Author's Note: WOW! What a last chapter! I almost can't believe I wrote that! I didn't think I had that in me! So this is the aftermath. What happens now? Where does everyone go from here?


Cards captured so far: Vision, Heat, Vine, Bell, Sleep, Wind, Angel, Sludge, Multiple, Silence, Smoke, Memory, Chain, Fire, and Tornado


CCS: The American Cards: Part 19


Sakura didn't sleep a wink the night before. Indeed, she would remember the Alamo, but for all the wrong reasons. The night before, Sakura discovered something that nearly destroyed her life as she knew it. Her boyfriend…and her best friend…kissed. It was the ultimate betrayal. No matter what they told her, Sakura would never forgive either of them…or Kero for keeping this secret from her. Sakura had only one friend now, and that was Meilin.

But pretty soon, Sakura wouldn't even have her, because Meilin was getting on her nerves. She repeatedly kept asking Sakura what happened until she finally gave in and told her. Meilin definitely looked hurt, too. She knew Li better than anybody and was even obsessed with him. To hear that he did this left Meilin uneasy. Sakura felt the same way. She had unceremoniously kicked the three people she loved most out of her life and she even told Li, the love of her life, that she hated him.

No! Li was the FORMER love of her life. She could never forgive him for what he did. She kept repeating that to herself as she got on the bus. Madison left Sakura her usual seat, but Sakura walked past her. Madison stood up, looking hurt.

"Sakura…please…I saved you your seat."

"No, Madison," Sakura growled. "You can sit next to Li, but don't think we're talking to each other anymore, because we're not. You're not my friend anymore!"

Sakura continued walking by and sat next to Meilin who was still looking on in shock. She was the spectator in this whole thing. Then Li came on the bus and looked for his usual seat, finding it occupied by Sakura.

"Uh…Sakura…" Li began.

"Oh, you need a seat, don't you?" Sakura muttered bitingly. "Well, why don't you go sit next to Madison, since you two are so close?"

Then Kero stuck his head out of Li's hat. "Uh…Sakura? I think you might have forgotten about me back there. But…"

"I didn't forget!" Sakura snapped. "Just stay away from me! Both of you!"

Li had so much he wanted to say, but there were too many people around. He could already see some staring at them, especially upon hearing a voice coming from Li's hat. So he reluctantly walked over to what used to be Sakura's seat…next to Madison.

Carter looked out the car window for a few minutes. He couldn't believe he was about to go through with this. He just grumbled to himself as he looked at the back alley of the local Nashville Laundromat.

"Are you getting out or not?" Cole growled. "What are we even doing here, anyway?"

"Man, sit there and shut up," Carter snapped. "I have some…business to handle. Wait here. I won't be long."

Cole grabbed a hold of Carter's arm before he got out. "You'd better not be wasting my time. Those four could be halfway across the country. They MUST be found. So HURRY UP!"

Carter shook off Cole's grip and mumbled to himself again. This CIA guy was complaining to him about wasted time. Carter still didn't believe this story a hundred percent. Sure, these kids were sighted inside the Oval Office, but they looked to be fighting off that creature. But Carter was FBI. He had to do what he was told.

So in an effort to further this search, Carter walked into the back door of the Laundromat. As soon as he got in, he found his target. He was a suave looking individual in a black suit and sunglasses. He looked to be a very prosperous man, but Carter knew where this guy got his riches. Carter walked over to him. When the guy's lackey's pointed their guns, Carter held up his badge.

"If you know what's good for you, then you'll put the guns down!" Carter told the lackeys. The cronies put their guns down and Carter looked at the man in the suit, giving a cocky smirk. "How's it going, Andre? Remember your old friend, Carter?"

"You've got a lot of nerve coming up in here, Carter," Andre snarled. "What makes you think I won't have any of my boys blow you away right now?"

"Because we're buddies," Carter said nonchalantly. "You wouldn't take me down. We're tight."

"Same old Carter," Andre grinned. "Always so sure of yourself. So what brings you here?"

"It's time to collect on that debt," Carter said bluntly. "I need your help."

"Debt?" Andre scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, you don't?" the cocky Carter asked in fake shock. "Well I'll give you a few reasons to help me out. Number one is right…here." Carter reached into Andre's breast pocket and took out a joint. "Marijuana? I should bust you for this alone. But that's not why I'm sure you'll help me." Carter's demeanor turned serious. "You remember June 30, 1999?"

Andre moaned as he took off his sunglasses. "Why do you got to go there, Carter? You know how I feel about that day."

"Then you do remember," Carter continued. "Your mama's heart attack? Who drove her to the hospital? That's right, it was me. I did it because we're tight. We've been tight since we were kids."

"Sounds like you did it for a favor," Andre growled. "All right. What do you want?"

"I need to find some people," Carter explained. "FBI's being stubborn and won't help any of us out. There's some CIA chump out there who wants this to stay a secret because he thinks it'll cause a panic. But I know somebody who can help AND keep this under wraps. I need your boys on the lookout, Andre. I know they're out all over the country and they can help me better than anyone else can right now. So what do you say?"

"All right," Andre agreed. "Who you looking for? International terrorist? Colombian drug dealer? Mob leader? The guy that fixed the World Series?"

Carter held up the two pictures of the Japanese girl and the Chinese boy. "These two."

Andre snickered. "You…you're joking, right?"

"Wish I was," Carter sighed. "But these two and their two friends are supposedly threatening national security. In my case, though, they're the only ones standing between me and a three-week vacation. So help me this one time, and we'll call the debt even. I'll even forget I caught you with this joint."

"You weren't planning on keeping it, were you?" Andre grinned.

"Of course not," Carter said, before pocketing it. "You got my number, right?"

"I'll call you," Andre sighed. "I just have to think of something to tell the guys. They'll be wondering why Andre's looking for a couple of kids."

"Tell them it's for a friend," Carter suggested. "And if that doesn't work, then tell them you'll get a shipment if you find them. I don't know. Think of something."

Carter didn't let Andre get another word in edgewise. He just walked out of the back alley. It was done. Andre had people all over the country. It wouldn't be long before these kids were found and Carter could get this over with. Of course, he'd still have to keep it a secret from Cole…for now.

Li looked despondently outside the bus's window. This was the worst thing in the world…to have Sakura mad at him…no…to have Sakura HATE him. Maybe that's why he hadn't even looked at Madison since he sat down. He could also sense that she hadn't looked his way, either. Of course, maybe there was another reason Li and Madison didn't look at each other.

Or so that's what Kero thought. "Ok…I'm sensing there's still a little tension. Seeing each other naked can do that to a person. But we've got worse problems. So will you two GET OVER IT?!"

Li slowly turned his head to look at Madison and Madison did the same. Li was very cautious at first and made sure to look her DIRECTLY in the face and Madison did the same thing. They were still nervous about…what they saw.

"Ok, this won't be as easy as I hoped," Kero admitted. "At least TRY to get over it. Because you two have to think about the most important person in all of this."

Li sighed as he came to the realization. "Sakura."

"We really messed up," Madison said sadly.

"Actually…you two messed up," Kero shook his head. "I'm only in this mess because this Chinese brat squealed on me."

"Squealed?!" Li repeated irately. Then he calmed himself. "Ok…maybe I did squeal. I shouldn't have gotten into this, Kero."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about that now," Kero growled. "Of course, like I said before, this isn't about me. This isn't about any of us. It's about Sakura. We really hurt her and we're gonna have to do something huge to make it up to her."

"How do we make up for this, though?" Madison asked hopelessly.

Kero looked over at Li. "We're forgetting the most important detail in all this. She thinks you two are together. That's why she feels so betrayed. Sakura doesn't think you love her."

"But I DO," Li said firmly.

"You have to prove it to her!" Kero told Li. "Sakura has to see that you love her and nobody else. I'm sure she doesn't hate you, Li. She really loves you, more than anything in the world. But she's not sure if you love her." Then Kero looked at Madison. "You're…going to be a little tougher. Even if Li and Sakura get back together, she won't be as willing to forgive you. Sakura probably thinks you started this."

"No…" Madison cried out. "I didn't mean to do it. I love Sakura. I would never do anything to hurt her."

"Yet you did," Kero continued. "So you have to show Sakura that you'd never hurt her like this again. You two have been friends for at least 15 years. You can't let something like this break you up. To have a friendship die because of a misunderstanding sounds so…wrong. The only thing I suggest is to give this time. Sakura has to wait and see that her life would never be the same without your friendship. Then…you ask her to forgive you."

Madison rested her chin on her hands. "I don't know if I can wait that long."

"We have to," Kero said. "There's no other choice. Sakura isn't willing to listen to any of us right now. She might not be for a while. I hope she does soon, though. Because this might not be the worst consequence in all this."

"What could be any worse than this?" Li asked indignantly.

"If Sakura keeps hunting the American Cards with this…rage, then she might do something rash," Kero answered. "She probably won't trust either of us, even in the heat of battle. She'll probably do something stupid like…try to take these cards by herself."

Li cringed at that thought. If Sakura tried to fight the American Cards alone, she would be overwhelmed. She would need help, but with all that's happened, she might be stubborn to accept it. The repercussions of what Li had done were seemingly increasing. Just how bad could it continue to get?

And how long would it be until Sakura forgives him?

Sakura looked out the bus window. It didn't look like the bus was going to stop anytime soon. Things were definitely a lot quieter now without anyone to talk to. Well, there was one person to talk to. The lone spectator in all this, Meilin, was sitting right next to Sakura and she hadn't said a word…

…until now. "Sakura?"

"What is it, Meilin?"

"What happened?"

Meilin knew very well what happened. But she was obviously trying to get a word out of Sakura.

"I don't want to talk about it," Sakura moaned.

"Come on, Sakura," Meilin coaxed. "I couldn't get anything out of Li. And from what I can see, I'm probably your only friend left. So come on. Tell me. What happened?"

Sakura sighed at that thought. Meilin was probably right. "I walked in on Li and Madison. I heard Madison say something about…kissing Li. When I asked about it…they didn't deny it. They confessed it. And Kero kept this whole thing from me. They actually thought they could hide it from me."

Meilin was in a state of shock. "Wait a minute. Tell me again, because it didn't sink in the first time. You mean Li…and Madison Taylor…kissed?"

Sakura only nodded. There was nothing else to say.

"I still can't believe it," Meilin continued. "I never thought something like this would break you two up. I always thought it would be something else, but nothing like this."

That rang a bell in Sakura's head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you mean?"

"That! Did you always think that I would break up with Li?"

"To be honest…yeah. I don't know why, but…I never believed that you two belonged together. You…and Li…just didn't make sense to me. Of course, I never imagined that something like this would happen."

"I'll never forgive them," Sakura said, her voice choked up. "I can't forgive them, not after this."

"Sakura…you can't just carry this hatred with you, can you?"

Sakura thought about this. She wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge. But this was a different situation. Things wouldn't be the same after this. But could she really withhold this hatred for possibly her whole life?

"Maybe."


Author's Note: A good lead in to the next few chapters. What happens next? What happens when it's time to look for the next American Card? And where IS the next card, anyway? Come back to find out.


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