S curved swords, single-edged swords, double edged swords. She stopped when she got to the double edged swords.
"Yeah, one of these should work best. And I'll take a pair of these along, too." She said to herself, grabbing a pair of small, easily conciliable daggers and a long, trim broadsword. She grabbed the sheath for it, and strapped it over her back. She now wore a set of long, black, high-heeled boots, a smooth dark green miniskirt, long black rubber gloves that went all the way up to her elbows, and a loose forest green tank top. With the sword strapped over her back she suddenly resembled a character from Xena. She grabbed a Card off of the top of her bed, and with a dark flash she suddenly bore a pure black cloak and hood that covered her face. Another Card unveiled an amulet that glowed the color of fire. She smiled mischievously. She was really starting to enjoy this.
She walked over to the room's sole window, starring out into the setting night sky.
"Where are you, you little weasel? Come out come out wherever you are..."
"He's definitely a Remnant Cardcaptor. I've ID'd this against every Card in the books and this isn't any known kind." Li stated, in his Cardcaptor outfit. Sakura was likewise in hers.
"Yeah, Kerberus said so too. Any idea how we can contact the guy?" Sakura asked.
Suddenly, there was a sound like rushing wind right nearby.
"I'm right here." The silver warrior stepped out of the night. Li ans Sakura gasped in surprise. "No need to ne alarmed, I'm on your side. And by the way, you're right, Li. I am a Remnant Cardcaptor, one of the last. Hopefully not for long, though."
"Gabor? How did you do that?" Li asked.
"A temporary invisibility Card. It's part of my 'deck'. Listen, we need to talk." Gabor stated, pulling his hood off to reveal his full face and long, Chestnut hair. "You guys have stirred up a can of worms. You've got some enemies in high places who want you out of the picture, permanently."
"Hey, look." Li looked Gabor right in the eye. "We can handle ourselves. You're not the only powerful Cardcaptor here, buddy."
"Listen to me. You're dealing with forces not of this earth, and they're not gonna be effected by anything short of superpower Remnant Cards."
"I don't think so. We're-"
"-You're nothing if you're dead, Li. Remember the storm that nearly killed you and Sakura."
"We could have handled it. We just needed to use our Cards quicker, that's all."
"Li, listen to him." Sakura pleaded. "He obviously knows what he's talking about."
"Listen, the fact of the matter is that we need to work together if we're gonna keep those demonic scum-bags at bay."
"That's something else I wanna know." Li stated, looking Gabor in the eye. "What are you talking about, 'demonic'. What is that supposed to mean?"
"Never read the Bible, huh?"
"As a matter of fact, no. Why?"
"Because that's where Remnant Cards get their power."
Li broke down laughing.
Sakura gave him a 'Why are you doing this?! You're embarrassing me!' look.
Chapter 5- Forces Collide
The next day at school, Sakura was busy telling Tomoyo all about their meeting with Gabor, while Li was busy starring off into space.
"...And he gave us his phone number and everything. I mean, how often is it you get a chance to hang out with a Remnant Cardcaptor?" She said excited.
"According to Kerberus, you didn't even know what a Remnant Cardcaptor was until a few days ago." Tomoyo said with a mischievous grin.
Sakura got a sweatdrop.
"Yeah, well, whatever." She said. The teacher stepped into the room. "Hey look, Tomoyo! We've got a substitute teacher."
"You know what that means..." Her classmate smiled, on the edge of evilly.
"No homework!" They whispered at the same time.
Catsy stood on the roof of the church next to her apartment, a black Card in her hand. A small crowd of people was crowded around at the sides of the church, gazing up at her intently and whispering amongst each other while waiting for the Police to arrive.
"It's show time, ladies and gentlejerks!" She shouted. The Card in her hand began to glow. "Prepare for the greatest Pyrotechnics display in the world! Ha HA!"
The Card grew even more, phasing and stretching outward until it formed into a huge werewolf-like beast with fur the color of fire and skin like coal. The people screamed and backed away as Catsy laughed her head off at the fearful pedestrians.
"Ok, Flarewolf, let's give these people a real fire show! Burn this building to the ground!" She and Flarewolf back flipped in unison off the roof, landing where so many people had been standing mere moments before. Flarewolf immediately began to hit the building with a stream of fire from it's mouth. Catsy turned in the direction of a bunch of people who were running away, screaming in terror. "This oughta get his attention."
Gabor sat alone in his small one-room apartment, watching the events unfold on TV. This girl with the Cards was trouble, and he knew it. Plus, knowing the way Necros and company operated, this girl warrior was probably packing Darkcaptor Cards, which didn't make his job any easier. That demon scum was starting to get on his nerves.
"He's after me, and I know it." Gabor thought out loud, or seemed to be until Kai showed up behind him. "He gets me outta the way and those Cardcaptor kids are his for the taking."
"Your instincts serve you well. Remember though, you are at a technical advantage in this situation. No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Kai stated. "The time to act is now. You cannot let her destroy that church. I'll guard the Cardcaptors."
"I'm on it." In the blink of an eye Gabor was wearing his cross and full Cardcaptor outfit. "She won't get away with this attack."
"Oh no you don't!" Catsy shouted as squads of firemen raced onto the scene. She pulled out another Card. "Let's see you put out a fire when you're frozen solid!"
She threw the Card out of her hand into the midst of the firefighters. As if thought activated, the Card exploded into a fierce ice storm, freezing solid not only the firefighters, but the fire engines and all the nearby ground as well. Catsy laughed loudly in delight.
Suddenly, the ice began to vanish. Catsy starred in disbelief, the church still slowly burning down behind her. Flarewolf sniffed the air, then let out a howl of fierce intensity.
A sudden blast of wind blew away the flames that were consuming the building, and Catsy instantly turned to track the source. A small white dove-like bird flew in mid-air, hovering. It's wings seemed to glow like light reflecting off a mirror and it's eyes almost gave off the impression of it being a bird of prey. Black lines formed in it's feathers created an upside-down V shape from it's eyes to the back of it's head and it had a similar mark on it's chest flowing between it's two wings and fading off as it reached the edge of each wing.
Nearby, like some kind of a phantom of the opera, stood Gabor. He was battle-ready with his sword at his side. In his left hand he held a glowing white Card.
"I was wondering when you'd show up. C'mon, I'll take you down, 'God boy'!" Catsy challenged.
"Don't you know that greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world? Necros and his like are using you and as soon as they're done with you they'll destroy you, too."
"You narrowminded fool." Catsy scoffed. "But enough talk, 'Tuxedo Mask'. Now we fight. Attack him, Flarewolf!"
"Valconair, hold that thing at bay while I deal with our resident sorceress." He brought his sword to a battle position as Valconair swooped and darted at the fast and agile Flarewolf, dodging blasts of fire from it's mouth. Catsy made the first move, pulling out her own sword and leaping high into the air over Gabor's head. The two swords clashed in a brilliant shower of sparks as the two warriors slashed, swiped, blocked, parried, dodged, and fought with one another for their very lives. They both moved like lightning fast blurs, and if it hadn't been for the special powers each had access to they may not have even seen their opponent. Firemen scattered away from the battle scene as the two combatants sliced the air with their swords.
Catsy suddenly leapt high into the air, throwing out a Card that suddenly turned into a shower of energy spikes. Gabor dodged, but barely. He retaliated; as soon as Catsy hit the ground sending out a Card of his own. The Card turned into a swirling blast of white energy, and as Catsy dodged it exploded into a shower of electricity. The two squared off, swords ready and a Card in each person's hand.
"Let's just get all the Cards out on the table right now, OK? I'll go first." She challenged, sending out a swarm of Cards. Most were strange creatures, some appeared to be nothing but oddly figured energy clouds, and a few almost looked human.
"If that's the way you want to play, let's play." Gabor reached for his Cards as well.
"Sakura, have you seen the news?" Tomoyo questioned on their way out of the school building.
"No, what's up?"
"Sakura!" Li ran up from behind them. "There's trouble downtown, by the new church. Gabor is fighting some lady in black. I bet she's a Darkcaptor!"
"A what?" Sakura questioned.
"Darkcaptors are rivals to Remnant Cardcaptors. Gabor is in trouble, bigtime!"
"Let's go! There's no time to waste!" Tomoyo said as they rushed out.
"Oh no. Not you." Li stated, stepping in front of Tomoyo. "I got a good look at what the news crews were taping and believe me, they're getting enough footage. You'd better stay here."
"No way! Sakura, tell him I can tag along."
"Well, this could get really messy..." Sakura stated.
"Ok, fine. I know when I'm not wanted. You two go off and save the world without me. See if I care. Besides, I've got homework to do."
Tomoyo turned and walked away.
"No she doesn't." Sakura stated.
"No time to worry about that, Sakura." Li stated. "We've gotta get up there, STAT!"
Chapter 6- An Enemy
Nightmare charged at Cobra, the smoke-colored horse doing it's best to stomp and kick the wood-snake with it's diamond-like hooves. Meanwhile, Shine, a white phantom that was very similar to Sakura's The Shadow Card, fought skillfully with a cloud of energy that Catsy called Jolt, the strange cloud sending out bolts of lightning like a machine gun would send out bullets. Valconair dodged a swipe by a black Minotaur with a flail, the two deadlocked in combat. These were the only three creature Cards each of them had left that could stand and fight, the others having been defeated earlier in the battle. People watched at a distance as Catsy and Gabor struggled viciously with one another, neither seeming to gain any ground.
'Now would be a really good time for Kai to show up with reinforcements.' Gabor thought, dodging a leg swipe from Catsy. If Necros was behind this, it was definitely his best-planned offensive yet.
Reinforcement did come, but not at all in the form Gabor expected.
'Oh no, not them! Not now!' He thought, seeing Sakura and Li on high-speed approach. He dodged a wide swing from Catsy, then tried to get in a thrust with his sword. Quickly blocked.
"Well, who do we have here?" Catsy mused as Sakura and Li got within hearing range of the battle. "Aw, how cute! Some little kids want to play with us! Buzz off, brats, before I disembowel you both!"
"We're not scared of you!" Sakura shouted. Li drew his sword in agreement.
"You should be, kids. Believe you me, you're outta your Pokemon League." She dodged a swipe from Gabor. "Why don't you two fashion disasters just go home and play with your little Game Boys, Ok?"
"Sorry, but We're Cardcaptors and we're here to kick your butt!" Li challenged.
"Oh, are you now?" She back flipped onto a nearby balcony. "We'll just see about that, kiddies! I'll get you, and your little dog too!" She pulled a Card from a pocket inside her cape and threw it straight at them.
Gabor was able to push the two kids outta the way just in time as the Card transformed itself into a huge boulder that would have crushed them both. They watched as the boulder hit the sidewalk and kept rolling, headed straight for a collision with a mass of buildings.
"You two want to help?" Gabor said. They nodded. "Use your Cards to stop that boulder while I deal with this troublemaker!"
"Right!" Sakura grabbed her wand, pulling out The Shadow, and touched it with the tip of her staff.
Gabor shot back into action, pulling out the hailstone Card he'd used once before and throwing it straight at Catsy. She countered with a Card of her own, one that suddenly formed a black energy shield around her, dispelling his attack. Sweat dripped off his forehead by the ounce. There had to be a way to stop her!
He was running out of useable Cards, and out of ideas. The thought suddenly came to him to use his Random Card, but he had seen what that thing could do the first time he'd used it, and he'd vowed never to use it again unless there was no other choice. Right about now, there seemed to be no other choice.
He pulled the Card from his pouch. It was now or never.
"What'cha got there, an ace of spades?" Catsy laughed a deep evilly laugh.
"Yeah,... somethin' like that." He replied, then threw the Card straight at her. She pulled out another shield Card and activated it, but seconds later both she and the shield and all her creatures were gone. Simply gone. He leapt for the Card as it fell to the ground, grabbing it in his hand just in time to see 'Dispel Opponent' fade away on it's face. He sighed a deep sigh of relief. Last time he'd used it, it had destroyed every living thing for miles. He thanked God from every part of his soul that the Card had used something stable this time.
"What happened?" Li rushed over to Gabor. "Where'd she go?"
"Who knows. We'll probably see the likes of her again, though." He held up his Random Card. "Don't ever get one of these. They're stress factories."
Sakura suddenly ran up to join them.
"How'd it go, Sakura. Were you able to stop that boulder?" Gabor inquired, putting away his Random Card.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I brought this back for you." She handed him a black Card with the picture of a boulder on it. "Somehow, I guess she left it behind."
"Something like that. Did you have it wrapped up with The Shadow when she vanished?"
"Yeah, I did." Sakura thought for a second.
"That must have blocked the 'Dispel Opponent' effect from my Random Card. At any rate, I want you and Li to take this Card home and make sure it's a Darkcaptor Card. I need to know everything about who I'm up against here."
"Right. I should have this thing ID'd in no time flat." Li stated.
"I'm glad you're so confident of yourself, Li. Wish I could say I was right now." He looked at the smouldering remains of the church building, just enough of it left intact to be rebuilt and repaired. "I was fortunate this time. I need to be more prepared for my next confrontation with her, whoever she is."
Catsy had re-appeared deep in the jungle, which jungle she had no idea, but she was discovering that there were many more varieties of mosquito than she had ever imagined. She had located her The Nightmare, The Jolt, and The Predator Cards, still in creature form, fighting a similar battle against the mosquitoes that she herself had been fighting. She returned them to their Cards, then activated a DarkShield Card that kept the mosquitoes at bay for a while. 'Bugs,' She thought to herself. 'The one thing nobody seems to be able to fight effectively. Not even me.'
She got her bearings, and after a few hours located a native fishing village. She'd scared the (censored) outta those villagers with her Cards, and they ran off screaming like babies into the forests. She'd grabbed what spoil she'd need to make it outta this place in one piece; some food which mostly consisted of fish, which she hated, a compass, and some rudimentary maps that would help her find the nearest city. When she did, she thought, she'd make sure to hijack the first plane headed towards Tokyo and then really show that jerk who was the best Cardcaptor of them all. She'd make absolutely sure he didn't survive, and even if he did, she'd make his life a living hell.
-----
The Characters I own:
Gabor, Remnant Cardcaptor extreme
Catsy, the Demon-controlled Darkcaptor
Ryan, leader of Team Revelation (briefly mentioned)
Peter, Spiritual Superwarrior (briefly mentioned)
Serria, member of the Shadow Six, in love with Ryan (briefly mentioned)
The concepts I own:
Remnant Cardcaptors
Darkcaptors
The Surro-Terkaan wars (briefly mentioned)
ZaeT'kno Cardcaptors (Briefly mentioned)
Cardcaptor concepts I own:
The Flarewolf
The Valconair
The Nightmare
The Cobra
The Shine
The Jolt
The Predator
Who owns everything else:
Cardcaptors, Li, Sakura, Kerberus, and Tomoyo are property Clamp
Kai, Phalyn, Necros, and Balera (briefly mentioned) are property of Eternal Studios and ArchAngels: The Saga
If anyone wants to create a sequel to this fic, the only condition is that you send me the sequel before distributing it.
I personally don't know a lot about Cardcaptors, so don't flame me if it turns out Cardcaptors: A Bold New Realm is nothing like the TV show/anime/magna ( I never could spell that right), ect...
E-Mail me at Arch-Angels@juno.com
And now for a word from World Wide Message Tribe:
There is a God 2000 years ago he left heaven and came to earth He was called Jesus Christ, He was born in poverty in a place called Bethlehem He grew up in a place called Nazareth - little more than a bunch of caves He never did any of the things usually associated with greatness but for 2000 years he has been setting people on fire I wanna be a Heatseeker
Do You Wanna Be A Street Preacher? Are You Gonna be a Heatseeker?
This Jesus didn't only claim to be God He proved he was God He proved it by speaking the most amazing words any man has ever spoken He proved it by performing the most extraordinary miracles He really did put his hands on blind eyes and they could see, on deaf ears and they could hear He really did speak to a dead man and the dead man came back to life But most importantly he really did die on a cross and after 3 days rise from the dead and conquer sin and death once and for all He walked around for 6 weeks and then went back to heaven and left behind his Holy Spirit and said, "Go - go into all the world and preach the good news" I wanna be a Street Preacher
I'm overflowing with a passion like fire, Not Moving back but moving for the Messiah I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be, like a warrior preacher, Put on the armor like a true Heatseeker, Put on the peace it's good news So we can win the battle and we can't lose You see me fighting in power - getting louder Speaking life to the crowd Oh mighty God make me a preacher A Heatseeker - A Heatseeker.