KrXMs: Wizard and Sakura

by Despicable-D

It has been two years since Sakura became the Card Mistress and is now enjoying her junior high school life. However a string of disappearances has hit Tomoeda and a new face in Tomoeda seems to be in the middle of it. What can Sakura do when this mysterious masked magician reveals himself and even stranger is hows he's her new English teacher. Discontinued for foreseeable future

10. A Battle in the Skies

Sakura, Carter and a Battle in the Skies.

An Undisclosed Location

"My lady, I have learned the identity of our enemy." Pegasus proclaimed as it kneeled before the curtained covered bed. Its master, the bed's occupant, stirred.

"Have you now?" The petite figure yawned as it sat up.

"Hai! I have fought him myself and escaped so that I may relay this information to you."

The bed's occupant only yawned once more, though it seemed more in boredom than fatigue. "You fought him?" She asked quizzically. "And he just allowed you to fly away once you learned his identity?"

"I…wounded him. I was able to land a blow that stunned him long enough for me to escape." Pegasus explained, feeling a sense of dread creep up under its Lord's scrutiny.

"So you wounded him, but did not think it better to finish him off? You turned tail and ran instead of eliminating our only real threat just so you could tell me his name?"

If a Phantom could sweat, Pegasus would be perspiring bucketfuls at this point. "I was…also heavily damaged from the fight. And just before I could deliver the finishing blow…a disturbance occurred. I worried that the other magician would be on her way. I deduced that reporting the wizard's identity to you would be more prudent." Though Pegasus could see its Mistress's shadowy outline from behind the curtain, it could tell that she was staring directly at it, judging.

"Would it interest you to know that I already knew this magician's identity?"

"What?!" Pegasus reeled back in shock. No one other than Pegasus had survived a battle against the wizard, save for Empousa who was irritatingly tight lipped on the subject. Who could have possibly figured it out before Pegasus had?

"Another of my loyal servants was kind of enough to bring the Wizard's Identity back to me. And from what I gathered, he also works at your place of business, as a teacher."

"Ha-hai! Carter Hughes."

"Curious isn't it? I gave no order to attack this man named Carter Hughes, but you felt compelled to do so and out of pure coincidence, he turns out to be the magician who has been a thorn in my side for some time now."

"I apologize, my lady. My reasons for attacking him were entirely personal." Pegasus quickly explained.

The occupant remained silent for several seconds, mulling over this new piece of evidence.

"Come, sit before me." She finally commanded. Pegasus nodded and immediately dashed to the side of the large bed and kneeled once again at its side. The Phantom's master reached out, her small, pale hands reaching for the now tense Phantom, who believed its master's ornery wrath was about to fall upon it. Instead, the slim hands framed the Phantom's face bringing it up to stare into a pair of glowing red eyes leering from within the canopy of silk. "You still remember it, the pain of your past life." The mistress deduced. Pegasus's stunned silence was all the evidence she needed. "Do not forget who gave you this new life, and of your vow of fealty to me and my wishes. Would you like me to return you to the sorry state I found you in?" Thorn covered black vines were now beginning to slither their way out of the curtains, not touching but encircling Pegasus like a pack of wolves preparing to pounce.

"No my lady!" Pegasus shook its head vigorously. "You were the one who pulled me from my despair, I would never betray your expectations!" Pegasus swore, still tensing away from the tendrils that now breathed down its neck.

"Be sure you don't." The tendrils retreated back into the bed and the Mistress removed her hands from Pegasus's face. "Go then, that Wizard is the only true threat to my plans, once he is eliminated, the Card Mistress will be good as mine."

"Hai! I will not fail you!" With that, Pegasus spread its great black wings and leaped into the air, soaring out of the dark cave and into the night sky.

The Phantom Mistress watched her loyal servant fly away and giggled to herself before laying back down in bed. "Be sure that she doesn't." She mumbled before drifting back off to sleep. Her command was aimed at the dark corner of the room where two more of her loyal servants had watched the exchange with mixed interest.

"As my lady commands." The first had a particularly polite tone and bowed with the regal elegance of a butler before fading deeper into the shadows. The other merely scoffed tiredly but marched off as well.

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The Next Day, School Gymnasium

"Last, Kinomoto Sakura!"

"Hai!" Sakura responded excitedly as she broke away from the group of students waiting their turn to step up to the mat. Sakura's grade was having a fitness tests today and at the moment she was stepping up for the gymnastics portion, a section she excelled at. She took her place at the starting line and crouched into a pre-sprint pose.

"Ganbatte, Sakura-chan!" Sakura could hear her friends cheering her on and she smiled all the more for.

Tweeeet!

There was the whistle and Sakura was off. She sprinted the first few feet before breaking into a quick cartwheel. Then as her feet hit the ground she turned and leaped into the air with a back flip. She somersaulted in mid-air at the last second and angled both her feet to the hit the ground. And to finish it up, just as Sakura landed, she spun on the balls of her feet to land in a familiar pose.

"Oooooh! That was awesome!" The crowd went nuts at her display and the gymnasium was filled with claps and the shrill whistle calls. Sakura bowed in thanks for their applause and retook her place amongst her friends who continued to congratulate her.

"Spectacular work as always, Kinomoto. It's a shame you're not on the gymnastics team." The teacher in charge of their test, a young woman in her early twenties with short, curly black hair and wearing a pink sweat suit, congratulated the fitness buff with a smile. "Still, you never fail to excel when it comes to these test. Again, good work."

"Arigato, Suzuka-sensei!" Sakura blushed and bowed in thanks once again.

"Okay kids, now that were done with the mats let's move on to the balance beam. Shoes off and single file!" Suzuka instructed. The students responded happily and gathered one at a time in front of the thin wooden beam suspended a foot into the air by wooden blocks. "All you need to do is balance on it for a few seconds. Okay, first up…Aoki Tomiko!" Suzaka called to which a girl with a brown hair tied into pigtails stepped up to the beam.

"Suzuka-sensei, is it okay if I try a maneuver I learned in the Gymnastics team?" Aoki asked wanting to show off too after watching Sakura perform so well.

"It won't affect your grade any but it's okay as long as you try not to hurt yourself." Suzuka cautioned. The young gymnast nodded and hauled herself onto the beam. She planted the flats of her feet onto the face of the wood and easily stepped across the first few inches of the beam.

"You can do it, Aoki-chan!" Sakura and her friends cheered for the girl, knowing her to be a capable gymnast.

"Here I go!" Aoki smiled, she tip toed a few more inches across the beam before stopping and placing her hands on the wood. She crouched for a few seconds before kicking her feet up and positioning into a hand stand. Her classmates were mesmerized by the display as they "ooed" and "awed".

"Okay okay." Suzuka waved her down. "You passed now just be careful as you get off the beam."

"Wait, I can do more!" Aoki insisted as her legs began to tip forward and her body began to form a bridge over the balance beam. Her feet now inches from touching the beam once more. The students looked on in expectation but their teacher was starting to sweat nervously.

"Wait, your back is too low to the beam for that!" Suzuka cried, just as she moved for the beam, Aoki's hands gave way under her lowered body's weight and she began to fall. The students cried and covered their eyes as it seemed their classmate was going to take a bad fall onto the gym floor. However, a maroon clad blur outpaced the gymnastics coach and was at the falling girl's side just before she hit the floor.

"Whoo! That could have been a bad spill." Carter sighed, having caught the now blushing Aoki bridal style just before she had hit the ground. "It's nice to show off every once in a while but you got to remember that even if your inches off the ground, a bone will break if you land on it the right way."

"H-hai!" Aoki stuttered as the foreign teacher gently lowered her back onto her feet. Carter grinned and patted the girls head, making her blush harder.

"Aoki!" Suzuka quickly cut between the two and crouched as she looked over her charge for any sign of broken bones. "That was reckless. I would never believe they would teach such an advanced maneuver to a beginner in our schools team." Suzuka scolded the teen to which Aoki lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, they didn't teach me that move." Aoki admitted. "I taught myself at home, but this was the first time I tried it on an actual beam. I was trying to imitate Shizuka Mari, my idol."

'Shizuka…Mari?' Cartered pondered to himself. 'Where have I heard that name before?' Suzuka was also silent as if suddenly pulled into her own thoughts. She remained silent for a moment longer before finally sighing.

"That's all well and good, but I would think Shizuka Mari would have practiced that move a lot more often before she actually used it in front of a crowd. The pressure of being in front of a crowd can make a huge difference when executing a maneuver like that. Got it?" Suzuka explained to the attentive Aoki.

"Hai, Suzuka-sensei!" Aoki replied happily.

"Okay then." Suzuka sighed as she ushered her charge back to where the rest of students waited for her, expressing their concerns for her safety as well as their mesmerization over her performance, despite the rocky finish. "I think all that excitement calls for a quick brake. Take 10 everyone while I go over these scores.

"Hai!" The students replied and began filing out of the gymnasium. Several of the girls began casting bright eyed gazes at the smiling Carter Hughes who waved to them in a friendly manner. Then Sakura and her friends walked by and the two's eyes met for an instant. Carter smiled to his young friend, winked and gave one of his congratulatory thumbs up, expressing he had also seen her performance and was very impressed. Sakura smiled and returned the thumbs up as she followed her classmates out.

"Quite popular with your students aren't we Yu-sensei?" Suzuka scoffed as she looked over her reviews on the student's performances.

"They're good kids." Carter stated matter of factly. "If I'm popular to them then I hope it's because they're all highly responsive to my lessons." Suzuka didn't argue his point, only continued to shuffle through her notes. "How did you know Aoki was going to fall earlier?" Cater inquired; he knew to move to save the falling Aoki only after noticing the distress on Suzuka's face.

The gym teacher remained silent for several seconds before finally setting her papers aside and moving back to the balance beam. "Her bridge was far too low to the beam for her arms to hold her up." Suzuka explained all the while taking her shoes off and stepping onto the wooden beam. She walked out to the middle of the beam as Aoki had done. She too bent into a hand stand and began to lower her legs forward onto the board. "The bridge you make with your body is supposed to resemble an 'n' shape." Suzuka's feet pressed against the beam as her back remained arced almost a foot over the wood. She then pushed up, straightening her back and walked off the beam. Carter gave an impressed clap.

"Nice!" He grinned but the female teacher merely ignored him.

"It's actually a simple move, meant for more intermediate gymnast. An expert can execute that move flawlessly while in motion, quick and fluid."

"You seem to have some experience then." Carter pointed out, recalling how she explained to Aoki the pressure of having an audience watch you perform.

Suzuka looked straight ahead, distant and almost lost in thought, same as when Aoki mentioned her idol's name. "That was a long time ago." She gathered up her papers and turned to address the male teacher once more. "Now if you don't mind…" She gestured for the door. "I have many more exams to conduct and I can't have you distracting my students. Please leave." She demanded as politely and professionally as she could. Carter didn't argue, merely held his hands up in peace and took his leave.

"Oh, before I go." Carter stopped in his tracks and looked up at the gymnasium's ceiling where the hole in the skylight was now being covered by a thick tarp. "Do you know exactly how that happened?" He inquired his to colleague.

Suzuka frowned as she stared up at damaged ceiling. "Can't say I do." She responded, rather coldly. Carter met her glare with one of his own.

"Oh well!" He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry for bothering you, Suzuka-san." He waved behind his back and exited out the gymnasium door. As he left, his eyes carried a dark look and his mind raced back to his battle yesterday. 'Her movements and manner of speaking are about the same. And Pegasus definitely had a gymnast's agility.' Carter pondered this to himself. The evidence seemed conclusive but there was still that all important fact. He couldn't sense any corrupt mana coming off of her! 'This is going to take some detective work.' He decided and immediately went straight for the faculty offices, hoping to find out anything about his colleague based on the schools records of her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the day went by pretty quick, the students completed their fitness exams with no further complications and at the moment Suzuka was in the process of closing up the Gymnasium. She had just locked the door for the night when she felt a presence nearby. A foreboding presence.

"Show yourself!" She demanded as purple mist began to rise from her body. She instantly began to bulk up as her body became jet black. She allowed her raven black wings to spread threateningly as she took her true form, as the Phantom Pegasus.

"Good evening, oh majestic Pegasus." A figure stepped out from the shadows and bowed to the Phantom in greeting.

"Beelzebub." Pegasus recognized, though her tone remained cold. Beelzebub resembled a goblin like creature with wide, pointed ears, thin green eyes and his face stuck in a perpetual toothy grin. His body was a light shade of brown with ivory protrusions on his shoulders, chest and knees to act as armor. "What do you want, fiend?"

"How cold you are my dear colleague. I just popped by to extend a little…cooperative venture." The Phantom explained. "You see, our dear master has just given me this pesky little Gate targeting assignment. And you know me, I'm not one for getting my hands dirty so I'll most likely send some Ghouls to take care of it for me. Also, 'you know who' will most likely show up to break things up." Beelzebub chuckled knowing his insinuation was clear.

"The Mahosukai." Pegasus growled remembering her vow to finish her job and eliminate him for her benefactor. "So, you want me to step in and fight the wizard while your Ghouls finish your job for you." Pegasus stated understanding the malicious Phantom's line of thought perfectly.

"By all means, let him work through all of my familiars first and ambush him once he's exhausted. My supply of Ghouls is quite large and a pack or two certainly won't be missed."

Pegasus positively despised this particular Phantom. The majority of her comrades were either brutishly simple or downright impossible to get along with, this one on the other hand, practically oozed evil with each lash of his silver tongue. She suspected ulterior motives behind his request, but in all, it wasn't a bad plan.

"Fine." She conceded. "Who is this target of yours?" Beelzebub almost looked like he smiled even wider as he revealed a photograph which he tossed to Pegasus, who caught it and quickly looked over the picture printed across it. Her eyes widened and her grip loosened on the photo from her hands starting to shake.

"Is there something wrong?" Beelzebub inquired as he noticed her reaction. Pegasus quickly hid her shock and passed the photo back to the fiend.

"Everything is…fine."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what did you call us down here for, Yu-kun?" Sakura inquired. She, along with Tomoyo, Kero and Yukito were invited by Carter to the 'Safe House' who only explained that he something serious to discuss with them. This was evident by the lack of pastries that the sweet toothed magician usually brings along, he apparently meant business when he implied the serious nature of their meeting.

"I'm glad you were all able to come." He started and then revealed from within his jacket what appeared to be a magazine. "Before we start, I want you all to turn to the article on page 12 of this magazine." Carter ordered.

"Page 12?" Tomoyo asked as she turned to the page as instructed. The article she found was from 2 years ago and showed a picture of a young woman with long black hair tied in a braid. She wore a blue leotard and around her neck was a gold medal that she held up proudly with tears in her eyes. However, the article itself was far less pleasant than the picture let on.

"Competitive Gymnast is forced to retire due to injury sustained during competition. Gold Medalist, Shizuka Mari disappears from the competitive spotlight and is never heard from again."

"Does the woman in that picture look familiar to you two?" Carter asked his two students, his tone held a foreboding vibe to it.

Sakura looked over the picture, her mind taking in every detail of the woman in the photo and then her eyes widened. Her hair was much longer and she was body proportionally at least two years younger, but there was no mistaking that face. "Suzuka-sensei?!" Carter nodded in affirmation his hands now hooked together in deep contemplation.

"So Sakura's gym teacher used to be a famous athlete, why's that so important that we need to meet here?" Kero asked not getting where this was going.

"I didn't tell you guys earlier cause I knew it would worry you. But that Phantom that attacked me and escaped during our last battle, it was gunning for me, Carter Hughes, specifically. It had no idea I was Wizard and was utterly surprised by this fact."

"That still doesn't explain why…?" Kero started but then Sakura interrupted him by smacking the article loudly onto the coffee table.

"Yu-kun…You can't be implying…" She begged as much as she inquired.

Carter scratched his head impulsively as his fingers began to rap across the table. He was clearly not comfortable with the possibility either. "The only fact I have to go on is that during our fight, the Phantom showed incredible grace and agility, as well as a flexibility of movement only a gymnast could have possessed. I don't want to believe it either but with the facts we've compiled, there is a strong possibility that Suzuka-sensei is the human identity of the Phantom Pegasus."

Sakura and Tomoyo quivered at this startling news. Yukito placed a concerned hand on Sakura's shoulder and Kero flew between the two girls, trying to console them as they both seemed close to tears.

"First, Kurikara-sensei…and now it turns out that Suzuka-sensei could be an enemy too." Sakura squeezed her hand in anguish and Tomoyo placed her own over top Sakura's, letting her know they shared the same pain. "I've never even sensed any kind of magic coming off of her, and she's been a teacher there since I started middle school."

"Truthfully, I can't either." Carter sighed. "But I couldn't sense any corrupt mana when I fought Pegasus either. Which is how she got the drop on me. I would have sensed her before I ever entered the gymnasium but the fact is I didn't. So it's impossible to tell for certain."

"Well…that could mean that she's not a Phantom after all." Kero deduced, trying to rouse his friend's spirits.

"Also true." Carter agreed. "But we can't let our guard down. Even if it's not Suzuka-san, the only people who were at the sports meet when I was attacked were students and teachers, including her. Either way, someone at the school is definitely an enemy." Carter concluded.

Sakura and Tomoyo weren't exactly cheered up by this conclusion. Carter rubbed the back of his neck nervously, he knew this would upset them but he also knew that at their age, betrayal can become a huge impact to their young minds. A thought then popped into his head and he smiled.

"Hey you two. What is our main priority in this battle?" He asked, switching into teacher mode.

"Huh?" Tomoyo asked not to sure where he was going with this question.

"Isn't it…to protect Gates and save them from falling into despair?" Sakura answered, also unsure.

"Exactly! Nice, Sakura-chan!" Carter clapped with a smile. "Our main priority is to stop the birth of more Phantom's by protecting Gates who are being hounded by Phantoms. Pegasus has only attacked me so far, though you got me as to why. There's the possibility that she's not interested in Gates like the others, so we may not need to fight after all." Carter knew this maybe just wishful thinking but it was definitely what his two friends needed to hear at the moment.

"Maybe if we can find out why she's attacking Yu-san, we can convince her to join our side." Yukito suggested.

"My thoughts exactly, Tsukishiro-kun." Carter gave the young man a thumbs-up to show his approval. Sakura and Tomoyo both seemed far more cheerful as their older friends pitched new ways to handle this dark predicament. Honestly though, Carter was only half sure of this undertaking. He liked the thought of not having to fight Pegasus, especially if she did turn out to be Suzuka, but his years of experience fighting off Phantoms more cruel than the last has left him little faith in the lingering humanity of creatures that whole heartedly worship the old saying "misery loves company". Most Phantoms will stop at nothing to drag as many others down with them, and even if he's seen the rare contradiction to this norm, he knew its chances were incredibly minimal.

"Hey! Whats that?" Kero's sudden exclamation pulled Carter from his thoughts and broght his attention towards the stone chest where he usually housed many of his rings. At the moment, it was giving off light from within.

"The crystal ball! Garu-tachi must have found a Phantom." Carter dashed to the chest and lifted the glass sphere from its home to gently lay it on the table as the image within began to clear.

"It's not…Pegasus, is it?" Sakura hoped.

"No, only Ghouls for now." Carter replied causing Sakura to sigh in relief. "I can just about make out the Gate their chasing…Oh no. Sakura-chan, it's Aoki Tomiko!"

"Aoki-chan!" Tomoyo gasped.

"Yu-kun we have to get down there!" Sakura cried grabbing the key from her necklace.

"Ah!" Carter agreed, slipping Driver ring onto his finger.

"Driver on!"

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"Kyaaaa!" Aoki ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran until they started to ache and then she ran some more. And still the pack of armed, stone skinned monsters chased after her, relentless and undeterred.

They had just come out of nowhere. Aoki had been hanging out with a few of her friends from the Gymnastics team at the arcade when suddenly, people started to scream and the crowd parted as the pack of monster began tearing up the place. They shoved aside security, slow bystanders, anyone who walked into their designated path, which happened to be directed straight at the Gymnastics buff and her friends. The girls dispersed, some stuck together, others just ran and tried to disappear into the crowd, Aoki however dived into a side alley in hopes of avoiding the beasts. But she was suddenly stricken by the sounds of grunts and growls as the stone monsters began to follow her. She had been running ever since. She finally made it into the open and dashed across a road, hoping oncoming traffic would deter her pursuers, but the creatures were as resilient as they were relentless and they immediately picked themselves up after being knocked around by the speeding and braking cars.

The teen was now gasping for air as her dash had become a plodded jog. The Ghouls had hounded her all the way to the park and they were finally catching up to their prey with their pikes and swords ready.

Hovering far above the scene, watching just out of sight of land bound beings, Pegasus witnessed the chase with growing revulsion.

"Aoki-chan…" Pegasus shook her head in defeat as she gripped her hands tight in frustration. She despised this protocol. She was a teacher and Aoki was her student. More than anything she wanted to dive down and rescue her young charge, soar away with the girl who idolized a now wretched woman who had given up on her dreams. But she could not. Such an act would be treachery against her benefactor. That person gave her a new life after she had sunk into the depths of sorrow. And above all else, fear that she may rescind the gift Pegasus received from her was her ultimate fear. She only needed to put up with it until…

Vrooom!

A flash of silver, black and pink cut through the pack of Ghouls, sending several of them crashing to the ground. Wizard steered the Machine Winger to a halt and dismounted, his passenger, the fully costumed Piffle, unsteadily hitting the ground on her trembling legs.

"That was…really fast. Too fast." Piffle gasped as she tried to keep her legs from buckling.

"Sorry about that." Wizard apologized before arming himself with his Sword-Gun. "Saa, Showtime daa!" Wizard called before breaking into the pack of Ghouls, gun raised.

Sakura finally managed to steady herself and threw two cards into the air before passing her Star wand over them. "Shield! Sword!"

Her first spell was directed at the exhausted Aoki Tomiko who had finally stopped running and collapsed when it seems somebody had finally come to save her. A pink dome like barrier surrounded the panting girl, keeping the other Ghouls back, which Sakura then picked off with her transformed Star Wand now as a wing guarded rapier. She sliced through the stone creatures with ease thanks to her magic weapon and soon she had created a wide pile of rubble around her and the Gate she had to protect.

"Please stay here, while we take care of this." She told the stunned Aoki. "Do you understand?" Aoki was still gasping for breath but nodded that she did understand. Sakura nodded as well and began to swipe at any Ghouls that still attempted to get close. However, one was able to outflank her as she was busy cutting down its comrades. It turned its spear toward the unknowing girl, preparing to run her through. Aoki tried to gasp a warning but she couldn't form the words. Piffle was going to be killed!

Bang!

The Ghoul crashed to the ground as a silver bullet smacked into its head. Sakura noticed the stone beast fall behind her and looked to her companion who was busy fending off other Ghouls, but had taken the opportunity to assist his young comrade.

"Eyes open!" He chastised her. "I said protecting the Gate was a priority but I'd consider myself a failure as a teacher if let you get hurt!"

"Arigato, Wizard!" Piffle smiled and then suddenly a gout of flame and a rain of light arrows struck the remaining Ghouls around her, utterly devastating them. Kero and Yue touched down beside their mistress, flanking her so no further enemy could get the jump on her. "But I should be fine now. So please, finish up on your side." She insisted.

"Heh. Yokai!" Wizard spun the gun over his fingers and let loose with a string of bullets on a Ghoul charging toward him. Other Ghouls were starting to encircle the magician but he did not flinch, he ducked and somersaulted under and over their stabbing pikes and slashing swords, all the while unleashing quick burst of silver gun fire on his foes. The Ghouls crumbled under his impeccable marksmanship; even mid spin his shots hit the beasts square in the chest or face. Carter finally finished up the last of his enemies as two Ghouls tried for a pincer attack. Wizard flipped upward, blasting one Ghoul down as he hung upside down in the air and then gunning down the last just as he landed. "Fui!" He sighed. "Heck of a work out!"

Pegasus watched from behind a line of trees nearby, her hands were practically scraping at the bark of her cover. He was lying. This was barely a warm-up for him; his magical girl companion must have used more mana than he did during that battle. He wasn't even winded by that much excursion. And now that the girl's two familiars were here, there was no way she would be able to carry out her task and kill the Wizard.

'Damn you…Carter Hughes!' She hissed internally. She didn't know whether she was doing this because of her orders or if her personal feelings were egging her hatred of the man on. Even his comment of considering himself "a failure of a teacher" brought bile to her mouth.

She knew why she hated this man. She knew because she had met a man just like him so many years ago. A man who portrayed the role of a gentleman and compassionate educator just as he did, but ultimately that was a mask hiding his true intentions. So many memories began to flow back to her, a time when glory, joy and love was the air she breathed.

"Give it your best today, Mari-chan."

"Yes! I will coach! I'll never let you down!"

'Curse him!' She growled as she began to edge out from behind her cover. Damn Beelzebub and his worthless plan! She was a Phantom favored by her mistress. She had nearly beaten the Wizard once and only circumstance forced her to retreat. And even if the odds were stacked against her, she would not fail in her mission.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Pegasus was about to reveal herself when suddenly the ground began to shake and booming impacts began to reverberate across the ground. "Dammit, so he had this up his sleeve!" Pegasus cursed Beelzebub; he really did hate to get his own hands dirty.

"Bah, not another one!" Carter griped as the Titan plodded toward them. The colossal Ghoul raised its massive fist over head and charged, preparing to smash the gathered magicians and familiars into the ground. "Oh no you don't!" Carter retorted as he opened the scanner of his Gun and passed his Flame ring over it.

"Flame! Shooting Strike! Hi-hi-hi!"

A barrage of fireballs exploded from the gun's barrel, striking the Titan in the torso, forcing it to halt slightly to recoil from the damage. Yue and Kero decided to add their own power to the mix as they let loose with gouts of flame and a hail of crystal projectiles. The Titan finally began to stumble backwards and seemed on the verge of collapsing.

"It's working!" Kero proclaimed, sensing their looming triumph. But the giant Phantom familiar refused to go down without putting up a fight. It quickly forced its legs to straighten under it and pressed forward through the flames and stinging rain of shards. It brought its hand back and swiped Yue and Kero out of the sky, causing them to hit the ground in pained and broken heaps.

"Yue-san! Kero-chan!" Sakura called to her precious guardians, but neither of them responded. A shadow suddenly loomed over her, as the Titan stared down at the tiny girl. Sakura's legs began to buckle again, but from fear this time. This monstrosity could swat her and her friends like gnats and not even try. Anyone would have run in a situation like this, however.

"Always protect the Gate." Sakura repeated to herself and raised her sword in defense. Even if one little sword was all that stood between her and a monster at least 10 times her size she would stand firm, Aoki was trembling in her barrier behind her and this beast was intent on getting to her. Sakura would not let that happen.

Crash!

The Titan's hand smashed down atop the Card Mistress, knocking her out from the pure force of the blow. Aoki's barrier collapsed under the weight of the blow and the Gate inside was also knocked out from the explosion of pressure. The colossal hand would soon squash both girls flat, but suddenly, the Titan felt something refusing to give way under its attack.

"Hrrrrrrrrrgggggghhh!" Now clad in his yellow Land style armor, Wizard pushed his enhanced strength against the giant's press, his body screaming against the weight. "What did I just say?!" Carter snarled as he struggled against his foe. "I am sure as HELL not letting you hurt my students!"

Pegasus no longer had any clue what to do. The Titan's strength would eventually win out. The Wizard would be killed with or without her. But then, so would Aoki and the young girl magician. Pegasus had no qualms with either of them, in fact, if she could hope for it; she wanted this to be ended with neither of them seriously harmed. She disliked the idea of forcing Gates into Despair but she had no choice but to accept it, but this…The titan wasn't smart enough to figure out that its target could be killed along with its enemies. That was something…Suzuka could not let happen to Aoki, not to her student!

Pegasus leaped from behind her cover and hit the air, making a beeline straight at the distracted Titan. She twisted in mid air and brought both her hooves straight into the Ghoul's face. Her greater than human strength made the difference as the Titan stumbled slightly from the sudden impact. This gave Carter all the leeway he needed as he pushed with all his might against the Titan's hand. The creature was finally forced to stumble backwards onto its haunches.

"Hoo!" Carter sighed in relief and regarded the hovering Pegasus. "I'm guessing this wasn't your party." Carter assumed.

Pegasus huffed and crossed her arms. "These Ghoul's master is a coward who refuses to get his own hands dirty. But, make no mistake…" She suddenly turned on him harshly. "You are still my enemy. The only reason I acted was to keep the Gate from being killed meaninglessly."

Wizard paused, a sad edge beginning to form in his heart. "I understand." He replied.

Sure enough, the giant Ghoul was starting to stir as it began to rise back up on to its legs once more.

"We have to destroy it before it recovers!" Pegasus flew back, maneuvering just out of reach of the Titan's claws. Carter responded by passing a ring over his scanner.

"Hurricane, please! Fu-fu! Fu-fu-fu-fu!"

Wizard's heavy yellow armor was replaced by lighter, emerald studded armor as a sudden gust carried him skyward so that he was looking down on the scrambling Titan. He freed a new ring from his chain and chuckled. "Perfect chance to try out my newest spell." Wizard lowered the green faced ring to the WizarDriver, prompting his hands to begin to crackle with emerald sparks.

"Cho-ine! Thunder! Saikooo!"

A green magic circle appeared from Wizard's hand as he aimed downward at the Titan. A crack of thunder similar to a dragons roar escaped the portal before a volley of emerald lightning bolts exploded outward, showering the stone beast with dangerous amounts of magic energy and charging its body with electricity. The Titan twitched as the electricity coursed through its body before finally its body fell limp and crumbled into a mass of stone rubble.

"That takes care of that." Wizard proclaimed as he and Pegasus touched down. At this point, Sakura, Kero and Yue had regained consciousness and were shakingly attempting to stand up despite some of their wounds. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw that Pegasus had turned on Carter, also taking a fighting stance.

"Ready yourself, Wizard." Pegasus demanded as she began to bounce on the tips of her hooves.

"Must we do this now?" Carter groaned but also had taken a guarded stance.

"My only objective for coming here was to defeat you who had become a threat to my benefactor. The Gate is no longer my concern and with your comrades injured as they are it will a fair fight."

"I don't wish to fight you, Suzuka-san." Carter lowered his guard and stood defenseless before his stunned foe. "Or if I maybe so bold, Shizuka Mari-san!" He proclaimed surely.

Pegasus did not move, her eyes were lowered, making her expression unreadable.

"Suzuka-sensei, please don't do this!" Sakura had managed to stand on her feet again and was slowly trying to step between her two teachers. Her hat and mask had fallen off when the Titan knocked her out so now Pegasus could finally see her face.

"Kinimoto! You're…" Suzuka was completely shocked by this development. Her mistress never let on about the identity of the Card mistress who was essential to her plan, only that she was most likely the female sorceress who fought alongside the wizard. "Then… the reason you two were so close…was because you are comrades!" Sakura was confused by this new statement but Carter nodded and stepped forward.

"My relationship to Kinimoto Sakura is as her friend, teacher and comrade. I swore that I would protect her home from the Phantoms that dared to threaten it."

And like that, Suzuka's image of the man named Carter Hughes crumbled. She suddenly fell to her knees and retook human form.

"Suzuka-sensei!" Sakura dashed to her teacher's side but the dejected Suzuka brushed her away.

"I don't deserve your compassion Kinimoto. Everything I thought I had been doing until now has been a lie. I'm ashamed to call myself a teacher of any kind after what I've become!" The once proud Phantom had succumbed to tears. This was something even Carter had never seen before. "I bet you didn't think a Phantom could cry, did you Hughes?" Suzuka had begun to smile meekly as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Suzuka-sensei, what happened to you?" Sakura asked desperately. "What made you become a Phantom and forced you to ally with those cruel monsters?"

Suzuka rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked to her young student whose eyes showed complete and utter trust in the female Phantom. "I was in love."

"Hoe?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"I was in love with two things, a sport that made me feel more alive than I had ever felt before and with a man who had become my very reason to excel at the sport." Suzuka sighed in melancholy nostalgia. "I was a champion gymnast, at the height of my career. But…how did you put it Hughes? 'Falling on the wrong thing from even a short distance could go terribly wrong.'"

Carter understood what she meant. "Your injury, you had to retire."

"A head injury during a competition caused me to sustain incredible trauma to my inner ear. I lost my ability to balance, I even needed a cane just to walk by myself. I had lost my ability to compete in the sport I loved and it was then the ugly truth came out, I never had the love I thought I was working for to begin with."

"What happened, Suzuka-sensei?" Sakura placed a hand atop hers in a show of compassion.

Tears started to well in her eyes once more but she pushed on. "My coach was only a few years older than I was. He always treated me with such affection and faith. He pushed me to excel and in order to please him, I won over and over again and was so happy when he showered me with praise. But, when it became clear I was injured, he abandoned me. He used me in order to increase his own appeal as a coach and he forgot me the moment he found someone who could replace me."

"How cruel." Even the always straight faced Yue had to sympathize with the sorrow stricken woman.

"So that's how you became a Phantom?" Sakura guessed, but Suzuka responded by shaking her head.

"No, I wallowed in my sorrow and feelings of betrayal for what seemed like months. I completely shut myself off from the world. And then; two years ago, she appeared."

"She?" Carter asked, not understanding.

"She told me that my sorrow had drawn her to me. She said she could make the pain go away and give me a new chance at life if I only swore fealty to her. In my grief stricken state, I wanted nothing more than to know that someone would show me compassion and she appeared like the fairy godmother from a fairy tale. I accepted and the gift she gave me made what I am today. Shizuka Mari died that day and the Phantom Pegasus took her place."

The gathered magicians and familiars were rendered speechless. "Wait! She turned you into a Phantom?! Are you even a Gate?!" Carter demanded utterly unable to process this new conundrum. Suzuka shook her head in reply.

"What the heck Hughes!" Kero exclaimed in outrage. "You said only Gates could become Phantoms, how many normal Humans have we been killing all this time?!"

"Please calm down." Suzuka tried to calm the riled up Phantom. "The number of Phantoms who were once Human like me is very tiny. My mistress cannot do this infinitely and as far as I know there's only a handful of-! Look out!" Suzuka suddenly pulled Sakura behind her as her black wings sprouted from her back to act as a shield against the ball of flame hurled at them. "So, the one they sent to silence me is here already." She clarified, now back in her Phantom form.

"Tch tch tch! That's not very nice Pegasus. You can't let the boss lady's secrets slip just like that."

"You?!" Carter gasped in pure shock and horror.

"I told you, mahousukai. I am the immortal Phoenix!" The red skinned Phantom proclaimed as he cackled at the groups shocked faces. "I don't stay down long and I always come back!"

"Bastard!" Carter snarled and passed his trump card over his driver instinctively.

"Flame…Dragon! Bou-bou! Bou-bou-bou!"

"Cho-ine! Special! Saikooo!"

"This time, stay dead!" Carter roared as he let loose with the Drago Skull, blasting the hateful Phantom back with massive gouts of dragon fire.

"The same trick…" Phoenix guarded against the attack that had once incinerated him and began to push forward through the intense flames. "Won't work twice!" He suddenly broke through the tunnel of heat in order to drive his fist home into the shocked Wizard's chest. Wizard was blasted out of his Dragon Style form back into his normal Flame Style as he crumbled into a line of trees he had been sent sailing into.

"Yu-kun!" Sakura instinctively moved to help her friend but then Pegasus was a step ahead of her, soaring over her head and twisting around in mid air in order to smash a round house kick at Phoenix, but the overwhelmingly powerful Phantom easily caught the kick on the side of his arm and grabbed Pegasus by the throat with the other.

"If you're here to kill me, get it over with! Just leave them out of it!" She begged as Phoenix tightened his grip on her throat.

"Heh, normally your little transgression would be last thing on my priority list, but…boss's orders." Phoenix suddenly smashed his hand into Pegasus's chest causing her to cry out. However, his hand didn't just hit her, it somehow fazed through her body as if he was reaching into her. "There it is." Phoenix snickered in triumph as he pull his hand free, revealing what appeared to be a small, black crystal floating within his palm.

"No…" Pegasus suddenly reverted back into Suzuka.

"Down you go." Phoenix chuckled as he let the now human woman fall to the ground. The instant her feet hit the ground her legs began to buckle and she began to pitch forward against her will. Try as she might, she could not stop herself from falling onto her knees. Tears welled in the defeated woman's eyes as she realized she had been set back to her ruined state before she became a Phantom. "That's more like it! Not so high and mighty when you're stuck crawling on the ground are you?" Phoenix cackled evilly.

"You…freak!" Carter had started to rise to his feet once more, coaxed back into consciousness by Sakura who was watching in pure horror and revulsion.

"Now for the next part of my job." Phoenix stated and then lifted up the disabled woman by her throat. He carried her across the park until he came upon the still unconscious Aoki. Her ceremoniously dropped Suzuka to the ground once more and grabbed Aoki by the hair causing her to painfully awaken. "Wakey wakey!" He chuckled as he stared into her terrified face. "Look at who I brought see you." He dipped her head to the side so she could see Suzuka staring back at her in shame.

"Suzuka-sensei…" Aoki desperately begged for her teacher to help her but Suzuka could not find the strength in her limbs to rise.

"That's right, but do you know who she really is. Think about it and take a real close look at her." Aoki unconsciously did as he instructed and her eyes widened. "Now you're getting it. You recognize your idol don't you?"

"That's enough Phoenix! Get away from them!" Carter demanded as he began to dash toward the three to separate them before the Phantom did any more harm. But Phoenix ignored him and continued.

"You want to know something interesting?" He asked not waiting for an answer. "Your beloved teacher and idol lost out on her dream because of an injury. And now she despises all of you young kids trying to follow in the dream she could not fulfill. She hates you all so much that she let those monsters attack you. She wants you to suffer as she's suffered!"

"Uso…Suzuka-sensei…why?!" Aoki started to sob in helplessness.

"No Aoki-san! It's not-!" A swift kick into her side by Phoenix instantly shut up the retorting woman.

"Now fall into despair, knowing the person you admire most despises you!" Phoenix commanded as purple fissures began to break out over the young girl's face.

"Damn you!" Carter snarled as he finally cleared the distance and met Phoenix with his sword raised.

"Work's over! Saa, ore-sama ga showtime daa!" Phoenix declared in glee as he parried Carter's slash by summoning his flaming great sword. The two swiped and stabbed at one another with their blades, sparks flew as the sound of steel striking steel rang across the battle field.

"Aoki-san, hang in there!" Sakura called to her classmate desperately but the Gate was already deep within the throes of despair. "Yu-kun, hurry!"

'Shhhhhhiiiiiiitttt!' Carter pressed his assault against Phoenix's massive sword, his blade desperately striking against the Phantom's seemingly unbreakable guard as he used the flat side of his sword as a shield. "Got to get around him!" Carter decided as he forced his shoulder against Phoenix's guard to keep it still and then switched his sword to gun mode so he could shoot straight up, over the guarding Phoenix. The silver bullets swerved through the air, homing in on corrupted mana and crashing into the off guard Phantom's back.

"I am really sick of your tricks!" The un-amused Phantom growled and pushed forward so he could force his sword and the magician apart. His great sword blazed to life and he swung outward, sending a wave of fire forward in order to push the wizard back. Carter conceded to his foes show of force and leaped back, all so he could stand beside his friends and the dying Gate.

"Please, you have to help Aoki!" The sobbing Suzuka begged the magician, attempting to rise up to her knees so she could grip onto his coat tails. Wizard placed his hands on the broken woman's own and gently lifted her onto her feet. He lead her to the recovered Kero and with a share of nods between the two, gently propped her up beside the Clow Guardian so she could lean on his side for support. Carter then went to the dying Aoki's side and pulled out one of his Engage rings.

"Saving her hope is my priority, but…" He looked back to Phoenix who began to stalk toward them murderously with his sword slung over his shoulders. "I can't leave you all out her to face him in your current states." Carter hesitantly clenched the magic ring in his hand as his mind raced. He couldn't abandon his friends to fight Phoenix by themselves but he can't waist time fending off the relentless fiend while a Gates life was on the line. Was he completely out of options?

"I'll go." The group suddenly looked to Sakura whose green eyes reflected her inner determination. "Let me enter her Under World!" She demanded willfully.

"It's too risky!" Carter argued abruptly. "You'll be facing a Phantom in its most ferocious and dangerous state. Even I need Dragon's help in order to stop one of those!"

"But if one of us doesn't go then Aoki-san will die!" Sakura pressed further. "Yu-kun, even if I have to be the one to fight Phoenix, I definitely want to help save Aoki-san from falling into despair. But we have to make a decision, now!"

Carter was dumbstruck. Once again he found himself impressed by this girl's courage and selflessness. Here he was thinking he was the only one who could do anything yet he had forgotten, he had the strongest ally in the world standing right beside him at this very moment.

"Stop muttering amongst yourselves and fight me!" Phoenix snarled as he loosed another orb of fire toward the group.

"Defend!"

A dome of heat enveloped the group, absorbing the fireball before it could even hit. "Alright." Carter conceded as he slipped the Engage ring onto Aoki's finger and lifted it up to the scanner of his buckle.

"Engage, please!"

The red magic portal appeared over Aoki's prone form as Carter turned his back on the Gate before placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "I'm counting on you." He said and Sakura nodded gratefully as she stepped up to the portal. The dome of heat finally fell away and Wizard gave a harsh whistle. "Kero. Yue. I'm going to need you two to stay here and watch over these two." He addressed the two Clow guardians as he switched out rings on his right hand. "So I'll be lending her two of my familiars."

In answer of their master's call, Unicorn and Garuda came soaring through the sky, heading straight for Wizard who passed his new ring over the scanner.

"Hurricane…Dragon! Byu-byu! Byu-byu-byu-byu!"

An emerald green magic circle appeared behind Wizard as the green projection of Dragon broke from the circle's surface. The green Dragon fell over Wizard as his two familiars passed through the circle.

"These winds!" Phoenix covered his face against the hurricane that appeared around his foe. Wizard stepped forward, now clad in his full green Hurricane Dragon armor. Unicorn plodded beside Sakura, now in his huge battle form. Garuda soared over head. He had also grew in size, now his wing span could even match Kero's and his body had taken on a crimson metallic fashion. His razor edged beak opened as he let loose a high pitched shrill.

"Connect, please!"

"Hop on." Carter instructed Sakura as Winger pulled out beside them. Sakura now looked a little nervous as she had never rode a motorcycle by herself before and considering the speedy trip they took to get here, she was not going to look forward to this. "Don't worry, just let Garu and Uni do the driving." Carter reassured her.

"Hoe?" Sakura asked confused as Carter helped her onto the seat. She had just taken a hold of the handles when the engine suddenly roared to the life and sailed upward, straight into the magic portal, with Unicorn and Garuda in hot pursuit and Sakura screaming all the way. "Hooooooooeeeeeeee!"

Carter chuckled as he made his way across the park. He knew the Gate was in good hands. He quickly reverse handed his Sword-Gun, and caught Phoenix's over head chop to divert it to the side. "Now let's start the main event."

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Sakura was completely shocked by everything around her. As she had entered the portal she was released into a perpetual fall through a tunnel of purple and gold light with what appeared to be a gray expanse to be where she would eventually land. She was still nervous about what was to come but of course she still had Uni and Garu with her as the familiars called out to her as if to reassure her.

"Everything will definitely be alright." She reminded herself and nodded to the two. In response, the familiars shot downward so that they were just beneath the Card mistress, with Uni at the bottom and Garuda wings akimbo between his comrade and Sakura. Sakura looked around confused as Winger began to whir to life beneath her. Its two tires spun beneath its seat so that they were horizontal instead of vertical and the tires turned upwards so that their sides faced up. Winger slowly descended toward Garuda, the tires attaching to his great wings and the seat of the bike becoming a saddle on his back. Garuda let out a final call as its head suddenly came loose from its body. At the same time, Unicorn's wide blade of a horn began to grow outward as a long silver pole was revealed to be attached at the base of its blade. The horn flew away, only to be replaced by Garuda's head which had slid onto Uni's like a face mask. Garuda's body then descended toward Uni and touched down on his back. Garuda's talons hooked beneath Unicorn's sides and attached together like the straps of a saddle. Sakura looked awestruck by her new mount. Garu and Uni had somehow combined and their merger created, Strike Pegasus!

"Sugoi!" Sakura said mesmerized, she then noticed Unicorn's horn was now hovering beside her as if waiting. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn it resembled a spear. Sakura took hold of the strange weapon and found it be unexpectedly light. She hefted the spear weapon beside her and took a firm hold of her Star Wand in her other hand as she called confidently: "Showtime desu!"

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"I didn't think it was possible, but your new secret weapon is actually weaker than your old one!" Phoenix guffawed as he pressed down against his and Wizards interlocked Swords. Wizard had copied his Sword-Gun in order to give himself an edge but he had to agree with Phoenix. This form wasn't strong enough to overpower a foe like him. It was best suited for speed and agility, the downside was that its offensive power had considerably dropped.

"I've got a few more tricks to make up for that." Wizard responded as he switched one of his weapons to gun mode. He pressed the barrel against the great sword pressing down on him and forced the blade to the side with a quick tug of the trigger. He took the drop in Phoenix's guard to land a series of quick stabs and slices to the Phantoms torso and let loose with a barrage of gun fire that forced the Phantom to reel back. "Let's try this out now." Carter quipped as he slipped the Special ring on once more. "I'm counting on you Dragon."

"Cho-ine! Special! Saikooo!"

Dragon appeared once more in order to pass over the green clad Wizard. From Carter's back a pair of metallic silver wings sprouted and caught the air, sending the magician rocketing into the sky. "Whoo hoo!" Carter cried as he soared faster than he ever had before.

"So what, you think you're the only one with wings!?" Phoenix roared as twin shafts of flame exploded from his shoulder blades taking the form of metallic wings covered in golden fire. Phoenix leaped into the sky giving a savage battle cry as he led in with his sword.

"Doesn't this guy ever cool off?" Carter groaned as he soared away from the oncoming Phantom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There it is!" Sakura called, pointing downward toward a large wiggling form that was desperately crashing against the space around it in an attempt to escape its crumbling cage, causing purple fissures to appear wherever it struck.

Its body was long and pure white. It looked similar to a serpent from a distance however one could definitely make out thin, talon tipped claws along the upper and lower parts of its body. It flew with no wings, only seemed to slither through the air like a snake, but again it didn't appear to be a snake, or even reptilian for that matter. Its head was that of a snarling wolf that bared its fangs hungrily when it noticed Sakura and her flying mount. It snarled and rocketed upward toward them, jaws open wide enough to gobble Sakura and Strike Pegasus whole.

Pegasus snorted and flapped up, avoiding the Phantom's fangs and slamming its hooves down on its head as it passed under him. Sakura retrieved one of her cards and aimed straight down at her target.

"Shot! Bombard the Phantom with your blasts!" The red orb of energy appeared from the tip of Sakura's wand and let loose with a rain of explosive energy blasts that crashed against the demon wolf's back, causing it to reel back in pain and slip away before Sakura's next volley came. "After it." Sakura instructed her mount to which Strike Pegasus responded in kind, soaring after the beast as he galloped through the air.

The Phantom was fast, but Pegasus was faster and it soon caught up with the head of the beast. The wolf bared its fangs again and bit at the familiar, but always Pegasus was just out of reach. Pegasus soon soared out ahead of the Phantom and turned back in order to charge his foe head on. Sakura took a firm grip on her spear as the wolf's jaws opened wide, welcoming its oncoming meal.

Sakura's mind flashed back to the sight of the sobbing Suzuka and the form of the dying Aoki and how the fate of these two now rode on her actions. She held her spear out beside her and prepared to slash with its massive blade. "I will definitely save them. No matter what!"

Pegasus quickly veered to the side, dodging the maw of teeth and allowing Sakura to swipe through. The horned spear cut through the wolf's head and straight through to the tip of its tail like a knife through butter. The two halves of the demon wolf fell apart before exploding in defeat. Sakura looked on in joy as the once fissured space around her began to mend itself.

"We did it!" Sakura cried as she patted Pegasus gratefully. The merged familiar whinnied in happiness as it slowly hovered back to ground level. At this very moment, Sakura swore she heard a distant noise, it was kind of like clapping. Pegasus picked up on her curiosity and galloped toward the origin of the noise.

They soon came upon a huge recreational center and the clapping seemed to come from within. Pegasus poked its head inside and Sakura peered in, and her eyes widened in awe.

A huge gymnasium packed with clapping and screaming fans mesmerized the Card Mistress. It looked like a Gymnastics competition had just concluded and a table of judges had just awarded their winner 1st place. Sakura knew immediately who the winner was. She was younger and her hair was longer, but she could mistake the proud and joy filled face of her gym teacher. The crowd cheered, congratulating her on her incredible victory and in the stands, clapping along and smiling so widely you would have believed she had been the winner, was Aoki Tomiko.

"This is what Yu-kun sees. This is what he fights to protect." Sakura wiped the tears welling in her eyes and turned Pegasus around to leave. The familiar galloped into the sky and entered the same portal it had entered from, leaving the Under World behind. "Hope is absolutely something worth protecting. And I want to protect it even more now. For everyone!"

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"Hurricane! Slash Strike! Byu-byu-byu!

Wizard soared forward with his sword wrapped in a green gale. He smashed his blade down atop of Phoenix's, extinguishing its flames and forcing the weapon out of the Phantom's grip.

"Hmph! You're definitely a lot more trouble than I gave you credit for." Phoenix quipped as he gripped his fist tightly, undeterred by the loss of his weapon. "I think I'm finally starting to get warmed up."

"Too bad we've already reached the Finale." Wizard responded. He had just spotted Sakura escape from the portal to Aoki's Under World. 'She's done her part. Time for me to finish up on my end.' Carter slipped his newest ring once more onto his left hand. "This had better be the last time we meet, Phoenix."

"Cho-ine! Thunder! Saikooo!"

Carter's body suddenly began to discharge green electricity and he charged straight for his foe who responded by covering body in golden flames.

"Don't screw with me!" Phoenix roared, fist raised as the two were only seconds from colliding. Suddenly, Wizard veered to the side! Phoenix stopped in his tracks, preparing to give chase after his cowardly foe, but Wizard was already coming back around. His speed had tripled as she began to soar circles around Phoenix and to the Phantom's dismay, a cone of green wind was beginning to encircle him.

Carter's self-made hurricane had the Phantom completely trapped. Every time Phoenix tried to escape the cage of wind he would be thrown back in either by the gale forces or by the random bolts of lightning that would begin raining down from every corner of the gale. He was slowly being beaten down and his body could no longer handle the punishment.

"Don't think this over!" Phoenix declared to his hovering foe. "You've made the 2nd place spot on my list bastard. You're my main playmate from here on out and you had best expect casual visits!" With one final barrage of lightning, Phoenix exploded in defeat. The hurricane subsided as Carter gently touched down.

"Fui!" Carter sighed in relief of another hard battle won. But still, Phoenix's words disturbed him. As much as he wished or believed against the thought. He could not help but fear, this would not be their last meeting.

"Yu-kun!" But such thoughts were for darker times. Right now Carter smiled beneath his helmet as he turned to see Sakura waving him over with a smile on her face. Suzuka was crying again, but this time they were tears of joy as she held the sleeping Aoki close. Even if Suzuka had lost a great deal today, she felt warmth she had not felt in so long well in her chest. She had finally regained her human heart.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiii! That was long! I don't know if I dragged that out or if the changes I made in the process of writing this had actually made it shorter than it was going to be. All I know is, I like how this turned out. Next time, an acquaintance of Carter's reveals a bit of insight into our favorite Kamen Riders past. But can Carter save his long time friend before he falls victim to a new Phantom's prophecy of death. Find out, next time!

And for those of you who are curious, the inner Phantom from this chapter is based of an Inugami of Japanese myth, inspired by the Persona videogame version of the creature.

I do not own Kamen Rider Wizard or Cardcaptor Sakura.