Author's Note: Last time, Sakura rushed in headfirst without waiting for her friends and was ambushed by the Split Card. Li and Madison had a heart-to-heart with Sakura's compassion before getting attacked by Sakura's rage. So after knocking out Sakura's rage, everyone heads back to the Great Salt Lake State Park.


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


CCS: The American Cards: Part 22


The Great Salt Lake State Park was empty and the moon was shining down on the Great Salt Lake. It looked absolutely beautiful and it was the kind of moment he wanted to share with Sakura…if she were whole, that is. Li had to do something to get the Split Card. Meilin was getting tired of holding Sakura's rage, whose arms were tied up with the Chain Card. And Madison was busy holding onto Kero…and her camera. Of course, Li didn't even know what he was looking for.

"Do you remember what the Split Card looked like?"

Sakura's compassion, walking along timidly and holding the sealing wand, shook her head. "I'm…sorry. I don't remember. All I remember was waking up right next to…my rage over there."

"So how do we know what we're looking for?" Meilin grunted, trying to hold back Sakura's rage.

"There may be one way," Kero thought. "Sakura…uh, you Sakura…use the Memory Card."

The brighter Sakura searched her pockets and found the Memory Card. "Memory Card! Show me the last time I was in Salt Lake! Memory! Release and dispel!"

Li waited a few moments as Sakura's compassion looked stoically out into space. She was being shown the memories of a few hours ago when she was ambushed. Soon, Li would know what to look for. The brighter Sakura then shook her head.

She looked at Li. "It's…a walking hourglass."

"A walking hourglass?"

Sakura's rage sneered. "Took you long enough to figure it out!"

"Can we get this over with?" Meilin added. "She's really starting to annoy me!"

"We will as soon as we find what we're looking for," Li answered. He took out the Lasin Board. "Source of Light! With ancient spin! Send forth the magic! Power within! Force, know my plight! Release the light!"

The Lasin Board pointed directly into the Great Salt Lake. It had to be inside. So Li threw his hat off and his sword down and…

"Li, NO!!"

…despite Meilin and Madison's protests, dove into the lake. Li looked in front of him to see the hourglass that Sakura was referring to. It was the Split Card. He swam straight for it and grabbed hold of it. The Split Card then started to surface. When it did, Li tried to catch his breath as the Split Card climbed out of the lake.

But when the Split Card got back on solid ground, Meilin got overzealous. She left Sakura's rage and went straight for the Split Card and kicked it back into the lake. While it bought Li some time to get back onto shore, he couldn't believe Meilin left Sakura's rage unguarded. And sure enough, Sakura's rage, with her arms tied up by the Chain Card, went right after Madison and shoulder-tackled her.

"HEY!" Kero shouted. "A little help?!"

Seeing the mistake she made, Meilin went over to restrain Sakura's rage, while the Split Card took that opportunity to try and make a clean getaway. Li was barely getting out of the lake and couldn't stop it. But it was Sakura's compassion who intercepted it.

"You're not leaving!" she shouted. "I want to be whole again!"

The Split Card sidestepped Sakura and passed her. But Sakura wouldn't let it get away. She quickly took out the Earth Card.

"Earth Card! Create a big wall! Release and dispel! Earth Card!"

The Split Card had an open path, until it crashed right into a stone wall created by the Earth Card. Li had to admit that was a good move. Of course, the hardest part was coming. Li could see that Meilin was still struggling with Sakura's rage, who was desperately trying to lunge towards Madison. Both halves had to be bound when the Split Card was sealed, so Li had to move fast.

"Meilin!" he called out. "Move her towards the other Sakura! I'll hold the Split Card!"

Meilin groaned. "Easy for you to say."

Li ran over to the Split Card grabbed the top of it. It was strong, though. It tried to get up. It got to its feet and had Li on its back. Li jumped off its back and prepped his sword.

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

Li swung his sword around and lit a fire right in front of the Split Card. It was now surrounded by the fire, the wall…and Li. It couldn't get away now. But the Split Card still couldn't be taken down. There was one thing missing.

"MEILIN!! HURRY UP!!"

"You try doing this, Li!!" Meilin snapped. She continued to wrestle with Sakura's rage. Even chained up, Sakura's rage could still put up quite a fight. It disturbed Li. Was Sakura THAT mad at him? Then he thought of what a stupid question that was.

That's when Sakura's compassion tried to do something. She took a big risk and recalled the Chain Card.

Li gasped as it happened. "Sakura, NO!"

Loose of its chain, Sakura's rage tried to jump for Madison, but Meilin had her by the ankle. She was persistent. Then Li saw what Sakura's compassion was trying to do. She walked over to her rage and took out the Chain Card again.

"Chain Card! Bind us together! Chain Card! Release and dispel!"

A large chain came out and tied the two halves of Sakura by the waist. While Sakura's rage had her arms bound, the arms of Sakura's compassion were loose and holding the sealing wand. She tried to walk towards the Split Card, but the rage was resisting. Sakura's compassion looked back.

"You want this just as much as I do," she said. "Please…let's just end this so we can be whole again."

Sakura's rage took a cold glance at Madison, then Li. Then she hung her head down. It looked like she was finally cooperating. The two halves of Sakura walked passed Li and up to the surrounded Split Card. Sakura's compassion held out the wand.

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

While the Split Card was being sealed, a bright light lit up. Li briefly covered his eyes until the light was cleared. Then Li looked in front of him to see that both halves of Sakura were reunited. Sakura was one again. Li quickly ran up to her and embraced her in a huge hug. Unfortunately, much to Li's dismay, Sakura didn't return the hug. Li broke the hug and looked Sakura in the eye. She looked…sad.

"Sakura…?" he began.

"Please," Sakura said sadly. "Let's just go."

Sakura tried to walk out, but Li would have none of it. He held her arm and looked into her emerald green eyes.

"Sakura…are you all right?"

"I'm…just getting over this," she answered.

"Sakura?" Kero suddenly asked. He had found his way into Sakura's pocket. "I know we must sound like a broken record by now, but…can you please forgive us?"

Sakura didn't say anything. She just glanced over at Madison and called her over. When Madison came over, there was another period of silence.

Finally, Sakura broke that silence. "Do you have your camera with you, Madison?"

Madison nodded and took out her camera. Sakura motioned for Madison to turn it on and she did.

Sakura cleared her throat. "I didn't think I'd be looking into the camera and thinking about…well, this. But I knew that after all that's happened, I've had some time to think. I pretty much remember everything I've experienced from my rage and my compassion.

"I remember my compassion doing what I, as a whole, couldn't. I actually started to listen to my friends. And when I heard their reasons for doing what they did, I didn't know what to think. It kind of made me feel good because I know they didn't do it to deliberately hurt me.

"But then I remember my rage and I think to myself…they should never have kissed each other in the first place. Even if they didn't mean to hurt me, they never should have done it. But I've gone on about a week without them, and I can honestly say that life hasn't been the same and I know they feel the same way. I want more than anything to forgive them…but it's just so hard. Trust is a very fragile thing. I don't want to get hurt again.

"So I'm using this time to say this: I'm not ready to forgive just yet. I can't go on like nothing ever happened. But I must also remember that these are my friends…and they didn't mean to hurt me. I'm so confused right now. That's why I need some more time to sort out my feelings. But there's an old saying that time heals all wounds." Sakura walked over to Li…and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I just hope that's true."

Without saying anything more, Sakura started to walk away. She was probably going back to the hotel and didn't want to wait for anybody. Holding back a cry of frustration, Li looked over at Madison.

"You really think she'll forgive us?"

Madison looked over at Sakura, who had disappeared out of sight. "She will, eventually."

Sakura sighed as she waited at the bus depot. Li and Meilin were buying the tickets and that left Sakura alone with Madison. A day had passed since she became whole again, and this day felt so different. Sakura looked over at her friend and for the first time in more than a week, she didn't feel complete and utter contempt. Sakura was actually starting to feel…good again.

Madison wasn't, though, and Sakura knew why. She was in fear of losing her best friend and, for a while, Sakura feared the same thing. But after all that's happened, Sakura was beginning to feel that her friends were heartily sorry for what they had done. Sakura didn't want to be mad at them anymore. It wasn't worth it.

That's when Sakura decided that it was time to forgive. But she didn't want to say anything now. She wanted to tell them all at once. So she would wait until she reached her next destination.

And that's when a big Hispanic man, about 250 pounds, sat next to them. He smiled at Sakura and tipped his hat. "How you doing? Are we waiting for the same bus?"

"Maybe," Sakura answered. "Which one are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for a bus back to Chicago," he replied. "I'm Johnny. Where are two young girls like yourselves heading to?"

"We're…on our way to Phoenix," Madison told him. "We're just waiting for a few of our friends."

"Oh, is this the bus to Phoenix?" Johnny asked. "I'm in the wrong place. What am I thinking? I'd better go before I miss my bus." He got up and tipped his hat again. "I'll see you around."

After Johnny left, Sakura heard a bus approaching. As soon as the bus came, Li and Meilin came running with the bus tickets.

"What took you guys?" Madison asked.

"Some big guy!" Meilin snapped. "He had a big hat on and had to be at least twice our size. He said something about finding a bus to Chicago."

Sakura shook her head. Maybe it was best she didn't say anything.

"The funny thing is, he wanted to know where we were going," Li continued. "Or I don't know. Maybe he's just a social kind of guy."

Sakura walked next to Meilin. "You can tell me more on the bus."

It looked like Li and Madison were still feeling down when they looked at Sakura. Sakura could even hear Kero sigh from under Li's hat. But they were still thinking Sakura was mad at them. That wasn't the case anymore.

And they would know that soon enough.

Carter continued driving aimlessly west. Cole heard something about the suspects heading out west, but it wasn't known where. And when Carter told Cole about the 'connections' he was using, he was less than thrilled. Of course, Carter used the only excuse he knew. These guys were more covert than any group of guys he knew and Carter and Cole NEEDED the help.

Things stayed quiet, though. There were no more leads and Carter wanted to pack it in. He was just waiting for his phone to ring so he could hear that this mission had been aborted. There was no such luck. But just then, Carter's phone did ring.

And he eagerly picked it up. "This is Carter."

"How you doin' Carter?"

Carter didn't recognize this voice. "Who is this?"

"It's one of Andre's boys, Johnny. I heard you're looking for two kids?"

"Four kids," Carter clarified. His hopes were starting to go up. "It's just two with pictures. Why do you ask?"

"I found them. They're getting on a bus to Phoenix."

"YES!" Carter shouted. "Look, I don't care what you guys have to do, do anything, but get everybody you know in Phoenix to keep an eye out. If they leave, I want to know. Remember, Andre owes me one, so you'd better do this right!"

"Wait…ANYTHING?"

Carter quickly backtracked. "Well…anything legal. Do whatever you have to, but keep an eye on them. And that means having guys patrolling the bus depot."

"That's it? The bus depot?"

"We have to be inconspicuous, don't we?"

"I guess so. I hope this is worth it."

"Andre will make it worth it. Just get it done."

That's when the phone hung up. Carter chuckled nonchalantly and looked at his 'partner', giving a quick half-smile.

"We got something."


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