DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own CCS nor any of its characters... As much as I would like to :P but I do own my plotline and any characters that are not from CCS!

~I would like to apologize again for the long gap in updating! I did briefly explain in my Authors Note that I inserted just before this chapter... but I am back! and I plan on bringing you alot more updates, as well as maybe some new work from myself! Stay Tuned!

Chapter Six: Double Trouble Part Two

Sakura, Meilin and Tomoyo sat for what seemed like ages, trying to find a reason behind it all. Meilin was adamant that it wasn't Syaoran and that it was some kind of mistaken identity thing... Sakura was sure it was Syaoran, considering the incident at the library a while back and Tomoyo was trying to reason between them that it could be a simple thing after all. Closing her eyes a moment, Sakura tried to reason with her own thoughts, it's hard to believe that it could be Syaoran... but on the other hand it was completely reasonable to see this image and believe it was him...

As Sakura concentrated on her thoughts, she could feel something that wasn't quite normal, a presence maybe? Pushing her thoughts to one side, Sakura began to concentrate more on this unusual energy... Meilin and Tomoyo were watching Sakura with concern as her eyebrows furrowed in the exploration of this new presence...

Meilin tilted her head and began to speak "Sakura-chan..." but Tomoyo cut her off with a shake of her head, before mouthing 'no, let her be...' Meilin just huffed a little and sat back, watching Sakura with a mild interest.

After what might seem like an eternity, Sakura's eyes snapped open and her gaze swept the room "I feel something... something unusual..." Standing, she would move to the window "Like... like that presence from before..." Looking out of the window she would try to feel for the presence again... but it was gone.

Tomoyo and Meilin just stared at Sakura with unblinking eyes as she spoke "This happened before... right? the same day as the news bulletin?" Tomoyo tilted her head as she thought it over "I think..." she stopped speaking and rushed to the television set, switching it on and going to the news channel "Let's see..."

The three girls all moved to sit around the television, waiting to see if anything unusual happened... They didn't have to wait long, as the news channel rushed into a 'Breaking News!' article, causing all three girls to gather around the television set, eyes wide in anticipation. Sakura was praying to all that was good and powerful that it had been a coincidence before and that the same thing wouldn't happen again.

The news anchor began to speak "For the second time this week, an unexplained fire has occurred, this time tearing through a small industrial estate on the edge of town, officials say that there is no evidence to suggest a natural cause for this fire and are, as we speak, launching into a full investigation to determine the nature of this incident" the anchor paused as some papers were hastily thrust at her from the sidelines "This just in! We have a live feed from the scene of the incident; we now join Tsukiri Yuuna for the latest in this strange turn of events!" The picture flickered to a petite woman with wide dark eyes and long auburn hair, the fire still raging in the distance.

"Thank you Daiju Suomi! I am here at the scene of a fire that broke out just over half an hour ago and as you can see, fire-fighters are working hard to control the blaze that ripped through this industrial estate. Speculations have arisen on how the fire started, with some believing it was due to the dry grasses around this area catching a light from a rogue spark, to the possibility of it being an electrical or gas mains fault" the woman paused to look behind her "Nobody witnessed how the fire started, but we are urging anyone who might have been in the area to contact the police if they have any information on this"

Sakura's eyes searched the screen frantically please please don't let him be there... she prayed softly to herself as the news reporter turned to the small group of people that had gathered to watch the industrial estate burn, asking them questions and trying to get their opinion on the whole ordeal. A loud scream thrust her from her thoughts as Meilin backed away from the television set, her eyes wide, emotions shimmering in those hazel eyes of hers.

"NO!" she yelled tripping over the edge of the chair and falling on her ass "No... it can't be..." she shook with anger, sadness, disappointment, she couldn't tell which she was feeling right now as she pointed a finger at the screen, slowly coming to terms with what she had just seen. Tomoyo hit the pause button and rushed to Meilin's side, placing a hand gently onto her friends.

"Meilin-chan..." she whispered softly, looking up to catch Sakura staring, unblinking at the television, to the picture on the screen... There he was... standing nearby, watching the blaze take a hold of the buildings, his gaze unmoving, a smirk painted clearly upon his lips as one of the buildings collapsed under the intensity of the fire. How could she believe that was him? Even though they had only really known each other a few years, he had never in that time given her any reason to believe that he could, or would do something like that... He was always talking about honour, and doing what was right and that magic should not be used in an evil capacity. How could she stare at that screen and really believe that what she was looking at was really Syaoran?

Meilin's anger had ebbed, only to be replaced by tears as she slammed her fists into the floor, streams of crystal clear fluid coursing down her cheeks "that CAN'T be him... I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!" she wailed, collapsing against Tomoyo's shoulder and sobbing uncontrollably into her, a wet patch spreading across Tomoyo's shoulder as Meilin let it all out.

"Call him..." came Sakura's voice, cutting sharply through the air causing Meilin to look up at her, shock plastered over her face at the clear, unwavering command of the young card mistress standing before her "Call him Meilin-chan... If it is him, he wont be in Hong Kong right now will he?" Okay... so Sakura had a point and Meilin was not about to admit that one! Digging around in her bag, she pulled out the handphone that she had been given to call Syaoran, only in emergencies mind you... but this was technically one! Dialling his number, she hit the speaker button and held the phone out in front of her so that they could all hear it, as she didn't trust her senses right now.

The phone rang... and rang... and rang until it eventually went to answer phone. Meilin blinked and then frowned, before hanging up and redialling the number. They waited, for what seemed like an eternity until someone answered "Hello, this is Master Syaoran's phone, Wei speaking, how can I help" silence enveloped the three girls, their faces paling in unison. "Hello?" Wei spoke again and Meilin finally found her voice, speaking up to answer the man.

"Wei, its Meilin... is Syaoran around?" she frowned a little as she waited for his answer, hoping that he was just in the shower or something and that this whole misunderstanding could be fixed with just a few words from Wei.

The line remained silent for a moment or two before the man spoke again, clearing his throat before he began "I am afraid not Meilin-sama... he left hours ago, claiming he had something important to do... that was the last I have heard from him..." Meilin felt cold, cold down to her soul, almost forgetting she was in a call, catching herself in time

"T-thankyou Wei... I will try again later..." the listened to his goodbye and Meilin hung up. The silence was deafening and Meilin choked back the sob that threatened to leave her, standing and heading out onto the balcony.

Sakura sank into the nearest chair before her knees gave out on her and stared blankly ahead of her, her usually bright emerald eyes, now dull pond water green as she tried to rationalise what evidence laid out plainly before them. Hearing Tomoyo move, she watched her move out onto the balcony and bring Meilin back inside, guiding her to one of the other chairs, before sinking into one herself.

"What do we do?" came Meilin's quiet words, shattering the silence that had threatened to overcome them, looking desperately at Sakura, as if she knew the all magical answer to this cryptic riddle.

"We wait..." she began "we call Kero, we ask him to come here... and then... and then..." Sakura sighed "we tell my brother that I'm staying here tonight and then when it gets late enough... we go down there and see if we can find anything that might point us in the right direction..." she stopped speaking and looked up at Meilin "I'm sorry Meilin-chan..."

Meilin nodded lightly, defeat in her eyes until Sakura spoke again "Or we can go down there now, use the sleep card to put the whole town to sleep and fight this head on..." She stood and brushed herself down.

"I have the perfect outfit for you to accompany this!" Tomoyo dashed from the room, returning moments later with an outfit in hand. It was made of fireproof materials and was based loosely off of the idea of the phoenix rising from the ashes. Sakura blinked and rubbed the back of her head with a sigh.

"You really think of something for any possibility don't you...?" she rubbed her face lightly as Tomoyo began urging her to change. Taking the costume into her hands, Sakura hastily changed into it and looked down at herself "Don't you think this is a little... elaborate Tomoyo-chan?" she asked, peering a little closer at the costume.

Shaking her head, Tomoyo grabbed her hand and Meilin's and pulled them both from the room, making sure to call Kero and fill him in on the details.

They were about to stumble into unfamiliar territory... a fight with a dear friend...

Okay so! The girls are off to fight what they think is their dear friend Syaoran... is it him? Or is it another entity all together? The only way to find out is to read, review and follow this story to see what will become of our heros, next time in A New Chapter!