Author's Note: With Washington D.C. now behind them, Sakura, Li, Madison, Meilin, and Kero move on to their next destination. It's time to head down south.


Cards captured so far: Vision, Heat, Vine, Bell, and Sleep


CCS: The American Cards: Part 09


Sakura looked outside the window of the Comfort Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia. While passing by on the bus, Sakura pinpointed the next American Card to its exact location. Unfortunately, it was in another public place. It was a historical site called Monticello.

Of course, this wouldn't be like the White House. This time, Sakura would be able to sneak in at night without too much trouble. Of course, things weren't going to be easy. They never were.

"Aren't they back yet?" Meilin complained.

"Maybe they got distracted," Li thought. "You know how Madison's been around these historical places. She always wants to get something on tape."

Just then, the door finally flew open. Madison and Kero finally came back.

"Sorry I took so long," Madison sighed. "Kero wanted to stop for a snack."

"Hey, I was hungry," Kero said in his defense. "Besides, you spent so much time taping the place, how could I not get hungry?"

"Did you get it, Madison?" Sakura asked eagerly.

Madison put a huge unfolded pamphlet on the carpet. "It's right here."

Sakura kneeled down to look over the map of the Monticello estate. It was the old home of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It had been preserved as a historical site/museum ever since. It was definitely had its controversy, as it was the place where Jefferson had his…affairs.

The first thing Sakura noticed was that the place was definitely big. The mansion was big, but there were also vast fields and plantations around it. The American Card could be in any part of that place, but Sakura knew what she saw using Vision. She saw the back of the house and a big field. The only trick would be, how to sneak in without being seen.

"It's not like there won't be security everywhere," Meilin said cynically. "We can't just break and enter. We'll be seen."

"This would be a good place to have a Fly Card," Li sighed.

Sakura suddenly raised her head. "Actually…maybe we won't need a Fly Card. There may be a way we can get past security. I think all we'll have to worry about now is figuring out which card it is. Madison, did you notice anything strange in Monticello?"

Madison thought hard. "Nothing I can think of."

"Any changes in weather?" Sakura suggested.

That set off a light bulb in Madison's head. "Now that you mention it, it was pretty windy out there. Even INSIDE the mansion, I could feel strong winds."

"It can't be a Wind Card," Sakura thought. "Clow Reed already had a Wind Card, didn't he, Kero?"

"There may be a possibility that Clow Reed created a second set of the four element cards," Kero answered. "If that's the case, then there's a Water, Earth, and Fire Card somewhere, too."

"That's not a good sign," Sakura moaned. "Those element cards were tough to battle."

"I know what you mean," Madison added. "Remember your first fight with the Water Card?"

Sakura thought back to that day eight years ago. She was forced to choose two allies out of the first three cards she captured. It was a tough fight in the aquarium. Luckily, she managed to use the Fly Card to lure the Water Card into a waiting freezer. Then by unleashing Windy, the Water Card was left a frozen block of ice.

"Then there was the 2nd Wind Card," Madison continued.

Sakura recalled what happened to her five years ago. Back in the seventh grade, when the 2nd Cards had been released, another Wind Card waited for Sakura. What made things worse was that she had to fight it in a leg cast. That fight took a lot out of her.

"It won't be that way this time," Sakura said confidently. "I can seal it. I won't let this Wind Card throw me around like some rag doll."

"You can do it, Sakura," Li said optimistically. "And if you need any help, I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Li," Sakura smiled. "I might need it."

There was nothing left to do. All that was left was to wait for nightfall.

Kevin Carter was waiting impatiently. It was obvious that Agent Cole didn't know what he was doing. He spent hours looking through the Oval Office finding nothing. More and more, this started to seem like a waste of Carter's time.

Finally, Cole stood straight. "I have found…nothing."

"You're a real pro, aren't you?" Carter grinned sarcastically. Just then, his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and answered. "Carter. What's up, Chris?"

"How's the 'covert' investigation going, Carter?"

"Man, he ain't found nothing," Carter sneered. "I don't know where this is supposed to lead us. Secret Service has to have looked through this place about ten times over. There ain't nothing new here."

"Maybe I can help out. I managed to take that tape and make out two 8 X 10's. They should be useful."

Carter chuckled. "You're the man, Chris. We'll be back there as soon as I can drag Mr. CIA out of here."

"I'll be waiting, Chris. I'll see you later."

"Not if I see you first." Carter hung up his phone and tapped Cole on the shoulder. He was still looking by the broken window. "Get up, Cole. We got something back at headquarters. Let's go."

Cole breathed heavily. "They've been here. But they've moved on. I can feel it."

"Whatever, man," Carter scoffed. "Let's just go."

Hopefully, these 8 X 10's would do some good. If these two kids were such a threat to national security like Cole said, then there wasn't any time to waste. Of course, Carter wasn't ready to buy this whole story just yet. Two kids threatening national security sounded so…bizarre. But Carter was FBI. He had to take every potential threat seriously…no matter how strange it sounded.

Sakura, with wand in hand, peeked through the bush to see the two guards positioned by the Monticello gate. Just like with the other guards patrolling the gate, she knew what she had to do. She took out the Sleep Card again.

"Sleep Card! Release!"

The Sleep Card released pollen into the air that fell over the guards. Just like in DC, the Sleep Card worked potently. Sakura snuck out of the bush and waved an arm in front of the guards. They were out like a light.

"They're asleep!" Sakura called out.

Having heard that, Li, Madison, and Meilin came out of the bush and towards the gate.

"That's going to make things a lot easier," Li said in relief.

Meilin grinned. "Even if they were to wake up right now, it shouldn't be hard for Avalon to blend in. Am I right, Sakura?"

Sakura looked at herself again. Madison had done it again. The black vest she gave her was something out of a riot squad. The only difference was the short black skirt…which didn't work too well for Sakura in this cold December weather. Still, all she needed was a shield and a helmet and she could pass off as a part of the riot squad.

"Let's just hurry up," Sakura said dryly. "I'm freezing my tail off…literally."

They all climbed over the fence, since the gate wasn't open. They walked onto the Monticello lawn and Sakura stopped. She never noticed how beautiful this mansion looked at night from this view. Apparently, Madison couldn't resist, either. She already had her camera out and had it pointed at Sakura.

"This is such a great shot," Madison squealed. "Taping you with the mansion in the background is so perfect!"

Sakura stood still for a moment to let Madison capture this scene, but then she started to sense the next card. She was getting closer. She started running to the point the Vision Card took her. She went to the back of the mansion and stood by the plantation. And what a plantation it was. It was huge.

By the time, everyone caught up to Sakura, the winds started to get stronger. Sakura nearly felt like she was about to be blown away. Then she realized why. The Wind Card was flying right by her, in the form of a big white eagle. It flew out into the plantation.

"It went in the fields," Sakura said. "But I don't see it."

"You'll have to flush it out, Sakura," Kero suggested. "This plantation looks like its about 5,000 acres."

The fields were vast, but Sakura knew of one way to flush this card out. She took out the Vision Card.

"Vision Card! Reveal the Wind Card from its hiding place! Release and dispel! Vision Card!"

The fields before Sakura suddenly disappeared. They weren't gone, but they were no longer visible. The only thing Sakura could see now was the ground…and the Wind Card ducking behind what Sakura assumed was a tree. She could see the Wind Card, but it couldn't see her. This was a perfect opportunity, so she walked over to Li.

"Back me up in case something goes wrong," she whispered to him. "I think I can seal it now."

Sakura carefully stepped forward. It was tough, since she couldn't see any of the grass in front of her. All she could see was the Wind Card. To clear her view, she recalled Vision. Now she saw the big field and three trees. The Wind Card was behind the center one. She kept moving forward…until…

**SNAP**

…She stepped on a twig.

The Wind Card screeched and fierce winds began to blow. Sakura felt like she was about to be blown away. So she took out the Vine Card.

"Vine Card! Hold me in place! Release and dispel! Vine!"

A pair of vines rose out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Sakura's ankles. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Sakura fell backwards. The Wind Card tried to move in, but Li came swooping in with his sword.

"Force, know my plight! Release the light! Lightning!"

A lightning bolt struck the base of the tree behind the Wind Card. The tree started to fall over, but the Wind Card got out of the way. Then Sakura cringed as the tree landed. Li didn't think that plan out too well, because the tree landed on top of an old shack, leaving it in pieces.

"This is not the way to be inconspicuous," Kero groaned. "Where'd the Wind Card go?"

"It's up there!" Li shouted.

Sakura looked up on the roof of the Monticello mansion. The Wind Card was perched up there, continuing to blow. Sakura had the Vine Card wrap itself around her waist and hoist her up to the roof. As she faced the Wind Card, she didn't let the Vine Card loosen. It would make a good bungee cord for this situation.

The Wind Card began to screech and let out furious winds. Just as she thought, the winds started to blow Sakura off the roof. Now Sakura was literally hanging over the ground. The Vine Card had saved her. Now hopefully, it could help her.

"Vine! Restrain the Wind Card!"

More vines began to rise from the ground. They flew up over the roof and went straight for the eagle-like Wind Card. The vines wrapped themselves around each of the Wind Card's wings and talons. The vine wrapped around Sakura's waist moved her forward through the ferocious winds. She withstood the power of the winds and held her wand out.

"Wind Card! Return to your power confined! Wind Card!"

When Sakura opened her eyes, the winds had stopped. The Wind Card was now in her hand. She had the Vine Card put her back on the ground before recalling it.

"That was a tough battle," Li conceded. "You did good, Sakura."

Sakura didn't say anything…until she turned to the broken shack. "You…don't think anyone will notice, do you?"

"I hope not," Li said sheepishly.

Meilin took his arm. "Don't beat yourself up, Li. It was…an accident."

"Just the same, I think we should leave before everybody wakes up," Sakura said.

"It could have been worse," Madison admitted. "We could have ended up destroying a historic mansion. At least I could get a good shot. Smile, Sakura"

Sakura grinned into the camera as Madison continued filming her. It was safe to say that Sakura would end up leaving the United States with a lot of memories.

It was nice to see the mood had lightened, because…Sakura had no idea where to go next.


Author's Note: At the making of this, I hoped to only repeat the four element cards. But when I saw yesterday's episode of Cardcaptors (What a coincidence), I saw that there was already a Clow Sleep. D'oh! That'll be the only other repeat, I assure you.


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below.