Mistress of Darkness - Shaoran and the Dream of Victory
Written by Akari Kamigishi and inspired by Rianne Li
I said that this chapter would be the endgame, but after looking over my story, I found that I really can't end it QUITE as quickly as I want to. I need a few more "episodes" before I can actually start the final battle. Sorry for any inconveniences.
Sakura continued to struggle against the energy that was binding her to the evil spirit's will. The world around her was starting to become darker with each passing minute. Sakura knew exactly where she was and what had to be done, but she was powerless to perform the actions herself. She had to depend on Shaoran once again. She had heard the evil spirit complaining about a kid named Shaoran. Although she was overjoyed to hear that he was back in Japan, she was angry at herself for not being able to help him. She wanted to see him again so badly, but she couldn't see anything but the dark purple clouds around her. The situation was starting to look bleak for Sakura, and she couldn't find any reason to feel any differently about it. The evil spirit walked into Sakura's prescense.
"Soon child, I will completely own you, and the power that Clow Reed should have given to me," the spirit snarled. Sakura was surprised to hear the name Clow Reed again. Who could this spirit be that it knows Clow Reed.
"Why do you hate Clow Reed?" Sakura yelled.
"It's simple. I was to be the promised mistress of the cards. However, when I had finally finished training to take my place at Clow's side, I was told that the guardians had to choose me before I could become mistress of the cards. Keroberos refused to nominate me and thus I was denied the power I had trained for years to wield," the spirit explained.
"Keroberos isn't stupid. If he didn't nominate you, he had his reasons," Sakura screamed.
"Well, his reasons will soon become irrelevent."
Shaoran looked at his surroundings. He was once again face to face with a possessed Sakura. Her eyes were the darkest shade of red that he had ever seen, and the rest of her expression was completely blank. She was floating at least a few inches above the ground and her posture was completely straight, almost as if she was concentrating on a magic spell. Shaoran checked his pocket to see if he had his cards. He was surprised to find that he had all of the cards. They were all Shaoran Cards, including The Hope. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise coming from Sakura's direction. He looked at Sakura and saw that her eyes had reverted back to normal. Suddenly, Sakura dropped out of the air and doubled over onto the ground. Shaoran closed his eyes, unable to watch Sakura fall to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else...
Shaoran was staring at his ceiling. It wasn't the most attractive ceiling ever. He liked it simple because it was easy on his eyes. He was awake and back in his room. He was surprised that he had even been asleep. After fighting with Sakura, he was unable to sleep because all he thought about was what Eriol told him about starting the final battle. He was so nervous about having to fight Sakura that he was shaky and couldn't sleep. When he tried to sit up, he felt something pressing against him. He looked over the covers of his bed. It was another two Shaoran Cards.
"The Dream. Then what I saw was a prophecy," Shaoran noted. The other card was The Sleep, which explained how Shaoran had ever gotten to sleep at all. He must have missed its ki because he was so deep in thought about Sakura. He appreciated the efforts of both cards, which had given him a new sense of hope. That's when the idea hit him.
"Of course! The Dream! It might scare the spirit away from Sakura, especially if the dream I saw was really a prophecy," Shaoran yelled, without really knowing it. Meilin slowly opened the door to his room and stepped in.
"Well, what great revelation have you come to in your sleep?" Meilin asked sarcastically.
"I'm sorry that I woke you up Meilin. I just thought of an idea to help save Sakura. All I need to do is find her," Shaoran said while picking out clothes to wear for the day. Meilin took that as her cue to go back to her room. Shaoran changed into a simple beige t-shirt and military green shorts; then he slipped on a pair of white sports socks, placed the Shaoran Cards in his pocket, and walked downstairs to get his shoes. Maybe... maybe it didn't have to come down to a final battle.
When Shaoran had stepped outside, he took the phone that Tomoyo had given him out of his pocket and called Sakura's phone. Kero picked up the phone, just like Shaoran expected. He didn't seem too happy to be answering Shaoran's call however. I must have caught him in the middle of a video game, Shaoran thought. Now that he thought about it, should the guardian beast of the seal really be sitting around all day playing video games when the mistress of the cards has become possessed?
"Whaddya want kid?!? She's not here!"
"What makes you think I don't know that! I have an idea of how to solve that problem. Meet me at Penguin Park! We should be able to find her there!" Shaoran exclaimed. He can't possibly be the guardian beast of the seal, Shaoran thought to himself as he turned off the phone and started running towards Penguin Park.
"That kid's gotta lot of nerve!" Kero screamed. He suddenly remembered that Sakura's father was home and heard his footsteps coming towards Sakura's room. He must have heard Kero screaming. Kero flew onto the table behind Sakura's bed where she kept her alarm clock and pretended to be a stuffed animal. Fujitaka opened the door to Sakura's room just like Kero expected and looked around. Finding that no one was there to have made the noise, Fujitaka dismissed it as simply being his imagination and left the room to go back to the cooking that he'd been doing earlier.
Touya was walking through the streets of Tomoeda with Yukito. They had just bought ice cream to beat the heat and they were telling each other stories of things that had happened to them since the last time they'd met. The sunshine was a little too much to bear for Touya, who had to constantly cover his eyes. If the sun was bothering Yukito also, he certainly didn't show it. Touya listened with interest to another of Yukito's stories.
"So then I played basketball with them and after I'd won a few times, they asked if I wanted to be on their team again. I would like to but I like my life the way it is, I said to them."
"But you play so well Yukito! Why not play on the team, for the school?" Touya asked. Yukito grinned only slightly.
"Well, then I wouldn't have time to tell you these stories, or stories to tell you. My life isn't all that complicated. The other me says that Sakura has gone missing. Have you had any luck finding her, Touya?" Yukito asked, digressing from his earlier line of thought. Touya didn't say a word. He simply frowned, sighed, and kept walking onward. Yukito took that as a no and decided not to pursue it any further. Suddenly, both of them saw a boy with a beige t-shirt and green shorts run by.
"That's the brat. Where's he off to?" Touya said in an exhausted tone. He and Yukito decided that they should follow him to wherever he was going, in the hope of finding Sakura. Meanwhile, Meilin had gotten the same idea and ran out the door of her house to follow her cousin. Something told her that she would be needed for once. She and Tomoyo both. She had remembered to call Tomoyo and tell her that she was going to Penguin Park, so she was sure that Tomoyo was on her way there.
Sakura watched her surroundings become a darker shade of purple. If this was really her mind that she was trapped in, then her soul would soon be consumed by evil. Sakura could not keep track of time from where she was so she really couldn't say if it would be today or tomorrow, or even in a few days. She simply wished that Shaoran would work his hardest to set her free so that she could see him again and maybe even go out with him again to a nice restaurant or something of the sort.
Really, Sakura was aware from the very beginning that her position as Card Captor, and then as Mistress of the Cards, was extremely dangerous to her and to others around her, but she never imagined that she would actually become possessed by a spirit. She had seen that in a lot of movies, and didn't think that it actually could happen to people. However, this was all just Sakura's effort to try and deny that she was truly being consumed. Escapism only works so well before one must go back to reality and face the proverbial music.
"Tomoyo, Shaoran, Touya, Dad, I'm sorry," she said, hoping that they would all hear her.
"It seems like old habits never break! You're here again!" Shaoran yelled, hiding his dismay at the fact that he actually yelled at her. Sakura was floating in front of him, much like in his dream, only her eyes were not as red as they had been in the dream. Shaoran thought that it could be a bad sign. Perhaps his victory had to come when she had been almost completely consumed by the evil, or even when she had been entirely consumed.
"Whaddya think you're doing?!?" Kero yelled. Shaoran pulled The Dream out of his pocket and used it on Sakura. Sakura fell asleep immediately, just like Shaoran had planned.
"I'm going to show her how futile it is to control the Mistress of the Cards!" Shaoran yelled back.
"NO! If ya do that, you'll just make her stronger! Even if what The Dream shows is a prophecy, the future can be changed. The evil spirit will hold onto Sakura more tightly so that it won't lose!" Kero yelled. Shaoran slapped himself on the forehead. That's right! How could he have forgotten? He must not have been thinking clearly when he thought of this plan. I want to save Sakura so badly that I'll try anything, he thought.
Sakura's surroundings suddenly changed. She saw Shaoran right in front of her, with all of the Shaoran Cards that she had heard so much about and with the confidence to beat anyone. Then, the surroundings became dark again. In fact, her surroundings became darker than they were before. Shaoran used The Dream, she thought. Although the dream itself gave Sakura a sense of hope, she knew that it would be harder for them to save her now.
The Dream stopped, and Sakura slowly climbed to her feet, feeling only a little sleepy. Her eyes were a much darker crimson than they had been when she had been asleep. Shaoran now saw the effects of his error. Those darker, more sinister eyes were an indication that the evil spirit's grip on Sakura's pure heart was tightening.
"I'll never let you have all the cards! I'll kill you where you stand! I still have more cards than you do, and I know how to use them!" Sakura screamed. Shaoran checked his cards to make sure that they were still there and that he hadn't forgotten them at home. He was ready to battle, just like he thought.
"I know how to use them too! Remember that I am of the Li family!" Shaoran shouted. Sakura prepared one of the Sakura Cards to start the battle.
"SHAORAN!" Meilin yelled as she ran into Penguin Park.
"What's going on?" Touya yelled as he ran into Penguin Park
"Sakura! Please don't!" Tomoyo cried. She had made it just in time.
"The whole gang's here!" Kero exclaimed as he flew closer to Shaoran. If needed, he would protect Shaoran with all his power, for Sakura's sake. Yukito sprouted large wings which covered him as he transformed into Yue. Yue was also willing to lay down his life to protect Shaoran, who was the cards' only hope, and his only hope. Sakura pulled out The Twin card and used it first. Where Sakura had been, there were now two, standing side by side.
"Seeing double, Shaoran?" Sakura yelled as she prepared her next card. Sakura used The Sword. Both of the Sakuras that were standing in front of Shaoran were now holding swords and were ready to attack. The Sword, Shaoran remembered, gave the user the abilities of an expert fencer. Even he couldn't fight both of them at once and even if he succeeded in fighting off both of them, it would still not subdue the power of The Twin. He needed to attack in stereo!
"Looks like you're going to need a partner this time too!" Meilin exclaimed. Shaoran smiled as she ran to his side. They knew exactly what they needed to do. They ran at the two Sakuras and looked like they were going to kick them, but when the Sakuras tried to slice them in half with their swords, Shaoran and Meilin parried the attacks with their palms. Once they had done so, Shaoran and Meilin swung below the swords while still holding onto them with their palms and kicked the Sakuras. The two girls fell away from their swords. Shaoran and Meilin had successfully subdued the powers of The Twin and The Sword simultaneously. The Twin and The Sword transformed into Shaoran cards and flew into Shaoran's hand.
"Ready for round two?" Shaoran asked, taunting Sakura, who was now only one person.
"Round two it is. This time, I won't be going so easy on you!" Sakura sniggered as she pulled out The Arrow. Shaoran knew this card well also. Sakura was given a bow, which she used to fire an arrow at Shaoran. That one arrow split into two arrows, and then those two arrows split to make a total of four arrows. Shaoran dove to the right to avoid the arrows and watched as they hit the tree that was behind him and almost sliced it in half.
Sakura fired another arrow at Shaoran as he staggered to his feet. The arrow once again started to reproduce itself exponentially. However, Shaoran knew that dodging would do him no good this time. He had to find a way to subdue the powers of The Arrow. Suddenly, he was struck by an idea. He didn't have his ceremonial sword with him, but he had The Sword. He used the card and took the sword that it gave him. He waved it in a figure-eight much like he had seen in martial arts movies. Surely enough, Shaoran managed to hit all of the arrows before they could touch him, and The Arrow transformed into a Shaoran Card and flew into Shaoran's hand.
"Wow. He really knows what he's doing," Touya commented to himself as he watched the fight.
"Yeah Shaoran! You showed her that time!" Meilin cheered from the sidelines.
"Please Sakura! Make it stop!" Tomoyo cried. Meilin sighed as she thought of exactly what Tomoyo must be going through right now, watching as Sakura and Shaoran fight. On a more humourous note, it was the first big fight in their relationship, but then, Tomoyo didn't really think of it that way. If she had, it might have cheered her up a little.
"How many attack cards do you have left now Sakura?" Shaoran gloated.
"Many! And I know just the one to use now!" Sakura yelled as she used The Earthy. The ground below Shaoran was raised at least ten feet into the air, and other parts of the ground around him were either raised or lowered. Yue flew up to where Shaoran was and hovered beside him. Kero transformed into his real form and joined Yue. This battle's starting to get dangerous, Kero thought.
Shaoran hadn't brought along his magic cards, the ones which he uses to call on the gods of lightning and wind, so he needed to use The Arrow to attack Sakura from the distance. He fired an arrow at Sakura which started to spread out and try to trap her where she was. Sakura used The Fly and sprouted wings which carried her out of danger. Now Sakura used The Thunder. Yue grabbed Shaoran and dragged him out of the way of the lightning bolt that was about to hit him from above.
"I owe you one," Shaoran said as he wiped his brow.
"Just save my mistress. Please," Yue pleaded as he placed Shaoran on a more level piece of ground.
"You're good Sakura, but its time to get serious!" Shaoran said as he used The Rain.
"Then why are you using such a stupid card?" Sakura taunted as she landed on a higher piece of ground and prepared to attack Shaoran with another lightning bolt. She put away her wings and took out The Thunder. The Rain intensified, and Sakura found that all of a sudden, the ground that she was standing on started to sink.
"That's why!" Shaoran said as he watched the higher pieces of ground sink back down to ground level. Then, The Earthy transformed into a Shaoran Card and flew into Shaoran's hand. Meilin jumped up and down in excitement while cheering for Shaoran. He had once again managed to counter Sakura's attack without hurting her. Soon, Shaoran would have all of the attack cards, she thought.
"Oh no! I've lost another attack card! You win for today, Shaoran, but you'll definitely pay for this tomorrow!" Sakura screamed as she tried to fly away. Yue flew after her and latched onto her feet.
"You're not escaping this time!" Yue yelled as he tried to keep a grip on Sakura. Unfortunately, his efforts were no good. Sakura simply vanished and he was left holding onto nothing but thin air. She had escaped again, and this time, Shaoran was more affected than ever. He just kept on looking at the ground, and all of the cracks in the wall and all of the other damage that he and Sakura had caused.
"Shaoran Li, ya tried your hardest and ya pulled through. I'm proud to serve ya, even if only for now," Kero said, with Yue nodding in agreement.
"You're a smart kid, I gotta give you that," Touya commented.
"I'm so glad that she didn't get hurt," Tomoyo cried as she ran up to Syaoran to try and comfort him.
"She doesn't have a lot of attack cards left does she?" Shaoran asked in a low tone, to no one in particular.
"Well, lezzee... She lost The Shot, The Arrow, The Sword, The Twin, The Earthy, The Thunder, The Shadow, The Dash... She's left with, I'd say, two good attack cards. Watery and Firey," Kero answered.
"You forgot The Sand and The Freeze cards," Yue interrupted.
"Yeah yeah... whatever! Anyway, it's all gonna be over soon kid," Kero continued quickly, trying to comfort Shaoran.
"I can't believe that it really has to end like this," Shaoran mumbled to himself as he held back his tears.
"I can't believe that it really has to end like this," Sakura mumbled to herself as she thought of what had happened that day. She knew that she could not be freed unless Shaoran had all of the cards and had subdued the power of the evil spirit. That would mean more horrible fights like the one she had just heard about. She didn't like the idea of fighting him at all, and the only thing that made Sakura comfortable with the fighting was to remember that it wasn't her fault. She was doing her best to keep the spirit from completely consuming her.
"When you finally see nothing but darkness," the spirit had told her, "you will be completely consumed, never to exist again as you are now. We will become one and then I will finally be the Mistress of the Cards and I will have my revenge on Clow Reed."
Did that mean that it would go after Eriol once it had control of Sakura's body? Eriol probably remembers who she is and why she is doing this, Sakura thought to herself. In fact, he's probably already helped Shaoran, even if only a little.
"Eriol.... I'm so sorry," Sakura said softly, hoping that he could hear her.
Saying that made her remember the time when she had first become the Mistress of the Cards and saw Clow Reed in a vision, telling her that he would be troubling her from then on. Now she would probably be causing trouble for him, at least, if Shaoran didn't succeed soon. How ironic, Sakura thought to herself as she tried her hardest to keep on seeing the purple in her surroundings. As long as she could still see the purple, she could still see something other than the darkness, so the only way that she could fight the spirit's powers was to keep on focusing on the purple in her surroundings. It was getting harder and harder to see the purple though, and she knew that soon she would lose it entirely.
Kero was now staying with Shaoran. Seeing the kid do some remarkable battling against Sakura gave him a new perspective on Shaoran. Also, Sakura was starting to become more dangerous. Kero noticed that she was starting to use more powerful cards. And in fact, the powerful attack cards were the only attack cards she had left, other than The Sand, which Kero wouldn't even call an attack card, so he knew that she would be using more powerful cards from then on. Shaoran is going to need me to be around to help him out, Kero thought to himself, as he tried to make himself comfortable in Shaoran's dresser drawer. He was having trouble getting used to the fact that he didn't have his own little room like he did in Sakura's room. It would be hard for Kero to get to sleep tonight, but he knew that Shaoran would have even more trouble sleeping.
"Can I have that bear?" Sakura said as she stood in front of Shaoran at the airport. She had rushed all the way to the airport to see him off because she wanted to say goodbye, but having something to remember him by would be a big bonus for her. Wei handed his master the bear and smiled at him, implicitly giving him the message that this was the right thing to do. Shaoran stepped forward reluctantly, his heart beating quickly and furiously, and handed Sakura the bear that he had made. She took it with a smile, and Shaoran could see that she was blushing. He didn't think that he would actually have been able to give her the bear. He was so nervous when he was around her that he thought he could never have gathered up the courage to give Sakura a gift. It was enough for him to thank her for being his friend. However, he realized now, by the look on Sakura's face, that maybe she felt a little differently. He didn't really know how, but she probably felt differently about him than he thought she did.
Shaoran sat on one of the couches in the living room and tried to relax as he waited for Sakura to prepare tea. He wanted to help her but his heart was beating so fast that he didn't think that he could ask her if she needed help. He gathered enough courage to try however, and walked over to the kitchen. When he saw Sakura, his heart actually seemed to skip a beat.
"Do you need any help?" Shaoran asked.
"It'll be done soon. Please sit and relax," Sakura answered. Once again, Shaoran could see that she was blushing. When she had finally finished with the tea, she placed the kettle, the tray, sugar, and two cups on a tray and brought it to the living room. She set it down on the table in front of Shaoran and asked him how many sugars he wanted. Shaoran told her that he'd do it himself, but he got so nervous that he knocked over the sugar. Sakura reached down to help him and their hands touched. The sensation was so incredible that it sent a shock down Shaoran's spine. He noticed that it had probably done the same to her too.
Shaoran was now back in his room, in the present time, awakened from his dreams and once again trying to get to sleep. He turned over in his bed and closed his eyes, hoping that he could finally get some rest. Kero noticed this and sighed in concern for his new master. If this whole deal is hard on anyone, it's hard on him, Kero thought. Kero finished setting up a makeshift bed and pillow in Shaoran's dresser drawer and tried to go to sleep again. He had a little more success than Shaoran, who once again awakened, turned over, and tried to go back to sleep.
Until whole battle was finally over, no one would be able to sleep. Shaoran was only one of the many people who would have trouble sleeping tonight.
Written by Akari Kamigishi and inspired by Rianne Li
I said that this chapter would be the endgame, but after looking over my story, I found that I really can't end it QUITE as quickly as I want to. I need a few more "episodes" before I can actually start the final battle. Sorry for any inconveniences.
Sakura continued to struggle against the energy that was binding her to the evil spirit's will. The world around her was starting to become darker with each passing minute. Sakura knew exactly where she was and what had to be done, but she was powerless to perform the actions herself. She had to depend on Shaoran once again. She had heard the evil spirit complaining about a kid named Shaoran. Although she was overjoyed to hear that he was back in Japan, she was angry at herself for not being able to help him. She wanted to see him again so badly, but she couldn't see anything but the dark purple clouds around her. The situation was starting to look bleak for Sakura, and she couldn't find any reason to feel any differently about it. The evil spirit walked into Sakura's prescense.
"Soon child, I will completely own you, and the power that Clow Reed should have given to me," the spirit snarled. Sakura was surprised to hear the name Clow Reed again. Who could this spirit be that it knows Clow Reed.
"Why do you hate Clow Reed?" Sakura yelled.
"It's simple. I was to be the promised mistress of the cards. However, when I had finally finished training to take my place at Clow's side, I was told that the guardians had to choose me before I could become mistress of the cards. Keroberos refused to nominate me and thus I was denied the power I had trained for years to wield," the spirit explained.
"Keroberos isn't stupid. If he didn't nominate you, he had his reasons," Sakura screamed.
"Well, his reasons will soon become irrelevent."
Shaoran looked at his surroundings. He was once again face to face with a possessed Sakura. Her eyes were the darkest shade of red that he had ever seen, and the rest of her expression was completely blank. She was floating at least a few inches above the ground and her posture was completely straight, almost as if she was concentrating on a magic spell. Shaoran checked his pocket to see if he had his cards. He was surprised to find that he had all of the cards. They were all Shaoran Cards, including The Hope. Suddenly, he heard a strange noise coming from Sakura's direction. He looked at Sakura and saw that her eyes had reverted back to normal. Suddenly, Sakura dropped out of the air and doubled over onto the ground. Shaoran closed his eyes, unable to watch Sakura fall to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was somewhere else...
Shaoran was staring at his ceiling. It wasn't the most attractive ceiling ever. He liked it simple because it was easy on his eyes. He was awake and back in his room. He was surprised that he had even been asleep. After fighting with Sakura, he was unable to sleep because all he thought about was what Eriol told him about starting the final battle. He was so nervous about having to fight Sakura that he was shaky and couldn't sleep. When he tried to sit up, he felt something pressing against him. He looked over the covers of his bed. It was another two Shaoran Cards.
"The Dream. Then what I saw was a prophecy," Shaoran noted. The other card was The Sleep, which explained how Shaoran had ever gotten to sleep at all. He must have missed its ki because he was so deep in thought about Sakura. He appreciated the efforts of both cards, which had given him a new sense of hope. That's when the idea hit him.
"Of course! The Dream! It might scare the spirit away from Sakura, especially if the dream I saw was really a prophecy," Shaoran yelled, without really knowing it. Meilin slowly opened the door to his room and stepped in.
"Well, what great revelation have you come to in your sleep?" Meilin asked sarcastically.
"I'm sorry that I woke you up Meilin. I just thought of an idea to help save Sakura. All I need to do is find her," Shaoran said while picking out clothes to wear for the day. Meilin took that as her cue to go back to her room. Shaoran changed into a simple beige t-shirt and military green shorts; then he slipped on a pair of white sports socks, placed the Shaoran Cards in his pocket, and walked downstairs to get his shoes. Maybe... maybe it didn't have to come down to a final battle.
When Shaoran had stepped outside, he took the phone that Tomoyo had given him out of his pocket and called Sakura's phone. Kero picked up the phone, just like Shaoran expected. He didn't seem too happy to be answering Shaoran's call however. I must have caught him in the middle of a video game, Shaoran thought. Now that he thought about it, should the guardian beast of the seal really be sitting around all day playing video games when the mistress of the cards has become possessed?
"Whaddya want kid?!? She's not here!"
"What makes you think I don't know that! I have an idea of how to solve that problem. Meet me at Penguin Park! We should be able to find her there!" Shaoran exclaimed. He can't possibly be the guardian beast of the seal, Shaoran thought to himself as he turned off the phone and started running towards Penguin Park.
"That kid's gotta lot of nerve!" Kero screamed. He suddenly remembered that Sakura's father was home and heard his footsteps coming towards Sakura's room. He must have heard Kero screaming. Kero flew onto the table behind Sakura's bed where she kept her alarm clock and pretended to be a stuffed animal. Fujitaka opened the door to Sakura's room just like Kero expected and looked around. Finding that no one was there to have made the noise, Fujitaka dismissed it as simply being his imagination and left the room to go back to the cooking that he'd been doing earlier.
Touya was walking through the streets of Tomoeda with Yukito. They had just bought ice cream to beat the heat and they were telling each other stories of things that had happened to them since the last time they'd met. The sunshine was a little too much to bear for Touya, who had to constantly cover his eyes. If the sun was bothering Yukito also, he certainly didn't show it. Touya listened with interest to another of Yukito's stories.
"So then I played basketball with them and after I'd won a few times, they asked if I wanted to be on their team again. I would like to but I like my life the way it is, I said to them."
"But you play so well Yukito! Why not play on the team, for the school?" Touya asked. Yukito grinned only slightly.
"Well, then I wouldn't have time to tell you these stories, or stories to tell you. My life isn't all that complicated. The other me says that Sakura has gone missing. Have you had any luck finding her, Touya?" Yukito asked, digressing from his earlier line of thought. Touya didn't say a word. He simply frowned, sighed, and kept walking onward. Yukito took that as a no and decided not to pursue it any further. Suddenly, both of them saw a boy with a beige t-shirt and green shorts run by.
"That's the brat. Where's he off to?" Touya said in an exhausted tone. He and Yukito decided that they should follow him to wherever he was going, in the hope of finding Sakura. Meanwhile, Meilin had gotten the same idea and ran out the door of her house to follow her cousin. Something told her that she would be needed for once. She and Tomoyo both. She had remembered to call Tomoyo and tell her that she was going to Penguin Park, so she was sure that Tomoyo was on her way there.
Sakura watched her surroundings become a darker shade of purple. If this was really her mind that she was trapped in, then her soul would soon be consumed by evil. Sakura could not keep track of time from where she was so she really couldn't say if it would be today or tomorrow, or even in a few days. She simply wished that Shaoran would work his hardest to set her free so that she could see him again and maybe even go out with him again to a nice restaurant or something of the sort.
Really, Sakura was aware from the very beginning that her position as Card Captor, and then as Mistress of the Cards, was extremely dangerous to her and to others around her, but she never imagined that she would actually become possessed by a spirit. She had seen that in a lot of movies, and didn't think that it actually could happen to people. However, this was all just Sakura's effort to try and deny that she was truly being consumed. Escapism only works so well before one must go back to reality and face the proverbial music.
"Tomoyo, Shaoran, Touya, Dad, I'm sorry," she said, hoping that they would all hear her.
"It seems like old habits never break! You're here again!" Shaoran yelled, hiding his dismay at the fact that he actually yelled at her. Sakura was floating in front of him, much like in his dream, only her eyes were not as red as they had been in the dream. Shaoran thought that it could be a bad sign. Perhaps his victory had to come when she had been almost completely consumed by the evil, or even when she had been entirely consumed.
"Whaddya think you're doing?!?" Kero yelled. Shaoran pulled The Dream out of his pocket and used it on Sakura. Sakura fell asleep immediately, just like Shaoran had planned.
"I'm going to show her how futile it is to control the Mistress of the Cards!" Shaoran yelled back.
"NO! If ya do that, you'll just make her stronger! Even if what The Dream shows is a prophecy, the future can be changed. The evil spirit will hold onto Sakura more tightly so that it won't lose!" Kero yelled. Shaoran slapped himself on the forehead. That's right! How could he have forgotten? He must not have been thinking clearly when he thought of this plan. I want to save Sakura so badly that I'll try anything, he thought.
Sakura's surroundings suddenly changed. She saw Shaoran right in front of her, with all of the Shaoran Cards that she had heard so much about and with the confidence to beat anyone. Then, the surroundings became dark again. In fact, her surroundings became darker than they were before. Shaoran used The Dream, she thought. Although the dream itself gave Sakura a sense of hope, she knew that it would be harder for them to save her now.
The Dream stopped, and Sakura slowly climbed to her feet, feeling only a little sleepy. Her eyes were a much darker crimson than they had been when she had been asleep. Shaoran now saw the effects of his error. Those darker, more sinister eyes were an indication that the evil spirit's grip on Sakura's pure heart was tightening.
"I'll never let you have all the cards! I'll kill you where you stand! I still have more cards than you do, and I know how to use them!" Sakura screamed. Shaoran checked his cards to make sure that they were still there and that he hadn't forgotten them at home. He was ready to battle, just like he thought.
"I know how to use them too! Remember that I am of the Li family!" Shaoran shouted. Sakura prepared one of the Sakura Cards to start the battle.
"SHAORAN!" Meilin yelled as she ran into Penguin Park.
"What's going on?" Touya yelled as he ran into Penguin Park
"Sakura! Please don't!" Tomoyo cried. She had made it just in time.
"The whole gang's here!" Kero exclaimed as he flew closer to Shaoran. If needed, he would protect Shaoran with all his power, for Sakura's sake. Yukito sprouted large wings which covered him as he transformed into Yue. Yue was also willing to lay down his life to protect Shaoran, who was the cards' only hope, and his only hope. Sakura pulled out The Twin card and used it first. Where Sakura had been, there were now two, standing side by side.
"Seeing double, Shaoran?" Sakura yelled as she prepared her next card. Sakura used The Sword. Both of the Sakuras that were standing in front of Shaoran were now holding swords and were ready to attack. The Sword, Shaoran remembered, gave the user the abilities of an expert fencer. Even he couldn't fight both of them at once and even if he succeeded in fighting off both of them, it would still not subdue the power of The Twin. He needed to attack in stereo!
"Looks like you're going to need a partner this time too!" Meilin exclaimed. Shaoran smiled as she ran to his side. They knew exactly what they needed to do. They ran at the two Sakuras and looked like they were going to kick them, but when the Sakuras tried to slice them in half with their swords, Shaoran and Meilin parried the attacks with their palms. Once they had done so, Shaoran and Meilin swung below the swords while still holding onto them with their palms and kicked the Sakuras. The two girls fell away from their swords. Shaoran and Meilin had successfully subdued the powers of The Twin and The Sword simultaneously. The Twin and The Sword transformed into Shaoran cards and flew into Shaoran's hand.
"Ready for round two?" Shaoran asked, taunting Sakura, who was now only one person.
"Round two it is. This time, I won't be going so easy on you!" Sakura sniggered as she pulled out The Arrow. Shaoran knew this card well also. Sakura was given a bow, which she used to fire an arrow at Shaoran. That one arrow split into two arrows, and then those two arrows split to make a total of four arrows. Shaoran dove to the right to avoid the arrows and watched as they hit the tree that was behind him and almost sliced it in half.
Sakura fired another arrow at Shaoran as he staggered to his feet. The arrow once again started to reproduce itself exponentially. However, Shaoran knew that dodging would do him no good this time. He had to find a way to subdue the powers of The Arrow. Suddenly, he was struck by an idea. He didn't have his ceremonial sword with him, but he had The Sword. He used the card and took the sword that it gave him. He waved it in a figure-eight much like he had seen in martial arts movies. Surely enough, Shaoran managed to hit all of the arrows before they could touch him, and The Arrow transformed into a Shaoran Card and flew into Shaoran's hand.
"Wow. He really knows what he's doing," Touya commented to himself as he watched the fight.
"Yeah Shaoran! You showed her that time!" Meilin cheered from the sidelines.
"Please Sakura! Make it stop!" Tomoyo cried. Meilin sighed as she thought of exactly what Tomoyo must be going through right now, watching as Sakura and Shaoran fight. On a more humourous note, it was the first big fight in their relationship, but then, Tomoyo didn't really think of it that way. If she had, it might have cheered her up a little.
"How many attack cards do you have left now Sakura?" Shaoran gloated.
"Many! And I know just the one to use now!" Sakura yelled as she used The Earthy. The ground below Shaoran was raised at least ten feet into the air, and other parts of the ground around him were either raised or lowered. Yue flew up to where Shaoran was and hovered beside him. Kero transformed into his real form and joined Yue. This battle's starting to get dangerous, Kero thought.
Shaoran hadn't brought along his magic cards, the ones which he uses to call on the gods of lightning and wind, so he needed to use The Arrow to attack Sakura from the distance. He fired an arrow at Sakura which started to spread out and try to trap her where she was. Sakura used The Fly and sprouted wings which carried her out of danger. Now Sakura used The Thunder. Yue grabbed Shaoran and dragged him out of the way of the lightning bolt that was about to hit him from above.
"I owe you one," Shaoran said as he wiped his brow.
"Just save my mistress. Please," Yue pleaded as he placed Shaoran on a more level piece of ground.
"You're good Sakura, but its time to get serious!" Shaoran said as he used The Rain.
"Then why are you using such a stupid card?" Sakura taunted as she landed on a higher piece of ground and prepared to attack Shaoran with another lightning bolt. She put away her wings and took out The Thunder. The Rain intensified, and Sakura found that all of a sudden, the ground that she was standing on started to sink.
"That's why!" Shaoran said as he watched the higher pieces of ground sink back down to ground level. Then, The Earthy transformed into a Shaoran Card and flew into Shaoran's hand. Meilin jumped up and down in excitement while cheering for Shaoran. He had once again managed to counter Sakura's attack without hurting her. Soon, Shaoran would have all of the attack cards, she thought.
"Oh no! I've lost another attack card! You win for today, Shaoran, but you'll definitely pay for this tomorrow!" Sakura screamed as she tried to fly away. Yue flew after her and latched onto her feet.
"You're not escaping this time!" Yue yelled as he tried to keep a grip on Sakura. Unfortunately, his efforts were no good. Sakura simply vanished and he was left holding onto nothing but thin air. She had escaped again, and this time, Shaoran was more affected than ever. He just kept on looking at the ground, and all of the cracks in the wall and all of the other damage that he and Sakura had caused.
"Shaoran Li, ya tried your hardest and ya pulled through. I'm proud to serve ya, even if only for now," Kero said, with Yue nodding in agreement.
"You're a smart kid, I gotta give you that," Touya commented.
"I'm so glad that she didn't get hurt," Tomoyo cried as she ran up to Syaoran to try and comfort him.
"She doesn't have a lot of attack cards left does she?" Shaoran asked in a low tone, to no one in particular.
"Well, lezzee... She lost The Shot, The Arrow, The Sword, The Twin, The Earthy, The Thunder, The Shadow, The Dash... She's left with, I'd say, two good attack cards. Watery and Firey," Kero answered.
"You forgot The Sand and The Freeze cards," Yue interrupted.
"Yeah yeah... whatever! Anyway, it's all gonna be over soon kid," Kero continued quickly, trying to comfort Shaoran.
"I can't believe that it really has to end like this," Shaoran mumbled to himself as he held back his tears.
"I can't believe that it really has to end like this," Sakura mumbled to herself as she thought of what had happened that day. She knew that she could not be freed unless Shaoran had all of the cards and had subdued the power of the evil spirit. That would mean more horrible fights like the one she had just heard about. She didn't like the idea of fighting him at all, and the only thing that made Sakura comfortable with the fighting was to remember that it wasn't her fault. She was doing her best to keep the spirit from completely consuming her.
"When you finally see nothing but darkness," the spirit had told her, "you will be completely consumed, never to exist again as you are now. We will become one and then I will finally be the Mistress of the Cards and I will have my revenge on Clow Reed."
Did that mean that it would go after Eriol once it had control of Sakura's body? Eriol probably remembers who she is and why she is doing this, Sakura thought to herself. In fact, he's probably already helped Shaoran, even if only a little.
"Eriol.... I'm so sorry," Sakura said softly, hoping that he could hear her.
Saying that made her remember the time when she had first become the Mistress of the Cards and saw Clow Reed in a vision, telling her that he would be troubling her from then on. Now she would probably be causing trouble for him, at least, if Shaoran didn't succeed soon. How ironic, Sakura thought to herself as she tried her hardest to keep on seeing the purple in her surroundings. As long as she could still see the purple, she could still see something other than the darkness, so the only way that she could fight the spirit's powers was to keep on focusing on the purple in her surroundings. It was getting harder and harder to see the purple though, and she knew that soon she would lose it entirely.
Kero was now staying with Shaoran. Seeing the kid do some remarkable battling against Sakura gave him a new perspective on Shaoran. Also, Sakura was starting to become more dangerous. Kero noticed that she was starting to use more powerful cards. And in fact, the powerful attack cards were the only attack cards she had left, other than The Sand, which Kero wouldn't even call an attack card, so he knew that she would be using more powerful cards from then on. Shaoran is going to need me to be around to help him out, Kero thought to himself, as he tried to make himself comfortable in Shaoran's dresser drawer. He was having trouble getting used to the fact that he didn't have his own little room like he did in Sakura's room. It would be hard for Kero to get to sleep tonight, but he knew that Shaoran would have even more trouble sleeping.
"Can I have that bear?" Sakura said as she stood in front of Shaoran at the airport. She had rushed all the way to the airport to see him off because she wanted to say goodbye, but having something to remember him by would be a big bonus for her. Wei handed his master the bear and smiled at him, implicitly giving him the message that this was the right thing to do. Shaoran stepped forward reluctantly, his heart beating quickly and furiously, and handed Sakura the bear that he had made. She took it with a smile, and Shaoran could see that she was blushing. He didn't think that he would actually have been able to give her the bear. He was so nervous when he was around her that he thought he could never have gathered up the courage to give Sakura a gift. It was enough for him to thank her for being his friend. However, he realized now, by the look on Sakura's face, that maybe she felt a little differently. He didn't really know how, but she probably felt differently about him than he thought she did.
Shaoran sat on one of the couches in the living room and tried to relax as he waited for Sakura to prepare tea. He wanted to help her but his heart was beating so fast that he didn't think that he could ask her if she needed help. He gathered enough courage to try however, and walked over to the kitchen. When he saw Sakura, his heart actually seemed to skip a beat.
"Do you need any help?" Shaoran asked.
"It'll be done soon. Please sit and relax," Sakura answered. Once again, Shaoran could see that she was blushing. When she had finally finished with the tea, she placed the kettle, the tray, sugar, and two cups on a tray and brought it to the living room. She set it down on the table in front of Shaoran and asked him how many sugars he wanted. Shaoran told her that he'd do it himself, but he got so nervous that he knocked over the sugar. Sakura reached down to help him and their hands touched. The sensation was so incredible that it sent a shock down Shaoran's spine. He noticed that it had probably done the same to her too.
Shaoran was now back in his room, in the present time, awakened from his dreams and once again trying to get to sleep. He turned over in his bed and closed his eyes, hoping that he could finally get some rest. Kero noticed this and sighed in concern for his new master. If this whole deal is hard on anyone, it's hard on him, Kero thought. Kero finished setting up a makeshift bed and pillow in Shaoran's dresser drawer and tried to go to sleep again. He had a little more success than Shaoran, who once again awakened, turned over, and tried to go back to sleep.
Until whole battle was finally over, no one would be able to sleep. Shaoran was only one of the many people who would have trouble sleeping tonight.