The Funhouse
Chapter 6: The Sealed Room Trap
Psycho watched as Sakura fell through the hole. "Have a nice trip, kiddo," he said, laughing.
"Mistress!" Yue cried out as Sakura fell through the air, screaming her lungs out.
Psycho faced the Moon Guardian. "Oh, don't worry. She's not going to die." He grinned. "Yet."
"What are you up to?" Yue demanded loudly.
"Shhhhh. Keep it down," Psycho said, pointing to the Worm. "You wouldn't want to die just yet."
Yue glared at the clown, then focused on his falling mistress.
As she fell, Sakura fought the urge to use the Fly Card. After what seemed an eternity of gravity-forced falling, she landed butt first in a darkened room.
Picking herself up, Sakura dusted her behind. "Itai!" she remarked, feeling the soreness. She looked around, noticing how spacious it was. "What is this place?"
A spotlight shone on the room's center, revealing two items. Sakura walked up to them and discovered a table and a cloth-covered oval object. As her eyes scanned around the room, she found no exits.
"Oh no," she groaned. "How will I get out?"
While Sakura tried to make sense of her surroundings, Kerberos, Tomoyo, and Touya studied the Funhouse. "Hmmmmmm, someone has a dark definition of 'fun,'" Kerberos commented, looking at the clown face entrance.
"I guess that's why his name is Psycho," Tomoyo commented.
Touya stepped up to the clown face, then saw Kerberos and Tomoyo still standing behind him. "What are we waiting for? My sister's in there!"
"Gotta agree with you on that," Kerberos said, ready to charge into the Funhouse.
"We can't just rush in there. We don't know what we're up against in there," Tomoyo reminded him. "That clown could have booby traps rigged inside."
"But Sakura needs us," Kerberos said urgently.
"We won't be any use to Sakura-chan if we just charge in there and get killed," Tomoyo warned. "Whoever this clown is, he isn't playing around. We have to be careful."
Touya heard something. "Did you hear that?"
Tomoyo pointed around them. "Do you see that?"
All three saw ripples appear around them. Soon, a large number of Ghosts and Shades appeared.
"Nani?" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Ghosts?"
Kerberos took a closer look. "No. More robots."
"More robots?" Touya said, eyeing the newly arrived enemy.
"Okay, troops!" Commander Shade's voice boomed from the Funhouse. "Fire!"
The Ghosts and Shades took aim with their arms.
"Behind me!" Kerberos ordered.
Just as Tomoyo and Touya obeyed Kerberos, the Ghosts and Shades opened fire. Kerberos used his wings as a shield from the blasts. Soon, he felt the stings of the shots and winced.
"Keep firing!" Commander Shade ordered. "Don't let him get airborne!"
The Ghosts and Shades obeyed and continued firing. Behind Kerberos, Touya noticed they were pinned against the clown face. "We've got to go inside! We don't have a choice!"
Just as those words left his mouth, the clown face's mouth slammed shut into a wide grin. It seemed to mock Touya.
"I think that option's out," Tomoyo said gravely.
Meanwhile, Sakura examined the table in the room. It was small, circular, and wooden. She touched the cover of the hidden object and tried to pull it off, but it was not possible. "Hoe?" she cried out, tugging on the cloth even more.
She heard Psycho's evil and bizarre laughter. "What's the matter, Cardmistress? Need to work out more?" the clown taunted.
Sakura scanned the room for Yue's captor. "Where are you? What is this place?" she demanded.
She got another burst of laughter from her antagonist. "Why, this is a little puzzle I came up with just for you," Psycho answered. "If you solve it, you get to leave."
"If I solve it, will I see Yue-san?" Sakura asked.
Psycho giggled. "No, but you'll be close."
"So what's the puzzle?" Sakura asked, although she knew it had to do with what was on the table.
"You'll find out," the clown answered gleefully. "Of course, if you don't find out before time runs out, you're dead."
"Hoe?!!" Sakura did not like the sound of that.
Psycho grinned and pressed a key on his control panel. Sakura watched as something appeared on the far side of the room. A spotlight appeared on it. She saw a black orb with arms, legs, and what appeared to be a digital timer on its front.
"Meet Time Bomb," Psycho said. "It's got quite an explosive temper." As he spoke, the timer started to count down from three seconds. When it reached zero, the Time Bomb started to glow. Sakura watched as it exploded in a big kaboom that shook the room a little. The smoke cleared, leaving nothing.
"Well, if you think that's a big bang, check this out!" Psycho said, his fingers pressing more keys.
Sakura watched as more Time Bombs appeared around her. They started to fill up the room. She gasped as more appeared at her feet. Gulping, she looked at one's timer. It read "4:00". She glanced at others and found the time to be the same.
"You have four minutes to solve my little puzzle," Psycho announced. "Otherwise, you get blown up into so many itty-bitty pieces. Oh, and remember, no Cards."
Sakura cringed at the sight of so many Time Bombs. Her apprehension intensified when their timers started counting down.
"Have fun!" Psycho said, laughing as Sakura waded past the Time Bombs to the table. Once there, she started tugging on the cloth. Her efforts futile, she jumped on the table and grabbed the cloth again. She gave it a big tug, but that got her a quick trip to the floor. Wincing from her brief back pain, she grabbed the table out of desperation, hoping to make the object slide to the floor. Her eyes shot out when she noticed that the legs were bolted to the floor. She made another try at the cloth and strained to pull it off.
Psycho watched all this with amusement. "Boy, Clow Read sure knew how to pick them," he commented with a grin.
"My mistress will triumph," Yue said, narrowing his eyes at the villain. "You'll see."
"Ha!" Psycho said. "What I'll see is your mistress being blown up into so many pieces it'll take weeks to put her together again!" He giggled as Sakura struggled with the cloth. "I wonder if they'll glue or sew her together in time for her funeral. Maybe they'll just put her into one big jar."
As Psycho laughed at Sakura's dilemma and the thought of her eventual demise, Commander Shade coordinated the attack on her would-be rescuers. Rather, he watched as his troops kept Kerberos under a barrage of constant fire against the Funhouse entrance.
Kerberos winced under the enemy fire. "I...can't...hold...on..."
"Ganbatte!" Tomoyo encouraged.
That did not seem to help. The Sun Guardian wavered under fire, then collapsed, leaving his friends defenseless.
"That did it! Cease fire!" Commander Shade ordered.
His troops obeyed. Tomoyo was immediately at Kerberos' side with Touya. "Kerberos!" she shouted, shaking him. He made no sound or movement. "Kerberos!"
"I think we have a problem," Touya said.
The Ghosts and Shades got in closer for a better look. "That'll take care of him," a Ghost said.
"He isn't getting up from that," a Shade declared.
A Ghost eyed the two humans. "Okay, you're next," it said, aiming its arm at Tomoyo.
Before it could fire, Kerberos rose his head and toasted it with his fire breath. The Ghost shrieked before it was vaporized.
"What?" a Shade exclaimed before it joined its comrade into nonexistence.
Kerberos got up quickly. Before the enemy could react, he let out a rapid spread of fireballs that disintegrated their targets. Tomoyo recorded the massacre. "Sugoi!" she exclaimed excitedly as another round of Ghosts and Shades was vaporized by the Sun Guardian.
Commander Shade watched the debacle. "Aaagh! He was playing possum!" He looked at Psycho, who was laughing at the trapped Sakura as she pulled on the cloth in vain. "The Master will punish me severely if I don't keep them from helping their friend." He started pushing keys on his control panel. "I should've requested more of them, but I'll use what I have." He paused to watch his troops fire back and get disintegrated in return. "All those good Servers! Gone! I'll make that lion pay dearly for this!"
As Kerberos was disposing of Commander Shade's troops, Sakura continued to struggle with the cloth. Around her, the Time Bombs counted down to their explosion time. She glanced at one and found herself with only two and a half minutes left.
"If only I could use my Cards!" she shouted in frustration. Then she realized shouting would not remove the cloth by itself. *I need to calm down. I need to relax,* she told herself.
The cloth seemed to hear her. As she lightened her pulling, it slid off the table.
Psycho's eyes bugged out. "What? She couldn't have..."
Sakura looked at the object on the table. It was a mirror. She looked at her reflection, then a flash of light engulfed the mirror.
2:00...
The light faded and Sakura found that the mirror was gone. Instead, a saw was laying on the table. She grabbed it and looked around for a place to use it. The walls were metallic, so she doubted the saw would work on them. Even if it did, she did not have enough time to cut a door before the Time Bombs exploded. She was about to panic when she noticed the table. "Of course! The table..."
1:30...
The saw understood and flew out of her hand. It began sawing the table in half at a breakneck speed. Soon, the leg bolts vanished and the table collapsed. Having completed its task, the saw disappeared.
1:00...
"Now what?" Sakura wondered. "I've got only a minute left before the Time Bombs explode. What's next?"
0:45...
"Oh..." Sakura looked at the table halves.
0:30...
"Think, Sakura, think."
0:20...
"Time's running out, Cardmistress," Psycho said, giggling.
Sakura strained her brain until a thought struck her. "Wait, it's a pun on fractions!" she realized, returning to her dreaded memories of math. "The table is cut in half..."
0:15...
"And two halves..."
0:10...
"Make a whole!"
Psycho gasped. "No! She solved it!"
Yue cracked a faint smile.
0:09...
The table halves moved together on their own. Sakura watched as they merged, then flew over to a far wall and formed a hole. "Yatta!" she said. She ran for the newly created exit, not caring where it went.
0:07...
As she ran, she knocked over Time Bomb after Time Bomb. Realizing what she did, she ran faster, afraid they would detonate prematurely.
0:06...
"That little..." Psycho snarled. He cursed himself for not rigging an manual switch into the Time Bombs' controls. "Still, she can't run that fast. However, why take chances?"
0:05...
"Grab her! Trip her! Do something!" Psycho shouted to the Time Bombs.
Half a meter away from the hole, the Time Bombs went for Sakura's legs. "Iie!" she cried as two grabbed her left leg, slowing her down. The others started to swarm towards her.
0:04...
Seeing the time, Sakura shook the Time Bombs off her legs, but more approached her and jumped at her.
0:03...
Sakura swatted them down with her Star Wand and for added measure, kicked the ones on the floor, causing a domino effect in the room. She bolted for the hole.
0:02...
Sakura picked up speed. Her lungs burned, but she did not care. She was grateful for her physical fitness. She was almost at the hole.
0:01...
*Hurry, Mistress!* Yue urged silently.
0:00.
Just as Sakura reached the hole, a Time Bomb glowed, then exploded. Its brethren followed suit in a huge chain reaction. In a backdrop of flashes of light and loud, large explosions, Sakura leaped into the exit. The hole closed in time, for the whole room was soon engulfed in flames and began collapsing into itself.
Chapter 7: The Three Finger Salute (Plus More) and the Mirror Maze
The hole opened in another area of the Funhouse. Sakura walked out with barely a scratch. "That was close," she said, relieved. She wiped the sweat off her brow and scanned her surroundings. She saw a single door.
"No!" Psycho shouted angrily as Sakura emerged from the hole unharmed. "I was so close!"
Yue smiled at the sight of his enemy agonizing over his failure. *That's what you get for underestimating my mistress.*
Psycho noticed the smile on Yue's face. "Why are you so happy? You'll be dead soon."
"You will not get the Sakura Cards and the Star Key," Yue declared, trying to fight an emerging seizure. "My mistress will defeat you," he said through clinched teeth.
"Yeah, right," Psycho said dismissively as the seizure overcame the Moon Guardian. "You don't know me very well, Birdman." His anger faded once he remembered he was still in control. "In fact, your little friend's not out of the woods yet. I've got a humdinger of an obstacle for her."
Yue felt the seizure fade away. "What would that be?"
Psycho grinned wickedly. "You'll have to find out for yourself," he said as Sakura walked through the door.
Outside, Kerberos disposed of the remaining Ghosts and Shades with his fire breath. "That wasn't much of a challenge," he remarked.
Tomoyo had taped everything. "You were great, Kerberos!"
"Why, thank you," the Sun Guardian said, grinning.
Touya rolled his eyes. "Good grief," he muttered.
Kerberos eyed the closed entrance. "Now to get inside." He ignited his fire breath and focused it on the clown face.
Tomoyo filmed while Touya watched. "I don't think you're making any progress," he said, pointing to the entrance.
Kerberos silently agreed. His flame was not working on the clown face. *How is this possible?*
"Keep trying!" Tomoyo urged. "It has to give way at some time."
From his station, Commander Shade watched Kerberos' effort to break through the clown face. "The little brat's got a point. I'd better make my move now." He pushed some keys. "Time for a three finger salute and then some."
Kerberos increased the flame. He started to see some of the clown face disintegrate. *Yes! Only a bit longer...*
From behind, the Sun Guardian was blasted by a missile. He was flung against the Funhouse.
"Kerberos!" Tomoyo shouted, running towards him.
"Nani?" Touya looked behind him to see the attacker.
There were seven robots standing behind them. The first had a large orb on his head. The second had a conehead and bendable arms. The third had three-pronged claws and a head with triangular ears. The fourth had four-pronged claws, shoulder discs, and a flat domed head with curved ears. fifth had missile launchers for arms and one strapped to his back. The sixth wore a cape and a large widebrimmed hat. The seventh had long blades instead of hands.
With help from Tomoyo, Kerberos got up. "More robots?" he exclaimed.
"That's right, Guardian," the robot with the orb on his head said. "We're here to make sure you don't disturb the Master. Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a bow. "I'm Controller."
"Altron," the coneheaded robot said.
"Deleter," the robot with the three-pronged claws said.
"Shifter," the robot with the four-pronged claws and flat domed head said.
"Insert," the robot with the missile launchers said.
"Cap," the robot with the widebrimmed hat and cape said.
"Tab," the robot with the blade arms said.
Tomoyo blinked. "Weird names for robots. Some of them sound familiar..."
"What have you done with my sister?" Touya demanded loudly, shaking a fist at the seven guards.
Controller eyed his enemies. "If you want to find out, defeat us."
Kerberos glared at Controller. "Gladly," he growled.
Controller pointed to Kerberos and Touya. "Attack!"
The other six robots vanished. Kerberos and Touya looked for them. Suddenly, they appeared around them in a circle. Kerberos and Touya took defensive stances.
Tomoyo looked around her and gulped. "Sakura-chan, I wish you were here," she said worriedly.
"Touya, take Tomoyo to safety," Kerberos ordered. "I'll handle our friends."
Touya ran over to Tomoyo. *No place to go,* he realized.
Kerberos roared and breathed fire at the robots. "Go!" he shouted to Touya.
"Come on!" Touya took Tomoyo by the hand and led her past the distracted robots, who backed off from the flames.
Controller held out his hands and focused on the flames. The fire disappeared. "Attack!" he yelled to his comrades.
Deleter, Cap, and Tab pursued Touya. Tomoyo took cover and recorded the fight. The Sun Guardian shot fireballs at the other three. They dodged them and Insert fired a missile. Kerberos dodged it and charged his enemy. Altron shot out his arms and wrapped them around the Sun Guardian's torso.
"Nani?" Kerberos shouted as he was lifted off the ground.
"Ground floor!" Altron shouted as he slammed Kerberos hard on the ground. He retracted his arms as Shifter fired a tentacle from his hand. It wrapped around the Sun Guardian and sent a powerful electric shock through him. Kerberos let out a scream. The tentacle released the winged lion, leaving him a little unbalanced. Insert took the opportunity to launch a missile at him.
"Bombs away!" the robot shouted as his projectile knocked Kerberos into the Funhouse wall. The Sun Guardian hit the wall hard, but was able to pick himself up.
"Oooo, tough guy," Shifter said, reaching for his shoulder discs. Kerberos fired at him, but he dodged the shot in time and threw both discs at him. They hit him, releasing electricity into him. Kerberos roared.
"Kerberos!" Tomoyo shouted as the three robots advanced on the Sun Guardian.
Tab was the first to charge Touya. He swung his blades at the young man, but he sidestepped the attack. Tab swung again, but Touya ducked and knocked him down with a sweep kick. Tab's limbs waved in the air as he tried to get up. Deleter's chest panel opened and fired a missile. Touya rolled out of the way and into Cap. He moved out of the way just in time to avoid a punch on the head. Cap's hand dug into the ground so deeply that he had to struggle with it as he tried to free himself.
Deleter charged Touya with his claws swinging. Utilizing his soccer skills, Touya kicked the fallen Tab towards Deleter. He noticed how light the robot felt. Deleter tripped over his comrade and fell face-first. Cap yanked its fist out, then took off its hat and flung it at Touya. He sidestepped it, and it sliced Deleter in the middle just as he got up. The two halves fell to the ground, then disintegrated. The hat flew towards Touya, but he ducked and it flew at Cap. The caped robot dodged the deadly headgear and watched as it flew away into the night. Tab managed to get up and take another swing at Touya. He barely moved out of the way; his sweater was slashed. He looked at the large gash on his chest. Lucklily the robot had not made it to his skin. He glared at Tab. "You ruined my sweater!" he shouted.
Tab responded by stretching his arms out sideways, then spinning at an incredible rate. He charged Touya as a raging tornado. Touya jumped out of the way, only to face Cap.
"You made me lose my hat!" Cap snarled. "I'll kill you!"
Touya held back the urge to laugh. He looked at the robot, then blinked. Cap was shaking. *Is it me, or is he...growing?*
With a roar, Cap burst out of the cape and grew into a robot with large arms and pontoon-shaped shoulders. "I'm gonna crush you!" he shouted, marching towards Touya.
Touya was about to run away, but he saw Tab the robot tornado behind him. Cap started running towards him. Looking in front, then back, Touya knew he had to time it right. With both robots almost on him, he jumped to his right. Before he could stop himself, Tab ran into Cap, and the two were lost in the whirlwind. Touya watched as Tab's arms flew out of the vortex and disintegrated. Soon the rest of him flew out and vanished.
"That'll take care of them," Touya said. When the tornado vanished, he gasped, for Cap was still standing. He had cuts all over his body, but he was still active.
Before Touya could react, Cap dashed at him and seized him by the throat. He squeezed hard, cutting off Touya's breathing. "Let's see what color your face changes to," the robot said, laughing as he lifted Touya off the ground.
"Touya-san!" Tomoyo shouted.
Kerberos saw his friend's brother in danger. He tried to fly towards Cap, but Altron shout out his arm and wrapped it against one of his hind legs. Shifter shot out a tentacle and got the other hind leg. Kerberos struggled to break free. Insert aimed and knocked down the Sun Guardian with a missile. He fell to the ground hard, then got more jolts of electricity from Shifter. Altron shot out his other arm and wrapped it around Kerberos' neck. The Sun Guardian felt his throat tighten and gasped for air. Controller, who was watching everything, laughed at his enemies' displeasure. Poor Tomoyo started generating ways in her mind to help her friends as she recorded everything.
Commander Shade watched the battle. If he had a mouth, it would have formed a smile. "Master, the Sun Guardian is sufficiently occupied," he reported.
"Good," Psycho said, keeping his eye on Sakura. "We wouldn't want the Cardmistress's friends to spoil our fun."
While her friends battled Psycho's guards, Sakura found herself in a hall of mirrors. She looked around and all she could see were mirrors. She noticed her reflection in each mirror. Sometimes she looked normal. Sometimes she saw a distorted image, like being too thin or too fat. Some mirrors depicted her as an old crone. She stopped at a mirror and saw herself as a teen-ager in high school. The beauty of the image did not escape her.
*That's me in the near future?* she wondered. The reflection was a little taller and was full figured, yet its face still exhibited Sakura's childish features. She was drawn to the image. *Will I be like this when Syaoran-kun comes back? What will he look like? Will he still care about me when I grow up?*
Psycho laughed as Sakura admired her future self. "Your mistress sure is vain. Too bad she'll never grow up to be that."
"My mistress will overcome whatever you throw at her, clown," Yue growled. "She will reach this chamber."
"Why so positive, Terminal Case?" Psycho asked, grinning.
"Because she is Sakura," Yue answered.
Remembering Yue, Sakura moved on. She passed more mirrors and followed the turning corridors. As she walked, she felt like she was going in circles. "This place looks familiar. Was I here before?" She shrugged, and continued on, passing various reflections of herself.
Yue watched his mistress wander through the halls of mirrors. "What is that place?"
"The Mirror Maze," Psycho answered. "Guaranteed to confuse anyone, and since she's sworn not to use her Cards..."
Yue tried to lean forward despite his bonds. "Mistress! Don't worry about me! Use your magic! Use your Cards!" he yelled at the screen, not caring that the Worm wrapped around him could stir and deliver its fatal bite.
Psycho laughed, amused at this sudden outburst. "Hello, I think the people in New York couldn't hear you!" He grinned wickedly at the Moon Guardian. "She can't hear you. She's trapped unless she solves the maze's puzzle."
Fortunately for Yue, the Worm did not wake up completely. It just tightened its grip a little, then fell asleep. Unfortunately for Yue, he started having another seizure. His body shook violently.
"Hmmmm, looks like you'll be a real angel soon," Psycho commented.
Yue felt the seizure fade away. The Worm was still asleep. "My mistress will defeat you," the Moon Guardian said defiantly, glaring at his captor.
"Yak, yak, yak," Psycho shot back, turning his attention to the screen.
Sakura was still wandering around in the Mirror Maze. She clutched her Star Wand tightly. *How do I get out of here?* she thought worriedly, looking around her. For the first time, she looked upward and noticed the design on the ceiling. It was a line of red circles. She followed them and ended up in another section that divided into two paths. When she looked up, she saw two lines of circles: red and green. Choosing to follow the red, she ran through the path and found herself back at the start of the maze.
"Hmmmmm..." Sakura looked up and saw a line of green circles. She snapped her fingers. "That's it!" She ran back into the maze and looked upward. She saw a line of green circles above one path, so she followed it, ignoring the aging and deformed reflections in the mirrors. She continued to do this and found out she was passing through different sections. *If I keep this up, I'll reach Yue-san!* she thought excitedly.
"So, she figured it out," Psycho said, watching the Cardmistress advance through the maze. "Well, it's time to liven things up."
Yue watched as the clown stretched his arms toward the screen. *What is he doing?* he thought.
"Nightmare Illusion!" Psycho shouted. A ball of dark energy flew out of his hands and into the screen.
Sakura saw it appear before her. "Hoe?"
The ball formed into a monstrous bird and flew at the Cardmistress. Sakura turned and ran as fast as she could, but the bird was too fast for her. It engulfed her in darkness. She coughed and went down to her knees.
Chapter 6: The Sealed Room Trap
Psycho watched as Sakura fell through the hole. "Have a nice trip, kiddo," he said, laughing.
"Mistress!" Yue cried out as Sakura fell through the air, screaming her lungs out.
Psycho faced the Moon Guardian. "Oh, don't worry. She's not going to die." He grinned. "Yet."
"What are you up to?" Yue demanded loudly.
"Shhhhh. Keep it down," Psycho said, pointing to the Worm. "You wouldn't want to die just yet."
Yue glared at the clown, then focused on his falling mistress.
As she fell, Sakura fought the urge to use the Fly Card. After what seemed an eternity of gravity-forced falling, she landed butt first in a darkened room.
Picking herself up, Sakura dusted her behind. "Itai!" she remarked, feeling the soreness. She looked around, noticing how spacious it was. "What is this place?"
A spotlight shone on the room's center, revealing two items. Sakura walked up to them and discovered a table and a cloth-covered oval object. As her eyes scanned around the room, she found no exits.
"Oh no," she groaned. "How will I get out?"
While Sakura tried to make sense of her surroundings, Kerberos, Tomoyo, and Touya studied the Funhouse. "Hmmmmmm, someone has a dark definition of 'fun,'" Kerberos commented, looking at the clown face entrance.
"I guess that's why his name is Psycho," Tomoyo commented.
Touya stepped up to the clown face, then saw Kerberos and Tomoyo still standing behind him. "What are we waiting for? My sister's in there!"
"Gotta agree with you on that," Kerberos said, ready to charge into the Funhouse.
"We can't just rush in there. We don't know what we're up against in there," Tomoyo reminded him. "That clown could have booby traps rigged inside."
"But Sakura needs us," Kerberos said urgently.
"We won't be any use to Sakura-chan if we just charge in there and get killed," Tomoyo warned. "Whoever this clown is, he isn't playing around. We have to be careful."
Touya heard something. "Did you hear that?"
Tomoyo pointed around them. "Do you see that?"
All three saw ripples appear around them. Soon, a large number of Ghosts and Shades appeared.
"Nani?" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Ghosts?"
Kerberos took a closer look. "No. More robots."
"More robots?" Touya said, eyeing the newly arrived enemy.
"Okay, troops!" Commander Shade's voice boomed from the Funhouse. "Fire!"
The Ghosts and Shades took aim with their arms.
"Behind me!" Kerberos ordered.
Just as Tomoyo and Touya obeyed Kerberos, the Ghosts and Shades opened fire. Kerberos used his wings as a shield from the blasts. Soon, he felt the stings of the shots and winced.
"Keep firing!" Commander Shade ordered. "Don't let him get airborne!"
The Ghosts and Shades obeyed and continued firing. Behind Kerberos, Touya noticed they were pinned against the clown face. "We've got to go inside! We don't have a choice!"
Just as those words left his mouth, the clown face's mouth slammed shut into a wide grin. It seemed to mock Touya.
"I think that option's out," Tomoyo said gravely.
Meanwhile, Sakura examined the table in the room. It was small, circular, and wooden. She touched the cover of the hidden object and tried to pull it off, but it was not possible. "Hoe?" she cried out, tugging on the cloth even more.
She heard Psycho's evil and bizarre laughter. "What's the matter, Cardmistress? Need to work out more?" the clown taunted.
Sakura scanned the room for Yue's captor. "Where are you? What is this place?" she demanded.
She got another burst of laughter from her antagonist. "Why, this is a little puzzle I came up with just for you," Psycho answered. "If you solve it, you get to leave."
"If I solve it, will I see Yue-san?" Sakura asked.
Psycho giggled. "No, but you'll be close."
"So what's the puzzle?" Sakura asked, although she knew it had to do with what was on the table.
"You'll find out," the clown answered gleefully. "Of course, if you don't find out before time runs out, you're dead."
"Hoe?!!" Sakura did not like the sound of that.
Psycho grinned and pressed a key on his control panel. Sakura watched as something appeared on the far side of the room. A spotlight appeared on it. She saw a black orb with arms, legs, and what appeared to be a digital timer on its front.
"Meet Time Bomb," Psycho said. "It's got quite an explosive temper." As he spoke, the timer started to count down from three seconds. When it reached zero, the Time Bomb started to glow. Sakura watched as it exploded in a big kaboom that shook the room a little. The smoke cleared, leaving nothing.
"Well, if you think that's a big bang, check this out!" Psycho said, his fingers pressing more keys.
Sakura watched as more Time Bombs appeared around her. They started to fill up the room. She gasped as more appeared at her feet. Gulping, she looked at one's timer. It read "4:00". She glanced at others and found the time to be the same.
"You have four minutes to solve my little puzzle," Psycho announced. "Otherwise, you get blown up into so many itty-bitty pieces. Oh, and remember, no Cards."
Sakura cringed at the sight of so many Time Bombs. Her apprehension intensified when their timers started counting down.
"Have fun!" Psycho said, laughing as Sakura waded past the Time Bombs to the table. Once there, she started tugging on the cloth. Her efforts futile, she jumped on the table and grabbed the cloth again. She gave it a big tug, but that got her a quick trip to the floor. Wincing from her brief back pain, she grabbed the table out of desperation, hoping to make the object slide to the floor. Her eyes shot out when she noticed that the legs were bolted to the floor. She made another try at the cloth and strained to pull it off.
Psycho watched all this with amusement. "Boy, Clow Read sure knew how to pick them," he commented with a grin.
"My mistress will triumph," Yue said, narrowing his eyes at the villain. "You'll see."
"Ha!" Psycho said. "What I'll see is your mistress being blown up into so many pieces it'll take weeks to put her together again!" He giggled as Sakura struggled with the cloth. "I wonder if they'll glue or sew her together in time for her funeral. Maybe they'll just put her into one big jar."
As Psycho laughed at Sakura's dilemma and the thought of her eventual demise, Commander Shade coordinated the attack on her would-be rescuers. Rather, he watched as his troops kept Kerberos under a barrage of constant fire against the Funhouse entrance.
Kerberos winced under the enemy fire. "I...can't...hold...on..."
"Ganbatte!" Tomoyo encouraged.
That did not seem to help. The Sun Guardian wavered under fire, then collapsed, leaving his friends defenseless.
"That did it! Cease fire!" Commander Shade ordered.
His troops obeyed. Tomoyo was immediately at Kerberos' side with Touya. "Kerberos!" she shouted, shaking him. He made no sound or movement. "Kerberos!"
"I think we have a problem," Touya said.
The Ghosts and Shades got in closer for a better look. "That'll take care of him," a Ghost said.
"He isn't getting up from that," a Shade declared.
A Ghost eyed the two humans. "Okay, you're next," it said, aiming its arm at Tomoyo.
Before it could fire, Kerberos rose his head and toasted it with his fire breath. The Ghost shrieked before it was vaporized.
"What?" a Shade exclaimed before it joined its comrade into nonexistence.
Kerberos got up quickly. Before the enemy could react, he let out a rapid spread of fireballs that disintegrated their targets. Tomoyo recorded the massacre. "Sugoi!" she exclaimed excitedly as another round of Ghosts and Shades was vaporized by the Sun Guardian.
Commander Shade watched the debacle. "Aaagh! He was playing possum!" He looked at Psycho, who was laughing at the trapped Sakura as she pulled on the cloth in vain. "The Master will punish me severely if I don't keep them from helping their friend." He started pushing keys on his control panel. "I should've requested more of them, but I'll use what I have." He paused to watch his troops fire back and get disintegrated in return. "All those good Servers! Gone! I'll make that lion pay dearly for this!"
As Kerberos was disposing of Commander Shade's troops, Sakura continued to struggle with the cloth. Around her, the Time Bombs counted down to their explosion time. She glanced at one and found herself with only two and a half minutes left.
"If only I could use my Cards!" she shouted in frustration. Then she realized shouting would not remove the cloth by itself. *I need to calm down. I need to relax,* she told herself.
The cloth seemed to hear her. As she lightened her pulling, it slid off the table.
Psycho's eyes bugged out. "What? She couldn't have..."
Sakura looked at the object on the table. It was a mirror. She looked at her reflection, then a flash of light engulfed the mirror.
2:00...
The light faded and Sakura found that the mirror was gone. Instead, a saw was laying on the table. She grabbed it and looked around for a place to use it. The walls were metallic, so she doubted the saw would work on them. Even if it did, she did not have enough time to cut a door before the Time Bombs exploded. She was about to panic when she noticed the table. "Of course! The table..."
1:30...
The saw understood and flew out of her hand. It began sawing the table in half at a breakneck speed. Soon, the leg bolts vanished and the table collapsed. Having completed its task, the saw disappeared.
1:00...
"Now what?" Sakura wondered. "I've got only a minute left before the Time Bombs explode. What's next?"
0:45...
"Oh..." Sakura looked at the table halves.
0:30...
"Think, Sakura, think."
0:20...
"Time's running out, Cardmistress," Psycho said, giggling.
Sakura strained her brain until a thought struck her. "Wait, it's a pun on fractions!" she realized, returning to her dreaded memories of math. "The table is cut in half..."
0:15...
"And two halves..."
0:10...
"Make a whole!"
Psycho gasped. "No! She solved it!"
Yue cracked a faint smile.
0:09...
The table halves moved together on their own. Sakura watched as they merged, then flew over to a far wall and formed a hole. "Yatta!" she said. She ran for the newly created exit, not caring where it went.
0:07...
As she ran, she knocked over Time Bomb after Time Bomb. Realizing what she did, she ran faster, afraid they would detonate prematurely.
0:06...
"That little..." Psycho snarled. He cursed himself for not rigging an manual switch into the Time Bombs' controls. "Still, she can't run that fast. However, why take chances?"
0:05...
"Grab her! Trip her! Do something!" Psycho shouted to the Time Bombs.
Half a meter away from the hole, the Time Bombs went for Sakura's legs. "Iie!" she cried as two grabbed her left leg, slowing her down. The others started to swarm towards her.
0:04...
Seeing the time, Sakura shook the Time Bombs off her legs, but more approached her and jumped at her.
0:03...
Sakura swatted them down with her Star Wand and for added measure, kicked the ones on the floor, causing a domino effect in the room. She bolted for the hole.
0:02...
Sakura picked up speed. Her lungs burned, but she did not care. She was grateful for her physical fitness. She was almost at the hole.
0:01...
*Hurry, Mistress!* Yue urged silently.
0:00.
Just as Sakura reached the hole, a Time Bomb glowed, then exploded. Its brethren followed suit in a huge chain reaction. In a backdrop of flashes of light and loud, large explosions, Sakura leaped into the exit. The hole closed in time, for the whole room was soon engulfed in flames and began collapsing into itself.
Chapter 7: The Three Finger Salute (Plus More) and the Mirror Maze
The hole opened in another area of the Funhouse. Sakura walked out with barely a scratch. "That was close," she said, relieved. She wiped the sweat off her brow and scanned her surroundings. She saw a single door.
"No!" Psycho shouted angrily as Sakura emerged from the hole unharmed. "I was so close!"
Yue smiled at the sight of his enemy agonizing over his failure. *That's what you get for underestimating my mistress.*
Psycho noticed the smile on Yue's face. "Why are you so happy? You'll be dead soon."
"You will not get the Sakura Cards and the Star Key," Yue declared, trying to fight an emerging seizure. "My mistress will defeat you," he said through clinched teeth.
"Yeah, right," Psycho said dismissively as the seizure overcame the Moon Guardian. "You don't know me very well, Birdman." His anger faded once he remembered he was still in control. "In fact, your little friend's not out of the woods yet. I've got a humdinger of an obstacle for her."
Yue felt the seizure fade away. "What would that be?"
Psycho grinned wickedly. "You'll have to find out for yourself," he said as Sakura walked through the door.
Outside, Kerberos disposed of the remaining Ghosts and Shades with his fire breath. "That wasn't much of a challenge," he remarked.
Tomoyo had taped everything. "You were great, Kerberos!"
"Why, thank you," the Sun Guardian said, grinning.
Touya rolled his eyes. "Good grief," he muttered.
Kerberos eyed the closed entrance. "Now to get inside." He ignited his fire breath and focused it on the clown face.
Tomoyo filmed while Touya watched. "I don't think you're making any progress," he said, pointing to the entrance.
Kerberos silently agreed. His flame was not working on the clown face. *How is this possible?*
"Keep trying!" Tomoyo urged. "It has to give way at some time."
From his station, Commander Shade watched Kerberos' effort to break through the clown face. "The little brat's got a point. I'd better make my move now." He pushed some keys. "Time for a three finger salute and then some."
Kerberos increased the flame. He started to see some of the clown face disintegrate. *Yes! Only a bit longer...*
From behind, the Sun Guardian was blasted by a missile. He was flung against the Funhouse.
"Kerberos!" Tomoyo shouted, running towards him.
"Nani?" Touya looked behind him to see the attacker.
There were seven robots standing behind them. The first had a large orb on his head. The second had a conehead and bendable arms. The third had three-pronged claws and a head with triangular ears. The fourth had four-pronged claws, shoulder discs, and a flat domed head with curved ears. fifth had missile launchers for arms and one strapped to his back. The sixth wore a cape and a large widebrimmed hat. The seventh had long blades instead of hands.
With help from Tomoyo, Kerberos got up. "More robots?" he exclaimed.
"That's right, Guardian," the robot with the orb on his head said. "We're here to make sure you don't disturb the Master. Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a bow. "I'm Controller."
"Altron," the coneheaded robot said.
"Deleter," the robot with the three-pronged claws said.
"Shifter," the robot with the four-pronged claws and flat domed head said.
"Insert," the robot with the missile launchers said.
"Cap," the robot with the widebrimmed hat and cape said.
"Tab," the robot with the blade arms said.
Tomoyo blinked. "Weird names for robots. Some of them sound familiar..."
"What have you done with my sister?" Touya demanded loudly, shaking a fist at the seven guards.
Controller eyed his enemies. "If you want to find out, defeat us."
Kerberos glared at Controller. "Gladly," he growled.
Controller pointed to Kerberos and Touya. "Attack!"
The other six robots vanished. Kerberos and Touya looked for them. Suddenly, they appeared around them in a circle. Kerberos and Touya took defensive stances.
Tomoyo looked around her and gulped. "Sakura-chan, I wish you were here," she said worriedly.
"Touya, take Tomoyo to safety," Kerberos ordered. "I'll handle our friends."
Touya ran over to Tomoyo. *No place to go,* he realized.
Kerberos roared and breathed fire at the robots. "Go!" he shouted to Touya.
"Come on!" Touya took Tomoyo by the hand and led her past the distracted robots, who backed off from the flames.
Controller held out his hands and focused on the flames. The fire disappeared. "Attack!" he yelled to his comrades.
Deleter, Cap, and Tab pursued Touya. Tomoyo took cover and recorded the fight. The Sun Guardian shot fireballs at the other three. They dodged them and Insert fired a missile. Kerberos dodged it and charged his enemy. Altron shot out his arms and wrapped them around the Sun Guardian's torso.
"Nani?" Kerberos shouted as he was lifted off the ground.
"Ground floor!" Altron shouted as he slammed Kerberos hard on the ground. He retracted his arms as Shifter fired a tentacle from his hand. It wrapped around the Sun Guardian and sent a powerful electric shock through him. Kerberos let out a scream. The tentacle released the winged lion, leaving him a little unbalanced. Insert took the opportunity to launch a missile at him.
"Bombs away!" the robot shouted as his projectile knocked Kerberos into the Funhouse wall. The Sun Guardian hit the wall hard, but was able to pick himself up.
"Oooo, tough guy," Shifter said, reaching for his shoulder discs. Kerberos fired at him, but he dodged the shot in time and threw both discs at him. They hit him, releasing electricity into him. Kerberos roared.
"Kerberos!" Tomoyo shouted as the three robots advanced on the Sun Guardian.
Tab was the first to charge Touya. He swung his blades at the young man, but he sidestepped the attack. Tab swung again, but Touya ducked and knocked him down with a sweep kick. Tab's limbs waved in the air as he tried to get up. Deleter's chest panel opened and fired a missile. Touya rolled out of the way and into Cap. He moved out of the way just in time to avoid a punch on the head. Cap's hand dug into the ground so deeply that he had to struggle with it as he tried to free himself.
Deleter charged Touya with his claws swinging. Utilizing his soccer skills, Touya kicked the fallen Tab towards Deleter. He noticed how light the robot felt. Deleter tripped over his comrade and fell face-first. Cap yanked its fist out, then took off its hat and flung it at Touya. He sidestepped it, and it sliced Deleter in the middle just as he got up. The two halves fell to the ground, then disintegrated. The hat flew towards Touya, but he ducked and it flew at Cap. The caped robot dodged the deadly headgear and watched as it flew away into the night. Tab managed to get up and take another swing at Touya. He barely moved out of the way; his sweater was slashed. He looked at the large gash on his chest. Lucklily the robot had not made it to his skin. He glared at Tab. "You ruined my sweater!" he shouted.
Tab responded by stretching his arms out sideways, then spinning at an incredible rate. He charged Touya as a raging tornado. Touya jumped out of the way, only to face Cap.
"You made me lose my hat!" Cap snarled. "I'll kill you!"
Touya held back the urge to laugh. He looked at the robot, then blinked. Cap was shaking. *Is it me, or is he...growing?*
With a roar, Cap burst out of the cape and grew into a robot with large arms and pontoon-shaped shoulders. "I'm gonna crush you!" he shouted, marching towards Touya.
Touya was about to run away, but he saw Tab the robot tornado behind him. Cap started running towards him. Looking in front, then back, Touya knew he had to time it right. With both robots almost on him, he jumped to his right. Before he could stop himself, Tab ran into Cap, and the two were lost in the whirlwind. Touya watched as Tab's arms flew out of the vortex and disintegrated. Soon the rest of him flew out and vanished.
"That'll take care of them," Touya said. When the tornado vanished, he gasped, for Cap was still standing. He had cuts all over his body, but he was still active.
Before Touya could react, Cap dashed at him and seized him by the throat. He squeezed hard, cutting off Touya's breathing. "Let's see what color your face changes to," the robot said, laughing as he lifted Touya off the ground.
"Touya-san!" Tomoyo shouted.
Kerberos saw his friend's brother in danger. He tried to fly towards Cap, but Altron shout out his arm and wrapped it against one of his hind legs. Shifter shot out a tentacle and got the other hind leg. Kerberos struggled to break free. Insert aimed and knocked down the Sun Guardian with a missile. He fell to the ground hard, then got more jolts of electricity from Shifter. Altron shot out his other arm and wrapped it around Kerberos' neck. The Sun Guardian felt his throat tighten and gasped for air. Controller, who was watching everything, laughed at his enemies' displeasure. Poor Tomoyo started generating ways in her mind to help her friends as she recorded everything.
Commander Shade watched the battle. If he had a mouth, it would have formed a smile. "Master, the Sun Guardian is sufficiently occupied," he reported.
"Good," Psycho said, keeping his eye on Sakura. "We wouldn't want the Cardmistress's friends to spoil our fun."
While her friends battled Psycho's guards, Sakura found herself in a hall of mirrors. She looked around and all she could see were mirrors. She noticed her reflection in each mirror. Sometimes she looked normal. Sometimes she saw a distorted image, like being too thin or too fat. Some mirrors depicted her as an old crone. She stopped at a mirror and saw herself as a teen-ager in high school. The beauty of the image did not escape her.
*That's me in the near future?* she wondered. The reflection was a little taller and was full figured, yet its face still exhibited Sakura's childish features. She was drawn to the image. *Will I be like this when Syaoran-kun comes back? What will he look like? Will he still care about me when I grow up?*
Psycho laughed as Sakura admired her future self. "Your mistress sure is vain. Too bad she'll never grow up to be that."
"My mistress will overcome whatever you throw at her, clown," Yue growled. "She will reach this chamber."
"Why so positive, Terminal Case?" Psycho asked, grinning.
"Because she is Sakura," Yue answered.
Remembering Yue, Sakura moved on. She passed more mirrors and followed the turning corridors. As she walked, she felt like she was going in circles. "This place looks familiar. Was I here before?" She shrugged, and continued on, passing various reflections of herself.
Yue watched his mistress wander through the halls of mirrors. "What is that place?"
"The Mirror Maze," Psycho answered. "Guaranteed to confuse anyone, and since she's sworn not to use her Cards..."
Yue tried to lean forward despite his bonds. "Mistress! Don't worry about me! Use your magic! Use your Cards!" he yelled at the screen, not caring that the Worm wrapped around him could stir and deliver its fatal bite.
Psycho laughed, amused at this sudden outburst. "Hello, I think the people in New York couldn't hear you!" He grinned wickedly at the Moon Guardian. "She can't hear you. She's trapped unless she solves the maze's puzzle."
Fortunately for Yue, the Worm did not wake up completely. It just tightened its grip a little, then fell asleep. Unfortunately for Yue, he started having another seizure. His body shook violently.
"Hmmmm, looks like you'll be a real angel soon," Psycho commented.
Yue felt the seizure fade away. The Worm was still asleep. "My mistress will defeat you," the Moon Guardian said defiantly, glaring at his captor.
"Yak, yak, yak," Psycho shot back, turning his attention to the screen.
Sakura was still wandering around in the Mirror Maze. She clutched her Star Wand tightly. *How do I get out of here?* she thought worriedly, looking around her. For the first time, she looked upward and noticed the design on the ceiling. It was a line of red circles. She followed them and ended up in another section that divided into two paths. When she looked up, she saw two lines of circles: red and green. Choosing to follow the red, she ran through the path and found herself back at the start of the maze.
"Hmmmmm..." Sakura looked up and saw a line of green circles. She snapped her fingers. "That's it!" She ran back into the maze and looked upward. She saw a line of green circles above one path, so she followed it, ignoring the aging and deformed reflections in the mirrors. She continued to do this and found out she was passing through different sections. *If I keep this up, I'll reach Yue-san!* she thought excitedly.
"So, she figured it out," Psycho said, watching the Cardmistress advance through the maze. "Well, it's time to liven things up."
Yue watched as the clown stretched his arms toward the screen. *What is he doing?* he thought.
"Nightmare Illusion!" Psycho shouted. A ball of dark energy flew out of his hands and into the screen.
Sakura saw it appear before her. "Hoe?"
The ball formed into a monstrous bird and flew at the Cardmistress. Sakura turned and ran as fast as she could, but the bird was too fast for her. It engulfed her in darkness. She coughed and went down to her knees.