Illusions of Love ~ Chapter 2
The Power of an Angel
"Hoe?" Sakura bolted upright and became entangled in her sheets. "I haven't had a dream like that for a while." She ran her fingers through her tangled hair, smoothing it out of her face and stumbled out of her bed.
"Kero-chan?" She asked, poking the sleeping beast. "Wake up." She whispered. The seal beast slowly awoke and yawned.
"Why are you awake?" He asked, rubbing his eyes with his paws.
"I had a dream." She answered, pulling on her robe. She crept downstairs, Kero following closely behind her.
"What was it about this time?" He asked, hovering just above her right shoulder. He watched as Sakura turned on the kitchen tap and grabbed a glass.
"It was strange, Kero-chan. Some of the Sakura Cards disappeared and with people and a strange, shadowy person helped me transform my staff to the master staff. It was very weird." She filled the glass with cold water and gulped down half the glass.
"The Sakura Cards? Aren't they in the Clow?
"Yes, all but the Hope card." She set down the empty glass and leaned against the counter "you think the dream means something?"
"Could be. We should check the Clow and see if something is wrong. Besides, your dreams usually mean something."
"Okay." She answered and crept back upstairs making sure that she didn't wake any of her family members. She carefully shut the door to her room and moved to the drawer where the Clow was kept. She slide the door open and pulled out the Hope and the Clow.
"All right, now open the book." Kero said, impatiently.. He sat next to the Clow on her desk and waited.
Sakura gingerly un-latched the lock and opened the heavy cover.
"Hoee!?" Was Sakura's reaction when she looked inside. Kero spazed out.
"They're gone!" Sakura yelped. She stepped back away from the drawer, unable to come up with a logical explanation for the disappearance of twenty-five Sakura Cards.
"This is not good." Was all Kero could say. Sakura could tell he was deeply worried but was unable to help him. Her only clues as to how the cards had disappeared without a trace was her unusual dream and The Hope.
"What am I going to do?" She wondered.
Kero dropped to the floor and tried to transform to his true form but he found he couldn't. "Firey and Earth are gone." He said, frowning.
Sakura shuffled through the deck, looking for the missing cards.
"Tell Yue." Kero said sternly. He flew to the widow and beckoned Sakura to follow. She speedily got dressed and followed Kero to the windowsill.
"Key that hold the power of darkness. Grant your true form unto me. This by our contract, Sakura commands you, RELEASE!"
Sakura watched as her staff elongated and transformed to its true form. "Fly!" She commanded. The card obliged and gave her a set of silvery, pale pink wings. She jumped from the sill and took off with Kero into the night air.
"Yue!" She called, landing a short distance in front of Yukito's house.
"Sakura?" Came his sleepy voice. He appeared at the window and looked down at her.
"Yukito! I need to speak to Yue!" She called, retracting her wings. Her voice was beginning to become hysterical. She needed to speak to Yue quickly.
"Yue?" He asked as if he did not understand. A brilliant light surrounded him and he changed to his true form.
"What is the matter, Sakura?" He asked, searching her first for an explanation.
"The Sakura Cards...." She started "Some of them...are gone!" She rushed to him and hugged his waist. He stroked her hair and comforted her.
"It's all right" He said "but tell me, when did they notice that they were missing?"
"Right before I came here." She trembled and sniffed back her tears.
"That's right" Kero said.
"How come you're in that form, Cerberus?" Yue asked an angry, confused Kero. The beast hovered half-heartedly above Yue's left shoulder and frowned at the comment.
"The power cards have disappeared." He said shortly.
Yue frowned. "I'll get the details later. Sakura, you should tell everyone associated with the cards about this. Including Eriol. Meanwhile...I'm confused.."
Sakura looked up at Yue. "You mean you can't help?"
"Not right now anyway." He said. "My power has decreased and Cerberus and I... Our.. Well.. Our powers have diminished. We are of no use to you."
"But you are of use! You guide me! I still don't know a lot about the cards and magic. Please help me!" She pleaded.
"We'll help you when we can." Yue said and disappeared into the dark house.
"He's right, Sakura" Kero said. We'll help you when we can."
"I hope you're right, Kero-chan. I really hope you're right." Sakura sighed as she once again called upon Fly. The vibrant wings shone in the moonlight as she took off into the air.
'Yue didn't help me and neither did Kero-chan' Sakura thought. She looked over her shoulder to see a worried Cerberus flying closely behind her. 'Maybe Syaoran and Eriol will be more help.'
Her wings shrank as she landed on her windowsill. She crawled back thought the window and hung her robe on the end of her bed. Kero landed on the desk and paced back on forth buried in thought. Sakura then crawled into her bed. As she fell asleep she heard Kero muttering as he paced.
"I'll talk to Syaoran tomorrow." She murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
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"What's going on here?" Sakura asked, her voice echoing in the darkness. She blinked twice, trying to adjust her eyes to the pitch black. Suddenly a blinding light filled the area. She shielded her eyes against the light. When the light finally dimmed down, she found herself surrounded by twenty-five people, faces hidden in shadows as the light contrasted against the dark. The magic circle appeared under foot, the people forming a perfect ring around her. Each person glowed with an aura of a different power and a card appeared in front of him or her. Sakura tried her best to make out what cards were shown but she was unsuccessful. All but one of the people grabbed their card and walked in the opposite direction. The remaining person grasped their card and was surrounded by a pale blue light and the card transformed into a sword. The person then walked off, the sword resting lightly on their shoulder.
"Wait!"Sakura screamed. She reached for the Time card but found it to be missing.
"Syaoran!" She shrieked. A shadowy figure appeared in front of her and grasped her hand. As he did, his hood fell off to revel Syaoran's mass of brown hair. He pulled the Key of the Clow from her hand and placed it between his hands. Sakura found herself instinctively grasping his hands as well. The key began to glow and they both let go. The key glimmered and took its new shape.
"The master staff" He said and walked away. Sakura raced off to try and catch up with him. She grasped wildly at his cloak only to come up with nothing.
"Help me!" She yelped hoarsely. She felt herself become confused and lost. "Someone help me!" She gasped. The darkness began to overcome the light and it crept up to Sakura. She was surrounded. The darkness washed over her and she fell into nothing..
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"Syaoran, wait up!" Sakura cried running after him. She collapsed to her knees to catch her breath.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" He asked her, helping her to her feet.
"Sakura Cards...missing...Kero-chan...Yue...no help" She panted as Syaoran helped her up."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down and explain!" Syaoran exclaimed. Sakura panted and caught her breath before she explained anything.
"The Sakura Cards went missing. Yue and Kero-chan are no help to this situation and the only people left that can help me are you and Eriol."
"Nani?" Came Tomoyo's voice. She rounded the corner of the wall and joined Sakura and Syaoran. Sakura sighed and explained the situation once again. Tomoyo nodded and she and Syaoran exchanged glances.
"So what are we going to do?" Sakura asked her face covered with a worried expression and her mind filled with persistent and fearful thoughts.
"Why don't you call Hiiragizawa-kun?" Tomoyo asked, imputing her opinion on the situation. "Since he's half of Clow Reed, he should have an idea or some information that could be of some use." She pulled Sakura's portable phone from her backpack. Sakura was about to dial his number in England when the phone rang.
'Oh great.' Sakura thought. 'Now I'll have to deal with this call before I can handle the problem. Hopefully it's not Oniisan. If it is I'll give him a piece of my mind.' "Moshi-moshi?" She asked, half expecting to hear her brother voice.
"Sakura-chan...Long time, ne?" Sakura instantly recognised the voice."
"Hiiragizawa-kun?" She asked, surprised. "I was just going to call you."
"I know. And I know why you were going to. Problem's with the Sakura Cards?" He didn't sound that worried.
"Yes, you knew?" Sakura knew that he often knew things before they actually happened but she didn't realise that he still used his magic.
"Of course. And the answer to your questions are; no I don't know why this is happening, no I can't really help but I'll try, and yes, you'll just have to defeat the powers when they appear."
"Great, that helps" She said sarcastically. "How are you suppose to help when you're in England?" She asked, changing her tone of voice.
"Oh, didn't Tomoyo tell you? I'm coming back to Tomoeda."
Sakura looked up in disbelief. Tomoyo sweat dropped and shot her own 'I-didn't-do-any-thing-wrong' look. "I -was- going to mention it...eventually"
Sakura and Syaoran fell over anime style and Sakura heard Eriol laugh at the other end of the phone. "I guess she didn't then. Oh well, I'll be there in a few days. I hope nothing severe happens while I'm not there."
"I hope so to, Hiiragizawa-kun. We'll see you when you come. Ja ne."
"Ja ne Sakura-chan."
Sakura hung up the phone. "Well, it looks like we're on our own for the next few days." She said, tossing the phone back in her bag.
"We can handle...Can't we?" Syaoran asked taking hold of Sakura's hand as they started to walk.
"Of course. Sakura-chan can handle anything" Tomoyo said as she caught up with Sakura and Syaoran. She had a dreamy sort of look in her eyes, as if she wasn't really paying attention to anything else.
"Let's hope" Syaoran said. "This may prove to be more of a challenge than anything else."
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"Augh!" Sakura said, frustrated. She slammed her head against her math textbook and groaned. "I -really- need some sleep.."
"Did you say you need something to eat? Because I sure do!" Kero exclaimed as he zoomed around the corner to land on her bed in front of her.
Sakura looked up from her textbook through tousled hair and groaned as she sweat dropped. "Why couldn't you have lost your appetite? You're a real pain. You do realise that, don't you?"
"Maybe...but I will never lose my appetite! I am Cerberus! The Seal Best of the Clow! The..."
"The flying-rat-who-reminds-me-ever-so-much-of-Yamazaki-and-that-will-eventually-burst-from-too-many-sweets." Sakura finished for Kero. She smacked him with a pillow and held it over his head, hoping he'd suffocate.
"But...." Came Kero's muffled pleas from under the soft pink pillow.
"Don't start!" Sakura warned "or I won't bring you back any pudding from the kitchen." She removed the pillow from his head.
Kero put on his best puppy-dog face. "You wouldn't do that.. Would you?
"I can and I will." She said, standing up. She walked out of her room and down the hall. Kero followed her.
"Fine," He said as they descended the stairs. "See if I care."
"But you will." Sakura quipped. Kero frowned. He had lost that battle. As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the phone that Kero usually wore around his neck rang. Sakura quickly grasped the phone.
"Moshi moshi?" She asked, signalling an insistent Kero to go away so he couldn't eavesdrop.
"Sakura" came Syaoran's voice from the other end of the call. "Have you sensed anything...odd?"
Sakura laughed. "Don't joke around Syaoran. No I haven't. I don't think one of those cards would attack so soon."
"I'm serious Sakura.. Have you?" His voice sounded slightly worried.
"Sort of, I guess." Sakura answered. She suddenly got a familiar, unforgettable sensation that she hadn't felt for five or six years. "Forget what I said earlier, Syaoran. I definitely sense something." Kero nodded in agreement. Sakura frowned at Kero for eavesdropping. "The I'll meet you at Tomoyo's house."
"All right." Said Sakura. She hung up the phone and pulled on her jacket. Kero followed her as she raced out the door in the direction of Tomoyo's house.
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"This reminds me of when we were younger!" Tomoyo gushed. She had dressed Sakura, Syaoran and Kero in matching battle costumes.
Sakura was now dressed in in a costume which Tomoyo called the 'The Creeper'. She wore a cropped, pink tank top with matching tight pink pants. Over these pants she wore a hip-cut, black skirt and calf-high, black boots with a pink band around the top of the boots and around the top and bottoms of the odd cut skirt. On top of all this she wore a black, sleeveless, trench coat that had pink highlights. At the back of the coat were two, pink strips of leather that hung from the back of the jacket between her shoulder blades. These were tipped with black and hung down to her feet. To accent the outfit, she wore matching pink gloves with black bands around the top that stretched from her wrist to just above her elbow. On top of this she wore a pink choker and a black headband with pink highlights.
Syaoran was dressed in a black trench coat similar to Sakura's but had the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders. He wore baggy white pants tied with a green sash and a loose, white tank top. He had a white strip of cloth ties around his head in a bandana. He also wore green bands around his wrists. His sword was slung over his back and he wore black boots.
Kero wore a cute version over Syaoran's outfit minus the jacket, pants, boots and bandana.
"How KAWAII!" Was Tomoyo's reaction. Yue shook his head. "Don't worry about the cold. Everything is lined with fleece." She smiled and grabbed her camera and jacket.
"There it is again!' Sakura exclaimed. She raced out of the van and activated fly. Syaoran followed with Kero and Tomoyo and his heels while Yue chased after Sakura in the starry sky.
'Where is it?' Syaoran wondered as he dodged trees. He kept his eye on Sakura as he quickly moved through the trees.
"Where do you think you're going, Syaoran Li?"
Syaoran spun around to find a girl his age walking out from the shadows. The girl held out a Sakura card and activated it. "Sword!" She called and the card glowed. Syaoran watched as the card elongated and became solid. It took the form of a sword, similar to the sword that Sakura's staff became when she called upon the card.
"Sakura!" Syaoran yelled. "I found the card!" Kero and Tomoyo came running up behind him and Sakura and Yue landed on the ground a few short seconds late. Tomoyo retreated to a tree and watched from a safe distance.
"So this is what happens when a card merges with a person." Said Yue. He frowned and studied the girl. She surged with energy and launched herself at Syaoran. Syaoran drew his sword and blocked her attack in time.
"The card is much more powerful than when we first battled it, Sakura. It must be the after effects of the merging." He dared not to attack the human card. (Or homo-mahou "magic human" ^^my creation)
"So how do we defeat it?" Sakura asked, she staff drawn and ready.
"You need more power" said Yue. He seemed quite calm.
"But how?!" Sakura was beginning to become frustrated but she knew she must keep her mind clear.
"Give me your hands." Said Syaoran. He grasped hold of her hands and took hold of the staff. "Power down." He commanded and the staff obeyed and once more became the key. "Concentrate on the key, Sakura." He said, placing it in her palms and wrapping his hands around hers. He closed his eyes and Sakura did the same.
Sakura felt he power surged through her body to her hands where hers and Syaoran's powers clashed. They built up a force and where their hands met began to glow brilliantly. Kero and Yue lit up as well. Sakura looked up in surprise and almost broke the hold. 'It's just like my dream' she thought.
"Don't be afraid, Sakura" Syaoran comforted. "Concentrate."
Sakura obliged and they continued to let their powers clash until the glowing stopped. Sakura looked around to see what had happened.
Kero and Yue slowly got to their feet and they took one look at each other and nearly fainted. Cerberus now stood 6 foot 3. He had kept his wings and tail but now wore golden garments and had on the silver armour that he normally wore when he was in his true form. He spread his wings and tested them.
"I'm...I'm ....human!" Kero exclaimed. He whooped for joy as he tried his new hands and fingers and flicked his tail. The rest of them just stood in disbelief.
Yue had a change in garments. He now sported an outfit almost similar to his former garments but reversed. The colours had been reversed and instead of white, they were silver.
"Look at the key." Said Syaoran. He held it out for her. She took hold of it and examined it closely. It resembled the staff that she had briefly used when she and Syaoran had combined powers to transform the Light and the Dark. It had beautiful white wings, a star in the centre and a half a sun underneath to support the star and the wings.
"Key that holds the power of Darkness! Reveal your true form unto me! This by our contract....RELEASE!" She commanded. The key instantly glowed and took its true form. The staff looked exactly like the key except..Larger.
"Now we should be able to defeat it." He said and they both launched themselves at the girl and prepared to attack......
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Preview of Chapter Three
"Hiiragizawa-kun! You're back!" Tomoyo ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad to see you."
"I feel the same, Daijouii-chan" He hugged her back.
"We're back!" Came Nakuru's voice. The guardian ran off the plane and latched her self onto Syaoran.
"Get off him!" Sakura growled "Go find my brother if you insist on doing that."
Another human walked off the plane and walk right up to Cerberus. "Long time no see, Cerberus."
"Spinel?!" Kero said. He took off running.
"You just -had- to bring them, didn't you Hiiragizawa-kun?" Sakura asked, exasperated. Everyone sweat dropped.
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By Azarya