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Above the city, a young man in green and yellow robes was crouched on a rooftop, his brown hair blowing in the wind.

There it is... Li thought, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. Below him, he could see the dark winged shape of the Dragon soaring over the buildings and he rose from his crouch, drawing his sword with a rasp of steel.

'Force, know my plight. Release the light. Lightning!'

A bolt of lightning sparked from the end of his sword and the Dragon roared as it struck, turning it's head towards him, fire flickering inside it's mouth and Li leapt, the burst of fire melting the roof tiles where he had been standing. He readied his sword again and was about to strike, when he saw another figure land on the rooftop, white wings fading from her boots. As he watched, she pulled a card from under her robe and threw it into the air, touching it with the tip of her wand.

'Windy!' She cried and a woman erupted from the ward, wind whipping Sakura's robes as she soared towards the Dragon, gossamer tendrils of air lashing out to ensnare it. With a roar, the Dragon's claws tore through the tendrils and it's tail struck Windy, slamming her back into the roof.

'Windy! Return!' Sakura cried, just as the Dragon turned towards her, unleashing another jet of flame.

'Look out!' Li yelled, rolling left as a burst of fire scorched the rooftop where he had been, coming up in a crouch with his sword raised. 'Sakura. Move!'

'Jump!' Sakura yelled, pulling another card from beneath her red robe and striking it with the end of her wand. White wings appeared on her boots and she leapt, somersaulting over the burst of fire to land next to him.

'I don't need your help, Li.' She snapped and he snorted.

'Right. Just stay out of my way.'

Pulling a card from inside his own robe, he flipped it into the air, stabbing his sword toward it.

'Thunder!'

There was a sharp crack and a wolf erupted from the card, lightning given physical form.

'Bring it down, Raiju.' Li yelled and the wolf snarled as it leapt towards the Dragon, changing to a lightning bolt in mid-air. It struck with a sharp crack, lightning ensnaring the Dragon and Li launched himself into the air, unleashing a blast of water magic from his sword. The Dragon roared in pain, it's head snapping round towards him and Li dodged left as another blast of fire flashed past him, dropping back to the rooftop.

Dammit...

'Are you okay, Li?' Sakura asked as he got back to his feet, dusting off his robes.

'I'm fine.' He said and Sakura stepped past him, pulling another card from under her cloak.

'Fly card!'

Wings sprouted from her back and she launched herself towards the Dragon.

What's she doing...? He thought, as Sakura took another card from under her robe.

'Fiery!' She yelled, a woman with flaming hair bursting forth and soaring towards the Dragon.

Idiot. Fiery can't stand up against that...

Fiery swept down towards the Dragon, unleashing a jet of fire. However, it splashed harmlessly off it's scales and the Dragon's tail lashed out, scattering Fiery into a million burning fragments that faded into a white light as she returned to the card. The Dragon gave a roar of rage and swung round towards her, flame flickering inside it's mouth, Sakura barely managing to dodge the fireball.

'Force, know my plight, release the light! Lightning!' Li yelled, his lightning bolt striking the Dragon on it's hide. It gave a roar of rage as it swung round towards him, Li ducking back behind the tower as the blast of fire scorching the stone and Sakura used the distraction to fly down next to him.

'What were you doing?' Li snapped. 'Fiery's no use against that. You really are hopeless...'

'I didn't see you doing any better.' Sakura said. 'That Dragon's too powerful for either of us. We need to work together. You have the Freeze Card, right?'

'...yes.' Li said, stopping as Sakura produced the Watery Card. '...what are you...?'

'Just follow my lead.' Sakura said, stepping from behind the tower and readying her wand as the Dragon dived back towards them.

'Watery. Bind the Dragon and restrict it's movement. Release and Dispel!'

Watery erupted from the Card, launching herself towards the Dragon, a jet of water driving it back and extinguishing the fire in it's mouth.

'Now, Li.' Sakura yelled, and Li summoned Freeze, feeling the air get colder, his breath starting to mist. Freeze shot towards the Dragon, unleashing a blast of ice that shattered it into a million red shards that drifted like rain towards the ground. From the middle of the cloud, Li saw something else flutter down onto the rooftop and he reached down to pick it up.

'What is it?' Sakura asked, looking over his shoulder at the paper slip that he was holding on in his hand.

'I'm not sure...' Li said, sitting down and crossing his legs, pulling out his Laizen board.

'What are you...?' Sakura began and Li scowled up at her.

'Concentrating.' He said and Sakura lapsed into silence, her lips pressed into a thin pout as Li placed the slip of paper in ththe centre of the Laizen board. A beam of light shot out from the board and focused on the roof opposite. As they watched, a shadowy figure appeared and started running across the roof, robes flapping around him. Li looking up at Sakura with a grim smile and she nodded.

'Let's go.'

Sakura summoned Fly again and Li invoked his wind magic, the two of them coming to land gently on the next rooftop, straight into the path of the running figure. He stopped when he saw them, his eyes wide and he turned to run back the way he had come. Li extended his hand and a blast of air sent him stumbling sideways.

'Sleep card.' Sakura yelled, the spirit leaping from the card and fixing the man with her gaze. He struggled for a moment and then his eyelids dropped as he slumped backwards and started to snore.

'Who is he?' Sakura asked and Li shrugged.

'Who cares?' He said, leaning down to scrawl a rune of the floor in chalk, which glowed green for a second. 'The Guardians can deal with him, now.'

He stood up and turned away, slinging his sword over his back.

'Li...?' Sakura said and he stopped, half-turning toward her.

'What?'

'Thank you...'

'Hmph...' He muttered, summoning his wind magic and vaulting into the air, until he was lost from sight.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticisms very welcomed.