Chapter Eleven

Sakura lay on her stomach, pulling herself along inside of the vent using her hands and pulling herself forwards with her feet. She kept her breathing low as she listened carefully for anyone below her. It seemed that this building was crawling with adults who were doing their jobs looking for the Embryo and Sakura was slightly annoyed that the others were childish enough to put learning how to snowboard ahead of scouting out Easter.

Her hand caught on something and Sakura winced, pulling it to her face and seeing a graze covering the skin. She sighed quietly and kept going, remembering the way she was taking so that she could get out again. Her Charas were floating behind her, keeping as quiet as possible. Hearing voices below her, Sakura froze and, having no where to look from, pressed her ear to the bottom of the vent and listened carefully.

"Yuu is going to fail again, no doubt," a woman's voice scoffed scornfully, sounding as though she was just talking to herself. "He was a fool to use Ikuto at all – I got the better end of the deal by taking Utau."

"Ikuto?" muttered Sakura with a frown, listening even more carefully to the woman's fading voice. Setsuko and Mari floated up to her while Katsumi floated ahead to see if there was any way out of the vent. It was getting stuffy, and the four of them wouldn't be able to stay in there much longer.

"Ah, Utau-chan!" the same woman as before greeted as someone walked into the room. "Your last concert was a great success. The boss was pleased with the X-Eggs we created, though next time we expect to see the Embryo."

"Ah," Utau replied in a bored tone. Sakura frowned slightly, now having firm evidence that Utau had something to do with creating the X-Eggs.

"Sanjo-san!" someone called as they approached the woman. "We have everything set for Utau-chan's next show."

'Sanjo...' the pinkette repeated, committing the name to memory. Sakura heard the click of heals and knew that she was leaving, so the pinkette carried on through the vent to find something else. Katsumi had come across an opening and once Sakura had checked that no one was there, she smiled at her Chara for a job well-done.

"All clear," Kasumi whispered up to Sakura after leaving the vent to check the area. Sakura quietly opening the vent and dropped to the ground, huffing slightly as she landed; the girl then placed the vent cover down, knowing that someone would find it, and slid herself along the wall of the hallway, peering round the corner before walking through.

She made her way down the hall and turned another corner, pausing and hiding behind a plant when a group of men walked past her, joking about how the building didn't need security, since no one ever got inside. She smirked slightly and rolled her eyes before gesturing to her Chara to hurry up as they moved further along. Sakura's foot caught on the plant, however, and it crashed to the ground.

"I think I heard something," she froze when she heard a man's voice from behind her, not daring to turn around to see if they'd spotted. "Hey, you; this is private property!" Apparently, they had.

"Sorry, I didn't get the memo," Sakura smirked. "Mari!"

"Yes! Chara-Change!" the girl called as Sakura's hat gained a pair of goggles identical to Mari's and she ran forwards, kicking the man in the stomach. She then flipped back and fell into her fighting stance as the man coughed and stood up.

"You want a piece of me, brat?" he growled, running towards her with his fist pulled back. It occurred to Sakura that these people weren't the type to pull punches because she was a kid, nor because she was a girl. Sakura quickly stepped aside and grabbed his wrist, flipping him over. His head hit the ground and he moaned before passing out.

"That was way too close," Sakura sighed, kicking him once in the side to make sure he was really out. "Thanks, Mari."

"Any time," the green Chara grinned as they continued sneaking down the halls of the building. Sakura looked out of the window and smiled, seeing that she was on the fourth floor, knowing that she had managed to climb all that way through the vents.

"I am good," she muttered with a proud nod as she and her Chara carried on through the building. Sakura climbed up into the venting system to avoid another run-in like the one she just had.

So, Sakura was crawling through the vents again, though this time she was finding her way out. Katsumi and Mari had gone ahead – the green Chara was very happy with Chara-Changing twice – and Setsuko was with Sakura as the two caught up to the others. She found a drop with a ladder that could take you up or down and Sakura, deciding that she wanted to see more of the building, chose to go up.

She stopped once when she reached the top of the ladder and climbed out of the vent, into a large, dusty room that looked as though it hadn't been used in years. There were a few tables and chair, but mostly files lined up neatly along the walls in built-in bookcases. Approaching the dust-covered information, Sakura took no care in extracting one of the files.

Embryo Project I

The title struck her interest, but Sakura pulled out the file next to it anyway, reading the title of that as well.

Embryo Project II

Her eyes widened and she moved along the book cases to the file that had the least dust on it, pulling it out quickly, allowing her eyes to scan the title before she dropped it.

Embryo Project LXXXVI

She shook her head and picked up the file again. So, 86 attempts at finding the Embryo and at least one file for every try. Sakura grinned to herself as she put the most recent file back and when to collect every file from the Project I shelf, placing as many as she could carry down on the table before beginning to read the facts and opinions.

The Embryo is a magical egg that may allow the one who possesses it to have any wish granted. It is for this reason that Easter must possess this Embryo, in order to hold great power over the rest of the world.

Sakura sighed – 'World domination'. Maybe Tadase should join Easter, she mused with a smile as she continued to read the old texts.

{-}

Sakura yawned widely as she put back the last file in the Project VII section of the room. It didn't take as long as she thought it would, since Project I had seven folders and the rest had below five each, all rather thin. She would estimate that she had spent around two hours reading while Katsumi, Setsuko and Mari took turns guarding the door.

She turned and climbed on the table, pulling herself back into the vent and noting mentally how to find the room again for the next day, when she would read more of the files. Her plan was to read everything Easter had documented so far – or at least what they kept in that room. Judging by how dusty it was, she would guess that they used a different place to store their more recent files, so she wouldn't be able to read through them.

Just seeing how many attempts they had made caused Sakura to wonder how long Easter had been looking for the Embryo. So far, she had read around two years of history with seven attempts at the Embryo. In fact, if they didn't resort to such vicious methods – like extracting X-Eggs – she would even consider joining, since they seemed closer to the Embryo than the Guardians.

Really, compared to Easter's methods and planning, the Guardians were just a bunch of kids running around with vague ideas and no clue what the Embryo even looked like. At least Easter had managed to draw it close to them once, a few years ago, and knew that it looked like a mass of pure energy in the form of an egg.

{-}

The girl, running out of breath inside the tight vent, dropped herself into the hallway as soon as she found an opening. By the looks of things, she was now on the third floor of the building, close to the exit and yet still too far to let her guard down even a little bit. They heard voices and hurried into the closest, unlocked room, squinting in the dark to see if anyone was there. Luckily, she was alone.

"So, a little girl beat you up?" an amused voice chuckled from outside the door as two men walked by.

"I'm telling you, she knew kung fu!" he defended himself. Sakura burst out of the room with a smirk, Chara-Changing with Mari again.

"Actually, it's called Ninjutsu, and I am one skilled Kunoichi," she told them, taking their arms and flipping them both over her head. The man she fought previously got up first and bared his fists – obviously a boxer – while the other fell into a stance she recognised as Jujutsu.

"Well, I think it's time Nin meets Ju," he commented. Sakura grinned slightly, even without Mari she was all for a good spar, but the other guy would just get in the way. Going for the boxer first, Sakura ducked under his fists and kicked his feet out from under him, also having to dodge a grab from his partner.

She flipped back and assessed the situation; two grown men, both with very different fighting styles, against her and her Ninjutsu. Sakura let her eyes flicker again to the boxer, seeing him becoming impatient and charging at her. She leapt up and jumped over him like they were playing leap-frog, attacking the man behind him with a well-aimed kick.

Unfortunately, he was ready for it and he managed to catch her foot, twisting it in mid-air. So that she didn't break her ankle, Sakura spun herself with her hands on the ground, using her other foot to kick him in the side of his head, pushing him off-balance. He stumbled away, dropping her to the floor, and the other man ran at her, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides.

"No," Sakura muttered under her breath as she struggled to free herself from his grip before the other guy got up. One arm slipped from his grasp, but before she could take action, the man dropped her completely.

"B-Boss," he stuttered. "Uhh...We found this girl running around the building, so we –"

"Hey! I wasn't running!" Sakura frowned as the goggles on her hat disappeared in a pop of green sparkles. "I was sneaking around pretty well, thank you very much."

"What is your name?" the newcomer asked her in a deep, old voice. Sakura looked up and saw a man with a very tired, but still stern-looking, face and brown hair that showed small signs of greying in age, with brown eyes.

"My name's none of your business," she told him straight-out as her Charas came to her sides. "I know what this company is after, but I'm going to get the Embryo before you can even blink."

"You mean for the Guardians?" he questioned seriously, his hands crossed in front of him.

"Maybe, but I have my own reasons, too, you know," she stated with narrowed eyes, nodding her head. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way."

"Of course," he allowed, stepping aside. "If you follow that hallway, you come to an elevator. Take it to the ground floor and the exit will be right in front of you."

"I...Thank you?" Sakura raised one brow and stepped past him, soon finding the elevator she was looking for. As soon as the doors closed, she heard him mutter something outside of it and a few seconds later, the power went out.

{-}

"I...Thank you?" The young girl looked very confused at his gesture, but Kazuomi knew what he was doing. She stepped into the elevator and he waited a moment before turning to the men.

"Cut off the power to the elevator," he ordered, seeing them both nod and limp away. Apparently, that girl was more than just powerful with her Chara, but had experience in hand-to-hand combat as well. She would definitely make a more suitable addition to Easter than Utau and Ikuto, let alone Yuu and Yukari.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" he heard her yell when the power to the elevator went out. Walking proudly to the moving metal room, he knocked slightly on the door with his knuckles. "Who is it?" called the girl, with sarcasm lacing her voice.

"Will you tell me your name now?" he asked. Her sigh was loud enough to be heard through the door and she fumbled around inside before he heard a large bang. "Open the doors!" he called out to the men. The doors slid open and he walked inside, looking around and seeing the emergency exit to the elevator open.

"See ya!" the girl called as she climbed into a vent. The man shook his head slightly.

"What a clever little girl," he muttered, leaving the elevator.

{-}

Mari steered Sakura left when there was a split in the vents and she soon found herself back where she started. Kicking open the vent, not caring how much noise she made, Sakura dropped herself down in the ally and walked away like nothing had happened. Her mind was buzzing with all that new information and she couldn't wait to go back again the next day, though with a better plan and more cautiously, of course.

"Saku-chan, that was so cool!" Mari gushed while copying Sakura's fighting moves in mid-air while Katsumi pretended to be the enemy, losing badly. "We should totally do that again!"

"It would be a bad idea," Setsuko insisted. "After all, if we're caught again, the chances of escape are very slim indeed."

"I agree with Setsuko," Sakura sighed, pulling off her hat and letting her hair fall from her ponytail. "After all, everyone's going to be on the lookout, now, anyway. And to think I could have been snowboarding."

"Very funny, Saku-chan," Katsumi scoffed as they made it back to Sakura's apartment.

"Hmmm...What do you say we go up to the ski resort Hinamori and them are at for the championships, ne?"

{-}

The bus ride was long and boring, but Sakura was looking forwards to seeing the snow again. Katsumi had fallen asleep on the seat next to her – snoring – while Setsuko was elegantly perched on the side of the seat and Mari was flying around the bus, looking for something to keep her mind occupied. So far, she had come up with nothing, but they only had to suffer a few more minutes of boredom.

Soon enough, the bus stopped and Sakura grabbed her duffle bag from the floor in front of her, swinging it over her shoulder. She grinned and shook out her hair, which she had worn loose with a thick blue woolly jumper and a pair of black ski trousers, even though she had no intention of skiing. She did have a hat on her head, blue in colour, though her hair fell to just below her hips.

"Come on, let's go," Sakura called softly as Mari landed on her shoulder, Setsuko sitting on the other one and Sakura gently gathering Katsumi into the large pocket of her jacket so that the Chara could carry on sleeping. She made her way to the competition and soon spotted the tell-tale pink hair of her fellow Joker, also accompanied by the purple, blonde and sandy brown colours of the rest of the group.

"There they are!" Mari cheered, waking up Katsumi. The glamorous Chara stirred slowly, but her eyes lit up upon seeing Ran. They flew to their same-colour-counterparts while Sakura made her way over at her own pace, only to be spotted first by Amu.

"Haruno!" she cried loudly, "We were so worried when we saw that you weren't on the bus!" the girl continued, her eye checking over Sakura to see if it really was her.

"Well, I had some business to take care of back home. I'm here now though, so you don't have to worry," Sakura stated with a sigh.

"Are you here to watch the competition?" Amu asked her with a smile forming on her face and Sakura nodded once.

"Of course," she replied as they all looked up on the big screen, seeing that one of the competitors, a very young one, looked pale and nervous.

"That's Mifuyu-chan!" Amu gasped as they ran to the competitor's stands, Sakura tagging along with them. They reached the girl, who was kneeling on the ground, muttering about how useless everything was. Sakura eyes widened when she couldn't sense a Heart's Egg inside her.

"She doesn't have a Heart's Egg," she told the other, seeing their worried gazes.

"Well, she gave birth to her egg, a Chara named Snoppe, but she seems to have disappeared," Nadeshiko commented sadly.

"Judging by the way she's acting, I'd say that it's fair to assume that 'Snoppe' became an X-Egg," Sakura stated as the others gasped. "We need to find her and get her back," she told them, seeing everyone nod.

"Don't worry, Mifuyu-chan, we'll find Snoppe."

{-}

Sakura had been searching around for any sign of an X-Egg for a while and had come up with nothing. The others had brought a boy back to the hotel they were staying in – Amu's fanboy, if she remembered correctly – and began to talk about the egg when he said that he saw it in a cabin and then something about it being past its expiration date and not even being enough for an omelette, or whatever.

So, they were now looking for a mountain cabin rather than just the egg, which Sakura though was ridiculous, since they could just as well look for both. She felt a strong, dark presence and looked towards the mountains, her eyes narrowing to see if she could spot anything up there as the other began to talk about something.

"I sense it," she muttered. "The egg is up there!" yelled Sakura, running up the mountain with the others following her. They soon found the cabin and, while everyone else ran inside, Sakura stayed where she was; she knew that fighting an X-Chara inside would be almost impossible. Sakura waited a moment until she heard the familiar cry of 'Holy Crown' and everyone ran outside.

The X-Chara, which had a scarf around its neck, broke out through the window to follow them with a grin on its face. Sakura frowned at it, feeling a weak presence of a normal Shugo Chara inside it. She noted that it must be the presence of a Shugo Chara that became an X-Chara, and stepped forwards towards it.

"Watashi no Kokoro: Unlock!" Sakura yelled, her hands twisting in front of her heart. Katsumi flew towards her, blowing a kiss as her egg closed around her.

Sakura's whole form was covered with light and her hat came off, her hair floating around her. Light formed around her torso and she clicked her fingers, causing it to explode in a show of sparkles and leaving behind a red silk tank top. Her lower half was then covered in sparkles and Sakura waved her hands to one side, then the other, leaving her in a red pleated mini-skirt lined.

She clicked her fingers again and a light pink lining spread across the hem of the skirt. Sakura then clacked her heals together and jumped up as sparkles covered her legs, exploding away from her and leaving behind a pair of thigh-high red leather boots.

She bent back and flipped over, using her hands as support, as her hair pulled itself up into a spiky bun, but half of it was left to hang freely to her hips. When she straightened her posture, a red headband appeared in her hair and she blinked when a large, pink broken heart attached itself to the headband. Sakura bounced backwards and smirked, clapping her hands twice as pink gloss covered her lips.

"Chara Nari: Lonely Heart!" she and Katsumi called at the same time, winking and standing in a 'cute' pose.

"Heart Kama!" called Sakura, her hand-held scythes appearing in her hands in a burst of pink sparkles. She saw that Amu had also transformed into Amulet Heart and nodded to her. Amu jumped up as the X-Chara took a breath and she shielded herself from being pelted by dark-energy snowballs.

Sakura's eyes narrowed as she looked around, formulating a plan. She glanced at the others and took their own abilities into account and bit her lip, thinking as quickly as she could. A though occurred to her and she grinned, jumping up as high as she could – higher than a normal human, though not as high as Amulet Heart could – and threw one of her Kama at the X-Chara while she and Amu fell back to the ground.

"Hotori-san – Holy Crown!" yelled Sakura. He nodded and preformed the said ability, throwing a shield over them as Sakura looked around. "Alright, I have a plan. Soma-san will lure the attacks away from the rest of us by using his snowboard – since he's fastest."

"Got it," he grinned.

"While he's doing that, Hotori-san will cover him if needs be, using Holy Crown, okay?" she asked him, receiving a nod. "If that works, I'll tell you two the rest of the plan," she added, nodding to Nadeshiko and Amu. Kukai Chara-Changed with Daichi and set off, the plan working up until he was hit by dark-energy snowmen. Tadase attempted to help him, but met the same fate and both boys, as well as they Charas, were sapped of all motivation.

"Tadase-kun!" called Amu in concern. Sakura frowned and began to plan again, but was put off from her thoughts by Amu. Nadeshiko Chara-Changed and stood in front of them, twirling her Naginata around to defend against the snowmen being fired at them.

"This is the strongest opponent we've faced so far," she commented. "Amu-chan, please," Nadeshiko added, getting tired from defending. Amu's eyes grew in fear and she clasped her hands at her chest.

"B-But, even Kukai and Tadase-kun were no match for it," she stated fearfully, looking at the Chara.

"What're ya gettin' scared for?" Nadeshiko growled in Hiroshima slang. Sakura took a step back and gulped, suddenly very fearful of the changed Nadeshiko, but more annoyed at Amu. Nadeshiko continued to yell at Amu while Sakura felt the build-up of power within the X-Chara as it prepared a stronger attack.

"It's huge!" the three girls stated as a very large snowman began to roll towards them. Nadeshiko and Sakura fell back, but Amu stood forwards, fighting her nervousness.

"N-Negative Heart: Lock On!" she called, performing her attack quickly. "Open Heart!" Amu's power hit the large snowman and caused it to disappear easily, but the X-Chara just batted it away with a wide grin. Amu gasped. "It...It didn't work," she muttered as Nadeshiko pulled her back.

"Maybe a Shugo Chara cannot be purified...but healed," she said, looking at Sakura and remembering how she healed the broken egg. Feeling the gaze of the Queen's Chair, Sakura looked back with wide eyes.

"N-No! That was one time, and it was only an egg!" she stated. "I can't –!"

"Haruno, that's someone's Shugo Chara!" Amu yelled. Sakura's eyes narrowed and she nodded, stepping forwards shakily.

"Shugo-X-Chara – Target!" Sakura said out loud, her body beginning to glow as she rose off of the ground and held her hands out to the X-Chara, breathing a sea of pink sparkles towards it. "Healing Kiss," she said softly, blowing a kiss towards the X-Chara.

It glowed pink and began to smile as the X cracked into pieces and it's outer skin to peel off, revealing an actual Shugo Chara underneath. Sakura stared in amazement as she managed to return a Chara to its usual self and smiled and Amu and the other, the boys now feeling better, ran towards the Chara and began to talk.

"That was awesome, Saku-chan!" Mari yelled as she floated to her owner with Setsuko. Katsumi flew out of Sakura and the girl returned to normal, smiling slightly. The egg closed around the healed Chara and it floated away, back to its owner, while the Guardians crowded around Sakura.

"Nice one, Haruno!" Amu and Kukai yelled, giving her a thumbs-up, while Tadase and Nadeshiko smiled. Sakura shrugged and smiled slightly in reply as they all made their way back to the competition.