Nightmares from the Past-Chapter 3
By Red Star
Note: Despite an appeal to the U.S. Congress and the invasion of Malaysia, I still do not own these characters.
I have heard the cry of some of you readers. My response is that I'm not good at remembering the names of certain characters. I'm sorry if I have offended the tastes of you diehard fans. However, I believe you can enjoy the story even if it does not contain your favorite character's Japanese names. Let's get on with it. Today, Sakura and Dracula, suspicious of each other, begin probing for answers to odd questions. Enjoy!
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Dr. Sulov paced within the walls of his executive suite. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. 3:42. He quickly calculated the time difference and made a decision. He picked up the telephone and dialed for long distance. No worries. He could afford a thousand such calls.
A telephone rang in a massive mansion on an island off the coast of Scotland. The place was magnificent with marble statues standing in the ocean of roses that was the garden. Roman columns bordered the structure. A few large boats floated in the ocean beside a dock that ended on land with an impressive beautifully carved stair case that led to the manor. But the island itself held secrets; deep, dark secrets. For here was the place from which magical entities were watched by an organization deeply rooted in mystery: the Vampire Nation. Within the halls of the mansion itself lived the number-two man in this secret global empire. In his book-lined office, to be exact. He was dressed in a dark tailed-suit with a black vest and a gray ascot. He picked up the phone with his pale clawed fingers and brought it up to his ear. Only one man had this direct line to him. All the others were directly sent to his deputies to see if the calls were important enough. The man spoke, "Vlad…" "Ruthven."
The two quickly ended their greetings and went to business. "Ruthven, have you heard the name Avalon before?" Lord Ruthven thought hard, he could tell his master had something rather important to do if he was bothering to look for little details about someone. "No, sir. Shall I look?" "Proceed." Ruthven sat in his chair and clicked a few buttons on the small but powerful computer sitting on his desk. He frowned as the computer brought up the information on "Avalon." "All we have on someone named Avalon is a Professor Avalon who came uncomfortably close to one of our operations in Indonesia. Your subjects there were preparing to attack when the Professor apparently found what he wanted and left." He heard the ancient warlord thumb through what sounded the pages of a book. "What about Syaoren Li?" Ruthven clicked some more keys and his eyes widened at the information that appeared. "Vlad, this is amazing! This Li person has a family with magical lineage! One of your subordinates in the south China region has been keeping on eye on this family for some time. This Li moved into Japan some time ago. Since then, we haven't gotten much information about him." He heard a fist pound on the other end. "I knew it! He and the girl were hiding something! Is there anything else on the boy?" Ruthven glanced at the screen. "Yes, we heard of some supernatural disturbances that occurred around the time he arrived, but they appear to have started before then." Silence, and then, "Very well. Excellent work, Ruthven. Keep your eyes on Europe. The Countess' followers may attempt an uprising while I am away." "Yes, Count." And then the Master Vampire hung up.
Back in Japan, Dr. Sulov dialed another number. This one local. "Hello, Fumori? Bring me something on Sakura Avalon."
Yue stood in quiet concentration as his mistress Sakura laid out the cards and began the practice. She flipped over one card, the Shadow.
"Shadow," she murmured, "a reflection?" She'd experienced that in the past. Yue shook his head and commented, "No, I do not believe such a thing is present."
Sakura then flipped another card to reveal Illusion. Then another to have Fight stare out at her. Sakura sat back and thought hard. Yue stood patiently by. The Cardcaptor had gotten better with experience. She would find the right answer without his pushing. Finally, she said "I've got it!" Yue leaned in, his wings accidentally knocking the dozing Kero out of the air. "This power fights from the darkness. I'm sure that's what the cards are telling me!" Yue nodded, "But what about Illusion?" Sakura stopped and stared at the remaining card that she had not interpreted. She slumped down in her chair. "I almost had it." "Hey, at least you figured out two-thirds of the problem," said Kero as he floated onto her desk while he rubbed his head, "but this Illusion factor could be important."
Sakura sighed and leaned back. This was frustrating her. Something was happening. She knew it. The nights had lately come alive with the wild howling of wolves from the city zoo and the bat population had taken an upturn. She even saw the creatures sleeping in the trees next to her house as if they were waiting for someone.
She then glanced at the clock. "Oh no!" "It's almost time for school!" Yue sighed and with a few steps was in the hallway. "Hey, Julian! You ready?" "Yeah! Just a sec!" Sakura gathered her books and ran down to get her gear.
A small white rat skittered across the school yard to get through the door as a line of students kept the it in a state of limbo as they pushed it aside to get into the building. It sniffed the air and kept close to the wall, hiding behind anything that afforded it a view of the students. Two young girls came it's way, one with straight dark hair and the other with brown shorter hair. Their uniforms were identical. Normally, the rat's simple brain would confuse the two but something was different today. Something different indeed.
There she is! Follow her!
And the rat made it's way across the hall and into Sakura and Madison's classroom.