Prophecy Beta

Disclaimer: I still own Erica, Jackie, and Jennie…but everything else is phooey.

"When darkness comes,

And all warriors are down,

Three heroes will come and stand.

With their mighty elemental strengths,

They will banish the enemy once more,

Their second victory of their prophecy…"

Chapter 10 – Alliance

Erica sneezed into her tissue as she watched the news comment about the weird solar eclipse on the previous day.

"What's strange is that the sun, moon, and earth weren't aligned at all during this eclipse," the news woman said.

A scientist specialized in astronomy nodded and added, "Also, this phenomenon was only seen in this city. No one else saw it outside here."

As two continued to talk, Erica sneezed again, hating the Master of time for giving her a cold with the icy scenario that he had created yesterday. She had to walk home in shorts and a t-shirt, too, because her clothes were shredded beyond repair by him. Erica sniffled; she hated colds.

Jennie came over to her suffering friend and handed her a new tissue box. Jackie was nearby, putting on a coat and holding Jennie's jacket. It was obvious they were going out somewhere.

"Pretty funky, huh?" the braided hair girl commented, watching the news, too.

Erica didn't say anything. She still didn't tell her friends about the day before and didn't want them to worry about her being some key to the Time Web.

Then Jennie pat Erica on the shoulder, told her that Jackie and her would be back in two hours, and left the house. Erica opened the new tissue box and stared at it. This was the first time she had ever kept something away from Jackie or Jennie. Was she changing? What was going to happen after this?

As the little boy and the teen girl walked down to the shop district and window shopped, they were still at a loss at what to give their female best friend for her birthday. Also, the two had agreed to give one present from both of them. Apparently, though, the friends kept disagreeing on what to buy.

"Since we can't think about anything, let's count down to what our amber-eyed friend likes." Jennie suggested, already thinking. "Knowing Erica, she'll probably want something that she'll need. She hates junk."

Jackie twirled around and asked nervously, "So…we're going to give her a sword. She would want that…."

"Stupid, we agreed a long time ago that giving the psychopath any weapons was a threat to the world. Besides, we need something more practical."

"A dress? I think she'll look nice in a dress."

"She'll kill you, Jackie."

"Uh…I didn't think about that. What about a pencil case?"

"Too cliché."

"Jewelry?"

"Erica likes shiny stuff, but never wears jewelry."

"A cake?"

"We have to give a cake with the present, smart one."

"Oh, yeah? You try thinking of a gift! Erica's birthday is coming up in five days and we're still wondering what to give her! You think of one! You know her better than I do!"

Jennie blew out her cheeks. "Well, you're smarter than any of us! You should be thinking up something that actually makes sense and wouldn't get us killed in the process!"

"Sorry that I have a brain and actually use it for something!" the hacker-boy snapped.

"You sure about that? Your head seems a bit too small to be really thinking seriously."

"Your head is too big and has nothing but gas inside!"

"Well, you're just a moron!"

Jackie turned, facing his back toward Jennie. "Sorry, can't hear you. My ears don't pick up sound waves from stupid people."

"Yeah, so?" the braided girl glared. "Every time you open your mouth, some idiot starts talking."

"Oh, so you mean yourself?"

Jennie was about to start again, but stopped and slouched, muttering, "This is getting us nowhere, you know? We're supposed to be looking for a gift for Erica, but all we're doing is bickering."

"Yeah, we're so mature for our age," Jackie smiled feebly, being sarcastic.

"No, you're fit for your age, Jackie. After all, you are a fifth grader," the female snickered. The male glared, but laughed soon after.

Eventually, the duo started to walk around again, wandering in and out of stores. Of course, the two became drawn toward a bookstore, unable to pull away. Agreeing to give their best friend something from that store, they quickly went over to the aisles and debated on what the amber-eyed lass would like. Ironically, Sakura, Li, and Tomoyo were at the book shop, too, and when the two girls were about to say hello, Li stopped them and signaled them to hide. Puzzled, the girls followed Syaoran behind a bookshelf that was behind Jackie and Jennie.

"Li, what are we doing?" Sakura whispered.

The Chinese boy answered, "Lately, those people have been acting weird, going around, and getting into trouble. Just a few days ago, I heard them talk about some world."

"Um, Li?" Tomoyo said quietly. "We already know who they are. Remember that I told you about Jackie's powers and Toya mentioned something about Jennie's powers to Sakura? Jackie also said that they didn't mean any harm, either."

"I know that, but there's something else they're not telling us about," the little boy softly answered.

Then Jennie and Jackie started to talk, immediately making the Card Captor Sakura cast fall silent.

"Hey, Jack, doesn't this sound like us?" the braided-hair girl laughed. "'A boy from out time falls into a world of magic and where dreams and wishes really can come true.'"

The hacker-boy snickered and objected, "Naw, this sounds more like us: 'Three people travel into a dimension of cartoon characters and in order to get out, they must work together before it is too late.'"

"Whoa! Déjà vu, man!" Jennie smiled, reading the book herself that Jackie had read from.

"I wonder if anyone would write a story about us," Jackie pondered, looking at the books in front of him.

Jennie tapped her lips. "That'd be funny. A story about three teenagers who're trapped in an alter-dimension with no means of going home. The only way is to defeat an invisible enemy…and they're not even sure of its location. That would be a bestseller!"

"Don't forget the anime characters! The annoying ones, too!" Jackie added.

The teen girl set the fantasy book back onto the shelf and looked at it with a sad expression. Tiredly, she stated, "I want to go home."

The little lad agreed, "We all want to go back home in the real world where all this is just a fantasy. Hell, I wouldn't mind if go back to high school back home. It'll be heaven after all this."

"No doubt about that," Jennie murmured.

Suddenly, Li came out of his hiding place and accused, pointing, "I KNEW IT! You guys really are from a different world! No wonder you knew so much about us!"

Jennie and Jackie looked at each other nervously. Then Sakura and Tomoyo came out, too, looking confused. The hacker-boy slapped his forehead and Jennie sighed.

"Tell us what's going on!" Syaoran demanded. "Why are you here?"

"I knew this was going to happen one way or another," Jackie hissed. Frowning for a few seconds, he finally said, "All right, we'll tell you all about us, but can we go somewhere a little quieter?"

At a nearby café that was nearly empty (after buying books for Erica's birthday present), Jennie and Jackie told their tale from the time they got sucked into portals, ended up in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, defeated the Shadow Realm, went into some other man-made portal, and up to the Card Captor Sakura world, which was where the trio was at the moment. They also explained that they wanted to go home very badly and didn't mean any harm to any of the CCS cast.

"And just to make it clear for you guys, I have powers representing the earth and Jackie has wind. Erica, for some reason, has nothing," Jennie ended.

Sakura, Li, and Tomoyo stared at the duo in front of them.

"So…you're from another world," Sakura marveled.

"And you're actually a tenth grader," Tomoyo added. Jackie nodded.

"And you think there's some threat here," Li finished.

Jackie and Jennie glanced at each other. It was a good thing that they didn't tell the kids they were imaginary. They would probably go into shock.

After a few minutes of staring, Sakura was the first one to snap out of it. Coughing, the Card Captor said in an important tone, "Since you told us of what you're really doing, I think this information might help. When I was asking about you three at the cards, it was very confusing. I never said anything about you, but it gave out a warning. I'm still not clear on it, but I think it means that one of you will be the key to awakening the Time Web to its full potential. The cards also said something about a portal to a dimension where we were created."

Jennie's eyes widened and Jackie looked at the card wielder sharply.

Li, who had also awakened from his bewilderment, included, "And I don't think Erica is powerless. Her aura, when I saw her from the beginning, was sleeping. Everyday, though, it started to get brighter and brighter. Her power is just waking up slower than you two."

"Do you have any idea on what the power is?" Jennie inquired, face serious for once.

Li and Sakura shook their heads. The two teens fell silent, thinking.

Finally, Jackie shook his head and stretched. Then he looked at both the Card Captor and the Chinese boy. "I know you've been sensing an evil presence constantly, but don't know how to deal with it. So…would you like you join us when the time comes? Even at the previous world we needed help in beating the Shadow Realm. We still need it."

"Yes, I will!" Sakura agreed, determination in her eyes. Li nodded while Tomoyo smiled.

"But that still doesn't mean I won't stop hating you," Syaoran growled at Jackie.

The hacker-boy said simply, "The feeling is mutual."

And so Jennie paid the bill and the two groups went to their different ways. However, before the CCS cast could turn around the corner, Tomoyo shouted, "We forgot to tell you something! For some reason, we get really floaty when we're near Erica! Just thought you might want to know!"

The duo waved a thank you and watched the kids disappear from sight. Soon, they, too, headed back home.

A/N: Oh, snap! I updated! Wow. Okay. Sorry to all you dedicated readers for updating with this flimsy chapter after all those months…. I feel horrible….

Anyway, the next chapter will be longer and bit funnier perhaps. Also, due to my guilt of not updating, I'll try to update this week again after the reviews stop coming in (…will any come in at this point…?). So…yeah. See you all again later and PLEASE REVIEW!